Ultimate Fairy
Chapter 61: Crystal Philter
Part II
…
Last time on Ultimate Fairy…
"You look like you could use a little help." Vanessa said to Wendy as she was standing in front of Lucy keeping her safe from Gajeel and Vidaldus as Rex tried to fight them, but since Gajeel could eat his builds and he had no defense to sound it was not going well.
"You have Gajeel's magic right, you can eat his attacks." Wendy said as Vanessa would be able to buffer them at the very least.
"I had something else in mind." Vanessa said as a green magic circle appeared under Wendy and Rex "Laserscale has the power of enchantment so let's see what I can give you." she said having no idea what she was doing as enchantment spells required a chant and she knew none casting them blindly was not always a good thing or would often yield positive results.
Wendy's hair turned silver and her eyes gained lines going down her face and Rex's hair became red and yellow.
"Awesome, what powers did we get!?" Rex said not having as in-depth knowledge of Ben's aliens as everyone else.
"Who did I get?" Wendy asked, looking herself over not recognizing the changes to an alien she knew.
Vanessa was thinking this may have been a huge mistake.
…
'I really am gonna hate cleaning this mess up.' Brennen thought his glasses were broken as someone struck him from behind in the Weapon's District building, he could tell that there was more going on 'I need to use the prototype.' he thought to himself as he went to a secret room in the building 'Please be safe Vanessa.' he thought hoping she was using ok and safe, he opened a door and a dark purple light shined illuminating the room.
…
Rex thought he was a person capable of adaptation, one who could use his own skills and wit to overcome any challenge machines or no machines, but right now, he had zero clue what to do as Vanessa gave him and Wendy powers they had no idea how to use, the only thing he knew was that he smelled truly awful.
'C'mon what am I, what alien is silver!' Wendy thought as she thought to what aliens could this alien power she had, she dodged Gajeel's sword.
"Move groupie I just want the blonde for what she did to me!" Vidaldus said to her "Because of her I lost my mane!" he said as after his defeat he lost all his hair because of her and Juvia.
"We're not going anywhere." Rex said to her clenching his hands, not noticing them smoking.
"Vanessa, I need you to cast that spell again, but on me." Lucy said as Vanessa heeded her words and did it 'Please be something I can use!' she thought in desperation.
They all looked at Lucy and saw she gained zero traits.
'Did the spell fail?' Vanessa thought as she was not used to this particular magic.
They all were silent when they heard a rumble coming from Lucy's stomach.
'Oh no.' Lucy thought feeling a familiar hunger inside her body "Open Gate of the Ram! Aries!" she said using her key.
Everyone saw a girl with pink hair appear.
"Aries fire your wool!" Lucy rarely ever commanded her spirits, but these were special circumstances.
Aries shyly raised her hands and fired a mountain of wool.
"This is so gross!" Lucy said as green tendrils shot out her mouth and she consumed the wool.
"That's sick!" Gajeel said as even in his controlled form he could still tell that was disgusting "And not in the rock'n'roll way." he said feeling like he'd be blowing chunks.
"Yes!" Rex said feeling fire ignite his hands "I've always wanted fire power!" he said about to move only to fall face first seeing his feet were literally rooted into the ground "What alien is this!" he said feeling cheated and felt the universe was messing with him as he had the powers of his arch enemy.
"You have Swampfire and I-" Lucy was saying till she burped a blast hitting Gajeel right in his face "-have Upchuck." she said still not liking this alien.
"Great, but can someone tell me what I am!?" Wendy asked dodging magical sound waves from Vidaldus "And will you shut up with that stupid GUITAR!" she yelled in every possible and literal sense.
The sound from Vidaldus' guitar and Wendy's scream met and collided creating a shockwave of pure sound.
"Echo-Echo!" Wendy said as she looked at herself "Which means…" she said in thought as she closed her eyes and two Wendy's formed beside her, they looked at each other before running toward Vidaldus.
"Gotta love…" Wendy 1 said.
"An army…" Wendy 2 said.
"Of me!" Wendy 3 said as all three began to multiply even more.
Vidaldus didn't like his odds as he could feel the magic from all the Wendy clones "Time to use another spell!" he said about cast another 'Rock of Succubus' on Wendy, but Lucy sent her tendrils at his guitar and it became a tug of war.
"You and your bad music are done!" Lucy said with a mouthful as her tendrils kept her mouth open.
"Catch this!" Rex said forming his smack hands only they were covered in vines "Ok still weird." he said as his hands ignited "Better!" he said looking at his now flaming hands which didn't even hurt, he sent flames the heavy metal rocker's way.
"It's time to wake up!" all the Wendy's said looking at Gajeel and surrounding him "Siren's Song!" she said as instead of screaming each Wendy let out a pulse of sound that perfectly mimicked musical notes.
Gajeel felt a push with each musical note 'This…is…BEST FRIEND!' he thought recognizing the song he made and began to shake violently "THIS IS MY SONG HALF PINT, DON'T GO THINKING YOU CAN RIP ME OFF WITHOUT GIVING ME MY SHARE!" he said in anger as the pale skin went away and he soon realized what just happened 'Oh crap I'm gonna die.' he thought as he attacked Wendy one of the few people he actually liked, but most importantly, he attacked Ben's daughter, an act he was thinking was a death sentence all on its own.
Lucy managed to pull the guitar to her and she ate it 'Never again!' she thought as she digested the guitar and focused on regurgitating what she ate but instead it became a massive burp blast sending Vidaldus' into a wall.
'And I thought what came out of Bobo was rank!' Rex thought as her burp was seriously powerful, he sent his flaming fist at Vidaldus sending him through the wall, he was being forced against.
Vidaldus felt much pain, but none more so than seeing his mane being blasted off him by sheer force of Lucy's burp and to add to his horror burned by Rex's flaming fists.
…
"You've improved." Erza said as she and Ikaruga had their fair share of cuts.
"Our first battle was a wake up call I needed to improve, I have trained day and night for our rematch." Ikaruga said as she had been trying to close the gap.
Erza didn't like her, but she could respect her dedication. 'I hate to use a gift.' she thought as she requipped Ben's sword, she unraveled it showing a simple blade, but it was elegant in its own way, the sword was based off of both Ascalon and…Vilgax's sword, both swords were marvels to her and inspired her to create something new, but she felt Ben could use this sword more than she could as it'd be a way he could protect himself, the sword, it looked to be a broad sword made of a material that is both metal and crystal or even a type of stone, it was a greenish teal color.
Ikaruga saw the sword as a dangerous weapon as it looked blunt, but in an instant, she saw a razor's edge on it "What is that sword?" she asked Erza not thinking that was a normal weapon by any means.
"This is not a sword." Erza said plainly and to prove her point the 'sword' glowed before it compressed and became a spear. "This weapon is magically enchanted to adapt, I have made it from various minerals to combat magic power." she said as after her S-class mission with Ben to the volcano, she had some of those minerals collected, along with ethernano, and other materials from her S-class missions and even some materials Ben's transformations left something behind.
Ikaruga was amazed as this weapon was made for pure adaptation, never meant to just be one thing.
Erza made it take the form of Ascalon and readied herself as both women clashed violently, literal ripples of shockwaves happening each time they collided.
…
"What happened to you?" Lucy asked Gray as he was dripping from head to toe.
"Do not ask!" Carla said, shivering in disgust as Natsu was able to free them from the owl man's stomach and beat him thoroughly.
"Are all these morons here!" Gray asked seeing the wannabe rebel rocker "What happened to you?" he asked seeing Gajeel.
"Free makeover." Gajeel said, kinda liking the look from a rocker's perspective 'I still prefer my suit.' he thought to himself liking to be well-dressed.
"If no one is objecting I may have an idea on what to do." Vanessa said as this was kinda fun, she was starting to see the appeal of being an active mage "Ben and Erza are fighting separate battles and Ben is on his own against Hex." she said seeing them all become surprised as they recognized the name.
