Hello everyone! Welcome to another action packed chapter of Corruption, Murder and…Redemption?

Once again, thank you for your continuous support of the fanfiction. I see some new readers have joined in to read this story since the previous chapter.

A quick shout out to the reviewer, Gamma102, for giving a guess on the character I gave. He/she didn't get it right, but I appreciate the effort that was made. But if you and other readers want to give it a try, I have other hints to the character at the end of the character.

Anyway this chapter is going to have a bit of a different formatting. So just so you understand, here's how it is below.

Flashback one would be by Ben. Since he was the only one there with Tatsumi and Ieyasu unaware, he'll be the one talking about it. As for the rest, despite some of it having Tatsumi and Ieyasu talking, you should note that Ben is also telling the same to Aria.

Next this chapter will use Bold captions and italics like the ones I just used. So if you see it, it just means those of the present time talking. The only time the bold caption would be used is when Ben is Rath.

Now on to the chapter!

Chapter 9: Flashbacks, Guilt and…An old cousin returns?

FLASHBACK (BY BEN)

Ben: Well it started two weeks and a few days ago. A friend of mine who's a timetraveller told me about this world. I was bored at the time because after this…intergalactic field trip I went with my cousin and two best friends, life back home was boring. So I thought "Well I might as well do this thing. It's got to be fun than being bored." But men…I had no idea what I was going into…partly because I didn't let that friend of mine finish. So I ended up like…

Somewhere at the icy mountains, a blue portal appeared a few feet from the snowy ground. It had appeared in a large deserted field as human being could be seen for miles away, especially in the hard weather it was going through. But a part of that changed when Ben jumped right out and landed on the ground with his arms out, while possessing a wide smirk on his face.

"Alright, I'm here, Paradox!" Ben exclaimed.

However, the teen soon found something wrong. The portal closed immediately after, much to his shock, as he turned back just to realize what just happened.

"Uh…That doesn't look good." Ben stated. He paused for a moment and looked around him, before the full impact of icy breeze hit him to the point that he wrapped his arms around his chest. "Yup…this really isn't good. Where the heck are you, Paradox?"

No reply came. But now that Ben looked around, he realized his full predicament. The weather of the icy mountain was seriously cold as harsh ice came rushing down to the ground from the skies which held no sunlight. Hence, because the superhero wasn't prepared, he began to shiver as he began walking forward.

"N-Note to self…Le-Let Paradox finish before jum-jumping into the portal."

Aria: Wait, you actually did that? What kind of idiot are you?

Ben (sighs) : The kind that also forgot his jacket apparently…

Aria: I was being rhetorical.

Ben: I know. But besides that, I was able to find a cave where I was able to wait out the storm until I could explore the place.

Aria: Okay, but don't you like have one those…creature things to help you ou?.

Ben: Yeah…To be honest with you, sometimes I forget the Omnitrix comes in handy besides in a fight.

Aria: Idiot!

-(LINE BREAK)-

FLASHBACK 2 (BY TATSUMI AND IEYASU, and unknowingly Ben to Aria)

Tatsumi: So it was a stormy cold weather, everyone in the village waited it out until the storm passed. But because the village lacked edible meat due to the heavy taxes it suffered, Ieyasu, Sayo and I ventured off to the mountains to take on the snow Danger Beasts there. It was fun. We showed those Danger Beasts our skills and Ieyasu was…

Mine: Get to the point!

Ieyasu: Hey! Don't yell at him!

Mine: Hmph!

Sheele: I think we're getting off topic.

Tatsumi: You're right. Sorry!

Ieyasu: So anyway…we were able to kill like a bunch of Danger Beasts when one of them caused an avalanche. Tatsumi and I were able to make it, but Sayo….

()

"Sayoooo!" Both Tatsumi and Ieyasu exclaimed.

It had only been a few seconds since the two young men were able to avoid the avalanche. But by doing so, both had missed seeing Sayo fail to react on time, hence they were standing at a high edge, worried and fearful of the fate of their friend.

"Tatsumi, we have to do something. She'll freeze to death!" Ieyasu shouted in a bit of panic.

"I know. Maybe we can –"

Tatsumi: And that's when he came into our lives..."

True to that, Ben did come, but not in a way one would expect. The superhero could be seen making a dive into the ice as Rath, who looked very angry as usual.

"Lemme tell you something, Omnitrix! Picking Rath for this job has got to be the worse you can make Rath do!"

"Uh, what is that?" Ieyasu asked, looking

"Huh?" Tatsumi questioned.

By the time Ieyasu could say what it was, Rath had already dived right in. Apparently, Tatsumi had been looking at his friend when it happened. But that didn't stop the spiky haired teen from pointing down at where Rath dived in, which was a big hole in the snow.

"Right there. Didn't you see it?" Ieyasu said.

"No. What was –"

"RAAAAAHHHHH!"

Before the two of them could properly react, something else happened. Rath suddenly jumped right out of the snow covered ground, only to then go over them and land behind them with his back at them. His sudden appearance immediately made both Tatsumi and Ieyasu to draw out their weapons, as both swiftly turned him, ready for what might happen.

"Woah! What is that?!" Ieyasu asked in shock.

"I don't know, but we can't drop out guard for a second." Tatsumi said determinedly

Their intention to take on Rath didn't go unheard, though. In fact, it annoyed Rath, who then turned his head at them with scowl before turning fully at them with someone familiar in his hands.

"Lemme tell you something, boys with the pointy weapons that want to take on Rath, Rath just jumped into a bunch of snow! But if you want to take on Rath then it has to wait! Rath has to get this little girl to someplace other than here before she freezes to death!"

"Sayo!" Both Tatsumi and Ieyasu exclaimed. They were surprised, shocked and relieved to see their friend was okay. But then a reality just hit then; the Danger Beast actually talked.

"Wait, you can talk?" Both asked in unison.

"What?! Of course Rath can talk!" Rath yelled in offended manner. "Now if you both are done standing like a duo of pansies, let's save her before she freezes to death!"

Tatsumi silently agreed. He looked at Ieyasu, who seemed to be in disbelief, but said nothing to him. Instead, he sheathed his sword and went over to Rath, when suddenly Ieyasu spoke out.

"Tatsumi!" Ieyasu called out. "You can't seriously trust that…thing!"

"Hey, who you calling a thing!" Rath yelled.

However, Tatsumi chose to ignore it. He noticed how his friend shuttered upon Rath's response though, before holding Rath's wrist and turning his head at Ieyasu seriously. "We don't have time, Ieyasu. We're just going to have to trust him, okay?" Then he turned to Rath. "There's a village just north of here, do you think you can give us a lift on your back."

"Sure. Rath got ya." Rath assured him.

So with said, Tatsumi did as intended. He climbed on to Rath's back while holding his fur, before looking over the creature's shoulder, at his friend. "Ieyasu, come on! We have to get Sayo back to the village!"

"Ugh, fine." Ieyasu complied. He went over to the nine foot creature and climbed on its back next to Tatsumi. "But if this guy eats us, don't say I didn't warn you. Ow!"

Rath almost snarled. He had nudged his shoulder in response to Ieyasu's false accusation, before turning back, preparing to leap away. "Lemme tell you, spiky haired boy, you're on Rath's list when this is over."

Ieyasu shuddered again in response to the humanoid tiger again. He didn't know what 'list' Rath meant, as whatever it could be sounded something bad. But there wasn't time to talk about it due to Rath, who made a leap off into the air, heading straight for the direction of their village.

-(LINE BREAK)-

Aria: So that's how you met them.

Ben: Yup! Ieyasu was a jerk, but I understand after changing back that he had the right to think that. But that happens later on. I was able to take Tatsumi, Ieyasu and Sayo to their village thanks to Tatsumi's directions and got to the village on time. But there was a bit of a problem…

()

After many leaps in the air, Rath finally landed on the ground in the village. The place wasn't much, as it had few wooden houses and a number of people in winter clothes that likely lived there. But once they felt and heard the impact of Rath landing, all eyes went on the creature before them.

