"Each of us is a unique strand in the intricate web of life and here to make a contribution."

Deepak Chopra


It was quiet for Ben; too quiet. The teenage boy never experienced such pin dropping silence before. Always followed by excitement and noise Ben figured this would be as close to 'peace and quiet' as he will ever get to. This serenity lasted all but two seconds as the calmness was shattered in an instant.

Ben could see every adult's' face change from confusion, into understanding and finally into a mix of anger, concern, or interest. A wall of sound erupted from the assembly, forcing Ben to twist his head in multiple directions to even have a chance at hearing at what was being said.

"This is absurd! Who in their right mind would send their child to that awful institution!"

"That poor boy. Those monsters will kill him if we don't get him out of there. This is obviously a plea for help!"

"Are you daft? He looks absolutely fine. This young lad is trying to prove that there should be nothing to fear from the monster community."

"How do we even know he's human? This could be some convoluted plot to lower our guard!"

The chorus of yelling continued to rise as everyone wanted to make sure they were heard. Ben was expecting some negative reaction, he even experienced some of that negativity when he was Blitzwolfer; but to see so much of it in front of him shocked Ben. Turning to Bloodgood Ben was surprised to see her so calm. Ben fully understood the mountain Bloodgood needed to get over. The Headmistress had faced this crowd multiple times, each attempt met with the same result. This needed to end, and today would be the start of that end.

Taking a deep breath Ben grabs the microphone and yells, "Hey! Would you all stop for one moment! I didn't come here to start a shouting game."

The yell, fortunately for Ben, caused an audio feedback. The uncomfortable sound rang through the whole room, forcing everyone to shield their ears and stop talking. After the ringing finally stopped the audience's attention was once again focused on Ben.

Ben gave a mild glare to the crowd. "What is with the yelling? You're all adults. You should be having a civilized debate, not a yelling game." Ben softens his glare into a look of disappointment. "I wanted to let you know of my attendance before rumours got out of hand of a human learning at Monster High. I truly believe humans and monsters can coexist. This is my decision and my parents agree with this decision. Some of you will agree and most of you won't. In time I believe I can change those negative opinions into positive ones...That's all I have to say really. Uhm, thanks for your time, I guess."

Ben lets go of the microphone and makes his way off stage as Bloodgood, with a smile on her face, follows behind him. The adults regain their voices and yell questions towards Ben. They are all invain as Ben ignores the loud questions directed towards him. As Ben and Bloodgood exit the auditorium the crowd talks amongst themselves, unsure of what to do now that a human is attending Monster High.

One man looks extremely worried after hearing Ben's small speech; more so than anyone else in the room. He stands up from his seat and makes his way over to the farthest corner in the room. There he meets three other men. One had placed himself right in the corner as the other two took their places on opposite sides. All three looked amused, as if someone just told a funny joke. The man who arrived speaks first.

"Sir! This could be a problem! One of our own has gone to the other side! This... Tennyson boy might tip the tide in their favour! What are we going to do?"

The man on the left brought his index finger in front of his lips, signaling for the scared man to stop talking. "Calm yourself Mike. This does not change anything. We will proceed with our plans as if nothing has changed. Right Charlie?"

Mike, who had started to calm himself with deep breaths, turns to the man on the right.

"Luke is right Mike," the man, now known as Charlie, states. "This kid doesn't know anything. It's impossible for him to ruin our plans."

A low chuckle resonates from the man in the center. "As usual, you three fail to think outside the box." The man said with a small Dutch accent.

A small smirk appeared on Luke's face. "You have an idea sir?"

"I do. This idea might just be the big push we need," the leader begins to explain. "This Tennyson is just a naive, young, boy; untainted by the horror awaiting him at that school. We just need to convince him why attending Monster High is a bad idea. Once he comes back to our side, then everyone else will eventually join him."

"When should we approach the boy?" Charlie asks.

"Not anytime soon. Let the boy have his fun. An opportunity will arise for me to enter Monster High. It will be simple," A sinister smile grows on the man's face. "Who can resist Van Hellscream, the world's leading peacekeeper between humans and monster?"


"That could have been better said but you sent the message loud and clear. I'm proud of you Ben, and thank you for doing this."

Ben and Bloodgood finally got some breathing room after leaving the meeting. They were now walking across the street to the park to find Nightmare and make their way home. Ben had a smirk on his face, his ego slightly boosted from the compliment.

"I'm just glad I had the louder voice in there," Ben states. "Is it always like that?"

"From what I've been told they only shout like that when I'm there," Bloodgood answers in a disappointed tone.

