AN Fun Fact: For some reason, when I thought of this Arc, I felt that the ending song would be "Sweet Grrl" by Soul'd Out. And comedically enough, it would feature all the characters in this part (good or bad) dancing in their own style to the song while wearing a Subaru tracksuit. It was a funny idea I guess.

Anyways, Enjoy!

ARC Seven: Quest of Sand and Memories

Chapter Fifty Five: The Babel Protocols

Subaru stood frozen as he stared up at the man in front of him. The strange man kept repeating the phrase from earlier, over and over again. Subaru was unsure of what to do, but as he turned around he saw that Shaula was now next to him, and was actually trembling.

"Sh-Shaula?"

Then, the man stopped the repeating phrases and suddenly began to scream. Shaula held onto Subaru as if she was about to cry. Her sudden hug made him accidentally let go of the sword, making Shaula pass out.

Subaru tried to shake her awake, but to no avail. Pamela rushed over and checked on her.

"Nothing to worry about, she's just unconscious. She'll be alright."

The man stopped screaming and looked over at Julius. Julius went over and picked up the sword. He pointed the blade at the strange man.

"Speak! Who are you?!"

"...No one special. Just your ordinary stick swinger."

"Your name?"

"...Nah, let's not worry about that."

Julius seemed upset by his unwillingness to comply, but noticed he was staring at Emilia.

"Mighty fine women here...especially the silver haired one."

"...?"

"Had I been still around, she may have been in my bed, alongside me. Heh."

Subaru scowled up at him, but this caught the man's attention.

"Hoh? Hey there little guy, why not trade places with me? You just having all these girls serve you like a meat blanket? Getting kind of jealous here."

"Ignoring that perverted comment, can we ask what we need to do?"

"To do?"

"Yeah, like how do we get to the next level?"

The man scratched the back of his head as he lazily looked over the situation.

"Okay, if you want me to talk, then you just have to move me from my position, even if by a couple inches."

Julius tossed him the trial sword, but he actually kicked it away, right past Julius. His eyes glared at the man, as he pulled out a pair of chopsticks.

"Just need these."

"Do not regret this then."

Julius ran over and swung his sword downward...only for the sword to be stopped completely by the chopsticks. Julius held his breath seeing his attack stopped so easily. The man smiled before kicking him in the gut, away from him.

Suddenly, countless barbed vines wrapped around the man's legs, he looked over and saw Pamela try and pierce him with her rapier. He effortlessly blocked it with a chopstick. She then glared at him as she spit something out onto the floor near his foot. The man noticed this and moved his cheek, dodging a bamboo shoot that sprung out suddenly. She took advantage and wrapped several barbed vines around her foot and tried to kick him in the face. He blocked it with a chopstick, then he used the other remaining chopstick, to capture her leg. Using his superior strength, he lifted her high into the air and then slammed her on the ground.

She yelled out in pain, making Julius charge at him. The man grinned as he took the two chopsticks and traded blows with Julius. Julius could not land a single hit on him, meanwhile he was getting pummeled by hits from the stranger. Pamela tried to get up, but she noticed it right away.

"...Ow."

Her right arm was dangling horribly from it's socket. Her right arm was badly dislocated. Subaru rushed over and went to get her. He made his way through the fight and was able to get her out of there. He laid her down next to the unconscious Shaula. He had Emilia work on healing her, as he continued observing the fight.

Julius was doing badly in the fight and was now spilling blood all over the place. Anastasia aimed her finger at the man, attempting to help Julius however she could. But Batman saw this and quickly realized what she was intending to do.

"No wait!"

"Jiwald!"

She fired a beam of light out of her finger, barreling right at him. He simply swatted the beam away, bringing shock to her face.

"Wanna try that again?"

She tried to increase the amount of beams she fired, but the man got down and dragged Julius with him. He held the knight on the ground with two chopsticks on his neck. He looked over at Anastasia with a very cruel smile.

"Come on cute thing! You got to aim more properly than that!"

Anastasia suddenly stopped firing and held her head, as if it was in pain. She was about to collapse but was caught by Batman.

Julius tried with all his might to break free from his grip, but the man decided to let him go as he was excited to see him taking the fight seriously.

"Finally, you got some real stakes here now, huh?"

"I...I will protect them with everything in my being….I am Julius Juukulis! Royal Knight of the Kingdom of Lugnica and-"

"-Knock it off already."

His face turned serious as he continued blocking his attacks.

"Right now, you ain't that title you keep spouting off about. You are you! And if you keep this stupid shit up...then you are a failure."

"How...dare…"

"It's true. You failed to keep your lady safe. Failed to prevent whatever it was to happen to you. And now…"

He quickly slammed Julius' sword, and it broke in half.

The man leered down at Julius, as if looking at something truly pitiful.

"Now...you failed this fight."

He quickly punched Julius in the face, sending him crashing near to where Anastasia and Batman were.

"Julius!"

Batman gently dragged him away to lay down next to Anastasia.

The man yawned loudly as he browsed around the room, most likely to find his next opponent.

"Icicle Brand Arts: Icicle Line."

Emilia was now in front of him, with various ice based weapons surrounding them. A breeze swept through the white room sending Emilia's hair to wave around. She then focused her sights on him.

Emilia rushed over as she grabbed onto a ice sword. She then made all the other nearby weapons launch themselves at him. But he once again used his chopsticks to effectively destroy them.

Emilia then tried to stab him in the chest, but he blocked it and the ice shattered. She then spun her body and grabbed a battleaxe and tried to slam it on his head, but he simply redirected it away from him. Emilia then grabbed an ice spear, but he simply deflected it, making it shatter. She then grabbed two ice daggers and tried to slice away at him, but he simply shattered them to bits. Right then and there, she tried to use a war hammer, but it missed him, forcing her to step back.

The man took advantage of the situation.

He snickered a bit as he attacked...by stroking her breasts with his chopsticks from below. With his perverted thoughts distracting him long enough, she took the opportunity to smash her ice glove covered fists down on his head from above. His head landed harshly on the ground, causing cracks to form under his face.

He flailed around a bit clutching his face. He looked up finally as he had tears forming near the corner of his eye.

