From the Ashes

Having lost their tyrannical leader, Pyros is plunged into chaos. Millions of slaves are now free, and those who once held power now seek to restore balance.

Plot
After Apollo had left for Earth, an uprising immediately began lead by Chief Embel of the Starlit Sky. When Ignis returned with Apollo's Army to Pyros, she was met with resistance. She re-assembled those of Apollo’s forces that had been left behind and remained loyal and established a base of operation in the military installation located in the Invictus Flats on the warmer southern hemisphere.

The Stardust descends into an active warzone, but despite Ben flaring the distress signal the fighters engage them anyway. SD-1 manages to land the ship near a village below, but Ben cannot stand idly by as a small army marches on the civilians nearby. He attempts to leave the Stardust, but the Omnitrix instantly changes him into Geothermite to prevent him from burning alive on the surface of the planet. Sella follows him.

Ben runs to the village, to see three Crabdozers being ridden through it and demolishing anything it their way. Dodging through the fleeing innocents, Ben engages them with Geothermite's bomb rocks. Though he puts up a good fight he is quickly overwhelmed, until an explosion from beyond his own control frees him from a Crabdozer's jaw and sends the rider flying. A rebel cell joins Ben and helps fend off the Crabdozers with improvised weaponry and guerrilla tactics, eventually succeeding and causing the beasts to trample their owners as they flee. One of the rebels approaches Geothermite.

Chief Embel: "Ben 10! The Omnitrix wielder! I do not believe it!"

Sella: "Embel!"

Sella, who had been trying to help rescue those caught between the soldiers and freedom, runs over to them.

Geothermite: "My reputation precedes me yet again."

Chief Embel: "Sella! It's been so long!"

They hug.

Sella: "Embel what are you doing out here in the Equatorials? You're so far from the Foundaries!"

Chief Embel: "And look at you! You went so much further and returned with salvation!"

Sella: "I got away when Apollo wasn't looking! How did you get away?"

Chief Embel: "We fought sister Sella! When the armies left there was no one for the guards to report to! It all fell apart and we grew from the cracks! The People of the Starlit Sky! We will retake this planet for ourselves sister!"

He turns to Ben.

Chief Embel: "But we cannot do this alone, that much I know. His armies have returned. The wind says he did not return with them, but they fight still. They want their planet, their slaves back. We won't let them. Will you help us?"

Geothermite: "I fought Apollo on Earth. I know all about him and his ways. You don't need to ask me twice, but I will need you to tell me where to go if we're going to behead this monster again."

The Starlit Sky directs Ben to the Castle on the Invictus Flats, and send their best to help him storm the place. He attempts to use a new alien, which he soon names MindMatter, to break in through an unguarded entrance but instead finds the alien more useful for flying the Pyronites up the sheer walls so they can break in through the top of the facility.

Inside, Boarswax sneaks off while the bulk of his allies confront Ignis' guards. Ben finds himself confronted by one last guard, a monstrosity of magma and metal. This monster is a Techadon Degradation- made from what was once a Pyronite. But having regained his mind over the centuries, he chooses this moment to exercise his newfound freedoms. The Degradation, nicknamed 4N8S, tells Ben of himself, the horrors he has seen, and what is waiting in the next room for Ben. He only asks to be set free. Ben agrees, and tells Embel to show him great respect when the Starlit soldiers catch up to them. And together they storm the final room.

Ben's allies overthrow the Covenant of Fire, but Ignis runs. Ben pursues her, eventually catching her with MindMatter. She tries to fight back but Ben defeats her. They both know how this should end, and Ignis accepts that Ben is to kill her. MindMatter refuses. He doesn't want anyone else to die. Instead, he sneaks Ignis past the Starlit soldiers and helps her broadcast a surrender order to all of her soldiers. The both of them now being pursued by Embel's troops, who saw the transmission, Ben manages to put Ignis on a shuttle off of Pyros and she gratefully leaves with her life as the Starlit soldiers finally find them only a moment too late to catch her.

Preparing to leave the now freed Pyros, Ben asks Sella if she really wants to stay. She considers for a moment, but decides to help rebuild the world with her brother. Awarded high honours by Embel, the new elected leader of the planet, Ben leaves as an official hero. He talks to Sadie about what had happened down there, and where they should go next. His eyes suddenly widen as he realises this isn't the first planet whose warlord ruler he has killed recently, and they set course for Vilgaxia.

Noteworthy Events

 * Ben liberates Pyros.

Minor Events

 * MindMatter makes his Road Trip debut
 * Ben nicknames SD-1 'Sadie'

Characters

 * Ben Tennyson
 * SD-1
 * Sella
 * Chief Embel
 * People of the Starlit Sky
 * 4N8S

Villains

 * Ignis
 * Covenant of Fire
 * Apollo's Army

Aliens Used

 * Geothermite (takes place of human form for duration of time spent on Pyros)
 * MindMatter (first appearance, x2)
 * Boarswax