SZ: Wow..its been one year since we came up with this story.
Z0: We've gotten...actually like really far...I mean counting the extra chapters...we aren't far from the 50s of chapters...and in another year probably the 100s.
SZL Aye..and look at all the reviews we got since then! Over 500!
Z0: Maybe by next year it'll be over…*puts on DBZ scouter* OVER 9000!
SZ:...*whacks Z0 with a newspaper*No...no old and overused Memes…
Z0: *slowly turns to SZ* you realize what you've done, hai? *A figure begins forming behind me*
SZ:...oh geez...We own nothing aside from original content!*runs off*
Z0: Your within my Range! Toki wo tomare!
Tsubaki sighed as she woke up early as usual. She found something off about the house, though. The doors to Makoto and Ben's rooms were left open. Were they already awake? This early? That didn't make sense. So...what were they up to?
"You're sure you got everything?" Ben asked.
"I think so," Makoto replied.
"Good, 'cause the last thing I need is something messing up today."
"Okay, Mister Expert Strategist. So what is your great plan for our all day date?" Makoto teased.
"Well it wouldn't be a secret if I told you everything, now would it?" Ben laughed.
"Ooh...sneaky."
"All day date?" Tsubaki asked, making the two jump.
"Oh, it's just Tsubaki…" they sighed upon seeing her, "Morning!"
"Explanation?" Tsubaki asked simply.
"Well today's our half a year anniversary." Makoto explained, "What...we think the fact time hasn't messed with us makes this special." she pouted.
"Look, we plan to spend all day together." Ben explained, "And we figured maybe we'd have a better chance of nothing going wrong…"
"If none of you knew where we planned to go." Makoto added, "Well save for you, cause you're most reliable friend in this."
"Don't you two ever stop looking for ways to spend time alone?" Tsubaki sighed.
"Mmm...nope," they both shook their heads.
"Aren't you at all worried you're moving too fast?" Tsubaki asked.
"We still sleep in separate rooms…" Makoto argued, "Sides, you worry too much. We're just doing what feels right for us. You'll understand when you're more mature."
"Wha...but you and…" Tsubaki sputtered at that.
"Thanks for the concern, Tsubaki...but I think after all we've been through...both in terms of relationships and life...we've learned how to handle this our way," Ben smiled, "It means a lot you care, but trust us...we're not doing anything stupid."
"Oh fine...at least on this you two act mature..." she sighed.
"Hey...wait...maybe...no yeah...hey!" they both spoke in unison.
"What? It's true," Tsubaki grinned a bit as she walked off, "Just make sure you two have a good day...and don't worry. I'll make sure everything is under control."
"Thanks!" Makoto smiled, "We promise, you're not gonna get called Aunt Tsubaki for a LONG while!" she joked.
"Had to get one in, didn't ya?" Ben laughed.
"Always!" Makoto cheered, "Now come on! Let's get ready for today, Ben-kun!"
"Hmm…" Tsubaki gave a small smile at that, leaving the two to handle their plans for today, 'I'm just glad she's able to find someone...I was afraid after that incident at the Academy, Makoto….n-nevermnd. The most important thing is she's happy...and what better person to make her happy then Ben?'
"Eh...They are spending all day together?" Noel asked as she walked in for breakfast, "That's so romantic."
"Yes, but it's their business," Tsubaki lightly tapped Noel's head with a magazine, making her sheepishly giggle, "Plus, I promised them we can handle things for today so that they can spend it together."
"That seems fair," Noel smiled, "But I do wonder what they are doing? Maybe I'll ask when I see them later." she mused as she walked over to her room and took Robotboy off his charger, "Wakey-wakey."
"Good morning!" Robotboy smiled, growing to his active mode.
"We have a busy day ahead of us, Robotboy." Noel smiled, putting him down.
"Where Ben and Makoto?" he asked.
"Spending the day together. So it's up to us to stop all the bad guys today," Noel explained.
"Oh...got-it!"
"Sides, I'm sure today will be like any other day, Arch nemesis, world in danger, etcetera and etcetera." Noel smiled.
"And that's what worries me..." Tsubaki sighed.
Somewhere within Bellwood in the most out of the way darkest corner of town, a sphere of purple light formed. It grew and grew with bright energy before slowly stabilizing. As it did it began shrinking,as it did it exposed someone within the sphere. It was a male figure, tall with a broad muscular build. He was covered in a thick black long coat, with purple glowing lines and armored shoulders and back. His arms covered in black gauntlets with purple/magenta energy lines along the top and leading to his hands. His face was covered in a black helmet with a large screen over his face which was tinted black to hide his face. For a moment, the screen lit up with purple light, forming the image of a skull.
"Okay...I've seemed to have arrived in the right timeline," the figure muttered standing up, he looked around, "Good...they haven't followed yet. Now I just need to find them here in this time." he walked off, "Now, where are you...Ben Tennyson…?"
"Hmm?" Kajun raised a brow, looking over at a small computer within her lab at Plumbers HQ, "That's odd…Blukic, Driba."
"Yes?"
"There's some sort of temporal disturbance around downtown Bellwood," she explained, moving over to the computer as she began to examine it.
"Temporal disturbance...well...not to jump to conclusions…"
"Yeah we do…" Blukic replied.
"No we don't…"
"Yeah we do…"
"Boys," Kajun snapped her fingers.
"Well we made the system to tell us if people from the future show up. So logic dictates it's possibly someone from your timeline," Driba finished the idea he was trying to share.
"Possibly, but this...this is recent," Kajun explained, typing away at the keyboard, "If it was someone from my timeline, there would've been some form of temporal residue on them. This one, however...seems to emanate much of it."
"Interesting." both Galvan muttered.
"Hmm...We may need to inform Magister Tennyson about this," Kajun muttered before pulling out her Badge, "Magister Tennyson, we have a temporal disturbance around downtown Bellwood."
=What are we talking about here, Kajun? A guest from your time, or something on a Paradox Level?=
"The latter," Kajun answered
=Hmm...We can assume it's probably something bad since Paradox will show up to us if he needs help, or vice versa...which means this could be something bad. I'll call the others in=
"Good. I'll stay here to keep you and them updated," Kajun nodded.
=Got it=
"Mmm…" Kagura muttered, dressed in a tropical shirt out on the front lawn of his and Hibiki's place.
"...And he's been like that since we got back from the beach?" Mai asked Hibiki.
"I think he's in a state of denial…"
"Damn Vreedles...murr…" Kagura grumbled.
"Oh my god…" Mai sighed before picking up her badge, "Max wants us all at HQ ASAP. Something to do with time travel…"
"Truck?" Hibiki asked.
"Rook!" Mai called out, walking back to her shared home.
"Lord Kagura, we have a mission."
"Murr…"
"...Noel and Jenny will be attending."
