~Dancing through life, skimming the surface, gliding where turf is smooth. ~Life's more painless, for the brainless. Why think too hard, when it's so soothing…
Oh! Hello, everyone. Sorry about that. I saw Wicked on tour earlier this month and I can't get the songs out of my head. Not that I really want to. I'm excited to learn they're making a Wicked film adaption but it's not gonna come out until 2019. I have to wait until I'm twenty nine before I can watch it. But you guys didn't come here to read about Wicked.
Boy, it sure has been awhile hasn't it? I'm sorry for the late update again. I have actually been working on the chapter, but I kept having trouble getting myself motivated to write. Now, I'm sure you guys will have a lot of questions once this chapter's over so I'll save the conversations till the end. But let's get to the chapter. First, I do not own Ben 10 or Bleach. Also, I would like to thank Pyromania101 and Vandenbz for proofreading my fic.
And now, on with the story
Chapter 9: Prelude to Ultimate Heroes
Harribel crossed her arms as Ben was engulfed by the green light, but she maintained a neutral expression. Lilynette was obviously eager to see how the fight would go, while Harribel's Fraccion were filled with determination to prove themselves to Lady Harribel and Lord Aizen, but they were also tense about facing someone who could fight on par with the Espada.
The light faded, revealing Four Arms, with all four of his arms, flashing everyone a smirk. Though she still appeared impassive, Harribel was intrigued. If her guess was right, this was one of the aliens that Tennyson used against Grimmjow. She wondered how well her girls would fare against such an opponent.
Lilynette on the other hand was thrilled. "Alright, Four Arms! Guess you were right, Ben!"
"Yeah, how about that," Four Arms said, grinning as he flexed all his fingers. He faced Harribel's Fraccion and took a fighting stance. "Bring it on!"
"No serious injuries, if possible," Harribel spoke up. Though it was debatable whether she was speaking for the sake of Ben or her Fraccion.
"Understood, Lady Harribel," Apacci said to her leader, before addressing her teammates. "Alright, let's show what this human what we can really do!"
"Who do you think you're giving orders to, Apacci?" Mila Rose asked dryly, though she prepared herself all the same.
"You're being pretty full of yourself," Sung-Sun added, though she brandished her own weapon for battle.
Four Arms clenched his fists tightly. This was it.
Apacci made the first move, using Sonido to appear before the Tetramand and lash out with her chakrams. Four Arms sidestepped, just managing to dodge her attack but then Mila Rose appeared right beside him, swinging her blade. He managed to dodge the blow when something else struck his leg, forcing him down on one knee. The attacker, Sung-Sun with her sai peeking out of her long sleeve, gave him a small but smug smirk of her own.
Seeing their opponent down gave Apacci confidence as she moved in for another strike. Thinking quickly, Four Arms scooped up some sand and threw it in her face. She screamed in outrage and indignation as she tried to brush the sand from her eyes. Four Arms took advantage of the opening to grab and toss her into her teammates, who only had enough time to widen their eyes before Apacci slammed into them. All three sprawled onto the ground in a tangled mess of limbs. Lilynette snickered at the state they were in.
Four Arms grinned, putting his hands on his hips. "Gonna have to do better than that."
…
"So he has experience fighting multiple opponents," Harribel noted.
Lilynette looked up at her. "You're not upset? Your Fraccione aren't doing too good."
"The training has only just begun," Harribel said in a matter-of-fact tone. "And if they do lose, this fight will serve as motivation for them to become stronger."
Lilynette couldn't help but smile. At least the Third Espada was a good sport about this. She doubted someone like Baraggan or Grimmjow would've been as considerate in regards to their Fraccione.
…
Back at the "battlefield" Apacci pushed her way out of the pile that was her, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun, glaring daggers at the alien hero. "Don't think you've won!" she shouted.
Mila Rose and Sung-Sun got to their feet. "That was impressive," the latter conceded grudgingly.
"We can't give up," Mila Rose said tensely, narrowing her eyes at Four Arms. "We can't let Lady Harribel and Lord Aizen think their faith in us is misplaced."
"Of course not," Sung-Sun said, slightly irritated. "But we'll need to be careful."
Four Arms tilted his head and crossed both sets of his arms as he watched the girls talking amongst themselves. He brought two hands to his mouth. "Hey!" he shouted. "You three finished? Or are you ready for more?"
Rather than responding verbally, Apacci made the first move again. This time, though, she attacked by throwing one of her chakrams at him. The tetramand knocked the projectile to the side with a flick of his arm but winced at a sudden pain. He inspected his arm and spotted blood trickling down from a small cut. Four Arms had a feeling that if this had been a real fight; he might have lost his arm. Again. Maybe he should see if Aizen could make pieces of armor or something for him.
