“I hate not having clones helping me with all this fucking paperwork…” I groaned, looking at a massive stack of papers I just got done. “Even with my four other clones I’d rather be doing something productive, like going to that new bakery and ordering their entire stock…”
“That would be the fifth bakery you bought out.” Luna said while thankfully helping me.
“So?” I asked.
“In two days.” Twilight added.
“...I’m still helping the people…” I muttered with a pout.
“Yeah, I heard those bakeries were able to open two extra shops because of your orders.” Rarity said, filing away the papers to the outgoing and rejection sections.
“We know your upset Ben, but come on.” Luna said.
“None of you were complaining about it before when I got more ‘padding’.” I rolled my eyes.
That earned a chuckle from Luna. “True, but that is sexy padding, and if it wasn’t for the fact I think you being an Admin makes you immune to health issues, I’d worry about your cholesterol.”
“We’ve seen you angry, depressed, but this is beyond even what I do when sad Darling.” Rarity said. “And I once ate Fifty tubs of ice cream and nine dozen donuts over a miss shipment of fabrics.”
“And how long did that take you?” I asked honestly.
“... about two...hours…”
“Jesus christ…” I muttered.
“Look, how about you leave the paperwork to us, I know a lot about governance and so does Tia, as well as Chrysalis and some of the others, so we can all take this over while you go to those meetings with Krot and some others you’ve been putting off.” Luna said, pulling me up and placing my sideways crown back on proper. “You might like how they go.”
I sighed out. “Alright alright.” I said while getting up off my chair. “So...besides Krot...how many other meetings do I need to go to?”
“Consequence.” Luna called, the Nobody appearing. “How many meetings does Ben have today?”
“Forty, the build up has been expected.” Consequence said.
“Cause Cript is all ‘hey, you shouldn’t have millions of clones doing exactly what you normally do’.” I rolled my eyes. “But who’s first?”
“First is Krot , he seemed a top priority, then a meeting with the current leader of Daybreak Empire Leon and his second in command Cid. And so on and so forth.”
“Alright...so Krot first.” I said. “I believe he’s still at the Compound?”
“Yes but once we send word you are ready he will arrive here within minutes.” Consequence informed as he and I walked to the Throne room.
“Well...I’m ready whenever he is.” I said honestly.
“I shall send word.”
After taking a seat in my throne and fixing myself up a bit, Krot arrived. “Your highness.” He said with a bow. He was well cleaned up, suit a bright white with many medals and patches meaning many things I imagine.
“General Krot.” I nodded. “How are you doing today?” I asked politely, wanting to make a good first impression.
“Good. Many of your own Kingdom and others, including your own brother Joy have agreed to join our foundation, abiding by our founders original ideals and not of the ones Vincent created and Jericho abuses.” He said with a nod. “If I may speak, I’d like to first discuss where I believe we failed as an organization, leading to this current group we face today.”
“I mean...besides letting Vincent take over cause ‘the prophecy said so’?” I brought up.
“That is the main cause yes, but after much consideration and research, in simple, we failed because we never truly had a leader until Vincent arrived. You see, before Vincent claimed the title of King of Nexus, there was no king, General and Noble were the highest ranks received, we were largely a foundation ruled solely by those old enough to obtain the Nobility rank and they counseled the rest. When Vincent came along his knowledge of our ways and the Prophecy lead him a means to persuade the council into making him king and soul ruler, and by having never had a true ruler before we were easily lead astray from our true goals, after all, having a king was new to us, and nobody dares question their ruler.”
“I mean...in hindsight you could have just asked your Admin’s for guidance, you literally had a way to talk to them if Joy’s experience meant anything.” I brought up.
“We did, but they refused to speak on the matter. I believe in order for this new Nexus to achieve what the old failed we must exist under a proper king. Somebody we can trust who can both organize us and lead us, and know how to hold us at bay if things start to sway to a negative direction. From there within any kingdom they rule we’d be more along the side of Knights or something akin to that.”
“Okay...but that makes no sense when one of them is literally the Admin of Justice...wouldn’t she have been furious at all the shit Vincent did and expected Justice to be brought down upon him?”
“One would think, but she especially was silent. Perhaps they were aware of this failure, and perhaps this was needed in order for our true goal to be realized. whatever the case from this day onwards we are no longer simply Nexus, we are The Nexus Templar, serving our king without question.”
“Alright.” I nodded. “So anyways, besides all that, I presume you’ve already sent your new Nexus through the wringer?” I asked, expecting the General to have immediately started training.
“Yes, many of your own citizens show great promise, though they are nowhere near combat ready just yet. Now then, can you point me in the direction of Zeke?”
“Why do you ask?” I asked, not trying to sound defensive but considering how those two felt during Rune and Butterscotch's betrayal...it just came out.
“I am afraid I didn’t get to that part yet. You see, when I referred to serving our king without question, I meant Zeke, not you.”
“Again. Why do you want to see Zeke?” I asked. “He’s...getting better but...telling him he’s King? You do know he doesn’t want a ‘Ruling Role’ right?”
"Yes, which is why he is perfect. As the Admin of Hearts he is also the King of Hearts. He is the only other one of the Experiments to become an Admin and holds both vast tactical wisdom and leadership skills. He feels the loss of Equis/Daybreak was always unavoidable, so he took precautions to avoid a mass loss of life when it did, and he succeeded in that. He may not want the role of King, bit he was quite literally built for it."
“He will just tell you to go to me right?” I asked. “But…” I sighed out. “If you want to...head to My Hero Academia, that’s where they are the moment and...it’s a pretty good place just from what I’ve read up.” I said, planning on going there sooner or later.
"Thank you." Krot said with a bow. "Now then, about the other bases I constructed."
"What about them?" I asked curiously. “Want me to do some pest control in case our enemies found them first?”
"There is the likelihood they have but unlike the one here, the others are safeguarded both by the world's natural terrain and defenses of my own design. The only way to shut all of them down is via the primary control room. Thankfully all these bases share the same layout, however the rooms are switched around randomly. I recommend while dealing with the defenses a small Infiltration team breaks in while mass assault squad keeps the base defence AI busy."
“How much you want to bet Jericho has just waltzed in and made it his?” I asked honestly.
"We have few reports on Jericho but from.what we do have I have a strong feeling he will not if rarely be in direct contact with combat until his desired war is upon us. He sees everything as a chess game, our pieces and his, he will want to see how our pieces measure up." Krot informed.”
“Well he can’t really compare when one of the pieces that’s supposed to counter him has currently fucked off.” I sighed out. “And when I brought up ‘oh hey, why don’t we just get the ability to make us on par’, Cript said ‘I’m scared you’ll die and get it taken away’ like he thought we weren’t good enough or something.”
"Perhaps…" Krot said quietly. "Once my first assault teams are ready and my king gives word I'll contact you for additional fire power in the form of groups we can take this first base on list."
“Would be rather simple.” I said honestly. “But do you need actual big fire power or sneaky fire power?”
"I feel we can handle the sneaky factor, we'll ask you provide heavy firepower to keep the defense AI busy."
“Sounds simple enough.” I said. “That’ll happen whenever your fully ready.”
"Thank you." Krot said with a bow, leaving.
“Alright…” I muttered. “Next!”
Walking in now came Leon, his attire much the same, save for a few medals and Cid, standing next to him. "Ben." Leon said with a nod.
“Leon, Cid.” I nodded. “How are you two doing today?” I asked politely.
"Paperwork coming out our asses." Cid grumbled.
“Believe me, I understand.” I grumbled in agreement and shared pain. “So, what would you two like to talk about?”
"As you know Daybreak Empire has suffered many blows recently. With Zeke and Mors gone and our primary world now obliterated, while our people are largely adjusting governance wise we are sadly weaker."
“Wait, so you don’t know?” I blinked, a little surprised by this. “Zeke and Mors aren’t dead...I kinda thought you were there when me, Eclipsa and Zeke got married.”
"What?!" Cid and Leon both yelled.
"How? We recovered Zeke's corpse?!" Cid yelled.
“That...was Zeke’s clone, Charlie.” I brought up. “Jesus...I have way too much to explain…” I sighed out. “Consequence, did Twilight make a Schedule for all my meetings?” I asked him.
"She's tried. But I handle your scheduling matters." He replied.
“Well...mind pushing my next meeting a little back? This is gonna take a while.” I said nervously.
"Of course. I shall inform them immediately."
I spent a good two hours telling Cid and Leon about everything that happened when Zeke was split, his Nobody, sharing a body with Trixie, and all the recent events. Needless to say, they were pretty speechless. “And that should be the long and short of it.” I said honestly.
"But why didn't Zeke come back? Daybreak Empire needs his leadership now more than ever, especially now that his is the Admin of Hearts and Keyblades!" Leon shouted.
