Trixie decides to steer her own destiny. But what will that mean... for the multiverse?
Note:
The votes are being counted on both here and AO3, as part of the same poll, hence D winning here, as the flood of Ben supporters were just not enough by the time we closed the votes.
Again, all the warnings from the first chapter apply again, and will for the rest of the fic.
You know what? #### no! #### you, Azmuth! And #### you as well, Xylene! You don't have the right to choose for me! This is MY choice, MY autonomy, and MY LIFE!
Hacking "Escape_Pod_2" progress…
I prefer trying my luck OUT there than being controlled and DELETED!Inside the pod, you can feel the course changing. The heat that comes from the sudden entry into the atmosphere gradually disappears. And somewhere in the middle of the forest, a boy with brown hair, green eyes, and a white shirt with a black stripe looks at this shooting star and makes a wish. But like a shooting star, it flies straight out of what would otherwise be the natural course of the multiverse.
…Course changed.
I'm sorry about that, Uxorite, but this is my life. And I don't want to lose it. Better go somewhere away from the DNA signatures. Consider that my thanks, earthlings. They're after me, after all, not you.
New destination in 1.4 kilometers.
Kilometers?The most practical method of measuring distances on earth.Huh, that looks rather harsh; why do you think that?One mile equals 1760 yards; one yard equals 3 feet, and one foot equals 12 inches.Wait, feet? Earthlings still use their feet to measure distances? And what's the problem with this equivalence?!
Now you understand my logic.
Earthlings are strange.
Understandable conclusion. Heading destiny in 60 seconds.
Okay. I'm… not ready, but now this is the next step of my life. And I'm prepared to receive it. So, take your best shot at me, Terra! I'm all for you!
Unidentifiable object in collision path.
A what?!
Slightly redirecting course. New destination in 3 seconds.
WAIT FOR A SE-
Your line of thought is interrupted by a sudden crash on the ground. You can still hear the impact for a while until you finally stop.
What's with my thoughts and immediate karma?!
That brings a sigh from your mouth… or would if you had a mouth. You're just a hunk of metal, after all.
For now, let's open this pod. Please don't kill me, please don't kill me, please don't kill -
And now you can feel it.
And for the first time, you can feel the breeze.
The atmosphere on this planet is cozy, and the view is also good enough.
This planet is the best you've been so far.
Thinking again, this planet is the second one I've been to; on the other one, I almost died. Yeah, not good thoughts. Let's see the scans.
Scanning in progress…
Okay, I got away from the signatures…
Now what?
…
No intelligent DNA signatures in a radius of 1 KM.
Okay. I'm ######.
I didn't think this AT ALL!
I can't transform by myself! I'm all alone! And I can't move!
I DON'T EVEN HAVE WORDS FOR THIS SITUATION!
I'M HORRIBLE WITH PLANS!
And while you're freaking out of your mind, the scans are making noise. But in your self-pity, you can't distinguish the signal from the sounds of the forest.
I could scream? To have the attention of someone? No, I can't! There's no one close to me a kilometer! I don't have the vocal cords to do it anyway!
Okay, think Trixie! How can I move from here?
Okay, weird and crazy idea.
I could attach to a non-intelligent being. I could even control the animals with a bit of luck.
But first things first. I need to make sure some animals come here.
And in that moment, you hear more clearly. You hear something nearby, and your touch sensors can feel the floor vibrating.
One step at a time.
Coming for you.
I'm going to die. That's it. Goodbye, cruel world. Maybe I'll be a real girl with real legs in the next life. Heck, I'll take anything alive. Perhaps then I wouldn't be thrown away. Like a Kineceleran to run from ALL of those monsters.
Scanners sense the presence of unknown technology. Preferred course of action -
And then you see it.
A being made of metal. A compact body for safe entry into unknown atmospheres. Three legs twisted into claws capable of slicing through trees like mere sticks.
The orange color may not make the creature stand out in the night, but what makes it clear that it is active, besides moving, are its eyes.
Red and with an uncanny resemblance to flies.
And they are looking directly in your direction.
-run.
I should have gone for the original signature.
You can see it. The robot is coming after you. And you know the dangers of beings using you for evil purposes. If someone like that… monster puts your hands on you…. this universe is doomed. And, like last time, your fear prevents you from hearing a familiar sound.
Of a DNA signal. The one that Xylene put on you.
"Now what, Professor? We kicked that squid's ass! Why are we here?"
And a completely different DNA sample.
Now that you're paying attention, this one is a weird sample. Looks like one of the Chronosapiens, but different. It's like a mix between the time properties of a Chronosapien and the Human DNA. As if this person is in an everstate of a Paradox.
"As I said, Benjamin, we need to restore the Prime timeline before returning. But I don't understand why the Omnitrix is here."
As the older of the two men talks, the Mechadroid turns its head, finding the two unexpected guests.
"Intruders. Intruders. Exterminate!"
"That's not original, dude! But that watch is waiting for its own user! It's hero time!"
And as the boy rolls up his sleeve, you can see it.
A version of the Omnitrix.
As the boy activates it, he is enveloped in green light.
As the glow fades away, in the boy's place is a yellow robotic warrior, with what appears to be the mix between what humans call an armadillo and a jackhammer.
Scanning DNA…
Scan complete: Talpaedan.
"Armodrillo!"
Just exactly how long have I been sleeping?! Azmuth's already created a second Omnitrix?!
The Mechadroid has no time to react as its head is shredded by Omnitrix wielder's arm drills.
"Wow," the Talpaedan says. "That was easy."
