Hey guys, it is the beginning of the end. The first arc is coming to a close. I've been looking forward to writing this for a while and I hope you enjoy part one of the Enforcer arc.
If you can imagine it, I think John Noble has the best voice for the character of Khyber's boss/employer who appeared in the last two chapters.
Anyway, enjoy the show.
"..." Speech
'...' Quote
'Hi' Thought
"Learn your place!" Inner Moka through Rosario
Feedback=Christian
Positive Feedback=Zack
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC, everything else belongs to their own creators.
Alien Watch in a Monster School
Flames of Destruction
"Christian Hawke, a human?" Kuyo remarked in disbelief at Zack's claim. "I don't believe it. No filthy human should ever be able to pass through the great barrier undetected."
"Well this one did," Zack stated, crossing his arms in boredom. "He has been here for months and you have been absolutely clueless." A small, smug smirk appeared on his face. "Kind of stings, doesn't it?" Kuyo snarled, he did not like being talked down to.
"How can Hawke be human?" Keito questioned. "We have had numerous reports of him transforming into various different monsters."
"But out of those monsters, did anyone actually recognise what species they belonged to?"
Keito actually took a moment to think about the question before answering. "Only the werewolf form he turned into," she finally answered. "However, it didn't have a werewolf's natural abilities."
"Christian is able to turn into those creatures thanks to the thing on his wrist," Zack reported. "He claims that it is a limiter and if it is removed his various forms will overload and kill him instantly. However, I believe he's lying. That device, he called it the Omnitrix, is what enables him to transform. Remove it and you shall see through his deception."
"And how, may I ask, did you come to acquire the device on the back of your hand?" Kuyo pointed to what Zack had dubbed the Ultramatrix. "It appears very much like this acclaimed device Hawke possesses.
"Sorry," Zack replied, a rebellious expression on his face. "Trade secret."
Kuyo growled, hating the fact that the teen thought he could defy him. Unfortunately, he knew Zack was powerful and he needed him on his side. "Very well, keep your secret. I'm sure I'll know soon enough."
"So, how long is it until I get my own black coat?" Zack asked. "Anything is better than the lame school uniform."
"I…Appreciate the information you have supplied us," Kuyo started, a smirk on his face. "However, as I said before, you have already declined our offer. The information you've supplied us is useful, however, all you did was the duty that every student should uphold. If you wish to join us now, prove to us your abilities in combat."
Zack eyes narrowed at how Kuyo had changed his original requirements for entry. However, if all he needed to do was beat someone in fight, this would be over quickly. "Fine then, but I get to choose my opponent."
"That is the common tradition," Kuyo stated. "Please, take some time to walk around and choose your opponent."
"I don't need to," Zack stated. "I choose her." He pointed directly at Keito.
"Me?" Keito asked, slightly surprised.
"Yeah, I still owe you payback for throwing me off that bloody roof!" Zack stated, raising his voice towards the end.
Kuyo thought about it before saying, "If Keito is who you wish to challenge then she will be your opponent."
"Good, I've been looking forward to this," Zack stated, pounding his fists together.
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Zack and Keito stood at two ends of a square arena located in the back of the Security Committees shrine. Around them were the members of the committee, every single one of them wanting to see the power of their possible new recruit. They knew Keito was one of the most powerful and crafty enforcers, only a fool would challenge her.
Kuyo watched with hawk-like eyes trained on Zack. The blonde teen wanted to evaluate his skills, especially now that he had betrayed the friends he had in that infernal Newspaper Club.
In the arena, a lower member of the committee walked to the middle and began reciting the rules of the match. It wasn't anything special. It mostly stated that the use of monster form was permitted but you couldn't kill your opponent. The match was won by the person who forced their opponent to yield.
Both nodding to confirm they understood the rules, Keito and Zack got into their fighting positions. Keito transformed into her monster form which basically was six yellow and black spider legs growing out from her lower torso, forcing the girl to move her uniform up to prevent it ripping.
"I hope you're ready, Orion," Keito mocked, her face suddenly changing. Her eyes became purple and bug like, two extra, smaller eyes appearing either side of the other two. Her mouth elongated, two giant pincers appearing in the top and another two smaller ones growing upwards. Overall, she was pretty ghastly.
"Someone just opened a can of ugly," Zack commented, faking a grimace as he stood care free. "I guess anything I do isn't going to make a change."
I tick appeared on Keito's face as she became angrier. Zack had been rude to her, embarrassed her, made her look like an idiot and now he had the audacity to mock her appearance. Now was her chance to make her pay.
"I hope you're ready, Orion," she said just before she charged, her spider-like legs moving like . "Your own mother's not going to recognise you after this!" She shouted. "Not that she'd care! She's probably just a heartless pig!"