“Let me ask you something, have you actually ‘needed’ Zeke being a leader?” I asked. “Cause I’m pretty sure Zeke made damn well sure you all can think and work things out by yourselves.”
"That may be so but the people look towards him for safety, he is the wielder of the X-Blade and now he himself is Kingdom Hearts, a symboles, a person like that gives hope, and hope is something the people need!"
“They look towards him for safety...so what, did all his hard work mean nothing to make you all strong and independent?” I asked Leon curiously.
"Our strength isn't the priority here, we can survive without him, but Zeke made everyone, every world that joined us so much better. Now tell me where Zeke is."
“‘We can survive without him’.” I repeated to Leon, staring Leon dead in the eyes. “I can tell you where Zeke is, but at the moment your acting like a child crying that his father isn’t there to make the bad things go away.”
"I wouldn't expect you to understand."
“Oh really?” I asked. “Tell me, what don’t I understand, I haven’t lived with Zeke as long as you have, so I’d really like to know.” I said in a patient and understanding tone. “And Cid, you can help elaborate if you want.”
"Er, uh what Leon here means to say is that Zeke has done a lot for us. We went from having lost our world to having not only it back, but also made it possible for us to help others in the same situation. We went from being damn near helpless to being able to defend and save others. When Zeke founded Daybreak Empire over the old Daybreak town we knew only good things could come from it. And it did, all that lost knowledge helped us and others in ways the traditional Keyblade ways would have kept secret. He broke the old rules and created new ones that were fair and just. We know Zeke tried to downplay his role but in the eyes of everyone in Daybreak he was a living legend." Cid tried to explain.
"He built up Daybreak and the world it evolved into from nothing and many others as well. You inherited your kingdom and had land appear here with magic and your Nobodies. In short Zeke is just a better leader than you, and given his abilities would make a much better king." Leon said with a tone of venom.
I stood up and walked over to Leon. “Oh? So because I was handed a kingdom, I’m not a good enough leader?” I asked simply. “Because I worked hard to gain what I have now, I’m worse than Zeke?”
"Your realm only exists because of Light and Darkness clashing, a small hairline border between the two. You may have earned that crown but so far you have not shown you deserve it." Leon said, looking me head on in the eyes before starting his leave. "Now if you don't mind, I have to find my Admin."
"Awh shit kid…" Cid sighed.
The door remained closed to Leon. “No no, we’re still talking.” I said. “Even if you walk off after basically spitting in my face, I still have information you need, both for Zeke’s whereabouts, and to a lot of other things. And I’m sorry for being a little...on the fence with telling you, see...Zeke is still recovering from Rune’s betrayal.” I said to the two. “He’s been getting better...and even though another person is already heading off to make him their king...it’s still hurting a lot.”
"Zeke has always suffered." Leon said, turning around to face me. "Since Daybreak Empire was founded, how many wars has Zeke told you about?"
“Please, continue.” I said. “I don’t know how many because I didn’t get married to him until...maybe a week or two ago? Time is really weird to be perfectly honest.”
"Sixty. And in each Zeke has lead us, commanded us and seen horrors that haunt us both. Infants and children dead in our arms because we arrived just a bit too late! Not every world was perfect when we arrived, so many were in their own wars and had their own horrors. We ended it for them, we suffered so they didn't have to anymore."
“Zeke knows death and bloodshed...but how does having someone you love, your own safety net, betray you to your own enemy...as well as never even loved you to begin with?” I asked.
"Such an event would crush any man, but where Rune was a liar, the one false love, he still has so many, now including you. If there is anything I know about Zeke it's that he can see the brighter side of a situation."
“I know...didn’t make his hollowness any worse…” I muttered sadly. “So anyways, you want to know where Zeke is, and honestly I don’t even need an apology because you still don’t know a lot of things.”
"Well that's as good an ending as we hope for." Cid said.
“Yeah, I’d like to show you two what Nothingness truly is...but I doubt one of you even cares.” I brought up. “So, ever heard of ‘My Hero Academia’?”
"Hmm… sounds like Super Powers." Leon muttered. "We know where it is."
“Start there.” I said while passing him a note on which world it specifically was just in case. “And also, do you want to know what Nothingness truly is?”
"I'll learn when you learn what a true king is." Leon said with a smirk. "Your greenness shows like a house plant."
“I haven’t really been a king for all that long to be honest.” I brought up. “I was working my way towards being able to rule, Zeke, at the time being a god amongst men for several reasons, was kinda handed it.” I brought up. “But I mean, when your hero of a world that tends to happen sometimes.”
Leon and Cid left, and I began wondering how I can be a better ruler. Without clones… like what Zeke did. No clones just a bunch of people and Keyblades...
“Didn’t I already summerize this as ‘do what I’ve already been doing but with a fuck ton more paperwork’?” I asked myself curiously. “Helping people, making sure things are running, I have been getting better at leadership...also why am I comparing myself to Zeke when he was literally made to be a leader?” I frowned. “Whatever, something else to think about, Consequence you can bring the next group in.”
The next group was a group of people from the list of people whose world's bad guys vanished. Funny enough it was Hercules. "Hi there." He said with a wave.
“Hello, how are you doing today?” I asked politely.
"Pretty good. Actually things back home have been great save for the fact all our evil people are gone. Not just Hades, the Titans, Medusa, and many others. Just up and gone." Herc said with a frown. "The peace nice but it's still concerning."
“It is concerning…” I said nervously. “What do you know about other worlds if I may ask?”
"Not much. Just bits and pieces from Daybreak really."
“Alright.” I nodded. “So...to put it simply, someone a whole lot worse than what you’ve faced from another world took them all to add to his ever growing army.” I said, knowing Hercule was going to learn this sooner or later.
"Yikes…"
“But that doesn’t mean all his hopeless.” I said. “Cause you are the world’s greatest hero, Hercules, and with a lot of hard work and determination, they won’t stand a chance.” I said honestly. “So...might seem pretty forward, but I’ve never really been one to be subtle, want to join my cause in fighting against this growing threat? I know it’s forward, but so is having all your villians being taken away out of nowhere.”
"Of course I'll join. Can't be a hero if I'm not helping."
“Good man.” I said with a nod. “Now the training will be a lot more difficult than what you’ve previously experienced, so a quick question is do you want to train back on your world or here?” I asked curiously. “We have everything you could ask for in training equipment and expertise and more.”
"Back home would be better. I know some people who can help."
With that I had some people go with him to make sure everything went well. The next person was… Ceil Phantomhive, but he had this orange streak along his normally jet black hair. "Ben." He said simply.
“Earl Phantomhive.” I nodded, not knowing what’s new or special about this Ceil.
"That's not my title anymore." He muttered. "Clearly you are failing to see the larger picture of who I am and why I am here."
“Oh, I am sorry.” I said. “I sadly haven’t been keeping track with a lot of things given that I’ve been having to keep track of...well a lot of things.” I said sheepishly.
"Looks like I'll have to spell it out for you then. I'm the help Father sent you."
“I mean...you could have just started with that.” I said. “I don’t really know many of my family from Cript’s side cause...well I have only met you people twice.”
"Clearly. I am here to help you have a better understanding of the type.of field works you'll be experiencing come this war and help you learn some manners. An argument in your own court should have been silenced swiftly, not allowed to escalate to volumes unfit for indoors."
“Do I look like the kind of person that would keep ‘indoor voices’ in any situation?” I asked honestly, motioning to my entire self
"As a king and mother you must lead by example, and so far all your examples have been in poor taste."
“Hey, I represent that.” I said in a joking manner.
"I can see I have my work cut out for me." Ceil said.
“Well then where to begin?” I asked simply. “Cause I have a lot more meetings to attend and even more things to do after the fact.”
"First off I can tell you that since it appears obvious you don't even know how many or with whom you are meeting with you should start from there."
“Well I was told I had fifty meetings.” I started simply. “And I do know who I’m meeting, I would be dumb not to know.”
"Well I'm going to have to set up shop somewhere. I'll send for.you once I've set up." Ceil said, taking his leave.
“Alright.” I nodded. “Next please.”
The next arrival was actually a surprise. Lord. "Your meetings are shit." He… insulted.
“I don’t open up with insults when I meet you Lord.” I said simply. “But what brings you here?”
"As you know we need allies who are on our level. Admins. I have a few who I know will aid us but this one in particular I do not want to speak with alone…"
“Oh? And who would that be?” I asked curiously.
"Asmith, the Admin of DNA. I know you have heard of him."
“Oh him? Well I’ve heard of him from Ben 10 and all that jazz, but I haven’t met him officially.” I said honestly. “But I would like to talk to him if it’ll get us a strong ally.”
"Past. Strong, that's not how I'd described him. Anyway, come on. I want to get this over with fast."
“Mind putting my other meetings on hold till I get back Consequence?” I asked the Lingering Will.
"I can have Joy take over in your place for a while." Consequence said.
