Magic was something I never had a good understanding, or maybe even much of a belief in. Too many times I would come across someone who claimed to be able to 'cast spells' or 'summon demons'. Either delusional people with a grudge against religion or straight up scammers, all of them promising to be able to tap into the supernatural.
It was easy to dismiss, but I was always skeptical because of the few run ins I've had with what most people would say were ghosts or spirits. Hardly any of it was tangible, not enough proof to come to a proper conclusion.
Yet here, it was simple fact that was kept secret.
Here I was, with a ghost of my own haunting my every move watching a ten year old girl wielding a charm in one hand and a staff in the other to cast an actual spell. The gem's carvings lit up, as the focused child thrust forward the other artifact.
"Bethi-modor-natta!" She chanted, as a swirl of fire conjured itself in the air with a mind of its own, snaking up to the sky until it dissolved into embers.
Magic was real, aliens were real, and who knew what else was here?
"You did it!" I cheered with honest enthusiasm, running across our more isolated campsite to congratulate Gwen.
"Thanks Ben." Gwen put the charm in her hand back down on the table alongside her many other goodies and notes. "It's a good start, but I don't know when I'll feel ready to try and use it to help."
"You'll never know until the situation demands it, but for now you can always start small. Even if it's just something to disarm the other person, that would make a huge difference in a fight." I looked over some of the notes to see if I could get some understanding to help tutor her. But then I saw all the latin. I hated latin, it was the only language choice at one of my schools and I barely passed it despite the constant studying I had to do.
If it was math, science, biology, chemistry, history, or even my arguably worst subject, English, would be something I could assist with.
"I'm just having trouble managing the flow of mana, this energy it keeps-"
"Energy?" Kevin came over, chewing on a piece of jerky from….my private stash of snacks. "I could help."
But if he was offering help, I wouldn't stop him now. I wanted to reinforce that behavior.
"Wow." Gwen was surprised. "Thanks. I don't know how similar mana is to your powers but-"
"Woah woah." Kevin held up a hand to her face, cutting her off and getting in her personal space. "I never said I would do it for free."
Gwen slapped it out of the way, moving back to her notes. "Forget I said anything."
"Ben!" Max yelled out from the otherside of the camp, where he had set up various targets. Scratch that floating targets! "Let's get in some more practice with Wildvine!"
Turning into said alien, I walked, or slithered, whatever nimble limbs I used to bring myself over to Max. "So, what's the focus for this exercise?"
"We'll be switching between your aim and multi-tasking. We'll start off with one, then move to the next, and see how well you combine the two."
"Sounds good. Say, where did you even get this stuff?"
Max looked on with fondness towards the durable yet scuffed machines. "Oh just some old plumbing tech I kept around to keep my skills sharp. Though I'll admit I haven't done too well in recent years. Phil was right about one thing, the alien sightings are getting more frequent and we've had more than our fair share of run-ins. We might take a detour back to an old plumber base to pick up some more equipment soon."
"The one in Mount Rushmore?"
"Yes." Max nodded, before pausing and looking back over me. "I don't recall mentioning that detail. Did Phil mention it?"
Crap. That's right, we haven't been there but in the show they've already gone there twice. Despite how different this reality appeared versus on a screen, my memories for both were bleeding over one another. I can't say Max suspects me of anything, but I shouldn't give him a reason to worry. "That's where he got the null-void projector."
"Huh." He dropped the subject, standing back to let the moving targets swarm me before finding their positions at different distances. Training, exerting my alien forms, that wasn't as exhausting as keeping up their false conclusion of who I was.
Every day I had to hide a little more truth, leave out a few more details with lies of omission.
I was so focused on living Ben's life that I was starting to lose myself to it, pieces of me fading into obscurity as I was slowly becoming someone else.
Right now I just wanted to resume a fun vacation I would never have gotten to have.
