Neo should have felt happy, watching Ruby suffer over her illusion. But as she watched the once-proud Huntress reduced to a grieving, broken figure, the multi-colored former felon felt a hollowness in her chest that she couldn't explain. Roman noticed the change in Neo's demeanor. He had expected her to revel in Ruby's anguish, but instead, there was a vacancy in her gaze, a lack of the satisfaction he had anticipated.

"What?" Roman asked, turning around. "This is what we wanted, what we've been working towards! Ruby Rose deserves every bit of pain she's getting right now. Don't tell me you're having second thoughts!"

Neo turned her gaze towards Roman, her expression still blank but tinged with a hint of remorse. She needed to check, needed to know. Everything seemed so certain up till now but now…but now?

...how did you die? Neo asked, releasing the illusion of Ben's dead body from Ruby's grasp. The other illusions turned to face Roman.

"What? Neo, we've been over this. Red lied to you. She thought I died back on that ship," Roman tried to deflect. Neo's eyes began to flash rapidly now, like a TV with bad signal. The pink and brown colors began to swap to that cyan and purple with more regularity now.

I don't believe you. Neo finally said, as that fuzz started to disappear.

"What!? Seriously!? I've got her right where I want her!" Roman yelled.

I've?

"Slip of the tongue, you know I meant 'we've!' Everyone messes up their words when they're under pressure!"

But not you. You -never- did.

"Never? You're sure about that?" Roman asked.

Yes.

"...huh," Roman hummed, flipping open the reticle for Melodic Cudgel and taking aim at the still sobbing and broken Ruby, "Maybe this'll prove it."

Instead of firing off a flare and blasting Ruby to smithereens, Roman quickly crossed his arm over his chest, aiming the weapon at Neo. The multi-colored mute silently gasped, her eyes going wide in horror before a blast of familiarly shaded cyan and violet particles shot into her chest. A similarly colored checkerboard pattern rippled across her shaking body as if it was water before Neo went limp, even if she was still standing. When she opened her eyes again, regaining her motor control, they were that same bright color combination.

"There we go. Now, be a good little henchwoman and stay put, alright?" Roman asked, dismissively patting Neo on the head, "Good girl."

Ruby stared in disbelief. "What...what the hell did you do-!?"

Roman tapped his weapon on the ground and snapped his fingers. Suddenly, the faux Yang and Kevin grabbed Ruby's arms and held her back. Ruby struggled in their grasp, as their new master shook his head.

"It's so, so sad...you know?" Roman asked.

Little, meanwhile, scurried down the nearest surface they could find to try and get on the ground floor of the rotunda. They pressed their back up against a leg of the triangular table, taking a deep breath and readying to take action.

"Neo there, I mean. She so SO wanted me to be who I said I was. She didn't have anyone. No Roman, no Albedo," "Roman" sighed, "Not even one of you interesting little characters to help her. No support except for me."

"You're not Roman. You're not one of her illusions. What-?" Ruby demanded, but Roman smacked his cane across her face.

"Shut up." Roman smirked, pulling out the tea cup. "Just lean back...and drink."

"No...no!" Ruby struggled in the grip of the illusory Yang and Kevin. She kept her mouth shut so that "Roman" couldn't pour the tea down her throat. The fake kingpin just sighed like a parent dealing with a stubborn child.

"Oh please, you act like it's gonna kill y-OW!" "Roman" yelled, almost dropping the teacup. The still controlled Neo stiffly but expertly managed to catch the tea cup while the faux crime lord growled in anger, trying to figure out what the hell just happened. Ruby looked up to "Roman's" collar and saw Little biting down on her attacker's ear.

"Little?" Ruby muttered.

"Ruby, go!" Little begged, only for "Roman" to quickly grab hold of the mouse in his gloved hand.

"Oh...you," "Roman" rolled his eyes at the sight of the mouse.

"You act like we've met, but I can tell you I have never met someone as cruel and unfriendly as you! If I had, I think I'd remember!"

"Oh I know I look different, but humans...eh, they're not exactly the best when it comes to using their other senses. You've got that snout of yours," the imposter mockingly bopped Little's nose, "Use it. You've got a better sense of smell, don'tcha?"

"I...I do..." Little said, starting to shake in fear. They already got a whiff of this madman's scene and it was enough to trigger a fight or flight response in them.

"Y-you...you're...you're-" Little stammered in fright.

