To those of you who haven't seen Volume 6 yet, SPOILERS AHEAD! You have been warned.
Ash and Glynda just looked towards Max while holding that crate right next to his face. Ash was growling at him while holding his chest from where Max kicked him.
Just then, Ash's Pokedex began to ring and he quickly answered it. It was Winter.
"Winter, what's going on? Why is there a panic?" He asked.
"We have a video footage of what that was. I'm showing it on the big screens now." Winter said while the jumbotrons then showed the explosion that erupted at Mt. Glenn.
Ash and Glynda gasped at what had happened.
"No…he didn't." Glynda said.
"What is it Glynda?" Ash asked while turning to her.
"That mountain holds a very dangerous Grimm from within. He greatly weakened it." Glynda answered.
Ash's eyes widen and glared at Max.
"What kind of Grimm did you potentially unleashed?" He growled at him. Max just chuckled at him.
"Wouldn't you like to know? But for now, it's time that we ended this now." Max said while squeezing the crate. It began to crack until finally shattering and Max was now holding something that Ash didn't expect.
"A syringe?" He asked while looking at said syringe that had black liquid in it. "What are you gonna do? Try to drug me or something?" He asked.
"Maybe." Max said.
Ash looked at it for a second until he felt something completely different.
'Wait. Why am I...sensing?' Ash thought for a moment until gasped with fright. "No! It can't be." He said as he realized more what that was.
"Ash?" Glynda asked.
"The Essence of Darkness itself." Ash answered. Glynda quickly pulled her crop out and readied to strike.
"Drop that now!" She demanded. Max chuckled.
"Prepare to die Ketchum!" He yelled while aiming the syringe…at himself.
Ash gasped and quickly summoned Divine Elemental and aimed it at Max.
"STOP!" Ash shouted and Max froze in time. Ash quickly ran to him and stopped him from using it on himself. Max regained movement, but was stopped by Ash's grip. "Max! Stop it!" Ash demanded with fright.
"Why should I?" He asked.
"Don't you know what that will do to you? You'll become something worse than the Grimm, something worse than the Heartless. You'll become a monster beyond a monster." Ash answered.
Back with the others, they are just starring at Ash's position of what he was doing against Max.
"What is that?" Amber asked.
"If I had a pair of binoculars, I would have a better view of it. But whatever it is, Ash is terrified." Ruby said.
"Should we be doing something? This might get ugly." Sun asked.
"I don't know. But whatever the reason, we the apprentices might need to protect him this time." Blake said while on the verge of summoning Panther's Claw.
Back with Ash, Glynda, Pikachu and Max, the two continued to prevent Max from using the syringe on him.
"You still don't get it, do you Ketchum? I wanted nothing more but dominance, to become the world's strongest trainer. And you took it all away from me. If I can't become the world's strongest, NO ONE CAN!" Max screamed while activating his Night Shroud semblance. He gave Ash a nasty headbutt, and threw Glynda off of him, causing her to land onto Ash, and Pikachu landed right next to them.
They quickly recovered, but it was too late. Max injected the liquid into his chest.
"NOOOOOO!" Ash screamed as Max pulled it out, dropped it and fell onto his knees.
Max's eyes went blank and he began to feel his body pulse as Darkness's Essences began to flow through him. He then began to fall onto his hands and began grunting in pain as a transformation began.
He then shot upwards and screamed as he slowly grew sharp fangs and his body began to get bigger. There were nasty sounds coming from his body as it happened. His physical body gotten stronger and his shirt ripped off of him. His skin began to turn pale and pitch black hair was sprouting all over his body.
His legs began shaking violently as cracks came from it and becoming hind legs. His shoes and socks ripped and revealed his now animal legs. Max felt his tailbone began to extend and a long tail ripped out from his shorts, causing them to fall off.
Ash saw all of the Poke Balls fall to the ground. He used his magnet spell to bring them to him and tucked them away into his coat pocket.
Max's hands began to grow longer and grew sharp nails. He slammed them onto the ground and continued to grunt while dragging them along the ground.
