Bluebird

Destiny

That unspoken promise of conversation took a while to actually happen, between being so busy with stabilizing Cloud Cuckooland and rounding up more Master Builders. It had become an all-out race, trying to collect their brethren and lead them to safety before Bad Cop found them and made sure they were never seen again. He was getting scarily efficient at it.

Unikitty's home was surprisingly humble in design, though the pink and white and blue made it pretty obvious whose house it was. Benny had long since learned to stop being surprised by the foreign princess. He let himself in- her door was always open. "Unikitty?"

"Over here, Benny!" she chirped in response, and he followed her voice. She had the table set with some brightly colored desserts, of which he only recognized the macarons, and a pitcher of pink lemonade, because of course. He grinned. "Have a seat!" He dropped himself on one of the cushy stools. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty well, all things considered," Benny answered. "So uh. What did you want to talk about?"

"You know, it's incredibly rare that someone 'just becomes' a Master Builder."

Benny smirked, lacing his fingers together and resting his hands on the table. "Wow, you don't beat around the bush, do you?" She smiled sweetly back at him. "I have been very curious about that."

"You don't remember what happened?"

Benny glanced down at his hands. "None of us really remembers what happened, the cryostasis kinda messed with our memory. But mine's the worst; I guess I suffered from oxygen deprivation for a bit before I managed to get into my own pod. And it's not just that particular flight I'm missing, I've lost other things too. But I think I definitely would have remembered training to become a Master Builder. I mean, that's not something that happens overnight, right?"

"In most cases, you would be right," someone else answered, and Benny startled. He hadn't heard anyone else come in.

"Vitruvius!" Unikitty cheered. "I'm so glad you could make it! Have a seat!" Benny frowned as the wizard meandered his way in their direction, before realizing the old man was blind.

"Oh," Benny said, but before he could even think to offer to help, Vitruvius had found his way to a stool and sat down on it.

"Benny, this is Vitruvius! He's one of the greatest Master Builders to ever live, and the most knowledgeable about Master Building and The Man Upstairs. He'll be able to explain things better than I can."

"You flatter me, Princess," Vitruvius teased. "Benny. You must have so many questions."

"Always," Benny said, grinning. "Are you really the Vitruvius? The guy who stood up to Lord Business and tried to stop him from taking the Kragle? Alone? And made the prophecy about The Special?"

"That would be me," the wizard replied in good humor. "Though it cost me the use of my eyes."

"I'm sorry to hear about that..."

"Oh don't be, it's only a minor hindrance. I can still See plenty."

Benny tilted his head at that, then shrugged. "So uh. How does someone like me happen?"

"Every so often, our world faces great peril. Some of the threats are obvious- like Lord Business and his plans for the Kragle- and some, only a very few ever know about. I suspect the latter may have been the case when you were chosen."

"Chosen??"

"When our world is threatened, The Man Upstairs chooses a Champion to stop the evil that would destroy us. Sometimes that Champion is already a Master Builder, and sometimes the Champion becomes one upon being chosen."

"...I was chosen...?"

"It's the only explanation I can think of, for you to suddenly become a Master Builder."

Benny curled in on himself. "I wish I could remember what happened."

"Perhaps it's best that you don't, I can't imagine such a burden would be pleasant to bear."

"But- is that..." Benny looked down at his hands. "Am I not a 'Champion' anymore? Is that why all I can Build is spaceships, even after being a Master Builder for a couple years? I mean I love building spaceships, it's my favorite thing in the world! But..."

"But everyone else says you're not a real Master Builder because that's all you Build?" Vitruvius guessed.

Benny shrugged. "Yeah."

"I can't say whether you're still a Champion or not," Vitruvius answered. "There is much about the nature of The Man Upstairs that's beyond even me. But Champion or not, I believe He does still have a purpose for you. Don't let the others discourage you, Benny, you belong here as much as any of them."

The conversation turned to lighter topics after that, and after about an hour, Benny excused himself. He hated to seem rude, but that had been... quite a revelation Vitruvius had given him. That he was once a Champion...

Whoever The Special turned out to be, they would surely be the new Champion. Already, he felt a sort of protectiveness over them. Somehow he doubted it would be any of the Master Builders, no matter what the prophecy said. Not even Vitruvius' star pupil. Their attitudes had improved since he went under, but really not by much. There was still a lot of arrogance among their numbers.

He left Cloud Cuckooland, needing some peace and quiet, and sat on its doorstep to think. Metalbeard was starting to get Ideas, about raiding Octan Tower and putting an end to Lord Business' threat then and there. He was currently out seeking a new crew with which to do just that. Benny, on the other hand, had a bad feeling about it. Lord Business was sure to have many failsafes in place, for just such an event. The man was smart, really smart, to have taken over the world so thoroughly as he had. While Master Builders were hated and hunted, its other citizens believed he had brought peace and prosperity.

And honestly, he had, Benny noted, the few times he ventured out in disguise. The world had changed so much since he was last truly a part of it. There was little crime left at all, and most of that was the sort of vandalism to be expected of protesting Master Builders. People seemed to get along for the most part, there were no traffic accidents, no theft, no murder, no harassment, no rules against who you could love... To those inside the law, the world had become a utopia. Though it was honestly ridiculous, the price for coffee anymore. It wasn't cheap to get it across the borders Business had built up around the realms.

The sun was setting, and that high up into the sky, he had an unimpeded view of the stars. Benny's heart sank. How he wished he could be up among them again... His fingers itched with the need to Build.

He shook his head, snapping himself out of it before he headed back into Cloud Cuckooland in search of pieces for a spaceship that would never get finished anyway. Attempt #68 would have to wait; back to the topic on hand. He had to find some way to convince Metalbeard the raid was a bad idea. They could come up with countless plans, but Master Builders thought too outside the box. Lord Business would be ready for them. And that was why he thought- he hoped- that The Special wouldn't be a Master Builder. Because that wasn't what they needed.

Whoever that 'lass or fellow' turned out to be, Benny vowed that they would have at least his support.