Been a rough year for everyone, with big highs and deep lows. I've recently had a loss, but…I can't deny you all a chapter. Especially one this big.
Today is Ben 10's 19th anniversary; huge, ain't it? This is also Ochako Uraraka's birthday, so…go read Carry On.
Anyways, please enjoy this chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
For a brief second, the Cat's eyes faded back to green.
"...Ruby?" Ben asked.
Only for the Cat's cyan to quickly return, overtaking the green.
"That...that's impossible," the Cat gasped, "She...she shouldn't...she couldn't-! She Ascended! She erased herself! RUBY ROSE IS GON-!"
Ben's green took hold again. "Never say that stupid word around-" The Cat took hold again, and angrily bit their tongue.
"SHUT UP!" The Cat cursed. "No! This is a joke! A sick, pathetic excuse for a jo-"
More red petals began to fall from, seemingly, thin air. It was like the Outcasts and the Cat had found themselves in a sakura tree forest with how many petals were falling. The Cat was in sheer denial though. This shouldn't be happening; this couldn't be happening! But as if the Ever After itself was telling them to wake up to reality, a condensed storm of petals rushed in, circling the group for a few moments before launching into the air. The storm dispersed in an explosion of rose petals to reveal Ruby, seemingly at the apex of a free fall with the Garden Acre's equivalent of a moon glowing behind her. She smirked down at everyone before gravity took hold again and she started falling, turning into her petal storm before landing in the middle of the group.
"Ruby!" Weiss gasped.
"You're...you're you, aren't you?" Yang asked, ready to break down in tears of joy.
"But how?" Blake asked.
"...because she knew what she needed to be, all along," Max realized.
The Cat stared in disbelief. Ben was going INSANE inside of the Cat's head, only adding to their anger. The Cat chuckled. "...oh, I get it. You asked to return with as much 'you' as you could! You have to have changed somehow! Come on, what did you trade to that stupid woodcarver? A heart? Your eyes? Your smile? What did you leave behind, you pathetic excuse for a huntress?!"
Ruby removed her hood to show, much to the Cat's confusion, nothing had changed. The Cat was seeing it but refused to believe it. No one Ascended and then came back without a speck of difference! The red-hooded reaper turned to her friends and family, giving them all a small smile.
"Nothing. I just carried some words of encouragement out with me. That and the knowledge of who I really am." Ruby cocked Crescent Rose. "And right now...I'm the woman who's gonna win."
"You didn't change...you didn't change. And you call that Ascension?!" the Cat snarled, twisting the dial on the Omnitrix and slamming it down, a cyan and violet flash replacing the human form of Ben with the more withered form of Swampfire.
"You're still BROKEN!" The Cat roared before launching a violet fireball from their tail.
Ruby didn't flinch. In an instant, she flipped her cape and transformed into her 'speedy' form, racing right towards the fireball. Somehow, her petal burst ABSORBED the fire blast, sucking it in. The Cat could still see the purple fire intermixed with the red petals.
"How in all the Ac-!?" The Cat yelled, before Ruby suddenly released the fireball back at them.
Their feline eyes widened in shock and fear, too stunned to dodged out of the way. The fireball collided with them and blasted them back, knocking their shock right out of them. With a vengeful growl, the Cat got back to their feet and sharpened their claws. Whatever this new power was, they could overcome it, surely.
They let out a roar before rushing back in, taking a swing at Ruby right as she turned back to her normal form. Crescent Rose was already in her hands, the weapon unfurled in its full might. The scythe's blade swung through the air and clashed with the Cat's claws, sending a shower of sparks into the air. The Cat looked to Ruby with a mad grin, thinking they could still triumph over Ruby, while the red-cloaked Huntress looked back with renewed determination.
She didn't think she could win.
She knew she would win.
Without giving the Cat a second to prepare another assault, Ruby spun her trusted scythe in her hands and unleashed a powerful flurry of slashes. Using spinning flourishes to build up momentum with each attack, she put the Cat on the back foot, forcing them to block each swing as it came in.
Upward diagonal slashes cut into CatSwampfire's claws again and again, followed by Ruby leaping into the air with a quick boost from her Semblance. She fired off a single sniper round behind her to add more speed, letting her spin like a buzzsaw down on the currently feline-themed alien.
