Before we get started I would like to announce that chapter 62 is at last restored! Sorry it took so long, arg, those idiots took forever to fix my lousy Vista computer. Sigh, lousy vista. So, if you were wondering how Fawful got shut up and how many times Bowser can get back up you no longer have to wait. Well, with that out of the the way, let the fun continue!

Chapter 78: Boiling Past the Limit! The Flood that broke the Dam of Fury!

Last time, in Tales of the Cosmic Wars, Ben awoke from his rough "training session " with Kira only to find himself on a battle cruiser already in hyper space for his next mission! It seems Darth Damonus is stepping up his plans to revive his master and has sent his vast forces of the dark side to attack the Lylat Kingdom all over, and just one of those worlds is Mobius, the world of Sonic! Yes, even the fastest blue hedgehog and his pals found himself in deep trouble when his long time foe Dr Robotnik took advantage of the resources he had acquired, and once again tried to conquer his home planet with the new monstrous imperial weapons, the World Devastators! Not only that, but helping him on this invasion was Meta-Knight, the loyal imperial fleet commander Marguils, with his own special weapon charging up. And even Robotnik's alternate dimension counterpart Eggman Nega! Ben was thrown in to all this chaos without even Hiryuumon to cover his back, since Kira ordered both him and Ezan to different parts of the world to aid the locals.

However, Ben finally got a break when he ran into two of Sonic's pals, the fiery Blaze the cat, and the psychic from the future, Silver. Working together, they were able to destroy one World Devastator after finding its weakness, but things got even more complicated when out of no ware one of the elite Dark Enji warped in front of the three! Although the enigmatic man chose not to show his face to Ben, he was really the Superior of Organization XIII, Xemnas! Xemnas gave Ben a rough fight, but using his Bankai powers, he was able to hold on. However, just when Ben looked like he could press an assault, Xemnas said his test was finished and left with a cryptic message! Leaving Ben confused, the stressed out hero's mind was so tired at this point that he had nearly mistaken Sonic for the villain!

He stopped himself in time and regrouped with Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. It seems that the carefree hero is once more gathering the Chaos Emeralds to stop the mad scientists' grand plot once more. Ben was all too happy to help them. However, little do they know that both Egg men have two of the powerful gems with them on board their new Death Egg, and with the new and improved Metal Sonic Res Novae as its body guard! And if that's bad enough, another dark Enji, Demyx, has his own plans to wash Ben's pain away! How will Ben and Sonic deal with these new threats? Time to find out, so let our latest chapter begin!

Today's installment begins not with Ben, but with his current "teacher" Kira. And at the moment, Kira is with his father, about to meet King Atem in the capital building of Neo Arcadia, the giant castle named Grand Lylat Luminous. At the moment, the two master warriors of light enter what is the king's war room of sorts. In there is Atem himself, his two most trusted aides, and friends Shimon and Mahado.

And the members of the subcommittee, the group that has the power to overrule the Supreme Lylat king's decrees if enough of them agree.

We showed them before, but this time the whole group is here, so let's review.

The first member of the committee is Lacus' father Erich. The second member is a black skinned man by the name of Himmler. The third member is a blond haired man named Siegel Clyen, who has no children, and has no relation to Lacus whatsoever. Err, anyway, the fourth member is a man with long black hair named Sakyou. And the fifth is a man with a mustache named Albert Yurive.

The sixth is a green skinned alien humanoid who is also the CEO of Vector and many other multi planet companies siding with the Lylat Kingdom named Xiza. And the seventh and last member, who is the current public speaker and comes from a long line of military family members, he is also head of his own army group called Logos. He is the white haired man named Djibril.

The reason all the members of the subcommittee and King Atem are all having an emergency meeting with Grand Master Myers and Kira is because of the dire situation of the mass Zannacross attacks going on at the moment! When Atem sees Kira and Myers arrive, he smiles and nods to his royal guards before rising and says, "Ah, Grand Master, Kira. I am grateful for you two to come at such short notice."

Myers smiles before sitting down and responding with a pleasant, "Of course, with such a dire situation, we have no more important place to be."

Atem then tenses up before he solemnly responds with,"Yes, it seems this war is becoming even more brutal. I knew the Zannacross Empire was determined to revive their master, however I did not think they had the power to launch such a vast assault already!"

Kira then nods to the guards and they press a button that has the hologram image of all the Lylat planets currently under attack and the fleets fighting over them!

The son of the Grand Master then casually goes on with,"At the moment, all of our forces are engaging the Imperial fleets. Some battles are going better than others are, but at the moment, it seems that defeating their new weapons will not be easy. Many casualties are assured."

Atem then looks dismayed before he says,"Sigh, it's a shame that so many valiant lives will be lost, however I suppose it can't be helped."

Myers then strokes his beard and firmly retorts with,"Yes, the atrocities committed by the minions of the darkness will not go unpunished. Soon the time will come for the end of all this madness."

Hearing this, Dijbril clears his throat and dryly says,"Yes, however, while all of us are extremely grateful for all that the Enji Knights have done, don't you think it's time we bring this war to its end phase?"

This confuses the Grand Master and he responds with "What do you think we are trying to do? With all due respect, lord Dijbril, it's not something you can just end by clapping your hands."

Sakyou then chuckles before countering with,"No one suggests that it's such a simple manner. However, it's also become apparent to many of us that much more decisive matters can be taken to end things sooner. For example, instead of just defending our kingdom wherever it is attacked, why have no assaults into the main enemy territory been made?"

Xiza then adds a condescending," Yes, and don't forget about the Zeon federation either. While Weil's forces are being crushed by his former supporters, we can't just dismiss all of the crimes. Before this war is over, we must make sure they all get the punishment they deserve."

Kira then smirks and reacts with a assertive," Ah, how convenient. With the extra punch, my new Salvation forces give our grand army the power needed for such an invasion."

Myers then looks annoyed and responds with a composed, "I've said this many times before. We can't solve this just with a massive invasion. While we used to believe that the main base of Sithantos was on the planet Ormus, our resources show that it's merely a public front, and we can't confirm their real location. All such an attack would do would cause more needless loss of life. And as for Zeon, while I agree Weil can not just get off free for his greedy desires, at the moment Zeon and him are the lesser of two evils.

And more so, even if we blast Zeon into submission, it will do little good. The people will still resent the Lylat Kingdom and just have the fire of hatred consume them until years later war outbreaks once more. To truly bring peace with them, we must show them they have nothing to fear, and that the lies of Weil are unfounded."

King Atem nods and then adds," Yes, this war will only really be won when we defeat the reasons are enemies want to fight us in the first place. All ready I seen that many of the members of the Zeon Federation are showing unease with Weil. I feel that if we offer to help those like the Krogan and the Thanagarians rebuild there worlds and insure they won't be enslaved we might be able to win them over. In the end while force is needed to settle the conflict, its what we do after the fighting ends that truly matters. Regardless if they are our enemies now, I won't let anyone be treated unjustly."

While Myers looks impressed by this remark Dijbril just laughs and emits a dismissive,"Oh, please, no need to be nice to traitors! Are you saying we should try not to harm their feelings? They have to accept that they are the losers of this war and must pay the price! This whole civil war started because some people were sore losers, but they must be brought in line and come to face the reality of space!"

Albert strokes his mustache and adds a assertive,"Yes, when it comes down to it, there are only winners and losers. Those that can't make it are deleted. That is how the universe has always run, and shall continue to run. They were fools to take more than they deserved and must be punished for this."

King Atem then looks alarmed before he snaps back with ," Hold on, I agree with the Grand Master. It's true people should not try and take more than they should. However, it's not fair to bind people into groups of haves and have-nots. Everyone wants to have a happy life, and it's wrong to not think so. The Lylat Kingdom was created in the first place to bring justice and happiness throughout the cosmos. It was because of misunderstandings that created divisions, but I seek to fix those misunderstandings. In the end, I dream of a kingdom were all can coexist in peace and happiness." T

his causes Xiza to sigh before he politely responds with, "Now then my King, ideas are nice, but they must be based on the truth."