"Now you get it. So! How about we make a deal," the fake Roman turned back to Ruby, "I'll let your precious little mouse scamper to freedom if ,and only if, you drink your 'medicine.' Or would it help if it was coffee? With cream and five sugars? Just the way you like it? Maybe a cookie on the side?"

Ruby just stared at Roman.

"...let the mouse go." Ruby said, closing her eyes.

"Roman" grinned. "Okay~!" And he did. He dropped Little to the ground, injuring them.

"R-ruby!" Little begged. "Please, don't! We have to g-"

STOMP.

Ruby's eyes widened in horror as she saw Roman literally crush Little underfoot. She felt sick, breathless, on the verge of a panic attack.

"I did say you had to drink your medicine first, 'Red,'" Roman mocked, "So, really...that's on you."

That burning feeling returned. That rage started building up in her body, coursing through her veins. The Ever After had come close to breaking her. So. Goddamn. CLOSE.

"Oh, is this the part where you whip out your new little trick?" Roman laughed. "Well, bring it on. Not like a temper tantrum can do any good-"

BOOM. Ruby's body exploded in a mess of petals, shattering the illusory Yang and Kevin's bodies in seconds, blowing the other guests back in the process. Roman slammed into a wall and slumped to the ground.

The other guests all struggled against the storm of petals that now filled the rotunda. The faux criminal growled as his hat was the next casualty, several of Ruby's petals cutting the bowler hat apart, much to "Roman's" annoyance.

"Was actually starting to like that thing..." the "criminal" rolled his eyes, "Blake, Weiss!"

The monochrome duo of illusions drew their weapons and tried to restrain Ruby. Illusion-Weiss spun in place before creating gravity Glyphs above and below what she assumed to be Ruby's main "body."

Ruby's body broke apart, sending petals flying at her false friends. Her body denied anything trying to keep her in place. Any other attempts to hold her down were met with failure.

Ruby didn't want to 'kill' any more of her friends; she just needed to take care of the person in charge. Ruby flew towards Neo at full speed, eyes narrowed in determination.

"NO NO NO NO-!" Roman yelled, raising his arm.

Ruby morphed her hand into a scythe, rearing it back, getting ready to slice. Roman did...well you could call it saving Neo's life, but it started to look less like that when, instead of pushing her and jumping in front of her, he outright shot her with a low-strength flare. The shot impacted Neo and sent her flying out of the way, but then Ruby turned towards Roman.

"Ohhhh hel-" "Roman began, before Ruby struck him with a powerful uppercut slash that sent him flying through a wall. Weiss, Blake, Penny and the rest of the tea party's guests shattered into a million pieces.

Ruby breathed heavily, with short, violent gasps. She'd ended her nightmare. By herself.

And it hurt all over.

Ruby dropped to the ground, and just sobbed.

Seemingly halfway across the acre, one of the Ditto clones was being raised up above the open maw of the Hazelwalker, its spikes all lit up with every single color of replicated Dust it possessed.

"No! No, no, no, no! I don't wanna be eaten! Please! Not like thiiiiiiiiiis!" the Ditto clone begged. But before the monster could drop the clone in, the monster seized up, almost like it was a glitching computer program.

"S-S-STAR-STARV-ing-ing-ing-ing!" the Hazelwalker twitched before it let out a muffled scream. The Ditto clones all watched in surprise as the Hazelwalker just shattered into a million pieces, dropping the clone to the ground.

"I'm...I'm alive? I'm alive!" the Ditto cheered.

"Why did it...?" another Ditto wondered.

"No time for that! Everyone, huddle!" a third Ditto ordered, calling for them all to merge back into one, letting Ben transform back to human. Without any more obstacles in his way, Ben made a mad dash to find Ruby. He could see her bootprints in the muddy ground, a trail he could follow.

"Hang on Ruby," Ben pleaded, "Just hang on."

"Ruby? Ruby!" the familiar voice of the Curious Cat reached her ears, the sound of their paws pattering on the tile of the mansion echoing out as they hurried to Ruby's side.

"What...what happened?" the Cat asked, but Ruby just kept sobbing.

"I...I'm sorry," Ruby said between her tears.

"Shhhh, shh shh shh shh...it's ok, little Huntress. It's over now," the Cat consoled, rubbing Ruby's back with their paw. They backed up as Ruby rolled onto her back, her silver eyes looking up to the ceiling of the rotunda, noticing it start to crack.

"I don't," Ruby sniffled, "I don't want this anymore. I don't want to be me anymore..."

