Chapter 58: Meeting with a Supreme
Hugo was more than nervous to meet a supreme being—one who was also "his" grandfather in this nightmare—for many reasons.
The most important reason for his nervousness was the fact that he himself was not Ben Tennyson, nor did he act like at all...
On second thought, Hugo wouldn't know, as he didn't even know what kind of character Ben Tennyson had.
He could have been a mature person who acted with intiligence beyond his age due to his great powers Or he could have been a reckless teenager who always needed to be reminded of what's right and wrong...
Either way, Hugo did not think he could fool a supreme being like he did the other two ascended warriors...
Which is why Hugo was planning to blame it on a "mood swing." If things went bad.
After all Teenagers, even in the era of the nightmare spell, were a piece of shit.
That he did know for sure because Hugo himself was the perfect example of that.
He was self-centered, edgy, unnecessarily dramatic and someone who was frankly not fit to survive in this harsh world but he somehow still managed to survive —After dying once or twice—despite all of that.
And so the plan was to make it so "Ben" was a bit pissed off right now.
Perhaps at the Forever Knights, perhaps at the fact he was stuck being an Awakened while his friends were currently Ascended, or because he was facing trouble gaining new 'aliens' (as Ben referred to them).
Hugo also thought that there was no way they would be able to verify his soul, mostly due to the nature of the Omnitrix and the fact that his "aspect" got assimilated by this version of the Omnitrix meaning that he technically did and did not have an aspect right now.
In simpler words, he a near identical version of Ben Tennyson similaire in all but consciousness.
This new state of existence made Hugo aware of a lot of similarities between him and ben... It was almost uncanny how similar they were.
It also made Hugo think about the fact that neither the Omnitrix he wielded nor the one Eurys and Ben had wielded were complete.
The two divine relics seemed to lack something Crucial and that was visible to Hugo only after he possessed Ben's body.
He assumed Albedo might have had the same situation as well but he couldn't confirm it.
'perhaps I could somehow complete the omnitrix during or after this nightmare...'
Still, the Omnitrix being incomplete was currently the least of his worries.
After all, there was still a possibility that he could be asked something important that Ben Tennyson knew but he himself didn't, which would cause a problem.
Hugo would need to improvise greatly and most importantly, he should start using all the tricks he learnt from sunny.
———
Having been guided towards the upper floorsby one of the rookie Plumbers, Hugo found himself in a large room with a circular table in the middle. On it, multiple figures made themselves known with all of them being plumbers.
Some of these Plumbers he did not know himself but there was a few familiar faces.
there was Kevin and Gwen sitting next to each other and not far away, there the Supreme Maxwell Tennyson.
Even though Hugo did not know the plumbers seated in the circular table, he could tell They were high-ranked, both in terms of soul cores and status.
Three of them—one being a human woman in her early thirties with brown hair, and another other being a tall, fish-like humanoid with mauve-colored skin and yellow eyes with black, slit-like pupils. His neck was covered with long black gills on either side. The last was a large pink humanoid creature with a mean expression on his face.
All three of them wore an advanced red Plumber suit, with the fish-man having a transparent helmet on for some reason.
These three... They were undoubtedly Transcendants.
Hugo would have never imagined that he would stand in a room with masters in his life but right now he was in the same room with multiple saints and a supreme...
"Ah, Ben, I'm glad you've come. We were just getting started,please take a seat" Maxwell Tennyson offered him a warm smile as he gestured for him to sit beside Kevin and Gwen...
The supreme was surprisingly wholesome despite his fearsome aura but that only made Hugo feel more on edge.
Doing as he was told and sitting, Hugo quickly listened to the conversation at hand, which thankfully was not related to him.
"As you all know, the reason we have gathered here is to discuss the sensitive subject that is the Forever Knights..." At the supreme's words, everyone at the table grimaced. " Obviously I don't need to explain who The Forever Knights are but what's important now is rhe fact that they have crossed the line this time around. Previously they only held minor protests against alien individuals to spread their hate speech but now, they've resorted to stealing tech directly from our bases and modifying them for their own bienfaits"
He clicked one of the Plumber badges on the table, revealing a holographic display of the six Forever Kings and their knights.
"Most recently, the Knights have managed to steal a Null-Void Containment Egg... or a Null-Void grenade in Earth terms—a strong one even, due to it being able to hold a corrupted Titan... It was good that I've managed to deal with it in time or else the results would have been disasterus... More than that, they've managed to obtain six saints on their side... the Forever Kings, who are the most dangerous and extremist out of them have managed to find a third nightmare seed and conquer it in less than a year dramatically increasing the powers of the f their organization."
