Sup' you beautiful people! Hope you've had a fantastic day! I am so sorry for the late update! How have you guys been doing?! I've got a great treat for you! Also, here's a change of the usual way I title these chapters!

DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANY OF THESE SHOWS I'M WRITING FANFICTIONS ON!

Now on to the chapter! Enjoy!

Chapter 31: Confrontation

The Rysuuen was a grand cruise ship never before seen until its completion. It regarded about a million people just to get the construction done, but also increased the dissatisfaction with the empire. Nevertheless, the canal proved to be successful. The canal gained the empire commerce and power upon its opening. The Rysuuen is so popular amongst the high class that the emperor himself could use it. It was just that good. Even Tatsumi, a 'pumpkin-boy', was amazed as he walked about, noticing the fanciness of the main deck.

"Whoa…so gorgeous." He commented.

The teen suddenly felt a push behind him. It came from an invisible Bulat as Incursio as he was quick to explain Tatsumi's fake backstory.

"You are a young master of some wealthy family who is a bit nervous due to the extravagance of the Capital and having to accompany a lady friend of the family." He said. "Don't forget your cover."

"Yeah, bro." Tatsumi replied, turning to Bulat. "It's just…do I really have to work with her?"

The teen pointed to Aria's direction. The girl was still in disguise as a black haired girl in a fancy purple and blue dress. At the moment, she was chatting with some wealthy elites when a joke between them happened and they laughed.

"Look at her…" Tatsumi said with small malice. "This must be nice for her since it reminds her of her days as a monster."

"Tatsumi…" Bulat called. "Do you really think so? Look as much as you want, but there might be more to the girl than you realize. I'm not saying to forgive her. Honestly, what I see right now is her using the skills she's honed in her life to blend in. You're not doing the same thing."

"Whatever." Tatsumi frowned and looked away.

The scene from then on changed when Tatsumi let the fascination of the place remove his mind from the topic of Aria. It wasn't long after that the ship began to leave the port with everyone on board. Bulat then recounted his old days with the man named Liver.

According to the armored assassin, Liver was actually a good man who became victim to the Prime Minister. By not accepting the overweight man's bribes, he was dismissed and charged to a court where he was sentenced away and Bulat was made out as a criminal. Tatsumi was astonished and yet surprised and sad to hear so much from his comrade. Liver sounded different from what Ben and Spear had told them.

'Just what happened to him?' Tatsumi wondered.

Bulat continued. "Then absurdly I made my escape before they captured me, using my Teigu."

"That is so screwed up. That's horrible!" Tatsumi said angrily. "Bro, if Liver was here, would you-"

Tatsumi was cut off when a strange sound came from Bulat's armor. The older assassin knew the reason, and so he spoke.

"Looks like my invisibility is wearing off, I have to take it off for now." He said.

"But they'll recognize your face, right?" Tatsumi questioned. "Go ahead. Leave this area to me."

"Sure." Bulat replied and began to walk away. "I'll investigate the inside. Just try and don't get into any fight with Aria."

Tatsumi didn't answer. He could've, but he turned away to look at the open sea as wind blew lightly against him.

'I don't want to get involved with her, but…it's not like I have much of a choice.' He thought. 'Anyway, bro might have this rough if his former general really shows up. For his sake, I can't let my personal feelings get in the way. If someone that matches their description shows up, I won't overlook them.'

With that in mind, Tatsumi felt some resolve. He continued to pay attention at the scene until his ears caught the sound of music. It sounded like a flute. Hence, hearing it alarmed him as he pulled out two earplugs.

'That music is being played by a flute, it can't be by coincidence! They're here!'

_(LINE BREAK)_

Meanwhile, back at the Capital, at Main Street, a gorgeous woman with an elegant movement was walking by the streets. Her long blue hair swayed a bit with each step she took as she possessed a calm and beautiful smile.

The woman was known verily in the Capital. Her uniform also made it obvious by what her occupation was. She was General Esdeath and she was on a lonely patrol, greeting nicely to passersby as she went by.

Unknowingly, however, the general was being followed from the rooftops. Eunice and Leone made sure not to get close to her. Their reason was due to observation, while the other was because of a certain teenager being late.

"Dammit! Ben's late!" Leone said in annoyance.

From her position at the rooftops, she was on her hands and feet like a cat. Eunice was in a kneeling position with her hands on the rooftop. Both girls had to be careful to not be spotted.

"This is Ben we're talking about." Eunice said and smiled a bit. "He isn't known to always come on time."

"Stupid." Leone commented, referring to Ben. She then moved backwards and sat down. "Well…the ice queen is heading to that ice cream shop now. It doesn't look like she'll make another move."

"It does look that way." Eunice said plainly. "But what she just did that owner is awful. All we're meant to do is observe her, so it's not like we need Ben's help. It doesn't look like Sunny is with her though. That worries me."

"That bitch." Leone snarled a bit. She was quick to punch her fist into her open hand. "She was just lucky! Next time I'll rough her up if I get my hands on her! Just she wait! After we're done taking down Esdeath then –"

"What?!" Eunice questioned. She became suspicious. "Leone, what are you up to?"

Leone's anger dropped and sighed. She knew her cover was blown, so she explained.

"Well…I was waiting till he showed up, but I guess the two of us can take her on." She said. "I was thinking…that the three of us join together and take on Esdeath. With your power to copy the exact abilities of a person, Ben's Ultimatrix and my Teigu, the woman won't stand a chance. It would be a flawless victory."

"No, it's not!" Eunice retorted. "Have you really thought this through?! They're people out there! They might get hurt!"

