(Takes place between during chapters 17-18 of the Ridonculous Underdogs)

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"Since the beginning of time, before the event you have come to know as the Big Bang, there have always been 6 singularities, 6 forces of ultimate power. Then the universe exploded into existence with the Big Bang and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated physical forms each with a consciousness of its own. These beings have come to be known as the Cosmic Elemental Masters. Each being has mastery over one of the 6 elemental forces of the universe: Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Lightning and Metal. These beings are the most powerful in all of the universe and cannot be defeated by any normal being lest their existence be wiped from the face of the universe upon contact, and the only being capable of defeating a Cosmic Elemental is a Cosmic Elemental, or one with the powers of a Cosmic Elemental. Many eons ago, a great war was raged between the Daagons, the inhabitants of the cosmic ocean Varuna and their ruler Hiidrala, and the Metallians and their ruler Metallum, the Cosmic Elemental of Metal. With them were their greatest protectors, the wind and lightning Cosmic Elementals known as Tatsumaki and Kaminari. The two clashed in an epic battle that scarred the very universe itself, but before a victor could be decided Metallum betrayed Kaminari and attempted to take their power for himself in order to conquer not only Varuna, but the entire universe itself. In the face of this betrayal, Tatsumaki and Kaminari agreed to combine their power to face Metallum and end him, and in doing so they performed an ancient ritual known only to the Cosmic Elementals: Elemental Fusion, in which they would fuse into one new being altogether with both of their powers but at the cost of their fusion being permanent. With this they forged a new being with a new elemental force: Tempestatis, the Cosmic Elemental of the Hurricane. The battle was fierce and ravaged the universe, and in the process the homeworld of the Metalians, Metallum, was destroyed, but the the end the battle was lost. Metallum was badly injured nearly beyond recovery but he had triumphed. With his dying breath, Tempestatis made a vow: even if it took him thousands upon thousands of lifetimes, he would see Metallum fall for his betrayal. Unsatisfied by this, Metallum made a pact with the Cosmic Elemental of fire, Urere, to create a warrior of fiery pure evil simply to torture each reincarnation until it ceased. Until the day comes when Metallum is slain the cycle will continue and if that day never comes, the true spirit of the Hurricane will be lost forever to the memory of time."

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(After events of the Cosmic Elementals, before the events of Ben 10 and the Cosmic Knight)

The scene on the beach on the outskirts of Ocean Falls was quiet with next to nobody anywhere in sight, which made sense since it was the middle of the night.

Daniel stood on the shore looking out at the vast horizon that lie ahead "I know you're eager to stand by him in this fight Bridgette but do not forget, this training will be the hardest thing that you've ever done. It will drain you mentally, physically and spiritually. And then comes the hard part when I awaken your Second Origin."

Bridgette opened her eyes from where she was meditating "I know dad. I haven't been any help to Adam up to this point and the fact that I didn't know about it is no longer an excuse. I don't want to end up running out of strength at the worst time and leave myself defenseless, Adam and the others have enough to worry about as it is. I need to understand these powers from this Cosmic Lacrima my body and I need to understand how to sustain it."

"In order to do that you will first have to strengthen your mind in order to enhance the vessel that holds the power within you. You have to feel the land, feel the wind, feel the air, focus on that sensation. You have to control your breathing and try to become one with nature."

"Right." so Bridgette took a deep breath and began concentrating, and the water in the ocean in front of her began to ripple and vibrate.

"There you go sweetheart, you're doing well so far. You can't be finished yet, you have to release a greater amount of energy in order for this to work."

"I… I'm trying…" and then she fell back from exhaustion "That… That was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be…"

"No need to feel disappointed, you did marvellously for your first day. Far better than I was when I was starting out in my training in the Mystic Arts before I met your mother until the guise of Master Santiago."

"I guess… So what kind of training do you think Alejandro is doing right now? I mean he already has that Crimson Jaguar power right, what else could there be for him?"

"...I believe I know exactly what it is that Aurora intends for him. You and the rest of your friends have great potential Bridgette and yet the others have only scratched the surface of your power, there is much greater power held within your bodies, a reservoir of dormant power known to the Masters of the Mystic Arts as the Second Origin. Through a ritual that I had previously learned from Master Santiago I can force this Second Origin, with it you will be able to awaken the water powers supplied by the Cosmic Lacrima inside of your body, and then you will have to learn how to control it. Be weary though, unlocking your Second Origin will be unimaginably painful."

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(After the events of Ben 10 and the Cosmic Knight, towards the end of the events of Enter the Dragon)

Aurora led Alejandro through a portal to where a beautiful waterfall sat in front of them with a small island in the middle of the lake in front of them "Here we are."

"What is this place?" asked Alejandro.

"This is an area known as the Waterfall of Light, every Master of the Mystic Arts must come here to train and cleanse themselves of their hatred."

"And this is meant to enhance my Crimson Jaguar abilities?"

"Not quite, this is simply the first step in a much greater process. Sit down on that small island and close your eyes and you will meet your true self, or more accurately the darkness inside of yourself."

"...Very well then." so Alejandro stepped onto the small island, sat down in a meditative position and closed his eyes.

"What you do from here is up to you." and so Aurora exited the scene through another portal, which left Alejandro alone in his trial.

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Alejandro opened his eyes 'I do not know what I will face, but I suppose there is only one way to find out.'

"Why?" a voice echoed as a shadowy silhouette "Why do you continue to delude yourself and all of the others around you?"

"What is this?"

"I suppose I cannot blame you though, after all if I felt the same way that you do then I would most likely be in denial as well." the figure emerged from behind the waterfall, revealing himself as exactly identical to Alejandro, only with crimson pupils and black sclera "After all the way that we behaved was utterly despicable, who would want anything to do with us after all of that?"

'Who is he? He looks just like me.'

"You do remember don't you? The way that you disgraced Carlos and your entire family all over the world, the way that people still look at you as if you are the scum of the Earth."

"Enough of this, who are you?"

"Is it not obvious? I thought you would understand it already, I am you."

"But that can't be, how is this possible?"

"You can thank this place for that, it allowed me to come out and show myself to you, I am the darkness that exists inside of your heart and as such I am the real you." he looked around a little bit "So this is the place that Lady Aurora refers to as the Waterfall of Light? I had never anticipated that I would be able to completely reveal myself in such a way, it does seem very fitting. Anyway, I am the so called Light that she had intended for you to face. I am the real self from within the deepest darkest depths of your soul."

"The real me? But that would mean…"

"Yes that's right, I am the hatred that burns inside of your very soul. The only difference between us is that one of us cares what other people think of us and what we think of ourselves. Just face the facts, I am the real one here and I have no intention of letting some pitiful imposter do away with me."

"So that is how it is then?"

"This is how it has to be." and so Dark Alejandro charged forward and let a fist fly.

Alejandro countered the fist with one of his own, sending out a small shockwave "The only one here that is fake is you and I intend to prove it."

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Aurora emerged from the portal back in the Sanctum and found Adam and Cody there waiting for her, the latter still holding his new Yin Yang staff "I take it your quest had been a successful one?"

