BEN 10: RISING OF THE SHIELD HERO
CHAPTER 16: FITORIA
While I agree that Ben and his party should travel to Shieldfreeden, I don't have much info about that country on my plate.
So for the time being, I have to follow the canon chronology and this will ensure the battle with the Pope.
Thanks for reading and writing reviews on the chapters.
Without further ado,...
"Being a hero isn't about others knowing you did something good, it's about YOU knowing you did something good. Being a hero is its own reward."
- Maxwell Tennyson -
"Northern? For what reason?"
The Queen's shadow returned to us with a request from the Queen. And the message is that since I refused reconciliation, it would make things difficult so she wanted me to reconsider. The request is for my party to travel to the northern territories where the refugees from a neighboring town are sheltered. Then I don't have anyone to rely on so the Queen wants me to solve this problem on behalf of her. Talk about bossing around, huh. But… Well, it's about saving people so I don't want to say No.
After hearing the necessary information, the answer immediately became yes.
"I won't be coming this time because I wanna help Eclair. There were guardians of Lurolona and one of them was off the sea for fishing when the wave assaulted the village. So we should find that guardian."
"It's not a problem, good luck," I reply.
"Please take care… of the princess," Eclair warns us.
I roll my eyes and glance at Melty who shrugs off my eyes.
"And which country will you go after your journey?" Rex asks.
I recall some information I have read but we've not really decided where to go.
"Shieldfreeden, I guess?" because this country seems to be better than Melromarc and Siltvelt.
Eclair nods. "I have no reason to object, but… I suggest you hide your identity of being a Shield Hero. Their religion involves your status. So try to not cause a commotion. And I'd prefer no one from the Melromarc other than us from Lurolona knows that. And the princess will be with you, so I can't help but be worried."
I smile to assure them.
"You can talk wise things sometimes," Aria teases.
Eclair frowns at Aria shortly.
I get up from the seat and grab Aria.
"So, we will depart soon. Thanks, everyone, for your advice and this wonderful conference. Filo, come."
"Yes, Master!"
I cut off Eclair's frown by taking my members out of her range.
"Hey, aren't you taking me?" Melty says as she gets up from the seat.
-(SKIP)-
"Shopping list?"
Arian holds up a piece of paper. He is sitting in the driver's seat.
I am in my future muscular form.
"Yes, it's a shopping list. We need to buy a couple of things before lending hands to the ones who need help. The primary need is food. And water, I think. The rest can wait. So, I intend to visit the bio plant village and buy two or three bags of seeds. And fruits. I don't know how to transport them, yet but we will work it out."
I answer calmly. Melty widens her eyes in amazement when she hears that I have no actual plan.
"Are you sure the seeds will solve the hunger problem?"
"Pretty sure," I respond as I grasp a bottle of water and sip on it.
After two hours, we arrive at the village where we saved its people from plant monsters.
"Oh, Our Savior of the Heavenly Fowl!"
The villager harvesting the red fruits sees us and exclaims, which causes the nearby villagers to stop their works and surround our carriage.
"Hey, thanks, but…" I look down at the baskets filled with red fruits, given by the villagers. They are so delighted to see us that they instantly prepared gifts of gratitude for us.
"We are here to purchase fruits and seeds," Arian says with his monotonous voice. "So please refrain from giving us for free."
His tone is intimidating and the surrounding villagers are shaken. The village elder runs out of his house and walks as fast as he can towards us.
"Please let's give them breathing space, my fellows," he requests his villagers.
The people do as he requests but they are still trying to trust red fruits to us.
I jump down the cart and greet the elder.
"Thanks, Mister," I smile. "We are on the journey to a town that's sheltering war refugees so we decided to buy fruits and seeds from your village to solve the food problems."
The villager looks up at me, smiling. "As expected of Our Savior. Your news is everywhere, and everyone who visits our village talks about you."
I laugh as I gesture to my members to come down.
"Guys, let's take a… short break in the village."
The village is not completely revived, yet. But many buildings are being repaired or being rebuilt. The village elder's house is half-repaired. But there still are some holes in the roof.
"Northern Territory? I am afraid I don't have much info to help you."
The old man apologizes as he motions his wife to bring tea for us.
"It's OK. We got our hands on a trusted resource of information, too, so we don't have many worries. But we need to make sure we are ready for everything. War is where people fight each other and casualties exist and people being hurt or dying is unavoidable."
Melty assures the old man.
The old man looks at the noble-looking blue-haired girl and asks me.
"I remember her from that time. May I know who she is?"
I look around and then make eye contact with the princess. She gives me permission by a nod.
I bow and approach his ear and whisper. "The crown prince of Melromarc. Her mother entrusted her safety to me."
The old man widens his eyes in astonishment and almost pays serious respect but I stop him.
"Please keep it a secret," I whimper. "It's sensitive info."
He nods and calms himself down by a series of inhales and exhales.
"Oh and," he says back to the conversation. "We tested the properties of the seeds and the fruit and concluded an idea. A golden idea."
He takes a cup of tea from his wife and puts it down where we can see it on the table.
"Here, it's tea. Our own creation."
It's a faint red. Anyone would say it is strawberry juice.
"Wow. How do you do this?"
The old man folds his arms in confidence.
"I will show our secret techniques to Our Savior. But the technique is simple. We grind the seeds and put the resulting powder in hot water."
So it's nothing different from coffee making.
"Oh…" I forgot to respond for a couple of seconds. "Er, it's pretty simple. Yes."
"Let me taste a sip," Arian offers and drinks a sip.
"Is it still warm?" I ask and she shakes her head.
"Not so warm. But the flavor is good enough to drink."
I don't know if it's a compliment.
Before the elder can say something, I grab the cup and sip on the drink.
Wow,... the taste is… unexpected. This is… strawberry smoothie favor? It's been two months but I still remember! It's… strawberry favor!
I put down the cup on the table and almost jump in joy.
"Your smoothie is amazing!"
"Excuse me?" the elder wonders.
"It's just… amazing. I love it. I will buy two of three bags of the powder!"
The elder looks back at his wife and still doesn't seem to understand my reaction.
But he smiles.
"Thanks, Our Savior."
"Please call me Ben, Mister."
Reproducing the smoothie flavors in this world, huh? Great idea, but it will take time. I will do it later. The one I need is banana flavor and no one is seen eating a banana.
