Ben X Chapter 31
Abominatrix Arc
Strategy Meeting
"I'm sorry to interrupt but there are important matters we must discuss Ben." Azmuth said. Ben nodded and stood up from the bench, walking around to stand in front of them. Julie followed but stood back beside him.
"Right, of course. First, before you say anything, allow me to apologize, to both of you." Ben said quickly. "Azmuth, I had intended to tamper with your greatest creation, a right that did not belong to me. For that I'm sorry. Paradox, I should have trusted you and your wisdom. I should not have tried to travel back and fix what went wrong. I should have stuck to my original plan and learned from my mistakes to become a better hero. I still think I've partially accomplished that, having the master control has made me stronger and better than ever. But I needed to learn things the hard way, as usual." He said. Azmuth and Paradox exchanged a glance. Azmuth then stepped forward to speak first.
"Make no mistake, I am still incensed that you even had the idea to modify my Omnitrix. But, I suppose you never went through with it which is enough for me. We can come up with an appropriate punishment later, and believe me, you will have to atone for this mistake. But right now the more serious threat is still at large. And while you have made mistakes in the past, I still believe that you are the best choice to combat this threat." Azmuth said. Ben nodded sagely.
"Eon." He said simply.
"Exactly," Paradox spoke up. "We need to determine a course of action to deal with him." Paradox said. Ben narrowed his eyes at the time traveller's tone.
"What exactly do you mean by… deal with him?" Ben asked suspiciously.
"Eon poses a massive threat to the entirety of space and time. However neither he nor I have been able to completely defeat one another. You however, may possess the capability to do so, and by doing so remove him as a threat permanently." Paradox explained. Ben scowled.
"So you're asking me to kill him?" He asked angrily.
"Ben you must realize that with his new found powers Eon is as great a threat as all of your enemies combined, literally." Paradox pleaded.
"But that doesn't make outright killing him okay!" He shouted. "We can find a way to beat him, we always do! Yeah it might be tougher but death is what started this whole mess in the first place! I can't imagine it would be our solution! I don't kill my enemies, that would make me no better than them. Azmuth you're on my side too right?" He said emphatically. Azmuth rubbed his chin like he often did when contemplating.
"Ordinarily Ben, I would agree with you. Killing others only ever begets more killing. But in certain situations, such as this, I believe that exceptions should be made." Azmuth reasoned.
"I can't believe this!" Ben said throwing his arms into the air.
"When faced with one life over the fate and safety of trillions of lives, the choice no longer has moral standing. It is a simple matter of mathematics." Azmuth stated logically.
"Azmuth is right Ben." Paradox said. "If you fail to stop Eon then he could potentially kill trillions more and bring untold suffering to the Omniverse. I imagine that would weigh more heavily on your conscience then the Tragulon." He finished. Ben glared at him. There was a moment of tense silence as they each stood firm. Julie glanced at Ben in concern, worried that it would set him off again. Azmuth watched the exchange with the air of someone watching an experiment. Finally Ben responded.
"I'm not killing anyone. Not anymore. Not unless it's absolutely necessary." Ben spoke with finality. Paradox sighed in exasperation.
"Fine. I see that we are at a difference of opinion. I can no longer help you Benjamin, but I still wish you success. But know this, if you fail to capture and subdue Eon then whatever havoc he wreaks will lie squarely on your shoulders. I hope you're prepared to deal with the consequences." Paradox said.
"For the first time in a long while, I'm absolutely ready. I'm not running away anymore. It's time to face my mistakes head on." He replied sternly. Paradox only nodded in acknowledgement.
"Very well, then I shall take my leave." Paradox spoke before walking behind a tree and disappearing. This left only Azmuth, Ben, and Julie remaining on the roof. Ben turned to the smaller alien.
"I suppose you think I'm being naïve too?" Ben asked. Azmuth considered the question for a moment before responding.
"I do think that you are stubbornly clinging to your principles yes. But, I've often found that you surprise me in ways that I don't expect. I anticipate that this situation will be no different." Azmuth responded. Ben smiled at Azmuth, and although there was still tension there, Ben felt relieved to know that his mentor figure trusted him. "Now, let us go rejoin the others and come up with a plan." He said and turned to the exit without waiting for the duo.
Ben, Julie, and Ship followed Azmuth back to the lounge where his friends and allies were still gathered, some of them still reeling from Paradox's revelation. As they entered the room side by side all eyes turned to them. Kai especially stared at them with wide disbelieving eyes, but the response was missed by both of them. The room was silent for the first minute while Ben looked around the room. Max was the first to break the silence and come up to him.
"Ben… I'm… I don't even know what to say." Max said at a loss for words.
"It's okay Grandpa. I'm feeling a lot better now that it's all out in the open." Ben said giving a slight smile to Julie who returned the expression. The room was still mostly silent and a sniffle from the corner broke through the awkward tension. They all turned to see Trixie sat on the bench, Eunice resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. The AI had synthetic tears running down her face and she gazed at Ben with teary eyes.
