Robin groaned as her eyes slowly began to open. She wanted to rub her face to clear out the drowsiness but felt something restraining her arms as well as her legs. Her eyes shot open, and she got a good look at her predicament.
The former Miss All-Sunday was being held in a ring-like object suspended above the floor. Her arms and legs spread out as they we're held by some form of energy restraints. The room she was in was quite large, most likely built for someone much larger than herself. She groaned as she struggled, but she was unable to get loose.
"Awake, are we?"
Robin stopped to look in front of her to see Psyphon floating towards her.
"Who are you? Where am I?" She demanded.
"Somewhere your kind can only dream of going to," Psyphon replied. "I must say, it's a pleasure to finally meet you Nico Robin or should I call you 'The Demon Child of Ohara'?"
Robin's eyes widen in absolute shock at this statement. Apparently, there were things that could break through even her stoicism.
"Where did you learn that?!" Robin demanded once more.
"You are in no position to make demands, earthling."
This came from a new voice as a large figure began to walk out of the shadows. Once it stepped into the light, Robin gave an audible gasp at the sight of such a monstrous being. He was at least twice, if not three times, her own height. He carried a large sword sheathed behind his back. His tentacled beard didn't help but make her unsettling. But what was the most frightening about this being was his eyes; those red eyes, those we're the eyes of someone who has no remorse or mercy whatsoever. Many people throughout her life called her a demon, but the being standing in front of her could truly be considered one in her eyes.
"You… what are you?"
"I am Vilgax." The alien tyrant confirmed. "And I have come to conquer and subjugate your world."
Despite the appearance of this terrifying individual, Robin tried to put on a brave face. "Why are you doing this? What is so special about our world that you want to conquer it?!"
"Does an individual need a reason to crush an insect beneath his feet?" Vilgax responded. "The truth is, I despise weakness, and your planet is filled to the brim with such an infection."
"Then you're nothing more than just a simple tyrant. Just like the ones who already dominate my world."
"You consider me a tyrant?" The warlord questioned. "I am merely following the nature of all things."
"Nature?" The imprisoned archeologist wondered out loud.
"The unspoken nature of this or any universe is survival of the fittest." Vilgax began to explain. "The strong are always in power, while the weak are nothing more than steppingstones. Empires are built upon the bones of both enemy and fallen ally alike. It is as you said, your planet has already been conquered by the hands of monstrous savages, I on the other hand shall bring your world back from such weakness, by making it a part of my own empire!"
"You think invading our world is going to improve things?!" Robin questioned in both anger and fear. "Who are you to decide what's best for us!?"
Vilgax silenced her as his own face came less than an inch from her, his red eyes glaring deep at her, causing whatever defiance she had to face away into absolute fear. Which was a feeling that Robin hadn't felt since that day.
"You could not even begin to imagine what drives me." Vilgax told her. "Your world will have two choices. They can bow to me and thrive under my rule and protection, or they can resist, and I won't hesitate to wipe that pitiful planet from the face of existence!"
Robin gasped at that. One look into his eyes told her that not only did he have the power to do so, but he would do it without a second thought and not even shed a tear.
"You're a monster."
"I am indeed." Vilgax straightened himself up, he turned around and was about to walk away when Robin called out to him again.
"But why I am here? Why kidnap me specifically?"
Vilgax turned to face her again, "I assume you are familiar with those objects known as Poneglyphs?"
The look of utter surprise on Robin's face told him what he needed to know, "Oh yes, I know all about them. As well as your quest to find out the true history of this world that your so-called World Government is so desperate to hide from the populace. But that is of no concern at the moment, what I'm most interested in right now are these Ancient Weapons that have been said to be capable of causing unimaginable devastation. Unfortunately, me and associates have been unable to decipher the inscriptions of these artifacts. It is a language that not even a universal translator could translate. And that's where you come in, human."
"I have no intention of reviving the Ancient Weapons, all I want is to find out the true history of this world. Something a warmonger like you can never truly grasp. You won't get away with this. You will be stopped."