"But not if we're slow!" Leone shouted back, her smirk increasing. "You and I both know Ben has aliens in his watch that could end a fight in an instant! He could use one of them to get behind Esdeath without her notice and knock her out! Then while the goings good, you can just touch her and freeze her body! I'll come from there and finish her off. It'll be easy! The empire would receive a heavy blow! With her gone, the revolution would be that much easier!"

Eunice said nothing back. Leone's plan sounded flawless, but Eunice couldn't agree. She didn't even bother to speak back to the young woman as she got up. However, her reaction caught Leone's attention as she watched the girl crawl pass her.

"Where are you going?!" Leone asked.

"Away from here!" Eunice hushed at the woman. "You've never faced that woman, but I have! In the moment I saved Ben from getting captured, I saw her right before me! She's not someone that can be killed so easily! For all we know, she could've noticed our presence!"

"You're just exaggerating and scared!"

"Perhaps…" Eunice said and paused. "But have you ever wondered why a person like Sunny would ally herself with just a 'simple' woman?"

Leone didn't answer. In a way, she did answer when she stood up with her back at Eunice's direction.

"Fine…Stay behind. I'll take her on myself." She said.

"No! Don't!"

Eunice was too late. Even with her arm reached out to the assassin, Leone jumped to the next rooftop to soon confront Esdeath. Meanwhile, Eunice stayed still with worry as she watched a small figure of the assassin going.

'What have I done?' She questioned.

Leone was a lot of things, especially stubborn. If she saw an opportunity, she would take it without much of a thought. Thus, when she got on a rooftop in front of Esdeath's direction, she went on all fours like a prey.

'Look at her, all by herself!' Leone thought.

The female assassin could see the general sitting on a bench in front of a store. She had an ice cream cone in her hand as she slowly licked the icy goodness.

'This is the woman Eunice is so afraid of?! If we went together, I'm sure we can take her on without Ben!'

However, these thoughts the assassin had sudden;y changed. When Esdeath turned to a way that Leone could see her face, multiple alarms went off all over the blonde's body. To the ordinary eye, Esdeath seemed normal and vulnerable, but not to Leone. The woman could see and feel something else coming off from the woman as if everything was normal.

'She… she's taunting me, but how?! Sh-She shouldn't know I'm here...right?!' Leone angrily thought as she gritted her teeth seeing the taunting look on her target's eyes that said "come". But even so her body wasn't the same as the animal instincts were telling her to get away from her. That this women was a superior predator who would make her the prey and there was nothing she could do to stop her.

'Those eyes… that aura around her… is evil and full of murderous intent! She's daring me to make a move without a care of what'll happen!'

It was with that resolution and with great displeasure that Leone then came to her conclusion. She immediately left the scene not looking back.

'Eunice was right. Thinking I could kill her if there was an opening…I was naïve! It's frustrating, but I should follow her advice and my instincts here and retreat!'

Esdeath felt disappointed. Her prey had retreated before it could be caught. Leone didn't know it, but she had just saved her own life. But then again, even though Esdeath could've easily gone after the assassin, her purpose for being in town was...peaceful. She had an engagement to attend to and she didn't want to cancel it.

"I wanted to try some new torture techniques." She said. She then looked to the sky. "That reminds me…how long till HE shows up. I hate being left to wait, Sunny."

_(LINE BREAK)_

Somewhere in else in the Capital, Big Chill made it to the Main Street. The streets were crowded with people as businesses were open like the usual days. Big Chill couldn't see Eunice and Sunny though, which worried him. However, the alien hero couldn't be bothered about it further because of the Ultimatrix. The alien device began to make the familiar beeping and light flashing, alerting him that it's about to timeout. It was a good thing then that the hero flew to a deserted alley and then changed back.

"I guess I'm walking." Ben said. He then raised his arm and looked at the alien watch. "To think I would change back just like that. I guess I should've held back a bit when I was saving that village from those Danger Beasts. What a pain."

With that, the teen was ready to leave. However, a familiar presence caught his attention. He didn't need to look back to know who it was, but he did anyway. Finally, after a long time, he was staring face to face with his evil cousin.

"Sunny, I was wondering when you'd show up. I'm guessing being a lapdog to the empire is the 'fun' you wanted." Ben said.

Sunny giggled sweetly. "Aw, you're worried about me. Isn't that sweet? I'm surprised you recognize me."

"You're wearing purple and black and still have the same clothes Gwen wore over a year ago. You'd have to be either blind or an idiot not to notice, but since you're here I guess you just made things easier for me."

"Easier?" Sunny questioned with curiosity.

"I'm taking you back home." Ben said. "Grandma is worried about you. I know things with your family have been rough, but this isn't the way to go with your life. I don't want to fight you, Sunny. Please, let me help you."

Sunny was quiet. She was standing at the only entrance of the alley, so in a way she was preventing Ben from leaving. But even then, the teen hero could sense some tension from Sunny's silence. There was no telling on what the Anodite would do.

"I don't need help." Sunny said subtly. "Do I look like some damsel-in-distress, Ben? I'm an Anodite! With a snap of my finger, I could wipe out half of this lousy empire from this pitiful earth if I wanted to! That's just how crazy I am!"

"Sunny…"

"Besides, there's other things I need to do." Sunny said. She then began walking towards Ben. "For every moment I breathe, I want only one thing. You; I want you to kill me, Ben. If you're concerned about me, use one of those powerful aliens you have and end me once and for all. I would be so happy."

"You know I won't do that."

"Then, I guess…the blood of the men, women and children I'll murder will be on your hands. Do you think you can handle that?"

Ben was quiet, with the same then for Sunny. The two of them were standing with tension in their eyes staring at each other. While Ben seemed serious and threatening, Sunny was smiling menacingly. But then it changed when the girl did a spin and had her back facing her cousin.

"Anyway, a certain someone wants to meet with you." She said.

