Chapter 80: The winning side
Subaru, Vincent, and Kenichi all three got up as they looked at their surroundings for a moment, noticing that it is has if they were teleported to a different area entirely.
The place looked to be in an isolated space, with the atmosphere around them resembling nothing but grey while they were standing on top of a large white circle with four pillars around the edges of the circle.
Subaru looked around and could relate this place to the station of awakening, feeling a similar vibe to it.
"Where exactly are we?" Vincent questioned, never before having seen a place like this.
"Not sure but we should be on guard."
"Agreed."
Subaru, Kenichi, and Vincent looked around until they saw a card suddenly appear from thin air before glowing for a moment.
As the card was glowing for a couple of seconds, Luxord appeared where the card was located, prompting the three warriors to pull out their weapons.
Vincent pointed his sword at Luxord while saying to the Organization member,
"Where have you brought us?"
"To have no disturbances. Now then, the first to run out of time is the loser. Let the games begin."
The moment he said this, he three a couple of cards at the three warriors.
Subaru noticed this and quickly reacted by charging towards Luxord's cards.
Once the cards were closing in, he swung his Rebirth keyblade towards the cards, knocking them away to the sides.
As he succeeded to this, he closed the gap between himself and Luxord in order to try and land a hit on him.
Luxord smiled as he threw four cards to surround him, three of them containing an x while one of them containing an o.
Subaru was caught off guard by this, a bit unsure about what his opponent was trying to do with the way the cards were showing their symbols while both Kenichi and Vincent prepared to attack any card at was within their reach.
"Hold on!"
"Hm?"
Kenichi stopped as he heard what his son had said while Vincent ignored the boy, confident that he can break through using the power of the Yang Sword Vollachia.
"Hold on Vincent!"
"No! We must stop this opponent before he can do anything!"
As the emperor said this, he used the power of his sword to try and bypass the cards to attack Luxord directly. As he did this, fire almost hit Luxord only for a sudden barrier to appear all over the Organization member.
"Play by the rules."
One of the cards with an X on it move closely towards Vincent before exploding.
Vincent was able to dodge this explosion but barely. Subaru and Kenichi were both somewhat worried for their ally's sake yet they were also confident that he would survive this.
The two Natsuki household members turned towards Luxord to see him make two more cards with an X symbol on them surrounding him.
As five cards were floating around, Subaru noticed that at first the cards were moving very fast but as each second past by, the cards slowly moved drastically.
'Could this mean that we have a brief amount of time before he does something?'
Subaru thought and thought, trying to apply gaming logic into this fight considering how his opponent seems to be playing a 'game' with them.
'If that's the case, then those x's wouldn't be safe to hit...but that o card, I wonder...'
Subaru charged at the card with the o symbol before swinging his keyblade at it, having a theory that this is what they have to do. The moment his keyblade connects with the card, it disappears with one of the X cards turning into an O card while also all the cards moving extremely fast once again.
'Got it!'
"Father! Vincent! Target the cards with an O symbol! Those will help break his barrier!"
"Are you positive about this?" Vincent questioned.
"Trust me on this!"
Vincent was still skeptical on this while Kenichi trusted in what his son was saying.
He turned towards the cards, noticing the speed slowing down. The moment he spotted the O card, he did not hesitate to swing his sword at it.
Just as he barely hit the card, it disappeared with one of the other X cards turning into the O cards.
"Hm. Too easy."
Luxord moved his hand towards one of the cards, commanding them to move away from him and towards the edge of the platform they are in.
"Good luck."
"This is a problem."
Subaru looked at the three remaining cards all spinning around the platform with intense speed, forcing him to have to guess on which one has the O symbol card.
'Of course, why not make it any harder than it already is!'
As the cards were going extremely fast, Subaru couldn't keep up in seeing where the O card was located, prompting him to make a guess.
'This better work!'
He made a swing at the card that was closing in on him, hoping that he would get the right card. As he managed to land a hit on the card, he noticed the card stop drastically to show that it was indeed an O card.
'That was extremely lucky!'
As Subaru was relieved about this, the two remaining cards started to move around the platform with great speed.
Kenichi and Vincent both had notice Subaru succeed in getting the third O card, prompting the two to make an effort to destroy the other O card.
The two split up to try and close in on their respective cards they were targeting while Subaru prepared to attack Luxord.
As Vincent and Kenichi barely managed to reach the cards they were chasing after, Vincent saw that the card he was chasing is the O card.
Using the Yang Sword Vollachia to destroy the card from a distance, causing it to lit on fire for a moment before the card was destroyed.
The moment this happened, the last remaining card turned from X to O while also moving with incredible speed all around the platform. Kenichi noticed this and quickly waited for the right moment before managing to destroy the card just barely.
The second the card was destroyed, the barrier around Luxord broke. Subaru noticed this which prompted him to quickly charge at him to land a couple of hits on him.
As Luxord took a couple of hits, the Organization member teleported away from the keyblade wielder.
The three warriors all got their guards up as they looked around to see where the Organization member teleported himself off to.
After a few seconds of looking around, a card appeared from thin air with Luxord appearing two seconds after the card. As he appears, he tosses one of the cards towards the group before teleporting away.
Subaru, Kenichi, and Vincent saw the card moving slowly, prompting the three to be on high alert until the card moved rapidly quick without the three being able to react to it.
Subaru was the only one hit by the card, being left with a small cut to his left cheek. The three were completely caught off guard by this yet they returned their focus on finding Luxord.
A couple of seconds pass when the Organization reveals himself and does the same thing once again, throwing a card towards the group before teleporting off to another area of the platform they are in. The three had their guards up as they prepared to block off the card being thrown towards their direction.
The three observed the card's speed, seeing that it's like the previous one. Before they can try to time it right, Luxord appeared from another area to throw another card at the trio, with this one being slightly faster than the last one he threw.
Vincent was the only one out of the three to notice this, causing him to switch his attention towards the new card approaching them while Subaru and Kenichi focused their attention on the second card thrown. The second card was continuing on a small pace until suddenly it moved towards the two with intense speed.
Subaru and Kenichi both barely moved out of the way from the card's trajectory while Vincent managed to block off the card he was dealing with. As the two cards were avoided, they noticed Luxord appear once again though this time he threw multiple cards this time.
The three of them managed to react to this by each of them blocking off a specific card. As they succeed in this, Subaru points his free hand towards Luxord just as he teleports in a different location.
"You're going down! Minya"
Three purple like icicles appear on top of Subaru before being sent towards Luxord's direction.
The Organization member noticed this and quickly responded to the boy's attack by sending three cards to counter the attack. Just as he did this, Subaru had managed to get close enough to use invisible providence on him.
Luxord was not prepared for such an attack, causing him to receive a strong hit to his face, sending him flying upwards for a moment.
He followed this attack by using Thunder, allowing the keyblade wielder to add an additional damage to the Organization member.
'Take that—'
Subaru felt his gate being damaged suddenly, causing him to momentarily lose his footing.
"Son! Are you okay?!"
"Y-Yeah...I just have to be careful when using Invisible providence..."
Vincent looked at the boy and the boy's father for a moment before turning his attention towards their opponent, taking this opportunity to attack using the fire of the Yang Sword Vollachia.
"This time you won't escape the Sword's fire."
Vincent used the power of his weapon to try and burned Luxord to the very soul, confident that this time it'll work. The fire does hit the Organization member yet Luxord just ends up turning into a card before the card itself gets destroyed.
The Emperor of Vollachia was annoyed by this, finding this particular opponent more annoying than the last Organization member.
He looked around his surroundings before spotting a card appearing from thin air a couple of feet away from him. Once Luxord fully appeared, he threw a card directed at Vincent while saying,
"You are a dangerous opponent."
"Hm."
Vincent didn't really care what Luxord had said, figuring that he would be the strongest out of his current group. He blocked off the attack but has he did this, the card suddenly froze itself mid-air.
The card's x symbol started to glow before creating a portal that was a gravity trap which pulls the Emperor of Vollachia inside. Subaru and Kenichi were caught off guard by this as they saw Vincent appear on the face of the card surrounded by pink and black thorns.
"What the?!"
"Seems like your strongest card has been taken out of the board."
"..."
Kenichi and Subaru both remained silent as they saw Luxord preparing to go on the offense.
"Onto the next game."
Luxord threw two cards at the two Natsuki members before disappearing. The two cards moved parallel to each other with the inside of the cards having an odd yellow glow with a lighting symbol on them.
As the two cards were rapidly moving towards them, Subaru quickly used the formchange of his Rebirth keyblade before using the shadows from the attire to protect both his father and himself.
With the shadow barrier around them, the two cards turn red as they attempt to crush the two only for the shadow barrier to be strong enough to block the attack.
Four cards swiftly move towards Subaru and Kenichi's direction before trying to crush the two as well. The shadow barrier was able to block off the four cards. Once they disappeared, Subaru had the shadows returned to his attire as he looked around to see where Luxord was going to appear this time.
After a few seconds, the two spot the Organization member standing across the platform has he tossed his deck of cards up before shuffling them around. While he did this, four cards suddenly were starting to appear around Kenichi.
"I have you!"
He snapped his fingers, commanding the four cards to close in and try to cause harm to Kenichi Natsuki. The older Natsuki member noticed the cards closing in on him, prompting him to quickly react by jumping out of the way. He jumped out of the way with one of the cards left a small cut on his right arm.
"That was too close!"
Subaru looked at Luxord with a serious facial expression before charging towards his location, using his shadows to move faster than usual. Just as he reached Luxord's position, he prepares to swing both his keyblades until he noticed the Organization member throwing a large amount of cards right under him.
'What is he—?'
Before he could finish his thought, a bunch of large cards are created which caused Luxord to be lifted high up while also forcing Subaru to create another shadow barrier to avoid receiving a fatal hit.
As he was protecting himself, Luxord went high up before looking down to see that he forced his opponent to go on the defense. He smiles and prepares his next move while making his way towards the ground.
