Chapter 96: Two Paths

"Is he alright?" Yabuto asked, worried for his friend.

"He'll be okay, we just need to give him a chance to rest."

Sora said before turning towards Subaru, noticing that he had something to say.

"This wasn't an ordinary attack." Emilia's knight said. "To have witch cultists, some random ass guy, and one of those annoying organization creeps attack us...something's going on."

"Yeah, this isn't a normal attack. Actually, they haven't attacked at all since Vollachia. I wonder if they are working together now. The Witch's Cult and the Organization teaming up...that's concerning."

"More than concerning." Kishida added, "Those two forces working together could cause major problems. Imagine the leader of the Organization working with the witch...I don't think any of us could win that fight."

"Hold on. Sora could beat those two up if they ever teamed up." Subaru said, defending his master's honor. Sora appreciated Subaru's comments though his mind was on something else.

'Xehanort and Pandora working together...that might turn into a problem.'

He thought back to the watergate city, he recalled his talk with Pandora. It wasn't anything special by any means but her mere presence gave him chills.

'Pandora, the Witch of Vanglory. What is her end goal?'

With this thought slightly bothering him, he turned towards Subaru.

"We need to set another meeting."

"I was thinking the same thing." Subaru turned towards Yabuto and Kishida after finishing his sentence in order to tell them, "We should let Waraki rest for now."

"..." Yabuto and Kishida remained silent for a second before nodding.

The two looked at their friend for a moment before leaving the room with Subaru, Beatrice, and Sora.

Right before they left, Sora and Subaru looked at Shaula and Zarestia's direction.

The two were resting to regain their mana and strength, something that both keyblade wielders feel guilty about since they wish they could've prevented the mysterious villain from stealing their mana right under their noses.

"We shouldn't dwell on it. What's done is done."

"Agreed."

The two knew that the only thing they can do right now is to allow them to rest all the while they stop the mysterious villain from harming anybody else.

As they all leave the room for the three to rest, they gather the others in the mansion who were curious on what had happened.

"What's going on?" Petra curiously asked.

"Some masked man appeared and attacked Zarestia and Shaula before attacking us."

"Not only that but also one of the members of The Organization and the Witch cultists appearing makes things a bit complicated."

Hearing this made everyone feel a bit tense since these words from Subaru indicate that Xehanort and his remaining forces had joined up with the Witch Cult.

"That can be a problem." Frederica broke the silence with this comment. She continued, "From what I know, the Organization can summon an endless amount of creatures. Having that added with the Witch's cult and the rumored witch that's after Subaru-sama and Sora-sama. You have a destructive force at play."

"That is indeeeeeeed a problem." Roswaal said, knowing full well the capabilities of the Organization thanks to his meeting with Xigbar back in Vollachia and being alerted by Sora of Pandora's involvement.

"If the witch cult is around, then it is safe assured that the Sin Archbishop of Lust could be nearby."

"That may be right, however from the last time I interacted with her, she seemed like the type to want to cause trouble herself."

"Then her lackeys could've arrived her by complete accident." Kishida suggested.

"I doubt it. From the looks of things, the bastard attacked Shaula and Zarestia in a stealthy way. It almost felt that he was sent here for some reason."

"...Perhaps they followed me..." Meili spoke softly as she looked down in shame. This caught everyone's attention, prompting them to think about how Meili was found. Sora approached Meili before patting her head.

"Don't blame yourself. It wasn't your fault."

"..."

Meili remained silent though she felt a bit of comfort when hearing this from the keyblade master. After petting Meili for a bit, Sora turned towards everyone in the room to say:

"We need to start our separate journeys as soon as possible."

"You still want us to split up?" Subaru questioned. "Shouldn't we handle the situation as a group?"

"We could but considering where Elsa's located, we can't protect the capital if we are in a different kingdom."

