There are many things about Alien X and the Carnitrix that aren't explained, so you can consider this an AU created by me.
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Kaito had never been so happy to feel the hardness of a stone floor beneath him as he was at that moment.
It took him a few seconds to gather his thoughts and take a deep breath, trying to process what had just happened.
Beside him, Lala looked the same. For the first time, Kaito saw a different side of her. Her body trembled, and her eyes reflected pure fear, an expression he had never imagined seeing on her face.
Though that didn't last long. Soon, she started mumbling excitedly about how amazing that thing had been and how much she wanted to see it again.
Before Kaito could take in his surroundings, he noticed they were surrounded by strange stone creatures covered in glowing pink runes.
"Who are you? How did you get in here?" asked a dominant female voice.
Kaito turned toward the source of the voice. In front of him stood a young woman who looked about twenty.
Her skin was so pale it seemed she hadn't seen sunlight in years. Her long, silvery hair shone as it cascaded down to her waist. Her black-painted lips and dark eyeliner emphasized her commanding aura, while a dark headpiece shaped like short horns adorned her head.
Her outfit was made of shades of purple, violet, and black. The top was a sleeveless dark violet corset with a high magenta collar that rose behind her neck. A round violet gem glowed in the center of her chest, part of the design. Around her waist was a wide pink sash that separated the top from her short skirt of the same tone. Beneath it, she wore tight black stockings that connected to high boots of the same color, creating an elegant yet provocative look.
Kaito recognized her instantly. It was Hope, better known by her villain name: Charmcaster.
And that realization also told him where they were and how they had escaped.
Around them, everything was made of dark stone with violet reflections, resembling the interior of a mansion or a castle.
There was no doubt about it, they were in Legerdomain, the realm where magic originated and connected to the entire universe.
What made this place special was that, although it was linked to the universe, it didn't truly belong to it. It was more like a separate dimension, which explained why Alien X hadn't followed them.
The being that had attacked them, a Celestialsapien, was omnipotent within its own universe. But the one that had chased them was different, a distorted form, like a nightmare born directly from the Carnitrix universe.
Based on that, and on what the system had told him about that universe being isolated, Kaito deduced that the local Alien X had sealed his own universe to prevent other Celestialsapiens from interfering. That would also explain why he couldn't enter Legerdomain.
But if he wanted to know more, he had to talk to her.
When he looked back, the girl was still standing in front of him, waiting for an answer. He resumed normal time perception and spoke.
"You're the one who brought us here, right?" said Kaito, pretending ignorance.
"I'm not talking about that," she replied impatiently, crossing her arms. "How did you enter this universe? That should be impossible."
Kaito smiled faintly. "Well, I have no idea either. How about we exchange some information?"
Charmcaster let out a dry laugh. With an unnecessary snap,done only to show off,the stone creatures began to move toward them.
"Do you really think you're in a position to negotiate?" she asked disdainfully, looking down at him.
Kaito raised a hand, and from the ground, stone spears shot up, piercing through the monsters and destroying them instantly.
"What do you think?" he replied, giving her a defiant look as he stood up.
Charmcaster raised an eyebrow, and after a few seconds, simply said, "Follow me."
They walked into another chamber where a table entirely carved from stone dominated the center of the room. The three of them sat down.
"Start" she ordered firmly.
Kaito noticed that even though he had destroyed her creatures, Charmcaster could easily rebuild them or summon more. And here, in the heart of the magical realm, her power would be overwhelming. Still, Kaito didn't flinch.
"I can't tell you how I got here," he began, "but my goal is to eliminate Alien X so I can leave. I suppose our interests align, don't they?"
Charmcaster watched him silently. "Do you expect me to give you information just from that?"
"That's the plan, yeah," he said calmly. "Your goal must be to destroy Alien X too, right? And from what I can see... you don't have much help."
Her eyes drifted for a moment toward the empty surroundings filled only with animated statues.
She sighed. "Fine. I don't really have a choice anyway. Let's start from the beginning."
She took a deep breath, stared at a fixed point, and began her story.
"It all started when an alien device did what it did… and then the world went to hell.
One night, something descended from the stars. A strange device shaped like a watch. Later, the Plumbers identified it as the Carnitrix, an artifact created by the greatest genius, and villain, in the universe: Azmuth.
After being captured, Azmuth committed suicide, sending the Carnitrix away before dying. Fate had it land on Earth... right in the hands of a child.
