Chapter 3: Clash of the Sabers
"Onward!" Ben yelled as he charged the Techadon Robot at full speed. Rook still could not understand how he got so much faster. By all accounts he should still only be human, just a different, probably famous person. But here he was moving faster than most athletes, and swinging around a sword as big as he was. He watched Ben dodge the clumsy strikes with the ease of a dancer, before bashing panels in with the flat of his blade. Rook himself fired key shots that dismantled the head unit, leaving it blind. As Kevin armoured up and started smashing the delicate circuitry inside, Ben sliced the legs out from under it. The battered remains sparked until it fell silent, as silent as the crowd that watched Ben in action. One of the things Ben did before they left was cover the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. He did not want people to realise it was he who was dressed like a strange stripper.
"Mommy, mommy!" One kid started yelling. "I can see that lady's bum." Ben started, trying to turn around and see what he meant. As he faced away from Rook, he saw that there was indeed a hole right above his behind. Right where young Revonnahganders would have their bi'nthak. And it seemed quite deliberate.
"Curses and damnation!" Ben cried out as he felt the hole, while the crowd started chuckling. "Rook, how could thou let a young lady run around to battle foul enemies with a hole in her pants? Have you no sense of decency?"
"Forgive me. I was not aware it was even there." Rook apologised. Judging from the livid expression on his face, that was not the answer Ben wanted. He started fiddling with the Omnitrix, cursing in what sounded like Latin. According to his translator, what Ben was saying would shame a coliseum crowd. Finally, the face twisted, and he changed with a golden hue. The crowd immediately stopped laughing as they saw Ben's new form.
He was now a tall dark-skinned giant the size of Humungosaur. His very muscular body was bare, save for a loincloth and belts wrapped around his wrists and ankles. His arms looked strange, as though someone had implanted large iron rods into each elbow. His hair was now long and ragged, while he glared at everyone with a red eye and a gold eye. Rook instantly got the feeling that Ben was no longer a person, but some manner of organic war machine. He would destroy anything in his way, and nothing would stop him for long.
And he proved it too, when two more Techadon robots came into view. They opened fire on Ben, but he shrugged their bullets off like they were spit balls, and roared. Everyone cowered as his roar shook the very ground, before he charged them far faster than his size would suggest. He grabbed a car along the way, and slammed it into a robot so hard that he made a crater from the impact. He then grabbed the other robot, and crushed it between his hands. Gwen, Kevin and Rook could only stare in amazement as he did all this.
"Gwen." Rook said, tapping her with his elbow. "You said that the circles could allow you to command him."
"Y-Yeah." She said hesitantly.
"Be-He does not seem capable of thought any more. He only lives to fight. Perhaps it would be best if we led him away from the crowd."
"Good idea. I… Hang on." She started squinting at Ben. "I can see a whole load of gibberish hanging around him. According to it he's a… Berserker?"
"Fitting." Kevin replied, watching as Ben now smashed the wreckage into even tinier pieces, as though they had insulted his mother.
"Ok, I'll try. I just hope he listens." She got closer and cleared her throat. "Berserker! Get over here now." Ben looked up from his smashing, before stomping back over to them. He just stood there, looking down at them all. Rook knew that if Ben attacked them, there was nothing they had that could stop him. "Ok, good. Now, follow me back to base. But stop being so visible." Ben actually nodded, before fading into thin air. Gwen acted as though she could still see him, but she was the only one. Perhaps it was some ability from being his Master. In any case, they all headed back to base with no other problems.
This new Omnitrix database was worrying.
Beth looked in awe as Saber led her in through a real castle. This was unbelievable. She knew that of only one family that had a real castle as a home, and that was the Einzberns that helped make the Holy Grail War. Mind you, it looked kinda dilapidated, as if someone did this place up and then left. She could see modern generators mixed in with old barrels, advanced guns holstered on suits of armour, and even spotted a…
Wait, was that a spaceship?
