NOTE: This is the end of the arc! Hopefully you guys have been enjoying it, because we'll definitely be having original story arcs in the future of Priestess 10. This is my first one, so I was very nervous about doing it. I appreciate all of the reviews you guys leave and would love if people continued to leave more.
Enjoy and Review!
Chapter 56: The Final Regret
Gwen stood inside of the Rustbucket's bathroom, finishing the last couple of touches on her appearance. The young sorceress tied up her growing hair into a short ponytail that reached down to her neck. Instead of her usual outfit, she was dressed in a dark blue blouse with a cute star design on the front, a white skirt that reached down to her knees, and black leggings underneath. To top it all off she wore a light blue hoodie with her usual cat print on the back of it.
Stepping out of the bathroom, Gwen noticed that her cousins were waiting for her to join them. The two were clearly talking about something while she was getting ready. She didn't bother trying to ask about whatever it was, since it wasn't really important to the situation. There were more important things going on today.
Ben got up from the table first, allowing Gwen to see that his clothes changed too, albeit not much. Over his usual clothes, Ben simply wore a white hoodie that looked to be a bit too big for him. It had two green stripes going down the sleeves with a green zipper, on the back of the hoodie was an enlarged number 10 in green. It seems like Yukiko couldn't get the boy to change his clothes completely.
Yukiko stood up next, allowing Gwen to see what the eldest was wearing. Yukiko was wearing a red dress with a black collar and a red scarf tied around her neck. The dress went down to her knees, her usual thin legs covered by a pair of black leggings. As expected, the heiress carried herself with an air of elegance that Gwen could never picture herself being able to match.
"What took you so long, doofus? Even Yukiko didn't take as long this time." Ben said to her.
"Shut up, doofus. You have no idea what it takes for girls to prepare themselves." Gwen responded with a glare.
Yukiko cut both of them off before it could escalate. "Enough, you two. Now isn't the time for an argument. You know what we're about to do today." The heiress turned to the television that had been the cause of their stress for the past few days. Her cousins listened, also staring down at the television.
Ben stepped forward, punching his fist into his palm. "Just hang tight, Grandpa! We're on our way!"
OP: More Than Like by Bish
The spell we're under is the real deal, I'm watching closely
Oh, I wonder if we can change this shattered world
Ben and Yukiko stood back-to-back in a grassy field, the heiress and hero stared up into the bright sky above them. Ben's eyes were filled with determination as the camera turned to Yukiko, who had a single tear running down her face.
Let's keep on journeying and picking up the pieces, every last one
The Tennyson kids were seen gearing themselves up. Yukiko finished tying her hair into a ponytail and whipped out her fan. Gwen closed her spellbook, allowing the mana to swirl between her fingertips. The last one was Ben, who was holding a glowing blue object in his hands.
Oh, if we can reach beyond the shattered tears
A single picture frame sat on top of a dresser. The image contained 5 people, but one of the faces had been cut out.
You think other people are impossible to understand
I'm gonna take away that sad notion
(Oh yeah! Oh yeah!)
Let's begin
Naoto was seen ducking out of the way of a blazing sword swipe. The weapon belonged to a woman white white hair, who was dressed in a black and orange jumpsuit. She jumped back before unleashing a vortex of flames at the detective.
Yu raised his blade that was coated in lighting to block the gauntlet covered fist. The attacker was a large man with dark skin, black and white hair, and he was dressed in a similar jumpsuit as the woman.
Kenji was seen talking to a young boy around Ben's age with black and white hair. The boy has dark skin and black colored eyes. He's dressed in an orange shirt and yellow sweatpants. In his hands was an orange staff.
I just can't let it go, because it's just too sad
A man resembling Max Tennyson stood on top of a pillar. His malicious yellow eyes glowed in the night as power erupted around his body, transforming him into an unknown entity.
Your words, more than anyone else's
Yukiko is seen smashing her tarot card, Sumeo-Okami coming to life and torching everything around her.
Your answers, more than anything else
Are what I want to know
Gwen's eyes turned bright blue as her magic surged to life. Behind her a glowing silhouette could be seen.
I want to keep shaking them up
Even if now isn't the time
Ben struggled to his feet, his body littered with scratches and bruises. He activated the Omnitrix, the device sparking with green energy.
My words, more than anyone else's
My answers, more than anything else
A 10-year-old Max Tennyson ran through the empty field, in his hands was a toy spaceship that he pretended to fly. He then turned into a young adult, dressed in a spacesuit as he prepared to take off into space. Then finally, his present self stood across from three young boys and a woman, their eyes conveyed no emotions as they stared at him.
