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.

22. Rage, Resolve and Her Return?

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE! I'm Man of Cartoons and I'm here with another awesome chapter of Corruption, Murder and…Redemption?

Thank you for the support you give me, it helps a lot. Now about the previous chapter, I realize just how depressing it was, especially to you guys (the readers). But at least you guys know this fanfiction is as unpredictable as it gets.

Anyway, I've decided to update this chapter for ya'll to find some comfort in. It isn't long as my usual ones, but I am working on the next chapter which will be longer.

So with that out of the way, here's another awesome chapter.

Chapter 22:

Ben's eyes were still shaky when it all happened. His eyes never strayed away from Kuro's massive figure and his mind didn't reflect on anything other than Ieyasu killed right before him. It was traumatic and at the same time even unexpected for the teen's mind to process well. Thus, the tears that ran down his cheeks never seemed to cease.

But then something caught his attention. It wasn't of something good, but something that made his heart feel like it was being squeeze. Seryu Ubiquitos was laughing to her heart's content.

"At last! At last! Justice won this night!" She exclaimed 'cheerfully'. She was unaware of Ben's presence, even despite his scream earlier. Hence, a sadistic smile was widened across her face as she spread her mostly amputated arms apart.

Ben Tennyson was now sickened. He could see the young woman clearly, even despite the tears. However, the sight just burned a new feeling of rage in him with that depression. As a result, he slowly rose back to his feet while staring at the ground.

"You…You killed Ieyasu…" He muttered.

"Huh?" Seryu was confused. But then she saw Ben and smiled widely. "Ben? Ben! Did you see that?! Did you see just how swift justice was carried out?!"

Ben tightened his fists in response. If the rage in him wasn't increasing before, it certainly was now.

"Yeah…I saw it…" Ben said with a strain voice. A small part of him wanted to hold back. However, it was too late. He raised his head at her, with the Omnitrix at his chest level and his hand above it. "Now you're going to pay!"

With that, Ben slammed his hand down on the exposed Omnitrix core. The transformation then took place as the usual green light engulfed his body. Hence, when the change was completed, Ben stood as…

"WHAMPIIIREEEE!"

Seryu was confused and surprised. She hadn't seen this form of Ben, nor could she make sense of what the teen just said. As for her fellow Imperial officers, they were baffled at the alien transformation as they stared at it.

Whampire resembled that of a vampire, which was scary. His green eyes were glaring angrily at Seryu as his sharp yellow teeth were visible for all to see like a predator. As for his clothing, it composed of black and green jumpsuit, black gloves with green fingers that possessed his sharp claws, as well as other accessories.

In other words, his appearance was terrifying. Whampire didn't seem in the least terrifying. Hence, the next thing the Imperial officers knew, the alien hero let out a sonic scream. It was an attack unlike any other heard of, as not only was it loud, but it hurt the ears so badly that even holding their hands against their ears did little to help.

So while that happened, Seryu screamed in pain louder than the others. She had no hands to cover her ears, nor could she move her own body. Whampire's scream was powerful and as a result the Imperial officer fell to the ground unconscious.

Kuro became enraged. He just witnessed Seryu falling to the ground before turning to Whampire for vengeance. However, before he could react, Whampire jumped straight at him and punched him right in the face with so much force that he was sent flying towards the other Imperial officers.

Fortunately, there were no actual causalities. The Imperial officers did get out of the way, but only in time to see Kuro hit the ground on his back. As a result, many of them were terrified and scared due to the obvious show of power. But before any of them could say anything, Kuro was back on his feet, when Whampire then came down with a front flip kick on the Teigu's head, sending a big blow.

Kuro hadn't expected such an attack, so he couldn't react. As a result, he cried out in a mix of pain and rage, before then grabbing Whampire by the leg and pulling him close. But then, before he could do anything, the alien hero let out another sonic scream that caused the Teigu to let go and sent back flying.

"What do we do?!" shouted one scared Imperial guard.

"Can we even handle that?!" shouted another.

"No way! I'm not facing that! Did you see his brute strength?!"

One Imperial officer snarled in response. He was a young man with blonde hair, and possibly the only person not afraid of the scene. But that didn't change the fact that the fight between Whampire and Kuro was beyond their control. Thus he took action by gesturing to the woods.

"Fall back!" He commanded. "We'll alert the Imperial army! They'll be able to handle this with Grand General Budo!"

All the Imperial officers present complied. As a result, they made their move. They did as what the male Imperial officer commanded by heading straight for the woods. Meanwhile, the fight between Kuro and Whampire was far from over, especially when Kuro ran straight for the alien hero with its mouth open.

