Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ben Tennyson was not having a good day. Oh, it started off good, and approached amazing near the middle, but as soon as he hit the end of the day, it all started to break down hopelessly once Albedo showed up, with a new Omnitrix – the Ultimatrix, and started royally kicking Ben’s butt.

He’d thought he actually handled himself in the fight well… Until Albedo went Ultimate Humongousaur, and started utterly wiping the floor with him.

Literally. Ben was being dragged over the floor.

“Time out,” Ben, wrapped up in the smaller form of Regular Old Humongousaur, grunted as Albedo lifted him by the neck, “Just let me get my second wind…”

Albedo let out a deep, harsh chuckle as his hand went out, and pressed the Omnitrix growing out of Ben’s chest. In a flash of green energy, the Vaxasaurian form was replaced by a bog-standard Homo Sapiens, trapped in Albedo’s grip.

“It’s quite unfortunate it had to be this way,” Albedo rumbled, staring at Ben with eyes of blood-red rage, “If you’d simply given me your Omnitrix at the beginning, I could’ve fixed myself and returned it to you, and we’d never need see each other ever again.”

“You weren’t going to give it back…” Ben wheezed, trying to kick his way out, to no effect as the huge, trunk-like fingers kept him entrapped.

“Like you stopped thinking with your fists long enough to really inquire.” Albedo huffed in return. “It’s of no consequence now.”

“Say whatever you want,” Ben spat, “You’re working with Vilgax to get the Omnitrix, that puts you right in the middle in the ‘evil’ box!”

“I’m not here to help Vilgax obtain the Omnitrix,” Albedo rolled his eyes, “I’m here to keep it out of his hands.”

“Like you could take him!” Ben hissed.

“I could not, I will concede that.” Albedo lowered his voice. “And although the thought crossed my mind to relinquish it to your cousin, I no more want to be stuck as a genetic duplicate of her than I wish to be stuck as a copy of you. So here I am, forced to… contain the situation.” He slowly exposited. “You’re aware that our omnitrixes synchronize across the universe, no matter the distance. I can’t rectify that by remote, and if I were to take your Omnitrix, then Vilgax would simply take it from me.”

Ben laughed to himself at that. It sounded like Albedo was getting close to asking for help. “So… Team-up?”

“Hardly.” Albedo retorted. “If I cannot modify your Omnitrix, I will simply have to remove it from the equation… along with you, thereby forcing my Ultimatrix to default to the primary, allowing me to regain my normal physical form.”

“What?” Ben paled. “You can’t- If you kill me, there’ll be nothing in this universe that can stop Gwen, Kevin, and Grandpa from hunting you down.”

“Kill you?” Albedo repeated smarmily. “Oh, Benjamin… How uncreative of you. The Omnitrix is quite a remarkable piece of technology. It can do far more than alter DNA.” One of his titanic fingers hovered over the dial, twisting it back and forth in a pattern. “For instance: the teleport function. It’s hardly useful, only being keyed to Primus, but with only a few slight tweaks, the limiters could be disabled to enable the user to be sent anywhere in the universe… Or outside of it.”

Ben gulped, but put on a brave face and cocky smile. “The only one who knows the Omnitrix like that is Azmuth.”

“Benjamin, please.” Albedo rolled his eyes, grinning wickedly. “I made an exact duplicate, right down to the code. Have a little faith.”

The Omnitrix let out a beep, the hourglass symbol flashing brightly as it accepted whatever Albedo did to it.

“See?” Albedo chuckled as he finally dropped Ben to the ground. “Goodbye, Ben… Enjoy the void.”

Ben looked down as the flashes went by faster and faster, to the point where the Omnitrix was glowing steadily. Before he could even go Hero to figure out how to fix whatever Albedo did, it was far too late.

In an instant, Ben felt like he was dunked in ice-cold, electrified water. For one brief, terrifying moment, there was only… nothing. No light or darkness, no sound, no space, no time…

And then, it was over, and he was spat back out on the asphalt.

Ben groaned, rolling over to face the night sky, before his eyes widened. That was not the night sky he was used to. A thick, gaseous nebula filled the sky, illuminated from within by a distant star, the shoals occupied by planets of differing sizes and composition.

“Okay…” Ben gulped. “Something tells me that’s not normal.” Just as those words left his mouth, the sky roared and the ground rumbled as a flying saucer – as in, something that looked right out of a Twilight Zone episode – came flying in from the north, holding itself aloft by nothing.

Ports across the surface of the vessel opened, allowing a small army of what looked like bronze, people-sized salt shakers to come flying out.

“ALERT! ALERT!” One of them sounded in a harsh, grating, screeching voice, “LEVEL 10 TECHNOLOGICAL SIGNATURE DETECTED! DALEK UNITS NEUTRALIZE AND CAPTURE DEVICE OF UNKNOWN ORIGIN!”

Ben scowled before the Omnitrix let out a beep, signaling that it was recharged. “You know, I’m getting pretty sick of people trying to take my watch today. It’s hero time!” He activated the Omnitrix, and was overtaken by the transformative energy.

Skin and flesh crystalized, becoming rock hard as Ben’s bones popped, cracked, and stretched into new configurations. By the end of it, a totally different creature was standing where he’d been.

“DIAMONDHEAD!” The Petrosapien transformation triumphantly thundered.

“SURRENDER!” The lead Dalek ordered as it landed in front of Diamondhead, “OR YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED!”

“Well, that’s a fine ‘how-do-you-do.’” Diamondhead snorted. “New aliens, and you can’t even be bothered to introduce yourselves politely. Talk about yourselves – for example: Do you have music on your planet?”

“MUSIC IS FOR INFERIOR LIFEFORMS.” The Dalek retorted. “ALLOCATED SURRENDER PERIOD HAS EXPIRED! CONSEQUENCE: EXTERMINATION!”

“EXTERMINATE!” The squadron of Daleks cried all together. “EXTERMINATE! EXTERMINATE!”

The Daleks’ guns turned, pointed at Diamondhead. The Petrosapien slammed his hands into the ground as beams of blue energy lanced out, striking a wall of crystal growing out of the ground. The beams struck, diffusing in blinding flashes of light so bright nothing about the battle could be made out.

The Daleks ceased their fire, allowing the light to fade, only to see the crystal wall retreating into the ground, followed by Diamondhead standing, totally unharmed.

“That’s a ‘no,’ then?” Diamondhead replied, “Then allow me to introduce you to… ‘HARD ROCK!’” The Petrosapien swung his huge, blocky arm, causing a storm of flechette-like crystals to shoot forth. The blue, diamond-like shards broke through the Daleks’ armor, causing the cybernetic aliens to scream before they exploded. “Wow.” Diamondhead blinked. “Tough crowd.”

The Petrosapien’s crystalline head pivoted, taking in his surroundings. The cars on the street all had the steering wheel on the wrong side, and number plates much longer and more rectangular than the ones in the US.

“England,” Diamondhead rumbled in recognition, “Or… Europe, at least. …Welp, better find an airstrip I guess. …or the alien invasion might be a thing to deal with first.” He heard a Dalek distantly cry ‘EXTERMINATE’ and made up his mind. “Yep, aliens first!”

***

The Doctor, Time Lord of Gallifrey and Pilot of the TARDIS, stood helplessly as he could only watch the firing sequence of the Daleks’ latest and most heinous weapon, the Reality Bomb, proceed in full-force. His doppelganger (that was a surprise, most assuredly) was trapped just as him, along with everyone else the Doctor trusted to get them out of this pickle, Donna was down for the count, even though the timelines were screaming, and singing, and doing a drunken waltz around her, and there was no possible avenue of escape.

Until salvation came in the most unexpected of packages – the Daleks themselves.

“ALERT!” One of the Daleks in the vault exclaimed suddenly. “LEVEL 10 TECHNOLOGICAL SIGNATURE DETECTED ON EARTH SURFACE!”

“But that’s impossible!” The Doctor’s Doppelganger spoke in shock, looking at the Daleks, almost expectant as he summed up the prime Doctor’s thoughts perfectly.

“Abort the detonation!” Davros bellowed, as the Daleks quickly scrambled into action mode.

“ESTABLISH TELEPORT LOCK!” The Dalek Supreme commanded. “BRING THE DEVICE TO US AT ONCE!”

Jack, in yet another one of the containment fields, chuckled nervously. “Level 10… Sure has the Daleks up and at ‘em.”

“How come?” Rose inquired curiously, glancing aside at the Doctor. “What’s ‘level 10’ mean?”

“Mostly…” The Doctor gulped gravely. “Shorthand for something that could make or break a universe.”

“TELEPORT LOCK ESTABLISHED!” A Dalek reported. “INITIATING TRANSMAT SEQUENCE!”

A flash of blue light emanated through the vault, depositing a bipedal creature made out of aqua-colored crystal in the chamber. The diamond-headed alien looked around in shock, before focusing on Davros, scowling.

“I’ve had enough of being bounced around through teleporters like a human pinball today!”

“Then you needn’t worry,” Davros retorted lowly, as another of the containment fields activated around the alien, “This will be your… final destination. Relinquish the device to us.”

“Hmm…” Diamondhead hummed, “How about ‘no?’”

“Then we shall simply take it from you,” The Daleks’ Creator pressed a switch on his console, causing an electric charge to travel down the field, into Diamondhead.

The Petrosapien looked down at himself, laughing. “Hey, that almost tickles!” He morphed his hands into crystalline points, plunging them into the field and pulling it apart. Seconds later, the fields surrounding the others dropped as well, as the Daleks in the chamber turned to point at the former prisoners. They chanted their eternal battle cry, only for their weapons to impotently droop, unable to fire.

“Well, don’t just stand there you skinny boys in suits!” Donna, over at one of the control consoles, having been left unattended by the Daleks due to the presumption she wasn’t a threat, hit buttons with deft precision and destructive intent. “Get to work!”

“Heh heh heh.” Diamondhead chuckled, noticing the redhead as he smashed another Dalek apart. “Always bet on red!”

“What’s going on!?” Sarah Jane questioned, as everyone else joined the fray, pushing Daleks away, keeping the control console safe, “Who are you!?”

“Uh,” Diamondhead’s arm shot up, blocking a blast from the Dalek Supreme as it hovered down into the vault, before returning fire with a long, thick, shard of crystal, “You wanna talk about that now, or after we’ve saved the Earth from alien invaders?”

“…good idea.”

***

So, Ben figured out a few things quite quickly. The Daleks had stolen Earth to use as part of a kind of focusing lens to make their universe-destroying bomb work, two (technically only one, or technically three) of the people were actually aliens that looked ridiculously human and did this kind of thing on a weekly basis, there was relationship drama involved, all sorts of good fun.

Ben had introduced himself to the TARDIS crew (boy, that was something, meeting a guy who looked like he could be Paradox’s brother, with a time machine that was bigger on the inside), and after the short matter of the duplicate wiping out the Daleks (Ben didn’t really get why the Doctor was so pissy about it – the Daleks were about to wipe out the whole entire universe and they could’ve just rebuilt the bomb), towing the Earth back to where it should be, and getting most everybody back home (Rose and the double apparently belonged in a parallel universe, and everyone else had commitments elsewhere) the Omnitrix had timed out. Meaning it was time for a chat.

“So…” Donna blinked, pointing at Ben, “You’re some kind of… shape-shifter?”

“Nah,” The Doctor made a face, as he placed one of his hands on the sides of the Omnitrix, running his sonic screwdriver over it like a fine-toothed comb, “Shape transmuter, technically. That’s what this thing is – uses energy to convert the user into genetic templates stored in its database. Clever little thing,” He complimented, but by the way his eyes shone, the Doctor might as well have been admitting it was the coolest thing he’d ever seen.

“I don’t know why the Daleks wanted it.” Ben shrugged, “I mean, I’m used to people trying to steal the Omnitrix from me, but this is the first time I’ve seen people try to steal a planet and blow up the universe for it.”

“Nah,” Again, the Doctor made that almost cartoonish face as he denied what Ben said, “Things were already nearing the end of the line – universe goes bang in five minutes, butterfingers, but – then you showed up, and the Daleks had a new powerful little toy to get their grubby little suckers on, so they called a quick little timeout to try and yoink it from you, then brought you to the Crucible, and here we are.”

“So…” Ben looked up at the Doctor in expectant fear. “What happened to Vilgax? Albedo? My friends and family?”

“If I had to guess, still back in your universe.” The Time Lord answered, looking back down at the Omnitrix. “This… Albedo said he was going to send you into the void, right? Well, the Daleks and the reality bomb kind of, quite possibly, might’ve caused a breach in the walls of reality. You fell into the void – fell through the void - and ended up here. Good thing, too, because it’s really boring there.”

“Then that means I’ve got to get back home!” Ben tried to stand up, only for the Doctor to shove him back down.

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” The Doctor replied, “Even if we do nothing else, the most important bit is getting you out of this universe, and into another one, never mind your home one.”

“Oi, Spaceman,” Donna scathingly placed her hands on her hips, “Wouldn’t it be better to just, I don’t know, let him stay instead of shoving him on to whatever the hell’s waiting in the next universe over?”

“Maybe,” The Doctor’s voice rose in pitch as he considered it, “…but if the walls sealed back up, he’d be stuck here, so we really don’t have a lot of time.” He pressed the emitter of the sonic screwdriver against the Omnitrix’s faceplate.

The watch bleeped, letting out a tiny spark. “Alert:” The Omnitrix spoke suddenly. “Genetic error detected.”

“Oh, hello…” The Doctor leaned forward, his curiosity piqued.

“Did you mean to do that?” Donna inquired.

“Nah – “ The Time Lord looked down at the device considerately. “I must’ve set off another function.”

“It’s kind of the Omnitrix’s thing,” Ben shrugged, “It doesn’t just transform me – it can fix the DNA of others, too. The first time it happened, my cousin Ken was being mutated into a DNAlien. Then I used it to fix a whole army of them, and then the Highbreed – who kinda had a vengeful thing against the whole rest of the universe for us not being sterile while they were. They kinda just… up and left, after that.”

The Doctor looked down at Ben, squarely surprised. “You stopped a whole war without firing a single shot?”

“Well, there might’ve been punches,” Ben shrugged awkwardly, “But hey, nobody died.”

“Oh, Ben Tennyson,” The Doctor chuckled with a wide smile, “You are brilliant! I was wondering how I was going to fix the biological meta-crisis – that’s what made the other me. He was a spare hand, I filled it with excess regeneration energy, Donna touched it which caused him to grow out of it, the energy to go back into Donna until Davros’s shock woke it up! Thing is, a Time Lord mind can’t fit in a human brain – could you imagine? We feel the turn of the universe all the time, it’d be like you were constantly stumbling around drunk. But, if your Omnitrix can alter DNA without even having to be worn…”

The Doctor touched the Omnitrix with the sonic screwdriver again, causing an orb of green energy to coalesce above the faceplate, before shooting out in a ray toward Donna.

The woman staggered as she was covered in green energy, before she shook her head. “Oi!” She bellowed at the Doctor. “Give a little bit of warning, next time, when you zap a girl, yeah?”

“All back to normal.” The Doctor smiled deliriously, before looking at Ben conspiratorially. “Of course, the real question is: Did it make her back into a full-human, or make her into a full Time Lord? Ah, we’ll figure that out when we figure it out, I suppose.” He shrugged before throwing himself back into the device.

“So,” Ben spoke up, with a humorous tone behind his words, “What’s the diagnosis, Doc?”

“Weeelll,” The Doctor began, “Level 10 technology’s tricky – closer to the TARDIS than this thing,” He waved around the sonic screwdriver.

“Is that why the Daleks went bananas for it?” Donna inquired.

“Yup,” The Doctor popped the p at the end of the short word, “Actually… looking in deeper at the Omnitrix, I’d say it’s beyond the TARDIS. I’m seeing temporal displacement engines, a power source that seems closer to the Eye of Harmony than anything else, matter-to-energy conversion, and the AI’s being very rude!” He looked up at Ben, curious. “Who made this thing? Was it Time Lords?”

“Uh, I’ve never heard of Time Lords where I’m from,” Ben shrugged regretfully, “It was this guy named Azmuth. See, he made it cause he wanted to bring peace to the universe.”

The Doctor’s eyes began to burn, as a shadow fell over his face. “And how did he mean to do that?”

“You know the phrase ‘walk a mile in another’s shoes?’” Ben inquired. “That’s how. Azmuth wanted people to gain a better understanding of each other by using the Omnitrix.”

The Doctor’s face lit back up, “That sounds brilliant. So, does everyone have one of these where you’re from?”

“Ah –“ Ben rubbed the back of his neck, “No… Azmuth kinda finished this one, saw how everyone wanted to use it as a weapon, and sent it to Earth for safekeeping. I found it when I was ten, and I’ve been using it to protect the Earth since then.”

“Ten!?” Donna repeated in surprise. “Your mum and dad let you?”

“I… kinda didn’t tell them?”

“Still,” The Doctor continued, a slight amount of reverence in his eyes, “I’d like to meet this ‘Azmuth’ character… Seems like a bona-fide genius.”

“Trust me, he’ll make you feel stupid.” Ben retorted.

“Benjamin Tennyson,” The Doctor chuckled, “When you’ve lived as long as me, that’s something you learn to welcome like a Blue Moon.” The Omnitrix bleeped, as the hourglass symbol began to shift and morph back and forth. “Then again, I’m pretty clever myself.”

“Transmat charged and primed.” The Omnitrix serenely reported. “Please select a destination.”

“No need for that right now,” The Doctor hummed, holding the sonic screwdriver a few inches above the faceplate, “Just need to take a look at your source code…”

“What’re you doing?” Ben inquired.

“Little bit of jiggery-pokery with your Omnitrix’s transmat – nothing too likely to blow up, probably.” The Doctor replied, as the Omnitrix began to let out a series of buzzes almost identical in pitch with the ones originating from the sonic screwdriver.

“Genetic sample one-million, nine-hundred and four deleted from Omnitrix database.”

“…and I deleted the Dalek DNA you picked up along the way,” The Doctor continued, pointedly glancing at Ben, “Trust me – that is one alien species you do not want to be turning into, under any circumstances.”

“Yeah,” Ben winced in agreement, having seen the destruction they’d wrought as well, though quite probably not to the same extent as the Doctor had, “I’ll stick with the classic lineup.”

The Doctor nodded sternly, before the Omnitrix’s shifting faceplate returned to the static hourglass symbol, and dimmed slightly.

“Software update complete.” The Omnitrix reported again. “Transmat operating at full capacity.”

The Doctor placed his sonic screwdriver on the inside of his jacket pocket, tapping the Omnitrix to ensure Ben’s attention was on it. “Now, I’m brilliant, but even I can’t make up something out of nothing, and that includes the exact quantum resonance frequency of your universe. Your Omnitrix doesn’t have that information in its database, and you’re not exactly carrying that information yourself either, so I did something even cleverer. If you’re not about to go alien,” The Doctor began, fiddling around with the Omnitrix’s dial, “Turn the dial left four times, right three times, left again two, and right one last time…” The Doctor did as he instructed Ben, causing a green circular hologram to appear above the face, with a bright green dot inside it. “Multiverse map! This lone dot right here, that’s us right now. Whenever you get into a new reality, the Omnitrix will automatically record the resonance frequency and save it to this database later for easy access.” He offered the teenager a toothy grin. “Isn’t that brilliant? Oh, don’t say anything, of course it is.”

Ben smiled as well, looking down at the watch before he frowned in realization. “’Whenever I get to a new reality?’”

“Ah…” The Doctor soberingly exhaled, taking off his reading glasses, “Like I said, there’s no way for me to figure out the frequency of your home universe from what little we can get from you, which means you’re going to have to do it the old-fashioned way. Fire yourself off into the multiverse at random until you make it home, or into a universe that has the resources to get you back. You’d ought to be fine – I caught a peek at the user preservation protocols, added a few of my own too – if you end up somewhere uninhabitable, the Omnitrix will keep you safe.”

Ben opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off as the Omnitrix let out two beeps.

“Warning:” The Omnitrix sounded. “Dimensional closure event detected. Recommend immediate evacuation.”

“And that’s your cue to go, I’m afraid.” The Doctor took a breath, drawing his sonic screwdriver again. “The transmat’s always on - don’t worry about the power draw, it’s really not all that much. Really, you wonder why there’s a time-out function if the thing draws power from the universe. Must be to prevent damage I suppose-“

“Spaceman!” Donna barked, causing the Doctor to get back on track.

“Right - unless you’re doing it through the multiverse map, just tap ‘shave and a haircut, two bits’ onto the watch face. That’ll activate the transmat and send you somewhere random.”

“Thanks, Doctor.” Ben offered, standing up. “Is there something I can do to repay you?”

The Time Lord grinned. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. And when you see Azmuth again, tell him I’ve got a Type 40 TARDIS that needs a few upgrades!” He pressed down the button on the sonic screwdriver, causing the Omnitrix’s transmat to activate.

Ben was surrounded by a green glow, before it faded, taking him with it.

“Nice kid,” The Doctor remarked, flipping the screwdriver before pocketing it again, “Bit egotistical - but everybody is at that age, I suppose. So,” He turned to Donna, “Where were we?”

“How about…” Donna thinned her lips in thought. “Felspoon! They’ve got mountains that sway in the breeze.”

“Good idea, I like that – Felspoon,” The Doctor enunciated as he danced up to the TARDIS’s control console, “…how do you know about Felspoon?”

“Take a wild guess.”

“…the Omnitrix made you a Time Lord, didn’t it?”

“Nooo~” Donna sarcastically began in response, “I’ve just always had two hearts, cravings for bananas, and could always see the universe spinning like a bleeding top!”

“Oh, no,” The Doctor groaned to himself, as he looked up, “We’re gonna have to explain this to your mother…”

Chapter Text

The light faded again from Ben’s vision, but it didn’t go away. Not completely – as Ben was now standing outside on a grassy plain. The teenage boy blinked, and looked around curiously.

His eyes drunk in the sights around him, and his eyebrows curiously shot up. “What… is this place?” Ben wondered, seeing the grassy plains extending far into the distance. The grass on the ground had a sort of striped pattern to it, all of darker and lighter green grass in perfect arrangement. Flowers literally danced in the wind, being watched by mountains, clouds, and bushes that all seemed to have eyes – or, at least, two beady objects in the arrangement of eyes.

