As the Gummi Ship thundered through the warp tunnel to reach Beacon Academy, Nick reflected on the events of their adventure so far.
This had definitely been the adventure of a lifetime, despite never having had a real adventure before.
But he often wondered about the adventures that Haruka and Maylin had been on. After all, they'd been doing this world-hopping thing for much longer than he'd even known of the keyblade.
All he knew for sure was that Maylin's parents had been victims of the Heartless. After thinking he'd upset Maylin, Nick had said no more on the issue, not wanting to bring it up if it would only hurt Maylin's feelings.
But still he wondered. He did want to know about the more exciting parts, the ones that wouldn't bring up bad memories.
Maylin and Haruka had been trained by the Oracle of Candracar himself, after all. Did that mean the Oracle had foreseen that the Heartless would rise again?
And another horrific thought occurred to Nick; how many times in the past had the Heartless flooded other worlds with darkness, and how many had there been before the Heartless?
Nick had only been to Candracar once in his life, after he'd inadvertently discovered the identities of W.I.T.C.H., but he had heard one of their sages say something about "the great darkness" and "the original light".
How long had this eternal struggle been going on, the fight between the bearers of the keyblade and the creatures of the darkness?
Nick decided to file that thought away for a later time, since he figured he'd get those answers eventually.
And as the Gummi Ship left warp space and parked in front of Beacon Academy, Nick had one more thought.
Who exactly had chosen him to wield the keyblade? Where exactly did he fit into all of this?
Nick supposed he'd find out soon enough.
(A hero races through the green fields. The sun races through a blue sky filled with white clouds. The ways of his heart are much like the sun. A hero runs and rests, the sun rises and sets. Don't give up on the sun. Don't make the sun laugh at you.)
The Blue Time Ranger is proud to present:
W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart HD ReMIX
Story Created: December 17th, 2015
Story Rated: T for Teen
Story Summary: All is well in Heatherfield in the aftermath of the battle with Nerissa, especially after dealing with Will's distrustful father. But when a strange event occurs and swallows Heatherfield in darkness, the Guardians of the Veil are informed of an ancient evil that is plotting to take over the many worlds that exist out there. Now, W.I.T.C.H., alongside their new friend who has been gifted with a strange weapon, must journey through the worlds in hopes of restoring Heatherfield to its former glory. But what strange, devious plots will they uncover along the way? Will the Guardians ever reach home? And most importantly, what is the secret behind Nick's new weapon, the keyblade?
On Today's Episode: Another return trip to Beacon Academy is in order, as the Gold Championship is ready for our trio. Another ten rounds of battle, another mystery challenger to fight. Which member of Team RWBY is waiting in the wings at the end of this gauntlet?
And Now, the Obligatory Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to W.I.T.C.H. or any of its affiliations. It belongs solely to Elisabetta Gnone and Disney if we're talking the cartoon. The only things of this story I DO own are any characters created by yours truly for the story. Any characters or things I don't own, I am just borrowing. That also goes for any anime, video game, or comic book series that will be represented here. And I am not infringing on any copyrights (not anymore). I'm just doing this for the entertainment of my readers. Besides, if I did own W.I.T.C.H., which I don't, why would I be writing fiction on a fan site?
Episode 11: Battle Festival
"Ah, it's good to be back!" Maylin proclaimed as the trio once again walked through the front gates of Beacon Academy.
"This is, what, our fourth trip here?" Haruka quipped. "And you're acting like it's been years and years."
"Hey, I'm psyched for this tournament!" Maylin stated. "And here I thought you'd be the one who'd be going all ga-ga-goo-goo over the chance to fight some strong enemies!"
"Well, I usually save that enthusiasm for the fight itself," Haruka replied. "Wouldn't want to waste all that excess energy, after all."
"Girl's got a point," Nick quipped.
Upon arriving at Team RWBY's dorm, Blake was the only one there, absorbed in a book she had been reading since this morning.
"Oh, hey, guys," Blake stated, looking up from her book. "The others are already at the stadium."