You know, waking up in a fictional universe is something I can't say I haven't fantasized about. From various films with scenes that make you wish you could experience the thrill in person, or books that relayed fantastic abilities to overcome challenges, and video games where you could walk through a whole new world filled with depth around every corner.
Though some of them, had greater risk than reward.
Bioshock was one that came to my mind as we were in a circular raft with seats facing one another, descending down the reinforced glass tube lined with brass support beams.
Max apparently knew a rather wealthy man who invited Max and company to have a sneak peek at his newest creation. A fully underwater resort. I don't recall how it actually appeared in the show, but I knew exactly what Rapture was like. Deep oceanic colors and views all around, all while decorated with enriching art deco that was both futuristic and rustic at the same time.
That city held several horrors in the game, but I wanted so much to be able to experience the city before its decline into madness.
It was all a fantasy, a fictional world, but so was the one I was in. If this resort was even partially similar to the underwater city's aesthetic, I knew I would have a good time.
So long as I managed to stop it from being sunken to the bottom of the Bermuda Triangle.
I knew there was an alien power source somewhere in the resort, I knew there were robotic squid alien drones after it.
Other than that? I knew nothing. Was the episode lacking in details or was it my own memory being hazy after going over a decade without seeing the show?
Taking my eyes away from the hazy expanse of the ocean that only grew darker as we descended, I tried not to let my own fear of the sea invade my mind. It wasn't a fear of the ocean itself that scared me, but being in it and not knowing what was lurking below.
"So Mr. Gold-Smith." I addressed the older man who was roughly the same age as Max sporting pristine white slacks and a designer scarlet turtle neck. "What made you decide to do something unconventional for your sixteenth resort?"
The man's slightly wrinkled smile turned upwards in an amused smirk. "Well that's not something your average ten year old asks."
No, no it's not.
"To put it simply." The billionaire was not put off by my apparent age. "There's an untapped market for the rich and paranoid, ones that want the thrill of the unknown but never wanting to leave the comfort of their home. On top of building somewhere well known for its mysteries, I wanted to go a step further to cement this as a unique resort that held an aspect that appealed to those who just want a more tangible experience. Therefore, being the first underwater hotel will draw plenty of attention from a wide range of demographics."
"It can't be cheap." I had lost count of how long we had been traveling down the tube, the further we went down the more expensive all the glass had to be to withstand the pressure.
"Two billion dollars." The man said, and I couldn't hide my absolute shock. Only two billion?! A resort of the Las Vegas strip cost roughly that much to build!
"How did you get away with only spending that much?!" I had to know, my mind racing to understand how this was feasible. I know inflation wasn't as bad in the early two thousands but it wasn't that drastic! Every part of me that worked in the hotel industry and learned the several expenses said 'that's impossible'. Most hotels already cut every corner to save money, maintenance and general upkeep only given enough to do a patch job to hide its shoddy workmanship from the guests and inspectors.
The man blinked, chuckling to himself before answering. "Well, without being in any nation's waters helps to save on plenty of taxes and ignore other property values. Max, how come you never told me your grandson had a head for the resort market?"
"I never knew." Max looked over me again, humming to himself as I was suddenly acutely aware that hardly anyone my age would have knowledge of these things.
Except of course, the walking encyclopedia Gwen.
"Isn't the glass reinforced with micro-titanium threads?" Gwen posed, following alongside my own questions.
Thank you Gwen! Now we definitely look related!
"That's right." The business man was very pleased, turning back towards Max. "At this rate I may extend them a job offer when they're old enough, perhaps they're even ready for an apprenticeship. It makes me wonder if you were holding out on me all those years ago when you turned down my offer."
"I don't regret my decision." Max shared with pride, the reasoning only known to us. "Though I was planning on this being a vacation for the kids."
