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The Minase Residence...

Life had calmed down somewhat after Ben's first battle with Julie's EVOs. Now that it was public knowledge that Ben could cure them, people were starting to return to their daily lives. Ben couldn't really be bothered to care about that right now since he was suffering from a bad stomachache from eating something he shouldn't have; old tofu that he ate on a dare from Jun. Now he was sick as a dog and forced to lie in bed until he fully recovered.

Stupid Jun. Why did I think I could eat that without Eatle? That tofu had mold on it, and yet, I wanted to prove to him that I'm a man. Well, I am a man, all right; a sick and stupid one, Ben thought to himself as the Omnitrix worked to purge the toxins from his system...via vomiting. It was not going to be fun expelling that gunk in the bathroom, but it had to be done.

After the dirty deed was done...

Ben was back to his usual, oddball self, full of energy and joy at being alive. He was all set to go out into this strange, new world when Rook ran into him, oddly flustered, which was out of character for Rook. "Dude, what's with the panic attack," Ben asked as he rubbed his sore ribs. Rook took the time to calm himself down and told Ben the bad news.

"There is a cat in this house." Rook was shaky and sweaty, the beads of moisture dripping off his violet fur. With as much nerve as he could, he pointed to a tiny Siamese cat playing with a ball of yarn. When the cat stopped to look at Rook and Ben, he mewed 'hello' to them in his cute cat way. Rook jumped back after the cat did this, and Ben had to tell his partner off about his odd behavior.

Gently, Ben picked the cat up pressed it against his chest. His heartbeat was soothing to the cat, who was purring contently as Ben smiled at how cute this cat was. "I should have told you sooner, Rook. This is Piro, Yuuichi's cat. He found him a little over a year ago, and since then, these two have been close as peas in a pod," he stated as he placed Piro down so he could eat. "What I'm not getting is why this little guy is freaking you out," he added in an inquisitive tone. Rook calmed down and told Ben out-front why he was acting so strangely before.

"I am not familiar with Earth creatures, Ben. Therefore, I get worried when something shows up that's not on my database," Rook admitted, while rubbing the back of his head in shame and relief. He had only just learned about the basics of Earth and so far, Rook was still learning, albeit at a slower pace than Ben would like.

The matter of defeating Julie before she brought this world to the depths of madness and despair was o the overall long-term goal while Ben and Rook were there. Plus, since they were living there, they figured they should at least help pay for food and the like. So with that goal in mind, the two Plumbers got out of the house, being very careful not to wake Yuuichi and Nayuki, who were still asleep, and went on their way to the marketplace.

Please let there be American food there! Ben thought on the way there. He liked Japanese food, but he was feeling homesick and thought that perhaps a good old fashioned hamburger would cure the blues.

The marketplace...

Even with the Omnitrix to help, Ben was having trouble understanding what was what in the Japanese market. From how things were placed to the way things were read, Ben was having a foul time of it, and his body language was showing it. Someone saw his scowling face and decided to take pity on him by going over and helping the odd 'hero' out.

She was a girl just starting her first year of college. Her black hair was bound by a lime green ribbon into a loose ponytail that went over her shoulders and touched her lower back. Her eyes were a shade of jade that told of much hardship in her life. Clad in a long, red plaid dress with a scarlet overcoat, she looked and acted older than she seemed at first glance.

"I believe you are looking for beef, yes?" she asked in a polite tone of voice. Ben nodded vigorously to show her that was indeed what he sought. "I can sympathize with your plight. Things aren't marked here that clearly around, so it can be a hassle to find what you're looking for, especially if you're on a strict time limit," she said as she showed Ben where the meat section was.

Ben's green eyes lit up when he saw all the types of meat that were for sale there. He brought what was needed for the week, plus some ground beef and buns for hamburgers. "Man, I can't tell you enough how much you helped me out here! Thanks!" Ben shouted in glee.

The girl however, was offended by what he said, though Ben meant no offense towards her. "I'm a woman, not a man," she deadpanned with an annoyed frown on her face. "Perhaps if you were to look with more than just your eyes, you might be a better man than you are now." With that barb out in the open, she walked off, leaving Ben dumbstruck and Rook annoyed as well.

"Your idioms are strange Ben, but I feel she over-reacted to your comment. Still, she is an innocent, but if she gets in the way of our battles with Julie, then she will be seen as a liability," Rook responded in a harsh manner. Ben was taken aback by how gruff Rook was being with this girl that they barely even knew.

