Ben looks down at the Omnitrix, observing the blue color that it's flashing.
Ben: 'What the hell is that about?' He scoffs. 'Whatever it is, it better be over with by the time I get back home.'
As the elevator carrying Ben and Lucifer continues going down, Ben unwraps his jacket from his waist, putting it over his body.
Lucifer: "What is it that you are doing?"
Ben: "I'm covering up the Omnitrix." He fixes the cuffs of the jacket. "Would rather wait to explain anything."
Lucifer: "Hm. I suppose there is reason to that. After all, we could encounter others before making it out of Hell."
Ben finishes with his jacket, looking up at Lucifer with suspicion.
Ben: "Do you know something I don't?"
Lucifer: "Perhaps." She says with a light smirk. "Besides, I doubt it's anything you can't handle."
Ben: "Alright then." He makes a v-sign gesture, pointing at his eyes and then Lucifer's. "But I got my eye on you, got that?"
Lucifer: "Sure." She giggles. "Whatever you say."
Ben rolls his eyes, and the elevator door opens shortly after.
Ben and Lucifer walk out of the elevator, meeting the chaos of the lobby.
Malina and Zdrada were in the middle of a scuffle, punches, kicks, and scratches being thrown left and right. Though it was clear that Zdrada had an advantage over Malina, being a bit taller and stronger than her sister.
The rest of the group, minus Monica and Justice, are watching the fight. Azazel is documenting what she sees furiously, while Modeus simply watches.
Monica and Justice are sitting at a couch in the lobby, the former asleep and laying on Justice's shoulder.
Ben: "Guess Monica was too tired to keep an eye on everyone."
Lucifer: "She does tend to overwork herself a lot. Makes her a good secretary, but it does concern me sometimes."
Ben: "Hopefully some coffee will help her out."
Lucifer: "Perhaps it will." She clears her throat. "EXCUSE ME!"
Not a single of the demons, nor the angel, seems to hear Lucifer. This aggravates the Queen, her face getting all red.
Lucifer: "W-What the hell! They didn't even move! I am their queen! T-They shouldn't be acting this way!"
Ben kinda smiles at Lucifer's frustration, before placing his index finger and thumb in his mouth, blowing out to make a sharp whistle that cuts through the air.
The sudden whistle gets everyone's attention, except for Monica. When they look over and see Ben, their eyes dilate, excluding Justice.
Zdrada: "Huh. He didn't die." She lets go of Malina, pushing her down afterward. "That's quite the relief!"
Lucifer is in a slight state of shock. She slowly turns her head to face Ben, looking down at him with an expression filled with both anger and confusion.
Lucifer: "How the FUCK did you manage doing that!?"
Ben: "Couldn't tell you if I tried." He lightly pushes her away. "You may also want to take a few steps away."
Before Lucifer could question Ben, Cerberus suddenly pounces on him, licking his face repeatedly.
Cerberus: "Master! You're finally back!"
Ben: "C-Cerberus! I was gone for only a few minutes!" He pushes one of Cerberus's heads away from him. "Now get off of me please!"
Albeit reluctantly, Cerberus backed away from Ben and knelt in front of him as he stood up. After standing up, Ben starts petting Cerberus's three heads.
Lucifer: "Seems they're quite fond of you."
Ben: "Yeah. Sorry about....taking them from you, I guess?"
Lucifer sighs, waving it off.
Lucifer: "It doesn't matter. It is what it is."
Lucifer looks around the room, her eyes landing on Justice.
Justice: "Yo, Lucy! Wherever you are, over here!" She waves her left arm in the air. "Hey, it's been a while!"
Lucifer: "Ah, Justice."
Lucifer starts walking over towards Justice, Ben following shortly behind after finishing up with Cerberus.
Lucifer: "Hello, Justice. It has been quite some time, hasn't it?"
Justice: "It really has! In fact, I don't remember the last time I heard your voice outside of that office!"
Lucifer: "Yeah, that is true." She chuckles. "Figured it was about time, considering it has been a couple of decades since I left my office."
Justice: "Then I guess it's a good thing this kid came along, huh?"
Justice puts her fist out, and Ben fistbumps her.
Lucifer: "Indeed."
Ben lightly shakes Monica's shoulder, slowly waking her up.
Monica: "Hm?" She rubs her eyes before her eyes land on Ben. "Ah, Ben. I apologize, but I wasn't able to stay awake."
Ben: "It's fine, you can't help being tired." He takes Monica's hand. "Come on. Sooner we leave, sooner you get that coffee."