His ears got longer and pointier while moving up his head while his eyes turned blood red. His grunting began to turn into snarls as his mouth began to lengthen into a canine snout while his glasses fell off of him and smashed. A sharp horn cracked out of his forehead. Just as that was finished, louder cracks were heard as several bones shot out of his body and some covered his face, chest, and back.
The last changes came from his back as a pair of long wings emerged. The bones were long and had sharp edges, the wings were almost see-through, and they also had sharp bones sticking out of the tips.
The newly formed monster roared into the sky and extended the wings. Ash and Glynda just starred in fright of Max's transformed look. Many people around them screamed and began to run out of the colosseum. The only ones that stayed were Hunters and Hunters in training. The monster slammed down onto all four and snarled at Ash and Glynda.
If you want an idea of what he looks like now, think of him like a combination of an Alpha Beowolf only much bigger with large dragon like wings with a long sharp horn on its forehead.
Back with the others, all of their eyes widen and were trembling. A few of them have gotten hold of their weapons, few already had their weapons readied to fire, but the rest were frozen out of fear.
With Xedrek and the twins, his eyes, too, were wide and the twins were trembling in fear while holding his arms.
"What the hell is that!?" They asked.
"I don't know. But whatever it is, if I had a heart right now, it'd be pulsing hard right now." He said. He then gasped as he realized what he said.
"What!?" They asked. It was an accidental slip that they quickly caught onto.
"I'll…tell you after this." He quickly said.
Back with Ash, Glynda and Pikachu, they starred at the monster Max had turned into.
"SO KETCHUM, WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE NEW AND IMPROVED MAX MAPLE?!" The monster roared at him. His voice was a low, growling like sound.
"You…you fool." Ash said softly while summoning Oathkeeper and gripped both of them tighter. "You GODDAMN FOOL! Look at yourself. You became the very thing I warned you about. A monster that's worse than the Grimm, and the Heartless. You don't even care you just threw away your own humanity?" He asked.
Max snarled at him again.
"IT DOESN'T MATTER! I'VE PLAYED MY PART SO WELL THAT I'VE GUARANTEED NOT JUST VALE'S DOOM, BUT THE WHOLE WORLD! FOR YOU SEE, THE ARMY WILL ARRIVE IN LESS THAN A DAY FROM NOW, AND YOU'LL BE THEIR PRIME TARGET!" He said.
The both of them gasped at that.
"What army!?" Glynda asked.
"THE ARMY! GRIMM, HEARTLESS, THE WHITE FANG, EVERYTHING THAT YOU FOOLISH HUNTERS HAVE BEEN FIGHTING ARE NOW COMING TOGETHER! ALL OF OUR ACTIONS HAVE BEEN LEADING UP TO THIS VERY MOMENT! OUR ULTIMATE PLAN WAS TO HAVE YOU KETCHUM PURIFY THE SHADOW POKÉMON IN PUBLIC, LET THE NEGATIVITY FLOW IN THE AREA, LET THE GRIMM AND THE HEARTLESS FEED OFF OF IT, AND MAKE THEM STRONGER! AND THE BEST PART, IT HAS BEEN TELEVISED SO THE WHOLE WORLD SAW IT!" Max growled.
Ash began to shake at what he was saying. Just then, Max was laughing maniacally while extending his wings.
Just then, Ash fell onto his knees and hands while dismissing his Keyblades, leaving Glynda, his apprentices, everyone to stare at him.
"I…I failed to be the guardian I was destined to become. He's right. I could've prevented all of this sooner." He whimpered.
"Ash…" Glynda said while holding his shoulder.
"NOW…HERE I COME! READY OR NOT!" Max shouted while raising his claw.
"NO!" Glynda screamed while using her crop to fight him off. While it did do something, it barely scratched him. Max then swiped at Glynda, sending her flying off the arena.
"GLYNDA!" Ash shouted. Pikachu ran to her to check on her.
Back with the others, Coco began to shake as her anger grew and held her briefcase tight.
"Coco?" Ruby asked. Everyone was now looking at her. She didn't answer her, but was trying to maintain her anger.
Just then, they saw Ash being grabbed by the monster and slammed into the ground hard, causing him to scream in pain.
"ALRIGHT KETCHUM! IT'S TIME TO DIE!" Max screamed while readying an attack.