"IKUZE!" Kagura shouted as he shot up, already dressed in her normal attire as he rose his sword up into the air.
'I really worry that you've gotten a lot more lazy in this timeline, Lord Kagura,' Hibiki mentally sighed.
"So the temporal anomaly was detected here." Kajun began, showing a computer screen with a map of the city, "The energy emitting temporal residue if still traveling through town, but we lost it a while ago right next to this known Undertown entrance, meaning that whatever or whoever it is has hidden themselves down there."
"Soka," Tsubaki noted, holding her chin in thought as she looked it over, "Have you tried contacting Ragna?"
"Yes, but it seems something is dampening the signal in Undertown," Kajun answered.
"Great. We get a week off, and the first thing we do is time travel shenanigans," Kevin groaned a bit.
"It's not unexpected." Gwen sighed.
"True…" Kevin admitted, 'Least I'll be away from that little devil brat for a bit.'
"Alright...since whatever this is seems to be mobile and secretive, you'll need to approach with caution." Max spoke, "Chances are they are an enemy, but we also aren't sure. But given our luck..."
"Yes...we'll probably have to fight," Tsubaki sighed, "We'll split into teams to get a better search of the area. The moment you find the source, contact the others immediately and we'll meet you there."
"I call…" Kagura began as he raised his hand up.
"I'll take Kagura and Hibiki with me," Jin spoke, making Kagura slump a bit.
"That works," Tsubaki nodded, "I'll take Gwen and Kevin with me. Noel, you, Robotboy, and Mai will be another team."
"Hai," Noel nodded.
"Be careful. We can't be sure what threats this poses." Max spoke, "I'll send in some teams to begin moving people out of the area if a fight breaks out. But try to contain first...this is time travel and we know how sensitive that can be with our crowd."
"Understood," Tsubaki nodded as they began moving out.
"Oh...and make sure you come back," Max spoke up, "All of you, ya hear?"
"Yes, Magister." Tsubaki bowed as she headed out.
"Damn…" the black clothed figure grunted, stumbling through Undertown, "Escaping them cost more energy than I expected…Regardless, I can't lose focus on my mission."
He kept walking before bumping into an alien.
"Hey!" the alien growled in anger, "You messed up my boots, pal!"
"..." the figure turned to him, "Begone…" he waved his hand...as the alien vanished from his line of sight, he then looked down to see an infant sitting on the ground, "Ugh...It's even more disgusting as a child…" he muttered as he walked past it.
Many aliens who saw this began to panic and run, clearing a path for the figure as he walked on forward.
"Oi! What's going on here?!" Ragna shouted as he walked in, just as the figure left the area. He then looked down at the alien baby, "What the heck!?"
"Some guy just came up and turned Fur-ank into a baby!" one alien exclaimed.
"What? How?!"
"We don't know! He just waved his hand and poof! He turned him into a baby!"
'...Why do I feel time travel is somewhat involved in this?' Ragna thought with a frown
"He went off that way!" one of them pointed.
"Someone take this baby somewhere!" Ragna shouted as he ran off.
"Got it!"
'I swear Ben, if you're involved in this somehow, I'm gonna kick your ass all the way from here to the desert!' Ragna mentally snapped as he turned a corner.
"Okay...the signal was last seen around here," Tsubaki whispered, looking around the area the figure had appeared with Gwen and Kevin, "You two see anything out of place?"
"You mean besides the abundance of babies and old people?" Kevin blinked.
"Babies and old-WHY!?" Tsubaki panicked seeing what he meant, "Oh...This is not normal even for here."
"Good bet...the time traveler went this way." Gwen muttered as they began walking down the road.
"CRAP!" Ragna cried as he was sent flying over their heads and into a random building.
"You are annoyingly hard to kill, you know that?" the dark suited figure sighed, lowering his glowing hand.
"That's what everyone I know that hates me and tries to kill me says…" Ragna grunted as he got back up before the hole in the building.
"Then you really should consider staying dead one of these days." he aimed his hand and fired a purple beam which missed Ragna.
"HA! Missed!"
"Wasn't aiming at you...I just aged that house a hundred years...wood rot...horrible thing." he spoke as the house began creaking and cracking around Ragna.
"Son of a b-!" at that the thing fell down on him.
"Okay, I think we found them," Tsubaki noted.
"...ugh. You again," the dark suited figure sighed, noticing the trio, "As if I didn't have enough to deal with after escaping those two."
"Again?" Tsubaki noted.
"So time traveler...enemy from the future," Kevin figured out.
"What late 90's TV show helped you figure that one out, Levin?" he asked.
"And I hate him already," Kevin frowned as he touched some nearby metal, coating himself in it.
"Like I care how you think," the figure countered before side stepping a blast of Mana, "3...2...1…" he counted, side stepping blasts before he raised his hand as a purple flash went off from his hands.
Next thing they knew, Gwen's blasts hit a random wall. He then leaned to the right as Tsubaki's blade missed him before leaning back, dodging Kevin's attempted punch.
"Oh please. This all you can muster?" the figure asked before sidestepping another blast of Mana from Gwen
'He's predicting our moves…' Tsubaki thought as the three regrouped.
"And the white-haired one will try and attack me from the side," the figure stated before Ragna came out of the wrecked house.
"Belial Edge!" Ragna roared, dark energy coating his sword as he came shooting down, only for the figure to step back to avoid the resulting explosion of dark energy, "Damn it!"
"Always expect the unexpected," he stated before dodging another sword swipe from Ragna, "You're not the only fool I've had to deal with when it comes to that tactic."
"Grr...damn," Ragna grunted as he sidestepped back, quickly dodging a beam from the figure, "Oi, Yayoi! Any ideas?!"
"I don't know...even if I could think up a strategy, he'll most likely know it before we can accomplish it," Tsubaki answered.
"Gee...It's almost as if I am from the future," the figure sarcastically replied.
"I hate time travel," Ragna growled.
"Now..as much as I like to stay...well, frankly, I'd rather not. I have a certain event that needs stopping," the figure stated as he held his hand up, "So...begone and turn to ash."
"?!" Gwen tensed before she quickly summoned a large manashield around the four, barely blocking a large beam, "Gh!"
"Truly now?" he questioned with a sigh, "Honestly the other you could make much stronger barriers...a shame she'll be erased from h-" he tensed when he narrowly dodged a wave of ice, "?!"
"Jin? When d-" Tsubaki began before looking upwards, seeing Big Chill flying above them. Only...he seemed much different.
For starters, Big Chill looked taller, his torso more broad and powerful but still thin and lean. White tufts formed around his neck and down his chest. His wings were now a little larger with white spots here and there. His Omnitrix was still located on his belt, but the belt was black and white with the center of the faceplate glowing green.
"?! You…!" the figure growled.
