Before we get started, I need to address something to you all…WINTER IS NOT A PART OF THE HAREM! Haaaaa…..I think I'm okay. Had to get that out of my system. Anyway, on with the chapter.
Everyone began waking up and they saw the beautiful sunlight shining. Blake looked outside from the horizon and smiled a bit. She was a bit calmed knowing that Ash is okay.
She looked towards a pair of clothing waiting for her on a chair nearby. She looked towards them and was actually amazed by its appearance despite the fact that it's Atlesian. She collected the clothes and went to the bathroom.
After she changed, she met up with Weiss with a new look as well. Her hair was in a braid and she looked more of a princess.
"Melo!" Meloetta yelled while seeing Blake and flew around them.
"Morning Blake. How did you sleep?" Weiss asked.
"Great. Hey Weiss, I need a favor." Blake said.
"Of course. What can I help with?" Weiss asked.
"Just a small favor. And also…I'm sorry I lashed out last night. I'll make it up to you." Blake said while holding her hand, to for which she happily held.
"I'm sorry too. Now tell me about this favor." Weiss said as they were walking down the hallways of the manor.
Meanwhile, everyone else was meeting up at the dining room for breakfast.
"Morning Neo." Emerald said as Neo was by her.
"Morning Emerald." Neo said back.
It took everyone a few seconds to realize that she spoke that they all froze and slowly looked back at her.
"Um…Neo? Did you say something?" Emerald asked as she was actually panicking a bit.
"Hello!" Neo yelled.
"HOW!?" Emerald asked very loudly.
"It's…kinda strange how it happened." Neo said before explaining to them all about what has happened last night.
"Wow! You have such a beautiful voice." Ruby said.
"Thank you!" Neo said in a singing tone.
"By the way, has anyone seen Blake or Weiss anywhere?" Yang asked.
"They are at the other side of the manor. Blake needed a favor from her." Crystal said as she and everyone else was getting ready for breakfast.
Just when they were being served breakfast, Jacques and Whitley arrived.
"Morning honey. Where is Weiss?" He asked.
"She's with one of her friends. They'll be with us shortly." Crystal said before kissing his cheek.
"Why are they here?" Whitley asked.
"We offered them a place to stay for the night due to recent events that had transpired yesterday and last night. What of Ash?" Jacques asked everyone else. Everyone was silent when he asked. "What happened?" He asked.
"It's…kind of a complicated story. Long story short, Ash is in critical condition due to fighting off the most dangerous Grimm that attacked Vale with a massive army. He lost a whole arm, and he's barely alive while getting emergency treatment at the Atlas Emergency Military Hospital." Emerald explained while Ruby and Yang refused to tell about it.
"Oh dear. Well I hope for a quick recovery." Crystal said with worry.
"Everyone!" Weiss called out from the doorway. Everyone just looked towards her with confusion. "Be prepared for a major change." Weiss said while stepping aside and Blake revealed herself to everyone.
Everyone gasped, especially Ruby and Yang, as Blake's hair was now barely up to shoulder length.
If you haven't figured it out by now, Team RWBY is now in their Volume 7 appearance.
"Oh Blakey! What happened?" Yang asked loudly while running to her and stroked Blake's hair.
"Relax, it's just a new look. You should try it." Blake said while holding her wrist.
"Blake, please tell me it isn't because of depression?" Glynda asked. Blake showed a sign that it was a little bit of depression. "Blake…we could've talked about this."
"Well I think you look great Blake." Velvet said. Blake hugged her bunny friend and purred.
As they were eating, Weiss contacted Winter of what they have learned on how to free Ash from that darkness that was plaguing his body. Winter will inform Ironwood and the medics at the hospital.
Shortly after they ate, they were picked up by Winter's ship and they were making their way to get to Ash. Upon arrival, they saw Ash still in a life support. Winter stood by Ash and just looked at him quietly.
"Alright girls, you know what to do." Ruby said when they summoned their Keyblades.
