When rust colored metal rained from the skies, we knew the end had come.
I was there in Bellwood where it all ended, you know. First, the small ones struck. The losses in the first hour were numerous,
then the military arrived and the numbers of the UFO like robots dwindled. We all cheered for our saviours, but that was only the first wave.
More of the basic UFO drones came raining down in greater numbers, accompanied by larger humanoid like drones. The military held their own for the first few hours, but soon their numbers dwindled. The evacuation notice was sent out, and we all tried to flee. But they had us surrounded;
hundreds of human sized drones armed with laser guns, surrounded Bellwood.
I remember spotting an RV plowing through a cluster of them, it looked like it was heading towards the center of this mechanical storm. That's when HE arrived.
As we were all rounded up, HIS ship descended. Vilgax, a large Love Craftian nightmare, teleported from his ship above. He was surrounded by guards,
but they relaxed when he raised a hand. His cyber-enhanced voice echoed through the city. "Humans, and aliens alike, your Savior has arrived." He let out a chuckle, his dark red eyes narrowing as he surveyed the crowds. "Kneel before your rightful ruler!" A blue laser shot through the crowd, bringing HIM to his knees.
He let out a snarl and searched the crowd, his eyes shooting open. "You." He rasped, launching himself through the crowd towards a distant target.
The Drones surrounding them began to spark, their bodies spazzing. The explosions destroyed a large chunk of the city, killing and injuring many civilians.
Even with the great losses, we had a moment of hope. Many of us scrambled to collect fallen weapons, arming ourselves in case they returned, and return HE did. When I saw him stepping through the crowd, a human grasped in one hand, I dropped my weapon and fell to my knees; praying he had not seen my attempt to resist. My head cocked upwards, watching as the large squid-monster stepping over dead bodies and wrecked drones. Struggling uselessly in his hand was a large adult,
his face was not visible; but the Hawaiian shirt and tattered jeans gave me the impression he was much older then he let on. He hefted the form into the air,
his clawed hand wrapped around his head.
"THOSE WHO DARE RESIST, WILL SHARE HIS FATE!" He began to squeezed, and I averted my eyes. A grim snap, the sound of gushing blood,
and cries of horror followed. He tossed the body aside, the man's head was completely pulverised; any hope of identifying him in the moment was gone.
My stomach heaved, my skin went cold and clammy. "YOU ARE NOW UNDER THE RULE OF VILGAX THE CONQUEROR!" The Cthuluian shouted,
his voice amplified further than before. "I HAVE CROSSED GALAXIES, CONQUERED MANY, DESTROYED OTHERS. DO NOT MAKE YOUR'S BE THE NEXT TO DIE!"
He turned to the corpse, a look of disgust on his face. "THIS, is one of those who dared cross me." He turned back to the crowd, his eyes scanning their faces.
"Now, you shall all surrender, you shall KNEEL before me." A wicked grin seemed to caress his features.
"And I suggest you tell your loved ones around the world to do the same." He snapped his fingers, and more drones cascaded from his ship.
Four smaller ships split off, continuing off in separate directions. He straightened up, tapped a button on his wrist, and was swallowed in a red beam of light.
His ship began firing on the city, and everyone panicked.
It was only several hours later, news made it's way across the air waves. The EU had been the first to fold under pressure,
while Russia had been bombed into submission. Japan, Canada, The United States, The Middle East, and South America fought back. Mexico, Guatemala,
and Nicaragua sunk beneath the waves as Vilgax's shipped bombed plates deep underground. Seperated from it's Northern counterpart,
South America descended into an uncontrolled anarchy. The US fared little better, even with the help of it's Northern neighbors. An organization known as
'The Plumbers' revealed themselves to the public, assuring them that they were protected. They were staging an attack on Bellwood, where HE had made his home, when Mount Rushmore had been obliterated. Japan had a surprise up it's sleeve, launching experimental exo-suits and mecha to counter Vilgax's drones.
Canada reinforced them with ballistic missiles, one of Vilgax's ships sustained heavy damage and made a retreat.
It looked like victory, but the ship returned with two others. Canada faced an ice age, thanks to Terraformers Vilgax had stolen,
while Japan soon became plagued with real-life Kaiju. Now, you would think things couldn't get any stranger, but in those last four hours; things did...
