Chapter 76: Louis Arneb
Subaru opened his eyes after the blind light had covered his vision for a moment when he along with Sora were entering Louis Arneb's heart. As he opened his eyes, he immediately started to freak out as he saw himself falling.
"What the hell?!"
Subaru started to slightly freak out since he was falling from a very high area in a dark void. As Subaru was freaking out, he felt something grab his left arm. Just as Subaru was going to react to this, he heard his master's voice say to him,
"Calm yourself, Subaru."
Subaru turned towards his left side to see that Sora was managing to keep him from continuing to fall while also having some sort of gold glow around him.
"Just stay calm Subaru, everything will be fine—"
"I want to believe that but being this far away from the ground is fucking scary!"
Subaru continued to go a bit crazy until somehow Sora managed to land a strong hit on the top of his head to snap him back into reality.
"Come on! I need you to focus."
"S-Sorry about that..." Subaru said as he was trying to remain cool. "Now what?"
"We need you to learn how to fly."
"Okay...how do I do that?"
("Fly, Sora! Just believe, and you can do it!")
Sora remembered those words told to him by Peter Pan so long ago. This prompted the Keyblade Master to say,
"I need you to believe."
"Believe?" Subaru questioned. "Are you sure that's how I'll fly?"
Sora understood why Subaru would think this though it did hurt a little that he didn't trust him.
"I get that it's a little hard to believe but you need to really believe that you can fly."
"Is that how you were able to do it?"
"Sort of..."
Sora paused himself for a moment, trying to think on how he could better assist Subaru on this. As he was thinking quickly, he felt someone fly near his shoulder which also got Subaru's attention.
"Who's that?" Subaru questioned, having an odd feeling that he recognized the little flying girl. Sora was confused by what Subaru had asked him, prompting the keyblade master to turn towards his left shoulder to see that it was someone he wasn't expecting.
"Tinker bell?!"
Sora was shocked to see her, knowing that it had been a long while since the two have interacted. Tinker Bell nods at Sora with a smile before turning her attention towards Subaru, noticing that they are in some odd place.
She looked at Subaru again for a moment before turning towards Sora. The Keyblade Master took a moment before turning towards Tinker Bell to ask her,
"Could you please help Subaru?"
Tinker Bell looked at Subaru, seeing that he is just hanging in there while Sora was using all of his strength to prevent him from continuing to fall down. She nodded at Sora, showing that she agrees to help before turning towards Subaru.
She heads towards the boy's position and begins to give him pixie dust. A few seconds after this, Sora let go of Subaru's hand to allow the boy to see that he was indeed flying.
"This is so freaking cool!" Subaru shouted, never believing that he would be able to fly.
"Yeah. It's temporary but you can fly."
"But then how do you pull it off if its temporary?"
"I just believe that I can fly."
"Believe? Is that seriously all you have to do?"
"Yes."
Subaru was stunned for a brief moment by this response, feeling that there is probably more to it but for now, he would have to keep that answer in mind. He turned towards the bottom of the darkness to see that there was something circle like far down.
"I assume that's where we have to go. Right?"
"Yes. That's where we will wake up Louis."
"Alright then...lead the way."
Sora nodded at this before him and Tinker Bell made their way down with Subaru following behind the two, still trying to get adjusted to his new flying ability. As the three were heading towards the heart of the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, Sora turned towards Tinker Bell, having noticed that she was accompanying them.
Sora was curious on how Tinker Bell was with them since he recalls that he had failed to summon his allies before. This caused him to question a lot of things about this world but the first question was towards Tinker Bell.
"Do you know how you got here?"
Tinker Bell turned towards Sora as she heard the question. She was silent for a moment before nodding a no, prompting Sora to go with his next question.
"Well...do you want to help me and Subaru?"
Tinker Bell without hesitation nodded a yes, wanting to help her friend. Sora smiled at this before looking forward.
"I should tell you that we will be helping someone important. Someone who deserves a chance to be happy."
Tinker Bell nodded as she understood the situation with just those two sentences. She looked forward with determination in her eyes. As the three were diving down, getting closer towards the heart, they eventually noticed a dark figure approaching them rapidly.
Subaru and Sora both immediately got their keyblades out as they prepared for battle. As this dark figure approaches the three, Sora immediately blocks off the attack as he was the first to be attacked by the heartless.
The two keyblade wielders observe the weapon, noticing that it was a grey staff with a black headpiece. As they noticed this, Sora was immediately on the alert since he knew exactly what kind of heartless he was facing.
("Dream by dream, you nearly buried yourself in the dark of sleep. And now you're at it again? The Lich you've been fighting-it's not like other Heartless. It exists to usher hearts down to the depths of darkness. If you chase it, you will condemn your heart to that same abyss.")
("You're wrong. My heart is strong.")
("What do you think the power of waking is?")
("It's for traversing hearts to reach worlds. Not for traversing worlds to reach hearts. There's a high price to pay for wielding such power foolishly.")
("So what? You're worried about ME now?")
("No. There's no saving you.")
("You've paid the price. And it lies at the bottom of the abyss.")
Sora sharply remembered this conversation with Young Xehanort, knowing full well now the dangers of using the Power of Waking. Since he arrived at this world, he had used it on Rem though he was able to recover her heart without consequence and without the lich's involvement.
This is the second time he has used the power of waking and is now dealing with the Lich, making it clear to Sora that this is going to be a tough battle. Subaru was preparing an attack on the Lich but before he did, he looked at his master and noticed something rare.
'I haven't seen Master Sora this motivated since the fight against the Witch of Envy. Perhaps this heartless must be extremely dangerous. That means I'll need to be on my guard. Alright then, let's do this Natsuki Subaru!'
With his mind determined, Subaru swing his rebirth keyblade in an attempt to hit the lich's head. As he did this, he not only missed but he lost balance and was starting to fly all around the area, still not having a hang on his ability to fly.
'Damn it! Come on Natsuki Subaru! It's like swimming except there isn't water, just air!'
As the boy was regaining his balance, Sora continued to deflect the attacks from the Lich, surprised since his last encounter with the heartless it was constantly on the defensive. Now seeing it on the offense, it made him suspicious.
He tried to feel a connection with Louis, seeing that if the Lich had gotten her heart yet. As he was trying to connect with Louis Arneb, his eyes shot up as he realized something.
'He was about to get her heart!'
As this thought came to mind, he knew that this was his chance to wake Louis Arneb before the Lich gets her heart. Subaru regained his balance and prepared to fight off the Lich only to notice that Sora was diving straight towards Louis Arneb's heart with the Lich following behind. Subaru quickly charged towards the two, not wanting to be left behind.
He quickly dives towards the lich, preparing to try his attack on it once again. As he was closing in, Sora stopped himself suddenly as he turned around to attack the heartless. The lich noticed this and was able to quickly block off Sora's attack. Subaru noticed this which prompted him to quickly move towards the lich with his keyblade aimed at the neck of the lich.
'Come on Natsuki Subaru! This is your chance! Take the damn hit!'
Subaru swung his keyblade with everything he had, managing to actually hit the heartless lich this time. As the keyblade was able to connect, the lich quickly teleported out of there, surprising the two keyblade wielders.
The two looked around for a bit in search of the lich. As they were looking as fast as they could, Tinker Bell looked up and found the lich, prompting her to tap Sora on the neck.
The Keyblade Master felt the tap on his neck, prompting him to look at tinker bell for a moment before looking up, seeing where she was pointing. As he looked up, he noticed the lich preparing to attack Subaru.
"Watch out!" As Sora shouted this, he threw Kingdom Key directly towards Subaru's direction. The boy noticed this and quickly managed to grab the keyblade before quickly blocking off the lich's attack.
'That was too close!'
