Ben 10 Fan Fiction ❯ Original Ben Ten: Th Machaliens ❯ The Truth hurts: Part Two ( Chapter 10 )

CHAPTER TEN

Count Dread assigned everyone to their positions before taking his own position. He knew where Joel would be heading… which was where he would confront him, as well as gather something he needed.

“Remember… do what you can and want with them, but I want them all alive and imprisoned on the ship!” said Dread. “Now go!”

As the minions took their places, The Manns and Jorgen still couldn't help but wonder something about the count's behaviour, and Mrs. Mann still couldn't help but think back to that moment when she saw without his mask on.

“I know I've seen that look somewhere before… but where?” she muttered.

…

Dread made his way to the top of a different hill, one that he remembered all to well. This place really brought on some memories… all of them bad! Now was the time to set things right as he entered a hidden building and he liked at what he saw before him. “Heh, heh, heh, ah, ah, ah…!”

…

Now it seemed that everyone had a reason for wanting to fight Dread, but none were as fierce as Joel's. Still, right now he knew he had to try and stay calm and help continue loading the equipment they would need in the upcoming fights. He did also remember where the powerful-serum was that would cure Camille's illness for good, but it was in another secret building up on another hill just outside.

“We better hurry and clear out of here.” said BJ. “Dread and his forces could be on their way.”

KAPOW! That's when the entrance door at the end of the long tunnel exploded, and troopers began to file in. “Actually… I think they're here.” cried Ben.

“Surrender to the machaliens.” growled a trooper leader. They opened fire and everyone scattered without any chance to get into the Rust-Bucket. “There must be hundreds of them!” cried Kai.

“Don't worry, Kai-- I'll protect you.” Ben said trying to act heroically, Gwen was disgusted, but Kai was slightly impressed, but Lucy…

“Get away from my Benny-Pooh!” she shouted as she rushed over, only to duck back down in hiding when the troopers shot at her, but surprisingly it wasn't exactly the gang they were shooting at. They were destroying all the equipment they hadn't loaded yet, and all that were still around the base. “No!” cried Max. “We need those weapons.”

There still too many of them for Gwen and Ben to even get an opening, and before the entire base was in a mess…

Scrap-metal, battery acid spills, burn marks, damaged structure…

The troopers stopped firing, and the minions entered. “How pitiful.” Mr. Mann snickered. “You come so far only to fail at the last minute.” added Mrs. Mann.

Camille felt both frightened and mad to see her parents again, and Jorgen too. “How could you all swear your allegiance to the machaliens?” she demanded to know.

Her mother shook her head, “Tut-tut-tut… poor child. We taught you better than to speak like that.”

Jorgen insisted she could've had it all if she had stayed with him. They would have destroyed the plumbers together and invaded the Earth, but she chose Joel and the ways of peace. “Perhaps our breakup was for the best. Then your destruction will mean nothing to me.”

Camille's fear was starting to overlap her anger when he said her destruction. Joel was steamed, “Well you can get this straight… that if either of you lay a hand on my wife, I'll be even less merciful on you than I will when I strike your master dead!”

The minions didn't feel a bit insulted. Not only were they convinced that Count Dread could never be defeated, but they also didn't have to destroy Camille themselves. “You've run out of serum I see…” mocked Mr. Mann, “Then perhaps you need to… WARM… UP!” and he blasted a heat-ray from his eyes which nearly hit her had Joel not pushed her out of the way. Despite that, Camille still got warm enough to trigger the virus. “Ah! Ohh…!”

“Camille!” shouted Joel. Then he turned to face the villains, and they glared at him with fury, but suddenly… the troopers were shot at by Max, Gordon, and BJ who were using the new weapons they had still had with them, and these ones were powerful enough to damage even machaliens like them, and the minions.

“Joel… catch!” called his father as he tossed him a gun. Gwen and Ben saw this as their chance to joint he fight. “Lucy… stay here and watch over Kai.” Ben asked her and he ran off into the battle.

Lucy, despite that she knew she couldn't let anything happen to Kai, or the others would let her have it… she was not please. “So…” Lucy asked. “What's it like being a home wrecker…?”

Kai was confused…!

…

Gwen didn't need a gun or anything like that, but Max tossed her something else. “Pint hat on to your check and tap it.” Max told her. Gwen did as she was told and her body was suddenly coated in lightweight yet powerful armor so she could take the hits without being hurt too badly. Ben felt jealous, but realized he didn't need any armor, “Not when I got Cannonbolt!” he gloated, but instead he got Wildmutt.

Still… at least he was able to charge right through those troopers and rip them the shreds and even knocking the minions through the tunnel and back outside, but the fight wasn't over yet.

Max decided their best option was to get whatever was left of what wasn't destroyed and head out to make a plan of action. Joel, however, wasn't leaving without the serum. Camille needed it and fast, her temperature was already starting to rise. So she was taken on board the Rust-Bucket in hope the air-conditioning would ease it off.

“I've got to get to the storage lab.” Joel muttered and he took off through the tunnel, despite the protest of his elders.