"Don't worry," the Cat hopped onto Ruby's chest, "I can be you instead."

"W-what?" Ruby muttered. The Cat didn't answer, simply smirking before thrusting their paws into Ruby's chest, phasing them through fabric and skin. That same checkerboard pattern that rippled over Neo's body now flowed from where the Cat was trying to phase into Ruby's body. The red-hooded Huntress screamed in pain, her chest feeling like it was being pierced by thousands upon thousands of tiny needles all at once.

"What are you...doing?!" Ruby begged.

"My purpose, 'Red.' When a poor little heart is broken, I can fill it with mine. Oh but I'm afraid I haven't been entirely honest with you..." the Cat faked regret.

"It...it was…you! You were...Roman!" Ruby realized.

"That I was. Oh you have no idea how easy it was to take on a form Neopolitan trusted. All 'Roman' had to do was play her favorite song and my how she danced! The perfect-!" the Cat was cut off when Hush slammed into its side, knocking it into one of the chairs at the table. Their paws were ripped free from Ruby's chest, letting the Huntress breathe deeply, coughing as if a weight was, perhaps quite literally, taken off her chest. Ruby looked to see Neo standing there, holding her precious parasol and shaking like a leaf. She then fell to her knees beside Ruby, looking exhausted, confused and scared.

"N-...Neo?" Ruby gasped.

Rub-? Neo began, but she was interrupted by the Cat pouncing on her.

"YOU. I don't know how you broke free, but you are NOT going to get in my way, you malicious mute malcontent!" the Cat hissed, trying to scratch at Neo's face. Neo threw the Curious Cat aside, scrambling for Hush again. She got to her knees and put herself in front of Ruby, activating the parasol's hidden blade. The Cat growled deeply as they looked at Neo and her shaking grip.

"Look at you...you're terrified aren't you? Terrified and oh so very lost," the Cat chuckled before their voice turned into that of Roman, "Oh Neo. You were so close. So close to closure. And that was the one thing you needed, wasn't it? Learning the truth of Roman's death. But now it's time for you to see through the smoke and realize just how weak your illusions are. All those little messages you sent...just for me to intercept, you made everything perfect."

I...I don't know what you're talking about! Where's...where's Roman?! Where's Albedo?! Neo demanded to know.

"Oh my," the Cat changed back to their normal voice, "Heheh, it seems I did too good of a job. Your mind's all fuzzy. Just step aside...or crawl, really, I couldn't care which, and I'll bring Roman back to you. But if you insist on hindering me, I will show you why cats can be considered bad luck."

Why...why are you DOING this? Neo silently hissed.

"Ah, the tried and true trope. Very well, I'll indulge you. You see...I'm not like the other Afterans. I'm cursed with curiosity. I need to know everything," the Cat's eyes shifted to a dark purple color with glowing white pupils, "But more than anything I need to know why my MAKERS left me here only to go and make ALL OF-!"

The Cat was interrupted once more, much to its annoyance, with a loud and painful meow. The cyan and purple feline was sick and tired of being treated like a ball! What even happened?! Ruby couldn't have done that and no one else wa-

"...what," the Cat hissed in confusion.

"Stay. The fuck. Away from them," Albedo said, hands balled into fists and ready to fight off this technicolor nightmare.

Al...albedo? Neo asked.

"Oh don't tell me that you still can't see it. That can't be the real Albedo, just another one of your illusions," the Cat growled, a strange ripple flowing over their body, changing their colors, from cyan to white and violet to a dark purple, bordering on black.

"Might be," Albedo shrugged, "but I'm real enough to protect her."

"Sure you are," the Cat smirked. Sparks jumped between their whiskers and fangs before they roared and fired a stream of blue lightning, accompanied by violet pixels, out of their mouth. Hush unfurled to block the shot, protecting Albedo from the strange attack. With the initial assault blocked, Albedo ran off to the side to try and flank the strangely powerful feline. The first stream of lightning was cut off as the feline noticed the illusory Albedo rushing towards them. They weren't really impressed, even when Albedo's arm shifted into that of Diamondhead in a way reminiscent of the AntiTrix. The crystalline limb morphed into a blade that brought down and cleaved the Cat in half. But, as seen many times before, that wasn't as severe as others thought. The Cat eyed its severed back half, completely unphased by the situation, while Albedo seemed more than a little confused.