CatSwampfire brought their claws up again to block before they tried to exploit an opening. Ruby leapt back when her attack didn't cut into the plant-like body the feline now possessed, leaving her open to a quick attack. The Cat's tail suddenly grew thorns, whipping out and splitting into three strands to try and strike at Ruby. Instead though, the attack just seemed to phase through Ruby, much to the Cat's surprise. The only evidence that the Cat had even tried to harm her were four rose petals stuck to the Cat's thorns.
The others couldn't believe their eyes when they saw that. Ruby's normal Semblance didn't have that kind of effect. The only solution was that she'd managed to gain enough control over her Berserker Semblance to use it in small bursts. As soon as Ruby landed, she cocked the bolt lever on her weapon and fired off another round, launching her back into the fray and forcing the Cat to jump over the powerful horizontal slash from the right. Ruby quickly shifted into a petal form, bolting into the sky and bringing her scythe down.
The Cat easily avoided the swift strike and charged up some flames in the middle of their palms. The returned Huntress planted her feet against the back curve of her weapon's blade and fired, wrenching the weapon back and smacking the Cat in the chin at the same time, extinguishing the flames they were preparing in the process.
In anger, the possessed hero was about to slam down on the Omnitrix to try and shift forms, but Ruby wouldn't let them. A petal fell in front of the Huntress and she had shifted fully into her Berserker Form, Crescent Rose taking the shape of a large scythe blade that replaced her hand. With incredible speed, she closed the distance between herself and the Cat, shifting back to her normal self and bringing down a powerful diagonal slash that would've cut their stolen Swampfire form clean in two if it hadn't been blocked.
She followed it up with another attack before spinning Crescent Rose in her hands and landing several repeated strikes against the Cat's crossed arms. The plant material was slowly being chipped away, though the wounds did heal thanks to the natural regeneration of a Methanosian. Taking advantage of her position, Ruby spun her scythe off the side of her, the vertical slashes further wearing down the Cat's defenses and their smile.
When the fight began, the Cat thought they could easily break Ruby. She returned just as she was, a broken thing that could just as easily exploit now as they did earlier. But with each hit they blocked, each small strike Ruby managed to land, that feeling started to fade. Their smile, over the course of this battle, had shifted into a furious scowl. They had the Omnitrix, and even as inexperienced as they were, they proved they were still just as much of a threat as Ben was at the peak of his mastery with this device. So why, in this blasted, cyclical wonderland, could they not land a hit on the GIRL?!
Stuck in a rut, are we?
"Shut your mouth, Tennyson-"
You want my honest advice? Quit while you're ahead. Ben snickered. Ruby's seriously bringing her best to the fight. She knows my aliens like the back of her hand, more so than anyone.
The Cat smirked. "And just like that, you gave me a nasty idea."
Oh, you're gonna use Terrorsaur?
"…that cannot be the name you've given it."
It's clever. And he won't work.
"I'll bet against that." The Cat smirked, as they slapped the Omnitrix. Wilted plant matter was quickly replaced by jet black scales. The Cat laughed as they flapped their crimson wings.
Ruby had to admit, this form had taken her by surprise. She vaguely remembered one of Ben's multiversal counterparts using this one during the fight with the Watch Collector. It was Gwen if she remembered right, but she didn't know what this alien could do.
Just what the Cat was counting on.
Yang's eyes went wide when she saw Terrorsaur take the field again, a newly returned fear welling up in her chest.
"Ruby-!" Yang called out.
"Don't worry! I got this!" Ruby reassured her.
With a mischievous glint in their eyes, the Cat let out a playful laugh that echoed through the forest. "As if you 'have'...THIS!" The Cat's eyes opened wide, unleashing a full fledged nightmare on Ruby's psyche. The crimson reaper was filled with fear as she laid her eyes on the visage of Salem. The sight of her towering over the battlefield sent shivers down her spine. The once lively and vibrant forest was now transformed into a haunting scene, with the lifeless bodies of Ruby's friends and loved ones scattered all around.
"HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLY HOPE TO STAND A CHANCE AGAINST HER!?" The Cat demanded, speaking from the projected Grimm queen.
"I don't know yet," Ruby admitted, seemingly unphased by the scene around her, though she would be lying if she said it wasn't disturbing at all, "I don't know how we're gonna stop an unkillable witch."
