Ben 10 and Black clover are owned by their respective owners
The darkroom filled with light, revealing three figures standing upon a floating platform.
Psyphon's voice sounded throughout the room. "Begin the Audition!"
Immediately the first figure sprang into action, propelling themselves forward with their jetpack. Their entire body was covered in a purple-black suit with a grey chest plate. A multitude of hatches could be seen along their joints and shoulders. Their black helmet seemed to depict eyes and a mouth via two purple lines.
They landed as a multitude of disk drones emerged from the floor. A hatch opened on the figure's thigh, revealing a blaster from which they promptly shot a burst. The shots hit their mark, taking out three drones at once before they could even react.
Another retaliated for its lost comrades, prompting the bounty hunter to roll before firing a wrist rocket towards it. They wasted no time, using a hatch to drop a grenade directly into their hand, which they threw towards the largest group. It bounced off one of their heads before detonating, taking six out in the process.
The second figure finally made a move. Jumping down from the platform with his four golden legs. Their entire body was coated in gold bronze armor, and on one arm sat a giant claw, which proceeded to shatter through a drone as he landed. He quickly grabbed another, tossing it away and into its comrades. Two drones flew at him, quickly being dispatched by the sword he pulled from his back.
A whirring sound could be heard as a giant hatch opened from the room, revealing the same giant robot that had been sent to collect the Omnitrix.
The final figure decided to step in, pulling out an oval that quickly transformed into a pale green hoverboard. He wore a grey suit with two pouches on each side of his belt. His shoulders and knees were padded. Finally, he wore a black metallic helmet, completely obscuring his face. He hopped on, sailing right into a blast from the machine. He came out unscathed, rushing forward towards it as he barreled directly through its chest. It detonated instantly as its core was destroyed. He landed on one knee before standing and grabbing his hoverboard as it collapsed.
A giant holographic screen appeared before them, showing Psyphon holding up a tablet. The three bounty hunters approached before standing at attention.
"Most impressive. Skills of your caliber will certainly be useful to my lord!" Psyphon said as he gave light applause, "SixSix, Kraab, Shard, You're all hired!"
He swiped right on his touchpad, bringing up an image of Earth. "Your objective is to retrieve the Omnitrix. Its signal was detected on this backwater planet."
"Whoever brings it to my lord first shall be rewarded with riches from his personnel war vault!" Psyphon began to snicker as the three piled into a transport ship. "Do take care not to disappoint my lord! He has certainly killed for less!"
The middle of nowhere, Clover Kingdom
The empty road was filled with dust. In the blink of an eye, a blue-black figure came screeching by at high speeds before quickly coming to a stop, coughing as the dust caught up with them. After a moment, he finally regained his composure before flashing off again.
"This is so great!" Asta thought as he dodged a few passersby on the road, "I can go practically anywhere in the kingdom anytime I want!"
He quickly took a sharp right turn offroad before finding himself over a river. He wasted no time, simply dashing over as his momentum carried him across before he returned along the road.
He kept going for a few more minutes, taking short breaks in between to rest his eyes.
"Though the Eye pain isn't that fun!" he commented before resuming his run through the forsaken realm.
He eventually found himself on the eastern border of the forsaken realm as his transformation time ran out, the lush forest begging to transition into the mountains and wastelands of the Diamond Kingdom. The town seemed abandoned, with most buildings' paint being grayed and the supports for buildings barely standing under their own weight.
Atsa strolled through the town. "Hello! Is anyone here!" he called as he peered into one of the buildings before coughing from the dust.
There was only one option in Asta's mind with nobody to talk to and the bracer out of juice.
"This is as good a place to train as any!" He thought before immediately dropping to the ground as he began his pushup routine.
"One, Two, Three, Four, Five…."
Inside the Demon Skull
The bounty hunters had just landed planetside, stashing their ship nearby. Shard and Kraab strolled through the forest that had grown underneath the demon's ribs, as SixSix came flying in from the canopy above. Shard was holding what appeared to be a tracker, which was pointing ahead.
"Ro'tak Kan han So'oom Br'ok kr'tan eh?" SixSix laughed as he landed.
"You're telling me! Can you imagine how strong this beast was! I bet even a Toku'Star would have trouble taking this thing down!" Kraab said as he embellished with his arms, "No wonder everybody keeps away from this dump of a planet. It would be better off as space dust!"
"E'han an T'ach Ker'son Ta'k!" SixSix said, pointing around him.
"Right? The energy's so dense on this planet you could practically swim in it! No wonder the Omnitrix was missing for so long! I'm barely getting a signal!" Kraab said before Shard pointed towards the ground near the entrance of the skull.
"This is where the Omnitrix was last activated! Look around!" Shard said as he began surveying the area.