"Ben." She started distressed. "I'm sorry. Did I… Did I fail you?" She asked desperately. "Father made me so that you wouldn't be lonely and that you would have someone to talk to. Was I not good enough? Did I not do a good job? Did I fail my purpose?" Trixie asked fighting back tears. Ben smiled sadly at her and approached her. He sat on the bench next to her and gave her a hug which she eagerly accepted.
"No Trixie, I was the one who failed you. I shut you off for my own selfish reasons. I hurt you, and I'm sorry." Ben spoke into her shoulder. Trixie sniffled a final time.
"It's okay." She said and released him from their hug.
"It's not actually okay. It seems that throughout most of my life I've ended up hurting people, especially those who I care most about. Whether it was intentional or not it doesn't make it right." He said standing up and beginning to speak to everyone present in the room. "I know that you all probably have had your trust in me broken. And the only thing I can do to earn that back is to try my best. I'm making a promise to you all here and now. I'm going to be better and I'm going to make you all proud. But first things first, we need to address the situation with Eon." Ben spoke emphatically. It seemed like the kind of speech that would have inspired cheering, but the air was still tense and thick with awkwardness.
"I'm sorry Ben, but you've hit the nail right on the head." Manny spoke up suddenly and crossed his multiple arms. Attention swung to the plumber at his words and even Helen was a little taken aback. "I don't think we can trust you. Not after learning you almost went evil." He said. Kevin growled and stepped forward.
"Hey buddy, watch what you're saying. Ben didn't go evil, and that's the important thing. He's still one of the best here." He said starting to get up in Manny's face. Only Gwen's steady hand on his wrist held him back.
"And I'm not denying any of that. You're a great dude Ben, and you've done a lot of great things as a hero. But this one, man I just think you're too emotionally compromised right now. How can we follow your lead if you don't have your head on straight? I'm sorry man but I can't really trust you right now." Manny said backing off. There was a moment of tension as everyone absorbed Manny's words.
"I hate to say it, but I agree with Manny." Came the unexpected voice of Cooper. The admission garnered looks of shock.
"Babe?" Lucy said timidly. Cooper stepped away to stand next to Manny. "Ben was keeping secrets. I've never seen you act this way before. Sometimes you just have to realize when your emotions are clouding your judgement. We can't trust you to lead missions in the state you're in, it might end up with someone getting seriously hurt." Cooper reasoned.
"Yeah, I'm with them on this. If there's a chance I might end up dying because of you, I'm not gonna take that chance. Sorry dude." Alan said and stood by the growing group. Ben's eyes flickered to Helen who looked away shamefully before she too stood by them.
"I'm sorry Ben, but I can't lose someone I care about. Not again, not like with Pierce." She said sadly. Ben regarded the group calmly but before he could even begin to say something Kevin once again raised his voice.
"I don't believe this! You're all gonna just turn your backs on him?! Just like that, after everything he's done for you?! And why? Because of something that might have happened?" He shouted angrily, ripping his arm from Gwen's grip. "Ben never even went bad! And I should know cause I was bad. But Ben was always there for me! He brought out the good in me and we shouldn't abandon him, I'm not going to betray him like that, not anymore." Kevin said with arms crossed. Manny glared back at him and the two boys faced off. But Rook hopped in between them holding up placating hands.
"Everyone please let us talk this out. Yes I can agree that Ben has been emotionally compromised lately. But I also believe that he can overcome this to do what is right. I have seen Ben face off against odds worse than this and come out on top. Yes he may be unpredictable but that is often one of his greatest strengths. I believe we owe it to him to at least give him a chance." Rook suggested diplomatically. But the group of nay sayers were unmoved.
"Sorry man, ain't gonna happen." Manny said stubbornly. Kevin growled again and made to lunge but was stopped by Ben's own hand.
"It's alright." He said to both Manny and Kevin. "Manny, I understand where you're coming from and I don't blame you. If you don't want to follow me that's fine but can I at least count on your help with Eon?" Ben asked. Manny looked at him unsure. "What's your plan? If you've got an idea to take him down then I want to hear it." Ben said to the surprise of everyone. Manny looked shocked for a second before uncrossing his arms.
"I say we track the dude down and put the hurt on him, plain and simple." Manny said and punched his fist into his palm.
"You'll need to find him first." Ben observed. "Have we had any luck on that front anyway?" Ben asked around.
"He's been on the down low for the last few days, no trace." Gwen answered. "He's probably getting the hang of his new powers if I had to guess." She continued.
"Then we should try to anticipate where he's gonna go next. He said was going to try and ressurect Dagon. How would he go about that?" He asked around again.
