Chapter 69: In the depths of darkness
("Sleep you so called 'Keyblade Wielder'. This body will be mine.")
Subaru woke up after having those words repeat in his mind, making him aware that whatever the voice is in his head, he should be cautious since it is no ally. While this was on his mind, a familiar voice spoke to him.
"You finally woke up, Natsuki Subaru."
"Hm?" Subaru turned towards his right side to see that it was Todd speaking to him, having been sitting down in a chair that happens to be next to the bed Subaru was in. This spoked him and almost caused him to fall off the bed. Todd found this barely amusing though he would've chuckled had the boy actually fallen off the bed.
"I see that you are lively. That is good."
"Haha...yeah..." Subaru says hesitantly has he reflects on the events that happened the last time he was awake.
'So I managed to break through the loop...that's good! It means that we don't have to deal with Sephiroth anymore...but that does leave an important question...'
"...where is my family?" Subaru asked as that was the primary concern of his. Todd took notice of this and immediately responded in a kind manner,
"Don't worry, the four of them are safe."
"Alright that is good..." Subaru had a moment of pause. 'Wait, four of them? That's weird. It would just be dad, mom, and Master Sora. Who else—?'
It eventually hit Subaru that Louis was still with them. He had forgotten about her since his priorities were more towards wanting to save his father and his master while also wanting to find a way to deal with the issues that kept him looping.
Because of this, it made him hesitant that he will start asking questions regarding her since he wouldn't know what to say. Todd looked at Subaru for a brief moment before looking at the exit of the tent they are in.
Subaru took this opportunity to look at his surroundings, wanting to make sure that he isn't in some sort of trap. While he looked around, Todd returned his attention towards him as he began to pay close attention towards Subaru, preparing to interrogate the boy.
"Now then, what exactly were you and your family doing in the woods?"
Subaru turned towards Todd's direction and noticed that the warrior was looking at him with a serious facial expression. This made Subaru aware that if he gives an off answer, he might end up in big trouble with Todd and whoever is around.
"My family—"
("My family and I have been on the move yet we keep bumping into those creatures.")
Subaru had recalled something his father had said in a previous loop, causing him to think that this is the right words to use.
"—and I were on the move yet those creatures have been constantly attacking us."
"Hm, is that so? I can't imagine how annoying that must have been." Todd spoke for a moment, sounding calmly. Subaru wasn't sure if that worked or not but he did notice that the questions weren't going to stop when Todd asked his next question. "You and your brother were wielding a unique weapon. Mind telling me what that was?"
'Shit! I need to be careful with this. If he figures out who me or Master Sora are, we will be in trouble.'
Subaru was aware of how his answer could affect what happens next, making him think of a bunch of possible answers that won't get him and his family in trouble within a few seconds. Eventually he thought of something that could work, prompting him to move his hand up in order to summon Rebirth.
As he does this, Todd was tempted to attack the boy as he did found this threatening at first before seeing that the boy was letting him take a closer look at the weapon rather than telling him about the weapon. This did annoyed the warrior for a brief moment yet having a closer look at such a weapon would also be useful.
He grabbed the tip of Subaru's keyblade and paid close attention to it, seeing that this one had a more sword like look compared to Sora's that had a key like design. Despite this, he could feel a power emitting from the weapon.
'Whatever this is, the emperor would surely find this intriguing.' Todd thought to himself, seeing that this weapon could help in dealing with any enemies that stand in Vollachia's way. He returned the weapon to Subaru while commenting his mind regarding said weapon,
"I'm a bit surprise by how powerful it is. This might prove useful against those creatures."
"Yeah..."
"Moving on to this question, is any of your family part of the Shudraq?"
"...Shudraq?"
Todd paid close attention to the way Subaru responded to his question, seeing that he was completely confused just like Kenichi and Naoko were when he asked them this question. This allowed him to return from his analyzing side into a more friendly manner while saying to the boy,
"See, I knew it. I could tell by your reaction that you've got nothing to do with them."
"Hey hey, wait up. I still haven't answered anything. Aren't you just being too hasty here..."
"Not at all. No one would lie when they're asked about their own warrior clan. Even those who've never heard of 'em before. So, like that, even if you tell us you're "Shudraqian", no one's gonna believe you. Not to mention that you had the same reaction has your parents when I asked them."
"..."
Though his words felt conclusive, they didn't sound like a bluff. Even Subaru couldn't refuse them; the way Todd had put it, full of conviction, was that persuasive.
"Just what are these Shudraqians?"
"They're the people we're searching for. They're somewhere in that huge forest… In the Buddheim Jungle."
"...The Buddheim Jungle." Subaru asked with a curious tone of voice.
"The whole place where we are at is forest. It's going to take many years, or whatever, to search it well and good."
Though Todd muttered those words unenergetically, what he was saying was understandable. Subaru could tell that the forest was extremely big with the three loops he had been.
"...Isn't that going to be practically impossible? To say the least."
"You reckon so too? Well, nah, I've really thrown in the towel here. If it takes me years to go back home, my fiancée will end up turning away from me ya know."
"Far away from the fiancée...I know what that feels like." Subaru said as he begins to think about Emilia. Todd's mood switched once again as he took notice on what Subaru had said, being a bit caught off guard by what he heard.
"You have a fiancée?"
"Yeah...she is just the best." Subaru said with a smile, thinking back on the beginning of his journey in this world that he now calls his world. Remembering how beautiful the silver haired half elf is. Todd looked at this and couldn't help but chuckle, seeing just how lovestruck the boy is.
"Man, I know how love is. It can be blinding."
"Yeah...I guess."
"Well then, let me move on to my final question." Todd took a second of silence before the atmosphere changed once again into one of threatening. "Why didn't you mention your sister?"
"Huh?" Subaru was a bit confused by this. He knows Todd is talking about Louis yet the context was not there for him. "What do you mean?"
"When you and your father were with us, you mentioned your brother and mother but nothing of your little sister."
Subaru paused as he was thinking back on what he had said before to Todd until it hit him.
("Yes, my mother and ma—brother were with us until those creatures attacked.")
'Ah shit, he is right! I made no mention of Louis but that was because I completely forgot about her!'
Subaru made a realization that he is in trouble. He could feel Todd's intense gaze as he is analyzing every single movement and waiting for his response in order to analyze it. Subaru looked at Todd for a brief moment before looking at the bed in front of him, noticing something off with it.
"Who is..."
"Natsuki Subaru, I would like you to answer my question, please." Todd spoke in a slightly aggressive manner, not liking that he is avoiding such a simple question. Subaru turned towards the orange haired warrior, noticing how he is losing his patience.
"Sorry, it's been a long day."
"Day? Oh right, you have been out for two days."
"Two days?!" Subaru exclaimed, not having expected to be knocked out for this long. Todd took note of this expression, prompting him to continue giving information on Subaru's family status.
"Your parents are probably eating with the other soldiers. You, your brother, and your sister have been out since we got you to camp."
"What?" Subaru was even more shocked by this information. Although he doesn't care for Louis, he is surprised by the fact that she has been out since they saw her appear in the Watchtower away from the hall of memories.
Although that was surprising, learning that Sora had also been asleep for two days was more than concerning. He jumped off the bed and quickly went around the tent looking for his master. Todd noticed this and was about to attack Subaru, thinking that he was about to do something threatening only to notice that he is looking for Sora.
'This boy. Shows weakness when he should be showing strength.'
Todd thought this with disappointment since he knows that the boy can be brave and prideful like when he faced off against the one winged angel despite the odds of defeat being high. Subaru paid no attention to Todd since he was hoping to find his master in one of the beds.
Eventually he stumbled upon Louis' sleeping body, something that annoyed him since he wished that it was Sora's. Just as he found this, Todd got up from his chair and approached the boy, paying close attention to the way he reacts at his 'sister's' sleeping body. Subaru could feel that Todd was next to him, sensing something odd about the warrior yet his focus was on keeping the charade his parents created.
