Chapter 71: Testing Enduring Hearts, Light within the Darkness depths.

Last time, in Tales of the Cosmic Wars, Ben was just about to relax, after helping Mario save the Mushroom Kingdom from being destroyed. However, it seems that was not what was destined to happen. As soon as Ben returned to Corneria, he was greeted by both Grand Master Myers and his son Kira. The news they had for Ben was good and bad. The good news was that the stiff Kira finally was seeing Ben as worthy of a real Enji Knight. However, that meant that Kira 'requested'

that Ben leave Cloud and his pal's team, to become Kira's apprentice! Such a shocking statement was compounded on when Kira then told Ben he would have to come to his own base, the space fortress of the Titans on the moon called Grandra as soon as that night! Ben was not the only one, his main rival Ezan Kaiba had also agreed to train under Kira's harsh standards.

While Ben knew becoming Kira 's 'student' would not be a happy time, he realized that he must get as strong as he can to stand a chance against the large amount of evil madmen and women wanting to kill him and turn the cosmos into a playground of darkness.

And so, after saying goodbye to Lacus, Doug, James, Moz, Cloud and everyone else he could find before evening, he and Hiryuumon got on board with Kira and Ezan to fulfill his destiny. It only was a half hour trip from Hallow Bastion, but to Ben it felt much longer, as he was leaving most of his friends behind. Ben was hopeful that he could make new friends at the Titan's base, but that soon proved to be unlikely!

As soon as they arrived, Kira made clear it would not be a fun time, by punching him through the shuttle and have his elite commandos open fire on Ben at his 'reception'!

While Ben was more than willing to prove that he was more powerful than standard soldiers, Kira soon showed him, Hiryuumon and Ezan just how brutal his methods were. He then made them realize that they were really going to be pushed to their breaking point and that Kira had no concerns over how painful the process was!

Can Ben and Ezan pass Kira's trials through hell in order to reach the next level of power? Time to find out. Ready? Go!

Our new chapter begins right where the last one left off. After having a healing robot hover down and heal his new apprentice's injuries, the followed Kira and his soldiers into the base. While before he left, one of the few things that Ben was excited about was being able to take a look at the top secret Titan's military base. As he walks through, his excitement fades.

The main reason being that as Kira leads them on a seemly unnecessarily long walk, all Ben sees is an endless amounts of hallways and large rooms that look the same. Ben sees soldiers everywhere and mobile suits in hangars, but otherwise nothing that looks to spectacular. After walking for a while with no destination in sight, Ben says,

" Um, Commandant Kira? If you don't mind me asking where are we walking too?"

Kira does not even look at Ben and just says,"We are heading to the registration center to have you three input into the security systems. Then we will begin your training."

This causes Ben to looks confused before he clears his throat and says,' Um, before we start training, do you think we can check out our rooms first, and maybe get something to eat?"

Kira still does not stop walking or face, Ben and says,"

Don't tell me you already forgot who is the one who will obey Ben Auro. Such insolence may have been tolerated by my father and the others, but not by me."

Ben then gets nervous and says,

" Err, sorry if I was out of line. I just thought, it would be good to put my stuff away before we started. After all, best to be ready when the body is at its best, right?"

Kira retorts with a cold," Sigh, there you go, thinking out of line again. The duty of a soldier is to fight, not to think. The thinking is to be done by the superior commander, and I am that role, remember? Heh, don't worry, you will know your way around here soon enough. Or should I say, you better, if you wish to succeed."

Ben then looks confident and his responds is," Oh, don't worry, I have no intention of failing. So, just what kind of skills and powers do you plan on teaching me? Some of the powerful magic and skills you know? No matter how hard they take to master, I won't stop trying until I can use them as well as you!"

Kira then says," We will see about that. First things first. Before you can even think about learning new moves, first I am going to see if you can have the endurance to wield them."

Ben then looks confused and says," Oh? What do you mean by that? Is it the first training exercise? What is that going to be?"

Kira then turns at last to look at Ben and answers with," Why, this."

Kira then snaps his fingers and, before Ben can react, the ground beneath him opens up and he falls in with only the time to say," AH! "

Hiryuumon is shocked and angered at this and goes up to Kira and says"

Hey! Why did you trick the boss like that? This is not training, this is, Huh? Ah nuts! AH!"

Just as the Digimon was about to get right in front of the son of the Grand Master, the floor around him falls out too! As he also screams, Ezan just sighs and says," Well, looks like Ben Auro once again failed to ready himself for danger at any moment. Sigh, just another sign of his. Huh? I don't think so!"

Ezan looks at Kira's eyes moving and realizes it's likely the floor beneath him is also about to fall away, and Ezan jumps back, and it does! As Ezan lands once more, he smirks before saying,"

Give me some credit Commandant Kira. Unlike Ben, I never let my guard down."

Kira then gives off a small smile and says,"I can see that, Ezan. However, careful. Confidence and breed arrogance. And, arrogance can then lead to death."

Ezan is suspicious and jumps into the air once more as the floor once again falls away! The silver- haired warrior then lands right in the middle of the squad of helmeted soldiers following Kira and Ezan then says," Good thing that I believe I can keep that in balance."

Kira then turns around and says," Very good, Ezan. I am impressed. For this I will allow you the option to check your room and eat before the session begins, as well as giving you the option of walking there voluntarily." Ezan salutes and says," Thank you, sir. But I am ready to begin now, and I prefer to know what I am dealing with."

Kira smiles and responds with a sleek, "As you wish. Commander, take Ezan to chamber forty six."

Ezan and the squad walk down the other hallway and Kira then says,"

Well, this will prove to be interesting. Ah, it's time to prepare those two for their part. Yes, let's see just what those two can really handle."

Kira walks into a turbo lift and goes to wherever he plans on going. As for Ben, after falling, it turned into a kind of slide, a steep slide in pitch black moving down too fast for Ben to stop his descent! Just as Ben is about to get ready to punch a hole or something to get off, the ride lands, and Ben stops himself from crashing into the wall in front of him face first! When Ben gets on his feet, and the dizziness stops, he sees that he seems to be in a normal dull white room with nothing inside it. Ben also sees there is no door or windows and says, " Hello? Is anyone listing? I know you most likely have cameras everywhere, knowing you. What kind of training is this? Huh?"

Ben then sees that spikes are extending everywhere, and to make a bad situation worse, spikes are beginning to pop up out of the floor too! As Ben's space narrows quickly, all of a sudden he sees a holographic image of Kira appear in the center of the room and Kira says, "This is the first test. Before you can even begin to think about me teaching you some of the powers I have mastered, you must first learn to master the limits of your own body. This test is simple. You must balance yourself on either your toes or your fingers when the room takes its true form for, oh let's say nine hours. You will not be allowed to progress if you can not pass such a simple task."

Ben panics and responds with a mortified, "Are you nuts! It's hard enough to balance myself for nine minutes, let alone one hour! How do you expect me to be able to keep my self balanced for so long when that is impossible for most Enji? Oh, I know, I'll just blast the spikes to dust!"

As he begins to power up his magic aura, Kira just retorts with a dismissive,"I would not do that if I were you, unless you want to feel even more pain. Cause the spikes to explode and you will start a chain reaction that will make the energy generators that are parallel to this room to blow up. Of course, my base has several back up generators, but still I will not tolerate my equipment being damaged by careless actions. You can't take another option; you just have to face the pain."

Ben is about to say something, when, all of a sudden, the panel beneath him splits apart and Ben catches himself with his hands! Now, upside down and using his magic energy to keep him balanced, Ben sees he can't even use a floating magic spell, because Kira has made the walls and the ceiling too compressed to leave Ben with no room to maneuver!

