Chapter 75! : Unwanted Truth of the Broken Bounds. The Way Pride Was Lost.
Last time, in Tales of the Cosmic Wars, at first things were looking good for Ben. Thanks to Max, Brad was being kept at bay, and Lacus liked Ben's painting more than he dared to hope.
Just as he and she had a possible romantic moment though, the winds of fate once again blew the moment, when the elite dark Enji Luxord with the title named," Gambler of fate" made his unwelcomed entrance!
Although not as directly powerful as the likes of Ravxen or Xemnas, his own deadly magic was enough to take Lacus by surprise and trap her in a magic prison in his own cards!
This at once caused both Ben and Brad to direct their anger right at him! Even with Lacus as his prisoner, making the odds in his favor, he knew he would need a stronger hand, and that's when his hired help arrived! Though most of the bounty hunters were not more than nuisances to Ben, the psychotic Frost Brothers in their powerful customized Gundams were exceptions to the rule. However, even with these reinforcements and with the help of the Raystar Family's own security forces, it seems the dark Enji's plans were against the ropes.
However, just as Ben prepared to finish off, the trespasser Luxord is bailed out by none other than Janus! The masked fighter proves his loyalty was only to the highest bidder, as he prepared to keep Ben out of Luxord's way, no matter what it took! Janus proved his power was fierce when his Howling Crusher attack was strong enough to blow Ben out of the mansion and all the way through the woods to the area near it, called the Valley of the End, a water fall area with monumental statues of Grand Master Myers and the villain that he beat to make a name for himself, Garland, the dark knight, who made a pact with four elemental demons. But anyway, Ben did not mind Janus appearing.
He was ready to finally settle the score with the bounty hunter and bring him to justice for his many crimes, just one of them, the killing of Ben's misguided pal, Rick.
At first, Janus seemed to be running circles around Ben. However, when Ben unleashed his Bankai powers he proved he was coming far, when he was able to unleash some damage to Janus! In fact, he was able to land a blow so hard, it shattered his opponent's mask! However, this revealed a terrible truth. Ben was horrified to see that the mysterious masked man who had been causing havoc for all sides, was Max himself!
Ben was obviously in denial and thought of everything from Max using the identity to spy on Zeon to being a clone, to being brainwashed to whatever.
But the man in front of him seems to be the real deal, and ready to take Ben out on his own free will! As he sees is Max summon his real sword, Beskar, and get ready to fight for real, Ben finds his world crumbling apart. Can Ben regain his shattered resolve to fight his own cousin? And, even if he does, can he manage to defeat the man who taught him how to fight, and still save Lacus from Luxord? It's time to find out!
As all of this craziness is going on, we first return to the Enji base of Hallowed Bastion for a bit. At the moment, the Enji captains have been summoned for an emergency meeting. Cloud and Aeris enter the console chamber and see others like Cecil, Cless, Terra, Squall, Beatrix, Kratos, Auron , Luke and others.
As Cloud gets into his position, he sees the masters like Zoda and Yamamoto, in their chairs as the Grand Master himself walks in along with Kira. As everyone gets into their position, the leader of the Enji Knights see this and smiles, before saying, "Hello everyone, sorry for the sudden call. However, it was indeed necessary. Kira has just informed me of some disturbing information. It is imperative you are all informed, as we must act immediately. Here, Kira, tell them."
Kira then gets into position and at once starts off with a firm, "Greetings. It's time the identity of a traitor is brought out of the shadows."
Squall then raises a eyebrow before reacting with a uneasy,"What are you talking about Kira? Is this another spy related to Larxene?"
Kira then sighs and responds with,"No, this goes much farther back. Now then, this man used to be one of the most powerful Enji Knights. However, his own personal desires overruled his sense of duty and he betrayed the order.
I did not bring this up earlier, because by all accounts, he appeared dead, and for the sake of not landing a blow to our image, I hid the truth from everyone. However, now that the situation has changed, that too must change. This defector is not a normal Enji. He was once part of the elite squad made up of him, me and Xehamaru.
You may have heard his name, since Ben Auro likes to bring it up so much. He is Ben's cousin, Max Bruder."
Cloud is shocked to hear this and sees Kira press a button, before the image of Max appears on the screen behind him!
Cloud then grimly says," Ben's cousin is a traitor? He was here with Ben, just yesterday!
Oh no, Ben will be devastated to hear this. He looked up to him, almost more than I first looked up to Sephiroth."
Kira just has Max's personal data on display and goes on with a dry,"So I heard. I kept the truth about the incident, because I did not want the public to find out and risk tarnishing the image of the Enji. This was half a year after Xehamaru, Craft, and the others left the order. Not all of you were here at the time, but I am talking about the situation involving the aggression of the planet of the warrior race, the Zandalorians. As some may recall, they were causing havoc around their galaxy and " annexing" planets near them merely because they had the power to do so and also were raiding the CEO of Vector Xiza and other galactic businesses.
I was the commander of the fleet in charge of bringing the planet in line, and Max was the second in command. Despite being severely outnumbered, the people of Zandalor were a warrior race and would not accept defeat. Still, it was not just their powerful abilities that allowed them to endure for so long. It soon became clear that someone was giving them information. And, after a while, Max was the prime suspect.
To make sure, I followed him one day, at the eve of what was supposed to be a major assault. And sure enough, I saw him with the leader of the planet, Grando Fett and a few other warriors, named Bardock and Canderous.
Max was cornered, but he showed how well he took defeat. Rather than stand trial for his crimes, he unleashed a powerful weapon, the Mass Shadow Generator. Its a device that drew upon the natural mass shadows generated by planetary bodies, and was capable of gravely damaging or destroying any ships or space stations in orbit above the target world as its use. Yet it also annihilated virtually everything upon the planet's surface. It was a device Xehamaru came up with to bring a forceful end to the Irazos Civil War, but did not use because the war was finished before he could use it.
When Max used it he not only wiped out the city around him and caused the planet's atmosphere to be poisoned, and for the world of Zandalor to be turned into a broken cluster of planetoids that were only tenuously fused together by the gravitational anomalies present in the system, effectively ruining the planet and its people."
Aeris grasps her hands and says" That's horrible! How could he have done such a thing?"
Kira sharply retorts with," Some people care little for the common good. Since the blast nearly killed me, took out a chunk of my fleet, and killed the elite fighters, I assumed he was dead as well. But, it seems that was one of my few wrong beliefs. It seems since then he took up the name Janus and was a bounty hunter. I had my suspicions, but it was not until he returned just a few days ago, amidst Char's counter attack.
If you're wondering why I did not arrest him at once, it was because I wanted to see what his game was. He was playing along with the apparent lies that he told Ben, that I assigned him a mission to spy on the Zeon core worlds. I then let him tag along with Ben, so I could make sure I knew what he was up to."
Cloud then looks alarmed before he yells out," Oh no! Ben told me he was going to Lacus' birthday party. You don't think, that Max did all of this for..."
Kira quickly answers with," Yes, I do, but he won't get away with his betrayal anymore. Bring up a line to the Raystar house now. What, it's jammed? Perfect. Get a commando team ready."
Cloud then steels himself before he says, "If you're coming to arrest Max, I am coming. Ben will need some support after such a deep blow."
Kira casually reacts with," Do as you like, just remember he is my apprentice, I will make sure he gets over it. Alright, time is of the essence, since Max likes to be so elusive. Those that are coming, let's move out!"
As Kira flicks his cape back Aeris looks at Cloud and says, "Poor Ben, just last month he had to deal with both his grandmother's death and the cruel betrayal of Larxene, this must be heartbreaking for him."
Cloud looks down and responds with a dismayed," As much as Ben tries not to show it, he is a sensitive guy. I am worried that with all he has had to deal with lately, this might push him over the edge. Come on, let's hurry."
Aeris nods and they both go out of the door. As Grand Master Myers prepares to inform the remaining Enji of other matters, let's go back to the main event !
