AN: Here it comes...ENJOY.

ARC Nine: Infinite Crisis

Chapter Ninety Nine: Satella

They all watched.

Witnessing the tree begin to break apart.

All of it was the signal of a changing status quo.

The impending changes to come.

But it wasn't the only thing they saw.

Dark imposing energy was trickling out of the broken base of it, as well hideous inhuman roars echoing out of it.

They watched on...then something shot out of it. Screaming.

Subaru flew into the air with Batman as they dodged Minya spears and spiral spikes hurled at them.

Satella growled as she stomped her foot down and red crystals broke through the very ground and smashed their way to the others, they were able to dodge in time. Rem flung her morningstar at the Witch, who barely stopped it with a barrier. Only to have Sarah run down at the ground and use her own Sword Art.

"Piercing Dagger!"

She spun a bit and fired a curved projectile out of her forearm blades, both of which collided with her barrier, leaving her open to out right strike from behind by Frederica. Satella roared out as she opened her eyes hideously wide, becoming nothing more than large purple voids with blood leaking out of them.

She kicked Frederica away, causing her to cough blood. As she flew through the air, she was caught by Rem who returned fire with her projectiles.

"HUMA!"

The icicles collided with Satella's very own, only she could fire even more then Rem, some of which were about to stab into her face, only for an ice shield to save her.

"Emilia-sama!"

Emilia ran forward with ice weapons surrounding her, she shot them at Satella, who used one of Flugel's signature spells.

"Lotor!"

The light boomerang fired forward, spinning rapidly at Emilia. Only for it to be shot down by a hail of light beams.

Satella glared up at Batman who fired his chest beam at her, she blocked it, but hte barrier shattered instantly...in time for her to get punched across the face. She screamed as beams of differing colors shot out of her mouth...the process of which made her mouth split open. Batman quickly got out of the way, just for Subaru to use King's Reach to try and stop Satella's movement.

"I GAVE YOU RETURN BY DEATH! I GAVE YOU ALL THE LOVE IN THE WORLD! WHY?! WHYWHYWHYWHYWHY?! WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING ME!?"

"Look around you two! This has gone far enough! Look at the pain and devastation you caused! It has to end...please."

Subaru pleaded with them to end this conflict once and for all...but the crazed smile from the falling apart half-elf proved otherwise.

"Even without my Authority of Envy...Spite Curse...I WILL STILL FIND A WAY!"

She roared again, just as Beatrice and Dr. Fate finished their incantation.

Garfiel pummeled away, Roswaal tried to punch back, but he tilted his head away from the punch and bit into his forearm. He crunched into it hard, making blood ooze all over the place. Roswaal screamed out in pain, before punching Garfiel's cheek.

This set him off.

Garfiel punched Roswaal in the face again and again.

"Yer tried to kill me, the Boss, all my frien's!"

"AUGHK!"

"My sister! Mimi! RAM!"

"Hukk!"

"Ya fucker! Tha' girl loves ya! Even afta all the bullshit ya've pulled off! YOU'D STILL BREAK HER HEART!"

Garfiel's fists at this point were a hideous mess of blood and flesh. Ram could see the fight. She knew Garfiel was intent in killing Roswaal for good.

"Roswaal-sama!"

She fired a windblade at him, forcing him to turn around and block the hit. Ram spun back only for Zarestia to land the hit she needed...she twirled her hands, letting the wind itself flow into them, then smacked Ram's horn twice, making her fall to her knees.

"You are strong, but that horn will always be a weakness you need to work on."

'N-No!"

She fell forward, but Tia caught her.

"You may be a lovestruck fool, but you're my best friend's sister...so I won't kill you."

Garfiel raised his foot high looking down on the completely defeated Roswaal. He yielded no power, no resistance...but…

"No fuckin' way…"

He began to cry.

The sight of which made Garfiel sick to his stomach.

He saw the lack of remorse for the things he did. He felt no guilt. No redemption. He was crying for himself.

He had to kill this man. To protect his friends. To save Ram. He needed to do it.

"Yer a fucking asshole, even when dyin'!"

He needed to stomp his head in.

But Garfiel found himself being tackled by something at incredible speed...when he opened his eyes, he saw it was the Flash.