Suddenly, something snapped within Coco.
"NO!" She screamed while getting up and ran to the ledge.
"Coco WAIT!" Velvet screamed while they ran after her.
Coco vaulted over and activated her briefcase. Her gaitling gun was formed and she took aim.
"HEY YOU!" She screamed at Max. The monster looked towards her, who started to have the barrel of her gun rotate. "LEAVE MY BOYFRIEND ALONE!" She screamed while unleashing her attack at him.
Max stumbled backwards while the barrage was hitting him. Just then, the others joined her and began to open fire at Max. Velvet decided to create Ash's Keyblades and fired off spells at Max.
Up on the stands, many of the Hunters and Hunters in training knew what to do.
"Well don't just sit there and do nothing donkeys! Let's get in there and help them!" Amanda Larch ordered her team to vault over the railing and they began to open fire.
Team CLOD did the same and they helped fended off Max. Charcoal and her teammate Dakota Granite ran to Ash and got him out of the danger zone. Dakota left Charcoal to watch him while she readied her weapon, the Scorcher, and fired a deadly burst of flames from her flamethrower.
Ash looked at Charcoal, who looked at him back and smiled. She gently sat him up and they watched the attack. Just then, Team RWBY joined them and guarded him.
Ash looked all around him and every Hunter and Hunters in training did the very thing that Ash was destined to do. They were now protecting him. Many of them even unleashed their Pokémon to attack as well. There were beams, barrages, and lots more.
Just then, Xedrek snapped his finger and a group of Nobodies called Snipers emerged out of nowhere.
"Concentrate your fire on the Grimm and keep Ash safe!" He ordered. The Snipers began to fire a pink arrow like projectile at Max and they made constant contact onto it.
The bombardment of attacks continued until Max was engulfed by smoke, and eventually fire. The attacks continued for about a minute until Ash raised a hand to order a cease fire, while Xedrek did the same to the Snipers. It took a bit of time, but they all halted their attacks. Ash tried to stand up, but the pain was too great.
"Curaga!" Emerald said while aiming Emerald Thorn at him. Not only was he healed up, but the pain had vanished. Emerald and Charcoal helped him up.
"Emerald…" He was able to say before she threw her arms around him and held him for a bit. She then went to go heal up Glynda. He then pulled Charcoal to him and hugged him. She squealed a bit and returned it. "Charcoal, I owe you and your team a favor. I am very grateful." He said before pulling back.
"It was our turn to protect you." She said. Ash smiled and kissed her cheek, causing her to yelp and turn red.
"Consider that me returning the favor from earlier. Don't take it the wrong way though. You are by far one of the best friends I could ask for." Ash said. Charcoal smiled while still blushing.
Inside the flames, everyone heard Max groan from the amount of pain that he had endured. He slowly moved out of the flames and has gotten wounds, burnt marks, and damaged bone armor all over him. Ash summoned both Keyblades and readied to finish this.
Suddenly, Ash felt a very dark presence nearby. He looked up behind Max and saw the last person he wanted to see…Salem, and she was pissed. She then raised a hand at Max, and Grimm arms extended out and slammed him to the ground.
Ash saw this and he and everyone else got back several feet.
"ASH!" Ozpin shouted while running out to join them.
"Ozpin!?" Ash asked while turning towards him.
"No…not you." Ozpin said while looking up at Salem, who was readying another attack.
Salem then fired long sharp spears at Max, and they impaled him in multiple locations. Just them, everyone was now looking at Salem, with many shaking in fear. Ruby dropped her Keyblade, which quickly vanished, while slowly backing away. The spears then dissolved into smoke.
Salem hovered across the Colosseum and joined Max, who was now coughing up blood.
"Max…you have failed me for the last time." Salem growled at him as her eyes were burning red.
"Your Highness…don't. Please." Max said weakly. Salem raised a hand and a few Grimm hands grabbed his head, and neck.
"Failure." Salem said before snapping her finger. There was a very loud snap and Max was now still…dead.
The hands released Max and disappeared, and smoke began to surround the body. Just then, Max's human body was now lying on the ground dead.
Salem then turned towards Ozpin, and chuckled.
"Well, well, well. How long has it been Ozma?" She asked.