Raising his hands up, Ben replied "Look, Rook, I don't know who this person is, and I doubt we'll be seeing her again soon, so let's just go home and try to put this behind us, okay?" Ben was nonplussed to see that Rook had a look of concern on his face. He knew he had to act fast or Rook could end up making things worse than they already are. "I'll buy you a smoothie on the way back. How does that sound?"

Rook's face lit up when he heard Ben's offer. "It's a deal." Thankful that this problem resolved itself, Ben headed back to the Minase residence, food firmly in his shopping bags.

It should be noted, however, that things never go the way Ben wants them to, for better or worse. This was just one of those times.

Minase residence...

Ben nearly fainted from the sight: here was this girl that gave him grief in the market eating breakfast with Yuuichi and Nayuki like it was just normal for them all. Truth be told, this girl knew Yuuichi and owed him her thanks due to helping her with her formerly out-of-control powers of healing. She first found out she had them when she saved her mother from a terminal illness. During those early times, she used this power to bring dead or dying animals back to life. While she meant no harm, there were those who hated and feared her for what she could do, forcing her and her mother to move to this quiet town. She had made a friend in Yuuichi, and they played together in a field that meant a lot to her.

When she learned that the field was to be bulldozed over to make way for the high school, she fought so hard to save it. She was then forced to lie to Yuuichi about demons attacking the field, but he was unable to help her. All the grief she was repressing caused her powers to form 'demons' that attacked the school every night since Yuuichi enrolled there, labeling her a trouble maker when they only meant to tell Yuuichi the truth about her and her powers. She had been killing them off one by one and killing herself as well since they were also a part of her. It was when there was only one 'demon' left that Yuuichi found out that she so desperately wanted him to come back that had been causing her powers to act like that.

It had been less than a month since that had happened and now her power had recovered to most of its original potency. After that, she started to gain new friends, though she was by nature quiet and not willing to talk to people she didn't know or trusted. She also took healthy pride in the fact that she was beautiful and ladylike. So when Ben referred to her as 'man', she was hurt by that, though Ben meant no offense towards her.

"Wh-What's she doing here?" Ben stammered as she gave him the death glare, mouth full of soup. The look in her eyes told Ben that she considered him her enemy, and that given the chance, she would make him pay for insulting her. Ben knew he had to act fast in order to avoid hurting her or vice versa. "About that thing that happened in the market, I didn't mean to tick you off. So you can go home, and I can get on with my life, okay?" he offered while flashing his best cat smile. The girl then placed her dish down gently and bared her teeth in an angry snarl, making Ben step back in fear. Geez! Why can't I do right with this girl? It's like she's working for Vilgax here! Ben thought while sweating up a storm due to his terror at getting his butt kicked by a normal human.

"Mai, don't you think you're being a little too hard on Ben here? He didn't mean to hurt your feelings. It's just that he's, well, not very Japanese," Nayuki explained, during which time she placed a hand on Mai's shoulder to calm her down. Thankfully for both Ben and Nayuki, it worked and Mai relaxed and sat back down, though she was still upset with Ben due to his poor choice in wording.

"I messed up badly here, didn't I?" Ben asked, knowing full well that he did cause all this by accident. A nod from Yuuichi confirmed his fears, causing Ben's good mood to come crashing down hard.

"Aw, man! Can't I do anything right?" Ben bemoaned, hands covering his face in shame. Mai just ate her breakfast, not even bothering to even look at Ben.

Elsewhere...

In an old building, Julie sat in the dark, Ascalon by her side. To think that such a kind girl could become so twisted and evil. It should be noted, however, that there was buildup to this event. Ben had not controlled his ego as much as he promised, and Julie, herself, had lost sight of what really mattered in the relationship. Failing to drown out her sorrows in tennis, she had joined the Flame Keeper's Circle and had sealed her fate. Now, as the avatar of Diagon, she lived to bring about the End of Days.

There was a time when thinking about Ben had made her happy. But those times were long gone now. In her mind's eye, she saw Ben being the egotistical brat he swore never to become again after his arrogance brought an enraged Kamen Rider Fourze to his doorstep. Having a Kamen Rider angry with you tended to make you humble, even though Ben and Fourze became friends. Julie brushed the thought aside for now and went over to Albedo, who was working on something, or more accurately, someone. The girl he was about to inject with nanites was sixteen, with greenish-brown hair and eyes the color of the setting sun.