"So, we will set off as soon as the goods are on the carriage," Arian notifies us.
"Yes, it's fair. And what about herbs? We need to have a variety of meds, too," asks Melty.
I pat her shoulder and answer. "Not a problem, I will handle it."
-(BREAK)-
We ended up buying three baskets of fruits and two bags of seed, and additional three small bags of tea powder. Tea is for me. It's better if I can get a banana but I got a job.
"First, we have to handle food and water problems. Filo and Arian," currently Melty is taking care of managing the team.
"Yes!" Filo responds.
"You two have to cook, and Bennett."
"Yeah," I yawn struggling not to fall asleep.
"You are two create water. You said you had powers that can create water out of nowhere, yes?" she asks.
"True."
"Then water is your responsibility. And I will help you with healing people. My magic is water," she says looking at the front.
"Hey," Arian calls us. She is sitting in the driver's seat. "There is something."
We look up to where she is gazing at.
"A toll gate?" Melty wonders.
"I will handle this one," I say and jump down the cart when it finally stops.
"Aw, hey, nice to meet you, Mr… Knight?"
A toll gate. And there is one single knight with silver armor and a poor weapon.
He looks young and tired, trying to open his eyes as wide as he can but fails due to his tiredness and sleepiness.
I feel you, man, I am sleepy, too.
"Are you merchants? I don't think there is any village ahead where you can… sell your goods."
He says as he walks to the back of the cart and sees the goods.
"I don't know what this fruit is. I'm not an expert anyway,... er… please give me any documents or proof that you are a merchant if you have…"
I look back at Arian who gives me the document.
The knight reads the document and then stares at me.
He looks so weak that my muscular body may be too intimidating for him.
"Mr… Tros Bennett. And this is… Provided by the Queen herself? Oh, I am glad to see you, Merchant Bennett."
For what reason? I raise an eyebrow in distrust at him but…
"Yeah, I know Her Majesty somehow."
He takes a glance at the blue-haired girl.
"Anyway, you have to pay a silver."
I nod and toss a silver out of the bag to him.
"Good job, Mr. Knight."
I wave goodbye at him as he opens the gate.
There is nothing around, except a few plants and trees and grass.
The area around the road itself is a desert.
I don't know how far we have to go on.
After about an hour, we enter what seems to be a town. But there is nothing that people can reside. Buildings are more or less destroyed, most of them don't have roofs and windows. And they now can only accommodate dust.
For 20 minutes into the town, we can't find any living things, not even a living tree or plant. But we find a field full of wooden poles sticking out of the ground.
We finally find a group of people. The number is about 30. Of both males and females. Children and adults. Even babies. Their clothes are dirty and torn.
All of them carry something in their hands and walk slowly towards where our cart rests.
"Please, Sir Merchant, take this and sell us food."
"We don't have money. So please take this."
"We haven't eaten for days."
They are weakened. Their bodies prove they didn't have enough food.
I grit my teeth and motion my gang to do their jobs while I take out potions from my inventory to cure the sick.
"You don't need to pay us. We are here to help you, so rest assured. Arian and Filo! Prepare the emergency kitchen."
Then I turn to face the people.
"Tell me who is sick. I will heal."
After handing out potions to some of the people, I came to know that there is a plague. And the factor that triggered the plague was poverty, hunger, and dirt. The area around is practically a desert. It's obvious.
They don't have a source of water, either. The town is destroyed but... They seem to be not from around here. They are from the neighboring town and ran away from a bad governor because they can't resist the tax anymore.
"These people are the only ones who survived the plague. Many have died."
Arian says looking at the soup prepared for the people of the town.
Melty is worried about the people but she doesn't know what to do.
"An adventurer with a bow interfered with the resistance so they won," Arian says. "But after that, the economics of the town went all down."
I hope it wasn't Sir Bow Hero.
Even if it was him, it won't surprise me.
I sigh as I look at the people feeding on the soup.
"We need something solid."
I transform into an Orishan Water Hazard under the ID Mask and find a source of water underground. I can't just give them water forever. I need to give a resource.
After some time, I finally detected an underground stream with my hydrokinesis.
"Guys, keep them occupied. I'm going underground to get water."
Arian and Filo nod.
I transform into Armadrillo and touch the ground with my human-looking hands. In fact, they are drills, but they might be normal hands to others.
This is gonna be... disgusting.
My human hands down the ankles rotate with high speed, digging holes in the ground deeper over time.
It's not pretty, trust me.
Thankfully, the townspeople are occupied by the chatter skills of Melty and Filo. They are children after all.
Arian is struggling to look away from the disgusting scene of my hands rotating into the ground.
Yes, Arian, I feel you.
After some moments, I am totally in the ground. It is 200 feet underground and I don't still get to the stream.
It's a desert after all.
Oh, hey, I reached it. The water has erupted so I transform into a Big Chill and rise aboveground.
"It's ready!"
I shout, reverting to human form.
"A spring?"
Melty runs towards me and the well.
"Let's just make a well, for now," I propose.
I look at the townspeople who are staring at us with hopeful eyes.
"Er," something struck my mind. "Warn them to drink water only after it is cleaned and boiled."
Arian nods then she turns to face the people.
"Any plan?" Melty asks but I can only shake my head.
"Improvise!" I say holding up my index finger.
It's so deep underground but the flow is intense. It can rise to at least 180 feet. Still, do we need a way to get this water up to ground level?
"Just build a well," Melty proposes. "And attach a pulley. Why are you thinking so long?"
I take a glance at the townspeople.
"It's just that… they aren't fully recovered. I doubt they can pull up water from underground."
Melty shakes her head.
"Just make them healthy. It is, whatever, it is one of the steps we must take."
I nod as I design a well inside my mind. Looking around, I find some rubble that can be reused.
I transform into NRG and melt the rubble to reform into bricks.
So things are going our way.
-(BREAK)-
So we are doing a great job. Food shortage is solved, water resources are found, and… the sick are healed. What next?
"Accommodation?" Arian repeats what Melty has mentioned.
"I heard that there is no rainy season here and… you know, this is a desert. But you still need proper houses for them," Melty takes over the whole town's management, I guess.
"They will be grateful just with food, water, and medicine. We may be called "The Savior of the Heavenly Fowl" blah blah but we aren't the rich or the jack of all trades. Oh well, a certain someone inflated the whole currency system for about 500 golds out of nowhere to solve the problems and take the credit," Aria says with an annoyed tone.