“Yeah that would be true.” I said. “Let’s hope Joy’s not too busy with what Krot might be putting him through…” I muttered while clapping my hands. “Joy? You there?”
“Go to hell…” Joy muttered as he walked in, looking tired as hell from all the crap Krot has put him through.
"Come on." Lord spoke up, next to a portal of sorts.
“Alright.” I nodded while following Lord to where Asmith was.
We were on what looked like a fortress of sorts, and we're immediately assaulted by green robots. Lord just put up a barrier and deflected all the attacks effortlessly. "Really? Just show yourself you old bastard."
“Come on Asmith, you know full well Jericho is back and probably has any number of Vilgax’s abusing your tech. How about you get off your high horse and show yourself.” I called out.
After a bit the robots stopped and after a bit the small Galven walked up to the two. "You have five minutes." Asmith said. His voice sounds like from.his first appearance in the Ben ten movie. So Ben should be Ten then. At least in this reflection.
“It’s gonna take a lot longer talk than five minutes, but we need your help.” I said.
"I know. Jericho is back and already he's causing trouble and stealing my technology." Asmith said.
"So will you help or what?" Lord asked.
"Perhaps. Will you finally Admit I'm the better inventor."
"No way in hell."
“You two are better in different ways from each other, can we not have this dick measuring contest now?” I asked.
"He's just all kinds of upset because I invented the Omnitrix well before he was able too." Asmith said smugly.
"I would have gotten it if I managed to figure out the codex rewrite." Lord grumbled.
“Oh boo hoo.” I said. “He made it first, doesn’t mean it’s super special anymore when it’s mass produced to hell, including all its variants.” I brought up. “Plus a fucking Crab with a shitty accent made the exact same thing but with all those aliens Predators, you can still make something that’s better you know that right?”
Asmith just smirked. "Not the original."
"Piss off." Lord hissed.
“And you decided not to one up him and make something better?” I asked Lord honestly. “But what’s so special with the Original than? Cause I’m mostly going off of all the shows lore at this point so I don’t know everything.”
Asmith gave a slight laugh. "The omnitrix seen in that show is a heavily, downgraded version of the original."
“Still an overpowered piece of shit.” I deadpanned.
"The original, allows any who wears it to gain the powers and abilities of every Admin that was around before, and even after the war. Your Code is there too Ben."
"I still call Bullshit that you were able to make that." Lord said.
"What can I say, I'm just the smarter man." Asmith said, earning a glare from Lord.
“While I won’t call bullshit on the Original having that capability I will call bullshit on it having my Code when it just came into being not...what a month ago?” I asked honestly. “And where would this ‘original’ one be? I sure as shit hope it’s not in Jericho’s hands.” I brought up.
"Relax. The original is right here." Asmith said, lifting up his shirt, the iconic symbol attached to his belly. "To ensure its safety I embedded it into my own body and code. I got your Code and DNA added to it via my collection bots." He said, a small fly whizzing past me. "They have come in real handy. Just a skin or hair sample is all I need."
“Alrighty then.” I nodded, understanding the concept. “So, again, are you going to help us? Or is being told that your better than Lord in one situation is more important than having everything get destroyed?”
"I'll help, on one condition."
“What would that condition be?” I asked curiously.
"I need a sample of Cript's code."
"Ha! Good luck." Lord said.
I took a moment, before taking a deep breath and some of my bugs crawled into my hand, holding small pieces that both Asmith and Lord could tell was Cript’s Code. “Is this enough?” I asked curiously. “Or does it need to be a complete set?”
Asmith took it, looking it over. "Hmm… this is part of Cript's code, but it's barely thirty percent, the other seventy or so will be needed."
“Ah.” I nodded. “Good too know, but I’m pretty sure Cript would just hand over a small bit of it considering he just doesn’t care anymore about things.” I shrugged.
"If you can ask him for it then. With Cript's code added to the storage Chambers, this device could be the key to victory."
“Question...what’s stopping Jericho from just...making your Original Omnitrix?” I asked worriedly. “As I said before, Jericho is basically an Edgy Cript so...he can do damn near anything.”
"Nothing really. He's smart and resourceful, but he lacks what I have. The code sequences of past Admins. The first generations like myself are the strongest."
“Isn’t he capable of just...remaking first generation admins though? He has all of Cript’s abilities...and from what I was told about Generation and Copy Cat...along with the Starfish cloning…” My voice trailed off in understandable concern at what Jericho could do.
"Admin code can only be copied from.the original sequences, like the ones here." He said, tapping on the original Omnitrix. "The only way to bring them back is to either somehow have The Mother do it, or gain the help of The Admin of Time."
“And where would the Admin of Time be?” I asked curiously.
"No idea. He's been in hiding since the war ended."
“Wouldn’t be surprised if Jericho somehow tracked the bastard down…” I muttered nervously.
"That is a worry for later. Right now get me that code Sequence from Cript, and I'll arm each of you with one of these."
I proceeded to tap on my Assistant to call Cript, hoping he was available instead of me having to hunt him down.
"What?" I jumped, Cript appearing behind me and startling me.
“Yes hi, mind if I take a small bit of your Code for Asmith here?” I asked. “His help against Jericho..kinda has the stipulation of completing his work.”
"Sure." Cript said, plucking out a piece of hair.
"Wait, just like that?" Asmith asked.
"You never asked." Cript replied, handing the hair to them. "Bye." They said, vanishing now.
Asmith looked over the hair, and tapped on the Omnitrix. "Unknown DNA and Code Sequence detected." The Omnitrix spoke, scanning the hair and then absorbing it. "Catalogued. Upgrades required for transformation."
"Approved." Asmith said, the Omnitrix began glowing now. "I figured that would happen."
“I mean...it is Cript after all.” I said honestly.
"This should only take a few minutes." Asmith said.
“Alright.” I nodded. “And how long would it take to start making those things?”
"Once this is done I can get started."
"Great. I'm gone now." Lord said, leaving.
"Sour puss." Asmith said. He leaped all the way to my left shoulder. "If you want to see my lab, start walking."
“Well...might as well.” I said while heading off towards Asmith’s lab. “So, how does it feel knowing you single handedly made one of the most overpowered objects in existence?”
"Boring. How do you top it, simple, you can't. Makes all other works near meaningless."
“Maybe you shouldn’t have set the bar that high.” I said honestly.
"I set it high because I never expected to reach it."
“When you have literally all the time in the world and no one can stop you, there is no wall in your way to halt your progress.” I said honestly.
"Yeah. Take a left."
I nodded while taking a left. “So, out of all the reflections of users of your own tech...which one were you more proud in?” I asked curiously.
"None."
“Really? Not even impressed on how much good it was used for?” I asked curiously.
“I invented that version of the Omnitrix as a means to help life forms better learn about each others way of life and cultures, a measure to avoiding misunderstandings and even cultural and genetic barriers. But all they could think of was means to use it against one another as weapons. Even in the hands of someone using it for good, they are still using my work to hurt others. I didn’t make a weapon, I made the ultimate answer for understanding.”
“It’s funny how you also made the ultimate answer for destruction.” I said. “I understand your reason to make it...but to be honest you kinda should have seen that coming. But honestly your tech can do that still, but it can still be used to save and or destroy people’s cultures.” I brought up. “Like...in one of the episodes of Ben 10 Alien Force, sorry I don’t know the actual alien races names so please bare with me, but it took Chromastone to help bring back Diamondheads home world and civilization back, your tech can do a whole lot more than just be the universe’s best Rosetta Stone.”
"Perhaps, so long as it's in worthy hands. Sadly that won't be the case for the mark two's. The mark one though, well I'll have some hope for." He said, the Omnitrix stopped glowing.
"Upgrade complete." It said, giving a single flash.
"Perfect." Asmith said, leaping down and readying it. "I haven't used this devices in eons."
“It’s just like riding a bike.” I said. “Once you get back on it’ll come to ya...also mind if I ask about literally all the other iterations of the Omnitrix you made besides the main one I know and the Magnum Opus?”
"Well, time for a test run." Asmith said, punching the dial down. There was a bright flash of green light. When it faded, I was looking at… me?! "Hm. Code sequences stable, outfit, standard." The me he turned into was wearing a jumpsuit of sorts, and the Omnitrix symbol was over the right shoulder. "Abilities." Asmith said, actually summoning No Heart. "Weapons too. Good."
“Well then…” I said. “Didn’t fully expect it to be a complete replica...kinda thought there would have been some differences.”
"Code works different than DNA Ben, yet at the same time they can be near identical in terms of function." Asmith said, reverting back. "Alright then, let's get started."
“Where do we start?” I asked curiously. “Or are you just going to clap your hands and make them all in an instant?”