At that moment, something inside Zack snapped. The silhouette of a strange humanoid appearing in his eye. Suddenly, a blue aura spread across his body causing it to grow and change much to the shock of the enforcers around him. Kuyo even leaned in closer to get a better look. "Time to roll out," Zack growled. The teen's body became larger and more robust, his arms hardening and crystallising whilst his skin became a light blue. The back of his elbows elongated and became more blade like. His clothes changed into an all-black suit with short sleeves and included a hood which covered the aliens head, a small red patch was on the left sleeve. Six crystal shards grew out of his back, the top two bigger than the other four. On his crystal like face was a crack in the shape of a scar over his left blue eye. The Ultramatrix symbol was present on the red patch on his shoulder.
"Diamondhead!"
Despite the fact he currently hated Christian, Zack couldn't help but feel the need to cry out the name of the creature he had turned into.
Zack's sudden transformation left the enforcers flabbergasted. Kuyo's eyes widened in surprise. How was it possible that Zack had acquired Hawkes abilities to transform? It must have something to do with the blue looking device that had been present on his hand.
Positive Diamondhead looked up at the charging Keito with hate filled eyes. Keito attempted to use her razor sharp legs to pierce the alien's diamond-like skin to no effect. Realising that she needed a different approach, Keito scurried backwards and shot out a line of webbing from her mouth that Positive Diamondhead blocked with his arm, allowing the web like substance to splatter against it.
Attempting to use her web to throw the silicon like alien, Keito pulled on the sticky thread. Positive Diamondhead moved slightly but otherwise remained in place. 'What?!' Keito thought, attempting to pull on her webbing again to no avail. 'Why isn't he moving?' She looked over Positive Diamondhead before receiving her answer. Around the silicon-like alien's feet were a collection of crystals that was keeping him secured in the ground where he was standing.
Keito's eyes widened in fear as Positive Diamondhead used his left hand to grab hold of the webbing whilst morphing his right arm into a blade and cutting the web attached to his other arm. Positive Diamondhead then proceeded to pull on the web with enough force to bring Keito flying towards him. Just before the spider girl hit him, he punched Keito in the face, sending her rolling back a few feet. As she struggled to rise, Keito looked up to see Positive Diamondhead raising his hands in the air and forcing large blue crystals to rise out of the ground and hover in the air above her. The silicon like alien then threw his arms down and made the crystal fall towards the girl, who only just managed to scurry out of the way before they impacted. Breathing heavily, Keito looked up to see the alien walking towards her.
"C'mon Orion, we both know that things can end badly for you if you hurt me. Let's just call us even and go our separate ways," Keito pleaded as she desperately back stepped .
"Shut up," Positive Diamondhead spat. "You went too far insulting my family. No one insults my mother." Suddenly, more chunks of blue crystal rose from the ground and surrounded Keito. Throwing his arms out, Positive Diamondhead forced the crystals to slam into her with enough force to bring her to the edge of unconsciousness. Just before she succumbed to darkness, the spider girl heard Positive Diamondhead growl, "Crystal Emperor." As the girl finally closed her eyes, the silicon like alien turned and began walking away, morphing back into his human form as he did so.
"Bravo," an obnoxious voice said from behind Zack, causing the boy to turn and face the approaching Kuyo. "You have proved yourself worthy of joining us. Not only did you beat one of my top lieutenants but you also put on quite a show while doing so. Welcome to the enforcers."
"Thanks I guess," Zack replied, putting his hands in his pockets.
"Go, change into your new uniform and get some rest," Kuyo told the raven haired boy before walking away. "Tomorrow, we purge the human menace from our school."
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Christian had had one hell of a day. He was currently sitting in his dorm room, pondering the actions he was going to need to take in order to help Zack. After wishing Rook farewell, he and Inner Moka had carried the students Khyber had kept in captivity to the infirmary. Once everyone was accounted for and Moka had her Rosario back in place, the two sat in silence until their friends finally woke up. Thankfully, they didn't remember much of their encounter with Khyber.
Of course the attitude sobered when Christian revealed what had happened to Zack, of course leaving out certain 'sensitive' information related to himself. At that point, the nurse had come in and told Christian that some of the teachers wanted to talk to him. After reassuring the concerned girls everything would be fine, Christian made his way to the teacher's lounge where he was first given the punishment of having detention every day after school until the end of the year for doing something as stupid as going after a kidnapper. After listening to a lecture from Ms. Nekonome about personal safety. She let that settle in for a few moments before smiling at him and pulling Christian in to a hug. The cat-like teacher then congratulated him on saving eight students and forcing the culprit away from Yokai. For that, he was rewarded with having his punishment taken away. So basically, Christian had gotten off scot free.
