A week and a half has passed since Musa's mother was revived, and everything was going perfectly for everyone.
Well….for everyone...except Bloon, who recently found herself just staring at the book that was Ben's bedside table for long periods of time.
"Uh...Bloom?" Stella asked in the midst of tying the knot on her halter top interrupting Bloom during one of her latest staring sessions which causes Bloom to freeze up for a few seconds before turning to Stella.
"O-Oh Stella, didn't notice you there" Bloom said with a big sheepish grin on her face only for Stella to look concerned.
"Bloom….I called out your name over 5 times" Stella began saying getting slightly louder with each example of her trying to get her attention all the while she approached Bloom "we made EYE contact, how could you not notice I was here." Stella continued and she would've gone even further if Tecna hadn't poked her head through the door at that very moment.
"Girls c'mon we're going to be late" Tecna said as they then get a small glimpse of Ben talking to Dyna as Tecna opens the door more and closes it before talking could be heard outside.
Meanwhile back with Bloom and Stella the two just stare at each other for a bit before Stella shakes her head tightens her top's knot before looking at Bloom
"Anyways whatever it is that's worrying you I'm sure it's nothing" Stella said giving her a bright smile not noticing the weak one Bloom returned.
"Nothing huh..."
—-----------
'You're right Stella....as of now I know nothing….about my real parents….who I really am…..is my birth name even Bloom?' Bloom found herself later thinking as over the break she had found out the heartbreaking truth that her parents…..weren't really her parents.
"But maybe...I can find out….I just need to get my hands on a book similar to the one Ben has then maybe…..but I'll have to sneak back into Cloud Tower to get it" She mumbles underneath her breath at least until something brought her out of her thoughts
KA-BOOM!
An explosion racked her out of her depressive state as she looked at the scene in front of her.
And that scene was Ben in his fairy form dodging what appeared to be beams of solid light as he was trying to place some type of rose in a bubble, onto a pedestal.
Which she succeeds at but with a bit of difficulty at the very end….mostly because even after having unlocked magic winx a long time ago…..she still hasn't gotten used to walking in heels.
"Still can't walk in heels?" Stella could be heard saying in a teasing voice as Ben flew over sitting down between her and Flora.
"Nope" Ben simply responded before letting out a long sigh as her magic winx form crumbles off her body with her letting out a content sigh as her heels are replaced with sandals that might or might not belong to Stella.
"Even after months of having this form it's still a pain to walk in heels" Bloom heard Ben saying as she turned to him before taking a deep breath and exhaling
'I know what I'm about to do is stupid but….I've got to do it'
—-----------
"The shuttle has arrived at Red Fountain, anyone going to Red Fountain please step out as we've arrived at your destination"
"Next stop, Cloud Tower" The shuttle's automatic PA system said as a bunch of people could be seen getting off and amongst them a certain orange haired girl.
"Ok….now where could Brandon's dorm be?" Bloom muttered to herself as she looked around not noticing that something was approaching her and fast.
"Maybe it's near Kevin's dorm" She could be heard mumbling turning just in time to see what can only be described as a dinosaur-dog hybrid looking thing tackling her to the ground….which also funnily enough also sent Kiko flying out of Bloom's bag much to the bunnies dismay.
Luckily Bloom immediately recognized who had tackled her.
"Zed, no down girl!" Bloom called out as the dino-dog just began licking her face and no matter how much she tried, she could just not get the female Anubian Baskurr off of her at least not until she forced herself to transform into Magix Winx.
With the extra help of magic winx she was strong enough to peel her off herself "Zed, stop!" Bloom said a bit more sternly and only then did Zed take a step back and sit down with her tail wagging like crazy.
That left Bloom with some breathing room as she took a few breaths to calm herself before looking down at the alien canine while thinking to herself 'that must've been what it felt like for Ben to get tackled by Ship before she got turned into a hybrid' though she quickly shakes that thought out of her head before she knelt down to Zed's level.
"Hey girl, been a while, how's Kevin?" Bloom said smiling as she reached down to pet Zed who leans into her touch with a goofy smile on her face, all the while Kiko is sitting walking over letting out a small exasperated huff before climbing onto Zed's back and whispering something in her ear
"Huh Kiko, what are you whispering to Zed?" Bloom asks only to have Zed bite onto the left pant leg of her flared jeans before she then begins getting dragged across campus by the alien canine.
"Zed wai-" Bloom tries to say only to get cut off as a green light suddenly comes from in front of her as she feels her surroundings speed up massively "ZEEEEED!" She yelled as suddenly everything came to a stop leaving her breathing heavily as she now found herself standing in front of a dorm room door with this alien looking thing that looks like a mix between a cheetah and an armor plated horse with spheres on its feet and a collar with some type of device attached to it, with Kiko on its back of course.
"Yeah….I'm telling Kevin and Hope to take the nemetrix away from you" She says while her magic winx form crumbles off of her body as then some type of visor retracted from the creature's eyes before it then licked her once with a tongue that kinda felt like a cat's. That was followed by another green flash of light as the creature was revealed to be Zed who looked happy as can be as the nemetrix on her collar glowed a slight green which was all thanks to some modifications that Ben had done the last time he had come to Red Fountain with Bloom.
"Anyways thanks Zed" Bloom said standing up whilst also taking Kiko in her arms before looking at the door as there was a small nameplate listing those who lived in that dorm.
Sky of Eraklyon
Brandon
Riven
Timmy
Bloom took a deep breath after reading the names before she then knocked on the door as unease took hold of her.
"Who is it?" a voice from inside which Bloom couldn't exactly recognize but it definitely wasn't Timmy since she hears his voice somewhat regularly since he's the only specialist aside from Kevin that Ben actually likes.
'Well it's not Timmy that's for sure, then again it could be that I only hear him whenever Ben talks with him on his phone…..maybe it changes his voice?' She thinks before taking a deep breath and speaking "It's Bloom, you know from Alfea?".
Immediately after those words leave her mouth a loud commotion is heard from inside leaving her, Kiko, and Zed who had actually begun to walk away briefly stunned as soon the door gets forcefully opened revealing a shirtless Brandon.
'Why is he shirtless?' is the only thought going through Bloom's mind before Brandon spoke up.
"Hey Bloom, is there something I can help you with?" Brandon said leaning against the doorway causing both Zed and Kiko to look at each other as they both simultaneously think something along the lines of.