Apacci's grin grew, having managed to draw first blood. This time Mila Rose and Sung-Sun attacked simultaneously, forcing Four Arms on the defensive as he dodged their various strikes. Their goal wasn't to cut him up but there was always a chance that they might cut him up intentionally. Four Arms decided he didn't want to find out and leaped backwards, his strong legs allowing him to jump several feet away from his attackers. The three shot forward to attack him again but Four Arms was ready for them. He pulled his arms back and slammed them all together, unleashing a shockwave that blasted the girls backwards and into the ground.
Lilynette grinned, remembering when Four Arms used that attack against Grimmjow. Harribel's eyebrows shot up at the unexpected move. This alien really was a formidable force.
"Now I'm really getting pissed!" Apacci shrieked as she picked herself up for the second time.
"We're still going too easy on him," Sung-Sun said as she sat up. "Human or not, he's a capable fighter and right now he's making fools out of us in front of Lady Harribel."
Mila Rose sat down on one knee. "Which means we need to fight harder."
Apacci looked back at the others. "Think we should use that?"
Whatever that was had to be drastic because Mila Rose and Sung-Sun's eyes widened.
"It could work," Mila Rose considered.
"That might be going too far though," Sung-Sun pointed out. "This is just a mere training session. We should save that for an actual battle. Besides, I'm not keen on showing Tennyson one of our deadliest abilities."
Apacci and Mila Rose frowned as they realized Sung-Sun had a point.
"What about releasing?" Apacci suggested.
"Not yet," Mila Rose replied. "We should save that for another session, allow us to catch him off guard."
"So what do we do?" Apacci demanded.
"He's good, and skilled, but not invincible," Mila Rose stated. "If we keep him pinned down, we can beat him without going all out."
Apacci grinned and Sung-Sun smiled behind her sleeve. All three looked back at Four Arms, who started feeling antsy from the wicked gleam in their eyes. Apacci then pulled back her fist, around which red energy was gathering.
"Not again," Four Arms groaned when he realized it was a Bala. He moved to dodge but the ball of energy was faster, the explosion from the attack knocking him off his feet. The moment the hero was airborne, Mila Rose appeared beside him and slammed her right fist into his abdomen. The blow was powerful enough to send Four Arms slamming back into the ground. Hard.
"Oof," the tetramand winced from both the blow and the impact. "Good punch," he muttered, rubbing his chest. Mila Rose grinned in response.
Just then, out of the corner of his eyes, Four Arms noticed what appeared to be the glow of a pink light. And it appeared to be glowing brighter. He turned his head in the direction of the light and saw that it was coming from an orb building up in front of Sung-Sun's right hand. She then raised her hand toward Four Arms and fired the pink light as a Cero. The beam struck the ground beside Four Arms but the force of the explosion was more than enough to make the hero airborne again.
"I'm starting to see a pattern here," Four Arms muttered in annoyance.
It was then that Apacci appeared and clotheslined the back of his head. The Arrancar pushed her arm, sending Four Arms back toward the ground. The wielder of the Ultimatrix thrust all four of his hands out as he was about make contact with the ground. The sand blasted around as he made impact but he was relatively fine. Regardless, the three Fraccion were filled with satisfaction at their newfound progress.
"Alright," Apacci pumped her fist. "As long as we keep our distance, we can win this."
Four Arms narrowed his eyes at the declaration, but he had to admit they had an advantage in terms of range. Then he got an idea that made him grin. It was time to have some fun with these three. He tapped the Ultimatrix symbol, and was bathed in green light once again. After the light faded a new alien was revealed: a small creature with swamp-green skin, green eyes, a tanned stomach, blackish green spots all over his back, sides, and tail, sharp teeth, and black claws.
Everyone was put off by this strange and altogether unimposing new alien.
"Who is this supposed to be?" Lilynette asked with a raised brow.
The small alien smiled at her. "Say hello to Upchuck!"
"Upchuck?" a visibly unimpressed Apacci repeated. "What's he gonna do? Throw up on us?"
Upchuck grinned at her. "Something like that."
Sung-Sung frowned at the hero's words. While she too was skeptical, she also knew he wouldn't have turned into this new form without a good reason. She just needed to know why.
Apacci decided to take the offensive. Red energy gathered around her horn before she fired it as a Cero. She aimed it off to the side, but then Upchuck surprised them all by jumping right in front of the blast.
"What are you doing?!" Apacci cried.
"Ben!" Lilynette shouted. "Are you crazy?! Get out of there!"
But Upchuck stood his ground. Everyone was convinced he was done for, before he did something they definitely didn't see coming. He opened his mouth, which seemed to expand wider than his body, and the Cero disappeared inside, Upchuck's body expanding in response. This action left the Arrancar utterly stunned. Upchuck had eaten a Cero! And the surprise didn't end there when Upchuck opened his mouth and fired Apacci's Cero right back at her! She and her teammates scrambled to avoid the incoming attack.
Upchuck put his hands on his hips. "How was that?"
"Interesting," Harribel said. "So it seems Chromastone isn't your only alien who can absorb and redirect energy. I heard my predecessor had a similar technique where she could eat a Cero and then fire it back at her opponent while combining it with her own."
