A Sentient Watch's Adventures
Disclaimer: I do not in anyway shape or form own Ben 10 nor am I associated with those that do, because if I was I would be a millionaire. This is a non-profit fanwork written solely for the purpose of entertainment. This is in no way canon in any shape or form.
Response to questions or statements:
-NewGuest123: Yup, working in the shadows until the time comes to reveal to the rest of the galaxy the improvements she's been making to Mankind's military. Again, she ain't lying, just omitting some details.
-Glad you like the fight. I too enjoy Tetrax as a character.
-They were terrified for sure, and really who came blame them. Being trapped in your body as a prisoner is pretty horrifying, not going to lie.
-Yup, for now, her secret's safe with the last Petrosapien.
-Guest0508: Yea, she's a polit and even kind person. Just brutally honest at times and jabs at others when they cause irritation.
-Yup, that's her goal in the background away from the Plumbers and Tennyson's. Building Humanity up so that the rest of the galaxy knows we can defend ourselves without Ben and that we're not to be trifled with.
-Yeah, that's why Tetrax agreed. Realizing Omni had a point and deciding to treat her like a sentient being.
-TK0421: Honestly, the only parts I remember from the Avatar movies were the RDA scenes showing futuristic human tech and weapons, with Quaritch being the main character for me. The only reason why I may watch Avatar 3 and onward is to see the weapons and tech. Want to see more mechs next time like from Titanfall.
-Glad you enjoy the chapter! Tetrax was definitely surprised since he though the Omnitrix was how it was in the show. Thus, he's treating her like a sentient being and honoring her wish.
-Me-B-Louie-G: Thank you very much! Honored you consider my story to be a favorite. Means a lot, really.
-Yea, Azmuth grew on me as the series went on.
-Honestly, I'm probable going to be ignoring that bit as it feels like a bit of a retcon and wouldn't fit in with the story. I'm still thinking on it.
-DBZfan45: Exactly, don't jinx the cast, Gwen!
-Yeah, Tetrax's story is tragic. Good thing Chromostone was able to restore his planet in Alien Force.
-Azmuth and Omni will have a meeting sometime soon. No spoilers.
-Chronosign: Thanks for the suggestions. Again, made some of the changes you recommended to the chapter.
-Honestly, I had that scene from RvB in mind when I wrote the segment.
-ArashiNokitsune: Thank you!
-Ultima-owner: Vilgax only saw Tetrax leaving the planet, he didn't see what he wanted to acquire was alive. Just wanted to make that clear.
Chapter 19: Tourist Trap
"Ha, good game, guys. GG." Omni said to her gaming buddies as they just won a match of big team battle in Halo 2. With her side, red team, cheering and hooting over their victory against the blues.
"So, Arrow. Are you sure you can't come?" One of the players on her team, CheeseCrab, asked her. With Omni sighting knowing what he was talking about. The group was going to be having a get together for a IRL meet up. And as much as Omni did want to attent to play video games with the boys, she couldn't for obvious reasons.
"Sorry, guys. But like I said earlier. Just can't" She apologize. "Anyways, I got to go. See you all next time."
She signed off as the rest of her gaming clan said goodbye to her. With her getting out of her virtually gaming chair as she projected herself to the outside world. Her clock indicating that they were almost there.
She closed her eyes as she found herself out of her virtual room in the core and now seeing the material place once again. Projecting her knight figure behind the front passenger seat as Ben questioned his grandpa.
"Can't you just give us some clue as to where we're headed." Ben complained.
"Ah, no hints!" Max retorted firmly as he gazed as his grandson with an excited look in his eyes. "I've been planning this destination all summer."
"You know anything about where we're headed, Omni?" Ben asked as he turned to her virtual form.
"I do..." She said.
"Well..." Gwen asked expectantly.
"Sorry, kids. But your grandpa has asked for it to be a surprise. So, I'll respect his wish." She replied as the ten-year old's sulked in their seats as Max gave her an appreciative smile.
It would be another twenty minutes before they stopped. With Max getting off first as he instructed for his grandkids to close their eyes as they stepped off the vehicle before telling them they could open them.
"Ta da! Welcome to Sparksville!" Max announced enthusiastically as he showcased the deserted town to his grandkids. Much to their confusion as they both blinked their eyes several times to make sure they were seeing things correctly. Taking in the sight gift shop off in the distance along with signs like 'The worlds longest hot dog' and 'The world's largest Jackalope'. With there being a statue of the objects respectively. The town looking worn down and deserted as even tumbleweeds blew right past.
"Now isn't this place great or what?!" Max asked excitedly. Not noticing the confused on both Ben and Gwen's faces.
"Uh, I'm going to go 'or what?'" The Omnitrix's host said.
"Come on!" Max cheered. "What's more exciting than the worlds largest fish bowl." She gestured with his hands to the said fish bowl.
"Everything," Ben deadpanned.