"W-W-What the hell?! I touched your breasts! You should be holding onto them screaming stuff like, 'Eek! You pervert!' or 'Oh no! I've been sullied!' WHAT GIVES?!"

Emilia rubbed her arm and looked down at him confused.

"Well, um I don't know what you mean? When me and Subaru are sparring he sometimes rubs against my chest...so I didn't think that was an issue."

They all then heard two loud sounds accompanied by a loud yelp.

They all turned to see Subaru with an apologetic look on his face and two large lumps on the sides of his head. Curiously, Batman and Deathstroke were standing next to him, looking away in disappointment.

The man rubbed his head as he got up.

"Alright, whatever the case...a win is a win."

Emilia was now ecstatic that she defeated him...but…

"What are the rest of you excited about?! She is the only one who beat me, so only she can pass through!"

"...Oh no."

"Sorry, but that's how it is."

Batman and Deathstroke then moved away from Subaru and past Emilia, walking over to meet face to face with him.

"Now...let me get some clarification."

"Huh?"

"...You...you're Reid Astrea aren't you?"

Everyone's breaths were held as they heard a name they couldn't believe was uttered. Reid Astrea, one of the three individuals who contributed in sealing the Witch of Envy.

"Tsk! What the hell?! It was way cooler just being a mysterious combatant! Just the kind of bullshit that I wanted to avoid. Now everyone is gonna be all googly eyed at me!"

"Not our problem. But listen...how about we make a deal?"

"A deal?"

Batman nodded as Reid lowered his eye at him.

"We will be the next ones to take you on. And the deal is this…"

"...Hm?"

"If we win and move you from your spot, you allow all of us to move forward."

"...Interesting. And if you lose?"

"...Then only Emilia is allowed to move forward. The rest of us will be forbidden from taking you on...and will attempt to leave the tower."

"Idiot! If you do that then-"

"-We get killed? Isn't that just another reason we don't want to lose?"

Reid was quite surprised and stared at the two individuals who were daring to face him.

"...Heh...Hehahahahahahaha! You are crazy! Both of you! But I like it, and I don't see how the trial will go against your decision. Alright fine with me! Deal!"

Reid pulled out both hands to them. At first reluctant, Batman and Deathstroke finally decided to shake hands with him.

"Now then, we will need some time to get these guys to safety. Would you be willing to wait?"

"Meh, I guess you have to get those four out of here? Fine, I'll close shop for now. When you two are ready just come back. We'll have our little fun then."

"Thanks."

The two men made their way away from Reid as they helped take the injured out of there.

Now in the Green Room, Julius, Anastasia and Pamela were being healed by Emilia and Beatrice. Subaru was slightly concerned over the entire thing and had decided to give Batman a peace of his mind.

"Hey!"

"Hm?"

Subaru went over to the dark knight and furrowed his brows at him, while crossing his arms.

"Just what the hell was the big idea on making that deal just now?! Are you crazy?!"

"No, I was thinking that in a situation like this, we had no ground to stand on. Making the deal lets us get Reid on board with this, and that gives us the chance to possibly succeed where Julius and Pamela had failed."

"Sure...But if YOU guys fail, we're all as good as dead."

"Yeah-"

Batman got within breathing distance to Subaru and so they could whisper the rest.

"-and I'm not sure that even Return by Death would even save us at this point."

"We don't know that yet. We still have-"

"-What if it brings you back to a point only a few minutes before the second layer? Or worse, right at the moment when we first met Reid?"

"...But! I just-"

"-There is nothing to combat this, Subaru."

They stopped their whispering as they now overlooked their group.

"Subaru, we have no other options here."

"...Wait. No wait! We can probably use the library to find some kind of weakness!"

"No dice. We aren't doing something like that. The idea came in mind to look for the book that housed Reid's past, but the risk of losing someone's mind to that is too dangerous. We can't afford to lose more people."

Subaru's mind wandered, he was hesitant on going along with using Batman and Deathstroke as the last line of assault. He believed in their strength...but they were up against a former Master Swordsman, he was no pushover.

Subaru felt a small hit to his shoulder, he looked up and saw that Batman gave him a friendly bump with his fist.

"It'll be alright. Me and Deathstroke have faced worse."

"But..."

Batman nodded away, as he activated his jet boots and shot off. He made his way to the lower levels, and made it to the carriage Shaula left behind. He reached the top of the carriage and opened the other metal briefcase he brought with him. As the white steam began to come out his eyes began to sharpen with a vicious intensity.

Deathstroke sat down as he began organizing the weapons he had on him.

Meili suddenly sat next to him as she held on tightly to her Panda doll. She let the orange scarf she had on rest on her back. Meili decided to get closer.

"So, is Slade-jii san really going to take on the Master Swordsman?"

"Yeah, seems like it."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, that guy is good! Reallllly good!"

"I know, but my opponents powers or skill levels never deter me at all, they mostly excite me!"

"Hmph! You're a weirdo just like Elsa!"

She humphed her face away, making him pat her harshly on the head.

"Hey! Knock it off!"

"If you don't like it, why not just go hang out with the sage?"

"Naked onee-san? Well, I like her a lot. She's really fun and smells real nice."

"Hmmmm...and me? Did I just become second fiddle for ya?"

Meili was quiet for a moment. Even Deathstroke was surprised by this sudden attitude shift. He looked over as she seemed dejected by something.

"You okay Meili?"

"...I-I don't know really. I usually never really worried about anyone but myself you know? I never cared about anyone, not even Elsa. It was always about me and only me. You know?"

"Yeah...I know that feeling."

"...But I...well...um…"

"Go on, out with it."

Meili suddenly moved closer to him and rested her back on him, but she kept looking down.

"I...am really worried about you. I know you're tough, probably tougher than even Elsa, but I...I don't know!?"

"...Hey, do you actually care 'bout me Meili?"

Meili finally looked up at him, her eyes seemed to tremble, especially when Deathstroke took off his helmet and looked down at her.

"Um, well...yeah...I never had a...well, papa before."

"...A father figure?"

"Y-Yeah. I had mama, but she took care of me from behind the scenes...so I never got see her."

"So that explains your unexpected maturity."

"Yup. And I like you a lot...you've taken care of me soooo much. You would stay with me when I got bored, you would bring me toys to play with, you trained me, gave me new clothes and...even didn't care about my work."