"Let me guess, Ruby dragged them there?" Maylin laughed. Blake just nodded as she jumped down from the top bunk to the floor.
"Come on, let's head there before Ruby decides to find her way back and drag me there herself," Blake proclaimed.
"Good idea," Haruka stated.
As they made their way to Amity Coliseum, Blake kept debating about whether or not she should bring up a question she'd wanted to ask since the first tournament, where Nick had fought Team CRDL just to protect Velvet.
After a few seconds, Blake decided to just go with her gut.
"H-hey, Nick? I wanted to ask you something," Blake asked.
"What's up, Blake?" Nick replied, twirling the Kingdom Key in his right hand.
"I wanted your opinion on something," Blake continued. "What do you think of Faunus?"
At first, Nick realized he didn't know what a Faunus was, until he glanced up at Blake's cat ears and figured it out quickly. Just like Velvet, except Velvet has rabbit ears. On that note, I hope Cardin and his posse aren't messing with her again.
"Well, to be honest with you, Blake, I never even knew what Faunus really were until I came to this world," Nick answered. "To be fair, Weiss did tell me some of the stories about the persecution Faunus have suffered over the years."
"D-Did she also tell you about..."
"...that you used to be in the White Fang, yeah," Nick replied. "And, Blake, I think you already know my answer. You saw what happened when I caught CRDL messing with Velvet, right?"
Blake couldn't help but giggle at the memory of how Nick had laid Team CRDL flat so easily. "Yeah, I remember that one-sided fight."
"Blake, I don't take lightly to anyone who persecutes or bullies people just because of certain attributes, whether it's skin color, race, or even people with animal features like Faunus," Nick explained. "It's just the way I was raised. I just wish we could, I don't know, all get along for once."
Nick looked at his reflection in the Kingdom Key's blade. "So, to answer your question, Blake, I don't mind the Faunus. They're people just like us, even if they have cat ears, and anyone who thinks they're not is just a close-minded jerk."
Blake couldn't help but smile. That was another friend who wouldn't treat her different just because of her Faunus heritage.
"Count on Nick to always come through with the right thing to say," Maylin giggled.
"Hey, you made it!" Ruby exclaimed as the trio walked into Amity Coliseum with Blake following them. Weiss and Yang were sparring at the opposite end of the hallway.
"Wouldn't miss it, Ruby," Haruka stated. "Here's hoping this tournament's gonna be a good one."
"You'd better believe it!" Ruby proclaimed. "The Gold Championship's ready to go for you guys! Make sure you give us a good show, because this is where it gets more challenging."
"I'm looking forward to it," Haruka laughed.
"Of course you are," Maylin groaned as the trio teleported to the main arena.
"Well, you guys ready for this?" Nick asked as he selected the Gold Championship from the bracket menu, causing the arena to shift into a fire and ice-themed configuration.
"Let's go!" Maylin exclaimed, and the trio summoned their keyblades for battle.
The first group of Heartless wasted no time in spawning around them. The battle viewscreen indentified the first group as "Dusk Vanguard", consisting of three Shadows and five Gargoyles.
"Okay, talk about your Halloween Town rejects," Nick quipped.
"Gargoyles like to stay in the air and fire at you from afar," Haruka explained. "Get in close and they won't stand a chance."
As Maylin and Haruka went to mop up the Shadows, Nick leaped into the air and lashed out with an aerial combo that ended in a Hurricane Period, destroying two of the Gargoyles.
The three remaining Gargoyles began to flash step around to avoid getting hit, only for Maylin to cast a Magnet spell and trap them together, giving the young mage enough time to obliterate them with a Thunder spell.
"Next!" Maylin shouted.
"How about you, um, I dunno, stop taunting them?" Haruka sighed.
"They're simulations, they can't hear me!" Maylin exclaimed.
The second group spawned in, "Minions of Horror", consisting of four Preachers, an Air Soldier, and two Barrel Spiders.
