The story continues. Of course, like always, if you like what you see, feel free to send a review. Enjoy!

Chapter 64: The Challenges' of Love? An Electrifying First Date!

Last time, in Tales of the Cosmic Wars, Ben and the other Enji were happy for the brief moments of peace that followed the death of Xehamaru. Ben's advancement to a true Enji Knight has made him very happy. Having his own room and a bigger pay raise almost made having so many near death experiences worthwhile. However, his good mood was soon ruined when he heard that Xehamaru got one last laugh from his grave by indirectly causing his grandmother to have a heart attack, from seeing the planet invaded, and die.

This sad news was a downer, but Ben tried to not let it dampen his spirits. The night he had a nightmare that was more than a dream, it seemed to be the god of darkness Chaos Zannacross Necron himself invading his mind and taunting him about his own destruction! However, even a nightmare like this is not enough to get to our hero's mind. After all, it was just a dream. Or at least he told himself that, until, moments later, he heard the emergency alarm!

Quickly, dashing to the nearest conference room, Ben and the other Enji knights saw through their sources that the Weil Zabi 's United Federation of Zeon and the order of Sithantos had at last come to butt heads! On the major Zeon weapons production world of Castion, Admiral Kycllia Zabi and her forces confronted a Sithantos fleet not only led, by the envoy of darkness Nightmare, but the true boss of Xehamaru, the powerful demon Darth Damonus!

She was already angry that the dark army had come to this world when they were supposed to have a meeting on the world of Ormus to discuss further relations between the two groups. Although in reality it was just Zeon trying to take what they can from Sithantos and run, because they were thinking allying with the dark order was not as profitable as they hoped.

However, the Zeon women soon learned the hard way why Damonus was second in command of the supreme emperor of darkness's forces. Disgusted at the overconfidence of Weil and his greedy cohorts, and not nearly as willing to play along, so to speak, as Xehamaru, was Damonus, who had come to give a demand to Zeon.

Submit to his will, or be deleted! Too bad for the female admiral, she made the mistake of responding by shooting the shadow lord in the head, to find that the only effect that had was to seal her fate! Damonus then took the time to officially announce to the universe that the Zannacross Empire has emerged from the shadows of its pubic face, Sithantos!

With that, his first action was to wipe out the entire planet single handedly! Not even five powerful Big Zam mobile weapons at once could even faze him, before he, with ease, wiped out Kycllia Zabi, and everyone else on the planet, in one massive blast! He then gathered all the souls from the people he killed to use them to revive his master. He gave a decree of death to the Enji Knights and left. While Ben refuses to let the enormous power of his new foe scare him, oh no, he has something far more scary to worry about.

At long last, it's time for his date with Lisa Alster! Although this should be a moment of great joy for Ben, at the same time it's a moment of great anxiety.

For this is his first date, and he knows how Lisa has been heard to have high expectations. Will Ben be able to pull it off and at last find someone that loves him? It's time to find out!

Our newest chapter begins at Hallow Bastion, to be more specific, the council chamber of the masters and other high ranking Enji.

After all witnessing the power of Darth Damonus, and his announcement of the return of the ancient Zannacross Empire, they were discussing how this turn of events would change the course of the war.

Nearly all the top ranking Enji are in the majestic round room. The old, but wise, Grand Master Myers, was, of course there in his usual full gold and blue armor with a new cape. His son, the stiff and powerful, as well as head of the Titan's Special forces, Kira Myers, is, as well. Also, there is the red Yoda look alike Zoda, the long bearded Enji Master Yamamoto, and the other masters that were available such as Master Genkai.

There was Cloud, the gun blade wielding scar faced Squall Leonheart. The samurai like warrior Cyan Garamonde, the swordsmen with sunglasses Auron, the black haired duel swordsman, Leon Mangus, and many more warriors of light.

At the moment, the meeting has just begun, and the one starting it off was Grand Master Myers himself.

The leader of the warriors of light started off by saying,"Greetings everyone, it seems, once more, we have little but bad news to discuss. As you all saw, at last the one who was controlling Xehamaru 's actions has revealed Darth Damonus, he seems even more aggressive than Xehamaru."

Cloud then responded with,"With him calling out the Zannacross Empire from the stories, it's clear Xehamaru was not lying when he said his plan was to resurrect the god of darkness, Chaos Zannacross Necron. And it seems he is not willing to let even the Zeon Federation interfere."

After saying this, Kira cleared his throat before adding," Yes, it seems, at last, the greed of Weil has become so high that he can no longer contain his desire to own the worlds belonging to Sithantos. Tsk, it seems that he will pay dearly for this. However, this opens up a window of opportunity for us." Hearing this, Zoda responded with," Do, what mean of this, do you, Kira?"

"Think about it Master Zoda. Now that it seems that Weil's arrogance has him having his former allies turn against him, it makes the whole Zeon federation weakened. Now if the Zannacross Empire is attacking their worlds, as well, we can make a decisive invasion on their core worlds, and at last force them into submission!"

As everyone hears this, they have various reactions. Cyan goes up and says," But, Kira, are the Zannacross Empire not the number one concern? With their actions, they must be stopped before we focus on Zeon!"

To this, another Enji Captain, Cecil Harvey added," And with the Zeon forces no longer getting help from Sithantos, or, should I now say, the Zannacross Empire, their offensive capabilities have been greatly reduced. Although they are still a threat, I think preventing the rebirth of the being that nearly destroyed the entire universe all those years ago, is higher on the priority list."

Leon then chimed in with," Who knows? Maybe if we combat the imperial forces of darkness that attack Zeon worlds, perhaps the people there will see through Weil's propaganda. If we could get Zeon to surrender without more violence, that is always nice. Some races like the Krogan and the Thangarians are all ready showing sighs of resentment with Weil's policies. "

Most of the Enji seemed to nod in agreement, but in a rare moment of anger, let a outburst of mocking dismissive laughter." Oh please Leon. You really don't get it. "

Myers paused at his sons cold eyes and cleared his throat." Kira, I happen to agree with Leon. We do not need to bring more death if there is any chance we can settle our differences with some peacefully. "

"Don't be so naïve. You think if we just go to their aid, they will see the errors of their ways? We can't just let them off the hook for all their crimes they have committed. They must be brought to judgment, therefore we must strike them fast and hard before Weil and the other members of the Zeon federation have time to relocate! Now with the Salvation division, we have enough manpower to finish them off!"

Hearing how enthusiastic Kira was about this, Master Myers let out a weary sigh." Kira, sometimes I worry about your obsession with destroying Zeon. "

"You all just don't get it. Do you all want true peace? Well then, we must crush our foes so hard that they never have the desire for rebellion again! Only then can we have true peace. You can't trust people to change on their own. Only through installing the fear of death into the greedy minds of the Zeon federation, will they learn their lesson. You're far too trusting, father. Why, that in fact leads me to the other finding of mine."

Myers then raised a eyebrow and responds with a wary," What do you mean, Kira?"

" My agents have at last found out how Xehamaru sneaked that phantom doppelganger in through the shields, and how our sensors failed to pick up the combined Zeon and Sithantos fleet until it was too late.

As I suspected, it seems that both of those situations were caused by a spy. But, what's more, is with the level of clearance and the style, it could have only be done by an Enji Knight."

Everyone else was shocked at Kira's accusation and Squall responded with a sharp," Are you sure, Kira? That's a pretty steep statement. "

Myers then added," To betray the Enji Knights, when we are like family is a very serious accusation. Are you sure? "

"Yes, the scenes at the areas could work only if performed by the Enji Knights."

Enji Captain Stan then yelled at Kira with a fiery," Don't be crazy, Kira! None of us would betray the order for those crazy nut jobs! "

Leon then put his hand over his face and glanced at Stan," Oh, Stan, have you forgotten how people have ulterior motives everywhere, an irony of fate you could say. Don't tell me you forgot the situation I was in."

Stan then remembered how Leon was forced to betray his friends to his father, Hugo Gilchrist, for the sake of the woman he loved, and even died once, because of it, before nervously grinning.

Kira just cleared his throat at the reaction." Enough, it's not definite yet, but I just wanted you all just to check where your squad mates were. Ah, regardless of our disagreements, I think all of us can agree we should be on guard for more aggressive moves.

It's obvious this Darth Damonus is going to make a more aggressive war plan than Xehamaru. And Weil, like the crazed beast he is, might see he is backed into a corner, and do something crazy." With this, all the Enji agreed and they discussed their plans to deal with the new escalating threat.

Meanwhile, on a far different planet, the Zeon capital planet of Texagrad it seemed Kira was not too far off with regards to Weil Zabi. In fact, at the moment, he was having his own meeting, on the top floor of his headquarters.

