Tales of the Cosmic Wars Vol 2: A Star's Twilight

by Darth Necron

The second volume of the tale of Ben Auro as he joins with hero's like Mario, Sonic, Link, Samus Aran, Megaman X, Master Chief, Cloud and more to defeat the many groups of evil that threaten the cosmos. The more Ben fights, the more he faces the horrors of war, from the likes of Bowser, Ganondorf, Sephiroth, Sigma, Xemnas and more, to the darkness within. Character guide added!

16. C 71: Core of a Warrior

Tales of the Cosmic Wars

Chapter 76: Overwhelming Crises, Core of a Warrior.

Last time, in Tales of the Cosmic Wars, Ben was faced with a crushing revelation, his mentor and favorite cousin, Max, was now his opponent! At first Ben could not, or would not admit his idol had really betrayed him and thought the Max in front of him was a fake or imposter. However, when his opponent showcased the level of skill and power that he was known for, Ben had no choice but to accept the truth. When pressed, Max said he did not betray the Enji for Zeon or the Zannacross Empire, but merely for his own gain.

Still pained by Larxene's recent betrayal, having the one person he looked most up to turn out to be lying to him, drove Ben over the edge! He then unleashed his anger in a berserk rage and while before Ben was being outmaneuvered by Max at every turn, his cousin now found himself on the defensive at Ben's furious new assault!

As Ben drove Max back, the others were still dealing with Luxord and the Frost Brothers. Brad proved, despite his lack of focus, his raw power was nothing to mock. And Luxord learned that the hard way when he found that his magic had no effect on the bulky fighter! Brad then showed Luxord how much he thought of his tricks when he proceeded to brutally murder him! At the same time, Max was driven back by Ben's bloodthirsty attack, and now everyone saw the truth of Janus and Max. The Frost Brothers, who don't handle surprises well, responded by deciding to pull out the stops and combined their Gundams to unleash their devastating satellite cannon attack!

Max, who did not like being turned on, managed to save the day after all, when he summoned his own Tri Edge Gundam and, using its unique powers, managed to turn the tables on the two and killed them! However, Max then saw the situation was turning against his favor and took of it, but not before dismissing Ben with the words that in essence said he saw Ben as a weak failure of a pupil!

With that, he blasted off in his ship, leaving Ben crushed. But the situation only got worse. Even though Ben had no idea Max was a criminal, Lacus' overprotective mother impulsively blamed Ben as a conspirator, no thanks to Brad adding his own false assumptions! Although this false statement was mostly due to the dismay of seeing her youngest child Sara being hurt, it still stung Ben even harder. While Lacus' father and oldest sister were not as harsh, they also thought it would be best if Ben left. And Lacus herself was too overwhelmed with sadness that her existence brought harm to those around her to defend Ben. Ben did not want to cause any more problems and sadly left. When Ben went to the party, he thought with Max at his side, he could begin to get Lacus to return the feelings he had for her. But thanks to his own cousin's actions now she seems firmly in Brad's hands more than ever! And as tragic as these events were, they were not the worse part!

Back at the Zannacross Empires core world of Vandalgyon, the forces of evil were getting even closer to completing their master plan! It seems the key fragment Ravxen found during the middle of Char's attack was the last one! And with that, he at once returned to Neo-Pandemonium to fuse the ones he has gathered with the ones Xehamaru and Darth Damonus have, and, at last, the outer seal of the celestial ones has been broken! Now the only thing that is preventing the supreme being of evil from breaking free and unleashing his dimensional altering wrath on the cosmos is the inner seal, and the key to break that is the energy of countless seals! It seems that now the forces of the dark side are now going to be even more deadly and brutal in their attack! Can Ben still manage to fight them back, even with his mind and spirit more unstable than ever? It's time to find out!

---

Our newest chapter begins at the front gates of Hallow Bastion. Ben was too worn down to be the one to tell his parents that Max was a liar and a criminal and instead just sent a message on their phone that there was an emergency and the Enji needed him back at once. And that was kind of true.

Although when Ben saw the airships landing near Lacus' home, he went to the Neo High-Wind first, before he could run over there, he found a Titan's shuttle land in front of him with Tosen waiting for him! Of course, Ben had to answer all of Tosen's questions. And after giving enough to give a satisfying debriefing to Tosen, he let him off and let the shuttle take him back to the Enji base while he went to ask the Raystar family their own report.

When Ben got back to the Enji temple, he at once saw Doug, James, and Hiryuumon waiting for him. It seems his pals were not informed of Max's treacherous true nature, because he sees Doug smiling and the blond man eagerly says," Hey buddy! You're back! Sorry we were not here when you got back from Kira's "Boot camp", duty calls!"

James then adds a," Yes, it seems destiny works in strange ways. However, Hiryuumon told us you ran into quite a shocker."

Doug then says,"That's for sure. Who would have thought you would have reunited with your cousin Max in the middle of a mission? After talking about him for so long, it will be sweet to meet him in person! So, where is he?"

Ben is not expecting them to understand and just looks down. Hiryuumon, seeing Ben looks depressed says,"What's wrong, boss? Did something happen at Lacus' party? Where is Max? Did he leave already?"

Ben just winces and grasps his fists tightly before he mutters out," Lets just say, things did not go as planned. At all."

As they see Ben is really down, Doug raises a eyebrow and responds with a curious, " Hey buddy, what's up? Did Brad pull something?"

Just as Ben is about to respond, he hears a shuttle landing and everyone turns around. Ben then sees Cloud, Aeris, and Red XIII coming on one side and Luke, Tear, and Jade walking down the other path!

Behind them all is Grand Master Myers, Cloud, and Aeris then go up to the group and she compassionately says, " Ben, are you alright? I am so sorry to hear what happened."

Ben looks at the women with sullen eyes before he responds with," Thank you. I am fine, I guess. I just did not expect Max to do that kind of thing. I mean, he has turned into someone completely different, someone who acts totally against what he used to say he believed in. How could he have changed so much? Or maybe, the Max I knew was just a lie all along."

Cloud puts his shoulder on Ben's and says," I know what it feels for someone you highly look up to turn out to betray you. We are all here for you."

Ben looks up and weakly says,"Cloud Sensei, thank you."

A bewildered James then clears his throat and polity chips in with," Um pardon me, but would anyone care to explain what is going on?"

Moz then sighs and responds with a depressed," It's okay, Ben, I'll tell them, Kupo. Well, you see..."

Ben's moogle pal then goes on to describe how Janus turned out to be Max, his departure, and Lacus' mother condemning Ben . After hearing it all, the trio are all shocked and Hiryuumon then goes up to his partner and says," Ben, I can't believe Max would do that to you. He has some nerve doing that to the boss!"

Doug reacts by taking a deep breath and suddenly punches the wall before he adds a agitated, " Damn! How could Lacus' mom blame you as part of the plan? That's bogus, man! At least this slime ball Luxord and those Frost Brothers paid for it with their lives. Man, that Brad, leading people to think Ben was in on it? That's low even for him!"

James then looks carefully at his friends before he reacts with a calm," It is said mothers can go to great lengths to assure the safety of their children. While I would say this is a case of going to great lengths, her action was not entirely illogical. Don't worry about it, Ben. I am sure they are all just shaken up by the assault. Give it time and both her and Lacus will calm down. At least her father seems to be a good man from what I heard about him from files and your own experiences."

Luke then gets in front of Ben and says," I know you feel shaken to your core, Ben, and even if you think you're alone, you are not. I remember how painful it was when I saw Master Van had betrayed me, and even more when I realized he was using me for so long."

Master Myers then smiles at Ben and adds a somber, "I blame myself for not looking into the situation more closely. I suppose it was because Kira confirmed his death that I did not think much of it. The fact that you heard messages from him only brought me to believe those messages were left after his death. I blame myself for not taking a closer look at things, forgive me."

Ben smiles and says, " Thanks, Grand Master, everyone. But it's not your fault. I guess no one really knew Max's true face. I can't say it's something I can just shrug off. But, with you guys here I think I can get the pain to go away faster."

Myers then says,"Don't worry, Ben; the Enji Knights not only fight for the good of the cosmos, but for each other. We all know that you are going through a rough time, but we are all here for you, so remember you're not alone."

Ben is happy to hear this and almost looks teary-eyed before wiping them away and saying, "Thank again. Yeah, I know I am not al.., huh?"

Ben is about to say the rest of his thought when the group hears a group of stiff footsteps, and turn around to see Kira and a squad of his Salvation soldiers marching up to Ben, with Master Chief and Maria Hill at the Titan's commander's side! Kira then salutes his father and swiftly says, "Very touching speech, father. However, you seem to have forgotten that Ben's place is not here for the time being. And, while I am glad you still follow the Enji code, it seems Ben will have to get better by himself, for I can't afford anymore time to waste training my apprentice."

Saying this, Ben's eyes fill with dread and Cloud's fill with anger, before standing before Ben and saying," Enough, Kira! You can't just ignore this! You must respect Ben's situation and give him time to get better."

