Oh my guacamole! Do you know what this is? Not only is it a decently sized chapter that was uploaded the day after the last one, BUT THIS IS THE SECOND LAST CHAPTER! :O :O :O
I can hardly believe it. Just the epilogue to go, folks! Are you excited?! (I am, in case you couldn't tell XD)
Rakcrack15: Seems like his good luck came back. Hahaha! Nethersian's in a bit of a pickle, but after the epilogue, I'll send him to you for his tech :)
AKA99: It all comes down to this! What will happen?!
Obsessivebookdiva: Yeah, school can be a pain, but it has its advantages. School life is much easier than working life (so I've been told), so enjoy the easy(er) years while they last :3 Could you do correspondence? We have this thing here called Flexible Learning, where your teachers email your work to you (or post it) and you can do it at home (I do that for two of my subjects)
ChristellaShinobu: It is indeed, you are quite sharp, young padawan. I hope it lives up to your expectations (I've never been good at endings)
Avatar Aang: Me too XD Enjoy~
Disclaimer: Still don't own Ben 10. Nupperz :P
Max was surprised at how easy it had been to sneak aboard the large ship the Rust Bucket had been set to trail. The lack of guards could only mean they were all focused at another area, which wasn't a good sign. He wasn't sure what they would do if Ben had somehow been captured. The pure size of the ship alone was enough to signify that they were greatly outnumbered, even with the Galactica guards.
Despite the considerably large number of individuals that made up their group, they had decided against splitting up. If they managed to run into a troop of guards, it was better that they were all there to take out the threat. It was no good trying to cover more ground only to get captured themselves.
Walking stealthily down the empty halls was unnerving, Max decided. In all his years as a Plumber, he had learned that an empty ship was never a good sign, and his instincts were screaming at him about how wrong the situation seemed. He ignored them and chose instead to focus on the task at hand. If they ran into guards, well, they would cross that bridge when they came to it.
It came sooner than any of them had expected. A shout and the sounds of a fight drew the team down a different hallway until they found themselves facing an open door.
Without any words needed, all members present flatten themselves against the walls to try and prevent detection. The large room before them was practically swimming with guards. It was like every single living soul in the entire place had congregated to this very spot. But why? Max had a feeling he wouldn't like the answer.
Peering his head around the corner, Max was just able to see past the guards and take in the situation. Standing amidst the circle of guards was a tall, black-cloaked figure. Max was sure, had his face been visible, that it would have borne a smirk of contempt.
Max felt a mixture of fury and fear as his eyes set on a squirming figure clasped around the throat and dangling in the air by the grip of the imposing, cloaked figure. An angry hiss and several stifled gasps alerted him that the other members of his party had seen, too.
Before he had the chance to stop her, Gwen stepped forward and launched a particularly big blast of mana at the figure that held Ben in a death grip. The force of the blow caused the figure to stumble and his grip on Ben relented, causing him to fall to the floor where he remained motionless.
The sudden attack on their leader caused the guards to turn to the intruders, each with weapons drawn. They called out in warning to each other and their leader before advancing on the new enemy.
But Max, Gwen and Kevin were so consumed in their anger for what they had encountered, that none of them even thought about the possibility of being overwhelmed by their numbers. The Galactica guards would follow Max into battle without hesitation. Besides, they knew better than to stand around in the midst of the fray that was about to appear.
To say Syvux was angry would be the understatement of the year. He was practically livid in the fury that had accumulated within him. He had managed to roll onto his side and was starting to gather the required energy to send a blast at that damned Nethersian, but Ben was in the direct line of fire. It seemed that during their fight, Ben had positioned himself between Nethersian and himself. But in doing so, Ben had prevented Syvux from providing any aid, whatsoever.
Nethersian had Ben by the throat, holding him up in the air. Syvux didn't know all that much about human anatomy, but he was almost certain that the boy would need his throat uncrushed in order to survive. Ben had struggled against the tight grip, but his movements had continued to lessen as time progressed. If nothing was done to stop Nethersian soon, then it would be all over for Ben.
With renewed determination, Syvux attempted once again to get to his feet. The burning fury inside him aided in his endeavor, and he managed to stand upright with only a few swaying motions. He was about to rush forwards but stopped when a sudden blast impacted with Nethersian, sending him teetering and causing Ben to fall harshly to the ground.
"Ben!" Syvux called out as he, without sparing a second thought for this new, unforeseen force, rushed to his friend's aid.
He was at Ben's side in seconds, kneeling down to assess the damage. The boy was unconscious, and his throat was ringed with red hand-shaped marks that were already beginning to bruise, but he was still breathing. Syvux heaved a sigh of relief and took a moment to look around.