"Ozpin, what is she talking about?" Ash asked Ozpin after what Salem said. Ozpin just stood there looking down and his anger grew.
"Oh come now Ozma, don't be rude. After all…we do go way back since that very day millennia ago." Salem said. There was now a long moment of silence.
"Hello…Salem. Why are you here?" He asked. She chuckled and walked towards him.
"I'm just saving your precious guardian. I can't afford to lose him, just like you can't afford to lose him." She said.
Ash walked towards them while gripping his Keyblades.
"Stay away from him Salem!" He demanded. Salem chuckled before placing a hand on Ozpin's chest and rested her head onto him, causing everyone to gasp and demanded Ozpin to throw her off. "Ozpin, what are you doing!?" Ash yelled.
"Why don't you tell them the truth Ozma? Or should I?" She asked as her eyes looked into his.
"It doesn't matter. No one will believe it except for only a few." Ozpin said while stepping away from her.
Ash glared at her and aimed his Keyblades at her.
"Get your hands off of him." Ash demanded.
Meanwhile, Xedrek teleported towards Team RWBY and the Snipers readied to fire.
"Oh come now Ash. Do you honestly think that you can intimidate me oh so easily?" Salem asked.
"ENOUGH!" Xedrek shouted while running towards her and got her into a full nelson.
"What the? Release me you fool!" Salem demanded while struggling to throw him off. Just then, Ozpin summoned Time Space and walked towards her. "WHAT!? No…no you are not." She growled as she saw the Keyblade.
"I'm sorry." He whispered before thrusting the Keyblade at her heart, causing her to yell in pain. "And now…let's free you from this curse of immortality!" He yelled before turning the Keyblade a couple times and yanked it out of her heart.
Just then, a dark aura was released from her heart and formed into a ball of darkness.
"Apprentices, aim at it!" Ash yelled. He and Team RWBY aimed their Keyblades at it and charged up a beam of light. The beams fired and their connections met the ball and it was sent into the sky, It was about to go critical. Just then, a massive explosion of light erupted high up, causing them to shield their eyes. "Excellent work my apprentices." Ash said to them as it died down.
Salem was now hyperventilating from the results of what just happened. In her rage, she used her dark powers to throw Xedrek off, causing him to slam into a wall.
"GAH! SNIPERS FIRE!" Xedrek screamed. The Snipers launched a barrage of crystal arrows at Salem.
"Apprentices! Open fire!" Ash yelled. Team RWBY fired off their respected spells and they were connecting to Salem.
Just then, others joined in and used their weapons, semblances and their Pokémon to attack.
Just then, Yang got in front of Ash.
"BURN WITCH! MEGA FLARE!" Yang shouted before launching a huge ball of fire at Salem. There was an explosion from where Salem stood. All of them ceased fire when the attack collided.
"Did…did we get her?" Charcoal asked.
"Don't count on it." Ash said as he saw Salem's silhouette in the flames.
She then waved her arms as the flames gave her some room. She looked like she didn't gain a scratch on her. She just brushed off her shoulder before looking back at Ash.
"It seems that I took you for a fool, but you are more naïve than I thought. Ozma and that idiot over there may have removed my immortality, but I still maintained my godlike powers. Next time, give it what you all call, your 'A' game?" She asked.
"Believe me Salem. You haven't even seen my fullest potential. I bet Cinder never told you this, or at all at the matter, but I have been holding back from the exhibition match before the tournament began." Ash confessed.
There were now gasps around him, except for Team RWBY, who already knew.
"No she didn't, but I'll still let her have her fun. But for now I-" Salem stopped as a fire ball hit her face. "Seriously?" She growled.
Ash saw who it was that hit her…Ruby. Salem looked towards her with a glare.
"Uh oh…" Ruby whispered.
Salem sighed before turning towards her.
"You Ruby Rose, on the other hand, you're the one that Cinder warned me about. I should just kill you now you Silver Eyed filth, but fortunately for you and all of you, I have other things to do. But I will leave you with a final parting gift." Salem said before channeling a bit of dark electricity in her hand.
Ash and Xedrek immediately gotten in front of her and defended her.
"I wouldn't recommend doing that." Xedrek growled at her.
