Kingdom Hearts: Saving Life in Another World

by GreenWarrior291

After having defeated Xehanort and managed to have saved Kairi from her fate, Sora disappears into a dark abyss of Darkness. Just as it seems like it'll be an endless sleep for having abused the Power of Waking, an outsider manages to teleport the young keyblade wielder into a different world.

72. Pushed back

Chapter 68: Backed into a corner

Subaru slowly regains consciousness as he returns back to the moment before him and Sora sensed the darkness. As he was back on the same tree he had been laying for the third time, he held in the pain he was feeling since the way he died is still ingrained in his soul.

'Damn it! I didn't stand a chance at all against...whatever the hell he is!' Subaru thought this as he recalled what had happened with his invisible providence. His opponent not only took the unseen hand like it was nothing, allowing Subaru to see that whoever he is, he needs to be considered the big threat.

("I am...Sephiroth")

'Sephiroth...that name sounds familiar...' The boy tried to think of where he heard the name. The only thing he could figure is that his master probably had mentioned the name once or twice at some point.

He stood still for a second before deciding to get up, seeing that he needs to move quickly to get to his father. Just as he got up, Sora also got up as well, both of them having gotten up at the same time, both having different reasons in doing this. Sora looked at his apprentice and asked him,

"You felt that too?"

"...y-yeah..." Subaru was hesitant to say anything since the threat he is feeling is from the being with the longest sword.

Considering how weak he already is and how his master is barely holding on with his strength, he knows that the two don't stand a chance.

The boy looked at the sky for a second before turning towards the direction his father had gone off to.

'Great. We have to deal with Todd and Jamal, the heartless, and now this new threat...damn, just how fucked up my situation is...'

Subaru thought this since he has so much issues to deal with in little time. He turned towards Sora for a moment before saying with some confidence,

"I'll go after father...just go into hiding Master Sora...and protect mother." Sora looked at his apprentice, noticing that he is putting all of his faith on him to protect Naoko Natsuki.

The Keyblade Master stood silent for a brief moment before nodding with confidence, not wanting to let Subaru down. Before anybody could act, Naoko got in front of her son while saying in a concerned motherly manner,

"You need to rest, Natsuki Subaru. You aren't at full strength at all!"

"...I-I know mother...but I have to do this...to help dad..."

Naoko wanted to rebuttal what her son said, worried for his safety yet he could see the determination in his eyes to want to save his dad. She was still hesitant to allow her son to go into a fight that could get him killed.

"Your father can take care of himself. I'm not sending my baby boy to go and get himself hurt." Naoko pleaded since she doesn't want anything bad happening to her baby boy. Subaru caught this and knew that his mother was worried for his safety.

He himself was tempted to stand down since he doesn't want to leave his mother with the monster that has already killed him two times but he also knows that he needs to help his dad. He looked at his master once again, trying to avoid making him realize that he has looped.

"Protect her, please Master Sora."

Sora stood silent for a moment, noticing the determination in Subaru's voice as he asked him to protect Naoko. The Keyblade Master nodded before watching Subaru go off on his own, prompting him to turn towards Naoko to tell her,

"Come on, we should get to safety."

"Y-Yes..."

Naoko turned towards Louis to pick her up before following Sora to head somewhere nearby while she was thinking about her son, worried for his sake.

While Sora and Naoko were making their way towards a safe heaven, Subaru thought back on how things had gone in the first loop, noticing the same heartless appear in the same location.

Subaru had a confident smile as he managed to get through the heartless faster than he did previously, giving him a minute more in arriving to his father's location.

As he was closing in on his father's position, he used his greed authority Cor Leonis to check on his master, mother, and father. Once the authority was active, he saw that the three lights were still shining bright.

'Alright, father is alright for now. Could be because I'm getting to him faster before that giant heartless attacks him and the two warriors. Mother and Master Sora are both okay. That's good. I'm counting on you, Master Sora, to keep my mom safe.'

Subaru thinks this with a smile on his face, having some new confidence that this might be the final loop for this scenario.

'The goal is to get father to join me and to quickly join up with Master Sora and mother before we get the hell out of here before that guy with the long ass sword arrives.'

Subaru thinks of this plan, knowing that he doesn't want to deal with Todd and Jamal while also wanting to avoid the threat that has killed him twice already.

He also knows that something bad happens to his master and possibly his mother if he takes too long getting his father, making the boy aware that time is also a key factor in passing this loop.

Subaru continued to run for a bit until he arrived at his father's location, seeing that he is being confronted by Todd and Jamal.

'Of course I have to deal with them.'

The boy was annoyed at his luck yet this didn't discourage him. He knows that he can't show hostility so he refrains from having his keyblade out yet he is aware that he needs to be careful on what he does next.

If he played his cards right, he might get his father out of the area without becoming enemies with the two warriors. He started to approach his dad with the remaining strength left, knowing that he also has a limit before becoming useless.

As he was approaching his father, both Todd and Jamal noticed him which caused the two to be on the alert.

Jamal pulled out his sword to prepare for a possible fight with Subaru, meanwhile Todd managed to surprise both Kenichi and Subaru by grabbing the older member of the Natsuki household by the neck while having his axe near Kenichi's face.

"What are you—?" Kenichi tried to ask only to be cut off by both Todd and Jamal.

"Who the hell are you?" Jamal said.

"Speak or I'll hurt this man." Todd added to what his ally had said, causing Subaru to respond in a knee jerk reaction.

"Leave my dad alone!"

"Dad?"

Both Jamal and Todd looked at each other before looking back at the boy. Subaru tried to keep his calm and not summon his keyblade since that would cause both warriors to be even more hostile.

"Come on now...I'm not here for a fight or anything."

Subaru said while he was keeping himself calm with everything he got in him, seeing that Jamal was still hostile towards him while Todd was still looking with menacing eyes.

This was something Subaru noticed, causing him to wonder if this was the eyes his father was referring to in the previous loop. Todd continued to look at Subaru with an intimidating gaze before deciding to finally let Kenichi go.

Both Subaru and Kenichi himself were hesitant when this happened since they don't know why Todd is even letting Kenichi go. Natsuki Kenichi looked at Todd, locking eyes for a moment before asking in a curious tone,

"What is your deal?" Kenichi spoke while he was on his guard, something that Todd took note on.

"Just being nice." Todd responded without hesitance, causing Kenichi to be on his guard. The orange haired warrior turned towards his partner to tell him,

"Lower your weapon."

"..."

Jamal stood silent as he just gave a threatening gaze towards Todd.

While the two warriors looked at each other for a moment, Subaru himself slowly moved towards his father, having his guard up in the case either warrior tried anything.

As he was closing in on his father, he didn't waste anytime in giving him a hug which did surprised Kenichi along with Todd and Jamal.

"You okay, Subaru?"

"Y-Yeah, I'm just glad you are alright." Subaru says this as he was happy to see his father is still alive. Having experienced another death of his haunted him with the first being from Garfiel himself, the other few times being what he would deem Louis' fault and now with the latest death being by a threat that they can't fight at the moment with their current strength.

Todd and Jamal were blank about this, not having seen such weakness of emotion in a while yet this helped conclude that these two are not exactly a threat to them. Todd's eyes go into a more friendly manner while he puts away his axe, wanting to show a much friendlier side of himself while Jamal just put his sword away since he sees that no conflict will arise for now.

As the two warriors lowered their guards, Todd approached Subaru and Kenichi while speaking to the two in a much friendlier manner,

"Pardon me for having acted so rash. We were separated from our group by those dark creatures and we weren't sure if you two had anything to do with them." Kenichi looked at Todd and could tell that something was up.

Although the act itself didn't seem like a lie, Kenichi could see that there was something hidden within the carefree eyes of the orange haired warrior. Subaru turned towards Todd and tried to see if there was any malice behind his words yet all he found was just him speaking kindly towards them.

'Father in the first loop said that there was something with Todd specifically. He was a bit hostile though he had his reasons so...what exactly did dad meant by not trusting Todd?'

Subaru thought this as he just couldn't see what his father was seeing, at least for now he figured. Kenichi took a moment before closing his eyes while he responded to what Todd had said,

"It's fine. Anyway, mind telling us who you two are?"

"Ah yes, apologies. The name is Todd Fang. That there is my brother-in-law, Jamal Aurelie."

Kenichi and Subaru turned towards Jamal, seeing him wave at the two before turning his back on them as he focused on the forest itself for a moment. Subaru stood silent as he analyzed the situation of this loop.

Although Todd did threaten his father, he seems to be less tense compared to their first loop encounter, where he was being nice only to turn on them once he suspected that his father and him were somehow connected to the heartless being here. This time around, he was being nice with even Jamal giving the two a wave.

"Well, what brings you two here? I assume that you have been separated from your family unit." Todd spoke with a calm and friendly manner while also speculating Subaru and Kenichi's situation.

