KR Fourze/ Ben 10: Clash of The Two Heroes
 

I'll admit I haven't been on here a whole lot, but I've been busy with other things. But I figured as this is the holiday season I should give you guys a gift and what better way that to share my first crossover story!

Warning: Blood, character death, violence, A TON of SPAG errors, swearing, corny amounts of love

AN: This takes place between UF and Omniverse for Ben 10 and just after 32 of Fourze

Clash of the Two Heroes Chapter 1: That's how it started! I can not do!

The Orangerie Riveria, 9:33 PM...

It was late at night as Ben Tennyson was talking with his girlfriend Julie Yamamoto about what happened earlier in the month at a somewhat fancy restaurant. A lot happened during that timeframe with Ben gaining the true Omnitrix and defeating Diagon, but the most important thing to Julie was Ben had somewhat matured ever since that fateful day when he thought Echo Echo would solve everything. Of course Ben's plan failed spectacularly and ever since that day Juile wondered if Ben would ever consider growing up just a little bit. That night when Vilgax was taken away and he gave up the power of Diagon she was the happiest girl in the world. But there was still some lingering doubt in her mind and if it didn't get out now it would stay in there in fester.

"Ben do you ever stop to think how your actions affect others around you? You were a total brat for a while before the Flame Keepers started their endgame and I was wondering if you put any thought into how you were acting before?" she inquired, a brow raised not of judgment, but of concern. Ben was not the most popular boy in Bellwood, as she's heard talks about a task force meant to detain or worse, kill Ben should he become more than the little town can tolerate. Ben was not a bad boy by nature, but his ego could run wild if not reigned in.

"To be honest I kinda don't do well with fame all that well. Having people harangue me all the time as well as all my Plumber duties was seriously getting to me. That's why I was acting like a brat. I let my fame go to my head even after what happened before with Vilgax gaining the Prototype Omnitrix and being forced to sacrifice it. I guess getting the Ultimatrix gave me a huge power trip. I'm sorry I was so horrible to you and the others" As he said this he hung his head down in shame. It wasn't easy coming to terms with the fact that he was in Julie's words a brat.

Julie was in a sense his whole world. Sure he loved going all over the universe, learning about how different aliens did things and trying all the cool new foods they had (though his grandpa's cooking still frightened him), but he loved just being with the girl of his dreams. She was kind and understanding, plus great at sports and loved to spend time with Ben doing just about anything. She had a notable dark side to her, as she was overly competitive and easily enraged at times. But she was a great person at heart and Ben loved her, as did she. It was her nature as a Aries, Ben being Scorpio. Their natures complemented each other and helped to smooth out their faults.

"You really scared me with how you acted Ben. My dad doesn't really like you all that much and when you did...well that thing with Echo Echo I was so worried that you weren't taking our relationship seriously. That I was mistaken in thinking you were the boy I thought you were. That my dad was right about you all along" She was close to tears at this point. Ben hated to see her like this. He fought hard to be a better boyfriend after Baz-el showed his true colors and tried to sell Ship, their pet and his own son, but it had not been easy. He wasn't going to let it go pear shaped ,not after George gave his life for everyone on Earth and beyond.

"Juile, you're the best part of my life. Sure my alien tech makes me a hero but it's people like you that make me human. I lost you once to my ego problems and having faced the prospect of living the rest of my life knowing I could have done better by you was too much for me" He then picked up her chin gently and stared into her chocolate brown eyes. " I care too much about you to let my darkside take over my life and ruin everything I did. I know what I've done if unforgivable, but I hope you'll willing to give me another chance."

"Of course! You're the best part of my life too!" Juile then kissed him deeply and with great joy on both their parts. "But with all the things you've done to your friends do you ever worry about someone finding out all the things you did and hunting you down for them?"

Ben had to think about this. Paradox had shown him that there were other universes out there and as Eon has proven something or someone can come over and attack Bellwood or worse the people Ben cared for. He did a lot of terrible things to the friends he so deeply cared about, Gwen and Kevin chief among them. "Of course I'm worried. Karma's going to hit me and hard sooner or later. I just hope I can make things right and whoever it is that comes for me I can make things right by them." She then gave him a smile of true understanding and nodded her approval at what Ben had said. Besides with the True Omnitrix what could stop Ben now?

Meanwhile, in another universe...

Things weren't going as smoothly as Gentaro and JK would like. Chuta Ohsugi, their teacher and Academic adviser was not pleased with their grades as of late. "The both of you are failing American History and your grades are not looking so good all over the board. I know Gamou-san wants you to express yourselves fully but you must also put more work into your studies. That's why you weren't able to go with Kengo, Yuki, Tomoko and Ryusei on the fieldtrip to the botanical gardens. You both need to do a makeup test on a American hero or you're going to fail this course" he growled, snapping his suspenders to drive his point home.

"Take it easy teach" Gentaro told him. "It's not that we don't want to study, it's just that it's hard to when my friends are in trouble. You know the Zodiarts are attacking a lot lately and those commanders of theirs are planning something big." Gentaro was one who always said what was on his mind and was never at a loss to state his opinions on matters. Unlike the other students, who wore a blue jacket with red ties for boys and red bows for girls, he wore a outfit that made him look like a yankee, but he was one of the friendliest people to even set foot on Earth. This quality made his perfect to use the Fourze system, a suit of armor designed for space travel and if it was needed, combat as well. The more friends the user had the powerful it became and Gentaro was friends with just about everyone at school, save a few others, but we'll get to those next chapter.

Besides you're our friend now right? Surely you can give us a small break, right?" JK asked sheeply. It wasn't easy for him to focus on his schoolwork and having a total hottie like Haruka Utsugi as a teacher didn't help matters much. He'd spend a good amount of time watching her practicing her kickboxing even though the other club members told him otherwise. He was always one to gather new info and was fashionable, but he's a bit of coward. Also he was a good friend too, but he loved looking at the ladies at school and who could blame him? He's young and the girls and female teachers are total babes!

"While I may be your friend I'm your teacher first and foremost. I want you both to go out into the world with the skills needed to make it out there. I don't want you both to be freeters as that'll look bad on the school" Mr Ohsugi told them sternly as he snapped his suspenders again.. "But as luck would have it the hero picked out for the both of you is a personal favorite of mine: Ben 10!"

The two teenagers gave him a blank look as they had no idea who this person was. Mr Ohsugi was not surprised by this at all and pulled out two DVDs of Ultimate Alien."Now we're going to watch these all the way though and when we're done I want a good sized report on him. There must be as least three pages of good info on Ben 10. Now then shall we begin?" With that out of the way he turned on the TV in the Rabbit Hatch and popped in the first one.

'He seems really into this Ben person. I will see if he would make a good friend by how this will play out. It may help in my goal of making friends with everyone in school' Gentaro thought to himself.

A few minutes later...

Of course things are never that simple indeed. Things started out badly when the intro song had just finished and Gentaro wasn't happy about how brief it was."That wasn't a theme song at all! It was just a teaser and it only showed that this Ben person has a monstrous ego problem!" he bellowed unhappily. Chuta angrily shushed him to be quiet and watch but Gentaro never stays quiet for long. Before long the boy who was also Kamen Rider Fourze had reached a breaking point and a moment in his life he'd never thought possible before now: there was someone he didn't want to be friends with at all. He was appalled by how this 'hero' acted towards his friends. When the viewings were over with Mr Uhsugi gave them until Monday to do their reports. Gentaro accepted this begrudgingly while JK was unhappy that he had difficult homework to do while the other Kamen Rider Club members where having a good time.

Later that night in the Rabbit Hatch...

Gentaro was fishing around for the Shin-Chan Switch, a device that allows travel to other dimensions.. He swore never to use that Switch again after Shin-Chan proved to be a... unsatisfactory guest. But this was a matter of pride to the boy with the pompadour and what this Switch has proven before was it allowed travel to other dimensions. But he knew it took up the Square slot in the Fourze Driver and he wanted to hit Ben with everything he has on hand. JK was nervous about going to another dimension but he also wanted Gentaro to be safe. Pulling in the device in the Square slot and then inserting the Shin-Chan Switch in, he was unsure if he really wanted to do this.

"My friends are the most important thing in my life. Just hearing about what this Ben did is unforgivable to me" he told JK firmly but politely. "I must make him see the error of his ways, ever if it's the last thing I do."

JK sighed heavily. Once Gentaro made his mind up about something he was going to follow it though until the bitter end. But this wasn't some random Zodiarts they were going up against. From what they saw from Mr. Ohsugi's DVDs Ben was a powerhouse with a good numbers of alien forms to cycle though. But if Fourze could win then dealing with Zodiarts would a picnic compared to what they were thinking of doing right now.

Leaving a note for the others telling them they were just 'out' they then powered up the Shin-Chan Switch, taking the time to store its power in a refillable Switch, should the Kamen Rider Club need to call them while they were on their little 'business trip, and without a second thought leapt though the portal into the universe that Ben called home.

A minute later...

Fourze and JK crashed into a dumper and to Genataro's fury it was filled with Ben 10 cups ( as it turned out the process used to make them made them unintencial poisonous to human) and jumped out of there, screaming in utter rage. JK rolled out and followed his friend, unsure where they were going, but someone was kind enough to give the two directions to Ben's house. With that little mishap out of the way, Fourze powered down and the two boys walked to where Ben lived, Gen ready to beat the ever living crap out of the Omnitrix wielder...

I've been having a lot of trouble trying to get ANYTHING done on the fanfic side. I'm going to post the rest of this tale today and I want your honest opinions on what needs to be done to make it better.

The Null Void...

He could still feel Diagon's power as if it was only yesterday. To think that Max's grandson, the eternal thorn in his side, denied him the greatest power he would ever know. As Psyphon sat by him he knew if he wanted to get revenge he had to act now.

"Thanks to your efforts I was able to retain a small portion of Diagon's power. To think that the Plumbers feel that the Null Void can hold us, the rightful ruler of Vilgaxia and his loyal aide. Soon I will draw out the last of his energy and teleport to a world that may hold the means to get back at Tennyson."

Holding out his right claw a ball of golden light hummed into existence and reformed into the form the Prototype Omnitrix. Psyphon was stunned to be honest. Not that he could do that with Diagon's dying embers but that he still wanted this device even after all these years. But it had been a long period for the both of them and he wanted to live so he kept his mouth shut for the time being. Clicking it onto his wrist he was pleased to see that he was able to repair it. But it was now mostly black with red highlights and instead of the Plumber peace symbol it had the royal seal of his people. But it still works none the less.

."Master, forgive my asking this but where are we going? Your world is in ruins and Ben is-"

Vilgax silenced Psyphon with a sharp glare."I know what Tennyson can do. But thanks to Diagon I saw a world where the humans were able to summon a wormhole with a power known as 'Cosmic Energy'. That is where we shall go. I know now that the power I had will never be replaced but I can still get revenge."A evil grin formed on his lips and all doubt Psyphon had was gone like that. "If we're done here I'd like to be going. Soon even Azmuth will bow down to me as I am the true ruler of the universe!" Using the last of Diagon's power a portal bled from right under their feet. Vilgax only hoped that he landed somewhere where powerful being were. So he could steal their power and add it to his own!

Amanogawa High...

In a secret room know only to a select few Gamou was fuming. The paperwork allowing his students to go to Kyoto didn't go through and as a backup he had to send them somewhere else. He was a encouraging man, always willing to help out people when he was able to. (or if it suited his prepossess.) But thou he is a respected man, he never had friends of his own and ultimately saw the concept as beneath him and when he got enraged enough, even his bravest warriors knew to stay clear of him, should they fall before his wrath.

His rage was enough to awaken Kouhei Hayami's or rather Libra's Supernova, the Eye of Laplace, though Gamou bore no anger towards him or any other Horoscopes. Just seeing him in such a frightening mood was enough to bring it out. When used it allowed him to see who can evolve beyond the normal Zodiart state to become a Horoscope. Will it he found the last of their intended membership: Tojiro Goto for Capricorn, Erin Suda for Aquarius,, Yuta Sugiura for Taurus, Ran Kuroki for Pisces and perhaps most surprising to all four men in the room Yuki Jojima as Gemini.

In a corner Prof. Emoto watched the man he thought was his friend. After he killed Rokuro Utahoshi he later found out that Gamou was not mentally stable. So he started to lead a double life as Tachibana, the creator of the Meteor Driver and the M.B.U.S, but only he knew that. He preferred it that way. That news that the last members were found was unsetting news, made worst by the fact that these were good people. They didn't deserve this cruel fate but he kept silent. It was his role as Virgo, to be always watching, all knowing and ready to deal with anything that threatened Gamou, no matter who it was.

"It seems that the unevolved wish to stop me. Try as they may I will see the Presenters." he boldly declared with a flash of red light from his eyes.

But little did he know that soon two odd shapes were falling directly below him. Wasting no time Kou, his most follower and the Leo Zodiarts transformed into his monster form and got Gamou to safety. When the quartet turned to see what had happened they were in for a shock. In a pile where Gamou's chair was were Vilgax and Psyphon, two of the characters from this "Ben 10" show a few of the staff knew about.

Needless to say Gamou was not pleased at all. With a click of his Horoscope Switch he was the most powerful of all the 12 Horoscopes, the mighty Sagittarius. Drawing his bow mounted on his arm he was about to fire off a barrage of fiery arrows at the two.

"We can explain this my good sir" Psyphon stuttered out trying to calm down the archer. But his words had no effect on him. However when this was happening Emoto turned into Virgo and with some effect was able to get Gamou to calm down. Having done that he turned to the both of them, letting them know what they were able to do:

"You may speak now as allies. But be warned we do not tolerate betrayal nor failure." Virgo stated in his feminine voice. "If you wish to say what you wish to state now is the time to do so."

Vilgax wasted no time in filling them in on what had happened during the last month, with gaining Diagon's power and losing it to Ben to where he was now. He told them he had a vision of 11 members of the Horoscopes following his as their leader to glory and victory!

Gamou was ecstatic! Even since he heard the Voice of the Stars he wanted to go see the Presenters. Rokuro's Fourze System would take too long to finish for his liking so he designed the Zodiart Switches to force evolution in humans so they can survive in a vacuum as well as travel through warp gates without spaceships nor bodily harm. "It seems we got off on the wrong foot my dear Vilgax. But one thing troubles me still. You mentioned only 11 out of the 12 following you. Which would be the one that will not support us in our common goal?"

Without a word Vilgax pointed to the man known as Libra. Koutei's face froze in sheer horror as he knew he had finally outlived his usefulness to them. Having Emoto mindwipe him, Vilgax then send him on his way, never to become a Zodiart again.. Gamou was sad , as Koutei was one of the first members, though his fighting ability was lacking. He was the weakest link in the group so losing him was something he can live with. Kou nodded his silent approval, as he outright hated Libra and seeing him leave once and for all was something he was wanting for some time now.

Soon Vilgax left the room to hunt down the last of the Horoscopes and get them to join.

"Now then, we need to get the others here with us. Vilgax is on his way to find the others but we need the two that are in this 'Dark Nebula' to be here with us now" Psyphon told the remaining three.

Emoto was silently horrified! What plans were running though his dark mind?

Elsewhere...

By sheer luck Vilgax found the last members. What a pleasant surprise that all of them were in a assigned group together. Yuki and Erin were gawking at the sights of the garden they were all, Ran was sitting down and writing down notes, Yuta was fighting with Tojiro over, well, everything since Yuta was trying to win over the girl of his dreams, and that meant busting the chops of anyone that didn't fit into her vision for the school. As Tojiro was not one to dress like a non-rocker, he was on his bad side from Day 1.

Vilgax took the time to collect the Aries Switcher and revive him, so getting them all asleep was a snap with his powers!

A hour later...

Vilgax and Aries came back with the new members. All of them were shocked to see Sarina and Natsuji, the Switchers for Scorpio and Cancer respectfully, standing there as it nothing had happened.. (Psyphon forced Virgo to bring them back, as they were needed.)

Vilgax filled them in on what was going to happen to them. None of them were happy about this at all.

Erin and Ran were furious about being kidnapped, Tojiro was annoyed about all this, Yuta was displeased and Yuki was in tears.

