Oh hey 200 chapters
Neat
Anyways, please enjoy this chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5
This is the story of a boy.
Who didn't quite know who he was after a tragedy.
…
Ben let out a deep groan as he slowly opened his eyes, squinting in the bright sunlight that was beating down on him. What...happened? He thought- And then it all came rushing back to him.
"Oh."
Ben blinked.
"Right."
Ben closed his eyes and took one more deep breath. He made a face, bracing himself for whatever he was about to see, before opening his eyes again. As he started to come to his senses and force his weakened body up, he took in his surroundings. He was in the middle of nowhere, in the heart of a desert. Mountains framed the distance, while the sandy soil beneath his fingers made him wonder how long he had been here. His mouth was drier than a bone and the sand made his teeth grind.
"Ergh." Ben groaned, rubbing his mouth. "Is...Ruby around here?" He wondered aloud, thinking that everyone who fell might've ended up in the same place. He stood up and brushed himself off, before he realized the heat was going to be the death of him out here. He took off his hoodie and tied it to his waist, before rolling up his pants legs.
It seemed that, wherever he was, there was just sand for what seemed to be miles on end. He looked up to see if maybe he could figure out what time of day it was. Training from Max and Plumber Academy basic survival tests made sure he knew how to figure that out without an actual clock or watch. And then he noticed the twin suns bearing down on him.
"Thaaat figures," Ben huffed upon seeing the two stars.
Ben looked around, seeing nothing but sand and sand for miles and miles. His eyes darted to his watch, still recharging. Ben rolled his eyes and began pointing in various directions.
"Eeny, meanie, minie, moe..." He muttered.
"That way," he decided and started walking through the dunes. Minutes passed, then what felt like hours. Nothing had changed, all of the dunes just looked the same. The heat was bearing down on Ben, draining more and more of his strength.
"God…damn…" Ben muttered. "Please let her be somewhere around here. I need to…I need to know if she's okay…"
Ben's hand went down to the dagger kept in his pocket. Feeling it gave him a sense of hope, of resolve. He WOULD find Ruby. He had to hug her, kiss her, tell her everything was okay.
More hours seemed to pass and Ben was exhausted. He stumbled through the sand, standing at the top of a dune and looking out over the horizon. His vision was blurry but, for the first time, something actually broke the blistering monotony. Three golden pyramids rose into the sky, breaking the dunes. Where are there pyramids, there might be people, or at least shelter. Ben weakly smiled and took a single step forward and his legs gave out under him. He collapsed and rolled through the sand, down the dune weakly before stopping on his back, looking up to the suns.
I'm so tired. Ben thought. It feels like my entire body weighs a ton…I don't…I don't even know if I can keep this up…
The pain started to slowly set in; the battle with Vilgax took a massive toll on him. Ben clenched his eyes shut, and sighed deeply.
Why are you so pathetic? A voice cursed him.
...what? Ben mentally responded.
You heard me. Look at yourself. Lost in the dune, crying out for Ruby like a kid who's lost his mom. You're supposed to be the hero? You're supposed to save the world? You couldn't even save one city without starting a small civil war, the voice continued to chew him out.
Atlas...it's gone then...
You can assume, yeah. All because you couldn't make the hard choice...
WE did make a hard choice. Ironwood wanted to run. We wanted to stay and fight, protect everyone.
And look where it got you! A hero would've succeeded...a real hero would, anyway, the voice scoffed.
We saved everyone. We sacrificed ourselves so everyone could live-
And look at the Savior now! Sad, pathetic and lying in sand…and so stupidly oblivious to the fact you've been followed.
Wait what? Ben asked. His eyes went wide when he heard a warcry sound out and a shaded figure dropped down from above him. Ben rolled out of the way as someone stomped into the sand where he once was. The wielder of the Omnitrix scurried to his feet and checked the device on his wrist, still recharging. Of course it is. He looked back to his assailant and saw Mercury get up from his kneeling position.
"Tennyson," Mercury growled.
"Just my luck," Ben huffed.
"Oh yeah, laugh it up, asshole," the assassin got into a combat stance.