The two looked at each other, surprised that Todd somewhat figured this though then again the fact that they know they are father and son would give that notion. Subaru took this opportunity to respond to what Todd had said,

"Yes, my mother and ma—brother were with us until those creatures attacked."

"I see." Todd says as he begins to analyze what Subaru had said. Subaru takes a moment to think to himself on what he said, seeing that it would be wise for now to refer Sora as his brother. Jamal stood silent for a bit before saying,

"Well then, assuming we can found our weak group, maybe we can lend a hand to you weaklings."

For a moment Subaru paused as this was something he wasn't expecting at all, especially from someone like Jamal. This chain of events made him think on what could've change since there had to be something to have caused the two warriors to be nice to him and his father.

There is the fact that they haven't seen them take on the heartless, or maybe the keyblade, Subaru was unsure on what could be the trigger of this change. Before he could even try to come up with some more possibilities, the four of them notice a giant heartless spawning near them.

'Fuck! I completely forgot about this damn thing!'

Subaru thinks this as he also faced palm since he forgot about the darkside type heartless that his father and the two warriors were facing in the first loop. As he was giving himself a hard time, he was about to pull out his Rebirth keyblade in order to assist in the fight yet he paused for a second before becoming hesitant to do so since he doesn't want Todd and Jamal to turn on them.

He already has to deal with Sephiroth, he doesn't need the two warriors to give his group even more trouble. Kenichi and Jamal noticed the large heartless and quickly pulled out their swords while Todd pulled out his axe, all three of them preparing for a fight.

As the three were ready for a fight, Kenichi turned towards his son for a brief moment, noticing that he hasn't pulled out the keyblade. This prompted him to analyze what his son could be thinking before concluding that his son could be too tired and worn out from the events of the Pleiades Watchtower to use his keyblade.

He looked back at the large heartless while standing in front of his son, preparing to do everything in his power to protect him. Subaru took notice on this, surprising him for a second before hearing his father say,

"Just stand back, Subaru. Allow your old man to handle this!"

As Kenichi says this, he gives a confident smile at his son before looking at the heartless with a more confident look. Subaru was stunned for a moment, having been rare to see his father looking so badass.

This caused him to think back on the journey he has been so far, all of the struggles he had gone through from facing Elsa back when she was against them all the way towards the fight against the Witch of Envy in the Pleiades Watchtower.

("You leave Subaru...no, my friend...leave me friend alone!")

("You are my friend! I mean, it's true that I came here with you because it served my interests, too! First there was the oil, then you sending your allies to attack the Witch's cult which saved my life, and then there was promise of getting me an audience with the margrave...But...when you take all those favors out of the picture, I just think of you as a friend, Subaru-san. Though I'm not very fond of the way you treat me...But I figure that's just how close we are as friends.")

("Of course, we will always be by your side my son.")

("Anything for my baby boy.")

("So~orry! I just love you so much Master!")

("Aight, I trust ya both, Master, Captain.")

("Should this be the end, I just want you to know that I'm proud of you Subaru. You won back your keyblade and even managed to show that you have a strong heart.")

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

Recalling these memories caused him to not only to strengthen his determination but also to want to fight. Although he did refrain himself from pulling out Starlight or Rebirth, he was still able to prepare himself for a fight by having his remaining mana he had in his body to be prepared to summon the strongest yin magic he has in his disposal.

The large heartless looked at the four and quickly began its attack by moving its right hand back for a moment, creating a powerful dark energy barrier around before moving its right fist towards the ground near them. As he slammed its fist onto the ground, a small dark portal surrounded the fist with a few shadow heartless appearing.

Jamal noticed this and quickly targeted them first, figuring that Todd and the others can handle the big one. Todd noticed this and just allowed it, seeing that he needs to focus on the big one.

Kenichi waited for a moment before charging in towards the large heartless, seeing that it's head was within reach of being attacked.

Todd and Subaru both looked has Kenichi swinged his sword towards the heartless' head with enough force to look like he did damage.

"Take this!"

As Kenichi did some minimal damage, Todd took an opportunity to attack as well, seeing that he needs to do as much damage as he can if they want to win.

Subaru looked at his hand for a brief moment before looking forward, pointing his right hand directly at the darkside type heartless similar to how Beatrice would when she is preparing to use El Minya.

"Hey! Big guy!" Subaru shouted as he wanted to get the large heartless' attention. Kenichi and Todd both noticed this, prompting the two to quickly return back into attacking the large heartless. The darkside heartless looked at Subaru and prepared to do an attack until the boy said with a confident smile on his face,

"El Minya, you son of a bitch!"

The second Subaru had finished shouting, a large amounts of purple looking icicles appear on top of Subaru, all pointed at the large heartless. Todd and Jamal were dumbfounded by this since they never had seen anything like it while Kenichi was impressed by what his son is doing, seeing that he is giving his all into this one attack.

As he closed his hand, the purple looking icicles were send off towards the large heartless. After a few seconds, the yin magic ability managed to hit the large heartless, causing a lot of damage. This prompted Todd and Kenichi to look for a weak point, seeing that they need to take the heartless down quickly since Subaru's attack managed to weaken it.

As the two were closing in, Jamal looked at the situation after having taken care of the remaining shadow heartless, noticing that the large heartless was weaken. This caused him to join in, having his strength be added on the attacks on the heartless.

While the three were attacking the heartless together, Subaru stood standing for a few seconds before falling on one knee, seeing that he as reached the limit of his strength.

He looked at the ground for a moment before slowly looking up, seeing his father fighting alongside the two warriors against the large heartless.

'Heh...s-seems like they got this...'

Subaru thinks this as he knows that his yin magic was strong enough to weaken the heartless. Not only that but he sees that this time around, Todd and Jamal seem to be more willing to fight alongside him and his father.

While this was on his mind, he closed his eyes while he was activating his greed authority, wanting to check on Sora and his mother's status. As he uses Cor Leonis, he can see that at least at this moment both his mother and his master were alright.

'Okay. This is good. Master Sora is protecting mom. That's good...wait...'

Subaru paused his positive thinking when he noticed something off. He noticed that Sora's light started to fade for a moment.

'Shit! Could Master Sora be out of range or...did that bastard got to him?!'

As he thought this, he quickly put his focus back on the fight when he notices his father being send flying by one of the heartless' attacks.

Kenichi landed on his back near Subaru's position, causing the boy to quickly analyze the situation.

He noticed Jamal still landing a couple of strong hits at the heartless' leg while Todd kept a good distance, waiting for the chance to attack at the right moment.

'Damn, what can I do? I can't summon the keyblade without gaining suspicion from those two but that is the only weapon that could do enough damage to take this damn thing out.'

He thought and thought until something came to mind. He quickly assisted his father in getting up before pulling out Rebirth. Kenichi noticed this and was about to say something yet his son said to him,

"Use this. It'll help but make sure those two don't see the keyblade."

Kenichi stood silent for a bit as he heard what his son had told him. He looked at the keyblade for a moment before nodding at his son, understanding the importance of keeping the weapon a secret from the two warriors.

As Kenichi grabbed the keyblade, he turned around and quickly charged into the fight with Todd slowly closing in as he sees a possible opening for him to attack while Jamal was still able to land a couple of hits. Kenichi looked around and could see that the large heartless was preparing to slam its fist once again, noticing the dark aura surrounding the right fist.

This prompted the older Natsuki household member to wait for a moment, seeing that the heartless is about to give him an opportunity to strike where it would be most effective, the head. Todd and Jamal both noticed this, with Jamal quickly gaining his distance while Todd stood in place and waited.

The three waited until the large heartless slammed its fist at the ground once again, creating a dark portal around for the shadow type heartless to pop up. Jamal took notice of this and did not hesitate to go after the shadow heartless, seeing the little creatures as a nuisance.

Todd also noticed this and would want to get rid of them as well but seeing that he had an opening against the darkside type heartless, prompting him along with Kenichi to take this opportunity to strike the head. Both Kenichi and Todd together charged at the darkside type heartless to land their strongest hit on the top of the head.

In unison they swung their weapons at the heartless, landing a devastating hit that eventually caused the large heartless to move away from them for a bit, looking like the attack fazed it. Seeing this caused Todd and Kenichi to charge at it once again, both of them doing their best to reach the head before it is out of reach.

The two ran and ran for a bit but seeing that they weren't going to reach it in time, the two decided on their own to throw their weapons as hard and as fast as they possibly can to land some hit. As the two threw their weapons, Todd's axe landed first and managed to do some damage but the moment Subaru's Rebirth Keyblade landed on the darkside's head, the heartless faded away in a few seconds.

Jamal and Todd were both relieved when this happened since they had enough of dealing with the boss level heartless but what caught their attention was when a heart popped up for a second before disappearing.