"Huh?" Upchuck turned toward her. "Predecessor? You mean, someone else was the Third Espada before you?"
"Yes," Harribel answered him. "Out of all the Espada, only Aaroniero remains of the original group."
That surprised Upchuck. How many Arrancar had Aizen gone through before his current Espada?
His musings were interrupted when something struck the side of his head and sent him flying across the sands yet again. The tiny eating machine bounced along the ground before skidding to a stop. Upchuck moaned as he picked himself up. "Did anyone get the number of that truck?" he mumbled.
"Did you forget about us?" Mila Rose asked, lowering her leg after she had kicked Upchuck. She and her teammates surrounded their small opponent.
"So this guy can eat energy attacks, huh?" Apacci commented.
"Let's see how well he does against physical attacks," Sung-Sun suggested.
"Prepare yourself!" Mila Rose shouted. With that, the three charged at him again.
Surprisingly, Upchuck stood his ground, shifting his stance as the three got closer.
Off to the side, Harribel narrowed her eyes, wondering what the shape-shifting hero was up to. Did he really expect to fight them as he was? Was this Upchuck form more capable of combat than his appearance led one to believe?
Just as the three were about to attack again, Upchuck opened his mouth, unleashing four long tongues, which then wrapped around his opponents. They had little time for register this development before, with deceptive strength, the tongues pulled them toward Upchuck. They only had enough to realize what the alien was up to before all three disappeared into his mouth, Upchuck's cheeks swelling to massive proportions.
Harribel and Lilynette stared at the spectacle, uncertain if what they saw really happened. After a moment, when she saw that yes, it had happened, Lilynette burst into a fit of laughter, falling over and kicking her legs wildly.
Upchuck gave a smile of contentment. "That really hit the spot." It was hard to tell if he was joking or not.
Suddenly Upchuck's cheeks began wiggling wildly. The gourmand lurched to the right, to the left, backwards, and forwards.
Lilynette stopped laughing when she saw Upchuck's strange behavior. "Are you okay?"
Upchuckle tried to speak when a pair of hands popped out of his lips and started to slowly pry his mouth open. Apacci's head popped out and she looked absolutely livid.
"Let us out!" She howled.
Upchuck shrugged before heaving and then spewing out Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun. Despite being covered in green saliva, the three were completely unscathed. The sight was more than enough to reduce Lilynette back to hysterics.
"That," Sung-Sun muttered, "Was disgusting."
Apacci rounded on Upchuck, the look on her face screaming bloody murder. "I'm gonna make you pay!" She made to attack but froze when Upchuck opened his mouth a crack. She was in no hurry to go back in there.
"That was great!" Lilynette chortled. "Upchuck can sure pack in a lot. Where does he put it all?"
Upchuck scratched his chin. "I don't really know. Never really thought about it."
Just then Upchuck's stomach let out a gurgling sound. The gourmand looked at his belly, blushing. "Guess I'm getting a little hungry."
In fact, when was the last time he had eaten? Before he got sent to Hueco Mundo? He had been so caught up in everything that he hadn't noticed. So his body finally decided to remind him.
"You're lucky you don't taste very good," Lilynette couldn't resist ribbing Harribel's Fraccion. Needless to say, they were not amused.
"Then that will end our training for now," Harribel said, uncrossing her arms. "We will head back and get some food." She walked over to her Fraccione, who flinched when they realized she was coming over. They were so ashamed of the humiliating defeat they had been dealt. How could they have left one human make complete fools out of them?
"You three fought well," Harribel told them encouragingly, causing them to look up at her in surprise. "Use this experience to help you improve yourselves."
They lowered their heads respectfully to their leader. "Yes, Lady Harribel," They said at the same time.
Harribel looked over at Upchuck. "You also fought well."
Upchuck smiled, rubbing the back of his head. He then tapped the Ultimatrix symbol and turned back into Ben. The moment he changed back, his stomach let out another growl, making him blush.
…
"So," Ben said once they had returned to Las Noches. "What do you guys eat around here?" He fought the urge to add 'Aside from the whole soul thing'.
"Lord Aizen has been building Las Noches from under the Soul Reapers' noses for some time now," Harribel replied. "He also made sure to bring in supplies such as food that could make this place inhabitable once he left Soul Society. If you're wondering, yes, Arrancar are capable of eating human food."
Despite the unlikeliness of the possibility, Ben couldn't help but ask. "Do you guys have chili fries or smoothies?"
That got him a look of confusion from the rest of the company, confirming his suspicions.
"What are those?" Lilynette asked curiously.
"They are among the greatest inventions that humankind has ever created, Lilynette," Ben said, throwing an arm around the young Arrancar's shoulder. "Maybe if we find some way to have you guys visit my universe, I can treat you to some."
The Arrancar could see he was exaggerating but they wondered how good these items were for Ben to sing their praises.