Back at the Valley of the End, we go back to Ben seeing Max get ready to fight in earnest. As Max's sword begins to glow and his muscles tense up Ben flinches before he says, "Max! Stop this! Is this want you really want? I don't want to fight you like this! Snap out of this before, guh! "
Before he can even respond, Max slowly walks up to him. For a moment Ben wonders if Max is changing his mind till in a flash Max gives a wild grin before he head buts Ben! Ben feels a surge of pain and is knocked to the edge of the water. Despite the owner of the Star Sword's head feeling bury the Enji is able to keep his fighting stance, but as Max sees his cousins pained and hurt expression he growls out a harsh , "Quit sniveling! A true warrior does not fall apart, no matter what the situation! I thought you were so set on being a true hero? I guess after all this time, you still haven't grown up!" Ben gets mad and lashes back with a scornful," A true warrior also does not sell out his own for more money! That's what you told me! Did all that mean nothing to you?"
Max looks at the moon and bitterly retorts with," It did once, when I was as naïve as you are. But then I saw how futile it is. It's futile to try and grip your hands around things you can never get a hold of. In the end, I saw that all of it is a waste of time, and in the end you've just wasted your life!"
Ben then gets even madder, and powers back up, before saying, "Wasting your life? That's what serving the Enji Knights and saving people's lives means to you? Have you totally lost your mind, have you become so insane that you would fight for the supreme empire of darkness?"
Max then laughs and sarcastically lashes back with," Oh, please, like I fight for a bunch of annoying bossy demons and the ones dumb enough to serve them."
Ben then prepares to charge and says, "Then why? Why have you defected, since when has money meant so much to you?"
Max then sees Ben coming with his blade, but just turns to the side, and dodges Ben's slash with ease, before grabbing his arm and then twisting his arm around! Max's maneuver causes Ben to drop his sword in pain and Max says, " Why? Because I grew tired of fighting for a lost cause. Ben, tell me. Do you think even if you and the Enji win and manage to kill Weil Zabi and the Zeon Federation, and then manage to stop the resurrection of this "true god of darkness", Chaos Zannacross Necron, and shatter his empire, do you think that will cause the universe to enter a golden age? Let me fill you in on something, all you are doing is being a player in a never ending game! The government's warriors or soldiers fight for the promise that they are fighting to bring about a new era time after time.
But in the end, when it comes down to it, and the fighting has stopped, the same thing always happens. They come home and not only find out that after all the sacrifices they ask of us they expect us to shut up and fade away, only to be shown at times as trophies of victory, but also see all that they have fought for be performed all over again!
This is the cycle of our nature, a greedy cycle where the ones with power make the rules and the powerless only have the choices of performing as they are expected to, or be erased!
The Enji claimed to fight for justice, but all you're really doing is fighting and killing those repressed by the system that forced them into their desperate situation in the first place! So then, tell me, what should a warrior of light fight for?
The honor of blindly following the commands of the powerful ones seeking to wipe out threats? I don't think so; I won't stand to follow anyone else's desires but my own! And that is why, the only side I fight for, is my own! So Ben, has that cleared up your muddled mind?"
As he continues to squeeze hard on Ben's arm, Ben has at last had enough and uses his magic aura to blast Max off of him! He then summons his Star Sword back into his hand, and glares at Max, before saying, "Max, I never knew you felt so disgusted with the cosmos. However, even if some of what you said is true, you're still out of your mind! I know a lot of the bureaucrats that give orders are no better than the guys they send us to fight.
But that's not why I fight! I fight to protect the innocent from injustice. You used to do the same thing ! But now I see you are just making the same crazy excuses Xehamaru and the others make to give themselves the right to wipe out those that stand in their way!
"Whoa!" He then sees Max appear in a flash above him, with his large sword heading for his head! He just manages to block, and the force of the blow causes the rocks around them to be blown into the air from the power! As Ben struggles not to be overpowered, Max gruffly says, "You're once again mistaken. I am not like Xehamaru, I am not so consumed by rage that I want to destroy everything like he did. I just don't give a damn anymore! Good and evil, light and darkness, it does not matter what its name is. In the end, I am sick of wasting my time for lies! Heh, fighting for the innocent? There are plenty of people to be a sucker and fight for that. But people are easily capable of throwing away a hero as soon as he is no longer useful, or profitable enough."
Ben then creates an energy sword in his free hand and tries to slash at Max, while saying,"So you're saying it's okay to let people suffer, to just be at the mercy of evil tyrants and maniacs?"
Max puts out his free hand to blow Ben back with a force of energy, and then shows off his speed by warping behind Ben, while he is still blown back and then slams his fist into Ben's back to launch him down to the water below! Max lands and sees Ben get out of the water and now soaked, and he then says, "Oh please, your tricks won't help you here Ben. Tsk, fight for the people, the primary task of a hero, supposedly. But while you can save them from monsters and villains, you can't save them from themselves. People these days, they don't want to be saved!
They are so self destructive that they bring about their own doom! If they cared, they would stop letting these petty differences cause more despair, but people don't care. They will gladly screw everyone else over to get even more power. Master Myers and the others may have good intentions but they are foolish all the same. As much as you guys all wish it its clear that you can't force people to change, and if people don't want to change for the better, then this crummy state is just how things are!
So Ben, tell me, why should I waste my time and risk my life for scumbags and liars?"
Ben then has his Star Sword in one hand and an energy blade in another, before saying," Because, there are people, friends, that I don't want to see hurt. If nothing else, I fight for my friends!"
Max just cracks his neck as he snickers and retorts with a harsh,"Oh, Ben, you really think anyone is really any one else s ally? After all the fighting I've been through, let me tip you off. In the end, the only person you can trust is yourself. Think about it, you were clueless about me. You were almost killed by that Larxene chick, and even your former best buddy Rick was ready to kill you for his own gains. "
Ben then winces before he charges at Max once more, and says, "How would you know about friendship, Max? I thought you knew, but now it seems you truly have gone insane! Rick did turn on me, but in the end I could see he wanted to redeem himself. And he would have, if you did not kill him!"
Ben goes to slash at Max, but he jumps out of the way and just slashes through a rock. Not willing to give up, Ben sees Max in the air, and then fires a barrage of blue energy blasts at Max! Max is not impressed and easily deflects everyone with speed beyond what a human eye can normally see! As he does, he casually says,
"Oh, wake up, Ben! Rick was always going through problems and breaking promises, remember? But you kept forgiving him, even to the end. You are too soft to live up to your supposed destiny, Ben. You know why I killed Rick?
Because he could not keep his mouth shut. I was the one who stole those two Gundams for him and his Toxic Vultures gang, and I knew he was, in the end, another pathetic weakling!
Don't feel too bad, you're not the only one who was betrayed by friends. Still, it goes to show you what happens when you are stupid enough to trust in anything other than your own abilities! So cousin, have you learned my final lesson to you as a pupil?"
Ben then says," I refuse to accept what you are saying! I trust my friends. And, right now, one of them is counting on me. Lacus, I won't let her be captured by the Organization of Dark Enji. Max, you knew how important she was to me! How could you do this to me?"
Max chuckles and casually responds with," A job is a job, and the most profitable one wins out over all. Seriously, Ben, if Lacus was such a good friend of yours, then why, after all this time, does she prefer a muscle bound arrogant lazy idiot to her childhood friend?"
Ben looks pained and then looks down and answers with a dismayed," It's because she and I were away for so long. I don't know what happened, but something bad happened to her in high school. Most likely involving the Blue Eyes White Dragon, but whatever it was, Brad manipulated her to make it seem he was the best man fitted for her. But, that's all the more why I must save her! I will prove to Lacus that she can trust me, can depend on me, no matter what! That's why in order to save her, I will defeat anyone in my way, even you, if I must, Max!"
