By the next morning, Ash was out in the courtyard training with his Pokemon and also keeping himself motivated to continue his training with Team RWBY. Ever since he saw Blake in that state last night, he couldn't help but shake the feeling that something is keeping her occupied from resting.
'I don't know what's going through that head of yours, but it's making you go docile. Please, stop pushing us away.' He thought to himself as he looked up towards one of the towers.
As Ash was watching a 4-1 match between Team CRDL and Pyrrha, Ash continued to look towards Blake, who was struggling to keep her eyes open. He had to find some way to get Blake to spill the beans.
"Well done Mr. Nikos. You should have no problems qualifying for the tournament." Glynda said to Pyrrha as she walked towards her after she defeated Team CRDL.
"So unfocused they are." Ash whispered to them.
"Alright, it looks like we have time for one more sparring match. Ms. Belladonna, you've been a little off for the last few days." Glynda spoke out to her.
"I'LL DO IT!" Mercury called out as he raised a hand.
"Very well, now let's find you an opponent." Glynda said while using her scroll.
"I challenge Ash Ketchum." He called out while pointing at him. Ash then glared at him from that, but then grew a grin.
"I accept your challenge Mercury. Time to see what those synthetic legs of yours are capable of." He said as he summoned his Keyblade. He watched as he vaulted over the railing and landed in front of the stage. As they got into position, Ash sensed something strange about this, which is leading him to have a very bad feeling about this.
"BEGIN!" Glynda shouted and Mercury immediately charged forward and prepared a kick to Ash. He blocked it with his Keyblade and used it to force Mercury off balance. Emerald was watching both of them closely and was amazed at how well Ash was holding his own.
"Hey, your friend is not too shabby." Ruby complimented as she looked towards Emerald.
"Thanks." She said before looking back at Ash.
As the battled raged on, Ash sensed that he was holding back, which confused him.
"You're holding back Mercury. Why is that?" He asked.
"Just getting to know my opponent on the battlefield. Isn't learning so much fun?" He asked with great confidence. Ash raised an eyebrow from the question.
"Sure why not. But for how long are you going to talk than fight?" He asked before charging forward and struck at him, forcing him to try to counterattack, but failed as he was sent flying to the other side of the arena. An alarm rang and Mercury's aura was now down in the red, while Ash barley lost any.
"You should learn to choose a better opponent next time Mercury." He stated before aiming Divine Elemental at him. Mercury struggled to get up and gasped a bit from pain.
"I won't be making that mistake….again." He growled a bit at him. Ash then glared daggers at him before walking towards Glynda.
"Remember everyone, the dance is this weekend, and you will have your first mission next Monday. I want no excuses for that day. You are all dismissed." Glynda said after the bell rang. Ash watched at Team RWBY left, and noticed that Blake continued to try to keep her eyes open.
"Ash, is something wrong?" Glynda asked as she turned towards him.
"It's Blake. She looks like she hasn't rested, or even focused at all for what seemed like days. I can understand about Torchwick's escape, but this is starting to get way out of hand." He said. Glynda just looked at him with worry. What can he do to get through to her?
"I hope she gets some rest soon, otherwise she won't be ready for anything, let alone her entire team." Glynda said before kissing his cheek.
"I know, I'll find a way, even if it causes me to do something that I will regret doing in the future." He stated before clenching his Keyblade hard. Glynda then noticed that his clenched hand was letting blue aura escape.
"We'll speak to her on this matter. If all else fails, we will have her disciplined." She said.
"Alright, I'll talk to the rest of her team as well. I'll see you around Glynda." Ash said before kissing her. She watched as he walked away to the courtyard.
Ash walked along with Pikachu on his shoulder and he saw that Blake was talking to another Faunus. He sensed that she was getting more agitated even while talking to someone. Ash watched as she walked away, leaving the rest of her team, the Faunus as well as a blue haired main behind.
"What's with her?" He asked.
"It's probably just her mind on the White Fang and Torchwick again" Weiss said.
"What can we do?" Ruby asked.