"You sure that...s-s-sister hasn't awaken at any point?" Subaru asked as his disgust for calling Louis his sister was shown in his voice. Todd took note of this yet he just looked at Louis, trying to find something that would make her related to both Sora and Subaru.
He couldn't see what makes her related to the two boys regarding physical appearance though he did also notice that Sora and Subaru don't have similar physical appearance.
What made him conclude that the two were brothers was how they acted during the fight against the one winged angel, seeing that Sora and Subaru both have the same determination in their eyes.
He looked back at Subaru to question him once again on the same question.
"Why didn't you mention your sister?"
"...I guess you can say that I wasn't concern about her." Subaru answered as he knew that he was being honest. Todd took a second to process this, not expecting this kind of response from the boy.
He closed his eyes as he processed everything he had heard, seeing that this is something someone from Vollachia would act if they have a weak link in the family though that would contradict the fact that Subaru shows that he cares for his family.
This was something he would just need to keep an eye on him from here on out. Subaru just looks at Louis with a serious facial expression, keeping the anger in him since he still as some resentment towards the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony for the events of the Pleiades Watchtower.
He still recalls how each death had happened, how Louis had killed Meili, had gotten his parents killed in multiple occasions, and just how much trouble she caused his friends.
'You should be lucky, Louis Arneb. Master Sora told me that I should make peace with you. That you can change. Maybe you can considering we got Elsa to change but...it'll take a long ass time before that can happen. After all the crap you put me through. Put Master Sora through...I won't forgive you so easily, Louis Arneb, Sin Archbishop of Gluttony.'
Subaru thought this as he knows that he will eventually have to forgive Louis since he was able to forgive Elsa, the one who killed him in multiple occasions. He took a deep breath before turning towards Todd's direction in a more calm gesture.
"Could you show me where my brother is located?" The way Subaru asked this left Todd silent since he didn't expect the tone and atmosphere to change into a more calm and friendly one when it was at first one of hesitation.
The orange haired warrior eventually nodded before pointing at the direction Sora was resting at. Subaru nodded with appreciation, he went to check on his master. Once arriving to Sora's bed, he looked at his master to see how peaceful the Keyblade Master looked when asleep.
'I wonder what you are dreaming, Master. You seem so peaceful.'
The boy smiled at this before tapping his master's arm, wanting to see if that will wake him up. He waited for a few seconds before seeing that there was no response.
"He seems to be in a deep sleep like your sister. I assume this runs in the family." Todd spoke out as he approached the boy, catching Subaru's attention for a bit. He turned back towards his master once again only this time he took a chance to respond.
"Well, considering how he pushed his body to the limit, Ma—my brother deserves this rest."
"Yeah, you aren't wrong. He really did give it his all." Another voice spoke out which caused both Todd and Subaru to turn their attention towards this voice. As they looked at the only way in or out of the tent, they noticed that it was Jamal.
Subaru recalled that Jamal had been knocked out after an attack from Sephiroth. The one eyepatch warrior approached Todd and Subaru's location to look at the young warrior, having a lot of respect for him. Subaru looked at Jamal for a second before he looked at his master along with Todd and Jamal.
"This boy represents one of many spirits of Vollachia."
"I suppose Jamal...aside from him, how are you holding up?"
"Don't you start worryin' about me, it was just a scratch."
Jamal spoke in a prideful tone, catching Subaru's attention. The three went silent for a bit before Todd turned towards Subaru while saying to the boy,
"You probably should get something to eat, considering that you have been out for two days."
Before Subaru could say anything to Todd about what he said, both warriors heard the boy's stomach growl. Todd and Jamal stood silent for a moment before having a chuckle at this.
"Seems like yer stomach is telling ya that it's hungry, kid."
"Haha...yeah..."
Subaru was skeptical at this at first, seeing Jamal treat him and Sora with some respect since last he recalled, he was hostile towards him and his father. Subaru followed Jamal and Todd outside the tent to see that he is in the middle of an encampment, one that is preparing for war. Seeing this made Subaru aware that something is going to go down soon since the warriors of this camp look like they are about to go off to war.
"Todd, Jamal, can one of you tell me what is going on?"
"We are getting ready to go into the forest. Gonna get those Shudraqians!"
"Yes. Our goal is to get to the Shudraq."
"Are the Shudraq evil?" Subaru asked as he did wanted to know as much as possible about the people the Vollachia soldiers are after. Todd and Jamal both paused for a moment, unsure on what would be the reason Subaru would be asking this. Todd looked at Subaru first and was about to answer that question with his own only for his partner to beat him in answering the boy's question.
"Why? Ya want to join us?" The warrior asked as he was a bit annoyed that he missed out on Subaru's bravery. He had heard from Todd, Kenichi, and Naoko on how Subaru held off the one winged angel all on his own in order for everyone to escape, causing the one eyepatch warrior to be not only impressed by this but have a lot of respect for him. Subaru took a moment to think before deciding to say,
"I'll help as best as I can. You guys kept my family safe when I was out, so in a way, I owe you guys."
"That is one way to see it, Subaru. Though we don't really have debt since you took on a threat on your own to buy is time. If anything, we are even." Todd spoke out, seeing that the two sides don't really have a debt since they both helped each other out. Subaru noticed this and responded to what Todd said with,
"Still...I want to help out, if I can."
"Well, if you do want to join us on the search, you'll just have to be ready by tonight."
"Heading out at night?"
"Yes, we need to move around the entire forest until we can find the Shudraq."
"Alright..." Subaru said with some hesitance, seeing that things are moving too quickly. Todd and Jamal both turned their attention at the mess hall and started to make their way there.
"Come on kid, ya gotta eat if you want to stay strong."
"Yeah, come on Subaru."
Both Todd and Jamal prompted Subaru to follow them, knowing that he must be extremely hungry since he was knocked out for two days without food. Subaru nodded and followed the two towards the mess hall.
While the three were walking, Subaru observed his surroundings as he wanted to study the entire camp in the case he does end up returning by death. After watching for a bit, the three entered the mess hall to see that Kenichi and Naoko were already there, talking with a few Vollachia soldiers.
'Mom. Dad.' Subaru thought of both Kenichi and Naoko, seeing that they are alright. The two parents both looked at the entrance of the mess hall to see that their son was walking alongside Jamal and Todd. The two excused themselves as they left their conversation with the soldiers to go and hug their son.
Everyone noticed this and felt a bit annoyed since this was the kind of emotion they are against. Jamal kept a blank facial expression along with Todd, both not liking this yet allowing it since Subaru deserves this after how he helped them escape.
As Kenichi and Naoko were hugging Subaru, the two bombarded the boy with a lot of questions, both having been worried for him in the past two days.
"Mom! Dad! Everything is alright. No need to be in panic now."
"...S-Sorry my baby boy, we were just soo worried."
"Yeah. You and Sora had been out for two days."
"Sorry about that..." Subaru said just as his stomach made a growling sound once again, catching his parents attention. "...hehe, I'm a bit hungry."
Kenichi and Naoko couldn't help but chuckle a bit at this since they did found it funny. As the three went towards the person distributing the food in order for Subaru to eat, Todd and Jamal had their own opinions of the scene they just witnessed.
"Do you have similar things like this with your sister?"
"Eh? Well...I wouldn't know. I'm too focused on other shit."
"You aren't wrong."
Todd nodded at this statement since he hadn't thought about stuff like this, emotions or family since he had been busy given an important task. The two walked towards Subaru and his parents to join them in eating some food, both warriors knowing that the day will be long.
("Its a charm to help us find each other if we ever get separated. The three of us will always be together.")
("If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives, no matter what. C'mon, I know you want to try it.")
("We may never meet again, but we'll never forget each other.")
("Our hearts will bring us together again.")