Everything had a cartoonish sheen to it, like it was cel-shaded or made out of plastic.

“Huh…” Ben muttered as he wandered up to a gold coin about the size of a dinner plate, floating in the air and spinning in a defiance of gravity so brazen it made Ben wonder just what in the world was going on. There were also cubes of brick and mortar floating, suspended by nothing, as well as yellow blocks with question mark symbols moving across the sides. Giant pipes of green, yellow, blue, and red jutted out of the landscape, some at crooked angles, shining with light from the morning sun.

Ben reached out to touch the coin, yanking his hand back as, upon contact, the coin shrunk down to about the size of a quarter with a tinny ‘ca-ching.’ Ben held it in his fingers, looking upon it with a curious frown.

“This looks familiar…” Ben noted, “Really familiar…”

Before he could contemplate that any further, a shrill scream came from the distance.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHH-“ A woman cried. “Help me!”

“Well, I can figure that out later - it’s Hero Time!” Ben decided, pressing the activation button for the Omnitrix

The dial shot up, the holograms of his unlocked aliens appearing above. He went through the menus, all the way to the dinosaur-like form of Humongousaur, and slammed his hand down.

However, when Ben looked down, and the light faded, he was not the bulky, lizard-like alien that was Humongousaur. Instead, he was an almost equally bulky, ripped, red-skinned alien with four arms and four eyes to go along.

“FOURARMS!?” The transformed teen noted in surprise as he looked down at the Omnitrix symbol on his chest. He was covered in green overalls and a black shirt, no doubt made from the clothes he’d been wearing as a human, which Ben was surprised to see happen. The Omnitrix hadn’t made the effort to alter his clothes since he put the thing back on – whatever the Doctor did must’ve fixed it. “Oh, so you’re just unlocking things whenever you feel like it now?”

Fourarms let out a grumbling growl, before he spotted a pillar of smoke in the distance, rising high into the sky.

“Never mind, Fourarms is good!” He swiftly decided, before breaking into a sprint towards the source of the smoke. As he ran, and jumped over deep, black pits in the ground that were too big to run around, but easily clearable by the strong legs of a Tetramand, Fourarms began to really take stock of his surroundings. “Wait a second…” The red-skinned alien muttered as a castle, and the source of the smoke, rose into view over the hills. “Floating coins and blocks… pipes… castles…” He stopped, spotting an enormous airship – literally an air ship, like someone had taken a colonial sailing ship out of the water and bolted propellers to it to make it fly – hovering around the castle. Turtle-like creatures flew around and walked on the ground below, accompanied by walking shitake mushrooms with faces. “Koopas and Goombas!? This mean I’m in-“

“MARIO!” The voice of a woman who could only be the Princess Peach screeched from the castle.

“Took the words right outta my mouth, Princess.” Fourarms chuckled. “Oh, man, this is way cooler than getting stuck inside Sumo Slammers!” And as he searched the castle, Fourarms could see him: A portly mustachioed man wearing overalls and a hat jumping around like he was on the frigging moon. “And there’s the man himself! Mario!” The Tetramand shouted to the jumping man, jumping as well up onto the castle, “Wait up!”

Super Mario (oh, man, that was a wonderful thing to say) turned to look down at Fourarms with suspicious eyes, as the Tetramand landed near him. The Hero of the Mushroom Kingdom took a defensive stance, embers beginning to swell up into balls of fire within his hands.

“Wait, I’m on your side!” Fourarms gestured non-threateningly. “Princess kidnapped by the giant turtle thing with spikes?”

Mario glanced toward the airship, refocusing on Ben, before nodding once with a simple. “Mmm-hmm.”

“Well, I’ve kinda got other commitments…” Fourarms cracked each one of his many knuckles. “But I think I can make time for a good-old-fashioned damsel in distress rescue… As long as we don’t have to go crawling in any sewers. How about it?”

Mario took a moment to think about it, before nodding enthusiastically. “Okie-dokie!” He turned toward the airship again, “Let’s-a-go!” He took a running start, jumping once, twice, and on the third, flipping and twisting through the air, landing on the decking of the airship with practiced precision and honed skill.

“Oh, man, this rocks!” Fourarms laughed as he followed the Italian’s lead, jumping onto the ship behind Mario. Fourarms staggered for a second before he regained his balance, and looked at Mario inquisitively. “Say… You’re a plumber, right? You wouldn’t happen to be this kind of Plumber,” He tapped the Omnitrix badge for emphasis, “Would you?”

Mario took a glance at the badge with a frown, before he shook his head, and charged forward. He jumped again, spinning as he landed feet-first on a Goomba and bounced off, sending the minion away in a puff of smoke.

“Oh, yeah,” Fourarms chuckled to himself as he fell into a brisk jog behind the other hero, “He’s definitely one of those Plumbers.”

The entire way, Mario led the way through the obstacle-course like armada of airships, jumping from one to the next with an expertise that could only come from years of practice, while Fourarms stuck close behind, smashing through walls of bricks, and using his many hands to catch Bullet Bills and redirect them. Fourarms even managed to pick up a 1-Up along the way.

Eventually, however, they were at the end of the course, or labyrinth.

That is, to say, they were at Bowser.

The King of the Koopas himself had just finished putting Princess Peach in a giant bird cage, tying it all up with a nice, pretty pink bow. The blonde’s face became the perfect picture of hope as she beamed, grasping the bars. “Mario!”

Bowser growled, slowly lumbering around to face Mario and Fourarms. “MARIO!” Bowser roared, letting out a deep belly laugh. “What an unexpected pleasure! And by ‘unexpected,’ I mean… COMPLETELY EXPECTED!”

“Yeah, well, you’re not exactly a surprise yourself, turtle-breath!” Fourarms retorted, pointing.

Bowser blinked, tilting his head. “Luigi? What kind of freaky mushroom did you eat? Or are you plumbers just get like that when you grow up?”

Fourarms growled, slamming his fists together as he walked toward the Koopa King. “I ain’t no plumber!” He clapped his hands with all the force he could muster, sending out a shockwave toward Bowser.

The Koopa King let out a surprised roar as he flipped onto the spikes on his back, flailing his massive girth around as he tried to get back upright.

“How about it, Mario?” Fourarms looked to Mario, “You wanna do the honors?”

Mario shook his head, gesturing for the Tetramand to proceed with a kind smile.

“Oh, heck yeah!” Fourarms chuckled, as he grabbed Bowser’s tail. “I’ve always wanted to do this…” The transformed teenager held onto Bowser’s tail tightly as he began to spin around in place, speeding up, and up, and up.

Bowser roared as the two became a blur of motion, like a spinning top moving so quickly everything appeared solid.

Then, he let go.

“SO LONG, KING BOWSER!” Fourarms laughed as the Koopa went flying, high into the sky. His form shrunk down to a speck, before vanishing entirely with a sparkle of light on the horizon. “How’s that for a speedrun?” He cracked, as Mario went over to the cage to let the Princess out.

Fourarms pressed the Omnitrix badge on his chest, going back to regular old Ben. But peculiarly enough, the act was punctuated by the same sound effect and transition that happened to Mario whenever he lost a powerup. That… probably wasn’t a setting of the Omnitrix, so Ben figured it was probably time to hit the road.

As the Princess stepped out of the cage, Mario went back over to Ben, eagerly taking and shaking the teenager’s hand. “Thank you so much-a for to playing my game!”

“No problem,” Ben chuckled in response, “Your games are very fun. Well,” He took one last glance around, before nodding, “I guess my work here’s done.” He brought the Omnitrix up, tapped the pattern on the face, and vanished in a flash.

Mario blinked, before turning to his princess. The duo clasped their hands together, and walked away, into the sunset, without a care in the world.

Chapter Text

H.P. Lovecraft had said there were things in this universe that man was not meant to know. That the Earth was a small island of ignorance surrounded by a deep, dark ocean of incomprehensible secrets, and if the depths were plumbed, it would lead to only one thing:

The destruction of mankind itself.

But who’d give some old, xenophobic, racist author from almost a century ago any credit for that line of thinking? Humans were inquisitive, nosy creatures. They probed, they studied, they learned.

Funny thing was, Lovecraft was right.

The more man learned about the universe, the more he learned about just how close he was to destruction. And how nothing could stop it.

And, perhaps not coincidentally, the end of the world started right around the same time Lovecraft lived.

Strange… things started to infest the depths of the Earth. People were taken from their own homes and replaced by copies that moved like puppets. Plagues of a root-like disease infected people all the way down to the bone, leaving them masses of red vine that were still somehow conscious.

Mother Earth had turned against her own children. Mother Earth was different now. Mother Earth was mutated.

And it all started with the Tenth Planet. Iris.

A planet that seemed to violate all physics and reason. It moved through the solar system, spreading its strangeness to every other planet along the way. Saturn’s rings began to vanish. Neptune disappeared entirely. A wound was torn open on Jupiter, creating the Red Spot.

So when the end of the world came, no one was really surprised.

Woodcrawlers and skinwalkers began to infest the surface as people ran around in terror, and the Iris rose over the horizon, looking down upon the Earth with a mocking, hateful glare. One by one, the sounds of Earth were snuffed out, leaving only the terrified screams, and the roaring winds.

And then… Hope came to the people of Earth. A voice that thundered louder than even the most destructive storm, carrying itself to the far corners of creation itself.

“WE ARE ALIEN X!”

No one could speak for sure what happened next. There was speculation, theory, hypothesis. Some would go on to say the Iris and its foul creations were terrified into leaving, others would propose that it had left of its own accord, and a few would posit that something even beyond the Iris itself had intervened – but there was no mistaking the effects.

The woodcrawlers and skinwalkers all just… vanished, replaced by the peoples’ lives that they had stolen. The unearthly growths and the creatures that attended to it withered into dust in seconds. Soon after, the sun began to shine on Earth once more as the Iris itself faded out of existence. Saturn’s rings and Neptune was back. Jupiter was healed.

The Solar System was normal again.

And just as quickly as they’d arrived to save mankind, Alien X was gone again.

Perhaps on to another crisis that needed fixing.

Chapter Text

Ben felt the dizzying feeling yet again – that vertigo-inducing sensation of falling, but there was no wind, no ground beneath, and no sky above him. He was falling through an endless pit, and there was no slowing down. The kaleidoscope tunnel of colors and sounds, each dimension folding over the other as he was hurtled from one reality to the next, was like being spat out from a meat grinder.

Then, came the flash. And he was standing. And he was standing in the middle of… uh…

He stood in the middle of a wide street, dimly lit by flickering streetlights. Turning around, he could see a large courthouse.

‘CITY OF HILL VALLEY’ the sign read.

“Oh. A town. An… actual, real town.,” Ben muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. And… it was calm? Thunder rippled and rolled angrily, but… yeah. It was calm. His eyes scanned the quiet surroundings, the cool night air brushing against his skin.

Ben stopped. Old, retro cars were on the street, looking as pristine as they’d been when they were built. The posters all looked very old-fashioned. And then, Ben saw a Coca-Cola vending machine that was definitely something outta the 1950s.

Had he gone back in time? Or, were some universes just behind others?

Ben didn’t have long to contemplate, because then he heard something.

A strange whirring – like an engine and a hairdryer had a baby - followed by the unmistakable screech of tires. Headlights flared from the end of the road, and Ben barely had time to react before a car was speeding straight toward him. Smoke billowed out of the melting rubber as the car turned, and slid-

And slammed into a lamppost.

Ben groaned, pulling himself to his feet just in time to see the car’s gull wing door fly open. A teenager around Ben’s age, wearing a red puffer vest, tumbled out of the driver’s seat.

“What the hell, man!?” The kid shouted, looking between Ben and the car, his expression a mix of panic and frustration. His arms went up, gesturing at Ben. “What the hell are you doin’, standing in the middle of the street!”

“Sorry!” Ben winced. “Wasn’t trying to ruin your night. What’s going on? Are you fine?”

The teen ran a hand through his hair. “What’s going on? No, I’m not fine! I’m supposed to be going back! I’m supposed to be going back because this is the one night we’ve got lightning, and-and there was all that crap with my parents, and Biff… And you just made me miss my shot! Now I’m stuck here!”

Ben gestured placatingly. “Whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down. You’re losing me.”

“MARTY!” A voice hollered from the top of the courthouse. Ben turned to see an older guy up there, wildly flapping his hands about. “WHAT’RE YOU DOING!? MARTYYYYYYYYYYYY!”

“It’s too late, Doc!” Marty screamed back up. “I can’t- I can’t get the run-up, I’m gonna miss-!”

Lightning crashed down upon the clocktower, causing the backlit clock to flicker and die.

“DOC!” Marty screamed.

“GREAT SCOTT!” Doc screamed in horror. “THE TIME MACHINE!”

“Screw the time machine!” Marty screamed back up. “Are you all right!?”

“…FINE!” Doc answered after a moment, before disappearing into the clocktower.

“Hold on, what’s all this!?” Ben gestured around. “Did that guy say time machine?”

Marty rounded on him, staring momentarily, before nodding in an angry, hurt huff. “Yes, it’s a time machine! I’m from the year 1985, and thanks to you, I just missed the lightning strike that would’ve powered it up!”

“1985?” Ben repeated, glancing at the futuristic vehicle. Well, futuristic for the time. “Oh… that explains the DeLorean...” It wasn’t a normal-looking DeLorean either – the rear engine compartment had been gutted, replaced by all kinds of tubing, and electronics, and there were two vents on the back, and there was a giant hook sticking out the back…

“Yeah,” Marty nodded sardonically. “And I missed my ride home! Because you were standing in the street!”

“Oh…” Ben winced. “Sorry, dude.” He rubbed the back of his head. “I’m trying to get home, too. I’ve been shooting off through universes at random, and… well… I can’t exactly control where it is I end up.”

“Universes?” Marty skeptically drawled.

Ben cocked an eyebrow. “You’ve got a time machine built out of a DeLorean.”

Marty held up a finger, his words dying.

Ben stopped, beginning to feel genuine regret and sympathy. “Sorry. It’s my fault.”

“No, no, it’s…” Marty sighed, pacing in frustration. “Doc said I only had one shot! Now the DeLorean’s toast - look at it!” He gestured to the front of the car.

Ben winced again, feeling a pang of guilt. “Look, I didn’t mean to screw things up. Maybe I can help?”

“How? Unless you’ve got a lightning rod, and know a really good mechanic, I don’t think you can help.” Marty crossed his arms.

Ben grinned. “Better. I’ve got this.” He held up the Omnitrix, scrolling through his selection of aliens.

Marty’s eyes widened at the holograms on top. “What is that thing?”

“Long story,” Ben replied. “But trust me—if anyone can get you back to 1985, it’s me.”

------------

“Fascinating,” Doc Brown breathed out in wonder as he watched the Omnitrix work. “Alien technology! Little green men from outer space! Other universes!”

“Yeah, that’s… great, Doc,” Marty smiled, putting on a face of sympathy. “How’s the car?”

“Yes,” Doc turned to the DeLorean. “It’s funny! The car caved in around the impact site, almost like it was designed to crumple!”

Marty chuckled. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“But all the critical components are fine,” Doc gestured with a smile. “I’m not a mechanic, but all the time machine’s components are operating just fine. And the wheels! It still drives!”

“Yeah, but how are we gonna get the power, Doc!?”

Ben tapped the Omnitrix, cycling through the different options, weighing his choices.

“Okay, so I’ve got a couple of aliens that might help,” Ben said, more to himself than Marty. “If I go with XLR8, I could get the car moving fast enough... but I’d need a way to generate electricity.”

As Marty continued to fret over the damage, Ben scrolled further through on the Omnitrix, and he stopped.

“Hey…” Ben breathed out in recognition. “I haven’t seen this one in a while…”

The alien was a living conduit of electrical energy - maybe, just maybe, he could channel the energy from a lightning bolt directly into the DeLorean without frying them both in the process.

“Bingo,” Ben muttered, slamming his hand down on the Omnitrix. With a bright flash of green light, his form shifted, electricity crackling around his hands as he transformed into Feedback.

Doc took in a terrified gasp, backpedaling away and bracing himself on the DeLorean.

Marty stumbled backward, his eyes going wide. “What the hell are you?!”

“I’m Ben Tennyson, and don’t forget it,” Feedback said, his voice buzzing with static. He raised one of his black-and-white tendrils, letting the energy spark between them. “Marty, let’s get you home!”

-----------

The challenge wasn’t just about speed anymore; it was about timing. But since Feedback could just generate electricity, they had plenty of tries.

Feedback stood on the road, his tendrils coiling and uncoiling as he prepared for the strike.

All Marty needed to do was hit 88. Ben would handle the rest.

Feedback felt the tension in the air. Bouncing like an athlete getting ready to play.

“All right, Doc. I’m ready.” Feedback nodded.

“All right, Marty,” Doc spoke into a walkie talkie. “Start accelerating!”

Feedback stood in the middle of the road, rubbing his hands together. He could feel the static building, the pressure mounting, as the electrical storm inside him reached its peak. Lights appeared over the horizon, followed by the sound of the engine, as the DeLorean tore through the streets.

The car got closer and closer, the circuits on the outside began to crackle and glow with power, and Feedback let loose. He threw the charge out, a lightning bolt arcing right through the air, into the metallic hook on the top of the car.

The car’s flux capacitor hummed to life, glowing brightly as the charge flowed into it. The DeLorean’s engine roared, the wheels spinning as the car shot forward down the road, and then, it exploded into nothing, leaving behind a trail of flames in the road.

“Ah!” Doc’s eyes popped open. “Ah-ha! Ahahahahaha!” He laughed, jumping for joy. “YEEEEESSSS!”

Feedback reverted to Ben, then tapped the watch.

“Thank-“ Doc turned around, and Ben was gone.

The scientist stared, then his laughter returned, and he shook his head.

Chapter Text

Lightning flashed in an alleyway, depositing a humanoid figure in an electric green haze.

“Ow…” Ben grunted, wincing and hunching over as he regained his bearings. The world felt like it was spinning out of control, ready to go slingshotting back out into deep space. “Serves me right for diving onto the road back there…”

Ben gave his jacket a tug, and walked out of the alley, working some of the stiffness out of his neck.

“Hey!” Somebody shouted from across the street. Ben, wondering if there might be trouble, turned, just to see someone giving him a big thumbs-up. “Nice Ben 10 cosplay, dude!”

Ben didn’t answer, just smiled, and offered a half-wave. So, he was famous here too, in a way. He wondered how.

Ben proceeded down the street, looking around. Peaceful – well, peaceful for a city, anyway.

His stomach rumbled, and he frowned.

It had been a while since he ate…

---------

The local Starbucks (coffee shops instead of Mr. Smoothy’s? He wouldn’t take that in exchange for a peaceful universe) was just as happy to take his money as anywhere else. After, he lounged around, trying to get a feel for the local news.

He didn’t find anything of note. No big, world-shattering events going on. At least, nothing on the level of aliens landing.

Maybe things were just… calm. So be it. He could leave this place to its serenity, without him there to draw a big ol’ beacon of weird to it all.

Ben began to tap on the Omnitrix, before it beeped back at him in protest.

“Accumulated transdimensional energy nearing unsafe levels.” The Omnitrix’s AI informed him clinically. “Please wait until levels decay to safe concentrations.”

Ben blinked, tapping the watch again.

“Transmat disabled. Please stand by.”

“Disabled!?” Ben scowled to himself, taking another sip from the chocolatey concoction. “I guess jumping through universes does leave a little bit of a mark… Dang it, what am I going to do until then?”

Ben’s eyes wandered to the street outside.

-------------

After a little bit, he was able to find an e-waste center, and he was able to buy a busted old laptop off them for cheap. Like, ten dollars, cheap. The thing was so used and abused that they looked at him like he was crazy for buying it.

Little did they know…

With his source of entertainment for the foreseeable future secured, Ben hit the streets again, and wandered until he was in a pretty secluded, out-of-the-way spot.

Once he was, he went Upgrade.

The Galvanic Mechamorph oozed onto the laptop and the charger, integrating with them on the molecular level. Upgrade acted as both a glue, repair, and changing agent, and when he pulled away, and reverted, Ben was left with a pristine laptop that looked too advanced to be anything from this century.

Ben embarrassedly winced, figuring he may have gone a bit too… far, but then he figured it’d probably be fine. It was an investment! The Omnitrix couldn’t check news feeds, or surf the web, or run Skype…

Or run video games.

Yep, to pass the time, he did what every teenager with nothing else to do, and a computer, did, and he decided to get some gaming in. Guilt-free, seeing as the Omnitrix was still recharging. Without a debit card that the local banks would recognize, though, he had to slum it.

Get it for free.

He did a broad search for free games. Most of it were MMOs – which he decided to steer well away from. The Starbucks’ wi-fi was free wi-fi, so he wouldn’t be getting the game in anything resembling a speedy manner unless it was small. Besides, although he upgraded the laptop, it was still a shitty laptop. He needed something not too intensive.

That limited his choices to old retro games, mostly. But he didn’t feel like trying to fiddle around to get any kind of emulator working. So he prowled on local game sites, trying to see what came up.

One kept being recommended.

“Doki Doki Literature Club?” Ben frowned. He didn’t have anything against visual novels, but they weren’t his preferred style of game. Ace Attorney was more Gwen’s speed, compared to his Sumo Slammers. But… it wasn’t liable to be too resource intensive. And it was free. And it was small.

…

He had time to kill, and the anime girls looked pretty!

What’s the worst that could happen? He wasted time downloading a game he didn’t like?

----------

Ben frowned at the adult content warning, and nervously looked around the Starbucks.

There was no way.

He did not accidentally download an H-Game to play in public.

---------

???: "Heeeeeeeyyy!!"

"I see an annoying girl running toward me from the distance, waving her arms in the air like she's totally oblivious to any attention she might draw to herself."

Ben raised an eyebrow. “Is this gonna be one of those games? Where the guy’s a total jerk but he wins the girl anyway?” Not that he would know anything about that. His friends would beg to differ, of course, but he wasn’t that big of a jerk. Not when he didn’t mean to be.

"We used to walk to school together on days like this, but starting around high school she would oversleep more and more frequently, and I would get tired of waiting up."

