Corruption, Murder and Redemption?

by Man of cartoons

Corruption is said to be a monster that eats the soul of a man. So what if a hero with a pure heart decides to come to a world where the monster has almost taken over? Will he survive? Will he break? And will he get this dumb blond to stop calling him a cattle? Please read to find out. BenXAriaXSheele (Love Triangle). It used to include Leone.

6. Attack, Fight and…Eliminate the user Pt2

Hey, everyone! Welcome to another chapter of Corruption, murder and…Redemption?

Thank you so much for your support. A lot of you seem pretty hyped for this chapter, seeing as it's going to be a Leone vs Rath fight. I'm well aware that this has been done before, but I thought I should give a spin at it because…why not? I want to unleash the true potential of Rath and Leone, hence why Lubbock's role was cut short. Originally, the last chapter would've ended with a faceoff against him before Leone showed up. But I was so excited to write Leone into the fight that I said "Fuck it. You're going to be knocked out, so I can get to Leone." Besides, writing Lubbock's fight scene would've made this chapter unnecessarily longer.

As for the previous chapter also, I had this idea where Bulat or Akame slice Ben's Omnitrix arm before he could transform into Big Chill until I thought it was a bit gory and not needed. The idea was to show how responsive Night Raid can be to an enemy who they've seen doing the same thing over again. But like I said, it was not needed.

So with nothing else to say, on with the chapter.

Chapter 6: Attack, Fight and…Kill the Omnitrix user? Part 2

"WAIT, RATH!?"

Ben paused as realized what just happened. He looked at his arms, before looking down at his body before then letting out a frustrated huff of breath, followed by a facepalm.

"Why does Rath even bother anyway?." Rath asked rhetorically.

"So are you going to fight or not?" Leone said suddenly. She stood with her guard down as she titled her head, likely confused by Ben's form. "Is that really Humungousaur, because I saw you as a different creature when I was coming here and this one doesn't look like –"

"I know!" Rath yelled angrily. He put his hand back at his side, before using it to then point accursedly at Leone. "Lemme tell you something, Leone, the assassin with busty chest that wants to kill Rath! You want a piece of Rath? You got a piece! But you just bit a knife that's bigger than your stomach can chew!"

'Pervert!" Aria thought and shot a glare at Rath.

As for Leone, she was confused. "That made no sense." she stated.

"I knooow!" Rath yelled.

Once that happened, the inevitable happened. The alien hero let out a battle cry before charging at Leone, who responded by charging at him with a smirk on her face. The two feline-type combatants were so into the moment that they almost instantly closed the gap, with an exchange of blows at each other that soon followed.

Rath was the first one to send the first hit. He swung a left hook punch at Leone's face, which made contact, before the female assassin let out a groan and sent a left-fist uppercut to his jaw. The impact after that caused Rath to groan out before retaliating with a backhanded swing at her, to which she ducked. Before the alien hero could then react, Leone came right up with both hands held together and hit him upward with such force that the alien hero was sent flying backwards.

But before he hit the ground, Rath reacted to it. He was able to touch his hand on the ground, before doing a back flip which resulted in him landing on his feet and skidding backwards. Leone's attack was truly a surprise, but not enough to put Rath down. However, once he came to a stop, he looked forward and saw Leone running at him with such speed that Rath sent his fist forward for her face.

But it didn't happen like he thought. Leone was able to move out of the way just in time, as she then tightened her right fist and made a jump for Rath's face. The alien hero only had a few seconds left to react to this before the female assassin made contact with his face by her face, causing him to stumble back. But as that happened, she grabbed the arm Rath tried to use against her, pulled him off his feet, before spinning him once and throwing him off to a direction, through trees.

Each tree Rath was sent through came down in an instant as force was applied. There was no way he could stop it nor the motion of it until he knocked down the third tree and lay on top of it.

"Well…that was it?" Leone questioned with a disappointed tone.

For obvious reasons, the young woman didn't like how the fight went. She was herself facing the place she threw Rath, when she then placed her hands on her hips and continued. "Maybe I overdid it…But then again I have taken down bigger Danger Beasts before."

But then, the unexpected happened from Rath. The alien hero got back on his feet with a snarling look on his face, before tightening his fists as he stood boldly before Leone.

"Lemme tell you something, Leone, the assassin with the busty chest that wants to kill Rath! You just made Rath mad!" yelled the angry hero. "In fact, you just made it worse for yours because now you're gonna get the beat down of a lifetime!"

"Oh." Leone smirked.

The female assassin couldn't help but like hearing this. Rath was eager to finish her off, though to what extent that could be depends. The alien hero just leapt forward at Leone with his arms down, before sending them down on the female assassin.

"Cosmic Drop!" Rath called out.

However, he missed at the last second. The reason was Leone, who leapt back just in time to avoid his attack. She watched as his fists hit the ground hard, before feeling it shake the ground to the point that it made her stumble. Apparently, Rath's attack was so strong that it caused a few meters of cracks to appear on the ground in an instant.

However, none of that mattered then. Rath was able to immediately switch back to another attack as he charged at the female assassin with a battle cry, while keeping his eyes on her. He was able to close the distance between them before throwing another punch in an attempt to hit her. Unfortunately for his, he failed due to Leone making another leap back, this time landing on top of a tree branch facing him.

But that wasn't to say it stopped Rath. In fact, it just angered him enough to charge at the tree she was on with a loud roar. "You're not getting off that easy, pussy!" Rath cried out in anger. He then jumped forward at the tree and sent his fist against its base. "Atomic collider fist punch!"

