Chapter 24: Let's Get Ready to Rumble
Ben figured that Ultimate Clockwork had to have some pretty nifty powers. But he was still pretty surprised when he made his own portal to the Occult Clubhouse. Guess time and space weren't too different after all. They appeared in the meeting room, now with cracks and burns all over the walls and floor. The mages that kidnapped Gaspard and Koneko certainly didn't have an easy time grabbing them.
"Koneko would've headed to Gaspard's room. The defences there would allow them to hold off the mages." Rias said, already heading out the door. Ben glided after her with Issei right on his heels. There was more damage in the halls, showing that they had been chased this way. But as they turned a corner they nearly ran into a few of the mages. The group was all female, their bodies covered with long flowing purple robes that bared the top of their breasts. They hid their faces behind hoods with three eyes stitched into the front and long ribbons hanging from either side. The two groups started, before realising who the other side was.
"Well, well. It seems the barrier didn't manage to hold you after all." One of the mages said. "But it won't do you any good. We are stronger than you'll ever be."
"Oh, shut the hell up." Issei shouted, charging her head on. The mages moved to do some kind of complex spell, but Ben was ready for them. He fired off a wave of time energy, slowing the mages to a crawl while speeding Issei up. He was a blur as he moved from one mage to the next, punching them into submission. When Ben sped time up again, they thundered into the walls hard enough to shatter them. But at the same time a giant ball of fire erupted from the school buildings. Right where the summit had been taking place.
"Sirzechs." Rias gasped, staring at the explosion in horror. Issei moved to her side and squeezed her shoulder gently.
"It'll be ok Rias. Your brother is one of the Lords of Hell. There's no way these losers would be able to hurt him and the others. And once we get Gaspard and Koneko away from them, we'll all kick their asses back to wherever they came from." Rias smiled at him in appreciation. Ben was about to get moving when something massive came smashing through the wall and slamming into him. He was caught between its teeth, two other heads trying to rip him apart. His armour shattered under the strength of its jaws and he screamed in pain. Everything blurred…
"And once we get Gaspard and Koneko away from them, we'll all kick their asses back to wherever they came from." Ben moved away from the wall he was standing beside so that he pushed the three of them away. Before they could even shout in surprise, a Cerberus came smashing through the wall just like before. Ben swung the blade of his staff and released a wave of time energy, slicing through the monster and causing the flesh to age into dust. Rias' scream was the only warning he had as another beast came smashing through the wall, a chimera of old. He barely had time to place his staff in the way of its mouth, causing it to smash him into the wall. A red glow exploded behind the creature as Rias attacked it, but it barely paid her any heed.
"Get going!" Ben shouted, straining under the force of the beast. "We need to save the others. I'll hold this thing off." He heard another smash as something else came smashing through the wall. He charged his staff with enough energy that the chimera turned to dust before his eyes, allowing him to see another one flanking him. Its snake tail whipped out at him, the fangs biting into his side. He screamed as the venom spread through his body, making everything faint…
He charged his staff with enough energy that the chimera turned to dust before his eyes, allowing him to see another one flanking him. Its snake tail whipped out at him, but he opened a portal right in its path. Before it could do anything, he closed it again and severed it. Black blood sprayed everywhere as Ben drove the point of his blade through the lion's head, skewering the goat head from the other side at the same time. His time duplicate faded away as a glowing blade nearly impaled it. Ben tried to stop time long enough for him to find his attacker, but with time already affected so much the best he could do was slow it to a crawl. And even then it was hard to maintain the effect. Flitting quickly, he moved through the holes in the walls to find a summoning array set up inside one of the empty rooms. And next to it was…
"I'm so glad you survived my monsters, Miss Tennyson. It would be a shame for such a lovely body to be marred by lethal wounds." Gil Arrivederci said with a wide sneer. He was dressed in his long, flowing suit like before, but he saw plating under parts of it.
"What are you doing here?" Ben asked. He kinda knew the answer, but he wanted to learn if he was affiliated with these mages or not. "You can't really be interested in destroying the summit."
"The summit. Pah." He spat. "I could care less about that, or successions and titles. The Khaos Brigade has done their part and can burn for all I care. They were simply a way to get me to you without your deplorable friends getting in the way. And I must say, you're certainly rather beautiful in that form."