"It was, as you can see." Adam gestured to Cody's new Yin Yang staff "Plus Gwen is back in the race and I think they're heading for the Arctic Circle next."

"I see, that's good then."

"So what do we do next?" asked Cody.

"For now young Cody, you rest. You have earned it and you will need it for what is coming next."

"And what about the others?" asked Adam "How are Bridgette and Alejandro doing on their training?"

"By now I assume that Daniel is working on releasing Bridgette's Second Origin so that she may tap into her dormant powers."

"...You mean like the thing from Fairy Tail?"

"In a manner of speaking yes."

"Huh. Well what about Alejandro?"

"The same will come for him in time but first he must conquer his inner demons, however I can imagine that by now he is beginning to understand just how difficult that is going to turn out to be."

"And I'm guessing that I come into that equation somewhere?"

"Carlos always did describe you as a fast learner."

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Alejandro wasn't getting anywhere in his struggle against Dark Alejandro, and now his mind was racing to come up with a solution 'This is unbelievable, our strength and our techniques and our fighting styles are exactly the same! At this rate this is never going to end.'

"You might as well just accept it." Dark Alejandro shot him a smirk "You never had any chance of defeating me and you never will."

"Callate!"

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By this point Adam had arrived at the Waterfall of Light, and now he was watching Alejandro sit and meditate 'Okay so from what Aurora tells me, when someone sits before the Waterfall of Light they can meet their true self. The waterfall itself is like some kind of sacred mirror that reflects the user's true self so now Alejandro is fighting it out with himself.'

Alejandro's eyes suddenly snapped open and he began gasping for air, sweat dripping down his face "Oh… oh dios mio…"

"What the hell happened to you Ale-handjob?"

"This person… He looked exactly like me… and I think… he was my dark half… that Aurora had told me about… We're both exactly the same… The same levels of strength, the same levels of intelligence, the same style of fighting, everything is identical between the two of us. The battle would never end."

"So what are you gonna do, just give up? You know what Aurora said, if you don't do this then you can't enhance your Crimson Jaguar power."

"I know but… I can't help but wonder if what was saying was true? Adam you know better than anyone how horrible my actions truly were, not only did I hurt many people in several moments of abysmal judgement but I also disgraced my family and dishonored my brother's teachings, only for him to perish not long after. Perhaps my darker half is not in the wrong, maybe I am not worthy of the blood and power coursing through my veins."

"Hey at least you didn't lie to the people you care about for years like I have, don't be such a drama queen."

"What you have done is completely different from the things that I had done."

"...Okay you know what screw it, I don't have the energy to argue with you over this. Come with me idiota." he grabbed Alejandro by the shoulder and the two of them disappeared.

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Another training routine had at last reached the very painful next step.

Kevin cringed as he watched Bridgette, with glowing blue marks covering her body, writhed on the ground in agonizing pain "You have to stay strong Bridgette, I know the pain is intense but you still have a long way to go."

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Adam and Alejandro materialized in a certain wasteland "Here we are."

Alejandro looked around and cringed "This is the land in Drumheller, why would you wish to bring me here to talk?"

"Because of what I want to talk to you about, I know how you feel about yourself Alejandro but you're wrong. I know for a fact that despite what you think, you are a good person." he held up a hand to stop Alejandro from replying "Don't even bother I already know, don't start about all of the people that you've hurt. I get it, you were a total asshole less than 2 years ago but even during World Tour I knew that you weren't evil, you weren't even a truly horrible person. I mean granted you did some seriously awful stuff but you were never really evil now were you?"

"Did you truly believe that I had redeeming qualities back then?"

"Compared to Heather? Yes. Compared to Sierra? Well duh."

"We had a major hand in both of their eliminations, you don't have the right to speak about such things."

"You think I don't know that? I've done some f*cked up stuff too so quit feeling sorry for yourself, you can't change the past and you can't change what happened. What's done is done already but this is your life now, and I've seen you do some amazing things. You've saved the lives of the Utrom Queen, the Salamandrians, the rest of the Utrom survivors, pretty much everyone in the Earth of Dimension 7, not to mention you stopped me from making the worst mistake that I could: Letting my vengeance consume me. Plus you shipped me and Bridgette longer than everyone accept for Cody so that's a feat in itself."

"Perhaps but that is still nothing compared to what I-"

"Shut. The f*ck. Up. How about this? You proved yourself to be worthy of the power of the Crimson Jaguar, if you weren't worthy then it would've killed you on the spot."

"Perhaps but mi abuelo was the first one to-" he was smacked upside the head.

"We're not talking about your grandfather, we're talking about you. Do you think that matters right now?"

"I… I suppose not…"

"Listen to me Alejandro, if you were as bad as you think you are then you wouldn't give a damn about the things that you did or the people that you hurt. The fact that you're constantly whining about it is proof that you've changed for the better, I mean sure it's annoying now but you still mean well don't you?"

"...I hadn't really thought of it that way."

"Oh for god's sake, now you're getting on my nerves."

"No, let me say this. Humans are not perfect, myself included."

"They're not supposed to be perfect. If the true nature of people is darkness then I'm okay with that, if the true nature of people is light then I'm okay with that too, because people are all living beings so our purposes are endlessly evolving with the sands of time. People along with the world that they live in, there is no definition of people because everyone sees it differently. The possibilities are as limitless as one's own imagination, they can either fall to darkness or rise to light depending on the choices that they make. People are free to make whatever choices that they so desire. These are all things that I learned from Carlos. Besides, don't you remember what I told you after his funeral?"

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(After the events of the final chapter of the Rise of an Underdog)

The funeral for Carlos had ended and everyone had gone their separate ways, well everyone except for two people that is, the two people that were closer to him than any others.

Adam stepped into the cemetery and found Alejandro still kneeling in front of Carlos grave without moving "Hey."

Alejandro didn't even bother looking back "I suppose you came here to try and restore my faith in myself? I'm sorry but you will not succeed."

"Nope, I just came here to talk."

"...You should return home, I can imagine your hermanito and the senorita whose heart you've captured must be concerned about you."

"Yeah they were but I told them that I'd be fine, and they know better than to try and argue with me about pretty much anything."

"I see."

"So what's your next move, where are you gonna go from here? What's your next move gonna be?"

"I… I don't know. I suppose that right now I would be keeping my options open."

"Uh huh. There's one more thing that I never was able to figure out about you that I was hoping you could fill me in on."

"Go on."

"When you look back on everything, we both know that as reckless and panic driven as they might have been your actions were in a desperate attempt to save Carlos. So then what were your reasons for trying to grill Cody for information about Mal? What did something like that actually mean to you? For that matter, what did the idea of a real true friend mean to you? What do you want to do with the skills that you possess, do you just want to use them for your own personal gain like Jose or would use your skills to help people and forge connections with those around you?"

"...You do have a great deal of questions and curiosity, I can see that Carlos did indeed pass on a great deal to you."

"Well they're all the same in the long run. What kind of man do you want to tell yourself that you are and is that man the same person that you see when you look at your reflection in the mirror? If it were for your benefit then would you take the life of an innocent, does the darkness within the depths of your soul hold that much power over you? If that is the case then you are nothing more than a puppet to your own pathetic desires but that's the thing Alejandro, that's the sort of impression that I don't get from you. You're not heartless, you're not void of any sort of conscience and you're not like Jose."