Suddenly, the tree shook violently as it broke apart. The base shattered almost instantly, much to Leone's minor surprise, before falling to the front-left direction, precisely at a familiar unconscious figure.

'Shit! Lubbock's in the way!' Leone thought.

The female assassin now had two choices. She could just jumped off the tree and let her comrade die, or still jump off the tree and be fast enough to grab him before the tree fell entirely. It was a good thing this decision was so hard for her then.

Leone's speed wasn't something to underestimate, especially at a time like that moment. It was how she had survived many attacks before, with that being the case as she then jumped down, swiftly took Lubbock's body under her arm and ran out just before the tree landed instantly and coming to a stop.

'Well that could've gone better.' Leone thought to herself. 'I can't believe I had to save his perverted ass.'

However, that wasn't to say she regretted saving him. In fact, she was fine with it. But as she placed Lubbock's unconscious body on the ground and turned back to Rath, she noticed something wrong. The alien hero was gone.

"Huh? Where did he go?" Leone questioned.

For a brief moment after, she was confused by his absence. But a second later, that all changed. Her animal instincts immediately kicked in as it made her become defensive at that very moment. This meant her arms were up at her chest level, by her sides, while she looked around suspiciously as her as her feline ears moved frantically.

Suddenly, she heard a shift in the air, followed by a shadow on top of her. It started out the size of a man, before increasing rapidly to the point that it was obvious at who it was. Hence, as she looked up she saw Rath coming down on her with his arms open, before making a jump back and landing perfectly on the ground.

As for Rath, what happened next was expected. His body made contact with the ground, on his front, followed by a pained look on his face as he groaned. Leone didn't know for sure why he did such a reckless move, as what he did caused her snicker. It made her almost feel sorry she had to end the fight…almost.

The female assassin always enjoyed a good fight; it was a bad habit of hers. But with the instruction she got from Najenda earlier, she knew she had to end the fight as soon as possible. Hence, she walked over to Rath, clutched his head tightly, before lifting his upper body upper and wrapping her arms around his head to snap it.

"Sorry, lad, but this is where it ends. It was kind of fun." Leone said with a sly smirk.

Right now Leone's chance to kill the alien hero was open to her, more than her comrades. But just as she thought that, her eyes became a bit widened when her animal instincts went off. It was alerting her about something. However, it was too late once Rath cocked a grin.

"Gotcha!" Rath yelled.

Just then, before Leone could react then, it was too late. The alien hero sent his arms over his shoulders and slapped both hands against the sides of her face. The impact of that simultaneous attack caused Leone to feel a great pain as she felt badly dazed before letting him go and stumbling back. But before she could recover, Rath got back on his feet, turned to her and grabbed her by the face and lifting her entire body up in the air.

"Remember when Rath said you're in for a beat down of a lifetime?! This is what Rath meant!"

So with said, Rath did the unexpected; he stoned her head against the ground. He let out a loud cry when he did it, before bashing the back of her head against the ground again which in turn made huge cracks. But just as he did that, he lifted her up in the air, this time spinning around rapidly until he came to stop and threw her upwards in the air, only to jump up at her when she came down with a move in mind.

"Serious butt kickin!" Rath shouted.

Once that was out, the alien hero kicked her off like a football. The female assassin had no way to control her body as she was sent flying into a tree's branches, receiving the impact. Her body went through the numerous branches until she fell right down on her ground with a loud groan.

If Leone was in her human form, this would've been bad. Fortunately, due to her current form, she could feel herself recovering at a good pace. Sadly, that didn't mean she didn't feel a lot of pain as she groaned and stumbled back on her feet.

'Damn…he actually got me.' Leone thought with a surprised tone. But that changed when a bit of spite came across her face. 'No one gets a drop on me and lives.'

However, the chance to strike wasn't there yet. In fact, no sooner did she get up did Rath came charging at her with his arms crossed around his chest.

"Anterior Arm bar!" Rath shouted loudly.

But he didn't get to bash into his opponent like he intended. The reason was Leone, who immediately jumped to her right just in time to avoid Rath's collision. She could've faced him head-on, but knew it would be dangerous. Hence, Rath ended up hitting the tree and knocking it down to the ground.

At the same time, Leone landed safely on the ground on all fours. She could already feel her head getting better, as her eyes were glaring angrily at Rath. She then got back on her feet, while Rath turned to her, before placing her right leg forward and tightening her fist.

"Here's a little something about me, lad! I like giving sneak attacks, not receiving it!" Leone yelled angrily.

"So what, you want to go all out or cry to your momma?! Then fine!" Rath retorted and pointed at her. "But just so you know, Rath's gonna make sure you eat those words until there's no room in that stomach of yours to eat them!"

"Ugh! That also makes no sense!"

"I know!"

If tension between these two weren't high before, there certainly were now. Leone and Rath had a glaring face off for a few seconds before letting out powerful battle cries and charging at each other in peak speed. But that wasn't all to it. No, it was the fact that when both approached each other and tried to punch each other, their fists made contact with each other to so much force that the ground beneath them cracked.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" Both feline-like beings cried out furiously.

From the looks of it, both fighters seemed to be in an unexpected tie with each other. Rath's fist couldn't surpass Leone, who at the same time couldn't surpass Rath's strength. But once their voices were heard, both pulled back their fist, with Rath taking the first move.

The alien hero wasted no time there and then as he threw both fists down on the female assassin.

"Cosmic Drop!" Rath yelled.

