Knowing how big of a decision this was, you break down everything piece by piece. The first and easiest decisions are Ben's sex and age. The hard part is breaking the news.

"Ben?" you call out.

"Yeah?" he answers back, his attention grabbed. "You figure it out yet?"

"Not entirely, but I've deduced things down substantially," you explain.

"Lay it on me."

"I think… you're gonna be jumping the gender fence," you admit.

The boy frowns. "I rather like being a guy."

"You're the one who wants to earn Blackberry Bush's favor! A freaking landmine deals with pressure better than him and would kill fewer people." you shrug, holding your arms. "And by my calculations, a gender swap is one of the more substantial options on the board."

"How do you figure that?" Ben asks, confused.

"This is supposed to be a punishment for us. The appearance of you doing something so visibly uncomfortable for you will show the Celestialsapiens you are taking this seriously. It seems like a minor change but can be significant depending on the culture. In short, the Celestialsapiens will value it highly because you do."

"I guess I understand your logic," Ben admits. "I'm just worried about…."

"Gender dysphoria? Feeling like an imposter in your own skin? I fully accounted for that."

"You did?"

"That's why you're gonna regress back to a kid."

"Before puberty," Ben realizes.

"Yep. That way, you won't get hit with all those hormones simultaneously. You'll have the time to get used to it. And with all the changing into aliens you'll be doing, I'm positive you won't be bothered by your body by the time you reach it."

"I won't be interested in guys, right?"

"Uh, probably not," you clarify. "I can't really change it. If you wanna date a guy, it will mean you were always interested in them."

"That's not funny."

"Don't worry, sis," Pond consoles Ben. "We can go hunting for mates together! It will be fun!"

"Pond's the other reason I'm de-aging the both of you; it's for her sake. You saw her during the trial; the older she is, the easier for Pond to get in trouble. At least if she's younger, she can write some of her behavior off as a child not knowing better. She has no idea how to be human, let alone any other sentient species. A freaking landmine deals with people better than her and would kill fewer people."

"You made that joke already!"

"Well, #### you, too!"

"What? I'm just pointing it out."

"I said it already?! Unpredictability, my holographic ###!"

He just looks at you, unimpressed. "So…."

"And the same goes for you, Ben."

"About being a stale comedian?"

"No! You do not have a clue about actually being another sentient species besides humans. I have to emphasize sentient because of your insane wolf idea."

"Best choice he ever made," Pond adds smugly.

"I won't be human anymore?" Ben says almost pleadingly. "So Anodite, then?"

"I don't plan to separate you from the Tennyson family, Ben. I swear that you will be connected to them in some way or another. If you aren't, then I failed. But…."

You sigh. "Most of my ideas revolve around keeping a part of your DNA intact, either human or Anodite. But that won't mean that you'll be related to your family by blood if it doesn't make sense for you to be."

Ben's lip quivers.

"Look, you should forget the bribe and stay as the same species if blood matters that much to you." You look the other way. "Or just throw this whole idea away! Because why should I choose this for you?!"

"Hey. Trixie." He calls you, but you don't turn your head back. He sighs. "If blood mattered that much to me, I wouldn't call you two my family."

You stay ignoring him.

"Both of you are the last things keeping me from breaking down!" You can't see him, but you can feel his emotions. He's holding it all in, bottling it up. "Please, don't take them away from me!"

Before, it's been something minor, like a little puddle on a dam.

"It's not much! We could be a pack again! All of us!"

It was unimportant. Minimal, compared to the whole trial in your hands. But now it's boiling to the surface.

"Don't leave me," Ben pleads. "Don't separate us. I don't wanna be alone anymore. I can't do this if you two aren't at my side."

"Which is why Pond stays as your family," you reiterate. "She's not a pet to you, and you aren't a… you get the idea, to her. She's not going anywhere. Neither am I. I promise. We'll be there to guide you through his."

You look at his face again, worried about his state. After all, if he almost broke down because of you two….

You don't want to finish that thought.

