AN: JDUBZ...m8. You da best. Ya'll may not know this, but this guy right here -JDUBZ- is da best Beta Reader.

Chapter 21: Cultists

Subaru tapped his pencil on the table, the tapping noise echoed throughout the classroom. Subaru was looking at the sheet of paper in front of him. It was a typical 'get to know you' questionnaire given by his teacher. Subaru was having trouble answering one of the questions.

5) What did you do over Vacation?

Haha, I did all sorts of stuff. However, if Subaru answered truthfully he was sure the teacher would classify either him as the class joker or class weirdo. Subaru wrote down his answer: Went..on a..trip.

There, that should do it. Subaru moved onto the next question:

6) Did you go out of the country?

Oh for Christ's sake.

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"When you're finished, please pass all your papers to the front." The teacher up front got up from his desk to address the class.

Subaru snapped out of his daydreaming and gave his paper to the person in front of him. He watched as the teacher collected the papers and placed them on his desk in a neat stack. When the teacher was done he turned and leaned back, putting his hands onto the desk, "Thank you, class. That'll be your first assignment of the semester so you should start off with an easy A." The teacher never seemed to smile, making Subaru wonder if he was always this serious.

The teacher picked up a marker and started to write on the whiteboard.

Awwww geez.

Subaru looked around the classroom. It was decorated like how any school teacher would typically decorate it; with inspirational posters, puns relating to the subject, a shelf full of extra textbooks, and past projects posted on every wall. A large window stretched from front to back on one wall, Subaru had a window seat with a view of the parking lot outside. Not a pretty sight, but it was nice to have a window to look out of when he wanted to drown the voice of the teacher out. 7 more weeks, just 7 more until I go back to Rem.

Looking outside, Subaru saw a few students running from their parent's cars to the school's entrance. The clock on the classroom's wall read 9:00. Really, on the first day?

Subaru put his elbow on the desk and rested his cheek on his hand, looking at the students. Next to him was Michael, cleaning his glasses and putting them back on, squinting to see what the teacher was writing in the board. Everyone else in the class Subaru only knew by name, but never talked to unless absolutely necessary.

"Mr. Natsuki!"

Subaru heard the teacher call his name. Looking to him, Subaru saw that he had his arms crossed, marker in hand, waiting for something.

Subaru hadn't been paying attention to the teacher so naturally he asked, "Yes?"

The class snickered. Subaru blushed, embarrassed.

The teacher pointed to a circle he had drew on the board with various points scattered along its circumference. "Mr. Natsuki, would you mind refreshing my memory on what the cosine of 2π is?"

Oh great, he's one of those teachers. Subaru rarely wandered off in thought, but he hated when teachers called on him on those rare occasions. He understood reasoning behind it, but it put him in an embarrassing situation.

Not knowing the answer, Subaru blurted the first number that came to his mind, "One?"

The teacher rose an eyebrow, his eyes stern, "Is that a question or an answer?"

"Answer?"

The teacher shook his head, "You got lucky this time Mr. Natsuki. Pay more attention in class, or it may reflect on your grades poorly." He turned back to the board to write some more information.

Subaru slumped in his chair, exhaling in relief. Next to Subaru, Michael flashed him two thumbs up. Subaru smiled and returned the gesture with one thumb. Subaru looked back up at the clock. 7 more weeks.

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RIIIIIIIIINNG!

The school hallway flooded with students as the first day of school concluded. Excitement ensued as some students exited the school entrance to go home, in a hurry to to be the first ones to leave so they didn't get caught in the school traffic. Most students walked casually with no sense of urgency, talking to friends and exchanging stories what what their day was like in their new classes. Amongst the walking crowd was Subaru, talking to one of his other friends.

"So, you down for tonight?"

Subaru looked at his friend questioningly, wondering what he was talking about, "Tonight, what's tonight?"

"Michael didn't tell you? We're going to Brandon's to play video games!"

"Well, in his defense I didn't see him other than during math and lunch." Spending time with his friends was always Subaru's favorite pass time, it would definitely help him keep his mind off the portal. The thought of it opening and seeing Rem again was the only thing Subaru thought about all day. This had most of his attention in class, "I'm down! What time?"

