Chapter 15
Ichigo yelled, "Getsuga Tensho!" He turned his hands around his body in a 180 degrees swing, with both his blades releasing energy as it hit the group of nobodies.
All the enemies were gone from view. Now, Ichigo was standing there, looking grim as the dust from the blast disappeared.
"They ran away!" he cursed. There was no reiatsu trail to follow, and Ichigo stomped on the ground in anger as Byakuya, King Mickey, and Yourichi approached him.
"Calm dow, Ichigo," said Yourichi. "You beat them. They will be back, but they can't do anything against you. Your powers are beyond-"
"They hid their true powers, Yourichi," interjected a tense Byakuya. "If it took a "bankai" from me to stop them all, then we should have had no problems to begin with."
"You used bankai, dummy!" she yelled. "You said-"
"When I used it, did you see the blades?"
She stopped, looking surprised. "No..."
"So stop yelling and listen more."
"Whatever," muttered Ichigo. "Anyways, does this mean that Soul Society is back to us?"
"Almost," replied King Mickey. "We have to make sure that this place is clean. We also need to find the other captains."
"That's great and all," started Ichigo, "but-"
"Already with the "buts", huh?"
Mayuri came from nowhere, scaring Ichigo and King Mickey. The mouse jumped behind Ichigo, who looked terrified at the captain. The other two looked bored with the odd captain.
"I was in the area when I heard you." He smiled. "I can't believe it! A shinigami with keyblades! It's the most impossible combination that happened! Well, we can talk about this later."
Ichigo looked anxious. Any other time he would talk to the captain, there would be problems that he would encounter. The captain was a true scientist, one that is beyond the scariest man ever. "What do you need me for?" he gulped.
"Don't do that. Actually, you would be interested to know of a interesting object in my office. I found it after taking care of my fake. I'll show it only to you."
"You can't expect us to let him go alone," said Yourichi. Byakuya and King Mickey looked tense until Ichigo stepped forward.
"I'll be fine," said Ichigo. "Guys, stay here and watch the place for me. I have to go and see what this is about."
The trio agreed, staying as Ichigo and Mayuri flash-stepped to the science lab. They entered it, staring at test tubes and computers.
"This is it, Ichigo. This item is something that you will recognize." He walked to a black stand and held his hand above it. A red and white ball approached upwards.
"A pokeball?" asked the startled Ichigo.
"Indeed." Mayuri showed it to him. "It came to this place a few days before you were attacked. I studied where this object would come from, but I needed a certain object from the Kuchiki shrine, which is located in a different dimension. For now, I won't say what it is, but by putting this object in front of the pokeball, I was able to detect the source of this object. It actually came from a paradox universe."
Ichigo's ears perked up. Mayuri showed Ichigo the item upside-down. "You see, this crisis triggered something different in the worlds. When your keyblade wielder friends faced problems, the worlds have not changed much. Even some of the worlds you have seen had some of its integrity intact. This mist does more than alter memories , Ichigo. It alters the characters and plots of one universe. Paradoxes sprout on its external surface. You may not ever encounter the original worlds because of the amount of alternate paradoxes that reside in the universes, but you affect it if you do something in the world."
Ichigo was dumbfounded. Going into universes and cleaning up messes was more than enough. He doesn't care about the paradoxes, but Mayuri's revelation implies that there is a original world being affected by people. It was mind-boggling to imagine how many paradoxes he would have to go through to even save just one universe.
Mayuri sensed his thoughts. "Don't worry. If you save one paradox, that universe is safe. Time is restored, and everyone will be fine. I think that it would be a shame that I don't get to research this speculation, though there is plenty more to see. Anyways, keep this pokeball with you."
Bored with talking, Mayuri threw the pokeball to Ichigo. He caught it, suddenly feeling something existing inside of it. A flash of light engulfed him, and he disappeared.
Mayuri looked shocked. "What just happened?" he stammered. "Nemu! Get the soul detector!"
His assistant came out, holding a device in her palms. "Master, it seems that he is near a tower. He isn't alone, however."
Meanwhile, Ichigo looked in his hands. "Who are you?" he asked.
"I am...a friend." The being resembled a green dragon with red lips and a yellow design around him, the pokemon Raquaza. "I respect you for saving universes. I need to take back my universe from evil as well. What that scientist doesn't realize is that this is a different pokeball. It can store up to six pokemon-a item created from one of the humans."
"Wait, what happened?" asked Ichigo.
