Dododex

ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion

The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 64: Refuse.

Original Post Date: May 8, 2024

Note: Story starts in Wyvern, Aerial ABC backwards filter and has a Prologue. Last chapter in Trilobite, next chapter in Tusoteuthis. More info at bottom of chapter.

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Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum.

Bum. Bum. Bum.

Ben let out a quick gasp, as he felt his eyes awaken to absolute darkness. Something coarse and rough covered his upper torso, and he looked down to see a blood-stained white dress shirt on his body, and baggy blue jeans on his legs. Ben reached for his throat and realized that the bleeding had stopped. Partially, at least.

“Where am I?” Ben thought to himself. He tried his best to speak, but no words came out.

Crackle!

A lone star flickered into Ben’s view, a four-pointed, golden, blazing star. As the star shined brighter, thousands of stars began to flicker into view as well. Each one shone brightly on Ben, as if they were watching him.

Ben looked around. Surrounded by a void of stars beyond reach, he reached his hand out to grab the four-pointed one that was just out of reach. As his hand grew closer, the star grew brighter, and he felt memories slowly kick in his head.

As Ben’s fingers grasped the burning flame, the Star disappeared. Vanishing within the night sky, Ben looked around, confusion set in. The stars all crackled at him, and for a split second, Ben could hear beeping in the back of his head.

“-.-- --- ..- / -.- .. .-.. .-.. . -.. / -... . -. -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- / .-- . .-.. .-.. , / .. / -.. --- -. ’ - / - .... .. -. -.- / - .... . / . -..- .--. . -.. .. - .. --- -. / - . .- -- / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / -... . / .- .-.. .. ...- . / ..-. --- .-. / -- ..- -.-. .... / .-.. --- -. --. . .-. / .- ..-. - . .-. / .-- .... .- - / .-.. .. --.. --.. -.-- / -.. .. -.. .-.-.- / .. - / .-- .- ... / .-. . .- .-.. .-.. -.-- / --. --- --- -.. / .- -. -.. / .. / . -. .--- --- -.-- . -.. / .. - -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- / .. / -.-. .- -. ’ - / .-- .- .. - / ..-. --- .-. / - .... . / -. . -..- - / -.-. .... .- .--. - . .-. -.-.-- -.-.--”

“-... .-.. .. -. -.- ... .-.-.- / ..- .... .... .... .... .... .... … -... .-.. .. -. -.- ... / ... --- -- . / -- --- .-. . / -... . -. ..--.. -.-.-- / -... .-. ..- .... / -.-- --- ..- / .-.. .. - . .-. .- .-.. .-.. -.-- / .--- ..- ... - / -.- .. .-.. .-.. . -.. / -... . -. -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- -.-.-- / .-. .. .--. .-.-.- / .- -. -.-- .-- .- -.-- ... / -.-- . .- .... , / - .... .- - / ... --.- ..- .- -.. / .-- .. .-.. .-.. / .--. .-. --- -... .- -... .-.. -.-- / -... . / --. --- - - . -. / .-. .. -.. / --- ..-. .-.-.- / .. / -.-. .- -. ’ - / .-- .- .. - / - --- / ... . . / .-- .... .- - / .... .- .--. .--. . -. ... / -. . -..- - -.-.--”

“-... . -. / -.-- --- ..- / -.- .. .-.. .-.. . -.. / -... . -. -.-.-- / -... ..- - / .-- .... -.-- -.-- -.-- -.-- -.-- -.-- -.-- -.-- … .-.-.-”

“Made the wrong decision this time, old friend?” a familiar voice said.

Ben turned around, but there was no one. Only the echoes of a voice that felt so familiar to him.

“Ironic isn’t it. The constellations don’t care anymore. Things really do change, huh?”

The crackling of a glitching noise echoed in the distance.

“Who are you?!” Ben called out in the distance. Still, there was no noise.

“Come on, Ben. We’ve been through it all. How can you not remember me?”

A swirling portal manifested in front of Ben, and a shadowy figure came out of the portal. He had pale skin, a muscular body, and a white dress shirt and baggy blue jeans just like Ben. His hair was much longer, but he looked almost exactly like him. His most notable feature were the voids that culminated in front of his eyes. They were like black holes. He almost looked like Ben.