"Brandon says to be there anytime after 6 so he can get his homework done."

"Good call, I've already got to write a paper for English by Friday."

"Ewww, I hate writing essays. That's why I stick to fan fiction, it's more fun."

Their little conversation went on for only a few more minutes until his friend decided to head home. Subaru looked at his watch: 3:00. It had been 20 minutes since school ended and Subaru had yet to see Michael, who he'd promised to walk home with.

Subaru stayed for another minute, watching his fellow students get in cars and leave. Where the hell is he? Subaru decided to walk inside the school and possibly find Michael.

The inside of the school was empty, Subaru's footsteps echoing throughout the halls. Mst of the classrooms were locked and had their lights off, no sign of anybody anywhere. One classroom was open, but when Subaru poked his head in, but didn't see Michael with the teacher so he left.

Moving to the end of the hallway, the hall split in two directions; left and right, with a door in the middle leading outside to an open lunch area. Subaru decided to go outside and opened the door.

The area had a concrete floor with tables lined up in rows. Trees were planted in dirt beds at the end of each row of tables. Overhead, the sun beamed down, providing light to the area. The food court was farther down, but other than that there was nothing else.

Turning to leave Subaru heard a grunt. Hearing the noise, Subaru turned back around and went further into the sea of tables. Subaru didn't hear the noise again, but knew that it wasn't his imagination. Going further into the area, he started to hear voices.

"O-okay. I'll do it, just please leave me alone." The voice was male, hoarse, like it was out of breath.

The other voice was threatening, also male, "Yeah you are. You know what your prize is for being so obedient?"

There was a pause. When the second voice spoke again it was louder, "Answer me!"

"N-No I don't know what my prize is."

Subaru walked faster, the one being harassed sounded like Michael. Coming up to the end of a row of tables, Subaru saw that Michael had his back to a tree a few feet to his right. The harasser had his back to Subaru and was facing Michael, he was easily a foot taller than Michael and easily stronger.

Upon hearing Michael's answer, the bully happily cleared up what Michael didn't know, "Your prize is me not beating the shit out of you right now."

Subaru began to get angry. This prick thinks he can get away with threatening Michael? Subaru got up, and began to walk towards the pair.

As Subaru approached the two, Michael must have mumbled something because the next moment the bully had him held in the air and against the tree, "What was that, you little shit?"

"Hey!" Subaru yelled to get the attention of the bully. He put down Michael and turned around. Subaru recognized the guy, but couldn't remember his name. Subaru couldn't care less, all he was thinking about was getting Michael out of there.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Natsuki Subaru." The bully wore a menacing grin, his words tainted with malice. "You were all over the news last year, with your disappearance and all." He taunted Subaru, "Think you're hot shit, now that you're back?"

Subaru didn't blink, not wanting to take his eyes off of him for even a millisecond, "What gave you that idea?"

"Nothing really, but ever since you got back you're all the talk of the school." This was news to Subaru.

Am I?

From behind the bully, Michael whimpered out, "Subaru?"

The bully turned to Michael, without a word, he sucker punched Michael. This sent Michael's glasses to the concrete, shattering a lens.

Subaru wasn't going to watch anymore. He got into a fighting stance.

The bully simply laughed, "Really, a little pussy like you wants to fight me?!"

Subaru realized he was outmatched in terms of strength, but Subaru remembered his encounters with the thugs in Lugnica. Subaru realized he had taken the biggest one down in a single punch. Thinking about this, his confidence soared. He edged the bully on.

"If I have to."

Michael called weakly from behind the bully, "Subaru, don't."

The bully's grin widened into a full smile, "It's your funeral, Natsuki."

Subaru charged at the bully, his fist making a beeline straight for the bully's perfect face.

Deflecting Subaru's pathetic attack, the bully chuckled as Subaru was thrown off balance, tripping on his own feet and falling to the floor.

"I take it, your father hasn't taught you shit about fighting. It's a shame, I was looking forward to fighting the son of Kenichi." The bully crossed his arms, laughing a disgusting laugh, "Hahaha! I guess you aren't really his son. I mean, look at you!"

