The day has started like any other day, Ben and his family getting ready for the day ahead.

Ben is currently reading a newspaper at the table, Elma is eating at said table, Kanna is at school, and Tohru is sweeping the floor.

Tohru: "Master?" She momentarily halts her sweeping. "If someone were to ask, would you say that I'm the ultimate maid, right?"

Ben looks up from the newspaper, a look of skepticism on his face.

Ben: "No. Why would you ask that?"

Tohru: "You're wrong." She pouts. "I think I'm the ultimate maid, and that's all that matters."

Ben rolls his eyes, looking back down at his newspaper.

Elma: "Just because you think you're the best, doesn't mean you are."

Tohru: "Oh, what do you know, pig!?"

Elma: "PIG!?"

Tohru and Elma presenter foreheads against each other, growling. They aren't always like this, but they do tend to bicker from time to time.

Ben: "Easy now, you two." He turns a page, not looking up from the newspaper. "Don't make me put you two in a corner."

Tohru and Elma grumble as they back away from the other, going back to what they were doing.

Tohru: "Anyway, look at this!"

Tohru holds up a magazine with an advertisement for a Maid Café.

Ben: "A new Maid Café is opening? And it's nearby."

Tohru: "It says all who enter will be served by the best maids!"

Ben: 'Oh no.'

Tohru: "Best maids!?" She whines, her body moving wildly. "Who do they think they are, making such false claims without me!?"

Elma: "It's not that big of a deal, you know."

Ben: "Besides, you're making some pretty far-fetched claims yourself, Tohru."

Tohru: "Then I'll just burn that place to ash!" Small flames come out of her mouth as she yells. "And their business will fail as a result of my crimson flame!"

Ben: "That isn't necessary, you know." He sets down the newspaper, rubbing his temples. "You don't need to burn anything down. At all."

Tohru: "Noted! I shall simply scare off the enemy, and make sure they never return!"

Before Ben could properly respond, Tohru rushes out the front door.

Elma: "Don't you think you should make sure she doesn't.......you know?"

Ben: "Eh, I'm sure she'll be fine." He picks the newspaper back up. "She can be stubborn sometimes, but she typically listens when I tell her to do something."

Elma: "If you say so."

=============================================================================================

Timeskip: 20 Minutes

Ben and Elma are cuddling on the couch, the latter resting her head on Ben's shoulder.

Tohru suddenly bursts into the room, surprising the two.

Tohru: "I've returned from the mortal beyond!"

Elma, now knowing it was Tohru, goes back to snuggling into Ben's shoulder.

Ben: "Welcome back home, Tohru. Please tell me you didn't destroy anything."

Tohru: "Nope! I actually wound up getting a job there!"

This shocks Ben and Elma, but Elma seems more shocked than Ben.

Ben & Elma: "What!? How!?"

Tohru simply shrugs her shoulders, sticking out her tongue as well.

=============================================================================================

Flashback: 15 Minutes Ago

Tohru is running through the streets of Japan, before skidding to a halt in front of the Maid Café.

Tohru: "I proudly stormed the enemy's evil den to find their leader!"

Ben: "Evil isn't how I would describe it."

Tohru bursts through the front door of the Café.

Past Tohru: "Fear me!"

A maid with dark blue hair, who was sweeping the floor, looks over at Tohru.

Maid 1: "Oh, are you here to interview for the maid job?"

Another maid with brown hair comes over and joins the conversation.

Maid 2: "Pretty presumptuous to be wearing a maid outfit already."

A blonde maid joins the conversation as well.

Maid 3: "You're pretty, though."

A fifth maid, with black hair, approaches Tohru and puts a hand on her shoulder.

Maid 4: "And I admire that positive attitude!" She makes a thumbs up. "You're hired!"

The other three maids quietly cheer for Tohru's sudden employment at the establishment.

=============================================================================================

Present:

Tohru: "And that's how it happened!"

Ben: "The way they hired you was completely unethical. They didn't even bother to do a background check."