"AAAHHHH! A DANGER BEAST!" Someone screamed.

It had only been a few seconds and already people wanted to run away. But fortunately the latter didn't happen when Tatsumi and Ieyasu came done from the creature, much to the shock of everyone.

"Everyone, relax. He's with us." Tatsumi stated boldly.

However, by doing so, it brought confusion among the people. As a result, whispers could be heard among the men and women as they watched with their eyes to see Tatsumi turn to Rath, who handed Sayo into his arms before he turned back to everyone with a look of worry and concern.

"Someone, please where's doctor –"

"Over here!" shouted an old voice.

The one who Tatsumi intended to call to walked out of the small crowd. He seemed to be a man in his seventies as he had a grey beard, black hair which most of them were grey combed to both sides while wearing a blue and white weather clothes. He surprisingly didn't seem intimidated by Rath's appearance fortunately, as he went over to Tatsumi who then handed him Sayo into his hands.

"What happened?" He asked.

"Sayo got caught in an avalanche. She needs your medical attention quick." Tatsumi said.

"I understand." The man said with a nod. Then he turned away and began running. "Follow me!"

"Right!" Tatsumi nodded.

Ieyasu, on the other hand, was about to go when he noticed Rath coming behind him. He hadn't expected the alien hero to do so, as he knew it would be trouble. So with a turn, he held at his hand at Rath in a stop motion and a glare from his casted on the alien hero.

"Sorry, but you're going to have to –"

However, Ieyasu didn't get to finish. This was because Rath backhanded him so hard that he fell into the snowy ground a few feet from him before walking the same direction Tatsumi went. His action caused the people in his way to step away from him, as no one dared to oppose the creature for fear of what he could do. After all, none of them were warriors.

Rath knew his figure at the moment was scary, but could care less. If he transformed back into Ben, he'll be attacked by the cold weather again even though it wasn't stormy. But besides that, he was concerned about Sayo despite the scary look on his face said otherwise as he continued making his way to a small hut. He could already see Tatsumi emerging out of the hut, when he then came to a stop and stood before him.

"Is she going to be okay?" He asked.

"Uh…yeah." Tatsumi said. He hadn't given Rath much thought before, but he did now. The creature, for some reason, was concerned for Sayo. It was weird. But rather than dwell on that, Tatsumi pointed back at the hut and continued. "The doctor knows what he's doing. But it's best we come back a few hours later."

"Good to hear." Rath commented.

But before anything could said, Ieyasu came walking with his axe in hand. He had a scowl on his face as he approached Rath, as he had a different thought in mind. But upon his eyes shifting to Tatsumi, the anger he felt changed to concern before he ran to Tatsumi with concern.

"Is Sayo going to be okay?" He asked.

"She'll be fine." Tatsumi said in assurance. "If it weren't for…Rath, it might have taken us longer to save her…that is if we could save her." Then he turned his attention at Rath and bow at him in gratitude. "Thank you."

"Yeah…" Ieyasu said and bowed at Rath. "Thank you…and sorry about my comment earlier."

"Hmph!" Rath responded and crossed his arms over his chest. "You better be! But…it's cool. Rath doesn't like that, so you can stand up straight now!"

"Oh right." Tatsumi replied. He stood straight immediately, with his best friend doing the same.

At the same time, the small crowd from before began to gather. They still kept a distance from Rath though, as all whispers of shock and surprises were shared among them. Apparently, they had just heard a Danger Beast (Rath) talk. It was freaky, scary and at the same time something amazing to see. But before Rath could say anything to them, the dial on his belt began to flash and make a strange noise. It caught the attention of the two teenagers before him, as well as everyone one, while Rath sighed as he threw both his hands down at his side.

"Aw poop." He said. Then he looked at Tatsumi, pointing at the coat he wore. "Hey, I'm going to need a coat like yours. You got a spare?"

"I do…but why do you –"

Tatsumi didn't get to finish. The flashing from the strange symbol of the alien hero's chest came to an end and engulfed Rath in a flash of green light. It caused both Tatsumi and Ieyasu to shield their eyes with their arms, while the villagers watched just in time to let out exclamations of shock and surprise. It was unknown to the duo though, as they were dropping their arms when they saw who now stood before them. Rath was no longer in their place, but instead a teenage boy around their age, shivering with his arms holds himself.

"S-So about that coat! ACHOO!" Ben sneezed.

-(LINE BREAK)-

Tatsumi: So after that happened, the chief stepped in. He was surprised by what Ben did, but unlike everybody else was willing to welcome him to his hut along with Ieyasu and I. It was there he offered Ben some soup before speaking to him…

()

"I must say, this is truly a surprise." said the chief.

Presently, everyone was at a table at their own seat. The hut wasn't big, but it was accommodating enough due to its cleanness and few rooms. On the table, Tatsumi and Ieyasu sat at the right side, while Ben sat at the end, facing the chief, who then made his way to his chair at the other end and sat on it. Speaking of the superhero, he wore a blue and white coat like Tatsumi and Ieyasu, while sipping on some of the soup.

"Thanks for the soup, sir." Ben said gratefully.

"You're welcome." The chief said with a smile. "You saved my daughter, so it's the least I could do."

"Wait, the girl's your daughter?" Ben asked, a bit surprised.

However, the chief waved it off with his chuckling smile. "No, I actually consider all the young men and women in this village as my children. It isn't easy to manage the place with the heavy taxes we get, but we'll be able to continue until Tatsumi and Ieyasu make it back from the Capital with Sayo. The money they'll provide will help very much."

Now this got Ben's inner attention. "The Capital, huh?" He asked, seemingly interested. "I actually want to head there, but I…don't know my way around."

"You're going to the Capital?" Ieyasu asked, surprised.

"Yup." Ben said and took another sip of the soup with his spoon. "You guys don't mind if I tag along, right?"

"We don't." Tatsumi answered. A determined smile formed on his face before he then pumped his fist at his chest and nodded at Ben. "You saved Sayo. It's the least we could do."

"But…" The chief added. "Right now they're not ready to go. They'll be set to leave in a week. But until then, they'll be training for the journey. We don't want anything bad to happen to them, after all."

()

Lubbock: I hate to be the downer, but you sure the old man didn't just jinx you guys?

Tatsumi (sighed and anime sweat drop): I'm sure he meant well.

()

"I understand." Ben replied in agreement. He didn't seem disappointed in itthough, as he immediately went back to sipping from the soup. The taste wasn't so bad.

But then Ieyasu decided to speak. "By the way, how did you turn into that Danger Beast?" He asked.

"Huh?" Ben questioned. He looked up from his soup and turned to the teen. "Are you talking about Rath?"

"Yes, that guy." Ieyasu said. He had a hint of curiosity as he continued. "You were kind of a di – Ow!"

Tatsumi nudged Ieyasu with his elbow with a glare. It caught the teen by surprise as he held the pained area before looking at Tatsumi, who then gestured his head at the chief. Once that happened, he frowned and bowed his head apologetically.

"I'm sorry." He said.

Fortunately, Ben didn't seem to be offended by this. In fact, he waved both his hands at the teen with an awkward smile on his face. "It's okay, dude. I mean it."

Ieyasu sighed in relief and sat back down. It had occurred to him before that he almost cursed, if not that Tatsumi intervened. But now that, that was out of the way, Ben raised his Omnitrix arm at everyone to see.

"I didn't want to talk about this, but I feel I owe you guys." Ben said straightly. "This is the Omnitrix. With this, I'm able to turn into Rath and over seventy other al – creatures."

"Over seventy?" Tatsumi questioned, seemingly surprised.

"No way." Ieyasu responded in disbelief. He then pointed at the device. "There's no way such a small thing could do that."

"Ieyasu, behave yourself!" The chief shouted.

Ieyasu became silent in compliance. But by doing so, Ben felt a bit awkward as he placed his arm back on his side, when suddenly a knock at the door was heard. It took away any tension the teen superhero felt, as a young man opened the door and stepped in, facing them from behind Ben. He caught the attention as all eyes were on him before he spoke.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything. The doctor said it's fine to see Sayo now."