As Subaru thought this, he moved his left arm containing his keyblade towards the lich, attempting to land another hit on the lich. Just as it was about to connect, the heartless lich was able to push Subaru back with its immense straight, sending him down a few feet under it with the boy trying to force his body to stop falling.
While this was happening, the lich attempted to attack Subaru again only for Sora to prevent this by summoning Oathkeeper. He blocks off the attack and begins to throw a barrage of swings at the heartless. As he was doing this, he shouted to Subaru,
"Go and help Louis! I'll keep the lich busy!"
"Okay."
As Subaru said this, he quickly started to dive down towards Louis's heart, knowing that he has the best chance since his master was doing his best to distract the heartless lich. As he was closing in towards Louis's heart, he noticed a shinning light in front him.
'What is that bright light?'
Subaru cover his eyes for a moment before the bright light shinned back down. Once he was able to open his eyes again, he looked around as he was surprised that he was in a new yet familiar location.
"This is...the hall of memories...what am I doing here?"
Subaru looked around for a moment before noticing Sora and the Lich appearing there with him, both of them still in combat.
"Sora!"
Subaru prepared to assist his master only to stop himself when he noticed that there was someone in front of him.
"Hm? Louis?"
"..."
The girl turned around to reveal as Louis Arneb. She looked at Subaru with a blank facial expression before starting to run away from him.
"No—wait!"
Subaru started to chase Louis around but as he was beginning to do this, he heard his master shout out his name. He turned towards Sora's direction only to receive a strong hit to the face, sending him flying a couple of feet away.
'D-Damn it!'
"Subaru!"
Sora shouted as he was afraid that the lich's attack was strong enough to kill his apprentice. As Sora was about to use Curaga on his apprentice, Subaru pointed his keyblade at the lich while shouting with anger,
"Fira!"
As the boy shouted this, a powerful fireball was created from the tip of his Rebirth keyblade. Once the fireball was ready, it shot off from the keyblade and made its way towards the heartless lich's location. The lich noticed this and just easily deflected away the attack, not viewing it too much as a threat only for Sora to land a strong hit on it.
The lich was caught off guard by this, causing it to start retreating away from Sora's position, seeing that the keyblade master will eventually kill it. As the lich gained its distance, it noticed Louis nearby, just standing on the sidelines with a curious look. The moment the heartless noticed the sin archbishop of gluttony, it immediately charged at her.
Sora and an injured Subaru noticed this, forcing the two boys to quickly run as fast as they can to chase down the lich in order to protect Louis Arneb. The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony noticed the lich charging at her, forcing the teen girl to start running away from the heartless. As the Lich was chasing the sin archbishop of gluttony, Sora and Subaru were both running side by side with Subaru bleeding from the head.
Tinker Bell noticed this and quickly approached Subaru's bleeding side of his head before starting to heal it with a simple tap. As Subaru felt the tiny hands of the fairy, he started to feel the pain in his head go numb while also feeling a very warm feeling. Subaru appreciated this feeling though he sharpened his senses, knowing that he can't lose his focus on the lich alongside his master.
As Sora and Subaru were getting closer to the lich, Louis turned towards the heartless that was chasing her for a moment before looking forward while moving her hand forward, creating a bright light. Sora and Subaru both noticed this which prompted the two keyblade wielders to cover their eyes for a moment. Once the moment had passed, the two keyblade wielders looked forward to see that they are at a new location, the watchtower.
"We are...here again?" Subaru questioned, starting to get confused on how exactly the heart of a person works. As he was thinking this, he and Sora spotted the lich, noticing that it was on Louis Arneb's trail. The two keyblade wielders were running with everything they got but Sora knew that they weren't going to get any faster than what they were already running. This prompted the keyblade master to throw his keyblade at the lich with everything he had.
'Please work!'
As Sora threw his keyblade with everything he had, Kingdom Key moved towards the lich's location just in the nick of time. Just as the heartless boss was about to grab Louis Arneb, Kingdom Key managed to hit the heartless in the head with enough force to stun it. This bought Sora and Subaru enough time to catch up and begin their offense against the heartless.
"I won't let you hurt her!"
Sora began to give it his all with Kingdom Key not only returning to his hand, but it started to glow. Seeing and sensing the keyblade glowing forced the lich to duplicate itself in order to avoid facing Sora in this state of power. As two fake version of the lich appeared, they started to attack the two keyblade wielders while the original searched for Louis, having lost her.
'Damn it! We have to do something about this!' Subaru thought as he realized that the heartless boss was keeping them at bay. He quickly decides to use his formchange, which gave Subaru an edge in the fight since the shadows around him allowed for some aggressive offense.
As his shadows covering his formchange attire were assisting in pushing the Lich back, Subaru prepared a powerful attack with both Starlight and Rebirth keyblades. As Subaru's ball of power was ready to be used, the boy shouts at the fake lich he was facing.
"Let's see you handle this! Stellar Nebula!"
Subaru threw his power of ball towards the fake lich. The moment the ball connected with the heartless, a large explosion occurred which destroyed the fake lich but also ended up send Subaru flying off onto the distance. Sora looked at Subaru with concern only to see that the shadows were protecting his apprentice. Once knowing that his apprentice was alright, he quickly put his entire focus on facing the fake heartless lich in front of him, confident that he will win.
Within a few attacks, he easily defeats the heartless. Once the fake lich disappeared, he had turned around to see that Subaru in his formchange attire was going after the real lich. He quickly started to run with everything he had, preparing his Kingdom Key to take out the lich. The two keyblade wielders closed the large gap between them and the lich, preparing to finish the heartless boss off together only for the lich heartless to teleport out of their strongest close-range attacks.
The two keyblade wielders were shocked by this but only for the briefest of moments before quickly analyzing the area, searching for where the lich could've gone. As they looked around with great speed, the lich heartless teleported behind Subaru in an attempt to sneak attack him. Subaru's shadows were able to sense this, allowing it to act on its own and block off the attack.
Subaru noticed this which quickly prompted him to quickly swing both of his keyblades at the lich. As he did this, the lich received a couple of fatal hits which forced it to retreat once again. As the lich once again ran away from the duo, the two keyblade wielders noticed Louis Arneb approaching the two.
"Wait, stand back Louis. It is dangerous being here." Sora spoke due to him being afraid of the lich getting the teen girl's heart. Louis just looked at Sora for a moment before raising her arm up.
"What are you—?"
"...please...help...us..."
As Louis said this, the lich had not only teleported behind the sin archbishop of gluttony but also had grabbed her by the neck.
"Louis!"
Both Subaru and Sora shouted as they see that the lich had managed to grab onto the sin archbishop of gluttony. Just as they were going to react to this, Louis snapped her fingers just before she disappeared and turned into a heart. As Louis had managed to move the two keyblade wielders and the lich onto her station of awakening just before the lich had gotten her.
"We have to save her!"
"We will M—Sora! Together, we will!"
Sora nodded at Subaru before the two looked at The Lich, seeing that they will have to be quick if they want to save Louis from being captured. Just as they were about to start their attack, Tinker Bell flies beside Subaru, feeling comfortable near the boy. Subaru took note of this but didn't put much thought on it. The two keyblade wielders charge at the lich with everything they got.
As they were closing the gap, the lich heartless makes three duplicates of itself. The three fake lich heartless attack the two keyblade wielders while the original tried to escape. Sora realized that if he continued to fight in his current form, he won't be able to get through the three fake lich heartless even with Subaru in his formchange by his side.
He switched out his Kingdom Key into Crystal Snow before going into its formchange. As his color patterns began to change, the keyblade turned into icy talons that are on both of Sora's hands. As Sora was in this form, he begins to attack by charging forward with momentum, managing to attack the three fake heartless lich all at once. Subaru noticed this attack, impressed by how amazing his master's skills before turning his attention towards the real Lich heartless.
