Yeah holy shit we did it
A fuckin 'movie'
Goddamn
Thank you to Matt and Will for their contributions, they helped with the burnout and my god I feel like I need more writers for my projects ^^; i always put out ads but no one really responds to them :/
So, after this, gemstones goes on a hiatus and Carry On gets some attention for a little bit, but we'll be back in June or maybe May
So, yeah!
Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
The Watch Collector was at the cusp of victory. In his hand was the Omnitrix of the Prime Ben, with its wielder laying on the ground, defeated. It was unique among the omniverse, considering it was the prime variant. Azmuth's heretical imitation of cosmic power, while an insult, would be an interesting addition to his arsenal. Perhaps it would even be the last Omnitrix it needed. With that power within, he might be able to finally claim the vengeance he so longed for, the justice he believed that his universe was owed. The Collector was about to integrate the unique Omnitrix into his chest and wipe out this group of Outcasts.
When the strangest thing happened; his focus was broken.
The Watch Collector blinked a few times, just making sure this was actually happening. He suddenly found himself in the air. Wait, what the hell?! How did-?
BOOM.
A powerful cannon-like punch smashed into his face, sending the faux-divinity stumbling backwards. He looked back to see what punched him and his eyes went wide in genuine shock and a little fear.
"You look confused," an echoing voice said, the words carrying a heavy German accent.
Omni Stellar Clockwork hovered before him, a digital smirk on his face, "Are you ready for round 2?"
"...impossible," the AI-controlled divinity muttered before he ran through all of the calculations. This wasn't even a possibility in the numerous calculations and scenarios he predicted. After adding the Prime Omnitrix to his arsenal, he would have used its Omni-Stellar enhancement to wipe out Tennyson's allies in a methodical slaughter.
So what happened? What changed?!
The Watch Collector took a few more powerful strikes from Ben's cosmic fists in this state of confusion, before the hero slammed him into the ground with an overhead strike. The Watch Collector plummeted to the ground like a stone in a lake, slamming into a small crater where he once stood. He rose back up, seeing Ben descend away from the impact site. The Celestialsapien's arm morphed into a blade as its anger started to build up again.
"Whatever…improbability this is…" the Collector growled, "it ends here. Your resistance…your obstinance ends. HERE!"
The stars of the Collector's body began to glow, brighter and brighter, before they reached a climax and detonated with the power of supernovas. There were mere attoseconds of build-up for a blast that was both devastating and controlled, covering the entire area for about five miles with the energy of solar explosions. With that kind of power and heat, the Outcasts and their allies should have been turned to ashes instantly.
In fact, they did. The Collector smirked as he saw them all burn in the flames of dying stars. He heard their screams and their cries, and saw all the Omnitrix wielders turn to black ash, their watches clattering to the desert sand, no doubt turned to glass from the heat. He smiled, ready to proclaim victory once again-
Only to find himself getting punched in the face.
"Round three," the cosmic Clockwork grunted. His hands were quickly covered in green energy and he began to bombard the Collector with chrono-cosmic blasts. The AI-controlled alien was hit by the force of the cosmos and time itself, forcing him back. He morphed his hand into a star-dotted shield to block the attacks and, with that brief break, he could see everyone else, ready to intervene at a moment's notice, completely unharmed.
It was like nothing had happened. But how? He felt the Omnitrix in his grasp, he saw the Outcasts reduced to dust in an instant. So why…why were his victories being torn away from him at the last minute?!
Wait.
At the last minute.
"All of your heretical mockeries have had an enhanced ability," the Collector sneered, piecing together everything, "this is your doing, ISN'T IT?!"
"Probably," Ben admitted with a sly shrug, "Besides, I only know how many times we've done this, not the specific details. My body now exists outside of the flow of time and is unaffected by its rules. I deny the protocols of linearity, the Sotobro effect and the Hallett Laws of Order. I can keep this time loop up forever...and that means I get ample opportunity to do whatever I need to."
"That's not possible! You cannot simply BREAK the laws of reality in such a manner!" the Collector yelled, almost panicking.
"Why not? You're always messing with them."
"My moves are calculated! Yours are childish, inane! No thought put behind them!" the Collector countered.
"True...but, it's fun to mess with your 'programming,'" Ben said, before his body started to vibrate, gaining an aura of black energy with white stars dotting the black. Soon after that, dozens and dozens of clones appeared around the Watch Collector, reflections conjured up by the cosmic energy, "Now, these aren't just clones. These are clones from every second we've fought in those ' rewound timelines'. Sounds fun, right?"
The Watch Collector was bombarded by a myriad of blows from every single time-clone, each being harder and harder to predict, the movements being both unusual and yet perfect at the same time. Some strikes he actually managed to block, mitigating the damage, but what was a few stopped strikes compared to a barrage of seemingly hundreds? For every Chronosapien punch he blocked, fifteen landed. For all the Collector's confidence and power, he was very quickly getting overwhelmed and, unlike before, there wouldn't be a chance for him to recover.
Ben watched over the fight for a few minutes, landing a few of his own punches, before he warped back to the others.
"I know we pushed him to the edge before, but I think this time we got him," Ben said.
"Wait, really?" Ceres asked.
"Yeah. We need...just one more big attack, and I think that'll be it," Ben said, clenching his fist, "All of us. Group effort."
Ruby nodded, pulling back the bolt-action lever on Crescent to load in a fresh round. New clips of ammo were loaded into everyone's guns and alien forms were changed into some of the heaviest hitters their respective wearers had. Youngblood changed into Armodrillo, donning the Omni-Contact Armor; Vengeance spliced in the DNA of both Ultimate Humongousaur and Ultimate Rath; Kirby grew greatly in height and became Colossus; Gwen changed into her version of Fasttrack, and 23 shifted into Dino-Mighty. Even Albedo dialed up a form and shifted into his own version of Ultimate Cannonbolt.
Ben looked back at Ruby and hummed in thought.
"Ruby," Ben asked, finally deciding on the plan, "Do you wanna try something insanely dangerous and stupid?"
"Depends on what it is," Ruby smirked a bit.
"Gimme a sec," Ben swapped forms in a flash of green. Ruby was greeted by a cosmic looking Upgrade. The main body was actually a light gray in color with cosmic circuitry snaking across the torso and arms. This form didn't actually have legs, instead possessing something akin to Ghostfreak's wispy tail, but more rigid. The body was actually separated into three floating segments, with the head and tail actually disconnected from the torso.
"We're not," Ruby gasped, her tone not one of worry but excitement.
"We are," Ben nodded. Ruby held out Crescent Rose and the cosmically powered Upgrade merged with the weapon. A similar cosmic glow coated the scythe, turning the red paint job it usually sported into a pure black one with spots of white light, the stars. The blade itself was entirely white and seemed to hum with energy.
"Ohhhh, hell yes," Ruby beamed.
"In fact...why not go all out here?" Fragments of Ben's body started flowing into other weapons, upgrading them to a never before seen pinnacle. The group ooh'd and aah'd as their weapons were cosmically improved, each one now sporting that void-like appearance. Yang looked at her pitch black arm with white stars glimmering in the space.
"Groovy," the blonde brawler grinned as she clenched her fist.
"We only need one god-like villain to worry about," Ceres half-joked, slamming her gauntlets together with a shower of cosmic sparks.
"Now," Ben smirked, "it's Hero Time!"
With that, the group all charged at the Collector while he was still overwhelmed with the time-duplicates. The whole time, the Collector's anger had been quickly rising. At the height of it, he yelled out in sheer rage as he lashed out. With some cosmic sparks in his hands, he created a handheld black hole that swallowed up every last one of them. He closed his hand after the temporal duplicates were destroyed, crushing the black hole out of existence, but that distraction gave everyone else the opening they needed to start their assault.
Kevin was the first to go, morphing into Dragonforce and roaring. His jaws split open, letting sonic screams hit the Celestialsapien and disorient him. He changed up what power he was using, firing a thick line of webbing that wrapped around the AI-controlled alien. He was quickly trapped in webbing, struggling to break free, before Kevin tossed the Collector skyward. The amalgam form raced up to meet the still flying Collector, thrusting a diamond mace construct into his gut. Kevin then flew above and blasted a mix of acidic liquid and atomic energy at the opponent, breaking the faux-god out of the webbing and sending him plummeting back to the ground.