-(LINE BREAK)-

Ben: …the moment the guy reported about Sayo, I felt relieved. I guess I was very worried than I thought before. But now that we knew, we set off to see her in the hut. When we got there, we noticed her on a small bed, just about to sit up. The chief excused himself and the doctor for some reason, but I couldn't care. Tatsumi and Ieyasu went over to her first while I stayed by the door, when…

()

"Sayo, you're okay." Tatsumi said with a relieved smile on his face.

"Of course I am." Sayo remarked with a smirk. "It'll take more than some snow and cold to hold me back."

Ieyasu grinned slyly. "And you call me careless. Now look who's in bed."

"Aw shut it." Sayo responded with a small glare. She hated to admit it, but Ieyasu was right. She had been careless during the fight, until now she realized it. But as she crossed her arms over her chest stubbornly, she noticed Ben standing by the door and became a bit confused. "Who are you? I've never seen you in the village before?"

"Oh, I'm Ben Tennyson." Ben said, introducing himself. He saw that moment as the chance to the join the others before walking to stand next to them. "I'm glad you're okay. It almost seemed like you would've frozen to death."

Sayo was a bit relieved, but still confused. She knew for sure she hadn't seen Ben's face before until now. Fortunately, Tatsumi noticed this as he faced her and gestured to Ben. "Sayo, Ben's the one who saved you from the snow."

"Really?" Sayo asked, surprised.

"Yeah, you should've seen it." Ieyasu added with a grin. "He was this tiger-like Danger Beast with a claw on both hands and –"

Sayo laughed. Her action caught the spiky black haired teen by surprise as he dropped his grin, only to replace it with confusion. But before he could ask, Sayo beat him to it with a joyful smile on his face.

"Ieyasu, are you sure you're not the one that was trapped in an avalanche?" Sayo joked rhetorically.

Ieyasu shot a glare at her in response. But before he could speak, Tatsumi interjected as he still gestured to Ben. "Actually, Sayo…Ieyasu is right. Ben was actually a Danger Beast."

"What?" Sayo questioned. She glanced at Tatsumi and then at Ben, before crossing her arms and looking offended at the trio. "This better not be a joke, you guys. There's no way a guy like that could be a Danger Beast."

"Well I'm not a Danger Beast." Ben said in correction. "But I can show you one of the transformations I have."

"One of the – Fine." Sayo replied. She didn't really seemed convinced though, just by the look of her face.

Fortunately, Ben didn't let her attitude discourage him. He gestured to Ieyasu and Tatsumi to take a few steps, before pushing the sleeve of the cat he wore and placed his fingers on the Omnitrix. The faceplate of the device then displayed the usual hologram ring of alien icon faces until he picked up, just for the faceplate to slide down. Then, with a slam of his hand on the core, he was engulfed by a flash of green light which caused everyone present to shield their eyes with their hands.

"What the =" Sayo said in surprise.

The transformation that took place before them was in an instant. The teenage boy with brown hair was entirely covered by the green light until it died down to reveal someone entirely different. This form wasn't like Rath, though; In fact, it was beyond anything animal related. It was a tall and muscular magma-based lifeform with a body that was composed of a bright yellow inner magma body covered in dark red rocks which surprisingly allowed it to radiate fire and heat. The Omnitrix symbol was on its chest.

"Oh my…" Sayo muttered slowly. Her eyes were widened as she stared metaphorically infinitely at the creature that stood before her. "Y-you're –"

"Awesome? I know." Ben concluded for her. "I call this guy Heatblast."

"Warrrrmmm."

"Huh?" Healtblast questioned, confused.

It was then at that moment he realized what Sayo was trying to say. The young woman had a huge smile on her face as she lay down on her body, feeling the nice heat of Heatblast from where she was. Her action surprised the alien hero though, as he blinked twice before noticing two certain teenage boys closing up to him with their hands at him.

"So warm!" Tatsumi said with a wide smile on his face.

"Yeah!" Ieyasu expressed the same.

However, their feeling didn't go with Heatblast. It took a few seconds later for the alien hero to realize what was going on around him. Hence, he became annoyed as he glared at Tatsumi and Ieyasu with a pointed finger. "Hey! Would you stop that?! I'm not your average heater!"

"We're sorry!" Both Tatsumi and Ieyasu said in unison. This was then followed with both of them taking a step back in fright at the thought of offending the alien hero. The same couldn't be said about Sayo, though. She lay peacefully on her bed, with sleepy eyes as she stared at Heatblast, who she then called to.

"Hey…Ben, do you mind staying for a bit?" She asked.

"Huh?" Heatblast turned to her.

"Please…" Sayo said, this time with a sleepy voice. "Just a few minutes at least."

Now it was Heatblast who was to decide. He could say no to Sayo, but for some reason he couldn't bring himself to. The young woman looked very peaceful as she curled herself under her blanket that the hero just couldn't bring himself to refuse.

"Fine, I'll stay." Heatblast sighed in defeat.

As for Tatsumi and Ieyasu, both of them remained quiet. They were surprised at what just happened, before that changed for Tatsumi as a warming smile came on his face. "Come on, Ieyasu, let's go." He said to his friend.

"Huh?" Ieyasu questioned, surprised. Then he turned to his friend. "Are you sure about that? We can't leave Sayo with him."

"We can." Tatsumi replied. "He cares about Sayo. I've seen it. Besides, Sayo needs her rest after all that she went through."

"Okay." Ieyasu said in admittance.

As much as the spiky haired teen wanted to disprove Tatsumi, he knew his friend was right. He had seen the concern Ben has had for Sayo considering he was the one who saved her. So without saying a word, both of them went out the door, leaving Heatblast to stand next to a now sleeping Sayo.

-(LINE BREAK)-

Aria: Huh…Sayo sounded like a nice girl…kind of like how she was when I met her…

Ben: Yeah, she really was. Now that I think about it, she kind of reminded me of Julie.

Aria: Julie?

Ben: Oh, she's one of my ex-girlfriends.

Aria (-.-): You're unbelievable.

Ben: Wait! At least hear me out!

Aria: No!

Ben (sighs): I tried…

()

The next day came by with Ben walking next to Tatsumi. The time was at some point in the morning, as both boys headed to the only big hut in the village, the mess hall, where other villagers could be seen entering. They had a small chat during the time, as both of them got to know about each other before entering the place without any trouble.

"…So you have a creature that can disappear too?" Tatsumi asked.

"Not really…" Ben replied. "He actually turns invisible. I call him Big Chill. He can shoot ice out of his mouth, but he isn't the only creature that can turn invisible and breathe out ice."

"Wow…That's amazing." Tatsumi said in awe.

It hadn't been twenty-four hours and already Tatsumi was fascinated by the young teen. But the same it couldn't be said about the villagers, who all became quiet upon the teen hero's arrival. In fact, their silence was so much that it was hard to believe that there was ever chatting going on there.

"Wow…quiet place." Ben commented with a frown.

It was no secret to him on the reason the mess hall was like that. But rather than dwell on that, he changed his expression and turned to Tatsumi. "So where do we get some food? I'm getting hungry." He asked.

"Huh? Oh." Tatsumi said absentmindedly. He had before been facing the other villagers until he heard Ben and turned to him. "I'm sorry about that. We should get our share as soon as –"

"Tatsumi! Ben!" shouted a familiar female voice.

The voice that called out to them got their attention immediately as they turned their attention it. It was revealed then to be Sayo, as she could be seen running towards them with Ieyasu behind her, carrying a crying five year old.

"Sayo, what's wrong?" Tatsumi asked.

"Trouble." Sayo answered. She and Ieyasu then came to a stop before the two teenagers, before she then pointed back at the crying kid. "Ichiro's father fell inside a hole in the ground and can't get out. We have to go save him."

"Alright." Tatsumi nodded determinedly. "Let's get our weapons and move out with a rope."

"Can I help?" Ben asked. He too had a determined look on his face as he continued. "I might be able to do something. I can't let someone get harmed while I'm around."

Sayo smiled and nodded. "Sure. Just be sure to keep up."