'This is my chance!'
The boy quickly used the shadows from his sage attire to move faster. Once he was closing in on the lich, he takes the opportunity to attack with everything he has in him.
The shadows from his sage attire managed to prevent the heartless boss from escaping while he swung his Rebirth and Starlight keyblades at the heartless boss. The lich noticed this and quickly turned its body red to avoid getting hit from Subaru's two keyblades. As it managed to avoid the two attacks from the boy, a couple of neoshadow type heartless appeared around him.
'What the?!'
As Subaru was caught off guard by the appearance of the ten neoshadow heartless, the lich used this opportunity to gain some distance from the keyblade wielder.
'Dang it! I can't let it get—'
Before Subaru could finish his thought process, he noticed a couple of odd circles being created all around him.
"What the—?"
The circles exploded all around the boy, leaving him a bit injured. Tinker Bell noticed these injuries, prompting her to quickly act as a healer while the boy focused his attention on the neoshadow heartless that were approaching him. While this was going on, the lich thought that it had managed to find the right chance to escape only for it to receive a couple of fatal hits from Sora's attacks.
The Keyblade Master had managed to destroy the three fake heartless lich before quickly making his way towards the original once again. As he was going to finish off the heartless lich with everything he has, he started to remember the last time he had faced the lich. He knew that this wasn't the exact same tension but his desire to save Louis Arneb was the same as his desire to save his friends after they had lost against Terra-Xehanort.
'I won't let anyone be lost! Ever! No matter what, I will save everyone!'
The Keyblade Master stopped his right foot on the ground, creating a snowflake like figure with the lich in the center of it. As this froze the heartless boss for a moment, Sora proceeded to create ice all around the lich until the heartless was covered and surrounded by ice. Once this happened, Sora hit the top of the ice sculpture he made, causing it to collapse onto itself.
As this was happening, the lich tried to escape this ultimate attack since it knows that this would take it out. Just as it looked like it was going to escape this attack, Subaru who had finished off the neoshadow heartless joined Sora in one final attack. The two attacked in unison with Sora using Kingdom Key while Subaru used Starlight.
'Together we will beat this, Master Sora!'
'We are going to save you, Louis Arneb.'
As this was on their thoughts when their attacks connected on the heartless lich, the lich started to disappear as it dropped its weapon. Subaru reverted to his regular attire he was wearing prior to using formchange while Sora managed to stand up, feeling completely fatigued. The two keyblade wielders watched as the lich stood still, disappearing.
Tinker Bell also watched while healing Subaru, being close to get his injured left side fully healed. After a few seconds, the lich heartless disappeared completely with a heart covered by what seemed to be chains broke off as it approached the three of them. The two keyblade wielders watch as the heart got close to them before shining the brightest light on them.
"—Let us taste it too~tsu!"
Louis Arneb said as she charged at the version of her that had possessed and was temporarily Natsuki Subaru. As she was closing in on her counterpart, ready to eat her memories, her counterpart jumped away from her attack.
"Stay still~tsu!"
"No! We won't let you take our memories~tsu!" Louis said as she no longer had fear in her eyes. The fear of dying hadn't left her but it wasn't in her mind completely anymore.
Having thought about the memories of Sora, Subaru, and Rem helped her understand something about happiness. They each felt the most joy with the people that they care about and care about them. This caused her to also remember a promise given to her by the Keyblade Master.
("Then let me help you achieve that goal, to be happy like you want. Live a normal and happy life of your own.")
("He will come around but right now the focus is on you and the goal to help you be happy.")
Louis's heart felt joy when she heard those words the first time and remembering them right now, knowing that the Keyblade Master was being genuine when he said that he would help. This not only helped keep her fear from overpowering every emotion of hers but also kept her determined to win no matter what.
"Sora-san was kind. He was nice to us! He promised to make us happy. We want to be happy...and we will be happy~tsu!"
"Is that right? How can he make us happy~tsu?"
"He is...a good person~tsu. He never gives up on anyone. We saw his memories, don't you remember~tsu?"
"Yes, we remember. He was very interesting~tsu. The people he met, the worlds he went, they were all amazing to experience." Louis Arneb said with a smile on her face, remembering the adventures Sora had gone through with his friends. "A very interesting boy but Natsuki Subaru is more interesting~tsu! His Return By Death can help make us find that happy life we have always wanted! Yet you want to keep him for yourself!" Louis Arneb shouted with anger as she remembered why she was attacking herself. Louis was scared at first, slowly remembering each painful death she experienced under the hands of many people. Just as the fear was about to overtake her again, Sora's kind words allowed her to keep herself calm. Once back in the calm state, she quickly got her guard up and ready to defend herself.
"Once we eat you, we will learn more about Natsuki Subaru, experienced what you experience, and find out how to be happy~tsu."
"That's not happiness!" Louis shouted. "Happiness is not what we once thought. Happiness is found with those that care about one. They are from others like...Lye." She paused when she said this, slowly realizing that her idiot brother truly cared for her. Although in a twisted way, she started to understand that her brother was just doing his best to make her happy. Louis Arneb looked at her counterpart with a dumbfounded facial expression for a moment before laughing.
"That's funny! Our dumbest brother who we have hated for a long time to be someone important to us~tsu? How foolish! Now we allow us to eat you!"
As Louis Arneb said this, she once again charged at her counterpart, prepared to take away the memories Louis had gained both as Natsuki Subaru and during her time in the hall of memories before her arrival. Louis saw this and quickly jumped back again, trying to keep away from her counterpart while also trying to figure out what can she do.
She knows that she can fight back and try to use the authority of gluttony to take away her counterpart's memories though she wasn't sure if she could pull this off considering that they are the exact same person, just with different memories towards the end. Another problem is her counterpart was more aggressive than her, wanting to do anything it takes to find the happiness they both crave for.
She waited for a moment before reacting to her counterpart's attack once again, dodging her every attempt to grab her arm in order to take away her memories. While she was on the defense, all she could think about is how she doesn't want to die at first but those thoughts would change into how she doesn't want to lose the chance to see if the keyblade master could truly help her find the happiness she wants.
She wants to see the future she would have in following the Keyblade Master. These thoughts helped her keep that fighting spirit alive, eventually prompting her to start fighting back. She waited for the right moment before dodging Louis Arneb's another attempting in grabbing her wrist. As this happened, she instinctively fought back in the exact manner Natsuki Subaru would without a keyblade.
She threw a strong punch to her counterpart's right cheek, managing to not only surprise the sin Archbishop of Gluttony but also send her flying back for a brief moment. She was stunned by this attack, finding it completely out of character for someone like themselves though she thought more into it before realizing that this was something her counterpart might've done when she was possessing Natsuki Subaru.
"We are full of surprises, aren't we~tsu? We never expected such a vulgar attack from one that's us...but then again..." Louis Arneb quickly recovered from the attack by landing on her feet with a sadistic smile on her face. "We must've done this when we were Natsuki Subaru. It only makes sense! He will be our way towards our true goal, to be happy~tsu!"
She charged back in, forcing Louis to go back on the defense, avoiding Louis Arneb's attempts in grabbing her wrist.
'We must win! We can't lose! We can't let our other to win~tsu!'
Louis closed her eyes for a moment to think of the happy life she wants, causing her to feel her motivation to increase more and more. After she dodged a couple of attacks, she took another chance at trying to land another punch to her counterpart's face.
Just as it seemed like she was going to connect her attack with Louis Arneb's face, the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony managed to grab her counterpart's hand. As Louis Arneb did this, she had a smile of both excitement and sinisterness since her goal to gain the memories of her counterpart is right there.
