Chapter 9

"WHOA!" Four simultaneous screams filled the air as a portal opened in the sky, expelling four teenagers to plummet to the ground before disappearing without a trace.

"We've got a problem." Kim cried, staring wide eyed at the quickly approaching concrete below. "There's nothing to grab onto and I CAN'T FLY!"

"Neither can I." Roxas shouted, turning a glare on the others. "Get the lead out you two. Are you waiting for pancakes or something?"

"Wow, where did you gain that attitude?" Danny asked, grabbing Roxas' hand as he transformed and pulled them to a stop. At the same time, a flash of green appeared beside them.

"Big Chill!" Kim sighed in relief as a pair of blue arms wrapped around her waist, stopping her decent. However, the felling quickly disappeared as she stared at the sight below her. Now that the imminent danger to her life had past, her mind was completely free to register the destruction and debris that decorated a once vibrant city.

"Now this is not the welcome home party I expected." Ben said dryly, staring back and forth across the street. The crumbling ship behind him caught his attention as the damaged building it had been leaning on gave way. Staring at it intently, he couldn't shake the feeling of familiarity he got from it, though he knew that he hadn't seen that particular model before. "That thing is definitely of alien design. It appears Albedo brought some reinforcements."

"Or maybe he was just a pawn." Danny responded, staring at the dilapidated area. "If he had the numbers under his command to pull this off, I doubt he'd risk his whole plan by attacking us himself. The bad guys never do something themselves if they have minions that can do it for them."

"Then who is the mastermind?" Roxas asked with a frown.

"Maybe whoever's fighting over there?" Kim suggested, pointing off to the left as a building fell down, followed by an explosion.

"Meh. Either way, we should head over there. It's one more battle we can stop." Danny shrugged, taking off towards the fight. Ben was only a second behind.

...

Back flipping, Gwen leapt onto and over a car as it flew right at her, courtesy of Albedo. The battle had continued the very second they all appeared in the middle of a destroyed city and it still wasn't going entirely well for Gwen and Namine. Though the ground beneath their feet was no longer a danger to them and the threat of being sucked into space was gone, fighting a magnetic opponent was still proving to be extremely difficult, especially when they were surrounded by metal debris.

"This is getting very irritating." Gwen growled, raising her hand at her side as steel pipe soared her way like arrows, ready to impale her. "Turbo!" Throwing her hand forward, she created a small tornado of wind and blue magic. It caught the pipes, though not without a bit of trouble, and continued its course, straight at Albedo. However, the shape shifter would not be beaten so easily, raising what must have once been large walls of metal and blocking the spell before sending them right at the sorceress.

Gwen stared wide eyed as the metal walls came upon her, completely unprepared for the sudden twist. They were too big for her magic to release them from Lode Star's magnetic grip and blasting them would do enough damage to save her. On top of that, there was no way she could move out of the way, Albedo would just change their flight path.

However, before the metal could strike, white light swirled into a circle around her feet and the next thing she knew, she was falling straight down, as if the ground had disappeared and found herself exiting the white light next to Namine just in time to see the metal smash into the ground.

"Are you alright?" Namine asked worriedly, her hands itching as her healing power gathered within them. However, she relaxed as Gwen responded with a smile and a nod.

"Yeah, thanks for the save Namine." Gwen said as she raised her hands again. "Block this metal head! Twista Combetitus!"

As Albedo used his magnetic power and sent two cars surging at the girls from each side, Gwen's magic created a glowing blue snake that twisted itself around the girls, shielding them from the cars as they collided with it and exploded. Before the remaining wrecks had even hit the ground, the snake shot straight at Albedo, crashing through every bit of metal he summoned between them with ease before ploughing straight into him.
"AARRGGHH!" Albedo was blown back so hard that his body created a trench as he met the ground, until his body was halted by a large chunk of concrete while his head bounced back another ten metres like a beach ball. Groaning, he blinked for a moment, disorientated, before levitating his head to glare as best Lode Star could at the smug looking Lucky Girl.

"You will pay for the pain you have caused me Tennyson!" He growled as his head and body reunited, both shaking in uncontrolled rage.

"Hmm, now where have I heard that before?" Gwen asked sarcastically, raising her glowing fists. "If you don't mind, I'd like to skip the super villain clichés and get right to the part where this fight ends. I have friends to help."

"Oh, you're not helping anyone, but if the end is what you want..." Albedo sneered, moving his pincer to the Omnitrix before being once again consumed in red light. "Humungosaur! I will happily finish this fight, once and for all." With that, he charged straight at them, his fists brought back, before leaping into the air and smashing his fists into the ground where Gwen and Namine were standing only seconds before.