"I will." Ben smirked.

With that said, Tatsumi agreed with a nod. Ieyasu, on the other hand, said nothing as he sent a determined looking nod at Ben, who in turn sent it back at him. Then, as both Tatsumi and Sayo began to leave, Ben took the kid out of Ieyasu's hand and placed him softly on the ground. It was nice to see the kid stop crying, as it made what Ben did a bit easier as he got on one knee, facing the kid.

"Don't worry. We'll bring your father safe and sound." He said determinedly.

"Um…okay." The kid answered.

The mother of the child witnessed this from the entrance. She didn't know what to make of it though, as she watched Ben pat the kid softly on the head before proceeding out the door with Ieyasu by his side. Once that happened, she went to her child and held him in her hands, while the villagers watched, having seen what had happened before, with thoughts about Ben seemingly changing.

_(LINE BREAK)_

Ieyasu: So there we were. We set off to the woods to find the kid's father. He was a woodsman, so we knew where he would be.

Tatsumi: Actually, Sayo and I knew where he would be. Ieyasu kind of…

Ieyasu: Don't ruin this for me!

()

After a long time of running, Tatsumi, Ieyasu, Sayo and Ben made it to a clearing. It wasn't huge, but it was big as the snow constantly covered the ground. As for what they were looking for, Tatsumi was able to see it before leading everyone to it without haste.

"That's the hole the kid said." Sayo noted.

"Yup." Ben agreed.

As each step took them closer, the four of them were able to approach the hole before coming to a stop. Once that happened, the four of them looked down, with Tatsumi down on his knees as he looked down further to the bottom. He noticed it was deep, but was a bit relieved to see the man they were looking for there.

"I see him." Tatsumi announced. Then he called out. "Sir, we're here! Just hold on!"

"Huh?" questioned the trapped villager. But when he looked up, a feeling of relief came over him as a wide smile formed. "Tatsumi, Ieyasu, Sayo! I'm so glad you made it!"

The villager seemed to be a man in his early thirties. He had black hair with silver colored eyeballs, while wearing the traditional weather clothes of blue and white. However, just as he seemed happy to see the trio, he then brought up something that would surprise them.

"Where's the Demon Bird? It's gone, right?"

"Demon Bird?" Ben asked, confused.

Suddenly, a loud bird-like cry was heard all over the area. It caught the attention of the four teens, as all eyes went up, forward, just in time to see a giant bird creature coming straight for them. Its talons would've gotten them if not that everyone jumped out of the way, including Tatsumi, as that led them to fall on the ground, but not losing sight of the creature.

On obvious sight, the creature was a Danger Beast with a familiarity by the locals. It had the head of an eagle, with the crown of a cock on its head, and red eyes. Its wings were white at one side, but blue at the end downside, while having a hand attached to upper tip for three claws to show. As for its legs, it resembled that of an eagle, with its feather tail being white. The Danger Beast seemed set on killing them as it landed right in front out them, letting out a bird-like roar.

"I'm guessing that's the Demon Bird." Ben said, stating the obvious.

Having avoided the creature just in time, the four teenagers stood up with their eyes on the Danger Beast. It had its red eyes on them, as it extended its wings, likely ready to attack again. But before that happened, Tatsumi reacted as he turned to Sayo urgently.

"Sayo, we have to get the father out of there." He told her.

"What about you?" Sayo asked.

"Ben and I got this. Now go."

Sayo understood and nodded in response. She knew for sure that Tatsumi could hold his own against a Danger Beast, especially with Ben by his side. Hence, she turned to the Omnitrix user and said determinedly. "Goodluck."

Ben, on the other hand, didn't have enough time to say back. Sayo didn't give him the chance to. She immediately grabbed Ieyasu's wrist before running of the hole, with the guy seemingly disappointed.

"Wait, I'm not going to fight?" Ieyasu asked.

"Just help me out!" Sayo yelled.

Seeing both of them run off to help was admirable to see. But the situation didn't call for a bit of nostalgia, especially from Ben as he and Tatsumi turned to the Danger Beast, which was looking intimidating at them. But before it could attack, at that moment, both teens charged at it, with Tatsumi gripping his sword with both hands.

"Let's take this one down together!" Tatsumi exclaimed with a determined voice.

"Right!" Ben agreed determinedly. He pushed the sleeve of his coat immediately after and began working on the Omnitrix. "And I got just the right hero to take this one down!"

Tatsumi liked the sound of that. Hence, with a slam of his hands on the Omnitrix core, Ben was engulfed in a flash of green light. But when the light died down, the hero expressed dismay as he looked at his arms while still running next to Tatsumi.

"Crashhopper?" Ben expressed in shock. His voice now had a cricket sound to it.

In his words, he was right. He was an alien that greatly resembles a mix between a grasshopper and a praying mantis with significantly large three jointed hind limbs with his entire body having a green scheme. He had a large segmented horn on top of his head and two smaller horns on the sides of his head where the eyes were placed, while having large feet, as well as well as having two sharp fingers and a thumb on each hand and two light-colored claw-like toes on his feet along with one on the back. Lastly, he wore a suit which represents green overalls with three black stripes and a green tip. The green stripe on his stomach had a large hexagonal patch where the Omnitrix symbol was located and a smaller white stripe.

"Fine! I make this work!" Crashhopper stated determinedly.

However, there soon came a problem. The Danger Beast chose that moment to attack as it raised its wings upwards in such a way that both Tatsumi and Crashhopper knew what was coming next. So before it could flap downwards, both of them jumped out of the way sideways just in time to avoid its mighty wind strike in the form of a signal flap of its wings. The attack was strong enough to send the snow in its direction, as it headed straight for Sayo, who was holding the end of a rope as Ieyasu was in the hole, accompanying the villager from below. But due to Sayo's attention being at the rescue mission, she got hit by the air strike, causing her to let go of the rope and be sent flying.

"Sayo!" Both Crashhopper and Tatsumi cried out in mix of shock. But it was the alien hero who shot a glare at the Danger Beast. "Now you've done it!"

The Demon Bird squawked at the alien hero in response. But what soon followed next was unexpected as Crashhopper leapt at the Danger Beast with such force and speed that he collided its large horn-head against Danger Beast's throat, causing it to sent off a few feet off the ground and hitting the ground on its side with a pained cry.

"Wow…" Tatsumi said in a bit of awe. But he then shook his head and turned back to Sayo. "Sayo, are you alright?" He asked.

"I'm fine." Sayo said, although that was a bit of a lie. The Danger Beast's attack had caught her off guard and in a way hurt her. But she hid it as she got back on her feet, heading back to the hole. "You and Ben just hold off the Danger Beast. Ieyasu and I will take care of the mission."

"Okay…" Tatsumi replied in understanding. "Just be okay."

"Hmph! You worry too much" Sayo remarked.

Tatsumi cocked a determined smirk at her in response. It was obvious there was no reason to argue with her; hence he went back to the battle. As for the black haired girl, she ran to the hole, where she crouched down and looked down at the bottom.

"Ieyasu, are the both of you okay?" Sayo asked.

"Y-Yeah." Ieyasu groaned and rose from the ground.

When Sayo had unintentionally let go of the rope, the result for Ieyasu and the villager had resulted in time falling back to the bottom. Fortunately, he didn't seem to have sustained any injury as he rubbed the back of his head before casting an annoyed glare at Sayo.

"What the hell was that for?!" He yelled angrily.

"Me?!" Sayo responded offended. "I was attacked by the Danger Beast! Now check on the father! Is he okay?"

"Oh…" Ieyasu muttered. The feeling he held for his friend changed to a bit of shame as he realized what he did. But rather than dwell on it, he changed his outlook and turned to the villager, who was on the ground unresponsive. He was able to then get on his knees and touch the man's throat for a pulse, before looking back up at Sayo. "He's okay, but it looks like he's unconscious."

"This isn't good…" Sayo said with a thoughtful look. She took that moment then to look back at Tatsumi and Crashhopper, both of whom were fending off against the Danger Beast as it was back on their feet. She wished she could help, but the rescue was important. As a result, she turned back at Ieyasu. "You're too deep now. Is there a way you could find your way up with him?"