"But this is our responsibility assigned to us by our mother."
"She's your mother, not mine. Nor Ben's! She is just… pushing everything to Ben and ordering him around… because she knows he is capable? He isn't a God. See?"
She points her index finger to where I am lying. Ms. Aria Brambila, I don't feel so good.
Melty goes silent.
"Hey… er… please don't fight over little things," I try to intervene.
I understand Aria not wanting someone to overwork me. While I am powerful and capable, my body is… a normal mortal body after all.
"Shut up," Aria orders.
"Oh, OK."
Well…
Do you feel good when you have someone watching over your back?
For me, supposedly yes. Back when I was a hero, the Alien Force team was plenty reliable. They never complained about workload. And there was a whole list of life-threatening situations. But we saved each other and worked our way out.
But, I feel bad when someone is sad for me.
Like, I made someone sad… it's guilty?
Let's call it a day and rest! I slowly close my eyes and begin my sleep journey.
-(BREAK)-
Today, we make roofs from rags realistically.
The thing between Melty and Arian is still tense.
But I can't really pry into a girls' quarrel.
Even if it happened partly because of me.
"So you can cook your own food from now on, right?"
We also built three kitchens for everyone.
The ingredients should be sufficient for a month-worth food.
And yes! Mysterious Seed Tea.
MST – I named it.
"Yes, we can't thank you enough, Our Savior."
Oh… Yeah~ I got a title again.
"It's OK. We're doing this because Her Majesty ordered us."
"Long live Her Majesty."
Filo is trying to intervene in the girls' quarrel.
"Jeez. You are so stubborn, Arian. Even the Master doesn't say anything."
Filo complains to Arian.
"No, you understand nothing, Filo," Arian barks. "He is a masochist."
Oh, for the love of…
"What is a masochist?" Filo wonders.
I swiftly move towards them and shout at Arian.
"Hey, don't teach Filo such things!"
"Bennett," Melty grasps my sleeve.
"Yeah, what's the matter?"
"Let's pack things up."
-(SKIP)-
Before we return to Lurolona Village, we visit the Brambila Mansion.
Apparently, Idol Rabier never comes back home since he escaped.
Worry not, no one really missed him.
"Filo said you had a Filolial transformation," Melty asks, her eyes twinkling with curiosity.
"Yeah, never have used it, though."
She is enthusiastic to study Filolials. I don't know how come she likes them.
"Show me! I wanna see it! I love bigger filolials, too."
I, myself, don't even remember how my filolial form looks.
"Oh, well. Let's get to a wider area first. It is… huge, so…"
"OK, OK," she replies.
Aria glares at us for a short period but I decided to not say anything.
"Alright then, JETRAY!"
The green light blinds our sight, replacing me with a red stingray-like horned alien.
"There is a lake around."
"Alright."
"We will come, too," Aria says, climbing onto Filo.
I sigh as I kneel on the ground for Melty to cling to my back.
"Hey, you are slippery."
"Worry not, just hold me tight. I will be slow."
After she has wrapped her arms around my neck, I shoot off into the sky.
The nearby lake is where I fought the Tyrant Rex Monster.
I land on the bank and let her get off me.
Aria and Filo arrive at the place shortly.
I tap the Omnitrix symbol on my torso to transform into a filolial form.
But, first I become a human… with –
"You have wings… like Filo."
"Huh?"
I didn't notice the wings. I tilt my head to see the white wings over my shoulder.
Apparently, the back of my jacket and shirt in this form are torn holes in them.
"How do I control these things?"
I say, trying to reach the wings with my hands.
"Forget it," I give up and begin concentrating deep in my mind to feel the energy scattered in my body.
This is… about the right amount.
I can feel my surroundings become a little warmer… and my hands… have morphed into wings.
I slowly open my eyes and adapt myself to the environment.
My eye level is relatively higher than my human form but I know this isn't the highest.
Yes, I am now only as big as Filo.
There is a band on my neck which bears an Omnitrix symbol in the middle.
I see small changes compared to the last time I turned into this form.
The shield has completely disappeared although it was still there in the filolial human form.
Among the white fluffy feathers on my torso exists small green strips in the form of a necklace.
Oh, I have to shout the name.
"MAGNUS AVIS!"
– Literally means the Big Bird. A cooler version indeed, lmao.
"How do you like–"
Melty has already jumped into my feathers.
I knew from Filo that this kind of filolials has thick fluffy feathers.
I don't know why Filo and I are the exceptions of the Filolial race.
"Thanks to this (Omnitrix), I get to walk a mile in other lifeforms' shoes. So I can totally understand what it's like to be them."
- Ben Tennyson -
"It's warm… but not as good as Filo's."
Melty jokes around in my feather. Aria turns away, folding her arms with a dissatisfied face.
"Aw, hey, Aria," I called her nervously.
"What is it?" she responds with an annoyed voice.
"Why not come touch me…"
Oh, crap, I just want her to reconcile with Melty, and what the hell did I say?
"Hmph."
Well,...
"Er… let me show you… the big one. Princess, please get out of my feathers."
As Melty does as I said, I extend my wings and fly to the place in the lake nearest to the bank for the first time.
I try to feel the energy in my body and concentrate to enlarge my body.
I close my eyes and can feel my body becoming larger.
When I open my eyes, I oversee the forest.
"Wow!"
Melty's voice is barely heard.
"You are HUGE!"
"Yeah, how do you like this?"
She jumps into my feathers again.
It takes 30 seconds for her to jump out of my feathers.
"Whoa, I can swim in your body."
"I know right, haha."
Filo grabs Aria and jumps into my feathers together.
At the time the lake and the forest are suddenly covered by mist.
I notice a girl in the distance walking out of the mist slowly towards where we are, surrounded by a large number of colorful filolials.
She has silvery hair and wears a white dress with red stripes and linings. Most importantly, she has a pair of white wings, even larger than Filo's, grown on her back.
Wait… does that mean… she is…
"Er… guys…"
The filolials move away from her forming a large circle… with her in the center.
Suddenly, she is replaced by a white owl-like bird, whose size is at my chest level. Her new… appearance… reminds me of Filo's filolial form.
