Aoi Hyoudou: Thank you for your continued support. I am pleased that the story has retained its popularity. I noticed that some of you enjoy the interactions between Ash, Kat, and Raven, and are hoping to see them together. Let's proceed with the next chapter for now and we'll decide later.

VIII

Middleton, USA - I

The recognizable scenery of a vast black space filled with asteroid rocks and bright stars leads us to believe that Ash has resumed his journey after bidding farewell to Kat and Syd. As the young Keyblade wielder traveled through space, he encountered another bumpy ride. Navigating at almost light speed through gravitational pulls was challenging, and he had to keep his eyes peeled for lurking dangers. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, his high-tech visor detected a world with a community of houses, a high school building, and a flagpole. The name of the potential destination flashed on his visor: Middleton. Although the name seemed random, it piqued his interest, and he set his course towards Middleton at full speed ahead.

Middleton

After landing safely and without causing a commotion, Ash found himself walking through the quiet streets of a suburban town. At first glance, everything appeared normal, but there was something a little off about the town's appearance. It seemed almost cartoonish, reminiscent of something you might see on TV. However, Ash pushed the thought aside and continued exploring the area. As he reached the end of a street corner, he noticed a restaurant with a sizeable Sombrero-shaped roof that caught his attention. Something about it made him feel uneasy as if he could sense danger emanating from it. As he approached the building, the double doors suddenly burst open and a crowd of panicked locals came pouring out, their screams echoing through the streets as they ran in a frenzy. "Monsters, run!" As the startled teen stood there, someone ran past him and yelled.

Ash regained his composure and quickly sprang into action as he entered Bueno Nacho, running past the crowd. Upon entering, the Keyblade wielder scanned the lobby, searching for any signs of trouble. He eventually spotted a frightened teenager with freckles, messy blonde hair, and dressed in a long-sleeved navy blue mock-turtleneck shirt under a short-sleeved red jersey, light brown cargo pants, and white sneakers. Clutched in the teen's hands was a small pink creature that resembled a naked mole rat, equally scared. The two were cornered by Shadows, which looked off with their Heartless design similar to the suburban town's cartoonish appearance. Speaking of which, Ash also noticed that he looked a bit cartoonish with the rest of them, but he immediately pushed aside this new discovery and remained focused on the situation at hand.

Sensing someone in the lobby, the teen glanced past monsters and fixed his gaze on Ash. A sigh of hope washed over him. "Hey, dude!" His sudden cry for help drew the attention of the Heartless, who fixed their glowing gaze on the Keyblade wielder. "A little help here, please! I'm too young to die!" His pet mole rat nodded, too, not in agreement but in concern for its own safety.

Sighing, Ash had no choice but to help after the victim spoiled his opportunity to take the Heartless by surprise. He quickly summoned his Oathkeeper, which appeared in his grip in the blink of an eye. Then he charged forward, engaging in battle with the Shadows. The Middleton local and his pet watched in awe as their savior fended off the black monsters with ease, displaying some awesome moves. Several Shadows were hurled into the air after the Oathkeeper made direct contact with just one swing from its wielder. Ash finished each one with a chain of combo strikes and one powerful lunge attack, making them disappear in defeat. Soon, he turned his attention to the remaining Heartless. He dived down and stabbed at one of them, which let out a screeching hiss before dissolving into nothingness. He twirled his Keyblade and fired a set of Fira spells at the Shadows, who lunged at him. They ate the fireballs in the face before disappearing.

Ash carefully surveyed the lobby area once again, making sure that no Heartless were lurking around. Once he was confident that the area was safe, he dismissed his Keyblade with a sigh of relief and turned his attention to the freckled teen to see if he was okay. However, as he turned to look, he was startled to see the same local and his pet staring at him, their eyes shining with inspiration. "Dude! That was amazing! It was like, whoosh! And take this!" Ash blinked as the freckled teen mimicked his fighting noises, and the pink rodent copied on his shoulder.

"Oh, uh, thanks?" Ash replied awkwardly, unsure of what to say as he watched the duo still attempting to recreate the scene, a big sweat drop sliding down his face.

The freckled teenager was rambling about something to the Keyblade wielder, leaving him speechless about what he was even talking about. "Sorry, it was just cool to see that! I mean, if Kim were here, she would have done the same thing, but it would have been less cool unless she had one of those swords that you have." He suddenly stopped his rambling when he realized that they hadn't introduced themselves yet. "Oh, sorry. I'm Ron. Ron Stoppable!" The freckled teen finally introduced and held his naked pet in his palms. "And this here is Rufus! Say hi, buddy!" The pink rodent understood its assignment and waved its tiny hand at their savior, which put a smile on his face.