This meeting was with the other major Zeon leaders to discuss, as he put it, "those betraying worthless wizard hacks who are making the last mistake they will ever make! "

The other members in this meeting were the green toad- like Neimodian Viceroy of the Trade federation Nute Gunray and his secretary Rune Haako.

Poggel The lesser, Archduke of Genonosie.

Shu Mai, President and CEO of the Commerce Guild,

Wat Tembor the head of the Techno Union,

Zanmoran of the Triceraton Confederation,

Queen Veranke of the Skrull Empire,and lastly, the de facto head of the smaller religious fleet, the Covenant, called the Prophet of Truth. At the moment, they were all talking to Weil about the arrival of the Zannacross Empire.

Guarding them was the head of the elite unite dead cell, former Enji Master Commander Craft Duron, and his three surviving followers, Harpunia, Fernir, and Leviathan. The mustached head of the Zabi family was furious at hearing some of his fellow members talk about re-opening negations with the Lylat Kingdom.

After snapping his cigar in fury he shouted to Gunray," Now see here you blasted toad! What's gotten into your head that you are talking about trying to make a deal with the Lylat Kingdom? You want them to walk all over us? Fools! There is no need to give those Lylat idealists anything!"

Gunray then snapped back with a manic," Are you insane Weil? You saw what Damonus did to Castion! Five Big Zams at once could not destroy him!"

Weil then smirked and retorted with a confident, "So, you are all scared witless about his anarchic spells? Spineless cowards! Like Xehamaru, he is just another hack with a few magic tricks. We are still the ones calling all the shots! We have far more forces even with the lost forces on Castion. The Zannacross Empire, bah! They are the past. The glorious Zeon Empire will be the rulers of the future!"

Hearing this, most of the fellow members looked at each other while the Prophet Of Truth said to Weil,"Weil, this is not just something to take lightly. This is the foretold empire of the most powerful being in the universe! You should not have made them angry! What were you thinking?"

Weil then slammed his fist through the table so hard that it smashed right through it and yelled back with,"All of you are idiots! There is nothing to fear from " the Devil"! I am the only one who is going to rule them all! The Lylat Kingdom, the Zannacross Empire, I will conquer them all and make everyone work for me!"

Tembor shouted out," You're insane, Weil! When this war started, this was just about breaking away so we could run our businesses without any interference. However, if we are all destroyed, it's meaningless. Your grudge against the Lylat Kingdom has gone too far!"

Zanmoran nodded before he cracked his neck." You picked a fight with someone you have no shot at beating, and the Triceratons are not going to suffer cause of your pride!"

Shu then added," I am sure most of us can agree, coming to an agreement with King Atem is our best course of action. As foolish as he is, is at least he is agreeable. If Ansem were still alive he would have agreed."

With this, a livid Weil snarled out," You're all a bunch of worthless idiots. Ansem was weak, that's why he let his guard down and died! See here, no one in the whole universe has the best business sense. I built all my companies from nothing, and destroyed all that tried to get in my way! You're all pathetic excuses for business men and women!"

Gunray then stated," But we are the leaders of our corporations, and you forget you need us to continue your attack! Let's say a vote of hands, which votes that Weil Zabi is insane and no longer should be our president?"

Weil saw all the members but one raised their hands. Poggel saw everyone else had risen their hand and then did the same. Seeing this, Weil just sighed, and stroked his mustache."My fellow members of the United States of the Zeon Federation, I see you have come to your conclusions.

However, as president of this government I have come to make an executive judgment. And that judgment is that you're all traitors to our cause for trying to impeach your leader because your all to spineless to fight when things get heated!

Yes, clearly such traitors can not be allowed in power anymore. Yes, for the sake of national security, everything would be better off, if I control everything! That's why, for now on, I will take direct control of all your business and all of your assets!"

As all the others were shocked at Weil's words, Nute Gunray shouted at him," You can't do this to us!"

"Oh, really?" Weil snorted out with pure contempt." In order to protect my business, and the security of my government, I will kill any one that tries to interfere with my affairs! Craft! Kill them all now! "

With this, the conflicted Big Boss looked shocked before he turned to his commander. "But why? They have done nothing to deserve death."

Weil narrowed his eyes before he snarled and then barked out, "Idiot! They are traitors, that's enough to lose all rights to live. Now finish them!"

Craft then grasped his fist tightly before he stated,"No, this is not right. Merely killing them because they disagree with us would make me worse than Xehamaru and those other demons."

"Craft, I see you clearly have no idea how to run a good business. It looks like once more I must do everything myself! You're all fired!"

Weil horrified everyone in the room and pressed a button on his coat. At once, all the chairs that the fellow members of Zeon were in had chains break out of them to bind the ones sitting in them.

They all at once descend underneath the room, where the others can heard loud screams and saw giant streams of fire emerge where the chairs were. The chairs then popped back up with only large amounts of smoke and ash.

Craft and the others saw Weil just laughed while saying to himself,"Ah, it was going to happen sooner or later, they were getting too pushy for what did not belong to them. Ah, just like with Ansem, I have to tie up all the ends to make things work. Don't feel to bad though...the whole point of this war is for me to take everything in the universe and put it under the control of the one who really deserves it, me!"

An angry Craft ran right up to Weil and hissed out," Ansem, what do you mean? No, don't tell me that the tragedy of the Twilight Space Colony really was a set up by you? How could you? It was Ansem who founded the Zeon Federation, and made the movement for us to have our independence in the first place!"

Weil then just continued to laugh and looked manic as he glared at the former Enji."Hahaha! Ansem, bah, he never really cared about independence. He was just angry at the kingdom that took away his lover and wanted to get back at them. It was me who gave him the idea to break away and fund Zeon.

I pushed him into waging war to, because it was the only way that we would truly be free. He was the one that folks trusted more in charge but, it soon became clear he did not have the stomach to lead such things, and when he had second doubts, I knew he would not do a good job and "relieved" him of his duties!"

Craft has heard enough and, in a flash, grabbed Weil by the throat and slammed him into the nearest wall."So, our independence, it was all a lie! You sent millions to their deaths just to expand your pockets, you truly are no better than Xehamaru, or that demon master of his, Damonus! "

The head of Dead Cell then took out his sword and the other three stood behind him, but Weil then laughed harder." I never said I had "moral superiority" over the others. But when I win and conquer them all, it will not be some idealist king and his band of Enji clowns, or some foolish million year old god of darkness. It will be the most superior evolved being, ME!"

Craft then realized just why Cloud, Squall and the others kept saying he was a fool and yelled out in anger.

Leviathan saw her boss looking pained before she walked forward." Commander, are you all right?"

Craft laughed before he bitterly answered with," Yes, my eyes are finally opened. Cloud was right, I am such a fool! I let my anger and sadness over the loss of my friends on Iranzos cloud my judgment. And, I became so distraught that I thought I was fighting for justice. But now I see that I have fought my former friends and killed many all in the name of just another corrupt monster! I cannot fully atone for the crimes I have done in your name, Weil, but I can try and make amends, by killing you right now to at least avenge Minato!"

Weil then laughed even harder and looked vicious before he stated,"Ah, Craft, you used to be such a good soldier, but, like all the others, you don't have the guts to take what belongs to you! And you and your faithful band of freaks are forgetting one thing! I own all of you!"

Craft tried to slash Weil's head off, but before he could, Weil's eyes glowed and Craft froze in his place, before his head throbbed with pain. Moments later, electrical shocks caused Craft to screamed out in pain. The other Dead Cell members try to attack Weil as well, but soon they suffered the same symptoms.

Weil then laughed as all of them fell to the ground."Fools, you forget, I was the one that rebuilt you all into the robotic forms you have now! Yes, and any property of my companies has a built in fail safe for any situation! It's not the job of a soldier to think, just to obey their orders! Yes, but it seems your minds are made up to turn against me, so I will have to do something about that! HAAHAHA! No one will stop my destiny!

I know more than anyone else how to run the business that is the universe! Ha, and in the end it's not the one who has the most ideals, or who is the strongest, who has the most magic, or even is the most intelligent! It's the one who knows how to play the games and the stocks. The one who knows how to control everything around him. ME! I will crush all who try and resist the will of Weil Zabi!"

With that, he pressed a button on his coat to call his chief scientist Tarkin and stated," Tarkin! Get over here!"

In less then ten seconds Azeral Tarkin, Weil's chief weapons designer entered the room with a group of battle droids. This man with a monocle saw the wounded Dead Cell soldiers and cleared his throat." I take it, that the meeting did not go as you hoped Mister President?"

Weil just took out a cigar before he calmly stated," Oh it went more or less how I planned Tarkin. Seems Craft and those other Dead Cell fools lost there sanity in the last battle. I will need you to "reconstruct" their memories. Just one thing, try and make their memories a bit more obedient. Don't want any treacherous thoughts in their heads. After all, dissent is bad for business. And be quick about it! Ah, and now to restructure all those fool's forces, into my own, pure, everlasting Zabi Dynasty! "

Weil saw more droids arrive and he then planned his next public announcement to inform the people of the Zeon federation about an Enji "Sabotage".