"I may be one of the first Admins but my abilities with Code are admittedly quite pathetic. While I am the Admin of Genetics I can only make the first and earliest forms of single celled organisms and mutated them to evolve and survive accordingly to each world, and that takes several thousand years each world. Once I know they survive and start multiplying and evolving on their own I let them work it out. It's why when machines and technology came about I took to it. My intellect is of my own study and research."
“Surprising to be perfectly honest.” I brought up. “Why couldn’t you just make machines that amplified your code and abilities? The Omnitrix is one thing, but why didn’t you make anything like suits, nanotechnology, or things along those lines?”
"Code has a will of its own. While we control and create it, one can not simply make a machine that amplify it. Even the first Omnitrix, while I transform into another Admin I am still limited to the creation and code strength of my own code, borrowing mostly just the abilities, strengths, and weaknesses of the Admin I transform into. The only ever successful method of strengthening code is with the Amplify ability, but only three exist in all of creation, and two are in Nexus's Abilitity storage vault, and the other resides within young Zeke."
“Wait really?” I asked in surprise.
"Oh yes. I find it funny really. Cript has Generation, and Zeke amplify. Two abilities with such interesting origins." Asmith said, the door before us opening as we entered a rather large laboratory.
“Alrighty then, but wait doesn’t Cript also have Amplify or something?” I asked curiously. “And jeez this place is big.”
"Haha. Nope. Cript only has Generation. You see, back when we were all still developing our code, and therefore everything, two Admins wanted the title of Admin of Abilities. They were quite competitive. Their crowning achievements was Generation for one, and Amplify for the other. Both abilities made to outdo the others, but together create something of unimaginable potential. Alone if Zeke were to gain some more strength and utilize Amplify I wouldn't be surprised if he could rival Cript."
“Well okay then.” I said. “Can’t wait to see if those two things can be Copied because CopyCat is kinda busted.” I brought up.
"Afraid not. Copy Cat can not copy Amplify or Generation. The admins that made those two abilities made it so they could not be replicated by that ability."
“And yet it can be freely given to people.” I brought up.
"Not exactly. You see, Generation is not like other abilities. It has to be given to one at birth or conception, to allow the body to adjust before it's even activated. Amplify while it can be received by anyone, if the user is not capable of holding all the increasing potency of it, will explode like a suicidal Delete."
“And Grey doesn’t work like Amplify?” I asked curiously. “Cause it kinda sounds like it does given what Eclipsa showed off.”
"Grey acts like a mix of the two abilities, but it's an energy, able to endlessly replicate itself and amplify other energies, however the potency and speed of it is drastically cut because it's an energy itself, not an ability." Asmith said, starting to work on something.
“So basically it’s both but kinda nerfed?” I asked curiously. “That doesn’t sound scary at all.”
"Put bluntly yes." Asmith said. "For an example for the time it will take Eclipsa to form an ocean of Grey one with Generation would have formed of Galaxy of all other energies at once, and with amplify a drop of grey is like a matchstick, and Amplify is a… rocket thruster. For lack of a better way to explain it."
“Eclipsa was definitely faster than that…” I muttered, remembering our time training before bad things happened. “But okay then, still sounds pretty fucking scary.”
"It is. It's why only three of Amplify exist, and five of Generation exist. Across all timelines and realms."
“And then those abilities are just going to be given to people like fucking hot cakes.” I said. “I’m sure of it.”
"Only if they learn how to forge them. But the method of even making Abilities was lost with their Admins after the war."
“Jericho.” I stated as if his name was an answer enough to explain how those things won’t be lost for much longer.
"While his threat is great not even he or Cript has ever made an Ability. The art is long lost Ben."
“I’m pretty sure it’s not gonna be lost for much longer to be honest.” I said honestly. “A lot of things are being brought up that should have been lost.”
"Perhaps. Only time will tell."
“Alright.” I nodded. “But let’s get to work on these things right?”
"Yes. I'll need the basic items… maybe I could if I calibrate it right… hmm… can you grab the Dial Sequence selector and Genetic Encoders in the storage room over there?" Asmith motioned to a door at the other side of the lab behind him.
“I have a feeling I’ll know what the hell those things are just by looks alone?” I asked nervously.
"The circle that shows the alien and the black band that latches to the arm…" He said bluntly.
“Thank you.” I said. “Need to know, I don’t know the technical names of things.” I said while heading into the room to grab the items he needed.
Opening the door it took a bit of looking but I found both in some trays that were packed with them. I took them to him and he grabbed one from each and began linking them together. "Hmm." He hummed as he was messing with the Dial.
“Oh?” I asked curiously, wondering what he’s humming about.
"This is my newer model, I'll need to manually install the needed parts to make it work as I'm calculating. Where's that lazy assistant of mine?"
“Um...that depends on who your assistant is and...what Time Frame we’re going on here.” I said. “Cause at the moment...I’m getting a ‘Ben 10, Race Against Time’ feel where Ben and Company are heading here as we speak to stop the Omnitrix from nuking this universe.” I said honestly.
"That? That was four months ago." Asmith said. "At least in this reflection."
“Alright thank you.” I nodded. “Then I wouldn’t know where she is.”
"Knowing her she's likely in her personal lab working on one of her little projects."
“Alrighty then.” I nodded. “Don’t you have a communicator with her or something? You know like a phone or something to call her?”
"And have her constantly bug me with unnecessary questions? No thanks." Asmith said, walking over to the edge of the table, opening the drawer underneath and taking out some wires. "Her personal lab is four doors down on the left."
“Alright.” I nodded. “And that’s kinda your fault with ‘I don’t want to be bugged but I need my assistant around’, need proper communication and stuff like that.” I brought up honestly.
"My flaw is that I want to be alone but hate doing all the work myself. I'm man enough to admit that." Asmith said. "Now go get her."
“Gonna have to work on that.” I said while heading off to her personal lab. “Let’s hope she’s there…”
Heading to that area her lab, Myaxx if I remember, her lab was much smaller than Asmith's, but just as cluttered. She was wearing some kind of goggles, while messing with a machine on the table in the center.
“Uh, knock knock?” I asked while also knocking on her door.
"Huh?" She questioned, taking off the goggles and looking at me. "And you are? Wait, dire wolf Den mother from planet Fortusha… Ben, right?"
“Yes I am.” I nodded. “Asmith needs your help with work.” I said honestly.
"Of course he does." Myaxx groaned. "What is it? Calculations? Schematics?"
“Didn’t tell me what he needed but I have a feeling it involves making multiples of the Original Omnitrix.” I said honestly.
At that, she dropped her tools. "You… you're serious?"
“I have a feeling you’ve heard of Jericho right?” I asked.
"Yeah. Only bits and pieces though."
“Well a big ass Admin War is gonna happen and Jericho has been taking all the villains and boosting them to hell and back.” I brought up. “So, gonna need those things to help even the odds a bit, or tip it in our favor.”
"Ah… well then, guess I got a lot of long hours ahead of me." Myaxx said, turning off the things in her lab. We them walked back to Asmith's lab. "So what do you need old man?"
"The schematics for the Sequence compressor and Extender, and the Codex Module." Asmith said.
"Got it." She said, walking over to a computer and began typing.
“Anything I’m gonna need to do or should I let you two get to it?” I asked curiously.
"If you can, Fetch a Mater Conversion production facility." Asmith asked.
“And...you expect me to know the names of things why?” I asked slowly.
"A Mater Conversion production Facility is exactly how it sounds. An entire facility that is one machine that both produces matter and items from raw code and concerts produced matter into whatever you program in. It's very old Admin tech." Myaxx said.
"Some Admins trusted their realms inhabitants enough to use them responsibly, and some did. Others not so much. Most were cast into the void, no matter there or code so the whole thing is useless there and therefore to Deletes." Asmith added.
“And you expect me to know where this thing is how?” I asked. “You said it’s very old admin tech, and I just became an admin not a few weeks ago.”
"I don't expect you to know where it is, I expect you to search the void for one and bring it here."
“You...do know who I am right?” I asked. “And...you do know that Void itself won’t really take kindly to me being there.”
"If you don't want to be useful then leave, I'd you do, find that facility." Asmith said bitterly. "Besides, think of it as a training exercise for the war."
“Cause...that would be good at the moment.” I sighed out. “Got a way there I could take? Still not fully used to just...Admin abusing my way everywhere.”
"Yeah, and I thought my skills with code were pathetic. Just say Enter Room Zero while activating your code."
“More like I’ve just started using Code.” I brought up. “But thank you.” I nodded while taking a deep breath, my code starting to appear. “Enter Room Zero.”
Everything went green and black… and stayed black. I felt myself and l… right, void… no light here… no anything here…
“Well let’s change that.” I said while summoning Eternal Flames and setting them both on fire.
The light was minimal, but enough for me to see at least a few feet in front of me. I began walking.