"And we can't help Elsa if we are focused on protecting the capital as a group, I see your point." Subaru spoke while he corssed his arms, not exactly happy that they have to split up, yet he understood. "It's a pain, but it makes sense."

Subaru turned towards Emilia, hoping that she would put her input on the situation.

Emilia looked at Subaru for a second before turning towards Sora.

She understood the issue at hand, prompting her to ask only one question to the Keyblade Master.

"Can you save Elsa?" Emilia asked this as she wants to trust that Sora and those that follow him can save an ally and friend that's been captured.

The Keyblade Master took note of this which prompted him to say:

"Yes."

Sora saying this with conviction was enough to convince everyone that he'll be the one to save the bowel hunter Elsa Grainhart.

Emilia smiled before setting her hand onto the keyblade master's shoulder.

Once she did this, she closed her eyes as a couple of small spirits started to appear around the two.

"May the blessing of the spirits be with you."

After saying these words, the small spirits disappeared with Emilia smiling at Sora, wishing him good luck on his specific journey.

Sora was silent for a moment before just smiling back while casually saying:

"Thanks."

Everyone smiled at this before starting to leave in order to finish packing.

As everyone was splitting up, Subaru noticed Yabuto and Kishida making their way up to the second floor of the mansion.

He had a feeling that the two were going to see Waraki once again to check on him, prompting him with Beatrice by his side to follow behind.

While they went to follow the two knights, Sora checked on Louis Arneb before noticing Roswaal L Mathers approaching him.

"I had a feeling you wanted to speak in private." The Keyblade Master said in a calm tone. Roswaal had a smile as he responded to Sora's comment:

"Why of coooourse. There's much to discuss."

"..."

The two started to make their way towards the margrave's office, in order to speak about certain topics away from everyone's ears.

While they were heading there with Louis Arneb holding Sora's hand, Emilia went to her room to prepare with Rem, Ram, Frederica, Petra, and Meili being with her.

Once inside the room again, Yabuto and Kishida began to speak among themselves.

"We should've been there."

"I know the feeling, but we can't dwell on it now. The only thing we can be grateful is that he didn't get himself killed." Yabuto said as he crossed his arms.

Kishida remained silent as he looked at Waraki for a moment before turning towards the sleeping Zarestia and Shaula.

"I can't believe whoever hurt our friend managed to knock these two out."

"I think it's only because he was taking his time to attack. Otherwise I can guarantee those two would've dispose of that villain."

"They would have." Subaru said as he entered the room. "Not sure on Zarestia's strength but Shaula would've wiped him out."

The two knights turned towards their friend, just noticing him entering the room.

"What brings you back here?"

"I'm just checking on you two."

"..." Kishida and Yabuto turned towards each other for a moment before turning their attention to Waraki.

"I think it's for the best we finish packing. As much as I want to make sure he gets up, we have a duty to fulfill." Yabuto said this before he and Kishida prepared to leave the room.

Right as they were about to leave, Kishida turned towards Subaru to ask him:

"Keep that idiot out of trouble for us. I know he'll start a ruckus when he realizes we left without him."

"I will."

The two smiled at each other before Subaru and Beatrice watched as Yabuto and Kishida left to pack up their things.

"Was that all you wanted to do here, I suppose?"

"No, I actually wanted to check up on Shaula."

As Subaru said this, he approached Shaula with Beatrice on his side, both looking over at the sage's apprentice.

"Don't feel guilty, Subaru. It wasn't your fault."

Beatrice already knew that he was feeling much more guilt than he was displaying.

Subaru was silent for a moment after hearing his contracted spirit's words.

It does put him a bit at ease though he has thought about resetting back to try and prevent either one from being surprise attack.

'If I try to do that, Sora and Rem would know. I wouldn't want to do that to either of them...'

Thinking back to the events of Vollachia, Sora wasn't happy whenever he realized that he had looped back.

'I'll just have to live with this. The good thing is nobody died.'

