Re-edited!
Chapter 02
X775!
The Birth of Legend!
Fairy Tale: The Lost Hero!
Ben and Rook unrelentingly traveled for another week; pausing at different towns and small villages, to spend some time roaming and sightseeing, before moving on with their little voyage. That was how the days passed by, and life continued for the two boys from an alternate universe – ah, freedom. Constant travel, either on foot until exhaustion took over, by carriage, or mostly by train until those rides couldn't escort them anymore ahead. It never really mattered, as they kept moving towards the future they had resolutely defined for themselves.
Thanks to the money generously supplied by Warrod Sequen, they were content for a time. But as time passed, they ended up acquiring small tactless jobs, or to be more precise, completing small dim chores to sustain themselves, like aiding at restaurants, or escorting supply caravans, or any other jobs. Otherwise known as C-Class or perhaps D-Class requests, which wouldn't fascinate any unsolicited attention towards them.
Although, Ben hadn't used his powers for personal gain in the past – apart from the mockery and teasing of his cousin, and endeavoring to get that Sumo Slammers card – it was inevitable that things would change with unsought circumstances; especially now that he and Rook were in a world where magic and jobs freely intermingled.
But needless to say, even if they didn't pursue problems, snags seemed determined on seeking them out along the entire way. Every time they traveled through a forest near any new cities or towns, they would unpleasantly draw attention from either Vulcans, or any other unfriendly wildlife, intending to feast upon them, or try at the very least. Sometimes they would oppress, or otherwise run away against their pride.
Unfortunately, now was no different.
They were intended to hand over the parcel to someone, who went by the name of Jubei in Inaho village. But for that to happen, they must traverse a vast stretch of thick forest, said to be full of various unseen monsters. During a few confrontations with their kind, the two sought to comprehend where they actually stood without access to the Omnitrix – which was still out of commission.
They actually had to no perception about why the Omnitrix was rebooting for such a long time. But, the most probable interpretation on Rook's part was that the Omnitrix possibly couldn't recognize Ben, due to the sudden change in time through dimensional travel. In simpler words, Omnitrix's security functions had kicked in. But, instead of the Omnitrix ceasing to function at all, or activating the alternative identification function, it seemed to be rebooting instead. In other words, it could be assumed that it was in reconfiguration mode.
All in all, it was still just a hypothesis. All they could actually do was wait for the Omnitrix to reboot, before Ben could actually trigger the alternate identification program and got it operational again. But, despite the dire situation with the Omnitrix, Ben didn't seem to be anxious. He was acting relatively reckless as he was accustomed to do formerly. Mainly, it was to alleviate the grief gripping his spirit and mind, but it was still annoying nonetheless.
"Lovely weather today, isn't it?" Ben beamed mirthfully, as he idly sauntered along the faded trail with his hands hooked behind his head, and his bag slung over his shoulder. "Nothing beats a nice day, and a lovely sight."
"I suppose." Rook responded absentmindedly. His eyes were darting from a tree to the next in subsequent manner, as he remained vigilant of his surroundings – ready to leap into action at a moment's notice.
"Say… where should we head next, after we deliver this package?" Ben solicited to nobody in particular. "To Magnolia and join Fairy Tail as told by the old man, or roam around some more? Maybe, Crocus would be better. I have heard that city is worth it."
"How about Inaho first, and delivering the parcel to Mr. Jubei?" Rook grumbled, oblivious to the sarcasm dripping from his words. "Then, we can plan more from there."
Ben smirked. "What? You worried about some Vulcans, or something?"
"What if something worse than a Vulcan appeared?" Rook pointed out. "We should cross the forest before nightfall anyway, get this job done, and retrieve the reward. We are running short on stock."
"Tsk, why do you have to be so serious?" Ben grumbled nonchalantly. "Bummer."
Rook shook his head and sighed. No wonder, the Revonnahgander finds him more annoying from the first time they had met. "Because, I want us to survive another night."
"Oh, that's right." Ben clicked his tongue. "I also have to check whether they have got smoothies and chili fries. Is it possible that this world hasn't discovered the pleasure of-?"
The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a slight rustling noise that filled their ears. Their bodies stiffened and they assumed defensive stances instantly; Rook deploying his Proto-Tool, whilst Ben primed to charge his fists with sparkling blue mana. In the past couple weeks of their expedition, they had discovered several interesting facts about themselves. Their reflexes, impulses, agility, endurance and strength, everything had been compromised significantly. They were actually ten years old physically, but still possessed the mental acuity of adults.
The Omnitrix wielder managed to compensate for his contemporary weakness through the agility of his training in martial arts, courtesy of his cousin. Despite his body being moderately taut and stiff at the moment, preventing him from performing the acrobatics skills and maneuvers he had possessed as an adult, he was still better than most, and his mana energy was quite dominant in this universe, if not the strongest.
"Do you think we are being ambushed again?"
Ben glanced at the Revonnahgander with a raised eyebrow. Last time, a few rather young men had tried to waylay them, and it had ended fairly… appalling, and badly for them. "I don't think it is another of those, but more likely a wild Vulcan or-"
The brunette was interrupted, as dozens of menacing men popped out from behind the shrubbery bushes, while some from behind thick trees, many of them leering at the two hapless travelers. The gang of bandits grinned and chuckled, as they all deployed their relevant medieval weapons, mostly consisting of lances, axes, and even a couple of swords and maces.
"…Talk about our luck." Ben groaned in frustration.