Ben then says," Good grief, this is nuts! I never did these kind of acrobatics in any of my missions. Even a master gymnast would not be able to pull this off!"

Kira gives a harsh look before he dryly retorts with," Oh, you might be surprised how well you can manage, when you have no choice. If it makes you feel better, even if you fail and impale yourself, you won't have to worry about dying.

I have my most powerful healers on standby just outside, in case you fail. But I still advise against that, it will still be very painful. And I will keep making you do this until you can pass it.

Now then, I'll let you focus. Just a note, as we progress with your training, I expect you to soon be able to do this a full day without rest or food. Well, time to get to work, my apprentice."

The hologram image fades, leaving Ben to himself. He was, of course, very angry at being thrown into such a painful training excise without even being warned.

He then says," Blast that Kira. I am starting to think he is just tormenting me because he wanted to be chosen by the Star Sword! Grr, if he was not the son of Master Myers and leader of this special force, I would never have, Ah!"

Before Ben can finish, he sees a sweat drop of his fall on a spike, and he nearly topples before getting himself back on track.

He then tensely states," Blast it, just one bad movement and it's all on board the pain train. I don't have a choice. I have to pass this now or I will have to waste even more time on this stupid test of his! I'll show him, I will show Kira once and for all that no matter what he throws at me, I will beat it!"

Ben uses his magic energy to keep himself still for as long as he can.

Hours pass, and while Ben struggles to keep himself from having an impaling experience, even this gets boring after so much time. While Ben does not know it, he is able to hang on for nine hours. Near the end, Ben starts to almost lose it, being in such a position for so long brings pain.

He then says," Ah, I think my leg cramped. How long have I been doing this? Feels like forever. Grr, it's really starting to get painful here! But, I can't stop now. Otherwise Kira will think he is right about me. And I can't have that, no matter how painful it is!

And then, he will stop messing with me! I had enough of this stupid test. I want to learn some real moves for all this trouble! Still, I can, barely hold on. The pain, it's just too much. I have to, hang on, Ah!"

Ben can hold on no longer, he is relieved to see that the spikes retract, just before he loses his balance! Ben lands on the floor, tired, and says,"

Hah! Looks like I can handle it after all! Ah, can't feel my legs, though. Oh well, I guess I will feel better after a nap. Huh?"

Ben sees the hologram image of Kira reappear and he says, "I must admit, Ben Auro, I am impressed. I thought it would take a few tries before you could manage it. Very well, get on your feet, it's time for the next test."

Ben can barely bring up his head in shock, before yelling out a frustrated," WHAT! Give me a break! I can barely move here!"

Kira then looks harshly at his new apprentice before his responds is," There is no time to waste on such insufficient motions. What is wrong? With all the power you have, you can't even do such a simple task"

Ben groans and responds with a dejected," Grr, even the best fighters of all can't just go on with this stuff forever, without eating or resting! Do you think I am a machine or something?"

Kira then waves his hand and Ben sees a small pill fall out of the ceiling. Kira then says," Oh, if you will quit you're whining. Eat this pill. It will fill you up and keep you awake. "

Ben looks at the pill, sniffs it and eats the small pill in one bite. As soon as he swallows it, however he gags, and says,"Arg! This tastes like chicken, rotten chicken."

Kira then looks impatiently at the Enji before he responds with a annoyed," What, are you expecting a four star meal? Heh, then Senzu pill may lack taste, but it will keep you in fighting shape."

Ben soon sees that Kira is right, as he finds himself full and awake enough to stand. Kira then points to the wall behind him as it opens and he says,"

Good, now enough of this annoyance. Go through this path, Ben Auro, and continue to past these tests of mine. If you can make it to the end of this path, then you will find one of my men waiting for you.

And don't think it's just a soldier, it's an Enji like you. However, he has been trained by me. And that means you will find his skills are far above a normal Enji."

Ben then stretches and says,"We will see about that. No matter what, I will prove I am better than what you think I am!"

Kira then smirks and says," We will see about that."

Kira's image disappears once more. Ben then readies his resolve and dashes through for his next challenge. As Ben goes through, he finds himself dealing with many more grueling demanding tests from the leader of the Titan's Special Forces.

While I don't want to waste time going over the details of all the tests, some of them involved tasks like having to do a thousand push ups, in over 100 degrees heat, and in reverse gravity!

Or how about going through a maze in the dark, with mines! Still, Ben's determination to become the true master Enji Knight gives him the strength to overcome his hurdles. After what seems like an endless gauntlet, Ben goes through a large door. He then sees it's another large room with no features, and no lights. Ben can barely see himself and wanders on in before saying,"

Now what? Am I done yet? How much longer are you going to treat me like a lab rat till I can finally earn your respect? Sigh, sometimes I wonder if that's even, Huh? Hey! Whoever you are, I can sense your power level, so stop sneaking around! You must be the vanguard of the Commandant that I am supposed to fight, am I right? Come on, it's been a long day, or two, or whatever time it is now. Just show yourself!"

Ben then senses the other figure in the room has landed behind him and he turns around and takes out his sword, before seeing just who has arrived. Ben then sees a black skinned Enji in Enji robes mixed with the Titan's uniform. He has some kind of odd hair style and has some sort of goggles on his face. Ben sees the man take out his sword and he knows Kira always has a trick up his sleeve, and gets on his guard. He then sees the lights on the room turn on dimly and the figure begins to move to the side.

Ben then says," So, don't like lights much, do you?" The figure then responds,

"It does not matter how bright the lights are, for I have no use of my eyes."

Ben then flinches before he responds with," You're blind? I am sorry to here that. Hey, how can you even be an Enji Knight with out being able to see? "

The figure then powers up his magic aura and it's enough to shake the room!

The follower of Kira then responds with a firm," I don't recall saying that was a weakness. I can use my magic energy to sense my surroundings as well as any eyes can show me. Ben Auro, you are the apparent chosen one.

I am Kaname Tosen, and, as commanded, I will judge whether or not your blade truly has the power to shine for justice."

Ben then powers up himself and the Star Sword glows blue with his magic energy and he says,

" I see. Well Tosen, if you want to have a first hand demonstration of the power of the legendary hero chosen by the Star Sword then I will be happy to give you a front row seat. Heh, after all, these annoying tests are at least a real fight. Seems like a good way to blow off some steam. At least those awful food pills were good for something. "

Tosen then walks forward and says," It's like the Commandant said, you overestimate your abilities. Powerful as you may be, your lack of focus makes you weak. I will show you how little your unrefined power can cut it against the forces of evil. Now, enough talk. Benihiko Suzumushi!"

Tosen then jumps into the air and has his sword shimmer. He then has it split into dozens of swords that rain down on Ben like his own Bankai powers! However, Ben is only caught off guard for a moment, before charging his power and jumping at the swords heading his way!

He then grins and slickly snaps back with," Not a bad attack. But it's not enough to defeat me. Take this, Shining Flare Slash!"

Ben causes his blade to be consumed with light energy and he slashes through the swords heading his way! He then tries to continue the assault at Tosen himself, but the blind Enji quickly dashes to the ground to avoid it. Ben then rebounds on the wall and jumps to bring the attack onto Tosen with a downward strike! Tosen is able to block, but Ben's strike is powerful enough to shatter the floor tides around them!

Tosen then says,"You are strong, Ben Auro. But even so, you are still the inferior fighter here. Power alone is not able to bring justice. Only discipline and commitment can make the difference between a warrior and a barbarian."

