A/N: Well folks, here's what all of you have been waiting for, chapter seven! My first original chapter in all this; it's sadly not The Incredible Muffin's, but I'm confident I can continue with this crossover from here on out.
…
Ultimate Fairy
Chapter 7: Galuna Island
Part V
…
Galuna Island
Ben, Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Happy were all feeling ecstatic after defeating Lyon and his followers, not to mention stopping the resurrection of the super-demon, Deliora. However, their celebratory mood was immediately shattered by Erza's glare, which made everyone, including Ben, feel unsettled.
"Isn't there something you're all forgetting about?" Erza demanded, "You came to this island to help the villagers; the request was for you to return them to their original forms. This quest still isn't finished."
"Aw, man," Ben moaned, "can't it ever be easy?"
"But I don't understand." Lucy said. "The curse should've been lifted now that Deliora is dead."
"Wrong," Erza replied. "This curse you keep talking about never had anything to do with the demon. The villagers have been affected by the intense magical energy from the Moon Drip spell. In other words, Deliora's death isn't going to change their situation whatsoever."
"W-What? Oh no," Lucy's eyes had widened in realization as she placed a hand over her mouth in shock.
"Well, we better go and change them back." Natsu exclaimed happily.
"Aye sir!" Happy agreed as both exchanged high-fives.
"Yeah, but we don't know how." Gray said. Then, his face lit up as he got an idea. He turned to Lyon, who was leaning against a boulder behind him. He had taken off his body armor, leaving him in a blue jacket, black pants, and steel boots. "Lyon, do you know?"
"To be quite honest, I don't have a clue." Lyon answered impassively.
Natsu and Happy looked at him incredulously.
"You don't know?" asked Natsu.
"What?" Happy added in disbelief.
"Okay, something's not adding up." Ben said. "The villagers told us that the curse started around the same time you guys got here."
"When we first arrived here three years ago," Lyon explained, "we were aware that there was a village somewhere on this island. But we had absolutely no reason to communicate with the villagers, so we left them alone. They never came to the temple to see what we were up to."
"In three years, you've never once met?" Erza said disbelievingly.
"I don't understand. The light from the Moon Drip is so bright you can see it practically from any point on the island. It's kinda weird they saw it every night and never went to investigate." Lucy noted.
"Yeah," Ben agreed, a brow arched. "There is something fishy about this."
"FISH?!" a now excited Happy yelled. "Where?"
"I didn't mean fish, I meant like there's something odd about those villagers." Ben deadpanned.
"Aww…" a disappointed Happy moaned.
"The spell didn't transform the villagers." Lyon continued. "The Moon Drip has no effect on the human body."
"What?" Gray inquired dumbfounded.
"Yeah right," Natsu accused, "you're just saying that so you and your lackeys will be off the hook."
"Just think about it." The former 'Cold Emperor' said. "I've been exposed to it longer than they have and my appearance hasn't changed one bit."
"Oh yeah! That's true." Lucy realized.
"That does make sense." The Omnitrix bearer admitted.
"I wouldn't trust them." Lyon warned, crossing his arms over his chest. "Those villagers are hiding something, but I'm sure you Guild wizards can handle it."
"I'm technically not part of their Guild." Ben pointed out.
"We're not done with you." Natsu stated. "You destroyed the entire village and…"
The Dragon Slayer's ranting was stopped when Erza squished his cheeks together.
"That's quite enough, Natsu." Erza ordered.
The Queen of the Fairies retold Toby's explanation for why they agreed to help Lyon. It was revealed that Lyon's followers had lost their families, friends, and everything they owned to Deliora. He'd convinced them that if they helped him free it, he would kill it, and obtain revenge for all of them.
Ben and the rest of the team felt for them and could understand why they did it. Nevertheless, to Ben, that still didn't justify their actions in threatening the villagers only to get vengeance upon a demon that was already locked away in a huge chunk of ice.
"They were only doing what they believed to be right. So, there's no need to criticize them for it." Erza explained. She then let go off Natsu's face. "Now, let's go."
"But what are we going to do to lift the curse?" The pink haired wizard inquired.
"I have no idea." Erza replied.
"Oh great…" Lucy muttered.
Erza, Natsu, Ben, Lucy, and Happy walked away toward the storage area, leaving only Gray and Lyon behind. The former looked at his old friend with a sympathetic look.
Lyon simply glared at him. "What do you want?"
"I know you don't want to hear it, but you really should join a Guild. You'll make new friends, make new rivals, and maybe even find a new dream to live for." Gray answered.
Lyon's expression softened a bit, but he then turned away with an angry scowl. "Whatever," he grumbled, "just get out of here!"
Gray smiled slightly as he turned and walked away.
…
The team had just arrived at the storage area that was serving as the villagers' temporary home. However, something wasn't right. There wasn't a single soul present throughout the mass of tents. Only the sounds of an owl hooting or other forest animals could be heard.
"That's weird." Happy noted. "Where is everybody?"
"Are you sure they came here?" Natsu inquired skeptically.
"Yeah, this has been their camp." Lucy replied, though she too was confused about this dilemma. "I wonder where they could've gone."
"They couldn't have gone too far." Ben said, looking around. "I mean where else could they have gone on this tiny island?"
"HELLO!" Happy called out, flying above the ground.
"Since we're here I'm gonna grab some bandages and some medicine." Gray stated as he went inside a tent.
Suddenly, a male villager with green reptilian skin, black shorts, and a tail turned the corner of a tent.
"You made it back! There's something you need to see." He yelled with an enthusiastic tone. "Please just follow me to the village."
…
The shape-shifting hero and group of wizards followed the mutated man to the village, only to be met with a shocking sight. The entire village had been repaired! It looked just like it did when the team first arrived on the island. The villagers were walking around, clearly excited and perplexed how their home was suddenly fixed.
'Whoa! How the heck did this happen?' Ben thought, dumbfounded.
"Are you kidding me?" an awestruck Lucy said.
Happy flew by Lucy, he too was amazed. "Yesterday it was a total mess but now it looks perfect."
"What's going on here?!" Natsu demanded, knocking his fists against a building wall. "Everything looks the same. It's like the village went back in time!"
"Now that it's fixed you probably shouldn't touch anything, okay Natsu?" Lucy suggested half-heartedly.
"Are you saying I destroy everything I touch!?" Natsu yelled.
"Well…kinda," Lucy sighed.
Natsu's angry expression shifted into one of thought. "Back in time," he muttered. He then remembered Zalty and his time powers. Ben, however, overheard Natsu and he too came to the same conclusion as the Dragon Slayer.
"Natsu," said Ben, "you think that…he did this?"
"Nah, couldn't be." Natsu whispered, placing a hand to his chin in contemplation. "Unless he had a change of heart,"
The brown-haired teen shrugged. "It's possible. Honestly, it's the only explanation that makes sense."
"What are you two whispering about?" Lucy asked.
Ben and Natsu turned to the blonde mage, sheepish grins on their faces.
"Nothing important…" Ben replied.
"Besides, who cares, right?" Natsu followed up.
"Not me," Happy said.
The trio then walked off, but in Happy's case, he flew behind them, leaving an utterly confused Lucy. "What are you two talking about?" she asked.
"Oh," Lucy gasped, a thought entering her head. "I forgot about our stuff."
The Celestial mage ran off to their tent, along the way, she encountered the village chief, Moka kneeling by his son's grave.
'Bobo's grave is back.' Lucy thought. 'That's good. I'm sure the chief must be relieved.'
Lucy stood behind him, not saying a word. A moment later, Moka glanced back at her. "You and your wizard friends used magic to restore our village, didn't you?"
"W-well…I…uh…" Lucy stuttered. She had no idea how the village was restored and didn't know how to tell the chief that she and her friends were not responsible.
The village chief pulled up on his staff and stood up, turning to face Lucy. "Hmph, I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. However, I must know…" his look became more intense, "…when are you wizards finally going to destroy the moon for us?! Well!?"
Lucy started shaking in fear under the chief's glare, but she was quickly saved when Erza approached them.
"Destroying the moon is a simple task, sir." Erza answered casually.
"What?" Lucy, Happy, and Gray remarked in shock.