The ribs around them were severely damaged from a multitude of sources. One seemed to be somewhat melted, another appeared to have a bite taken out of it, one was covered in ice and slime, another had both large and small claw marks, and finally, one had a multitude of crystals sticking out from it.
Shard immediately bolted towards the crystals as SixSix went to investigate the exit. Krabb approached the rib covered in slime, scraping off a piece with his finger before opening his vertical mouth and shoving some in.
"Eww. Yep, that's opticoid slime!" Kraab remarked as he shook the remaining goop off.
Shard stared at the crystals. Beneath his helmet, his eyes were shaking slightly at sight. He plucked a crystal out and brought it closer to his face. The crystal refracted the sunlight throughout the forest. He twisted it until it was just right, casting a rainbow down upon his mask. He could hardly believe what he was looking at was real after all these years.
Kraab walked over, his optics zooming in on what shard was holding. "Petrosapien crystals?! Certainly don't see too many of those anymore! Might fetch a good price on the market!"
Kraab approached to claim some crystals for himself, but Shard quickly drew his blaster on him. "Leave them. They're worth nothing compared to what we'll be paid."
"Kun'ok t'ackr! Nah'san!" SixSix shouted before taking off through the mouth of the skull.
In the dirt, two perfect grooves were embedded, continuing down the path into the village.
"Kineceleran tracks too?! We may actually be hunting the real deal here!" Kraab said before he began to dig himself into the ground by rapidly spinning his lower body like a drill.
Shard simply hopped on his board as he began to follow the tracks.
Twenty minutes later
"497…,498, 499...500!"
Asta hopped up from his pushups before readjusting his headband. The bracer had recharged twenty minutes ago, but he wanted to enjoy the atmosphere a little more before leaving. He did a few stretches before bringing his hands down to the dial. He selected his speedster and pressed the button down as green energy flashed around him. However, Asta remained the same. He looked down towards the bracer, the hourglass now black with red specks.
"Broken again?!" Asta complained as he looked down. "First, you don't give me who I want and now nothing at all?!"
Asta began mashing the button as fast as possible, eventually causing the dial to pop back up as it returned to green.
"That's more like it!" he said as he slammed down the dial as green light surrounded him.
Left standing in Asta's place was Ghostfreak.
"Oh, haha. Real funny," Ghostfreak mused as he looked down at the symbol in his chest. "I bet you think this is hilarious!"
Asta followed his trail back to Hage village before the ground started to rumble, nearly causing Asta to lose his balance as Kraab exited the ground.
"Well, I'll be. An ectonurite outside of the Anur System!" Kraab said as his eyes examined Asta, somewhat confused by his strange appearance. As he took a closer look, his eyes finally settled on his prize as he spotted the Omnitrix buried in his chest. "At least I think you are. Hand over the Omnitrix, and I might let you live!" he said as he pinched his claw towards Asta.
"The Omni-what? No idea what that is." Asta replied as his eye began frantically looking around the abandoned town for objects to hit him with. This dude seemed absolutely crazy. Fighting the Kraken was one thing, but this guy was clearly wearing some strong armor! Not to mention his crazy-looking legs.
"You're joking." Kraab deadpanned before he raised his voice. "You don't know about the Omnitrix. The thing buried in your chest?! The most powerful weapon in the universe that was thought to be lost to time itself?! The weapon that could let its user become any of ten billion species?!"
"Uhm, Yeah?!" Asta replied. Seriously though, what was this guy talking about? The most powerful weapon in the universe? Turn into ten billion species? Asta was starting to suspect picking up this trinket all those years ago was coming back to bite him. "Either way, I'm not going to let a four-legged freak like you get your hands on something so dangerous."
Asta flickered out of existence as he began to reach for nearby items. Kraab merely scoffed at the attempt.
"That's your play? Even beginning bounty hunters know how to deal with a trick like that!" Kraab said as he focused through his visor, quickly spotting Asta's heat signature as he crept upon him. He pointed his claw towards him before it fired a stream of brown sludge towards Asta. It hit, but Asta remained invisible, albeit some of the sludge disclosing his location.
"How?!" Kraab shouted in shock, "That should have solidified your protoplasm! Unless you're only using refraction! Or possibly…"
While Kraab was trying to deduce why his attack didn't work, Asta went on the assault, shaking off as much of the goop as he could while he grabbed as many chairs, poles, and rusted farm tools as he could and began throwing them at Kraab.
"Oh, now I get it!" He said as he drew his sword and slashed through the object assault, "The Omnitrix is broken! You're only a hybrid ectonurite, aren't you?!" Kraab began chuckling as he closed in on Asta.
Ghostfreak quickly vanished from sight again. "You really think that's going to work twice?"