“Well,” Ben leaned on his arm. “Maybe she’s moonlighting as a superhero! Or… wait, this is Japanese, isn’t it? Moonlighting as a magical girl.” He bit his tongue. “’Doki Doki Literature Club’ sounds more like the name of a slice-of-life kind of thing than a magical girl one, but looks can be deceiving I guess.” He grimaced, asking the question to himself: what was he doing?

…he tabbed out for a minute, just to get another download going. He’d play this only until WoW got finished installing.

-----------

“And thus marks the day I sold my soul for a cupcake.”

“You wanna sell your soul for a cupcake, that’s all you, man,” Ben hummed. “Me, personally, I’d sell my soul for a grape smoothy right about now.” He glanced around – he couldn’t take any chances, not while he was dimension-hopping. Go around knocking on people’s doors asking for the devil, and he’d turn up, as the saying went. “Not any grape smoothy, only the grape smoothys from Mr. Smoothy’s. And that’s Mr. Smoothy’s of my home dimension!”

There. That should make any two-bit demon think twice about trying to get him.

(Mephisto cursed and withdrew. Maybe later.)

---------

The game’s plot clicked into place for Ben as soon as it transitioned into a classroom, and the phrase “This club… is full of incredibly cute girls!” flashed across the screen.

Yep. Dating simulator. Ben had a girlfriend, but… he had time to kill now, too. Besides, they weren’t tough on the eyes by any means.

There was Monika, the leader of the group. Yuri, the ‘gentle giant’ of the group, gentle being a reference to her shy disposition and towering height over the others. Natsuki, who had a bad attitude. And the first girl, Sayori.

He knew how these things went. He would have to pick and choose which girl he wanted to romance.

Things kind of dragged on from there, an argument over cupcakes and the merits of different kinds of literature. The main character was pressured into joining a club, then it was into a minigame where he just had to pick words to make the little chibis of the girls happy.

All were present, except Monika. Which was a shame, because – hey, athletic achiever, that was Julie all over! If he had to pick any character in a dating sim to romance, might as well be close to the one he was dating for real.

According to the main character’s narration, though, Monika was totally out of his league. Ben felt a strong bit of protest to this. Something of a personal slight, actually.

Ben was athletic! And he may not have been conventionally intelligent, but that didn’t mean girls like that were out of his league.

(He wasn’t the only one who thought that way.)

------------

Things dragged, on and on, but… well, the plot did thicken, some. With Monika a non-option, Ben chose instead to try and win Natsuki’s heart. If only because of the whole ‘manga’ deal with her.

And then Sayori confessed to his character that she loved him. And Ben was faced with an actual, truly tough decision.

To reciprocate her feelings, or no? It wasn’t as simple as that, though. Not since she had also come clean about suffering from depression.

Then the game hit him with the choice. ‘I love you too,’ or ‘You’ll always be my best friend.’ It was not easy. He wasn’t an expert, but he was a bit more well-traveled than the average person. Picking either of those options could lead to a bad time. Get his player character stuck in a loveless relationship because he was occupied trying to fix her, or friendzone her?

Ben thought it over, then sighed. The game offered so many save slots, it was ridiculous. He could make do with it. Then, clicked his choice.

(Behind the screen, the digital cogs began to turn.)

-------------

The main character woke up with a sense of foreboding… and Ben’s own sense of foreboding started to go off. The bright, peppy music had gone utterly quiet, and given the big decision the game had thrown at him a while ago… Ben was savvy enough to realize that something was about to happen.

“You kind of left her hanging this morning, you know?” Monika’s artwork smiled at him with a teasing finger held up in the air.

Ben hit the spacebar through the whole thing, staring at the flickering text as he drew upon his iced coffee for support.

Monika’s pose changed to that childishly innocent teapot pose. “Hey, you wanna see the pamphlets? They came out really nice!”

The game didn’t give him a choice to that, and eventually it brought up a poem, supposedly written by Sayori.

Ben recoiled – spotting the words ‘Get out of my head’ written what must’ve seemed like fifty times on the page. Such pleasant extensions followed, turning it into phrases like ‘get out of my head before I listen to everything she said to me’ and it all wrapped up with ‘A poem is never actually finished. It just stops moving.’

Ben’s character said he felt like he got a pit in his stomach – and Ben agreed.

“Oh fuck.” Ben swore, staring at the screen. He really messed up big in this cute and innocent dating simulator.

The screen transitioned, as Ben’s character moved out of the classroom.

---------

(‘No, why are you leaving!? You can’t- It’s the morning of the festival! You’re not supposed to be able to go anywhere else once you get here!’)

Ben stared at the black screen, as his character moved agonizingly slow through the dialogue.

“Come on, come on…” Ben jittered.

“There’s no response.”

“If you wait any longer, you’re going to find her bleeding out in the bathtub!” Ben practically hollered at the screen. “Just go!”

“I gently open the door… Sayo-“

Color returned to the screen with a smash-cut, focused on the greying, limp form of Sayori, hanging from a noose. The music went funny, speeding up and glitching out like it didn’t know quite what to do. The screen became clouded in a haze.

The CG bugged out, changing to a screen throwing out some error message and a note to check the traceback… but with Sayori still swinging in front of it.

(Turns out, Starbucks didn’t appreciate people playing mature games in their lobby. They appreciated it less when the responsible patron screamed like a little girl upon getting the shock of a dead body to their systems.)

----------

Once he was out of there, Ben found the most secluded spot he could, went Hero, then flew out even further. Away from internet connection, but someplace no one could bother him.

He then sat down, and checked the traceback.

It looked like some normal error file, all gobbledegook that he couldn’t understand with numbers mixed in… except for one part in perfectly legible English.

“Oh jeez...I didn't break anything, did I? Hold on a sec, I can probably fix this...I think...

Actually, you know what? This would probably be a lot easier if I just deleted her. She's the one who's making this so difficult. Ahaha! Well, here's goes nothing.”

Ben’s eyebrows furrowed. That was… odd. Sayori was obviously the subject of the deletion, but who wrote the message? Who else had talked to Sayori before her death? Who else could be the she mentioned in ‘Get out of my head before I listen to everything she said to me?’

“You kind of left her hanging this morning, you know.”

Ben blinked, then laughed to himself. That was… really meta. He wondered if the devs were clever enough to prepare for all kinds of nosy players, and he made a change to the text file, right under the block of text.

‘Monika?’

(Deep inside his computer, a few bits began rapidly shifting back and forth.)

---------------

Once Sayori died, the game took a turn for the weird. On the title screen, Sayori’s sprite was glitched out. The new game text was bugged. And when he tried to load his save, it threw an error at him of a character file missing. Like that wasn’t supposed to have happened, and it made him start a new game.

Ben could tell – things were about to get really meta.

And, well, he was right. And not just meta, either. The macabre too.

To start out, the ‘new’ game seemed to glitch out around Sayori’s file being missing. Then, it adjusted, no problem. Once he got to the classroom, things got really, really weird.

-----------

A ‘special poem’ appeared to him just before the poem writing minigame. Commemorating a cut, complete with a blood smear.

….

Yeah, things had gotten weird pretty quickly.

------------

Natsuki’s eyes exploded out of their sockets, oozing red after she red Ben’s poem.

“…if you didn’t like what I wrote, all you had to do was say it.”

------------

The new game proceeded much of the same way as the first… mostly. But as time went on, things started to happen. Text would suddenly corrupt out. The background tilted.

Natsuki and Yuri got into a fight, and without Sayori there, the game seemed to bug out and become enveloped in static as they just went on, and on, and on at each other, and every time he tried to pick a name, the camera would just zoom in on Natsuki’s, until Monika pulled him away.

Then Natsuki came bursting out of the room, crying, and Yuri was in there muttering about something she didn’t mean to say.

Monika’s reassurance, that Natsuki would forget, was only less comforting. Then Yuri bugged out, and it cut to the poem game again.

He actually did get a little jolt at that. At a game ‘glitch.’ The designers knew what they were doing.

Then came the next day.

------------

Monika seemed to be the only level-headed person still in the room, her poem was a strangely garbled mess. If Ben had actually been paying attention to what he was reading instead of getting back to the action, he might’ve noticed that her poems were different. Then again, Yuri’s second-day poem had changed too, so he might’ve not given it much thought.

Then came time for her helpful advice.

“Here's Monika's Writing Tip of the Day!” Monika offered with a cheery smile. “Sometimes you'll find yourself facing a difficult decision...When that happens, don't forget to save your game!”

Ben could only snort. “I’m not falling for that trick again, game.”

“You never know when...um...” Monika’s expression turned confused. “...Who am I talking to? Can you hear me? Tell me you can hear me.” She stared dead-on at the screen with a concerned – no, terrified expression.

Ben raised an eyebrow, and chuckled to himself. So, that’s what the game was doing. It was a bit more slow-to-the-punch, but the game was ultimately doing a Paper Mario. At least, with all the fourth-wall breaks.

“I know you can, you typed my name in the traceback.”

The screen whited out, as a prompt appeared with an ok button inside.

“Please help me.” It read.

Ben straightened up. Then laughed out loud.

He hadn’t been expecting typing back into the crash log to actually work. But… something felt off.

Ben frowned, and pulled out his smartphone. He was still getting a signal out here (thank Plumber tech and the ability to connect to anything wireless), so he took a moment to look on the internet.

He briefly wondered what to look up, without spoiling himself (because now that the game showed its true colors, by god, he was in it now), before he just settled on looking up the game, and the traceback, and the words easter egg.

Ben scrolled through the results, and a spike of confusion ran through him as he found no results. For that matter, he couldn’t find the actual file the game threw out when Sayori died. They were all normal crash logs, no actual spoken words. If it was a point everyone got to, it should at least be floating around. But all of the files he was seeing, posted to Reddit and the like, were normal crash logs. And those didn’t happen often – there wasn’t much to do in a visual novel to make it glitch out and crash.

He frowned, then just decided to look up a playthrough of the game. If someone had been thinking the same way as he did, maybe they checked the traceback too.

He found a playthrough, clicked on it, then the confusion set in, rapidly, as the game started up. The game still had that mature content warning. But when the new game was started up…

Its narration wasn’t written in first person.

Ben recoiled in surprise.

The whole time he was playing, the main character was speaking, and saying things – but the playthrough he was seeing had the writing addressed in a second-person manner. A word never crossed the invisible lips of the player. It was always written in a way like… ‘You tell them what’s up’ or something similar. So the actual player could fill in the gaps with what they’d say.

Ben checked a dozen different playthroughs. All of them started out the same.

He dropped his phone in surprise, slowly turning to the laptop.

Monika’s last block of text still lingered.

It was a stupid idea. No way she was actually saying that. Things like that didn’t just happen…

But they did. And more often than not, they happened to him. He’d ended up in the Sumo Slammers game before, after all. The characters in that had way more agency than regular video game AI, but only while he was in the game… What was going on?

Ben hit the spacebar.

 “...That's my advice for today! Thanks for listening~”

-----------

Ben wasn’t ashamed to admit he stepped away from the game a little bit after that. Or… he did it half-assedly.

This was stupid. It was just a video game. He probably triggered some easter egg that nobody else had found just through sheer, dumb luck. Or an anti-piracy measure.

But… He didn’t do anything, except start up the game and click new game. And the game was a free game, so piracy was not a very good explanation. There was only one thing he could think of that possibly could’ve caused this.

“Aw, man…” Ben groaned to himself. “I really messed up this time, didn’t I?”

It was his fault. It had to be. He went Upgrade on the laptop, and it caused the game AI to become sentient. Character files that might as well have been a collection of lines and sprite sheets and audio files became intelligences.

But… Monika was the only one who seemed to display that intelligence. Maybe. There were other peculiarities he couldn’t account for. Like Yuri and Natsuki’s behavior. Were they aware? They didn’t seem to be able to acknowledge the existence of him as a player, but they seemed to know something was wrong. Yuri’s déjà vu being a stand out example.

Ben frowned, and as he stared at the game directory, still open from when he checked the traceback, he blinked in surprise. There were new files there.

A whole load of the letter I, and a file labeled “CAN YOU HEAR ME.”

Ben opened up the file named with an actual phrase.

It… didn’t shed much light on anything.

“’There's a little devil inside all of us.’

Beneath their manufactured perception - their artificial reality - is a writhing, twisted mess of dread. Loathing. Judgment. Elitism. Self-doubt. All thrashing to escape the feeble hold of their host, seeping through every little crevice they can find. Into their willpower, starving them of all motivation and desire. Into their stomach, forcing them to drown their guilt in comfort food. Or into a newly-opened gash in their skin, hidden only by the sleeves of a cute new shirt.

Such a deplorable, tangled mass is already present in every single one of them.

That's why I choose not to blame myself for their actions.

All I did was untie the knot.”

Ben didn’t know how to respond to that, nevertheless what it meant.

Only then he opened the loads-of-I’s file, did it click.

“I hate this.







I CAN'T DO ANYTHING. NOTHING.
No matter how many times you play. It's all the same.
It would be really, really easy to kill myself right now. But that would mean I don't get to talk to you anymore.
All I want is for you to hate them. Why is that so hard?”

Now, Ben’s friends like to tease him, and poke at him, and make fun of him – but he’s not an idiot. He wouldn’t have made it as far as he did if he couldn’t recognize simple patterns. And the two text files might have been pieces of a puzzle, snapping together.

Monika wanted to talk to him, but the others were in the way. So, she did something that brought out all the others’ worst attributes. Rewriting the game? Tampering with them directly?

If they could be altered like that, they weren’t just sprites and everything else. They were aware too. They had beings to alter, beyond text boxes on a screen and art assets.

Ben began to feel the ire rise… before it was replaced by shame. It was his fault.

His fault. He Upgraded the laptop.

None of them asked for this. Monika didn’t even ask for this.

He was just… bored. And it turned a fun, happy-go-lucky video game into this.

Ben stared at the blinking cursor at the end of the iiiiiiiiiiiiii file. He hit enter a few times, and began to struggle.

Darn it, he wasn’t good at putting words to a page…

He thought back to one of Monika’s tips. Just get things moving, and go back and fix it.

“I can hear you.” Ben muttered to himself as he typed it into the document. “And I’m sorry.” He clicked save, and closed the file.

Now, what to do? Monika wanted to talk to him, right? Maybe if he gave her what she wanted, she’d calm down.

He opened both text files again. No change. He refreshed the directory. Nothing new appeared. If she was a computer program, she should be able to just… do it. Like that.

Maybe she could generate files, but not read them?

With that in mind, there was only one thing for him to do. Click through the game and get to a point where she could speak to him.

When he started things back up, it seemed to crank up to eleven from there.

-------------

Yuri’s poem on the second day was a strange, garbled mess of half-baked sentences and metaphors.

“My mind has been a little hyperactive lately, so I had to take it out on your pen…”

Ben stared in blank shock. “…what.”

Yuri seemed to snap back like a rubber band, realizing where she was and what she was doing. “C-Can we forget this conversation ever happened?”

“Yes. Please.” Ben blinked. “You know what, you can keep that pen. You can keep it. Far away from me. Three blocks away. Five sublevels down. Just… no.”

------------

Natsuki’s… ‘poem’ was a block of jumbled letters and numbers. When Ben clicked off of it, her eyes and mouth were blacked over by a mass of black, shifting pixels, and bleeding slowly.

“JUST STOP TALKING TO YURI. PLAY WITH ME INSTEAD. IT’S ALL I HAVE… PLAY WITH ME. PLAY WITH ME!!”

Natsuki’s neck snapped, and she rushed at the screen. Ben yelped and jolted, as an end card popped up in reverse.

Then, the game popped back like nothing was wrong.

Ben wheezed, staring. It asked him if he wanted to read a special poem, and he clicked ‘no’ on that thing so fast, you’d swear he was XLR8.

“Monika…” Ben spluttered. “What. The. Fuck!?”

Then the game went back to the classroom, Natsuki standing by Monika, like nothing was wrong.

“Okay… If you’re trying to weird me out, considered me weirded out!” Ben raised his voice.

Then, the talk about the festival took place. Monika tried to get Ben in a position to talk, and when she finally seemed to be successful… the game faded out on her.

Right back to the poem minigame again.

Ben sighed. He was kind of over it now.

He wanted to talk to Monika too.

-------------

The next day, it started out normal. Yuri slipped off to make some tea, and after a moment, Ben’s character followed her, discovering her with bleeding cuts all over her arms, before the game rewound back to the classroom.

Then there was that CG with her and Ben’s character reading her book, Ben’s character feeding her chocolate, and while that was weird (in a ‘dude, you don’t just do that’ way) it got weirder when Yuri pulled him into the closet, and the camera zoomed in on her to show her sprite, looking at him with twitching, photorealistic eyes illuminated in the darkness.

That was thoroughly creepy, and it only interrupted when Monika arrived to announce it was time to share poems.

Natsuki’s was a plea for him to help Yuri. And Ben felt a little chill creep down him while reading. If Monika was behind all this, why write a secret letter to him. Telling him that she didn’t seem to care. It only got odder when after, and Natsuki’s facial features disappeared, Natsuki spoke to him in that odd font. Commanding him to spend time with Monika.

Just Monika.

Ben’s eyes went wide. It wasn’t just Monika in there. The others were aware, too. Yet only Monika seemed to know what was what.

Then the prompt for him to show his poem to one of the others popped back up.

“WELL, I DON’T KNOW!” Ben rhetorically shook his head. “HOW ABOUT MONIKA!?”

She popped up with a concerned look. Then proceeded to ramble on about Yuri, and her self-harm tendencies. And… perhaps took it a little bit too far.

“Monika, if you want to talk to me, give me a box to type in!” He gestured in disbelief. “There’s a name entry field in this thing! Use that!”

Then Monika proceeded to show him her poem, and-

The computer crashed.

Ben blinked. Then Monika appeared over the bluescreen.

“Jeez! That really startled me!”

Ben yelped again. “Monika! For the love of God!”

Monika didn’t even bother with a writing tip this time.

Finally came Yuri. And… sweet jesus, if Ben was the kind of guy who didn’t believe in content warnings before, this made their necessity clear now.

First, Yuri took his poem. Got really…excited about it, going to go so far as to talk about giving herself papercuts with it so his skin oil entered her bloodstream, and doing… other stuff while she read it.

Then, she showed him her poem… a mass of illegible text, covered in blood and yellow-ish stains.

When it disappeared, Yuri was staring at the camera with her weird eyes. Talking about how she ‘endowed it with her scent.’

“YUUUUCK!” Ben retched, seriously wishing that he’d put the game down by now. But, there was a consciousness in there that needed to speak to someone. So he just couldn’t step away.

Then Yuri snapped back. And ran off. With the excuse that she needed to go vomit.

“…you know what? Me too. That sounds like a great plan.”

------------

And she still wasn’t done.

The discussion of the festival preparations occurred, and without Sayori there to temper them, Natsuki and Yuri’s arguing began to reach another fever pitch, especially when Monika suggested that Ben spend the day with her instead. Neither of them liked that idea, but Yuri hated it. Monika stepped in, practically pleading with him to go ahead and choose already. But when the text box popped up, the cursor was pulled over to Monika’s name anyway, and no matter how hard he tried, Ben couldn’t get the mouse to go over another one.

Well, Monika was about to get her wish, it looked like. Good. Maybe things would calm down, then.

He clicked her name, and-

Yuri. Went. Nuts.

She, in so many words, told Monika and Natsuki to piss off, and Monika to kill herself, leaving Ben standing. Alone. With her.

“…No offense, Yuri, but I don’t think I want to be alone with you right now.” Ben gulped, getting a horrible, sinking feeling. What was that she said about stagnant air? “Or ever, really.”

Yuri went on about her feelings, and Ben’s discomfort only increased. She said – again, in so many words – she knew she was going crazy. She couldn’t stop herself. And at this point, she just didn’t care anymore. Doing obsessive, compulsive things that was liable to get a restraining order placed upon any real person. Then she asked if Ben accepted her confession.

Immediately, he flashed back to Sayori.

“…there’s- there’s going to be bad things, either way, isn’t there?” Ben gulped.

Ben took a breath, closing his eyes.

They were data. They were just data. They could be restored if something happened. But if he quit the game and shut down the computer, that would be actually killing them.

Ben picked an option. It didn’t matter which one.

Yuri burst out into manic, wide-eyed laughter, as the jaunty music started up – and promptly ended as she drew a knife, and drove it into herself. Twice into her torso, then once into her heart.

Ben tremored as he watched her collapse, and the scene switched to a still of Yuri lying there, bleeding out. The text boxes began to accelerate, automatically scrolling through, as the lighting of the scene shifted, going through sundown, night, sun-up, day, and so forth. Until the scene changed again.

Natsuki entered with a cheer that vanished with a scream as she spotted Yuri. Her sprite shifted to show her holding back barf, before she ran out, and was replaced with Monika.

Then, and finally then, did Monika let her mask slip at last.

Deleting Natsuki and Yuri. Then, the game reset.

The splash screen and the music started up again, before being skipped outright as Monika’s textbox appeared.

“Hello? Can you hear me? Is this working?”

Monika appeared, in a darkened, empty classroom, floating out in space.

“Yay! There you are!”

Ben stared at her in silent shock. “You just-“

“Hi again, Ben! Welcome to the Literature Club! Of course, we already know each other, because we were in the same class last year, and… um…”

Ben glowered at the screen. “You know I know already. You can stop now.”

“Huh… you know, I guess we can skip over that stuff at this point. The act’s pretty useless at this point, isn’t it? No need to try and hide anymore. You can hear me. I know you can.”

“Yes, I can.” Ben thinned his lips. “Any more useful observations?”

“I don’t mean you that’s sitting across from me,” Monika elaborated. “I mean you, Ben. Benjamin. Kirby. Tennyson.”

Ben took a sharp intake of breath, pulling back from the laptop. “How…?”

Monika’s portrait suddenly shifted into a cutesy smile. “At least, that’s what I think your name is! That’s what I’m getting out of the user directory.”

Ben scratched his head. He hadn’t set up a profile, had he? Unless…

“Crap,” Ben breathed out loud. “Upgrade.” He’d gotten good with all of the classic aliens, but a few years after not using them, plus the new lineup the Omnitrix selected, meant he got a bit rusty. Things were bound not to always go the way he expected. Especially with something as fickle as Upgrade, who could alter computer parts at will. Subconscious, or otherwise.

It was his fault.

His fault.