Ben’s eyes grew weary at the sight of him. A long lost memory floated back into Ben’s mind.

“You…”

“It has been so long since we last met. You really have gotten yourself into a conundrum, old friend,” the mysterious man noted. He smiled softly at him. He seemed to be carrying something bloody in his hand. Ben’s eyes darted to it and he saw a heart that still beat.

Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum. Bum.

Bum.

“What the-”

Ben quickly moved his right hand over his heart, but there was no pulse. Ben turned just as pale as his clone. He smiled in response.

“Oh don’t worry, you’ll have this back in no time. You won’t die… As long as you answer my questions. We need catching up to do,” he said. He raised his other hand in the air, and a key appeared in it. He twirled the key around, and then clutched it as hard as he could. Chains wrapped around the heart, causing it to stop beating. Ben let out a gasp. He felt his limbs getting weak.

Loud voices boomed. Ben was unsure whether they were coming from the stars, or somewhere beyond that, but they seemed upset.

“You know how much she loves this guy!” a distinct voice said.

“I’m sorry, I’m so so sorry…” another voice boomed back. The mysterious man chuckled in response.

“You’ll thank me later for that. Now. Let’s get down to business, Ben. What near death situation have you gotten yourself into to have ended up here? Lost within the inner depths of thy soul?

“Nothing you should be worried about… Key Master,” Ben replied with a sneer. The Key Master gave an annoyed look at Ben.

“Don’t give me that crass… Qb lbh jnag zr gb znxr lbh erzrzore, Ora?” the Key Master said. Ben glared.

“Qba'g rira guvax nobhg vg.”

The Key Master gave a devilish grin to Ben. He glanced over at the constellations.

“Lbh'er yhpxl V pubbfr gb uvqr lbhe frpergf sebz gur pbafgryyngvbaf. Gurl pna'g haqrefgnaq hf yvxr guvf.”

The Key Master seemed to stare at the constellations for a bit. He muttered something under his breath.

“Don’t even think about translating,” he muttered.

Ben cut him off.

“I’m here because of an encounter. Three scouts wanted to take me to their leader. She wants me, for some reason. I ended up… dying.”

“And do you know what that reason is?”

“No.”

“That’s funny,” the Key Master said. He began to toss the heart up and down like a ball, “Now. Answer me, Ben. Why’d. You. Choose. To. Forget?”

“There’s no reason. If I let myself remember, I would just go back all the time. I needed to learn to move on on my own without that world at my disposal,” Ben answered as honestly as he could.

“Lies,” the Key Master sneered, “I know why. You’re scared… Scared you’ll lose control. Keep going back, and you’ll never come back. You’ll just live your life there, with that girl-”

“Shut. Up.”

“Ahh, there we go! I guess you do remember,” he giggled, “You look really mad. I think deep down you never really forgot ME.”

The Key Master slunk into a lying position. He tossed the heart up and down in the air some more. Ben could feel himself growing dizzier.

“You know, it’s kind of funny to me. You used to be so heartless! But now here you are, groveling for what makes you most precious. You used to be even worse than that man with the soulless eyes,” the Key Master said, “But you do move on fast. It only felt like yesterday that…”

Ben shot another warning at him. The Key Master shrugged.

“Look. I know what you want. You want to return home. Return to the West. Return to your love. You want to keep that promise… But, I won’t let you forget your roots. Why you’re still alive. You can’t just leave that in the past. I’ll make you remember,” the Key Master snapped. The voids in his eyes began to grow larger.

Ben clenched his fists, and in an instant, the stars in the void around them faded away. He sprung forward and knocked the Key Master away. The Key Master let out a groan as he was launched back. The heart ended up in the air, and Ben leaped up and grabbed it with his fist. As his fingers wrapped around it, the chains unraveled, and Ben felt blood rush up to his head again.

“Sorry. But I think it’s time to cut this meeting short,” Ben replied. The Key Master let out a snarl and dashed at Ben, but Ben forced himself to open his eyes in the real world. As he did, he felt his memory of what occurred the past few minutes slip away.

“I’m not going to remember. This is MY soul, not yours,” Ben said, “And I think moving on would be best for all of us.”

The void began to tear away, and the Key Master clenched his fists. A blue portal manifested behind him.