"I'm Ash. Ash Ketchum." Ron paused to cup his chin deeply, pondering if the name sounded familiar.

"Hm, Ash...Ash." As Ash watched Ron struggle to think, another sweat drop slid down his face. Even Rufus mimicked Ron's behavior. After a while, Ron gave up. "Nope. It doesn't ring a bell."

Ash laughed nervously. "I figured as much..."

"Say..." Ron suggested that they all have lunch together in an effort to lighten the mood. "Before Kim arrives, would you like to have lunch with me as a thank you for helping us out earlier, Ash?" Rufus eagerly agreed, licking its front buckteeth and drooling.

Ash happily accepted the kind offer with a cheerful chuckle. "Sure."

Drakken's Caribbean Lair

On top of a massive hill on an island stood a villainous base belonging to the infamous Doctor Drakken. He was a genius robotics inventor and engineer Kim Possible considered her arch-nemesis. Drakken was a self-proclaimed mad scientist who dreamed of world domination, but Team Possible constantly thwarted his efforts. In the computer room of his base, a woman with a slender and curvaceous build, waist-length black hair, piercing green eyes, pale skin, and black lips was relaxing in her chair. She was wearing a green and black catsuit with an asymmetrical harlequin-dazzle pattern, with one glove and one boot of each color, and a green utility pouch strapped to her lower left leg that seals along the green flap. Shego was engrossed in reading a Middleton's teen fashion magazine, enjoying her peace and quiet until a familiar obnoxious and angry voice called out to her, disturbing her reading time.

"Shego!" Shego flinched but continued to read her magazine, turning the next page and ignoring her boss' voice. The doctor's voice grew louder, reaching her boiling point as she turned another page. "Shego! Just look for once and see what I have!" When she refused to look, the mad scientist raised his voice, annoyed by his henchwoman's disobedience. "Shego!"

"What!" Shego snatched the teen magazine from her face and glared at the doctor with an angry twitching eyebrow. As she focused her fiery gaze on the blue-skinned doctor, she noticed her boss holding a cage containing a hissing Shadow. "Oh, great. You caught one of those creepy things that were lurking around the base," she said in a disinterested tone. "Are you planning to keep it as a pet now?" she asked sarcastically before returning to reading her magazine.

"Don't be a fool, Shego!" Drakken ignored the woman's sarcasm and proudly held up the captured Heartless. "This here is a Heartless!"

"Woo." An unenthusiastic, sarcastic cheer escaped the woman's lips as she ignored Drakken's ramblings. She knew that whatever plan he had cooked up with the Heartless he had captured was bound to fail.

Drakken grew impatient with his henchwoman, shooting her a sharp glare before continuing his explanation. "It's the darkness that manifests within a human's heart," he said. However, Shego remained uninterested in his words.

"And?"

Drakken snapped angrily and then regained his composure. "And with endless possibilities, we can finally get rid of Kim Possible and her sidekick once and for all!" he declared, catching the interest of his henchwoman. She turned away from her reading and focused on the arrogant genius.

"How so?" Shego was met with an evil chuckle from Drakken.

"In time, Shego, in time," he said cryptically, keeping his plan secret. "I have already built a mechanical machine that I will soon unleash, and not even 'all-that' Kim Possible will be able to defeat it!" Shego rolled her green eyes at the doctor. How many times had she heard that before? She knew this diabolical plan would be another failure, but she humored the blue-skinned doctor and went along with it.

"And you-" Drakken said, bringing the cage close to his blue, scarred face and exchanging a stare with the hostile Shadow, "-my little friend will be the key." Another chuckle escaped his lips, but it was cut short when the Shadow lunged at him through its prison, scaring the mad scientist. "Ah!"

Shego's lips twisted in a small smile, and she chuckled. "Good Heartless."

Middleton - Bueno Nacho

"Um um ummmm~!" Ron was relishing his meal - gobbling down a burrito, several tacos, and a serving of cheesy nachos along with a large soft drink. Meanwhile, Rufus was also enjoying its meal. It lounged inside the tray of nachos, nibbling on the chips while licking the cheesy sauce off its paws. Ash sat across the table, feeling a sense of disbelief as he watched the duo hungrily snacking on their food.

He couldn't help but think to himself. 'Here I thought I had bad table manners...' A bead of sweat trickled down the back of his head.

Ash and Ron were sitting in the restaurant when they suddenly heard the double doors burst open. They turned their heads and saw a young teenage girl with large green eyes and long red/orange hair. She was wearing a green tank top that exposed her midriff, blue 3/4-length capri jeans, and plain white canvas tennis shoes. She looked panicked and scanned the restaurant. She had heard that monsters were attacking Bueno Nacho, where Ron was hanging out, and became worried about him. She quickly ran over to Ron's table, shouting his name as her footsteps echoed in the quiet lobby. "Ron!"