Are what I want to give
So hear them and know
The scene transitioned to Ben and the Max lookalike standing inside of a spaceship graveyard. Ben charged the lookalike with a green electrical surge surrounding the Omnitrix and punched out at the clone, creating a massive explosion.
I want to see the same things as you
The final shot was of Max and his grandkids sleeping by a tree. Ben was leaning on the old man's shoulder, drooling on his shirt. Yukiko leaned on his other shoulder as Gwen's head rested on her lap. Max smiled softly as the warmth of his grandkids surrounded him.
"What took you three so long?" The woman asked as she watched the trio enter through the TV. Her eyes then widened when she noticed their different outfits. After floating over to them, the woman started fawning over Gwen. "Oh, Gwendolyn, you look adorable! Love the ponytail, sweetheart!"
Gwen flinched back, feeling uncomfortable. "Uh…thanks?"
The woman then turned to Yukiko. "Oh~! A lot of elegance with you, dear. May I suggest ditching the headband?"
"No." Yukiko's hands touched her headband defensively.
"Fair." She shrugged, unbothered. Looking down at Ben, she ruffled his hair affectionately. "Love the hoodie, kiddo. A little too big, don't you think?"
Yukiko agreed. "That's what I thought too when I first looked at it, but isn't he just adorable in it?" Ben fumed at being called adorable, crossing his arms and pouting.
The woman agreed, wholeheartedly. "Oh yes! Quite adorable this little one is-"
"Can we move on!?" Ben exclaimed. "We're here to save Grandpa, not talk about stupid fashion choices!"
Yukiko nodded, turning to the woman. "He's right. Today's the day we're going to save him, so let's get moving."
The woman nodded her head, then raised a finger. "Of course, but I think there's something that'll need to be taken care of first."
"What?" Gwen asked. The woman pointed to the side, taking their direction to the floating blue door that had reappeared by the dungeon. This time both Gwen and Yukiko could see it along with Ben. "Woah! So, that's what the door looks like. But why are we allowed to see it now?"
"Just as a going away present." Margaret stepped in from behind the door, approaching the Tennyson family.
"Margaret!" Yukiko gasped.
"Why are you here?" Ben asked.
"As an order from my master, I am to give you three something." She opened her hand, a blue light floated in her palm. Three lines shot out of the light, inserting themselves inside of the trio, much to their shock.
"Woah!? What did you just do?" Ben asked, touching his chest.
She smiled softly at the boy, having noticed the serious aura that had been overtaking him for the past few days. It made sense considering the situation that was currently hurting his family. She understood that feeling well. "You'll understand it in due time, all of you will." She addressed the girls too.
Yukiko bowed gracefully. "Thank you, for all the help you've given us."
"We didn't do much. From the very beginning, it's been you kids making everything work. There's a good chance this'll be the last time we ever meet, so good luck saving your Grandfather." Margaret gave her farewells.
Yukiko returned the smile. "If so, then it was a pleasure knowing you."
Gwen nodded her head. "Yeah! Thanks for hitting this doofus on the head!" Gwen added, much to Ben's annoyance.
"I'll do it again if the need arises."
"Cool!"
"Ugh!" Ben turned away from them, facing the dungeon.
"Ben."
"What!?" Ben whipped his head towards Margaret.
"Don't overcomplicate things beyond what they are, you don't have the brains for that."
Gasping at the insult/advice, Ben hissed at her. "Yeah!? Well, smarts have nothing to do with this! I'm gonna save Grandpa no matter what! The hero always saves the day in the end and that's exactly what I am!"
"Then hurry on." She smiled softly.
Yukiko touched Ben's shoulders, calming him down. "She's right, Ben, we have no time to lose. Let's bring him home."
"Right!"
Margaret watched as the Tennysons were teleported back into the dungeon by the woman. Sighing softly, she stared up at the beautiful sky of the once clouded world. "His eyes are just like yours and his. He may not be a Wild Card, but that boy will truly change the world around him. I just wonder if it'll lead him to prosperity or ruin."
The woman glanced over at Gwen as she led the three towards the doors. Out of the three, she was interested the most in Gwen and her abilities, their similarity to hers, and the magnitude of her potential. However, it seemed the girl was still woefully unaware of just how powerful she was; truly unfortunate. Perhaps, she could help bring it out of her in a way that didn't involve extreme cases of anger.
Max probably wouldn't be too happy about it.
But, eh, she does what she wants.