Elma: "Didn't you practically do the same thing to get me hired?"

Ben: "That's different. There was no background to check." He turns his attention back to Tohru. "Why did you agree to the job anyway?"

Tohru: "Well, I have nothing to do all day while everybody is out and about! I need something to do!"

Ben: "I guess that makes sense. You have been getting more efficient with your tasks around here. But are you serious about this job?"

Tohru: "What are you talking about? I would gladly work as a maid every day of my life for free!"

Ben: "Yeah, for me. What about other people who aren't me?"

Tohru: "Eh, it shouldn't be that bad." She crosses her arms. "Besides, all I'll be doing is cooking, cleaning, and taking orders! It's not like I have to help bathe any of them."

Ben: "That is true. But be prepared for that job. A lot of people can be.....very rude to employees in the food industry."

Elma: "Really? Why would humans treat the people that serve and make their food with such disrespect?"

Ben: "Because they themselves probably feel miserable and want everybody else to feel the same way."

Elma: "That sounds awfully.....sad."

Ben: "It is." He turns his gaze to Tohru. "Regardless, this would be a great experience for you, Tohru. Maybe it could even help your tolerance to other humans."

Tohru: "If you say so, master." She smiles, before sitting down next to Ben. "Anywho, I'm going to sit here for a few minutes, 'kay?"

Ben: "That's fine." He smiles softly. 'I love these two so much.'

=============================================================================================

Timeskip: Three Days Later

Ben, Elma, and Kanna are walking through the streets on their way to the Maid Café that Tohru is now working at.

Ben is holding Kanna's small hand as they make their way through the city.

Ben: "It's been a couple of days. I hope she hasn't threatened anyone."

Kanna: "You're a worry wart, papa."

Ben: "Better to over worry than not worry enough." He turns over to Elma. "So, what do you think?"

Elma: "About Tohru's new job? Well, I guess so long as she doesn't cause anyone any trouble, I really don't mind."

The three eventually reach Tohru's new job, enter the café, and are then greeted by one of the other maids. She has long, dark green hair.

Maid 5: "Hello, and welcome home, my master! My mistress!" She looks down at Kanna. "And you too, little lady."

The maid guides the three over to a vacant table, and Kanna takes in her surroundings.

Kanna: "So many people here dress like lady Tohru."

The three sit down at the table, Ben and Elma sitting together on one side, and Kanna sitting opposite of them.

Ben: "This place is pretty cozy."

Elma: "And the food here looks delicious." She drools slightly, already looking at the menu. "I don't know if I can decide."

Ben: "We have time, so there's really no hurry." He looks back at Kanna. "Kanna, you don't happen to know where Tohru is, do you?"

Kanna: "I do." She points to her left. "She's right over there."

Ben and Kanna look over and see a glow coming from the kitchen. They walk over and peer inside, seeing a ferocious orange aura surrounding Tohru as she furiously cooks.

Tohru: "Table 10, your order's up!"

Maid 2: "On it!"

Tohru: "I'm running out of plates, so let's get some out fast!"

Maid 2: "Got it!"

Maid 2 moves over and starts setting down six plates onto the counter.

Tohru picks up two pans, each with three omelettes on them, throws the omelettes onto the plates perfectly.

Tohru takes a deep breath, before possing cutely with the two pans.

Maid 1: "Wow! Way to go, head chef!"

Maid 2: "Thanks for everything you do to help us, chef!"

Maid 3: "Chef Tohru's the best!"

The maids continue to praise Tohru.

Tohru: "No, thank you! I'm happy to help this team work more efficiently!"

Tohru looks past the maids, spotting Ben. A very happy smile appears on her face, and she waves.

Tohru: "Hey, Master! Did you come to see me?"

Ben: "Yeah, actually." He smiles gently. "I'm not surprised you're doing so well."

Tohru walks over to Ben, stopping a few feet in front of him.