Min held out a hand and grabbed the opponent with telekinesis. She squeezed her hand, causing the Celestialsapien's body to violently constrict inward. With her free hand, she fired off black beams of energy that struck the void-like body, causing the Collector to recoil in pain. Min smirked, before sending him flying off to the side with a wave of her hand.
Kevin quickly became a rolling wrecking ball, heated up, electrified himself, and generated glowing eyes all over the ball that each generated Yn energy, making it so much more powerful. Min added on some extra boosts to the move, especially with the speed, giving him a few more spins.
"Catch this, bitch!" Min yelled, flinging Kevin into a curved throw right at the Celestialsapien.
Kevin flew towards the Collector like a deadly and powerful comet, ready to tear the Collector apart. The Celestialsapien held his hands out, trying to catch the projectile that was Dragonforce, but all that did was tear up his hands upon impact. Add in the combined eye-blasts, the fire and electric current slamming into the Collector and his defenses were shattered like glass. One last eyebeam, the biggest yet since it was charging up the entire time, slammed into the cosmic alien's chest and sent him flying towards the two best brawlers the group had.
"About to hit a god with his own power…better make this count!" Yang yelled.
"Believe me," Ceres said, grinning, "I will."
Yang and Ceres gathered their might before striking the Celestialsapien in the spine with two tremendous blows, unleashing a massive shockwave at the impact point. The Collector's eyes went wide in silent pain as his body bent back from the hits. Yang's arm suddenly shifted into a powerful blade, and she began to slice into the Watch Collector wildly, not even giving a second to recover.
She was never a blade person, but even she had to admit this was fun.
In a surprising turn, she actually managed to cut one of the three horn-like protrusions that jutted out just above the Collector's forehead. She smirked as she saw the horn piece land on the ground before giving one last stab to his shoulder. She shoved him off the blade and over to Ceres, who used every move she knew on him. It was a flurry of punches, jabs, elbow strikes, and even a headbutt to finish off, sending him staggering back.
A white glow caught his attention, signifying the return of a certain towering knight. Weiss stood next to her impressive summon, now augmented with cosmic power as well, before she and her knight engaged the Celestialsapien together. Broadsword and rapier found their marks in the cosmic alien's flesh. Slash after slash landed, cutting deep scars into the void-like body. After several successful hits several black glyphs formed like steps behind the knight. Kylie ran up the glyphs, jumping off and heading down towards the knight. The armored summon then held its blade up, letting Kylie land on the flat side of it. The musician used the flat side of the blade as a springboard and launched herself towards the Collector, landing a powerful overhead slash into the Celestialsapien's shoulder, cutting another one of the horn protrusions off in the process.
The Collector yelled as he unleashed a powerful wave of energy. It phased through Weiss' and Kylie's bodies and made their organs feel like they were about to rupture and explode. The Collector raised his hands and yelled as he unleashed a barrage of lightning bolts that exploded in all directions, striking the still stunned Kylie and Weiss, along with Kevin and Yang multiple times. The four all sank to their knees as the lightning converted into physical shackles, pinning them in place.
"I AM THE WILL OF THE OMNITRIX! A COLLECTION OF SELF-RIGHTEOUS TEENAGERS WILL NOT STOP MY MISSION!" the Collector boomed, summoning up a sword of void-stuff.
"Do you ever shut up with the villain catchphrases?" Youngblood quipped, getting the Collector's attention. The void alien turned towards the voice, just in time to get clocked in the face with a giant drill. Youngblood's Omni-Contact Armodrillo smirked as he lowered the drill after the hit. Armodrillo had grown more humanoid than his previous, more mole-like form, sporting green and black styled armor. On one hand, he wore a spiked gauntlet that ended in blue energy claws. The other was almost entirely taken up by a massive drill from the elbow down. The drill wasn't made of metal, though, instead being comprised of blue Omni-energy.
The Collector quickly recovered and threw his own attack back, summoning up a cosmic bow to fire off a barrage of void arrows. The armor-clad alien dodged out of the way just in time, rushing in to fight the Celestisalsapien head on. One of the faux-divinity's arms turned into a shield, blocking the incoming drill-strike. The drill began to spin up, trying to break through the barrier. The Omni-Energy was actually making it crack a bit.
While the Celestialsapien was occupied with the younger Ben variant, the empowered Vengeance slammed into the Watch Collector's back with a shoulder charge. The Collector's footing was lost, but he quickly caught himself, lashing out behind him with a cosmic blade strike.
Vengeance jumped over the attack, propelling himself into the air with wings of a certain Necrofrigian. His eyes lit up, as he gained the eyes of an Aerophibian. He began to bombard the Celestial with star powered claws and laser eyes, hitting the Collector's back and sending him staggering.
The Collector spun around, firing an arc of cosmic energy at the hybrid in the air above him. Vengeance smirked and turned intangible, letting the arc pass right through them. 23 was up next, spinning around and slamming his mace-tail into the Collector's stomach. The Celestialsapien grabbed the tail and lifted 23 over his shoulder, slamming him into the ground a few times, before an earthquake forced the cosmic alien to release him, courtesy of Youngblood.
The earth exploded as Youngblood launched a surge of energy from his drill, tearing up the earth and striking the Celestialsapien with both torn up pieces of rock and the main energy wave. Ben 23 used his tail to hurl more chunks of earth toward the Collector, ripping them up from the arid environment and bashing them towards the Celestialsapien with his tail like a batter up at plate. While the attacks did hit, smashing apart in dust and debris,each one seemed less serious.
Then it clicked. Where did Vengeance go?
Maximillian and Vengeance were charging up an assault when the Watch Collector peered over.
"Are you ready, Grandpa?" Vengeance asked with a rare smirk.
"Oh, quite," Maximillian grinned.
The two fired off a combined barrage, with Maximillian's weapon firing off four shots at once in a cosmic X-pattern while Vengeance fired Aerophibian nerve-blasts through the opening in the middle of the pattern. The shots slammed into the Collector, each one hitting his main Omnitrix and actually causing him more and more pain.
"That's our target," Vengeance said, taking note of the pain that brought the Collector. Three more projections appeared behind him, three familiar green shapes of aliens flashed in rapid succession. When the last flashed, Vengeance gained Amphibian's tendrils behind his back, Way Big's fins on his arms, and Echo Echo's mouth.
"Hit him again!" Vengeance boomed.
"Gladly." Maximillian said.
The Watch Collector's eyes narrowed his eyes at the two and sneered
"Die, you relic," the Celestialsapien hissed.
The two fired another barrage as the Collector threw off two projectiles of his own. Two cosmic arrows he used in their first fight formed before him and fired at Vengeance and Maximilian. Both pairs of projectiles passed by each other and while Maximilian and Vengeance's hit, the two arrows were deflected thanks to Min's magic.
Even the blunted damage was still pretty overwhelming for Max. He fell over, bruises appearing on his arms and chest. It felt like a million rubber bullets had just been fired at him.
"Grandpa!" Vengeance yelled, as the Watch Collector's eyes lit up. Vengeance was suddenly slammed into the earth with a snap of the Collector's fingers.
The Collector unleashed the dual cosmic dragon heads from his back, having them race forward to try and tear the two apart then and there. There were only two problems. The first was that the jaws of one dragon were suddenly wrapped shut by purple Mechamorph-like arms. The second was that a powerful strike removed the lower jaw of the other head entirely.
Glitch was restraining the head aimed at Vengeance, while Rook dealt with the one aimed at Maximilian.
"I must say, this cosmic power up is doing wonders," Rook admitted. His weapon was by far the most advanced when compared to the others. The Proto-Tool looked like Rook was holding a weapon taken right out of the future, with various pieces of cosmically infused metal that seemed to almost snap into each different form the weapon possessed.
"Packs about as much power as a standard proton cannon on a Plumber ship," the Revonnahgander commented.
"Impressive indeed," Glitch said, with a grin.
Glitch pulled the Collector back towards them, as Rook geared up for his turn. He rushed forward, landing several strikes on the Celestialsapien with the Proto Tool, now transformed into tonfas. The Watch Collector took them comfortably, but that cosmic edge the weapon possessed added some bits of pain.