"Are you finished? In case you were not aware I would like to be alone."

"I know, but to leave you alone now is something that I just can't do. There is no reason for you to just give up and plunge yourself into the darkness of your own inner demons." as if to emphasize the storm clouds overhead disappeared to reveal the warmth and light of the sun above them "You can help me finish what Carlos helped me start, you can help me finish my quest to destroy Mal once and for all."

"And why should I do such a thing?"

"There is great value in the time that one can spend in their own company but to live a life filled with total isolation is something that no one should have to endure no matter who they might be or what they may have done."

"...You do realize that I cheated in Jamaica which led to Ezekiel being eliminated, and my actions also led to the eliminations of Owen, Trent, Courtney, Duncan and DJ. I nearly destroyed Duncan and Courtney's relationship, and I hurt many others both physically and emotionally during my time on Total Drama."

"Yeah well wounds like those can and will heal, they'll take time but they'll heal. And as for what happened with Duncan and Courtney, it turned out okay and now their relationship is even stronger as a result."

"But worst of all, by doing those things that I did I disgraced Carlos' memory by becoming exactly what he taught me not to become: Jose."

"...Yeah. I know." Adam was grinding his teeth and gripping his fist so hard that his palm started to bleed "That in itself is something that makes me see red when I do so much as think about that. It's something that I'll never be able to completely forgive you for, but that doesn't mean that you can't forgive yourself. And besides, to let someone lose himself because of their past mistakes when I know that I could've done something to help him and prevent that is something that I would never be able to forgive myself for." he held out his hand "I cannot guarantee you total salvation, all I can do for you is direct you down the same path on which Carlos had previously directed me, out of the shadows and into the light. Will you choose to walk that path to the bitter end with me, or will you forego it and remain where you are now? Will you stand by me and fight to protect what you hold precious?"

"I…" Alejandro slowly reached out and accepted his hand "I will."

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(And now back to the present)

Adam shrugged slightly "I mean granted I did keep that from everyone except Bridge, Cody and a few others for over year but the point is that I'm not going to give up on you which means I can't and won't let you give up on yourself."

"...Perhaps you do have the right idea." Alejandro let out a sigh "For so long I have only been feeling sorry for myself because I felt that I had disgraced Carlos' legacy, but I was wrong because you are his legacy."

"We both are. Come on let's go, you have training to do."

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Aurora's eyes snapped open and she exited her meditation "I could sense the dimensional disturbance, I was wondering when you would

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Adam watched as Alejandro sat back down in front of the Waterfall of Light "Well I did what I could Carlos, now it's up to Alejandro to see this through."

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Alejandro opened his eyes, which were now filled with a steeled resolve 'There is only one way that I can vanquish this foe.'

Out from behind the waterfall stepped Dark Alejandro in all of his evil glory "So you've come back for more have you? You can try and fight me as much as you want, the end result is never going to change. You cannot defeat me."

"Believe me I am well aware that attempting to defeat you with force is not going to work. I learned that the hard way the last time, physically the two of us are exactly the same."

"And you will not be able to drive me out either, I know you better than anyone else could ever know you."

"So then you already know of the decision that I have made."

"And pray tell, what decision would that be?"

"Don't try to fool me into believing that you don't know, this so called Waterfall of Light because it reveals the light and the darkness within your heart correct? Then you know who my light is supposed to be." he gestured to where a certain figure appeared in a white light standing behind him, revealed to be a silhouette of Carlos, followed by a silhouette of Adam, Cody and the others.

"You bastard…"

"How could I expect to trust them if I couldn't even trust myself? I can't live in the past because I cannot change what happened, all I can do is learn from my mistakes and look to the future that lies ahead."

"Callate! So what if you don't want to live in the past anymore? What's to stop you from doing all of those things again and again? They're just helping you to deceive yourself, not only did you disgrace yourself and your family but you proved yourself to be just as bad as Jose, the one that they always fawned over as if he were some sort of god! Carlos was the only one who accepted us and acknowledged us for who we are and we thanked him by disgracing him! I am the only one who will ever truly understand how you felt! Now that he is gone you have no one, you can't trust any of them!"

Alejandro held up a hand "Perhaps, the other people in my life are important but before I can get to them there is someone else that I have to learn to trust more first. What I have to do right now is have more faith in myself, I need to have faith in the me that Carlos believed in, that Adam had always believed in even when we were at war with each other."

"But… But…" Dark Alejandro fell to his knees, his voice becoming wrecked and wracked with strangled sobs "Why… Why? After everything that we've done…"

"I was able to realize it by watching Adam, even as he feels himself being pulled down into the depths of his own darkness he always has faith in others and he has always had pride in those he loves in this world."

"Do you… Do you believe me to just be something in your way?! What exactly did I mean to you?!"

"The reason I became as strong as I am right now is because you existed, it's thanks to you that I got to where I am right now."

"So then what now? If you don't need me anymore then what am I supposed to do from now on?!" Dark Alejandro charged forward and let a fist fly.

"The answer to that question is a simple one." Alejandro just caught Dark Alejandro in a simple hug "You just have to become a part of me, just like you've always been. Thank you for everything that you've done for me up until now but it's alright, you don't have to suffer alone anymore."

Dark Alejandro said nothing, his arms fell limp at his sides and he just quietly evaporated into nothing.

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Alejandro opened his eyes and stared at his palms 'You don't have to suffer all by yourself, not when you have people beside you willing to share your pain.'

"Unfortunately it is too early for you to celebrate." Aurora revealed her presence from where she was standing behind him "At least that is what I would like to say but before I do I have to say this, well done."

"Lady Aurora… so what do I do now?"

"Now you just have to withstand what comes next."

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Adam stood in the main hall of the Sanctum face to face with a blonde figure clad in armor with a sword sheathed at his side "You know when Aurora told me you were here I figured she was just trying to get rid of me but here you are, the first Forever Knight himself Sir George with no traces of helmet hair."

Sure enough, before him stood Sir George in all of his knight like glory "I will tell you what I told Young Master Tennyson, I condition."

"So why are you here now?"

"The time to slay the Diagon and his forces draws near, before I can make my stand against him though I must make sure my potential successor is ready."

"And what do you think then?"

"Your strength is great in body and in mind, however I could sense before the same thing that I sense now. Your conviction is beginning to waver, you have doubts in your own strength of your will. Why? What is it in your heart that makes you doubt yourself so?"

"...I'm guessing Aurora told you about my thing with Mal?" he received a nod "Look I keep having doubts even though people tell me not to time and time again, I've gotten this whole spiel from Cody, from Alejandro, hell even from Ben Tennyson himself. But still, the doubts in myself don't go away and if anything they just keep getting stronger. I promised the woman I love and my little brother that I wouldn't let myself be consumed by vengeance, but despite that I can't help but wonder. Will I be able to keep that promise or will my anger and hatred for Mal take me over and cost me everything? If I end up losing control then not only could I end up killing myself, but I would end up killing Mike too and that's what I'm so desperate to avoid. I don't know if I can do it, and the thought of that chills me to the core."

