Chapter 40: The string of hearts
Subaru and the others quickly charged at Meili, forcing her to send the Mabeast to attack the three knights, Subaru, and Kenichi. The five of them were able to take down many Mabeast without much trouble. Subaru smiled as he saw that their combined strength is much more powerful than either him or Meili expected.
She quickly started to send her strongest Mabeast to confront the five of them, forcing Subaru to quickly play defense while the other four attempted their best to land strong hits to take out the large Mabeast with large deadly horns. Subaru used the strength he could muster to block off certain attacks that would harm Yabuto or the others while other specific attacks the five of them dodged.
"Damn this fucking thing is big!"
"Careful Waraki, there is still a child-er no wait, two children here."
"Meili can listen to people say bad words! I'm an assassin, not a child!"
"Whatever Mabeast user, as knights we can't just curse around children. It isn't right at all."
"Hmph. Whatever."
Meili stuck her tongue at the knight before watching as the five were struggling to take down the large Mabeast, Otto looked at the group and saw how Kishida and Yabuto were getting worn out by the fight, making it hard for the two to land any stronger hits. He quickly looks around and sees Beatrice's door, causing him to quickly take Petra to it, wanting her to be safe. As he opens the door, he sees Beatrice just looking at the two.
"Who are you, I suppose?"
"A friend of Subaru-san. I want to ask if you can take care of Petra-chan?"
"Hmph. What am I? A babysitter?"
"Just someone we can trust, Great Spirit."
"Fine but you all owe me for this, I suppose."
"I'll pay you however I can. Petra-chan, stay here and watch over Rem-chan."
Petra nodded at Otto before making her way towards Rem's location, knowing that it's her job to protect the sleeping girl. As she does this, Otto starts to leave yet he is stopped for a moment when Beatrice asks him for a favor.
"Protect the two boys with the key. I wish to speak to them both once this annoyance has been finished, I suppose."
"Subaru-san and Sora-san?" Otto paused himself for a moment before responding to Beatrice's request. "Don't worry, I will bring the two here safe and sound."
Otto smiled and quickly left to join the others, wanting to help out as much as he could in the fight against the Mabeast, leaving Beatrice with a hopeful smile that one of the two are "That Person" for her.
As Otto returns to the battle, he uses his divine protection once again to cause a bit of damage to the Mabeast, allowing for Kenichi and Subaru to both take the opportunity to do a father-son combo attack with Subaru landing the first hit on the Mabeast's face then Kenichi stabs the Mabeast in the throat, leaving the final blow to come from Subaru when he jumps high to strike the Mabeast in the forehead with all the strength he could muster.
As he lands the third hit, the Mabeast moves its tail directly to hit Subaru, forcing the boy to try to use Reflect yet he wasn't fast enough and the tail managed to make contact with him. As Subaru felt his body take damage, he was quickly sent across the room yet to his surprise he was saved by Garfiel. The demi-human boy was continuing his fight with Saix while Frederica took on Replica Riku yet during the fight, he looked back to see how the others were doing and could tell that Subaru was in danger.
He quickly was able to dodge one of Saix's attacks before landing a powerful hit on the Organization member. Saix was sent back a few feet with a bit of an interested facial expression, surprised how strong Garfiel was when he was focused. Before he did anything, Garfiel quickly rushed towards the others and managed to jump high enough to catch Subaru before he got too injured.
"Cap'n, ya need't be more careful."
"Sorry about that, I thought that my attack would do the trick. Thanks for the save, Garfiel."
"It's nothin, now let me get back't my fight."
"You go do that."
Garfiel quickly returned to face Saix while Subaru took the moment to analyze the situation, seeing that they needed to find some way to break through Meili's amount of Mabeast and the large Mabeast they were currently facing. As he thought and thought for a bit, he managed to come up with an idea that'll probably force the assassins back, which could give them a chance to escape safely without losing anybody. He looked at the Mabeast and prepared to attack with one of his magic abilities yet he thought of a much better idea.