After that, he was told to return to dorm. However, on the way he received quite a shock. No sooner had he left the school grounds did he find a whole crowd of students waiting for him. For the briefest of seconds, Christian thought that they were going to attack him, He was still unpopular with some of the students for the incident with the class rep. But this wasn't the case. No sooner had he appeared did the other students begin cheering, congratulating him for saving over a dozen students, including the ones taken by Ishigami, not to mention stopping the evil medusa. Then there was getting Nagare expelled, which many girls were happy about. Finally, Christian was willing to sacrifice himself in order save his fellow students, and in the eyes of the other students, he had proved he cared about them and he was a good person. As he passed by them, students patted him on the back and apologised for the way he had treated them over the past few months. This carried on until the Omnitrix wielder had reached the dorms where he quickly made his way to his room and locked the door, not used to all the good will that had been shown towards him.
Instinctively, he moved over to his laptop to make a report only to remember that Plumber Communications were still down. Sighing, the teen leaned back in his chair. He was in trouble. If Zack knew his secret, he could easily reveal it to anyone, in which case all the progress he had recently made would mean nothing. His friends would probably turn on him, especially since he had been lying to them since the beginning. And what would happen to Moka if his secret came out? She had known about him since the beginning and had technically been aiding him in keeping his identity unknown. What would her punishment be?
Finally, what would happen to Zack? Christian had absolutely no idea how he had been able to grow his own Omnitrix. He guessed that whatever had happened was a result of the teen's monster abilities, whatever he was. However that wasn't important at the minute. He had no idea about the level of power he currently possessed. He could very easily hurt someone if he went out of control…well more out of control than he already was. Thankfully, Zack's anger seemed to be focused on him at the minute so hopefully he would avoid any serious confrontations with other students. There was one more issue. Christian had no idea how many aliens Zack had access to. It could be only the aliens he had or it could be all the aliens in the Omnitrix. If that were the case, Zack was now more powerful than any opponent he or the Plumbers had ever faced. Especially if he had was able to turn into that alien. He also had that new form he had called Grimlock. Christian had no idea what it was capable of, but from first-hand experience he knew it was tough.
Deciding that he needed to find him, Christian got up from his chair only to notice something on his desk that didn't belong. A letter in a white envelope with a red seal was sitting next to his laptop. Taking hold of the letter, Christian ran two fingers along its side. There didn't seem to be anything in the letter other than paper, he couldn't feel anything hard in it. At first, Christian wondered if Rook had left it there but then again, the Revonnahgander would have told him about it.
Slowly, Christian undid the letter, curious as to what was in it. Just as he was about pull out its contents, he heard a knock on the door. Stuffing the letter inside a draw to look at later, Christian walked over to the door. However, before opening the door, he made sure to check the small peep hole. He had to be careful in case Zack came looking for him at the dorm. Then again, Zack probably wouldn't knock. Looking through it, Christian was surprised to see a nervous Moka standing on the other side. "Hey Moka, what are you doing here?" he said as he opened the door.
"Well…I wanted to check on you, you seemed a little out of it when you went to see the teachers."
"Well, it's cold out here," he replied, looking around. "Why don't you come in?"
Moka nodded, a light blush on her features, which of course Christian missed. Once the two were inside, he made sure to lock the door behind them. Sitting down at the table, Christian proceeded to tell Moka everything that had happened after he had left the infirmary. Moka was quite surprised to hear the weird talk he had with Ms. Nekonome, however she was overjoyed to know hear that the other students treating Christian well. She certainly believed he deserved it after everything he had done for the school.
Finally, the conversation turned to Zack and their friends. "What are you going to do Christian?" Moka asked, concern evident in her eyes. "I know you want to help Zack but you're in danger now. Perhaps you…" Moka trailed off, not liking what she was about to say. "Maybe you should go back to Bellwood."
"Moka, I can't," Christian replied. "Zack is my responsibility, I need to help him."
"But-" Moka started.
"There are no buts, Moka," Christian interrupted. "It's my fault Zack's like he is now. I should have treated him better."
"What happened with Zack wasn't your fault," Moka said, reaching out and placing one of her hands on top of Christian's in an attempt to comfort him.
"But it is, Moka!" Christian cried, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "I was the one who made him feel insignificant! I pushed him away!" Christian then placed his head into his hands and let the tears flow. "I should have been a better friend, hell I should been a better person."
"Christian…" Moka said in a monotone like voice, causing the teen to look up at the vampire girl.