Surprisingly, Vilgax gave a slight chuckle as he turned around and glanced back at the imprisoned Robin. "You believe Tennyson and his newfound friends, these 'Straw Hat pirates', will stop me?"
"You're not the first tyrant they've defeated." Robin told him with determination and certainty evident in her voice.
The tone in her voice did not sit well with Vilgax as it did indeed remind him of the Omnitrix user he's been battling for years. "Let them come. If they are foolish enough to try." He turned down toward his lackey. "Psyphon, find what you can from her."
"Yes, lord Vilgax." Psyphon bowed as he and his master left the chambers, leaving Robin alone.
As Robin tried to desperately think of a way to escape her bindings, she didn't seem to notice a swarm of electrodes appear behind and converge on her as everything suddenly went black while a scream of pure terror rang out.
Earth
The mood was rather tense to say the least as the crew had already returned to the Going Merry with Chopper having treated the wounds of those who had been injured during the previous battle.
"Ben..." Nami sighed morosely as she eyed the Omnitrix wielder and his team. "We've been patient... we've waited... we're on the Merry..." She spread her arms helplessly. "No more stalling, Ben. It's time to talk."
Ben chuckled mirthlessly as he shook my head. "Yeah, yeah... I know... no putting it off." He was silent for a second more before clearing his throat. "Alright then... where to start... who here has heard of the multiverse theory?" The lack of response he received didn't surprise anyone one bit.
"Yeah, I figured..." Ben sighed, "There's essentially infinite other worlds in existence, one world for every possible possibility."
Luffy, still looking confused, raised his hand.
"Yes, Luffy, they're mystery worlds," Ben deadpanned.
Luffy's hand went down.
The Alien Force then proceeded to them where they really came from. The team now realizing that trying to keep it a secret for too long would dissolve any trust between them and the rest of the crew.
As it turned out, Zoro and Luffy instantly believed their tale of world traveling. Nami and Sanji didn't seem to believe them, but didn't contradict them, either. Usopp and Chopper thought it was some tale like Usopp spun.
"Why didn't you tell us this?" Luffy asked in a serious tone.
"We didn't mean anything by it." Ben said. "It's just…you guys already had enough problems with finding that treasure. We didn't want to add to it."
"Plus, we didn't think we had to." Gwen added. "We never thought any of our enemies would follow us here."
In the end, it seemed to change nothing, except they became curious about the differences between their worlds. To hear of a planet so much more advanced than their own, where governments were actually decent, if still incompetent, was incredible to them. Luffy and Zoro were really confused about the idea of superheroes, though. But the crew had more important things to deal with at the moment. Namely how to address one of their crew being kidnapped and all.
"Vilgax?" Nami questioned as Ben told them of their new enemy.
"Yeah." Ben confirmed with a nod. "An evil warlord from my universe and a total psychopath."
"And so how long have you been fighting this guy?" Zoro asked.
"Almost a decade." Ben replied, surprising everyone present. "Ever since I got this slapped onto my wrist." He pointed to the Omnitrix.
"Well, it wouldn't be the first warlord we fought." Sanji said, referring to Crocodile.
"Oh, I can guarantee that anyone you guys have ever went up against is nothing compared to him." Ben said.
"What about Crocodile and Baroque Works?" Usopp questioned. "Those guys were pretty strong."
"I agree with Usopp." Nami added. "Baroque Works were full of ruthless assassins and Crocodile was one of the Shichibukai; they almost wiped out Alabasta. They were on a whole other level."
"Yeah, Crocodile was tough, no question." Ben continued. "But Vilgax is pure evil. Crocodile may have conquered a country, but Vilgax has conquered entire planets and even destroyed them. He's got an empire that's centuries old and an army of loyal followers; not including all his robots."
That one statement took the crew by surprise. "Wait, you're serious?" Nami questioned. "He's actually destroyed planets!?"
"Yep." Ben nodded. "He's the most dangerous enemy I've ever faced. And I've gone up against pretty much every type of bad guy!"
The crew looked toward each other with wide eyes and concern.
"He's really that bad?" Nami asked in a somewhat frightened tone. She may not have seen Vilgax, but she already seemed pretty scared of him.