"Why not make it a working vacation?" Donovan Gold-Smith offered, gesturing to his own grandson who had been quietly pouting beside him in a similar outfit. "Edwin here has been taking some promising steps towards taking over the empire one day. Perhaps they can get more acquainted and go on some more trips together for-"
"-UUuuuuugh." The impatient groan of none other than Kevin sprawled himself further into his seat. I had warned him not to upset our lucrative hosts too much otherwise we might miss out on them gifting us with things we might not usually be able to afford. He was understanding at first, his greed winning out but his immaturity was starting to pull him back. "Who would pay to sit in this thing for so long?"
Huh, that was actually a good point even if Kevin wasn't very serious. Bored guests were not well paying guests, and if the first impression to the resort was a long ride with no stimulation then it could spoil the rest of the trip. Not everyone liked staring out a window into the ocean, seeing shadows shifting and debating what kind of creature it was or what threat it posed.
Ok, yeah, I needed a distraction from that.
Salvaging my own thoughts and Kevin's abrupt demeanor, I returned to the details of the resort. "Will there be a host for these rides once the resort is open? Or some kind of audio narration that had an option to be muted?"
And our discussion of the ins and outs of this mystery resort continued for the rest of our ride, letting the time pass quickly.
Except for Kevin.
The further we traveled towards the resort, the more I couldn't help but question the person who designed this place. It was very industrial, hardly any decorations or design other than having as much glass as possible to line the place. The brass colored beams separated the sections with various tubes and pipes running through the ground and up towards the ceiling to connect to other parts of the facility.
Basic railings kept us from entering into the pools of water, under the walkways, which opened up into the ocean around us. This would make sense if there were going to be submarines to take people out but overall it only served as a way for maintenance workers to easily exit and go to the exterior.
Just like the man in the classic deep sea diver outfit appeared to do, wiping away at one of the windows. The staff has to be housed on site, which made me wonder if they were able to bring their families down here or if these were more seasonal positions because no way were they commuting daily, or even weekly to get here.
But how come guests were marched through a maintenance access tunnel to the water just to get to the resort? Did we take a back way in or was this intentional? Maybe it had to do with how they were constructing the place and the only way to the resort was through here so that they could have equipment-
"Hey, Ben." Kevin leaned on the rails next to me, taking a break from listening to the adults talk with Gwen pitching in a question or two with Edwin still keeping his arms crossed and remaining silent.
"What's up?" I asked, still keeping my eye on the diver. Man what I would do to have my own diver suit.
"How long do I have to put up with this before I get something out of it?" He shot an accusing look at me, as if I lied to him about it.
"It depends on a lot of things." I answered simply. "We're already getting an exclusive tour with the owner through the resort, so at the very least we'll probably be taken to each of the attractions and other offered services to try out for free."
"So nothing I can take back with me?"
The boy was so focused on having something he could cling to he wasn't finding any value in something neither of us could ever afford.
"Look, how about this?" I tried to mentally count how much of Ben's allowance I still had. I rarely spent any of it but a kid's year of savings doesn't usually match a single paycheck from a minimum wage job. "If you don't get anything by the end I'll get you something from the gift shop."
"The gift shop?!" He roared, offended over my offer. "You can do better than that!"
Repressing a sigh, I had very little patience to go through some pushy bargaining. "Then what do you want?"
Kevin faked a hum of thought, before a twisted smile came over him. "I want something, alien."
"Dude, I already made you an alien radio and-"
"That thing doesn't do what I want it to do." He quickly cut me off, holding up the mentioned device. "Make it so I can contact Tetrax, and I promise I won't cause any trouble."
Is that what he's been trying to do with it? Many times recently I've caught him holding it up, occasionally intercepting a signal not of Earth but having no means to translate it. How come he's desperate to get a hold of Tetrax?
"I can't even contact him." I tried reminding Kevin, not that he cared. "Also, I'm only going to get or make you something after you make sure not to cause trouble. Don't threaten to start something just because you aren't willing to enjoy what's in front of you."
Kevin stood up straight, his hands flickering as he eyed me down. "I never made a threat."