The guards all seemed to be focused on the new intruders, who on closer inspection, turned out to be Ben's friends. However, he found he wasn't really surprised by this development. Regardless of the way they had treated them before, Syvux knew that they wouldn't abandon Ben. That much had been made clear in their earlier encounters. But as to how they had known where to find them, that was a different story. He theorised that they had tracked the Ultimatrix or the jet they had taken. He couldn't tell for sure.
A sudden thought struck him and Syvux searched frantically for Nethersian. Just as he turned to the right, a fist collided with his face and he was sent flying across the room, landing on a heap atop a small mass of guards. He groaned at the renewed pain from his earlier shock but quickly sat up again. He couldn't afford to waste time.
Nethersian loomed over the unconscious figure that was Ben, having remained where he was when Syvux had been battered away. Without even needing to see his expression, Syvux knew that Nethersian would bare a face devoid of any mercy or compassion. It had become clear that the Emperor wanted Ben dead, and wasn't going to be stopped by a single attack from the Anodite girl. If he didn't find a way to stop him, Ben was going to be in big trouble.
The first thing Ben was aware of as he slowly returned to consciousness was the throbbing pain originating from several points over his body, the most prominent of which being his neck. As his memories slowly returned, he connected this pain with the beating he had taken from Nethersian and he assumed the rest of his aches were a result of being dropped.
The next thing Ben was aware of was that there was a battle raging around him. At least, he thought that was what the raging shouts and blasts meant. As to who the guards (who else would it be?) were fighting, that remained a mystery.
Ben took a deep breath, preparing himself for the pain he knew would accompany opening his eyes. He wasn't disappointed. Even the simple task of lifting his eyelids was more taxing than it should have been, sending jabs of agony pounding through his oxygen-deprived brain. After a moment the feeling retracted to a dull ache and he found the strength to look around.
That was when he noticed the figure standing before him, watching him with an intense glare from within the dark folds of his hood. This was, he had no doubt, Nethersian.
As if recognising him had infuriated the Emperor further, Nethersian bent down and grabbed the collar of Ben's shirt, lifting him until his feet were dragging on the floor. Ben felt a chill shudder down his spine as he gazed into the inky blackness of the hood. Not being able to read the alien's expression made him considerably uneasy.
"Nobody move," the words were almost a whisper but somehow they managed to reach the ears of every single being in the room. "Or I'll tear him in half."
Ben had no doubt he would.
The effect was instantaneous. Everyone froze, mid swing, and turned to face the ominous leader of the Kirian Empire, waiting nervously to hear what he would say next.
Ben could feel his strength returning. A few more minutes and he would be able to stand with his own strength, rather than hanging limply in Nethersian's grasp.
Without turning his head away from Ben, Nethersian ordered, "Arrest them."
The guards moved without hesitation towards the intruders, who didn't resist in fear for Ben's life.
"As for you," Nethersian's voice lowered considerably and Ben wondered if he would have missed the words had he not been listening for them. "I am going to make you wish you had never been born."
"Let them go," Ben's voice displayed confidence that he wasn't feeling.
"Why should I?"
"If you let them go, I won't resist."
"In the shape you're in, I doubt you could resist even if you wanted to. Besides, they need to be taught a lesson. You can't expect to stowaway on my ship and get away with it." At this, Nethersian turned away from Ben and addressed his guards directly. "Take them to the cells and stay on guard. We don't want a repeat of our earlier incident."
Ben could accept being targeted. He could accept being held captive and unable to do anything. What he couldn't accept was anyone threatening his friends. He could feel the anger pending up within him and, as he normally did, he acted on it. While Nethersian's attention wasn't on him, Ben discretely reached for the Ultimatrix and selected the first alien that came up. He didn't have time to be picky.
The sudden flash of green was enough to return Nethersian's attention to his captive, but not quick enough. In the short moment that his mind had been distracted, Ben had transformed. Cursing under his breath, Nethersian took on a defensive stance. In his shape, the boy wouldn't be much of a threat, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Swampfire!" Swampfire staggered backwards as he was released from Nethersian's grip. Even in the form of a regenerative alien, he was still weak and in pain, but at least now he had a chance.
"Surrender, boy," Nethersian spat. "Or your friends will suffer for it."
"Oh really? I wouldn't be so sure," taking a page from Syvux's book, although he wasn't sure how the Arkhirathi had managed it, so he opted for a different approach, Swampfire flung seeds throughout the crowd surrounding them. Vines shot up, encompassing the guards and, effectively, freeing his allies.
Nethersian growled, an animalistic noise, and charged forwards. Swampfire was sure that he wouldn't have the strength to dodge and be able to get back up, so he simply allowed Nethersian's fist to penetrate right through his face, similar to the reunion with Kevin when he had only just put the Omnitrix back on.