Vilgax paid them no mind as he ate the greasy seafood he stole to slate his hunger. "It can't be that bad to go into space right? You can be like me, flying around without having to worry about things like the Plumbers bothering you." he said with his mouth full of food. Seeing Ran giving him a death glare he offered her a fish sandwich. But food was the last thing on her mind right now.

"To think that the people I trusted to keep us students safe were the ones that turned Haru-chan into a monster!" she growled. "I wish to have no part in this nonsense.", but as Ran tried to storm out Psyphon blocked her way and shoved her back with the others.

"Oh, no no no, little fish. You stay right here with your friends. We have such great things planed for all of you." Psyphon purred, scaring the captives to wit's end.

"You were one of the best astronauts in the history of Japan! I wish to go into space but with my own skill, not with some silly form that you think I need!" Erin snarled. Looking to her right she could see Yuki was still in a state of shock about all of this. It wasn't helping matters much that Yuta was still too scared to ever say anything in their defense, but she knew Yuki was deeply upset about having her hero be the same person that was hurting their friends.

"Gamou-san, why? I looked up to you. All I ever wanted to do was make my friends happy. I wanted to go into space with them. But even though you think I will go with you, my heart belongs to someone else." It was taking all her willpower to keep from freaking out about this, but Yuki was still upset about all of this. She spent her high school life fighting against these monsters, but the fact that she had to become one of them and a commander no least was unsetting her to no end. Where was Gentaro and JK when she needed them the most? Glomping her Hayabusa doll she tried to fight back tears but she failed to do so. Erin gave her a comforting hug to try and ease her fears but she was scared too.

Tojiro just spat on Vilgax, but he paid it no mind. Sarina angrily lead them all out to the rooftops of the school, a far cry from her friendly false persona she wore during her teaching days, with Virgo, Leo and Sagittarius close behind.

Soon Vilgax and Psyphon were there too. Soon the captives were holding Zodiarts Switches."Is there anything you wish to say before we go on into the great 'unknown'?" Vilgax asked with a hint of malice in his voice.

Though the others were too terrifled to answer, Tojiro was not. "Even though you think you can stop my love of rock, you're mistaken! Rock and roll is a lifestyle! Rock n Roll, yeah!" he proclaimed loudly. Psyphon just shrugged it off as Kou glared at them to transform. Vilgax was then called off to talk with his loyal aide.

"I was able to 'radio' as the humans call it 8 of Ben's strongest enemies. With their aid and the power of these 'Horoscopes', we can achieve both of our goals." Psyphon was quite pleased with what he was able to do while they were in their home universe. The both of them knew this was a gamble but if this works the payoff will be well worth it. Soon everything will fall into place and Ben will die by Vilgax's hand and his alone. Dealing with this 'Fourze' was a sweet bonus.

With twelve button clicks a portal opened up above them all. The power he had retained from Diagon wasn't as good as the full version he had, but it would do for this task. Adding to his troubles the Omnitrix he had only had enough power for one transformation. He had to make it count.

Turning the dial to the form of Way Big, Vilgax then slammed down the device and soon enough he was Way Big or something close to Way Big. 'Hugging' the Warp Gate he focus his power into it, changing its color from purple to peasoup green. Then without warning he turned back into his normal form, the Prototype Omnitrix shutting down. If he was able to find Albedo he would have him fix it, but he was confident he could do it on his own.. It mattered not to him. He was going home with 'friends'. Soon all but Virgo were on their way to the universe Vilgax called home.

Taking one last look at the home he knew Emoto gave a sad sigh of regret. He had failed to keep them safe. He failed the Earth and worse of all he had failed his friend. But soon enough he was on his way too...

What mysteries awaited on the other side? Why must these children suffer? He may never know the answers, but for now he would play along and hope that he could save them.

If hope was there...

After a short trip back to his universe Vilgax wasted no time in gattering his 'allies' Driscoll, Aggregor, Zombozo, Charmcaster, Argit,Darkstar, Will Harange and Overlord. For the most part they wanted revenge although in the cases of Argit and Will they only wanted to discredit Ben. But time had not been kind to all of them as it had to Ben.

Charmcaster's sanity was now in question now that she knows her father is truly gone for good. Her former boyfriend and I use the term loosely, Darkstar was falling apart now that his body could only handle pure mana. His lips had receded, his once blue eyes were now a milky white and he was balder than he was before with cracks and sores on his ashen grey skin. Overlord's face was gaunter due to his time in prison and his eyes held a look of melancholy due to missing Jennifer, the woman he loved. Driscoll was angry that Sir George, the man he looked up to was dead and that he was a friend to Ben. To think that the founder of the Forever Knights would even think to befriend a alien like Tennyson! It was unheard of to the man now known as the true Forever King. Zombozo was in a state of disrepair too with only one eye left, cybernetic arms and a hole on his ribs that showed his insides. The rest were enraged that this immature boy is considered a hero and that he stopped them from getting their hearts' desires.

So it was quite a shock to them when Vilgax called them to the old docks on Bellwood to discuss the final attack that would leave Ben dead and the universe theirs for the taking. Perhaps even more so when they found out he had gained new allies to aid them in their dark quest and Psyphon was now a part of their group as well.

Vilgax knew from his visions that Kouhei's eye of Laplace would reveal that Vilgax was destined to wield all 12 of the Horoscope powers. Luckily for the former ruler his allies Kou and Gamou was displeased with his performance so it didn't take much to silence him. But now that he was here he wanted to introduce his teammates. Having his guests sit by a old wooden table he cleared his throat and prepared to reveal who he had gained in his final quest for vengeance.

Darkstar was hungrily chewing on a rat to the disgust of Charmcaster, Overlord and Will. Meanwhile there was something about Aggergor that was clicking in Argit's mind and he wanted to get it out now before the big presentation. "Hey there Kevin, didn't think Tennyson would drive you off your rocker so much but it's good to have ya back man! But there's something different about ya. Did you cut your hair?" Aggergor just raised a eyebrow in disbelief. "While you may believe I am the hatchling you know I am far beyond Kevin in ability, boy" he firmly stated to the ratlike alien.

Clicking a spoon against a glass to get the others' attention Vilgax called for the Horoscopes to show themselves to state their names.

Tatsumori was first. Boldly walking up to the group he clicked his Switch and turned into the ramman Zodiarts that allowed him to rule over the student body of Subaruboshi before he was stopped by Fourze. Having been woken up by Vilgax was quite a shock to him but he was willing to overlook it since he wanted revenge as much he did "ARIES!" Suffering a defeat has done nothing to stop his God Complex and if he was victorious, then his ego would run unstopped until his final days.

Yuta was next. He nearly always was strong willed and even if this wasn't what he wanted he would do their bidding for now. But soon he would return to the secret love of his life, Sayaka Mibu. Reluctantly clicking his Switch he mutated into a humanoid bull man with one swollen red eye. As he told the Negative Ten he was now Taurus he slammed his Gu-anna staff into the old planks.

Yuki walked up next. She was very nervous about all this. She was frightened that her friends would reject her for now being a Switcher. She wanted to go home with her family and freinds. But then she thought of Gentaro, the boy that is or as she worried WAS her best friend she boldly turned to Gamou and gave him a piece of her mind about all this. " Gamou-san, you were my hero. I thought you would happy I was saving my fellow students from the Zodiarts. But to find out you were behind all this-" she was getting upset again and couldn't find her nerve right now. Having to see Gamou do his red eye glowing trick was more than a little unsettling to her. Even since she heard a voice from space call out to her she was in love with space. She was always on the lookout for news about space. She even made a plush toy after the Hayabusa satellite to show her love for the universe. But she can get a little to excited about sharing her love for space at times but she was a kind soul who treasures her freinds and will do anything to make them happy, even if there are some who would think of her as only a space otaku. With tears streaming down her face she clicked her Switch and soon mutated into a jester-like form. Sadly saying that she is Gemini now she walked to where Aries and Taurus were standing, hanging her head in shame.

The Switcher of Cancer, Natsuji was next. "heh heh heh. It would seem that I shall deal this Ben a...crushing defeat" Having made his pun he then transformed into a crab man form with a large claw on his arm. " I guess he now has to deal with...Cancer" Gamou was quite pleased to have him back. He wasn't pleased that Libra tricked Virgo into banishing him. He enjoyed the humor that the young man brought to the fold.

Without so much as a word Kou turned into his Leo form. Ever since that day when Gamou found him and saved him from himself he pledged a vow of loyally to the elder Horoscope. That meant he clashed with the old Libra and Virgo, but other than that he was a value to their cause.

Virgo, already transformed was next. Emoto gave a small bow as stated that he was Virgo. He never wanted it to go like this. All the years he spent trying to stop Gamou's plans from the inside, training Ryusei to battle against the evil he helped bring about was all for naught, all because of a fluke. 'Those poor souls are innocents caught into this by the cruelty of fate. If only there were a way to save them. I know I cannot be forgiven for what I've done but perhaps there is hope for them yet' he thought solemnly.

Psyphon placed the Libra Switch by a small box near his feet. He told the Negative Ten he was now the new Libra and sat back down with Vilgax.

It was a dark rumor around the school that Sarina was the Scorpio Switcher, given that neither of them were seen after Meteor's first appearance. But it was still a bit of a shock to learn that the woman they thought was so sweet and kind was a brutal and cruel warrior that believed in Gamou's dogma 100%. Changing into her deep voiced Zodiart form as a scorpion man like being she then whipped about her stinger ponytail, growling at the reluctant group of Switchers.

Gamou was up next. He gave a long speech about how he wanted the 12 Switches to see the Presenter and how he was bringing about the next stage of human evolution. Argit fell asleep near the end of it but when he turned into the monstrous Sagittarius he awoke in a fright. Gamou in this form seemed to be radiating power and it was a little much for the little con artist to take in at first.

Tojiro was up and the change in his personality was honestly upsetting for the other hostages. While he was still the sort of fellow that bears no ill will towards anyone he was now willing to use his powers to force people into liking his music, Morphing into a goatman like form he roars out that he's Capricorn, the musical force of the Horoscopes.

Erin wasn't happy about all of this still but she was trying to see the positives of this. Her new Zodiart form as the Aquarius Horoscope could prove useful in space, given that she could survive in a vacuum in said form. But her Japanese was still rough around the edges but as long as she's stuck like this she may as well learn to improve her skill in the language. Mutating into her blue Amazoian form she cracks her Nectar whip at the sky in a show of power.

Last was Ran and she was angry. Both at her kidnappers for taking her away from the people who showed her how to trust again and truly cared for her and at herself for not being strong enough to save themselves. Thinking of her friend Haru she clicks on her Switch and turns into her Pisces form as a fish woman.

When all that was down Aggregor was the one to speak for the other eight Vilgax brought to see just what their new allies could bring to them with their strange abilities " They are good enough for what we need them for" he grumbled. But the one question that was on Yuki's mind instead of what the other thought of all this was simple: Where was Gentaro? But the poor girl was ordered to go with Aries, Cancer and Scorpio to go after this Ben, whoever he was. As she headed out she thought of just whatever he did to cause such horrible events to happen to her and her freinds.

Ben was watching some goofy romance movie with Julie. He didn't know the title nor what it was truly about but he did not care. Just spending time with her and not worrying about her anger was the best thing he could ever ask for, even moreso than the True Omnitrix resting comfortably on his wrist. It was as good as it gets for Ben. But these moments never last forever as he was about to be reminded. Gentaro charged into his door in pointed at the slayer of Diagon, a look of righteous anger awash on his face. JK leaned in to see what was going on but decided it was for the best that he stayed out of his friend's way. "BEN TENNYSON! I have seen what you've done to the people who think of you as their friend! You use your powers to force them away, you whine about not getting your way and worst of all you brag about even the smallest of your deeds! As a Kamen Rider I can not stand for this! Perpare to lose both this battle and you ego problems!" Julie looked at the enraged man with a look of fear in her eyes as JK got a touchsceen pad to record the battle between Gentaro and Ben. Poor Ben as usual had NO IDEA what was going on and without Gwen and Kevin around to save his bacon he was in deep trouble. 'If only they didn't have to go on that deep space mission right about now.' he bemoaned in his mind.

"Aw man.!Look, I know I'm a jerk. You know that I'm a jerk too. Heck even my girlfriend knows that I'm a jerk! Can't we just leave it at that and let bygones be bygones?" Ben was trying his darnest to avoid having to fight this man who looks like a greaser but so far he's deadset on showing him the error of his ways, as that is what "Kamen Riders" do. He wasn't sure what a Kamen Rider is but if there're anything like this Gentaro fellow then they must be some serious believers in karma and it, as well as Gentaro's attacks, are going to hit him upside the head at long last.

Just before the fistfight could start JK was stunned to see something from the corner of his eye: The Scorpio, Aries and Cancer Zodiarts were here too and where heading their way. Flanking the rear was a new Horoscope that he never saw before, a frightening jester in black and white with red and blue highlights was hanging his head down low as if in shame. He knew it was stupid that they came here because Gen was offended by Ben's antics but if he's willing to pummel a somewhat innocent boy that deal with the more pressing threat then what was he really? "Gentaro-san! Those commanders have shown up and they look rather unhappy about something!" That thankfully got Gen's attention in full as he knew they should be defeated but apparently the head honcho saw it fit to bring them back for something big. As Aries and Cancer attacked the people of Bellwood he knew that he had to take action now.

"Friends of yours" Ben asked unsurely. Judging by how he and JK were acting now these guys were big trouble and he may need help with this. Getting a look that said 'We're allies for now' from the greaser boy he dialed in what he thought was Chromastone as the boy placed four small devices into a cluckly belt. Wacthing with a smirk on his face as he flipped down the four red toggles and pulled the level he was thankfully that his Omnitrixes were never that annoying to use. Gentaro shot him a angry look as he transformed in Kamen Rider Fourze and Ben could not hold in his laughter as his Rider form was to be honest silly to behold.

In his white Base States form Gen tried to pay the green jacketed boy no mind but even as thick skinned as he was something about him just rubbed him the wrong way. Trying to tune out his laughter he placed the Wheel Switch into the Triangle slot and flicked it on.

"WHEEL ON!"

Using the odd device to race towards the four monsters he defected the attacks of Aries and Cancer with the Shield Module and wasted no time in hitting Scorpio with a Rider Punch with the Rocket Module. Powering down all three devices he then crouched down and then raised his arms overhead, happily procliaming "UCHU KITA! Kamen Rider Fourze! Let's settle things man to man!" to the new Horoscope.

Poor Yuki was in a state of total shock. Here Gen was and instead of trying to talk to her he was really to challenge her to a duel. She just wanted to go home but she knew home was so far away. She missed her loving family, as odd as even she knew they were and the good times she had with the boy that right now looked like he wanted to hurt her and badly. As he approached her she saw a green light flash close back and she saw something that made her happy: a alien was coming to where she was. She always loved space ever since she heard the 'Presenter' as Gamou called the voice she heard in her childhood. and getting to see a alien was a dream come true. Yuki couldn't hold in her excitement anymore and although she was a monster now she still wanted to let Gen know how happy she was now.

"Gen-chan, look! A alien is here! A real life alien and he's standing right there! We always wanted to see one and he's not only here but he looks friendly just as we dreamed!" she cheerfully told Gen as she pointed toward where Ben as Diamondhead was standing just nearby. Both boys were stunned by what had just happened, Gen with the news that Yuki was a Horoscope and Ben with the fact she knew he was a alien on sight and didn't try to peg him as a monster as others have done so in the past. Right now the fact that he wasn't Chromastone like he wanted wasn't as pressing a issue as this.

"Friend of yours?" Ben asked Fourze. Fourze shot him a dirty glare as if Ben had always known. He knew she was his friend and he knew from the bottom of his heart that Yuki would never willingly join the Horoscopes. Holding her hands with a shocked look he was in total disbelief

"Yuki-chan, what did they do this you?" Fourze sadly asked the being now known as Gemini. Yuki wanted to answer her closest friend but the shame of what she was forced to do kept her silent. Then finally she answered him

"Gentaro, Gamou is the leader of the 12 Apostles. He was looking for the last members to jouney into space with when something calling himself Vilgax came and kidnapped me as well as my group and forcibly made us mutate into Zodiart commanders. You know I would never betray the Kamen Rider Club and you know I love my friends as much as you do Gen-" She was about to go on but Gentaro gave his friend a deep hug. Even if she was different in appearance she was still the Yuki he knew and loved, but he was too shy to admit it to her as well as himself. Diamondhead and Julie were touched by how much they truly cared for one another as JK gave a sad smile toward his freinds.