Kira just looks annoyed and lashes back with a sharp," Maybe you would let him off from his duty so easily, Cloud, but remember, he is my apprentice now, and he will be trained by my standards."

An angry Doug gets in front of Kira's face and says,"Even if you are such a big shot, you can't treat our buddy like a slave! You're treating him with less respect than prisoners!"

Kira just glares at Doug and coldly retorts with, " You forget your place, Enji Fitter. Continuing to talk out of turn to those superior to you will not result in a favorable outcome for you."

Myers looks sharply at his son before he responds with," While Doug may have spoken out of turn, he does have a point. Ben may be undergoing your personal training, Kira. But he also has rights. And right now I think it would be wise that he has time to pull himself back together. Nothing good will become of pushing someone to their breaking point."

Kira looks annoyed and reacts by saying,"With all due respect, father, you and everyone else seem to be forgetting the main issue! Right now it is essential Ben Auro receives the training he needs to be shaped into a warrior of light that can fulfill the destiny he has! There is no time for such things as rest or time, not when the fate of the cosmos is at hand! He must be ready at all cost!"

Red XIII then says," It's true Ben must have the power needed to fight against his foes. However, oh?"

The talking red canine is about to speak further when he sees Ben walk up in front of him and with a solemn look in his eyes says,"

Thank you, everyone, for showing concern. But it's okay. I admit I would prefer to be on vacation rather than doing more training. But evil never rests, and I can't afford to either."

James then raises a eyebrow and in a worried tone he says,"Are you sure, Ben? Don't force this on yourself."

Ben just looks at the red haired man with weary eyes,"It's like Commandant Kira said, it's my destiny, and at this point, it seems it's the only destiny I have."

Kira then smiles and says,"I am very good you have come to your senses, my apprentice. See, father? There is nothing to make a big deal about. Alright, I have already had my plans delayed enough today, so we leave at once. Ben, follow the soldiers to the lake, and use the newly functional interplanetary transport device to warp directly to my base."

Hearing this news shocks everyone, and Cloud says,"What? The device has been fully tested? Cid did not tell me anything about that."

Kira quickly responds with a flat toned,"That's because it was just given the green light yesterday. So far we are using this one to test a direct link from the Enji Temple to my base before we mass produce it. Alright then, it's time to go. Father, I will contact you when I have finished hunting down Max's location. Farewell."

He then motions his troops to follow him and moves back down the path. Ben sadly looks at everyone and says, "Don't worry, everyone, I'll be fine. After all, now I don't have anyone else that can get my hopes up, so I know what to expect for now on."

Jade then rearranges his glasses and says,"Good to hear. For as harsh as Kira's words are, his methods are sadly needed due to our dire situation."

Cloud then says,"Ben, I am glad you're showing true strength. Just remember to never give up on your hopes and dreams. Even if Max betrayed you, it does not mean the end of your path."

Doug them pats him on the back and says,"Don't worry buddy, we will hold down the fort here. Go pass Kira's training and get even stronger to kick evil butt!"

Hiryuumon then jumps up and says,"Don't worry guys, I'll make sure the boss is fine! Leave it to me!"

Ben then smiles and says,"Thanks, everyone, see you later. Oh, wait a second, I almost forgot! Jade, you know that Dist guy, right?"

A rarely puzzled Jade reacts with a baffled,"Yes, but I fail to see why that has anything to do with the current situation."

Ben then takes out the disk the former God-General gave him and says," Well, with all that happened, I nearly forgot about it, but when I got back here, he apparently sunk a robot of his and told me to give this to you, or else. I guess he wants to go over some of the stuff he is working on with Kira with you, since he said you would be interested."

This shocks the three Enji from Auldrant and Jade says,"I know you are going through a rough time, Ben, but if this is an attempt at a joke, it's a poor one."

Ben just says,"Why would you think that? After all, he is part of Kira's research staff, you mean, none of you knew this?"

This gets everyone alarmed and Tear says, "No, we did not. Dist may have fully cooperated with giving out the rest of the information he, Van, and Mohs had planned. But he still is the highest class of criminal , and the fact that Kira released him from the Malkuth military and hired him as his own researcher without even informing us is something to be bothered about, to say the least."

Jade then reacts with a curious," Yes, I wonder why Kira would go through all the trouble to release him, unless. Ben, did Dist tell you what this is?"

Ben then shrugs as he hands it over and says," Beats me, I could ask Kira if he ever decides to tell me anything. Well, sorry, but if I stay any longer Kira might throw me back in the embrace of pain again. Good luck everyone, and goodbye."

Ben waves and runs of to catch up with Kira, as Hiryuumon runs along side him. As he does, James sighs before he breaks the silence with," Man, Ben is clearly trying to hide it, but it's obvious the combo of Max's treachery and Lacus' family reaction is hurting him badly."

Doug then punches the ground and says," This sucks! Ben is in major pain, but all we can do is see him having to go through Kira's demands with Ezan!"

Cloud sees the light that is the warp device beam into the sky and says, "I have to say I am worried, Kira does not seem to know restraint anymore. And he seems not to get what could happen if he pushes Ben too far, or does not care."

Luke then looks annoyed before he looks at the leader of the Enji and says ,"Grr, I know he is your son, Grand Master, but Kira has been acting fishy for a while now. He always seems to have an agenda that he does not feel we need to know about! And now this sudden thing with Dist just makes things even more odd."

The leader of the Enji looks at his red haired comrade and strokes his beard while saying, "I hear what you are saying, Luke. Kira has been acting even more secretive than he used to. But, he has always been like that. Even if he is not one to be open to others, in the core of his heart, I know he is simply doing what he thinks is for the path of justice for all. I will, however, ask him just what he is doing next time I see him. We must believe in the intentions of my son, believe that his plan to end this war will work."

Doug sneers before he says," You can trust him all you want Grand Master, but it seems Kira has enjoyed seeing others suffer far to much for it just being strict. "

Before anyone can responds suddenly Mara Hill shows she is still here by purposely emitting a sneer of disgust before she walks up and says," Watch your tong you naive ingrates! None of you seem to realize just how much weight is on Kira's shoulders! While you Enji save lives Kira is the only one who is taking things seriously and is trying to not just end war but all wars!

He has forsaken every personal comfort by his own free will for the sake of insuring that the end of this war will amount to something! He may be harsh, but its only because this war leaves no time to be wasted on needless formalities! I fallow Kira because I know he will reform this twisted universes and I rather fallow that man then get a few worthless hugs and warm gestures! So, think carefully about what is really important Enji before you condemn what you don't properly understand. Now, if you excuse me my orders are to insure Max is not in the area before I report to Kira."

Mara salutes before stomping off. Doug makes sure she is out of the area before he rolls his eyes and says," God damn, Kira is so full of himself that he has his own cheerleader fallow him around theses days?"

Tear gives Doug a dirty look before she sighs and reacts with," Mara Hill is a Titan soldier Doug, and despite her harsh tone that did not invalidate what she said. Like what Master Myers said, as harsh as Kira 's methods are this is a war and Kira has a entire military division to over see. I don't think she was paid or ordered to be loyal to him. Like how my former mentor Legretta served my brother Van faithfully even as he got more and more blood in his hands because she believed in him, Mara and the other Titans must really believe in Kira. I just hope that there faith is not misplaced. No matter how much the titans trust Kira, the line between doing what must be done and going to extremes is a thin line."

Myers nods before he says," I know my son, I know he knows when that line is crossed. Still, ill make sure to keep checking up on him to insure he did not forget just when that line is crossed. Hopefully his direct methods will help Ben cope with pain and help him in time."

Moz then sees the light fade and says," I hope so, Kupo. Ben, you are suffering so much. Please don't give up."

---

Everyone goes inside. As they do, Kira proves the new transport machine of his is much more improved over the one that warped Ben from Nortian to SR-388 thanks to Brad's idea of a prank. It's only seconds later that he sees himself back in the moon base! Seeing Kira and his soldiers surround him, he and Hiryuumon step off and he says,

"Well, I guess it's back to the "usual" programming, right, Kira? What do you have planned for to, AH!"

Before he can even get off the platform, Kira grabs Ben by the throat with his hand! At once, his Digimon pal is alarmed and says," Hey what's the deal? Get your hands off him!"

Kira just looks angry and waves his hand to create a shock wave to blow Hiryuumon back into the wall with such power he is knocked out! He then turns to Ben and zaps Ben with a powerful bolt of lighting into the ceiling! As he lands hard, Kira says, "You dare act so lightly when you have caused such a disaster in a mere day? Do you realize just how grave your error was, Ben Auro?"

Ben then gets back up and quickly gets on the defensive with,"What are you blaming me for? You think I knew Max was Janus? How was I supposed to know Max was a traitor, when even you did not know? Huh, whoa!"

Ben sees Kira take out his sword in a flash and blocks with his own to avoid being hit! Although he is able to avoid being sliced in two, Kira hits with such force the Star Sword is knocked out of his hand and into the air!