"Worse than you can imagine." Ben confirmed.
Luffy spoke up for the first time after taking all this in. "I don't care who he is, I'm going to kick his ass for taking Robin! How strong is he?"
"All these years he's been dabbling in all sorts of crazy stuff," Kevin explained, "Like draining and absorbing powers from other aliens, heck he even became a literal god at one point! But all that power's long gone."
That statement didn't sit well with the Strawhats. Even if he no longer had that power, the fact that he actually became a literal god was unsettling enough.
"So, what powers does he have currently?" Zoro questioned.
"Best guess his own natural stuff." Ben answered. "He's strong, like insanely strong. He's also good with hand-to-hand combat, and he's also a tactical genius."
"The attack we held off does seem to confirm that fact." Rook spoke up. "He most likely sent our past enemies in order to distract us, so he could accomplish his primary objective."
"I think there's a bit more to it that." Ben said. "I think maybe he was probably testing all of us."
"Testing us?" Nami questioned.
"Like I said, he's a tactical genius. He learns." Ben explained.
"But why would he attack us in the first place?" Usopp questioned once more. "What would he gain from this?"
"That's right, he's from your universe." Zoro pointed out, though his tone sounded a bit more accusatory. "Why come to this one?"
The rest of the crew, Luffy in particular, took note of Zoro's tone and we're a bit concerned by it; but Nami decided not to argue right now and just asked Ben a less accusing question.
"What I think Zoro is asking is, why is Vilgax here now?"
"I don't know." Ben answered honestly. "He's an enigma. Whenever I think he's after something, it turns out he's got something else planned. The only thing I know for certain he's been after my Omnitrix since I got it more than six years ago."
"I can see why he'd want it." Sanji said. "You got what a few hundred thousand aliens in that watch? And we've seen you use it, imagine what he can do with it."
"Imagine what an army can do with it." Ben pointed out. "He's been trying to get the watch so he can replicate its powers and build an army of Omnitrix-users and conquer my whole universe."
"Okay now that's a scary thought." Nami pointed out.
"An army of evil Bens?!" Usopp exclaimed, misinterpreting what Ben said. "No way we can handle that!"
Luffy cracked his knuckles. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's show Vilgax why he should have never messed with our crew!"
"I'm all for that," Zoro agreed eagerly with a vicious smirk. "Let's see how tough this guy really is."
"Guys trust me on this one." Gwen told the group. "He's not someone you want to take on in a street fight. Plus, us going up there guns blazing is probably what he wants."
"How do you know?" Zoro asked.
"Because I've done that before." Ben replied. "And it does not end well."
"What makes you think he'd be expecting all of us?" Nami asked. "I mean we're all from a different universe and all that."
"He's many things but being predictable isn't one of them." Ben replied. "He could come down here himself to try and take the watch, or he could launch another army."
"So, what's the plan?" Julie asked.
"I say we take Vilgax down now before he rears his ugly head again." Luffy said. "He is ugly, right?" He never saw him before.
"Very." Ben nodded. "He gave me nightmares as a kid."
"If that's true I really don't wanna see him now." Usopp shivered along with Chopper.
"Okay, that's enough." Tetrax got right down to business. "But Kevin is right, we should strike now before Vilgax attacks again.
"And I'd be all for that." Ben began. "But we don't know why Vilgax came here or what he wants."
"I thought he wanted your watch and take over the world or some shit." Sanji said.
"Vilgax wouldn't conquer a world just for the heck of it." Ben said. "He's evil, but there's always a reason behind his motives. He came here for something which involves Robin somehow, and I want to know what it is before we charge in blindly."
"You don't want to take any chances with him, even with that watch of yours?" Nami asked Ben.
"Nami, if you fought him as much as I have, you'd understand."
"So, what are we supposed to do?"
"We go up there and kick his ass! That's all there is to it!"
Luffy was about to rush up only to be stopped by both Kevin and Rook.
"And you think rushing up there's gonna help!?" Kevin questioned.