"AARRGGHH!" The impact sent shockwaves through the ground that flung the girls back as soon as they landed, with chunks of earth and concrete slashing against their bodies before landing hard on their backs. Groaning, Namine looked up just in time to see Albedo leap out of the crater he'd made and aiming his fists at them again, his body growing and becoming more heavily armoured as he descended and increasing the speed of his fall.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Screaming, the blonde slammed her palms into the ground beneath her and created another portal that swallowed both girls up before disappearing, saving them as a crater twice the size of the last one was created before it opened up on the other side of the battlefield, depositing the girls where it was temporarily safe.

"Gwen, I've never really seen Ben use this alien. What is its weakness?" Namine asked, paling with fear as Albedo approached them again, crushing cars carelessly.

"Only that it's slow." Gwen sighed, ripping what remained of her cloak off of her neck as she got to her feet. "Unfortunately, what you see is a creature that's as strong as Gohan with armoured skin twice as strong as Jake's scales when he's in the fully grown state we're staring at. If it weren't for his lack of super speed and that he is incapable of anything but short ranged combat, we'd be looking at a creature that outclasses every Guardian. Ben only has one alien that's stronger than this one in terms of physical strength. Let's just be thankful we're not fighting him."

Before they could say anything else he jumped at them, aiming to backhand them. Gwen threw a shield up to protect them, but the force of the blow hitting the shield completely shattered it before another fist made its mark, right into both girls.

Soundless gasps left their mouths as they flew through the air, immense pain coursing through their torsos, before crashing hard into piles of broken bricks and concrete. Fortunately, Albedo hadn't managed to put all of Humungosaur's strength behind the second blow and to hit both at once took more of the force away from the blow, but it was still far more than enough to stop them. Gasping raggedly, Namine fought to raise her hand and bring it to a very deep gash on her chest. It required a lot more concentration and effort than ever before, but the white glow surrounded her hand and numbed the pain of her worst injury. However, that wasn't to say that the others were exactly small and she passed out from pain and exhaustion just as the gash receded to the size of a paper cut.

Gwen was a little better off. Her self-preservation instinct coming into play, she'd managed to create another shield around herself at the last minute, but her weakened form and the force of the landing was still enough to burst her bubble and leave her to the sharp edges of the debris. Groaning and whimpering, she forced herself to sit up and examined her body, sighing in relief when she found that only one significant gash resting on her hip and what was probably a broken left hand made up her worst injuries. She was in a hell of a lot of pain and wasn't going to be doing much fighting now, but she'd survive. That is, assuming that Albedo didn't land another hit.

"You should have just laid down and died." Albedo said coldly, tremors pelting her body as he approached, his fist held high. "It's the only way you'll escape your pain. Farewell."

"Emocha Objectia!" Multiple blasts burst from Gwen's raised hand right before Albedo could bring down his own fist. Grunting continuously, he stumbled back with every hit.

"That will not save you YYYAAAA!" Crossing his arms over his head, Albedo charged right through the assault.

"AAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" Gwen's scream was blood curdling as pure agony exploded from every inch of her body, courtesy of Albedo's clenching around her tightly. All of her wounds screamed at the immense pressure they were under and almost all of her bones were cracking. It was a miracle that she was still conscious, though that was proving to be more of a curse than anything else to the distressed sorceress.

"If punches don't suit you, I'll crush you to death." Albedo growled, glaring fiercely at Gwen's face, the only part of her not hidden within his fist, watching as her eyes dimmed from pain and lack of oxygen. "Goodbye witch."

"Hello copycat!" Albedo fell into shock as Danny, transparent and blue tinted, dived straight passed his head and towards the ground. His hand suddenly feeling empty, Albedo's eyes closed into slits of malicious rage at the thought of Gwen escaping destruction again before running as fast as he could to where Danny was putting her down.

However, he didn't even make it two feet before a painfully cold sensation struck his legs, sticking them to the ground and causing him to fall. Looking back, he found his legs consumed in a block of ice that reach right up to his thighs.

"I had the feeling that you needed to cool off." A feral growl left Albedo's lips as the form of a Necrofriggian appeared out of thin air above the ice, his wings extended and looking furious.

"I thought I Killed you two." Albedo snarled, ploughing his fist into the ice, shattering it to pieces, bringing his hands clasped together at his side as he stood up.

"Then I suppose you think you killed him too." Ben said sarcastically, pointing behind him, turning his head, Albedo just managed to catch a glimpse of bright light before what looked like a white comet collided with where his tail met his back, sending waves of immense pain right through his spine. Roaring in agony, his body crashed to the ground and shrunk to Humungosaur's base size as the white energy landed before him and dissipated, revealing a very familiar blonde boy and his even more distinct black and white blades.

"Isn't it time to finish this?" Kim called, standing protectively in front of their injured friends. Using the fight as a distraction, she'd slinked between piles of debris to Namine and carried her to Gwen and Danny. "We've got injured team mates and I'm not much better. End this already you bunch of show offs."

