*Nota: The AI is not working as good as it should and I don't know why... Today there won't be an image of the chapter because the AI can't do it ben 10 aliens good for some reason so enjoy with other two images today, a slice of life one and another one with another of my favourite waifus.
Anyway, have a good day :)
...
The soldiers lay disarmed and unconscious on the ground, and the Omnitrix had updated — a poor update, yes, but an update nonetheless.
"Alright, let's keep moving. Akira, you'll go ahead and strip the weapons from any soldiers we find. Meanwhile, we'll knock them out once they're completely unarmed. That way there will be zero casualties," Lala R. said.
We all nodded and pressed on through the forest, weaving between the trees and scanning our surroundings for hidden soldiers, though for some reason there wasn't a single one in sight.
Happy but puzzled, we walked until we reached the castle gate, and, to our surprise, no one was there. A place that should have been heavily guarded was completely empty. The only things visible were a few surveillance cameras mounted on the walls.
"What's going on? Why is nobody watching the entrance?" Lala asked curiously.
"...My miserable father must already know we were coming and he probably sent all his guards to protect him, leaving the entrance clear while the interior is full of men," Nana R. said.
"So they're all inside?" I asked, curious.
That's a problem because we don't know where the throne room is, nor the layout of the castle. Zastin could have set traps or hidden passages from which soldiers could emerge and attack us.
"Yes. My father has likely decided his chances are greater if all his soldiers stay with him rather than dispersed," Momo R. agreed.
"What should we do now?" Nana asked.
"Now it's Akira's turn. Use that alien and destroy the castle," Lala R. said.
"Not so fast," someone said.
When we looked ahead to see who had spoken, we found a man wearing armor identical to the Zastin from our timeline, but unlike Zastin this man's hair was short and black, his eyes the same color, and a huge sword strapped to his back.
"Who's that?" Mikan asked.
"Zedris. Captain of the royal guard of the galaxy's king. A pleasure to meet you," Zedris said.
"The captain of the royal guard? Is he strong?" I asked.
"He's strong, but I don't think he'll give us too much trouble," Lala R. said.
"I don't know what you're planning, but the king sent me here to deliver a message, and I quote: 'Dear daughters, you cannot win. Surrender and I will spare your lives. Resist and die with the useless recruits you've gathered over the years,'" Zedris said.
"You know we're not going to surrender. The fact that we've come means we will fight to the end. Today this ends, whoever wins — it ends here," Lala R. said.
We all nodded.
"Then I have no choice but to take you by force," Zedris said, drawing his enormous sword and pointing it forward like a character from a manga.
"I don't think so," I said.
Slowly I stepped in front of everyone and smiled.
"Who are you?" Zedris asked, curious.
He seemed to assume the man before him was a member of the Resistance, just another soldier, so he paid me no mind.
"Me? I'm the one who will end all this," I said.
Then I pressed the Omnitrix dial and a green light flooded the place.
When the green light faded, an incredible sight came into view. A colossal figure towered before them. The alien was gigantic, easily exceeding thirty meters in height. Its skin was bone-white, etched with symmetrical red lines that ran across its torso, arms, and legs like flames branded into its flesh. On its chest sat a black oval with the Omnitrix symbol glowing intensely in green.
Its face had no visible mouth, only a pair of elongated, intense green eyes that radiated a cold, impassive stare. From its head rose a prominent dorsal fin, shark-like, giving it a martial and alien look. Its limbs were long, muscular, and well proportioned for its size, ending in enormous hands with thick, sturdy fingers.
Every movement it made seemed to make the very air vibrate. Imposing, majestic, terrifying — its mere presence left everyone speechless.
"What the hell is that?" Lala R. said.
She was the first to recover from the shock.
"He said it was big, but seeing it first-hand is... I don't know how to describe it," Yami said.
Even usually calm and indifferent Yami was stunned to see the kind of alien Akira had transformed into — completely different from the others she had witnessed.
"Amazing..." Mikan said.
"Incredible!" Lala cried.
"This is... like something out of a sci-fi movie," Nana said.
Momo stared speechless at the towering alien before her and inwardly felt sure she hadn't been wrong to choose her betrothed. She felt pride. Yes, Akira had not yet shown any raw strength, but just seeing that figure, Momo realized she hadn't made the wrong choice. Why? She couldn't even explain; it was simply an impression.
The girls from that timeline were equally gobsmacked and at a loss for words, not to mention Zedris, who remained in shock, unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Have you lost speech? Where's your arrogance now?" I asked, curious.
From my vantage point, everyone looked like insects — insects I could crush whenever I pleased.
"Who the hell are you?!" Zedris shouted.
No matter how strong he might be... how could he possibly fight such a monster?