At his silence, the people present at the table exchanged hesitant glanced before they finally began speaking.
It was the earthling woman who started talking first.
"With all due respect, Magister Tennyson... don't you think it's time you wipe them out? We... no, You have already given them many chances to repent for their actions and yet each time they chose to ignore your kindness and keep committing countless crimes against innocent aliens despite the fact that our world is being invaded by corruption and the dream realm... To let such a group roam in our midst in such a dire time would be a foolish thing and I'm sure you are aware of that. "
Most people present at the table seemed to agree with her, each nodding their heads in agreement.
Maxwell Tennyson also nodded with a grim expression.
"Although it's cruel, I do agree that is what they deserve... But we can't wipe them out. There's too much to lose from that... Firstly, they have spread wide enough for them to hold a grand public opinion worldwide, especially in America and so wiping them out would likely cause massive revolution across the entire globe especially with these that are prejudiced against aliens." He paused for a moment, looking at the holograms displayed with a solemn expression before continuing "And we also can't kill our people, whether they're aliens or humans no matter how wrong and evil their point of view is. Secondly, and most importantly, they are too valuable for us to kill, simply put. Six saints plus hundreds of Ascended and Awakened champios, with their number increasing by the day... They are a powerful force that needs to aid us against the nightmare spell, especially considering the fact that almost all sentient life in the universe has been infected or consumed by corruption..."
Now that was surprising news to Hugo.
He already knew about the first and second parts of the supreme's speech but the last thing he said was both intriguing and terrifying...
The outer space of this world, just like Hugo's own world, was being consumed by corruption rapidly...
It explained why there weren't any sacred or divine beings running around in this world despite how big it is And it also explained why a lot of noble creatures were present on Earth as well.
It seemed there was something special about Earth that was keeping corruption at bay or perhaps the Plumber domain itself was the thing holding back corruption from devouring Earth.
Either way, that was bad news for Hugo, as it meant he wouldn't be able to kill the Forever Knights due to their importance in this world.
Feeling a bit worried, Hugo raised his hand to ask a question.
"Yes, Ben?"
Maxwell Tennyson said, and at the same time, all the people present turned their attention towards Hugo.
"If we don't plan on killing them, then what should we do with them? I doubt imprisoning all of them is possible, as that would be a waste of resources and that wouldn't be of any help to anyone."
Maxwell Tennyson looked at him solemnly before sighing.
"You were always too clever for your own good..." He gestured towards Gwen, who brought out multiple strange stones from a storage memory she had just summoned.
Grabbing one of the black and pink stones, Maxwell Tennyson began speaking again:
"These are special mana stones created by your grandmother, a supreme being. Each of them can... influence people of any rank bellows supreme in certain ways. We are planning on using them on the Knights to ensure their cooperation."
Everyone on the table, including maxwell, seemed to have a solemn expression on their faces, clearly not liking the idea at all but finding it to the be the only reasonable solution that didn't involve massacring the Knights.
Hugo himself felt a sense of irony at the entire situation.
Once, during his time in the Forgotten Shore, he had used the [Spirit Seed] to control hundreds of sleepers to make sure everyone could escape the shore without any bloodshed.
Sure, hugo had felt guilty back then, but truthfully he felt that it was the right choice no matter what.
And if he had the chance to do it again, he would definitely do that, if it meant that he could save more lives.
However Now that it wasn't him who was initiating the brainwashing, Hugo realized how terrible this type of action truly was.
To steal someone's free will like that... It's perhaps one of the most harrowing fates of them all, no matter how pure the intentions behind such an action are.
To become a slave of no free will of their own...
Hugo was suddenly reminded of eurys and sunny, for some strange reason despite the two having no relations to each other whatsoever.
Unaware of his internal dilemma, Maxwell Tennyson returned the stones back to Gwen and continued speaking.
"So far we don't know where the forces of the Knights are but we know that they are stationed near Bellwood And so, I must entrust special missions to all the teams present here."
He clicked a button on his Plumber's badge, and then, all the badges of the people on the table beeped as they received a message.
Opening his own badge, Hugo saw the intel of the mission:
[Squad 10 Mission]
Members: [Benjamin Kirby Tennyson, Gwendoline Tennyson, Kevin Ethan Levin]
Mission description: [The Forever Knights have secured a special alien weapon for mysterious reasons and transported it to an abandoned castle some distance away from Bellwood.]
Mission Objective: [Secure the weapon and arrest the Forever Knights.]
Coordinations: [registered in the plumber badge GPS]
Hugo looked at the projection with interest...