"Hmm." Ieyasu hummed. He walked over to the hole's wall and touched it with his hands for a reason. Once he did that, he looked back up at Sayo and shouted. "Looks like it's time to put my mountain climbing skill to the test."

Sayo smiled in response to this. She knew obviously by what the teen meant and so stood up and watched what was to unfold.

Meanwhile, back at the fight, both Tatsumi and Crashhopper were still fighting the Danger Beast. The Demon Bird had proven to be quite a formidable opponent, as it cleverly was able to dodge Crashhopper leaps for it and avoid Tatsumi's swift strikes. As a result, it was clear that the creature was fast despite its size.

"How are you going to hit it?" Crashhopper asked. Currently, he was standing by Tatsumi's right as both he and the young man were looking at the Danger Beast, facing them once again. "For the brain of a bird, this bird isn't dumb."

"I know." Tatsumi said. "It looks like close quarter attacks won't do. But we just have to wait for Sayo and Ieyasu to get the man out so we can take it down together."

"Or I could just do –"

Unfortunately, Crashhopper didn't get to finish. The reason for that was the Demon Bird, who rushed at them with a flap of its wings, causing both to jump out of the way, sideways. But as Tatsumi landed on his feet, the Demon Bird turned to hit and let out a blast of air out of its mouth with so much power that it sent the young man flying.

"Tatsumi!" Crashhopper shouted. Seeing Tatsumi flung away like he was a piece of paper was surprising to the alien hero. But just as the surprise came, it faded away to be replaced by anger as the alien hero scowled at the Danger Beast. "That's it! You're getting it now!" He shouted.

The Danger Beast turned to Crashhopper in response upon hearing him. But as it did so, Crashhopper was already heading at him from another shockwave-created leapt. Unfortunately, his intention to hit the creature by the forehead didn't work as it widened its beak and clamped down on him, much to his surprise.

"Not good!" Crashhopper shouted.

It also didn't help that the Danger Beast was trying to eat him. However, Crashhopper was able to put up a fight by making a stand on its tongue, before lifting the beak open to expose him to fresh air once again. But that wasn't to say he was out of trouble yet.

"He-Hey! I know I'm a bug and all, but I don't see my life ending as bird food!" Crashhopper shouted.

The situation, at this point, was getting worse as each second passed. Crashhopper could feel his strength weakening as the Danger Beast kept putting pressure down on his beak to eat him. Fortunately, its effort didn't go accomplished as three arrows were shot at its throat, a few seconds apart from each other. The unexpected attack caused the creature to cry out in pain to such an extent that it threw Crashhopper to the snowy ground, where he fell on his side.

"Ben, are you okay?"

"Ugh…" Crashhopper groaned.

The impact to the ground wasn't bad, partly due to the snow. But the obvious fact that he had been thrown off the beak of a Danger Beast still hurt. Fortunately, he was able to get back on his feet just in time to turn to the one who called him, revealing to be Sayo, running towards him with Ieyasu having the unconscious villager over his shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Crashhopper answered.

However, the time to talk wasn't at that particular moment. `The reason for that was the Danger Beast, which turned its monstrous head at the humans with clear anger. It was about to let out a squawk, but didn't when it suddenly it whipped its head back just in time to see Tatsumi heading straight for it. The brown haired teen hero had his sword by his side, with both hands gripped on it, as he seemed dead-set on striking the Danger Beast. But upon it sensing the killing intention, the Danger Beast flapped its wings and began to fly upwards. The result of its wings flapping made some snow and mist to brush past the others, while also reaching Tatsumi if not that he leapt at the Danger Beast.

"Oh no you don't!" shouted the brave teenager.

The determination in his eyes was as real as they could ever be as he let out a loud battle cry. The Danger Beast had been fast, but it wasn't fast enough to escape his blade. Hence, as the teen drew close to one of its leg, it slashed its sword at it, causing the creature to cry out in pain and fly up faster. As for the teen, he landed right before everyone and turned back at the Danger Beast.

"Damn! I wasn't able to get a fatal hit!" Tatsumi stated in spite.

The Danger Beast, on the other hand, seemed angered. It let out a loud squawk, before opening its beak wide enough as it was ready to unleash something big at the people. Tatsumi and the others seemed to notice this, but couldn't react fast enough before it let out a huge blast of air. Fortunately, Crashhopper reacted by slapping the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, changing him into Diamondhead in an instant.

The alien hero then went into action as he ran to Tatsumi. Once he got to the young man, he grabbed him by the shoulder, much to his surprise, and pushed him back with such force that he fell on his butt amongst his friends. But before he could question it, Diamondhead went on one knee and struck his hands sideways into the ground, causing a large crystal shard pyramid to cover them. His action then proved useful in time as it acted as an effective defense that withstood the incoming air blast.

The same, however, couldn't be said of its surroundings. Apparently, the Demon Bird's attack had been so powerful that it blasted the snow near the defense pyramid while at the same time causing huge cracks to form. By the time it stopped, it looked down to see the pyramid still in perfect shape. But then the pyramids levitated into the air to reveal Diamondhead, who had his hands up as he maintained it. He made sure with the movement of his fingers to cause the pyramids to separate into four, before then sending each other them flying individually at the flying creature.

The Bird Demon had little time to react as it saw them coming. It moved to the right and left to evade the first two triangle shaped attacks, but failed to react properly to the other two. As a result it got hit by the chest and under its beak with such force that it plummet to the ground on its back.

"Now's my chance!" Tatsumi stated.

Before Diamondhead knew it, the teen ran at the Danger Beast. This time, the creature had no time to react to his upcoming attack due it to struggling to get back on its front. But before it could, its life was cut short. Tatsumi came at it in his fastest and slashed on its stomach, right wing, tail and head, killing it instantly as it slumped to the ground dead and blood pouring out of its large wounds.

"Wow…you killed it…" Diamondhead muttered, shocked at what he saw.

"Haha! That's Tatsumi for you!" Ieyasu said with a cocky grin.

Unknown to the trio, however, the sight of the dead Danger Beast disturbed the alien hero. The look in his yellow eyes showed it, as he continuously stared at it while Tatsumi reunited to the others with his sword sheathed. But before he could say a thing about it, he heard a faint sigh, which made him turn to Sayo just in time to catch her in his arms.

"Wow, are you okay?" Diamondhead asked.

"Sayo!" Tatsumi shouted.

From the tension to that moment, everyone was at Sayo with concern. It appeared that she seemed weak, as she lay on Diamondhead's crystal hands with a faint look on her face.

"I'm sorry…" The young woman weakly apologized and winced. "That Danger Beast's attack really got me…"

"It's okay, Sayo." Tatsumi assured her.

"Yeah." Ieyasu agreed.

"They're right." Diamondhead said in agreement. "Now try to stay comfortable. We're heading back to the village."

Sayo smiled in response to this. She felt grateful for her friends as it made her feel some ease at it while her eyes were on Diamondhead. "Fine. But this'll be the last time you carry me." She said.

"We'll see." Diamondhead smirked.

So with nothing else to say, the trio and those they carried went off to the village in a run. Their main concern was for Sayo and the villager, who they knew needed medical attention as soon as possible.

_(LINE BREAK)_

Aria: Was…Was she okay after that?

Ben: Yeah. We made it to the village, where we got greeted by the villagers. Things changed from that moment on…

()

Some time passed as the group made their way to the village uninterrupted. But as they got to the entrance, they noticed a small crowd made up of all the villagers, standing there with concern and confusion amongst them. If it were like the last time, Diamondhead would've let Tatsumi handle it. But once he saw the doctor from before standing there, he went over to him with Sayo still in his hands.

"It's me, Ben. Sayo got hurt." Diamondhead said urgently.

"Uh, I see." The doctor replied. He was initially taken aback when the crystal covered alien walked to him. But as his eyes went on Sayo, he opened his arms for the hero to place her on before looking up at him. "I'll take care of her…and the villager there."