"Then why do you keep TRYING? Why don't you just lay down your weapons and ACCEPT YOUR END?!" the Cat growled.
"Because. If I don't..." Ruby's eyes lit up with a brilliant silver light. "WHO WILL!?"
The silver light poured from her eyes, burning away the illusion and destroying the giant Salem, exposing the now blinded Terrorsaur.
"WHAT IS THIS?!" The Cat yelled, before Ruby rushed over to his location. From the Cat's point of view, Ruby's glowing eyes, determined look and raised weapon made her look like something ethereal, a spirit or ghost of some kind.
"No." The Cat muttered, as Ruby slammed her scythe into their body.
The Curious Cat cried out in pain as they were smacked out of the sky, Terrorsaur's body crashing into a tree before falling to the ground.
"How...how did you-?!" the Cat growled. "Those...those INSUFFERABLE EYES-!"
Ruby said nothing as she began firing. She'd equipped Earth dust bullets into her scythe and now giant stalagmites were shooting out of the ground around Terrorsaur.
The stalagmites quickly formed an earthen prison around the dinosaur-like alien, some of the earthen spikes even forming makeshift restraints around the Cat's newfound wings. They struggled against their bindings, trying and failing to escape.
"AUGHHH!" The Cat yelled, slapping down the Omnitrix. Rath burst free from the prison, angrier than usual.
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, YOU POOR EXCUSE FOR A HUNTRESS!" Never before had Rath sounded so genuinely angry. "YOU'RE A PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A PROTAGONIST IN THIS STORY!" The Cat picked up a large slab of rock and tossed it at Ruby, who avoided it with a quick petal burst.
"I've heard way more creative insults from Rath," Ruby taunted.
"FROM BEN, I KNOW!" Rath growled.
Yeesh. You trying to be meta? That sucks!
"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, BEN TENNYSON VOICE INSIDE MY HEAD!" The Cat yelled, as Ruby landed on the ground. "I'M GONNA PILE DRIVE YOUR PRECIOUS RUBY INTO THE DIRT! I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT A PILEDRIVER IS BUT I'M GONNA MAKE SURE IT HURTS! MAKE SURE BONES BREAK FROM THE IMPACT!" The Cat charged at Ruby, who stood her ground. The Cat pounced at Ruby-
And passed through her body. He swiped at red petals, but not a one actually shredded their intended target. The red petals merged back with Ruby's body and she turned to face the Cat. She presented her cape and smirked.
"Ole," Ruby taunted.
The Cat just slammed their fist into the ground in sheer anger before trying again, charging at Ruby's cape like an enraged bull, playing right into Ruby's bit. Once again, when they pounced, they passed right through Ruby's body after it had dispersed into rose petals.
"Ole!" Ruby smirked.
Oooh, that trick. Underrated, don't you think?
The Cat yelled. "FINE! PHYSICAL DAMAGE DOESN'T WORK!" The Cat slapped down the Omnitrix, morphing into Echo Echo. "BUT I'M SURE SOUNDWAVES WORK JUST FINE!"
Charging up, the Cat threw their head back before unleashing a sonic scream right at Ruby, hoping to do at least some damage. Ruby's body scattered from the burst of Cat smirked at the result.
"Finally. Something that works-" the Cat began, but was quickly cut off.
The petals swept across the floor, quickly reconstituting beneath the feline foe's feet. Ruby shot back up, before uppercutting the feline Echo Echo in the face. The Cat went flying, before they crashed to the ground. Ruby didn't give them a second to recover; bursts of water were shot into his mouth, to prevent him from screaming at her again.
"IS THIS-" The Cat coughed. "NO DIFFERENT FROM IRONWOO-"
Yeah. It's different.
"JUST! SHUT! UP!" the Cat hissed, firing off a sonic scream into the forest, since they couldn't very well scream at themselves.
No. Because it's working.
"What is REALLY the difference between them fighting you and Ironwood having these stupid details on how to take you down!? They know you're a threat!" The Cat hissed.
Trust. The difference is trust.
"Trust?! This is going to be rich coming from me, but ENOUGH with the FAIRY TALE NONSENSE!"
...you're lonely, aren't you? Ben didn't sound demeaning or rude, just concerned really.
"What? Why are you bringing that up now?! Just more mind games?!" The Cat hissed.
No mind games this time. The way you said that…since I'm in your head, I can tell that had genuine hurt behind it. You've never had anyone to talk to about…something. What are you hiding?