They aimed them at him and a ball of light formed at the tip of the blades. The balls then fired off a beam and they hit Ash. The darkness began to evaporate from his body. After a little bit, Ash has been completely cleansed.
Meanwhile, many medics that were analyzing him were seeing the darkness being removed.
"I don't know what they did, but he's completely clean. At least the healing process will be much easier now." One of them said.
Meanwhile with the others, they Keyblade apprentices dismissed their Keyblades feeling accomplished.
Suddenly, a portal opened up and the off world Keyblade wielders arrived to check up on Ash.
"Ash! He looks great." Sora said while they looked towards him.
"He actually spoke to us in our dreams last night to tell us to do this." Ruby said.
"I guess that's one way to reach him." Kairi said while holding Sora's arm.
"So, what are you guy's doing here?" Blake asked.
"What does it look like? To see Ash. Got it memorized? I had to use sheer willpower to wake up to see him." Axel said while scratching his head.
"Hey Axel, you were once a Nobody right? You think Xedrek will be recompleted anytime soon?" Sora asked.
"It just depends if his Heartless was destroyed and his heart was freed. As far as I could tell from personal experience, it could take days, maybe weeks to be recompleted. After all, I woke up in Ansem the Wise's lab and I don't know how long I was unconscious." Axel explained.
"I hope Derek is okay. Terra and I know him rather personally. He really is a great person and a great apprentice to Zachuria." Aqua said.
Meanwhile, Winter left and pulled out her scroll.
"Colonel, get me your best mechanics. Tell them I have a couple of projects for them." Winter said.
"Understood." The Colonel said.
After a little while as everyone was visiting Ash, Yang took them all back to Vale. The off world Keyblade wielders decided to go with them and to see what they can do to tend to the survivors and the kingdom. Team RWBY, Emerald, Amber and Neo stuck together and went off to the Xiao Long residence while everyone else of the love group decided to go their separate ways for the time being to recover and to be with their families. Yang was able to get in contact with Miette about what has happened, and she will make the proper arrangements to visit him as soon as possible. Miette remained in Kalos to be safe. Glynda returned to Beacon to tend to the students and staff.
When Glynda returned, she headed up to Ozma's office, only to see it completely deserted. She then saw his cane lying on his desk. She slowly picked it up and held it close to her chest realizing that he was dead. Little did she know however that he was brought back to life, and was living the rest of his life with Salem.
Over a week went by and everyone was almost fully recovered from the war, while many lost friends and families lives and were making peace for them all to live in happiness in a better place. Emerald, unfortunately, had to be on the down low for a while since word got out that she was once in leagued with Salem.
Ash's condition was announced to the world that he was in a healing coma, but it was still unknown when he will wake up. Fortunately, his body was strong enough to have only a single life support on him as he recovered. He was secretly taken to the Xiao Long residence so he can be with the people that he could trust. Blake watched over him time and time again into hopping that he will wake up soon.
Meanwhile during that time span in a far off mansion outside of Atlas, Watts has just finished up with Cinder's eye and sent it off to be delivered to her. He didn't realize however that Cinder had fallen was out in hiding. He sat on his chair right in front of a fireplace having some wine.
He then raised his glass at a portrait of his past companions that he worked with and said, "For picking up the pieces and to our grace." He then took a sip and looked back at the fire. "What is it?" Watts asked as he heard someone enter his chambers.
It was a man in a military uniform. He was a member of the Atlesian Air Force and was Watts personal Lieutenant.
"Lieutenant Hawk reporting in. Sir, We have figured out how Queen Salem was defeated." Hawk said. Watts froze from those words.
"What!?" He asked as he quickly stood up and glared at him.
"We have satellite footage of it happening." Hawk said while pulling out his scroll and showed Watts said footage of Kingdom Hearts breaking through the darkness. He zoomed in and refocused the images as they watched as Salem was indeed being destroyed.
Watts couldn't believe it. He just sat back down and drank the rest of his wine in one gulp.
"Anyway, were there any other survivors?" He asked as he recollected himself.