'I-Is he trying to seduce her?'
Unfortunately for Brandon, Bloom was not interested in him in the slightest as she then said "Listen Brandon, I know this is out of nowhere but I could really use your help with something."
Brandon gains a more serious expression on his face as he stops leaning and straightens up, "What do you need help with…does it have to do with Ben?" Brandon asked, kinda hoping it was something to do with Ben.
Bloom just shakes her head "No our relationship is stable…..the reason I need your help is because I need to sneak into Cloud Tower" She said causing Brandon's eyes to widen.
"Cloud Tower?" Brandon repeated making sure he was hearing her right before he then questioned "But why can't you just have Charmcaster get what you're after?"
"Well….I don't really want anyone to know" She says before stopping to rub the back of her head before speaking once more "I didn't really want to bother the others or Ben with this since its more of a me problem" Bloom said though the uncertainty of her voice went unnoticed almost as if there was another reason for her not wanting them to know.
Brandon being oblivious to this speaks up "Well ok, when do you want to do this?" Brandon asked as then Bloom took a deep breath and said.
"Tonight, midnight if possible" Bloom said as her eyes locked with Brandon's blue eyes as she then thought to herself 'Ben should be asleep by then….if I'm lucky' She thought to herself as having spent enough time with her boyfriend meant that she'd gotten to know her boyfriend's sleep schedule is normally an utter mess if he didn't have one of them to cuddle with.
"Tonight…" Brandon said as his eyes flickered to the ground in thought before just quickly nodding "Yeah alright I'll see you tonight" he eventually said after some thought.
Bloom gave him a smile, a weak one but a smile nonetheless as she begins taking a couple of steps back, "Thank you Brandon, though me and Kiko should get going before, Ben and the others start getting worried" Bloom says giving him one last little wave before walking away leaving Brandon standing there in the doorway
Kiko, taking this opportunity tugs at Bloom's collar and mumbles some nonsense that she couldn't quite understand but she did catch its meaning.
"Yes, Kiko, I have to do this," Bloom said before sighing quietly. "It has kept me up at night just wondering this and so I'm taking this chance even if it costs me...even if it costs me my friends" Bloom said not noticing how stupid she was currently being.
Kiko then goes to say something else but he then notices this tiny almost humanoid creature looking at them. In fact it takes him a few seconds to realize that it's not some creature but instead a small action figure like toy, one that seemed to move as if it was a real person..
Kiko then blinked once and then the small figurine was gone leaving the small rabbit briefly confused before eventually he decided that it was just in his head, plus there were other things he had to worry about.
—-------------------------------------
11:57
11:58
Eternity was one way of describing how long it felt for Bloom as she laid in her bed listening to Kiko's breathing as he slept next to her.
As she then turned to check the time.
11:59
12:00
Midnight.
Just what she had been waiting for.
Bloom slowly slid out of the bed and slowly crept her way to her bedroom's door and that's when she saw it…..or rather saw her.
The person she had completely forgotten about…..Mirta.
'Or at least that's what I think her name is' Bloom thought as she approached the couch from behind and slowly peeked over to see the red haired witch snoring quietly with dried tears on her cheeks
'Honestly I feel bad for her, since Hope said her girlfriend is a bit of a bitch' She thought to herself as that was actually the reason they let her crash on their couch plus the fact that Ben related to her having also had bad relationships in the past.
After being alone with her thoughts she eventually decided to move on and let their guest rest as she then slowly approaches the main window and opens it very slowly so as to not make a sound.
Once it was fully opened she took a deep breath to steel herself 'ok here I go no turning back now' she thinks as she then manifests her magic winx form, her wings twitching slightly from the uncertainty still in her heart as she flies up before then slowly closing the window
"Ok I'm outside….." Bloom said to herself still nervous as she then looked up at the sky and for a moment she saw something.
"Is that a pirate ship?" Bloom suddenly questions out loud as she swears for a moment an all red galleon looking ship was seen above the clouds, its sails also red and some type of jolly roger which looked like a pair of sabers crossed together but instead of the stereotypical skull it was something else.
The sight left Bloom briefly stunned as she looked down rubbing her eyes before looking back up and seeing it was gone, as she was left there floating for a few seconds before she said "If all goes right then I should really get my eyes checked" Was all that she said as she then flew to the gate not knowing that two figures were watching her from the roof.
_________________________
"And there she goes" A voice said as footsteps could be heard as a figure then leaned over as it's revealed to be a woman probably in her early 20's.
Her expression is rather neutral for a few seconds before she then smiles "It won't belong until we de-corrupt him" The woman said with a small smirk on her face.
"That's great but….." A voice behind her said and hesitated, not sure if they heard her correctly as the woman turned to see three girls who all looked confused as to why they're there.
One of the girls has long black hair with midnight blue eyes, the girl right next to her has shorter ginger hair and light brown eyes. And lastly the last girl who has black hair which reaches to her mid back and an almost elegant look to her despite her wearing a red captain's coat that has been obviously stitched together at one point, though it's less wearing it more having it draped over her shoulders.
"But why did we all have to come here, Yuri-senpai?" The girl with the red jacket asks before pointing at the two girls next to her, "And especially why are Nagisa and Honoka here?" she says pointing to the two newly named girls.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Nagisa questioned as she leaned to get a better look at her with an expression that is either slightly angry or genuine curiosity and there's no in between.
"Umm Nagisa, I don't think she means anything by it" Honoka, the one with long black hair, said with a small reassuring smile on her face as she put a hand on her partner's shoulder causing Nagisa to visibly calm down.
"Y-yeah I didn't mean anything by it Nagisa" Mary says frantically as she waves her arms in front of her while backing away almost to the point she falls off Alfea's roof meanwhile Yuri can be heard laughing her ass off at least until this tiny action figure which appears to be wearing a white and pink wearing tokusatsu heroine jumping onto her shoulder.
"Ehem" It says which causes Yuri to flinch as she then clears her throat "right sorry" Yuri says, fixing her hair and straightening up as she gets this serious look on her face.
She stays like that long enough to get the three teen girls attention "what is one thing you all have in common?" She says quite randomly as all three girls pause and look at each other.
"Umm...we're all girls?" Nagisa says causing Yuri and the action figure on her shoulder to facepalm simultaneously.
