Tokyo – 4:15 A.M.
The shattered street was a battleground. The lingering scent of ozone and burnt concrete mixed with the low hum of the Omnitrix timer—counting down relentlessly.
Ben, still locked in Four Arms, was bruised and breathless but refused to fall.
The monstrous alien Cruelight hovered above, a terrifying force that twisted the very air. Its obsidian form flickered, casting long shadows that seemed to crawl and writhe like living nightmares.
Beside him, Feedgrade crackled with electric energy, fingers sparking wildly as he prepared his next attack.
Sharim's Battle—The Memory Surge
Amid the chaos, Sharim, in his towering Cruelight form, suddenly faltered.
His swirling obsidian light flickered violently. A painful heat surged behind his eyes—visions tearing through his mind like a speeding comet.
A voice echoed.
Planet Kinet – The Final Run
Kinet. The birthplace of speed. Its cities were races, its culture a blur, its people kinetic perfection.
Sharim's mind was thrown back—flashing like a broken holo-screen.
A sprawling cityscape blurred past as two sleek white xlr8 forms raced side by side. One was Sharim, agile and swift, his sleek black-blue form glowing faintly with energy.
Beside him was Scorch—her pure white body gleaming, pink armor plates flashing in the sun like lightning. Her pink stripes shimmered as she laughed, speeding faster than the eye could track.
SCORCH:
"Come on, Sharim! You promised not to lose this time."
SHARIM:
"You wish. I'm not holding back."
The two darted through the city streets of Kinet, dodging skyscrapers and leaping over rivers of light. Their speed was poetry—an endless dance of motion.
As they slowed, their forms shimmered in the early Kinet dawn. The city of speed welcomed them.
SCORCH smiled softly, her eyes full of hope.
"One day, we'll stop racing. Not because we have to... but because we want to."
Sharim's gaze softened.
"You really think that's possible? After everything we've been through?"
Scorch leaned in closer, touching his arm with gentle strength.
"We'll make it happen. You, me, forever."
They stood in a peaceful meadow on the edge of the city—a rare calm in a world built for speed.
Unbeknownst to them, a shadow loomed beyond the horizon. The distant rumble of disaster was about to strike.
Back to Battle
Sharim's eyes snapped open.
Cruelight's form roared with kinetic energy as it lashed out at Feedgrade.
FEEDGRADE dodged nimbly, sending a volley of electricity toward Cruelight's twisting limbs.
"Sharim, focus!" Hikaru shouted, voice steady but urgent.
"He's slipping!"
Ben, panting, raised a fist.
"We're running out of time! We can't hold this forever!"
Flashback Deepens
Sharim staggered.
Suddenly, he was pulled back again—
Days before the mutation.
Scorch and Sharim stood side by side, preparing for their final race—a tradition among their people to prove mastery and claim eternal honor.
In a hidden grove, the air shimmered with energy.
Scorch, radiant in pink and white, pulled a small crystalline band from her armor.
"Sharim... before the race, I want you to have this."
She slid the band onto his arm.
"It's a promise. No matter what happens, we'll find each other again."
Sharim's chest tightened.
"Scorch... I was going to ask you the same thing."
Their eyes met. For a moment, time slowed.
Then, the distant nuclear blast—the cataclysm that tore their world apart.
The Mutation
Sharim was caught in the explosion, his form mutating violently—bones cracking, spikes bursting from his back, speed multiplied a hundredfold, but a coldness creeping into his heart.
Back to Battle—Sharim's Resolve
Cruelight's tendrils wrapped around Feedgrade, squeezing tight.
"I won't lose you again," Sharim whispered, voice trembling with both rage and sorrow.
With a scream of raw energy, Cruelight shattered the tendrils and lashed out, forcing Feedgrade and Ben to scatter.
Scorch, eyes blazing, sprinted toward Sharim.
"Sharim! Remember who you are! Remember us!"
Hikaru (Feedgrade) sent a pulse of feedback electricity at Cruelight's legs, destabilizing his footing.
Ben charged again, fists pounding.
"Let's finish this!"
A Terrifying New Move
Cruelight's body convulsed, and the shadows around him grew darker, twisting into sharp spikes of obsidian light that exploded outward like a storm of knives.
The ground beneath shattered, tearing wide fissures.
Ben was knocked back, crashing into a wall, struggling to rise.
Feedgrade called out, voice tense:
"Ben, your time's running out!"
Sharim's form flickered violently as the flashbacks faded.
"This isn't over," he growled. "Not until the past is buried—and the future broken."
He lifted a massive claw.
The ground cracked.
A terrifying roar shattered the night.