"Look who's talking." Danny snickered, joining the boys as Albedo slowly got to his feet. "Well, you heard the mistress of action. Give him all you've got boys."

"Upchuck!" Ben exclaimed, a flash of green covering him before revealing a humanoid frog with camouflage patterned skin and an overly large mouth, comparative to his size, rapidly eating chunks of debris scattered around his feet. Ignoring the gorge fest, Danny brought an unusually bright green glow to his hands while Roxas, falling to his butt as his still injured body gave out on him, raised his keyblades, light gathering at their points as a look of pain and determination crossed his face.

"Ready, aim, FIRE!" Danny screamed as Albedo made it back to his feet. An extremely bright green beam, a barrage of green, circular blasts and thirteen light javelins burst forth and struck home, right in Albedo's chest.

"AARRRGGHHH!" The combined attacks created an explosion as they met Albedo's body and sent him fly a good twenty feet back, screaming loud another to be heard for miles the whole way. A red light filled their vision as he hit the ground, accompanying the colossal bang his landing created. As the light and dust cleared, it revealed Albedo's human form, twitching and gasping raggedly as he raised his head, glaring at them with a mixture of pain and venom. Such a look on Ben's face was enough to make Danny, Kim and Roxas shiver even as they stood in victory, the blood red eyes only making it worse.

"I...will defeat..." Albedo snarled as best he could as he reached for his Omnitrix, the pain slowing his movements. However, before he could even reach the controls, four tongues wrapped around the console and ripped it out. Following it, he stared in horror as it reached Ben, the tongues releasing it into his hand rather than his mouth for once. "H-how did you...?"

"You think I wouldn't have figure out how to disconnect the console by now?" Ben asked cheekily, tossing it around. "I may be a life form from a 'backwater' planet, but I'm not brain dead. I've had this thing for five years for crying out loud."

"That piece of knowledge somewhat disturbs me." A wise, deep, disembodied voice stated, drawing looks of confusion from Danny, Kim and Roxas, a panicked one from Albedo and a grin from Ben before a small flash of light appeared by Ben and faded to reveal another froglike creature, this time having grey skin and was much smaller, but his face bore a look of age and wisdom far beyond Ben's. "What were you doing to figure that out?" He asked, staring up at Ben with a raised eyebrow.

"Removing a roach that got snuck underneath." Upchuck shrugged before returning to his human form. Seeing Danny grabbing Albedo, Ben handed the Omnitrix console to Azmuth before kneeling next to Roxas. "I told you that you should just rest and leave it to us. Of all four of us, you're still the most wounded."

"Hey, I'm ok." Roxas replied stubbornly, though he accepted the support Ben offered and leaned against his side.

"Nonsense boy. Even I can see that you're too injured to fight." Azmuth retorted, jumping onto Ben's shoulder. "You are just as stubborn as Ben and Max Tennyson. I can see why you two get along so well." He added, letting his serious demeanour fall as he stared at the blonde warmly.

"Um, who are you?" Roxas asked confusedly, frowning at the new arrival.

"I am Azmuth, the creator of the Omnitrix." Azmuth answered formally. "I am here to take Albedo back to his cell and return this rip-off of my invention back to a secure place." That being said, he leapt off of Ben and headed right for the struggling Ben duplicate.

"I...won't go back t-to that prison." Albedo cried between gasps, trying and failing to break Danny's stronger than human grip.

"Yes, you will! And this time I doubt Vilgax will save you." Azmuth retorted, pulling out what looked like a TV remote and pointing it at Albedo as he pushed a button.

"NNNNOOOO!" Albedo screamed as the light of technological teleportation covered his form. A second later, with a big flash, he disappeared without a trace.

"Great, mission accomplished. Now what do you say one of you find a paramedic for the four of us injured before two of us die?" Kim suggested, flopping onto the ground as Ben and Danny nodded in agreement.

"Unfortunately, this whole mess is not entirely over." Azmuth called right before Ben and Danny took off, causing them all to freeze. "I have been watching your planet as I searched for Albedo and much has been damaged, as you would have noticed. This was done by Vilgax's army."

"VILGAX?" Ben screamed, paling significantly as Azmuth nodded his head.

"He is the one who freed Albedo and it is his plan that Albedo was following. Fortunately, your friends managed to destroy Vilgax's flagship, which was controlling the inferior ships he brought to Earth, eliminating them as a factor, but the battle isn't over. The last I saw, Vilgax was fleeing his exploding ship and he won't stop until he gets revenge on the three who have foiled his plans."

"They can take care of themselves." Danny shrugged, not worried in the slightest. "Gohan's the greatest of us and the others are no slouches either. They can stop him, no problem."

"No, it is a problem." Ben shook his head, growing more worried by the second. "Vilgax almost destroyed me every time I fought him. It was only ever by sheer dumb luck that I managed to win. He's stronger than Gohan, extremely intelligent and far more experienced in combat. Their chances of success are low."