"Honestly Eon...how many times do we have to do this song and dance?" Big Chill(?) asked with a sigh.
"Eon?" Tsubaki repeated.
"Ugh...Now I'm seeing the similarities," Kevin groaned.
"You know this guy?"
"A version of him. Dude's a time traveller," Kevin explained, "Kinda like Paradox, but think of it like Dr. Who in that Paradox is the Doctor while Eon is the Master."
"What?" Tsubaki raised a brow.
"Oh great, one of these things," Ragna groaned, earning a look from her, "...What? A lot of the residents in Undertown are fans of Dr. Who."
"Seriously, you should see the marathon they hold for it down here," Big Chill(?) added before moving to the side, dodging a beam from the now dubbed Eon, "Seriously, Eon, it was a bit of a pain for us trying to find you."
"Us?...Oh no…" Eon groaned before he was suddenly drop-kicked on the side of the head, sending him rocketing out of the area, "DAMN YOU, TENNYSONS~!"
"Hoo…" the owner of the foot that drop-kicked Eon exhaled slowly, "He went flying."
"Uh babe…?"
"No worries...I placed a tracker on him while he wasn't looking. It's like he keeps forgetting about me."
"Eh. True," Big Chill(?) nodded as he floated down before being engulfed in green light.
In place of him was what seemed to be an older Ben. He wore a tight black shirt with white sleeves and collar with a '10' on the back and a pair of grey cargo pants with black combat boots with grey soles. His hair was cut into a somewhat short style. His Omnitrix was larger as well, covering his lower arm in a gunmetal grey material with a green 'V' design with the Omnitrix's core at the bottom of the 'V.' The other looked like Makoto, but she was a few inches taller with her hair grown out to just past her shoulders and a fuller figure hidden beneath an acorn shirt and a pair of hip-hugging black pants with black combat boots of her own and a pair of gunmetal grey fingerless gloves.
"...Oh I already feel a headache sorta forming," Ragna groaned.
"It's time travel. Of course it's going to make headaches," the older looking Makoto noted before noticing the shocked look on Tsubaki's face, "Oh. Heya younger Tsu."
"...M...Makoto? Ben?" Tsubaki cautiously asked, a look of disbelief growing on her face.
"Who'd you think we were, the Spanish Inquisition?" the older-looking Ben punned.
"Because no one expects the Spanish Inquisition!" the older Makoto added as the two laughed a bit.
"...It's them," Gwen and Tsubaki sighed.
"Okay...Why and how?" Mai questioned, everyone regrouped in the shared house.
"How? Paradox," the older Ben replied.
"Why? Because of Eon trying to mess with time yet again," the older Makoto rolled her eyes, "Seriously, does he do anything that isn't messing with time?"
"Surprised he's not been erased yet by the you-know-what," Older Ben added.
"If he was, then we'd be back on our anniversary date," Older Makoto added before sighing, "Seriously. That place had the best chestnut parfait I've ever eaten…"
"Just don't get our possible future kids addicted…"
"Ben, sweetie? You've seen my parents and sibs...you know we love our chestnuts," Older Makoto countered, "Oh and you're one to talk, Mr. Smoothie."
"...Okay fair enough."
"...W...wait...a...are you two…?" Noel began, looking back and forth between the two with wide eyes.
"Do you not see the bling?" O-Makoto asked, the two holding up a hand each to show a gold ring on them.
"..." Noel let out a small excited squeal before she fell onto her back.
"Huh...Did that when we first show 'em later," O-Ben chuckled.
"And FYI...will NOT say when he proposed to me and how I proposed to him," O-Makoto added.
"...Benji, let me ask this then…" Kagura began, a serious look on his face as he walked over and placed his hands on O-Ben's shoulders, "...please tell me we had an awesome Bachelor party for ya."
"Can't really say," O-Ben shrugged, "...No, literally. Spoilers ain't allowed."
"Ahh...fair enough I guess," Kagura shrugged before grinning, "Still...congrats man. Knew you'd bag her...so h-"
*CLANG!*
"That, good sir, is private between us," O-Makoto huffed, holding onto a rolling pin as Kagura plopped onto the ground, "Besides...older you asked that...multiple times."
"Least he found someone to keep him in check," O-Ben added before holding a hand up, "Won't say though. Again, spoilers."
"..." Hibiki managed to keep a calm look while screaming mentally.
"Th...this is...this is unbelievable…" Tsubaki whispered, "I turn away and promise to give you two your peace...then next we meet your future selves...married at that."
"Just don't tell Kajun...she would go nuts and never leave us alone," O-Makoto added.
"Really glad we figured out how to get her to settle down. Even if it took a few years to figure it out," O-Ben admitted.
"And it took a lot," O-Makoto added.
"I feel we got off track real fast," Gwen muttered.
"We do that a lot," Kevin admitted.
"Heh heh...true...especially Older Kevin," O-Makoto chuckled, "I mean he will not shut up about his job, or Dev- ah oops I almost goofed!"
"Dev? Like Develope?" Robotboy asked.
"Nope can't say, rules." O-Makoto smiled, 'Forgot how innocent Robotboy was at times.'
"It's...just so strange…" Mai spoke, "I mean you guys are older...taller...more…"
"Mature," Tsubaki finished.
"Eh…" they shrugged, "I mean it's relative to how mature we've all gotten."
"Ahem!" Jin cleared his throat, earning everyone's attention, "Moving on. So what's the real reason this Eon came back to the past, Tennyson….s….ugh. That's something I'll have to get used to for the time being."
"If you breathe a word of it to our present selves, I'll travel back and time and beat you into a coma," O-Makoto smiled, making Jin flinch.
"As for Eon...or rather this iteration of him…" O-Ben sighed, "Ontop of being much younger than the last two, being stronger with his chrono-manipulation being a natural ability, he's the most petty version ever. He's out to ruin this day for me."
"And me!" O-Makoto added, "But I mean...that's just 'cause it's equally special to both of us...but to hurt Ben is the main reason…" she muttered.
"...You're joking," Jin deadpanned.
"Nope. I say he's just salty; he's the only one that doesn't have someone special," O-Makoto shrugged, "Seriously, you would not believe how many gals most Ben's we met have, some of which even from alternate worlds."
"So you're time and dimensional travelers?" Gwen asked.
"Yep!" O-Makoto smiled, "It helped me gain massive perspective. My Ben is my Ben, and that's all I need to care about."
"That...was oddly deep for you, Makoto," Tsubaki noted.
"Sides, there are like dozens of worlds." O-Ben added, "Or rather billions...Paradox tells it better. He's got a whole presentation with a hologram tree. But in regards to ours, he wants to ruin my happiness...and to do that..."
"Ruin today," O-Makoto added, "So we, me and Ben...have to stop him for our future. Also...in case it's not clear...he's kind of a big threat to the space time thingamajig…"
"...How big we talking?" Ragna asked with a frown.