"Esdeath." Ben guessed. The woman was the only other powerful figure he could think of that hasn't confronted him yet - at least not 'properly'.

"Correct! You've become quite clever since the last time we fought." Sunny said and then turned back to face her cousin. "Esdeath is becoming interested in you. You might have a shot with her. Besides, have you seen how big her boobs are? They're so huge and better than that blondie with the Teigu."

"That's enough!" Ben yelled. "What's your game in this, Sunny? What do you earn?"

"Entertainment." Sunny chirpily replied. "You see, Ben, this world is nothing but entertainment to me. The people, the animals and the very plants are just actors or actresses or props with different settings. When you think about it, you and I are gods to them. Even without Alien X, we can rule this planet without much a struggle, especially now that you have the Ultimates back."

"But you're not interested in world domination. If you were, you would've tried already."

Sunny nodded and did a backflip. Then she landed on her feet and tilted her head a bit.

"World domination sounds like a bore, don't you think? If I take up the stage, the actors I enjoy watching won't have much of a purpose. You understand me so well, cousin."

"Whatever." Ben replied and sighed. "I'm wasting time with you. I got better things to do."

The teen hero then made his move to leave. He was about to pass Sunny, but she stretched her arm out and stopped him.

"Nu uh, Benny, you still have a date with the ice general herself."

"A date?" Ben said with surprise.

Sunny giggled sweetly and went to Ben's back. Then, with her hands on his shoulders, she drew her face to his ear and said. "Well maybe not. You two barely know each other. But when you think of this opportunity, won't it be okay?"

Ben quickly moved out of Sunny's grip. The Anodite was trying to mess with him, and he could see that. As such, he turned to face her with an accused finger.

"What are you on about, Sunny?" He asked.

"Not much." Sunny answered. "But I've been curious. Esdeath is actually interested in meeting you, not in the battlefield, but just to talk."

"The woman who is responsible for the lives of hundreds –"

"Thousands." Sunny corrected. "But it could be more. I really don't know."

"Right…She wants to talk?" Ben asked. "How am I not sure this isn't a trap? Also, why should I meet her? From what I hear she's supposed to be crazy!"

"This isn't a trap, cuz. If it were, I would've just teleported you to her without your permission. But you're reasonable and I think you know there's something to benefit."

"To benefit?"

Sunny snapped her fingers which made a pink flash. The next thing Ben knew, he was in a dark place until huge images of certain individuals lightened the place. The images were made up on certain political figures with a few Ben recognized such as the deceased people that Night Raid have assassinated. There were even images of the emperor, Honest, General Budo and Esdeath, all of whom were in a hierarchy format.

Sunny was beside Ben and spoke.

"As you see, these are the people who hold power in this earth. A few of them have been killed off by Night Raid. But guess who's at the top four."

"Esdeath." Ben said.

The entire scene changed and Ben and Sunny were back at the alley.

"Now do you see, Ben? Esdeath is very important, so imagine getting her to your side. The empire would barely be able to hold up, and it would probably collapse without her."

"True, but why are you into this?" Ben questioned suspiciously. "If the empire collapses, then you won't gain anything."

"I'm into the drama, Benny. As long as there's conflict, you can bet I'll be there to watch the outcome."

"Yeah that figures…" Ben said as he sighed. His suspicious dropped and he looked mildly annoyed. "Fine then take me to where she is but just know that whatever your expecting won't go as you want it to.

"Yay!" Sunny shouted and clapped her hands cheerfully. "Let's go! Go!"

Immediately, both Sunny and Ben were teleported away in a flash of pink light. It happened suddenly, but it didn't end so badly like Ben would think. The teen hero soon found that he was standing somewhere close to buildings with no sign of Sunny.

"Where am –"

"She actually did it." said a familiar feminine voice.

Ben's heart almost sank upon hearing that familiar voice. He didn't need to know whom he was standing next to, but he did anyway. General Esdeath was sitting at a bench close to him and she was staring at him with intrigue.

"It has certainly been sometime since we last met." Esdeath said. "Welcome, Tennyson. Come and take a seat with me."

'Esdeath…It's actually her.' Ben thought.

It hadn't been a minute and already Ben could sense that there would be a lot going on between him and the strongest person in the empire.

_(LINE BREAK)_

Meanwhile, at the Ryuusen, the situation wasn't looking so good. The Three Beasts had begun their first phase of attack by putting everyone on the ship to sleep. Nyau, the youngest of the three warriors, was in a cabin with Liver, playing a melody with his flute. It was effective, as Tatsumi got to see it back on the main deck.

Everywhere Tatsumi looked, the passengers around him began to fall to the ground unconscious. It was startling, but one Tatsumi kind of felt grateful as he watched the scene.

'So this is the power of the Teigu, Scream. Good thing I have these earplugs to block out the sound. I'm not sure if I would've been able to stand much of a chance if I actually heard it.' He thought.

Tatsumi then noticed someone running back to the ship's inside. It was Aria, and from the looks of it she was wearing earplugs as well.

'There she goes, probably to get her 'weapon'. I should stay alert just in case –'

Tatsumi's thoughts were suddenly interrupted. Though he couldn't hear much, he watched as Aria was sent flying to the ground. She had been attacked as the person then revealed himself to be Daidara with a wide grin.

"Well, well, this is a bit surprising. There's still someone that's fighting?" He questioned.

Aria was still in disguise, so it wasn't like the huge man recognized her. But then again that didn't change how bad the situation was. Aria quickly got to her feet to run off, but was grabbed by the back of her dress and lifted off the ground.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" He questioned. He then noticed something in her right ear and removed it. From there, he threw the disguised blonde to the ground and looked at the thing in his hand. "Earplugs? Something smells fishy. It almost like you knew about Scream."