"She's kidding, right?" Ben questioned.
"Don't know, but it did look like she said it with a straight face." Gray muttered.
"Aye," Happy added, "maybe she's gone crazy?"
"But before I do that I have to ask you all a few questions." Erza stated. "Would you mind calling in everybody for a meeting?"
…
Later, after having all the villagers gathered in front of the main gate, Erza and the rest of the team stood in front of them.
"Let me get my facts straight, the first time everyone began to take these demonic forms is when the moon turned purple, am I correct?" Erza asked.
"Yes," answered Moka, "during the day we are fine but when the moon comes out we transform into what you see now."
"And the moon first turned purple three years ago, right?" Titania inquired, pacing side-to-side with her hands behind her back.
"Wow…has it really been that long?" a villager asked.
"Yeah," one replied, though he too sounded stunned.
"We've learned that the Moon Drip ceremony has been performed on this island every night for the last three years, and each night it produced a beam of light so brilliant that you couldn't have possibly missed it." Erza explained.
Suddenly, with a shriek, Erza stepped onto a pile of leaves and fell into a hole, which startled everyone.
"Whoa…even Lucy's lame trap is back." Happy said.
"She screamed…like a girl?" Natsu whispered in awe.
"Yeah…and it was kinda cute." Gray added.
"At least I'm not the only one who fell into that hole." Ben muttered, feeling a little better about himself.
"I AM SO GONNA BE DEAD MEAT WHEN SHE GETS OUT!" Lucy screamed hysterically.
Erza climbed out of the hole and stood back up, acting as if nothing ever happened. She crossed her arms over his chest armor. "Seriously, didn't you ever wonder where that light came from?" The scarlet haired wizard asked the villagers.
The villagers, however, weren't really focused on her question, rather how she had gotten out the hole in a nonchalant matter. Some even had drops of sweat running down their heads.
"She got up like nothing ever happened?" one whispered.
"Yeah, she must be pretty tough." Another added.
"I don't understand," continued Erza, "why didn't anyone investigate?"
The villagers looked at each other and talked, however, it sounded as if they had no answer for her question. This made Ben's brow rise in skepticism.
'She's got a point. Why didn't they investigate? And why do they all look so confused?' wondered Ben.
"Well…" Moka responded, "We would've looked into it but according to village lore we are forbidden to ever go near that temple."
"Who cares about village lore when your people are dying?" Lucy countered. "You obviously knew there was a problem, which is why you contacted the magical guilds."
"Um…well," the chief trailed off.
Erza had her attention directed to Moka, and asked, "Why don't you tell us what's really going on here?"
"Well…to be honest, we don't even know that ourselves." The village chief confessed. "Allow me to explain, we tried to investigate the light many times. We took up weapons we never had to use, I trimmed and stylized my side-burns, and then we ventured into the jungle to the temple many times.
"But we could never get near it. We could see it through the trees, and then suddenly we'd find ourselves back at the village gates."
"But…how's that possible?" Lucy asked confused. "It doesn't make any sense."
"We got to the temple without any problem at all, besides the first time when we were attacked by that giant rat." Ben noted. "How weird,"
"Yeah," Natsu said.
"Aye," Happy agreed.
"We didn't say anything to you earlier because we were worried you wouldn't believe us." A villager said.
"We're telling you the truth." Another villager explained. "We've tried to go back to the temple many times."
"But not even a single villager has ever managed to get inside." A third villager concluded.
Erza stood there, absorbing this information. "I get it…yes." She whispered.
Lucy lightly gasped while Natsu, Ben, Gray, and Happy looked at the redhead with puzzled expressions. Erza stepped away, heading to the village tower that stood along the wooden wall that surrounded the settlement.
Suddenly, her entire form was shrouded by yellowish-white light. When it faded, her previous wear had disappeared, and was replaced by armor that was primarily yellow with blue highlights, had a blue cross on the torso plate, arched shoulder plates, and a white fur trim on the bottom of her shoulder plates.
'Wow! That's pretty cool. Kinda reminds me of when I transform,' Ben mused.
"Natsu, come with me. I'll need your help to destroy the moon." Erza said offhandedly.
"Really?!" Natsu exclaimed with a large, bright grin on his face.
"W-w-what?!" a shocked Ben Tennyson cried.
Gray, Lucy, and Happy had similar reactions as they grew paler. Their jaws had dropped and their eyes grew wider than dinner plates whilst they stuttered incoherently. Even the villagers all stood motionless in shock.
"It's the only way to return the villagers to their human forms." Titania continued.
Their shock immediately evaporated and was replaced by happiness as they cheered in excitement.
"They're really going to do it!" a villager said. "And we get to watch it happen!"
"Right," another one agreed, "and we'll all get to be human again."
Natsu approached Erza, a big grin still present on his face. "Where do you think we should go? The temple? It's a lot higher up there."
"We'll do it from here." Erza replied impassively. "The villagers can't go near the temple and they need to witness this."
Gray, Lucy, Ben and Happy stood by. Ben and Gray looked at the duo as if they were crazy, Lucy was still shocked, and Happy looked excited.
"I don't know what she's thinking." Gray muttered. "I mean, she can do some amazing things…but still."
"Yeah," Ben added, "Not even my transformations could pull off something like that."
'Though Alien X could, but I won't count him since I swore to never use him again.' Ben thought. "Unless the universe is grave danger or something like that…"
"What do you think she's going to do to it?" Lucy asked, her voice slightly quivering in fear.
"This is exciting, huh?" Happy said.
"More like terrifying," Lucy deadpanned.
The village chief eyed Erza's new armor with a neutral expression while his people were cheering behind him.
"This is Giant Armor," the redhead wizard explained, "It increases my strength and allows me to throw farther. And this…" Erza held out her right hand, and then a red magic circle appeared. After a flash of red, in her hand was a seven foot tall spear with a blue shaft, yellow armored base, and a cross shaped, yellow spear at the top. "…this is the Spear of Ha-Ja, it repels darkness."
The villagers 'oohed' and 'awed' in wonder at the armor and weapon, even Ben found himself in awe at Erza's abilities.
'Wow…that's pretty cool.' Ben mused.
"Whoa!" Natsu exclaimed, his toothy grin growing bigger. "I see what you're up to now! You're going to use that spear to knock the moon out of the sky!"
Ben, Gray, Lucy and Happy looked at Natsu ridiculously.
'Gimme a break,' the four thought in unison, 'that's never gonna work.'
"That's right" Erza replied. "But I'm afraid I'll need more strength than this armor can give me." She turned to face Natsu. "So Natsu, I'm going to need your fire powers as a boost. Whenever I begin to throw the spear, I want you to hit the back of it with your flames. Now we'll have to plan our attack perfectly, but I think you should give me enough power to do the job."
"Sounds like a killer plan to me!" Natsu smiled.
"Then let's do it." Erza said.
She and Natsu headed toward the villager tower that stood by the wooden walls. Meanwhile, their other teammates stared at them as if they both had gone insane.
"They don't really think they're going to pull this off, do they?" the Omnitrix wearer muttered.
"Whatever it is, I think they went off the deep end this time." Lucy said.
"Aye," Happy agreed.
Moments later, Erza and Natsu were standing on top of the look-out tower, the former staring at the moon with determination. The villagers and the rest of the team watched the duo from below. The scarlet haired wizard reared back her spear and held it there. A yellow gem on her throwing arm was glowing brighter, gathering up strength and power.
"NOW!" yelled Erza.
Natsu's grin grew brighter than his hands. As Erza reared back the spear to its zenith, Natsu delivered a flaming punch into the back. As a result, the straw top of the tower blew apart, the spear shooting high into the sky like a rocket.
"They did it!" Happy cheered.
"What are they thinking?!" Lucy shrieked.
The Spear of Ha-Ja soared higher and higher into the sky, until the island below was nothing more than a dark spot in a vast blue ocean.
"Almost there!" Erza screamed.
Ben, meanwhile, crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head unconvinced. 'This is ridiculous.' The teen hero thought. 'I don't care how powerful she is, there's no way she can destroy the moon with that spear.'