"You must not give in to despair, if you wish to defeat this demon that plagues you and save your friend. Young Master Tennyson never gave up and he still has not and I do not intend to give up on my quest to slay the Diagon."

"Yeah well that's different."

"How then, how is that different Young Master Anderson?"

"Because I'm not some great hero like you or Ben! My heart is too tainted my hatred, I've tried to swear off vengeance time and time again but I still feel the hatred burning inside of my heart and I still hear the voice in the back of my head telling me to go after Mike and finish it right there and then. That voice is trying to tell me to kill my best friend! It's telling me to just let go, to give in, to choose revenge. I am no hero Sir George, because I am not deserving of a title like that."

"...No, perhaps you are not."

Adam's head snapped towards him.

"But perhaps there is another title that you are worthy of. A knight."

"Like you, the hero who has his own story from a thousand years ago that he can't even take credit for?"

"Touche, but no. What I see you as Young Master Anderson, is a knight. A knight and a hero are not the same thing, at least not entirely. A hero is one who is willing to give his life for the sake of even a complete stranger and mainly revolves around protecting any and all innocents, whereas a knight would do the same but mostly revolves around protecting their king and their kingdom. What is the king that you must protect?"

"I've already heard this before, thank you anime. The king is the one that I strive to protect with every fiber of my being, it has no real definition because everyone thinks of their own king differently."

"Precisely."

"But what if I can't?"

"You must hold onto hope and with that hope you must be able to lead by example. If not for your own sake then for the sake of those who believe in you. Do more than just fight for then, live for them, be there for them, protect them from their own inner demons. Promise then that you will live a full life. Live your dreams for their sake. Tell me, what did you want to do with your life?"

"...Well I always did thing about getting married, having 2 kids and maybe becoming a teacher on some kind of level. At least before all of that Mal stuff happened."

"Then do it for their sake, only then you will be able to find happiness. Before you can become a true knight, you must clear up your personal affairs." he put a hand on Adam's shoulder "Now come, let us be off."

"Where to?"

"To where the next piece of your knight's armor lies, we will be going to the great Cosmic Ocean of Varuna." Sir George cut open a portal using Ascalon "Well then, shall we Young Master Anderson?"

"Fine by me, let's get moving."

"Hold on." a new voice cut in.

Adam looked back and saw Bridgette appear, with Daniel right behind her "Bridge I thought you were training."

"I was, and now I'm finished with it." she materialized two water claws in her hands and dematerialized them in an instant "So I'm going with you."

"...I don't have any say in this do I?"

"No."

"Fine, Sir George this is my girlfriend Bridgette. Bridge this is Sir George, the first Forever Knight from the Ben 10 dimension."

"A pleasure madam. Now come, let us make haste." so Sir George ushered them into the portal and followed them into it, and the portal closed right behind them.

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Aurora watched as Alejandro, with glowing red marks covering his body, writhed on the ground in agonizing pain "You have to stay strong Bridgette, I know the pain is intense but you still have a long way to go. The greater potential one has locked away inside of them the longer the process will take. And what brings you here Daniel?"

Sure enough, Daniel stood behind her "I finished unlocking Bridgette's Second Origin and she left with the boy and the knight to the Cosmic Ocean of Varuna."

"I see. And you sense the darkness that approaches them?"

"I do."

"The time to slay the Diagon draws near, the forces of the Esoterica approach." this was followed by several Esoterica figures "Oh joy, an ambush. I absolutely love a good ambush."

"Sarcasm was never your fortee Aurora."

"Like it's yours either."

"To think Masters of the Mystic Arts are any better." a cloaked figure appeared before them, her hood covering her face.

"Protect Alejandro as he undergoes the releasing process, I will deal with the likes of them myself." Aurora started firing off blasts of blue colored energy at random Esoterica, taking several of them out left and right.

The cloaked figure dodged them with ease "One of the most basic abilities of the Mystic Arts, manipulating life energy, or Mana as it's known to most. But now I know where my target is and so I will be taking my leave. Esoterica, retreat!" and so she fled, with all of the other Esoterica attempting to do the same.

Aurora however managed to catch one before they could get away "As I had expected, their teleportation abilities cannot pass through Mana energy. Now tell me, what is it that you came here for?"

"You don't scare me woman, I have nothing to say to you." the Esoterica snarled.

"Hold that thought." Aurora held up a black sphere of energy to his face "Now let us try this again, what did you come here for?"

"...The time is at hand, Milady brought us to destroy what she deemed a threat to the coming of the great Diagon."

"And who is your lady?"

"One of the two heralds of the great Diagon, the one who came before Vilgax himself. No one knows her real name, all we know is that her life was destroyed by two she deems to be worse than the devil himself."

"...I see. Well then tell her this, Daniel and I have no intention of stopping your master from entering this reality, five others have been set on that path." she sent it through another portal and looked away, drifting away with her thoughts 'Adam, you must hurry if you wish to protect your world.'

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A portal opened and Sir George stepped out, with Adam and Bridgette following right behind him, onto a section of ground in the area "Here we are young ones, the Cosmic Ocean of Varuna."

Bridgette looked on in awe "It's so beautiful…"

"Indeed fair lady, a vast interstellar liquid nebula in a region of the cosmos unlike anything else in the universe. Azmuth showed it to me once as thanks for vanquising the Diagon the way that I did 1,000 years ago. Here in its depths likes the next piece of your armor Young Master Anderson, here lies the Wind Stormers."

"So what should we expect here?" asked Adam "To be honest I might have skipped this episode of Ninja Turtles."

"...Putting that aside, Varuna is the home of the Daagon, ancient beings as old as the universe itself and allies of both the Utrom and the Masters of the Mystic Arts, the former of whom had entrusted them with the protection of the Wind Stormers."

"I just hope they did a better job protecting this than the Aeons did with the first piece of the Black Hole Generator."

"They did."

"Good. Hey by the way, how is it that we're breathing in here?"

"You may thank Ascalon for that, with the power of the sword I can erect a barrier around us that protects us from potential suffocation or freezing to death."

"Neat. But seriously though, I know the Daagon are allies of the Utrom and the Masters of the Mystic Arts but how do we know they can really count on them to help us?"

"Because the Daagon are an ancient and noble race that pride themselves on their honor so I have no doubts in my mind that they will, so long as we prove ourselves worthy of their comradeship." this was followed by several Daagon soldiers preparing to close in on the three of them with their weapons drawn.

"You got this?"

"Indeed I do Young Master Anderson." Sir George held up a symbol "Hear my noble Daagon warriors, this is the symbol of the Masters of the Mystic Arts." this prompted them to stand down and kneel before him.

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It wasn't long before the group was being by the Daagon warriors to the palace area of Varuna to meet the queen.

The queen Hiidrala turned around to face them "Who enters the realm to seek a personal audience with Hiidrala, the supreme ruler of the Daagon?"