Her eyes are red and blue feathers extend from her neck. And on her torso sits a strange pattern of blue-dots like feathers. The tip of her wings also bear similar patterns.
What is she, exactly?
"Guys!"
I was shocked and called out for my people.
Filo shoots out of my body in her bird form, two girls clinging to her legs.
The big white bird,... oh sorry, isn't she smaller than my Magmus Avis?
She stares at Filo all the way until the party reaches the land safely.
"Filolial queen candidate… finally… and who are you?"
A soft feminine voice comes from her, her lips (beak) opening and closing.
I am not sure how our anatomy allows us to speak.
I am petrified in astonishment. I don't know how the rest of my gang will react to this.
"So cool," I hear Filo's praise.
"Impossible… she's the Filolial Queen!" Melty exclaims with obvious shock in her voice.
"Filolial Queen?" I repeat.
The bird nods and then points her wing at me.
"And I suppose you are the King?"
How to answer? And what is the King?
"No, I'm not the King. I'm just a traveling merchant."
She shakes her head gently.
"Fitoria doesn't mean the King of this country. Well, judging from your manner, you might be a human, I suppose. No filolial acts like that."
I don't still understand what she is talking about but OK.
"Then… Fitoria takes you as a human merchant, why are you taking the form of our kind? And how?"
She holds her head high and she is… truly intimidating.
"Alright, give me a second."
I slowly shrink to a Filo size, fly to the bank and transform back to human form, while activating the ID Mask at the same time.
"Tros Bennett, Travelling Merchant. I am… a druid."
Her expression turns uninterested and then she pays her attention to the group.
"Filolial Queen Candidate… And… human."
She again looks at me.
"Ye–Yeah?"
"Why are you hiding those things on your wrists?"
I am surprised. Thanks to the ID Mask and the Merlinisapien shield skill, the Omnitrix and the legendary shield are concealed.
But she knows it.
"How do you know?"
"Just a hunch. You aren't a filolial yet, you can take a filolial form more powerful than a Queen. I suppose your body isn't yours. And you still can't hide the immense magical power that flows out of your… wrists."
Benjamin Tennyson is caught red-handed just now.
"It is… true. For security… reasons. And what is a Filolial Queen Candidate? And what is the Queen?"
I try to change the topic.
"I came here with two interests. A filolial king and a queen candidate. Since there isn't a King and you refuse to reveal your identity, I find no reason to answer your questions."
I look at Filo and Melty. The blue-paired princess is still staring at the big bird in awe and Filo acts no less.
I sigh and almost give up.
It is when Melty speaks up.
"A Filolial queen is a superior filolial who rules all other filolials."
I figure, huh.
Melty has the queen's attention now.
"And you are?"
"I'm so glad to see you. Oh, my apologies. I am Melty, the second princess of Melromarc."
"Princess…"
Melty glares at me.
"No need to hide yourself," she whimpers. "Trust me and trust her!"
"Can't be helped, huh?"
I murmur as I deactivate the Melinisapien skill and ID Mask.
The muscular figure disappears and replacing him is me, true me – a brown-haired teenage boy with a shield and a watch, in a green jacket.
"Sir Shield Hero, I take it?"
The filorial queen immediately recognizes my weapon and points it out.
I roll my eyes as I confirm.
"Yeah."
"You seem to be a cautious person with trust issues."
"No, it's just that I have never met you."
I think she just chuckled at me.
"Anyway, it makes things easier. Fitoria wishes to discuss many things with you, Sir Shield Hero," she says. "But Fitoria knows this form isn't suitable. One moment…"
She covers her face with wings and summons bright light energy around her, shrinking to human size. When the lights are gone, in her place is the girl I saw earlier. So she must be the filorial queen's human form.
It makes sense. The reason why Filo can take a human girl's shape is that… she is not only different from others of her kind but a filorial queen candidate, too.
I don't know how old the queen is. But when the wings are retracted, her face and constitution suggest she is a 14-year old girl. Maybe even smaller.
"Now to introduce myself," she begins. "I am the queen of the Filolials the world over, Fitoria."
Trust me, her pose while saying that line was really cool.
"Fitoria?" the princess asks. "So you are her?"
"You know her?" I ask.
"Of course, centuries ago, a hero of the time is said to have raised a filolial. Her name, Fitoria, became a legend."
"So she inherited the name?"
"No," Fitoria interrupts. "Fitoria has always been Fitoria."
What the…
Alright, appearance can be deceiving. She isn't a 14-year-old high school girl, confirmed.
"Will Filo also be as big as her one day?" Filo asks.
"I don't know," I am honest. "But you have to eat more to grow big," I add.
"That would take dozens of times longer than a normal filolial's lifespan, so don't worry yourself over it," the experienced Queen motivates Filo.
It doesn't surprise me indeed, Azmuth has lived longer than a thousand years, and technically I, myself, have existed since the beginning of the universe.
But still the number is impressive.
"Eh?" Filo sure is happy to hear that.
"And it's time to introduce yourselves, Shield Hero's party."
"First Tros Bennett isn't my real name," I begin.
"I bet," she mutters.
"Ben Tennyson. Pleasure to be acquaintances."
"Likewise," her voice is too soft now.
"Aria Brambila, I also use Arian as a male disguise. Nice to meet you," the rich girl introduces herself.
"Strange one," Fitoria mutters.
"Filo is Filo!" My daughter introduces herself. When Fitoria responds only with a nod, Filo becomes pouty.
Fitoria then looks at the princess.
"We've met before, haven't we?" She says. "Thank you for your help at that time."
"Don't mention it," Melty replies.
"So you two met each other?" I ask.
"Yes," Melty answers. "I ran into her on the way back to the capital after a diplomatic visit."
Girl…
"You run into random people like that? Made a habit, huh?" I joke.
But to be precise, it's not her who ran into us. It's us who ran into her on our way back to the capital and taking her on our journey was an original plan… credit goes to Her Majesty.
"What do you want with us?" I ask, giving attention to Fitoria. "You can be honest with us. As you can see, I myself am quite a criminal runaway. Hah."
"It's a long story," Fitoria says with a serious face.
Lady, it's already a long story.
"… and this place isn't a great place for a chat."
Of course, no, for fifty filolials and a group of 6 humans next to the lake.
"… Let me take you somewhere more suitable."
She proposes as the filolials move aside. There rests a fancy white carriage.