"The crucial thing is species and ethnicity. Growing back up again is inconvenient, but it'll have its perks. And a sex change is something you can deal with, too, because you're strong, Ben." You give a determined smile at him.

"I've got a few options I'll be running the simulations on, but it would feel wrong not to pitch them to you first. After all, it will be the most defining part of your new life."

"What are you thinking?" He says while trying to fix the mental dam that almost broke down.

"To be honest, part of me wants to keep you as you are," you begin. "You'll most likely end up triplets with your younger self, or… maybe Gwen? I'll know when I run the simulation."

"Are you kidding me? Gwen? The doofus?" He lifts an eyebrow at your suggestion.

"You don't mean that," you smirk. "Besides, it'll be a lot easier dealing with Gwen as a sibling than yourself. I mean, not only is that just plain awkward, but you know how you felt about girls at ten years old."

"Girls were gross."

"And soon, boys will be."

"That's not funny." He rolls his eyes.

"Ooh, can we choose? I love Ben, and the only thing better than one Ben is two Bens!"

"I doubt the Celestosapiens will care about me swapping which side of the family tree I come from enough to make it worth it."

"Are you sure? Dealing with yourself as a brother would be…."

"A lot easier than feeling like I don't belong in my own family. Having to look at my parents and call them Aunt and Uncle? Nope, not doing that. Besides, I know me better than anyone. If he doesn't like me, I'll know how to fix that in a week."

"Alright then. Since you both want to keep things as close as possible besides the gender and age changes, I'll drop the issue."

"Thank you," Ben nods. "I mean, you had other ideas, though, right?"

"Yeah," you confirm. "So I did some digging on the species that 'Dad' freed for us and my updated databases. When I learned you had an Anodite's spark, I wanted to know more about that."

"Why is that so important?"

"Because an Anodite doesn't have DNA. No matter how hard I try otherwise, I can't turn you into one. It's just impossible, even with the upgrades we did."

"What even is an Anodite?"

"They're beings of pure energy, capable of various feats, read it: random bull#### go. But most important of all is their affinity for mana manipulation. Mana is… weird. The best thing I can come as an equivalent is life force. Learning to manipulate it can be incredibly difficult for the average person. It's why real magic isn't commonplace where you come from. Heck, even most aliens think of mana as just a myth or in a religious way! But Anodites are basically living magic and life force, and because of that, are arguably among the strongest beings in the universe."

"That sounds interesting. But… I'm flesh and blood. Not… energy and magic."

"Looking at your DNA, you inherited what Anodites call 'the spark' through your grandmother."

"So Grandma Verdona is…."

"An alien, yeah."

"No wonder we barely see her."

"Well, how would you like to change that?"

"Huh?"

"Anodites are one of the few species that don't have DNA out there. So… what if we turn you into a full one?" You ask him.

"What? Why?"

"It's just an idea. You could keep your relation with your granny, and as a bonus, you could change back to having a boy's physiology pretty quickly because Anodites don't have real gender," you explain. "You could switch whenever you wanted. If you don't like being a girl, change back to a boy. It's not like Anodites don't experiment with it all the time."

"What? But Grandma Verdona is a woman… is she?"

"She probably identifies herself as a woman, but she's a being of pure energy," you shrug. "Honestly, Anodites are gender-fluid because they can change their physical body at will, but that's only speculation and not really a point to bring in right now. The real perk is that it's arguably the option that makes you the strongest possible wielder of the Omnitrix due to the magic potential while still giving you a direct line to your family. It's not like you have a bad relationship with your grandmother, right?"

"Oh," he is genuinely thoughtful. "And I've got some cousins that are Anodites, probably. Sunny used to come with grandma all the time."

"See?"

"There has to be a catch," Ben presses.

"I wouldn't call it a 'catch.'"

"Spill it."

"Anodites are infamous for being free-spirited, caring little for morality and only about their own personal desires and goals."

"Morality? That sounds tasty," Pond notes. "Can I eat it?"

"Oh," Ben nods. "I see the problem."