Monica nods as she allows Ben to help her to her feet. Ben then takes Justice's hand, helping her up as well.
Lucifer: "Quite the gentlemen, huh~?"
Justice: "Damn right!" She lightly rubs Ben's head. "He actually helped guide me here!"
Ben: "I was just being polite. Nothing special about it."
As Ben leads Justice over to the rest of the group, Azazel approaches Lucifer. Azazel has a bright smile, stars in her eyes, and her pencil and notepad gripped tightly in her hands.
Azazel: "I can't believe I'm finally meeting you!" She jumps up and down. "This is so surreal!"
Lucifer: "Hm, an angel down in Hell. I don't recall the last time that happened." A small smirk spreads across her face. "Anyway, I assume you have questions to ask?"
Azazel: "A-Ah! Of course!" She squeals. "Oh, this paper will be the best ever! Every single angel will want to read it!"
Lucifer giggles, a tad bit of maliciousness in her voice, something that Azazel doesn't pick up.
Lucifer: "Well, I would be happy to answer all your questions on our way out of Hell."
Malina: "Wait, you're going to be joining us?"
Lucifer: "Of course!" She beckons everyone to follow. "Now we've been standing around long enough. Let's go!"
As the group begins to follow Lucifer, Malina leans down to Ben's level.
Malina: "How did you manage to make Lucifer want to come with us?"
Ben: "At this point, I don't even know anymore." He shrugs. "But I guess mostly pancakes."
Malina: "What kind of pancakes?"
Ben: "Chocolate pancakes."
Malina nods her head as she stands up fully.
Malina: "I guess I could see how that could convince her."
Zdrada then pushes Malina away so she could stand next to Ben, propping her elbow on Ben's head. Modeus also moves behind Ben, propping her hands on his shoulders.
Zdrada: "Can't believe you managed to score the Queen!" She punches Ben's arm hard. "Nice job!"
Modeus: "The harem grows~." She whispers in Ben's ear. "The potential orgy will surely be interesting~."
Ben's face becomes bright red, but he tries to ignore what Modeus just said.
Ben: "Modeus, be quiet. That's not even on the table right now."
Zdrada: "What? Don't have what it takes to handle us~?"
Ben: "Yes." His face gets redder. "In.....In more ways than one, obviously."
Zdrada giggles.
Zdrada: "Alright, fair enough."
Justice grips Ben's hand a little tighter, getting his attention.
Justice: "Hey, thanks for helping me out again, Ben!" She smiles. "I don't typically have so much trouble with navigating, so I really appreciate it!"
Ben: "It's cool. Sometimes you just have one of those days."
Thankfully the walk to the gate is short. The massive gate is closed, and there is a lot of rubble in front of it.
Ben: "Damn. Guess this thing hasn't been used for a while."
Lucifer: "Indeed. I believe it's been a few decades since it was last used by anyone."
Ben: "Then I guess we have some cleaning to do." He lets go of Justice's hand. "You stay here, okay?"
Justice: "Got it!"
Ben starts picking up the rubble, the other demons following suit. After a couple of minutes, the door is now clear.
Ben: "So, how exactly does this door work?"
Lucifer: "There should be a small panel on the front of the door. Place your hand on it, and think of when and where you want to go."
Ben: "Alright, sounds simple enough."
Ben approaches the large gate, finding the panel with the imprint of a large hand.
Ben: "Finally." He outstretches his hand. "Time to go home."
As Ben outstretches his hand, a sudden feeling hits his gut.
Ben suddenly whips his hand down, just in time to avoid a glowing white chain.
Ben: "Holy shit!" He backs away from the chain. "That was fucking close!"
More chains wrap around Ben's shins and arms, pulling him up into the air, before slamming him into the ground near the base of Lucifer's castle.
Everyone: "BEN/MASTER!!!"
Zdrada: "Looks like Judgement finally found us!"
Malina: "Hey, Lucifer!" Lucifer turns to face Malina. "Are you going to get him?"
Lucifer: "No, because I won't need to."
Modeus: "What is that supposed to mean?"
Lucifer: "You'll all see soon enough." She smirks a little. "This will be quite entertaining."
Justice: "Hey, Lucy!" She puts her hand on Lucifer's shoulder. "Could you help me see for a little bit?"
Lucifer: "Of course, Justice." She places her hand on Justice's shoulder, her eyes glowing a little brighter. "I wouldn't want you to miss the fun."
As Ben gets up off the ground, he feels a warm liquid dripping down his face.
Ben: "Great. I'm bleeding again." He rubs his temples. "You know, you should never go for the head first! Makes the person too dizzy!"