'Think, think of something that causes me pain...' Subaru knew that using the dark powers was very dangerous since it could lead him towards a dark road but he was confident that this would be the last time he would rely on these negative emotions. He thought about all the pain and suffering he had been through since arriving in this world, the people he had lost in many failed realities, and of the people that caused him so much pain. These thoughts covered his mind but something was different this time, he started to think about the people who cared deeply for him.
'Emilia-tan...Master Sora...Mother...Father...Rem...Ram...Petra...Patrasche...Yabuto...Kishida ...Waraki ...Garfiel ...Otto...I fight for all of you'
Subaru's might brightened as he used the last spell he had in his mind to cast a very powerful technique. He trusted his instincts and shouted with all his might "Mega Flare!" which caught everyone's attention. The knights, Otto, and Kenichi all got out of the way as a large fireball approached their position.
As they were getting out of the way, the Mabeast saw this and attempted to attack it only for a large explosion to happen in the hallway, causing a fire to spread around the mansion alongside the Mabeast to be destroyed in the process. Seeing the fire spreading like crazy, Meili quickly left the area to escape while Subaru looked at the fire a bit surprised but a little bit guilty.
"Well...shit."
"Subaru-san! That was reckless! What the hell do we do now?!"
"We keep going forward, Otto."
"How? The whole place is catching fire!"
"Trust on the newbie, merchant! He hasn't let us down so far?"
"I trust Subaru-San!"
"Then shut yer trap."
Everyone looked to see Garfiel and Frederica approaching the group, the two no longer fighting the organization members. This got Subaru's attention since they wouldn't have left unless they got to Rem.
"What happened to your opponents?"
"Left, like'th cowards they'r."
"Yes, they seemed rather disappointed that we were able to hold them back."
"Okay, that's good. Now we just need to get to Master Sora...wait Otto, where is Petra?"
"Ah, don't worry. She's with Beatrice-sama taking care of Rem-chan."
Frederica gave Otto a look for a moment before giving a sigh of relief, happy that her pride and joy was safe while Subaru was happy that Beatrice lended a helping hand even though she really didn't need to.
He looked around and could still see that Beatrice was there, giving him a smile but before they could enter the forbidden library, he noticed that the door changed for some reason while a few mabeast started to charge at the group.
"Well this isn't good."
"Ah don't you worry merchant, us knights can handle them."
"My amazin' self can take 'em."
Yabuto, Kishida, Waraki, and Garfiel all four get themselves ready for a fight while Kenichi and Frederica prepare to back up Subaru. All Subaru can think about is whether both Beatrice and Petra are alright and how is his master holding up.
During the time Garfiel left Sora to face off against Capella and Elsa on his own, Sora was able to hold his own by using a couple of his magic abilities like Bizzaga, Thundaga, and Firaga. As Sora was showing to be a skilled warrior, Capella turns towards Elsa to ask her, "Mind going after the others, my dear?"
"Yes mama."
Sora noticed this and quickly stopped it by getting in front of Elsa and pointing his keyblade directly towards her face. This surprised her and caused the Bowel hunter to jump back in slight joy yet surprised.
"You two are not leaving here! I will beat you both!"
"My My Sora Dear, you really are confident you can beat mother and me."
"I can, my friends are giving me the strength I need to take you both down."
Elsa's smile slowly faded away as she heard those words once again, having remembered them when she lost to the boy on that fateful night. Normally she would want to take out the person who says this yet Sora is a different case. She lowers her weapon and asked him,
"Your heart isn't where strength comes from...so why do you say that?"
Sora looked at Elsa and could see that she spoke to him not in malice but in true curiosity which also got Capella curious as well. Sora smiled and held one of his hands on his chest before he responded to Elsa's question.
"Although my heart may be weak, it's not alone. It's grown with each new experience, and it's found a home with all the friends I've made. I've become a part of their heart just as they've become a part of mine. And if they think of me now and then… If they don't forget me… Then our hearts will be one. My friends are my power!"
Elsa looked at the boy with a surprised facial expression, she normally would've brushed this aside but for some reason she felt an odd feeling. She recalled the first time the two met that she did refer to the boy as a friend and how he doesn't want to fight her. This gave her heart a warmth that normally comes from disbowling people.