Sir George got down on one knee and motioned for Adam and Bridgette to do the same "I bid you greetings your majesty. I am Sir George of the Forever Knights of the planet Earth of the first of the ten dimensions, and these are my two companions. Young Master Adam Anderson, the prophesized warrior of the Hurricane as foretold by the Masters of the Mystic Arts, as well as Lady Bridgette Connors, the one who bears the power of the Cosmic Elemental of Water." he held up the symbol of the Masters of the Mystic Arts from the planet Earth of the eight dimension, we seek the famed cuisses and boots known as the Wind Stormers that you have in your possession that the Masters of the Mystic Arts had entrusted to you millenia ago."

"...You may rise."

"Thank you your majesty." so they stood.

"The Masters of the Mystic Arts had entrusted the fragment to me which gives Hiidrala ultimate say over it, are you truly worthy to claim pieces of armor of such devastating power? Tell me, who among you is the leader?"

"That would be me." Adam stepped forward.

"You? You are a mere child, how are you worthy?"

"I never said I was worthy, because to be blunt I do not believe myself to be."

"Then why have you come here?"

"Because of them." he gestured back to Bridgette and Sir George "I cannot speak for the worthiness of myself, but I can speak for the worthiness of those two. I know for a fact that their intentions are noble, that their hearts are pure. While I may be young and inexperienced with a heart tainted by hatred, I have seen them do many amazing things for our world regardless of what they seek, whether that be recognition, redemption, perhaps even love. If you place your faith in them then I give you my word that they will not let you down, all I ask is that you give them one chance."

"...Very well boy, I will grant you and your companions this chance. If you desire the Wind Stormers then you must face Cthugga, an ancient beast that obeys me and me alone. If you are indeed worthy of the Wind Stormers then the beast will sense this and let you take the Wind Stormers freely, but if you are not…"

"Then the beast will kill us on the spot. I accept this challenge."

"You realize that if you are truly as unworthy as you claim to be then the beast will devour you whole."

"That's nothing that I'm not used to."

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It wasn't long before the three of them were making their way towards where the Cthugga had been said to be residing.

Bridgette noticed Adam looking like he was lost in thought "Hey Adam what's up, is there something on your mind?"

Adam let out a sigh "What do you think it means to be truly worthy?"

"Well I think that we all have good and noble hearts, that would have to count for something doesn't it?"

"Yeah if you actually do have a noble heart that isn't tainted by hatred, and I'm sure that all of the Esoterica that are about to ambush agree with me."

"You don't give yourself enough credit- Wait what was that?"

"Go ahead and see for yourself." he gestured to where the Esoterica were surrounding them on all sides.

"Be ready young ones." Sir George drew Ascalon from its sheath "Something dire has yet to appear."

"Yeah I know, one of them is hiding in between dimensions and that one is a lot more powerful than the rest of these foot soldiers. Alright big guy get your ass out here and show yourself already."

Sure enough, the cloak figure revealed herself, albeit with her cloak still covering her face like before "To think you've actually come this far, Adam Anderson."

"And who the hell are you supposed to be?"

"Someone who has spent the last year thinking of only one thing: seeing your demise in order to get my revenge for the humiliation and suffering that you inflicted on me." the figure snapped her fingers and several other Esoterica soldiers appeared beside her, though instead of being gold, red and black colored, these were green and grey with gelatinous like appearances, with red markings on their masks instead of the usual black ones "Your newfound power is impressive but not even some as formidable as you could defeat myself and all of these elite Esoterica at once, not when they've been merged with the Lucubra servants of the mighty Diagon. Also there may be one more thing that you want to consider." she lowered her hood, revealing a head of long purple hair.

"Oh god, I thought this feeling seemed familiar. See even before I had all of these powers I could sense the presence of people through the vibrations in the ground and in the air, it was a little something that Carlos taught me while I was still recovering from my first fight with Mal all those years ago. I could sense your rising insanity and brain melting obsession from across the 10 dimensions… Sierra."

Sure enough, the figure took off her mask to reveal herself as Sierra "You would rather die than let me get to the one I love, the one that is destined to be mine whether he likes it or not. My darling Cody. On the other hand the great Diagon is a different story, it was with his wisdom and guidance that I was able to heal my shattered soul after you and Alejandro forced me off of that plane over a year ago which left him vulnerable to the horrific temptations of that little c**t of a goth Gwen!" (Yeah that's right, bitch said the C word. I went there.)

"Yeah well at least she never fantasized about raping him, and even if Gwen wasn't in the picture there's no way I'd ever let you of all people get anywhere near him. What did you come here thinking that I would actually help you so that you could gut me while my back was turned and then do the same to Alejandro? Do you actually think I'm that stupid?"

"I think you know a good opportunity when you see it in front of you, you do what I say and I won't kill her just to spite you." she pointed at Bridgette, causing Adam's fist to clench "Let me make something clear to you, if you refuse my terms then she is going to suffer the consequences of your poor decisions."

"Oh someone is gonna suffer but it's not gonna be her, you don't scare me Sierra and you never will." he got into a stance as his Hurricane Gauntlets began crackling with electricity "You and your boy toys come at me, if you're an enemy of my friends then that makes you an enemy of me too and that's a fatal mistake."

Sir George studied Adam for a moment, then looked down at Ascalon at his side, and he managed a small smile 'So it would seem that the sword does find him worthy and the sword does not lie, it recognizes within him the spirit of a true knight.

"You think I need those things?" Sierra tossed aside her robe, revealing black markings like the other Esoterica had, covering her entire body "Diagon may have shown me the true reason for my suffering but he is simple a means to an end and I use the power he granted me for one sole reason, to take you down once and for all and make you suffer the way that I suffered."

"Am I supposed to be scared?"

"Taking me on with the powers granted to me by Diagon along with all of these elite warriors of the Esoterica would be akin to suicide, I spent the past year learning of the best ways that I could find to bring you to your knees but if you don't believe me then go ahead and test my power and see what happens."

"There's something that you really oughta think about too Sierra, you're not the only one who's been doing their homework."

"What is that supposed to mean, you know about the Esoterica and the might of Diagon like it's second nature?"

"I spent years watching cartoons with Cody you idiot, of course I know that. Not to mention that I've fought Vilgax himself while he was wielding Ascalon."

"No that's… that's not true, if you knew that I was up to something like that then why didn't you bother to act on it before now?"

"I thought the answer would be obvious. You're not a threat to me Sierra, you never have been and you never will be. And don't even bother to try and make yourself out to be the victim because you didn't get to be with Cody. Well guess what, tough shit. Not everyone gets a happy ending but that doesn't give you the right to take it out on others and blame them for your own mistakes. Go ahead and accuse me of lowering myself to your level but that's not the way that I see it, if you just go around like you're the only one suffering and you just hurt whoever the hell that you want then that makes you nothing more than the worthless dirt beneath my feet. No wonder Cody never even wanted to look at you."

"SHUT UP!" Sierra started firing random energy blasts at Adam "I'm a smart and capable woman who doesn't deserve to have someone like you ruin my life the way that you have! I don't care what I have to do, you will suffer and I will make Cody mine even if I have to force him to do it! One way or another I will get what I deserve out of life!"