Not good, he wasn't happy and I couldn't just let him bully us around into giving him something he wants. I needed something to distract him, take his mind away from its current path and-
The lights faded out, the hum of machinery in the background suddenly going quiet as my view of everything went dark for a moment. It was then, a chilling whisper came to my ear.
'Stop allowing them to waste your time, and do what you promised you would do.'
Then light returned, loud clicks and whines as the resort began to reset its functions. Including the water cycling fans that were pulling in the salt water around them to run to the desalinators.
One single diver was right over it.
The water rushed around him, his oxygen tube swirling around his neck as it was pulled down taking the man with it. I dashed right past the other approaching as they noticed the scene, giving me the opportunity to dive over the railing and into the ocean.
I changed immediately into one of my underutilized forms, my legs closed in as my fishtail encompassed them as I swam through the depths as Ripjaws. I could see better, feel how the currents flowed around me as I swam towards the man.
Who just so happened to have the endless abyss behind him, the never ending darkness that hid its endless swarms of life behind it. Shaking my head, I tried not to let my own fear of the ocean overtake the need to get this man back into a controlled environment.
Just as I tried to convince myself there was nothing around us, the universe had to prove me wrong and throw two sharks right at me. Statistically, the man should be fine, but his thrashing while trapped must have made him rather appetizing prey to the hunters.
There was always a bigger fish, and I happened to be it.
I latched onto the two sharks before they got too close, slamming them against one another before throwing in a few more jabs into their bodies. One of them circled around, opening its maw towards me.
I had a bigger one.
Opening my own set of razors, I clamped down on its nose, drawing blood as it tried to pry itself away. Only after I sent a harsh blow to one of its eyes did I release it, careful not to use the full might of my mouth and allowing it to live another day so long as it never crossed me again.
I heard something shift in the water, the cycling system correcting itself and reversing its propellers to send the diver shooting up with his hose snapping off. I swam right to him as his back was turned to me, hugging my arm around his torso before swimming over the large tunnel, back down through the underside of it, and throwing the man up through one of the pools to land on the walkway.
When I saw Max and Donovan with the others and employees run to him, I rushed to a farther pool to fly out of the surface, switching back to human mid air to roll through the railing and pull myself up with a spray of water falling around me.
The man was getting checked over as he started speaking a story that only those who knew the truth could believe. They were concerned over his safety, I was concerned over the source of the power fluctuation.
Because for a second, I thought I heard music.
Once the crisis was passed, security managing to get their report and a medical team confirming the man was fine, Donovan came back towards the rest of us as we waited near the end of the hall with the massive submarine hanging over us and the front desk to the side.
"I'll have to double his salary, but he won't utter a word. Not that anyone would believe him." The man seemed amuse at recalling the story. "He said a six foot merman saved him."
He tried to play it off as a joke, keep the mood light despite the near disaster. Though his gloomy spoiled grandson had other thoughts. "Buy him off, now that's the Grand-Smith way."
The grandfather, who had been patient with his grandson didn't seem offended but he preferred not to have these comments shared in front of guests. Sure, rich people buying off others to stay quiet was common but for a basic maintenance worker who already had a wild story? There was no need, honestly it was pretty common for many workplaces to just let go and blame the incident on the person it happened to in order to save money and pin the blame on them.
"I think that's rather generous." I defended the man's decision, because I would have loved to work under someone who was that appreciative of his work force. "Usually, if resort management is actually feeling nice they would just give the employee the day off."
"Uh huh." Max listened intently to what I had to say. "And how would you know that Ben?"
Experience, but Ben wouldn't have had that.
I was slipping up too often, the environment around us reminding me of a game that I played, one I only picked up to have an excuse to talk to the girl that I had proposed to. Sure, I ended up really liking the series to put it in my top five games but….I originally did it for her, to share how far I got, what she liked about the game, find out other things she liked until I could get close enough to ask her to play some games together.
I missed her so much, and the longer we spent down here the more my mind kept wandering to her.