"Who are you?" Rook demanded, ignoring how he seemed to be far less intimidating in his younger body. A fact that was disputed by his feline-like form, being clad in clothes similar to an armor, and holding a weapon of sorts. But gotta admit, having someone who can question in such predicament is pretty useful.
"We are the guys who own this place, kids." Ben and Rook observed as the men gathered around them and began approaching them with predatory smiles. "And, you just happened to trespass on our territory. So as compensation, you both should probably leave all your belongings and run, before we kill you that is."
Ben and Rook shared a glance. Once again, they were being underestimated because they looked like kids. Really, did size matters so much? Idiots! As the gang closed in on the duo, both of them jumped into action. Better to wrap this up really quick, and get it over with.
Several bodies rocketed backward and crashed into the surrounding trees, snapping the weaker trees in half as a cascading volley of yellow erratic energy beams showered down at the gang of bandits', courtesy of the Revonnahgander. The Omnitrix wielder wasn't far too behind, and lunged at the group of men in front of him with his arms extended forward, before multiple consecutive sparkling blue energy spheres blasted them away.
"YA BRATS ARE FREAKING WIZARDS?!" A sparkling blue energy-coated punch rammed into the stout man's jaw, cutting his yelling short, and sending the man sprawling away, unconscious.
The remaining bandits were flabbergasted that these brats could not only use magic, but said magic was strong enough to knock out their allies so easily. They were so distracted that they failed to notice the Revonnahgander appearing behind them, and rushing toward them with his Proto-Tool remodeled into a long bokken, while the brunet charged another greeting of his energy attacks.
The fight - if it really could be called that – finally concluded. Ben and Rook collapsed down on their knees in exhaustion, inhaling rapid deep breaths to satiate their burning lungs, but they still had massive grins etched on their faces. They took in the sight of their handiwork consisting of the men scattered about on the ground. Some were groaning in pain, while most were unconscious with bumps and burn marks and bruises embellishing their bodies.
"So, what I was saying earlier? Oh yeah, smoothies and chili fries! Do you think they have discovered the pleasure of those yet?"
Another couple of weeks passed as the duo continued traveling west. Well, more accurately speaking, they had been actually going in that direction for the past week while looking for more jobs to support themselves on their journey, and that brought them to Onibus.
It was located near Clover Town and Oshibana Town; best acknowledged for its theater and a bar only for clients that could use magic. It didn't have any guilds established there though; thus, any jobs the town has to offer were remitted to the nearest guild, which was Fairy Tail. A perfect place for them to hunt few works.
Ben and Rook sat in a restaurant that seemed more like a bar, as the room was surprisingly crammed with people in the early hours, but nobody was paying much attention to them. Although, the Revonnahgander did earned several glances because of his rather eccentric appearance and clothing, but that was about it.
They had thought of changing clothes and getting a robe to hide Rook's appearance, but as the old Warrod had assumed, Rook was just recognized as another species in this magical world. Hence, why they hadn't bought him a cloak, or some other form of concealing garment.
"Another bandit gang in the forest, huh?" Ben nibbled on his bread lazily. "Seems like we could get to tend to them on our way out of town."
"It might take us time to locate them though." Rook was simply enjoying a glass of juice. "They apparently are at least a dozen in number, and they are said to be an itinerant group. This place is big to narrow down their specific whereabouts."
"Perhaps, but I don't think that it will be much of a problem." Ben shrugged imperturbably, and continued to gnaw his food. "Though, I am hoping for them to be dark mages. We also need to test ourselves, to see where we stand against a real mage, you know."
"True." Rook nodded. "But still, the Omnitrix is yet to finish recalibrating, and with it operational, it will be much unproblematic to take care of ourselves."
"I don't think using the Omnitrix recklessly would be a good idea though." Ben replied, giving the matter serious thought. "Transforming into unknown beings would definitely attract numerous attention and suspicion from the Magic Council. Not to mention that we might have to explain our origins too."
"So, you are not going to use the Omnitrix?"
"That's not what I meant. I have to test it eventually though, just like we did with you being exposed to the public. I hope that when I do, people won't take it negatively."
Their conversation was interrupted, when the door to the diner thumped open to reveal four large men entering the bar like they owned the place. All of them could be considered daunting with their large stature and intimidating looks, numerous outlandish tattoos discernible on their mostly exposed bodies, and wearing leather clothing with spikes jutting off of them.
"Hey! The Bear Ruckus' are here!" The apparent leader with bristly long black hair, hollered loudly. "You all better respect that, or you will get what's coming to ya!"
Ben face-palmed and let out a sigh. "I thought those bandits were the only ones creating havoc here."
"Bear Ruckus, huh?" Rook deliberated for a moment. "Is that a dark guild by any prospect?"
"I don't know, but if I have to play what's in the bag, then definitely yes. Feels like an opportunity to me." Ben whispered, peeking over to where the group was heading. Apparently, they seemed to be demanding something that had caused the rather cute in a girl-next-door kind of way, blonde lady attaining the counter to tremble and plead. Ben's eyes twitched slightly at how the obvious leader was inauspiciously threatening her. Turning to face his partner, Ben asked somewhat complacently. "Wanna confirm whether they are a dark guild or not?"
Rook elevated an eyebrow in incredulity. "You are going to interrupt?" They had previously decided not to expose themselves and their powers in public much. Preferring to remain anonymous, and willingly avoid the possibility of infringing any laws unintentionally. Unless, the situation was appalling enough, or they had enlisted into a guild.