This comment angers Ben and he lashes back with a frustrated, "Why does nothing I do ever please you guys? Barbarian? After all the stuff I have done for the Lylat Kingdom and the cosmos, and all you see me is as a barbarian? I am starting to really get tired of this, I will prove I am worthy of being the chosen wielder of the Star Sword once more!"

Ben kicks Tosen in the stomach and then punches him in the face to send him into the wall!

As Tosen regains his composure, Ben jabs his finger at the black skinned knight and declares," I should warn you, after being forced to do all these insane tests I am not in the bests of moods. Even the likes of Xehamaru and Night-Terror could not defeat me. If you don't want to be in real pain soon, surrender now!"

Tosen then just wipes the blood off his mouth and says,

"I see you need to be put in your place. You think you're some knight in shining armor. But all you really are is some naïve clown who, if unchecked, can bring more harm than good! Ben Auro, I see why the Commandant wants to educate you. I will show you, that the path to end the bloodshed can not be found by one who's eyes are blinded!"

Ben then says," Enough! I know how to save the universe. Master my power, complete the Star Sword and finish my training. With that, and the help of my friends, I will make sure the ultimate god of darkness never returns!"

Tosen begins casting some spell and says," Tell me, are you afraid of the darkness?"

Ben then prepares to charge up his energy in to a energy wave attack and passionately says, "Of course not! After all, a real hero does not back down from such things. I'll show you how afraid I am! Shin, Ryu,"

As he charges up for his Shinryukenha attack, all of a sudden Tosen smiles and says, "Well, you should be!"

With this, the small ring that is part of Tosen's sword glows and grows until it becomes a ring big enough to cover Tosen!

Tosen then splits that ring into nine rings, and has them fly around Ben! Ben is about to fire his attack at Tosen, but all of a sudden a flash blinds his eyes! That would not be so bad, accept that when it fades, Ben can see nothing but darkness all around him! But that's not the worse part! Ben soon finds out that he can not hear anything at all either! He then says to himself,

"What, what's going on? What did Tosen do? I can't see. No, I can't hear anything either, even my own voice! I can't even sense his magic energy anymore! I, am I still in the same room! I have to stop this! Maybe if I power up and fire off light energy attacks I can break this odd spell or at least, GUH!"

Before Ben can do anything,he suddenly feels a sharp painful slash across his spine! It seems that Tosen showed no mercy on Ben and, while his senses were neglected by his spell, he slashed the hero's spinal cord with his own sword! Ben then falls down to the ground, not sure what just happened, but knows he is feeling real pain! Hurt bad, Ben can't move from the blow and as his mind slips he thinks,"

What happened? Where did that pain come from? I can't move."

Ben blacks out for real and Tosen has his spell fade as he sees the unconscious Ben.

He then says,"Well, seems you had to learn the lesson the hard way. Just be grateful I did not kill you. I see Commandant Kira will have to dig deep to mold this foolish boy into our hand of judgment. Kira has never failed a task he has set himself to do. And you will not be the first one to change that. Now, time for you to learn the value of suffering."

Tosen snaps his fingers and two droids come out of the ground to heal Ben. Ben then wakes up a bit later, but finds himself in even an even worse situation! Still too tired to open his eyes, Ben can only hear what appears to be the voice of Kira and some other member of the Titans. He then hears, over the throbbing pain in his head, Kira say,

"That is enough time Ocelot, it's time to wake him."

He then hears a older sounding voice say,

"Hey, sure you want to start so soon? It's not very fun if he breaks right away. I don't want to end the fun as early as those clowns did with the Zeon DARPA chief."

Ben then hears Kira confidently say, "Don't worry, this time the machine is fully tested, and this one has more strength than that old fool. And now, it's time to see just how much strength he really has. Now, awaken, Ben Auro!"

Ben then feels a sharp jolt and his eyes are forced open, and then he sees just how much worse his situation really is! Ben now sees that he is hung horizontally, suspended face down, two meters above the cold steel floor. He felt something holding his head and from the corner of his eyes he could see what seemed like a metallic claw that had a tight grip on his head! His arms and legs where hung by chains as well, and they had a tight grip. Ben can see Kira right in front of him sitting on a comfy chair sipping what appears to be tea. To the left of him is an older man with a mustache that is wearing a Titans uniform that almost makes him look like an old American cowboy.

Ben's eyes are good enough to see his officer badge with his name on it. And his name is Revolver Ocelot!

(I am going to just say this now. No, while he has the same personality and looks just like the triple agent from the Metal Gear Solid series, this guy is not the same person. This is just a cool cameo.)

Anyway, Ben can see that his shirt and shoes are on the table next to Ocelot, as well as the Star Sword. Ben is in immense pain and says,

"What, what happened? How did I get here? I remember fighting that Tosen guy, unless that was a dream. Arg, it was all a blur. All I remember is everything going dark. Is this a dream too?"

Kira then stands up and responds with a stone cold, "No, Ben Auro, this is not a dream. This is reality. You fought Tosen and he used his powerful Enmakoorog spell to consume you in a magic zone of total darkness. It's quite a deadly skill. It causes its target to be stripped of his sense of sight, smell, taste, hearing, and even the ability to sense magic energy! Yes, it leaves its target quite vulnerable."

Ben then gets angry and says,"That's cheating! How am I supposed to fight such a move like that when I have no way of knowing? That is quite the lame move to use in a fight."

Kira sips some tea and casually responds with, "But, that's the idea, my apprentice. It's not about the most glorious show of lights, but the fastest, quickest, most brutal way to neutralize a target. Let me fill you in, in the true battlefield of war there is no room for honor or such things. It's only the most brutal tactics that crush their foes hard and fast that bring victory in war. This is why you are being punished for your lack of sense. Welcome, to the Embrace of Pain!"

Ben then tries to break loose, but is too weak, and says, "Sounds, lovely. Now, why am I in this thing again? This looks like an interrogation for mass murders! What kind of training is this? Prisoners are treated better than the ways you are treating me! Do you have any intention of training me, or do you just want to see me squirm?"

Kira then says," Oh, but this is more important than learning any spell or secret move! More important than anything, what matters most is how much a warrior can endure. I have seen your fights. You're afraid of pain, and that can't do. You expect to stand up to the most furious agents of evil when you are so frail? Ha, you will never amount to anything at this rate. That's why I have a treat for you. This machine you are in, it's the same devices Shimra Zalden used to try and break me. How are you feeling now? You should be grateful, Ocelot insisted I let you keep some clothes. What about how you are feeling?"

Ben then moans out a ,"Horrible."

Kira smiles and says,"Oh, I assure you will feel quite worse when the Embrace of Pain turns on. Yes, it nearly killed me, but in the end it taught me a valuable lesson. That in the end pain is good, it makes you feel alive! The pain makes you stronger.

Alright, enough of my talk, let's show him a proper demonstration. Ocelot start it up."

Ocelot presses a button and Ben soon feels electrical shocks all over his body! However, that's not the worse part!

Ocelot then laughs and says," I see. No problem then. We're going to play a game, hero. And we'll find out what kind of man you really are. When the pain becomes too great to bear, just give up and your suffering will end. But I should tell you this device has a nasty tendency to at the least leave mental scars, if one lives at all!"

Kira then smirks and says,"But don't fear. Like how Tosen gave you a fatal blow before, you will be healed before any lasting damage can be done. Yes, you will face this burden of yours, until this kind of pain can no longer hurt you!"

The Embrace of Pain not only shocks Ben, but the claws installed lash out at Ben all over! Brown chains armed with black barbs then cover him for even more pain!