His name is... was Benjamin Kirby Tennyson.
The device attached itself to his wrist, impossible to remove by any normal means, transforming him into horrifying, corrupted versions of aliens that took full control of his body and mind each time.
His first act after transforming was to kill his cousin and grandfather, who had been camping with him that night.
But he didn't stop there. He kept killing everything he came across.
The situation spiraled out of control within days. Ben devastated entire cities, leaving behind mountains of corpses. Then, the Plumbers appeared, an intergalactic organization in charge of handling alien threats.
They studied the Carnitrix and discovered its weaknesses. It had a limited usage time. After a certain point, Ben reverted to human form. However, the device would automatically transform him again whenever he was in danger, making him nearly impossible to capture.
They planned his capture using those limitations. The battles caused even more destruction; millions died before they decided to use their last resort, Weapon 11, a project capable of copying the Carnitrix's powers and controlling them.
The problem was that Weapon 11... was human.
And, as expected, something went terribly wrong.
The subject lost control, driven mad by Ben's massacres, and tried to kill him. Maybe it was coincidence, or maybe a reaction of the Carnitrix to extreme danger, but the device transformed Ben into something new. I couldn't find anything that thing couldn't do, so I called it... Alien X.
Ever since he became that, he was never human again.
He could have destroyed the planet in a second... but he chose to do it slowly, savoring the fear. City by city, person by person.
Not even the alien forces that came from other worlds could stop him.
The Plumbers hid the survivors, myself included among them. It was in those bases that I learned everything about the device. But in the end... it was all for nothing.
When everything was lost, I tried to escape. I fled here, to Legerdomain, and then used magic to try to open a portal to another universe, but it didn't work. I discovered that the universe itself was sealed. No one could enter, or leave..."
Charmcaster fell silent, then looked at Kaito.
"At least, that's how it was supposed to be."
Kaito let out a nervous laugh. "Haha... that story's insane."
Charmcaster raised an eyebrow. "And yet you don't seem too surprised. You know more than you're letting on. In fact, you didn't even ask where we are or doubt my story once. You're... interesting."
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Whenever I do this kind of thing, I always get comments asking "how?", so here's a detailed explanation of the Guaranteed Survival Ticket and how it was used.
The Guaranteed Survival Ticket ensures the user's survival at all costs. However, the actions it takes range from easier to harder depending on what's possible.
For example, if the protagonist were trapped inside a cage with no air, it would first try to find something broken in the cage to let air in. If that didn't work, it would make something nearby break the cage. If that wasn't possible, it would teleport the protagonist outside the cage. If that still didn't work, it would break the cage itself. And if even that were impossible, it would grant the protagonist an ability to survive without leaving the cage. And if all of that still failed, it would simply erase the cage from reality, completely removing the danger.
I don't know if that makes sense. Basically, the ticket tries to make the protagonist survive without interfering too much unless there's no other option. It starts with simple methods, and if those fail, it goes for more extreme ones, even interfering with reality itself if needed to make sure the user lives. Remember that even though it sounds like just a lifeline, it's still an SSS-class reward, so it's extremely powerful.
Now, as for the process it used in the protagonist's situation. First, it discarded any normal method since they were impossible against Alien X. Then, it considered teleporting the user far away, but realized that wouldn't work. (It didn't try teleporting them outside the universe because it was sealed. It could have done it anyway, but that would have been too much interference, so it tried other options first.) It then tried giving the protagonist new abilities to defend or survive, but realized none would work. After that, it tried fleeing even farther and found Legerdomain.
Legerdomain can only be accessed if someone opens it from inside, thanks to Charmcaster, so teleporting them directly would have been too much. Instead, it increased the protagonist's luck, ensuring Charmcaster noticed them and brought them in herself.
Some clarifications: if Charmcaster hadn't brought them in, the ticket would have taken them to Legerdomain by itself. If Legerdomain hadn't existed, it would have pulled them out of that universe. If the situation had been even more dangerous and escaping the universe didn't work, it probably would have granted the user omnipotence until they defeated Alien X. And if even that didn't work, it would have directly erased Alien X.
On Charmcaster's side, she simply woke up one day and happened to feel like checking the universe out of boredom. And by pure coincidence, while looking at random places, she saw the protagonist and Lala and decided to bring them along.
This is the detailed explanation for those who always ask for it.
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)