"Ah, screw those consequences. We will see when it comes to that. I can't let this opportunity slip by." Ben replied nonchalantly, before standing up and whirling about on his heel. "Hey! Are you all from a dark guild?"
The leader of the little group spun around, and grinned at the brown-haired boy, mistaking him for a little frightened kid. "Yeah! What's it to you, kid?"
Ben jiggled his head irritatively. Was he being underestimated again?! He knew that these punks were probably thinking that he was just a scared little kid. He just couldn't wait to wipe that conceiting grin off his face. "First, I hate and I mean, I really hate bullies like you hounding others, and second, you dared to call me a kid, when I am actually fucking ten!" The people in the diner sweat dropped at the rather weird proclamation. "And, you also belong to a dark guild for crying out loud, and distressing the peace in here! That gave me three reasons… actually four, if I count you threatening the lady, to beat the shit outta you all."
"What did you say you little brat?" The leader derided.
Even though Ben wasn't intimidated in the least from the presence of four hulking men glowering at him, the same couldn't be said for the other people present within the room, who were sweating bullets by now; anxious of what was going to transpire next.
"You think you can beat us, you little shit?" The largest of the group laughed, as he cracked his knuckles, hoping to frighten the kid away.
But much to his astonishment, the Omnitrix wielder didn't budge an inch, and instead let out a sardonic and scathing chuckle. "Wanna see something interesting?" Ben's eyes shifted to blue, as he raised his arms with the palms facing toward the apparent leader of the group. Sparkling blue energy sputtered across his palms.
"Hilarium Shenolia!"
A globular mass of blue energy shot forth at an inconceivable speed to the eyes of normal humans, and hit the leader of the group dead on. The light from detonation subsided, and the smoke dissipated to disclose the group completely unharmed, much to the confusion of the brunet.
"Eh, what happened? Didn't I cast the spell perfectly?" Ben mumbled under his breath, surprised.
"Is that all, you little runt?" The leader laughed, almost contemptuously flaunting his condescension. He might have been taken off guard, but if that was all that spell was capable of, then he didn't need to be worried. "It didn't even tickle-" His disdainful laughter died down in his throat, as he noticed everyone gawking at him in amusement. His attention was drawn to the strange feline-like boy stepping forward, and paused by the brunet.
"Apparently, that spell was intended to cause the target to become bald." Rook smirked amused.
Color sapped from the leader's face along with his subordinates, as the former frenetically searched his head only to find his long black spiky, dashing hair… gone. Beads of sweat ran down his face, as his visage turned red in both resentment and discomfiture. Laughter reverberated throughout the room, as everyone stared at the sight in hilarity.
"But, that was supposed to generate wind and blow them away." Ben argued. "I remember it perfectly."
"I think, that was another spell." Rook sweat-dropped, as he replied rather wryly. "You invoked the wrong enchantment."
"Hehe." Ben chortled timidly, stealing a glance of the dark mages, while chafing his head clumsily. "I had been secretly practicing that spell to play pranks then, my bad."
Others face faulted dramatically while Rook refrained from face-palming himself. Sometimes, somethings never change, no matter what.
"Your bad?! YOUR BAD?!" The leader screeched wrathfully; fumes banishing out of his ears and nose. "I JUST LOST MY DASHING HAIR, YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT! I AM JUST GOING TO SNAP YOUR NECK MYSELF, BRAT!"
Everyone hushed at the death threat from the Bear Ruckus' leader, as they anticipated the inevitable. None of them twitched a muscle, some even yearning quietly for the wellbeing of the duo.
"Seriously, you call that dashing hair? Get your eyes checked, mutt."
The leader didn't linger to riposte, and pounced at the smaller boy, starting with a right hook; dark energy smog congregated around his fist.
"Dark Bullet Punch!"
"Contego!"
But to his downright surprise, the brown-haired boy merely waved his arms in the air, and a mesmerizing sparkling blue mana shield appeared to intercept the clout, before it even got close to him. However, the defense didn't last long as crevices formed under the force of impact, and expanded before the safeguard gave away and exploded, sending both combatants staggering backward.
However, Rook used this moment of distraction to re-model his Proto-Tool into a bokken. He greeted the leader's lower jaw, and by extension, his face with his new weapon, snapping his head backward from the mighty force, and sending him reeling further backward; blood oozing out of his broken nose.
'So, this is what a mage is like? Didn't expect him to break the shield so easily. I think it is time for bigger guns.' Ben ruminated, steadying himself as the remaining three mages lunged at them. He knew that his magical reserves and power had reduced somewhat significantly, after being regressed to a ten-year old kid, but he wasn't someone who would let that hold him back.
Rook reacted first and swung his remodeled bokken horizontally with all his might, catching one of the mages off guard. His small stature proved quite efficient here, as the force of the blow actually caused a snapping resonance, followed by a painful yelp and the enemy mage collapsing, while clutching his right knee, cursing in agony the entire time.
On the other hand, Ben swooped back to shirk from the swift fist, meant to drive him into the ground. No sooner had his feet touched the ground than he had to barrel roll to the side to avoid another darkness projectile. Rising back to his feet, he charged his fist with mana and gyrated around, firing successive disc-shaped energy attacks that sent the two mages faltering rearward.
"Rook, get outta my way… NOW!" Ben alerted the Revonnahgander, as he stretched his arms forward, and blue misty vapor wafted off his small form and energy cackled riotously around his palms.
"Mutra Vento!"
