Disclaimer: The characters and shows involved in this fic are owned by the people that truly made them, except for the OC's that I put in.
If you are reading this, then you may be pleased to know that I have gained permission to continue Limit's End originally created by Complete Hollow. Its my first time with continuing where an author had left off on, so wish me luck. Despite it being in my care, I am not changing anything, plot, pairing, etc. They are remaining, otherwise it would have been a waste of that authors time to have gotten this far just to get it completely remade.
Limit's End.
Chapter 1
Young, vibrant, auburn eyes snapped open to see a pure, clear, blue color that seemed endless.
"Where am I?" he hoarsely said as if he never spoke before. His lips were white with dryness causing the young boy to let his tongue roam over them to moisten them. "Where am I?" he said more clearly. He casted his gentle gaze more to right and was greeted by a bright light. He winced, using his arm to block the rays from the sudden light that entered his pupils. He sat up with the quickness of lightning in a frighten manner. He slowly brought his hands to his face and blinked slowly, trying to take in what was happening. His vision blurred, he rubbed his hand over his eyes to stop the nuisance.
"That's much better," the young lad spoke softly. He propped up one leg and staggered to his feet nearly toppling back to the ground. He felt like a newborn, just coming into this strange yet familiar world. Trying to take a few steps in front of himself, his legs gave way as quickly he tried to move. With quick thinking the ebony haired boy used his left arm to prop himself against a cold, hard material. The sudden touch of a familiar item caused the boy to look at said item inquisitively. "What is this?"
With a closer inspection he saw that the 'monument' was torn down the middle. A small clank came from his feet as he brushed up against something hard, gaining his attention. A broken wing lay below his feet covered with much vegetation and tiny flowers growing around it. He looked to his left and saw that the 'monument' was nearly covered in green moss too. The boy's auburn eyes moved around, taking in the surroundings. He gathered that he was in a clearing. Surrounding the boy were large, luscious trees swaying back and forth from the gentle breeze. A calm breeze ran through the boy causing him to sigh in content.
"That feels good…" He spread his arms apart welcoming the cool air. The sounds of chirping filled his ears, smiling peacefully; he let nature do its work to soothe him. The bright rays of the sun warmed his cold body. Suddenly, a temporary gleam caught the corner of his eyes. He laid his arms to side and stared at the ground that shined that momentarily light. He bent over and grabbed the strange substance with his strong, firm grip. He stared at the beautiful looking stone that was casting a reflection of himself. He looked closely to his reflection and saw his messy, ebony colored hair everywhere. "Hmm…" A sharp pain entered the young boy's head. Falling to his knees with hands gripping his head tightly, he hissed as the clear crystal disintegrated on the soft grass without any trace of it left.
"My…My head…it hurts…" White lights began flashing through his head, showing him images of two girls who were smiling at him contently. His eyes widened, trying to comprehend everything that was happening. As quick as the image showed up, it disappeared just as quickly before he could take in the appearances of the two girls. The pain in his head subsided as his eyelids lowered. "What was that…" he said breathlessly with beads of sweat rolling down his face.
"I have to get out of this place." Once again, using the strength he had, he rose to his feet, forgetting about the crystal that vanished moments ago. The wandering boy made his way into the forest. As he set foot into the forest, he took a second to look behind him one last time. He let his gaze settle on the metal monument. Deep down, he felt this place was of great importance to him. Burying his feelings, the boy continued walking down the dense forest. He watched curiously at the animal life roaming around. Squirrels jumping from tree to tree, deer eating silently, birds chirping in tune with each other, giving the auburn eyed fellow a sense of peace and serenity.
"Get back!" a deep voice echoed throughout the forest, stirring all the animals. The boy followed the voice that interrupted his moment of peace. He hid behind a tree as he gazed into the little clearing. His eyes widened when he saw two figures fighting furiously. One was a rather muscular old man with short spiky gray hair. He was wearing a tan shirt with an orange vest over it and had on black slacks that led down to brown boots. The other one, which seemed to be winning, wore silver medieval-like armor, using a sword. The silver wearing person cornered the old man into a boulder and was about to deliver the final blow. "I'm not going to hold back, ya hear!" The old man moved his fist forward, punching the armor wearing man straight in the chest, nearly shattering the armor. The armor wearing man flew into a tree, breaking it in half as he fell to his back with no sign of movement.