The Cat clenched their fists, before they slapped the Omnitrix down to morph into Big Chill. "SILENCE! My purpose is resolute! I don't need anyone else to help me!"
You keep talking about how we're broken...but you've never even considered if you're-
"DON'T EVEN INSINUATE I'M BROKEN! I CAN'T BE BROKEN! I WAS MADE TO FIX THE BROKEN THINGS!" the Cat argued.
Made to fix the broken things? Ben repeated.
"I am the byproduct of those idiot Gods! They made me to fix the world they made, and then left me when they wanted to do 'greater things!'" The Cat snarled.
"You mean us…"
"Exactly! But how you could be greater is one of the greatest mysteries of existe-!" The Cat continued before Ruby fired off a warning, a lightning round whizzing right past their head.
The Cat spun around, ice shooting out of their mouth. Ruby dodged the attack before the Cat chased after her, freeing her surroundings, but always narrowly missing the red-hooded reaper.
There was no use in cursing anymore. The Cat needed to focus. No more listening to Ben. No more entertaining Ruby. They needed to think, needed to end this.
So did Ruby. She had a plan already lined up, but if the Cat stayed as Big Chill, it wouldn't work. She needed to force them to change forms again.
Ruby fired more shots of electricity at the Cat, who was struggling to dodge. They yelled, slamming his hands on the ground. Giant, icy spikes shot out of the ground at an alarming rate.
Despite their speed, none of the spikes managed to catch Ruby. She leapt out of the way with quick and consecutive speed boosts with her Semblance.
"Stop...MOVING!"
Ben, I can't stall forever... Ruby frowned. Help give me an opening!
Remember what I said earlier? About how the difference was trust? Ben asked.
"Before we were interrupted, but the moment's passed!" the Cat argued, firing off a freezing mist cloud from their mouth, but Ruby was able to avoid its subzero temperatures.
I get it. The Gods betrayed you, but they betrayed a LOT of people. And I'm not strong enough to beat them. Ben argued.
"To quote one of your own curses: 'bullshit!' You're a human playing God!" The Cat yelled, switching to Eye Guy. Not what Ruby wanted, but she could work with it. Maybe. The Cat began firing various lasers around the forest. "You have these insane powers at your fingertips, yet you stoop to the level of these fragile things! Why concern yourself with them!? Why not embrace the role of savior!?"
Because that's just not who I am. Being a savior means I'm doing this for the glory, not because it's the right thing to do. Being a protector is more what I am, someone who's not in it for the money or the fame. Those just happen on their own a lot of the time.
"But if not for glory, what ARE you in it for!?"
The world, I guess.
"The world? Ugh, you sound just like her."
I know. Doesn't that just irritate you? That even after all of this, everything you've done to break us down, we've still come back stronger?
"If you can…then why can't I?" The Cat mumbled, as Ruby rushed them. Crescent Rose slashed into the stolen body with expert skill, before a few electric rounds blasted Cat-Eye Guy in the chest. Bolts of lightning danced over the Cat's form before Ruby kicked them in the face.
Eye-ronic. She didn't hit any of your eyes.
"Ooooh, shush with the puns." The Cat huffed. "Too much levity for my liking..."
No wonder you hate Yang.
The Cat growled before trying to slash at Ruby with their claws to no avail. They slapped the Omnitrix again, and Ruby's eyes lit up. YES! This was the form she needed.
And ironically, this one didn't even have any powers.
BenCat just marched towards Ruby, hands balled into fists as blue pixels fluttered off their arms like dust. With a shimmer of those pixels, Ben's stolen arms morphed into monstrous feline arms, complete with sharpened claws.
"You think you're the hero, someone brave enough to take down the monsters at your door, but all that has EVER been are the delusions of a frightened child, BenCat taunted, "Just more fairy. Tale. NONSENSE!"
They rushed towards Ruby, dragging their claws through the dirt before they reached her.
Ruby dodged the attacks as Bencat smirked, seeing just a hint of hesitation in her silver eyes.
"What? Am I bringing back horrible memories?" BenCat taunted, "Did you not like slashing your boyfriend open?"
"Honestly, at that moment…I was scared." Ruby admitted, evading a swipe. "But that was such a low blow."
"That's the point!"