Rook didn't need to be told twice as he had immediately squatted low and swooped back, just as a mass of capricious dark lightning shot forth, and encompassed all the members of Bear Ruckus in an explosion. People watched in admiration as the two ten-year-old boys managed to overpower four grown dark mages with such ease. Such a thing should have been impossible, yet they watched it occurring.
The smoke faded to reveal the four mages on the ground, their bodies slightly blistered, whilst electricity guttered around their scalded bodies every other second. Their eyes had rolled back in their sockets, and drool percolated from the corner of their mouths. The moment the outcome of the battle registered in the minds of people in the diner, the two boys were instantaneously besieged by them, and cheers rang out as they praised the kids for their bravery and aptitude.
"Thank you both for your help. Those Bear Ruckus thugs have been terrorizing the people here for some time. If you hadn't intervened, then they might have seriously hurt someone." The cashier bowed to them. "In return, I can cover the cost of your meals."
"As much as I appreciate that offer," Ben laughed sheepishly as he reached into his pant pocket and fished out some Jewels. "I am still paying. I don't want to have any debts to people."
"But-"
"I guess it wasn't an official job, so I didn't expect any reward either when I stood up against them. Maybe, they aren't even worth this." Ben chuckled as he handed the money to the lady employee. "I helped merely because I can't stand bullies who would pick on the weak, simply because they think they can, no offence. Anyways, we are leaving now."
The duo spun around and headed for the exit, when the cashier called out again. "Wait! What about your names?"
The duo paused and shared a glance.
"Rook."
"Ben."
With that, the duo left the diner, though the memories of them remained. People continued to whisper about the two boys that fought so proficiently and gallantly. None of them had seen anything like it. They had to recount the tale to other and just like that, the whispers become rumors that would grow as myths. Then, much later down the road, the myths would turn into legends.
That is how legends are born.
"So, you two want to take the job?"
Ben and Rook stared at the elderly man with a wrinkled craggy face, donning a formal blue business suit, who was gazing back at them inquisitively. After the diner skirmish, they had decided to visit the Mayor, and discover whether the job to track and trounce the hooligans' bunch in the forest was still available or not. They were short on money, and a couple of jobs would help to restock their supplies, in preparation of prolonging their journey.
Rook concurred. "We overheard that the bandits are mobile, and has thereby proved to be rather tortuous to detect, therefore…"
"My partner and I would like to accept the mission, that is if it is still available." Ben finished.
The Mayor shook his head, displeased. "Earlier, a mage from Fairy Tail guild had accepted the mission." He elucidated. "And, I doubt that she will fail. Fairy Tail is quite renowned for completing these types of jobs. Even though, the destructions they leave behind is quite... troublesome and unreasonably expensive too."
Ben and Rook didn't let the exasperation show on their faces, and stood up. They had heard of the guild's reputation during their voyage, and in reality, they were far more infamous than they deliberated. But it was more for them being quite a very irrationally detrimental guild, at least in terms of property damage.
"It's okay. Then, we will be on our way." Ben replied.
The Mayor nodded as he scrutinized the pair abscond the room; maybe in displeasure. The supposed two, who had taken care of Bear Ruckus and did him and the town a huge favor.
"What do you say, Rook? Where should we go next? Fairy Tail?"
The two were once again on the road, after discovering that the mission had already been accredited by a Fairy Tail mage, much to their disappointment. Onibus don't actually offer many jobs for their monetary scarcity, and the remaining had already been accepted by other legal guilds.
"We need jobs to nourish ourselves, unless we join a guild." Rook shrugged.
"We also need a damn place to crash." Ben inputted. "As much as all these adventures are entertaining, we can't keep going like this forever." He shook his head. "But I don't want it to end just yet."
"Then, let see. Maybe, we can acquire a substantial job in the upcoming town." Rook implied. "I still want to learn more about this world before we become a part of a guild anyway."
"And, here I thought that you didn't like it here." Ben grinned.
The conversation was intervened as a feminine shriek echoed throughout the woodland. Sharing a glance, they immediately sprinted toward the source of the voice, and halted when a bandit camp became visible through the canopy of trees. They stealthily moved in and scrutinized the campsite, until they found few of them whacked unconscious. Definitely the hooligans that were supposed to be taken down, as per the job request from Onibus.
They grew closer and paused as their eyes caught sight of at the very least three dozen men, closing in on a girl around their age or maybe a year younger. She had tan skin and brown shoulder length hair tied in a ponytail, while two shoulder-length strands of hair framed her face. She was clad in a bright orange knee-length dress. She had a small red bag slung diagonally across her body, while she held what looked like tarot cards; the backs of the cards bearing a dark cross with heart-shaped arms surrounded by an intricate motif. But what really caught the duo's attention was her other arm, which was bleeding.
"It seems the information was inaccurate." Rook discerned slowly under his breath. "The numbers are at least three dozen instead of one." He noted the goons approaching the rather petrified girl.
Ben scrunched his fists tightly and gnashed his teeth. The one thing he couldn't stand was the persecution, and apparently today had been reserved for him to deck some… scratch that, several bullies. Just because they had meagre power, they thought they could get away with anything. And, the bloodstained arm of the girl enraged the brunet to no end. Needless to say, he did what a hero should do when he finds a damsel in distress, jumping into the scrimmage impetuously with Rook close behind.
Cana panted as she tried to calm herself. It was supposed to have been a simple low B-Class request, and it only mentioned a dozen bandits at most. But the reality of the situation was different, and she didn't appreciate it one bit. There were still three dozen bandits facing her, and all of them were equipped with various medieval weapons. None of them were mages, but that was the only relief she had.