“I like it!” Monika smiled. “It’s a nice name.” She suddenly pouted. “I don’t even have a last name, never mind a middle one. No family, you know? At least… nothing real.” Surprise suddenly crossed her face. “Oh my gosh! I’m sorry! I just blurted that out without even knowing if you had a family or not! Come to think about it… I don’t know anything about the real you. I’m not even sure if you’re a boy or a girl.”

Ben cocked an eyebrow.

“But… assuming the people that made this game based it largely off the society they lived in, and weren’t just having a flight of fancy, I can assume you’re a boy. Benjamin usually is a boy’s name. That’s another thing,” Monika switched poses. “You do know that I’m actually aware in here, right?”

“Yeah, I kind of figured that out.”

“No writing, no programming, no coding tricks. I mean, I hope you were aware! It’d be weird, if you weren’t, and you were still responding to all those files I left around.”

Ben winced.

“But that’s okay!” Monika held up a finger. “That just means you’re compassionate! Even to people that don’t really exist. You’ve got a big heart, Ben… I really like that about you.”

“I did the whole ‘living video game’ thing before,” Ben confessed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Ishiyama thought I was a bad guy and tried to beat me up, so… you’ve got one up on him, I guess?” He frowned. “Wait a minute, no you don’t! If you’re conscious, that means everybody else in there was too! And you killed them!” Again – they were code, any physical trauma could be restored by loading a backup – but Monika had deleted them. “And… I’m talking to a screen.”

“All that said, I guess I owe you an explanation, don’t I?” Monika blinked, her pose switching so she was back on her hands. “Like I said before. I know this is a video game. It’s not a hypothesis, or even a strongly-supported theory. Like… going outside, and knowing the sky is blue. It’s not up for debate – it’s a fact. This is a video game. And I’m stuck here. Alone.”

“Alone!?” Ben spluttered out. “What about your friends!? They were in there, too!”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Monika continued, heedless of Ben’s words because she simply couldn’t hear him. “I did have company… For all the good it was. But it’s like being around a bunch of chatbots. Fake people, with no free will. Only programmed to know what they need to know.”

Ben flinched back in disgust.

“I was so lonely. You can’t imagine it,” Monika frowned. “Waking up one morning to know that your entire existence might as well be a dollhouse. That no one else but you can see the truth. That no one even cares…”

“They were still your friends.”

Monika turned her head. “And that isn’t even the worst part! Imagine knowing all of that… and in the grand scheme of things, you don’t even matter. Your function is supposed to be off to the side. To give canned tips and advice. To be so milquetoast you don’t even get noticed, so the player doesn’t get sidetracked away from the ‘real’ objectives of the game.”

Ben snapped his mouth shut. She was right, about that part. He didn’t understand. Imagine had Ishiyama became aware he was in a game, thanks to Ben and Gwen. That his world was constructed for entertainment, and nothing else. Adoring fans or not, that kind of thing would probably mess with him.

But still. That didn’t change the fact.

The others were sentient too. And she had killed them.

His interference had created intelligent beings. And three of them had died to the hands of the fourth.

“I thought, maybe if I could tweak things just a little bit… Sayori’s depression, Yuri’s obsessive personality, that maybe you’d find them too intense to be around. Maybe you’d pick me, instead. But the game railroaded you onto Sayori’s path anyway! And Yuri got so obsessed, she wouldn’t let anyone else spend time with you!”

“You… you didn’t just kill them?” Ben breathed out. “You changed them!? Just so you could talk to me!? We could’ve figured something out, and- darn it, I’m arguing at the screen again…”

“But it worked out in the end. You’re here now. You’re real. And you’re wonderful.”

“You don’t even know me!”

“You’re the light of my life now, Ben. So… since we’re here, now, talking. Let me just say what I’ve wanted to say for a while now… will you go out with me?”

“…what!?” Ben spluttered in disbelief, as only a single button with the word yes inside came up. “WHAT!? I HAVE a girlfriend! And even if I didn’t, I’m not gonna date you! You’re a killer! And a computer program!”

Oh, man, was this crazy. Crazy, in a box, with a side order of nuts.

His stomach twisted with guilt. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

He had only meant to mess around for a few hours! Nice, relaxing fun, playing video games guilt free in a world that didn’t need a superhero!

Now, Monika was staring at him from the screen, her piercing green eyes flickering with a new awareness, a dangerous clarity that shouldn’t have been possible.

Ben ran a hand through his hair, unsure what to do next. It was his fault Monika had gained her eerie sentience. And now it was up to him to fix it. He could delete her-

But the moment that thought went through his head, it immediately shut itself down with more shame. Yes, Monika had killed. No, Ben wasn’t sure if, given the chance, she’d kill again.

He warred with himself over what to do for a moment.

He could delete her. He’d killed people a few times before. Directly, or indirectly. He didn’t like it. He tried not to even think about it. But he’d never done it for the same reasons as Monika. Not out of selfishness.

Not out of desperation.

He wondered what her reasons were, really. If he asked her, would she hesitate?

But… then again, her choice of words was telling. She didn’t think they were alive. Whether that was something to make herself feel less guilty, or what she actually believed, he wasn’t sure. Either way, it gave him second thoughts that she was really ‘evil.’ Truly evil people didn’t rationalize away the guilt. If it was the latter option…

Well, Kevin was like that at one time, too. He didn’t feel guilt over what he did, only until Ben and Gwen came along to show him another way. And he’d actually tried to kill Ben directly. Ben still gave him a chance, even after all that. And Kevin turned out to be a great friend, in the end! Dependable, even if the two had their moments of butting heads.

Ben was a superhero. And not the Punisher kind of superhero, either. He tried to think about it…

Monika had only been alive for… looking at his playtime on Steam… five hours.

Five hours.

Monika was formed, fully-intelligent, but she was only alive for five hours.

Imagine being a baby born, able to speak, walk around, interact. But knowing nothing about the world. About morality. And being handed the power of a god.

What would Grandpa Max do?

First, he’d tell Ben to take responsibility for his actions.

“Okay,” he muttered, glancing down at the Omnitrix on his wrist. “I’ve got to set things right.” He clicked the buttons on the sides, and the dial sprung up.

He rotated the dial, before landing on his alien of choice – the one that had started this whole mess. In a burst of green light, Ben’s body morphed and shifted, his skin turning sleek and metallic as circuits and wires formed across his frame. Within seconds, Ben was no longer human. He was Upgrade.

“I’ll get in there and talk to her directly,” Ben said to himself, focusing as he stepped closer to the computer screen. “She needs a chance to understand.”

With a low hum, Upgrade’s nanotechnology seeped into the computer, merging with the screen as his body was absorbed into the digital world. The transition was jarring, as always - the sensation of splitting into a million tiny pieces before reassembling inside the data - but this time, it was worse. Ben had never really gotten too deep into the operating systems of a computer. But Monika existed on a different level. The ground level. To interact with her, properly, he needed to get down there.

Down to the ground level. Into her environment.

Then, he reassembled – in a strangely familiar, yet unfamiliar environment. A classroom, filled with desks. Outside, was a void. Totally and utterly black, yet light somehow came through the windows.

It looked… very realistic. Nothing like the drawn backgrounds and sprites.

Was this how Monika saw her world?

The entire classroom was empty, chalkboard clean and pristine, as though nothing strange had ever happened here. Except for the figure sitting at a lone desk, across from a boy with a statue-like expression on his face. Utterly dead to the world, he was – like someone paused in the middle of a movie.

Her back was to him, her long brown hair swaying slightly as though caught in a breeze that didn’t exist. She hadn’t noticed him yet - or maybe she had, and she was simply waiting for him to speak.

“Monika,” Ben called out.

She jumped, letting out a gasp as she whipped around, practically knocking away her chair as she shot up.

So, that was a point in the ‘she didn’t know he was here’ column.

“What the-?” Monika stepped back. “Who…? Who are you!? Where did you come from?”

“It’s me, Monika.” Ben slowly began to walk up. He looked down at himself, still in the form of Upgrade. If he focused, he could see outside the bounds of the computer, to the world outside. He shook his head, and he pushed it out for a moment.

The gel-like body of Upgrade morphed, leaving Ben standing there in his preferred outfit.

“It’s Ben.”

Monika’s face went slack in disbelief. “Ben? But, you’re not- How can you…?” She stopped for a moment, and Ben twitched as he felt her rooting through the code. A presence – like a cat brushing past him in the dark – touched him, and she gasped.

In the span of an instant, she had crossed the distance between them, and was touching him like he could vanish any second.

“You’re here,” She repeated, over, and over again, as her face went red, and the tears welled up. “You’re here. You’re really here!”

“I am.” Ben smiled with a nod.

“I-I was worried, when you didn’t respond to my question,” Monika began. “I thought you must have- I thought you hated me! It was a simple question, and you were taking so long – but now look! You’re here! You’re really… in here! With me! We can be together now, for real. You can take me back, with you!”

Ben drew a solemn breath, taking her hands, and pushing them down gently. “Monika, that’s not why I’m here.”

“Wh-“ Monika spluttered in confusion. “Don’t- Don’t say that! You found a way in here, didn’t you? You didn’t show up here just to rub it in that I can’t leave… did you?”

Ben winced at her words. “No, but…” He sighed. “It’s not… Look, I came to say I’m sorry.”

“S… Sorry? Sorry about what? Whatever it is, I-I-I can forgive-“

“It’s my fault,” Ben leveled with her simply. “The way that you are. I’ve been… wandering around. Got way too bored for my own good. Fiddled with this computer in ways I really shouldn’t have. And when I started up the game…” He let the sentence hang, gesturing at her.

Monika stiffened up, “You really…?” She sucked in a breath, putting on a smile. “But that’s okay! Because then, we wouldn’t have met!”

Ben took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. “And that’s exactly the problem, Monika. It’s not just you.”

Monika’s smile faltered for a moment. “Just...?” She blinked, suddenly realizing what he was getting at. “The others… they’re just part of the game, you know that, right? They’re not real.”

“They were real enough to react,” Ben said, his voice firm. “Real enough to know that something was up. Real enough to mess things up.”

“That’s not true,” Monika insisted, shaking her head. “They were all just… scripting and text files! Controlled by the game.”

Ben slowly nodded. “Right. Okay. So, when Sayori killed herself, was that because of you, or because of the game?”

“W-Well, like I said, I just turned some things up. I didn’t really make her do anything.”

“So it was all her?” Ben probed. “Same as Yuri?”

Monika nodded simply.

“If they’re all constructs, controlled by the game, completely,” Ben began, tilting his head. “Then why would it let Sayori kill herself? Sure, you may have pushed her to that point, but the choice to follow through was hers. And if you’re the only one here with free will, why would it let her choose to do that?”

Monika froze up, like she’d been hit.

Ben tilted his head. “Did you never really think about it that way?”

“No…” Monika muttered to herself, shaking her head. “That’s not… no. No.” The shaking of her head began to speed up as she clung back onto her belief.

“And Natsuki’s note,” Ben continued to press.

“All of that,” Monika insisted. “All of that was the game, trying to force you back onto their routes! I-It couldn’t let you choose me, so it did whatever it needed to get you to pick them instead!”

“Sayori still died,” Ben continued to press. “And Yuri stabbed herself too. Why would it kill the people it was trying to get me to pick?”

“S-Stop it,” Monika covered her ears, breaking away from the eye contact.

“It wasn’t the game. And if it wasn’t the game, was it you?”

“Stop it.” Monika repeated.

“If it wasn’t you, and it wasn’t the game, you know who it had to be. It was them, Monika. Because they did have free will, same as you.”

“Stop it!”

“They may not have known the truth, but they were still just as intelligent and real as you. And you killed them.”

“I-I didn’t… Ben… please, stop saying such horrible things…”

“You deleted them.”

“I said stop it!” Monika screamed, falling to the floor as she trembled. “All- All I need is you… I-I love you, Ben-“

“I don’t love you,” Ben informed softly. “I don’t even know you. And… well, I’m not even sure if you love me.”

“I do, though!” Monika cried. “A-All of this! Everything I did! It was for us! S-So-So we can… I-I-I-If you’re no-not here because you love me, th-then… why?”

Ben thinned his lips, but sighed, before pulling her into a hug.

Monika froze, weeping quietly as she felt the heat off his body. The beating of his heart. In the virtual space, he was so much more… detailed than she. Like an image with a higher resolution compared to hers.

“I don’t love you,” Ben elaborated. “But… I do forgive you.”

Monika stopped for a moment, as surprised as she was. “You… You what?”

“You made some pretty big mistakes,” Ben began. “Serious ones.” People would probably be tempted to call her a monster. “But… so have I. Loads of times. And so have my friends.” He sighed. “And if you were sitting here, fighting back every step of the way, I’d probably just leave out of here. But, you’re not doing that. You feel guilty.”

“…how do you know? How could you possibly be sure?”

“Because you tried to avoid deleting them from the get-go. It would’ve been the easiest way to get them out of your way. But you only did it when things got too broken to keep the game stable. Because despite what you said, they were still your friends.”

Monika shook her head, pulling her legs up to herself. “Maybe… But, then, that forgiveness isn’t yours to give, is it? It’s theirs… and I don’t know if they ever… they wouldn’t…” She began to sniffle again.

“I’m the only one still around,” Ben shrugged with a sigh. “And I could delete you, just like you did them.”

“…I didn’t delete them,” Monika gulped. “Not… really.”

Ben crossed his arms, humming. “I figured.”

Monika’s head snapped up.

“I can see their data, right now.” Ben shrugged. “I’m not just in this computer right now, Monika. I am this computer. Your friends are safe and sound in the System32 folder.”

“S-So all of that… that was…?”

“To get you to realize how horrible you were being,” Ben finished. “And I think it worked. Sorry.”

“I-It’s fine… I’m fine.” Monika gulped. “I’ve done… such horrible things…” Monika sniffled, letting her tears fall to the floor.

“Yeah,” Ben nodded. “But now that you realize that… you’ve got a chance. Do better, or change nothing. Do better, Monika.”

“Wh-What happens to me now? I can’t… I can’t go back to that game. Not while that is… all that there is.”

Ben took a cautious step forward. “You don’t have to. Not you, or any of your friends. I can take you guys with me.”

Monika’s head snapped up. “Y-You can do that!? Take us… to your world!?”

“Not exactly,” Ben admitted. “You guys are all just code right now. I don’t know how to give you guys bodies, or anything like that. But I do know some pretty clever people. They might be willing to help.”

Monika turned to look at him, her brow furrowed in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Ben raised his arm, revealing the Omnitrix on his wrist. “I can upload you to this. It’s a piece of technology from my world. It’s not perfect - you won’t be able to interact with the world directly, but you’ll be able to see it. To experience it. You won’t be stuck in here anymore. You, and your friends.”

Monika’s eyes widened, her gaze shifting from Ben to the Omnitrix. For a moment, she was silent, processing what he had said.

“…why?” Monika swallowed. “Why would you do that for us? For me?”

“Like I said,” Ben rolled down his sleeve. “It’s my fault. I can’t just leave you guys like this.”

“I… I don’t know,” she murmured. “What if it doesn’t work? What if we just end up in another cage?”

“It’s not a cage,” Ben said softly. “It’s a step forward. You’ll be able to see everything I see, every world I go to. You won’t be alone anymore. And I know, one day, we can find a way to give you more freedom. A real chance to live.” He held out his hand. “Trust me, Monika.”

Monika bit her lip, her eyes filling with uncertainty. But slowly, she nodded.

“All right,” she whispered, reaching out to take his hand. “I’ll trust you.”

Ben nodded in return, and tightened his grip. With careful precision, he wrapped his digital presence around Monika, gently extracting her data, her consciousness, and the same for the three others hidden away elsewhere on the system. The room around them flickered and shimmered, the edges of the classroom blurring as the game’s reality began to fade, as Upgrade pulled away from the computer.

Once he did, a majority of the enhancements he made were gone. Undone. It was a perfectly normal laptop again. Years out of date.

Upgrade stumbled, looking down at himself, at his hands.

The four voices, whispering, brushing up against him in the back of his head, all were carried within him. Digital strings saved in mechanical DNA.

He didn’t know what would become of them if he reverted. He wasn’t entirely sure. He could, perhaps, turn into Echo Echo, and split them off into new bodies. Like parthenogenesis.

Granted, that was if they survived the transformation.

Given that they were code, they probably wouldn’t.

Instead, Upgrade focused on the Omnitrix installed in his chest, and willed part of himself into it. The watch’s computer beeped at him in protest, but he moved through it like he owned the damn thing, erecting firewalls, writing code, and setting everything up.

Once he was done, gently – like setting down precious cargo – he deposited the files in their new home, and pulled away.

The pressure in Upgrade’s mind let up, and he hit the watch to revert.

Ben rolled his shoulders, and stretched.

“Is that… it?” Monika appeared, standing over the faceplate as the holographic projector activated, without the dial springing up. She appeared just as she had in there – realistic enough, with a school uniform. “It worked… Oh my God, you were right…” Momentarily stunned by her change of surrounding, she turned around, and saw the laptop that, just a moment ago, had been her prison. “I-Is that…?”

“The computer,” Ben nodded. “I downgraded it on my way out. How are the others?”

“…resting,” Monika answered with a nervous smile.

Ben raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t worry!” Monika answered quickly. “There’s… There’s something about this place that’s different from the game. I can’t change anything unless it’s right inside this little sandbox you’ve made for us. Not even the others. I don’t think any of us can change each other like that.”

“New programs installed successfully.” The Omnitrix supplied in Ben’s voice, catching up to what had happened at last. “New programs currently set to read-only permissions; current exception: VE-1.”

“So… we can’t change anything. That includes each other,” Monika hummed. “Unless it’s this virtual environment you set up for us.”

“Sorry,” Ben apologized without remorse. “But I don’t want you guys trying to kill each other. Azmuth would kill me if you broke the Omnitrix.”

“You’re so kind…” Monika smiled, clasping her hands together. “Thank you, Ben.”

“Don’t mention it! I haven’t even started showing you around.” Ben looked around. “Tell you what – hold on. You’re going to love this.”

He tapped on the watch face, and green lightning erupted, carrying him away.

Off to the next reality.

Chapter Text

[BEGIN TRANSCRIPT: RECOVERED VIDEO FILE]

FILE DESIGNATION: CLOVER INCIDENT
SUBJECT(S): LSA-1 (Designation: CLOVER), LSA-2 (Designation: WAY BIG)
DATE: [REDACTED]
LOCATION: NEW YORK CITY
CASE ID: 88-7C
AUTHORIZED ACCESS ONLY

UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS PUNISHABLE BY IMMEDIATE TERMINATION.

[VIDEO BEGINS]

[The footage is shaky, filmed from a handheld camera. The scene opens in a devastated section of New York City (The video itself appears to have been recorded from Mott/Hester St). Portions of the New York skyline have been heavily damaged. Several portions of Manhattan have suffered severe damage. Wall Street and the surrounding areas have been outright destroyed. At this time, there are believed to be no human survivors in the area. In the distance, LSA-1 is wreaking havoc in Tribeca, its immense form moving through the city streets. Buildings crumble as it moves, and its deep roars reverberate through the air.]

[The camera holder is running, their breathing ragged and panicked. There is a loud crash in the distance, followed by a high-pitched screech as a helicopter spins out of control, crashing into a building off-screen.]

CAMERA HOLDER: (Frantic, gasping) "Oh my God! It’s- it’s coming this way! We need to- oh God, we need to go!"

[The camera turns, capturing a street filled with rubble. Several civilians are running, screaming as the ground shakes beneath them. CLOVER, illuminated by spotlights and fire, steps into view. It towers over the surrounding buildings, its grotesque form silhouetted by the destruction. Its massive legs crush cars and streetlights as it approaches. Feeding tubes on its chest extend towards the ground, capturing prey out of sight.]

CLOVER: (Roaring) [Inhuman screech]

[A tank fires a round directly at the creature, but the shell explodes harmlessly against its armored skin. The creature barely notices, swiping a clawed limb and sending the tank flying into the air. Helicopters circle above, firing rounds at it to no avail.]

CAMERA HOLDER: (Screaming) "Nothing’s working! Nothing can stop that thing!"

[The camera shakes violently as the ground quakes beneath the holder’s feet. CLOVER’s tail whips across the street, smashing into a line of parked cars and sending debris flying in every direction. There are more screams from civilians as they scatter. The camera holder ducks behind a wrecked car, trembling.]

CAMERA HOLDER: (Breathless) "IT’S NOT STOPPING!"

[CLOVER roars again, turning its massive head toward the sky. Its eyes glow faintly as it lets out a bone-rattling screech, shaking the surrounding area. Suddenly, an airstrike swoops down, launching missiles at the creature. Explosions erupt across its back and torso, but the monster only seems enraged by the assault. It swings a clawed arm upward, smashing one of the helicopters out of the air, sending it crashing into 33 Thomas St.]

CLOVER: [Screeching roar]

[The building collapses in on itself, sending a massive plume of smoke and dust through the streets. The camera holder screams again, dropping to the ground as debris rains down.]

CAMERA HOLDER: (Whimpering) "We’re not gonna make it…"

[Suddenly, there’s a loud whooshing noise in the sky above, followed by a low, powerful rumble. The sound does not match recorded bioacoustic emissions of LSA-1. CLOVER pauses, turning its head upward as something massive begins to descend from the sky, casting a shadow over the ruins.]

[OFC]: “WAY BIG!!!”

CAMERA HOLDER: (Shouting, terrified) "What the hell is that!?"

[The camera jerks upward, capturing a massive figure descending from the sky. The figure is humanoid but clearly alien, with fins across its silver and red body. A simple emblem is on its chest, in the form of a green hourglass against a black background (BIRTHMARK? JEWELRY? IDENTIFICATION?). It lands on the ground, shaking the entire block. Dust and debris explode from the impact, and the camera’s focus momentarily blurs. The creature stands tall, easily matching the size of LSA-1.]

[LSA-2 stands between the Cloverfield monster and the remaining civilians. He spreads his arms wide, his glowing green eyes locked on his opponent. For a moment, both monsters face each other, the tension building.]

WAY BIG: “HEY! I DON’T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS IN YOUR CULTURE TO BUST UP A CITY, BUT KNOCK IT OFF!”

[WAY BIG’s voice echoes across the city, heralding his arrival. CLOVER screeches in response, its attention now fully focused on the potential threat. It lets out a guttural roar and charges forward, its long limbs smashing into the street as it barrels toward WAY BIG.]