Floating down towards the young girl, the woman smiled. "So, you dabble in mana, yes?"
"H-huh? O-oh, yeah. Earlier this summer we ran into this pair of magicians who can use actual magic. We yoinked this spellbook here." Gwen took out her spellbook. "And I've been using magic ever since, it's pretty handy if I do say so myself. Yukiko is a pretty good teacher as well." As she said that, the woman yoinked the book out of Gwen's hands, and started reading it.
"She is, is she?"
"Yes, now can I have that back?"
The request went ignored. "How good of a teacher is she? What does she teach you?"
Gwen found the question a bit strange, but decided to answer. "Well, mostly mana control. Sometimes, especially at the beginning, I struggled to properly push out my magic without something going wrong. We don't necessarily use the same type of magic, so there's only so much she can teach me. But it's been very helpful!"
The woman closed the book, giving it back to Gwen. "Magic…is boring!"
"Eh?" Gwen didn't expect to hear that after explaining everything.
"It's so limited with rules and regulations, isn't that just boring?"
"W-well, I mean-"
"You're so much more powerful than you think, kiddo. Just reach deep inside, let things go, and bam! You'll be the strongest of all. Free to do what you wish." The woman giggled.
"Free to do what I wish?"
"What do you want to do, kiddo?"
Gwen stared at her with slight confusion, the question tickling her brain. At the young age of 10, she wasn't exactly too sure of what she wanted to do yet. There was so much of life she had yet to experience, and this summer itself was a massive curve ball. At the moment, she didn't know how to answer the floating woman in front of her. It seemed she wouldn't have the chance too, since they had finally arrived at their destination.
The giant door loomed over the group as if taunting them. Yukiko took out the heart crystal and placed it into the open slot. Lights burst forth from the heart, lighting up the dark hallway with a brilliant shade of pink and red.
"Here we go." Yukiko took the first step through the door, followed by Ben and Gwen. The woman lingered behind them for a moment before joining the trio.
Expecting to find themselves inside of another chamber, the Tennysons were surprised to see that they were instead inside of a massive junkyard. "A junkyard?" Ben questioned.
Gwen shook her head, noticing all of the ship parts laying around. "No, this is just like the ship graveyard back at NASA."
Yukiko furrowed her brows in thought. "But, why would we be…?"
"So, you finally made it."
Turning their heads to the side, the trio saw Shadow Max standing on top of a broken spaceship. His helmet was off, allowing the kids to see his glowing golden eyes. "Welcome to the Grave of Regrets."
"Grave of Regrets?" Yukiko repeated. She looked down and noticed her foot was stepping on a piece of paper. Picking it up, Yukiko realized it was the same birthday card that was given to her father back in that memory.
Ben stepped forward. "Who cares about that!? Where is our Grandpa!?"
Shadow Max snapped his fingers, allowing the broken machines to be pushed to the side, giving the kids a view of the opposite wall of the graveyard where they could see their grandfather strapped to the wall by several cables. The ex-Plumber weakly raised his head, eyes widening at the sight of his kids. "K-kids…!"
"GRANDPA!" The three shouted, relieved to see him again. They rushed for him, but suddenly found their bodies frozen in place. Some kind of force was preventing them from moving another step.
"W-what…!?" Ben gasped.
"I-I can't move!" Gwen exclaimed.
"W-what did…you do!?" Yukiko hissed at the Shadow.
The Shadow grinned maliciously. "Don't go getting ahead of yourselves, kids. I simply wanted to give the old man a good view of your deaths. It was foolish to think that you stood a chance for even a moment."
"S-stop!"
Turning his head towards Max, the Shadow raised a brow. "What was that?"
"Don't hurt them… I don't care if you want to hurt me, but leave the kids out of this!" Max exclaimed. His shout was followed by a cry of pain as his bindings shocked him painfully.
"Grandpa!" Gwen cried.
"This is my domain and I choose how to operate it and who I'll execute inside of it. I don't take orders from anyone, least of all a coward like you." Shadow Max declared.
Ben growled at the imposter. "Grandpa isn't a coward! You're the only coward here!"
"Really?" Shadow Max turned to the boy with a cold stare. "I'm sure your Grandfather thinks differently-oh wait-I do. I'm him, so I know exactly what he's feeling. Failure."
"Stop…"
"A man who couldn't keep his family together, because he was too busy playing the hero. One of his best friends attempted to kill him, his old adversary returned even stronger, an old lover ended up heartbroken, and the object of his greatest failure is always staring him in the face." Shadow Max turned to Yukiko, shocking the heiress.
