Chapter 66: Make it out together

Rem and Ram were doing their best as they were running up the stairs, both of them worried for Subaru and Shaula's sake. As the pair were heading up the stairs, Rem stopped for a moment as she looked back down the stairs. Ram stopped as she noticed this, seeing how concerned her sister is for Subaru's sake. Although she didn't want to think about it, she was also worried for the boy's sake.

During the one year peace time, she had grown attached to the boy though in a friend like way but she also had grown close to Naoko. Having been maid friends for a year, she not only values the friendship between the two but views her as a mother figure. She pats her sister on the side and tries to reassure her by saying,

"Barusu is reckless but we need to trust in him. He is a good man with good timing."

"I know Subaru-kun can handle himself...but against that thing! We should've stayed and help!"

"Rem-san, I understand but we need help. If that thing is anything like the witch...we will need all the help we can get."

Rem took a moment to think, having recalled every loop where Subaru had to deal with not only the witch of envy but Reid, the Organization members, and the two Sin Archbishop of Gluttonies. She knows how dangerous it is to face off the Witch of Envy, especially when in one loop Elsa sacrificed herself to save them all.

This made her concern if they can even beat the witch since she is powerful. As she was thinking like this, Ram hugged her to bring some comfort. Rem at first was shocked for a few seconds until a smile appeared in her face, happy to see her sister comforting her. The two hugged for a moment before finally Ram said,

"We will help Barusu. Despite how stupid he is, we won't let him die."

"Okay nee-sama."

Rem nodded and quickly the two oni sisters ran up the stairs to meet up with the others, both of them having hope that Subaru will last long especially with Shaula's assistance. Once the two get up to the floor where Reid was located, they noticed that Elsa, Kishida, and Julius were doing their best to fight off the heartless that were in the room.

This prompted the two oni sisters to run into the fight and join in with Rem jumping in and starting to punch the shadow heartless, taking them out with each punch. Ram joined in and quickly summoned her two dream eaters to help on the offensive, knowing that she doesn't have the necessary strength to fight. As Rem and Ram's two dream eaters had joined in, Beatrice noticed this and quickly questioned the two,

"Where is Betty's Subaru, in fact?"

"Subaru-kun is with Shaula. The two are facing...the witch of envy."

"What?"

Everyone in the room had noticed what Rem had said, causing them to worry since they don't understand on how Subaru and Shaula are fighting the witch of envy. Furthermore, they know that anybody fighting the jealous witch would just be a death sentence. Kishida paused for a moment since he was worried for his friend's sake. He looked at Rem for a few seconds before returning focus on the battle at hand, using one of Reid's sticks to attack the heartless.

Julius quickly used his spirits to power his sword and body up in hopes of taking the heartless out quickly. As the group tries to hurry up so they can help Subaru, Beatrice took a moment to think before attempting to leave the room in order to help her contractor yet Naoko and Kenichi both stopped her.

"What are you doing, I suppose?"

"You need to be careful, little beako. My amazing son wouldn't want you to jump in on the fight."

"Yes, we have to trust in my baby boy."

Beatrice looked at both Naoko and Kenichi, surprised by what they said yet she understood their choice. This prompted her to have a level head and to trust in her contractor, knowing that he can take care of himself. As Beatrice returned to the two, Kenichi looked at his sword for a moment before finally deciding to go into battle. Just as he was going to attack the heartless, Naoko was quick enough to stop him. As she stops him, she begins to say in a concern tone,

"Honey, wai—"

"Sorry dear but I have to help them out. I do trust our amazing son but we also can help him out." Kenichi cut her off as he needed to justify why he is going into battle despite him not having rested enough. He pulled his arm away from Naoko in order to return back into the fight. Naoko wanted to stop this since she doesn't want to see her husband get hurt but Anastasia chimed in to say,

"I know you are worried but he can handle himself."

"He isn't at full strength. He needs to rest."

"That may be true but just like Natsuki Subaru-san, Natsuki Kenichi-san can handle himself. They are father and son for sure."

"Hm. That is true, my two stubborn and reckless boys." Naoko said this with a smile on her face, remembering just how alike her son and her husband can be. Beatrice looked at Kenichi and could see where her contractor's attitude comes from.

"Hmph. Like Father like son, in fact."

As the two were happy to see this, Kenichi jumps in and assists Kishida due to the lack of strength the knight had after having fought Reid and a lot of heartless. As he was able to take down a few of the heartless without hesitation, he looked at Kishida for a moment before looking at the heartless. As he returned to the fight, he began to ask Kishida,

"Are you alright, Kish-san?"

"Kish?"

"A little nickname, still a work in progress."

"Huh...well it's fine. Just never got a nickname but to answer your question, yeah. I'm alright."

"Good."

Kenichi smiled and gave a thumbs up to his fellow knight friend before turning back to the heartless and continuing the fight. Kishida looked at Kenichi continuing on fighting, causing him to look at the stick from the first sword saint. He was still shocked that he was gone yet he was going to put all of the training from Reid Astrea to good use. He smiled as he held the stick tightly before turning towards the soldier heartless approaching him. Before the soldier heartless had a chance to do anything to Kishida, the knight charged at the heartless and swung the stick with all of his strength.

As he was able to land a hit on the heartless' head, he started to throw a few more attacks. After a few barrage of attacks, he used the broken hook on his missing hand to deliver a finishing blow, managing to barely destroy the heartless. As he succeeded in this, another heartless was trying to sneak behind him to attack while he was distracted only for Elsa to quickly protect the knight by slicing the heartless in its gut area. Kishida turned around and noticed this, causing him to feel a bit off since he never expected to be saved by the bowel hunter.

A long while back the two were on opposite sides and now they are on the same side, fighting against dark creatures from the worlds Subaru's master had been in. She looked at him for a moment before giving a nod just as she was going to go back into the fighting, trying to round up and eliminate the remaining heartless. With only a few of them left, Kishida noticed this and quickly he turned to both Julius and Elsa to tell them,

"You two should help Subaru! You two are the strongest of the group and can help him out."

"Betty will come too, I suppose."

The three of them noticed the little spirit speak, having made up her mind that she wants to be by her contractor's side. Elsa and Julius both paused for a moment before looking at Kishida, wanting to know what he is going to say. Kishida looked at Beatrice for a moment before looking back towards Kenichi, seeing that he along with Rem and Ram facing the few remaining heartless. He took a moment to think before saying to Beatrice,

"Great Spirit of the Forbidden Library, protect these two and make sure my friend is safe."

"Of course Betty will protect her Subaru, I suppose."

Kishida found this cute for some reason yet all he could do was nod at the little spirit before joining Kenichi and the others in finishing off the remainder of the heartless, knowing that this is the right choice having Julius, Elsa, and Beatrice assist Subaru. The three watched for a moment before looking among themselves.

"Great Spirit, do you have enough mana to assist us?"

"Betty will be fine, I suppose. Betty as faced worse."

"Well if that is the case then—"

"Beatrice-sama, this should help you with the mana problem."

Beatrice, Julius, and Elsa all three turned towards Ram as they heard her speak to Beatrice. As they all look at the pink haired oni, she tossed something at the sky to which the little spirit felt a small yellow glow around her. As Beatrice felt this, her mana had been fully restored to which she was surprised.

"I hope this helps, Beatrice-sama."

"Th-thank you, maid."

Beatrice nodded at the pink haired oni before turning towards Julius, indicating that she is ready for a fight now. Julius and Elsa both nodded at Beatrice before the three went off to help Subaru and Shaula, knowing deep down that this fight will be far from easy. Julius was worried for his friend's sake, wanting to make sure he is alright. Beatrice is worried for her contractor, wanting to make sure he is alive and stays alive.

Elsa didn't had too many interractions with Subaru to call him a close friend but she does value his life and owes him for having harmed him in the past, especially the very first time they had met in the loot house. As the three go off, Kishida looks at their direction for a brief moment before looking back at the last remaining few heartless, confident that they can finish up here.

Subaru and Shaula both do their best to dodge all of the shadow hands thrown towards the pair, with Shaula being able to fire her Hell's Snipe at the witch of envy while Subaru used both his keyblades to take down the shadow hands thrown towards him.

"Damn it, I'm not use to this at all!"

Subaru was struggling to use both keyblades since he has never dual wielded at all, making most of his movements look awkward. Although this was an issue, his formchange abilities make up for this by having his shadows create barriers to block off the witch's own shadows. As both shadows countered each other, Subaru pointed both his keyblades directly at his opponent to create a double beam light. As he did this, the two beams of light were able to hit the witch, managing to inflict some damage but nothing close to fatal.

"...I love you. I love you. I love you."

"..."

Subaru was very dumbfounded when he heard this, having forgotten how the witch of envy is. He looked at the threat with disgust, wishing it was Satella from the Witch's tea party that he was dealing with rather than envy herself. Shaula continued to fire her Hell's Snipe with everything she got, trying to end this fight as quickly as possible yet she could tell that this fight is nowhere close to being that easy.

As she continued her barrage of long distance attacks, the shadows surrounding the witch were able to create a barrier, one to protect her from any kind of long distance attacks. Subaru took notice of this, causing him to quickly think of some plan to at the very least do some damage. As he was trying to find some way in taking down the witch of envy, he was curious on what kind of abilities he could do with his keyblade.

He is aware that the formchange of Starlight is similar to Sora's Kingdom Key, allowing the user of either to use unique abilities and powerful finishers but his keyblade, Rebirth, is completely unknown to him. Since he was curious to know, he turned to Shaula to say,

"Cover me!"

"You got it, Master!"

Shaula smiled as she just realized that this is her first battle alongside her master in ages. This would've caused Shaula to be overjoyed by happiness yet she recalled that this is a situation that requires her to keep a level head. Not only that but she needs to focus in protecting her master. She fired a barrage of mana lasers towards the witch of envy to distract her while Subaru charged right in, wanting to see what his new abilities will do for him. As he closes in on the shadows, some of them starts to attack yet he was able to dodge a few before attempting to use both Rebirth and Starlight to take down the shadow hands. Although he was still struggling, he was slightly getting the hang of it.