A figure lands on the ground a couple of yards away from Ben, small dust cloud forming from the impact.
Ben: "There you are." He crosses his arms. "It's nice to finally meet you, High Prosecutor. Justice talks quite a bit about you."
The dust cloud eventually disappears, revealing a tall woman with a fierce look on her face.
Judgement opens her mouth to speak, but Justice interrupts her.
Justice: "Yo, Judgement!" She waves her other arm up. "How have you been, kid!?"
Ben snickers in amusement, with that and Justice making Judgement.
Judgement: "J-JUSTICE!? PLEASE D-DON'T TALK TO ME LIKE T-THAT IN FRONT OF THE SINNER!" She whine-yells. "AND I'M NOT A KID!"
Judgement summons another chain, and it wraps around Ben's neck. She then pulls on it, forcing Ben onto his knees.
Ben: "Okay, okay! This is a little much!" He gags. "Could we talk about this for a minute?"
Judgement: "No." She pulls Ben closer and closer to her, dragging him across the ground. "A sinner doesn't get a chance to talk during their punishment."
Judgement pulls Ben close enough to be just a couple of feet away from her.
Judgement: "However, I will grant you a chance to say your final words before your punishment begins."
Ben continues to gag due to the chain wrapped tightly around his neck. Regardless, Ben manages to squeak out a response.
Ben: "H.....H-Harder~."
Judgement blushes in embarrassment, causing the chain to loosen. This gives Ben the opportunity to get it off of his neck and jump away.
Ben: "Damn." He coughs a couple of times, rubbing his neck. "I honestly didn't think that would work. Guess Justice was right about you."
Judgement shakes off her embarrassment, flexing her claws.
Judgement: "Right about what, mortal ?"
Ben: "That you pretend to be this big, powerful, menacing creature who is completely focused on punishing sinners." He chuckles. "But that you're actually a big softie with a big heart!"
Judgement growls in frustration, her face turning red again in both anger and embarrassment.
Judgement: "You think it's wise to laugh in the face of your demise, mortal?"
Ben: "Oh, please. I've laughed in the face of my demise more times than I care to count." He laughs. "Besides, I like laughing at my opponents. It's fun to see them get all worked up."
Judgement looks at Ben in confusion. And, while she would never admit, slight admiration. It takes some serious guts to not be afraid of a literal demon.
Judgement: "W-Well, regardless, it's time to be punished for your sins, mortal!"
Ben: "Yeah, sure." He smirks. "So come and get me, High Prosecutor."
Judgment suddenly dashes at Ben, swiping her left hand at him. Though Ben is able to roll out of the way just in time.
Judgement turns around and tries to stomp Ben, but he jumps back, narrowly missing the stomp that leaves a large hole in the stone ground.
Ben: "Damn. Those are some powerful legs."
Judgment rushes at Ben again, who unfortunately is unable to avoid her. Judgment grabs onto Ben's left wrist, her grip tightening around the Omnitrix, lifting him up in the air.
Judgement: "I must admit, mortal. Very few have been so....unafraid of receiving eternal punishment." She flexes her right hand. "Now, any final words before we begin? And if you say some kinky shit, I'm going to make it worse!"
Ben looks at Judgment, then peers at the Omnitrix through his peripheral vision. Ben can hear a light beeping sound coming from the Omnitrix, which slowly becomes louder and faster.
Ben: "Sure. I actually have some advice for you."
Judgement: "Advice? Hah! What advice could a mortal provide me?"
Ben: "Next time you try to grab me, don't go for the watch."
Judgement looks confused, but she isn't given enough time to respond when she suddenly hears the beeping.
Judgment looks over at the Omnitrix, sparks of green electricity coming off of it. Then, out of nowhere, a green energy field emanates off of the Omnitrix, forcing Judgement to let go, and sending her back a few feet.
Ben lands on his feet, dusting himself off. He then looks down at the Omnitrix, its components beginning to glow a fierce and bright green.
Cerberus: "Ooh~ Pretty light!"
Monica: "What the hell?"
The light grows more intense, making the demons shield their eyes. However, Azazel is left unfazed by the light, and she is smiling a little.
Azazel: 'Here we go.'
After a few moments, the light disappears, and Ben appears to be fiddling with the new and improved Omnitrix.
Ben: "This thing is so much more comfortable." He twists his wrist around. "It's even small enough to conceal pretty easily."
Judgement: "What the fuck was that!?"
Ben: "Oh, that bright light? Don't worry about it."