Unknown to him, though, the alien hero was ready. He could see the Teigu coming, before then running straight at him with his hands spread out. Then, the moment they closed the gap between them, Kuro sent his huge hand down on Whampire, only to then miss when the alien hero jumped.

So before Kuro knew it, he was hit again. This time, while above Whampire, the alien hero sent both his fists down on the Teigu's head with a devastating result. Whampire's attack not only sent the Teigu entirely down to the ground, but it sent a shockwave so powerful that it tore apart the ground in the area, affecting the Imperial officers still fleeing.

There were some that escaped, but the others weren't lucky. Hence, before they knew it, they were sent flying and screaming to different directions. Seryu, on the other hand, was unconscious when she was affected by the shockwave. But then when she was flown to a tree, she suddenly regained consciousness at that moment.

"Huh…what…?" Seryu mumbled.

For the moment, the young woman was confused. She felt hurt head hurting, as her mind felt dizzy when she tried looking around. But then, that feeling slowly began subside, especially when she turned to Kuro and Whampire and saw what was happening.

"Ben…? Kuro…?" She muttered, still dizzy.

Back at the fight, the scene was intense. Kuro was back on his feet while Whampire was close to his him at his front. But the Teigu was unsuccessful against the alien hero. This was because Whampire was so incredibly fast that not even his thirst for blood could match to it. Hence, with each time he missed, Whampire returned it with precise hits at his face by both his fists.

Just then, Whampire changed his fight pattern. First, he dodged another of Kuro's swings, before then flying over him and grabbing the top of the Teigu's head. Then, as he came down for a landing, he swung the Teigu over his head and slammed its body hard on the ground before then doing a spin and throwing the Teigu away into the woods.

So by the time Kuro came to a stop, he had knocked down about ten trees. It could've then stopped there, but Whampire's throw also made him to brush against the surface of the ground, leaving a trail by him.

Kuro decided then tried to stand up. He may be a Teigu, he still felt pain. However, before he could get up, Whampire suddenly landed on his chest, causing yet another tremor. Hence, the next thing Kuro knew was being punched severely and rapidly at the face by the raged-filled alien hero.

"DIE! DIE! DIE! DIE! DIIIIEEEEE!" Whampire yelled angrily. "WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE?! YOU TOOK AWAY IEYASU, SO JUST DIE ALREAADDYYYY!"

Kuro could say nothing in his situation. He was at this point running out of energy to combat the alien hero, and to make matters worse for him, his head was being torn apart repeatedly by Whampire's punches despite his enhanced healing ability. Thus, he decided to act.

Kuro was still in pain when he decided to grab Whampire with his huge arm. However, before he could make the actual grab, Whampire stopped his assault on him, only to then turn to that arm and swiftly use his sharp claws to shred it into pieces.

It was now clear on who had the upper hand. Kuro was increasing getting exhausted due to retaining the form of Beserker mode and combating a foe clearly stronger than him. But then Whampire decided to turn it up by glowing green energy, ready to let out an explosion of immense power.

However, something (or someone) intervened. Whampire was about to let out the explosion, when suddenly he heard a familiar female voice call out to him.

"Ben, stop!"

Whampire immediately stopped. He wasn't taken aback or related to any soft emotion, though. In fact, if anything, he was angrier than before because he recognized that voice. But he still turned and hissed when he got a sight of Seryu standing there.

"Wha-What are you doing?!" Seryu yelled. She wasn't pleased by Whampire's action; she was furious. "Kuro isn't the enemy! He's a good boy who delivered justice on Night Raid tonight! We shouldn't be fighting!"

Whampire growled and gritted his teeth in response. Seryu didn't dissolve the situation; she just made it worse. And since Ben was losing control of his emotions, his alien's primal instinct was increasingly getting the better of him. Hence, he suddenly flew at the Imperial officer with his claws out to deal with her.

"THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE WRONG!" He cried out.

Seryu was taken aback. She could clearly see that Whampire was coming after her. However, her mind couldn't process a way out of her situation. Hence, in her moment, she stood there with widened eyes as Whampire drew closer to her with each seconds.

Fortunately for her, Whampire didn't succeed. He would've, but Kuro surprisingly stood in his way and then grabbing his mistress to his chest to shield her. As such, Whampire became enraged and let out a cry that led to him pouring his increasing frustration at Kuro with a punch, sending both of them flying into the air.