"Really? We're doing this? Here? Now?!"
"Not your choice to make!"
Ben smirked. "You didn't have a good trip or something?"
Mercury screamed as he rushed at Ben. He was ready to spear kick Ben's face in, when Ben's face lit up. The Omnitrix beeped, signifying it was ready to go. Ben smirked, and slapped down the watch.
As the transformation happened in a matter of seconds, Ben quickly came to realize that this was...different. All the transformations had their own unique feel to them, in a way, and certain ones he could recognize instantly. This? This one wasn't at all familiar. His arms became thinner as he balled his hands into fists. When he released that grip, his hands were made of three black claws. Black veins of flesh began to overtake Ben's face as four eyestalks emerged from the side of his head, each one topped off with a golden orb as . His body elongated into a more insectoid form, stretching out to end in a tail tipped off with a triangular, almost spade-like stinger. His legs morphed into two, green, crab-like legs, two legs emerging from further up on the torso. Finally, a pair of light-green dragonfly-like wings sprouted from his back.
"Wait...what? This isn't-" Ben started, only to be interrupted by Mercury's charge. The assassin had closed the distance and started things off with a powerful roundhouse kick. Ben ducked under the first roundhouse and flew out of the way of the follow-up kick combo.
"Get...DOWN here!" Mercury growled.
"What's wrong, out of ammo?" Ben taunted, only for the assassin to kick out and fire a shotgun blast into the air, almost clipping the insectoid alien's wing.
"No. I just wanna save up. That and I wanna beat that goddamn ugly face of yours into the sand."
"As polite as ever," Ben rolled all four of his eyes before he looked at his opponent and began to fire green globs of slime from his eyes towards the cyborg assassin. Mercury wove between the slime shots, looking at the slime after it splattered into the sand. Even Ben made a look of disgust as he wiped some of the slime away like tears. He'd only used this form maybe once before so he still wasn't quite used to that unique form of attack.
"Ok...maybe killing you in that form is a mercy," Mercury muttered. He fired off a single round of air Dust from Talaria that launched him into the sky. Caught off guard, Ben was too slow to react to Mercury's next hit. An ax-kick connected to the insectoid alien's head and knocked him down in the air, but he was still able to recover. Another shot fired off from the assassin's mechanical boots and he launched into Ben, slamming his head into Ben's stomach. The assassin then quickly shifted to launch his knee right up into his opponent's chin. Mercury went in for another kick, but Ben managed to catch the assassin's leg and throw him back to the ground. Mercury slammed into the sand, shaking his head and quickly getting back to his feet. Ben then divebombed towards Mercury, firing off two more globs of slime that found their marks, sticking to Mercury's feet and the sand beneath them. With the assassin bound, Ben quickly reached for the Omnitrix symbol, located in the middle of his large head, turned the dial and slammed down on the dial. In a flash of green, a blue-furred feline humanoid drop-kicked into Mercury, sending him stumbling through the dunes.
"Quick change still works," Ben sighed in relief, "and I'm a lot more comfortable with this guy. Stinkfly, now Fasttrack...wonder why."
"Who. Fucking. CARES?!" Mercury roared, "I'm gonna kill you for getting me STUCK here!"
"I got you stuck here? Did you land head first?! Vilgax is the one that threw you off, maybe even on Cinder's suggestion!"
"Really? You're pulling that card? I know she only sees people as resources, keeps them around unless they run out of use or they piss her off like Watts. I haven't done either. I'm still useful!"
"It's not about use or being on her shit list, you idiot! It's because she doesn't want to share the glory! She failed twice and she needs to get back in Salem's good graces! You just complicate her hand-crafted 'prodigal daughter' narrative!"