"On that we can agree." with his body crackling with blue electricity all over, Adam blitzed forward with Shatterstorm in hand "Here's a little lesson for you crazy, the next time you threaten someone I love don't do it right in front of my face!" he took out two of the elite Esoterica soldiers with one kick each.

"Do it! Kill him now!" Sierra had the other remaining elite Esoterica attack him with barrages of energy blasts and tentacles extending from their hands "They've got you now!"

"You'd think so wouldn't you?" Adam threw Shatterstorm into the air "Now then… Cosmic… Lightning… ROAR!" he breathed out a blast of lightning, killing off the last of the elite Esoterica soldiers with one strike.

"What the- How did you get so strong?! I took extreme care with merging those Esoterica with the Lucubras and made sure they were strong enough to kill you!"

"Yeah well look at how that shit turned out." Adam stepped forward "I don't know what you thought you were going to accomplish and frankly I don't care, there's only one thing that you're gonna get is a shock to your system." he held out a hand to stop Bridgette "Don't say it, I know what I said and I do not regret referencing Static Shock in such a tacky way."

"SHUT UP!" by this point whatever sanity Sierra had was pretty much gone "I am a smart and capable woman who does not deserve to be trampled on like this, I deserve respect, love and the best out of life and I won't let some worthless trash like you stop me from getting all that I deserve!" she fired a large blast of energy.

Adam backhanded it away, sending it out of the Cosmic Ocean and sending it out into the cold void of space to detonate harmlessly "Remember this Sierra, if anyone dares to threaten my friends then they'll get no mercy from me! Cosmic Elemental Secret Art: Shatter Bolt!" with one hand he guided Shatterstorm down from the heavens above, sending her crashing into one of the floating islands surrounding them, leaving her drenched in her own blood "And that's how you unleash the full power of lightning beyond lightning, eat your heart out Laxus." he went over to Sierra's downed form and slung her over his shoulder "Alright come on guys, let's go."

"We're still going to face Cthugga?" asked Bridgette.

"Nope, we're taking this one here back to Hiidrala so she can decide what to do with her. We'll see what to do after that."

"You realize that she may very well consider you unworthy if you do this." Sir George pointed out.

"Yeah I know. Look Sierra came here looking for me to get back at me for whatever the hell is going through her sick twisted head, her coming here is my fault so I'm going to choose to take responsibility for it and if that means giving up these Wind Stormers then so be it."

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It wasn't long before the group, with Sierra in tow, now bound by chains, had returned to the palace of Varuna, being met with looks of questioning from the Daagon warriors eying them.

Hiidrala looked down at the bound form of Sierra with disdain "I will not allow such a reckless fool or scum that would dare to worship the Diagon to desecrate my ocean paradise, you shall pay for your crimes girl." then she levelled her gaze on Adam and the others "And as for all of you…"

Adam held up a hand to stop her "You don't have to say it because I already know, we failed your test. We didn't even face Cthugga, not that they would've passed if I had been with them anyway."

"And you chose to bring this girl to me yourself. Why?"

"Regardless of whatever their objective might have been the fact is that they invaded your home and attacked your people, that alone gives you the right to punish them as you see fit. But you know I should thank you your majesty, it was thanks to my visit here that I was able to get the blood pumping enough to realize something."

"And what would that be?"

"It doesn't matter if I'm worthy or not, I'd throw all of it away in a heartbeat and I won't let it stop me from protecting my friends. If I don't have them to remind me of who I am then my life would be meaningless, so I'd throw my life away in order to protect them worthy or not. So go ahead and keep your Wind Stormers locked away forever, I'll beat Metallum without them if I have to."

"...I see, it would appear that your actions validate the truth of the swords that Sir George had spoken to me beforehand about you." she let out a shriek, which prompted a Daagon warrior to enter the room with a set of metal boots "The Wind Stormers intended for only a knight truly worthy of such power, they now belong to you."

"Seriously? But I've repeatedly told you that I'm not worthy."

"Your actions speak otherwise, your soul is noble and pure and fitting of a warrior."

"...Well if you think so." this was followed by Sierra bursting out laughing "And what the hell do you find so funny?"

Sierra shot him a smirk filled with venom "It's just that the one who will do what I couldn't is about to approach, and even though I couldn't do it myself I take great comfort knowing that someone will do the job for me." and then she disappeared between the dimensions.

Adam would've commented if he wasn't frozen in place "This power… this overwhelming feeling of hatred… Guys get ready, he's coming!" he drew Shatterstorm off of his back without a second thought.

Sure enough, a large figure dropped to the ground like a bullet, his voice cutting through the air like a knife "At long last…" the figure emerged from the smoke, revealing itself to be a hideous hulking figure with glowing green eyes, a metal mask across his face with his teeth being visible on the side of the mouth, his body being hulking and muscular with blade sticking out from virtually everywhere, blue veins also being visible in various spots and areas "After all of these millenia, your meddling and interference comes to an end. Look upon me boy and know the same fear that your predecessors have experienced thousands of times before you."

"So that means that you're the Metallum that I've heard so much about. Carlos definitely wasn't overselling it, you really are a monster both inside and out."

"And it is fitting that you perish the same way that the Burromuerto did one year ago, by my blades. I want you to suffer thousands of times worse than he did, I will enjoy your screams even more than I had enjoyed his."

"Enough of this farce Metallum." Hiidrala let out an outright snarl "You dare to desecrate and disgrace my ocean paradise with your mere presence, you shall pay for your crimes against all of the 10 dimensions."

"I shall deal with you Hiidrala as soon as this boy staines the ground beneath my feet with his blood."

"We'll see about that ugly!" Adam charged at Metallum and fired off several punches, kicks and slashes from Shatterstorm, none of which fazed his foe in the slightest.

Metallum grabbed Adam by the ankle and slammed him to the ground, causing him to cough up blood.

"Adam! Let him go! Water Slicer!" Bridgette fired off a barrage of water blades forward through the air.

Metallum received a few shallow scratches, but aside from that he wasn't damaged "So you received a Lacrime filled with Kaiyo's power did you girl? No matter, you cannot attain the full transformation with only one Lacrima and either way you will still die by my hand after the boy does."

"NOT ON YOUR LIFE! Cosmic… Tempest… CLAW!" furious over Bridgette being threatened, Adam dealt Metallum a sharp wind enhanced kick to the face, sending him stumbling back a few feet "You know if I were anyone else then I'd try to snap your neck just for saying that, but since I promised my mentor I wouldn't let myself get consumed by vengeance I'll say this once. Get out of here and end this madness."

"Foolish child, now that you know who your master is you would do anything to save your own self." Metallum grabbed Adam by the ankle and began repeatedly slamming him down into the ground like Hulk did to Loki in the first Avengers movie, slashing him across his body with his blades as he did so, leaving Adam lying on the ground bleeding profusely "At long last the time has come to make sure that my ambition comes to fruition, now I will end your worthless existence!" he pounced at Adam with his blades drawn, his intent to kill.

However, Adam threw his Shatterstorm forward at full speed, the impact sending Metallum skidding backwards, though not wounding him, so Adam attempted to manipulate Shatterstorm so it would behead Metallum in one swift stroke.