Hey, the story you're gonna tell us is… perhaps Cinderella?
"Hey, get in quickly," she orders. "I have questions for you, especially Sir Shield Hero."
-(SKIP)-
I heard her say the spell "Portal"!
It was instant travel.
The area around us is full of ruins.
"What a dump," Filo murmurs, looking around the rubble.
"I hear it's considered the remains of the civilization the original heroes defended," Fitoria explains.
"You don't sound very sure," Aria points out.
"It existed before Fitoria was born," Fitoria responds with an annoyed tone. "For what it's worth, I am watching over it."
"Is this a filolial sanctuary?" the Filolial nerd Melty asks.
"Yes, I am not supposed to bring humans here."
Well, I don't think we were brought here to be cooked.
The thing that interrupts my thoughts is the growl of Filo's belly.
Oh, great…
"I think you should get some rest," Fitoria says with a teasing tone, slightly smiling at Filo.
"Let's take a break then," Aria takes the lead.
"Yay!" Filo is cheered up.
"That was a long day," Melty murmurs with her hands on hips.
I only hope Aria and Melty have made up.
Aria makes a campfire for dinner.
We've been traveling for days so we barely got a break. Especially Filo. I am more than surprised to see her enthusiastic actions because she is the one who worked the most.
Er… should I also draw the carriage every once in a while?
After cooking, everyone sits around the campfire with a bowl and digs in. Everyone includes Fitoria. She sits with us and eats the curry together.
"Hey, Bennett?"
Melty nudges me.
"You can just call me Ben. What's up?"
"Them."
She says, pointing at the filolials.
A good number of filolials are surrounding us.
"Oh…. Er. Wanna treat them?"
The aroma is so attractive so I am not surprised they are here.
Aria shoots a glare that almost means she's gonna eat me alive.
Aria~ did you join a cannibalism cult?
I laugh awkwardly as she gets up from her seat to cook more.
"Second!" Filo thrusts her bowl to me.
"Delicious, right? You sure love Aunt Filo's cooking!"
Although Melty and Aria don't really get along, the princess still eats the rich girl's cooking.
It takes a while to cook more and then we share the curry with the Filolials.
A couple of excited Kweeks are heard.
After dinner, the filolials and my gang all go to rest.
"It was a big party, hah!"
"Hey," it is Fitoria. I turn around and see her looking down at me from a boulder.
"It is time to talk," she says.
I nod as I tag her along.
"I was notified that a new queen candidate had been found a month ago. But conditions didn't give me a chance to go to meet Filo. I hope you can forgive me."
"Don't mind it," I shrug. "I didn't even know you existed… until this evening."
I should confirm it.
"Er, hey, can I ask something?"
"Yes," she accepts.
"Filo's growth rate is awesome, is it because she is a queen candidate?"
"That's because…" she stops walking. "A hero is raising her."
She tilts her head to look at me. "And I'm amazed you didn't raise her as a slave."
Then we continue to walk along the path.
She suddenly makes an annoyed growl.
"What's the matter?" I ask.
"I know the Shield Hero has always been scorned by human supremacist countries. But…"
"Huh?"
"Your condition is worse," her smile is almost like a smirk. "And you heroes are not working together. It is a big disadvantage if you don't watch each other's backs."
"What do you mean?"
She stops her steps.
"As long as humans and demi-humans might hate each other, it is unacceptable for heroes to be fighting."
Tell that to the Motoyasu guy.
"It's not like I have a choice. I was accused as a criminal on my third day in this world. Now, the whole country might hate me, so I have to wear a disguise and… you see."
"For whatever reason," she keeps on walking. "Or I just have to accept the heroes are foolish enough to fight each other?"
Sorry, Motoyasu. Someone is bad-mouthing you.
"It's your view, not mine," I bark back.
She doesn't argue back and silently walks to the cliff where she sits on a boulder.
"And if I were not strong enough, I might have been dead… if I couldn't show the evidence, I would have been hated… by the whole nation… then probably I would… also hate them."
"It's your opinion, not mine. And is Sir Shield Hero stupid enough to hate the whole nation?"
It is… hypothetical. I don't know what kinda person I would be if I never got my hands on an Omnitrix.
"Maybe, maybe not. I… have always been self-sufficient in this world. So… I can't imagine myself with powers."
"Hmph. Don't you Cardinal Heroes know about the hourglass?"
"Of course, we do. The dragon hourglass…"
"Then why aren't you fighting waves across the world?"
I grit my teeth for a moment.
"I don't know about the rest of the heroes. But I plan to leave the country for that purpose. And you know, the King and the Church of the Three Heroes have been manipulating the Spear, the Bow, and the Sword by giving them only limited knowledge. So they don't probably know–"
"What about you? If I am not wrong, you have been here for months. You are extremely powerful. Aren't you? You can even take the physical form of a Filolial King. You are being irresponsible."
I can't get my mouth close for a couple of seconds.
"Irresponsible, huh?"
With great power comes great responsibility.
I know of a Ben 10 000 who stays in XLR8 form for hours and patrols around the world for the peace of everyone.
Or maybe I can transform into Alien X, find the root of the waves of calamity, and snap them out of existence.
Why can't I do it?
No, why won't I do it?
Why don't I do it?
After all… I am not a God. I am a hero.
"Perhaps I am," I whimper.
"Honestly, Fitoria doesn't care about what happens to humans," she says. "Fitoria fights because the hero who raised her asked her to."
"Do you fight the waves in other countries? I should–"
"Because the heroes don't do their job. But a hero entrusted the world to me."
"..."
"But I can't protect it all by myself. I need the heroes. Maybe I am capable now, but eventually, I won't be able to save a thing."
A moment of silence takes over.
"Heroes are supposed to work together," she continues. "That is an absolute necessity in order to protect the world."
I shake my head gently. She stares at me.
"No, it's impossible for now. And… not necessary. I can protect the world alone–"
"Then why are you not doing it? Are you invincible? Unchallenged? But all you do is stick around in a supremacist country and enjoy the sweet time with your party."
There is another silence.
I begin to doubt myself, what am I doing?
What was I doing?
What will I be doing?
The answer to everything is that I must become a god.
I must ascend to a level the mortals should never step in.
"Even if everyone else hates you," she says. "Heroes mustn't fight among themselves."
"It's impossible."