"Khaos Brigade? Successions? What's that supposed to mean?"
"Ah yes. I forget that you don't have a clue about Devil hierarchy. Originally the position of Lord was inherited rather than earned. The titles of Lucifer, Leviathan, Beelzebub and Asmodeus originally belonged to the descendants of those great Devils. But because of the Great War destroying their bloodline the Devils were forced to elect new Lords in their place. One group in the Brigade is comprised of the four last remaining descendants of those great families. And they seek to claim their titles again."
"And if they take out the leaders of the Angels and Fallen at the same time, they could start up another Great War." Ben realised. This was bad. From what the others were saying, if another Great War started up no one would win. They'd annihilate each other until there was nothing left. He hoped that the leaders could take care of themselves, but it couldn't hurt to have another pair of hands.
"As I said, deplorable. And they'd also made it clear that they're very interested in obtaining your 'Sacred Gear'. To think they would be so low as to ruin you just to obtain your power. No. I will protect you from them. All you have to do is surrender to me."
Ben snorted. "Please. I didn't get where I am by throwing the towel whenever things got dicey. I'll just keep fighting them until I win. I always do."
"A shame then." Glowing circles opened behind him, throwing powerful swords at Ben. But he was ready. They barely got halfway across the room when they stopped in mid-air. Using his time/space manipulation, Ben shattered them from afar. Another pair of blades fired, but he stopped them again. While he was destroying them, another pair arced towards him. With a wave of his hand portals opened before them, and they went flying back towards Gil. He dissipated them with ease, watching Ben carefully.
"Seriously? Is that all you've got? I didn't realise you were just a one-trick pony. I'll kick your ass so easily they won't even bother describing it." Ben charged him straight on, ready to clonk him over the head with his staff. But Arrivederci just kept smiling. Remembering what usually happened when villains kept smiling, Ben twisted in the air to dodge. But he was still surprised as a large hand grabbed him by his robes and slammed him into the ground. Eyes brimming with tears of pain, he looked at who his attacker was…
Ben charged him straight on, ready to clonk him over the head with his staff. He dodged to the side instead, moving around Hercules' hand as the large man tried to grab him. Spinning his staff, he intercepted Jeanne's rapier and deflected a blade belonging to a silver-haired boy. Ben teleported away from them, repairing his staff as the Hero Faction stood next to Gil.
"No one ever said I was fighting you alone." Gil responded, still smiling. Next to him was a tall, black-haired boy dressed in a combination of school uniform and Chinese monk robes. He held a long spear in his hand, resting it on his shoulder. The way he stood, Ben could tell he was the leader of the Hero Faction.
"I see you're just as powerful as everyone says you are." The boy said, stepping forward. "I was impressed when you managed to beat Jeanne, Hercules and Georg. But the fact you managed to dodge us again shows that we just keep underestimating you."
"Everyone does that at some point. I think it's the fact that I'm human that throws them off."
"I know what you mean. That's why we'd like you to join us still. The fact you managed to best us shows that we need you more than ever."
"And I'm guessing the rest of the Khaos Brigade wouldn't mind you trying to kick them out?"
"Not try. Succeed. The Devils were simply an ends to a mean. When they've weakened themselves fighting each other, we'll crush them until there's nothing left. Short, simple, easy."
"And what about Gil? How does he play into this?"
"He's made it clear that he loves you. You're all he's interested in Bri-chan." Jeanne said. "And if he does anything bad, we'll kill him. Everything will be okey-dokey."
"Or we could do this the hard way again. We've learnt from the last fight. I'd appreciate it if you joined us willingly." His hands clenched the spear even more, readying for a fight.
"Sorry. Not interested." Ben got ready to fight, but Gil held out a remote and fired a beam at him. As it struck, his body felt like someone was peeling his skin off. He tried to reverse time again, but nothing happened. When it ended, he was back in human form again.
"An interesting gift, isn't it? I was given this by a good Samaritan, who explained the Omnitrix to me in great detail. To think aliens could build devices equal to gods. It boggles the mind." Ben flipped through the database, but the Chronosapien DNA was being blocked. "As you've probably just realise it stops you from using a form. You've only got so many, and they'll all fall before us." The spear man nodded to his team, and they all rushed for Ben.