The moment he landed back on the platform, he was about to throw a card towards Subaru's direction only to sense Kenichi's sword about to hit him in his blind spot.
He moves out of the way, avoiding the sword yet Kenichi expected this so he swung his leg right after he pulled back his sword towards him.
His leg did manage to land a hit on Luxord's side, giving a bit of damage to his opponent. The Organization member was somewhat impressed by this yet he wasn't going to lose by a weak kick.
He threw three cards at the older fighter, managing to land a few hits on him. The three cards hit Kenichi on his left side, his right arm, and his left leg.
This slowed the warrior down, allowing Luxord to prepare the next game for his two opponents, not having noticed that Subaru was right behind him.
Just as he was about to use the deck that had finished shuffling, Subaru managed to land a barrage of attacks with both the Starlight and Rebirth Keyblades, catching Luxord off guard.
"Gotcha!"
Subaru shouted pridefully as he landed a few hits on his opponent, not holding back any of his strength. Luxord took a couple of blows before disappearing from the area and re-appearing across the platform. Subaru turned towards the location Luxord had teleported himself in and prepared to close the gap between the two once again.
'All I need is a few more good hits in and he'll be done for.'
"If that's what you think, then you are being naïve."
Vanitas said, wanting to remind Subaru that he's still around. The boy ignored him as he turned his attention towards his father.
"Are you okay, dad?"
"I'll be fine...just need a moment...go on without me for now."
"...hold on, I can help you out."
Subaru prepared to use Curaga to heal his father only for Kenichi to say,
"Don't. Save that strength and use it on that Organization guy. He's the priority."
"Wait but what about—?"
"I'll be fine." Kenichi spoke with a confident expression. He gave a thumbs up to his son while saying, "Go and beat him."
Subaru was caught off guard by this, left with a surprised facial expression before turning it into a confident one, feeling a strong sense of determination thanks to his father. He nodded at him before turning towards Luxord and charging at him, giving it everything he has.
"Pfft. Really? Do you believe you'll beat your opponent because of a little thumbs up from dear old dad? Man, you are just all sorts of pathetic."
'I don't care what you have to say. If my father believes in me, then I know I can't fail him. So say whatever you want about it, you'll never understand!'
With this response given to Vanitas, Subaru prepared to attack Luxord only to see the Organization member walk towards a card before that said card along many others face down to the ground and start mixing around the entire platform.
'What the?!'
He looked around at the cards all moving swiftly until finally they all lifted up, facing the back side towards the boy. Subaru was at a pause for a moment before trying to look at what does each card show on the other side.
As he attempted to look, the back side of the cards all just followed the boy to prevent him from finding where Luxord is located.
'Seriously? That's just cheating.'
"Of course, making excuses for yourself, fake keyblade wielder."
'...'
Subaru ignored Vanitas and continued to run around, trying to find Luxord's card. As he looked and looked, one of the cards return to the ground as it moved rapidly towards the boy's direction.
'Hm? What is that card trying to—?'
An explosion occurred on Subaru's position, causing the boy to be surprised by this before everything went black for a moment.
'Am I dead? Did that explosion kill me? Where am I going to loop now...?'
Subaru had many questions yet all of these wouldn't matter when he heard a specific voice whisper to his ear,
"I love you."
"..."
"I love you."
Subaru was frozen as he can tell that this was Satella. He turned towards his right side to see the Witch of Envy there, covering her face while also trying to lean in to give him a kiss. He just stood still as he asked Envy,
"Wh-Where am I?"
"...I love you..."
"...am I dead?"
"I love you. I love you."
Subaru felt Satella holding him, hugging him from his back side. He didn't know how to feel about this since the amount of love Satella was throwing towards him was overwhelming.
Subaru was almost fully engulfed by this before he remembered his father being in danger, Vincent being trapped in a trap card, and all of his other friends and allies giving it their all to fight against the Organization. He was able to snap out of this and quickly shook Satella off.
"No, I can't. I need to help father! I need to beat that guy! I'm sorry Satella, Witch of Envy, but I can't be here."
"..." Satella looked at the boy, not giving any indication of what she's feeling though Subaru could only predict.
"...but I could use your help..."
Satella had a surprised facial expression by this before being filled with extreme happiness by this. She moved her right arm to reveal that a shadow barrier was protecting the boy when the explosion had occurred, showing Natsuki Subaru that he hadn't looped, at least not yet.
As he learned about this, the Witch of Envy threw a couple of shadows all around the platform to find Luxord's location.
Once her shadows have found the Organization member's card, they try to swallow it yet the Organization member quickly freed himself from his own card before commanding his other cards to explode, destroying most of the shadows covering the platform.
The Organization member turned towards Subaru's direction to notice Satella standing by his side, extremely menacing. Kenichi also noticed this, a bit concern on his son's safety along with a bit of curiosity to know who that person is. Luxord quickly shuffled his deck while saying,
"Seems like a wild card has appeared on the table."
"...you have no idea." Subaru said this, knowing full well that The Witch of Envy can be completely unpredictable. Luxord closed his eyes with a smile on his face, understanding that he's going to have to beat Subaru and his new ally with one final game. He throws the entire deck all around the platform while saying,
"Look who's on top of the game."
After saying this, Luxord disappeared which prompted Subaru to get his two keyblades ready for battle while Satella prepared to protect her love. Subaru walked around slowly, feeling a bit nervous until Luxord jumped up from one of the cards laying on the ground.
The Organization member held two large cards on his two hands as he started to move to physically attack the keyblade wielder.
He swung one of the large cards, causing a bunch of cards from the ground to be send towards Subaru's direction along with an odd wind like attack.
Before the attack reached the boy's location, Satella stepped in between Subaru and Luxord to block off the attack with her shadows.
While blocking the attack, a swarm of shadows charged at the Organization member to attack him only for Luxord to use one of his large cards to block off the attack.
After blocking Satella's shadows, he disappears along with the cards he was holding. Satella disliked this and just started to attack all the cards on the ground. As her shadows were attacking the ground, the cards exploded which destroyed the shadows.
While this was happening, Luxord teleported behind Subaru with a large card on his right hand. The boy was able to sense this and quickly turned around to block off the attack.
"Very cheap to attack someone from behind!"
"Hm."
"I thought someone like you would play fair at least."
"...well then, shall we end this battle of ours?"
"Sure."
Luxord pulled away the large card and was ready to do one final game with his opponent only for Satella to send a barrage of shadows his way.
"This won't do."
Find Satella a problem, Luxord throws a card similar to the one he threw to Vincent, finding it extremely necessary to trap the Witch of Envy. As he attempted to do this, the witch used one of her shadows to grab the card and consume it in her shadows, effectively destroying the card.
The Organization member looked a bit annoyed by the situation yet he wasn't discouraged. He threw a few more cards around before eventually larger cards started to surround the Witch of Envy, trapping her.
"That should keep her at bay...for now." As Luxord said this, he turned towards Subaru with a few cards appearing on his left hand before disappearing from where he was. Subaru was caught off guard by this yet he was determined to finish this. He looked at his surroundings until he noticed Luxord appearing across the platform.
Subaru charged at him and just as he closed the gap, Luxord disappeared within a card behind him while also creating a couple of large cards to surround him. As he was completely surrounded, he noticed Luxord right in front of him with four sets of cards in front of him changing from symbols o and x.
"Figure the rules out."
Subaru looked at the four cards and figured that he would need to time it right if he wants to grab each individual card when the symbol is an o. He waited for a moment before managing to grab the first two cards when the symbol was an o due to the speed.
The third card was speeding up yet it was still doable for the keyblade wielder to grab the right one. The fourth and final card was rapidly moving quickly between x and o.
'Shit. This card is moving ridiculously fast.'
"Hm. Even I can't disagree with that."
Vanitas spoke as he was impressed by how fast Luxord made the final card shift from x and o. Subaru was a bit disturbed that this was the one thing he and the Organization member in his head agreed on.
He closed his eyes as he was thinking about Emilia, Sora, Beako, his mother, his father, Rem, Ram, Garfiel, Otto, Wilhelm, Reinhard, and many others, motivating himself to get this right. Once all the people he cared about were on his mind, he opened his eyes and went to grab the last remaining card.
Once he grabbed it, he saw that it was the correct one which made him smile. The four cards disappeared as he felt that the larger cards were now something he could command.
The larger cards all turned to regular size cards while also moving their way to Subaru's hand. Once he was holding all of the cards, he tossed them towards Luxord's direction.
The Organization member noticed this yet he couldn't react fast enough to block or dodge the attack. All of the cards hit Luxord with intense strength all around his body before sending the Organization member flying a few feet away.
'Now's my chance!'
Subaru return from his Rebirth formchange to his regular self with Rebirth keyblade on his hand. He charged towards Luxord's position and without holding anything back, he swung his keyblade at him and managed to land the final blow.
Luxord stood still for a second before falling to his knee with his left hand on his chest area. Subaru turned around and saw that he succeeded since Luxord's body was starting to fade away.
"That was very impressive. I must say, you also are someone meant for these games."
"Thanks." Subaru said in a positive tone, respecting Luxord as he found him someone worth respecting. Luxord smiled as he threw the boy a card.
"Another one?"
"Yes. Another wild card. This one design for you. You surely earned it."
"..." Subaru stayed silent as he looked at the card, aware that the wild cards seem to be useful when he and his friends are in any danger.
"Keep it close. Could turn the tables."
Subaru put the card away on his pocket while also feeling bad for Luxord, feeling that he wasn't a bad guy like the others.
"Regretting your actions already? Just when I think you are pathetic, you do something even more pathetic."
'...'
Subaru ignored Vanitas as he just continued to look Luxord before saying to him,
"You know, if we ever encounter each other again, maybe we can play a regular card game. Not as enemies trying to kill each other but as pals."
"..." Luxord stood surprised by Subaru's words as he recalled Sora's words when he was defeated in the Keyblade Graveyard.