The Proto Tool was quickly converted into a blaster and Rook discharged it in his foe's face. Without even a second's hesitation, he transformed the weapon into a sword, slashing the faux-divinity repeatedly. These hits actually had a bit more sting to them, leaving noticeable gashes in the void-like body of the Collector. The Proto Tool then transformed into a laser staff and Rook battered his opponent with a shower of blows before sending him into the air with one last powerful uppercut. Rook then chased him down and the Proto Tool transformed into a cosmic gauntlet, striking the Collector with a little Revonah-Kai energy.
The Watch Collector absorbed the strike and threw the kinetic energy of the hit right back at his assailant. Rook was blown backwards, but Glitch caught him in his blorpy body. Glitch frowned before going into action.
"What…are you? A…pathetic mockery?" the Collector huffed, the wear and tear on his body starting to become obvious.
"Ironic coming from the guy who fights kids for a hobby," the Mechamorph boy taunted before he elongated his fist across the way, striking the Collector in the face. In their palm, the Watch Collector produced a sword of cosmic fire and slashed at his adversary several times. Gen shrunk his body under the onslaught, evading them. The Watch Collector roared before burying a scorching fist into the Mechamorph lad's chest. The Mechamorph warped his body around the fist. Gen coiled himself around the opponent like a straightjacket. The God had been bound by the kid.
"This…how are you doing this?! You don't even HAVE his mockery of cosmic power!" The Watch Collector made a hissing sound.
"Perhaps he snuck something in when you weren't looking," Glitch smiled.
The Mechamorph copy of Youngblood's body began to glow, emitting streams of purple lightning before detonating in a tremendous energy explosion. Glitch was kneeling with his hands on the ground when the smoke cleared, sparking with the same purple lightning as previously.
"Can you tell me what you did?" Vengeance asked, looking around. "Where'd he go?"
"I transported him," Glitch replied
"...where?"
"Six hundred feet under," Glitch pointed down as Youngblood's face lit up. The drills began to whirl all over his body. The geothermal energy within the soil began to collect around him, changing the very color of his drills from blue to red.
"STAND BACK!" Youngblood yelled. He roared, focusing the geothermal energy into a single point on his drill, before blasting it into the earth in the shape of an extraordinarily dense, high-temperature beam of multicolored pure energy.
The ground exploded, knocking everyone back. Vengeance grabbed Max and Rook and flew off. When the dust cleared, there was a massive crater in the ground, with the Watch Collector floating in the middle. His mind was racing, trying to calculate something, anything that could wipe these "Outcasts" out.
And then a solution came to him.
Thunder could be heard in the air. The Collector's eyes glowed. A huge fist crashed through the sky and smashed onto the earth, generating a terrible windstorm. Everyone was blown back, but some were able to regain some form of control, using their aerial traits to go against the storm.
But that's what the Collector wanted.
Gwen hovered in the air, transformed into a completely new form, breathing heavily from the effort she put into avoiding the Watch Collector's attack. Her massive wings beat at a steady pace as she stared at the destruction in front of her, eyes wide in awe.
Though, Gwen wasn't one of the usual flyers, like Jetray or Astrodactyl, though there was some similarity with the latter. The alien resembled a jet black pterodactyl with four legs, the front pair actually possessing pink, translucent wing membrane to allow for flight. The seven pink eyes, each with a black pupil, dotted around the destruction surveying the damage.
"That…was intense," Gwen said, her voice much deeper and much more terrifying in this form.
The Collector looked up to see Gwen circling, regarding her more like an annoying mosquito. The cosmic alien held out its hand and formed the bow in his grip, accompanied by three star-infused arrows.
"Crash and burn," the Collector muttered before firing.
The arrows missed their target completely. One of Gwen's eyes had caught sight of the projectiles racing towards her and she managed to corkscrew right between the three, letting race into the sky.
"Nice try," Gwen grinned. She closed her wings around herself, as if she was wrapping herself up in a cape. Her seven eyes glowed with bright pink energy, before she opened her wings and unleashed a powerful screech at the Celestialsapien. The Collector locked eyes with Terrorsaur, but then he saw her vanish. They all did. The faux-divinity looked around, trying to find them, but then his rage gave way to fear. Standing in front of him was a featureless, giant figure with golden skin and a crown of branching antlers.
"No…you…you can't be here," the Collector muttered. The golden giant raced towards him and began beating him down. Punch after punch landed from the enraged entity, and the Collector was uncharacteristically paralyzed with fear. On the last hit, the illusion faded as the golden giant was replaced with Terrorsaur. The pterodactyl-like alien slammed into the Collector, sending him flying into the palm of Kirby's Way Big.
"Time to test my grip strength," Kirby declared, as he crushed the Watch Collector in the palm of his hand.
Pressure surrounded the Collector as the Toku'star squeezed the cosmically-powered universe-hopper. The Collector pushed back with as much force as he could, stopping himself from being entirely crushed.
The Watch Collector unleashed a powerful burst of energy that caused Kirby's hand to burst open. It felt like all of his fingers had been blown up, but thankfully, no such adverse effects.
"Thank you, Min's weird magic," the closest variant to Prime Ben muttered.
Kirby was one of the very few people without a cosmic upgrade, only Min's magic.
"Fine. You'll take the tip of the spear," the Collector threatened.
"Ya know, I feel like you'd survive this...but let's just test this out," Kirby said, before crossing his arms. Energy charged up from the arm blades of the Toku'star before joining together. The Collector simply raised his arm as a titanic beam of green energy was fired at the Celestialsapien.
The Watch Collector withstood the blast, not even budging an inch.
"You know...the first Omnitrix I stole...the wielder tried something similar," the Collector hissed, "This was their first...and last attack."
"It is far from his last," Albedo called out. Ultimate Cannonbolt slammed into the Watch Collector, thrown into him from the ground by Dino-Mighty. The armored Arburian tore into the Celestialsapien, grinding into him. The Collector's hand glowed before morphing into a lance, thrusting it forward and shattering the living tank. The Collector looked down to see Neo taking a dramatic bow, before flame slammed into him. A moth-like figure flew past the Collector, as Albedo had taken on the form of his Ultimate Necrofriggian.
Neo spun her enhanced umbrella around and began to create a powerful cosmic storm from her umbrella. The Watch Collector was caught in the crosshairs of the cosmic maelstrom and a powerful ice storm. Top that off with Vengeance adding in his lightning, Kirby adding in his own cosmic blasts, and Youngblood adding in some more of those 'geothermic' blasts and the Watch Collector was in a bind.
Such a smokescreen was perfect for getting in a few devastating hits. Shielded from the cosmic storms, Reaper raced through the winds and fired a barrage of scattershot into the Collector's back. He staggered forward before turning, firing an arc of cosmic energy at empty air; she'd managed to get out of the storm in time. With his back turn, Blake leapt in through the winds as well, dodging lightning from Vengeance and slashing away at the Celestialsapien, severing the last of his three horns. He turned again, cosmic blade in hand and thrust it into Blake, only to be met with a perfect stone replica, its face in a permanent, taunting smirk.
"You know...I learned something," Blake said, her voice coming from the smokescreen. "This cosmic upgrade that Ben gave us...does a VERY fun thing to Dust."
Blake's blade suddenly shot out a beam of lightning, rock and fire. The impact of the blow was powerful, making the Collector recoil from the hit. The cosmic alien felt more of his Omnitrixes become dislodged from his body, before Yang and Weiss hopped back into the fight.
"BUMBLEBEE!" the brawler and ninja duo called out.
Blake's ribbon flew across the way. Yang jumped up, grabbed it, and Blake pulled her back. The Watch Collector was smashed in the back of the head by Yang's gauntlets, as Weiss made a glyph under his feet. The glyph pulled him down to the ground, allowing Weiss and Blake to set up their combo.
"CHECKMATE!"
Blake and Weiss dashed at the Celestialsapien, blades clashing with his body. The blades were fast and precise enough to snag the Omnitrixes out of his grasp. Two more Omnitrixes down...and just one more to remove.
Ceres yelled, as she propelled herself at the Watch Collector, and put him in a headlock.