"What?" Yukiko muttered.
"Every time I look into your eyes, all I can ever see is his face. You're nothing more than a reminder of how much I failed him. The son who doesn't even want to see me anymore."
"Stop…" Max begged.
"AND WHY SHOULD I!?" Shadow Max turned on his heels, shouting at Max with unrelenting rage. "WHY SHOULDN'T I CALL YOU OUT FOR BEING THE ABSOLUTE FAILURE THAT YOU ARE!? ALL YOU'VE DONE IS RUN AWAY! NOTHING BUT A WORTHLESS COWARD DESERVING OF DEATH! THAT'S WHO YOU ARE! THAT'S WHO WE ARE!"
"I-I'm not…" Max trembled as the words danced across his tired lips. Yukiko's eyes widened, realizing what was about to happen.
"YES, SAY IT! SAY THOSE WORDS! DENY ME! DENY YOURSELF!" The Shadow's voice shook the graveyard, his most awaited moment was almost here.
"I-I'm not… I'm not-"
"SHUT UP!"
Everything grew silent, eyes drifting towards Ben. The boy's emerald eyes were glaring hatefully at Shadow Max, who stared at the boy blankly. "Grandpa isn't a coward and he's not running away! I've seen what happens to people who run away!" The version of him from the future popped into his mind. "And I know for a fact that my Grandpa isn't one of them! Especially, since he's got us!" Ben declared.
"Ben…" Max felt his heart swell with pride and gratitude.
However, the Shadow didn't feel the same. Instead he approached Ben with a blank face. "Ah. That's right. I was thinking about how I wanted to deal with you." Reaching into the back of his belt, he grabbed his gun. "At first, I figured that I'd just rip you to pieces and eviscerate the rest of your corpse to ensure nothing was left. But instead…" The Shadow held the gun right up to Ben's face, causing fear to course through everyone. "I'll just get rid of you now."
"Stop! Don't do this, please!" Gwen yelled.
"Get away from him!" Yukiko hissed, trying her best to break free.
"BEN!" Max tried to break free, but the restraints were too strong.
"Any last words?" Shadow Max asked.
Ben stared down the barrel of the gun without fear, then gave the Shadow his cocky grin. "Yeah, I'm gonna beat you!"
BANG!
Time seemed to slow down for Gwen as she watched the bullet travel towards her cousin. She felt utterly helpless once again, her cousin was about to die and there was nothing she could do about it. All those times in the past when Ben risked everything to save them and yet whenever it mattered the most they could never save him back. Even after learning magic she was just a helpless girl that couldn't help anyone.
She couldn't help Yukiko.
She couldn't help Kenny.
She couldn't help Grandpa.
And she couldn't help Ben.
What's even the point…?
"You're so much more powerful than you think, kiddo. Just reach deep inside, let things go, and bam! You'll be the strongest of all. Free to do what you wish." The woman giggled.
"Free to do what I wish?"
"What do you want to do, kiddo?"
…
…
…
BUM! DUM!
Something deep inside of Gwen began to burn, a hot fierce power that she only managed to briefly tap into before started to manifest inside of her. "What do I want to do?" Green saw the hopeless fear on Yukiko's face, her grandfather trapped helplessly, and the bullet mere inches from Ben's forehead.
At this moment, Gwen finally understood what it is she wanted. "I want to protect my family."
…
…
…
SHATTER!
Ben blinked, surprised to find himself still alive. The bullet that was supposed to kill him had been stopped mere centimeters from his head. "What the…?" He wasn't the only one confused by the phenomenon. Yukiko, Max, and Shadow Max were all confused by the frozen bullet that was coated in pink energy.
Shadow Max furiously turned his head up to the woman, who had been casually watching the entire time. "YOU-"
"Wasn't me, grouchy-boy." She teased.
That confused him even more. "If not you, then…" He turned his attention to the side and found himself flabbergasted at the sight before him.
Standing free from his effects was Gwen Tennyson. However, she was different from before. Her eyes were glowing bright pink with strong, concentrated energy gathered in her fists. The air around her was blowing softly like the calm before a storm. The sorceress' anger was directed right at him. Raising one hand, the pink energy solidified itself. It felt completely different from the magic she was used to, but felt…natural. "Begone."
A solid construct struck the Shadow, sending him flying across the graveyard before he could fully understand what was happening in front of him. With him gone, both Yukiko and Ben were freed from their bindings. The cousins watched Gwen cautiously, not too sure on how to approach her.