Tohru: "I told you I was the best!" She flexes her bicep. "It's actually been quite easy for me to handle. I've taken another step forward as a maid. Except......"

Tohru screams, holding the sides of her face.

Tohru: "I'm not working as a maid at all!"

Ben: "I mean, cooking is still generally part of a maid's job."

Tohru: "Doesn't matter! I'm gonna get someone on the floor to switch with me!"

Ben: "I mean, you're a great cook. Aren't you already in the best position for you?"

Tohru: "It's the correct position for a volcanic dragon!" Tohru huffs and pouts as she walks away, but immediately comes back. "Please leave and then come back in, okay?"

Ben: "Huh?"

=============================================================================================

Ben walks back inside the café, and he's immediately gets greeted by Tohru, who is very happy and excited.

Tohru: "Greetings! Welcome, master!"

Ben: "I don't imagine you say that anyone else, do you?"

Maid 1 moves next to Tohru.

Maid 1: "When Head Chef first started on the floor, she said "I refuse to call anyone master except for my master"."

Ben: "Yeah, that sounds about right."

Tohru guides Ben over to the table he was already sitting at before. Kanna and Elma are still sitting there, waiting for Ben.

Tohru: "Will you please have a seat in our comfy booth?"

Ben: "So I can finally order some food."

Kanna: "Omurice, please!" She raises her arms up. "Please, papa! Omurice!"

Elma: "Omurice sounds pretty good, yeah!"

Ben: "You want two plates, Elma!" Elma nods her head furiously, and Ben turns to Tohru. "Alright then, four Omurice please."

Tohru: "Got it! Be back in a flash!"

=============================================================================================

About three minutes later, Tohru brings back four plates of Omurice. Each of them are steaming from heat.

Tohru: "Now it's time to perform a spell to make them extra delicious!"

Tohru takes a deep breath, before beginning to recite a spell.

Tohru: "I call upon the Shadow King who rules these lands." A black and magenta orb appears between her hands, a powerful light emanating off the orb. "Make this the greatest it can be with your dark arts! I besiege thee for quality worthy of praise! Raise its value and bring forth a monument to your glory! Let my magic spread and bring corruption! Let my ideals erode the world and bring about chaos! Replace all that is organic with palatable sustenance!" She hovers the orb over all their food, and the orb starts melting into them. "Be ever so delicious! Moe, moe, moe!"

After finishing the spell, Tohru wipes some sweat from her forehead while Ben just stares at his food. Each plate of Omurice has a dark purple liquid on top of it.

Now that the spell is done, Elma and Kanna have started eating.

Tohru: "Yummy to the tummy! I hope you like it!"

Ben, having eaten far more disgusting looking food, just decides to not fight it and dig in. He was pleasantly surprised by the delicious taste.

Ben: "Mm. This is good."

Kanna nods her head, and Elma quickly stuffs her face with the Omurice.

=============================================================================================

Eventually they had to leave, and Tohru also decided it was better to quit her job, mainly so she didn't have to be a maid for anyone else.

The maids of the café didn't like that too much because of how famous the café had become because of Tohru. So Tohru decided to teach them the magic spell before leaving with Ben and the others.

=============================================================================================

Timeskip: A Few Days Later

Ben is eating some toast, sitting at the table with everyone, while listening to a news report about the weather.

Reporter: "And now with the news. There was a large scale landslide early this morning."

The TV shows an image of a mountain, where it seems a large chunk of it just disappeared, leaving a massive hole.

Ben: "Hey, that's the mountain where I met you Tohru. That's....odd."

Ben turns to his left, where he sees that Tohru is very aggravated.

Tohru: "How could they do that to our precious, sacred spot?" Her hands morph into her dragon claws. "I'll find the culprit behind this and send them to Gehnna, then Jahannam, and then beat them to Aman!"

Ben: "But there's only a few things that can do something like that."

Elma: "And one of those things is a dragon."

=============================================================================================

They went around, trying to see if any of the dragons could've done it.