The pain is so great that Ben can not help but scream out in pain and he looks at Kira and says,"Why are you doing this?"

Kira then stands up and walks right in front of Ben before saying, "Because you're too soft to fulfill your legacy! All this year I watched you go on about such nonsense about dreams and justice, like a fool! You talk about the Enji Knights, and while father and the masters may have become so senile they adore you enough to accept you, you're not a true warrior of light! You're just a pretender, Ben Auro!"

Ben then glares at his tormentor and says," What is with you! Are you insane? I have been fighting for over a year without failing my missions or being disloyal at all! How could you be so high and mighty that you think just what you want to think?"

Kira then chuckles and walks over to the Embrace of Pain while holding out his hand. As soon as he gets close to it, a tendril lashes out and hits him in the face! He seems to have lowered his guard on purpose as blood comes out of his cheek, but he just smiles and says,

"Yes, you have fought for the Enji and have won several battles. But you are not a true warrior. The difference between you and me is that you try and run from the pain, but I embrace it. Pain keeps us in touch with those we protect. You see, for all my strictness, I do it to ensure the safety of my people. I share their pain. Tell me, Ben, I want to know why you wanted to become an Enji Knight. Is your mind stable enough for that?"

The Embrace loosens up a little, and Ben takes a deep breath before saying,"

That's not hard. I wanted to be an Enji Knight since I was little, because I always hated seeing injustice wherever it was. In my home town, this planet, even space. But the Enji Knights, they were the ones who made a difference. They are the force that stops evil in its tracks. They are the league of justice heroes! As long as I can remember, I knew my dream was to join the Enji, so I to could fight evil and be a hero. Well, there you go, now can I get off this thing? AH!"

Kira shows what he thought of the answer by punching Ben in the gut, as his machine starts up again!

He then glares at Ben and says, "You annoying dreamer, you can't lie to me. I have heard the constant speeches you made to your opponents. You want to be the greatest of all Enji Knights. You want to be the savior of the universe. And when the Star Sword chose a mere rookie like you, I bet you were never happier. Tsk, even if you deny it to yourself, I know your real reason for being an Enji is not as noble as you claimed. Tell me this, if you wanted to protect people, why not join the regular military?"

Ben pauses for a moment before he fiercely answers the senior Enji with," The same reason you and every other person that joins the Enji has. Because, while it took a while to bring out, I had I had more powers than the average human. And, in any case, most soldiers have a short life expectancy, with no control of their destinies. I, I don't want to be a thrown away pawn with no control of my future."

Kira then sighs and responds with," Ah, so the truth surfaces at last. You just want to be a legend, Ben Auro. You have no true patriotism. Pathetic! If you were truly devoted to the cause, you would gladly sacrifice your life in an instant!"

Ben looks ashamed for a second, but then gets mad and says, "Is it so much to not want to die? To want to have a good life?"

Kira then says," YES! That's the whole point! Enji Knights are tools, fighters that serve to destroy evil. Personal feelings should not exist at all in the order, only what you can best do for the cosmos!

Do you want to know how devoted I am to true peace? Two years ago I found out that there was a spy in the Lylat fleet. It was one of my closest friends, Athrun Zala. He had spied on the development of the Gundam for the sake of his homeland's survival. Do you know what I did when I found about this? I confronted him, and killed him without mercy."

Ben is shocked at hearing this and responds with a horrified,"Some friend you were! I see you don't really care about anyone!"

He is shocked to see Kira has sadness in his eyes. He then says,"I assure you, he was one of the few people I respected and I had no ill will towards him. However, unlike you, I value justice and stability over all! No matter what reason or motivation, crimes must be answered. Now, tell me. Would you even kill those closest to you to bring peace to the cosmos?

Don't bother, I can tell from your face that you are not up to it. And that is why I am going to keep this up, until I melt away all your foolish thoughts, and leave behind your bare soul. Yes, Ben Auro the foolish idealist will die. And from it will be born the ultimate warrior, one who fights only to enforce the law and stabilize this universe. One who has no weakness and unparalleled strength! You may not be able to phantom my motives for this now but, but I assure you one day you will thank me.

Yes, when you all ready faced the worst pain and lose everything, then there is nothing left to be afraid of. By forcing you to mature, ill purge your weaknesses from you and make you what you have to be to truly live up to your destiny! When pain does not phase you and your not afraid of anything but failure, then you will have truly matured to the person you have to be if you ever hope to survive this cosmic war.

I will turn you into the ideal sword of light, no matter how long it takes to break down your ideals! Now stop being so stubborn!"

The Embrace of Pain gets even more intense and Ben can barely keep himself together! However, he looks at Kira and says,

"No! I will not become your little plaything that you can control! I will get stronger and be the one who saves the universe! But I won't die in the process,and I won't let you break me in to being your ideal pawn! My dream is to live! If you're so sure of yourself Kira, then why did the Star Sword not choose you! I guess the Celestial ones don't think much of your way of thinking! Guh!"

Kira just shrugs and says,"I admit I find it odd the Celestial ones would choose someone like you over someone of my caliber. But I am not petty enough to be jealous over such trivial details. I don't need the Star Sword to bring this realm into order. But you need to master its power, to become the tool of the light you are fated to become."

Ben says,"No, I am not going to become a tool, I am going to be the greatest hero. Just, like Max."

This gets Kira's attention and he causes his device to stop for a moment. he then leans right in front of Ben's face before saying, "Pardon me, whose name did you just say?"

Ben then grins and enthusiastically says," Max, my closest cousin. We are so close, we are like brothers. Hey, now that we are on this topic, I waited long enough to ask this. I think you're the best one to get an answer from. Like I said, Max Bruder is my cousin, the son of my father's sister.

Unlike me, he was a genius at fighting since I could remember. He was the one who first trained me, and he, along with Lacus and my grandfather, was one of the people who got me to believe I could really be an Enji Knight.

Three years ago he joined the order and ever since he has been on a top secret mission deep in Zeon space and has only contacted me through hologram messages. Commandant Kira, I know you're the one who commands such missions, so I was wondering. Do you know Max and do you know where he is? Huh?"

To the shock of Ben, this causes Kira to laugh out loud, and even Ocelot gives off a chuckle!

Kira then sharply regains his rigid composer before he says,"How amusing, I never thought I'd hear that name again. Yes, it all makes sense now, how you got your naïve thoughts.

Yes I knew Max, Ben Auro. In fact, he was on my squad before I founded the Titans and before Xehamaru left the order. In fact, those two were on my team, and we were the best squad in the order at the time. We were so good we even had nicknames. Max was called the solid knight, Xehamaru was called the liquid knight, and I was called the Solidus knight. We were the trio criminals feared the most before we went our separate ways. It's really amusing that you were never informed, after all this time.

Do you want to know what happened to Max? He did go on that mission to become a spy of the Zabi family, and that was his final mission. Because he died before he could complete it!"

This statement shocks Ben to his core and he says," No, that's not true! That's impossible! There is no way Max could die so easily! I have been getting messages from him every few months at my home computer! You're lying!"

Kira then walks forward and responds with a commanding,"Search your feelings, you know it is the truth. I have no idea why you are getting messages after his demise. Perhaps they were prerecorded. Regardless, I assure you he is no longer with us.

While we never found his body, we also lost track of his energy trace a year and a half ago. And the only way one imprinted with a beacon could stop emitting a single would be for the person to die. Your worshiping of your cousin explains a lot, and now I know what to work with.

Max was arrogant about his talents. He indeed was a great warrior. Some say he was my rival, even my brother thought so. But his great powers could not save him from his own idiocy. And if you act like him, the same will happen to you."