As Kira catches the holy blade he then presses both swords to Ben's neck before he then coldly says," Simpleton, don't ever question what your master knows! Your naïve mind ruined my operation! I knew Max was most likely alive. And when he appeared, I knew he was playing a game. I let him go so I could wait for him to show his true motives, but because you just had to go to a place that had high enough clearance to be above my ship's sensors, you not only let the Dark Enji Luxord and Max's plan go off, but you let him get away! On top of it all, now the Raystar family has firmly denied my request for Lacus to receive special sessions!"

Hearing Lacus, Ben says," Lacus, you wanted to train her too?"

Kira then looks even harsher before he responds with a annoyed ,"I did not allow you to speak. Why did you allow Max to escape? Even if you were outmatched, you could have at least delayed him enough so we could trap him!"

Ben just looks ashamed and responds with a dejected," I am sorry, I know I blew it. It was just, I was so shocked about Max turning his back on me, that I could barely keep my mind together, and him being so powerful, did not help."

Kira just sighs and says,"Bah, once again you prove how weak you are. Your emotions hamper your judgment. You let these feelings interfere with your duty, and as long as you do, you will never be able to reach your true potential!"

Ben just looks down and retorts with a defensive,"I know! It's just that, Max was the guy I looked up to the most. He was the one who inspired me to become an Enji."

Kira just snickers and responds with a unsympathetic," Tsc, that is no one's fault but your own for putting so much faith in one person. You should only believe in yourself, and not depend on others for strength."

Ben then looks sad, and tries to defend himself with," It's not just something I can turn off! So many people I trusted ended up just using me. And every time I try to reach out, I get crushed to put it mildly. I, I fought to save everyone, and also, so I could fight for a future. A future, that I could be happy in. I thought that if I tried really hard, I could find true happiness."

Kira just responds by slamming Ben into the wall! He then laughs and callously says,"

Your repeated idiocy is really aggregating. You think that happiness is in your future? You don't seem to get it, Ben Auro! You are supposed to be the warrior that will bring order to the cosmos; no one said anything about you being happy at the end, if you manage to survive by the end! Enough, grow up already!

You think anyone cares what happens to you, do you think anyone cares if you're happy? No, no one cares at all about your worthless feelings. You are a tool, a tool that will do what it's told to or be less than nothing! It's time you stop wasting time on things like meaningless friendships. You're going to be alone in the end anyway, so stop trying to grasp at empty dreams. I was kind enough to give you one small break, but you misuse even that.

For now on, your entire life is nothing more than to obey my will, and let me make this even clearer. You will either shape up until your ideal form, or be nothing but a broken failure. Do you understand now, my apprentice? I am growing tired of your slowness."

He throws Ben to the side, and Ben gets on his knees, no longer having any will to rebel and says,"I understand, I will obey your will, master. After all, that is my purpose."

Kira sees Ben like this, and emits a small grin before saying, "Finally, you're learning. As harsh as finding your cousin's true motives was, in the end I think it was good so it could open your eyes to the truth and wipe away such nonsense you kept in your head. You want to know why Max defected? Because in the end he was weak.

No, not physically obliviously. But in the end his heart was not strong enough to live up to the demands the duty's justice bring. Just like Xehamaru, he was not able to be willing to sacrifice himself for the greater good. In the end, the story's of many weak-hearted villains, that I and the other Enji encountered, all amount to the same thing.

From Sephiroth to Yggdrasil to Bowser to Xehamaru, they are all too weak to carry the burden of destiny. Ben, do you want to become powerful enough to surpass Max and all others who stand in the way of peace? Then the only way to do that is to embrace my will, no matter how lonely or painfully it becomes! Now, I wasted enough time restating to you what should have been obvious by now. Now, time for you to go to work. Prepare for your next task."

Kira motions to the door to the door to his right. Ben is about to say something but sees how harshly his superior is glaring at him and just nods. Ben quickly goes in to the room, and sees its a blank gray hall way. Ben quickly notices the door behind him slamming shut before he hears laser sounds, fallowed by a projecting voice saying," It is not certain just what Max did to you when you and him made contact. There fore before we can allow you further access in to the base you must be quarantined. "

Ben raises a eyebrow and says," What do you mean by, whoa!"

Ben is shocked to see a barrage of red laser blast out of the room but calms down when he realizes they are not hurting him, only to get tense again when he realizes his shirt is being carved up! More lasers erupt to slice through his cloths before the same male voice says," The fastest way to insure you are not bugged is to remove you of everything. You can only blame your self for this."

Ben is mortified to see his shirt be vaporized but can only grimly expect what the man is telling him and stays still as the lasers vaporize his shoes, his socks his pants and then move on to destroy his underwear. As Ben realizes he is now naked a blue laser briefly goes across his body before the same voice says,"

No hostile substances can be detected. Proceed to the showering bunks for the next phase."

Ben nods and walks forward, only for the ground to fall beneath him! Ben quickly slides down for ten seconds before he lands in another blank round room void of anything but a door. As Ben stumbles back up he grunts and yells out a frustrated," Hey what the hell!"

To his shock a holographic image of Kira appears in front of him before the leader of the Titans coldly says," I thought I told you to always be on your guard? You could have been killed in a instant. You better keep your guard up unless you want to suffer even more. My next test will begin now."

Ben vainly tries to hide his exposed private parts before saying," What is this Kira, can't I even get some cloths first? I did not think you were this kind of,"

Before he can finish Kira harshly shouts out," I told you to stop with your childish idiocy! Your a soldier now my apprentice, such things like shame are beneath you now. I assure you I did not make you naked for my pleasure, it is a punishment of sorts but I did want to make sure Max did not bug you. If you want new cloths you have to earn them first.

You will fight the next mission as you are. With your current power level your magical energy is strong enough to make your body strong durable enough to withstand the next test by itself. Remember, your duty is to bring order to the cosmos, shame, pride and all the rest of those emotions are just in the way. What matters is that you get the task done no matter what the situation.

Alright, now that we have made everything clear, it's time to begin your next lesson, any problems with that?"

Ben just stays motionless, and Kira says,"Good, now pay attention. It's not to hard to understand, I want you to fight. More precisely, I want you to go through a gauntlet of my men that are used to dealing with veteran Enji Knights. Some rooms will have hazardous effects, such as spikes or electric walls. If you make it to the end, I have three of my elite men waiting for you. If you can make it to the end, then we can move onto the next level of your training. Oh, and one more thing."

A belt suddenly appears out of the ground, and before Ben can even get a good look at it, a robotic arm grasps it and attaches it to Ben's waist and as it automatically attaches around Ben, he says," What, what is this for? Guh, everything feels heavier, all of a sudden."

Kira casually responds with,"That is a limiter device I created to suppress dangerous prisoners, in order to keep them locked up. In order just to see just how skilled you truly are, prove to me you can win, even with your powers locked. After all, you were able to defeat my former comrade, Xehamaru, correct? Since you're fighting skilled soldiers that are not nearly as powerful, a handicap seems fair."

Ben then looks more determined as he responds with,"If you say so, even with this, I will not lose."

Kira then responds with a strict,"We will see if you can keep that statement . Oh, and one more thing, ill be keeping the Star Sword with me."

Ben looks shocked and Kira says," I want to see just how powerful you are on your own. If you really want to impress me, show me you can defeat all that stands before you, even without your celestial blade."

Ben looks annoyed for a second, but then does as he is told, and soon another arm comes out with a simpler looking sword and presents it to Ben.

Kira then says," Don't think I am cruel enough to make you fight unharmed. I'll let you use this Excalibur class sword as a replacement. While not as powerful, it's a strong blade and should be enough."

Ben just puts it into the only thing he has left, his sheath and says,"Like I said. I won't fail, no matter what. Even, if everyone has turned their backs on me. All that means is that the only thing left for me is to crush my opponents. Then I will destroy all without hesitation!"

Ben goes through the double doors and Kira smiles and says,"Good, thanks to Max, he now has no will to defy me. Perfect, now he is mine. Yes, Ben Auro, time for me to see, just how strong your resolve is!"

---

Ben goes into the path that says danger room. Ben soon enough begins the test, after taking an elevator. Despite everything realizing how little control he has at the moment he wearily readies himself to begin Kira's newest test ready to fight, or more precisely let off steam.

As soon as he lands, he finds Kira's special units waiting for him with a barrage of laser and rockets! However, Ben did not expect a warm welcome and has a reflective barrier set up at once, to deflect the barrage and send them back at his casters!

Not in a mood to be polite, he does not say a word, while he dodges more attacks and swiftly disposes the soldiers, even with his power cut in half! Ben then goes down the hall, only to be greeted by more opponents. This cycle continues for a long time. Hours, minutes, hours, maybe even days, Ben no longer cares since he has nothing to wait for.

No matter what kind of soldier or magician awaits Ben, he will not let their attacks work. Despite his lack of clothing, Ben lets his anger and frustration consume him and he becomes focused only on fighting. Even if he gets hit, he makes sure the attacker regrets it. After beating enough opponents, Ben finds food pills to keep him at his full strength.

Ben does not even speak a word, since he has nothing to say to the helmet wearing attackers. But, after being blasted and punched again and again and nearly completely covered in mud from one of the floors traps Ben is nearly a hostile beast ready to pounce at anything with the amount of stress he is under.