"Not quite what you expected, is it?" the Cat smirked. The front half of the Cat leapt up and scratched at Albedo's face, forcing him back from the sudden attack. The back half of the Cat moved behind Albedo to literally trip him up, having him fall backwards. The two halves reconnected before the Cat began to grow. The cyan and violet were permanently replaced with the white and dark purple as the Curious Cat grew from a normal sized feline to the size of a bear. Albedo rolled out of the way as a giant paw came crashing down to try and crush him, the Cat's claws digging into the floor tiles. The seemingly-illusory protector tried to keep the beast at bay, blocking another claw swipe from the monstrous Cheshire. The clone pushed back before going on the offensive once again, lashing out with wild strikes. For any other opponent, they would've been cut to ribbons, but the Cat was more than capable of dealing with an assault like that. They just segmented themselves in such a way that each strike rendered the attack useless.

"You set this up! You pushed Neo back into being a villain! She'd changed, improved, but then you showed up to take it all away!" Albedo yelled.

"Did I? Oh please, my fabricated fallacy. Humans don't change. Your roles are set upon taking your first breath and her's was to be one of the grand villains of the story! I didn't push, I just reminded her of what she should be! It's all she's ever known, anyway. That thrill of the heist, that ruthlessness when she commits someone to their end, she's in love with it! Am I the cruel one for giving her comfort? Or are you for making her change?" the Cat chuckled, enraging the illusory Albedo even more.

"And what about me then? You say we have our roles when we're born, does the same apply to every species of the galaxy? Or do you just have double standards because you see humans as beneath you?!"

"Humans ARE beneath me! I know what I'm supposed to be! Humans are confused and overwhelmed by all their choices!"

Neo was ignoring everything the Cat was saying, putting all of her focus into keeping the Albedo copy up. She had to, doubting she'd be able to survive a few seconds without him.

Neo didn't remember much of what happened before now, everything was just a blur of half-remembered scenes that she needed to sort out. The only things she really remembered were that she needed answers and, now, a feeling of regret, of the need to apologize to Ruby. She could ask her questions later. Right now, she had to protect the red-hooded reaper for now. Her pink Aura flickered for a moment, a physical sign of the immense strain she was under. Ruby looked to the fight and to Neo. Even in a state of such emotional turmoil, she was still unbroken enough to figure out what had happened here. Neo was just a pawn to the damned Curious Cat. She was the real target. While crystal and claw clashed just out of her view, the Huntress's eyes landed on the tea cup. The tea within sparked and bubbled with the power of the Tree, of Ascension. If she was the target...then maybe she should just throw a wrench in their plans.

"They considered it a tool to break you, a way to fix their -own- broken heart. But that is not the Tree's purpose. It's a tool for betterment..." a familiar metallic voice rung in Ruby's head, "I think its time we had a talk, Ruby Rose."

The Albedo copy was swatted aside by the Cat's now giant tail, bouncing off a pillar before breaking upon the floor. Neo's Aura ran out there as well, falling to the floor and losing her grip on Hush. The now giant Cat lumbered over to Neo, rolling her onto her back and leaning in close to her face.

"I told you illusions are weak. You tried to bring him back, tried to have things like the good times, but he's not here. And now," the Cat raised their claws, "I'm going to make sure everyone remembers Neopolitan, or should I say Trivia, as a backstabbing, bloodthirsty, little trait-!"

The sound of a tea cup shattering snapped the Cat out of their grandiose speech. They turned to the left to see the broken shards of porcelain littering the tiled floor.

And no Ruby. Even Little was missing.

Their pupils shrank in horror as they quickly reverted back to their normal size, but keeping the concerning black and white color scheme. As weak as Neo was, the way the Cat looked reminded her of someone. And what did they mean by 'my makers left me?' Who made them?

"No. No! NO!" they yelled, eyes wide in panic, "WHERE!? WHERE IS SHE!? WHERE IS RUBY ROSE!? I needed her. I NEEDED HER!"

But not only was the Cat panicking, so was Neo. Not all of the memories were back, but the most recent ones most definitely slammed into her mind like a truck. She set this up. She lured Ruby here, tortured her with visions of her friends, the dead.

She used Eunice's face.

Oh my god... Neo silently gasped, I...I did this. I just...I just killed...

The Cat's frenzied quest for Ruby was disrupted by the arrival of a new player. The feline mastermind dove to quickly hide behind a pillar, noticing that the new arrival was the Omnitrix wielder. Guess he still had some guts to him. Quite honestly, the Cat hoped Ruby's freak out would 'weaken' him. But the boy's convictions overpowered his pity.