"SHUT UP!" Mercury yelled, charging back into the fight. He lashed out with another roundhouse, only for Ben to bring up his arm and block the hit. Mercury growled angrily, before his lips curled into a smirk. See, the little wings that now adorned the boots around the ankles weren't just sharp. The little wing ornament then began to glow with a distinct yellow glow. A current of electricity, courtesy of built in lightning Dust, jumped from the wing and into Ben, shocking and leaving him open. Mercury took the chance to exploit that opening and socked Ben in the jaw. Once, twice, the third hit came in the form of a powerful headbutt, flooring Ben. The assassin brought his boot up, ready to bring it down on Ben's neck, but in a blur of blue, he sped out of the way. Instead, he grabbed Mercury by the back of the head and slammed him into the scorching sand, face-first. He then quickly brought Mercury back up to deliver a high-speed combo of jabs to the assassin's stomach, finishing off with a speedy uppercut. The cyborg's white Aura flickered for a moment before completely shattering. At the same time, the Omnitrix began to beep and flash red before Ben reverted to human.
He timed out, the first time that's happened in a long while.
"Are you...are you done?" Ben huffed, falling to his knees.
"Not...not even close," Mercury groaned, trying to get back on his feet. He managed it and took a few steps forward, but he collapsed shortly after. It wasn't a mechanical issue, but just a matter of exhaustion.
"Yeah...you're done."
"Oh don't...don't gimme that crap. You're not...you're not tired," Mercury hissed.
"I thought...I thought you were following me. Can you not tell I'm running on fumes here?!"
"Shut...up..." Mercury growled.
Ben went silent for a minute, letting the only sounds in the air be those of the two enemies' labored breaths.
"Deserts...deserts can...get incredibly cold at night. About...25 degrees Farenheit if I remember right. Now...now I don't know what time it is right now, but we've fought for too long," Ben finally said, using what little energy he could to get to his feet.
"The hell are you-?" Mercury started.
"I saw...I saw some pyramids off on the horizon. Not sure how long it'd take us...but they're shelter."
"And you're telling...telling me this because?" Mercury huffed.
"Because for as much of an asshole you are, you don't deserve to freeze out in the middle of nowhere. No...no, that's for Cinder. So...making an executive decision. For both our sakes, at least until we find a way out of the desert, we work together."
"What? You expecting me to get all buddy-buddy with you out here? Stuck out in the middle of nowhere and bond through our efforts to survive? Sounds like some...some young adult adventure book shit," Mercury groaned.
"Would you prefer risking it alone? Your legs are mechanical, aren't they? You think sand getting all lodged in the gears is a good idea?" Ben fired back. The assassin looked at his mechanical legs, letting the words sink in because, for as much as Mercury wanted to bury this little "defend of justice" or whatever crap he called himself, he knew that Ben had a point. He knew he'd be going to Vacuo eventually, but in an ideal scenario, he'd be able to work on "sand-proofing" his legs. Right now, the servos, the motors, everything was at risk of sand and wind damage.
But his pride wouldn't let him admit that.
"Yeah. I'll take my chances..." Mercury finally said, getting only an annoyed groan from Ben.
"You're impossible," Ben said.
"Yeah, Cass and Emerald told me that alllll the time..."
"Well, I'm going. You change your mind, you can follow me like you did before," Ben huffed and started walking off in the direction of the pyramids.
Now, Mercury wasn't an idiot. He knew that he needed to find shelter out here. He just didn't want to give Tennyson the satisfaction of "saving his life." Once Ben had seemingly disappeared over the dunes, Mercury got up and dusted himself off, huffing as he looked up to the two suns above.
"Nice to know some of what I taught you stuck," a gruff and familiar voice, at least to Mercury, scoffed. The assassin didn't say anything, just balling his open hands into fists.
"Rely only on yourself. Even if someone else has a good idea, don't let them know it," the voice continued. Mercury kept ignoring it, looking in the direction of the pyramids and sighing. It was around then that Mercury noticed it, so that meant Ben probably did too. The winds were picking up. In the desert, heavy winds like this usually meant one thing, sandstorm.
"So, what's the plan?" the gruff voice asked smugly.
"I don't need advice from a mirage. Or a ghost. Or whatever the fuck you are now," Mercury growled and stormed off, leaving the snide comments of his father behind. For now, anyway.
Ben looked behind him, to see Mercury following behind. The assassin kept his distance, but at least he was moving. Ben gave a sigh of relief to that.