"If only we were that close" Ben and Julie admitted to themselves openly.

However Cancer was growing impatient with all of this. Knocking Fourze he grabbed the Gemini Zodiarts and held her tightly against himself, paying no mind that he was hurting her.

"It's such a shame for you, isn't it?" he told Fourze sarcastically. "You lost everything that mattered to you, your beliefs, your mission and your woman. While I've have gone from being with the stars to having gone to waist" as he wrapped his more human like arm around her waist. Yuki whimpered in fear as not only has he thrown away him human identify but he was hurting her with a hungry look in his eyes. Neither she nor Gen knew what to do but Ben knew what to do. Grabbing Natsuji's pincher claw he was about to give him a piece of his mind.

"Listen here buster, I may be one of the people you'd think would know how to treat a lady but you are no gentleman. Now let her go righ-" Diamondhead was cut off from the pain of Cancer crushing his hand as he laughed evilly at his misfortune. "Oh so that's how you wish to play huh? Well you should keep in mind I'm a old hand at this" Reforming his hand around the claw with his crystal powers he then crushed it without so much as a second thought. As Natsuji howled in pain Diamondhead told him that he warned him but the pain was blocking out the world around him.

The remaining two Horoscopes wasted no time in rushing to Cancer's defense. As Sarina tried to poison Ben but failing to do due to his crystal hide as Aries prepaired to sent Diamondhead to sleep. As Ben started to slow down due to the sands of Aries's staff he knew he had to act fast. Turning the dial to the one form he HOPED would be able to turn the tide he then pressed down on his symbol as the world grew darker and darker still...

"Hpmm. You should have known better than to challenge a god. To think that I had such hopes for you given how much we have heard of you and your-" Aries's ego trip was cut short by the roars of one of Ben's most uncontrollable aliens Rath. He was quite shocked that he was able to counteract his sleeping spell as not even Fourze was immune to it. Before he could recast it Rath grabbed onto his scepter and gave one of his famous speeches.

"LET ME TELL YA SOMETHING ARIES! RATH DOESN'T GO TO BED UNLESS HE WANTS TO! RATH EARNED HIS TEN O'CLOCK BEDTIME AND NO STUPID SHEEP MAN IS GONNA TELL RATH OTHERWISE! UNLESS YOU WANNA DEAL WITH RATH'S MOMMA, BIG MAN!" Aries angrily tried to shake Rath off but he was having no luck with that task. As that was going on Rath dialed up his mom Sandra during her lunch break. "Y'ello?"

Over at her jobsite Sandra was pleased to have Ben talk to her. No matter what form he was he always cared about his family. "What is it you want to talk about sweetie?"

"Some interdimensional sheep man is trying to make Rath go to bed even though Rath don't wanna. Can you tell him that I can wait until ten for my bedtime?"he asked in a softer tone of voice.

"Of course dear" she then waited until Rath gave the phone over to Aries. "Now listen and listen good. My son is a true hero and a loving child. He's earned the right to his bedtime mister and if you think you can take that away from him then you have to deal with me" she proclaimed to him with her angry mom tone. Even a Horoscope knows better than to argue with a angry mother so he meekly told her OK and gave the phone back to Rath.

"We good?" Rath asked the frightened monster. Aries nodded weakly in agreement. Happy that he was seeing things his way Rath crushed his scepter into Cosmic Energy dust. Backing away in fear Aries ran to where Scorpio and Cancer were. "LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN ELSE ARIES! NEXT TIME YOU PULL SOMETHIN LIKE THAT I JUST USE MY SIRIUS BACKBREAKER! IT'S SIRIUS THE STAR NOT SERIOUS!"

By now knowing that they can't deal with Ben one on one all three charged at Ben with looks of malice on their faces. Turning back into Diamondhead Ben readied himself for their onslaught. As they were battling Gen and Yuki were unsure about something important.

"Gen do you remember the promise we made before you moved?" Yuki always remembered that day as she wanted him to go into space with her when they were grown up. But time had not been kind to that memory. He sadly shook his head and said" I wish I could recall what it was you said. But I can't think of what it was you wanted Yuki-chan"

That was the breaking point for the girl. It was her most treasured moment with him and she was livid that he forgot it like it was nothing at all. Fuming at the boy she knew as her friend she was about to burst with anger. "You don't remember that at all? I thought you were my friend! I thought that meant more to you than that!" she howled at the Rider. "I HATE YOU GENTARO! YOU ARE NOT THE MAN YOU SAY YOU ARE!" She then cupped her hands over her mouth, shocked that she said that and to her best friend too. Soon dark energy flared from under her and she felt something come out of her mind. Soon she was back to being human again and a cloud of Cosmic Energy was where she was standing moments before when it reformed into the Gemini form. "W-Wh-What's going on? How is this happening? Who are you?" she asked with fear in her voice.

The monster turned it hear over to where she was and answers "I am the darkness of your mind. You are the light that is the truth of what you are. The light of Gemini along with your rage gave me true form and freed you from you destined fate as a Horoscope. But soon your light shall fade and I will be the one to shine brightly in the sun with Gamou-sama" Reaching over to try and choke Yuki to death Gemini was blocked by a crystal wall brought up by Diamondhead, a look of worry awash on his face. Fighting off the three other monsters Ben ran to where the wall was with Fourze, JK and Yuki were behind. Glaring at the white spacesuited boy he was about to let him know just what he was thinking right now

"I thought I was the bad friend! I may do stupid things from time to time but I would never run off half cocked on some ego trip due to being upset with how someone was acting! I think you're the bad friend here buddy boy!" Fourze was shocked by Ben's words but he knew they rang as true as the mourning bells. Turning to where Yuki was he tried to apologize to her but she wanted nothing to do with him right now. Seeing that tears were in her eyes he tried to remember what it was that she treasured so deeply. Just then it came flooding back. The promise that he would go with her to space. He hoped that what he was about to say would be enough to make things right.

"Do you still have the ticket you made for me? Because I still want to go with you, no matter where you wish to head off to. Because you're my friend and I want to be a part of your life. I'm sorry that I wasn't there to save you and I know I can never be forgiven for that. But if you're willing to give me another chance then I promise I will try to make things right by you" His throat was dry and he was sweating up a storm in his Base States suit as he thought she would be mad at him forever. But to his surprise she gave him a hug and gave him a nod that told him she forgave him. Diamondhead, JK and Julie nodded their approval as well. With that cleared up he took out the Rocket Switch and pulled in Cosmic into the Circle slot. Turning it on all the other 40 Switched formed armor around him. Soon he was the electric blue Cosmic States. Aries was not happy to see the form that defeated him again. Panicking he mutated into his Supernova form and fired off balls of energy at him but Ben blocked them with Diamondhead's arms. Soon Gemini used her Supernova too and made a clone to fight against the group as the both of them ran towards them. Ben shot crystal shards at the three, destroying the Gemini clone and damaging the others, giving Fourze time to set up the Cosmic States Limit Break. A warp gate formed behind the two as Fourze rushed over with his hover pack, sending the two Horoscopes into space. As Aries and Gemini flailed about Gentaro unplugged and replugged the Cosmic Switch into the Barizun Sword and charged right at the two of them, the hits he landed ringing true. Soon both of them blew up, Gemini fading to dust and Aries back to being human again. Taking him back with him to Ben's Earh Gen powered down and walked over to where Yuki was. "We're still friends right?" ?He was still worried that she was mad at him about all of this.

"You'll always be my friend Gen-chan. But it's going to take some time to get over this." Yuki then gave a handshake to cement their deeper understanding of their faults." You really scared me back there, leaving us so suddenly and there not knowing about our promise. I know you treasure your friends but I wasn't sure you still treasured me" As she told him this she was crying, tears streaming down her face. Gen knew he had a lot to make up for, with Ben as well as JK and Yuki. Giving her a deep hug he began to cry too. Ben and Julie then saw themselves in the pair and they knew without saying anything to anyone that they had to make this right. They cannot let this friendship die like they did like theirs nearly did.

It was a long walk back for Sarina and Nasuji but they made it back to the old where house that the others were using as their base. They were thankfull that no one paid attention to them as they retreated but they weren't too pleased about what was going to happen. Vilgax wasn't going to happy about this setback but Gamou's rage was even more upsetting to face to them. Thankfully Gamou was understanding about their problems with Ben as well as Fourze. Giving them a stern but polite talking too they bowed their thanks and went over to where the others were. No, he would never be upset with his Horoscopes as they meant something to him...for now at least. No, his anger was directed at Vilgax and his shaky plan. He gave up seeing the Presenters for this, a childish plan of revenge? He would give him the benefit of the doubt for now but if things don't start shaping up soon then even the ruler of Vilgaxia would know the rage of Sagittarius. He would not let this fool deny him his dreams, even if he was the one to give him all 12 of his destined group. But he has lost the Gemini that was a part of Yuki for so long. He loved her like a daughter and wasn sad that she would not be able to go with him. Losing Aries to the 'Plumbers' was not as back a setback as he feared. Tatsumori has talent but he was sorely lacking in power. He can think about his weakness in the 'Null Void' forever. His patience for all of this was coming to an end. He loved that his students are expressing themselves and allowing him to gain the people he needed for what he wanted to do, but if they were unable to keep up with what he wanted them to do then they can die with the rest of them. In a corner Emoto looked on with a look of worry on his face. Just how far was Gamou willing to go with this madness?

It was late at night and all Ben wanted to do was sleep. But the thoughts he was having were keeping him up. He was worried about how Gen and Yuki were holding up in this world that wasn't theirs. Thankfully while Max was offworld with Gwen and Kevin helping to train the Plumber that Ben would later know as Rook he was still able to signal the parents of Ben, Gwen and Kevin and set up a meet of sorts to let everyone fill each other in on what was going on. Ben was stunned that they were other universes than he was only considered a fictional character in. Given that he was recovering from the earlier battle this was somewhat a shock to him. But at least Ms Leven was willing to rent out some old rooms for the 'guests'. Ben's parents would have loved to help on but their house isn't big enough for what the other worlders needed and Gwen's parents aren't overly fond of anything alien related so they politely declined. While he wanted to get some sleep he just couldn't leave them alone. Trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes but failing to do so he walked over to where Yuki would be staying tonight.

In all honestly Yuki was feeling homesick. The contrast grass green and dull colors of the Tennyson household was nothing like the cheery rainbow of color that her home was. She missed how her family would dress up for dinners from other cultures and how much love they gave to her as well as others around them. Making matters worse was the fact that she was having nightmares about a 'Dark Yuki' in a creepy mask trying to take over her life and she was powerless to stop it. Looking over to where Gentaro was sleeping on the floor, a look of deep regret on his slumbering form she couldn't help but wonder how he would feel about her. Gently waking him she waited until he was fully awake so she can get this thing off her chest.

"Gentaro, don't you still think of me as your friend? I'm glad that you remembered our promise together but do you think any differently of me now that I'm a Switcher? I didn't want to but Gamou forced me to because a Horoscope. How will the other react about this? It wouldn't be any good for the club to have a Zodiart commander as the chairman, right?" She was getting very upset about what had happened during the short timeframe and she was worried that he would reject her right out there. To her pleasant surprise he drew her into a deep hug and rocked her gently back and forth.

"Of course you'll always be my friend Yuki-chan! No matter what happens I still want to befreind everyone in school! I should have been there for you and the others but instead I was blinded by my dislike over some boy with odd powers! I LET MY ANGER BLIND ME TO WHAT REALLY MATTERS IN LIFE! I FORGOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN MY LIFE BECAUSE I WANTED TO PUNISH SOMEONE WHO WAS NOT ACTING LIKE HE CARED ABOUT HIS FREINDS! BUT I WAS THE ONE AT FAULT TODAY! I ENDANGERED JK AND EVERYONE ELSE DUE TO HOW I ACTED TODAY! I LET THE HOROSCOPES HURT PEOPLE I CARE ABOUT AND WORSE OF ALL THEY TRIED TO MAKE YOU SOMETHING I KNOW YOU'RE NOT! YOU'RE SWEET AND KIND YUKI-CHAN! PLUS YOU'RE SMARTER THAN YOU GIVE YOURSELF CREDIT FOR SINCE YOU HELPED KENGO MAKE THE ASTRO SWITCHES I USED SO CARELESSLY TODAY! I FAILED YOU AND EVERYTHING I HOLD DEAR FOR WHAT?! FOOLISH PRIDE ABOUT HOW MUCH BETTER I AM THAT SOMEONE ELSE BUT IN THE END HE WAS THE BETTER MAN!" Having let out of that emotion Gentaro finally broke down and cried up a storm. He messed up a lot today and he knew it from the bottom of his big heart. Yuki returned his hug back to him as he looked at her gratefully for doing so. Seeing him smile made this world seem less scary to Yuki and she gave him a smile that showed him that she was fine.

"Thank you Gen-chan. For everything you did for me and the Kamen Rider Club. I don't know what will happen tomorrow but I'm not afraid of the future anymore. I will face it head-on as you taught me. After all if I did anything less than that how can I call myself your best friend?" Giving off a small chuckle she was happy to see that Gen agreed with her by giving her his biggest smile. As they looked into their eyes both of them wondered if perhaps there was something more between them. Before they could act on these feelings Ben walked in on them, a look of annoyance on his tired face.

"Geez Gen, I think you're officially louder than Trumbipulor and given how loud he is that's saying a lot about you, dude. I'm clad you both were able to fix thing between you but can you dial it back a tad? You might be loud enough to wake the dead AND the living."

Gen blushed a little bit since he was still holding on to Yuki. Her smell was quite pleasing to him as she was always pretty to him, even if she never saw herself like that. Having Ben pop up when he was like this was embarrassing to be honest. Still he had to save face since he was the one who helped the most with saving Yuki as well as getting Tatsumori to a hospital. Perhaps he wasn't the jerk he was before."I should thank you for helping me save Yuki-chan but more importantly I need to say I'm sorry about barging into your world and wishing to attack you with no real cause."

Ben was pleased to hear that coming from him. Still there was something else that he needed to address to Gen and Yuki. It couldn't wait until morning so JK would have to hear what he was about to say in the meantime." I want to say I'm sorry too. I have been a super jerk to everyone but I hurt Julie the most with how I acted. Now I have to worry that her dad won't let me see her again. Plus I'm still learning how to use this new Omnitrix I got from Azmuth but so far I had little luck with figuring this watch out. But the second thing I wanted to ask you about is this: Why are you so loud all the time? Can't you use a indoor voice like normal people do?"

Gentaro got up and patted Ben's shoulder to steady himself. " I think friends shouldn't hold in their feelings as that can hurt them in the long run. So I always state what's on the mind so I can live without regrets. Also Kamen Riders are the heroes of Japan in my world. We need to be loud to give the people hope and strike fear into the hearts of evil kaijin and those who would wish to harm the innocent" Ben gave a small "Uh-huh" to show that while he didn't like his loud voice he did appreciate what he and the other Kamen Rider were doing. Soon both boys gave each other thumbs up with Yuki happily cheering them on. They weren't friends just yet but it was the start of a beautiful friendship between all of them. JK smiled as well with the good news he overheard.

When it was morning Ben had to help out his houseguests as his American kitchen was lacking in ingredients Gentaro, Yuki and JK were used too. The three of them weren't too happy about having stale Sumo Slammer cereal but it was better than nothing. While they were having breakfast Ms Leven and Julie walked in to talk about something that will help them in the longrun.

"I know that things are rough for you right now so I'm letting you borrow my son's car so you can get around town easily. Hopefully one of you can drive as I can't let you use Kevin's car if you don't have a license to operate a motor vehicle" Gentaro was luckily that his grandfather taught him how to drive a car as he showed his license to Ms Leven to her approval." I'm glad to see that. But I going to have to ask for a small favor. Can you repaint the car for me? I would never say this to my son's face but I've always hated that grass green he likes so much." When all four teenagers walked outside they saw that Kevin's muscle car had seen better days with its paint as it starting to peel away. After giving it some thought Gen and Yuki started to brainstorm ideas on how to give Kevin's car new life in paint. It took all of a minute to come up with a idea that JK loved as much as they did.