"I think this dance might be just what she needs." The Faunus said while walking towards Ash. "You must be Ash right? Name's Sun Wukong, and this is my partner Neptune Vasilias. We represent Team SSSN."
"Greetings Sun and Neptune. I trust you are here for the tournament?" He asked with a smile.
"Not just that but we're exchange students here from Haven Academy." Neptune said. Ash eyed them and activated his aura. They both showed almost pure blue aura with a hint of green and yellow aura as well.
"Well, I know I can trust you guys. Enjoy your stay here. Meanwhile, I must head to the headmaster's office. There has been a problem with Team CFVY. Their mission was supposed to end yesterday, but they never returned yet. Ozpin said it was urgent." He explained.
Everyone looked at each other from what Ash said. "Now that you mention it, Team CVFY should've been back by now, and to help get things prepared for the dance Saturday night." Weiss said.
""It wouldn't surprise me if Ozpin sent me to be reinforcements for them. I don't know how long I will be gone, but I will definitely let you guys know." Ash said. Ruby, Yang and Weiss looked down with sadness.
"Why don't you guys walk with me to the headmaster's office? I do need to talk to you three." He said to them. The three of them nodded to the question.
"We do need to get going as well, we got places to check out and people to meet." Neptune said.
"Alright, see you around guys. Come on girls." Ash said before walking off. As they made their way to Ozpin's office, Ash broke the silence.
"I need you girls to do me a little favor while I am gone. I need you three to try to get Blake to rest and get her mind off of Torchwick. If this goes on, things are going to be worst for her." Ash explained.
"What can we do? When she has her mind set on something, she's practically glued onto it." Ruby said as she looked down.
"I'm sure we can think of something. She not only hasn't been focusing on school, but she hasn't eaten much, barely sleeps, and she always keeps to herself. I could see if I can get a month's supply of Magikarp." Weiss suggested.
Ash pondered that for a moment. She might be onto something, especially since she's a cat faunus, and fish is the most common food they eat.
"Well, I got an idea." Yang said. This caused everyone to eye the blonde brawler. "I can get through to her with a little girl talk. Trust me; I got the perfect thing to get her distracted from Torchwick."
"What could you possibly have to get her to listen?" Ash asked as they stopped at the elevator. Yang grinned as she pulled out a laser cat toy from her pocket.
"Isn't that kind of racist?" Weiss asked as she eyed the toy.
"Pika?" Pikachu said with confusion as he looked at the toy.
"A bit, but this is the only way I can get her to listen to me." Yang said before putting it away.
"Alright, just as long as she's back to the being the Blake that we all know and love." Ash said before pressing the button. "Let me know how things are going, and I'll try to respond to you guys when I can." They all nodded and watched as the door opened.
"Bye girls, I'll be back as soon as I can." Ash said before everyone hugged him. Weiss continued her hug while Yang and Ruby let go of him. Ash then noticed that she was about to shed tears.
"Don't worry Weiss; I'll be back sooner than you think." Ash said to her. She looked up to him and smiled. Weiss then let go of him before digging into her pocket and put a Schnee Dust Company fashioned bracelet on his wrist.
"It's a lucky charm of mine, be sure to bring it back to me." Weiss said before kissing him. Ash nodded before walking through the door. Ruby ran to him and kissed him, and Yang did the same. They watched as the door closed and Ash began his ascend to Ozpin's office.
In Ozpin's office, Glynda was pacing about waiting for Ash to get here.
"Now, now Glynda, Ash will be a great help for this situation." Ozpin said to her. Suddenly, they heard a few knocks on the door. "Come in." Ozpin called out. Ash walked through and approached them.
"I trust you have info of what's going on with Team CVFY?" Ash asked.
"Indeed, they were sent on a mission to hunt down and eliminate a movement in Mistral, as well as to rescue any and all civilians in the area. The kingdom there has been given some strange movements of unknown creatures to the city of Windpath. We would like you to go there and provide reinforcements to them." He explained. Ash raised an eyebrow from confusion.
"Any ideas of what these 'unknown' creatures are? If they are not Grimm, then what could we possibly be dealing with?" He asked.