Meanwhile, with the depths of Weil's own evil heart shown, let's go back to our hero. Ben had just finished his work for the day. But he was far from relaxed. At the moment he was trying to figure out how to prepare for his date with Lisa Alster. And he already had gotten nervous thinking about it. At the moment he, Doug, and James were walking out of the classroom they were in, and in no time flat Ben was trying to discuss with them his best course of action.

The red haired mage saw Ben was sweating bullets all ready before Ben's teammate sighed." Alright, let's review. After our new paychecks and all the money you say you saved, I think it's safe to say you can afford to take Lisa out for a fun time, as long as she does not expect to be treated like a celebrity or royalty."

Doug then added,"And as long as you check out the spots I recommend, you will be taking Lisa to the best party spots in Neo Arcadia! "

Ben then took a deep breath before he nodded." Ah, that's good. Alright, I have a game plan set now, so it's not as bad as I feared. Now, just have to make sure everything goes well and if it does I might officially have a girlfriend by the end of tonight!"

Doug then patted Ben on the back and flashed his half-lopped smile." Don't be so nervous, you'll do fine, buddy! Just remember to keep it cool. "

James then laughed and added,"Don't worry. From what I hear, Lisa is pretty understanding. Well, as long as you don't do anything stupid, don't say anything negative about her outfit, or do anything to suggest you're even thinking about commenting on her weight. But since she is one of the most striking female Enji, I do not think that should be a problem. "

Ben then laughed nervously as he looked up." Ha, that's for sure. After all this time, I was beginning to think she was never going to go through with the date. Sometimes I still have a hard time remembering this is really happening."

"Hey now." Doug added strongly." If you really want to impress Lisa, it always helps to have confidence! After all, that's what helped me show my lucky lady at home the light."

" Um, speaking about that, do you guys think you can give me some words of advice on just what kind of talk and moves are the right ones? As ashamed as I am to say this, I don't really have much experience with dates."

Doug grinned wider before he responded with a plucky ," Ha, leave it to me buddy. I'll tell you all you need to know! First things first, huh?"

"At that moment, Doug heared his I-phone like thing buzz and as did James."

Doug then paused before he shrugged." Ah damn that's some hell of a bad timing. Sorry buddy, that was the call for the new student that needed my help learning a move. I should take care of this first."

James then added," Yes, I just received a message that they want me to look over some ancient Xenogan files they found. Don't worry, if all goes well I should be back, by 7:00."

Doug quickly added," Heh, yeah, I should be out by then too. "

Ben then panicked sputtered out," What? But that's when the date is supposed to start!"

" Don't worry bro," Doug threw out reassuringly." You will be fine. Just remember what we told you! Good luck!"

With that, Doug and James dashed off in different directions, while Ben just stared at the sky in shock. He then shook his head. Good Grief, they did not tell me anything at all! Oh, well, I know at least what to do now. Err, but still, I wish they told me the moves they did. That, and what to do if she wants to dance. Ah, despite my fighting skills I still dance like a turtle. Oh, if only there was someone around that I could ask. Oh?

It seemed Ben had a stroke of luck, as he saw emerging from the elevator, Lacus. At once he dashed over to Lacus, and, right as she saw him he perked up." Hey Lacus! How are you doing today?"

Lacus blinked a few moments in surprise before she cleared her throat." Oh, hey, Ben. Are you alright? You look troubled. "

Ben sighed before he looked around." Well, it's been a bit of an unexpectedly sad time. Yesterday I found out my Grandmother died in the invasion from a heart attack from the fear she felt."

Lacus looked shocked and reacted with a caring," What? Oh no! I'm so sorry Ben. Are you okay?"

Ben then looked down on the ground and let out a bitter chuckle." Well, let's just say it ruined my mood to say the least. I'll be okay, though, I knew that in her current state she did not have long. Still, it was kind of a shock."

"Oh...even when a death is expected, it's never easy. I hope you and your family are okay."

"Thank you, Lacus. Well at least there is some good news. Tonight's the night Lisa and I finally have that date!"

Lacus was taken aback and looked curious before she stated," Really? You're going on a date with Lisa? Lisa Alster? "

Ben then looked embarrassed and chuckled tensely."I never told you? That's odd, I thought I did. Well, it has been awhile since she talked about it, all the way back from the mission on planet Popstar after the fight with Sigma. But she did not forget about it."

Lacus then flicked her ponytail back and cleared her throat."Um...Ben? You know, I don't want to bring you down, but, from what I've seen, the kind of things Lisa likes to do, I'm not sure you would be happy going out with her too long."

Ben turned red and let out a uneasy chuckle." Well, I mean I know Lisa is more of a party type of girl, but, I'm open to um, how you say it, being open minded? Well, and in any case, since Lisa was nice enough to ask if I wanted to go out on a date with her, I was not about to say no. I mean...she...she was interested in me so I would have to be a idiot to turn that down when, never mind. Ah, actually that reminds me. Um, could I ask you something?"

Lacus looked flustered and stepped back."Uh, what do you mean Ben?"

Ben then looks around before he gets closer and says," Well, I hope this does not seem too weird, but since you're a girl and all. I was thinking before my date tonight, maybe you could give me some pointers? "

Lacus was taken aback and confusedly comments with," Pointers? Um, I'm not sure I feel comfortable with where this is going. "

Ben then panicked and waved his hands around defensively." It's nothing weird or anything. I was just asking that. Since you're a girl and all, I thought maybe I could ask you what girls like on their dates."

Lacus then had a sweat drop and let out a anxious giggle." Well, I do have work to do, are you sure there is not someone else that can help you out?"

"Please Lacus, it won't take long. And, you're the only girl that I know well enough to feel comfortable to ask this. And, this is my first date and I want to make sure it goes right, so she does not regret wanting to go out with me."

Lacus then sighed before she looked kindly at Ben." Oh, well I guess I could give you advice. Come on, I'll go over your plan in my room. "

Ben happily nodded to his childhood friend before returning to her room in the girl's dorms. When they got there a few minutes later, Ben was amazed at how big her room was, even compared to his new one. "Wow! It's almost like you have a whole apartment to yourself!"

Lacus then laughed at Ben's aw and shrugged." Oh well, my father wanted to make sure I had enough room. "

With that, she put her arms behind her back and walked over to Ben saying," So Ben, this is really your first date? You never hung out with any girls in high school?"

Ben then looked ashamed before he shrugged." Well, I mean I did talk to them, some were in the same after school clubs as me and all. But, I guess I did not have any real friends that were girls besides you, until I came here."

Lacus then gave a small smile before she playfully winked." Oh Ben. You were always shy; I guess after I left it did not change much."

"Ha...yeah...well...I guess, there were a few setbacks that did not help my confidence. "

Lacus then laughed back before she responded with," Oh that's right. I remember in first grade you had a crush on Kimberly. Hehe, you were convinced you were in love and kissed her. Then she freaked out and that day after school her older sister punched you in the stomach. "

Ben shuddered and rubbed the part of his shoulder that was punched long ago."Oh yes, that was embarrassing, ha, learned the hard way what happens when you love a girl, and she does not love you back. Sigh, after that all the girls thought I was weird, and most of them ignored me. I guess, I was pretty stupid back then. You were the only one who still talked to me."

" Oh, well, it was nothing. We all were young and silly back then. And I knew you just wanted to play. And since you were someone I could trust, and funny sometimes, it was a no brainier. However, when I left, you did not make any other girl friends? "

Ben then looked down on the floor and felt lament building up in his chest before he sighed."Well, it's complicated. You see, when you left and I went to High School I thought to myself trying to find love would be stupid. After all in four years everyone would be going different places. To fall in love, only to have them go away seemed like a dumb thing to do. That's why, I did not want to try and open my heart, just so it would be crushed. It seemed like a good plan, but then came a problem. In my junior year, I saw how nearly everyone had a girl friend.

And, I got jealous. But by then it was hopeless, all the girls I thought I could like already had boyfriends. And what's worse is that they all had those jerk stuck up jocks who were only good at sports and partying! "

Lacus then got along side Ben and shrugged. "But, did you try asking anyone out? Sometimes girls don't like being the aggressive ones."

"Well, I would have asked some of them, but they already had boyfriends. And, while I do admit I was not too aggressive, I did not go out and act like I did not exist, no one, not one person ever asked me to come with them, not even in a group.

Everyone knew I was there, but no one cared. But why would they? I had nothing to offer. I had gotten better in dealing with crowds, a lot of the guys even said I was cool and funny, and a lot of girls did too.