Ben then looks mortified before he yells out,"Stop it! It's a lie! AH!"

Kira has the Embrace of Pain go on to full power and he looks detached as he says,"

It's time for you to put aside your own desires and sacrifice them for the good of the Lylat Kingdom! Give into the pain, and use your suffering to fuel your power! Stop wasting time on such worthless things and become a being worthy of the power the celestial ones entrusted you with! Your cousin was to consumed with his emotions and it cost him everything. Only by ascending such primitive impulses can you ever truly achieve true greatness!"

He then sees that his machine has tortured Ben so hard and for so long he is knocked out. Ocelot then smirks before he turns to Kira and says," Well, he is a fighter, that's for sure. That amount of pain might have even killed me. What should we do with him?"

Kira then goes up to his subordinate and coldly responds with ," Heal his wounds, and repeat the process until his pain threshold is great enough so that this is nothing. If you are tired, you may leave this to me. His will is stubborn, but no matter how long it takes, I will not relent until he embraces his true destiny.

Ah, it's too bad he is not as cooperative as Ezan Kaiba. Unlike Ben, he is quite good at following orders and at being a professional soldier. Still, he too has errors that must be attended to both in the body and mind. I noticed recently he shows sighs of wanting to trust his emotions, I must do what I can to make sure he sees he must reverse this trend as swiftly as possible. And, there are those reports about his true origins that I will get to the bottom of. However, no matter how long it takes, I will make these two warriors into my sword and shield of the Titans.

And then, when the coming day comes, it will be much easier to quell the coming uprisings that will happen after the changes this kingdom must be forced to make. Ah, but that's for a later time. You may take a break if you wish, Ocelot. I do not mind watching over for a while. Patience is just one of the many things I have lots of. If you want to see something fun, you can check how Ezan is doing in his trials. With whom I have as his opponent, I have no doubt it will be entertaining."

Ocelot salutes Kira and exits the room, as he twirls his revolver like blaster around his finger, the Titan's Commandant watches Ben recover.

Meanwhile, in another section of the moon base, Ezan is going through his own struggles. As Ben was dealing with all the tests, so was his rival. However, Ezan had been used to this kind of training for a while now, and dealt with the challenges presented to him much faster than Ben did. At the moment, Ezan is walking through the hallways, after cutting his way through a maze of death traps without too much effort. He then sees a large room that looks like the same kind of area where Ben fought Tosen. Ezan looks around the dark place and takes out his sword before saying,"

Bah, these challenges are barely harder than the training I have done at home for years. Kira better be satisfied soon after these morning exercises, and begin to teach me things worth my time, or this is all a waste." As Ezan walks into the middle of the room, he senses something and takes out his sword before saying,"

If you don't want me to cut of your head by accident, turn on the lights now. I don't want to waste time on cowards."

He then hears a mocking laugh and the lights come onto normal. He then sees a man, also in Enji robes, with the red Titan's insignia. He has short silver hair, like Ezan. He also has an odd grin on his face. He is another one of Kira's elite Enji vanguard.

The odd Enji laughs before saying," Oh pardon me for my sneaky entrance, Ezan Kaiba. I was just not expecting you so soon. I must say, you have done well to get through so many challenges at such a fast pace. You are as crafty as they say."

Ezan then powers up his purple magic aura and says,

"I am not one who does not live up to expectations. So then, whoever you are, I assume you are here for me to defeat you."

This causes Gin to laugh and he takes out his own weapon, which looks like a slightly large knife. He then says,"I see you think of me as often as you think of most people. Not much. However, that will not do. Oh, sorry, where are my manners?

My name is, Gin Ichimaru, and I was told you would be coming. Sorry Kaiba boy, but you are mistaken if you think you can master Kira's training so easily. I see I will have to put you in your place."

As his magic energy powers up and shakes the room, Ezan just says," Ah, I see your magic pressure is worthy of the high position you are in. However, you are mistaken. It is you who will be put in your place!"

Ezan has his Soul Eater sword glow with purple energy, and Gin responds by having his blade do the same. Gin seems more amused than anything and from his still smiling face he slyly says," Ha, you really are an interesting guy, Ezan. Are you not worried at all about fighting your senior? Oh well, then perhaps, oh?"

Just as Gin was about to raise his blade, he sees Ezan has vanished from his sight, only to reappear a moment later, as he flash-steps in front of Gin to slice into him hard at his right shoulder! As a large amount of blood gushes out of the wound, Ezan has given his opponent the one with the former title of," number one rookie" back dashes to ready for a retaliatory strike. However, Ezan is shocked when Gin is still giving off an eerie smile! Gin sees his wound and looks at Ezan before saying,"

Oh my, Ezan, you are as brutal and as merciless as they say!"

Ezan then retorts with a emotionless," Kill or be killed, that is the way of this world. To show mercy is to show weakness to my enemies. And such tactics are insufficient to the best course of victory. If you can not take my ruthless fighting style, then quit now, while you are still able to quit. After going through all these training courses, I am not feeling quite charitable today."

Gin says,"I can certainly see that. Heh, but despite your effective preemptive strike, you are still far from done with me. After all, even though you did make my right arm useless, it's a good thing for me my left arm is my sword arm!" Ezan readies himself, as he sees Gin's eyes open madly, and his weapon glow before he says,

"Pierce him, Shinsou. Gin's blade, in a flash, rapidly extends, aiming for Ezan's heart! The strike is so fast that even the elite warrior of light is just able to avoid being hit, and is still hit lightly to the side, as Gin's sword extends far enough to pierce the wall! Ezan then jumps behind Gin and says, "Nice attack. But if extending your sword is your best shot, then you have no chance of defeating me, especially now that I know it's coming."

Gin lunges his head around to meet Ezan, and he says," Oh, my, you're way too tense! Why so serious? Are your responsibilities weighing you down? Let me help you lighten up with a little slicing! It's a good thing my powers are not as simple as you think, no?"

Gin has his sword extended even further, and it goes through the wall with ease! Ezan then readies himself just in time, to notice the blade coming out of the floor beneath him! Ezan dashes to the side, only to see the blade grow through the ceiling, and come down on the other end. Ezan then darts all over the room, as Gin's sword chases after him endlessly! Ezan then says,"Well, it seems it's more than a simple trick. Still, I am surprised that he has not tangled his blade at this point."

Hearing this, Gin laughs again and says,"I think you are pushing your luck to think I will trip up on my own ability. Why, I should tell you, I was able to strike my target's heart from the other side of a city, on the top of a skyscraper! You will never be able to outrun the pain, Ezan!"

He then sees Ezan smirk, while jumping in the air and he says," Running? You think I am running do, you? Hardly, just seeing the extent of your abilities, and I am not impressed. It's time I show you what the power of a super elite warrior is!"

Ezan closes his eyes before opening them again. And, when they do, Gin sees they now look red and have odd patterns, Ezan's Sharingan eyes!

Gin sees this and chuckles before saying," Ah, so those are the eyes of the Sharingan that I have heard so many stories about, eh? You really are a special one, Ezan. No wonder Kira thinks you and Ben are the key pieces in this game of war being played. Still, as you are at this point, you're not quite up to the bar in what you need to be. That's why you are here, after all, a little painful fine tuning!"

Gin continues his assault. But he notices that while Ezan was just barely able to keep out of harm's way before, now Ezan seems to be two steps ahead and dodges Gin's sword with ease as he gradually gets closer to Gin! Ezan then is close enough for a charging distance and as he gathers his magic energy he says," It's no use. With these eyes of mine, I can predict your moves, before you can even make them. While a skillful warrior you may be, this is what happens when you try to reach farther than you can! Delta Ray Slash!"