"Thank you for the treat~tsu!"
Louis had fear in her eyes when her counterpart was about to lick her wrist, seeing that she was about to lose.
'We don't want to die! We don't want to die! We don't want to die! We don't want to die! We don't want to die!'
As she was panicking, Louis's instinct quickly kicked in. She swung her right leg directly at Louis Arneb's head the exact moment that she was going to lick Louis's wrist. Louis Arneb was caught off guard by this, feeling a shocking amount of pain on her left side of her head while just being shocked by Louis's attack.
'How did she do it? How is our counterpart managing to keep up? We are superior~tsu!'
Louis Arneb was completely angered by this fact that her counterpart's fighting spirit, which prompt her to activate solar eclipse.
"We are going to eat your memories~tsu! We will be happy! We will be happy! We will be happy!"
With anger in her eyes, she charged at her counterpart with incredible speed, using the abilities of the fastest person in Lugnica. Louis noticed this and quickly activated her solar eclipse to keep her distance from her counterpart.
"We won't let you get us that easily~tsu!"
"Grrrr!"
Louis Arneb continued to go all out, wanting to catch her counterpart with everything she has in her. The two stayed in this cat and mouse chase for the next fifteen minutes until Louis had accidentally messed up her footing which resulted in her falling to the ground.
"hk!"
Louis Arneb saw this, prompting her to quickly act on this by jumping on top of her counterpart, pinning Louis to the ground by grabbing her neck and holding Louis's right arm down.
"It's time for the feast~tsu!"
"...!"
Louis Arneb went to lick Louis's left hand's palm, preparing to finally take away her counterpart's memories. Louis knew that she wasn't escaping this since she was pinned to the ground by her counterpart. Louis's mind was quickly going into overdrive, trying to figure out how she could save herself. She tried to grab Louis Arneb's hair to stop her from closing in on her left hand's palm yet this wouldn't delay her for too long.
Knowing that this is over, she closed her eyes as she reflected back on everything she had done since she had been born in the hall of memories. Just as Louis Arneb goes and begins to lick her counterpart's left hand's palm, Louis realizes that she could also do the same since her counterpart's left hand is what's holding her neck down.
Although she would have trouble doing this while she was being hold down, she knows that she would have maybe three to four seconds before the effects of the authority of Gluttony kick in. Just as she was about to make her move with Louis Arneb beginning her lick, a bright light shined around the two.
'Were are we...tsu? Are we...dead? Did we die...?' Louis thought this as the last thing she remembers was the bright light that shined over her and her counterpart. She tried to look around to see if she could figure out where she was but all she saw was pitch black.
'A dark abyss...fitting for someone like us...~tsu...'
Louis closed her eyes, figuring that she might as well go to a deep sleep, seeing that there is no way out of the dark abyss. As she had her eyes closed, she thought deeply about life and death and how those memories her brothers had taken from others for her sake were all full of life.
Although some people didn't use their lives in a good way, others did with only two people in mind that pushed themselves beyond their limits.
Natsuki Subaru, the boy she saw who died multiple times just to save those he cares for deeply. Sora, the Keyblade wielder that despite all odds would do anything to make sure his friends are safe and happy, even if it could lead to his death.
These two boys had interest her at first for her own gain, seeing that they would lead her towards her goal of having a happy life but after having been in Natsuki Subaru's shoes, her mind had change.
She was ingulfed with the fear of death, having tasted it herself multiple times against the Witch of Envy, The Organization, and Shaula. This fear had her completely frozen until Sora's kind heart had reached her dark one, showing that there is a chance at not just redemption but also a true chance at true happiness.
'Even so...we deserve this. We allowed many people lose their memories~tsu. Lye...your a moron but a good brother. Roy, you were manipulated by that bad woman we don't like~tsu. She has been using you and now...' Louis paused her thought process as she started to think back about her time as Natsuki Subaru, how caring the young version of Sora was despite not knowing any of the people the original Sora and Subaru were traveling with.
She also saw how much the others cared for her when she was Natsuki Subaru, especially Naoko and Kenichi. She felt the warmth of parental love, making her understand another aspect of love and happiness. She then thought about the struggles it took to save everyone, how she did everything she could with the 15 loops of hell.
'We were determined to save everyone because...we cared for them...'
As she was thinking about everything, reflecting, a bright light shined in the dark void which caught the sin archbishop of gluttony's attention. She opened her eyes for a moment before forcing her to close her eyes again, being blinded by the light. After a few seconds, she opened her eyes again to see that she was once again at the hall of memories but it felt different. She got up with the first thing being on trying to look for her counterpart. This search was immediately stopped when she heard a simple question from a familiar boy.
"Louis?"
"..." Louis Arneb was stunned for a moment because she didn't think that she was going to ever encounter them again. She turned around to see that it was truly them, the two Keyblade Wielders. "H-How are you here?"
"We just found our way into your heart, Louis."
"Our...heart...?" Louis questioned as she wasn't sure what Subaru was referring to. She looked at Sora in hopes that he could clarify what the Keyblade wielder meant. Sora took notice of Louis's confused look, prompting him to say,
"We used the power of waking to reach your heart."
"The power of waking..."
Louis closed her eyes as she heard this term before when she searched around Sora's memories before managing to find the first time this term was used for Sora regarding the power of waking.
("Once dreams take you, you must let them guide you to the Sleeping Worlds. As there are seven pure lights, there are seven "Sleeping Keyholes." Unlocking these will both grant you new powers, and free the worlds from their wakelessness")
From what Sora's memories are telling Louis, this was the first time this power of waking was mentioned even if it wasn't by name. She understood as she looked more and more into Sora's memories the purpose of this power. This made her wonder something,
"Why...? Why would you help us?"
"Because I promised you that I would help you be happy. I want to not only make sure that happens but I also want to be your friend."
"Friends...with us...why~tsu? Why would anybody be friends with a Sin Archbishop?" Louis questioned, wondering what would compel a person to be friends with someone like her.
'Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?'
Louis asked herself this question, wanting to know why would Sora want to be her friend. She continued to ask herself this question until finally she received her answer when Subaru said,
"That's just how Master Sora is, a kindhearted individual who finds the best in people, regardless of their past and what they had done."
"Not just that but I believe in you Louis. I believe that there is good in you."
"Good...how?"
"Because I can see that there is good in your heart. You may have done things that have caused harm to others but this is your chance to turn this around, to find the happiness you want."
"Our...happiness...you still want to help us...?"
"Of course." Sora said with a smile, the same smile that somehow manages to move people's hearts. Louis paused for a moment as she was mesmerized with Sora's innocent yet encouraging smile, prompting a few tears starting to form. Tinker Bell noticed this and quickly flew towards Louis Arneb's position. The Sin Archbishop of Gluttony was caught off guard by this.
'A Fairy?'
Tinker Bell started to move away Louis's tears, not wanting her to be sad which only left her surprised. Sora looked at Subaru, wanting to see what he was thinking. As he turned towards his apprentice, he notices that he had a blank facial expression. He turned back towards Louis to approach the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony before patting her in the head. This left her stunned as she looked up, seeing Sora head patting her with affection.
'Why does this boy want to help us? We didn't ask for help but...he still wants to help us...such a stubborn but innocent boy...~tsu.'
Louis had a smile on her face though unlike the many times before, this one was genuine. Though this only lasted for a moment since Louis recalled that she couldn't leave the hall of memories since she doesn't have a body.
"Even if you could help us, we are still trapped in the hall of memories~tsu. There's no way out for us..."
"Why do you think that?" Subaru said, finally saying something to the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony. She turned towards the boy to answer with,
"We aren't like Lye and Roy~tsu. We are like...a spirit. We don't have a body of our own."
"Well, for your information, you actually do have a body."