But that's where it ended, at that superficial statement. No one ever asked if they wanted to see a movie with me, not even in a group. I had no real money to afford cool gifts or stuff like that, so like always, the richer guys were able to impress them much more easily. That's how it always goes; the ones with the power crush the powerless. Those without power can never really compete.

I was good at martial arts and swordsmen skills thanks to Max, but that kind of stuff never has the cool factor like Blitz ball or Baseball. By senior year...it was getting very frustrating.

I mean, sure if I acted like them more they would like me more. But, I hated those parties. All the time, it's just drinking and doing nothing but talk about nonsense and the stupid little gossip. I could never stand that stuff. And, even if I tried to pretend to like that stuff, then I would not be me.

And, I wanted to meet someone who would like me for me. But, no one ever did. I was beginning to think something was wrong with me. In fact, the one time I did try hard to get someone's attention, it did not end well at all."

"What do you mean, Ben?"

Ben just looked out the window and shrugged. "Well, this is kind of a bad memory, but I guess I can tell you. Do you remember that friend of yours, Olette?"

Lacus thought for a few seconds before her eyes widened." Oh, that's right! We were friends for a while. And a lot of people thought we were sisters at first glance."

" Yeah, she did look more like your sister than your real sisters, back then at least.

Well, when you left she still said hi to me. And, for a while I thought we were friends. But, when I think about it now, I think she just saw me as some guy she knew from Lacus.

But, I thought we were friends, even if we never really did anything together that was not in school. But, I thought she might have liked me enough. Well, there was a problem in that she had a boyfriend. If you think of all those guys from those high school movies you got Ryan Cruiser.

I hated Ryan, he was lazy, annoying, and not that bright, either. But, for some reason Olette loved him, no matter how badly he messed up, reminds me of someone else I,sigh, never mind.

Anyway, I tried to get Olette to notice me, but it was mostly a failure. In fact, it was a total failure. No matter what I tried to do, she never returned my feelings. But what's worse is that the week before the prom. That Ryan, he was so aggressive that he and a bunch of his guys tried to beat me up because," An idiot like me should learn to know his place!

Of course, back then, even when my skills were not as good as they are now, there was no way a bunch of mere punks would beat me. But, that's when everything fell apart. Even though they attacked me, Olette blamed me for them being hurt! She, she said, that I was crazy for attacking them, and she never could understand why I thought she would break up with Ryan for me.

Hahaha, oh, if I knew just how blindly loyal she was to him I would have never have bothered. I can't understand how so many girls love those jerks. Ryan, is just some clerk at a store, and from what my mom said they still go out! I, I guess you could say, that I was a guy who best communicated through action.

Words are not the best skills of mine, especially when its spur of the moment. There was more then a few times when I knew what to say, in hindsight , and hated myself for saying stuff even I did not get when I found myself suddenly talking to girls.

And when I was bad with talking and had no money to improve my image with it was an annoying situation, to say the least. But, how can I blame them for ignoring me. I was nothing. Unlike Max, he always knew how to make everyone impressed. No matter how hard I tried, I could not be as cool as he was.

But that's not true anymore. Now, now I'm an Enji Knight. A warrior of light, and one who is the best of all of them and become the ultimate hero that saves the universe from darkness! And hopefully, that will be enough to get people to notice me. That's why, I'm so happy Lisa accepted me for who I am. That's why; I don't want to let her down now. Then, I won't have to be alone anymore."

Lacus then saw Ben's look of sad hope in his eyes and stood right in front of him before she sighed." Oh, Ben, I am sorry I left like that. I see it hurt you. And that you are as shy as you always were. However, I know you can reach out to Lisa. Just remember, girls like things like being asked about their day. Flowers, being nice to them, respecting them, and keeping them interested.

Do you have a plan for your date?"

Ben got a bit more confident before nodding." Well, Doug told me this place that has good food and is near the lake in Neo Acadia. I just hope it was not damaged in the attack. And, I did have a place for flowers set; if I hurry I can burst there and back before the date. I think that's everything."

Lacus then laughed and put her hands together before she cheerfully responded with." Hehe, looks like Lisa is in for one special night. Just...hope you don't try and rush and get to third base."

"What you mean? I guess...I'm just focusing on making sure it goes well enough to make this more then a one hit wonder before I can even think of anything else."

"You...really have not, heh, that's fine. Just, just be true to yourself ok? I hope this helped you Ben."

Ben then laughed and went to the door before giving a thumbs up." Ha, thanks for this Lacus. I feel a lot better now. Better get going though, to get everything ready. See you later!"

"You too, Ben! I hope it goes well."

Ben dashed off and then flash-stepped to blast out of the castle and to Neo Arcadia to get to the high class flower store and back in time. As Ben left, Lacus walked to her desk looked through her photos, and saw the one taken of her and Ben the year before she left,.

Oh, Ben. You were always different than the others. But, even so you always tried your best to be happy, and to make me happy when I was sad. I really hope your date goes well so you can find happiness.

Her thoughts were cut off as a loud pounding made her jump to her feet. After readjusting her hair she looked around. "Oh, is someone there? Oh, hold on, don't pound the door down!"

Lacus went to open the door and saw none other than Brad. At once, Brad hurried in and looked around like a dog looking for prey he was chasing." Hey doll, why did my boys tell me that Star boy was coming out of your room? There better be some mistake!"

Lacus just sighed and walked up to her overprotective boy friend." Yes, he was here. But don't get all crazy. He just stopped by because he wanted my advice for his date tonight with Lisa."

With that Brad calmed down a bit and shrugged." Ha, that wuss already knows he's going to mess up huh? Ah, this ought to be fun. "

With that, Lacus sighed and turned around." Oh, be nice. This is a big moment for him. And besides, if he and Lisa do begin to officially be a couple, then that would be good for you, right? Then you don't have to worry about him trying to get my attention anymore."

Brad then laughed before he cracked his neck." Well, when you put it that way it does make sense. Man, I never thought Lisa would go out with a stiff like him. I mean all the guys she went out on before were much different. Even last month I saw her pulling some moves on CJ's brother that were pretty hot! Well, not as hot as you babe, but enough to make CJ's bro's night."

Lacus looked alarmed and cutting in with," What? But, Ben told me she kept pushing back their date because they kept having missions at different times? "

Brad then snickered before he got closer to her." Well, maybe they were not "dates". But she was getting around, if you know what I mean. "

Hearing this, Lacus then looked out the window and winced." Oh Ben. I hope Lisa does not just play around with you. If she does, it would crush him. And the result could be his heart might be even more enclosed. "

Brad turned Lacus around and cleared his throat." Forget about it doll, that's his problem, not yours. And now no more time wasted on others, just time for us! "

Lacus smiled, but put her finger on Brad's nose."Oh Brad, have you forgotten what tonight is?"

Brad looked confused, she then sighed before she put her hands on her sides and flatly stated,"Oh, you did forget! Tonight's my younger sister Sara's birthday! I was going to join her and Shion for an all girls night out in the city! I can't believe you were not paying attention again."

Brad then groaned before spitting on the ground." Alright, I'm sorry already! Come on, are you sure they don't want a stud like me at her birthday?"

Lacus laughed nervously before looking down." Well, Shion is still mad at you for wrecking her work last time you were there. It might be a bad idea for you to come along. Please? It's been awhile since I've seen them. "

Brad was silent for a moment before he shrugged and gruffly muttered," Oh, whatever."

"Thanks Brad!" She responded with a hug." Don't worry, we will have plenty of time to do stuff later. Alright, we have a bit. Want to help me pick out my dress for tonight? "

" I reckon I have a better idea, come here doll."

With that, we at once return to Ben, after speeding up time. We moved to right after he had gotten ready. After dressing up, planning his strategy and making sure he was at the right place. With him was Hiryuumon and, as the two waited for Lisa at the lift to Neo Arcadia, the dragon digimon saw his friend nervously pace back and forth. He then says to Ben,"

What is the problem, boss? Hey, when were you supposed to meet Lisa?"

Ben looked at the digimon nervously and let out a stressed chuckle." Well, five minutes ago. But, I think my watch is broken. I mean, it's not like she would just bail out now."

Hiryuumon then took an apple he was holding and swallowed it whole before saying to Ben," So, boss, are you sure I can't come to this date of yours? It sounds like you're going to be doing a lot of fun stuff. "

Ben then smirked before he shrugged. "Sorry, but it's kind of a private event. I mean, it kind of ruins the mood, if you know what I mean. Ah, err I hope she did not change her mind."

Hiryuumon then looked surprised and cleared his throat."Um, look behind you, boss."

" Huh? What's wrong? Oh?"

Ben then turned around and saw it was none other than Lisa. However, it seems Lisa had dressed up to be even more stylish then usual for the date. Instead of her usual outfit she was wearing a fancy pink shirt with earrings, makeup, a stylish black jeans and other such things. She looked at Ben and smiled before saying,

" My tiger, you look sharp. So, ready to play the lottery?"