Such a sad thing.

Ben's eyes scanned the room- he took in the destruction around him. Ruby had to be here. Or, had she been here? Or-

His gaze fell upon Neo, who lay on the ground, her usually stoic demeanor shattered, replaced by heart-wrenching sobs. As much as Ben wanted to scream at her for everything she'd done, he put it aside...but he wouldn't forget it.

"Neo!" Ben shouted, rushing to confront her. "Where's Ruby? What happened here?"

Neo's tear-filled eyes met Ben's, and he felt like...

Something terrible had happened.

Neo lifted her hand. Ben followed Neo's shaky gesture to the shattered teacup on the floor, the pieces of porcelain strewn about.

Ben's heart dropped.

He walked over to the shattered mess. The reality of the situation hit him like a ton of bricks. Ruby had been driven to this point.

She felt that escaping this life was her only option.

Ben's momentary hope of seeing Ruby and being there for her was extinguished, like a candle against a tsunami. He dropped to the ground and tried to scream or cry, but nothing came out.

Not an emotion, nor a sound.

Ben felt...

Hollow.

And upon that realization, a certain someone was grinning.

The Curious Cat brushed by Ben's leg, giving a sad sigh. "Oh, my dear Ben," They sighed dramatically, their voice dripping with mock sympathy. "How utterly tragic this all is, isn't it? The great savior, reduced to a hollow shell of himself, unable to even muster a cry. My heart aches for you, truly it does."

Ben didn't respond.

The Cat circled Ben, their tail flicking playfully as it continued its mockery. "You thought you could save her, didn't you? Love and determination conquers all in the end. Isn't that right? But alas, your efforts were in vain. Ruby's fate was sealed long before you arrived on the scene."

Ben didn't register.

The Cat's enigmatic smile widened as they continued to circle Ben, their eyes fixed on him like a predator toying with its prey.

"Between you, Ruby, and Neo," The feline mused, "I assumed I'd break the reaper first and take her over. But it seems I was targeting the wrong person, but at least I got the best results."

The Cat hopped into Ben's lap, and flashed a toothy grin. "Worry not, 'savior.' You've lost something most important and that must hurt. I don't know humans that well, but I know hearts universally. And I know that look in your eyes, the look that just screams that you have nothing left."

It felt like Ben just…didn't even exist.

The Cat reached into Ben's jacket pocket and pulled out the knife, "I suppose, you'll never get to tell her about this now, will you?" The Cat jabbed before pushing the token back down into Ben's pocket, "Besides, if you ask me, it's a bit of a gaudy present."

Tears suddenly started flowing down Ben's cheeks. He might not have reacted the most outwardly, but the feline's poisonous words were still reaching their target.

The Cat sighed upon seeing those tears, almost annoyed at them. "Still something there? Worry not..." The Cat stood up on their hind legs, pressing and digging their front claws into Ben's chest. "Let me just…sweep whatever broken shards are left under the rug."

Ben's physical pain and mental anguish seemed to fuse into one excruciating experience, as if his own being were being torn apart. His body began to absorb the Cat's malicious energy and the young man's eyes changed, their formerly human pupils taking on the Cat's checkered-pattern design.

The process was torturous, every second feeling like an eternity of unbearable suffering. Ben's body trembled, and his voiceless screams echoed in his own mind as the Cat continued its relentless takeover.

And then Ben felt nothing.

Neo looked on in horror as the cat vanished into Ben. She wanted to move, to yell for help, but she couldn't. Her Aura, her strength, it was all drained. But then she heard something. The faint sounds of people rushing through the mud of the marshes outside, along with faint voices.

Was that-?

The sound of a few quick punches rang out, cracking against the sturdy armor of the candy knights outside. The guards thudded to the ground, knocked unconscious in mere seconds by the attacker.

"Ben?! Ben, can you hear us?!" Yang called out as she and the others entered the mansion, their footfalls echoing out on the tile. Weiss was the first one to enter the rotunda and see what was left of Neo's tea party. She gasped, nearly dropping her rapier, before she raced into the room. The room was absolutely devastated, as if a tornado had manifested in the room itself. Multiple different colored shards littered the ground, remnants of Neo's Semblance that oddly hadn't faded away yet. Ben was still kneeling in the middle of the room, his eyes closed and his head slumped down as if he'd been knocked unconscious.