"I can explain." A red-blue creature appeared from behind Ichigo. He recognized it as Deoxys. "We were forced inside the item by demons and evil beings. This man saved us from harm by throwing us up in a portal to here. We can help you, Ichigo, but we need one favor."
"I will help you-"
"Not that way," interjected Raquaza. "See, we could care less about our paradox-we heard about it. You see, there is a mysterious, masked boy that did this to us. With our limited powers, we led you near his location. Prove to us that you can defeat this boy, and we will trust your strength, and the other four will appear."
Ichigo nodded, then stopped. "Wait...which world is this?"
"It looks like a tower," said Deoxys. "I see the boy talking in hubris. He is pointing his blade at two warriors."
"WHO?!"
"Whoa, calm down..." started Raquaza.
"Oh crap," muttered Deoxys, "It's his friends..."
Meanwhile, the masked boy was staring at Chad and Uryuu.
"You kids cannot beat me," he laughed. "The rebirth of Vanitas was inevitable. You have no idea of the power I even possess!"
Chad and Uryuu were scared. The barrier was bypassed, which was obvious from the start. This kid radiated power. None of them have trained much, and not even Master Merlin could beat him.
In two blows, Vanitas beat them. Orihime, Kairi, and Master Merlin ran forward. "Dark pulse!" Darkness slammed around him, repelling everyone back. "Time for me to take hostages, then."
He ran forward, ready to take Orihime first. He was close-
A figure appeared in front of Vanitas. Vanitas caught a glimpse of the figure's hand as it flicked towards his direction. Suddenly, Vanitas flew over five hundred feet across the ground, hitting plenty of rocks before creating a crater on the ground.
"Don't harm others unless you intend to be harmed."
"Ichigo!" cried a happy Orihime. Chad and Uryuu, still alive from the attacks, stared at their friend as he stared down Vanitas.
The boy cursed. "How did you come here so fast?!"
"You pissed off many," replied Ichigo, "But you were foolish enough to think that you were hidden?"
Vanitas looked at Ichigo, hatred forming in his eyes behind the mask. The soul reaper was able to flick him, injuring him without much thought. "How are you this powerful? You shouldn't be this powerful! You are a lower being than me!"
"You are beyond nothing. Hubris is your game. You got caught up to it, and you cannot even fight against me. Give up!"
Vanitas roared, and charged at Ichigo. "Dark blast!" A dark energy ball soared towards the man, but Ichigo put his hand up, blocking it. "Dark ventures!" He slammed his blade to the ground, triggering energy beams to go towards Ichigo. Annoyed, he blocked all of them and teleported near Vanitas. Ichigo punched him, breaking the mask and burying it to his face.
The boy fell, making another crater near him. When he got up, everyone was shocked, "Sora?!"
"No," grinned Vanitas, "This face is the result of him. I am the result of the darkness of Ventus, one of the three missing keyblade wielders. Sora's heart is connected to Ventus, so my looks come from him. My mission is incomplete for now, but I will be back soon."
He stumbled back and tried to open a portal, but gasped as nothing appeared near him. "So it seems that the barrier prevents escape," muttered Master Merlin. "We have no choice but to interrogate this man-"
A heavy presence was sensed. A old man appeared, to the shock of everyone.
"Master Xheanort! Why are you here?" cried Vanitas.
"You cannot win right now," replied the old keyblade master. "Keyblade wielders can bypass these barriers with ease. If we were to attack now, however, we won't win here. As for you-" he stared in delight at Ichigo, who looked at him with blank eyes. "Another keyblade wielder? It does not matter. I have my collection complete. All I need to do is set the battlefield. Soon..."
Both beings disappeared in a portal. Orihime began healing Uryuu and Chad, while another portal appeared. Master Yen Sid came out, looking worried. "Is everyone alright?" he asked.
"We are alright because of him!" squealed Kairi, pointing at Ichigo. He looked uneasy from Xheanort's words.
"I'm afraid that you will have to go see Sora, Ichigo," said Yen Sid. "I sent King Mickey over there. I think that there is a key to a problem in our hands. King Mickey will explain when you see Sora."
"Alright, sir." Ichigo created a portal and was about to go in when Yen Sid quickly called him.
"Wait! Before you go, he will also initiate the Keyblade Mastery Exam." Kairi and Master Merlin looked shocked at the mention of a serious trial. Ichigo decided to ask about it later, and ran past the portal.
"Well done." Raquaza was impressed. "You have exceeded your expectations. Accept this power, Ichigo..."
Ichigo was again engulfed in light. His body was covered with pure light, transforming into new armor.
He stepped forward.