Gritting his teeth, he searched for a form that would allow him to outlast his opponents.
(**/*\**)
Issei was worried about Bri. She was strong, sure. But this strange group just kept bringing out more and more problems. Gaspar had nearly killed himself dissipating the time-stop and the gate, Azazel had sliced his arm off to kill Leviathan, and now Vali was revealed to be the traitor. He had been going on about how great he was as the half-blood child of a Lucifer. The original one. How this granted him incredible power and placed him as possibly the strongest White Dragon Emperor of all time. And he kept mocking Issei about how weak he was. He even threatened to kill his parents just to get him to become strong enough to be anything other than a joke. Issei tapped into that rage and powered his Balance Breaker again, now even stronger than before. He was going to kill Vali for what he did, for what he said.
But so far, things weren't going so well.
"DIVIDE." Albion intoned as Vali halved Issei's power, causing him to fall through the air as Vali knocked him down into the ground. How could he have forgotten about it? It didn't seem to affect Bri when she had Ascalon, but then she had a world-killing sword. He had only his rage and a Dragon-slaying blade against an ace. It was a completely different fight.
"Issei, are you ok?" Rias shouted at him. It was a bit of a silly question, but he knew she meant well.
"Yeah. I'm fine. Don't worry about me. By the time I'm done Vali's going to be kissing dirt." There is no way he's going to lose in front of Rias. Not to this douchebag.
"How adorable. It's like watching a puppy brain itself over and over again." Vali's wings glowed with red particles, creating an aura of menace.
"He's diffusing your energy through his wings. I guess we must've reached the upper limits of his capacity." Ddraig noted.
"Really? So for all his power he has limits?"
"Indeed I do." Issei gasped in shock as Vali responded. He could hear his talk with Ddraig? "During the fight against Kokabiel you tapped into more power than you had ever used. All because he threatened your friends. Does this mean I should kill them before I kill your parents?" He threw two orbs of energy at the others, forcing Issei to use himself to block the attack. Vali tried to slash at Rias, but ignoring the pain Issei smashed him away from them. "That's it. Hate me more. Get angrier. Use that anger to become a real challenge."
"Oh shut the fuck up, you piece of shit." Issei pounded his armour, but Vali just laughed and blasted him away with magic. Ignoring all the pain he was feeling, Issei transferred his power into Ascalon himself and charged Vali. The extra boost allowed him to shatter part of his helmet, distracting Vali long enough for him to grab hold of him. "Let's see how much power you can take." Issei transferred as much power as he could into Vali, causing the wings to flicker and crack. Putting all his strength into his blow, he shattered his armour into chipped pieces and bloodied Vali's face. They both crashed back down to Earth. Issei panted, glad that the fight was over.
Until Vali started laughing.
"That was certainly impressive. You managed to overpower my own Sacred Gear. I guess you just needed some proper motivation. That kind of power is what I expect from my rival." His body glowed blue as armour appeared again. Dammit, what would it take to beat this guy?
"This fight will continue until one of us is unable to get back up again. That is how Dragons have always fought. And as much as I hate to say it, if you keep fighting it will be you who falls. Your armband is already nearly depleted. You don't have much longer. Run while you still can."
"I can't run. My friends need me, I can't just abandon them. And Bri would never run from a fight. Not while people depended on her. If I hope to look her in the eye I can't give up either." He noticed the Vanishing dragon armour fragment at his feet, one of the blue orbs that hold some of the power. He remembered absorbing Ascalon into his Sacred Gear. And an idea came to him.
"Uh, before you do anything rash I need to ask you if you're ready to die." Ddraig said to him. He sounded nervous now, most likely because this was a really stupid idea.
"I can't die yet. I've got so much to live for. I haven't even gotten it on with Rias yet. For that dream, I'm willing to take on anything." Ddraig laughed a deep, hearty laugh.
"I like your resolve Issei. Very well then. Allow me to show you my determination. His Gear glowed brightly, the fractured orb glowing blue in his hand. Everyone looked on in surprise as he smashed it against his other arm. The energy passed from the orb into his arm.