Capella looked at Sora with anger in her eyes as she started to shapeshift into Kairi, wanting to see if what the boy says is true when he faces someone he cares deeply for. He was surprised by this as he never thought he would see Kairi yet he didn't like seeing Capella changing into Kairi, making him look at her with a serious facial expression which did caught her attention.
"Is this not what you seek? After all, for someone who has a heart of gold as they say, you should probably find beauty on the innocent looking."
Sora could only look at Capella with mere disgust as she is taking the form of Kairi to mock him. He closed his eyes and held his hand onto his chest again before speaking to the Sin Archbishop of Lust,
"You speak about love but you are only focused on what people think regarding looks but you don't understand that there is love in caring for someone past their looks, into their souls. The inside of someone matters most and you have a darkness hanging in your heart."
"I wouldn't call it darkness, more like the amount of love I have for the world."
"How is that love? That is not love. I witnessed a friend nearly die for a girl because he cared so deeply for. I watched a sister nearly die for the sister she wanted to protect. I died to save the girl I cared for the most, the girl you mock me with. That is what love is, caring for those that you value not by looks but by what they are inside."
"My My Sora, I didn't realize you had the potential of reviving yourself. Now I definitely want to face you off right now!"
"Hold on there Elsa, mother as to teach this boy what love is." Capella speaks with a more angry look in her face. She was already angry with Sora regarding his friends being the driving force of his strength and now he was speaking how he views love, making her hand change into a dragon's hand while still in her Kairi disguise.
"Listen here you little shit, love is one who views the beauty of someone. The inside of a person is nothing more than fake."
"You are wrong! I've seen it countless times on my journey with all the friends I made, that love is more than just that! It's about caring for someone and who they are as a person!"
Sora spoke with passion since he knows how love works now, having had the chance to experience it with the time he spent with Rem and the love he holds so dear for Kairi. This however was the last straw that broke Capella into attacking Sora, wanting to kill him with extreme hate.
She tried her best to slice off his head yet the keyblade was strong enough to block one of her most powerful attacks. Capella did not like this and quickly with her Authority of Lust she attempted to change Sora into a bug yet nothing happened. This greatly confused her but before she could process, Sora charged at her and started going on an offense against her and Elsa at the same time.
"Allow me to show you the power love holds and the power of my friends...they are what will help me beat you both!"
Capella in Kairi form and Elsa were both surprised by this as the boy was fast enough to attack the two at the same time. As Sora was going at the two with a fury of attacks, Capella tried to use her Authority of Lust once again yet it ended in failure again, only this time she was open long enough for Sora to land a powerful blow. This hit was strong enough to send her through the wall onto the outside of the mansion.
'This boy...is much amazing just like Elsa said!' Capella thought to herself as she started to revert back to her usual form. As she was failing from the floor she was in, she began to shapeshift into a dragon but was interrupted when a random explosion happened near her. Sora and Elsa were both clashing weapons before they felt a violent jolt that shocked the mansion.
"What was that?"
"Unsure but it seems your friends have been busy facing off Meili."
"Right, the one who can use Mabeasts."
"Ah yes, you are quite the smart one, My dear Sora."
Sora looked around and could see that fire was starting to spread around the mansion, causing him to quickly take his opportunity to plead one final time to Elsa, hoping that this will convince her to stop.
"Please Elsa, I truly don't want to fight you."
"Why is that? Do you consider me as your friend?" Elsa asked with a curious tone in her voice. Sora was unsure of this himself yet he just needed to find out why she was the way she is.
"I want to be your friend, I want to call you a friend of mine because I know that there is some good in your heart. So tell me, why do you reject that light in your heart and accept the darkness?"
Elsa looked at Sora and smiled as she can see just how good hearted the boy is. As she smiled, she began to speak with her weapons lowered to show that she won't be fighting him in good faith.
"I was born in Gusteco of the north, where it is very, very cold. The divide in wealth was fierce, and it wasn't uncommon at all for lower-class children to be abandoned. I was one of those children, with no parents I ever knew, drinking dirty water to survive. I spent my days stealing objects, threatening people, doing things in that vein, with the people around me constantly changing. Why am I alive? What is happiness? ...Not questions I had any time to consider back then."