Trying to avoid using Return By Death, he picked up Beatrice before heading out of the room, knowing that the best way to help both Shaula and Zarestia was to stop the mysterious villain.

While he was leaving the room to go and finish packing with Beatrice, Sora and Roswaal were on the office to speak in private.

"What did you wanted to talk about, Roswaal?"

"You."

"Hm? What do you mean?" The Keyblade Master questioned The Margrave's response, prompting him to also tilt his head in confusion along with Louis Arneb.

Roswaal paused for a second before responding to his question with:

"Peeeeeerhaps I should specify. What have you done with Priscilla-saaaama?"

"Nothing out of the ordinary. I just learned a few things."

"Such as?"

Sora paused for a moment as he thought back to his time with Priscilla.

The main thing he had learned from his time with the sun princess was how to be a stronger hero.

Although in terms of power he's probably the top three strongest in this world with Reinhard being the main person who can keep up if not outright beat him, he still had room to grow.

Though strength wasn't the only thing he learned but also the politic side of things, which was a bit of time to adjust due to how deceitful people can be.

He looked at Roswaal with the knowledge as he responded with:

"She taught me politics."

"Pooooolitics? What for?"

"She wanted me to learn a few tricks. That's as far as I'll say on that."

"Hmm." Roswaal was not happy with that response, something Sora took note of despite how the margrave looked calm with his usual unnerving smile. He turned towards the window for a second before looking back at the keyblade master. "Then allooooow me to ask, have you encountered the Organization or any other wiiiitch cultist during our time apart?"

"No. I haven't encounter Xehanort or the other remaining members of the Organization. I also haven't seen that witch if you are worried about that."

"Weeeell, I hadn't asked aboooout her, but that's good then."

Sora was silent for a moment as he observed Roswaal's movements and tone of voice when responding to his response.

He could tell that he was more relief on his comment related to Pandora.

This prompted his curiosity to linger in his mind.

"What makes Pandora scary?"

"..." Roswaal's smile faded as he heard this question. "That's not something I should disclose."

The way the Margrave spoke was more like a warning, something that Sora picked up on.

"It doesn't help hiding this information when we will eventually have to deal with her."

"..." The Margrave remained silent for a moment when hearing this, knowing that Sora makes a point. Since the Emilia camp is mainly responsible for defeating majority of the Witch's cult's Sin Archbishops, they would eventually be approached by the Witch of Vainglory herself. He returned to his usual smile while saying, "I suppooooooose you have a point, Keyblade Master. That witch would get involve once the cult has been destroyed. But just so you know, this infoooormation shouldn't be told to others."

"And why not? Having all of us be ready for what we are facing up against—"

"If enough people know of her existence, it could prove a problem. That's all I will say."

Sora and even Louis Arneb were hesitant to trust Roswaal since he refuses to tell the others about Pandora.

This did bother the two though they can tell that he's afraid of others knowing, almost like the witch wants others to know.

Since Sora needs the information, he response to Roswaal by saying,

"Okay, I understand. Tell me about this witch."

Roswaal turned to face the window has he heard Sora's response. He first created a barrier to make sure no outsider tried listening in on their conversation before saying:

"Alright, this is all I know."

An hour after repacking, Subaru and Beatrice headed outside as they were ready along with Petra, Frederica, Garfiel, and Waraki.

The only ones they were waiting on was Emilia and Otto all the while Rem, Ram, Kishida, Yabuto, and Meili were waiting on Sora and Roswaal.

Although Waraki was wanting to join Yabuto and Kishida to Gusteko to find Elsa, but since he had a feeling that the mysterious villain was going to appear in the capital, he needed to go after him to get answers.

Meili continued to keep to herself, shaken from the encounter her and Elsa had with Capella.

Petra noticed this and was tempted to go and check up on her, however her dream eater that Sora had gifted her appeared and went to Meili on her behalf.

The dream eater was next to Meili before giving her licks, attempting to cheer her up.