She chuckled and fired the electricity at them. He and Ash blocked the attacks to protect Ruby.
"I am done with this." She said before unleashing her full potential with her attack. The force of the attack sent the two Keyblade Masters flying and to hit the other members of Team RWBY.
Just then, Salem charged up dark energy from her finger and fired it at Ruby with a gunshot sound. The attack hit Ruby's heart and she gasped loud from it.
"NO RUBY!" Summer screamed with fright as she and her team ran onto the field and joined Ruby on the ground, who was shaking violently while holding her chest.
Salem was now laughing maniacally as she disappeared into a portal and closed.
Many people ran to Ruby while Ash and Yang knelt down to her. Just then, they began to hear some noises coming from her insides.
Just then, she felt like her waist was being squeezed hard. It had gotten slimmer and narrower, causing her to have difficulties breathing. Just then, her spine snapped inward a bit and she screamed from the pain. It looked like her waist had gotten about a couple inches narrower.
"RUBY!" Yang screamed while holding her. Just then Ruby shoved her off as her arms and legs began to pulse a bit as the muscles from them got stronger and a bit more developed.
She then gripped her head with her hands, which grew small nails, and screamed as she felt like her skull was being drilled into her brain from on top. There were now sounds coming from her skull as a pair of black animal ears with red tips grew out of her head. Weiss covered her mouth and looked away from it.
Once that was done, her lower spine began to grow out of her. She screamed as she felt it. Just from under her skirt, they saw a bushy black tail with the tip of it being red that grew out as there were snaps and crackles. With one last sickening crack, the tail grew a bit longer and stopped and she screamed louder from the intense pain.
Finally, she grew small fangs before looking up and howled at the moon above them loudly, causing an echo. She then collapsed onto the ground and went still.
"RUBY!? RUBY!" Summer screamed as she was shaking her daughter. She checked her pulse and listened for a heartbeat. She breathed a sigh of relief as she was still alive, but was only unconscious.
"Did…did she just turn into a…Faunus?" Blake asked while inspecting her new ears and tail.
"Looks like it. She's now a wolf Faunus." Ash said. Just then, a healing spell was casted onto Ruby. Emerald casted it and joined Ash. "Thanks Emerald. I love you." He whispered to her.
"I love you too." She said before kissing his cheek.
As the others were tending to Ruby, Ash and Xedrek went over to the body of Max. Xedrek removed his coat and covered up Max's body.
"I'm not sorry for what we did. But I am sorry that we had to do it. When I first met you, you idolized your father and you really didn't have to come along with us. I knew you would become a great and powerful trainer from the look in your eyes, but I never would've thought that you would go this pathway. I wasn't lying when I said that I supported all of you and your dreams were just as big as mine. Not even you…deserved this fate." Ash said while placing a hand on his head and rubbed it.
"I've learned of his past. I know what it's like to lose your humanity like that, but at least he returned back to the way he was. He must've been so power hungry that if he can't have it, no one could have it." Xedrek said.
"Ash…I'm so sorry that you all had to hear that." Ozpin said while joining him and Xedrek.
"It's alright. I believe you. So is Ozma you're real name?" Ash asked.
"Yes. I changed it so no one could get suspicious of me. I might as well tell you the real story of the maidens. Those powers did come from me, that part is true. However…the maidens were mine and Salem's children." Ozpin revealed.
"What? That's insane. What did you see in that witch?" Xedrek asked with sheer confusion.
"She wasn't always like that. In fact, she was a very beautiful woman that was once human. A deadly sickness took my life away one day and from what I learned from the God of Light himself, he gave me a deal to return to Remnant for a chance to help lift the curse from Salem. Once we reunited, we had a family of four beautiful girls. Once I realized more of what Salem really had become, my daughters and I attempted to escape. Unfortunately, this led to my biggest mistake ever. She was betrayed by us, and we were killed. Their powers lived on, and move onto new vessels and I was reincarnated into another body. It has been like that for millennia." Ozpin explained.
Ash and Xedrek looked at each other and then back to Ozpin.
"That explains why she was like that towards you. But if that was the case, why didn't she kill you then?" Ash asked.