"I'm telling you Max." Donovan came to my side, placing a hand over my shoulder. "You really should let me give this boy a chance to make an early start. He's got a natural aptitude for the business!"
I, wasn't sure how to feel about that but his grandson did.
"Butt kisser." He coughed out right behind me, getting a short laugh out of Kevin.
"Edwin." The grandfather briefly appeared like he wanted to mention a word about his attitude, but instead let it go for the moment. "Why don't you take Gwen and Kevin on a tour around the attractions of the resort?"
Ok, I knew this part. Donovan would go and briefly take Max to where the real power source is, where he would show off how bright he can make the place. That would attract those alien squid robots, which would attack us when Edwin takes us in the deep sea vehicle.
But, something was off.
"Excuse me?" Gwen gave a short laugh, believing she misheard him. "Isn't Ben going to come with us?"
"If he wants to, I won't stop him." Donovan gave a glance down to me. "But I want to hear more about his thoughts about the resort while I catch up with Max. We'll be going to some rather mundane areas. Why don't the rest of you go to the main resort and explore the attractions, places that are much more entertaining? Edwin will be there to make sure you get in without issue."
The way that Max kept his discerning gaze on me made me want to hide. My knowledge was revealing that I was deviating too much from Ben, and while I'm not sure if he would even think that I wasn't actually the boy who he had spent all summer with I wasn't willing to push my luck any farther given his stare.
"Why don't I see it from a guest's perspective first?" I offered, budding up to Gwen and Kevin. "We'll go, have fun, and then when we meet up we can talk more after?"
"Not much of a mystery shopper if I know who it is." Donovan still seemed pleased at my idea. "But you know what, my employees won't. This will be a good, controlled test to see if there's anything that my staff will need to review over before the grand opening. One moment."
He walked over to the front desk agent, briefly talking with the woman before she began typing away on her computer before handing a card that resembled a room key to the man. He approached me, handing it over alongside a paper map before explaining its importance.
"This should let you have the same access that our VIP's do, with a prepaid budget to let you get the full experience. If I send you with Donovan my staff will already be on their best behavior. In case you somehow get lost, don't try to hide it. Let's see if my employees can spot a lost child within twenty minutes, and if they don't find the closest one, write down their name, and have them take you to where you want to go next."
This was a lot of freedom, more than I ever would have expected Donovan to grant me even with showing my knowledge on hotel operations. Then the man waved me off, him and Max going off to set the next phase of the episode into motion.
I had to intercept them, and I had to do it without tipping off anyone, including Gwen and Kevin, I knew what would go wrong.
It was harder since Gwen immediately pulled me away from the other boys and practically begged. "Please take me with you."
Leaving Edwin and Kevin alone? Bad idea, very bad idea. No way did I need to put someone with sticky fingers alongside a spoiled boy with free reign over the resort who would take them to a vessel leading to the bottom of the ocean.
"Gwen, I need to investigate something." I whispered to her, as I could already tell that Kevin was eyeing my card while Edwin gave me a scowl. "It has to do with what happened earlier and I was just given a golden opportunity. For now, I need you to see if somehow Edwin is connected. Try and dig into why he's always by his grandpa's side even if he can't stand him."
"Why me? Why can't you do it?"
"Because I've already gotten on Mr. Gold-Smith's good side and therefore got on Edwin's bad side. He's closed off to me so I have to remove myself for him to open up."
The girl turned back to Kevin and Edwin, who seemed to already be getting along fairly well already which only made Gwen more hesitant. "Can you at least take Kevin with you?"
"He's helping Edwin open up, and this might be a step in the right direction for Kevin to learn how to socialize without trying to assert his dominance." I glanced at the omnitrix, briefly trying to predict what alien would be right for my next task. Returning my attention to Gwen, I knew this wouldn't be easy for her and I was already asking a lot, but I had one more request. "Whatever happens, whatever trouble Kevin or Edwin might pull you towards, make sure they do not leave the resort."
My grave warning made Gwen pause, as she began to question how serious I was. "Did you see something out there?"