Ben lets out a disappointed breath as rubs the back of his head. "This is going to be harder than I thought. I wish Grandpa Max was here, he always knew how to calm people down and get them to see from a different perspective."

"Speaking of your family, have you found anything on getting back to your own world?" Bloodgood asked.

Ben shakes his head. "No and that really concerns me. I've been here for a week now and I haven't found a single clue or been contacted by anyone. At this point Professor Paradox would greet me to give me some assurance of what is going on. If he hasn't showed up then that means his powers can't take him here."

Bloodgood curiosity rises. "This is the first time you mentioned this Professor. Who is he?"

"Your basic scientist who now lives in the essence of time and can travel to different moments in time," Ben answers casually, as if it was basic knowledge.

Bloodgood stops walking, her mouth hanging open in disbelief. She did not know if Ben was joking or being serious. Ben was deep in thought, not noticing Bloodgood has stopped walking beside him. It was true Ben was used to being on his own but this felt different with him. There was nothing to show why he was here. No immediate danger or any reason why he was staying for so long. There was nothing that told Ben why and that meant something big was going to happen.

A ringtone cuts Ben's train of thought. Turning back, Ben sees Bloodgood catching up to him with an iCoffin (a very popular cellphone brand used amongst the monster community) in her hands. Bloodgood passes the phone to Ben.

"You're going to have to get your own phone eventually Ben," Bloodgood states with a smirk. "It's Frankie. While you talk to her I'll go find Nightmare. I also want to hear more about your friend. Don't think you'll get out of it with just a simple explanation."

As Bloodgood walks away, Ben swipes the screen to answer the call. "Hello?"

"Hey Ben! It's Frankie. Just wanted to ask how that meeting went?"

"Oh you know how it is with adults. You try to tell them something but they just won't listen to ya," Ben answers.

"That's too bad but I know you won't give up after the first attempt," Frankie consoles Ben. "It just takes awhile for adults to learn to listen to us teenagers every once in awhile."

Ben chuckles at Frankie's encouragement. "You got that right. So how did Fearleading go?"

Ben hears Frankie grumble a bit. "So you were right. I shouldn't have said 'nothing interesting will happen.'"

"See. I told you the universe likes to prove us wrong when we go against it. So what happened?" Ben asks. As he talks to Frankie, Ben sees Bloodgood coming back with Nightmare. Ben waves to Bloodgood knowing it was time to head back to the house.

"Well it's a long story but I think it all began when the stitching in my leg came undone…"


"...So after I come back from talking with Clawdeen, Draculaura and Lagoona I enter the screamatorium and every ghoul decides they had enough. They just up and quit the Fearleading team so that they could try out for the school play. Needless to say I didn't because I knew Cleo needed me. She was always being serious with me and everyone except my friends don't because I'm the new kid. Cleo is holding tryouts today for the new squad. Once we get new members, Cleo and I will make Fearleading great again!"

Ben and Frankie were walking to school together. Frankie could not finish her whole story over the phone. They both decided to meet up on the way to school so that she could finish her tale.

"Wow, a lot did happen after I left the school. I still can't get over the fact that you actually hit Cleo with your leg," Ben commented. "So you and Cleo are the only members now?"

Frankie smiled sheepishly. "Well...yes and no."

Frankie saw that Ben was confused so she continued her explanation. "Well you see I got promoted from probation because I stuck with Cleo through this tough time."

"But?"

"But I accidentally flung my arms into her drink and the smoothie went all over her as I put the Fearleading necklace on. I was unpromoted right away." Frankie hung her head in shame as she finished telling Ben what happened.

"Wow. You, Cleo and smoothies do not mix well together," Ben laughed. "Although I think it was unfair of Cleo to do that."

Frankie waved her hand to get Ben to stop. "It's fine. It was the heat of the moment. I know Cleo was just stressed. Once we get some members everything will be just fine."

"You always see the best in other," Ben says with a smile. "Never lose that Frankie. It's one of your best qualities."

A slight red tinge appeared on Frankie's cheeks from Ben's compliment. Frankie could not help but smile shyly. "Thanks Ben!"

Frankie starts to jog in front of Ben. "Now come on you slowpoke. If we go at the pace you're going we'll be late for school."

A small groan escapes Ben's lips. "Do we have to go?"

Frankie giggles at Ben's question. "Of course silly. Going to school is always fun."

"That makes one of us," Ben mutters.