"He is right, we cannot rush into this." Rook told the crew, but Ben stepped up with a hand on his chin.
"Or maybe we can." He began to contemplate.
"Uh Ben… what are you thinking right now?" Julie wondered.
"Okay, Vilgax kidnapped Robin, why?" Ben began. "I can think of two reasons. One, she has some pretty valuable knowledge, he's trying to gain some kind of leverage. Second is that he knows we're all here, including me, so…"
"You're saying Robin's the bait." Zoro said.
"Bingo." Ben answered.
"So, it's a trap." Usopp assumed.
"Unless…" Kevin began to think. "He wants us to think it's a trap."
"What do you mean?" Octus asked.
"See if he knows that we know it's a trap, he must think we won't fall for it. So, if we do fall for it, he'll be the one caught off-guard!" Kevin surmised.
Many of the Strawhats had expressions of both confusion and surprise on their faces, while Gwen was a bit uncertain.
"That sounds like a good idea on paper, but I'm pretty sure Vilgax is clever enough to anticipate any moves we make." Gwen pointed out.
Kevin groaned as he face-palmed. However, it did have the Omnitrix wielder thinking before an idea soon came to his mind.
"Unless… what if he didn't see it?"
Everyone turned toward Ben. "What do you mean if he doesn't see it?" Zoro questioned.
Ben smirked. "I mean, what if he literally doesn't see us coming? Like we're invisible."
"I think you're on to something right there, Ben," Tetrax pointed out. "You can turn into your Ectonurite or Necrofriggian form and turn us invisible and intangible! We could just faze right in!"
This seemed to get the rest of the crew elated.
"Dude, that could actually work." Kevin stated with a grin.
"Not a bad idea!" Gwen agreed.
Even Ben seemed to agree. "There's no way Vilgax would see something like that coming. It's brilliant."
"Just one problem guys. How the hell are we going to get up there anyway?" Sanji stated, "I'm pretty sure the Merry can't fly us up in space."
"Leave that to me," Julie spoke up, "Ship, you know what to do."
Right before the crew's very eyes, Ship had quickly morphed into what looked like a huge spaceship that was armed to the teeth with weapons. The pirates could only look in shock and disbelief at this display as their jaws fell to the floor.
"SHIP!" The Galvanic Mechamorph announced in a booming voice.
"Well, that could work," Tetrax said.
"SO COOL!" Luffy and Chopper both exclaimed with tears of joy.
"I have no words," Nami said weakly.
"Okay then." Kevin said. "So, what's the plan?"
"Alright, first we fly up and get inside." Tetrax began. "Second, we'll split into groups. One to get Robin, the other to take on Vilgax. If that's alright with you, Captain Luffy?"
"It's fine by me."
"I'll be part of the team to take him on." Ben said immediately. "I know Vilgax and I know how he fights."
"If Ben's fighting him, so am I!" Luffy joined in as well.
"Count me in too." Zoro agreed.
"Same here." Sanji said.
"Can't let you have all the fun, Tennyson," Kevin smirked.
"Alright; Me, Ben, Luffy, Zoro, Kevin, and Sanji will fight Vilgax." Tetrax continued. "Gwen, take Julie, Rook, Nami, Usopp, and Chopper and find Robin. If we're lucky, we can stop him before he launches another attack on this planet."
"Then let's get going. Robin's waiting for us." Ben said as everyone began to board Ship. The engines roared before it shot straight up and into the sky.
"Hang on! We're coming Robin!" Luffy shouted.
Ship soared through the clouds and was ready to break into space.
"Weapons systems ready." Julie relayed as she sat at the seat next to Rook and had a targeting computer come up online.
"Alright, this might feel a little weird for everyone. Just hope Ship doesn't mind," Ben warned as he activated the Omnitrix and transformed. This new form was a ghost-like alien with a gaseous appearance that had one green eye and claw-like hands, and white skin with black lines running all over him. The Omnitrix symbol was on its chest.
"Ghostfreak!"
Ghostfreak then placed his hands down on the floor and began to extend his own powers over the whole ship.