"No you dummies, you're all in love my son" The action figure said as she placed her hands on her little plastic hips causing all three girls to simultaneously freeze with Nagisa and Mary turning redder than most tomatoes while Honoka just looked surprised.
"W-W-WHAT?!" Mary said her face looked like one of sheer shock and panic while Nagisa just looked embarrassed.
"C'mon just because I'm not the real Kamen Rider Zero but that doesn't mean I don't know what happens in my own home, which need I remind you" The figure says pointing at them before continuing "you come over nearly everyday" she says huffing as she crossed her arms
"Wait, if you gathered all of us here because we have crushes on him then…..why aren't Minako, Neru, and Yume here?" Honoka asked curiously causing Yuri to put up three fingers and close them as she listed off reasons for them not being there.
"First Minako and my little brother are off on a date, plus they're actually dating remember that, and Yume and Neru are off dealing with something in their original universe" Yuri said causing Nagisa and Mary to look a bit jealous as Yuri just shakes her head amused but then she raised a fourth finger before saying "And I don't think Neru and Yume have actually have crushes on him."
"Relax you two, I'm sure my brother is ok with having a harem if his alternate counterpart is anything to go by" Yuri said before pointing down as the two just grumble something while looking at each other while Honoka gently pats Nagisa's back.
"Anyways, before we get anymore sidetracked I should probably explain the reason we're here" Yuri finally decides to say as she claps her hands before pointing into the distance in the direction of Cloud Tower "WE!" she says making sure to emphasize it extra hard.
"Are going to knock my brother out" Yuri says a little two proudly, causing a mix of "what's?" to come out of the three teenage girl's mouths as she enjoys not giving them the context for a few more seconds.
"Do you three remember when we first met Ben and how he explained that he didn't like this guy because he was purple?" she says as reaches into her jacket and pulls out….a mini kamen rider Buffa action figure?
Who just looks at her "Rude" Buffa says simply while crossing his arms as all Yuri does is give him a sheepish smile before placing him on her shoulder right next to Zero who goes to pat his back sympathetically but Buffa pushes her hand off.
"Yeah but I thought it was just a color preference," Honoka says, confused, which only makes Yuri shake her head.
"Nope, in actuality he's more or less dislikes the color purple because he was corrupted by his cousin Gwen with some type of...mana sickness" She says before stopping before she then mumbles "at least I think that's what Hope said" she says unsure before clapping her hands as that smile she had returns to her face
"Anyways, you two," she said pointing at Honoka and Nagisa. "Are gonna fight off and hopefully knock him out fast enough he can't get a good look at you" She says before continuing "while me and Mary deal with the 3 witches alongside Bloom" she says pointing at herself and Mary, who just looks hyped up at the mention of those witches.
"Wait, those 3 are the ones that...oh I thought I'd never get the chance at a round 2" Mary says as gains this big smile on her face as she jumps up and down causing Yuri to just smile and laugh.
"Well since we're all on the same track then let's get on the galleon and hop to it" she says taking out this weird little rectangular device with a lever on the side, 3 slots on top and this weird digital screen on what looks to be the front.
"Alright onto the Gal...leon…." Mary says as she looks up only for her to immediately grow pale afterwards "uh oh….." is all she can let out as she notices that her ship is just…..gone
"MY DAD'S SHIP!" Mary yells putting her hands on her head as a look of sheer panic overcomes her face as she realizes…..she forgot to lower the anchor.
This causes panic amongst the 4 of them as they all look around until Yuri's finally land on the Gokai Galleon which was currently and very peacefully drifting away which causes her to let out a small sigh of relief.
"Hey girls, there it is" Yuri says pointing towards where it is making the others turn to look while she takes the device she had earlier and puts it up to her waist as a belt wrapped around her waist with it then letting out the following words.
"FUSION DRIVER!"
All the while Mary just lets out a sigh of relief holding up a hand to her chest to still her own rapidly beating heart. 'If mom and dad found out that I nearly lost their old ship then….." her train of thought was interrupted as a chill ran down her spine which was shortly followed by a bright flash of pink and green accompanied by Yuri's driver saying
"ZERO + SKYRIDER = SHOWA RIDER SPECIAL FUSION!" with such a loud volume that Mary stumbled to the side holding her ears as she turned to her right as now Yuri was clad in a suit which was a perfect fusion of her mother's own and Kamen Rider Skyrider's suits.
"Senpai?!" Mary said in shock after having something so loud next to her ear, meanwhile Yuri just giggles as she takes a running start.
"What?" She says her smile hidden by her helmet, "now hurry" she says as she jumps up into the air while looking back towards Nagisa and Honoka
"Oh by the way Ben thinks you two are lesbians" She says giving them a quick peace sign before flying off towards the Galleon as both Honoka and Nagisa then gain stunned look for a brief moment before Nagisa began to yell
"Wha- YURI!" Nagisa yelled while reaching out towards her but then suddenly time began to slow down to a crawl before stopping all together.
Time stood still, the leaves on the trees stopped falling, the water from the fountain stopped, and Dyna.....she became frozen mid air after falling off of Ben's bed.
Soon after footsteps were heard as they suddenly came to a stop.
But not for long as they then turned to running this figure ran in front of Nagisa and Honoka's frozen bodies, the figure had a black bodysuit and over it was a mix of black and almost silver armor covering the figure's knees, arms, shoulders, and chest, along with a red helmet which had a rhinoceros beetle like horn and a pair of bright blue eyes.
The figure was visibly shaking "No….why are they here?" He asked aloud before turning his body towards Yuri as he visibly flinched "sis?" he said before then noticing Mary as the figure's eyes widened under his helmet "and Mary too?"
This left the figure who became increasingly more panicked as his breath quickened "They shouldn't be anywhere near here, we were supposed to meet when we got sent back in...wait" he paused before the figure a quiet "no, don't tell me" he said almost begging as he turned towards the direction of Cloud Tower with shocked eyes under his helmet before they then softened considerably, sadness hidden within them.
The figure was quiet for a while but moments after he raised up his left hand before striking a device on the left side of his waist which looked vaguely like the device attached to the front of his waist.
"HYPER CLOCK UP!" The device said as his suit's armor opened up and he gained what looked like beetle wings before disappearing in a green flash of light as time then resumed.
______________________________________________
Cloud Tower was peaceful in the middle of the night as time then slowed down suddenly before resuming suddenly.