Fafnir: "It couldn't have possibly been me. I was reviewing parameters for an upcoming game event."

Shota: "Lucoa's been out of the country since yesterday. And I know where she is because...." He blushes slightly. "She bounded us by magic."

With no other leads, the group wanders aimlessly through the city.

Elma: "If it wasn't Fafnir or Lucoa, who could've destroyed that mountain?"

Tohru: "Well it definitely wasn't me." She crosses her arms. "I would never in a million years destroy such a sacred place to me and my master."

Elma: "And I would never significantly alter anything that goes on in this world."

Ben: "We also can't rule out that it was something else. There are plenty of things in this world that could've destroyed that mountain."

Tohru: "That is true." He rubs her chin. "You don't think that Vilgax guy has come back again, right?"

Ben: "Doubtful. He is unbelievably petty. If he was still alive, he would've come straight for me, not destroy some random mountain."

As the group is talking, and creature in human form is watching them from above. Yellow horns, pink hair, and a long and thick red tail, the creature jumps down and slowly hovers down to the group.

Elma: "So it could be anything that destroyed that mountain."

Ben: "But what could it have been?"

???: "It was me."

Everyone, slightly shocked, turns around and looks up to see the creature slowly hovering down toward them.

Ben: "Hi."

Tohru and Elma get into battle stances, ready to fight. Ben, however, seems mostly unbothered by the dragon.

Ben: "I'm gonna take a gander and say she isn't one of the good ones."

Tohru: "She isn't. Her name is Ilulu."

Elma casts a spell, causing light blue light to envelop the city, causing nearby humans to start calmly leaving the area.

Ilulu continues to talk as she gently lands on the ground.

Ilulu: "What a pretty city this is. There's laughter and chatter everywhere." She holds out her clawed arms. "With so many people around, you could be indulging in so much destruction. Yet here you are, a chaos dragon, chummy with them."

Ben lightly taps the Omnitrix, and it quietly beeps.

Ilulu: "I was watching because I was a little curious, and I see what's going on, and I'm not amused." She flexes her claws. "What I'm trying to say is you're an enemy now!"

Ilulu charges forward, and Tohru does the same. Their fists interlock for a moment, but then Ilulu forces her hands down along with Tohru's. Ilulu then does a sideways flip, using the momentum to hit Tohru in the head.

Tohru uses her hand to stop herself from hitting the ground, but the floor still crumbles under the pressure.

Ilulu: "Ha!"

Tohru kicks Ilulu in the face, sending her up, before flying up and continuing the fight.

Ben: "Who exactly is that?"

Elma: "It's Ilulu. She's with the most radical wing of the Chaos Faction and loves destruction." She and Ben watch as Ilulu and Tohru fight in the sky. "I'm sure she followed Tohru here. You see what I mean? She clearly came to cause destruction to this world."

Ben: "I see. Do you think Tohru could use some help?"

Elma: "I would be happy to, but I'm part of the Harmony Faction, so I cannot interfere unless Tohru is defeated. " She looks over at Ben. "But if the two of them keep on fighting, they'll destroy the whole region. And I can't do anything about it yet."

Ben: "I see. But what if I were to help her?"

Elma looks over at Ben, a confused look on her face.

Elma: "Huh?"

=============================================================================================

Tohru and Ilulu continue to clash, before they push against each other, launching each other away. They remain floating in the air across from each other.

Tohru: "Destruction is not permitted in this world!"

Ilulu: "Yeah? What's your point? I'm in the Chaos Faction, too!"

Tohru: "If you can't follow the rules of this world, then I'll have to send you back home!"

Ilulu: "I'm more than happy to fight with you you!"

Pink, black, and purple energy begins to form in Ilulu's mouth. The energy gives off a flame-like aura.

Tohru: "Attacks like that will have no affect on me."

Ilulu's chest begins glow a red/orange, and she launches herself up above Tohru. She then shoots out several balls of the pink/purple/black energy, which are surrounded by powerful flames.