After about a hour or so Kevin's car was fully painted with a whole new color scheme and a new personality that fitted better with the Kamen Rider Club members No longer was it grass green with black stripes. Now it was lavender with rainbow stripes on the sides with chibi faces of Gentaro, Yuki, Kengo, Miu, JK, Shun, Tomoko and Ryusei on the rainbows. The wheelwell covers were now painted in rainbow chrome and the hood of the car was now white with a lavender star in the middle. Ben loved the new look as Kevin may be a genius with tech but his fashion sense was awful like you would not believe. Knowing he was courting death by doing this he sent pictures of his car's new identity to his computer on the Rust Bucket 3, his personal starship. Looking inside the repainted car he saw that the dark green interior was redone with a pink and white space theme. With the new look getting rave reviews from the five teenagers Gentaro, Ben, Yuki, Julie and JK took a picture of themselves with Kevin's happier looking car. 'I think we're going to be such good friends someday' Ben and Gen thought to themselves.

Two hours earlier...

Vilgax knew that water was important to most species and humans were no exception to that rule. Having mapped out all of Bellwood during his few visits he knew where everything was, but most importantly where the water purification system was. So far his plan was working out as well as he expected it to go. Having lost Yuki and Tatsumori was unfortunate but he still had the other Horoscopes to flank his oddball group. Plus he now had complete access to the Libra, Aries and Gemini Switches so things are looking better than they were before. After a overly long and somewhat odd talk with Gamou about the powers of Aquarius and Pisces the idea stuck him like thunder. Waiting until early morning he woke up Ran and Erin. Needless to say getting woken up rudely by the very same being that kidnapped them was not welcome by the fiery tempered girls.

"You have some nerve to barge in on us like this. Even if I may be a Horoscope I consider myself a member of the Kamen Rider Club first and foremost. So if you have anything you wish to say make it fast" Ran grumbled at the former ruler. Vilgax gave her a glare that would have shook lesser warriors to their very core. But Ran was used to dealing with people bigger and meaner than her. She loved Haru like a little brother and when she thought he was in trouble she would rush to his defense with her Aikido skills and great strength. So it was a big surprise that she found out that he was starting to resent her for always feeling like he needed to be saved. Thankfully Gentaro was able to clear that up and restored her faith in older students. It was with great shame that she realized that she was starting to love what the Switch was making her be and it make her sick to her very core. Still Ran was pleased that Vilgax blinked first. Giving herself a small smile for a job well done she thought things would start to look up. That ended as soon as it began when Vilgax grabbed her and slammed her against a wall, causing her to mew in pain. But she would not back down now. "What do you want us to do now, monster? When will out torment end and we can be free from your insanity?" she demanded, her voice hoarse from the pain she was in.

"It's something simple really. I need you and 'Erin-chan' to go over to where Bellwood gets its water purified and contaminate all the water there with your Cosmic Energy powers. Two things will happen next, either the fools will drink it and become my slaves or they will hold out and I can demand whatever I want from them. It's win-win either way for me." Both Ran and Erin were a bit scared at what he was planning. He bragged about how his coming back from their dimension caused the windows of time to 'cloud up', keeping Paradox busy with fixing the damage he caused, so getting help from him was a no-go. Erin walked over to where a monitor showing their target was displaying that there was someone else there. He looked like a monster of a man, with bright red skin, four arms and yellow eyes with no pupils. Normally Erin welcomed any and all challenges as she wanted to be a astronaut when she was older but this was something that was a little too much for the strong willed girl.

"Just what are we going to do about that?!" she snapped at Vilgax, worried that this man or however close he was to being a man would do to either of them should he catch them. While she was smart and focused on all things related to space she was notorious for lacking a sense of humor, making it hard to get along with anyone that seemed like they were too happy-go lucky for their own good. This character trait caused some fiction with her over how cheerful Yuki was over space as she felt the girl was not focused about the work needed to make her dreams of space travel a reality. But shortly before they were caught Yuki was able to impress her with all the knowledge she had about space and soon after they were friends. But Erin was not one to relax and have fun so easily and she herself knew that painfully well. For what seemed like forever she waited for Vilgax to give a response but before a minute had passed he told her everything about this new factor.

"This is Manny Armstrong, a Plumber in training. He's half Tetramand so his powers aren't as strong as a full breed. Plus he's pretty stupid and headstrong so I highly doubt he'll give you that much trouble." Opening a portal to where he wanted them to go he forcibly shoved them both in and as soon as they were over to where he wanted them shut the portal down suddenly, leaving them on their own. Mutating into their Zodiart forms they thought this would be easy, that Manny was the fool Vilgax said he was.

Shortly before Ben and the others arrived at the water station.

Manny knew things would never be the same again. His sister was still grieving the lost of her brother and he knew he missed him too. But he had a job to do and that would never change no matter what happened. Plus the Plumbers promised him a fancy fish dinner just for doing this simple task as some aliens like to attack whatever they feel would harm those they think are lesser species so there's always something to do. The only thing he was wondering about right now is just what kind of fish he'd like to eat. As if by fate he saw the Pisces Zodiart guarding the Aquarius Zodiart as she was flooding one of the water reservoirs with odd water coming out of her...shoulder pads? Manny didn't know that they were Zodiarts or that they were really innocent humans forced into doing the deeds of Vilgax. All he saw were two people contaminating the water of Bellwood with something odd but what was really interesting to him was the Pisces Zodiart. Now he knew what he wanted for dinner! Drawing out his laser pistols he fired at the two of them, causing a scene.

NOW

Manny didn't care that the fish monster was underwater right now. He thought he can fish it out with some bait so he attached a worm to a hook, threw out his line into the water, placed a straw hat on his head and sat down. He would just fish it out and he did not care how long that took him. He was in the first hour of doing this when Ben drove by and saw him. Quickly parking he then ran out with some people he never saw before in his life. But still Ben was his friend so he gave him a hearty greeting.

"Yo man! I was wondering when you'd show up. Some weird chick was doing something to the water station with her fish pet so I tried to kick their butts. But then the fish turned into water and leapt right into the nearby lake. So I've been trying to catch it so I can gut it and scale it then bread it, fry it and eat it! Mmm-mmm good!" Ben raised a eyebrow as he knew from what Gen, JK and Yuki told him that that wasn't really a fish at all.

Underwater Ran couldn't help but be worried about Manny's plans for her. She wanted to go up, turn back into human form and tell him she was not a fish. But to be honest he scared the living daylights out of her. Ran was worried that if he caught her then she would never see her friends again. It wasn't helping matters that he wanted her to eat a worm. Seeing it as it drowned Ran felt sick to her stomach. If she was hungry before she wouldn't be now. The only thing giving her comfort now was the fact Erin was hiding, waiting for the moment to strike.

Sneaking up on Ben Erin prepped her shoulder vases to spray Ben so he would be a slave to Vilgax. She hated the very idea of it but she had no choice in the matters. Unfortunately for her the Aquarius Horoscope form casts a unusual shadow and it was over Ben right now. Knowing her cover is blown she unleashed two blasts of Cosmic Energy water at him while shouting that she was "Fuketsu"

It may have been her shoddy Japanese or her oddly shaped shadow. Perhaps it was the blue water that was rushing just behind him. But before it could hit he already knew what to do. Powering on the Omnitrix he selected Water Hazard and was able to turn into him with no incident. Quickly turning around he opened up the ports on his hands and absorbed Erin's water attack to her shock. "Thank you for your concern about my hygiene but I already showered today." he joked around with her.

"Pani?" Erin was unsure she could take on one weird alien. Having two of them and Gentaro, the boy also known as Fourze to deal with? That was too much even for her. Knowing that the longer this goes on the worse it will end for her she leapt down and started lashing at Ben with her Neater whip, trying to break his armor shell. While it wasn't hurting Ben all that much he was still trying to get her to stop but he was having no such luck with that.

Gentaro knew Ben needed help. He may not be someone he likes but he's still a hero and Kamen Riders always help out those who fight for justice. Summoning the Fourze Driver he placed the Rocket, Launcher, Drill and Radar Switches into their respective slots. Flipping down the red Transswitches and pulling the lever he then raised her arm up as the final countdown started.

"THREE!"

"TWO!'

"ONE!"

As the stream died down Gen was now in his Fourze form. He looked back and saw that Yuki was as excited about this as he was. Both of them crouched down and then rose back up with arms held up high, hands balled into fists are they proclaimed the thing they knew deep in their hearts.

"Uchuu Kita!"

Happy that Yuki was herself again Fourze then pointed to Aquarius and declared this to her

"Kamen Rider Fourze! Let's settle this one on one!"

Yuki and JK were happily jumping up and down, cheering on their friend to save their friend from the form she was trapped in. Water Hazard was just staring blankly as the odd scene, having no idea what was going on right now. Giving up on trying to understand right now he just shrugged his shoulders and started the battle in earnest. Blocking the whip from hitting Fourze he then sprayed her with a sharp jet of water from his palm. Shaking it off Erin made the Neater whip wrap around Ben's leg and yanked it, causing him to fall down in a heap. Rushing to Ben's defense Fourze did a spinkick that Erin was able to duck under as she punched him in the chest. Backstepping away to get his bearings back both he and Ben ganged up on her. The sounds of battle were enough to get Ran out of the water and into Erin's side. The first year sprayed water out at Ben and Gen, grossing out the former and just knocking away the latter. Making a trident to aid her in combat Ran slashed at Water Hazard, damaging his organic armor. Now knowing that this form would not work on her Ben switched to Ripjaws so he can regain the upper hand in this fight. Trying to bite her weapon in half Ran caught his open mouth and held it there. So far they were at a stalemate.

The third year now known as Aquarius was now hovering over the water and attacking with blobs of water. Gentaro was at a total loss to what do about this. Luckily Yuki was able to put in some input about what to do. "Gen-chan use the Board Switch to cover the distance between the two of you!" Thanking her for helping him he placed said Switch into the Triangle slot and turned it on.

"Board ON"

With the Board Module ready for action Fourze leapt into the water and started to surf his way over to where Erin was now. But her attacks were making it harder and harder to get over there and Ben had his hands full with dealing with the Pisces Horoscope. 'I wish Kengo were here now. I'm always blanking out about which Switches to use.' However JK and Yuki were watching the battle and were able to come up with a idea.

"Gentaro-san! Try the Stealth and Flash Modules to gain some ground!" JK shouted over the exploding water blasts. Just when Gen was able to place the Switches into their respective slot it seemed that a water blast struck him down. Holding her hands over her mouth in horror Yuki was almost sure that what she really wanted Gen to know would remain unknown to him forever as JK looked on with utter shock. Erin was sad too as she wanted to be his friend too but that doesn't seem to be happening now. Cursing herself for being so weak as to let a monster take control of her destiny, she wondered if she could ever be forgiven for what she was forced into doing.

But all their fears were put to rest when a bright light shined right into Erin's face, temporality blinding her. Gentaro had managed to set up the Switches after all. Jumping up he then slammed the Board Module into Aquarius, knocking them both into the water. While Erin was struggling to get her bearings Fourze was already on his game, swimming around with the Screw Module on his leg. He had only one shot at this and he knew he had to make it count. Placing the Elec Switch into the Circle slot he then turned it on.

"Elec ON"

Now as Elec States he prepped up a special Limit Break for this occasion. Setting up the Screw Switch for the finishing attack he then placed the Elec Switch into Billy the Rod as he plugged the cord into its left socket he then went over to where Aquarius was.

"Elec ON"

"Screw ON"

"Limit Break!"

"RIDER 10 BILLION VOLT SPIRAL!" He then rushed over to her while spinning, electricity crackling around him as Billy the Rod struck true right in Erin's stomach. Unable to support her Zodiart form anymore Erin canceled her transformation as she fell unconscious. Ignoring the Aquarius Switch Fourze replaced the Rocket Switch into its slot and used the Rocket Module to get Erin and himself out of the lake.

Back on land Ben as Ripjaws was having no luck at all in getting free from Pisces's grip. By now he was worried that she would kill him right there and now and he would be powerless to stop her. Manny however wanted none of that to happen. Grabbing Ran's waist with his lower arms he then leapt high into the air and did a German Suplex on her, negating her transformation. As the Pisces Switch rolled away from her hand and Ben turned back to human form Manny was confused about just what was going on here."Uh Ben, did you know why my fish is trying to hide its form as a cute girl? I doubt it'll be signing that tune once I get its I.D mask off!" he boldly stated as he reached over to where Ran laid, not knowing that Manny still thought of her as his future fish dinner. Ben tried to shout at him that Ran is really human but his mouth was still hurting from eariler. Yuki knew she had to act fast if she wanted to save Ran.

"Manny-san, stop! She's really human! A evil man called Gamou that we thought was our school chairman forced her as well as myself and others to become monsters and come to your world. Ben was able to save me and my friendship with Gen. Look, I'll show you she's really human!" she told him with much fear in her voice as she bent down and gently tugged on her cheeks. Ran at that moment woke up to find Yuki was squeezing her face. Normally she hated when people touched her without her consent and would throw them without a second thought. But given the circumstances right now she was willing to let this side, just this once.

Manny was a little bummed that his 'fish dinner' was really a cute girl but he was happy as a calm that she REALLY was a cute girl, with her friends Yuki and Erin being cute girls too as well! Life was going well for once and Manny knew it. As Erin woke up with Gentaro and JK looking at her with worried faces she then placed their fears to rest. "I- I'm alright now. Barigato for saving me Gentaro-san" she said as the light of the sun shined down on her. While her Japanese was not perfect nobody cared about that at all right now. Ran and Erin were human again. Yuki and Ran sped over to when their friend was and hugged her while crying with happiness."I was so scared that you were going to be that way forever Erin-chan. I'm so glad you're safe now and you-" Yuki wanted to say more but her emotions got the best of her as she cried on Erin's shoulder, much to her slight discomfort. But Erin was thankful that Yuki and Ran cared about her and hugged them right back, tears forming in her eyes as well. JK was happy too but part of his reason was there were three cute girls hugging each other tightly. Thankfully for them Gentaro lead him out of their way so they can reconnect in private, while JK looked back sadly at he wanted to see them some more.

When that was down with and everyone filled each other in about who they were, Ben felt something else in his stomach. Everyone else felt it too as by now it was a little last lunch time and they were hungry. "Now before we head on to lunch I just want to welcome Gentaro, JK, Yuki, Ran and Erin to my circle of friends. Are there any objections to what I just said?" Everyone but Gentaro happily said that they were happy that they were now friends. Gentaro was happy too but he felt it was too soon to call Ben his friend right now. But he still gave Ben a happy nod that told him he was pleased with him making friends with his as he was with Ben's group." OK then who was the front seat on the way to Burger Shack?" It was a innocent question but Ben remembered too late that Manny loved getting the front seat and his car couldn't handle his weight. "Manny no!" But it was too late at Manny called out "Shotgun" and sat down, blowing out his tires and damaging the frame of his car, causing everyone but Ben to winch. Manny gave Ben a apologetic smile but Ben wasn't too pleased with him right now.

A few minutes later

As Gentaro, JK, Yuki, Ran and Erin were riding in Ben's car, talking about how happy they were to have each other back Ben and Manny's discussion was of a somewhat less cheerful tone.

"Aw come on man, I said was sorry" Manny pleaded with Ben. But Ben was having none of that right now. As he was towing his car with Lodestar's power he angrily shot out this to the Tetramand:

"I'm not speaking with you right now. Also you do know you'll have to help me with the repairs, you know" he snapped at him with Lodestar's robotic voice, not even bothering to turn his head to said this to Manny.

Manny gave a sad sigh as they continued their walk back to the main town of Bellwood. 'To think I was going to get a fish dinner and now I'm stuck with paying for the damages to Ben's car' he thought sadly to himself. He would have to work on not getting into a car every time someone offered the front seat. But for now he would just stay quiet and be thankful that he was able to help out his new freinds.