"He exists outside of time like you-know-who," O-Ben answered, a serious look on his face.
"...Like hell we'll let him do what he wants," Ragna scowled, 'Someone like Terumi….like hell I'm letting a bastard like that stay in this time!'
"So what's the plan?" Tsubaki asked.
"Honestly, we were just gonna chase him down across time," O-Makoto explained, "In case you didn't notice...he's kinda dangerous to anyone living inside the flow of time. Ben-kun and I have special charms from Paradox to protect us from his Baby and Old Person Rays. And since we are outside our natural flow of time, he can't read our moves."
"You guys did your best, but his temporal powers are crazy strong. If you're not careful...well...we remember old man Kevin, don't we Gwen?" O-Ben laughed.
"I hated that day…" Kevin shuddered as Gwen stifled a giggle.
"So...for once...you have a plan and means to stop the bad guy?" Tsubaki realized.
"Of course! We're not stupid teenagers anymore. We're stupid 20-somethings!" O-Makoto laughed.
"And we're proud of it!" O-Ben laughed.
"You two really are soulmates…" Gwen sighed a bit, "But..glad you two haven't changed that much."
"I guess since we have each other...we haven't needed to change that much," O-Ben laughed.
"I mean we have changed...this isn't the original Omnitrix!" O-Makoto beamed, holding up O-Ben's arm, "Ben made this one."
"Y-you...made an Omnitrix?" they all asked.
"Well duh...we need some hobbies," O-Makoto smiled.
"Why do you keep revealing shit!?" Ragna snapped.
"Cause I want to talk about everything! But can't! And I know what's okay and not okay to talk about!" O-Makoto declared.
"Trust us...We wish we could warn you guys of some future stuff…" O-Ben spoke, a small frown on his face, "And talking random stuff is helping us vent, so we don't screw up the futures you all work so hard to get. The Future we all worked so hard to claim."
"So wasting time talking nonsense...is just to help you keep from doing more harm than good…" Gwen smiled, "Thanks Doofus."
"It's annoying...but the fact you're trying so hard for our sake means a lot," Tsubaki sighed.
"Why can't you praise present me like this more?" O-Makoto complained hugging Tsubaki, "Hugging you when your shorter feels nice! Ah Everyone get in the hug!"
"So what about Eon?" Ragna asked O-Ben.
"The tracker will take me to him," he explained, looking at his Omnitrix, "He is hurt from the fight in our time, I went an Alien who dealt a bad blow to him, then used my Clockwork to have a beam struggle 'till he used up his own time energy reserves. Took all he had to come back here on his own."
"But he still has a lot of energy even drained," O-Makoto spoke, "If you think he's strong now, you should have seen him at full power. Things got...trippy...and I had to punch out several Dinosaurs…"
"So what...he's like at 10 percent right now?" Ragna asked.
"Try 5…" O-Makoto cringed.
"Son of a bitch!"
"The irony is that the you of the future scares him," O-Ben explained.
"Double Bitch!"
"I suppose we would all be stronger in the future…" Mai muttered.
"Like you wouldn't believe!" O-Makoto laughed, "You should see the stuff Ben and the boys can do in the future."
"Trust me...it's pretty epic," O-Ben added, "Makoto and the girls are just as good, too."
"Team Remix Heart has gotten bigger in the future," O-Makoto giggled, "And it's not just the six of us counting Jen."
"Hmm?" Kagura rose his head up at that.
"Shh...None of that info is for you." O-Makoto said, tapping his head, "Not like your future other half lets you look…" she whispered.
"Ahem! Eon?" Jin spoke.
"Ahh right right…"
"I can't wait 'till you mellow out." O-Ben smiled, "But I think I got him. Thankfully he has no idea where Present me took Makoto."
"And none of you will ever find out either!" O-Makoto laughed as she jumped and leaned onto O-Ben to look over his shoulder, "Hmm...looks like he's hiding near...Eeee...Mr. Bauman's shop…" she cringed.
"Oh come on! Even in the past…" O-Ben complained, "He's still mad I dropped a Spinosaurus on his place back in our time!"
"Hey. Least he's not like Pakmar," O-Makoto argued, "Guy seriously holds a grudge…"
"I do not think we want to know," Rook spoke, "Also, mission?"
"Oh right right! Let's move out!"
"Ugh...every time…" Eon muttered, popping his neck as he rubbed the side of his face, "I keep forgetting about the girl...Seriously, why do I keep forgetting the damn girl? She's as bombastic as any Ben is."
"You know I've yet to see this place you keep hinting and teasing me with," Makoto's voice spoke.
"?!" Eon tensed before hiding against the side of a building, seeing her and Ben walking down the sidewalk, '...Perfect.'
"Well, you keep teasing me at times," Ben countered, "And don't even tell me those clothes don't scream 'you know you want this, but ya gotta earn it.'"
"Hey. They're for your eyes only, hun," Makoto teased, dressed in a yellow tee that seemed to push up on her chest and a pair of figure-hugging brown short-shorts with light-brown stockings, "Besides, wanted to go with that playful yet flirty girl-next-door look."
"Which you do pull off well," Ben admitted, "...the girl-next-door thing, I mean."
'Ugh, god. Even in the past, they're so sickeningly sweet,' Eon mentally gagged from his hiding spot, 'Hmm...Now how to ruin this for them…Do I age Tennyson to du...no, no, no. Damn failsafe would turn him into Clockwork if I did anything to him...What If I turned them against one another…?' he pondered just as the two passed him, unaware, "...You got a phat ass, babe."
"Excuse me?" Makoto blinked as she looked at Ben, Eon quickly slinking back into his hiding spot.
"What?" Ben asked back.
"You said I had a 'phat ass'...you're not trying to perv on me like Kagura, are you?"
"What? No!"
"Then why did I hear you say-and I quote- 'you got a phat ass, babe'?" Makoto asked with a light frown.
"I seriously don't...well...th…"
"...Know what? Might as well settle this then," Makoto stated as she stood before him, "Are you more for my butt, or for my 'girls'?"
"Wh-Wh-What?!" Ben exclaimed, his face heating up.
'What...how...did...I...WHAT!?' Eon mentally gawked.
"So that's how that started," Older Ben spoke, appearing next to Eon, "I wondered what jerk did that…Man Makoto went all day with this."
"Tennyson!?" Eon snapped as Older-Ben grabbed him by his jacket and dragged him out the emergency exit, setting off the alarm.
"BEN!"
"AH!" the Ben of this era panicked upon hearing Mr. Bauman, "Book it!"
"This isn't over, ya know!" Makoto complained as she ran after him.
"You know that made today saucy-er then I wanted," O-Ben sighed as he kicked Eon, making him stumble back.
