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ARK: Survival Evolved & Ascended Companion

The Arks: Over Heaven (by Ben)

Chapter 100: Over Heaven

Part 5 / 6

Original Post Date: Oct 7, 2024

Note: Story starts in Wyvern, Aerial ABC backwards filter and has a Prologue. Last chapter in Oviraptor. This is the lasr chapter of TAOH. Please do not read this first if you haven't read the rest of the story.

~

It was a strange forest. Dark trees, golden fireflies, and owls hooting in the distance. It was night time. Stars twinkled in the night sky. Nebulae and swirling milky mists lingered among the clouds. It was a beautiful sight, for sure. Perhaps even more beautiful than the ARK.

Ben felt a sense of nostalgia looking up at the sky. It had been quite a few years since he had been in this forest. The trials he had been forced through in this dream world were cruel, but he had learned so much. Ben understood why he had wanted to forget about this place. He would have kept returning, and one day he would never have come back to his true home. He was grateful that the past version of himself had decided to go through with that decision. Otherwise, he would have never grown to appreciate her.

Ben began to tread past the forest and into the grassy plains. He could spot that lone castle in the distance, thirteen stories high with large stone walls blocking intruders. And the witches and the knights… the true obstacles. They wouldn’t be here though. Ben understood it was merely a memory.

Eventually, he reached the castle. There was a large drawbridge connecting the castle to the rest of the land. Ben crossed it slowly, his hands in his jacket pockets. It was only then that he realized he was wearing star-littered pajamas, a white shirt, and a thin black jacket.

“Been a while since I wore this outfit,” Ben thought gloomily.

Ben made it to the front gates of the castle, and as he entered he was greeted with the sight of large tables scattered about, akin to a school cafeteria. On the contrary the tables were all made of stone. And it was quiet and empty. A red carpet in the middle leading to a set of stairs which ascended to the upper floors.

Ben walked on the red carpet, and then his foot landed in a pool of dried-up blood. Ben lifted his slipper, and then he chuckled at the sight.

Ben ignored the stairs and instead opted for a large hallway that would lead to the outside. As he approached the hallway, however, he noticed that the hallway had been barricaded up with wooden planks and the sort. There was a note taped to the front plank.

“Meet me on the thirteenth floor. - KM”

Ben scoffed at the note.

“I’ve got no choice. Might as well, huh?”

Ben walked back to the stairs and then ascended them. He felt a chill run down his spine as he walked past numerous living facilities, each one as empty and still as the dining hall below. These had been where all the students were meant to live. But were they really ‘living’?

“I’m glad I did something about it though,” Ben thought with a smirk.

Getting to the thirteenth floor didn’t take too long. Five minutes later, Ben paused, and then looked out at the living facility. There was a crackling fireplace, its rays of light carrying along the drift of the wind and prickling Ben’s skin. There was a ping pong table and a pool table a few steps away. Doorways lead to the bedrooms and mini-kitchens.

Sitting next to the fireplace was a coffee table, and a chessboard lay atop it. Someone who looked exactly like Ben sat on the couch, his back turned to him. He wore the exact same outfit and had the exact same hairstyle. Ben opened his mouth to speak, but he was quickly stopped. The figure raised and waved his hand.

“Let’s play,” the relaxed voice echoed along the walls.

Ben asked no questions. He walked past the couch and then took a seat near the fireplace, on the ground. The Key Master smirked. His swirling black voids were at its peak. They seemed to cover his entire face.

“You’ll have white pieces. I’ll have black.”

Ben didn’t object. He moved one of his pawns forward. The Key Master moved his knight out. The game continued for a bit, until both the Key Master and Ben traded bishops.

“So you’ve gotten yourself into more trouble huh?” the Key Master asked. He castled his king queenside.

“Yeah. He cut my arm off with his cheap tricks. Now you put me here again and I have to deal with you again,” Ben retorted. Ben moved his pawn forward to attack a knight.

“Hey. You’ve been getting yourself into more and more of these situations ever since you landed on this ARK. What a shame, huh? If only you hadn’t moved here none of this would have happened-”

“I already know it was you. You gave Dan Walker the blueprints for that teleporter and you gave him the Element.”

The Key Master shrugged.

“What can I say? Just an ordinary day in making you remember your roots.”

“Shut up. You know my reasons were valid. You just couldn’t accept your defeat!”

“There’s no such thing as defeat until you can kill me,” the Key Master snarled with gritted teeth, “And I hate to break it to you but you can’t kill me.”

The Key Master moved his knight, forking the king and queen. Ben grimaced.

“Why did you even do all of that?! You’re just doing what you advocated against. What makes you you? You’re just making yourself suffer more-”

“It’s all for the greater good,” the Key Master smiled, “Once everything is over, then I won’t have to suffer anymore. That’s the neat part. All the actions I do will be reverted once and for all. The consequences become nil. What I don’t understand is why you don’t like my plan.”

Ben studied the chess board for a moment. Then, he simply just moved his bishop that was on the other side of the board and captured the Key Master’s knight. The Key Master scoffed. Then, he smiled.

“If you can checkmate me, I’ll bring you back to life. Like I always do. This isn’t really your story now is it? It’s Samuel’s. So… I have to help you all of the time now.”

“And what if you checkmate me?” Ben asked. He moved his pawn forward. A wall of pawns had been formed now. And Ben only had a bishop and a queen left to move freely. His rooks were trapped, and his knights were captured.