When he clears the tenth floor and sees a giant dome, he remembers his fight with Tosen and says, "So, after this mindless fighting, I am finally getting somewhere? Good, this is getting annoying. I think Kira enjoys seeing me run through his mazes like a test subject. Whatever, I am not going to give him the satisfaction of losing to him. I wonder if Tosen is going to appear again. I would just love to pay him back for his magic trick before. Then again, Kira did say it would be three of his agents this time.

Still, no matter who it is, I won't lose, no matter what. I will show everyone, that anyone who does not take me seriously, will pay!"

Looks like whoever they are were waiting. Ben then hears foot steps from three directions and gets into fighting stance and says," Whoever you three are, you better be ready. I am not in the mood to be forgiving today."

To his amusement, he hears hands clapping and a voice says, "Well, look here, boys! Even weighed down, he still makes it to the show early! I guess it was worth the wait. I've been waiting for you, Ben Auro. Now we'll see if the man can live up to the legend!"

Ben remembers that voice, and sure enough, the lights in front of him go on and he sees the one clapping was Revolver Ocelot!

Ben then narrows his eyes before he seethes out,"So, it's you, the guy who was with Kira when he tortured me!"

Ocelot twirls the revolver now in his hand and says, "You thought that was torture, kid? You still have a lot to learn and I guess I am the one who is going to educate you on what real pain is boy!"

Ben then powers up his aura and furiously says, "I don't want that kind of lesson. I hope for your sake, you're prepared, since without a strong magic energy one on one, you're in trouble no matter how good you are with that gun."

The bearded man responds with a snarly,' You just might be right, but it's not a one on one engagement here. I am not your only problem to worry about, Enji."

Ben then has his eye twitch as he swerves around and says,"As I thought, who else is here?"

Ben then hears a new voice laugh and he says, "You're thinking if its captain, Tosen, eh boy? No, you're wrong, he is executing traitors at the moment. Don't worry; I am much more fun to play with!"

Ben then realizes this new man knew what he was thinking and says, "What the? How did you read my mind?"

The voice then says," What you are now guessing is correct, I can read minds! And no, you're wrong, I am not hiding, just look behind you!"

Ben is spooked and turns around to see a man in an odd black outfit, with a mask floating in the air behind him! The man says, "I am Psycho Mantis, one of the best magic users of the Titans special forces, and one of the few psychokinetic masters in the cosmos! Yes, this is no trick, it's true power!"

Ben jumps back and says,"So you can read my mind, huh? Can you read what I am about to do to you?"

Mantis's own magic aura begins to surround him and he says,"It's useless, I can read your every thought! Despite your powers, it will do you know good when I know what's coming! Let's see just how long it will take you to beg us to let up!"

Ben then sees Ocelot nod to his comrade and says,"I will never beg to you guys. Once more it seems I need to put jerks in their place!"

Ocelot then says," Sigh, nothing more annoying than a dog who can only bark loud. Still, as much as it annoys me, it really can get Rioting Rhino into an frenzy, and that's bad news to you, kid."

Ben looks confused and says, "Rioting Rhino? Are you all part of a zoo? Where is your partner, anyway? Waiting till I beat you guys and attack me, when I am worn down? Huh, uh oh!"

Ben hears a loud rumbling and jumps out of the way just as the wall he had walked to comes crashing down!

Out of the wall comes a large man, in what appears to be a special suit. The suit almost makes the man look like a humanoid Rhino, however there are large machine cannons on his arms and missile launchers fixed on his shoulders! Sure enough, it's Ben's last "playmate" Rioting Rhino!

The muscular soldier looks at Ben and laughs before saying,"So this is the "hero" everyone is making a fuss about? Meh, looks like a wuss to me! Let's see if he is worth the Commandant throwing so much fuss over! Bah, Enji, I'll show you that no one can stop Rioting Rhino in his tracks! The public may see Enji as the heroes of the Lylat Kingdom, but I'll prove to you that the Titans, and especially Fox-Hound, are the true elite soldiers!"

Ben looks annoyed and says,"Well, hate to smash down your ego, but no matter how many tricks you guys have, I will beat them all!"

Ocelot then says,"We have dealt with Enji before, you're nothing special." Ben just sighs and powers up his aura again, while saying,

"I see you guys are more in need of having your egos brought down than I am! For one thing, it's going to take more than a funny gun to beat me!"

Ocelot looks annoyed and says," Idiot, you have no value for classics. This is the greatest handgun ever made. The single Action Army. It may not be as advanced as the modern laser gun, but it has a nostalgic touch. Six bullets, it's still more than enough to kill anything that moves. Now, I'll show you why they call me, Revolver! Draw!"

He shoots at Ben, but our hero dodges the round of shots with ease. As Ben dashes around the area and sees Ocelot has already run out of bullets to shoot with, he says,"Well, looks like your fondness of out of date firearms seems to have some obvious drawbacks. "

As Ocelot takes out more bullets to reload, he says, "Just more truth, you don't have a taste for the fine art of a real battle. The thrill of reloading in mid battle, it's what makes me feels alive!"

Ben then prepares to charge and says, "Man, all you people here have issues. Oh well, I'll defeat you all the same to make the score clear! Now, take this, huh? Whoa!"

Ben is about to charge Ocelot with a kick, but then, all of a sudden, the ground freezes beneath him! As he slips and falls, he hears Mantis laugh. The masked soldier says,

"Hahahah! You think you can out trick or outmaneuver us? You're making this too easy, clown!"

Ben then gets back up, and as he regains his footing slowly, he glares at Mantis and says, "You may be cheap and read my mind, but you can never predict me fast enough to stop me! I guess I'll "hire some help" to throw your mind reading through a ride! Multi shadow, AH!"

Just as Ben was about to use his shadow clone spell, Rioting Rhino hits him from behind with enough force to rocket him to the nearest wall! As Ben lands back and gasps in pain, his opponent says,

"Not fast enough, Enji. Your fancy spells are not going to fly here!"

Ben holds his arm and waves it around to get the pain to go away and he says, "You remind me of a guy I am not too fond of. I see, power is the only thing you can understand, huh? Then let's play your game and see how you like it!"

Ben then sees Rhino fire some missiles from his shoulders at Ben, but he is able to slash the one closest to him, before jumping off the next one and charging at Rhino and giving him a punch to the face! However, thanks to his weakened power, it does not do anything at all!

Rhino just reacts with a aggressive," Piff, I knew you Enji were all talk!"

Ben then gets annoyed and responds with a frustrated, "Hey, I am the one fighting with limiters on! Kira made me fight through here with handicaps so you guys would have a chance! If I was not fighting while being forced to hold back, then we will see who is acting smug! Guh!"

Rhino then head butts him to the ground and says, "Talk is cheap, and so are excuses! Yeah, you may not be able to fight at your full power. But the Commandant always tells us that the true perfect warrior can win a battle even when the odds are against him, if that warrior knows how to control the battlefield. I see you're just another lucky punk."

Ben gets angry and says," You know you Titan's forces call the Enji arrogant, but the way you look down on the Enji seems even worse! And most of all, no one respecting me no matter what I do, is really getting old! Time for your horn to get trimmed!"

Ben is about to get up again, when he senses an attack coming his way! He jumps to the left just in time to get out of the way of an energy blast fired by Mantis! Mantis then appears to the right and says, "It's no use! Your sword is not powerful enough, even with your magic energy powering it to cut through the metal composing Rhino's horn. Your mind is full of faulty knowledge, you false hero! And yes, I am right, you're nothing but a fake idol propped up by luck and foolish gods!"

Ben glares at Mantis and says,"If you are reading my mind, you know what I am thinking right now?"

Mantis laughs and retorts with a manic," You clown, I may wear a mask, but you're the true freak! And, if you're still not convinced about the depths of my powers, let me dive deeper into your soul. Yes, I see. You're a careless man, aren't you? However, you are somewhat of a skilled warrior. I see it now, you're very cautious, or are you a coward?

Still don't believe me? Now I'll read even deeper into your soul! Ah, I can see deep into your mind. Your favorite game at the age of ten was Castlevania!"

Ben gets even more annoyed and says, "Bah, so you can read things I know. That just makes you a mind hacker! Shut up and let's finish this already!"

He then goes to fire a barrage of energy blasts at Mantis, but the magic user just protects himself with a shield!

Mantis then says, "Oh, you're quite easy to anger! I wonder why? Oh, I see, you're still mad at Max Bruder betraying you, and at Lacus' family blaming you! Your heart is in despair for your fear that you blew your chance at happiness! And you're right to think so, because it's the truth! Ben Auro, only pain awaits your future, and you're not even sure you can take it!"

Ben gets mad enough to have his magic energy shake the ground and he says, "I had enough of you! I'll show you what I can take, and it's a lot more than the likes of you!"