"Gwen?" Yukiko reached for her.
"I'm fine." Gwen responded. "I just feel a bit different, but I'm still me."
Ben eyed her new abilities. "Woah! What is this pink stuff?"
"I-I don't know… I think I unlocked some new form of magic. It feels like mana, and it reminds me of what that woman uses."
"Which means she's a magic user too." Yukiko said, contemplating it.
"Yes, but not like Hex or Chamcaster, I think." Gwen said.
Yukiko placed her hand on Gwen's head, ruffling her hair a bit. "Either way, good job, Gwen."
"Yeah, not bad for a dweeb." Ben added, smirking slightly.
Hearing their gratitude brought a beautiful smile to Gwen's face, she blushed slightly. "I-it was no big deal."
BOOM!
Shadow Max erupted from the rubble of ships, floating in the air with his jetpack. "That's it! You brats are dead meat!" Several ship parts came together, forming a rifle in his hands. The Shadow unleashed a torrent of bullets down on the trio.
Gwen acted quickly, forming a pink barrier construct that shielded them from the bullets. She grunted a bit from the force of the relentless attacks, but held strong. She wasn't going to falter against her enemies this time! She won't be a burden!
Ben activated the Omnitrix, dialing up Four Arms. "Let's see what those bullets can do against Four Arms' tough skin!"
FLASH!
Cannonbolt ignored the blank stares his cousins were giving. "I'm really getting sick of this watch."
"Get to rolling, Ben!" Yukiko ordered.
"Yeah!" Cannobolt curled up, bolting around the shield and drawing the fire of Shadow Max. The Arburian Pelarota was protected by his armor from the firing rounds of the Shadow. He spun up a makeshift ramp to ram the evil entity out of the air.
"Nice try, brat!" Shadow Max dodged out of the way, then charged up a blast of blue energy to blow Cannonbolt away.
"Agidyne!" A fireball knocked the rifle out of his hands, slightly burning him. Looking down, he found Yukiko firing a strong round of fireballs right at him. Using the speed of his jetpack, the Shadow managed to outmaneuver the attacks.
Flying backwards, he unluckily found himself closed in by several pink wall constructs. He realized too late that Yukiko's attack was simply used to distract him and trap him, but what purpose were they trapping him for-
"INCOMING!" Cannonbolt smashed into him, the force of the crash breaking them through the constructs like glass. They plummeted into the ground with a loud crash, but the battle didn't stay still for long. A blue burst of energy blasted Cannonbolt through the air, allowing the Shadow to get back onto his feet.
Stretching out his arms, more ship parts merged with his body, creating something more than just a gun. Towering over the Tennysons was a 10 story tall mechanical beast, its yellow eyes glowing down at them. "You brats are dead! Just give up!"
Yukiko and Gwen braced themselves, giving the massive mecha their determined glares. "You should know by now that we're not good at giving up!" Gwen yelled. "I'm not going to be a helpless burden to my family anymore! I'm going to face every obstacle in my way alongside them!" Several pink discs were tossed at the mecha's face, forcing him to retaliate with eye beams. A quick shield construct blocked the attacks.
"Giving up would just mean running away! And I've done enough running away for a lifetime! I decided that I was going to face my future head-on with my own two hands, and it's time for you to start doing the same, Grandpa!" Yukiko declared. The heiress unleashed several fireballs at the mecha, knocking the machine back.
Cannonbolt came charging back in, bashing into one of the mecha's legs. "We're going home together, Grandpa! And you're not stopping us!" The Arburian Pelarota dodged several beams of light, spinning on his axis and propelling himself into the mecha's legs.
Max watched the battle with wide eyes, wishing nothing more than to help his kids fight this battle. There was nothing he could do to break out of these restraints, but hearing the words of his grandkids was slowly reviving the ex-plumber's spirit. All he needed to do was break out of these restraints-
"Then break out." Max gasped as a very familiar looking woman floated down next to him, giving him a teasing look. "C'mon, Max."
"Ver-"
"Nope. Just a being created from your memories of her, your actual wife is still out in the cosmos living her best life." The woman explained.
"Then why are you-"
"Talking to you?" She grinned at his irritated expression. Oh, she knew he hated being cut off like that repeatedly. "Because, I know you're stronger than this, Max. Just give a go."
"I-I can't…how am I supposed to face that?" Max asked. "I failed and failed and failed so many times. I never wanted to burden all of you with my mistakes, but each and every time, my past caught up to me and ended up hurting those I care about. It makes a guy think that everyone would've been better off without me."