“Surprised one of the higher ups here aren’t like ‘hey the fuck you doing here?’...” I muttered to myself, knowing I could make this shit brighter than this or I could just give myself an item that can help me ‘see’ but I’m gonna do it the hard way for some reason.
As I walked I felt the ground under me… dirt? Looking down I was on dirt, odd… maybe an old Admins realms debre when destroyed or something?
“Seriously where the hell am I?” I muttered with a frown. As I kept walking I could hear… growling. Something big and deep was nearby. “Okay maybe I should just drop some pretense.” I said before dumping Grey and Light into Eternal Flames as the light burned ever brighter and giving me more room to actually see things.
I saw for a moment a large claw before it vanished back into the darkness out of range of Eternal Flames.
“Yes, hi.” I rolled my eyes as I kept moving along.
As I kept along I began hearing… footsteps?
“Hello?” I called out. “I can hear you, it would be best if you just come out instead of stalking me.”
"What makes you think you can come here with that?" A ragged voice spoke.
"Yes, that, that." Another higher pitched flemy voice added.
“What, light?” I asked while moving it to try and see who’s following me. “Or something else?” I asked, wondering who the hell was here. “But who’s there?”
“Stay back!” The flemy voice spoke.
“Turn it off!” A new voice shouted.
“It’s hideous.” Another, female voice spoke, followed by what sounded like an entire crowd of people, screaming and pleaded for me to put out Eternal Flames.
“Please, just calm down.” I said. “But I’m not from here, I can’t really see without this, unless any of you can help me do that without anything bad happening.” I explained, at least letting the lights dim a bit.
They all went silent. "Admin." The first voice spoke.
"ADMIN!!!!" They all suddenly screamed, pounding or stomping at the ground Screaming Admin at an unholy volume and making the whole area shake.
“ENOUGH!” I shouted as Eternal Flames shown brighter. “I am not an Admin! And even if I was, why the fuck would I be here when all of you would rather see me dead?” I growled, bringing up a pretty decent point if they were dumb enough to believe it.
"Lies! Admin Lies!" The flemy voice shouted.
"Bring forth Judgement!" Another yelled.
“Um...how about no.” I said before leaving all the crazy people, knowing they won’t get close enough to me given they all hate the light Eternal Flames was giving off. “So where the hell would this thing be…” I muttered. “Also what the fuck does it even look like?” I muttered with a frown.
Walking along all I know is that Asmith said it was a facility. A building then… where?
“Given that no one’s going to help me I’m gonna me walking around everywhere…” I frowned, before taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, a pulse of energy echoed out as I tried to ‘see’ everything else that my flames couldn’t let me see.
Some things appeared in my mind, rocks, monsters... those people… god they look terrifying. Wait, is that… a pirate ship?
“Why is there a pirate ship?” I frowned while heading towards the Pirate Ship.
Upon arriving there were a lot of Skeletons, old bottles, fuck tones of treasure. Cool.
“Just gonna…” I muttered before slowly taking all the treasure. “Yeah…” I muttered, thinking no one would have a problem if I took all the treasure.
As I looked around I saw… "Well well, what do we have here?" That voice… who is this?
“Um...nothing’s wrong here.” I said nervously. “I totally wasn’t trying to take treasure nope, not me.”
"Like I care about worthless gold." They said… sounds like they're walking around me. "You're Ben right? Jericho talked about you."
“Now a lot of people can say a lot of things about people...but one thing’s for sure, that fucker needs to return my kids damn it.” I frowned while preparing myself for an obvious fight.
"Your kids? Heh. Wonder how that will work with them, considering Nancy's first words to him was 'Daddy'." He dodged my blast, and again. "Dog sense of hearing, accurate but you're still shooting blind."
I growled before I used all my other senses, and found the bastard. “If any of you hurt any of my babies I swear you’ll regret everything.” I told him as I turned to face the bastard.
"Hehehe. Why would I hurt my favorite aunt?" They said, shooting out void fire from their hands. "Did my baby brother not tell you about me? How like him."
“He told me there were only two people I can freely kill. One of them I’m sure Zeke dealt with...and then there’s you, the prodigal asshole himself.” I frowned.
"The name is Dillen. I was everything everyone wanted Zeke to be." He said, taking out a Void key Keyblade and clashing with me. "I hear he is an Admin now, heh, always the family favorite."
“Funny how I’m hearing ‘woe is me, I’m always second best’.” I tried goading the bastard. “So are ya gonna do something or keep complaining?”
Dilen backed up, slowly side walking around me. "Since he was born I've been under his shadow. I wouldn't expect someone without siblings to know what it is like when a younger brother upshows you, and doesn't even care."
“I mean, it’s not my fault that he hates you for being a fucking crazy person.” I said while letting Eternal Flames float by me as I cracked my knuckles. “Plus I don’t need siblings to know what it feels like to have everyone else be better than you. That’s just a fact of life.”
"Admitting faults?"
“Not really.” I said honestly. “Just bringing up facts..” I said, bringing my hands up and getting into my fighting stance.
"As fun as a fight would be, Jericho has a different Job for me."
“And what would that be?” I frowned.
"A deal, of sorts. The second we noticed Lord searching for allies among the existing admins we knew at some point he'd contact Asmith, hence your being here, correct?"
“And what of it?” I asked honestly. “Is there a problem with this that Jericho can’t solve for some reason?”
"An opportunity really." Dilen said, disbanding Void Key. "Since my brother cast me out to this place I've memorized a lot. Time here is non-existent, meaning the next time we meet, for you might be a month, week, year, for me could be seconds or centuries. In short I know you are looking for the Mater Conversion Facility. I know where one is, but at a price."
“And why do you expect me to agree at all?” I asked honestly. “But what’s the price since I might as well ask.”
"Jericho needs a sample of your Nothingness. For just whatever you put in this jar," He tossed a rather high tech looking jar at me. Catching it, I looked it over. Seemed… secure. "And this facility is yours."
“I’m not seeing enough of a ‘fair deal’ here.” I said. “Plus, what would happen if I’m literally in the facility itself? It’s just not turned on yet?” I frowned.
"These things can't run inside the void, no matter to convert, no code. I can open a portal out of it and you can take it from there, but taking you to the facility is all Jericho asked of me, and unless you do decide to foolishly use your code and have every Delete from every end of this section on you at once, I'll require some payment for the portal service."
“And you're expecting me to just...give you something Jericho already has?” I asked honestly. “Or is he suddenly not able to do literally anything?”
"While he does have a copy of your Nothingness a Copy is not the best for running experiments."
“You do know that you’re being led by someone that can literally do everything right?” I asked honestly.
"Yes… everything, including returning Nancy." He said, purposely turning his back to me. "Play along, and we'll return her safe and sound."
“And Nyx and Eclipsa Jr.” I stated bluntly. “I know I’m falling for your bait...but my family’s more important…” I sighed out.
"I'm getting to them. Jericho's rules are simple. Three deals, this is yours, They will get theirs soon enough, and after the third Deal of 'Jolly cooperation' you'll get your kids back. Jericho is a lot of things, but when it comes to kids well, he's not that heartless."
“And what? Is this ‘fair compensation’ for us having Asmith on our side or something?” I asked curiously, my den mother instincts tell me to just take the deal to get my kids back.
"Beats me. Jericho didn't tell me all the details. I'm not one of his inner circles, I'm just a messenger."
“I hate you and Jericho so much…” I sighed out. “But...when will my daughter come back?”
"When all three deals are completed. When the next is I don't think it will be that far away, all depends on what the boss man says. If you want proof she's fine though, here." He said, throwing a folded piece of paper at me.
Inside was… scribbles… crayon scribbles that had Nancy's scent all over it.
“I hate you all…” I muttered while opening the canister. “I know I’ll regret this...but your a Ventral...and from what I’ve been told, even the most cruelest of Ventrals still believe family is important…” I said while putting a tiny tiny piece of my Nothingness in. “I know I’ll regret this later..”
"Don't we all regret something?" He said, walking over and taking the jar from me. "Follow me, and Don't fall behind, the ground sometimes shifts around speraticaly without reason." He said, jumping off the edge of the ship. I begrudgingly followed.
“I’m gonna regret this more…” I sighed out. “Cause handing bad guys power isn’t really a good thing...but family is more important than Jericho’s fucking hard on for Cript.” I grumbled, having been told a bit about Jericho’s past from Mother. “And if Jericho want’s to come down personally and tell me ‘it’s not like that’ I am all for it, but until then I’m seeing it like that.” I muttered. “So...mind if I ask why you are still a crazy person when all the others finally have the chance to be safe and happy?”
"I never cared about normal things like they all did. All said I took after Grandpa. Gonna have to pay Zeke back for killing him… Tell me, what have you always wanted to be?"
“What have I always wanted to be?” I asked. “Well...me. Everything I get for being me is just a positive.”
"Don't lie. You've always wanted to be someone, something. What was it?"
