A collaboration between guestsurprise and myself! Enjoy!
Ben had just arrived to the Tickle Castle and he was just in time. King Lauhin and Queen Bliss were discussing some strange events that were happening in the realm.
"I know that Damus and Laviatha are behind this," Lauhin said, now looking out the window.
"I agree my dear. We will take care of this personally," Bliss said, now seeing Ben arrive. She turned and gave him a warm smile. "Benjamin. So good of you to come."
"It's my pleasure your highness," Ben said, now bowing. Lauhin smirked and gently patted Ben on his back.
"Come now…enough formalities young one. I believe there has been someone who has awaited your arrival for some time," Lauhin grinned.
"Really? Who?" Ben asked.
But before Ben could ask anymore, Scruffy the beast ran out and pounced on Ben and made him laugh. The King and Queen only chuckled and watched the cute sight as the two of them began to rough house.
"Now not too rough now," Bliss said, with a slightly motherly tone.
"Oh come now my love, they are only playing," Lauhin said, now gently nudging her.
"But Lauhin they may harm themselves," Bliss said in a royal pout.
"Now now…let them have some fun my dear. If it gets too out of hand, I will step in," he said.
Bliss nodded with a small smile and then gave her husband a kiss on the cheek. They then watched as Ben and Scruffy ran outside to enjoy the weather.
But the moment they went outside, there was a crack of thunder and lightning. He looked at the sky and he felt somewhat unnerved by the dark clouds that were forming.
"Dark clouds? In this realm?" Ben said outloud. "This isn't normal."
Scruffy could sense that Ben was nervous and gently nudged him. Ben gently petted his head but then gasped as the dark clouds produced rain!
"C'mon boy! Follow me!" Ben said, now running into the forest. He knew they needed to find shelter since they wandered away from the castle.
Once they entered the forest, they found a hollow tree and hide in there to protect themselves from the rain. It was just big enough for both of them to fit. As they entered, Ben curled his legs to his chest. There was something about this rain that was even creepier than normal rain. The sky was turning black and the rain felt like small pieces of hail rather than simple rain.
"Scruffy this is bad…" Ben thought, now staring harder at the rain.
The beast knew Ben was afraid and tried to lick him on his face to cheer him up. Ben began to giggle and he tried to move the large beast off of him!
"I'm ok boy…this storm is just creepy," Ben whispered. But at that moment, they heard cackling and creepy calling.
"Beeeen. Ben Tennyson," it called.
Scruffy immediately began growling and bearing his teeth. He knew that there was something wrong.
"What's the matter boy?" Ben asked.
But Scruffy kept growling and soon he began snarling even more. Ben's eyes adjusted as two terrible Nitians came into the clear and began smirking evilly at him.
"Well there he is," they smirked.
"Get away from me!" Ben yelled.
"Oh you have no choice boy. You're coming with us," one of them grinned happily.
"Boy?! I'm not a boy!" Ben growled, now standing and clenching his fist.
But at that moment, both of the Nitians ran at him and began trying to grab him! They were trying to kidnap him!
"HELP! GET OFF ME!" Ben snapped, now kicking one in the face and trying to throw off the other one. But soon he felt his hands tied behind his back and he was gagged. "MMMMMMMMMMM!"
Scruffy ran to the rescue and began snapping and fighting the Nitians with all his might! But he needed help because he was outnumbered.
"MUFFY! MELP ME!" Ben pleaded, now trying to break through his bonds, but he was trapped.
"We've got him! Get him to Damus!" one of them laughed.
But at that moment, a ghostly fog appeared around them and they froze. They had never had a mist surround them like this.
"What is this?" one of them said.
"I don't know. It doesn't feel right," the second Nitian answered.
"NITIANS! GET OUT OF MY TERRITORY!" A voice boomed. Both of them turned and saw a light blue figure appear! It was none other than Gallo, the former captain of Lauhin's army. He was still trapped in spirit form because they still were unable to locate the shield that had him trapped inside it.
"It's the ghost! It's Gallo!" A Nitian panicked.
"Get the kid and get him out of here!" The other Nitian said.
"STOP! Put Ben down! NOW!" Gallo commanded, now flying at them and smacking them with his tail. He knew that if he let them get away with Ben, they would put him through torture!
Meanwhile, Ben squirmed as Scruffy tried to get him loose. But he was also in shock! Who was this ghostly figure that was fighting the Nitians?! But the Nitians weren't giving up so easily! They wanted Ben for themselves and did not want to disappoint their Nitian King and Queen!
Scruffy managed to free the boy at last. He grabbed Ben's shirt with his teeth and took off running!
Everything was a blur to Ben. His mind kept tracing back to the ghost. Can Tickle monsters even become ghosts?! He did NOT want to see that ghost again!