Meanwhile down on the ground two figures could be seen riding on a wind rider, those two figures being Bloom and Brandon who looks around almost confused
"That's strange…..the anti-air defense system should've kicked in by now" Brandon muttered under his breath as he touched down the bike near one of the side entrances not noticing they had passed by some of the anti-air defense crystals which were supposed to emit an EMP but it seems they had all been shattered by some unknown force.
Though Bloom doesn't seem to have noticed Brandon's confused look as she just gets off the wind rider and runs over to the side door throwing it open before running inside surprising Brandon who hurries off the rider before running in after her.
"Bloom wait up" He yelled, making Bloom slow down albeit she was hesitant about it as she turned to look back at Brandon.
"Right sorry, Brandon" she mumbles, stress obvious in her tone of voice, her thoughts only on the book she came here for. Though a part of her slightly feared what it might contain inside.
The two are quiet for a while as they walk, Bloom's eyes scanned side to side until she spotted the partially opened door leading to the archive room.
"There" She said running inside whilst also forgetting about the camera in the room. The moment she got there she crouched and began looking, tossing books to the side with caution completely abandoned.
Brandon ran in moments after her, "Bloom wait there could be camer-" His words cut short as he spotted a camera only for him to stop as the camera was broken by a....dagger?
The dagger was stabbed into it, but it was unlike any dagger Brandon had ever seen in his life. "Umm Bloom?" Brandon said as he went to tap her shoulder only to find her completely missing from her previous spot.
Brandon stood there completely stunned, unable to move, he stood there for a few moments longer until a loud "AH HA!" was heard. "Bloom?" Brandon asked peering around the bookshelf as Bloom held a book with her name on it and just as she opened it….her face dropped.
Her mouth would open and close, unable to let out any type of sound, as she just stood there like a gaping fish. Brandon, seeing this, rushed over faster than he thought he could run.
"What, what's wrong?!" He asked, taking the book out of her hands and finding…..it was absolutely covered in sharpie. EVERY. SINGLE. PAGE.
"This..." That was the only thing Bloom was able to communicate as her body just began to shake as she just grabbed her head "IS SUCH BULLSHIT!" she yelled as Brandon was launched back by a sudden burst from Bloom's magic as her outfit began flickering back and forth from in between her normal clothes and her magic winx outfit.
"Bloom!" Brandon called trying to stagger to his feet as then this book fell open from a nearby shelf, with the pages within glowing brightly "one of the lost books" He mumbled in recognition before grabbing it and quickly hopping to his feet. "Bloom here look at this, this is one of the legendary lost books, just ask it a question and it'll give you what you're looking for" Brandon said whilst putting the book in front of her face.
Bloom's eyes shifted to the book as her body physically relaxed and she calmed down enough to stop her winx form from flickering on and off. "Thank you, Brandon" Bloom said her voice a little shaky from her earlier outburst "and I'm sorry my head has just been filled with worst case scenarios and…" Bloom stopped herself before taking a deep breath, deciding not to waste anymore time as she looked at the book before whispering her question "I want to know….who I really am"
—--------------------
Flashes, flashes of things she didn't understand began just searing themselves into her head, words she didn't understand the meaning off
"Ka…..n….ri…..r" " S….tai" "Pre...e"
Bloom dropped the book with her hands reaching to her head as the worst migraine she'd ever had in her life hit her like a truck, until everything became clear
Four ancient witches stood in darkness, suddenly a man wearing a full orange and yellow suit suddenly burst out and killed the fourth sister by driving his blade through her chest, before then ripping it out and pointing his blade at the remaining witches.
Then her vision shifted to Domino, something she had only ever seen in photos and video calls between Ben and his children. It felt colder, colder than she could ever possibly imagine.
Then she saw herself, or what she could interpret as herself as a baby surrounded by fire and then the three remaining witches could be seen cackling in the back.
"No…..no…" Bloom began quietly repeating, and unfortunately during those moments of distress, she missed that same figure from earlier now much clearer.
figures along with what she had previously noticed also had this dragon like heads on both of his shoulder plates, around his waist there was this….book?
The book was held by some type of holder or device, the pages of the book spilled onto the remaining 2 shelves beside it which showed images of something that appeared to be the Great Dragon. The device itself had a slot nearer the waist itself where the sword seemed to be able to be inserted.
But all those details aside, Bloom never noticed the figure itself as she raised her hand and slammed it down onto the lost book, flames erupted from where she had placed her hand as the book and its contents were incinerated, as could then be seen collapsing to her knees while breathing heavily as tears poured down her slightly reddened cheeks
Brandon, having been watching all this, was left what can only be described as stunned, kneeled down slowly before he slowly reached "Bloom….are you?" He asked cautiously but as soon as his hand neared her, it was slapped away.
Bloom just looked at him with teary eyes before saying "Don't touch me" and that was all she said before scrambling to her feet and beginning to run out of the archive.
Brandon seeing this also got up but before he could run after her a hand is placed on his shoulder before it tightened its grip and threw him to the side making Brandon crash onto a bookshelf.
"Agh…..huff" were the only sound Brandon could make as he saw this figure in a long black cloak, Brandon scrambled to his feet as he got up unclipping his sword from his belt and tapping the button on the side of the hilt to activate the energy blade,
"Please" The figure said as he outstretched his right hand toward him, "Let's skip the fighting, Sky of Eraklyon." The figure said making Brandon….or rather Sky's eyes widened as then the figure reached up for its a device on its belt as a soft clicking sound could be heard as then the device said in a saddened feminine voice.
"Soon…It'll all come to an end"
Before then the figure's suit crumbled off of him in black smoke and it's revealed to be…..Ben? But something was off, the left side of his face was severely disfigured, with the skin and muscle scorched beyond belief leaving a large part of his skull exposed, along with his left eye being missing leaving an empty and scorched socket. Dried blood could be seen staining his white shirt along with most of his neck and the right side of his face, but he looked….unfazed?
"Ben?" Sky asked, eyes widened in a mix of shock and disgust mostly at the grotesque state Ben's face was in.
"No I'm the Great Dragon…..of course it's me" Ben said grimly his face twisted in pain for a split second before returning to its serious expression
"W-what the hell happened to you?" Sky asked, nearly dropping his sword before readjusting his grip. The question made Ben roll his eyes, or rather just eye before he responded.