"Oh, goody, these nuts again," Maylin quipped, lashing out with an overhead strike and cutting a Preacher in half. "I still say some religious guy's gonna get offended."
"Is this really the time, Maylin?!" Haruka shouted as the two Barrel Spiders charged her, only for her to slash the Air Soldier into the Barrel Spiders, which exploded and destroyed all three enemies.
The remaining three Preachers surrounded Nick, intending to pincer him, but Nick leapfrogged off one of them to slash through another before tossing the Kingdom Key outwards so that it spun through the air and destroyed the last two.
"Easy enough," Nick quipped. "But I have a feeling it's gonna get trickier now."
Group three, "Magic Alert", emerged in response to that, consisting of a Pagemaster and four Green Requiems.
"Okay, why do they always come with the healers?!" Maylin growled, chasing after a Green Requiem.
The Pagemaster formed a scythe with some of its pages and began cutting wildly through the empty air, as if daring the trio to come closer.
"I don't think we're going to get anywhere unless we take the healers down first," Haruka proclaimed.
"Let me take care of that," Nick stated, charging himself up for a few seconds before casting a Stopra spell on the group of Heartless, freezing them in time.
"Whoa, where did you learn Stop?" Maylin gasped.
"Got a spell coin for returning the page we just found," Nick replied. "Let's talk about that later and mop these losers up!"
The trio went to work and hacked away at the Green Requiems until the Stopra spell wore off and they all disintegrated.
"And that just leaves you," Maylin proclaimed, firing a Thunder spell at the Pagemaster, only for it to deflect it by creating a large page in front of itself.
Nick was already on the move before Maylin could complain, slashing through the page shield and cutting the Pagemaster in half.
"That's why you don't block your vision, buddy," Nick quipped.
The fourth group, "Stray Phantom", appeared for battle, consisting of four Gargoyles and three Lance Soldiers.
Haruka was the first to jump in, leaping into the air and coming down to slam Divine Rose into the ground, creating a pink shockwave around her that sent the Lance Soldiers flying, allowing Nick and Maylin to clean then up easily.
The Gargoyles decided to hover high above the arena and fire energy blasts from afar.
"Stop sniping and get down here!" Maylin growled, casting a Gravity spell and causing the Gargoyles to crash to the ground. Nick switched to Truth Seeker and blasted through the Gargoyles with a Sonic Blade.
"That's that," Nick stated.
Group five, "Red Legion", consisted of a Search Ghost and eight Red Nocturnes. Nick almost flinched at Maylin's vexed expression.
"You know what, no," Maylin proclaimed, casting a Magnet spell to group all of the Heartless together, at least glad that they weren't immune to Magnet. Nick quickly rushed in and unleashed an Ars Arcanum to wipe out the whole group.
Unfortunately, Maylin's anger hadn't exactly subsided, as the sixth group, "Blue Legion", consisted of two Search Ghosts and seven Blue Rhapsodies.
"Okay, what the hell is this, 'Pick on the Mage Day'?!" Maylin shouted. "I'm really getting sick of this nonsense!"
Deciding to try a new tactic she'd learned a while back, Maylin cast a quick enchantment on Spellbinder, then threw it out to pierce one of the Blue Rhapsodies. As she threw it, though, a long string of magic kept it bound to her hand. This way, Maylin could swing Spellbinder around on the magic chain like a whip, cutting down the Blue Rhapsodies with each swing.
"Yeah, how does that feel?!" Maylin shouted. "Fear my inventiveness!"
"You got that from Kratos, didn't you?" Haruka quipped, recognizing the technique Maylin was using.
"It's not my fault that he's got the coolest weapons in all of Greece!" Maylin giggled as she swung out one more time to destroy a Search Ghost.
Nick performed a jumping slash attack to finish off the final Search Ghost, then prepared himself for the next group. I really should ask them about these other worlds they've been to sometime.
Group seven, "Dark Squadron", appeared, consisting of a Preacher, a Pagemaster, two Soldiers, and two Lance Soldiers.
