Bound by Scales

by FrostTheWolf

13- Jumping through Hoops

Bound by Scales- Jumping through Hoops

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Point of View: Ken

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Okay, after yesterday with Connor and also the conversation with Brutalight involving Pinkis, I honestly thought that would be the end of all the current shenanigans I have to deal with. This did not include the dream with Coryena that involved the techniques that Caex told her to pass onto me since that was important, but everything else would still fit under the shenanigans category. However, throughout the time that Brutalight was showing me their past, all I could think of was just of the people I knew back home.

To start, there was my parents. However, I had not seen my mother in person for a long time. We’ve traded postcards and photographs by mail, but it just wasn’t the same as actually meeting someone face to face. Dad was a different story though that I had mentioned before. He was… an interesting character so to speak. He and I didn’t hang out a lot because of the work load that was placed on his shoulders, but when we did hang out, he tried his best to be humorous. I’m thankful for having him raise me to the person that I am now, but for a while, with mom being gone, it felt like the family was… incomplete.

There was one other person though besides them though that I felt that was a good friend to me when I was in school. His name was Aaron and he wasn’t like a lot of the others students I knew, who were just acquaintances to me. We both had a lot of common interests and soon, I gave him the nickname “Kilik” because of how he resembled the character on the anime, Soul Eater and it stuck with him. This guy saw education as an opportunity to get out of his urban neighborhood, which over the years have had reports of gang fights, gun violence and a lot of criminal activity. In the end, both he and I graduated from the same high school. The last I heard from him though was the day before my trip to Japan. Wishing for my safety.

I had been thinking of Aaron a lot since I got sent here. In a way, he saw me as family. He had been through a lot of tough times and had seen many of his friends and family get shot down for the most stupidest of reasons. I just don’t want him to end up with his name carved into a tombstone.

After I finished my thought process, I focused on getting myself changed. Needed something fresh for today while all of my other clothes are being washed and taken care of at Rarity’s Boutique. That would be one of the places to stop by later today, but as I walk out of my room and began to check on Brutalight, I saw Pinkis and Applejack walking towards the two of us. I greeted them, but seemed to notice that Pinkis looked a little… upset. After asking what was up though, Applejack told the two of something that caused the conversation to turn into an all out firestorm. All because of the events that happened the night before.

However, most of the rage from that said firestorm came from Brutalight. Hell, I knew that she was known as the element of wrath, but in this instance, she erupted like a volcano. Not just at Applejack, but also Rainbine too. It actually took them awhile in order to try and calm down because of the severity of this situation. But it was then I realized that I had to share the news with one other person.

Revaan. With Brutalight screaming her head off, she must’ve awoken him from his slumber… if he wasn’t already awake that is. With that fresh in my mind, I began to walk towards the barracks. There were two places that the onyx dragon would most likely be. The first would be his chambers, but that is for when he is asleep or doing something else. The other was the barracks, since it was where he taught AJ to control her powers and also for Spike to be able to defend himself from harm. If I was him right now, I would be in the barracks. He was an early riser like I was, but he wasn’t the kind of dragon to be sitting around in his room and not do anything.

Turns out, I was right. As soon as I went into the training grounds of the barracks, I found him there with a few different types of training dummies. Some I recognized from when he gave me a crash course on swordsmanship. “Well, I was mostly expecting Applejack to be coming around that corner… I’m going to assume that she’s not going to be training today?”

“Unfortunately yes,” I said to him, scratching the back of my head. “Something came up the other night.”

“Would it have to do with what you were doing in your room?” He then asked. Before I could even respond to him, the dragon interjected. “Don’t play dumb with me Ken. I know when you sleep in there with Applejack and Pinkis. I feel both pain whenever you’re hurt and also pleasure.”

“And that just answered almost every question I had.” I sighed, trying to erase the thought from my mind. But that was when Revaan spoke up again.

“So, what did happen?” He asked.

“Remember Pinkis?” I then asked him, and extended that point into talking about what scared her the most. From her friend Nizar said to me, Pinkis’ worst fear was hurting or eating loved ones because of her being a cannibal. This was the same case because if she were to have a child, she feared that it would be a monster, just like how she viewed herself. “Well, let’s say that when Applejack and her had some time to themselves… Pinkis now is pregnant with a foal.”

The dragon blinked for a minute, just staring at me. “But they are both mares. How exactly-?”