"Me? I'm the one who will put an end to this," I said.
Without hesitation and at a speed unbefitting my size, I grabbed Zedris in my hand as if he were a small, defenseless rabbit.
"Let go of me, bastard!" Zedris shouted, trying to wriggle free.
He used all his strength to free himself from Akira's grip but couldn't move.
"Why don't you go play somewhere else?" I said with a smile.
Then, gathering every ounce of strength I could muster, I threw him like a baseball.
Zedris was launched with such force that he flew toward the horizon until he disappeared from view.
The girls watched in astonishment as Zedris, the captain of the royal guard, was tossed like a mere ball and Akira didn't even seem to be straining.
"And now, the castle," I said.
I crossed my arms in an 'X' and a massive green beam shot from my limbs, striking the castle and utterly destroying it.
The soldiers inside, who hadn't expected anything like this, were crushed by the rubble and only a few survived. But did that matter? How could Akira save every soldier? Were they at fault? They were only following orders — yes — but they'd obeyed the wrong man, that was all.
Besides, this isn't a manga; saving everyone was completely impossible.
The astonishment didn't stop when the imposing castle, built of ultra-durable materials, was reduced to rubble as if it were paper. In an instant, the whole fortress was demolished by Akira's power, leaving only ruins.
The few soldiers who survived were either dying or unconscious, but there was something much more important...
"Search for him immediately! He cannot die that easily!" Lala R. shouted.
As Akira reverted to his human form, Lala R and all the girls from that timeline began searching the debris for Zastin, praying that he was still alive.
They wanted him alive, yes, but not because they cared for him — because his death would be too merciful. He couldn't die that easily; he had to pay for all his crimes. The whole galaxy deserved to see him killed. Everyone who had suffered at his hands should see the man who ruined their lives die in terrible agony; therefore, they could not allow him to die quietly.
"I'm sorry. But I couldn't do anything," I said.
I knew they were searching for Zastin, but whether he was dead or not depended on luck.
"It's okay, you've already done so much," Lala said with a smile.
All the girls approached me and peppered me with questions about that alien. What did it feel like to be so big? What was that beam? Questions like that.
Meanwhile, Nana R. continued sifting through the wreckage until...
"I found him, and he's still breathing!" Nana R. shouted happily.
We all rushed to the spot Nana had indicated to find a battered, wounded Zastin. His armor was broken, some limbs were fractured, and cuts and bleeding wounds covered his body.
"We'll take him to the ship and heal him. Then we'll decide what to do with him," Lala R. said.
...
Hours later, on Earth.
"Are you sure you don't want to stay to watch his execution?" Lala R. asked curiously.
"Uh, those bloody scenes aren't for me," I said.
If I can avoid it, I don't want to watch anybody tortured to death; after all, I'm not accustomed to that.
"I-I prefer not to watch either," Mikan said.
As a human child who had never been involved in conflict... how could she possibly attend an execution? Impossible!
"I'd rather never see anything like that again," Yami said.
Yami didn't mind staying, but since she had given up being an assassin, she promised herself never to witness something like that again if she could avoid it. After all, seeing such scenes reminded her of that life, and she didn't want to remember it, so she would avoid it when possible — as in this case.
"I... I don't want to see Zastin be executed. Even if he's not our Zastin, I couldn't bear it," Lala said.
Like Mikan, she had never seen bloody scenes, so she didn't want to witness one, especially if the person was Zastin. Although this Zastin was evil and not the Zastin she knew, she didn't want to see his execution.
"I feel the same as my sister..." Nana said.
"I also prefer to avoid seeing that," Momo agreed.
Neither of them wanted to see such a bloody scene; after all, they didn't share the hatred their counterparts in this timeline felt, and seeing someone who resembled Zastin being executed was not to their liking, as you can imagine.
"What a pity. The whole galaxy will watch the most hated dictator of all time be executed live," Lala R. said.
For them it was the event of the century, but for our heroines it was a scene they didn't want to witness.
"Anyway... will we meet again?" Nana asked.
"I'd love that, but it depends on Akira. Without Akira we wouldn't have made it here in the first place," Nana said.
All eyes turned to me; I had already transformed into ChronoShade and opened a portal back to our timeline.
"Relax, I've memorized this timeline's coordinates and we can return whenever we want. But we'll have to wait a couple of weeks," I said.
Actually, waiting wasn't necessary, but I wanted a bit of rest from this kind of adventure. Even someone as adventurous as me needs downtime now and then.
"Then we'll see each other in a few weeks," Lala R. said.
"Yes!" Lala agreed.
And so, after farewells, we returned to our timeline where new adventures still awaited us.
*Note: we'll return to this timeline for sure.