Her tears of fear were angering the once Galvan to the point of having a hissy fit. "If you don't hold still, then this will hurt less," he hissed though clenched teeth. The teenage girl kept fighting to get free from his grip, and Albedo gave up on being 'gentle' and activated his Omnitrix, changing to the form of Dark Spider monkey. The monkey alien was now more spider than monkey, with six eyes, clawed hands, and a more pronounced build to him than Ben's version. She screamed at the sight of Dark Spider monkey, but soon her shouts were silenced by a gob of webbing hitting her mouth. The attack knocked her down, and Albedo wasted no time in getting the nanites into her body.

The pain she felt during her transformation was excruciating, and she thought it would never end. In less than five minutes, she was human no longer. She had become the Akurojin-no-hi EVO, with blue, fiery hair, piecing red eyes and the ability to use fire attacks. The nanites also had the effect of brainwashing her to serve Julie and Albedo without question.

"What is thy bidding, my masters?" she asked in a regal manner. Julie, needless to say, was very pleased by this indeed.

The avatar of Diagon made her mission short and sweet. "Hunt down Ben Tennyson and all who seek to offer him aid. You must not fail me, for if you do, you shall suffer my wrath," Julie ordered in her demonic tone of voice, the air vibrating from the power coming out her mouth as she said this to the Akurojin-no-hi EVO. With a somber bow, the EVO went off to cause havoc and chaos to draw out Ben.

A cruel smile formed on Julie's face as she saw the EVO run off. Soon I will be the ruler of all. Ben shall regret ever defying me! As Julie was lost in thought, she didn't notice that Albedo was starting to have plans of his own.

Ones that did not have Julie in the picture.

The Minase Residence...

"As you can see, Upchuck has two different forms he can use. The ones I'm using now are called 'Perk' form."

Yuuichi, Nayuki and Mai were seated as Ben was telling them about the little quirk Upchuck has. He was now in the 'Perk' form he had unlocked by accident during the final attack on the hybrid stronghold. He was a swampy green frog-like alien with sharp-looking eyes, straight teeth with enlarged lower canines, and a tan underbelly. Black spots were on his back, and the Omnitrix was on his stomach. Nayuki was fighting to stay awake due to being too active the day before running track, and Yuuichi was just watching with a black look on his face.

Mai, however, was sitting perfectly still, not caring about Upchuck or his little quirks.

"Hmm. Tough crowd. Of course there's also the 'Merk' form as well. This was the form I had first used during my time with the Prototype Omnitrix years ago!" With a twist of the dial, Upchuck became a deep green with a light green underside. His teeth were crooked, and his eyes had an odd look to them, being white with over-sized black pupils. The Omnitrix appeared on his stomach as well instead of his left hand.

Again, no one had any real reaction to this. Ben was more than a little annoyed by this as he powered down to his human form. "Aw, come on, guys! How many times do I gotta say I'm sorry before Mai will get off my back!?" he grumbled as he raised his hands in frustration.

Little did he know that Nayuki did care about what he had tried to show them; it was just that she was tired and fell asleep near the end of his presentation. Yuuichi didn't see any real different between the two, and Mai was not angry at him anymore. She was just unsure as to how to talk with the outspoken Ben Tennyson. Ben had failed to take for account how much more restrained Japanese culture was from American culture.

Giving up, Ben then went to his room and plopped down onto his bed, bummed out over how poorly his showing of the two Upchucks went with his friends and Mai. What is UP with that girl Mai? I think she's just here to throw me off my game. Given how EVOs are formed and how they can act and look human, this is to be somewhat expected, Ben thought as he looked at the ceiling. Rex had given him the lowdown on EVOs, but there was still so much that Ben didn't know about them. He was just glad that his body was able to purge the nanites he absorbed while in Rex's universe out of his body after they killed him during what he thought was his battle with Vilgax before Elana fused Vilgax's body with her own to form Cyber Vilgax.

Ben exhaled deeply after recalling his last battles. Monsteroso's death was still fresh in his mind, and the fact that Julie was now Diagon's avatar was not doing him any favors. He was set to just sleep this day off when screams of terror brought him back to the waking world.

Ben ran down the steps faster than he ever had in his life. Just outside was a girl with blue fire for hair, setting things on fire to try and flush Ben out. "Might as well go out and see what she wants," Ben spoke out loud as he exited the house and charged towards the new EVO.

The Akurojin-no-hi EVO just glared at Ben and shot a gush of blue flames at the wielder of the Omnitrix. She thought Ben had been killed by the blast and was about to report his death to her dark masters. She was then shocked by a thunderous cry of, "Water Hazard!" and before she could react to this, she was knocked down by Water Hazard's high pressure water jets.

