"Why go through all the trouble?"

"A good question, Malware," Servantis answered while he examined the remains of the Plumbers' convoy which had crashed on this remote moon. There, he found the one he was looking for.

"His mind is gone." The mecamorph argued. "He cannot help us."

"I beg to differ." The human-cerebrocrustacean hybrid approached the fallen hunter. His previous armor had long been confiscated, and he only wore prison robes.

His eyes opened abruptly. No words came from his mouth, however.

"How did this happen, again?" Malware questioned.

"From what I gathered, while fighting Ben Tennyson, a parasite helped Khyber himself to use the Nemetrix since he had lost an appropriate host."

"And this parasite... was that the reason for his fate?"

"Yes. The parasite abandoned Khyber." Servantis gazed at the hunter, who in return looked back, pure insanity in that stare. "Leaving him to use the Nemetrix like he was an animal. And he turned into one, indeed."

"Quite ironic." Malware stood by his side. "But what is his use? You did promise Tennyson's head to me."

"I would imagine you were being metaphorical?"

Malware chuckled lightly. "Perhaps. But he would love to have Tennyson's skull on his wall. Even still, I don't understand."

"We need not firepower. That we have enough." Servantis smirked. "But while we both are high intellects in our own capacity... I would like to have more insight from figures who were not an unknown quantity."

Malware looked from Servantis to Khyber. "And how do you plan on fixing this?'

"It has become clear to me that his synapses are all scrambled." The Rooter explained. "Thankfully, I am well suited for the task.

The shell on his head opened, revealing his brain. He zapped towards Khyber, making the hunter convulse in pain on the ground. It took a few moments, and a lot of effort from Servantis, but finally, the hunter gasped, being pushed away by a final blast of energy.

Khyber opened his eyes frantically, gasping for air.

"What is this?" The hunter muttered weakly. Setting his eyes on Malware. "Where am I?"

"You are safe, friend," Servantis stated. "I'm Proctor Servantis of the Rooters. I, along with this familiar face, have saved you from both the Plumbers and your insanity."

"Insanity?" Khyber questioned, still gazing at Malware. "How?"

Servantis extended his hand to the hunter. "Come. There is much to explain. But to convince you... know that our ultimate goal is the defeat of Ben Tennyson. I took the liberty to imagine you would want a play in that."

It didn't take long for Khyber to take his hand firmly, bringing a smile to Servantis's face.

...

"Won't he go away?" Ben whispered to Hope, back to his human form, as they walked forward to Addwaitya's citadel, Michael in front of them, just to be safe.

"I want to kill him." Hope stated.

"Don't do that."

"I can make it quick. Not like he deserves it."

"He's a jerk, but he's already imprisoned."

"He deserves more."

"You know, I agree with Benny," Michael stated. Turns out they weren't being too quiet. "I am already confined to this dimension. Lovely Gwen sure has a twisted sense of humor. Running away from Addwaitya is bad enough. But what would I do if you were back in charge, Charmcaster?"

The witch narrowed his eyes. "You'd either die or leave. There's no place for scum like you in my realm."

In response, Michael just chuckled. "Funny. You know, I never imagined you two teaming up, especially without lovely Gwen involved. Are you charmed, Ben?"

"I'm very much here of my own will, Darkstar," Ben spoke. "How close are we?"

"By Earth's standards, twenty minutes at best. Not that time works like this here."

"Damn." Ben felt a shiver on his arm. "It feels cold. I should have brought my hoodie."

"It is not usually this cold." Hope stated. "This is too cold..."

"Addwaitya hates warmth, it turns out," Darkstar said. "The closer we are to his base, the colder it will be."

"Don't remember asking you anything." Hope pettily answered, but Ben couldn't judge her. He had to remind himself Michael was her ex. And... well, Ben knew all too well if he saw Kai right now, he would probably be uncomfortable at best. Michael once more just laughed, amused by her antagonism.

But Ben was worried for her. Magic wasn't his field of expertise, and facing Addwaitya only reminded him of Aggregor. Which was not nice in the slightest.

Oh, how much of a fool he had been back then.

As they walked closer, freezing winds hit them, making Ben shiver more, and for his teeth to chitter. He noticed he wasn't the only one, with Hope staying much closer, almost embracing him. To be frank, Ben couldn't stop his ears from warming up, and while he knew he could turn into Big Chill or Arctiguana to withstand the cold, or even Heatblast to counter the freezing environment...

But it felt good to feel so close. It wasn't long before they were walking embraced, finding warmth in each other.

Not long after, the massive citadel could be spotted in the distance. Michael stopped, driving him and Hope to follow.