They eventually hit the ground. But before that, Kuro's body broke through a tower and then made a trail on the ground's surface. As for their new location, it was a populous district in the Capital, which was obvious by the people around. They had been attending to their normal business when they had noticed the Teigu crash.

Fortunately, no one stayed back to watch. They were scared by the huge Teigu, especially due to its sudden presence. Thus, the people around screamed and ran off in different directions, leaving Kuro by himself. It was fine, though, as it was then at that moment that the Teigu removed his arms from Seryu, who then sat up.

"Shit…What the hell was that…?" Seryu questioned, confused. One moment she was in a time of victory and now she was in this situation. But before she could question it further, she noticed steam coming from Kuro, which in turn concerned her. "Oh no…Kuro, you've overworked yourself in Berserker mode. That isn't good." She said.

Kuro made a soft groan. He knew perfectly what his mistress said. However, his senses were still sharp, especially to the point of noticing danger.

Therefore, to protect her, the Teigu pushed Seryu off her. His action at that moment surprised Seryu, who was about to question it. However, before she could, Whampire landed down on the Teigu with so much force that a shockwave went through the ground and broke it apart.

Seryu was taken aback. When the ground broke apart, it took much of her effort to not fall down entirely. But then it didn't matter, because at that moment she witnessed in shock as Whampire let out a cry and then released an explosive green energy. This energy was so powerful that it not only engulfed Kuro, but shot right into the sky, departing the clouds there.

"KUROOOO!" Seryu screamed.

The female Imperial officer was now deeply concerned and fearful for her Teigu. She couldn't have done anything to stop the attack even if she wanted to. As such, she just stood there with widened eyes at the area where her Teigu had laid and waited for the dust cloud to clear.

Unfortunately for her, the sight wasn't pleasing. A part of her hoped her Teigu made it, however she was proven wrong when she saw a hole in the place Kuro was. But then it became worse when she saw Whampire levitate in the air with a familiar orb in his hand, much to her shock.

It was then at that moment that Seryu snapped. She had been confused and concerned for Ben's behavior for too long. Hence, her inner self revealed itself as the look of the killer she was, especially as she ran straight for the alien hero. Now she didn't care whether Ben was friend or foe; she just wanted him dead.

"GET AWAY FROM HIIIMMMMMM!" She cried out.

Now at this moment, it was obvious the Imperial officer was at a huge disadvantage. She had no arms and neither did she have any weapons to fight. But that didn't matter to her. She was in her killer mode, as obvious by her behavior.

However, her shift in attitude wasn't good enough. Whampire did notice her, but only after tossing the orb away without a single thought and flying towards her. Hence, before she knew it, he was right in front of her and backhanding her at the face.

Seryu cried out in pain. She hadn't expected such an attack, especially in her sudden 'berserker' mode. But it didn't matter, because as she was sent flying, Whampire suddenly showed up behind her, where he then backhanded her from behind, sending her flying to another direction. This time, though, she ended up rolling roughly against the ground before crashing into a wooden stall.

Now at this point, one would guess that Seryu had gone through enough. But they would be wrong. Seryu was able to muster the strength to stand from the stall, panting and badly wounded. The armor she wore now had cracks on them while other parts of her clothing had tears. But if that wasn't enough, her hair which was known to be tied in a big ponytail was now loose.

Unknown to her, though, her action only upset Whampire more. The Imperial officer was able to stand for a few seconds, before suddenly being attacked again. This time the young woman was grabbed by the throat and lifted off the ground by Whampire, where she could only dangle.

"Let…me…go…" Seryu said. Her throat was tightening, as the grip on her was strong. However, despite this, she spat some spit at Whampire, who in turn growled.

Whampire then unleashed his fury on her. He was in no control of himself, as each second his alien's primal instinct was getting stronger. Thus, his power increased more than it normally could, even to the point that he was now completely reckless.

So before Seryu knew it, Whampire dealt with her. He first threw her away, only to then show up behind her and kick her at the back. Hence, as she was sent flying forward, he suddenly showed up at her front and grabbed her neck, before then running off with her with a speed that broke the sound barrier.

As a result, the beating continued Seryu was taken to a few feet away, when Whampire suddenly threw her forward. But before she could hit the ground, Whampire ran at her side and punched her at the side, sending her flying to the other direction. Then, as she was about to hit the ground, he kicked her right in the stomach, sending her to yet another direction.