"KID! AIM FOR MY STUPID CELESTIAL SHIELD!" the Archimedian called out.
Gwen and Reaper sped towards the bound Celestialsapien together, a massive blur of red and blue speed trials mixing together. Gwen landed a flurry of kicks against the Collector, grabbing hold of one of the last remaining Omnitrixes before speeding away, tearing it off his form. Reaper slammed the stock of her shotgun into the jaw of the cosmic alien to stun him before grabbing hold of it and firing one round off. The force of the shotgun round launched the younger Ruby variant back, ripping the Omnitrix free. The Watch Collector mustered a quick burst of power and threw Ceres over his shoulder before staggering back.
"Pow...er...drain...ing. Primary...core...compro...mised..." the Collector said, his voice losing that threatening tone, even when it was in pure machine mode, now more like a machine with an almost depleted battery. His physical form actually seemed to deteriorate. What was once a comprehensive form, now began to melt into star-marked sludge.
Ruby walked over, holding the massive upgraded scythe that Ben was possessing. Her eyes were filled with sheer, silvery determination.
"You compared me to Helen of Troy earlier. I'm not sure how I feel about that, honestly," Ruby said, "I don't know if your words are filled with half truths, lies, or a terrible fact I have to face about myself down the line..."
Ruby spun her scythe around and continued, "...but back to the Helen of Troy thing. You made the wrong comparison there. I'm no Helen."
Ruby activated her scythe, which changed color to a dazzling crimson with white lines all around it. She disappeared in a shower of petals before reappearing in front of the opponent and slicing them through them.
"I judge what's fair...and not fair. The being inside of you...is innocent," Ruby said with finality. The Watch Collector's body split in two, setting free Ben inside of him. Prisoner fell to the ground, as the Watch Collector struggled to regain any semblance of a form.
"N-no..." the Collector wheezed.
A pillar of cosmic energy released from Ruby's body, forcing the opponent to step back due to the pressure.
"I'm Themis," Ruby said.
Ruby surged forward, channeling the same cosmic force into the scythe.
"BEN! PUT EVERYTHING YOU HAVE INTO THIS!" Ruby screamed.
"YOU GOT IT!" Ben yelled back. As the blade began to gleam brighter, Ben exclaimed. While shrouded in that celestial glow, she pushed ahead at phenomenal speeds. Ruby then smashed into the opponent like a rocket and launched him into the air.
"COSMIC...EXECUTION!" Ruby and Ben yelled in unison, as the red-hooded huntress drew her scythe back and lunged forward at breakneck speed, slicing clean through the Watch Collector's remnants with Crescent Rose.
The Watch Collector faded away, the blow's impact finally putting an end to it.
"Holy shit..." Kevin muttered, seeing the dramatic finish the duo pulled off.
"Hell. YEAH!" Yang called out, "That's my sis!"
"You're gonna let her ride this accomplishment all month aren't you?" Weiss asked with a slight smirk.
"Are you saying she shouldn't?"
"Not for the whole month. We don't want her to get an ego," the heiress explained.
"Same," Ceres said, "Hear that, Ben? Better not get cocky from this!"
"You have that little faith in us?" Ben asked, separating himself from Crescent Rose.
Ben reverted back to human, and Ruby flung herself into his arms. Ben smiled, as he hugged her tightly.
"We...we did it," the Prime Ben said, still in shock.
"Y-yeah," Ruby smiled, "We did."
While the others were celebrating and cheering the defeat of the Collector, the time walker appeared next to Prisoner, checking the drained Ben's vitals. Weak, but alive.
"Hmm...would be far crueler to let you simply wander the multiverse...but where would you truly fit..." Paradox mused.
Prisoner coughed, as his eyes fluttered open. He looked at Paradox and then raised up his hand.
"I'm..." the drained variant looked over his hand in shock.
"Yes. You're free." Paradox said, offering the boy his hand, "I can't imagine what you've been through, but-"
"N-no. No, no, no, no, no," Prisoner repeated, eyes wide with horror.
"Mm?" The professor looked puzzled.
"No...this is what he wanted..." Prisoner gasped, "His shackles…he's broken free of them. He's…transcended."
"Transcended? Dear boy, what could y-...wait...oh no," Paradox's eyes went wide at the realization.
"Everyone! This isn't over!" Paradox shouted.
"How? There's nothing left of the guy! He's stardust!" Yang called.
That's when the beeping started. The Omnitricies, the ones that had been ripped out of the Watch Collector's body. They were beeping. Ben picked up one from the ground, as it flashed a message.
.- -. -.. / - ... . / -.. ..- ... - / .-. . - ..- .-. -. ... / - - / - ... . / . .- .-. - ... / .- ... / .. - / .- .- ... -..- / .- -. -.. / - ... . / ... .-. .. .-. .. - / .-. . - ..- .-. -. ... / - - / -. - -.. / .- ... - / -. .- ...- . / .. - .-.-.-
The Omnitrixes suddenly started to float away, converging at the center of the battlefield.
"Perhaps not..." Rook corrected Yang, getting his weapon ready for what had to be the final round with this guy.
The Omnitrixes ripped from the Celestialsapien's form shifted and aligned themselves in a myriad of patterns, mainly constellations, or as close to the constellations as they could get, before settling on a pattern that resembled how they were arranged on the cosmic alien's body before he was obliterated.
"For the first time in this little fight...you have my gratitude," the Collector's voice echoed out from the central Omnitrix, "Human emotion and perfect logic are always incompatible. Especially when it comes to sentimentality. Now, I no longer have such restraints. Besides…" the Collector's body slowly reformed with each word, before finally his head reformed, though amusingly one horn was still severed to show he had taken damage.
"I never cared for any of you," the now purely artificial Collector continued, "only the one deemed fit to wear me. And now that he is no longer fit as my...user...you have nothing left to exploit."
The Collector's eyes opened with a renewed fury, his eyes flashing to life with a green flare.
"What hope do you have?" the reconstituted Celestialsapien asked.
Ben's eyes hardened. Ruby let him go, before he rolled up his sleeve. Ben didn't need to look around at the group. They were exhausted, worn down by a Celestialsapien that was only barely held back by a Ben that still felt remorse for everything his alien form did.
They didn't have it in them for another round.
"Ruby. Kevin," Ben said, "I need your keys."
"Nuclear option it is," Kevin said, pulling out his key without hesitation. Ruby pulled hers out as well, an uneasy look on her face that Ben quickly noticed.
"I'll be fine, Rue. I just need to thrash this guy one more time. I don't want the rest of you getting hurt here," Ben said.
"Do not make a promise you will be unable to keep," the Collector "kindly" suggested.
Ben looked over at the faux-divinity, clenching his fist tightly.
"I intend to keep this one. With my goddamn life," Ben reassured.
"I will hold you to that," the Collector still had that smugness to his voice.
Kevin and Ruby held out their keys as Ben unlocked the Omnitrix. The dial went up with a familiar beep and he took a deep breath.
"You guys have been with me since the start. It's only fair that you get to do this," Ben said.
"It...is fitting, isn't it?" Kevin asked, before inserting his key into the lock. The key clicked, glowing with the same green energy of the Omnitrix itself. A green and black Omnitrix-hourglass symbol appeared on the key handle, signifying the first lock being undone.
"Been with you since the start...this better not be the goddamn end," Ruby said, inserting her own key into the lock. The same thing happened with the second key, though the Omnitrix-hourglass was a red color instead of green.
"It won't be..." Ben reaffirmed.
The sound of a weapon being cocked got everyone's attention. Ben turned to see Maximillian, aiming his blaster at the Watch Collector. The Watch Collector looked unphased by the sudden turn.
"Grandpa," Ben frowned, "Lower your weapon."
"And...what exactly do you aim to accomplish with that? Kill me?" the unrestrained Collector asked.
"Hopefully," Maximilian said, the vents on the sides of the blaster charging up with residual Celestialsapien energy.
"Grandpa," Ben repeated, much more firm this time. "I got this."
"I am not letting another Ben say that to me," Maximillian growled.
"Ah yes...your Ben. This is your attempt at redemption. Amusing..." the Celestialsapien said, almost dismissing Maximillian entirely.