Diamondhead knew what he meant by the latter. But he said nothing as Ieyasu and Tatsumi caught up with Diamondhead and the doctor.

"Follow me, Ieyasu. I can treat them both." The doctor stated assuredly.

"Right." Ieyasu nodded.

With that said, both the doctor and Ieyasu ran off to his medical hut. This meant that Diamondhead and Tatsumi were left to stand before the villagers, who still had their eyes on them, particularly the alien before them. But before they knew it, a loud whining sound was heard from the alien hero, followed by constant green light flashing from the symbol on his belt. There was confusion about this though, until he was engulfed by a flash of green light that changed him back to human.

Just then, a woman and her son emerged from the ground crowd. They seemed wary about their approach though, as the woman seemed to tighten her grip of her child, while making her way to the hero that had just transformed. It was a good thing Ben recognized the boy as the one he met before since it would've felt a bit awkward.

However, that thought wasn't for the moment. Instead, both Tatsumi and Ben were quiet as the woman approached them with looks of concern.

"I-Is my husband going to be okay?" The woman asked.

Ben smiled. "He'll be fine. You don't have to worry. I promise." He assured them.

The woman let out a cry of relief as tears poured out her eyes. The tension she had felt for hours had finally been lifted, as what remained was gratefulness and happiness. But while she cried softly, she loosened her grip on her son, who took that moment to slip out and go over to Ben, hugging him by the legs.

"Thank you, big brother."

"Big brother?" Ben questioned, surprised and confused.

Suddenly, a loud cheer came from the crowd. It caught the teen further by surprise, especially as every villager present began approaching him, either thanking him for what he did or apologizing for their behavior. And just to add to it, Tatsumi patted Ben on the shoulder with a warming smile on his face.

"Ben, they like you now." He stated with a chirpy smile.

"Hmph…" Ben smiled and patted the kid on the head. Then he turned at Tatsumi. "They sure do."

_(LINE BREAK)_

FLASHBACK END!

Back at the present, Tatsumi and Ieyasu were rounding up with their flashback. The two young men were standing before Najenda, who was still seated at her chair, with her attention directly at them. The latter could be said for the other Night Raid members as well as they took in everything Tatsumi and Ieyasu had said, even to this moment.

"…So that's how we trusted him." Tatsumi said, continuing. "The week we stayed in the village, preparing to go to the Capital was fine until we ran into those bandits and got separated. Ieyasu and Sayo were able to stick together just in time to get there earlier, while Ben and I got there a day later."

"So you two never asked the guy of where he lived." Mine stated with a stuck-up attitude. "That's really careless if you ask me."

Ieyasu turned and shot an annoyed glare at her. He hated her attitude and wanted so much to speak against. But he didn't. The reason was due to Tatsumi, as he patted his friend's shoulder while facing the pink haired teen with a straightforward look. "We'll admit we messed up." Tatsumi said honestly. "But we did ask him once. He said he came from a very far place, and since we trusted him, we let it go. He was very good to the village. He used those creatures of his to help everyone's livelihood, so it was hard not to trust him. But if there is one thing he did let out about device of his…"

_(LINE BREAK)_

FLASHBACK (AGAIN! But by Tatsumi only)

Days had passed since the rescue mission and the fight with the Demon Bird. Since then, relations between Ben and the trio had grown more to the point that their trust was strong. So at a particular day, the four of them were at Tatsumi's house, where the two of the boys and Sayo sat at the table while Tatsumi placed a plate each before them. The plate had a few fruits and cooked meat which sent a great aroma in the air.

()

Akame: What type of meat was it?

Tatsumi: Now's not the time!

()

So back at the narration, Tatsumi took a seat at the table, which was at the other end of the table. Ieyasu and Sayo, at the same time, were seated at opposite sides of the table, while Ben sat at the other end, facing Tatsumi.

"Wow! Tatsumi, this smells great!" Ben expressed with a wide smile on his face.

"That's Tatsumi for you!" Ieyasu grinned. "He's a great cook, better than you."

Ben shot the spiky haired teen a glare. "Hey! Cooking isn't my thing, okay?"

Sayo giggled in response. It wasn't to Ieyasu's comment about the Omnitrix user, but the hero himself. Hence, her action then was followed with a nudge at Ieyasu's shoulder, much to the guy's pain and surprise.

"That's enough, Ieyasu!" Sayo said strictly. "Tatsumi invited us to eat with him, so be grateful."

Now it was Ben turn to snicker. It caught the attention of the spiky haired teenager, who then sent an offended glare at him as he rubbed his side. But rather than let that bother him, Ben picked up the spoon and began eating on his food, with the others soon doing the same. It was like that for a few seconds of silence before Tatsumi looked at Ben's with a thought obviously on his mind.

"Hey, Ben, thanks for what you did back there." Tatsumi said gratefully.

"Huh?" Ben questioned. He looked at the other brown haired teen with a piece of meat in his mouth before swallowing it down. He had an idea of what Tatsumi meant. "Oh, you mean the playground?" He asked. "No big. Water Hazard was glad to help."

"You say that." Sayo said and cracked a smile. Then she turned to Tatsumi. "The other day you should've seen it. Ben turned into this giant rock creature without touching. It was so fun to experience flying."

"Wait, you did?" Tatsumi asked, surprised with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, that was Gravattack." Ben confirmed. "He has the ability to move things like Sayo said. I thought about using him then because of Ichiro and a bunch of kids he knew wanted to play with me. It was fun."

"Huh, and where was Tatsumi and I?" Ieyasu asked.

"I don't know." Ben said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Maybe he was helping you find your way back home?"

"Hey! Don't say that!" Ieyasu yelled angrily. "My sense of direction isn't that bad!"

Sayo and Tatsumi laughed out loud. They didn't mind the glare Ieyasu was giving them, nor how he felt. Ben and Ieyasu had been at each other for a long time, so they were used to bickering and the comments they made of one another. Hence, Ieyasu sighed and calmed down before stuffing his mouth with some grapes by a folk.

"You know…with these Danger Beasts you change into, is there nothing you can't do?" Ieyasu asked.

Unknown to him, though, he was on to something. The question had Tatsumi and Sayo's best attention as they turned to Ben, who simply chewed up on another piece of meat. It was only after that, that he realized all eyes were on him.

"Uh…well there isn't I guess." Ben said, a bit nervous.

"Is that so?" Tatsumi asked. Then a wide excited smile formed on his face. "So what's your best hero? Is it Humungousaur? Rath? Ripjaws? XLR8?"

"It can't be that, Tatsumi." Sayo said with a composed look. "Don't get me wrong, those creatures he turns into are great, but maybe he has something we haven't seen…" Then she turned to the Omnitrix user. "Right, Ben?"

"Uh, yeah." Ben answered. At the point, he was feeling a bit nervous on going further. But he couldn't back down. "You're likely never going to see me use this hero…I call him Alien X."

"Alien X?" Tatsumi, Sayo and Ieyasu questioned simultaneously.

"What can he do?" Ieyasu asked.

"Everything." Ben answered simply. "He can do whatever you can think of."

"No way." Ieyasu said, refusing to believe. "There's no way something like that existed."

However, his thoughts there wasn't shared by his two other friends. In fact, both seemed either at awe or amazement as they stared at the Omnitrix user with possibilities already in their mind.

"So he can change the weather?" Sayo asked.

"Yup." Ben answered.

"Fly?" Tatsumi asked.

"Yup, that's too easy." Ben said back. He may have felt nervous before, but he was beginning to enjoy the guessing.

"What about removing the village's heavy taxes?" Ieyasu asked.

His question there got everyone to turn at him. But unlike Ben who was quiet, Tatsumi was quick to refute the question.

"Ieyasu, there's no way that –"

"Actually, I can." Ben said.

"What?!" The trio shouted in shock. By the looks of their faces, now staring at Ben, it was clear that they hadn't expected that.

However, Ben played it coolly with a smirk on his face. He loved seeing their expression, a bit too much if he were to think of it.

"You heard me I can." Ben said again.