"It is unknown, but we believe that Cinder might still be out there. Hazel has been arrested, Adam and Tyrian have been killed, and most of the traitors of Ash were either been arrested, killed or fled." Hawk answered.
"And Ash himself?" Watts asked.
"It is confirmed that he is still alive, but he is in a healing coma. He's too secured at Atlas." Hawk answered once again. Watts was in deep thought for a moment. "Is everything alright sir?" He asked.
"Just processing that fact the immortal was defeated. How though?" He asked to himself. He quickly assumed that it had something to do with the Keyblade, which would make sense as it can do so much incredible magic that Salem would do anything to get her hands on it.
But then, it hit him.
"Lieutenant, prepare my ship. This time we do this my way." Watts said.
"Your way sir?" Hawk asked.
"That's right Lieutenant. I had this plan ready to go for some time now. I've been waiting for years and years for this moment. It is time…to take control of the government and have EVERYONE turn on him." Watts explained.
"Your plane is already fully fueled and is ready to depart. What is your plan of destination?" He asked.
"The Kingdom of Vale of course. We'll start there and break the politicians one by one, then convince the others to fight by my side. Soon, the Grand Council will be under my foot and the four kingdoms will be under my jurisdiction." Watts said as they were leaving.
"With pleasure." Hawk said as he joined him to tell his colleagues to prepare his ship.
Back at the Xiao Long residence one night, Blake continued to watch over Ash while everyone was getting ready for bed. She helped bathe him and making proper adjustments for him to get him comfortable. She barely did anything else unfortunately.
Yang then came into the room in her sleepwear and sat by Blake.
"Blakey, you must come along now. There's nothing else that can be done for him tonight. No one is gonna get him." Yang said.
"I'll sleep here next to him like I always have. And besides, you know me Yang." Blake insisted.
Yang just sighed at her and shook her head.
"You're starting to remind me of that day months ago from the docks, and when you talked badly about Ash when we were having that girl talk. Just try to get some sleep, for Ash's sake. Maybe tomorrow morning, you and I can get some training in. You could use it." Yang suggested.
"You know what you're right, you're right. Maybe a little bit of training will ease my nerves a bit in the morning." Blake said before she got up, kissed Ash on the cheek and left.
Meanwhile on a far off world at a place called Traverse Town, a man laid on the ground bearing a battle garment and long armored boots stretching up to his thighs. He had long frizzy hair and wore a twilight colored bracelet and necklace each having a crown as a decoration on them.
Inside his subconscious, the man just stood there looking down with a blank stare. He slowly looked up and his blank ocean blue eyes looked towards a crystal heart that was hovering in the air moving towards him. The heart entered his chest, and he felt the emotions returned to him and for the first time in years, he felt a smile forming.
"Derek!" A voice rang out and the man named Derek looked towards where it came from. It was an orb of light coming towards him
"That voice…is that?" Derek asked at first until the orb took on a form of Xedrek. "It is you! I may not actually know you, but I felt like I've known you all this time." He said as Xedrek approached him.
"Derek, this could've been the other way around. I'm nothing more but a wondering soul that needs to return home. Once I return to you, you will have my memories. You must return to Remnant. There your newfound friends will be waiting." Xedrek explained to him.
"Yes, but where will you go?" Derek asked.
"Simple…you're heart." He said before he turned back into the orb and shot into his heart.
Derek held both his heart and his head as memories were pouring into his head. It felt like his head was about to split open with all these old and new memories were being put into him.
When it finally died down, the last thing Derek was remembering from Xedrek was, "A place to call home." Derek whispered. He smiled as he gripped his heart where Xedrek now resided in. "Rest up Xedrek. You've earned it." He said.
Finally, he regained conscious and he looked around at where he was at. He then raised his left hand out and for the first time in a long time, his old Keyblade had been summoned.
Keyblade Analysis
Twilight's Embrace
A standard size Keyblade that is embodied both the light and the darkness. It is passed down onto one who harnesses the power of both to be used as a weapon and a shield.
Primary Effect: Boost the power of all Magic base attacks
Secondary Effect(s): Ups the power of all Dark and Fairy type moves in the user's current party.
