Ben 10: Ultimate Fairy

Chapter 34: Aftermath

Voice cast:

Yuri Lowenthal as Ben Tennyson
Colleen Clinkenbeard as Erza Scarlet
Todd Haberkorn as Natsu Dragneel
Cherami Leigh as Lucy Heartfilia
Newton Pittman as Gray Fullbuster
Tia Ballard as Happy
Monica Rial as Mirajane Strauss
Jamie Marchi as Cana Alberona
Charles Campbell as Wakaba Mine
Brian Mathis as Macao Conbolt
R. Bruce Elliot as Makarov Dreyar
With Zoë Wanamaker as Porlyusica
———————————————————————————

Relief. That was the feeling everyone was experiencing right now. Just when it had seemed their mission to rescue Ben from the Entrapment Spell was a failure, he had miraculously broken free from the spell's clutches at the last possible minute. The group didn't know how he did it, nor did they care at the moment. They were all just extremely grateful that their friend had managed to dodge death a second time; once as the Tower of Heaven fell, and now again.

Erza continued to cry into Ben's chest for a few minutes that felt like an eternity, at least for the superhero and re-quipping mage it did anyways. When she finally settled down, she wiped her tears away and looked into Ben's eyes with a bright smile – one that Ben happily returned.

Moments later, Ben was sitting up on the edge of the bed. The heart-rate monitor was disconnected and Porlyusica was checking over Ben to evaluate his condition and determine if they were any residual traces of the Entrapment Spell left. Once she finished with him, she proceeded to check the rest of the Ultimate Team for any abnormalities.

As the healer checked the team, Erza sat next to Ben and calmly explained to him everything thatwhat all had happened, with the others occasionally chipping inadding in their two cents.

She started with Jellal casting the Entrapment on him during the final battle in the Tower of Heaven, his collapse in the guild hall, and then Makarov sending the Ultimate Team into his mind to rescue him. Erza then explained how the group met his own subconscious manifestation, witnessing several of his memories, and fought the Entrapment's manifestations.

Natsu would occasionally butt in and boisterously talk about his battles against Ben's past foes, mainly describing how awesome he was. While Erza would scold Natsu for interrupting her, Ben simply smiled. He was amazed and grateful that his friends had fought through so many of his past foes and prevailed, all for his sake.

Erza continued on with her explanation of everything that happened after encountering the Aggregor manifestation. She chose to leave out the memory of Julie and Ship's deaths and the part where she kissed Ben though. The former because Erza knew Ben would tell the others when he was ready; the latter because...well...the others didn't need to know about that...

Ben inwardly admitted that after all his friends had done for him, he should tell them about what happened with Julie. It was the darkest point in his life. He already knew about Erza's past in the Tower of Heaven, Lucy's rough childhood, Natsu's abandonment, not to mentionand the death of Gray's parents and master. It was only fair he tell his friends in the same way. However, he decided to do so at a later date. He'd just recovered from a near-death experience, and now wasn't the time.

When the scarlet-haired knight finished her long story, Ben stared at the floor with a contemplative look. Needless to say, it was a lot to process all at once, but the teen hero took it surprisingly well. He had faced many strange things throughout his hero career; although, this one definitely took the cake. But, at the end of the day, this Entrapment Spell incident would just be another item to add to his growing list of bizarre experiences; even though it would certainly have its after affects.