"How did you find me?"
"My wife put a tracer on you," O-Ben smiled.
"What?! Wh….while you were distracting me," Eon realized as he facepalmed, "Of course...that's how you two always work: One distracts and the other goes in for a sneak attack."
"Not my fault you don't get the concept of perfect teamwork." O-Ben smiled, "Though...I have to wonder why you went with such a dumb choice there? Me and Makoto have such an honest relationship, she'd never believe anything you made up to trick her."
"And that's another problem I have with you two!" Eon complained, "You two are just too...sweet together and barely argue! You're like the living definitions of a Gary-Stu and Mary-Sue!"
"Yeesh...What are you, an internet troll?" O-Ben crossed his arms at that, "Like wow...just...wow…Now I feel sad for you, man...like 'I wanna give you a hug and let you get away' levels of sad, but then I remember you're trying to mess with time just to break me and my wife up."
"Wait...where is she? She won't get the jump on me this time!" he snapped, looking around.
"She has her role." O-Ben smiled as he tapped his Omnitrix, "But you seem a lot tired still…" he began cycling a ring of aliens which went around his wrist, "Since no one is here to see me use one of the new guys. I have a shocking...and rocking friend you should meet."
"Hmm?" the young Ben blinked as his Omnitrix lit up a few times, "What's wrong with you today? ...An update? Ah, I'll check later, so go back to sleep mode."
"Maybe it's a message from Azmuth." Makoto noted, holding onto his other arm.
"Then it can wait 'till after...Today's all about you," Ben muttered, shaking his arm a few times.
"Oh that's so sweet," Makoto giggled.
"Hang on...and...there back to sleep mode," Ben spoke, tapping it, "I think it was an update. It said something about downloading new data."
"Huh...neat," Makoto noted before her nose twitched a bit, "Hmm? ...Ooh something smells delish~" she quickly dragged Ben away to the location of the scent.
"Whoa!"
"All according to plan," Older Makoto smiled, watching from a rooftop, "My Ben keeps Eon in one place, and I keep my younger self and her Ben on track for the day."
=I'm still shocked you were able to come up with such a brilliant plan= Gwen spoke from a walkie-talkie nearby.
"What? You think I'd be all gung-ho like I am in your present?" O-Makoto pondered before giggling, "Silly. You're so silly, Gwendolyn."
=...well at least you're not like Cousin Lucy...and that's a meeting I am starting to dread= Gwen admitted.
"Yeah, you're not gonna have a great day when that happens…" O-Makoto smiled to herself.
=More than when I'm left with the brat?= Kevin chimed in.
=Kevin, don't bring Luna and Sena into this= Gwen sighed.
=Oh no. I don't have a problem with Sena...it's Luna I have a problem with= Kevin stated =Seriously, everytime you look away or busy with your homework, that little brat takes every opportunity to prank me=
"Trust me, Kevin, this time with Luna shall prepare you for a difficult chapter in your life," O-Makoto chuckled.
=I'm already dreading it=
=Anyway, you sure leaving it to just Ben is a good idea?= Tsubaki asked.
"Yep," O-Makoto replied, "While Ben's still himself, he has matured and he's got a lot more Aliens. While he still goes by Ben 10, he's more Ben 5,000 now, several coming from dimensional incidents."
=Really?=
"Yup...and trust me. Some of them are pretty epic, too."
"GH?!" Eon grunted as he skidded back, stopping inside an empty warehouse.
"You know," an alien with arms and legs of electric blue energy, a torso and shoulders made of black rocks with green accents along the top sighed, his face made of stone which moved like it was organic with green eyes and a blue glow in his mouth, sighed as he lowered his hand which was made of rocks to the shape of a large cannon, "When you first attacked me with crazy time powers and shenanigans...I thought you'd be my hardest enemy ever...but then you go and reveal your powers are on a charge time. Weak sauce dude."
"Because you made me reveal that info!" Eon argued.
"Oh and btw...be thankful the Master Unit hasn't' erased you from existence."
"I could say the same about you and the halfbreed wench of yours," Eon countered, "Especially the latter."
"...Okay, just for that, you're getting your butt whooped harder than ever," the alien stated in annoyance. His hand reformed as the rocks became box-like, he then pulled on a cord of blue energy before two blades of energy that spun along the edges forming twin Chainsaws.
"...That's just unfair," Eon muttered before dodging a slash, causing the chainsaws to miss as they dug into an empty crate.
"Yeah yeah, so says the guy ripping off the JoJo manga...come on man, seeing time, stopping time, skipping time, get original will ya!?" the alien swung sending out energy disks that cut into the ground like buzzsaws.
"Says the fool who copied most of the beings he encountered during their little interdimensional adventure."
"Yeah but when I copy something, I make it work." he smirked as he punched the ground, sending a current of electricity across the ground that sent Eon flying back.
"Umashi~!" Makoto beamed, her tail swaying as she ate a large bowl of vanilla ice cream drizzled with caramel and crumbled chestnuts, the bowl being a crafted waffle with chocolate sauce, "Who knew there was a place like this in Bellwood?...Wait. Is this one of the places you kept hinting and teasing me with, Ben-kun?"
"Yep. I wanted to bring you here forever since we started dating, but we never got the time, and the line to order tends to be long." Ben explained, "So I planned to come here first thing we could for lunch. I even kept an Echo Echo in line to hold a spot."
=You're welcome= an Echo Echo clone smiled while sitting at the next table over, he then cringed and fell over, clearly suffering an ice cream headache =Worth...it=
"Aww hun~" Makoto smiled as she leaned over, giving him a light peck on the cheek, "That was so sweet...no pun intended of course."
"I don't mind, I love your puns," Ben laughed, he then put a hand to his head, "How am I feeling your ice cream headache, Number 5?"
=Hehehe…=
"...So...what's our next stop after this?" Makoto asked, wiping her mouth a bit, "Also...still waiting on an answer~"
"Huh?"
"Your comment earlier...I want to know which you prefer. My butt or my chest," Makoto stated before grinning a bit, "I mean...you are a boy after all."
"...you're not gonna drop this are you?"
"Nnnnope."
"...What if I told you our next spot is an arcade?"
"...oh ho no. You're not gonna deviate from…"
"A VR Arcade."
"...Explain," Makoto ordered, instantly before him as her eyes looked into his.
"Oh my god. I remember that arcade…" O-Makoto whispered, hiding in some bushes outside to view them from one of the restaurant's windows, "Oh it was so cool…That was the best gaming date ever...Ah, it's a bummer they ban us in four years..."
=Not like that is any different= Tsubaki muttered.
=You broke a game, didn't you?= Mai asked.
"Technically, Vulkanus did."
=You still let him roam about?= Jin asked.
"Not by choice. Just…"
=...Chadzmuth?= Tsubaki asked.