"She knew it was pointless since I would just come back to life again. Once Salem is defeated, my curse will be lifted and I can finally move on." Ozpin said.
"Rewind for a moment. What did you mean about the God of Light?" Xedrek asked.
"He as well as his brother the God of Darkness use to reside here until Salem rebelled against them with many warriors. Not only did they fight back, but humanity was wiped out thanks to the God of Darkness, leaving Salem the last and was soon cursed with immortality. In fact, this is humanities second time of living. And from that, the Faunus was created. The two brothers departed from Remnant and the rest…you know." Ozpin said. Their eyes widen from those words. Ash knew that he was speaking the truth on that matter, causing him to sweat.
"Why didn't you tell us the truth from earlier?" Ash asked.
"The same reason why you tried to protect everyone around you. The same reason why you chose your apprentices. The same reason…why you chose to continue down this pathway." He said.
"Ash? Is everything alright?" Blake asked as she, the love group and Team STRQ showed up with Yang carrying Ruby in her arms.
"Just a lot to take in. As for him, he will need to be taken back to Hoenn." Ash said while looking back at Max's body.
"I still can't believe that he would do such a thing to himself." Amber said while inspecting the body.
Meanwhile, Xedrek was calling in the Snipers.
"Take your best squads around Remnant and find that army Max told us about. Do what you wish to any Heartless and Grimm that are stragglers, but I don't want any traces left behind, your locations being exposed and no casualties. Don't pick any unnecessary fights, do this as a reconnaissance mission only. Fight if necessary and retreat if you need to. Rendezvous with me on top of one of the towers at Beacon for a full briefing of what is coming. Go!" Xedrek commanded them.
"By your command my liege." One of them spoke before they disappeared.
"Xedrek?" Ash asked.
"My Nobodies will be traveling the world looking for that army. It won't take long since they can teleport anywhere. Not to mention that they are snipers and they are known for seeing things from a far distance." Xedrek explained.
"I hope they find that army. This is getting worse by the day. I can only imagine how big it really is." Glynda said.
"Whatever the case, I think I've pretty much put all of us here in danger. I say after my match tomorrow, we make ready for an emergency evacuation. The civilians and the Pokémon that are unable to combat against this threat will need to be removed." Ash suggested.
Ozpin approached them with a serious look in his eyes, which were shedding a couple tears.
"I agree. Now that the truth is out, I fear that I may no longer be eligible to continue to be the headmaster." Ozpin said out of the blue. Everyone looked at him with shock.
"Ozpin?" Glynda asked. He just shook his head at her.
"It's Ozma now. There's no point in hiding it anymore. I've done nothing but lie to all of you of whom and what I really am. I never exaggerated when I told Ms. Rose that I made more mistakes then any man, woman and child on this planet. After this year, I am resigning my position." Ozma said in shame.
"NO! You can't do this to us Professor! This isn't fair! Don't let this be your ultimate downfall." Coco said with anger.
"She's right. None of us are mad at you. You are one of the greatest headmasters of them all. We all look up to you." Weiss said.
"That's enough." Ash said while gaining their attentions. "We can sort this out later. For now, let's all get some rest and make full preparations for tomorrow. I'll leave Max with a few people to be taken back to Hoenn. As for myself, I'll need to some time to prepare. All of you….your actions tonight will not go unnoticed. This is what a true Hunter is meant to do. Thank you all for your protections. You all have earned my respects." He finished.
"Just doing what we do best." Summer said before hugging him.
As everyone left to get some rest, Ash collected Max and handed him to a few officials. Xedrek tagged along with him in hoping to retrieve his coat back.
"Will you please take him to Petalburg City in Hoenn? Tell the gym leader and his wife…I'm so sorry." Ash said while handing him to them.
"We'll take him from here." One of them said.
"Xedrek!" Melanie and Militia yelled out to him as they were running towards them.
"Right…excuse me Ash." He said before collecting his coat and went with the twins and walking off with them. Meanwhile, Ash went to take his Pokémon to the Pokémon Center to get some rest, and send the rest he collected to Orre so that Professor Krane can purify the last remaining Shadow Pokemon. He then left to return to Team RWBY's dorm.