Leone had no time to dodge or jump back in response. She did see the attack coming though, but in the seconds she had left could only act in defense. This meant her, raising her wrist up to receive the brunt of the attack, before gritting her teeth to suppress a groan as her body endured. Apparently, Rath's attack had come in so strong that it caused cracks to form under her feet, while she stayed in placed with bent knees.

'I can't lose to him. Not here…not ever!' Leone thought determinedly.

Hence, the female assassin pulled off the unexpected. She let out a loud cry as she pushed upwards against Rath's pressuring hands until she was almost standing fully on her feet. Then, before the alien hero knew it, she swiftly kicked him hard at the chest with such force that he groaned and released his pressure on her

But she didn't end there at all. In fact, the female assassin saw an opportunity right in front of her. This was obvious as she fell backwards to land on her arms, while simultaneously shooting her legs at Rath's neck and securing it. Before the alien hero could then react, she lifted him of the ground with a pull and sent him flying over her in an instant.

However, the result didn't go like she expected. Rath did a flip by with his hands touching the ground, before landing on his feet with his back at her. But when he turned to her, Leone suddenly made a leap at him with her fist coming straight for his face, if not that he then raised his right arm to receive the blow. Unfortunately, the impact was more than unexpected for Rath as it caused him to skid back a few feet away before coming to a stop. At the same time, his opponent landed on her feet, glaring at him.

"Had enough, big boy?!" Leone yelled with a frustrated tone.

"You wish!" Rath retorted. "I don't know about you, but maybe your fat chest is putting too much into that head of yours!"

Leone growled in response to this. She had tried to hold back right there, until now she didn't see any reason to do so. Rath's retort crossed the line as far as she was concerned, just to the point that she charged at her fast.

"Oh now you're in for it!" Leone yelled angrily.

"That's Rath's line!" Rath yelled back.

Not surprising, the alien hero then charged at her. He and Leone were closing the gap between them in a rapid pace that their fists immediately made contact as they exchanged blows. Rath sent a right hook punch at Leone's face, to which she groaned before launching an uppercut to his chin followed by a small jump and a left hook punch to the face. The attack caused Rath to groan in response, before then swinging a right hook punch which hit Leone and caused her to spin as she took in the hit. But in response, she swiftly did a back kick at his stomach with so much force that Rath stumbled back with a groan.

But after that attack, Rath found himself a bit taken aback. Leone swiftly turned to him and delivered an uppercut so strong that it sent him flying off his feet, with an immediate quick reaction. The alien hero was able to do a back flip like before, but this time striking his wrists claw into the ground as his skid backwards.

'This lad doesn't know when to stay down huh.' Leone thought, feeling frustrated.

However, the thought did little to enlighten the situation. The reason for that was Leone as she charged towards Rath, who in return stood full on his feet and charged at her. The gap between them was closed almost instantly from their speed until Leone sent her fist forward, only to then be surprised by the alien hero.

"Mega tackle suplex!" Rath yelled out.

In the seconds Leone threw that punch, the alien hero moved out of the way before wrapping his left arm around her stomach, much to her shock. But before she could react, Rath got to her back, wrapped his other arm around her chest before bending backwards and letting her hit the floor hard, with her head feeling the force.

But the alien hero didn't stop there. He let go of Leone and watched the rest of her body hit the floor, before reaching his hand out to grab her. But before he could touch her, Leone suddenly sprang her head at his hand and bit down on it.

"OW!" Rath shouted in shock and pain.

Being bitten by the other feline was totally unexpected. It caused the superhero to pull his hand back and hold it, with his eyes looking at his hand to see bite marks.

"You bite Rath!" Rath said in the most obvious.

However, Leone didn't care about it. She quickly took that moment to let out a battle cry, followed by getting on her feet as she charged at Rath. Before the alien hero could react, the female assassin did the same thing he did and knocked him to the ground and stepping back.

"Hmph! How do you like the taste of that?!" Leone yelled with a furious glare.

At the same time, Rath let out a groan. He got up to his feet and grabbed the back of his head, before muttering under his breath. "Ugh…Rath's not used to being in the end of that."

Fortunately, he was able to recover over that attack easily. Hence, his usual glaring eyes were back at Leone as he then tightened his fist. 'Lemme tell you something, Leone, the female assassin with the busty hest that wants to kill Rath, now it's really on!"

"Bring it!" Leone shouted back.

The instant that happened, both felines charged at each other again. They didn't think for a second of what would happen to the other, nor did it matter. They just instantly closed the gap and began exchanging blows at each other yet again.

Meanwhile, Aria watched the whole fight unfold. She was still sitting on the ground, unable to stand up, as the fight went on for an amount of time that she didn't know. It seemed for her that both feline-type beings were evenly matched as both of them refused to give in to the other person's beating. But it's not like she could do anything about it.

'That assassin is crazy…but so is Rath.' Aria thought with an observant look. 'I just hope for my sake that he wins and gets me out of here.'

Suddenly, both felines collided again with one another. The only difference though, was the fact that both held one another and began tightening their grip on what they held. Leone had each of her hands on Rath's wrist, while the alien hero had his hands on her shoulder. It was a face off unlike any the two of them had faced as both were yelling in loud voices while enduring the other persons strength

*********(LINE BREAK)*******

Having left the riverside, Akame, Bulat, Tatsumi and Ieyasu made a run through the forest for Ben and Aria. They had heard a gunshot, followed by the sound of something crashing until they turned to the direction of what sounded like a fight. They were close, or at least Akame and Bulat was, while Tatsumi and Ieyasu tried to catch up.

"Bro and Akame are fast." Tatsumi commented.