“No seriously, why the hell would I have the bar set way too high?” I asked honestly. “What did you want to be?”
"Something simple." He said nonchalantly.
“Like what? Best assassin in the world?” I asked honestly.
"I've wanted something simple, something achievable, something everybody can feel fear towards. I wanted to destroy the world."
“So you just want to watch the world burn and not care about anything else?” I asked curiously. “And if you wanted that then it already happened.”
"Burning a world leaves Ashes, ashes cultivate and feed surviving foliage, which in turn feeds surviving wildlife. No, I want to eradicate life, coming here, even in the void Life exists, in a twisted deadly fashion yes, but it's life regardless. No, I'd like to watch Everything die, from the soil to the very air itself. Then no Gods or even Admins can repair what I leave behind, if anything is left at all."
“Sorry to say this but that’s never going to happen.” I said honestly. “Even if you win that’s not going to happen like, at all.”
"Oh I wouldn't say that. Seems anything and everything is possible these days. We can both agree that we didn't see this in our futures back on earth."
“That is true, but unless you want to do something to cause that chain of events, we’re on a completely different set of tracks from what you want.” I explained.
"Oh, something might come up. Just have to search for my opportunity."
“Well have fun with that.” I rolled my eyes. “Not gonna get much during that.”
"We're here." Dillen said. We were standing above a cliff. Over the edge what looked like an old stone building sat atop a… is that a Spider Web… a Massive Spiders web? "And that is the Facility."
“And why is it sitting on top of a spider web?” I asked nervously.
"Deletes long time ago set it up there as a trap for Admins. The Spider itself has been hibernating, or whatever it does, for nine eons. Only thing that will wake that fat bastard up is a nuke to the ass." Dillen said, looking over the edge.
“And let me guess, the moment I go down their to get the thing your going to wake it up?” I asked bluntly, knowing there was some catch to this entire situation.
"Once you are there. Inside I'll open your ticket out of here, but first, my payment." He said, handing me a large envelope. "Give this to Zeke, he'll know what it means."
“Zeke’s probably gonna flip knowing your still alive and that I gave something to Jericho…” I sighed out while taking the envelope. “Alright, time to make sure I don’t accidentally fuck up and wake the thing…” I said while bringing out my Lexicon and casting Fly on myself as I flew towards the thing I need. “Let’s hope it won’t wake up…” I muttered while getting closer to the Facility.
Upon landing on it the web shook a bit. Thankfully nothing happened. Looking inside it was all metal inside, a terminal of sorts and a conveyor belt leading out of it around it's back was all that was in here. I waved to Dillen and a portal of some energy unknown to me appeared above me. It floated down.
Once it passed over me I was damn near blinded by the sudden reappearance of actual sunlight.
“Gah fuck!” I yelped as I closed my eyes from the sudden light. “Jesus...that’s not a good thing...hopefully the bastard sent me to the right place…” I grumbled a little, blinking as my eyes adjusted to the light.
I was outside of Asmith's lab. He and Myaxx both walking out. "Good thing you found it." Asmith said, rushing over to the terminal and hopping on it. "The outside is rough but looks like all the internal hardware and code structure scripts are fine."
"Honestly didn't expect you back so soon." Myaxx said.
“Well...I had to make a slight deal with someone.” I sighed out. “In exchange for getting this out of the Void...and my children...I had to give a tiny part of my Nothingness to Jericho...how bad of a fuck up was that or am I overblowing it to hell?”
"As your allie, I am both disappointed but understanding in your actions. From a parental point of view, you did what you felt you had to, nothing more to say." Asmith said.
“Yeah…” I said while bringing up Nancy’s scribbled paper. “Family...family is more important than whatever the hell Jericho wants.” I said, knowing full well what Jericho will become and why but still not liking it.
Asmith turned on the console, the thing flashing to life and a simple line of text appeared.
'Input material"
"Perfect." Asmith said.
“So what, this thing will just mass produce whatever?” I asked curiously.
"Basically. Just have to let it boot up, scan this realm, and now…" He typed in something in a language… the Assistant didn't, or can't, translate.
The conveyor belt began moving, and soon out rolled one Omnitrix after another.
“And these are all the Originals?” I asked curiously.
"These are the mark 2's. I'll have to make the originals from scratch. Speaking of, Myaxx."
"Oh, right." She said, taking out a simple looking Omnitrix badge. "Here. The first of many replicas of the original, ten Admins and Ten aliens."
I gently took the Omnitrix badge. “Thank you, but what are the ten admins and aliens if I may ask?”
"My tech my rules." Asmith spoke up. "More will be unlocked over time, till then this is to not overwhelm you with the total amount."
“Okay...that didn’t answer my question though.” I brought up. “Or what, your not gonna tell me because of your rules?”
"Exactly." Asmith said bluntly.
"Don't argue. You'll be here bickering about this while this reflection dies out."
“I am good at bickering.” I said offhandedly. “So, this thing works just the same as I think it does or is it different in some way?” I asked, just making sure so I don’t do something dumb.
"Here. Place it somewhere on yourself. Like the wrist or back of your hand." Myaxx said.
I nodded while putting it on my wrist that didn’t hold my Assistant. “Alright…”
“Test it out, Push the Selection button once for Aliens, twice for Admins.” Asmith informed.
“Alright…” I said while the thing connected to my wrist as I tapped the selection button once to see what aliens I have. “So, does the transformations compound on natural or magical abilities or is it just ‘you have this things abilities’?” I asked curiously while looking through the ten aliens.
“You gain both strength and weaknesses, but you should still have your own abilities as the aliens, weapons, magic, etc,though with the Admins you’ll get whatever they have.”
“Alrighty then.” I said while looking through the ten, hoping for some I recognized.
So far I saw Four Arms, Wild Vine, Heatblast, XLR8, and one of the newer ones, Feedback, but the rest were unknown to me.
“Well...let’s go with one of the new ones…” I muttered while going over one of the aliens I didn’t know and selected it and pushing the dial in.
The green energy flowed over me and my body began changing. From a Direwolf I shifted into something much smaller, and more...scaled. I actually felt okay during the process, like I just had a long, good stretch. When it was over I was roughly… three feet, small claws along my feet and hands, my spine barbs were sharp to a razortip and I Think… I’m seeing in thermal vision… cool!
“The hell am I?” I asked while rolling my shoulders and trying to get used to the new form as a lot of info rushed into my head about what this alien can do.
“The race is called Arconnlis.. Their homeworld is basically a large dessert with only about a few dozen oasis locations. Go ahead, get a running start, then tuck and roll.” Myaxx said.
“I’m Sonic the Lizard aren’t I?” I asked while hopping in place for a little bit before getting into a running start, before tucking and rolling. I actually curled up into a ball and started to spin like mad, I felt the spikes on my body get longer slightly as I bolted around rather quickly...only I felt the ground getting sliced to hell instead of it just being roughed up.
As I made a turn It wasn’t at an angle, it was a direct right turn, learly throwing me off balance with how fast it was able to turn. I could...see, somehow, feeling the vibrations from my slicing the ground and saw the outside wall of Asmiths lab, and the second I hit the wall I began going up at a direct ninety degree angle, stopped and jumped off half way up and landed back down as it timed out.
“Well that was fun.” I said while landing on my feet. “I still see there’s a timer on this thing…” I muttered while seeing if it was recharging right now.
“That’s a default setting, goes away after built in AI registered an experience timeframe of at least three hundred hours as fifty diffrent aliens, or you figure out the Master Controle code.”
“I have a feeling the Master Control isn’t something I can just look up on my Assistant huh?” I asked curiously. “And I doubt you will tell me what it is.”
“I would but I’drather not get fired.” Myaxx said. “There’s an input code for every alien and Admin transformation. Alien Transformation time limits are determined by the Ai, as are the Admin Transformations. They will vary depending on it’s observed situation.”
“Alrighty then.” I nodded while I noticed the red light slowly turning green. “Well gonna have to deal with the timer...that’s gonna be a pain.”
“It should be no more than five minutes, a minute at least.”
“Cool.” I nodded. “Can’t wait to test this out more, gonna be fun.” I said honestly.
‘It will also send me data after every transformation back to me for analysis to see if you are using the aliens or Admins correctly.” Asmith said. “Do take care of the device.”
“Don’t worry, I will.” I nodded.
“We’ll contact you once we have a better arsonal of Omnitrixes and proper welders for them.” Myaxx said.
"Alright." I nodded while opening a portal back to my world. "Anything else before I go?"
“That should be all for now.” Asmith said. “Myaxx, go fetch a wagon, these Omnitrixes may not be fragile but they are cluttering up the place.” Asmith said as there was a rather large pile of the watches.
Myaxx groaned. “Later. I got work to do.” She said as she waved me by before heading off.
"Alright, stay safe." I said before heading off back home.