"As the Mayor of Sparksville, I welcome you." A middle aged man with a toothpick in his mouth strolled right by them without even looking.
"Here," Max got their attention as he gave them tickets. "I know you're probably really anxious to see 'it' so I'll go check us in."
With that we walked off to book their rooms, as Ben and Gwen shrugged at one another as they made their way to the Jackalope exhibit. Ben rang the bell at the front booth as again the Mayor came forward to ask for their tickets.
"Aren't you the Mayor?" Ben questioned with a raised brow as he handed him a pair of tickets.
"He who wears the crown is burdened by many hat's son." He informed as he waved them off through. Offhandedly remind them to mind the signs.
"Well, that's commitment. I'll give him that much." Omni said as the two explored the ride, which they found to be pretty mediocre.
From there the two wandered around town, looking at anything that was remotely interesting and eating hot dogs for lunch. Eventually, coming across the barn that supposedly housed 'it' as they followed the signs.
"Through these doors, lies the weirdest thing that has ever found it's way to Sparksville." He informed as he opened the large wooden doors to allow the two kids through.
"Please tell me this is 'it'." Ben demanded. "Because I can't stand 'it' anymore!"
As the two continued walking they noticed many signs drawn in paint and markers. With Ben and Gwen saying them out loud as they passed them by.
"Do not touch it."
"Do not photograph it."
"Do not use batteries or electrical equipment anywhere near it."
As they passed the last sign, they finally came across what their Grandpa and the Mayor have been hyping them so much about.
A huge ball of rubber bands.
"T-This is 'it'?" Ben asked in disbelief.
"It's just a giant ball of rubber bands!" Gwen complained
"And who knows just what secrets lie within." The Mayor thought out loud as he stared at 'it'. With the two kids being startled as they didn't notice he was right behind them.
"Maybe... more rubber bands?" Ben said sarcastically as Gwen did her best to hide her snickering.
"Stay as long as you like, but remember... mind the signs." He reminded as he exited the barn. Leaving the two kids inside.
"This place is full of it! We've been punked!" Ben bemoaned.
"It does seem pretty lame." Gwen agreed. "I can't believed Grandpa was excited for this."
"Actually, guys, I think we should leave." Omni spoke up. "I'm picking something up from the sphere. I can't tell, but it doesn't look like it's good."
"Oh, come on, Omni!" Ben teased. "It's just a ball of elastic bands, what's the worst it can do?"
"Guys I'm serious, I'm picking up something strange and I don't like it." Omni said as she tried almost desperately now for them to just walk away. Not wanting to reveal her future knowledge and true nature to get them to move. Plus, while she was fairly sure she could handle the Megawatts, she did not wish to try her luck.
"Guy's, I really think we need to get out of here. Right now." She implored them as nervousness began creeping into her voice.
"Oh, come on, Omni." Ben waved off. "It's just a giant ball of elastic bands." He raised his hand to set it against it.
"Wait, don't!" She was ignored as Ben placed his left hand against the large sphere.
"See, there's nothing to be-" He wasn't able to finish as what happened next both stunned him and his cousin.
Sparks of green lighting were sent to the sphere as the current were spread all over. But that wasn't what they were focused on.
No. It was the scream that Omni gave off.
"AAAGGGGHHHH!" Her pained voice echoed across the room as the green light on the symbol glowed from bright to dim again and again. Sparks flickered across the watch as green electricity were continued to be absorbed by the elastic ball for several seconds before it ceased. The room being eerily quiet with the only noises being the breathing of the two kids within. With Ben quickly looking over himself as he saw that much to his surprise, there were no burn marks or even a scratch on him despite the amount of green lighting being emitted from the watch from seconds ago.
"Uhm, Omni..." Ben asked as he gently tapped the dial in an attempt to provoke a response. "Omni, are you there? Are you okay?" He tried again to no avail. With nervousness and fear rising within him and his relative at her lack of response. "Can you say something? Anything?"
There were no response to his pleas.
"I-Is she okay?" Gwen questioned in concern as she leaned in for a better look. Noticing that the green light looked much dimmer than before as it pulsed. Like a weakened heart struggling to keep beating.
"I don't know." Ben admitted in horror. "She's not saying anything! Not even in my head!"
After several more minutes after trying to pry a response out of the Omnitrix with no such luck. Ben spoke up.
"We need to go." He said as the two started to walk out of the barn.
"What are we going to tell Grandpa?" Gwen asked aloud with her hands on her head in a panicked manner.
"Nothing. We tell him nothing." The green-eyed boy instructed as they stepped out of the exit and back under the sun.
"Nothing!?" Gwen cried incredulously. "What if he asks her something? What if he asks why she's being so quiet? What then? Huh!?"
"Look, Omni can not say a word for hours. So we just play dumb." Ben tried to placate his cousin as they approached the motel. "Then once she's recovered from whatever's happening to her, we convince her to play along. It's easy."