"That's new." Jamal said as he found it a bit interesting. Todd was surprised by this since it's the only heartless that has ever done this. While the two warriors were analyzing what they just saw, Subaru's keyblade returned to him as it appeared on his hand.

Noticing this prompted the boy to quickly put away the weapon, not wanting to get on Todd and Jamal's bad side considering how nice they are this time around. Once he put his weapon away, both warriors approached him and his father while having their minds on what they just saw. Jamal crossed his arms and started to say,

"That's somethin' new. Have y'all seen anythin' like that?"

As Jamal asks this, Todd looks with a critical eye at both Subaru and Kenichi, seeing if they will lie to them or not. Subaru and Kenichi stood silent for a moment before the young Natsuki member responded to Jamal's question by saying,

"My dad and I have seen something like this before. I've seen it with two of the same large he—creatures before."

Jamal looked at Todd, knowing that he would detect if the boy was lying to them or not. Todd observed the way Subaru spoke, his eye movements, his body movements, and the tone of voice he spoke to see if the boy was lying while Subaru himself was confident on what he said.

He knows he isn't lying since he has seen the darkside type heartless show a heart, using the battle of the capital back when the royal selection was beginning for his example.

'Using that in mind, I'm sure I should be able to pass that one's lie detecting ability.'

Subaru thinks this as he looks at Todd, having noticed that the warrior was trying to find any hints of him lying. After a few seconds, the orange haired warrior sighed for a bit before turning his attention to his partner.

The two warriors had other patters to attend to yet they were curious to know more of Subaru and Kenichi, noticing that their outfits didn't match anything from around here.

"I don't think you've told us your names." Todd says this, knowing that the boy is at least Subaru since Kenichi mentioned his name. He waited for a moment until he got an answer from Kenichi himself.

"My name is Kenichi, this here is my son, Subaru. The two of us were traveling with my wife and...other son."

"We got separated and now we have to get back to them." Subaru added since he knows how dire the situation will get the moment Sephiroth gets himself involved. Todd and Jamal noticed the comment that was given by Subaru, causing the two to be annoyed by his show of weakness.

During the battle, the two warriors saw such incredible strength from the boy with the magic he used but his attitude right now is something they don't like.

"We got soldiers lost in the middle of this mess too, boy, but you don't hear us complaining." Jamal said as he wanted to fix this attitude. "If the other two members of yer family is strong, they will make it out alive."

Subaru and Kenichi both stood silent as they heard what the eyepatch warrior had to say, seeing that this place valued the strong over the weak. This was something Subaru was a bit aware of regarding how the kingdom of Vollachia values when he helped Emilia with her studies.

("Remember Subaru, Vollachia and Lugnica are not exactly on good terms with each other.")

'Right, they hate each other...that means dad and I will need to be super careful now.'

Subaru thinks this as he recalled something Emilia had told him, seeing that they are not only in enemy territory but also are in most danger.

'Of course, why not make things even more dire than before.'

Subaru sighs at his unfortunate situation yet he still stays positive, knowing that things are going well in this loop. Todd and Jamal are somewhat on their side and from what he saw with his greed authority he saw that his mother and master are alright.

Wanting to make sure that things are still the same, he closed his eyes and called on Cor Leonis. Once he did this, he paid close attention to Sora and Naoko's lights, seeing that they are still active.

'Okay, good. Seems like things are—'

Before Subaru could even finish his thought process, he noticed that Sora's strength was getting weaker for some reason.

'This isn't good! What the hell is going on with Master Sora?'

---

While Subaru went off to go help his father, Sora and Naoko both continue to make their way towards someplace safe with Naoko carrying Louis. As the two were speed walking to safety, Sora tried to figure out what was the darkness he felt before.

As this was on his mind, a few shadow heartless appear in front of the duo. This prompted the boy to quickly pull out Kingdom Key, preparing to protect Naoko and Louis. Naoko herself was a bit defensive yet she was concerned for the boy's safety since he isn't at full strength.

She wanted to stop this and to run with Sora but as she looked behind her and Sora, she noticed more heartless.

"Sora-san..."

"What's wrong?"

As Sora asks this, he looks back to see that more heartless were appearing all around them, making the boy see that the situation has gotten a tad bit tough. The Keyblade Master looked at his keyblade for a moment before beginning the fight on two fronts, seeing that he needs to protect both Naoko and Louis.

Just as the fight was going to begin, he started to call back a few times when he had to face a large swarm of heartless. The first one was when him, Donald, and Goofy fought over a thousand heartless when they were around in Radiant Garden with the second large fight being in the keyblade war itself.

For a moment this caused him to smile since he recalls how tough the two battles were and how he had his friends backing him up. He closed his eyes while thinking to himself,

'Donald, Goofy, I won't lose here.'

Sora smiled as he opened his eyes, ready to fight impossible odds. He took a moment to look around, analyzing that the only threats are just the shadow heartless, something he can take on despite how weak he is at the moment. Before going into battle, he looked at Naoko and quickly said to her,

"I'll open a path for you. Once you see the opening, take Louis and yourself to safety."

"But Sora-san...!"

"Please. Subaru asked me to keep you safe and I intend to keep that promise to my friend!"

Naoko saw this determination in the boy, surprising her for a moment since that is the same determination she sees in her son. This caused her to smile since she can tell that Sora had such an influence on her son, seeing how he isn't afraid to run into battle despite the odds being against him.

This caused her to close her eyes as she focused on her mana just like Beatrice had showed her. Once she felt the mana preparing to be summoned, she shouted,

"Shamak!"

Sora was about to face one of the shadow heartless until a sudden dark fog covered the area, blinding him for a moment. Before he could react to this, he felt a soft hand grab his arm and pull him towards a direction.

"Here, let me lead the way Sora-san."

"O-Okay."

Sora was surprised by this since he didn't expect Naoko to do some ability like this. He was aware that Subaru can use Shamak but he didn't know that Naoko can also do this.

'Wait, can Subaru's dad also do this?'

As Sora thought this, he felt his strength somewhat fading since he still hasn't had the chance to properly rest. He waited until after the two had passed the heartless and gained some distance from them to fall on his knees. As he did this, he tried to catch his breath while Naoko turned towards the boy with a worried motherly expression.

"Sora-san!"

"...d-don't worry, I'll be o-okay...just need a moment..."

Sora says this as he looks behind them, seeing that the dark dust was fading away with the shadow heartless all starting to turn their attention towards the two. Naoko wished she could fight yet she knows that if she keeps using any more mana, she would also be too weak to do anything.

("Giving up already? Come on, Sora. I thought you were stronger than that.")

'I...I won't give up, Riku!'

Hearing his best friend allowed the keyblade master to gain strength regardless of how its making him even more fatigued. Once he stood back on his feet, he had a confident smile as he prepared to fight the heartless on his own.

"Sora-san, we have to go."

"I know...but they will follow us regardless. As I said before, I need to get you and Louis to safety. Run while I give you the chance to escape..."

"No! I won't leave you behind!" Naoko said this as she pulled Sora's arm once again, prompting not only her but Sora to run deeper into the forest. Sora was a bit surprised that his body was running with Naoko despite how he was ready to fight the heartless on his own. He looked at Naoko and wanted to say something yet she could see the determination in her eyes, not wanting to leave anyone behind.

'Seems like Subaru got this from his mom...that's cool.'

Sora smiled as he thought this while he and Naoko ran with everything they got. The two ran for a bit until Sora suddenly stopped on his tracks, catching the attention of Naoko. She stopped as well while turning towards the keyblade master to ask him in a concerned voice,

"Are you okay, Sora-san?"

"Y-Yeah...I just felt..." Sora looked at his chest area as his heart felt something off. He had felt this dark feeling before yet he wasn't sure from where. This was the same feeling he felt when he and Subaru got up earlier. He stood silent for a few seconds before shaking it off. "Don't worry, it's nothing. Let's get going."

Naoko noticed this and wanted to say something yet she agreed with the Keyblade Master that they should be on the move. The two ran for a little bit until they noticed a cave nearby, prompting the two to quickly go inside for cover. As they were making their way towards the cave, Sora felt the intense darkness closing in on them. He looked at the direction the darkness was being emitted from and could see a few trees being destroyed.

'This darkness...it's strong...' Sora thinks this with a bit of fear in his heart, knowing that he doesn't have the full strength to take it on his own. He turns towards Naoko and quickly tells her that they should get to the cave as fast as they can, seeing that it is dangerous staying out here.

Naoko and Sora both manage to enter the cave in time with Naoko setting Louis down gently while Sora sat down with his back on the wall and keyblade still in hand. Naoko looked at the cave's entrance and waited for whatever threat to come in, preparing herself to use whatever yin magic she can muster.

The two waited for a moment before Sora got up, having felt that his body had rested enough for a moment, allowing him to walk towards the outside of the cave.