Max sees how serious Ben is in his eyes and grins before he retorts with,"Well, you have some resolve in your eyes. But, rightful emotions are not going to cut it, Ben. Not against me. You seem to forget who you're fighting. Even if Cloud and the other Enji taught you some new moves, did you forget I was the one who taught you how to fight? I know all of your moves, and to top it off, I recall I never lost to you once in our constant sparring."
Ben narrows his eyes before he snaps back with,"True, but that was then, and this is now! I am a true warrior of light now, Max, and it's time you see you can't dismiss me forever! I will defeat you, and then crush Luxord! Divine Flare Edge!"
Having his blade shine with so much celestial energy that the ground is shaking, he charges at Max again for a powerful slash.
Max then has his own sword glow in response and aggressively says," Fine, we do this the hard way! But I am just reminding you that you will never defeat me!
Mirage Eraser Slash!"
The two cousins attacks collide with such force that it causes a tremor that can be felt back at the Raystar palace! Oh, and speaking of them, let's see how that's wrapping up!"
After "Janus" blasted Ben out of the area, the Frost Brothers and Luxord tried to make off with Lacus, but Brad and the family security force stood in their way! As the powerful android Kos-Mos keeps the two enemies Gundam's at bay with the help of the family's private security force, Luxord is trying to kill Brad, but is finding out how hard a task that is!
While, thanks to his magic, Brad is not able to land a punch on him, the dark Enji is annoyed that none of his attacks are doing any damage to the large buff man! At the moment, Luxord throws some large glowing cards at Brad from all sides, only for them to break as soon as they hit him! Brad then laughs and flexes his muscles before saying, "Give it up, loser! Your lame cards don't do anything but tickle me! Now, how about you let my girl out of there, before I break her out, and then break you!"
Luxord gets annoyed at this and darkly retorts with, "You annoying eyesore, you think you can defeat someone as powerful as me? You are really just a brainless beast! You can not, will not interfere with our destiny, now die!"
Luxord throws a bunch of sharp dice rigged to explode, but Brad grunts before flicking his thump with such speed and force that it's like an air bullet. This air bullet is followed by a bunch more and they all blast through his dice and hit the shocked Luxord in the chest!
This blow hits him hard enough to cause him to cough up blood, and as he recovers, he glares at Brad and says, "You wasted my time long enough! Why don't we make this the last deal?"
His magic energy explodes around him, and his aura breaks out in to dozens of large cards. These cards then begins to shuffle around Brad and the larger brawler snorts out a,"Another trick? Bah, I can't wait to snuff you freaks out of here, so I can get to the real party I have planned with my girl. So what are you trying to do, bore me? Just shut up and die!"
Brad goes to where he sees Luxord and tries to smash him with both arms. However, his target fades before him, and all Brad smashes is the floor! Brad then hears Luxord laughing from within the cards encircling him and he says," Ready for your final challenge? Look closely, this is a test of wills. If you can guess which card I am hiding in, you will rescue your maiden. If not, you will die. Simple enough even for a mindless thug like you? Now, hope you have a keen eye!"
The cards stop spinning and all turn face down to Brad. An annoyed Brad looks at the cards and says, "Wise guy, think you can fool me? You can't hide from me! I saw you move, to right here!"
He smashes his fist into the leftmost card, but as it shatters, only smoke comes out of it! Luxord then seeps out of the card above Brad and says,"Well, looks like your intuition is not so sharp either! Here is your reward!"
He blasts the surprised Brad with a magic spell before he can even turn around! A flash of light occurs and when the smoke clears, Brad's face is imprinted on a card! Luxord steps out of the card he was in and looks at Brad while keenly saying, "Ha, looks like you did not have the heart of the cards on your side. Oh well, when all you have is brute strength at your disposal, you don't have many options, do you? Now, since your show delayed my plans, it's time I tend to the task at hand.
Now, time to pick up my ace card and, what the? No, what the? That's impossible!"
Just as Luxord is about to pick up Lacus' card and take it, all of he sudden he hears a rumbling! He turns around and is horrified to see the card he turned Brad into has begun to crack and shudder! Moments later, a burst of energy breaks out of it, and Brad breaks out of the transformation spell! He looks furiously at Luxord and clutches his fist before powering up his energy enough to blow back the dark Enji!
Luxord then grasps his fists tightly before shouting," No, that is impossible! It's not possible to reverse the transformation from within! You, you must have, GUH!"
Before he can say anything else, Brad kicks him in the leg hard to break it in one blow, not to mention send him flying through the wall and landing outside! Everyone is amazed at how powerful Brad is, and Jane giggles before happily stating, " Oh my, good thing for us Brad can't be stopped! He does make such a good protector too, my darling."
Erich looks at Brad charging with a crazed look in his eyes and responds with a uneasy, "True, but even after all this time, his reckless behavior could use some work."
Jane then sighs and retorts with a frustrated,," Oh don't be so harsh, dear; he is good at what he does."
As she says that, Brad sees Luxord in pain getting back up and his magic energy going out of control. He then says to Brad,"No, I am an elite member of the dark Enji, one of the most powerful beings in the cosmos! You will not defeat me! I am a highly evolved, GUH!"
Luxord is cut off when Brad dashes forward and grasps the Dark Enji hard by the right leg before in a blur he bashes Luxord across the ground many times like he is a club! Brad does this for around ten seconds before he throws Lurxord hard to the ground! As Luxord bounces across the ground and moans in pain his attacker laughs madly!
Brad then cracks his neck before strongly saying," Piff, let me make this very clear. The "Unstoppable Juggernaught" doesn't play by anyone's rules but his own! Your lame magic can't affect someone as all powerful as me! Tricks and magic does not cut it, only power is what matters!
Now, listen up, you pathetic excuse of a card shark! This is a message for your lame group and everyone else! Lacus Raystar is Brad's girl and mine alone! Anyone who tries to mess with my fun will find themselves missing a head! You call yourself an elite fighter, but all your fancy tricks don't cut it against the true ultimate fighter of the universe! Now, time for pay back for annoying me!"
He then charges once more, and a worried Luxord shouts,"No, stay back!"
He then, in desperation, has Cards come at Brad from all over and attack him at all sides at once! However, even as theses projectiles move swiftly and are glowing with dark energy Brad just laughs and says,"You are so stupid, let me show you what a real attack is! RAH!"
Brad just flexes his muscles and unleashes a wave of energy, and causes an explosion around him that destroys all the cards! He then grins at Luxord and pounds his own chest before he proudly yells,"Everyone calls my fighting style "unsophisticated" and crude, but they keep forgetting how effective it is at winning! Magic? Who needs them, when it's easier to crush your targets with absolute force! Here, I want your personal opinion!"
He winds up his fist and, in response, Luxord has his cards surround him, in a barrier while having more cards lay across the ground. Despite this Brad just spits, before charging right through , and even as the cards explode one after another Brad does not stop at all! As he keeps his momentum up Brad gets right up to the Card barrier and punches right through it, and at the same time through Luxord's chest! Raising his target into the air, Brad laughs like a gleeful child at seeing his opponent scream in pain!
Brad then licks his lips and ," Well, looks like I win, and too bad for you, it's winner take all!"
Luxord just looks mortified and coughs up blood before he weakly says," Gah! You, you play the game of force quite well. But you will pay for this with your life! My fellow members will avenge me! And then you will get the death you deserve! AH!"
Brad just headbutts Luxord and then barks out,"Oh shut up! I am so scared of your fellow weak losers! Here is what I think of your lame threat!"
Luxord sees Brad charging up an energy blast in his hand and says," No, wait, AHHH!"
Brad just grins and throws Luxord off of his fist and far into the sky! He then throws an energy ball, like a football, right at Luxord, and it hits dead on before destroying him in a massive explosion that lights up the sky! Shion sees Brad lick the blood off his lips and give a jock like yell before she grimaces and says,"
Lacus, are you seriously in love with this guy? Even though he is fighting for us, he is like a maniac!"