The school bell echoes throughout the school letting the students know it was time for their next class. Ben and Frankie were taking their time leaving the classroom as they had free time for the next hour. Ben was amazed at how fast Cleo worked. When he arrived at school every wall was plastered with posters and banners were set up in every hallway for Fearleading tryouts.

"Everywhere I look there is something related to Fearleading. When does Cleo want to start the tryouts?"

"I think Cleo got permission from Bloodgood to hold tryouts all day," Frankie answers. "I should get going to the screamatorium now that I think about it. Cleo might need my help. I'll catch you later Ben!"

Ben waves goodbye to Frankie and proceeds to scratch his head, unsure of what to do now. Feeling his stomach rumble Ben got his answer right away. It was time for an early lunch. With a quick pace, Ben heads in the direction of his locker to put his books away and to pick up some change for lunch. Not slowing down, Ben cuts the hallway corner but runs head first into Clawdeen.

The impact causes both teenagers to fall down and drop everything they were carrying. Papers and books littered the ground as Ben and Clawdeen groaned in pain. Ben was rubbing his lower back trying to soothe the spot that hurt the most.

While Clawdeen was rubbing her forehead, she was more annoyed than hurt.

"Alright there better be a good reason for why I'm on the floor," Clawdeen says with a growl. "If I'm late because of- oh! Ben. You were the one that crashed into me?"

Ben stood up while extending a hand to Clawdeen to help her up. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was gonna go for an early lunch and wanted to get there fast. As you felt for yourself that didn't go too well. My stomach sometimes is usually ahead of my mind when it's hungry."

Clawdeen lets out a small laugh. "You're screeching to the choir Ben. Nothing can stop my brothers and sisters, myself included, when it's steak night at home."

"Still I should have taken my time." Ben dropped down onto his knee and began to gather Clawdeen's papers. "The least I could do is help gather your stuff."

"Thanks Ben. Here, two sets of hands are better than one," Clawdeen says as she goes on both of her knees.

Ben appreciated the gesture as he continued the task at hand. The more pages he picked up the more he noticed that every page had a drawing; more specifically, designs. Each one was colourful and unique. Ben was amazed with the sketches even if he was not that big on fashion. He knew talent when he saw it.

"Hey these designs are pretty good. You into fashion?"

Clawdeen's ears perked up at the big compliment. "Yeah! It's been a passion of mine since I can remember. I've always wanted to create killer outfits for my ghoulfriends. I'm hoping to extend this hobby into something of a career."

BBRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGG!

Ben and Clawdeen looked up at the school speaker, their conversation paused due to the bell.

"That was the bell for the start of this period, right?" Clawdeen asks.

Ben nods his head. "Yes it was was."

"Fangtastic." The sarcasm was thick as Clawdeen's ears drooped. "I'm late for class."

Ben rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Sorry. It's my fault that you're late."

Clawdeen waved off the apology. "It's alright Ben. I was gonna be late anyway. We'll have to finish our conversation some other time."

"How about after school? We can hang out, talk and you can show me around the maul that you offered yesterday," Ben suggested.

"That's perfect for me," Clawdeen accepts with a smile. "I'll see if any of the other ghouls would like to come."

"Awesome. I'll see you later Clawdeen. Don't want to keep you waiting for too long."

"Oh bats!" Clawdeen runs off in a hurry but quickly waves goodbye to Ben as she goes around another corner.

Ben chuckles to himself but stops as he feels his stomach growl once again.

"And now I won't keep you unsatisfied any longer. I wonder if I can convince one of the lunch ladies to put chili fries onto the menu?"


"I can't believe you accepted!"

"What can I say? Heath finally wore me down."

Ben was almost done school for the day when he came upon Frankie and Draculaura by his locker. Draculaura seemed unhappy while Frankie seemed to be in a state of shock.

"Hey girls. What did Heath wear you down too?"

"He kept asking me to the Spring Pep Rally Dance," Draculaura answered. "I finally gave in and said yes."

Ben's eyes slightly widen at the statement. "No way…"

Draculaura's eyes droop down. "I'm not proud of it."

"Well who would you rather go with?" Ben asks.

The young vampire gave the question some thought. "I don't know...Someone special."

At that exact moment something miraculous happened. A classroom door opened up right behind Draculaura, allowing Ben and Frankie to watch the following events unfold. Out of the classroom came a blinding light. One figure stood out as he blocked the light that was blinding to the teen hero and teen monster.

The figure was Clawd Wolf.