"Hm? What do you mean~tsu?" Louis asked as she looked with a confused facial expression. Subaru took note of this, prompting him to quickly respond with,
"I doubt you realized this, but you do have a body. We only managed to enter your heart because you have a real body in the outside world."
"What...?"
"Yeah, now you can get closer to the happy ending you wanted." Subaru said with some reluctant. Lous was shocked by this news, seeing that the first step to her happiness is already in effect. More tears start to be created before they begin streaming down. She as never been this happy, even with the memories of all the happiest people, this feeling was much more genuine than any she had ever seen.
She just charged at the two keyblade wielders to give them a hug, seeing that they are the reason she is having an actual chance at happiness. Sora returned the hug as he knew that this meant a lot to the teen girl. Subaru was uncertain at first but seeing just how happy she was while crying her eyes out, a part of him felt some compassion for the little Sin Archbishop of Gluttony.
He slowly went to pat her head, showing some emotion to not only appease his master but also to reassure Louis that he won't try to kill her or anything. Louis took notice of this, causing her to have a small smile, seeing that Subaru doesn't wish to harm her anymore.
Tinker Bell also joined in as she hugged a part of the teen girl's face, wanting to contribute to comforting her. Louis didn't know the fairy at first until she went through the memories of Sora once again. As she dug through the Keyblade Master's memories, she eventually learned the name of the fairy hugging her.
"Tinker...bell...?"
Tinker Bell was at first surprised that Louis knew her name but after a few seconds she just continued to comfort Louis.
"We are here for you Louis. You will never be alone again." Sora said confidently and with a smile, knowing that he will do everything in his power to make sure that his words and promises come true. Louis just couldn't help but smile as she knew that if anyone could keep a promise, it was going to be Sora. Before anything else was said, the four of them noticed a keyhole appear on the air right above them.
"Master Sora...?" Subaru asked as he turned towards his master's direction, curious to know what was happening. Sora looked up at the keyhole as he figured that it was time to finish their trip in Louis Arneb's heart.
"It's time to go."
"Go? Where?" Louis asked with a curious facial expression.
"To the outside world. Where we will see each other again."
"...a-are you sure we will see you again~tsu?" Louis spoke with some hesitation, worried that she might not wake up, that she will just find herself in the hall of memories with her counterpart.
Sora and Subaru both noticed this hesitation and fear, prompting the two to pat her on the shoulder, Sora in Louis's left side and Subaru in Louis's right side. She looked surprised at the two but that surprise facial expression turned into a happy one. The two boys turned towards the keyhole with their keyblades summoned, preparing to leave only for Sora to ask one last thing to Tinker Bell.
"Will I see you again? On the outside world?"
Tinker Bell wasn't sure to answer this since she doesn't even know how she ended up in this place. She didn't want to make Sora look said, so she just hugged his head before giving a confident smile to the keyblade master. Sora was stunned for a second before giving a smile of his own before looking back towards the keyhole.
"Okay, time to go."
"Right behind you, M—Sora."
Sora nodded at him before pointing Kingdom Key directly at the keyhole with Subaru following the movement with his Rebirth Keyblade. As the two were pointing their keyblades at the keyhole, a bright small sphere of light starts to be created on the tip of their keyblades.
After a few seconds, this sphere of light turned into a beam as it shot straight towards the keyhole's direction.
Once the two beams of light hit the keyhole, a large circle of light was created as it surrounded the keyhole. Subaru and Sora looked at this light confidently, Tinker Bell looked with a blank expression, and Louis looked with both curiosity and a little excitement.
"We wonder...what will be in stored for us after this~tsu. Will we truly...get a happy ending?" As she questioned this, she remembered what Sora had told her, the kindness of Tinker Bell, and what seems to be a forgiveness from Natsuki Subaru. "We will be happy...with them by our side~tsu."
Beatrice crossed her arms as she waited with an annoyed facial expression, wondering how long before both her contractor and the Keyblade Master will be done with their rescue mission. As she waited for ten minutes, she noticed that someone was entering the tent. She turned to see that it was Otto and Garfiel.
"You two. What are you doing here?"
"We're here t'talk with Master'n'Cap'n. Ya know where they at?"
"They are right here, in fact." Beatrice said as she pointed at their unconscious bodies. The two boys were alarmed when they saw this.
"Are they asleep?" The merchant questioned.
"Not necessarily, I suppose."
"What do ya mean by th't?"
"They are doing something to wake that sleeping girl, I suppose." Beatrice said as she looked away from the two, not liking that the two keyblade wielders are taking too long with their rescue mission.
As she had finished speaking, a bright light had shined the room where Louis Arneb's sleeping body was at. Otto and Garfiel immediately got into their fighting stances, staying on guard in case this was an attack while Beatrice just stood still with a blank facial expression.
'It's about time.'
As Beatrice thought this, the three waited until the light had faded away to reveal that both Sora and Subaru were waking up from what it looked like a nap. As the two keyblade wielders started to get up, Otto and Garfiel both approached the two with some questions.
"What th'hell was th't?"
"Sorry about that Garf, Sora and I were just taking care of something."
"What exactly? Taking a nap?" Otto questioned his friend with some skepticism.
"We weren't taking a nap, Otto. We were just helping someone who needed our help."
"Who?" Both Otto and Garfiel said this in unison, both of them curious to what the Keyblade Master was talking about. As the two looked with a confused facial expression, the five of them started to hear Louis making noises.
They all turned towards her as she started to awaken from her long slumber. As she was waking up, Garfiel was on the defensive since he had an odd feeling that this girl looks way stronger than she appears while Otto just watched, curious to see what will happen next. Beatrice gets on her feet and makes her way towards Subaru's side to hold his hand, reminding him that she is his contracted spirit and that he needs to be by her side.
Sora looked with a serious facial expression at first since he knows that using the power of waking has its own risks, especially ones he cannot reverse like disappearing but he hopes that at the very least he could help Louis Arneb.
Seeing her starting to open her eyes shifted that serious facial expression into one of a happy one, seeing that the efforts he along with Subaru did worked.
He also needs to thank Tinker Bell since she helped in the battle by providing healing and even helping Louis when she was sad. He closed his eyes for a moment as he thought,
'Thank you, Tinker Bell. I hope to see you and Peter Pan again. I hope someday I can pay Neverland a visit.'
As he had this in mind, he opened his eyes to see that Louis was starting to get up, looking at her surroundings with a blank facial expression. She looked at the five of them for a moment before looking at her hands, shocked and uncertain. As she was looking at everything, Garfiel couldn't help but ask,
"Who's th's?"
"Her name is Louis Arneb. She's someone who needed our help." Sora responded in a calm manner. Subaru was unsure if his help was needed but seeing a possibly important ability, the power of waking, in action might prove useful in the future should he need to awaken a sleeping heart. Louis looked back at the five of them again with tears starting to form in her eyes.
Garfiel, Beatrice, and Otto were surprised by this, uncertain on why the girl was beginning to cry while Sora and Subaru both knew why. The two approached her with Sora going for the hug while Subaru patted her head while still managing to hold Beatrice's hand.
The little loli spirit looked at Subaru patting Louis's head, causing her to feel a strong sense of jealousy since she wants only her to be patted in the head by him. Otto and Garfiel were both unsure what was going on yet they trusted that whatever they were doing was to help this girl. As the room was silent with Louis's cries being the only noise, Kenichi and Naoko entered the room.
"What's going on here?"
"She's finally awake, mother, father." Subaru responded as he turned towards his parents, having expected them to eventually arrive. Naoko and Kenichi both looked at Louis, seeing that she had finally awaken which prompted the two to quickly approach her to check on the girl that had been asleep for a long while. As they were checking on Louis, she finally uttered her first words in this world,
"We...made it! We made it! We made it!"