Ben primes the Omnitrix, showing a hologram of Heatblast.
Ben: "Ooh~ Holograms! Cool!" He twists the dial a couple more times. "Now, this is either going to even this fight out, do nothing, or stack it completely in my favor. How about we figure that out, sweetheart~?"
Ben laughs, and Judgement gets even angrier, her face becoming red as she summons more chains around her.
Judgement: "Whatever you're planning, it isn't going to work!" She shoots the chains at Ben. "Now take what you deserve!"
Ben: "My thoughts exactly!"
Ben slams down on the Omnitrix, enveloping him in bright green light.
Modeus: "There's the light again."
Justice: "The kid seems pretty confident! I wonder, can he really can go against Judgement?"
Lucifer remains quiet, a devilish smirk on her face as she watches.
The chains cut through the bright light, hitting the ground. When the light disappears, Judgement sees that Ben has disappeared.
Judgement: "What the!?" She de-summons the chains and looks around. "Where did he go!?"
A "woosh" is heard behind her, and a velociraptor-like creature leans up behind Judgement, putting its mouth near her ear.
XLR8: "Boo."
Judgement instantly turns around and attempts to slash at XLR8. But XLR8 is too fast, and simply dodges the slash by tilting his body.
Judgment continues to slash at XLR8, who continues to dodge the attacks. He suddenly hits Judgement across the face a couple times super fast, catching her off guard, causing Judgement to back up a few steps.
XLR8: "Listen, I'm willing to talk this out. I'd hate to hit such a pretty face." He flexes his claws. "But I won't hesitate to if I have to."
Judgement wipes her mouth, a small blush on her face.
Judgement: "F-Flattery won't save you from punishment!"
XLR8: "Wasn't really trying to. Just attempting some small talk."
Judgement lunges at XLR8, attempting to punch him. Before making contact, time suddenly stops, with XLR8 still being able to move.
XLR8: "Tsk, tsk, tsk." He says while shaking his head. "Guess I overestimated the High Prosecutor. She's only strong by human standards."
XLR8 grabs Judgment's arm, spinning around, before throwing her. Judgement flies through the air like a bullet, only stopping when she crashes through the wall of Lucifer's castle.
Zdrada: "Holy shit!" She cackles. "He is throwing her around like she's nothing!"
Malina: "I'm just confused about what the fuck is going on. Could he do this the entire time?"
Justice: "I'm sure that once he's done with Judgment he'll answer our questions." She says before yelling to Ben. "Nice job, kid!"
XLR8 turns around and waves at Justice, but a chain suddenly wraps around his ankles. Judgement emerges from the hole in the wall, slowly pulling XLR8 towards her.
Judgement: "Impressive! Most impressive, mortal!" She laughs. "But you slipped up, and that will be your end!"
XLR8: "Yeah, well, I am over a year out of practice."
XLR8 attempts to free his legs from the chains, but they're too tight. But as Judgement pulls on the chains, they glow a little brighter before disappearing.
XLR8: "Huh?"
Judgment: "What the-!?" She has a look of realization on her face. "Oh shit!"
XLR8: "Uh, you okay?" He stands up. "Was that not supposed to happen?"
Judgement: "Of course not! Those chains are only meant to harm sinners, but are unable to harm anyone with a good soul!"
XLR8: "Oh. Well, I guess that's lucky for me then." He rubs the back of his head. "S0ooo, what now?"
Judgement: "Firstly, I must sincerely apologize for my ignorance!" She bows her head down. "Allow me to make it up your you for your trouble!"
XLR8: "It's no problem, Judgement. But if you're going to be offering, how about you join me and the others when we go to the mortal world?"
Judgement: "I accept your proposal!" She stands up fully. "Shall we go now?"
XLR8: "Yeah. I need to explain to the others about all this." He gestures to himself. "So let's just get this over with."
XLR8, seemingly out of instinct, taps the Omnitrix. In a red flash of light, Ben returns to human form.
Ben: "Oh. That's new."
Ben and Judgmemt make it to the others, most of them looking down at Ben with looks of disappointment.
Ben: "Yeah, yeah. I know. I was going to explain everything after getting to the human realm."
Justice: "Regardless, that was so cool!" She wraps an arm around Judgement. "No offense Judgement, but you probably would've lost if that fight continued!"
Judgement: "I don't disagree." She has a light blush on her face. "He was way too fast for me to catch."
Monica: "I'm wondering why you didn't just use that form to get yourself to Lucifer's castle in the first place."