Ben had a few classes with the werewolf but never got the chance to know more about him. Being well endowed in athletic ability, Clawd was very tall and physically fit. He was not the tallest monster in school but he was just under the full height of Manny taur. His fur was light brown but his hair was a darker shade of brown. Clawd's hair was kept in a respectable style as it was unique for him but did not get in the way of his activities. It formed around his head, making its way down the side, forming sideburns. Clawd's eyes were a golden yellow and matched the colour of the small hoop earring that was on his left ear. He wore the Monster High sports jacket over a white button up shirt. Just like Heath he put his own design at the cuff of the sleeves; three red claw marks circled each cuff. Clawd wore dark grey jeans that was held up by a belt with a white moon belt buckle. On his feet were running shoes specifically designed for him to fit firm but comfortably. Clawd Wolf was also the bigger brother to Clawdeen Wolf.

Ben and Frankie stared wide eyed as Clawd moved away from the light. It turns out that the light actually came from some monsters who worked in the drama club. It just so happened that a moving stage light turned on just as Clawd opened the door.

As Clawd continues his movement, Draculaura continues to describe her perfect date.

"Someone kind."

Clawd helps a fellow student get books down from their locker. However as soon as the monster gets their items they proceed to trip and everything gets thrown into the air.

"Athletic."

Clawd does not blink and effortlessly catches everything in the palm of his hands. The monster that trips is able to get up on their own and Clawd graciously hands their items back to them once again. At this point Clawd makes his way in the direction of Ben, Frankie, and Draculaura.

"Someone like…" Draculaura pauses her speech as she finally notices Clawd approach them.

"Hey, how's it going." Clawd and Draculaura give each other a couple of friendly fist bumps.

"Hey Clawd," Draculaura replies as Clawd walks away. "Someone like…"

"Clawd!"

Frankie could not hold her excitement in. Sparks were flying from her bolts as she announced Clawd's name. She was beyond happy at thinking what a cute couple the vampire and werewolf would be. Ben could not blame Frankie for being excited. He just witnessed Clawd portray every trait Draculaura wanted; and it was spot on.

"Clawd?" Draculaura looks in the direction of where the teen wolf went. Confusion was apparent on Draculaura's face but then it changed into shock. "No! Get real! He's Clawdeen's brother! Ben tell Frankie she's crazy for thinking that."

"Hey I'm actually going to go with Frankie on this one. Although I won't deny that she can be crazy sometimes." Ben just smirked as Frankie playfully stuck her tongue out at him. "Take it from a guy who's experienced this from a friend perspective first hand, usually the dating your friend's sibling turns out to be a good thing."

"You have a sibling?" Draculaura asks.

Ben shakes his head. "Nope, only child, but I have a similar circumstance. My best friend from back home is dating my cousin. It was weird at first but I came to accept it and the three of us became closer as a family."

"Oh you must be talking about your cousin Gwen!" Frankie was already aware of who Gwen Tennyson was from Ben's stories.

"It might have worked out in the end for you Ben but it might not be the same with me. I've known Clawd since before he was house broken," Draculaura countered.

"Okay I'll give you that point," Ben conceded.

"But you like him, right?" Frankie asks.

"I don't not like him..." Draculaura was giving it more thought but frowned when she began to imagine Clawd and herself together. "But there is a lot to deal with right now! We're friends and that's how he'll always see me."

Once again, Frankie's bolts sparked with electricity. "Not if you join the Fearleading squad."

"Say what!" Ben exclaimed. "Hold on. Time out. What happened to the tryouts?"

"No one else showed up but me," Frankie explained. "Cleo was devastated."

'I'll bet she was,' Ben thought to himself.

"But I think that really mellowed out Cleo," Frankie continued with her explanation. "She realized that she couldn't rule Fearleading Squad with an iron fist. I'm telling you guys Cleo has changed. If you join Draculaura, Clawd will see you as...part of the team!"

Ben was skeptical that Cleo changed that easily. He was betting that Cleo needed a little more time.

Draculaura was not convinced just yet about joining the Fearleading Squad. "You are sure Cleo has changed?"

"Absolutely!"

"...Okay I'm in!" Draculaura was giddy with excitement.

"So you got Draculaura to join. How many other monsters have you recruited?" Ben wondered.

"Including Draculaura? Just one." Frankie was still happy that she at least convinced one monster to join, especially considering it was one of her ghoulfriends.

"So just you, Cleo, and Draculaura. Do you realize how ridiculous that will look?" Ben questioned.

"Not a problem. We just need one more member and it will be fine," Frankie stated.

Ben crossed his arms in disbelief. "Who else do you think will join the squad? Clawdeen?"


"And from the face you are making Frankie got to you, huh?" Ben asked in a neutral tone. He was waiting outside the school gates after school for Clawdeen.