"Yeah, there's no way we can catch up to them at this rate." Ieyasu added.

The speed which the two were going was admirable, but not as remarkable as Bulat and Akame. At this point, the two assassins were almost out of their sight if not that Bulat came to a stop and waited for them to get to him.

"Bro?" Tatsumi questioned, confused.

It goes without saying that Ieyasu felt the same. He wondered what the older assassin wanted and so came to a stop with Tatsumi as Bulat stood before them.

"Tatsumi, Ieyasu, I need you both to do something special." Bulat stated.

"Oh…" Ieyasu muttered. Then he became a bit offensive. "This better not a newbie role again."

"Ieyasu!" Tatsumi snapped at his friend.

Fortunately, Bulat took the whole thing lightly as he continued.

"It's none of that." Bulat assured. Then he continued. "Right now we have two targets. The first is Ben and the other is the rich girl, Aria. The young man is our main priority, but with his constant protection over Aria it won't be easy. So what I need from both of you is this. Akame and I and whoever is fighting with Ben will keep him from interfering in your way."

"Our way?" Tatsumi questioned, now confused.

However, Ieyasu seemed to understand what Bulat said. It made his face to change to a dark determined one.

"Kill Aria." Ieyasu stated. "Don't worry, bro, you can count of us. Right, Tatsumi?"

"Oh, yes." Tatsumi nodded in response.

"Yes!" Bulat gave a thumbs up in response.

But then something unexpected happened. The older assassin took both boys under his arms, much to their protest, before running through the forest almost like a blur.

"Akame has the head start, so we're going to have to be quick." Bulat stated during the run. "For now, just hang on until we get there."

Both Tatsumi and Ieyasu nodded in response. They didn't like the position they were in though, but understood the reason why. Bulat's speed covered so much time that they could see Akame running before coming to a stop when Bulat noticed something.

At the same time, Akame noticed it and came to a stop. The thing she and Bulat saw was Leone, who was flying backwards at their direction until they moved out of the way and let her body hit a boulder close by.

Not surprising, the impact was hard, though Leone endured it. She let out a groan as she sat up, before letting out another one and standing back on her feet.

"Well that could've gone better." Leone murmured with a groan.

"Leone." Akame called.

"Huh?"

By being called, Leone turned to the direction of the voice. Akame was at her further left, while Bulat, Tatsumi and Ieyasu were at her further right facing her. The two boys were back on their feet, as all eyes were on her.

"Akame…Bulat…Tatsumi…Ieyasu." Leone called out. Her voice sounded a bit confused as each name she called was her basically turning to the individual. "You're here." She said.

"Of course we are." Ieyasu replied. "Why wouldn't we be?"

Leone opened her mouth to respond. But before she could, everyone felt a presence coming from the same direction Leone was seen flying from earlier and turned to it. Not so surprising the presence turned out to be Rath, who stood with a snarling look on his face as he came to a stop.

"So you brought your friends?! Fine! Rath was getting bored of you anyway!?" Rath said in his usual manner.

Leone gritted her teeth in response. The spite she felt for the alien hero was back as she immediately shot a glare at him. But before she replied, Tatsumi beat her to it with a shocked look on his face as familiarity of the creature came to mind.

"Rath?"

Now it was Bulat's turn to respond.

"You know this form?" The armored assassin asked.

"Yeah." Tatsumi answered and nodded. He still had his eyes on the alien hero as he continued. "Rath's a transformation Ben used to save Sayo and scare Ieyasu one time. He's big and very strong, but very aggressive and dumb, so you guys should be able to take him on."

"Hey, who you calling dumb, Tatsumi?!" Rath yelled angrily. "And another thing…"He then pointed accursedly at him. "Don't go about telling people about Rath! Who side are you on?!"

"Not your side!" Tatsumi retorted. He had his face at Rath with a glare.

"Oh…right…Night Raid." Rath muttered. His usual aggressive personality seemed to be gone as his mind wrapped around the concept. But a second later he mashed his fist into his open hand and returned back to his character. "Fine! Rath's not going to go easy on you, so be ready for a beat down!"

"Actually, we're not facing you." Tatsumi replied. Bulat's plan earlier had come to mind as it made him relax a bit. That was then followed with him turning to Ieyasu with a nod before turning his attention to Bulat. "We leave the rest to you, bro."

"Yes!" Bulat replied and nodded.

This confused the alien hero though. He stared at Tatsumi and Ieyasu rather suspiciously, before watching them run off through the forest for a specific location. It took the alien hero a second later to realize where they were going, to which he responded by turning his head back.

"Oh no you don't!" Rath shouted.

However, the alien hero didn't get far. Bulat intervened, as he leapt from his position and swung his spear at Rath, who heard him coming and then jumped a few feet back. The result of that was Bulat standing on where the alien hero once stood with both his hands holding the spear as he stood in a battle stance.

"Eyes on me, Rath!" Bulat stated bluntly.

Rath growled lowly in response. The situation didn't look good for him from the look of it. But just it seemed it couldn't get any worse, Leone walked forward and stood a few feet by Bulat's side, cracking her fists with a grin on her face.

"I guess I won't get the chance to beat that ass of yours alone." The female assassin commented.

But the bad signs of the situation didn't end there. In fact, it only got worse when Rath turned to leave, only for Akame to then land right before him with her katana in hand.

"Nowhere to go, lad." Leone stated. "But don't worry, you'll be meeting that girl in hell soon enough."

Rath growled in a low tone in response again. His temper was rising as frustration on the stuck situation was becoming prominent in his mind. He could face Akame, Bulat and Leone, but there was the fact that Aria would be killed if he didn't act quickly. So with that, a good idea came into mind as he tightened in fists.