Suddenly, there was a loud boom from above, which returned Ben's gaze to the sky. Shockingly, cracks began to spread over the purple, cratered orb. The villagers began to cheer louder at the sight of the cracking moon.
"NO WAY!" Lucy and Gray screamed simultaneously.
The Omnitrix bearer's expression, however, was priceless. His jaw had seemingly fallen to his knees as he looked up in utter shock at the spectacle.
"WHAT KIND OF FREAKY WORLD IS THIS!?" Ben yelled.
However, everyone's shock was replaced by confusion as the cracks spread out from the moon…and into the sky? It was true. The night sky around the violet glowing moon was starting to crack away. Without warning, like glass, the purple moon and the sky shattered into thousands of pieces, revealing a normal blue glowing moon in its wake.
"The moon?" Natsu trailed off.
"It's still there?!" Moka shouted.
Ben's panic evaporated as he eyed the cracking sky with curiosity. The moon wasn't destroyed, rather the sky. More pieces of the darker colored sky were breaking away, but the pace of its destruction was slowing down. Then, the gears finally clicked in Ben's head and realized what was going on.
He lifted up his sleeve and activated the Omnitrix. After scrolling through the holo-ring, he found an alien, and slammed down the core. In a flash of emerald, in his place stood a seven-foot-tall cycloptic humanoid comprised of purple rock. Its face and the spikes on his chest, back, and horn on his head were pink crystal. The Omnitrix dial was positioned on its chest.
"Chromastone,"
The villagers who witnessed Ben's transformation gasped in awe. Chromastone ignored them and hovered off the ground, which made them gasp even more. The purple rock man flew up until he was at least fifty feet from the ground and stopped.
Chromastone held out his arms and discharged rainbow-colored energy at four points on the half-broken dome over the island. The dark dome resumed its destruction as it finally shattered away into nothingness. The sky, stars, and moon above were back to their normal colors instead of being ominously darker.
Ben lowered himself back down and landed softly. He tapped the Omnitrix dial again, and in another green flash, he reverted back to his human form.
"It wasn't the moon that shattered," Lucy gaped, staring at the crystalline particles that rained around the island. "It was the sky."
From atop the tower, Natsu leaned over the railing, confused by this development. "What the heck is going on here?"
"As a result of the Moon Drip spell," Erza explained with a smile, "a nauseous membrane was covering the island."
"What?" asked Natsu.
"The Moon Drip released evil energy in the form of a gas." The scarlet haired beauty answered. "That gas crystalized and formed an invisible shell in the sky that covered the island. That's why the moon looked purple here."
Suddenly, the villagers became startled as brilliant light illuminated under their feet.
"Now that the shell is broken," Erza explained, "everything will go back to the way it was three years ago."
Then, the light vanished; however, nothing was changed. The villagers were still in their demonic forms.
"What happened? They're not transforming." Gray asked confused.
"Oh no," Happy muttered worriedly.
"That's because these are their true forms." Erza replied as she walked toward them, back in her normal armor after another flash of light. "The Moon Drip never had any effect on their appearance. However, it seems to have altered their memories."
"W-wait…what do you mean?" Lucy asked nervously.
"They think they're humans who have been transformed into demons, but it's the other way around." The redhead answered with a sly smile.
"So, wait, you're saying…they're really…" the blonde mage trailed off, the anxiety in her voice growing.
"Yep, you got it." Erza smiled.
Lucy and Happy both screamed in shock while Gray and Natsu's jaws dropped. Ben himself was dumbfounded from this development as well, but he kept his composure better than the others.
"The villagers have always been demons." Titania continued, which caused Lucy to scream even more as she fell to her knees, holding each side of her head.
"Hey is that true?!" Gray demanded, getting in the face of a villager.
"Well…maybe," the villager stuttered, "my memory's still a little hazy. We all looked pretty human when y'all met us, didn't we?"
"Yes," Erza enlightened, "because you all possess the ability to take on human forms. Your false memories led you all to believe that your temporary states were actually your true forms. In reality, you were actually victims to the Moon Drip's side-effects."
"How come Lyon and the others weren't affected?" Ben inquired.
Erza turned to him. "I assume it's because they're human. As far as I can tell demons were the only ones susceptible to the memory loss. I knew what was going on as soon as the villagers said that they couldn't go near the temple. The moon's light was sacred; thus, preachers of darkness couldn't go anywhere near it."
Before anything else could be said, the sounds of consistent beeping captured Ben's attention. He lifted up his arm to see the Omnitrix faceplate blinking yellow.
"Un-catalogued DNA detected. Scanning," the Omnitrix said.
Suddenly, the square faceplate slide back and allowed the core to pop. A yellow beam of light fired from the device and scanned a demon from head-to-toe. The demon had purple skin, horns, a black mustache and goatee on his face, and wore a grey pants and a white shirt and cape.
After it finished scanning the demon, the light disappeared as the Omnitrix shifted back into its normal position. "Scan complete. Unknown DNA sample acquired. Initiating genetic randomization sequence,"
The members of Fairy Tail and the village all looked at Ben, dumbfounded by what his watch just did.
"Okay…didn't expect that." Ben said.
'The watch scanned a demon? I wonder why it scanned it now though. Maybe that gas barrier over the island must've been interfering with the Omnitrix's ability to scan them somehow.' Ben thought. 'Well…no matter the case…I got a demon form now! Sweet!'
The demon that the Omnitrix had scanned chuckled a little, gaining the others' attention.
"Well…that was unexpected…and felt a little tingly." He commented. "But I got to admit Titania, you're quite the detective. I knew I could trust you and your friends. Thanks wizards, I owe you one."
The group turned to the source and was stunned by who they saw. Lucy and Happy hugged each other tightly as they shrieked girlishly. Gray, Natsu, and Ben felt their jaws drop again from the sight of the purple-skinned demon that had appeared out of nowhere.
"It's the guy from the boat!" Gray exclaimed.
Moka felt his eyes tear up and his lips quiver from the sight of his son that he had presumed dead. "Bobo," he mumbled.
"Huh," a confused villager said, "but we thought you were dead!"
Bobo chuckled a little. "Getting stabbed in the chest hurt pretty bad, but you got to do more than that to kill a demon."
"But…on the boat…you just vanished into thin air." Gray mentioned, still flabbergasted from this new development.
All of a sudden, a pair of black, bat-like wings folded out from behind Bobo's shirt as he leaped into the air, hovering above them with his arms crossed.
"I sure hope you kids can forgive me for not telling you sooner." Bobo said.
"Whoa," Gray muttered, "he can fly?"
"Wow…things just keep getting weirder and weirder." Ben mumbled.
"I was the only one who didn't have any memory loss." Bobo explained. "I had to leave because everyone went nuts! I knew I was a demon, but everyone else thought that they were cursed humans." He then started laughing.
Finally, Moka couldn't take it anymore. "B-Bobo," he said. Then, a pair of wings folded out from behind his shirt as he soared into the air and wrapped his son up in a tight hug, tears rolling down his blue-skinned face.
Bobo hugged his father back, and said excitedly, "I'm so glad you snapped out of it, Pawps!"
The villagers all looked at each other and smiled widely, their memories finally returning. Similar bat-like wings appeared from their backs as they flew into the sky around Bobo and Moka, cheering in celebration of the returned Bobo.
Ben and the Fairy Tail mages looked up, happy smiles plastered across their faces.
"Yep, they're definitely demons." Erza commented.
"I don't know. When you look at their faces," Natsu pauses as he looked up at Moka crying in happiness for his son's return, "well…they kinda look like angels to me."
…
Later, the village was throwing a big feast to rejoice in everyone regaining their former identities as demons. Ben and the Fairy Tail mages were guests of honor for helping them. Ben, Lucy, Erza, and Happy were at the large table along with the other villagers, eating what was surprisingly awesome food. Natsu was to the side devouring the fire on torches, which intentionally startled Ben until he remembered that he could actually eat fire.
Ben looked up from his meal of cooked fish to see Gray sitting close to a hut, a clique of villager girls swooning around him with hearts in their eyes. The ice mage, meanwhile, sat there with flushed cheeks and a sheepish grin on his face. They eventually pulled Gray to his feet and were tugging him to what appeared to be a dance area.