And then he felt agonising pain.
(**/*\**)
Ben panted as he used Fasttracks to punch Spear man upside the head and knock away his spear, leaving him foaming on the ground. Gil zapped him with the beam, and forced him back to normal. He panted in agony as the pain wracked his body, sweat dripping as exhaustion threatened to overwhelm him. Jeanne was passed out down the hall, completely dizzy after he used Cannonbolt to spin her silly. The silver-haired boy was smushed halfway into a wall, knocked there when Ben possessed Hercules as Ghostfreak. Georg was out too, his spells failing against Terraspin and blown to the other end of the building. And Hercules got in his way when he tried to use Toepick against Gil again, leaving him trembling in the corner of the room sucking his thumb. But he was running out of forms. Ben changed into Shield Maiden and went Ultimate even good as he flew away. He erected barriers that blocked the beams, forcing Gil to fire swords at him again. The barriers trembled, but they held against the onslaught. For the moment.
"You really should just accept your fate." Gil said to him. "You and I are meant to be together forever. And yet you keep denying it. I can tell you're running on empty." He was right. Ben had never done so many transformations before. He was crouched over, barely holding the barriers up. He grunted in pain as another volley cracked the panes again. He was going to lose if he just kept hiding here. Timing the volleys just right, Ben dropped the barriers and ran straight for Gil, pulling out his staff as he ran. He fired the remote at him, but Ben jumped and ran along the roof and the walls like a demented monkey, slamming the staff against his arm. Gil yelled in pain as his arm broke, allowing Ben to land a few more blows before he could react. But he was blasted back by a wave of fire, slamming against the far wall and falling in agony. He stumbled back to his feet, but he wasn't fast enough to dodge the canceller. Ben stumbled as pain and fatigue overwhelmed him, tripping over some rubble and crawling behind cover. As swords blew apart the rubble, he flicked through the Omnitrix Playlist. Dammit, he only had his weakest forms left. Sure, Molestashe and The Worst could be useful, but in this fight it would only get him beaten again and again. He doubted either of them could withstand a glowing magic sword. But what else was there to use? The only other choices were Walkatrout and…
"Nothing ventured and all that." Ben muttered as he pushed down on the button. The rubble was destroyed as Gil noticed the green flash, forcing Ben to roll away. Gil peeked over and smiled at him. Ben was still in his human form. The only difference was a flowing white cloak that covered part of his body.
"And now we've reached the end of our little dance. To anyone else this was obviously the only outcome. There was no way you could deny our love forever. And as an added bonus, you took out the Hero faction. Now I won't have to share you with Cao Cao or his friends anymore. Now, perhaps you could be a dear and say our wedding vows." Gil smiled lustily at Ben, ignoring the sparking remote in his hand.
"I'm… not out… yet." Ben gritted as he stood back up. His legs trembled beneath him and his breath was loud and uneven. The edges of his vision were turning black. "I've still got… one more trick… to use."
"Oh please. You're barely standing as it is. Your only defence or attack as far as I can see is a Church robe. What else can you possibly do?"
"This." Ben reached into the robe and found the dial with trembling fingers. He gripped it tightly and twisted it before pushing. He felt the wave of energy pass over him, filling him with a boost of energy. The robes blew open to reveal flowing white/white-gold armour decorated with feathery designs as light bloomed around him. Six pairs of pure white wings bloomed behind him, lifting him off the ground. He opened his eyes and glared down at Gil. "Ultimate Archangel." Ben announced himself, forming glowing spears of light in his hands. He threw them at Gil, one piercing through his leg. The Devil screamed in pure agony as he fell. He summoned dozens of blades with a wave of his hand, but Ben created another spear and knocked them aside. They exploded far away from where they were fighting.
"Im… Impossible!" Gil shouted, face taunt with pain and shock. "There's no way you could become a Seraph! It's simply impossible!"
"Then I guess your friend forgot about the power of the Ultimatrix." Ben replied. "It changes my forms, put them through a million years of the worse-case scenario, and uses what would become of such a simulation to create even stronger forms. If an Angel would become a Seraph after a million years of fighting, then that is what I will become." Ben fired a blast of magic from his hand, shattering the remote completely. "You've lost. Surrender now."