"The two of you must go at once. They were last seen east of here." Azmuth stated, pointing east just as a large explosion shook the earth, the flames and sound of the bang impossible to miss. "Well, that ought to make your search easier." Azmuth commented casually.

"But what about them?" Danny asked, looking at the girls with more than a little concern.

"I have a few Galvan medics along with me. I suspected this would happen and had them come along just in case." Azmuth replied, pulling out his remote again and pointing it at the four injured heroes as he pressed a button. In four flashes of light, they too disappeared. "They have already set up a few medical tanks and other pieces of equipment on your satellite. It won't be long before all four of them, as well as Kevin and Max, are back to full health." He added, turning to Ben in particular as the boy's fears for his family faded in relief. "Hurry Benjamin. You know better than anyone that once Vilgax is enraged, the danger to all around him becomes extreme, even for the toughest of warriors."

"Right." Ben nodded as he raised the Omnitrix again and brought up Big Chill before slapping the controls down. "Big Chill! Come on Danny, no time to waste." He stated, taking off instantly.

"Right behind you!" Danny cried, following after him.

Watching them become a speck in the sky, Azmuth could only chuckle at Ben's haste. The boy's maturity had increased dramatically since he was a child, and the reversion he experienced for that brief period of time after beating the Highbreed had been completely neutralised by the events of and following the Organisation's invasion, but some things would never change. One of them was Ben's haste to join a battle and protect the people he cares about.

"I am confident that the Saiyan hybrid, the dragon and the wind wielder could stop Vilgax you know." Azmuth commented, seemingly to himself. "So why have me drive them to the battle?"

"To help prepare them for their destiny." A chipper voice answered as a middle aged man in a lab coat walked out of thin air, grinning with almost psychotic happiness up at the sky. "The same reason that I didn't return the four to the present myself. They need more experience together, to bond and predict each other's movements the way only a true team can. Their destinies are the greatest I've ever seen and it is important that we help them prepare for it in any way we can."

"The entire universe will one day rely solely on those kids." Azmuth mused, turning to the setting sun. "I think we are in good hands."

...

It was the sound of cheers that first caught Gohan, Rai and Jake's attention when they reached the ground as people crawled out of hiding spots, ecstatic about being safe again. No one seemed to cared about the small pieces of debris still falling from the sky, they were all too busy celebrating the defeat of yet another invasion and wanting to get close looks at the people who saved them. And Rai was enjoying the attention.

"Thank you, thank you. It was nothing really. Just another day's work." He said dramatically, waving his hands as if it was no big deal while smiling charmingly at every teenage girl he could find. As the mob approached, Gohan sighed and Jake rolled his eyes as they watched Rai bragging about his actions, signing autographs and taking pictures with girls and little kids.

"Well, he certainly likes the spotlight." The police Officer commented dryly as a reporter and her cameraman made it to the front of the crowd.

"That's why most Guardians let him do all of the interviews with the media when they show up." Gohan replied, flopping onto his butt after setting Jake down. "Normally Jake's not much better."

"At least I'm not like that." Jake grunted defensively, pointing at Rai as he wrapped his arm around the reporter's waist as he answered her questions while simultaneously giving the rest of the girls flirtatious smiles.

"Healthy teenage male, that's for sure." The officer commented, barely holding back a laugh.

However, any amusement and excitement that had developed was instantly taken away as a small building suddenly exploded, brick and glass shards flying everywhere as screams of excitement turned into screams of terror. Working on reflex, Rai threw his hands up and quickly released a gale, protecting the crowd from potentially lethal projectiles.

"What happened over there?" The reporter demanded, only getting a shrug from her cameraman. "Ladies and gentlemen, though it is unknown what caused it, the celebration of the Valour Guardians' victory has been placed on hold as another destructive blow hits our fair ci-"

"MOVE! IT'S VILGAX!" Gohan screamed, wide eyed with panic. There was no mistaking the shiver inducing dark, cruel and insanely powerful energy he was sensing within the flames. And sure enough, his silhouette broke clearly through the flames a second later, before the dark warrior stomped right through them, venomous hatred pouring off of him in waves as he stared at the tensing trio, the only people not running off with their tails between their legs.

"I don't believe it." Rai gulped, sweat running down his pale face. "How could you possibly survive that explosion?"

"You think I wouldn't have an emergency teleportation system close to me?" Vilgax snarled, his glare only intensifying. "Now I'm going to make you suffer for what you have done. I may not be able to conquer your planet today, but I will still destroy the three of you."

"This is really...argh!" Jake cried, pain overwhelming him as he tried to stand up, curling into a ball as it forced him to fall back down.