"Oh, fun," Maylin groaned, blasting the Pagemaster in the face with a Thunder spell, only for it to recover quickly and surround itself with a whirlwind of paper.
Nick knocked the Preacher's blades aside and finished it off with a quick horizontal slash so he could focus his attention on the real threat, the Pagemaster.
The Pagemaster inched closer, still surrounded by a tornado of pages, but Nick decided to cut through the attack with a Strike Raid, knowing to keep his distance, as those pages would hurt him badly if they got to him. After six throws, the Pagemaster could take no more, and dropped its book before exploding.
"There we go," Nick quipped. "Now let's get the small fry."
The two Soldiers fell to a Blizzard spell from Nick while Maylin attacked the Preacher, leaving Haruka to fend off the two Lance Soldiers. One of the Lance Soldiers lunged forward, only for Haruka to parry and counterattack, destroying that one before spinning around and cutting down the other with an overhead swing.
"All right, who's next?" Haruka wondered.
Her question was answered by the eight group, "Mad Fungus", consisting of a Black Fungus and four Green Requiems.
"See?! I KNEW it! These super-annoying ones always come with the healers in tow!" Maylin shouted.
"Sorry! That one was my idea!" Yang called from afar.
Maylin just shook her head. "Trolled by Goldilocks..."
Deciding to deal with that later, Maylin again enchanted Spellbinder so she could swing it around on a whip, cutting down the Green Requiems one by one until only the Black Fungus remained.
Nick was already on the offensive, blasting the Black Fungus back with a Ripple Drive, only for it to turn to stone and deflect his next attack.
"Hmmm... I wonder..." Nick thought, leaning back before attacking with a Gravity Break, which broke through the Black Fungus' stone self and finished it off.
"Way to improvise, fearless leader!" Maylin exclaimed.
The ninth group, "Sorcerous Armor", appeared next, consisting of two Red Nocturnes, two Blue Rhapsodies, and the Guard Armor.
"Okay, didn't see that coming," Maylin quipped.
"Come on, we can take it!" Haruka exclaimed.
After a few quick slashes to take down the mages, the trio jumped into battle with the Guard Armor.
"Maylin, hit him while I've got it distracted!" Haruka shouted.
"Roger dodger!" Maylin replied, casting a Thunder spell that struck the Guard Armor directly in its torso, forcing it backwards.
Nick took this opportunity to strike, slashing the two legs away from him before hacking away at the vulnerable torso.
Just then, the Guard Armor began to spin wildly, forming a sort of tornado around itself.
This time, Maylin knew to stay back, hitting her Aero spell coin three times to cast Aero on all three of them.
Haruka, meanwhile, was fighting the Guard Armor's rogue legs. She continued to sidestep away to avoid the shockwaves that the armored feet produced with every step before jumping in to strike.
"Okay, this is getting us nowhere fast," Haruka groaned. She then leapt back before jumping into the air and slamming Divine Rose down hard, creating a radial shockwave that destroyed both of the Guard Armor's legs.
"All right, two down and three to go!" Haruka exclaimed.
"Is anyone else getting déjà vu again?" Maylin wondered.
"It's basically the same guy, only this time we're a lot stronger," Nick replied. "Déjà vu is bound to happen."
The Guard Armor eventually started spinning again, but this time it began to hop up and down while spinning, creating tremors every time it impacted the ground.
After about eight tremors, Maylin decided she'd had enough, casting Blizzara to cut through the spinning attack and causing the Guard Armor to drop to the ground.
Haruka wasted no time in rushing over and slashing at both of the prone arms with Divine Rose, destroying them with one quick strike. "All right, Nick, finish him off!"
"My pleasure," Nick proclaimed before charging straight for the Guard Armor's vulnerable torso.
The Guard Armor attempted to pick itself up, but Nick was faster on the draw, ripping forward with one mighty slash.
Once the Guard Armor had vanished, Maylin smiled brightly. "Look how strong we've become! That didn't take anywhere near as long as the first time!"