He's no Kevin. The voice frowned.
"Huh?"
He's not Kevin. Kevin was a boy when you 'fixed' him, when you 'saved' him. Stop trying to think you can save Mercury.
Ben looked confused. "I was helping him, not saving him. Advice isn't always gonna save a life-"
But I know you. You think someone can turn it all around because you speak. Because you care. But he's the opposite, he's one without care. Your words will never break through to him...
"I...I don't expect to save EVERYONE."
Why entertain Ruby's idea, then? Does that not conflict with this belief of yours?
"I didn't mean it like that." Ben said. "Ruby knows what she's doing. I trust her."
Then why are you here?
"To find her."
I meant in this situation. The voice said. ...it's her fault, isn't it?
"If by her, you mean Cinder then yes, I'd agree with you," Ben snarked his inner doubts.
You know that's not who I meant.
"Yeah, and you're wrong. Ironwood, Cinder, Vilgax, Salem, all of them are very good people to put the blame on. Cinder and Vilgax actually fought us and threw us off. Salem was their boss. Ironwood just decided only one city was important enough to save, to hell with everyone else."
Except he was right. Not in the importance of the city, but if you remove just one...just ONE Relic from Salem's grasp, you destroy her entire plan. Just like how Ozpin made the CCT Network. Take out one, the whole thing crumbles.
"But you don't need to sacrifice thousands of lives to do that. He had the Plumbers! We could've just...I dunno, load the Lamp or Staff onto a rocket and fired it out into space! Let it get swallowed up by a wormhole!"
As if Vilgax would let you. How do you think he got back to Earth? He didn't just hitch a ride on a comet.
"...ya know what? No, we're not having this conversation right now. You're just my inner doubts taking the forefront because of the heat. Once I cool down, you'll be gone," Ben dismissed the voice in his head and continued on his way to the pyramids. Mercury could probably hear him from back there, maybe not all the finer details but enough to make the assassin question Ben's sanity.
But then again, Mercury did speak with an apparition of his dad so he wasn't exactly one to talk right now.
Over the next four hours, Ben and Mercury had trudged their way through the dunes until, finally, the trio of pyramids were within reach. Each one was one made of a finely carved limestone, almost resembling those found in Egypt. The only difference from those world renowned marvels, aside from the fact that these pyramids seemed to be in perfect condition, was the gold tips that decorated each one. Each one had a golden triangular cap that sported what seemed to be a stylized depiction of a laurel crown.
The duo's timing couldn't have been better. The sandstorm was maybe an hour out itself, giving the two unlikely allies more than enough time to find shelter. Of course, Mercury still wasn't exactly in the mood for being "friendly," so he made his way over to another of the pyramids, while Ben went for the largest of the cluster. Unlike those of Earth, there was a clear entrance that led to the pyramid's interior. Stranger still was the fact that it was left wide open.
Yeah, no horror movie started out like this, Ben thought to himself as he quickly raced inside, noting the approaching wall of gale force winds and raging sand.
Ben turned around, to see Mercury, closer but still keeping distance. "...so, uh." He yelled. "Bad news. No one's here."
Mercury looked exasperated. "Are you serious?"
"Dead serious. No one here."
"Perfect..." Mercury grumbled, "At least we don't have to argue with anyone about this."
"For once, we agree. You're not exactly someone I'd want to try and negotiate a price for a penthouse with," Ben joked, trying to bring some levity into the situation.
"Why, because I'd just threaten to shoot a hole in their head?"
"No...well, yeah, but also because you're just not a 'people person.'"
"Wooooow, who would've guessed that the son of a professionally trained hitman wouldn't have the best social skills? Front page news, Tennyson," Mercury grumbled, "Big one's yours."
"You don't think we should-?" Ben began.
"I can handle myself perfectly fine without your lovey-dovey pining for Red. And you have the power to turn into...what? A thousand different aliens?"