"Flash! Ge' offa me!"

"No way! I'm not letting you kill him!"

"Tha' fucker is a complete scumbag, th' world will be better off withou' him around!"

"Maybe, but you can't just decide someone else's punishment."

Garfiel snarled at him, but Flash kept him in place as he looked back...both of them saw Ram crying as she held herself as if she was in utter pain...Roswaal turned his body, holding his face and looking away from them.

This relaxed him. They both knew he, in a way, received his appropriate penalty.

Then the Miracle Machine fired up loudly...Tia ran over to Batman.

Mimi hugged Garfiel, having just made it there herself.

Flash looked at Batman...having noticed that he did nothing to stop Garfiel, as if he was intending for all of that to happen.

"Bruce.."

As the light emanated out of the machine...Ram reached out her hands to the defeated Roswaal.

"Roswaal...L. Mathers, I just-"

Then...it happened.

The electricity, the bending of reality, the sudden tremors, Batman spoke out with all his might, holding Tia's hand.

"I WISH-!"

A dome of light fired out of the Miracle Machine.

With their spell done, the Godslayer sword in Batman's possession shined blue and white.

"What is-?"

"-Batman! That sword is able to cut souls in half! Similar to what was used to split Echidna's soul! This is our chance!"

Batman knew what to do.

He flew past the gigantic pillars of crystals sent his way, seeing he wasn't going to make it all the way, he tossed the blade to Subaru. He caught it and flew forward, dodging Minya spears as he did. He found himself being pushed away from Satella so he tossed the blade, having Sarah catch it. She ran forward with all her might, dodging light boomerangs and beams of light, before her foot got stabbed by a crystal so launched the sword, having it be caught by Frederica. She used her cat like paws to leap about on the crystals, before one broke apart and made her lose her footing, she lobbed it, making Rem catch it with her chains. She spun it around and around, firing it away...past Satella.

"WHAT?!"

She tried to turn around, but found flowers made of ice covering her body. They bloomed as they slowly ate her vitality. She spat out more blood as her silver hair swayed.

Emilia caught the blade and swung it down, successfully slicing into Satella.

She let out a scream as she found herself losing her mind. Then black smoke broke out of her back as it swirled around in the air next to her. Satella panted and heaved…

She looked back at Emilia, who was still cautious of her...but then, the Witch smiled at her.

"You...really are pretty…"

"Oh…"

Emilia was taken aback by her happy comment, she looked forward at Subaru.

"Subaru...it's time you kept your promise…"

"To save you?"

"Yes...please kill me."

Subaru wanted to say no...but seeing the horrible state she was in, it was obvious she was in pain and going to probably die anyways. Removing his helmet, he looked away for a moment...before he walked closer to her...she was now crying real tears…

"I...Just wish...I got one last…"

Subaru kissed her with small peck to the lips, before giving her a big hug.

"...Jeez, you….are quite the hero…"

Subaru broke up the hug...he summoned a Minya spear and tried aiming it at her head...but he hesitated. He felt he couldn't do it.

Emilia then felt someone take the blade away from her…

They all watched in absolute soul shaking shock... as Batman stabbed her from behind with the Godslayer Sword.

She smiled.

"I...am glad...I brought you to them…"

"This was the only way…"

"...Without Subaru dirtying his hands…?"

"...Of him keeping his promise."

She smiled again at him, caressing his face.

"Thank you...Bruce Wayne…"

She then looked at all the people around him.

"Thank you for helping...him…"

Everyone stayed silent, still bruised and bloodied from the fighting.

She then cupped Subaru's cheeks and planted a stronger kiss on his lips.

When she opened her eyes, they were back to normal.

"Thank you for showing me love...Subaru…"

"Sat-"

"-It is the one thing...one thing...I always-"

She broke apart into a pool of blood, falling below Subaru's feet. Subaru watched on in horror seeing the sight before him.

"SATELLA!"

Unseen by them, Satella raised into the air...seeing Flugel floating above her.

Even with her duty as the guardian of the Algol Tree over, she felt the connection with it...this was where she had Flugel consume a fruit from the tree, the very which allowed him the ability access all of the Authorities and heightened his knowledge ten-fold.