"We'll go help Ben." Natsu said a little tired as the birdman really stepped up his game and thanks to Carla's wings he was more evasive with the jetpack so he used his fire to give him some thrust for Happy and himself to catch up "Erza's battling a swordswoman right?" he asked getting a nod from Vanessa "Than she's fine." he said as Erza could never lose in a battle of swordsmanship.
They all agreed and went to Ben's location.
"I can take you there now Natsu, but I only have enough magic for one jump with a passenger." Vanessa said as Laserscale's powers were draining.
Natsu nodded as she teleported him, Happy who was still on his back fell to the ground thinking he could catch a ride.
…
"I can keep this up all day, morons!" Ultimate Water Hazard said blasting them with torrents of water from his pincer like hands 'But maybe he can to.' he thought as it was concerning that Joe was still going hot, his Omnitrix warning him about the fluctuating radiation levels 'Must be muscle memory.' he thought to himself wondering if magic remembered the feeling of NRG he got when they last met making him able to mimic the power.
"So can we Tennyson, the boss is paying us to eliminate you and it's gonna be great!" Joe said happily as he flared up.
John was in full agreement but felt something was wrong with him as he felt like he was burning up inside he began to slow down and soon stopped firing altogether and dropped to his knee.
Ultimate Water Hazard saw John drop to his knee and so did Joe.
"Get up what's wrong with you!" Joe said as he kept firing at Tennyson.
"I don't…" John was saying struggling to breathe and beginning to cough out blood.
'Is he!?' Ultimate Water Hazard thought as it was something he feared happening to Natsu after he consumed and was able to still use NRG's power, the fate that awaited all people exposed to copious amounts of radiation.
"John what's wrong with you!" Joe said looking him over not seeing any wounds.
"He's dying." Ultimate Water Hazard said to him simply stopping his torrent "You used my power without knowing the dangers." he said as it was why he kept track of Natsu so much after their battle with Laxus and the event with Nirvana "You've been using that power to fight and make things easier, but your brother is dying now as a result." he said as that was the simple truth as he saw John was a bit pale and had a bloody nose he showed signs of radiation poisoning.
Joe looked to his brother in worry "Fix him, this is your power do it!" he said as Ben had to have a cure.
"I can't." Ultimate Water Hazard said as these two were his enemies near the beginning of his mage career the time they spent together with Joe using that power was beyond him, he saw Joe didn't like his answer as things were getting hotter.
…
"Everyone back!" Natsu said as he felt something familiar hit his skin and no sooner did he say that, all the Plumber Badges had turned red.
"Natsu, this is radiation, the one that made you sick." Wendy said, wondering if this was her dad's.
"So we can't even get to Ben now?" Gray asked in annoyance as he had seen the damage done to Natsu radiation was no joke.
"I can still go." Natsu said as his Atomic Flame Dragon mode would allow him to get close.
"Me too." Wendy said knowing how to heal from this.
"You ain't leaving me behind my Iron Scales are shield enough." Gajeel said and thought his Iron Nightmare Dragon could shield him as well as it had its own radiation.
All three went forward to get to Ben.
"You ever find it weird those three are so close to Ben, it's like nothing keeps them apart." Lucy said offhandedly.
"Those three have bonded almost as close to Ben as Erza has, he earned their loyalty and respect and they'll risk their lives for him." Gray said as the time Ben spent with the Dragon Slayers was beyond special it transcended words.
"La familia." Rex said to them "They are his family, I know that's what Fairy Tail is all about, but those guys are more family than we realize." he said as Wendy flocked to Ben as a parent, Natsu and Gajeel treated him like a brother more than a friend as one could see the subtle differences with how they acted with Ben than with others.
No one could say anything about that as they knew Rex was right as Ben somehow charmed his way into the Dragon Slayers lives becoming very dear to them.
…
"What's going on!" Natsu asked Ben as he changed to Argtiguana as the very grass was dying from the heat.
"The brother is going nuclear, his brother is dying because of radiation poisoning." Artiguana said firing as much of his icy breath as the ground was becoming lava.
"Where is he!?" Wendy asked him looking around as Artiguana pointed at Joe as he was still blasting, not knowing where he went.
"YOU KILLED MY BROTHER TENNYSON, YOU DID THIS!" Joe screamed as his anger just made it hotter "I WILL KILL YOU DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!" he roared out in rage.
"Natsu you need to eat all of this, you're immune to this form of radiation!" Artiguana said as he ran toward Joe and blasted him from the side.
"I can help gather it all around Joe!" Wendy said as she knew what she was looking for in the wind and channeled it all to be around Joe.
Natsu began slurping up the radiation and fire and heat from the lava cooling it all down.
"My power, it's gone!" Joe said before Artiguana punched him in the face knocking him out.
"Wendy." Artiguana said, pointing at John as she got to work healing him.
…
"Don't these idiots have bounties on them?" Gray asked as he was sure the brothers did as they were in prison and had to have broken out and the Trinity Raven team was a possibility as well.
"I say we cash them all in, there is a council bounty office not far from here." Gajeel said while never been to Honeysuckle he has been around the area.
"Is my brother ok?" Joe asked Wendy as while restrained, he was still close to see her heal his brother.
Wendy shook her head "He's in a coma." she said as he was unresponsive for quite some time and she wasn't sure he would be the same as his healing was taking much longer than what she did for Brain and Natsu.
Joe looked at John in sadness, then at Ben "This is your fault!" he said angrily blaming Ben for his brother's condition.
Ben wasn't phased by the accusation "No, it's not." he said to him seeing the surprise on his face "You did, you used that power just for the sake of it, power is not a toy, but all you did was abuse it." he said as it was one of the many reasons he refrained from using NRG as his radiation could kill someone from prolonged exposure "Why'd you use it, a little extra power or just for the hell of it, Natsu uses it as a last resort, but you, I bet all you did was play with it like a child, like some idiot who didn't know or care about the dangers his powers have to those he used it on, but guess what, karma decided to collect its debt and it's your brother that paid the price." he said as this was Joe's burden to carry not his.
Joe glared at him hatefully at his remark.
"Think on it while you rot in a cell." Ben said to him as Rex agreed he would be taking the group to collect their bounties.
"You beat Hex's goons, but where is Hex?" Vanessa asked him curiously.
Vanessa Master's got her question answered in the form of pink chains wrapping around her neck and limbs forcing her to the ground.
Before anyone else could do anything they were also wrapped in chains and forced down.
"Finally those fools may not have defeated you, but you are all weak enough for me to trap." Hex said as he appeared out of thin air, he lowered his staff under Ben's chin "Finally, where you belong Tennyson, at the foot of your betters." he said seeing Ben's eyes spark up "Ah ah ah, don't want to lose control." he said surprising Ben.
"How?" Ben asked him, wondering how he knew about that.
"You use one spell and change back all flash and no substance." Hex said as he found it odd Ben only summoned rock creatures and changed back to himself "All that power and you can't even use it properly pathetic!" he said smacking Ben's head with his staff "Once I came what I get for, I will finally rid ALL worlds of Ben Tennyson." he said walking to Vanessa.
Wendy glared at the man 'Focus.' she thought, focusing her breathing and her own mana.
Hex walked to Vanessa and pointed his staff at her, the eyes glowed yellow and he lowered it stopping at her stomach.
Everyone was curious as to why he stopped, but soon got their answer when they heard a heartbeat.
'Wait!' the Dragon Slayers thought hearing the rhythm of it more closely and even Hex heard what they heard.
"A second heartbeat, you're pregnant?" Hex asked in surprise.
Vanessa looked away as many eyes were on her when her private business was announced.
"Give me the book and I will spare you and your spawn." Hex said to her as he had never murdered a pregnant woman, but he had crossed many lines up until this point.
Ben sent Wendy a knowing look that screamed 'Hurry!' as he knew what she was doing, he also sent a look to Vanessa as she caught on.
"Eradico!" Wendy said as the tips of her hair extended into mana and hit her bindings "Meus Manus Manus!" she said summoning the Staff of Ages to her.