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be. I don't want to hurt you," he pleaded, though his words did not have the effect he wanted. Instead of calming her down, they made her more enraged as she unleashed a roar of power at Water Hazard, a back-draft of power flowing out of her mouth and hitting him dead on. If it weren't for his armor, Ben would have been nothing but ash, though he was burnt badly by the Akurojin-no-hi's counter attack.

Damn! I don't think Water Hazard is gonna cut it here. I'll have to switch to another one of my guys if I'm going to stand a chance, Ben thought as he twisted the dial to select Articguana. A flash of green light later, and the iguana-like alien stood ready for battle. "Eat this!" Ben bellowed as a mighty gust of freezing air came roaring out of his lungs, causing the Akurojin-no-hi Evo to brace herself as Ben's attack hit her hard. Eventually Articguana ran out of breath, but to his horror, the female EVO was still standing, albeit with ice covering most of her body. Ben thought he was outmatched until she flared up and broke free of the ice, a little shaken if otherwise unharmed.

"Aw, man! Why can't I get a break with these damned EVOS just once in my life?!," Articguana complained as the Omnitrix powered down and returned him to human form once more. Seeing as he was now defenseless, Ben muttered, "At least some things never change for me, having my Omnitrices power down at the worst times being one of them," and he ran off to find cover until he could fight again.

At least he tried to find cover before he heard a harsh voice scolding him, "Running away from your problems again, I see?" Ben spun around and saw that the speaker was Mai.

"M-Mai? What are you doing here? It's dangerous here, in case you didn't catch the hint of the fire EVO wiping the floor with me just a few seconds ago!" Ben snapped at the ponytailed girl.

Mai just shook her head in disbelief at Ben's actions. "You're nothing but a coward who hides his true power behind meaningless bluster. You have the means to stop her by yourself; you just need to look deeper within. If you cannot do this simple action, then you're useless to us all." Her words stung Ben with how harsh they were and her rough tone of speaking made it even worse. Ben had a great deal of alien heroes to use, but he did not know which one to use to stop the Akurojin-no-hi EVO's rampage.

Water didn't faze her, and ice only slowed her down! Terraspin might be able to blow her out, or he could just fan the flames even faster! I don't know what to do here, Ben pondered as he gripped his hair in his hand tightly due to the stress of the battle not going in his favor. Finally he gave up and asked Mai, "What would you do here? I can't think of anything to stop this EVO."

Mai was pleased to hear that. "You're learning that you can't do everything by yourself. Now that you gained humility, we can truly begin bringing this fight to a close," she said as a small smile began to form on her face. Ben wasn't too pleased to see that, though he didn't know that deep down, she was right.

"What should I do, Mai? Both Articguana and Water Hazard couldn't even faze her."

"Isn't there an American saying that sometimes you must fight fire with fire?" Ben immediately knew what she meant by that, and once the Omnitrix recharged, Ben changed to Heatblast, his very first form.

With a thunderous roar, Heatblast fired off powerful blasts of fire at the Akurojin-no-hi EVO, burning her badly. "Heh, heh, heh. You can sure dish it out, but you can't take it, now can ya?" Ben mocked her as Mai clicked her tongue in disapproval. "Well, don't worry too much. I'm gonna end this right here and now!" Soon after he had said that, Heatblast sucked in the fires the Akurojin-no-hi EVO into himself, turning his body a deep shade of blue.

"Behold true firepower!" Heatblast used his fire powers to propel himself towards the EVO, twin streams of flame trailing from each arm. When he got close enough to attack, he kicked her up into the air and once the Akurojin-no-hi EVO was high enough, Heatblast braced himself and raised his arms up as high as he could and then unleashed a wave of pure fire at the monster for a minute. Having spent all of his power on that last attack, Ben returned to human form, exhausted as the toll of this battle caught up to him as he collapsed in the smoldering crater he created.

Just a foot away from Ben was the defeated Akurojin-no-hi EVO, knocked out but still alive. Mai saw her and began to walk towards the EVO. Ben heard her footfalls and was frightened by what he was seeing. "Mai, NOO!" he protested, even as Mai kept a steady pace.

Soon, she was holding the unconscious girl in her arms. What happened next was beyond what Ben had expected to see in his lifetime.

Mai was crying on the girl's face and her tears were healing the EVO. A bright white light shined from within the EVO's body as the nanites that caused her unwilling mutation shattered and died, restoring her to human form once more. Ben limped towards the two girls, unsure if what he saw was real. "Mai...What are you already?" At first, it seemed that Mai ignored Ben completely, something Ben wasn't totally used to. Then she replied and what she said struck Ben down to the very core of his being:

"I am the hope of the downtrodden people of this fair town. You are merely a childish nuisance that will ultimately get in my way. Leave me alone for now on, or you will surely come to regret your foolish actions."