When he exited a portal, he saw that his mother and Miette were already there. The rest of the love group and Team STRQ were there caring for Ruby as they laid her on Weiss's bed and watched over her. Manaphy was laying down next to her.
"Mom? What's going on?" He asked.
"Ash, Miette, will you two give us a moment? I need to talk to them about something." Delia said to then.
"Uh…sure. Come on Miette. Let's head for my dorm." He said while taking her hand. She chuckled and they left. Delia turned back to them with a bit of disgust.
"Now then…how well do you know my son?" She asked. They each took it in turns to tell her about their experience with Ash so far, and how they bonded over time. "Well, I can see you know…almost everything of my son." She said.
"Yep. We learn something new about him practically each week." Weiss said.
"Well it seems that either he never told you one big thing about himself, or he did tell you but you all chose to ignore it." Delia said as her anger grew.
"Delia? What are you talking about?" Summer asked.
Delia took a deep breath before looking back at them.
"Ash…HE DOESN'T LIKE FIGHTING!" She shouted at them.
"STRAWBERRY COOKIES!" Ruby screamed as she, as well as Manaphy, bolted awake from Delia's shouting. Everyone was now looking at the human reaper turned Faunus. "Who…what? Where am I?" She asked.
"Ruby! You're okay!" Yang yelled while hugging her sister.
"Hey Yang. Ugh, what's with all the shouting and why do I feel so weird?" She asked while rubbing her head. She gasped as she felt her new ears. She also felt something on her tailbone. She slowly looked over and saw the tail with fright.
"Ruby…don't freak out." Blake said.
Ruby was doing her absolute best to not scream. She then looked at a mirror and saw her wolf ears. She gasped loudly at the sight of them. Just then, she twitched one of them and moved her tail.
"AAAAAHHHHHHHHH! I TURNED INTO A FAUNUS!" She squealed in happiness. Her tail was wagging faster from it and she chuckled as she did.
"Ow my ears." Blake and Velvet mumbled while covering their ears.
"Wait a minute. I thought that Faunus usually have one trait. How is it that you have two?" Emerald asked.
"I don't know, but I love it!" Ruby said happily.
"Now that I'm thinking about it, she did say that ever since Manaphy did that Heart Swap on her and Blake that she wanted to be one. I guess…jokes on Salem." Weiss said.
"Anyway Delia, what do you mean he doesn't like fighting?" Glynda asked.
"Over ten years ago, he had gotten into his very first fistfight with a bully. From what I had gathered from their teachers and staff at school, he kept beating the bully up despite proving his point. It took the strength of several to pull him back and to try to calm him down. The bully was hospitalized, and my son was very lucky he didn't get suspended, let alone expelled. Ever since he realized that, he feared of him getting into another fight. We believe that something snapped within him and it caused him to go out of control." Delia answered.
They all fell silent from those words.
"But…he's been more in control of himself since he arrived here. He's going through meditations, and regular classes here. He never mentioned it to us." Ruby said.
"I don't know why he didn't tell you this, but if I didn't know any better, you all forced him here." She assumed.
"You're wrong. He came to us all on his own. We discovered him and his Pokémon in the Emerald Forest, and we just-""Enough." Delia interrupted Blake.
"No!" Ash yelled. Delia gasped and she saw her son leaning on the door frame with Miette behind him.
"Ash? Wha-""You really think that I would just be left in the dark like this? No. After my training on Mt. Silver, I was tasked to come here by Arceus himself. I am the Chosen One, and I was destined to protect this world from Salem's forces." Ash spoke over her.
"Don't you remember what we told you about this place when I first met you?" Blake asked.
"Yes, but I thought it was for becoming Pokémon Rangers. But this!? This is something worst. I refused to let my son be involved in this." Delia said.
"Oh I've been involved with worst things than this. But that's not the point. Let me ask you this then. Do you know the real reason I left Pallet Town all those years ago?" He asked. Delia slightly shook her head. "It's because I wanted to know what happened to my father. You never spoke of him, and the only things I know is that I look like him, and his blood runs through my veins. I was hoping to find him and ask him why he left." He answered.
"I doubt you'll ever find him." Delia began to yell at him.
"What are you talking about!?" He yelled back.