"Where do you get off on saying that!? You're trying to fix your wounded PRIDE because something more powerful than you exists, right!?" Maximilian yelled.
"...I would be lying if I said wounded pride was not a factor. Not a major one, but a factor..."
"Please," Ben said, walking over to the cyborg variant of Max, "I can do this. I have the means to-"
"And what if that ISN'T enough!?" Maximilian countered.
"There it is," the Collector muttered, "What if it isn't enough?"
"You can't even fathom the powers I have over my Alien X." Ben said, holding up his Omnitrix. The dial was twisted to Alien X's icon.
"You'll get yourself killed, Ben! I can't see that again!" the cyborg variant yelled, no it was more like he was begging Ben not to do this.
"He won't," Ruby interjected, "Trust me." Her eyes had such a certainty to them. Maximilian was still ready to fire, even while looking into those silver eyes of hers. She trusted him. Kevin trusted him. But Maximilian still had his doubts.
Maximillian resigned himself, lowering his weapon and shutting down the vents.
"Alright, kid," the cyborg variant sighed, "Fine."
"I'll come back," Ben said, turning around to face the Outcasts present, "To all of you. I promise."
And with that, Ben walked towards the Watch Collector.
"If you're going to change...do it now. As your variants oft wish to make the end memorable," the Collector taunted.
"Gladly."
Ben slapped down the Omnitrix. A cosmos swirled around Ben, and took form around him. Unlike the featureless humanoid that the Watch Collector resembled, Ben's Alien X looked more like a Ben that had embraced space warmly. Constellations lined his body, green cosmos were visible and most of all, despite everything, it was still Ben.
Two voices popped into Ben's head once the physical transformation completed.
"So, you've returned here," a gruff male voice said.
"Yeah," Ben responded.
"Do you know the risks?"
"Yes."
"Are you willing to accept them?" a kinder female voice asked.
"At a later date, maybe," Ben joked.
"We grant you motion, but be warned," the male voice, Bellicus, cautioned, "Your attack will drastically affect the cosmos forever, and set into motion a series of events that will-"
"Oh, come now...I'm sure he understands," the female voice, Serena, cooed, "Isn't that right?"
Ben didn't respond with words.
He responded by readying himself for the fight. The Watch Collector's body was glowing, ready to unleash his own big bang to wipe out everything in this world, possibly even the entire dimension and even more beyond that.
"Your Ben never regretted his decision. He never once blamed himself for that mistake. The Gods were to blame," Ben said, voice booming, "But you...you resented him. You, a creation made for the understanding of all lifeforms, couldn't fathom why he would do this. And you acted on your own."
"There is no use for the material! The mission should have continued!" The Watch Collector protested.
"You think innocent lives are materialistic?" Ben frowned.
"Distractions from the bigger picture, to be more precise."
Ben tightened his fist.
"Alone, I am so very, very weak," Ben admitted, "Even with the cosmos at my fingertips, I would be alone if I constantly worked by myself. My friendship means I'll never have to be alone; it means having a steady wall of support even when everything else around you is falling. Despite the ups and downs of life, even though the days appear dark and my heart hurts, I am never alone; my friends are always at my side,"
Ben rushed over, "And all of these blows are for them."
The Watch Collector received the first hit in the shape of a simple, straight punch to the midriff. It was agonizing, made worse by the never-ending void empowering the Prime variant.
"For Grandpa Max," Ben said, raising another fist. This one emitted a cloud of smoke. The punch created a blinding fog, making it difficult for the Watch Collector to see through.
"This is for Kylie."
Ben came behind the Watch Collector, his fist clenched. He flew after the guy after punching him in the face.
"This is for Rex."
Ben unleashed a powerful cosmic flame that burnt the Celestialsapien's body. It propelled the Watch Collector further skyward.
"For Ceres!"
The Watch Collector slammed into a 'glyph' with the constellation of the Ursa Major on it. A giant, cosmic bear popped out of it and chomped down on the Collector, to hold it place.
"This is for Weiss!"
A swarm of clones sprang from Ben's body and proceeded to lash out at the Watch Collector.
"FOR BLAKE!"
The clones all began to mutate into more hideous shapes, their blows becoming increasingly painful.
"FOR KEVIN!"
The clones vanished as the Watch Collector released a strong blast of energy that blew them all away. He raced up at Ben, who remained still. The Watch Collector pierced Ben's chest with a celestial blade, but that was a fake, a mere illusion.
"FOR MIN!"
The Watch Collector turned around to see Ben raising his fist and then released a vicious punch that sent the Watch Collector above the clouds, through different layers of atmosphere.
"FOR YOU, YANG!"
Ben followed the Celestialsapien through the stars, inventing every piece of Proto Tool technology possible from his back. It started blasting, whacking, and entangling the Watch Collector in an amazing display.
"THIS IS FOR ROOK!"
As the Watch Collector was sent hurtling across the heavens, Ben paused his motions by pointing a finger at the alien.
"THIS IS FOR MARROW!"
Ben rushed over and unleashed a flurry of furious blows. "FOR GWEN! VELVET! ALBEDO! NEO! ANNA! FOX! VINE! OSCAR! VERDONA! IRONWOOD! YATSU! QROW! SIENNA! TAIYANG! ELM! HARRIET! SIX! COCO! HOLIDAY! CLOVER! WELLER! PENNY! ARI! LEV! SUMMER!"
The Watch Collector thought that punch was the last one. Ben was sounding out of breath.
If he could just move, he could resume the assault.
Ben backed away, getting distance for this next blow.
The Watch Collector was hopelessly frozen in place. Ben took a red star and turned it into a scythe.
"...For Ruby."
The proper Alien X RUSHED at the Watch Collector once more and sliced through the false X's body a million times in one swing in a flurry of bright red flashes.
Ben let the scythe go, watching it disappear. He turned around to see the Watch Collector slowly breaking apart, atom by atom.
"So," the AI said, its voice glitching out somewhat, "That's the way it ends."
The Watch Collector didn't sound mad, or sad, or disappointed. His voice was monotone. The Omnitrix cores he was planning to use as backups were gone. He had nowhere else to go now.
As his atoms broke up more and more, Ben watched. No quippy one liner. No jokes. No 'goodbye'.
The Watch Collector coldly accepted his fate as he faded into stardust.
"And with that, I do believe...it's properly over," Paradox said, seeing the last bits of the Collector scatter like ash.
Ben floated back down to Earth, feeling odd. His body was emanating a heavy amount of steam…inside his mind, there was conflict.
"You fought valiantly," Serena said.
"You fought brutally," Bellicus corrected.
"Call it whichever. Personally, though, I'll take 'valiantly'," Ben sighed.
"Your fight...will have consequences. Tampering with the Omnitrix to enhance yourself with our abilities? That will haunt you," the sterner personality frowned.
"But...you can rest well. You vanquished an unspeakable hunger," the kinder one smiled, "Out of your 1,000,000 tries...this one was successful."
From Ruby's perspective, it had only been one battle. For Ben?
He'd been inside Alien X for a year.
"Had to...get it right eventually, right?" Ben asked.
"Not necessarily," Bellicus said, "In a way, it was equal footing."
"Now you're just trying to add more negatives than positives to the victory. Let him enjoy it," Serena admonished her counterpart.
Ben closed his eyes, as he touched back down on the ground. He reverted back to human.
And then he collapsed.
Ruby raced over to him, vanishing in a burst of petals and reappearing to catch him before he hit the ground. Kevin smirked a little at that.
"You did it," Ruby whispered, even though Ben's eyes remained shut. She hugged him tight, and held him close.
"You...you really did it."
Prisoner watched the stardust fade away, and he too closed his eyes. Tears welled up.
The multiversal scourge was over.
Ben's eyes fluttered open a few hours later. Looked like it was early morning now. He recognized where he was pretty quickly. It was the Rustbucket, or, at least, the alternate version of it. Ben looked around and saw a lot of people were still passed out, strewn about in the Rustbucket. Maximillian and the other Max were up front, Youngblood and his companions were sleeping at the table with Kevin and Min, and Ruby was sleeping by Ben. She'd sat herself next to him and fallen asleep, it seems.