"Lemme tell you something, Night Raid, when you put Rath in a tight position, there's only one thing you get out of it! And that's this!"

The alien hero immediately struck the ground with his fists' claw digging right into it. The result that happened after was a shockwave which caught Night Raid by surprise, but nonetheless able to react. Leone was able to jump back onto a branch, while Bulat raised his spear downwards to receive the blunt of the force. As for Akame, she leapt over Rath, who then took that chance to run away as fast as he could.

At the same time, Aria let out a scream. She saw Tatsumi and Ieyasu heading towards her, with speed that was rapidly closing the gap, as she could do nothing but stay in place. She did then try to crawl backwards with her arms but found that to be useless as the two young men came running towards her.

'No, this can't be it!' Aria thought with fright. 'I don't wanna die! I don't wanna die!'

Unfortunately, her state didn't matter at all. Begging for her life wouldn't work and neither would any attempt to persuade them would change their mind. Tatsumi and Ieyasu were deadlock, with their weapons raised at their shoulders length, to kill her.

Good thing for her that Rath was right behind them. The two young men were fast, but Rath was faster due to his enhanced animalistic abilities that allowed him to be. But as he closed in, Akame suddenly caught up with him from the back and swung her katana blade at his back, tearing his flesh covered fur with blood coming out and the poison getting into his bloodstream.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Rath cried out in pain.

Akame's attack came as a total surprise, just as much as it hurt. It caused Rath to stumble forward, but then with a back kick at the female assassin that attacked him. Unfortunately for him, Akame jumped back and landed safely on his feet before watching Rath struggling to stay on his feet. The poison from Murasame was taking effect on him.

One thing about Akame's teigu was known for was its poison. It didn't matter how big the creature was, one strike was all she needed to take on its life. Hence, the reason Rath groan as he fought the urge to succumb to its deadly effect. He could still see Tatsumi and Ieyasu getting close to Aria, before then letting out a powerful roar to hype up his adrenaline and frustration.

There was little time Rath had left, as soon his life could end. He could've changed back, but the thought of Aria dead was something he wanted to prevent. Hence, he let out another battle cry and leapt forward at Tatsumi and Ieyasu with arms spread forward at a last ditch to save Aria.

Unfortunately, the alien hero may be too late. Tatsumi and Ieyasu sent their weapons down on Aria, who let out a final scream as she immediately shut her eyes closed. She didn't want to witness her own death, especially at how gruesome it would be.

However, before the blades made contact, Rath intervened. He landed right behind the duo and grabbed him by the back with each of his hand, before throwing them aside from one another to the ground. The fact that he made such a feat was impressive, but came with a cost as he fell on his knees and then on his front entirely.

"Huh?" Aria muttered, confused. 'I'm not dead?' She thought.

The blond rich girl thought at this point she would be. But as she opened her eyes and raised her arms to her face, she realized she was really alive. However, in doing so she noticed Rath lying on the ground with a huge gash at his back.

"Ben?" Aria muttered.

Then a horrific thought came to mind. Rath was unresponsive. His body lay quiet on the ground, while her face changed to that of horror and fear before she reached her hand and shook his head.

"No…come on. Get up dammit!" Aria shouted. "Get up please! You can't die on me!"

Sadly, the alien hero didn't respond. His quiet remained quiet as no indication was made that he was alive. It was depressing and sad, as Aria finally let out some tears and clutched the head of the alien hero.

************(LINE BREAK*************

"Finally, it's over." Mine commented. "Akame took him down."

The pink haired girl had seen it all happened. She had seen the fight with Lubbock, the fight with Leone and what transpired until that moment Rath fell. So while it was saddening to a certain blond, she was satisfied as she still had her Pumpkin slung on her shoulder before turning to her friend, Sheele. "You should get down there. I'll keep watch just in case." She said.

"Okay." Sheele replied and nodded.

******(LINE BREAK)**************

Back on the normal ground, Aria was still in that position. She was silently crying over what happened while at the same time catching the attention of the Night Raid members as they regrouped. Bulat and Leone emerged to the center, while Akame stood still watching with Tatsumi and Ieyasu back on their feet with mixed emotions.

"Is he…Is Ben really gone?" Tatsumi said, the thought making him to shake a bit. Sure, Ben was someone he was against, but he never imagined seeing him dead.

"Seems like it." Akame answered. Her voice was still monotone as ever.

However, something didn't sit well with Tatsumi. Aria, the psychotic girl, was crying. She was pleading for that matter as she seemed to not take notice of the Night Raid members standing before her. It was very strange.

"She's crying?" Tatsumi questioned. But Akame remained quiet.

At the same time, Ieyasu causally walked over to Aria without a word. "Tatsumi, I know what you may be thinking, but don't her fool you again. We have to finish the job." He said.

Tatsumi was silent in response. He turned at Akame, who was by his side, and saw her nod at him before taking in his best friend's words and changing his attitude. It was all he could do as he tightened his sword before walking over to Aria without her knowledge.

However, before any of them could get any close, a familiar whining sound was heard. It caught all of the present Night Raid's attention as it came from Rath, who then became engulfed by a flash of light that transformed him back to Ben. The young man's head was still at Aria's chest, when he let out a small moan before opening his eyes slowly.

"Men…what just –"

Ben came to a stop that second. The reason was because his face was directly at Aria's chest, where he could feel the very softness of it as his entire face began to blush. But as that happened, Aria was confused until it dawned her why and she blushed madly before pushing the teen away.