"That's easy for you to say." The redhead complained. "You're a lot better at it than I am!"
"And what about 'it'!" Gwen reminded. "I mean, whatever zapped Omni is obviously what she was warning us about! What are we going to do about it!?"
"How am I supposed to know!?" Ben threw his hands us in exasperation. "Look, we'll figure it out later. For now, let's just keep things on the down low. Ok?"
Reluctantly, Gwen nodded in compliance. With that the two entered their room, that was for some reason on its side with the beds and furniture stuck to the fall, with people standing on the right wall with the floor stood up like a wall on the left.
"Look at this place!" Max greeted cheerfully. "Isn't this place a riot?"
"Y-Yeah, definitely, Grandpa." Ben said as the two youngsters entered the room. With Ben closing the door behind them
"And did Omni take it? Did she enjoy the sights?"
"She's been the quiet the whole time!" Gwen nearly shouted a bit too fast.
Ben glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he continued. "Yeah, I haven't heard a word from her since at the front booth."
"Hmm, that's strange." The eldest Tennyson mused. "I asked her to take a break from scouring the internet for this."
"Yeah, I don't know what to tell you, Grandpa. But she's been as quiet as a mouse for a while now." Ben smiled.
Suddenly and without warning, a brief spark of green light flew out of the Omnitrix as Ben threw himself into the wall/floor.
"Uh, Ben? Are you alright?" Max asked with a look of confusion.
"Uh, yeah," Ben smiled as he rubbed the shoulder that slammed into the wall.
As if on cue, the Omnitrix glowed bright green, much brighter than it ever had before, gaining Max's notice.
"What's wrong with her?"
"We don't know!" Gwen sputtered as a projection flickered into existence in front of Ben. Only now it was more glitchy, with some parts of her body looking like static from televisions, with her head from her Spartan form while her arms were from her medieval knight look with the rest of her projection her original body from when they first saw her. With her shimmering in and out of view.
"A-A-A-And I give u-u-u-up f-f-f-forever t-to t-t-touch y-you
'cause I-I k-k-know t-t-t-t-that you-you f-f-f-feel m-me some h-how."
She sang with pauses and stutters as her form spazzed out, with her going through various poses from lying face down on the ground to sitting on the bed with her face buried in her hands before finally curled up in a ball against the wall with her slightly rocking back and forth..
"O-Omni?" Max asked with worry as he slowly approached her. With Ben and Gwen looking clearly unsettled by what they were witnessing.
After several seconds of her acting up, her form vanished from view for ten seconds before projecting again in the same spot on her knees. However, what the Tennyson's noticed she was not in any of her previous forms. Instead, she looked like... a regular human woman. Her hair reached down to few centimeters below her neck with her dressed in leather jacket with a blouse underneath with what look to be jeans finishing up her outfit. Her hands were on the floor as her hair covered her face from view.
But what caught everyone in the room off guard was the crying. As what seemed to be soft weeping emitted from Omni as she lightly shook, seemingly in deep emotional distress. With her looking she was the verge of having a breakdown.
"Omni?" Grandpa Max asked again softly as he knelt down in front of her. With Ben and Gwen slowly approaching in apprehension and worry as they wondered what was happening to her. "What's going on? What happened?"
The AI slowly raised her head, as strands of hair covered portions of her face showing her as a woman in her early to mid twenties. Looking into her eyes, she saw a look of deep sorrow and regret as tear marks ran down her face. With Omni looking like she was in a state of deep depression and grief. Why? Max had no idea.
"Cadmon?" Omni asked softly, but loud enough to be heard by both Ben and Gwen as they looked at one another in confusion. Her voice was low, but one that had a small spark of hope underneath and longing as she stared at Max with a look of surprise and even... love?
"Uhh, I-I'm s-sorry who?" The former Plumber inquired with uncertainty. Slightly yelping when Omni leaped forwardand tried to grab him, only for her togo right through him as she phased son through. Her crying intensified as they all looked to see that she was hugging the air, like how one would try to embrace a person. With Max noticing that whoever she was seemingly trying to hug was very dear to her, like they were a lifeline as Omni tried to grab on as tight as she could.
"I-I-I-I'm s-s-sorry." The AI cried as she continued to seemingly hug the air. "I-I-I'm s-so sorry. I-I-I never s-should have l-left." She choked out through sobs as tears continued down her face as she tightened her hug. Seemingly desperate not to let go.
All the while the Tennyson's continued to watch in confusion as they casted confused glances at one another. Wondering just what was happening.
Author's note: Okay, so for this episode I'm going to be trying a new format. Where the MC is on the fritz and hallucinating with Ben and Co are going to have to deal with the situation while she's spazzing out. Hope you all enjoy it.
Man, I'm really on a roll with this updates thanks to this burst of passion that I'm having. Managed to finish this within two hours of typing, that's a new record for me in terms of writing speed.
Take care, lads, and always remember... stay frosty gents.