"That is exactly why we need you to go out there and find out for us. Team CVFY's leader Coco sent us a picture of one of those creatures." He said while taking out his scroll and placing it on his desk and activating it, revealing a picture right above the desk. It showed a small black figure with two light circles on its head.
"OOO you are ugly. Alright, I'll leave immediately." Ash said.
"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu said with determination.
"Not so fast Ash. First off, have you ever been to Windpath?" Glynda asked him. Ash looked at her and shook his head in embarrassment.
"Not to worry, here is where they were last seen at." Ozpin said before revealing a picture of a wilderness area in that area.
"That's all I need to see. If I can at least see an image of something, then my portals will take me directly to it." Ash said before summoning his Keyblade and creating a portal behind him. "I'll get to the bottom of this, and bring them home." Ash said with a smile.
"Very well, good luck, and may Lord Arceus guide you along the way." Ozpin said as he watched Ash walk through the portal and watched it close.
In the same wilderness that was shown to him, Ash walked out of the portal and closed it. He looked around and gazed at the trees, the waterfalls, and the mountains around him. He was amazed at what he was seeing, but he had no time to sight see. He sent out his team, including his recently gotten ones earlier, and looked at them.
"Alright listen up; we are in the wilderness in Mistral. We are going to find Team CVFY and provide backup against some new creatures of darkness. Lucario, let's see if we can find them." He said to Lucario. Both he and Lucario closed their eyes and activated their aura vision. It didn't take them long to find them. There were about a couple miles north, and they sensed some dark auras close to them.
"Okay, Pidgeot and Dragonite, take to the sky and provide air cover. Lapras, stay in the water. Provide transportation to anyone that might be hurt. The rest of you are with me. ALRIGHT, LET'S GO!" Ash shouted to them as they charged forward.
Back at Beacon in the library, Blake was working on her homework, and using a computer to find out more of any White Fang movements on her 'down time.' She then saw a red dot moving around on the screen, and she began to get distracted by it. Due to her cat traits and nature, she began to follow the red dot. She then got so infuriated that she shot up and looked around at whoever was doing it, only to find it on the ground. It began to move away from her, but she began to follow it. Suddenly, she stopped in front of Yang with the pointer.
"Hello!" She said in a singing like tone.
"What are you doing?" Blake asked with a glare.
"We need to talk." Yang said before grabbing her wrist and yanked her away from the library.
"GYAAH!" Blake yelled from the yank.
Back in the wilderness in Mistral, Ash and his team were getting much closer to Team CVFY, who he sensed were getting exhausted and even getting injured.
"Hang on guys, we're almost there." Ash said to himself. Suddenly, Pidgeot and Dragonite began descending towards their targets and launched their attacks. Ash summoned his two Keyblades and charged forward and spotted the near worn out team.
"CURAGA!" Ash shouted and healed the team. The four of them eyed the Keyblade Master for his arrival. Pikachu and the rest of Ash's team began charging forward and attacking the enemies.
"Someone called for reinforcements?" He asked them. Velvet then pounced forward and hugged him tight.
"You made it." She cried. Ash returned the hug, but later launched him and Velvet away from the incoming dark creature. They looked up and Ash was horrified at the dark creature.
"What the hell are you?" He asked it. It just jumped to strike at Ash; however Ash counterattacked and sliced its head off, disintegrating it. Ash then watched as a crystal-like heart then rose into the sky and disappeared.
"That is no Grimm." He said.
"Yeah, whatever they are, none of our weapons have any effect on them. Instead of being killed, they multiply from our attacks." Coco explained. Ash then rose up and stared at the creatures, which he noticed were all different in shapes and sizes.
"It seems that my Keyblades are the only thing that can kill them. I need you four to get out of here. Head for the river and get on my Lapras, he'll get you to safety." Ash told them before activating his Keyblade Armor.
"What about you?" Fox asked as he placed a hand on his shoulder.
"We'll take it from here. You guys have done enough." Ash told him. Coco pulled his shoulder and he stared at her.