Kraab's robotic head began to circle around, looking for wherever he might be hiding. But Asta was too fast, thanks to his years of constant training. He circled around Kraab back towards the buildings before grabbing one of the remaining metal poles before slamming it right into one of Kraab's optics as their gazes met.
"Sure looked like it did!" Ghostfreak chuckled as he began booking it away as fast as his trained legs could.
Kraab tried to look for his thermals again, but with a damaged optic he could barely make out the image of Asta as he ran. The best he could do was fire a half-aimed volley at the hybrid as he made his escape. His repair systems got to work as he buried his way underground after the target.
Asta continued his sprint at max speed, unhindered by the need to breathe. He was making a good pace before the ground seemed to start growing further away. His eye circled around his face to the back of his neck, noticing some kind of purple armored knight carrying him while flying.
"G'etir Ma'kah Oomni trix!" SixSix commanded, sounding out Omnitrix as best he could.
"Sorry, I don't speak crazy!"Asta replied as he slammed a fist into SixSix, "You're gonna have to do better than that!"
The blow certainly pushed SixSix back, but he's been hit by worse, "Haha Y'er P'chun na'kan par'kom o't a Tetramand!"
Suddenly, a blaster shot was fired from the ground, striking SixSix in the back, causing him to drop Asta. "I saw him first, Sotoraggian!"
"Y'aha ghi'rt" replied SixSix as another pair of arms began firing at Kraab.
Luckily SixSix hadn't gotten too far into the air. Unluckily Asta transformed back to human right before impact. Pain rang out all across his body as he pushed himself with all his might to keep going. Whoever these guys were, they knew about Ghostfreak's powers. What if they were prepared for his other ones as well? He had to try and get back home, no matter what.
The Omnitrix began to flash between Red and Black before eventually turning green. Asta was thankful for the quick recharge, making sure to take his time with his selection and not screw up. He turned the dial and pushed down the dial as softly as he could, ensuring the correct choice.
He wasted no time shooting off at top speed directly for Hage village. The wind quickly became too much, forcing him to close his eyes, causing him to barrel through low hanging branches, over rocks, and nearly over a poor defenseless bunny. He could afford the pain if it meant getting some backup from Yuno.
He briefly opened his eyes and saw the village. He immediately began trying to push himself even faster as he closed his eyes. Out of nowhere, he heard a blaster shot fire, directly colliding with his leg. Asta lost balance, slipping forward off his feet just as he'd reached the peak of a hill overlooking the village. His momentum carried him far over the village, leaving him a couple hundred feet above it.
His short life began flashing before his eyes at hyperspeed thanks to his alien biology. His first time eating tatoes, finding Hollo on the doorstep of the church, finding the bracer, his sparring sessions with Yuno, all his training, the grimoire ceremony, and finally the last couple months.
"Ya know…." Atsa thought as he continued falling, "If there's one thing I can take from reflecting on my life."
He reoriented himself in the air so that he was horizontal, looking out towards the demon's skull and the statue of the first Wizard King.
"It's that I'm not giving up until I'm Wizard king," Asta yelled at the top of his lungs before closing his eyes. He began spinning as fast as he could. Wind currents began to build up as a tornado began to form around Asta. It grew bigger and bigger before eventually reaching the ground. The air currents began to slow Asta's descent, but unfortunately, he had no idea how close he was to the ground. Eventually, he had to stop to take a look, halting all momentum as the vortex subsided. He was now only around eighty feet from the ground.
Asta was about to begin another tornado when the Omnitrix timed out once again. He began flailing about in the air as he screamed his lungs out. He even tried flapping his arms to fly, but nothing worked.
He was about to hit the ground when another tornado formed around him. Asta looked around, spotting Yuno and his grimoire over on the ground near a run-down cottage. He was channeling the tornado!
Asta was lowered safely to the ground as he took a moment to recover from his near-death experience.
"I'm sorry, ground!" He cried as he tried to hug the dirt. "I've taken you for granted all this time!"
"Asta. Focus," Yuno ordered as he saw Asta's wounds. "What happened?"
"These huge guys in suits started coming after me while I was out on a run!" Asta yelled as he quickly got up and began explaining, "one guy had a giant claw just like that!"
He pointed over towards Kraab as he Sauntered up as SixSix landed beside him, weapons drawn. The eye Asta had hit seemed repaired but was now glowing red, unlike the yellow before.
"Great, now we have locals involved!" Kraab groaned as he pointed his claw towards Yuno. "Get out of here, Terran. This is between us and the kid with the Omnitrix!"
Yuno looked directly into what he believed was the strange man's eyes before uttering a single word, "No."
Kraab chuckled as his claw began charging a blast. "It's your funeral then." He released the charge directly towards Yuno, expecting to blow them to pieces. Instead, the shot was redirected in a high current of air.