"I know it's not much, and it brings painful memories to me, but this will do as a base." Saber said. He had changed his form now. It seemed that without his armour, he changed into a very old and balding grandfather. They had gotten over here with Saber pretending to be a senile old man, and Beth was his doting granddaughter. He was looking around at the castle in slight sorrow. Maybe he lost friends here in some ancient war. "As soon as we get the generators up and running again, we'll be able to start planning for the war."
"Planning? Already?" She asked. Well, it was more a whine than a question. "But we've only just got here. We don't know anything about the other guys. Can't we at least have a day to relax? I mean, we're in Bellwood. Do you even realise what that means?"
"A hovel for invaders from faraway worlds." Saber replied instantly. Great. He may have been nice but he seemed pretty racist. She rolled her eyes and followed him as he led her deeper into the castle. As they reached the main room, he started tapping out some codes on a nearby panel. "We don't want to wake up the mechs." He replied. They entered to find a statue of a dragon. No, wait. It was a robot shaped like a dragon. Well, this could come in handy.
"So… What was this place?" She might as well learn the history of this place, even if it's only to appear polite.
"This was once a keep belonging to my faithful Forever Knights. I founded them over a thousand years ago, to defend the realm from monsters that seek to conquer our world. We started off with little more than swords and steel plate, but as we recovered alien technology we began improving our materials. By the time of the 21st century, we had become more advanced than any government. But I had left long before then, and my knights had splintered into small factions that fought each other as much as the enemy. The only thing they shared in common was their hatred for Ben 10."
That got her attention. She stood up straighter at that. "Did you say Ben 10? Your group really fought against Ben 10?"
"Indeed." He did not seem to notice her enthusiasm for what it really was. "He has always been against our group, and we have always fought him in turn. The only time we agreed to work together was against my most famous enemy. Diagon the Conqueror."
"…Never heard of him."
"Yes, well. The world mistranslated his name for my deeds. And so they believed I merely vanquished a 'dragon'. If they knew the enormity of what was at stake, then they would tremble with fear and fight for their homeland." So, Saber was some dude that fought a dragon. Still no idea who he was. She wished she paid more attention in history class. "Ah, here we are." They had finally reached a room. This one was grander than the others, and the door seemed very sturdy. No one was getting in here without a fight. "These will be your quarters for the duration of the War. I will be stationed in a guardroom just past this door. Now, it is late, and you must restore your strength for the dangers ahead."
"Aw, can't we leave danger alone till the day after? I want to at least see the sights before I probably get kicked out or killed." Saber looked at her, before his features softened.
"Very well. The fights aren't meant to be observed anyway, so they should all happen at night. We can 'scout' the area during the day." He closed the door behind him, locking it as he left. He was probably checking the defences or something like that. Beth meanwhile, started opening the windows and using a spell to remove all the dust. She found a linen cupboard nearby, and replaced the sheets with clean ones. Then, once the room looked fresh and clean, she started with her decorating.
If Saber came in now and saw the young girl putting up a poster of Ben 10, he'd probably have a heart attack.
"Oh my God!" She squealed as they explored the city. "Look, look! That's where he fought against Cash Murray, when he was being taken over by a Techadon robot. And-and over there is where he used Rath to tear an Incursean ship. And there's the park, where he managed to beat Vilgax before he became really famous!" She was nearly wetting herself in excitement.
"Settle down, my lady." Saber said to her. "I suppose I must ask, but will we go anywhere other than the site of Ben Tennyson's battles?"
"Oh hush. You're just jealous. He's, like, the coolest hero ever. If only I knew where he was, I'd totally get his autograph."
"He is a changeling. While he may have defended the realm from threats, I still do not believe he has our best interests at heart. Only pure humans can understand the desire to defend our homeworld." Beth had a quick glance around, but no one seemed to notice Saber's racist words. She turned around to give him a glare.
"Ok look. I don't really get your reasons for hating aliens. But I will not have any of that while you're my Servant. Don't make me use a Command Seal on you."
"…Of course my lady." Satisfied, Beth went back to exploring. She realised Saber was right in respect. She had been to too many battle areas.