*SLAP!*
No sooner had he looked up had Moka slapped him around the face. Now with a red mark on his cheek, Christian looked at his friend only to find that she was now looking angrily at him with tears in her eyes. "Don't say that!" she shouted. "Don't ever say that! You always do what you have to in order to keep us safe! You risk your life for people you don't even know or that hated you! You are a good person!"
Christian looked at Moka with wide eyes, surprised by her words. It seemed that whenever he was down Moka was right there with exactly the right words to cheer him up. She was the personification of the word, amazing. For a few more moments, Christian and Moka continued to stare in to the others eyes, slowly leaning towards each other.
Of course the moment was then spoilt by the sound of knocking on the door. Christian and Moka remained still for a moment before realising how close they were to one another. Quicker than lightning, the two backed away from each other, their faces inflamed in crimson.
"I had better…" Christian began.
"Yeah…" Moka replied, not able to look at Christian out of embarrassment.
Getting up, Christian quickly made his way over to the door and answered it, leaving Moka at his table feeling a little uncomfortable. It was at that point the Rosario began to glow.
"Uhhh! I can't take much more of this!" Inner Moka growled. "The way you and Hawke act around each other is sickening."
"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Outer Moka stuttered, her cheeks heating up. "We're just friends."
"Oh yes, the way you to go into your own little world when alone proves that," Inner Moka replied sarcastically.
"What do you mean?" Outer Moka asked.
"You're hopeless!" Inner Moka cried in exasperation before the light of the gem faded.
'What's with her?' Outer Moka wondered. Before she had any time to think about it, the sound of Christian's approaching footsteps brought her attention back to the boy.
"It was one of the other students," Christian reported. "He heard us shouting and came to see if we were okay."
"That was nice of him," Moka commented, pushing the conversation with her inner self to the back of her mind.
"Yeah," Christian agreed, looking at the clock on his wall. It was quite late. "You should head back. I have the feeling tomorrow will be a long day."
Looking at him curiously, Moka got up and made her way to the door. "Christian…please don't do anything stupid," she pleaded once the vampire girl was standing on the other side of the door.
"C'mon Moka, when have I ever done anything stupid?" Christian with the hint of a smirk.
"I'm serious," Moka said sternly. "I don't want to see you hurt."
"I know," he replied, giving the girl his warmest smile. "Trust me, I don't have the intention of dying anytime soon."
Moka nodded, however, she still wasn't satisfied. "Promise me you'll stay safe," she asked. "Promise me that after all of this is over, you, me, Zack and the others will get to enjoy our summer together."
Christian bowed slightly. "I promise," he said softly. "Goodnight Moka."
"Goodnight Christian," Moka replied, feeling slightly better.
With that, the two friends went their separate ways, Christian back in to his room and Moka back to the girl's dorm. Both blissfully unaware of two people watching them from the bushes below.
"There you have it, Kuyo," Zack stated. "If we wish to weaken Hawke…"
"Then we attack his heart," Kuyo finished, smiling evilly.
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The next day, Christian had his regular morning. Moka turned up earlier than the others, sucked his blood then swooned over the fact his blood was so 'yummy'. Kurumu then 'attacked' Christian from behind and pulled his face into a tight embrace, thanking him once again for saving her the previous day. Finally, Yukari turned up tried to pull Christian away from the Succubus only to start the normal fight between the three girls, leaving the Omnitrix wielder gasping for air on the floor. It was at that moment Christian realised something was missing. It was normally at this point Zack would help him off the floor. Unfortunately, the boy was nowhere to be seen. Christian suddenly deflated, saddened that his friend wasn't around. Sighing, Christian began walking towards the school, knowing the girls would catch up once they had finished their bickering. Since the girls were so engaged, they failed to notice the addition to Christian's wardrobe. A pair of black gloves with a green hourglass symbol on the back.
As he walked, he couldn't help feeling that someone was watching him. However, when he turned, there was no one there. Cautiously, Christian continued walking towards the school, his hand constantly ready to use the Omnitrix if need be.
Fortunately, it never came to that and Christian was able to make it to school safely. The girls had managed to catch up just before he walked through the gates. Thanks to Yokai's strange curriculum, club activities were actually considered a lesson meaning that Christian and the girls were heading to the Newspaper Club room for their morning period. Christian half hoped that Zack may turn up so that he could talk to him, then again there was the fear Zack would start fighting him in the middle of the club room. In any case, the anticipation was thick as he entered the club.
Christian didn't know whether to be relieved or sad to find Zack wasn't in the room. Sitting down at the joint table in the centre of the room, the four members of the club waited anxiously for either Gin or Zack to walk through the door.
After a few minutes, the former decided to 'grace' the room with his presence. "Orion not coming?"
"Doesn't look like it," Yukari replied sadly.