"See SixSix?" Kraab announced as he readied another shot, "This is why no one comes to this mudball. Way too much trouble!"
"G'reeda. F'cuos Kraab," SixSix replied as he laid down cover fire and launched a few rockets towards the wind mage.
Asta dove behind cover and began fiddling with the Omnitrix. "C'mon, give me another one quick. I'll even take Heatblast!" Unfortunately, the dial refused to pop up. "Okay, new plan!" He peeked out from cover towards Kraab, spotting the sword handle on his back. He immediately jumped out from his cover and began sprinting towards Kraab.
Kraab was ready to end this as he raised his claw to snap Asta in two, but he underestimated how fast Asta was from his years of training. He dodged to the side as the claw tried to enclose around him. He quickly hopped onto the claw, running up's Kraab's arm before jumping off him into the air, making sure to pull the sword from its hilt as he took off. He flipped in the air before landing, sliding slightly across the ground as he raised the stolen weapon towards Kraab.
"If you think I'm gonna keep running," Asta yelled as he rushed in to swing, "You've got another thing coming!"
"Ha! A Vulpimancer pup is scarier than you!" Kraab mocked, immediately began drilling underground to dodge as Yuno kept SixSix at bay. Every weapon SixSix fired at the wind mage was simply redirected to be detonated overhead. Frustrated, SixSix went into a dive extending a energy saw from his fist as he tried to barrel into Yuno. The wind mage held out his palm in response, generating a powerful horizontal tornado that surrounded SixSix, pushing him back even as his jetpack reached its limits.
Nearby, Asta was standing still as the ground all around him rumbled. He took a stab towards the ground, prompting Kraab to jump out behind him.
"Think again!" Kraab laughed as he fired a volley into Asta's back before diving back below the ground.
Asta grit his teeth as the blast tore through his jacket. He quickly glanced down towards the Omnitrix. The dial was still red. "I can't keep stabbing randomly." Asta thought as he got back in position, "I need to get him to strike first."
The sounds of digging continued as Asta tried to focus on where they were coming from, but Kraab was moving too quickly for him to track. Asta took a step forward as Kraab immediately emerged from behind him. Asta pushed back with his foot as he turned to face Kraab, slashing him with the sword in a spin attack.
"Like you said earlier," Asta mocked as Sparks began to emanate from Kraab's chest, "that won't work twice!"
Kraab cried out in pain as he tried to snap his claw around Asta before SixSix came crashing into him. This sent both of them flying back towards the demon's skull. Yuno quickly ran over to check on Asta before more blaster fire intercepted him.
"Pretty formidable for a Terran youth!" Shard said as he got off his hoverboard, "I thought that drop would have finished you off." He took another step towards Asta, who defensively raised his stolen weapon.
"I have to admit. You're a formidable warrior to deal with some of the best bounty hunters in the galaxy without the Omnitrix!" He said, quickly firing a blast towards Asta's
Sword, knocking it out of his hand " However, you clearly lack training."
A ding rang out from the Omnitrix as Asta immediately dove, transforming into Diamondhead as he landed. He immediately began firing shots from his right arm as he changed his left into a blade. Yuno started to fire shots from nearby as well. Both sets of projectiles merely bounced off Shard's impenetrable armor.
"So it's true!" Shard chuckled as he dodged a slash from Asta. "You managed to break the Omnitrix! You don't even know what it's fully capable of, do you?!" Asta ran up and began trying to slash Shard with his arms. The bounty hunter merely redirected every blow before flicking Asta in the face, pushing him back. Asta tried to land one last hit, only to be punched in the chest, sending him flying into a nearby tree.
Yuno brought his hands together as his grimoire began to glow even brighter. A cyclone began to emanate from his hands towards Shard, who merely stood unaffected in the gust. Yuno tried to increase the intensity, only to stop as he noticed the bounty hunter remain unaffected.
"Your species' natural abilities pale in comparison to the Omnitrix! At its full power, it could end every conflict between good and evil in seconds!"
"Then who's side are you on?!" Asta asked as he brought himself to his feet, his arms still raised defensively.
"You two are still alive, aren't you?" Shard said as he approached Asta, "My mission is to retrieve it at all costs. Since it's attached to you, I will bring you back to get it repaired and then removed."
"Yeah, right!" Asta said as he charged at Shard, knocking him down and sending his hoverboard flying nearby as Yuno began launching as many air slashes as he could. Asta then morphed both hands into clubs, swinging them towards shard's helmet, only for him to grab them and throw Asta aside.
"You're only a hybrid! Your attacks in this form lack both strength and knowledge!" Shard informed as he fired back at Yuno, barely missing the wind mage's head.
"Oh Yeah?! How would you know?" Asta questioned as his clubs reformed into his hands.