"I was half-expecting that thing to turn into the Opposite Armor when we beat it," Haruka replied. "Just cautious, after all."
Nick just stood his ground, ready for the Gold Championship's final opponent. He had a pretty good idea who it was, too.
Almost on time, footfalls caught the trio's attention, and they turned around to see Blake standing there, both halves of Gambol Shroud out and ready for battle.
"You guys did great out there," Blake proclaimed. "But now we'll see how you fare against a real ninja."
"Oh, we definitely will," Nick proclaimed, readying the Kingdom Key for a battle.
"Give 'em heck, Blakey!" Yang called from the stands, causing Blake to blush slightly before shaking it off to focus on the impending fight.
"I swear, she does that just to make me blush," Blake quipped.
"Irma does that all the time," Nick replied. "But, to the business at hand... show me what you've got, Blake."
("From Shadows" by Casey Lee Williams and Jeff Williams plays)
Blake was the one to make the first move, whipping out the katana of Gambol Shroud on a long ribbon. The attack came so fast that Nick barely had any time to get Kingdom Key up to block the attack, and even still, the strike pushed Nick back a few inches.
"Aw, she ganked my gimmick!" Maylin exclaimed.
"Not the time, doof," Haruka quipped.
Before Nick could get his bearings, Blake yanked the ribbon back, causing the katana to slice past him as well, catching him on the shoulder and spinning him around so Blake could move in and strike with both blades. Thankfully, Nick recovered just in time to cast Reflect, though Blake kept her distance, having personally seen what that spell had done to Ruby and Weiss when it had been their turn to fight.
Instead, Blake began to fire at the barrier from afar, attempting to force Nick out of his safe zone. And eventually, it seemed to work, making Nick realizing that the battle wasn't going to go anywhere if this kept up, so he dispelled the barrier and rushed back into the fray.
Nick continued to dodge through the shots that Blake was firing until she attempted to slash at him with the sharpened sheath. Nick ducked the attack and struck hard with an overhead chop, only for it to seemingly cut Blake in half.
Before Nick was able to panic, Blake had completely vanished.
"W-what did I just do?" Nick gasped.
"NICK, INCOMING!" Maylin screamed.
Nick only had time to look up and see Blake falling straight towards him from the air before she brought both blades down in a fierce attack, sending Nick crashing to the ground hard.
Blake grinned at this, glad to have perfected a counterattack like this. She'd have to thank Weiss later for giving her the idea.
"Nick, think fast!" Maylin exclaimed, tossing Nick a spell coin. Nick caught it and focused on its power, casting a Cure spell to heal himself.
So now I know all the spells Maylin does, Nick thought. Let's see if magic can expose the ninja.
As Blake charged again, Nick switched over to Signal Beacon so his magic would be enhanced, and shot a Fira attack straight for the rampaging ninja.
Blake quickly summoned a shadow clone to tank the hit before leaping over it to slash at Nick with the katana, who countered with a point-blank Thunder spell that blasted Blake back to the opposite end of the arena.
A quick glance at the viewscreen showed that Blake's aura was at about seventy percent, with Nick's at about seventy-five percent.
"Gotta hand it to ya, Blake," Nick quipped. "You've given me quite a fight so far."
"I could say the same for you," Blake replied before dashing back into the fray, swinging both blades of Gambol Shroud out.
Nick swung upwards and across to deflect both strikes, then cast Blizzara in hopes of halting Blake's charge. Blake simply summoned another clone to take the hit, only to have it suddenly glow red.
"What the...?" was all Nick had time to get out before the shadow clone exploded, knocking him down to the ground so Blake could renew her double-directional attack.
Nick lashed out with his keyblade, parrying every attack he could while waiting for an opening in Blake's defenses.
"Gotcha!" Nick shouted, knocking the katana away during one of Blake's wild slashes and unleashing an Ars Arcanum, dropping Blake's aura to about thirty percent.