"Nah, I wouldn't though. You…"

Even Slade Wilson was hesitant on his next words...he didn't want to sound mushy or like a total softie. But during his time here in this world, the one person he seemed to connect with more than any other was her.

"Meili, let me ask you something."

"Hm?"

"...If I were to go back home, would you come with me?"

"Huh?"

It was something Deathstroke had some time to think about. He knew that if they could find a way back to their own world, Batman would most likely force him back as well. So it came to mind to take Meili with him.

"But we if couldn't live with Onii-san and the others, we'd be in big trouble! Mama would come after us!"

"No she wouldn't. Where me and Batman are from, it's very far away than any of the other countries. It's impossible to reach, not even the organization could get there."

"...!"

"How about it? You wouldn't have to worry about killing people anymore, you'd be able to make normal friends, live a normal life and never have to be concerned about Ma-beasts coming to bother you. You'd finally be free."

"...I-"

Meili clutched her toy tighter as she finally looked up at him.

"-I don't know…"

"Give it some time, I'm sure you'll decide then."

Deathstroke put his helmet back on and got up, he had finished organizing his weapons and was looking over...seeing Batman walking up the stairs into the Green Room, wearing his Insider Suit.

Batman continued making his way to meet with Deathstroke as they embarked to their fight. He turned to see Beatrice and squatted down to speak directly to her.

"Beatrice, could you keep on eye on everyone here?"

"Of course, Betty has to watch Subaru you know? I will do my best to keep everyone in check, I suppose."

"Also…"

"Hm?"

"It's time to initiate one of the protocols."

Beatrice's face grew grim as she heard this, but when she saw Subaru in the corner of her eye, she relaxed.

"Which one?"

"Reinhard's."

"...Very well, I hope things go well. Good luck, I suppose."

"Thanks."

Batman stood up again, but he turned his head one last time to look over at Beatrice.

"If they ask about it...just tell them."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah...I'll take the blame, it was my idea in the first place."

"Hahhhh, You are quite the brooding figure, I suppose. Very well, should they ask, Betty will tell them."

Batman nodded and began walking to the stairs next to Deathstroke.

They both turned around and saw everyone was staring at them, each with their own expressions. However, they both could tell they were all silently wishing them luck.

The two men continued up the stairs.

They made it to the white room and saw Reid standing there with the trial sword in his hands. He tossed it and Deathstroke easily caught it.

Not a single one of them spoke. The very air was tense.

Batman walked around in the opposite direction as Deathstroke, they were now trying to surround him.

Reid smiled at this.

"Hope you put up more of a fight than the other guys."

Reid then raised his chopsticks-

-Only for Deathstroke to fire his Semi-automatic rifle at him.

Reid used his chopsticks to swat away all the bullets. Deathstroke continued firing, until he realized his gun ran out of bullets...using up the last clip he had on him. Realizing his gun was now useless, he used it, in conjunction with the sword given to him, as blunt weapon. Each of the strikes was blocked by Reid, but even he was surprised when he tossed away the now destroyed gun and attempted to flick a piece of the broken rifle right at his eye.

This seemed to excite Reid as he tried to kick him away, but Deathstroke actually flipped in the air and aimed his sword downward. Reid blocked it, but noticed Deathstroke chuckled a bit.

He turned and saw Batman rushing over.

[Veritas Mode Activated]

Batman launched some type of rope that latched onto Reid's forearm. He then sent volts of electricity coursing throughout the man's body, giving Deathstroke the chance and toss his last grenades at him. The two men jumped in reaction to it. Batman then made it behind Reid, in order to let him take the brunt of damage.

After the explosion, Batman gripped the rope tightly.

"Tell me, what else is above this layer!"

"Don't know…"

From the smoke and debris, was Reid...still standing. He was smiling widely and looked over at Batman.

"Do you know what happens if we defeat you?"

"Not too sure, but I do know, you face another trial if you do get past me."

"...Can you tell us anything?!"

"Yeah. You ain't getting past me."

Reid cut through the rope and actually tossed a chopstick right at Batman, but he was able to roll on the ground and dodged it. Though he did feel the velocity and power behind it.

Deathstroke then ran close to the ground as he tossed a tomahawk at him. When he deflected it away, Deathstroke shot a wind blade at him which was once again, destroyed. He then shot his body up and began slicing away at him, each of his attacks being guarded against. Then Reid saw that the tomahawk was once again barreling towards him, so he actually caught it...failing to see Batman actually make his way to the corner of his field of vision. He then, pulled out two wrist blades, well, they were more like large needles than anything.

Reid was about to swing back and hit Batman, but noticed Deathstroke pull out his pistol. He then turned his attention back and deflected the bullets shot towards him away. This gave Batman the chance to actually pierce Reid in the sides.

[Mana Drain Activated]

Blue streams of light were now being drained out of Reid and through the needles. Reid became enraged, but noticed he felt a lot slower than normal.

Batman then quickly backflipped away from him. Reid glared at him…

"The hell did you do?"

"Simple, I drained a copious amount of mana from your body."

"The hell?! And what is that going to accomplish?!"

"Easy...while you're recovering….We take advantage."

Deathstroke heard this and activated his Sword Art, rushing over to Reid. He swung the sword down, but his attack was once again blocked...but the shockwave caused by this attack caused the very ground to cave in. Deathstroke then kicked away at the chopstick and flipped in the air...but as he did, he kicked several wind blades at him. He once again deflected them away.

Then Reid felt something behind him…

[Heat Vision Mode Activated]

Batman slid on the ground on his knees as his three red eyes began to glow immensely.

Subaru and the others could actually somehow hear the battle from the Green Room. Subaru was understandably nervous about how their fight was going...until Beatrice walked next to him and held his sleeve.

"Beatrice?"

"You have nothing to worry about Subaru, I suppose. Batman and the assassin should be fine."

"How do you know that? We're dealing with a former Master Swordsman here!"

"And that's why Batman...has…"

Subaru noticed Beatrice had a guilt ridden face. He squatted down to reach eye level to her and cupped her cheek with his metal hand.

"Beatrice...just tell me...I won't be mad or anything."

"We'll see."

Emilia and Ram were helping the others stand as their healing session was just about over.