Aria shot a glare at him. She refused to answer him, even though it wasn't a question. But before the huge man could say a word, Tatsumi interrupted him when he removed his own earplugs.

"I take it that it's now safe to remove this." Tatsumi said with a glare. "You're the Night Raid imposter; One of the Three Beast Warriors."

"Oh? You know of us?" Daidara asked with a malicious grin. He walked passed Aria and causally went to Tatsumi. "Considering you and the girl know about Scream, I take it you're an accomplice of the Tennyson boy. Where is he? I've been…hoping to finish off from where we stopped."

"He isn't here, and we're not his accomplices! We're Night Raid!" Tatsumi stated strongly.

"Night Raid?" Daidara questioned, his grin widened. "Ho oh! So you're the real ones! This just got interesting!"

The next thing the man did surprised Tatsumi. He went into his coat and threw a sword with a sheath at Tatsumi. The teen was able to grab it, but it didn't change the reason the man gave it to him.

"You want to fight, correct? I figured I could get some experience from this in order to get stronger!" Daidara revealed. "You see, my battle with Ben Tennyson made me realize how weak I am. I need major points in battle so I can fight one-on-one with him again. This should be okay. Besides, it should be easy to fight here since everybody is already out of the way, right?"

"Yeah, true." Tatsumi answered.

Tension for a battle was already in the air, and soon the teen struck. He pulled out the sheath of the sword and threw it at Daidara. The huge man was able to cut the thing into two with his Double-bladed Axe Teigu, when in reality there was more to the attack. Tatsumi was in the air, coming down on him.

"I'll give you an experience. A trip to hell!" Tatsumi shouted.

Daidara chuckled and swung his axe to meet Tatsumi's upcoming attack.

"Excellent! That power! Destroying it will give me great experience!"

Tatsumi was immediately alarmed. A strange and terrifying boost of confidence seemed to make the man frightening to the teen. Fortunately, Tatsumi was able to land by placing his hand on the floor first and then swinging his sword to act as a defense against Daidara's axe. Unfortunately, the brute force of the man was enough to send the teen flying back and landing on his feet.

"Nice! You have good reflexes, boy!" Daidara said.

The huge man then split his double-bladed axe into a single axe in each hand.

"Well then…" He said and then threw one of the axes. "How about this?!"

Tatsumi was quick to dodge, but it didn't end there. Belvacc, the Teigu he was up against was relentlessly coming for him whether he liked it or not. Fortunately, Tatsumi was quick to dodge the axe as it came for him continuously.

"Good! Good! You're able to move quite well!" Daidara said in wicked glee.

Tatsumi clicked his tongue in frustration. He was good at the dodging, but it was only a matter of time till he exhausted himself. It was a good thing he knew about the Teigu prior to Ben telling him and the others about it.

'If that's how it works, then I can change this to my advantage!' Tatsumi thought diligently.

With that, the teen ran straight for Daidara.

"I'LL MAKE IT HIT YOU! PREPARE TO DESTROY YOURSELF!" Tatsumi foolishly revealed.

Daidara grinned in response. Even if Tatsumi didn't reveal his plan, the man was well prepared for him. However, someone then intervened. It was Bulat as he then suddenly punched Tatsumi away with anger.

"Are you an idiot?!" He shouted.

Daidara was comically dumbfounded. He caught the other side of his axe and watched as the new comer began to lecture the teen about his stupid plan of attack. But then it changed when Daidara noticed something about the muscular man.

"You're doing awfully well…The debilitating music was supposed to affect the entire ship. Let me guess, you were wearing earplugs to block the sound, correct?"

Bulat smirked cleverly. "That music, huh….That wouldn't work on me…I didn't need earplugs. The hot blood that flows through my body is not something that can be suppressed by other people!"

'This guy…He's good.' Daidara said, looking at bandaged injury on Bulat's leg. "What an interesting guy." He said. "You gouged yourself and cleared your head with the pain, didn't you?"

"I am Night Raid's Bulat. You can call me Handsome." Bulat introduced confidently.

"I am Esdeath-sama's servant, Daidara of the Three Beast Warriors." Daidara said, introducing himself.

Another battle was building up, and in a way it would be more spectacular than before. Bulat's back was at Tatsumi, when he told the young teen to watch and memorize how he fights. It wasn't long after that Daidara and his comrades came for the muscular man from all directions.

_(LINE BREAK)_

Back at Main Street of the Capital, there was an unusual scene. The teen hero and enemy of the Capital, Ben Tennyson, was seating next to the 'queen' of ice, Esdeath. Another unusual thing was the fact that the both of them were licking individual ice-creams with different tastes, Ben was having strawberry while Esdeath had vanilla.

"Huh…this is actually pretty good." Ben said with mild surprise. "I never took you as the kind of person who would like something sweet."

"Is that so?" Esdeath questioned with a small smile. "What did you think my tastes were?"

Ben felt awkward. "Uh… the kind who drinks the blood of their enemies and maybe pure meat for protein?"

By this point, the teen was ready for an angry response from the 'ice queen'. But it didn't come. Instead Esdeath laughed, which surprised him.

"You're not mad?" He asked.

"No, I'm actually fine with it." Esdeath answered. "If anything, the thought you had of me just confirms you have a strong will despite your perception."

"Uh…sure." Ben turned back to his ice while glancing at the woman in perplexity. 'This woman…is she really the person I met in the Imperial Castle or is she actually a clone Sunny set up? Now that I think about it, Sunny hasn't shown up since teleporting me here. I can't help but shake a bad feeling.'

"This is quite good." Esdeath said suddenly. She was looking to the sky as she caught Ben's attention. "That reminds me. I should get those three to have some when they return."

"Those three?" Ben questioned.