Clawdeen was not in a particularly happy mood. Turns out that Frankie was thinking about asking Clawdeen to join the squad. At first Clawdeen just laughed at even thinking about helping Cleo. However Frankie played her ultimate card: social suicide. Clawdeen knew how much Frankie wanted to fit in. Without a proper team, the Fearleading team would be the laughing stock of the school.

"Yeah. I couldn't help it. As a werewolf, I'm loyal to my pack and friends. It's my very nature to always help my friends when they need me. So I broke down and said yes."

"At least you'll be with friends," Ben tried to reassure Clawdeen's decision.

Clawdeen let out a soft sigh. "I just hope Frankie is right about Cleo. Enough about Fearleading, let's get going."

Adjusting his backpack into a comfortable position, Ben nods his head and starts to follow Clawdeen to the maul. Ben had yet to go to the local monster maul in New Salem. He bought all of his necessities on the human side last week. He was interested to see what similarities and differences the monster side had.

Ben decided to start off a different topic for the conversation to continue. "So is it just the two of us going to the maul?"

"Yeah just the two of us, for now anyway," Clawdeen answered. "I asked Draculaura, Frankie and Lagoona to see if they would like to come but they all said they couldn't."

"How come?"

"Frankie needed to stay at school to tell Cleo about the new members. Draculaura said she needed to search her closet for a new look. Something about...trying to impress someone. And Lagoona has practice," Clawdeen explained.

Ben perked up hearing Lagoona having practice. "Oh, she made the swimming team? That's awesome!"

Clawdeen had a smug look on her face, telling Ben that she knew something that he did not. "She didn't just make the swim team, Lagoona is their new captain."

Ben went wide eyed. "I know Lagoona told me she was a good swimmer but I had no idea she was that good. How did she become captain?"

"Well Lagoona made the team easily enough," Clawdeen started off. "It just so happened that the previous captain had an accident during practice. The giant squid wanted to join practice and have fun"

"Yikes. Is the previous captain okay?"

"Oh he'll be fine." Clawdeen waved off Ben's worry. "He's in a full body cast but he'll make a full recovery. He appointed Lagoona captain because of her skills and her leadership traits."

"Well congrats to Lagoona," Ben states with a smile.

"We might celebrate with her later, but for now…" Clawdeen looks away from Ben and points ahead. "We have arrived at our destination."

Ben follows the direction Clawdeen is pointing and sees that the werewolf is right. The shopping center was massive. The whole building was three stories high and seemed to go at least a mile wide. The front entrance had a large stone archway with 'New Salem Maul' cut in steel. Monsters of every shape and size were making their way in and out of the building.

Ben let out a low whistle. "This place is impressive."

"Isn't it. It's my home away from home. Don't worry Ben, I'm gonna show you all the best hangouts."

For the next hour Clawdeen was the perfect tour guide. The teen werewolf did not miss a single detail about every store they walked by. Clawdeen explained which stores were important to remember as they would either be 'totally clawsome' or have 'fangtastic' deals on the go. It seem Clawdeen knew what she was talking about as Ben did not have any questions. Ben was interested in the iCoffin store; Bloodgood was right about needing to get one. Clawdeen explained which models were killer in both design and functionality. After some browsing Clawdeen states that there is one more section left in the maul.

"What's the final section Clawdeen?" Ben asks.

"It's the resting haven for any teenager that comes to the maul; the food court!"

"Excellent! I could go for some food right now."

"We'll be stopping at a personal favourite for us ghouls. How do you feel about a cafe?"

Ben shrugged his shoulders. "Depends."

Clawdeen had a toothy grin. "Well don't worry, this place has the best smoothies in the whole maul."

Ben became starry eyed at Clawdeens proclamation. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Ben runs off as Clawdeen laughs at him to slow down. As the two make their way to the food court a figure walks by them, making sure that they don't show their face to the teens. Taking a quick glance behind to see if they were now at a safe distance the being heads towards the pet store. They stop just outside the store, looking at all the animals that were being taken care of by the workers. A sly smile appears on the figure's face as they head inside the store.


"Oh sweet sumo it has been far too long since I've had a smoothie!" Ben blissfully states as he puts his drink down.

As promised Clawdeen had taken Ben to her favourite cafe. The Coffin Bean was a popular hangout for any teens at Monster High. Some would even get a part time job as a scarista. Ben recognized a few students as they waited in line. Ben had to agree with Clawdeen that the Booberry smoothie he had order was one of the best smoothies he has had in his life. It was not like Mr. Smoothy but it was a close second. Clawdeen and Ben were sitting at one of the table that the cafe provided as they enjoyed what they ordered.