Before I could come up with some answer without directly lying, I spotted Kevin and Edwin already walking off. "Times up, good luck Gwen. I owe you big."
"Yes you do." Gwen began jogging off to catch up to the boys before hollering back at me. "And you better be ready to pay up because I'm going to make it worth it!"
Now that I was left alone, the front desk nearby with the single attendant keeping an eye on me out of the corner of her eye, I was left to try and find a more private location. "Do you have a bathroom anywhere?"
I passed through wall after wall, following through vast tunnels filled with cables and piping, trying to have them lead me to what I was looking for. Invisible and intangible, I ended up choosing Ghostfreak after all.
I'm glad he wasn't taking over right now.
'You're welcome.'
That didn't mean he wasn't in my head.
"So." I rasped aloud as I hit a dead end, flying back to another maintenance hallway and trying another way. "You're awake."
'I never sleep, I'm always watching.'
"How, how much do you know?"
'Let's just say, I know enough.'
I came to a larger window, no lights on and no one else present as I stared out into the empty waters. Briefly I imagined a city, wondering what it would be like to have shared the fantasy with her. Turning away before a mix of emotions and memories distract me, I tried checking the map given to me earlier.
One thing about all the resorts I worked at was that they could have very confusing halls, especially the back ones.
"Do you know how to send me home? Or let Ben have his body back?"
A scratchy wheeze entered my head. 'You wouldn't like that.'
"And why wouldn't I?!" I roared, crumpling the paper in my grasp before regaining control over my anger. "Does this have to do with you controlling my dreams?"
'Keeping him asleep is the only way to keep our minds intact. And no, I can't switch him out for you, I've tried.'
Well isn't that ominous. Deciding to take a shortcut through the laundry facilities, I ended up soaring through several floors that were filled with bunks and some private rooms that were furnished with basic amenities. So this is where the employees stayed. "Ok, three is a crowd. When I release you, would that let Ben wake up? If anything I'd at least like to prepare him to take back his body."
'Oh, so you are planning on releasing me? Here I thought you were just playing around with Vilgax's toys.'
"I was a criminal justice major, not a physicist. Even if I was, it wouldn't make a difference for alien tech or whatever happened. Gray Matter and Upgrade are barely scratching the surface of the principals behind the omnitrix and they can't find any signs that something is wrong with my head." Finding a rather loud humming pipe with several safety labels on it, I followed its path as it led me deeper into the resort.
"But, since we can talk I want to clarify something." I paused as I stuck my head through the floor, seeing nothing but a tool closet. I was around engineering, maybe I'm getting close.
'Oh?'
"I don't know what you have planned after I release you, but I'm giving you the chance to be free and leave. Go back to, wherever you came from and-"
'Anur Phaetos.'
"What?"
'That is where I am from. I am the High Ecto-Lord who ruled over the Anur System.'
Halting my flight I turned towards the darkened window, staring into the reflection as its purple eye stared back at me. I had no idea he was a ruler, or something not collected by a sample and generated in the omnitrix. I always thought Ghostfreak was a new individual because a single cell of his species could have a consciousness. I never knew he existed before the show. "So, you have a home you can go back to."
'Unlike you.'
Yes, unlike me. Yet I refused to believe there was no way back. In this world the impossible and fictional was reality, and there had to be something here with the power to understand and return me home. I didn't let his taunts get to me, I couldn't. "So when I release you, undo whatever happened, you can go home."
'And if I don't?'
Flying over through some more areas, seeing some employees pass by in protective gear I felt I was on the right track. "If you threaten to harm this planet, I will stop you. So think about it, I'm willingly giving you help right now so take it and be satisfied in your rule over another system."
'Hmmmm, perhaps. In exchange for one thing.'
"What's that?"
'Your name.'
Pausing before I entered through a door, I was briefly stumbled by the revelation. "You don't already know my name? I thought you were in my head?"