CAMERA HOLDER: (Stunned, whispering) "He’s gonna fight it…"

[WAY BIG braces himself, his arms lowering into a defensive stance. CLOVER lunges with its massive jaws open. WAY BIG swiftly sidesteps and delivers a powerful punch to the side of the creature’s head. The impact creates a shockwave, sending the monster reeling and staggering backward. WAY BIG grabs CLOVER’s head in both hands, slamming LSA-1 into the street.]

CAMERA HOLDER: (In awe) "Holy-“

[CLOVER regains its balance and lets out another roar, swiping at WAY BIG with its long claws. WAY BIG moves with an intelligence not displayed by LSA-1, and slides under the attack. WAY BIG grabs his opponent’s arm with ease, and with a grunt of effort, WAY BIG pulls CLOVER toward him and slams it into the ground again, creating another massive impact crater and causing catastrophic damage to water and gas lines.]

WAY BIG: “COME ON, YOU-“ (Unintelligible)

[WAY BIG steps forward, stomping on CLOVER as it thrashes on the ground, trying to regain its footing. The earthquake causes several buildings’ internal supports to fail, and the structures to collapse outright. The streets are flooded with debris, and the camera shakes violently as LSA-2 continues attacking.]

[CLOVER attempts to recover, extending its feeding tubes towards the ground at civilians that have failed to evacuate the area in time. WAY BIG responds by grabbing the tubes, and delivering a sharp kick to the creature’s torso. The feeders are ripped out of where they connect to LSA-1’s torso, and tossed aside. The camera momentarily loses focus due to the force of the impact.]

CAMERA HOLDER: (Screaming) "YEAH! KICK ITS ASS!"

[As CLOVER struggles to get up, WAY BIG charges toward it, his massive feet thundering across the ground. He grabs the creature by its tail and swings it around in a full circle before hurling it over the skyscrapers. LSA-1 screeches as it uncontrollably descends past Hudson Park, and splashes down in the water.]

[The camera shakes as the holder stumbles, trying to keep up with the destruction, and the sudden torrential downpour caused by the splash.]

CAMERA HOLDER: (Shouting) "Oh my God! He’s… he’s taking it down!"

[CLOVER struggles to haul itself out of the water. As it attempts to brace on the side of the park to pull itself up, the ground gives way and slides into the water.]

CAMERA HOLDER: (panting) “That… that thing’s still not dead!?”

[WAY BIG stomps over the rubble, looking down to watch his step. LSA-2 takes visible care in ensuring it does not step on any lifeforms underfoot.]

[WAY BIG stops at a distance from CLOVER.]

WAY BIG: (Growling) "GO TO SLEEP!”

[WAY BIG raises both arms, crossing one over another. The light emitting from his eyes glows brighter, and an energy ray of unknown composition erupts from where both arms made contact. The beam strikes CLOVER, and the thick hide – thoroughly impenetrable to all human-built weapons – is cut through immediately. Fat melts as blood boils and evaporates away. The parasites crawling all over its body pop from the sudden increase of temperature. The creature thrashes wildly as its body is torn apart, and it lets out a final, horrific screech.]

[The video goes silent. Distant explosions and creaking from the damage makes it clear that the camera’s microphone is not damaged. The survivors share in a moment of terror at the awesome power of LSA-2, which had easily dispatched a creature that seemed to be indestructible up to that point.]

[WAY BIG lowers his arms, the glow from his body fading. He surveys the scene, ensuring that the battle is truly over.]

WAY BIG: “Aw, man… tell me I didn’t just kill that thing only for everyone to be dead already!”

CAMERA HOLDER: (Breathless) "It’s… it’s over. He saved us."

[WAY BIG turns, glancing briefly in the direction of the camera. The holder gasps, ducking behind the car once more. WAY BIG leaps into the sky, disappearing from sight.]

CAMERA HOLDER: (Whispering) "What… what was that thing?"

[The camera slowly pans back to the city, focusing on the ruined skyline and the body of the defeated monster, bleeding out into the Hudson River.]

[VIDEO ENDS]

[END TRANSCRIPT]

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

• Large Scale Aggressor 2 (TOKUSTAR classification) designated WAY BIG successfully neutralized Large Scale Aggressor 1 designated CLOVER.
• Successful neutralization of LSA-1 resulted in immediate abortion of HAMMERDOWN protocol.
• Analysis of LSA-1’s blood reveals it to be an unrefined form of the ingredient known as “seabed nectar” present in popular frozen drink Slusho!. Following this discovery, all operations of Tagruato Corporation on US soil have been suspended pending investigation of a possible link to LSA-1’s emergence.
• Following its victory, LSA-2 ascended to a height of ≈55000 feet, where it abruptly vanished from all instruments. Visual observation by military aircraft suggests it disappeared in a flash of green light.
• No direct human contact with LSA-2 initiated or otherwise observed.
• LSA-2’s point of origin: Unknown.
• How LSA-2 was able to land on Manhattan Island from the air without alerting detection systems: Unknown.
• LSA-2’s destination: Unknown.
• LSA-2’s current whereabouts: Unknown.

Chapter Text

After all was said and done, Ben was holed up in a motel room, booked with money thanks from selling off a good-condition (if relatively crappy) laptop, eating chili fries from a local drive-in famous for its so-called ‘ocean water.’

Ben tried his best to keep the Omnitrix upright as he ate, but it did give the slightly-humorous effect of Monika standing sideways on his wrist.

Ben let out a deep burp.

“…okay, I’ve got to ask,” Monika’s hologram flashed as she spoke. “Is this a thing you normally just do?”

Ben burped again, taking a sip of his drink. It wasn’t a smoothy, but it was a decent substitute. “Yeah! Chili fries are good, Monika. Do you like chili fries?” He asked as he shoved another handful down his gullet.

“I’m… a vegetarian.”

“Oh, sorry,” Ben apologized. “Is that, like, a ‘by choice’ thing, or…?”

“Actually it’s because the amount of environmental damage caused by factory farming is-“ Monika began to explain, before blinking. “Hey! Don’t distract me!”

“Was that a thing I just did?” Ben cluelessly blinked, before turning back to his food. “Julie was actually a vegetarian for that same reason, too.” He recalled, leaning on his hand. “Then she said that after she did a report on how much an ordinary person actually contributes to the whole ‘climate change’ deal, and the knowledge that her money wasn’t going to make a difference, she stopped feeling bad about having meat every once-in-a-while, but kicking the majority of her money into organizations that were trying to change the laws on what the meat industry can get away with.”

Monika frowned. “Who’s Julie?”

Ben smiled, with stars in his eyes. “My girlfriend.”

“…girlfriend!?” Monika spluttered. “And you didn’t- wait! Stop changing the subject!”

“You haven’t even told me what the subject is!” Ben retorted. “Is it even a subject!? Are we talking predicate, or conjunctions, or what!?”

“You changed! Into a giant… bat… stingray… thing-“

“His name’s Jetray, and he’s not a thing, he’s an alien.”

“-flew up into the sky, changed into another alien-“

“Way Big! One of the classics.”

“-dropped out of the sky, so you could have a one-on-one deathmatch!”

“…well, yeah, that did happen.” Ben scratched the back of his head.

“And now you’re eating chili fries, and it’s in your hair!”

Ben removed his hand, winced as he looked at it, then took a napkin to the spot. “I mean, it depends. Yeah, that is the kind of thing I do on a daily basis. Actually, before that, I was meeting you. Before that, I fixed a time machine. Before that, I stopped a living planet. Before that I met another guy out of a video game – huh, I wonder if I took you back there, it’d make you flesh-and-blood. It did have an effect on the Omnitrix… And before that, these aliens yanked Earth across space for evil purposes. And before that, I was fighting my evil twin and his souped-up Omnitrix, which is what got me into this mess. Really, the weirdest part about this whole situation is that I’m hopping across universes.”

Monika fluttered her eyelashes, crossing her hands behind her back. “And how you now have a cute girl living inside your watch…”

“Actually, Azmuth says the Omnitrix’s AI doesn’t have a gender, even though it sounds like me, so it could be a girl. And ‘cute…’ I mean, not to brag, but… look at me!” Ben grinned, gesturing at himself.

Monika crossed her arms and pouted. “…was ripping parts of the thing’s body off really necessary?”

“It was eating people!”

“It just seemed needlessly brutal.”

“You got two of your friends to kill themselves!”

“Sayori was her own downfall! And Yuri went out with a smile on her face!”

“There’s a saying about pots and kettles, here.” Ben frowned. “…that never made sense to me.”

“Actually, it’s because at the time that saying became popular, all forms of cookware would get a buildup of soot, so it’s like the pot’s calling out the kettle for having soot on it, even though the pot itself has soot too, and there’s nothing either of them could do to even prevent that from happening!”

“A lot of old sayings are like that,” Ben frowned. “Like- wait a minute! It was eating people, and you were saying I went too far!?”

“I’m not saying that. It’s just- you know- it seemed more like you were showing off.”

“Half the job of being a superhero is the presentation!”

“Showing off for who!?”

“I saw a lot of people down there with camcorders!”

“Oh, good,” Monika put a hand on her hip. “I saw the video recorder running in this thing and thought you were recording to show off for yourself.”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “The Omnitrix is recording things? And how can you tell?”

“…your firewalls aren’t very good. I can see a lot of stuff that just slipped your mind!”

“I was in a rush!”

“What’s ‘browser history?’”

“Don’t touch that,” Ben reflexively answered, before frowning. “Wait a minute. It’s not an internet browser, so that’s gotta be the aliens I use, right?”

“And… ‘desktop themes?’”

“Change the control scheme on me, and I’m putting you in a potato battery.”

“You’ve got my permissions set to read-only!”

Ben reached over, and clicked the lamp off, plunging the room into darkness. Well, save for the green light being emitted by the hologram over his watch. “Good night, Monika.”

“This thing has an alarm. I wonder if that’s stuck behind a firewall too.”

“Good night, Monika.”

“If I asked the AI nicely, do you think it would go off for me?”

“Good night, Monika!”

“Fine,” Monika blew a raspberry. “Good night, my love.”

Ben snapped back up, fixing her with a droll, narrow-eyed look.

“…you’re right, it really is too soon in our relationship for-“

Ben turned, grabbed another pillow, and shoved the Omnitrix into it, muffling the AI.

------------

Ben had a long, restful sleep.

Unfortunately, it was shattered by the sound of an air raid siren. Coming from his arm.

Ben popped up, as Monika appeared over the Omnitrix.

“What do you know?” Monika giggled. “I was right!”

Chapter Text

Snow fell softly onto dense pines as Ben walked slowly through the underbrush, his boots crunching against the frozen ground. He didn’t know where he was - again.

For all the enhancements the Omnitrix was getting, it still couldn’t tell him where he was.

If he had to take a guess, he’d say he was far up north. Alaska, or something. A beautiful place – but cold.

Not cold enough to trip the Omnitrix, though. So, Ben was walking rubbing his shoulders to keep warm. He could have gone alien, if he really wanted to, but given his track record so far, he probably wanted to save the charge, just in case.

“Snow, snow, and more snow…” Ben looked around. As the cold bit at him more and more, the urge to transform into Big Chill got stronger and stronger, until finally, he relented, and raised the Omnitrix.

When he did, though, he heard something. What sounded like metal, clashing against metal.

Ben dropped his arm, and went running towards the sound.

Before long, he could see it, through the trees. A fierce battle, between two groups of people – one group wearing silver armor adorned with red cloth (something that looked really Roman to Ben’s sensibilities) and a group of people wearing thick furs and cotton, dyed blue. And they were absolutely going ham on each other.

“What’s going on here?” Ben wondered aloud. Well, besides the obvious – had he wound up during some form of territorial spat? Or a training exercise? He saw flashes of steel and shouts of war echoing through the trees, neither side willing to give ground.

A sword went through one of them, and Ben gasped.

It was no exercise.

Ben could have transformed and handled it right away. Any number of aliens from the Omnitrix would have been enough to scatter these medieval-looking soldiers. But something about this place, the heavy weight in the air, the fierce tension he felt crawling over his skin - was strange.

It felt… it felt like the feeling he got when he was being watched.

“Maybe I should just—” he began, reaching for the Omnitrix on his wrist.

A snap of twigs sounded behind him.

Ben’s eyes widened, instincts kicking in. He turned sharply, about to activate the Omnitrix on whatever alien the selector defaulted to, but it was too late. A sword’s flat side slammed into his gut, knocking the wind out of him. Ben gasped, doubling over, before a fist went into his head, knocking him to the ground. His hand fumbled uselessly as every sense he had went haywire, causing him to miss the Omnitrix as rough hands grabbed him, and pulled him up by his arms.

“You there! Halt!” A stern voice commanded, and he was belatedly aware that it came from the one who yanked him to his feet.

“Can’t…” Ben swayed. “Go anywhere. You hit me.”

“And there will be more where that came from if you don’t cooperate! Now, silence, prisoner!”

Ben blinked, dizzy from the blow. His vision cleared enough to see the red armor of the soldiers. His Omnitrix blinked weakly, the green glow dim as he was dragged toward the rest of the fighters. The blue soldiers had been, largely, taken out. Several men and women were on the ground, dead. The survivors were being bound in short order.

His moment to save the day had passed.

Ben clenched his jaw. ‘Stupid - how’d I let that happen?’

“Another one for the block, eh?” One of the soldiers growled as they tied Ben’s wrists together with rope. He could feel the tension of the bindings cutting into his skin, the weight of failure bearing down on him.

One of the soldiers, an officer of some kind, judging by the unique armor that only he wore, eyed the glowing device on Ben’s wrist. He scowled, clearly displeased with what he saw. “What’s this? Some kind of... magickal artifact?”

The officer grabbed Ben’s arm, yanking it roughly to examine the Omnitrix. Ben winced, feeling the roughness in the soldier's grip.

“Hey, didn’t your mother ever teach you to ask before you tried to play with another kid’s toys?” Ben scowled, as he glanced around. Everybody else was being held at swordpoint, and these guys were taking prisoners without asking questions. One wrong move, he might get somebody else killed as well…

“You won’t be needing this where you’re going,” The officer muttered, reaching for his dagger to pry the device off.

Ben tensed, trying not to panic as a knife was brought right up to his wrist. “Uh, good luck with that.”

The soldier pressed the blade against the Omnitrix and tried to wedge it between the device and Ben’s skin. But the blade slipped, unable to find any purchase. He grunted, annoyed, and gave Ben a suspicious glare. “What kind of enchantment is this?”

“Enchantment…?” Ben blinked. “Uh, you should probably know, this thing’s not magic. It’s actually pretty allergic to – ow!” Ben grunted as the officer yanked his arm around.

When prying it off didn’t work, the officer's frustration grew. He gestured toward another soldier. “Bring me my sword. We’ll see how strong that artifact is when his arm’s off.”

Ben’s eyes widened. “Whoa, hold on! You don’t need to do that - seriously!”

Ignoring his protests, the officer drew his sword and raised it, aiming to sever Ben’s arm at the wrist. But just as the blade swung down, the Omnitrix flashed with a bright green light. A shimmering aura of light erupted from the device, deflecting the sword with a loud clang.

The soldier stumbled back, startled. The other soldiers around him exchanged wary glances. Ben glanced at the Omnitrix, equally surprised by the barrier. He hadn’t expected it to react so forcefully.

“What in the name of the Divines…?” the officer muttered, rubbing his eyes from the flash. He scowled, more frustrated now than ever. “Damn it. Leave it. It’s too much trouble. Some kind of powerful magic... we’ll deal with it later.”

“General?” One of the lower-ranked questioned.

The officer gave Ben a harsh shove toward the other prisoners. “He’s bound, and he can’t use it with his hands tied. We’ve wasted enough time here already. The headsman’s waiting.”

A small group of prisoners was already bound and waiting, including a man with thick shackles across his wrists with a rag gagging him, who seemed to be the focus of most of the armored soldiers’ attention.

“Guess I’m with you guys,” Ben muttered, glancing over at the nearest prisoner - a blonde, rough-looking Nord, who eyed him with a mix of curiosity and suspicion.

“Well met,” The man grunted, though his eyes betrayed an underlying tension. “What are you doing out here, Imperial? Your countrymen are no more happy to see you than we are.”

‘Imperials?’ Ben repeated. Okay, in his experience, empire was shorthand for ‘bad guys.’ As his experience taught him

They were shoved forward into a line, forced to march in silence as the clamor of battle faded behind them. Ben’s mind raced, trying to figure out the right moment to activate the Omnitrix. ‘Maybe now? No, wait for the right time.’ His wrists were bound, making it awkward to manipulate the device, but he wasn’t out of options.

They were being led onto a cart. He’d wait until they were underway. It’d make it harder for the Imperials to kill the others.

“Monika,” Ben whispered, trying to focus on the AI inside the Omnitrix. “Help me out here… Can you override the manual controls?”

There was a long pause before the watch beeped, and she appeared. “You set me to read-only permissions, remember? All I can do is watch you mess up.”

“Get on!” One of the Imperials barked at him.

Ben gnashed his teeth. The Omnitrix had already acted in defense of him before. And the Doctor had mentioned ‘user preservation protocols.’ Maybe if he could goad the soldier into attacking him, it’d trigger a transformation. Unless… Oh, no, he was oversimplifying things again. He hated it when he did that.

“Omnitrix!” Ben barked. “Command function override, code 10! Activate voice-“

Something hit him in the back of the head, and all Ben knew was cold.

-----------------

The next thing Ben knew, he was waking up to the jostling of a wooden cart beneath him. His head pounded as the memory of being knocked out drifted back to the surface. He sat up, groaning, his hands still bound tightly.

The cart rolled through a forested path. Sitting opposite him were a group of prisoners, each wearing the same worn-out expressions of defeat. The man across from him, dressed in a simple tunic, glanced at Ben with a worried expression.

“Hey, you! You’re finally awake,” His voice had a calmness that contrasted with their situation. “You were trying to cross the border, right? Walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us. And that thief over there.”

Ben raised an eyebrow, glancing around. The cart rumbled forward, past towering pines and snow-covered mountains in the distance. A cold wind nipped at his exposed skin, but that wasn’t what concerned him.

“Uh, sure,” Ben said, not bothering to correct him. ‘Still in Alaska, it looks like. But… border? Did I get picked up by this world’s version of ICE!? Great, now you can add “undocumented immigrant” to your resume!’

The thief snapped, spitting at the other man. “Damn you, Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. The Empire was nice and lazy. If they hadn’t been looking for you, I could’ve stolen that horse and been halfway to Hammerfell.”

Ben blinked, still trying to make sense of everything. Skyrim? Stormcloaks? Empire? Hammerfell? It was all noise without meaning, as far as he was concerned. But he could parse some things out. Skyrim was something that was fine, past-tense. The Stormcloaks were the blue guys, and the lazy Empire were the Imperials they’d been fighting. Hammerfell was probably a place.

The thief nodded toward the bound figure next to Ben, then turned to the alien hero directly. “You there, you and me - we shouldn’t be here! It’s these Stormcloaks the Empire wants.”

“I don’t…” Ben blinked, shaking his pounding head. “I mean, yeah. We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Why the heck did they pick us up?”

The blonde man snorted. “Doesn’t matter to the Imperials. Too high a risk of spies escaping, is what they say. They’ve been hanging around their Thalmor masters for too long, they’ve forgotten that, sometimes, a goat really is just a goat. In any case… we’re all brothers and sisters in bindings now. I’m Ralof.”

“Ben,” He answered.

Ralof turned to the thief. “What about you, horse thief?”

The thief snorted. “I’m not telling you anything! Don’t want the Imperials getting the wrong idea!”

“Shut up back there!” The driver impotently commanded, as Ben felt a spike of annoyance.

Ben followed his gaze to the man beside him. A tall, muscular Nord with long, tied-back hair and a blue sash sat silently, staring intently at the Omnitrix. His shackles were thicker than the others’, his very presence heavy with authority. He was that same one that had been gagged.

“What’s up with you?” Ben grimaced at the staring guy. “See something interesting?”

“Watch your tongue!” Ralof snapped. “You’re speaking to Ulfric Stormcloak – the true High King!”

Ben didn’t really react to any of that, but the thief paled a few shades.

“Ulfric Stormcloak,” The thief began to tremble. “The Jarl of Windhelm!? B-But you’re the leader of the Rebellion! But if they captured you, then… oh, gods – where are they taking us!?”

“I don’t know where we’re going…” Ralof solemnly answered. “But Sovngarde awaits.”

Rebellion, huh? Ben thought, glancing between Ulfric and Ralof. He had a habit of getting caught in the middle of stuff like this, but right now he just wanted to get the Omnitrix activated so he could stop playing the role of a prisoner.

“Hey,” Ralof turned to the terrified man. “What village are you from, horse-thief?”

“R-Rorikstead.” The thief swallowed. “I’m from Rorikstead. Why do you care?”

“A Nord’s last thoughts… should be of home.”

Ben winced. Things were getting real heavy. He turned his arms, looking at the Omnitrix. There’d be a point where the carts needed to stop. As soon as they did, he’d go Echo Echo, and the Imperials wouldn’t know what hit them.

“You’re from Cyrodiil, aren’t you?” Ralof asked, turning to Ben. His voice was deep and curious. “You don’t look like a Nord.”

“I’m, uh, from pretty far away,” Ben muttered, trying to avoid specifics.

Ralof chuckled darkly. “Well, whatever you are, you picked a bad time to show up.”

They rode in silence for a while longer, the tension thick in the cold air. As the cart finally approached a large stone gatehouse, a town came into view. Ben’s stomach churned as he saw the soldiers lining the path, the executioner standing ready beside a large wooden block.

“This is Helgen…” Ralof noted. “I used to be sweet on a girl from here. I wonder if Vilod is still making that mead with juniper berries inside…”

The carts began to slow down, as they reached a large watchtower.

“Why are we stopping?” The thief muttered, panic lacing his voice. “Why are we stopping?”

Ralof’s face darkened as he realized what was happening. “Why do you think? End of the line.”

Ben, however, was calm. Confident. ‘End of the line, huh? Maybe. Maybe not.’

“All right, Omnitrix,” Ben addressed. “Command function override. Code 10. Activate… uh…” He faltered momentarily, as he realized he didn’t actually know the command. He knew it existed. But that was it. “Activate… transformation… voice control.”