Gamou had just about had enough of Vilgax's plan and his utter reluctance to share the details on just what he wanted to do. He would never reach the Presenters if he was going to stick with the somewhat stupid plan of a squid alien and his dress wearing lackey, that's for sure. He was always one to tell people what was on his mind, barring any and all details regarding the Zodiarts and he always was pleasant and supporting to everyone he meets, but Vilgax was working his last good nerve. He felt it was time he learnt the true power of Sagittarius, the strongest of all the Horoscopes! With a click of his Switch he was now said Zodiart as he barged in to the room where Vilgax and Psyphon were keeping the Switches of the defeated members. "When you told me all the members would be mine I was willing to follow you anywhere, even to your universe. But now I have my doubts on whenever I will see the Presenters. Tell me I wasn't a fool to trust you. It isn't wise to challenge the one who shall evolve the human race to become worthy of the stars." To his right stood Emoto as Virgo, silent and watchful as ever. But deep in his mind he was troubled. It was bad enough he was forced to harm innocent students for the man he thought of as a friend, but if Vilgax is so blinded by revenge then he will have no more part of anything he nor Gamou had planned..

The ruler of Vilgaxia just grinned his slyest smile and gave them the news of what he really wanted to do." Diagon told me more than I let on. It is true I needed all 12 Horoscope Switches for my plan but I had never intended to let you go see these 'Presenters' you hold so dearly to your heart. No, I have greater plans in store for these marvels of human engineering! The Great One told me of the dark side of the Zodiac, the Shadow Zodiac. Thanks to the power Psyphon was so wise to save from Diagon before his untimely demise I shall bring about true power beyond what you're ever dreamt about! Now bear witness to the coming of true evolution!" Soon Psyphon flicked a switch on the evil device that had slain Ultimous among the other champions that had their power and/or weapons given to Vilgax and soon five dark balls of light bled out of the machine and each went into a Switch. They began to hum evilly and then they were changed into something Gamou had never thought possible until now. Now the red parts were black and the parts that were black before were now purple with the button that triggered the mutation into a Horoscope darkening into purple with the gold parts faded into a dull bronze." Behold the Dark Horoscope Switches! The future of my rule over not only this universe, but all others as well!" Gamou has heard enough of this madness as did Emoto.

"LEO! Punish this fool for what he has done to us!" Gamou roared. Kou wasted no time in rushing to his master's defense as he transformed into the Leo Zodiarts, growling at Vilgax and Psyphon. While the later was worried about dying at the claws of a monster Vilgax was as calm as this was nothing new. Snapping his fingers Driscoll, Will Harange, Darkstar and Overlord each grabbed the Aries, Gemini, Aquarius and Pisces Switches respectfully and clicked them on. The three Horoscopes were stunned to see four flashes of milky light where they were formerly standing as shadowy orbs formed into each Switch's constellation namesake. When the light died down there were four Horoscopes that Gamou would never have thought to see, except in his darkest nightmares.

Driscoll knew that Sir George would be deeply ashamed at what he was now. He quickly put it out of his mind as he was past the point of caring about what he thought of him. Flexing his new hands he looked over at a nearby mirror and saw just what he was no longer human. He had four wings on his back, a demonic ram head, cast-iron hoofs and evil looking knight armor with the Aries constellation on the breastplate. Drawing the sword Jason from its shelve he proclaimed that he was now Dark Aries.

Will wasn't too pleased about being Gemini but if it meant dealing with Ben faster then so be it. He hated Ben ever since he fought out that he was the alien beings that he so hated. He hated how he was once a new caster that followed stories about things that normal humans would need to know. Then around the time Ben found the Prototype Omnitrix he was stuck with following these freaks for the last seven years. When Jimmy Jones leaked the info that Ben and the alien 'heroes' were one and the same he finally had something to focus his hated on. But after the Flame Keepers showed their true colors after all the good he praised about these he was ruined. So it was a surprise that Vilgax went to him with a offer of revenge he couldn't refuse. Now he was a purple and blue jester with white and dark grey highlights with the Gemini constellation on his chest.. But his Gemini form has razor sharp shoulder pads, spots instead of stripes and a less puffy and more muscled look to it than Yuki's. Wearing armored boots with spikes on the tips of them and clawed gloves with a jester hat with spiked ball on the ends with a bronze visor he looked like the stuff nightmare are made from. His face was a pale blue and looked gaunt and cold. He stated in a professional voice that he was now Dark Gemini.

Dying from lack of mana changed Darkstar more than anything else. He wanted power even since he knew about his powers. But Ben and his group kept him from his goals for far too long and for the last time. Now wearing a red duster with water jug shoulder pads on it with matching gloves and boots with a black helmet covering all but his charcoal gray lips and lower face. On his chest was bronze armor with a water theme and the Aquarius constellation on it. His Neater whip was longer and sharper than Erin's model with metal bards on the ends of it. He boldly and loudly said that he is Dark Aquarius, the ruin of Ben Tennyson. Vilgax would let that slide for now as he wanted to be his ruin. No one would take that away from him.

Overlord was always greedy but he still cared about saving lives. When Ben's identity went public he struggled with trying to keep up with the younger man until he reached a breaking point. Not even Jennifer's love could soothe his rage. But now he had the means to make things right by him. He was a dark grey piranha man with clay red armor on his shins, forearms, upper chest and a helmet with the Pisces constellation on its brim. On the forearm armor were two sharp blades and a jagged metal fishfin was on the back of him. Two blades were pointing up on his shin armor and his mouth was full of teeth that were sharper and stronger than his normal ones. Looking up with his glassy white eyes he thundered to the sky that he is no longer Captain Nemesis but Dark Pisces!

Gamou was a little shaken by this but he knew that his dream of seeing the Presenters was gone for good now that four of the Switches were tainted by a power darker than he ever dreamt of. All his life he never thought of himself as having a friend, not even Emoto nor Rokuro. He was the Sun that all others revolve around. But now would be a good time for friends right now as he knew that he stood no chance at beating these new beast borne of Vilgax's ill mind and Diagon's power. With a nod Emoto knew to get the other Horoscopes out of Vilgax's lair right now. But the dark ruler had other plans in store for the others. As Virgo ran to where the others were he saw Psyphon's REDs attacking Taurus, Cancer, Scorpio and Capricorn. So far only Capricorn was doing well as the others look like they were on death's doorstep. Knowing that this is a losing battle he grabbed Capricorn and tried to teleport him out of there. But the youth had other plans.

"Let go of me you weirdo chick! I'm rockin it hard out there! You can't pull me out now, I'm in the zone!" he protested. Virgo glared at him and almost immediately he went silent, too afraid to say anything more." But leaving's good too. I can always rock out later" he laughed nevously. Deep within the Virgo form Emoto sighed sadly. The Taurus Switcher could not be saved after all nor can Scorpio's and Cancer's. With a silent last look he was forced to leave the others to their fate as at long last the three of them felt, only to rise no more. Capricorn looked on shocked that the most powerful Zodiarts were beaten by an onslaught of robots, but Virgo kept shoving him to move on as the portal soon closed as they left the lair that was no longer their home.

Psyphon angrily cursed the fact that the last of his REDs were destoryed in dealing with Scorpio, Cancer and Taurus once and for all. But he doubt Vilgax cared all that much and so kept that in his head. He knew that Vilgax's whims were above all others and he was wise to keep that in mind. As the new Dark Horoscopes watched on Sagittarius fired off a barrage of Apostolos arrows form his arm mounted bow Gilgamesh but Vilgax used his Shield to block the attack to Gamou's horror. Knowing that long ranged combat was out of the question he and Leo charged the former avatar of Diagon and attacked him with profound rage. Even though their blows were damaging his armor and drawing blood Vilgax was still on the winning side as the battle raged on for a good half hour. When it neared its end he grabbed Leo's claws and broke them with utmost ease then while Kou was stunned by that happening Vilgax grabbed his forearms and with a swift movement he broke his arms and kicked him away. Kou was in disbelief that they was someone stronger and more skilled than he was and he was the second strongest of all the Horoscopes, second only to his master Sagittarius. With a smooth motion Vilgax swung his sword at Gamou's bow, breaking it into Cosmic Energy dust. As he leapt back to avoid another attack from Vilgax. Kou tried to jumpkick Vilgax but he saw the attack coming and fired off a blast from his Ruby Ray, knocking him down and back to human form. As Gamou saw his loyal bodyguard fade away into Cosmic Energy he knew that there was no other choice. He knew better than anyone that using Zodiart Switches was a big risk as it is a huge physical toll on the users and there was always the risk of the longest term users fading away in stardust when defeated as Kou soon found out. While Horoscopes can use Supernova powers to draw out all the power of their respective constellations they couldn't be used for too lond as overuse will spell the Switcher's doom. But Gamou didn't care about the risk as his life dream was crashing down around him. Electing to use his Supernova power he shed his normal armor to gain a light orange form with greater power, speed and mobility. But he knew the form lacks in defense might but if he could defeat Vilgax before he succumbed to the dark power then he could restart again from scratch. He was always a optimist and this didn't change that fact in the slightest. Gamou then tried to jumpkick Vilgax with a fiery aura around his foot. The attack stuck true and Vilgax fell back as he howled in utter pain, blood gushing out of the fresh wound. Soon Vilgax was firing off lasers from his eyes as he tried to punch and kick Sagittarius Nova to no such luck. As Gamou's blows caused burn marks to form on his skin Vilgax's rage grew more and more terrible with every hit landed. But Gamou's luck soon ran out as a failed fiery punch was caught by the Ruler of Vilgaxia. He soon crushed his hand like someone crushes a paper cup and before the shock could register in Gamou's mind Vilgax leapt into the air and did a backbreaker on Sagittarius, causing the Zodiart form to explode in flames. As Gamou's limp form faded away into dust he dreamt about how much space meant to him. Before he passed on he felt deep regret at what he did to his students. Hopefully someone else would take better care of them than he did.

Vilgax was pleased that Gamou was now gone as his contast talk about 'Presenters' was finally getting on his nerves. Psyphon went over to where the bodies of Sarina, Natsuji and Yuta were finishing fading away. As Yuta sadly thought of the fact he'd never see his beloved Sayaka his final sight was Psyphon grabbing the Switches of Taurus, Scorpio and Cancer and then he felt life no more as his body as well as the other two crumbed into stardust. Placing them as well as the Leo and Sagittarius Switches onto the dark device five more dark energy balls turned the Switches into Dark Switches. Vilgax was quite happy with himself with this indeed. Gamou thought too small for his liking. He likes his dreams to be big and when he gains the last two Swtiches he shall be ruler over both universes! Ben Tennyson shall finally die!

It was hard to believe that it's been over a week since all this craziness started but for the most part Ben was used to it by now. While Kevin wasn't too thrilled about what happened to his car he was still willing to use his connections to get their oddball guest a house to stay in since with the additions of Erin and Ran Ms. Leven's house wouldn't be big enough for all of them. Ben was staying with them as were Julie and Manny but still there was some doubt in Ben's mind. 'Just how am I going to deal with my car with the money I have?' he thought sadly to himself. Manny meant no harm but the damage was beyond what he could fix and since he didn't really know how to work the new Omnitrix he couldn't use Upgrade to work his nanotech magic on it. For all he knew he could turn into Rath or worse Ghostfreak and just make things worse. Plus while he was fond of his new friends they tended to be somewhat louder than he'd like. So he would spend some time in his temporality room to get at least a little peace and quiet. But today he would have no such luck as Gentaro was somehow able to unlock the door with a old gift card he found a few days back.

"Dude, I'd love to play with your friends but I've been having these monster headaches and your loud voice doesn't really help that at all" Ben grumbled as he covered his head with his pillow. But the young Rider would have none of that as he yanked the pillow from the poor boy."Can you just let me sleep it off?"

"I can't let my friends suffer in silence. My parents told me to treasure my friends as they would save me and you are a friend of my friends so I think I need to help you out. That's the code of the Kamen Rider after all." Gentaro politely answered. "I think Yuki may have something to help you out with your headache problem. Let's go downstairs and see if it's ready for you" Ben got up since he knew by now Gentaro would not let anyone be unhappy, no matter what. But he was dreading what was about to happen.

It wasn't easy to make congee with the American rice cooker but still Yuki was resourceful. She really wanted to make her special space congee but lacked the ingredients to do so. But if there was one thing she loved as much as space that thing is spending time with friends and family. Having parents who loved to cook was quite a good experience for the girl as she learned all about great things to make and she was quite good at it too. But she was fond of space and her space-themed recipes didn't go over quite so well with others. She still remembered the day she made the curry overly spicy and poor Shun fainted from the heat. Still no one was hurt thankfully but that was embarrassing to have food you made knock a friend out cold. As Ben and Gen walked down to the table she was pleased indeed as for the fulfilled looks on JK, Ran, Erin, and Julie's faces told her that her congee was very good indeed. "Gen-chan, Ben-san breakfast is served. I made vegetarian congee for everyone so I hope you enjoy." she happily stated to the two boys. Yuki then raised her arms overhead and proclaimed that "Breakfast is here!" Gentaro joined her in her cheerful statement and Ben had to cover his ears since while Gen and Yuki are friendly people who love to help out whenever they can the concept of indoor voices was something they have yet to understand.

Manny however wasn't happy about having congee for breakfast. He wanted bacon and mancakes but he was outvoted by the girls and to his surprise JK as well. He never in all his life have ever met a man who didn't want meat for breakfast. But still someone was nice enough to make him food to eat and he was never one to turn down free food. and he slowly ate the congee. "Hey Ben how are ya holdin out there buddy? Still having those spells from the Ultimatrix?" he asked with his mouth full of food. Erin looked a little grossed out by Manny's lack of manners but she was worried too as Ben looked like he wasn't his usual cheery self. The ill look on the Omnitrix wielder was noticed by Julie as this has been going on and off for the last month.

"Ben are you feeling OK?" she asked him, a look of worry on her face. As Ben sat down he was not looking like he wanted to eat right now. "Gen I know you meant well but Ben might need to go lay back down. He's not looking so good-" Her discussion with the Rider was cut off by Ben vomiting on the floor. His face looked even more haggard than before but he just raised his hand to say he wanted to tell them what they needed to know.

"I'm sure you're all worried about me right now but this is nothing new to me. You may be surprised to hear this but it has something to do with Vilgax" What he said got their attention as he told them the story of what happened to him that long month ago...

30 days or so ago

As Ben swung Ascalon at the fused form of Vilgax, Diagon and a Lucurbra he was worried that he should have gone alien instead. But now was not the time to be doubting himself right now. If he failed there the Earth and then the universe would fall to Vilgax. Parrying his energy balls Ben tried to stab the former ruler but Vilgax dodge rolled away and kicked Ben away. Before Vilgax could crush his head underfoot Ben stood up and did a two-handed slash on his chest, causing Vilgax to howl in pain. "C'mon Vilgiy you really want to be Diagon's slave for the rest of eternity? The Vilgax I knew at least had some sort of pride! He'd never let some lame squid brainwash his to become his lackey!" Ben's words did nothing to stop the onslaught of attack from the chimera as Vilgax glared at him. Seeing that Vilgax's breath was on his face Ben tried to stab Vligax so he can end this and free everyone from the spell of Diagon. However Vilgax was too fast for him and grabbed his head, the helmet the only thing keeping Vligax from crushing his head. Ben grunted in pain as he attempted to do SOMETHING, anything to get free but so far no dice.

"Ah hahahaha! You may be the wielder of both the Ultimatrix and Ascalon but only I hold true power! A pity you effects are in vain. But history only favors the victors and your story ends not with a triumph, but with a whimper." As he tried to finish the job Ben was finally able to stab the Gavan sword directly into the heart of Diagon, deep in the chest of Vilgax. With a blinding flash Vilgax was back to his normal form with the energies of Diagon in the sword Ascalon, Ben holding it by his side. He didn't know how and why he got his missing equipment back but he didn't care. Ben now had the power to reshaped the universe as he saw fit. That may prove useful to him. But no matter what he tried Ben was deadset on curing the Flame Keepers and turning them all back to humans. But in the end to Gwen and Kevin's horror Ben finally considered doing Vilgax's bidding and wiping out everyone that threatened the universe. But before Ben could do Vilgax's will Julie flew to where they all were with Ship as her battle armor. To Vilgax's eternal rage she was the one to save Ben's soul and get him to do what he intended to all along and cure the Flame Keepers. When that was said and done the power of Diagon faded as the old god finally died to the conqueror of ten worlds' anger. To make matters worse Ascalon crumbed to dust, all the power in it being too much even for Gavan science to withhold.