Ben grinned at the sight. 'Looks like Gray has his own fangirls.' The teen hero mused. 'Should I be jealous that they're not trying to tear him apart like my fangirls back home do?'
Lucy, Erza, and Happy eventually saw this too and couldn't help but smile as well. "Looks like someone's getting some attention from the ladies," Lucy teased.
"They'll scare him off eventually." Happy noted.
Ben laughed a little from the cat's comment.
"Well…I have to admit I was wrong about humans." Moka said. The group turned to the village chief, who was sitting close to Ben along with Bobo. "All of these years we have chosen to hide from the outside world, afraid that they would judge us by our appearance."
"You know the curse," Bobo added, "that was actually a rumor we started so nobody would come to the island and bother us."
"Well it worked. The sailors at the dock didn't even want to come here." Ben replied.
"I know. It's a shame." Moka conceded. "But thanks to you, we have changed our minds. You have restored our faith in humans and we are not afraid. We are ready to go out and make friends with people from other lands."
"That's good." Erza smiled. "Friendship is a beautiful thing. It's an emotional bond that transcends one's physical appearance."
Bobo chuckled in agreement while the others simply smiled, touched by Erza's words. Ben nodded, he couldn't agree more. He had made many friends over the years, most of them being aliens. So, appearance really didn't bother the Omnitrix bearer at all.
The villagers continued their celebration; however, their party came to a screeching halt when three figures strolled into the village. The cheering and talking instantly stopped, some even gasped, when they saw who three people were, Sherry, Yuka, and Toby.
The girls huddled around a shirtless Gray were obviously scared. "What should we do?" one whispered.
"I'll take care of this." Gray said steely, standing up.
Ben and the other Fairy Tail wizards stopped what they were doing and gazed hard at the three former baddies. Ben was the first to stand up from his spot at the table, Erza followed. Both the Queen of the Fairies and the Bearer of the Omnitrix were glaring hard at the trio.
"Can we help you?" Ben asked sardonically.
"You, Take-Over wizard, and your friends from Fairy Tail are tough." Yuka commented, a smug grin on his face. "The Cold Emperor was so banged up he couldn't make it down here."
"That's why we've come to pay you a visit in his place." Sherry added coldly.
Toby only barked in agreement.
"Wait just a minute!" Lucy yelled, getting to her feet. "I thought we were cool. Didn't Lyon tell you what happened?!"
"Yes," Yuka answered, "but that doesn't matter to us."
"We wanted to settle things with you ourselves." Sherry said.
"By the way, I'm still peeved about you making me paralyze myself!" Toby shouted, directing his gaze to Ben.
Erza's brown eyes narrowed at the three. 'Surely they didn't come here to fight' she thought.
Natsu stepped forward, an eager grin plastered across his face. "Alright," he let up his right fist with fire. "Show me what you got!"
"Yeah," Ben came forward to, the Omnitrix already activated. "We're ready for anything you three can dish out."
"Natsu, Ben, wait!" Bobo called, gaining their attention. "As much as we appreciate it, we can't keep letting you fight our battles. We'll take care of this."
"Yeah," a villager behind Chief Moka and Bob cried. "Let us handle these clowns."
"Normally I'd agree with you, gentlemen." Erza said. "But I believe it's best if I handle this one."
The scarlet haired wizard sauntered toward Sherry, Yuka, and Toby, stopping a fair distance in front of them.
"We meet again, Titania of Fairy Tail." Sherry said. "You gave poor Angelica a pretty good beating earlier."
"She seems like a formidable opponent." Yuka sneered smugly.
Toby didn't say anything, he only grinned.
Erza said nothing; she only stared hard at the three minions of Lyon.
"Watch out for that creepy chick!" Lucy warned. "She can control inanimate objects."
"And don't even bother using your magic on, Mega-Brows." Natsu added offhandedly.
"Don't worry about dog-boy." Ben said. "All you have to do is trick him into paralyzing himself."
"Hey!" Toby shouted indignantly.
"I see," Erza replied calmly. "In that case," the redhead broke off into a sprint straight toward the trio. "I'll just have to do this the old-fashioned way!"
Erza ran up and delivered a forceful kick into a surprised Sherry, sending her flying back. She quickly spun and connected her left elbow with Yuka's face, forcing him to the ground with a thud. She turned to face Toby, who was backing up with wide eyes and sweat forming around his brows. Before the dog-man could react, Erza sent a wicked haymaker into Toby's face that sent him crashing to the ground right by Sherry and Yuka.
With her opponents subdued, the villagers, Ben, and other Fairy Tail members looked on in awe and shock from the quick spectacle.
"Whoa," Ben gapped, astonished by what he had witnessed. 'She's got fighting skills on par with Gwen…maybe even better.' The teen hero thought.
"Wow! She beat them without having to use magic." Lucy gaped.
"That's the mighty Erza for yah." Happy chimed.
"Would you cut that out already?" The annoyed blonde girl requested.
With pain-filled grunts, the trio slowly got back to their feet. Shockingly, Sherry smiled as she steadily got up. "You're truly an amazing warrior." She complimented.
As Yuka stood up, he wiped a trickle of blood off his mouth. "No kidding. We're no match for you." He added.
When Toby arose, his eyes were still spinning. "Roooooah…ain't that the truth."
Everyone eyed the trio conspicuously, shocked that they weren't fighting back.
"W-wait," Lucy stuttered, "you're not here to fight?"
Surprisingly, the three wizards looked to the ground with albeit shameful expressions.
"I doubt this is going to make up for all the bad things we did…but we wanted to apologize in person." Yuka confessed sincerely.
"Ooooh…so you came here to settle things in a good way." Happy realized.
"The Cold Emperor told us everything." Sherry said. "Thanks to you we can finally let go of the pain that Deliora caused us so many years ago."
"You mean…" Gray paused, "you were victims of Deliora too?"
"When we were children a monster ravaged our village. We watched it murder all our friends and family." Yuka explained.
"The Cold Emperor had a plan to kill the demon once for all." Toby continued. "That's why we followed him."
"You see," Yuka said, "we wanted revenge. And we were so focused on getting it, we didn't realize we were hurting innocent people."
"We were so blinded by our hatred that we didn't act any better than the demon itself. For now on, we'll treat other people with respect…and love." Sherry said.
Ben looked at the three wizards with sympathy. He felt bad for them. Losing all your friends and family had to be devastating, especially as a child. Ben knew that if something like that had happened to him, he would probably be bent on revenge too. The teen hero paused, recalling a very horrifying memory that took place not too long ago.
'No!' Ben shook his head from a very unpleasant memory. 'Now's not the time for that. It's in the past.'
"Alright then!" Natsu exclaimed happily. The pink haired mage appeared behind the trio, laying a hand on Sherry's and Toby's shoulders and bringing them in closer until they squished Yuka in the middle. "You guys should stick around and join in on the feast, eh?"
"But…we were enemies a second ago." Yuka mentioned, startled by this sudden change of attitude.
"I don't know if that's such a good idea because I'm trying to watch my figure and…"
Sherry's rant was cut short as Natsu squeezed them together closer. "Enough of the excuses, live a little will yah?!"
Seconds later, Natsu dragged them until they were seated at a table. They held their drinks in fear, the demons around them all staring at the trio.
"Alright! Now we're ready to party!" Natsu shouted.
And just like that, the celebration continued. Ben sat back down and smiled. 'This world is pretty strange,' Ben thought, 'but I think I like it here.'
…
Outside the village not too far away, perched in a tree was a short man with long, shaggy green hair and wore a demon-like mask that concealed the upper half of his face. Floating beside him was a bluish-purple orb.
Zalty grinned wickedly. He had witnessed everything that had taken place in the village. Without looking at the orb, the man asked, "Were you able to see all that, sir?"
"Yes. Why did you restore the village?" a smooth male voice came from the orb.
The green-haired man turned and gave the orb a 'thumbs up', still smiling. "Cause I'm nice."
"Hmm…some might say too nice. You better leave before they find you. Those Fairy Tail wizards and the Take-Over wizard that was with them could pose a threat if they get in our way."