Shard stood still as his hood began to retract. Inside was a face composed entirely out of the same material as Asta's hands, looking more like someone wearing a helmet than an actual head. His face was smooth, lacking any features besides his mouth and eyes. His head came to a point at the back. Asta and Yuno both gasped in shock at seeing something so Alien.
"My name is Tetrax. I am a Petrosapien warrior from the planet Petropia." He raised an arm as his glove retracted, revealing nearly identical arms to Asta's. He flexed it slightly, morphing it into the same club Asta just had.
"Planet?" Yuno questioned with a shocked look on his face. "Does that mean that…"
"Earth isn't the only planet in the galaxy with intelligent life? Yes." interrupted Tetrax before he was covered in a nearby red light, "A galaxy that I need to protect by taking what's on his wrist."
Suddenly, a grappling hook fired towards Tetrax's discarded hoverboard, quickly retracting back into Kraab's claw. Standing nearby was SixSix, holding two members of hage village captive who were clearly knocked out.
"Guess I owe you those fifty credits, SixSix," Kraab sighed. "I didn't think he'd betray us that quickly. Either way..." Kraab raised his claw defiantly towards Tetrax. "We're not letting you get off-planet! Come in quietly, and these two go free!"
The group stood still. Asta and Yuno shared a glance between each other, about to go on the attack. However, both were grabbed by Tetrax, who bolted towards a nearby building. Kraab and SixSix immediately began firing at the Petrosapien, the energy blasts simply bouncing off his tough skin.
Tetrax quickly threw them both aside once they were indoors as blaster fire began to tear apart the cottage. They both tried to exit, only to be held back by Tetrax.
"Don't be foolish," Tetrax warned "Keeping the Omnitrix from them is more important than being heroes. You both would be quickly overpowered without a Plan."
"Then what do we do?!" Astra yelled as he kept trying to struggle from his grip.
"You two stay here." Tetrax replied as he began to head out before pointing towards Yuno, "Keep him safe at all costs."
Asta looked towards Yuno as the Omnitrix turned green. "Does he really think we're just gonna sit here?"
Yuno gave a small smile as he began looking through his grimoire.
Tetrax leaped out from the building, performing a three-point landing before quickly firing a barrage of shards towards SixSix. The fragments didn't penetrate but still hit with enough force to send SixSix flying back.
Tetrax began charging Kraab with one arm transformed into a blade. Kraab knew he couldn't survive a direct hit from a Petrosapian blade, so he quickly brought his claw up to block it. Tetrax smirked as he got precisely what he wanted, sliding underneath Kraab's guard as he snagged his hoverboard from his hand before quickly hopping on as SixSix got up.
Both hunters began blasting Tetrax with everything in their arsenal. However, his board was too fast, dodging every blast as he looped back around, landing full force onto SixSix and creating a small crater in the ground. Debris went flying everywhere, creating a smokescreen.
The Petrosapien raised the Soroggian by the neck before hitting him with a flurry of punches, sending him flying back. Midair SixSix fired his jetpack before launching a volley of rockets towards Tetrax. In response, Tetrax lowered his arms to the ground, raising a wall of crystals out of the earth. The missiles collided with the barrier, destroying it as Kraab leaped behind Tetrax. He tried to swipe at him with his claw, only to have his momentum used against him as Tetrax grabbed it and threw him over his shoulder and into SixSix as a bright green light emerged from the cottage.
Yuno and Asta emerged from indoors, with Asta now transformed into the form he started calling EyeGuy.
Yuno's grimoire glowed brightly as he began channeling a cyclone in front of Asta. Asta raised his arms, coalescing all the Eyes on each arm into his palms. The two sizable eyes blinked before turning yellow and blue, respectively, before firing a volley of slime and ice.
"Combined Attack!" Eyeguy shouted as he smiled in anticipation.
"Clinging cannon!" Yuno shouted as the vortex began to spin even faster.
The tornado amplified their speed as the slime and freezing ice mixed together before being blown at the bounty hunters. The icy sticky substance stuck them to the ground as it began to seep through the gears of their technology.
"Tetrax! Eye suggest you finish them!" Asta shouted as he continued to pile more and more ammo into their makeshift canon.
Tetrax simply nodded as he began running forward before jumping into the air. He raised his arms as high as he could before they merged together, transforming into a giant mallet.
SixSix and Kraab struggled to break free from the sticky assault, only to look up and see the hammer descending upon them.
"I hate this planet!" Kraab shouted as he continued to struggle.
"C'ldan't gr'eea re'mo!" SixSix cried right as the mallet collided.