I was scavenging away, hoping to find something for my wounded wife, and my scrawny daughter, when THEY appeared.
A large beam of light came from Vilgax's command ship, a warning klaxon sounded. The ship's rear engines began to smoke,
drawing the attention of every survivor in the city. "What the hell?" I muttered. A large form went flying from the deck of the ship,
crashing to the pavement nearby and digging through it for another twenty feet. I hazarded a look, my eyes going wide. Our 'Conqueror' was climbing to his feet, grinning as he wiped his face. He glanced down at his clawed hand, chuckling. "All that, for a drop of blood?"
Explosions rocked his ship, his eyes went wide in horror. "No, not a drop." The engines failed, and the ship began falling.
A large field of blue energy began forming around it, I followed the trail and it led to a small form in the distance. Vilgax growled, launching himself at the form.
The field had entrapped the ship, and was slowly beginning to crush it. My eyes were wide as Vilgax leapt large distances, closing in on the figure. As he neared it,
a second figure around his size dropped from the skies and crashed into him. I saw four limbs, swinging back and forth; striking the larger monster. I had to get closer.
As I got closer, I noticed the sky began to brighten. The ship had all but vanished, the large blue energy field had formed it into a large spear. As I neared the scene, the ship descended; followed by an ear-piercing scream. I rounded the corner, panting, and surveyed the scene. A green flash of light blinded me, and as it dimmed;
I saw our true saviors. Two children, their clothes torn and their bodies glowing with a green energy, stood over Vilgax.
His ship filed to a point, and driven through his massive chest. The blue field intensified; driving the spear further through Vilgax and into the ground beneath.
I watched as the girl's eyes, tear-streaked, glowed that same bright blue. The boy, covered in green blood,
watched in grim satisfaction as the monster was reamed by his own tool of destruction. The girl began growling,
then let out a scream as the very end of the ship reached the monster's chest. She left the wreckage sticking twelve feet into the air, then let out a tired sigh.
The boy cast her a strange look, then nodded. He pressed a button on the dead warlord's wrist,
his own voice echoing across the city. "People of Earth, Vilgax The Conqueror is no more." He looked to the redhead, a satisfied smirk on his face.
"We have come from far away, to stop this monster from destroying any more lives." The girl stepped up to the body, giving the boy one final look.
"You can call us; The Star Children."
Ben's watch timed out, he quickly rolled out of the way or a large gloved fist. "You can't end this, Tennyson. It's too late!"
Ben ducked two swipes from the Tetramand above him, before activating his watch again.
His Kineceleran form smashing it's wheeled feet against his foe's four-eyed face.
"It's never too late, Bet! We can fix things!" The Tetramand disappeared in a flash of gold, replaced by a human boy with bright green eyes and long filthy brown hair.
"You don't get it, Ben! He MURDERED GRANDPA!" He quickly transformed into a Petrosapien, his slick surface sending XLR8 slipping backwards and away from him.
"I've made a name for myself here, I can't undo it now." Ben growled, slipping under Diamond Head and kicking one of his legs out from underneath him.
"Names don't matter!" Diamond Head got down on one knee, grabbing his Prime counterpart by the tail. "They do to me!" He threw his opponent across the room,
crashing into a half-hazard throne room. Both of their watches timed out, and Bet rushed Ben. He gripped his chin, frowning at himself.
"The name Tennyson means nothing here, don't you get it!?" He gestured to the large portraits above, beautifully drawn images of Gwen and himself.
"We can LOVE each other!" Bet gripped his counterpart by the collar of his green track jacket, bringing their faces close. "You can't tell me Gwen means nothing to you."
Ben frowned, his eyebrows knit. "She means the world to me, she's my best friend." Bet chuckled bitterly, tossing him to the floor.
"And yet, you end up with the Asian chick." Bet glowered at Ben, his voice rising further. "AND you let our ARCH-RIVAL HAVE HER!" He transformed into Way-Big, scooping up Ben and tossing him through the throne room's large windows, sending him hurtling to the city below. Ben screamed, fumbling with the Omnitrix.
By luck, he transformed into Heatblast. He wasn't exactly sure why the Omnitrix had chosen these forms,
but considering the feeling of being reunited with his old friends; he didn't bother worrying.
