Clock 10,000 Returns

***Clock 10,000 Returns*** is the ninteenth *Ultimate Alien* chapter of *Clock 10: Choose Your Own Adventure*.

## Plot

The episode begins with Clockwork Firefly and his team arriving at a warehouse. This warehouse was signaled to by the Ultimatrix, which beeped increasingly louder as they got closer, especially when they go inside and find it leading them to the basement. Taryn detects no life, but warns that unliving opponents (such as robots) wouldn't be detected.

Clock turns into Wildmutt and they go down the stairs, with Wildmutt sniffing around to find what they're looking for. While his scent picks up nothing, the Ultimatrix's beeping reaches its peak near a large, dark green crate. With Clock returning to human, Kevin breaks open the create, revealing an odd circular device about the same size as the group.

Clock goes to transform to carry the device to find its purpose, but it fires off green electricity into the Ultimatrix, stopping the beeping. Simultaneously, however, it then opens up several green portals from which speechless goons come out to attack. Clock becomes Chromastone and blocks one of the attacks, unable to absorb whatever energy the goons' blades are made of.

Chromastone knocks away some of the goons via propulsion, and punctures one with one of his crystal growths. However, what he initially believes to be the black oil of a robot turns out to be the dark red color of blood. Chromastone then removes the helmet of the goon, only to find the goon to be none other than Clock. Upon trying to process the situation, Professor Paradox arrives, explaining the goons are alternate versions of Clock who are trapped as mindless husks between the moment of life and death.

Upon being asked, Paradox further elaborates that an ancient being known as Eon is controlling them, and that he is after the device they found: the Hands of Armageddon. Paradox deduces that destroying th Hands would be the best course of action, and brings in Clock 10,000 for help. Clock attempts to catch up with his future self, but Clock 10K elaborates that he's a different one from the previous versions he's met. Paradox transports them to the Rustbucket ship, and has Kevin travel somewhere remote to dispose of the device.

In the Rustbucket, Paradox elaborates on Eon, saying he comes from a forgotten and decayed timeline, and he travels to different universes attempting to find the Hands. Eon is described as being the only one of his kind, which is unofficially dubbed a "Kronian," though Paradox does not believe him to be alien. Though there are several timelines (including ones where Taryn has the Omnitrix, Albedo being trapped as Alien X, and one with no Firefly's at all), Paradox says only one Eon has emerged from the multiverse.

Clock asks if Eon can be reasoned with, which for some reason causes Paradox to go quiet. Following this, Clock 10K asks about removing the Hands from this timeline, which Paradox responds to instead, explaining the Hands can only be within their own timelines or destroyed, and that destroying them will prevent Eon's success.

As the group talks, the Hands activate again, and more alternate Clock goons arrive. Clock goes Goop, while Clock 10K activates his Ultimatrix, though instead of transforming, the Ultimate symbol appears on his chest and the hologram of Crashhopper appears behind him. He then uses Crashhopper to knock out some of the goons while Goop ensares some others. Using the power of Clockwork, along with help from Chromastone, Clock 10K sends the goons back to their timelines. However, the reflected time beam results in part of the Rustbucket's console being destroyed.

Clock 10K activates Big Chill's powers to leave the ship, then in midair gains that of Chemarro, using a gravity bullet from his finger gun to slow the gravity of the Rustbucket, and pressurized air bullets to get himself to the ground. Once on the ground, Clock 10K explains the form as Ultimate Clock, being the only one he really uses.

Ultimate Clock uses another gravity bullet to move the Hands outside, then accesses Clockwork's powers again. Under the guidance of Paradox to just use a powerful transformation in place of a temporal one, Chromastone changes into Slapback, and proceeds to go Ultimate Slapback. Their combines powers seem to do nothing to the Hands, and actually seem to act as a catalyst for Eon to finally arrive.

Eon ages Ultimate Slapback (as well as the regular form) to dust, and claims that Paradox's attempts to stop him only got him one step closer to victory. Clock attempts to talk peacefully, but Ultimate Clock, using Way Big, knocks Eon away, then runs Clock from the battlefield as XLR8. Despite Clock's pleading to remain in the fight, Ultimate Clock uses Ultimate Armodrillo to move the ground and send him further away, promising to explain later.

Although Clock stays to the side, Eon appears anyway, which is shown to be a future Eon as his past self is still in the battlefield with the others. Eon explains his backstory, that the device on his wrist is a rebuilt Omnitrix, and that he is an alternate version of Clock. Though he does not elaborate on how his Omnitrix was destroyed, he did explain he made it into a device to travel through time. Unfortunately, each leap decayed his body, and though he could manipulate other Omnitrixes to let him transfer his consciousness to a new body, each body would decay just as the last.