"I don't think so."
"What?"
"And if you don't believe me, then those kids would certainly agree with me. The three of them came all the way down here into this mess to rescue you, because they couldn't imagine their lives without you in it." The woman moved over to him, softly cupping his face with her hand. "Yes, it's true you've made mistakes, but we all do, Max. The real me is just as much to blame for the state of our children as you are, so don't take all that blame. The Max Tennyson that I know doesn't give up when he falls down; he keeps getting back up over and over again. And that's something those grandkids of ours have inherited from you."
Somehow, Max found the strength of his restraints loosening the more he listened to her, as if her words were bringing life back into his soul. However, there was still something weighing him down to that spot. "But Marcus? I don't know if I could approach him like I did with Carl and Frank. He doesn't want me in his life anymore."
"Oh, sweetheart." Verdona sighed. "If he didn't want you in his life, then would he have really trusted his daughter's well-being to you?"
Max stared at her, mouth agape.
"He's waiting for you, Maxwell. Yukiko is just his way of holding out his hand, because he was always terrible with direct communication." She watched with pride as the fire that the real her had fallen in love with was coming back to life. Max's left arm broke free from the restraints, then his right and left legs. "Don't miss your chance, Max."
SHATTER!
"KYA!" Yukiko rolled across the ground from the shockwave. Looking up, she noticed that Gwen and Cannonbolt were trying to avoid getting blasted by the mecha, which left them open for another shockwave to send them flying back. Noticing that she was momentarily alone, the mecha gleefully raised his foot to crush her. Yukiko tried to move, but her foot was stuck under a broken piece of the floor.
"YUKIKO!" Cannonbolt and Gwen acted quickly, but they weren't going to be fast enough.
"IT'S OVER-"
"HEY, BUCKET-HEAD!"
"What-" The moment he turned his head, Mecha Max was blasted in the face with a mega beam, sending him toppling over into the broken ship parts.
The Tennyson kids stared at the downed mecha in disbelief and turned to the source of the beam. Their eyes lit up in shock and excitement at the sight of Max Tennyson standing across from them with the mega blaster he used against Vilgax. "GRANDPA!"
Max rushed over to Yukiko, helping her up off the ground. "Looks like you kids could use a hand." Cannonbolt and Gwen joined the two, crowding their grandfather with uncontrollable excitement.
"Grandpa, you're okay!" Gwen exclaimed.
"I have you kids to thank for that." Max responded.
Yukiko was utterly confused. "But how is this possible? For someone to be able to fight their own Shadow? It's unheard of!"
"That's the thing sweetheart, we Tennysons are known for doing the unheard of." Max declared with a grin.
"Where did you get that blaster?" Cannonbolt asked.
"A little help from a friend." Max answered.
RUMBLE!
The Tennysons turned to see Mecha Max stand back up, raw anger radiating off of the large machine. His anger obviously pointed more at his mirror than anyone else. "You… HOW ARE YOU STANDING HERE!?"
"On my own two feet, just like I always have! Max Tennyson doesn't stay down for long! If you don't get that, then you don't get the first thing about me!" Max answered confidently.
"T-THIS ISN'T HOW IT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE! YOU INSUFFERABLE PESTS!"
Max pointed his blaster at the mecha with his kids ready to fight. "We're not pests, we're Tennysons!" The mega blaster fired, forcing the mecha to block the attack with his arm. Max turned to Cannonbolt. "Ben, his weak point is his head! We'll give you an opening to land the finishing blow!"
"Right!" Cannonbolt curled up and bolted off to find a ramp.
"Girls, let's give him everything we've got!"
"Right!" Yukiko and Gwen joined up together, with Max constantly firing at the mecha. The monster roared at the family, releasing more and more energy in hopes of taking them down.
"Maragidyne!" Fireballs incinerated the metal, breaking down the mecha's body. "He's getting desperate!"
Gwen shot more discs, but they weren't doing much to the mecha. "How am I supposed to hurt this thing!?"
"Let me help, kiddo." Gwen felt a pair of arms touch her shoulders. She turned her head to see the woman giving her a warm smile. "Let's win this together." The woman turned to the heiress. "Yukiko, you too!"
"What are you planning?" Gwen asked as Yukiko also touched her shoulders.
The woman winked. "Just a little bit of support for ya." Her hair extended, wrapping themselves around the mecha's limbs to hold him in place. She grunted a bit, but her strength was more than enough to hold the thing. The woman nodded at Max, who understood that they were ready to go.
"BEN, NOW!" Max shouted.