"...yeah..." Ben muttered, looking down at the watch. He wouldn't tell Mercury about it, not yet, but something's just felt off about it the entire time. First the longer than usual charging cycle, then the alien selection, aliens he'd only used once or twice, and a time out. He had no real explanation for the longer charge time or the forced reversion. As for the aliens, maybe it was coincidence? He'd only used the watch twice wherever here was, but if it happened a third time, then he'd consider the pattern solidified. Even without that though, he had to consider the fact that maybe the Omnitrix was damaged. Was the magnum opus of the smartest mind in five or six galaxies vulnerable to sand damage?
"Ok, good. Well, enjoy your ancient monument and solitude. I'm gonna go enjoy mine," Mercury said, marching off without so much as even a wave goodbye. Though, really, what was Ben expecting there?
"...do you know how to make a fire?" Ben asked.
Mercury stopped, and turned around. "What, we gonna roast marshmallows?" He scoffed.
"Listen, I'm not a big fan of being with you either, but we're stuck here. And I think waiting until day will help us at least figure out where to go next." Ben said.
"You just need some fuel and some Dust," Mercury sighed, pointing to his boots, "Not that difficult."
"You start a fire. With Dust," Ben deadpanned.
"I was trained to be an assassin. Didn't exactly have the luxury of being a boy scout. So yes, I do. Easiest way to do it."
Ben rolled his eyes. "Never take the easy route." Ben said, looking for something before spotting it. Ben approached a nearby bush and began 'harvesting' it for its leaves. "Ever heard of the teepee method?"
"Are you...actually giving me a survivalist lesson?" Mercury scoffed.
"Yes, because once we're out of the desert, we go our separate ways, right? Even though your way might just lead back around to try killing me and Ruby again...it's the right thing," Ben said seriously. He wanted to add something else to the end of it, but Mercury...well, he wasn't sure if the hitman's son deserved it or not.
He was going to say, "It's what my grandpa would've done."
"So? Have you?" Ben repeated.
"Heard the term thrown around once or twice," Mercury sighed.
"Okay, so," Ben began setting the leaves up, and demonstrating how. It took a few minutes, but soon enough, they had a decent sized fire going.
"There we go. There's something." Ben nodded, throwing the kindling stick into the flames.
"This was just a ploy to get me to stay here, wasn't it?" Mercury scoffed as he marched into the pyramid's entrance, sitting down next to the fire, "Just so you could keep an eye on me?"
"Not everything has an ulterior motive behind it."
"Such a rarity, that might as well be how it is."
"You just...love seeing the worst in things, don't you?" Ben sighed.
"When that's all you've ever seen...yeah. Something something, put your 'rose-tinted glasses' comparison here."
Ben looked sad hearing 'rose'. "...yeah, whatever." His eyes focused on the flickering flames before him, Mercury scowled, and rolled his eyes.
"It is pretty warm." Mercury said, as he walked to the other side of the fire.
"Gonna need it when the storm hits," Ben sighed.
"That or move further in. Once I've got the energy for it, might scout ahead. Just in case there's any...weird alien mummies in here."
"What, gonna win them over? 'Some of my best friends are mummies!'" Ben snarked.
"Har har. Zs'skayr's cronies barely interact with us to begin with unless they need to. Except for Ahmonet. She does not shut up about the 'Anur Holy Scripture' or whatever the hell she calls it," Mercury rubbed his forehead, getting a headache from just thinking about the priestess's makeshift sermons.
"...can I ask you something?" Ben said.
Mercury raised an eyebrow. "Shoot."
"Why even side with Salem? What's there to gain in nothingness?" Ben asked. "There's...well, nothing really for you to gain."
Mercury smirked. "Simple minded as always. That's the point, nothing would exist anymore. Earth sucks. Wars fought for oil, people killed for greed and disasters caused for profit. I know you and your group of 'yes men' want to believe that Earth is inherently good, but...Good god, it sure as hell isn't."
"And what, you think we just ignore it? We've seen it. A few months after Beacon fell and we all got our shit together, one of our first missions back was dealing with that kind of greed. A bunch of idiots from the States went up to Canada to drill for oil, ended up striking a spawning pool instead. The Grimm tore them to shreds and almost destroyed an entire town up there. Now, it was a Hunter community so they were better prepared than most...but people still died," Ben explained.