Now on his hands and knees, Subaru's eyes were filled with hatred. He wanted to kill this freak just as much as he wanted to kill the witch cultists that murdered Rem in multiple loops. There was no reasoning with Subaru, he was over the edge.

Quickly grabbing as many rocks as he could find near him, Subaru got up and threw them at the bully. Shielding his face, the bully didn't see it coming when Subaru's fist connected with his cheek, sending him flying back, hitting the concrete hard. The bully didn't try to get up, or even move.

Still not satisfied, Subaru began to walk up to the still bully, murder on his mind.

Seeing that Subaru was planning on pounding the unconscious jock, Michael grabbed onto Subaru's pant leg, "Subaru, don't… Please."

Subaru saw the desperation on Michael's face, and began to calm down. Though, he still wanted to kick the bully at least.

"My glasses, help me find my glasses."

Subaru reached for the broken glasses, one of the lense completely destroyed. He gave them to Michael, who put them on and sighed. Looking up at Subaru with a worried look, Michael said, "That was stupid, Subaru."

"Yes it was." The voice came from behind Subaru.

Eyes widening, Subaru turned around just in time to see the bully's knuckles collide with his face.

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"Ow…..ow…..ow…...ow."

"You know Subaru. It would help if you didn't touch your black eye."

"I know." Subaru took Michael's advice, and stopped prodding his blackened eye. It hurt, but the pain didn't really keep him from feeling it, he had felt worse pain before.

Michael walked next to Subaru, both on their way home. Michael had walked away from the fight half blind while Subaru left with a black eye. In a way their wounds from the battle were pretty even. Except Subaru had done the fighting and Michael had just stood there.

Looking at Subaru's black eye made Michael feel guilty. He blamed himself, in a way, he had caused it by letting himself be bullied in the first place. "Subaru, thank you for sticking up for me." Michael looked away in embarrassment.

Subaru shrugged, "Well, what did you expect? You're my best friend, I wouldn't let some snot nosed prick pick on my friend. Besides, a true friend is someone who is there for you when they'd rather be anywhere else."

Michael liked that last sentence. "Wow, that's very profound. Did you come up with that?"

Subaru laughed, "No, I got it from the internet."

"Well still, it's pretty good."

Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz Bzzz

The metia in Subaru's pocket began to vibrate.

Okabe!

As Subaru reached into his pocket his mind started to fill with all kinds of different possible stuff Okabe can say that would make his day;

"Good news, the portal is ready and can be turned on!"

"I don't know what's happening, but the portal is open, get over here quick!"

"The mana processor is working full power and is stable! We'll have this portal open by tomorrow!"

However, when Subaru answered the metia, his hopes were shattered.

"Subaru! Get over here quick I need your help. It's the witch's cult….they're here."

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"Stay here!"

"But I wanna help!"

"Please, it won't do us any good if you come. So please just….go home."

Subaru began to run to Okabe's, Michael's voice still reaching his ears. "Subaru! Wait!"

"This isn't your fight, now go!"

Subaru looked behind him to see Michael keeping up. Damn it. I don't want him to get hurt or worse….die.

Subaru stopped running, allowing Michael to catch up. "Okay, you'll let me help then?"

Damn, he's persistent.

Subaru grabbed Michael's glasses from his face, "I'm really, really sorry about this Mikey, but it's for your own good." Subaru threw Michael's glasses. They softly landed among the overgrown grass of someone's front lawn.

Now blind, Michael came to the conclusion that Subaru threw his glasses based upon his apology, "Oh, you ass!" He immediately dropped down to his hands and knees and started groping the grass, trying to find his glasses.

Like a needle in a haystack.

With that problem solved, Subaru sprinted to Okabe's.

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Finally coming to Okabe's street address, Subaru decided to take a break and observe the situation.

Okabe had told him the cultists were outside his house with guns. What they planned to do with them was unknown. Subaru could think of a few possibilities, none of which were good.

Looking at the house from a safe distance, Okabe's words had been true. Five men and two women were at the front door. Every one of them was wearing a pair of sunglasses and a black leather jacket. It….it was them.