'Th-this is still weird, holding two keyblades but hopefully I'll get accustomed to it.'

As Subaru thought this, his mindset shifted into trying out an ability. He quickly attempted to use the shadows covering his sage like clothing for an offensive like attack. As he tried to use his shadows similar to the way the witch uses hers, she quickly noticed this and started to sendbarrage of shadow hands at his direction. This prompted him to quickly command the shadows of his to cover him around, creating a barrier to protect him. As the barrier was strong enough to keep the witch's shadows off of him, he tried to rethink his plan since he knows going in like how he did is not only reckless but can get him killed.

'Come on Natsuki Subaru! Don't fuck this up! This loop is probably the best one and it has to be the one that I make it through. Master Sora and Rem-Rem know about Return By Death, I'm now engage to Emilia-tan, and I have a new amazing looking keyblade with a cool looking formchange!I can't let myself be killed, not here...not now!'

Subaru got himself motivated and wasn't going to allow this to be his end. This motivation caused the shadows surrounding his sage like clothing to glow and change into light, causing Subaru to be confused for a brief moment before deciding to see what the light can do compared to the shadows. The shadow barrier disappeared which allowed the boy with the two keyblades to telepathically send light beams at the witch of envy.

At first they weren't as effective since the shadows were able to easily take them down with just one hit, causing Subaru to wonder what exactly triggered his shadows to turn into light. He thought and thought for a moment before recalling that his determination to want to survive and protect those he cares about could've been the trigger. This was a theory he wanted to test out, thinking on Emilia and how he proposed to her.

("You saved my life over a year ago. You have been by my side when I needed you the most and have been there even when I forgot everything. That is why I want to say this now, do this now while I have a chance...while I also have the courage to...will you, Emilia-tan, marry me, Natsuki Subaru?")

This thought caused the light around him to brighten up a bit, causing Subaru to see how his ability slightly works. Seeing this caused him to think about Emilia, Sora, Beatrice, Rem, Ram, Garfiel, Otto, and all of his other allies and friends, causing the light he controls increase in brightness and power. As this was happening, he sends the light towards the witch's direction, managing to do some damage to the shadows.

"I-It's working!" Subaru shouted in excitement, seeing that the balls of light were being sent towards the witch, destroying the shadows. Shaula noticed this and smiled as she is seeing her master excited.

"You can do it, Ma~ster!"

Subaru looked at Shaula and nodded at her, appreciating the support. The witch of envy noticed this as well and quickly turned her attention to the guarding of the Watchtower to start attacking her. Shaula and Subaru both noticed this with Shaula dodging the shadow hands thrown towards her while Subaru began to worry for Shaula's sake. This worry emotion caused the light surrounding his sage like clothing to slowly return into shadows. Subaru noticed this and at first he wasn't sure why his shadows returned until he started to think about how emotions.

'Okay, so I assume positive emotions are what make the light powers while negative emotions make up the shadows...okay, I guess that makes sense.'

As Subaru figures this out, he was hit by a couple of the witch's shadows, having let his guard down. Shaula notices this and quickly reacts by firing a couple of powerful mana lasers at their opponent, hoping to distract her. The Witch of Envy noticed the attacks from Shaula and quickly turned her attention to the guardian of the watchtower.

As she does this, Subaru was able to recover fast enough to take out the shadow hands pinning him to the wall. Once he was freed, he quickly approached Shaula's direction before creating a shadow barrier, one that was big enough for the two of them. As the two were in the barrier, the witch started sending a massive amounts of shadows towards the pair, attempting to break Subaru's barrier.

"Shaula, are you alright?"

"Yes!I'm happy Ma~ster cares soo much about me!"

Shaula goes to hug Subaru for a moment, completely overjoy to see her master caring for her. Subaru allows this hug from Shaula but only for a bit before reminding her that they are in a middle of a fight. She nods as she gets her emotions in check and quickly the two try to think of a plan to hold off the witch, both of them knowing that they don't have the necessary strength to beat her.

"Shall we run?" The guardian of the watchtower asked.

"No, that isn't something I'm comfortable with. Besides, we don't know if the others are...wait, let me do something."

Subaru recalled that he can use the greed authority, also called Cor Leonis to check on the status of everyone. He closed his eyes and thought long and hard for a moment until he could see the dots of his allies, noticing that Beatrice, Elsa, and Julius were making their way towards them while Rem, Ram, his father, and Kishida were facing off against something yet nothing too concerning.

The only two people he was worried for were Emilia and Sora since he didn't see their dots appearing. At first he was thinking that maybe they were killed yet he had hope that the two were just too far away for his greed authority to detect the pair.

As he thought this, he recalled a loop in which Louis as himself was running away from the Witch of Envy while Elsa sacrificed herself to buy them all time to escape. This worried Subaru since he doesn't want anybody to die, Elsa included. As he thought of this fear, he started to think on what can they do.

'They might be able to help push the Witch of Envy back a bit but she will kill them if they stay in the fight for too long...unless...'

Subaru looked at Shaula and asked her,

"If you transform into your um scorpion form, can you regain control of yourself?"

"...I um...don't know about that Ma~ster. It's too risky to do something like that, Shaula doesn't want to hurt master by accident."

"Fair point...is there any way we can trap this thing?"

"Not that I'm aware of but we can try to kill it."

"No, that'll be too hard especially if it's just the two of us...we have to think of something."

Subaru was trying to think and think yet he realized that his barrier was starting to break with the witch of envy constantly sending more and more of her shadow hands. This prompted the boy to look at his ally and say,

"The second the barrier breaks, prepare to dodge some attacks."

"You got it, Master!"

Shaula gave a thumbs up and waited along with Subaru until the barrier finally broke. Once the barrier broke, the two jumped out of the way as a swarm of shadows were trying to consume the two. As both of them managed to split up and avoid being caught by the shadows, Subaru turned towards the entrance of the library to see three familiar faces appear.

"Beako! Julius! Elsa!"

"My My, you sure are in quite the trouble, Natsuki Subaru."

"Hmph. Seems like betty needs to clean up her contractor's mess, I suppose!"

"Good to see you alive, Subaru."

Subaru turned towards the trio and nodded at them. As Subaru returned his focused on the fight, the three had noticed the way he was dressed was completely different. Beatrice noticed this first and quickly thought on how her contractor looks like a sage with those clothing he has on.

'Hm. Betty's Subaru looks better in those sage clothing, I suppose.'

Julius and Elsa noticed this yet their minds were more focus on the woman Subaru and Shaula were facing off. The two could see that this fight will be near impossible considering that those shadows are extremely threatening. Beatrice could see that their opponent is using yin magic, similar to her and Subaru, making the fight a bit difficulty for her and her contractor.

"Great Spirit, what do you prompt we do?" Julius asked.

"Hmph. We help Betty's Subaru, in fact."

As Beatrice said this, she starts moving towards the battle to be by her contractor's side which also prompts Elsa and Julius to follow her lead and enter the battle. The witch noticed the three entering the fight and quickly was about to attack Beatrice yet she stopped herself as seeing the little spirit girl. Although unsure why, she did turn towards the finest knight and the bowel hunter, wanting to take the two out, especially the bowel hunter.

"You. You. You. YOU. YOU! YOU! YOU!"

Elsa noticed that the woman was speaking to her and could feel the intense hatred glare she was getting, making her realize just how in danger she is in the fight. Before she could say anything, the shadows all started to attack her, forcing Elsa to start dodging while also using her two weapons to cut down the shadow hands that get near her. Julius saw that this could be a problem and quickly enhanced his strength, speed, and his sword with the help of his spirits before joining in on the fight by assisting and protecting Elsa.

As all the shadow hands were about to get the bowel hunter, the finest knight jumps in between the two and starts to cut the shadow hands down, giving Elsa time to recover herself to assist Julius. As the two were working together in taking down the shadow hands thrown towards the pair, Julius acknowledge just how much things have change. Considering that the pair had faced each other off back in the capital when it was being attacked by heartless and when people still remembered him. Now the two were fighting side by side, making the two chuckle a bit.

"My My, I never thought I'd be fighting alongside a knight."

"Yes. Although you don't remember but we faced each other when the capital was under attack. Also I still haven't forgotten all the things you have done in Lugnica."

"I know. I have done many horrible of things. Some I don't regret, others...let's just say that I'll make it up."

"Well...I'll look forward to that day, Elsa Grainhard."

Elsa had a small smile for the briefest of moments, although she doesn't know the knight, she could tell that he is willing to give her a chance to see change. She looked forward and quickly with her assassin skills managed to take down a lot of shadow hands while Julius used his skills to also take down many shadow hands.

As the two were managing to hold their own, the witch looked at the pair and was prepared to overwhelm them with a barrage of shadows until suddenly a barrage of purple icicles appeared all around the witch. Everyone noticed this with Subaru having a smile on his face, knowing that it is Beatrice's doing. He looked around for a moment before spotting his contracted spirit standing a few feet away from him, having her right hand pointed up.

"You got this, Beako."

"I know I do, Subaru. Now, disappear and fall, I suppose! El Minya!"

As she finishes speaking, she closes her hand which causes all of the purple icicles to be send towards the witch. The Witch of Envy noticed this and quickly managed to create a shadow shield all around her to prevent any of the icicles from landing a hit. Subaru noticed this and quickly charged in towards the Witch, confident that he can land a hit while the witch is distracted protecting herself. Beatrice and Shaula both noticed this and were completely worried since Subaru is going straight into the danger.

"Master!"

"Subaru!"

"Don't worry about me, you two! Just continue to attack this witch!"