"Sora-san! What are you doing?" Naoko shouted at the Keyblade Master, concern that he is going to do something reckless. Sora stood silent for a moment before turning towards her with a confident smile on his face.

"Don't worry, I got this."

Just as the Keyblade Master said this, he went outside of the cave and waited to see who was the one emitting an intense darkness he sensed.

He turned towards his right side to that someone was approaching him while Naoko stood in a distance in the cave, hiding with Louis as she watched Sora take on whatever threat was approaching them.

After a few seconds of waiting, Sora was completely shocked as he saw someone he did not expected to see.

"Wait, you are..."

"Hm. It's been a while."

Sora looked as a familiar foe spoke with a bit of respect towards him, still wielding his very long kitana, the Masamune.

"...Sephiroth." Sora said the man's name as he recalled the last time he interacted with him, having been back during his second journey. He remembered his battle there in Radiant garden, having been a harsh one since Sephiroth was no mere opponent.

The one winged angel was one of the strongest warriors he had face, probably strong enough to even take on Xehanort at full strength. Sephiroth looked at the Keyblade Master for a moment, noticing that he has grown since the last time they spoke.

Before he spoke about the power difference he is feeling from Sora, he noticed the Keyblade in his hand, reminding the one winged anger on just how strong the boy is wielding such a weapon.

"Hm. I see you still have that weapon with you."

"Yes, the Keyblade is still with me. Now what did you do to Cloud?" The boy spoke with unwavering conviction, somewhat worried for his friend's sake due to how the last time he saw him and Sephiroth, the two were fighting with everything they got before disappearing. Sephiroth took note of this and responded to the question with a calm gesture while closing both his eyes,

"Cloud and I still have unfinished business. He is somewhere in this new world. I will find him and finish what we started."

As Sephiroth said this, he looked up at the sky with a serious facial expression, feeling annoyed since he needs to find Cloud but also excited to end their long feud. Sora took a moment to process what he heard from the one winged angel.

He was excited that he gets to see Cloud once again but he also is now worried since he doesn't know if his friend is alright. The only thing he knows is that he needs to stop Sephiroth from getting to him. He looked at his keyblade once again before getting into his fighting stance, showing that he is ready for a fight.

Sephiroth noticed this and smiled as he was curious to know if the keyblade wielder has gotten stronger while Naoko looked in fear as she can immediately tell that Sora will not last much in a fight. Sephiroth moves his weapon into position of fighting while saying to Sora,

"You know, I still wonder. Would that weapon change its mind in staying with you if I defeat you."

Sora was feeling a slight nostalgic since that was a similar line he heard from the one winged angel before their previous fight had begun. He waited a few seconds before seeing Sephiroth charge towards his direction.

Since he doesn't have enough strength to realistically block the attack, he uses all the strength he could muster to cast Reflecta. As he does this, the barrier quickly gets created just in time to protect Sora from one of Sephiroth's deadly attacks.

The one winged angel turns around to see that the Keyblade Master's barrier is still intact. The Keyblade Master looked around for a second to see that he managed to survive the attack.

'I...I have to win...no matter how tired I am...'

The barrier broke after a few seconds with a few light spheres appearing for a moment before causing a lot of explosions around. Sephiroth noticed this and stepped back to avoid the radius of the explosions but as he did this, Sora mustered all the strength inside of him to charge at his opponent, trying to go on the offensive.

Sephiroth noticed this which prompted a smile before blocking Sora's attacks, noticing two things. The first is that Sora is very weak but not by choice since he looks fatigue, as if he used all of his strength against a very powerful opponent. The second thing he noticed was despite all this, the boy still had the strongest will to fight.

"You still have a strong will, good. Let's see how long that will last"

Without hesitation or warning, he pushed Sora back, sending him flying while he charges towards the boy's position. Naoko noticed this and quickly focused the last mana she could muster into a yin attack she learned from Beatrice.

("Imagine yourself weaving mana, shaping your power into arrows, and crushing the enemy in a single, supreme attack, in fact.")

'Focus. Create a crystal like little Beako-chan said.' Naoko thought to herself as she kept focusing and focusing until finally she was ready to send her yin attack. Once she was ready, she moved her right hand to point towards Sephiroth's direction while shouting,

"El Minya!"

As she shouted this, a barrage of crystals were summoned above her, all pointed towards Sephiroth's location. Both warriors noticed this and turned towards Naoko's direction, noticing the crystals she had summoned.

Before the two could say anything regarding this, Naoko send all of the crystals to attack. Sephiroth stood still while Sora jumped back to avoid getting hit by the yin attack. As the attacks hit the one winged angel, purple dust starts to be created all around him for a bit.

Both Sora and Naoko waited for a bit until the dust settled to reveal Sephiroth still standing, as if nothing had happened.

'This can't be...' Naoko thought to herself as she was shocked by how her attack was ineffective against the man with the very long sword. Sora on the other hand expected as much, noticing that Sephiroth is a lot stronger than when they encountered each other in Radiant Garden.

"That was a unique attack, one I've never seen. It tickled at best." Sephiroth said this with a smile on his face, showing a hint that he is possibly going to attack her.

Sora took note of this which caused him to quickly get in between Naoko and Sephiroth, wanting to protect her from him. As Sora got in between the two, he pointed his keyblade towards Sephiroth's direction, catching the man's attention.

"You are very impressive, kid." The one winged angel spoke with much respects to the boy, seeing him as a worthy warrior. Sora stood with his serious face while also a bit surprise that someone like Sephiroth would even complement him. Regardless, he continued to look with a serious facial while saying to him.

"You will be facing me. Just me."

"Hm. Although that strong will is impressive, it is futile nonetheless."

Sephiroth without any mercy charged towards Sora's location, preparing to end this fight with one attack. Sora with his quick reflexes was able to block the attack just barely, seeing that he is being pushed back with Sephiroth's immense strength.

'I can't lose...I won't lose! No matter...how strong...Sephiroth is...I won't lose here!'

Sora thinks on his friends from both this world and beyond, thinking on how they are his strength and how he won't ever let them down no matter how hard things look. This helped the boy to keep Sephiroth from overpowering him completely.

The one winged angel was a bit surprised that Sora was still holding on despite looking like he is going to pass out at any moment. This caused him to smile before applying more strength on his attacks, slowly breaking Sora's guard.

Sora still fought with everything he got while Naoko watched helplessly, seeing the boy that helped her son break out of his shell being pushed to his limits.

'I wish I could do something. Sora-san won't last long in this fight and I'm too weak to use anymore yin magic...' She looked helplessly with a tear being created, feeling so much guilt since she can't fight or come up with something to change their situation.

As she thinks like this, she remembers how Kenichi had saved her from what would've been a massive mistake many years ago when they first met. She recalled how she almost when with some men but Kenichi stepped in and protected her. This made her wish he was here with them, him and their son, wanting to see their faces again.

'Please...fate...let me see them again...my family...'

While Naoko thought this, Sora continued to defend himself as best as he can until he realized that he physically can't move any faster or defend against the more aggressive attacks. This caused him to cast Reflecta once again, creating a barrier around him.

Sephiroth noticed this and quickly went off on a barrage of attacks on the barrier, slowly breaking it with each powerful hit. Sora did his best to hold the barrier, knowing that this is the last thing he can do before Sephiroth gets a chance to take him out.

'Hehe...sorry Subaru...seems like this was everything I could do...I'll just...leave the rest to you...'

Sora had a smile on his face, confident that his apprentice and friend will take care of the rest without him. After a few seconds, Sephiroth managed to break through Sora's barrier and was about to finish him off until he suddenly felt a darkness type attack directed towards him. This prompted him to use his weapon to block off the attack instead of finishing off the Keyblade Master. As he does this, a voice shouts towards Sora's direction,

"Don't give up, Ma—Sora! We are here to help!"

"Huh?"

Sora turns towards the voice he heard and noticed that it was Subaru speaking, barely able to stand on his own. Sephiroth took a moment to analyze the boy before noticing that there was something off about him.

"Who are you supposed to be?"

"Someone you shouldn't have messed with!" Subaru said with a confident smile despite being on his last strength.

"Huh?"

"What?"

Both Sora and Sephiroth did not understood what Subaru meant by this but before giving it any thought, the one winged angel managed to block a sneak attack coming from both Kenichi and Jamal. Sora and Naoko were shocked by this since they didn't notice when both warriors appeared yet they were happy to see that both Kenichi and Subaru are alright.

As Sephiroth blocked the attack, he pushed the two away from him with ease but before he could counter-attack, he noticed an axe thrown towards his direction. He dodged it with ease before noticing that this was merely a distraction for Todd to try and close the gap in hopes of landing a sneak attack with his knife.

Sephiroth wasn't fazed by this attack and just simply brushed the warrior aside by using his dark wing to knock Todd away from him. The warrior was sent flying for a bit but he managed to land on his feet, still ready for a fight.