"Julie, thank you for telling me what truly matters. I think for now I need to make things right by you and from now on you're looking at the new and improved Ben Tennyson. More thoughtful and kind than ever" But before Kevin could make a quip about Ben being even more girly than before Vilgax shot off a Ruby Ray at Julie. But Ben thought ahead and turned into Diamondhead to block the shot off."And I thought I was the sore loser here. Just admit you lost and we'll call it even, OK?" Vilgax snarled at his innocent question and tried to cleave Diamondhead in half. But his sword only hit the ground below them as Ben turned into XLR8 to speed Julie away from his hopefully last battle with Vligax. As Ben rapid punched the ruler to little or no effect Vilgax grabbed his tail and slammed him down brutally around five or seven times. Ben changed form to Swampfire and burned Vilgax's face with his fire attacks, rolling away before Vilgax could regain his bearings. "I don't think it's hero time right now. It's time to go Ultimate!"as he clicked the dial to the Ultimate form setting.

"ULTIMATE SWAMPFIRE!"

Hitting Vilgax with a blue tornado as he also blasted him with blue balls of fire Ultimate Swampfire thought that would be the last he saw of Vilgax. But to his horror he saw that he protected himself with that lousy shield of his. Switching to Ultimate Cannonbolt he sped to where Vilgax was and rammed his head-on, breaking his shield in the process. As Vilgax tried to keep U. Cannonbolt away from him with his claws now smoking from his attempts he then was able to kicked the evolved alien away from him. Ben however didn't want to give up just yet. Powering down and switching to Chamalien he stabbed Vilgax in the face with his stinger then cloaked himself and ran around the ruins of the Mount Rushmore base, Vilgax cursing the fact that he knew not where Ben was. Vilgax gave up on finding the boy and bashed the heads of Gwen and Kevin together, knocking them out to the utter shock of Julie and Ben. To this day Ben still has nightmares about what transpired next.

Vilgax impaled Julie with his sword and threw her limp form over to where the viewing window was. As Chamalien ran over to where she laid, her face looking as pale as death he then turned to where Vilgax was gloating as his face grew hot from his understandable anger."Look at it this way Ben. Julie just isn't all that popular with some of your fans. I did you a favor here this day" he evilly told him with a sick smile on his face. Ben had just about heard enough of his madness. Morphing to Rath, his body shaking with rage he then activated the Ultimate setting. Soon his body was covered with white fur as his hand now had two talons jutting out of them with his mouth now having two saberteeth in there as well. He was much larger than before and his fingers and toes had sharp claws at the ends of them.

"ULTIMATE RATH!" he thundered, the air around them vibrating from the sheer volume of his voice. Vilgax however wasn't worried at all. but that soon ended when U. Rath stuck him in the eyes with his larger talons. As Vilgax fell back in pain he was stunned that Ben would go this far for the human girl. But U. Rath was beyond the ability to speak as he charged at the ruler, Vilgax doing the same as his eyes have finished healing. Soon the air was quaking from their blows as the both of them were not gaining any ground but they were too angry to even care at this point.

It was early in the morning as both combatants were still going at it, giving no care to the new day as it greeted them all with the promise of something better. "LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN VILGAX! YOU CAN HURT ME, YOU CAN HURT MY FEELINS IF I HAD ANY BUT IF YOU MESS WITH MY GIRLFREIND THEN YOU'RE GONNA DIE! PAINFULLY!" Vilgax was pleased that Ben had finally given in to utter rage and was about to give him the battle to the death he wanted even since Ben was a young boy. But nothing lasts forever as at along last Vilgax grabbed the Ultimatrix from Ultimate Rath's chest and tore it clean off, blood stepping from the fresh wound as Ben slammed both hands on Vilgax's head, knocking him unconscious. "Guess I'm the winner at long last Vilgax! That's what ya get for messin with Rath's lady, ya dumb mook!" as he changed back to being plain Jane Ben and falling down, a sad smile on his face as he slumbered. Sure he won but at what cost to Julie? As the Ultimatrix laid forgotten Gwen and Kevin tried to give Ben and Julie medical aid but so far nothing wanted to work for them. But soon Azmuth showed up and then things would change forever.

NOW

While everyone was gripped by Ben's tale he had to stop for a bathroom break. When he got back he would finish his tale and then they would all know why he was the way he is now.

About 20 minutes after Ben's so-called last battle with Vilgax

Gwen was upset upon hearing the news about Ben and Julie's conditions. Not only was their chances of survival slim but even if they lived though this they would have horrible scars the rest of their lives since Vilgax somehow had managed to store a small portion of Diagon's power and the supernatural energy that was his being meant not even Gavan science could fully fix them. It ultimately fell to the both of them to save themselves and she couldn't do a thing to save them, the cousin he loved like a brother and the girl she cared for like a younger sister. Kevin gave her a comforting look but it did little to soothe her troubled mind. "I know you mean well Kevin but I just can't help but worry about them. George was the expert on Diagon and even he didn't know everything about him. It just upsets me that even though we saved the universe AGAIN we may end up losing Ben" She then breathed harshly and bit her lip to keep from getting even more upset than she was right now.

"Look Gwen, we all know stupid people are tough and Ben's pretty dumb so that makes him one of the toughest people around. But his lack of smarts never stopped him from doing the right thing even if his ego grew to the size of Jupiter. He's going to be fine, I promise" Kevin soothing told her but to be honest he wasn't sure Ben would pull though. As they walked back and forth in the waiting room while Ben was getting surgery that will hopefully save his life they wondered if he knew how bad things were right now. The Plumbers were swamped with getting people to safety after Diagon's spell was broken and the skeleton crew that was operating on Ben and Julie wasn't as fully trained as the normal group. Just then Azmuth walked in to where they were. His face looked worried but his feelings were so much more than that. He was upset with Ben for risking his life fighting Vilgax, angry at Albedo for making the Ultimatrix and building it so poorly, disappointed at the Forever Knights shouting revenge against Ben even though Diagon was George's true killer and more than anything else he was angry at himself. He should have gave Ben a new Omnitrix when he had it finished but if they was one character fault Azmuth would admit about himself it was he held on to grudges longer than can be considered healthy and he was still upset about Ben blowing up the Prototype Omnitrix, although it was for noble causes. Plus it seemed Ben would remain a child forever, whining and pouting when thing did not go his way and bragging about every little accomplishment he ever did. But Ben was wiser than he gave him credit for and he had grown up so much since he last saw him. But he had to deliver the news regarding Ben and Julie and it was something that worried even the Gavan.

"As you both are aware of magic isn't a field that the Plumbers normally deal with. We did all we could for the both of them but it's going to take some time for them to heal" Azmuth then cleared his throat as he had more to say to them both. " I have deactivated the Ultimatrix as it was such shoddy work. It's not even fit to be called Gavan technology! Ben will from now on use the True Omnitrix, the true successor to my first Omnitrix. It is superior to both the Prototype and the Ultimatrix in every way plus it doesn't have that forsaken evolution function Albedo added. Behold!" With those words Azmuth had two nurses and to this Ben wanted them to be cute girls, not rough burly men, wheeled him in to where Gwen and Kevin were right by. Gwen was crying tears of happiness and Kevin was about to cry too, but he would NEVER admit to doing it. Ben weakly held up his wrist to show that instead of the bulky and clumsy Ultimatrix he now wore a sleek and stylish new Omnitrix that looked like something that fits Ben than the more warlike Ultimatrix.

As Ben and Azmuth went on about the new features and functions of the "watch", Kevin wanted to just go home but Gwen sharply but quietly told him that they have to wait for Julie. Kevin gave a embarrassed "Oh yeah" and let the two finish what they wanted to share. When all of that was said and done Ben showed Gwen and Kevin his new scar. Gwen was sickened to her stomach while Kevin was impressed as tough guys normally are with scars. On Ben's chest was a small but ghastly X-shaped scar that would there the rest of his life. Soon after Julie was brought in. She was in better shape than Ben was, but she was still woozy from lack of blood. Lifting her shirt up she showed the trio of Ben, Gwen and Kevin that on the right side of her stomach was a long red scar but other than that she was relatively unharmed.

It was a long month of recovery for Ben as he didn't have Azmuth tell anyone other than Julie and his family than all the forced evolution he did to himself had finally taken its toll on his body. Albedo never made the Ultimatrix to used as long as Ben did and it was showing that the younger Gavan flatout sucked at making Omnitrixes: Ben's cells were breaking down. Azmuth didn't know if there was anything that the Plumbers could do to save him but Ben still wanted to be a hero. Azmuth was pleased that even though his life was at risk Ben still wanted to save lives and in general do good. His relationship with Julie had improved dramatically as while they was still some clashing of egos Ben and Julie were more open and honest about how much they cared and loved each other. After a few dates Ben told her that if they was something that could be done about his cellular breakdown problems then he would marry her after they finished collage together.

NOW

Ben's story had moved Erin, Yuki and Ran to tears while Gentaro and JK were flatout crying their eyes out. It wasn't the most romantic story ever but they were impressed with Ben's tale of heroism. Manny however was asleep as not only did he hear this story three times already he was, to be quite honest, bored with it. So bored in fact that he was face deep in his less than half-eaten congee, his snoring causing bubbles to form. This however was noticed by Erin as she grabbed his shirt collar and shook him awake. "I find it hard to believe that someone as lazy and thoughtless as you gets to go to space. Ben's story was not only intriguing but his woes with forced evolution may be able to help us out as well." she scolded the by now wide awake half-alien." We don't know if they are any side effects that may happen down the road and if I am to become a astronaut I need to know if there's going to things that might go wrong with my body" Ran gave Erin a worried look as she was deeply upset about the changes that were forced upon her too. Could she be suffering the same fate as Ben was?

Manny wiped off the rice dish from his face and looked over at the two girls. They were really, REALLY cute even when upset and he knew it. "You both are quite fine indeed" he leered at them as his eyes were focused on their bodies to Erin's nervous joy and Ran's annoyance. "But if you're worried about side effects then what about your buddy that kinda spilt from her Zodiart form?" as he directed his gaze to where Yuki was as she held onto her Hayabusa-kun doll, a look of profound sadness on her face.

While Gen wanted to smack some manners into Manny JK stopped him from doing so, at least for right now."His question was lacking in tack but I'm worried about Yuki-san too. If it's alright can you tell us just what happened to you before?" he asked politely.

Yuki swallowed hard as this was not a memory she wanted to bring up but she knew they had the right to know just what was the deal with her Zodiart form. "If you may be seated then I shall begin. It's not a happy tale but you all have the right to know why Gemini became separate from myself." She was on the verge of crying but Gentaro held onto her hand to comfort her and she was deeply thankful for that. With that out she continued her tale of woe as the others looked on, concerned about how she may be holding up since this was a very upsetting memory she was bringing up.

Sometime during Chapter two...

"WHAT DO YOU MEANT SHE'S GOING TO JUST SPLIT UP?! HUMANS DON'T DO THAT...normally. If there's anything else that I need to know then you tell me NOW!" Vilgax raged at Gamou as Yuki looked at the both of them in utter fear. Vilgax was scary enough just standing there but Gamou frightened her the most. He was someone she looked up too her entire life and to think that not only did he want her to become one of the monsters she swore to fight with her friends the Kamen Rider Club but to go somewhere else that they weren't even sure they would be able to come back from. Gamou however was as calm as ever and that scared her even more than anything else.

"Gemini is a unique constellation. Those born under its light that can evolve into Horoscopes have a different effect happen to them. When they active Zodiart Switches the dark side of them come out of them and gains a body of Cosmic Energy. From there the dark side will drain away everything from their former host until one of them dies. Should the dark side die then the Switcher regains everything and reverts to a normal human, but without the dark side in their mind. But if the former host should die then the dark side becomes a true human with the powers of the Gemini Zodiart as the former host dissolves into stardust. It's as simple as that" Gamou answered Vilgax as if he just wanted to know the time. However the ruler of Vilgaxia wasn't too happy about all of this. He wanted just the girl to be part of his army, not have to deal with a duel between her and her darkest aspects.

Yuki however just wanted to run away and find somewhere safe but with Psyphon blocking the door she had nowhere to go but where Vilgax wanted to go. The girl broke down and cried loudly as Vilgax covered his earholes in pain. Gamou however had a heart and tried to give Yuki a comforting hug. But Yuki shank away in fear of him but a growl from Vilgax made her consider otherwise. As he rocked her back and forth she felt a little better but not by much.

"If it makes you feel any better I can then have Psyphon tweak your Switch so you can change without that side effect. But you must promise me that when you are in you new form that you not lose control of your anger or otherwise your darkside will come out and you will have a 24 hour window to deal with that before you fade away unless you darkside dies before the 24 hours are up. Do you understand?" he asked the frightened girl as she nodded in complete fear. It hurt Gamou to see the young woman he loved as a daughter shake in fear like this and someone else who was 'visited' by the Presenters too no less. As he sadly watched as Vilgax carried her away as she screamed and howlered in terror he made it a point to stay by her side until she was her cheerful self again.

Back to where we were before.

"Gamou-san told me the rest as they did the work on my Switch. I was so worried that I'd never see you again but there you were. But you have a good bit too make up for, going after some boy and forgetting our promise, although I'm glad you remembered it when I needed you too the most" As Yuki gave Gen a sad smile he wondered if she would ever be as happy again as she was before. "You really messed up Gen-chan. I'll always love you but I don't know if I can trust you as much again" she mused as Gentaro looked deeply ashamed and Ben gave a nervous chuckle.

"Ben, you're not at fault here. But I think you have to help Gen and Yuki out. We were kind of in their boat before, remember?" Julie whispered to Ben. Still the both of them were worried about what effect the events of the last week will have on them all in the long run.

It was days like this that made Tojiro wonder if doing this whole 'Horoscope' thing was worth it. He hadn't slept well in days, Virgo was hounding him about keeping a low profile, something the hard rocking youth wasn't used to doing and he'd do ANYTHING for some good Gyoza! Bellwood is not the place to go for good Japanese food. Sitting down on a old bench he ran his hands over his oddly shaped hair as Virgo walked over to where he was sitting. Between these 'Dark Horoscopes' and Vilgax himself he didn't really want to be Capricorn anymore."I'm out man. I wanted to share my love of rock and roll with the others, not fight to the death" he bemoaned to the angelic Zodiart. It seemed like nothing fazed the winged one as 'she' (he wasn't totally sure Virgo even HAD a gender) never got into raging fits of anger.

Deep within the Virgo Emoto was about worn out. If Gamou's latest plans didn't convince him that betraying his friend was a bad idea then this would be like a alarm, blaring loudly "EMOTO! You didn't focus hard enough and now innocent people are getting killed because you wanted power all those years ago!" Sighing sadly as he powered down to Tojiro's shock as he sat down his thoughts went to how the Core Child, Kengo and the young man he took under his wing, Ryusei are holding up in his absence. He wanted the later of the two boys to keep his identity as Meteor a secret but he tended to be far too hot headed for his good sometimes. While he knew Aries was to blame for his lapse in judgment he couldn't really blame the two of them for what they did. Ultimately both the injuries of Ryusei's friend and the corruption of the kind-hearted boy who would better be known as Aries was his fault and he knew it. But youth tends to want the fastest, most interesting way of getting things done, even if said faster ways are dangerous beyond belief. He was swayed by the promise of the power he craved and turned his back on Utahoshi and chosen the Zodiart Switches over the safer Fourze System on the grounds that none of them would be able to fully use it when it was done...seventeen years from when they found the Core Switch.

Tojiro was finally able to get over his shock and bluttered out "Holy crap! You're Professor Emoto! How did you become a commander? I thought you were one of the highest esteemed minds of Japan and would be the last person to use a Switch" Emoto silently nodded to answer the hotheaded boy and told him everything he needed to know, about how he foolish choose power over friendship, how he was responsible for the death of his closest friend and how that made him hate the Moon and how his short time here in quiet little Bellwood, in a universe that was never real to them until a short time ago, retaught him about how much friendship really mattered. When he was done Tojiro was speechless. To think that such a happy-go lucky, if somewhat clumsy guy was the executioner for these 'Horoscopes' and that he fell into Gamou's power trap as he did. But little he know that Ben was watching them both, transformed into Chamalien and invisible. Using a Plumber radio he relayed what the two of them had said and there was much shock to be had about this latest tidbit of news.