The Frost Brothers also see Luxord's demise and are both annoyed at this before Shaigi says," What? They got Luxord? Just great, now how are we supposed to get paid?"
His brother blasts at Kos Most to keep her back and responds with a worried," Now what are we going to do, brother?"
He sees his brother's eyes gleam from the hologram screen and he responds with a calm," What else? Drag that girl out of here and then drag ourselves out of here too! Now that Luxord is gone, we can bring this Lacus to his boss, and, for succeeding, we maybe can get away with our pay tripled!
They must be tired, so even if these freaks killed a Dark Enji, they can't go on forever! As soon as they mess up we will, AH!"
The pilot feels his mobile suit being hit in the back and sees Kos-Mos on the attack. Furious, he takes out his beam saber and says, "This android is getting on my nerves! You think you're powerful enough to beat me, shrimp? I'll skewer you for keeping me from my paycheck!"
As he tries to slash at the powerful robot body guard, a light breaks out. This light is the effect of Luxord's spell wearing off, due to him being dead and all. Moz sees the four large dice that were Brad's four pals glow, before turning back into their true selves.
And sure enough, everyone looks at the card imprisoning Lacus above begin to crack and break apart, releasing Lacus! Put asleep by the spell, she is falling to the ground fast, before Brad catches her with one hand!
Although unharmed, the sudden impact shakes her awake and a startled Lacus opens her eyes and is shocked to see Brad powered up and the room a mess!
She then looks startled and says," Huh, what happened? Brad? Where did that Dark Enji go?"
Brad brings her down and smiles, while beating his chest with the other hand and saying, "Not a problem, doll. There is not enough of him to be seen by one of those fancy microscopes now! That's the price for not taking the Brad seriously!"
Lacus takes a deep breath and smiles before saying,"Thanks for defending me, Brad. I am sorry I got caught so easily. I was worried what would happen to my family if I resisted too much." She then kisses Brad and he says,
"Ha, like it was even a question! Anyone who tries to mess with my girl better be ready to get what's coming!"
Lacus looks around and sees Kos-Mos and the rest of the security forces battling the two Frost Brothers powerful custom Gundams and she says,"No, even with him gone, the others are attacking. We have to stop them, Brad, before anyone else gets hurt! Oh? Brad, by the way, where is Ben and Max?"
Brad just looks at the blast Max made to blow Ben out and says,"Oh, right. Bah, some annoying masked weirdo came and Ben tried to fight him. However, that guy fired a blast that sent Star dude off somewhere. And as for Max, who knows."
Lacus looks worried and says, "What? Oh no, I hope they are alright."
Brad just looked annoyed before reacting with a gruff," Tsk, he is too annoying to know when to quit. Quit worrying about him, and worry about kicking these punks out of here!"
Lacus then summons her Oath-keeper sword into her hand and puts her hair back, before saying, "I guess you're right. I will show these trespassers not to harm my family! Ben, be careful. At least Max is here, and with his power you should be alright."
As Lacus prepares to fight herself, she is not aware that Max's power is what is putting Ben in jeopardy at this very moment!
As Brad won it all against Luxord, Ben and Max were continuing their emotional dual, and Ben is being drained both physically and emotionally from it!
Even though, while in his Bankai state he is able not to be totally outmatched, even as they are moving so fast that the normal human eye would only see them as blazing blurs of energy Ben is still finding Max being two to three moves ahead of him the whole time!
After their energy sword attacks ended in a drawl, Ben has been attacking Max with everything he has. But regardless of it being a physical or magical attack, Max has no problem plowing right through it!
Max laughs as he dodges a sword slash and mockingly says," Is this really the best you can do after all the training from me and the Enji? You were always better at talking about things, than doing them!"
Frustrated, Ben then uses a flash step to get behind Max and counters with a angry, "That's what you think? Well, you're wrong, I have become much more powerful than you think I am! And, much more crafty, as well!"
He then kicks a boulder at Max, which is shattered with a punch with ease. However, from the rubble, Max sees Ben's blade spinning at him like a boomerang! However, Max just looks annoyed and catches it with two fingers!
He then looks angry and says,"Is this supposed to impress me? You should know better than to attack with such worthless skills! I see you will never amount to more than an amateur who needs extra power to win anything!"
He then throws Ben's sword back at him with such force, Ben almost loses his head! Though Ben manages to dodge the blade, it still slices some hair, and goes through a bunch of trees before landing hard on the ground! Ben summons the Star Sword to his hand at once, but Max just laughs at this and says, "Face it "cuz" ! Like always, you don't have a shot at beating me! Just stay down if you know what's good for you, Ben."
Ben sees how harsh a look Max is giving him and responds with a hurt look, before this pain turns to outrage. Ben uses this rage to power up again and says, "Max, is this really you? No, it can't be, you're not like Max at all! The real Max would never have acted like this. The real Max has honor and would never turn his back on the cosmos! You're not my cousin! Despite what you say, you're an imposter! And I'll destroy you for trying to ruin his name! Die! Celestial Burning Shinryukenha!"
Max sees Ben fire his energy wave at full power and powers up his own aura and rolls his eyes before responding with ," If that's how you want to act, then fine! I'll force the truth on you! Full Moon Crusher!"
Max fires off his dark blue energy blast to collide into Ben's attack, and the two collide with such force that the water is blown up in the air! At first the beam struggle looks even, but soon Max begins to push his beam through Ben's! As he does, he laughs and says,
"Enough of this, you're wasting my time! You're too unfocused, you can never hope to match me with such weak resolve! My mind is not as foolish as yours, Ben, it's a heart not bound to anyone or anything! My burning will for true freedom will not be put out by the will of the blindly drawn sword! Now Ben, if you will throw your life away for Kira and his idea of justice, then you really are a lost cause! "
Ben's anger then explodes and energy pours into his beam, to now push through Max's! The Enji Knight lets his rage surge through him as he shouts out," Shut up! You're nothing but a fake who is trying to pass off as my cousin. But you're not going to get away with it! You're wrong, no matter what you say, I won't fail to protect those important to me! Here, let me show you just how far I am willing to go! Take this!"
Ben shock's Max, and the energy beam is almost pushed back to Max's face! Not expecting this, Ben's cousin looks intently at his one time pupil before he says,
"Ben, when you're angry I see you can push yourself even further. But, a heart that is an inferno of rage is still not fierce enough to overwhelm me! Time to end this!"
Max puts even more power into his beam, at last, the two energy wave's powers are too unstable and cause a massive explosion! As the water falls on both of them, the drenched Ben looks worn out, but still ready to fight.
Seeing this, Max emits a callous," Well now, looks like you still can't keep yourself at full power for too long, eh, Ben? You never could last too long, before you fell apart."
Ben then grasps the Star Sword tightly and yells back with, "Shut up! Stop talking like you're him, you fake! Even if you're some Zannacross demon who can transform, or some Zeon clone made from his data, I can still tell you don't have the same heart as him! I won't lose to some cheap trickster!"
Max just shakes his head, and closes his eyes. Suddenly he begins to power up his aura so much, Ben is nearly blown back! He then uses a float spell to hover above Ben, and he fiercely says, "Grow up and accept the truth already! I see you're making outrageous assumptions because you can't accept the truth! Well, let me make this clear! There is only one authentic Max Bruder, and I can't be imitated!
Here, let me show you that you have no choice, but to see that your opponent is none other than your former teacher! And I'll show you with the attack only one person in the cosmos can do!
School of the Undefeated of the East!"
Hearing this, Ben's eyes are filled with shock and dread, as he sees a massive increase in Max's energy!
He then has his jaw drop before at last he says," No! That's Max's, NO!"
Max just continues with,
"The ultimate technique! Sekiha, Tenkyoken!"
Max fires his most powerful blast at the dismayed Ben! Ben sees the giant ball of energy coming down at him and uses his magic energy to move as fast as he can, as it lands on the ground just before it bursts and causes a massive explosion!