"NEVER!" He shouted, firing a multitude of magic at him. Ben, remembering how Kokabiel blocked attacks, wrapped his wings around himself and felt the blasts thunder against him. Concentrating on Akeno's lessons about magic, he felt and heard a beam of holy smash against Gil. The building shook as wood snapped and concrete shattered, until there was only silence. Ben opened his wings to see a giant hole where Gil had been lying. Hovering down into the hole (which went all the way to the ground floor) he found Gil passed out at the bottom, skin seared by Holy magic. It was over. He had won. Sure, he was almost about to pass out even after that boost of energy. But he won. Grabbing Gil by the collar, Ben flew out of the hole just in time to see a blue glow erupt from the sport's field. Curious, he flew closer to see it was Issei in his Balance Breaker form. Something was happening to him. His right arm was now coated in white scales, resembling Vali's Vanishing Dragon Balance Breaker. But Vali raised his hand, and the entire world seemed to almost shrink. The others were speaking to each other, too far away for him to hear. But as he flapped over, he saw Issei glowing with greater amounts of energy.
"Don't fuck with me!" He shouted as his Gear boosted his power again. "Rias' boobs are perfect as they are! I won't let you reduce them you bastard!" That was such a strange thing to say – and yet such an Issei thing too – that Ben nearly dropped from the sky in shock. Even Vali looked surprised.
"Wait, what? What did you just say?" He asked Issei, his energy nearly halting.
"You Monster! You're pure evil! I will never forgive you for this!" Issei shouted back, his Gear boosting over and over again, the ground literally fragmenting and rising into the air from his power like some cheesy anime. But Ben had to shield himself as Issei erupted with pure power. Buildings shattered and trees burned from it, with even the barrier around them cracking from the strain. Issei charged straight for Vali, but the Vanishing dragon… well, vanished. His speed allowed him to dodge Issei's attacks.
Time to even things a bit more.
(**/*\**)
"You're fast." Vali said to Issei, almost ignoring the fact he was trying to kill him. "But not fast enou…" He yelled in pain as a spear of light slammed into him, nearly knocking him from the sky. Using this chance, Issei managed to catch up with him and punch him right in the stomach. Vali choked as Issei punched him again.
"You bastard. You bastard!" Issei yelled. "This is for Rias and her luscious boobs!" He grabbed him by the head and divided his power, before slamming it against his knee. "And this is for Akeno's huge honkers!" He lifted his head and slammed his skull into Vali's face, shattering the armour plating on both of them. "This is to make sure Asia keeps on growing!" Issei released Vali long enough to kick him repeatedly in the chest. "For Xenovia's Killer gazongas!" He punched Vali in the face, forcing him to spit out a mouthful of blood. "And this is for Bri's most common superpower!" Holding his fists together, he slammed down on Vali's head so that he crashed to the dirt, leaving a crater where he fell. There was no way Vali would be getting up after that.
And of course, that was when Vali started laughing and moving again.
"Oh come on." Issei groaned. "What the hell does it take to put you down?" Whatever Vali was going to say was interrupted by a beam of light blasting at him. He crawled out of the crater in time to be hit with another, and speared with a glowing spear of light.
"Probably a lot more than that, but it's a start." He heard Bri say. He turned to see she was now an angel. But one with multiple wings. How did she get as strong as Michael so quickly? "Sorry I took so long to get back. I had this bozo to worry about." He looked down at her hands to see her dragging Gil Arrivederci after her. So that pervert bastard was with the Khaos Brigade? Figures. He looked up as he heard the barrier shatter and something fell down to stand next to Vali. It was a brown-haired man dressed in Chinese armour and holding onto a long staff. He looked at Bri and whistled in awe.
"Wow. This is the infamous Bri Tennyson, holding onto the equally infamous Gil Arrivederci? Man Vali, you sure know how to pick your battles. Sadly, we're kinda needed elsewhere."
"Oh? Something important enough to interrupt my fight?" Vali asked, dusting himself off.
"We're finally going to fight the Northern Earth Gods, so I was sent to find you. The Red Dragon Emperor can wait."
Vali smirked. "About time we went to fight them. I was getting bored around here."