"My staff!" Hex said angrily as the staff was in the sky maiden's hands.
"How many spells did you learn?" Ben asked feeling a little in the dust compared to her skill with spells.
"I learned chants for my magic when I was four, learning this was easy." Wendy said as remembering the spells was easy as her mother often taught her ways to remember the lines she was learning for her magic.
'Gwen would love her.' Ben thought to himself as his cousin would love his daughter.
Wendy felt something from the staff as it didn't feel evil, but it didn't feel good either "Tempestus Impetus!" she said as black clouds formed in the sky and lightning struck Hex.
In the distance a still paralyzed Pantherlily began to quiver in fear hearing lightning.
"No, I refuse to lose to a child, especially a Tennyson child!" Hex said as losing to Ben and Gwen individually as children was a strike to his pride, to lose to one of their spawn would bring him endless shame.
"Don't mess with the Tennyson family." Wendy said mockingly "Tempestas serrectum!" she said, sending a blast of wind at him sending him flying back.
"That was awesome!" Ben said as he had never been so proud of anyone in his entire life.
Wendy smiled happily.
"You gonna keep that?" Ben asked, looking at the Staff of Ages 'That staff can only be wielded by a master magician.' he thought keeping that to himself for the moment.
"Yeah." Wendy said as it felt similar to her bracelets in a way.
"No, because it will return to its rightful master!" Hex said summoning the staff only for Wendy to do the same and Ben assisting her.
The tug of war ended with the staff flying to Wendy.
Hex gritted his teeth "I will get my staff back!" he said before he cried out in pain as a sword struck his back.
"Brennen." Vanessa said in delight seeing her beloved 'assistant' here.
"How about you leave?" Brennen said wearing a slim set of battle-like armor, much like what a knight would wear. However, it looked far more mechanized to its design than what one would expect. It wasn't necessarily a full body set. The garment that would cover the upper body was dark purple, with bright purple accents. The front consisted of dark purple armor that shielded collar bone down towards the diaphragm, leaving the abdomen open. In the dead center of it was a massive V-shaped cross with bright purple triangular tips. At the base was a fist-sized bright blue core in the shape of a diamond. Attached by heavily durable joints were four sets of vent-like wings; two overlapping each other on either side. They were sharp-edged, with bright purple accents over their dark shading. The shading was concealed in silver armor to make the structure of the wings impenetrable. The pauldrons were where the shoulders were, and the armor that covered the arms was smooth and slender, with silver V-shaped accents where the wrists were. There were black gauntlets that guarded knuckles to reinforce punches.
The lower half didn't have anything surrounding the groin area, aside from the dark purple pauldrons that shielded the thighs. Unlike the arms, the legs had a little thicker armor to it. It was almost rectangular, shaped, with bright purple accents along the front and sides, doubled with silver bases along the sides, with more vents to them. If one looked behind, they could see there was indeed something that connected the upper and lower halves, and that was the spinal region. It was dark purple and smooth, curving slightly inwards to fit and fix out spines. This moved to a long tail-like appendage with a V-shaped spear at the end, which was bright purple with a smaller silver V fitting inside. The cleats attached to the legs had similar silver V-shapes on them as well.
'Erza would kill for that.' Everyone thought in unison as the armor was simply built for combat there was no other way to describe it.
Brennen moved at incredible speeds not only striking Hex with his sword but delivering well aimed punches to his person, he gave Hex another strike to his back making shout out in pain.
"Even the help!" Hex said as his back had a very painful wounds "I hate you!" he said looking at Ben knowing he was the cause of all his misfortune.
"Feeling is very entirely mutual!" Ben shouted, readying the Omnitrix.
Ben, Wendy, and Brennen surrounded Hex.
"You've lost Hex, you lost the minute you thought you could beat us." Ben said turing into Heatblast "You've never beaten me and it'll always stay that way." he said to him as Hex was not someone he'd lose to.
"You think your power makes you special, well let me open your eyes to the truth, our power is only special with how we use it and you use it poorly." Brennen said to him raising his sword.
"My dad told me how pathetic you are, but this was sad, you act like a temper tantrum toddler and I'm more mature than you, a girl who's twelve." Wendy said to him in all seriousness "But you just think taking will be the answer for you, you think all this death and murder will make you strong, let me spell it out for you Hex, we're strong because we earned and worked for our strength, all you've done is take it because deep down…you know how weak you are." she said getting many looks from people.
Heatblast was so proud and impressed he thought he might cry tears of lava.
Hex roared in rage, seething with anger being talked down to by a child "You will all pay for this, do you hear me!" he said angrily.
"Oh yeah, I hear you but do you hear this!" Heatblast said holding up a book.
"The book!" Hex said seeing it smoke and burned to ash in an instant from Heatblast's hot hands "I will destroy you!" he said to him as his hands glowed brightly.
"That's what they always say." Heatblast said not taking the threat very seriously.
"We shall finish this now Tennyson-!?" Hex was saying till he received another slash to the back and looked to see Erza, he yelled in pain and rage as he vanished.
'That's my girl.' Heatblast thought with a smile glad Erza was able to get a good hit on Hex, he saw her dragging Ikaruga both covered in slashes, but the winner was obvious between them, he changed back becoming his normal self again.
"Hey, what was that book you burned?" Gray asked him curiously looking at the ashes of said book.
"Venessa's book." Ben said nonchalantly.
"The company book!?" Brennen asked in shock as the book held much of their work to hear it was gone was much to handle.
"Only the cover Brennen." Vanessa said as she showed him pages to a book that had no cover "Last night Ben had an idea about Hex knowing what the book looked like, so I held onto the original pages while also having the cover with fake pages." she said to him.
"What if he still stole the book?" Wendy asked as Vanessa smiled.
"Your father actually had a joke in store for that scenario, it was filled with failed notes and experiments, if Hex got it he'd be none the wiser." Vanessa said as she held onto her failed experimental notes as a reminder of how she could improve or do better.
"If the villain thinks what he wants is destroyed, he'll just hate us all the more while shouting and raving something about vengeance." Ben said as while he would've liked to capture Hex, it was a good constellation prize that he wouldn't harm Vanessa and Brennen again.
"All we need to do is clean up." Brennen said as while the Districts were all untouched by the battles the estate lost a lot of its greenery.
"You know, I think this is our least wrecked job." Lucy said as she looked around and saw no buildings were wrecked.
Everyone had to admit she made a point.
"You all saved my estate and my business, thank you." Vanessa said, doing a curtsy.
"You helped to Vanessa." Wendy said to her with a smile getting one in return "So what are you gonna name the baby?" she asked her curiously, the woman blushing at the innocent yet revealing question.
"Baby!?" Brennen asked in shock, before looking at Vanessa as she placed a hand on her stomach gently his mind going into overdrive and his face burned up before he fainted.
…
The group had stayed in town to assist with the damages and repairs, Wendy restoring most of the greenery with her mana as a way to apologize to Vanessa for revealing her pregnancy, but Vanessa waved it off.
"Sweetie if it wasn't you the men would've said something." Vanessa said as men ran their mouths in the company of their fellow 'bros' 'And they say women gossip.' she thought it was true, but it was an unfair stereotype when they did the same "Now at my wedding you are my flower girl." she said as Wendy was too adorable and would be perfect for the job "You hoping to catch my bouquet?" she asked Erza, seeing her blush as hard as Brennen did earlier, as catching the bouquet meant they were to go down the aisle next.
Erza left looking for Ben and soon found him leaning against a wall "Are you alright?" she asked thinking he'd be a little happier given he foiled and beat Hex.
"Just something Hex said that caught me off guard, he isn't the only enemy of mine that's here." Ben said as his mind went to Zs'Skayr "Zs'Skayr is definetely worse than Hex." he said as it wasn't even a comparison really as Zs'Skayr did not value life only consuming it, he turned an entire planet into Ectonurites, and tried to irradiate Earth with corrodium, and those were all things that were beyond Hex's reach.