Sora listened carefully to what Elsa said, seeing that he is hearing the origins of Elsa Granhiert. He put his keyblade away and continued to listen to her, showing that he is invested in what she has to say.
"It was frigid that day. The wind blustering from the lofty mountains was so strong, so cold, that it froze the town that day. My breath could freeze in that chill, when the shopkeeper I stole from caught me. No one would complain if he killed me, but seeing as I was a girl... I can still remember his face as he smiled, and moved to strip my clothes."
"..."
"The bitter wind howled as he stripped my overwear, snatched my underwear... and when I contemplated that before he could do anything to me, the cold might just kill me first, I happened to pick up a shard of glass. I wasn't thinking about anything. I just had the shard of glass, then when he leaned forward I pressed it into his stomach, moved it, and sliced him open."
"..."
"I felt nothing for his screams, or the fact that I had taken a life. But amidst that icy gale, I did think,"
Sora's breathing froze as he hears this while Elsa smiles.
"How warm, blood and guts are."
There was a pause for a moment, Sora unsure on how to help someone who has been dealing with this for a long time and come to accept this. As Sora had a disgusted facial expression at this while Elsa smiled when she recalls the man's innards.
"If there is happiness in the world, then it is in the warmth and beauty of forgetting the cold. From birth I had nothing, and now I had this: the first definite happiness I ever found. —You can't understand, can you?"
"It's not like I can't understand. I never had such a tough life and it wouldn't be right if I tried to say that I understand...but there has to be a better way to find happiness than what you do."
"I don't want your sympathy or pity, My dear Sora."
Sora was conflicted by this since it's much tougher to get the light Elsa had buried deep inside her now cold heart. Before he could say anything, Elsa tried to attack the boy yet he was able to pull his keyblade fast enough to block off the attack. Elsa and Sora continued their fight with Elsa having the offensive while Sora being on the defense. As Sora was deflecting every attack, he was uncertain of himself since he didn't know how to help Elsa yet he wasn't going to give up.
'You suffered a lot and you have allowed the darkness to consume you but...there has to be a light somewhere in your heart!'
Sora thought hard about this, not wanting to give up on Elsa yet during their duel, the floor started to break. The two quickly moved away yet Elsa was the one to fall down while Sora tried to help her but wasn't able to.
"Elsa!" Sora shouted yet before he could grieve, the fire started to spread around the place very quickly which forced him to go on the run to not get caught in the fire. As he was running, all he could think about is how he couldn't save Elsa yet he wasn't sure how he could save someone like her.
He ran and ran until he was surrounded by the fire, which caused him to prepare his keyblade to use blizzard until he noticed Beatrice's door next to him. He quickly opened the door and closed it once inside before he was greeted by a happy Petra. She charged at Sora and hugged him, happy that he is still alive.
"Sora-sama! Sora-sama!"
"It's good to see you too, Petra." Sora smiled before looking at Beatrice and smiling at her too, causing the petite blonde girl to feel some happiness in her heart yet she still was on the verge of giving up. She wants to know if Sora is 'That Person' for her. Before she could ask, Sora noticed Rem and quickly approached her yet he noticed something was off.
'Was the Organization...trying to wake her up?' Sora thought as he could sense that someone was trying to enter her heart. As he thought of this, a large portal appeared in front of him, indicating that this is the way into Rem's heart. He did not want to at first yet he noticed that heartless were there, causing him to realize that the Organization are trying to control the vessel, forcing him to have to enter Rem's heart which might wake her with no memories intact.
"What are you up to, I suppose?"
"I have to stop the darkness from infecting Rem, otherwise we will lose her for good...Petra, can you take care of things here for a moment? I shouldn't take too long."
"Don't worry Sora-sama, I won't let you down."
Sora smiled at Petra before getting his Kingdom Key out and pointing it directly at the portal, causing a bright light to shine all around the room before Sora was gone, leaving just Beatrice with Petra and a sleeping Rem.