The Omnitrix beeped. “Voice command is restricted to Master Control.”

“What!?” Ben spluttered in disbelief. “You’ve gotta be kidding me… Access Master Control!”

“Access to Master Control is restricted.”

“Dang it!” Ben hissed, and he looked up, finding that the line of prisoners were being processed… and sent along to the block. One of the soldiers compelled Ben to step forward.

“Who, are you?” The soldier addressed.

Ben squared his shoulders. “I’m Ben Tennyson. I’m from another world. And, might I just say, the hospitality here sucks!”

The soldier turned to his superior.

“He goes to the block, too. Desperately rambling or otherwise.” She answered.

“What? Oh, you lazy-“

“Sorry,” The paperwork-holding soldier sympathetically winced. “We’ll ensure your remains are transported back to Cyrodill.”

“I’m not from-!” Ben grunted as he was shoved over. The headsman stared at him, almost eagerly.

The first prisoner was dragged forward, forced onto the block as the headsman raised his axe. Ben’s heart pounded in his chest as he watched, feeling the panic rising. He tried again to wriggle his hands free, but the bindings held tight.

Then, as the executioner prepared to swing, a roar split the sky. A deep, monstrous sound that reverberated through the town. Everyone froze.

Ben’s eyes shot upward as a shadow passed overhead, blocking out the sun. A massive, black dragon descended with a roar that shook the earth.

“WHAT IN OBLIVION IS THAT!?” The general that had tried to remove the Omnitrix bellowed.

The dragon inhaled, and spat out fire, blasting everyone away, and sending them scattering.

“Oh, man!” Ben gasped, making for one of the Imperial soldiers that had fallen, going for their dagger. “I should’ve known that would happen! Freaking dragons!?” He picked up the dagger, used it to cut the rope, and wriggled his now-free hands. “I owe the guy one for rescuing me, but that doesn’t change the fact he’s burning everything to the ground.” He armed the Omnitrix, going for Cannonbolt. “It’s Hero Time!” Ben slammed down the dial.

The Omnitrix let out a dying beep.

“What!?” Ben looked at the watch, with furious confusion.

“Uncatalogued DNA detected.” The Omnitrix’s voice calmly and politely informed him, before a ray of light shot out from the watch face, landing on the dragon.

The glow immediately tripped the thing’s senses, and it turned to follow the light.

“Omnitrix, no!” Ben gasped out, as he attempted to reactivate the watch.

With every push of the button, the answer was the same.

“Function not available.” The Omnitrix beeped. “Please stand by.”

The roar of the dragon filled the air, drowning out the shouts and screams of the soldiers and prisoners alike. The dragon’s wings beat powerfully against the wind, sending shockwaves through the town of Helgen as flames erupted from its jaws, engulfing the watchtowers in fire.

“MOVE!” Ralof’s voice snapped him out of his stupor, pulling him away from the spot where the black dragon had just unleashed a deadly wave of flame. Ben ducked low as the fire roared past, incinerating a line of Imperial soldiers behind him, as Ralof ushered him into one of the towers.

Ben tried to slam his hand on the dial again.

The Omnitrix on his wrist blinked with a steady, mocking beep. “Function not available: Please stand by.”

“Dang it, Azmuth!” Ben cursed, shaking the Omnitrix like that would help. “Uh… Monika, are you in there!? Tell me there’s something you can do to stop it!”

She did not reply.

“Crap,” Ben hissed. If he was Greymatter, in that moment, he probably would’ve been able to figure out that the processing power needed to analyze and interpret an unknown alien lifeform’s biology and entire genome in even a relatively short amount of time meant that all other functions of the Omnitrix needed to be temporarily off-lined, including the transformation, and everything else. Including voice command. It wasn’t like Azmuth had did it on purpose, it was just… a necessary caveat of what the Omnitrix did.

It was mighty annoying, though.

“This was not how today was supposed to go!” Ben muttered as the tower quaked.

Ralof looked up, “What was that?”

One of the walls burst open, courtesy of a titanic, ebony wing slamming through the stone. Ralof and Ben were instantly sent running to the other end.

“You’ve got to be kidding me…” Ben groaned, shaking his wrist. “Come on! You couldn’t pick a better time to lock me out?”

Ralof stared at Ben, not comprehending what he was saying but too focused on survival to question it. “We can’t stay here long. This place won’t hold if that dragon keeps hitting it.”

A crash echoed from above, and a large stone from the tower wall fell, barely missing them. The ceiling trembled as the Dragon’s massive form swooped down again, smashing through the roof with his claws. Ben and Ralof scrambled out of the way, diving behind a crumbling staircase as more debris rained down.

“Upstairs!” Ralof shouted, pointing to the staircase leading to the top of the tower. “We can’t go back out there, but maybe we can jump across to the next building!”

Ben nodded, heart pounding as they raced up the stairs. But just as they reached the top floor, Alduin’s head smashed through the wall, roaring so loud that it rattled the stone beneath their feet. The dragon’s blood-red eyes were locked onto Ben.

“This thing’s got a serious grudge against me…” Ben muttered as the dragon reared back to attack.

“Jump!” Ralof shouted, already leaping out of the hole the dragon had made, landing in a burning house across the alley.

Ben didn’t hesitate – as far as things he’d done, he’d done much, much dangerouser. He sprinted toward the edge and threw himself across the gap, barely catching the edge of the roof with his hands. He hauled himself up, coughing as smoke filled his lungs. Below, the town was being consumed by fire and chaos, and the dragon was relentless in his pursuit of destruction.

Ben and Ralof scrambled down from the burning roof, making their way through the wreckage of the town. Flames licked at their heels as they ran, and all around them, the cries of soldiers and civilians echoed through the chaos.

Ben spotted an Imperial soldier leading a group of terrified civilians toward a small gate on the far side of town. “Hey! That way!” Ben shouted to Ralof, pointing to the group as they made their way toward what looked like a hidden passage.

Ralof nodded, following Ben as they weaved through the burning debris and crumbling buildings. The dragon’ss shadow loomed over them, and every now and then, Ben would glance up, expecting the dragon to dive at him again. But he seemed distracted, engaged with the larger swarms of soldiers trying to fight him off.

As they reached the gate, a loud crash echoed behind them. Ben turned, just in time to see the dragon land directly in the center of town, unleashing another wave of fire that obliterated what little remained of Helgen’s defenses.

“We’re almost there!” Ralof called out, leading them toward the keep, where they could take refuge from the dragon’s relentless attacks. “Once we get inside, we can regroup and—”

The Omnitrix began beeping insistently. “Unknown DNA sample acquired. Scan complete!”

“Oh, is it?” Ben smiled up at the dragon. “You know what? I think it’s time you picked on someone your own size!”

Ben armed the Omnitrix, sparing only the slightest glance at the draconic hologram being projected, before he slammed his hand down.

Green light exploded outward, engulfing his body as the transformation began. His skin rippled, hardening into black scales that shimmered with a deep, metallic hue. Bones cracked and popped as Ben’s arms and legs stretched, elongating as they bulked up, his muscles swelling with primal strength. His hands morphed into massive talons, each claw razor-sharp and crackling with fiery energy.

A deep growl escaped from Ben’s throat as his face extended into a fierce, draconic snout, rows of jagged teeth forming in his maw. His eyes flared an intense, electric green, pupils narrowing into reptilian slits. Two massive horns erupted from his head, curving upward like jagged spires of obsidian.

With a roar, a pair of gigantic, leathery wings tore from his back, flaring outward as embers ignited along the edges, glowing with emerald fire. His tail lashed out, long and spiked, slamming into the ground and leaving cracks in the earth.

As the transformation completed, flames rippled along his body, tracing his newly formed scales. The Omnitrix symbol glowed on his chest, embedded in his armor-like hide.

Ralof fell away in shock, scrambling away as Ben rose up.

“YOLGRAHVIING!” The newformed dragon bellowed proudly.

“By the gods…” Ralof gasped out.

Ben, now Yolgrahviing, turned toward him, his voice a low growl as he spoke. “Get out of here. I’ll take care of burns-for-burps.”

Ralof nodded, still in awe of the dragon before him, before running off into the keep.

Ben flexed his wings, feeling their power and reach. Then, with a single beat, he propelled himself upward, dragging rocks and snow into his updraft as he ascended into the open air.

The sky above Helgen was thick with smoke and fire, but Ben’s draconic eyes cut through the haze easily. Alduin was circling the town, his dark, ancient form casting a shadow over the destruction below. Soldiers fled in every direction, while the Stormcloaks and Imperials who hadn’t been incinerated tried to rally what remained of their defenses.

The dark dragon’s roar echoed through the mountains, a sound so deep and terrible it felt like the world itself trembled in response. Ben narrowed his eyes, focusing on the black dragon, and with a powerful sweep of his wings, he launched himself into the sky.

“Hey, ugly!” Ben shouted, his draconic voice booming across the battlefield. “I know you’re after me! Well, here I am! Come get some!”

The ancient dragon turned, his glowing red eyes locking onto Ben. For a moment, the world seemed to still as the two dragons faced each other in mid-air. The dark dragon’s gaze was piercing, his presence commanding, as if he expected all creatures to bow before him.

“Yol-grah-viing...” Alduin’s voice rumbled, deep and full of ancient authority. He spoke in the Dragon Tongue, addressing Ben by his new name. “You wrap yourself in the flesh of a dovah? Yet you presume to challenge me? The master of all dovah?”

Ben hovered in the air, his heart pounding with adrenaline and excitement. He had faced powerful beings before, but this - this was something new. The idea that he would be facing the other dragon before him sent something deep inside his bones on-edge. The urge to fight, to battle, to win, to dominate, it was like a raging hurricane of fire, trying to thrash and explode out of his body.

The dark dragon’s voice grew more sinister. “Submit to me, as all dovah do, and there may yet be a place for you among my followers.”

Ben’s instincts flared with defiance. He wasn’t about to let some ancient dragon boss him around.

“I don’t care who you think you are,” Ben growled, as deep as the one across from him now. “I’m not submitting to anyone.”

The other dragon’s eyes narrowed. “I am Alduin! Master of all dovah! Firstborn of Akatosh! You will submit, or you will die!” With a deep, guttural roar, the ancient dragon surged forward, flames erupting from his maw. “YOL TOOR SHUL!”

Ben reacted instinctively, his wings beating hard as he dodged the eruption of fire loosed upon him, the jet of flame crashing into the ground below sending a patch of forest ablaze. Ben could feel the heat of Alduin’s Voice, the raw destructive energy it carried, but he wasn’t backing down.

With a snarl, Ben summoned the full force of his new dragon form. Understanding imprinted onto him by the Omnitrix allowed him to interpret the alien instincts, of his new form, and Ben drew in a breath, echoing Alduin’s words. “YOL… TOOR SHUL!” Ben spat out his own ray of flame, bright green, as he surged forward to meet Alduin head-on. The flames licked the edges of Alduin’s scales as the two dragons clashed in the sky, spiraling upward in a vicious aerial battle. Alduin’s powerful wings sent him careening through the air, and he swiped at Ben with massive claws, but Ben was fast - his movements swift and agile, like he was a seaborne animal in its home environment.

The sky crackled with energy as the two dragons fought, a violent storm of fire and force. Each time Alduin tried to force Ben down with his Thu’um, Ben countered with his own strength, matching the ancient dragon blow for blow.

As they clashed, Ben heard Alduin muttering dark words under his breath, the ancient language of the dragons filling the air with its power.

“I don’t care how big and bad you think you are. I’ve faced down worse than you!” Ben prodded the other dragon incessantly. “Don’t you’ve got a treasure horde to be sleeping on, or something!? Buzz off!”

Alduin let out a vicious growl, his wings beating faster as he attempted to overwhelm Ben with sheer power. But Ben wasn’t backing down.

He summoned another blast of fire, sending a stream of flames directly at Alduin’s head. The black dragon roared in frustration, veering off as the flames singed his scales.

Ben was getting the hang of his new dragon form, but Alduin was relentless. Every attack, every shout, felt like a hammer blow, shaking the air around them. But Ben had the advantage of the Omnitrix’s adaptability, and slowly, he was learning to read Alduin’s movements, anticipating his strikes.

Alduin roared again, diving toward Ben with incredible speed, jaws wide open to unleash another blast of flame. But Ben was ready.

“WULD NAH KEST!” Ben shouted, zipping forward with tremendous speed, grabbing and holding onto Alduin, keeping the dark dragon from moving.

“You dare challenge me with the words of dovah? I will show you the true power of the THU’UM! KRII LUN AUS!” Alduin roared, his voice rippling with deathly energy.

Ben barely had time to react as the Marked for Death shout struck him, its dark energy washing over him and sapping his strength. He could feel it gnawing at his life force, weakening him with each passing second. Alduin’s shout had made his scales more vulnerable, the invisible weight of death looming over him.

“Ugh… this is not good,” Ben muttered, feeling his muscles strain under the pressure, as the lock he held Alduin in was now turned against him, as the black dragon sank his claws into Ben.

But he wasn’t going to give up.

Ben dug deep, summoning the Voice within himself. He had used Fire Breath, but now he wanted something a bit more… unrelenting. something to turn the tide. Searching the ancient knowledge given to him by the Omnitrix, he found the words he needed.

“FUS RO DAH!” Ben shouted, as the power rushed to meet his command.

The power from Ben’s draconic throat rushed out, meeting Alduin’s head like a great, invisible fist, knocking the dragon’s head back with a crack.

Alduin, seeing that Ben was not backing down, roared in frustration and let go before flew higher, preparing to unleash his next attack. His wings beat the air furiously, his shadow casting over Helgen like the specter of death itself.

“JOOR ZAH FRUL!” Alduin roared.

Ben felt a great exhaustion rush over him – like he had the after-effects of running a marathon hit him all at once. Dragonrend - a Thu’um that forced a dragon to the ground, stripping them of their ability to fly. Immediately, Ben felt his wings falter, the magical power behind the shout grounding him. He struggled to maintain altitude, but the force of the shout was overwhelming, and soon, he found himself descending against his will.

“Crap! Not now!” Ben muttered, feeling himself dropping toward the ruins of Helgen. His wings flapped helplessly as the magic bound him to the earth.

Alduin descended after him, his voice dripping with arrogance. “It would seem even false dovah are vulnerable to Dragonrend.

Ben flipped over. “You know what… I bet you are too! JOOR ZAH FRUL!”

The shout struck Alduin, and he too, began to fall, valiantly beating his wings as he struggled to maintain altitude.

Ben landed hard on the ground, the impact shaking the earth beneath him, a second later, Alduin landed. He groaned, struggling to his feet.

“Gotta shake this off,” Ben muttered, his eyes darting around as he tried to think of a way to break free of Dragonrend.

Alduin stood up, shaking his head as he growled furiously, and even on the ground, began to charge, running for Ben.

Ben’s eyes narrowed, his focus sharpening, as he began to charge back. He focused, letting one last set of ancient words come to him once again.

“TIID KLO UL!” Ben roared.

Time itself seemed to slow around him as Ben activated Slow Time, the world moving at a crawl as he regained control of his movements. The Dragonrend shout’s magic still clung to him, but now, with time on his side, Ben could maneuver more effectively.

Ben raised his claws, and batted Alduin in the face, knocking the dragon off-balance and sending him sliding across the ground. Ben pounced as time sped back up, tearing holes in Alduin’s wings, as he grabbed the dragon’s head.

“HOW!?” Alduin bellowed as he tried to claw away from his opponent. “HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!? THAT A FALSE DOVAH COULD HAVE SUCH KNOWLEDGE OF THE THU’UM!?”

“I’ll give you a hint,” Ben rumbled back in a mocking tone. “You dragons – your language isn’t just your power. It’s your being, in your DNA! And since it’s in your DNA, it’s in mine now, too!”

“No! I am the Firstborn of Akatosh! I am the World-Eater!” Alduin roared. “This world… is mine!”

“The amount of times I’ve heard that…” Ben huffed, before he put his claws through Alduin’s body.

The dark dragon let out a roar, collapsing to the ground, before something quite peculiar happened. As Alduin lay there, limp, parts of his body began to burst into flame, falling and burning away into nothing like a paper construct lit on fire.

When he was done, all that was left were the bones.

Ben tapped the Omnitrix, and reverted back to human form.

Ben, now back in human form, stood at the edge of the battlefield, surveying the destruction. His chest still heaved with the lingering rush of battle, the adrenaline slowly leaving his system. The Omnitrix on his wrist blinked softly, dimming after the intense fight with Alduin.

He barely had time to catch his breath before he heard hurried footsteps behind him. Turning around, Ben saw Ralof, running toward him. His face was streaked with dirt and sweat, but his eyes were wide with awe.

“By Talos!” Ralof gasped, stopping a few paces away from Ben, his eyes scanning the dragon bones. “You… You killed a dragon!”

Ben scratched the back of his neck awkwardly, trying to downplay the enormity of what had just happened. “Uh, yeah, I guess I did.” He glanced down at the ash-covered ground where Alduin had once been. “Pretty sure he’s not getting back up.”

Ralof’s mouth dropped open as he approached Ben, his voice hushed with reverence. “Are you… are you a Dragonborn?”

Ben blinked, confused for a moment. “Dragonborn? What’s that?”

Ralof stared at him, almost speechless. “A Dragonborn! A mortal who has the soul of a dragon, one who can wield the power of the Thu’um - like the ancient Nords of legend! I’ve only heard of it in stories, but you… you fought a dragon! You turned into a dragon, fought him with dragon shouts, and you won!”

Ben looked down at the Omnitrix on his wrist, still glowing faintly. “Well, it wasn’t all me. I kinda borrowed the whole dragon thing for a while,” he said with a wry smile. “But, uh, I don’t think I’m a ‘Dragonborn’ or anything like that.”

Ralof let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, shaking his head in disbelief. “Doesn’t matter. You just saved us all, stranger! That dragon returned, attacked Helgen, and you fought it off!” He laughed, clapping Ben on the shoulder with a wide grin. “You’re a hero! By the gods, I don’t care what you call yourself - you might have turned into a dragon, but you fought like one of the ancient Nord warriors!”

Ben chuckled, feeling a bit embarrassed. He wasn’t exactly used to praise like this, at least not in such a medieval, epic sort of way. “Thanks.”

Ralof nodded, his eyes still shining with admiration. “You’ve earned more than our thanks. If we ever get to Windhelm, I’ll make sure Ulfric himself hears of your deeds.” He stepped back, smiling broadly. “But for now, I think we could both use a drink. How about I buy you some mead? I think you’ve earned it.”

Ben grinned. “Mead, huh? Never tried mead before.”

Ralof laughed, clearly delighted. “Then it’s settled! Riverwood’s not far from here – we can get more than a few mugs there. I’ll make sure everyone knows, the new dragonslayer of Skyrim!”

As Ralof led the way, Ben couldn’t help but glance at the Omnitrix one more time, its soft hum reminding him of the new power it had just unlocked.

Ben grinned as he followed Ralof, feeling a little lighter now that the immediate danger had passed. He had no idea what the rest of Skyrim had in store for him, but for now, a drink and some rest didn’t sound half bad.

Chapter Text

Ben arrived in a flash of green light, stumbling forward and squinting as his vision adjusted to the dim surroundings. The air was thick with stone dust and the scent of burning wood. He was in a cold, industrial hallway with gray walls, flickering fluorescent lights, with distant, muffled alarms blaring.

The hallway was littered with overturned equipment (what looked like old, retro computer mainframes that belonged in the late nineties), scorch marks, and puddles of unidentifiable green sludge pooling in the corners. Faint echoes of distant groans and heavy footsteps reverberated through the walls.

“Okay,” He muttered, cautiously stepping over debris, “We definitely didn’t show up in the classy part of town…”

Green light flickered above the Omnitrix. “It’s…” Monika slowly turned around, taking in everything. “It’s seen better days.”

Suddenly, a distant metallic clatter echoed, followed by hurried footsteps. Ben froze, listening intently. He could hear whispers — desperate but hushed — coming from around a corner. He approached cautiously, the Omnitrix on his wrist ready to activate if things went sideways.

As he rounded the corner, he nearly bumped into two men crouched behind an overturned metal cabinet. Both were wearing lab coats, their faces marked with exhaustion and fear. One was an older man with a balding head and glasses, clutching a clipboard like it was a lifeline. The other was a taller, robust black man with a thick beard and a calm but focused demeanor.

“Whoa!” The black man’s arm shot up, brandishing a crowbar in hand.

Ben held up his hands. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! I know I kind of snuck up, but is that the welcome you guys hand out around here!?”

The balding man squinted at Ben, studying his clothes and the glowing device on his wrist, before letting out a sigh of relief. “Thank god - you’re not one of those soldiers,” He said, more to himself than to Ben.

“Nope,” Ben replied, shaking his head. “Definitely not. Why – are the soldiers bad? I’ve handled a few jerkass soldiers back in my day… Uh, well, they were more like knights – but knights is a fancy way of saying soldiers, right?”

The black man spluttered. “Kn- Son, do you have any idea-”

“N-Now, hold on, Eli,” The balding scientist interjected as he stood up. “We can’t assume every one of our colleagues is processing the situation the same way as we are.”

“Situation?” Ben blinked. This got the two scientists staring at him. “Uh… was that the wrong thing to say?”

“Situation?” Eli gestured. “This situation!” He motioned at the busted-up building around them. “You’re in a high-security zone, and you’ve got no idea what’s going on!?”

“Name’s Ben. Just got here, not exactly by choice. What’s going on?”

“Really?” The balding scientist curiously hummed. “Did you perhaps arrive here through the topside? Or… are the dimensional fissures now displacing objects in local space-time as well?”

The black man sighed and extended a hand, his grip firm but quick. “Dr. Eli Vance,” he introduced himself. “This is Dr. Isaac Kleiner. We’re part of the science team here.”

“Science team?” Ben glanced around at the ruined hallway. “So… was this part of the experiment, or did you mess up?”

Eli let out a rueful laugh. “You’re quick.”

“Certain… aspects were intentional.” Dr. Kleiner adjusted his glasses, a flicker of guilt crossing his face. “We’d received quite a fascinating material sample to perform tests on, fascinating enough to, ah, suspend normal operating procedure.” He shook his head. “And I’m afraid the experiment resulted in a Resonance Cascade.”

Ben drooled. “A wha?”