Attack Power: +3
Magic Power: +5
He then fired off a beam of light and created a portal for him to go through. He went through it and it immediately closed.
He then emerged from another portal back to Vale. He had to shield his eyes for a moment due to it being day time. He looked around and saw that he was nearby the Xiao Long residence. He looked towards it from a distance, and he was debating whether he should approach it or not.
Suddenly, Zwei was running towards him and barked happily at him. He was jumping up his leg begging for some attention.
"Easy there little buddy." Derek said while kneeling down and rubbing him.
"Zwei! Stop with the barking!" Yang yelled out while walking towards them. "HUH!?" Yang shouted in fright at the sight of who was playing with Zwei.
Derek slowly stood up and the two of them looked at each other. Yang slowly approached him and cupped one of his cheeks.
"Are you…?" She asked.
"Hello Yang." Derek said with a half-smile that was all too familiar to her.
"DEREK!" Yang screamed and she hugged him tight and Derek didn't hesitate to hug her back. Zwei happily barked while running around them. They hugged for a good minute until Yang pulled back while trying to fight off tears. "Welcome back." Yang whimpered a bit.
"Feels good to be whole again. I can easily assume that you all have won?" He asked.
"We sure did, but let's just say that we apprentices of Ash are trying to get something out of our minds for what Salem did to us." Yang explained.
"I won't ask. Anyway, where is he?" He asked.
"He's inside, but….he's not exactly looking the best." She said as she took his wrist and they went inside.
When they went inside, they saw Raven walk behind a corner and saw Derek standing right there. She quickly ran to him and hugged him. As she hugged him, she tightened her grip on him as she sobbed a bit.
"Mom?" Yang asked.
"Raven?" Derek asked. Raven pulled back and her eyes were glossy.
"I was so devastated when Xedrek died. But seeing you here…it's like you're back from the dead. I felt like such a mother to you." Raven admitted.
"I knew how much he helped you and your family. It just seems rather different coming from me though." Derek said.
"What's all the commotion down here?" Weiss's voice spoke nearby. They turned to the heiress and she saw Derek. She ran to him and hugged him. "I missed you so much." Weiss said before pulling back and held his hands.
"Despite the fact that this is technically the first time we met, I'll give it a pass this time." Derek said.
"Anyway, I'm gonna go check up on Ash. Care to join us?" Weiss asked.
"Of course. I've been looking forward to meeting him." He said.
They made their way upstairs and they entered the room where Ash rested at. Blake was tending to him.
"Hey Blake! We have company." Yang said.
Blake looked towards Derek and her eyes shrank with shock. She then remembered him saying that if Derek was here, he would open his arms up to her instantly.
"Derek? Is it really you?" Blake asked as she got in front of him.
"Yeah. Strange, your hair was much longer since Xedrek last saw you." Derek said while gently stroking her hair.
Blake hugged him and purred as she rubbed her head on his chest. Derek held her and rubbed her back.
Derek then looked towards Ash and was petrified of his condition. He let go of Blake and inspected him.
"How bad is he?" He asked.
"He's in a healing coma. I've been checking up on his aura, but it's still critically low. With all of these ratings, who knows when he'll wake up?" Blake asked.
"Not with what I've got." He said as he took his Keyblade and fired a beam of light at the ground. From the light, a treasure chest emerged and he opened it, hoping it was still full. "Yes! Everything is still here." He said with joy as he took out an old book and blew on it, getting rid of the dust.
"What is that?" Raven asked.
"It's an old Moogle synthesis recipe book. This contains knowledge of how to create special items like healing potions, antidotes, and more." He said as he opened it up.
Everyone was looking at the weird textures and languages that were used to make it.
"How can you read that chicken scratch?" Yang asked.
"When you do a lot of traveling with your master to many locations for years, you tend to learn some things. In my case, I've learned more than you can possibly imagine. I've learned many languages, cultures, you name it." Derek said while rummaging through the pages until…"IT'S HERE!" He shouted with happiness.