With the aggressors knocked out, Tetrax brought out another pistol from his belt. It seemed to be more of a launcher for a glowing blue cube. He pulled the trigger, sending the cube towards Kraab and SixSix. It grew in size, consuming them entirely before shrinking back in size. Asta couldn't help but look on in amazement at the display of advanced technology as Tetrax went to pick up the cube.
"I have to admit, that was pretty smart for a couple of humans," Tetrax said as he walked over to Asta. "I'm sorry for underestimating both of you. Using the opticoids projectiles to keep them still was a clever strategy."
"Oh umm… Yeah. But… What's an opticoid?" Asta asked sheepishly.
"There will be plenty of time to answer your questions." Tetrax smiled at seeing so much potential in the wielder of the Omnitrix. "If you don't mind, I'd like to take a look at the Omnitrix on my ship before I take them to prison. Don't worry, I'm positive it's safe in your hands."
He turned and looked over towards Yuno. "You're invited to, of course!"
The group began heading off, with Tetrax donning his helmet as he flashed a small cylindrical piece of technology in front of the villagers who were captured.
"Forget everything you saw here. You two were simply out on a nice walk."
Behind the demon's skeleton
The group had finally arrived at the Bounty Hunter's landing site. A small shuttle was sitting in the clearing. It looked like it could barely fit the riders it brought to the planet, smaller than the cottage they hid in.
"Woah! That's your spaceship! It's so cool!" Asta said as he started to run up, only to be grabbed by Tetrax.
"Good joke," He laughed as he pressed a button on his belt. "but I prefer something with a little more firepower!"
A massive ball of fire began streaking down from the sky. It grew bigger and bigger as it descended slower before eventually revealing a giant beige spaceship. It hovered for a moment before setting down above the small dropship before it began lowering itself to the ground.
Asta and Yuno's eyes were both wide at sight. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined actually meeting an Alien, let alone seeing their spaceship.
Tetrax let Asta go as steam emerged from the ship as the ramp began to fold out onto the ground.
"C'mon. I'll give you two the grand tour!" Tetrax shouted as he began walking up the ramp.
Asta and Yuno promptly followed him inside, making sure to take a look at everything they could as they passed through the cargo bay. They reached the end, with seemingly no way up. Asta was about to ask if that was it before Tetrax swiped his hand over a nearby console. The ground beneath them shook as the platform began rising off the ground, carrying them through the ship.
Asta's eyes were practically stars as they flew through the ship. "Wow! What's this room, Tetrax!"
"Ah, this is my training room! Have to stay in shape between missions," Tetrax said as they passed through a red room filled with platforms, robotic training dummies, and flying maces.
The platform stopped as they arrived at a green room. Lining the walls were all makes, and models of hoverboard Tetrax had collected over the years.
"And this is the hoverboard simulator. You're both welcome to try it out before you go." Tetrax said before resuming the tram.
"I still think brooms are better," Yuno said as he turned to look at the next room.
"Well, not all of us can use them!" Asta replied as he tried to get another glimpse at the room as they grew further away. "I'd love to have a hoverboard like you, Tetrax!"
"What's the need? Can't your people naturally fly using your energy manipulation?" Tetrax asked as he turned to face Asta.
"Well...I don't have magic." Asta sheepishly explained.
"Meaning?" Tetrax asked, still unfamiliar with Earth terminology.
"It means he can't do anything like this," Yuno said as he created a small vortex in his hand.
"Everyone else has been able to use magic since they were born practically. I've been told I don't have any mana at all." Asta sadly replied before raising his wrist with a smile, "I don't really care now, though, since I've got the Omni-kix!"
"Omnitrix," Tetrax corrected, "I might be able to shed some light on your "mana" predicament, though. If you're both willing to give me a blood sample, that is? But first!"
The tram came to a stop as they reached another large room. Towards the front, a large monitor displayed data on the ship, planet's atmosphere, and the extranet. Chairs were stationed on the sides of the room. Near the center sat a sizeable circular station with a multitude of consoles. Asta couldn't help but approach as his eyes darted around the room, not noticing the being before him. The pilot quickly made himself known, stretching his body to tower over Asta.
"Ahh! Tetrax, there's a monster on your ship!" Asta said as he did a quick hop back, hand hovering over the watch. The creature merely began chirping, somewhat offended, before it gave a small wave.
"May I introduce Gluto, the pilot of the resolute. Gluto, this is Asta, wielder of the Omnitrix." Tetrax explained as he walked between them, making sure to diffuse the situation.
Asta's instincts subsided as his curiosity once again took over. "Woah! You're another alien too! Today just gets better and better!"
Gluto extended a hand to shake, which Asta quickly returned as Tetrax brought Yuno forward.
"And this is Yuno, Asta's brother and a "wind mage." "He leaned over to Asta and whispered in his ear, "Did I use the phrasing right?" Asta merely gave him a thumbs-up as Yuno shook Gluto's hand as well.