Ben: "Because I couldn't at the time." He holds up his arm, showing the Omnitrix. "This device, the Omnitrix, allows me to transform into various different forms."
Malina: "Then how the hell did you get it back on?"
Ben: "You can thank Lucifer for that." He gestures to Lucifer. "Apparently she's been watching me my entire life, hence why she knew about the Omnitrix."
Zdrada: "So, how many different monsters can you turn into with this thing?" She grabs Ben's arm, inspecting the Omnitrix. "And what exactly do you do with them?"
Modeus: "There wouldn't happen to be some big, strong, muscly monsters in that device, would there~?"
Ben: "Modeus, bad. And not monsters, aliens." He pulls his arm away, before pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's going to take so damn long to explain everything."
Cerberus: "How about we use some magic to make it easier!?"
Ben: "Really? How so?"
Lucifer: "A simple spell would transfer some of your memories directly into their brains." Her hands glow a bright red. "It won't hurt a bit, but you'll feel a tad nauseous afterwards."
Ben: "Go ahead. I'd rather not explain every single detail."
Several red tendrils come out of Lucifer's hand, extending out to the other demons, the angel, and Ben.
The tendrils then make contact with each of their foreheads, with each of their eyes glowing white.
In a near instant, Ben's memories of the Omnitrix beginning to end flood into the girl's brains, and Ben also relives these memories. All the near deaths, all of the struggle, and all of the heroic actions. The last memory they all see is of Ben being sent down into Hell.
After the last memory, the tendrils disappear, allowing them all to wake up.
Justice: "Wow. That was....a lot." She has an oddly serious look. "Saving the planet multiple times, and even taking part in saving the entire universe. That's.....insane."
Monica: "Indeed. It is." She looks down at Ben, readjusting her glasses. "There were also so many instances where you could have died."
Ben: "Yeah, I'm well aware of that."
Malina: "And you're just chill about that?"
Ben: "Pretty much."
Modeus appears to be daydreaming about something, which Ben noticed fairly quickly.
Ben: "I don't even wanna know what she's thinking of. Either about my transformations, or my future self." He sighs. "Does anyone else have something to say?"
Zdrada: "Yeah, me actually. Why would you bother using your powers to help people, despite getting no recognition for it?" She smirks. "Doesn't it bother you?"
Ben: "I mean, it used to. But not so much anymore." He smiles. "I've learned that helping people is far more important than any fame. Besides, I don't need the media to be stalking me day and night."
Judgement: "The initial respect I had for you has risen. Despite having used that power initially for selfish reasons, you learned to fight for others, risking your own life for complete strangers." She bows her head down again. "You are truly one of the better humans."
Ben: "I...I appreciate the compliment, Judgement. But I can't take all the credit for my growth." He smiles, before looking over at Azazel. "Azazel? Anything to say?"
Azazel: "N-Nope! No q-questions about anything!"
Ben: "Really?" He cocks his eyebrow. "You haven't even written anything down in your notepad."
Azazel: "Well, uh....the reason for that is..." She looks incredibly nervous, sweating a bit. "Is because I already knew about it?"
Ben: "Huh?"
Lucifer: "Oh~ I think I understand." She gets everybody's attention. "You were assigned as his guardian angel at the time, weren't you?"
Azazel: "T-That would be correct, Ms. Lucifer."
Zdrada: "Damn." She chuckles. "You seriously had your work cut out for you, huh?"
Azazel: "Indeed. I even had to inform St. Michael about the planet-ending and universe-ending situations. In the end, all of heaven would watch those events as they were happening."
Ben: "So literally all of heaven knows what I did?" He smirks a little. "Huh. Cool."
Cerberus: "It was super cool watching that fight with the ghost guy!"
Ben: "Which one? I've fought Ghostfreak like..." He counts on his fingers. "Like three times."
Cerberus: "The second one, when you were in space!"
Malina: "Okay, are we all going to keep standing around, or are we gonna go?"
Monica: "I agree with Malina. We really should be going, now that there are no more obstacles in our way." She looks down at Ben. "Ben? Are you going to be alright against Hex and Charmcaster?"
Ben: "I should be." He stretches his arms. "I am out of practice, but those memories sort of gave me a jump-start on everything I've learned."
Ben approaches the large gate again, placing his hand on the hand-hole. The gate emanates a white glow for a bit, before opening up to reveal a massive red portal.
Ben: "Alright, time to head home." He looks back at the girls. "Wait for me to call you. I should only be a few minutes."
The girls quietly agree. Ben then steps through the portal, finally making his way out of Hell.
That's the end of the chapter. See you in the next one!