He then prepares to fire his Shinryukenha attack, but he is forced to cancel when he sees both Rhino and Ocelot open fire on him! As he flash steps out of the attacks, he mutters out a frustrated, "Damn them! I can barely get an opening for an attack! But still, as long as the best that they have got is mere bullets, I'll still be okay. Now, time to show them what a, GUH!"

Ben screams out in pain when he finds his leg being shot! As he falls down and begins to heal his leg while saying, "What the? I am sure I dodged all of their shots."

Ocelot laughs as he reloads and says, "That's ricochet for you, boy. Even if you dodge them, they can still bounce off the wall at the right angle to kill their prey! Well, this is getting old fast. Let's wrap this up."

Ben gets back up and says,"Hold on, this is far from over!"

Ben zigzags his dash at Ocelot, but Mantis is once again ready for him and casts a high level gravity spell to slam Ben to the floor! As Ben struggles to get up, Rhino says,

"Looks like someone can't handle the pressure! I knew a punk could not really be an ultimate hero, or anything like that!"

Ben powers up again and as he struggles to break out of Mantis' gravity spell he says, "You will all see, I'll show every last one of you, that nothing will stop me! I don't care how much it hurts, I can't afford to lose! Guh!"

He then feels a new wave of pain, as Ocelot shoots the Excalibur sword out of his hand! Rhino then goes over to Ben and stomps him with his massive foot in the back! As he makes the pressure even tighter on Ben, he gruffly states, "You have guts, kid, but guts alone are not enough to make up for being weak! You can keep trying if you want. But in the end, if you don't got it, you're just garbage that's taking up the cleaning crew's time! Hey Ocelot, Mantis, mind if I end this game now?"

Ocelot aims his gun at Ben's head and says, "Fine by me. Just remember, the boss still has use for him."

Ben then feels even more pain, as Rioting Rhino tries to break Ben's back! In immense pain, from both this and Mantis' magic spell, he says," No, I can't lose now! After all this, now I can't even defeat a bunch of henchmen? No, I can't lose now. I can't let Max be right. I have to win!"

As Rhino increases the pain, he is not aware Kira is watching this fight himself in the monitor room! Looking at Ben's situation, he merely sips some tea and says,"

Well, looks like I was right, without the Star Sword he is just a slightly above average warrior. In the end, it seems fate was random when it gave Ben the Star Sword. However, I wonder what would happen to the blade if its owner would die? Would it go to a more worthy owner? Huh? Oh, it's you Ezan. You may enter."

Sure enough, Ben's silver haired rival enters the room and salutes Kira while saying," As instructed, Commandant, I have completed and defeated all obstacles and opponents, as per instruction. I am ready for the next level."

Kira smirks and says,"Ah, even faster than I had hoped for. You have done well, Ezan. Your next session will begin soon. But for now, how would you like to see how Ben is faring?"

Ezan sees Ben yelling out in pain and says," Well, it seems that he let the stress get to him and now he can't even defeat fighters well below his level. What? It says he has limiters on him? Why would he fight with his powers suppressed?"

Kira then flatly responds with ," Because I told him to do so. Nothing must be easy for Ben Auro. If he wants to have a future, he has to dig deep down into his heart, and unleash the rage he has held up. I am trying to chisel away all the frivolous aspects of his being away, till the only thing that is left is the only parts of him that he needs remain/ That power is the only way he will be able to evolve in to the sword of pure justice that he is suppose to be."

Ezan sees this and looks conflicted before he responds with a causal, " Well, it is a clear way to force out his true power. I wonder if he can take it, after all he is far more fragile than I am. Oh, it seems his power is coming out."

Kira sees the built in scouter show Ezan is correct, as it shows Ben's power level beginning to rise past the limits of the limiters! Kira then looks amused as he emits a content, "Ah, so he is at the breaking point eh? Good, show me your rage, Ben Auro! Show me what you really are! I can sense it now, without the Star Sword to protect you, your heart has a deep hidden darkness. I want to see this darkness, show it to me!"

Sure enough, even the three fighters are beginning to notice Ben is changing. Mantis, who is still reading Ben's mind says, "What? No! Rhino stop fooling around! His mind is becoming consumed in hatred!

I can see it, fury, frustration, anger, hatred. They are the emotions consuming his heart! We have to finish him now!"

Ocelot laughs and responds with a smug,"Oh, don't get all scared about messed up thoughts from a messed up kid! Come along Rhino; end it, so Mantis will calm down."

The larger man nods and is about to wind up his fists to smash Ben's face to the ground!

However, as he does, a burst of aura blasts him back, and this new wave of energy is so strong that it also blows away the gravity spell on him! The ground begins to shake and the lights shatter at Ben's massive power up!

Ben stands up and the three opponents of his struggle not to be blown off their feet, as Ben uses his power to now float in the air!

However, he is not looking at any of them, he is just looking up as if he is no longer paying attention. He says flatly says himself," It's always the same, no matter what, people are never satisfied with what I do. Sure, some give me credit. But it always seems that it always takes so much more when others just have to do a simple task.

Why, why am I always the one who has to do so much more just to get noticed? It's like the cosmos is mocking me, and trying to throw me away! I put up with this for so long, I thought if I just did what I was supposed to do in time, things would change.

But even after all this, even after defeating so many opponents that included the dark lord Xehamaru, nothing changed! I am so tired of people I trust treating me like a throw away pest! No matter what I do its never good enough. I do anything I can but they always just throw me away and treat me like a joke. Always, ALWAYS! But no more, if even after playing their games just like they want it, only to be rejected, then screw them, it's time for my game! So, GET READY!"

Ben unleashes a massive shock wave of magic energy that shatters the limiters of him with such force, that it blows the three into the wall! From the monitor room, Kira and Ezan are even shocked at this. Ezan then says, "This is new. I've seen Ben mad before, but this is different. It's almost like; he is being consumed by his pain."

Kira smirks and says," Well, just as planned, then. Let's see what happens when Ben's anger takes center stage. It should be informative, Oh?"

Kira is shocked to see the Star Sword glow and then vanishes in a column of light! He then says," So, he summoned it to him, and was able to warp it to him even through the barrier between us. Yes, I think my theory is proving to be correct after all."

Kira then looks on as he and Ezan sees Ben's magic energy cover the room! The Star Sword then appears in front of him and he grabs it before it's blazing with magic energy a second later! Ben then hovers just before the ground and looks up at his three opponents. Ocelot steps forward and aims his gun at Ben before saying, "Nice light show. But you can't win the game with tricks."

He sees Ben laughs out loud and he looks at Ocelot before wildly saying, "Oh, I have much more fun things in store for you three than this! Ha, it's time I repay you guys for the pain you caused me, tenfold! After all, you guys have been SUCH great friends! And as they say, with friends like you, who needs enemies! Come on, let's make this a fun match!"

Rioting Rhino then charges at Ben while saying, "I don't care if you are at full power now! You're still a good for nothing, GUH!"

As he prepares to ram Ben, he finds himself frozen in his tracks! Ben is using his magic energy to freeze the large soldier in his place!

Ben then darkly states," Still think I am playing around, Rhino? Here, let's see if you can see the difference of my full power!"

He calmly walks up to Rhino and the frozen Titan's member freaks out and says,"Stop it, you freak, get back!"

He fires off his machine plasma cannons, but the shots just bounce of Ben's magic aura! He then says, "Now, lets see if you still can't feel my fist!"

In a flash, he punches Rhino so hard he shatters his horn and smashes him through a wall and by the sound of it several more! Ben then forms a depraved grin as he wrathfully says," Well, looks like you idiots are finally getting the message about who is the chosen warrior and who is dead meat! Now, do you two guys want to go on or do you want to test your luck?"

Mantis sees Ben's manic face and flies up, while saying, "His mind, it's become too erratic to read! No, this rage, this fury, its tearing me apart! He's, he is insane! Get away you monster, Ultima!"

He fires off one of the most deadly magic spells around at Ben. But the wielder of the Star Sword just catches the spell with both hands and says, "Nice try, Mantis, but you're wrong. I am not insane. Just blowing off a little steam at a fast pace! Next time you play around a geyser, make sure it's not about to blow up in your face!"

He punches the spell back at Mantis and he is consumed by his own attack and blasted out of the ceiling!

Ben laughs again and says,"How silly of him, he should have read the part in my mind that said how anyone that gets on my nerves is going to get what they deserve! Oh, and one more thing, it's rude to shoot someone who has their back turned, Ocelot!"

Ocelot, who was sneaking up to shoot Ben in the head, is startled that Ben sensed him and fires, only for Ben to vanish! Ben is not gone long, and reappears right in front of Ocelot, to slash his gun arm right off!

As Ocelot finds himself missing a limb, he says,"Son of a, my hand!"

Ben just wags his finger and mockingly says says," Come now, you enjoy seeing the pain of others and now you're telling me you can't stand a little pain for yourself? Bah, nothing is more annoying than a hypocrite! With that, Ben blasts Ocelot through a wall with a burst of energy!

Ben chuckles before dryly stating," "Well, that puts this little game to an end. Oh wait, seems someone can't learn their place!"

He sees a wounded Rhino smash through the place he was sent through and he says, "Damn kid! You're not going to make a fool out of me! You're a fraud!"