"I believe he was gonna say bad." Gohan muttered, standing protectively in front of the wounded dragon. However, his form was sloppy, a clear sign of his exhaustion to a trained warrior like Rai and Vilgax. He would not survive long in combat with Vilgax and they all knew it.

Why me? Rai thought fearfully, biting his lip. Frowning, he made a decision and stepped in between Gohan and Vilgax, dropping into a defensive stance as Gohan gasped at his actions.

"Rai, what are you-"

"Gohan you're too worn out to fight head on." Rai interrupted, never taking his eyes off their foe. "Just stay where you are and protect Jake. I'll take care of Vilgax."

"You think you can take me?" Vilgax almost laughed at the thought of it as he dropped into an offensive stance. "You're even more foolish than I thought."

"Hey, don't forget, it was me who tricked you into ignoring me before blowing up your precious ship." Rai retorted with forced irritation, doing all he could to ensure Vilgax only focused on him. His plan was successful as Vilgax's haughty expression was quickly replaced by the venomous glare he'd worn before, only this time it was focused solely on the dragon of the wind. Now I just hope Gohan figures out my plan. And has the strength to pull it off.

There was no time to see Gohan's reaction to his actions however, as Vilgax was already coming in for an attack, both of his fists ready to strike. Rai didn't even think of blocking blows and leapt to his right as Vilgax launched his first punch before using the wind to propel him over Vilgax to avoid a kick.

"Wudai Star Wind!" Rai shouted, spinning as fast as he could with his arms out at either side, creating a tornado. However, Vilgax refused to be blown away and dug his feet into the ground while his arms crossed before his torso. As he fully stabilized himself, he looked up at Rai's rising form and released his eye beam straight at him.

"Sphere of Yun!" Fortunately, Rai had seen his eyes glowing before the blast was released and was able to properly prepare. The impact of the enemy blast knocked the ball sledge hammering into a building, Rai's screams following it all the way.

"Whoa, what a ride." Rai groaned, tenderly rubbing a bump on his head as debris fell off of the opening an shrinking sphere. He may have been protected from the blast and the building, but that didn't stop him from bouncing around the sphere. He ignored the pain however, and back flipped into the air as Vilgax leapt at him with a flying kick, resulting in another crater forming before the tyrant leapt into the air after his prey.

"Lotus Twister!" Rai shouted raising a lotus flower. The plant glowed gold and wrapped around his wrist as Rai threw his arms out. Vilgax almost dropped his jaw as Rai's arm stretched much farther than they were physically capable of and failed to react in time to stop two fists from crashing into his face.

"Augh!" More stunned than hurt, Vilgax's head was thrown back and his eyes closed tight, leaving him unprepared as long, vinelike arms circled around his body tightly from his chest to his feet. Spinning as fast as he could, he completed five full spins before releasing Vilgax right at a dilapidated building.

However, he never reached it. His eyes snapping open fiercely, Vilgax pulled himself to a complete stop and surged back the way came, his hands clasping together. A little disorientated from the spin, Rai didn't even notice until it was far too late and the massive swing struck his shoulder.

"AARRGGHH!" Rai screamed, plummeting to the ground. Opening his eyes halfway, he refocused on controlling the wind and managed to catch himself just centimetres off the ground. A deep sigh of both pain and relief escaped Rai's mouth as he stared at the ground through one eye. If he had waited even another second, it would have been game over. "Note to self, find a magical way to enhance my durability." He muttered as his feet met the ground. A split second later, he jumped again, narrowly avoiding a flying kick from his alien foe. Ignoring the pain coursing through him, Rai retaliated by flipping in the air and coming down with an axe kick aimed at Vilgax's head, only for the squid man to lean almost casually to the side before spinning into a heel kick.

"Wind!" Rai screamed, throwing his hands into the air and creating a sudden burst of wind around himself and pushing Vilgax off balance. Leaping at Vilgax's face, he threw a right hook, only for Vilgax to catch it, smirking cruelly at the shocked teen. It only grew darker as he tightened his grip, enjoying Rai's agonised screams as bones cracked.

"Humans break so easily." Vilgax taunted as he dug his nails into Rai's fist, drawing blood and even more screams. "You are not even worth my time brat." Despite the pain, Rai still managed to open his eyes which grew to the size of half his face and filled with terror as Vilgax's started glowing red again. He had no way of escaping the next blast and no chance for survival at point blank range.

However, the shot never occurred, for at that moment, blast after blast of gold energy struck Vilgax's exposed back, his body jerking painfully with each blow and causing him to drop the monk. Turning as the attack died down, Vilgax scowled maliciously at Gohan's panting form as the last of the energy faded from the boy's outstretched hands.

"I may be tired...but I'm...still here." Gohan puffed, staring defiantly right back at Vilgax. "You still do have to defeat two of us."