She thought she could take the gang out by herself, and such an accomplishment would prove that she was strong and resilient. Then, she would finally get to tell Gildarts that he was her father. Her greatest yearning was to tell him that, but she couldn't assemble the nerve to break it to him. So, she had decided to clear the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial, and become an S-Class mage herself. But for that to ensue, she needed to go on missions and become stronger, which had brought her here to deal with these bandits.
She had managed to take down half a dozen, but her unruliness and hastiness had almost got her killed. If she hadn't retreated, then she would have been bleeding to death by now. Although, she hadn't emerged unscathed and suffered a graze on her left arm instead. She could feel the pain coursing through her small and fragile body. She knew, she could resist such an injury, but only if the bandits didn't end her life there.
She took a step back as the group neared her as marauders, and her back was halted by a tree behind her. She cursed herself for her boisterousness and braced herself. She still had the ample advantage of magic, but would she able to take them all out at once? Unfortunately, the answer was no, and she knew that. She wasn't powerful enough yet to undertake that.
She mentally wished that someone would show up to help her, despite knowing that such hope was rather futile but in reality, it wasn't. Her unconscious wish was contented, when a brown-haired boy came to her rescue, charging in what was a mesmerizing, luminous blue energy before multiple bright vibrant yellow energy beams lashed out at the group.
"Kemo Char!"
Ben dived at the group of bandits with a battle cry, taking them off guard, while he fired successive energy shafts. The attack soared toward the group and demolished several of the thugs unfortunate enough to get caught by the projectiles, swiftly debilitating them.
Rook wasn't far behind, as he triggered the auto turret feature of his Proto-Tool, and energy rays cascaded at the bandits. Even though, they managed to shun the splatter of energy stream, he was satisfied - all he needed was to keep them at bay, while Ben dealt with them – venting his wrath upon the thugs.
Landing on his feet, Ben assumed a fighting stance and steadied himself, as thick cerulean mass fabricated around his fists. "Not so tough against someone who can fight back, are you?"
Rook simply stood by his partner's side and crossed his arms over his chest, his Proto-tool was still leveled upon the men from atop his right shoulder. "Pardon my incompetence regarding the coming up with any amusing statement for the current circumstance."
The gang of remaining bandits face faulted, but quickly scaled to their feet. Although their numbers had been reduced by two-thirds during Ben and Rook's blitzkrieg, they didn't let it bother 'em, and instead one of the goons stepped forward.
"You are gonna regret interrupting us, yer little runt!"
"Why don't we find out, tough guy? Gotta admit though, you got lot of balls." Ben retorted rhetorically, a nerve began throbbing in his temple, as he prodded his arms forth. "But, you might just regret it though."
Cana was rendered speechless, as the boys easily took out the bandits, like it wasn't even a big deal to 'em. The brunette's rather peculiar but spectacular magic, was so captivating that her eyes widened in flummox and her mouth gaped slightly, as he dealt with the remaining enemies singlehandedly. Then there was his friend, who she couldn't refrain from comparing to a humanoid cat; a kind she had never seen before, but then again, she hadn't seen much of Fiore anyway. She noticed as he tranquilly watched the notably one-sided thumping end, maintaining his rather serene posture, despite the current incredulous predicament.
Her eyes again reallocated to her savior, who had finally concluded the dilemma with a clobber to the last standing man and then chucked him into the mound of bodies gathering on the other side of the clearing.
Ben swabbed his hands, and pompously took in the sight of his handiwork; a mountain of semi-conscious and unconscious bodies. He released a sigh and inhaled acutely to fill his exhausted lungs with fresh air. Having dealt with the situation rather easily, his eyes returned to the girl, and noticed her gawking at him.
"Uh… you okay? What's your name?" The brunet asked, scraping his head.
"Cana." The girl bobbed her head while scrunching her wound, after having stuffed her cards into her bag. "Cana Alberona" She bowed slightly while smiling candidly. "Thank you for helping me."
Ben beckoned his hand dismissively. He might have fancied swaggering about his achievement during his early days, but that was certainly not the case anymore. "It was nothing, though I think you should need a doctor as soon as possible. Your arm is bleeding." He cringed upon mentioning the obvious.
Cana shook her head. "I'm fine." She was actually apprehensive and anxious, since she barely ever talked with children her age, except for a certain unwitting stripper.
"Do you require us to accompany you to the town, Miss Cana?" Rook inquired, after having strapped the last of the bandits together with a rope he found in the camp somehow. "You can also enlighten the Mayor of their whereabouts, and claim your reward."
Cana shook her head pessimistically again while smiling subtly. "I can go on my own, but you might prefer to come along and share the reward. You both did most of the work."
Ben sent the brown-haired girl a calculative but sanguine glance, before he shook his head dissuadingly. Recalling that he hadn't given her an answer yet, he let out a jovial chuckle. "Actually, we were heading in the other direction, and it wasn't us accepting the mission anyway. Even though the idea sounds enticing, it would be too much trouble, and you are the one who found these crooks. That alone was lots of work."
"Oh," Cana bit her lower lip. "But, you did help me here too."
"Don't worry 'bout that." Ben grinned, as Cana begrudgingly waggled her head. "Though, I would suggest you get some medical attention as soon as possible." He inputted implying the laceration, and then turned around to leave before he was prohibited by the girl.