Tohru: "Oh no! The city!"

Tohru flies down and outstretches her wings, blocking the powerful balls of flame and energy.

Tohru: "Hot!"

Ilulu blitzes Tohru, slashing at her with her massive claws. Ilulu's claws leave a red "X" on Tohru's chest, ripping the chest of her uniform.

Ben: "That's it, I'm going to help her."

Elma: "What form will you be taking?"

Ben: "A new one."

A green flash covers Ben, but Elma is unaffected by the sudden light. As the light subsides, it reveals Ben in a new form.

(Taller than Tohru's dragon form, Omnitrix Symbol on the chest.)

Elma: "Are you sure you're ready to use that form to fight?"

Dagon: "I'm not. But I have to try."

Dagon opens his wings, ready to fly, but Elma stops him.

Elma: "Wait. Let me shift you to a human-like form real quick, make you a smaller target."

Dagon nods his head as Elma envelops Ben in a light blue light. Dagon's body glows light blue, and his body shifts down to a smaller size.

When the light vanishes, it shows Ben with a long and black tail. His eyes are a vibrant green and catlike, and long black horns are coming out of his head.

The tips of his fingers are green claws. Two medium sized wings come out of Ben's back, the insides of them are green. The Omnitrix symbol rests on Ben's chest.

Ben: "You'll have to teach me that spell at some point. Thanks, Elma." Fangs can be seen as he talks. "This should help me help Tohru."

Elma: "Good. Now go help her."

Ben: "Got it. Make sure to protect the city while we're busy."

Ben nods as he crouches down, and then launches off of the ground towards Tohru and Ilulu.

=============================================================================================

Ilulu blasts another fire/energy ball at Tohru, who blocks it with her claws. Tohru struggles, before using a powerful slash to cancel out the attack.

Ilulu blitzes behind Tohru, slashing down her back. Ilulu then kicks Tohru away, but she stops herself in the air.

Tohru: "Ow."

Ilulu grins, a slight look of annoyance on her face.

Ilulu: "I just hit you with thirty shots of flaming acid. That's on top of several nice slashes with my claws. But all you give me is an "ow"? Man, I'm stumped. I can't think of a solid way to kill you."

A green and black blur suddenly hits Ilulu, sending her far away from Tohru. The blur then speeds over to Tohru, who looks up to see Ben.

Tohru: "Master? W-What are-?"

Ben: "I'm here to help you, obviously." He smiles, his fangs showing. "Unless, of course, you don't want any."

Tohru, with small tears coming out of her eyes, hugs Ben tightly, and he hugs back just as tightly.

After a few moments, they separate, and they face towards Ilulu as she floats back.

Ilulu: "Interesting. I thought you were human."

Ben: "I am human. Long-story-short, I can shape-shift into other species."

Ilulu: "This world is full of surprises." She flexes her claws. "I'll enjoy killing the both of you."

Ben: "Sure, sure." He cracks his knuckles before whispering to Tohru. "You go on the offensive, I'll hit her whenever there's an opening."

Tohru: "Got it."

Tohru and Ilulu charge towards each other, their fists clashing. Ben then goes behind Ilulu and hits her in the spine, disorienting Ilulu, giving Tohru a chance to uppercut her.

Then Ben flies quickly around Ilulu, hitting her repeatedly. Ilulu attempts to hit Ben, but she is unable to.

Ben suddenly retreats from Ilulu, dodging a powerful blast of fire from Tohru, which hits Ilulu directly.

This goes on for a couple of minutes, before an enraged Ilulu sends out an outward blast, sending both Ben and Tohru back.

Ilulu shoots down more blasts down at the city, but Ben is able to take the brunt of the blasts, causing some pain.

Ben: "Woah! This is awesome!" He smiles. "I haven't had a good fight like this in years!"

Ben charges straight at Ilulu, and their fists/claws interlock as they push against each other.

Ilulu: "Why are you having so much fun!? I'm trying to kill you!"