"Hey, hold on a minute. Just who the hell are you?" Issei shouted at the newcomer.
"That's Bikou, descendant of the great Monkey King Son Goku." Azazel replied. "Hell must've frozen over when you joined the Khaos Brigade. Then again, you and the vanishing dragon do look good together."
"Well charm and beauty do run in my family. I look good with anyone. Especially someone as beautiful as Miss Tennyson." He reappeared next to Bri, holding her hand and giving it a kiss. Bri rolled her eyes and pulled her hand free. "Until next time, I bid you adieu." He moved back to Vali's side and spun his staff before slamming it into the ground. A dark circle appeared on the ground around them as they sunk beneath it.
"When this battle continues we should make this fight more intense Issei. Be ready for the next time." Vali said as he vanished.
"Hold on. You're running away? Come back and fight bastard." Issei moved to chase him, but his armour vanished and he collapsed to the ground. Bri's Omnitrix timed out, and she also collapsed to the ground next to him. He noted that her heavy breathing did some interesting things to her boobs.
Then things started getting blurry.
(**/*\**)
"…And so from this day forward, I have become the advisor for the Occult Research Club." Azazel said the next day, sitting behind Rias' desk and with both arms again. "After the last few events that happened around here, Sirzechs and Serafall both agreed that someone should keep an eye on this place. Not to mention that Bri's gotten even more interesting now that we know she can become an Angel Seraph. All that power literally at the push of a button. Even though we trust you guys we still want to make sure nothing bad happens."
"I get it." Ben replied. "Just as long as you understand that I'll kick your ass if you try anything."
"I still don't like this. What will you even be doing besides keeping an eye on us? How can we even trust you?" Rias asked him.
"If you trust your brother's judgement, then you can trust me. As for what I'll be doing, I'll also use my knowledge of Sacred Gears to help you guy improve your own. So you may as well call me Mr Azazel from now on." He turned to leave, before seemingly remembering something else. "Oh yeah. And I have one final message for Rias. This one's also from her brother. To put it in official and simple terms, the Great Devil Lucifer is ordering all the girls to live at Issei's house. Have fun." He waved as he stepped out the door, leaving them in slight surprise.
"M… My house? All these girls at my house?" Issei stammered. It was probably a dream come true for him. Ben, meanwhile, was focusing on the logistics of having so many people in one household.
"Well, things are going to be pretty tight. One of us is going to have to bunk with Issei. ("Rias." Issei immediately replied.) But if we all get along, we might be able to handle it. My biggest thoughts right now are on the Hero Faction. Did they really not find anything of them?"
Rias shook her head. "The guards combed over every inch of the school, but they had either been vaporised or vanished in the confusion. Still, you showed that even with a handicap you could take them all on. I'd say that's a bonus."
"Yeah. And who knows, this might be the crisis you had to help out with. If you hadn't been there to stop them, we might've lost. So thanks for that Bri. You were a real help." Issei said to him.
"Thanks. You weren't too bad yourself. You managed to overpower Vali pretty easily once you got going. Even I don't think I could've handled him as easily as you did."
"That was easy? I felt like I was going to pass out after all that."
"If you're not passing out after fighting your rival, he's not putting his all into it. That's what I've found." Everyone started laughing at that.
After a couple of crazy days, things were finally getting back to normal.
Finally. It's taken me a while, but I've finally finished the Summit Story Arc. Some people might call foul over Bri becoming a Seraph just like that, but if you think about it that's pretty much what an Angel would become after going Ultimate. And I kept the two fights mostly separate to allow them both to shine.
Ultimate Clockwork has the power to reverse time and try again, which I think is the most useful and most broken power. It's practically a redo power, allowing you to try and try again until you succeed. Of course, since Clockwork is rather fragile, he can't take the kind of blows Ben is used to. And hey, we got a reference to someone else from Ben's world. Someone who can also travel dimensions. Just who could that be? Will we find out by the end of this story? (Spoiler: not really)
I'm just going to let everyone know that there isn't much left to this story now. One last story arc to give us something even cooler (and do something I've wanted for a while) and then we'll wrap things up. I'm also possibly doing a crossover with another story, but we'll have to work things out before we confirm anything.
Have a Merry Christmas.