This then became a pattern. Seryu suffered in Whampire's hands, as he would send her flying to one direction, only to then hit her again and repeat the process all over. Hence, when he was about to stop, he kicked her at the stomach and sent her a meter higher than him, before then grabbing the woman's ankle and knocking her against the ground hard, creating huge cracks on the ground.

Finally, the beating came to the end. As for its results, it was all over Seryu, who coughed off some blood. Her body was almost entirely covered by blood as her armor was almost entirely gone. Even the clothes she wore underneath had tears all over them.

'Am…Am I…Am I going to die?' Seryu wondered, scared. She had tried to retain her savage mode, but it had crumbled once she was beaten severely. 'No…I can't die…' She thought. 'I don't want to die here…not until I've made Night Raid…pay.'

Whampire suddenly grabbed the Imperial officer by the throat. He couldn't read her thoughts, but he was still vengeful. Hence, as he lifted the woman, her fear increased.

'No…No…I have to retreat…I have to…' And then another fearful thought came to the Imperial officer. 'Oh shit…I…I can't move my body…I can't –'

Whampire suddenly snarled directly at her face. By now he had a tightened grip on the Imperial officer who couldn't do anything against him. The moment was ripe for revenge, and so his claws were slowly digging into her throat.

"Blood! Blood! You reek of blood!" Whampire said menacingly. He was losing more control of his sense as the vampire instinct in him was taking over. Hence he continued. "I'll take it all! I'll make you pay for what you did! Now DIE!"

Whampire then tightened his grip on her neck. He could feel the blood of the Imperial officer now trailing on his fingertips. But he didn't stop there. He also pulled back his other arm and sharpened its claws ready to kill Seryu.

"THIS IS FOR IEYASU!" Whampire cried out.

"Ben…stop." said a far-off voice.

Whampire suddenly halted his attack. His hand was just an inch close to Seryu's chest when he had heard that voice. It shocked him, though, as just hearing it brought a sense of confusion and normalcy to him as his eyes widened.

"I…Ieyasu…?" Whampire questioned.

FLASHBACK

THE VILLAGE: TATSUMI'S HOUSE

"Ben…stop." Ieyasu said.

Ben groaned in mild frustration. For some time now, the teen hero had been trying to remove scales from a fish in Tatsumi's house. Sayo didn't help him, with the same for Tatsumi since both of them had something else to do. So now there was just him and Ieyasu, the latter of whom just shook his head and pushed the teen aside and took the knife.

"Step aside and let the expert do it." Ieyasu said smugly.

"Whatever." Ben said with a stubborn tone.

Ieyasu paid him no attention, though. His focus was on the fish, which was on a wooden board before him. So for the next few minutes, the teen demonstrated how to cut the scales from the fish, to which Ben paid little attention to until Ieyasu shot a glare at him.

"You're not listening are you?" He asked.

"Uh…lucky guess?" Ben smiled sheepishly.

Ieyasu sighed and chuckled. "It's fine. If this was Sayo, she would slap you silly."

"Ha…ha…yeah." Ben responded awkwardly.

"By the way, Ben…" Ieyasu then said. "What do you think of being here…? We're basically poor and we got nothing to do…Doesn't it frustrate you?"

"No." Ben answered. "I'll admit you guys don't have what I'm used to, but I won't hold it against you guys. The fact you're all willing to work hard just for the sake of others is what I think matters."

Ieyasu smiled. "I'm glad to hear that." He said. "To be honest, you're a pain in the ass sometimes…but even I have to admit you're a good guy. You've helped Sayo, Tatsumi and just about everyone in this village every day. And even though we owe you a lot, you never ask for a favor. Heck, you even made life easier for everyone here."

"Wow…thanks." Ben smirked and nudged the teen by the shoulder. "So that's how you feel about me huh?"

Ben was then surprised by Ieyasu. It happened the moment he teased the teen, who in turn threw the knife he was using to barely scrap past Ben's cheek and strike into a wooden wall.

"Dammit…I missed." Ieyasu remarked.

"Not funny, dude." Ben retorted.

Ieyasu laughed. He enjoyed the embarrass look that was on the teen's face, especially when he went to the wall and pulled the knife out. But then, the mood changed as the teen smiled at him.

"Anyway, be sure to remember this because I'm never going to say it again." Ieyasu said confidently. "I think being a hero suits you a lot, so stick to it, okay?"

Ben was mildly taken aback. At one moment the teen made him a fool and on another he was talking about him again. It was odd, even for the spiky haired teen. However, that mood changed to a smile for Ben, who in turn nodded determinedly.

"Sure thing." He said.