Ben blinked. This was very, very alien to him. To be inside Alien X was a blessing and a curse. Infinite power but you'd have no idea when you'd get out. Like mentioned before, it had been a year. A year without sleep, outside contact, and mind numbing equations. He felt like he was going to go mad inside the Celestialsapien form. And that poor Ben, the one who'd been stuck inside the Watch Collector for much, much longer, Ben's migraines probably had nothing against his nightmare.
Ben shook his head. The battle was over and the day was saved. He slowly got out of bed and crept out of the RV. When he stepped outside, he saw a few tents had been set up. Probably where the others were sleeping. It looks like they were back in Youngblood's dimension. Ben walked over to a table and stared at the rising sun. He felt he should see that more than anything.
Sunrise and optimism were never defeated by a night or a challenge. Every sunrise marks the start of a new day and the conclusion of an old one. It represented birth, development, fresh beginnings of all kinds, resurrection, even creation, and practically everything with a loved or hoped-for beginning.
And the last chapter of that story had just finished up.
Ben sat in silence for a few moments, before he heard someone join him.
"...Azmuth?" Ben said.
"Don't worry. I'm from YOUR universe. Your Omnitrix symbols could be detected from a multiverse away," Azmuth said, sitting next to Ben.
"Had to make sure," Ben chuckled.
Azmuth and Ben watched the sunrise for a few moments. It was a bit awkward. Ben felt like he should initiate a conversation, but it was Azmuth who broke the ice.
"I never imagined my creation could be used for something so...horrid," Azmuth sighed, "The Omnitrix was built to bring all of the universe's beings closer together. But, I've seen the discord and issues it's caused. The consequences it can bring...it's horrific, isn't it?"
Ben looked down at his wrist, "I always thought this watch was the most powerful device out there...and I was right. To see it at full power scared me. I could be like that."
"But you aren't."
"I feel bad, though. The only way I could really destroy him was by getting rid of those other Omnitricies. I probably ruined so many universes by destroying them..." Ben frowned, shaking his head.
"Worry not. Those were prototypes."
"Prototypes?" Ben asked, confused.
"The Bens he targeted were still using an imperfect Omnitrix from my scans. The TRUE Omnitrix will be given to them soon, I imagine," Azmuth went on, "It was a good thing those Omnitricies were faulty. I would not want to face a full powered Celestialsapien with a completed Omnitrix. That could've brought about the end to a multiverse."
"Well…thanks for that terrifying image," Ben shivered.
"All Celestialsapiens are," Azmuth said, walking over and holding out his hand, "Your watch, if you please."
"Huh?"
"I can't have you messing around with those Celestialsapien hybrid creatures. The power they wield is enormous...but the price they pay far surpasses the benefits," Azmuth remarked, "Not to mention the damage the so-called Collector did to their time limit."
"Oh, right," Ben gave his watch to Azmuth. The First Thinker of the Glavan pressed a few areas on the touchscreen and the Omnitrix flashed once or twice.
"I take it you also locked me out of Master Control," Ben guessed.
"For now," Azmuth sighed, looking back at the sunrise. Ben's attention went back to that.
"Hey, so...do I have a prototype Omnitrix?" Ben asked.
"No," Azmuth confirmed, "Yours is the final product. If he stole it, then all would have been lost."
Ben felt a bit sick after he heard that.
"Oh, come now. Be a bit of an optimist, old friend," Paradox said, joining the two.
"Where have you been?" Ben asked, looking over to the time walker.
"I had to talk with someone about that poor Ben, the one we've dubbed 'Prisoner,'" Paradox said, eyes looking over to a specific tent, "You Bens are sure heavy sleepers."
"Yeah? Well I try not to be. But being inside of Alien X for a month was...rough," Ben admitted as he just looked at Paradox who actually took a moment to sit down close by Azmuth and him.
"Benjamin, do you remember the first time you gained your Omnitrix?" Paradox asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
"Uh, yeah of course? The campsite, the summer, I know Ruby was there too, what about it?"
"Each Ben is unique. Every little action that is done by you, it creates an almost entirely new reality within the scope of the Omniverse. You saw just how many versions of yourself there are that exist, yet we only really scratched the surface," Paradox added as he started to slowly trace his hand across the air before smiling.
"Every alien, every transformation, every subtle act. It is all down to you," the time walker smirked.
"Does that mean there are versions of me that are like the Collector?" Ben asked whilst starting to look at Paradox, who's face seemed to perk up, but not in the most positive of ways.
"Benjamin, there are countless versions of you. One's where you are not the hero that you think you are. I believe you've seen just how far your own multiverse can go when it comes to creating versions of you that aren't...well, the best when it comes to their duties," Paradox explained as Azmuth gave a slight nod of agreement.
"I guess the only thing I have to ask is...what now? We just stopped a multiversal extinction-level event from happening. We saved countless realities, and we're supposed to just move on?" Ben added whilst seeing Azmuth actually smile a little.
"You see, Tennyson, the thirst for adventure never truly leaves you. Even though you have faced down such a threat, it is not the battle that you should take away your lesson from, rather what you did in the down time. The acts in between and the strategies you came up with," the Galvan seemed to hop onto Ben's lap before poking him a bit in the stomach.
"So go on, tell us what you learned," the First Thinker inquired.
Ben thought back on everything he'd ever done. To get to where he did, he just needed to talk to that girl on the RV, befriend that weird kid in New York, find out that girl's secret and it all just kind of snowballed. Although his path wasn't always steady, and he felt like hanging up the towel at times...he was always surrounded by others.
"...I learned that you shouldn't always have to go it alone," Ben began, "If I had to get there without allies, without friends, pretty sure I could. It'd probably get done faster, too. But...there's this weird, unexpected fun with having those friends in the mix. Suddenly, you're worried about them, caring for them, wanting to get to know them and your one-man job has transformed into a team effort. I don't know how anyone could go it alone."
Ben looked down at his hand, "It's not that I think I'm not strong enough, or deserving of the watch...there's just somethings that people can do that I can't. I'm only one guy, one alien and one hero. So...yeah."
Paradox simply gave a nod, with Azmuth then hopping back off of him.
"It shows that you have a long way to go," Azmuth said, "You might be a hero, but you are not the hero that you are meant to be. When you might feel that way nobody will know but you."
"And might I add, even if you did know, that would simply just alter the timeline further and mess all sorts of things up," Paradox joked as he took a stand and put a hand on Ben's shoulder, almost to reassure him.
"Your friends are your power, Benjamin," the time walker continued, "You do not need just a fancy watch or aliens or any of that. You are strong with those that you care most about, and with them you can perform the impossible."
Ben smiled, as he stared off at the sun, "I'm just glad to have them in my life."
Ben felt someone rest their chin atop his head, and wrap him in their cloak.
"Same," Ruby smirked.
"How long were you standing behind me?" Ben asked.
"Long enough," Ruby smiled.
"Now then, children. I'll leave you two to get back to Atlas. I'm sure you have a lot to do there and...most likely a lot of explaining to do with all the property damage," Paradox added with a slight wink.
Ben's stomach grumbled.
"...or, we can do that...after breakfast," Ben shrugged.
"Breakfast is good," Ruby nodded, "I could go for some pancakes right now."
"Please, with Grandpa Max, it's gonna be like...squidcakes or something," Ben joked.
"...they were still good, though," Ruby countered.
As Paradox and Azmuth started to leave, there was a sort of tenseness between the two. Like something hadn't necessarily been said that might have helped, but Paradox knew his code of conduct.
He was just happy to see that Ben was safe. But he didn't want to open up the next pandora's box without any warning...
Though it did seem that there was someone else watching. Someone who had seemingly been observing. Tendrils slowly slinked back from behind the RV and back into the forests from whence it had come from, a small spark of purple magic that began to fade.
The Evernight Castle had grown silent as pale hands were clasped together, observing the ending to this surprising story.
"You were right, Charmcaster. Your powers do hold surprisingly well when traversing through these alternative realities," the queen of the Grimm said.
"I'm just as shocked as well," Hope huffed, having strained herself a bit, but the connection was holding well enough, "You just saw Tennyson take down basically an alien god. How the hell do you plan to one up that?"
