Harsh Reality

AN: Some things said about war in this chapter are not necessarily my personal opinions on the subject, just arguments that come up the most when debating the subject.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Ben 10 or related to Ben 10.

Arrows made of fire flew towards Gwen who shot manna orbs at each one snuffing the flames. Before having a chance to launch her own attack, she was consumed by a sphere of water and pain shot through her body as lightning bolts rained down from the sky. Not being able to gain any focus, she fell, landing hard in the small clearing they were practicing in. Upon connecting with the ground, the water sphere broke and the lightning ceased.

"To master your powers, you cannot be afraid to release the full potential of what you possess," Lauric stated.

"Tis true," Flurina came into sight. "Once you know what you are capable of, you'll know how to channel it towards your one goal, rather than just harming or killing anyone and anything within its radius."

"But now," Spury cut in, "the training continues." She threw her arms up as her eyes started to glow a fierce gold. Her body and wings seemed to disappear as a fierce wind picked up; Gwen only knew where she was by her eyes. Without warning, she was hurled into the air where she was hit with sharp edged stones, sending her back towards the hard ground, when she was once again thrown back into the air by a force stream of water with shards of ice, which was quickly replaced by the shooting pain of lightning making her scream out as an immense heat swept over her as a circle of flames closed in, when a small stream of water entered the center of the orb of fire creating a suffocating steam.

Gwen's body shook with pain, her eyes squeezed tight as she fought to regain focus and control. "ENOUGH!" Her eyes shot open, sparking purple manna out the sides as her eyes narrowed, her body glowing a deep pink as she created a small shield around her, the pain still coursing through her body. With a sharp thrust of the arms, the shield burst outward, causing all elemental attacks to stop immediately. Levitating into the air, her body glowed as she absorbed all the energy from the plants around her to heal her body.

The Elements looked around them as the plants slowly died as Gwen took in their energy, glowing more brightly as more energy entered her body. Tearing their eyes away, they focused on Dreca, who's anger was quickly taking over, her eyes progressively glowing a darker green.

"On it!" Spury sped towards her fellow Master, creating a whirlwind emerging into the eye as the wind whipped around them. "Calm yourself, Dreca!" Spury placed her hands on Dreca's shoulders to lock eyes with hers, sending calming vibrations down Dreca's spine in an attempt to get her fellow Elements power under control.

Outside the whirlwind, the other three Elements were attempting to stop Gwen from siphoning the energy from the surrounding foliage. Flurina flew towards her, "You feel a power surge, yes?"

"Such great power!" She responded, never feeling this good or powerful before.

"You need to pull it back into yourself!" Flurina tried to get closer but was ensnared in a manna tendril. She formed a thin layer of ice over her body, urging the ice to spread over the tendril freezing it. With a swift kick, the tendril shattered, making Gwen narrow her eyes as she glared at the Element.

"This is what you wanted," Gwen replied, indicating herself. "This power I have, to defeat your enemies!"

"Remaining out of control, you are not only a hazard to yourself, but to your allies!" Forca flew to Flurina as Lauric levitated above Gwen, her hands sparking with electricity, waiting for the command.

"I will never harm innocents!" Gwen argued, her glow making her form barely visible.

"You're harming Dreca by killing the very core of her being!" Forca yelled, anger evident in her voice as her concern for her fellow Master took front.

Gwen glanced at the whirlwind holding Dreca and Spury in their own world and laughed, bringing her eyes back to Forca and Flurina. "You think Dreca is innocent? How many Cimmerian's has she killed?"

"Cimmerian's are our enemies, of course she has killed them, we all have, you included!" Forca's hands let off a faint flicker as she reined her power under control.

"So just because they are your enemies, it's okay to kill them?" Gwen crossed her arms. "I did what I had to do to protect myself. I will not let my mind be held by anyone but myself."

"This is war," Flurina replied, "it's kill or be killed. You hide behind your excuse of having no other choice but to kill in order to free your mind, but it was quite evident, you broke that bond without need of death, yet you did it. Every Cimmerian we have killed, we have killed to protect our race, our home, our loved ones."