Ben then blushed, but gained his composure." Ha, as ready as I'll ever be. My, you're looking grand tonight yourself, Lisa. Ready to go?"

Lisa then winked before she wagged her finger." I'm always ready, Benny boy. So, where to? "

"Well, I have heard of this fun place called the Platinum Saucer. Apparently some guy named Dio from Cloud Sensei world owned some amusement park called the Gold Saucer and wanted to try and expand across the universe. It's supposed to have movies, rides, and great food, so I thought it would be a good place to go. Since we saved his world recently he's gonna give me a great discount so its win win. Does that sound ok to you?"

"Sounds like a blast, so then, ready to have your night lit up? "

Ben then took out the flowers he bought and nodded." Ready when you are, but first. Here is a little present."

Lisa saw the flowers and ran over to grab them giggled in delight." Oh, how fabulous! They're so pretty, thanks, darling. Ok, ready to have some fun? "

Ben eagerly nodded before they walked to the transport train to the city. Ben then turned to Hiryuumon before he gave his Digimon pal a thumbs up." Don't stay up for me, Hiryuumon, hopefully it will be a while. Have a good night! Oh, but don't chew on the couch!"

The doors closed and the transport took off, as Ben's Dragon pal waved goodbye to them.

When it's out of sight he turned around and shrugged. "Well, might as well try and get some eating in and call it a night. Man, humans have such weird ideas. Why do humans insist on having dates alone? It sounds much more fun when more people are there to eat it! Oh well."

Hiryuumon headed back to Ben's room and the date commenced. For all of Ben's planning, it seemed to pay off. While Neo Arcadia suffered damage in the attack, one of the biggest cities in the universe had no problem swiftly getting back on its feet.

After the transport takes Ben and Lisa to the city's grand central, they go from that one to the one leading to the entertainment district, and, in less than half an hour they were at the entrance to the Platinum Saucer.

They saw a long line and this annoyed Lisa as she tapped her foot."Oh no, I don't want to spend our whole date waiting on line! If it's going to take an hour or longer, can't we go somewhere else?"

Ben just smirked and turned to Lisa with confidence."Don't worry, my lady, I made reservations, I'll just speak to the man here and that will take care of this. Just wait here for a moment."

The owner of the Star Sword then walked over as Lisa sat down on the bench. He went up to the ticket guy and cleared his throat." Excuse me, sir?"

The Ticket guy, who was a bored out of his mind teenager, just looked at Ben." Yes? "

"If you remember, earlier today I called to inform you that two Enji Knights would be coming here, to inspect damages from the invasion and to check on all security details. Me and Miss Lisa over there are those two."

The teenager just looked at Ben and shrugged." Yeah, well that was on Bob's shift, and now I'm here dude. And maybe Bob did get called, but I did not hear anything about it. Sorry, but maybe I can check with the manager. And anyway, you can't just say you're an Enji Knight. We have people posing as everything."

Ben then grins nervously and says "Oh, but you sadden me for thinking I am an imposter. Well, luckily, I do have this."

The warrior of light then took out his official seal of the Enji Knights emblem and showed it to the ticket guy, which caused him to respond with," Whoa! That shine, that gold color, it must be real, dude! Radical! Alright man, you seem like the real deal. You guys can go on ahead. Thanks for saving the planet man!"

"Oh, just doing my job." Ben said with a proud smile. He then went over to Lisa and nodded." Alright, everything's set! "

Lisa then blinked in shock before she smirked." Wow! You're pretty persuasive. Let's go!"

The blond woman then took Ben by the hand and dragged him right into the front gates. Ben felt her hand and tried to keep it cool as he smirked. Whew, good thing they listened to me. Paying for two tickets would have eaten up a lot of the money I had for tonight. And besides, it's not like I am lying, I am going to check for spots that need better security. Just, while happening to enjoy the place!

Lisa dragged Ben to see which ride to take next. Meanwhile, another Enji was arriving at the entrance to the Platinum Saucer, none other than Lacus! It seems that the place she was meeting her sisters for her younger sister's birthday just happened to be at the same place.

At the moment, she saw her two sisters waiting for her near the entrance. The smaller one, with mid- length blond hair, was her sister Sara. Sara was the most outgoing of the sisters.

The other one who was the tallest with black and brown long hair was Shion Raystar. She was the brightest of the three.

As Sara saw Lacus, she at once ran up to her sister and hugged her." Lacus! You made it on time!"

Lacus smiled and giggled in response." Hey sis. Happy birthday! You've grown since I've last seen you. Oh, and hello, Shion, I am glad to see you look well as well."

Shion nodded before responding with," Ah Lacus, glad to see you were able to come after all. We were getting afraid Brad was going to keep you up."

Lacus then smiled nervously and shrugged to her older sister," Oh, come now, Shion, Brad's not as bad as you think. Just because he forgot his own strength and broke the machines you were using to monitor your work on the Tertiairy Weapon System for KOS-MOS you were working on, you do not have to blame him for everything."

Hearing this, Sara just laughed." Yeah Shion, mom told me that you're just as temperamental as always! I bet you're jealous that Brad's more of a hunk than your boyfriend, Jin Uzuki!"

Lacus saw her older sister's face flicker with anger and quickly glanced at her younger sister."Now then, Sara, Jin is a nice person as well. So, Shion, I guess this means you're still with him? "

"Yes, it's been a rough few months with him being a secret agent, but he always manages to surprise me with either a visit or a gift. Alright, let's get this over with."

Sara then moaned before she crossed her arms." Don't try and rush my birthday party! It's bad enough father made it be just the three of us. But I do suppose it's been awhile since I saw you, Lacus. And I can always have a party with my friends anytime. Alright, let's check out the rides! "

With that, Lacus cleared her throat." Oh wait, Sara first we have to, AH!"

Her younger sister dragged her along, before she could even finish, the three walked into the massive multi-part theme park and with that, we switch back to Ben.

So far, the date had been going as planned, to Ben's delight. They went on a bunch of rides and both had fun. Ben was able to win Lisa a few prizes. However, things were getting weird when they got to the shopping center.

Especially when Lisa saw the shopping district had a sale on a dress she likes. She drags Ben over, looks at the price and laughs before saying,"

Oh, Ben, that outfit looks so marvelous! Oh, and look, it's half price! Benjamin, you know it would be so chivalrous if you bought it for your date. "

After looking at Ben with pleading eyes, Ben laughed nervously." Well, I guess, it's, err, not too expensive. Wow, still, it's sure not cheap. Oh, but alright, I guess I'll buy it for you. "

Lisa then jumped in the air." Hooray! Thanks darling! You're the sweetest. "

Ben walked into the store saw the price tax again and sighed. " Sigh, good thing I brought a lot of my money with me. Well, after this let's get some food, okay Lisa? "

" Ok, but first we have to buy the matching dresses! Right? "

Ben then sighed before under his breath he responded with ," Good grief, love is expensive."

Lisa then saw the main attraction of the store, a giant diamond necklace! She then rushed over to it and gushed at the jewels." Oh my! That looks like something a queen would wear! Can I get that too? "

Ben then sighed." Um, Lisa, don't take this the wrong way, but that costs over a million gil. It's kind of out of my league. "

Lisa then pouted before she reacted with a sad," Oh man, well I do suppose I was expecting too much. Alright, don't worry about it. Here, I just need to make a quick stop to the ladies room, take care of the sales, will you? "

She then winked and with that, Ben reluctantly bought the matching dresses Lisa wanted. After this, Ben and Lisa then went to have some dinner. After finding a place that has food they both like, they settle on one. Soon enough, they are having dinner. Ben was eating his favorite pasta and Lisa choose some kind of fancy salad. After eating halfway through their meals, Lisa asked Ben a question."So Ben, darling, it's been ten minutes and you haven't said anything. What's wrong, you're bored of me already?"

Hearing this, Ben nearly choked on a meatball, and quickly responded with,"No, of course not! It's just that when I eat I focus on the food. After all, it's rude to talk with your mouth full, right? "

With that Lisa stated," Oh how nice. But don't keep me out in the cold. Here, let's talk about your Star Sword. I'm amazed you activated its Bankai power. A power so great that, even the dark lord of Sithantos Xehamaru was no match for your power! Such strength, you're really becoming the ideal hero of light Hun!"

Ben laughed and proudly stated," Yup! It's been a long journey. But it's been worth it! No matter how hard it gets, I won't let my dreams to be the greatest Enji Knight be stopped!"

Lisa then smiled and leaned closer." You have quite the ambition, tiger. I must say, how did you ever get such dreams into your head, Ben?"

"Well, I always loved heroes when I was growing up. And joining the Enji Knights was something I knew I had to do. "

"Even with knowing how dangerous being an Enji Knight could be?"