“Rainbine. She had a gadget that Pinkis was using the other night that allowed her to cast spells that involve a couple in the bedroom. Honestly, it sounds all complicated, but Brutalight said that anytime Rainbine makes a gadget, there’s always a glitch,” I explained the best I could while being discreet. “Now that glitch is the reason why Pinkis is going to be a mother. I told her that we would all support her like family, but I’m still worried that she would be scared half to death over the child.” After I explained to him about it, Revaan nodded his head in understanding as he looked at me. He told me that I made the right choice in supporting Pinkis and Applejack the best I could. But reminded me that it would also mean that there would be more responsibility on all of us now that we have three youngsters soon being born within a short timeframe.

“Now… on a different note,” The dragon said. “I sense that you have some new abilities. Did Coryena happen to teach them to you?”

“Well, you catch on quickly,” I said to him. “She taught me a few separate tricks involving my arm as well as some abilities that Caex gave her from when we last visited Connor.” With it. I curled my right hand in a fist and held it out in front of me, placing my open left hand on the side as I began to channel my energy. Soon, as I moved my open hand to the right, the blade took shape as I was now holding a weapon out of my own power. My own energy. My own magic.

“Well, that is a very strong sense of projection based magic,” Revaan complimented me as I nod my head.

“Yeah. It’s just as strong as an actual blade. But I can do more then that,” I said. The newfound circuits that represented the energy that I can control flowed through me as I repeated the simple command that Coryena taught me. “Trace… on.” The energy blade around me bow began to materialize into hardened steel, forming a sharp one handed blade that was easy to grip and control. Extending it a little more, I did the same thing with the other hand. Though, it took more of my energy to form two blades with my newfound skills rather that one.

“Projection and Strengthening magic. A very lethal combination,” Revaan spoke, looking at me. “However, I mean lethal to your opponents and you. You may be getting the hang of these abilities, but using too much is like a double edge sword. It’ll hurt you just as much as it’ll hurt your opponent.”

“I understand. Which is why I’m not going to be using these abilities just yet.” I explained to him. “I will be practicing with them yes, but I won’t be using them in an actual combat scenario until I’m sure that I can control it without any drawbacks. It’ll take time, but I will get there eventually.” It was around then when I felt another pulling sensation for being summoned. This time though, it came with a message.

“C’mon over Ken, I need your help with something!”

I looked back at Revaan and I was going to explain that someone was calling me, but all he did was nod his head. “You should go. I’ll be watching over the others while you’re gone and have a talk with Applejack.”

“Thanks big guy, I owe you one.” I smiled, exhaling a deep breath as I let the pulling of the void send me on my way to my next destination. It was strange really, because the presence felt familiar. Seriously, it was almost like when I met Zinnia a couple of months ago when Revaan and I found the temple. Maybe this Displaced knew her somehow? Guess I was going to find out for myself once I get there.

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Desolate Wasteland (The domain of rings)

Upon arriving in this new Equestria, I noticed a few things right away. First, the area that I was in resembled some kind of cave, but had furnishings like a bed, couch and a closet with a few other bits and pieces in different places. But the place felt barren and dry. As I looked around though, I heard a feminine like voice that caught my attention and had me turn around.

“Nice arm.”

From first glance, I wasn’t sure what to make heads or tails of it. For a minute, I thought it was suppose to be some kind of genie. But it did not have a lamp and there was no way that it could top Robin Williams when he did the Genie in Aladdin. God, I loved him when I was a kid. “And just when I thought meeting Zinnia was the tip of the iceberg.” I grumbled to myself, trying to get off the ground. “So… What’s up?”

“Well, certainly not you since you’re on the floor and all.” The being smirked as I got up. Humoring the remarks, I responded the best I could. Something on it looked familiar. I remembered seeing the rings on this creature’s horns before in Pokemon Alpha Sapphire, so maybe it was some sort of legendary pokemon that I was not familiar with.

“I meant how are you.” I first said, before following up with a simple question. “So… Pokemon Displaced?”

“Yeah,” She told me, even though I never have seen a Pokemon like that before whenever I played on my 3ds. “Though I’m the only living thing on the planet at the moment, I just need the Draco Plate then I can start making life around here.” Plates hunh? Sounds a little like Arceus if you ask me. Maybe if I ask a few more questions I can get some of the answers I’m looking for.

“I was just curious... I never saw a pokemon like yours before. Is it suppose to be some sort of legendary?” Even though her size was small, her power was not. I can feel it flowing throughout the room as I was speaking.

“Yeah, I’m a shiny Hoopa. It was in the newest movie I saw just before my displacement,” She told me before looking back at me again. I was never one for the Pokemon anime or movies, but I tried humoring it a little so I can understand her. “Really OP... Can summon and control other legendary pokemon easily.”

Well that sounded really cheap and overpowered. There had to be some sort of catch at some point.

“There aren’t any alive here TO summon though, but I can make bots.”