("Oh, now I've got it. Hee-hoo, hoo-hoo-hah means heart. Friends in our hearts...")
("Sora, please find Jasmine for me.")
("Key bearer, I have one more request: Seal the Keyhole. My trident also holds the power to reveal the Keyhole. Will you do it?")
("Oh, boy. She's getting' steamed again. Do me a favor. Look after her for me, will ya?")
("Peter remains with me as long as I remember him. You will find Kairi if she remains in your heart. You'll find her Sora. Just don't give up.")
("So, your heart won this battle.")
("Bounce on back again!")
("I hope you find your friends!")
("Sora, don't forget...We shall always be here.")
("I wanted to see Roxas. He...was the only one I liked... He made me feel...like I had a heart. It's kind of...funny... You make me feel...")
("Kairi will be all right. I can feel it.")
("You make a good other.")
("Hey, don't give up.")
("We thought ya might be able to use a couple a' more half-pints.")
("Yeah...Safe journey, Sora.")
("My name is Elsa Granhiert, you can just call me Elsa.")
("Glad to see you both didn't die, you idiots!")
("Good to see you again, Sora. It's been a while.")
("Sora, you truly are an amazing warrior.")
("Well I know you are all busy but I would like to know what is going on? I want to help my friends anyway I can.")
("Aight, I trust ya both, Master, Captain.")
("Sora-kun, Sora-kun, it is great to see you.")
("That is very nice of you, thank you. I promise to return it to you once this is all done.")
("I think we haven't introduce ourselves properly...My name is Natsuki Subaru, I'm not only lost but have no clue what I'm doing.")
'My...closest friends...'
("All right. Suppose there really is a monster... Think we can beat it by ourselves, Sora?")
("Don't give up! Come on, Sora! Together, we can do it!")
("Pull it together, Sora! We haven't lost them. They still have their hearts. But we have to protect them.")
("Sora, you don't believe that. I know you don't.")
'Riku...'
("Come on, Sora. We made it this far by sticking together. You can't go alone.")
("Don't ever forget. Wherever you go, I'm always with you.")
("You see? I had no doubts that you'd pull through.")
("All I did was believe that you wouldn't.")
'Kairi...'
Sora woke up as all those he had considered his friends popped on his mind, each and everyone of them giving him strength. Once awake, he looked around and the first thing he noticed was a sleeping Louis. This prompted him to quickly go towards the teenage blonde girl to check up on her, worried if something bad had happened. As he goes towards Louis' bed, he noticed that she was sound asleep.
'You look peaceful, asleep.' Sora thought as he did found Louis cute when she was asleep. As he was standing there for a moment, he eventually realized that he was in some tent, reminding him of the tent from the deep jungle world where he met Jane. Sora observed his location for a moment before noticing the exit of the tent.
Before going off to investigate around, Sora looked at his hand to summon Kingdom Key, wanting to know how much strength he has. Once he had Kingdom Key on his hand, he concluded that he still needs a bit more time to rest before he could be back in full strength since the fight against Sephiroth really pushed him beyond his limits.
'I'll need to be careful. I feel a bit better but nowhere near as strong to take on Sephiroth on my own...how did he got here anyway?'
Sora begins to think this as last he saw was him and Cloud having their fight in Radiant Garden before disappearing to continue their battle. While he recalled this moment, he remembered something the one winged angel had said to him,
("If that was the best you got, then you two are just wasting my time. I should be looking for Cloud.")
'Cloud...you are somewhere around here...I hope you are doing alright.' Sora thought this as he hoped for the best to a dear friend, knowing that he is probably recovering from his fight against the one winged angel. As he hoped Cloud would be alright, he turned towards Louis and quickly said to her sleeping self,
"I'll be back, Louis."
"..."
There was nothing said which did made Sora for a moment concern before making his way at the exit. Once reaching the exit of the tent, he made his way to the outside to see that it is night time in a military camp.
'Where am I? Where is Subaru? Subaru's parents?' Sora looked around as he had these thoughts running in his mind. As he looked and looked, he noticed a small fire in the middle of the camp being created, prompting the keyblade master to go check it out. While he was walking towards the location of the fire, he could feel a darkness in this camp, as if the people there shouldn't be trusted.
While this was something that his heart was telling him, he eventually reached the fire to see soldiers all speaking with one another. Sora took a moment to pause before looking around to see if he can spot Subaru, Kenichi, Naoko, or even the two warriors he fought alongside against Sephiroth. He looked and looked until finally he was able to spot Subaru speaking with what seems to be a Vollachia soldier.
Sora speed walked his way towards his apprentice's position, a bit curious on how things had gone since he passed out from the fight. While approaching Subaru, he does get approach by both Kenichi and Naoko. The two give Sora a hug which caught the keyblade master off guard yet he didn't mind.
"Glad to see you are okay, Sora-san." Naoko said in a motherly manner, having been worried for Sora's sake.
"Y-Yes. What happened when I passed out?" Sora asked with a curious tone, wondering how they managed to get away from the one winged angel. Kenichi and Naoko both looked at each other before looking back at him with Kenichi being the one to respond to this question.
"Subaru held his ground and bought us time to escape. Not only that but he also manage to get away himself."
"That's amazing." Sora spoke with honest words, surprised but happy to see that his apprentice as grown so much in power. He felt pride in his heart that he was able to train his friend into being a strong fighter. Kenichi continued,
"After we got away, the one called Todd took us to this camp. We managed to fit right in with my amazing wife helping in making amazing food for the soldiers while I helped train with some of them, teaching them some fighting skills per Todd's request after he interrogated us."
"That doesn't sound too bad."
"No but the thing that worried us was that you, Subaru, and Louis had been out for two days." Naoko said which caused Sora to take a moment to process the information he was given.
'Louis, Me, and Subaru...have been out for two days...' The Keyblade Master couldn't help but feel a bit worried by this, especially in Louis' case since she had been asleep since she appeared to them knocked out. This made him look at the tent where he had awaken from, worried more for Louis' sake before looking back at Naoko and Kenichi.
"There has to be something we can do to wake Louis up." The boy said with a concerned tone. Kenichi took note of the boy's concerns and quickly tried to reassure him by grabbing his arm gently while saying in a confident voice,
"Don't worry, she'll wake up. Just like how you and my amazing son managed to get up, she will also wake up."
Sora looked at Kenichi and could see the confidence radiating from him, allowing him to feel at ease even if it is for now. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before nodding at Subaru's dad, believing in the words he said before turning towards Subaru's direction.
"Who is Subaru talking with?"
"I'm unsure actually. You could chat with them if you want."
"Aren't you two going to join in?" Sora asked as he noticed Kenichi and Naoko both were making their way out.
"My amazing wife and I are going to rest up for the night. You should go talk to Subaru, he would be happy knowing that you are awake."
"I will. Rest well you two."
Naoko and Kenichi nodded at Sora before returning their way towards the same tent Sora had just left. While the two went towards that direction, Sora approached Subaru to speak with him, wanting to check if his apprentice is doing alright.
Sora approached Subaru and waited until he noticed him. Once this happened, Subaru put a pause on his conversation before approaching Sora, completely happy to see his master awake.
"Ma—Sora! I'm glad to see you!" Subaru said as he went to give his master a hug. Sora returned the hug while responding to what Subaru had said.
"It is good to see you are doing well, Subaru. I heard you took on Sephiroth on your own. That's pretty cool."
"Hey. I couldn't have done it without your training, Ma—Sora."
The two keyblade wielders smiled before Sora turned towards the Vollachia soldier Subaru was speaking to.
"Who is he?"
"Oh, yeah, sorry M—brother, I should introduce you to one of the archers of this camp." As Subaru said this, he turned towards the Vollachia soldier to introduce him. While this happened, Sora was caught off guard by something, 'Brother?'