"Well, I knew it would be tough. But, I always was good at that kind of stuff. Plus, I always could not stand evil jerks getting away with doing what they want to the innocent. And, joining the Enji Knights was better suited to me then just joining the army. "

"Oh my, you're so compassionate! It's quite the amusing tale. But, do you have any talents besides fighting dear? I mean, one trick ponies have low value if you know what I mean. This war won't go on forever, and when it finally ends, you won't be able to be much use in peace. Know what I mean, Ben?"

Ben then let out a uneasy chuckle before he tried to keep his cool."Well, I do have other skills. I am told I have some talent in art. Apparently my teacher thought the paintings I did were pretty good. Oh well. So Lisa, I have a question. Would you mind telling me why you joined the Enji?"

Lisa then laughed and in a sultry tone responded with,"Oh, I do not like talking about the past much. But, I will tell you that I want to help create a new world. A better world. You must admit darling, this cosmos is pretty messed up. It's because idiots keep fighting each other over the most trivial things."

Ben then stated," Oh well. Hopefully, after this war, people will be sick of war enough to stop being so stupid."

Lisa shrugged before she responded with, "I doubt it, but whatever, that's just how people are so you got to do what it takes to come out on top right?

Ah, that was a tasty meal!"

Ben had finished as well and stated," Yup, worth the wait. So, I hear that they have great desserts as well. Want to try something? "

Lisa hesitated for a moment and then added," Oh, I'll pass. Those kind of things go straight to my thighs. And a girl has to keep her figure sharp! No, instead of chilling, how about we go do some dancing."

Ben saw Lisa point to the places dance floor in the middle of the room and his responds was," Err, right now? Well, I'm not so sure. I prefer to digest first. And I don't want her to see how much my dancing skills suck. "

Lisa responded with," Suit yourself tiger. Until then watch me go! "

With that Lisa started to dance, and it's clear she was quite good at it. So good that all the single men in the room had her eyes on her. Ben got nervous as he saw a lot of guys begin to surround her. She then bat her eyes at Ben and stated,"Careful Ben, don't play your moves right and you will have let me slip through your fingers! "

Ben then nervously replied with," Hey now, you are a little close guy. You should know she did not come alone. "

"Don't get paranoid Benny dear, they are just enjoying the show. Hey now, are you not a little to close buddy? Huh? "

Just then one of the guys shook his head and stated to her," Hey Lisa! What's wrong, forgot me all ready? You told me last month you weren't seeing anybody!"

This of course made Ben really alarmed and stated," Um, what did he say?"

Oh I get it, he has mistaken you for another girl, right? "

An annoyed Lisa responded with," But of course! This bucko clearly is thinking of some other gal! Oh, my it looks like I have a call coming in. Tell you what Ben, why not have your dessert now while I take this call, ok? "

Ben looked confused and cleared his throat." Err, are you sure, well, alright? This Cookie Sunday does look tasty."

Lisa responded with a playful wink before she added," Te he, be right back, darling."

The blond woman swiftly exited out of the restaurant part of the Platinum Saucer, as that random guy followed. Ben was concerned, but did not want to butt in and ordered his dessert.

Meanwhile, Lacus and her sisters had just gotten back from the place's biggest roller coaster and, after being dizzy, Lacus suggested they get something to eat. And they just happened to be walking to where Lisa is about to be when Lacus says to her older sister, "Alright, I think now is a good time to eat. So, this has been fun so far! But, I prefer to do this with a full belly, so let's check out that place over there, okay?

"Her sister Shion responded with a curious ," Are you sure that's a good idea Lacus? Eat dinner now and the rides will just make you lose it."

To this Sara responded with a playful," Oh you know Lacus, Shion, everything is in reverse with her."

Lacus then responded to that sharply with," Oh? And that is supposed to mean? I'll have you know that I just have a high tolerance due to all of my training! And in any case, look at the clouds in the sky. It seems a storm could break out."

Shion responded with, " That's odd, it was not supposed to rain tonight. Come on, sis, you don't want to get your dress soaked, do you?"

Lacus shrugged before nodding," Alright, it's settled! Huh, what the? Oh no, duck everyone!"

Before her sisters could respond, Lacus grabbed them and dove beyond a giant stuffed Pikachu doll on display. As her siblings were angered at the sudden movement, Lacus moved her head around and saw what she thought she did, Lisa left the restaurant.

Lacus tensed up before she stepped back,"What? They were having the date here? Oh, Ben should have told me that! Then we could have come back some other time or something."

Sara is annoyed at Lacus' behavior and says," Sis! What's wrong with you? You nearly tore my outfit. "

Lacus then nervously laughed and glanced at her sister."Um, do you two remember Ben Auro? "

Shion paused before eying her younger sibling carefully." You mean that boy that always followed you around when we were living in Transford? He was an odd one, but at least he had the manners to not touch what he was not supposed to."

Sara thought for a sec before her eyes widened." Oh! That cute boy? I may have been little, but even if he was a little clumsy I remembered he was always nice to me. What of it, sis?"

Lacus paused before she flicked her hair out of her face." Well, at the moment, he told me he was going out with a girl named Lisa Alster. And that was just her. "

"Oh how romantic! You should never have let him go! Oh well. SO that's his date, huh? If that's the case, where is he? "

Lacus paused before she closed her eyes." Well, I am sure she is just having to make a call. With another guy following her? Oh no, don't tell me she's just fooling around with Ben? WE will just see about that. Come on, let's just see where she is going."

Shion then shook her head before she muttered," Don't tell me your going to follow her? Sigh, too late."

With that, Lacus sneaked around as she saw Lisa walk into a subway between the sections. Lacus saw the guy follow her, but just as she was about to turn a corner, all of a sudden, a bolt of lightning struck right down in front of her.

Lacus jumped back and looked around in alarm." What? That was fast for the storm to break out. I hope Lisa did not get hit. Huh, what the?"

The middle child of the Raystar family was confused as she walked around the corner and saw Lisa and the random guy were gone. The Enji looked around in confusion before tensing up."What? Where did she go? That's odd, there's no pathway here."

She then heard running and saw her sisters running up to her. Sara then blurted out" Lacus! Are you ok? You were right near the lightning strike! Did you see it?"

" See what? "

Shion coughed a bit before adding," It was only for a moment, but I could have sworn I saw a man go flying into the sky! I thought it was just a trick, but some others saw it, even what appeared to be people working here and they were as confused as I ."

Lacus then flicked her pony tail back and says," This is not normal. Something's up. Oh, I hate for your birthday and Ben's date to be ruined. I hope it's just my imagination, come on; let's see if Lisa went back with Ben."

Sara saw her sister's concern and winked." Oh, so you're jealous, huh?"

Lacus looked annoyed before she then tried to hold back the worry she was feeling." Don't be foolish. It's just, this date is important to Ben, and I want to make sure it goes alright. Come on, stay behind me."

The three Raystar siblings got back to the restaurant. At this time, Ben had finished his dessert and wonders where Lisa went.

Starting to get worried, he threw his fork up and down a bit." Err, she said she would just be gone a minute. Oh, I hope I did not mess up or something and she decided to leave with that guy. Where is she? "

Lisa shocked Ben by putting her hands in front of Ben and playfully answering with," Heheh, right here, tiger! Sorry for the wait. That annoying brute could not take a hint so I had to let him have one! Now then...ready to continue? "

Ben smiled before nodding." Of course. So, what would you like to do next? They have a bunch of funny movies playing around here."

"Oh, I prefer something a little more interactive. How about that dance my starry hero?"

Ben then had an anime sweat drop form and tugged his collar." Um, well, you see I, huh? Do you sense that magic energy? No, not now!"

Lisa looked bored and cleared her throat." Benjamin. I don't appreciate you playing me around like that. Huh, oh that? Oh dear, seems pests have sprout up."

To Ben's horror, he saw several white lights burst through the ground. They then took a shape Ben would prefer not to see, the Nobody minions that served the dark Enji of Organization XIII.

The white zipper creatures then took a new form that Ben had not seen before. They took the form of humanoid bird creatures with wings. These seemed to be a new Harpy type of Nobodies.

They all shrieked and surrounded Ben. The brown haired man summoned his Star Sword using a magic spell and declared a angry," Not those pesky dark Enji again! Have they not caused enough havoc all ready? And, who is it this time? Axel, Demyx, or maybe Ravxen? Whoever it is, I'll force them to show themselves after I slice these pests!"

Lisa just looked annoyed and got up behind Ben and stated," Sigh, these annoying pests have rude manners. Let's hurry up and kick them out of here! Everyone stand back! "

With that, Ben powered up his magic energy, just as two of the Harpy Nobody's shrieked and extended their talons before charging at Ben. However, in a blur, the Enji slashed them into pieces.