"Over here!" Weiss called out, dashing towards Ben with her rapier sheathed.

Neo tried to stop her, but then Yang bolted in. The blonde saw her and reacted violently, marching over to Neo with her violet eyes replaced by a flaming crimson color.

"NEO!" Yang roared before she picked the multi-colored mute up by the collar and slammed her into the wall, "Where is she?! Where's Ruby?!"

"Yang, wait!" Emerald yelled, rushing over to try and stop Yang from killing Neo.

Max, Blake, and Gwendolyn were the last ones to enter the rotunda and were all just as shocked to discover the scene. Max made a beeline for Ben, praying to whatever god that would listen that he was ok. And Blake? She took a hesitant step forward before something cracked under her foot. She stepped back and knelt down to inspect the shard. When she picked it up, she saw her own amber eye looking back at her. The feline Faunus' gaze turned to Neo and, for the second time in recent memory, she might have been angrier than Yang. Once the blonde saw this though, her own temper erupted like a volcano.

"Ben...Ben, please. Please, talk to me..." Max begged, gently grabbing Ben by the shoulders and hoping he was ok.

Get...get away from him! Neo tried to warn Max, but Yang only pressed her against the wall harder.

"You don't get to sign anything, you fucking traitor..." Yang growled.

"Yang, wait, you need-" Emerald started.

"If you tell her to calm down, it won't work," Blake cut her off, marching up with the shard in hand before raising it up, "Care to explain this?"

Neo's eyes widened, darting over to Ben, and she began trying to frantically warn them. The group was just confused, though, the black and yellow duo still fuming.

"What ABOUT Ben?" Yang growled.

"Ben..." Max frowned, as the boy coughed. Max gave a sigh of relief. "Ben. Are you okay, son?"

"I feel...clean."

That...that's not-! Neo tried to warn, her vision getting blurry.

"You're going to tell us everything that happened, starting with why you made clones of US," Blake hissed.

"You used us...you used our faces against her. What the fuck happened to you?! Was this your plan all along?! Stab us in the back when no one was looking?! Was this just a long fucking con-job for you?!" Yang yelled, tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes.

But Neo couldn't answer. Let them think whatever they wanted of her, she deserved it right now, but she had to warn them! They hadn't seen what she'd seen! They were just a few seconds too late!

Weiss looked to Max, hoping he was just as confused by that statement. And thankfully, he was. He looked over at Ben worriedly, trying to wrap his around that.

"What...what do you mean by that? 'Clean?'" Max asked.

"You heard me, you old rusted coot. I'm clean." Ben smirked.

Max looked even more confused. "What did you just call me-?"

"I'm empty, Maxwell." Ben declared, standing back up. "Emptiness is loneliness, and loneliness is cleanliness. And cleanliness is godliness, and God is empty..."

Ben flashed his horrible blue and purple eyes. "Just like me."

"What-" Max started, only for Ben to land a solid back hand that knocked the Rusted Knight away. Weiss was too stunned to even draw her rapier before "Ben" rushed in and kicked her in the gut, the impact knocking the air out of her for a moment.

"By the Tree, look at me! I'm amazing!" "Ben" held his arms out wide and just spun in place, laughing maniacally, "Hahaha! Oh the things I could do with him!"

Yang looked over her shoulder, her eyes faded back to violet from crimson. She turned fully and dropped Neo, the mute rubbing her throat before quickly trying to get back up and stop the blonde brawler.

"Ben...?" Yang questioned, hoping she was just...seeing things, maybe hoping this was another illusion of Neo's.

"Humans...ahhhh, how tired I am of your boring little sob stories," the thing wearing Ben's skin groaned, "Sorry to say, Punny Huntress, that one's not home at the moment. But I am all too real. Ohhhh this body is more than I could've hoped for!"

"W-where's Ruby!?" Yang demanded.

"Oh, I don't know. Probably an ornate, wooden sculpture, part of the tree." BenCat huffed, eyeing the Omnitrix. He clenched his fist, and suddenly the green color scheme became blue and purple. He threw the jacket off, and slicked back his hair. "THERE we go."

"Ruby...asc-" Yang was shaking.

"Oh, please. You use our terminology to try and be nice, a little too nice if I may be frank. So, let's say what happened with your words, shall we? She killed herself." BenCat scoffed. "And you're to blame. Boohoo. What's this do?" He fiddled with the watch...