And there it is. “I see…” I exaggerated a little, nodding my head a little in understanding. “Though, I don’t think you want to be called Hoopa, so what’s your actual name?”

“Well, my name now is Itazura, but feel free to add chan to that, it means mischief in some other language.” Oh god, not the cliche anime name addressing thing. I already had enough idiots back home messing around and saying “Notice me, Senpai!” in order to give me an excruciating headache. However, one thing that I did know was the language in while Itazura was from.

“Japanese,” I replied to her. “I know a bit since my name means blade in japanese and my last name is draconic for courage. So, if you put it all together, it means “Blade of Courage”.” Yeah, I know that the origins for my name come from some weird places, but I honestly didn’t really care at this point.

“Well your name wasn’t foreshadowing your situation at all nooo totally not.” Itazura replied, grinning. At this point, given her name and also by the way she’s acting, I’m going to assume she’s a lot like Loki, the norse god of deception. Only time will tell though, that’s for sure.

As I got up, she scooted over on the couch as I took up a seat. “Hey, before we go hunting for that plate you’re looking for, I’m curious about one thing,” I said, looking back at her. “Before meeting me, have you met any other Displaced before me? Because I’m thinking that you’ve met some other before by the way you were acting casual when I landed in here.”

“Yeah I have, I’ve met some Chaotix displaced, I’ve met Vash, this Jason dude, and Zinnia.” I mentally had to slam the brakes at the point she mentioned Zinnia. With her being the person that she is, she would try to seduce everything in sight. Something tells me that she already tried that with Ita here, but it was too early to tell. So, all I did was try my best in order to follow up to that… respectfully of course.

“You met Zi? Heh, small world. I’ve heard of the other two because they have their own branch in Zi’s hoard, but never met them in person. She’s a good friend… who’s also quite… kinky at times.” Turning back to her, I now continued to speak as I looked directly at her this time. “Yeah, she made me the head of my own branch in her hoard after I let her use the dragon temple back in my world as the home of her hoard. Ken Ahkrin, head of the Kazoku family’s Chroma branch.”

“Itazura-chan, soon to be Goddess of this universe!” She said with a grin. If I am reading the signs that she is giving right, she’s trying to be playful with me. But honestly, I can’t assume immediately. But also, I wondered what she meant by goddess.

“Nice to meet you… Now, I was wondering something… Did Zinnia actually offer for you to join her hoard? I was just curious if she did so or not because at times, she distracts herself… a lot.” I said, now approaching part two of what I was going to say. “And define Goddess, I thought that either Celestia, Luna or Arceus would fit that role.”

“Well, she didn’t invite me to the hoard, but I don’t really mind. I’m sure I could probably just ask,” She replied to the first part of my question. “And Goddess as in since all three of those pony/pokemon are currently dead in my Equestria due to this place’s magic having been almost completely drained, I’m collecting Arceus’ plates to restore it, Goddess is just an added benefit.”

And that answered part two. “Ah okay, that makes sense…” I first said, thinking of something in my head as I looked back at her. She was leaning back on the couch in a relaxed position with a T-shirt on, but also was trying to be as human as possible with her given situation. She must’ve used her powers to conjure a pair of legs for herself while I was talking. Now though, I say what’s on my mind. You know… I can let you join her hoard as part of my branch if you are okay with that. Maybe after we find that plate and what not, I can show you where I’m from?”

It was when I looked at her again that I noticed something that I shouldn’t have seen in the first place. Despite Itazura here trying to be a lot like a human with the clothes she was wearing. The shirt was the only thing she was wearing. Good lord, Zinnia must’ve taught her the art of teasing because she was seriously messing with my head right now.

“Why’re ya blushing?” She asked, her tone being very innocent and curious. At this rate, she was either acting innocent or trying to act normal.

Clearing my throat, I spoke again, trying to be discreet. “Well, one you are kind of… cute like that… Two, your shirt’s rolling up.” Once that was said, I looked away for a second and tried to regain my thoughts. However, all that did was cause the Hoopa to continue acting the way she was. Being very naive about the situation… or acting naive to see what I would do.

“So?”

“Well… I don’t think it’s your intention to be showing me your privates if that is how you meet someone for the first time.” I said, trying to be discreet as possible.

“Doesn’t Zinny do that though?” Okay, she made a very good point at that and was really showing signs at this rate.

Now would be a good time to clarify something to her. “Trust me, I’ve had more than one encounter with her…” I said. However, her act didn’t seem to lighten up in the slightest… If this isn’t working, then maybe I should ask her directly. “Wait… are you… coming onto me?”