Esdeath turned to him. "My Three Beast Warriors." She said. "I believe you've encountered them. They told me all about you. Your Teigu, the way you responded to the situation and your…resolve. I'm surprised you haven't gone after them."

Ben unconsciously glanced at where the Ultimatrix would be. It was covered by his green coat, but he moved his arm to his laps from Esdeath's reach. Of course, the woman noticed but said nothing as he replied.

"It's not like I know where they'll strike." He lied. "Besides, from what I saw from when they threw those flyers, I figured Night Raid would take care of them."

"Good intuition. I'll acknowledge that." Esdeath said and licked her ice-cream again. "But also gullible. The idea was always to get to them. I have no doubt that my Three Beast Warriors will fail. After all, they took care of those assassins at the local areas."

Ben's eyes widened. 'The people Najenda mentioned this morning, so she's the cause of their disappearance. But…it's none of my business. They were assassins. They knew the risk to their job.'

"Are you done?"

"Huh? What?" Ben questioned and was taken aback.

"Your ice-cream. It's melting." Esdeath revealed.

True to her words, the ice-cream the teen was licking was melting. Esdeath had finished her own and quickly called the shopkeeper to get a towel and water which the teen then hesitantly used to clean his hand from being sticky.

The scene soon changed to a busy street. Esdeath and Ben could be seen walking through the place side by side with a small gap. Ben had his hood up to hide his face, which got Esdeath's attention and curiosity.

"The weather is nice and yet you wear a hood over your head. Why?" She asked.

"Well…I kind of attacked your bosses if you remember. I'm probably wanted by now." He answered.

"You're not wanted…at least not officially." Esdeath revealed, surprising Ben. "If you look around, only the symbol of your Teigu remains on the wanted poster."

Ben looked to his right and saw that the woman was right. A few wanted posters were placed on a brick wall. It had a few people like Night Raid's members, but none about him.

'She's right. Why is that?' Ben wondered. He came to a stop and pushed his hood down to reveal his head. "Not to be rude, but why am I not on the wanted list?"

Esdeath came to a stop, but didn't face him.

"I requested it." She then turned sideways to face the teen. "You see, you're presence here intrigues me, especially your actions. I…want to know more about you, Ben. That is why I ordered your cousin to invite you here…willingly, of course."

'Then I guess that explains why Sunny didn't just teleport me to her side so easily.' Ben thought. 'Esdeath is being so straightforward. Is it just to know about me or…is there something else to it?'

A loud scream was then heard. It was by a woman as her little girl was dragged out of her hand by a thug. The man wasted no time to climb into what looked like an old western wagon pulled by a horse. Thus, in a second, the wagon was sent going with the woman crying out for her child.

"That is unfortunate." Esdeath said. Her mood swiftly changed to a menacing one as she watched the wagon go. "To kidnap someone in my presence, clearly these men know nothing about –"

"Ditto!"

With a flash of green light, Ben changed into an alien and ran after the pursuers. The alien he picked was as short as a ten year old and seemed humanoid in nature. It also had green eyes and wore a black and green jumpsuit.

"Crap! I really have to pick up the pace! Common fellas!"

Ditto suddenly duplicated himself into a human ladder. This meant that each Ditto he created was on top of another one until they were over the fleeing wagon. Thus, the highest Ditto used that chance to jump over the wagon and land before the horse, facing it.

"Booooo!" He shouted.

The horse was instantly spooked as it lifted its front hooves in fear. The man who was riding it was shocked and scared before falling to the ground. But it didn't end there. Two men peeked out from the back of the wagon and were surprised at what they saw. There was about twelve duplicates of Ditto running towards them.

"Holy shit! What the hell?!" shouted one of them.

"Shoot them! Shoot them!"

Quickly, the one with a gun began to shoot at the Ditto. Fortunately, the alien clones saw the bullets coming and quickly evaded it.

"Scatter!" shouted one of them.

With their quick evasion, each Ditto was able to dodge the bullet and keep the shooter's focus off them. It was even a good thing, as it gave the Ditto that had stopped the horse the chance to get on top of the wagon and then fall on top of shooter's shoulders.

"HAHAHA! Got your nose!" The Ditto laughed childishly. He also was grippingthe man's nose with his large hands and stirring him off balance.

"G-Get off me!" The man cried out.

The shooter tried as much to get free, but he failed. The Ditto on him was able to cause him to fall out of the wagon, leaving the other guy on his own.

"Fuck this! I'm getting out of here!" The other guy shouted.

The man knew he didn't stand a chance against these small lookalike creatures. Thus, with fear, he jumped out of the wagon and made a run for it. However, in his haste, a Ditto noticed him and quickly intervened. By that, he slide to the man's leg like a footballer/soccer player and swung his leg against the man's ankle.

"Not so fast!" The Ditto shouted.

The man screamed and hit the ground hard. But it didn't end there. Before the man knew it, about four Dittos pounced on him, with the forth even replicating a wrestler and using his elbow to strike the man's back. He was down in an instant.

With that, the rescue seemed almost over. The shooter had been confiscated of his gun as three Dittos held him down while another one playfully twirled with the weapon. Not surprising, this scene caught a lot of passersby attention as they watched two Ditto head over to the wagon.

"Good work, guys! We're almost done." said a Ditto. He then noticed his clone that was twirling a gun. "Hey! Watch how you twirl that thing, stupid!"

The Ditto twirling the gun stuck his tongue out at the Ditto in response. This didn't go well, as it immediately caused the other Ditto to tackle the clone.

One Ditto duplicate ended up sighing and looking away. "These guys…' He mumbled.

Unlike the two conflicting Dittos, this present one decided to get back on the mission. He opened the curtains at the entrance of the wagon with a small welcome smile.

"Hey, kid, we're here to…Oh shit." He said.