"If Pond's your twin, then you'll need to take outstanding care of her, Ben. She doesn't know societal norms as it is, and you'd be turning into a mighty alien with few weaknesses that don't know the definition of 'societal norms.' I know you can do it, but I'm just warning you."

"I trust your judgment."

You decide to talk about the next idea.

"Or… you remember your cousin?"

"Which one?" Ben asks. "Sunny again?"

"Okay, that's my fault; I've made it too easy," you admit. "In your memories. You remember Lucy Mann?"

"Oh! Her! I saw her at a wedding some years ago!" He hits his fist on his palm in understanding, shaking you.

"Wow! Calm that arm down!"

"Sorry!" he puts the Ultimatrix on the table. "Okay, so. What about her?"

"Alien."

"..."

Ben is quiet.

"Is someone in my family NOT an alien?!"

"Your Grandpa isn't," you try.

"He literally said 'smash' to one."

"..."

Now you're the one being quiet.

Ben sighs again and continues. "How do you know?"

"Plumber identification. According to the database of Prime Ben's Omnitrix, she's one of the future plumbers. Looking into her DNA… she's a Lenopan, otherwise known as Sludgepuppies."

"Puppies?" Pond tilts her head. "I hated being a puppy! I can give myself tongue baths, Mom! Nor do I want some of my own yet! I haven't found a new mate!"

"Not the same type of puppy," you groan.

Ben snickers but seems confused. "You know that doesn't tell me anything, right? I don't know what the other Ben did."

"Oh, you shut up!" you tell him. "Let me finish. Look, they are a race of shape-shifters made of a living substance similar to Mud! So long as the marriage still happens, you'll be a Tennyson! And you'll get to know Lucy better! I know she was your favorite cousin. They can also better manipulate their body density, appearance, height, and voice. Being capable of extreme flexibility, regeneration, and… underwater breathing, huh? Even I didn't know that! Cool!"

"So… another shapeshifter?"

"Well, Lenopans don't really have a 'real body,' and Anodites can choose to have a physical form, but it's not as free as a Lenopan, besides having the same ' your gender is a choice' shtick. What if you combined those lineages? For just a second, imagine having full control of your body, of your foot pinky to your hair!" And you're getting even more excited when talking about that.

"And now imagine. Just imagine!" you point at Ben's face. "Imagine being a hybrid! Controlling every part of your body, but actually being a real copy! I could be the Ultimatrix without being the Ultimatrix!"

"'I'?"

####, skip of the tongue!

"Oh! I meant we! Yeah! We could be the Supreme Shapeshifter! Me and you! With the Ultimatrix, we could fix this multiverse just as easily!" You try to show him the possibilities!

"Trixie… you?" And he closes his mouth, thoughtful.

"I, what?"

"Nothing, nothing."

"No, Ben, say it."

"If that fusion works exactly as you say, and I don't mean to sound rude, why would I need you?"

You shift uncomfortably. "That was the idea."

"No!" Ben puts his foot down. "You're staying with me."

"But…"

"Absolutely not!"

"But I'm not the watch!"

"Hear the tiny person out, bro."

Ben sighs. "Go on, Trixie."

"I'm… thinking… the reason the multiverse was destroyed is because we're the only universe where I was reactivated. In other words, I have doomed countless of… everything… because I exist. So why shouldn't we remove me from the Omnitrix's equation? Remove us."

Ben's eyes widen. "You mean…."

"You have no idea what it's truly like being alive, Ben. You take it for granted. As someone who only experienced it for a few moments, I can say I'd take having a body over being part of the watch any day. So, let's cash in that favor Starbeard owes us. The three of us can be triplets! We wouldn't need the power of the Omnitrix; we'd be living Omnitrix! And we'd live out our days together."

"But if you aren't in the watch, what happens to it?"

"I don't know," you admit. "It'd probably go to the young Ben like it should. But it would only be our problem if we made it so. Because we'd be free."