"You're not doing this alone." She growled at him. Before she can do anything else to try to convince him, Ash quickly turned around and sliced through more of those creatures due to them having dark auras.
"There's no time for arguing. If there is one order that you will have to follow now is this, GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE NOW!" Ash screamed as blue aura erupted from him, scaring her in the process. Velvet ran to him and hugged him again.
"We got pictures of these creatures. We'll get them to Ozpin and tell him what happened." She explained before letting go. Ash nodded and eyed the creatures.
"You did good; now let me and my Pokemon take it from here." He said to them. They then nodded and began to leave. Coco took one last look at Ash and stared at how he was killing the creatures.
"You come back to us Ash." She whispered before running off to the river with her team. Ash watched as the creatures charged forward towards him. Ash then activated his Shotlock Command and targeted as many of them as possible. Suddenly, a small barrier formed around him and Ash began to hover into the air.
"I hope this works." He said to himself. He clenched his Keyblades and fired 18 different colored beams into the sky, which then fell to the ground to create a type of lightshow around him and the creatures. Each light represents the Pokemon's type due to the Divine Elementals appearance. The lights then fired into the sky and created a twilight environment. This caught Team CVFY's eyes and Velvet began taking pictures of what she and her team are witnessing while riding on Lapras.
"LIGHT BARRAIGE! COME ON!" Ash screamed as he shot out a rapid fire of balls of light from his Keyblades, which were spinning beside him. The balls of light then caused small explosions and it killed off most of the creatures. Ash then was lowered to the ground and looked around, and saw a few leftovers.
For those of you that are confused, just watch Sora Vs, Roxas from Kingdom Hearts 2
"Kill the rest of them." Ash ordered his team, and they happily obliged. Ash watched as his team destroyed the last ones and the area was now clear. He then saw that there were about a hundred of crystal hearts in the sky and they quickly disappeared. Ash then fell to the ground exhausted from that attack as it drained most of his aura.
"Not doing that again for a while." He said to himself as he tried to stand back up. He felt a little wobbly until he felt a few arms underneath his. He looked and he saw Coco and Fox helping him.
"Great work guys now let's go home." He said a little weakly before whistling for his Pokemon to return. Pikachu returned to his usual spot and rubbed his head onto Ash's. Lucario ran to him and checked his aura, looking a bit concerned for him.
"It's alright Lucario, nothing a little rest and meditation can't fix." He said before summoning a portal in front of them. Ash then returned his team and they walked through the portal.
At the courtyard of Beacon, a portal opened up and Ash and Team CVFY walked out. This then caught many people's attention and they cheered for the return of them all.
"Good to be back." Coco said while she and Fox let go of Ash. Ash then balanced himself, despite being exhausted beyond belief. He watched as Team CVFY joined the group and honored their return while closing the portal behind him.
"Good to be back indeed." He whispered to himself. Ash's legs then gave out and he collapsed, causing everyone to eye at their fallen Keyblade Guardian.
"Let's get him to the medical center, quickly." Yatsuhashi said before he and Velvet helped him up and walked him to Beacon.
A few hours later
Ash began to slowly wake up while moaning from how sore his body was. He put a little too much power into that attack. He looked up and saw Ruby and Weiss starring down at him.
"I must be in heaven or something because I can swear I see two beautiful angels." He said a little weakly. Ruby and Weiss blushed from that compliment, but hugged him nonetheless.
"Welcome back my hero." Ruby whispered into his ear.
"I was so worried about you when you went unconscious when you returned, but thanks to your aura, you'll be able to leave later today." Weiss said before letting go of him. Ash smiled and sat up a bit.
"Where's Blake and Yang?" He asked them. Ruby and Weiss looked at each other. This began to worry him.
"Yang is chatting with Blake. She said that she'll visit you soon." Ruby said while looking down. Ash placed a hand on her shoulder, causing her to look up to him.
"Don't worry, things will be alright. This reminds me." Ash said before turning to Weiss. He took off the bracelet and handed it back to her. "As promised." He said with a smile, but then lost it when Weiss pushed it back to him.