"This here is—"
"Allow me, young Natsuki." The Vollachia warrior spoke with a deep voice. Sora crossed his arms while being a bit warry since he noticed this warrior having a slash from the right side of head down to left side of cheek and a long hair tied into low ponytails. The warrior continued to speak, "The name is Larkin Barron, the best archer in the whole kingdom."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sora." The Keyblade Master spoke in a kind manner despite still being on his guard. Larkin looked at Sora and could tell that he has some power from both the things he heard from both Todd and Jamal and by the way he looks, this makes him think that the boy is a worthy warrior.
"I'd like to see yer weapon."
"Um...okay..."
Sora pulled out Kingdom Key which surprised Larkin for a moment while also catching the attention of the other Vollachia soldiers. Todd and Jamal both also turned their attention towards the summoning of the keyblade, both now being aware that Sora has awaken. Larkin approached Sora to take a closer look at the keyblade, seeing that although the weapon was a bit weird, he could sense the strength within it.
'Whatever this key like sword is, I can tell that it's powerful. This boy has to be amazing to wield such power and not get corrupted by it.'
Larkin thought this as he knows that if anybody who had this power with the exception of the emperor, they would get power hungry and even attempt to overthrow the emperor himself. He looked at the boy for a second before saying,
"What is yer motive with this weapon?"
"Huh?" Both Subaru and Sora said this as they were caught off guard by this.
"What are you planning to do with such a weapon? It is a basic question, you two." Larkin said in an aggressive like manner.
"Ma—Brother Sora wouldn't use it for evil, if that's what you are thinking." Subaru said as he quickly went to defend Sora. Larkin and Sora both turned towards Subaru for a moment, both of them noticing this. Before Sora could say anything, Larkin did not hesitate to respond in a superior manner,
"Good and Evil. Such a childish view set. People just act on what they perceive as good or reject what they perceive as bad. So what you could perceive as good, I could view it as bad. Now, tell me your intentions."
Sora and Subaru were both caution by this, seeing that the people of Vollachia have a different viewpoint to them. Subaru wanted to speak for his master only for Sora to stop him, indicating that he can handle this. Subaru understood this and nodded while allowing Sora to speak for himself.
"I'm the Keyblade's chosen one. I fight for my friends."
"Your friends? So what? Your buddies could be doing evil things."
"They wouldn't. Me and my friends fight off the darkness."
"Like what? Heroes?"
"Yes. Me and my friends proved ourselves to be true heroes."
Sora said this as he recalled how himself, Donald, and Goofy all three worked hard to be considered heroes in Hercules' world. Larkin crossed his arms as he noticed the way Sora spoke about his friends, how he presented himself as a hero. This slightly annoyed him since he believes heroes to be false and used for propaganda.
Before he could say anything more, Larkin noticed Todd and Jamal approaching the three of them. This prompted him to turn around and leave the conversation. Subaru and Sora were stunned by this but before they could say anything, they could hear Todd say in a friendly manner,
"Don't mind him. He is a bit harsh when he feels like someone is a threat."
"We aren't threats." Subaru said calmly as he was caught off guard by the fact that when he spoke with Larkin earlier, he was calm and collected.
"Only the strong he considers a threat." Jamal spoke in, knowing how annoying Larkin can be. Todd looked at Jamal for a moment before turning his attention towards Sora.
"It is good to see you awake, Sora."
"Thanks...how are you, Jamal?" Sora asked as he recalled that he was the first one to get knocked out. Jamal noticed this and quickly answered with,
"I'm fine! It'll take a lot to take me down!"
"Alright. How are you doing, Todd?"
"I'm alright. We are preparing for a mission. Subaru volunteered."
"Volunteered? Mission? What's going on?" Sora asked as things were moving along fast. Subaru took note of this which caused him to say,
"My bad, I probably should've informed you that we are going to go find the Shudraq people."
"Shudraq?" Sora asked in confusion, something that Todd took notice which caused his eyes to change into one of analyzing. Having heard from the four members of the Natsuki household, he can conclude that they have nothing to do with the Shudraq people though he is still wary of them.
"Yeah, they're this tribe we are looking for. We could use some strength like yours, kid." Jamal spoke as he hoped Sora would join them, wanting to see his full strength in action. Sora couldn't help but feel like he should stay and rest since he isn't at full strength and wanted to see if maybe the power of waking could help wake Louis up.
As he thought of this, he also is aware that Sephiroth is roaming around in search of Cloud. This also provided a problem since he knows that these warriors won't stand a chance against the one winged angel, even with Subaru by their side. He thought and thought until finally an answer came to mind.
"I'll go with you guys. In case we run into Sephiroth again, I should be there."
"Haha! Hell yeah! This time, we'll make sure he dies!" Jamal said as he patted Sora in the arm. As he did this, Todd turned towards the Vollachia soldiers as they were all getting up, indicating that it is time for them to start their mission.
"Seems like we are about to head out. I suggest you two talk to your parents quickly. We will be leaving in a moment."
As Todd said this, him and Jamal both turned towards the Vollachia soldiers to make sure each and everyone of them are ready. While this happened, Sora was more than confused on what Todd meant by parents.
"What is he—?"
"Follow me, Sora."
Subaru dragged his master towards the direction of the tent the two had awaken from. As they were making their way there, Sora asked his apprentice and friend,
"What's going on?"
"Sorry Master Sora. We have to act like we are brothers around them, especially Todd." Subaru said in a low voice as he is avoiding anybody from hearing what he has to say.
"Wait, why?"
"Because that is what Todd heard and if he learns that it is a lie...we all might be in trouble."
Sora noticed this and was hesitant since he did have a bad feeling about Todd. Knowing now that he could be a big threat should he learn the truth put the Keyblade Wielder uneased.
"He is going to find out, you do realize that?" Sora said as he knows lies can only last so long before the truth comes out.
"I am aware but if he knew who we truly were...we would be in even more trouble."
"I...understand but we should really be ready for when the truth comes out." Sora spoke as he knows that Todd is smart and he will eventually figure things out. Subaru could only nod at this since he is aware of how intelligent the orange haired vollachia warrior is. Before their conversation could continue, the two entered the tent to see that Kenichi and Naoko were speaking about something while watching over Louis.
"Mom? Dad?"
"Hm? Subaru? Sora?" Naoko asked as she saw the two boys standing on the entrance to the tent.
"What are you boys doing here? Going to crash for the night?" Kenichi asked.
"No, we were here to tell you that me and Sora will be heading out with the search crew to help them with their mission. That way we can get in good with them." Subaru said to which both Naoko and Kenichi had a moment of pause.
The two parents looked at each other before asking the two boys to head towards their position with a hand gesture. Sora and Subaru both look at each other for a moment before approaching Kenichi and Naoko's direction. Once the two got close to them, Kenichi looked around for a moment before speaking to the two boys,
"We don't trust anybody here."
"Hm? How so?" Subaru asked in a curious manner. Sora was also curious by what Kenichi meant by this. Naoko took the chance to respond to this by saying,
"These people are killers."
"Not only that but they seem to be preparing for a war."
Kenichi added in as he can tell that they are bad news despite being able to be on good terms with them. Subaru takes this moment to think on the situation, having recalled something Larkin had told him.
("The strong govern around. That's just how it is kid.")
'Right. They believe that the strong should stay alive while the weak should die...they don't care about emotions aside from pride.'
As Subaru thought this, Sora looked at Kenichi and Naoko for a moment before turning towards Louis, seeing her still being asleep. After a few seconds, he turned back towards the two and began to say,
"What can we do?"
"For now, we should keep our guard up, especially around that Todd guy. He is the most dangerous in the camp. Once we get a chance, we can leave and try to find our way to Lugnica."
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea dad...though me and Sora should still help this people in case we need to fight that guy with the long sword. We might need all the allies we can get." Subaru spoke as he felt that they might need to be in good terms with the Vollachia soldiers.