"GUYS! WE'RE HOME!" Ruby's voice echoed downstairs.
"We're upstairs with Ash and someone that's gonna help him!" Yang called out.
Meanwhile while Ruby, Amber, Neo, Emerald and Tai returned from their shopping and coming upstairs to see what was going on. Derek was getting out all the necessary ingredients. Once he had what he needed, he double checked and rechecked.
He had a Megalixir, a Power, Blazing, Frost, and Thunder Crystal and Dark Matter laid in a circular formation with the Megalixir in the middle. He began to wave his arms around them and lights began to intertwine with each other. He waved the lights around that formed into many lines, shapes until finally a bright golden shaped star was floating just above his hand.
"Behold, the Megalixir+. This special item is, in a way, near forbidden. However, given the way how things are now, this is a bit of an exception." He said.
"How is it near forbidden?" Emerald asked.
"Unlike the Elixir that you lot are familiar with, the Megalixir+ restores not only health and stamina, but also ones aura. It's capable of bringing one back form the dead. It's not a pretty sight to see, so our council forbade it. As for Ash's situation, it will indeed restore his aura, but the process of doing it is very, very comprehensive if not done properly." Derek explained.
"Meaning…?" Weiss asked.
"If his body has too much aura, it will not only overtax his body, but it would cause a chain reaction that could cause an explosion of aura. It will take very steady hands and timing to properly restore him. Henceforth, I will need to have all of you to step outside while I do this." Derek said.
"I won't leave him." Blake said.
"Rest easy Blake. Once I'm done, you all will be let back in. I just need absolute concentration." Derek insisted.
"It's okay Blake. I'm sure it won't take him long." Emerald said.
"Do what you need to do Derek. Dad needs some help anyway." Yang said as she and the others left the room.
Blake continued to stay there, looking rather worried.
"Blake, I promise you Ash will be awake within a matter of minutes." Derek ensured her.
Blake approached Derek and placed both hands on his chest.
"Be gentle with him." She said before she left.
Derek looked at Ash and approached him. He pulled the sheets back and his chest was revealed. He then placed the Megalixir+ right onto his chest and slowly pressed it onto him. A bright light radiated from Ash as it was working its magic on him. It was so bright that the light shone through the door.
Blake watched as it was happening. She was getting a bit paranoid of what was happening, but she knew that Ash was being tended to.
"Hey Blake! I'm surprised that you actually left." Ruby said as she joined her.
"Derek insisted, but he's doing what must be done." Blake said while they continued to watch the light.
With Derek, the Megalixir+ was about a third used and the light was still shining bright. He was grunting while he was still using the magical item on him.
Meanwhile with Ash in the Hall of Origin, he was noticing that his spirit form was now starting to fade away.
"Lord Arceus! It looks like this is it. My body must be getting a massive boost in strength." Ash said.
"I agree. I pray that the next time we meet; it will be under different circumstances. Farewell for now, and live peacefully on Remnant." Arceus said. Ash nodded before closing his eyes and he faded away.
Back with Derek, he continued to insert the Megalixir+ into him until finally he started to channel electricity. He quickly pulled away and Ash was now radiating aura all around him. He waited for a moment for the aura to die down. There was only a little bit of the item left, so he put it away for the time being and let everyone in.
Blake and Ruby were on separate sides of the bed. Everyone else ran inside and gathered around.
"Any moment now." Derek said with excitement. They waited for a good minute until finally at long last Ash's eyes stuttered and opened. "He lives!" Derek yelled.
"ASH!" Everyone shouted in happiness seeing Ash finally wake up. They all hugged him gently so they didn't stress out his body.
"Ugh…I never thought that coming back into my body would be this crazy. Also, why can't I feel my arm?" He asked as he was helped to sit up.
"Well…" Ruby said while trying to say but couldn't.
Ash then looked down and saw his body without said arm. He was now getting horrified and it was growing.
"YAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Ash screamed before fallen backwards before trying to process all that has happened.
"Ow my ears." Blake and Ruby whispered while easing the ringing.