The two were hesitant when Subaru said this yet they understood that this was no time to worry. Beatrice continued to send a barrage of her El Minya ability while Shaula continued to fire powerful mana lasers from her Hell's Snipe ability. Subaru noticed this and quickly ran as fast as he can to reach the witch, preparing himself to do his ultimate ability. As he was getting closer and closer, he had both his keyblades out and ready to pull one of Sora's abilities from his double form.

'After seeing Master Sora pull this off back in the loot house, hopefully I can replicate it and do some serious damage.'

Subaru eventually got close to the witch, feeling the threatening shadows near him yet he continued to keep his composure. He replicated the way Sora used his ultimate attack when in double form, having put both his keyblades together while gathering all of his strength. As he tries to do this, he notices that something different is happening for him. In the side where he is holding Rebirth, he can feel the shadows of darkness wrapping around him while on the side where he is holding Starlight, a swarm of light was covering him.

'This power...it is so...freaking amazing!'

Subaru was surprised by the power the two keyblades were giving him, making him see the power of darkness and the power of light combining into something more. This surprised the boy since he wasn't expecting to be dealing with this kind of power. He then felt his hands move on their own has he pointed his two keyblades upwards.

Once he did this, the shadows and the light were moving away from Subaru and headed upwards to create a powerful looking ball, one that might be stronger than any attack Beatrice or Shaula were throwing at the Witch combined. As the ball was increasing within the second, Subaru wanted to think of a cool name he could use for this finishing move, feeling like it is going to result in a massive explosion. After a few seconds, he looked at his allies all around him to shout,

"Everyone! Stand back! This might get ugly."

Beatrice, Shaula, Julius, and Elsa all four noticed this and nodded before they stepped away from the fight. The witch noticed the attacks having stopped, causing her to move away the shadows from her. Just as she was able to see, she noticed the powerful aura coming from Subaru's ultimate attack, surprising the witch. Subaru noticed the surprised facial expression of the witch under the hood covering her eyes, causing him to have a confident smile on his face.

"Didn't think I'd surprise you, Witch of Envy. Now, let's end this!Stellar Nebula!"

Subaru shouts his name of his ultimate attack. As he does this, he moves both Rebirth and Starlight towards the witch's direction, sending the ball of power towards her. The Witch of Envy was stunned by this for a few seconds, surprised for sure that the boy she is after could produce such power. Although she eventually snapped out of it and created a barrier to protect herself, Subaru was able to catch a glimpse of her smiling, as if she was proud of him.

This was something Subaru noticed but before he could think on it or say something, the ball of power eventually touches the shadow barrier which causes the entire place to explode. This explosion sends Subaru flying off into the distance. Just as he was going to hit the wall, Elsa was quick enough to catch him before having him stand on his feet. Once on his feet, Subaru felt his entire body fatigue as he returned to his original clothing he had entered the watchtower in. As he noticed this, both his keyblades disappeared as he felt like passing out.

"What's wrong, Master?!"

"N-Nothing!...Just a little tired..."

"We need to get out of here, I suppose!"

"...huh..."

Subaru and the others noticed what Beatrice had said before looking at the direction the Witch of Envy was located, seeing that although that didn't do any damage to the witch herself, the shadows looked a bit weak. This impressed the group and even the Witch of Envy herself, seeing that although he is nowhere near Reinhard or Sora's level of power, he is on the path towards there.

As that pridefulness faded away, Shaula quickly grabbed her master and with the others started to make their way up the stairs with the Witch of Envy slowly following them as she is trying to recover her shadows. While the group was running up the stairs to catch up with the others, the group turn around to see that the Witch of Envy isn't following them for now, making them feel some relief since they don't have to worry about it for now. The four turned forward with Beatrice taking a look at Subaru for a moment, seeing that he is still struggling to stay conscious.

"You should rest, stubborn contractor of Betty's!"

"I know...but after the fight...is over..."

"I must agree with the great spirit Beatrice, you should rest. We don't want you pushing yourself more than you are capable." Julius chimed in to help Beatrice's argument. Subaru looked at the finest knight with a slightly annoyed look, not liking that someone is siding against him yet he did understood where he was going with. Before anything else can be said, Elsa turned around and noticed that the shadows were starting to leave the library.

"We need to hurry."

Julius, Shaula, and Beatrice noticed what the Bowel Hunter had said and quickly looked at the direction she was looking at, seeing that they need to hurry. As they ran up the stairs with haste, Subaru looked at the shadows for a moment, somehow being able to tell that they are much weaker than before. As he noticed this, he suddenly felt his conscious get knocked out due to being extremely fatigued.

("I just...don't want to lose anybody else like how we lost Rem!")

("You can do it, after all you are Rem's treasured friend.")

("Don't give up, my apprentice...my friend.")

("Don't fret all alone. Fight alongside the people who care about you. Don't forget that there are people who grieve when you die.")

("Subaru, Remember. You're ok, you are Natsuki Subaru, my knight. You're clueless about the world and broke beyond compare, You get along with everybody and...you're. You're...my boyfriend!")

("I want to protect you at any cost...I didn't want you to die...That's why...")

("You saved my life over a year ago. You have been by my side when I needed you the most and have been there even when I forgot everything. That is why I want to say this now, do this now while I have a chance...while I also have the courage to...will you, Emilia-tan, marry me, Natsuki Subaru?")

Subaru's subconscious was bringing in some of his fond and not so fond moments, allowing the boy to see how far he has come from the beginning of his journey. Although he is aware that he isn't the strongest, he is satisfied with the power he was able to gain. Not just through himself but by those around him like Sora, Emilia, Beatrice, Puck, Rem, Ram, Yabuto, Kishida, Waraki, Julius, Reinhard, Wilhelm, Crusch, and many more. This caused Subaru to wake up from his momentary slumber with some new energy in him while he muttered to himself,

"My...friends are my power..."

"Hm?Did you say something Ma~ster?"

"N-No...nothing important."

"Okay. Here we are."

As Shaula said this, she allowed her master to stand on his own, managing to keep himself up with the new energy he had gained out of nowhere. Once on his two feet, Beatrice approached the boy and grabbed his hand while saying,

"Remember that Betty requires you to hold Betty's hand three times a day, in fact."

"I know Beako. Sorry to have worried you."

"Hmph. You are quite the lousy contractor, I suppose."

"Haha...yeah."

"Son!" Both Naoko and Kenichi said as they approach their son, happy to see that he is alright. As the Natsuki household were hugging, Beatrice stood in the sideline for a moment before both Naoko and Subaru dragged her into the hug, surprising the little spirit. At first she was annoyed yet she eventually accepted this, feeling happy that she has a family of her own. They stood silent for a moment before the hugging stopped with Julius being the one to say to the rest of the group that stayed in the room where they are now,

"I don't mean to ruin the moment but we should all prepare. Something big is coming."

"Big? What do you mean, Julius?" Kishida asked in a curious yet somewhat concerned tone of voice.

"The Witch herself is here." Rem spoke out, smelling the witch's scent strongly closing in on them in a slow pace. This caused the group to be in a somewhat panic since none of them have the firepower to even stand toe to toe against the Witch of Envy.

Kishida and Julius both know that the two are still recovering from their fight against Reid, Beatrice is aware that her contractor is still tired out from his ultimate attack while she can only do so much now with the amount of mana she has.

Elsa would wish she still had her curse doll immortality since it could help but then again against the witch of envy herself could be a little too much for the bowel hunter.

Rem and Ram are both still recovering their strength from their fight against the two Sin Archbishops of Gluttony, and lastly Meili, Anastasia, and Naoko all three know that they stand no chance since they don't have any strength to fight against something like the Witch of Envy.

Although they were feeling despair, Kenichi took a moment to think before he quickly looked at the group and confidently said to them,

"Don't be down, guys and gals!We are still all together, we are all still alive, meaning we can handle whatever this so called witch will throw at us."

"With all due respect Kenichi, the witch of envy is not an entity that we can beat with sheer will power or with numbers." Kishida responded to Kenichi's comment with a respectful manner.

"Even so, we don't give up. I rather die fighting than lay on the ground and wait for death."

"...my dad is right. We have to fight."

The group turned towards Subaru, seeing that he summoned his new keyblade, ready for a fight. Rem and Ram both looked at each other for a moment before nodding, agreeing with Kenichi that they should fight. Kishida was a bit hesitant to this since he doesn't have anything special to use for the fight except the stick left behind by Reid.

As he looks at it, he ends up having a smile as he feels that Reid would've still fight regardless of the chance of success and considering that Subaru was still willing to fight despite looking fatigue, this made him want to fight this impossible battle.

Meili and Anastasia both knew that they can't contribute much yet they can at least provide support in the side lines with Meili supporting Elsa and Anastasia supporting Julius.

Naoko would always stand by her husband and son's side, even if this was a bit crazy on their part. Beatrice looked at Subaru, seeing the confident look in his eyes despite still being fatigued. Although she dislikes this since she wants her contractor to be in full strength, she does feel the need to join the fight regardless of how much mana she has left. She approached her contractor and held his hand while saying to him,

"You are a stubborn contractor, I suppose."

"I know, but you are still willing to be by my side."

"Naturally as your contracted spirit, in fact."

Subaru smiled as he heard what Beatrice say, knowing that despite how stubborn and reckless he is, he knows that the little girl next to him will always have his back. The boy takes a moment to enjoy this before looking at the rest, seeing that they are confident at what is to come. They all turn towards Kenichi to see what he is going to say. Kenichi noticed this and quickly realized that he had the lead role for now. This caused him to think for a few seconds before pointing towards his son while saying,

"I ain't leading this fight. My amazing son is."

Subaru was surprised by this, not expecting his father to just hand over the leadership role to him. As he was surprised, he could tell that the group was looking at him, waiting to see what he would say. The boy needed a moment to think before finally he said to them,

"We are going to have those who can fight close range take on the shadows while long range attackers will be on the offensive against this witch."