Zalty grinned. He reached up for his mask and pulled it off, revealing a young man with spikey black hair. However, his form was then shrouded by bright white light. When the light faded, in the place of the man…was a woman. She had long raven hair and wore a white dress.
She stood up, still gazing at the village. "That is true." She replied.
…
The next morning, Ben yawned groggily as he emerged from his sleeping bag. He stood up and did a few stretches before he exited out of the tent. From the position of the sun, it looked to be mid-morning. Ben usually didn't sleep this late, but all the fighting and partying that took place yesterday had tired the teen hero out.
'Man, some party last night.' The Omnitrix bearer mused. 'Although I will admit, it was surprising when Yuka, Sherry, and Toby came to apologize. I'm happy they did though. Maybe now they can get on with their lives.'
Ben walked around the village until he spotted Lucy, Gray, Natsu, and Happy by a hut. As Ben sauntered closer, he could see that Lucy was examining a faint scar on Gray's forehead; however, most of it was covered up by the ice mage's long hair. Natsu, meanwhile, had flaming torches in both hands and was consuming them like cotton candy. This still shocked the Omnitrix hero to an extent whenever he saw the Dragon Slayer do that.
"Hey guys," Ben greeted.
"Hey Ben," Lucy, Gray, and Happy said in unison while Natsu just nodded, his mouth still full of fire.
Ben looked around and noticed a certain trio missing. "Hey, where'd Yuka, Sherry, and Toby go?"
"Like typical party guests they stuffed their faces and took off." Happy replied.
Lucy continued looking at the cut on Gray's forehead. "Hmm…I think it's gonna leave a scar."
Gray shrugged nonchalantly. "Whatever, it doesn't matter to me."
"On your face?!" Lucy gasped.
Gray smirked and chuckled a bit. "I don't mind having a few scars as long as I can see them. It's the ones you can't see that sting."
"Well, aren't you a smooth talker." The blonde mage smiled.
Natsu, who was still in the midst of eating the flames on the torches, growled in response. Ben's brow arched, confused. 'I wonder what his deal is.' Ben wondered.
"So you've got invisible scars?" Natsu mocked.
"SHUT UP NATSU!" Gray yelled. "Every time I say something cool you've got to ruin it!"
"How was that cool?" Natsu said.
Ben face-palmed, "Oh brother," he sighed.
Later, afternoon had arrived and it was time for Ben and the Fairy Tail wizards to head back to Magnolia. The group was at the main gates, standing before Chief Moka, Bobo, and the villagers.
Ben, Lucy, Gray, Natsu and Happy were standing by Erza's wagon, which was packed full of suitcases. How the scarlet haired wizard got them on the island or carried them around was beyond the Omnitrix hero. Meanwhile, the Ice-Make wizard and Dragon Slayer were pulling on one another's cheek for some reason.
"What?" Moka said speechless. "But Miss, you deserve the reward so take it. Please,"
"Thank you," Erza replied, "but your gratitude is payment enough."
"That's nice and all, but you really should take the money." The Chief argued.
"I'm afraid I can't since your request wasn't officially accepted by the guild." She said. "It fell into the hands of foolish wizards trying to prove themselves. Ben, who was a guest of our guild, got caught up with them."
Moka laughed. "Foolish as they may be if it weren't for them we wouldn't have been saved." He continued. "What if I give you the money not as a reward but as a 'Thank You' gift? It's the least I can do after everything you've done for our village."
The group heard this and immediately turned their attention to the conversation, even Natsu and Gray had momentarily ceased their quarreling to listen in.
Erza was silent for a moment, a smile on her face. "Well…when you put it that way…you make it hard to say no."
Lucy, Gray, and Natsu smiled happily, the later breathing out flames of excitement. Even the villagers looked pleased to hear that Erza would accept their reward. Ben, meanwhile, only stood by with arms crossed, smirking from his friends' enthusiasm.
"We're rich!" Lucy squealed happily.
However, the anticipation for a big pay day instantly evaporated when Erza continued, "But I'm sorry. Accepting your reward would be contrary to our guild's principles. However, we would be happy to take the Gate Key that you offered along with it."
"GATE KEY?!" Natsu and Gray shouted simultaneously, both furious.
Lucy, however, was super elated. "Come to momma!"
"Well…at least let me take you back to Hargeon." Bobo offered.
"Thank you, sir," Titania then glanced behind her to the shoreline, "but I have a boat waiting for me."
…
Along the shoreline of Galuna Island, a ship bearing a pirate symbol on its sails was anchored off shore. Ben, the Fairy Tail wizards, and the villagers were all on the sandy beaches with a dumbfounded expression, excluding Erza who was only smirking.
"A pirate ship?!" Gray exclaimed in shock.
"You kidding me?!" Lucy yelled. "Did she hijack it?"
"This is awesome." Happy said.
Suddenly, a horn sounded from the ship. Onboard, the pirate captain and his crew were all cheering 'Ahoy me Beauty' toward a certain redhead.
Ben glanced to Erza with a sly smile. "Ahoy me beauty?"
"That's right. They've grown quite fond of me." she replied.
Happy jumped in the air. "That's the great Erza for yah!"
Ben's smile faltered, a sweat drop falling from his brow. "Talk about a suck up." He muttered.
"Ahoy," the captain shouted, "come aboard my ship, mates!"
"Mates?" Gray repeated.
"I don't wanna!" the celestial mage complained. "I'm not riding that creepy boat."
Ben shrugged. "Eh, I've seen creepier."
"If you wanna swim I'll join yah." Natsu offered; a bright grin on his face.
"Are you insane!?" Lucy accused.
The Omnitrix wielder and Guild wizards all got onboard. The ship deployed its black sails, setting out for sea. The villagers all applauded as the vessel sailed farther away. Along the way, Ben was leaning against the railing, a good distance away from Natsu who was bending over the side with motion sickness.
The teen hero was reminiscing over the trip and all that happened. He couldn't help but smile proudly. With the help of his new magic-user friends, they'd successfully lifted a curse of amnesia for a village of peaceful demons. To add to it, the Omnitrix had actually scanned demon DNA. Inwardly, he was a little excited to see what his demon form looked like.
However, Ben also felt a little deflated. He knew he wouldn't be staying in this universe for long since he was confident Professor Paradox would come take him back soon. The new friends that he had made, who were crazy but still enjoyable to be around, he would have to leave them soon.
Reality most of the time though has different plans.
…
ERA was a large, castle-like building that looked quite lavish on the inside and out. A young, raven haired woman in a white dress was in the office of Siegrain, one of the Ten Wizard Saints. He was a young man with blue hair, a red tattoo under and above his right eye, and wore a white shirt and pants with black trim.
"It's a shame Deliora didn't work out." the woman said.
Siegrain smiled. "Yes, it is rather unfortunate." He then closed a green book and used his magic to telekinetically lift it up and place it back on the enormous shelf of books at the end of his office. "But we had no way of knowing the demon was already dead. It's a minor setback; I'll be more thorough next time."
The woman stepped forward. "Forgive me, Siegrain, sir. I had no idea that wench's magic was so powerful."
"You shouldn't speak of your mother that way." Siegrain chimed half-heartedly. "Don't cause Ur to shed another tear. She was a magnificent wizard who was greatly admired; in fact, if she were alive today I believe she would be counted amongst the Ten Wizard Saints."
The woman scoffed. "You give her far too much credit. My mother loved her magic and nothing else. It's no wonder why my father abandoned the wretch."
"They say the greater the loss a person suffers, the stronger they must become to triumph over it." Siegrain stated.
"I highly doubt my mother considered me a great loss." The daughter of Ur replied.
"Hmph, you never know. Perhaps she took on those students to fill the void that you left behind."
Before Siegrain could continue, the woman placed a finger over his mouth to silence him.
"Can we please change the subject?" she demanded rather than requested. "I think it's time to move on to the next stage."
Siegrain was about to respond until he noticed something. "Ultear, your face? What happened?"
All of a sudden, her left cheek began to redden as it swelled up into a big bump.
"THAT IDIOT NATSU PUNCHED ME!" Ultear screamed painfully.
Siegrain laughed in amusement.