A third one tried to slash at him from behind, but Ben blocked its strike with ease and kicked it so hard it's sent flying out of there. He then shouted,"Give me some credit! It's going to take more than a few mere grunt monsters to take me down!"

Hearing this, the remaining Harpy nobodies seemed to look at each other, before flying around Ben. Ben prepared to fire some energy blasts to blow them up, but then they caught him off guard and all used some sort of power to scream real loud. The sound waves were so bad that Ben's ears were in pain and he could do nothing but try and cover his ears from the extreme sound.

The level was so bad it shattered all the glass in the room and, as the Harpies continued yelling, they got closer and closer to Ben.

Soon they prepared to skewer him and Ben thought to himself," No, not like this! I won't let my first date end out like this!"

With this, the Harpies all were about to attack, but at the last moment, a bolt of lightning zapped one of the Harpies and shattered it to dust, with its caster being revealed as Lisa. Seconds later, Lisa fired two more high level electric magic spells from her hands to destroy the rest of the nobodies in the room in a chain of lightning.

She then dusted off some remains that fell on her shoulder and walked over to Ben. " My, that was a seriously rude interruption. Not too ruffled up there, are you tiger?"

Ben got up, looks embarrassed." Err, sorry. Looks like the bad guys are always trying to mess things up. Hope the date's not ruined."

"Oh that's okay, darling, it's not your fault. You never know what those crazy Organization XIII members are up to next, right? Still, I think I prefer a change of scenery, if you don't mind. Heh, follow me if you can handsome!"

Ben then saw Lisa dash off and cried out, "Hey, wait up, Lisa! Sigh, she seems to be in a hurry."

The member of Squad 7 exited the restaurant and saw Lisa giggling as she ran to a different area. As she did, Lacus saw them running off from behind a giant Moogle doll. Her sisters were still behind her and Sara was getting bored."

" See sis? They look like they are having a good time. Can we go now? "

Lacus turned around and sighed." Well, I was worried something was up before, but it looks like it's fine. Whew, I'm glad this is working out for Ben. He deserves some happiness after all he's been through. Oh?"

The brown haired woman saw a man running hard, he ran up to Lacus." Excuse me! Have you seen a bunch of odd white monsters running around? They broke into the store and stole my section's most prized item! It's not even supposed to be for sale, we were just supposed to show it around before mister Xiza bought it in a few days for the halls of the Vector Corporation!"

Lacus looked confused and muttered," White monsters, you mean Nobodies? That would mean the dark Enji are involved! But, that's odd, they have much bigger goals then just petty theft. However, Ben and Lisa destroyed them so it should be fine. "

Then the store manager saw something behind Lacus and pointed before saying,"What are you talking about? They are right there!"

Lacus was shocked as she turned around to see more Harpies Nobodies diving right at her. In a flash, she summoned her Oath Keeper sword into her hand and glanced at her sisters,"Please, stay behind me right away. Don't worry; I won't let them harm you. You Nobodies made a mistake to try and mess with my family! Radiant Storm! "

Lacus had her magic energy shine before several holy orbs broke out of her white and blue blade. The orbs soon turned into flower funnels and surround the surprised nobodies. Before they could attack, Lacus raised her blade and her funnels all fired a barrage of energy blasts that destroyed them all.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Lacus saw that a large diamond necklaces drops from one of the destroyed nobodies. At once the relieved store owner scampered to retrieve it and wiped some of the sweat off his brow."Thank goodness it was not damaged. Otherwise I would be fired in half a sec!"

Sara then jumped on Lacus and yelled out a cheerful," Way to go, sis! You taught those freaks not to crash my party!"

Lacus shrugged as she looked around." Not quite, this is just the beginning. The one who sent them must be hiding around here. Let's see, I remember that their magic energy breaks off to summon these minions. But, I can't sense who their master was. They must have hidden their magic energy in a hurry. "

Hearing this, Shion sighed and walked in front of Lacus before taking out what looked like a small laptop. She then pressed some buttons and a puzzled Lacus walked up to her older sister." Um, what are you doing, Shion?"

Shion then responded with," Using my computers advanced sensors to detect anything that relates to the remaining cells of those monsters. As much as it annoys me to see my day off messed up, I hate to see an annoying thief getting off the hook. There, it's done. Lacus, you have access to the Enji data files, use it to match up with the matching magic energy sample."

Lacus walked in front of her sister's laptop and stated," Wow, I would never have thought of that. Thanks! Let's see, I hope it can find a match so I can know who we are dealing with. Although, I hope it's not that crazy Ravxen. Huh, what's going on? This is not going into the Dark Enji known, it's finding a match in one of our own?"

She then saw the computer display a nighty night percent match rating and displayed the picture of the one responsible for sending the nobodies, and when Lacus saw who it was she turned pale with horror.

Her sister then raised a eyebrow herself." Hey, doesn't that picture, look like?

She was cut off when Lacus stated," Oh no! The spy the masters were talking about, the one who lowered the world's shield for the invasion was, Oh Ben, please,for his sake, I hope its a mistake. Sara, Shion, please stay here. This could get dangerous. Don't try and call for help just yet. I want to see if I can avoid a situation that will result in mass panic."

Sara saw how worried her sister was before she muttered a shocked ," What? Well, ok. Just don't do anything stupid."

Lacus looked determined as she flicked back her hair and responded with, don't worry, nothing bad will happen. I promise." She flash stepped to where Ben and Lisa went just as it started to thunderstorm. As she did she thinks to herself ,"Oh Ben, I'm so sorry."

Meanwhile, speaking of Ben, Lisa had finally stopped moving, right at the theater part of the place. At the moment, no plays were going on, so it's empty. And she stopped on the stage and saw Ben right behind her she smiles innocently. Ben was confused why they went here and stated," Um, Lisa? What's with going here? It's empty and I am not even sure we are allowed in here."

" Relax tiger...nobody is going to care." The blond woman responded playfully. I just wanted to set the stage so to speak. And now we are at last alone. "

Ben then blushed and jumped on stage before saying," Ah, hehe, I see. So, Lisa, I hope you liked the date so far. Sorry for that rude interference. Who knows what the dark Enji are up to?"

Lisa then smirked as she circled around Ben and wagged her finger." Oh they just must be interested in you handsome. After all it's not hard to see why. The chosen hero of light, the one who is supposed to save the world from darkness. You have been working so hard, I'm lucky I found you first, darling."

Ben tried to keep cool and just laughed before he quipped out a steady," Oh well, it's all in a day's work. But, still, I am happy, happy that we are here, together. I was beginning to think you were pushing back the date on purpose.

"So sorry about that honey, but this is a war and priorities must be taken care of. But, now here we are, after all this time."

She then strolled to right up to Ben as he was trying to suppress how nervous he was as she puts her hand on his forehead. She batted him a seductive glance before she shrugged." What's wrong Ben? Its like you never even talked with a girl before."

"Oh its just...I've had bad luck before...before I met you Lisa. Just...never found someone who matched with me you know."

Lisa paused before she laughed playfully." Poor tiger. But I understand...I'm a picky gal myself. But I told you, you hit the jackpot after waiting so long, and time for the payoff. Yes, you have such a good, patient boy that's been working so hard. And since you have come this far, for a funny guy like you, its time you get rewarded for your effort."

Ben then felt tense and blinked a bit before he gulped." Lisa...I don't know what to say,"

Lisa responded by putting her finger on his lips." Ah, don't say anything then eh? Heh...just sit back, and enjoy what you deserve hero. I promise it will be the jolt your heart never f, AHH!"

Just as Ben saw put her left hand on Ben's head and prepared to kiss her, all of a sudden, a flash of light seemed to freeze her in place. A confused Ben wondered what just happened when, all of a sudden, he heard a voice yell out,"Stop right there!"

Ben then turned around and saw Lacus. It seems in her hand was her energy ribbon, which she used to grab Lisa right hand.

The youth from Transford Town struggling to take in what his friend was doing before he stated." Lacus? What the, why are you here? What are you doing?"

Lisa paused...before she let out a curt snicker." My, this is amusing. But aren't you a little late to have a change of heart, Lacus?"

Lacus just looked seriously at Lisa and grasped her fist tightly." How...how could you do this to us? To Ben? I won't let you go through with this!"

Lisa then looked annoyed at Lacus and rolled her eyes." My you are getting to be pesky. Heh...you're going to regret messing up my fun!"

Ben still was not sure what's going on and cleared his throat." Lacus, what are you talking about? Is, is this all some kind of joke? "

Lacus then looked at Ben sadly and looked down." Ben, instead of saying anything, just, just look at Lisa's right hand, and you will see what I mean."