Ben is able to escape the blast radius, but his eyes are blinded by its light! Although the attack just missed the two stone monuments in the Valley of the End, the massive objects are blown back from the power! When Ben sees the attack end, he sees a massive crater where Max's attack landed, and water is going down into the crater, as part of the woods are on fire from the attack!
Ben sees Max land on the ground in front of him and falls to his knees as he comes to face the truth. He then has his eyes waver before he mutters,"Max, it really is you. But, why? Why did you betray me!? How could you do this, why does this keep happening to me?"
Max's gaze is as harsh as steel and he just points his sword at Ben and responds with a disgusted, "It's because you're weak, Ben! You were always a mere follower, unable to make up your own mind, too afraid to stand by your own beliefs, unless you had others that shared the same mind to support you. You always had to be supported by something to have any confidence at all! Even now I see you are only think of your self when your seen as a Enji, as a hero and with your friends! You always could not think of yourself as worthwhile as yourself, I know that's why you wanted to become a Enji! To bad that no matter how good a Enji or a " hero" you are as long as your afraid of standing your ground solely by yourself then you will never be strong " Cousin" .
If you're to afraid to fight for your own principles, then sadly you're fated for betrayal! For you see, no one wants to stand by a pitiful pawn. Now then, that will be my final lesson to teach to my failure of a pupil! Before I end this for good, do you accept reality, at last?"
He then sees Ben seem to be in a daze, as he looks blankly at the sky, and says, "So in the end, every, everything I believed in was a lie? What, what was I fighting for?"
Max begins charging and responds with a merciless," I can see you look stressed, since we at one point were like brothers, let me do you one last favor and put you out of your misery! Huh, what the, this power?"
Max was about to go for a decisive slash, but then an outburst of power blasts him back!
He then sees Ben's magic energy expand wildly, and with such force the ground around Ben is carved away from the golden aura! A strong wind is blowing and the ground is shaking, and as Max sees Ben stand back on his feet, he looks at Max with a furious deadly glare! He then grinds his teeth and seethes out a," You, even you, after I looked up to you for so long, you too were nothing more than a rotten traitor!
Everyone, everyone is always using me. They all want to hurt me! And they all think they can get away with it! But no more, NO MORE! I won't let you escape! I'll bring you to justice with my power, and make you pay for betraying me, MAX!"
Ben nearly presses Max back and then fires a powerful energy blast from his hand! Max is able to deflect it, but, an instant later, Ben warps in front of Max and punches him in the head, hard!
Max is launched in to the air, and when he is able to stop himself, he feels blood coming out of his head, and wipes it off. Max chuckles at this and dryly says, "Ben, I did not think he would take it this hard! His energy, it's out of control. He must have gone berserk from the pain! Great, looks like this is going to be a drag to the end. Huh, whoa!"
Max senses energy coming from behind and dashes to the left, just as Ben comes to stab him with his Sword! Ben lands back down on the ground and sees Max, before powering up again, however, this time Ben is so enraged that the area around him bursts into flames, and even the Star Sword is on fire! He then furiously says," I will never forgive you! NEVER! It's time, time I show you, and everyone else, I am not weak! FINAL Atonement Slash!"
Ben slams the ground with his blade, and the area around him soon has what seems like an endless amount of energy swords come out of it! Ben waves them at Max, and they all fly at Max like a swarm of blades! Even Max is worried to see this attack and bluntly states,"Got to admit, he can be quite creative with his attacks! Damn, this might take more than I thought it would!"
Max then flash steps out of the incoming attack, just as Ben's rain of energy blades rip a hole through the area! Ben continues to motion his attack to chase at Max, without relenting at all. No matter how fast Max moves, Ben refuses to let him out of his sight, and even when Max gets the Final Atonement Slash to break into the ground, only for the blades to break out of the ground to the left of him and continue to hone in on him!
As Max keeps dashing backwards, Ben chases after him and hatefully screams, "No, you won't get away. Not until I pay you back for your betrayal!
Max, this attack is like my desire. It will never stop, until it reaches its goal! So, are you sorry for betraying me yet, cousin? No one ever feels bad about betraying me; they always treat me as someone that can be thrown away. And, I am so sick of it! SO SICK OF IT! "
As the attack continues to press on, he forms another energy sword in his hand, and dashes after his cousin. As Max continues to move back, they are moving so fast they are heading back to the Raystar Manor!
Lacus, Brad, and Kos-Mos begin to put the pressure on the Frost brothers, when they see the giant lights that are Ben and Max's magic energy! Lacus then says," What is this? Both of those powers are so high.
One of them feels like Ben's, but it feels, full of sadness and rage. I can't make out the other one. Oh?" Lacus was just dodging the blasts from the Virsago's sonic-cannons, when the Gigantic Scissors claw off the Ashtaron coming down right at her! Brad appears in front of her and blocks it with his fist, before shattering the mobile suits weapon with a massive punch! He then says,"Stop being so merciful, Lacus! It's nothing, just another fool about to be crushed!"
Both Gundam's then fly above them and Olba says," Brother, this is not going well! Without Luxord, we don't have a way to restrain her!"
Shagia then says," Then we will just have to beat her down until she is out for the count! No need to play nice! All of you annoying freaks will perish!"
The Virsago fires off a full powered mega sonic gun at the mansion, but Lacus gets in front of it, and sets up a magic barrier powerful enough to block the blast! As the Gundam moves back, Lacus looks at the two and calmly says,
"Please, put a stop to this. Luxord and the others are all now dead. If you value your life, surrender now, and you will be spared."
An angry Shagia takes out his beam saber again and furiously responds with,"You mutant! You're the one who should be begging to be spared! I'll show you too, GUh! What the!"
He finds himself seeing the suit's sword arm being blow off and turns around to see KOS-MOS being the one who did that with her powerful R-Dragon attack. As her arm turns back to normal, she says,
"That will not be allowed. You have caused too much damage to be let off the hook. You must be terminated."
Olba then says," Damn, this is not going at all how it was supposed to! What happened to Janus, anyway? If he shows up for wherever he went, we can wrap this up with ease! Huh, this power level, it must be him! What the, AH!"
The two see the aura of Max approaching , and the swarm of energy swords still charging at him! At this point, some of the swords begin to break out of the group, and form a wall around Max! Now right in front of the manor, Max finds himself trapped. As Ben flies above him, he grinds his teeth and seeths out a furious, "You can't run, not any more! It's time you face up to your crimes, Max!"
At this point, Lacus and Moz are able to see Max, and they are confused to see Max in Janus' armor!
Lacus then looks aghast before she blinks and tensely says," Ben, Max? What is going on?"
Brad sees the armor Max is in and remembers Janus wearing the same thing without the mask, before growling out, "Hey! Why is he wearing the same outfit as that, hold on, without the mask, it looks like the same guy! You're telling me, Max and that guy who sidelined me, are the same person? What the hell is this?"
Lacus' mother sees Max, and looks outraged before she says,"What, Max was the Bounty Hunter that tried to kidnap my child! What is the meaning of this!"
Max sees all of this and just forms a lopsided smirk as he brashly says," Well, looks like the cat is officially out of the bag. Nothing personal, Lacus, just could not resist the offer."
Moz realizes the truth and says,"Say it's not so! All this time, Max was lying to Ben and was that bounty hunter, Kupo? Oh, Ben, this has to be a mistake!"
Everyone then hears Ben yell out in anger, and adamantly scream,"This is the end of the line, Max! If you have truly betrayed me, then you will not be forgiven!"
He then has all the swords prepare to close in on Max at once. However, Max just says," Don't blame me for not being able to see the truth! And don't think even you can stop my destiny! Throw a big a fit as you want cousin, your will power is nothing compared to mine! I told you, nothing will stop me, Choukyuu Haou Den'eidan!"