FLASHBACK END

Whampire was now silent. His hands were shaky, though, especially the one that he held Seryu with. He would have liked nothing more than to end the Imperial officer's life; however he didn't move any closer to end her life. Instead he stood there, recognizing that memory.

'Why…Why did I have to remember that…?' He questioned. He was trying seriously to stay angry since it was the only drive he needed. However, he couldn't, as observant by his facial expression changing. 'Dammit, Ieyasu…are you trying to tell me something now?' He asked.

Whampire didn't know what to make of his state. In one side, his alien's instinct was telling him to go on and kill Seryu, while on the other side there was a sense of reason coming. It felt contradictory to him as it made him feel confused and powerlessness.

But maybe there was hope. Whampire was still standing in silence when he heard a crack sound. He didn't know why it happened, but it did drive him to turn to the area and come to a shocking realization. That crack he heard was from a piece of wood breaking off from the stall Seryu had crashed into.

"Oh no…What have I done?"Whampire muttered.

Indeed, what had he done? Ben Tennyson was used to different situations. However, the scene around him made him come to a conclusion. He could see the destruction that he had caused, as well as the injuries on Seryu when he turned to her.

However, the teen hero said nothing. He could've, but he chose not to for some reason. Thus, he became silent and serious as he then carefully placed Seryu on the ground and slapped the Omnitrix symbol on his stomach, changing back to normal.

From then on, the scene became awkwardly silent. Seryu was too weak to act, so she just watched Ben suddenly remove his green coat and white shirt. She was confused by his action, as he was yet to say any word. But when he then began to tear pieces of the clothes, only to then start bandaging her wounds, she knew something was off.

"Why…?" Seryu suddenly asked. She drew Ben's attention by that word and glared at him angrily. "You think this will make me to forgive you for what you did…?! Don't make me laugh!"

"I'm not doing it for you." Ben admitted seriously. He was now glaring back at the young woman with a cold look. "If I let you die here, I'll be no better than you. You use your power to pursue some false sense of justice. Now my friend is gone and it's all thanks to you."

"Your friend…?" Seryu asked, confused. But then she became angry. "You're with Night Raid?!"

"No." Ben answered. "You and Night Raid are just both sides of the same coin. You both have your own worldview of things that always have to involve killing. But that's not me. I made a promise that I'll stay a hero, so I'll keep to that promise to honor him."

Seryu said nothing back. She still felt confused by Ben's resolve as she stared at him, though. But then Ben turned his back at her and began walking away.

"Someone should come by and help you out soon." Ben said casually. "But just know this…" He suddenly stopped and glared at Seryu. "If I find out you hurt another innocent life, I will find you and I will take you down."

Seryu growled with a low tone. She didn't like the threat from the hero, not in the slightest. However, there was no word from her or the hero immediately after. Instead, there were just silence between them until they heard lightning from the clouds and looked up.

"Odd…Is it about to rain?" Ben questioned. He was skeptic about the thought, though, due to the nature of the weather.

And it was a good thing he did. He noticed right there that a shot of lightning was coming straight for him. Fortunately, he was able to jump out of the way and land some feet away from the spot. But that didn't mean the scene ended there. No, instead Ben felt some tension as the place he once stood now had a muscular human figure standing there in the dust cloud.

"So…I've finally caught up to you." The human figure said. His voice was deep and firm, as the image of his body seemed to display a scary image.

Fortunately, Ben wasn't in doubt of himself. He had faced bigger and scarier foes to feel undermined by their appearance. However, he did have a feeling that the person who now stood before him was someone of great power, physically and with authority. Hence, he raised his Omnitrix arm to his chest level, with his other hand over the alien device just in case.

Unknown to the teen hero, though, his movement was taken into account by the mysterious figure. But it didn't matter anyway, because the dust cloud finally cleared away. Now the person was revealed for Ben and Seryu to see.

"I am Grand General Budo." The man stated strongly. He had a stern killer look on his face as he stared down at the teen hero.

Seryu was surprised. She was still wounded badly, but not to the point of not staring at the Grand General himself.

"G-General Budo…?" Seryu said.

Ben furrowed his eyes at the general. He had heard that name before and had some knowledge of the authority he held in the Capital. Thus, the teen knew he had to be extra careful even if the general hadn't started a fight yet. As for said general, he glanced at Seryu, before turning his attention back at Ben.

"So the report was correct. A battle with a Teigu armed Imperial officer did commence." The General said. "Tell me, why do you fight? I have been chasing after you for a month now and I have been observant of your actions. You are clearly no assassin or a man of greed."