Cannonbolt, who had been charging up his attack, went blasting off the ramp and towards the head of the mecha. However, their plan wouldn't be as easy as they thought. The mecha's eyes lit up with dangerous energy.
"NO! I WON'T BE BESTED BY YOU!" Mecha Max cried, his eye beams blasting against Cannonbolt's assault. As powerful as the Arburian Pelarota was, his speed and propulsion weren't going to hold up against the constant force of the eye beams.
"Ben's not going to hold up!" Yukiko exclaimed.
The woman grinned. "That's why you girls are going to be giving him your assistance. The combined power of you three will end this."
"But how…?" Gwen asked.
"What do you think? Like you've done in the past, of course!" That was when it clicked in their heads of what they had to do. Pointing her hands at Cannonbolt, Gwen felt Yukiko's power mixing in with this new mana of hers. Both of their chests were glowing blue, and so was Cannonbolt. An even stronger attack than Blue Burning was about to be born from all three of them!
Cannonbolt felt fiery hot power pulsate around his body, pushing him even further than he would've on his own. Even without seeing it, he could feel both Gwen and Yukiko giving him support and the means to end the battle. It was just like that time on the space station between himself and Yukiko. Except it'll be even stronger and much more devastating!
Born from his bonds with his cousins!
Their ultimate move!
"BURNING COMET!"
Mecha Max could only gasp as Cannonbolt utterly blew through his eye beams. Just like a meteor, the Aburian Pelarota barreled into him with the force of a thousand suns, blasting him right out of the mecha and right through the graveyard.
No…even further than that.
The attack had blasted both of them out of the dungeon all together, leaving a bright brilliant red streak in the skies.
Just like a comet.
FLASH!
Ben grinned at the defeated Shadow as they continued to float through the air. "Told ya I'd win."
Shadow Max stared at the boy for a few seconds before laughing loudly, confusing the young Tennyson in front of him. "What's so funny!?"
"Nothing. You just remind me of myself when I was younger, more hopeful and naive. Back when I wanted to live my life to the fullest." Shadow Max said, a wishful look on his face.
"You still can." Ben's words surprised him. "Your life isn't over until you've done all you can and I know there's still so much you want to do, Grandpa."
"Why are you calling me that?"
"As much as you tick me off, you're still my Grandpa. Just a twisted messed up version of him. And no matter who the person is, the hero always saves them and that's what we did!" Ben declared.
"Yes, you did save me." Shadow Max allowed himself to smile for once. For the first time since meeting the twisted persona, Ben could truly see the resemblance between Max and Shadow Max. "Too bad we're gonna hit the ground soon."
"I wouldn't count on that." Ben said as a pink platform appeared beneath them, preventing them from hitting the hard ground.
The woman smiled at the two. "Aw~! Seems you finally took that stick out of your ass." She said towards the Shadow.
"Ha ha ha." Shadow Max laughed, rolling his eyes. The woman lowered the two back down to the ground, where Ben was immediately assaulted by Yukiko, who tackled the boy to the ground.
"Oh, I'm so happy that you're okay!"
"Get off me!"
Gwen punched Ben lightly on the shoulder. "Good work, doofus."
"Well, I couldn't do it without ya." Ben said with gratitude.
Yukiko appreciated the moment between them, then turned to see the moment of truth. Her grandfather stared down at Shadow Max with a look she was all too familiar with.
Complete acceptance.
"I am you and you are me." Max began. "I think everything Yukiko said before finally makes sense. You weren't wrong when you said I've been doing nothing but running away for the past several years. Either avoiding my past as a Plumber or as a father. I owe it to my family and myself to do better-to be better. Running away doesn't solve problems, it only drags it on and creates more." Max turned to his grandkids. "But I don't have to worry about that anymore, because I'll have the support of these kids to get me through it."
Max held out his hand for his Shadow self to grasp. The dark mirror stared at his counterpart for a moment before smiling. "Seems you finally get it." He took Max's hand, signifying his acceptance of himself. The Shadow was enveloped in a bright white light before disappearing in a mess of particles that entered Max's body.
For the first time in his life, Maxwell Tennyson felt at peace.
Yukiko blinked in confusion. "Huh…this is usually the part where you get a Persona."
Max looked at himself. "I don't feel anything weird."
"Strange, maybe it's because the one who once controlled this world is no longer here. So, perhaps gaining the power of a Persona is no longer possible." Oddly enough, Yukiko didn't feel upset about that. In fact she was glad. "Maybe this'll be the last time anyone has to suffer from entering this world."