"YOUR FATHER IS DEAD!" She screamed at the top of her lungs. Just then, she gasped and covered her mouth and everyone's eyes widen.
Ash's stomach twisted, his heart shrank, and his blood felt cold. It was as if he was about to be sick and time all around him seemed to have stopped.
"What…?" He asked.
"You weren't supposed to know that." She whimpered as tears were forming in her eyes.
Ash looked down at the ground with the same feeling until he fell onto the ground and began shedding tears himself. Neo immediately held him and did everything in her power to calm him. Manaphy quickly joined her and refused to let go.
"My…my true purpose of finding my father…was all for nothing? I've been going on a wild goose chase from the start?" He choked.
"Of course you weren't sweetie. Your father would've been beyond proud of you for how far you've come. The reason why I didn't say anything was because I feared you would never become the Pokémon trainer you are today all because of this." Delia answered while also holding Ash.
She knew that Ash wouldn't recover from this quickly as he will never truly meet his father face to face. His dreams of finding and meeting him crumbled away and disappeared. In short, he felt lost.
Meanwhile on top of one of the towers, Xedrek was just looking out towards the horizon with so much on his mind after his explanation to the twins. They were not satisfied with what they heard and chose to leave him, despite the fact that he can regain his feeling for feelings once he had accomplished everything else.
Just then, his Sniper scouts appeared around them.
"What have you learned?" He asked softly.
"My liege, the army has been spotted in the northeast of Vacuo. Their numbers are increasing. Our army will be alerted immediately after our report to you." One of them said.
"Good. I've already had enough for one day. I'll alert General Ironwood and Ash about this as soon as I can. For now, be ready for anything." He said while turning towards them.
Back with Ash, he, Neo and Emerald returned to his dorm after finally getting through to his mother that he will still remain here, with a little help with the ones that helped him.
Neo used her semblance to transform her clothing into a onesie that matched her eyes and hair, and Emerald went to go change in the bathroom. Ash just sat on his bed while looking down while still trying to process all that has happened. Ash went to change after Emerald was done.
"Neo, I've never been this worried for him. What can we do?" She asked the mute. She just shook her head showing that she didn't know. That's when Emerald had a bit of an idea. She went to her bag and pulled out a brooch. "I know what I can do. I'll continue to be close to him no matter how far I'll be." She concluded while placing it back in her bag.
When Ash came out and lay down on the bed, Neo and Emerald joined him.
"Why…why is it always me?" He asked.
"Babe, please stop. You know that this will only make matters worse. Now please, try to get some sleep." Emerald begged.
Ash sighed and tried to sleep, but with all that has happened it was almost impossible to sleep.
"Can you give me a hand?" He asked. Emerald got up and summoned Emerald Thorn and aimed it at him. "You know the spell, right"? He asked.
She nodded before saying, "Sleepga!" A burst of purple light shot out of her Keyblade and hit him. He fell asleep immediately. Emerald dismissed her Keyblade and the two girls held him and slept.
With so many things that were revealed, Ash was now questioning how thing were going to end. The army of Grimm, Heartless and the White Fang were coming and they're so many lives in danger. It was decided that after his and Cinder's match, an emergency evacuation was to commence. The time was coming closer to put him to the ultimate test: to see if he was indeed the guardian and the Chosen One that will save this world from the wrath of Salem and Ragnarok. Will he prevail, or will the world be served on a silver platter for Salem to enjoy? Find out more as the ultimate battle between Ash and Cinder finally comes next time as the story continues.
Alright, and that is it! Things are getting more intense here. But now, the championship match is finally up next! Hallelujah!
As for Ruby's transformation, a very close friend of mine, who is a big RWBY fan, told me that there was supposedly a documentary saying that Ruby was originally meant to be a wolf Faunus. Honestly…I can agree to this. She is allured to Little Red Riding Hood, and what else is in the story? The wolf in grandma's clothing of course. This was a big misopportunity, but oh well I didn't create the series. As for why she has ears and tail, I don't remember which trait she had so BAM! I decided to give her both.
Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, which was mostly just filler, but next time we are ready to rock and roll. Ash Ketchum vs. Cinder Fall. TheD-Rock900 is signing off, see you all next time!