Ben: "Man, you have no idea what my life has been like, do you?"

Ben headbutts Ilulu, sending her off balance, before immediately hitting her across the face before kicking her away.

Tohru: "Great job, master!" She floats over. "But why aren't you using any magic?"

Ben: "I don't know how. You and Elma will have to help me with that."

Ilulu yells out loudly, getting Ben and Tohru's attention.

Ilulu: "You're disgusting, relying on a dumb human! Besides, I'm just getting started!"

Tohru's anger, having begun to reach its limit, overflows. Blue flames appear in her mouth, and Ben notices, so he backs away.

A red/pink aura covers Ilulu's body, yellow eyes and mouth of a dragon appear in the aura.

Before Ilulu's transformation was complete, Tohru sends a powerful blast of blue energy from her mouth at Ilulu. The blast completely envelopes the enemy as she screams out in pain.

When the blast subsides, Ilulu's unconscious and charred body flits there. Tohru opens a black portal below Ilulu, dropping her in, and then closes it.

Ben: "Wow." He floats back next to Tohru. "Was that a full powered blast?"

Tohru: "No, not quite." She breathes heavily. "The city is too close for that. Our attacks from earlier were enough to wear her down, so I finished it with a half-powered blast."

Ben: "I see." He gently grabs Tohru's hand. "Let's head back down. Have Elma patch us up."

Tohru nods her head as she and Ben slowly float down to the ground.

Ben: "You did really good up there, Tohru. You aren't too hurt, are you?"

Tohru: "No, I'm fine. But what about you?" They slowly land on the ground next to Elma. "You took those blast pretty hard."

Ben: "I'll be fine. I've been hurt way worse than that."

Elma moves in front of the two and places her hands on their heads. A blue aura covers the two, healing any injuries they had, and then subsiding.

Elma: "There we go. Feeling better?"

Tohru & Ben: "Much better."

Ben hits the Omnitrix, reverting him back to his human form in a bright flash of light.

Ben: "The sun's starting to set. We should head back home."

Elma & Tohru: "Yeah. Let's go."

Tohru and Elma grabs onto Ben's hands as they start walking home.

Tohru & Elma: 'We will do whatever we can to keep you safe master/Ben. No matter the obstacle, we'll get past it.'

=============================================================================================

Location: The Woods

A black portal opens up, and an exhausted Ilulu falls through, hitting the ground.

Ilulu: "That human back there....he got involved and saved Tohru. Humans should be our enemies. That's what we're taught." She slowly gets on her knees. "But....he's clearly different. He could even somehow become a dragon."

Ilulu slowly stands up, her legs shaking slightly.

Ilulu: "I need to know more about this human."

=============================================================================================

Timeskip: The Next Night

A black portal opens up at the top of a building, and Ilulu falls out and lands on the building.

Ilulu: "It was harder to get that portal open than I expected." She pulls herself up, looking over the edge of the building. "I'm surprised that Tohru could easily do something so draining."

Ilulu's eyes eventually land on Ben, who is walking down the sidewalk.

Ben: 'I could use XLR8 to get home, but something.....feels off.'

Ilulu gently lands down on her knees in front of Ben.

Ben: 'Yeah, this would be it.' He pushes his glasses up. "Hello again, Ilulu."

Ilulu: "What is your name, human?"

Ben: "Ben Tennyson."

Ilulu: "Ben Tennyson, tell me: Why do you choose to live with dragons?"

Ben: "Tohru wanted to stay with me after I saved her life, I let Kanna stay with me and Tohru after being banished from her world, and I offered Elma to stay with all of us because she had nowhere else to go."

Ilulu: "Aren't you afraid of them?"

Ben: "Hard to be afraid of them when they're so cute." He scratches the side of his face. "It helps that I've had a lot of near-death experiences in the past."

Ilulu: "I see." She stands up. "So they turn you on? You're not afraid of them because you're in love with them."

Ben blinks a couple of times, making sure that is what he heard.