This world's technology never failed to surprise him...
'And War God was supposed to be the goddess of advancement...'
It was funny how the goddess of beasts had a more advanced civilization than the civilization of the goddess of advancement and life.
"So we beat up these thugs, take the weapon and in the process find out whatever they're trying to do?" Kevin said with a tired expression, clearly wanting to go sleep or be anywhere else but here.
Maxwell nodded.
"I've chosen the simplest mission for you three, considering you are not transcendant yet. After all, no matter how formidable you are, the forever knights are one of the most dangerous criminal organization in the world and they should not be underestimated. You could never know what they might have up their sleeves, so be careful. Especially you, Ben—don't do anything reckless."
He said, looking at Hugo with a gaze that sent a chill down his spine... Although Hugo could tell that the supreme loved his grandchildren, if was clear that this was more of an order rather then a request.
"Will do."
Hugo said while trying his best to remain aloof but he was still scared shitless at the moment...
"Good. For now, you kids should go home. Your parents must be worried sick." He gestured towards one of the saints, specifically the one with pink skin. "Magister Hulka, can you please transport them back to the waking world?"
The alien humanoid Plumber named Magister Hulka nodded and approached Hugo, Kevin, and Gwen.
"Say hi to your parents for me, you three, and be safe" Maxwell Tennyson said, waving the three of them like a loving grandpa... which looked quite comedic considering he was a supreme but alas non dared to mention that Infront of him '
Then, without any warning, Hugo felt himself pass travel through worlds as the saint pulled on his tether to the waking world.
One moment, they were in the meeting room with dozens of Plumbers, the next, they were in a vast human city at night time, which was nearly empty, save for the cars and trucks moving on the streets.
Kevin breathed in the fresh air as he smiled wildly.
"Ah, Bellwood, how I missed you!"
'So this place is Bellwood... How bizzare...'
Hugo had read that this world was not consumed by nightmare gates like his own world was, but it was still strange to experience something like this.
The Transcendant rolled his eyes at Kevin's antics before giving them a meaningful look.
"I hope you three haven't forgotten your training back at the plumber academy." He gave a more stern look to Hugo, which made him tense. "Especially you, Ben Tennyson. You are a Plumber now, not a child. don't disappoint us."
With that, he vanished into thin air once more returning to the dream realm.
"..." Kevin waited for a moment, as if wanting to confirm that the fearsome transcendant had truly left before sighing and saying:
"Still as big of a douchebag as he was at the Plumber Academy," Kevin said with an annoyed expression before turning to Hugo and Gwen. "Anyway, let's go grab something to eat, I'm hungry."
Before Hugo could complain about the lack of transportation, a green car suddenly appeared near him, materializing in a shower of white sparks.
It was a car.
"Ah! the love of my life! My car!"
At his words, Gwen gave him a look of her own, clearly showing her dissatisfaction at his words but Kevin seemed too enthralled by his car to notice.
Kevin's car was painted green with two black stripes running across it. It had dark gray wheels, two red lights and a keyhole on the back and four white headlights on the front.
The car even had a scoop on the hood, meaning the car was designed as a souped-up vehicle...
'How convenient... having a car as a memory.' Hugo thought, wondering if anyone else in his world could have, or make, something similar to it... Not that Hugo himself needed one.
'...It's a bit cooler then my other transportation memories...'
Sure, having a divine ship made by the smartest person across all the realms and a truck that can turn into a ship is cool and beyond useful but nothing could beat a reliable car...
Hugo entered from the backseat, and strangely enough, he felt like a child due to the fact that both Gwen and Kevin were seated in the driver and passenger seats, with latter being the one who was driving..
As he looked at them, Hugo could not help but wonder about one thing...
'I wonder if they're dating...'
Hugo couldn't really ask them that since that would be suspicious for Ben not to know but he was still extremely curious about the situation here...
Hugo might not seem like it, but he was a sucker for romance novels and webtoon at home and so seeing the 'Bad boy x good girl' trope in real life was a bit cute to see, even if he would never admit it in his life.
Deciding to push his childish thoughts away for the moment, Hugo wondered where they were going...
Were they going home? Or where they going to their assigned mission directly?
Kevin did say something about getting food but Hugo found the idea a bit ridiculous.
but alas, it seemed he wouldn't get an answer even if he asked because the two lovebirds were currently busy chatting with each other, forgetting entirely about his existence.
Not that Hugo was complaining, of course, as that gave him a bunch of time to think about the future.
Hugo was specifically thinking of the new ascended aliens he had right now and how he will utilize them in this nightmare.