'I have only been able to catch a glimpse of your memories through what you've tried to dream of, hardly any details ever come through. Only after observing the technology of your life and the one of this Earth did I realize you are from a different time.'
Time, he thought I traveled back in time instead of hopping entire universes. "Alright, guess it's really late for introductions."
Holding out my hand in greeting towards the nearest reflection, I greeted it like I wasn't insane. "Hello High Ecto-Lord of the Anur System, I'm-"
"Zs'Skayr." Ghostfreak interrupted with a proper voice, reaching out and grasping my own hand. "And you?"
"I'm the adult human stuck in a ten year old's body. My name is-"
A door creaked open, and a nearly imperceptible noise flowed through it. I don't know what it was but, at the same time it seemed to be one of the most real things I ever heard. My ears could barely pick up on it but my very being resonated with it.
For some reason, it made me think of her.
Rushing towards it, I chased after the soft note as I could make out others matching its tempo. I flew faster, each one bringing back a memory of my fiance.
The time we went and saw our coworker's bad lumberjack play.
The time that first Halloween where I was so nervous to invite her to play that horror game with me.
The time we went to that dine in movie theater because my mom had won some tickets.
The time during Christmas, where the snow was gently falling all around us as we walked through the tiny town, multicolored lights warmly glowing around us, and despite the cold weather I felt so warm just holding her hand.
That night, I had a feeling she wanted to end it on a kiss but I didn't want to push her, but our faces still grew closer until she decided firmly to share her first kiss with me, to share her life with me.
I found the source of it, the melody of memories echoing from the large chamber calling out like a lullaby. It was quiet, humming to itself in a dream.
"Do you hear that?" I asked in a whisper, careful not to disturb its slumber or alert the employees seated around it.
'No, but I know you can.'
It was real, even if he couldn't confirm what I was hearing Zs'Skayr knew it was something.
It was alive, and its touch on my soul was just like hers.
I had to free her, to wake her and let her sing.
"That reverse power surge caused the whirlpool effect, but it's fixed now." Mr. Gold-Smith's voice reminded me of where I was, where I was floating, and what my mission was. Pulling myself out of the immediate desire to free the song of my fiance, I reexamined the chamber she was trapped in.
It was the size of a car, four employees seated around it with many controls along the panels. A small triangular window was letting out a warm purple hue, which highlighted the many pipes and cables running out of the top of it. I took another look around the room I was in, seeing it reach up several stories tall with a canyon of machines built around it, feeding off of it.
"It must keep a lot of juice to keep this place lit up. That can't come from the mainland." Max noted as he and his old friend crept closer to the source.
I had to stop them, stop all of this before they caused a disaster, stop them from using her any longer!
"Volcanic vents on the ocean floor. We tap into them like a big steam generator." The billionaire and Max were now only fifteen feet away, the retired Plumber eyeing the technology caging the lullaby.
Then to my horror, Mr. Gold-Smith gave a prideful smirk to his engineers. "Now, watch this."
Switching back to human, briefly blinding them with a green light I screamed out. "STOP!"
"What in the-Ben?!" Donovan looked around, trying to find the hidden door to my sudden arrival as the employees around me spun in their seats to see a ten year old had somehow infiltrated their secure area. "How did you get in here?"
"Ben." Max asked, alert and mildly panicked by my switch in front of them. "What are you doing?!"
"She's alive!" I pointed towards her, still dreaming and trapped in the chamber. "Your power source isn't some technology, she's alive!"
Mr. Gold-Smith's jaw fell down as he quickly flickered his eyes towards his disturbed engineers. "Ben I-I don't know what you're talking about. That's just a-"
"It's not some generator, and it's not alien technology!" I marched right up to the panel, one of the engineers stepping in my way to halt me.
"Come on kid, we'll-OOOF!" He received all the strength I could muster to throw into his crotch, having him collapse as I rushed the controls.
"Ben!" Max called out as the engineers began swarming me. "Slow down and explain!"