"Have you ever tried?"
"No, but I never even had a chance to try."
She overlooks the forest from the cliff.
"I see. Very well, then. It was all so long ago that my memory of it has faded, but I do still remember the right thing to do."
She stands up and her facial expression has now turned into a serious one.
"If the heroes are fighting each other instead of the Waves of Catastrophe," she turns to look down at me. "Then for the sake of the world, I must kill the Four Cardinal Heroes."
I remember that Filolials can eat anything and everything.
It doesn't really scare me.
"Why not sit down, and listen to my tales?"
I calmly say, trying to make my voice not tremble.
I decided to change her opinion of me… and what I can do.
Tales… I should apologize when it sounds like bragging.
Or… rather ego? Pride? Self-confidence?
"Your tales?"
"Chill… and sit down. You should at least know… who I was and who I am."
She averts her eyes from me to look at the stars.
"Ok," her serious expression fades. "I don't find a reason not to."
She relaxes her face and sits down on the cliff with her legs hanging.
"I don't mean to brag… but I was a hero back in my world. I was… not a summoned hero though. I was a normal 10-year-old kid until I found this."
I hold up my wrist to show off my sworn partner – the Omnitrix.
"That is… I can sense even a great power coming from that thing," she says with her eyes widening. "A power even greater than a legendary weapon."
I smile slightly.
"Yeah, this carries… the fate of the universe."
"Universe?"
"Have you ever wondered… if there are lives beyond this sky? The sky is full of stars… the sun is also basically a star. And there are planets like our world… where lives can exist."
"Planets?"
"Planets means worlds. Don't think much of it."
"So you mean," she looks up at the sky. "There are humans in the other worlds, too?"
"Technically correct. But… their appearance is different from humans."
"How? How are they different from humans?"
"Some don't even look like humans. Let me show you one."
I tap the faceplate of the Omnitrix and thrust it before her.
"See, there are the faces of those humans. They are just different from us but that doesn't mean… we should discriminate against them. Select the one you like. You can change the face by rotating the dial."
She looks into the list.
"Monsters?"
"No, they are just like you. They have feelings and minds of their own."
She looks up at me.
"Then how about this one?"
I look down at the Omnitrix and see a familiar crystalline face of Diamondhead is highlighted.
"Diamondhead huh, OK!"
I slam the core down, a green light blinds our sight.
With my legs hanging, I become a bizarre crystal man with a shining shield.
"DIAMONDHEAD!" I roar proudly at her.
She is speechless for nearly a minute.
"You became a Golem," she says coldly. "What can this one do?"
I cup my crystal chin and think for a moment.
"Er… I can manipulate crystals, summon crystals and shoot crystals."
"So in short, you can do things with crystals, right?"
"Hmm, yes."
She raises an eyebrow.
"Show me another form you like."
I smirk.
The murderous look on her face has disappeared.
Way to go, Benjamin!
I press the Omnitrix symbol on my torso to transform into a green-eyed cyclops creature with two antennae growing from the head. I am wearing a black bodysuit with a green stripe on my torso.
I extend my hands towards her and unclench my fists to show copper-colored plugged fingers.
"FEEDBACK!"
"What does this one do?"
"Electrokinesis!" I claim.
"Electro… manipulate electricity?"
"Yeah," I answer with an energetic tone. "And he can absorb the energy. About three months ago, I contained the energy that can destroy or create universes with this form."
"Universes?" she asks, confused.
"Forget it, it's… kinda difficult to explain."
"Aw, how many of these do you have?"
"Er…"
Should I just tell her?
But it's a MILLION! 1,000,912~
Forget demi-human and filolial DNAs.
"W-well… about 30. I suppose."
She folds her arms.
"So you never were a druid."
"Oh, don't you wanna listen to my tales, too?"
I try to change the topic.
Aw, crap, this world has molded me into a liar.
"No," she answers. "You have these powers so you don't use shield at all?"
"No, not like that, I fuse my alien abilities and the shield to enable their skills in human form. That solves the problem of needing disguise."
"But I must warn you," she says with a serious face. I transform back to human form.
"Warn me about what?"
"Cursed shield… I can feel its power coming from your shield but… I suppose you haven't used it at all?"
"Never heard of that," maybe I forgot about it.
"And dragon monster shields. Be wary of them. You should never use cursed shields and dragon monster shields."
I don't know why she is warning me about them, but I don't use the shields that I feel weird at all.
"Why? May I know the reason?"
"The heroes shall never use cursed things."
That was her answer.
When we walk back to the campfire, Aria, Filo, and Melty have long gone asleep.
Aria and Melty sleep on each side of Filo's bird body, hugging the fluffy bird. Melty is surrounded by the filolials of different colors but she still hugs Filo.
"I hope they made up with each other," I mutter.
-(BREAK)-
There was no leftover curry from last night.
I helped Aria cook a new recipe we recently created.
The key ingredient is… the mystery seed from the bioplant village.
For some reason, Fitoria doesn't join our breakfast time.
"They have really taken to you, Melty."
I say, looking around to see the filolials eating what Melty fed them.
"Right?" Melty says.
Fitoria walks towards their table.
I am not sitting with them. I am leaning against a tree and drinking a cup of mystery seed tea MST.
Seeing Fitoria's face reminds me of what she said yesterday night.
Killing the heroes, huh… murderous intent isn't something new for me. This world is a harsh reality with all sorts of danger and cruelties.
I don't understand because I have never killed a sentient creature.
Fitoria's expression is suddenly tensed up.
She thrusts a hand before Melty and…
Says the spell.
"Liberation: Wind Prison."
What is she doing?
Wait… doesn't Filo also have some kind of Wind magic?
Never heard of the spell but…
Bright light and powerful gales appear around, blowing the surrounding people away.
Melty is now surrounded by bright winds, levitating her in the air, acting as a small prison.
"What are you doing!?"
I shout at Fitoria.
"What's going on?"
Melty examines the wind with her finger, causing her to bleed.
"Melty," Fitoria says. "I need you to be my hostage."
"Hostage?"
I am collecting the reasons why the Fitoria queen had to take Melty as a hostage.
"Shield Hero," Fitoria snaps me out of my thoughts. "Promise me. Promise me you will make up with other heroes."
"Let Melty out of there!" Filo shouts.
So she chose the hard way, hmm…
"You are threatening me, aren't you?"