The whole crew looked around at the ship and themselves as they saw Ship turn invisible as well as their own bodies. Right as spaceship entered space and Vilgax's own warship came into view the Strawhats' primary transport had completely turned invisible as well as intangible.
"Whoa, anyone else feeling a little wierded out, here?" Kevin questioned as he tried to look at his own invisible body.
"Yeah, a little lightheaded myself." Sanji said as he tried to sit back on the chair while keeping his own eyes closed thinking it might help ease off the oncoming nausea.
"I feel I like lost weight, and not in a good way." Nami pointed out.
"Alright let's focus." Zoro told the group. "Have they noticed us yet?"
"Radar's clear." 'Gwen responded as she looked at said radar.
"And I don't see any lasers shot at us, I think we're good." Kevin reported as well.
"Great but maybe we can hurry?" Ghostfreak strained a bit. "I don't have a whole lot of practice with this sort of thing."
"Hang on I'm flying us straight in!" Julie pushed the controls hard, and the invisible-intangible Ship soared at high speeds directly toward the alien warship.
At the same time, Psyphon had begun the process of siphoning Robin's cerebral energies and transferring them into their database… and once it was done, his master would use it to initiate the next phase of their invasion: the planetary takeover of this Earth and all of its lifeforms. He had already begun analyzing the data that was being downloaded from Nico Robin's mind into the warship's computer.
"Interesting." He began to type information onto a nearby computer. "I am beginning to understand this seemingly dead tongue and it talks about this so-called Ancient Weapon. "
The computer screen then began to show a three-dimensional image of the Poneglyph from Alabasta as well as what was inscribed on it being translated into their native language before all the information would start downloading from the ship's computer banks to an outside source.
"With this sort of knowledge, we are one step closer to our goal. Soon the Master and his newfound allies will be unstoppable!"
Psyphon was about to give off a laugh, but it soon turned into a scream as he saw what appeared to be a large and transparent vehicle fly through the wall in front of him before it flew past him and turned solid; crashing through multiple walls and floors around the laboratory that Psyphon was working on.
Warship's Bridge
"Warning! Hull breach!" A drone at the controls of the warship's bridge reported as the screen in front of him lit up with an image of the ship and a red dot flashed in the area where the laboratory was. "Section 23-D! An unknown object has appeared in that area!"
Vilgax sat on the command chair and didn't even need to see Ship flash on the screen in front of him to know who it was.
"Tennyson."
Psyphon groaned as he pulled himself up on a pile of rubble and looked around at the scene. His lab had all but torn to pieces as well as the ceiling, exposing possible two or three more levels above. He looked in shock to see the solid Ship thirty feet in front of him, having torn down the walls, creating much more debris and exposing a few more hallways along the sides.
The bay door on the bottom of warship opened before the Strawhats all poured out with Ship shifting back to his original form. Several made combat stances as Ben readied his watch while Luffy cracked both of his knuckles while Zoro was ready to cut someone to pieces.
"The Strawhat Pirates!" Psyphon screamed.
"I'm only going to say this once you shitty skullface. Where is Robin-chan?" Sanji threatened with a death-glare that sent chills down the evil alien's spine.
"You'd better listen to him Psyphon." Ben advised. "I'm tempted just to let him have you."
Psyphon glared as his hands pulsed with red energy. "I do not answer to children! Nor will I…" He gave a scream as Luffy's fist embedded itself into his face as Psyphon was sent flying into a wall, knocking him out.
"Alright, we're here. Now we just need to find Vilgax." Luffy stated.
"Sounds like a good plan, just be careful." Ben advised. "We cannot underestimate him."
"Ah come on, how bad can he be?" Sanji almost scoffed.
"I am everything you will grow to fear."
Everyone looked in surprise to the sound of that voice as a pair of glowing red eyes and a large silhouette appeared through a plume of smoke caused by the crash. The figure walked through to reveal the alien tyrant in all his glory to the entire crew.
"Vilgax!" Ben glared while his eyes still looked in surprise.
The rest of the Strawhats were taken aback by the appearance of this behemoth; even the likes of Luffy, Zoro, and Sanji who have each seen large monsters in their own right.