"Would we really? Because no matter what happens, I want to fix the multiverse. We'll never be free of that until we've done so. And can we really do that without the watch? It has other features besides transformation."

"If you don't want to try it…."

"I appreciate you wanting to be alive, Trixie, but offering to give up the watch… you only do it if you can guarantee they'll let you be your own person with your body."

He looks at you again. "So, what are the rest of our options?"

"So, I was thinking about ways to keep you close to your family and friends. And, apparently, Prime Ben was previously in a relationship with a girl known as Ester, who later became the leader of her people, and Undertown, where the aliens of Bellwood reside."

"I have no idea who that is."

"I figured, but the Kraaho have some pretty interesting abilities, including stretching their bodies across massive distances, extreme heat resistance, and being incredibly strong. At least your base form would be tougher than a squishy full human."

"Okay, but why Russian?"

"Because your DNA signature would be Ester's. I'd be turning you and Pond into her sisters."

"Why? I don't wanna date myself."

"No, you moron! According to the records, the Kraaho tried to take over Earth in the Prime Timeline, but that didn't happen here. Something had to be different. Aren't you worried about your friend? She could have died in this universe."

"No offense, Trixie, but you're asking me to care about someone I haven't met. The question I have is why?"

You sigh. "The Kraaho are known to be excellent thieves."

"Oh."

"Yeah," you begrudgingly admit. "I was wondering what happens if I'm not with you. I just figured having a tribe, if not a city, of minions and thieves at your back would be really helpful in getting me or anything else we might need for our attempt to revive the multiverse."

"So basically, you want to turn me into my ex from another universe, stealing the title of Queen… from another thief."

"Exactly."

He groans.

Pond giggles. "That's so funny,"

"Okay then. I don't get your logic, but… consider me intrigued, at least."

"Lastly, I got a… weird one."

"Well, it's not like it's worse than being made of mud, living energy, or a thief."

You show him the alien.

"Okay, I take it back, no."

"What? What's this one's problem?" You look at his… tentacles. "Oooooh, you don't like the kink?"

"WHA-!? NO! EW!" Ben gets flushed. "That's V-Vilgax! The damned cause of everything that is happening to us!"

"WHAT?! HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT?!"

Almost instantly, you delve into his mind for the memory…

A Chimera Sui Generis, using battle armor in red blood color and something that looks like a crown made out… made out of a Chronosapien's body. A being that could kill most people in the blink of an eye… was butchered into a symbol of dictatorship.

And you can feel it. The fear.

The fear of incompetence.

And the fear of uselessness.

You come back to reality with only one question.

Why… How do I have never seen that memory before?

"I guess I blocked it." Ben simply says, without any other visual response.

You visibly sigh. Of course. If I can do a mental block, Ben can as well, even involuntary.

"Well, call me whatever you like. But, I… kinda have my bias," Ben looks ashamed at the side.

"Hey! Don't give me the whole 'bias' shtick! It's not like every one of them is an alien version of Hitler!"

"Well, I only know one! And what a heck of a first impression he did!"

"If I got stuck to Hitler, I would say the same about all humans, but guess what? I know you, I know Paradox, I have your memories of important people in your life!"

"If you got stuck to Hitler, you would read his mind, see all of the crap he did around himself and consider it all the normal!"

"Why are we talking about Hitler?!"

"You started this!"

"Okay, besides the obvious metaphorical tyrannical elephant in the room, don't blind your options just because of one alien of their kind," you plead.

"..."

"Ben, at least think about it."

He sighs. "Fine. Tell me about their race."

"Thanks." You roll your eyes. "Look, they don't have a lot of crazy powers, but what they don't have in random bull####; they have in EXTREME durability and strength. With the true form of a large squid-like creature, they can breathe in space, lift a To'kustar with relative ease, and survive… Is this number real?" You look at it again, and yes, it's right. "Here says that a Chimera in its prime can… survive a nuke."

"..."

Ben's eyes are trying to get out of his head.

"See! On the bright side, you could survive a Nuke!" You smile at him. "Possibly!"