"Are you wondering about your recent mission with Wendy and Gajeel?" Erza asked as she remembered fighting the entrapment version of Ben's alien and the memory of him, he was a monster worthy of being in the league of creatures from the book of Zeref.
"Yeah, but Zs'Skayr wasn't involved with that, which makes me worried for what he will do and where he is." Ben said as that was the real question 'Especially when he can feed off mana.' he thought as Hex blindsided him with that tidbit of information.
…
"Why am I not in tighter restraints." Ikaruga asked Rex as he was transporting her team to a bounty office.
"You seem less likely to cause the most trouble." Rex said to her as he was keeping his eye on her the most as she reminded him of Six in a way, she was an odd dresser, but she was like him in many ways.
"You are odd." Ikaruga said as he seemed too lax and use to the presence of people of danger.
Rex laughed at that "I've been called worse." he said to her "And the man who trained me is the deadliest man with a sword, he has no equal." he said as while Six may have been named the sixth deadliest person on the planet, he was the best no matter what anyone said to him, everyone who said otherwise was an idiot and a madman if they thought they were better than Six.
Ikaruga listened and heard the steel in his words 'He knows Titania and he still says that.' she thought not sure if the person he held was honestly that good or if he had such a high opinion the man it was pointless to argue with his unshakable resolve on his way of thinking.
"So why did you become an assassin?" Rex asked curiously as he knew a bit of why Six did it and he couldn't judge her knowing Six had much history.
"I was an orphan, I learned the way of the sword as an elderly man took pity on me, he taught me day in and day out how to properly wield the blade and to fight, I became a sellsword a person who is hired for money." Ikaruga said to him "I had no reservations of killing those who deserved it and was later labeled a dark mage." she said as being a dark mage took less than people thought as killing just the wrong person even in the right didn't stop those in power from abusing it "I later fell into dark circles, but they were better than what I often experienced and what some people were." she said as Zeref worshippers weren't the most evil things on the planet, there were much darker and worse things.
Rex nodded listening intently seeing she was a product of her upbringing and had little else she could do in her position 'Six would like her.' he thought suppressing a chuckle at the thought of Six liking someone "I didn't have much to my name at a lot of periods in my life." he said as he remembered all the things in his life, especially every time he 'reset' and didn't remember anything, he lived on the streets and did things he saw as deplorable now, but he knew in each memory that he did it for the sake of survival.
"You know what it's like don't you." Ikaruga said not needing an answer as she finally understood he was a survivor like herself.
Rex nodded as there wasn't much else that needed to be said as both had a better understanding of the other.
…
"I really need to start picking my associates more carefully." Zs'Skayr said looking at one or was it two of his former subordinates in the form of Anubis, he was currently trapped by a light unable to move his own shadow keeping him from feeling more pain as he was unable to move or faze in the state of pain he was in.
"We-I apologize my lord." Anubis said to him sadly.
Zs'Skayr felt slight concern knowing of his subordinate(s) loyalty to him wondering what or who was preventing him from assisting 'Hex is feeble compared to me.' he thought to himself wondering who was keeping him like this as he remembered reforming somewhere outside of a town after Ghostfreak suffered some damage in edolas, but after the return Anima it was all a blur until he saw Hex and woke up here.
Zs'Skayr was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of boots clicking on the wooden floor.
"You are the one they call Zs'Skayr?" an elder man said looking down at him.
"No." Zs'Skayr said sarcastically, screaming as the light intensified "Yes!" he answered quickly.
"We have a use for you." the man said to him.
"Why would I ever help you?" Zs'Skayr asked, knowing Anubis would have possibly ratted him out to whomever this man is so his normal tricks were out the window.
"Because I am willing to make your biggest fear go away." the elder man said to him.
"I fear nothing!" Zs'Skayr said as he was fear, the very emotion bent to his will as he struck terror in his enemies.
"Ben Tennyson." The man said to him seeing the specter glare at him in anger, "I am willing to remove him from your afterlife, in exchange for a few things." he said to him.
"What things?" Zs'Skayr asked as this man was not unlike Vilgax when he freed him from prison many years ago, but the difference was he had no idea what this man wanted on Ben.
"Your former subordinate has given me much information, but he informs me you have more intimate knowledge with Ben Tennyson." the man said leaving the subject open wanting him to tell him everything relevant.
Zs'Skayr angrily complied.
"I have taken precautions to not allow you to absorb or infect my ship parasite." the man said well aware of his powers to enter a person and turn them into one of him "And I require something else of you." he said as he had a tray of surgical tools one would think were for butchery, the man soon had melon baller in his hand and gripped the mouthpiece of Zs'Skayr's upside down skull and soon cries of agony were heard.
Anubis' fur was standing on end as this was beyond savagery even by his killer standards 'I didn't know ectonurites could bleed.' he thought as purple blood stained Zs'Skayr's skull.
…
The Ultimate team left Honeysuckle making a proper farewell to Vanessa and Brennen, getting invited to their wedding in a few months.
They went to the nearest train station and took the train to Magnolia hearing some complaints from some of the group wanting to fly as Laserscale.
They rode the train feeling they achieved a great victory, especially Wendy as she had Hex's staff.
'He was always going to lose it.' Ben thought as he didn't know the details, but he remembered when he and Gwen met his future self or one of them in cross-time when they were kids, but he remembered Gwen's future self having the Staff of Ages, meaning that Hex lost his staff a lot.
Ben saw that his friends had grown much in their challenges and involvement in their lives, they overcame everything that came their way and it was a privilege to watch them succeed. 'Just one more challenge for us all.' he thought as he knew what was coming soon.
…
Makarov read Vanessa's letter that Erza delivered as the request was done in a spectacular fashion and even then Ben and his team turned into two separate groups, the money being split between those who fought the people in question.
The door to the office opened and soon Mira and Gildarts walked in.
"Do you have your nominees?" Makarov asked them as he valued the opinions of his S-class wizards.
"I nominate Natsu." Gildarts said proudly as Natsu was like a son to him and he saw he had done much growing in their time apart.
"I nominate Elfman." Mira said, getting some surprised looks ``He's been training and dedicating his time to improving his full body take overs and after what happened with Phantom, he overcame his fear and doubt." she said as Elfman earned this chance in her books for his effort alone.
"Wendy Tennyson." Erza said getting some surprised looks for many reasons "Wendy has shown much capability in these recent missions and Mira and I weren't much older when we became S-class, I believe Wendy has more than earned the chance to fight." she said to the group no one able to argue.
"My recommendation is Ben." Makarov said as he could tell they all saw that coming "I and Mystogan believed in his skill and talent for S-class, but he also displayed many talents worthy of being a leader or even a guild master." he said as that got a response.
"You'd name the kid heir?" Gildarts asked as that was a tall order as Makarov held so few people in that high of a regard.
"He has shown he is both worthy and of sound mind and judgment." Makarov said as no one argued any further "Now for the four other slots." he said showing a list of people that qualified.
"Freed kept his own with me during the Fantasia Parade." Mira said as that was not an easy feat even if she was rusty.
"Juvia has shown incredible power and strength, but I feel this competition may push her further." Erza said as she had worked with Juvia on a few missions as she was an unofficial member of the Ultimate Team.
"Cana is a veteran candidate right, she has the skill and ability for S-class." Gildarts said seeing some potential in the card user as she was quick to adapt in battles.
"I believe the final slot should go to Levy." Makarov said as the girl had unparalleled knowledge even rivaling his own and knowledge was a powerful tool.
All eight participants were chosen now all that was needed was to announce them.
…
Gray didn't need to look into the future as Cana did to know after the Daphne thing he sabotaged his chances for S-class after what Daphne did to Ben, the master called the candidates and his name was not among them, he was sure he wasn't the only one who saw it coming, he looked to the group seeing them deciding on partners.
"What!?" Carla said loudly as she asked Wendy about what they would do for the S-class trials and learned then that she had picked a partner that wasn't her.