It was where she would speak to him, where they would travel to the other world and kiss in the most passionate of ways.

Her anger was gone.

His anger was gone.

Their Envy was gone.

Now they had each other.

Now, they could find peace.

Satella took his hand and they vanished into thin air.

Subaru looked at Batman who held onto the bloody sword.

"Bruce…"

"It's better this way, just this once...I saved someone in a way different than usual."

"Yeah, you freed her."

However they felt the tree shaking once again, so they all made their way to the exit...especially since it was evident that Dr. Fate was losing blood fast.

Subaru lent him his shoulder as they all raced forward.

Then they felt something behind them.

When they looked back they saw a black mass of shadows with two purple orbs staring down at them.

"WHAT THE HELL!?"

"The sword split their souls in half...THEN THIS IS THE WITCH OF ENVY AND THE CORRUPTED FLUGEL!"

Batman's analyzation was on point, with their souls having nowhere to go, they combined into one being and were now an Evil Spirit. It roared out in pain, creating a pressure around itself. They dodged it's tentacles as it roared out inhuman speeches. As they made it to the exit, Batman saw the space around them begin to shatter like glass, he saw they were most definitely not going to make it...and that the Spirit of Envy was going to follow them out.

He was a hero.

He couldn't allow that.

He pushed them all forward and dashed back to face the Spirit. As the group were flung across the door...they saw it was beginning to break apart.

Batman tried to open a dimensional tear...but the Hellbat Suit sapped him dry of mana at this moment...he was out of magic to use.

He gripped the Godslayer Sword as the Spirit glared down at him.

"I BROUGHT YOU TO THIS WORLD! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO BE OF USE! NOW YOU HAVE TAKEN EVERYTHING FROM ME! I SHALL MAKE YOU SUFFER FOR THE REST OF ETERNITY! BATMAN!"

"Anything you got I've seen worse."

Subaru held out his hand, Frederica and Sarah tried running back, Emilia and Rem fired magic out, Dr. Fate and Beatrice watched on in terror.

"BATMAN!"

Subaru called out to him, the door broke apart, letting them see him as he faced the Spirit, unable to go back in.

"Frederica...Sarah...take care of each other."

He took a step forward.

Both women screamed out his name.

"Emilia...Rem...help the others out, okay?"

He took another step forward.

Emilia and Rem weeped out to him.

"Beatrice...thank you for all the help you've given."

He took yet another step.

Beatrice looked away, trying to stop the tears from flooding out of her eyes.

Dr. Fate watched on, but had to shut his eyes, as he was unable to do a thing.

Subaru cried and weeped, he hurled, begged and reached out to him.

"...Subaru…"

He thought back on the first time they met, all those years ago.

The hardship they faced.

The love they gained.

The friends they made.

The enemies they fought.

The Royal Selection.

The Witch's Cult.

The Justice Alliance.

Subaru's Parents.

The moment he looked out the window with Subaru and the others, gazing up into the clouds…

"Natsuki Subaru."

"Please…"

He turned his head, looking at him.

A connection forged from those years of being together.

Of being comrades.

Of…

"Thank you...for being my friend."

Then he dashed forward, facing the Spirit of Envy, just as the space around them collapsed…

They lost sight of him.

Subaru, lost him.

B

R

U

U

U

U

C

E

!

Batman was gone. Sacrificing himself to stop Envy. Trapped inside the void...

Frederica tried running back, but found nothing of the door, she held her head as she begged and cried. Sarah reached out to her, but she was inconsolable.

Even as the tree around them was beginning to collapse in on itself. Subaru kept staring at where the door was...just staring. It was as if he was unable to process what had just happened. He wanted to sink away, disappear. The feeling of loss he was experiencing was soul crushing. However…

"Subaru!"

"Subaru-kun!"

He snapped out of it as he realized the others were still with him and they had to get out of there.

He activated Murak and had them floating in the air...then, regretfully used King's Reach to ensnare Frederica and drag her with them. She kept crying and screaming, but offered little resistance.

As they dodged pieces of the tree, they saw the exit, a large hole in the side walls, where Anti-Monitor broke through...just as Subaru felt something wrong.

He looked at Fate, whose eyes were returning to their normal blue color.

"Natsuki Subaru…"

"Fate, NO! Not you too!"