"That certainly is a delayed reaction." He joked. With all jokes aside, the blue haired mage became serious once more. "So, how was he? Did you find him to be a worthy opponent?"
Still holding her swollen cheek, Ultear replied, "I never had to use half of my power against him, but I was still impressed. It seems he is getting stronger every day."
Siegrain looked away, his smile turning into a frown. "I'm not surprised. He is Igneel's son. To realize my dream, he must continue burning brightly."
"However," Ultear continued, "it was really the Take-Over wizard that caught my eye. Not only does he seem to have an abundance of powerful forms, one of which can control time better than me, but he is also not part of any guild. What's even stranger, I never witness any magical circles appear around him when he transformed."
Siegrain looked back at the raven-haired woman. "Yes…from all accounts this Take-Over wizard's power is peculiar. But's that's not the most interesting development to pop up. Apparently, it's come to my attention that Fairy Tail's Guild Master, Master Makarov, had sent a request to our archives a few days ago, requesting any information of a magical spell that can open gateways into alternate realities."
Ultear's eyes widened slightly as she connected the dots. "Are you implying that…"
"Yes. It would seem this so-called Take-Over wizard," Siegrain said, "is really from another universe. Though this is quite unprecedented, it is not impossible."
"Just to sate curiosity, did they even find a way?" Ultear asked curiously.
"Indeed. They did uncover one method." Siegrain answered, a smirk with hidden malice growing on his lips.
…
It was around evening when Ben and Fairy Tail's strongest team had just arrived back in the Town of Magnolia, a clean, beautiful city that strongly resembled an old European-like town. They were walking down a stone street; Erza was pulling her wagon jam-packed with cases while the others walked ahead over her.
"We're home!" Natsu shouted exuberantly.
"Aye sir!" Happy said, flying beside him.
"I'm bummed." Gray muttered. "All that hard work for some lousy Gate Key,"
"Yeah," Happy agreed, "and that S-Class quest was some big-time money."
"Well, I'm sorry but it wasn't an official job." Erza replied. "Just be glad you got something."
"Besides," Ben added, "we stopped an evil super-demon from arising and helped a village reclaim their memories. I'd say that's reward enough."
Erza looked at Ben and smiled. "I couldn't agree more."
'Although, the demon was nearly dead anyways, so we honestly really didn't do much in that regard.' Ben inwardly noted.
"Exactly." Lucy said with a bright grin. "So, quit your complaining."
Happy glanced back. "That's pretty easy for you to say. You got a reward." Then an idea popped up in the cat's head. "Can we sell it?!"
Lucy's jaw dropped in shock. "How could you say that?! You guys just don't get it. Zodiac keys are hard to come by. Sure, there are lots of silver keys out there, but there are only twelve golden Zodiac keys, and I'm lucky enough to have five."
Natsu looked back, smirking. "It's too bad they're all crazy."
"You had better watch it, punk!" Lucy shouted. "Me and my Celestial Spirits are gonna be stronger than you someday!"
"Natsu, no offense, but you're not exactly sane either." Ben said in a playful tone. "Need I remind you that you did challenge me just to prove who was stronger?"
Natsu looked forward, grumbling. The memory of Cannonbolt spinning him at incredible speeds was still fresh on his mind. It was definitely something he didn't want to experience again.
"So, what Zodiac key did you wind up getting?" Gray inquired.
Lucy beamed brightly. "It's Sagittarius the Centaur."
"So, it's a horse-man?" Ben implied curiously.
"Yep," Lucy answered.
Suddenly, Erza stopped walking, her smile turning into a frown. "You're all so carefree. It's almost as if you forgot that you're supposed to face punishment when we get back to the Guild."
At that statement, Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Happy all looked back at the redheaded mage with horrified expressions.
"But why?" Natsu asked weakly.
"Everything worked out in the end!" Lucy added frantically. "Can't we just forget about the whole punishment thing?!"
"You're right. Everything did work out, but only because I came here to finish the job none of you were qualified to do." Erza replied sternly. "Stealing an S-Class request is a serious offense."
The four gasped in fear. Ben was the polar opposite as he stared at the Queen of the Fairies fearlessly.
"Look," he held out his hands in a placating gesture. "I understand they broke guild rules, but can't you cut them some slack? I mean, we all save that village from their memory loss and Natsu and Gray sent the final blow to Deliora. Plus, they did say apologize."
Erza eyed Ben austerely. "It isn't my choice to make. Although, if you all promise to never do this again, I don't believe you need to be penalized by the guild. But your fates lie in Master Makarov's hands so I'm sure you will be facing punishment. As for you, Ben, you are not a member of Fairy Tail, thus you cannot be punished for your actions."
"Lucky me," remarked Ben.
"Now I'm really scared." Happy was holding his face, which plastered a fearful mien. "Do you think he's gonna make us do that?"
Gray's face paled considerably. He suddenly crouched low to the ground, holding his head frantically. "JUST KILL ME NOW! I DON'T KNOW IF I CAN LIVE THROUGH THAT AGAIN!"
"You guys are freaking me out!" Lucy squealed.
Natsu, however, was smiling confidently. "Don't let 'em scare yah." He reassured, patting her shoulder. "I'll talk the old man out of punishing us. That guy loves me."
"I don't know if you should do the talking." The blonde mage deadpanned.
"Natsu, you can't talk your way out of this one. Good luck with that." Erza grinned, and then she began to laugh.
The Dragon Slayer was still smiling, but his confident demeanor exploded as sweat poured down his face. Suddenly, Erza grabbed him by the bag on his back and dragged him across the ground.
"DON'T TAKE ME!" He screamed.
As Titania dragged Natsu away, Lucy remained in her spot shaking in fear. She finally couldn't hold back anymore as she shrieked, "Will someone please tell me what THAT is?! I'm totally freaking out!"
Ben could only smirk, shaking his head in amusement as he proceeded to the guild hall. 'These guys sure are crazy.' He thought. 'But strangely enough…they kinda grow on yah. '
…
In the Fairy Tail guild hall, everyone was relieved and excited that the team had come back unharmed and apparently victorious. Though Master Makarov was impressed that they pulled off an S-Class quest that still didn't damper his anger with them. The group was now standing before the short old man, who was standing atop the bar countertop.
He was wearing his usual orange and blue striped attire, his cane lying by his side. His arms were crossed over his chest and his eyes fixed hard on the group.
Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy were all shuddering from the hard stare. Ben, however, remained calm and collected.
"Though I'm happy you all came back safe," Makarov admitted, "I'm still very disappointed with you four. Mark my words you will be facing that kind of punishment."
Natsu and Gray held onto each other, shaking in trepidation. Lucy looked like she was fixing to scream at any moment.
"However, that will have to wait." Makarov turned his gaze to Ben. "Ben, may I have a word with you…alone?"
The group looked at Ben curiously. What could the master want with Ben that would require them to be alone?
The teen hero's brow lifted in confusion. "Sure," he replied.
Makarov turned to Erza. "Erza, make sure that these four troublemakers don't go anywhere, please."
The scarlet haired wizard nodded.
Ben followed the short man into a storage room. When the door was shut, Makarov jumped onto a crate, holding a manila folder. Ben sat down on a barrel. It was quiet for a moment as the aging man was making sure nobody was listening in from the outside. Certain that nobody wasn't, he gazed hard at the brown-haired teen.
"Ben, remember when I said I sent a message to my colleagues asking if any type of magic that can send someone to another universe existed?" Makarov asked.
He nodded. "Yeah,"
"Well…I just received a response…and there is one way. In fact, this is the only way as far as anyone is aware of."
Ben smiled, feeling relieved. After the QDG had suddenly vanished, the Omnitrix wearer was starting to worry he'd be stranded in this universe. Not that he didn't like this world, per say. After all, he was grateful for the kindness these wizards had shown a complete stranger like him, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't feeling a little bummed that he'd have to leave them soon after just meeting them. Nevertheless, he knew deep down he didn't belong in this world and it was time to return home.
His friends and family must be worried about him.
But when Ben noticed the Fairy Tail master looking at the floor with a grave expression, he knew something was not right.
"That's…great, but…why do I have the feeling that you're about to tell me something bad?" Ben said nervously.