"Ok, so you've seen it and you're still gonna fight for it?"
"Of course. Yeah, there's evil in the world. People want money, control, power and they'll do whatever they can to get it, but that's not everyone. Even people in families that have heavy ties to the worst of it."
"Like your little Ice Queen?" Mercury chuckled a bit.
"Only friends get to call her that. Even then, she's warmed up so it doesn't really fit anymore."
"Do you even understand what you're fighting at this point?" Mercury said. "Is hindsight not your brightspot?"
"...I never did think things through in the long run. I always saw Point A to Point B as the end. There was no beyond. As I got older, I questioned the punches I threw." Ben admitted, looking down at his hands. "The face getting punched always had a reason they were the way they were, whether it be pettiness or scared confusion over their planet after being locked away for so long. Vilgax's story haunts me. He was a hero with questionable methods trying to restore himself. I never stopped to ask why he was the way he was. I just...chose violence."
"How terrible." Mercury rolled his eyes a little..
"Then I learned there's a thing called "development." The kid I was yesterday is the person I cringe at thinking back now." Ben said. "Bad qualities can be eroded. Better ones can replace them with ease."
"Then you're an exception, not a rule. Most people have those bad qualities reinforced over time," Mercury countered, "Like that speedster the Ace-Ops had."
"Harriet? How do you know anything about her? I mean...yeah she was basically the poster child for Ironwood's idea of a loyal soldier but-" Ben started.
"Ya know the Black Knight?" Mercury cut him off.
"...yeah." Ben said.
"She sure knows her," Mercury smirked.
"Whatever. If I let a thing like that weigh me down, I'd never be able to stand up again. I need to get back to what I've been meaning to do ever since I landed here. Find my friends, and find a way out." Ben said. "And what's YOUR goal, exactly?"
Mercury stared at the fire.
"...I dunno."
"What do you mean you don't know? Have you just been...going with Salem's flow the whole time?" Ben asked.
"Mostly. Because that's how I'm gonna survive her. You really don't know what she's like on a bad day," Mercury shivered.
"I have an idea." Ben corrected. "So, you don't know your goal, you just know it will get you...nothing."
"Yeah."
"No offense, that's stupid."
"You just love filling in the clichés for a good guy, don't you?" Mercury deadpanned.
"I'm not cliche." Ben frowned.
"Please. The world would bow to you and call you its savior if it could." Mercury said.
Ben looked uncomfortable. "D-don't call me that."
"What, savior?"
"Yeah."
"Why?"
"Because it's not true."
"Ohhhh, struck a nerve huh? Because you couldn't save Atlas," Mercury said. And yes, he did say that intentionally, enjoying rubbing that fresh wound with salt.
He's right. We both know you so want to be the hero, the savior, but when it came time to put your money where your mouth is...Remnant's best hope fell from the sky under your watch, the cruel inner-voice jabbed.
"Shut up," Ben sneered, looking off to the side. Mercury took notice of where Ben's eyes shot to, thinking it was just him arguing with...whoever he was talking to earlier. Himself? His own mirage? Maybe Ironwood himself was haunting him.
"What do you prefer then? Hero of heroes? Champion? Avenger? Revenger?" Mercury listed off. "Come on, something's gotta tick-"
"NOTHING fits me or my character." Ben growled. "Those words aren't important- what's important is that I'm THERE. Okay?"
"Yeah, Revenger sounds kinda dumb doesn't it?" Mercury chuckled, ignoring that last part.
Ben grimaced, before turning away. He was starting to regret inviting Mercury to the fire. He sighed, before leaning back a bit.
And feeling something rustle in his pocket. His eyes widened, and he opened one of his pants pockets. He gave a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you lady luck..." Ben said, pulling out a bag of chips, like the ones you'd buy from vending machines. Mercury gave him a weird look.
"Y-you just have that!?" Mercury yelled.
"Hey, stakeouts can happen whenever. I'm always hungry." Ben said, throwing Mercury another bag.