"Incredible!" the young boy spoke a little too loudly, gaining the attention of the old man. "Shit," he whispered, hiding miserably behind the tree.
"Oi, you behind that tree, show yourself!" The old man heard no response. A large anime vein appeared on his forehead. "I see, you want to play like that. If you are hiding, then you must be an enemy scout! I will show you no mercy like I showed your friend over there!" The old man turned to his side and picked up the giant boulder over his head.
"What the hell!" the boy shouted as he stared with wide eyes at the brute strength of the old man.
"Catch!" The old man tossed the large boulder like it was nothing straight at the boy with great speed. The ebony haired boy jumped forward, dodging the large rock. "Not bad, but let's see you handle hand to hand combat." The old man rushed forward with speed that seemed impossible for a geezer. With arms length away, the man pushed his fist forward at the boy. The auburn eyed kid sidestepped, completely dodging the attack, surprising the old guy. The old guy not completely shaken, continued his relentless punches, only to be greeted by nothing. The small wrinkles under the man's eye twitched, seeing that the boy was not only dodging his attack, but creating after images. "This kid, he's skilled."
"Hold it, old man!" the boy shouted. "I'm not an enemy!" The old man scoffed at his comment.
"Like I'm suppose to believe that!" Launching his left fist forward at the kid's head, he gasped as the boy moved to his right and delivered a crushing blow to his ribs with his right fist. The old man slid back on his feet into a nearby tree, spitting out blood from the attack. "Shit, what is that kid…" The older gentleman looked to the boy who stared at his right fist amazingly.
Boom!
The old man shifted his head to the left, nearly missing the gunshot. He looked to where the bullet was shot and saw that the medieval armor guy was still alive. The silver man aimed his small machinegun and fired. The old man tried to move, but couldn't. "Damn! That blow from the kid took more out of me than I thought." The old man lowered his head and stood there helplessly; waiting for his inevitable end, but it never came. He lifted up his head to see the boy in front of him with his left hand forward. He was surprised to see a blue circle in front of the boy's hand. He looked closely and saw strange symbols made the outer circle and the inner circle.
"Holy shit!" the boy yelled. He looked behind his shoulder. "Hey, old man! Are you all right!
"What the fu-"
"Yeah, that's what I thought too!" The boy looked forward again, seeing the armor wearing guy firing nonstop. The bullets hit the symbol adorned circle, only to be deflected all around the vicinity. Blue glitter began flying everywhere as the bullets relentlessly hit the blue circle. "Shit, what do we do now!"
"Focus!"
"What the hell are you talking about old man!
"I said focus!"
"Huh!
"Try to focus your energy into that circle!"
"How the fuck am I suppose to focus when that guy is trying to fucken kill us!"
"Just do it, you rapscallion!"
"Fine!" The boy narrowed his eyes and stared at the blue circle in front of him intently. Suddenly, the blue symbols making the outer ring of circle began to turn clockwise as the inner symbols began to move counterclockwise. "What the hell?" A blue orb began to form in the middle. A wide grin cracked on the boy's face. "Oh, yeah! I like the way this is looking!"
"What are you waiting for!" the old man shouted. "Fire the damn thing!"
"Hold up! I want to say something first!" The old man cocked his eyebrow, thinking that the boy was a complete nutcase. They were on the verge of getting killed and he wants to say something. No sane mind would do that! The young boy looked to the gun wielding soldier. "Oi! You piece of scrap shit! Say 'ello to my little fri-"
"Just SHOOT the goddamn thing!" the muscular geezer screamed.
"Sheesh! Don't get your panties in a knot…" Exerting energy through his left arm, the young boy released the blue sphere creating a thunderous boom that resonated throughout the forest. The force of the blast pushed the young boy back a little even though his feet were dug into the ground.
"What!" the armor clad soldier screamed. In a blue flash, the soldier yelled as the blue sphere made contact with him. A large blue and white explosion occurred, wrecking anything that it touched. A blue light shot into the sky, creating a beacon, scaring the wildlife around the area. As the light settled, it revealed a crater with smoke seeping out and a piece of charred armor.
"What…just…happened…?" the boy asked, dumbfounded by his power. The old man's mouth gaped, surprised by devastating power the boy had. He quickly recovered from his reaction and stared at the boy who didn't seem to notice. The boy merely stood silently and stared at his hands with a shocked expression. In an instant the old man used his right arm and wrapped it around the boy's neck. "What-"
"That was some power you have sonny boy!" the old man laughed out. He proceeded by giving the stunned boy a noogie.