Clawdeen took a sip of her coffinccino before acknowledging Ben's statement. "I knew you would love this smoothie."

"So how did you know I liked smoothies so much?"

"Cause of this little girl!" Clawdeen states with pride as she point to her nose.

Confusion was apparent on Ben's face. "Your nose?"

"Oh yeah. This baby can let me know almost anything about a monster," Clawdeen explained. "For example Draculaura always has the scent of tomato juice on her. It's her favourite drink."

Ben nodded his head understanding. "I see. So what can you smell off me?"

Clawdeen closed her eyes to concentrate as she took a couple of sniffs. "Hhhhmmm...Well I can smell a mixture of fruits that have been in contact with ice...there is also salt, grease, melted cheese, ground beef, chili sauce and….grass?"

Ben smiled at the good description of his smell. "That would be because of my love of chili fries. Best meal anyone can ask for. The smell of grass is from my days as a soccer player."

"You play soccer?"

"Yeah, back home I was a local star," Ben boasted. "I was the keeper for the Bellwood Bruisers. Team voted me MVP for protecting our net in the finals."

Clawdeen rolled her eyes with a smile. "Sounding a bit like Heath I see."

"Hey everyone deserves to act prideful when they earn it. Heath however hasn't earned it yet which is why he's annoying."

"You've got a point there."

"I have to say this has been a great day Clawdeen," Ben states. "Thanks for showing me around."

"It's all good. I had fun showing you around. It was refreshing to show this place to someone new. Now just come back a couple more time and you'll have this place memorized no problem."

"I do need to come back for a new phone. I just hope that- did my drink just move?

Clawdeen has a perplexed expression as she looks down at Ben's smoothie. At first she thought that Ben was seeing things but then the cup did move. Both teens looked at each other then back at the cup. The cup only moved slightly at first but soon became bigger as the time between the motion started to decrease. As soon as the cup fell off the table Clawdeen and Ben felt the vibration through the floor and the screaming coming from outside the cafe.

"Is that normal for this maul?"

Clawdeen shook her head. "No it isn't."

Ben and Clawdeen rushed out of the Coffin Bean and were met with monsters running towards the exit. They both look in the opposite direction and see what is causing the problem. To say they were shocked would be an understatement.

"No way…"

"It can't be."

Clawdeen's and Ben's words were lost in the air as screeches and clicks punctured the air. The giant insect looked around, as if it was trying to determine where it was as it moved. As it continued its trek, the monster would destroy the upper walkways and anything else in its path as citizens screamed in terror. Ben was flabbergasted that this giant creature had appeared here. Ben was silent, unsure of what to do with so many monsters around him. Clawdeen was acting the exact opposite of Ben.

"Isn't that the giant insect from that video?! How the heck did it get in here?!"

"I don't know, but we got to make our way out of here!" Ben urged. Ben grabbed Clawdeen's hand and started to run with the crowd.

Ben was thinking as fast as he could. He needed to find a place to transform so that he could protect everyone in the vicinity. He noticed an opportunity when a large crowd came down from a stairwell. Ben steered into the crowd on purpose as Clawdeen kept her eyes on the insect. Soon Clawdeen and Ben were being shoved around as they were beginning to lose their grip. Ben was hoping for this as it would provide the perfect reason for getting lost. One big push made Clawdeen slip out of Ben's grasp.

"Ben!"

"Clawdeen!'

With Clawdeen out of his site Ben makes his way to the out of the crowd. The maul continues to shake with each step from the giant creature. Ben knows he needs to take it out now or else the whole building will crumble to the ground. The young hero sees a side hallway where no one is coming out from. Ben rushes towards it as he activates the omnitrix to select an alien. A hologram of an ape appears as Ben hides from any prying eyes. Ben chooses the alien and slaps the omnitrix down to start the transformation.

Ben hunches over as his arms elongate until they touch the ground and swell up. His whole body becomes more rectangular and becomes coated in what seems to be a plastic substance. A mixture of red, blue and yellow with black lines separating each colour appear over the plastic coating. Bumps appear at different points around the body, giving it the appearance of a building block. Ben's jaw juts out as his eyes turn a full emerald green. The symbol of the omnitrix is placed in the center of the chest.

"BLOXX!"