"If you cannot control your power and show no wish to learn how," Forca flew forward, her hands in full blaze, "then we have a duty to extinguish your power, by any means necessary."

With Kevin

A wood covered Kevin was doing his third run through of an obstacle course the elves used to train. He has been put under Brutus' command and had become fast friends with Aris, a fierce fighter. Kevin turned his hand into a wooden mallet and destroyed the final dummy, skidding to a halt, looking back at the rubble left in his wake. He sent a smirk to Aris, powering down. "Beat that."

"Easy," he shot back, whipping out to slightly curved swords and made quick work of the obstacle, finishing with a swift flip, taking the replaced dummy's head off with a smooth flick of his wrist, the blade finding the weakest part of the dummy's neck. Landing softly next to a stunned Kevin, he replaced his swords. "You are a good fighter, but still have much to learn," he chuckled, patting Kevin on the shoulder.

"Yeah, whatever," Kevin crossed his arms, kicking at the ground.

Aris slightly shook his head. "Still upset about this female mate of yours?"

"Gwen," Kevin muttered. "Yeah, she's being a fool!"

Aris chuckled softly. "She's being trained to harness her power, to be a better warrior, the same thing you and I are doing with this course. Besides, she's being trained by the best. The Element Masters are not ones to take training lightly."

Kevin shook his head. "But at the cost of her humanity. It's not worth it."

Aris crossed his arms. "I must admit, you humans are most strange to me. Amongst us, we are most eager to advance in our warrior ways, we would give anything to rise in ranks as fighters; there is no greater honor. We embrace all for their abilities; we do not change our views of someone simply because they choose to hone their skills. You should embrace her, don't make her feel like she's doing something wrong."

Kevin shrugged choosing to brood in silence as they made their way back to camp. He had been made an honorary Rowan, a few accepted him, Aris being one, but the majority had shunned him, only getting on with him when Brutus was near. The Rowans took their training very seriously and undergo many different tests to challenge their battle strategies, fighting skills, leadership abilities, and combat ingenuity. Tests of which Kevin had not taken. It was an honor to the elves to be made a Rowan, an honor that many refused to bestow upon him.

Upon arrival back to camp, Kevin and Aris each grabbed a trencher. Not even thinking, Kevin just ate everything off the trencher, chasing it with a strong earthly ale like drink, he had not questioned what he was given to eat, learning from his time in the Null Void to take what you get.

Trumpets cut through the camp, signaling Brutus, a Leader of Rowans, wanted to address the warriors under his command. Rowans, including Kevin, quickly formed up in front of Brutus' tent. The trumpets ceased, leaving the camp completely silent. A tent flap whipped open, Brutus emerged along with Luis. "Our time has come!" His voice ran out. "We have been plagued with these Cimmerian beings and now is the time to relieve ourselves of these pests. The time for battle is among us!" He held his sword in the air, the Rowans roaring. "We take our Grenvie back! We keep our families safe!" He re-sheathed his sword, the warriors slowly quieting down. "Get your rest, Rowans! We ride to war at first light!" He thumped his chest, the elves doing the same as he entered his tent, Luis following.

Aris clapped Kevin on the back as the elves broke formation to return to their duties. "Looks like you will be seeing your mate soon." He winked, heading over to his bedroll.

"But will she be anything like the Gwen I know?" He asked himself, looking into the quickly darkening sky. He was leaving to fight in a war; many will die, would he be one of them? Would Ben? Worse, would Gwen? Or was Gwen already beyond saving?

With Ben

"Four Arms!" Ben disappeared in a flash of green light as he transformed into Four Arms. King Orote had assigned him to working with the dwarves who create explosives. The Miner of Vast Tinka had sent him out for being reckless around the witherite and magnesium veins. He was sent out to create a new testing range for their models so they could correctly calculate the amount of each component for each explosive.