("Play ya again someday, when we're just guys.")
'Hm. You and Sora are very alike. I can see why he chose to be your master.'
As Luxord thought this, he chose to say his last words in the same way he did to Sora.
"I would like that very much."
The Organization member disappeared, leaving Subaru feeling guilt. Before he did anything, he felt someone tap him in the shoulder. He turned to see his father, standing tall.
"You did amazing son, I knew you could do it."
"...Thanks dad."
"What's wrong?" Kenichi asked, sensing that his son was feeling down. Subaru was silent for a moment before turning back towards his dad to answer his question,
"I'm okay...I just feel like that guy wasn't a full bad guy. He just happens to be with a bad group."
"Ah, I see. You feel guilty. There's nothing wrong with feeling that. Taking someone down...can be very tough, especially when the person isn't completely evil but you did the right thing."
"You think so?" Subaru questioned.
"Yes."
Kenichi said this confidently before giving his son a hug. As the two were hugging, the cards once surrounding Satella had gone down. This allowed the witch of envy to look around before noticing Subaru and Kenichi hugging.
She approached the two and lowered her shadows in order to be on the same level as the two boys. As Satella was near them, Kenichi and Subaru stopped hugging with Kenichi asking,
"Um, son, who is this?"
"...son?" Satella questioned as she tilted her head. Subaru realized that not only does he need to let his father know about Satella but also that Satella hasn't met his dad. He turned towards his father first to answer his question.
"This here is Satella...the Witch of Envy..."
"...hm, I expected more." Kenichi said with a bit of disappointment.
"..."
Subaru and Satella were a bit taken aback from what they heard from Kenichi.
"What do you mean, father?"
"I heard the witch of envy was supposed to be the one to end the world. Seeing her now, I expected it to be scarier."
"..."
Satella wasn't sure how to feel about this. Subaru just couldn't help but chuckled since his father somehow manages to surprise him like usual. He turned towards the witch of envy to tell her,
"This here is my father, Natsuki Kenichi."
"Pleasure to meet you, Witch of Envy."
"..."
Satella stood silent before bowing her head towards Kenichi's direction, both Satella and the Witch of Envy wanting to show respect to the elder Natsuki.
"Wow dad...you gained the respect of a witch, and the most powerful one at that."
"Yeah, seems like your amazing dad is just that amazing." Kenichi said confidently though he was a bit dumbfounded on why someone like Satella be bowing to him when he isn't even a powerful warrior like his son.
"Sorry..."
"Sorry?" Both Subaru and Kenichi questioned, a bit surprise that Satella is starting to apologize. The Witch of Envy continued,
"Sorry for everything..."
"Y-You don't have to apologize to me." Kenichi said as he was feeling a bit uncomfortable of this entire conversation. Subaru was also a bit off by this conversation yet he started to see what exactly Satella was trying to say.
'Is she apologizing to dad for having taken me away from home or...Return by death?'
Regardless, Subaru just approached Satella to give her a hug, not wanting her to feel this guilt. Satella was surprised once again yet she felt warmth from the hug. Kenichi himself was just stunned by this yet he said nothing, he just observed the situation. After a few seconds of hugging, Subaru started to say,
"Don't be sorry, I told you back in Echidna's tea party that this power you gave me had saved me more times than I deserved. There's also the promise Master Sora and I made to you that we will succeed in."
"...are you sure?"
"Yes."
Satella smiled when she heard this before starting to disappear, confident that her love won't be dying anytime soon. As she was leaving, she said to Subaru,
"Be safe."
Subaru nodded before seeing Satella disappear, leaving just him and his father in the platform with the card of Vincent floating near them. Kenich approached his son to ask,
"What is your relationship to the Witch of Envy, son?"
The boy pauses as he hears this, trying to think what he could say without revealing Return by Death to him, knowing how worried his father would get if he learned the truth. Subaru eventually found the right words to say to his father's question, prompting him to turn towards him to answer him with,
"I know she had consumed the world with darkness before but she had saved my life a few times prior to you and mom's arrival to this world. She's someone who does have a good heart and someone Master Sora and I promised to save."
"You two really are one of a kind." Kenichi said as he patted his son in the back, seeing just how crazy him and the Keyblade Master can be when trying to redeem people.
Before anything more could be said on the matter, Vincent's card grows bright for a moment before the Emperor himself appears looking completely disoriented by the process. Once he got his mind in order, he looked around to see that the platform was just the three of them.
"What happened to our opponent?" The Emperor ordered.
"My son took care of him."
"...really? That buffoon right there?"
"Okay come on, I'm not as weak as you think." Subaru retorted, annoyed by the way Vincent was treating him. Vincent crossed his arms and closed his eyes while responding to what the boy had said with,
"I never said you were weak. You do have strength but that doesn't change that you're a buffoon."
"...anyway, we have one of those Organization guys down. We should probably find a way out." Kenichi said as he wanted to change the conversation to something more proactive and beneficial to them. Vincent and Subaru turned towards Kenichi, both of them having noted what was said.
This prompted the three to look around for an exit though the moment they attempted to look for one, a bright light consumed the three for a minute before revealing that they are back in the real world. As they appeared in the real world, Subaru and Kenichi noticed Beatrice and Naoko approaching them.
Naoko goes and hugs both her son and husband, having been worried for their sake while Beatrice goes for her contractor, worried that he would've gotten himself killed. Subaru patted Beatrice in the head with one hand while using the other to hug his mom, having a feeling that the two were beyond worried.
"You were really worried this much Beako?"
"...o-of course! You're Betty's contractor, of course Betty would be worried I suppose!"
"Hehe...sorry about that..."
Beatrice just continued to hug Subaru, not wanting to let go. Naoko also had the same feeling, not wanting to see her son or husband be put in such danger again. Vincent looked at the Natsuki family and just was uninterested.
He turned towards the direction where Xigbar was last time to see that the Organization member is nowhere to be found. He turns back towards the Natsuki family, more specifically to Naoko and Beatrice to question the two,
"What happened while we were dealing with our opponent?"
The Natsuki family hugged a few more seconds before turning their attention to Vincent. Naoko was the one to respond to the man's question.
"That one armed fighter was facing the Organization member but after they had left the area, nothing big has happened here."
"Hm."
Vincent processed what he was told before starting to walk around, wanting to check if Xigbar was taken care of or if Al was taken down by him. The Natsuki family noticed this before turning towards one another
"We need to check on Master Sora. I have a feeling that he needs our helps."
"Maybe but that Al guy might need our help as well."
"True, we can't leave him on his own."
Subaru crossed his arms as he knew that his mother and father had a point, they can't leave Al on his own. Just as he was going to suggest that they should help Al, Vincent turned towards the Natsuki family to tell them,
"I'll help Priscilla's clown. You all should continue with the original plan, reaching the center of the city."
"You sure you want to go all alone?" Kenichi questioned. Vincent looked at him for a moment before turning around and continuing on his way to find Al, not responding to the man's question. As Vincent left them, Kenichi and Subaru were not surprised by the way Vincent was acting. They suspected that he was unhappy that he was trapped by Luxord's card.
"We should get moving. Master Sora might need our help. Especially if Xehanort is involved."
Kenichi, Naoko, and Beatrice all three nodded to what Subaru said before the four of them started to make their way towards the center of the city.
As they were starting their journey to the center of the city, Kenichi taking the lead, Naoko being close by her son while Subaru held Beatrice's hand, knowing that she needs some comfort.
'Don't worry Beako, I won't be leaving you anytime soon.'
As he thought this, he looked up for a moment, thinking about how Satella somehow returned for a moment to not only save his life but also provide assistance.
'Thank you for that, Satella. I'll make sure to not worry you from here on out.'
Garfiel and Otto were both taking down any heartless that came their way, Otto using Earth magic while Garfiel using his brute strength.
As they were taking down a group of shadow heartless, Ansem had managed to locate them.
He floated up towards the top of the forest while holding Zarestia's sphere.
Using the power of the light sphere, he increased his strength and power while also feeling a strange new power within the sphere itself.
He created a powerful blast of dark energy combined with wind power.
Once this was created, he threw this power directly towards Garfiel Tinsel and Otto Suwen's location. The two were in the middle of a fight when this was done.
Otto was dodging a couple of the shadow heartless attacks while Garfiel managed to smash one to the ground with enough force to destroy it. Just as he destroyed a shadow heartless, he turned up and noticed Ansem's attack heading towards their direction in rapid speed.
"Oi! Watch out Brotto!"
The Shield of Sanctuary grabbed the merchant before moving away from the blast radius of Ansem's attack, noting that this one was a lot stronger than before.
The area Ansem sent his blast of dark energy exploded, leaving nothing but a barren wasteland.
The shadow heartless that were caught in the explosion weren't affected by the attack.
Garfiel and Otto both landed nearby the large explosion with the demi human boy standing in front of the merchant to protect him. Once the smoke from said explosion was cleared, the two fighters looked up to see the Organization member hovering over them looking menacingly.
"Ya ain't gonna win!" Garfiel shouted as he prepared to go another round with the seeker of darkness. Ansem looked at the demi human boy with a blank facial expression, not viewing him as a threat.
"One who knows nothing, can understand nothing. You aren't someone worth being called a threat."
"Tck. Don't underestimate me!"
Garfiel was about to charge towards Ansem's direction only for Otto to grab him by the shoulder.
"Don't, Garfiel-san. Not here."
"...right, my bad."
"Let's go."
Otto and Garfiel continued to run deeper into the forest, prompting Ansem to look for a moment, a bit annoyed before commanding his heartless to continue searching for them.
As the heartless were chasing the duo, Garfiel and Otto were both going deeper and deeper into the forest.
"How deep'r we goin' t'kill th's bastard!"
"Just a bit more."
Garfiel nodded before looking forward, mentally preparing himself to face off Ansem once again.