"AH! PERVERT!" Aria shrieked.

"Hey! Who are you calling a pervert!?" Ben yelled angrily. He was on the ground like Aria as this happened. "Last I remember I fell to the ground, not your chest!"

"Shut up!" Aria yelled back. "I bet you wanted to land on that assassin's huge breasts!"

"What?!"

"Don't deny it! You were calling them out before!"

"Oh…yeah." Ben muttered. He didn't seem taken aback by it though as he reflected what she said. "Yeah…I guess they were big. From where I'm from, girls aren't that big unless they have it by surgery."

"I knew it! You are a pervert!" Aria shouted and pointed accursedly at him.

"Wait, what?" Ben questioned with a lost look.

However, before Aria could respond, Leone's voice took over.

"HEY, ASSHOLES, STOP TALKING ABOUT MY FUCKING CHEST!"

"Huh?" Both Ben and Aria turned to her direction.

Then the thought of their predicament came rushing back to mind. The fight, the attempted killing and everything else up to that moment came to them. It made Aria to immediately shriek in fear, before crawling back a bit, while Ben sighed with a frustrated look on his face as he stood up. He didn't like how things have been going, especially with the fact that he almost died twice. But he had to put an end to it. Hence, his face became straightforwardly calm as he had his Omnitrix arm to his chest level, with his other hand a few feet at the faceplate.

"This has gone on long enough." Ben stated straightly. "We've been at each other for a long time that it's getting kind of annoying. That isn't to say I'll kill you, I don't work that way. But I will take you down some other way if I have to. So right now you and I have choice. Leave Aria and I alone or stay and face me at my best."

'His best?' Aria thought, confused.

Ben's request then was unexpected as it seemed a bit out of his character. So far he had been lighthearted and aggressive (by Rath) in the fight that now it was a bit worrying to think he was holding back. In fact, just the thought of it got everyone a bit tense as they got into fighting stances, ready for what he meant.

"Sorry, lad, but that's not happening." Leone said with a straight face. "We're Night Raid. We don't let anyone walk free after going on this long."

"I see…" Ben muttered. His fingers then touched the Omnitrix's faceplate that it made the circle hologram to appear. "Then I guess I have no choice!"

The moment that was said, Ben went into action. He picked an alien form without looking at the Omnitrix, before the faceplate slide back and let the core pop up. The alien he had in mind was still unknown until he slammed his hand down on the device which then engulfed him in a flash of light that revealed his current form.

Unfortunately, it wasn't what the hero wanted. His current alien form was a creature that had green and yellow-skin ogre-like alien with a dark green cage helmet on his head. The metal helmet had two horns protruding from the sides of it while it also had a crest that is shaped into a toenail. The cage door had five bars, three of which were at the center of it. Also, connected to his cage is his armor which is wrapped around his shoulders and goes halfway down his chest, as well as it being connected to his pants by chains. The pants are just a simple pair of black underpants, with a metal waistline matches the color of his armor. Another thing noticeable about him were his arms which were long and misshapen, with weed like spikes coming out of them and his fingertips are pointy, while also possessing a visible belly button. As for the Omnitrix symbol, it was located at the helmet's extension covering his chest, with two green metallic protrusions accompanying the Omnitrix symbol on both sides.

"What the…" Ben paused. He noticed something was wrong, due to the fact that he felt entirely different from the form he wanted. But it made sense to him when he raised his yellow arms at his face and sighed. "Seriously, Toepick? So much for Alien X."

'Alien X?' Aria questioned in her mind.

Ever since she has been with the teen hero, she hadn't learnt much from him. She knew the familiarity about the aliens, but not to the extension of asking about them to the hero. But that wasn't to say she was the only one who wondered that. In fact, just hearing the word Alien X made Tatsumi and Ieyasu shiver a bit as a memory came into mind. It made them glad Ben didn't turn into the alien he wanted.

'He was willing to go there?' Tatsumi thought, feeling a bit relieved. He didn't show it though, as he stared narrowly at Ben as he continued. 'If Alien X is really the strongest like he stated a long time ago, we might have been in trouble. But still…what can Toepick do? Ben never mentioned him before.'

On front appearance, Toepick didn't look that much threatening. He was chubby looking and at the same time didn't seem to have a good defense except for his head, which had his face hidden for some reason. However, none of that seemed to matter as the present Night Raid members charged at Ben simultaneously, not wanting to give the young man a chance.

But unknown to them, their action was the wrong move. Toepick stood in place and raise his hands to the back of his helmet to open the cage, which he successfully did. As a result, the metal bars of his caged face opened slowly in two before releasing green mist that was then followed by the sounds of terrified screams, agonized wailing, roaring, unholy groans and wails, hissing, and deep demonic laughter, with his true face being revealed to Night Raid.

In the past, the group of assassins had faced a lot of terrifying things. The Capital was, after all, an unspeakable cruel place where the worse of the worse resided just to treat those below them in terrible and sadistic ways. But imagine despite all this, the entire group came to a stop as looks of horror came on their face when their eyes met the true face of Toepick.

"WH-WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Ieyasu screamed in pure look of horror.

The young black haired male's face turned pale in an instant. He couldn't feel the courage and determination he felt earlier, as that feeling was swept away in an instant as fear and horror came on his face.

However, he wasn't alone. Toepick's unspeakable face got into the very depth of each Night Raid's member as it crumbled the very mental walls they built the moment their bodies turned white as sheets and it caused them to scream.