"I'm afraid we don't have any of those," Harribel informed him apologetically.
Ben shrugged. "It's okay. I had a feeling you probably didn't but I wanted to be sure. So where do we go to eat anyway?"
"We usually have servants bring the food to our chambers," Harribel told him. "Apacci, you and the others go back to the room. I'll join you shortly."
Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun were startled by this order. They weren't keen on having Ben Tennyson in their quarters. But, Lady Harribel wanted them to try and get along.
"Yes, Lady Harribel," Mila Rose complied. She eyed the others. "Come on."
Ben and Lilynette shared a surprised glance. They honestly hadn't expected to be allowed in another Espada's chambers. But they decided they might as well since Harribel offered, and thus followed after her Fraccion.
…
Ben was amazed once he entered Harribel's palace. They had a balcony with a great view over the courtyard, which probably explained how Apacci and the others had been able to find him so easily.
Not seeing any chairs, Ben sat down on the floor, Lilynette sitting beside him. Apacci leaned against the wall, Mila Rose rested her arms on the balcony, and Sung-Sun simply stood there, staring off into space. An awkward silence filled the room, nobody daring to make the first move.
Finally Ben decided to take a chance. "So, what do you three and Harribel do to pass the time?"
The three were put off by the sudden question. "Pass the time?" Sung-Sung asked.
"Yeah, like, what do you three do for fun?"
Apacci scoffed. "Fun? We're about to go to war against Soul Society! We don't have time to do things like fun!"
"Come on, Apacci," Lilynette said defensively. "Lighten up." Then she gave the other girls a devious look. "Or are you still upset that Ben made you look stupid?"
Apacci growled in annoyance. Mila Rose and Sung-Sun shot Lilynette their own dirty looks but theirs were far more subdued, admitting that she had a point.
"To be fair, they got some good hits in," Ben said in their defense, rubbing where he had gotten hit.
"And then you ate them!" Lilynette reminded him.
Apacci's clenched fists shook and her face was slowly reddening, looking ready to explode. Ben was about to try and intervene when the door opened. Harribel entered, followed by a male Arrancar pushing a serving cart containing several domed platters, cups, and a pitcher. Apacci's anger immediately evaporated once her leader came in. If Harribel was aware of what almost happened before she arrived, she showed no sign of knowing. The other Arrancar, no doubt a servant, began pouring water from the pitcher into the various cups. Once he was done, he removed the domes from the plates, revealing various fruits, vegetables, and bread.
"I wasn't sure what you would like to eat from what we have available," Harribel explained to Ben.
"It's okay," Ben said appreciatively. "Food's food and I'm not gonna be picky. Besides, after a summer of my grandpa's cooking, I could probably eat anything. Well, almost anything."
That earned a chuckle from not only Lilynette but also Apacci, Mila Rose, and Sung-Sun, who quickly realized what they were doing and cut their laughter short with minor blushes. But it hadn't gone unnoticed by Ben and he smiled.
Harribel noticed this too and she was glad to know that, in a small way, progress was being made. "You can leave the tray here," Harribel informed the servant once he was done setting up everything.
"Yes, Lady Harribel," The servant bowed before leaving.
"Help yourselves," Harribel then told the others. Ben and the girls got up and started filling their plates. Once everyone had food and a drink, they sat back down.
"Unless Lord Aizen has need of you, we will train later," Harribel said after everyone was settled in and started eating. Ben noticed that she didn't take a plate or cup and wondered why.
Just then Ben let out a involuntary yawn.
"Sounds like you're getting sleepy, Ben," Lilynette said.
Now that she mentioned it, Ben was starting to feel pretty worn out. What time was it? Did Las Noches even have a set time? It seemed like it was always night out there. How long had it been since he got here?
"Perhaps you should go rest once you're finished," Harribel said.
"Sounds good," Ben agreed before letting out another yawn. He drank some of his water to help him stay awake.
"Well, Ben," Lilynette said. "Since there's nothing else to do, why not tell us about some more of your adventures?"
Ben chuckled. "Why didn't I see that coming?" But he decided that he might as well to pass the time and tried to think of what story to tell them. "How about I tell the time I first put the Omnitrix back on when I was fifteen."
Since the girls still barely knew about his adventures, they didn't see any reason not to hear this story. "Sure," Lilynette answered.
"Well, after I finally managed to get the Omnitrix off when I was eleven, life was pretty peaceful," Ben began. "No evil alien warlords trying to conquer the galaxy, no criminals that the police couldn't handle on their own. I was just a normal kid and it actually felt pretty nice."
"You didn't miss turning into aliens and being a hero?" Apacci asked despite herself.
"I won't deny that there were times I missed being a hero," Ben admitted. "But I guess the fact that I could actually have fun without some bad guy ruining my day was too good for me to just give up. Well one day, after I helped my soccer team win the big game, I went to go show my grandpa my medal. But when I got to the Rustbucket, he wasn't there. Instead there was a DNAlien. I managed to scare him away and found a message from my grandpa. It sounded like he was in trouble and I might need to put the Omnitrix on again. But I was so used to having a normal life that wearing it again felt strange to me. I went to go find Gwen and see what she thought I should do. She said it was my choice.