He… just ignores your last phrase and continues the conversation.

"Is that the last idea?" Ben asks.

"I had others… but narrowing the conversation is best."

"Why?"

"Well, one of them had me turning you into the alien equivalent of a werewolf."

"Did someone say 'wolf?'" Pond asks. "Are we going back to the forest? You're coming with me, right, Ben?"

"It's not that," Ben reassures her. "Though, I get the idea. A middle ground between Pond and I. Kinda sweet."

"The only reason I took it off the list was because I had no idea running the simulations how that would keep you a Tennyson, especially since, for some reason, whenever I tried to run it, the human DNA would always default to Scottish."

"Eh? Scotland forever?" he tries to joke.

"No."

Ben shakes his head. "So why are you telling me this?"

"To bounce ideas off you and wait for my simulations to complete so I can make more accurate predictions."

"You only told me this to buy time because you're bored?!"

"Yep."

As the watch dings, you smirk. "Okay, let's see what the in-built supercomputer has to say."

You dive into the unknown. A pitch-black sky and ground surround you until… green flashes around you as if you were waking up from a deep slumber.

Lines of green surround the sky and ground, giving this mindscape enough depth to be a 3-dimensional space. But one thing calls your attention. In this world, you're more of a ghost of your physical body, but not the images you can see.

On a screen, you start playing different videos. No. They are simulations, the same ones you started to produce.

And without further ado, you press the first image.

This first one resembles Ben's current life: half-human, half-Anodite. You see two young girls teasing their triplet brother before heading off to school. You recognize the boy from Ben's memories as his younger version. It seems that who you presume as Jen goes to the same private school as her cousin Gwen. Unlike Gwen's poor relationship with her male cousin, they seem like friends. You see them talking excitedly about summer vacation, seeing Ben's new form clearly being the mediator of the four children. The simulation closes out as the school year ends, a perfectly normal human childhood, and other than reinserting himself and Pond back into it, the same as Ben's actual past. And Jen's as happy as she could be in it, with no idea of the future awaiting her on that summer vacation.

The second image is of a human woman holding two baby girls in a hospital. Her eyes turn purple, and she gasps as her children spark with the same energy. The next thing you know, in deep discussion, is that the mother talks at home with someone you recognize as a younger Max. The mother, you assume, is Verdona. There's a gravity to these discussions. In understanding, Max and two young boys watch Verdona fly away with two infant anodites, already transformed. In another instant, you see three Anodites on their home planet of Anodyne, everything a beautiful pink and red hue. You recognize the eldest as Verdona. The fondness on her face for her gossiping children, now visibly older, is as evident as any mother's love for her children. The two of them are packing, their training on full display as they effortlessly use magic to put their belongings away. You can't pick up the details, but from the sounds of it, the three are about to go on vacation, and the excitement of the two kids cannot be understated. In the blink of an eye, you see them soaring across the vacuum of space at blistering speeds, away from their home planet toward their destination: Earth. Verdona and her two kids, both visibly young girls, embrace human disguises as they walk into the house as a family on a hot summer's day to meet again with their father.

Third up is the one you were most worried about. You cross your fingers and sigh in relief as you see three children playing. One of them, ironically the most mature, is a pure Anodite. They seem to know little about using their powers; they likely accidentally changed into one. They're running with their legs instead of flying, after all. The second is a Lenopan. You can tell they lack the spark of an Anodite, but they're family nonetheless; of that, you have no doubt. And the third? That's you. Seamlessly shifting between forms that solidify, unlike your other Lenopan sibling. Even during a game of tag, nobody's hand sinks into your diamond-plated body. Truly the Ultimate Shapeshifter. But as expected, there's no Omnitrix in sight. And as smoke appears on the horizon, multiple adult lenopan run to you in a panic. Instantly, you realize the muddy planet of Slugentope… is at war. You and the other children, not just your siblings, are gathered and told to shapeshift into human forms. You recognize two of them as Lucy and Camille Mann, as the group is shuffled off the planet to Earth, trying to escape the catastrophe with the help of Max and Joel Tennyson, the latter of whom does not look at Camille with the eyes of a lover, but that of a stranger with a mutual cause. You don't know how, and you don't know why, but it seems that this would likely cause a butterfly effect involving the Lenopan and Plumber War.