"Oh this little thing?" Ben asked pointing up to the left side of his face before just waving him off "It's nothing, just someone not used to controlling fire, firing an arrow made of said fire straight into my left eye socket through a hole in my broken helmet", He said not out of bitterness or anger, no….he could never be angry at the one who caused his injury, but at the fact Sky asked him about it.
"Anyways I can't stay long, I've got to return to the future before Rei does something stupid out of guilt" Ben said almost as if Sky wasn't there and rather he was talking to the air.
"The future?" Sky asked, getting more confused by the second as Ben just sighed as he lifted up the device he once had as he tapped the omnitrix symbol on the center and whispered something he couldn't make out and only made out one word but it didn't sound like a word.
"OOO"
Ben then resumed talking as the device in his hand began to rapidly shift pieces compressing onto the device was now very small with three slots almost meant for…..coins? He then lifted the device to his waist as the belt shot out from both sides, tightening around his waist as the belt fully wrapped around his waist, securing the device.
"Yeah you can blame Ami for asking that question about how I got de-corrupted, anyways time to knock you out and expect your memory to be erased" Ben said, almost sounding annoyed and tired to be there.
"W-what? What in the hell are you talking about?" Sky asked as Ben ignored him as he searched his pockets for something before pulling out three coins, one blue with what looked to be centipede, the next was an almost honey color with what appeared to be either a bee, wasp or hornet, and the final one was a mostly black one with an ant design on its front.
"Listen Buddy….it's better if you just go to sleep" Ben said in an uncaring tone as he lifted one of the coins before inserting it into the right slot and doing the same with the black coin only on the left slot, leaving the middle slot empty.
Brandon slightly adjusted his stance before remembering a certain someone, "Wait, Bloom, we gotta go get her Ben" Sky says panicked before Ben just laughs a small glint in his eye.
"Who ever said I was the Ben that was dating her?" Ben asked inserting the final honey colored coin into the middle slot before grabbing the left side and pushing it down making the whole device click as it tilted before he then grabbed what appeared to be a circular scanner like device from his new belt as then the realization hit Sky.
"Oh that's right, by this point in the timeline you still call me…..Eon, right?" Ben asked with a slight evil grin as he got into a stance while lifting up his right hand which held the scanner.
Sky, having realized who he was talking to immediately lunged towards him, sword in hand but it was two late. Ben brought the scanner down as it made three quick ding like sounds as the scanner went over the coins starting from blue and going down to black.
Ben stood silent letting Sky get closer and closer until he was a mere 8 feet from him and only then did he yell "Henshin!"
BOOM!
A sudden shockwave sent Sky skidding back several feet as a disembodied voice began yelling as coins of different colors began circling all around him, Sky had to cover his eyes from the intense light.
"MUKADE!"
"HACHI!"
"ARI!"
"GODA!
"GODA!"
"GO-DA!"
Eventually the light dissipates and just as Sky begins to put his hands down from covering his face, that's when he realizes it was a bad decision as he received a sudden kick to the face getting sent back flying into another bookshelf. It took a bit before Sky was able to get back up as the sound of cracking knuckles was then heard.
"C'mon Sky is that the....Minako?" Ben could then be suddenly heard saying voice filled with emotion, confusing Sky as he didn't know any Minako's as he got looked over and saw Ben now in a suit three colors his right side is mostly black with some yellow detailing, some green lines going down to his feet that end in black boots, and near the top half of his body he had a massive spike on each shoulder and a purple menacing looking mask on his face. Though he was looking at him from the back so it was mostly black, as Ben could be seen looking into a mirror.
"The mirror of desires…." Sky whispered as he grabbed his sword and began rushing over as he thought to himself 'no I can't get distracted, now it's time to get rid of him for good' Sky thought as he then leaped into the air sword pointed directly at Ben's back
"Minako...you...you look as beautiful as the day I first laid my eyes on you" Ben said in the softest and gentlest tone possible, almost as if he were a man laying eyes on his soulmate for the first time in a long time. Under that helmet Ben smiled….genuinely as tears welled in his single eye, and to him….he was happy. "I'm sorry I really am…" he whispered softly as underneath that mask he smiled though it was a sad one filled with both happiness and regret.
Unfortunately that brief bittersweet moment was put to a stop as Sky's blade struck true as the blade went through his back, a yell escaped his throat as he stumbled forward as the tip of the blade cracked the Mirror making its desire showing effects rendered null.
They stayed like that for a while Sky breathing heavily thinking he'd won, and it appeared like that….for a few seconds before he felt Ben's left leg lift up and suddenly kick backwards, a full 11 tons of force was put into that kick sending Sky straight into the wall making a crater. The room shook for a brief moment and everything was quiet.
Every breath Sky took hurt like hell as then Ben straightened up, blood seeping from his newly acquired injury as what then sounded like….sniffling?
Ben then let out a quiet sob before falling to his knees and slamming his fist to the ground as his suit disappeared in a quick flash of light. "I" he said quietly before turning to look at Sky "Sky...there doesn't exist enough words in any known language across the known omniverse" Ben began quietly before suddenly ripping out the sword from his back and throwing it to the side, blood steadily dripping to the floor "To describe how much I hate you…."
Sky could only feel fear as Ben slowly began walking toward him, as he then quietly said the words "Zein". After those words were said his suit began quickly changing at an alarming pace as then this disembodied voice which seemed to come from his new driver began speaking loudly as if announcing something.
"JUSTICE!"
Ben kept walking, "I just saw the love of my life, the first ray of light after a very very dark tunnel, the girl who I thought I could spend the rest of my life with" Ben stopped in order to take a deep breath.
"JUDGEMENT!"
"And you ripped her away from me…." Ben his fist tightening as the material his glove was made of could be heard physically straining, hard.
"JAIL!"
"I was originally just going to knock you out but now..." Ben said dangerously low as his new suit's bright blue eyes were staring straight into his soul as Sky could do nothing but cower as every instinct in his body told him to flee but his body wouldn't move.
"ZEIN!"
"I am going to kill you and ship your decapitated head to your parents as a gift wrapped present, with your intestines serving as the pretty little bow and your skin as the wrapping paper" Ben said a sadistic smile so wide it hurt more than the half of his face that was missing as he then reeled his right arm back but before everything went black, Sky heard some final words.
And the last words that he heard? Those words were said by the device on his belt…..but they sounded glitched, almost stitched together, almost if the device was trying to send a message, and those words were.