It was time to look at something else.
Gwen sighed as she dragged herself from the spell book again. After that battle when Ben changed form, she had been studying for anything that could tell her about what it meant. But so far she got nothing. All the most important parts were still covered in blood, and the ink had run. She looked at the rest of the team, sitting round the table. Ben was in another form again. This one was different again from the others.
He was a guy again, but with short, spiked blue hair. He wore a blue bodysuit that covered all but his head, and he had a red lance resting against him. According to her connection, he was a Lancer, whatever that meant. All they knew so far was that he was incredibly fast. Not as fast as XLR8, but certainly able to keep up with the Proto-Truk. Still, it was his weapon that interested her right now. According to her magic eyes, it was called 'Gae Bolg'. Kevin laughed at her pronunciation, until she mentioned that it was retroactive casualty in the form of a weapon. The gist was that when Ben used it, while it seems to fly through the air, what really happens is that your body has already been killed by it. It's just taking reality a moment to notice that. The lance is just the world's way of seeing it happen. So one cannot outrace it, or block it, or shoot it down or anything. At least, that's what she thought it said. Something about Ben was making the words difficult to read. The only sure-fire way they'd be able to identify their effects is to try it out in person. But if this was the effect of it, to kill someone, then they wouldn't have many test subjects.
"I am so bored." Ben moaned as he leaned back. "This body's itching to get into gear, hunt down some bad guys. Hey, you guys don't think we could prank call Vilgaxia, do you?"
"Vilgaxia?" Rook asked in shock. "You wish to anger Vilgax, just for a fight?"
Ben thought about it for a moment. "My brain agrees with you, but my body wants to anyway." Everyone tensed to stop Ben reaching a phone, when the alarm blared again. Saved by the bell.
"Something out there has been killing people." Grandpa Max said over the intercom. "You guys go and see what it is, and shut it down immediately."
"Right!" They chanted together.
Hours later, the night completely quiet, they still hadn't found the culprit. They thought they were after a neo-Nazi, given the swastikas around the crime scene in blood. But it wasn't like this guy was parading around, shouting the virtues of Hitler to the world or anything.
"This is pointless." Kevin said after a while. "We haven't found anyone tonight. They're all back in their homes."
"Well of course they are." Gwen replied. "Everyone was lucky to come away with minor injuries from those shadow dogs. They're staying inside where it's safe."
"Oh yeah, it's really safe inside. That's why there's killings in houses near here." She gave him a look, telling him to shut it. Things weren't getting better with Ben in the back jittering his leg like he was. He was too wound up. She rolled her eyes, and reached back to grab the dial. As the golden glow faded, he was now dressed in white armour with red highlights. There were plenty of spikes on his armour, and he had horns on his head. Somehow, Gwen got the feeling that Ben wasn't a nice hero right now. And for some reason, she couldn't tell much about him beyond his class skills. It was like history didn't know who he was.
"Trouble." Ben said suddenly in a lighter voice, looking around and gripping his sword. Kevin and Rook took more notice as Ben said that, looking around in suspicion. "Best to pull over, and wait."
"You want a fight? Ben are you crazy?"
"I just… something feels different. Like I'm supposed to fight. And during this call me by my class name. Isn't that the whole idea?" Gwen didn't like his tone, but he had a point. Rook pulled the Proto-Truk over just in time to get it knocked aside by a powerful energy blast. Ben was already leaping out the back, while they got knocked around as it crashed.
Then things got very blurry.
Ben grunted as he jumped out of the tumbling vehicle. He now knew that armour was not meant to be jumped out in. And that damn sense-thing just kept making him jump. But it saved him as more energy strikes came down at him. He followed them quickly through the dust cloud. He would kick this guy's ass, whoever he was. Was this another hero for this War? If so, they were about to regret attacking him. He spotted a tall shape come sprinting out of the dust, sword raised high overhead. He instantly let the instincts take over, blocking the strike with ease. But as the cloud parted from the force, he nearly stopped in surprise.