Makarov looked back up at the shape-shifter. "There is one magical spell that is powerful enough to rip a hole in the space-time barrier; however…it is…a diabolic ritual."
"What do you mean?" Ben asked, starting to feel restless.
The old man sighed deeply. "Allow me to explain. Twelve years ago, an unknown man appeared in Fiore. We didn't know his name nor where he came from, but it was clear by his actions that he was determined to cause destruction across the kingdom and possibly the entire world for whatever reasons.
"Several S-Class wizards from different guilds across the kingdom were sent to arrest him. However, he managed to escape them and disappeared in a flash of brilliant light. It was evident he had used one of the most rarely known Lost Magics, Sanguis Porta, a forbidden spell powered by bodily sacrifices." He explained.
Ben listened to Makarov closely. His eyes widened slightly, realizing what direction this explanation was heading towards. "Bodily sacrifices?" he repeated. "Are you saying this guy escaped to another reality by…killing people?"
Makarov nodded solemnly. "Yes, unfortunately. Everyone in the small village of Gardenia was killed by that spell. Roughly a thousand, give or take. No trace of them was left behind..."
Ben clenched his fist as he his anger steadily boiled. This person, whoever he was, murdered nearly a thousand innocent lives to escape justice. He knew at this point in his life he shouldn't be surprised individuals like that existed, but it still angered him nonetheless.
"You don't know who he was, huh?" inquired Ben.
Makarov pulled something out of the folder he was holding. It was a photo. He held it out to Ben who took it.
"We only have this photo." He continued. "Even though he had successfully stolen…uh…well…something valuable," correcting himself from revealing too much information, "he never returned – which really dumbfounded most of us."
As Makarov continued with his explanation, Ben looked down at the photo. As soon as he saw the man in the photograph, his eyes bulged in shock while his breath caught in his throat. Though it was faded, there was no mistake…that red and black hood and attire, that skull-looking face, and those golden eyes. It was a face he hadn't seen in a long time.
"Hex," Ben growled.
Makarov stopped and looked up to the brunet in shock. "You…know him?"
Still angry, Ben looked back. "Yeah…his name is Hex; definitely not a good guy. Me, my cousin Gwen, and Grandpa Max fought him eight years ago…that same summer I got the original Omnitrix." He turned back to the photo. "What was he doing here?"
Makarov shrugged. "I'm afraid I don't know the answer to that. Apparently, it was nothing good, based on what he did in his time here."
"So…" Ben moved on to the point of this conversation. "…let me see if I have this right, are you saying that this spell, Sang-uh…" Ben trailed off, forgetting the name of the spell already.
"Sanguis Porta," Makarov filled in.
"Right." Ben inwardly noted the spell's name sounded similar to one of Gwen's oddly enough. He pushed that stray thought aside and focused on the main issue. "Are you saying this spell is the only thing in this world that can send me home?" he inquired.
The old man nodded somberly. "Yes. As far as we know, it is."
…
Silence filled the room.
It happened.
Ben's worse fear had come to fruition. He was assuredly stranded in this universe. Killing a thousand people was obviously out of the question. Besides, even if he did turn evil all of a sudden, he still couldn't use magic - meaning this spell was absolutely worthless to him.
He set the photo back on the table, hanging his head in disappointment. He knew there had to be other ways of traveling between worlds, but the fact that Paradox had not yet arrived to take him back had him concerned. Was traveling between realities in this part of the multiverse much harder than in his own reality? Or was Paradox only taking so long because he was simply still searching for Ben across the multiverse?
Still, shouldn't the so-called Time Walker had seen this coming? Shouldn't he have known something like this would already happen and be prepared for it? If so, where was?! Why hadn't he found him yet? Was he even searching for him at all? If not, why?
True, Ben knew Earth was in a relatively peaceful state, but what was the purpose of leaving stranded him in this magic world when he wasn't even a wizard? He didn't belong here. If anything, Gwen would be more suited in a place like this. Not that he'd wish their roles were reverse or anything like that; however, he was clearly out of his element here.
Master Makarov looked at him with sympathy. He could tell Ben had a storm of thoughts racing through his head all at once. There was a lot of information for him to suddenly process.
Ben turned away. "Thanks for telling me this. I…I need to go and…process all this…alone." He mumbled.
The old mage nodded. "I understand," he said softly.
Ben activated the Omnitrix, selected a head icon, and slammed down the dial. In a flash of emerald, Ben was replaced by a blue, feline-like humanoid wearing a black jumpsuit with a thunderbolt design on his chest. Without saying a word, Fasttrack zoomed out of the room.
In the guild hall, everyone was talking with one another, having a great time. Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy were all sitting by the bar, waiting for Makarov to return. Erza stood close by to destroy any attempts at escape.
Jet was getting up from his table; suddenly, a blue blur zipped right past him, causing him to spin in place. The blue blur went out the front doors and zoomed down the streets of Magnolia. Any citizens that were nearby only caught a short glimpse of the blur but could feel the wind in its wake.
Back in the guild, Jet finally ceased spinning and collapsed to the floor in a dizzy heap. Everyone was confused as to what happened.
"Whoa," Gray breathed, "what was that?"
"You think it was Ben?" Lucy asked.
"If it was, why would he be in such a rush to leave?" Happy wondered.
As Jet returned to his feet, Levy smirked at him. "Told yah he had an alien faster than you."
The speed-mage moaned as he slumped in disappointment.
As the Guild members pondered on why Ben left in a blur, nobody noticed Master Makarov walking out of a storage room. His eyes were closed and his head held down. He jumped up to sit on the bar countertop, crossing his legs as he did so.
Mirajane came over and asked, "Master, did you tell him?"
Makarov nodded. "I did."
"How'd he take it?" she inquired.
The guild master was silent for a moment. "Better than I thought he would, but…it's still a lot for anyone to process. It can't be easy on him."
"What can't be easy on him?"
Makarov and Mirajane glanced to the side to see several wizards looking at the duo, who apparently had overheard their conversation.
"What'd you tell Ben, gramps?" Natsu asked calmly.
Makarov sighed. He could tell them nothing; however, he knew from the way that they were all staring at him that they were determined for answers.
"You kids might want to take a seat…this is going to be a long story." Makarov sighed.
…
Night was steadily approaching over Magnolia. The sun was over the horizon as the sky became an assortment of red, orange, and yellow. Outside of Magnolia, along a mountain range, a blue blur zipped across a narrow road that scaled up a mountain.
Finally, Fasttrack came to a halt at a dead end along a steep cliff. Magnolia and the ocean could be seen in the distance. The sun and the warm colored sky gave the scene a beautiful, serene feel; however, a certain shape-shifter was feeling far from serene at the moment.
In a flash of emerald, Fasttrack reverted back into Ben. The jacket-wearing teen sat down, letting his legs hang freely over the ledge. He wasn't very concerned by the cliff, not that he needed to be. When someone has access to several dozen alien transformations, some of which can fly, one tends to look past the fear of heights.
Ben's hung his head low, a discouraged expression plastered on his face. A few minutes of silence passed by as he tried to wrap his mind around everything Makarov had told him earlier.
The brunet felt he was stuck in-between a rock and a hard place. This situation felt nothing like when he was in Rex's universe a couple years ago. At least then he had a method in getting back thanks to Rex's tech savvy brother, Caesar. Here, his method of return involves two impossible actions from him: using magic and committing mass-murder.
'This is bad. What do I do now?' the teen hero pondered. 'Is there really anything I can do? The only form I have that could possibly travel between universes is Alien X…and there's now way those two will agree with anything I have to say.'
Ben sighed. "Looks like I really am stuck here…"
The Omnitrix bearer's thoughts then shifted to the man from the photograph: Hex. He had come to this world nearly twelve years ago and had stolen something valuable, from what Makarov had said, and left just as quickly as he arrived. But why? How? What could be so valuable that Hex would kill nearly a thousand people to acquire it?
He narrowed his eyes in contempt as he clenched his fists in ire. 'Hex…you bastard. I knew you were no good, but to go so far as murdering an entire village?! If I see you again, I will make you pay!'