“What’s that?” Okay, I know for certain that she’s pulling the naive and innocent act at this rate. I guess being discreet is not working for me right now.

“Seriously? You are not getting any of the signs?” I asked, looking back at her as I followed up with my next question. “Let me ask you this then… Have you ever slept with anyone before?”

“I’ve slept with people when I had nightmares.” At this rate, I was going to continue and see where this lead up too. Because every time she spoke, I noticed that my arm would glow for a short second. But it was only in certain instances. So, based on this, my arm was working as a lie detector. After groaning for a minute and Itazura looking back at me with a confused expression once again, I decided to try to have her cut the act.

“ …… Okay, I know the playful act when I see one. You’re flashing your privates and you are acting all innocent when it comes to talking about sex. I know that you aren’t naive, but you are really trying to prove to me otherwise. Because my arm pulses every time someone or somepony lies.” At this rate, the Hoopa was still putting on the act, saying that she was subconsciously using one of her abilities named Magic Coat. Which to my understanding was a barrier against status conditions. However, my arm did not work like that, so she’s doing it for no purpose. I said to her that I just know the difference between the truth and a lie… not to mention that she smelled like a combination of different scents. One of them being Zinnia, confirming my suspicions from earlier.

“Would that have anything to do with the game me Zinn and Vash played a while ago when they were here?” Again, the djinn like pokemon was trying to make herself very convincing. At this rate, I should just not question it and just roll with it.

“Given Zinnia’s tendencies… I would say yes. Trust me on this one…” I said at first, followed up by a thought on my mind that might convince her to focus more on the task at hand involving the plate she was seeking. “Hey… if you are up for it… maybe we can play that game later after we get the plate you need.”

“Okay, that game was really fun!” She exclaimed. Keeping up the act. If Zinnia had decided to transplant her behaviors into this little one, I have a feeling that I’m going to have my hands full at this rate. Our conversation continued from that point onward, leading to her telling me where exactly the plate she was looking for was and also that something was guarding it. Before she took off out of her home and left me in the dust.

“Well, if she decided to pull off a Superman, then I can just pull off a Batman.” I thought, using the hookshot mechanic with my arm to keep up after her for a while. It was then though that she actually noticed that she was leaving me behind, apologizing profusely as she used another ability of hers to carry me. My guess was Psychic. Because from what I would think, she would keep one ability to protect her from status conditions and three for other attacks. One of them involving those rings on her horns if I was to take a guess. Still though, it meant that if we were facing off against other Pokemon like enemies, we need to be careful because of the move types that they would use against us.

It was then that the Djinn Pokemon remembered that she already collected the Sky Plate, which in turn allowed for her to use Fly to replace one of her current moves. I honestly didn’t think it worked like that, but hey… Different worlds meant different rules to follow.

It took a few minutes by flight to arrive at our destination. Which resembled an eroded cave that looked to be burned out on the outside. But once we entered the place, I could tell that something was different. It was… pulsing with life. I felt multiple lifeforms everywhere in this place, so I took necessary precautions as I went into my bag and pulled out both of my swords. “So, what’s the plan from here?”

“Well, all the pokemon you see in the temple are just bots, so just defeat them. It should be mostly pure dragon types.” Itazura told me. It made sense since we were looking for a dragon plate after all, so this should be in my element.

“Okay, let’s go.” I said, taking the first step forward as Ita floated next to me.

“We’ll probably fight some minion bots first, so just normals till we get to the boss legendary here,” She informed me. I nodded my head, scanning the room for any signs of enemies as I had Itazura float beside me.

“Watch my back, alright?” I asked her, trying to make sure that she would cover me and I would cover her. After she replied with a simple ok like Saitama in One Punch Man, I turned at the sound of a noise further down the hallway. Low and behold, it was a swarm of dragon type pokemon. “And here comes the welcoming committee.”

“Awww… they’re so low leveled!” She complained, pouting like a child. Which actually was a bit cute upon first glance. “You can fight ‘em, they can’t do anything to me.”

“Wait for it…” I told her, turning back around to see that most of the Pokemon that were charging at us were evolving. We now had a few Garchomps, Goodra’s, and a Salamence to fight along with everything else that was coming at us. “You just had to jinx it, did you?” All she did was grumble to herself, using one of her moves to hit the Salamence as I began to combat the Garchomps that were coming at her. It was easy for me to catch them by surprise, however, one of them slipped passed me through my blindspot, going towards Itazura.

“Behind you!” I shouted, only for her to turn around the second that a Garchomp hit her with a claw of pure shadows. Itazura retaliated and took care of the foe shortly afterwards as I had to deal with taking out the rest of the trash mobs that were coming at us. However, once the room was clear, I turned to my partner to see if she was okay. Using a Soul Shard I had to heal her and make a quick recovery.