"WHAT THE HELL DO MEAN BY THAT?!"

They all turned their attention to hear Subaru screaming. They rushed over and saw that he was glaring down at Beatrice.

Emilia was the first to try and calm him down.

"Subaru, what's wrong?"

"...Oh nothing, just finding out one of my best friends was going around planning some shady shit behind my back!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Beatrice, tell them."

Beatrice kept her face as calm as she could, the spirit looked around and saw that everyone was waiting for her to respond. She took a deep breath as she now had no choice but to do so.

"Very well."

"...?"

"After the situation at the Sanctuary, Batman feared that anyone could become a potential enemy. And that the ones that were to be most wary of, were the other camp members."

"...What? What in the world are you-"

"-So it was decided between Betty, Batman and the assassin that we would help create countermeasures in order to defeat or neutralize anyone from the rival camps. Whether it was the Priscilla Camp, the Felt Camp, Karsten or even the girl we brought with us...should any of them had become an enemy...we had the means to deal with them, I suppose. We called it, 'The Babel Protocols'."

Emilia was shaking in disbelief, she couldn't believe that Batman and Beatrice went behind everyone's backs and had planned on taking out other people, on the "chance" that they could be become enemies.

"But Beatrice...we're allies with the Crusch Camp...I mean...he wouldn't…"

"The Karsten Camp plans, were for Batman to teleport Wilhelm Astrea and Pamela Isley to the border of Gusteko, for Betty to use El Shamak to incapacitate the Blue, and for Deathstroke to take advantage and capture Crusch."

"...No…"

"And he thought of that...one day after the battle with the Sizable Hare."

"...How can this be..?"

"And right now, he is currently using the protocol for the Sword Saint. This involves him draining the mana out of his system with a weapon he made, in order to slow him down enough so that the assassin and himself can deal with him, I suppose. I wouldn't say it will defeat him, but it's meant more as a measure to slow him down enough, to push him back."

Subaru at this point was seething mad.

He just couldn't believe it, that Batman, would come up with some sort of plans like these. He knew he was a person who was prepared for almost anything...but to prepare to take out your own allies? He felt sick to his stomach.

"Beatrice...did-"

"-I anticipate that you are going to ask me, if he measures for members of our own camp, I suppose?"

"...Well?"

"Yes. He told me he did."

Subaru fell to his knees as he gripped the very ground. Emilia tried to comfort him, while everyone else was feeling hurt. They knew the Royal Selection was quite the competition, but for a trusted friend like Batman having felt distrust towards them, was quite painful.

"Beatrice-sama…"

Ram walked over with a displeased expression as she had a question for her.

"Did he have plans against me?"

"...Would you like an answer?"

"Of course!"

"...His plan was to use a selective sedative on you and use a taser to prevent you from using your Oni Form."

Ram's eyes widened and her mouth twisted in sheer pain. She thought Batman was her friend...but he had plans to take her out if needed.

Julius stepped forward demanding to know as well.

"And what of Anastasia-sama's camp?"

"Hahhhh….the twins Divine Protection of Trisection, the blessing to equally pass pain...try and guess what his plans for that were?"

"...Oh god…"

"And for your commander, he was simply going to use sleeping gas on him and have the assassin defeat him."

Subaru had enough, he rushed over to the stairs and made a beeline for the white room, he was so angry at this point. Everyone else chased after him, except Ram and Pamela who stayed behind to care for Rem...but also because they weren't ready to face Batman yet.

Subaru made it to the top of the stairs...that's when saw the grisly scene.

There was blood all over the white floor of the room, the ground had large tears on it and craters underneath Reid. A large section of the floor was scorched and there were batarangs littering the ground.

Deathstroke leapt down and attacked Reid with everything he had. But each and every one of his attacks were parried. Just then, Batman flew down and unleashed a vicious parry of kicks down on Reid. Each of his kicks sent blood spraying everywhere.

That made everyone realize it….the blood all over the ground was actually Batman's.

Deathstroke then pulled out his electric staff and it struck down at Reid's forearm. While he blocked it, the shockwave sent more of Batman's blood flying, some of it right into Subaru's face.

Batman then flew away again and made his way around the room. He then landed in front of the others, as Deathstroke tried his best using his own sword and the now destroyed trial sword to keep Reid busy.

Batman turned his head to look back at the others...he could see both the worry on their faces, but also a hint of anger.

"So she told you huh?"

"...!"

"It's fine...we'll talk later!"

[Speedforce Mode Activated]

Batman dashed forward at incredible speed, literal electric bolts were firing out of him as he made it past a strike from Reid, he shifted his body around, letting his feet drag on the floor. He then dashed forward again and landed three solid punches to Reid's face, but then got slammed back into the ground by a karate chop.

The impact caused more blood to fly out of him, but he quickly dashed out of there, as Deathstroke actually was able to land a kick on Reid's shoulder. Reid got frustrated and hit him six times with his chopstick, causing pieces of his armor to break off and vast amounts of blood to break out of his wounds.

Meili was quiet as she watched Deathstroke's body fly away and land viciously on the ground. He was clearly beaten.

Meili trembled and even dropped her toy as she ran towards him with a fearful expression.

Batman ran to the side of Reid with electrical sparks still going around his body. Reid swung again at him but Batman skillfully dodged it and turned his body aiming a fist at him.

[Speedforce Mode Depleted]

[Willpower Mode Activated]

A huge green beam of light shot out of his fist and barreled itself towards Reid….then the light changed shape into a gigantic fist as Batman and Reid roared at each other in defiance.

Reid used his arms to block the strike...but the attack began pushing him back from his spot. Reid tried to use his strength to stop the momentum, but he couldn't. The force of the attack was simply making his feet drag on the ground and tear the very floor under him. But Reid screamed out as he quickly destroyed the construct.

"...Oh shit."

He relented, scratching his head and spitting on the very ground... and saw that he was pushed back 10 feet away from his spot.

Batman and Deathstroke won.

Batman fell on his rear and Subaru ran towards him. Subaru helped lean him on his shoulder, he could feel the blood literally leaking out of his suit. While Julius was helping Deathstroke, Subaru had helped Batman over to the others.