"Salvation of 'Rider'kind"
—----------------------------
Bloom ran.
She didn't know how long she had been running for, but when she missed the turn to take the underground tunnels?
She just kept on running, she ran far enough she actually left Clout Tower and reached the surrounding forest.
Her legs ached and they kept aching until she tripped and fell into a puddle, and only there did she let herself fall apart.
Sob after sob just continued coming out of her mouth and soon after she began to strike the ground "why…." she struck the ground, "Why…." she struck the ground again. "Why why WHY DID ME?! WHY!" She yelled out of frustration as everything around her suddenly burst into flames before extinguishing them but not before several trees were incinerated and the puddle she was laying in evaporated.
Bloom stayed like that on the ground crying before someone then very gently placed a jacket on top of her. This made Bloom pause before looking up as she saw this girl, probably not much older than her with a small smile.
The two just stared at each other before the girl then leaned her head against one of her hands before saying "You know….if you keep laying on the ground your clothes are gonna get dirty."
"W-what?" Was the only thing Bloom could muster making the girl roll her eyes before grabbing her hands and yanking her up to her feet and padding her down
"You gotta dust yourself off, is that anyway for a princess of Domino to act?" The girl said looking her up and down for injuries before smacking her on the back though it looked like she was doing something she saw once and thought it was cool enough to replicate.
"Princess of Domino?" Bloom asked weakly, her voice slightly hoarse from yelling as she looked at the girl who had yet to introduce herself.
"Yep those visions you saw, nothing but lies those Trix witches implanted into that fake lost book" The girl said before a sudden realization hit her. "Oh that's right I haven't introduced myself" She said before facepalming and doing a little spin "I am Mary de Famille but I am also known as!" She said before striking a pose by slicking a jacket that was no longer on her shoulders as she then proclaimed with all the confidence in the universe "THE NEW GOOOOOKAI RED!" and just like that...the world went silent.
No literally all the sounds of the forest ceased, the frogs, the crickets, and the owls all stopped making noise, as she was now just standing there awkwardly while trying to seem cool.
"Gokai…..red?" Bloom said utterly confused before the rest of her words caught up to her making her eyes widen. "Wait, it's all the Trix's fault?!" She asked, her voice a mix of relief and outrage at the same time.
"MHmmmm they implanted that false vision into the book in order to lead you out to the forest in order to ambush you and take your dragon flame for themselves" Mary said with her eyes closed as she nodded.
This just confused Bloom as she looked down at her hands before little bits of flames could be seen slowly appearing "But I don't have the dragon flame" Bloom whispered quietly before her face then got cupped by Mary forcing Bloom to look at her…..or rather slightly down since Mary was a couple of inches shorter than Bloom.
"Listen here you big dummy…..I-I mean d-dumbass, I can't tell you much but what I can say is to not believe a word those Trix say...….alsosorryforcallingyouadumbass" Mary said but mumbled the last part extremely quickly before stepping back her face slightly red from embarrassment as she began to fumble with her hands.
"But wait you didn't answer my question about being princess of Domino" Bloom asked as the embarrassed girl began to mumble something before speaking louder.
"Umm well yeah, as normally only the Domino royal family has access to the dragon flame which gets passed down to their descendants….at least that's how Daphne explained it" Mary said as she still hadn't recovered from her earlier embarrassment.
"My my~ already getting acquainted with Bloom I see~" A teasing voice suddenly came from above as the two looked up and saw this woman probably in her early 20's just sitting on one of the tree's branches. With it being an utter miracle the branch was strong enough to hold her up since most of the trees in the surrounding 30ft got heavily scorched by Bloom's earlier outburst.
"S-shut up, why did I have to do the talking?" Mary said, still a little embarrassed from earlier, which just causes Yuri to just roll her eyes playfully before jumping down landing in front of them with a small thud.
"Oh no reason~" She said, keeping the same teasing tone which got her on the receiving end of multiple smacks from Mary which did absolutely no damage.
Bloom just stared at the scene in utter confusion and maybe slight amusement at their antics.
"Oh and don't worry about little Mary, she gets like this sometime always trying to be a big and cool pirate like her daddy but she's oh just too cute to be one isn't that right princess~" Yuri says as she brings Mary close with her face in between her…..rather large chest as only muffled words come from Mary.
Bloom seeing this suddenly gets real quiet as she looks at Yuri before looking down at herself suddenly feeling self-conscious about her own chest 'why do I suddenly feel this way?' Bloom thought though unfortunately her train of thought is interrupted as a voice suddenly calls up from the sky.
"Well well well….if it isn't little Bloom and a bunch of randoms" Her voice is like nails on a chalk board as all three look up to see them…..the Trix.
"You three" Bloom says and she doesn't even wait for them to make any more remarks as she goes to jump up but then gets yanked down by Yuri.
"Hold your horses girl, we haven't even done our group transformation yet." Yuri said getting out her driver before holding it up to her waist as a belt forms around securing the driver as it then lets out a sound.
"FUSION DRIVER!"
"Group transformation?" Bloom asked confused as to why they just wouldn't get straight to fighting as that's how they usually do it plus, she is kinda angry that Yuri stopped her.
"Yep, now Mary you know the drill" Yuri said, dropping the whole teasing older sister act behind as Mary took a deep breath before nodding and standing beside her.
"A-are you ignoring us?" Icy said pissed as then Yuri looked up and smiled before saying.
"Oh don't worry sweetheart we'll get to you in a moment, so be a nice little witch and stay still we're still missing two people" Yuri replied though her smile seemed very much force as she then pulled out two actions figures from her jacket, those two action figures being the Kamen Rider Gavv and Kamen Rider Zero-One.
"Two people?" Icy questioned as then a nearby shatters to pieces as Ultimate Humongosaur crash lands nearby, as he was knocked clean out by some unknown force.
"Eon?!" Darcy could be heard yelling, surprised only for a person wearing black to suddenly come from out of the shadow and punch her straight in her mouth sending her to the ground, but before she could reach the ground another figure, this time in white comes from a bush and kicks her straight into the stomach forcing her to spit out blood and some teeth before the force from the second hit sent her flying into a nearby tree.
"Darcy!" Icy and Stormy said before the two flew down to help her up as the two figures then landed in front of Bloom, Yuri, and Mari.