"What about Meili, Anastasia-sama, and your mother?" Kishida asked in a concerned yet curious voice. Subaru looked at his friend and quickly responded with,

"You will be the one protecting them, Kishida"

The knight nodded at his friend, seeing that he doesn't have any strong weapons with him to really put up a fight against the witch of envy. As everyone knew their roles, they could tell that the shadows are closing in. Subaru turned towards Beatrice for a moment, seeing the slight fear she had in her face as she desperately tried to cover it with false courage. This caused Subaru to quickly say,

"Split up into a few groups. If many of us attack from all angles, we might have a better chance than being all together."

The group took note on this and quickly split up with Kenichi and Julius protecting both Rem and Ram, Elsa protecting Shaula, and lastly Subaru protecting Beatrice. As the group were prepared, the shadows began to invade the room slowly, the Witch of Envy began to enter to which the group were slightly intimidated while Rem was getting massively overwhelmed by her horrible stench. She fell on one knee for a brief moment, catching the attention of Ram. She looked at her sister and quickly asked her if she was alright to which Rem responded with,

"It's okay sis...just a little overwhelmed...is all..."

Ram wanted to help her sister get up yet she could feel the shadows preparing to attack the two, forcing her to quickly summon her two dream eaters to assist in defending Rem. The group notices this and quickly starts their attack with the long range going on the offensive while the short range being on the defensive against the shadows. As the groups was holding their own with everything they had, Subaru could see that they are starting to get overwhelmed pretty quickly.

'I need to think of something and fast. Come on, Natsuki Subaru, what the hell do I do? Hm...I have an idea.'

Subaru continued to use his Rebirth keyblade to cut the shadows down while he looked at the Witch of Envy in a confident facial expression. As he had his smile, he started to speak with a cocky like tone,

"No matter what you do, I can return by dea—"

Before Subaru could even finish speaking, the witch immediately sends a swarm of shadow hands towards him, stopping him from finishing his sentence while also being able to pin him to the ground. Beatrice noticed this and quickly used her El Minya ability to help free her contractor by cutting off the shadows before they consumed Subaru.

As she did this, the others also took note of Subaru being overwhelmed with shadows, forcing the group to act quickly and start attacking at full force towards the witch. The Witch noticed this and quickly changed from attacking purely Subaru to attacking the others, seeing that they are an obstacle. As her shadows return to focus on the group, Beatrice helps her contractor get back up on his feet while also berating him.

"You are so stupid, in fact! Why are you always putting yourself in dangerous situations?! Do you have a death wish, I suppose?!"

"My bad Beako, I didn't think she would react in such a...hostile way."

"You are truly hopeless, I suppose."

"Yeah...my bad."

"J-Just don't get killed, in fact!"

"I won't Beako, I promise."

"You better!"

Beatrice gave her stare to Subaru to which he reacted by patting her head, wanting to keep his contracted spirit calm before turning his attention back to the Witch of Envy. As they return back to the fight, Subaru quickly send a powerful fireball towards the Witch of Envy to get her attention for a brief moment. As he succeeded in getting her attention, he looked at Beatrice as she created another powerful set of purple icicles.

"Time for you to die, false one. El Minya, I suppose."

As she said this, Beatrice closed her hand which caused the purple icicles towards the Witch of Envy, forcing her to use the shadows to protect herself from Beatrice's attack. Subaru looked at Rem and gave her a nod, prompting the blue haired oni to quickly create her own icicles to attack the witch while she was distracted.

"El Huma!"

Rem pointed her hand towards the Witch's direction, creating multitudes of ice spears to fire them towards envy. The Witch noticed this and quickly created another barrier of shadows to block off Rem's attack. As she does this, Shaula noticed the opening she got and quickly started firing her Hell's Snipe at the witch, trying her best to eliminate the threat.

The Witch noticed what was going on and quickly started to send all of her shadows towards everyone without hesitation, overwhelming the group. This forced most of the group members to try and retreat as some of the shadows hit them except for one. Elsa was the only one to avoid the shadows from hitting her and she quickly tried to close on the Witch.

As she was getting closer and closer, she was excited since she hadn't disemboweled someone in a long while. Although she has been holding under control her urges to see bowels, seeing that this is an opportunity with the Witch herself made her desires slightly show off with her sadistic smile. As she was close to the witch, she was about to go for the bowels until she noticed that Rem was the most in danger of being consumed by the darkness, having been pinned down by them.

Elsa was going to leave Rem be, knowing that someone else could the blue haired oni yet something inside her was telling the Bowel Hunter to help Rem. This caused her to be somewhat hesitant, uncertain on why she couldn't just leave Rem to someone else until she realized something.

'My My Sora Dear, you seem to have some effect on me...'

Elsa had a smile on her face, seeing that maybe someone like her can change for the better. This prompted her to go and help Rem, seeing that she doesn't want to make Sora sad if something bad happened to Rem. After all the trouble Sora and Subaru went through to help save Rem, the last thing she wants happening is for all of that to go to waste.

She manages to avoid getting caught by the large amount of shadows before reaching Rem's position, managing to pull the blue haired oni off of the shadows and away from the Witch. As she does this, one of the shadow hands tries to kill Rem. Elsa was able to notice this and quickly shoved Rem out of the way, saving her life has she received a fatal hit in her stomach area by the shadow hand.

"Elsa-chan!"

Meili shouted as she saw what happened all the while Rem, Ram, and the others all noticed this and quickly reacted with Rem and Ram getting Elsa away from the Witch meanwhile Subaru, Beatrice, and Shaula start going all out with their attacks. As they did this, Rem quickly used her water magic to start healing Elsa's wound, still surprised that the Bowel Hunter risked her life to save hers. As Rem was doing this, the shadows were closing in on the pair only for Ram and her two dream eaters to provide cover.

As the group was doing their best with what they had, the witch eventually had enough of the fight and just started to overpower everyone, pinning everyone fighting her to the wall except for Subaru and Beatrice. The two managed to create a barrier to protect the two from the witch's shadows.

As the two were doing their best to keep the barrier up, Subaru knew that this will only last for a bit before the Witch of Envy manages to break through. Subaru took a moment to think before looking at Beatrice with a serious facial expression. This was something Beatrice noticed, causing her to ask,

"What is wrong, in fact?"

"Just...sorry about this, Beako."

"About—?"

Before Beatrice could ask her question fully, the barrier broke with Subaru tossing her out of the way from the witch's shadows. She was caught off guard by this as she watches Subaru get pinned to the ground by the witch's yin magic.

"Subaru!"

"Son!"

"My baby boy!"

Beatrice, Naoko, and Kenichi all three looked shocked with Naoko wanting to help her son yet Kishida stopping her. Beatrice got up and tired to use more of her yin magic, yet she made the realization that she is out of mana. Kishida tried to break free of the shadows that were pinning him to the wall, wanting to help his son yet he wasn't strong enough to break free. This caused him to worry since he didn't want anything bad to happen to his son. As the group were majorly pinned down, the others watched as they were helpless.

"I love you."

"...stop..."

"I love you. I love you."

'Damn it, I can't lose here. I can't fail here. After everything we worked so hard...I just can't...'

Subaru tried to break free with everything he had, wanting this loop to be the one where they all make it alive. As the witch was closing in on Subaru, Rem managed to get her attention by saying,

"Leave Subaru-kun alone!"

"..." The witch stood silent has she quickly turned towards the blue haired oni.

"You are not going to make my friend go through another loop!"

Those words sealed Rem's fate for the witch, seeing that someone else knows the secret that should only be between her and her beloved. The Witch of Envy stays still for a moment before pointing her hand towards Rem, preparing to send everything she has towards her and consequently Elsa. Subaru noticed this and quickly tried to free himself while shouting,

"Don't hurt them!"

"..."

"Please!"

"..."

The Witch of Envy ignored Subaru's pleads and started to send a massive number of shadows towards Rem and Elsa. Ram and her two dream eaters noticed this and quickly tried to act on it with her using the most powerful wind magic while the two dream eaters used fira and blizzard each.

This only slowed the witch's attack down for a bit but not for long as she was able knock the three away. Shaula knew that she couldn't see her master suffer and she also knew that per her contract, she had to protect Rem and Elsa.

This caused her to charge in towards the witch's shadows in a crazy attempt to attack the witch herself. The witch noticed this and just simply knocked the guardian of the watchtower out by sending her flying off towards the wall near Meili's direction. This prompted Meili to check on Shaula while Subaru was left shocked as he sees Shaula being knocked out with ease. The Witch looked at Shaula for a moment before looking back at Rem, ready to take down a loose end. As the shadows were all thrown towards the blue haired oni, she wasn't afraid since she had faith she will be fine.

"Rem!"

"Sister!"

Both Subaru and Ram shouted with fear as they didn't want anything bad to happen to Rem until all of a sudden the shadows were taken down within a second. The group were all caught off guard by this only to notice that something with super human speed managed to free those that were pinned by the shadows. As everyone starts to gather together, Subaru smiled as he knew who was the one responsible for this.

"You are just so amazing...Master Sora."

As Subaru says this to himself, Rem looked at how Sora was in front of her, having kingdom key in his right hand. Rem's mind took a few seconds before it fully processed that Sora was in front of her, saving her life. This caused her eyes to glow as her heart felt happiness seeing the one she loves saving her life.

'My hero.'

Rem had a big smile on her face, happy to see Sora in this way all the while Elsa managed to open her eyes and ignored all the pain her stomach was giving as she also noticed Sora there, saving both her and Rem's life from the witch's shadow. She just looked with her heart feeling extreme warmth towards Sora.

'Ara Ara...Sora Dear, you are just...amazing!'

Sora turned towards the two and just gave a smile to them while having a thumbs up, wanting to show that he has this. Rem and Elsa's faces turned red at this yet kept a smile on their faces as they see Sora preparing to face the Witch of Envy.

"Master Sora."

"Don't worry Subaru, I'll take it from here."

"Just be careful, Master Sora."

"Don't worry, I will."