"I didn't really pick up on it." Ruby lied with a half shrug. That made the Cat even more infuriated, just Ruby what wanted. They took another swipe at the red-hooded reaper and, after dodging, she sped away in a shower of petals. The Cat hissed and gave chase, following their opponent through the bioluminescent forest.
Little did the Cat know that they were being followed as well. With all of their tunnel vision on Ruby, they had no idea that the rest of the Outcasts were right on their tail.
Just what Ruby was planning on.
Ruby landed and made sure she was hidden from the Cat. The fact that they hadn't caught up and tried to maul her again was a good sign that she was nice and secluded.
Plan's almost ready. Now just to wait for the others...
The Cat must've lost her trail as they had turned off in the opposite direction. For a moment, Yang and the others were about to follow, but then she noticed a small flicker of red out of the corner of her eye. She took the risk and led the others towards that flicker of color, hoping to find her sister, her real sister this time, not another of the Cat's fakes.
Ruby heard footsteps fast approaching and her face immediately lit up. She smiled as Yang nearly slammed into her with a bearhug to end all bearhugs.
"It's you, right? The real you?" Yang asked, just to make sure.
"It's me, Yang! It's me," Ruby answered, hugging back as tightly as she could.
Neo had trailed behind but kept her distance while the others all went to hug and reunite with their team leader. Such a reunion didn't feel right for her now, everything still felt tense and uneasy.
Ruby took a deep breath, as the others approached. "I'm...I'm sorry I yelled at you all, and made you all worry-"
"We should be apologizing to you," Weiss cut her off, "We made it seem like we didn't care about you and-"
"No, no!" Ruby tried cutting Weiss off, "I knew you were all trying to comfort me, but...I just...couldn't. I was in a bad headspace, and...I just needed to talk with someone. And, after that…nightmare tea party, I did."
"Who?" Blake wondered.
"Well, um...I think I met God?"
"One of the Brothers?" Yang asked, her eyes wide.
"No, but um, I actually think they're kinda higher-up on the totem pole?" Ruby said with a bit of uncertainty.
"But...didn't Ozpin say that not even the Celestialsapiens were stronger than the Brothers?" Blake gasped.
"Yeah?"
Max blinked. "...let's deal with all of that later."
"Agreed. Besides, I'm gonna need your help with this next step." Ruby said.
"You have a plan?" Emerald asked.
"One that can get Ben back, yep," Ruby nodded before reaching into her belt and pulling out one of the leaves from the Tree.
"Is that-?" Max asked.
"Met a new old friend who could spare some."
"Wait, how's that gonna get the Cat out of Ben?" Weiss asked.
"Sensory overload. It'll be brief, but Ben's been struggling too. I dunno what he'll see in there, but it's our only shot."
"If...it's our only option," Max sighed, "What do you need us to do?"
"Start a fire. On my sign." Ruby explained briefly.
"I'll make sure they get a lungfull," Weiss reassured, spinning Myrtenaster's cylinder to the wind Dust chamber.
"Not a doubt in my mind about that," Ruby grinned. "Now...for the 'fun' part." And with that, Ruby rushed off.
"She really is back," Yang grinned before running off to set up, "Well you heard her! We got a fire to start!"
The Cat was stalking around, looking for Ruby behind every tree, every towering toadstool, every small bush that could hide her away from their sight.
"Little Red, Little Red...come on out..." they growled, scratching trees he passed by.
Is that meant to scare her? Ben scoffed.
"Yes." The Cat, exasperated, sighed.
Isn't that just telling her to avoid this place since you're here?
"Do. You. EVER shut up?!" the Cat growled before slashing through another tree entirely.
Way to go, jackass. Just give away where you are.
"I must say, Tennyson...I'm starting to regret inhabiting your body." The Cat frowned. "Because you're so Tree-damned annoying."
Oh yeah, it's how annoying I am and not the moral side of stealing my body you're worried about.
"Ughhhh…how did you deal with my voices?"
We got DEPRESSED.
The Cat winced. "And how do you deal with this hunger!? What's a chili fry!?"
Man, you better be glad you didn't take over Albedo. Ben didn't have any idea what Ruby's plan was, but if his thoughts were the Cat's thoughts, he didn't need to know. Ruby would strike when ready...
"Where are you, little rose..." the Cat wondered aloud.