"Then do it!" Ieyasu suddenly encouraged.

"What?"

"Turn into the hero!" Tatsumi added.

Both boys, at this point, were looking excitedly at the Omnitrix user as they continued staring at him. If what Ben said was true then they wouldn't have to go to the Capital to get the money or let their village suffer so much from the taxes. In fact, it sounded too good that Sayo felt the same way while staring at the teen hero. But something didn't seem right.

"I can't…at least not in this situation." Ben said. The grin he once held disappeared as it was replaced with a straight, serious face. "Alien X is a lot powerful than you think. I haven't even mastered his full power…Heck, I doubt I ever will. But if I were to do as you say, what good would that do? Sure, everyone would be happy. But that would leave an absence of something to learn, to develop and to improve. We won't get the good feeling of an accomplishment or the thought that we worked hard for something. Besides, the last time I used Alien X on an extended time, I ended up abusing his power on something that didn't call for it. Since then, I've kept away from using Alien X unless the situation is so dire and hopeless to the point that it threatens the extinction of human life…It's also not healthy to rely on one alien…from what I've been told."

With that said, Ben kept quiet as he looked at his friends to see their reaction. As expected, they seemed disappointed. Tatsumi and Sayo looked down at their plate, while Ieyasu just stared at the teen before a small formed on his face.

"Nice one, Ben, you really had us going." Ieyasu said.

"Huh?" Ben questioned, confused.

"What?" Both Tatsumi and Sayo stared at Ieyasu.

From the looks of it, the spiky haired teen didn't seem affected by the disappointment his friends once felt. In fact, he seemed a bit lightened up as he turned his attention to the others.

"Come on. Alien X? There's no way something that powerful exists." Ieyasu said further. "Ben would have to be a god."

"But Alien X is…oh forgot it!"

Ben folded his arms and sat back on his chair. Ieyasu's reaction there reminded him of a certain feline-like partner of his that he knew. So without saying anything, he watched as what happened next. Tatsumi seemed unease about Ieyasu's intuition though, as he stared doubtful at him.

"I don't know, Ieyasu…" He said with a doubtful voice. "Ben's helped us so far. I don't think he'll lie."

"Fine by you." Ieyasu stated without pursuing further. "That's good ol' Tatsumi. You can be so naïve sometimes."

"No, I'm not!" Tatsumi stated angrily.

"Yes, you are." Ieyasu replied with a grin. "Remember that time we…"

And so their discussion went into the background, at least to Sayo. Unlike the duo, she didn't hold any doubt or disbelief at Ben as she turned to him. Instead, she cracked a small smile at him and said. "It's okay, Ben. I believe you."

"Oh…" Ben replied, surprised. He sat back forward while hearing both Tatsumi and Ieyasu bickering as some relief came over him. Hence, he returned the smile back at her and said. "Thank you."

_(LINE BREAK)_

FLASHBACK END

"Are you sure he was saying the truth?" Lubbock asked.

Tatsumi's narration of the past had come to an end. Now it was Night Raid's turn to react to it. The whole point of bringing up that part was due to the viable information that Tatsumi felt should be shared. But in doing so, there was doubt about it.

"I think he was lying." Mine said without hesitation. "There's no human with a Teigu that could be that powerful."

However, Tatsumi seemed to think otherwise. He showed this as he turned to Mine, who in turn just stared at him as he spoke. "When Leone, Bro, Akame, Ieyasu and I surrounded Ben, he mentioned about turning into Alien X. If that was a lie…why would he bring it up?"

"Hmm…" Bulat hummed. He seemed thoughtful about it. "You're right about that Tatsumi. I recall him saying about that when he transformed into that creature he called…Toepick, right?"

Tatsumi nodded. From there it was Leone who then spoke next. But the thought of Ben annoyed her as she crossed her arms under her busty chest.

"The lad got me twice…" She said. "But Tatsumi and Bulat are right. He mentioned a creature like that in the fight. But there's one thing I want to add…I think the lad can do some good, not as a part of Night Raid, but a possible ally. Maybe…just maybe we can get him to help us out. We need the extra manpower anyway."

"Wow, Leone." Lubbock said and grinned at Leone. "For someone who got her ass handed to him twice, you seem optimistic of having him as a possible ally."

"Shut it or you're going to lose a few teeth!" Leone scowled angrily at the other assassin. As a result, Lubbock was fearfully taken aback as she continued. "At least I put up enough of a fight! You were knocked out in a few minutes!"

"Ouch." Mine remarked with a grin.

Lubbock knew where he was done for, especially at that moment. He decided to say nothing about it though, as a feeling of embarrassment and shame washed over him before he backed away a bit from Leone. But before anything could be said, a fake cough was heard from Najenda, which then brought everyone's attention back at her.

"Now…if everyone is done talking, maybe you're ready to hear from me."

"Sorry, boss/Najenda-san." Both Leone and Lubbock apologized respectively.

Fortunately, the boss didn't seem to hold anything at them. Instead, she went right into her conclusion of the matter.

"I've thought about it. Maybe Leone is right about the young man." Najenda stated in an authoritative manner. She watched as everyone expressed mixed reaction before continuing. "From what everyone has reported and narrated, Ben Tennyson might be useful in our cause. He would prove useful when the revolution happens. But that isn't to say he isn't a threat to us too. He still holds secrets, but at the same time he has a pure heart that is hard to see in these hard times. That is why we won't relocate our base of operation. If what Sheele says is true, he won't be going to the Capital and report about us. But to be sure, I'll have Leone watch him as soon as possible."

"Me?!" Leone shouted, surprised. "Why me? Akame is good enough."

"Because I said so." Najenda determined. "Besides Akame, you're our best tracker to find him. You must watch where he goes before making the decision to meet with him. In the manner you do is up to you. What I need to know is what are his present intentions and his location. Have I made myself clear?"

"Uh…yes, boss." Leone answered in defeat.

"Good." Najenda said and grinned.

But the meeting wasn't over yet. Ieyasu had something to say, as he was the next to speak.

"He won't join us." He stated with a straight voice. "Besides, he has that girl that murdered…"

"Ieyasu…" Najenda calmly called his name. From there, her attitude became serious as she narrowed her eye at him. "Why did you join Night Raid?"

"Huh?"

Ieyasu was confused by the question. He knew Najenda knew why he joined their group of assassins. But by the look of her seriousness, there seemed to be something else to her question, hence she continued.

"If you joined Night Raid to have revenge, then you're not fit to be a part of us." Najenda stated without a hint of doubt. "Each of us here has lost something and felt betrayed in order to get to where we are today. In due time I hope both you and Tatsumi will understand that. But be warned, if you let revenge dictate your life, you'll end up dead."

Ieyasu became quiet and looked away. As for Tatsumi, he felt a bit mixed about Najenda's words. He knew in a way that she was right, but couldn't help but not lose sight of the one thing him and Ieyasu had set to do for Sayo's sake. However, Najenda didn't seem to notice or at least concerned about it. Instead, she just waved her metal hand at the group.

"This is meeting is over. You can leave now." She ordered.

And so, with nothing else to say, everyone went their various ways. There were those who dwelled on what had happened that night, as well as what the future meant, with the same going for Tatsumi and Ieyasu as they escorted one to the other person's room.

_(LINE BREAK)_

With time having gone far, Ben's narration of the past had come to an end. Currently, he was heading up the small hill, with Aria behind him as both walked up quietly. The teen had noticed the young woman's attitude had changed over the time he explained about the past, but thought best to deal with it tomorrow. He needed sleep, so he guessed the matter could wait.

However, his intuition was wrong. It was proven that way when Aria suddenly grabbed his left wrist to get his attention. But once that happened, she didn't look at the hero when he turned to her.

"Aria…can this wait? I really want to sleep." Ben said with a tired voice.

Aria said nothing back. Her face was still at the ground while she held Ben's wrist. But as he tried pulling from her hand, she tightened her grip, much to his surprise.

"Is everything okay?" Ben asked, concerned. He was still tired due to the night having gone too far by now. But as he continued to stare at the silent blond, his concern was proven right.