"… Old George?" He couldn't believe it. It really was him. But he died during Diagon's attack. How did he get back so soon? George looked at him, as if wondering who he was. Oh, right. He was someone else now. Has George already met this guy? Whatever. Ben wasn't going to hesitate putting him back under the ground. They pulled apart, before charging in swinging again. Each time they clashed, cracks formed in the ground. They were evenly matched. They were waiting to use their Noble Phantasm, as the attacks were called. They were powerful attacks and abilities related to a hero's legend. Ben searched his memory for the name, while still keeping George at bay. It didn't help that Ascalon had a longer reach than his blade.
Here we go. Clarent Blood Arthur. That sounded familiar, but he'll figure it over later when he's not getting attacked. But it said he had to remove his helmet to use it. Oh well. He already knew George. It wasn't like he could hurt Ben with whatever he learns. But before they could attack a final time, they heard the sound of something moving through the air, and fast. They pulled away just as a drill-shaped arrow smashed into the street where they had been standing. They looked up to see a strange sight.
"I don't know what your stake in the Holy Grail War is, and frankly I don't really care." A tall raven-haired woman in red said. "Your fight ends now."
George stared at her for a bit. While he did that, Ben looked over at the Proto-Truk to see Rook, Gwen and Kevin getting out of it. Thank god. They were alright. Content they were unharmed, he then looked at the other people with the lady. One was a man, strongly built but lithe, and holding onto two short blades. His clothing marked him as a normal person, especially as Ben could somehow sense mana going through that guy. It was kinda small. He hoped that wasn't Freudian or something. On the lady's other side was a young girl, probably about his age. She had on an armoured dress, and held an invisible sword in her hands. Her blond hair made her look a lot like Roman Saber, but her face was not one of contentment. She was staring at him in horror.
"I will not give up." George said after some deliberation. "I have a noble quest to fulfil. But as you are not enemy Masters, as I sense no Command Seal on you, I will be lenient. You can leave unharmed. But if you attack us, you will…"
"MORDRED!" The blond-haired girl screamed in pure rage, before racing straight for Ben. He yelped as he got his sword between them just in time. Her strikes were furious, and kept pushing him back as they swung with wild abandon. This girl was more than just pissed. She was livid, out of control, without restraint, whatever you wanted to call it. She was not stopping for anything. As they kept going away from the fight, he could see Kevin fighting the guy, his armour-cladded body deflecting the blades, while Gwen and the lady were having another mage's battle. And Rook was fighting Old George, only his training keeping him alive.
"Look, lady." Ben was trying to say. "I get the feeling I've wronged you before. I'm really sorry for that, but I have no idea what you're angry about." Instead of calming her down, as he hoped, she just yelled again and kept attacking. She was working even harder now. "Look, can we just talk about this? I could buy you a smoothie or something."
"JUST DIE!" Ben was getting really worried. What would happen if this girl took his head? Would he just lose access to this form? Or would he be really dead? He wasn't willing to chance it. If only he could have a moment's respite to change forms. But this girl wasn't letting up. It was insane.
And then they were all bowled over as white foam exploded from a far wall. The girl covered her eyes on instinct, allowing Ben to knock her over and sit on her. She yelled and screamed and cursed, but the way he was positioned meant she wasn't going to be attacking anytime soon. Kevin had knocked the swords from the guy's hands, and had him cornered. Gwen and the lady, however, were watching the foam. George moved in and grabbed someone's hand while they spluttered and coughed. As the foam cleared, Ben could see that it was another young girl with what he thought might've been red hair. It was hard to tell, considering she was covered head to toe with foam. They gave them one last look before rushing away on a horse that appeared out of nowhere. Far too fast for them to catch up to.
"Whoever that man was, he got away." Rook said as he handcuffed the red-haired boy with the swords.
"We still got some of them." Gwen replied, before facing the raven-haired woman. "Whoever you are, lady, if you lay a hand on my team, we'll destroy you."