With the help of a Chronosapien known as Maltruant, Eon was able to find a "sweet spot" universe, where a Clock near that timeline's Hands were located, but this did not go as planned, and Eon was granted immortality in a frail, decayed body, and unable to change bodies without losing immortality. This universe is the next sweet spot. Eon claims that he simply just does not want to die. Clock offers to help Eon, hoping to not want anyone else to die, though Eon says one of them will have to. Although Clock's body will remain forever, Eon's consciousness will take over.

Eon allows Clock time to think over the situation, but gives him an ultimatem: If he does not comply with the consciousness transfer, he will be turned into one of the mindless husk goons. Clock remains unconvinced, but still wants to solve things peacefully, and tells Eon to stand down, which Eon reluctantly retaliates against.

Ultimate Clock fights the Eon from the past, using Diamondhead crystals to block the time attacks. Eon dodges diamond shards and does another time blast, only to be knocked away by Paradox. Eon charges up his time energy, and Ultimate Clock accesses the powers of Gravattack. Ultimate Clock slams Eon onto the ground, dissipating his time energy. Eon taunts both him and Paradox and disappears, only for his future self to arrive, having successfully transferred his consciousness to Clock.

Caught off guard, Ultimate Clock is unable to stop Eon from attacking, though Eon doesn't age Ultimate Clock; rather, he ages his Ultimatrix, keeping him from accessing any transformations. Eon proceeds to activate the Hands of Armageddon, with the others unable to properly fight back, and Paradox having left.

Clock 10K tries to instead get to the remaining humanity with in Eon, talking directly to Clock. Though it seems unsuccessful at first, with Eon's minions surrounding Clock 10K as Eon himself charges up a time blast, Eon's energy changes from green to blue as Clock regains control, wiping the underlings out of time. Clock-Eon then restores Clock 10K's Ultimatrix, and uses his own time energy to shut down the Hands of Armageddon, and then causes the Hands to temporally implode.

Paradox returns, elaborating his absence was caused by not wanting to see another Clock fall to Eon. The Clock's congratulate themselves, then Clock-Eon transforms himself back. Ultimate Clock then adjusts Clock's Ultimatrix, restoring Slapback, as well as unlocking (almost) every alien he's ever become up to this point, along with ten new transformations (one of which comes from The Andromeda Galaxy) just to "piss off" Azmuth. Paradox and Ultimate Clock take their leave to combat Eon elsewhere.

In a credit scene, Clock is seen being chased by a magic rock monster in a dark library, instructed by Charmcaster that he'll have to handle the situation on his own for proper practice. Clock uses a portal spell to defeat the rock monster, which disappoints Charmcaster, as she was hoping for him to become more versatile, rather than relying solely on one spell. Getting off topic, the two discuss a dream Clock had regarding Charmcaster getting into a relationship with Darkstar, which Clock thinks could be a preminition, while Charmcaster chalks it up to a bad drink (specifically Blue Paprika XLR8). The scene ends with Charmcaster agreeing to go on a date with Clock to see a magician, though not before she gives him another training lesson that she had lied about not giving him.

## Major Events

* Clock's team fights Eon for the first time.
* Clock 10,000 debuts Ultimate Clock, and with him several transformations.
* Clock 10,000 re-unlocks almost every transformation Clock has ever been, along with ten new ones.

### Ultimatrix Debuts *(via Ultimate Clock)*

* Crashhopper
* Clockwork
* Chemarro
* Gravattack

### Ultimate Form Debuts

* Ultimate Clock
* Ultimate Armodrillo *(via Ultimate Clock)*

## Characters

* Clockwork Firefly
* Taryn Firefly
* Kevin Levin
* Professor Paradox
* Clock 10,000

### Villains

* Eon
* Eon's Servants

## Aliens Used

### Clockwork Firefly

* Wildmutt
* Chromastone *(2x)*
* Goop
* Slapback *(cameo)*
	+ Ultimate Slapback
* Clock-Eon

### Clock 10,000

* Ultimate Clock *(debut)*
	+ Crashhopper *(debut)*
	+ Clockwork *(debut, 2x)*
	+ Big Chill
	+ Chemarro *(debut)*
	+ Ultimate Armodrillo *(debut)*
	+ Diamondhead
	+ Gravattack *(debut, 2x)*

## Trivia

* Chromastone injuring one of Eon's servants only to find it's an alternate version of himself is a nod to *The More They Stay the Same* from *Ben 10: Time's End*.
* The inclusion of the term "Kronian" (as it's spelled in the subtitles for *Ben 10: Race Against Time*), was to tie in  Eon's original origins with the far better origins of him being an alternate version of the main character.
* This episode takes inspiration from both *Ben 10: Race Against Time*, and the *Ben 10: Time's End* episode, *Lie as Old as Time*.
* This is Alan's current favorite chapter.