"Make that four!" A voice called before Vilgax could respond. Eyes wide and gasping, Gohan, Jake and Raimundo whipped their heads up as they recognised the voice and found an infuriated looking Danny flying into the battlefield.

"Tell me Vilgax, how many times must we have this dance?" A chilling voice asked as Big Chill appeared before the big brute, his arms crossed and his wings covering him like a cloak.

"Tennyson?" Vilgax roared, noting the green Omnitrix symbol and eyes. "Albedo was supposed to have destroyed you!"

"He also wasn't supposed to be kicked out of our satellite and defeated now was he?" Ben retorted before going intangible and sinking into the earth as Vilgax tried to hit him, reappearing five feet away. "Uh-uh Vilgax. Just because you can hit me when I'm intangible doesn't mean it isn't a useful tool."

"Here's another useful tool, courtesy of ectoplasm." Danny shouted, releasing an ecto beam. Growling Vilgax ran and jumped right over it, aiming a brutal left hook at Danny. But before he reached him, a burst of wind sent Vilgax uncontrollably skyward.

"I still have one hand." Rai groaned, his left palm raised.

Becoming angrier by the minute, Vilgax changed his course and dived straight down at Raimundo, his fist all set to end his life, only for Big Chill to jump in the way and slap the Omnitrix, creating a flash of green light.

"Diamondhead!" Vilgax had just enough time to see a purple and green figure before a wall of crystal grew between them. Snarling, he managed to crash through it easily enough, but it took a considerable amount of his speed away and he was instantly slugged in the shoulder with a spiky, crystalline foot, diverting his course right into a car. Said car blew up a minute later as Vilgax slammed his fist into its engine, nearly blind with rage.

"Will this guy just go down already?" Jake cried exasperatedly, trying and once again failing to stand. "Rai's hurt bad, I'm useless, you're drained and neither Ben nor Danny seems to be in prime form either. How do we stop him?"

"By giving him all we have left." Gohan answered, his face set as he stared at Jake, a plan forming in his head. This has never been done before and is probably as dangerous as all hell, but I have to give it a try. "Jake can you transform?"

"Huh? Yeah." Jake responded, raising an eyebrow confusedly.

"Good, then do it. I need your fire breath." Gohan continued, standing next to him and facing Vilgax. Completely lost, Jake just did as he said and transformed as Gohan raised his hands to chest height, his palms facing each other. As a look of deep concentration crossed his face, blue energy came from his hand s in wisps. The wisps thickened after a moment and stabilised before spinning and twirling together to look like the top of a small whirlpool.

"Jake breathe as much fire into the energy as you can." Gohan ordered, the look of concentration deepened on his face as the energy vortex grow bigger and more intense. "Hurry, I don't have much of anything left."

"Ok." Jake said slowly, a concerned look on his face before taking a deep breath and blowing into the energy vortex. Much to his surprise, the flames followed the lines of moving energy, mixing the ki and fire so that it was hard to tell where one ended and another started. In addition, the flames only continued to grow stronger even after he stopped adding more, feeding off of the ki yet the blue energy was increasing too, meaning that Gohan was feeding both.

"Unreal." Was all Jake could say as he stared in awe as the swirling power he helped to create continued to grow. After a few more moments, it ceased growing bigger, but became more condense, indicating that it was still growing stronger.

Light flickering in the corner of his eye as he threw up a shield to block Vilgax's fists, Danny was astounded by what he saw before smirking. Letting his shield fall, he jumped back while simultaneously creating and sending two clones forward, on aiming a kick at Vilgax's gut while the other went for an uppercut meant for his chin, though Vilgax struck and destroyed the first with a fierce kick and backhanded the second into the ground where he too became nothing more than a puff of smoke.

We have to keep him preoccupied just a little longer. Danny thought, creating another clone. Taking deep breaths, both Dannys released their ghostly wail.

Astounded beyond words at the sight of visible vocal waves, Vilgax threw up his gauntlet and activated his shield only to be amazed by the intensity of the attack. Grunting loudly, Vilgax had to dig his feet into the ground and hold on with everything he had, despite the shield and gasped as it and the crystal that was creating it developed a shallow crack.

"Unbelievable." Vilgax gasped, staring wide eyed at the crystal as Danny stopped his attack and his clone disappeared as he dropped to his knees. A second later, the white rings appeared around his form and reverted him to his human stated, completely out of power.

"No one has managed to damage this crystal. The kind of power needed to do that, especially through the shield it creates is remarkable. I need to destroy him now."

"Just try it." Diamondhead shouted, his hands turning into blades as he charged. Vilgax was forced to jump back to avoid a cross slash before stepping forward with a strong right hook right into Ben's head. Flying back at the impact, Ben recovered midflight and used to the spikes on his back meeting the earth to flip back onto his feet and thrust his left hand at Vilgax as he followed him, releasing a barrage of crystal spikes at the behemoth. Seeing that it was having very little affect, he thrust his right hand towards Vilgax's feet and sealed them in crystal, causing his own momentum to force him onto his hands and knees and giving Ben the opportunity to seal his hands too.

