Ben10 & Digimon Tamers

Heroes and Humanity

Part 02: Humanity and Heroes

Another Myself – Chapter 95 Part 1

Originally Written: Friday, October 13, 2017 504PM to 622PM

. . . . .

A/N:Trigger warning. -points to genres-

Albedo was far too pleased when Azmuth told him that he was healed enough that up to three time jumps shouldn't harm him too much. He hadn't a particularly hard time explaining that he was able to transform into aliens without an Omnitrix. He hadn't even needed to tell the Galvan that the transformations were quite unstable, and didn't last long at all. His equipment detected Juggernaut with ease as well.

Still the calculating, studying gaze the elder Galvan directed to him gave him pause. He was judging him, just as his own mentor did. It was only something a bit more than sheer luck that guided the Galvan into not asking him any questions. Albedo knew he had many, and knew that if he asked, he surely risked the timeline shifting and sending it's wrath upon him if he learned something he was not supposed to. Albedo's mentor lived a long fulfilling life, but very rarely had he any suicidal tendencies. It would appear this Azmuth was the same.

Something about Ben Tennyson gave the Galvan more hope than Albedo had ever given to the alien for his entire time under Azmuth's tutelage. The knowledge left Albedo feeling cold and forgotten, as a rage smoldered deep within him. Did he really mean nothing to his mentor? Perhaps he did. He meant more to some human who spent more time angry at or for him than the mentor he worked alongside for years. It made Albedo wonder why he even bothered.

"Ready?" Ryo asked.

Monodramon looked bored, standing next to Ryo, not paying attention to much of anything. Rika's purple eyes looked at him concerned. Renamon stood behind her, calm, cool and collected as usual. Jenrya stood closest to him, silver eyes determined. He held Terriermon in his arms.

'30 second transformations available. Chronosapien Transformation Unlocked. Chronosapien is not a stable transformation form. Risk of injury to self 99 percent.'

He wondered if he could even do this. Was 30 seconds still 30 seconds when one was traveling at super speeds? What about in slow motion? It made his brain hurt a little. He hoped transforming into a Chronosapien would allow him better capabilities at understanding and easing his confusion. Was 30 seconds even enough to grasp the knowledge, and get them back home?

How had Juggernaut even gained access to Ben 23's omnitrix to unlock Clock-Work? He wondered if the program did it itself, or with the help of Azmuth. This "Dimension 23" was different enough that alien's DNA could very well be different from what was logged in the Omnixtrix he was connected to.

He closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes." He was the one who came up with the idea. He couldn't second guess himself now.

Ben 23 quickly ran up to and hugged Ryo. Ryo smiled at him and patted his head. Ben 23 scrunched up his face as his hairstyle got messed up. Ryo knelt next to him, and they had a short whispered conversation that Albedo was too nervous to pay full attention to.

Finally Ben 23 pulled away, smiling a big grin. "Get home safely!"

"Course we will." Rika replied. Albedo wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Ben or herself.

Azmuth nodded to him. Albedo returned the gesture. His mentor wasn't one for goodbyes either. Albedo turned into Clockwork, filling the form with more ease than he expected. The others gathered close around him as he held up his hands. A circle of bluish, greenish red surrounded them as he concentrated. A dull ache filled his entire being. He figured this must be what Juggernaut was referring to.

Albedo saw a bright flash of energy as he focused. He saw way too many lines and waves of energy to make sense of it as a human. Paths he understood just fine as a yellow and black, red eyed Chronosapien. He frowned. More of a scowl really.

He had seen Eon push Paradox the first time they Dimension traveled, but really the movement he currently saw was more of a full blown shove, aimed at the bubble of energy surrounding him and the others. An attacking blow, filled with more energy than what the move appeared it would require to do. He barely saw Eon's purple clothed frame as he performed the act. He stumbled to the side, just enough that he recognized his timing was off, and he was no longer headed in the right direction. Just enough time to recognize that he couldn't change his course.

Jenrya and others looked frozen standing around him. He could tell they weren't truly frozen though. They were just moving so slowly it appeared as though they weren't moving, even to his Chronosapien form. If with his level of experience with aliens, Eon had caught him off guard this easily, he was glad he hadn't dragged Ben 23 in this. Ben 23 had no chance.

Paradox reached out his hand in Albedo's direction, as he fended off Eon with his cane. Albedo felt the tugging and let Paradox pull him. He watched as the Time Walker pulled his hand closer to his body, as though tugging on a rope. It didn't seem to be enough. Albedo wasn't sure he wanted to experience this again. Time, it seemed, was more fleeting than he originally realized.

"No matter what it takes to do so, the Universe will fix itself to keep itself properly aligned." Paradox spoke as he faded from Albedo's vision.

He landed hard on his feet on the sidewalk. He stumbled. He heard Eon laughing loud as though he were standing right next to him. The bubble surrounding them dissipated turning into the slightest wisps of bluish green and red energy. He coughed loudly while bending over. The others fell to the floor in a heap. The wisps of energy and Eon's cackling faded as his transformation timed out.

He stumbled to an alley nearby the store next to them and coughed heavily. He leaned his back against the building and slid down it. He held his right side, the side Eon had shoved him from. That was way more than a shove. That felt like Eon was trying to break him in two with his bare hands. He knew Eon was more skilled than him, but he was not expecting leagues more skilled.

Jenrya knelt by him in moments. The other soon joined him, save for Ryo. He looked at them with weary, defeated eyes. He lowered his gaze to his lap. He breathed deep heavy breaths as he tried to catch his bearings.

Rika groaned softly.