"Emoto-sensei is Virgo? I thought he was our friend but he really a apostle? Could that really be true?" Gentaro was very upset about finding out that Emoto, the man he thought he could trust the safety of his friends too was the dreaded Virgo Zodiarts and that he may have played a part in what had transpired to Yuki, Erin, Ran, Tojiro and the late Yuta, although they wouldn't find out about his passing until later. The young Rider was unhappy that he thought Emoto was helping our the monsters that threatened the student body and that he was now just sitting there, as if he had no care in the world.

JK however was both pleased and angry at Tojiro. Running up to where he was sitting he cried out" Yo Tojiro-kun! Is this how you wish to fulfill our dreams? By using dark powers to force people into liking you? I've learned from a good friend that people shouldn't hurt others to live their hopes and dreams." But Tojiro would not listen to reason as the negative Cosmic Energy had warped his mind. With a glare he mutated into his Capricorn form and cried out "Rock N Roll, Yeah!" as he attacked his former bandmate with his sound attacks. Ben was annoyed that JK ruined any element of surprise but he still had to save the poor boy. Fading back to being visible he tackled the vibrantly dressed student out of harm's way. "Thank you. I know you might not believe me but Tojiro was once a good friend of mine. All that energy he absorbed is driving him mad. Please, you gotta save him!" he pleaded to Chamalien.

Ben did believe him however. After dealing with Kevin's energy-based insanity twice he readily knew that he can save Tojiro from the Horoscopes and himself. But if sound was his forte then he'd have to use a form he really didn't like to use but given the circumstances he had no choice to bring out this form. With a twist and a click Ben was now Benwolf. With a howl he slashed at the Capricorn Zodiarts with his claws as Tojiro tried to regain his bearings. 'I don't think he really knows how to fight at all. He's just lashing out and using his powers to distance himself from anything that may harm him.' Ben thought to himself. But Ben was hard pressed to end this as soon as he could as Benwolf, while far more controllable than Rath tended to follow his basic instincts more than he should, like hunger. As Tojiro strummed his guitar Uruk to attack Benwolf with a sonic attack Ben counter-attacked with his supersonic howl, knocking the Capricorn Zodiarts down. As Benwolf walked to where he laid Emoto turned into Virgo and bashed him in the back of his head with his Rhodia's blunt side, getting him away from the cocky youth as he forcibly picked him up.

" Baka. It would help the both of us if you didn't run right into things you do not understand. Perhaps we should regroup at a more con-" But Virgo's scolding was cut short by Benwolf's angry snarls, the sudden attack rendering Ben unable to discern friend from foe. Now a animalistic berserker Benwolf rampaged towards the two Horoscopes, caring not for anyone who would be in his way. JK was never the bravest people around but even he knew that he couldn't even think to fight off Benwolf.

Luckily for JK Gentaro was on it. Trapping the crazed Benwolf with the Net Module he then proclaimed that once again he was coming to space with Yuki, Erin and Ran joining in on his cheer. As Benwolf calmed down he shook his head to clear his thoughts and went for Brainstorm. One of these days he's going to learn how to get Benwolf to do things without those freakouts of his. As Virgo turned to where Fourze was he slowly walked towards the Rider as Fourze got into a fighting pose. "You hurt my friends once, Emoto. I will not allow you to do that again. My friends are my universe and if you're thinking of forcing them back to being your slaves, then you're sadly mistaken!" Before Emoto could tell him the truth Fourze tried to kick him with the professor forced to defend himself from the annoyed Kamen Rider. Trying to fly away so he gain some distance between him and Gen his attempts were stopped by the Winch Module dragging him down to Earth. But Virgo was able to slash the Rider with his halberd, setting him free from Fourze as he then fired off energy balls at Fourze. Forced to block them with the Shield Module Gentaro knew that he needed a edge but with his friendship with Yuki a bit uneasy right now Cosmic was out of the question. Whipping out the MS Magphone he pulled it into the Fourze Driver as well was Launcher and Gattiling. Soon his suit was silver and bulkier with two railguns on his shoulders and he now wore a bigger helmet to help with balancing that extra weight. Activating all four Switches at once for a Limit Break he thought Virgo would go down, simple as that. But life is never that simple as he would find out soon enough. Virgo had opened a portal to redirect his attack at him and it hit him deadon, flipping him onto his back painfully to the worried cries of his friends.

"Do not interfere with me child. I have important matters to discuss with your friends regarding their unfortunate experiences. It is best you stay down for now for if you decide to interfere with me before I am done then I will show you no mercy" he declared to Gentaro as he then walked over to where Yuki and the others were at. Yuki was shaking in fear as she thought he was trying to take them back to Gamou as they tried to run away from the powerful Zodiarts. But Virgo teleported right in forth of them to their horror as Ran readied herself for combat against this old foe.

Tojiro meanwhile was having trouble breaking Brainstorm's forcefeild to no avail. "Perhaps you would find it more advantageous to reconsider a more meaningful attack plan, my good fellow" Brainstorm said in his British accent. But Tojiro was at wit's end with the crab alien as he tried to brainwash some bystanders to charge at Ben. Brainstorm knew that he wouldn't be able to defeat Capricorn soon enough if he managed to get innocent people caught up in this. Switching to XLR8 Ben tackled Tojiro to the ground and before Tojiro could get up Ben struck him hard with two tornados he formed by spinning his arms full speed, blasting the young rocker a good distance away from the others. As Capricorn got to one knee Ben changed to FourArms and punched him with all four of his namesake arms, knocking him both down and back to human form.

Ran didn't want to have to fight as her Aikido teachers told her that it's better to defend yourself than to just attack blindly but Virgo was leaving her no choice in the matter. "When will you learn that we don't want to be monsters like you?! We wish to live as humans and better both our lives and those of others around us as well" she proudly and truthfully told Virgo. To her shock he changed back to being Emoto, looking as calm as ever. "W-Wh-Why Emoto-sensei? Just what is it you really want from us?" Ran sanpped at the man as he placed his Switch in a coat pocket.

"To save you. It's that simple, Ran-chan" he calmly told them all. "Vilgax has proven to be unstable as he has slain the other members. I tried to save Yuta but he was regrettably beyond my help by the time I got to him. But there's more to what has happened to you and it is of dire importance that you know about-"Emoto was cut off by a strong gust of wind blowing him down and knocking away his Virgo Switch. When the dust cleared everyone was stunned to see Vilgax himself holding the Capricorn and Virgo Switches and placing them into a strange machine that placed dark energy into them, changing their color schemes to Emoto's horror. With a heavy sigh he said "I'm too late to stop your madness from coming to fruition. But I beg of you, please have mercy on these poor students!" he pleaded to the dark ruler but Vilgax laughed it off as if it was nothing. "Perhaps you didn't meet with Sugilite, a old friend of mine. He knows better than anyone that I don't know of mercy. But that is no concern for you now .Prepare to die, knowing that you lived a life of utter shame!" Raising his sword overhead he planned on ending his life there and now but Fourze recovered fast enough to hold his killing blow in place with Magnet States' powers, giving everyone the chance to flee. Howling in rage Vilgax tried to blast Fourze with his Ruby Ray but someone absorbed the blast: The Codon Stream's sample of Sugilite. Chromastone

"Here's a message to your from the people of Petopia! You stink at making friends!" as Chromastone retaliated with a laser blast, hitting Vilgax in his face. Fourze was quite pleased indeed as Ben is proving to be far more than he first thought. Perhaps he may be his friend afterall. Wrapping Vilgax up with a net from the Net Module Fourze then used the Wheel Module to speed away with the injured Emoto as Ben froze Vilgax with Big Chill's icy breath, giving everyone time to evaculate.

By the time everyone was gone Vilgax finally broke free from his bounds. He wasn't able to kill Ben but now he had all the pieces he needed for his final revenge. 'Soon, I shall be victorious once again and the name of Vilgax will cast dread over the universe once more!' he thought to himself.

A hour or so later

Julie and Manny were looking over at the old wallpaper than was over every wall of their temporality loggings. It was a faded grey and it was peeling BADLY plus it smelled to high Heaven. It needed to be replaced and soon. Luckily the owner of the building agreed with them and gave them the money to replace the old wallpaper with new paint. During breakfast everyone thought that a coral blue would work out the best. But they never expected the others to bring over both Tojiro and Emoto over. It took a good long while but everyone was caught up on the fact that Emoto was indeed their ally. He told them of how he tried to stop Gamou's plans from the inside by providing Ryusei with his Meteor arsenal as well as teleporting injured members of the Horoscopes to his satellite the to heal and hopfully detox them of the negative Cosmic Energy.

Yuki was quite thrilled to hear that Emoto was a secret ally of theirs, plus he had a space station he could call his own. Erin was pleased as well as she always wanted to go on a space station too. Needless to say both girls were on cloud nine with this news. As Tojiro and JK caught up on the latest goings on Ben wanted to ask him if he was doing any better. As Ben himself knew from bitter experience Vilgax never pulled his punches and right now he was in no shape to deal with the ruler of Vilgaxia right now. Yuki provided Ben with a soft chair to sit down on while Ran gave him a tissue so he can cough into it. To everyone's horror Ben was coughing up blood. Erin cleaned up Ben's face as Julie called the Plumbers to let them know Ben's condition has gotten much, much worse. Gentaro looked on wondering if the Medical Switch could help but Emoto shook his head sadly.

"I doubt that the Fourze System can help Ben now. His condition is beyond anything that Terran science knows about. We'll have to trust in Julie's decision and see if the Plumbers can help him out." he somberly told Gentaro. However Erin had a idea and it worried Emoto very much.

"If I remember correctly my Aquarius form has healing powers. If I can regain my Switch then I could help Ben" she happily said.

"Plus I think the Pisces form I had may be able to purify the toxins in his bloodstream. It's worth a shot at least right?" Ran innocently asked of Emoto, his face growing graver with he was hearing.

"Plus if I can use Gemini's duplicating powers then we can have a extra set of hands to help Ben!" Yuki cheerfully answered to the joy of everyone but Ben and Emoto.

"I was afraid of this happening. Going into the warp gate has saturated your bodies with negative Cosmic Energy. I fear you have a addiction to the dark powers plus if you try to use the Switches altered by Vilgax then you would not survive" he grimly told them. To drive his point home he picked up a mirror and showed Yuki, Erin, Ran and Tojiro to their utter terror something that was very wrong indeed.

Their eyes were glowing with red light. As Emoto's did the same he gave them the news of what needed to be done immediately.

"We have to detox all the negative energy from our bodies or they will break down from the strain of the mutation brought about by Switch usage." As Yuki and Ran broke down in tears Gen and JK looked at the dying form of Ben Tennyson and wondered if he even could be saved.

London, 12:41 P.M

Diagon's coming had weakened the dimensional walls of Ben's universe. As the former avatar of the Old One himself Vilgax now knew everything that he knew about these weak spots that he could, in theory, bring about the end of Bellwood. From Gamou's research Vilgax learnt that when all 12 Horoscope Switches are used by one person then a warp gate formed from a dimensional hole can be used to go directly to just about anywhere in the universe. Of course the pull of such a feat would utterly destroy the surrounding arena but since this was Earth, a planet considered less than trash by some species, Vilgax really couldn't care less. Once he across the portal back to Vilgaxia he would then gather the rest of his fleet and drag Earth to its doom. But of course he needed to get to where these holes were and alter them to become warpgates. One such place was in London, and Vilgax was almost giddy about heading home after so long. Ben was a nuisance as always but with their new powers Driscoll and Zombozo were quite ready for their rematch with the grandson of Max Tennyson. Zombozo was now Dark Taurus, a minotaur with robotic arms, a laser sight over his missing eye, blue suspenders, and the Taurus constellation on the form's chest. Drill-like horns gutted out of his head and in his nose was a spiked ring. He stomped the ground hard, causing the road under him to wobble about, and the people on said road to scream and shout in terror. Oh, how Zombozo missed this! To hear the people run in fear at his coming and soil themselves just by looking at him! As both Dark Aries and Dark Taurus went about their business Vilgax prepared to use the 12 Switches to do his dark deed. If he was unable to do so then he had a backup plan in store. One can never be too careful with Ben Tennyson, now can they?

A half hour earlier on a Plumber training base in Earth's orbit

Julie was worried about what was happened to both her new friends and her admittedly oddball boyfriend Ben. Yuki, Erin, Ran and Tojiro were suffering from negative Cosmic Energy addition and Ben's cells were slowly dying from overuse of the Ultimatrix's Ultimate function. Albedo had never planned on using the Ultimatrix for as long as Ben had and never fully tested it for safety and any long term side effects. She silently cursed Albedo's name as Manny sat be her, looking as upset as she was. But he still wanted to cheer her up and she was thankful for his effects in doing so. "Hey, cheer up Julie. Ben's dealt with weirdo body issues before and he's always come on top. He's going to pull though, Jules. He's not one to go quietly into the good night" he told her.

But Julie was still not sure about Ben's chances of survival."Thank you Manny. I really do mean that but Ben never had to deal with a Omnitrix that was killing him from the inside. If only he gotten the Omnitrix he has on now sooner, none of this would be happening. I can't help but feel like this is my fault" she expressed to Manny. She looked like she would have no joy in her life again. Ben was, as much as her father told her otherwise, was the biggest part of her life and if he died then in a sense a part of her would die too. But Manny wouldn't let her sulk in her own misery. Ben and both Gentaro and JK needed her to keep the cheer up and if she was allowed to stew in her own sorrow then she was of no use to anyone.

"Julie, you know Ben ain't no saint. Remember how much he ticked everyone off with how much he loved being the big cheese of the universe? I think you were angrier than even Azmuth about how fat Ben's head had gotten. But he still knew that he had to be the hero to everyone who looks up to him. This life didn't choose Ben but he never backed down from a challenge and don't think that this is all your fault. Well it's not and you know it" he corrected the tennis player. "Besides don't you think he wants to come home to a beautiful girl that loves and cares for him? I know I would!" Manny cheerfully admitted to Julie. The young girl bushed at what he had told her as she never really thought of herself as that way before."But there's more to you than a pretty face. You're smart, resourceful, able to give Ben the business when he needs it better than even Kevin, plus you see Ben as a human being, not some alien freakshow. Trust me when I say that means more to Ben then he lets on but he really loves that part about you" Julie had heard the story about how Kai wanted Ben to stay as Benwolf forever so her can train him as pet and while she didn't share in Gwen's anger towards the selfish girl she knew that it would NEVER work out between those two. But now wasn't the time to sulk as Gen and JK needed them right now. 'Hopefully they're doing all right with all this and their friends will pull though this' Julie thought. If there was ever a time for a miracle, now was the perfect time for that.

Ben generally knew when things just weren't right with people exposed to odd energies and the case with his new friends was no different. While he getting a transfusion of blood to slow down or better yet, halt his genetic breakdown for a short time he felt that Gentaro needed a friendly ear right about now. "Look I know we don't know much about Cosmic Energy but Azmuth's smarter than most anybody in this universe and Emoto's there to help out. Look, I know you're worried but getting all upset over this isn't going to help them any faster" But Gentaro was the sort of person to wear his heart on his sleeve and he was still depressed over all of this.

"How can I relax? I've failed as a Kamen Rider and we still don't know if what your Azmuth is planning with work on them!" Gentaro cried out, fear resounding in his voice. But his fears about how the 'detoxing' were nothing to how worried we was for their state of mind. Higher science was never his field of expertise and if something was way over his head he had both Kengo and Yuki to help him out with that. But Kengo wasn't there and Yuki was poisoned by the dark energies of a Horoscope Switch, causing her to lash out at people randomly. Since the former Horoscopes in Ben's care were not fully capable of controlling themselves with negative CE in their bodies they had to restrained for their own good. Having to strap down people who he cared about, who were always happy to be around him, was almost too much for the happy go lucky boy to handle. JK tried to place a hand on his shoulder but Gen wasn't in the mood right now as he just put his hand back down and sat down by Ben to sulk.

"Gentaor-san, try to hold onto the hope that the others will pull though. Emoto is our friend and I'm sure he'll come up with something" JK comforted the Rider. Hearing that his friends were in the care of someone he could trust, albeit a person who was also a former Horoscope Switcher, helped calm him down. Just then Azmuth walked in with some bittersweet news for both Gen and Ben.