"Well what I've got to say is important and we can't wait for him to show up," Gin said as he moved to stand at the head of the table, a strangely serious face plastering his features.
"What is it, Gin?" Moka asked, knowing the werewolf boy would never be this serious unless the matter was important.
"It's about what happened yesterday with the Security Committee." Gin started. "I need to tell you about them and it's important that you listen to what I have to say." The werewolf teen waited a few moments until he was sure that he had his club's attention. "Basically, the Security Committee are the violent branch of the student council. Their job is to keep the peace inside the academy. They enforce the rules and subdue trouble makers, which at this school often requires force. They're basically the student police," Gin summed up.
"If that's the case then why haven't we seen them before? They've had plenty of chances to fulfil their obligation to the school," Christian asked, thinking of every incident that had happened to him since the beginning of school.
"Well the thing is…" Gin began, bad memories beginning to come back. "They've gone bad. Turned into a school yakuza which threatens students and extorts money from them," he explained much to everyone's shock. "Remember how they said we needed to submit a request to hand out newspapers? They basically meant 'pay us a bribe'."
"What!?" the girls cried.
"And the school lets this go on?" Christian asked, his blood beginning to boil.
"When it comes to 'school safety' the enforcers have jurisdiction over the teachers. It's what makes them so powerful." Sighing, the teen continued. "It's my fault, I should have paid them in the first place. We will just have to remember next time."
"What aren't you telling us?"
Everyone looked towards Christian, who had just spoken, and gave him a strange look. "The blond, Kuyo I believe, told us that the Newspaper Club should know about them and then looked directly at you and smirked." Christian explained. "So tell me, what aren't you telling us?"
Gin looked at Christian in shock before bowing his head and looking at the floor. "There was…an incident last year with the previous members of the Newspaper Club," Gin started, his face growing grim. "Last year… we tried to expose the Security Committee's exploits in print. We couldn't stand what they were doing to the other students and we wanted to show that you didn't have to be afraid of them. It was then that everything went to hell. The enforcers came and destroyed the papers we were handing out. They then proceeded to…To…To kill the other club members." A tear fell from the werewolf's eye, shocking the other members with both what he had said and his current action. "They left me alive as a constant reminder not to cross the Committee."
"Gin…" Moka said sadly.
"That's so terrible," Kurumu gasped, wiping away a tear of her own.
"I'm so sorry for you Gin," Yukari wept.
Christian remained silent, surprisingly calm considering how he normally acted in these situations. Suddenly, the boy stood up and began to walk out.
"Hawke!" Gin called after him. "Where are you going!?"
"Out!" Christian replied sharply as he continued towards the door.
"Christian don't do what I think you're going to do," Gin warned, using his speed to appear in front of Christian, his arms spread out protectively in the door frame to prevent the teen from leaving. "You're strong, but Kuyo is stronger."
"Yeah well, he can prove that when I see him," Christian countered as he pushed past Gin into the corridor.
"You may get that chance sooner than you think."
Christian and Zack turned to see Kuyo with group of about eight enforcers and, much to his surprise and shock, Zack, who was now clad in a black enforcers uniform that had a hood attached. Christian could tell that this wasn't going to end well. In the classroom, the girls looked on as Kuyo approached the object of their affections. Moka was now extremely worried. If Zack was with them, could he have told them Christian's secret?
"Mr. Hawke," Kuyo spat. "We would like you to come with us."
"For what, may I ask?" Christian asked, side glancing at Zack, who was scowling at him.
Kuyo smirked, he had obviously been looking forward to this. "Christian Hawke, we are taking you in for assaulting a fellow student, a teacher, endangering the lives of others and finally…" The blonde's eyes shone with victory. "And last but not least, Christin Hawke, you stand accused of being…human."
In that single instant, time seemed to slow down. The students who had been watching in the corridor were gobsmacked, their eyes wide with a mixture of shock and fear. In the club room; Kurumu, Yukari and Gin had similar reactions to the other students. Each one of them could not believe what they were hearing. Christian? A human? It was impossible! They had all seen him transform!
Moka, on the other hand, had turned pale. Her heart was beating rapidly and unevenly. Her eyes shifted from Christian to Kuyo nervously.
Christian on the other hand did his best to remain stoic. If he let up the act for even a minute, Kuyo would have him. Zack had clearly revealed his secret, but as long as they had no proof that he was what Zack claimed, Christian should be fine. Christian brought himself up Kuyo's level, looking him right between his beady little eyes. "If you believe that, prove it," Christian challenged.
"Oh, I will," Kuyo replied. "You just need to come with us for interrogation."