"We didn't come here for a fight." She objected. "We came here to stop the fighting. I apologise for our Saber attacking your Servant like that, but we honestly want to talk."
"Perhaps it would be best to continue this at Plumber HQ." Rook said as he tried to get his proto-Truk working again. While he did that, Ben kept an eye on the woman that attacked him. She was trying to free herself from the strong bindings Rook had wrapped her in, spitting like a woman possessed.
Just who was she? And what was her problem?
Unbeknownst to them, they were all being watched from afar by four people. Two Masters and two Servants.
"Interesting." Bass said as he wrote down the names they just heard. It seemed that the alien police, the Plumbers, had a team of their own. "I told you it would be best to scout first."
"Pah." Archer scoffed. "They are not pure. Not like that girl in the armour. She is a true Aryan. We should crush them all now, and take her for my lair."
"Hear, hear." Stacy agreed. Bass got the impression the 'Aryan lady' wouldn't last the night with either of them.
"Um, perhaps we should wait." Berserker said. "I mean, there are more of them than us. They have 9 people, and none of them seemed worried about attacking a Servant. So, maybe we should keep doing research."
"Research." Archer snared. "You scientists are always going on about research. It's pathetic."
"And that's why half of your stuff never worked." Bass replied. "And why your plans were stupid. And why you lost the war. If you researched Russia, you'd have known that others had tried to conquer them, and failed." He packed up his binoculars. "Come on. Let's head back to base."
"And Archer? No more killing people tonight."
Shirou had always wanted to go into the Plumber base. Who wouldn't? They were an actual force of alien police that helped guard the planet against outside threats. They were meant to have a real secret underground base to work from. This was every little boy's dream.
He just never expected he'd see it from the inside of an interrogation room.
"I can't believe Arturia would go ballistic like that." Rin was growling. "What was she thinking? We could've let both sides weaken themselves first, and then ambush them. Instead, we rushed a much larger force, and got captured and left in the clutches of an enemy."
"Clutches?" It took Shirou a few seconds to realise what she meant. That time with Caster holding Arturia. "I don't think it's going to be like that Rin. The Plumbers are the good guys. They probably think that we're criminals for attacking one of their teams. Heck, maybe they're using that Servant as an officer."
"Shirou, I thought we've gone over this before. When the prize is big enough, people will be willing to do anything to get it. I'll bet that we'll quietly 'disappear' and no one will hear from us again." Shirou was going to retort, saying how Ben 10 wouldn't let that happen, when the door opened. The red-haired girl and the raven-haired guy – Shirou remembered they were Gwen and Kevin from his Ben 10 fanclub meetings – entered and sat down in front of them, along with the alien. They didn't look happy with them.
"Hey, uh. Listen, we're really sorry for our friend snapping like that. I don't suppose we could…" Shirou tried to be friendly, but they just glared at him until she went silent. He'd been with Rin long enough to recognise that look. Gwen pulled out a tablet, and started reading whatever was written on it.
"Shirou Emiya and Rin Tohsaka." She said, reading. "Both born in Fuyuki City, Japan. Went to Fuyuki High together, where you both 'mysteriously' became friends and then lovers. This was around the same time you were both seen in the presence of a dark-skinned man with white hair, and a blond-haired girl sometimes seen in a long blue dress. Once you both graduated, you then moved to Britain with the blond girl, where you have lived not far from the palace of Westminster. Then, for some reason, you both then decide out of the blue to book tickets to Bellwood specifically." She gave them both a look, one eyebrow raised.
"I got accepted into a university not far from the center of London." Rin lied flawlessly. "London School of Extracurricular Activities and Unique Thesis, more commonly called the Clock Tower. Shirou is a big fan of your local super hero, and he begged me to take time off to show him and Arturia around Bellwood, in hope that he could meet him in person."
Gwen watched her, before looking back at her file. "Something else strange came to me when I was looking at this. It says that Shirou was a survivor of the Great Fuyuki Fire 15 years ago. He was saved by Kiritsugu Emiya, a known hitman and mercenary. Meanwhile Miss Tohsaka, your father 'mysteriously' died barely a day before, and was found within his own basement."