Shaula was simply shocked to see Reid had been beaten, only for Emilia to smile proudly at Batman.

"No way! Reid was supposed to be an impossible obstacle to get through."

"Maybe...but Batman-san and Subaru, are the two people in this entire world, that I know of, that could do the impossible."

"Wow. Sensei has a really cool friend!"

Emilia...was unsure of what to say next. She was ecstatic that Batman and Deathstroke defeated the trial...but she was still upset by The Babel Protocols.

She decided that they would wait until he was fully healed in order to speak with him further about it.

In the Green Room, Bruce woke up having had a healing session finally completed. He looked over and saw that Slade had also woke up. He removed his mask and browsed around for a bit, to see that everyone was sitting around him.

He rubbed his head, still a little groggy from the fight.

"Batman."

"Yes, Subaru?"

"...Beatrice told us about your 'Protocols'."

Bruce turned his head to face Subaru, he could see the seriousness in his eyes.

"Yes, I admit to implementing The Babel Protocols, with Beatrice and Deathstroke."

"...Why?"

Subaru was clearly distressed by it, as were Emilia and Ram.

Julius, Pamela and Anastasia were carefully waiting for an explanation.

"Listen to me all of you. I made those plans with the best of intentions. They may have been secretive and put certain of our allies weaknesses as exploits, but they were necessary."

"How were they necessary?"

"Anastasia has access to her network of merchants, Crusch has a magic healer that I've theorized can control people once she uses a certain water spell on them, Priscilla is the most secretive of the bunch, meaning Al may very well be her hidden weapon and Felt has Reinhard. And now, Emilia has these Protocols."

"You're saying this is what you have to contribute?! You do more than enough for us...you don't need to have plans like these...hiding away from us."

Bruce looked down and shut his eyes, feeling as though Subaru brought up a point he didn't like to admit was true.

"I'll admit that I should've told at least told the rest of residents at the mansion about it, instead of just Beatrice and Slade. But that doesn't change one fact!"

"Huh?"

Bruce got himself up and looked down at Subaru from his superior height.

"If you all don't see the actual necessary reasons for this, that's fine. But you all need to remember that this Royal Selection is still a competition, and that's something that will always breed conflict. So if you can't see the potential danger of not having contingency plans against anyone outside or even inside the team...then I honestly don't know what else I can do."

"...T-The Justice Buster Suit and that suit you're wearing?"

"...Yes, I made them specifically to fight some of my closest friends, just in case they ever went rogue."

Subaru could only hold his breath hearing that, given more time, the man standing in front of him could have the potential for having plans on taking out everyone in the Royal Selection...maybe even the entire kingdom.

"Do you have to be so paranoid?! Can't you just trust us?! Going behind everyone's backs and coming up with shady plans of-"

"-I do! Out of everyone here...the person I trust most in this entire world is you Subaru."

The two men were fixated on each other, ignoring everything around them.

"Subaru, I know it hurts to hear about my contingencies. However, I want you of all people to know that the first person I ever truly came to trust when I got here, was you. Out of everyone here, I never came up with a plan to stop you...not because of how I value your strength, but for how much I felt I didn't need one."

"...But everyone else."

"At the time, I didn't know any of these people. But with time, I came to trust more and more people. Emilia, Ram, Beatrice, Otto, Garfiel, Petra and Frederica. They became people I knew I had no need to worry about betraying me."

"And the other candidates?"

Bruce turned his attention towards Anastasia, Pamela and Julius.

"I'm sorry you had to learn about this. I wish you never did. But now that you do, I just want you to know...I would never use these plans through hostile intentions, only defensive. If you wish to distrust me after this whole ordeal, that is fair...but you can continue to trust Emilia and the others, I assure you that much."

"Batman, I know you're not the kind of person that would go around attacking others without justified reasoning."

"..."

"Though I still must say, while it's quite discomforting to learn about it...it is understandable that someone such as yourself would go to such lengths to protect Emilia-sama and Subaru."

Pamela walked over to Batman until she was right next to him.

"You've been friends with Crusch and the others since before I joined them, so I know you wouldn't try to harm them."

"...You sure are really accepting of this."

"You agreed to let the rest of us come with you all. So I was just assuming you trust us more than you did before, right?"

Bruce seemed to be quite content with the answer, and so did everyone else. Subaru went over to him and held out his hand to him.

"Can we all just agree to talk about this again, as soon as we conquer the tower?"

"Sure."

Batman placed his hand on top of Subaru's, then so did Beatrice, then Emilia, Ram, Pamela, Julius, Anastasia, even Patrasche. Deathstroke and Meili soon joined in.

They had come to pledge, that they would now conquer the tower. Shaula was watching this with a curious look...but it soon shifted into an uneasy one, whispering to herself.

"I'm happy sensei, that you found good friends...but...but if you conquer the tower, will you leave?"

With the conversation put on hold, the group entered the white room and found Reid waiting for them. The group was concerned about it, but they relaxed as he walked over to them with a big grin on his face. Batman was cracking his neck, now that he was back in his normal batsuit, he felt a little more comfortable.

"Well, it seems all of you are here. Good good, now we can this party started!"

"So what happens next?"

"First, we have to see the main phase of the trial through."

"Wait! Wasn't moving you just the trial?!"

"Um wellll, it's more like the introductory phase to the actual trial."

Subaru and the others were simply stumped in hearing this. The battle that gave them all so much stress, was simply just the initiation to the real trial. Julius seemed the most displeased.

"And just what is it that we need to accomplish for the trial?"

"Easy, didn't you hear the damn phrase in the beginning?"

"...I recall that we need to seek forgiveness?"

"Yup, now let's see if we can get this party started."

Reid led them further into the white room.

Everyone at this point was there, even Rem in her wheelchair who was being taken care of by her sister and Pamela.

The soon saw a floating devil's door. It was clearly too small, with just enough room for only Beatrice and Meili to walk through.

"No good."

"What's up?"

"The door needs to match the height of the largest member of your group."

"Soooo, it needs to be able to fit Patrasche's size, in order for us to get to the next layer?"

"Yup again, that means...you guys are hiding something you need to seek forgiveness for."

Shaula looked at Subaru, who turned to Batman, who then turned to Anastasia.

"I think we know what needs to be talked about, right?"