"That is simple enough. What the boy faced was merely a mockery of the proper thing. Whilst I might not have seen the true power that device possesses up close, I do know that there is some...benefit to these alternative worlds," Salem simply smiled as she stood up from her throne and began to walk to the tinted glass windows of her castle.
"Magic begets magic. Power begets power. And actions beget consequences..."
"You're going to venture into the multiverse?" Charmcaster asked. "That's ambitious, even for a woman of your caliber."
"The multiverse? No, I believe you misunderstand. My priority shall forever remain on this world, though today's actions may have actually helped me. I believe what Benjamin has done has set into motion some actions that will put him in the firing line," Salem smiled as she glanced toward Charmcaster, "Are you perhaps familiar with the Sotoboro effect?"
"I'm sadly not well versed in that field. But, do tell," Charmcaster said.
"When a Chronosapien uses its powers, it causes a Sotobro effect that can be sensed and reversed by another Chronosapien," Salem looked out the window, "I met one, once upon a time, even if I didn't know what he was at first. He told me a bit of his story, of the powers he held."
"Held?"
"A long story," Salem handwaved the question before continuing, "But...those ripples in time can be dangerous if left as is. With Ben's careless actions, he could rend the multiverse."
Hope had to take a moment, she remembered the cosmically infused Chronosapien that had been Omni Stellar Clockwork.
"So you're saying that when he used that power…?" Hope asked.
"Precisely. Benjamin Tennyson has single handedly sent a beacon out to all living things in the very cosmos itself. Including the entities I wish to enact my penance on," Salem started to look to the sky where she could see that two stars seemed almost brighter than any of the others.
"He has made it all the more likely that when I come to call…they shall be there to answer."
Breakfast that morning reminded Ruby of Beacon. The large group of people, the conversations, the weird aching pain she had in her body after a long fought battle, it all felt so familiar. If you added in a big, fancy lunchroom, she'd feel right at home.
Youngblood's Grandpa wasn't too weird on cuisine, but just a bit clumsy. The pancakes he made were a little misshapen and doughy, but still enjoyable.
"So, in the future, am I gonna have a cool playlist like you?" Youngblood eagerly asked Ben.
"Play your cards right, and you could," Ben replied.
Ruby just found herself humming as she swung her legs back and forth whilst savoring the rather delicious pancakes, even if they were a bit off.
The whole of the squad was here and everyone seemed to be in...decently high spirits at least. That is except for a select few.
Vengeance and Maximillian had both taken time away from the group to seemingly just...think. Considering how similar they were, with both being the more "veteran" of the variants they'd all encountered.
Ben and Ruby took note of this. They didn't even have to say any words. All they did was share a look, nod, and walk over to their respective targets. Ben took the alternate Max and Ruby took the alternate Ben.
Maximillian didn't even really look...upset, but more just deep in thought. The thing that he had spent most of his life doing, or at least most of his old age doing, was now done. He could retire as soon as he got back to his own dimension, knowing that no other Ben's were in danger.
"Hey, Grandpa," Ben said, taking a seat next to the variant of his grandfather, "You…doing okay?"
"Hey kiddo. Gotta admit, what you pulled out there was some serious stuff. Didn't think you really had it in you to bust out the big guns at the last moment," Maximillian chuckled
"Believe me. Atomix was my second biggest hitter, and I don't even think he could hold a candle to the Collector," Ben shrugged, "…so, what's next for you? After all this."
"Honestly? I don't know. I know that I lost my Benjamin a long time ago because of that…that butcher. But honestly? I dunno whether returning to my world is even a possibility at this point," Maximillian shrugged, not even upset at that being a possibility, more ambivalent than anything.
"…I think it is, honestly," Ben said, looking down at his watch, "Azmuth mentioned something about there being another Omnitrix out there, a better one. The ones that the Collector was using were prototypes."
Maximilian paused, taking in that information. Prototypes caused all that damage?
"And…what am I supposed to do with that?" the cyborg variant asked.
"Well…maybe you should find a successor for me," Ben suggested.
"Even though the Omnitrix of my world is probably gone?" Maximillian added as he started to think about the idea, it might be worth looking...even if just for a little while.
"Well, you never know. Maybe life will find a way to surprise you!" Ben said as he showed a small smile
"...I'll take that into consideration." Maximilian chuckled a bit, "What about you?"
"We have to get back to fighting Salem and Zs'skayr," Ben replied, "Honestly, they don't sound THAT hard now, but...eh."
"Don't underestimate them, Ben. That's the one thing you can't do, regardless of the threat you need to make sure you deal with them," Maximillian added, patting Ben on the shoulder, "She might not be a god, but she is dangerous."
"Did...did your Ben ever beat him?" the Prime Ben asked, curious.
"That'd be spoilers," Maximilian smirked, "And taking the easy way out. If I told you that, you'd want to know how, after all. You know how much I don't like that."
The grizzled cyborg variant then hummed in thought a little, before he smiled.
"Just know that if you ever need a shoulder to lean on, I'm a call away," Maximilian promised.
"And " Ben said. "It's...been nice seeing you again, Grandpa."
"And it's been great to see you again," Maximillian wrapped his grandson in a hug, a tight one, too, "I'm so proud of you..."
Ben almost felt himself tear up a bit at the affirmation. It'd been so long since he'd really felt his Grandpa's hugs that it was saddening that he would maybe never get to feel it again unless dire circumstances came about again.
Ben just hugged back tightly.
After everything he'd been through recently, this was like a dream come true.
Meanwhile, Vengeance found himself just staring out toward the horizon before looking back when he heard approaching footsteps.
"I'm guessing you're here to try and talk me into staying a bit longer?"
"No," Ruby said, sitting down, "I know you wanna get out of here. It's overwhelming to see everyone, isn't it?"
"...I just see a bunch of ghosts," Vengeance admitted, "I could handle you, you're just one red specter, but everyone else...I feel like I'm in a dream."
"Well...If you want you can always stay here a little longer," Ruby admitted as she made her way up beside him, "If there's things you've wanted to say to them, now's the time really."
"That's the thing. If I wanted to say something, I'd be here for a long, long time. And I can't do that," Vengeance sighed, "My world's getting closer and closer to oblivion, thanks to Salem."
"I guess so..." Ruby seemed a little disheartened but was pretty quick to start zipping around in front of Vengeance, "Well, if there's anything you wanna say to me, then now would be the time."
Vengeance looked at her, a good, long hard look. He closed his eyes and stood back up.
"...I love you. I just wanted to say that one last time," Vengeance said, as he opened his eyes again. It was obvious that, with all the emotions Vengeance was feeling here, he was on the verge of crying.
Ruby then leaned in a little before just hugging the loner Ben variant.
"You dork, I know that," Ruby smirked, "Even if you're different from my Ben, you're still Ben."
"And even though you're different from my Ruby...you're still Ruby," Vengeance's hands were shaking when he hugged her.
"You're gonna have to keep moving forward, even if we're not there," Ruby said as she just held him tightly, "you'll find others like us."
Vengeance looked up at the sky, "That's the hardest thing you've ever asked me to do, but...I'll try."
"Good," Ruby nodded, before looking at his cloak, "...do you wanna trade, maybe? So you have something to remember me by."
"Trade? Trade what?" Vengeance asked as he looked back down to Ruby and wondered what she was getting at
"You know. Your cloak. It doesn't really suit you...and I have like a dozen of red ones back at my place, so," Ruby shrugged, "Wanna make it happen?"
Vengeance just looked at Ruby before unclipping the cape from his back, knowing that it was very damaged and probably in need of a replacement.
"Sure. Even a small reminder's a good one," Vengeance nodded.
Ruby happily took hers off, and gave it to Ben. "Heads up, this one CAN absorb energy, and it's really cool to use with your Semblance."
"Oh, huh. I forgot that this one was special," Vengeance admitted.
"Think of it as a 'tactical upgrade,'" Ruby smirked.
Vengeance was quick to give one last hug to Ruby, knowing that this might be the last time he felt such affection. At least for a little while, he felt...like himself.
"I hope you find peace, Ben," Ruby said as she hugged him again, "I really, really hope you can."
Vengeance just felt himself hold back what little tears he could shed as he felt a smile creep along his face. "Thank you...Ruby."