"That's Vilgax?!" Nami questioned in surprise mixed with fear.
"Yep." Ben confirmed.
"What the hell, you didn't say he'd be this big! Why didn't you say he'd be this big?!" Usopp panicked.
Vilgax's eyes narrowed. "So, you are the Straw Hat Pirates, allies of the accursed Tennyson."
"Got that right." Zoro confirmed as he pointed Wado Ichimoji at him. "We don't take kindly to those who target our crew."
"I guess conquering worlds wasn't enough for you, huh?" Ben pointed out, "Now you're conquering other universes."
"Once you have a taste of divine power, you can never go back."
"Of course." Ben then quickly noticed Vilgax's appearance. "Just what happened Vilgax? You feel a little nostalgic, went back to your old body style? Haven't seen you like that since I was 10."
"After my previous defeat at your hands, I not only lost the power of Dagon, but also all the abilities I acquired from the 10 alien heroes I've vanquished in combat." Vilgax began to explain.
"You mean the powers you stole from them." Ben corrected, which his nemesis promptly ignored and continued.
"After I was taken into your Plumbers' custody, Eon was able to locate and free me. He escorted me back to my home planet, where I made modifications to my body." He looked at his own cybernetic claws. "I may no longer have the powers of a god, but I am just as strong now as ever!" He clenched his claws into fists. "And you all are just in time to see me test my latest weapon...the Fulmini Scepter!"
"Should I care?" Ben quipped sarcastically.
"You should." Vilgax replied. "Because Dagon's power was right at my fingertips, and you robbed-"
"Now you're mad so you searched all over the universe to find something equivalent of that power, just to get your revenge on me." Ben interrupted. "Seriously Vilgax, I've heard better sob stories from 'Brain Stealers 2: The Cosmic Walker'."
"Joke while you can boy, my weapon comes from a race of warlords that is proven to destroy entire worlds with a single slash." Vilgax explained as his eyes glowed red with malice. "And this world will be next."
"You're gonna have to get past the rest of us, buddy!" Kevin challenged.
"You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!" Gwen challenged as well.
"What she said." Usopp agreed.
"I swear before this is over, I'll kick your ass!" Luffy declared.
Everyone assumed combat stances once more as the entire crew were all ready to engage the tyrant in battle.
"Modifications or not, there's no way you can beat us all!" Tetrax told him.
Ironically, Vilgax gave an amused chuckle. "I may not have to. You can choose to face me in combat if you wish, in which each of you will suffer an agonizing defeat before death; or you can save your precious comrade from certain demise."
This seemed to confuse some of the Strawhats. "Wait… what do you mean by that?" Nami questioned.
Underneath the respirator on his face, Vilgax had an evil smile as he activated a communications-device on his wrist. A screen suddenly popped up as it turned on, revealing Robin restrained as she had now been fitted with a terrifying helmet-like device that was quickly siphoning up her cerebral energies and transferring them into the warship's databanks.
The Strawhats were now all glaring at the tyrant with fury in their eyes, Luffy looked like he was about to explode, and the members of the Alien Force were equally as incensed at what they had all just witnessed.
"Now then, shall we begin?" Vilgax responded.
AN: So, I was hoping to get this out before Christmas as kind of a little present for everyone, but it didn't seem like that was going to happen, so I'd like to wish everyone a late Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Between real life and this site glitching, it took a while to get this out. I might consider moving to Archive of Our Own at some point, but I'm still sticking it out for the time being.
As for this chapter, the Strawhats now know that Ben and his team are from another universe and are ready to go up against Vilgax for the first time, who has shown just how evil he is by kidnapping and torturing one of their crewmates. I personally don't see the Strawhats getting too angry with Ben for withholding the truth, since he didn't exactly mean anything malicious by it and that he and his team didn't anticipate having their enemies following them to another universe. I would prefer not going through that kind of drama. As for Vilgax's new weapon, I won't spoil anything, but any hardcore Ben 10 would have some idea of what I have in mind here. That being said, as always please read and review and I'll see you all next chapter.