"Yes, a dreadful event. My mother never really recovered from it. But I don't see how it's so strange."
"Your father was noticed aboard 'a flying golden vessel with green wings' with a blond man in golden armour. An eye-witness also reported seeing the man fire something out of thin air that caused small explosions. Meanwhile, Mr Emiya and his wife Irisviel were both spotted at times with a young lady with blond hair and a long blue dress. Now how could both Emiya's be spotted hanging out with the same woman, wearing exactly the same dress?"
They were rumbled. They knew who that lady was. "If you have a question, then ask it already." Rin said coldly.
"Alright then. It's clear that you guys know about this magic war we're in. And you know about the teams. So my question is this: What is this war all about?"
"Eh?" Rin looked like she just got hit in the head with a sack of flour. Shirou wasn't feeling any less confused. How could they not know about what it was all about? He doubted that they had a summoning circle hidden in a shed somewhere, so that meant that they had to have created one and gotten a Servant. But like him when he first started, they didn't even have a clue. Shouldn't their Servant have explained all this to them? Gwen watched them for a bit before pulling out a damaged book. Rin struggled to open it, as something sticky was on the pages. Shirou saw the red patches all over. Blood.
"We caught a mage kidnapping people from around town, and we tracked him to his lair." Gwen started explaining, before the door opened roughly. They could hear Arturia screaming in pure fury, while the lady she called 'Mordred' came stumbling in, hand over one ear. Instead of wearing armour, she was now dressed in rather revealing clothing. She had incredibly short shorts on, reminding Shirou of that old American show with the crazy drivers, and on a white band around her (rather miniscule) chest. Now that her helmet was off, they could see that she looked exactly like Arturia. It was like she was her twin. She slammed the door shut behind her, rubbing bruises on her body.
"Ow." She moaned. "What the hell's that girl's problem? I went to talk to her, and she practically ripped my ear off and bashed the crap out of me when she got me close enough. And it's taking an entire squad just to hold her back. It just sucks."
"Maybe we should've had someone else try to talk to her." Kevin said as he had a look at her ear. "Maybe someone that doesn't make her go feral when she sees you."
"Wait, Arturia bit you on the ear?" Shirou asked. "But she never does that. She follows the rules of chivalry. She'd never stoop so low."
"My ear says otherwise, pal." Mordred growled before slamming her hands on the table. "Now start talking!"
"I was getting to that, when you burst in here." Gwen scolded her, causing her to back down and look demure. Gwen turned to them again. "Anyway, me, Kevin, Rook and Ben all went there to stop this guy. We found him summoning something, we fought against some kind of monster beast, and Ben's Omnitrix hit the circle. The two affected each other, and now Ben's only got the power to turn into heroes or some kind. But we're not too sure who he turns into. According to this spellbook, if Ben loses, he'll die. We want to make sure that doesn't happen."
"…Wh-What. The. FUCK!?" Rin shouted at them, looking stunned beyond belief. Shirou could understand why. According to them, Ben 10 has somehow tapped into the Throne of Heroes, granting him every hero within it. If he was really a Servant of this new Holy Grail War, then he was by far the most broken Servant ever to take part. "That is bullshit! That is completely bullshit!"
"Hey, watch it." Kevin growled at her, looming over her menacingly. Shirou was reminded of Berserker the way he glared at her. "How about you stop swearing at us and answer our question?"
"But what you're suggesting is completely impossible! There's no way in hell you lot managed to access the Throne like that. There's no way." Shirou could see there was no reasoning with her, so he decided to step in.
"I'd be happy to answer you, but I'm going to need to know what you're already aware of." They explained everything they learnt to him, going carefully over each detail. It certainly showed they were thorough with what they had, and it gave Rin time to get her head on straight. "Right then. I see. Ask away, and I'll start answering."
"Finally." Mordred – no, Ben – sighed. "What does the winner even get, anyway? If I'm going to be fighting to the death, I'd like to know what for."