“It’ll be in vain, anyway. The constellations are against you this time. Things are different this time. Soon, you’ll realize you need me to move on again. Soon, you’ll realize… Soon…”

The Key Master’s voice flickered away again, and the void was gone. All there was now? A black void, with a white bright light ahead.

Ben looked at the light for a moment. It was the smell of al pastor tacos, the sweet voice of her whispered in his ear, beckoning for him to join her. A comforting warmth enveloped Ben’s mind and body as he stared at the light… and contemplated entering.

Things would be right beyond the light. If Ben just… gave up, he wouldn’t have to worry anymore. He wouldn’t have to feel anymore.

But he had a promise to keep.

“So despite that, I refuse to give up. I NEED TO TRY AGAIN!”

Ben turned away from the light, closed his eyes, and ran as hard as he could. A few more moments of running, and he could hear his heart pounding in his ear, and the soft breathing from the real world. The white light enveloped him like a blanket…

Ben blinked a few more times, a strange disorienting noise playing in his ear. The light began to fade, and he could feel himself lying down on a soft mattress made of thatch. The slit on his throat was gone, and he noticed that he was in a thatch hut.

“What just happened? Hunted by those women the first second, here the next…”

Ben stared at his hands. The implant was still there in his left wrist. His hands seemed to be trembling. The sleeves of his graduation robe were pulled down… And they were white? Ben stared at his whole body. He was wearing a fresh set, and a white one at that.

Ben could hear a door creak open, and he jolted his head to see a man walk carrying armfuls of cherries. He wore a white sleeveless jacket, and had a red long sleeve underneath. His blue shorts were covered in dirt. He had tired eyes, but as he spotted Ben, his face lit up.

“Ben! You’re okay!”

The man looked out the door and seemed to be calling out to someone.

“John, Carlos, Ben’s awake, he’s alive! He’s ALIVE!”

Ben blinked his eyes a bit more.

“John? Carlos? Those are my old friends, why are they here… Am I in the afterlife?” Ben thought.

The man rushed forward and wrapped his arms around Ben.

“You’re okay, you’re okay!” he giddily said, and with a hint of relief.

As Ben’s senses recovered, his eyes widened and his heart leaped with joy as he realized who it was. The cold metal of an implant brushed his neck, and Ben instantly got back up and hugged him back.

“Paul!”

Two more men rushed into the room. One wore a straw hat and had hiker’s clothes on, the other wore an apron over a black dress shirt and tan khakis. John and Carlos.

Carlos gasped, and John squealed in excitement.

“BEN!” they both said in unison. They rushed in for a group hug, and Ben let out groans as he felt his ribs under the pressure of the bear hugs.

“Ahh you crazy slacker, I can’t believe it took this long to finally find you!” John said. He took his fist and gave Ben a huge noogie, and Ben let out a laugh as Carlos gave Ben a look of disapproval.

“Why didn’t you tell us you were going to be gone for so long?” Carlos asked. His face washed with disappointment, “I- WE would have been okay if you just told us…”

“I know, I know, I’m sorry,” Ben responded sincerely. He pulled away from his friends and sniffled a little. He looked at all three of his friends for a moment, each one with a bright smile on their face. They looked so happy, yet so… tired.

“Wait, where’s Ian?”

John and Carlos looked at each other uncomfortably, and Paul looked at the ground shamefully, rubbing his neck.

“Ian was captured,” John regretfully told Ben.

“What? BY WHO?” Ben asked with clenched fists. He could feel his face twitch.

“The Crimson Crusader’s scouts.”

Ben remembered the three women who had tried to capture him to bring him to the ‘boss’, the ones with the red clothes. Were THEY also under the Crimson Crusader? Were they also responsible for Chris’ disappearance?

“I think I know who you’re talking about. I had a run-in with them too, and one of my other friends has also disappeared because of them,” Ben explained. He punched his palm so hard he felt it in his bones. Vines shot out from his sleeves, “So, let’s rescue them!”

~

Author's Note;

Wow. I'm very impressed AND glad youve stuck around for so long. Thats an entire stack of chapters read by you and written by me.. Well thank you very very much. So uh, im mostly writing because we reached the end of Aquatic... Yeah, that was fast. Go to Terrestrial from here, and head over to Yutyrannus. For the last stretch of TAOH, it will be in the Reverse Terrestrial filter...

See you around 😁