When I arrived back I learned Genos had taken some personal time to conduct some personal matters back on his homeworld. Something about what Dillen was saying kept ringing in my head.Anything these days was possible. I know he knows something but clearly isn’t speaking. “I know for a fact that it’s not going to happen...right?” I muttered, knowing one of my clones was still doing all of Mother’s trials and stuff like that so maybe she would know.
I sighed, taking a seat on my throne and looking at the scribbles Nancy made… At least they are being taken care of. “I should be taking care of her damn it...she shouldn’t have been kidnapped…” I growled, hating myself more than anything because of this.
As I was staring blankly at the scribbles something popped into my head… Cript has Generation, and Zeke apparently has Amplify… I know most of Cript’s clones likely have something along those lines… right? But like Cript Zeke gained a lot of power...really fast, even by our standards...
“Wait, weren’t Cript and Zeke made identically?” I raised an eyebrow. “How come those two have different abilities?”
There was only one person I think I can ask about this… Wheres Krot? “Consequence, where’s Krot at the moment?”
Consequence appeared. “Currently overseeing the new recruits at the Nexus Templar base under Manehattan.” He spoke
“Well...let’s hope he’s not too busy.” I said while a screen appeared in front of me as a dial tone started as I tried to call Krot. “Come on...I know he can answer me.”
Finally he picked up. "Ben, what's wrong?" He asked.
“I’m curious, why does Cript and Zeke have two completely different abilities when they were supposed to be identical?” I asked curiously.
“Oh… I’d prefer to speak of this topic privately… in person. I’ll be over in a few minutes.”He said, hanging up.
I nodded while closing the call. “So, how was Joy with all the meetings?” I asked Consequence.
“He handled them well, then left to attend to other duties.” Consequence informed.
“Thank you.” I nodded. “Now to wait for Krot to get some answers…”
A few minutes felt like hours, but Krot arrived after three minutes. We went to a private conference room and sat down. He looked disheartened. “Tell me, how much do you know about the C.R.I.P.T. Projects?”
“They wanted to make the most overpowered person in existance to literally murder everything.” I said.
“Bluntly yes.We began them before Vincent had arrived and taken control. They were the most promising attempt at our original goal, creating the Mother for this Cycle so the next can begin.”
“Would you believe me if I said that you were successful with our Cript? And would you also believe me that Jericho is Belief?” I asked, not wanting to sass Jericho when this is supposed to be a bit serious.
“You mean… we were successful after all? Oh that’s a miracle if one has ever existed…”
“Yep, heard it from the man turned woman themselves.” I said honestly. “But...there might be a...slight problem with that possible plan.” I said sheepishly.
“Being?”
“What do you know about Delete’s?” I asked honestly.
“Everything I can, part of the job before recent events…”
“Have you heard of a thing called Null?” I asked curiously, the name making the room feel quite a bit colder and I noticed Consequence...went stock still at the name I gave it.
“Quite...Quite.” Krot said.
“Yeah so...that thing exists and someone would be oh so happy to find that fucker and let him loose so to speak…” I said worriedly. “That would be the only problem and...sadly Jericho is being a dipshit and would probably cause the thing to become active with how many fucking Admins he’s making...or going to bring back.”
“Christ…. The only one who can kill him is Cript, but they both are destined for something else… Unless…”
“Unless what?” I asked curiously.
“Cript and Zeke are extremely identical, in fact the only difference between them in life experience, and their Primary Abilities.”
“Most likely.” I said honestly. “What, are you saying Zeke becomes Mother or something?”
“Perhaps not quite. We might be able to do something else, something different. But first we will need a few things.”
“What would that be?” I asked curiously.
“Full access to the Abilities vault, you lot to reach at least level Kry, and Cript to get out of retirement.”
“How, what, and I doubt that.” I said honestly.
"I'll start with what exactly level Kry is. In short, it's made up, a number we invented once Cript surpassed centillion, the highest number count on a vast majority of world's and realms. Reaching a million alone is hard, anything higher damn near impossible, Centillion was never expected to be reached…. Above that, well, that's what we required given The Mother."
“And you're expecting all of us to get to that point?” I asked honestly. “Zeke I can see, the rest of us? Probably not…” I sighed out. “Do you have a plan for that?”
"Cript and Zeke. If Cript Absorbs Zeke, and gives them and the twenty within him bodies with Starfish, Generation and Amplify under their use, the same process can be repeated and thus, in a sense, cheat your way to Cript's level of power. Because unlike Cript Jericho still has his Death."
“Except he can’t die.” I frowned. “I don’t know much about this whole thing, but do you want to know what would happen if Belief can’t be made?”
"That's why you won't be killing him you'll be trapping him like before, but with the combines Key level powers of all of you he'd be imprisoned Indefinitely. From there Cript could force the shift from just Cript and Jericho to Mother and Belief."
“And you won’t see this going wrong how?” I asked curiously. “As well as...wouldn’t Jericho know about this coming or something?”
"That's the best part, he would embrace it because it means he has his challenge! He has a possibility of losing!"
“So...let me ask, what’s the point of this war when we are all as strong as Cript and Jericho? Cause as far as I know Jericho can’t make his side as strong as himself or Cript.” I brought up.
"He can, but not in the same way. Vincent's personal study had all the Blueprints to Every Cript project ever made. He can apply them to his allies easily, and with Admins like the Admins of Abilities resurrected, as prisoners he'd have no shortage of the required ingredients."
“Of course.” I sighed out. “Why am I not surprised.” I grumbled. “So, what special ability can cause this to actually happen when Cript did that and failed?”
"It's not a fact of what ability, rather, more of a how much power. You see, when Jericho was imprisoned, the both of them have Generation, Jericho while inside of Cript kept generating power non-stop, and Cript the same. When Cript retired, he slowed down his energy Generation, and unintentionally gave Jericho his means of escape."
“So...why did Cript not care he had another man inside of him of equal power?” I asked curiously. “And no, I won’t stop with the gay conotations because it’s at least some funny to me and it’s pretty apt.”
"Because likely given the lack of events at the time he likely knew this moment was approaching, something every Cycle has happened. The second Admin war, but without Jericho, the event can't happen and the Cycle breaks."
“And that whole event couldn’t have happened without the war?” I asked honestly.
"Don't know. Impossible to know for sure."
“Wonderful…” I sighed out. “Can’t let things be simple huh?”
"I remember asking my dad that same question. He told me 'if they were, life would be no fun'." Krot said with a light laugh. "So, it's this or bust. What do you prefer?"
“I’d rather not bust.” I said honestly. “So let’s go with that plan because it’s at least something. Oh, also I’m getting the Original version of the Omnitrix mass produced by Asmith.” I said while showing the Omnitrix on my wrist. “Both aliens, and Admins will be on these things.”
"Oh, I didn't even know there was a version like that, so that means likely Jericho and Nexus don't either. This is good." Krot said with a nod. "Now, the hard part should be first."
“Jericho likely knows, Nexus probably not.” I said. “So, the hard part of getting Cript out of retirement…”
"Yes… question is how? What could convince them to do that…?"
“Tell him everything will get fucked if Null appears?” I brought up. “Death loss or not I have a feeling that fucker can kill the literal unkillable.”
"I doubt blunt truth would work… hmm, tell me, you know Zeke pretty well, and the two are near identical in personality reasoning. What would convince Zeke to go all out in a fight?"
“Well that depends...cause even though I’ve been getting to know Zeke, he never…” I sighed out. “He just keeps standing there, waiting and listening. Not doing anything until it’s either too late or it somehow suits him.” I rubbed my temples. “So...it’s a bit of a bitch to fully know what would help get Cript to actually do something but...being blunt is an obvious thing, can’t really do much against the truth whether he wants to deny it or not.”
"I have a feeling it's not about denying… or perhaps it is?"
“Denial is most likely it cause honestly his whole ‘retirement’ is too fucking coincidental for literally everything.” I frowned. “So it’s either ‘be blunt’ or figure out whatever the hell is going on in his head.”
"Perhaps we can kill two birds with one stone?" Krot spoke aloud in thought.
“Oh?” I asked curiously. “What do you mean?”
"Cript and Zeke share many things, including a love of combat, but do not engage for different reasons. Zeke fears his full power, and Cript doesn't think there is anything to challenge him anymore."
“Well Jericho’s back so Cript has a challenge.” I rolled my eyes. “And Zeke...well he’s gonna have to get past that fear soon or bad things will happen.”
"Why not see them fight?" Krot asked. "Each other."
“What, Zeke and Cript?” I asked curiously. “But if those two fight...well, at least Zeke would actually fight instead of just standing there.”
"Zeke is an observer, learning about others through their body language and verbal communication, a useful skill for diagnosing your enemy, but because he fears his own power that information is often useless. Cript never had such fears, in fact it's mostly just boredom why he doesn't fight anymore. Like Jericho he craves a challenge."