Soon enough, it was time to go. Everyone was giving their goodbyes. Maximillian had the most attention, considering the fate of his prime counterpart.
Maximillian looked out to the group and then to each of the other Bens that had been along for the ride.
"You know," Maximilian began, "At first I thought this was simply going to be like the others, another world that was doomed to fall in a mission I couldn't complete," he glanced at Ben, then Kirby, then Vengeance, then Gwen, and finally Youngblood, "Yet I look at all of you, and I see that you have taken that step. You've all done something amazing here."
"I'll be sure to visit my Max when I get back," Kirby said, "Probably ready to come charging after me."
"Same here," Gwen nodded, "I'll have to call him, since I doubt Beacon'll just let me leave my classes."
"You haven't really mentioned your Max. How is he?" Ben asked.
"Doing better. Had a run-in with a rogue Amperi, but he's doing better," Gwen said.
"Well, be sure to keep them close. Same with your friends too," Maximilian finished.
Maximillian then started to make his way over toward a portal, created by Paradox who had opened a sort of gateway for each of the Bens, Maximillian and anyone else to use as a means of getting home.
"By the way, Maximilian..." Paradox said, handing him a card, "I know a good organization who might need your skills."
"I'm already a Plumber," Maximillian said.
"No, no, this is a different organization," the time-walker corrected. Max looked down at the card; it was a fancy looking one, with a unique Omnitrix symbol stylized to have a 'color wheel' on it. There was some gold lettered text above and below the multicolored sigil.
"The...Omniversal Council?" Maximilian asked, reading it aloud.
"Give me a call, and I'll gladly introduce you," Paradox said.
"I...I can't say I'm not at least a little concerned but I'll take you up on your offer," Maximillian smiled as he started to look back over to Ben, deciding before he left to give one last smile.
"Hey Ben!"
Ben perked up, all of them did really, as they saw Maximillian raise his wrist up, almost mimicking the Omnitrix being activated.
"Keep being the hero I know you are," the cyborg variant said.
"And keep being the hero I know you are!" Ben yelled back with a smile.
Maximilian waved one last time, and went through the portal.
And just as quick as Maximillian had made his way through, each of the various Bens started to make their way back through.
"This was...weird," Ben 23 admitted, as he fist bumped Ben, "but a cool weird."
"Would probably make for a good movie," Ben joked, but 23's face lit up.
"...I need to call my Hollywood agent," Ben 23 grinned, before he ran through the portal.
Vengeance was quick to start heading through next, "Well Ben, it was...good to meet you, even if we are vastly different from one another." He admitted
"I dunno if what happened to you will happen to us," Ben admitted, "but...I promise I'll keep them safe."
"Keep that promise with your life," Vengeance said, "...and question everything. I mean that."
"What?" Ben asked.
"You'll understand soon enough. And keep an eye on the sky," Vengeance said, "I wish I did."
That stood out to Blake.
Ben watched as Vengeance, now clad in a new red cloak, made his way through the portal to continue his own brand of justice.
Each of the other Bens and Gwen began to make their way past, all of them sharing them own form of goodbye until it seemed to just be the Zeta Squad, Youngblood, Gen and Reaper
Kirby shook hands with Ruby and Ben.
"It was nice to see what I could become in the future. I dunno if I'll ever meet any of you in my timeline, but," Kirby smiled, "You guys seem like good friends."
"Oh trust me, even if you don't see us, you might see people like us," Ruby added before giving a slight ruffle to Kirby's hair.
Kirby smiled, as he walked through the portal.
"You know…I'll give you credit. Maybe there is a reason you got the Omnitrix in more timelines than any of my alternate selves," Gwen said, as she walked next to Ben, "You really have that 'heart of a hero' thing down pat."
"Heh, thanks Gwen. I'll be sure to keep that heart going for as long as I can," Ben smiled as he watched Gwen simply give a small wave before making her way back into the portal.
Paradox suddenly walked up next to Ben.
"Well, I have to get this one back to a 'special' place," Paradox motioned down to a wheelchair. Prisoner was in it, still comatose.
"Is he gonna be okay?" Ben asked.
"Hopefully. Just need to have someone do a few quick scans, and...well, spoilers." Paradox said, "The portal will remain open for your jump, and that'll be it." Paradox began to walk off.
Ben looked to the others as they started to slowly file in, each of them in high spirits, but of course he glanced back at the likes of Youngblood. He could see that after all this, he probably was gonna be more than a little worried about the future...
"Hey, Youngblood. Enjoy your future! If it's anything like mine, it'll be great!"
"Wait! Hold on!" Youngblood yelled, "Do you...have any tips? I am still a young hero and all."
Ben smiled. How could he refuse that? He wasn't spoiling anything for the kid if he was vague enough, so why not.
"Alright, kid. Here's my advice," Ben said, turning to Youngblood, "Don't mess with the Omnitrix, it could mess up a lot of stuff. And, if you ever unlock a dude named Ghostfreak, seek out someone to help you remove him. Beat up a bad guy and leave the crime scene as soon as possible, because they WILL try and make you clean it up."
"Right!" Youngblood nodded.
"And no matter what, never...never ever doubt yourself. Even in your darkest times." Ben said.
Ruby looked to Reaper and quickly called out herself; "And Reaper! Make sure you keep him on the right path! He might be a bit of a doofus but he's your doofus!" She exclaimed before starting to wave, quickly spiraling into petals as she rushed back into the portal
The portal closed, and the four of them just stood there.
"...I didn't get any advice," Glitch pouted. Max ruffled his hair.
"There, there," Youngblood's grandpa said, "Now, come on. We're burning daylight!"
At this point, it seemed that there was a lot that each party would need to think on...but for now Ben was gonna need a long nap...
And, to be honest?
Our hero needed a nice break.
Vengeance found himself back in his own reality. Rain was still falling and the bar was still destroyed.
"Looks like I didn't even leave at all," Vengeance said, as he walked over to see if Cinder's corpse was still there. Part of him was worried that because of that Grimm enhancement, there'd be a chance she'd sur-
Vengeance's eyes widened. No...no, it couldn't be. She...
There was someone standing over the charred remains of the Fall Maiden variant. But there was no way it could be who he thought it was.
"...Rue?" the loner variant asked in total shock.
The figure was quick to turn around, a familiar set of dark locks suddenly flicking to the side, the sounds of mechanical whirring leading to the extension of a large, metallic scythe.
"Ben?" a familiar, female voice called out.
He didn't know how this was, or even why this was, but after everything, after all his pain and suffering, he couldn't stop himself from rushing into her arms and breaking down.
"Hehe...yeah, you're still you after all this time," Ruby smiled as she noticed the red on him, the fact he just sort of showed up out of nowhere made her think that he'd been up to something big, "Guess it's gonna be a long story huh?"
"Yeah. A really, really long story," Vengeance held her tight. "But...I saw you fall...how did you?"
"Looooooooong story," Ruby grinned.
"Figured," Vengeance chuckled.
"Well, guess we got a lotta time, now come on. We gotta get moving," Vengeance's version of Ruby smiled as she took his hand.
Vengeance took her hand, and looked down.
...what would've happened if I never gave her that? Would she have even survived? Vengeance wondered. He was taking a look at her Omnitrix, formerly his.
Vengeance shook his head, clearing those thoughts out of his mind.
"If you're back...are the others here too?" Vengeance asked.
"Everyone's here, Ben," Ruby smiled.
Vengeance didn't know what to say, but he knew that something to do with this battle had definitely allowed him a fresh chance.
A new start.
A new beginning.
Tsukinukero!
bokura wa itsudemo kodoku no soba de shoujiki nan da na
Namida wo koraete egao wo nakushiteta
Honno sukoshi no kyoufu de kokoro kudakete shimaisou
tachiagatte hashiridase mae ni shika susumenain da
Kizutsukenai kizutsukanai sono te wa mou hanasanai
Itsudemo kiseki wa okoseru to shinjiteitai
kanashimi ni sayonara wo suru no sa
Hora, kowaku wa nai kodoku janai yo boku tachi wa
Kitakaze ga fuite kirihirake unmei wo ima
Tsukinukero!
Kitakaze (Northern Winds) by Six Lounge