Naoko and Kenichi stood silent for a moment, both not sure of this idea at first until they thought back on the fight against the one winged angel, seeing that they need a lot of strength to beat an opponent like that.
The two turned towards Sora to see what he thinks on all of this. Sora noticed this yet he took a moment to think before being able to say his opinions on the situation.
"We need to be careful. These people aren't evil but they are violent but they will need our help if Sephiroth attacks them. They won't stand a chance against them."
Subaru, Kenichi, and Naoko all three understood this and nodded at Sora, knowing from the fight against the one winged angel that they'll need both keyblade wielders to be at full strength if they want to stand a chance.
The four stood quiet with Sora's focus being on Louis, worried for her sake. Subaru noticed this which caused him to be a bit conflicted. He didn't want his master to worry about someone like the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony but on the other hand, it is somewhat concerning that she hasn't awaken yet.
'Could it be possible that...she is suffering the same thing that Rem had suffered?'
Subaru thought of this as a possibility since last time he checked, Louis faced off against her other self.
'If that were the case then...there could be another her in the hall of memories...like we need more of her.'
As Subaru was thinking this, both him and Sora heard their names being called by Jamal outside, asking if they are ready to go. The two keyblade wielders stood still, looking at the entrance for a bit before turning their attention back at Naoko and Kenichi. The two parents were hesitant by this yet allowing the two boys to join the soldiers could prove to be helpful in building some form of trust with the group, only to keep them out of possible trouble with the soldiers.
The two wished the boys good luck before seeing them leave the tent, promising Sora that they will take good care of Louis. Sora nodded before leaving off. Once the two keyblade wielders left, Kenichi and Naoko both looked up in hope that fate will protect the two boys. As they had hope on this, Naoko looked at her husband to say,
"Do you think we should make a plan? Just in case?"
"Yeah. Especially if Todd tries to do something to our boy and to Sora."
Naoko stood silent as she did view Todd as a threat. She nodded before the two looked over Louis, hoping that the little teenage girl eventually awakens.
Eventually Natsuki Subaru and Sora joined Todd, Jamal, Larkin, and the others in their mission to find the Shudraq people. As they started to make their way towards the forest, Subaru and Sora looked behind to see Larkin there with his bow ready to fire an arrow.
The two keyblade wielders were a bit on guard by this yet they just looked forward, understanding the situation is a bit more dangerous than it seems. Subaru looked at Jamal who was nearby to ask him,
"How strong are the Shudraq?"
"Eh, who knows. But we aren't gonna lose to anybody. With my strength, your strength, and Sora's strength, they don't stand a chance."
Jamal shouted with pride, something that both Sora and Subaru didn't mind while Todd was looking a bit annoyed.
"Jamal, try not to yell. We don't want to give away our position to the Shudraq."
"Eh?! I can shout as much as I like!"
Jamal shoved Todd as he did not like being shut down by his partner. Sora and Subaru both couldn't help but be reminded of Otto and Garfiel. How Otto would be the calm and collected while Garfiel the more reckless and prideful one.
As they chuckled by this, the group of Vollachia soldiers continued to walk around the forest with their guards up, not knowing what they might be dealing with. As they were walking, Larkin eventually started a conversation with the two keyblade wielders.
"You two seem tense."
"Well, we don't know what might attack us." Subaru responded. Larkin stood silent for a second before responding to Subaru's response.
"You are not wrong. Anything can attack us here. My concern is if you two are leading us to a trap."
"And why would you think that?" Sora asked in a calm manner, concern on how Larkin is viewing himself and Subaru as some threats to the group. Larkin continued to look in an analyzed facial expression similar to how Todd would look at them when he is in his questioning mode.
This prompted both Sora and Subaru to be ready in the case he tried to do something to them. The archer noticed this which caused him to close his eyes for a brief moment before having his eyes return into a more neutral look.
"No need to be like that, you two. I'm just being careful. One stupid move and you can get killed." Larkin took a brief moment to pause as he pointed at the scar in his face. "This is what happens when you let you aren't careful. I didn't check someone thoroughly and it almost cost me my life."
'That's hardcore...' Subaru thought as he can tell now that Larkin is more cautious than even Todd. Sora stood silent as he understood where the archer was coming from. All the two boys could do was nod before lowering their guards a bit. While the two keyblade wielders did this, the archer took this opportunity to ask,
"I heard about the long sword wielder from Todd and Jamal. Who exactly is he?" Larkin was curious as he always wants to learn more of opponents that sound like they would be too tough to beat. Sora and Subaru both looked at each other for a moment before the Keyblade Master turned his attention towards the archer to answer his question.
"His name is Sephiroth...he is an actual monster. I barely beat him the last time I faced him. Despite beating him, only my friend Cloud can truly finish him off."
Larkin crossed his arms after having put away his bow and arrow, processing this information. From what Todd had said, Sora was extremely powerful, possibly even stronger than the divine generals.
To hear that the threat that attacked two of the best Vollachia soldiers and the two boys in front of him is much more powerful than he was told made him want to face this threat himself.
Before he could think of possible strategies he could use against such a threat, he did notice an important information in order to truly kill such a threat.
"Hm...do you know where this Cloud is?"
"No. He is somewhere in this kingdom but...I don't know where he is."
Sora looked up at the night sky as he wished for his friend to be safe while Larkin took this information to heart, seeing that it might prove useful later on. Subaru looked at his master and could see that although he is worried for one of his friends, he also seems happy.
'I'm lucky that I have my parents here with me. You had to deal with loneliness, didn't you? Master Sora? Hearing that one of your friends is here makes you happy because you are no longer alone now.'
Subaru smiled at this thought since he understands that his master can be with a friend from another world. Larkin looked at the two keyblade wielders and noticed that the two were happy, annoying him for a moment before just looking up at the night sky.
'Seems like the night blesses us with a few stars.'
The three stood silent with the conversation ending on a high note, with Larkin looking Sora and Subaru in a neutral manner while both Keyblade Wielders have some respect for the archer of the group.
As the three walked with the Vollachia soldiers through the forest, all of them prepared for a fight while also being caution with there surroundings. Eventually the group pause for a moment with Todd being the one in front with his axe ready to kill.
With everyone on edge, Subaru and Sora have their keyblades out in the case they get attacked.
"What do you think?" Subaru asked as he didn't sense anything.
"Just be ready." Sora said as he also doesn't sense something that could be a threat. The Vollachia soldiers and the two keyblade wielders stood silent for a moment with all of them having their guards up until they noticed heartless appearing around them.
"Heartless? Here?"
"Hm? What do you mean heartless?" Larkin asked in suspicion to Subaru yet he had to turn his focus on the heartless in front of him. Sora and Subaru looked around to see that most of these heartless are either shadow, soldier, or bandit types.
Todd and Jamal didn't hesitate to start the fight by easily taking down the weaker heartless, with Todd axing them down while Jamal used his own physical strength to easily take the heartless down. Larkin was the third warrior to react by quickly taking the bow from the quiver before grabbing three arrows with his other hand.
He quickly used all three in one shot, managing to take out three shadow heartless in one go. A few bandit heartless looked at his direction and started to charge towards him only for a couple of Vollachia soldiers to jump in between the archer and the heartless to start their fight.
Sora and Subaru watched as they were the only ones not engaging in combat since they were in the middle of everything with the heartless for some reason focusing their attention on the Vollachia soldiers.
"Do you feel something off with this fight, Ma—brother?"
"Yeah, something is wrong..."
The two looked around and knew that the heartless were avoiding the two for some odd reason yet they weren't sure why. As they watched the heartless get easily taken down, the Vollachia soldiers view this as an easy win.
"Ha! That was nothing!"
"Agreed!"
"What a waste!"
Some of the Vollachia soldiers spoke, having a prideful tone. Larkin also felt this yet he knew that it was too easy of a win. Todd, Subaru, and Sora all three also felt this, causing them to have their guards up as something starts approaching the group. Everyone turns attention towards the threat approaching him to see that there are three giant heartless.