As they were closing in on the place they want to lure Ansem, Garfiel wanted to make a point on something.
"His last attack was a lot stronger than expected. Somethin's wrong."
"Yeah, his range was a bit too large...we'll have to be careful on the next phase of the plan."
"Got it!"
The two eventually reached the location, prompting Garfiel to turn around to prepare for a confrontation while Otto set the trap.
Garfiel turned around to see a few shadow heartless approaching him.
He cracked his knuckles before starting a small brawl with the heartless, confident that he can take them down before Ansem arrives.
The five heartless all in unison jump to try and attack the demi human boy to overwhelm him yet he just transformed his right arm into its beast form to easily slash all of them in one attack.
As the boy easily takes them out, he returns his arm back to normal while waiting for Ansem to arrive.
After a minute, the Organization member slowly started to approach Garfiel's position while also destroying the trees near him.
Once the Organization member arrived near Garfiel's position, the demo human boy got himself ready for a fight.
The Organization member put away Zarestia's sphere, confident that he can take down the demi human boy with his own power.
Garfiel got his fists up as he saw Ansem start his attack without any hesitation by creating four spikes above him before sending them towards the boy.
Garfiel managed to block these attacks by using his divine protection of Earth to create a barrier pulling the ground up. With the attacks countered, the boy charged at the Organization member to do an attack of his own.
Just as the boy was about to connect his fist to his opponent's face, Ansem slightly moved his head towards his right side to avoid getting punch while preparing a dark aura around him to counterattack.
Garfiel was a little surprised that Ansem was able to dodge his punch yet he was confident that his next attack would land on the Organization member.
He swung his leg and with all the force he had in him, he managed to kick Ansem's right side while also sending him flying towards the ground.
As Ansem crashed towards the ground, leaving a crater, he did took note on the boy's strength. Aware that physically, he can't match his strength though with the power of darkness, he can easily close that gap.
He got up and proceeded to increase the darkness aura, preparing to rush attack the boy. Garfiel landed on the ground while shouting to his ally,
"Brotto! Now!"
"...?"
Ansem tilted his head as he was a bit curious to know what the merchant can even do. He prepared to attack Garfiel with a darkball until he heard Otto shout out,
"Al Dona!"
As Otto shouted this, causing an enormous blast of violent earth mana that shreds the surrounding area upward along with managing to hit Ansem. This strong attack was enough to pulverize the surrounding trees.
Otto smiled for a moment before falling on one knee, having used up a lot of mana to use this ability while Garfiel cheered as the merchant was able to land such a deadly blow to the Organization member. He ran towards Otto to make sure he doesn't pass out.
"Ya did good!"
"hehe...yeah...I guess that's one way to see it..."
"Don't ya worry, I got ya."
Garfiel helps his friend get back on his feet before turning towards the direction Ansem was at, noticing that there wasn't a sign of him.
'Good riddance.'
Just as they were going to leave the area, a sudden explosion appeared near the two, sending them flying. As the two hit the ground, they both slowly get up to see Ansem looking down on them with an annoyed facial expression.
"You surprised me with that ability, but it won't be enough to beat me."
Garfiel and Otto both looked at Ansem with a serious facial expression, seeing that they'll need to keep fighting if they wish to beat Ansem.
"Any other ideas...?"
"...I'll need...time to think..."
"Aight, I'll buy ya some time."
As Garfiel said this, he stood standing tall as he prepared to attack Ansem.
"Yer strong, hell th'strongest I've ever faced. No wonder Master had such a tough time beatin' ya. But I won't give up. I'll give it my all and take ya down!"
"Hm."
Ansem wasn't intimidated by what Garfiel Tinsel had said yet he did respected the boy's determination. He closed his eyes as a couple of energy disks were created before thrown towards the demi human boy's direction.
Garfiel smiled as he started to dodge each energy disk thrown towards him, sensing that getting cut by any of the disks would be fatal to him.
While he was dodging the energy disks, Garfiel gets close to Ansem's located to go jump up to his location while getting his left arm ready to strike.
The Organization member noticed this yet he wasn't too worried. A dark aura covers the Organization member as he rushes Garfiel, prompting the demi human boy to clash this attack with his strongest punch.
As the two clashed, Garfiel would eventually be overwhelmed due to the fact that he was in the air trying to push up while Ansem was pushing down.
As Garfiel was sent straight towards the ground with force, Otto moved a couple feet away from the fight, wanting to avoid being caught in any of Ansem's attacks while also trying to come up with a new plan to defeat him.
'This one is completely strong, stronger than I had thought. There has to be a way to defeat him. How did Sora-san beat this monster?'
As he thought about this, he looked back at the fight to see that his friend had grown stronger since the fight against Saix. In that fight, he wasn't able to get too far but here, the boy's able to keep up despite being in his human form.
Knowing this little information, he starts thinking of a plan that at the very least could do some serious damage to Ansem.
While he was coming up with a plan, Ansem created a barrier around himself as he was approaching the demi human boy, destroying the trees all around him.
Garfiel noticed this and immediately started to keep his distance from him. While he was jumping away from Ansem, the Organization member continued to close in on the boy, knowing full well that his barrier can do damage to his opponent.
After a couple of seconds of keeping his distance, the barrier went down with Ansem preparing some dark energy to use against his opponent. Garfiel swiftly closed the gap between himself and his opponent before throwing a barrage of punches.
Ansem dodged each of these attacks with some effort while preparing the dark energy. Once it was ready, he flew high up while creating two giant dark spheres which get Garfiel and Otto's attention.
"All begins and ends with darkness."
As Ansem said this, the two dark spheres began to fire a barrage of dark energy directly towards Garfiel. The demi human boy jumps out of the way of the barrage of dark energy being shot towards him.
As Garfiel was dodging these attacks, Otto realized that they need to force Ansem back to the ground if he wants his plan to work.
He checks his bag to see how many red crystals he has remaining. Once he looked, he saw that he can only work with three remaining red crystals for not only this fight but the remainder of the larger battle ahead.
'Three crystals, low on mana, and facing impossible odds...what kind of luck is this?!'
As Otto was panicking on the bad luck he has, he notices Garfiel pulling a tree from the ground before tossing it towards Ansem's direction. The Organization member noticed this and just easily destroyed the tree with one of the dark spheres shooting a barrage of dark energy at it.
As the Organization member destroyed this tree, another one was thrown towards him. Using the other dark sphere, he easily destroyed the tree before turning his full attention towards the demi human boy.
"If that's all you can do, then surrender to the darkness."
"I won't give up! I'll find a way t'beat yer ass!"
The boy knew that he's going to have to rely on the beast form if he wants to do something to Ansem. He sets his two shields down before starting his full transformation into his beast form.
Otto and Ansem both looked with the Organization member a bit curious on what Garfiel's hoping to do in this form while the merchant figured that this was probably the only way for his ally to close the gap between himself and their opponent.
'This is our only chance to beat him. You can do it, Garfiel-san!'
With Otto cheering from a distance, he took this opportunity to rest up in order to allow the mana from his body to slowly return. Ansem looked at the beast form of Garfiel Tinsel, a bit intrigued by the boy's giant tiger form.
He commanded one of his dark spheres to shoot a barrage of dark energy at the demi human boy, seeing him as a giant target now.
Garfiel looked at Ansem and all of the dark energies thrown towards him, prompting him to roar. This roar was strong enough to push away all of the dark energy away from him and towards random directions.
As the dark energy was blown away, the demi human swung his large tiger arm directly at Ansem, trying to land a blow yet the Organization member used one of his dark spheres as a shield, allowing him to avoid getting hit.
The dark sphere that took Garfiel's hit was destroyed, showing the Organization member that the boy's strength had skyrocketed from before at the cost of his speed. Because of this, Ansem keeps his distance from Garfiel, knowing full well that the boy's attacks can do some actual damage.
While Garfiel was swinging his arms, trying to land a hit on his opponent, Ansem prepared a powerful darkball. Once his darkball was ready, he charge directly towards Garfiel before throwing his attack at him.
The darkball hit Garfiel's chest with enough force to not only sent him back but also cause an explosion to happen on the beast's chest.
As Garfiel falls on his back, Ansem creates a dark aura around himself before rushing at Garfiel, preparing to deliver a blow on his opponent. Otto wished to help his friend yet he had not enough mana to use Earth magic and his red crystal won't really be able to stop the Organization member.
This made the merchant pray that his friend can get himself out of the situation he's currently in. Garfiel was at a daze for a moment, trying to get his mind focus despite how hard that is in this beast form. Just as his mind was losing conscious, he started to remember a chat he had with Sora before they had started their journey to the capital.
Flashback:
"Is something bothering you, Garfiel?"
"Hm. Nah, it's nothin' t'worry 'bout, Master."
Sora could tell that something was up with Garfiel, prompting him to ask,
"Come on, tell me what's bothering you?"
Garfiel crossed his arms for a moment as he looked up at the sky before returning to looking at Sora.
"I guess ya can say th't th'fight ahead's got me thinkin', have I gotten stronger?"
"Why would you think that?" Sora asked with a curious tone of voice, a bit curious to know what exactly brought these thoughts to the demi human boy. Garfiel crossed his arms as he responded to the Keyblade Master's question with,
"Th't last fight was more than I expected. I wasn't able t'beat th't guy with th'long sword. He was more than my amazin' self could've handled. Makes me think of th't Saix guy Brotto and I beat back in Priestella."
Sora listened closely to what Garfiel was saying, realizing that he along with Otto had faced off against Sephiroth.
"I don't blame you, Sephiroth is a very tough opponent."
"Haven't ya beat him before?" Garfiel asked, a bit curious though figuring that Sora has. The Keyblade Master thinks back on the previous times he had clashed with the one winged angel. The first was during Hercules's world, the second was in Radiant Garden; both times it was an extremely tough battle.
"I wasn't able to truly finish him off but even then, I had a tough time facing him."
"I see. So even ya ain't strong enough t'beat th't guy. Man, he's really crazy fast'n strong."