He then charges once more at Ben, but this just angers Ben, and he says, "Sigh, you're a sore loser. And you're annoying me. It's time you learn that if you let a fire break out, you better be ready to be burned!"

He then sees his opponent charge at him, but Ben just catches the coming punch and lifts Rhino into the air! As he spins his attacker around with his other hand, he hears Rhino say,"Alright, I give up! Just put me down. I get air sick!"

Ben just looks annoyed and says,"Oh, so you want to quit now? Sorry, but when you charge for a session, you have to stay to the end! Everyone keeps telling me to take it as it comes, so now it's your turn! Time I give you a taste of just how much anger I have been waiting to vent!"

Ben then throws Rhino into the air and prepares to fire a energy sword wave attack, when all of a sudden Kira's voice says,"

Very good, Ben, you have defeated all three of them. Well done, you are ready for the next lesson."

Ben hears this and breaks off his attack, and as he sees Rhino fall on the ground knocked out, he chuckles darkly and says, "Well, I think that got the message clear. Oh?"

He then sees a scourged Mantis land on the ground as well, and as he powers down he says, "Err, maybe I overdid it just a little. Still, I can't let them get away with mocking me, not anymore! I will never let anyone get away with mocking me again! I will keep crushing any obstacle, until no one will be able to hurt me again!

Ow, my head hurts. I guess it's all the stress. Whatever, can't let Kira think he was right about me."

He then hears the voice of Kira say, "Now, take the health pill, get cleaned up and get and your new uniform and take the elevator for your final test."

Ben does as told and enters. Kira sees this and says,"Heh, it seems now that Max broke Ben's spirit, he is at last ready to stop holding back his true feelings."

Ezan glances back at the state of carnage that Ben unleashed before he responds with a taciturn,"I've seen Ben Auro mad before, but this is different. He fought like a berserker just now. And he even gave me a hard time of tracking his movements. However, in this near bloodlust state he seems unstable."

Kira stands up and says,"Maybe, but an unstable weapon that holds the power to change fate is worth a little risk. Besides, the more he gets use to fighting in such a state the easier it is to control such a state of mind. Come now, Ezan, your final test before the next phase will commence at the same time as Ben's."

Ezan sees Kira walk out of the room and he then says, "Well, I was talking about Ben's state of mind, but as you command."

---

Ezan obeys his order and follows Kira to a platform. This platform lifts the two into a room, and this room sort of looks like a larger version of where Luke Skywalker dueled Darth Vader the first time, in Empires Strike Back. Ezan sees that when they arrive Ben, newly clothed enters from the other elevator, and he sees the two before saying,

"Oh, hey, Ezan. Finally taken a break from your busy schedule, eh?"

Ezan just has his arms cross and says," You wish, I am now about to ace another session."

Ben lashes back with a wry,"Tsc, as cocky as always. But this time I will beat you to it, for I am in no mood to lose!"

Kira then walks into the center and says, "I see you are both confident, for different reasons. However, this final phase is one you three will do together."

Both Enji look confused, and Ezan says,"Wait, your insulating I have to fight with him? And what do you mean by three? Huh?"

Ben hears a panel open and out of the ceiling Hiryuumon falls down! As he lands hard on the ground, he gets back up and sees Ben, before saying "Oh, hey, Boss! Man, it's been one rough ride! They kept making me fight these artificial Digimon and other messed up guys! They said if I went through this hole I get dessert, but now I am here! What's going on?"

Kira flicks his cape back and takes out his sword, and then says, "It's simple, to see if you three are truly worthy of receiving my knowledge, your final task is to fight me!"

Ben is taken aback and coughs a bit before he stammers out,"Really? You want us to take you on?"

Kira then begins to power up his own magic energy, and says," What, are you growing deaf? If you are truly warriors of legend, then you must be strong enough to endure my power! Now, I don't intend you three to be a match for me even three on one. But if you can manage to damage me even a little, then I just might see you fit to begin your evolution. Think of it as a evaluation of what growth you made since I took the two of you under my wing. Come now, now is the chance to vent all the grievances you have with my training style. Let me see just how much rage the process as given you, I welcome your hate. "

Ezan then looks seriously at the son of the Grand Master before he carefully responds with,"This is unexpected."

He sees Ben grin before the owner of the Star Sword responds with,"Maybe, but this is just want I was waiting for. Commandant Kira, now is the time when I will force you to respect my power and admit I am worthy of being the hero that will save the cosmos!"

Hiryuumon jumps up and eagerly adds says, "Oh yeah! It's time the boss and I show our stuff! If you want to see what we can really do, then get ready for a show! Hiryuumon, double digivole to!"

A sphere of light engulfs him. And moments later he is in his much larger metal form of "Geno-Wyrmmon! Alright, no holding back!"

Ezan then gets into fighting stance and says, "Idiots, your recklessness will cause a disaster."

Ben then begins to power up and says "Don't worry, Ezan, I am not going to blow this."

Ezan then powers up his own aura and says, "For your sake, I hope not, I will not allow my record to be disgraced because of your carelessness."

Ben just sighs and retorts with a dejected, "Oh, Ezan, you never change. Still, as harsh as you can be, at least I know you're a professional soldier and won't let any personal feelings get in the way of the mission. And I am not about to let him look better than me, not today. Kira, I put up with all of your harshness because you're one of the best warriors in the cosmos. But you're not as Omni-powerful as you would like to think us you are! I'll show you I can surpass even you, and I'll do that right now!"

Kira then begins to float in the air and scornfully says," Such confidence. But I hope you can back it up. I have no intention of showing you three any mercy. After all, mercy is for the weak."

Geno-Wyrmmon then charges up his power and says, "Then it's a good thing we are not weak! Trinity Fury Cannon!"

The ultimate level Digimon fires his best energy attack at Kira, but the Titan's leader simply bats it into the air with his Luminous Adjudicator sword into the side, where it explodes!

Kira then sees Geno-Wyrmmon cringe at the outcome before he flatly says," I have no patience for incompetence. I always knew my father and the other Enji were too soft with their methods. Without pushing the subject to its limits, it's impossible to find one's true worth. Pain, is the source of one's true worth. If one can not endure pain, one is not strong enough to be worthy!"

In a flash, he appears in front of Geno-Wyrmmon, and before the Digimon can react, punches him hard with a palm thrust that strikes the large dragon right in the throat! This blow is so hard that he is set flying into the wall and is knocked back into Hiryuumon!

As Ben sees his dragon pal knocked out, he braces himself and says, " Pressure points, I see you're not pulling any punches, as always. But even so, you are not going to scare me. No one is invincible, even you have a weakness!

And I won't back down until I find it! Bankai!"

Ben then activates the full powers of the Star Sword and a few moments later he is surrounded by a golden aura. He then says to Ezan, "Hey Ezan. I might have an attack plan. We both know he is powerful. But even he can't be everywhere at once. That's why, since you're so fast, Ezan, how about I distract him and give you an opening?"

Ezan just looks at Kira and activates his Sharingan before almost looking amused and says, "Not too bad, coming from you. Fine, it's worth a shot. Just don't screw up!"

Kira then responds with a authoritative ,' Well, I see you're not being careless, however, no matter how good a strategy is. If you are not strong enough to go through with it, it's meaningless!

Now, time to show me how strong your wills are! Judgment!"

Light energy surrounds him and blasts up into the air, before raining down powerful rays of light on his two apprentices! Both Ben and Ezan flash step to avoid being blasted and as they dart across the room Ben makes the next move and jumps into the air, before saying,"

We are not as stupid as you think, master! Multi Shadow Clones!"

Ben does his thing and soon enough he has Kira surrounded with copies of himself! Kira looks emotionless while saying,"Trying to go the strength through numbers path? Worthless, fifty times zero is still zero!"

He sees Ben and his clones all come with him their swords ready, but he just holds his sword up in the air, and soon rays of holy light flash out to barrage his attackers! If that's not enough, the ground begins to erupt with fire from Kira's power! Many of the Ben's are blown away, but the real Ben is able to dodge them and jump for a diving slash! The member of Squad 7 then brazenly shouts,"Even if you have mastered all forms of combat like you say, you still can't perfect everything! Divine Flare Edge!"

Ben engulfs his Star Sword with a large amount of magic energy, but Kira greets him with his own blade and blocks Ben's strike with one hand! He sees Ben trying to press forward and says, "I can feel your power. I will admit you have improved by a small amount, since my personal touches were done on you. However, it's still far from being anything of use. No matter how you try, you can never defeat me at this rate."

Ben then lashes back with a determined,"Maybe, or maybe I will surprise you!"

Kira just smirks and retorts with a ruthless, "I don't think so. For one thing, your pathetic attack plans are nothing but a joke!"

He waves his hand and a pillar in the room goes flying, and slams right into a charging Ezan! Kira then chuckles darkly before he wryly says, "Your thoughts betray you. Your actions are simple to read. Did you really think I would not expect such a sneak attack?"

He is shocked when Ben smiles and says," Well, no, in fact I was counting on it."