Ezan jumps over the ever extending sword of Gin and closes in on his foe, and charges right in front of him, before unleashing a lightning fast triple triangle slash across the chest of his foe! Ezan then jumps back and sees Gin clutch his chest, as his sword retracts to its normal length.

Gin then says,"That was unexpected! You're not one to be taken lightly, that is clear. Hehehe, this might not go very well after all."

Ezan then says,"Enough, I am through with this game. Time to end this. Burning Chidori!"

Just as he is about to charge up his sword with electricity for the final blow, he is caught off guard, as Gin raises his hand! Ezan's opponent then says," Oh, wait! Before we end this match, can I ask a favor?"

Ezan is not expecting this and says," Favor? We are fighting at the moment. If it's a favor for me not to kill you, then stop pestering me. I don't kill opponents that are on the same side as me, no matter how annoying they may be, too much red tape. Otherwise, stop wasting my time!"

Gin then laughs and says,"Oh, don't worry, it's not a waste. To be honest, it's part of your training too!"

This puzzles Ezan and he says," What are you getting at?"

Gin then retorts with a witty," Your power is great among Enji, no question. But the Commandant thought you could use some work on your judgment. Here we go then!" He points his sword at the ground before him and, to the shock of Ezan, a hole emerges in the floor. A few moments later, a person emerges in chains, and whoever it is, the face is covered with a bag. Gin lifts the person up with his sword and Ezan says,

"What is the meaning of this? Have to summon help to win?"

Gin's grin becomes larger and he says,"Oh, quite the opposite. You see I am merely two birds with one stone. One of the other tasks I had for today was to execute a political prisoner. However, I thought you might want to have a taste. After all, we are Enji Knights, enforcers of justice to all that threaten the Lylat Kingdom, right?"

Ezan then looks at Gin and says,"That is a job for the official executor. I don't waste time killing helpless people."

Gin then laughs and says," Oh, don't be a prude! Come on! It's not pretty, but it's what has to be done, right? Remember that in our missions, we must do whatever it takes to complete our jobs, no matter how unglamorous it may be. Heh, don't tell me that for all your talk about being a professional warrior, you're a softie? What would the Commandant say?"

Ezan just powers up his magic aura enough to press Gin back and he says," How did a disturbed individual like you become an Enji, anyway? Whatever, who is this person, and what is the crime?" Gin then brings the prisoner to his feet and says,

"Oh, this one? Let's see, for a while she was presumed dead. But half a year ago we found she had let the cosmos believe she was. All this time she has been a shadowy spy that has been leaking info on our weapons and secret locations! Of course, such crimes can only be rewarded with death! Now, as for who she is. I am not sure, but you just might recognize her."

Gin cuts off the bag over the target's head, and Ezan is horrified to see the face of the woman under it! He sees a blond woman with long hair.

Ezan remembers her from long ago, it's his real mother, Namine Uchiha! This kind of shock is enough to cause even Ezan to be taken aback! He then says," Mother? My, mother is alive? This can't be, she was dead, I went to her funeral!"

This causes Gin to laugh once more and he says," Well, she seems alive to me. Who knows, maybe she is a clone or an android imposter? Oh well, guess we will find out during the autopsy!" Ezan then sees the person that seems to be his mother reach out her hand for Ezan and says,

" Ezan? Is that really you? My son, I am so happy I am alive to see you grown up. Please save me, Ezan! This man is lying! I was captured by Sithantos and brainwashed to be a spy! You must believe me!"

Gin then laughs and says," Oh please, you're lying through your teeth, woman. Now Ezan, we have all the proof we need. Give her the justice she deserves! "

Ezan is speechless and says," Mother, no. I, can't kill her. I need more proof that she is truly guilty."

Gin's grin gets eviler and he says,"Proof, spoof! This is a direct order from a higher ranking Enji! She is guilty of treason and, no matter who she is to you, it's your duty to kill traitors! Now, be the patriot you claim to be, and do it!"

Ezan then raises his blade and gets closer to Gin and Namine. He almost prepares to strike, just like how Cloud was about to kill Aeris against his will through Sephiroth's own will! However, just as Ezan is about to strike, he stops himself and looks down. He then says,"

I am sorry, but I can not go ahead with this. Even if she is a traitor, she is still one of the few people I care about. I can't comply with this."

Gin then says," So, after all this, you refuse, eh? Even to save the cosmos, you can't bring yourself to kill a loved one, is it? My, so even the coldest warrior has a heart. Oh, this will never do!"

Not even a second later, Gin grins farther than most people can, and at once his sword extends, and hits the conflicted Ezan in the right shoulder! Gin then laughs and says,

"How pathetic! No matter who the target is, either friend or family! Anyone that stands in our way must be destroyed without question! Letting personal feelings mess with your judgment is a big case of weakness! Such things are what Kira wants to rid you of.

And if you're smart, you will hurry up and get rid of your idiotic feelings, before they get you killed! If you are so insistent to hang on to your heart, then I will just have to tear it apart for you!"

Gin tries to bring his blade down, but Ezan kicks the sword out of him. Gin then thrusts to finish Ezan off, and with the Enji wounded, it gets harder for him to avoid the thrusts!

Ezan then says,"Damn him! I can't use any of my energy attacks until I separate him from mother. No matter how unlikely it seems that this is real, I won't fail, I never fail. And I will save her."

Gin then laughs and says,"Oh, you're so caring, it makes me sick! Oh, but you did give me a idea. You may not be able to fire attacks, but I can!"

Gin lifts up his wounded right hand, and, even though it's broken, he uses magic to cure it and then fires a powerful Flare magic spell at Ezan! Ezan is just able to dodge, as it causes an explosion at the edge of the room! Gin just laughs, and continues to fire another blast!

Namine then says,"Ezan! Don't hold back for my sake! I should have died, save yourself!"

Gin then mockingly says," Listen to your mother, Ezan! Be a good boy and do as you're told! Otherwise your future is about to go down the drain!"

Ezan then says," I fight my way. There is no pride in killing helpless ones. I will not lower myself to your standards, Gin! Huh, blast it!"

Ezan sees that Gin is powerful enough to fire Flare blasts one after another! Ezan then sees the blast coming and he has no choice but to use his sword to deflect it back. However, he is horrified to see the blast head right for his mother!

Ezan then screams" NO! Huh? Wait, what is this!"

Ezan is confused to see the deflected blast head right through her head, as it blasts into the wall! The image of his mother then begins to flicker! Always quick to come to conclusions, Ezan soon comes to a conclusion and Gin gets nervous as Ezan says,"

That, that could only mean, that is not my mother. Gin Ichimaru. You created a holographic image of my mother just to try and make me kill it? You worthless, smiling rat!" Gin sees Ezan's magic energy begin to explode and he backs away and says,"

Come now, Ezan, don't do anything rash. For all you know, your brain is not working from my blow and you only hallucinated that your mother is a hologram!"

Ezan then has his energy shake the ground as he says, "Save it. I was suspicious that I could not sense even a little magic energy from her body. I thought it was some sort of device that hid it, but it all makes sense now. This is a test to see how far my resolve is, huh? Well, I think it's time I show you just what I think of people that like to play with my emotions!"

Gin then chuckles before he responds with a playful,"Well, Ezan, I can see you are upset, but it's for your own sake. As you are now, you're still too weak. Even you, who keeps your emotions hidden. Until you completely erase them from your heart! Now get in line!"