"Sorry Carla, I kinda asked Pantherlily." Wendy said unknowingly rubbing salt in the wounds of her roommate Gajeel and Carla
'Even Lily is going!' Gajeel thought in betrayal as his partner succumbed to the puppy eyes Wendy had 'The squirt.' he thought looking to Levy.
Pantherlily was delighted to answer the polite young maiden's request as she even gave him a strategic answer which impressed him 'She wanted a partner who she was familiar with.' he thought as he saw how she listened to Natsu think it could be a race which was likely given the test may have had a quick elimination portion or work to Wendy's weakness in pure combat, he was happy to know she saw him as strong enough to combat her physical strength weakness and still wanted the ability of flight Exceed's had.
"You game to be my partner?" Ben asked Rex curiously.
"I'm game." Rex said thinking this could be fun.
Juvia sadly decided against dropping out due to Lisanna convincing her to go.
'Damn lot of tough opponents.' Elfman thought as he knew he could keep up with Natsu in a physical brawl as his muscles weren't for show and some of his recent take overs offered him more than physical abilities 'If I face Ben though, I'm screwed.' he thought as Ben helped him get all of his new forms and he knew the best ways to combat them.
Freed saw his fellow competitors and thought this would be a true test of his skills, he looked to Natsu and Ben two of the people that stood to Laxus on equal footing, something he could never have imagined, but they were more than his opponents they were his goal, as to be able to fight them meant he could battle with Laxus as an equal.
…
Makarov was visiting the guild library as it had the lights still on and instead of Levy, he found Wendy sleeping on the table 'What is she reading?' he thought taking a look at a random book she had near her 'Bo staff martial arts?' he thought then remembering Wendy came back with a staff from her last mission 'Using a magical tool as a weapon, creative.' he thought as there were few staff wielders, even his cane could qualify given his height 'What else have you been reading?' he thought seeing Wendy was looking into the guild's founding history 'Smart girl.' he thought as Levy was looking for books on Tenrou Island earlier, but there was not much info on it or so much it was hard to make heads or tails, but the guild founding record was a smart choice to look through, he was impressed that despite Ben being one of her possible many opponents, she was still going to try her hardest.
…
"So are you going to do some training?" Rex asked Ben curiously seeing he was in deep thought.
Ben had been thinking about the test and given his guild's erratic behavior it could have been anything, but the master was easier to read than he thought "I think I have an idea." he said to him "Chance." he said to him.
"It's gonna be a toss up?" Rex asked as that made sense that the exam was a game of chance as the master liked chance with how much he gambled and how missions themselves were a gamble.
"We're taking a boat so flying could be to our advantage." Ben said as the distance from the boat to the island could be part of the test.
"What if we use something else?" Rex asked him as Ben gave him a look "Why not the water, my wings are able to work underwater and Juvia is the only water user." he said to him.
"I can dial in Jetray." Ben said as Jetray works in both sky and water so he could choose between them.
"How do you think the S-class wizards play a roll?" Rex asked as Erza had left with the others a while ago.
"Two choices really, they are either meant to stall us or we have to battle them individually." Ben said to him as Rex agreed with that assessment.
"So possible race and combat test." Rex said to him "Totally a game of chance." he said as there were eight teams in all "Hey my math isn't adding up right, a possible race and three S-class wizards, do we have to fight each other cause I'm not sure with uneven numbers." he said as with three S-class that meant three teams battling leaving five groups alone, if they were pitted against each other there would be one team safe.
"Might be the lucky draw." Ben said as the master possibly had something special in store for that last group, it could've been something pleasant or something horrible.
"So there is a chance of something good or bad." Rex said as he had experienced the luck of the draw many times with Six as sometimes during training he gave him a chance to see if he could do something or if he'd back out.
"Yep, plus I have been training Erza gave me this." Ben said showing him an armband on his right hand that morphed into some nunchucks "It's a weapon that can become anything based on the user, I can make it turn into anything." he said as he had been attempting to link with it so it would know what he wanted and so far it was meeting his every expectation.
Rex chuckled as he saw few ways for Ben to fail this exam compared to the others "So how's Wendy?" he asked wondering how he was coping with the fact he'd have to possibly face his own daughter.
"We talked in private yesterday, we decided not to hold back against the other and to do our best." Ben said as he would love it if he lost to Wendy as she would've earned it on her own merits.
"What if she asks for your help?" Rex asked wondering as he was not against Ben helping her train as both still studied the mana spells together.
"I'd give it to her and one thing is for sure, Wendy is picking up mana fast." Ben said to him as he meant training, not in the actual test.
"How's your anodite form coming along?" Rex asked him curiously.
"Would you believe terrible, after what happened in Edolas I'm generating more power and don't have much control." Ben said as it was only safe to do one spell as he felt this heavy weight whenever he tried to do more "Plus I'm in this hybrid mode of human and anodite." he said as he kept his skin thankfully and didn't lose it or his clothing.
"So you still run the risk of losing control?" Rex asked him wondering how that'd turn out as Ben said anodites were not creatures to overlook and if Ben was concerned it was serious.
"Yeah." Ben said as he had seen Gwen reach the point of risking it all, but he wasn't sure he could take the risk of just abandoning everything that made him…him, it was why he fought so hard to not use mana in Edolas in his altered state he was a live bomb.
"Why don't we work on that." Rex said to him "Let's see how you can deal with anodite stuff, I mean what can full anodites do?" he asked him curiously.
"Fly for one thing." Ben said as Gwen used platforms to walk on or to raise herself off the ground or use a bubble for transport.
"That seems like a cool power to have given regular people can't fly." Rex said to him as he could always fly or needed an assist in certain circumstances.
Ben raised his hand and saw it turn purple "Might be different for me though." he said as anodites were pure energy, he still felt his flash and blood, this between state may have less risks, but not many advantages.
"You said your cousin has these powers too right and your grandma?" Rex asked remembering Ben telling him some things "Well try to do something they have done or maybe try to do something halfway." he said to him as if Ben wasn't going full anodite he should work with what he knew.
Ben made a platform right next to him, but unlike Gwen's it wasn't solid and it was moving, he hopped onto it and gained his balance quickly.
"Are you trying to copy my Sky Slider?" Rex asked jokingly.
"No, I actually have a hoverboard back home." Ben said as it was odd how the platform felt like his hoverboard.
"Seriously the tech your world has sounds incredible." Rex said as his brother would lose his mind.
"C'mon let's see what I can do." Ben said as he was going to take it slow.
…
Wendy was once again in the guild library doing some study "You do realize you have been standing there for twenty minutes right?" She said not needing to use her other senses as her sense of smell was picking up the strongest scent of booze which could only belong to one person.
Cana decided to sit on the chair on the opposite side of the table "Can I ask you something?" she asked her, getting a nod "Are you scared about fighting Ben or losing the S-class trials?" she asked her curiously.
"No." Wendy said not needing time to think of her answer "I can only do my best and he knows that's all I can do and all he can ask for." she said as Ben wanted her to try her best as winning and losing didn't matter as long as she tried her best "It isn't failure if you learn something, if I fail I'll try again next year and I'll keep trying, because I refuse to just do nothing and give up." she said as she had been a girl who cried much of her life, that was not someone she wanted to be again, so no matter how much it hurt or how much she had to do, she would no longer be the girl who can barely act.
Cana felt envious of Wendy now more than ever as this girl was everything she wasn't and wanted to be and had a relationship with a man whom she called her father 'Am I even competition?' she thought in wonder as Ben had defeated her father, Levy had a Dragon Slayer on par with Natsu as a partner, Juvia was a mage capable of changing the weather, Natsu by himself was a one man army, Elfman someone she thought she was on par with improved drastically in the previous months, and Freed went on S-class missions with Laxus, she was lacking in comparison to her opponents.
"Try harder." Wendy said to her, "You want to win so badly that's fine." she said to her "But you've taken this test more than anyone, you have an advantage using what you know to fight or win S-class." she said to her as this was where he helped ended "If we face each other I won't hold back or stand for you quitting, you are part of Fairy Tail, we don't quit before the job even starts!" she said to her as she was finished with her reading and left.