"...Hahhhhhh, I guess we do huh?"

Anastasiaa dropped her carefree attitude and gave an uncharacteristically plain smile as she turned to gaze at everyone.

"I am not actually Ana."

"...!"

"I am a spirit Echidna, currently inhabiting her body. I had no intentions of actually doing so, but the battle in Priestella caused a massive hiccup, and now I cannot free myself from her."

Emilia noticed the name, but Subaru assured her, it was a coincidence.

Julius stepped closer to her, his eyes wide and his hands were trembling.

"This happened then?! Why?!"

"I had an encounter with Capella during the fighting and had to defend myself long enough for Priscilla's knight to take her on...the resulting fight drained Ana, thus resulting in what you see now."

"How long have you been with Anastasia?"

"Hmmmm...a little over eleven years ago I believe."

"Why?"

Julius looked as though he was about to collapse from the sudden strain, choking on his next words.

"Why didn't she tell me or any of us?!"

"...Maybe she didn't trust you enough?"

Julius gritted his teeth at this comment, then turned his attention back to Batman and Subaru.

"Someone who barely knows her, something even a stranger should notice…I call myself her Knight and I didn't even notice it! AND YET SHE TOLD YOU TWO?!"

"Listen to me! It was a really crazy day, okay?! There was a huge thing that just happened to you, tying you down! And it wasn't just you, there's Ricardo and Mimi as well, wasn't there? I only noticed because…anyway it just happened by chance!"

"But BOTH of you decided to keep this from me!"

"We both felt that it was necessary to keep this from you!"

"How is this NECESSARY?!"

Subaru and Batman were both equally shocked by his outburst.

"It is the duty of a knight to eliminate chance, and be certain at all times!"

"...! Then a knight is…nothing but a troublesome title isn't it?"

"Take back those words, and do not say them to me again! I...right now I, I'm afraid I've lost some part of myself…"

Batman then walked over and punched Julius in the cheek, making him almost lose his footing, he was then grabbed by his collar.

Emilia and the others tried to rush in, but were stopped by Deathstroke, who spread his arms wide. He shook his head as he turned his head to look back at the arguing party.

"Don't give us that crap Julius!"

"...!"

"I may not remember you...I may not recall our past encounters...but I've seen how determined you can be, and it honestly pisses me off seeing you act this way."

"Oh how rich...coming from you! The one person, who seems to make a habit of keeping secrets among friends?!"

"Honestly, yes. It's kept me alive this long."

Julius sneered at the man, his hands clenching into fists.

"And in keeping this from her knight, what did you gain?!"

"Nothing."

"You…"

"We kept this from you, because we were worried that learning this would only confuse you immensely. That in learning this, you'd have trouble even focusing, you'd be even more preoccupied with her, adding on to the stress that's accumulating in your body."

"Damn you...don't think I'd let this get to me!"

Batman then gritted his teeth back.

"We weren't lying to you out of sheer ignorance! We hoped we could return Anastasia back to normal before what happened next!"

"What is it that will happen?"

Julius looked back to Eridna, who placed her hands on her chest and tilted her head.

"Ana's Od is the price for my ability to continue to manifest...so naturally, the more strain I put on myself, the heavier the burden on Ana's body will be. And after the fiasco today, I feel like time may be slipping."

"NO…."

Batman let go of him, finally.

"Julius, we both want to help. Not just Anastasia, but also you, your supposed brother, Patrasche, Rem and everyone else who was affected during that fight. We kept it from you out of concern...not out of malice. Please, understand. We need your help."

"But…"

Julius was now looking away from them, his fists still shaking.

"I failed to defeat Reid, I couldn't protect Anastasia-sama, and I couldn't protect myself...what if I am unworthy of being a knight?"

"Don't be stupid."

Julius turned to show his trembling eyes, to the man he saw as his goal.

"From what Subaru has told me, you are considered a splendid knight. You helped defeat the Sin Archbishop of Sloth and helped our friend Garfiel stop Scarecrow."

"...?!"

"If that isn't the semblance of a knight...then there isn't any. But if you feel that way-"

Subaru then stepped in front of Batman and held out his cybernetic hand to Julius.

"-Then prove your worth Julius."

"Subaru."

"Help us. Help us save Anastasia-san. Your brother. Rem. Patrasche and everyone else. HELP US CONQUER THE TOWER."

Julius held his head as he looked away for a few moments, but he peeked back and saw Subaru give a bold smile. The knight relented.

"Very well. I will prove my worth as a proud knight-...No...as myself, Julius Juukulius! I'm going to prove myself!"

He shook hands with Subaru and smiled back. Subaru was of course relived to have helped Julius.

Batman nodded, but with it, Julius turned his attention back to him and shook hands with him as well.

"Thank you Batman. I understand why you thought you should hide this truth from me. You meant no harm, it was only out of concern and consideration. I agree with your apprehensions, and I will prove myself to follow through with my goals."

"Glad to hear it."

The group then turned to notice that while the door had gotten considerably bigger...it still needed a little room for Patrasche to make it through.

"So we're missing something?! But we already talked about the spirit and Batman-san's protocols! What else is there?"

"Subaru…"

"Huh?"

Batman removed his mask and looked down at Subaru with an incredibly grave aura around him.

"We...have to tell them…"

"Wait...you don't mean…"

Bruce then leered over to Deathstroke.

"It's time to tell them."

"Well, if it's what we need to do, it's fine with me."

Deathstroke crossed his arms and made it over next to Subaru and Batman. Meili was hanging onto Shaula with a confused expression.

Emilia tilted her head along with Ram.

"Hey, Subaru what is it? Something you were hiding from us?"

"I hope it isn't something distasteful. Though a man who allows people to call him Mayonnaise Menace is already sick in his their own right."

But Ram noticed Subaru was unbelievably nervous, not even looking at them, but at the ground. The young man was sweating bullets, he wasn't ready.

He wanted to wait for a while longer.

Maybe even not even tell them.

However, once again, fate had other plans.

"The truth is-"

Batman furrowed his brows at the entire party, even Reid and Shaula were paying close attention.

"Including myself, Subaru, Deathstroke and Pamela, the truth of the matter is this."

.

.

.

.

.