Scruffy made it to the Tickle Castle. He ran through the open doors and retreated all the way down to the dungeon.
Once Scruffy released him, Ben fell to the floor, completely shaken. Scruffy whimpered sympathetically and rubbed against Ben, hoping to calm him down.
Ben swallowed before hugging the friendly beast. "Scruffy, you saved my life!" he said out of gratitude. "I gotta go home before anything else happens!"
"Wait!"
Ben froze from that sudden voice. He looked up and saw the ghost from before! Ben let out a panicked scream and started to run away.
"Scruffy! Stop him!" Gallo ordered.
Scruffy obeyed without hesitation. He grabbed Ben with his tails and pinned him down. "GAAAH! SCRUFFY! NO!" Ben screamed again when the ghost approached him. "AAAAAH! HELP! SOMEBODY HELP ME!"
"Do not fear me, Ben Tennyson. I mean you no harm." said Gallo. "I am Gallo."
"Yeah, right! You're a g-g-g-ghost!" Bej snapped in terror. "The Nitians probably sent you to scare me half to death!"
Gallo frowned. "If that's the case, then why did I help save you from them?"
Ben blinked. "I...I don't know! But I do know that I'm n-not scared of you! I'm not!"
With a look of disbelief, Gallo reached out and gently brushed away Ben's hair from his face.
"AAAAH!" Ben shrieked. "A G-G-GHOST JUST TOUCHED ME!" He tried to break free in a panic. It was clear he was very scared.
Gallo sighed. "Soften him up for me. Will you, Scruffy?"
Scruffy nodded and wriggled two of his tails underneath Ben's shirt.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! SCRUFFY! QUIT IT!" Ben squealed. "DON'T TICKLE!"
"My, you're quite ticklish, aren't you?" Gallo said, smiling.
Ben tried to close his mouth to stop the laughter. "Heeheehee! I'm n-n-not that ticklish! Hehehehehehe!"
Gallo got closer to the ticklish boy. "I wonder where your most ticklish spot is?" he mused.
Scruffy poked a claw into Ben's armpit. Ben sputtered and tried to keep it together.
"Excellent. Thank you, Scruffy." Gallo stuck his ghostly hands into Ben's underarms.
"AH! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Ben was reduced to ticklish laughter. "WHY DOES THAT TICKLE SO MUCH?!"
"Being a ghost, I can go right through the skin and tickle your ticklish core." said Gallo as he tickled. "So, tickle, tickle, tickle!"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! S-S-STOP IT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Then promise you won't be scared of me?" said Gallo.
"YES! YES! YES!" Ben screamed. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! JUST STOP!"
Gallo stopped and let the boy recover. Luckily, Scruffy used his healing powers to help Ben feel better.
"Oh, man." Ben sighed, his strength restored. "So...you're really a ghost? I didn't think Tickle Monsters could become ghosts. I thought you guys were practically invincible."
"Well, members of the royal family do not perish. Non royal members can perish in a way. During the war, the Nitians destroyed my body and imprisoned it in a shield. So here I am as a feared phantom!"
Ben gulped. "That's...pretty heavy. Almost as heavy as a g-ghost telling me a ghost story...he chuckled nervously.
"Are you still scared of me?" Gallo wiggled his fingers at Ben.
"EEK!" Ben hid behind Scruffy. "No! Not at all!" He looked rather sheepish. "To be honest, I'm more terrified of being tickled than ghosts!"
"You don't say?" said Gallo.
"Yeah, it's probably my biggest weakness. And superheroes aren't suppose to have weaknesses." Ben said.
Gallo sat beside the boy. "There's nothing wrong with that. Just accept and be conscious of your weaknesses. You can't turn a weakness into a strength if you're busy denying the weakness exists."
Ben nodded. "You're right. Thanks, Gallo."
Scruffy wrapped his tails around Ben as he let the boy rest against his body. Ben chuckled. "I think Scruffy wants to play Snuggle time."
Gallo let out a laugh. "Snuggle time?"
"Yeah, apparently, it's his favorite game."
The Tickle Beast purred as his tails tickled Ben's ears and under his chin. Ben giggled as Scruffy playfully tickled him. Then Scruffy stopped and snuggled against Ben.
Ben didn't mind playing Snuggle time. He liked the attention. Soon, Ben let out a yawn and fell asleep against Scruffy's soft, cozy fur.
Gallo smiled to himself as he quietly left the dungeon. "That Tennyson boy...there truly is something special about him." he said to himself. "All the more reason to protect him from the Nitians..."
Whatever the Nitians wanted to do with Ben, it could mean a terrible threat to the realm. And Gallo knew very well that he will never allow that to happen.