For most of the room, these seemed like words that made no sense but for the two keyblade wielders, these words were meaning that Louis had finally arrived at the real world.
After having been alone in the hall of memories with only the memories of others, she was now in the real world with actual people she could interact with without having to rely on her brothers.
Now that she was in the real world, she was uncertain what can she do other than cry tears of joy. Sora smiled before turning towards Garfiel and Otto, seeing that they were at a distance from them.
"Join us you two, meet our new friend. Louis Arneb."
"...Aight..."
"Okay."
Otto and Garfiel both slowly joined Subaru, Sora, Beatrice, and Subaru's parents. As the two closed in, they saw that Louis's cries were starting to fade away as she started to calm down.
Once Louis had finally stopped crying, she looked at Subaru's parents as they were checking her up since they had been worried about her, how she wouldn't wake up for weeks.
She looked up to see that Otto and Garfiel were both looking at her, both curious about who she was. Otto took off his hat while saying in a kind manner,
"Hello there, my name is Otto Suwen. I'm a merchant."
"And my name's Garfiel Tinsel, The Shield of the Sanctuary."
Garfiel added as he spoke in a boastful manner. Louis looked at the two as she knew who they were because of Natsuki Subaru's and Sora's memories she had access to.
Although she could mention that she knows who they are, that would lead to some questions that she rather not bring since they all hate Sin Archbishops. She just looked at the two boys and smiled while saying,
"We are Louis Arneb."
"We...?" Otto questioned, having noticed this pattern of speaking from Louis. Before he can think more into this, he notices Subaru telling Sora,
"We need to tell Abel about this. Knowing him, he wouldn't like if this information wasn't told to him immediately."
"He would. I should go and tell him then."
"Alone?" Subaru questioned.
"I was the one who wanted to help wake Louis up so it, so it would seem fair if I go and tell him."
"Ya don't have t'go alone. Brotto and my amazin' self can go with ya." Garfiel said.
"Yes, we can go with you Sora-san."
"Thank you." Sora said with a smile, appreciating Otto and Garfiel. "Let's get going."
As Sora, Otto, and Garfiel were making their way towards the outside of the tent, Subaru quickly spoke out.
"Hold on. Let me and Beako join you three."
Sora, Otto, and Garfiel all three noticed this with Beatrice somewhat okay with this proposal since she doesn't wish to be next to the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony. Sora looked at Subaru as he asked in a curious tone,
"Are you sure? Abel might start insulting you again."
"Eh, it's fine. It's not like those insults actually hurt me."
"Okay..." Sora turned towards Kenichi and Naoko to ask the two, "Can you two please take care of Louis?"
"Sure. That's not a problem for us." Kenichi said proudly.
"Of course." Naoko said with a kind voice.
Sora nodded at the two before they all started to leave. While leaving the tent, Subaru looked at his parents and at Louis, a bit worried that they might be in danger and that the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony could be tricking them just to kill them all.
Although this was a thought, he pushed this away as he knew that he had to trust Louis since she wasn't lying when she cried both in her heart and here in the outside world. Naoko turned towards her son to see that he was worried. This prompted her to smile kindly at him while saying,
"There's no need to worry, my baby boy. Your father and I will be alright here with Louis."
Subaru nodded at his mother, trusting in her comforting words that everything will be alright. He turns forward and leaves the tent with the others with Beatrice holding his hand tightly as she wanted to comfort her contractor, having detected his worry.
Subaru appreciated this which prompted him to pat Beatrice's head for a moment before looking forward, following Sora towards the tent Vincent was located. As they left, Kenichi allowed his wife to make sure that Louis was able to walk since she had been asleep for a long while.
Louis got out of her bed and was able to stand up but she was struggling to stay standing up for long since she wasn't accustomed to having an actual body in the real world.
"So, how are you holding up?" Kenichi asked with a curious tone of voice.
"We are doing fine~tsu."
"We?" Naoko and Kenichi both questioned.
"Yes. We." Louis said with a smile, not understanding what exactly the problem was. Kenichi and Naoko both looked at each other with a confused facial expression since they weren't sure why she was speaking like this but they decided to just leave it be for now.
"Well then...tell us more about yourself, Louis." Naoko asked.
"What would you like to know~tsu?"
"Like do you have any family around?"
"We had two brothers but they are gone now~tsu." Louis responded to this in a calm manner which caught the two Natsuki members' attention.
"I'm sorry to hear."
"It's okay. They weren't good people...but they cared for us~tsu..." Louis paused on herself as she once again thought about Roy and Lye, how they cared for her in their own way. Roy cared somewhat though his focus was on Capella and how to please her while Lye did cared for her since he wanted to save her in some way. Naoko and Kenichi couldn't help but feel sympathy towards the teen girl.
They are lucky that they haven't experienced true loss though they did felt something like that when their child disappeared. That pain was completely shattering, so they have an understanding on what Louis could be feeling with the loss of her two brothers. The two decided together to hug Louis, wanting to make her feel safe and happy. Louis Arneb was surprised by this for a moment before smiling, feeling so happy that Subaru's parents are very nice people.
She felt loved but something was bothering the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony. She knew that they were probably being nice to her was because they don't know who she truly is. Although she would wish that this doesn't happen and that her identity remain a secret, she knew that it would cause both Sora and Natsuki Subaru some trouble if she tried to hide that fact. She waited until after the hug before she finally said to the two,
"We are not a good person..."
"What do you mean?" Naoko asked which did concerned both her and Kenichi. Louis looked down as she started to say,
"Don't get mad at Sora-kun or at Subaru-kun...but we are a part of the witch's cult, representing Satiation of Gluttony~tsu..."
There was a momentary pause as Kenichi and Naoko were surprised by this information, knowing that those in the witch's cult are dangerous. Before they decided to walk away from Louis, they thought carefully on what she said and that both their child and the Keyblade Master must've helped the girl wake up for a reason.
("I should tell you two that Elsa is...well, an assassin. A dangerous one.")
("Then how come she's a part of the camp?" Kenichi questioned.)
("Because somehow Master Sora sees something good in her.")
("Something good?")
("Like if there is a chance for her to be redeemed.")
'Redemption...'
Both Kenichi and Naoko took a moment to truly think about that moment a year and two months back, seeing that if someone like Elsa Grainhert could be redeemed, then maybe someone like Louis can. Kenichi crossed his arms as he looked with a serious facial expression.
"Let me just ask this, what is it that you want?"
"What we want?"
"Your overall goal. What is it that you desire?" Naoko added in so Louis would understand Kenichi's question. Louis paused for a moment as she thought carefully on the question she was asked. After a few seconds, she answered as genuine as she could,
"We just want to be happy but not the way we thought at first. We thought happiness was just a perfect life but after having met Natsuki Subaru-kun and Sora-kun...we have learned that happiness is being with the people that care for us~tsu. That's what we want..."
Naoko and Kenichi looked at Louis Arneb with a serious look for a moment before looking at each other, thinking carefully on what she said. After a moment, the two turned towards Louis and went to give her a hug.
"Huh?"
"Look, we don't know much about this world but we know who are people worth trusting. If our son and his master were able to trust you to wake you up—"
"—then we will trust in you, Louis. If what you said that you want a happy life with people that will care for you, then you are worth trusting."
Louis smiled happily as the next people to trust her would be Subaru's parents. Even though they don't have to trust her, they are willing to.
'We won't betray this trust! We will do everything in our power to make this trust be worth it!'
"Hm. So, that girl as finally awaken." Vincent said as he heard Sora and Subaru explain what had happened. He takes a moment to think since this was quite the power the two keyblade wielders have, waking people from deep sleep. He looked back at the two as he asked them, "Is there any abilities this girl can do?"