"ST-STAY BACK!" Tatsumi screamed. The effect of Toepick was high as he backed away. "THAT'S DISGUSTING!"

"STAY AWAY!" Bulat screamed as well.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Leone screamed too,

Akame, on the other hand, just screamed. She couldn't bring herself to scream out the words as already she was screaming. Toepick's ability was truly an unexpected attack as it not only had physical effect, but mentally. In fact, it was so unique that each member couldn't bear what they saw, as it then led to them falling to the ground unconscious.

"Well that went well." Toepick said, somewhat impressed. But as he said this, the Omnitrix began to beep and sound off until he was engulfed in a flash of green light that changed him back to normal. "And just in good time." He commented.

But unknown to him, that alien form of his had an effect on someone else. It was Aria.

'What the…who are you?' Aria thought. Though she hadn't seen Toepick's face, she was fearful and in shock at how easily Night Raid were taken down. 'You…He just took down Night Raid without lifting a finger…Night Raid, the empire's most hated assassins were killed with just a single look of his face.'

"Hey, you okay?"

"Huh?" Aria snapped out of her thoughts.

Unknown to the girl up until that moment, she had been so sucked in her thoughts that she hadn't Ben until that moment. The young man was staring at with his hands on his knees, while looking concerned her as he continued. "Toepick didn't get to you, did he?"

"Nu…No." Aria lied.

"Right." Ben replied. He didn't believe her.

Aria's face was like an open book to Ben as it was obvious she was scared. But before Ben could question her, she turned back to the defeated Night Raid members and pointed at them.

"Did you just kill…"

"No." Ben said and stood up straight. "Toepick just scared them. They should be fine by the time they wake up."

"Oh okay." Aria replied. For some reason, she didn't like hearing that.

However, before anything could be said, something surprising happened. A small groan was heard from behind Ben as Aria's eyes then caught sight of familiar figure rising to her feet with a stagger. Her body was still pale and white due to Toepick's effect though, as each movement she made while clutching her Murasame was tough until she got back on her feet. But once she lifted her head at Ben, she let out an angered shout and charged at him.

"Ben, look out!" Aria shouted.

"Huh?" Ben questioned. He turned back as Aria's eyes were looking there, before jumping to his left just in time to avoid a slash of Akame's Murasame. When he turned to his attacker, he was surprised to see who it was. "Wait, you're still standing?" He questioned.

Akame didn't respond to him in words. She breathed heavily as her eyes were red like they were fighting back against something in her mind. Ben didn't know exactly what it could, but could guess it had to do with Toepick's scary face. But that wasn't the only thing the hero noticed.

'She's slow.' Ben thought with observant serious eyes. 'If this was like the last the last time we fought, she could've killed me now. But Toepick's scare is still having an effect on her. But by the way she's moving it means she's fighting back against it. But that also means I have a better chance against her.'

That was at least what he hoped. He could see the anger Akame held for him as she glared at him with her Murasame in her right hand, while enduring her weakening body. However, the scene before him didn't look pleasant, so he started up the Omnitrix to combat her. But by doing so, he triggered the female assassin, who in response dashed at him and swung her katana at him just at the same time as he slammed the Omnitrix's core and became engulfed in a flash of green light.

Too bad for her, she missed. Ben's transformation didn't make him taller, but rather shorter as he coincidently avoided another taste of the female's blade. When the light died down, Ben was revealed to be a short white alien whose body resembled a living amplifier.

"Echo Echo." The alien called out.

Suddenly, before Akame could attack, Echo Echo opened its mouth and let out a sonic blast. The attack hit Akame right in the chest and stomach, with such force that it sent her flying back. But before she could hit the ground, she sent her right hand down and did a black flip back that returned her to her feet.

Echo Echo was impressed by this. He hadn't met anyone who had withstood Toepick's scary face and still be able to fight. But then again this was the girl who was relentless to end his life.

"I got to say, you sure know how to hold your own." Ben said with an echo voice. "Too bad I'm not giving up."

Akame said nothing back in response. She kept her silent attitude as she tightened her shaky hand on her Murasame with the knowledge to keep her guard up. If she was in her one hundred percent, she may have been able to keep up with this new alien form. However, she wasn't, and at the same time lacked the potential knowledge of the alien.

Speaking of said hero, he immediately charged at her with a battle cry. But just when the distance was almost closed, he leapt into the air and split out five versions of himself, all who spread their arms out at the female assassin. But it didn't end there. Those five split themselves into another duplicate each, making the total ten, before coming down on Akame.

However, the trip down on the female assassin wasn't easy. The Echo Echo duplicates found this out as Akame swiftly chopped off each duplicate as fast as she could. It wasn't to say she was at her usual best, but it was something impressive. Unfortunately for her, her speed wasn't enough as the main Echo Echo landed on her face, clutching it. But before she could react, Echo Echo split into six duplicates, all who occupied her shoulders, head and chest.

'Don't think perverted thoughts, Ben. No perverted thoughts.' thought Echo Echo six.

It was a good thing each Echo Echo was somewhat individually self-ware unlike Ditto. However, that wasn't to say Akame liked the groping and the amount of Echo Echo on her. It was too much on her recovering body, as each duplicate were trying to force her down. But as they tried, Akame quickly used her left hand, grabbed each Echo Echo by the back and threw them away into different direction.

"Well that didn't work well." said Echo Echo 2.

Akame's toss had been a surprise, but not one they weren't ready for. This was obvious as they land on their feet, skidding back until coming to a stop while facing Akame's from all sides. That was when one of them had an idea.

"Plan B, everyone!" Echo Echo 4 said.