Fourth… you find three orphan girls on the street. Despite being a hot summer's day outside, the three pink-skinned, pink-haired girls look like they're shivering. Compared to their home world, it's freezing, after all. All of them are trying to keep themselves warm, murmuring and huddled together. You know you aren't one of them, but the watch's database seems to identify one of the toddlers. A pink-haired and pink-skinned girl just like her siblings. But her eyebrows are more predominant, looking like a tree's frozen branch, with two markings over her cheeks. The watch identifies her as Ester, who, in the future, becomes the leader of the Kraaho and of Undertown, a city of aliens hidden underneath Bellwood. One girl, you realize, is wearing the Omnitrix… your Omnitrix. You don't know how she got it or why, but somehow, against all odds, she did. The other two sisters look to her as their leader. Instead of heading into the back alleys of Bellwood, joining those of Undertown, Ben takes them to the local orphanage. The tenants look at the three strangely for their pink skin, especially considering they speak Russian. They're half-human, on the opposite side of the globe from their destination, a hopeless endeavor. They don't belong here. Causing a panic, the Omnitrix wielder grabs her sisters, running out as far as their legs will take them, heading to the park. She decided to keep them on the surface; her mistake was thinking they could live as humans and get help, let alone find their human relatives. She spots several RVs. Their stomachs rumble. She has to do this for her sisters. Breaking into these people's homes, she ransacks them for food and water. Until she's caught by an older man. She freezes in a panic, dropping in a bag, reminded of how cold she is. The man, Max, puts a blanket around her and a hand on her shoulder as she cries in his arms, happy that so long after losing her parents, she and her sisters have finally been shown kindness. It warms her more than any blanket ever could.

The last image was of what you can best describe as a war council room. Sitting in the center of it all was none other than Vilgax, starring proudly over a digital map of conquered plants taken for Vilgaxia. By his side was a young girl, clearly nervous but doing her best to serve her father proudly. A look in Viglax's eyes leads you to believe he might care about her after all, not just because the Omnitrix is genetically attached to her wrist. As the meeting concludes, you find another familiar face, Myraxx, Azmuth's assistant at the time you were created and the closest thing you have to a mother. The irony of her almost certainly being the mother of this incarnation of Ben does not escape you. She's incredibly caring, potentially to the point of overbearing, despite her being clothed in garb fit only for the Queen of Viglaxia. The kiss she gives Vilgax on the cheek is clearly only to stroke the conqueror's ego, as evident from their ensuing argument. Later, Myraxx attends to her daughter and the watch, now joined by yet another youngling, far goofier than her sister. In an instant, the scene changes, the watch now being examined by Azmuth. Myraxx's clothes are tattered, and she's in cuffs. You're unsure if she ran away or was arrested, but she's back home, and that Omnitrix, your Omnitrix, is not coming off any time soon. The final vision concludes with the trio being dumped off on Earth in human disguises under the supervision of Grandpa Max, whose kindness to the children makes Myraxx smile.

When the last vision ends, you immediately focus on your surroundings, trying to make an understanding of what you saw. And more importantly… tell Ben of your decision.

Decision Point: What Background Will You Choose For Ben? (Reminder: You Are A Female Pre-Teen Child, Regardless of the Background)

A - Jennifer Tennyson: Half-Human, Half-Anodite (The 'Canon' Route)

B - Jenevieve Tennyson: Full Anodite (The Magic Route)

C - Jenesis Mann: Half-Lenopan, Half-Anodite (The Freedom Route)

D - Jennah 'Anya' Tennyson: Half-Human, Half-Kraaho (The Rouge Route)

E - Jennax Murray: Chimera Sui Generis (The Princess Route)