From what he could tell by reading the runes provided by the spell and the holograms displayed by the Omnitrix, the creatures he could turn into were definitely powerful, but at the same time they lacked the versatility of his previous playlists due to the difference in Numbers.
Hugo missed Four Arms and Heatblast the most if he was being honest with himself, considering that nothing could beat a good old strength boost and pyrokinesis...
However, that was not to say his imprints here were useless as they were definitely more powerful then his previous imprints.
But there was a slight problem,as Hug would need to train himself on how to use all of the new imprints from the ground up, and most importantly, he would need to understand what it truly meant to actually become and exist as an Ascended terror through cultivation.
Lost in his thoughts, Hugo suddenly realized that they had stopped moving and Kevin and Gwen had gotten out of the car.
'Huh?'
"Ben, come on" Gwen said from outside, causing him to quickly hop off the memory car, fearing that they were being assaulted by something.
To his surprise, they were not in front of any harrowing nightmare creature, nor were there any Forever Knights present.
Instead, they were in front of some kind of restaurant with a giant humanoid bottle as a mascot of the business. The area was also quite large indicating that the restaurant was definitely successful and popular among the people of this town.
On the top, there was a giant sign with the following words written on it:
Mr. Smoothy
'What the fuck...' Hugo was... uncertain about everything he was seeing at the moment.
He had expected the second nightmare to be harrowing and dangerous, and in a sense it was—after all, he had to fight a bunch of fascist Awakened and escape from a corrupted Titan, and then got absolutely humbled by his evil twin—but the way the day shifted from the dangerous stuff into something as mundane as a restaurant was simply unreal.
Well, it was unreal enough to give his nervous system a bit of a shock causing his entire body to stiffen on the spot.
Sadly, he couldn't express his surprise due to the fact that Hugo now had an idea about the type of life Ben Tennyson lived.
'His life would put the lives of multiple saints in my world to shame but at the same time, it would be just as mundune as any other normal teenager...'
It was certainly a big contradiction, meaning that ben Tennyson, of any of the awakened in this world for that matter, were neither legacies rather they were a mix of both worlds.
Shaking off his thoughts, Hugo saw Kevin pull out his wallet.
"You want the usual?" Kevin said to him with a focused expression, counting the money like his life depended on it.
'Food huh... Actual food...'
Now that he was thinking about it, Hugo was indeed quite hungry and he would like to eat something... But he felt like ordering something unusual or asking for the menu might seem suspicious to them and so Hugo only ended up nodding as he watched Kevin go to place their order.
Sitting on the car, Gwen looked at Hugo with a worried expression.
"Ben, are you alright? You've been acting strange ever since the battle with the Knights... If anything is bothering you, you can tell me."
Hugo sighed internally realizing that his acting was not sufficient at all...
Hugo did not know how close Ben Tennyson and his cousin were, but apparently she was close enough for her to immediately realize something was wrong.
Although Hugo was glad that she didn't use any of her strange powers to pry into his memories as that would have been much worse.
Hugo shook his head, coming up with an excuse on the spot.
"I'm... feeling a bit of a headache from earlier... Gwen, I..." Hugo put up the saddest expression he could make and lowered his head "I killed someone this morning... It was one of the Knights that managed to get the drop on me and I panicked then I... I..."
Hugo let a hand go through his hair as he feined sadness and let himself fall into emotional disturbance, Which was actually not that hard...
All he needed to do to become less stable was to remember the worst moments of his life, like the death of his mother, the times where he was corrupted and rhe pain he felt when he was bonded with the crimson spire.
honestly, he did not feel any sort of guilt about killing that Forever Knight and he would have killed a lot more if not for Gwen's orders to not kill any more of them.
After all, that knight was trying to kill him.
Hugo was not sure how things worked in this world but in his world, an awakened must be ready to kill anything and anyone that threatened their lives, wether it was a human or a nightmare creature. Of course nephis was the one who said this to him but he quickly grew to learn that was the harsh truth of their world.
and more importantly, every single being in this nightmare —Minus one— is not real from his perspective.
Unaware of his thoughts, Gwen patted his shoulder with a solemn expression.
"It's okay, ben. These things happen a lot in our field of work... And I would be lying if I said that it wouldn't happen again. After all, no matter how stable our world looks, it is a cruel and unforgiving world where Even our own people cannot be trusted anymore... So, Ben, please understand that you did what you had to do and that Anyone else, including me, Kevin and grandpa would have done the same thing in your shoes."
Hugo wiped a tear from his eyes before offering her a smile.
"...I'll need some time to get over it but thanks for the words. It really means a lot to me."
Gwen smiled as she ruffled his hair.