Based on what she told me, she hated the whole type advantage system and then grumbled to herself again. As I was chuckling though, I turned to see a door to what looked like the Boss Room that the Hoopa mentioned previously. However, it had a lot of resemblance to the boss room doors that you would normally find in the Legend of Zelda games. Meaning that this door… needed a key.

After mentioning it to her, a slab of stone began to move, revealing a secret room with a key in the center… and two more Salamence guarding the damn thing. “And there’s a boss to the key… Zelda much?” I said, looking back at Itazura. “We don’t have time for this now, do we?”

“I got it.” She said, using Psychic once again to bash the dragon’s skulls together and to grab the key, proceeding to unlock the door with it. After the boss door opened, we walked inside slowly, only to have the door close behind us. There was an altar in the center of the room, with what looked like the Dragon Plate being in the center of it. However, I was feeling the presence of three others in the room besides us.

Taking precautions, I placed my hand in front of Ita, stopping her from going towards the plate. “Not yet… We got company… And this time… Three’s a crowd.”

“Ugh, is this who I think it is?” She asked. A loud roar soon went off shortly afterwards. One that I had heard before as it walked in through the left and it’s companions entered to the right of the room and in the center where the altar was.

“Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina… My, does this bring back the good old days.” I grinned. Itazura asked me if there was any allies that I would have wanted to summon here to help, but I passed on that since AJ was probably tired out and Revaan would cause the entire cave to crash down on us if I did call on him. Instead, I just put my blades away, unholstering Hawkmoon as I dodge rolled to the right. Avoiding an incoming Aura Sphere as I fired off a few rounds from the weapon that hit Dialga dead on. Trying to get closer, I used my other hand to channel the blade of energy that I had learned the day before and combine my shots with incoming slashes from that. However, Dialga had other plans.

Using a move that I could only recognize as Earth Power, the legendary Pokemon soon sent me flying backwards, only for me to charge another shot at it as I let out a roar and pulled the trigger. However, once the shot was fired, Dialga glared at me ominously as it’s eyes glowed. Everything around me began to slow to a complete standstill. However, I could still move. And so can Dialga.

It just stopped time, and I was on my own now. Putting Hawkmoon away, I refocused my energy into my blade. However, I stopped the second that I actually heard a voice.

“Easy there, traveler. I do not wish to harm you.”

That, in turn, caused me to look around in confusion. Who or what the hell was talking to me? It was then that I saw the Dialga in front of me disappear and a bright glow went off. Covering my eyes with my dragon eye, I was soon able to make out what had just arrived as the glow simmered down. Looking in front of me, my jaw almost dropped as I saw the Pokemon in front of me now.

It was Arceus. Well, what looked like an Arceus. But when I tried to touch it, my hand fell through it like it was a mirage.

“To whomever may be hearing this, you have just come to the dragon plate where I have left another message.”

“Message?” I asked. tilting my head a little and hoping that something will be said to clear things up.

“I have managed to foresee one thing about my… successor as God of this universe, and that is that she is very… young minded.”

“Go figure…” I mentally sighed, continuing to listen to the message that was being given.

“I ask of you who hears the message to make sure that she will be alright until her full ascension into Goddess-hood, this includes when she may travel the void.”

“Ascension?” I ask, hoping that this interactive message of sorts would provide some kind of answer to my response.

“When all of my plates are gathered by her, and she may travel the void with ease, she will get a… boost to say, in power. Jumping her to become a Goddess, I ask of you to make sure she lives to go through this, or this whole universe is doomed.”

Well, if the remains of a god is asking me to do this, then who am I to turn them down? After all, I was already seeing Ita as family, so it would be helping a family member. “I will make sure she is okay by then. I won’t let her down.”

“Thank you, listener.”

“No problem… Oh and just call me by my name. Ken is fine.” I replied, making sure that he got the name. It would be important for something such as Arceus to know the name of the one looking out for Itazura. The only hope this Universe has of thriving once again.

“Thank you Ken, farewell you will not be seeing me again...” It said, disappearing as time slowly began to return to normal. All I could say beforehand to myself was something simple before time flowed evenly again.

“Rest in peace, Arceus.”

When I snapped back to reality, I turned towards Itazura to find that the Palkia was facing had decided to pull a cheap move on her. Using one of it’s moves to strike her across the chest and tear her violet shirt to shreds. The Djinn Pokemon, in return, retaliated in anger while I went onto the altar to get the plate that was left unguarded. However, it was when I saw her attack that an aura of shadows could be seen around her.