While Nethersian struggled to free his hand, Swampfire placed both of his hands against the Emperor's chest and blasted him with streams of fire, sending him across the room where he collided with the far wall. Nethersian only stayed down for a moment before springing back and returning to the fight.
Nethersian grabbed a blaster from one of his entwined guards and shot relentlessly at Swampfire, each blast passing harmlessly through his plant-like body.
Swampfire threw out another handful of seeds, but Nethersian rushed out of reach of the protruding vines.
"You'll have to do better than that," the Emperor taunted, dodging yet another batch of seeds, coming within striking distance to Swampfire.
Before Swampfire had time to react, Nethersian had pulled a strange, glowing knife seemingly out of hammer space and began slashing at Swampfire's body. The constant assault rendered Swampfire unable to regenerate and he could do little but fall to pieces as each swipe took chunk after chunk out of his body until he was not much more than a pile of mushy green on the metallic floor.
Nethersian stopped his attack and looked down at what he had caused in satisfaction. "This," he gestured to the remains of Swampfire as he addressed the bystanders, "is what awaits all who dare stand in my way."
Swampfire would have smirked if his face was still intact. The Emperor seemed to have underestimated him. While his attention was diverted, Swampfire allowed himself to slide along the floor until he was directly behind Nethersian. Slowly, his body began to regenerate until he had been restored enough to carry out his just-thought-up plan. Subtly, he sprinkled a small number of seeds at Nethersian's feet.
In a matter of seconds, vines shot out and wrapped Nethersian in their tight embrace, knocking the weapons out of the Emperor's hands. This time, Swampfire did smirk as he circled around to look Nethersian in the face – well, the front of the hood. He could practically feel the hatred emanating from the Emperor.
Now the adrenalin was leaving his system, Swampfire knew he didn't have long until his remaining strength left him. He had to act now.
Without taking his eyes off his prisoner (he had learned from his own example), he called out, "Syvux, I was reluctant to fight him because I know what this means to you, but he left me with little choice. I will, however, allow you to make a decision as to what happens now."
There was the sound of footsteps and in his peripheral vision Swampfire could see the familiar alien moving towards him.
"Although I'm against the idea of revenge," he continued. "I won't stop you if that's what you choose." Only when Syvux was standing right beside him did he dare take his eyes off Nethersian, and even then he kept a close watch on him in the corner of his eye.
Syvux's expression was unreadable, yet his face seemed to reveal a world of emotions. There was silence for a long moment before Syvux finally spoke. "…I won't stoop to his level. So long as he is locked up forever and his empire destroyed, that will be enough for me."
Swampfire smiled his approval just as the green glow reminded him of his weakened state. No longer able to support his weight, Ben's legs collapsed underneath him. Syvux caught him before he hit the ground.
"Thanks," Ben said breathlessly.
Then all at once he was surrounded by Max, Kevin, Gwen and the Galactica guards, who seemed uneasy being in the presence of their target.
"Ben," Max sighed in relief that his grandson was, for the most part, unharmed. "Are you alright?"
"Fine… just really tired."
Gwen entrapped him in a bone crushing hug. "Oh, Ben! We're so sorry for doubting you!" She released him and held him at arm's length. "Don't ever scare me like that again!"
"It's good to see you, too," Ben grinned, his eyelids growing heavy.
"Tennyson," Kevin said awkwardly. "I, uh, I'm… I'm sorry. I should have believed you. But, you know, when I saw the Arkhirathi," he shot a wary glance at the alien supporting Ben, allowing his voice to trail off and hoping Ben would understand what he was getting at.
At the sudden acknowledgement of the Arkhirathi's presence, the Galactica hesitantly moved forwards, making as if to arrest it. Picking up on what they were intending, Ben pushed himself away from Syvux, swaying only a little.
"If you want to arrest Syvux, you'll have to go through me," he announced, wincing at the way his voice rasped.
"Ben," Gwen said cautiously. "He was imprisoned on Galactica. They don't lock people up for no reason."
Syvux tensed at Ben's elbow but said nothing.
"It was a misunderstanding," Ben explained, swaying more with each passing moment but still refusing aid. "He was only trying to help… he was framed," he turned and glared at Nethersian, who was still grasped tightly by the vines. "By him." He spat out the name like it was poison on his lips.
Grem nodded his understanding and signaled for his team to stand down. "Don't worry, Ben," he smiled reassuringly. "I'll have a word with Drone and get this mess cleared up."
Ben smiled his thanks and allowed Syvux to bear the grunt of his weight as he slowly slipped back into unconsciousness just as a large platoon of Plumber agents burst into the room.