"Hm. If that was your best, you are not a worthy warrior."

Sephiroth spoke as he didn't view Todd as a warrior worth his time. He was preparing himself to kill him until Jamal charged at him and started to go on the offensive. The one winged angel dodged each and every attack thrown towards him without breaking a sweat, causing Todd and Kenichi to both jump in on the offensive, hoping that the three of them could do something.

Kenichi charged into the fight with him grabbing Todd's axe and managing to hand it to him, giving the warrior a better chance of landing an actual hit. While Todd, Jamal, and Kenichi were all giving it their all to land some hit on the one winged angel, Subaru slowly approached Sora to check on him, happy that he made it in time compared to the first loop.

'This time I will protect you, Master Sora. I may not be at full strength like you, I'll do my best to protect you and my parents.'

As Subaru was thinking this, he got close to Sora to check on him, wanting to make sure he doesn't have any fatal wounds. As he was checking, he began to say to his master,

"We managed to gain those two as our allies. Todd Fang and Jamal Aurelie." As Subaru said this, Sora looked at the two warriors that were fighting alongside Kenichi.

"Who are they exactly?" The Keyblade Master asked, curious on the two allies and their origins.

"Dad and I don't know much about them but we know they are from Vollachia."

"Vollachia?" Sora asked since he doesn't know much on the kingdom. Subaru took note of this and quickly responded with,

"It's one of the four kingdoms. They value strength above anything."

"Strength..."

Sora ponders on this while Subaru watches the fight, seeing that his father and the two Vollachia warriors were giving it their all in an attempt to push back Sephiroth. The one winged angel continued to dodge with little to no effort, viewing this fight nothing more than a nuisance.

He looked at the three and for a second before quickly going for one of them. Kenichi noticed this and was able to dodge the attack but as he dodges the attack, Sephiroth manages to grab Todd's head and proceeds to slam him to the ground.

Jamal and Kenichi noticed this with Jamal angrily increasing his strength and speed of his attacks while Kenichi grabs Todd's axe to use against their shared opponent. As he does this, he looks and notices that Jamal was easily taken down with ease by using the bottom part of his long sword to hit the warrior by the side of the head.

This disoriented Jamal long enough for Sephiroth to try and land a killing blow only to notice Kenichi trying to attack him from the side. The one winged angel managed to dodge the attack just in time yet some of his hair was cut off by the axe Kenichi was holding.

This stunned him for a second since he hasn't seen a weakling that is nowhere near his level of power manage to barely get him.

"Seems like I have been too kind."

Sephiroth without hesitation managed to stab Kenichi in the right arm, causing him to drop his sword while feeling an intense pain.

"Dad!"

"Love!"

Both Naoko and Subaru shouted as they saw Kenichi get injured by the one winged angel.

Sora saw this and quickly managed to gain some mental strength to charge at Sephiroth, wanting to stop him before he does any more damage to Kenichi.

As Sora was closing in on Sephiroth, the one winged angel tossed Kenichi to the side while he blocked the Keyblade Master's attack.

"Impressive. You got strong despite having been weak a moment ago."

"I won't let you hurt Kenichi!"

As Sora shouted this, he continued to apply more pressure on Sephiroth, showing just how strong he was getting regardless of still being fatigue. While Sora was giving it his all, Subaru couldn't help but feel so much anger in his heart.

Flashes of seeing his father die in front of him, first from Garfiel's hands, then by many threats from the watchtower alongside his mother, and now by Sephiroth's hand back in the first loop in this forest. All of this caused the Wrath witch factor he called Canis Majoris to activate.

His body started to glow with a dark and red aura around, showing that he is going to use everything he has against the one winged angel.

"You...are not getting away...with that!"

Subaru with everything he had in him charged into battle, surprising everyone since they didn't expect him to have this amount of strength left.

Naoko and Kenichi wanted to stop their son from entering the fight, both worried that he could get himself killed.

Jamal and Todd both looked and started to see that they were wrong about the boy, seeing that he had a lot more strength than the two believed he did.

"What do ya think?" Jamal asked as he was assisting Todd back on his feet. Todd looked at Subaru with a key eye, seeing that he is no mere kid.

Although at first he suspected that the boy was hiding something, he believed that this was it.

"He looked weak with the emotions he showed us but maybe he was hiding the fact that he is actually strong. We should keep him close."

"Close? Why? He's just a kid." Jamal exclaimed since he doesn't see the complete value of having Natsuki Subaru close to them. Todd figured that Jamal would ask this, causing him to instantly respond with,

"We still have a mission to take care of and we want all the strongest people we can find."

"Hmph. I suppose you have a point."

As Jamal said this, the two warriors watch how Subaru got close to Sephiroth while the one winged angel was still pushing Sora's attacks back. Subaru passed by Sora and went straight for Sephiroth's face, wanting to end it all in one punch.

Sephiroth took notice of this and quickly punched the boy in the face with his left hand while holding his sword to block Sora's attacks with his right hand.

Although this would normally knock Subaru out, the wrath witch factor did allowed him to tank such an attack, giving him the chance to land the first hit on the one winged angel.

Everyone saw this and was shocked by it, seeing that Subaru managed to not only tank the attack but land an attack of his own.

"Well boy, I misunderstood you. I saw you as a nuisance like the rest but you have the same spirit as the Keyblade wielder here...this is quite intriguing."

Sephiroth noticed that Subaru is no ordinary boy or fighter. Just by the look of his eyes, he can see that this boy as tasted death before. This caused him to have some investment in him. Before he said anything, Subaru attempted to land another hit yet the one winged angel disappeared.

"Eh? Where did he go?"

Everyone looked around in confusion since they weren't expecting the one winged angel to all of a sudden disappear. They continued to look for a bit until Naoko looked up at the sky and noticed him, floating. She pointed her finger up and said,

"Look!"

Todd and Jamal both got up and looked up at the threat in front of them, floating in the air like its nothing. Kenichi got up with his arm still hurting and bleeding. Sora and Subaru both looked up with a serious facial expressions. Sephiroth smiled as he moved his left hand up, causing everyone to be on their guard.

"Time to take things a bit serious."

As Sephiroth said this, he created a couple of meteors to be send towards the group. Sora and the gang were all shocked for a moment before they stood their ground, each of them determined to fight head on against this attack.

Naoko and Kenichi could only sit back and watch, putting their trust in fate that their son and Sora can make it out alive. Todd and Jamal both knew that the odds were against them but running away would show that they were weak, forcing them to stand their ground out of principle.

Before Sephiroth did anything, the two warriors looked at Sora and noticed the keyblade.

'What an odd ass weapon.' Jamal thought to himself since he didn't think a key as a sword would do shit.

'That weapon...it's intriguing.' Todd thought to himself as he knew the weapon had some power behind it.

"Time to show you despair."

Sephiroth said as he send all of the meteors towards the four warriors, prompting Sora to point his keyblade directly at the sky. As he did this, he fired a beam at one of the meteors, managing to cause it to explode. Subaru knew that he had to do something as well since having any of the meteors close in on them would be bad.

He thought of all the painful deaths he has dealt with, from the hands of Elsa, Puck, the Organization members, the rabbits, and other causes. All of this allowed the darkness to be summoned in order to create a dark fireball.

Subaru could feel that his wrath authority is helping in making the fireball more powerful than originally but he can also feel his body reaching the time limit before he collapses from overusing too much of the Wrath witch factor.

'This better freaking work...I'm putting everything I got into this attack!'

"Take this!"

Subaru shouts as he puts everything he has into this attack, aiming it straight towards Sephiroth instead of the meteors thrown towards them. As he send the dark fireball, the aura around him disappeared with Subaru collapsing to the ground.

"Subaru!"

"My baby boy!"

Both Naoko and Kenichi shouted with fear as they saw their son using everything they had in him. Sora, Todd, Jamal all three noticed this yet they had to keep their focus on the meteors making their way towards them. Sephiroth saw the fireball heading straight for him, prompting him to slice it in half.

The second he did it, the dark fireball exploded in a wide radius, catching the one winged angel off guard as he got caught on the explosion. Everyone was shocked by this for a brief moment before Sora used a few more beams to destroy the rest of the meteors before they hit the ground.

As Sora managed to do this, him along with Jamal and Todd lowered their weapons as they watched the dust settle from Subaru's attack having landed on Sephiroth. While they waited, Todd couldn't help but look at Subaru with more interest in his eyes.

'This boy is more than impressive. He is very powerful but...'

Todd had a pause since he knows that powerful people tend to always cause a lot of trouble for everyone since they are either a threat or attract more powerful and dangerous foes.

This eventually made him turn towards the Keyblade wielder, noticing the odd attire he was wearing. Not only this but also the strength he was emitting despite looking fatigue.

'This must be the brother Subaru spoke of. Sora, was it? He needs to be kept an eye on. Him and Subaru.'