Max unleashes all of his power into a cyclone of green and yellow that explodes and breaks off all the swords before the attack dives at Ben in the shape of a wolf's head! Max's attack plows through the storm of energy swords and they are all sent flying in various directions, and, as they do, Sara says, "Wow, it's so pretty . But why are Ben and Max fighting? Huh, AH!"
Sara sees one of the stray energy swords head right for her, but just as it's about to hit her, Shion gets in front of her and blocks it with the weapon she and her friend, Miyuki Itsumi, created, the arm attached Multiple Weapon System! It's able to protect them both with an energy barrier and when Shion sees her youngest sister is safe she says," What were you thinking, Sara? You have to be more careful with all this fighting that is going on!"
Sara looks ashamed and responds with a anxious," Sorry sis, it was all so sudden. Well, that's why you are the smart one. Anyway, oh? Look out, Shion!"
She sees the part of the roof above them fall down from the shock wave of Max's power and she pushes her sister out of the way , and is hit in the head by it! It's not large enough to crush her, but it does seem to do some damage, as she is knocked out!
Both of her sisters and her mother see this, and are horrified, and Jane says, "My baby! What have you done!?"
Ben meanwhile is struggling to deflect Max's attack, and using all of his power he manages to slash it upwards! However as Max's attack explode Ben is blasted to the ground hard! He lands near Sara and as he sees Lacus' unconscious little sister he looks pained and says," No! I should have not let him get too close! Max, you will pay!"
Max just looks a little tired and says," Don't place the blame, when it was the result of your own out of control attack that harmed her!"
Brad then looks annoyed and mutters, "Bah, everyone tells me I lost control, and now this? Knew he was a loser!"
The Frost Brothers also see Janus without his mask on, and are really freaking out that it's an Enji! Olba then uses the speaker to broadcast a furious, "Is this a joke? The legendary bounty hunter Janus was really a rough Enji ! Brother! We were played for fools!"
His brother nods and venomously says,"Brother, I am growing sick of this place. Since so many people are bothering us, let's show them our calling card! Ready the Satellite Cannon!"
Hearing this, Max is alarmed and says,"Are you two nuts! Using that thing will destroy our target! "
The voice of Shagi responds with a vicious, "Shut up! We know that girl has a special power inside of her! She may be a little well done, but we can still bring her to the Organization, after we pick her up from the rubble! And we will kill you, as well to get rid of the competition! Yes, we will show everyone who the truly special ones are! After this, no one will be able to dismiss the Frost brothers! Begin transformation!"
Everyone sees both Gundams fly high into the sky; in fact, they fly so high they are beginning to leave the atmosphere! Ben can barely make out the Ashtaron transforming into a cannon, and dock with the wing like structures of his brother's suit! Everyone sees a massive amount of energy being charged up, and Max tensely utters, "Damn it! I did not think they were that crazy!
The Satellite cannon's firepower will not only kill everyone here, but everyone in the radius of 100 miles! And, to top it off, it seems I should have just taken care of you at once, Ben, because thanks to your little outburst I am more tired than I would like to be! See what happens when you mess with your cousin's affairs, Ben? Now things are going to get a lot more nasty than they had to be! "
Ben angry response is," Don't try and blame me, this is your fault for siding with them!"
Max just sighs and responds with, "Tsc, whatever. Those annoying Frost Brothers always tried to get to my bounties first. And now that they can't admit they are the weaker ones, they want to rub out the competition, eh? Forget it! I will never let scum like them triumph me!
Good thing I have my backup plan, now! Rise Tri-Edge Gundam!"
He snaps his fingers and everyone hears a ship roaring towards Max. Ben turns around and sees the same ship he used on SR-388! Max at once jumps into the cockpit and right away it transforms into its Gundam form!
While it takes out its special Twin sabers at boosts at its target the Frost brothers are not amused and Olba slyly says," Look here, brother! Janus is trying to get away in his Gundam! But it's far too late for that!"
Shagi laughs and fallows up with a wry," Nice try, but it's too late! No matter how powerful your mobile suit is, it can't withstand fire power of this magnitude! We will show everyone how wrong it was to label us as class F! Everyone that sees us as failures will die! FIRE!"
Everyone sees a massive energy blast come down from the sky, and right down on the Tri-Edge Gundam! However, inside his machine, Max grins and says,"Come now, boys, while the power level of that blast is rather impressive, it does not mean anything if you're not able to control that power! Let me show you why I picked this of all of the Gundams to claim for myself!"
His suit's blades begin to glow, and spikes come out of the machine's shoulders and legs. However, they are not really spikes, but conductors, and, to the Frost Brother's horror, Max charges right into the blast, and these conductors absorb the massive amount of energy and channel it into his Gundam's blades! As he bursts on to the now sitting duck that is the satellite cannon form of the two brothers suits, Olba flips out and says,
"NO! He cheated!"
From their cockpits they hear a laugh, and Max appears on their screen, before saying, "Man you guys are such sore losers. Nothing more disgusting then whiny boys that can't man up and face up to there own weakness! You can't deny what you are now, time to face the music! It's funny, when I stole this thing from under Kira's nose, I remember a file on it said its abilities included canceling out powerful blasts, like the Wing Zero, or the Gundam Double X's satellite cannons!
Glad to see it was not just a theory! Now boys, I really don't like being double crossed. So, let me pay you back in kind! Blazing Judgment!"
Using all the power he absorbed from the brother's own satellite cannon blast, he charges into them, before they can disengage, and in one swift strike slash both of the suits in half! Both Frost Brothers scream curses, before their voices are drowned out by their suit's exploding! Ben sees Max killing them and says,
"He saved us all, even if he was just killing those that tried to turn on him. Max, I don't understand why, Huh?"
As the wreckage from the two brother's Gundams come raining down. the Tri-Edge flies down to face Ben and the others. Brad gets excited and pounds the ground with his fist before saying, "Looks like he wants to finish the job! Bring it on! I don't care if your Ben's cousin or some genius, I'll smash you all the same! Huh?"
Brad hears Max laugh from his mobile suit and he then comes out of it, and lands on its raised hand!
He then chuckles before he coyly says," While it would be fun to put you in your place maybe next time, it seems the jamming field was on the brother's suits, and now my scanners show many ships are coming here. Looks like Kira ran out of patience. Oh well, even I am not going to waste time on a botch job. Since there is no longer any profit to be made, I'll take my leave. Happy Birthday, Lacus."
A despaired Ben tries to stop him, but Max senses this and has his suit move up from his will alone and avoids Ben's strike!
Ben then erratically yells, "Max! I won't let you do this to me! After all the years I looked up to you. You're just going to leave things like this! Don't you have any of the warrior's pride you once said was the essence of a hero?"
Max just laughs at Ben and says," Oh, Ben, you're hopeless. Like I said before, I have a much more evolved view on the truth of society. You know when people love a hero? When he is dead and no longer able to make his voice heard! People don't want their heroes to do anything but fight like their slaves. I won't let anything command me. It's a pity you're so blinded by the Enji code. Perhaps I was wrong for raising your hopes, but it's your own fault for believing the words of Kira so easily. After all, your to weak to trust thinking for yourself. And in the end, if you can't trust yourself how the hell is anyone else going to believe in you?
Answer me this Ben, in the end what separates a man from a tool, a slave? A piece of paper or a jewel? Like hell! Money, power, titles, you can have them all and still be a slave. A man chooses Ben, while a slave obeys like a dog because he is to weak to stand on his own. I did not choose this path for cash cousin, I did this to have freedom, TRUE freedom. Good or evil, right or wrong, those are just words. No matter what others think of my actions I don't give a damn how they see me, I am going to do whatever I want whenever I want and insure no one can stop me! I guess you could say I am strong enough to fight for that, and if you don't get it Ben, you will never be strong no matter what sword your wielding!
Farewell cousin, letting you off easy is my last favor to you. Next time you stand in my way, I won't show mercy."