"We then ran into a friend of our grandpa's, a high-ranking plumber named Magister Labrid. He was helping my grandpa investigate possible alien activity before Grandpa went missing. After teaming up, we went to a train yard where a deal was going down. Kevin, who I hadn't seen since we were kids, was brokering a deal between the DNAliens and the Forever Knights. For some reason, the DNAliens were supplying the Forever Knights with these weapons called Laser Lances. I never really understood why but I'm guessing they were trying to use the weapons dealing thing to hide what they were really doing on Earth. Or they needed the money to buy better resources for their own plans. Anyway, Magister Labrid decided to arrest them and we got into a fight. I put the Omnitrix on and it recalibrated, giving me a whole new set of aliens. I turned into Swampfire and as I was kicking butt," Ben smiled fondly. "I started to remember how great it felt to go hero. The Forever Knights and DNAliens managed to get away but we captured Kevin. After getting him to work with us, we tracked down the Forever Knights at one of their castles. We destroyed the alien tech Kevin had given them but Magister Labrid was fatally wounded during the battle." Ben became downcast. "He died but we were determined to finish his case. We owed him that much."
Harribel felt a wave of sympathy for Ben. To constantly be exposed to such things at such a young age and still be willing to press on. He had a strong spirit and an incredible will.
"We were able to track the DNAliens down to a mine where they had hidden a spaceship," Ben continued. "Gwen was able to sense that Grandpa had been there, but not recently."
"Sense?" Mila Rose noticed. "How did she sense it?"
"Oh, Gwen's part alien," Ben said casually. "Our grandmother turned out to be an energy alien called an Anodyte who can manipulate mana, kind of like our universe's version of spirit energy, and Gwen inherited the same powers."
This caught everyone in the room by surprise.
"Wait, doesn't that make you part Anodyte too?" Sung-Sun asked, noticing how Ben specifically said his cousin was part alien.
Ben made a face of uncertainty. "I'm not really sure. According to Grandma, only descendants who inherit "the Spark" have Anodyte heritage and powers. And I apparently don't."
"So since you don't have this Spark, you are a regular human?" Harribel inquired.
"Yep," Ben said with a nod, and then he paused. "At least I think so. To be fair, I never really tried to find out."
Apacci slumped. "Do you ever bother to learn anything or do you just constantly wing it?"
Ben grinned at her. "Hey, it's worked for me so far. And if it's not broke, don't fix it."
Apacci groaned, rubbing her head in annoyance at how laid back he was about this.
"We're getting off track," Lilynette said abruptly. "Let's get on with the story."
Ben shrugged. "Fair enough. Well, I decided to complete Grandpa Max's and Magister Labrid's mission. We got onto the DNAliens' ship, fought them off and destroyed their Laser Lances before we ran into their leader, a Highbreed. That guy was tough, possibly as strong as Vilgax. I held him off while Gwen and Kevin escaped. The guy wasn't pleased that we "lower lifeforms" were ruining his plans, going on about how he needed to relocate his ship and sterilize the whole area."
"Sterilize?" Sung-Sun asked. Ben's eyes narrowed.
"Kill all living beings within a five mile radius," Ben said coldly.
"Geez," Lilynette breathed. "I know you said these guys hated other life forms but doing that just so that they could move their base?"
"Yeah," Ben said darkly. "He threw me off the ship after he got it out of the mine but Gwen managed to save me. The Highbreed was about to destroy the town, activating some laser that was destroying everything in its path. I managed to get onto the ship's engines and destroy them. The ship went out of control and crashed into a mountain. As you can see, I managed to get off in time."
"Must've been close," Lilynette said.
"You have no idea," Ben agreed. "Seems I'm always escaping an exploding ship in at least one adventure."
"At least you defeated the Highbreed," Harribel said, though Ben's story made her curious. It sounded like the Highbreed and his minions didn't survive the crash. Ben was willing to kill his enemies if it meant saving others, so why, when he first met Lord Aizen, had he asserted that he wouldn't kill anyone in cold blood. Obviously something happened but she couldn't figure out what. There was a lot more to this boy than they realized.
But she decided to put that away for now. Perhaps when they were able to fully trust each other, she would try and find out.
Once they were all fed and watered, they stacked their plates and drinks on the cart. Ben let out another yawn. "Time for us to head back, Lilynette."
"Sounds good to me," said Arrancar replied as she stretched.
"I'll escort you back as I return the dishes," Harribel offered. "I don't want to risk Grimmjow or Nnoitra trying to go behind Lord Aizen's back again." She looked over at her Fraccion. "Wait here."
The three nodded respectfully. "Understood, Lady Harribel."
Harribel took the cart and pushed it out the door, Ben and Lilynette following after her.