Todd thought this since he knows how much of an asset they can be but also how much of a threat they can also be. As the dust settled, they all saw Sephiroth unscathed which left the three remaining fighters to keep their guards up.

"That was unexpected."

"I suggest you flee while you can, asshole." Jamal said as he was confident that the three of them can finish the one winged angel off. Sephiroth couldn't help but chuckle at this little statement, prompting him to start having a pinkish red aura glow around him for a brief moment.

Sora knew what this was and quickly tried to fire a beam at Sephiroth only to see that his magic ability is temporarily unavailable.

"Oh no..."

Sora was left in shock as he knew that he had no counter for Sephiroth's ability, heartless angel.

Todd and Jamal prepared themselves for a fight only for the two warriors to notice an odd greenish aura surrounding Jamal for a moment before it exploded around the one eye-patched warrior, sending him flying towards a tree.

Todd saw this and quickly approached Sora, seeing that the boy knew that this would happen.

"What the hell did this bastard do to my ally?!"

"He used an ability that drains your strength. He will be fine." Sora said as he tried to keep a calm composure. Todd looked up as he wanted to respond in a hostile manner to the Keyblade Master yet he along with Sora noticed Sephiroth charging at the pair.

Sora waited for the right moment before using his remaining strength to block off the attack, giving Todd an opening to try and strike down the one winged angel.

Just as Todd swinged his axe, Sephiroth quickly moved a step back before lifting his arm up, beginning to create pillars of fire. The Keyblade Master was well aware of this ability and quickly grabbed Todd and shoved him while he dodged roll out of the way just in the nick of time.

As the fire pillars surrounded Sephiroth, fire was slowly beginning to spread around the area which caused Todd to realize that this is a death sentence if they continue to fight such a powerful foe.

"We need to get out of here."

"I know but he won't let us leave just like that." Sora said as he knows that Sephiroth isn't the type to just let his opponents leave. Todd looked at the one winged angel and could see that this is the power that could destroy the kingdom he serves. Before he could come up with a plan, someone spoke to him directly with an aggressive like tone,

"Don't ya start thinkin' like a coward! We can take him!"

Todd and Sora both turned to see a weakened yet motivated Jamal approaching the two, ready to continue the fight regardless of how damaged he looks.

"Don't be stupid, Jamal. You look like your going to die in one hit."

"That's how it should be! Die in the battle field against a powerful foe like a true warrior!"

"Yes, you are right but think of your sister. She would be sad if you died."

Jamal gave a sharp look at Todd the second he finished speaking, disliking how he brings up his sister into the conversation. He stood silent for a second to think before turning his attention to Sora.

"Kid, do ya have a plan?" Jamal spoke to Sora with a serious tone, hoping that the boy with the key as a strategy of attack that doesn't involve retreating. Sora noticed this which caused him to think on what he could do. He knows that the three together don't have the power or strength to do any real damage to Sephiroth considering that they are not only fatigued from the fight but Jamal and himself are at their last stand.

'There has to be a way out of this...' Sora thinks to himself desperately since he knows that he has to do everything in his power to keep everyone alive, especially Subaru. He turned to look at his friend, seeing that he is still conscience but completely unable to get back up due to overusing his Wrath authority.

This gave Sora one last push to allow him to slowly walk towards Sephiroth's position. Todd and Jamal both noticed this, prompting Jamal to start following the Keyblade Master as he found him amazing that a young boy like him is going into battle regardless of the odds, causing him to respect the boy.

Todd was a bit hesitant at first since he analyzed the situation and knew that this was suicide but he also found this amazing that the boy was still willing to fight regardless of the odds.

'Subaru, pushed himself beyond his limit. Sora, pushing himself beyond what he is capable of. Yeah, I can see how they can be brothers. Two stubborn brothers.'

Todd thought this while he had a serious facial expression, finding this quite annoying but also amusing. He joined both Jamal and Sora as the two were closing in on Sephiroth.

"You two are crazy, you know that."

"It's called having some pride, Todd. Remember, only the strong survive." Jamal said this as he knows for a fact he will survive. This was something that reminded Todd on how they need to show strength regardless of how hopeless the situation looks. Once the three were close to Sephiroth, they raised their guards with Sora being the one to say,

"We won't lose here!" Sora shouted as he was prepared to give it his all.

"Hm. Strong spirit but this won't be enough to defeat me." Sephiroth spoke with a bit of disappointment, seeing that the boy that was pretty skilled back in Radiant Garden is now too weak to be a challenge. Before the fight started, Jamal shouted with a boastful tone,

"Doesn't matter, we are gonna kill yer ass!"

With that, the three charged at the one winged angel with everything they had, motivated by different things. Todd and Jamal using their pride to keep them motivated in fighting against the deadly opponent. Sora is motivated by those that are counting on him.

Subaru, Naoko, Kenichi, Emilia, Rem, Ram, and everyone else including Satella. As the three went on the offensive, their shared opponent just looked at the three with a blank facial expression before easily tossing them to the side with one attack.

Sora and Todd both managed to land on their feet while Jamal hit another tree, this time being knocked out by the impact he took. Todd and Sora both noticed this yet they couldn't do anything about it since they are the remaining two who can take on Sephiroth.

"If that was the best you got, then you two are just wasting my time. I should be looking for Cloud."

"Then I'm more motivated to stop you!" Sora shouted as he wants to keep Sephiroth away from Cloud. As Sora was closing in on Sephiroth, he swung his Kingdom Key with everything he had in him, wanting to defeat Sephiroth right here and now for the sake of his friends. While he was doing this, memories of Cloud started to appear in his mind.

("I'm looking for someone. Hades promised to help. I tried to exploit the power of darkness, but it backfired. I fell into darkness, and I couldn't find the light.")

("For your light? Don't lose sight of it.")

("I'm not interested in what becomes of this world. Besides, you and the others should be enough to handle things.")

Sora remembered all these moments with Cloud, allowing him to all of a sudden glow with his keyblade changing into something different. Subaru, Todd, Kenichi, and Naoko all four noticed this, leaving them shocked while Sora himself hasn't noticed anything.

Sephiroth moved his sword to try and block off the attack only for his guard to break with the sudden power up from the Keyblade Master. As Sora succeeded in doing this, Sora swung his powered up keyblade directly at Sephiroth's chest, managing to land a powerful hit.

This send the one winged angel back a few feet, surprising him since this power was unexpected. Subaru noticed this and couldn't help but think to himself,

'Still a badass, Master Sora.'

Kenichi and Naoko both smiled as they saw that although Sora was weak, he still finds some way to gain strength. Todd himself saw this as the embodiment of Vollachia's method of strength, someone who will surpass all those that stand in their way. As Sephiroth stood back in shock, Sora's glow faded away with the keyblade disappearing.

"Huh?"

"What's going on?"

"Master...?"

Everyone was shocked by this as they witnessed Sora collapse to the ground, having passed out from using all the strength he had in him. Out of everyone who was shocked by this, Subaru was the one feeling this along with despair.

'We worked so hard in this loop, each and everyone of us...even those two questionable allies have given it their all only to fail here...' Subaru paused his thoughts as Sora's body collapsed fully to the ground, leaving the boy start to have an intense anger grow within him. 'Master Sora...you pushed yourself beyond your limits. I can't accept this. I can't accept this loop ending like this! After all the hell we all have gone through, I won't give up!'

This was enough to cause the Wrath Witch factor to return back with a vengeance, increasing Subaru's strength and defense once more but also making his body get destroyed slowly since he started to cough a bit of blood.

"Subaru!"

"Don't worry dad...I got this...!"

As Subaru finished saying this with a struggle, he gets on his two feet, showing that he isn't done fighting just yet. He closed his eyes and calmed his mind, allowing Canis Majoris to turn off which left his body hurting yet he did not falter.

He continued to stay standing while summoning Rebirth, seeing that this is the only way he has a chance in winning the fight. Sephiroth took note of this which caused a smile to appear on his face, a bit interested that a boy like him as the keyblade as well.

"Didn't think you would wield such a weapon."

"Not a lot of people do but..." Subaru paused himself as he started to use his formchange, having his clothing change into a more sage like attire with shadows surrounding the ground he stood on similar to how Satella's shadows surround the ground she stands on. Todd and Sephiroth were a bit interested by this since both wouldn't think that Subaru was hiding a form like this.

"Let's see if you will entertain me." Sephiroth said this as he slowly started to approach Subaru, waiting until the boy does something to start the battle. While this was happening, Subaru turned towards Todd and said,

"I'll keep him distracted for as long as I can. I entrust you to get everyone out of here."

"Are you sure about this?" Todd spoke in an intimidating tone of voice, wanting to see if the boy was serious on the matter. Subaru didn't fully trust Todd but he knew that he needed to get everyone out of here before they get killed by Sephiroth. Even if he does die, he wants to at least give the others a chance to escape.