…

Outside, with her new armor, Gwen didn't have to hide so much and returned fire with her spells. Some troopers fell down the hills, others fell out of trees, and Ben managed to change from Wildmutt to Four-Arms, evening the odds of battle with the minions…

…Especially when he had just heard that they had recently captured his parents. “Give… them… BACK!” Ben shouted as he punched Mr. Mann and sent him smashing into a tree, but of course he hardly felt any pain nor did he suffer too much damage. All he did was get back to his feet and snigger, “I'm afraid the decision is the count's not yours, but don't worry, you'll be reunited with them really soon!”

Mrs. Mann and Jorgen were sneaking up behind Ben for a surprise attack… when suddenly… BOOM! The Rust-Bucket came zooming out form the base tunnel, and fired its newly equipped lasers at the villains. “Good shot, Grandpa!”

Max gave him a high thumb, and Kai and Lucy waved from the windows. The fight was now taken to a whole new level, and the last of the troopers were crushed. The minions decided why bother to waste anymore time…

They got what they came for, and now the final confrontation was closer than ever. They could feel it. They could see it. So they decided to depart and teleported back to Dread's colony.

Ben changed back to himself, and for once he wasn't gloating. He was very worried about his folks, just as Gwen was worried about hers and Ken. Max was just relieved that they had gotten some of the new equipment to face off against the machaliens, now they all needed to hit the road and formulate a plan of action to take on Dread's forces.

“Wait a minute! Where's Joel?” asked Gwen.

…

At that very moment, Joel had reached the secret storage where there was said to be shelves of powerful-serum that would finally save Camille, but when he entered… a terrible sight met his eye.

The vials… they were all smashed, and some of the shelves were bare with the vial's completely missing. Joel was starting to panic a she scrambled through the wreckage hoping to find at least one last vial… and then… he was confronted by Dread. “We meet again, Joel.” He hissed. “And how ironic that this is the place where our very first battle took place.”

Joel was starting to get angry, and when it became clear that Dread had destroyed, and taken all the serum away in a deliberate attempt to destroy Camille-- “When I'm done… tearing you… APART!” he reached for his gun and was ready shoot, but Dread simply went, “Ah-Ah-Ah…!” and he held up a single vial in his machine-claw. The very last vial, which caused Joel to ease off. “Hmm, mm, mm… that's better. Now we talk like civilized people.”

Joel felt really ticked out of his skull. “What would you know about being civilized?” he asked angrily. “You-- You're murderer! You killed my best friend!”

“WRONG!” Dread snapped at him. “I did no such thing, Joel. I knew more about being civil than you. You were the one who caused all this when YOU destroyed ME those years ago.”

Joel was confused now. He destroyed Dread, and he started all this…? “What are you talking about?”

…

The time I had been waiting for had finally arrived. I clicked off my mask and revealed my human, alien, machine face to Joel causing him to gasp as if he had seen a ghost, because despite the ugly looks… he still recognized me anywhere. “N…N…No! It can't be…?!”

“Yes!” I growled at him. “I… am what remains of Mykan Farix.”

Joel suddenly began to realize what must've happened that day we had the fight, and I confirmed it by explaining it to him out loud.

…

When Joel had punched me in the face, he forced me backwards and in my stumbling I had knocked over a few canisters that were still in the closet, containing chemicals that were highly explosive, but I was too upset to notice…!

It was really Joel who had caused the explosion. He thought I had died when my laboratory was destroyed, and I almost had… but I survived!

I was injured beyond hope, barley alive! With my life fading fast, and no one for me to turn to, there was only one way I knew to survive. Had I remained in my human form I would have surely perished. So I retreated to the lower level of the lab which was still intact, and using what was left of the technology I had pioneered I rebuilt myself…

I transformed myself into the part human, part alien, part machine creature that I was as I appeared now, and I made a vow to one day GET REVENEGE!

“GAH, HEH, HEH, AH, AH, AH…!”

So over the years I began to gather followers and recapture everything that was taken from me, and I formed the all powerful Machalien Empire, conquering countless galaxies, and myself as their all powerful leader!

…

And now, here Joel and I stood…

I clicked my mask back on over my eyes and sniggered viciously at him. “Mm, hmm, mm, mm! I've waited a long time for this day, Joel.”

All those years I showed him nothing but kindness, and caring, and then he turned around and betrayed me when I needed him most. He and his Uncle Max shut down my research, fired me, took away everything I worked so hard for, and Joel ended up costing me my human life…! “Well… today… the doctor is going to give you some of your own medicine.”

What I meant was, and explained to him, that I was going to kill Joel's entire family! That's why I was capturing other Tennyson and imprisoning them. So Joel would know that they are suffering because of him. I was going to show him what it was like to have everything you ever cherished taken from you.

I was going to kill every member of Joel's family, including in laws and close friends. “And then… nothing will be left that can stop me as I conquer the universe!” and as I growled I crushed the vial in my claw and dropped it on the floor. “No!” cried Joel.

“Oops!” I mocked. “That was last vial. Now nothing will stop the virus from destroying your wife. Heh, heh, heh…!”

Joel could feel his anger spiking again, and ROARED like a lion as he grabbed his gun, but I had teleported out before he could shoot me. Joel fell to his knees and pounded the floor just as everyone else came in and saw him.

“Okay… what did we miss?” asked Ben.

Joel said nothing! Not a word!