From the very start, the two men Subaru had seen walking to Okabe's house when he first came and went, they had been Witch Cultists. They hid in plain sight, yet they all dressed the same and kept to anonymity, just like in Lugnica. That must mean they suspected the area was where Okabe was living and Subaru's coming along had confirmed their suspicions when he first showed up. It was all his fault this was happening.

What they wanted was unknown to Subaru, but Okabe claimed to know. Telling Subaru that he would explain when Subaru got to the house.

Okabe had said he was hiding somewhere outside the house, watching the cultists. Scanning the street, Subaru found the unmistakable, lab coat wearing scientist crouching low behind a hedge across the street from his own house.

Without thinking, Subaru began hopping the fences of people's backyards, making his way to Okabe without being seen by the cultists. When he reached the house that Okabe hid in front of, Subaru made his way to the side of the house and hopped the side gate, finally crouching next to Okabe.

Okabe harshly whispered, "What took you so long? And what happened to your eye?"

"I ran into a bit of trouble, sue me." Subaru looked through the leaves of the hedge, "So that's definitely the witch's cult?"

"Yes."

Subaru studied their movements, "How can you be sure?"

Okabe smiled wide enough that his teeth showed, "I've had my fair share of run-ins with them. Using my cunning intellect, I was able to escape them every time."

Subaru removed his face from the hedge to look at Okabe, "Is that really something to brag about?"

Okabe put forth a 'duh' face, "They're 7 armed members of the witch's cult. How cooler can an escape from them get?"

"That's not what I'm saying-...oh forget it." Subaru looked through the hedge again. The cultist closest to the door was knocking furiously. "Why don't they just blow down the door?"

"If you are referring to their abilities, they can't. Like I said before, the amount of mana floating on our atmosphere is extremely minuscule. Abilities requiring mana in Lugnica and Kararagi are basically nonexistent in our world. This also includes spells, charms, curses, and any form of magic." Okabe put his index finger and thumb as close together as he could. "Our bodies cannot collect enough mana here to even support magic of the tiniest degree. To compensate, the cultist's use our world's weapons to replace theirs."

Subaru was relieved, this meant no more exploding fireballs, "So what do they want with you?"

The 'duh' face never left Okabe, "Obviously the gateway, genius, and they need me to correctly finish the gateway. They wish to resurrect the Witch of Envy in Lugnica, and if they have access to the portal when that happens she'll have just as much power in this world as she does in that one, thus enslaving our entire world."

"Well, they don't have you so they can't turn on the portal."

"It's not rocket science, Subaru. Eventually they'll figure it out using the plans I have in the lab."

Subaru grabbed Okabe's collar, "Why would you leave something like that on a fucking table out in the open?!"

Okabe frowned at Subaru, "Because I never thought I would need to worry just as long as they never found out where I lived, but obviously somebody forgot to check behind them every once in awhile."

"It's not my fault! They were already sniffing around when I first got here, I just didn't know that it was them."

"Well either way, those cultists must not get their hands on the gateway. If they do and we are unable to stop them, they'll resurrect the witch and send her through. This..must..not..happen."

Subaru made a stupid face, "Oh, no duh."

Okabe looked mad, "Do you not see what a dire situation we'll be in if we fail to eliminate the threat?! Our entire planet will be enslaved by the witch and tormented by cultists!"

Subaru was being stubborn as all hell, "I don't care what happens to my world, just as long as i see Rem again."

Okabe slapped Subaru then grabbed his shoulders, Okabe said, "Snap out of your stupid delusions! You may think that what you said is what's right, but in reality that's gotta be the stupidest thing I've ever heard! You would rather die with Rem and see your whole world, family, friends all be killed or enslaved than do the right thing and stop this madness?! You say you want to see Rem again, well then help me and you will! I will personally make sure of it! That is a promise."

Subaru froze in place as Okabe whispered furiously into his face. Coming to terms with what he just said, Subaru began to realize that it was selfish of him to be willing to let the world end just so he could see Rem one last time. He needed to go with Okabe's plan, it was the only way to ensure the safety of his world and Rem's life. "I-I apologize, that was stupid. It won't happen again."