"Yeah...but I think if anybody is going to beat Sephiroth, it'll be Cloud."
"Ya think so?" The demi human questioned. Although he knows that Cloud is pretty strong himself, he isn't fully sure that even he can beat the threat that is the one winged angel. Sora smiled at Garfiel as he responded with a reassuring attitude,
"Yes. Cloud will beat him." Garfiel felt reassured on that matter, feeling a bit worried that Sephiroth might be more than they can handle. As the conversation was about to end, Sora wanted to add in some words of encouragement to his friend. "I know you have gotten stronger, Garfiel. I don't need to see your strength to know that you've been growing. After all, you were able to face off against Sephiroth. Nobody weak can handle his crazy strength. I believe that if you encounter any of the Organization, you'll be able to take them on."
"Ya think?"
"Yes, I do. I believe in you, Garfiel. I know you'll be able to overcome any of them."
("Yes, I do. I believe in you, Garfiel. I know you'll be able to overcome any of them.")
These words of encouragement were enough to help the demi human to quickly move his two arms towards Ansem, grabbing him while he was covered in dark aura.
Garfiel used all of his strength to push away the Organization member before slowly returning back into human form. Otto noticed this and quickly approached Garfiel.
"Garfiel-san!"
"...eh, don't ya worry, Brotto...I ain't done yet..."
As Garfiel said this, he slowly got back on his feet and looked at Ansem, seeing the Organization member having recovered. He smiled as he got himself into his fighting stance while saying,
"Yer really givin' me a hell of a fight. I'll make sure th't I don't forget who ya are...so what's yer name?"
The Organization member was silent for a moment before responding to Garfiel's question in a sinister tone.
"Ansem, Seeker of Darkness."
"...Aight Ansem. I, Garfiel Tinsel, The Shield of Sanctuary, shall beat ya!"
Garfiel smashed his fist as he prepared to use his remaining strength to attack the Organization member. Ansem chuckled at this as he began to say,
"You have no chance of winning."
Ansem created a dark sphere as he prepares to finish off the demi human boy.
Garfiel noticed this yet he wasn't afraid while Otto was scared since he knows that this is has far as they go.
Despite that fact though, the merchant got out one of the three remaining red crystals, preparing to do everything he can to take down Ansem.
The Organization member prepared his attack until suddenly icicles were thrown towards him which prompted him to jump back to avoid getting hit.
As he avoids the attack, he turns towards the direction where the ice was thrown with Garfiel and Otto also turning that direction to see what exactly that was.
As they all turn, a couple of ice soldiers began to approach Otto and Garfiel. The two were on their guard until they recognized the ice soldiers.
"Cap'n?"
"Subaru-san?"
The two were confused why the ice soldiers looked exactly like Natsuki Subaru. As they started to have questions in mind, a voice speaks to Ansem,
"Stop there, villain."
"Is that...Emilia-sama?"
As Otto asked this, both him and Garfiel looked at the female speaking to see that indeed it was Emilia. She walked in front of the two as she prepared to face off Ansem.
"Are you two okay?"
"Y-Yea princess. Brotto and I were just gettin' ready t'attack th's guy."
Emilia noticed what Garfiel had said, prompting her to tell the two boys,
"Rest up. I'll take it from here."
As she said this, she moved her hand towards Ansem's direction.
"Stand down, villain."
"Hm."
Ansem grabbed Zarestia's sphere as he prepared to use it against Emilia, seeing her as a bigger threat than the combine efforts of Otto Suwen and Garfiel Tinsel. Darkness and wind began to flow around the Organization member as he prepared his attack.
"Everything shall return into darkness."
Theresia continues to hold her own against Xemnas, managing to keep up with his Ethereal blades while also dodging any lasers shot towards her direction with the assistance of Carol and Grimm.
Carol assisted in offense while Grimm assisted with defense. As the three were taking on the Organization member, Rowan looked from a distance, observing the fight after receiving a few hits from the Organization member.
Theresia quickly went on the offense with Carol by her side. As the two were using all their strength to attack the Organization member, Xemnas managed to block off the duo's attack with his two blades while examining the situation.
He can tell that Grimm and Carol are just here as support since the only one who can pose a real challenge to him is the previous sword saint, Theresia van Astrea. As he was thinking of ways to beat the trio, he pushes both Theresia and Carol away from him.
As the two female swordsman land back on the ground, Grimm charges at Xemnas and goes for an offensive attack with his shield. Xemnas was able to block the attack with Grimm using all of his strength to push him back.
Carol and Theresia both noticed this and quickly went around Grimm to attack their shared opponent from two different areas. This forced Xemnas to create two shields to block off Carol and Theresia from attacking him from his left and right side.
As he did this to counter the two, Grimm used this chance to push Xemnas with enough force to do some damage. This gave Carol and Theresia the chance to go on the offensive on the Organization member.
"We can do it, Lady Theresia!" Carol shouted as she was motivated to beat Xemnas. As the two were throwing a barrage of attacks, Xemnas managed to quickly recover from Grimm's attack in order to block away almost every attack thrown to him by both female warriors. Only one managed to get through his defenses and almost slashed his neck area.
This prompted Xemnas to quickly react by teleporting away from the two female warriors and to appear hovering above them. Theresia and Carol both looked up with Grimm preparing to protect the two from any possible sneak attack.
As they were looking at Xemnas, he opened his arms as a barrage of lasers were being created all around the three warriors.
"What the?!"
"Stand back!"
Theresia got in front of Carol as she prepared to block each of the lasers with everything she has while Grimm held his shield tightly. Xemnas looked at the three, noticing how they were afraid of what he's about to do.
This prompted a small smile before moving his arms towards the three warriors, commanding his lasers to start moving towards the three one at a time though rapidly. Grimm with his shield was able to block off one half while Theresia using his maximum speed was barely able to keep up with Xemnas's lasers.
Carol was in between Grimm and Theresia as she just watches them hold back the Organization member's attack. Xemnas looks at Theresia and Grimm managing to keep up with his ultimate attack.
This prompted him to snap his fingers, wanting his ability to increase in speed and in the amount of lasers being sent off at once. Theresia noticed that the difficulty of blocking off the lasers was beginning to increase with one of the lasers having hit her left arm.
"Lady Theresia!"
Carol was filled with anger seeing her friend getting hurt by such a cheap shot. This caused the female warrior to jump up and assist the previous sword saint in blocking off the lasers.
Theresia was surprised at first before returning her focus on the fight ahead, blocking every laser thrown towards them.
As this was happening, Rowan couldn't help but want to join in and assist the three, viewing the situation unfair since this attack would drain the energy of the one on defense.
He looked at his broken sword, knowing that this isn't going to be enough.
'Things surely look bad right now...even with all of our combine strength, this guy's in another league of power...and yet...'
He thought back on how he had trained Cecilus and how strong he had become, being considered as strong as Reinhard van Astrea. Reminding himself that he's the one who trained the strongest of Vollachia.
This prompted him to approach the battlefield only to suddenly be stopped by a few Vollachian soldiers. Rowan recognized them, especially the three leading the group.
"Todd? Jamal? Larkin? What are you three doing here?"
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Hm?"
Rowan looked a bit puzzled as the three vollachian warriors were just silent. Before the drunken warrior could say something, Todd and the other two Vollachian warriors had a dark aura around them starting to appear with the trio taking out their weapons, ready for a fight.
"What is the meaning of this?!"
"They are under Xehanort's control." Xemnas said, having noticed that the group of Vollachian soldiers Xehanort had encountered had finally arrived to the battle. He had left his ultimate attack to do its job without him around against Theresia and her group in order to turn his attention back to Rowan.
"How could anybody possess them?" Rowan questioned, knowing full well how intelligent Todd is at the very least.
"Their hearts possessed darkness, allowing them to be easily controlled."
Rowan took a moment to process what Xemnas had said.
This made him warry now since Todd, Jamal, and Larkin fighting together could pose a problem to him. Xemnas could tell that Rowan was a bit worried, making him feel satisfied that he has the upper hand.
Just as he was about to command the Vollachian soldiers to attack him, he sensed two strong warriors charging at him.
He at first assumed it was Theresia and Carol, figuring that the trio would've found a way to escape his ultimate attack with the previous sword saint's strength.
Once he actually looked, he noticed that it was two new opponents. An old man in a butler attire and a new female warrior with green hair.
Xemnas was familiar with them yet not one hundred percent...regardless, he blocked each of their attacks with ease before teleporting towards a higher area.
The woman in green hair noticed him and quickly used her sword to create a powerful wind like attack to reach him. He dodged the attack without much effort.
The woman noticed this and prepared to send another air slash. The old butler looked up at Xemnas for a moment before turning towards Theresia, noticing her mention his name.
"Wilhelm? What are you doing here?"
"Crusch-sama and I have arrived to help."
"And we also have arrived to help y'all out."
Theresia, Carol, and Grimm turned towards the voice that was speaking behind them. As they turned towards their back side to see that it was three knights, Yabuto, Kishida, and Waraki. Theresia, Carol, and Grimm were all three a bit surprised to see some Lugnica warriors in Vollachia.
"I've always wanted to meet the previous Sword Saint. It's an honor meeting you." Yabuto says as he bows to Theresia, showing his respect towards her. Theresia was caught off guard by this, prompting her to respond in a slightly embarrassed tone of voice,
"Th-There's no need for th-that."
Carol and Grimm couldn't help but chuckle, finding it rare to see their friend get embarrassed. Yabuto just smiles at Theresia before he along with his two best friends passing by them and approaching Rowan, seeing that he needs help.
As the three knights were approaching Rowan, Kishida noticed that the warrior's sword was broken. This prompted him to take out his sword and handed it over to the warrior.
"Here. Take it."
"You sure about this?" Rowan questioned, feeling off about taking someone else's sword. Kishida pulled out a knife as he responded to the warrior's question,
"I'll be fine. I have my hook hand and a knife to defend myself with."