Sora dives into the heart of Rem, seeing it all be pitch black with nothing inside as if there was nothing there but an empty shell. He looked around and smiled for a moment, remembering his time when traveling through sleeping worlds before remembering that he failed the Mark of Mastery.
'Maybe this time I won't fail.'
Sora thought of this, knowing that he needs to be extremely careful since he doesn't have the power of waking anymore. As he was diving deeper and deeper into the place where the heart is located normally, he encounters a couple of heartless and nightmares. Sora with keyblade in hand starts to take them all down without a scratch, having become much stronger than many heartless or nightmares. As he begins to land on the pillar where the heart would normally be, he looks around the darkness and sees that something is forming right across from him.
'I wonder, is this what Riku had to deal with when I was asleep?' Sora thought as he recalled Riku having dived into his heart to awake him after Xehanort's forces had tampered with the mark of mastery. As he waited, the darkness created a dark looking figure that resembled Rem with her flail being created by darkness as well.
"Rem!" Sora was surprised by this and quickly got himself into his fighting pose to prepare for a battle against a nightmare version of Rem. The battle begins with Nightmare Rem charging at Sora with impressive speeds, forcing him to give it his all to keep up. As Nightmare Rem was going on an aggressive offensive, Sora could only think about how important Rem has become to him since their last encounter when she all of a sudden kissed him on the lips. That feeling he has never felt before somehow warmth his heart similar to each time he sees Kairi or is near her presence.
'I don't like seeing you like this...I don't enjoy seeing people suffer because...everyone deserves to be happy...'
Sora thought about Rem and Elsa, how they are two people in his mind that he wants to help out and save with all his might. Although waking Rem up is risky, he doesn't want her to be asleep for who knows how long. He knows that he may never understand Elsa's past and how her killing brings her happiness yet he knows that deep down, she still feels the cold that she desperately wants to escape from.
"I promise, I will save you all."
Sora says this as he begins to take the offensive after managing to evade one of Nightmare Rem's attacks, allowing him to land a couple of hits onto his opponent. After managing to push back Nightmare Rem, he did not hesitate to point his keyblade directly at the nightmare where the heart would normally be. The keyblade created a strong beam of light that hit the nightmare, managing to wipe it out for now before three more Nightmare Rem spawned in. Sora noticed this and knew that he needed to brighten the place with light. He looked at the ground and saw that there was a large keyhole forming.
"This is my chance." Sora says as he jumps high up before pointing his keyblade at the keyhole on the ground. As his keyblade shoots a beam of light towards the keyhole, the entire area begins to brighten up, destroying the three Nightmare Rem in the process. Once the light that shined the area faded away, Sora saw a pillar showing only Rem. This gave Sora a smile on his face as he might have just awakened a sleeping heart, giving him some hope that he might still have the Power of Waking. As this was happening, he smiled before a light blinded him for a moment until he realized that he had returned back to the forbidden library.
"What did you do?" Beatrice asked since she was unsure what exactly the keyblade wielder was doing. Sora looked at her for a moment before giving an answer, "I entered Rem's heart...unsure if I pulled it off…"
"Pulled what, in fact?"
Sora stood silent at this, unsure if he managed to even wake up the sleeping Rem. He approached Rem and still felt saddened when he saw her still asleep. A tear forms on his left eye before streaming down his cheek, showing Beatrice and Petra a side they never expected to see from the keyblade wielder.
'Even if it was reckless...I had hoped that I at the very least woke you up...saved you from that void of nothingness...'
As Sora was sad, he ended up feeling movement from Rem which got not only his attention but Beatrice and Petra's attention. They all looked at Rem as she finally opened her eyes since she was put to sleep by the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony. The three look at Rem for a moment to see the blue haired girl finally say something.
"Who...are you?"
Sora had a bit of a sad expression for the briefest of moments, having expected this to be the outcome yet he wasn't discouraged. He smiled pridefully at Rem and responded to her question in a happy tone of voice.
"My name is Sora, someone who is very important to you...the person who cares about you deeply."