As Sora says this, he charged in towards the Witch of Envy, beginning the fight. The Witch noticed this and quickly send her shadow hands towards him, not viewing him as a threat at first until she saw that Sora was easily cutting through the shadows thrown towards him. This prompted the witch with everything she got, wanting to take care of the obstacle with ease. Sora looked up and noticed that a horde of shadows was trying to consume him. This caused him to quickly jump out of the way from the shadows and into the air.

As he is on the air above the Witch of Envy, he pointed his Kingdom Key at her before firing a bright light towards her. She noticed this and barely managed to dodge the attack, noticing that Sora's attack was able to easily cut through the shadows. This made her realize that she needs to take the fight serious, seeing that Sora is not to be underestimated. This caused her to throw every shadow she can towards the Keyblade Master while he is on the air.

Sora noticed this and quickly he went into his Second Form, allowing him to move around and avoid getting caught from the shadows. While he was moving with great speed, Subaru slowly got up and wanted to do something until he felt someone hug him from his back side. At first he assumed it was Shaula yet he could tell that this wasn't her by the way the hug felt. This prompted him to turn around a bit to see that it is in fact Emilia hugging him.

"E-Emilia-tan?"

"You are such a dunderhead, Subaru. You had me worried!"

"Wh-What?"

Subaru was caught off guard by this, not sure how he made Emilia worried yet he felt comfort just by being hugged by the one he loves. He smiles for a moment before saying to Emilia as he turns towards her,

"Sorry for worrying you, Emilia-tan. I guess I need to work on that more." Subaru says this in a calm and slightly joking manner, something that Emilia didn't like yet she just sighed.

"You can be a bit stubborn, Subaru. I'm just glad you are okay."

As she finishes speaking, Emilia goes to hug Subaru once again, causing the boy to have a smile on his face. Before anything can be said, Subaru turned around to see how the fight is progressing with Sora and the Witch of Envy. As he looks at the fight, Emilia looks at the fight as well but her attention is more focused on the Witch of Envy, wanting to see if what Sora had told her is true. She was already scared that she shared the same features as the witch of envy but being an exact copy of her scares her even more.

As the two were looking at the fight, Sora was continuing to dodge every attack with ease and used some of his skill sets he had learned from his friends along his travel to other worlds. He used his Sonic Blade ability the second his feet reached the ground, allowing him to thrust quickly towards the witch's location, trying to land a hit. The first attack didn't hit the witch but it did destroyed some of the shadows near him, causing the Keyblade Master to have an idea, prompting him to use this ability multiple times to close in on his opponent.

While he does this, the witch of envy begins to errupt in anger, seeing that this threat is more of a nuisance than anything. She waits until Sora closes in on her before attempting to trap the Keyblade Master by lowering her guard, assuring that the shadows spread long enough before trying to swallow the keyblade master. Sora noticed that the shadows were all spreading on the floor, expanding themselves which caused him to realize that something is up. He stopped himself as he could feel his second form revert to his normal self.

'What is Satella up to?'

Sora wasn't stubborn, he knows that this is probably a trap but he can't help but feel like he should still go and attack her, seeing the shadows closing in on his friends. Sora charged towards the Witch of Envy in his regular form, holding Kingdom Key with both of his hands.

As he was doing this, the shadows all rise up and were surrounding the boy with the key, something that he knew he had to act upon. Subaru, Rem, Emilia, Beatrice, and the others all noticed this and quickly shouted for Sora's name, all of them worried for the boy's sake. Sora noticed that he was surrounded by the shadows and was about to be swallowed. This prompted the boy to quickly create a barrier to protect himself just as the shadow completely surrounds him. Subaru and the others noticed this which caused them all to worry.

"Master!"

"Sora-kun!"

Both Rem and Subaru shouted with fear in their voice, both of them worried for Sora's sake despite knowing how strong the boy with the key is. Rem knows that Sora can be killed since she did saw in one failed loop her love being taken down by Replica Riku's sword. Subaru also is afraid of this outcome since the last loop that his master had learned his secret of Return By Death, he had been killed.

'Come on Master, you can't die here!'

Kenichi, Julius, and Kishida all three were shocked by this but knew that they can't stay around any longer. Seeing that this could turn bad for them once the witch of envy turns her attention to them. Kenichi and Julius both go to grab Anastasia while Kishida goes to carry Shaula, knowing that Meili wouldn't be able to. As they do this, Kenichi and Naoko approach Subaru, Emilia, and Beatrice to alert them that they need to go.

"Come on my son, we need to get out of here."

"But Master Sora—"

"We need to go, now!"

Kenichi pulled Subaru to get him to run while Naoko tapped on both Emilia and Beatrice's shoulders, getting their attention.

"We need to go."

Emilia and Beatrice looked at Naoko and nodded, understanding that they need to get out of there. Rem stood silent for a moment until she felt a tapping on her shoulder. She looked to see that it was her sister.

"Come on Rem-san, we have to go."

"...right..."

Rem nodded and quickly with the assistance of Ram, the pair started to carry Elsa with Meili being by their side since she wanted to make sure her assassin sister is alright. As the group was making their way towards the stairs, they could tell that the witch is following them with the shadows rapidly approaching their location. This prompted them to quickly make their way down the stairs while also avoiding tripping on the stairs.

As they were making their way down, Subaru and Emilia both turned back as they noticed the Witch of Envy starting to leave the room and start making her way down the stairs slowly with the shadows catching up to them. Emilia looked with a scared facial expression yet she put on a brave face, wanting to confront the witch herself. Subaru noticed this and quickly pulled her arm.

"Come on Emilia-tan, we have to go."

"Huh?"

"Let's go!"

Subaru made his keyblade disappear before surprising Emilia by carrying her like a princess, moving his hand under her thigh. This caused Emilia to turn red once she realized what was going on, prompting her to say,

"S-S-Subaru! You dunderhead!"

Subaru tried to keep his cool as he realized that he really is carrying the girl he is going to marry someday in a specific way, one that only princes do to princesses. As he was blocking that part of his mind, he was going down the stars with the shadows trying to get to him. Subaru turned back for a brief moment before looking forward, seeing that they won't be able to outrun the Witch of Envy. He looked to see that the library where the first trial they faced in the watchtower is close by.

"Guys! Go into the library! Quick!"

Julius, Kishida, and the others noticed what Subaru said and nodded, seeing that the witch of envy is closing in on them. This caused the group to follow Subaru's lead and quickly enter the library. As this happens, Subaru sets Emilia down on her feet with her face still red by the whole experience.

"S-Sorry about that Emilia-tan, I didn't—"

"I-It's okay..."

"..."

The two stayed silent for a moment as they were both unsure on what to say yet their moment would be interrupted when they noticed the shadows entering the library. This prompted Subaru to pull out his Rebirth keyblade while Emilia got her magic ready for a fight, both of them knowing that they will have to give everything they got if they want to do something against the Witch of Envy. Before the fight began, Subaru looked at Emilia before looking forward while being prompted to say,

"I love you, Emilia-tan."

"...I...l-love you too, Subaru."

Subaru had a smile on his face before having the strength and resolve to go back into his formchange, returning into his more sage like look and wielding both Rebirth and Starlight. Emilia could not say it to Subaru's face currently but she did found Subaru super cool the way her fiancé looked. The boy charged into the fight, noticing the shadows charging towards him with great speed. Using his master as reference, he used the same movements to dodge and destroy the shadows thrown towards him. As he was able to do this, he eventually reached a problem when one of the shadows manages to grab his neck.

"Shit!"

"...I love you. I love you. I love you."

'Damn it! Come on!'

As Subaru was trying to free himself, Emilia quickly fired one of her icicles towards the shadow hands grabbing her fiancé's neck which freed him. Once Subaru was freed, Emilia looked at the witch at the same time as she turns towards her. With the two looking at each other, Emilia says to her opponent in a confident tone,

"I'm the one allowed to tell Subaru that...I-I l-l-love him! He is my f-fiancé!"

The Witch noticed this and quickly charged at her with all the hate and jealousy in her blowing up. Emilia noticed this and quickly created a powerful ice shield to protect her from the Witch's shadows. The others noticed this with Rem and Ram both quickly attacking the Witch of Envy with their water and wind magic combined. Although they weren't able to do any damage to the witch herself, they did took down a bunch of shadows.

Enough for Emilia to dodge the witch's attacks thrown towards her. As she moved out of the way, the two managed to be close enough to get a good look at each other's faces. Although the witch herself didn't care about anything except wanting to take down her rival for Subaru's heart. For Emilia though, she looked shocked as she can for a brief moment the resemblance of herself on the witch's face.

'Sora was right...she looks...she looks like...me...'

Emilia fell on her backside as she wanted to cry, feeling so helpless, so ashamed for even thinking that she deserves anybody. The fact that she looks like the Witch of Envy and even used her name to try to scare of Subaru when they first met, everything was causing her to feel overwhelmed. Before she could break down, she could see that Subaru was standing right in front of her, creating a barrier with his shadows. As he does this around him and Emilia, he looks at his fiancée to help her up until he noticed that she was about to cry.

"What's wrong, Emilia-tan?"

"I-I-I...I don't deserve you...or anybody..."

"Emilia-tan, what's—?!"

Emilia starts crying as she doesn't know what to do now that she has seen it for herself. Subaru approached her with a concerned facial expression, unsure of what happened. As he was closing in on her, she starts to tell him,

"Stay away!"

"What's wrong Emilia-tan?! Talk to me!"

"N-No! Stay away!"

Subaru was shocked by this, unsure what is going on. He knows that Emilia wasn't like this a little earlier which is making him worry that he did something wrong.

"I'm sorry Emilia-tan. I didn't mean to do something wrong, or well whatever I did. I love—"

"I'm not worth loving!"

"What are—Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are! I love you Emilia-tan! I love you more than anything!"