Myers then looks resolved before he turns to King Atem and says,"Don't worry, the Enji Knights will strive to bring about the vision you and your father have dreamed of. There is no need to be rushing things. In the end, our side has more planets and resources. We will defeat the forces that attack us, and when we locate the main world of the Zannacross Empire, I assure you we will make a decisive strike! Then we can barge in with the more moderates from within Zeon, and then we can at last bring this bloody conflict to an end."

King Atem applauds the Grand Master and reacts with a delighted,"I could not have said it better myself. I know this path is not the easy one. But, in the end, I know in my heart that it's the best path to follow."

Everyone nods and Kira calmly says,"Well, my king, father, it seems you both are set on your choice. It would seem there is very little else to go over."

Dijbril then nods before he adds," Yes, I see your mind has been made up."

Erich then looks confident before he reacts with a determined," And it seems that there is no need to try and change it either. Both of you are the best men we could have serving for the common good. I am sure your father would be proud of you my grace. Well, there is no need having all of you spend time here any longer, when we have other matters to attend to. Sigh, I know my house still has repairs to be done."

Atem looks remorseful before he reacts with," Oh yes, I am so sorry to hear about the attack those bounty hunters unleashed on your house on Lacus' birthday."

Erich then looks pained before he emits a dower,"Yes, it was not the best birthday. Sadly there were a few deaths. But thankfully my youngest child was only wounded, and is quickly making a full recovery. I am grateful that Ben, Brad and my security forces were able to defeat that dark Enji before anything worse happened. Though, it was a real shock to find out Max was in on the deal."

Myers then looks troubled before he reacts with a tense," Yes, I admit I am ashamed to find out the truth so late. But I think Ben took it the hardest."

Erich then looks down and emits a dire,"Yes, Ben looked crushed. I wish my wife was not so harsh on him, it was clear he had no idea Max was the same person as Janus. But, then again, Jane has always been very protective of our children. But I am sure when time passes she will calm down. Poor Ben has enough problems to deal with."

Kira then stands up and firmly responds with,"If he is the warrior he is supposed to be fated to become, he will surpass all obstacles or die. It's that simple."

Atem then stands from his throne and firmly interjects with," Now then Kira, I know you are training him hard to sharpen his skills. But do remember he is still only human like us. Ah, so, Erich. I was wondering, in order to help repair your home if I could have an event there?"

Erich smiles and reacts with a pleasant," That would be a nice statement. I am sure it would go over well."

Myers then walks over to them and says," Ah, it has been a while since I have been over the manor myself. Is this the normal one or the summer one?"

Erich chuckles and says, "It used to be the summer one, until Jane wanted an even more exquisite one built in a more isolated area. You should stop by too."

Atem then looks at the others and says,"You're all free to go now, until we meet again."

After a bow Atem, Myers, and Erich all talk to each other as they exit the room, while Atem's advisers follow. When Albert sees they have all have exited the room, he looks at the members still in the room and emits a disgusted, "Well it seems those two will follow their little foolish road of ideals, no matter what."

When Dijbril sees Hemmiler and Signel leave the room too, he looks mad and growls out," Bah, a pair of idiotic fools! Just like his father, he has no grasp of how the cosmos truly works. It's clear if they continue to run this war like this, he is going to cost us quite a lot of money."

Sakyo reacts to this by closing his eyes and retorts with a wry,"Ah, but as much as I agree, his talks of hope and dreams have made him quite popular with the masses. It would be difficult to get them to understand ."

Xiza just laughs and responds with a cold," They don't need to understand, they are sheep. And sheep will obey their shepherds without hesitation. All they need is a good cover story."

Albert then chuckles and reacts with a amused," Well now, it almost sounds like you are talking about treason. It's very dangerous to speak such words in the king's own palace."

Kira then grins and stands up finally, before his energy beings to glow. He then looks around and edgily emits, "Is it really talk of treason to think about what's truly right for all? I wonder."

This shocks the subcommittee and Dijbril raises a eyebrow before saying,"Oh Kira. Forgive us if our words sounds like the words of traitors. We are just speaking about our concerns about King Atem's ideals. Surely we have no plans of betrayal."

Kira then walks up to him and reacts with a firm,"Oh, don't be worried. In fact, I agree with your concerns. I to think that both King Atem and Grand Master Myers have the best intentions. However, while both of their intentions may be pure, their methods may be out of touch with reality and may be keeping this kingdom from reaching true order."

The members look at each other, before Albert says,"Commandant Kira, just what are you suggesting? Forgive me, but is this a trap to kill traitors?"

Kira laughs and then responds with a resolute,"Not at all, Albert. As a testament of my good will, I am using my energy to "rearrange" the cameras of this room. Yes, for a long time I feared that if I did not take matters into my own hands, justice would not be reached. And now it seems my fears are justified. What I want to know is, who among you is ready to do what is necessary, to assure victory for the Lylat Kingdom, and bring about true order? Because, I am readying my plan to strengthen this government into what it must be to survive. First things first though, such " important" matters should be talked in a more private place. I am leaving to the planet Mobius to make sure my current apprentices don't fail. If any of you share my concerns, then meet me at Grandra when I return. Till then gentlemen, I implore you all to think carefully about what must be done to truly bring lasting order to the universes."

As Kira leaves, the Subcommittee members talked amongst themselves about whether or not to go with Kira's plan. However, for now, let's return to the battle for Mobius. Ben, Sonic, and his pals are still speeding to the Icecap zone. Meanwhile, Hiryuumon has been doing his job smashing any dark side minions trying to attack the city of Soleanna and he even helped Amy, Cream, and the Lylat troops there take down a World Devastator! And as for Ezan, well he was supposed to help Shadow defend Station Square, but it seems something has gone wrong, and that leads us to the current moment!

After hearing a distress call, Shadow decided to speed over to the area of the city where it came from. And after dealing with any Necrocalcous or Egg-bot foolish enough to get in his way, he at last made it to the point of interest alongside his two partners, the "Treasure Hunter" and government agent Rouge the bat.

And a rebellious robot of the doctor, the last of his E-1000 series, called E-123 Omega.

As they look for the shuttle in Twinkle Park, they at last find what they are looking for, only to be shocked to see it had crashed and was on fire! Shadow sees dead Lylat Solders everywhere, and as the three look at the situation, Rouge says, "Well, this is a fine mess. That elite Enji Ezan was supposed to be one of the guys here, right, Shadow? A shame being a pilot was not something he excelled at, otherwise we would not have to have wasted our time."

Omega then scans the area and says, "Correction, it is negative that the ship was shot down. Scans seem to indicate that the shuttle was blown up, from the inside. And, Ezan Kaiba's body is not among the bodies here."

This gets Shadow to respond with a baffled,"That's odd, just what went on over here? Oh, is that him?"

Shadow dashes over to the left and sees Ezan knocked out several feet past the shuttle's crash site. The three then go over and Rouge checks Ezan 's pulse to say,"Kid still has a pulse, at least he made it. Come on, wake up and smell the roses."

They all see Ezan move a bit, and then he opens his eyes and is startled to see the trio above him! In a flash, he is on his feet and his sword is drawn. However, he soon remembers Shadow and puts his blade down. He then suppresses his shame at his situation, before he emits a cool," Oh, forgive that, I thought we were under attack."

Shadow crosses his arms and snaps back with a edgy, "It seems you were. Just what happened?"

Ezan sees the burning transport ship and dead soldiers before saying," I don't remember. I remember descending into the planet. And then there was this large noise, and then, AH!"

Ezan all of a sudden grasps his head in pain, before calming down. He then says, "It might be a magic trick by the Imperial forces."

Shadow looks annoyed and retorts with,"Are you going to be ready? We don't have much time."