"Oh, okay," Christian said moving his arms behind his back where they couldn't be seen and leaned forward. "But quick question," There was an audible beep that set everyone on edge. "What makes you think I'm going to come quietly?" He was suddenly engulfed in a blinding emerald light, forcing everyone in the corridor and classrooms to cover their eyes. Once it light had faded and everyone could see again, the enforcers were angered to see that Christian had been replaced blue and black, velociraptor-like creature wearing a green jumpsuit.
"XLR8!" the alien cried before his visor came down and he dashed off down the corridor at top speeds.
"Orion!" Kuyo cried, earning a nod from Zack as he pulled up his hood and a blue aura surrounded his body transforming him into XLR8 too. The only differences being that Positive XLR8 had blueish white skin and a dark blue chest area. His eyes were blue and the Ultramatrix symbol was on his chest. Over his left eye was a scar.
In less than a second, Positive XLR8 was already gone, following the path he had seen his former friend go. This left Kuyo, his enforcers, the members of the Newspaper Club and the other shocked students in the corridor.
"Take the Newspaper Club girls and bring them in for questioning." Kuyo ordered, turning and walking away as his subordinates moved in to arrest Moka, Kurumu and Yukari. "We just need to wait for Zack to bring back the last piece of the puzzle."
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XLR8 kept running until he had made it all the way to the bus stop. He wasn't planning to leave yet, he just wanted to put some distance between him and the enforcers. The alien felt guilty for leaving Moka and the others behind but he guessed the enforcers were after him so getting away from them would be the best course of action.
Before he had any more time to think, XLR8 felt something crash in to him, sending the alien sprawling backwards. However, before he hit the ground, the same object hit him again in the back and sent him flying forwards. For the next few moments, XLR8 was pummelled from all sides by an opponent that XLR8 had been expecting. Finally, he was allowed to fall to the ground, his attacker appearing a few meters away.
"So that's how that feels…" he moaned as he got back to his feet. "I was expecting you to show up, Zack."
Positive XLR8 scowled as he reverted back into his human form. "You're coming with me, Bro," Zack growled the last word sarcastically.
Sighing, XLR8 tapped the symbol on his chest and reverted back into his original form. "Zack, let's talk," Christian tried.
"There's nothing to talk about," Zack stated. "I'm bringing you in and that's all there is to it."
"C'mon Zack," Christian tried. "I'm your friend."
"You are not my friend!" Zack shouted. "I trusted you and you treated me like garbage!"
"I was only trying to keep you safe!" Christian shouted. "I've lost important people in my life before, I didn't want to lose one of my friends!"
"Is that why Moka and that other guy was with you then?!" Zack countered.
"Rook had fought him before!" Christian replied. "And Moka had been kidnapped by him!"
"You still let them help though!"
"Not by choice!"
"Enough!" Zack cried. "We're settling this now!"
"Zack, I don't want to fight you!" Christian replied in a desperate attempt to prevent conflict. "Let me help you, please."
"Too bad!" Zack exclaimed, a blue aura spreading over him. "I'm! Taking! You! Down!" Suddenly, he began to become taller and more feline. His muscles grew in places Zack didn't even knew he had. White fur grew and spread all over his body. His clothing changed into a black tank top with a blue stripe running down the middle. A black claw growing from in between both his knuckles, black finger-less gloves appeared on his hands with white flame designs. His eyes became fully blue with a scar over his left eye. The Ultramatrix symbol was on a belt around his waist.
"RATH!" the new alien cried angrily before looking at Christian with murder in his eyes.
"You're kidding me." Christian deadpanned. "You're Rath actually has clothes."
"LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN', CHRISTIAN HAWKE! BACKSTABBIN FRIEND WITH A CRUSH HE CAN'T ADMIT ON MOKA AKASHIYA!" Christian blushed. "RATH IS GONNA DRAG YOU BY YOUR TEETH BACK TO ENFORCER HEADQUARTERS!" With that, Positive Rath began charging towards the flabbergasted Christian.
"Is this how I act when I turn into Rath?" Christian couldn't help but ask himself as he side stepped the charging alien tiger, allowing the alien to rush past him.
"HEY! KEEP STILL!" Positive Rath shouted as he rounded and tried to attack again.
"Zack, don't make me fight you," Christian begged as he used his arms to launch over Positive Rath's back. "I don't want to hurt you."
"YOU!? HURT RATH!? RATH WILL SHOW YOU WHO WILL HURT WHO!" the alien tiger cried, throwing another punch at the human.
"Right then," Christian sighed regretfully, dodging underneath the punch. "I guess I'm doing this." Activating the Omnitrix, Christian selected the first icon and slammed down on the core. After a bright flash, Christian had turned into an orange furred version of the alien in front of him, minus the clothes.