"They're using her as a battery!" The adults were already yanking me away, my desperate limbs swinging at their faces as my legs were pulled into the air. "I need to wake her up!"
"Ben!" Donovan Gold-Smith yelled at me in panic, trying to grab my collar to hastily yank me away. I felt the shirt choke my neck, I heard Max yell out as he attempted to intervene as well, and I began fighting with everything I had, my ten year old body surging with all the energy I could demand of it as I threw my weight into one more kick.
It hit the button on the console, a blaring alarm ringing out as the chamber opened itself and her light pouring out over me. Something slammed into the limbs restraining me, letting me fall onto the floor and catch my breath.
"Get your hands off my grandson!" Max was throwing punches left and right, defending me despite his suspicions and not knowing why I was sabotaging his old friend's resort. He trusted me, after all day, after all summer. Thank you.
Now with no one to stop me, I jumped onto the seat, climbing over the panel as I could almost touch her.
"Stop him!" Donovan cried as more of the engineers around the area began converging on our location. "Don't let him anywhere near it!"
It was too late, I could hear her voice so close, almost within reach. I extended my hand towards her, to caress the orb that she resided in, to reunite with her after all this time. Once my skin met her, she awakened.
A blinding light blew forth, winds of space passing by each person there to witness the awakening. The lights around us were snuffed out, no longer being supplied with power and bowing in reverence to the one who gave them energy in the first place as she overwhelmed the pitch black with her presence.
Holding up my arm to shield my eyes from the piercing glow, I saw someone there, standing before me as she regained form, life, as she began to sing.
Yet when the light began to soften for all to see her, I realized she was not who I thought she was.
I decided to split this into two parts because wow there is a lot to cover. Originally, I was just going to do a brief overview of this episode but then when I thought back I realized something. We never knew what was really going on with those aliens did we? I also realized that between my own work history, travel experience, and my love for Bioshock I needed to give this episode lots of attention.
What are the robotic squids? What was their goal? What was the power source?
How far will things change from what Ben would have experienced?
GHOSTFREAK LORE EXPLANATION!
I was looking back to try and find more information about the ghostfreak plot, because outside of what omniverse did to explain the alien I struggled to find anything regarding Ghostfreak somehow getting minions and having that take over the Earth plan.
It turns out, that was one of the specials that had those little informational pop ups. That's where omniverse got a lot of their lore, so since it's still from the original show I was able to use it.
Last note, what should I name the Ultimos and Synaptak transformations?
REMINDER! I won't be using any content created outside of the original Ben 10 show. No content from Alien Force, Ultimate Alien, Omniverse, or reboot will be used. That includes aliens, abilities, plot points, lore, and just about anything not seen in the OG show.
1234andynguyen: When isn't he?
LongNightDragon: What I remember from the episode is how they made Iron a rare element that Earth possessed, which is weird because it's a very common element in the universe as far as we know. I mean, Mars is full of the stuff so if the villains wanted to they could have just collected it there with no hassle.
Lucius Walker: I mean, it's hard to do any kind of romance for an adult in a child's body who was about to be married in his past life. Not only would it be a while before he could move on but he doesn't even have options in his state.
Temory: I'm changing up the episode order to make more sense location wise, because in the show they jump all over the place and to fit all the episodes in one summer Max would have to be breaking several speeding laws while most of the time they're sitting in the RV.
I will visit that episode soon though.
Observador Del Destino: Well it's funny you mention that, because this was the next plot I had in mind. I can't say much else without spoiling it but I plan on putting out the next chapter soon!
Some1call4MR-E: I do plan on doing the Ben 10,000 episode if that's what you're referring to, but it won't go quite as expected. I plan on doing a big twist with it, similar to what I'm doing in this one.
Yeah, Ten Ten I'm not surprised has been done a few times in different fics, and only one of the ones I read shortly touched on it but never again. Still, I'm trying to come up with names, something in a Ben 10 fashion and not just ripping names off something else.
Any ideas?