Note: first fanfic, will improve as I go along, I have been a gamemaster on my past RP site so the action should be good, and I do not own Ben 10 or anything that is remotely like Ben 10.
AUTHOR'S NOTE OF GLORY: If anyone has any ideas of short, one chapter stories, I'll be glad to hear them since it makes things more interesting! (by the way, since I have the rest of July basically free, I'm going to churn these chapters out as fast as I can)
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After the Metal Trial festival, Heatblast weaned himself away from his adoring fans and Ripjaws. Sneaking out the back way, he headed to the Health Center of the Academy. He had an old friend to visit.
He was surprised to see the place fairly devoid of students and staff alike. You think that more people would visit their comrades after their great battles. The place was eerily quiet with only the heater humming away to itself. Only a few light bulbs were on, the rest of the lobby was lit by the setting sun allowing the room to settle in semi-darkness. Heatblast had been here a few times before but never anything serious. The place seemed more like a morgue to him then a real recovery center, which was one of the reasons he never stayed long.
He approached the nurse at the front desk and said, "Excuse me, I'm here on a visit to see one of my friends."
The nurse gave him a brief look over and said, "What's the name of your friend?"
"DCELR8," he replied smoothly.
The nurse typed up the name and gave him the room number, she then said, "Visiting hours will be over soon so I suggest that you don't cut idle chit chat."
Heatblast nodded and took the slip of paper. He then smiled to himself. He remembered an incident long ago-before the Earth Trial if he was correct-where DCELR8 handed a similar size paper. Heatblast forgot its purpose but it was something important, for he burned it accidentally and that peeved DCELR8. Careful not to burn this paper, he trudged on down the quiet hallways.
When he got to the room, he knocked on it several times. A long pause followed that and a cold voice said, "Come in."
Heatblast creaked open the door and saw DCELR8 lying on his bed. Heatblast held back a laugh as he saw the state that his friend was in. Bandages spotted the blue lizard like the spots on a Dalmatian and his only arm was in a sling. Both of his metal prostheses were gone and instead, mangy stumps were in its place. He was a sight for sore eyes.
Heatblast also saw that DCELR8 was tense when he saw the door open, however, once he saw it was just his Pyronite friend, he relaxed. A little.
"Oh…it'sss you," he said uneasily as he relaxed into the downy pillow.
Heatblast gave a jaunty smile and said, "Is that anyway to treat your friend who you haven't seen in a long time?"
DCELR8 shrugged and said, "Right now, I don't know who are my friendsss and who aren't."
Heatblast pulled up a metal chair and sat in it, he then replied, "I'm not surprised, after that little confession of yours, I wouldn't be surprised if there were several people plotting to kill you now."
DCELR8's eyes flashed and said, "I bet you anything you like, but I think that right now, the Royal Four Armsss family are planning what they should do to me."
"Any guesses on what will happen to you?"
DCELR8 tried to give a shrug but found it was too painful, after wincing a bit he said, "Who knowsss? Shoot me, hang me, torture me. Trying to assassinate a Prince-even if he isss an exiled prince-isss not what you would call sssmall treason."
"When-"
"Will it happen?" DCELR8 interupted, "I don't know and I don't care. I'm going to try live my life asss best asss I can until then. However…" at this point he gestured around the room, "I'm failing miserably at that too."
Heatblast nodded in silent pity. He then said, "DCELR8, how did you survive the Earth Trial? The last time I saw you was right before my fight with Stinkfly when she and I accidentally fell over a cliff."
DCELR8 smiled to that comment, as if it was a private joke. He then said, "Well, sssince you ask so politely, I'll tell you."
DCELR8 shifted to another position and said, "After your fall, I decided to continue on the climb up the mountain. It wasn't long though before the mountain'sss harsh weather got to me. I grew weaker after each climb and sssoon, I was on my handsss and kneesss, crawling for my life."
He laughed, "I actually got the flag, but right after I did, I fell unconsciousss to the storm and passed out. I was probably a momentsss away from death when those animalsss found me and took me back to their cave. There, they nursed me back to health. Barely, I wasss kept alive. They fed me ssscrapsss of meat from killsss they made. The more I ate, the ssstronger I became. I didn't know why they were doing thisss to me. But then it hit me. They were sssaving me asss food for later in case their current sssuply went out. I could sssee it in the way they treated me. Though they fed me, they fed me with a passion of hunger. I knew I had to escape.
"When I sssaw my chance, I took off. I planned it asss best as I could. I left early in the morning when they were all ssstill asleep. I ssstaggered my way down the mountain. With only one leg working and the other mangled and half-dead, it wasss by a miracle that I reached the bottom of the mountain. I wasss then picked up by a local villager who took me back to hisss village. I was taken to a bed and there, I wasss clothed, fed and given medicine for. However, the local doctor there took one look at my mangled limbsss and knew they had to go (to not risk infection you sssee)."
DCELR8 scratched the stump of his shoulder in absent thought and continued, "Thank the powersss above that they had a numbing agent, otherwise I would have probably killed them. Well, finally, after a long wait, membersss from the Academy came by to pick me up. They then took me back and fitted me with a mechanical arm and leg, which wasss pretty sssweet if you ask me."
"Why weren't you then added to my team?" enquired Heatblast.
DCELR8 shrugged and said, "Sssomething about how an extra member added herself to your team and thusss, you were full. Ssso they added me to Team Nightmare. However, the way I sssee it, we should be called Team Pussssy."
Heatblast laughed and said, "Why is that?"
DCELR8 smiled and said, "You were alwaysss and idiot. Don't you sssee? I'm convicted, Cuttooth'sss finally been labeled a psychopath and Tenten'sss dead! Three membersss gone like that!"
"You have any idea what will happen to the rest of your members?"
DCELR8 gave another painful shrug and said, "Don't know, don't care."
By now, a nurse came in and said, "Visiting time is over, I'm afraid you'll have to leave."
Heatblast gave a nod and got back up. After stretching he said, "Well, I'll be seeing you later…maybe."
DCELR8 nodded and Heatblast turned to go, right before he walked out the door, DCELR8 said, "Hey, Heatblast! Remember our little deal? Did you ssscore it?"
Heatblast stopped and said without turning around, "If I were you, I'd keep my big mouth shut about that. I don't want anyone to hear about our little bet. And yes, I did score it."
DCELR8 shook his head and said, "I wasss wrong to bet against a player."
Heatblast smiled to the side and said, "You were."