Bloxx stretches out his body and retracts it to cover more ground and get back to the giant insectoid faster. The maul has been damaged more as Bloxx follows the destruction. Bloxx turns a corner and sees the monster still making it's way through the maul. Landing just behind it Bloxx takes some debris and transforms into a catapult and flings it at the large creature. The shot makes a direct hit and makes the insect stumble. It turns around to see it's attacker, roaring in anger.

Bloxx returns to his original form as he smirks. "Come on big guy. I took you out before and I can do it again."

A large cannon appears on Bloxx's back, dubbed the Bloxx-lobber, and begins to shoot projectiles. Bloxx proceeds to run around the monster as he continues to fire, the shots exploding on contact. The creature roars in pain, taking a swipe at Bloxx. To avoid getting hit the segmentasapien stretches to the upper level of the maul. The swipe barely misses as Bloxx escapes. Bloxx swings from broken beams and rails as he continues to circle his foe. The insect continues to get angrier and angrier, trying to get a single hit at the ape. Bloxx could not believe how well this was going for him. No civilians were nearby so he could focus on taking the enemy down. He was also more agile in this environment and even if he did get hit, Bloxx would be able to regenerate. Nothing could go wrong.

"Oh great. Why did I have to think about that now?" Ben reprimanded himself.

"Ben! Ben! Shout if you're okay!"

Bloxx follows the direction of the yelling and sees Clawdeen. His eyes widen in surprise, wondering why she was so far away from a safe spot. Bloxx was not the only one to notice the yelling. Changing its focus off of Bloxx the giant arthropod looks down at Clawdeen. It takes a giant intake of air and spits out the ball of goo.

"NO!"

Acting on instinct, Bloxx moves to intercept the goo. He moves as fast as he could but it seems Bloxx is gonna cut it close. Bloxx's worry increases as the goo gets closer to Clawdeen. Clawdeen hears the projectile heading towards her and freezes as she sees the giant insect. Clawdeen closes her eyes and waits for the inevitable impact, yet...it never came.

"Yuck. Different glob, same feeling."

Clawdeen opens her eyes and sees the segmentasapien stuck in the middle of a large web. Just behind the webbing was a pile of blocks in the shape of a body without a head. Bloxx had detached his head from the body while shooting it towards Clawdeen. He reformed his body in midair just as he was struck. Upon impact, the glob expanded a created a spider web to keep Bloxx in place.

"Hey, are you okay?" Bloxx asks.

Clawdeen nervously nods her head. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. W-what are you?"

"The name is Bloxx. I'm just your friendly neighbourhood alien."

"Alien? How can you be an-"

A loud roar interrupts Clawdeen as the large insect starts to charge towards them.

Bloxx's eyes widen. "Uh-oh! Sorry but there will be time for questions after we get out of danger. Now hold on!"

Bloxx once again detaches from his body, easily escaping from the sticky web. His whole body forms as he grabs Clawdeen and places her inside him as he changes into a semidome. Inside Clawdeen is screaming her head off. Everything was happening too quickly for her to grasp what was going on. All she wanted was a nice relaxing evening with a new friend. The worst part for her was that she had no idea where Ben had gone off too. It became weirder for her when the head of the so called alien appeared in the dome.

"Okay you'll be safe in here for a bit but you need to get away as fast as possible. When I give the signal you start running, okay?"

"I don't even know what's going anymore!" Clawdeen screeched. "Why should I even listen to you?"

"...You were looking for your friend before. Ben, right?"

Clawdeen raises her eyebrow in interest. "...I was. What's that got to do with what's happening right now?"

"I'm just letting you know he's safe," Bloxx stated, trying to reassure Clawdeen. "I found him before I came to fight ugly. He was concerned about you. Told him I would try and find you but as you just saw the fighting came first."

"Ben's okay?" Clawdeen's voice was high. She was hoping that this was not a lie.

"He is. Now like I said before-"

THWOMP!

"OW!" Bloxx was starting to panic. "Okay we have got to make this quick! The big man upstairs is slowly breaking through!"

Clawdeen nodded her head to say she was ready. Bloxx instructed the teen wolf on which way to face so that when he did open up she would be sprinting away. Clawdeen closed her eyes to prepare herself. She took a deep breath through her nose before her eyes shot open in shock.

"Okay on the count of three. One...two...three!"

Clawdeen was startled out of her stupor by Bloxx yelling. She sprints with all of her might, not daring to look back. Only when she goes around the corner does she look to see what was happening. The alien had getting back into the fight, annoying the giant insect so that it would not focus on Clawdeen. As the teen wolf gets out of eyesight, she wonders if this has all just been a bad dream.