Metallum caught the blade of Shatterstorm in his hand, cracking it upon the impact "Foolish child, as if a weapon such as this one would stop me."

"That… That's not possible…"

"Remember this if nothing else child, you know nothing of what is possible." and just by flexing his hand, Metallum shattered the blade of Shatterstorm in an instant, leaving its remains to fall to the ground.

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The reactions to the one sided battle were shared amongst most, if not all, of the witnesses.

Bridgette's expression was one of clear horror "This is bad, Adam is getting thrashed out there and it's like Metallum is barely even trying. He's just too powerful, I've gotta help him!" she prepared to rush out to aid him.

"No madam, you mustn't." Sir George held out one arm in front to stop her "You cannot, at least not yet."

"But if we don't do something then Adam will-"

"I am aware of this, we will jump in to save him but not before we are given a moment of opportunity."

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Metallum threw the remains of Shatterstorm to the ground "If that is the best champion that could be produced by Earth then your species and world are both doomed."

"Doom this! Cosmic Lightning… ELECTRIC FIST!" Adam dealt Metallum a lightning enhanced uppercut to the jaw, only to be pierced through the shoulder by his blades, causing blood to spew all over the two of them, then grabbed Adam by the throat "Now, after all of these millennia of endless insanity, my nightmares of your proud, leering and loathsome and arrogant face will finally come to an end!" he prepared to thrust his blades forward into Adam's throat and kill him, when…

"Have at thee!" just in the nick of time, Sir George charged in and slashed at Metallum using his sword Ascalon, cutting off a few blades in the process, while a few Daagon warriors managed to take Adam out of the range of the battle and several others attacked Metallum.

"You shall not escape boy!" Metallum fired off a barrage of metal blades from all over his body, skewing several Daagon warriors closing in on him and killing them, leaving their corpses impaled on his blades.

Sir George managed to deflect a few projectiles aimed at Adam "You shall not slay the boy when the first knight Sir George still draws breath."

"Then I shall slay you first one who defeated the Diagon, and then I shall kill the boy with my blades and then my nightmares will at last end!"

"You need not worry about such a thing monster." Sir George braced himself with Ascalon "I shall end your nightmares for you, and I shall do so permanently!" he charged at Metallum and fired a blast of energy from Ascalon.

Metallum defleced the blast with one hand, grabbed Sir George by the hair and threw him to the ground, then thrusted himself forward in an attempt to skewer Sir George using the blades sticking out of his hands "You will not leave this place with your life!" he violently stomped down on Sir George's torso, causing him to cough up blood.

Sir George unleashed a powerful blast of wind from the blade of Ascalon, blowing Metallum away and allowing him (Sir George) to get back to his feet 'This beast is formidable, I doubt I can defeat him on my own.'

"You will die, and then the boy will as well, only his will be thousands of times more agonizing than anything else you could imagine." he fired off a barrage of metal blades and pounced forward at full speed.

Rather than deflect the blades, Sir George used Ascalon to open a portal and send the blades back at him, dealing Metallum a few scratches across his front which was followed by all of the blades sticking out of him suddenly disappearing as his body began glowing orange 'What is the meaning of this? This feeling is different from before.'

"Now you shall die." Metallum blitzed in front of Sir George and dealt him a fierce smash attack to the head, sending him tumbling to the ground "Remember this so called knight, there will always be someone above you. If you wish to change that then you must find the greatest source of power in the universe so that you can stand above all others."

"Yes… perhaps you speak the truth…" Sir George staggered back to his feet "However… what you seemed… to have forgotten… is that the one… who has surpassed you… May very well be… right in front of you!" he suddenly burst forward and dealt Metallum a fierce slash across the face, knocking him backwards 'If my theory is correct then he cannot use the power of more than one Cosmic Lacrima at a time without the use of a Cosmic Elemental Fusion like the way that the original Wind and Lightning Cosmic Elementals did. I can use that to my advantage, at least to buy some time.' he looked over at a water dome 'Bridgette is using her water powers to create a shield while Hiidrala and the Daagon heal Adam's wounds and allow him to tap into the power of the Wind Stormers."

"So you have caught on then." Metallum's body was surrounded by a crimson glow and he summoned two balls of black flames in his hands "Then I shall break your spirit first!" he aimed at the water shield and fired the black flames forward.

Sir George rushed in front of them and took the blow but wasn't able to deflect all of the blades in time, resulting in a deep gash across his shoulder and his leg, his armor being covered in blood as a result 'Curses…'

"Your weakness is that you care about the well being of others when you should only be worried about yourself, only when you tear all weaknesses away can you surpass yourself and become all powerful!"

"You wanna bet?" a new voice thundered.

Metallum's eyes shot forward "What?! You were on the brink of death, I know you were! There is no way you could recover so quickly, Cosmic Elemental power or not!"

Sure enough, from within the water dome emerged none other than Adam, now sporting a set of metal boots, with his hair a shade of electric blue and his eyes the purest white, his body crackling with electricity and radiating strong winds "So are you ready for round two?" he put one hand behind his back.

'This power, no it couldn't be… Could it? It must be, that is the only explanation for his acquisition of so much power in so little time! He's tapped into the Cosmic Force!'

"I think I get it now Sir George, I get what you were trying to tell me. Maybe I'm not a hero and I never even wanted to be, but that doesn't mean I can't be a knight. To be a true knight is to follow your moral code even if it kills you, follow your heart wherever it may lead you, to stand your ground against the strongest of foes, and above all to protect the king that you hold precious to the bitter end!" he gripped his fists and looked down at himself 'This form again, only now it's way stronger than it was when I fought Vilgax before. I can feel the pulse of the wind, I can hear the voice of the thunder coursing through my veins! You were wrong Metallum, what you said before to Sir George couldn't be further from the truth. The fact that people care about others isn't their greatest weakness, it's our greatest strength. It's the main reason why I'm about to defeat you." he suddenly blitzed out of sight.

"Where did he-?!"

"Up here!" Adam dealt Metallum a sharp kick to the back of the head, followed by a fierce uppercut to the jaw "Cosmic Tempest… CRUSHING FANG!" he dealt Metallum several wind enhanced blows to the face, torso and upper part of his body, ripping off several of Metallum's blades as he did so "Is that all you've got?"

"Don't… you dare… MOCK ME!" Metallum suddenly grew more blades out of his body and dealt Adam a fierce uppercut, slashing him across the face and sending him tumbling backwards across the palace "Tell me, is this how you choose to die boy? Lying on your belly like a weak willed animal?"

Adam pulled himself to his feet but began coughing up blood 'This is bad, even with my new Wind Stormers I'm already at my limit. I've probably only got enough strength left for one last big attack, I'll have to make it count if I want this to work. Come on Metallum, let's end this already."

"Very well then boy, do you have any last words before you die?" Metallum summoned more blades and charged at him at full speed.

"A few actually. Cosmic Elemental… Secret Art… Shattered Light… SKY DRILL!" using the last of his power that he could summon, Adam unleashed a massive tornado made of his Cosmic wind power, blowing Metallum clear out of the palace "NOW!"