Suddenly, Zwei started barking and jumped onto Ash's bed and started licking him playfully.
"Zwei! Hey boy!" Ash said while playing with him.
Blake backed away from Zwei due to her phobia of dogs. But then, she looked towards Derek, who just stood there in the corner while everyone was greeting Ash to his return to the land of the living. She then ran to him and hugged him.
"Derek, you're just the best. Thank you." She purred while gently rubbing her head on his chest.
"Just one of the things that needed to be set right. By the way, does anyone know where Xedrek's Pokémon are?" Derek asked.
"The twins have them. We gave them to them for safe keeping." Weiss said.
"Cool!" Derek said with glee.
"Derek, I don't think we've technically met." Ash said as he was able to stand up with the aid of Neo and Amber.
"It is a pleasure to meet you at long last. I best be off, I have some Pokémon and a pair of twins to catch up." Derek said as he was leaving.
"Stop!" Ruby growled at him. Derek did just that and slowly turned towards her. "You're not going anywhere. You and I have some unfinished business." She finished.
"Okay….what?" Derek asked.
"Long story short, Xedrek's sacrifice accidentally killed off Qrow. She blames you for all of it." Emerald said.
Derek gasped at those words.
"I…I'm so sorry. I'm sure he didn't mean for any of that to happen." Derek said with sorrow.
"Mom did say that Qrow's semblance was gonna be the death of him since it brought misfortune." Yang said.
"I take it he was a father figure to you two?" He asked her.
"Mostly for Ruby, but yes." Yang answered.
"You wouldn't believe how much damage it caused to the city, his sacrifice." Neo said. Ash smiled at her knowing that her voice not only suited her, but how beautiful it sounded.
Suddenly, they heard the sound of Ruby summoning Grim Reaper with anger.
"Ruby, don't do it!" Ash yelled.
"This is personal." She growled.
Derek then summoned Twilight's Embrace and twirled it a bit.
"Put it down Ruby. I don't want to fight you." Derek said with a bit of fright.
"I'll make you pay for what you did to Qrow." She said.
"RUBY ROSE STOP!" Summer's voice boomed nearby, causing Ruby to freeze with fright. Summer entered the room. "Put! It! Down!" She demanded.
Derek dismissed his Keyblade and was leaving. Most of the rest went after him while Ruby and Summer stayed put. When they got outside, Ash got to him and held his shoulder.
"Hey, don't take it personal. I'm sure everyone is trying to help her to move on." Ash said.
"She does, in a way, have every right to hate me. After all, I did cause the Heartless to come here in the first place. It was a big mistake that I didn't realize until it was too late. It's a long story, but I'll explain later." Derek said before continuing.
Suddenly, the door burst open and Ruby used her speed semblance to strike at Derek. He took noticed of this and quickly summoned his Keyblade and stopped the attack.
"RUBY! STOP IT!" Summer screamed out in anger, but Ruby was not responding.
Derek barely put up a fight and just continued to block her attacks. Just then, Ruby attempted to go for the neck, but Derek just caught it like it was nothing.
"Is this supposed to be for revenge? Because if it is, you're sloppy." Derek said before he shot a spell at her gut and sent her backwards. Ruby screamed and her eyes glowed. "Oh…" Derek said with fright before Ruby's silver eye attack engulfed him.
Everyone shielded their eyes when the attack exploded out of Ruby. After it died out, they saw Derek standing there shielding his eyes and looking away from them. He then shot his head back at Ruby with rage and his eyes were radiating twilight energy.
"Uh oh…I don't suppose you have any ways of talking this out ri-YAAHH!" Ruby screamed as she was hit by a powerful lightning spell Derek shot at her.
After he fired that attack, he then fell to his knees in pain as the attack crippled him.
"RUBY! THAT'S ENOUGH!" Ash shouted. Ruby then pulled out Crescent Rose and prepared to fire at him. "RUBY, STOP IT OR WE'RE THROUGH!" Ash shouted before thinking of what he just said.
Ruby's eyes shrank and her heart stopped as she stopped dead in her tracks. Everyone else also froze from what Ash just said. Ruby slowly lowered her weapon as her emotions were almost getting unstable.