"Hey! Ouch! That hurts! Stop!" The old man smiled and grabbed the boy's shoulders, making boy stare at him.
"With some training, you should be able to control that power and use it at will." The old guy proceeded by putting his arm over the boy's shoulder. "Come on! Let's go to my home and begin your training immediately."
"What are you talking about?" the boy asked, escaping the grip of the old man. "I don't even know you. And I'm sure not going to some stranger's place who just a moments ago tried to kill me."
"Hahaha!" The old man rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "I'm sorry about that. I thought you were an enemy."
"I told you that I wasn't an enemy!" the boy shouted, glaring at the man. "You just proceeded to ignore me and began throwing rocks at me!"
"I apologized already and to solve the problem of whom I am. My name is Sam," the old man introduced. "But everybody calls me Oak." The old man took out his hand, looking for a handshake.
"What do you want?" The boy stared at the Oak's hand, confused by the gesture.
"What do you mean, what do you want?"
"I asked you first. Now, what do you want?"
"Huh?"
"I asked what you want."
"I…want…something…?"
"Yes."
"Yes, what?" The boy's eyebrow twitched, clearly irritated by the old man.
"How the hell am I supposed to know what you want! You're the one asking me!"
"You asked me!"
"I have no need for your riddles! Just tell me!"
"…"
The boy hissed out a growl of frustration before tackling the old man into the ground and continued by beating him up. A dust cloud covered the two as both people began exchanging punches and kicks at each other. A few minutes passed, both guys laid on their back, tired from their brief scuffle.
"You're a strange kid, you know that?" Oak breathed out tiredly.
"You're the strange one," the auburn eyed boy said as he sat up, followed by Oak. "Playing your riddles."
"What riddles? I was just looking for a handshake."
"Handshake?"
"Yeah, a handshake," Oak stated tensely, clearly irritated by the boy. "You do know what a handshake is, right?"
"…" Oak stared at the boy. The look on the boy's face showed that he really didn't know what a handshake was.
"Boy, have you been living under a rock your whole life?"
"Possibly," the boy answered truthfully. Oak raised an eyebrow.
"Well, a handshake is this." Oak put out his hand again. "Now, put out your hand." The boy hesitantly agreed to the old man's request. Oak grabbed the boy's hand and shook it up and down. Oak then released the boy's hand. "That's a handshake." Both guys rose to their feet. "Now, do you have a name boy? You do have a name, right?"
"Ash Ketchum," the boy said effortlessly like he said it millions of time.
"Well, Ash, how the heck do you not know what a handshake is?" Oak asked. "Where are you from?"
"I don't know."
"I don't know, what kind of answer is that? Of course you know. Where are your parents?"
"I can't recollect anything of that sort. The only thing I remember is waking up in a clearing and just what happened now. Besides that, I just know my name." Oak sighed.
"You must have amnesia," he said.
"Amnesia?" Ash questioned.
"Yes. It's a symptom where you lose your memories. You can't remember anything." Oak began tapping his chin. "You must have hit your head hard somewhere." The old man looked to the boy. "Well, what are you going to do, Ash?"
"What…am I going to do?" Ash asked himself, unsure.
"My offer still stands. You can come with me and I can train you to use your magic. With that kind of power, you should easily be able to climb the ranks and become a High Knight in no time, then if you train some more, possibly you could become a Royal Knight. But that is highly unlikely since you're just a novice it seems."
"First off, what is magic?" the boy asked.
"Magic is a power that can only be found in luckiest of people," Oak answered. "For example, like that energy blast you just did. And also this." Oak raised his hand, summoning a large spike pillar of rock besides them, surprising the boy. "I control the earth element. I'm strong and steady as the earth. Nobody can match my strength."
"And what is mine?" Ash asked excitedly.
"I'm not sure." Ash slumped his shoulders. "This is the first time I've seen such magic before. It seems that your power does not draw from any of the nature elements."
"Is that a good thing?"
"I don't know. I just know that you have potential to become something." Oak stuck out his hand. "What do you say? You want to learn more and become my apprentice." Ash took a few seconds before he shook the old man's hand.
"You got it. I have nothing else to do. And for some reason, I think if I learn more about my magic, I will learn more about my past," Ash replied. "So, you have yourself a deal."
"Good. Let's be going now. We have a while."