"Abilities? Like what? To help in a fight?"
"Yes clown." Vincent said coldly towards Natsuki Subaru. The boy expected this but him and his master looked at each other with uncertainty. They aren't sure if Louis wants to fight to begin with and even if she does, they don't know how capable she can be. Comparing to her brothers, she hasn't shown any of her skillsets.
"We might have to get back to you on that."
"Why? Is there something about this girl that I should know of?" Vincent questioned as he figured that something was off about how the two keyblade wielders reacted to his previous question and the way Sora responded. The two keyblade wielders stood silent for a moment, trying to think of something that could help make Vincent not want to investigate Louis since him finding out that she is the Sin Archbishop of Gluttony could put them in danger. Before either could say anything, Garfiel stepped in for the two as he said,
"What're ya gettin' at? Master'n'Cap'n aren't hidin' anythin' if th't's what yer thinkin'."
"Stay out of this boy. This doesn't concern you." Vincent spoke in such a sharp way that Garfiel paused himself.
'Th'hell's with this guy?'
Garfiel thought to himself as he didn't think that anyone would somewhat scare him off with just a couple of words. Otto was also taken aback from this which prompted him to speak in hopes of keeping things from getting tense,
"We could ask her if she would like to join the fight. We wouldn't want to force anyone to fight if they don't wish they could."
"That's not the issue here, merchant. If she wishes to fight or not isn't what my problem is."
"Then what is the problem?" Otto responded respectfully.
"The problem is when I asked about her abilities, they paused like if she had something she shouldn't have. Which brings me to this question, who is she?"
Sora and Subaru paused for a moment as they weren't sure if they should reveal who Louis Arneb truly is. If Lugnica hated any member of the witch cult, they weren't sure how the people of Vollachia would react to a witch cultist. Before either keyblade wielder could respond, they all noticed someone entering their tent. They all turned to see that it was Louis Arneb herself with Kenichi and Naoko by her side.
"We should introduce ourselves...Louis Arneb, former Sin Archbishop of the witch's cult, represented Satiation of Gluttony."
Hearing this caused Garfiel and Otto to both be on their guards since they are aware of the Sin Archbishops of Gluttony, Roy Alphard and Lye Batenkaitos. Beatrice stood with a blank expression since she already knew this. Some of the Shudraq warriors heard this and quickly got their weapons up, ready to attack Louis Arneb at the spot yet they noticed Vincent just put his hand up, signaling them to halt. As he did this, he crossed his arms as he began to say,
"That's quite a bold title. I don't know how the other kingdoms handle this nor do I care but in this empire, those who worship the 'witch' are executed for whatever reason."
The room got intense by this as Sora was prepared to protect Louis with Kenichi and Naoko both preparing to protect her as well. Vincent closed his eyes as he continued to speak.
"Tell me this, what can you do?"
"What do you mean?" Louis asked as she knew that Vincent was addressing to her.
"What can you do, witch worshiper? What abilities can you contribute to my cause?"
Louis stood silent as she heard this, seeing that her answer will effect how things will turn out not only for her but those that are protecting her. She took a moment before she activated her gluttony authority of Lunar Eclipse to chose an ability that would prove her worth.
After a moment of looking through the many skillsets, she knew one that will convince Vincent. She opened her eyes and quickly speed blitz everyone, managing to move from where she was standing all the way towards Vincent's back. As she was behind him, she put her hand near his neck while saying,
"Does this show that we are worthy~tsu?"
The Shudraq warriors were not only surprised by this but they got their weapons up, ready to protect the emperor of the Vollachian Empire only for Vincent to once again signal them to stand down. Vincent closed his eyes again as he asked,
"Is that all you can do?"
"We have more on our disposal~tsu."
"Show me."
Louis heard this and quickly moved in front of Vincent. As she did this, she turned towards Subaru, Sora, Garfiel, Otto, and Beatrice to request if one of the five could take her on in a fight.
"We need a volunteer~tsu."
The five of them looked at one another before Garfiel stepped up, having been a while since he faced a Sin Archbishop, especially one of gluttony. He moved forward as he slammed his fists together with a little excitement.
"Allow my amazin' self t'do th'honors."
"You sure Garfiel-san?"
"Yea, no need t'worry 'bout my amazin' self, Brotto."
"That's not what I was worried about."
Otto said as he watched Garfiel approaching Louis with the demi human boy on his guard yet looking confident. As the two were a few feet away from each other, Garfiel got his fists up as he said to Louis,
"I faced yer brothers, so know th't I ain't someone t'take lightly."
"Don't worry, we won't be going easy on you, Garfiel Tinsel."
"Ya better not! My amazin' self wants t'see what yer made of."
"Understood."
Louis used Lunar Eclipse once again, pulling the skills of a martial artist before charging at Garfiel with everything she has, wanting to prove her worth not only to Vincent but to herself.
She wants to prove her own worth in the case she has to protect her newfound friends, the people she wants to care for deeply. She charged right in and began the sparring match with the Shield of Sanctuary by going on the offensive, pushing the demi human boy back a bit.
Garfiel was impressed by Louis's martial arts skills, seeing that they are more or less on equal strength and speed for the moment. He swings a punch only for Louis to block it off while attempting to land a kick to Garfiel's face.
The demi human boy notices this and quickly moves his head fast enough to dodge the attack while attempting to land a kick of his own. Louis sensed this which quickly caused her instincts to use all the strength on her right leg to counter Garfiel's kick. As both their legs clashed, Garfiel could tell with just this amount of strength that Louis was pretty strong on her own right.
'Although th's one's not tryna kill, she's still strong like th't other Gluttony Sin Archbishop.'
As Garfiel compared his current match with Louis with his previous battle with Lye, he continued to throw everything he had on Louis, wanting to see where was not only her limit but his as well. Wanting to see if his goal to be the strongest in all of Lugnica is going anywhere.
Louis and Garfiel continued to throw and block every attack the other does, meanwhile Sora and the others observed the fight with interest. Both Subaru and Otto were impressed by Garfiel's abilities and increase in his fighting techniques, seeing that his training with Sora is paying off while Vincent and Sora were both focused on Louis.
They watched as she was showing another skill of hers, martial arts. For Vincent, he was impressed that someone like her could go faster than any of them could see and can now use martial arts despite looking like a helpless girl.
'For a witch follower and for how young she looks, she is pretty impressive. Though what is her relation with the keyblade wielders.'
As Vincent thought this and questioned deeply, Sora watched as Garfiel put everything in his training right here in this sparring match while Louis was using all of her skills to keep up.
The two were neck and neck with what seemed to be an endless fight, eventually Garfiel and Louis both simultaneously went for the finishing punch only to somehow end up landing their respective punches at each other's faces at the same time.
This prompted the two to start losing conscious for a moment before they were both healed by Subaru and Sora with the two using Cure. As the two were getting up, they prepared to continue on their sparring match until Vincent spoke out.
"Enough. I've seen enough." He paused for a moment as he turned around. "Girl, you are definitely an asset that would benefit in my victory and conquering of the Vollachia Empire. It would be foolish to kill you right now when you could be a key to my victory but before I can consider you a pawn in this game, there is one question that must be asked. What is your relation with the ones known as Sora and Natsuki Subaru? Why were they keeping your identity a secret?"
Louis remained silent as she looked down with a smile on her face, seeing that Sora would put himself on the line to protect her. Not just him but also Subaru, seeing that his hatred towards her has died down.
She knows that it'll be a while before the two could be close friends but she does feel happy that he would still protect her. She takes a moment before responding to Vincent's question with,
"They just care that much about us~tsu. We are like...family."