Ben then looked and saw that in the right hand that Lisa hand gotten grabbed by the energy ribbon, had a yellow knife in her hand that was aiming for Ben's heart. The chosen warrior was shocked as he slowly turned to the blond woman he thought he was on a date with." Lisa? What is the meaning of this? "

Lisa then just laughed wildly and looks at Ben before responding with , " My tiger, you still can't figure it out? Boy, you're hopeless! "

Lacus then steeled herself before saying," Ben...Lisa is the spy who lowered the shields for Xehamaru so that he could sneak in and cause the invasion. And, she is most likely a member of the Organization of dark Enji."

Ben's eyes widened and look at Lisa before saying," No, this is a joke right? Lisa, this is all just some bad joke, right?"

Lisa just continued to laugh even louder, and now her magic energy started to rise! In fact, it started to power up so highly, that parts of the stage were blown into the air before she gave a shrug." Oh, you want to know the truth hero? Fine, to be honest I was getting fed up putting on this annoying act so long, anyway. Hahaha, you men are so easy to play with. You really had no idea that all along you were being strung around by a fake performance? But you...you were my easiest con ever. To think the chosen one was someone who never had a date in his entire life. I seriously just had to give you the most basic things and you were melting in the palm of my hand. HA!"

Ben suddenly felt cold inside, as a numb feeling racks his body. He then started to get really upset as he seethed out, " No...so...you never really liked me, Lisa? So, you really betrayed us! NO! It can't be true, this is a trick! "

Lisa then wagged her finger before answering with a sultry," Ben Auro, no, all you Enji, you're all so foolish! Betray you? I was never really on your side to begin with! From the moment you looked at me...you were my mark, my job!"

Lisa Alster, that's just a false identity created, to have an insider on the Enji orders actions. No, let me introduce you to who I always have been, one of the elite members of Origination XIII,

The Savage Nymph Larxene!"

Ben then just looked on with a mortified glance and muttered," Larxene? "

He then saw a large amount of lightning blast down from the ceiling and hit Lisa, or should I say Larxene.

It hit her willfully and blasted of the energy ribbon attached to her before she was covered in dark light. When the light faded, Ben could see that her outfit had changed. Now she was wearing the same black trench coat all the other members had worn.

Her hair had also changed slightly, now she had two strands of hair sticking out sort of like a grass hopper or something. In her hands were her sharp knives called" Foudre " and she is surrounded with sparks of lighting.

She spotted at the look at Ben's face and laughed wickedly before leaning forward." Oh what's wrong? Did I go and break your heart? Or maybe I went along and smashed it! Hehehe, HAHA! Oh it's so good to feel like my real self! Playing the nice gal and putting up with you idiot Warriors of light was so lame! But our Superior was right, being the lady spy had its advantages.

For one thing had it made it easy to get you boys to play along with my games. And you, " tiger", you were the biggest sucker of all! To think I was worried it was going to be a tough job. But lucky for me, even after being a chosen hero you still were so pathetic that there was no serious challengers to win you over! Ha, it's true what they say, lonely desperate men will put up with anything for a chance of being recognized by a stunning gal like me! You really thought the date was delayed cause of missions like a good boy eh? The others just needed more data before knowing what to do, so I just, played around till it was time to end this sad little tale. HA!"

Ben was starting to realize just how badly he was tricked, and his knees started to shake." So, you, never liked me to begin with? All this time, you were just lying and using me? Why?"

Larxene rolled her eyes before she crassly snapped back with," What do you think moron? Since the war began I was sent to monitor the movements of the Enji. When I heard about the legendary Star Sword choosing its owner, and when I found out on that Popstar mission that it chose you, I knew it would pay off to keep an eye on you after seeing you in action. And my, it was indeed worth it! You even took care of Xehamaru for us! However, since I watched you for so painstakingly long, I know your too much of a lame goody two-shoes to ever change sides. That's why, tonight is going to be the night your legacy got cut short!"

"What do you mean by that, Huh? "

In a flash, Ben sensed danger and stepped to the side just as Larxene threw two knifes at him. He was able to avoid being hit, but she was so fast that his cheek was still cut. And as he saw his face bleeding, he realizes just how serious Larxene is. He then shouted," No, so, in the end, it was all a lie? No one, no one wanted to love me after all?"

Lacus saw just how much despair is in Ben's eyes and angrily jumped in between the two with her sword drawn. Lacus grasps the Oath Keeper tightly before she shouts out, " Lisa! No, Larxene! Whoever you are or not, you're a spy or a traitor I cannot forgive you. Just using all of us, and bringing up Ben's hopes only to be so cruel like that. I will not let you get away; I will bring you to justice!"

Larxene snorted before pointing her knives at the woman in front of her." Oh my, being protective are we? HA, Benny here must have been really delusional to think a jackpot like me would ever really fall for a lame boy like him. A tool that's only good for fighting, that's all you are Star dunce.

You may be powerful, and a good fighter. But you're a bore; no girl wants to be with someone who is so lame to be with. Face it, you're going to die alone one way or another. That's why I was going to kill you now, to put you out of your misery!"

This seemed to rattle up Ben even more, and all the bad memories he had had of being rejected flash through his mind. He then fell to his knees and looked blankly before saying,"But, I, I became a Enji Knight, a hero. Why is this still happening to me? Did I do something wrong? Whatever I did to you to make you like this, I'm sorry. But please, stop this! Is being alone, really my destiny no matter what?"

Seeing how out of it Ben had become, Lacus got in front of Ben and stated," Ben, please, don't blame yourself for this! You, you did not do anything wrong. Larxene, she is lying, so don't listen to her. You're not destined to be alone, Ben. Don't forget, I am your friend, and you're a great person."

Ben seemed to snap out of his shock and looked at Lacus, and struggle for a moment before he responded with,"Oh Lacus, thank you. "

Seeing this, Larxene just laughed even harder. Lightning vaporized the glass ceiling of the theater totally, bringing in the rain, as she prepared to attack."Think whatever you like, but it's all going to mean nothing real soon! Really happy just for that one look of pity " Tiger"? Heh...of course it is...its the only affection a loser like you ever got, and its the only affection a awkward bore like you is ever going to get!"

"Shut up!" Lacus sharply cut in with enough anger to make the blond woman pause." Your the one who only pretends to feel Larxene, after faking things for so long your the one who does not know what real love even is."

Ben's childhood friend had her aura flare up before the blond woman snickered." And you know what real love is eh Raystar? Heh, but if you want to be that way then fine. It's been so long since I went full out I can't wait to mess you both up, before taking what's left with you back as a trophy!"

"Don't forget, we dealt with Xehamaru not so long ago. A whore like you is no sweat. "

"Excuse me!?" Larxene hissed out as her eyes narrowed and the very air seemed like it was going to become electrified." I think we are forgetting who the pampered dragon brat is! Seems to me like your the whore who will dance to whatever tune her bulky mate tells her to! When you already gave every thing away to Brad then guess your even easier to please then Benny boy here eh?"

"Hey I have not given everything away to Brad ok?"

Ben snapped out of his funk a bit to widened his eyes." What do you mean Lacus?"

His childhood friend blushed before clearing her throat." Now is really not the time to talk about that Ben! Look we just got to do what we did with Xehamaru and we will get through this...just don't let her trip you up right?"

Larxene rolled her eyes before lighting crackled around her blades." Heh...just so you know...Xehamaru was kicked out of our order for not knowing his limits, because he was to weak to challage the" Superior". And you're playing my game now Lacus dear! That's it...time I give you a free lesson not to trash talk me when you don't know what your talking about! Hahaah!"

With that Larxene prepared to attack, and as Ben tried to get his focus he just picks up the Star Sword and looked at the sky before muttering a bitter," Great, now to top it off, it's thunder storming. I really hate my luck."

Well, talk about a shocking turn of events! Will Ben ever find a break in love? Can he regain his senses in time to help Lacus fight off the female fatale of the Dark Enji Larxene? The only way to find that out is to tune into our next chapter of Tales Of the Cosmic Wars!

Author notes:

This chapter might not have been action packed, but since volume one had that long tense final battle I wanted to have this chapter go over the romantic aspects for a short bit. Don't worry, the action will heat up to the limits once more in our next chapter.

In our next chapter the battle begins between the "Savage Nymph" of the Organization XIII and Ben and Lacus! Larxene proves she is as lethal as the rest of her male dark side welding members. Her speed is greater than either of the two heroes', and her wrath is not to be taken lightly. Still, she is not as powerful as Xehamaru in raw power, so it should be no problem for Ben, right?

Maybe, but the star warriors mind is having a hard time staying focused after dealing with the devastating truth that Lisa was all along using him and never really liked him. And if that's not bad enough, it seems that the dinner he had before was poisoned by Larxene to make things worse! Can Ben get on his feet and help Lacus defeat this deadly foe? Find out next time in Chapter 65: Flash Of Sorrow, Larxene's Cruel Strike!