"Why?! I look like the witch of envy herself! I even used her name when we met! I'm not worth—"

Emilia was interrupted as she could feel Subaru and her lips touch once again, feeling a warmth passion from her heart yet the tears kept streaming down. The two stayed kissing for a minute before they moved away with Emilia still uncertain if she is worth the trouble. She looked at the boy's eyes as she asked,

"Why me? Why do you love me...? I look like the Witch of Envy...I lied to you in the beginning when we first met..."

"Because you not only saved me a long time ago but you are worth everything, Emilia-tan...or well I should say Natsuki Emilia-tan."

"Natsuki...Emilia?"

Emilia herself was caught off guard when she heard her name and Subaru's last name added, causing her face to completely turn red. She was just completely caught off guard by this and was still uncertain on why Subaru is still being with her after everything yet she did felt happy when she continued to repeat the name in her mind.

'Natsuki Emilia...Natsuki Emilia...it sounds so...weird but right.'

Emilia still had tears in her eyes, not sure she is worth being a part of Subaru's family yet going off to hug him made her happy. She just couldn't hold back the tears while Subaru could feel the Witch of Envy trying her best to break his barrier to reach the pair, knowing that she is extremely mad and jealous of Emilia. Subaru hugged Emilia back, showing that he cares deeply for her while also doing his best to keep his strength up, feeling his barrier breaking within the second. The two stayed hugging for a bit before Subaru declared something to his fiancée, wanting to make sure that she understands just how much he cares about.

"Emilia-tan, I want you to know something, or well make a promise. You are someone I fell in love with, someone I truly want to be with completely. So I want to promise that I will be with you no matter what. I don't care if you even look like that witch trying to kill me. I love you for who you are."

"...Are you sure, Subaru? Are you willing to keep that promise...even when you know that I look like...her?"

"Yes Emilia-tan. I promise."

Emilia couldn't contain her tears anymore, feeling like maybe Subaru might be the one person aside from Puck, Mother Fortuna, and those from Elior Forest that truly care for her. The two kissed once more before finally Subaru gets up with Emilia by her side, both of them preparing themselves for the fight ahead. As they were ready for the fight, Subaru could feel that the attacks have gotten more brutal within the second. Because of this, Subaru looked at Emilia for a brief moment before looking at the direction the Witch of Envy is located to say,

"Get ready to make a run for it, Emilia-tan."

"Okay."

Emilia gave a nod before preparing herself for whatever Subaru was planning. The two wait patiently until the barrier broke with Subaru quickly grabbing Emilia to carry her before starting to run away from Satella's attacks. As he was getting Emilia to safety, Ram and Rem were both continuing to give it their all in hopes of slowly the witch down to buy Subaru some time to take himself and Emilia to safety. As Subaru and Emilia were going through the library, they could see that the shadows were covering the books and their surroundings. Subaru turned towards his back side for a moment before looking forward, worried for their sake since the Witch is rapidly trying to reach them.

"Don't worry Emilia-tan, I'll get you out of this! We will make it out alive!"

Subaru says this has he continues to run into the library until eventually realize they reached a dead end. Subaru set Emilia down before creating another barrier of darkness to protect him and Emilia from the Witch's shadows. As this happened, the witch was starting to attack the barrier with an intense barrage of attacks. Subaru pulled out his Rebirth Keyblade in hopes of holding the barrier up for as long as he can.

"Don't worry Emilia-tan! I won't let anything happen to you!"

"And...I won't let you get hurt as well!"

Emilia used her powers to help the barrier stand up by creating a barrier all around them, hoping this could help keep up the barrier. The witch of envy's attacks eventually managed to break Subaru's barrier, causing him to fall to the ground has he reverted back to his usual form. Emilia checked on Subaru, a bit worried for him yet her mind was distracted when she felt her barrier she created be broken easily from the witch's attack. Subaru and Emilia looked up with fear on his face, both knowing that this is going to end badly.

'This is bad, this is very bad!'

Just as it seemed like all hope was lost with Julius and his group trying to help out, they all witness a sudden surge of light beginning to shine out of nowhere in one area of the shadows. This caused the Witch of Envy to pause right on the moment she was about to kill Emilia, having noticed the surge of power managing to break through the shadows. As everyone was looking with a surprised facial expression, Subaru smiled since he knows what can be the cause of this.

"Hm. I knew that you were going to make it out, Master Sora."

As Subaru says this, a bright light shines over the darkness to reveal Sora wielding Oathkeeper and Oblivion while he was in his final form, no longer holding back any of his strength or power. The group all watched as Sora was giving off a very powerful aura. Elsa managed to get back on her feet with the help of Meili as the pair watched Sora showing himself at full power.

'Ara Ara...Sora, you seem to always amaze me. I wonder what else you will do, my dear.'

Meili looked with a surprised and excited facial expression, amazed just how Sora managed not only to escape the shadows but do it in a badass way. As she was seeing this, she started to think how Petra would be extremely jealous that she couldn't see her hero in this badass form, causing her to giggle a bit, knowing how annoyed she would react. As she was thinking this, Sora pointed his Oathkeeper at the Witch of Envy while saying in a serious tone,

"Leave my friends alone. Your fight is with me."

"..."

The witch of envy stood silent before sending a swarm of shadows at the Keyblade Master, wanting to eliminate him. Sora smiled as he jumped high to avoid the shadow attacks before started to glide around a bit, avoiding more shadows send towards him by dodging them mid-air. As he was gliding and dodging the shadows thrown towards him, he waited for a moment before landing on the ground. Once he did that, he charged towards the Witch of Envy with intense speed, surprising her as she saw him close.

Before she could even react to this, Sora managed to land what seems to be the first hit on the Witch of Envy. Julius and Kishida were paused by this completely caught off guard, seeing that this is the first in four hundred years that someone could do something to the Witch of Envy. This prompts Kishida to say,

"I'm so glad that I came here, to witness this amazing fight."

"Agreed."

The two knights knew that this is something the other knights need to know, especially Reinhard since the Sword Saint is arguably as strong as Sora at this point. Subaru observed how his master was just taking the advantage in the fight, seeing Sora landing a barrage of attacks on the Witch. While Sora was landing many hits on the Witch, Subaru turned towards Emilia to check up on her. The silver haired half elf was at first amazed by how Sora was holding his own against the Witch of Envy yet her thoughts still lingered around the fact that she looks like the Witch of Envy, Satella.

"Emilia-tan, are you still...?"

"I'll be alright, Subaru. I just...I really am sorry for having lied to you when we first met. I should've been honest with my name and not used...her name..."

Emilia looked with shame as she turned away from the Witch of Envy, something that Subaru took note of. He put his hand on her arm as he started to say,

"I get that you feel guilty Emilia-tan but don't. I don't care that you lied to me about that, I just want you to be happy."

"...Subaru, is that what you really want?"

"Yes!"

"Do you want me to really be...a part of your family?"

"Yes! With all my heart! Hell I want to make a family with you!"

"W-What?!"

"...what?"

Both Emilia and Subaru were just completely beet red as Subaru realized that he just told her that he wants to make a family with her. The two continued to stay silent as they wanted to move past this moment but before they did, Emilia softly spoke as she responded to what her knight had said,

"I...would like that...too..."

Subaru could only feel his face turn even more red than before, not believing what he heard at first yet this brought a weird feeling in him but joy overall. As the two were embarrassed by this talk, they returned their focus on the fight between Sora and Satella, seeing that Sora was still landing a couple of powerful blows before the Keyblade Master used both keyblades to land a strong hit to the witch's backside.

The group watched as Sora managed to send the witch of envy flying out of the library with that attack, dragging her shadows with her. This allowed time for the others to rest up for a moment before preparing for what's to come. As they were given time, Subaru took this opportunity along with Emilia, Beatrice, Kishida, Julius, and Anastasia to all approach the boy. As they were approaching Sora, Anastasia started the conversation by asking,

"How did ya escaped the shadows, Sora-sama?"

"Yeah, I kinda want to know that myself." Spoke Kishida with a curious tone.

"Well...I don't know exactly. All I could feel was the darkness trying to consume me but I felt that you were all in trouble. The connection between all of us helped me break free of Satella's shadows."

"So the power of friendship helped?" Julius asked as he was a bit skeptical of this. Sora noticed what the finest knight had said, prompting him to say,

"You all are my power. That is how I'm able to overcome the odds. Because we are all connected. You all make me a part of something bigger."

Subaru nodded at his master alongside Emilia with Kishida and Anastasia accepting this response from the keyblade master. Julius was still skeptical that a simple concept such as friendship could help power Sora beyond what a normal boy can even do. Before anything else can be questioned, Sora looked at the entrance to notice that the Witch of Envy was entering once again, her shadows showing to be much threatening than before. This prompted the Keyblade Master to look at the group for a moment before looking at Satella, slowly walking towards her. As he was walking towards his opponent, he begins to tell the others in a serious tone,

"Stand back. Allow me to handle this."

"Are you sure Master Sora?We can help you out."

"I know Subaru, but I don't want to risk any of you."

"Sora is right, I suppose. He can handle it on his own."

Subaru took note on what Beatrice had said, causing not only him but the others to respect Sora's decision to fight the Witch all on his own. Before Sora and the Witch charged at each other to continue their fight, Subaru prompted himself to say,

"Just be careful Master."

"I will Subaru."

Sora smiled at Subaru and gave him a confident nod, to which Subaru responded with a nod of his own. Sora looked forward and slowly walked towards his opponent for a few seconds before starting to run in great speed with the Witch charging in towards him with her shadows prepared for a fight.

Sora and the Witch eventually closed in on each other with one of the Witch's shadow hands trying to attack Sora's heart. Sora noticed this and quickly swinged Oblivion keyblade at the shadow hand charging towards him, managing to take it down before swinging Oathkeeper at the Witch.

The Witch noticed this and quickly had one of the shadow hands to block off the attack. Sora realized this and quickly pointed Oblivion at the witch to fire a beam of light, hoping this would do something yet the Witch was prepared for this and quickly managed to dodge the attack.

