Ben 10: Recalibrated

Chapter 8-They're Evolving

Meanwhile, Ray strolled down a desolate forest of......somewhere.

But then his stroll stopped suddenly in silence. something strange broke through the silence a voice. Deep, distorted, and eerily familiar.

???: "You think you're free?"

Ray stopped in his tracks, his blood running cold. That voice he recognized it. But how? It couldn't be. He hadn't even transformed into his Ultimate Humongousaur form, yet the voice was unmistakably that of Collossus, the towering, beastly version of the alien.

He glanced at the Ultimatrix on his waist, but it remained inactive. A cold shiver ran down his spine. He wasn't using it...yet he could still hear the voice.

"No matter how far you run, I'll be there... watching. Waiting."

Ray: "Well that's creepy."

The voice chuckled darkly, as if amused by Rays confusion.

"You think you control me? No. Infact it's the opposite."

Ray gripped his head, trying to shake off the voice, but it only grew louder. It wasn't just a voice; it was inside him, crawling through his thoughts.

"You can hear me now because I've always been there. You're not just the master of chaos. You're a vessel... and I'm your shadow. Every time you transform into me, I gain more control."

Ray stumbled, bracing himself against a nearby wall. His pulse quickened, and for the first time in a long while, a flicker of fear crept into his chest.

Ray: "Shut up. You don't control me. I control you."

But Collossus only laughed, the sound echoing in his skull like a maddening drumbeat.

"We'll see..."

But then, without warning, his vision blurred. His head throbbed, and suddenly he was hit with a flash like a memory, but distorted. He was in the heat of battle, towering as Collossus, his massive hands tearing into an enemy. Missiles shot from his tail, exploding with devastating force. The chaos, the destruction, the carnage it all felt real.

Yet Ray had no recollection of it. This wasn't a battle he remembered. His grip on reality faltered for a moment as the vision hit him again another explosion, more destruction. His monstrous form rampaging through some unknown battlefield.

Ray: "What...what is this?"

The voice snarled again, more aggressive than ever, though still vague and indistinct.

"You're losing control. You're not the one pulling the strings anymore."

Ray's breath quickened, and he clutched his head as the flashes came in faster now, the scenes of destruction playing on a loop in his mind. He was Collossus, yes, but the Ray in these visions wasn't acting like himself. He wasn't enjoying the chaos he was on autopilot, a weapon unleashed with no purpose but to destroy.

His heart raced as he tried to make sense of it, but nothing added up. The battles, the enemies, the destruction. it was like watching someone else pilot his body.

Ray "That's not me! I never fought that fight! I never..."

Another flash. Another explosion. He could almost feel the missiles launching from his tail, the heat from the blast. It was all too vivid, too real.

"You're just a shell... and I'm what fills it."

Ray staggered to the side, leaning against a wall, gasping for air. He slammed a fist into the brick, the pain in his knuckles barely registering over the mental onslaught.

Ray "I'm in control... I'm in control."

"You're starting to see, aren't you? You're just a piece on the board. And the game's far from over."

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