For a second, Positive Rath actually looked worried. "Rath," the orange humanoid tiger hissed before using an upper cut to punch Positive Rath in the face. Once the white tiger had recovered he came face to face with his look alike. "LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN', ZACKERY ORION! CURRENT ENEMY WHO I STILL CONSIDER A FRIEND! RATH IS THE STRONGEST RATH AROUND! IF YOU FIGHT ME NOW I WILL TAKE YOU DOWN!"
"BRING IT ON PANSY!" Positive Rath challenged, leaping forward and tackling his counterpart to the ground. "RATH'S TAKING YOU DOWN!" Positive Rath cried as he began punching his counterpart in the face.
"I told you," Rath growled, catching one of the punches. "RATH IS RATH AND I WILL TAKE YOU DOWN!" he roared before lunging forward and grabbing Positive Rath by his clothes and rolling forward. For the next few moments the two Appoplexians rolled across the ground punching each other, arguing about who was Rath and who wasn't.
"I'M THE REAL RATH!" Rath cried, punching Positive Rath in the stomach.
"NO! I'M RATH!" Positive Rath countered, attempting to throttle the orange humanoid.
"I'M RATH!"
"NO! I AM!"
"I AM!"
"I AM!"
"I AM!"
"I AM!"
"I AM!"
"I AM!"
"NO!" Rath finally shouted, rolling up so that his feet were pressed into Positive Rath's chest. "I AM!" Using all his strength, Rath pushed out with both his feet and sent Positive Rath flying in to the air. Acting quickly, he rolled back on to his feet and jumped after his foe. Grabbing Positive Rath's heel, Rath spun in the air, throwing his counterpart down at high speeds towards the ground. "FLYING VAXASAURIAN TOSS!" the Appoplexian screamed when he had let go of Positive Rath's leg. The white humanoid hit the ground with enough force to create a Rath shaped hole in the ground that descended several metres.
Landing safely on the ground, Rath wondered over to the hole and shouted down, "LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN' ZACKERY ORION! OMNITRIX COPY CAT AND CURRENT PAIN IN MY BUTT! YOU MAY BE A GOOD FIGHTER! BUT RATH... RATH IS BETTER AS RATH IS THE ORIGINAL!"
From inside the hole, Positive Rath's voice shouted. "FINE! THEN RATH WILL TURN INTO SOMETHING ORIGINAL!"
"Wha?" Rath said as a blue glow emanated from within the hole. Suddenly, the ground began to shake uncontrollably as it began to crack underneath Rath's feet. "What's happening?" Suddenly Rath became angry again. "LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHIN SHAKING, CRACKING GROUND THAT IS IN DANGER OF DRAGGING RATH INTO THE GROUND! RATH IS BETTER THAN YOU!" Rath then began stomping on the cracking earth in a strange attempt to beat it up. "OH YEAH! DO YOU LIKE THAT! HAVE SOME OF RATH!"
Suddenly a large metal arm burst from the ground and ensnared the humanoid tiger by grabbing him around the waist and hoisting up into the air. Then, the rest of the metal titan that Zack called Grimlock pulled himself out from ground, growling angrily as he stared through his blue visor in to Rath's eyes.
"Grimlock is superior to puny Rath," Positive Grimlock growled. "Give up and come quietly with Grimlock."
"Give up?" Rath repeated in disbelief. "LET ME TELL YA SOMETHIN', ZACKERY ORION! CURRENTLY METAL ROBOT CALLED GRIMLOCK! RATH DOESN'T GIVE UP, NO MATTER HOW STRONG HIS OPPONENT IS!" Rath then began struggling as he attempted break Positive Grimlock's hold on him. "BUT, IF YOU COULD LOOSEN YOUR GRIP A LITTLE, I'D WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE IT!"
"Stop resisting," Positive Grimlock stated, beginning to walk in the direction of the school. "Grimlock will now take you to the female haired blond."
"RATH DOESN'T GO ANYWHERE WITH ANYBODY!" Rath replied before he attempted biting the robot's metal hand to no affect. Once the Appoplexian finally decided that he was unable to escape the metal titan, he tapped the Omnitrix symbol with an annoyed expression. Positive Grimlock was forced to cover his face with his free hand due to the bright light that followed. Once it had faded, Positive Grimlock was shocked to see that the hand that had been holding his foe was now empty. Thinking that Christian had turned into Big Chill to escape the hold, the metal titan prepared himself for a strike that could come from any angle. Due to this, Positive Grimlock was blissfully unaware of the tiny, grey, frog like alien clinging to his back.