"It's better than all of us dying, is it not?"

"...you make a point." Todd said reluctantly, having also seen that this is a better plan. Subaru just gave him a look before turning his attention towards the one winged angel, knowing that he needs to act now. He pointed his left hand towards his opponent while smiling as he is using a similar attack that Satella used on Louis when she controlled Subaru's body.

'Let's try this for a start.'

Subaru's shadows along with the Sloth witch factor all charged directly at the one winged angel, catching his attention for a moment before he easily took them down with one slice of his long blade.

"Is that all?"

"Not quite."

Subaru charges in towards Sephiroth's position, summoning both Rebirth and Starlight as he prepared to duel wield against his opponent. Sephiroth remained unfazed by this and waited until Subaru went on the offense, prompting him to block each attack like it was nothing. While Subaru was giving it his all, Todd went to get Sora as he was the closest one and the one that was in immediate danger compared to Jamal.

As the orange haired warrior got to the Keyblade Wielder's position, he grabbed him and started to carry him away from the battle. While he did this, Todd inspected Sora for a bit before looking forward, his goal being to reach Kenichi and Naoko's position to hand them Sora. As he was running, he had some thoughts about the Keyblade Master.

'You are still young, powerful but young. You remind me of the divine generals. Perhaps you might become one of them though...until I know you, you and your family are going to be watched.'

With that, Todd as set his mind into keeping an eye on these group of people, seeing that they are something that he needs to understand better to determine for himself if they are allies or enemies. As he approached the two, Kenichi offered to carry Sora despite his arm still hurting and bleeding from the attack he received from Sephiroth. As Kenichi did this, Naoko quickly went to check on Louis.

She turned towards her left side and went a little bit into the cave to see that the little teenage blonde girl was still in deep sleep. This caused for some concern from Naoko since Louis as been like this since they had arrived to this land yet she knew that this wasn't important for now. She grabbed her and started to carry her before returning back to the group. Todd looked and noticed that Naoko was holding a little girl in her arms, prompting him to be suspicious and curious on what's going on.

"Who is that?"

"...that's our little girl, Natsuki Louis." Naoko said immediately as she did not wanted to draw any suspicion from the Vollachia warrior. Todd looked at Naoko before looking at Louis, keeping his suspicions to himself since this was something Subaru never mentioned when speaking about his family. This was something he will question later but for now his attention was getting to Jamal, seeing his ally is still knocked out from the hit he received.

While Todd did this, Naoko and Kenichi both turned towards their son's direction, seeing that he is still giving it his all against Sephiroth despite looking like his progress is nothing but failure. Sephiroth eventually pushed Subaru back with a simple kick to the chest, forcing the boy to quickly use a shotlock he learned from Sora when he was using the Starlight formchange back before they went to Priestella. Subaeu put both Rebirth and Starlight together as they started to form a large dark sphere.

"I may not be strong but I won't give up! Not here! Not now!"

As Subaru finishes speaking, the dark sphere begins firing dark projectiles directly at the one winged angel, each one growing in strength and speed while also managing to summon his invisible providence to try and grab his opponent. Sephiroth did not see these as a threat and quickly started to block each of the dark projectiles with a swing of his blade, showing that they are not a threat to him.

Subaru figured as much since he isn't the strongest warrior out of the Emilia camp but also he is still recovering his power and strength from the fight against the Witch of Envy. Regardless, Subaru continued to fire a barrage of dark projectiles until he found the right opportunity to change from darkness to light.

Thinking about Emilia, Sora, his mother, his father, Rem, Ram, Garfiel, Reinhard, Otto, and everyone else that has been on his side allowed the shadows to disappear and turn to light with his dark attire also changing into a more brighter one.

Once he does this, he makes both Starlight and Rebirth to disappear before managing to create two light spheres on each hand.

'Haven't had a chance to try out this little trick...hopefully it does the job.'

Subaru throws both light spheres directly towards Sephiroth with everything he got in him. The one winged angel looked at these light spheres for a second before slicing the two in one swing. At first he assumed nothing would happened until all of a sudden the light spheres exploded, prompting Sephiroth to jump back to avoid getting caught in the blast of light.

As this happened, Subaru continued to make more of the light spheres and proceeded to continue throwing them towards the one winged angel since this could distract him long enough for his family, Sora, and the two Vollachia warriors to escape. This continued for a bit until finally Sephiroth got annoyed of this and quickly managed to teleport towards Subaru's position.

"That's enough."

"What?!"

Subaru turned and saw the long sword swung towards his position. Using his formchange ability, he created a force field strong enough to push back the attack, avoiding being killed. As Subaru did this, Sephiroth's simple attack managed to break the shield down which caught the boy off guard for a second before quickly recovering with a few more light spheres.

Sephiroth easily cut them down and prepared to try and slice Subaru's head off only for the boy to revert from light to darkness by thinking back on his failed loops, on how he failed to help his friends and family there. As his clothing looked more dark with the shadows having returned, Subaru used one of Satella's tricks from a failed loop created by Louis and began to use by having a couple of shadow hands to try and pin the one winged angel down.

Sephiroth noticed this and once again easily took the hands out with one attack. Subaru expected this and quickly created another dark sphere with both of his keyblades, summoning another barrage of dark projectiles. Sephiroth quickly teleported away, avoiding the projectiles.

'Shit! Of course he would do a fucking move like that.'

Subaru looked at his surroundings for a bit, trying to pinpoint where exactly Sephiroth is going to appear. As he looked and looked, he eventually heard his voice speak behind him,

"Perish now."

"Huh?"

Subaru turned around and felt the area heating up for a second before noticing a pillar of fire being created beneath his feet. He jumped out of the way as fast as he could yet his left arm got caught on fire for a moment.

Subaru quickly used the shadows to cover the flames before he got even more burned. Once he did this, the fire was gone but he was left with horrible burned marks on his left arm.

"Fuck! Fuck! This fucking hurts!"

Subaru shouted as he was enduring a lot of pain. While he was doing this, Sephiroth put out the pillars of fire while looking at Subaru with a blank facial expression.

"Another Keyblade's chosen one. I wonder how someone as weak as you would have been chosen by such a weapon."

"Hmph. I get that a lot but I have earned the keyblade! After all the hell I had to go through, I earned both keyblades!"

As Subaru shouted this, he got up once again and prepared to use his shadows once again to hopefully land a hit on the one winged angel. Just as he was going to go on the offensive, he heard his mind speak to him once again similar to the previous loop.

(Looks to me like you need some help.)

'You again? Who the hell are you?!' Subaru thought to himself, wondering who that voice belongs to since he knows it is familiar. Before he could figure something out, he felt a surge of darkness covering him more than the shadows themselves from his formchange.

'Wh-What the hell is going on?'

(Although it would be amusing to let you die, I will also perish. Allow me to temporarily take control.)

As Subaru heard this, he saw Sephiroth charging in towards his position in rapid speeds, attempting to kill him in one blow. Before he could react, he was stunned when he suddenly felt his body act on its own by dodging the attack with ease.

"Wh-What?"

"Hm?"

Both Sephiroth and Subaru were shocked by what just happened, having been something unexpected for the two. Before anything else was done, Subaru's body pulled out Rebirth and began to go on an offensive against the one winged angel, this time giving him a bit of a challenge as the attacks were a lot more impactful than his previous ones.

"I see. Showing your true strength now right when everything seems hopeless."

'Hehe...I wish I could brag about this but...I have no clue what I'm doing!'

Subaru thinks this as his body was able to do many crazy moments on his own, some that he never thought he would be able to do. As Subaru's body continued to go on an aggressive offense, managing to keep up with the one winged angel for a bit until Sephiroth finally started to take the fight a bit serious.

"That's enough."

He said this once again as he began to move with incredible speed, forcing Subaru's body to go on a the defensive while Subaru was just watching with shock. This kept up for a bit until the one winged angel teleported away for a moment to create a couple of light orbs while saying,

"Give in to the dark."

Subaru looked around to see that he was surrounded by dark looking orbs, knowing that these are dangerous. As he was going to act by creating a barrier, his body decided to just swing his keyblade at the light orbs to destroy them as fast as the body could to avoid taking any damage.

Sephiroth waited for the right moment before trying to sneak attack his opponent by teleporting right in front of him with his sword preparing to stab into the boy's chest area. Subaru saw this and managed to regain control of his body for a brief moment to summon the Starlight keyblade on his left hand to block off the one winged angel's attack.

"You are not getting me like that!" Subaru said in a serious voice as he refused to get cheap shotted by his opponent. As he had a serious facial expression, his body acted on his own once again only this time using both Rebirth and Starlight against the one winged angel.