…
Soon they reached Starrk's chambers.
"Thank you for the food, Harribel," Ben said politely.
"Thanks," Lilynette said, not wanting to appear ungrateful.
Harribel nodded to them. "Again, you did well against my Fraccione, Tennyson. But be prepared, I might allow them to not hold back as much next time."
"Sounds good," Ben said confidently. "I'd like to see what they can really do."
"I'll keep that in mind," Harribel said. "Take care until then." And she left.
"Eh," Lilynette said once Harribel was out of earshot. "I still think you can take them. I mean, they're small fries compared to an Espada. Why would they give you any trouble?"
"Don't be sure, Lilynette," Ben said. "You'd be surprised by how some of my enemies got the upper hand because I didn't take them seriously."
Lilynette huffed, still certain Ben could handle Harribel's Fraccione but at the same time, knowing that he wasn't exactly wrong.
When they got back inside, they noticed extra pillows and a bed against the wall. Next to it was a stack of papers resting on top of a desk. Starrk slowly stirred.
"Oh, you're back," He said nonchalantly. "Loly and Menoly came by earlier. The bed and other stuff are for Ben. Lord Aizen left a note for him with those papers."
Curious, Ben went over to the desk and picked up the paper on top of the stack. However, when he looked at the paper, he discovered it was written in Japanese.
"What's wrong?" Lilynette asked, noticing his look of frustration.
"Heh," Ben looked at her sheepishly. "I can't read this."
"Why not?" Lilynette asked.
"I only know how to read English," Ben admitted.
Starrk and Lilynette's eyes widened. "But, how do you understand what we're saying?" the latter asked. "We're speaking in Japanese."
"You are?" Ben asked in amazement. He was first confused but then comprehension dawned on him. "The Ultimatrix has a built-in translator, I guess it was active before I got here or something," Or maybe Azmuth had activated it when he was upgrading the Ultimatrix.
"That would explain it," Starrk said. "Huh. Pretty sure if Lord Aizen had known, he would've written it in English for you."
Lilynette snatched the paper out of Ben's hands and began reading it. "Oh! Lord Aizen says he's made you a map of Las Noches to help you find your way around better, and he's left notes about the 13 Court Guard Squads. He believes it'll be easier than always pulling you from one place to another."
"That's certainly handy," Ben said as he looked over the papers. He frowned when he realized they were all in Japanese. Lilynette noticed his look of frustration. "I'll read it for you," she volunteered.
Ben smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, Lilynette."
"No problem," the Arrancar said with a wave of her hand. She took the papers and began reading. "Okay, now it says here that there are twenty numbered ranks within the 13 squads, the lower the number, the higher the rank. Lord Aizen believes that you'll probably just need to worry about the captains, who are the most powerful officers, and the lieutenants, who are the second most powerful. They're kind of like Fraccione to the captains."
Ben nodded as he absorbed this information.
"The captain of Squad 1 is Captain Commander Genryusai Shigekuni Yamamoto," Lilynette read on. "He's also the one currently in charge of the Soul Society itself and can command the rest of the thirteen squads. Lord Aizen says he's really powerful and his zanpakuto Ryujin Jakka, is regarded as the deadliest zanpakuto in all the squads. It lets him create and control powerful flames, fitting its release command," here Lilynette gulped. "Reduce all creation to ash."
Ben found himself shivering. "That sounds pleasant," he said with obvious sarcasm.
"Lord Aizen stresses to be really careful if you were to face him, even recommends that unless you have an alien that actually could fight him, then stay away from him."
Ben cupped his chin. A fire zanpakuto huh? Water Hazard or Big Chill might work. Then there was always Heatblast or NRG. Possibly Ultimate Big Chill.
"The captain of Squad 2 goes by the name of Sui-Feng," Lilynette read on. "She's also the commander-in-chief of something called the Stealth Forces. Looks like it's some sort of covert ops assassin group. It says her Flash Step is the greatest out of all the captains and she's really good at hand-to-hand combat. Her zanpakuto, Suzumebachi, has the ability to kill people with poison. According to this, whenever she stabs someone with her blade, it leaves a butterfly mark. If she hits the mark twice, the victim will die."
Ben blanched. A sword that could kill someone in two moves? While the obvious counter would be not to get hit in the same spot, or hit at all, that was easier said than done if she was the fastest of Soul Society's captains. Aliens with ranged attacks or intangibility sounded best against her.
"Squad 3 was Gin's division so it looks like you don't need to worry about a captain from there," Lilynette switched to another note. "Captain of Squad 4, the healing division, is Retsu Unohana. Lord Aizen says that Unohana will probably focus more on tending to the wounded in battle and you'd probably want to avoid fighting her."
"Squad 5 was Lord Aizen's division," Lilynette skimmed over. "The Captain of Squad 6 is Byakuya Kuchiki. Kinda paraphrasing here but it sounds like Lord Aizen's saying this Byakuya guy's really stuck up and looks down on people he thinks are beneath him."