Cana felt truly ashamed as she was just humbled by a little girl who was new to the guild, but clearly understood it better than she ever did 'Use what I know.' she thought about her past with the trials, and she wrote down everything she could remember in the past tests. "I still need a partner.' she thought to herself as Wendy sparked something in her, she thought of all the available mages and some that could help her stand up to the competition and one person came to mind.
…
'Who the hell knocks on my door at this hour.' Gray thought as it was the middle of the night 'I swear don't let it be-' he was thinking about Erza, but remembered she wasn't in Magnolia 'Who knows where I live?' he thought to himself as he slowly opened the door and saw Carla and someone else.
"Hello Mr Fullbuster, gumball?" Professor Paradox asked.
"Sorry I don't accept candy from strangers something all little kids should know." Gray said as this man seemed a bit crazy, the man didn't even seem offended.
"Gray, we need your help." Carla said to her "Something very bad is going to happen." she said as she was getting visions again, but before she could tell Ben, she met this man.
…
"This is your idea, this is dumber than one of my plans." Kevin said to Azmuth as he was helping him do something that could possibly find Ben "This guy wants Ben DEAD." he said putting heavy emphasis on 'dead'.
"But he will want something for his freedom and he benefits from this as well." Azmuth said as they were in the Null Void and went to a more archaic cell as it was gear operated as opposed to advanced tech and as they walked in they saw a familiar face.
"Ra'ad?" Kevin said in surprise seeing the alien again never expecting to meet him here of all places.
"Levin." Ra'ad said neutrally as Kevin was a mutual acquaintance at best as he humbled him and did have thoughts of surrendering him to Aggregor when they first met.
"Why is he here?" Kevin asked him curiously.
"He hired me to restore this creature's mind." Ra'ad said to him as he pointed at the stone "I did this to help Ben if there is anything you need please don't be shy." he said as he owed Ben his life especially after he himself tried to snuff out Ben's trying to hide from Aggregor.
"Thank you Ra'ad, your assistance has been extremely helpful." Azmuth said as he'd never let Ben know this, but he often made contact with certain species he had saved as Ben was a good judge of character despite his own having a few kinks here and there, he took out a remote and Ra'ad was sent back to his galaxy.
"Kevin Ethan Levin and Azmuth greatest thinker in five galaxies." the prisoner said to them.
"Let us skip the introductions, Dr. Viktor, we need your assistance, we didn't restore your mind for nothing." Azmuth said to him as Ra'ad restored the mind of one Dr. Viktor.
"I still don't see how he can help us." Kevin said to Azmuth.
"Dimensional frequency attunement few aliens in the galaxy have it." Dr. Viktor said to him seeing his confusion "Certain alien species can feel and detect certain forces." he said to him.
"It's like how certain humans can feel certain injuries when it rains, like Max's leg used to lock up." Azmuth said having long since healed the injury with Galvan science "Aliens species with varying types of electrokinesis can sometimes feel shifts or something approaching." he said as it was a rare gift even amongst the electric species.
"And there isn't anyone else we can use?" Kevin asked him curiously.
"No, I've made certain arrangements, Dr. Viktor will be free to go once he's completed his end of the arrangement." Azmuth said taking his remote out and teleporting them to Galvin Prime where a security team was waiting.
"I am willing to keep my end Azmuth it benefits me more." Dr. Viktor said to him.
"Mind explaining what this deal is, no offense, but you make badge judgment calls." Kevin said reminding him of Sunder when he released the man when he wanted the Unitrix aka Eunice to be found.
Azmuth normally would have made a retort but Kevin for once made a point "Dr. Viktor's tesla coils on his back will amplify a signal we're trying to send the Omnitrix, we know Ben is alive and possibly in a parallel dimension, but without knowing where we'd be searching for a needle in a haystack considering there are infinite." he said as he thought of the pros and cons in depth.
The security freed Viktor from his stone prison.
"Ah, freedom." Viktor said as he moved his muscles "Here are the coordinates." he said as he sent a bolt of lightning at a monitor which gained a series of codes.
Azmuth disappeared for a moment and came back with a box the size of him and opened it.
"Is that a hand?" Kevin asked, feeling a little disgusted and creeped out.
"It belonged to a Vladat, a race of what humans would call vampires, Zs'Skayr wanted to revive him once I found the corpse, I told him I didn't find it, but I kept it in case of an emergency." he said as he thought his master would end him for this betrayal, but the Vladat race nearly ended his own.
A Volaticus biopsis soon appeared.
"So what is the plan exactly?" Kevin asked still a little lost.
"How you defeated me I will never understand, Azmuth will boost the signal connection between Primus and the Omnitrix through me when the flying insects scan the Vladat DNA, hopefully, the signal should possibly reveal Tennyson's location." Viktor said to him explaining the process to Kevin.
"Enough prattle let us do this gentlemen." Azmuth said waving his hand to his insect machines.
The Volaticus biopsis flew closer and scanned the DNA of the hand sending the DNA to Primus.
"The signal is ready to be transmitted." Azmuth said as a nearby console had two steel handles appear.
Viktor approached them feeling massive amounts of power and electricity flow into him, his tesla coils sparking between each other as the signal was launched.
…
"Do you think we'll find Ben?" Kevin asked him.
"That depends on what you are referring to." Azmuth said as he heard the hidden tone and message inside Kevin's voice.
"If we find him, will it be Ben we find?" Kevin asked Azmuth curiously.
Azmuth had been pondering that same question ever since he saw the damaged Dragon DNA sequence as Ben had been through much already with Julie's tragic passing, he worried about what state Ben would be in or if he'd be worse than ever before 'We're truly not so different.' he thought as it was obvious to see as while he may not have suffered in the ways Ben has, he felt he at least could understand his pain to a degree "I don't know Kevin, but I hope so." he said as hope was a word he rarely used, but that was something they all needed right now.
…
"Oh man I can't believe I am meeting a real-life alien!" Rex said as he and Ben were going to start training again today in the woods, but was interrupted by a certain pink female energy being and Ben told him it was his grandma.
"Hello Ben!" Verdona said as she landed near him.
Ben greeted his grandmother giving her a hug "Rex can you stop staring at my grandmother." he said to his friend "Why are you here grandma?" he asked her.
"You're training to be an anodite how could I not!" Verdona said in excitement.
"I thought it had to be done on Anodine?" Ben asked curiously.
"Oh that's because there are multiple anodites capable of stopping a rampaging one." Verdona said as if one anodite lost control many could easily stop them "But let us go somewhere warmer." she said to her grandson as it began to snow.
The group decided to go for lunch as it was close to noon and had Verdona put on her skin and went to a nearby restaurant.
"I take it your friend has never met another alien?" Verdona asked Ben as Rex kept staring at her "Happy to be your first young man." she said teasingly causing Ben to choke back a laugh as Rex realized what she was insinuating.
"So this is where your personality comes from." Rex said to Ben trying to drastically change the subject.
Ben and Verdona chuckled as both knew Ben had to get something from Verdona and it was probably why Max let him get away with so much, he was reminded of Verdona.
"Now I saw you flying yesterday, not a bad way to learn kiddo." Verdona said as she was impressed greatly by his intuitive mind.
"You were watching us?" Ben asked curiously.
"Yes and you'll be a great anodite someday." Verdona said positive in her remark "Want some tips?" she asked him.
"Yes." Ben said quickly.
"Wonderful, now Ben, do you know why you will make a better anodite than your cousin?" Verdona asked in a more serious tone, but saw Ben shake his head "Experience!" she said a little loudly "You used to have a hoverboard right?" she asked him, remembering him mentioning that yesterday "And your mana mimicked it perfectly on the platform correct." she said as he nodded "That's because Ben mana isn't just energy to an anodite, it's like a muscle when we do something and try to replicate it with our mana, we can almost duplicate it perfectly, it varies from person to person, but do you know why Gwen is limited?" she asked him curiously.