After a few more licks, Meili smiled as she couldn't help but find the dream eater Meow Wow cute enough to smile.

She petted the dream eater before turning towards Petra, noticing that she's worried about her.

The only thing Meili could think of doing is giving a smile to her, appreciating the help.

Petra still has trust issues with Meili though she doesn't mind helping her out when she desperately needs it.

She gave a simple nod before turning her attention to Subaru, noticing that he's messing with some kind of device.

"What's that?" She asked in a curious tone.

"Oh this? Looks like a phone that belongs to Sora."

"A phone?" She tilted her head when asking this.

'Oh right, different word for phone in this world.'

Subaru quickly corrected himself.

"I meant to say a metia. Didn't think Sora would have an advance version compared to mine." He opened the phone screen and noticed that there were a few applications, some unfamiliar to him while others very tempting to look into.

Petra being the same amount of curiosity as Subaru approached him and looked at the metia.

"What's that?"

"It's an application that holds photos."

"Photos?"

"...think of it like this, the metia I once had and Sora's can freeze a moment in time and store them there. Here, let me show you."

Without much trouble, he managed to get picture mode in the gummi phone before taking a picture of the little maid.

Once he did this, he showed the picture to Petra to which she was surprised by it.

"Wow! That's how I look?"

"Yup."

Petra took a closer look at the picture before noticing that she needs to fix her hair since it's a bit of a mess.

As she fixed it, she was curious what Sora would store in this metia.

"What could Sora-sama have in his metia?"

"Hm...we shouldn't check...but I doubt it's anything embarrassing..."

"Don't even think about it!" Beatrice spoke with a strict tone, "Unless given permission, you aren't allowed to look at this, in fact!"

She took away the gummi phone and held onto it, not trusting either Petra or her contractor with something that belongs to the keyblade master.

As she held onto the gummi phone, everyone turned towards the front door of the mansion to see the remaining people for each group walking out. Roswaal turned towards Clind to tell him:

"If aaaaaanything happens, you know what to do."

"Yes, Roswaal-sama. What would you like me to do when the two spirits awaken?"

"They'll prooooobably go straight to their respective contractors. Do make sure theeeey don't damage the mansion should they awaken."

"Understood." Clind bowed to Roswaal as he watched from the front door as everyone headed off to their separate locations.

Prior to everyone leaving, Roswaal and Sora approached their group with Rem and Ram awaiting the two.

"Is everyone ready?"

"Yes."

"We have all prepared for the cold that is in Gusteko."

"Good." Roswaal said before turning towards Emilia and Subaru, seeing that the silver haired half elf along with the Minister of internal affairs telling their group that they are ready to go themselves.

Right before everyone got into their respective carriages, Subaru approached Sora along with Beatrice and Petra.

The keyblade master noticed this which prompted him to ask them:

"Are you ready for the capital?"

"I believe we should be fine. What about you? How does it feel that you are going to another kingdom?" Subaru said.

"I'm interested to see what Elsa's homeland is like."

"That's true, Elsa was born in that kingdom..." Subaru said, having just recalled that she had mention that fact during the year of peace.

He turned towards Beatrice to hand him back the phone so he could return it to Sora.

She gave him a look before handing the gummi phone to him, allowing Subaru to turn back to his master to hand the phone to him.

"I think this belongs to you."

Subaru showed the gummi phone to Sora, surprising him since he had not only forgotten about this, but he didn't realize that it wasn't on him.

He grabbed the gummi phone while saying:

"Thank you! I hadn't realized that it wasn't on me."

"Yes...though I was curious to know what pictures you have on your phone."

"Oh, sure." He handed the phone to the two, surprising them since they didn't expect him to just allow them that easily.

Subaru quickly went to the photo gallery and along with both Beatrice and Petra looked through each photo Sora had taken.

The first few photos were of a town that looks to be around a sunset setting, which makes the town look to be made of gold from a certain view.

In the few photos of this city, he could see that his master had pictures of himself along with others.