Ezan at once regains his composure and responds with a assertive, "Of course, I am always ready. Forgive me for that minor delay. What is the current situation?"

Shadow then sighs before he answers with, "At the moment we were about to rendezvous with Sonic. We have a Chaos Emerald, and I thought we might as well meet up with him for the quickest way of saving the planet. We were about to head out to the Ice Cap Zone."

Ezan then nods and emits a calm, "Lead the way."

Without a word, Shadow also nods and motions his group in the forward direction before dashing off. As his two allies follow him, Ezan does the same, and then thinks to himself, "How could I black out at such a critical time? And what happened to bring down the shuttle? This pain was gone for a while, but now it's returned. I don't understand where this feeling is coming from, and I most dislike things that I can't understand. When this mission is finished, I will get to the bottom of this."

Ezan then takes his frustration into increasing his speed to move faster than Shadow! As the annoyed black hedgehog moves faster, to not be outdone, little does any of them know that someone else is watching them, and this person is watching from inside Ezan himself! And it's none other than the essence of Sephiroth!

Yes, it seems Kira's magic attack was so powerful that it weakened the seal Diz placed on Ezan, and allowed the angry villain's will to once again try and take over Ezan! At the moment, from within his body, Sephiroth says,

"Heh, I must thank that Kira. His aide was most helpful. Foolish puppet, you will pay for trying to resist my return. I will give you credit for having such a strong will, even Cloud was not as strong at the time. However, in the end, it's meaningless. Nothing will prevent me from having my revenge!"

He laughs and hides in the shadows of Ezan's soul before the elite Enji can figure out what that odd feeling in his heart is.

Now, as the four get up to a lift, Shadow set up to take them to their destination, Ben's group is finally arriving at there's! After going through shuttle loops, rides, and hitching a ride on things as varied as whales to ships, our group is now at last at the chilly iceberg zone. Ben is cold from entering the area of snow and ice. As he struggles on top of a big icy cliff with the others to use his magic energy not to sneeze, he says, "Give me a break, first I was too hot in Bowser's Lair. And now Eggman's base is way too cold! It's always one extreme after another."

As Sonic jumps up and down to keep himself from freezing, he adds a uneasy," Maybe, but now it's time to give that talking rotten egg an extreme case of speed!"

Knuckles looks around and says,"Well, first we have to find him! All I can see is lots of ice!"

Tails then takes out his device and points at a large glacier before saying, "It seems the readings show a larger power coming from the largest glacier. It figures, Robotnik might be storing a new weapon of his there, and who knows how powerful it could be now that he has the powers of the Zannacross Empire!"

Silver then adds a determined,"No matter what forces of darkness await us, I know together we will defeat them!"

Blaze then nods and adds a "I don't think we can stop anything by standing around. Let's go and melt that doctor's plan!"

Sonic stretches and responds with a eager," Excellent idea, Blaze! So Ben, ready for a little excitement?"

Ben nods and says," Sure, kicking evil's butt is much more fun than becoming an ice sculpture any day."

Sonic then realizes something and pops out a curious," Hey, I was wondering. Where is Cloud and your pals? Did you get lost?"

Ben looks down and responds with a somber, "No, Hiryuumon is somewhere too, but I was sent alone on this mission."

Everyone is not expecting that and Sonic raises his eyebrow before curiously saying, "Why would they send you alone? That sounds kind of harsh."

Ben then shrugs before responding with a flat, "Maybe, but, with so much going on, I guess it's the only choice I have."

Sonic wags his finger, before taking out a snow board and enthusiastically saying, "Hey don't sound so down, man. No matter what the situation, friends are always important to have at your side! After all, there is that saying no man is an island. Speaking of islands, time to hop on board an icy one!"

Sonic jumps on his snowboard and boards on down! As his friends go after him, Ben smiles and says, "Hey, you're always good at being cheerful, Sonic. However, I think our situations are different. I am beginning to wonder if I am fated to be alone."

Our group heads down the slopes. In any case, it does not take long before the group of heroes make their way down the snowy mountain and dash to the ice filled path and towards the mass of glaciers and icebergs that seem to be hiding the two rotten egg's base. As it gets larger, Knuckles nearly slips on the ice before saying, "Whoa! Careful guys, one slip and it's into the big chill! Hey, Sonic how do you plan on getting in anyway? There does not seem to be a front door!"

Sonic smiles and brashly responds with,"No sweat, just have to make our own entrance as always!"

Silver then gets besides him and responds with a uneasy,"Don't be so reckless, Sonic, we have to tread carefully or we could break our own pathway!"

Ben then shrugs before he remakrs with, "Well, at the speed we are moving, even if that Robotnik detects us, it will be too late to send out his forces in time to stop us. Let's just charge on through!"

Blaze then says," Yes, I will melt a path to Egg man, if need be. Nothing will stop us from, oh? That's odd, the ice is shaking! And the water, watch out!"

Sure enough, Blaze's warning is proven correct when, Sonic hears a large noise, and jumps back just as out of nowhere, a large spiky metal tail broke out of the ice in front of them!

Soon enough the rest of the figure emerges, a giant robotic sea serpent or a long thin snake like dragon!

Ben then gets his Star Sword out and says, "Well, should have figured he would have a robot of some sort. Explains why I could not sense anything well, another foe, another battle to win, let's just finish this one quick!"

Sonic nods and gets up on his feet, but just as they all get ready to fight, they hear a familiar laugh! Sure enough they all look above, and Robotnik flies down, in his personal and standard Egg mobile. It seems he left Egg Nega back at the Death Egg, but is more than willing to greet his guests alone! He then gazes at the hero's before bellowing out a mocking, "Well, who's trying to run into the water too deep? You've over stepped your bounds, this time, Sonic the Hedgehog! No matter how many of your friends have gathered, here you will not stop me this time! This will be our final encounter!"

Sonic shakes his fist and furiously lashes back with,"You're the one who has overstepped your bounds, Egg Man! This time you have gone way too far! A lot of people have already lost their lives! You're going to pay for all the deaths you caused for your own selfish desires, you rotten egg!"

This gets his long time foe furious, and he points his finger at himself before furiously stating, "Get this right, you miserable creature! You may have called me names for so long that I have even began to call myself those names. But my name is only Doctor Ivo Robotnik, the greatest scientifically capable mind in the entire universe! No one can compare to my genius!"

Ben then begins to power up his magic energy and responds with a dire," Call yourself whatever you want, but anyone who sides with the forces of darkness, and will so easily commit genocide for their own goals is nothing but another mad man!"

Tails then adds a dismayed, "He is right, Egg man! You helped us fight against Black Doom, and also sided with us against greater evils, why would you side with the greatest evil in the cosmos?"

Egg man laughs and responds with a dismissive, " Your foolish simple minds can't understand anything! I helped you idiots defeat Black Doom, because they were nothing more than brutish space mutants. The Zannacross Empire is the most powerful force in the universe.

They will bring this whole dimension into its proper evolution! I side with them because they understand me. Now it's time you see just what that magnificent power can do! Meet my newest "toy", the Egg Leviathan! I know how you just hate water, Sonic! And that's too bad because soon water is going to be the last thing you see! Now Egg Leviathan, rid me of these pests once and for all!"

His robot beast roars before firing a pair of deadly energy blasts from its eyes! The group is able to dodge them, just as it melts part of the Icy path in an instant!

It then targets Ben and lunges to devour Ben and the hero flash-steps to avoid finding out if the monster's digestive system was real and says, "Bah, I don't have time to play with toys! Give up now Doctor, otherwise you're going to lose it all!"

Robotnik flies upward and responds with a distant," Ah, yes, the Enji Knight with the special sword. While your power is no joke, you will find that even you cannot break my master plan! Hurry now, destroy them all!"

What everyone thought were the machines scales and fins turn into missiles and launch into the sky, before raining down to greet our heroes! However, Ben sees this and states, "Forget it, attacks like these are not going to stop me!"