As she does this, she sends a swarm of shadows towards Sora in hopes of overpowering the Keyblade Master. Sora saw through this attack and quickly casted Firaga to burn through the shadows. As he did this, he pointed Oathkeeper to cast Thundaga, trying to catch the Witch off guard.

A bolt of lighting was shot from the air, managing to hit the witch yet it didn't faze her. She was focus on killing Sora, wanting to take him out in order to take out Emilia, especially after overhearing their conversation. This drove her over the edge since she wants Natsuki Subaru all to herself. This prompted her to give it her all when attacking Sora, trying to not give him the chance to go on the offensive.

The Keyblade Master noticed the Witch trying to surround him with shadows while also trying to attack him from all directions. This forced Sora to be on the defense, knowing that one of these shadows is enough to take him down. With Sora on the defensive and Satella on the offensive, Subaru and the others were anxious since they see that the fight is too close for comfort.

"We have to do something." Subaru said which caught the attention of the others.

"You do realize there isn't much we can do, I suppose." Beatrice said, knowing that she needs to keep her contractor in check. Emilia took note of what was being said, causing her to say,

"We should help Sora."

"Agreed Emilia-sama."

The group turned to see that it is Rem that spoke, having agreed with not only Emilia but by extension Subaru about helping Sora. She does trust Sora that he can take care of the Witch of Envy but she also worries that he could still get hurt. Subaru looked at Rem and nodded, happy to see that not only Emilia agrees with him but Rem also wants to help Sora.

He turned towards the fight, seeing that Sora was still on the defensive. This prompted him to pull out his Rebirth keyblade before pointing it towards the Witch of Envy. Beatrice noticed this and quickly tried to stop Subaru by grabbing his hand with a firm grip while saying,

"Subaru...please think this carefully, in fact. I don't like this."

"I know you are concerned Beako but I need you to trust me on this."

"You are reckless, Subaru...just don't push your lock, I suppose."

"Don't worry, I got you by my side. I have Emilia-tan here with us, and I have my parents at a safe distance. I'm not going to die here at all."

Beatrice looked at Subaru, seeing the determination in his eyes. This was also something Emilia noticed, knowing that she also needs to have that determination, especially now since the witch is after her fiancé. She stood by his side and prepared to use her mana against the witch of envy. Subaru noticed this and couldn't help but smile before turning to see Rem standing by his left side. Subaru couldn't help but feel himself be at the top of the world, having his friend, his contracted spirit, and his soon to be wife.

"Are you two ready?"

"Yes!"

Both Rem and Emilia spoke unison as they prepared to fire their attacks at the witch. Subaru took note of this and quickly started to create a powerful fireball at the tip of his keyblade. Emilia put both hands together as she was ready to fire a powerful ice ability while Rem started to create three large water crystals. As Emilia fired her attack, both Subaru and Rem shouted,

"Fira!"

"Al Huma!"

As Rem and Subaru shouted, Rem sends her three large icicle crystals towards the witch alongside Subaru fireball attack and Emilia's ice ability attack. As the three send their attacks, Sora had noticed this and knew that this could be his chance to get out of the barrage of shadow attacks his opponent was throwing at him, forcing him to be on the defensive. The Witch was distracted attacking until she suddenly felt the trio's attacks closing on her, forcing her to turn to see what she was dealing with.

The second she had turned focus away from the Keyblade Master, Sora used this opportunity to charge at her, destroying a few shadow hands that were still send to hit him on his front side by slicing them with his two keyblades. The Witch of Envy noticed this, causing her to create a shadow shield to protect herself from Subaru, Rem, and Emilia's attack while also stopping Sora from landing another set of hits on her. The group noticed this and quickly wanted to send another barrage of attacks once theirs hit the shadows, doing no effect on the Witch's shadow barrier. Before they could, Sora looked at the three and started to say,

"Allow me to do this!"

Sora placed both of his keyblades together as the area was starting to be covered with a bright light. Subaru, Emilia, and Elsa all three recognized this attack as it was the one Sora used against Elsa on the very first day they all met. Elsa smiled as she gets to see this attack from another angle and being used to someone else that isn't her.

Subaru and Emilia were two interested to see if this attack can actually beat the Witch of Envy, knowing that this is Sora's triumph card. Rem and the others noticed the powerful attack Sora was about to unleash on the witch, all of them having mixed of emotions but the one core emotion is hope. They are all hoping that Sora can finish this fight with all of them surviving this all the while Rem smiled as she just keeps getting impressed by how strong her love is.

"Sora-kun, you are the most amazing person in this world!"

Subaru noticed what Rem said and couldn't help but smile as well, agreeing with that statement. They all watched as Sora was making the room bright for a brief moment before pointing his two keyblades up on the air, causing a swarm of beams to fire all around himself and his opponent. He then does a flip on the air with his two keyblades floating near his hands until he grabbed them firmly, preparing to do his ultimate finishing move.

He puts both keyblades close to each other, creating an x before he separates them while puffing out his chest, allowing the beams of light to start attacking all around the area from himself and the Witch of Envy. This prompted the group to quickly gain some distance with Naoko and Kenichi both making sure their son, Beatrice, and their future daughter-in-law get away from Sora's attack. As the group does this, Sora eventually starts glowing before releasing a powerful swarm of energy all around the room, sending most of the group flying into the wall while others managed to grab onto something.

The Witch of Envy noticed this power approaching her, causing her to try to use her shadows to protect herself yet she wasn't fast enough as the bright light caught up with her in rapid speeds before the entire room exploded with the Witch taking the entire damage. As the room had exploded, the air and pressure had increased around the room, causing most of the group members to barely hold themselves steady. Elsa noticed that she needed to protect Meili and Shaula, prompting her to get up no matter how much pain she is in.

She approaches the pair and quickly does her best to protect the pair from the intense pressure. Julius and Kishida were doing their best to take all the pressure to assure that Anastasia doesn't. Subaru managed to create a large barrier to protect his parents, Beatrice, Rem, and Emilia while Ram had her two dream eaters protecting her. The room was like this for almost a minute until finally the bright light had died down, revealing that there was only Sora standing, still in his double form.

The group managed to gain their composure before some of the group members approached Sora to check on him. Subaru, Rem, and even Kishida approached Sora with Emilia and Beatrice both catching up, all five of them wanting to check on the Keyblade Master while the others try to check on each other. Elsa wanted to approach Sora yet she fell on one knee, still in pain from the injury she received from the Witch. Meili noticed this and quickly approached her while telling her assassin sister,

"Stop Elsa-chan, you need to rest."

"I know Meili. I just...wanted to check on Sora dear."

"He will be fine."

Elsa looked at Meili before turning to see that Subaru and the others are already going to check on the boy, prompting her to nod at Meili before sitting down, allowing herself to rest for now. Meili was happy to see this, yet she was just happy that Elsa managed to make it without getting herself killed. Meili charged in for a hug with Elsa returning the hug as well, understanding just how important she is to Meili. As the two were hugging, Julius turned towards Anastasia to assure that she is alright.

"My lady, are you well?"

"Yes, I'm alright...who are you?"

"...huh?"

"Yes, I never got your name."

Julius kept a calm expression yet inside he was in a bit of turmoil, not having expected this outcome. This caused him to kneel on one knee as he grabbed Anastasia's right hand gently before saying in a proud manner,

"My name is Julius Juukulius, I'm you're knight. I'm the one who will stand by your side, Anastasia-sama."

Anastasia looked at Julius for a moment, not recalling him being her knight yet something inside her was telling her that this is somehow right. She took a moment to think before patting Julius' head, leaving him a bit dumbfounded until he heard her say,

"Stand."

"Yes Anastasia-sama."

Julius listened to what Anastasia had said and got off his knee and stood standing in front of her with the small merchant woman observing the finest knight. She observed the knight for a moment before closing her eyes, making a choice on whether she will accept the knights words of him being her knight.

"I don't remember you being my knight...but I'll allow it."

"Thank you, Anastasia-sama. I will not fail you."

"I know you won't."

Anastasia winked at the knight as she said this before making her way towards Sora's position, leaving Julius dumbfounded for a moment before having a genuine smile. The group all starts to approach Sora with Subaru being the first to speak to his keyblade master by asking,

"How are you feeling, Master?"

"I'm alright Subaru...a bit surprised that worked."

"Regardless, that was freaking amazing!"

"Hahaha...thanks Subaru."

"Sora-kun!"

Sora turned to see that Rem had charged towards him to give him a tight hug, having been worried for him. Sora was surprised for a moment before he returned the hug while having Oathkeeper and Oblivion disappearing from his two hands. Rem and Sora looked at each other with the two smiling yet before anything could happen, Sora's double form reverted to his original form while he also collapsed.

"Sora-kun!"

"Master!"

Both Subaru and Rem were surprised and worried as they see Sora fall to the ground. Luckily for the Keyblade Master, Rem was able to catch him before he hit the floor. As she does this, another bright light came behind Rem and Sora, prompting the others to be on their guard since they don't know what is going on. The bright light shined for a brief moment before disappearing to show an unconscious blonde girl nearby Sora and Rem. At first Subaru wasn't sure who it was just like the others until he got a closer look at the unconscious teenage looking girl.

"Wait...Louis?"

"Subaru, do you know this girl?"

"...sort of."

Subaru didn't really wanted to go into detail into how he knows Louis, still have some resentment towards the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony. Before anything else can be said, suddenly a couple of shadow hands send Rem and Emilia away from Subaru and Sora. Due to this, Sora collapsed to the ground next to Louis, prompting Subaru to go and check on his friend and master. As he tried to check on him, he felt a couple of shadow hands to slam him to the ground and pin him down.

'What the?! What's going on?'

Subaru was completely caught off guard by what was going on, at first confused what was going on until he noticed the shadows slowly returning to the library with a familiar voice speaking to him.

"I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you. I love you."

