23rd Times a Charm?

An Unfamiliar Home

It took me second to process what Prime just uttered. I hesitantly and slowly turned around to face our obstacle. Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead as I looked at what I did. Or who I did. I could feel my heart beat till my throat as my breathing quickened. Words can't describe what I felt at that very moment.

It was finally happening.

It was time to face it.

The ultimate battle of life and death: to avenge grandpa Max.

Ben X, the ultimate king of monstrosity, in front of my very eyes, with a look that can dismantle you in a split second. I shuddered at the dark presence that made me feel like I was being swallowed by the shadows. A feeling I wish I'd never felt in my life, but all our decisions led up to this point, and it was about time we settled this once and for all.

"We meet again, little hero."

"Heroes. Plural." I shot back. 

I gave him a sharp glare to assert the real victor in this fight. He laughed, then turned to 23k with a vile grin. "We've been through this, old man. It's about time the child knew what he was up against too." 

"What're you-?" But before he could finish, Malice grabbed my arm and yanked me into a portal. I fell face-flat while spitting out the dirt from my mouth. I looked around, unable to comprehend my own whereabouts, and the supposedly evil villain nowhere to be found. 

"This dirt...where am I?" A cliché question to ask, to be honest, but I was just as confused as those movie characters. "Hello?! Anybody home?!"

Silence. Just still quietness. Not a grain of sand moved a micrometer. As if time had stopped and nothing could move but me. An eerie feeling . I'm not gonna lie though, I got shivers down my spine at the hush of the...desert? No, last time I've checked, deserts don't have purple sand and yellow clouds. As for the palm trees? None. Just spheres with glowing circles on them, as if I were in an alien planet. Then, a thought struck me.

"Home advantage! This must be what Ben X meant when he said his dimension got detonated! And...home advantage in the sense...Azmuth! He can't give me the Hexatrix, and I have no ally to fight with. And I have no other way to win! Ben X. That sea-slug. Leech! Snake! That-that-GAH!"

I jumped as I felt cold, icy fingers touch my forearm. I snatched it back and quickly stepped back. I readied my mana in my hands, aiming to shoot at the ominous silhouette, until they started to speak.

"No! Don't shoot!" A familiar voice pleaded. "Sorry to sneak up on you, but-"

"Who are you?! If it's you, Ben X, I swear I won't hesitate to-" 

The mysterious figure removed their disguise they used with a cloak. Clearly, they did a splendid job at blending in with the sand...

"I'm Ben. Unlike my other counterparts, I don't have the Omnitrix. And you?"

"This isn't the time for messing around, Ben!" I raged, not realizing the obvious.

"Um..." he trailed off, like he was at loss of words. He looked at me from head to toe. "No, it couldn't be! Ben 23?!"

"Pretty much." I shrugged.

"What happened to you?" Ben walked closer to take a good look at me before I said anything further.

I took a deep and long breath, then held in to process what I had to say. I clenched my empty wrist, finally breathing out.

"It's, err...a spell." I quickly replied. I started to sweat again as I began to feel my answer wasn't convincing enough. "I was, uh...fighting a bad guy! Yeah, that's it."