He boosted himself back through the windows and into the throne room, smashing into Diamondhead and sending the two further into Bet's castle.
Gwen ducked a swipe from her Beta counterpart, blocking karate blows and dodging magical objects. "I can't believe you, you two just let Grandpa go off on his own,
you took too long to find him, and on top of that; You started dating KEVIN!?" Beta grasped her Alpha counterpart's wrists, slamming her against a wall.
Her short red pixie cut a stark contrast to Gwen's long ginger hair. "You IDIOT! He, not only tried to kill you more than once, he almost killed Ben!"
Tears began forming in Beta's eyes, anger evident on her face. "Did you ever think how the Doofus felt about that!?" Gwen glanced away, a sour look on her face. "Why should I? He has Julie." Gwen gaped, her cheek stinging from the slap she had just recieved. "You... Insufferable, BRAT!" Gwen was hurled away,
Beta's eyes streaked with tears. "HOW DO YOU KNOW?! DID YOU EVER ASK!?" Beta chuckled empty vials, each one shattering against Gwen. She suffered minor cuts, but was more shocked by Beta's reaction. Tears streamed down her face, and she choked on a sob. "Our parents died, Gwen. They died during the invasion.
Grandpa was ALL WE HAD!" She chucked a chair, her eyes screwed shut as it shattered above Gwen. She slowly opened her eyes, clutching her abdomen. "And now..." She smiled softly.
Diamond Head slowly got to his feet, watching as Heatblast strutted towards him. "When no one knows our names..."
Beta smiled softly at her, understanding began dawning in Gwen's eyes. "We can finally forget who we are."
Both Beta's hearts were in synch, their eyes glowing. "We can come together, and become something more."
Beta transformed into Heatblast, sending Ben flying through the air. The two Pyronite's danced around the throne room, lighting what little tapestry existed on fire.
Gwen got to her feet, her frown fading. Beta slowly stepped forwards, wrapping her arms around Gwen. "You finally get it, don't you?"
The Anodite's eyes widened as she felt the life force within her beta counterparts womb. The energy fluctuated, then vanished in a blink. Beta let out rasping breaths,
grasping at the hand around her neck. Gwen's eyes widened, tears slowly streaming down her face as her Beta counterpart's neck was snapped. "No... Kevin!"
She screamed, watching as Kevin Levin of Earth Beta drained Gwendolyn Beta of her life force. His eyes met her's, and a feral grin spread across his face.
"The three piece meal was filling, but it came with desert?" Heatblast came crashing through the wall, screaming as he smashed into Kevin.
A second Heatblast followed, a sad look on his face as the first began glowing brighter. "TENNYSON!" Heatblast's eyes widened, he watched Beta hold Kevin down;
the Osmosian attempting to absorb him. "GET YOUR GWEN OUT OF HERE! I'M GOING NUCLEAR!" Ben's eyes widened, and with a quick switch to XLR8,
the two left the castle behind. They watched in horror as the city as suddenly lit up with a blaze of fire, a large blue force-field formed around the castle;
keeping the damage to a minimal, it began to flicker. Gwen leapt out of Ben's arms, lending what was left of her own strength to the fading mana of Gwendolyn Beta, and watched as the fireball faded. She released her hold, her magenta mana returning to her body, then collapsed into her cousin's arms. She slowly began to sob, gripping tightly onto Ben's green track jacket. His face steeled, he reached down and took Gwen's chin in his left hand, and kissed her. Her eyes went wide,
then eventually slid shut. Repressed emotions, which both Ben and Gwen had hidden in their love for Julie and Kevin respectively, flowed between the two.
Gwen felt Ben's soul entwine with her's, her mana seemed to swell with this close connection, so she deepened the kiss. Ben did not refuse,
but held her gentler than ever before.
When they returned home to their own timeline, they approached Grandpa Max hand-in-hand. Kevin was not thrilled by Gwen's rejection, Julie took Ben's just as well.
They wouldn't ever be told why, but perhaps in another timeline; Ben and Gwen could be open with them. But years later, everyone knew.
Ben 10,000 and Gwendolyn Tennyson, had their first child: Kenneth.