"You think this will hold me?" Vilgax roared, staring hatefully at Ben.

"No, but it does give me time to do this." Ben responded, tapping the Omnitrix again. This time the flash was absolutely huge and the creature that came from it was even bigger. "Way Big!" as Vilgax stared with a mixture of fear and hatred and the other Guardians stared in awe at the sight of Ben's greatest form for their first time, Ben clenched his fists and swung them straight at Vilgax, one after the other. However, after four hits, a flashing and beeping came from the Omnitrix before a final flash reverted Ben back to his human form, looking thoroughly exhausted.

"What timing for a drained battery! He's not finished yet." Ben puffed, falling to his knees. His eyes narrowed as Vilgax groaned and slowly pulled himself to his feet, battered, bruised and breathing very heavily, but still bearing more than enough strength to kill a group of exhausted teenagers. "I should have turned into Way Big the minute I got here."

"That you should have." Vilgax snarled, grabbing his sword as he approached Ben, bringing the point of the blade to the boy's neck. "Albedo may not have destroyed you, but now, with your power drained, I will get the pleasure myself and I will be able to collect the Omnitrix as my prize. Farewell Ben Tennyson."

"No, farewell Vilgax." Gohan shouted, drawing everyone's attention. Gasps escaped Vilgax and Ben's mouths, the former in fear and the latter in amazement and hope, and smirks from the others as all eyes focused on the completed attack of energy and fire within Gohan's hands. Growling fiercely, Gohan brought his wrists together, his fingers outstretched as he thrust his hands at their enemy one last time. "Ki fire CANNON!"

Ben had just enough time to drop to the ground and roll as the swirling fusion of fire and ki burst forth and consumed Vilgax with intensity far beyond what neither Gohan or Jake should have been able to produce in their weakened conditions and his screams could be heard for miles. Though he had raised his energy shield, the damage to the crystal and the raw power of the blast crashing into it proved to be too much for it to sustain and the crystal shattered, leaving Vilgax completely exposed to the energy infused inferno. The agonised screams continued as the blast blew him back far and fast until he collided with a bus which exploded just as Gohan's attack ended. As the fire and smoke disappeared, it revealed a blackened bus frame with a huge hole at the front and a burnt, twitching and groaning Vilgax, completely incapable of even pulling himself an inch off of the ground.

"What an amazing attack." Danny muttered, more amazed than he'd ever been in his life. Not far away from him, Ben could only nod his head, completely speechless.

"Well, that's it." Gohan muttered, falling to his knees before flopping face first into the ground. "I'm done." He lost consciousness before he'd even finished speaking.

"Was it enough?" Jake asked, focusing his dragon eyes solely on Vilgax. He still didn't show any sign of resuming his attack.

"If it wasn't we're doomed." Rai grunted, pulling himself to his feet and clenching his blade of the nebula tightly in his good hand. He was the only one left with enough power and physical health to fight at all and if Vilgax did still have it in him to stand, Rai would put everything he had into knocking him back down.

"Hehe...you are more...powerful than...I expected." Vilgax choked, his eyes staring intently at the young heroes despite the unbearable pain he was in. "You have...won t-today. But I promise one...day I will be...back."

Having been focusing on his face, none of the boys noticed as Vilgax moved his hand to his wrist and pressed a button until a flash of blue light encased his form and disappeared as quick as it came, taking him with it."

"Teleportation device. He must have an extra ship somewhere in orbit, in case he needed an escape route." Ben muttered as he got to his feet, Danny doing the same, though more sluggishly, at his side. "He always did think of everything."

"Except your return." Rai replied as he cradled his injured hand and let the tears he'd been holding back fall. "I hope Namine can heal this soon."

"She's too busy getting emergency healing herself, along with Gwen." Ben sighed sadly, looking up at the sky as Jake and Rai gasped.

"Albedo was too much for them." Danny informed Rai and Jake, staring down at the ground.

"What about Kim and Roxas." Jake grunted, looking desperate as he stared from one boy to the next. "Are they..."

"Tired and carrying some really painful wounds, but other than that, they're fine." Danny answered, getting two sighs of relief in response.

"So what do we do now?" Rai sobbed uncertainly, turning from one face to another. "Do we wait for a paramedic or-"

"AZMUTH WILL YOU BEAM US UP ALREADY?" Ben screamed at the top of his lungs, scaring all three of his friends. He ignored their startled cries however, and continued to stare up at the sky, looking for a sign.

"Azmuth?" Jake asked, raising an eyebrow as he stared at Ben's back. "Who's-"

Before he could finish his sentence, another blue flash occurred in the battlefield, this one taking all five of the Guardians with it as it disappeared.