"No, everything's not okay!" Aria shouted. She still kept her head down though, as she tried suppressing her feelings. "Tell me, Ben…Be honest…Do you miss being friends with Tatsumi…Ieyasu and…her?"

Now Ben understood what was going on. He could see the guilt just coming from the blond despite not be able to see her face. It was saddening to him, but in a way understandable considering what had happened. Hence, he patted her on the head. "Aria, you have to –"

"No!" Aria yelled in protest. The feelings she felt was reaching its peak as each seconds passed. It led her to shake Ben's hand off her and taking a step back, just in time to look at him with teary eyes. "Don't lie to me! Just tell me the truth!"

"Hmm…" Ben sighed through his nostrils. He felt hesitant to speak the truth as he knew the outcome of it. But as Aria stared at him, he gave him with a sad look on his face. "I do…I miss the friendship. I miss bickering with Ieyasu, I miss the times Tatsumi and I would hunt down Danger Beasts and I missed…I missed seeing Sayo's smile every day."

"I…I knew…" Aria muttered. Her voice seemed to crack up as she continued to cry. The pain she felt in her chest was feeling too much as the thoughts of her past went through her head. "I'm…I'm a monster!" She cried out loud. "I remember it now! She was so nice and friendly! But what did I do!? All I thought was about how her hair was better than mine! I was jealous and I killed her!"

"Aria…" Ben muttered.

The teen at this point couldn't take the scene anymore. He knew Aria was feeling extreme guilt despite reforming from past that a few hours ago. Hence, he tried reaching his hand out to him. But as he did, the girl backed away and slapped it away.

"No! Please stay away!" She cried out.

Unfortunately, in her moment, the young woman failed to acknowledge her surroundings. She was still at the climbing side of the hill, when suddenly she lost her footing and began to fall back. But before she did entirely, Ben shot his hand forward and grabbed her hand with such firmness that he then pulled her to her chest and hugged her with his arms around her.

"Why…" Aria cried softly at Ben's chest. "Just let me die…Please."

"No." Ben refused. He tightened his firm on Aria and continued. "Letting you go won't change the past. I care very much for you to let you to not let you die."

"I…I see." Aria said softly. "Then if you do care…take me to the Capital."

"Huh?" Ben expressed, surprised. "Why?"

"Because it's for the best…" Aria answered. "I…I care about you too…But the pain…the pain in my chest won't leave…not while I'm around you. So please…if you really care about me, you'll let me go."

Ben became quiet. He felt hesitant about granting her request since part of it was due to guilt. But then again could be blame her; she sounded sincere about it. So as much as he hated the idea, he knew she was right.

"Fine…I'll take you." Ben said in agreement.

"Thank you…" Aria said back.

Ben didn't know what else to say to that. He loosened his firmness of Aria, before placing his arms on her shoulder as she stood fully back on her feet. Once that happened, he noticed she had stopped crying, before moving to a question he had in mind.

"So where exactly to the Capital should I take you?" He asked.

"To an acquaintance of my father…I'll be safe with him."

"Okay….Who is he?" Ben asked.

"He's name is…Ogre."

Ben felt a bad feeling once he heard the name. Maybe it was the fact that it sounded inhumane for a human being to have. But rather than focus on that, he faked a smile at Aria and said. "Fine, I'll take you to him."

"Th-Thank you."

At the last word Aria said, she unexpectedly fell on Ben. It surprised the hero, as it alarmed him to hold her carefully in his arms until he heard soft snoring from her.

'Huh…She fell asleep?' Ben thought.

True to his thought, he was right about Aria's current state. She had a peacefully look on her face while the tears on her cheeks rubbed off on Ben's shirt. If it weren't for the fact that Ben too was tired, he might've found this cute as he carried the girl in his arms and walked up the hill, where he knew they would be safe.

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While everyone slept in their beds, there were some that were still awake in the Capital. These people were mainly those walking late in the night or low-life people who wanted to spread the little terror as they could. So while it was quiet, there was something that soon interrupted the peace of an alley.

Screams and the sounds of blood splashing against concrete walls and falls could be heard as the painful cries of men dying went up in the air. The alley it came from had been known for a group of muscular thieves who would steal, rape and kill their victims whenever given a chance. But when they came across one particular person late at night, their time ran out.

One of the men, though, was able to run. He held his left arm which had blood pouring out at the place his hand was once at, with his left hand, with a look of horror on his face. He hadn't expected their supposed victim to be so deadly to kill his comrades and boss in such a bloody way.

"Th-That bitch's crazy!" The man cried out.

However, he never made it to the end of alley. Instead, he fell to the ground as he felt something wrap around his legs, before pulling him backwards until he was a few feet from the person that slaughtered his thieving friends. It was then at that moment that he turned, with fearful eyes as the figure stood before him with her right hand glowing a pink aura.

"Who are you calling crazy? You're the one who invited me." The girl said with a playful voice.

The man continued to shake in response to this. He could see the joyful look in her eyes, as well as the sadistic smile on her face, before seeing three pink energy ropes came out of the pink orb in her hand, heading straight for him.

"Now then…say hello to your buddies for me. It was fun."

And so with that came the death of the thief. He let out a loud cry of pain as his body was butchered severely till he lay in a pool of his own blood, dead. As for his assailant, she walked out of the alley, humming slowly to a catchy tone she had heard.

"Ben 10…he's a kid and he wants to have fun, but when you need a superhero he gets the job done…Ben 10, with a device that he wears on his arm, he can change his shape and save the world from harm…Hmph! Hmph! HA!"

Then she stepped out of the alley, revealing her entire appearance. She looked similar to Gwen Tennyson, but with a different color scheme that reflected her appearance. She had short black hair like Gwen, with a purple hairpin at the side, wore purple glasses, while wearing a black shirt with a purple kitty at the center and a purple skirt with small white lines. Along with that, she wore black long-knee songs and purple shoes that matched her outfit all together.

"Oh, cousin! You picked the right place to have so much fun!" The girl exclaimed with a joyful look on her face. Then she giggled maliciously. "Sunny is going to enjoy staying here." She said in third person.

And so with that said, the evil cousin of Ben Tennyson continued her walk down the streets. It was unknown for the time being of how she got to this universe, not that it mattered to her. Instead, what really mattered to her was all the 'fun' she could have in the world of monsters in human skin.

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Aaaaand done!

Wow! That was a lot for me to write! I thought I should cut this chapter down to another one, but I thought that was unfair to you guys. But that isn't to say that all the scenes I had in mind was placed in this chapter. There was one scene where Ben or Tatsumi and Ieyasu was to flashback to a time Ben, Ieyasu, Tatsumi and Sayo went swimming doing their travel to the capital. This flashback was to explain the time Ben used Rath to scare Ieyasu. Also, in another scene, there was meant to be a scene that would explain why Ben was absent when those bandits caused Tatsumi, Ieyasu and Sayo to split. In this scene, Ben would unintentionally confront Sunny, who would explain her intentions, as well as other things. But due to this chapter being too much, I had both scenes removed until I decide to bring them in another time.

Also, yup, Sunny is in this fanfiction now! I didn't originally think of her until I thought of the fate of one character of Akame ga kill! I won't reveal the role that she'll play until the time comes, but I can tell you it'll be pretty interesting! As to those who don't know who Sunny is, she appeared in Ben 10: Ultimate Alien and made a cameo in Ben 10: Omniverse. Her current look is based on the design on the latter series of the franchise.

Sunny's character would be based off her personality from the series. But in addition to this, she'll have a killer character similar to that of that crazy pink haired girl from the anime "Future Diary", minus the love obsession over somebody, and Kurumi from Date A Live.

So now we'll be heading back to the manga once again. But before I end this, here are three hints of the character I'm talking about.

He's not an adult.

He was killed off in the last episode.

His very presence is the cause of the state the world of Akame ga kill found itself in.

Good luck with guessing who it is. The next chapter will take us back to the manga, precisely at chapter 3 of it. Please review, favorite and follow. Your support is what keeps me going.