"What is it?" Ben asked.

"Here's where we part ways." Michael turned to them, his cold mask obstructing his face. "It was amusing to see you again. But if you fail, Addwaitya must not know I am so close to his territory."

Hope narrowed her eyes. "You are a fool if you think I won't put all my effort into hunting you, even more than he would."

Ben had a feeling Michael was smiling. "I know, Charmcaster. I wish you good luck."

With that, Darkstar began walking from where they came, not another word spoken.

"Is it a trap? Do you think he's actually going away?"

"Addwaitya despises Michael, and the feeling is mutual." Hope explained. "We only have one enemy to face, Ben."

"Are you sure?"

Hope let him go, walking forward to the edge of their path. "I am. The only thing I am not certain of is where I'm going to place his head. Try to keep up."

That eerie comment wasn't lost on Ben, who looked with some disapproval as she glided towards the citadel. The hero sighed, turning into Ghostfreak and following her closely.

They soon got to the courtyard, where there was no one. Not even rock monsters. There was only silence, one that felt oppressive, and dangerous. Like they were waiting while falling for a trap.

"ADDWAITYA!" Hope suddenly cried out. "Take your ugly face outside otherwise I will burn this damned place to the ground!"

"What are you doing?!" Ben asked.

"I am calling our enemy since he is too much of a coward."

"A coward?" A voice said from behind them. Turning in the air, Ben found out that it was, indeed the turtle-like sorcerer with a flaming head. His look was one of disgust. "I only see a coward standing before me."

Hope's eyes started to glow pink. "I will show you who the coward is, vermin." She attacked the sorcerer, who only laughed, completely unaffected by her mana blasts.

"Your father learned too late that mana cannot harm me, Charmcaster. You stand no chance. Especially not with..." Addwaitya stared at Ben in Ghostfreak form, not impressed.

"Fine." Hope's hands ceased to glow. "Let's make this fair." She started to glide in the air again, crossing her legs. "Vaktusa Magnus Stupritrato!"

To Ben's shock, she began to morph, and unlike his own transformations, this was not quick. Claws emerged from her hands, scales appeared on her skin, her teeth grew larger, a tail appeared from her clothing... and in the end, a massive purple and pink dragon stood with its wings extended.

"Now..." She said, her voice deep and reverberating. "I'll put an end to this madness."

And then she attacked.

Addwaitya wasn't slow to react, however, dodging out of the dragon's way, while also blasting mana at her. Unlike him, Hope could actually feel the blasts, though it was nothing considering she had morphed into a goddamn dragon. Ben felt a bit lost in the battle, uncertain of how to intervene. Ghostfreak was best for stealth missions and possession. Something Addwaitya must have certainly prepared against.

And while he could blast a ray of energy from the tentacles in his chest... he would need to remove his outer skin, beginning with his chains. And Ben wasn't brave enough to do that just yet.

As such, he changed back to human, going through the Omnitrix to see what could help. And considering Hope's current size and strength... Ben felt like she needed some backup.

Though in what way, he didn't know. Because this dragon form had it all covered, it seemed. Hope could even shoot fire from her nostrils. Addwaitya wasn't overwhelmed, but it was clear that the sorceress had the upper hand.

So why not make things easier?

Atomix replaced Ben's form, the massive white and green alien already levitating. He looked just in time to see Hope getting knocked out, her massive body collapsing to the ground as the dragon cried in pain.

Thus why he got to work quickly, concentrating pure nuclear energy in his hands. "This is gonna hurt!"

And he threw the massive nuclear ball straight into Addwaitya, and Ben wasn't disappointed to see the sorcerer being thrown yards out into, hitting a cliff with a blast that even Ben felt while being a very good distance from it.

"Ouch." Ben flew towards Hope, who was already getting up. "You good, friend?"

The dragon looked at him curiously. "I don't think I've seen this one before."

"I save Atomix for the heavy hitters," Ben said, noticing movement behind the rubble and smoke created by the blast. A furious-looking Addwaitya marched forward, but his injuries were noticeable even from afar.

"You shan't defy me no longer!" He proclaimed, attacking them with more mana. Though with Atomix it was certainly easier to dodge. "Interdamoto ilabortor!"

The spell hit Ben right in the chest, and to top it all, it caused an explosion that knocked him several feet away. Atomix could take it, but his head still felt sore.

But Hope didn't know he was resilient in this form. She growledand lunged at the sorcerer, who had no time to try and dodge her claws. Addwaitya screamed in pain as she pierced his arm, piercing him to the ground.