"His name is Ben" The two figures said as they then fully stood up revealing themselves to be Nagisa and Honoka, "You no good witches!" The two say simultaneously before pointing at the Trix who look at them in a mix of shock and anger.
"Amazing entrance girls!" Yuri could be heard cheering in the background as the two cures turned to see her clapping excitedly as Bloom can only gasp surprised.
"Right on time too it seems" Honoka said, turning her head back towards the Trix.
"Oh don't worry about them, Mary and I have them covered, you just focus on finishing my little brother's de-corruption" Yuri replied as the two cures nod before running off towards Eon, Yuri then takes a step forward before snapping her fingers whilst looking at the trix and saying "now lets make this extremely showy!"
"Hey that's my line!" Mary said before pouting which only makes Yuri giggle at how cute Mary is acting.
"Fine fine...Now let's get to fusing!" Yuri says before grabbing the two action figures from earlier who had more or less been talking to themselves at this point before placing Zero-One in the middle slot before placing Gavv in the right slot, which makes her driver suddenly speak.
"Poppin Hopper!"
Shortly following that this giant….thing came out of nowhere and began jumping all over the place creating craters wherever it landed.
"What is that!?" Bloom asked surprised not noticing Honoka walking up and grabbing her hand before dragging her away whilst explaining that she probably shouldn't be behind them while they're transforming….not that Bloom heard any of that
"It's a Zero-One gochinzo, it's so cute!" Yuri explained whilst sounding extremely happy as the Gochinzo nearly landed on the Trix as they had to jump away whilst dragging Darcy while she's heard complaining of broken ribs and fallen teeth.
Yuri then takes one deep breath before throwing up her right arm diagonally just like she'd seen her father do hundreds of times before slowly bringing that hand over to her heard as it beat steadily as she then said in the softest tone possible "Henshin" she then pulled back on the lever of her driver and then move it forward making the two action figures get sucked into the slots releasing a mix of purple and yellow energy as the Gochinzo suddenly jumps up and lands on top of her.
Meanwhile at the same time that was happening, Mary is seen pulling out this flip phone like the device before flipping it open and pulling out this little key looking thing as she then brought it forward fully extending her right arm outwards "Gokai change!" She yelled before twisting her body to the side as she inserted the key into an open slot in the device and twisted it open as the top part split open revealing a jolly roger like design as suddenly what looked like a bunch of X's and V's came out as she then relaxed her body as then the mobilate let out a sound.
"GOKAIGER!" The device yelled as the X's and V's suddenly returned and slammed into her body forming her suit as she then let out a quiet sigh before looking at them but just as she went to open her mouth a bunch of sudden loud noises came from beside her.
"ZERO-ONE + GAVV = REIWA RIDER SPECIAL FUSION!"
"A JUMP TO THE SKY TURNS TO REACH OUT FOR A DELICIOUS TREAT"
"SENPAI!" Mary yelled, turning to see Yuri in her brand new suit which was a perfect mix of the Rising Hopper and Poppin Gummy suits for each respective reiwa rider.
"Yes?" She said tilting her entire body to the side knowing it would just make the adorable wannabe pirate even more mad.
Which it works as Mary stomps her foot before pointing and saying loudly "Lower the volume on that thing, it'll blow my ear drums out!" Mary said stomping the ground once more only to receive a suddenly bolt of lightning to the shoulders causing parks to erupt from said shoulder and the bolt sent her...absolutely nowhere, as then Mary used the momentum caused by the bolt hitting her shoulder to spin, pull out her gokai blaster and return the favor by pulling the trigger and delivering a shot into Stormy's shoulder and this one didn't cause sparks, instead it went right through causing Stormy to clutch her shoulder as she let out a scream of pain.
"You idiot can't you see we were having a conversation!" Mary yelled, stomping her feet not caring about the injury she dealt to Stormy, as now Icy was the only one relatively untouched as Darcy had ribs broken and teeth knocked out and now Stormy had a hole in her shoulder.
"Oh well….." Yuri said, shaking her head as she reached down and pressed the screen on the front of her driver causing two small beams of light to shoot out in opposite directions as she then reached out and grabbed just as both beams of light manifested into both the Gavvgablade and Attache Calibur respectively.
"So much for talking, so time to go with the initial plan" She said smirking underneath her helmet since as much as she tried to keep things peaceful…..which was not trying at all. She didn't exactly mind beating some ass just like her older sister before her and just like her oldest brother before her.
"Let's go, Mary" Yuri said before charging forward towards the Trix causing Mary to finally smile underneath her helmet but it was a kind of sinister expression.
"Hai!" Mary yelled before bringing out a second gokai blaster before running after her whilst shooting both blasters towards the Trix who could do nothing but try albeit pitifully to defend themselves by Icy using an ice shield.
The shield got immediately shattered by the first swing of the attache calibur but, the Trix were able to teleport away at the last second before one of Mary's shots landed thanks to Darcy's magic.
"Damn it, I didn't even get to land one shot on Icy," Mary says, sighing as she looks to the ground before then holstering both pistols onto her waist.
Meanwhile Yuri walked up beside her before stabbing the Gavvagablade she previously held in her right hand into the ground before using said hand to pat Mary on the shoulder. "Oh don't worry there's always next time....if they somehow break out of Lightrock Monastery" Yuri said reassuringly though a part of her also wanted to get a couple more swings in.
"Ummm...Mary?" Bloom could be suddenly heard saying, causing the two girls to turn and look at her before the two suddenly realize….they got too caught up in the moment and forgot about her.
"O-Oh hey Bloomie" Yuri says, giving her an awkward little wave as she reaches down, grabs the lever and pulls back causing both action figures to be lifted up from their slots as her suit crumbles off her body in a combination of purple and yellow.
"Huh….that's it?" The little Gavv action figure said looking around as he's then scooped up and stuffed into her jacket.
"Sorry mini-Shoma maybe next time" she says before patting the jacket as the small bulge they created seemingly disappeared.
After that Mary just relaxes her body as her suit crumbles off of her body as she then straightens out her skirt "A-anyways c'mon we gotta see how Nagisa and Honoka are doing with Ben" Mary says as she walks up grabs Bloom and drags her off while the fairy tries to ask questions most are hastily answered.
It takes them a bit to get to Honoka and Nagisa as the two had launched Ultimate Humungosaur a lot farther away then at first thought.