He fires a barrage of energy blasts to blow up the missiles first! However, even this does not get them all! Silver then uses his psychic powers to catch the reaming projectiles! He then says," Ben is right; we have no time to waste! No matter what powers you gain from the Zannacross Empire, they won't be able to make your machines strong enough to beat the forces of justice!"

Silver then hurls his captured rockets at the mech, only for it to respond by flicking them back into the water with its tail! It then goes to charge again. This time an angry Knuckles charges at it and says, "I don't care how big it is! I'll still smash its face in!"

Knuckles winds up a punch, and lands a strong blow just as the monster is about to bite down, and lands a strong blow that knocks it back! Seeing this, Robotnik pounds the controls and says," Don't just let them make a fool out of you! Show them your power!"

The Egg Leviathan then dives underwater and Sonic says, "Oh man, talk about a cheap trick! He can be ready to strike at any point and we are nearly sitting ducks around here!"

Tails then grinds before reacting with a confident, "Don't worry Sonic, I came prepared this time!"

He then takes out something that looks like a mine and Ben says, "What you got there, Tails?" Tails then begins to fly using his two tails and says,

"I knew Egg Man would pull out a new machine or two. And that's why I built this radar jammer! It will mess up its programming and make it a sitting duck! Let's see if its range is big enough, only one way to find out!"

Tails hurls the device into the water. At first nothing happens, but then everyone sees a large pillar of water and electrify burst to the left, with the Egg Leviathan right after it! It seems Tails' device worked and its going out of control!

As sparks come out of its eyes, it heads to smash right through the pathway our heroes are on. However, Blaze sees this and surrounds herself in a fiery tornado, before charging at it and saying, "You need to calm down, right now!"

Blaze slams hard into the middle part of the machine and hits it hard enough to stop its charge! Sonic then sees an opening and uses his speed to jump on the creature's back, and then grind on its scales all the way to its head! As he speeds to the top he says, "You may make your machines bigger and badder Egg man, but you will never be able to take me down!"

He reaches the top and performs a stylish jump before doing his homing attack on one of the creature's eyes! The machine then goes completely out of control as Tails catches Sonic.

Ben then grins and says, "It's over, now it's just attacking wildly."

Robotnik then sees this as well and takes out a remote before saying, "I am not finished yet! You're not the only one who is prepared, fox boy! Luckily I can still control it vie remote! Bah, no more games, this is the end! Focus all power to offense and blast them all into atoms!"

His creation moves as commanded and like a puppeteer controlling his puppet, the foe has his pawn swim back out of range, and have a large amount of power charge into his mouth! Sonic sees this and tenses up before saying, "Shoot! He pulled back too far to reach. Silver, can your powers reach that far?"

Silver shakes his head and says,"Sorry, my range can extend only so far without additional help."

Knuckles then punches the ground while saying, "NO, he is not going to beat us with a cheap trick like this! Huh?"

He then sees Ben power up his magic energy enough to crack the ice and Ben says, "Don't worry, he won't! Stand back guys, this is going to get messy!"

He uses his magic energy like a spring board to give off a magic powered boost that launches him right at the machine as it fires off a blast! Ben sees the Egg Leviathan fire a powerful charged particle blast from its mouth, but just responds with a fierce," Your powers can't compare to mine, Egg man. It's time you are at last brought to justice for your crimes! Shining Flare Slash!"

Ben has his blade become consumed with magic energy and he heads right into the opposing beam. And to his opponent's horror, Ben's attack slices not only right through the energy blast, but as he presses forward, he slashes the head of the machine right off! He lands on the fin and jumps back to where Sonics' group is just as the head explodes!

As he lands, he puts his sword back on its sheath and Sonic smiles before saying, "Nice moves, Ben! I see it's clear you have been training."

Ben smiles and responds with a sly,"Well, can't afford a sloppy job now, right?"

Seeing his newest creation's head explode, causes Robotnik to go ballistic and he says,"You rotten Enji! Look what you did to it! Bah, don't think you won, Sonic! That was just the opening act I had planned for your demise! Just see how cocky you can be when I show you the fruits of my research of the cursed sealed Crystals has brought about! You will at last learn who is the superior, oh? AH!"

Just as he was going to finish his speech, he just sees the tail of his broken Egg Leviathan come crashing down, on him! The impact slams his Egg Mobile hard, and it rockets him right into the frozen ground in front of our heroes! As his transport crashes head first, Sonic and Ben nod before the group surrounds the fallen machine. Sonic sees his foe's white glove sneak out of his ride and says, "Give it up, Doc, you're through! No way are you getting away now!"

Ben then adds a on edge, "If you want to have any chance of a future that does not involve pain, tell us now how to stop the World Devastators!"

He waits a moment, but everyone is shocked when they all hear laughing from the upside down Egg Mobile! This makes Knuckles mad and he says, "You think all the havoc you have caused is funny? Stop fooling around or else!"

He then punches the transport away with one punch and grabs the mustached man. However, when they all see Egg man is still laughing, Knuckles then says, "Man, you're even crazier than usual! Don't you have anything to say? Hey, what the? AH!"

As Knuckles shakes the doctor, all of a sudden his head falls off! However, it seems the joke is on the good guys when everyone sees another metal head in its place!

It's soon painfully clear that this is not Robotnik, but one of his Egg-robot duplicate drones that Robotnik used as his stand in, who were most frequent in Sonic & Knuckles.

The fake keeps laughing before saying, in Robotnik's voice," Hahahah! Stupid fools, you are too late to stop your doom!"

Ben then tenses up before reacting with," Blast him, he was toying with us all along and was most likely watching from this dummy to stall us!"

This angers Knuckles and he says,"Blast him, tricking me again! Rah!"

He then punches the Egg-robot's head off as the robot is sent flying into the water! As it sinks Sonic says,"

Easy with that temper, Knuckles, one of these days you will give yourself a heart attack! Don't worry, guys, he can stall us all he wants, but it's because he knows he has no chance!"

Ben then says,"Yes, no matter what, I won't allow him or anyone else to try and destroy the universe! Come on, it's time to crack a rotten egg. Hopefully that was the last of his defenses, or at least till we get inside his base. Oh, wait, sounds like another noise of someone who can't figure out the truth! Alright, what is it this time? What! Good Grief!"

Ben turns to the side, but instead of seeing a new foe he sees a tidal wave! Everyone panics at the sudden massive wave of water and

Sonic says,"Whoa! Where did that come from? Never mind, let's just worry about getting out of its way!"

Blaze then says, "It must have been magic; otherwise it could never have appeared so fast! Brace yourselves!"

Ben then tries to set up a magic barrier around him and the others, just as the massive wall of water falls down on them!

Despite Ben's efforts, the massive water pressure of the Tsunami still hits him hard! For a minute Ben can see nothing but water, and uses all his power to glue his feet to the ground. Luckily he can still feel ground beneath him and he sticks the Star Sword into the ground in front of him for a hold on. Soon the water begins to subside and Ben can let down his barrier and breathe again. Now, totally drenched and even colder, he shudders before saying, "Great, this better not cause my clothes to shrink. Hey, Sonic, everyone okay? Huh?"

Ben gets some water out of his ear and looks around, only to see no one else! He then gulps before he emits a worried,"Hey, where is everyone? And for that matter, where am I? This looks like I was sent to a totally different area!"

Ben looks around and sees that now he seems to be in an icy enclave surrounded by glaciers. The ice is surrounding him like a dome and he sees he is on a giant platform of ice. It's kind of like the area where Sonic, Tails, or Knuckles fought the mid boss of the Icecap zone in Sonic Three. He then says, "Great, looks like I was swept off course.

Oh well, maybe if I am lucky, this is the secret entrance to the base. Just hope the others are alright, I can't even sense their magic energies. Hey, hold on, I can sense one. But it's not anything like the others! No, it feels like darkness! That guy, the Dark Enji from before! He's back! So, you came back to finish the fight after all,huh? Stop playing tricks and show yourself!"