"Gods, you'll always be such a crybaby, huh?"
They chuckled at her joke, looking at the beautiful sky above...
Hugo did feel bad about deceiving someone this way, especially someone who seemed to like a 'good person' but his survival came above all else.
He was ashamed to admit it, but he would do anything if it meant conquering this nightmare.
Soon enough, Kevin came back and tossed Hugo a bag while he gently gave Gwen's food to her.
'Yep, definitely dating.'
Hugo remarked with an annoyed expression as he opened the bag.
Inside was a bunch of fries, golden as of made from pure gold, that were dipped in red sauce, releasing an aroma that immediately assaulted his sense of smell.
Hugo felt like he was in heaven!
After all, he hadn't eaten in ages, and all he ate before that was nightmare creature meat, leaving much to be desired.
But now he had real food in front of him!
Food that was even better than the synthetic food in his world!
Without delay, Hugo picked up a bunch of fries with his hands and put them in his mouth.
The moment he did, he suddenly felt his soul leave his body...
Hugo thought that he was dead and was now entering heaven for a moment.
But no...
It wasn't that he had failed the nightmare or anything, it was just that the taste of these fries alone was enough to imitate, if not surpass, the heavens themselves!
'...Incredible! Simply incredible!' He moaned loudly as he felt the crunchy and salty taste of the fries, while at the same time feeling the sauce melt in his mouth...
By the end of the dish, Hugo was left with a real tear coming down from his eye.
Looking at him weirdly, Kevin shivered and said with a disgusted expression:
"Weirdo." He brought something else out of a large bag. "Here's your smoothie, and for the love of god, please stop moaning. It's disgusting and creepy."
Gwen seemed to chuckle at his words, while Hugo just shrugged, taking the white cup.
The cup was built just like the giant Mr. Smoothy statue, which was kind of ominous, but alas, Hugo was in need of a drink after gulping down all of that fries.
Slurp
"..."
Another tear came down his other eye.
Although, This one was a tear of disgust.
'What in the in the spell is this shit?! How can a drink taste this badly?!' Hugo felt a morbid sense of disgust as he drank the sugary, heavy liquid, feeling it fill his mouth and make a sticky mess inside his teeths.
It was terrible!
Worse than the water of the Dark Sea!
Even a nightmare creature wouldn't eat this!
'...How could anyone in their right mind drink this?!'
Hugo suddenly felt the urge to burn down the entire restaurant using Swampfire, but he held himself back for obvious reasons.
'And of course, I had to eat something disgusting right after eating the heavenly fries...' Hugo groaned internally as he continued drinking the terrible smoothie to not seem suspicious...
He swore that he would destroy this place before the nightmare ends.
———
[30 Minutes Later]
After finishing their food, Kevin drove Hugo to 'his' house...
That was the moment Hugo realized that he had missed a very crucial detail about this nightmare.
Ben Tennyson had a family.
A mother and a father, to be specific.
Which would be even more of a headache to deal with than anyone else, because they would know their son the most.
Ben Tennyson was the only child of Sandra and Carl Tennyson, who were both a bit too overprotective of him from what Gwen had said randomly during their short car ride.
They were also both mundane, which was good, as that meant they wouldn't be able to stop Hugo from leaving the house or anything.
Of course, Hugo did not want to resort to violence or anything with Ben Tennyson's parents... But he did consider that possibility if it came down to it.
After all, dealing with any sort of familial relations was not something Hugo was good at.
Getting out of the car, Gwen and Kevin looked at him with nervous smiles.
"Ah, tell Auntie and Uncle that we're sorry we kept you out this long. I'm sure they'll understand" Gwen said scratching her head
"Just blame it on me being a bad influence on you, that would get them off your back for a little" Kevin said with a shrug, strangely he seemed a bit hurried to drive out of here for some reason.
Just then, the house they were standing near —Which was Ben's house— suddenly had its door violently open as a beautiful blonde-haired woman in her thirties stepped out, followed by a brown-haired middle-aged man who looked awfully similar to Ben Tennyson.
They were both extremely furious which told Hugo exactly who these two were .
"Good luck" Kevin and Gwen said in unison as they drove off to somewhere...
'Shit.'
Hugo felt a bizarre feeling when he saw Ben's parents in front of him...
They were now his parents... And for some reason, it made him imagine his real parents for a second there, leaving him with a myriad of strange emotions brewing in his stomach.
"Benjamin Kirby Tennyson!" Ben's mother, who was named Sandra, yelled at him as she dragged Hugo into the house by the arm.
Hugo could already tell this was going to be a very, very long night...