That was the second time that I saw that today. With the first being when she was blindsided by that Garchomp earlier. “You alright? That’s Twice now that I’ve seen a shadowy aura around you when you react to being attacked.”

I just saw her nod her head a little as I handed the plate to her, adding on the fact that we should get her home quickly as possible. At first, I thought she would already have the psychic plate and know a way to teleport us there. But it was then that she introduced me to an ability that I saw was her trump card. Hyperspace Hole. A move that allowed her to warp through the rings that she had on her horns.

Well someone better pick up the phone… because I f***ing CALLED IT!!

After arriving back in her home and trying to rest up a bit, I used the chance to shower and clean myself up. I was working up a sweat from fighting all those dragon types earlier and I rather not have myself look like a mess when returning back to the temple with Itazura. But it was when I came back out of the shower and put my clothes back on that I found the Hoopa back in her room. Who was a little busy with something.

That something being putting on a dress that dropped down to the floor to make herself look flattering by appearance. “How do I look?” She asked as I walked a little closer.

“Quite beautiful, Lady Itazura.” I replied nicely before rubbing the top of her head a little where her horns were. However, what she told me next left me surprised.

“Hey, don’t mess with those!” She exclaimed, blushing a little as I looked back at her.

“Well, looks like someone is a little sensitive… Better make a mental note of that later.” I said, hoping that she didn’t hear the second part as I used my token to conjure a rift back to the temple. “Shall we?” I offered, holding out a hand for her to take as we both walked through the doorway back to the temple. Once we arrived, I noticed that the look on Ita’s face had changed… a lot.

She almost saw this place as if it was a fantasy. Only for it to be real.

It was during this though that I heard the sound of hooves and looked up to see a familiar face. “Welcome back Ken,” I heard Applejack say as her eyes shifted to the little Pokemon next to me. “Who’s this little cutie?”

“That is Itazura. And don’t let her appearance fool you. She is quite… mischievous.” I warned her, turning to notice that she was playing the childlike act again as she was hiding behind my leg.

“H-hi…” She said, shyly waving a bit. Oh god, was that cute.

Applejack herself smiled, giving her own introduction to her before turning to me and telling me that we had one other guest while I was away. I was about to ask who, but it was then that I heard a familiar voice that ambushed me from behind and began to cuddle me in doing so.

“I smell a Scalebound!”

“Hello to you too, Zi…” I said to her, looking at Itazura before glancing back over. “Could you loosen your grip? You startled Ita.”

By then though, all the Draconid did was burst into an all out fit of laughter after noticing the mischievous Hoopa hiding behind me. “So you met her, huh?” She asked, letting go of her grip as I turned to face her now. We talked for a little bit before AJ decided to go lay down and rest her head, because the headache with three Displaced in the same room was killing her. It was also then that she mentioned that she would be fine with having her in the hoard. However, I would have to, at one point, talk to her Displacer.

Zinnia though, had to leave shortly afterwards. Something about returning to her own family I believe. All that allowed me to do was give Itazura a grand tour of the temple and get to know her a little bit more before we exchanged tokens and she went on her way. Though, at one point in the conversation, the subject of family came up once again, making me think a bit about the people I knew back home.

And just… what if they were… somehow… in the same situation I was in?

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Point of View: ???

---

The air was cold and dense like almost every other day back in the broken down shack that I called home. But something about where I was made me think that I wasn’t in the place I had grown accustomed too for most of my life. When I was waking up, I didn’t even need my glasses on to tell that something was different. Hell, the only reason why I need my glasses is because I can’t see very far in front of me and I know that for a fact.

Anyways, back to where I was, when I was trying to prop myself off of the ground, I felt my hand make contact with something cold, only to look around and see the place I was in to be covered in a blanket of white as Snow was falling. Snow no less. For me living in the bad part of town that reeked of gangsters, punks, and hoodlums, I had never seen or felt real snow before. Only the ones on TV or the fake sh*t that they bring from Colorado to put a smile on a kid's face during the holiday season.

And my current choice of clothes were definitelty not suited for the mountains. It was freaking April back home! What the hell was going on?

Honestly, my first thought was that this whole thing was some kind of dream. But when I tried to fall asleep, a voice echoed in the back of my mind as I shot back upward. “Wakey Wakey” it said. Now though, things were beginning to come back to me as I recalled what lead up to this point. That was… until I heard the voice again.

“Over here.”

Looking up and turning around, I was now looking at the same person that I remembered from before. I had ran into him while trying to look into the disappearance of a friend, only for him to give me an offer. To know the whereabouts of one of my only friends. A friend that a lot of people back home presumed was either missing or dead. With that, there was something that I had to become in exchange.