Ben walked up to Max with a bit of apprehension. "Uh, Grandpa?"
"Yeah, Ben?"
"Do…do you hate me?" Ben asked, surprising everyone.
"What?"
"It's just that your Shadow mentioned that he hated me the most, so I didn't know how to-" Ben was cut off by Max's embrace. The ex-Plumber held him close with all the love he could muster, which he quickly returned.
"I could never hate you, Ben, no matter what you do. That part of me must've been afraid that you'd grow up to make the same mistakes I did. You're a lot like me back when I was a kid." Max explained.
Ben broke the hug to look at Max. "So, we're good?"
"We're good, Ben." Max chuckled.
Yukiko quickly made her way over, placing her hands on Ben's shoulders. "And you have nothing to worry about, Ben. If it ever seems like you're walking on the wrong path, I'll be there to smack you back onto the right one!"
"You mean to push me back, right?"
"Nope!"
Gwen joined in. "Just like with that future version of you, we'll always have each other's backs. Because that's what family is for, dweeb."
"Doofus." Ben jokes back.
Max looked over to find the manifestation of his wife, but she was nowhere to be seen. Guess that meant she had vanished along with Shadow Max. The ex-Plumber looked down at his kids. "I think it's about time we got back to our trip, right?"
"Yeah!" All three cheered, excited to continue their journey with him.
"So, how do we get out of here?" Max asked, looking around.
Yukiko giggled, pointing at the TV on the ground. "That's our exit, Grandpa."
"Really? Pretty small." Max stuck his hand into it, then yelped when the TV sucked him up. His grandkids laughed at his expense.
"Seems size doesn't really matter." Gwen laughed, going through the TV next.
Ben turned to Yukiko. "Y'know, I'm kinda gonna miss this place."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I think I have a better understanding of what you guys went through last year. It must've been one heck of a journey." Ben turned to the beautiful scenery of this other world. The flowers, the blue sky, and the clear water.
"A journey that I'll treasure for the rest of my life." Yukiko smiled nostalgically at the scenery as well. "Now it's time to get back to our journey, Ben."
"Oh yeah! Still got some summer left for some butt-kicking!" Ben declared before jumping into the TV, leaving just Yukiko alone.
The heiress took one last look around to truly memorize everything in front of her. "Goodbye, TV World, thank you for everything." With her words said, Yukiko vanished from the TV World for the final time.
Sitting on top of the dungeon was the mysterious woman, smiling softly at the TV. She looked down at her hands, noticing that they were beginning to vanish as well. "Goodbye, kiddos, it was fun seeing you. And you too, Maxwell."
"I'm certain the real me will make a mess of things when she comes home, but deep in her heart, she loves you greatly."
Her body turned into a sparkle of light and vanished from the world completely.
Dungeon of Regrets - End
NOTE: I really hope you all enjoyed this original arc in Priestess 10. I know it was something different from the normal Ben 10 episodes up till now, so I hope it wasn't anything too drastic of a change. Let's talk about everything.
1. Gwen and Verdona. I will admit to giving Gwen a Shonen Protagonist power up moment right there, but I felt it connected a lot with how she was feeling at the time. I do treat her magic different from the pure mana that Anodites use and I've pretty much been building up to this since Grudge Match. The manifested Verdona didn't explain anything Gwen, because she decided to leave the rest of that up to her real self. She just decided to give Gwen a head start in tapping into her Anodite self.
2. The resolution of Shadow Max. I didn't focus too much on the battle since much of that wouldn't be too interesting, because this entire arc was meant to be character focused. Our protags all grew a bit throughout this journey, and I think that's the most important part in the end.
3. We FINALLY got a combo attack between Gwen, Yukiko, and Ben! Burning Comet just requires Cannonbolt to work along with Gwen's magic and Yukiko's fire.
4. Character designs for Ben and Gwen. Yes, for season 4 I'm going to be keeping the changes here. It's just something that I regret about not making the two change up outfits throughout the story. It's unrealistic that Yukiko wouldn't have them put on different outfits. If you're upset about the loss of Ben's iconic look, just remember that's simply wearing a hoodie over his usual outfit. It's like Omniverse, but it's not his Omniverse jacket.
Something I do want to ask you guys is if you want the Secret Saturdays chapter to be posted in this story or in TTPLs. If I post it in TTPLs, then the next chapter will be Perfect Day (The beginning of S4). If not then you'd have to wait one more chapter for S4. I'm just gonna leave it up to you guys to vote on in the Reviews.
Have a great day!