"Chadzmuth…" O-Makoto sighed, "...which reminds me. If Ben is in any legal space troubles, do not..and I repeat this heavily...Do NOT hire Chadzmuth. He will only make it worse."
=...why?=
"Just trust me."
=Okay…= Mai replied.
"Still, that place is a whole lot of fun. Not as much as just spending a day with Ben on a beach is, but more than the time someone set up a lot of clear wrap all over Kaka Village on April 1st," O-Makoto recalled before giggling, "Oh my goodness, I still have the recordings of what happened and it was just hilarious."
=Why do I feel Argit is responsible for that?= Ragna muttered.
=When is it not him?= Rook asked.
=...Okay good point, greenhorn=
"Eh, I won't spoil who," O-Makoto replied, "Just say this: don't let Noel see the Kaka Kittens when they find the clear wrap barriers. Cuteness overload."
=Understood= Mai nodded
"So...playing hide and seek now, Eon?" O-Ben asked, looking around the warehouse, "You know I'm gonna find ya eventually...and when I do, I think I'll reintroduce ya to one of the forms I 'copied'."
"I'd rather you turn to ash!" Eon shouted as a purple beamed shot in from above, making O-Ben jump back to dodge it.
"And thank you for revealing your hiding spot," O-Ben smirked, already looking through a selection of Aliens before pressing down on the Omnitrix.
In a flash of light, Ben seemed to have vanished. Eon blinked twice under his mask before he screamed as he was lifted and slammed into the ground. Looking at his feet, his eyes widened. Standing there, roughly the size of a small child, was a blue creature with large ears, big black eyes, two long antennae, three spikes emerging down its spine, and four arms ending in claws. He wore a black bodysuit with white and green detailing with the Omnitrix emblem on the chest.
"ALOHA!" he greeted before slamming Eon once more in the ground.
"What is that?!" Eon snapped before it rolled into a ball and slammed into his stomach.
"Blue Punch Buggy!"
"Wait...Oh god no!" At that, a blue Volkswagen beetle slammed him into a pile of crates.
"No hit backs!" the new alien laughed.
"That...thing should not be so strong…" Eon groaned under it.
"Meega Nala Kweesta!" he laughed, dragging him into the rubble, the time traveler being tossed up and down several times before being dragged around and slammed face first into several pillars.
"Ugh! You insuffera...Did you just steal my left shoe?!" Eon demanded, his left black sock exposed.
"..." he hacked up the boot and held it to Eon, dripping in saliva and stomach juices.
"Ugh…" Eon cringed in disgust before the new alien ate it in one bite.
"Mmm…" he shrugged before he lifted a giant metal crate several times larger than Eon himself.
"Don't you...AH!" he was smacked with the crate, sending him crashing out through a wall.
"Stupid head," the alien laughed as he rolled after him and bounced out the hole.
'I gotta get away...the further I'm away from him, the faster I can ruin this day!'
"Still as awesome as I remember it," O-Makoto noted, looking at a large building that Ben and Makoto were approaching.
"So a VR arcade...Already this is getting me excited," Makoto noted, her tail wagging a little, "Anything special I should know aside from subtle hints?"
"Nothing..except I helped repair this place and upgraded it with some of my more tech-savvy aliens," Ben answered.
"Ooh~" Makoto beamed as the two walked in.
"Welcome to New Space VR, Bellwood's biggest and only VR centric arc-" an employee began before noticing the two, "Oh. Hey Ben."
"Joe," Ben greeted, "Any rooms available? Kinda on a special date with my gal here."
"We got one available," Joe assured, going behind the counter to pull out a pair of VR headsets, "Just put these on when ya head into the room, then pick whichever games you wanna play."
"Games? As in...plural?" Makoto asked.
"Yeah," Joe replied, "We've got several games that work with VR. And if you really wanna delve into the game-thanks to Ben here-we got a lot of all the most recent video games that are out to put yourself in the game itself."
"...Oh I am feeling tingly in excitement~!" Makoto silently squealed at that, hopping a bit in place before grabbing him, "Let's go!"
"Woah!" Ben yelped as she dragged him into a large empty room, "Okay okay...heh. I knew you'd like this place."
"Oh, I hope I will!" Makoto beamed as she put her headset on, "What game shall we do first?!"
"Well we got a few to choose from," Ben replied, putting the headset on as the two began to look through the selection on a holographic wheel that appeared before them, "Maybe something simple to start off and work together on."
"Hmm...TF2 sounds good," Makoto muttered, cycling through the choices, "I'd say Overwatch, but that doesn't come out until a few years."
"...Game series?"
"Eeyup. And it's got a lot of neat lore, too," Makoto nodded before looking back at the list, "Hmm...what else..Poker Night at the Inventory?"
"Poker game where you play against a few characters from video games and web series, TF2 included," Ben explained.
"Really?" Makoto asked, "Ooh. Let's try that, then. I'm feeling pretty lucky today!"
"Alright…" Ben grinned as he tapped something, causing the room to start changing, settling on an alley at night.
"...Wow. What a dump," Makoto noted.
"This is just the cover," Ben replied as he knocked on the door, causing an elevator to pop up around them.
"Ahh...okay, fair enough," Makoto shrugged as the elevator went down, "So aside from TF2, who's down here?"
"Well, since we're in the first game. It'll be Max from the Freelance Police, the Heavy from TF2, Strong Bad from Homestar Runner, and Tyco from Penny Arcade," Ben recalled.
"Strong Bad...Wait, is he the guy in the red mask that reads emails and types with boxing gloves on?" Makoto asked.
"Yeah."
"Oh man, I love that series! Guy just cracks me up," Makoto snickered.
"Ahh...well I know you're gonna enjoy yourself."
"Yup! In fact...I'll make a little bet with ya," Makoto said as a grin grew on her face, "I win a hand...you have to finally answer my question."
"...and if I win a hand?"
"...hmm.." Makoto began to ponder for a moment, "If you win...mmm...then I'll answer any one question you ask."
"Deal," Ben replied just as the elevator stopped.
"Cool, then let's have some fun."
"And I'm betting right now younger me and younger Ben-kun made a certain bet," O-Makoto grinned, leaning against a wall in the alleyway near the arcade.
=Sounds about right. You've always been quite competitive= Tsubaki noted.
=Like that time you convinced us to do strip poker in the academy= Mai recalled.
"Even in my time, I still don't get how Noel won," O-Makoto muttered, "It's like she was born with Ultimate Luck."
=That does not seem possible= Rook muttered.
"Oh trust me..future Noellie manages to pull it off each time," O-Makoto stated
=But why use the word 'Ultimate' in that?=
"Would love to tell ya, but cannot," O-Makoto shook her head, "You'll figure it out soon enough, anyway."
=...Alright?=
"Mm hmm...so any other questions that won't evolve into something spoilery?"