The one in the left was a giant version of the shadow heartless type, also known as Gigas shadow. The one in the middle is the Dual Blade type, being a heartless that looks humanoid, covered from head to toe in silver and grey armor and blades placed in both its hands. The last heartless is a large lizard resembling a chameleon, the Stealth Sneak type heartless.
Seeing this caused all of the Vollachia soldiers alongside the two keyblade wielders to prepare for a fight. A couple of warriors charge in at the Gigas shadow confident that they will take it down only to easily get knocked out with one hit.
Todd, Jamal, and Larkin all three took note of this, prompting Todd and Larkin to quickly come up with a plan while Jamal smiled, ready for a challenge. Sora and Subaru both knew that they need to do something against the three giant heartless, knowing that this isn't going to be easy.
"What exactly is the plan, Sora?"
"Which of the two heartless do you want to face?" Sora asked. Subaru had paused for a moment, observing the two heartless bosses that are not in the fight with the Vollachia soldiers. It took the boy for a moment before making a choice.
"I can take on the one with blades."
"Careful, that one is tough."
"I'll be alright. I had a great teacher." As Subaru said this, he smiled at him before giving his master a nod. Sora noticed this and smiled back while also nodding back with respect. As the two keyblade wielders did this, they turn their attention towards the respective heartless before charging in against the two.
Sora looked at the Stealth Sneak heartless and smiled as he recalled facing this heartless with Tarzan, Donald, and Goofy. This made him feel like his friends were right by his side, charging into battle with him.
Subaru on the other hand was feeling confident in himself, having thought of the numerous strategies he can implement against a tough looking heartless. While a bundle of strategies appeared in his mind, he heard the voice once again speak to him.
"You really think a pathetic 'keyblade wielder' like you stands a chance?"
'I don't know who the hell you are but just watch! I'll show you that I ain't some weakling!'
As Subaru thought this, he closed in towards the heartless before going in for an attack. The heartless noticed his presence and quickly blocked Subaru's attack.
"Ha! Pathetic!"
'Don't count me out just yet!'
Having said this in his mind to the voice speaking in his mind, Subaru switched his keyblade from Rebirth to Starlight before going into its formchange. As his clothing change into Sora's color scheme from Sora's second journey, he looked at the heartless with a confident smile.
"I may not be strong as Ma—brother but I won't back down either."
As Subaru shouts this out, he manages to dodge one of the attacks from the Dual Blade heartless before landing a hit himself. The Vollachia soldiers all noticed Subaru do this as a couple of them get knocked away from the Gigas shadow attack. Jamal saw this and cheered Subaru on with Sora having a smile on his face, watching just how much his friend and apprentice as improved over one year and a few months they have known each other.
The Keyblade Master looked ahead and noticed the Stealth Sneak heartless' eyes glowing as they were preparing an attack. Having remembered how this heartless fights, Sora changed his Kingdom Key to Jungle King before managing to land a couple of hits on the heartless' head. While this was going on, Larkin got out one of his strong arrows and prepared to fire directly at the Gigas heartless in the head, thinking that this could do the trick. Jamal closed in at the Gigas heartless before starting his strong attacks, wanting to land as much damage as possible.
He was able to land a few hits before noticing the boss heartless trying to attack him, prompting him to dodge roll in order to avoid the attack. As he does this, Todd had noticed the perfect opening to throw his axe directly at the heartless with everything he has. Larkin saw Todd throw his axe directly at the Gigas heartless, he took this opportunity to also attack by firing two of his strongest arrows at the same time, both directed at the Gigas heartless' head.
The arrows and Todd's axe managed to land on the head of the heartless yet it did not phased it. All the heartless did was pause itself for a second before continuing to attack Jamal and the Vollachia soldiers nearby, with Jamal being the only one to avoid the attacks. Larkin and Todd both took note on the fact that their attacks did nothing, prompting the two to come up with their own strategies in taking down the giant shadow type heartless.
While the Vollachia soldiers continued their attack on the Gigas shadow heartless, Sora continued to land some hits before the Stealth Sneak heartless went invisible. This prompted the Keyblade Master to stay still, closing his eyes as he awaits for his opponent to attack in order to find its location.
He waited and waited until he sensed something near his left side, prompting him to open his eyes while also turning towards the attack. Sora saw two beams of light heading towards him in rapid speed, causing him to quickly jump out of the way. After doing this, Sora notices some of the grass moving despite it being a bit dark, allowing the Keyblade Master to see where his opponent is located.
He waited until the Stealth Sneak heartless stopped to prepare itself for an attack. Sora noticed where it was located and without a second of hesitation, he charged at the heartless and landed a few strong blows, managing to destroy its camouflage. While doing this, he jumped high on the air as he pointed his keyblade directly at the boss heartless.
"Firaga!"
As Sora shouts this, the tip of his keyblade creates a powerful fireball to head straight towards the giant lizard like heartless. The Stealth Sneak heartless noticed this and managed to dodge the attack before firing its own attack on the Keyblade Master. Sora knocked away the beams before landing on his feet.
The second he touched the ground, he charged at the Stealth Sneak with everything he had. As Sora was closing in, the Stealth Sneak heartless swung its tail directly at the Keyblade Master, managing to land a hit and send him flying into a tree. While this was going on, Subaru was managing to land a couple of strong hits on the Dual Blade heartless.
After a few hits, the Dual Blade heartless started to counterattack the boy's offense. It starts to swing around the two blades to push Subaru back, forcing him to be on the defensive. As Subaru was blocking every attack thrown towards him, he eventually gets overpowered by the strength of the giant heartless.
As the giant heartless' strength managed to push Subaru back, the boy was sent towards a tree to crash into. Todd, Jamal, and Larkin all three took notice of this before continuing their fight against the Gigas shadow, having confidence in their ability to take down this tough boss heartless while also confident that Subaru and Sora will be fine. The two keyblade wielders got up, having noticed that the two have landed near each other.
"Man, this is quite a pain." Subaru said this while having an annoyed tone of voice, annoyed at how tough the heartless is despite being in his formchange. Sora looked at Subaru for a moment before looking at the boss heartless he was facing off.
"I hear you but we got this, Subaru. You and I aren't ones to lose easily at all." Subaru looked at his master while having processed what the Keyblade Master had said. Although this was something he did not expected yet it brought some motivation for Natsuki Subaru.
"Alright Sora, I won't let you down!"
Sora nodded at Subaru before the two keyblade wielders returned to their respective battles, both of them fired up to win. Sora closed in on the Stealth Sneak heartless before jumping high enough to dodge the tail, having anticipated this attack by the way the giant heartless moved.
As Sora was high on the sky, he points his keyblade directly at his opponent for a moment before firing a powerful Blizzard attack. This attack landed on the lizard like heartless, managing to cause enough damage to leave it stunned. The second Sora noticed this, he took his opportunity to dive directly towards the lizard like heartless.
Once he closed in at the Stealth Sneak heartless, the Keyblade Master with all of his strength both his own and given to him through his ties with his friends managed to eliminate the threat with one swing. Subaru, Todd, Jamal, Larkin, and the other Vollachia soldiers noticed this and were quickly motivated to keep on fighting.
Subaru looked at the Dual Blade heartless for a moment before charging in with confidence, having both keyblades in hand. As he was closing in, he could hear the voice in his head speak to him once again.
"You're going to get yourself killed, you failure."
'Insult me all you like, stupid voice in my head, I won't lose here!'
Subaru dodged a couple of the attacks thrown towards him before quickly managing to activate his wrath authority for just a brief moment to allow his strike to have as much force behind it.
Once Subaru's keyblade connected with the heartless' body, he used all of the force he had in his arm with the added strength of Canis Majoris.