Sure enough, Ben sees the water around him begin to become like a whirlpool, and with an explosive splash, Ben's suspicions prove true, as a Dark Enji flies out of it!

However, while Ben does not realize it just yet, it's not who he fought just a little while ago, but the punk hair styled, Demyx!

Seeing Ben's face, he laughs and takes out his weapon, the odd blue sitar and spits out a mocking, "Well looks like you're not as dumb as I thought! Took you long enough to get this far, hero! I was wondering if I would just have to come after you! Still, I am glad to see you remembered the face of your killer. Maybe I'll kill you less painfully for that, if I feel like it!"

Ben is shocked at seeing Demyx, since he still thinks the man he sees was who ambushed him just a while ago. He then says, "You're the one who attacked? Odd, I did not think it was you, since you acted completely different before."

Demyx was not aware that his superior tested Ben, and with an annoyed look says, "What are you talking about? I am always this awesome! It seems you have some water in your brain, warrior of lame! Let me add just a little more to finish the job!"

Ben then begins to power up his magic energy and responds with a determined,"I don't know what game your playing, but I am already tired of it! First you act all mysterious, and say you're just testing my skills. And now you're showing your face and want to kill me? Make up your mind already, because I have no time to fool around!"

Demyx just plays a few strings on his musical weapon and casually says,"What are you mumbling about dude? I haven't seen your dopey mug since last year! Hey, I see you're even more messed up in the head than Larxene said! Oh well, you're still a threat, so you're still going to be taken down I don't do the mercy thing!"

Ben responds by chuckling and darkly saying,"Whatever, this is better, anyway. Now I can finish you sooner than later! What did you do with Sonic and the others? I warn you if you killed them I am going to shatter you into..."

Just then, Demyx holds out his hands and ushers a lazy,"Slow down, star stiff! Your pack of oversize animal groupies are still breathing, hey, for now at least. If you want to see your lame band of goodie goodies, then look above you!"

Ben then hears a noise and sees Sonic and everyone arise out of the water, trapped in what appears to be giant water filled bubbles! They look okay for now, but they are all knocked out. Demyx then laughs and says, "I was checking you and your pals out when you fought against those Zannacross troops. Of course, they are nothing my marvelous powers can't deal with. But, I am not stupid enough to just let loose ends run amok. Working together with you, they could make me look bad. And that's why I decided to make the first move with my little tidal wave greeting! Hey, don't worry, if I feel like it, I might leave them here from my water prison magic just barely treading above water, after I kill you of course."

Ben then slowly walks towards the Dark Enji and says, "And just why should I trust someone like you?"

Demyx then has water surround him and says, "Think what you like, Enji. But to be honest, I don't care what happens with this lame planet. Just like last time, the only thing that matters to me is that now there is nothing in my way from taking you out!"

Ben narrows his eyes as he firmly states,"You can try, but I assure you, you're going to fail hard! I am not about to lose to some punk rocker with water tricks with his best talents."

Demyx gets angry from this and has his black colored magic aura surround him, before he says, "Man, your memory really does suck! Because I remember quite clearly that last time we squared off, you were nothing more than a drowned rat that was not even fun to fight! And you want to know something? I was not even giving that fight my all, and you would all have been dead right then until that Cloud guy got the jump on me with his fancy attack of his! Tsk, it's only because Axel and Ravxen did not think of any of you as threats, did we leave it to that idiot Zeon general to finish the job, because let me tell you this dude, if Ravxen and I knew how much of a pain you were going to be, this planet would be nothing but space dust right now! So, time to fix that mistake!"

Ben's face grows confident before he ushers a confident,"You really are an idiot if you think I am the same guy from a year ago. You might be strong and someone who was out of my league a year ago. But I have come too far, now I know I can defeat the likes of you. After all, it's my destiny to destroy all scum like you!"

Demyx then uses his power to make the water around them violent and storm clouds begin to form into the air as he snarls out a mocking,"Oh, please! It's true you defeated that traitor Xehamaru for us. But, you still have no shot of beating me! Because no matter how strong you are Ben, you're in my element now!

And in any case, like Larxene proved, you're nothing more than a lame loser who is clueless to his surroundings. Hahaha, it's no wonder she was able to fool you so badly!"

This is the last straw for Ben, and his magic energy nearly breaks the frozen platform and charges at Demyx with his sword already glowing blue, as he yells out a furious, "Be quiet! You, Larxene, all you members of Organization XIII think you can mess with me. But, I'll show you how much I think of people who play around with my feelings!"

Demyx then says,"What's the matter? Can't take being dumped? How about being drowned? Let's find out, dance, water, dance!"

Demyx begins his attack by causing a water geyser to burst right over Ben! Our hero is able to maneuver in mid air to avoid it, but a bit of it hits his arm and he at once recoils it from the severe pain he feels! He sees burn marks on his hand and as he lands he says," How the? It's freezing around here, yet that water was boiling hot!"

Demyx gestures his hand and as water flows through his hand he cloy says,"

Getting how this dig works? I can control the water around me anyway I like! Hot water, cold water, you name it, all tabs flow through here! Starting to get the picture of your forecast?"

Ben then sees a wave of water emerge below him speeding towards Ben, but the one chosen by the Star Sword just looks confident and says, "Oh, I am seeing the forecast alright, and it's looking like a victory for me! Your water tricks may get me wet, but I've dealt with far worse than a little stormy weather. I'll show you whose skills are superior right now!"

As he fires a energy sword wave calmly to slash the coming wave in half, Demyx sees the wave fall apart, and Ben just looking at him ticks him off. He then says, "Bah, you seem to underestimate the power of water! The great power of H20 is what controls life, and I have mastered that power! Time to rain down the fear on to you! Water Clones!"

He plays a tune on his weapon of choice. And as his aura glows, all of a sudden water comes out of his aura, and soon they all take the shape into a dozen or so watery copies of him! As they all form their own sitars out of water, Ben looks annoyed and says, "Hey, so now you are using clones, are you? I suppose I can manage dealing with a few more lousy slippery jerks."

Demyx and his clones all laugh at once, before the dark Enji says,"You don't know what you're dealing with, Enji. Fine, if you're so sure of yourself, then let's raise the stakes! Let's see you shatter all my water clones in less than thirty seconds, or your friends will find themselves out of air!"

This angers Ben and he says,"Hey! I thought you said you were indifferent to Sonic and the rest?"

Demyx chuckles before he produces a evil grin and says, "I am, but I do care about seeing you suffer for annoying me and my group! Uh oh, times running out. Better hurry,if you really care about these losers."

Ben glares at his enemy before his responds is," You're the only loser here, Demyx. Bah, whatever, I guess I will fight fire with fire. Multi Shadow clones!"

Ben summons his Shadow clones to surround him before they all charge at the clones of the Melodious Nocturne with their blades drawn . However, as they are about to slash Demyx says,"Nice try, but you can't burn up water, loser! Let's see if I can hose down your fiery temper! Now, Water Jet Cutter!"

He strikes a cord from his Sitar weapon and, all of a sudden, all of his water clones fire a high density blast of a super condensed stream of water from their hands! This attack is no joke and the clones of Ben that are hit by it are shredded in an instant!

These water attacks are so strong that they cut right through the thick layers of ice surrounding them! As Ben and his remaining Clones regroup, Demyx snidely states,"

Still think you're dealing with a water show? My attacks can cut through the toughest metals, you don't stand a chance! Now let's have an encore! Water Jet Cutter!"

Demyx and his water clones all fire the high pressured streams of water, but this time, Ben is ready and is able to deflect the first one into the sky, while saying, "Alright, guys, let's try attack formation, Rex!"