"Dagon's essence is safely sealed away in Ascalon. And that sword is safely locked away. Even if he did retrieve it Dagon would not be whole." Azmuth explained.
"Actually," Charmcaster spoke up. "I might have an idea of what Eon might be up to next." She spoke. All eyes turned to her as she retrieved a spellbook from her bag. She opened it up and began thumbing through the pages. Finally landing on the one she wanted she traced her finger along the text. "There is a certain ritual that one can use to revive a being as powerful as Dagon. The ritual spell requires four components: The Sword that Slayed him, the Seal that Bound him, the Faith that Feeds him, and the Blood that Powers him." Charmcaster read off the pages.
"Would Eon know about this ritual?" Gwen asked.
"If he has all of Addwaitya's knowledge then definitely he would be aware of it." She replied. Gwen hummed thoughtfully.
"Well some of those seem easy to identify. But what's the part about his Faith and his Blood?" Gwen asked coming over to read the spell book besides Charmcaster.
"I'm not really sure. The ritual was conceived when he was first imprisoned so who knows what some of this refers to." Charmcaster said.
"I think I can speak for at least one of those." Julie said speaking up. "Dagon had a cult of true believers who called themselves the Flame Keeper's Circle. They had agents called the Esoterica that could move between dimensions and brainwashed people into joining the cult. I almost fell for it myself." Julie explained. "I think he'd probably need members of the Circle for their Faith, but I don't know exactly what he'd do with them." She supplied.
"Well we know where the Seal is at least. Azmuth, where did you say you're keeping Ascalon?" Ben asked.
"Ascalon is being held securely in one of my DED sites." He answered simply.
"Dead site?" Kevin asked concerned.
"D-E-D. Dangerous Experiment Disposal site. It's where I store any inventions or experiments that I deem too dangerous or hazardous to get rid of normally, hence the name." He explained. "But the exact location is a secret, the only other person that would know of it would be… Ah." Azmuth said in realization.
"Albedo?" Ben guessed.
"Yes unfortunately. If it is true that Eon has absorbed even the memories of his victims then he will have knowledge of DED site one." Azmuth surmised. "He could possibly be on his way there already. DED site one does have some defenses but it's primary defense was its hidden location. I fear that if left unguarded Eon would be easily able to secure Ascalon." Azmuth explained.
"That's really bad right? Even setting aside Dagon isn't Ascalon like the most powerful weapon in the universe?" Gwen asked concerned.
"No, luckily I removed all the essential components that would activate Ascalon. It would take much more effort to reactivate Ascalon then it would be worth. Its only purpose now is as a prison for Dagon." Azmuth said.
"Eon will probably go there first. After all, he will have no chance of resurrecting Dagon without the sword." Rook said.
"Manny." Ben spoke up grabbing the plumber's attention. "You want a shot at Eon? I think this might be your best chance." He said. Manny regarded Ben for a long time and the rest of the dissenters waited patiently for the Tetramand hybrid to speak up.
"So where can we find this DED site anyway?" He said speaking to Azmuth.
"I will give you all coordinates. I would suggest you leave right away if you want to make it there as soon as possible." Azmuth said walking from the room. Manny and his retinue began to follow.
"Good luck man." Ben said as he was leaving. Manny paused and looked over at Ben.
"Yeah, you too man." He replied before following after Azmuth. Alan, Helen, and Cooper walking with him.
Nearby Lucy looked between Ben and the retreating group nervously. She chewed her fingernails anxiously as she watched Cooper's retreating form. The technopath gave her a glance over his shoulder and smiled before continuing forwards. Lucy's eyes darted to the side and she saw Ben's eyes land on her. She took a deep breath and walked forward to him.
"Ben, you know I don't think any less of you. I still trust you but…" She trailed off worriedly.
"It's okay Lucy, I get it. Go, be with him." Ben said insightfully. Lucy looked at him with a smile before wrapping him in a hug.
"You're like, the best cousin ever." Lucy whispered before letting go and running off after Cooper.
"So, I think the rest of us should split up and tackle the rest of this problem." Ben said. All eyes turned to him as he spoke. "We'll go searching for the old seal." Ben said gesturing to himself, Rook, Kai, and Charmcaster. "Julie, I think you should take Gwen and Kevin and see if you can find any members of the Flame Keeper's Circle." Ben suggested. Julie looked at him confused.
"What makes you think I would be able to find them?" Julie asked.
"You were part of the organization, at least for a little while. Maybe you can think of something we might have missed." Ben said shrugging his shoulders. "At the very least Gwen might be able to track some of them down." He added. Gwen put a hand on Julie's shoulder supportively.
"Come on guys, we've got a lot of work ahead of us." Ben said.
A/N: Thank you to Bucuriedragos for the great review they left on the last chapter. It means a lot because that chapter was meant to be a big reveal. This chapter obviously is much shorter but only because there isn't too much action and is more heavy on the exposition.