But once they get there they see Nagisa and Honoka can be seen crouching as they then let out a sigh of relief as the sight before them was one they had wanted to see ever since they found out about Ben's past.
Eon's Ultimatrix was off but then all of a sudden.
BEEE-WEEEEP!
It turned back on and instead of purple, it was green and for a few seconds Ben's expression softened ever so slightly.
"Phew. honestly that was harder than some of our past fights, right Nagisa?" Honoka asked, wiping her forehead of sweat before looking at her partner who nodded but she seemed more exhausted than she was.
"Why did Hope have to make the incantation nearly a thousand words long?" Nagisa complained before standing up from her crouched position and noticed Bloom, Yuri, and Mari approaching.
"Oh there you girls are, we just got done with the incantation" Honoka says with a smile as the three approached and Bloom's eyes landed on Eon or who was once known as Eon.
"Is that?" Bloom asked before Nagisa then spoke up as she wiped some dirt off of her hands using her skirt.
"Yep, that's our Ben though…..you should probably just call him something like 'S' or things could get a bit confusing" Nagisa said though the others looked at her like it made no sense.
"What does 'S' even stand for?" Honoka asks as Nagisa just shrugs as she just thought it up at the moment.
"What I still don't understand is why you four came here" Bloom asked as she could then feel Yuri place a single hand on her back.
"It's a long story," Yuri said with a gentle smile as she began leading her away. But before she took too many steps she turned to Nagisa, Honoka, and Mary before saying "you girls can go back home, I'll take Bloom back to Alfea" Yuri said but then Mary pointed down at S who was still unconscious.
"But what about Ben?" Mary asked which she only got a small smile in return.
"Oh don't worry about him, Ben will wake up and go get his little ones" Yuri said as she can't help it as her smile widens as she remembers how much his kids simply adored her parents.
"Oh alright bye girls!" Honoka said as she and Nagisa both waved goodbye as then reality seemed to distort behind them before they were swallowed up by the distortion
Meanwhile Mary adjusted her dad's jacked which she'd gotten back during their walk over before then pulling out her mobilate and pressed a few buttons before looking to the sky and jumping up just as a rope was lowered from the Galleon which she grabbed and was lifted up onto the ship leaving Bloom and Yuri behind.
Yuri seeing this just let out a happy sigh before saying "I love my life" she says content before looking at Bloom and making a head gesture before saying "c'mon I'll explain everything on the way."
Bloom on the other hand could do nothing but nod as she began to follow her.
—---------------------------------
"And that's as much as I can tell you without messing with the timeline...too much" Yuri said in a somber tone with her previous contentment completely gone, as the two were now outside her dorm room window, Bloom was flying next to the window in her magic winx for with Yuri just clinging to the actual window itself since she didn't feel like transforming.
"I am the princess of Domino…..Daphne is my sister...and it's all the ancient witches's fault" Bloom said in an almost trance-like state before she had to sit down on the window just to process everything she'd heard.
"Yeah it's a lot to take in…..I'm sorry" Yuri said using her one free hand to scratch the back of her head as internally she was regretting saying a bit too much….maybe more than she needed to.
"I-I need to get some rest….goodnight" Bloom said, still overwhelmed by the information as she landed inside the dorm room and her magic winx form crumbled off her body.
Yuri looked down, her eyes filled with little bits of regret before she then quietly said "good night Bloom" Yuri said quietly as she then dropped down from where she was holding onto leaving Bloom.
Bloom remained quiet for a few moments before looking down at her dirty pajamas and then at Stella and Ben's room door. She didn't say much as she snapped her fingers using her magic to clean her body and clothes before she then approached the door and opened it.
Inside Ben was dead asleep on his and quiet as a mouse, seeing this Bloom approached and got into his bed as her body slid underneath the cover she felt safe…warm…and everything else nice.
Bloom let out a small sigh before getting closer and cuddling up next to his body feeling his warmth as in his sleep he shifted allowing Bloom to get closer, her head now against his chest.
"Good night Ben….I love you" Bloom said as she closed her eyes, breathing in Ben's smell as she hoped…
No
Prayed that today was just one bad and weird dream.
—-------------------------
Sky of Eraklyon was no more.
Why?
Because Sky was dead.
He had died during Ben's onslaught.
He didn't survive after Ben summoned some type of bladed weapon and began stabbing and slashing into him.
Arguably Sky didn't even appear human anymore.
What was left of Sky was nothing more than a pile of human flesh. There weren't any bones left as they had all been pounded into less than dust.
Did Ben care?
No.
"AAGHH….AGGHHH" The scene was arguably the bloodiest, most gory thing any sane person could see.
In front of the pile of flesh was a red figure, a once white and pristine suit having been coated in blood, he had ditched the bladed weapon long ago as now Ben went back to punching what was left of Sky while making animalistic noises over and over and over and over and ov-
Ben's fist was suddenly caught as he then froze.
"That's enough" The one who caught his fist said before then letting go of his hand.
Ben turned to look and saw the same figure Bloom had seen in her vision, the figure then lowered himself to Ben's level before reaching and taking off his helmet.
Ben's face was red, his breathing heavy as the two made eye contact as then the figure softly said "Damn…..whoever did this did quite the number" before then slowly raising his left hand up to his face and within a matter of seconds he healed his face like nothing ever happened.
"I-...he made me see her…..made me se-" Ben as tears welled and began to go down his face tried to explain before the figure shifted their posture and then spoke.
"It's alright, I understand….go back to your team…..they're probably worried about you" The figure said, sounding rather sad before turning their head to look at Sky.
"I'll deal with this mess" The figure said softer almost to a delicate degree as Ben could do nothing but nod as he de-transformed before he then pressed a button on the side of his driver causing the space and time to begin shifting nearby as Ben got up and walked to that space as he paused before walking through the dimensional rift leaving the figure alone.
The figure looked at what was left of Sky as he then quietly said whilst raising a hand to the heap of flesh which was once known as Sky before saying "You didn't deserve this…..Sky"
The figure's hand then began to glow slightly as the flesh heap slowly started to put itself back together but it was slow and it would take a while before it regained its original shape.
The figure was quiet but then he said some quiet words, uncertainty filling his voice.
"Brother…..maybe just maybe…..... no there is no maybe, you went too far this time."
"And I don't know how much I can keep this act up"
"And one day I might end up slipping up"
"And if that happens....they'll find out you're alive."