"Wait!" Cana stared at the brown-haired boy quizzically. "Ah… I don't even know your names."
Ben gave his signature toothy grin. "Ben Tennyson."
"I am Rook Blonko." The Revonnahgander hunched slightly in optimistic manner.
Cana nodded and stared at the duo's backs, until they ebbed away within the woods. Releasing an awfully pained grunt, she looked at the immobilized gang of bandits still groaning in pain from the ass-whipping they had earned from them. Shaking her head, she began walking back to town. However, she had barely taken a dozen of those unsteady steps before her eyes rolled back in her head, and she fell to the ground.
Cana blearily kneaded her eyes as she writhed around on her bed unwittingly. In a sense, it was delectable to see. Her rest came to a conclusion once the brown-haired girl inadvertently skewed her wounded left arm, which caused throbbing to pitch throughout her body. She immediately shot up from the bed and a yelp left her throat, but now she was wide awake. For a moment, she was befuddled concerning her whereabouts' as all she could see was a foreign room. She glanced down at her wounded arm that was now wrapped in bandages, and reminiscence the event that had taken place before she had lost consciousness. Memories of the mission, and unfortunate skirmish with the bandits where she had suffered the injury, and would have died, should it not for that boy with emerald eyes coming into her defense, recurred in her mind.
"I probably blacked out on my short trip back to town, but where am I now? And, who brought me here?"
As if on cue, the door opened and in came a middle-aged lady wearing a white dress.
"Just great, a hospital. The type of place I hate the most." Cana groused, while making a rather cute face.
The nurse didn't heed to the nagging, or might have choose to overlook it, as she inspected the brunet girl proficiently. "You seem fine enough and rejuvenated, sweetie. Yet, I must ask how are you feeling anyway? I heard a yap from this room not a moment ago."
"I am fine." Cana smiled, and blushed at being called a sweetie. "But I don't remember coming here on my own, so can I ask you who brought me here?"
"Oh, it was that fine young lad." The nurse reflected for a moment. "I think his name was Ben. Rumor has that he defeated the leader of Bear Ruckus and his lieutenants, along with his blue feline partner last day."
Cana was so surprised that her eyes had widened in shock at the revelation while she had almost forgotten about her injury and pain. He really vanquished a dark guild's leadership earlier by himself? Was he really that strong? But what was more confounding that, she recalled him departing. Then, when and why did he return? Was it in order to help her?
"Thanks to that friend of yours, you didn't suffer any serious injury." The nurse continued, resisting the compulsion to giggle at the girl's priceless comportment. "You were poisoned during the fight with those terrible bandits. Nothing dangerous since it was cured quickly."
"Poisoned?" Cana gasped.
"Don't worry, sweetie." The lady reassured the young girl, inspecting her arm. "It wasn't exactly intended to be fatal or life threatening at all. But perhaps those men had utilized their weapons to chop some wild flora. Some plants are lethal, and the toxicity was deposited on the edge of the weapons."
"Oh," Cana nodded her head perceptively. "So where is he now?" Her face lit up with slight red hue.
"He didn't wait long." The nurse replied, amused at the odd behavior of the girl. "Actually, he left shortly after he dropped you off here. But, he told me to remind you to claim your reward at the Mayor's office."
Cana nodded her head cynically. Mainly, because she couldn't thank him for his help, and then again even though he had been here, she couldn't able to share the rewards with him, much to her vexation. After all, Ben had helped her twice, even though he didn't need to.
Cana let out a rather exasperated sigh. She wished she could see him again.
Ben yawned laboriously as he stretched his body to get the kinks out, before he sat down against the trunk of a tree with Rook following suit. They had no idea about their whereabouts', and it had actually begun to bother them.
It had been three weeks since the confrontation with Cana outside Onibus. Ben took a moment to recall that her full name was Cana Alberona. They had visited three towns since then. The next one should have been Hargeon, which they should have reached ten days ago, if not for the current dilemma.
They had been toddling for several days now, and had no idea where they were going, let alone where the hell they were. The map didn't help much either. By now, the situation was turning unpleasantly awful. Their supplies had almost run out, and their Jewels pouch held nothing but thin air within. They needed jobs! Money! Food! Even a decent long bath!
Even though, they were yet to reach a town, they had been accosted by several outlaw gangs. Each of those goons were enthusiastic to test their strength on the seemingly susceptible trekkers. The two would have pilfered supplies from their adversaries, if not for the fact that said food was usually stale or reeks foul. Apparently, they were currently in an unfathomably profound forest, which would explain the escalating number of inopportune encounters with the indigenous Vulcans.
Ben folded his arms behind his head, and looked into the thick impenetrable forest, they had meandered into the day before. He let out a sigh as he glanced up at the canopy of trees that shaded him from the sun. He then closed his eyes, starting to drift off to siesta, underneath the conviviality of the rays of light that were able to break through the canopy enough to illumine the forest floor.
Soon enough, his hallucinations were filled by the jaunty faces of his friends and family, for whom he had cared so much. Until they suddenly turned sinister and murky as he spectator their dead bodies. Everyone whom he cared for had perished, while the perpetrators continued maltreating their pale corpses, instead of letting them rest in peace.
Ben jolted awake from his nightmarish delusion and quickly adjusted his eyes, so he could see, and noted his partner calling out to him while shaking him feverishly. He waited for his indistinct vision to clear, before he wiped the beads of perspiration off his forehead. He detested whenever he had to relive those delusions. He loathed his failure to protect what he held dear. It was wearisome, and always leaves behind that slight feeling of ignominy within his heart.