Lifting a boulder, he walked it a few hundred feet away before tossing it on the ground, where it sunk a little into the ground. Heading back for another one, he grumbled to himself about the situation. He did not like not knowing what was going on with his teammates. He was worried about Gwen and mad at her for losing control and letting her anodite form take over, but he was also happy for her to be finally getting trained further with her powers. He was also concerned for Kevin, who, though he'd never admit it, had become like a brother to him. He hoped his mouth and attitude wouldn't get him into trouble. He heaved another boulder into his two upper arms, grabbing a slightly smaller boulder with his two lower arms, placing them next to the first one.

He took a seat shaking his head. "We should be out fighting these Cimmerians, coming up with plans, not testing explosives!" He jumped up getting ready for a fight when he heard a raspy chuckle.

"You really think all it takes to fight and win a battle, let alone a war, is just charging in with swords and arrows flying?"

Four Arms eyes found an older dwarf lounging against a tree almost completely hidden in the shadows. "There's not much more, you go, you fight, you kick some bad guy butt, and go home."

The dwarf stood walking into the sun. "What happens if you go in five hundred strong only to be ambushed by an army over six hundred strong? Or you charge in with no plans, no strategies, no scout reports and find yourself victim to many deadly traps?"

"I've been up against worse," Four Arms retaliated. "I've been up against thousands with only me and my teammates, maybe a few Plumbers, when I saved my universe from the High Breed invasion and from Vilgax."

"Ah, and how many of your tiny squad did you lose up against an army of thousands?"

"None," Four Arms replied slowly, afraid of where this conversation was going.

"None?" The older dwarf asked stunned. "Your squad of less than ten," he paused, receiving a nod from Four Arms, "killed thousands without losing one single fighter?"

"We never killed anyone, we stopped their plans, put them in the Null Void."

"Null Void? I know not what that is, but I assume it to be a prison?"

"Of sorts."

"But you say you never killed any of these enemies, merely delayed their plans?"

"Not delayed, stopped," Four Arms clarified.

The elder dwarf chuckled. "If these enemies of yours are in fact still alive, they are still up to their plan. Maybe rewriting a few things here and there, but the plan lives on so long as they do."

"Then they will be stopped again."

"And thus you are trapped in a vicious cycle. Tell me young human, if you have never taken life, how do you think to stop these Cimmerians who take lives daily? Certainly you don't believe this 'Null Void' of yours will suffice."

Four Arms remained quiet, earning a saddened smile from the elder dwarf. "You have much to learn young transformer, but I you have not the time to be taught. There are two types of beings on this world, those who fight and those who don't. Those who fight do what must be done to protect and serve to those of whom they have sworn. Those who don't, well, they do what must be done to care for those who are left behind. Fighters and warriors, they take lives, it's expected, why else have an army trained to do so if not to dispose of the enemy?" The dwarf retreated to his shadow, taking a seat. "You have much to learn of the ways of war. Few wars are fought and won by words alone, and I promise you, this is not one of those wars."

"How many lives must be taken?" Four Arms asked, crossing his arms.

Before the dwarf could reply, a Cimmerian appeared at the mouth of one of the mines. Without even thinking, Four Arms picked up two of the boulders and threw them at the Cimmerian. "Jet Ray!" He was enveloped in a flash of green and took to the air, letting out a laser beam toward the Cimmerian and mine, sparks flying everywhere.

"NO! You fool!" The dwarf yelled, taking cover behind a rock face as a spark hit a magnesium vein, causing multiple deadly explosions throughout the mine, the mouth collapsing in a cloud of rock and dust, taking out the Cimmerian.

Jet Ray slowly landed after the explosions stopped, powering back down into Ben. The dwarf slowly walked forward. "As many as it takes it would seem. Look how many we just lost over one Cimmerian, and they weren't even warriors. Tell me, Ben, can you handle what war brings?"

Ben fell to his knees, how could he do this?" How could take so many lives and know he was expected to take more? Could he handle war? Real war? Was he a fighter? Ben hung his head defeated, the dwarf knelt down next to him. "This is what we face, many more will die, some by your own hand," the dwarf took a long pause, paying his respects to his lose comrades, "if you fight at all."