"Because magic is a pale imitation of mana?" Rex asked as he knew some energies were stronger than others.
"And he's smart, yes young man mana will always be superior to magic." Verdona said as there was really no competition as mana was the most adaptable energy, yet Gwen still saw it as magic "I have never used spells in my life Ben or when we fought, yet I was able to keep up with Gwen, you, and Kevin." she said, remembering their first meeting.
"So magic is basically useless?" Ben asked her as he had been learning spells all the same.
"No." Verdona said to him "Everything Ben, can be useful when mana is concerned, Hex comes from a dimension of it, but his people wielded and used it by making it take form through the art of words and thought, it's how magic got started, the chants are their way." she said wanting him to know the difference between mana and magic, and anodites and the people of Ledgerdomain "Do not limit yourself to something you have seen others do." she said as she should have given Gwen this advice before leaving their first time meeting, but she was holding her breath when Gwen revealed to her father she used 'magic' trying not to laugh and blow her cover.
Their food soon arrived.
"So how is my great-grandchild?" Verdona asked him curiously wondering how Wendy was after their last meeting.
"She's doing great, she had her first real victory over Hex." Ben said to her explaining how Wendy stole the Staff of Ages.
"That's my girl." Verdona said proudly "Now that little girl is going to be very powerful." she said seeing Ben smile "The power she is developing will be unmatched." she said as when Wendy got older she would be in a class of her own to the people of her world.
Ben felt relieved to hear that.
"Now time to learn." Verdona said to her grandson as she was going to teach him some simple, but fundamentally useful techniques.
…
"It's no good being so afraid you know." Verdona said as she and Ben were at the docs as tomorrow he'd be on his way to the S-class trials.
"Have you ever been afraid of losing your humanity?" Ben asked her curiously.
"No, but I feel this is more than that, you're afraid of becoming like Zs'Skayr." Verdona said seeing him flinch "You're not him Ben, you'll never be him." she said as she heard of this through Max as apparently, this ectonurite was something Ben feared more than anything.
"No humanity grandma, without that I may as well be him." Ben said to her as he felt her pull him close.
"Ben you have lost so much and have been through things that would've broken lesser men." Verdona said as she didn't even think her husband could've survived half the things Ben dealt with "You have survived, maybe not by yourself, but with people whom you trust and love." she said as she may not have been there in person, but she felt it "I love you Ben Tennyson, because my grandson is a hero at his core and in his heart and soul." she said as they sat quietly at the docs till the sun came up.
They got up and said their goodbyes.
"Take care of my grandson and great-granddaughter, old man, can't guarantee your safety otherwise." Verdona said as she disappeared, but not before flaring her power to Makarov before disappearing.
"Your grandmother?" Makarov asked as Ben mentioned her popping up in passing.
"Yeah." Ben said to him "Is the council trying anything dumb yet?" he asked him curiously.
"No and that has me concerned, you had the king himself make a formal complaint, all their positions are now in question." Makarov said to him as due to Ben involving the king, if the council made another move against Fairy Tail or did something that wasted resources 'investigating' them there would be many positions opening up, but desperate people often did desperate things.
…
"Hey baby." Wendy said to the Krakken baby, petting it as she often got up early to come and greet the creature, the mother nearby watching them from underwater "I'm gonna be gone for a bit." She said hearing it let out a whiny moan making her smile as she believed this creature was smarter than it seemed as was the mother as she heard the mother make a sad growl "I'll be back soon and maybe even an S-class." she said, patting the baby's head before she left.
…
Gray and Carla watched the ship for the S-class trials leave in the distance.
"So are we flying or am I rowing?" Gray asked as he had seen Happy fly for hours on end, but not days.
"If you could make a platform of ice every once in a while everything should be fine." Carla said to him.
"Do you trust that Paradox guy?" Gray asked her curiously, remembering him from a few of Ben's memorie in the entrapment spell, but some of the things he said made him curious.
"Can we take the risk of not believing him?" Carla asked him as her recent vision scared her, Natsu frightened, Wendy crying, and…a familiar jacket with the number ten covered in blood.
Gray knew the details as Carla told him about her vision and given how she knew of the anima, he wasn't going to take chances not believing it "Paradox said we could change this future, you believe him?" he asked as he rarely wondered about fate and destiny, but this seemed like as good a time as any to ask.
"No." Carla said to him "Something may happen, but something might not, Ben told me that I have this power for a reason and whether I do something or nothing that choice will be on me." she said as she would not allow Wendy to cry ever again.
Gray sighed knowing that did in fact sound like something Ben would say "C'mon they're far enough where they won't see us." he said as she flew onto his back and carried him.
…
"So what are we doing?" Doranbolt asked him curiously.
"The council is demanding us to find more information on Ben Tennyson." Lahar said that was easier said than done as he found nothing of Ben Tennyson's origins.
"I was in Magnolia the other day and as far as I could hear, he was with his grandmother the past few days." Doranbolt said to him as that wasn't very useful.
"Does the woman have a name?" Lahar asked wondering if he should arrange a way to have this woman questioned indirectly.
"Verdona Tennyson." Doranbolt said to him giving him a sketch.
Lahar saw the sketch not seeing many noticeable features that showed signs of them being related "We're wasting our time, Ben Tennyson has a clean and spotless record, this is career suicide at this point." he said as Ben Tennyson had no prior crimes or destruction that could be tied to him directly unlike most of his guild, he was basically a national hero knighted by the king himself, and his deeds were revealed in Sorcerer Weekly, the council taking credit for some of his victories and other things had been widely known causing distrust with the council.
"Maybe we should be working for him." Doranbolt said handing him the newest issue of Sorcerer Weekly as while Lahar wasn't a gossip the magazine mentioned many topics and did in fact talk about the council.
"Recent chaos in Honeysuckle where Vanessa Masters company Crystal Philter was attacked by a dark wizard wanted for killing a thousand people many years ago, the old council never caught him or were even able to take him down, but after an interview with Vanessa Masters much about Magnolia's rising star was revealed." Lahar said reading the issue moving onto the interview portion.
"My company was attacked and threatened by a dark wizard trying to steal my companies secrets and magics we use to make our products, if it weren't for the Fairy Tail wizards I hired my life surely would've ended by the hands of Hex a dark mage that is still active to this day, I say this with great appreciation to the man that protected me and my fiancee, thank you Ben Tennyson." Vanessa Masters interview said as Lahar read it.
"Read this part." Doranbolt said pointing down.
"Ben Tennyson has fought the Ballam Alliance and many more individual threats, after his last interview it was discovered that many of his and his guild's own actions were the responsible party, not the council, the old council and new council seem to have the same success rate as before and many wonder what has changed with this new council, with the return of a dark wizard responsible for mass genocide many are in fear, but also should we seek protection from Ben Tennyson and not the council as Vanessa Masters had this to say-Ben Tennyson has fought this man at the ripe age of ten, the former magic council must have been severely lacking if a boy could have fought this man and claimed victory where they could not." Lahar said reading it.
"We need good PR." Doranbolt said to him as this would continue to go on until the council actually had done something as the councilors had to officially state if the rumors were true as they had no other choice given Jura was going to make his own piece to Sorcerer Weekly if they tried to lie on past events, he could not comment on Fairy Tail's behavior when he arrested Jellal as that would fan the flames and seem like they were pushing blame/heat onto Fairy Tail and that his claims would seem false given the accusations they were facing.
"Sirs, we have an urgent matter!" a knight said running to them.
"What is it?" Lahar asked not to recognize him.
"Intelligence gathered by Fiore capital suggests Grimoire Heart is going to attack." the knight said to them.
"And what is the source of this information?" Doranbolt asked curiously.
"It was…Hex sir." the knight answered surprising the two men "He attacked a knight-infested part of kingdom and told them, he didn't kill anyone." he said as that was the most shocking thing as people everywhere were brought to the attention of Hex especially the Magic Council as after the reprimand from the king, he informed them of Hex's activity and made sure people in the higher up were alerted to his presence.
"Where are they headed?" Lahar asked him.