3 hours later…
"Are we there yet…" Ash asked tiredly. His feet were dragging across the grass floor. His body on the verge of collapsing.
"Yeah, we'll be there very soon," Oak answered. Ash growled.
"You said that seven fucken miles ago! We've been walking for God knows how long. Can't we take a break?"
"No, we want to make it before nightfall. I want to start some of your training before then."
"Are you crazy, you old fart!" Ash exclaimed. "I'm so tired that my legs feel like they're going to fall off. How the heck do you expect me to train!"
"Quit complaining. I've trained for seven days straight before. And I didn't complain once. So, just buckle up and persevere." Ash grumbled and crossed his arms, pissed at Oak's answer.
"Whatever. To get over my sheer boredom. Answer some of my questions."
"Fine by me."
"What were you doing in that forest anyways and who was that guy you were fighting?"
"Well, I was collecting some herbs," Oak responded. "That forest is the oldest of all the lands. Not many know about the forest and its origins, but it has many curative and strengthening plants. And for that guy, he was a Marauder."
"Marauder?"
"Yeah, basically they are guns for hire. Pay them the right amount and they'll do anything you want."
"But that doesn't answer why he was attacking you."
"Well, I may not look like it, but I use to be the captain of the High Knights of the Sky City. I still probably have a high bounty on my head after all these years or somebody just holds a grudge. I made a lot of enemies in my younger days."
"What do you mean when you said that you use to be captain? Did something happen?"
"Yeah, I'm a retired soldier," Oak answered. "I got tired of all the fighting. When I first joined the program, I dreamt of changing the world. I wanted to change the world into a better place where there is no war or strife. No petty fights over land and no unwanted bloodshed." Oak looked to the horizon with a soft smile on his face. "But I saw that was never going to happen. So, I just left." Ash sensed that this was hard thing for the old man to talk about, so he changed the subject.
"Tell me more about ranks."
"Ranks? Oh, the ranks of Magic. Well, there are five total. There is Novice. The lowest rank. That is where you probably are at since you didn't what magic is in the first place." Ash scoffed and mumbled something about blowing up a man.
"What was that?"
"Nothing." Ash smiled false heartedly.
"Okay. Continuing, there is the Apprentice level. These people have mediocre magic skill. Next in rank, we have the Knight. These people show average magic skills. They are basically the foot soldiers of the city. Now, we come to my old rank, the High Knight. These people show that they have above average magic skills and show understanding of the battlefield. Finally, we have the Royal Knight. These people show mastery of their magic. They are under the direct control of the King and Queen. So, if you meet one in a fight, get your ass out of there."
"There is something that I don't get," Ash said.
"What is that?"
"You said you quit being a soldier because of the fighting, but aren't you setting me down the same path that you were going down."
"Not really," Oak answered. "I have a feeling that you can achieve where I have failed." Before Ash could speak, Oak spoke up. "We're finally here, this is my beautiful village." Ash moved up the hill besides Oak and gazed at the peaceful looking town. It was made up of little buildings and a beautiful river ran through the side of the town. Farmers were in their fields, plowing for the next harvest.. The landscape was filled with luscious green vegetation from what the eye can see. Cherry blossom trees flowed in the wind, while the kids played around them, laughing happily.
"Wow…"
"Thank you. In my travels, I have never found a place like this. This is truly paradise." Oak motioned Ash to follow him towards the village. Ash reluctantly followed. "Now, we better get down to your training." The ebony haired boy groaned. While walking to Oak's home, Ash noticed that all the citizens they passed waved at them with bright smiles on their faces. Ash couldn't help to get the feeling that he was truly in a special place. They waved back and continued.
"Grandpa!" a high pitched voice yelled. Ash looked to see a little girl of what seems to be five years old run down the hill. She had long brown hair tied into a ponytail. She wore a simple dress, nothing special, but it suited her well. Oak smiled widely and bent down with his arms wide open. The little girl launched herself into the old man's arms and laughed. "Where did you go grandpa! I missed you!"
"I'm sorry. You know me. Just wanted to go on my afternoon walk."
"You could have told me. I was so worried." Just then, another voice yelled.
"Elizabeth, are you bothering grandpa again." Ash looked to see where the kind voice came from. He was greeted by a thirty year old woman with the same color hair of the little girl, but her hair wasn't tied in any sort of knot, it just flowed down to her back. She wore a plain white dress that reached her ankles. Simple, but she looked absolutely stunning to Ash.