Vincent stood silent has he analyzed this response, noticing that it wasn't just genuine but also a hint of gratitude. He crossed his arms as he turned around to look at the plan once again, thinking on where Louis Arneb could be more useful.
"...I don't care much at this point what your relationships with the keyblade wielders are. I can see you care for one another but that better not interfere with the plan of taking back the capital."
"Are you sure we can trust her? A witch cultist?" Mizelda asked since she was hesitant to fight alongside a witch believer, especially after everything they have all heard of what they've done. Vincent looked at the Shudraq chieftain, understanding the concern she had though he responded with,
"Witch believers aren't to be trusted. I can agree with that but there's a key different with this one, she cares for someone that isn't the witch herself. She cares for those two keyblade wielders and considering their childish hero ideals, I wouldn't be surprised if she believed in them being because they are her heroes. Which brings me to what she will be..." Vincent paused himself as he grabbed an extra piece they had on the table before placing it on the center of the capital. "She will be the messenger."
"Messenger?" Otto, Subaru, Kenichi, Naoko, Sora, Garfiel, and Louis all questioned in unison, wondering what he means by this. Vincent looked at them with a serious facial expression, noticing their confusion. He looked at the table once again while answering their shared question in a blank tone of voice.
"With her speed, she could keep track of how everyone's progress is going. Should one group get suddenly wiped out, she can alert the others. And should she be forced into battle, I can trust that she has some skill to keep herself alive."
Sora and the group took a moment to think on this, seeing that Louis could prove to be that useful since they would all be too busy with their respective tasks to see how the others are doing though, they are curious to know what Louis thinks about this.
Sora was the first to turn towards the former Sin Archbishop of Gluttony, wanting to see what she thinks.
The teen girl looked at Vincent as she processed what her role was, being the one informing everyone how each group was handling things. She had a blank facial expression though it did change into a smile as she responded,
"We accept this task given to us~tsu. We won't let any of you down."
As Louis finishes her sentence, she bows down with respect towards Vincent, wanting to show that she is much different than before. Vincent looked at Louis with a serious facial expression before turning around, somewhat impressed that the girl would show respect towards him as it should be.
"Is there anything else I need to know?"
"No, that should be all." Subaru responded.
"Alright then. Leave. I want every single one of you rested for the battle to come."
"Understood."
Subaru and the others all nodded at what Vincent had said before leaving the tent. As they were leaving, Garfiel patted Louis in the back as he said,
"Th't was fun! Yer a strong opponent."
"Thanks, we also acknowledge your amazing strength, Shield of Sanctuary."
"No need t'be formal. Call me Garfiel."
"Alright then, we shall call you Garfiel-kun."
"Hm...th't's fine. We should have another sparrin' match." As Garfiel said this, he prepared himself for another battle only for Otto to start scolding him.
"We need to rest, Garfiel-san. We will need every ounce of strength."
"Agreed. We should prepare for tomorrow's battle."
"Eh. Fine."
Garfiel said reluctantly before turning towards Louis.
"We'll have another sparrin' match another time."
Louis nodded before seeing Otto and Garfiel head towards one direction. Subaru, Kenichi, and Naoko prepared to head towards their tent's location only to see Sora heading somewhere else.
"Aren't you coming with us?" Subaru asked.
"I will...I just have to help train Al a bit. Priscilla asked me to."
"Hm. I really don't like that you accepted being in her camp but I trust your judgement."
"Thank you and don't worry, I won't be out for long."
"Okay. Come on Louis." Naoko said, wanting to make sure that Louis stays safely with them.
The former Sin Archbishop of Gluttony was uncertain about this since she wanted to spend time with Sora but she also wanted to spend time with Subaru to create a strong friendship bond.
As she was conflicted, her first instinct was to look at Sora to see what he would say. The Keyblade Master noticed the hesitation in her, prompting him to say,
"Go with them. It'll be alright."
"...okay."
Louis nodded hesitantly before walking with the Natsuki household towards their designed tent. As they were heading there, Sora couldn't help but smile, seeing that Louis has indeed a good heart, she just needed the right person to guide her towards the path of good.
'Everything will be okay.' He thought to himself before sensing the presence of Al and Priscilla. He turned towards them with his usual smile before hearing Al say,
"Sup Bro. You ready for training?"
"Yes."
Sora said this with a smile before following the one armed warrior towards the training grounds of the Shudraqians. Priscilla followed to observe the battle though she was silent, wanting to gain as much information as possible.
In the middle of the forest somewhere in Lugnica a corridor of darkness was created which had Replica Riku jump out of.
As he landed on the grass, he quickly moved his right hand towards the corridor, ensuring that it closes before Xehanort or any of the remaining Organization XIII members come on through.
Once it closed, Replica Riku sighed for a moment, feeling relieved that he was able to escape.
'Curse Xehanort! I won't let him get away with that!'
Replica Riku thought this as he recalled how humiliating it was not only being defeated by him but having been captured.
("Do you really think that witch will give you what you want?")
("You failed this fight because you keep wanting to be your own self. You should realize by now what your purpose is and accept it.")
Replica Riku pulled out his sword and began to destroy a bunch of trees nearby by slashing them down with aggression.
'I will never accept to be your pawn, Xehanort! Pandora-sama cares more for me than you ever will!'
"Of course I care for you, Bishop Riku."
Replica Riku paused for a moment has he heard the sweet voice of the witch of vainglory. He turned to see her before kneeling in respects.
"I'm sorry Pandora-sama, I should have taken that sword saint woman down before Xehanort interfered."
Pandora placed her hand on Pride's head with gentleness.
"It is not your fault. You did everything you could, Bishop Riku. You must not feel despair or pain, because you are special."
Pride couldn't help but feel happy when he heard this, feeling appreciated.
"Th-Thank you, Pandora-sama. I won't fail you."
"I know you won't, which is why I'm going to entrust you with an important task."
"I'll accomplish anything you desire me to do." Replica Riku said, preparing himself for whatever his master will command him to do. Pandora continued to smile as she said to Replica Riku,
"Bring me the Keyblade Wielder, Sora."
"…huh?" Pride stood silent as he was processing what he was asked to do.
"Is there a problem?" Pandora asked with her tone sounding kindly.
"N-No Pandora-sama. I'm just curious as to why you want to see him?"
"Well…" Pandora paused herself as she closed her eyes, starting to fill her thoughts about Sora. Pride noticed how her face turned into one of obsession. "He's just so intriguing."
Pride was unsure on how to take this but he trusted Pandora's judgement, so he let it slide. He slowly got up as he said to the witch of vainglory,
"I'm not sure I want to face Sora just yet…I'm not strong enough yet."
Pandora stood silent for a monent as she heard what her Sin Archbishop of Pride had just told her. She continued to have a gentle smile as she responded with,
"You don't need to be afraid. You are pretty strong, Bishop Riku. You are the most unique and most powerful out of everyone. If words won't convince Sora to be brought towards me, your strength will. You are the only one who can accomplish this request of mine."
Pride's eyes widened when he heard this, feeling a strong sense of confidence when he was spoken so highly by the witch in front of him. He smiled as he created a corridor of darkness behind him.
"I will not fail you, Pandora-sama. I will bring Sora to you, whether he wants to or not."
As he said this, the Sin Archbishop of Pride went off to go after Sora, confident that he will succeed in this. As he left, Pandora started to smile as she was intrigued by what comes next.
"Things are about to get interesting. Please show me just how awesome you are, Sora."
Author's Note:
So we have reached the half way point of the story. Now that we are here, I'm excited to show you all the big fights coming up for ths arc. Though I will go on a break with this story, not for too long but around a month at most. So please wait as the next chapter kicks off the big battle. Also the Kingdom Hearts: Light Withn the Ink story is out and it is lightly connected to this story, go give it a read.