"Keep it, that way I'll always be with you." She said with a smile before kissing him. Ash nodded before putting it back on.
"Then I will, so how has practicing been going with your Keyblades?" He asked them.
"Great, but it's not the same without everyone." Ruby said.
"I'm sure soon enough, things will be back to normal." Ash said. But before he can continue, a strong growl came from is stomach, causing him to blush from embarrassment and Ruby and Weiss to try to hold a laugh.
"Who else is hungry?" He asked.
"That's totally you Ash." Ruby said in a giggle.
"Ash, good to see you're awake." Ozpin said as he walked through the door to the infirmary. "How are you feeling?" He asked.
"Aside from being hungry and a tad sore, I'm getting there." He answered.
"Good, now did you figure out more of those creatures?" Ozpin asked again. Ash kinda sweat dropped from that question.
"I don't know anything about these creatures….but I may know someone who does." Ash stated.
"You mean that Sora person?" Weiss asked?
"They're called Heartless." A familiar voice echoed around them. They looked around until a portal opened behind Ozpin and Sora and a tall white haired man walked out of the portal.
"Sora, good to see you again." Ash said with a smile
"Same here. When we got word that the Heartless were here, me and Riku here came running." Sora explained. Everyone looked at Riku, who nodded to them.
"The Heartless are darkness manifestation that comes from people's hearts. Think of it as darkness taking monster form when it leaves the body." Riku said.
"Heartless, maybe that's the Arceus meant about keeping this world safe." Ash said to himself.
"Hold on, when you said that the Heartless leaves the body, what happens to the body?" Weiss asked.
"It depends on how strong the heart is. When a strong hearted person becomes a Heartless, a creature called a Nobody is created also. The stronger the heart, the stronger the Heartless and the Nobody is." Sora explained. Ruby began to shake from fear. Weiss then placed a hand on her leaders shoulder.
"Stay calm, we can take them together." She said to her.
"Only the Keyblade and the Pokemon that are connected to him or her can slay them, but I'm sure you knew that already." Riku said to Ash, who nodded.
"We're going to search the rest of this place to see if there are any more around. We'll meet up with you later." Sora said before summoning his Keyblade.
"Be careful out there, there are Grimm out there as well." Ozpin told them.
"No problem, we should manage." Riku said before summoning his Keyblade
Keyblade analysis
Way to the Dawn
A standard size Keyblade that resembles a weapon called the Soul Eater, and is given to one who was once a being a darkness and now fights for the light.
Primary Effect: Balances the heart of the light and the darkness.
Secondary Effect(s): Enhances all Dark type Pokemon moves in the users party, increase the chance of dealing a critical hit.
Attack Power: +3
Magic power: + 2
As they watched the two of them leave, Ash began to get up, only to be stopped by Ruby and Weiss.
"Not till later tonight mister." Weiss insisted.
"Yeah and besides, your aura hasn't fully recovered yet." Ruby stated. Ash looked down in defeat and got back in bed.
"Alright." Ash said with a sigh.
"We'll make sure to have someone brings some food for you" Ozpin said. Ruby and Weiss kissed him before leaving as always.
A few hours later
"Alright Mr. Ketchum, everything checks out. You are free to go." A nurse said to him. Ash smiled while getting up. He was indeed fully recovered.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." He said to her.
"Of course, be careful out there." She said to him before he left.
"PIKA PI" Ash heard his first Pokemon called out to him as Pikachu ran up to him and jumped onto his usual spot.
"Good to be back at hundred percent." He said to Pikachu. He continued walking down a hallway that was completely disserted, except a light being on in a nearby classroom. He walked up to it to see what was inside.
"No YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" Yang's voice rang from inside. Ash slammed himself onto a wall to listen in. He carefully creaked the door open to listen. He sensed both Yang and Blake were in there.
"If Roman Torchwick walked through those doors, what would you do?" She asked Blake.
"I will fight him." Blake answered in an agitated voice.
"You would lose." Yang retaliated as she pushed her onto a desk.
"I can stop him." Blake yelled as she tried to push Yang back, but failed.