"The good news is after Emoto was willing to test the Cosmic Energy draining technology we are pleased to report that there will no side effects for those undergoing the treatment. However it does take some time to fully drain away all the Cosmic Energy from a person's body and regrettably the process is rather painfully. So you will need to come to the operating room and try to comfort the other before they begin treatment" Azmuth cleared his throat as this next bit was going to be hard to say, especially to Ben who the news affects the most out of all of them. "Ben... I've gone over you latest reading and so far I have found no way to stop your cellular degeneration. You will be dead within the next two months. I'm truly sorry about this Ben" Azmuth then deeply sighed as while his face didn't show it he was hurting inside from the emotional pain of what he told them about Ben's fate. It was unprofessional to get overly emotional over things like, but Azmuth didn't want to lose Ben as he thought of him like a grandson, though he would never admit it. Ben knew from all the times he's been with Azmuth that while he didn't seem like it he did care about people more than he lets on. But his life was never easy with all sort of criminals and warlords wanting to pervert his works into weapons of mass destruction, causing him to lose much of his good humor and making it hard for him to trust others easily.

Gen however was not happy about Ben's grim diagnostic. Bending down to Azmuth's level he wanted to let out all his fears and worries to him by he was unable to do so as he just cried out in sorrow. As JK picked him up Ben asked "Is he going to be OK?"

JK turned to where Ben was sitting and admitted "I don't really know anymore" as they both headed to where the others were.

It was perhaps the hardest thing Gentaro had ever done before. Luckily Erin and Ran were asleep right now, but the moments of bliss were cut off by a odd jerk every now and again. Sure this would cure them but having to hurt his friends to save them? That went against his code of conduct and it made him sick to his stomach just thinking about that. Both girls were sealed into a cylinder that was connected to what one could consider a high tech pump. Although they were sleeping peacefully it still pained Gen when the machine was turned on, draining away the negative Cosmic Energy that triggered their mutations and unfortunately causing them some distress. The process went on for ten minutes but to Gen and JK it seemed like a eternity. When it was done Erin and Ran had to be lead to a recovery station to recuperate from this, but to Gentaro's relief it was just laying down in a nice bed and getting waited on. The food could be nicer though but that's what one expects from a military base, even one in space run by aliens.

When it was Tojiro and Yuki's turn Ben wanted to help them out to where they needed to go. Of course that was easier said than done.

"I'm gonna rock and roll FOREVER! You can't stop my talent, you lameass basta-" Tojiro's shouts were blocked off thankfully by the soundproof nature of the cylinder he was placed in. JK couldn't stand to see the man that was his friend act out like this. Tojiro was always friendly and never bore any ill will toward anyone, even if he can be manipulative at times. Still it seemed like he calmed down enough to show him a note he made saying "When you're better we should practice some more. I thought about our old band back in middle school and while I don't want to go pro anymore I still want to rock out with you because you're my friend. " Tojiro gave JK a sincere smile and a hearty thumbs up as if to say "Of course! We rockers have to stay together, right?" JK then headed back to where Manny and Julie were with the others, feeling better about life now that there was a light in the darkness.

Yuki was able to go in without insentient to Gentaro's relief. But then was something she wanted to say before the cylinder was sealed. "Gen-chan, we've known each other for years now. We always have been the best of friends but lately I have been thinking about the good you did for everyone back home. I was so worried that Kengo-kun would get hurt fighting the Zodiarts but you were able to become Fourze and save him from that fate. In fact you were able to make so many friends that Amanogawa High School is a much better place because of what you've done for all the students there. " She was blushing because this next thing she wished to say was embarrassing but it needed to known now. But the cylinder was closed on her before she could say it. Hot tears were falling down her cheeks as Gentaor asked her kindly if she was alright but she could hear nothing though the glass. But then a odd little miracle happened right there and then. As it would turn out Yuki's tears were fogging up the cylinder. Seeing her chance she wrote something near and dear to her heart and hoped that Gentaro felt the same way as she did. On the tube she wrote "I love you" in Kanji on the condensation in the tube. Gentaro was so happy to hear or rather see that! He always was close to Yuki and hoped that she loved him as much as he did, but he was afraid that she might reject him. Plus his first love, Nadeshiko had her body destroyed by Foundation X so Gentaro was a little paranoid about letting people get that close to him again. But there it was, clear as day. Taking a piece of paper he wrote "I feel the same way you do" on it and showed it to the girl he cared about. But the bliss caused by their declaration of love was cut painfully short by a fit of rage caused by the dark energy in Yuki's body, causing her to scream and claw at the glass furiously.

While it wasn't really Yuki talking it did upset Gentaro a good deal. But as soon as it happened Yuki was herself again, very upset at herself for what she did, although it wasn't her fault. But Gentaro just smiled and placed a hand on the tube, letting her know that he loved her and that he would be by her side. He would never let his anger get the better of him ever again.

As Tojiro and Yuki drifted off to sleep as luck would have it in Ben's universe the alarm went off, hurting JK's ears. A holo-screen hummed to life and showed a map of all seven continents of Earth, with a flashing red dot on London. A smaller screen then blipped in from the dot and showed Gen and Ben that Vilgax was attacking the people of London, trying to get to somewhere important to him, but where and why? That didn't matter to Azmuth right now. What mattered was saving lives. "You mission is to stop Vilgax from gaining ground in London. Both Tojiro and Yuki will be monitored by Manny and Julie so focus on your mission. Don't fail these people" he told the two boy matter of factly. Ben was used to how Azmuth dealt with crises but Gentaro wasn't too pleased with Azmuth's bluntness. Having to drag the Rider out wasn't how he wanted to get him out before he said something he would regret, but it was the quickest way. Trust wasn't something Azmuth gave out freely and even harder to regain as Ben found out the hard way. Better Gen stay on his good side then deal with an unhappy Gavan.

Though the runway was cleared no ship could make it fast enough to get there on time. But Ben and Gen didn't need a Plumber ship. Though Gentaro has the Cosmic Switch it wasn't usable now since his freinds were not totally well and he unsure about how they're doing right now. But he had a backup Switch: The S-1 Rocket Switch Nadeshiko made for him before her passing. She wasn't dead as Gentaro knew but her physical body was converted to the SOLU Switch and then destroyed, regrettably by the hands of himself and Kamen Rider OOO. With the Mega Burgermeal Foodriod the propriety of the Club the S-1 Switch was the only thing he had left of her. He would treasure it forever but now he had no choice to call upon its powers. Setting it into the Fourze Driver he transformed into Fourze and activated the S-1 Switch, turning his white suit orange. Now as Rocket States, with the Gyro, Drill and Sheath Switches in the driver should he need them he brought the two Rocket Modules to life and flew down to where the action was as Ben, in the form of Cannonbolt flew close by him as they reentered the atmosphere.

From high up one could easily see London as Hell on Earth due to Vilgax's attack on its fair soils. Fires raged uncontrolled as the people fled away from his enforcers: Driscoll aka Dark Aries and Zombozo aka Dark Taurus. So far no one was able to halt their rampage as Vilgax stood on Big Ben, well aware of the irony of starting his revenge on a 'Ben' had all 12 Horoscope Switches flying overhead, ready to bring about the Dark Nebula and doom the citizens to a most painful death.

But his gloating was cut short by the flaming form of Cannonbolt as he reentered Earth's atmosphere, knocking Vilgax painfully down back to the ground below. As Cannonbolt cooled down and unfurled himself he smiled gently at the children there as they cheered Ben. Fourze soon landed by his side as Ben reverted to human form and the children were right up in Gentaro's face, wanting to know just who is Ben's new friend is.

Vilgax however soon got up even though he was a great deal of pain. "Save your photo shoots until you're sure your enemy is DEAD!" he boomed as he fired off a Ruby Ray blast and threw a spear at the two heroes. But they both were more than ready for his assault as Gentaro blew the spear away with Gyro's Module and Ben blocked the beam with NRG's suit.

Vilgax's woes were then noticed by D. Aries and D. Taurus. While Vilgax is far from their friend and in Driscoll's case his former enemy, they still had to help him out. After all he did give them the power to take revenge on Ben, didn't he not?

"Ah, dear Ben. I had such a lovely time here but I must be on my way now. But be sure to greet my two new apostles. They're just dying to meet you!" Without truly meaning the first thing he said but slyly referring to the fact that Driscoll and Zombozo could die from overusing their Switches Vilgax flew away, leaving the two Dark Horoscopes alone to face their enemies.

"I may be a minotaur now but you always were the one will a lot of Bull!" Dark Taurus spat out hatefully as he charged at NRG, trying to gore him but failing as Ben fired off a heat attack from the faceplate of NRG's armor. As D. Taurus stepped back, his chest sizzling from Ben's blast he couldn't help but make the observation that he's now "smoking hot" to Dark Aries's annoyance.

"Have at thee, slayer of heroes! I shall mount you head on my mantle as proof of my superiority!" Dark Aries gloated as he swung JASON, his sword at NRG but it was blocked off by Fourze's Drill Module, causing sparks to fly before he backed away.

Gen knew that their new Dark Horoscopes were stronger than anything he ever fought before and that Ben, unpopular with him as he was, still needed help. Taking out the S-1 Switch and plugging in Elec he then powered up into his golden form, Billy the Rod at his side.

"ELEC ON!"

As Fourze Elec States sword fought with Dark Aries he couldn't help but think back to Ryusei, his friend and rival, Kamen Rider Meteor. To think that he needed the powers of the Aries Zodiart to save his friend and that Emoto, the Virgo Zodiart, was helping him with that. A lot had happed to them all when they found Aries' Switcher, but odder still was now he was fighting his successor in a universe that was only a fictional world to him back home. But his lack of concentration on the battle was going to cost him and Ben knew it.

"HEY! Doofus, pay attention here! That's the Forever King you're fighting and he's still kinda mad at me for George's death" Ben shouted at the Rider. Gen wasn't pleased at Ben's bluntness, but he was thankful that he was warned fast enough to roll from a strike that would have taken off his head. As D. Aries attempted to stab Fourze he used Shield to stop his attack, to Driscoll's fury.

As NRG and D. Taurus wrestled with each other the London Bridge was starting to give way due to the damage it had taken during Vilgax's assault. As it was slowly falling apart the people on it were screaming in utter terror, too frightened to get off in time. "It looks like their party is going to go out to sea, but I can still shake things up a bit" Dark Taurus joked as he stomped the ground below him, causing a shockwave to knock three people over the sides to their deaths as the others were just thankfully knocked down. "AW! I think they don't want to dance anymore. But they do need to cool off and what better way than to go for swim?" Dark Taurus said as he laughed evilly.

Ben could stand no more of Dark Taurus's madness. As he went from NRG to Fourarms he began to punch the Horoscope with absolute fury. It's bad enough he killed people this day, but to laugh about it like it was nothing?! Ben could never forgive something so horrible. " I'm gonna turn you into tenderized beef!" he growled at Dark Taurus.

"Ah ah ah, you should know that if you mess with a bull, you get it HORNS!" as D. Taurus stabbed Fourarms' shoulders with his sharp horns. As blood leaked out of the wounds onto his green striped shirt Ben grabbed the horns with his lower arms and broke them off, causing Dark Taurus to howl in pain.

"Gee, thanks for the horns. But I don't really want em, although I did mess with ya!" as Fourzrms threw them over the London Bridge. While his tone was joking Ben's face was showing his true emotions. With a scowl he Big Clapped Dark Taurus's head, knocking the wind out of his lungs. Before he could regain his bearings Fourarms picked him up and started to spin him around. "Everyone get off the bridge now! I don't know how much longer it's gonna hold!" he warned the survivors as they finally ran off to safety. Ben really didn't want to do this but Dark Taurus left him no choice. The London Bridge was too far gone to save and he couldn't help but wonder if under all that Cosmic Energy was Zombozo, a foe that terrified him due to his Coulrophobia back when he 10 years old. But he wanted to know before he finished him off so he asked, "Is that you Zombozo?" The zombie clown started to laugh that creepy laugh of his and Ben knew it from the bottom of his heart: This is the same monster that tried to kill Gwen, who laughed when innocent people died earlier today. Ben knew for a long time that there was a death warrant out on Zombozo's head, but up until now he never wanted to really kill his enemies.

But things were different now. Now his enemies were willing to harm other people in other dimensions. They were now capable of destroying whatever they wanted to now with their new powers. As his grip on Dark Taurus tightened Zombozo knew that Ben was now willing to kill him. He cried out "PLEASE BEN, NO! I'm sorry about Gwen! I'm sorry about your poor, sweet mother! PLEASE DON"T KILL ME!" but his pleading was on deaf ears as Ben slammed his head down onto the Bridge, ending his life and his reign of terror once and for all. As Zombozo reverted to him normal form and evaporated to stardust Ben changed to Jetray and flew off the Bridged before it sank into the waters below.

As the people cheered Ben on for saving him he felt sick to his stomach. He never killed anyone before and it made him very upset. But still there was the thought that now no one else will suffer at Zombozo's hands ever again. Still in Jetray form Ben flew to where Fourze and Dark Aries were still fighting and it was looking bad for Gentaro. A bloody gash was on the arm that held Circle Modules and Gen was getting woozy from lack of blood, Driscoll would not let him be so he can heal with the Medical Module. Ben shot his eyebeams at D. Aries's back and he soon turned around to see Jetray flying just overhead.

"COWARD! You dare to strike a Knight in the back while he's in combat? You will die this day, Ben Tennyson!" as he changed Jason to Coppelius and started to blast out wave after wave of sand, hoping to catch the boy in a wave, but Gentaro knew that his sand attack would only send him to sleep. But he would not let D Aries get that chance at he slashed the tip off Coppelius, as Dark Aries switched to Supernova form and fired off orbs of energy at Fourze as he used Hopping to get onto a lamppost before prepping the Elec and Drill Switches for the finishing strike

"ELEC ON!"

"DRILL ON!"

"LIMIT BREAK!"

"Rider Lighting Drill Kick!"

As Fourze descended on Dark Aries, the Drill Module crackling with electricity he did a battle cry as the attack hit dead on, causing the Horoscope to blow up and Driscoll to return to human form. As Gen and Ben returned to normal Ben gave the Forever King this warning:

"Sir George died to give you and everyone else on Earth a life free from Diagon. I'll let you go this time but I want to let you know that George didn't die by hand. Diagon was his true killer. So if you can let everyone of your knight buddies know that I would be very grateful about that, OK?" Driscoll knew that he lost this day and gave Ben a curt "Thank you" before starting the long walk back to the main base of the Forever Knights.

All that fighting and the reenter stunt he pulled was too much for the ill Ben as he went on one knee and coughed up more blood. Gentaro ran to where he was and asked, "Ben! Are you alright? You should have never went with me. I should have been a better friend and fought them myself." But Ben just raised his hand and told him this:

"I knew that the life of a hero wasn't going to be easy. But just knowing that people are safe and sound, that they have a hero to look up to and keep them OK, is all the thanks I really need" Gentaro was moved to tears by his statement. It was becoming more and more clear that the dreams of both the Plumbers and the Kamen Riders weren't so different after all. But now he was feeling worse than ever before. He endangered his friends to attack a true hero and one who was dying on top of that. Worse still was the fact that he wasn't by Yuki's side right now. Although he knew she understands that it's Gentaro's job to protect people he still felt lousy about not being there with her right now.

As Gen was stewing in his own misery Ben placed a arm around the Rider. "Look, girls can be odd at times. But if there's anything that makes them happier than anything else, it's a man who puts others before themselves. You'll make a great boyfriend to her, dude" Ben comforted Gen. Gentaro was stunned that Ben knew about what he 'said' to Yuki, but he was pleased that Ben would support him in his new relationship. "People think I'm not paying attention, but I am" Ben slyly answered.

As they waited to be picked up Ben said," I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship"

Meanwhile...

Vilgax wasn't sad about Zombozo's death nor Driscolll's defection. He still had all 12 Switches and he still had his plan. When all 12 Dark Horoscopes were defeated he would be able to use them all to become the Circle Zodiarts, the one who shall have all the powers of the ecliptic constellations. "Soon" he thought to himself, "I shall rule over all!" He would let no one stop his quest, not Ben nor his odd little friend who claims to be 'everyone's friend'. Oh, how he waited for this day to come. Ben would die one way or the other and he would finally be overlord of all things! Laughing madly he raised his fist to his believed victory.