"Plan B!" Echo Echo 5 repeated.

So with that, each Echo Echo charged at Akame. They didn't jump at her like last though, as each of them came to a stop before opening their mouths for a simultaneous attack. Hence, before Akame could react, they all let out a huge sonic blast.

"SONIC BOOOM!"

The moment their voices were out, each Echo Echo let out a huge sonic blast. Akame had no chance to avoid it as she was hit from all sides, causing her to scream out in pain.

"AAAAAHHHHHH!"

Every hit from the Echo Echo duplicate hurt badly. The female assassin could feel the impact from all sides, as well as her ears, as each hit kept her unable to move. She did try to move though, in an attempt to slice the blade of Murasame at her left wrist for her trump card, but found it impossible. Echo Echo just kept on going until she let out a last scream and fell on her knees, then to the ground entirely, unconscious. Once that happened, the Echo Echos stopped and returned back to just being one, the main Ben, before he touched the Omnitrix symbol and changed back.

"Phew! That…That was something." Ben remarked with relief. Defeating Akame may have looked easy, but the teen hero had been worried a while back. He never knew the girl was this persistent until that moment he faced her. But now that the fight was over, he looked at the rest of Night Raid before going over to Tatsumi's unconscious body and standing by his side. "I'm so sorry I had to do that." Ben apologized with a sympathy face. "You and Ieyasu didn't deserve any of that. I hope you can forgive me one day."

However, not all was well like the hero expected. Aria was still present, while still on the ground in amazement at Ben's power. The hero was no doubt powerful, and possibly enough to oppose the empire on his own. But that wasn't what that then came to mind. No, it was when she looked at Akame again and turned her gaze to a small branch lying just inches from her before looking back at the unconscious assassin.

'This is my chance…My chance to avenge my parents.' Aria thought vengefully. It wasn't long after that a dark sinister look came on her face, which then led to her to crawling over to the branch and picking it up with one hand. It didn't seem much, but in the hands of a killer like her it would end the life of someone, precisely Akame.

Good thing for her, Ben was busy with Ieyasu. The blond noticed him talking down on the unconscious young man before giving it no thought as she crawled over to Akame. It didn't matter to her that she was dirtying her clothes; she was already closing the distance between her and the assassin. The female assassin was unresponsive during that moment, especially when Aria finally was mere inches from her with her hand with the branch in hand, over her unconscious head.

"This is for everything, bitch!" Aria shouted.

At the same time, Ben turned just in time to see what Aria was doing.

"Aria, don't!" He shouted.

However, Aria didn't seem to listen. The wicked, psychotic look was now present on her face as the thought of vengeance was on her. But before she could, there were the rapid sounds of footsteps from the forest, before a female figure jumped out and landed some feet from Aria with her giant scissors, Extase, in both hands.

"Stay back!" Aria yelled angrily. "I'll actually kill her if you get any closer."

Sheele froze a bit and took a step back in response. The situation was far different from how Mine had put it. The Teigu user, Ben, was still alive while most of Night Raid was one the ground, with one of their lives at stack. Maybe if she had come earlier on time, she might have helped and prevented this.

However, none of that seemed to matter. Sheele may not be able to attack Aria while she held Akame as a hostage, but she knew for certain if the blond killed her friend, she'll swiftly end her life in seconds.

As for Ben, the young man was a bit panicked. But he knew what to do. Aria may be evil, but he had seen her good side a few times to know he might be able to reach that. However, if he was wrong and failed to save Akame, there may be too much blood than the hero could handle.

******************************************(

OHHH SNAPPPP! ARIA IS HOLDING AKAME HOSTAGE! WHO SAW THAT COMING?! I DID BECAUSE…WELL I'M THE AUTHOR!

So that fight with Leone sure was something. But to be honest, it was kind of a stress for me. The reason is because I wanted to capture as much of the fight it would be if both Rath and Leone were ever to fight. That meant I had to keep both in character, as well as Rath's fighting techniques like in the series. Fortunately, in the end it was fun to do. Some of the names Rath calls out are from Alien Force and Omniverse, while the others are either made up or just both. It wasn't easy hearing some of the attacks he called out, so I made up some words and added it to the word I could hear.

Btw what do you think of Toepick showing up? He's supposed to replace that ideal alien everyone wanted to take out Night Raid in one blow, even though Ben originally wanted Alien X. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I thought at first to replace him with Pesky Dust because I was worried Night Raid may sound OOC by Toepick's scary face, but I guess I'll leave it up to you to decide. As for the reasons, Akame was able to somewhat overcome effects of Toepick, it's due to willpower. In the anime and manga, we've been shown many times that an individual's willpower is able to help an individual overcome or endure certain tough situations. Besides, it's been explained that there are people that can withstand Toepick's scare (like Ma Vreddle). According to one of the people who worked on the show, he said Ma Vreedle has seen worse. So it goes without saying that Esdeath will be able to withstand Toepick's scare since she had seen far worse things, while Akame would be able to fight back against it though with difficulty since she too has seen worse things from her childhood, though not to the level of Esdeath.

Now in response to some questions, I think it's best I explain it here. Ben won't have the master control. He will have some voice commands over the Omnitrix, but nothing different from his series.

Originally, this chapter was meant to start with a flashback to when Ben first met Tatsumi, Sayo and Ieyasu, but I'll leave that flashback to a special chapter.

Thank you all for your continuous support. I loved reading your reviews, as well as seeing the number of favorites and followers increasing. Please keep it up! I'll have the next chapter up as soon as possible so we can go back on track with the manga.