"W-what?" She whimpered as tears were building in her eyes.
"Ruby I…I don't know where that came from. I didn't mean to say that." Ash was saying quickly while walking towards her. He began to regret every bit of what he just said.
Just as he held her, Ruby shattered and cried uncontrollably. All but Derek ran to her and tried to comfort her. Derek slowly got up as the pain eased and just looked at her with pity.
"I'll…leave you guys alone. I have a pair of twins to track down." Derek said before creating a portal.
"Derek…please wait a moment." Raven said as she approached him and held a hand. Derek looked at her. "Be safe for me okay? If you need a place to stay, we can provide you shelter." She said.
"Alright. And Raven." Derek said before Raven could pull away.
"Yes?" She asked.
"This may sound kinda strange but…you've been in a way like a mother I never had. I was only raised by my adopted father." Derek answered.
Raven gasped a bit from that. She then smiled and they shared a hug. She then pulled back a bit and, for the first time, she kissed the top of his head.
"Be careful." Raven said. Derek nodded before entering the portal. She watched as the portal closed and he was gone.
Meanwhile, Ruby continued to cry after what she had just heard. Losing Ash to a coma was bad enough as it was, but this was beyond comprehensive for her. She now feared that she would lose Ash, but for good.
"Ash, don't ever say that again! I-hic-need you." Ruby cried. Ash held her tighter and gently stroked her head.
"I'm so sorry Ruby. I just wanted the fight to end. It was pointless. By the way, love the new looks." He said to Team RWBY.
"Thanks." They said.
A portal opened up just outside the newly constructed Junior's Club. He looked at it and smiled a bit. He entered the place, and indeed, people were having fun inside.
"HE-HEY! If it isn't the one that aided us in the fight. I thought you were killed." Junior yelled in happiness as Derek sat down at the bar table.
"It's…kind of a long story how it really happened. But in a way, Xedrek did die, but he's safe with me now." Derek said.
"How about a light soda for your troubles?" Junior asked.
"Actually, I'm looking for the twins. Have you seen them?" Derek asked.
Junior froze for a moment. He looked around a bit to see if anyone needed him.
"Come with me to the back, we have something to talk about." Junior insisted. He and Derek then went behind the scenes of the club to a place where they can have some quiet time. "The girls haven't been the same ever since that night. They haven't been showing up lately, constantly saying about how much they missed Xedrek. I think they've pretty much fallen into depression." Junior explained.
Derek gasped a bit. He really did bring a lot of pain to the people around him on Remnant.
"Where can I find them?" Derek asked.
"They're here at the club in their private room upstairs. I can take you to them, but they won't let me in." Junior said. He agreed and he took him upstairs where their room was at. Derek knew that they worked here, but he didn't know that they lived here.
They stopped just outside their room.
"This is it?" He asked.
"Yes. This is as far as I can take you. From here on out, you're on your own. Good luck." Junior said before walking off.
Derek looked at the door for a moment or two, and then he gently knocked on it.
"Go away! We want nothing to do with anything right now!" One of the twins yelled from the other side.
The Derek had an idea and smiled a bit.
"The next time we meet, you will see me as a better person, one with a heart!" Derek yelled.
There was silence for a short moment until he heard the door locks began to unlock and Derek took a few steps back. The door slowly opened and Militia looked at him with a shocked look on her face.
"Those words…" Militia was saying before she slowly walked towards him and cupped his cheek. "Are you…him?" She asked.
"Surprise. The name's Derek." Derek said with a very familiar half smile.
Finally, Militia broke. She jumped onto him and wrapped her arms and legs around him tight and cried into his neck. Derek hugged her and rocked her a bit as she continued to cry.
She slowly pulled back and her bright green glossy eyes met his ocean blue. She then planted her lips onto his, causing Derek to gasp a bit at what was happening. Her lips tasted like cherries. Militia slowly opened her eyes and saw his expression. She pulled back and smiled.