"You...you're...you're lying. You have to be. She- she's not-" Yang started hyperventilating. This couldn't be happening.

"Oh...con...found it all. I wish I would've asked more about how he used this," BenCat growled in annoyance, struggling to activate the Omnitrix, "Was it a turn to the left or the right to turn this contraption on?"

Weiss was the first to act. She summoned the Knight to drop on top of BenCat, pinning him to the ground. The possessed Ben hissed, trying to get the heavy suit of armor off of him.

"What the hell-!?" he yelled.

"Keep him down." Weiss said through grit teeth.

"Get your walking glow-lamp off of me!" CatBen hissed as he tried to pry its armored fingers off. Yang was still frozen, still processing the scheming Afteran's words. Her mechanical arm was audibly rattling as she trembled with a mixture of rage, sadness, and confusion. Max slowly recovered as well, looking at what had become of his grandson. Lightning sparked around the possessed hero's mouth before he fired off another stream of sparks and pixels. The sudden shocking breath launched up and tore right through the knight's helmet. If the knight was human, that lightning would have gone right into its eyes. The shining knight dispersed like snow in the wind before CatBen jumped back to his feet.

"Well that was fun. Annoying but fun!" CatBen flashed a toothy, Cheshire-like grin.

"Whatever you did to him," Weiss hissed, her blade leveled at him, "I am going to undo it. I am going to save him. For her."

"Ohhhh, how cute. You think you can actually hurt me. Or rather him. For all you know, he's still in there! 'Help me Weiss! You're my only hope to reunite with my beloved!'"

"I...I can!"

"Really? Then why can I see your sword shaking? Just a nervous tick?" CatBen chuckled before moving to try and activate the watch, not even really caring about Weiss' threat. Before the possessed hero could even try, Gambol Shroud's ribbon wrapped around his arm and pulled it away from the watch.

The Knight crashed down on him again, this time much larger and much heavier. BenCat hissed, as the others tried to hold him down. "Don't let him transform!" Yang yelled. "DON'T LET HIM EVEN ESCAPE!"

"Can we get the watch off of him?!" Emerald asked.

"No! If we tried to force it off, failsafes would activate!" Max yelled.

"So, what!? We can't even have it off?!" Emerald frowned.

"Hahaha! Oh as if any of you had the courage to even try that," CatBen rolled his eyes.

Yang slammed her foot down his arm. The Cat screeched in pain, as Yang pressed her foot down. "This won't go the way you expect it to, you piece of shit!" She continued to apply pressure.

"Oh..." BenCat sighed, and his body started to glow. "I was about to say the same thing."

"The hel-?" Emerald began.

BenCat's body suddenly unleashed a powerful spark of energy, knocking everyone back. The group went flying across the room, and BenCat jumped back up.

"Well! This has been swell, but...I have a world to tear apart before I go back to yours, so..." BenCat announced. He finally activated the Omnitrix, and began to rapidly scroll through the playlists.

"Let's see what we have here," BenCat pondered, "No, not that one. Not that one either, far too...bulky right now. Ooh, but I am saving that one for later. I've always wanted wings! A-ha! Here we go! Ladies, gentlemen, and other assorted visitors! Let's start the SHOW!"

With that, he slapped down on the dial, creating a burst of cyan energy. At first, the transformation seemed to start as normal, but then the Cat's own unique energy wove its way into the changes. The blue fur shifted to be adorned with the same checkerboard pattern the Cat themselves sported, the legs morphed in such a way to become digitigrade like a proper cat's. To finish off, the Cat's wide grin stretched across the newly transformed alien's face.

"My, my, my...what did he call this form? Fasttrack, I believe?" CatBen chuckled, "The perfect form for a quick get away. And as a show of good faith, I will leave you Miss Trivia, so that you might mete out justice."

Why...why did you-? Neo asked.

"Go for Ben? Go for Ruby? Well, breaking down one would break the other as I've so expertly proven. They were inseparable, just like you and Albedo. But what happens if I take one half of an inseparable pair and remove it? This, clearly. All I needed to do to take the Watch...was shatter the Gemstone. And that's all you'll get from me, little villain. Toodles," CatBen waved before racing away in a blur of pixels.

"Get...Get back here! GET BACK HERE AND GIVE THEM BACK! GIVE THEM BACK!" Yang yelled, practically begging before sobs took over, "Give them back. Give them back. Please..."

The room was filled with a heavy silence, broken only by the sound of Yang's sobs.