Ben frowned, already not liking whoever this guy was.
"His zanpakuto is called Senbonzakura," Lilynette whistled as she read the description. "It has the power to scatter into a thousand blade fragments that Byakuya can control remotely with his hilt. He's also almost as fast as Sui-Feng, a great tactician, and really good at Kidō. Lord Aizen really wants you to be careful around him."
Ben figured that a lot of his more durable aliens like Diamondhead or NRG were better suited against this guy. Of course any of his aliens with intangibility would be useful just like they would against Sui-Feng. Lodestar might work.
"The captain of Squad 7 is Sajin Komamura," Lilynette told him. "Aside from being one of the physically strongest captains, his zanpakuto, Tenken, allows him to summon gigantic armored body parts that mimic whatever move he does."
Giant body parts that copied the captain's movements? Ben considered that. If the parts copied the captain's movements, it sounded like he needed to go for the captain himself. But he had a feeling the giant parts weren't going to make that easy.
"The captain of Squad 8 is Shunsui Kyoraku. Like Starrk he's really laid back," Lilynette shot a look at Starrk. "More like really lazy." Starrk waved his hand halfheartedly, as if confirming what Lilynette said. His counterpart rolled her eye before looking back at the note. "But he's actually a really good strategist and combatant. Katen Kyokotsu is the name of his Zanpakuto and is one of the few dual zanpakutos."
"Dual?" Ben repeated. "He's got two? Do they have separate powers or do they share the same ones?"
"Looks like they share the same power," Lilynette said. She narrowed her eye, as if checking to see if what she was reading was accurate.
"What's wrong?" Ben asked.
"I," Lilynette started. "I don't understand this. But it says that Katen Kyokotsu's special power is to…create games that both Kyoraku and his opponent have to follow."
Ben made a face. "Games?"
"Yeah, games," Lilynette said. "Lord Aizen says that he himself doesn't know the full extent of these "games", how many the zanpakuto can make, if it even has a limit, but he thinks your wide variety of aliens should be able to counter what games you actually have to play against him."
"That makes me feel so much better," Ben muttered, feeling the exact opposite.
"Squad 9 was Tōsen's division while Squad 10 is led by Toshiro Hitsugaya. Like how that Yamamoto guy can control fire with Ryujin Jakka, Toshiro's zanpakuto, Hyorinmaru, can control ice."
Ice, huh? Swampfire, Heatblast, or NRG for sure.
"Squad 11 is led by Kenpachi Zaraki. Like Grimmjow and Nnoitra, he loves fighting and is always seeking out good opponents. Lord Aizen thinks he'll definitely go after you."
"Oh great, another one," Ben groaned, resting his head in his arm.
Lilynette chuckled before continuing. "Zaraki's zanpakuto is different from the others. Even though it's always in its released state, it's only because Zaraki has no control over his spiritual power. He doesn't actually know his sword's name or what it can do, but he's so strong that it hardly matters."
Ben stared. A guy who couldn't use his sword's powers but was still a captain because he was just that strong?
"Zaraki also wears an eye-patch that suppresses his spiritual power.
"Squad 12's captain is Mayuri Kurotsuchi. A scientist who will probably try to experiment on you if he has the chance."
Ben let out a bigger groan. First a Soul Reaper Nnoitra/Grimmjow and now a Soul Reaper Szayel? This couldn't get any worse.
"As a scientist, Kurotsuchi specializes in studying his enemies and then creating proper counter-measures. He also experiments on himself and can give his body a variety of different modifications. His zanpakuto, Ashishogi Jizo, has the ability to paralyze anyone who is slashed by it by affecting nerve impulses, although the paralyzed are still able to feel things like pain. Lord Aizen recommends taking down Kurotsuchi quickly before he has time to counter your aliens. He also recommends keeping some of your aliens in reserve so that you can take Kurotsuchi by surprise."
Considering that Ben was already doing that with his allies, he felt he was decently prepared if he ever went up against this captain. Mostly anyway.
"The captain of Squad 13 is Jushiro Ukitake. He's a well-meaning man but willing to fight if necessary. His zanpakuto, Sogyo no Kotowari, another dual type, is similar to Chromastone in that they can absorb energy attacks and redirect them back at enemies."
Ben fell onto the bed as he processed all that information. These guys had some really dangerous powers, plus the notes said they were good at other things like Kidō. And if his training with Tōsen, Gin, and the Arrancar was anything to go by, his upcoming fights were not going to be like anything he had ever faced before.
Ben felt his eyelids grow heavy, sleepiness starting to fog up his mind.
Lilynette noticed this and smiled sympathetically. "Guess you finally wore yourself out."
"Yeah," Ben said weakly. "I've had a long day." He yawned. "At least, I think it's been a day."
Lilynette nodded. "Get some sleep, Ben. I'll see you whenever you wake up."
"Night, Lilynette," Ben mumbled as he turned over and drifted off to sleep.