As if to answer, sniper shots rang out from the forest, forcing Curious to dodge out of the way.
"Oh, there you-" the Cat readied themselves for a fight, only to be met with silence. The Cat was about to take a step forward, when they sniffed the air. Something smokey reached their snout, like a fresh campfire.
"Are you..." the Cat started chuckling, "Are you trying to smoke me out? Is that your master plan, Ruby? If it is, I'm not impressed!"
A few more shots rang out, keeping the Cat on the move.
The Cat began coughing. "Such a brilliant tactic! And so childish! I'll just use one of MY aliens to put it ou-!"
Without any warning, the Cat began to stumble. Their usual coordination was suddenly shaken, like the rug had been quite literally pulled out from under them.
"What...what is-?" the Cat shook their head, coughing a bit from the sudden smoke filled air, "Oh I see what this is! Taking a page out of the caterpillar's book?"
With a wave of their hand, the Cat formed some of the multi-colored smoke into a smoothie cup that they sipped some of the vapor from.
"The leaves have no effect on me!" the feline grinned.
More shots and wind directed the smoke back to him. The Cat welcomed it, laughing like a maniac. "Seems like all those loud shots have done a number on your hearing. Are your ears ringing right now?!"
"What about Ben?" Ruby asked, over the roaring flames and clouding smoke.
The Cat actually had to think about that. Would Ben be affected even if-?
Their body suddenly seized up as they groaned, their eyes widening in horror and realization. They fell to their knees and started coughing violently, their hands scratching at their head.
"No...NO! These thoughts!" the Cat wheezed as the faces of Zeta Squad flashed in their mind, "These...these feelings!" Images of the times Ruby and Ben spent together dominated their thoughts.
"I can't...I can't!" the Cat whined, pleading for it to end.
Ruby took a step back from the fire, cloak covering her mouth. "Ben...I'll see you in a few."
The Cat gagged and coughed, as the smoke filled Ben's head. The smoke would loosen the chains enough for him to start, but the rest was up to Ben.
The darkness Ben was in was suddenly illuminated by technicolor fights and smoke flooding the mindscape. The wielder of the Omitrix looked around, confused about the current situation. Pestering the Cat with constant mental chatter was one new thing, but this was a completely separate scenario. The technicolor lights flared and flashed as a rainbow-colored background in the otherwise featureless space.
"What's going…?"
"Well, this is a little new. And that's coming from you," a younger sounding voice suddenly said from behind Ben. The possessed hero turned around to see himself, or rather, the younger 11 year old version of himself.
Ben blinked. "Oh. This is...trippy." Ben looked his younger self up and down. "Are you my memories?"
"Don't you wish you could be normal again?" Younger Ben asked.
"I am normal." Ben rolled his eyes. "I don't mean to be rude, but Vilgax gave me this spiel earlier."
"I didn't mean like that." The younger Ben frowned.
"Then how do you mean?"
The younger Ben sighed. "I mean being carefree. Having no regrets. Doing whatever, whenever. Responsibility is a burden. Summer should be eternal. Y'know?"
Ben's face softened. "Honestly? Yeah, I would. After everything that happened lately, eternal summer would be great. But I can't indulge in that. Not yet..." Ben sighed.
"Why not?" The younger Ben asked.
"I have things to do. People to protect and business to finish. It's a sad truth with growing up; those things you love doing most are gonna slowly diminish in time with each passing day. It could be because of life, or losing interest, or anything else, but it's bound to happen."
"So you're saying things have changed?"
"Yep. Beyond my control there, but, when things change I have to, as well."
"Why do you have to? Here, you could actually let summer be eternal. No responsibility, no regrets, a fresh start!"
Ben looked at his younger self. "And what about everyone else?"
"What about them?"
"Rhen there's my answer." Ben said resolutely, "I can't leave them behind."
"Quick answer, huh? You're sure of that?" the younger Ben asked.
"Yes. You said 'what about them?' to people close to me. They are friends, my family, my girlfriend. Each one holds a special place in my heart and if you think for even a second I'm going to just throw all of that away, you're insane."
"And yet, you don't know what you are."
"I didn't before. I thought I was supposed to be a hero, but I hated being called a savior. Savior's for glory hounds. But me? I'm..."
"You're...?" the younger Ben tried to coax the answer out of his older counterpart.
"A protector."
The younger Ben stared at him.