She doesn't answer.
"You are asking me for something impossible."
"Even still, I must ask you to. You are an impossible existence yourself, aren't you? Even still, I must ask you to."
"Why are you so obsessed with the heroes working together? I'd rather assign them to different countries."
"Because… Fitoria made a promise to the hero who raised her," she answers. "And because the heroes must cooperate in order to save the world from the waves. So please."
"Why don't you ask the other heroes, too? I can't do that. You know my social status in the country."
"Because I can't. So please reconsider and reconcile with the heroes. If you don't, new heroes will have to be summoned. And to enable that, I'll kill all the current heroes."
So… the reason behind killing the heroes… is…
"That will help the world in the long run."
The problem isn't whether she can kill me or not. She can definitely kill the other heroes.
If someone doesn't stop her.
"I have to warn you that I can save her in a blink."
She nods… wait, did she know?
"Prove to me that you and your party can fight the waves alone… if you aren't willing to reconcile with other heroes."
Normally, the outcome of this kinda thing is decided by a fight.
And it is something I don't wanna do.
"I don't wanna fight you for such a silly reason."
"If it's the case, I will fight her on behalf of you," Aria assures me.
"No, it's not the case," I decline.
"Sir Shield Hero, Fitoria doesn't know how strong you are," Fitoria says. "But she won't fight you. She wants a one-on-one with Filo."
"With Filo?" Filo asks, pointing to herself.
"If you prove to me that you are strong, I'll release the princess. And I won't kill the heroes for a while."
She won't kill for a while. Damn…
"I'll give you time," she assures us.
"Filo doesn't really understand, but if Filo wins, Master won't be killed, and Melty will be freed, too, right?" Filo says.
"Hey, Fil–" Aria tries to interrupt.
"No," I refuse. "It's partially wrong. I won't be killed either way. For Melty's part, it's correct."
It totally sounds like bragging!
Fitoria's look almost seems like a glare.
"Then Filo will fight!"
"I'll fight in this form so you can fight me in human form, too, Filo," Fitoria concludes.
I wink at Melty as a sign to relax.
Filo is kinda an airhead… But she is only 2 months old so, you can't exactly say it.
People mature when they get something to protect.
"Filo!" Aria really wants to interrupt but I grasp her by her dress.
"This way," Fitoria leads Filo to a wider ground.
When Filo and Fitoria take place on the battlefield, a pink barrier appears.
Motoyasu, Itsu, and Ren... Just pray Filo will win this one.
"Here I come," Filo says, thrusting her fists into the air.
"Whenever you are ready," Fitoria says with an unchanged expression.
Filo jumps and flies into the air, gaining momentum and uses the momentum to stomp on Fitoria who dodges the kick perfectly.
The stomp on the ground triggers the dust cloud.
As I thought, … Fitoria isn't an easy opponent.
"You are slow," she says, grabbing Filo and throwing her into the air.
"Filo!" Aria screams. I hold her back away from the battlefield… although there is a pink barrier.
Unsurprisingly, Filo regains her balance in the air by performing a backflip and floats in the air.
Well, she's my daughter, after all.
"Ew? Where is she?"
But Fitoria has disappeared from Filo's vision.
"Filo! Above you!" Aria shouts at her.
But it was too late. Before Filo can't turn around, Fitoria strikes her back, sending her crashing into the ground.
"Filo! Don't just blindly charge in! Use your head! Remember what Sir Ben taught you."
Aria shouts.
Epic Comeback of Sir Ben.
"Gotcha!" Filo nods at Aria. "As the source of your powers, Filo orders you. Decipher the laws of nature and blow my target away with a vicious vacuum burst! Zweit Tornado!"
Filo thrusts her hands in the front, creating a powerful tornado leaking out of her palms directed towards the Filolial queen.
But Fitoria's "Nullify the vacuum burst. Anti-Zweit Tornado!" negates Filo's attack.
"Watch out! It's Jamming Magic!" Melty warns.
Jamming magic, huh? Thanks for the tip.
I don't often use magic except healing and enhancing so I don't understand how it works. But it's handy.
I should practice nullifying the opponent's magic attacks.
Filo is stunned when her attack was useless.
Fitoria takes advantage of this moment and charges at Filo.
"You are wide open."
She says to Filo's face before sending Filo flying into the rubble with some kind of magic.
"She has no time to regenerate her clothes at all!"
I look at Melty.
Can Filo win the battle and save her?
I don't know.
But I still trust her.
"Filo!" I cheer her up. "Do your best and save Melty!"
"Ben," Aria pokes me. "You should just go and save Melty. You can do that, right?"
I smirk.
"Yes, I do, but I don't wanna cheat this one."
Just in case…
I transform into Ghostfreak under the ID Mask.
If things go south, I will either intervene the battle or save Melty.
Perhaps will I do both.
"You can't beat me now. I am the Queen, my power is superior to yours." (Fitoria)
Filo stands up from the rubble, gritting her teeth.
"I'm not gonna lose!" she says. "I'm gonna be strong for Master and Melty!"
She then charges towards Fitoria.
"Not with such a shallow will."
Fitoria says coldly, and strikes Filo down again and summons the high pressure winds to suppress Filo, causing a big dust cloud.
"Filo!" Melty screams.
I touch the barrier with my intangible hands… they easily phase into the barrier.
Shall I enter and intervene?
But…. When the dust cloud dies down, Filo is still standing… quite surprisingly.
I retract my arms as I amaze at the view.
Her will… is being forged to be stronger.
"I'll… I'll be much, much stronger."
"Really?"
Fitoria reacts coldly before she inhales and absorbs energy from somewhere.
"What is she doing?" Aria asks.
She is… absorbing…
"Is she absorbing the mana particles in the air?" Melty answers on behalf of me. "Is that even possible?"
Think, Ben. Think. What kind of strategy will be… effective for Filo? What kinda…
"Filo!" I can finally think of a thing.
"Master…"
"Analyze her attack! And counteract it! Don't just take the damage! You… must be the damage dealer! I know you can do it! You have… our trust!"
Is that even a strategy? A basic knowledge for veteran fighters. Can even be used in street brawls.
The strategy worked in a different way.
Fitoria looks at me for a moment.
A look I don't understand…
Because it is too far away to see the details of her face.
In the meantime, Filo summons her powers with the enhanced gauntlets on her hands.