Ben puts in all the energy he has left and flash steps above Max to strike, but Max just catches the Star Sword in between his hands and sees the blade slash the ensign of the Enji he kept on his own sword. He then snickers before lashing out a pricing, "Not good enough. Sigh, stop wasting my time! As long as your this weak, it's not even amusing beating you down! Ben, become strong, truly strong. Only then will you be worthy of my time! Until then, you're just a failure of a pupil who can not hope to achieve anything! Resist all you want, but this IS your reality!"
Ben screams in rage and tries to slash at Max again but his target quickly karate chops Ben's right arm so hard that it dislocates his shoulder and nearly rotates his arm completely around! Ben screams in pain and vainly tries to grasp the sword with his left hand but Max just puts his right hand gently on Ben's forehead and strongly flicks Ben's head to send him pummeling to the ground with enough force to cause Ben to bounce several times before he skids to a stop! Max then salutes him, as he sees Ben fall down to the ground. He then gets into his suit and it transforms back its ship mode, right before it blasts into the sky!
Now worn down in all aspects, Ben sees the ship leave the planet's atmosphere and sees Max's fallen Enji ensign, holds out his left hand once more, before weakly saying, "Max, no. Why did you do this to me? WHY!?"
As he sees the ship is now gone, he screams out in anger and fires a energy blast so powerful it divides the water in the lake and causes an explosion on the other end! Ben then punches the ground with the same fury and tries to restrain his eyes from letting out tears as hard as he can. Lacus, seeing Ben in such a depressed state, slowly walks up to Ben and softly says, "Oh, Ben, first Lisa, and now Max. I am so sorry."
She is about to walk up to Ben, when all of a sudden her mother screams out a shrill , "Oh no! My poor baby! What did they do to you, Sara!"
Lacus turns around and sees her younger sister's head bleeding, before saying,"Oh no, Sara!"
She then runs as well and Ben sees what's going on, before Jane says, "Those crazy greedy scum! They tried again to take my children away from me!"
Shion, who is already giving her sister an elixir, says," It's serious, but not life threatening, now that I gave her the Elixir. As long as its effects work fast enough, the worst that is going to happen is her being out for a while and have a bad headache when she wakes up.
Don't worry mom, I seen Jin give these things to people a lot worse looking and they recovered, she is going to be fine."
Her mother then hugs Sara, and traumatically says, "Still, what if she has brain damage or something! Oh my poor darling! You, this is all your fault!"
Everyone sees her point to Ben, and as he slowly gets back on his feet he realizes she is pointing at him, he is confused and says," Me? I did not do anything but try to protect everyone! I, I did not know Max was Janus."
Brad then powers down, and spits on the ground before loudly responding with,"Oh, really? Hard to believe, since you were supposedly so close to him! I bet you are just putting on a show and had plans to cash in, and capture Lacus for yourself!"
This infuriates Ben so much his magic energy flares up again and he says,"How dumb are you Brad? I would never do such a thing, to Lacus or to anyone! You really think I knew all along that Max was lying to me?"
Erich puts his arm on his wife's shoulder and says, "Come now, Jane. Ben has fought valiantly all over the cosmos for the sake of the Lylat Kingdom and its people. He even saved my and Lacus' life. I know you are stressed, but it's hardly fair to blame Ben for his cousin's cruel betrayal."
Instead of agreeing with him, his wife shakes his arm off and glares at him, while furiously saying saying, "Erich, stop being so foolish! You're always so kind to people undeserving of our graciousness, and that's why Lacus has been through all this! It's just like before. You were to kind to Ben and his family and let them on our family vacation, even though they should not have been allowed, merely because Lacus begged you! And because of it, she was almost kidnapped by terrorist!
Now it's all clear, Max saved her then, but he was likely in on the plan and bailed out when it was getting ugly, to save face! I knew someone from an gutter trash family like yours should never have been allowed near my child from the beginning!"
Ben is shocked and heartbroken to hear this and tenses up before he pleads,"But, it's not my fault! I would never do anything to harm Lacus!"
Shion then sighs and responds with," Enough, mother! You're being ridiculous! Ben may make mistakes, but he is not the type that would do such a thing! If you can put up with all of Brad's misgivings and such, how can you treat Ben like that?"
Jane then turns beet red as she shouts out," Don't question your mother! Brad may lack manners, and have some behavior problems, but the boy is what he is. I know types like Ben Auro. They may seem kind and unassuming, but they are always up to something. Its the quiet ones that always end up being trouble!
Just like the rest of his family, he dreams for what he can't have and, even if he is harmless at first, the desire to have what he will never have can drive him past his previous limits. That's why because of men like him our house is damaged, several guests and my child are wounded and many of our security staff were killed!
Get out Ben; I never want to see you near my family again!"
As Erich shakes his head, Ben looks more miserable then a abandoned puppy, and says," No, please, don't say that. I , I am not , I would never. Lacus, you trust me right? You told me you could trust me, right? You know I am your friend, and would never do anything wrong against you, right?"
To Ben's dismay, he sees Lacus' eyes seem sadder than his, and she just turns around and responds with a weary,"I, don't know what to think or believe anymore. Sorry Ben, but, I must stick to my family."
Erich then sighs, and walks up to Ben, and firmly says, "Ben, I don't blame you for Max's sins. Nor do I believe you were involved at all with Luxord, Max's, and the others attack. However, while I apologize for my wife thinking so rashly and harshly, I do think it might be a good idea if you leave for now."
Ben just looks down for a few seconds and looks down before he responds with a glum "I understand. I will go. I apologize for the trouble Max and I have caused. And Lacus, I, I am sorry I let this happen on your birthday."
Ben just looks at the front and drinks a spare elixir to heal his wounds before he slowly walks away. As the owner of the Star Sword staggers out Moz follows and lands on his friend's head. As Ben walks past Lacus ,she sees Ben's eyes look broken, and she is about to say something, when Brad grabs her arm and quickly says,"Let him deal with his own problems. Whether or not he really was in on it, it's his own fault his life sucks."
Lacus then bursts out into tears and says, "Oh, Brad. Why does this always happen? No matter how hard I try, I only seem to be able to bring sadness and pain!"
She then cries into Brad's arms and he puts his arms around her and says," Don't worry, the Brad will make the pain go away like he always does. No matter what, you will never get rid of me. Come on, when this calms down, I'll get you out of here and do what I do best . I will throw you a real party were you can forget all your pain, and Ben."
As he sees Ben walk out of the area he grins and thinks to himself, "Nice going, Star Loser! You're such a mess that you blew up your relations with my girl and her family, without me having to do squat! Just as I was getting sick of him trying to move in on my girl, too. Bah, that will teach him, no one can take Lacus away, she is mine forever! And now, thanks to this incident, the whole family digs me! Ha, everything is going just the way I wanted it to."
As Brad sees Lacus look up at him, he hides his happiness at Ben's despair and takes her inside before motioning to his pals to follow him. Shion sees Ben drag himself out and her guardian KOS-MOS walks up to her and says,"Shion, should I change Ben Auro into the hostile list?"
Shion responds with," That is not necessary. Ben Auro is no threat. He is just a sad and hurt man."
As Ben walks out of the mansion gates, and they close sharply behind him, he sees the palace energy barrier activate once more around it and he grimaces. As he looks at the time, Moz says, "Ben, are you going to be okay, Kupo?"
Ben just laughs in a haunted tone as he responds with a sullen "As okay as I can be. This did not go how it was supposed to go. Max, what happened to you that twisted you so much? Rick, Lisa, Max, they all turned on me. And now, Lacus hates me or at least her mother does, if I am lucky. Why, why do people I trust hate me so much? Am I really that pathetic? Am, I really destined to be alone? Now, one of the worse things is, I don't even know what to believe in anymore."