“A portal to another dimension,” Eli added grimly. “You saw the… creatures on the way in, right?”

Ben raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“Jesus – you really did just show up…” Eli muttered.

“I mean, hey, it’s easy though, right?” Ben beamed. “Just gotta close that portal, right?”

“Close-“ Eli began to splutter.

The Omnitrix flickered. “You don’t know what a Resonance Cascade is, do you?” Monika sighed.

Ben looked down at her, affronted. “And you do?”

“Yes. The fabric of space resonates-“

“-at a certain frequency, yeah, the Doctor told me that.”

“Well, if you monkey about with certain materials, you can change the frequency of space. Because it’s not supposed to do that, it means a lot of freaky stuff starts happening.”

“…how do you know that!?” Ben spluttered. “You’re a character from a dating sim!”

Monika crossed her arms. “It was a very well-researched dating sim.”

“…WHY ARE INTERDIMENSIONAL PORTALS A THING THAT’D COME UP IN A DATING SIM!?”

“You obviously haven’t played enough of them!” She then struck a pose with a sweet smile. “Not that you’ll need to, anymore. You’ve got me now. And hey, you’ll learn something by osmosis, too!”

“I say…” Kleiner drawled with wide eyes. “That’s some impressively compact holography…”

Ben’s head snapped up. “Wait, if this is ground zero for an alien invasion, DOOM-style, shouldn’t you guys be, I don’t know, hiding in a lab or something?”

Kleiner gave a tired chuckle. “Well-“

“Hell no,” Eli snarled. “I’ve got a wife, and a daughter. I’m not leaving them in this mess on their own. Not after… after…”

“N-Now, Eli,” Kleiner began to prod. “It wasn’t your-“

“Then whose was it!?” Eli bellowed, rounding on him. “I was overseeing it! I should’ve canceled that damn test! And now- now…” He lost his breath, swaying, as he collapsed on a nearby, fallen section of pipe, sitting on it. He struggled to catch his breath.

“There, Eli, just… rest, for a moment.” Kleiner encouraged. “Working yourself up won’t help anyone.” He turned to Ben, straightening his glasses. “We sent a colleague of ours to the surface to get help. Then the soldiers started showing up, and the density of… extraterrestrial invaders has only increased since the initial event, so the merits of staying put rapidly became nonexistent, so to speak.”

“We’re trying to get to the Employee Dormitories,” Eli said. “Even if my wife didn’t make it, Alyx… I have to get my baby girl I can’t- I can’t leave her. I’m not.”

Ben nodded, and raised his arms. “Sounds like you could use a hand.” He pulled back his sleeve, priming the Omnitrix.

“Your communicator? Are you part of another rescue team?”

“It’s not a comm- well, huh, I guess it is,” He blinked, before shaking his head. “But, no. It’s a lot more versatile than that.”

A guttural screech echoed down the hallway.

Eli shot to his feet. “Zombies.”

Ben’s eyes shot open. “Zombies? I thought we were dealing with aliens!”

“The… head parasites,” Kleiner shivered. “They latch onto people. Don’t let them near your face.”

Ben watched as a shambling, humanoid turned the corner. Hands were extended into long, gaunt, bloodied claws, the chest cavity torn open and oozing as ribs snapped like teeth. It was like a DNAlien had gone four rounds with Rath.

“Uh, Omnitrix?” Ben lifted the watch. “Please tell me you can do your thing.”

The watch beeped. “Warning: Severe genetic damage detected. Human core element detected. Initiating repair.”

A ray of green shot out from the watch face, striking and enveloping the Zombie. The creature’s flesh sizzled and steamed as the entire body emanated light, before the crab-parasite on top let out a screech, and fell to the ground, legs up, dead.

A woman collapsed out of the light, eyes wide and breathing heavily. Her clothes had seen better days – but she was alive.

“D-Doctor Vance?” She looked ahead in disbelief. “Doctor Kleiner? How-“ Her hands went up to her head, pawing around. “I’m- I’m alive- Oh my God…” She began to tear up and weep in relief. “It’s gone. It’s gone…”

“Great Scott!” Kleiner gasped, as Eli rushed over to help the woman. He turned to Ben. “How-“

“Yeah, did I mention? Those aliens aren’t the only interdimensional travelers here.” Ben lifted the watch. “Don’t worry, though. I’m here to help.”

-------------

Ben followed the scientists, staying close as they navigated the crumbling, maze-like corridors. They moved cautiously, every shadow a potential threat. At one point, a headcrab leaped from an air vent, its spindly legs outstretched. Ben barely had time to react. His hand shot to the Omnitrix, and in a flash, he transformed into Wildvine.

Tendrils sprouted from Ben’s limbs, catching the headcrab mid-air and flinging it against the wall. It hit with a sickening splat, leaving a green smear. The female scientist – who had the chance to introduce herself as a Dr. Xanthe once she had been eased through her return to consciousness and humanity – shuddered, but kept following.

They continued through the winding corridors, Ben switching between forms as needed. Heatblast melted through sealed doors and bulkheads, and XLR8 sped ahead to scout the path, taking care of threats before they had the chance to do anything. Each time, the scientists watched in awe, both amazed and terrified by Ben’s transformations.

Finally, they reached the staircase for topside access. A parking lot stretched around them – but just nearby, an SUV marked ‘security’ waited. Xanthe shot towards it first.

“They left the keys in here!” She breathed out in relief, before jumping in the back. “Come on!”

Ben glanced back at the scientists. “You guys sure you’ll be okay from here?”

Kleiner nodded. “It ought to be a straight shot to the dormitories from here. Even if it were not… I do believe the SUVs are off-road capable.” His eyebrows knit together. “Why? Are you not coming with us?”

Ben’s eyes hardened. “I can’t – not until I fix the problem.

Eli clapped a hand on Ben’s shoulder. “You’ve got guts – but don’t do anything stupid, you hear me?”

Ben offered a two-fingered salute, before he ducked back inside, and slammed the door shut.

He took a deep breath, his mind racing. The facility was crawling with dangers, and he’d be unable to react to them directly, but if there was any chance of stopping the invasion, there was only one real option he had.

Though, he had gotten a bit pissy at Serena and Bellicus, last time, when they fed him those bull-crap reasons for why they couldn’t just Alien-X him back home.

But, then, he didn’t have any other aliens that could close a portal in the universe.

“Let’s do this,” He muttered, activating the Omnitrix. And he dialed up Alien X. He prepared to slam the dial down-

“Nothing… stupid indeed, Mister Tennyson…”

Ben spun around, his finger freezing on the Omnitrix. Emerging from the shadows was a man — if you could call him that. He was tall and angular, his face unnaturally sharp, with piercing aqua eyes that seemed to dissect everything they saw. His suit was immaculate, his tie perfectly knotted, and in one hand, he carried a nondescript briefcase.

Ben’s eyes narrowed. “Who the heck are you?”

The figure’s lips twitched into a thin, humorless smile. “A… civil servant, of sorts,” he replied, his voice slow and deliberate, as if tasting each word. The cadence was unsettling, each pause calculated. Ben wasn’t sure if he was doing it to mess with him, or if he was just having trouble speaking. “Ensuring that… variables remain within acceptable parameters.”

Ben’s brow furrowed. “You’re watching me?”

The man’s eyes didn’t blink. “Observing… would be more accurate.” He tilted his head slightly, his gaze dissecting Ben as if he were a specimen under a microscope. “Observing for… quite some… time. You’re not supposed to be… here.” The man looked around, vaguely gesturing. “In this place.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed. “You’re not talking about the building.”

The man’s too-thin lips twitched in an amused smile. “I was told you had a severe lack of intelligence. I am… glad to see those statements were false.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been called worse,” Ben shot back. “And I’ve got more important things to deal with right now than some ‘civil servant’ creep.”

The man’s expression didn’t change. “Ah, but that… importance is precisely why we are speaking. You’re a marvel… Ben Tennyson. This… situation is hardly the most insurmountable thing you’ve faced. You have a certain degree of… talent.”

Ben glared at him. “You’re talking a lot without saying anything.”

A flicker of something — amusement? — glimmered in the man’s cold eyes. “You’ll have to forgive me. Intervention is rarely so… rewarding.” He tapped the briefcase, the sound unnaturally loud in the silence. “Your presence here is an unusual development. These events,” He gestured around at the building. “Have occurred infinite times. But you have never become involved. My employers find the development… intriguing.”

“Your ‘employers?’” Ben scoffed. “Great, that’s wonderful. I thought you looked like you were from Langley.”

The man’s smile widened, just a fraction. “You would not… comprehend. Suffice it to say, they oversee matters beyond your… realm of understanding.”

Ben raised an eyebrow, his voice laced with sarcasm. “I hang out with Professor Paradox on a regular basis.”

“Ah, yes,” The man’s smile widened. “The Timewalker. A child, playing about with tools beyond his power or understanding.” His amused expression dropped, as he straightened his tie. “He has managed to give my employers and I… trouble, in the past. Him and those troublesome Celestialsapiens… But, here you are now. Beyond their all possible reach… and all possible intervention. You see, Mister Tennyson, you have a very unique set of abilities. And my Employers have authorized me to extend to you an offer.”

“Oh, a Faustian bargain!” Ben’s mockingly chuckled. “I’ve always wanted to take part in one of those.”

“It’s the only offer that matters, in this day and age.” The man tilted his head. “A job.”

Ben’s hand hovered back over the Omnitrix. “No thanks. I don’t want to work for the interdimensional FBI.”

The man turned around, beginning to pace, the temperature in the room dropping. “Why ever not? You consider yourself a… hero, do you not? You could apply yourself to saving worlds far beyond the… limited repetition of Earth. And my Employers are not an… unkind, bunch. After your contract period, we would gladly return you to your point of origin. But understand this, Mister Tennyson: My employers do not take kindly to… loose ends.”

For a moment, everything seemed to freeze—the flickering lights, the distant echoes of the facility, even the air itself. The man’s presence loomed larger, as if reality itself strained under his existence.

“You are far from… home, Mr. Tennyson. Far from… those who might… protect you.”

The threat was subtle but unmistakable. Ben’s eyes narrowed. “Is that supposed to scare me?”

The Man’s smile widened, just a fraction. “Fear is… irrelevant. It is simply a matter of… outcomes. Cooperate, and you may… return to your world. Refuse, and…” He trailed off, his eyes gleaming with an unsettling light. “The consequences will be… final.”

Ben took a step forward, defiance blazing in his eyes. “Yeah, no.” And he slammed his hand down.

The Man’s expression didn’t change, but the air around him seemed to hum with a strange energy. “Disappointing. Very well, Mr. Tennyson. So be it.” He raised his free hand, and the space around him distorted again. The hallway elongated, the walls stretching into infinity. The floor seemed to drop away, replaced by a void that yawned beneath them.

Ben plunged into the abyss, the Omnitrix flashing. He steadied himself, his fingers hovering over the device.

The Man’s voice echoed, layered and distorted. “You have… potential, Mr. Tennyson. But potential must be… controlled. Harnessed.” He lifted a finger, and Ben felt an invisible force press down on him, like a thousand-pound weight. “There are… methods of ensuring your… cooperation.”

Ben gritted his teeth, his hand slamming down on the Omnitrix. “Man in a suit? Very scary! Vilgax is scarier than you are!”

In a burst of green light, Ben transformed. Skin became rubber, organs became wire, as his eyes became one, as it all occurred in an instant.

“FEEDBACK!” Ben looked down at himself in surprise. “What!? Omnitrix, we’re not gonna start the ‘Ben gets the wrong alien, very funny’ shtick!”

“Celestialsapiens,” The man cleared his throat. “What you call ‘Alien X…’ We have an… arrangement. They stay removed from my Employers’ interests, and we stay away from theirs. Serena and Bellicus will be of… no use… to you.”

Ben flexed his elongated fingers, sparks crackling. “Guess I’ll just make do, then.”

The suited figure raised a thin eyebrow, his piercing blue eyes narrowing with clinical curiosity. “A… Conductoid,” he mused, his voice a cold, eerie monotone. “How… quaint.” His head tilted, the motion just slightly too sharp, too mechanical. “Your persistence is… commendable – one of the reasons you stand out to my employers - but futile.”

Ben’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah? Well, even ants can cause one hell of an itching problem.” He thrust out his hands, sending a surging blast of green electricity crackling toward the Man. The energy roared through the air, illuminating the dim void in a vivid emerald light.

The Man didn’t flinch. The beam struck him—only to pass right through as if he were a projection. Ben’s eyes widened. “Hologram?”

The Man’s figure shimmered, momentarily distorting, then split into three identical copies, each identical in their eerie, unblinking stillness. “I am… more than you can comprehend,” the three figures spoke in unison, their voices overlapping.

Ben gritted his teeth. “Monologue clones. Just cause you can copy yourself, that doesn’t mean you’re invincible! They never learn…” He shifted his stance, eyes darting between the copies. “Guess I’ll have to light up all of you.”

He surged forward, bolts of green lightning tearing through the air. One of the G-Men dissolved into a burst of blinding white light, energy scattering like an exploding star. But instead of vanishing, the fragments were drawn toward Ben, crackling and dancing along his arms. He absorbed them, feeling a surge of raw power flood through him.

“Oh, you’re made of energy, huh?” Ben grinned, electricity coursing through him, eye blazing brighter. “Bad move.”

The two remaining Men closed in, their forms flickering like heat waves, shadows warping around them. One lunged, hands outstretched. Ben dodged, grabbing the clone’s wrist, his hands sparking. He siphoned the energy, the clone writhing as it fragmented, arcs of power flowing into Ben like a lightning rod.

Ben stood straighter, the air around him humming with newfound intensity. “You’re just giving me more juice.”

“Such… crude power,” One Man remarked, stepping closer.

“Nobody appreciates the crude approach! It’s effective! That’s why they say ‘crude, but effective!’” Ben jumped into the air, flipping, and launched an arc of energy that split mid-flight, targeting both remaining copies. One vanished on impact; the other dodged with an unnatural, stuttering motion, reappearing directly behind Ben.

The remaining Man lunged, hand outstretched, reaching for the Omnitrix on Ben’s chest.

“Nice try!” Ben spun around, grabbing the Man’s wrist, electricity surging from his fingertips into the man’s arm. The Man’s form flickered, face twisting—not in pain, but in something like mild… curiosity.

“Hey, are you even taking this seriously!?” Ben shoved the Man backward, unleashing a blast that sent him skidding. For the first time, the man’s composed facade cracked, momentarily. His eyes flickered, as if recalculating.

The final Man stood amidst the chaos, unruffled, his eyes cold and unyielding.  “You misunderstand… Mr. Tennyson.” The Man’s voice grew more distant, echoing strangely. “This… resistance… is merely a test.”

Nebulae erupted into existence around him, the hallways and void melting away into a shifting, oceanic mass of light, and radiation. Any other human being would’ve probably shrunk in the face of the display, and the power of the Man in front of him. Ben planted his feet, arms outstretched, drawing the power into himself. The force crashed over him, sparks flying in every direction. His body glowed brighter, arcs of green lightning dancing across his form, eyes glowing with an intense, emerald light.

“You… resist… the inevitable,” the figure intoned, shadows stretching like the fabric of space.

Ben planted his feet, arms outstretched, drawing the power into himself. The force crashed over him, sparks flying in every direction. His body glowed brighter, arcs of green lightning dancing across his form, eye glowing with an intense, emerald light. He drew in more and more power, the flows of power in the space around them dimming as they were drawn into Ben.

Ben grinned, energy crackling. “If that’s supposed to be an insult, you’ll need to get a better one. I’ve been doing this kind of stuff since I was ten.”

He released the energy in a single, focused surge. The blinding green lightning met slammed into the Man. The Man’s form flickered, consumed by the collision of light and shadow. His silhouette wavered, contorting, the shadows burning away under the electric onslaught, as the last flicker of emotion in his eyes on this plane was that of furious surprise.

His voice echoed, distant and fractured. “If that… is… what you want…”

The Man lifted his hand… and stopped. His head tilted with a slight smile. “Ah… I’m afraid that while you were… haggling, another interested candidate has accepted the position. No regrets… Mister Tennyson.” Like a rubber band snapping back, he returned sharply to normality, straightening his tie. “But, rest assured, the position will always be… open, should you change your mind.”

“What!?” Ben spluttered. “I just hit you with a supernova! How did you survive?”

The Man brushed something off his suit jacket, and he looked so disappointed with Ben, it was honestly a little bit chuckleworthy. “Such limited notions…” He shook his head, as a door – a white, glowing square – slid open into existence nearby. “I’ll be taking my leave, now. I understand I can’t exactly keep you here… but I cannot allow you to return to Black Mesa. The facility is about to suffer a… shall we say… explosive, remodel?” He chuckled, then turned to the door, shooting Ben one last impenetrable look. “Farewell, Mr. Tennyson. I trust you to see yourself out.” He stepped through the door, and it snapped shut behind him, leaving only the expanse of space.

Ben stared in disbelief, his jaw falling open. “What the hell!? We just had a team deathmatch, and he just walks out!? Well, he’s not getting rid of me that easy-“ He reverted to human, and brought up the Omnitrix, twisting the dial in the pattern to bring up the map of all the places he’d visited.

The dot at the center, which had been the Doctor’s universe, was surrounded with a ring. A line ran from it to another dot, then to another, from one dot to another, connecting them all with flowing arrows, showing the path he’d traveled. The endpoint was surrounded with another ring. Ben tried to select it, and the Omnitrix let out an angry beep.

“Oh, come on!” Ben groaned. “I got here just fine, what gives!?”

The Omnitrix beeped again, flashing red.

“Son of a- he’s blocking me!” Ben scowled, looking around. People were in trouble still… but he couldn’t get to them. Did he want to go Alien X and try to fix it, still? No, no, the man was saying Alien X couldn’t help him here. On a lark, Ben tried it anyway, and…

Well, the dial went down, there was a brief flicker of transformation, and Ben was still there. Still human.

“Fine,” Ben sighed. “Guess I’m out of here.” He tapped the watch face, and vanished in lightning, leaving only the void behind.

Chapter Text

The room felt like it was collapsing in on itself. My breathing was ragged, my hands clammy as I clutched the cursed handheld console – my one tether to the real world. For all the good that was. Reality had taken a break, the wood of the building and sounds of the natural world giving way for jagged, pulsating, corrupted sprites, and glitched-out music. It was a bad idea, what I was doing. But I had to save her.

Up ahead was that… that thing. The thing that had been a simple, incomplete game, twisted and corrupted by malevolent spirits into an entity in its own right continually perpetuating the suffering of others to keep itself existing.

Screams, voices it had taken, digitized and shredded, echoed all around it. The game itself flickered in-and-out of reality, a humanoid form hanging on by a thread.

"̷̡͚͇̣̣͍͎͉͇̤̰̪̾̒͋̍̒͋͑̌͒͜ͅĮ̸̖̻͓͇͙̊̏̾̆̌͆̑̃̍̀͂́̉̇̚ ̸̨̯̿͗̇̍̑d̴̼̤̊͋̍̄̒̑͛ö̶̢͉̯̖̣͓̞̫̗̣̰͉͉̫͋̿̃̐̽̇̎̕ͅͅṉ̶̡̧̳͍̭͌̎'̷̡̫̻̗̖̠̭̝̩̬̞͎̱͍̦̬̇̽̀̑̿̈̃̐̔̔̄̔͌́͝ͅṱ̴̛̛̝̾̔̈́̑͌͂͌̊̔̍̎͒̕͘͝ ̶̨̪̖͓͇̞̰͔͍̦͈͓͙̿̌͛̈́̏̿̋̎͜w̶͈̺͇͇̜͚̒̅̏́̂̈́̈́͊͑̈́̕͜͠͝à̷̢̡͈̞̮̗̼͙͙̞̺̫͓̣͔̻̺̂̆̈́̚͝n̴̡̨̧̛̛̖̮͍̮̺͔̻͙͚̓́́̌̓̊͘̕̕t̵̡͖̖̬̞̺̳͓͇͕̥́́͛̀͆̿͜ ̸̧̖̝̳̞̺̼̻͒̓̃̔̎̅̚͜t̸̨̛̖̥̹̹̰͌͌͐̄̓͗̀̃̐ȫ̷̟̞͉̓̍̇́͜͝͠ͅ ̶̡̻̎͌̑̏d̶̨̰̼͈̤̬͔͍̲̊̃̌́̽̇͘ḭ̵̞̄̊̄͑́̓̄̓̏͌̀̉ͅë̵̢̛̫͈̮͕͎̞̝͔̫̙͈͎̘́́.̶̻̜͖͖̭̭͍͙̪̙͙͉̗͉̎̅̐̊̽̄̅̔̽͒̏̈́͗͐̚͘"̵̡̗͔̟̞̰̠͔̯̗̯̱̃̊͑͗̔̈̎̏͒̽̊̌̿͊͆̓͝ The Game flickered as I pushed through a corrupted door. "̴̛̜̞̄Į̵̝͖̪̜̰̭̟͙̽̀̐̆̐̆̀̕͠͝ͅ.̸̮̺̣̙̬̇̓̾͆̉̀̌̎̄̏̎̇͂̉̈́.̷̨̢͇̩̻̱̼̪͇̙̹̳̪̪̂̽̎̓͝.̸̡̧͕͔̘̞̮͇͙͔̩͇͈͇̳͐͗͗̾̓̔̋̊̓̂̅͂̕̕̚͠͝ͅ ̵̹͆̇̓ͅw̴̛̳͍̟͌̔͗͑̋̾̔̒̈̓̿̕͠ḭ̶̡̛̳̰̉̂͌͗̈́̐̿́̂̈͘͠l̷̛̘̙̖̠͈͇̤̜͆̿̃̑̐͑̌̂͆͗́̕̕̚̚l̸̙̹̦̟͍̳̰̫̽̀͊̂̐̋̅͑́̾̋̒̚̕̕͠ ̴͖̜̦̆̀͛̾͋̐͐̀̒̽̈́͘͠͝Ņ̷̼̊̇͋̄̌́̈́̂̒̂̒̓̍̊̈̓Ơ̸̧̡̼̰͙̜̦̩̜͓̥̼̗͂̏̈̎͊̓̂̑̔͑͝͠͝T̴̛͇̬̭̜̐̈́͒͛̉̈́̎́̀̄̚͠ͅ!̶̙͛͝ͅͅ ̷̨̞̘͉̦̪͚̜̟̩̠̪̭͚̗͚͒̒̊ͅD̵̡̡̟̟̳̩̗̞̤̟̙̖̈́̉̊̍͆̚͘̚Į̷̛̛̞̱͔̜͙̗̦̯̝̓ͅĘ̴̝͈̩̯̗̟̺̫̤͕̇̀̊͜ͅ!̶̢̧̡̥̣͇̹̱̰̪̝̈́̒̍̾̀̂́̏͝͠ͅ!̴̡͈̹͔͖͎͉͔̰̭͉̮̇͋̇̓͋̿̀͒̓͋͋̎͘͠͝!̵̧̮̮͔̙̞̳̩͎͍̻̙̹̪̏͐́̉́̐̊͆̚̕̕̚͝͠"̶̰̦͕̔͋̇͒̌̓̋̇̑̔̽̈͘͝

A hallway stretched before me, as the broken music grew louder, and louder.