A Meister. Something that I originally thought was impossible… until I met the guy that I was seeing now. Go figure…

“Lord Death.” I said, looking at the shinigami before looking all around me at the vast amount of white. “Where exactly am I?”

“Why, where your friend is of course… give or take fifty miles…” He said, looking back at me. “You can feel his soul and the wavelengths that the soul emits much like your own. So you shouldn’t really have a problem with finding him. However, there are two things that you need before you go on your journey.”

I raise an eyebrow. “And what exactly is that?”

“Well, first and foremost, there are your weapons.” It was now that I noticed two other figures walk up beside Lord Death. However, my first thought was more focused on their form rather than who they were.

“Seriously? Horses?” All that did for me was get a karate chop to the back of the head by the shinigami’s oversized hands as my face fell into the snow.

“Mind your manners! Go talking like that and you’ll get scolded by more than just me,” He snapped, before turning to the two… equines. “These here are Fire and Thunder. They’re your demon weapons and given the circumstances, they are in an equine form to fit in with the local population. Properly known as Ponykind.”

“Well, that explains that.” I said, pushing myself off of the ground as both of them trotted closer to me. I remembered that Fire and Thunder were a brother and sister pair of twins that were a set of gauntlets, but these two just looked cuter up close.

“Fire, thunder,” The shinigami addressed them. “This man here is your meister now. He will make sure to care of you and all three of you will make an excellent team. They are a good fit for you.”

“Thank you, Lord Death.”

“Don’t be thanking me just yet,” He said, tossing me something that I saw was a coat. “There’s still one last thing for you to know. As a meister, you must make sure to vanquish the Kishin that harm the souls of the living.”

“And for Fire and Thunder to become death weapons, they need 99 Kishin eggs and the soul of a witch?”

“Precisely…” He said, looking past me as I heard some rumbling in the distance. “In fact, here’s an opportunity for you right now.” Looking in the direction of the noise, I was now seeing a black mass of shadows that had demonic like eyes and fangs along with a curved red horn. It was staring all around the tundra we were in, with it’s gaze locked on to where we were.

“That is King Sombra… A tyrant of a ruler he was in life and now a vicious and savage monster he is now.” Lord Death informed us as he began to disappear into the storm behind me. “Happy hunting, Meister.” With a quick look at Fire and Thunder, they looked back in my direction, wondering about who I was to them.

“Are you two ready?” I asked.

“Yes mister...” They said, but couldn’t finish the sentence since I did not introduce myself. I chuckled, getting on their level as I put on the jacket that was given to me.

I told them my name, followed by them nodding their heads as I felt their soul wavelengths wrap around my hands as they took on their weapon forms. I was now staring down the Kishin with a bold declaration for the beast.

“King Sombra, your end has come… and your soul is mine!”

---

The frozen earth around the Crystal Empire began to shake violently as Shining Armor was beginning to check on his wife. The sounds of a familiar demonic scream echoing fresh through his head as he looked all around him. Something to him was not right as he raced to the barracks. His scarf flowing with the wind as he used his magic to grab the first weapon he could find.

“Sir!” One of the guardsman on duty addressed him. “We’ve been picking up some strange activity on the ravine miles from the city.”

“Is it the cause of the shockwaves?” Shining armor then asked in response.

“Possible. But we can’t make out what is going on.” The soldier responded, having the captain follow him to the walls of the city, preparing a pair of binoculars for him. What Shining Armor saw though… scared him.

It was Sombra. How the monster had returned, he was no longer sure. But he knew that if this was left unattended, the entire empire could be at risk. “Focus your efforts on protecting the civilians and Cadence. I’m going out there to investigate.”

---

I was on the edge of my feet, moving left and right as I threw a few more forward jabs and hitting the demonic tyrant. It screamed in pain, but still returned back to attacking me as I was on my toes.

As I shuffled backwards and dodged another few attack, I had Fire channel my next attack as I launched it towards the Kishin I was facing. “TRIPLE F!!” It struck head on, firing the opponent backwards. But I was not going to let him get up at this rate.

Launching forward, I struck dead on with a head on vertical strike with Thunder, only to get smacked backwards by the kishin. Damn, it felt like I was getting hit head on by a car. But I was not giving up just yet. It was too early to do that.

“Fire, thunder. You two okay?” I thought to myself.

“Yeah we are. Are you okay?” They asked me. I just smirked, wiping the blood away from my face.

“I’m just getting started. Though, I think this guy’s horn is the reason that he keeps himself together.” I said to them, taking up another stance. “If we break the horn, he’ll fall along with it.”