"Fat chance of that happening! I saved the universe more times than you have, you arrogant egotist! Let's see you flap your jaw when Fourarms gets done with you!" Before Ben could act on that threat, Mai drew out her sword and brought the flat side of it down hard on Ben's head, knocking him out cold. Without saying another word, Mai took the girl to the hospital, leaving Ben to lie in the spring sun.

Later, back at the Minase residence...

Ben woke up to see the worried faces of Nayuki and Jun looking at him. "How long was I out for?" he croaked out, his throat dry from all the battling he did earlier.

"About a couple of minutes or so. In case you were wondering where we were, Jun and I were helping to evacuate the townsfolk when that fire EVO started to attack. I'm glad that you're safe, but Yuuichi..." Nayuki couldn't finish what she wanted to say, and Ben didn't want to force her to.

"What happened with Yuuichi, Jun? Is he safe?" Ben asked, his voice cracking from the worry he was feeling.

"Dude, relax. We're all fine. However, Yuuichi's kinda pissed off at you right now."

"For what? Getting on the bad side of that bitch he thinks is his friend? I'm glad she can cure EVOs and fight, but I'm worried that she may be over her head with all of this," Ben spat out in anger, not knowing that Yuuichi heard everything that had said.

Yuuichi, in blind anger, sped towards Ben and started to choke him. "You fatheaded fucker! How dare you say that about Mai? If you knew anything her, you'd see that-"

Ben broke free of his grip and yelled, "I know enough about Mai, thank you very much! She's a fifth wheel we don't need if she's going to act like she's the only one that can fight and cure EVOs." Ben stormed upstairs towards his room and added, "If Mai has suffered in her life, she certainly doesn't act like it made her a better person!"

Yuuichi's face turned red from anger. "Leave my sight at once before I kill you," he growled before Ben left his line of sight. Nayuki and Jun looked at him with worry and fear in their eyes.

"Yuuichi, Ben and Mai got off on the wrong foot. Can't you try to help him out with understanding how Mai acts?" Nayuki pleaded in the hope that Yuuichi would calm down.

"Yeah, Yuu. Ben's a great guy, but you can't see that because-"

"I know enough about Ben, thank you very much," Yuuichi interrupted Jun before he could finish what he wished to say. "I'm going out for a bit to cool off." He soon grabbed his jacket and walked outside, leaving Nayuki and Jun alone in the living room.

Ben's room...

Ben wanted to relax, but he was too angry to even think straight. Sensing that Ben needed a friendly ear, Rook walked in. "Forgive my unexpected arrival, Ben, but I talked with Yuuichi about Mai while you were resting, and I think you may have made a grave mistake in judging her," Rook said in a calm manner.

"Rook, you're one of my best friends, but Mai is…she's not someone that I think wants to help me from the bottom of her heart," Ben countered politely. Rook frowned a bit from this, and Ben saw that he may have made an error in judgment on Mai.

"I'm listening, Rook. Tell me what is it about Mai that Yuuichi sees that I can't."

Rook told Ben the story of how Mai found out about her power and how her former townsfolk drove her and her mother out of the first home she had ever known out of fear over her healing powers. The years she'd spent having only two friends, one having moved before he could say goodbye to her face (Yuuichi) and the other having guilt issues of her own, but always put those aside to help Mai out with the drama of her power attacking the school without fully understanding what was causing it. (Sayuri)

When he finished, Ben calmed down somewhat, though he was still angry at Mai. "I see. She's a danger towards not only others, she's a danger to herself. If it comes down to it, I'll have to kill her if it means saving the multiverse from Diagon." Rook was stunned by how cold Ben was being towards Mai.

"Ben, I respect you as both a superior and more importantly, as my best friend. But if you're willing to kill Mai before you can fully understand her, then I won't help you until you see reason. Mai's not as bad as she seems at first." He then walked to the door leading out of Ben's room, though not without saying this to Ben:

"Gentaro would be deeply ashamed of you right now," Rook said quietly and went to his own room, leaving Ben to think about what he had done.

Next time: Ben and Mai are not getting along at all. Can Yuuichi, Rook, Nayuki, Mishio and Jun help the two get along or is that a futile hope at best?

Albedo starts his endgame and no matter how it ends, Ben's life will never be the same again. Find out how in the next chapter!