"After Fairy Tail sir." the knight said to him.
"The S-class trials." Doranbolt said in realization as all he could think was that Grimoire Heart wanted to make a point against one of the major guilds that took down one of the co-members of the Balam alliance and what better way than to take out their strongest members.
Lahar knew THIS was going to be chaos as the council will want to have Grimoire Heart taken out by them as it would restore people's faith in them and relieve much tension, but if they in any way attacked Fairy Tail or tried to claim their victory it would ruin the council and everyone would be out of the job 'Is he trying to pit us all against each other?' he thought as Hex had to tell them this for a reason as all groups held no love for the others.
…
"Do you know what is going to happen?" Verdona asked Paradox as she was nearing the end of her rope of patience for him.
"Honestly no, much history often stays the same, but few details here and there do change if not the entire event." Paradox said as time travel had shown him many possibilities and hope for many people.
"You owe my grandson an explanation Paradox." Verdona said to him as after this was over her grandson deserved answers as to why this has happened.
Paradox nodded as he knew he did as he had another stop to make.
…
Max Tennyson was sitting in a boat at his fishing spot trying to calm his mind from worry unablemany things a plumber, a father, a husband, and a grandparent, he felt especially proud with the last one as he got to see his children have children, he remembered the day Ben and Gwen were born, both screaming babies brought into the world, both having his eyes color, it made him tear up, but ever since that summer a day he was both glad and scared happened as Ben and Gwen came into their own becoming youthful heroes, he hid them from the spotlight as best he could in order to save them, but that ended after seven years when Ben became world-famous, but things only got worse from there, Vilgax kept pursuing his grandson and one day actually able to land a crippling blow by ending Julie's life, he clenched his fishing rod tightly as it was his fault that happened, Vilgax was his nemesis once upon a time ago, it should have been his duty to end him before he did what he did and it was perfectly legal in the end as Vilgax was basically a universal terrorist and any and all technology of any level and grade was ok to use when dealing with this monster.
"It's going to get away." Paradox said now appearing on the boat and looking at Max's poll seeing the line was being tugged.
"About time you showed up." Max said not pulling the line "I've been waiting for you to show up." he said as out of everyone he was most likely to have answers "When will Ben be back?" he asked him knowing that if Paradox was to bring Ben back he would've done it by now so knowing when he'd be back was the more proper question.
"A few short days my dear fellow, but I need to make a request of you." Paradox said to him as he gave him a slip of paper "You'll need a recovery team." he said as he vanished.
Max really didn't like the time traveler as he left much to others to figure out 'Recovery is for, search and rescue.' he thought as he hoped Ben wasn't in a state like he was before after he fought Vilgax 'Please be ok Ben.' he thought unable to bear his grandson in more pain physical or emotional.
…
"You ok?" Kevin asked Gwen, seeing the room she had been using at Plumber HQ was a mess even by her standards.
"I can't do it Kevin, it's been six months and I can't find him!" Gwen said as her hands glowed when she slammed the wall a small explosion happened, Ben disappearing really hit home for her because she knew if it had been her missing, Ben would've gone to any lengths for her, she couldn't sit back and not do the same for him.
Kevin decided to not mention his and Azmuth's failed attempt with Dr. Viktor 'There is something I can do.' he thought to himself as there was one person who was able to track Ben like no other and someone Kevin knew he would have to face eventually, he left Gwen not even knowing he left "Yo eggheads where are you!" he said calling out in a nearby lab.
"Our cranial domes are not egg-shaped Kevin." a small, wide Galvan said to him.
"He meant we're smart Driba." a tall skinny Galvan said to him.
"No, he didn't Blukic…did you?" Driba asked him.
'Oh, I am so gonna kill Azmuth.' Kevin thought as Azmuth sent these idiots here as they were geniuses by earth standards 'I swear we need better scientists.' he thought as he needed these two to do him a favor "Listen I need you two to send me to the Null Void." he said to them "And pick me up in an hour an hour got it!" he said as these two messed up so much it was a true feat they haven't blown themselves up.
"Ok." Blukic said, taking him to the Null Void warp pad.
"Return trip set for one hour." Driba said to him.
"Do you two even have watches?" Kevin asked not seeing them look at their watches or start a timer.
They looked at each other before starting to argue with each other.
"Listen just send me already and tell Max I went." Kevin said as Max would get him out, he was soon brought to a Null Void facility and went to a sub-level using his badge to access it as only a few badges in the entirety of the plumbers could get here and he had one of them.
Kevin went down a hallway and went to a cell much like Dr. Viktor's "You have information I need." he said to the prisoner on the other side.
"And why should I tell you anything Levin?" the prisoner asked him "You're the reason I am even here, to begin with!" he said angrily.
"You're here because you are a psychopath." Kevin said to him having no sympathy for this prisoner.
"Oh and what pray tell are you then, you hurt quite a bit of people yourself, face it Levin, you and I are the same." the prisoner said to him.
"I ain't here to trade blows Aggregor, I'm here to ask how you tracked Ben's Ultimatrix way back when." Kevin said as Aggregor was able to track Ben like no one else ever could, Ben's watches were all able to be tracked by Plumber technology as it put out a signal plumbers could reach, but Aggregor could track him without it.
"And why should I tell you, if the brat is lost he can stay that way!" Aggregor said having no love for Ben either.
"Because if you don't we have a nicer cell we can put you in, it was meant for Vilgax and was near a black hole, only plumber tech can be safely protected, so you'd be there more alone than ever with no chance of escape." Kevin said as if it was good enough for Vilgax it was good enough for this guy.
Aggregor weighed his options and sighed "Azmuth's little toy sends out a unique energy pulse for all its functions, it lets out a short burst when it scans and he changes the energy flares and you can trace the natural energy it uses from then on, satisfied?" he asked sarcastically.
"Yeah I am." Kevin said as that seemed legit in his mind.
"Levin, a free bit of advice." Aggregor said as Kevin stopped to look at him "There has been something bothering me, have you ever met another Osmosian like me?" he asked him.
"How is that advice?" Kevin asked as it was a question.
"Because it's supposed to make you think, all I've done is think in this hell." Aggregor said bitterly "But answer the question, what are we Osmosians?" he asked as that was something that bothered him.
Kevin thought that was obvious given they both absorbed energy, but couldn't think of anything else, he left without another word.
Author's Note- Hey everyone hope you're all doing well, hope you like the chapter and wanted to answer some questions I have been literally blasted with, Ben's anodite form is something based off Gwen from Omniverse, she had a type of human-anodite hybrid form as Lucky Girl I assumed there were drawbacks as to not being 'fully' transformed, as Gwen didn't fly when she changed so I'm assuming that's one of the drawbacks if not more, Ben's new weapon is something Ultimate had planned on and I decided to use it as well, Carla's meeting with Paradox was something I felt that should happen given I made Carla less irritable and this makes Gray and Carla the outside factors and everyone who was on Tenrou is still there, also lately I have been questioned on the other couples of Fairy Tail and what couples should happen and some people have asked me about Ultimate's new story if Ben will get a harem, I personally asked Ultimate and he seemed fine with it, now I have been debating on WHO should be in the harem and I have a few ideas I'll post in the next chapter, but Ben isn't the only one who has been asked for a harem people that are Nalu or Nali fans have been asking what I'll do with them and for Rex I wanted to leave the option open ever since I was asked, so far Rex has 3 possible canidates Eunice the living Omnitrix or Jenny the girl with the machine take overs, and given who Rex knows and has dated I don't see him having issues with an assassin like Ikaruga, so he gets the harem option to and if they don't get harem, I'm gonna have a poll for Rex and Natsu their names with the potential girls I mentioned, yes and no if no I'll do a list with the possible girls for them, and I will be looking at PMs and the reviews to tallie like last time I want this to be a fair and even vote, and finally I'm uping the game with Grimore Heart as I'm sure you all remember who I sent Anubis to and what happened to Zs'skayr, I felt what he got was a long time coming that he should be maimed.