This made his face turn into one of despair, afraid that all the effort his entire team, especially his master had done in this loop.

'No! No! No! NO! NO! Come on! We made it this far! We got Rem back! We fought so hard just to lose here!'

Subaru started to feel self-loathing towards himself, feeling disappointed that all the effort is going to waste. As he was thinking this, he heard two voices shout his name in panic.

"Subaru!"

'...mom?...dad?'

Subaru manages to gain the strength to look up on his right side to see both his parents approaching his position. Kenichi had his sword out and with his skill set, he was able to assure that his wife and him made it pass the shadows without getting overwhelmed or pinned down by the shadows. Once both parents got close to Subaru, Kenichi quickly cut down the shadow hands with Naoko assisting her son in getting back on his feet.

"Th-Thanks mom."

Naoko nodded at what Subaru said before the three members of the Natsuki household all try to get Sora out of there. Subaru with Naoko's help pick up Sora while Kenichi looks at Louis and is about to pick her up on his own until he heard Subaru shout to him,

"Don't! Leave her here."

"What? Why?"

"Just trust me on this."

"...sorry son but no can do."

Kenichi ignores what his son said, feeling a bit disappointed in the words his son said yet he brushed it off. As he was carrying Louis, they end up getting caught in the Witch's shadows with the witch herself slowly approaching Subaru's position.

Emilia and the others noticed this, forcing Emilia, Ram, and Rem to start firing their most powerful attacks in hopes of stopping the witch from doing anything to Subaru, his parents, and Sora.

As they tried to throw everything they got, the Witch just ignored the attacks since her shadows were protecting her from any harm. This caused the trio of girls to get more worried since they noticed that everything they are doing is useless.

"Subaru!"

"Sora-kun!"

Both Rem and Emilia shouted with fear in their voice, afraid that they will lose the two boys they each love respectively. Ram was also afraid of losing two friends she does care for, causing her to prepare to go all out with her wind magic. Rem noticed this and quickly advised her not to do that.

"Nee-sama, don't. You'll get hurt."

"I know but I won't let that witch hurt my little sister by taking away the boy she loves."

"...nee-sama..."

Rem was shocked when she heard this, seeing this side of her sister really did make her happy yet she was also worried that her sister would end up dead if she did this attack. Before either sister could do something, they all felt the room shaking which even caught the Witch's attention. They all turned towards another powerful aura coming from outside with Emilia knowing who it is.

This gave her confidence as a powerful attack made its way towards the witch's direction. This prompted the witch to quickly turn towards Subaru's direction before sending the shadows there. Subaru noticed this and quickly tried to react by summoning his Rebirth Keyblade to create a barrier for his parents and for his master to be protected. Just as he tried that, he felt the shadows overtake not only him but his parents, Sora, and even Louis. Subaru just looked at the witch for a brief moment before saying in a serious voice,

"You won't get away with this, witch of envy. I don't care how many times it takes, I'm going to save everyone."

"I love you. I love you. I lo—"

Everything went both dark and silent as the world was nothing but shadows, leaving Subaru to be on his thoughts for a moment.

'Back to this place again...just in my own thoughts...by myself...'

Subaru closed his eyes, knowing that regardless if he had them open or not, he would still see nothing but darkness. As he did this, all he could think about was how most of the failed loops only occurred because of Louis Arneb, how she took over his body and essentially created failed loops when the last one he made was the one back in the Sanctuary, where he got his first kiss with Emilia, the kiss of death. As he recalls that, he slowly starts to remember every death that his amnesia self along with amnesia Sora and amnesia Rem saw.

They all witnessed his death at the hands of Elsa, Puck, the Mabeast, Xigbar, and the great rabbit. Although it had been a little over a year for him since he felt death himself, he still feels guilty on how things had gone down in most of the loops. Before he could even fall into depression, he felt a strange power around him. This caused him to open his eyes to check it out. As he opened his eyes, he noticed a strange light shining in the darkness. He looked closely until he noticed that it was Sora that was shining in the darkness.

"Master!" Subaru said as he started to make his way towards the Keyblade Master, wanting to make sure that he is alright. As he was closing in, the light within Sora began to shine brighter which caused Subaru to be blinded for a moment before he was able to open his eyes. As the boy did that, he found himself in a field in the middle of the woods.

'Where am I?'

Subaru was unsure of what was going on since the dark void he was in was weird already. As he looked around, he noticed that his parents were there. This caused him to quickly get up and to run towards them, wanting to make sure they are okay. As he approaches his parents, both Naoko and Kenichi start to wake up, feeling a bit disoriented.

"Mom? Dad? Are you two alright?"

"Don't worry my baby boy, I think we will be fine."

"Y-Yeah. What about you, my son? How are you holding up?"

"I-I'm alright. I'm just glad that you two are okay."

Kenichi and Naoko both nodded at what Subaru had said, both of them feeling relieved that their son is alright. Before anything else could be said, Subaru looked to his right side and saw that Sora was there.

"Master!"

Subaru went charging towards Sora's location, wanting to make sure he is alright. As he approached the Keyblade Master, the boy was beginning to wake up. Once Sora was up, he looked around with a confused facial expression for a moment before noticing Subaru.

"Subaru? What's going on? How long was I out?"

"I...don't know. My parents, you, and me were all consumed by the shadows and then we ended up being in this strange field."

Sora took notice on what his apprentice and friend had said, prompting him to get up. As he was getting up, Subaru noticed that his master was looking a bit fatigue.

"Master Sora, are you sure you should be getting up? You don't look so good."

"Yeah...I'll be fine. I still have some energy."

"You should listen to my son, Sora. You don't look so good."

Sora and Subaru both turned towards Kenichi, having noticed his voice. As the two keyblade wielders turned towards Kenichi, they noticed both him and Naoko were approaching the two. Sora took a moment to process what Kenichi had said before looking at Naoko, wanting to know her opinion. She noticed this and quickly added her thoughts by saying,

"You should rest for a bit. You look very fatigued."

"...understood."

Sora nodded as he sat back down, allowing himself to rest. As he did this, both Subaru and Sora turned towards the same direction and noticed another person was with them.

"Who is that?"

"I don't know, let me check. You rest up, Master Sora."

"Alright."

Subaru pulled out his Rebirth keyblade as he slowly approached the unknown person near them, being cautious. As he was closing in slowly, he noticed that this individual looked oddly familiar with their long blonde hair. As he was thinking carefully, he eventually realized who it was.

'Louis Arneb! What is she doing here?'

Subaru stayed on guard for a moment as he did not trust the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony until he saw that she wasn't waking up anytime soon. This prompted him to lower his weapon while trying to figure out what is going on.

'I recalled that she can't leave the hall of memories so why is she here? What did the Witch of Envy do to us? What does this all mean?'

Subaru tries to puzzle everything together, knowing that something isn't right with Louis being here. As he was trying to figure this out, he could hear Sora asking him from afar,

"Subaru, who is it?"

"It's..." Subaru hesitated since he didn't want to tell Sora about Louis, still feeling like she is trying to play them yet he knew that lying is something he shouldn't do, especially to Sora of all people. "...Louis."

"Louis?"

Sora couldn't help but want to see this himself, prompting him to get up despite both Kenichi and Naoko telling him to stay and rest. As the Keyblade Master approaches Subaru's position, he notices Louis and is also a bit confused.

"Wait, what is Louis doing here?"

"I don't know...heck we don't even know where we are."

"Well then Subaru, let us explore a bit."

"Agreed but what about Louis?"

Sora noticed the question and was about to say that she is joining them, still holding on to the promise of helping her. Before he could say anything, Naoko and Kenichi both approached the two, the pair having overheard their conversation. Kenichi took a look at the sleeping girl and quickly without hesitation he picked her up while saying to his son,

"We don't leave little girls behind."

"B-But she is a Sin Archbishop!" Subaru said, trying to justify his reasoning for not wanting Louis with them. Sora noticed this and quickly responded,

"Still, she is no threat to us and she showed she wants to be good when we last spoke to her."

"Yeah but—"

"My son, let's first figure out where we are and find a safe place before we argue about this."

"...understood dad."

Kenichi nodded as he saw that his son understood what he was saying before the four of them start walking towards the forest with Subaru helping Sora walk, knowing that Sora is still fatigue from the fight. As the four of them start to walk away, two figures were watching from a distance. One of the figures that was holding a sword looked at the other figure to ask,

"Shall we capture him?"

"No...not yet. We must be patient."

"Understood...Pandora-sama."

Pandora smiled at Replica Riku before looking at Sora's group, intrigued by the events that happened in the Watchtower but now she is curious on how the boy will handle the new environment he is in.

"Please show me everything you can do...Sora."

Pandora speaks with a smile on her face, her eyes focused on the Keyblade Master.

Author's Note:

So this chapter took a while to make for two reasons:

1. Work, I was scheduled to work almost everyday which really put little time to write.

2. Family trip. Had a family trip which was crazy fun.

For some Q&As now:

1. So what happens next?

Well, I got the interlude between Arc 6 and Arc 7 to make before taking a bit of a break.

2. How long will the break be before posting Arc 7?

A month or two, I won't give up on this story since we are reaching towards the latter half. Just give me sometime to properly write the next arc since I have a lot that will happen.

3. Will any Kingdom Hearts characters appear?

Two new ones (though they are more Final Fantasy than Kingdom Hearts but they still exist within the KH lore).

4. Will it be following the Re:Zero Arc 7?

The location, yes. The way the story is going so far, no. There will be elements of Arc 7 here and there but overall it will finally reach the divergent point of my story and the canon story.

5. Lastly, Will Sora have more screentime than Subaru in this arc?

Yes, Sora will indeed have more time in the spotlight this arc though this will also be the arc Subaru gets his final big development.

I will say that I really enjoy this story and really want to give it my all to make it the best as I can. Which is why I will be fixing some of the older chapters, adding more context and more dialogue at some point but for now I hope you all enjoy this chapter.