=...Do you two still even argue?= Ragna asked =Because I notice you and Ben rarely even do that anymore…=
"Eh. We still do at times," O-Makoto answered, "I mean...no couple is perfect, so of course there would be a crack or two at times. Plus, we tend to keep the arguing mainly to private places, like a bedroom or somewhere out of sight and hard for others to overhear us."
=Ahh…=
"Yup, but we still manage to make up in the end," O-Makoto shrugged, "...Also don't think about it, Kagura."
=Hmm?= Kagura blinked.
"I know past you...you're gonna ask how our…" O-Makoto paused, "...Is Robotboy present or not? Because I want to make sure he stays pure and innocent."
=He's patrolling the skies= Tsubaki answered
"You know damn well you were gonna ask about our make-up sex…"
=PFFFTTT!-!-!-!= Kagura sputtered and gasped =WHAT?!=
"Oh what? Now you're a prude?" O-Makoto huffed, "I swear you bugged our room once…"
=Thank you for that small tidbit of info= Hibiki spoke.
=But I….=
=Eventually you will=
=...Wait. Doesn't that c...=
"Nope/incorrect= O-Makoto and Hibiki replied
=D'oh…=
"Hey. You asked, and I provided non-spoiler info," O-Makoto argued, "Besides, my and my husband's sex life is NYAB."
=NYAB?= Rook repeated =I thought it was…=
"Nanaya Business!" O-Makoto laughed.
=You just get worse, don't you?= Tsubaki asked.
"May~be."
=That's reassuring…=
"Gah!" Eon grunted as he was tossed into a construction yard, "...a construction yard...it's always construction yards with you."
"Yoohoo~" the new alien cheered, lifting a steel girder and swinging it into Eon, sending him flying.
"Ahh!" Eon grunted as he crashed into a few bags of cement, "I am really getting tired of this!" he snapped, firing another beam at the new Alien.
"Whoa!" he shouted, jumping around to avoid each blast, "Miss me! Blah!" he taunted while dodging blast after blast, he even flipped around and stood on his hands and head as he shook his rear at Eon mockingly, "Yoohoo~" he taunted, jumping out of the way of another blast.
"Stop that!" Eon snapped before fidgeting, "What...are you in my clothes?! HOW?! WHEN!?"
"Iih!" he grunted, popping out of his coat as he held up what looked like a large grenade, "Ooh?"
"You idiot! That's a powerful chrono grenade!" Eon snapped when the alien pulled the pin.
"Oh okay," he responded, handing it back.
"...I...loathe you," Eon growled in annoyance before forcing it back onto him.
"Merry Christmas!" he spoke as he tried to run away.
"It's not christmas!" Eon snapped, tossing it back.
"Happy Hanukkah!" he cried, tossing it back.
"It's not Hanukkah either!"
"Yes!" the new alien cried, tossing it back.
"No!" Eon cried, tossing it back as well.
"Yes!"
"No!"
"One Potatoh!" Eon cried, tossing it back as they began running around.
"Two Potatoh!" the alien snapped, tossing it at him from a distance.
"Three Potatoh!" Eon snapped, tossing it up like a basketball.
"Four!" the alien cried, spiking it back like a volleyball.
"Five!"
"Six Potatoh!"
"Seven Potatoh more!"
At that, the two were just feet across from one another as the grenade beeped more and more.
"My!"
"Mother!"
"Told!"
"Me!"
"You!"
"Are!"
"It…" the alien sighed, realizing it was too late to run.
"HA! I win!...oh crap I win…" Eon realized too late.
*BOOM!*
=Ahh! What was that?!= Noel yelped.
"Not sure...but…" O-Makoto muttered as she looked up, seeing a small blue alien cry as he flew through the air like a rocket.
=What is that? AH!= Noel yelped.
=Ack! I'm okay...I'm fluffy…=
=...Koala?= Noel blinked =...KAWAII~~!=
=No! No hugs! AAH! Help!=
"Maybe I should've mentioned that form…" O-Makoto muttered, "This new one we got after a trip to Hawaii of another dimension." she explained, "He's an exact replica of the little alien we met in that dimension. We learned only after we came back, the form is an exact clone since the alien was a synthetically made experiment."
=No! No cuddles! It ruins the fluffy! Noel, no!=
=NOEL, YES~!=
=So...why hasn't he changed back?= Tsubaki asked.
"Oh well when Ben turns into this one, he's kinda stuck in him for longer since the Omnitrix kinda blends well with him. But I don't mind, it's like the pet we always wanted, but know we also don't have the time to care for as we should." O-Makoto explained, "Plus I figure if our kids ever want a pet...they need to handle this alien for a week first."
=He's very strong…= Noel muttered, =He's still resisting and trying to escape=
"Yeah, he's still in his early stages so positive encouragement makes him feel panicked," Makoto explained.
=Hahaha...He's like a dog!= Kevin laughed before yelping =AH! He's eating my foot!=
"No, just the Left shoe..." O-Makoto sighed, "Adorable...but I've lost so many boots to this form…"
=Why the left?= Gwen asked.
"We do not know…" O-Makoto sighed, "But trust me...this alien is so useful that we try and ignore it."
=Useful!?= Kevin snapped, =It's eating our left shoes!=
=Bleh!=
=No, I don't want it back!=
"Trust me...this alien will help with so much," O-Makoto sighed, "More than you could ever know...especially with Khyber…"
=Why?=
"Just trust me…"
=But he's so little…= Noel began.
=Don't forget cute and fluffy!=
=And annoying= Jin muttered =Wait. Why are you looking at me like that?=
=...Hi~=
=I'm going to run…=
=No wait Ben,...AH!= Noel cried as the sounds of her being dragged off could be heard as well as Jin cursing.
"Ben...Eon?" O-Makoto asked.
=He goes boom! Big boom...Time boom…=
=Is he dealt with?=
=I dunno…=
"...If he was in the time boom...chances are he got sent into another timeline, got a bit of a boost from it...or ran at the last second," O-Makoto muttered.
"Oh what the hell?" Eon groaned, waking up in Pioneer times, "Why? WHY DO I LET HIM TRICK ME LIKE THAT?! Everytime I face those two, Tennyson or his wife keeps tricking me! Ugh...Well, this way I can stay hidden and recharge myself without disturbance."
"Ahem," Eon tensed...before slowly turning to see Paradox standing there, "Gumball?"
"...Son of a…" Eon groaned.
"Knowing Paradox, he's more than likely when Eon is to keep him distracted 'till either he escapes or we have to go back to then," O-Makoto shrugged.
"He's good," the new alien replied as O-Makoto was holding him in her arms, "We probably good here…"
"Yup," O-Makoto nodded, "And so glad you didn't drink coffee in the time it took me to get here."