"Listen to me…"

He coughed a bit as they were breaching through the exit.

"...Though we achieved victory, and that it came with heavy prices...it may not be over."

"What are you-"

"-I have you seen your destiny."

He looked straight into his eyes...as tears began to form.

"Fate will not be kind to you…"

The light left his eyes...the Helmet of Fate latched off of him and flew away, leaving a dead middle aged man hanging onto to Subaru.

"No…"

Beatrice held her face in complete sadness.

Subaru once again screamed out in sheer pain.

"FATE!"

As he screamed this out, a dome of light enveloped the Earth, or what was left of it. They watched as it came towards them.

This was the surest sign of victory.

It was.

Yet.

Why?

Why did it feel so hollow?

Saia held Erick and Roy's hands she closed her eyes as the light came towards them.

The remaining Subaru's stared into the light with determined looks in their eyes.

Rigel took a deep breath as he held his mother...and father's hands.

Julius gripped his sword.

"I believe, it is time to star-"

The light enveloped them all.

It enveloped everything.

It embraced everything.

As it did, the Algol Tree, evaporated into nothing.

The convergence was over.

.

.

.

.

Over the sunny skies of Lugnica, there was a flock of birds flying high into the air. On the ground, there was a very simple house in the outskirts of the Capital...from the distance, it was evident that the city was in the process of being rebuilt.

Sections of it quarantined off due to the Blacksnake's poison.

The castle being refurbished.

New housing projects were underway to replace the ones destroyed.

In that very simple house, a young man wearing an odd tracksuit, strolled out of the door, carrying a strange black helmet. He put it on the ground, before he began to stretch out his arms, then hopped on his feet, jumping jacks, and eventually after all was said and done, Natsuki Subaru finished his warm ups.

"Victory!"

He breathed in the morning air, just as a certain silver haired half-elf emerged from the nearby bushes.

"Oh, Emilia-tan, good morning."

"Morning, so you about to start training Subaru?"

"Yup, gotta get used to using this helmet."

Emilia nodded happily at his suggestion. Then the two turned to see a blue haired girl with a rather conservative dress, compared to Emilia's, carrying a tray of treats.

"Morning you two!"

"Hey, morning Rem!"

He ran over and patted her on the head, making her blush immensely. She then focused again as she placed the tray down.

"Gotta start with some tea and some snack."

"Hell yeah, Rem always makes the best stuff."

Emilia nodded in agreement.

"She sure does, that's what makes Rem so special."

"You...t-two flatter Rem, t-too much."

She was happy about it, but she still remained her usual self.

They sat on a simple table under a tree as they sipped on the tea and munched on some cookies.

Subaru then noticed it…

"Rem."

"Yes?"

"Y...You're doing it again."

They looked and saw an extra cup of tea on the tray, surprising them.

"Um, are you sure that's not for Beatrice?"

"No no, I gave Beatrice her tea already."

"Then...who is it for?"

They all pondered about it. It would sometimes happen. Rem would set up extra dishes or tea for someone who wasn't there. Emilia would knock on a door, expecting a response from someone who wasn't inside. And even Subaru would doodle a strange symbol he slightly recognized, but chalked it up as being bored.

They all just pushed it aside as simple mistakes.

"Well I guess we can share it right?"

"Of course Subaru-kun!"

The two girls smiled at him, making him feel a bright warmth in his heart.

They had a lot to do today in the capital, so they had to finish things quickly in order to complete everything before it got dark.

Still, Subaru always had time for his two fiances.

Inside the house, sitting on a couch was Beatrice, her form still in it's Ascended Form…

"I see, I suppose…"

She looked out the window into the bright sky above. She then looked at the three people sitting on the table laughing and enjoying their tea. She got up and looked over at the table...at a doodle Subaru had made earlier.

Beatrice tilted her head at the sight of it. Unsure of what to think...

It was the symbol of a bat.

Two months had passed since the end of the convergence, known to the world as, "The Forgotten Conflict"...as no one in the entirety of this world could fully remember what happened...

And the memories of an individual known as, Batman: The Dark Knight, were sadly lost….

A new start...a new beginning...but also, an ending...a brand new world was here.

AN: Chapter 100 is coming...