Ben looks in his reflection in a near by fountain and looks at himself with eyes full of loathing as he thinks," No matter what, its never good enough. I thought if I tried my best things would change, but what if its never going to be good enough? Maybe, I really am unable to be loved, maybe who I am really is a l, no, no I refuse to accept that!"
Ben then punches the water in a hopeless attempt to shatter the reflection before he says,"
I won't give up on my dreams, on me being more then a nobody. But, what am I supposed to dream of now? I guess all I have to look forward to is fighting forever, and while I don't mind fighting, fighting only to gain nothing is not fun at all. But, I guess no one cares how I feel, as long as they get what they want. Bah, so much for father's constant speeches about the importance of family. Those connected by blood look out for each other, huh? Ha, just another lie. I will, I will show them all.
Ben Auro, will not die, no matter what! Not until I destroy the Zannacross Empire. Yes, once I prove to Max, and to everyone, that I really can save the universe from ultimate darkness, then finally they will respect me. I'll show then, I'll show everyone that they can't just mess with me, that they can't just throw me away like trash! I will become the true supreme warrior of light, and erase the lies that corrupt this cosmos!"
As Ben prepares to take off, he sees Lylat Ships heading down, and one of them is the Neo-High Wing. Seeing that Cloud has come, he manages a faint smile and walks towards it. Meanwhile, as Ben struggles to keep himself from falling into the darkness, the darkness is on the move! Yes, after all this time, the Zannacross Empire has not been on a holiday. That I assure you.
In fact, at this time the four Inquisitors of darkness have been summoned by Darth Damonus to the throne room of Neo-Pandemonium. Entering into the chamber are Nightmare, Ganondorf, Sigma, Genesis, Dr Robotnick and Meta-Knight. They all bow before the demonic shadow lord. The masked villain turns around and when he sees all the followers he has called for are there, he merely nods before his eyes glow with fire. He then raises his staff and says,
"I have summoned you all because I have great news. At last, at last our plans are coming closer to a reality! The first phase of our master's resurrection is completed; finally, all the key fragments scattered across the cosmos have been collected!"
This shocks the followers of the dark side and Nightmare says," When did this happen? I was not aware we had found its location?"
Damonus raises his hand and the floor beneath them begins to glow, before he responds with, "Don't feel ashamed, Nightmare, our spy from the Dark Enji was the one who performed the act. It's because of his unique position in the Organization XIII he was able to "borrow" their key fragments and leave fake crystals to leave little suspicion. Thanks to his great powers of darkness, the true era can soon truly begin!" A nervous Robotnik says," So, what happens now?"
Damonus chuckles and his staff glows as the room begins to turn into an elevator and moves down, while he says,"
Oh, you're about to find out soon enough, like this very moment!"
The floor moves down, and in a few minutes they have returned to the core of the planet, and where Chaos is sealed! Damonus opens the large gates, as the others move forward. They then see the large red crystal trapped in chains, and the essence of the supreme dark god sealed in it! When they enter, they see who Damonus was talking about, and none other than Ravxen descends down, laughing all the way! He twirls around and says,"Ah, Damonus, I was wondering when you were finally going to get down here! Are we going to start or what?"
Damonus chuckles and says, "You have done well, Ravxen. To keep the Dark Enji totally unaware of your true agenda is proof of your talents. Yes, let us begin. The master has waited long enough. I assume you have them with you?"
Ravxen laughs and has dozens of Key Fragments come out of his sleeves! He then see the amazed look on the Inquisitors and says,"But, of course! The main actor is always ready for the biggest show of darkness!"
Damonus then fires a blast from his staff and the rest of the Key Fragments come out of the obelisk he stored them in. Now, at last, all gathered in the same area where the blood red crystals float around in a circle and begin to glow! Ganondorf then sees them form a ring of energy and says,"
So, after all, this it's finally coming together? Ha, good, I hate wasting my time."
The crystals then give off a great light, and when it fades, everyone sees the Crystals have fused into a giant one, that looks like a cross of a sword or a key! Damonus then says,"
Now, barrier that defies the will of the true ruler of all! With the essence of hatred from all over this dimension, it's time for the end of your nuisance!"
Damonus fires a blast from his staff, that forces the now complete darkness Key crystal to slams right into the seal!
It reacts at once, and Ravxen and the others look on with glee as the golden chains begin to crack, and soon enough they shatter, along with the large golden spears holding them around the room! When they do, at once, a large shock wave breaks out of the crystal and nearly blows the villains off of their feet!
The large demonic eye that is Chaos' once again resurfaces and he says from within, "Hahahah! Yes, yes! I can feel this dammed seal weakening! My powers, they are growing stronger! The darkness, the misery, the sins of mortals, that power will soon release me from this wretched confinement and reshape this foolish dimension to its proper form! Just a little longer, then the celestial ones will taste my revenge!"
Genesis then clears his throat before he plainly states," So, forgive my forgetfulness, but with the Key Fragments all found and their purpose done, what's left to do, before the fun can begin? Damonus turns to Genesis and laughs madly before saying, "Simple, Genesis, with the outer seal broken all that remains is the inner seal. And that is much easier to break."
Sigma then says,"How so? Do we know the inner seal's location?"
Ravxen then laughs, and as he sees energy break out of the seal of Chaos and blast into the, sky he says,
"No, it's something much more fun! Since we already played hide and seek; now we play my favorite! And the name is, genocidal magic energy gathering! To play, it's simple, we just have to gather life-force energy, a lot of it!"
Damonus nods and says,"To be more precise, it is estimated it will take the souls of at the least a quarter of the cosmos to break the inner seal, or powers that are equal to that. Now, it's time to begin! I will assign the best planets of interest and you will destroy all in your path for the rise of the ultimate era!"
Nightmare slams his sword into the ground and shouts,"It will be the purest pleasure to do such a task. Those Enji Knights will not stand in our way! Not even that annoying chosen pest!"
Damonus chuckles and interjects with a dark,"Yes, those warriors of light are helpless before us. In fact, if our other conspirator can fulfill his plan, they might be busy just trying to keep themselves from falling apart! Yes, after all this time, the end of the reign of mortals shall soon come to pass!"
Well, talk about a bad day! Ben has to deal with the fact that his dear cousin Max has truly turned his back on him and the Enji. And even though Luxord and the Frost Brothers were stopped, and Lacus was saved, thanks to a misunderstanding, now her mother sees Ben as guilty as Max, and wants him to have nothing to do with her daughter! And while Ben is feeling the lowest he has in his life, the forces of darkness are coming even closer to fully resurrecting the supreme emperor of darkness!
Can Ben still manage to fulfill his destiny and defeat the many forces of evil, which now seem to include his own cousin, and do it while retaining his sanity? To find out, don't miss the next chapter of Tales Of the Cosmic Wars!
In our next chapter, Ben briefly returns to Hallow Bastion. And while Doug, James, Cloud and his other friends try to cheer Ben up from his depressed state, it seems Kira has other plans, and disregarding his and Cloud's requests, orders Ben to return with him at once to the Titan's base!
Once back at that unfriendly place, Kira makes it clear he could care less that Ben is not in a good state of mind. In fact, he tells Ben that it's his fate to be nothing but a blade of justice, and to forsake all emotions! To prove how little he cares if Ben is happy, he forces Ben to face off against three of his men at once. Revolver Ocelot, the magic using Psycho Mantis, and the bulky Rioting Rhino!
While powerful, they would not be too much of a challenge for Ben, that is, if Kira did not also put on a limiter that suppresses Ben's power! With his spirit shattered, Kira enjoys seeing Ben being pushed to his limits. However, Ben refuses to let Kira break him. But even when he manages to get past the Titans Trio, he then joins Ezan to face of against a much more powerful opponent, Kira himself! Even fighting with his reluctant rival, can the duo's combined power match up to Kira? Or is the son of the Grand Master truly too powerful to be defeated? The only way to find out is Chapter 76: Overwhelming Crises, Core of a Warrior. Till next time!