In front of the Ditto, a skinny man was holding the little red haired girl hostage. He had his arm around her neck and a knife to her eye as he stared at the Ditto in fear.

"S-Stay back! I'll kill her!" He warned irrationally.

"Woah! Woah! Drop the knife, dude! No one has to get hurt!" Ditto said cautiously.

"No! I said stay back! I'll fucking kill her!" The man said and wept. "Th-This wasn't how it was meant to be! I just want some money to eat!"

"By kidnapping her?" Ditto said and his eyes became menacing from hearing the pitiful reason behind this ordeal. "You know what man, you've just lost my sympathy."

"Pl-Please…" The girl cried in the man's arms. "…I just want to see my mummy."

"I said shut up!" The man shouted.

Finally, the man couldn't cope. Hence, out of pressure and anxiety, he raised the back of his knife to strike down on the girl. Ditto shouted in shock and fear at the man's action, but could do nothing. Fortunately, a certain alien's hand then broke the wood behind him and grabbed the man's arm before it could strike the girl.

"What the –" The man stuttered.

Before the man knew it, another hand broke through the wood at his other side and grabbed his other hand. But unlike the other hand, the person responsible was facing him with a childish grin.

"Heeeeere's Ditto! Wanna play?!"

The man screamed in response and got his arm bitten by the revealed Ditto. The girl he held captive was instantly free and she ran into the opens of the Ditto at the entrance.

"Thank you! Thank you!" She cried.

Ditto smiled in response and stroked her head in response. It felt good to save the little girl's life, but the scene wasn't over yet. The skinny thief was left in horror as he screamed while more hands from more Ditto clones broke through the wall, grabbing every part of his upper body. It also didn't help that the clones were laughing as they overpowered the man and pulled him through the wooden wall.

"That…That was traumatizing." The lone Ditto said. "Now I feel sorry for him… Wait, on second thought naaaah"

Finally, the rescue was over. The lone Ditto carried the little girl like a baby and jumped out of the wagon. The people watching were confused and scared to do anything, but it then changed. A woman whom Ditto recognized as the mother approached the main Ditto and soon the mother and daughter were reunited.

"Did you see that? Those monsters rescued the girl." said one guy.

"You're right! What's with that?" asked one woman.

"Who cares?! Those things are heroes!" shouted another guy.

With that, a loud united joyful cry shook the air. It could even be heard from afar as the people around were clearly grateful for what happened. Ditto and his duplicates were surprised by it at first, but they recovered with some of them even feeling cocky about it.

"Now this is what we've been looking for!" said one Ditto. He was one of the Dittos on top of the shooter.

"You got that right, brother! Now this is kind of reaction we should be getting." Another Ditto said.

"Yeah…" agreed another Ditto. "But I can't help but feel we forgot something."

The cheers came to a sudden end when a single presence was felt. Esdeath had arrived, and with a slam of her high heel to the ground, there was complete silence. The general was accompanied by some Imperial guards as she stood in the middle of the road.

"Those creatures are with me, arrest the men." Esdeath commanded.

Her order was immediately carried out by the Imperial guards. The Ditto clones were taken aback by her presence, but they allowed the guards to do their jobs. In fact, what seemed to be the main Ditto approached Esdeath with a few of them close to him.

"Uh…Took you long enough?" Ditto said and laughed nervously.

Esdeath smiled in response. "Intriguing, so you can turn into a small army." She said.

"Yup! But we can be more if we want!" stated one other Ditto clone.

"Shut up, stupid!" The main Ditto yelled.

Unfortunately, it seemed his 'order' was ignored. Another Ditto, which appeared clueless, was in refusal.

"But it's true, you know." The Ditto said with a cocky grin. "We got Echo Echo who can do the same with better offense power. We're unstoppable when you think about."

"Didn't you just hear what I said?!" The main Ditto yelled.

"Hey! Don't bully him, stupid! Who do you think you are?!" yelled one Ditto.

"I'm not bullying him! I'm you, stupid!"

"Not cool men!" shouted another Ditto.

The next thing the Dittos knew, a fight broke out between their small numbers. Another Ditto even mentioned it as he punched his fist into the air.

"Ditto fight!" The Ditto was then tackled by a clone of his.

Meanwhile, there was Esdeath. The passersby watching had begun to leave the scene due to the 'ice queen' and the strange fight going on. At the same time, the Imperial guards didn't seem to mind what was going on as they just took the thugs away. But it was then at that moment that a number of three Dittos who had handled the last thug came into the scene angrily.

"Hey! Hey! Why the hell do I feel like a bunch of idiots are kicking our asses just now?!"

The Ditto clone was suddenly tackled by three other versions of himself. It happened so suddenly, but the impact definitely hurt as everyone of them could feel it. Nevertheless, one of the two clones not fighting just sighed and turned to the wheel of the wagon next to him.

"Looks like there's only one thing to do." He said.

"What's that?!" asked the other clone.

The Ditto answered by kicking his foot against the hard wooden wheel. Of course, it hurt, which was the intention. Since all Ditto felt similar pain, none of them could ignore the sudden pain at their foot. Hence, in unison, all of them cried out in pain with some holding their foot in their hand and hopping about. The others that were on the ground ended up rolling about, holding their foot.

'Interesting…' Esdeath said with fascination. 'With what I've seen, these… creature he turned into can not only increase its numbers, but also have a small distinct personality from one another. I would've found this form to be of better use, but considering it can feel pain from the others…it's weak in my eyes. But still…why am I entertained by this version of him?'

Esdeath was curious now. Something about the Ditto clones seemed to make her feel lightened in heart. Thus, without saying a word, she approached one Ditto and knelt on one knee before him and placed her hand on its hurt leg. A small bit of icy mist then came from her hand, easing the pain.