"Oh, hey KP!" Ron greeted his childhood friend by waving at her as she approached him. "What's up?" He ignored her worried concerns and acted as if everything was normal.

"I'm so glad you're okay," she exclaimed with relief. "Wade called me and said strange black shadow monsters were attacking Bueno Nacho!" She looked around and saw nothing out of the ordinary. She wondered if her child genius friend was losing his mind when he called her, and asked, "Speaking of black shadow monsters, where are they?"

"Oh, that? Psssstttt!" Ron dismissed the Heartless incident as if it was no big deal. "That was ages ago. Ash was the one who took care of them." The crime fighter was left speechless as she fixed her eyes on Ash when Ron brought up that he was the one who defeated the monsters. "You should have been here, KP! Ash was awesome! He fought those creepy shadows like a superhero in the movies!" Ron's wild explanation, while sounding crazy, was actually true.

"I see..." Kim didn't want to accuse Ron of lying, but she didn't seem convinced that someone like Ash would show up and easily defeat monsters. She needed a reliable witness to confirm Ron's story. She turned to Rufus, who was almost asleep after eating its lunch. "Rufus, did that really happen?" Kim asked. Rufus slowly lifted its head and nodded before falling asleep again. "Well, if Rufus confirms it, then I have to believe you this time, Ron," Kim said with a sigh.

"Hey!" Ron was taken aback by the girl's statement. "What do you mean by 'this time'?"

"Thank you, Ash. Sorry if Ron caused you so much trouble." Kim thanked Ash for helping Ron and apologized for any trouble he caused.

"Hey!"

"No worries," Ash reassured Kim with a smile. "Ron was no trouble at all, although I could see why you think he would." He made a playful jab at Ron, causing the girl to giggle.

"Hey!"

Drakken's Caribbean Lair - Drakken's Workspace

Shego was lounging in her chair, flipping through a magazine targeted towards teenagers, while Drakken was putting the finishing touches on his latest project. His secret invention was intended to defeat Kim Possible finally. Drakken was shaping a few metal components and installing them into his machine with precision. Beside him, the hostile Shadow was in a cage, serving as a model for Drakken to ensure that his design was accurately described. After some time and some minor adjustments, Drakken completed his work. He removed his goggles and revealed a sinister smirk of satisfaction. "Finally, it's complete!" Wiping a few drops of sweat from his face, he bellowed in his typical, annoying, angry voice. "Shego!"

"What?" She lazily turned another page instead of fixing her gaze on her boss.

"Finally! At last! My latest invention is complete!" Drakken's gloating made Shego roll her eyes at his impulsive overconfidence as he continued to ramble. "This time, we will eliminate Kim Possible and that sidekick once and for all!"

"You always say that."

"Well, this time will be different!" He spoke with an annoyed tone, expressing his argument.

"You always say that, too!"

"Shego!"

"Well, it's true!" Shego was losing her patience with the conceited genius.

"Not until you lay your eyes on this!" Drakken could hear the excitement in his voice as he tried to get his henchwoman to look at his latest prized creation. However, Shego seemed to be completely engrossed in her magazine and refused to redirect her focus to his machine. It was clear that Drakken was getting annoyed with her lack of interest. "Shego!"

With a deep sigh of frustration, Shego reluctantly spared a glance over to Drakken's machine. Much to her dismay, a gigantic, mechanical, and terrifying-looking being in the form of Shadow stood there, its details so precise that it matched every feature of the real Shadow. The humanoid body structure, the round, spherical head, the two long, twisted antennae sprouted out of the top of its head, each of its hands with three clawed fingers, and its feet, which were large and lacked any discernible digits. The only difference was the additional feature that Drakken included in its original design, which gave it an even more intimidating presence - a massive, toothed maw. Shego couldn't help but secretly admire the design, even though she didn't want to admit it.

"Behold, Shego! The Heartless!" As soon as Drakken announced the name of his creation, the woman frowned, unimpressed by his lack of originality.

"Wow. How original," she replied sarcastically, causing the blue-skinned mad scientist to glare her way.

"That's not the point!" He snapped angrily, which caused Shego to roll her eyes before returning to her reading, ignoring the man's rambling as he continued. "With this, Kim Possible and her sidekick, whose name keeps escaping from my mind, will rule the day they interfere with Doctor Drakken. mwhahahaaha!" His evil yet obnoxious laughter echoed throughout the lair.

I never thought I'd choose Kim Possible as the next world. It was a popular cartoon show on the Disney Channel before it became too PG. I hope Ash and his friends are prepared for the upcoming threat in the next chapter. The Mecha-Shadow could prove to be a more formidable challenge for Ash than the Night Gale fight. Only time will tell.