This was enough to push the heartless up onto the air long enough for Subaru to put both Starlight and Rebirth keyblade up in the air while shouting,
"Thungera!"
A powerful lighting hit the heartless hard enough to send it towards the ground with enough force to create a small crater.
'Ha! What do you think of that, voice?' Subaru asked in his mind with confidence. He waited for a few seconds for a response yet he heard nothing which annoyed him at first before having a little bit of his ego growing.
'Have nothing to say? Well good. Keep it that way.'
Subaru thought this before charging in towards the Dual Blade heartless, wanting to finish this fight while he had the advantage. As he was closing in on the heartless, he felt his body being controlled for some reason.
"What the—?!"
"Watch out, you freaking moron!"
"Huh?"
Subaru's body moved on it's own as he jumped away from the heartless' location. At first Subaru was unsure what was going on until he felt a powerful wind like attack destroy the entire area he was just at. This wind was strong enough to not only blow Subaru away but also destroy the heartless.
Sora and the others felt this attack and quickly stood their ground, trying to avoid being sent flying like Subaru was. After a bit of holding their ground, all the soldiers looked at the direction the wind came from and noticed a woman in that was insanely beautiful.
This woman has a small piece of lime hair but for the most part short milky-white hair with the uneven tips of a shaggy cut along with white eyelashes, and sharp almond-shaped eyes with a bright yellow color.
Subaru managed to recover after having landed on the mud, annoyed that he is all dirty but this thought was only for a moment since he saw the woman that all the Vollachia soldiers and Sora were seeing.
What caught the boy's attention was what the woman was wearing, that being an immaculate pure white kimono with green and black decorations and with the right side over the left, giving the impression of burial clothes, but with the skirt shortened to the mid-thigh.
'Who...is she?'
Subaru asked in his mind as the attire was too reminiscing of his homelands. The woman looked at the group with anger but before she could say something, she noticed the gigas shadow starting to attack the men out of nowhere. Larkin and Todd both instinctively and in unison attacked the large heartless, hoping that this damage would slow the creature down.
Subaru charged in as he noticed the soldiers still struggling against the heartless boss they were left with. Once he closed in, Subaru swung his Rebirth keyblade with everything he had in him, managing to actually take down the Gigas Shadow heartless.
The woman looked at Subaru do this and was initially indifferent by this until she looked closely at the weapon, feeling an odd power imitating from it. She also noticed this in Sora's weapon as well as she could feel something off. This prompted her to lower towards their position before giving the two keyblade wielders a curious look.
"Who are you?"
"Um...actually, who are you?" Subaru answered with a question. The woman looked at him for a moment before pointing towards Sora's keyblade.
"I don't care about you animals actually, I want to know what is that weapon. Looks like a key, as an odd source of power..." The woman paused as she started to recall a similar power back in Kararagi. This eventually caused the wind to increase with Sora and Subaru both getting their guards up along with the Vollachia soldiers. "...were you two the ones who stole my sphere?"
"Sphere? What Sphere?" Sora asked in a confused tone of voice while keeping his guard up. This slightly angered the woman as she chopped off a tree with a simple wind attack, causing a few of the Vollachia soldiers to shake while Sora and Subaru kept themselves on a defensive stance.
"Speak carefully. I know it was one of you animals, or maybe both. Who cares. I want my sphere back."
"Why do you think is us?"
"That weapon, it feels familiar. I felt it before...before my sphere was stolen."
Subaru and Sora both looked at each other, both of them seemingly agreeing that they know who is behind this. The two turned towards the woman with Sora being the one to say,
"We know who stole your sphere."
"Yeah, I know this. I'm looking at the culprits."
"It wasn't us...it was Orga—"
Before Sora could finish his sentence, both him and Subaru felt an arrow go pass them and directly towards the woman. She was able to easily destroy the arrow with a simple move of her wrist, commanding the wind to create a barrier for a moment. As this barrier was there, she looked unpleased at the same time Sora and Subaru turned to see that it was Larkin who fired the arrow.
"What the hell did you do that for?!" Subaru exclaimed as he can tell that the woman is very pissed at what just happened. Larkin gave Subaru a blank expression while preparing to fire another arrow.
"What? I see a threat, I'll take care of it. Now move."
"What?! She isn't a thre—"
"So, seems like I'll have to do things the hard way to get my answers. I suppose you all don't need a few limbs to live, do you?"
The woman spoke, interrupting Subaru and even getting his attention. They all looked as she prepared to throw a powerful wind attack at the Vollachia archer. Subaru and Sora acted on this attack by creating a powerful barrier around the archer just as he was going to attack. Once the barrier with the combined strength of the two keyblade wielders was created, it was enough to withstand the woman's attack.
After the attack gets completely blocked off, the barrier breaks down, leaving Subaru and Sora in the front with their keyblades ready for a battle while Larkin prepared his arrow to be fired. Todd and Jamal both walked next to the trio and got themselves ready for a fight as well, seeing that this woman is a threat to everybody.
The other soldiers eventually stood alongside the five of them, every single one prepared to fight to the death against a larger threat. The woman just looked at the warriors with an intrigued facial expression before preparing herself for a fight.
"You ants stick together...I envy that a little but I will get my sphere back."
Theresia looks at her sword as her wagon gets closer to the river that connects Vollachia and Lugnica. She knows that she doesn't really want to fight, especially considering that she needs to help her family yet she also understands that Reinhard's friends could be in trouble, especially if the witch of Vanglory is involved in any way.
'Pandora...' The name of the witch bothers her a lot, knowing that she was involved in her possession though she doesn't know in what way since her memories are still blocked. This causes her to be concerned for a moment before feeling something tap on her shoulder. She turns around to see her friend Carol, looking at her with a bit of concern.
"Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah, I'm alright. I'm just thinking about—"
"—The Witch of Vanglory?"
"...yeah."
Theresia looked down for a moment, trying to get her bearings before looking back at Carol with a smile, not wanting to worry her friend again. Carol could see what her friend was trying to do, prompting her to sit down next to the former sword saint.
"You know that I can tell that something is wrong, Lady Theresia."
"Seems like all those years has made you wise." Theresia said in a respectful manner, catching Carol's attention.
"Well yes, though I wish you were there to have seen it."
"Yes..."
There was a moment of silence, both warrior women were still trying to process what is going on. Carol is happy to see her friend back with them, back with those her former master holds dear and yet she knows that something is troubling her. Theresia is happy that Carol is by her side like the good old days but she feels lost, out of place.
All of her friends have grown up, experienced many years she had lost due to her becoming a puppet for Pandora. Thinking of the witch, even for a second, causes Theresia to be tensed since she had probably helped the witch cult do damage to the world. Theresia looked back at her sword, knowing that if anybody should defeat the witch of vanglory, it should be her.
"I can't say I understand what you are feeling, Lady Theresia. I didn't deal with the things you are currently dealing with right now but know that I will be by your side."
Theresia looked at Carol, having noticed what she said with a surprise look. She didn't expect this at all yet she already knew that Carol would always have her back. She smiles and thanks her friend before the two noticed the wagon stop all of a sudden.
This caused the two women to get up and look at the front to see Grimm tapping on the wall, alerting them that they have arrived.
Theresia and Carol gathered the supplies they will need for the travel through water with Grimm checking the perimeter in case there are threats nearby that could attack them.
While he was scouting around, Theresia finally decided that she should speak her mind regarding Pandora.
"That witch, she isn't going to be easy to defeat, far from it."
"Even so, we will beat her together, the three of us." Carol said with confidence, believing that with her and Grimm fighting beside Theresia, the three could take on the witch of vanglory. Theresia admired this from Carol yet she knew full well just how dangerous the witch is. She looked at the ground for a moment with doubt in her facial expression.
"I wish that were true, Carol, but that thing, it's more than just a monster."