'Why not? Even though I had left them behind, the pain cannot be stopped.'
"Are you alright? You were lurid, like when you suffer from the nightmare?"
"As usual, eh?" Ben groaned straightening up, and let out a condescending chuckle that felt sounded more a squeak. "I will be fine."
Rook tentatively nodded, as he retreated back to his vigil. It wasn't new. Every time the Omnitrix wielder slept, his dreams were filled with nightmares of the deaths of his family and friends. He would have to wake him several times, when the situation got worse, like him ending up lamenting in his fantasy or shouting fervidly. Sometimes he wondered, if the emotional mayhem would ever truly go away.
"We should find something to do now." Rook stated, rupturing the overwhelming silence in the forest that seemed to have begun consuming them. "We have been wandering for two and a half months now."
"Yeah." Ben lethargically nodded.
"Was it about them again?"
Ben didn't say anything but simply tilted his head to the side, and stared into the enormity of the forest. "I can't seem to forgive myself for what happened to them."
"Although, none of it was your fault?"
"I am not sure about that." Ben mused faintly. "It might take me some more time to reach that point." He exhibited a distraught smile, looking at his inquisitor. "Until then, I have to live with it."
"I understand." Rook nodded sympathetically.
Abruptly the stillness and tranquility of the forest was broken by loud footsteps, and a feminine cry that seemed to have originated from the other end of the clearing. Ben and Rook went immediately on guard, and readied themselves, for whatever was approaching them.
They waited for several seconds, before the figure of a young girl – who couldn't be more than seven years old with hazel eyes, long, straight purplish black hair that fell to the middle of her back, while cut in the traditional Japanese "princess style" – appeared. She donned a white headband with a white ribbon tied at the middle in a bow, pointing straight up. But what confounded the duo were the tears shimmering on her cheeks as she ran toward them.
Their confusion turned into revulsion upon noticing the ones chasing her. They were none other than half a dozen Gorians, otherwise also known as forest Vulcans.
They were large, anthropomorphic monsters that resembled primates. They possessed distinctive facial features, elongated chins, elongated ears and pointed heads with a single horn on top, their bodies colored a bright shade of purple. They had big, large hands, and a long tail connected to the bottom of their torsos. Their fur was green in color, while five pink hearts in a decorative pattern were printed on their arms.
During their journey within the forest, Ben had managed to discover a typical feature about these Vulcans. That was their utter abhorrence toward men and their perverseness to girls that would even put biggest of perverts to shame. Apparently, now was no different as they were pursuing a very young girl.
"You ready, Rook?" Ben inquired, charging his fists with his mana.
In response, Rook deployed his Proto-Tool, and reformed it into a lustrous yellow rapier before the duo scurried straight for the group of Vulcans trailing the purple haired girl.
Kagura watched as the two boys flitted toward her. One was using some kind of exquisite blue energy-magic, while the other wielded a sword. First, she thought them to be fools to even think that they could fight so many Vulcans at once, but her emotions altered to anxiety at how they readied themselves. They whizzed past her in a haze, and lunged at the perverse group. She took the opportunity to run behind a tree to hide and observe the battle.
Slightly bending his knees, Rook performed a forward somersault and bounded over the horde, as they moved under him. While on the other hand, Ben simply scampered to the side to hedge the probability of getting trampled beneath the feet of the overgrown monkeys.
While descending, Rook delivered a slash at the back of a Vulcan, which caused him to lurch forward and growl in pain. No sooner had his feet touched the ground, Rook rebounded straight toward his wounded enemy. However, Rook had to circumnavigate around the angry wild swing of his opponent, before he took an atypical approach. Rook knew that he was still very lither, and his Proto-Tech-Armor was still resilient and robust enough to deal heavy damage. In other terms, he was quite a better fighter at close range, than his Omnitrix-bearing companion at the moment.
Rook hurdled at the nearby tree, and the second his feet touched the bark, he bent his knees until he was squatting and reverberated off the tree with enough force to splinter the bark. He shot at the hurt Vulcan. Slanting his body around, Rook landed on the chest of the creature, and immediately ricocheted off it as an impromptu springboard, while knocking the creature into the next Vulcan behind it.
The two creatures hurtled into the ground, while the Revonnahgander delivered an airborne spin-dribble into the third Vulcan's face. His natural strength, combined with his armor, and the added force of his jumps caused the Vulcan to sway rearward. But, the Vulcan wasn't the only one wincing, as Rook flinched at how onerous the creatures were. He was certain that he was going to be feeling sore tomorrow.
Rook sculpted his Proto-Tool into a blaster and charged it up. Pointing it at the monster in front of him, he fired off a moderately substantial golden electric bolt, clouting his opponent down to the ground, where it continued to convulse from the residual electrical currents.
Whirling around, Rook only had a moment to register the hazy situation, before he was sucker-punched by another Vulcan – the one he had earlier used as a spur, and the blow sent him soaring away and into a tree, which snapped into half.
On the other hand, Ben was holding his own reasonably well as he quibbled the various wild punches with ease, while countering with his own attacks at point-blank range, and always intending for the creatures' weakest point; their face, or more specifically the eyes.
The Omnitrix wielder leapt backward just as a fist plunged into the ground, where he was a moment ago, and he vaulted onto the arm of the creature, before he hastened up the arm with his fist cackling with blue energy. Leaping high enough in the air, he brought his arm down and fired an unnamed Magnus Vox that happened to be a squashed sphere of blue energy, and blasted the resilient Vulcan away with a significant explosion of energy.