A boy with brown eyes, light skin, dark eyebrows, and spiky, blond hair standing to the right side of a tomboy looking girl with bright green eyes, soft peach-colored skin, and brown hair.

The other boy to the left side of the girl was a rather heavy-set boy with light skin, brown eyes, and black hair and eyebrows.

All three smiled in this particular picture he, Petra, and Beatrice were looking at.

"Sora-sama, who are they?" Petra asked, being more curious about the girl than the two boys. Sora smiled as he looked at his friends.

"My friends from Twilight Town. Hayner, Pence, and Olette." As he said the names while pointing out who's who, Subaru scrolled to the next few pictures and was intrigued to see a duck and a dog standing side by side, chatting.

'Why...do they look familiar?' Subaru thought to himself, knowing full well he has never met these two...though he had a feeling that he's seen them through a memory not his own.

"Those are Donald and Goofy." Sora said, having been a while since he's seen them in some form.

"Those two, the two companions you mentioned traveling with throughout your three journeys." Beatrice commented.

"Yes. Me, Donald, and Goofy have gone through so many things together. Stopped Ansem, stopped Xemnas and the Organization, and stopped Xehanort together."

Sora couldn't help but think back on those individual journeys, slightly missing the hardship from the journey that brought the three of them.

Subaru and the two lolis by his side continued to scroll through the different pictures, intrigued by the many photos the Keyblade Master had taken since there's many different places with many different people he had met.

Though they noticed an interesting photo.

"Twins?"

"Hm?"

Sora looked and realized that the three were looking at a picture of Roxas and Ventus, prompting him to say:

"Right, a little hard to explain it since they aren't twins by being actual brothers."

"How so?"

"..."
Sora remained silent as he didn't have an answer to this. Subaru took note of the silent and just decided to move on from the conversation.

They continued to look up until the last photo taken, which was of Sora and a girl with short hair sharing something.

A star shaped fruit from the looks of it.

Sora was a bit caught off guard by this since he didn't take this photo...though the photo showing was actually a fond memory he has of Kairi right before they had gone to take on Xehanort and the true Organization.

("Here." Kairi says as she is trying to give Sora a Paopu fruit.)

("Huh?" Sora was taken aback before looking into Kairi's eyes as well as her heartwarming smile.)

("Tomorrow's fight will be our toughest yet. I want to be a part of your life no matter what. That's all.")

("..." Sora took a moment to think before grabbing the fruit Kairi was giving him. "Hm. Kairi, I'll keep you safe.")

(Kairi shakes her head. "Let me keep you safe.")

(The two attempt to share the paopu fruit with each other, similar to their drawing in the cave.)

Sora smiled as he thought back on that moment, how much he cares for Kairi.

Before he could even think more into these feelings once again, Roswaal approached them as he began to say:

"We shooooould get going."

"Right." Sora turned towards Subaru before handing him the gummi phone. "Hold on to this. You can take a look at it or use it if you think you'll need it."

"Are you sure? It's your phone."

"It'll be fine. I trust you."

"Okay."

He still felt bad holding onto to something like this though if his best friend and master is willing to let him hold onto his phone, then he'll take this chance to perhaps learn more of the other worlds.

He did notice that there was a journey application on the phone, giving him the idea that perhaps there's more that goes beyond Sora's journey.

Right before they went to their specific groups, Subaru had one last thing to tell his master:

"Good luck, Sora. And make sure to bring that crazy bowel hunter Elsa back here safe."

"And you be careful too, Subaru."

The two nodded to each other's comment before their respective groups heading to separate areas, Subaru's group heading to the capital of Lugnica while Sora's group headed towards Gusteko.

Author's note:

Good to be back to this story. Since the Re:Zero Arc 8 story is still in the Vollachia arc, for the most part all of this is original. Hopefully you all enjoy this chapter and the later chapters to come since this arc will be a bit different than the others.