Rem looked puzzled at Sora as she doesn't have any recollection of anything yet she still felt like she can trust the boy. As Sora smiles, he turns his attention towards Beatrice since he knows that he needs to help her as well. Beatrice knew this was her chance, causing her to ask Sora, "Are you that person?"
"What does it require to be that person, Beatrice? How can I save you too?"
Beatrice paused for a moment, having already concluded the answer yet she wanted to hope that her mind was wrong by providing the answer to Sora's question. She held back the tears while responding with, "If you say you want to save me...Make me...the first."
Sora paused himself as he heard this, knowing that this implies that he would need to make Beatrice be the first concern compared to everyone. Beatrice could no longer hold back her tears and started to shout in pain.
"Put me first! Think of me first! Choose me first! Overwrite my contract! Paint it over! Blot it all out and take me from here! Pull me toward you! Hold me!"
Beatrice paused for a moment as she already knew that this wasn't possible due to how Sora is. Although she feels comfortable with the boy and trusts him, she knows that he cannot be 'That Person' for her due to how he would willingly save everyone without putting any particular person first.
"There's no way you can do that, I suppose...you are someone who isn't tied to anybody and you care greatly about others to...put Betty first..."
Sora was lost for words as he wasn't sure what to say first. He tried to say something yet Beatrice using her powers opened the door and threw the three out while telling Sora, "Please...get everyone to safety..."
Sora attempted to enter the library but was stopped when the door changed to a regular door, indicating that Beatrice had moved. Sora was mad about this but to his surprise he saw Subaru and the others heading towards his position, being chased by Mabeast.
"Blizzaga!"
Sora sent a large amount of icicles which managed to freeze off the Mabeast chasing them which was a relief for Subaru's group. As they were given a moment to rest, Subaru and his group looked and noticed Rem awake.
"Rem!" Subaru shouted as he went to hug his friend, happy that she is up yet he noticed that she was confused and started to ask everyone who they were. This sadden Subaru since he knows that this was a possibility yet he turned his attention towards Sora once he noticed that something was wrong.
"Master Sora, where is Beatrice?"
"She kicked me out before I could say anything."
"Darn, we need to go back for her."
"Cap'n, r'ya sure yall can save 'er?"
"Don't worry Garfiel, Master Sora and I can do this together! I entrust you and your sister to get everyone to safety."
Garfiel and Frederica nodded as the two started to lead everyone to safety through one of the secret tunnels Roswaal had installed should it be needed. As they left, Rem followed yet she told the two keyblade wielders to be careful with Petra promising the two that she will look after Rem. Sora and Subaru nodded before heading upstairs to search for Beatrice, both wanting to save the petite girl they first encountered in the mansion.
While they were running around, they could see that the mabeast all around were fighting each other for some reason, giving them some hope that they won't be delayed any longer. As they continued to look through each door, the two ended up encountering something off. They noticed a silhouette is wearing black clothes, holding a black knife, has black hair, and is a woman.
"Elsa...?" Sora asked in curiosity and some concern yet he received no response. She does have the same appearance as Elsa yet she seemed off. This silhouette looked at the two keyblade wielders with dark eyes. These eyes shine with not a speck of light, which frighten the two.
The thing's eyes are so hollow and empty that it's unbelievable that those are eyeballs in those sockets. The thing still acts like it's alive, which Subaru finds incredibly repulsive while Sora was completely saddened to see this. Subaru did think she had life force enough that she wouldn't die, but she's still incapable of dying after all that destruction.
"Subaru."
"Yes Master Sora?"
"Go and save Beatrice."
"Wait what abou-"
"I know you can save her, I trust in you just as you trust in me."
"I don't know if I can..."
Sora could see the lack of self-worth, causing him to turn towards Subaru and patted him on the back.
"I believe in you, Natsuki Subaru. You are a worthy apprentice, a worthy friend, and a worthy hero. I know that you can save Beatrice."
Subaru looked at Sora and somehow he felt confident in himself by those simple words, seeing just how amazing his master is. He nodded with a smile and started to run to find Beatrice while Sora stayed with Elsa, determined to save her. He looked at her and got his keyblade ready for a fight.
"Elsa Granhiert, I will save you."