Gin extends his sword once more, but he soon sees how bad it is to make Ezan angry, when the warrior sidesteps it and then catches it with one hand! As Gin struggles to break free, he sees Ezan's energy turn dark, as a giant black wing comes out of Ezan's back! His eyes then turn green and Gin is shocked to see a phantom take form over Ezan, which is none other than the spirit of Sephiroth!

Ezan then gives Gin a deadly serious look before he sharply says," Listen well, Gin, along with your Commandant Kira, if you are listening in. I will become one of the most powerful warriors in this cosmos, it is my destiny. However, I will do that without throwing away my pride! If you think I need to bring myself down to your level, then I will show you just how mistaken you are!"

Ezan punches Gin's blade so hard that it shatters! His power then explodes and causes the image of his mother to scatter into data fragments! Gin shields his eyes from this and when he turns back, Ezan is right in front of him with his hand already charging up for a blast!

Ezan then says," I wonder if your face will finally change after this? Shadow Flare! "

Gin feels a shock-wave of dark energy before he grimaces and quickly ushers out a tense ," Oh dear. "

Before being blasted dead on by Ezan's powerful energy flare, the blast blows Gin right through the wall and several other walls! If the Titan's base was not built for this kind of thing, then the damage would be a lot more. Ezan then laughs at seeing Gin being soundly beaten and he says,

"Tsk, annoying fool. He thought he was better than me? Maybe now he will know his place. And now, its time to show them all my, Huh? What's going on? My head!"

Ezan then can feel his head throb in pain and he sees a light emerge! He does not know it, but this is the crystal Diz put inside his body before when Sephiroth nearly complete took over his body after wiping out the Dark Enij Lexaeus! The mysterious figures crystal is still able to work and Ezan feels his mind return to normal as the wing fades.

He then says,"That feeling again. It was gone for a while, but now it's back? One of these days, I really should look into it more. Whatever, in any case, I wonder what Kira wants me to do now. Huh? He hears a clapping noise and, all of a sudden, he sees the hologram image of Kira appear in front of him! Kira says,"

Well done, Ezan. You were able to control your emotions and defeat your opponent. I know you did not approve of Gin using a fake hologram of your real mother. But, I had to make sure even under the most emotional situations you would be able to complete your tasks."

Ezan then puts his sword away and calmly says," I assure you, no matter what situation, I will not fail my task."

Kira then says," I appreciate your attitude. Heh, if only Ben Auro had your common sense, he would not need to have such harsh treatments."

Ezan pauses for a moment before he says," Oh, so I assume Ben Auro has been doing the same tasks as I have?"

Kira then says," More or less. However, his naïve outlook caused him to slip up. So I am giving him some special training at the moment. Don't worry, you don't need it. In fact, for your good work, I am giving you the rest of the day off. Do as you wish. Tomorrow I just might consider teaching you a move I doubt you know from the masters."

The image of Kira fades and the door opens with White Mages entering to heal Gin. Ezan then begins to walk out and says," Hump, what ever plans Kira has for me and Ben, it better be worth it. And what is this about Ben slipping up? Ben Auro, you better not be defeated by any of these jokers. The only one who will defeat you, is me. So don't dare make me look bad and lose!"

Ezan exits the room and goes to the nearest elevator. Meanwhile, as Ezan finished his first session of training, let's see how Ben is dealing with being on the Embrace of Pain. Unfortunately, Ben is not doing that great. Just as Ben thinks he can deal with the pain, Kira has his device hurt him even harder!

Ben is once again knocked out, in fact he is dreaming! Ben is dreaming of a time eight years ago.

This location is Mount Endon, the best place for camping trips on the planet. He was there on a family vacation, and at the time his cousin Max had tagged along. We look at a day that Max had taken Ben to an isolated lake to teach Ben some magic and sword moves, after Ben had been begging him to teach him more moves for weeks! We see Max taking out his sword and he goes up to a water fall .

He then says," Alright, Ben. If you will stop bothering me about it, I'll try and teach you how to do some magic. Hey, what's wrong? Don't tell me you're wiped out, before we even started!"

Max turns around to see a tired Ben holding a hiking backpack on the ground before saying,"

Just give me a second, Max. We have been hiking all morning and it may not be much for you, but it's still a lot for me!"

Max just laughs and says," Ha, cuz, you need to be able to take more, if you want to get as strong as me! Ah, don't worry about it. Just sit there and watch. See, using magic energy is not just a switch in your head. You have to be able to control the magical energies within your body. If you can get that to work, you can have quite the explosive result!"

Max surrounds his sword with his own magic aura and jumps high in the air. He then cuts the waterfall with his power and causes a powerful splash! As he lands, Ben claps his hands and says,"

Wow! That was amazing! I wish I could so something like that!"

Max then eats an apple he had in his own backpack and says," Heh, I can bet that after a year of training you can. But first we have to cover the basics! Come on Ben, first thing is first. Show me how much you have improved at the sword!"

Ben takes out his practice blade and says," Heh, I'll show you how good I really am! So get ready, because once I get started I will, AH!"

Before Ben can finish his speech, he trips over a stick and falls on his face!

Max just sighs and says," Well, like they say, what does not kill you makes you stronger, right?"

Max and Ben spent the day training in martial arts, sword skills, and magic.

As the sun set Max set up a cooking fire and the two had dinner. As Ben eats his meal, Max said," Heh, hope your dad and mom are not mad we missed his dinner."

Ben then says," Oh don't worry Max, his cooking is awful, no matter what he keeps telling himself. I told mom we might be out all day, so it's nothing to worry about. Heh, and after all I learned today I feel it was worth it!"

Max then grins and says," I admit you did better than I thought. You did well to learn those moves I taught you from last time. However, you still seem to have a tendency to have your magic spells blow up in your face. "

Ben then laughs nervously and says,

" Heh, yeah, I admit I am nowhere close to you in magic. I don't know, I just have trouble focusing."

Max then pats Ben on the head and says," Well that's just something you got to focus on Ben. If you focus you can unleash your real talent and do all kinds of things! Don't worry, it just takes time."

Ben then says," Not for you! You're a genius, Max! Even the Enji Knights will have to respect your expert fighting skills! Me, all I can do so far is give those jerks at school a laugh. Although, they have been learning that I am not a pushover the hard way."

Max laughs again and says," That's the way! Don't worry, everyone follows their own path. Some just get there faster than others. You have more important things to think about than fighting now anyway, like girls! Come on admit it! Those moves I taught you must have gotten the ladies attention now, eh? And what about Lacus, you always got your mind set on her, right? Oh?"

Max sees Ben look depressed and Ben says," Well, after that incident that you helped us out of, Lacus' family got really mad at my dad for being so stupid. Then they moved away. And since then, I can't find any other girl that was as friendly as she was to me. It's not like they are mean to me, but, none of them want to really do anything with me. Sigh, it's because while I have the cool moves now, I still lack all the cool stuff that gets all the girl's attention like those stuck up jerks. Whatever, I don't need to play by those loser's rules. When I become the greatest Enji Knight of all, then everyone will notice me!"

Max stands up and eats a cookie before saying," That's the spirit! Never give up on your hopes, Ben. Take it from me, if there is one thing that never dies, it's our dreams! Hold on to your dreams, and as long as you never lose sight. you will make it on top! "

Ben then smiles and says," Right! I will become an Enji, no matter how long it takes! Then I won't have to be a nobody anymore, like dad. Sigh, even after all that's happened he still sticks to his same patterns, only now he is even lazier! Sigh, all he does is nag."