“How are we going to get that close though?” They asked. That was a good question actually. This guy was trying to knock me back and keep me away from him as far as possible. I’ve been hitting him with Fire and Thunder… but what if…?

That’s when it hit me. I needed to combine both if I were to get the strength. “I got it… Fire… Thunder… Are you two capable of combining your power?”

“What are you implying?” Fire asked me.

“Well, if you can combine your strength, we can execute Soul Resonance. And with that, we’ll have enough power in Apex Twin to get close to him and end this fight for good.” I explained. Shortly afterwards, both of them agreed with the plan I suggested. Preparing both hands, fire burned in my right hand while lightning crackles in my left. Putting both hands together, the energies merged into a powerful blue flame that crackles with both fire and lightning. I was feeling the wavelengths of our souls synchronize as I glared at the Kishin, bursting forth as I closed in on him.

“APEX TWIN!!”

---

As Shining Armor was racing towards where he saw the demon that once haunted the empire, a new shockwave almost blew him off of his hooves. Getting back on his feet, he now turned to see the massive dark king become no more, only leaving behind what looked like a small red egg.

However, what surprised him more was the being that destroyed the monster. It’s gauntlets now turned into what appeared to be two ponies as they looked at one another, before one of them consumed the egg like wisp that was drifting in the snow.

It was then that he felt like he had to do something. “Hey!”

---

I rose my head in the direction of the voice as I tore off my ruined coat. Fire and Thunder noticed the sound of the voice too as we now could see a white stallion with a scarf around it’s neck and a blue mane and tail-. Good lord, is that a tattoo? Why would he have a tattoo on his ass of all places!?

“Who are you?” He asked us. “What are you doing all the way out here in the Crystal Empire?”

“It would be polite for you to say who you are first before we introduce ourselves.” I said to him, causing Fire and Thunder to look back at me as the two of them stayed by my side.

“My name is Shining Armor, Captain of the Guard for the Crystal Empire.” Wow… that must be another way of saying Prince Shining if I ever heard of one. “Now, who are you?”

I smirked, pushing my glasses up. “My name is Aaron. But I prefer to go by Kilik. I’m a Meister and these two here are my companions, Fire and Thunder.”

“Kilik you say?” He asked. “Geez, and just when I thought Ken was a weird name.”

“Hang on,” I interjected. “Did you say Ken? As in Ken Ahkrin?”

“I believe so,” The Stallion replied. “Why do you ask?”

I took in a deep breath, trying my best to calm my excitement as I managed to speak again. “He’s my best friend.”

---

End Chapter 13

Author's Note:

The second chapter and this time, Ken meets Itazura. A displaced Hoopa from an alternate timeline in Zinnia's world. Enjoy... In addition, we get Ken's friend Aaron added into the Mix. Displaced as Kilik from Soul Eater

---

Ken's inventory:
-Combat Sword x2
-Recurve bow and Quiver
-Combat spear
-Hawkmoon

---

Token Collection

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-Zinnia's Curved Band
-Onyx Dragon Scale
-Homeworld Tri-Force
-Crystalline Stars
-Gray's Necklace
-Asphyxious' Emerald of souls
-Gregar's Navi Mark
-Insignia of the Captain (Edward Kenway)
-Wings of the Adept (Lance Walker)
-Golden Monkey coin (Sun Wukong)
-Rune Slayer's mark (Nicko)
-Dragon Soul (Deathwing)
-Connor's Cat's eye (Connor and Scratch)
-Itazura's Prison Bottle

---

After a lot of thought, I actually decided to expand and have it feel like Ken wasn't alone. It was hard to choose a fellow displaced, but I wanted to go with someone who was a brawler. I thought Kilik would be a perfect fit for Aaron. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
-Frost

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

If the main OCs that make up the cast were voiced, what would they sound like?

[FrostTheWolf]

6954331 I would think Ken as the voice that did Dante from DMC, while I would think a Dragonic Ozpin for Revaan

[SilentMech]

I am late to this party, but Unlimited Blade Works is the Trump card of Archer, Shiruo just imitated it until he is at Archer's level. That said, a melee brawler with no ranged option and limited reach regularly is just going to slow Ken down. Sure, Kilik has Apex Twin, but he can't fire that off at a moment's notice.

[FrostTheWolf]

6962191 It's not just that he gets. Ken also has new skills regarding his bow and arrow. Only problem for him is that'll take a LOT of time for him to control it

[Failsafe99]

6962191
Actually, they figure out that archer is shirou, just after he has wandered the world for a while. The Holy grail picked from past present and future and fiction myth and non fiction for it's heroes.