Rowan looked at the young knight, seeing that he has a knife on his only hand remaining while on the other it's just a hook for a hand. This left him with a few questions yet regarding to his worries, he figures that he should accept this knight's offer, knowing that he needs a sword that isn't broken to fight properly.
"I appreciate it, kid."
Kishida nodded at Rowan before standing side by side with Waraki and Yabuto, all three of them staring down Todd, Jamal, and Larkin.
"Man, I didn't think that I would get to fight some Vollachian warriors." Yabuto said in a positive tone of voice, having wanted to face a Vollachian warrior. Waraki and Kishida looked at Yabuto for a moment before looking at Todd, Jamal, and Larkin with a serious facial expression.
"I don't know if that's even a good thing. Vollachian warriors aren't people we should associate." Waraki said.
"Yeah...but that doesn't matter now. We have to deal with them. Which one do you all want to face off?" Kishida asked as he prepared his weapons for battle while also looking at Larkin's direction, wanting to face him off.
Yabuto was more curious on facing Todd, having a feeling that he would be the most dangerous one out of the three. Waraki looked at Jamal and couldn't help but feel that he can take him on.
"I'll take the eyepatch one." Waraki spoke with confidence, catching Jamal's attention.
"Alright, then I'll take on their archer. Should be doable." Kishida said as he got Larkin's attention with his comment.
"Okay, then I'll take on their leader." Yabuto spoke with confidence as he pointed his sword directly towards Todd's direction. This got Todd's attention, prompting him to pull out his axe, preparing to kill the Lugnica warrior.
As the three knights were preparing to attack the three Vollachian soldiers, the other regular controlled soldiers all started to charge at the three with Todd, Larkin, and Jamal hanging back.
This surprised Yabuto and his two friends, causing them to get their guards up only for Rowan to get in front of the three. As he got in front of them, he charged at the Vollachian soldiers while telling the trio,
"I'll handle these guys, just take care of Todd and his two lackeys."
As Rowan said this, he began to clash swords with a few of the Vollachian soldiers, managing to disarm a few of them before knocking them out with a couple of hits from his free hand.
As he does this, Yabuto and the other two knights were once again surprised before nodding to what Rowan had said. While this was happening, Crusch pointed her sword at Xemnas while saying in a serious tone,
"You will pay for having attacked the capital over a year ago, villain."
"..."
Xemnas didn't have anything to say to Crusch, finding the whole justice thing very boring. He prepared to attack only to see Wilhelm, Carol, Grimm, and Theresia standing next to Crusch.
"Hm. No matter how many of you there are, you won't be able to best me."
"That's what you think, but all of us together will be enough to take you down." Theresia said confidently as she got her sword ready for a fight. Xemnas couldn't help but find that statement hilarious.
Wilhelm looked at his wife with a smile before turning his attention back towards the Organization member, feeling prideful as he gets to fight alongside his wife. Carol and Grimm both turned towards Theresia and Wilhelm, feeling a bit nostalgic by this. Crusch looked at Theresia and couldn't help but feel honored by this.
She had fought against the previous Sword Saint back in Priestella. Now that she's fighting side by side with her, she's curious to know how much her skills have increased. As they were preparing to face Xemnas together, Carol was curious about something. She turned towards Wilhelm to ask,
"Where's Reinhard? I thought he would be here as well."
Wilhelm smiled at his friend has he's aware of what his grandson was up to.
Heinkel was throwing a barrage of attacks, confident in his skills against his opponent despite how severely outmatched he was. Young Xehanort was not impressed by these attacks yet he did noted that the old drunken warrior's attacks were actually much stronger than when he was fighting alongside the Vollachian general.
"So you do have a backbone." Young Xehanort said as he continued to block the attacks effortlessly. "Maybe you might actually be a competent warrior, deputy."
"..."
Heinkel wasn't going to indulge his opponent by responding to such things, knowing that he needs to keep his mind in a calm yet determined state. Being angry like the Organization member wants would only leave him vulnerable to be possessed.
As the battle continued, Young Xehanort was still caught off guard by the fact that he wasn't able to completely have Heinkel's heart accept the darkness.
'Someone like him should've been easy to manipulate...so what changed?'
As Young Xehanort was continuing to think about this, he eventually wanted to test out Heinkel's durability, whether it has increased or not. He waited for the moment when Heinkel's sword was about to hit him before stopping time.
"Time stop."
As he said this, everything around him and Heinkel along with the deputy of Lugnica were frozen to time. Young Xehanort looked at his opponent with a serious facial expression before finally landing a couple of strong hits on him.
After he did this, he snapped his fingers to allow time to return back to normal. Once this happened, Heinkel noticed that Young Xehanort had disappeared all of a sudden. In that exact moment, he collapsed to the ground as he felt his entire body in pain suddenly.
'What the hell...did that bastard do to me...?'
He fell on his knee as he was recovering his strength.
"Whatever...the hell you did...won't stop...me..."
"...what a pathetic sight."
Young Xehanort slowly approached Heinkel before landing a few more hits on the deputy of Lugnica.
"For someone who won't accept the darkness, you are pathetic. You could've gotten strong, possibly even surpass your son but no, you chose the path of the fool."
"...fuck you..." Heinkel shouted as he managed to get up and use all of his remaining strength to try and land a hit on the Organization member. Young Xehanort looks at this pathetic attempt from his 'opponent' before blocking it with ease. Heinkel was angry by this, hating how his opponent was toying with him and viewing him as a weakling. Although he is weak compared to his son, he feels deep down that he doesn't need that kind of power to be important.
"If...you think...power is what I seek...then you are...sorely...mistaken..."
"...is that so?" Young Xehanort couldn't believe what he was hearing. "If that's what you believe then you are completely blind to the bigger truth. Everyone wants power, that's just the truth of the matter. Without power, one can't achieve their goal."
"Heh...is that right? Why should I even believe these words? You have nothing to prove them." Heinkel questioned, wanting to know how his opponent would respond to this. Young Xehanort looked at him with a blank facial expression before responding to the question, wanting to amuse his 'opponent'.
"Darkness..."
"Huh?" Heinkel looked at his opponent with confusion.
"All worlds begin in darkness, and all so end. The heart is no different. Darkness sprouts within it, grows, consumes it. Such as its nature. In the end, every heart returns to the darkness whence it came."
With that being said, Young Xehanort pointed his keyblade at the deputy as a small fireball was being created before a few seconds later, the fireball started to grow.
"What the?!"
"You see you old fool, darkness is the heart's true essence. And now, I shall put you out of your misery."
As Young Xehanort said this, he prepared his fireball to be shot directly at the deputy of Lugnica. As this was happening, all Heinkel can think about was of Louanna, his wife and how he can't fail her.
'This can't be my end...! I have to save her...I have to save her!'
Heinkel replayed these thoughts on his mind all the while Young Xehanort smiled at this, viewing how pathetic and dull his 'opponent' had become. Just as he was about to end the man's life, he asked,
"Any last words?"
"...I—"
"Leave him alone!" Another voice shouted. Young Xehanort at first thought it was the Vollachian general yet he sensed an extremely powerful presence. This prompted him to stop time in order to avoid a deadly strike.
As he does this, a mysterious ally to Heinkel attempts to strike the Organization member with one attack only for Young Xehanort to teleport out of the way by using his time abilities.
Heinkel snapped out of his trans has he noticed that his ally that came to save him was his own son. This made him angry since he would rather have anybody other than his son come to his rescue, especially after what had happened in Priestella.
"The hell are you even doing here? Disregarding of the Reinhard law like how you allowed a known assassin go?"
Reinhard looked at his father with a serious facial expression, seeing that his father is still mad about what had happened in regards to Elsa. He turned his attention towards Young Xehanort, noticing the Organization member appearing to his right side, before answering his father's questions.
"Felt-sama and I have spoken to the council of wisemen. They have allowed us to be here because there's a witch involve."
"A witch?!" Heinkel spoke with a surprised voice, his anger for Reinhard being temporarily gone.
'A witch, here. That's a problem.'
"Is this witch in the city?" Heinkel questioned his son while getting up, managing to brush off the pain his body was in. Reinhard moved his head, signaling a no to him. This pissed off Heinkel, finding it annoying that the Sword Saint isn't able to find the witch. "What is the point of having you here then if you can't even find the witch!"
"Forgive me, honored father. Although that is something to keep an eye on, we were sent here to help Natsuki Subaru and Sora."
"We? Who else is—?"
Before Heinkel could finish his question, Reinhard moved swiftly in front of him as he blocks off Young Xehanort's attack.
"Hm. Impressive." Young Xehanort said in a blank tone before moving back, returning the focus back to him.
"Honored father, you should allow me to handle this villain alone."
"Tsk." Heinkel looked at his son with a disapproval expression. "Now hold on. He's my opponent!"
"I'm sorry honored father but I must be the one to face him."
"And why's that?!" Heinkel questioned with anger. Reinhard looked at his father for a moment before turning back towards Young Xehanort.
"You are needed elsewhere, honored father."
"Where?" The deputy questioned with anger in his voice.
"...assisting the Keyblade Master. The witch is after him."
"What? Can't the 'great Sword Saint' hunt the witch down?" Heinkel spoke as he mocked his son. Reinhard stood silent as he just pointed the Dragon Sword Reid at Young Xehanort.
"You will regret for having attacked the capital of Lugnica, villain."
"..."
Young Xehanort stood silent as he just got himself ready for a fight. Heinkel was annoyed by this, hating that his son will take credit for a fight he struggled on. Before he could say anything more on the situation, he felt a hand grab his shoulder.
"Leave it to him...we have to assist the others..."
Heinkel looked at the voice to see that it was Kafma, having managed to get back up after having received a beatdown from Young Xehanort. He turned back towards the fight to see that his son was preparing for an attack.
This made him think to himself, he surely dislikes this since his son is taking credit for defeating an opponent that had almost killed him.