"You DIE," Hope said, pinning him even further, while she raised her free hand, ready to take the final blow.

"Hope!" Ben called, still dizzy, and not caring about the secrecy of her name. "Don't." Ben changed back, stumbling towards her. "Don't do it."

"What?"

"Please... we can... lock him up." That blast hurts a lot more in human form, Ben noticed. "You don't need to kill him."

"No prison is strong enough to contain this monster." Addwaitya tried to soften her grip, but it only made her pierce even more, once more making him protest with a cry of pain.

"Still... I don't want you to have to do that."

"I've killed before." She didn't take her eyes away from Addwaitya.

"And I wanted to change that in you!" Ben pointed. "I agree that he deserves to die. He is the one responsible for all you had to suffer. I know. But... I don't want you to fall further."

Hope was silent for a good while, but still not letting go of Addwaitya, maintaining her strong grip on the wounded sorcerer. "You do it."

Ben wasn't sure he heard her right. "What?"

"You kill him." Slowly, she began morphing back to her human appearance once more. Instead of her massive hands, now mana handcuffs contained Addwaitya, still panting on the crater he was left in. "Do it for me."

"I won't..."

"You said it, he deserves to die. And you are no stranger to killing either."

"I've never-"

"Intentionally." Hope interrupted. "And I know what you thought of Levin."

Ben's face darkened. "That doesn't matter."

"It does. It shows that you're willing to kill a monster. So do it. He killed my father. Enslaved my people. Drove me and my uncle out of our ancestral home. It's enough reason to put an end to it."

"It's..." Ben stopped, sighing. "Is it this easy to you?"

"Yes."

"It's not to me." He argued. "I try not to kill because I believe I am not supposed to dictate who lives or dies. Kevin was my lowest point. I don't want to return to that."

While the anger still burned bright in Hope's eyes... it was tempered by something else.

Just then, she collapsed into his arms.

"Please." She begged, a sob escaping her throat. "Just make it end."

"I can't..."

"If you don't do it, I will." Her voice was firm, despite her sobs.

"I can take him to be judged."

"He is not a citizen of anywhere," Hope stated. "It's pointless."

"Hope, please..."

"No, Ben, no!" She let go of him. "I need to see him gone. He has done so much."

He approached her, an arm enveloping her back. "Look... let's... go to your home. You... have a place here, right?"

"Yes." She cleaned the tears from her cheeks. "I rebuilt my castle."

"Let's decide on what to do with him later." Ben went for the Omnitrix, finding quickly the alien he was looking for. "We will make him pay. But let's not make something we will both regret." Humungousaur said, grabbing Addwaitya and carrying him over his shoulder. The sorcerer had fallen unconscious.

"Fine." Hope finished cleaning her face. "Follow me."

...

Her castle was beautiful.

Massive crystal pillars and ornaments decorated the place, while the purple, blue, and red lights from the dimension smoothly illuminated the structure.

But all Ben could think about now was her because he was worried. Worried that she would fall back to old ways.

And Hope was aware of it. They had left Addwaitya in her dungeons beneath the castle, guarded and magically locked. He wouldn't be going anywhere. Now, they were walking towards her room, since she said she would be needing something.

"Are you tired?" Hope asked him.

"Yes. Addwaitya got me pretty hard."

"You can..." Hope blushed. "Um... I only got one room."

"Oh." Ben found his face warming up. "I can sleep on the floor."

"No!" She spoke. "Preposterous. You can sleep in my bed."

"And you?" He dared to ask.

"I... can... would you mind if I slept near you?"

"N-no! Of course not." Ben tried his best to hide the massive blush that overtook his face. "I think I'll be going to sleep soon."

Just then, they entered her massive room, and it was worthy of a queen. It had different types of furniture, and her bed... oh, wow. It was massive. And... wow, it looked comfortable.

"Can I...?" Ben nodded towards the bed.

"Mhm." Hope agreed, looking somewhere else. She looked as flustered as Ben, but he chose not to think about it too much, collapsing to the bed. He groaned as he laid down, the mattress almost embracing his aching body. "Geez. What's this made of?"

"The best cotton you could ever imagine." Hope smiled. "If you don't mind, Ben... I need to sort things out. Addwaitya always does a lot to disrupt things.I know you can take care of yourself, but don't do anything stupid while I'm gone."

"I promise." Ben yawned. "I will probably still be asleep when I return."

The witch smiled. "I'll see you then."

The door closed behind her, leaving Ben alone in this foreign room. But it felt cozy enough for the tiredness to overtake him. Soon, he fell asleep, hoping she would return soon.