"Hmph…nice to see someone noticed at least" Ben huffed. He still retained a serious look as he glared at the general. "The reason I fight…is because I want to help people. I've been through the Capital and outside of it and I have seen the way the people have suffered under the emperor and the Prime Minister. So I'm going to stop them and bring peace to this place."

"Is that so?" General Budo questioned. "Your resolve is strong; I can tell just from standing here. Perhaps, it was inevitable a young man like yourself would make your presence here. But make no mistake. The Emperor should not be blamed for the empire's poor circumstances. The Prime Minister is the cause of everything wrong."

"Why are you telling me this?" Ben asked. He found it odd that the enemy was being so open about the empire.

The same wasn't with Seryu, though. She was confused and surprised by the things the general himself said., especially as it then made her to think.

'What is the general saying…? Is he a deserter himself…?' Seryu questioned. 'No…it can't be. He's the great general of the Capital…So what does he mean by that…? The Prime Minister is the cause of everything wrong…?'

Seryu wanted answers. However, there was no strength in her to enforce such. As such, she continued to lie there and watched the general reply to Ben's question.

"I will carry out the order of the emperor, though." General Budo said. "But I have a proposition. Surrender now and comply with the empire. In exchange I will ensure you are given a fair trial."

"Yeah…That's not happening." Ben stated confidently. "Besides, I counted on kicking your butt one day. I guess that time is tonight."

"I see. Then you have chosen your fate." General Budo concluded.

From there, the general then removed his red cape. He threw it aside with one move of his hand before tightening his fists, ready to combat the hero. This in turn led to his gauntlets to charge up blue lightning.

"I will end this as swift as possible." General Budo stated. "With my twin gauntlets, Thunder God's Rage: Adramelech, the will of the emperor will be carried out without fail. Prepare to meet your end, boy."

Ben said nothing back. He could see that the general was charging up his lightning power for a swift kill. So in order to avoid that fate, the teen hero activated the Omnitrix by selecting through the alien playlist. He then found the alien he wanted, before letting the faceplate slide back and him raising his hand up, ready to slam down on the Omnitrix's core.

_(LINE BREAK)_

"IEYASU!"

Mine sat up from bed in panic. However, there was no sight of the one she just screamed about. As such, she became confused and looked around her, only to then become more confuse.

"Where…Where am I…?" Mine muttered. She had noticed at that moment that she was in a bedroom that clearly wasn't hers. However, before she could say anything, the room door was opened, followed by a person entering.

"Oh, you're awake." said the person. She had a female voice.

Mine immediately turned to the source of the voice. She found it somewhat recognizable, but not to the point to feel at ease. As such, she offensively stared at the one who stood at the door, revealing to be Aria.

"You!" Mine yelled. "Where am I?! Where's Sheele?! I swear you better not have…Ow!"

Mine yelped and clutched her other arm. The pain hadn't come from Aria, but rather from her own body. Hence, it was then at that moment that she realized that her broken arm was in a cast.

Aria chose that moment to step forward.

"You should take it easy." She said with concern. "Right now, you're in Satou's home, in my bedroom. Your friend is fine. She's in Satou's room."

"Take me there." Mine demanded.

Aria became hesitant in response. She could see from her close position that the pink haired girl was glaring at her with a fierce look. But that wasn't the reason she became quiet, rather it was due to the condition the assassin was in. But after a few extra seconds of silence, the blonde gave in and escorted the girl to the room Sheele was in.

"There she is." Aria said.

Now it was Mine's turn to be silent. Sheele was indeed on a bed, but she was still unconscious. Also, unlike the pink assassin, she was dressed in a white cloth as she seemed to be breathing peacefully.

But again, the female assassin said nothing. She just walked closer to her friend like she was inspecting her condition while Aria stood by the door. Hence, the only thing that dominated the room was silence until Aria broke it.

"You don't need to worry. She's okay…at least that's what Satou said." Aria said.

"Satou?" Mine questioned. She didn't turn to Aria, though, because her focus was still at Sheele. She also didn't know who Aria was referring to, nor could she ever recall such a name.

"He's the man with Ben when we spotted you and your friend." Aria answered. "Anyway, he was able to do the best he could. Now you two should rest. He said Sheele's life isn't at risk anymore."

Mine felt some relief. It didn't matter that she was unfamiliar with Satou or the fact that there might be other details she might not know. She just figured that as long as her friend was safe then that's all that mattered. However, a thought then came to her that widened her eyes and turn to Aria.