"You're fighting for an item called the Holy Grail. Not the one belonging to Jesus, but a newer one made by three mage families. I'll admit I'm not sure why, but I do know that it was supposed to grant any wish the winner has, no matter what it is. However, to charge it you need to give it the mana needed to power your Servant. When they die, all the mana they had gets sent to the Grail to charge it up."
"Why are there seven teams?" The alien –Rook, Shirou recalled his name – asked him.
"Because there's supposed to be seven Servants. They are named after classes to hide who they are. Their names are pretty self-explanatory. Saber, Lancer, Archer, Rider, Caster, Berserker, and Assassin. I'm not really sure what Ben would be, but I don't think he fits into any of the classes by himself."
"How do we change Ben back?" Gwen asked.
"I don't know. This has never happened before. Ever. You're only supposed to summon one hero to fight for you. I don't even know how he changed in the first place. This doesn't make any sense."
"So you don't know what would happen if I died in one of my forms?" Ben asked. Shirou was about to respond when they heard an explosion and alarms blaring. Ben quickly rushed out of the door, just in time to nearly get beheaded with a sword. Arturia. She was screaming in pure rage, swinging away wildly at Ben. Only the fact that Ben got his sword out saved him. Shirou looked down the hallway Arturia had rushed from to see several Plumber agents groaning in pain. They had to stop this before someone got killed. It was times like these he wished he still had Command Seals.
"Arturia, stop!" He shouted, throwing two swords at her, but she deflected them with ease, bashing Ben's blade from his hand. But Ben rolled away, hand fiddling with the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. He vanished in a bright glow as Arturia swung Excalibur at him. When the light cleared, she was staring at him in pure horror. Ben was now in the form of a black knight, with only a swirling black mist and red glowing visor standing out. He held Excalibur between the palms of his hands, revealing that whoever this was knew Arturia in real life. He glared at her for a few seconds, before roaring in pure rage while spiked cables extended from his back. Arturia jumped away as Ben grabbed a broken pipe and swung it at her. Instead of the pipe breaking like he expected, she barely managed to block it in time. It was as it landed that Shirou saw the red veins covering the pipe
That's his power. He realised. Whoever this is, he can turn anything into a Noble Phantasm. That was scary. Shirou wondered if there was any limit to what Ben could now use.
"Ben stop this right now!" Gwen shouted at him. The knight ceased moving for a moment, before attacking Arturia even harder than before. "I said stop already!" But now Ben wasn't obeying any commands. "Alright then. Ben change forms!"
That got an answer. Ben's other hand reached for the Omnitrix, and turned the dial. Ben vanished in another flash of light, revealing him to be a rose-haired girl. They both pulled away from each other, Ben dropping the pipe as it returned to normal. Arturia was staring at him in horror.
"What are you?" She whispered. "What foul monster did Angra Mainyu create?"
And then all the Plumber agents piled up on top of her.
There we go. Shirou, Rin, and Arturia have finally met Ben and his team. So much for good first impressions though. In my original draft, George and Beth would've also been captured, with Beth being ecstatic at meeting Ben 10 personally. But I decided to have that happen at a later date. But it was her that caused the powder to explode like that, saving Ben's life.
I see the fact that George was immortal as a bit of a problem for him now, since quite a few members will have met him already and know who he is. He's just lucky that the Throne of Heroes blended his real self and his legend self together, otherwise he would be easy to fight.
Oh, and Bass is having Stacy hold Archer back from parading around. If they announced that they brought Hitler from the dead to everyone, then they'd become public enemy number 1. While Stacy might be crazy enough to do that, Bass is more pragmatic.
Oh, and this is something I'm posting on all my Ben 10 crossover stories I'm updating now. I'm planning on doing a Ben 10/Sword Art Online crossover at a later date. I originally planned on it being Ben, but I realised I was writing a similar idea for a future Bri 10 story. So I was wanting your opinions. Should I send in Ben Tennyson? Or Bri Tennyson? I'll give everyone till the 30th September before I decide.