"Come on inside, Melanie would want to see you." She whispered.
"Right." He said as he put her down and they entered. He saw Melanie lying on her bed looking down at a book. "Hey Melanie. Surprise." Derek said.
Melanie looked at him and screamed with happiness. She also jumped onto him and hugged him tight. She pulled back and kissed him too. She tasted like mints. Derek had that same expression on his face. This time around Militia took noticed and was a bit confused.
Melanie pulled away and saw it too.
"Derek, you never kissed a girl before?" Militia asked.
"I know that Xedrek, in a way, has but not me." He admitted sheepishly.
The girls looked at each other for a moment and smiled. They looked at him and held him.
"We'll teach you, but first we have some Pokémon for you." Melanie said.
"Let's head outside. I'm sure everyone will want to meet me." Derek said.
The twins agreed and they headed outside. Along the way, they met up with Junior and he was very happy to see them happy and cheerful once again.
The twins then handed Derek the different varieties of Poke Balls and Derek sent out the entirety of the team. Geronimo gotten closer to him and sniffed him for a moment.
"Hey boy." Derek said to him.
Suddenly, Geronimo was the first to jump him and licked him playfully. Soon enough, all of his Pokémon jumped onto him and welcomed him back. Even Darkrai was showing happiness that he was back.
"Hey you!" Coco's voiced echoed nearby. Everyone looked at her as she and her team was walking towards them. Coco got in front of him and lowered her aviators. "You just destroyed my favorite clothing store here in Vale you douche." She growled at him.
"Wait a minute please. What else was Xedrek supposed to do?" He asked. Coco growled and her handbag, to which she named Gianduja, was twirling in her hand. "Now Coco, don't look at me that way!" Derek was saying in fear as he was backing away.
"I'm gonna make you pay for this." She said.
"HELP!" Derek shouted as she began to attack him. The twins did their best to vend her off, but they were shot back.
"COCO! STOP!" Fox shouted.
"This isn't worth it." Yatsuhashi said.
Coco then caught up to Derek and put him in a headlock, causing him to start choking.
"You got anything else stupid to say now asshole?" She asked.
"Ash…ack is…awake." Derek choked.
Hearing that, Coco dropped him while a being shocked. He gasped and started coughing.
"What? He's awake?" Coco asked. Suddenly, Darkrai appeared next to her, causing her to scream in fright.
"Dark Void!" It growled as it shot a ball of darkness at her, causing her to fall into a slumber and began to have a nightmare.
"COCO!" Velvet screamed in fright as she and the rest of the team ran to her.
Derek then pulled out a Chesto Berry.
"Here, give this to her." He said as he tossed it to Yatsuhashi.
He caught it and shoved it down Coco's throat.
"Come on, wake up!" Yatsuhashi said. They gathered around her until she bolted away and gasped loudly. "Thank goodness." He said.
"ASH IS IN DANGER!" Coco shouted.
Derek went to her and knelt to her.
"What vision did you see?" He asked.
"Wouldn't you like to know? Now stay away from us." Coco yelled as she got up and even shoved him away.
Derek just watched as her team walked by, with Velvet and Fox giving him a helping hand up. He also saw the twins injured on the ground and he quickly healed them.
"What's her problem?" They asked.
"It seems everyone has a grudge with me for what has happened. I can't blame them though. Even I can't forgive myself. Perhaps I should just go until at least this whole ordeal has passed." Derek said before leaving.
"NO WAY!" They shouted as they ran to him and grabbed him. "We do this together." They stated.
"Maybe you're right. I guess I could stay at the club for a bit then." He said before they headed back to the club.
Derek knew that there were still some things that he needed to take care of, but with everything that has been happening, he may as well lay low for a little bit. As for Coco's vision, what did she see, and how will it affect everyone? Find out more next time as the story continues.
Well this was surely not the best way for anyone to have happen when they wake up from a coma. Anyway, thank you guys so much for reading. I'm actually kinda amazed at myself that this was done ahead of schedule. Next time around…a blast from the past. TheD-Rock900 is signing off, see you guys next time.