Blake leaped back before jumping a short distance into the air and whipping both blades around on ribbons, creating a sphere of slashes all around her and forcing Nick to go on the defensive until the attack ended.
When Blake landed, she began to flash step all over the arena so Nick couldn't get a bead on her.
Every now and then, Blake would lash out with the katana, landing a few hits on Nick while he couldn't lock on to her.
Deciding that the battle had to end, Nick raised his keyblade and cast Magnet behind Blake to draw her in so he could leap out and attack, only for Signal Beacon to phase right through her.
Expecting the counterattack this time, Nick danced around the strike, switched to World System, and delivered one final slash that brought Blake to her knees and her aura down to eight percent, signaling the battle's end.
Nick had to drop to his knees as well; that had been quite an exhausting effort. He even noticed that his "aura" was down to about twenty percent. In his battles with Ruby and Weiss, his hadn't gone down below the halfway mark.
"Guess I was right about things getting trickier from here," Nick gasped. "Good match, Blake. Way to push me against the wall."
"You're no slouch yourself," Blake admitted. "You really gave it your all out there. Best match I've ever been a part of."
Blake handed Nick an Ability Crystal, this one glowing bright green. "I figured you could have this for winning the tournament, since you probably know more about it then I do."
Nick accepted the crystal and absorbed its power into his body. Maylin quickly rushed to the arena console and typed something in, causing the arena to spawn a Large Body.
Nick rushed in to attack with his new ability, knocking the Large Body around with a quick series of slashes that actually made him levitate into the air as he did so. Once the barrage was over, Nick pointed his keyblade towards the Large Body, swirls of light gathering around the blade's teeth. After a second to charge up, Nick fired the energy in the form of a barrage of laser beams that all converged directly on the Large Body and destroyed it effortlessly.
"Awesome!" Maylin exclaimed.
"I'm calling that one Ragnarok," Nick quipped. "Makes sense, after all, with the raining down of doom lasers."
"That sounds like something Ruby would say," Blake giggled.
"I guess you guys are rubbing off on me," Nick laughed.
Meanwhile, from far away, Cinder was watching the events that had unfolded. She figured it was time to report to Red about a backup plan, just in case things went south.
"Those kids are annoyingly persistent, after all," Cinder noted. "And if they're only getting stronger, I need to be sure that this chick we're putting back together is really as all that as Red thinks she is..."
"Well, guys, that's another tournament down," Haruka quipped as the Gummi Ship set off in pursuit of the next world. "You think there's gonna be any more?"
"Oh, I'm sure there's gonna be more," Nick responded. "They're cooking up new ones every time we stop on by."
"Hey, I heard rumblings about a Grand Championship," Maylin stated. "Ruby and Weiss were discussing it. Apparently, it's like the ultimate tournament that Beacon Academy has to offer!"
"And I'm assuming it's not ready yet?" Haruka quipped.
"Well, duh," Maylin stated. "They want to hold it once the Vytal Festival's over, 'cause everyone's focusing on that."
"Think we should stop by the Vytal Festival sometime?" Nick wondered.
"Good idea! I'm sure Ruby's gonna call us when it's started," Maylin stated.
"But, as long as they're preparing, let's let 'em do that," Haruka proclaimed. "The worlds are calling, after all."
"All right, then, let's move out!" Maylin exclaimed.
To be continued...
On the next episode...
Maylin: Hey, wait a second, did we jump back to the 1920s?
Haruka: Why that specific time period?
Maylin: Gangsters, mob bosses, tommy guns, that whole shtick.
Nick: I dunno, did the 1920s have adorably cute opera-singing zombies?
Haruka: Or a shape-shifting nun who's really an eldritch abomination from the depths of whatever hell this place has?
Maylin: ...this is only going to get stranger, isn't it?
Nick: After everything we've seen so far, I think "strange" is the understatement of the freaking century. Next time on W.I.T.C.H.: Key to Her Heart HD ReMIX, "Be Still My Heart"!
Nick, Maylin, & Haruka: The worlds are our ocean!