"Mommy!" the little girl ran to her mother and gave her a hug. The mother picked her up and held the little girl in her arms. If it wasn't for the young girl's cries for her mother, the auburn eyed boy would have thought the two girls were siblings. "Grandpa is back!"
"I can see that honey," the older woman said gently to her daughter. "And it would seem that he also brought back some company." The older lady smiled kindly to Ash causing him to slightly blush. "Well, aren't you going to introduce us, dad."
"Yeah! Introduce us! Introduce us!" the little girl yelled while in her mother's arms.
"Oh, sorry!" Oak laughed. "For a second I forgot about the boy!" Everybody sweatdropped. "Well, Ash, this is my lovely daughter, Susan. And the little girl is her daughter and my granddaughter, Elizabeth."
"It's a pleasure to meet you." Ash bowed his head. "My name is Ash Ketchum."
"My, my, such a gentleman," Susan said. "Well, it's our pleasure to meet you too. Let me be the first to welcome you to Karui Village."
"Thank you," Ash said as he bowed once again.
"No need to be formal. It kind of looks strange when acting so formal in such strange clothing." Ash took this moment and reassessed of how he looked. He blushed in embarrassment, seeing that he was only wearing a tattered, ripped shirt and torn black pant that only reached up to his knees. He wasn't even wearing any shoes, just socks. "Did you get robbed?" Elizabeth laughed.
"You look so funny." Ash lowered his head in embarrassment, while Oak let out a boisterous laugh.
"Honey, don't laugh at other people's misfortunes." The little girl put both her hands over her mouth quickly, trying to stifle her laughter. "And dad, you should know better too. Come on, Ash. I have some clothe you can have at our home." Susan set Elizabeth down by her side and grabbed her daughter's hand, walking down the beaten path peacefully. Ash and Oak quickly followed.
"Hey, Oak," Ash whispered. "Where's the husband."
"Ah, interested in my daughter are you?" Ash blushed.
"What! No! I was just wondering."
"Well, good, you're too young to be dating my daughter. What are you seventeen or something?" Ash nodded slowly, then quickly as he remembered a small part of his past.
"Yeah! I am seventeen!" Ash responded enthusiastically.
"You're a strange kid you know that? I've never seen anybody so happy about telling somebody what their age is." Ash was about to tell why, but Oak interrupted. "Anyways, Arthur, Susan's late husband, died in the Great War."
"The Great War? What's the Great War?"
"Ah, I almost forgot that you have amnesia because everybody knows about the Great War," Oak said. "Well, the Great War consisted of two sides, Sky City and Diamond City. The battle between these two cities started because of the discovery of the Crystal. The Crystal was a massive power source that could power an entire city for all eternity."
"I see."
"Now, it seems you are starting to understand." Ash nodded his head. "Both cities wanted to covet the Crystal for themselves. Heh, I guess greed is always the spark that starts the fire of war. Anyways, many soldiers died in that battle including Arthur. I was a lucky one and survived." Oak smiled sadly. "Sometimes I wish I was the one who died instead of Arthur. The look on my daughter's face when I told her the news was heart wrenching. I never want to see her like that ever again." Oak continued. "Soon after the death of Arthur, the Crystal disappeared."
"You mean it up and vanished without a trace. How did that happen?"
"I don't know, but that's exactly what happened," Oak replied. "It makes the war seems meaningless now. All those good men and women lost their lives for nothing. After a year, Sky City and Diamond City were able to call a truce. Even now, there is still some bad blood between both cities.
"When did all of this happen?" Ash asked.
"Five years ago. Though it's been a while, the scars that the war left still lingers." The conversation stopped there. Ash and Oak walked in silence until Elizabeth spoke up.
"We're here!" Ash looked ahead and was surprised to see a beautiful home in his wake. It was the size of a small mansion. A large wooden door was at the center. The home was made out of white stone and the roof was made of blue tiles. There were some cracks on the house, but to Ash, it added to the beauty. To its left was a beautiful garden, filled with all kinds of flowers. To the right of the lovely home was a field plowed for all kinds of vegetables.
"Amazing…" Ash spoke.
"Yeah, being a former captain of the High Knights did have its perks." The old man chuckled rather arrogantly. "Maybe in a few years you can buy yourself a home like this." He laughed.
"If you don't mind me asking," Susan said, while turning to face Ash and her dad. "Are you going to be staying here with us, Ash?"
