There was something wrong with Ren. It was becoming more and more clear to him. He didn't know just what it was, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized things just seemed...off. Like collapsing the week before. There was no reason he should have fallen or why his heart should have stopped. Sure, he'd had an intense training simulation not long before it, but he'd fought much harder than that back home, during the battle. He must have.

In one hand, he was clutching Eri's ring, desperately clinging to it though he knew she was gone...though something in his memory didn't seem to add up, and he couldn't figure out why he'd gone out during Shore Leave and bought a new chain for the ring if he knew everything was beyond hope.

In his other hand was an Advent Card deck. But it wasn't his Knight deck--the one he'd given to Phillip just after he'd collapsed, agreeing to take it easy until they could figure out what was wrong with him. This deck was golden, emblazoned with a phoenix.

It was the strongest deck in the Rider War, the greatest power of any Rider: Kamen Rider Odin.

And it was Ren's.

Ben had heard the announcement, but ignored it anyhow. He had the gut feeling that whatever happened there, he'd hear from Matt anyhow. Instead, he made his way to medbay where he knew Nura was resting, albeit in a coma.

He contacted Gwen and Devlin, and let them know at least not to worry and try to keep Devlin away from Punishment. As he sat down in the bedside, he sighed. "Things really aren't looking up huh mom?" he said to Nura in a low tone.

Devlin was feeling a little better--at the very least, he wasn't in a whole lot of pain. His left arm was in a sling, though, and he had pillows around that side as he sat in one of the WITCH bus's many rooms. Nearby, he had his omnicom, where he'd borrowed several songs from the Media Library. What was the best music for getting out of the "My best friend and I did something stupid and because of it, I got hurt and can't do anything for a while?" Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody." An oldie (and definitely by his time) but a goodie.

He fished out a piece of fluorite from his pocket and tossed it in the air with his right hand. As he caught it, he absorbed enough crystal to cover his hand, then let go of the absorption to toss it again. Each time he caught it, he absorbed the crystal, slowly but surely improving his reflexes.

If there was one major constant in the universe, it was that Ben Tennyson Has Bad Ideas. It started with the very first time that he got the Omnitrix stuck on his wrist and lit a good chunk of the forest on fire.

The stupid ideas followed in rapid succession up to his teenage years where his latest stunt turned Kevin Ethan Levin into a mutant freak.

Again.

As it stood, Ben had decided that now was the time to do some family bonding with Devlin, and what better way to do that than to teach his kid how to fight the proper Osmosian way? That being said, he had grabbed a ton of things with Humungosaur and had hauled them to a nice open spot in the sensoriums which was made up to look like downtown Bellwood.

"Okay! Osmosian 101, your teacher the famed Ben Tennyson." proclaimed Ben as he turned around to face Devlin. "We're going to get a crash course in matter absorbing."

Since his contagion-induced rampage, Devlin had been torn between wanting to run and wanting to find some form of comfort. He managed to find both in his current hiding place--Ben 10,000's headquarters, in the depths of the City. It was home and it was absolutely nowhere Ben would think to look for him.

Devlin sat practically curled up in a ball against the wall, giving a fearful glance at a vault at the other end of the room--the massive Null Void Chamber, the highest security prison known on his world, reserved for the worst alien criminals to attack the Earth. His biological father included.