He jumps into the air and throws his Star Sword like a boomerang at the group of foes. But Demyx sees this and simply moves to the side to dodge it! As he fires off another attack, he says, "Is this the best the mighty hero can do? If you really think you can save the universe, you will need better tricks than throwing your sword like a toy!"

As Ben lands and dodges another Water Jet Cutter attack, he smirks and retorts with,"You think so, huh? Well, then how about this, do it now, guys!"

He jumps up again and fires a powerful Thundaga spell, right into his sword, as it spins back around! His clones do the same, and before Demyx can catch on, the Star Sword is hit by a barrage of powerful lightning blasts, and it causes a reaction that blasts the whole area around Demyx and his clones with high level electricity!

This hits the water loving dark Enji hard and he takes major damage as he falls to the floor, with his water clones being destroyed in one shot as a bonus! As he hits the ice, he staggers, and gets back up before Ben says, "Well, looks like for someone that loves playing with water so much, you don't cover your weaknesses well. I am surprised you made it this far. You seem quite out of place among the other guys."

This angers Demyx and he says, "You think you can win with your cheap tricks? You're so lame!"

Ben just sighs and says, "You're the villain who is holding my friend hostage, so you have no right to talk about playing fair!"

Demyx snickers before he sorely responds with,"I guess. HA, in the end what is fair and what is not is decided by the winners. Everyone always thinks they are the right one, that they are the special one. It's funny, everyone is told that they are special, that they will be the winner. But that can't be, because this cosmos is filled with worthless losers! You want to know what makes the elite dark Enji of Organization XIII the true winners? We have the power, and the know how! We have all the cards, which are going to make us on top! So shut up already and die loser!"

He slams the ground with his weapon to create a fast water wave to rise up to try and slash Ben with! However, he powers up his aura and creates a barrier to blast through it. And as his clones get behind him he says, "You're clueless. It's clear your group is just another group of egomaniacs that need to be knocked out of commission! Time to prove who the true loser is, multi sonic burst!"

Ben and his clones slash Demyx at lightning fast speed, causing the cocky foe to be slashed all over! Ben ends his assault with a kick to his foe's forehead that knocks Demyx through a wall of ice and into the water! Ben then says, "Now, is it clear you can't win yet? If you want to live, let Sonic and the others go right now. Otherwise you're going to find yourselves in pieces real soon!"

He sees Demyx re-emerge from the water, looking bloody. His head is straight down and Ben wonders if he beat him for a minute before he knows better and says,"So, what is it going to be? Ready to apologize for causing havoc and go home? Huh, whoa!"

All of a sudden an explosion of dark energy blasts out of Demyx as his magic energy surges around him! Ben struggles to stay on his feet as he sees Demyx sharply turn his head up with a psychotic look on his face as he manically yells out,"

You worthless loser! You're going to pay for hurting me! You really think a clueless Enji like you can defeat someone of my greatness? Time to teach you how out of tune you are with reality, Star boy! Play time is over! Now, Dance water dance! Torrential Whirlpool Slam!"

Demyx's magic energy gathers around him, and he then points his sitar into the air.

Then Ben is amazed to see nearly all the water around them gather around Demyx, until it's a giant swirling water cyclone! Demyx jumps in the air and goes to smash Ben with it. Ben tries to dodge, but Demyx's water attack is too close and too fast and he is hit hard! His clones are crushed instantly and Ben finds himself being swirled around in Demyx's attack! The dark Enji sees Ben being hurled around within his attack and then laughs madly before saying,

"What's wrong dude? Miss out in your swimming classes? Don't worry; it would be a bummer if you just died like this. That's why I am going to have some fun first! Hang on!"

He then slams his watery cyclone into the ground, now slamming Ben hard and keeping in trapped underwater! As Ben uses his magic energy to keep his breath, he says,"

Damn him! As long as he has water around him, he has the advantage. I have to do something fast, I can't afford to lose here!"

Demyx then says," Ah, I just figured out the best way to get rid of you, hero! Time for a sendoff from your, "hungry" fans! Hydro Shark Feeding Frenzy!"

Demyx holds out his free hand and uses his dark magic to create five large sharks into the water, and they all charge hungrily at Ben! Seeing this, our hero says, "Oh great, it's Jaws, all over again."

Demyx then laughs and says, "That's it, dance, sharks, dance! I always knew Larxene was wasting her time spying on you! You're no threat to anyone with real strength! You have nothing! You ARE nothing but a lucky twit who's luck has run out!"

Ben sees the sharks coming for him and, as his limits are being broke, he says,"Oh, I got nothing, you say? I'll show you just what I have! Bankai!"

Ben's magic energy explodes as he once more powers up the current full power of the Star Sword. To his opponents horror, Ben releases so much power that it blows apart all of the foe's water! Demyx then sees Ben staring him down with renewed anger and determination. Sensing his new power he says, "Damn it, I guess I should have killed you before you could reach this state. Great, Saix is going to moan all night when I get back. Whatever. May have gotten stronger, but you're still going to die today, Ben Auro. Because this is my show and the star always wins!"

Ben just laughs as he hears this and his magic aura raises enough to crack the ice around them and boil the water, as he says, "Oh, you're so, so wrong you annoying idiot. You, a star? You keep calling me a loser, but the way you have been acting, it seems you're desperate to finish me off. What is wrong, Demyx? Have the other members of the elite dark Enji finally come to the conclusion of how ridiculous it is to have a washed up magical rock star as one of their crew?"

This infuriates Demyx and he gathers water around him before saying, "Tough talk, coming from the guy who is too stupid to realize he is a pawn that everyone is just using in the grand game of life! Enough games! I fooled around long enough, time to strike the cord of death! Water Jet Cutter!"

Demyx fires another high density water stream from his hand, but Ben shows how afraid he is of the attack, when he easily defects the attack with his Star Sword! Annoyed at this, Demyx fires again, and this time has the same kind of attack break out from the surrounding pound and attack Ben from all angles!

Ben just powers up his aura to evaporate all the water coming at him into steam! Ben then points his sword right at Demyx and flatly states,"I am tired of games too, Demyx. Yes, everyone thinks they can play games with me. But I am through being everyone's source of amusement! I see that is most likely the other guy was someone up higher up than you. If this is your full power, it's clear you're one of the lower members. Tsk, I don't care anymore, I'll have to settle him messing with me, by sending a message that involves killing you!"

Demyx backs off a little and gives a nervous laugh, before saying, "In your dreams! You will never be powerful enough to destroy me! You're just a lame Enji, you can never compare to one of the elite members of Organization XIII's full power! Die, Grand Cyclone Surge!"

Demyx begins to suck up all the water in the room, and this time turn it into a giant blade of water!

Ben then reacts with a cold, "Gather as much water as you like, but no matter what, it won't be enough!"

Demyx laughs again and at this and says, "Maybe for you, but how about your friends?"

He then shocks Ben by pointing the attack not at him, but at Sonic and the rest still trapped in the aqua prison magic! Seeing his foe aim at his pals, Ben says, "What are you doing? They can't defend themselves while they are trapped! You're fighting me, remember? If you're so strong, then you don't need to resort to these kinds of tricks!"

Demyx just says,"Ha, true strength is more than just raw power, it's knowing how to get what you want, no matter what cost! So, now here is the deal! If you really are a hero and care about these overgrown critters, be a good boy and throw your sword into the water and then turn your back! HA, do it quick!"

Ben sees Sonic and the others beginning to run out of the air and clenches his fist before saying, "Fine, have it your way."

He sighs and throws the Star Sword into the water. As he turns around, Demyx laughs loudly and says," What a boy scout! Hey, that's why you Enji are going to be wiped out! Rules are for chumps, the only real rule is to win! As long as you warriors of light are bound to things like caring and that other stuff, you will never be anything but a loser! See why the dark side is the best? It's anything goes, as long as you're strong! Time to pay the price for picking the wrong side!"