"You can't even stop ME!" Yang shouted as she gave her another powerful push. Ash began to sneak in to try to listen in more.
"Alright, how about this. If Ash was here, what do you think he would think of this?" Yang asked, causing Ash's stomach to twist.
"He still won't stop me. I will do whatever it takes to stop Torchwick, even if it means breaking his heart." Blake almost yelled. Ash's heart just stopped. His anger was building, as did his aura changing from blue to red. Yang eyes shot wide open from that. She couldn't believe her ears.
"How could you? You're a good person, don't do this." Yang said in a whimper.
"I won't stop at anything, even if he has a Keyblade to my neck." Blake said angrily. Ash couldn't take it any longer. He summoned his Divine Elemental and snuck up from behind and charged electricity through it and put it next to her neck with his eyes burning red.
If you want to know what it sounds like, imagine Kylo Ren's lightsaber sound effect in the same spot.
Yang gasped at the scene, and Blake's eyes shot up. She looked down at the Keyblade and turned around and gasped hard. Ash was beyond pissed off. Red aura was erupting from his body and tears were running down his eyes.
"Ash….how long have you been here?" Blake asked with worry.
"Long enough. This is not the hunter's way. You are not ready for this. Look at yourself, you are exhausted, and you will only make matters worse if you did. Remember back at the docks last month? You almost got killed. The last thing I want is to see someone I love being killed." He growled. Blake then began tearing up as she now regretted every word he had just heard from her. Yang then wrapped her arms around Blake.
"We're not asking you to stop, just to take it easy and let us help you when the time comes. Now please, get some rest, not just for you, but for the people you care about." Yang pleaded. Ash then calmed down as his aura vanished and his eyes turned back to normal.
"ASH I'M SO SORRY! YOU ALL ARE RIGHT! I JUST WANT THIS NIGHTMARE TO JUST END!" Blake screamed. She began crying uncontrollably.
"It will, but you need to go get some sleep. If you want, I can help you with that." Ash suggested. Blake nodded before throwing her arms around him tight. Ash returned the hug and caressed her back with one arm. He then raised his Keyblade with his other hand and aimed it at her.
"Sleepga!" Ash half yelled as a purple light shot out of his Keyblade and onto her head, causing her to go into a deep slumber. He then dismissed it and began carrying her bridal style. Yang was shocked to see that.
"Relax, she'll wake up feeling nice and refreshed in the morning." Ash said to her. Yang shed a tear while nodding. She ran to him and kissed him. After she broke it, they walked back to the dorm room.
Ruby and Weiss were sitting on their beds waiting for the rest to return. Suddenly, the door opened.
"About time you got ba-"Weiss was saying until she saw Blake sleeping in Ash's arms. He carried her to her bed and laid her down.
"I had to use a sleeping spell on her. Don't worry, she'll be fully rested and things will be back to normal in the morning." Ash ensured them.
"It wasn't easy to handle, but I'm glad she's finally resting." Yang told them. Meanwhile, Ash walked to the window and starred at the moon.
"There may be a possibility that Blake and I will be separated for a while, but I will still continue her training. I know I don't say this much but…..I love you all." Ash said as he turned to them.
"We love you too Ash. I just wished that things didn't have to be this way." Ruby said while looking back at Blake.
"Take heart young one." Ash said while placing both hands on her shoulders. "That's the life of being a hunter. Things don't always go ones way." Ruby nodded and hugged him.
"Perhaps it's time we got some sleep as well. We got things to take care of before the dance." Yang said. Ash nodded after letting go of Ruby. After the girls kissed him, Ash looked over at Blake one more time before kissing her forehead.
"Good bye for now my little kitty." He whispered.
By the near crack of morning, Blake was the first to wake up before the others. She not only was more rested, but more cheerful than ever. She looked over at Ash, who was sleeping with Pikachu, and smiled.
"I owe you not only a dance Saturday night, but a huge apology….my love." She whispered before getting up and walking to Ash. She then crawled onto Ash and wrapped her arms around him and fell asleep on him once again, while purring.