"Wait! Where's Tennyson?!" She asked. "He was there with you and the man, right? Where is he?"

"Ben hasn't come back yet." Aria answered. "It has almost been an hour and we haven't heard from him. But considering he went ahead to deal with what was going on, I believe he should be fine."

Mine became silent. She didn't mean it in a rude way or in any form of negativity. As such, her mind recalled the battle with Seryu and all that transpired, before a frown appeared on her face.

Of course, her expression change didn't go unnoticed. Aria was aware to a small degree of the incident that happened to Sheele and Mine. She also knew that the two of them were attacked by someone stronger than them and she was aware that it had to do with Ieyasu. Thus, out of curiosity, she spoke again.

"Was…Ieyasu there?" Aria asked.

Mine said nothing back. If anything, she just turned her head from the girl and walked right out the door.

"I'm sorry!" Aria apologized. She had seen the negative affect her question had caused, even to the point of following the assassin. "I was just a bit curious and –"

"Just shut up!" Mine yelled angrily. She stopped walking away, but refused to turn back to the blonde girl. "You have some guts to ask about him! Don't think I don't know what you did to him before he joined Night Raid! So don't speak so easily about him!"

"Oh…" Aria said back. She immediately felt guilt, as well as uneasiness.

However, the blonde girl's emotion was not taken into account by Mine. Instead, the assassin of Night Raid continued, with this time showing some saddening emotion.

"That newbie…" She said with a sad tone. "When he first joined Night Raid with Tatsumi, I thought they wouldn't last long…Of course, I didn't care so much about them back then. But who would've thought one of them would sacrifice his life for us, right?"

"You can't be so sure of that he's dead." Aria said hesitantly. "Ben went to help him when we met you. He'll be fine."

"I wish…" Mine muttered sadly. She indeed wanted to believe the teen assassin made it out of the battle alive. However, being an experienced assassin, she knew the unlikelihood. As such, she felt a tough tightness in her chest as tears slowly ran down her cheek. "He's gone…He's really gone." She said.

"That's not true!" Aria yelled. "Have faith! Ben would definitely -"

"Can you just shut up about Ben!?" Mine yelled angrily. She was trying so badly to contain herself, but it wasn't working. Hence, she turned at the blonde with tearful and angry eyes. "Ieyasu's gone and there's nothing your friend can do about it! But of course you wouldn't know that! A battle between people with Teigu always results in death! So just shut up and die somewhere!"

Aria was seriously taken aback. She had never seen such power of emotion just from one person in her life before, except from Ben. Sadly, there was nothing she could do to change it. Mine was right, whether she wanted to believe it or not. After all, before meeting Sheele and the girl, she and Ben had discussed about the Omnitrix being out of power.

'Why am I such an idiot?!' Aria guiltily thought. 'I shouldn't have pushed on with that since I know Ben was out of power back then.'

"Hmph!" Mine huffed. She quickly wiped the tears at her eyes and cheeks, not wanting them to be distracted. Then she turned her back at the blonde again and said. "Anyway, where's that Satou guy, I want to –"

Mine suddenly came to a stop. She sensed then that at the very living room there were in, there was movement outside the house. Hence, she acted quickly by running to where pumpkin was (in the living room), before then lifting the weapon by one hand. It wasn't an easy task, though, but the girl felt she had to do.

Of course, her sudden action caught Aria's attention. Before, Aria had been sulking in her own guilt until that moment Mine had grabbed her Teigu. As a result, she was confused and scared.

"What are you doing –"

"Shut up!" Mine scolded. "Some people are heading this way! If any of them are from the Imperial Capital, I'll kill them all!"

Aria was now even more scared. She didn't know what to make of the situation or how she should respond. However, none of that mattered. She just had to be quiet like the assassin had said and hope the outcome would be bloodless.

But then again, that may be wishful thinking. Aria and Mine were completely silent as they stared at the door. They could hear footsteps coming, with each second feeling intense as Mine readied her Pumpkin to fire at the alleged intruders.

Therefore, the silence continued. Mine eyed the door while Aria stayed back. The both of them then watched as the doorknob was twisted open, with Mine's finger on the Teigu's trigger. However, she didn't fire. She could've, but she didn't when she saw the door open and Tatsumi standing there with Leone and Akame behind him.

"Ta-Tatsumi?" Mine was surprised.

"Mine!" Tatsumi smiled.

Mine tearfully smiled back. She didn't know why, but seeing the brown haired teen made her feel happy. But then a thought came across her mind as she watched everyone walk in.