Max then says," Heh, at least he cares enough to nag. It could be worse Ben, don't forget that. And also don't forget that being a Enji is not just for glory. To be a true warrior is to fight with honor. That is what makes us different than mere strong punks. As my master taught me, the fist and the sword are tools that we can use to make a path for our own destiny. Also, we can use our fighting spirit to express our will. If our will is strong enough, we can just maybe get people's attention!"

Max powers up his aura and fires an energy wave through the lake to the left that is so strong that it causes both waves to rise into the air! The blast heads up and blasts into a giant black Zuu bird monster that was just about to see if he found food, and found out the hard way what he really found!

Ben then says," Heh, Max you're awesome!You are like a superhero!

After the name you have made for yourself in all the virtual fighting game tournaments, there is no way the Enji Knights will reject you! You should see if they are looking for recruits!"

Max just looks at the fire he created and says," Well, who knows. It is kind of peaceful, so they are not too much in a rush for newbies. But, I suppose it could be fun."

Ben then says," Heh, and when you join, I won't be to far behind you!"

Max then puts his hand on the camp fire and Ben is amazed how Max does not even flinch as it passes through the flames, as Max says,"

Don't rush yourself. After all try and rush something too fast and you just might get burned."

Max then takes out his hand and Ben tries to put his hand through the flame too, only to pull it back in pain a second later! As Ben blows his hand to cool it Max laughs and says, " Ha, you're a glutton for punishment, cuz! Heh, but in a way that's good! A true hero never gives up, no matter what! "

Ben then smiles and says," Wait and see, Max. Someday I will be the greatest hero, and become a stronger warrior of light than even you! Huh?"

At this point, Ben sees the image of Max fade, because he is once again begin jolted out of his dream! Soon enough, a new batch of pain snaps Ben back awake, and he sees Kira still sitting on his chair looking at data. Ocelot is still gone, but he was replaced with Maria Hill!

Kira then stands up and says," Ah, I see you felt my newest mix of toxins. Heh, ready to continue? No? Too bad."

Ben then angrily looks at Kira and says,"Look, we have been doing this for at least several hours! Want do you want me to do?"

Kira then walks right up to Ben and says,

"I want you to admit you're an annoying fraud. That you're just a pretender with no backbone, who has no business being a warrior of justice."

Ben then looks at Kira and tries to break free, only for the Embrace Of Pain to lash harder at Ben!

He then says,"You, you're starting to be even more twisted than Xehamaru! What kind of training is this, when I am feeling more pain than from any mission! You, you just enjoy inflicting misery on others!"

Kira then sighs and says," I see we have a misunderstanding that needs to be addressed. I am not a masochist. I am not doing this just for jollies. The reason I am doing this is the same reason I perform all my harsh procedures. I am doing this because I am willing to push harder than anyone to reach your true power. I know the value of pain, and want you to be able to be up to par with me.

For, to be honest, you are unworthy of the Star Sword's power. Yes, you have some talent and have progressed. But, it's your mind set. You are too weak, too kind, and too reliant on others, to be what you are needed to be."

This gets Ben angry, and he says," What is so wrong about being nice, and for believing in your friends! It's better than being a robot! Ah!"

Kira has his device shock Ben harder and he says," But you see, the ultimate warrior must be as pure as a robot. Emotions are nothing but distractions. Love, dreams, honor, sadness, anger, those and all other such feelings just get in the way of your judgment.

Father and the others value such emotions because they think it keeps us from going out of balance. But I have learned that it's just that only the truly strong can master the emotional state needed to be the best. Ben Auro, I can tell you are not capable of standing up to what the cosmos needs. That is why, I doubt you will be able to live up to your destiny. While Ezan Kaiba has the mindset of a warrior, you have the mindset of a heroic dreamer. And dreamers are nothing but embarrassing fools! Now, just admit I am right and that you are wrong."

Ben remembers the dream of Max he just had, and of all his friends that believed in him. And due to all the pain he has been given and all of Kira's insults, he begins to get really mad and says," NO! I won't bow down and let you just enforce your will on me! I am the strongest warrior. And someday I will even surpass you, Commandant Kira! "

He tries to power up his magic energy, but Kira just sighs and says,"You're wasting your time. The more power you pore out. the more pain you will feel. Come now, your little temper tantrums won't help you. You truly are a dreamer, to think you ever have a chance of being my equal. Huh?"

Kira is shocked to see Ben continue to have his magic aura grow! It continues to rise to the point were its pressure is shaking the room, and crushing the two robots behind Kira! Ben the glares at Kira and says,

"Listen Kira! I have put up with you looking down at me for TOO LONG! I will show you that I will become the greatest Enji! And I won't let anything stop me from reaching that goal. Not the Zeon army, the Dark Enji, the Zannacross Empire, OR YOU! If you refuse to change your views on me, then I will make you change them!"

In a burst of rage, Ben unleashes an outburst of energy that is so powerful, that it shatters the Embrace of Pain! Ben then lands on the ground with a thud and his energy is massive! Ben then walks over to Kira and looks at him, while breathing heavily. Kira just looks amused and says,

"That energy was marvelous. So, you do have more resolve than I thought, as well as more anger. Very good. I admit I underestimated you. Ben Auro. For this I will grant you the reward of moving on to the "in depth" training. Yes, and then we will see once and for all just huh?"

All of a sudden, the two hear alarms break out, and a voice belonging to fleet commander Bask says," Commandant! I am sorry to disturb you, but this is a top priority! We just detected A Zeon fleet heading for the world of Pakmino! And what's more, is that their warships seem to be dragging am empty space colony with them!"

Kira just picks up the cup of tea that fell on the floor from Ben's energy shock wave and sips it before saying,"

Well, it seems those Zeon dogs need to be crushed down to the core. And this sounds like they are trying to attempt a colony drop, on one of our major industrial worlds, no less. They will be rewarded with their defiance with the judgment they deserve. Well, Ben Auro, it seems our training is put on hold for the moment, as this is significant enough to require my personal attention. However, we could make this a field trip, if you're up to the task."

Ben just summons his Star Sword to his hand and even though he looks wiped out he emits a weary," Sure, after this pain, this seems like a training exercise."

Well, talk about being pushed to the limit! It seems Kira is truly determined to find Ezan and Ben's full potential, even if it drives them insane in the process! Will Ben be able to finally gain Kira's respect? And how will this new Zeon attack go?

And most of all, is Max truly dead?

To find out, tune in to the next action filled chapter of Tales of the Cosmic Wars!

In our next chapter, Ben takes part in his first mission under the direct command of Kira, under the reigning world of Pakmino. It seems that even though Zeon has been massacred by the Zannacross Empire, Weil still won't quit, in fact it has driven him to even more desperate plans! The Zeon fleet wants to destroy the major Lylat production world by dropping a giant abandoned Space colony on it, and is using its top pilots to get the job done!

Some of those pilots are Anavel Gato in the powerful mobile armor, the Neue Zie, and even the famed red comet, Char Aznable, in his Sazabi!

But that's not all! The chief Zeon weapons scientist, Azrail Tarkin is leading the attack for his own reason. He is taking the time to show off some of his new creations, like the powerful cyber dragons and even a human created to be a copy of the powers of Mega Man X and Zero, the ZX Battle form! Ben has help the Enji Captain Firion, his men, and the ace pilot, Amuro Ray, in his Nu Gundam. However, even with this help, can Ben manage to stop Zeon from destroying their target? And if that's not enough, a new arrival makes his/her way to the battlefield and this arrival makes Ben more than a little shocked! To find out what I am talking about, tune in to chapter 72: Despreate Clash Operation Stardust Memories!