Subaru stayed on the offense for a bit until eventually Sephiroth started to teleport all around the boy, waiting to catch him off guard before finishing the fight with one attack. Subaru looked around for a moment before noticing that Sephiroth is about to teleport to his right side. Having this in mind, he moved his left arm towards the direction and prepared a dark fireball.

'I don't know what is going on with my body but I do know that this should get you at the very least, asshole!'

He fires the attack and manages to land a hit as the second Sephiroth teleported, the fireball hit his dark wing which caused a powerful explosion to occur. Subaru smiled as he landed his very own hit while getting himself ready for what comes next. There was a moment of pause before he noticed the light orbs surrounding him once again.

'This again?'

(Hmph. This is quite annoying like you.)

'Oh shut up, stupid voice.'

Subaru spoke to the voice in his head in a hostile manner before turning his attention forward, waiting for the one winged angel to make a move. He waited for a few seconds before noticing his body taken over once again as it managed to dodge Sephiroth's quick attack.

While he was moving quickly, Subaru could see that Sephiroth was enjoying the fight, noticing that some of these moves he was doing were not only super fast but also extremely strong.

'Just how strong is he?' He thought to himself as he can feel Sephiroth's strength equal his boosted up strength. The fight continued for a bit until his opponent landed a kick on him, sending him flying into a tree. The second Subaru's back hit the tree, the darkness covering him had disappeared along with reverting into his regular cloths from his formchange one.

"Damn..."

"Seems like that's all you can do now." Sephiroth said as his tone was turning into more serious one. "Time to perish."

He pointed his hand and prepared to finish off Subaru until the two heard an odd noise that caught their attention. The two looked at the direction of the noise and waited for a moment before seeing a giant mabeast snake appear.

'Mabeasts?! Here?!' Subaru was shocked by this since he didn't think that there would be Mabeast in Vollachia.

"Hmph."

Sephiroth looked with annoyance before attempting to kill the large snake with one hit. Just as he was about to do this, he noticed a shadow cover the mabeast snake for a moment before revealing to have a familiar symbol on its head.

'Wait, that's the unversed symbol! Why is that there?!'

Subaru was surprised by this since he is aware that only Vanitas is capable of creating unversed, considering that he made the White Whale into an unversed version of itself. Before he could even find some answers to this, he noticed a couple of basic unversed creatures popping from the ground.

Eventually enough unversed surrounded Sephiroth, leaving him a bit curious on who could be behind this attack. He knows it can't be Subaru since he doesn't sense this kind of power in the boy himself yet he does sense something else. The unversed all tried to gang up on him yet he was able to easily take them down with ease.

While he did this, a couple more unversed appeared of all kinds of forms, all attempting to overpower the one winged angel. Subaru looked at this as a chance to try and take down his opponent. He summoned Rebirth and prepared to charge in only for the voice in his head to advise against this.

(As much as I want to see you fail, this is the time for you to run.)

Subaru paused himself as he heard this, feeling himself dizzy for a brief moment. As he felt this, it reminded the boy that his body was running on adrenaline, and he will eventually pass out from all the damage he took.

'Live to fight another day, I guess.'

Subaru chuckled at this thought for a bit before running at the direction his father, mother, and Todd had gone, seeing that this might be the loop he can survive with everyone still alive. While he ran for a bit, Sephiroth attempted to catch up to the boy, not wanting him to escape his grasp yet the number of unversed continued to increase, blocking his path in the process.

Subaru turned around to see that this was happening, prompting him to run faster since he has the perfect opportunity of escape. While he was running with everything he had, he slowly started to lose conscience since he had pushed his body beyond its limit similar to how his master had pushed his body beyond its limit.

'Hehe...seems like...I kinda pushed my luck...damn, I think I received...Otto's bad luck...'

Subaru smiles as he thinks this before falling to the ground, with his Rebirth keyblade disappearing. As he was on the floor with his face on the mud, Subaru couldn't help but have a smile on his face since he knows that he did his best to keep everyone alive despite failing on surviving himself. With his conscious fading away, the last thing on his mind was Emilia, wondering what exactly she's up to. Just as he passed out, the voice in his mind spoke out to him,

"Sleep you so called 'Keyblade Wielder'. This body will be mine."

---

A wolf human looked around the abandoned temple near the city of Banan, having taken a job in stopping something causing so much trouble. He smoked a bit of his pipe before creating a clone of himself, wanting to explore as much of the area as he is solving an issue.

'Hm. Hopefully I can get th't spirit t'stop.'

As the wolf human thinks this to himself, he looks at his clone to see if he is still alive. As he turns, the clone looks around with a Kunai ready.

The clone seemed to notice that there may be danger ahead which prompts the original to pull out his Kunai in the case he has a run in with the spirit he is after.

While slowly approaching the building, he could tell that something is wrong since there would normally be a wall of deadly wind guarding the place.

'Were the reports wrong th's time? Or is somethin' else at play here?'

The wolf human entered the temple with caution, knowing that something is a miss with his clone following him, also having a bad feeling.

"What do ya think, me?"

"I suspect th't somethin' is off here."

"Split up?"

"Sure."

The original wolf human creates two more clones of himself in order to cover more ground while also hoping that he can find the orb along with a killer spirit. After a moment of searching around, the four wolf humans meet up in the center of a large room, all four having entered from four different locations.

The three clones reported their findings, seeing the place abandoned like it was stated in the reports but it seemed like the spirit they are after had left all of a sudden. This caused for concern to the main wolf human since he knows the spirit, it wouldn't leave without something driving her out.

While thinking of what could've been the cause, the four wolf humans immediately got their Kunai out as they sensed danger nearby.

"Interesting, I didn't think you would notice me." An unknown voice spoke out. All four wolf humans turned towards the voice to see someone with an eyepatch, black coat, dark hair with several grey streaks tied into a long ponytail. The wolf human stood still for a moment while having his guard up.

"Who're ya?" The wolf human had said in a calm manner.

"Just someone who was ordered to find you, Halibel the Admirer."

The original Halibel was cautious when he heard this, viewing the person in front of him as a threat.

"What's yer name?"

"My name? I've been going by Xigbar these days...but it won't matter in a moment. You are what the old coot needs right now."

"Old coot?"

As Halibel questioned this, he felt another presence nearby him and the clones. The four Halibels turned towards the new person in the room to see and old man with different attire to Xigbar. As the old man that Xigbar referred to as 'old coot' was approaching the four Halibels, the four noticed that the old man was holding a light sphere.

"Wait, that's—"

"The light sphere from the Great Spirit of Murder, Zarestia."

Halibel stood silent for a moment as he was shocked that some old man managed to successfully get this from the spirit he was after. Although this would basically mean that his mission is complete, he doesn't trust the two people in the room since he can sense an odd darkness.

"What're ya plannin' with th't sphere?"

"None of your concern...but we do need your assistance."

"Assistance? In what?" Halibel spoke with caution.

The old man and Xigbar both look at each other for a moment before nodding, agreeing in something that made Halibel to get himself ready for a fight. The old man put away the light sphere through a portal before pulling out his keyblade.

Halibel noticed the weapon the old man summoned and was intrigued by this since he hasn't seen any weapon like this. Before anything can be said, the old man fired a barrage of dark projectiles at the four Halibels.

The admirer of Kararagi and his three clones all quickly act by moving around the room using the shadows, avoiding the attacks.

The old man and Xigbar both noticed this and found it interesting on how easily the wolf human managed to avoid the attack.

"He is getting away, you old coot."

"I know but he won't get far."

The old man said as he put away his keyblade, confident that their target will be caught. Halibel and his clones all had separated around the abandoned temple as they each tried to escape the two threats only for each of them to get trapped by some odd looking cards.

"What's th's?"

"You just gambled the wrong move."

A voice spoke out before the cards managed to trap all of the four Halibels into their separate cards. As this happened, the organization member managed to collect all four Halibel cards before approaching Xigbar and the old man. Once approaching the two, he handed the four cards to the old man.

"Here you go, Xehanort. It was oddly easy than I expected."

"Good work, Luxord." Xehanort says as he looked at the cards, seeing that they combined into one Halibel card. While he looked with interest, Xigbar crossed his arms and began to question Xehanort on what he is planning.

"Remind me old coot, what will this 'Admirer' is needed for?"

"...he will serve his purpose, pushing Sora into summoning a power."

"What power?" Luxord asked with a curious tone.

"One that lies within him." Xehanort said calmly before creating a corridor of darkness for the three organization members to go through it, knowing that they have to check on what Sora and Subaru are up to.

Just as they leave, the temple had a moment of calmness with nobody in the premise. Nobody for a brief moment until an odd power arrives at the temple.

This person looks around the temple, noticing traces of the light sphere. Eventually the person starts destroying things while beginning to say in anger,

"Where...is my sphere...?!"

---

Author's note:

So it as been a year since I started this story. Honestly, I'm proud of it. Yeah, it isn't the best and all but I am going to do everything to make this story the best it can be.