"It's funny." Ben bemused. "The Cat tried to bring me down to my lowest, but, in the end, they did what they were made to. They helped fix me back to my best."
"Then why are you still here?" the younger Ben asked, holding out their hand, "Shouldn't you be out there protecting your friends? Your family? Your fiancée-to-be?"
"If you're really me, tell me something. And forgive my trust issues." Ben began, "What do we love most about Ruby?"
"The most?" the younger Ben smirked, "Pretty sure there's a list."
"Top of the list. Say it." Ben smirked.
"Her smile. Her heart. Her sense of humor. Her determination. Her hope. That enough for you?" the younger Ben chuckled.
Ben smiled. "Yeah. You're me." Ben took his hand and the lights of the background shone brighter and brighter until all the colors merged together into a single blinding white.
When the light faded, Ben found himself coughing and struggling to get out of the heavy cloud of smoke that surrounded him.
He managed to get out after a few minutes of walking blindly. Once the cloud was behind him, his legs gave out beneath him and he fell to his knees. Instead of hitting the ground though, he fell right into the waiting arms of his grandpa. Ben looked up at Max between coughs.
"H-hey...hey Grandpa," Ben said weakly, "You...have a really good swing with that wrench."
"And that's how I know you're ok," Max grinned, hugging Ben tightly before quickly taking him away from the cloud. Because even though Ben had just stumbled out, the Curious Cat was still unaccounted for.
Ben's head felt incredibly clear, like he'd just gotten rid of a serious migraine. In a weird way, this situation was symbolic. Started in a forest fire, 'reborn' in a forest fire. Was reborn the right word for it? Reaffirmed seemed more fitting, but it just didn't flow well in a sentence-
...
Ben's eyes were wide when Ruby suddenly wrapped her arms around him, holding him tighter than ever. He barely had time to recognize that it was her at first, still disoriented by everything going on around him.
Once his senses cleared and realized it was her, his arms wrapped around her just as tightly.
"Oh thank God-" Ruby said, tears of happiness already streaming down her cheeks.
"Beat me to it." Ben said, about ready to cry himself.
Ruby's hug tightened a bit more, almost afraid to let him go. "I'm sorry I screamed at you, I know I shouldn't have, it was terrible for me to just unload on you-"
"No." Ben muttered, squeezing her more. "No. Don't apologize. I know you didn't even mean a single word of what you said."
"I didn't. I didn't! Everything, everything just came pouring out and I couldn't stop it," Ruby sniffled.
"I know. I know," Ben consoled her, just hugging her tightly.
Ruby looked up at him, and gave a weak smile. "And I'm sorry for kicking your butt a little too hard."
"Everyone's been kicking my butt today." Ben smirked. "They get a pass for why."
"Ben...?" Emerald asked, her face both relieved and concerned.
"Hey guys. I'm...I'm back," Ben chuckled weakly, before Yang raced in and hugged both Ruby and Ben in the second tightest bearhug she could muster. "A-ah! Yang! Easy! Easy! Think you guys did manage to bruise something."
"Sorry...I'm just happy you're both back," Yang beamed.
"And I'm sorry for what Terrorsaur did to you. That...that was just cruel."
Yang blinked a few times before breaking the hug and looking at Ben. "You named it? And you went with that?" Yang asked.
"Not much else I could do in there but mock, distract and name the weird Pteranodon alien," Ben shrugged.
Weiss gave a sigh of relief. "Do you need ibuprofen? I think I have some in one of my packs."
"I'm fine, I'm fine." Ben said, tapping the side of his head. "Honestly, my head feels great. Like...this cloud just lifted."
"The mental manipulations that Cat used must have vanished." Blake guessed. "Does that mean they're gone?"
"Doubt it." Ben looked back at the fire. "Chances are they ran off, but I dunno what they'd do to really fight back."
"Benji, Benji, Benji, BENJI…" the familiar voice of the Cat cut through the air like a knife, forcing everyone to look into the still lingering cloud of multi-colored smoke. A flash of dark purple and white light surged from within the cloud, along with some unearthly sounds that just made everyone on edge.
"You thought I couldn't fight on my own?" the Cat asked. Through the smoke, the vague shape of the Curious Cat could be seen before it began to grow. In a few seconds, a pair of eyes flashed in the smoke, the glow from them cutting through the smog.