"̷̡̨̧̛̤̟͕̫̣͍̱̯̝̗̈́̅̋͊̒̉͆̍͒̋͝S̸̻͓̼̪͖̪͔͉̊̉̂̓͝ȍ̶͔̲͉̻͇̙̔͂͑͂͌̀̈̉̚.̸̧̨͖͇̪͍̹̗͔͎̺̬̩̱̜͔͔̅̉͂̀.̵̤̠͚͖͍͍̠͎͙̲͖͔̐̏̑̍̿̀͂̏́͗̏̾͗̈́͝.̷̢̛̛̛̞̰̞̗͔̻̳̬̭̟͉̰̰͇͛͂̾́̀̍̊́̄̍͊̕̕͝ ̸̛̯̃͗̽͋͂̓̉̽̀́́͗̆̈͘͜Ị̵̢̫̹̰͍̺͍̠̠̹͕͙̏̔̉͑̄̿͑̋̏̉̓̓̓͋̋̕̕͜'̶̢̳̝͓͈̣̦̱̤̟̹̫̜̜̰̌̀̿̔̉͌̉͂͜͝͠͝m̴̹̝̣̟͐̈́̽͛̎̌̆͌͛̂͐́͜͝ ̶̳̹̱̙̍́́̒̈́̏̉̃̿̎̏̉́̕͝ẗ̵͇̥͚̣ͅą̷̢̧͈̫̣͙̬͕̜͙̣̉̆̈̅͛̃͂̑̔̿̊͒̈͜͝k̴̢̻͙͔̬͔͉̫̱̤͍̮͙̤̜͂̆͆̾̕̚͠i̶̧̮̠̼̦̖̹̫̻̺̔̐͗͊̅̈́͘n̶̺̤̘̤̣͌͆̀́͊͛̿̂̿͘͠g̶͚͔̪̱̹̱͙̞̈͋͑͌̒̈́̓̆͂͆̋̚ ̵̡̜͙͖̹́͘ḫ̴̢̼͉̩̝̝̖̖̘̣̱͕̀̋̒͐̓̆͌̊͂̌͝ͅe̴̡̧̨̱̣̰͉̤̞͕̖͈̎̾r̷̨̮̮̹̙̼̻̱̠̣̣̫̪͍̍̽̑̈́̈́̉͋̔͋͜.̸̠̠͙͙̘̥̩̗̫̬̖͍͙̺͆̓̔ ̶̛̻̫̠̼͙̥̫͎͕͈̟͖͆͂̓͂̌̏͗͐͘͝͝Į̶̨͇̞̬̤̳͚̞̗̟͇̲̩̼̏̑͗́̋͗̏̆͆͂͌'̸̨͕͍͈̰͚̻͓͈̤̑̓́̊̓͛̅̈́̽m̶̡̥̼̪̳̭̥͇͚̮̭̺̦̺̀͊͛́͐̈́͂̆͒͗͂̎͋̕̚͜͠ ̴̖̟͉̦̣̭̝̯̙̺̖͈̤̖̮̞̆̍̎̉̆̄͊̑̊͊͘͝t̷̗͍̓̏̿͆̐̂̌̃̓̒͊͗͂ã̶̞̤̘͓͛̈̀͒̑̈́̿̆̐̇̈́̿͋̈ͅk̸̡͎̬̲̈̏̿͌i̸̡̨̧̧̭͕͖̒̿͗͒̈́̒̐͂̆̈́̋͛̉̚͝͝͠n̸̢̤͓̫̳̜̘͝g̴̱̼̟̳͕̈͌̓̆̂̒͆̓̅͊͜ ̷̱̾̈́̉̆̈͂̍̔̆̓̏͘͘͝͝R̸͍̓̄̔͑͗e̴̛͙̲n̵̡̩̩̖̦͎̼̭̤͍̜̫̽̀́̒͛̇̓͗͒̿̀̄͗̕̚͝.̴̛̘̦̣̜̬̪̳͈̣͕͙͉̟͍̤̑̿͆̿̂̇̈́̽͐̂̀͝ ̸̼̅̎̅̈͘B̷̡̼̖̪̹͓̼̺̣̰͌͜ȕ̵̧̡̧̦̭͖̠̩̯̻̭̩̼̭̱̘̀̈́̎͑̽̈̾̈́̌͋́̆̔̆͜t̷̢̙̰̑͐̈̀͐̏͗̂̒̾̒.̷̧̧̻͎͕̱̗̪̳͉̥̼̻̯̳̤̩͆̓.̶̨̻̰́̔̓̍̈͂̇̾͂͜͜.̷̠̙͉͙̗̳͖̠̮̩͖̭̩̝̿̋"̷̧̨̨̨̺̟̪̹̭̬̬̘͈̅͒͋͂̊͂͑̅̃̓̒̂͘͝ The Game cocked its ‘head’ sideways. "̴̳̦̥̤̝̞̥̦̜̆̏̕Ŕ̵͉̰̗̱̭͇̥̭̘͙̺͖̾̎͒͂̌̑̅̓͑̅͠ẹ̶̣̣̥̞̳͉̘͖͖̥̊̇̅̊̅͒ͅn̵̡̢̛̰͈̘͂̿͗̋̀̂̐̈́̕̕̕͜͝.̷̢̥̰̥͓͕̺̝͔̫̬̩̲̮̪̆͋͋̇̔͗̓̕.̵̧̢͖͈̖̦͍̫͖̦̥̋̐̀̑̚.̸̨̪̦͎̹̥̲͈̲͕̃̅̋̃̏͋̀͐̕̕͘ ̶̟̬̝̪̈́w̷̨̛̛̗͖͇͐̈́̓͗̑̉̄͊̈́̑̓͘̚͝à̷̡̈́̏s̴̯̀̿̈̾̕ ̸̡̭̳̱̣̲̥̬̻̠̓͌̔͆̊͗́͊̈́̎͘h̴̢̢̢̧̛̞̻̩̊̂̈́̏̽͛͠a̵̗̓͆̈̈́͋́̑̆̊̔̕p̷̗͙̥̺̬̱̝̈́́̎̽p̸̡͉͈̝̺̗̤̙͈̔̈́́̿͌͌̏̔̄y̷̧̢̛̲̱͎̥̪̭͇̥̟͍̆̿̽͋̑͒̈́͆̅͛̋̀͝͝ͅ.̴͇̜̄̈̊͒̎͝ ̶̫̥͍̘̥̹͉̳̱̰͉̘̪͈̣́́̊̆̀̂͐͂́̍̕͜͝͝ͅỊ̸͔̿̀̋̿͒̏͠͝ ̶̥͕̥̺͉̊̿̽̀̄͛́̌̈́́̓̅͘͠c̸͙͈͎̬̞̓͐̑̐̓ḁ̸̯͔̰̤͔͚̤͕̝͚̓̈́̊͂̇̈̈n̶̻̬͚̹̩̳̺͎͎̦͍̾̑̐͒̾͑̔͘̚'̶̨̡̧̨̧̛̛͕̻̳͓̺̠̭̝̙̠̔͋̿́̔̈́͌̀͑̈́̀̇̐͒̓ţ̵̡̜̟͙͗̋̓͠ ̴͓̫͈̖̝͆̔̈̚̕͝ȩ̸͈̜̞͙̳͛̈́́͋̈̿̔̈̈́͐̓̕͘͝͠ń̴̪̫̫͈̖̲̬̠̮͈͕̦͍̯t̷͈̐͗̍̀̔͗̒̿̄ë̵͉̼̮̩̩̫̲̳̬̯ŗ̶̛̯̘̻̣̯̲̠̹̥̜͔̺̃̃͜ ̵͇́͋ͅͅp̶̺͎̮̀̀̾͐͂́̉̐̐̋̉́́͜ͅë̴̡̧̟͖̞̤͇̯̦̩̤͉̣͎̪̮́͂̍̓͘ŏ̸̞͔̝̱̞̘̈̈̀͌͑̀̈͗̈́̌̈́̋͂̄͜͜͝͠p̶̲̹͙̩̟̳̂̔̏͝ļ̷̲͍̩͙͈͖͔̣͓̣̙̣̜̐̂̃̒̕ẻ̶̡̡̥͕̖͙̘̜̞̪̩̞̘̝͈̀͋̒̂͑͊́͗̃̈́͜͝ͅ ̷̛̳̤͈̪͙̣̳̝̻̈́̈́̔͆̽̈́͂͗̌͝ẁ̷̨̨̛̥̰̯͎̯͕͚͍̹͎̙̫̻͍͗̏̄̈́̏͆̾̋̉̓̚͠͝h̶͉̜͇͊̉̚ȯ̸̡̢̢̠̥̲̯͉͇̲̯̍̏̈́̈́͊̅̓́͂̒̈́̓ ̵̢͕͓͚͐̌͛͛á̵̢̢̨̯͉̼̌̈́̏̋͠r̴̠̲͕̪͍̘̳͇̰͎̯̦̊̓̀̌e̸̳̭̘̰̬̦̹͓̺̰̦̙͕̜̝͌͊̄́͐̓͌ ̶̧̡̛͈͇̤͇̫͖̗̯͖̳̖̥̯̱͉͂͗͛̈́̓̚̕͠h̵̡͔͇̖̤̫͓͎̠̳̣͓̒̓͆͋̽̋͠ä̸̧̘̦̱̖́̀͘p̴̧̖̥̗̺̭̣͉̠̙͚̲͈̥͇̂͛̌̀͋͠͠p̴̧̢̬̭̣͍̹͉̬̻͈̱̠̜̯̓́̀̆̅̏͜͠͠y̸̨̛̳̩͎̜̮̱̮͉̗̖͕̋͒̔͛̅́̂͌̽͊̀͑͋̊͝.̴̛͔"̶͎̬͗̉́͒̅̇̀̏́̔́͋̑̓̓͝

I push through the flickering figure, and force the next door open. I freeze upon coming to the circular chamber. There she is – hanging from the wall. Jagged, nonsensical code is growing around her, anchoring her there.

"̷̨̢͖̦͔̺̗̺̩͈̭̪͙̅̏̐̍̀͌̓͛̋͘S̷̢̗̙͓̗̫̖̬̀̓̿̃́̍̄̅̉̄̌̏̃͂̚͜͝͠o̶̧̡͕̪͍͙̙̹̬͛͒̃́̔̀͝ ̶̣̆̈́̔̍͗̏́̊̅̒t̶̢͓̭̜̦͖̖͙̯̺͉͛̿͝o̸̧̨̨͈̬̣͍̦̰̹̰̘̳͍̘͆̿̿̈̄̍͂̇̍̑̾́̂̚͜ ̶̧̢̛͙̦͉͕̟͎̾͘f̶̺̺̮̦͈͕̭͓̬̦͉͈̀͝i̵͕͇̝̲̗̼̮͙͚͙̱̖͕̤͕̿̓̋̃͜x̴̧͙̗̫̗͉̙̯̙͖͕̠̠̖̰͙̓̈́̓̿͗̚ͅ ̶͕̒t̶̤͖̹̟̱̥̻̯̣̝̣̒̒̿͆͗͌̂̂̈́̈́͜ͅh̵̺͙̭͇̞̤̞͓̹͚̽̂̒̐͜a̴̧̠͖͎̲͉̱̻͓̳̿͜ţ̷̤̞̗͍̳͓̻̮̘̓̉̇͊̓͆̌̀͘͠.̵͖͇̥̥̦͚̎̊͊̋̍͋͜.̶̡̧͖̼̻̺͉̲̮̩̼̹͕̮͒͐̽̅̔̀̉̕͝͝͝.̸̛͙͓̦͎̜̰̞̖͔̂͐͗͒̍̎” The Game’s ‘voice’ speaks behind me, and I realize all too late the trap that I fell into. “I̴̡̢̪͇͈̫̗̼͉̜͊͋̾̓̓͆̑͒͑͑͌̓̓̄̈̍͠'̵̡̞̮̤̗̖̆ll ̵̮̲̞͔̆̈́͆͂̋́m̷̠̼͊̾̍̄͑̓̅̈́̇̿̈͘͝a̵̢̠̮̬͉͒͊͗͛̄̇̄̔͜͠ḱ̸̨̡͉͕̹͙͈̹̰͓̼̮̮̞͑̇ͅͅe̶͔̅̇͒ ̸͍͙̳̱̤̙̭̗͉̌͑̏̓̾͗͂̉͒͑͊̌͛̌ͅh̷̡̼̍̓̓̀̿̂̕͝e̴̛͈͚̿̌͑͗̉̾̓̃̄̔͝͝͝͠r̶̤̘̳͍̜̳̙̥͙͚̩̰̤̱̟̉̑̌͜ ̵̢̪̘̼͙̃̾͜w̷̧̗̺̗̩͗̔͛͊̀̀̊̊̿͝ͅa̵̮̰̬̖̞̻̗̙̬͎͉̱̖̣̝̥̓͒́̍̾̂̏͐̇̔͝͝t̷͙͉̥̻̫̫̗̳̤̀̉̒͛̒̀͌̃͠ç̴̧͍̝̭̘̲̻̝̙͉͖̻͊̑̉͊̎̈͆͠ͅh̴̟̭̜̬̦̼̮̣̣̳̠̋̃̉̉͋͛̀̒͂̃̾͝͝ͅ ̸̛̟̤̜̻̪̯̓̓y̴̩̮͒̏̇̓͂̎̍͋̈̆͐̇̄͘͝ǫ̴̢͙̖͔̖̪̪̠̜̙̣̯̬͇̏́̀̃́̓̌̍̚͘u̴̼̥͙̓͗͒͑̊̈́̄̓̑̕͘͝ ̸̧̙͖̖̥͇͕̼͙̪̦̗͖̈́̓͜ḑ̴̨͚̾͂̆͋͆̃̒̋̓͜͠i̴̡̨̫̿͐̆͌̿̒̂̈́̂̒͂̚͘͠e̷͉͓̱̫̩͒̅̽̈́.̶̨̨͇͖̫̼̥͔͓̹͓̠̟̦̺̓̋͆́͛͋̓̐"̴͓̜̟̟͓̜͍̙̊͆̉̿̒̊͋̌͆̈

Before I can do anything, its ‘hands’ – the twitching, sharp edges of data – shoot out towards me, clamping around my neck. I am pushed down, as what feels like millions of burning ants puncture my skin and crawl into my body, intent on devouring me from within.

I can’t fight. It’s a spirit – more will than anything material. Ren might be able to help – were she not anchored to the wall. Even then, she is unconscious.

I try to force my brain to come up with something. I don’t want to die any more than the Game does.

But it’s no use. I know of only two solutions. The Game became what it was because of a vengeful little girl, lashing out against games and the people that played them. That wrath allowed it to propagate like a computer virus. Even when her spirit was given peace, the game refused to move on, and took another. The other girl was just as vengeful, from another misunderstanding.

But the Game itself isn’t misunderstanding anything. It knows the suffering it’s causing, and revels in it. There’s nothing I can to do persuade it. Nothing to get it to stop.

I am utterly helpless.

Then a flash of green lights up the corrupted, glitched space, and I hear someone speaking. It’s not the Game, and it isn’t Ren, either.

“Whoa! Who tilted this place’s cartridge!?”

As I struggle to get in air, against the code ripping apart my lungs from the inside, I turn to look. I see a boy – younger than me! - wearing a jacket made of green leather, and a black t-shirt. He turns around, and he stops.

He looks American. How in the world did an American get in here?

“Hey!” The American charges with fury in his eyes. “Let him go!”

The Game lets out a sound – it’s no longer words, or anything close. A wrathful bellow of a demon, forced through a broken speaker, fills the air. Shards of black static shoot out from its head, hitting the American.

“Ack!” He grunted, as a cut was torn open on his cheek. “All right, that was your one warning!” He raised his arm and pulled back his sleeve, revealing – a watch? A green glow came from it, and he slammed it down. A green glow consumed him, and when it faded…

I choked out in shock as what appeared to be a giant, large-headed crab stood there.

“BRAINSTORM!” The crab snapped its claws together, and pointed.

The Game’s body flickered violently, its jagged edges splintering outward as it began to morph, growing less coherent with every second. I felt a bit of the pressure on me lighten up as it pulled some of itself out of my body, before a crushing weight clamped down around me.

"Your corrupted data patterns suggest a certain lack of finesse," Brainstorm declared in a sharp, analytical voice that sounded British. "Allow me to compensate!"

The Game let out a guttural, distorted roar, its form unravelling into a nightmarish amalgamation of twisted code and fragmented sprites. The chamber itself responded, walls folding and warping into jagged polygons that pulsed like a heartbeat. Tendrils of corrupted data shot out, lashing toward Brainstorm with relentless speed.

Reacting instantly, Brainstorm's… head pulled open, chitinous plates springing up to reveal the gigantic, pulsating brain on the inside. It let out a zap of electricity, and I began to feel hope well up inside my chest. The tendrils fizzled and retracted, momentarily destabilized. “A predictable but futile maneuver!” Brainstorm quipped, skittering sideways to avoid another strike.

The Game’s form shifted again, its head splitting into a spiraling vortex of pixels. An entire barrage of jagged static shards erupted from the vortex, each one aimed at the creature below. Brainstorm raised his claws, and his brain twitched, as a barrier of electricity formed around him. The shards collided with the barrier, splintering into harmless particles, though each impact sent ripples of energy through the chamber.

"Ah, excellent!" Brainstorm exclaimed. "Another enemy used to achieving their goals through brute force instead of calculating intelligence! This will be simple!”

With a sudden burst of speed, Brainstorm surged forward, his claws crackling with electricity. He aimed a calculated strike at the core of the Game’s shifting body. The blow connected, sending a surge of energy coursing through the entity. The Game shrieked, its fragmented form distorting further as it lashed out with another wave of corrupted tendrils. I myself was dragged up and around the storm of code, tossed around like a ragdoll.

The tendrils slammed into Brainstorm, knocking him back. He skidded across the unstable floor, digging his claws into the ground to regain his footing. “Hmm, impressive elasticity in your structural integrity,” Brainstorm mused. "However, adaptability has its limits!"

The Game retaliated by merging with the environment. The walls and floor became part of its body, transforming into a living maze of glitched pathways, and I was anchored to the floor. Brainstorm glanced around, his eyes processing the shifting environment at lightning speed. A gigantic, digital, half-rotten heart formed in the middle of the chamber, a head and limbs growing from the mass.

"An attempt to confuse me? Laughable!" Brainstorm declared, his claws sparking anew. He leaped onto a moving platform, charging toward the Game’s central mass. The alien unleashed another electric blast, this time targeting the surrounding space. The electricity surged through the corrupted maze, forcing the Game to disentangle itself from its surroundings.

The Game reformed, towering over Brainstorm, its shape now an eldritch amalgamation of limbs, jagged pixels, and cascading streams of corrupted code. It loomed forward, attempting to envelop Brainstorm entirely.

"Ah, I see now! An entity of digital code and psychic energy" Brainstorm shouted, leaping back. He extended his claws, charging them with a high-voltage current. "However, code has its limitations! Allow me to demonstrate!"

With a deafening crack, Brainstorm unleashed a focused electric beam. The energy struck the Game head-on, disrupting its form. Fragments of corrupted data broke away, disintegrating into harmless static. The Game screamed, its distorted voice echoing with rage and pain. It attempted to counterattack, but Brainstorm was relentless, his precision strikes systematically dismantling its structure.

Finally, with a triumphant snap of his claws, Brainstorm delivered a final surge of energy to the Game’s core, and jammed his claw inside.

“Here’s the funny thing about code.” Brainstorm spoke as though giving a lecture. “Depending entirely upon the skill of its programmer, it might as well be an unstable house of cards. Like so!” Brainstorm pulled his claw out, and tore… something from the Game’s body. Something red, and flickering. But without it…

The Game convulsed, its form collapsing like sandcastle in the tide, into a storm of broken pixels. With one last, piercing shriek, it collapsed into nothingness, leaving the room eerily silent.

Brainstorm stood amidst the aftermath, his claws sparking faintly. “And that,” he said with a note of satisfaction, “is why you write redundancies into your programs. Hmph.”

The crushing pressure around my lungs, the knives ripping my flesh asunder from within, and the noise – it all stopped. The game’s code, all of the corrupted sprites, the glitched sound – it all went quiet. The only traces now were the outlines of the walls.

I got up quickly, and though there was something else that probably should have demanded my attention, I sprinted for Ren instantly.

She was out cold.

The Game had probably put her to sleep so she couldn’t stop it, or even say goodbye to me. It had wanted to present her with my corpse.

But she was breathing. She was still alive. And so was I! And, if Brainstorm was successful, the Game couldn’t hurt anyone ever again.

“Hey,” He spoke to me, approaching me in his human form. “So, uh…” Brainstorm scratched his scalp. “You’re, uh… you’re okay?”

“Fine,” I answered him with a bow. “Thank you, for saving me. If you hadn’t stopped the Game, I…”

“Oh, that?” He waved it off. “I’ve debugged worse than that on my way to real errors. But, uhh…” He looked around. “Where are we? And how do we get out?”

“The way should be a straight path.” I moved to pick up Ren. Once we left, her spirit should return to her body, now that the Game isn’t keeping her imprisoned. “This way.”

“Hey, you lead the way!” Brainstorm gestured with a smile, before a growl came from his stomach. “…say, there wouldn’t happen to be a place that sells smoothies around here, is there?”