"This should ease the rest of you. How do you feel, Tennyson?" Esdeath asked.

"Uh, fine." The Ditto said nervously. Both his cheeks even blushed as he stared at the woman's face. But his eyes noticed the woman's huge cleavage. "Woah! Sunny was right! You really do have a nice rack!"

All the other Dittos immediately fell to the ground, dumbstruck at their fellow duplicate. Apparently, speaking so straightforward to the woman in such a perverted manner was too much. But the clone was clueless as he stared at his immovable-selfs.

"What? Did I say something wrong?" He asked with cluelessly.

Esdeath coughed lightly to hide her shock. For some reason, she could feel her heart slightly beat faster just from what the Ditto clone had said. But with this scene came an idea and soon the woman recovered and carried the Ditto under her arm. Her action caught the attention of the others.

"With all of you here, I think it would be logical if I take this one for a little while. I'll have him returned; I guarantee it." She said.

"Eh?!" shouted one Ditto.

"Wait, hold on!" said another Ditto.

However, despite their numbers, they were too late. Esdeath jumped to a rooftop and sprinted off. Her speed was remarkable, as in a blink of an eye she was already far for them to barely see her figure.

"She's fast…" said one Ditto.

"Dude, not now!" Another Ditto yelled.

"He's right!" A third Ditto said. He then panicked as he clutched his head. "Without that Ditto here, we can't changed back! In other words, we just fucked up!"

"And who's idea was it to turn into us anyway?!" asked an extra Ditto.

"Now's not the time!" stated one Ditto, pointing at the direction Esdeath had left. "After her!"

"YEAH!" All the Dittos shouted simultaneously. They immediately ran forward with the intention to get their clone back.

_(LINE BREAK)_

"This…is not what I expected."

With the lone Ditto separated from its group, he found himself sitting next to Esdeath on a rooftop. The both of them were by themselves as the people below didn't seem to know their presence in the area. But Ditto couldn't help but feel tense around the woman. Fortunately, she was quick to assure him.

"You can rest easy. I do not plan to take you away with me for long." She said.

"Huh…okay." Ditto said and looked away. An awkward silence then happened between the two as the Ditto decided then to whistle by himself. But then he was taken aback when Esdeath suddenly spoke up.

"Where and what are you, Tennyson?" Esdeath asked, looking at him. "In all my life…I've never met a young man such as you. You saw a kidnapping and didn't hesitate to stop it. I'm even certain you didn't wish to transform in my presence, so I'm guessing it was out of instinct, am I right?"

"You…ask a lot of questions huh." Ditto said plainly.

Esdeath was slightly taken aback. She had been certain to sound somewhat threatening. But here she was, staring at a duplicate of a boy she knew little about. If it were any other man, they would've been terrified or tried to build a strong front against her as resistance. But Ditto wasn't, and in a way it caused her to smile a bit.

"I did, didn't I?" She asked. She suddenly patted the teen on the head and smiled at him. "You're much different from your cousin."

"See, there you go again asking a question." Ditto pointed out. He then felt embarrassed and nervous when Esdeath began to stroke his head nicely."You're not…getting addicted to this version of me, right? Because…um, I already had a girl who did that once with another transformation I have."

"She sounds like a problem. Did you two ever…became one in a relationship?"

"Become one in a relationship? That's weird to say, Esdeath." Ditto said, looking at her. He then looked away and smoothly frowned. "But yeah, after six years we did end up together. But like the rest of the girls I dated, we didn't last. Different reasons came in the way and the next thing we knew we just went our separate ways. Weird…the future seemed so bright for us. Some guy I know even mentioned we were going to get married."

Esdeath felt annoyed at hearing the last part. She didn't know it, but it was an instinct rejection at the thought that Ben would've been married to the girl. However, she didn't say anything about it as she continued rubbing his head.

"In my experience, the future is what you lay for yourself, not what others tell you." Esdeath said confidently. "I can sense sadness in you. You must have loved this girl very much. She was foolish to let you go."

Ditto snapped in response. He didn't like what Esdeath said, and thus he turned to her angrily.

"Kai isn't foolish! I broke up with her! It...it was my fault!"

Esdeath was surprisingly calm. She hadn't expected the outburst, but it was clear to her that Ditto was feeling hurt from the breakup as she pulled her hand off him.

"Are you certain, Tennyson?" Esdeath asked. Her question offended Ditto, but she continued. "If this girl truly loved you, she wouldn't have let you go. I know for certain that if I ever fell in love with someone, that person would be the one I'll cherish for the rest of my life."

"Whatever." Ditto said stubbornly and wrapped his arms under his shoulders. "What's with you anyway?"

"Me? You want to know about me?" Esdeath asked. A bit of her was surprised, but it was covered as she looked forward, at the direction of the sun. "My story isn't such as yours. I've never fallen in love. Back in my younger years, I lived in the snowy mountains with my father and a village. It was a peaceful life. My father taught me the difference between being strong and weak and trained him to become that strong. But it all ended when my village was wiped out and I was the only survivor. Since then I swore I'll never become weak."

"Lame." Ditto commented. His remark offended Esdeath slightly, but he didn't seem to notice as he continued. "No wonder you haven't fallen in love. I don't know much about your experience, but I have the Ben Tennyson experience. Live life to the best you can, cherish what you can get and see to it that what you have is protected…because what you have could be taken away before you know it."

'Live life to the best you can, cherish what you can get and see to it that what you have is protected.' Esdeath repeated in her mind and looked to him. In an instant her heart sank as she saw a smile across unlike any she had seen before. 'A beautiful smile…Despite being like this, he can show something so simple and admiring. I wonder…how would it be if he was as a human again? There's no denying it…His cousin was right…Today, he's passed all my expectations. I want him to myself alone.'