Bloxx was satisfied that Clawdeen was now safe, but the enemy in front of him was annoying. The damage that he had inflicted on the creature seem to be minimal. The hard exoskeleton was too good of a defense and it had learned its lesson from the last fight as it dodged any attack aimed at the joints. Bloxx needed to find a weakness or else this fight will not end soon.

The giant arthropod tries to shoot out multiple gobs of goo in hope of hitting Bloxx or at least setting up traps. That was when Bloxx had an idea. The only spot that the large incest did not have protected. Bloxx only had one chance to get this right. His chance came when the creature started to take a deep breath. Bloxx stretches so that he goes right across the mouth. He sets up the Bloxx-lobber once more. The large insect's eyes widen in fear as it knows what Bloxx wants to do. It tries to close its mouth.

BAM!

The projectile makes it inside the mouth, forcing the arthropod to swallow. As Bloxx lands, a loud rumble can be heard from the stomach shortly followed by a boom. The creature roars in pain as black smokes escapes it's mouth. The smoke it too much as it envelops the insect. Bloxx is forced to step back waiting to see if his enemy will finally be subdued. The smoke finally disappears, only to leave Bloxx surprised.

The creature was gone.

"What?! How is that possible?"

Bloxx tried to have a look around but a familiar beeping grabs his attention. The omnitrix was about to time out. WIth no time to spare Bloxx notices an opening in the skylight that was knocked out during the destruction. He reaches for the edge and climbs out onto the roof. Bloxx sprints to the edge and drops down onto the grass just as he transforms back into Ben.

Ben lets out a breath of relief. "Well at least it's gone. Now I just need to find Clawdeen to show that I'm fine."

After a quick jog around the building, Ben sees some lights flashing and a siren going off. It seems that the police have finally arrived. They were about to rope off the area so while no one was looking, Ben snuck his way into the crowd of worried civilians. Ben calls out for Clawdeen, hoping she made it out after he saved her. Ben feels a tap on the shoulder and turns to see Clawdeen, a worried expression on her face.

"Clawdeen!"

"Ben…"

"I'm glad you're safe. I was worried after we got separated but I see you made it out just fine."

"...Yeah I made it out just fine," Clawdeen states as her frown changes into a smile. "What about you? What happened after we got separated?"

Ben just shrugged his shoulder. If Clawdeen was not going to bring up her experience then he had no reason to pretend to have been rescued. "I followed the crowd mostly. I'm just hoping no one got hurt."

Ben takes a look around to see if anyone had gotten injured. While doing so Ben was looking away from Clawdeen. Her kind expression changes in an instant to that of curiosity and mild annoyance. Clawdeen's eyes narrow in suspicion of Ben. She can tell that Ben was lying. The teen boy did not follow crowd. Clawdeen was also starting to not believe the gorilla alien about how it rescued Ben. There was only one thing she could trust; her nose. Clawdeen's nose was only telling her one thing.

Bloxx had smelt like smoothies.


Hello once again everyone for this chapter of Clawsome Travels!

So I have several reasons why this took awhile. The first reasons was I got a full time job. I work over 35 hours a week while I balance school so this takes away the majority of my time. The good news with that is I only have one more year left before I am done and take a breather from school. The second reason is the renewed version of Monster High coming out. This left me in a pickle on decisions. Now I won't be like "I'm gonna re-do the whole series!' That won't happen. I need to decide if I should incorporate some character traits of the ghouls from the new series into the old one. For example Lagoona is all about being the best at sports while the old Lagoona was contempt at being just the swim captain.

So here is my question for you guys. Should I add some of the characters and traits or should I just keep everything as it is? Let me know in a review.

To those who have pm me I will get back to you in the next day or so. I'm sorry for not replying but I needed a break from fanfiction. I was putting too much focus on it and needed to focus on life.

Now as an apology for this taking long to come out here are some answers to questions you guys have been asking.

This is Ben after everything happened in Omniverse. I liked the series so I decided to start from after that point. My Ben is a mixture of Omniverse and Alien Force. He has a fun side to him but knows when to be serious.

No Ben will not have Skurd with him. Like I said this is after Omniverse so Skurd is gone. I'm sorry to everyone who liked him.

Everyone has been taking a guess at only one of the figures from the previous chapters. I was hoping for guess on both. So to get the guessing started I will provide a prize. The first person to guess correctly who those two were through a pm will get a message back from me. In that message will be a scene that I plan on writing about for this story. As a warning this scene will be so incredibly awesome that I'm surprised Man of Action did not try and do this during the Ben 10 series.

That's it for now. Until next chapter,

Morantis