Kira is expressionless as he emits ,"What? But that could only mean."

Sure enough, he sees the image of Ezan vanish, as it seems that was a clone! He then looks behind him and sees the real Ezan closing in fast, as his Soul Eater blade begins to crackle with lightning!

He then says," Now! Burning Chidori!"

As he prepares to hit Kira, the man clad in black says,"Impressive, using a decoy to draw my attention. I admit an attack plan like this would fell many foes. But remember, you must be ready for any situation! Because unless you do, you will die!"

He shocks the two Enji, as a small rod comes out into his other hand. And, with a hiss a green energy blade comes out of it! With his hidden light-saber he blocks Ezan's strike with ease, and seems to have no problem holding both Ben and Ezan at once! Ezan then says,"His power, his timing, everything is precise. This won't be easy."

Ben then says,"Maybe, but he has to run out of tricks some time. We just have to keep at him until then!"

Kira just laughs and says,"If you can last that long!"

Kira shocks the two and powers up his magic aura further, and the force is so great it blasts the duo into the nearest walls! As they see Kira's white aura cover the room, he says, "It's no use, your feeble skills are not enough to overpower the supreme power." Ben gets back up on his feet and says,

"You know for someone who says how indifferent you try to be, you sure are good at acting like you're so much better than everyone else!"

Kira then retorts with a flat,"I am not being arrogant. I just know that it is the truth that my abilities have surpassed any other Enji, and perhaps any other being, after the results of years of training, learning, sacrifice, and pain. Since I have put the most effort, the result is only the natural outcome. It's because I care for all beings in this cosmos that I am willing to make myself a vessel of supreme power, to bring the greater good."

Ben then has heard enough and prepares to charge again while saying, "Even if you have trained hard, I won't allow you to dismiss all the work I have done all my life as merely child's play!"

Kira just responds with a dismissive,"You are quite stubborn in your attack plan, and through negligence bring ruin! Surging Spears Of Pain!"

Kira does not even move, but has his eyes glow red, and out of the ground comes a group of dark red energy spears that launch into the of guard Ben! Ben is hit hard by the powerful energy attack and is blasted back to where Ezan is. As his rival sees him get up with a disapproving look, he says,"Don't even say it. Now I'll remember to avoid rush attacks, it's too painful to forget that!"

As Ezan looks annoyed, Kira laughs and bellows out a judgmental,"You still don't get the difference between us, Ben Auro? Let me try and make it clear one more time. It's true you seemed to have tried to get stronger.

But your desire for power is to fulfill your own goals. My quest is pure, its not for my own sake that I wield this power, but for the good of all. Tell me, why do beings seek power?

If everyone would just co-exist happily, no one would need to have the power to destroy others, correct? But the truth, is despite what the Enji Knights wish to believe; no matter what the basic core, nature is a bloody business.

Harmony is not a dominant state. Beings forge truces for their own gain, but it's always temporary, for every life-form betrays every other if left to their natural inclination. Peace and harmony are aberrations imposed from outside forces that are resisted at every possibility.

That's why, no matter what changes or events mark history, mortals will repeat this process forever. After all, its been proven that humanity and its ilk just does not have it in them to truly unite in harmony.

The true goals of the Enji Knights, or at least what I believe the proper goals are is not to bring a true peace, but to maintain balance. That is why I wield this power, to destroy those that disturb the balance in the name of justice! Like how parents punish foolish offspring that just can't learn how to behave, the truth is that the real mantra of the Enji Knights is to guide those who are unable to know better to there proper behavior, and punish those who refuse to act orderly without mercy! After all, only by sinners having ruthless judgment unleashed on them will they ever truly realize the price of sinning. "

Ben then looks horrified before he grasps the Star Sword tightly and says,"You really are out of touch with reality. If you care so much about the values of justice, then why do you go to such extreme lengths to crush the bad guys? And, if you're really so keen on bringing balance, then why did you just use a obviously dark magic power, one of many I have seen you use?"

Kira just shakes his head before laughing loudly and says," This is why if you do not evolve, you will remain a fool forever. Light and Darkness, Good and Evil, these are ideas and ideas are for philosophers and theoreticians to squawk at each other forever.

In my long years of fighting, I have learned that, in reality dark and light coexist in varying proportions: nothing is ever absolute. In order to truly master everything, I did not let teaching weigh down my judgment. I have mastered both the powers of light and darkness.

I have thrown away such things as fear and other meaningless emotions. If you ever really want to reach my level of power, you two must both throw away your emotions; give into your anger and let yourselves be consumed by the greater will. You see, anger is not something to fear, it's something that can give you your true power! That is of course if you can control it, if you can it will transform you into your ultimate state!"

Ben then chuckles nervously and responds with,"You really have some wacky logic. I know I have been blowing some steam lately, thanks to all the stressful events. But there is no way I am going to become a slave of the dark side! After all, we are warriors of light. If we become evil to defeat evil, it kind of ruins the point!"

Kira smirks and creates a wave of energy to nearly blow Ben off his feet before he harshly says, "Enough! You are not just a simple tool of the light; you are the ultimate tool that is going to decide the balance of the cosmos forever! You must stand up to your destiny, or be crushed by its weight! If you still think you can beat me, even while defying my kind request and without giving into your true powers, then come at me, so I can break the truth out of you!"

Ben then has his magic energy flare up once more and says,"I don't think so. I'll show you you're wrong about your theories. Huh?"

He is shocked when he sees Ezan step in front of him and says, "As much as a rare occurrence it is, I agree with Ben on this one. We are Enji Knights, warriors of light that defend people in the name of justice. To sink to the level of our attackers would disgrace the honor of the warrior. And I don't need to sell out for power."

Kira looks annoyed and says,"Honor and pride. Just useless illusions, in the end victory and defeat are the only things that matter. If you still hang on to such illusions, then it seems only pain will break them away from you both!"

Kira is the one to charge at them. Ben cringes at this sight before he reflectively says," Here he comes! "

They both dive to attack Kira. Even though it's two on one, Kira avoids and blocks his two opponent's attacks with ease and to add insult to injury he blocks the slashes merely with his hands! After exchanging several blows in a minute, with blows so fast, most eyes could not see them, Ben sees that Kira is fighting with greater power than even Max did!

After blocking all of their blows with the slightest effort, Kira then goes on the offensive and, moving like a whirlwind, manages to hit both Ben and Ezan at once with his fists! Ben is hit in the leg and Ezan in his left shoulder and they are both launched back.

Ezan then realizes his arm is starting to feel in-responsive thanks to being hit in a pressure point and mutters a frustrated," Damn, even with the Sharingan, I can barely see his attacks coming! He made such a precise hit to the right nerve with such speed, he truly seems to have mastered the art of combat."

Ben then fallows up with a tense,"Yup, this is not good."

Kira then flies back into the air and begins powering up his energy and says, "I see I was mistaken to think you to be ready to be of true use. I am disappointed. Feel the wrath of failing my expectations, Grand Cross!"

Kira's energy around him glows with both light and darkness, and he then forms it into a twin blast of an explosive light and darkness energy combo in the shape of a glowing cross! As it comes blazing to the two, Ezan gets in front of Ben and says, "Get behind me and be ready to strike. Understand!"

Ben thinks for a moment until he realizes what Ezan is going to try and nods. Ezan then has his blade glow until it absorbs the attack! Although the silver haired warrior can barely contain the amount of power. he begins to form it into his own attack!

He then says,"I will have you know, I do not lose, even to you Commandant! Backlash Mirror Force Flare!"

Ezan fires a powerful purple energy blast at Kira! And, at the same time, Ben charges up his own power and says, "Kira, time to see the true power of the Star Sword! Celestial Burning Shinryukenha!"

Ben fires off a full powered energy wave and his blue energy attack merges with Ezan's! Not expecting this, Kira tries to block it with his right hand, but to his shock he is being pushed back! Kira quickly adds his left hand to try and block the blast but it does not seem to have any effect! Kira just raises his right eyebrow before he is consumed by the blast! The attack is powerful enough to blow away the majority of the room, and as all of the pillars in the chamber collapse Ben takes a sigh of relief and says," Well, that will show Kira not to take us lightly, eh, Ezan? Even if that does not defeat him, it should knock some sense into him! Huh, what the? Oh come on!"

To Ben's dismay, he hears a loud rumbling, and a gust of wind blows away the smoke their attack caused! Ben and Ezan soon see a large crater there blast landed, and an annoyed Kira floating above it! While his outfit is slightly torn, he is mostly unharmed.

And Ben then says,"Man, can't I ever catch a break?"

Kira just laughs and says,"Not bad, I felt that one. I was not able to stop the attack using both hands, ill admit you surprised me, a tad. However, it's clear you two are far from where you need to be if that was really all the power you two combined can muster. Let me give another demonstration of just how far the two of you are, even when put together when compared to me! Summon, Knights of the Round!"

Kira shocks the two as a exotic symbol forms in front of him! Kira waves his sword, and then thirteen lights appear on the ground around the two Enji. Soon enough a powerful and large looking armored warrior emerge out of it! Ezan sees the summoned Knights bow to Kira and Ezan says, "Summon magic? He really does seem to have limitless powers at his disposal."