"How...long have you had these? Atlas went to war like...two days ago. I doubt you just stopped at a vending machine on the way out," Mercury questioned after he caught it.
"I always have them." Ben said, popping open his bag. "Why do you think I have so many pockets on all my pants?"
"I always thought it's because you have no fashion sense."
"Says the guy who dresses in all grays and blacks."
"Hey, gray's my color," Mercury huffed, begrudgingly opening the bag and sighing.
"Grey schmay. Not a fashionable color." Ben said, scarfing down some chips. When WAS the last time he ate?
Mercury just rolled his eyes and grumbled before he started eating too.
The hour of safety they had trickled away like the sands out in the desert. Outside, the sandstorm had hit and it was raging. Mercury's advice about going further in actually probably saved the two from being beaten by the scouring winds. Using some bits of wood from one of the nearby bushes, Ben managed to fashion some makeshift torches for the two. With the light sources in hand, they ventured further into the pyramid, their campfire now extinguished by the winds. As they moved further in they found, well, nothing. Usually, such grand monuments would be the tomb of a king or something to showcase how great a ruler was, some carved depiction of prosperity but there was nothing here.
"Who the hell builds a pyramid just for the fun of it?" Mercury muttered.
"Well, the Egyptians built them to prepare for the next world. They erected temples to the gods and massive pyramid tombs for themselves, filled with all the things each ruler would need to guide and sustain himself in the next world." Ben explained.
"...why the FUCK do you know that?!"
"Wikipedia surfing."
"What the hell was your downtime."
"Wikipedia surfing when bored, otherwise there was some Sumo Slammers, figuring out small dates with Ruby, going on those dates, training, list goes on," Ben listed off.
"...rhetorical question," Mercury grumbled.
"Still, though. We might be able to find some clues of WHERE we are if we snoop around." Ben hummed.
"Maybe..." Mercury said. The two continued further inward before eventually they actually found something. After wandering for a bit through various, winding corridors, the unlikely duo stumbled upon what might have been the central chamber of the pyramid. Light, what little of it managed to reach them through the raging winds, trickled in from a glass window at the top of the room. But...wait, there was a golden cap on the pyramid so then how did-? Was the cap itself somehow translucent or something? Whatever the case, the light flickered down into a wide, central chamber sporting several pillars, each with carvings depicting some of this area's history.
But it was the altar that caught the duo's attention. Covered in dust and weathered by time, there was a body stabbed into the altar. A rusted shortsword pierced through the body and into the very stone beneath it. The body was unlike anything that either of them had ever seen with dark, almost black, purple skin, elongated limbs that draped over the side of the altar, visible ribs around its chest, and, most striking of all, a gray lupine or reptilian masque that sported faded white highlights.
"What...the fuck...is that?" Mercury asked, staring at the body on the altar.
"I...I don't know," Ben answered, just as awestruck by the body and the sword. His eyes quickly shifted over to the pillars and noticed the carvings on the pillars. With the torch still in his hand, he moved over to one and inspected the carvings. The carvings showed what seemed to be people in an Egyptian-like society. The people themselves seemed, for lack of a better word, jagged, almost like they were made of...glass? For a while, they seemed to enjoy peaceful days of farming and shepherding…until it arrived. Whatever the beast stabbed to the stone back there was, appeared and began ravaging their homes. Buildings destroyed, crops ruined, people...devoured. Ben shivered at the imagery. But hope did come to these people in the form of a warrior. Clad in plate armor and a brown trench coat, this knight rushed into the fray and stabbed the beast through the chest, stabbing it into the altar.
"Huh...St. George and the Dragon," Be muttered to himself as he looked over the carvings. While he did, Mercury moved up to the body and eyed up the sword. He looked down at his boots and then back to Ben. The watch was something he relied on, but it never hurt to have a backup. He looked at the body on the altar and, slowly, hesitantly, he gripped the monster's chin and turned it. When it didn't respond, Mercury sighed and moved his hand to the sword hilt. His fingers wrapped around it and began to pull.