"Uh, Esdeath? Hello?"

Esdeath was quick to get back to reality. Ditto was staring at her confused, but the woman was able to resolve it.

"My apologies, I was in thought." She said and then stood up. Her long blue hair blew blissfully in the air as she looked onward. "Tennyso – No, I mean Ben. How would you like to come with me? I know if it's just you, once you merge with your other...selves your decision will remain." She then turned to Ben with a beautiful smile. It astonished Ditto as a kind and passionate presence seemed to be on the woman. "Be by my side, you can earn many things such as money, fame and an official title as a hero. In return, let me train you and…get close to you, because I see now that you are the one."

"The… one?" Ditto asked, confused by her last words.

Before anything else could be said, however, they were interrupted. The Ultimatrix symbol on Ditto's forehead began to flash and blink as the device had clearly run out of power. Ditto didn't even get to have a say on it as he was suddenly lifted off the rooftop by the Ultimatrix and sent flying to a specific direction.

'What was that just now?' Esdeath wondered in curiosity.

Meanwhile, there was a similar thing happening with the other versions of Ditto. The Ultimatrix symbol on their forehead began to beep and flash before taking them away to a specific direction. All the clones screamed when it happened until they merged together with the lone Ditto and became one again. The Ultimatrix then engulfed the alien in a flash of light, changing him back to Ben Tennyson again.

"Huh?!" Ben said. He was briefly confused until gravity took over. In other words, he was falling to the ground.

'Not good! Not good! This isn't like the day I first used Ditto, Ultimatrix! There's no water!' Ben thought frantically.

With each second that passed, Ben was drawing close to the ground. His scream could even be heard from the people below. Fortunately, the teen hero was then saved. Esdeath had caught up to him, and before he knew it he and the woman was on another rooftop where she then placed him there.

"If I didn't know better, I would've thought you were trying to get away from me, Ben." Esdeath said, facing him. "But…what happened then wasn't of your doing. It was your Teigu, am I right?"

"Uh, sure." Ben replied, trying to catch his breath.

"Ben…" Esdeath called out. Her voice held dedication and honesty as she stared at the teen. "Do you remember what I offered?"

Ben was quiet. He indeed remembered, but he waited until he got back on his feet and glared at Esdeath.

"I remember and, while I'm really flattered, I'm sorry to say that I'll have to decline your offer." Ben said honestly. "We're from different worlds that conflict with each other. Even if you have some sweet and kind moments…and... clearly very beautiful, I can't return the feelings of a woman who would get her hands bloody for the sake of the empire. I'm sorry, but I can't accept your feelings."

"Hmph!" Esdeath's smile changed. She approached the teen and cupped her hand on his cheek and revealed a sly look. "You seem to be mistaken, Ben; it was never a matter of choice. Do you want to know why? It's because I am certain on one thing. I will make you fall for me. Your former lover may have let you go, but you can be certain that I won't. That, I swear on my life."

Ben said nothing back. It wasn't out of fear or low self-esteem. It was because he felt a bit flustered by her as his cheek felt her hand which was cold and yet also soft. Despite that, however, he did manage to maintain a glare at the woman even thought his cheeks were almost blushing from the contact. Both their expression seem to conflict with one another, but Esdeath didn't care. She removed her and turned away from him and began walking away.

"This was a formal meeting. I won't keep you from leaving. But just know this…" She turned her head to Ben. "…the next time we meet, you will be mine."

"I'd like to see you try." Ben finally said.

Esdeath laughed and disappeared from Ben's sight. It wasn't by magic or a Teigu, but by her own physical prowess. Nevertheless, Ben was certain about another thing about Esdeath as he stared at where she once stood.

'She's incredibly fast…There's no denying that fact. I'll have to be careful the next time we meet.' Ben thought strongly.

_(CHAPTER END)_

That's where we'll stop for now. Thank you all for reading this chapter, I really appreciate it! This chapter was originally supposed to cover most of the stuff about the Three Beast Warriors, but I then realized how rushed and repeated some scenes would be if I continued. Thus, I decided to expand the interaction between Ben and Esdeath in this chapter than leave it to the next chapter. My beta-reader had been looking forward to this chat between the two of them, so I hope you enjoyed it as well.

You may have noticed from Esdeath and Ditto's conversation that they were talking about Kai. This story (as a reminder) takes place after Ben 10: Omniverse. I never really liked the idea that Ben ended up together with Kai. She just...didn't seem perfect for him. Maybe in the original series until she turned into a bitch, but certainly not in Omniverse. So yeah, you can see that Ben broke up with her. This means that the Ben 10, 000 in Omniverse is not the one we know in this fanfiction.

Now to some review I wish to address.

-REPLIES TO SOME REVIEWS-

BrRosabal22 – Thank you for your review. Don't worry, I haven't forgotten what I said about the Esdeath and Ben relationship. To be honest, I figured that at this point that everyone had forgotten. I even thought that "Hey, maybe I should experiment with the idea a little bit since no one seems to talk about it". But reading your review has made me become firm with my stand earlier. Ben won't fall for Esdeath.

Archon – A one-shot does sound good, but I can't think of how that setting would be. I'm also a fan of rare relationships in stories, so I understand. Maybe in the future I'll come up with a one-shot like you suggested.

Strongraider 101 – Thank you! I'm glad this fanfiction actually inspired you! That means so much! I'll keep updating!

_(END)_

That's all for now, guys! Thank you so much for your support. The next chapter will focus back on the Three Beast Warriors and their battle against Night Raid. Sunny may show up again and have a rematch with Akame. Hopefully, it'll go better for the assassin.

Please review! Also, don't forget to favorite and follow this fanfiction! Bye!