"We are not from this world. We come from parallel worlds."

.

.

.

.

The entire room was dead quiet.

Nobody said a single world.

There was quiet pressure as everyone stared at the three of them.

Finally.

"You're joking right?"

Emilia took the chance and raised her hand. She put on a goofy smile as if she was about to laugh.

"I mean, I have like, no idea what you are talking about."

"..."

"Ha ha, come on guys try and be...more...serious.."

Emilia noticed quickly that Subaru was almost about to lose his mind.

"S-Subaru?"

"It's true."

"Huh?"

"Batman-san is telling the truth. I come from another world."

"S-Stop it. I don't think this joke is funny anymore."

"It's not a joke!"

Subaru shook his head, clearly saddened, frustrated and even hurting that this was the way he was going to tell Emilia and the others about where he actually came from.

"One year ago, I was walking back from a store with a white bag filled with food. Do you remember? The bag and strange food I had with me?"

"...Yeah."

"...Then, when I decided to rub my eyes due to drowsiness...I ended up in the capital. Just like that! I was walking around at night and suddenly it was daytime in a world filled with demi-humans, magic and half-elves and Oni maids."

Emilia shook her head and suddenly yelled at Subaru.

"C-CUT IT OUT! Subaru you're scaring me….this all sounds crazy..."

Her hands were shaking, her eyes were getting watery and she shook her head.

"Stop joking around-"

"-Didn't you ever notice that the clothes I had on were strange? That the things I would talk about, never sounded familiar?!"

"No! That...I mean...you were just from another kingdom-"

"-I am from Japan. A small island nation from a planet called Earth. The city I was born in was in the Saitama Prefecture. We have no magic, no dragons, no elves, demi-humans, onis and certainly no witches-"

"-Stop it! You're confusing me!"

Subaru quickly made his move and grabbed her by her shoulders.

"I am telling you the truth! You and Ram, and everyone! No more lying, no more secrets! I am not from here! I never was!"

"NO! You and Batman are just not thinking straight!"

"We are...because they're not from the same world as me, either."

Emilia's eyes widened to an uncomfortable point. Julius decided to step in and speak, Subaru never let his sight escape from Emilia.

"What do you mean?"

"The world where I am from...Batman-san and the others are fictional characters!"

"What the...WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?!"

"They're characters in stories, not real whatsoever. I met him by accident the first time I also met Emilia."

Julius turned his attention to Batman and Deathstroke.

"It's true Julius."

"How can you say that?"

"Subaru is from a world different than my own. In my world, magic and science both exist in tandem. We have robots, gods, monsters, aliens."

"...?!"

"We have beings that travel across time, people who are essentially immortal, planet destroying threats and machines that would make you question everything. For example-"

Batman tapped Deathstroke in his shoulder, making the assassin hand him something. It was his now empty pistol.

He showed it off to Julius and the others.

"This is a gun. A weapon that is used all over the world, where we are from."

"A...gun?"

"A weapon made by science...it's a weapon that requires no mana or true skills to use...anybody on the street could use it."

He then looked over at the shocked Ram and Emilia.

"It's the same weapon...that killed my parents."

Ram and Emilia were now shaking in disbelief. The weapon that helped turn their friend into the man standing before him, was just in his hands.

And it also proved that he was not fooling them. And if he wasn't….

"Batman-san…"

"Yes Ram?"

"You really are from another world?"

"Yes...when I was chasing after Grodd during a night mission, my Batwing got lost in some strange clouds that made it hard to see. When I pushed through them...I was flying over the capital in broad daylight."

"No way…"

Ram gripped the back of Rem's wheelchair, her eyes wavered as the man she saw as her friend was something no one had ever heard of before.

A being from a place not just far away from Lugnica...but not even from their own world.

She felt so conflicted by this all, she felt very close to Batman, but to hear this...she had to ask…

"...Batman-san, the reason you came to the mansion in the first place?"

"...I thought Roswaal would have known how to get me home."

"But he did not."

"No...and so this quest...this is my last chance. If not, then….I'm trapped here."

Bruce's face lowered, he didn't want to think of it, but he was scared that would be the case and hated the idea.

"...?"

He then noticed someone was actually...hugging him.

"Ram?"

He looked down to see Ram hugging him tightly as she could. Her eyes were shut closed.

"Batman-san, even though you stayed there to find a way home...you risked your life constantly to protect us. Complete strangers. And yet put your life on the line!"

"...Ram."

"Thank you...and I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"You have done so much for us! For me, for Rem and even my own master...and I've done nothing that could repay you!"

She looked up at him and had trickle of tears falling out of her eyes.

"I promise. As a maid of the Roswaal Estate and as a proud member of the Oni race, I will help you get back home."

"Thank you…"

Bruce returned the hug, letting her rest her head on his chest.

"Thank you."

Subaru helped wipe Emilia's tears and smiled at her.

"No matter where I am from, I'm still me right? I am still Natsuki Subaru, your knight and friend. Right, Emilia-tan?"

"Subaru….Subaru!"

She hugged him tightly as wiped away her tears on his shoulders.

"But...Subaru...don't you miss your old home?"

"Sometimes. But really, I want to stay here."

"You do?"

The two looked deep into each other's eyes.

"Hell yes! It's a lot of work, sure. But if I can have you and Rem, Beatrice and everyone else by my side then...It will be all worth it! I'm starting my life again, here with all of you."

"S-Subaru…"

"Do you forgive me for keeping this from you?"

She wiped away the last of her tears and smiled happily at Subaru.

"Of course."

She then looked over at Batman and smiled some more.

"And you too. And no matter what, I'm going to help you get back home, Batman-san!"

"...Thanks Emilia."

"You're welcome."

Then everyone turned around and saw that the door was now the perfect size. Reid clapped his hands.

"Alright alright! Everyone make your way to the door and make your way up! This has been an interesting day, but we should all make this journey of yours worth it!"

"Um, right! Everyone, let's get going."

Everyone got themselves settled as they made it to the door.

Meili looked over at Deathstroke, she never said a word to him after learning he was from another world. But a quick smile from her gave him an answer.

Echidna was in the back of the group standing next to Julius. She averted her gaze away from the door itself and focused on the backs of Batman and Subaru. She smiled.