Despite his anger towards his son, he understands that the power of the Sword Saint is needed, especially in a crazy battle like this. He turned around and started to leave which surprised Kafma.
"Where are you going?"
"...I have a witch to kill."
"A witch?"
Kafma was dumbfounded by this comment all the while Heinkel smiled as he figured that killing a witch would surely make many people appreciate him the most. As Heinkel was walking away with Kafma following behind, Young Xehanort noticed this yet he didn't care for the two weaklings anymore. He looked at Reinhard and just as he was going to start their fight, he asked in a slightly curious tone of voice,
"What exactly is your plan to beat me? If I recall correctly, you couldn't even land the finishing blow in our previous battle. What makes this fight differently?"
Reinhard had a paused facial expression before smiling as he thought back to a conversation he had with Natsuki Subaru and Sora during the one year time of peace.
("What is the source of your strength?")
("Hm? What do you mean?" Sora asked with a curious tone of voice)
("What drives you to fight? During battles, everyone has their reasons to achieve victory. Some through the desire of protecting others, some wanting the glory of victory, and other for more prideful reasons. I was interested in knowing more of what drives you when in battle.")
(The two keyblade wielders stood silent as they thought deeply into the Sword Saint's question.)
("My friends are my power. That's what helps me keep going." Sora spoke pridefully.)
("I'll have to agree with Master Sora, you all are my motivation to keep going.")
("I see." Reinhard said as he found it interesting how the thought of friendship could help people get stronger. He heard so before from Sora though having Subaru also have this mindset made him more curious on this strength.)
("What about you, Rein? What's your motivation when in battle?" Subaru asked, curious to know. Reinhard was caught off guard by this due to being in deep thought about the power of friendship.)
("It's my duty to stop any evildoers. As the Master Swordsman, I must follow my duty to stop anyone who chooses the route of evil." Reinhard answered firmly. This caught the two keyblade wielders attention.)
("That's not a bad reason. If anything, your fulfilling your task, which is important to Lugnica.")
("I appreciate your words, Subaru. Though I want to have the same motivation as you two, wanting to fight for his friends.")
("You'll get there." Sora said in a positive tone. "It takes some time but you'll get there. Just think about the people you desire to protect and the strong bond you have build with them. That'll help you get that motivation.")
Reinhard couldn't help but think about Felt, his grandfather, his father despite how their rocky relationship is, Sora, and Natsuki Subaru. These thoughts made him understand completely how the power of friendship works.
'The desire to help those you care about, protect them because they are just that important to you...I like this.'
Reinhard felt happy as he had these thoughts, prompting him to respond to Young Xehanort's question.
"On our last match, I was fighting as the Master Swordsman, fulfilling my duty to protect my kingdom. I'm still fighting has the Master Swordsman but I'm also fighting for my friends, wanting to protect them."
As Reinhard said this, he could feel that a new divine protection has been added to him by Od Laguna. He got his sword into his fighting stance as he prepared to fight off Young Xehanort. The Organization member looked at his opponent with an annoyed facial expression before he teleported behind him, trying to eliminate his opponent. Just as the attack was about to connect, Reinhard managed to block off the attack.
"You won't win like that."
"..."
Young Xehanort looked at his opponent with a serious facial expression before starting their battle. The Organization member went on the offense while Reinhard went on the defense, both of them giving it their all.
'I'll defeat you, for the sake of my friends!' Reinhard thought has he increased his resolve to defeat the Organization.
Meanwhile that was going on, Al and his group were all blocking off all the shots thrown towards them. As Al, Tiga, and Medium were blocking the attacks thrown towards them from multiple locations, Louis Arneb and Zarestia were both attempting to land a hit on Xigbar.
Louis would manage to close the distance between the two only for Xigbar to teleport out of the way while Zarestia used very aggressive wind magic in hopes that eventually one of her attacks connects with her target. As this went on for a couple of minutes, Al suddenly dropped his sword his he pushed Tiga and Medium to the ground.
"Watch out!"
As Al shouted this while pushing both his allies to the ground, a massively strong amount of wind passes through them violently. Zarestia figured where Xigbar was going to teleport next and just threw her most powerful wind based attack though she didn't think about her allies.
Al looked up to see the wind attack almost hit Xigbar yet the Organization member was able to use his arrowguns to push the attack back, barely. Tiga and Medium both got up as they saw how close Zarestia was almost successful in taking Xigbar down.
"Man, oh man. You almost got me there. I have to say, you five really are making things entertaining."
"Tsk. Die!"
Zarestia didn't hesitate to continue throwing another barrage of wind attacks, wanting the Organization member to die by her hand. She threw more wind attacks at the Organization member, wanting to kill him badly.
Tiga, Al, and Medium duck once again as they felt Zarestia's attacks heading towards their direction. As the three were able to avoid the attacks, Xigbar teleported out of the way as he started to attack Zarestia once he appeared next to the spirit.
As he fired a barrage of lasers at the Great Spirit of Death, she quickly countered the attack by creating a barrier.
"You won't get me that easily, worm!"
"Hm."
Xigbar smiled as he moved his two arrow guns together to create a powerful laser to use on the spirit. As he prepared to fire said the laser, Louis managed to jump high enough to try and land a hit of her own.
Xigbar noticed this and was tempted to avoid this attack yet his laser was ready to be fired at Zarestia's direction. He chose to fire the laser, allowing Louis Arneb to connect her kick onto the side of Xigbar's head.
This hit was strong enough to send the Organization member onto a building nearby meanwhile the laser he had fired was making its way towards Zarestia's direction.
The Great Spirit of Murder noticed this and quickly created another wind barrier only for it to be suddenly destroyed. She was completely caught off guard by this, prompting her to quickly try to dodge the attack. As she attempted this, the laser had hit her right arm, damaging her though nothing too fatal for her.
"...Mmm...!"
Zarestia felt her arm hurting like hell, increasing the blood lust in her mind. As everything was starting to go red, Xigbar sent a barrage of lasers at her and Louis. Louis Arneb managed to use her enhanced speed to escape from the attacks while a wind barrier was created around Zarestia to protect her from these attacks. As the two managed to protect themselves from the attacks, Xigbar got up as he put one of his arrow guns away in order to feel the side of the head Louis had kicked him in.
"That's one heck of a kick, kiddo. I got to say, I'm actually impressed—but..." Xigbar smiled as he pointed his arrow gun up on the sky before firing a purple laser. "Let's see if you can survive this."
As he fired the purple laser, a barrage of lasers started to be fired from the sky to the ground. Tiga, Al, and Medium realized that they can't counter this attack, forcing them to start retreating and finding cover to avoid the attack. Louis looked at this attack and was tempted to retreat in order to avoid it yet she felt confident in finding a way to go through the attack.
She activated her gluttony authority and found a memory of someone with great speed once again. Using this ability she swiftly moved through the lasers rapidly hitting the ground. Zarestia moved her hands together to create a large ball of wind to try and break Xigbar's ultimate attack that just so happens to be protecting the Organization member.
Once it was ready, she threw it towards the barrage of purple lasers. This attack was able to not only break through the attack but also made its way towards Xigbar's location. The Organization member used both his arrow guns to blast away the ball of wind only for Louis to suddenly appear in front of him.
"What the?"
Louis managed to land a punch on Xigbar, catching the Organization member off guard. This attack also caused the barrage of purple lasers to stop suddenly, allowing Tiga and the others to try and help out. As Tiga, Medium, and Al were approaching the location Xigbar was, the Organization member looked at the former Sin Archbishop of Gluttony with an angry look.
"You guys are starting to annoy me."
The Organization member prepared to attack the teenage girl right in front of him, Louis smiled at her opponent as she started to blitz all around him. He looked forward as he pointed his right hand arrow gun at a random direction before firing it. This laser managed to land a hit on Louis's left leg, causing her to fall to the ground. The girl screams as her leg is in pain, causing Xigbar to smile a bit.
"Seems like you bit more than you can chew." As the Organization member said this, he pointed arrow gun at Louis Arneb. "Say goodbye."
He prepared to shoot his opponent only for Tiga and Medium to both attack from the Organization member's left and right side in unison. This prompted Xigbar to teleport out of their attack range and near the two as he prepared to fire both his arrow guns at the two. As he pulled the trigger, Al jumped in the middle of them and managed to block both lasers out of the way with one swing of his blade.
"You won't win easily." Al said with a calm tone of voice, confident that he along with Medium and Tiga can contribute to the fight against the Organization member. Xigbar looked at Al with a blank facial expression before starting to teleport all around Al, keeping the one armed warrior on his feet. As he was looking around, Xigbar managed to land a strong hit on his opponent with a strong kick.
This caused Al to get sent flying off onto a wall nearby, surprising Medium and Tiga. They were momentarily surprised by the attack Al had received before the two got themselves ready to attack the Organization member. Medium was the first of the two to start attacking Xigbar, charging at him before swinging her two swords at him.
The Organization member managed to dodge this attack with ease before landing a kick on the female warrior's stomach.
This send Medium flying a few feet away yet she was able to land on the ground on her feet though she was attempting to catch her breath.
Tiga took this chance to try and attack Xigbar with his skills. As he was attacking the Organization member, Xigbar figured that his opponent was going to be easy enough to take care of.
He prepared to try and kick Tiga only for both Medium and Al to join Tiga in attacking him. The Organization member was momentarily surprised to see the two managing to recover from his attack and to join Tiga in attacking Xigbar.
This forced the Organization member to teleport out of there and onto the air. Once he was on the air, he pointed his two arrow guns at Al, viewing him as a threat out of the three.
Before he could fire at Al, he quickly pointed his arrow guns towards Zarestia, having felt her strong presence. As he started to fire a barrage of lasers rapidly, the Great Spirit of Murder charged in at the Organization member to try and murder him.
Just as she was about to attack him, she suddenly stops in a way that catches Xigbar's attention. He lowered his weapons as he noticed her looking around for something.