"...What happens if he…"
"Spoilers!" both replied.
"Aw…" Noel complained.
"It's okay… Your Ben shall get this form, real soon. Mm...Real soon," O-Makoto assured, "But, uh...Don't let him turn into it in the middle of the city part of Bellwood...in fact, make sure it's on an island when he first uses it."
"Why?" Kevin asked.
"Because the first few times he turns into this form, he'll want to reverse street signs, back up pipes, and steal everyone's left shoe," O-Makoto sighed, "It's an alien literally meant to destroy civilization."
"Urp!" he burped, coughing up Kevin's car's muffler.
"DUDE!" Kevin exclaimed.
"Alright, enough of that," O-Makoto deadpanned before tapping his symbol, releasing a flash of green light that faded to reveal Clockwork.
"Well it's been fun, but sadly we need to return home. If we don't get back soon, I fear ze house will fall apart on account of Dev...Uh, it doesn't matter," he shook his head.
"Smooth…" O-Makoto deadpanned.
"Oh hush you," Clockwork muttered.
"At least they're not giving a warning like Paradox did with the Forever Knights," Kevin muttered.
"Oh, right them…" O-Makoto cringed, her ears going down.
"What?" Mai asked slowly.
"Sorry...we, uh...we can't say. Just know...our happy future comes from a lot of harsh battles," she sighed, "And I mean a lot."
"Aw man…" they all sighed.
"Also it should go without saying...Noel...that you can't tell us...about...well...us," Clockwork pointed at Noel, "Zip it...or I will come back in time and give you amnesia for this day."
"Why me? Kevin is the one who goofs up…" Noel complained.
"Hey…" Kevin realized what she said.
"Oh we know. It's just your certain..tendencies and stuff…"
"Eh?"
"She means you'll make a book about it, meaning our younger selves will see and find something odd," Clockwork explained.
"Oh...mmm~"
"Oh, relax. You'll get to write it the moment we're back in our time," Clockwork replied, "Well...The you of our time."
"Oh…"
"Good luck with what happens next Tuesday!" O-Makoto waved as Clockwork's 'key' spun before the two vanished in an orb of green light.
"Wait, what did that mean!?" Tsubaki snapped.
"We didn't even ask what to do if Eon shows back up here…" Jin sighed.
"Oh no, that was my job," Paradox smiled, making Ragna, Kevin, and Jin jump back since he had been behind the trio, "Gumball anyone?"
"Profesor? Oh, thank god. Can you explain what...today was?" Tsubaki asked.
"A very complicated and confusing day, my dear," Paradox sighed, "But not to worry. I fixed all the people and things Eon time blasted...I couldn't do much for that construction sight, however...the time grenade that Ben in his 626 form set off has caused that entire site to be stuck in time...which is why it now and always will be...half finished."
"Yeesh," Mai cringed.
"That...oddly explains a lot," Tsubaki muttered.
"As for Eon, I trapped that version in a void between time and space. Along with most of the other versions…" he grumbled, "But I'm sure another Eon will appear someday. But when that time comes, you can handle him just fine. Just try not to get turned into an elderly again...I can only fix that so many times."
"Noted," Kevin nodded.
"So...do we forget ever meeting the Future Ben and Makoto?" Mai asked.
"If you wish, I can erase the memories from your minds," Paradox spoke, "But...I think maybe knowing there is a future worth fighting through all your hard battles to come, is just what you all need." he smiled.
"It does sound good from what they could say," Mai noted.
"It may be," Paradox replied, "Still, keep it in mind for what starts next Tuesday those of you not in college."
"Why is Tuesday so impo-and he's gone," Gwen sighed, Paradox gone the moment they all blinked.
"...Already I find him as annoying and cryptic as the damn usagi," Ragna muttered before he was suddenly zapped, '...Ok. That proves she's SOMEWHERE in this damn timeline...DAMN IT!'
"...You guys are in trouble," Kevin chuckled.
"What?"
"Gwen goes to college and I've got a job near said college, so we're not getting roped into whatever happens next Tuesday," Kevin chuckled.
"..." Ragna's eye twitched.
"I can already tell it's gonna be chaotic," Jin muttered.
"Same…" Hibiki agreed.
"I still can't believe they had a prize counter," Makoto noted, a stuffed doll resembling a yellow creature of sorts with brown spots on the back and beady black eyes in her arms, "Oh, we have got to go back to that place. Maybe make it a normal hangout for days off."
"Sounds like a plan," Ben nodded as the two turned a corner, the evening sky beginning to slowly evolve into a starry night.
"Also...still sneaky of you to keep avoiding my question with each hand ya win," Makoto smirked.
"True. But I still learned a few good things about ya," Ben admitted as they were starting to walk into the park, "Speaking about you, recognize this place?"
"Hmm?"
"Well...Technically, it's where we first met," Ben replied, "The spot where you literally fell into my arms when I caught you as Diamondhead."
"Really?" Makoto asked in surprise.
"Yep," Ben replied, "Right over...here…" he tapped his foot on a spot, "...is where I launched myself up to catch ya in mid-fall."
"...so...I fell out of the sky like a shining star," Makoto whispered, a blush forming on her cheeks.
"Yeah...and you fell into my life," Ben smiled, wrapping an arm around her.
"Aw...you just know what to say to make me feel special," Makoto spoke, the blush getting stronger as she nuzzled against him.
"Yup. Kinda have Noel to thank for that with her soaps," Ben admitted before leaning closely into her ear, "And for your question…" he whispered into her ear.
"?!" Makoto tensed at that, a shiver going up her spine as she heavily blushed, '...Okay...wow. Who knew Ben secretly had that side of him?' "...h...heh heh. W-well...ease yourself there, cassanova. D-don't wanna…"
"Oh? Did I get you flustered?" Ben smirked.
"What? N-no," Makoto denied as she tried to wave it off.
"Ahh~ I got ya flustered," Ben's smirk grew at that.
"Mmm~" Makoto puffed her cheeks up at that, "...You learned that from Kagura, didn't you?"
"Guy may be perv, but he gives some pretty good dating advice actually," Ben admitted, "I just...sorted out the more lewd stuff."
"...Alright, I'll give him that and points to you for not listening to the more pervy stuff he says," Makoto noted, "Still..today was a really great day, Ben-kun. I absolutely loved it."
"I did, too," Ben agreed as they turned their heads to look at one another, his green eyes looking into her hazel-colored eyes for a moment before they shared a kiss, the stars in the night sky shining brightly as the moon's light shone down on them.
GT: Aww...That's so romantic.
SZ: Aye. A really sweet way to end off this special anniversary chapter of GSE.
GT: Yep. Because next chapter things get...well...not all that hopeful.
SZ: Aye...read and review folks, and happy 1st year for GSE!
GT: Please Read and Review, folks!