"Come on...come on you stupid-!" Mercury growled.
"The hell are you doing?" Ben asked.
"If there's a bunch of creepy carvings about a weird monster attacking, we're gonna need something MORE than just my legs." Mercury scoffed.
"More than your legs? Can't those things break the skull of an Ursa in one hit? Even without the shotgun shells?!" Ben pointed out.
"Huh. You make a good point," Mercury conceded, "but you don't exactly have much outside of your fancy watch."
"Do you not remember the metal spheres from Haven? Charge those up with my Semblance and I could probably kill a Boarbatusk with 'em," Ben crossed his arms.
"Do you have any on you?"
"...not many, no. Most of them were back in my room at Atlas."
"So in other words, you need," Mercury grunted as he tried to free the sword from the corpse and altar, "You need...come on, you stupid hunk of-!"
SHING! With one last exertion, the sword was wrenched out of the limestone and the strange purple corpse. Mercury looked over the blade, inspecting it to see if it was still usable. The blade itself was a simple arming sword, rusted and worn a bit from time, but it was still surprisingly sharp. The hilt was a deep red color with a golden crossguard above. The blade's once shining silver coloration had faded with time, now marked with rust stains and a trail of rust running the length of the blade.
"There. You need a more reliable weapon," Mercury finished.
"You want me to use a sword...that you stole from what's basically a tomb," Ben said.
"Better than nothing, right?" Mercury countered, tossing the old weapon over to Ben. The Omnitrix-wielder caught the old sword by the hilt and looked it over. As Ben gave it a few practice swings and Mercury looked on with a smug grin and crossed arms, neither of them noticed that the corpse on the altar twitched. A faint purple glow emanated from the stab wound, flashing in a small rhythm like a heartbeat. The masked head of the creature turned to look at Mercury as its spindly fingers began twitching.
"Well...it's not the worst thing I could-" Ben started, but he froze when he looked back up at the assassin. The beast from the altar, the same beast from the pillars he now realized, was rising to its full height behind him. He quickly leveled his new sword at the beast, though at first, Mercury took it as a sign of aggression against him.
"Waking...rOuSing...Stirring..." the beast hissed, its voice raspy and, for lack of a better word, dusty.
"...of fucking course it woke up," Mercury grumbled. The beast looked down at him and screeched, moving to slam its clawed hand down on the man foolish enough to wake it. The assassin rolled out of the way, letting the beast crush the stone steps instead. Mercury leapt into the fray after that, aiming to kick the monster's mask and head right off. The creature was faster though, as its long, almost simian-like tail, ending in a flat, fan-like shape, wrapped around Merury's leg and flung him aside. The assassin bounced off one of the pillars, thudding to the sand below. The old Jabberwalker looked to Ben for a moment, tilting its head as if it were a curious puppy, before returning its gaze to Mercury.
"HUNGER! SUNDER! CONSUME!" the Jabberwalker roared before bounding to the still recovering Mercury.
Ben activated the Omnitrix, and tried to find a good alien- but that was the weird thing. All the icons were glitched and indecipherable. Ben made a face, looking for something that looked good.
"Please don't tell me you broke during the fall-!" Ben cursed, as the Omnitrix faceplate suddenly activated. He didn't even select an alien. Ben gave a frustrated sigh. "Whatever. Please, please be good-!"
Ben slapped down the Omnitrix and monstrous scales swiftly engulfed the appendage hosting the device. His fingers morphed, sprouting 'webbing' in between them. A lure-like appendage forcibly burst out from beneath his flesh, while sinister gills ominously manifested on his neck. The contours of his mouth twisted horribly, now revealing a jutting underbite of grotesque proportions, where razor-sharp teeth glistened menacingly akin to those of a bloodthirsty alligator. His green eyes became rounded and shiny, like a goldfish. Sure, not as threatening, but those guys could STARE. This new alien wore the Omnitrix symbol on a black patch over his left pectoral, and some sort of 'breathing apparatus' around his neck.
Ben looked down at this new alien, and frowned. "A fish guy?!"
He was FUCKED.