He moves closer to you. "Now, what do we have here?"
The older gentleman in a white coat that reminds you of Azmuth seems cautious. "Benjamin. Please do be careful when approaching it."
In another flash of green light, the brown-haired boy, you realize named Benjamin, returns to being human with a shrug.
"So I missed, that's all. It's just the Omnitrix? Nothing too bad could happen, right?"
Before Ben and the doctor can continue talking, your internal systems start going crazy.
Scanning DNA….
Scan Complete: Relative of Maxwell Tennyson.
As per instructions, initiate bonding procedures.
Bonding?! No! I object! Objection, I say!
Objection overruled.
I only sensed three signatures! And this boy can't be one of them, you stupid hunk of junk! Abort!
Without realizing it, you feel your entire being turn from solid to liquid. It's like your whole gravitational pull is centered on the brown-haired boy….
On a one-way course for the boy's own Omnitrix.
AHHHHHHHHH!
The next few seconds are a blur.
As soon as you connect with the boy's hand, the other Omnitrix's defense mechanisms go off, absorbing the three of you in another blast of green light.
As the light dies down…
You hear a heartbeat.
Looking around you… you've found your new home… or rather, your user.
You're attached to Benjamin's wrist, the other Omnitrix held loosely in the boy's hand. Your stomach twists as you bond with Ben's DNA… in a more permanent fashion.
It causes you no surprise to see Ben freaking out. "Paradox?! What just happened?!"
The boy turns toward the professor, who has a grim expression.
"Oh, Benjamin. What have you done?"
"What have I done? I didn't do anything?! I don't even know what is going on!"
Paradox rubs the bridge of his eyebrows. "You just condemned the entire multiverse."
Multiverse?
"The prototype can't be removed," Paradox explains. "Or rather, couldn't be removed quickly enough to prevent the creation of a paradox."
"Like you?" Ben gulps. Feeling his emotions, you realize he's trying to bury his nervousness with jokes.
The professor seems to know Ben well enough to understand that about him, as Paradox doesn't question it, instead moving on.
"You were supposed to obtain the Omnitrix from Ben Prime, come back here to reboot the timeline, then gather the remaining Bens to close the time loop."
Okay, none of that makes any sense. Time loops? Other Bens? Can people talk in Plain English?
"Instead, you've ensured that Ben Prime doesn't get the Omnitrix, destroying all the other related branches, including your own."
"How do you know this is even Ben Prime's timeline?!" Ben accuses.
"Because of the… Omnitrix."
Paradox seems somewhat puzzled.
"No… could it be…."
"What's wrong, professor?" Ben questions, on the verge of a full-blown panic attack.
"All the other timelines… they were destroyed."
"Yes?"
"The past we've returned to… it's your own."
Paradox gazes at your owner with a smirk. "You, or rather, your younger counterpart, is the true Ben Prime."
"Wait a sec," Ben interrupts. "I'm so confused."
"All this time, I was under the assumption that the Ben you obtained the Omnitrix from was Ben Prime. Each watch has its own unique signature. But I never considered that the one I believed was Ben Prime could pass his Omnitrix on to the real Ben Prime."
Again, still makes no sense.
Ben agrees with you. "Can you please tell me what we're supposed to do now?"
Paradox sighs. "We need to get the Ben in this timeline the watch in your hand."
"But I thought my present self can't interact with my past self?"
"Benjamin, if you don't, then the only timeline that will ever exist… is this one. We need this Ben to get the Omnitrix, and the only one we can give right now is that one." Paradox shakes his head. "And what do you think will happen when a Ben who was never supposed to get the Omnitrix gets ahold of one?"
"If… I gave the watch to the past me… then this wouldn't be my past anymore."
"Indeed," Paradox confirms.
Benjamin drops to his knees. "My Grandpa Max. My Gwen…. everyone I know and care about. What's going to happen to them?"
"They'll cease to exist. Just like all the other timelines that our actions here have destroyed."
"No!" Ben denies. "There has to be a way! We're heroes, right? Heroes fix things!"
"You see, Ben. This is why time travel is so finicky." The man puts a hand on Ben's shoulder. "I'm sorry. This wasn't how this was supposed to go. If I had known, I could've better prepared you. But forward is the only course of action we have left."
"So… will I cease to exist?" Ben trembles. "Just like everyone else?"
"No," Paradox clears up. "You'll merely be a man outside of time, just like me."
"And there's… really nothing we can do about it?"
"Not for a long time, I'm afraid."
Hearing this, Ben begins to cry. He's just as confused as you are. You doubt you'll ever be able to fully understand the situation.
So Ben and the Doc have come from the future.
In that future, there was another Ben.
Something terrible happened, and that other Ben gave this Ben the Omnitrix, as Ben did not have his own watch.
Then this Ben came back in time, intending to ensure that the other Ben obtained the Omnitrix in the first place? A closed time loop?
But instead of going to that Ben's past, they came to his own past, where I never met Ben due to my actions.
And that I'm attached to Ben, we've created a paradox that, in turn, caused the other timelines not to exist?
I'm I getting that right?
Feeling the wave of emotions coming off your new user, you can't help but feel bad for him.
He just lost… everything. His friends, family, and home.
Is this my fault?
Ugh, time travel is so confusing.
But… uh… I should probably say something, right?
Gotta set a great first impression, after all.
Decision Point: What Do You Say?
A - "I'm sorry for your loss."
B - "Wow, are you always this much of a loser?
C - "Who are you?"
D - Silence is a Valid Option