"Umm…"
"Yes he is, Susan," Oak said. "You're looking at my newest apprentice." At those words, Elizabeth's eyes sparkled.
"Yay!" she squealed, running to Ash and giving him a big hug. "Then that means you'll be like my big brother!" Ash chuckled, patting the girl on the head. Susan smiled brightly.
"I guess so," the ebony haired boy said.
"Well, it'll be good to have another man around the house. Come on in, Ash. I'll get you some new clothe." Elizabeth released Ash from her embrace and ran to follow her mother. Ash was about to follow until he felt a tug on his collar.
"Hey!" Ash yelled, drawing the attention of Susan and Elizabeth.
"Where do you think you're going!" Oak yelled.
"Dad, stop being mean to Ash!"
"Yeah, you big meanie! Leave big brother alone!"
"Hold on. I'm not the bad guy. Since Ash is my apprentice. We are going to be training right now." Susan and Elizabeth sighed. "So, you better hold off on those clothe, Susan. When I'm through with Ash, he is going to be lucky if he's still in his boxers." At that, Oak began dragging Ash from his collar to the back of his home much to Ash's chagrin. The auburn eyed boy fumbled around helplessly, while the two girls could only sweatdrop at the sight.
"Hey! Let me go!" Oak followed the boy's request and threw him onto the rocky floor. Ash opened his eyes and was shocked to see that he was laying on top of a battlefield. There was no green in sight, just a rocky surface with boulders sporadically positioned on the ground. "Where the heck am I!"
"Looks can be deceiving huh?" Oak said. "The front of my home may look beautiful, but in truth, it holds a dark secret." The old man grinned evilly with golden gleamed eyes glaring at the boy. Ash flinched. "My backyard is my personal training grounds." Ash rose to his feet and saw that Susan and Elizabeth sitting on a nearby bench that close to the battlefield, but at a safe distance where they couldn't get hurt.
"Be careful, Ash!" Susan yelled. "My dad is always serious when he trains!"
"Big brother, be careful! Be careful!"
"Prepare yourself!" Oak yelled. Ash looked to the geezer and saw him pump his fist. Suddenly, Ash felt a rumble under his feet. In an instant, a spiked pillar of rock sprouted from the ground, launching Ash into the air.
"Ahhhh!" Ash yelled as fell back down onto the ground. "What the heck are you doing old man! I don't even know how use my magic!"
"Oh, you will. The best things are learned when your life is at risk!" Oak yelled. "Now, again!" The muscular old man began lifting his arms back and forth, summoning stone pillars from the ground to Ash. The young boy's eye widened as he rose to his feet and began running.
"Stop it, Oak! I'm not ready yet!"
"There is no waiting in a real fight!" Oak continued his attack, while Ash continued his running around the battle grounds, trying to avoid the attacks that were right behind him.
"Oh, just you wait until I get my hands on you!" Ash yelled. Suddenly, an idea popped into Ash's head and a grin appeared on Ash's face. The ebony haired boy changed his direction and began running towards Oak. "I hope you enjoy a taste of your own medicine!"
"What amateurish tactics!" Oak yelled. The gray haired man raised both of his arms simultaneously causing a huge wall of rock to appear in front Ash. The young boy eyes widened as he ran straight into the wall, creating an imprint of his body on the other side.
"Ooh!" Susan and Elizabeth let out.
"Ouch…" Ash babbled as he staggered backwards only to be greeted by a stone pillar coming from the ground into his back. Ash flew forward into the wall once again, but this time broke straight through the wall of rock towards Oak. Oak brought his fist back, and then launched it forward as Ash drew in closer. The punch connected into Ash's gut, causing the boy to spit out saliva. The ebony haired boy skipped across the ground until his back came into contact of a boulder.
"Come on, Ash! Are you giving up!" Ash rose to his feet slowly as he held his gut with left hand. Scratches and blood were clearly seen by all due to having his shirt ripped apart. His socks were completely knocked off his feet from the punch.
"Dad, don't you think that was a little excessive!" Susan screamed. Elizabeth closed her eyes and buried her face into her mother's side. Little tears were dripping from the corner of her eyes. "I think we should sto-"
"No!" Ash yelled. Susan looked to Ash with concern in her blue eyes. "Please stay out of this, Susan. I'm just warming up."