He had to admit, he did not expect to be shaking hands with, let alone meeting aliens, when he got up that morning. Even he had to admit, the clover kingdom was starting to feel pretty small.
"Now that introductions are done…."Tetrax said as he motioned for the Terrans to follow, "time for some science!"
Tetrax's Lab, The Resolute
Tetrax had brought them to the lab, where he promptly asked to draw blood and take saliva samples from the duo, which they reluctantly agreed to. Tetrax told them more about the universe, the extranet, legends about the Omnitrix, and about some of the planets he'd recently been to.
"I'll tell ya," Tetrax explained as he looked through some sort of microscope. "You haven't seen combat until you've watched a royal celebration on Khoros. Tetramand are some of the best warriors in the galaxy!"
Eventually, the talk turned back to Earth, with Asta and Yuno doing their best to explain how their world works and what was going on in the kingdom. Asta popped out once or twice to try out the hoverboard course.
"So let me get all this straight." Tetrax said as he turned away from his table to the boys, "Were parked near a giant demon that nearly destroyed this kingdom?!"
"Yep," Asta quickly replied.
"Your people are each born with their own specific set of abilities…."
"Yep!"
"And people are given books that are somehow bonded to them for life from random libraries."
Yuno nodded as he held up his grimoire.
"No wonder people don't visit your planet often."
Finally, Tetrax had finished looking through the boy's genetics after giving a brief lecture on what they are. He brought up their DNA on the screen to more easily compare results.
"So after a thorough analysis, I believe I have isolated the property that gives your people access to "magic"...er "mana"... whatever you call it," Tetrax said, waving his hand towards the ends.
"As you can see here, Yuno's DNA has the correct layout to generate the energy. While Asta" he swiped his hand left on the pad, bringing up an image of Asta with his DNA nearby "Is completely missing the proper genetic structure to generate it."
Asta looked over the results. He may not understand most of it, but Tetrax hadn't lied to him yet. "So that's it. I really don't have any potential for magic. Do you have any idea why Tetrax?"
"My best guess would be a random mutation while you were in the womb, or you got it from your parents. My only other guess would be someone else's magic changed your genetic structure. I honestly have no idea," Tetrax theorized as he put a hand on Asta's shoulder. "Like you said earlier, though, you have the Omnitrix now and all the responsibility that comes with it. C'mon, let's give it a check-up."
Tetrax brought them over to the largest machine in the room, a chair with a large metallic dome hanging over it. He seated Asta in the chair, attaching a tube to the Omnitrix dial, before grabbing Yuno a seat beside him.
"Are you sure this is safe?" Yuno questioned as he examined the giant machine.
"Completely," Tetrax assured as he put on a headset, "I've gone through this machine multiple times! Never felt a thing."
"Isn't your skin made of super-strong crystals, though?!" Asta replied, looking a tad concerned as he looked for help from Yuno, who only gave him a small thumbs up.
"Good point, Asta. Let's get started!"
Screens appeared before Tetrax as the chamber began to close around Asta. He could see nothing as a red light began to scan both Asta and the Omnitrix. His pupils dilated as he found himself in a digital world. A digital copy of him floated above him before suddenly vanishing, leaving only the Omnitrix.
"First things first. We check if we can access its self-maintenance logs". The wire on the Omnitrix began sparking somewhat as the information appeared in front of Asta and Tetrax. Tetrax quickly browsed through multiple, the most recent ones all saying the same thing.
"This isn't good," Tetrax explained as he read, "The Omnitrix's self-repair sequence is damaged. According to this, it's been stuck between repair and capture mode for around fifteen years."
"That doesn't sound good." Asta replied from within the machine, "It's not going to blow up or something, right?!"
"No, no! The self-destruct sequence is still locked uptight." Tetrax reassured, "What's concerning is this unknown energy it keeps mentioning. It seems to be the cause of all the problems, including your hybrid transformations."
"There is one more thing I'd like to look at before I...there it is!" Tetrax replied as an electronic voice began reading the file.
/Boot sequence…complete
/Performing Planetary User Scan
/10%...30%...60%... 70%...90%...100%.
/Scan complete. 1 compatible user detected.
/Logging A.I reasoning: User has zero signs of unknown energy signature detected on all individuals on the planetary body. Due to the secondary unknown signature present within the DNA database, constant exposure to even more unknown energies could result in more errors, possibly even a complete system crash or self-destruct.
/ Beginning attempts at mental broadcast for retrieval.
/End log
Asta stared at the document within the digital void. He wasn't sure about it, but he was pretty confident about his conclusion.
"Tetrax? Does this mean what I think it means" Asta asked calmly, his mind still processing what he'd heard.