"...what are you looking for?"
"..."
Zarestia looked and looked until she stopped all of a sudden.
"I found you!"
Without hesitation, the Great Spirit of Murder starts flying off, leaving the battle. Xigbar, Al, Tiga, and Medium were all a bit dumbfounded by this before returning their mindset into fighting again. Medium went to check on Louis Arneb while Al and Tiga both pointed their swords at the Organization member.
"Hey!" Tiga shouts. "You are still fighting us right now!"
"Ha! As if. You three are nothing to me. It's the one that left and the one I managed to shoot that are actual threats to me."
"Even if that's true, we are still alive. Meaning we have a chance in beating you!" Medium spoke with confidence, knowing that so long as there's a will, there's a way. Xigbar's cocky like smile faded away as he saw how true Medium's words were.
This made him understand that he needs to eliminate the three if he wants to deal with actual threats. He prepared to eliminate his targets only to sense an attacking coming from the exact area he was standing at.
Just as a fire based attack was about to hit his very soul, the Organization member was able to teleport just in the nick of time. He teleported onto a building as he looked at his surroundings to see who could've done such an attack.
As he was looking, he noticed Vincent Vollachia approaching the scene with his Yang Sword Vollachia out and ready for battle.
"I see, so you manage to escape Luxord's little prison."
"By prison you are referring to his card like magic, then yes."
"Hm. Confident one, aren't ya?"
"Knowing full well what you people are capable of now, you can say that I'm confident enough to kill your kind."
As Vincent finished speaking, he swung his blade in the direction of the Organization member, wanting to prove a point. As he did this, a powerful line of fire was sent towards Xigbar's location in rapid pace.
The Organization member noticed this and quickly teleported a few feet higher from the attack, just barely avoiding it. As he teleported, he pointed both his arrow guns at the emperor of Vollachia while saying,
"This should be fun."
As Xigbar said this, he started to fire a couple of laser bullets at the emperor. Vincent prepared to protect himself only for Medium, Al, and Tiga to block the attacks. Xigbar looked at the three annoyed before managing to dodge an attack from Louis. Despite the injury she had received from the Organization member, she wasn't going to give up so easily.
'No matter the pain, we must not quit~tsu! We must fight, for his sake, Sora-kun's sake!'
Louis tried to land a hit on Xigbar by swinging her arm swiftly only for this attack to not only get dodged but also leave her wide open for the Organization member to elbow her hard enough that it sends her flying into a wall.
"Louis!"
Medium shouted with concern before being prompted to charge at Xigbar, wanting to take him down before he hurts anyone else. The Organization member noticed this and quickly fired a couple of lasers at her, prompting her to dodge some of them while blocking others with both her swords.
As she was closing in on Xigbar, the Organization member teleported behind her and tried to shoot the back of her head only for Vincent to use the power of the Yang Sword Vollachia to protect Medium.
This forced Xigbar to turn towards Vincent before firing another barrage of lasers at him, seeing that he needs to eliminate him first. Before he could do that, Al and Tiga both blocked off the attacks before closing in on the Organization member. Once they closed in, the two started to throw everything at the Organization member.
Xigbar dodged all of the attacks thrown towards him, looking bored while keeping his attention towards Vincent, curious to see what's the emperor's next move. Vincent looked at Xigbar with an annoyed facial expression, seeing that unlike Luxord, Xigbar's a much bigger threat.
The emperor slowly started to approach the Organization member as he thought of many ways he could take his opponent out while Al and Tiga continued to throw everything they got at Xigbar.
Medium turned around and also joined her two allies in attacking the Organization member, hoping that her inclusion could give them a better chance in taking down their shared opponent.
Xigbar continues to dodge each attack thrown towards him from Al, Medium, and Tiga until Vincent was about to join in, having noticed an opening he was waiting for.
This caused Xigbar to teleport out of the area and onto another building nearby. Medium, Al, and Tiga were all three surprised by this which caused them to stop and look around while Vincent managed to see easily find the Organization member.
"Running away, are we?" The Emperor of the Vollachian Empire spoke with a stern tone of voice.
"Ha! As if. I just have more important things to take care of. You all are honestly just an annoyance."
"Is that so?"
Vincent prepared to attack Xigbar from a distance only for suddenly a new person to arrive at the scene. Medium and Tiga were both surprised by this new person, unsure if this newcomer was an ally or an enemy.
Al immediately recognized who the person was, leaving him to feel oddly hopeful. Vincent looked at this new person with a blank facial expression. Xigbar was a bit surprised to see this new person fly towards his position before saying,
"Mind if I joooooin in?"
"...okay."
Xigbar was caught off guard by the accent of this new person though he kept a blank facial expression, aware of who this person was. Before he or Vincent could say anything, the man turned towards Vincent.
"Could you pleeease assist the Keyblade Master, Sora-kuuun, your majeeeesty?"
"And why should I?" Vincent questioned as he prepared himself for a possible attack. The man hovering in the area right near Xigbar's position took note on what the Emperor had said, prompting him to respond back with,
"Sora-kuuun is a capable warrior buuuut the opponents he's facing are a bit much foooor him. It would be ashaaaaamed if anything were to happen to the stroooongest warrior."
Hearing this got Vincent's attention, prompting him to think whether or not he should believe this and what he should do. He is aware that Sora is his strongest pawn and having him be taken out would surely hurt his cause in taking back his empire.
"...lucky for you, he is a vital tool for my goal's success." Vincent turns towards Al, Medium, and Tiga. "Let's go you three. Our unknown ally here can handle that annoyance on his own."
"Are you sure? We can help—"
"I don't know who you are but if you wish to assist that clown, its fine by me. As for you two, you'll follow exactly as I say."
"Wait, we can't just leave him on his own! We also can't just leave Louis on her own!" Medium argued, wanting to help their new ally and to check on Louis. Vincent looked annoyed at her before responding with,
"We don't have time for this. The Keyblade Master is important. If he falls, the rest of us will also fall."
"I don't believe for a moment that the Keyblade Master will need help. He was able to take on and even best the Sword Saint." Al argued, confident that Sora can handle himself regardless on how tough the opponent is.
Vincent would agree after witnessing the strength Sora has and seeing how he and Cloud manage to handle a large wave of enemies on their own yet he doesn't like taking chances. Before he could continue to argue, their new ally began to speak,
"Dooooon't worry yourselves about me. I caaaan handle him on my veeeery own."
Medium and Tiga were both disliking this since they would very much like to make sure Xigbar's dead yet they simply just nodded at the mysterious clown looking ally.
Tiga needing to find the Keyblade wielder just like he was instructed to and Medium wanting to help out a friend.
Before leaving, Medium went to check on Louis, having seen her hit the wall with enough force to hurt the teen girl.
Vincent noticed this which prompted him to say,
"Leave her. She will be fine."
"No! We don't leave anybody behind."
As Medium responded with that, she picked up the unconscious Louis Arneb before turning towards her allies and joining their location.
"I won't leave her behind, not like this."
"...She better not drag us down."
As Vincent said this, he began to lead the group out of the area in order to start making their way towards the center of the capital, knowing that there's where Sora and Cloud should be at.
Medium was angry by what the emperor said yet not wanting to start an argument, she remained silent.
While they were leaving, Xigbar looked at his new opponent while saying,
"So you must be the newest Roswaal Mathers."
"Why yes, I'm Roswaal L Mathers."
"Hm." Xigbar looked unimpressed as he pointed his arrow gun at his new opponent. "I honestly don't know what's your deal but you're creeping me out."
"No neeeeeed to be that harsh, Luxu."
"You are a literal clown, how wouldn't...wait, what did you just say?" Xigbar had his guard up high as he was trying to process what Roswaal had said, thinking that he possibly was making it up. Roswaal just had a blank smile on his face has he responded to what his opponent had asked,
"Oh nothing, just thiiiiinking back on our time oh so long ago, Luxu."
Xigbar's expression turned into a cold one as he didn't like this conversation one bit.
"Don't mess around with me, you have no clue who the hell I am."
"Oh but I do." Roswaal spoke with his usual accent. This caused Xigbar to start shooting his two arrow guns at the clown, completely creeped out by him. As he begins to attack, Roswaal flies around in rapid speed, managing to dodge every single laser shot towards him.
After a couple of seconds of dodging, Xigbar prepares to teleport himself out of the fight only for Roswaal to suddenly move towards him and land an effective punch to the gut. The Organization member was stunned by this, prompting him to hold his gut area with one hand while pointing his arrow gun with the other.
"Come on, Luxu. You knoooooow it's me. Who else could've preeeeeedicted you trying to leave the fight using your little teeeeeeleporting trick."
"You can't be him...Ros wasn't this cunning."
"Weeeeell, I doooon't know if I should count thaaaat has a compliment or an insult. Buuut I do appreciate seeing you here, old friend."
Roswaal smiled as he recalls back to a time of peace when everything seemed right for him.
Author's note:
This chapter took quite a bit because of well life but also how I wanted to make sure it lead towards well what was at the end of the chapter. Here's some questions to answer in case y'all had them:
1. When will we see Sephiroth?
At the end of the arc. Yeah, it has been a while since he has appeared but trust me, his appearance will be worth it the wait.
2. Will Replica Riku or Pandora get involved anymore?
Not in this arc, they served their purpose and now they are just watching the fight.
3. Will Subaru RBD before the arc ends?
You'll see.
4. How much longer before we can move on from the arc?
I want to say originally 8-10 chapters more. Now, maybe 10-12 chapters. Maybe 14 if needed since there's a lot that's going to happen that'll impact the story moving forward.
5. Will KH4 affect the story should we learn more (like maybe at what point in time it takes or maybe sora's age and such)?
Not really. It might effect how I'll want to feel like it can tie in but not too big though hopefully I can finish the story before kh4 comes out.
I really appreciate all of you that are reading this story. I know it isn't the best but I appreciate the support.