"What are you talking about, Ash! You can barely stand up. If this continues, you could-"
"No, I won't. Besides I think I'm getting the hang of this magic stuff." Susan gasped as she saw Ash raised his right hand. In front of his hand was a mid-sized blue circle made up of strange circles. More strange symbols made the smaller inner circle. "Hey, Elizabeth." The little girl removed her head from her mother and looked at Ash. "No need to worry. I'll win this. So, don't shed any tears." Elizabeth bit the bottom of her lip, trying to hold back the glossy tears that threatened to fall. "That's a good girl." Ash turned his gaze to Oak. "I hope you are ready for a thrashing."
"Big talk for a kid. Grow some hair on your chest and we'll talk."
"Shut up, gramps…" The outer blue symbols began spinning clockwise as the inner blue symbols began spinning counterclockwise. A blue orb began to form in the center, shining brightly. "Eat this!" A loud boom reverberated as the blast shot forward.
"That won't work!" Oak slammed his hand down on the ground, forcing up three thick walls of rocks in front of him. As the blast neared, it completely destroyed the first two rock barriers, but exploded on the third. Ash breathed heavily as he dropped his right hand to his side. "Not bad, you seem to come into grips of how to use your magic, but you're still inexperience." Oak raised his right arm, causing the leftover wall of rock to levitate into the air. Oak closed his fist, morphing the wall of rock into a spherical boulder. "Now, it's your turn to eat something!" The old man forced the rock forward. Ash clenched his teeth.
"Never!" Ash raised his right hand again and formed another blue circle, but this time it was big enough to cover his entire body. The rock shattered as it hit the blue circular barrier.
"Ah, using it as a shield. Smart, but how long can you keep it up. It seems that you're at your limits." Suddenly, all the boulders on the battlefield levitated into the air. Ash gasped. "Now, the fight really begins!" One after another, Oak began shooting the flying boulders at Ash. Ash stood his ground as he was continually pounded by the storm of rocks.
"Shit!" Ash yelled. "What am I going to do! At this rate I won't be able to hold on for long!" Ash's auburn eyed narrowed, noticing the cracks in barrier. Ash gritted his teeth. "I won't lose!" Using all his strength, Ash began running forward with his shield in front. "I won't lose!" Suddenly, the blue barrier began shining brightly, surprising Oak.
"Could this be! Impossible!" Ash pushed his right arm through the blue light, shattering the barrier. A blue light began to form in Ash's hand. The light settled down revealing a blade shaped like a katana. The blade itself was the length of Ash's body and it was white as snow. Going down the handle, it looked like a traditional katana colored black and silver, but the hilt was different, it was shaped like a rapier. Finally, on the end of the katana was a blue spherical crystal.
"Masamune!" Ash yelled.
"What! He just used an advance form of magic that only the rank of High Knight can use. He summoned his personalized weapon!" Ash continued storming down forward, slicing through the boulders with ease that came at him. Oak gritted his teeth and summoned a large rock barrier in front of himself. "He shouldn't be able to slice through this. I fused the materials underground with the rocks from above to make an impenetrable shield. Nobody in the Great War could cut through it." Suddenly, Oak's eyes widened in shock as he saw the white blade slice through it. "Impossible!"
"With my hands I shall conquer anything that stands in my way!" Ash sliced through the entire barrier and jumped forward at Oak. Ash swung his blade diagonally at Oak's neck. Oak's eyes widened in shock, seeing the white blade stopped abruptly, leaving a little cut on his neck. "How's that gramps…" In a blue flash, the katana disappeared, while Ash fell forward, his eyes closed. Oak brought out his arm and caught the boy.
"Dad, is he okay!" Susan yelled as she ran up to her father.
"Grandpa, is big brother alright?" Elizabeth cried.
"Yeah, he is." Oak smiled. "He just exhausted his energy." Oak looked to Susan. "Could you help me take him inside please?" Susan nodded her head as she put Ash's right arm over her shoulder, while Oak put the boy's left arm over his shoulder. "Elizabeth, go open the door for us."
"Okay!" At that, Elizabeth ran to the backdoor.
"Well, dad, are you satisfied? Did he pass?"
"Yeah, he did," the old man said. "This boy sure is something." Oak looked to the cut on his neck. He grinned. "The world better look out. He's going to make it tremble."
If you recall CH had made 4 chapters all together including this one, each one coming means that I am getting closer with the fifth. Gaining help from the author for planning when he has the time. He might have retired from writing, but not from helping when he finds the time, therefore Complete Hollow is an ally planner for this fic.