Ben closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly as he tried to calm himself. Getting angry wasn't going to help him now; especially since Hex wasn't even in this world. Even though he wanted to bring the evil wizard to justice, he needed to find a way home first.
The Omnitrix hero lifted up his head and looked forward. The orange sun was setting along the horizon as the warm colors in the sky reflected off the big lake. Ben stared at the scenery longer, feeling all the traces of anger within him shift into calmness.
'There's nothing I can do at this point. I'll have to rely on my friends or Professor Paradox to get me home.' Ben realized. 'But there's no telling how long that'll take….'
He then shifted his gaze to Magnolia where he could see the small buildings, the Cathedral, and the Fairy Tail Guild Hall in the distance. Ben focused primarily on the guild. He was recalling what Master Makarov had offered him on the first night he came to the guild hall.
"I am offering you a chance," Makarov said, "I have sent out messages to some colleagues of mine to look into any type of magic that can send you home. If, however, there isn't any, I will offer you a place here for as long as you wish to stay."
Ben still felt touched from the old man's offer to become a part of his guild and his "family". He looked back on the events that had transpired on Galuna Island. He remembered fighting Angelica, Lyon, his minions, Zalty, and then nearly getting killed by Deliora. It was only because of Natsu and Gray he was still alive.
Ben smiled. He had to admit that he, Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and Happy made a good team. He never got to fight alongside Erza but from what Ben had heard, she was a very skilled warrior. Plus, he did witness the scarlet-haired mage change into a suit of armor and destroy that giant "lens" over Galuna. That was pretty cool, and Ben's gut told him that was only a taste of her power.
He continued to stare at the pagoda-shaped building that was the Fairy Tail guild hall. Inside of which resided wizards with a variety of powers and people willing to bring him into their "family". Though nearly everyone in there was crazy in their own way, they still used their magic powers for good and protected others. In addition, they had grown to become good friends to him, even in the short amount of time he had known them.
Ben sat up, standing close to the ledge and smiled down at Magnolia. 'I think I'll take the old man on his offer. If I'm gonna be here for who knows how long, I might as well be surrounded by good people.' He then glanced at the Omnitrix adorning his wrist. 'More importantly, I should be where I can use my powers to help others.'
With his mind made up, a smile adorned the brunet's face.
He tapped the Omnitrix faceplate and scrolled through his playlist of aliens. When he found the form he wanted, he suddenly jumped off the cliff. Any person who saw this would think Ben was committing suicide; however, as he slapped down the Omnitrix core, he instantly transformed into…
"Fasttrack"
The quick, feline-like alien sprinted down the route he took earlier in a blur, leaving a trail of dust in his wake. Fasttrack continued running along the path down the mountain and took a turn which led back to Magnolia, one specific building as his destination.
…
Master Makarov spent at least half an hour explaining what Sanguis Porta was to his "children". They were all mortified that such a spell even existed; however, they were mostly empathetic for Ben. He was far away from his home and the only way back was to do something that he could never do.
"Oh man…this is gotta be tough for him." Gray muttered, referring to Ben.
"And horrible," Lucy added, feeling sympathy for the shape-shifter.
"You think he'll come back?" Natsu asked, genuinely worried.
Everyone looked at him with unsure expressions. Nobody had an answer to that. Trying to picture yourself stranded in another universe and murdering people in the quadruple digits being the only alternative back was not easy to fathom.
Makarov shrugged, still with his eyes shut. "No one can say, but…I fear Ben may believe there is no point in coming back."
Erza sat at the bar, staring at the countertop with a neutral expression, but her mind was somewhere else. She was still processing what Makarov had told them about Ben's situation. She felt for him and she wondered if he would come back. She knew little about this Take-Over mage but, even in the short time they interacted, she knew he was strong and possessed a good heart.
She then recalled the two incidents when she had her sword at Ben's throat. Unlike everyone else, he did not cower in fear or beg for forgiveness…he was calm and unafraid. Erza knew that everyone in the guild feared her and acted at their best around her, but Ben…he didn't seem fazed by her at all.
All of a sudden, Erza's musings were interrupted when the main doors popped open and a blue blur zoomed inside the building. In a blink of an eye, Fasttrack came to a stop in front of the group of wizards by the bar.
Fasttrack tapped the Omnitrix, and in a green flash, transformed back into Ben. He stood tall with a smile on his face, which bewildered everyone. Earlier Ben had rushed out seemingly upset, but now he seemed…happy?
"Ben, you're back!" Happy cried, flying around him.
The shape-shifter laughed a little. "Of course, it's not like I got anywhere else to go."
"Master Makarov told us about that spell." Gray mentioned in a grave tone.
Ben's smile faltered a bit. "Yeah…it…sucks pretty badly, but hey I'm not gonna whine and groan about it."
This made a few mages blink in confusion. Most people would be devastated if they were put in Ben's current predicament, but instead he was carefree and cherry despite his ordeal.
"W-wait…so…you're not sad about not being able to go home?" Lucy asked.
"Don't get me wrong, it is…depressing that I may not ever see my friends and family again…or at least for a long time." Ben paused, looking away for a moment. "But…they wouldn't want me to lay around all depressed; they'd want me to live out my life."
The wizards gathered were shocked from his inner strength. Though he probably would never see his family and friends again, he always looked for the positives.
Ben grinned. "With that said," he turned to Master Makarov seating on the bar table. "Master Makarov, remember that offer you gave me?"
The old man looked at him and blinked. "Yes, why?"
Ben's grin grew wider. "Well…I'm here to take you up on it."
Makarov's eyes widened, his jaw almost falling to the floor. "W-what? You mean…you…"
Ben chuckled. "That's right. I want to become a part of Fairy Tail."
That was the real shocker. Nearly everyone's eyes bulged wider than saucers and their mouths almost fell off their faces. However, the shock quickly faded and was replaced by joy.
"No way, dude, are you serious?" Gray almost shouted.
"I wouldn't have said it if I wasn't." Ben smirked. He then turned to Fairy Tail's master. "That is, of course, if your offer still stands."
Everyone looked at the orange and blue attired old man. The guild master gave Ben a hard stare as if he were scanning his well-being. Finally, after a short tense moment, he held out his small hand, which Ben took and shook.
Makarov laughed. "Of course it does. You're welcome to stay here as long as you like. Welcome to Fairy Tail, Ben Tennyson."
All the wizards present cheered in excitement for Ben, for he was now the newest member of the Fairy Tail guild and family.
"ALRIGHT!" Natsu yelled as he patted Ben on the back. "Welcome to our guild, buddy!"
"Aye," Happy agreed, flying over the teen hero.
Gray came to Ben's other side and added, "Yeah, you're really gonna like it here, man."
Ben smiled. "Thanks. I have a feeling I'm gonna like it here too."
Everyone cheered for their newest soon to-be member. Not only would they have another friend and ally, but a very powerful one at that. Erza watched the group of wizards crowding around the teen hero. She smiled, feeling happy for the shape-shifter. Though he could never go home, he was still able to move forward with his head held high.
A sudden realization came to Erza, causing her to smirk. 'At least now if he defies a guild rule, I can punish him for it.'
…
A/N: (Edited 5/16/18)
I went back and re-read the first version of Chapter 7 and, honestly, it didn't hold up as well over time as the other chapters I've written. In the previous version there were some odd dialogue from Ben in certain places and I felt his overall reaction to the news of the blood-ritual spell was a bit out-of-character for him.
I believe this version is more improved. Yes, it still follows canon too closely around the beginning, however, I felt that since Ben has only been in this world a couple days at this point and only came to Galuna to help the villagers and backup Natsu and Lucy, his impact shouldn't be overwhelming. His impact in the story will increase the further it goes as he gets more familiar with magic and his teammates.
By the way, I finally came up with a name for that blood-ritual spell so I can stop calling it "the blood-ritual spell". Sanguis Porta. The meaning to WHY its name is unusual compared to other spells from Earthland will be revealed much later on in the story. No spoilers.
Anyways, please leave any comments or critique in the review section. Keep it appropriate and respectful though. Just because you have valid points in a story's weak points that doesn't give you the right to look down and trash talk. Be helpful and offer solutions rather than just calling everything shitty. Thanks for reading!