“Well Zeke doesn’t need to be fearful about his powers since we’re basically on par at this point, and Cript...well his challenger just burst from his body so there’s really no excuse for that.” I shrugged.
"Is that what you think?" Krot asked. "I guess given you don't know about the former Admin of Balance you wouldn't know what Zeke can do."
“Oh I can already think of a lot of things Zeke can do that he and Dillan hasn’t shown.” I said honestly. “Zeke is Observant yes, understanding people, but no one remembers the overanalytical person who does too much fucking research on things or just has an overactive imagination.” I explained.
"Have you ever seen his level compared to yours?"
“I only fought his Absent Silouhette once, where it was literally everything he could do way before we were Admins, where Zeke was, point for point, stronger than me at that time.” I said honestly.
"At that time. Yes. Check now." He asked, motioning to my Assistant.
I did just that. “I won’t be surprised by what he can do...or the numbers cause honestly things have just gotten too fucking far at this point.” I said while looking up Zeke on my Assistant.
Zeke Ventral:
HP: 70,650,987
Level: 407,632
“Okay, just so we’re clear, does Zeke and Cript have some other bullshit ability I should know about?” I asked honestly. “Cause as far as I know, Zeke shouldn’t be this level. I’m not surprised at all, I just want to make sure.” I said, wondering both how his level is so fucking high and why mine was actually a lot fucking lower than it probably should be cause of all my training.
“As projects for the mother we as a stockpile of the more controversial and rare abilities, most apply to Experience boosts, stat boosts, you name it, a vast majority of them went into Ten specific Cript projects, of which Cript, the Cript we know, and Zeke were two of, the others are either dead, Psychopaths, or MIA.”
“Yeah cause I’m the start of fights but people don’t bat an eye to Zeke having literally everything handed to him.” I rolled my eyes. “So while Zeke is just doing nothing but is stupid strong, I have to break my back to do literally have the shit he’s capable of, that’s fair.” I grumbled.
“We were trying to make the Mother, the most powerful being in, well, ever. Vincent wanted to make the perfect weapon, he took advantage of the blueprints we had...and made his twisted alterations…”
“And how do you expect us to just be as strong as that?” I asked honestly. “Cause right now literally all the ability vaults Nexus has would probably be guarded to hell.”
“Exactly, but before we even try to take them, we will need to manage a way into Vincent's Private office, there we can download the Cript project Blueprints and apply them to you all. If we get Cript out of Retirement and Zeke using his full power, we’d only have to provide cover for the two, not that I’d imagine they’d need it.”
“Question...have there been any...rumors of someone appearing out of nowhere, destroying a Nexus base, stealing everything and disappearing without a trace?” I asked Krot curiously.
“Hmm… I didn’t handle incident reports, not unless Cript was confirmed to be there. I do remember overhearing a base was leveled, staff slaughtered but only one thing was taken when clean up crews did inventory.”
“Oh? What was stolen?” I asked curiously.
“Data, records and information, most notably on your Council and current possible threat levels. Was mostly foot notes and pictures of you, them, and some of your family who were there at the time the photos were taken. Nothing too noteworthy, it was an old file already at the time.”
“Well looks like...I’m already doing a great start.” I said honestly. “Leveling bases and taking all the info the base holds before leaving without a trace…”
“Whatever the case, we need to get Cript out of retirement, and Zeke to duel them.”
“That’s gonna be a bit of a pain…” I sighed out. “But alright then...and your not going to question how I said ‘I’m already doing a great start’?” I asked honestly.
“I have a feeling I'll know about it soon.”
“You...probably will.” I said sheepishly. “So, where do we start here?”
“I’ll start with Zeke. You speak to Cript.”
“Alright, let’s hope he’s available…” I muttered while bringing up my assistant and giving him a call.
“I’ll go speak with Zeke in person.” Krot said, taking his leave.
“You called?” Cript said, appearing just as Krot left the room.
“Yes I did.” I nodded. “So, straight to the point, I’m gonna have to ask you to step out of retirement.” I said bluntly. “And I can go into detail why if you try and tell me ‘no’.”
“Wouldn’t have stopped you talking if I did either way.” Cript replied with a sigh.
“Hey, at least now you have a challenge.” I said honestly. “But we both know that Jericho is too much, so me and Krot had some idea’s...and one of them involved you getting out of retirement and starting off dueling Zeke so he can actually fight full force.”
“See Zeke fight full force? That would be interesting. Why should I though?”
“Cause apparently Krot has an idea to lock up Jericho until he becomes Belief.” I said. “Like how you’re feeling the call of being Mother correct?”
“It’s not so much a call, more a mandatory action.”
“Alright...but you do know that this whole situation feels a little too convenient right? You retiring and then suddenly Jericho appearing?”
“That was planned.” Cript said, code summoning a Soda and taking a drink. “It’s our final jobs before the last ‘promotion’.”
“So I can easily blame you when everything gets fucked right?” I asked honestly.
“We are following the same path the others all did, so long as nothing unexpected happens, have enough of that with you lot here.” Cript said, taking another sip of soda.
“Null is a good start.” I said honestly. “Cause from what I was told from Mother, they don’t exist where she is, so Jericho’s war might accidentally cause the thing to move.”
“You worry too much.”Cript said. “This war, has happened in the same way countless times, each ending with Null appearing, being slain, then that’s where Jericho and I come in and make everything just like The Mother’s Creation you saw. A reality where Admins, mortal creations, etc, all life fairly peacefully. I say fairly because being assholes or jerks is just part of how some people are.”
“Alright.” I nodded. “Sounds simple enough, wonder how this is all gonna fuck up cause I just know it’s probably gonna happen.’
“The only thing different about this cycle from the others is that you lot are here.”
“Really?” I asked curiously. “That’s it?”
“Pretty Much. In other Cycles Nexus dubbed Zeke a failure after the first timeline reset, since he and Marcy found each other again. In the time God and all that stuff appeared for you all Zeke and Marcy just chose Equestria as some OC’s and lived their lives happily, you chose the same path as now only became king of Equestria the kingdom, not the world, John took Hollows place, The Foretellers did a mix of keyblade stuff and Highschool/life stuff, fairly normal. This is the only reality where they, you all, met up or even found one another, all because Zeke was alone this time around and chose the X-blade as a weapon over just a simple life on a peaceful world with his love.”
“Okay then.” I said honestly. “A lot can change apparently.”
“Surprising how not meeting Marcy, lead to all this.” Cript said, taking another sip of Soda. “This time he kept her from being born, but her soul found another body, Eclipsa, they found one another again. Kinda strange, I know each time there is some slight difference between some events in each cycle but never this large scale.”
“A lot can change when you find the love of your life…” I said honestly. “But good to know.”
“I kind of like your unexpected appearance, almost feels like something completely… Different.”
“Well, shit happens.” I shrugged.
“Hmm… Every cycle has typically minimal differences, gender of people, names, location of planets, but this… You all met up, became Admins… Something that never happened in prior cycles.”
“So either this is some weird coincidence or...something even worse is going on.” I said nervously. “Unless I’m just overthinking it…”
“... I’ll need to consult others first… but something is off here.” Cript said before vanishing.
I sighed out. “Just one more problem to jot down…” I grumbled. “Hey Consequence, I got a question.” I called out for the nobody.
He appeared Next to me. “Yes sire?” He asked.
“Do you know anyone ancient enough to...Notice Differences?” I asked, not really sure how to explain this to the dusk. “Like say...knowing what Events should happen but being apart of something completely different?”
“Temporal anomalies?” He asked.
“No, not that…” I said while thinking about it more. “Well...technically this could be considered that. But instead of just like...knowing if someone time traveled, I want to know if there are people that would know the time stream is horribly off track.” I said honestly. “And if you know any of them or if you could point me in the right direction.”
“Hmm… I remember once, back before your predecessor was even king, and it was before he, a few of the first councils and myself, before I even became this way, we stumbled upon an orb of sorts, any question asked it could answer, it’s what set him on the path that leads to all of this.”
“Where is that orb?” I asked. “And...that sounds normal but...something’s still off here…”
“The orb is still within the Armory. He called it The Eye of Father.”
“I haven’t fully went through the Armory...mind leading me to it cause I would probably spend too much time looking for it.” I sighed out.
“Yes Sire.” Consequence said, opening a portal. We entered and was within a seemingly endless hallway, items of all kinds were on stands and on display. As we walked we quickly came across a purplish black orb, pulsating in place. “Here it is, the Eye of The Father.”
“Yeah...this isn’t scary at all…” I muttered before walking over to it. “So, I just put my hand on it and ask a question?”
“Yes.”
“Alright.” I nodded before taking another step forward and putting my hand on the orb. “So...let’s start off...what’s changed in this cycle?” I asked.
To be continued...