Turning around, Ben twisted his body to the left to dither the strike of another Vulcan, and fired another volley of blue disc energy plates to send the assaulting Vulcan floundering backward. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed his partner dealing heavy damage to the group, before he was backhanded into nearby trees.
Growling, Ben rose and hoisted both his arms in air with blue light sputter across his palms, and steadied himself. Although, he wanted to keep attacking them on his own, he actually wasn't yet ready to repulse so many Vulcans at once, so he did what he thought was best.
"Twista Combititus!"
A giant cobra made of blue mana materialized into existence and glowered over the Omnitrix bearer at the remaining Vulcans. The monsters stopped dead in their tracks when the giant cobra appeared, and the dominant magic of Ben prevailed over their will. The creatures looked at Ben with wide eyes, before they turned tail and ran. To hell with avenging their fallen brethren, they were in the presence of a far more treacherous predator.
Rook ascended up to his feet, while nurturing his sore head to get the dizziness out of his eyes. His blurry vision cleared to reveal the overgrown monkeys running with their tails between their legs at the sight of the giant cobra that evaporate, when the Vulcans had disappeared from sight.
"Ya 'kay?" Ben asked apprehensively.
Rook nodded impulsively. "I will be fine."
Ben turned around to search for the young girl they had rescued. He noticed her peeking out from behind a thick tree that had acted as the shield to her during the little quandary. Flaunting an assuring smile, he asked. "Are ya alright? There is nothin' to worry 'bout anymore. They ain't comin' back anytime soon."
Kagura remained quiet, as she stood there looking at the two boys; her form vacillating from adrenaline and she was slightly winded, after running away from them for so long. She was actually flabbergasted to see those two fighting those monsters so easily, and she knew one thing for sure - they were real strong. Finally, she stepped forward from behind the tree and approached the Omnitrix wielder.
"Thank you for saving me. I am Kagura Mikazuchi."
"Nice name there." Ben accolade, which caused the young girl's face to light up with a blush. "I am Ben Tennyson and he's my partner…" He gestured to his partner. "…Rook Blonko." He turned back to face the girl. "So, you want to tell me, why a young girl was meandering around the woods alone?"
Kagura glanced away from the Omnitrix wielder. Ben noticed this, and tapered his eyes. Something was nagging her for sure. Releasing a conceding sigh, he muttered. "It would be better, if we don't stay here for long, in case they come back, so want to join us for now?"
Kagura took a moment to ruminate it. She knew she might not last for too long, if she continued traveling alone. These two were seriously powerful, and might help her become stronger. She was young, but not stupid, so she waggled her head in affirmation.
*Cough* Think, I nailed the second chapter good? I put more emphasis on Omnitrix, so that would leave the confusion to minimum. Oh, and I didn't forget to include the minute details about Ben's journey until now. Those were small but important.
Anyway, next would be the questions that might haunts the readers. I know, they would have haunted me.
Q. The slight resemblances with other anime?
Honestly, the Fairy Tail lacks adequate world building and backgrounds. At least, not to me. Furthermore, I do have plans 'bout creating something original – and that's where comes in the few materials that I had borrowed from the other animes, cartoons, and kid shows. Even that hair loss spell belonged to the - Power Ranger: Mystic Force. I won't deny anything such. I also plan to include few original arcs in the story along the way.
Q. The diner scene was rip-off another story?
I will admit that particular scene was inspired from the story I had read once: 'To Touch The Sky' by 'The Struggling Warrior'. I still altered some of the content – whatsoever, it doesn't change the fact that I had borrowed that scene from another story. So, credit goes to 'The Struggling Warrior' for that specific one.
Q. How the characters in Fairy Tail universe has been affected in this story?
I should have certainly explained this in previous chapter. It just slipped my head. But better late than never, eh? The story begins around 9 years earlier, before the canon arcs. A couple years before the arrival of Natsu in Fairy Tail guild to be more precise.
As an obvious alteration in the story, I have decided to change the characters' base strengths, and indulging a little deeper into their backgrounds to portray their personalities better. It ain't to overpower or under-power any specific character. It's just to ensure a more genuine, and an ideal story.
I have noticed, certain characters, who were assumed to be on par with Wizard Saints, were defeated rather easily. For instances – Natsu clash with Jellal, Natsu defeating Laxus, Natsu taking on Zero. During every arc, there been huge fluctuations in capabilities of Natsu. Just because of retaining the power that swells with emotions, his strength was never clarified to full extent, unlike with others. However, should we see it through Natsu's perspective, all the opponents he faced, they had fought others beforehand, which had depleted their magic somewhat. But, is it enough to clarify his actual strength?
For those with unbiased understanding, they should find this rather eccentric. Similarly, I find it intolerable. There were better ways to portray Natsu' aptitude, than just messing with his potential, and altering it to suit the plot.
Same will go for the characters from Ben universe. I will ensure to not build up overpowered Ben character, but considering his involvement and the impact his presence will have, would call for some changes. I will clarify everything as the story proceeds. I would hate to break spoilers, but the more we indulge in the story, the better it will be explained.
There, it wraps up the few potential questions that are bound to strike ya. But, if there's more unexplained situations that I missed, ask and I promise to return to you as soon as possible.
Thanks once again to 'Vandenbz', 'The God's Eye' and 'SailorChibiMidnight' for their part in proofreading the chapter.
Until the next update, read & review!