"Hold on. How did you guys get here?" She asked.

"It was thanks to him." Leone answered and pointed

Mine was confused. She wasn't certain on who the blonde assassin was mentioning, until she saw who it was. It turned out then that it was Satou, who was next to Najenda as they too walked inside.

"Boss, you're here too?" Mine questioned, surprised.

"Yes." Najenda calmly answered. "However, all you should know is that the man you know as Satou means you no harm. Where's Sheele?"

"She's back in that room." Mine turned and pointed.

"Leone." Najenda called.

"On it, boss." Leone nodded.

The female assassin knew what to do. Hence, she went over to the door that led to the room Sheele was in and looked into the place. Then she turned from the place and looked back at Najenda.

"She's there. She's safe." Leone said.

Tatsumi sighed in relief. For some time, he had been feeling concerned and worried about the fate of Mine and Sheele ever since hearing about their situation. But now that Sheele was safe, he felt at ease.

"That's good." Tatsumi said. Then he turned to Mine. "So where's Ieyasu? He was with you guys, right?"

Mine was taken aback by the question. She was then quiet as she stood there, staring at the teen until finally saying something.

"I…I don't know." Mine said, lying. "We were ambushed by an Imperial Arms user and barely got away. But Ben headed there, so he should be fine."

"That's good to hear." Tatsumi said and smiled a bit.

Unknown to the teen, however, everyone else could tell Mine was lying. Leone exchanged a look at Akame, who returned that look and then sent it directly at Mine, who just put up a fake smile. Najenda, on the other hand, sighed and placed her normal hand on her hip.

"So…Tennyson hasn't returned yet?" Najenda asked.

"Yes." Aria answered.

Leone didn't like the sound of that. She could only be silent about an issue for so long before getting into action. As such, she began heading to the door.

"Akame, let's go." Leone said. "I have a bad feeling that the kid could be in trouble."

Akame nodded and was about to follow. However, Najenda turned to the blonde assassin with a stern look. Hence, before Leone knew it, the woman shot out her mechanical hand at the blonde and brought her back into the house, on the floor.

"You and Akame aren't going anyway." Najenda stated firmly. "Right now our concern is Sheele and Mine, which is why we came here, and left Bulat and Lubbock to watch over the hideout. Besides, Ben Tennyson will have to show is worth with every trial that comes his way if he is meant to defeat Esdeath one day."

Leone said nothing back. She did shoot a small glare at Najenda, which was very uncommon of her. But she didn't object, because she knew the boss was right, whether she liked it or not.

_(LINE BREAK)_

Unknown to Najenda and Night Raid, though, there was much more going on. A lone Danger Beast was flapping its wings above the Capital, as those on top of it were watching a stare off between Ben and General Budo, and from the looks of it the two were about to engage in battle.

"This is interesting. To think I would return home, just in time for a show."

General Esdeath smirked. She was the one who had spoken the words, while being in the company of a person in a black cloak. Of course, she knew who the person was as she continued to watch in delight at the fight that would soon happen.

"Welcome home." She said.

_(CHAPTER END)_

Wow! Esdeath has finally returned to the Capital, but who is the cloaked person with her?! Read the next chapter to find out.

Originally, this chapter was supposed to contain the fight between Ben and General Budo. But I thought through the whole thing when I was typing that fight scene and realized that it would be adding too much in one chapter. So I decided to split the chapter and add the scene involving Mine and Aria and Esdeath instead.

Also, it feels nice to write about Aria again. I remember I wrote this fanfiction based on another crossover fanfiction that had Aria in a good light. However, it'll take some time before Aria is given a big role like she did in the early chapters.

Anyway, there are some reviews I wish to reply to. Just please keep in mind that if yours wasn't replied to, it does not mean that I don't acknowledge you. I love all the reviews I get, including the critical ones (as long as they aren't harsh). So please if you feel like the story is going into a direction you feel isn't right, then please let me know. But if you think it's fine, then please let me know. I love knowing what you guys think.

(REVIEWS REPLIES)

Strong-bot: I'm glad you enjoyed the way I handled the chapter and the fanfic in general. As for my least favorite alien, it would have to be Bloxx. That alien just screams "MERCHANDISING !" and is basically a LEGO.

Gaspachu: How am I dragging the story? Please tell me.

(REVIEW REPLIES END)

With that out of the way, I'll be getting the next chapter ready. Please be sure to follow, favorite and review to show your support. I would really appreciate it.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!