Ben: "I mean, I romantically love Tohru and Elma. But Kanna is more like a daughter to me."

Ilulu: "I see. Then..."

Ilulu rips open the front of her cloak, revealing her large breasts, which are just covered by a bra.

Ben: 'What the fuck is going on right now?'

Ilulu presses her chest up against Ben, making him a tad flustered.

Ilulu: "You're only human, after all. You can't resist your desires."

Ilulu hops up so her breasts are in Ben's face, which causes Ben to have to hold her up by grabbing into her thighs.

Ilulu: "Go ahead and let your pitiful male instincts take over and run free! You want to be loved, don't you? Then you can unleash your lustful longings on me, like you do Tohru and Elma!"

Before anything else could happen, Ben lets go of Ilulu's thighs, causing the dragon to fall to the ground.

Ben: "Listen, I don't really understand what you're trying to do or prove, but if you want to talk to me then just talk." He points his thumb behind him. "Cover up your chest and we can keep talking on the train, okay?"

Ilulu looks up at Ben, a slight look of shock on her face. She gets up, fixing the cloak that covers her body so her chest is no longer exposed.

Ilulu: "Fine."

=============================================================================================

Ben and Ilulu sit together on the mostly empty train car. There's an awkward silence between the two of them.

Ben: "You've been pretty quiet. Didn't you have something to say?"

Ilulu stays silent for a couple more moment.

Ilulu: "I can't accept you." There's a shadow over her eyes. "Humans and dragons aren't permitted to coexist. When together, their differences cause great suffering. As suffering grows, it breeds hatred. Respect turns to envy, and eventually creates pain."

Ben: "It sounds like you speak from experience."

Ilulu doesn't respond to Ben's statement and continues speaking.

Ilulu: "What Tohru and Elma feel for you is not what you think. It's simply curiosity. And when that eventually runs out...." Ilulu looks towards a Ben and sees that he fell asleep. "Wake up!"

Ben startles awake.

Ben: "I'm awake, I'm awake." He rubs his eye. "I swear, I was listening."

Ilulu: "You liar!"

Ben: "You were talking about how since our species are so different, we shouldn't coexist, or something." He yawns. "Anyway, what can a lowly human like myself do to be able to help?"

Ilulu: "Correct your understanding!"

Ben: "Then allow me to use your own words to make a whole new point: When we embrace our differences and learn to enjoy them, it breeds love. Respect is joined by trust and eventually creates a bond. Like me and Tohru, or me and Kanna, or me and Elma."

Ilulu: "That's simply a convenient interpretation! There are still tragedies too! You're just glossing over the truth with a bunch of pretty words!"

Ben: "That's also true."

Ilulu is slightly taken aback by Ben's admission.

Ben: "There are times we fight and hurt each other, and that's completely normal. I just try to not think about it too much. Even if I don't always understand how they feel, I try to do what I can to respect their feelings. And we're able to manage because of it."

Ilulu: "Is that really how you humans think?"

Ben: "No, not all of us." He turns to look down at Ilulu. "But it is the way that I think. Don't you think that there are differences between the ways that other dragons in your world think?"

Ilulu: "No, but there's no need to." She looks away from Ben. "We're the same."

Ben: "That's hard to believe. What about the dragon who became with these guidelines of how a dragon should always think? Was it you, or a completely different dragon?"

Ilulu has a look of realization, but she refuses to look back at Ben.

Ben smiles, before leaning back in his seat and slowly falling asleep.

As Ilulu looks back at Ben as he sleeps, various memories go through her head. A doll, and raging fire.

Ilulu: "You can spout pretty words, but you're still a human."

=============================================================================================

After an unspecified amount of time, Ben wakes up to the sound of beeping from the train car. Ben quickly runs out of the train car just moments before the doors closed.

Ben: "I guess Ilulu left." He looks down at his phone. "I should get home fast. They'll be worried."

Ben instantly transforms into XLR8 and then speeds home.

That's the end of the chapter. See you in the next one!