But it was smile devoid of actual splendor itself….and more of a twisted satisfaction, especially ominous when she whispered to herself.

"Those two will be the key…"

The door opened as the saw an entirely separate corridor inside. Shaula nodded as she stepped next to Subaru.

"This level will be a test to reach the Corridor of Memories."

"Is-Is that where they keep the memories of everyone that is alive?!"

"I can't say too much, sorry. But if you continue, you'll find out what you seek."

She smiled making Subaru hug Beatrice tightly with such affection it made her blush.

"Here we go guys!"

They all began going through the door with Shaula behind them all, waiting to close the door behind them.

As the last of them entered, she looks back at Reid.

"So….Shaula."

"Yes?"

"You know, those two, the ones from the other world. Do you think they were brought here for a reason?"

"...Does it matter?"

"Maybe not...but if that guy smells like Flugel like you say, and the other one understands things from an entirely different plane of existence...I'd put my money on them...possibly ending it."

"...Who knows if they can...end it."

She gives him a slight nod and closes the door. Reid sighs.

He looks around him at the room which was now free of damage.

"Maybe they can, and we'd all be free."

Surrounding the room….were large black vines.

The group made their way through the dark corridors...before several of them realized they were now separated from the others.

Subaru looked around and found himself alone in a dark void. He tried using his visor to look around, but found no one.

"Shit...is this the trial?"

He shook his head and put up a determined look as he ran ahead.

Emilia found herself with Batman gazing around and found themselves in the dark void.

Ram was with Patrasche and Rem.

Julius was with Anastasia.

Pamela was with Beatrice.

Meili and Deathstroke found themselves in a dark void as well.

Then they all heard a voice, a voice that sounded like everyone else's mixed together.

"In the void, face the troubles that cloud the minds of others."

In front of each group, minus Subaru, they went to battle their selected opponents. Opponents from other peoples pasts.

Batman jumped into the air, while Emilia pulled out her dagger...as they fought against Petelgeuse. While Emilia was troubled by this, she understood sh ehad to face him in order to move on.

Julius stood in front of Anastasia in order to guard her... as they faced off against the Juggernaut Wolgarm as it roared loudly at them.

Ram and Patrasche got into battle stances, while protecting the immobile Rem...as they soon faced Kilroy.

Beatrice aimed several Minya spears alongside Pamela who got her Algernon's Blade ready….as they faced off against Elsa Granhiert.

Deathstroke and Meili were glaring at a tall knight in Vollachia based armor, a man named Balroy Temegrif.

Subaru kept running and running...but he was facing nothing...no one. He wasn't sure if he had a goal to reach.

Emilia and Batman nodded to each other as Petelgeuse was frozen solid. Batman looked at his freezing gun and tossed it aside, it was useless now that it ran out of the fuel it needed to function. Batman then ran over and punched the ice, shattering it into pieces. They saw the dark void shattered and noticed the area turned white and a long road made of stardust was below their feet. They ran forward.

Ram sliced away Kilroy's arms, giving Patrasche the chance to crush the man's head underneath her powerful jaws. With that, the dark void shattered and the stardust road appeared before them. Ram got ahold of Rem, brushed her hair gently and pushed her wheelchair over to Patrasche.

"Let us be going now."

The ground dragon let out a mighty roar as they charged forward.

Julius finished off the Ma-Beast with a quick impaling blow to the head. As it's massive body fell, the dark void shattered, along wiht it's body, and they made their way forward.

Deathstroke finished decapitating Balroy, the dark void shattered and he carried Meili away down the path.

Elsa was now ensnared in vines, unable to move. Giving Beatrice the chance to release her spears and finally destroy the mad killer. Her body shattered, as well as the dark void. The two made their way down the stardust path.

As everyone ran they soon looked around and saw everyone on their own paths running adjacent to them, until they finally converged into a single large path.

"I am glad everyone is okay!"

"Julius, have you seen Subaru?!"

"No Batman, not yet!"

"Damn...where is he?"

Suddenly, they came to a stop when they saw Shaula ahead of them. They all noticed she had a serious face as she turned around.

"Sensei has an important task."

Beatrice ran over with her staff dragging on the ground.

"What is it Subaru has to do?!"

"Subaru must face the person that the tower has chosen as the last physical obstacle in your path."

"Who is it, I suppose?!"

They then watched as they were watching Subaru enter a white room, they tried calling out to him multiple times, but nothing happened.

"It won't do you any good. That is a separate room outside of where we are. We can only watch. He cannot see us or hear us at all."

They continued watching as Subaru stopped dead in his tracks.

Subaru was confused as hell. He had now found himself in a giant white room, similar to the ones before him.

"But what the hell is that?"

In front of him, a green mist had appeared, inside of it...he could see that someone was sitting on the ground, with their back towards him.

Batman ran over and began slamming on the invisible wall that separated them from Subaru. He slammed with all his might, over and over again.

"NO! NOOO! NO! NO!"

"Batman-san?! What are doing?! Please-"

"-Subaru! RUN! GET OUT OF THERE!"

Emilia shook in fear. She had never seen the absolute fear she saw in Batman's face, as did at that moment.

She wondered what exactly was in this mysterious green fog.

Julius noticed Deathstroke crossed his arms and tapped his foot on the ground.

"Deathstroke...what is it."

"If it's what we think it is...Subaru might just die."

Julius could only widen his eyes at hearing someone like him say such a thing...and with such a clear voice.

"Subaru…"

Shaula looked back at where the trial was happening.

"Good luck, sensei."

Subaru got a hold of his whip as the figure slowly got up and began turning around.

"Well, it's rude to keep a guy waiting you know, is manners not something this world hasn't gotten accustomed to yet?"

"Who are you?!"

"Me? Ummmmm...well I guess you can say I'm one of Bats oldest pals...probably the one who knows him best!"

The figure slowly began emerging from the mist, his dark purple suit with a violet bullet proof vest could be seen.

Then Subaru could clearly see a smile...a very nasty, wicked smile.

"Huhuhuhuhu...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!"

Subaru froze in fear...as the Joker finally stepped out of the mist and into the realm of this tower.

Subaru was now on the final threshold towards saving Remand the others...but standing in his way, was an enemy that no one could ever prepare for.