"Night, Ben," Lilynette said back.
"How come you tell him goodnight but you hit me when I try to sleep?" Starrk asked. Lilynette proceeded to kick him in response.
…
Aizen sat in the throne room, waiting for Ulquiorra and Yammy to return from the mission he had sent them on. Despite the very valuable addition to his forces, there was someone else he had been focusing on; a certain Substitute Soul Reaper. And he had sent the two Espada to see how well he was progressing with his power. While he waited, Aizen's mind drifted back to his newfound ally. Starrk had informed him that the boy was sleeping and Aizen decided to let him rest. Once he woke up Aizen would work out a schedule to better manage his training. He also needed to check with Szayel to see if he could create something that Ben could use to protect himself if he was unable to use the Ultimatrix.
While still thinking of Ben, Aizen wondered if he would be able to make good use of the notes he made regarding the 13 squads. He knew they were a bit lacking, especially since he hadn't even covered the bankai for the various captains or the talents of their lieutenants, but he wanted to see how well Ben could do with only a little information and his own ingenuity. Szayel, Kurotsuchi, and Kisuke Urahara weren't the only ones who liked to experiment.
Aizen became aware of Ulquiorra and Yammy entering the throne room. He noticed that Yammy was missing his left arm. It seemed something interesting had happened in the world of the living.
"I have made my return, Lord Aizen," Ulquiorra stated.
"Welcome back, Ulquiorra," Aizen greeted his Espada. "Yammy. You may now begin your report."
"Yes, Lord Aizen," Ulquiorra said as he reached towards his eye. "For something unexpected occurred during our mission."
Aizen's interest was caught. Unexpected?
…
Meanwhile, observing all of this was none other than the man who had sent Ben to Hueco Mundo in the first place. Nobody knew his real name save for those he allowed, but most people he encountered knew him by the name of Thorn.
"Well, well," Thorn said as he watched events play out. "Paradox, you rascal. I never thought you'd have it in you. Oooh, Aizen and Soul Society both better get ready; this thing's been taken to a whole new level!"
End of Chapter
Now that we're at the end of the chapter, I believe some explanations are in order. First off, I want to warn everyone that I won't be online very often until the 28th of June. My data is almost used up so unless I'm in places with wifi, I'll be staying offline until this coming Tuesday.
That aside, Bleach: Ultimate Alien is about to undergo a multicrossover arc, Ultimate Heroes. I'm collaborating with my pal the Incredible Muffin and his story Unlimited Justice. For those of you who haven't read it, it's a Ben 10/Justice League crossover. Right now he's in part 2 of the story, where the narration switches over to Ken Tennyson, son of Ben 10 and Supergirl. His latest chapters explain things a bit more but now that mine is finally out, the two of us can balance our stories better. Also, since we're collaborating, Incredible Muffin might appear in my next A/Ns to give commentary.
Now, Incredible Muffin and I have been planning this for some time but we kept it under wraps to surprise everyone. We were initially going to use the original version of Bleach: Ultimate Alien but we found that we could make more of a story using the remake. I've also mentioned that I was going to do a multicrossover with Blazorna Ibara's story too wasn't I? The idea is that me and Incredible Muffin will do Ultimate Heroes first, then Blazorna and I will do our crossover.
Now that that's out of the way, time to address some of the things regarding Bleach: Ultimate Alien itself. Some people are worried that Lilynette is going to get a crush on Ben due to how much time they're spending together. I just plan on the two having a good friendship, possibly developing a sibling bond.
Also, to Red John, who raised some good points in his review regarding me having Ben say he won't kill someone in cold blood, using the Ultimate Kevin arc as an example. Personally I felt that arc was poorly handled and probably my least favorite in the whole series, mostly because of what an asshole Ben was during the last episodes. Maybe if they had it where Ben was more like "I'm sorry, Kevin, I wish there was another way", I'd sympathize a little more. Granted Kevin was being a complete monster but Ben didn't seem to feel anything regarding the fact that he was about to kill his best friend and being harsh on Gwen.
I'm guessing Dwanye McDuffie was trying to make it that Ben was steeling himself for what he needed to do, but turned him into an unapologetic jerk instead. I'll try and address this within the story itself and hopefully provide a better explanation. Also, Red John, about some of your suggestions for me in your previous reviews. I won't give any spoilers but you're closer to what I have planned than you realize. Great minds think alike. I'm also gonna try to keep Ben telling stories about his adventures to a minimum but since there's a lack of actual activities in Las Noches, it might pop up more times than I intend. Course Ben finding ways for the Arrancar to have fun makes an interesting subplot. For those of you who are eager to see Harribel and Ben start falling for each other, the romance will come but right now they don't have enough going on between them for it.
Phew, I'm sure glad I finally got all that off my chest. Well, that's all I can think of for now, time for me to call it a day. So long everyone, see you in our next chapter and I hope you enjoy the Ultimate Heroes arc.