He laughs before redirecting his Grand Cyclone Surge back to Ben! However, as the attack heads to Ben, the Enji's power level explodes and he says, "Oh, thank you for the tip, Demyx. Most of it is nonsense, but I will take it into consideration, after I am done with you! Now, Senkai!"

The dark Enji is caught off guard, when a flash blinds him, and a barrage of energy swords burst out of the water and all hone in on Demyx!

Clearly caught off guard, Demyx tries to dodge, but Ben's surprise attack works and his free hand is impaled with one of Ben's spirit swords! In severe pain, Demyx yells and he loses his focus, causing his attack to go wild and slams through a glacier wall!

As he sees Ben summon the Star Sword back into his hand, he says, "You little cheat! Now you've done it, I'll kill you and all your friends! You think you can play smart with me? Now you have no chance! I am going to make you feel so much pain you're going to be crying home to mommy!"

Ben then rasps out a ruthless," No, the one who has always had no chance is you! You can't compare to my pain. Even with all these water tricks, it's nothing compared to the pain I have already suffered. You dark side loving nut jobs think you have pain figured out. But, you know nothing of my pain, the pain of the hero. Now, Demyx, it's time I share with you the pain of the ultimate hero. Yes, let's see if you can endure my suffering!"

Ben flash steps to right in front of his foe's face and punches him in the stomach hard! Showing no mercy, Ben then nearly lets his stress explode in to his fists as he unleashes a furious assault of punches that Demyx can't even block! Ben ends the combo with a brutal kick that launches Demyx through the glacial wall!

Ben sees Demyx fly back and then turns to the aqua prisons. He sees that Demyx must be injured from his newest wounds, as the spheres of water begin to become unstable Ben slashes them all in a flash to shatter them before they could be drowned! Luckily, they were not too far above the air and they all land safely. As everyone coughs up water, Blaze says, "What the, what happened? I remember that tidal wave, then feeling like I was in the middle of a stale dream."

Sonic then catches his breath and says,"Ah, man, I feel all funny. What happened? Did Egg man do this?"

Ben smiles seeing his friends alright and says,"No, it was an uninvited guest. Don't worry, he is about to leave real soon. I'll be back in a second. Just giving him his going away present."

Ben's energy flares up again and he flash steps to where Demyx was kicked through. To Ben's delight, he sees Demyx outside, standing on a pillar of water and looking wounded as he his holding his chest. He then sees Ben and gasps out a frantic,"Damn you, Ben Auro! I won't let you make a fool out of me! DIE!"

He fervently plays a tune on his weapon and water beings to surround him, and Ben sees in the distance another tidal wave forming. The owner of the Star Sword just chuckles before he emits a wry,"Oh, so you don't like to suffer? Neither do I. But, everyone seems to want me to suffer. However, I was told it was nice to share. And I also believe in justice. So, here is the justice scum like you deserve!"

He charges right for Demyx using a flight magic spell to lift him up. Demyx is able to form his tidal wave and hurls it right at Ben. But Ben focuses his magic energy and slashes right through it!

As the water around him turns into vapor, he charges right for Demyx and brings his Star Sword down on Demyx! Demyx tries to block with his Sitar, but Ben's power is so great that he slashes the weapon in half, and also slashes him hard across the chest! This hits home and Demyx screams out in pain as he falls to the ground and bleeds profusely. He tries to get on his feet, but sees that Ben is already standing in front of him! He kneels back and says, "Alright! I get it, you're strong, you're stronger than me! You win!"

Ben just looks at him and coldly says,"Well, what happened to all that talk before? You really think I trust anything from you?"

Demyx just laughs and says," Easy there, Ben Auro, I am a practical man! You're way stronger than I thought. I give up! Don't be so harsh, I was just doing as I was told! Come on, I surrender! I'd rather be locked up in some prison than dead! Just let me go, and that's it. I promise!"

Ben laughs and just uses his magic energy to blow Demyx back! He then unleashes a depraved, "Everyone thinks that they can fool me, am I really that gullible? Both my former best friend and the person I considered both my brother and my mentor betrayed me. You really think I will fall for the lies of a punk?"

Demyx then walks back and says, "Come on, you're the nice guy, the hero! You have to spare me!"

Ben then looks at the sky and quietly responds with,"For so long, I always tried not to get anyone mad, I always wanted to please everyone, I wanted people to approve of me. But, it seems even when others can get away with stuff, it's never enough for me. So, if no matter what I do they will never give me what I want, then there is no reason to play by their rules! Yes, I am a nice guy, Demyx, however."

He then turns around and looks Demyx in the eyes before saying, "I will never be a push over again. I will no longer let anyone hurt me again! Die!"

Demyx then panics and tries to open a dark portal before saying, "No wait, NO! This is bogus man, BOGUS! I, ARGH!"

Demyx tries to warp away, but in a flash Ben bursts into the member of Organization XIII and grabs him by the shoulder hard before upper cutting Demyx into the air! He then charges up his power and says,"Yes, no matter what, my dream will never fade! I will be the greatest hero, I will save the universe and I will erase this cosmos' lies! Burning Celestial Shinryukenha!"

Ben's magic energy explodes, as he fires his best energy wave at full power, and it hits Demyx in the air dead on, destroying every cell of him!

Ben's blast continues on into a pile of icebergs, until it unleashes a massive explosion! As the sky lights up, Sonic and co have caught their breath and also caught up to Ben. Sonic sees the massive explosion and says, "Whoa! That's some fireworks! Thanks for the save, Ben. Sorry we got tripped up. Man, must be an off day for me. So, what happened to the wise guy who got us in those annoying magic bubbles?"

Ben just looks at the fading explosion and says," He got the fate he deserved."

As he powers down and puts his Star Sword away, Knuckles says "Well, I see you've gotten stronger, Ben. That will teach any idiot to sneak up on us! Alright, let's resume the Egg bashing! Um, but first where are we?"

Tails then takes out his radar again and presses a button before saying,"

Thankfully, while that watery interruption put us a little behind, we are not too far off from our goal. That mass of icebergs to the left still is our target."

Ben then takes a deep breath and calmly responds with, "Good, then let's keep moving. I won't let Dr Robotnik cause any more trouble, this time I will, Guh!"

All of a sudden, Ben feels a sharp pain and grasps his head in agony. Everyone looks alarmed when Ben falls to his knees and Sonic says, "You okay, man? You look a little worn out."

Blaze then adds, "Perhaps you should take it easy for a bit."

Ben then shakes his head and says, "No, I am fine. It's just more pain, I can handle that. I can't afford to stop now. I have to complete my mission. It's the only thing I have left now."

Silver looks concerned at this and says, "No matter how strong the flames of one's heart is, if you burn too fast, you're going to blow your own spirit out. It's okay to, Huh? That noise, oh no!"

Everyone hears a large rumbling and in the distance they can see the Iceberg formation break apart! Soon enough, everyone sees a gigantic battle station break out. It's round and it has the face of the notorious scientist. It's none other than Robotnik's new and improved Death Egg! As Sonic sees the Death Egg emerge from the ice, he says,

"Shoot! That jerk wasted our time and now that Egg man got his big guns out! Oh well, no worries, now we at least know where he is!"

Silver looks at it emerging and says, "Look! Those chains, it's still partly docked and, if we hurry we can use them to get on board much more easlier!"

Ben just sighs and says," Sounds like a plan, don't worry about me, I'll be fine. Come on, let's move!"

Sonic and the others nod, and as they do, little do they know that another Dark Enji is watching them off in the distance. And once again, it's Xemnas! Not feeling any remorse at the slightest for his fallen member, he just says, "Ah, so Demyx could not fulfill his word after all. In any case, his powers were only useful for invasions against minor armies. He always let the task of fighting truly strong opponents to the others. Now that the celestial beast that excelled in water has been captured there was nothing left that we really needed him for anyway. No matter, because in his death he was still useful to complete my test. Yes, I just might have found an even more powerful replacement. The pieces are all coming together.