Wait… those gauntlets are… aren't they the shoes I gave Filo before the last wave?
How did they change into gauntlets?
Anyway, some sort of energy is swirling and gathering around her!
It's a… climax!
"Too slow," Fitoria comments, looking down at Filo.
"It's OK. Because I'll still beat you!"
She leaps into the air and performs a backflip in the mid-air and enter the one-punch stance.
She holds her one fist in the direction of the target.
"Spiral…" here comes the attack name.
Fitoria herself is preparing to endure the impact, summoning a wind energy ball.
"… Strike!" Filo yells as the gauntlet turns into a glowing clawed hand.
Fitoria has created a barrier to absorb the attack but Filo's strike Is hard and sharp.
Causing the shield to shatter, Filo successfully lands a scratch on Fitoria's cheek and then goes straight to the ground.
For the Fitoria's part, the queen is stunned in surprise and shock. Maybe she has seen the potential in my daughter.
"That magic is…" Aria mutters.
I did read the magic guidebook and did teach Filo magic by myself but OK, I don't remember that move at all.
"Whoa, such a powerful… magic," I mumble as if I know about it. "Impressive move!"
I gulp as Aria stares at me, giving me a weird look.
Filo struggles to catch her breath on the ground, trying to stand on four.
"Filo… won't lose!"
I must praise her consistency.
And courage.
Of course, self-confidence.
My gang and I went silent watching Filo.
"Master, Filo will be stronger," she stands up from the ground. "Strong enough to protect Melty… And Aunt Aria… Strong enough to protect everyone. So I'll never lose."
Her hand reaches Fitoria but her strength doesn't follow her order.
She falls sitting on the ground before the filolial queen.
"That's enough, Filo," Fitoria says with a soft, kinder tone. "You win."
"Huh?" Filo looks up the queen, confused.
Fitoria kneels on the ground so her face can reach Filo's.
"I'll free Melty. You did well."
"Filo!" Melty yells as she runs towards Filo.
I didn't notice when she was free because I was into Filo and Fitoria. The pink barrier is gone, too.
Melty kneels to the ground and embraces Filo in her arms.
I float in the air and fly to their place.
"Ahem," I fake a cough first. Aria walks behind me.
"Master! Aunt Aria… Filo won!"
"Yea… you did amazing, Filo," I say.
After that,
Fitoria heals Filo and helps her regenerate her clothes.
"You did well to pass the trial." (Fitoria)
"Hmm? What do you mean?" Filo wonders.
"It means… you are being tested," Aria says patting Filo's head.
"But…" Fitoria adds. "If you hadn't passed it, you would've died. And shield hero would have, too."
"How many times must I tell you that you can never kill me, huh?" I say with a sarcastic tone and then pretend to pout.
"Hey, not very cute," Aria whimpers into my ear.
"You did say yesterday that I was cute when I was pouting," I reply.
"That time… you was pouting at me," she mutters.
I roll my eyes in annoyance.
Fitoria doesn't seem to care our chit-chat though the mention of my potential (no, not a chance) death startled Filo.
The Queen then summons a crown, that is decorated with gems of different colors, in her palm.
"What is that?" Filo asks.
"A symbol proving that you overcame my trial," Fitoria answers. "Now, lower your head."
At the time Fitoria places the crown on Filo's head, the surrounding filolials make sounds from their throats.
I don't understand why they do that, though.
"Filo," Fitoria continues, answering my question. "I appoint you my successor."
Successor? Fitoria is a queen… so…
"Do you mean Filo will become the next filolial queen?" Aria questions.
"That's amazing, Filo!" Melty cheers her.
Then the crown vanishes on her head mysteriously and… No, a tuft of erect hair replaces it.
"What is it?" I ask in astonishment.
"Is that the symbol of being next in line?" Aria says frankly.
Now do I notice that Fitoria also has three tufts of hair standing up vertically from the crown of her head, much like cowlicks.
"It's cute," Melty comments.
It makes Filo finally notice her cowlick.
"Something weird grew on my head," she disagrees. "Get it off!"
When she tries to remove it, it just regrows again almost instantly.
"It grew back!" Melty says with an excited manner.
"And it will keep growing back," I think Fitoria is smiling weirdly. "So get used to it. And you will gain more of them as you grow."
You do have three cowlicks.
"Am I gonna look like you?" Filo pouts.
"I also have something for you, too, shield hero."
"Not a cowlick please," I beg.
"It's something better," Fitoria assures me. "Show me your shield."
Why I hold my shield to show her, she grabs a cowlick from her head and plucks it, then lets my shield absorb it.
"Shields are force-unlocked?" I mutter, looking at the screen.
Many shields are unlocked though some of them aren't usable because of my level.
It was the entire filolial shield series.
"Oh, thank you. I will make good use of them!"
"You are welcome. But," she continues. "I still have something to discuss with you in private."
Well, … She picked the time after everyone else had gone to sleep.
-(TRANSITION)-
In private, no one is around, just me and her.
"Did you try to clear your name?" (Fitoria)
I shrug. "First time, yes. Didn't even need to. The second time, no. I was totally caught off-guard and imprisoned."
"If you don't tell them they're wrong, they will assume you are basically admitting your guilt."
"It wasn't a crime. It's just discrimination. I was branded a devil…"
"I am going to drop you off close to another hero when I take you back."
Wait, come to think of it… We have been here for two days. Crap… no contact with the Brambila mansion, too.
Well, let's forget about that, Ben.
The worst possible is being declared dead.
"I won't involve myself any further. Show me you four are worthy of my involvement."
"I'll do what I can…" I sigh. "But I can't push myself to limits. If people know what I can, they will… use me for their own good."
"I… understand."
"Is that all? I suppose not."
"No."
CHAPTER (16) ENDS.
Let's see the conversation with Fitoria, next time.
Sorry about the late update. This one took some more time.
Information and Advice about Shieldfreeden are welcome because it's gonna be pretty much my own creation. And the only mentioned travel to Shieldfreeden is in the Reprise of the Spear Hero side-story.
Thanks, everyone, for reading and writing reviews on my story. I will try to improve as much as I can. But beyond the limits PLUS ultra?
Also, a new chapter of Ben 10: Masked Rider Omnix is up, too. Please check it out if it interests me.
Christopher Paradox Chronos.