"I believe so. It chose you because you don't have magic." Tetrax assured, "The Omnitrix's simulated intelligence determined it couldn't handle being attached to someone with magic while the unknown energy runs amok in its system."
Yuno stared at Tetrax in disbelief. Out of everyone on this planet; Of all the magic knights, captains, royal families, people in other kingdoms, even the wizard king himself, it chose Asta.
"Alright, final check." Tetrax raised his arms, causing the reconstruction of the watch to begin disassembling. "I'm going to save this deep scan. With it, I can have some friends of mine in the Plumbers try and find a way to repair it."
Tetrax closed his fist, causing all the digital pieces to collapse back together as the metal dome began rising, revealing Asta with a questioning look on his face.
"C'mon, you two. It's already nightfall for this planet." Tetrax looked down towards his belt where the cube sat. "Not to mention I still need to get these two to jail."
Outside the Resolute
"First, Asta, Yuno! I have some gifts for you two!" He pulled his hoverboard and its holster from his belt, handing it to Asta. "It may not be a broom, but it will still get you around fast."
He stared in disbelief as Tetrax helped him put it on his belt. The hoverboard was now hanging by his left hip.
"Next, for both of you!" Two crystals grew out of Tetrax's back. He grabbed them, pulling them out before handing them to Asta and Yuno. They now bore a crystal pommel, grip, and crossguard. The other end was sharpened to a point.
"It's a Petropian custom to award promising youths a sword made from one's body after their first battle. May they serve you both well on your quest to become the ruler of this country."
"And finally," he pulled out two badges from another pocket on his belt. They bore the same symbol as the Omnitrix "These are plumber's badges. They serve as long-distance communicators, translators and give access to the extranet databases. I've already loaded my own contact information. If there's ever an Alien threat you can't handle, call me. The plumbers or I will show up as soon as possible."
"Which brings me to my most important point of the night," Tetrax said as he got down on one knee to look Asta in the face "Asta. Those bounty hunters were hired by Vilgax. The meanest, most ruthless warlord in the galaxy. The plumbers have been fighting him for millennia. He will stop at nothing to acquire the Omnitrix, including raising this planet to the ground. Thanks to the deep scan, I can replicate the Omnitrix's signal and try to lure him away."
Asta smiled as he raised his right arm up, displaying the Omnitrix proudly, "Don't worry, Tetrax! Yuno and I will keep training every day to make sure we're ready!"
"That's all you two can do." Tetrax said as he faked a smile, "Finally, I can't stress the importance of not telling anyone about Aliens unless it's absolutely necessary. It could destabilize your entire government. Just look up the tragedy of Tarigula seven when you have the chance."
"Even our family?" Asta questioned, looking back in the direction towards hage village.
"Especially your family." Tetrax confirmed, looking Asta dead in the eyes with the most severe look all night, "Vilgax won't hesitate to use your family against you. It's better if you keep them in the dark, where it's safe."
Tetrax got up, waving goodbye as he walked back into the resolute. Asta and Yuno watched the ship beam up the transport shuttle before it began to take off. Asta waved as the ship turned skyward before blasting away at high speeds.
Yuno began walking home as Asta stayed behind. He brought the Omnitrix up to his face, taking in its appearance once again as he stroked the cool metal.
"Thank you. For giving a nobody like me a chance."
Asta began walking to the church, not noticing the Omnitrix blink green multiple times, seemingly in reply, before turning black and doing the same sequence.
A/N
Did anyone else know that Kraab has a sword? I certainly didn't before rewatching the episode to write this chapter. This sure felt like a long one. I thought about splitting it into two, but I thought it wouldn't flow right.
So, we finally find out why Asta received the Omnitrix, but we still need the how and when.
Next time on Black Hourglass: To the royal capital of the Clover Kingdom!
That's right! We're getting to the good stuff finally. What form will Asta use to beat up Buh-Ha? Will anyone take him seriously with ZERO magic and NO grimoire? Why am I spending time writing at 5 am? Most of these will be answered next time!
But for now, here are some answers to some reviewers' questions!
Review responses:
Guest: "Will he get his grimoire from fighting Vilgax or will that come later?"
Asta will not be getting his grimoire, but he will get stronger another way. That's all I'm willing to say on that front for now. More about that around that Witch's Forest Arc.
Aztec 13: "though I'm curious will some alien technology affect this world?"
Alien technology will definitely come into play for this world, as seen with Asta receiving a hoverboard and a Plumber's badge from Tetrax. I have a lot planned in the works for merging Ben 10 episodes and Black Clover story arcs.
Guest: "I think you should incorporate scenes where Asta trains with the Aliens forms to help him adjust more and to show his hard worker trait."
I tried to allude to that in the chapter, with signs of every transformation at Asta's training grounds and him practicing running with XLR8.