To see it was one thing. To know it was coming was another. To see and know it was coming, but still not be able to do anything about it was an entirely different level of experience.

He looked over to Ryo. The male looked entirely focused on something across the street. He pushed himself to his knees, and tried to gauge where he was looking. He vaguely noted the others were doing the same.

"No way." Rika murmured, "What the heck?"

Albedo watched a smaller Ryo with slightly longer unkempt hair, wearing a shabby blue button up t-shirt, and worse for wear brown cargo pants, walk down the street across from him. He rubbed his arms, Albedo assumed to warm them, as a breeze blew through the area.

Jenrya looked at Ryo. The male stood with his fists clenched, his face void of emotion.

Albedo looked back to the smaller Ryo as he stood. The boy played with a small white device in his hands.

"Ryo...?" Monodramon questioned.

Ryo pushed Monodramon behind him. "Shut it." He spoke in a stern yet soft voice. He looked at them, mainly Albedo. "What. Happened?"

"Eon shoved me to an entirely different timeline. The Time Walker tried to reverse the effect, but he could only pull us back to our timeline, but at an earlier time, before Juggernaut warned me my transformation was due to time out." He ignored Ryo glaring at him. His mentor glared at him when something went wrong all the time. "It was either pull us into the timeline as is or leave us to die in the void between time and space. When my transformations recharge I can try again."

Ryo closed his eyes. He breathed in a few deep breaths.

"We're in the past?" Terriermon questioned. "How in the world did he do that?"

"The same way he can send us to different timelines." Albedo explained. "For the time being, I would suggest we-"

"No." Ryo snapped, "No way." He looked away, glaring at the ground.

"Our presence will certainly change our own timeline." Renamon commented from her place in the shadows between the nearby buildings. "We need to not be seen for as long as possible."

The others agreed. Albedo did as well. Ryo's reactions left him heavily uncomfortable. Why did Eon... No, technically Paradox sent them here, but it was only in reaction to Eon. So, did Eon set the situation up for Paradox to send them here, or was it fully Paradox's own reaction?

"We can't sit still here." Albedo said. A chill ran down him. "I can still feel him."

Ryo glared at the ground. "I know." He silently fumed beside them.

"I don't feel anything." Terriermon spoke. Jenrya agreed.

"Be glad the Sovereign haven't cursed you." Monodramon growled out.

Terriermon looked at him confused, as did Renamon for a short while.

Albedo held in a shudder. Monodramon still spoke in that odd formal language, quite unlike the rookie digimon, and more like Millenniumon. He rubbed his arms, careful of the bandages. "Ryo?"

Ryo closed his eyes. "I need to know the date."

Albedo looked at the ground. He closed his eyes. He reached within himself, and said a date he couldn't remember, even though he had just said it. He supposed it was an after effect of his short time as a Chronosapien. He looked up in reaction to loud footsteps.

"That far back?" Rika's voice was much more faint than previously.

It took him a few seconds to realize that Ryo had run out of the alley, and Jenrya and Rika had followed him. Albedo ran behind them.

Ryo stopped running after a few blocks. Albedo realized it was because Ryo had caught up with the younger Ryo. The younger Ryo had stopped in front of an electronics store. Albedo saw CRT TV's and a few flat screen tv's play commercials through the store's glass windows. Younger Ryo had pressed his hands against the glass.

"I thought the date sounded familiar." Rika spoke up softly.

"Huh?" Jenrya questioned.

"It's the day they first advertised the Digimon Card Game competitions. The small ones, leading up to the very first Nationwide Competition." She explained. "I begged my mom for extra money so badly. Drove her up the wall for months I'm sure." She smiled a small smile.

Albedo looked at Ryo, standing there with his fists clenched. He passed by Jenrya and Rika, and their digimon. Monodramon tilted his head and looked at the younger Ryo. Albedo leaned in close to his ear, and spoke softly. "Is that you?"

Ryo nodded ever so slightly, and closed his eyes.

Albedo straightened. His arms hung at his sides. This was their Ryo. Not the Ryo that was originally here, if there ever had been a Ryo in this timeline to begin with. That small child wearing clothes better left in the trash was the "Legendary Tamer Ryo" that saved two different Digital Worlds and Earth's multiple times and barely got a thank you for either task.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Trying to figure out how to make money." Ryo spoke, his voice emotionless. "Treat it like a mission."

They ignored Rika and Jenrya looking at him. They watched younger Ryo walk down the street. The act left them too preoccupied to notice the flash of purple that gathered them up. Or perhaps they did notice, but couldn't react in time to it.

They landed in a heap in shouts of pain, on what Albedo soon recognized was the same street. Albedo ignored the others asking questions. He ignored the people passing them by. They didn't pay any of them any attention anyway. Monodramon growled as Eon's laughs faded away. He looked at Ryo.

Ryo laughed a dark, determined laugh as he brought himself to his feet. "I see your game Eon. I'll show you why I'm the only Legendary Tamer around."

Younger Ryo walked by the same street. He wore new clothes, a pair of brown jeans and a blue t-shirt, and even had a jacket this time. This time, a small group of children of various ages walked with him, chattering excitedly. All of them held and compared Digimon Trading Cards, holding onto them tightly.

Albedo looked at Ryo. The Ryo he knew. He understood. What seemed so complicated was now simple. Ryo won because he wasn't playing for the same reasons other players, the other children, were. Ryo didn't play the Digimon Card Game because he liked it. Ryo played the Digimon Card Game because he would have died if he hadn't. He had no choice but to be Legendary.

He followed Ryo down the street, determined. The others followed, silent behind them.