Ben sees the knight's ready their weapons and says, "Oh, this can't be good. Cloud Sensei told me about this summon once. He and his friends found it hidden in a cave. He told me it was such a powerful summon to perform that he had to combine most of both his and all his friend's magic energy to pull it off!

He also said he only used it twice, once to crucially wound Sephiroth in their first decisive battle, and against that powerful Emerald Weapon monster.

Figures Kira would resort to this kind of thing. But no matter what you throw at me, I won't be defeated by you!"

Kira just points his sword at Ben and says, "I beg to differ. This is growing old, so time to end this hope of yours, Ultimate End!"

The eyes of all the Knights glow red, and they all go on the attack! Ben and Ezan brace themselves, as the summoned creatures all flash step to surround and attack the duo with deadly teamwork!

Ben and Ezan at first are able to dodge the assault, but soon it becomes too much even for the likes of them! Ben dodges one of the knight's glowing spear thrust, only to be blasted by another Knight's magic inferno! Likewise, Ezan deflects a powerful ice blast only to be slammed hard by another one's Axe!

Showing no mercy, the knights then barrage the warriors of light with a large serving of pain! After a minute of receiving a royal beat down, it ends with both Ben and Ezan being slammed into the ceiling before falling down hard! Both of them are now severely injured and Ben looks at Kira and says, " No, I can't let it end like this! I can't afford to lose! This is the only thing left for me!"

Kira then flies in front of them and states," This is the end. Face it, you have no chance of defeating me. Just admit I am superior to you and I will end this with minimum pain. Come now, you can't escape it. Sooner or later you will have to throw away your futile defects if you want to prosper.

Might as well do it in such a way that you have a chance to survive!"

Ezan then gets back up and looks at the Commandant of the Titans with defiance before he bitterly says," Never, I will never accept defeat. While I will admit emotions can be a hindrance, to completely discard them would make me the same as those I am trying to destroy. I must find the truth to everything. Only then will I be satisfied. And until then, I will destroy all my enemies, without throwing away my identity! XIII Chidori Blitz!"

Ezan unleashes all the power he has left and blasts back the ground around him! Then, using his extreme speed, he hits the knights surrounding him, and Ben so hard, that it slices through their armor! As Ben sees Ezan press his assault on the knights, Ben says,"Ezan, I see even someone as closed off as you has feelings. Looks like you don't like it when your on the other side of being deemed inferior. Hey, good to know you're not a robot."

Ezan continues to damage the Knights of the Round until he jumps into the air and charges at Kira before saying, "This ends now, Kira!"

However, he is shocked to see Kira warp in front of him and grab his powered up blade with two fingers! Kira twists Ezan's sword arm back with ease before he casually says," "Ezan, it seems even your eyes are blind to the truth. While the other Enji may see your devotion to the light as a sign of strength, I see it as a weakness. Come now, are you really that afraid to accept the darkness? You out of most in the order should be able to appreciate the value of seeing the darkness clearly but its clear your afraid of what you will see. Well, let me show you something even more terrifying, Paradise Lost Waltz!"

Ezan is hit with a barrage of punches from the Titan's commander, however he is being hit so many times, at such speed, it looks he is being punched several times at the same time! Kira ends his assault by kicking Ezan into the air and warps in front of him, while saying," See it's not that bad, all you need to do is let it all out! I sense great fear hidden in you, but, like Ben, you too lock it away. Well, time for you to pay the price for hiding information to your master, my apprentice! Purifier Wave!"

Kira fires a powerful blast of light that engulfs Ezan! As he screams out in pain, Ezan is blasted into the ground before a massive explosion occurs! For a moment, Ben's eyes are blinded by the light of Kira's magic, but when he can see, he sees Ezan looking barely alive from the attack! Ben gets really mad at this and says, "How could you do that? You almost killed him! Is this what you call training?"

Kira just laughs from this and responds with a dismissive,"Of course. This is the best way to make a point. After all, pain is the best proof of devotion!"

Ben then charges at Kira while saying, "You really are insane! Someone like you, who enjoys inflecting pain, has no right to decide to say he knows the best path for the universe! Gah!"

Just as he was about to try and attack Kira, all the remaining knights attack him and slam him into the ground! Ben evades and parries there strikes but as he does suddenly Kira is to his right, and just as the owner of the Star Sword comprehends this without a word his enemy extends his right finger and unleashes a massive black colored energy blast! Ben tries to deflect it but the blast is to powerful and causes a explosion that blasts Ben out of the chamber! Before Ben can even react Kira warps above Ben and swiftly slams him hard with a karate chop that smashes Ben in to another training chamber! As Ben bounces to the ground the Knights of the Round land around Ben and then they then fire energy chains to bind Ben to the floor, and as he struggles to overpower them, Kira lands on the ground and walks up to Ben, while taking out his sword again, as he says,"

Just give up, Ben Auro. Do you even now continue your hold onto your foolish dreams? Because, by now, even you should realize you have only two paths to follow. The path of total despair or the path of the warrior who accepts his fate."

Ben looks down and sees his arm is bleeding and says, "No, in the end, is he still too far away? Everything seems to hurt."

Kira just glares at Ben and utters a annoyed,"You continue to defy me, even though it's only bringing more suffering. Why do you persist on being so stubborn? There is no path for victory for you as long as you resist me. So, why do you resist the inevitable? "

Ben then says," Because, it's the only thing I have left. Even if all my dreams are shattered, I still have one left. And, since it's all I have left I will not give up on it, no matter what. And that dream, is to defeat you! And no matter what happens, I won't go down until I have defeated you!"

Kira is caught off guard when a determined Ben blasts the Knights holding him back in his fury and dashes at Kira with such speed he is able to slash him across the cheek! As blood falls down Kira's cheek, Ben turns around and sees Kira is shocked at this. Ben looks at Kira with a driven expression before he yells out ,"I told you, even you will pay for underestimating me, Kira Myers! Now, I'll finish, Guh!"

As Ben is about to finish his speech, the largest of the Knights charges at Ben, but Ben unleashes a final burst of power and with an energy sword in his other hand slashes right through the Knight and charges at Kira!

However, the Knight did not die for nothing, as in its last moment it slashes Ben through his shoulder! This is the last straw for Ben and his power burns out as he collapses.

Kira then walks up to Ben and as he sees his own blood he smiles and says,"It's been a while since I suffered such an injury. Yes, despite the difficult growth process you are proving to be a fascinating case. Even if this is the result I suppose you to should not be to dismayed, for after all there is few in the universe that can even push a being as powerful as me to such lengths. If you two can evolve to the beings your suppose to be, then there might be hope for you just yet. Yes, I am eager to see what power will come when your rage is truly awakened. And I will bring that power out for the sake of true justice, no matter what. Yes, it's time to move on to the next phase. Bask, do you copy?

Send a squad of healers so my apprentices can be healed up, for the next mission."

Well, it seems tough love is the only love Ben is getting these days. Although Ben has come far enough to show Kira's men what happens when you press his buttons, even working together with Ezan, he is still outmatched by the son of the Grand Master!

Will Ben be able to keep it together in both body and mind for the many challenges still in front of him? To find out, don't miss the next Chapter of Tales of the Cosmic Wars! In our next chapter, Ben finds out that the Zannacross Empire is on the assault! Now more determined than ever to revive their master, the imperial forces of darkness have become even more ruthless and are attacking five worlds with the deadly new imperial weapon, the World Devastators!

These powerful new creations suck up everything in their path like a storm, and transform what they suck up into more war machines! Just in one of those worlds is none other than Ben's fast blue friend Sonic!

Like Bowser before him, Dr Robotnik is trying to use the new power of his "ally" to once and for all settle the score with Sonic and everyone. And with the help of both, Meta Knight, his odd counterpart from another dimension Eggman Nega, and worse of all Zannacross Fleet commander Margulis and the powerful mobile armor of his, Proto Omega it seems the Egg man just might have a shot of turning the world of Mobius into his metal world!

Ben is at once sent to help Sonic, even if he does not realize it until he wakes up on the transport ship! Still, fighting alongside the easy going Sonic and his pals might be what Ben needs to feel better, as long as he can defeat the massive amount of opponents waiting for him!

And if Robotnik's new forces are not enough, it seems Xemnas has some plans of his own for the wielder of the Star Sword! Can Ben slash through the large darkness both outside and inside his heart?

Find out in chapter 77: To Disappear in a Sonic Boom, Speeding through the Zone of Darkness.

Till next time! Oh, but wait, first some Author notes. First of all, while Ocelot and Mantis were indeed based on the Metal Gear Solid bosses, Rioting Rhino is someone I made up myself.

Also, it's coming to be that time again, pretty soon my next semester of college is going to start, so it's most likely this tale's production will slow down just a little. Don't worry, it will just mean it will most likely take two weeks now to update. I know it's a drag, but it's what must be. Oh well, thanks for all the reviews so far and hope you keep enjoying my story!