Okabe released Subaru, still warily eyeing him, "Good, now let us begin."

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The cultists had finally decided to break down the door of the house. Once inside they swept the house, looking for Okabe. However, they found nothing. Checking Okabe's room, one cultist tried to look in the closet to see if he was hiding in there. Tugging at the handle the cultist realized it wouldn't budge. Trying the other side, the door slide easily, behind it was clothes and shoes, a normal closet.

However, inside the closet, a wall was placed where the rest of the closet should have been. The cultist stepped into the closet and put his ear to the wall, he heard the faint sound of machinery.

Upon his discovery, the cultist shouted out to the others with in the house, "There's something in here!"

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After waiting a few minutes after the intrusion of the house, Subaru and Okabe moved silently towards it. While hiding behind a nearby tree Okabe whispered to Subaru, "If things get ugly, use this." From within his coat, Okabe pulled out a 9mm pistol with a silencer.

Subaru looked at it in horror, "You can't be serious...I've never even used one before."

Okabe placed the gun into Subaru's hand, "Ever play Call of Duty?"

The gun felt heavy in Subaru's hand, he never thought it would feel like this in real life, "Well, yeah….but this is d-."

"The same thing, point….and shoot." Okabe saw Subaru's scared expression, "I know. I'm not too keen on the idea either, but they also have guns and if they intend to kill, I can't let you go in there defenseless."

Subaru nodded, understanding.

Okabe patted Subaru on the shoulder, "Let's go."

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A cultist was alone in the living room, having already searched it, he was looking at the various objects Okabe owned. Looking into a framed picture of the girl named Kurisu Makise, the cultist picked it up and saw his own reflection in the glass. All too late, he noticed a figure behind him. Before he could think of turning, Subaru wrapped an arm around his neck in a rear naked choke, making the cultist drop the picture.

As Subaru choked him, Subaru started to realize it was a harder task to do in real life compared to the instant downs video games rewarded you with.

Seeing that Subaru was having a hard time, Okabe grabbed the man's gun from his hip and hit him with it across the head, knocking him out. Okabe looked at Subaru, "One down, six to go."

"I would like to say otherwise."

A male's voice came from the hallway. Okabe turned around to see a cultist staring at him through tinted lenses, a silenced pistol in hand, aimed at Okabe's chest.

"Eject the mag and give me the gun." The man's voice was monotone.

Okabe complied to man's wishes. After letting the magazine fall to the floor he threw the gun towards the man.

The man twitched his gun to the side, "And the boy."

Okabe looked behind him, Subaru held his gun. It was shaking in his hands, but still aimed at the man's expressionless face. Okabe called quietly to Subaru, "Subaru, do as he says. They know we're here now. We can't fight."

Subaru glanced at Okabe's face before dropping the gun and kicking it to the man. Subaru didn't know how to eject the magazine.

With both guns at his feet, the man kicked them to the side, farther from Okabe and Subaru.

"Had a hard time tracking you, Okabe."

"Did you now? Well I certainly made it hard for you considering my am-."

"Cut the crap, Okabe. You're at the end of your line, she doesn't want you anymore."

Okabe froze, "You lie." Okabe looked scared then agitated. "She loved me, she could never replace me, she said so herself. I helped her SO much, she can't possibly see me as useless!"

The man removed his glasses, his eyes were blank, showing no emotion, "Well….she does now."

Almost in slow motion, a bullet sprang from the barrel of the gun that the cultist held. Ripping through the air, the bullet collided into Okabe's chest. For what seemed like a second, nothing happened. Okabe stood still, a look of pure betrayal on his face. Then in an instant the cultist fired three more bullets into Okabe's chest. The force pushed Okabe back, causing him to sway side to side. Regaining his footing, Okabe stumbled for a bit before falling to his knees and then flat on his stomach. He reached out to Makise's picture before going limp. His fingers brushing the edge of the framed picture.

Subaru stared in horror and shock as his one hope for ever seeing Rem again fell to the floor with four bullets to his chest.

"Everyone is watching someone other than themselves, someone important to them…"

-Kurisu Makise