"Regardless Lady Theresia, you aren't alone this time." Carol spoke with a stern yet respectful manner, wanting to inspire confident on her beloved friend. "Even if the task looks impossible, we will succeed together."
Theresia couldn't help but smile as she could see that there are still some remnants of the old Carol, the one that would charge into battle despite if the odds were completely against them. She chuckled a little before nodding at her friend with confidence.
"Alright. We can do it." The former sword saint said, having gotten her confidence back thanks to Carol's words. Carol smiled before the two got the boat into the water with Grimm bringing the supplies. After a bit of this, they managed to set the boat ready for travel. Grimm grabbed his pen and paper to write out his thoughts. He turned towards Carol to hand her what he wrote down.
"We are lucky that the river is calm right now."
"Yes, I suppose so."
"What did Grimm say?" Theresia asked with a curious tone.
"He is just mentioning how the river is pretty calm right now."
"Oh. Well. Yeah. We should get moving."
"Agreed."
The three of them push the boat into the river after having set all the supplies there before getting in themselves, all three of them prepared for the harsh journey ahead. As they began their boat ride, Theresia looked around the water for a bit, finding the river itself beautiful. While she enjoyed the view, she turned back towards land and noticed a particular flower that caught her attention.
("Hey, do you like flowers?")
("I don't hate them anymore.")
("Why do you truly wield a sword?")
("To protect...you.")
Theresia couldn't help but remember the day Wilhelm won her heart the moment she noticed a specific flower. She closed her eyes and pictured young Wilhelm next to her, probably cleaning his sword while she just enjoyed nature itself.
'I...miss those days...'
Although she does wish to see young Wilhelm again, she still cares for her husband despite being old looking. She has seen older Wilhelm be a much calmer man, still keeping to himself but looking much more at peace.
These thoughts of her husband filled the former sword saint with joy. As Theresia's was having her happy thoughts, they would eventually get interrupted when she felt the boat violently get moved around.
"Huh?"
"What's going on?"
Both Theresia and Carol said before noticing a few heartless appearing. Some of these heartless are air pirate heartless, a few others are air soldier heartless, and the remaining ones are Aeroplane type heartless. Theresia, Carol, and Grimm were unsure on what to do at first since they hadn't encountered these creatures until they spotted the heartless symbol on the dark creatures.
"Those are...heartless..." Carol said, not having dealt with those creatures in a long time. Theresia and Grimm both got themselves ready for a fight, also feeling some nostalgic in facing the creatures. The two female warriors got their swords out while Grimm pulled his large shield, all three now ready to fight.
The heartless attack the group one at a time, causing the three to not be concerned at first since they can all team up together to easily take them out. Eventually the heartless starting to group up, each one taking a specific warrior.
Grimm struggled a bit since all he could do is defend. Carol struggled to land a single hit since the air soldier heartless was moving around her. Theresia was the only one who managed to keep up with the heartless, taking each one that attacked him, proving to herself that she still is strong.
Carol and Grimm both noticed this, prompting the two to give it their all. With the three warriors giving their all together, many of the heartless were taken out which eventually caused a couple of more powerful looking ones to appear.
"Man, these creatures are pretty annoying."
Carol said as she was ready for the more powerful heartless to start their attack. Grimm nods at what his wife had said before turning towards the heartless, preparing to use his shield to take down the heartless charging at him.
Theresia looked at the two and couldn't help but smile as she sees that Carol and Grimm has gotten much stronger as a power couple. This made her wish Wilhelm was there with them, wanting to be fighting side by side with her husband. This distracted her long enough for one of the heartless to get closer to her, trying to attack the former Sword Saint in her back side. Carol noticed this and quickly shouted at her close friend,
"Lady Theresia! Behind you!"
"Huh?"
Theresia turned around and just barely managed to dodge the attack. As she dodged the attack, she quickly got back her stance before charging towards the powerful heartless. Once closing in, she took it out before turning towards Grimm and Carol to check on them. The two lovers were able to keep up despite their age yet the heartless kept attacking the duo in groups. Because of this, their strength was dwelling fast.
This caused Theresia to close her eyes as she tried to feel the lost divine protections she once had when she was the sword saint. Although she couldn't feel it, she felt a powerful motivation within her soul, allowing her strength to slightly increase enough to destroy all of the remaining heartless in the area. Grimm and Carol looked amazed as they recalled this power from their dearest friend possessed back in the day when they were young.
The three looked around for a bit with their guard up, waiting for more heartless to appear yet it seemed to have stopped after two minutes of nothing. This gave the trio a chance to take a break from the fighting, both Grimm and Carol being more tired than Theresia due to them being a bit older. As they rested for a moment, Carol couldn't help but say,
"I got to say, Lady Theresia, I'm a little envious of your youth."
"I mean, you and Grimm were amazing regardless if you are older than me physically."
The three giggled for a bit before taking the moment to enjoy the river they were at. While they watched the view, Theresia looked at the sky and smiled as she could only think of Wilhelm and Reinhard, wanting to have a peaceful life with them and with Heinkel. She is aware of her son yet she also knows how things have been with him. This made her feel sad for a moment since she feels at fault for the way he ended up yet she also feels hope. The hope she feels is the chance to help lead her son on the right track.
'I'll bring us all back together. That is my goal.'
She kept her eyes closed for a moment before all of a sudden feeling another bump on the boat. All three warriors got up and had their weapons ready for a fight yet they noticed no heartless nearby.
"What was that?"
"Don't know..."
Theresia looked around the boat to see if they hit a rock until she noticed an unconscious boy floating on the river. This instinctively caused the former sword saint to put away her sword to quickly help this boy.
Carol and Grimm were confused at first since they didn't know what was going on until they saw their friend was struggling to help someone. This caused the married couple to put away their weapons to assist their friend in getting the unconscious boy onto the boat.
Once they succeeded in this, the trio looked at the boy for a moment before checking if he is still alive. As they are checking, Grimm looked at the weapon the boy was holding in his hand and noticed that it was an oddly big sword.
'What kind of person would wield this sort of weapon?' Grimm questioned himself as the sword was looking too big. He waited for a second before seeing that Theresia and Carol were relieved since the boy was breathing. Grimm turns towards his stuff and grabs a paper and pen to write down what he is thinking. Once he writes it down, he shows it to both women.
"This boy looks weird, don't you think?"
"Yeah, he kinda does. Also his weapon is odd." Carol said. Having seen many swords in her life, she hasn't met anybody who would wield such a strange weapon. While she was thinking this, the boy suddenly woke up with fear in his eyes.
"Are you okay?" Theresia asked as she was trying to keep the boy calm. The boy looked at Theresia with some fear for a brief moment before managing to collect himself. Once he was calm, he got up after letting go of his sword. He looked around with confusion, causing the trio to be even more concerned.
"Kid, what's wrong?" Carol asked with a stern voice, not sure if this boy is good or bad. The boy looked at her for a moment before looking around while asking,
"Where...am I?"
"Do you not know how you got in the river?" Theresia asked as she was more concerned by the fact that this boy was lost in the river. The boy could only nod a no to the former sword saint, indicating that he is indeed lost. The trio all look at one another before turning towards with some questions in mind.
"What was the last thing you remember?" Carol asked calmly.
"I was...fighting Sephiroth...and then everything went bright..."
"Sephiroth?" The trio looked at one another once again, all three confused since they never heard the name. This prompted Grimm to write down his question, wanting to know the name of the young man in front of them. As he finishes writing, he shows it to the boy only for the boy to say,
"Sorry, I don't know what you wrote down."
"Eh? You don't recognize this?" Carol asked with a skeptical tone. The boy stared at her briefly before looking off at the distance. Theresia approached with caution while asking Grimm's question for him.
"What is your name?"
The boy stood silent for a moment, turning towards the former sword saint for a bit. He analyzed her before concluding that she isn't a bad person. Once making this choice, he answers her question by saying in a calm tone of voice,
"...the name is Cloud."