“Then I’ll just let you die.”

“What if I don’t accept your offer?”

“Then you’ll die either way? Come on, I thought you were smarter than this.”

Ben sighed. Then, he lifted his hand to shake.

“Deal.”

The Key Master lifted his hand and shook Ben’s hand.

“Okay. Amazing. Because you… are about to lose.”

The Key Master moved his free rook and captured Ben’s queen. Ben moved his bishop to attack the rook, but then the Key Master simply countered by capturing with a pawn. Ben’s defense was falling apart, and the Key Master knew this. The Key Master grinned.

“Gotten rusty?”

Ben didn’t say a word, but he let a bead of sweat fall down his forehead. He moved his king to the left, cornering it.

“And… that’s checkmate in one move,” the Key Master grinned, moving his queen forward to attack the king. Ben looked up for a moment, and a smile grew on his face. Now it was the Key Master’s turn to be shocked.

“W-What’s so funny?”

Ben began to holler, and the Key Master squinted his eyes, annoyed. It was then he realized his mistake.

“I tricked you,” Ben explained, “I know I can’t beat you. In chess, and in reality. That’s why I settled for a stalemate. I gave up all of my pieces so that I could delude you into thinking you’ve won. You let your guard down. And then you made this silly mistake.”

Ben waved his hand to show the board.

“I’ve used your own tricks against you.”

The Key Master leaned back into the couch. He seemed somewhat proud at what Ben had done.

“Well. If it’s a stalemate, then it’s a draw. You want to live, but I want you to remember. So we’ll compromise…”

“What do you mean by that?” Ben asked, confrontational.

“You’ll see with due time. For now, know that you’ll live. You followed my contract so you must listen. No matter what.”

The Key Master held his hand out, and a silver key manifested. He leaned forward, and then inserted the key into Ben’s brain.

~

Rays of light casted down onto the blacktop of Terran High. They were bright, yet gentle. Birds chirped in the distance. Flowers bloomed. It was so quiet, yet so chilling and haunting. It didn’t feel right to be here. At least, that’s what Nova thought.

Nova sat up and looked around for a moment. Everyone was slowly beginning to get up from the ground, rubbing their foreheads, and getting used to their surroundings. Nova wanted to do a head count, but her head was throbbing so badly she couldn’t afford to.

Nova sat up from the ground. She felt really disoriented. There was a weird buzzing noise in her ear, and it wouldn’t go away. Her eyes set upon the large stage that Aurora and Mr. Ma once stood upon to give their speeches. They were supposed to live normal lives. All of them.

Not everyone was back, though, Nova knew that. Andres wasn’t back. Neither was Aurora, or Mr. Ma. Loki and his friends, Skyler, Landon, John, and Ben. And neither were everyone else that they did not know of.

In the end, only about twenty of them remained.

Nova looked up at the sky. A lone star sparkled in the distance, slowly fading away as the day settled in. Nova sighed. That was the ARK. Despite everything they had gone through, Nova couldn’t help but feel a bit melancholic staring at it.

Nova had learned a lot from her time there.

“It’s over,” Nova thought.

The others were silent. They slowly began to return to their senses, yet they didn’t seem thrilled. Or excited. They had made it, yet at what cost? What lives had been lost at the expense of someone’s entertainment? A smile that was present on Nova’s face began to fade.

“Well, that was something,” Ben groaned as he got up from the ground, patting his right arm. Paul suddenly rushed in and hugged him tightly.

“Ben, you’re okay!” Paul cried.

“Uh, yeah, I guess I am,” Ben replied, “Still don’t know how. I’d prefer not to question it though. I’ve had enough mystery for the rest of my life.”

Carlos walked up to him, and then held his arms out. Ian followed suit.

“Come on, let’s bring it in.”

The four initiated in a group hug, not daring to let go. Snowy Mole snorted next to them, feeling left out of the gang.

Sunny and Gary looked at each other for a moment. And then Rick and Chris walked up, and so did Bobby and Simon. The six of them all pressed their heads against one another, thanking each other that they had made it out alive.

Paige smiled at the sight, and looked at Patricia. The two friends engaged in an embrace, their eyes shut tight and their bodies squeezing against one another.

Alan and Tiffany looked at the ongoing group hugs, and as they looked at each other they decided to just do a friendly fistbump. They had both lost the people they had cared about. There was nobody to celebrate with.

Finally, Neddy and Ruby looked into each other’s eyes, and then clasped hands.

“My wish came true,” Neddy whispered under his breath with a smile, “Our wish came true!”

The two laughed, and then began to bounce around happily.

Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe things wouldn’t be so bad after all, despite all they had been through. They still had each other. They still had their family awaiting their arrival. They still had hope. Hope for a brighter future.

But as Nova looked on at the dissipating scholars, and as everyone began to fade away from her eyes, she could tell that somebody was missing. The only person that she had really cared about. The only person she wished would return home safely.

Nova fell to her knees. She put her hands to her face, and she felt her heart ache. Why did it have to be him? Why couldn’t everyone have made it out safely? Why couldn’t they have a real happy ending?

Her best friend was gone, in a place over heaven. She looked up at the fading night sky, and could see a luscious explosion filled with red, green, and blue in the lone star’s place. There was no denying it.

Samuel was dead.