...

A good two days later, and a lot of time under constant Galvan care for more than one of them, found the Tennysons and every one of the Guardians back the secret spot, where the whole mess had started, and staring with smiles on their faces as the setting sun's light danced on the water and surrounded the trees with a beautiful glow.

"Hard to believe that all of this was almost obliterated a couple of days ago." Ben commented, a warm grin crossing his face.

"Hard to believe I survived the humiliation I endured." Kevin grumbled moodily, ripping up the grass beside him. "Up until this morning, I though the whole waking up naked in front of a bunch of aliens prodding and poking you only happened in the movies."

"Well, what part of our lives isn't sci-fi?" Ben asked, chuckling nervously as Kevin pegged him with a very dark glare.

"The fantasy part. Like magic." Gwen answered, kissing Kevin on the cheek.

'Speaking of which, I think you would get more out of this than me." Roxas said as he pulled his bag onto his lap and pulled out a very specific book. Taking the book, Gwen felt an enormous urge to read and learn every spell within. The book may very well give her all the power that she needed. However, its magic was dangerous and could cause a great deal of destruction. If she pushed too far too fast...

I think I'll wait until I'm more trained. She decided, dropping the cover. I'll just put it away for now.

"So Ben, what was it like seeing your younger self?" Jake asked excitedly, bringing amused grins to Danny, Kim and Roxas' faces.

"Well, to be honest, mini me could be very overbearing." Ben replied, getting chuckles from the other three time travellers and smirks from Kevin and his family. "I was so impatient and self centred."

"He even blew up at himself at one point." Danny laughed as everyone's attention turned to him. "Little Ben went nuts at Kim for the bad guy getting away and big Ben gave him a verbal lashing."

"I remember that." Gwen commented, getting a shocked look from Ben. "But I remember the original way that day went too. I guess it's a magic thing."

"I guess so." Ben shrugged before turning the conversation back to the story. "But even though I saw sides of my old self I didn't like, and believe me when I say that I'm proud of how far I've come as a person from those days, I can still say that there are parts of the old me that make me proud to say that that was me too. Ten year old me was brave, loyal and was willing to sacrifice himself for others."

"So it was a good way to reflect on who you are." Gohan stated more than asked, but getting a nod from Ben anyway.

"It's good to see how far I've come."

"And Gwen too." Kim added, winking at her fellow redhead. "Younger you was ok, if a little snotty, but I'm definitely happy you've grown up so much too."

"Um, thank you?" Gwen replied, not sure as whether to take that as a compliment or an insult.

"We've all come a long way since we started being heroes." Rai stated as the last of the sun's rays disappeared behind the horizon. "Not all of us can take Ben's step back, but even our dear blonds have grown into stronger, smarter people in their time of living."

"That is a fact that will only continue to occur." Namine agreed as she set her sketchbook down, satisfied with her picture of the Guardians all sitting together with warm and brotherly looks upon their faces as they stared at the sunset.

"Only now, we can learn from and develop alongside each other too." Ben added, turning to look at Namine, Rai, Jake, Roxas, Gohan, Gwen, Kim and Danny in turn before giving a nod to his grandfather and Kevin too. "And with each other's help, we will all grow into greater people than any of us ever thought we could possibly be." The others smiled at him and nodded their heads in complete agreement before turning to each other.

Staring at the group, Max couldn't help but swelling with pride, not only because of his grandson's speech, but for each and every one of the kids before him. Kevin had grown into a fine young man and filled Max with much pride too, but the other nine teenage heroes before him were destined for something amazing and Max knew that one day they would unite everyone, heroes and civilians alike. Despite all the issues they had in the past, and some that still existed even in the present, they had grown into fine young men and women. The sky was the limit for this group and Max knew that they would one day reach it.

Stay strong and rely on each other kids. He thought, eyeing each one. I have a feeling that you will one day bring in a new age, one of harmony.

...

Not far away, just beyond Gohan's senses, another man watched the group, all the while fiddling with a pocket watch. Like Max, he was staring at the group wide a great deal of pride, but there was something else there too. On close inspection, one would have recognised it as pity.

"They have grown quite close and strong in a relatively short time. But they have a long way to go and the hardships ahead may be more than many of them are able to bear." Seeing he came to see, he spared them one last worried looked before he closed the pocket watch and disappeared without a trace.

And that ends VG3. As usual, I'd like to say thanks to the people that placed this story in their alerts, favourites and especially the poeple who reviewed. For those who haven't checked out my profile and seen the info I placed there on future parts, the VG4 will be in the Dragonball Z category.

I also thought I'd mention that there are hints here and there as to what will happen in later stories and I don't mean just the big and obvious ones like paradox. they will occur more commonly from here on in, so keep an eye out for them. Well, I guess that wraps up everything I wanted to say, so see ya at the next story.