"Right!" right on cue, Sir George opened a portal in the middle of the cosmic ocean that immediately engulfed Metallum, and it disappeared not long after.

"Yes… It's over…" Adam promptly fell on his back and returned to his normal form "It's really over… You did it… Sir George…"

"No Young Master Anderson, you did it."

"I guess, but you know what I said was true. I never did think that I could be a hero since I didn't feel like I had what it takes to just put aside."

"Adam!" Bridgette rushed over and caught him in a bone crushing hug, then pushed him against his chest "Don't ever scare me like that again!"

"I make no such promises."

"...You're really unbelievable sometimes you know that? So what happened to Metallum anyway?"

"Oh it was a quick plan I came up with while Hiidrala and those Daagon warriors were putting on the Wind Stormers for me, see in this one superhero cartoon that Gwen's little brother watches called the Super Hero Squad Show, Ms Marvel gained Captain Marvel's cosmic power and used it to create a portal and trap the Silver Surfer, who was corrupted by the Infinity Stones and became the Dark Surfer, in the Negative Zone. I figured that since Ascalon is able to make portals according to the Ben 10 website Sir George could conjure up a portal to send Metallum into the well known space between the 10 dimensions, the Void. It won't hold him forever though, just long enough until we can get strong enough to defeat him."

"And I have no doubt in my mind that you will get stronger, far stronger." Hiidrala made her way towards them "Tell me Adam, Son of Ander, how are you now?"

"I've been better but I've also been a lot worse, what about you?"

"I am unharmed, as are many all of my subjects thanks to you. The three of you fought bravely to protect our kingdom and its people not just from the followers of Daagon, but from the Cosmic Elemental of Metal as well, and for that you have our deepest gratitude, especially mine."

"It was nothing, really. I just do what I think is right, that still doesn't mean that I'm worthy or these things."

"Actually it does. Your actions validate the truth of your words in regards to your comrades, but they clash with what you say about yourself. You are worthy and a noble warrior of great honor and moral clarity, and for that the Daagon will forever honor you."

"...Well if you say so." he bowed in respect "Thank you your majesty."

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It wasn't long before the group had returned to their home dimension (or home dimensions if you count Sir George), and everything had settled down for a little bit.

Bridgette was taking with Adam back in their apartment "So Sir George went back to Ben 10's dimension?"

Adam nodded "Yeah, he said that now that Diagon is prepared to make his move he'll have to mobilize the Forever Knights to fight off the Esoterica while he fights the Diagon. Which does bring up one problem."

"Sierra."

"Yeah. She's allied with Diagon just to get back at me, that means that it's my responsibility to help him bring her down."

"So what are we gonna do?"

"I think what we should do is once Alejandro is finished with his Second Origin training, we'll grab him and Cody and then we'll head over to that dimension and fight Sierra, Vilgax, Diagon or whatever is waiting for us there. Plus in the meantime Aurora said that she has something that'll be perfect for me to work on mastering my Cosmic Force power in a way shorter period of time."

"Really, what is it?"

"It's something called a Time Dilation Zone, apparently it's some kind of isolated pocket dimension that can only be accessed through something called a Transportation Lacrima

"You know you sound like you're not doubting yourself anymore."

"Oh the doubt is still there, I'm just kind of learning how to deal with it. And you know, despite the fact that I know he's going to be killed by Diagon I'm grateful that I got to meet Sir George, I guess he's the leader of the Forever Knights for a reason. Plus he taught me a few other things too, like before I can become the best Warrior of the Hurricane I can be I'm going to have to become the best Adam Anderson I can be first. I have a lot of responsibilities to fulfill to my friends, to Cody as an older brother and to you as a devoted boyfriend. And it's because of the responsibilities I bare that I've made a decision."

"Which is?"

"...I'm going to tell Devin and Carrie the Light about Mal, and I mean the whole Light. And with any luck they'll have the guts to make out once my back is turned, and once they get home with the million bucks in their pockets we'll celebrate their newfound all around victories Phineas and Ferb Summer Belongs to You style."

A/N:

This chapter was focused mainly on Bridgette and Alejandro, or more specifically their training, and Adam, Bridgette and Sir George journeying to the Cosmic Ocean of Varuna in the Turtles dimension in order to acquire the Windstormers from Hiidrala, so this chapter could be considered a partial crossover with TMNT, only not with any of the actual Turtles.

I know the continuity might seem a little bit screwy with this chapter so let me try and clear up a few things: The first part of the chapter takes place when Bridgette is undergoing her water training with her father, before and during the events of chapter 22 while Adam is off in the Ben 10 dimension.

The Second Origin training is based on the same concept as in Fairy Tail, when it's used on someone unleashed the dormant power within the recipient, and the more dormant power someone has the longer the process takes, but the process itself is excruciatingly painful.

Okay, just to clear things up since I'm not sure how clearly I explained it before, Bridgette cannot take on a full Cosmic Force transformation (or Cosmic Knight in case of Adam) because she only has the power of one of the Cosmic Water Lacrima in her body, and in order to be able to take on the complete form one would need at least two, otherwise the form would be incomplete, like with Goku when he attained Ultra Instinct -Sign-. That's part of the reason why Adam's transformation is so powerful, he technically has the power of four Cosmic Lacrima in his body. Plus he keeps tapping further and further into it each time he transforms, hence why his appearance when he transforms is different compared to before. In chapter 22 he had white hair and blue eyes, now he has blue hair and white eyes, the complete inverse. Next time he does it both his hair and his eyes will be blue.

Alejandro's trial with the Waterfall of Light is based on the same thing from Naruto: Shippuden with the Waterfall of Truth. I thought it would help for him to confront his inner demons and his shame over his actions in the Rise of an Underdog, what with hurting and screwing over all the people that he did and for disgracing Carlos' memory the way that he did. As for him learning the secrets of Kung Fu from Kung Fu Panda thanks to those scrolls that Cody gave him,

The fact that the Esoterica attack the Daagon is meant to link this to the war against the Diagon in the next Ben 10 chapter of this series, plus I had to have someone attack them in order to replace Lord Dregg and the fact that Sierra appeared was just icing on the cake for me, especially now that she's gone off the deep end because Cody rejected her and now she blames it on Adam and Alejandro for getting rid of her in Total Drama World Tour. I needed someone to add in there and let's face it, that bitch is crazy. Plus I got to write out that fight scene based on Laxus' fight with Raven Tail during the Grand Magic Games.

I based the first portion of the fight with Metallum on Splinter's fights with Super Shredder in the TMNT 2012 series, I thought it was a good way to show just how powerful Metallum is compared to Adam, and the scene with him crushing Shatterstorm was based on when Hela destroyed Thor's hammer Mjolnir in Thor: Ragnarok, to display just how strong he is. I also had Sir George fight Metallum just for the hell of it, plus I wanted to establish that without a fusion process like the one that created Tempestatis, even someone as powerful as Metallum can only use the power of one Cosmic Lacrima at a time.

This chapter wasn't edited as heavily as the others, I just added in something called a Time Dilation Zone in order to let there be a reason for Adam mastering his full power as easily as he did. Plus it's a concept that I somewhat recycled from my Dragon Reaper fic from about a year ago.