Now, I will let these fools continue their futile struggles for now."

Xemnas vanishes in a portal of darkness. Now, speaking of the pieces coming together, let's see how Ezan and Shadow's group are doing!

It seems that they ran into some delays of their own! After meeting up with a unit from the GUN special forces, they were also going to fly off to the Ice cap zone to team up with Sonic.

However, it was just then that a fleet of Nova Crushers attacked Station Square! All this time, Ezan has been helping taking care of the attackers and so far has crushed all that stood in his way with ease. In fact, he was fighting so well he caught the attention of the two main commanders of the invasion, Captain Richard and his lackey Hermann!

Both of them are among the ace mobile suite pilots and serve directly under Fleet commander Margulis! And at the moment they are annoying Ezan and Shadow in their mobile suits, the close combat type Gad and the long range type Joseph! Even though the suits are powerful machines, both Ezan and Shadow's group are experienced enough to deal with such foes.

At the moment, Ezan has just slashed in half a squad of missiles in a flash and Rough then says, "Well, Shadow, this is making things go quite slowly. At this rate, I will never get my precious jewels! Get out of the way bums!"

The two minions just respond by firing some more attacks and Shadow says," Do you ever think of anything but of your gems, Rough? Bah whatever, these guys are getting on my nerves anyway. I'll teach them to get in my way!"

He attacks with his homing attack at Gad, but he blocks it with its shield. His partner then prepares to skewer Shadow, but he was forced back by a barrage of missiles from Omega! As Shadow lands back with his allies, the two laugh, before Richard says through his suits intercom a haughty shade of, "Ha ha ah! It's useless to struggle, you heretics! Nothing will stand in the way of the glorious Zannacross Empire! Your pitiful struggles end here!"

Ezan then powers up his aura and as he gets into his fighting stance, he says,"The only thing pitiful are the abilities of you two. You will pay the price for causing so much chaos by my blade."

Hermann then says, "Bah, even you can't defeat our power, Ezan Kaiba! Your reputation is well known, but today that is brought to an end!"

Richard's suit begins to glow, as he reacts with a sour,"Ha! I'll blow you vermin away with the true power! Hermann, we will now destroy them with divine pincer formation!"

His cohort nods before using his machines boosters to get on the other side of the heroes! Then he takes out a large cannon from his back and has it gather energy! As the group sees both machines gather energy, Shadow then says, "You think you two can compare to the ultimate life form? I will teach you how wrong you are!"

This causes both foes to laugh and Richard says, "Ha, miserable filth die like the trash you are! Now, fire Naglfar cannon!"

He fires a powerful energy blast right as Hermann does the same! However, seeing two large waves of destructive energy head for him, just causes Shadow to grin as he takes out the Chaos Emerald he has! He then says,"Clowns, time to teach you a new lesson, Chaos Control!"

A burst of energy comes out of him, and he uses his power to warp him, Ezan, Rough and Omega out of the way! They warp just a few meters to the right, but it's just enough to safely see the startled pair watch their own energy blasts blast into each other!

When the smoke clears, both bad guys are still standing, but both of them have taken heavy damage! Very mad now, Richard turns his sparking suit to Shadow and says,

"Think you can outwit us! I'll rip you in half!"

Ezan then has his blade crackle with electricity as he says, "Enough, you have delayed me for too long. Chidori burst!"

He warps in front of the Joseph and jumps up high to deliver a powerful lightning charged vertical slash! His opponent tries to block with his own sword, but Ezan proves his power level is much higher as he slashes through it like butter before doing the same to the machine! Ezan jumps back without missing a beat and turns to the remaining opponent. Shocked at seeing the death of his longtime comrade, Richard says, "Hermann! You scum, you're dead! Huh?"

He is shocked to see Shadow already in the air charging up his own power and he says," You're the scum who dared to attack this world, and I won't show mercy to anyone that tries to destroy the world that I swore Maria I would protect! Chaos Spear!"

Shadow fires a powerful yellow energy sphere at the Gad right in its weakened chest armor!

Omega and Rough help out too, as Omega fires a blast from his hand cannon and Rough throws a few bombs she carries with her. The combined power of the attacks are enough to pierce the Zannacross machine, and the combo succeeds in destroying Richard and his suit! As the scrap metal falls down on the ground, Shadow lands with his arms crossed and says, "Humph, these toys may be slightly more powerful than those of the doctor, but they are still nothing that I can't handle."

Ezan then says," Shadow, if our mission is to succeed, we can't afford to waste time with minor encounters. We must regroup with Sonic right away.

Rough looks at all the Lylat ships and Gundam fighting against both Robotnik's army and the Imperial forces while saying, "No need to tell us what's at stake, Mister moody. He is right though, we should see if the ship is ready for takeoff."

Shadow then says, "No need for concern, there should be a clear flight path by now. Alright, let's move. Huh, what is it, Omega?"

As he sees his robot friend put up his arm in front of Shadow, his eyes glow before saying, "Warning, I am scanning a massive power emerging from the sky. It should now be visible to the west."

The other three look to where he is pointing and they see he is talking about a Nova Crusher that is higher than the others. Ezan sees that its hangar bay doors are opening up and a mobile suit is coming out, however, it's not just a normal enemy suit! The group sees it is larger than normal, has sort of wings, and an odd flat head. It's none other than the dreaded grayish green colored Proto Omega! Being piloted by Margulis, the fleet commander uses the speakers to say, " HA! Your defiance ends here! At last you Lylat dogs will be annihilated by the power of the ultimate being! Now meet your fate inferior beings!"

He sees a group of Gundam's charging at him and responds by gathering power. He then shows off the power of the Proto Omega by firing a massive energy blast that not only vaporizes the group of mobile suits in an instant, but the ships behind it as well! Seeing this Rouge says, "Well, there goes our ride. Oh, look, in the center it has a giant red crystal in it! Well, that might be too risky even for a treasure hunter like me to try."

Ezan then says,"I see, it's a Cursed Seal Crystal. Well, this might be a problem."

Shadow then says, "This is getting ridiculous. At this rate, the only way to make it on time will be to try and use the Chaos Control before that loon notices, oh no!"

To his horror, Shadow sees the Proto Omega turn its head to their group! At once, he causes his massive suit to burst towards the four as he says,"

I remember you cretins, and especially you, Ezan Kaiba! You have caused much annoyance to my masters for too long! No one can be allowed to get away with defying the wills of his eminence!" They then see the machine gather even more power and Ezan says, "This is going to get real ugly real fast."

Shadow then takes out the Chaos Emerald and says, "No choice, then. I never tried to home in from such a distance, but it's better than dying. Everyone stay close! Chaos Control!" Shadow sees the Proto Omega fire an even larger energy blast right at them, just as Shadow has a light consume them! Moments later, the area is engulfed in a massive nuclear class explosion! Did Ezan Shadow and the others warp out in time? Sorry, but that will just have to be found out next time, because this is where today's chapter ends!

To find out the fate of our heroes stay tuned for the next chapter of Tales of the Cosmic Wars! In our next chapter, Ben and Sonic are able to make it on board the Death Egg, just as it takes to the sky! Inside they find many traps and machines of both Robotnik and Egg Man Nega waiting for them!

Luckily, they find out that Sonic's other friends, the group Chaotix have sneaked on board for their own mission and together make a way to the pair of mad doctors.

However, if an army of machines and odd gravity is not bad enough, the villain Meta-Knight is waiting for them, along with the new and improved Metal Sonic Res Nova,

who is just burning for revenge on those that humiliated him before !

Lucky, it seems Ezan and Shadow's group might just be able to make the party after all. However, will that bring more good news or bad news, thanks to the increasingly impatient spirit of Sephiroth that lies within Ezan?

Those answers will be shown in chapter 79: How to Turn a Death Egg into A Devil's Omelet!

Sorry for the delay, but with college starting it's the best I can do. I'll try to do the best I can though. Well, until next time.