Slowly, as to not alert Positive Grimlock, Grey Matter crawled up the titan's back to the Ultramatrix symbol on his shoulder. If he deactivated the Ultramatrix and change Zack back in to his human form, he could transform in to Diamondhead or Swampfire and incapacitate him. Once he had finally reached Positive Grimlock's shoulder, Grey Matter slammed his fist on the symbol and waited. However, to his shock, nothing happened. Positive Grimlock didn't revert, there was no change at all. The only thing the frog like alien had accomplished was alerting his foe to his position.
"Found you," Positive Grimlock said as he reached for the small alien.
"Eeek!" Grey Matter screamed as he jumped off the titan and began hopping towards a group of rocks, his opponent closely following behind him. Diving into a gap between them, Grey Matter took shelter in order to come up with a plan to beat Positive Grimlock. On the other side of the rock, Positive Grimlock was reaching out for one of the large stones that was keeping him safe. Suddenly, in between the cracks, a green light shone before the stone that the metal titan had been reaching for shot forward and hit him in the chest, sending him flying back in to the side of the cliff that overlooked the bus stop.
Moving the stone off him, Positive Grimlock looked to see Humungousaur charging at him with his fist pulled back. Acting quickly, the metal titan rolled to the side just before the alien threw his fist forward, leading it to become stuck in the side of the cliff. Acting quickly, Positive Grimlock ran forward and punched the dino-like alien in the torso just as he had freed his hand from the mountain. Due to his tough hide, Humungousaur wasn't sent flying back however he was winded. Positive Grimlock continued his assault, delivering punches to all of the dino alien's body. Humungousaur attempted to defend himself but the attacks were coming too often and he himself still hadn't fully recovered from the first punch. Just as Positive Grimlock was about to end it, Humungousaur reached out and caught the incoming metal fist. Humungousaur then proceeded to grow until he was five feet above Grimlock, the metal alien's fist securely stuck in his large scaly hand.
"My turn," Humungousaur growled before he used his increased strength to Positive Grimlock in to the air and began tossing the metal alien around, throwing him into the ground and creating Grimlock shaped craters in the ground. Finally, Humungousaur placed a dizzy Positive Grimlock on the ground where he struggled to keep his footing. Drawing back his giant fist, Humungousaur delivered a wicked hay maker to Positive Grimlock's face that seny the metal titan flying back, rolling along the dirt as he did so. When his foe had finally come to a stop, Humungousaur returned to his normal size and walked towards the downed alien cautiously. He knew very little about this alien and didn't know if it had any other surprises for him.
Once Humungousaur was within a few feet, Positive Grimlock suddenly reacted, jumping up and punching the alien in the face. Stumbling back, Humungousaur looked to see Positive Grimlock seething with anger. "You should not have hurt Grimlock," the metal titan hissed. "Grimlock is supreme!"
Suddenly, Positive Grimlock's form began to shift and change, his body parts rearranging. Throwing his arms down, metal shifting to make them thicker and whilst his shoulder moved out in order to make them longer. His legs merged together and elongated becoming a long tail with a drill like tip. His body spread out as several sections spread out and split becoming a large jaw with several, sharp metal teeth. The Ultramatrix symbol was now on the side of the transformed being's leg. Humungousaur was flabbergasted as in front of him was a large, metal Tyrannosaurus with glowing blue eyes. "What the…" he managed to say before the metal dinosaur turned and swiped its tail hitting the beige alien in the chest with enough force to send him into the cliff face.
Painfully opening one eye, Humungousaur saw Positive Grimlock charging at him. Before he could do anything, Positive Grimlock's large head collided with his body, digging him deeper into the cliff face. Pulling his head away, Positive Grimlock allowed Humungousaur to peel out of the hole he had made and fall to the ground. The metal dino then proceeded to stamp on his rivals back several times before finally stopping and letting out a victorious roar that reverberated throughout the entire area. Humungousaur, now severely beaten and only on the edge of consciousness, heard a series of beeps before his form was engulfed in emerald light and he reverted in to Christian. Desperately, Christian tried to keep his eyes from closing, however they felt so heavy. Just before he succumbed to the darkness, he saw Positive Grimlock, now back in robot form, walking towards him. "Grimlock warned puny liar. Now is time to return to Kuyo."
After hearing those words, Christian's eyes closed and he fell into unconsciousness, his mind and body refusing to work any longer as it was in excruciating pain.
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Christian awoke with a start when he felt something wet and cold splash against his body. He noticed his arms were at odd angles to each other, chained to a chilling wall which prevented him from being able to use the Omnitrix. His eyes adjusting to the darkness, he realised that he was currently in a jail cell. On the ground was a trail of water leading towards the bars that trapped him. On the other side of those bars, staring angrily at him with a bucket in his hands, was Zack with his hood pulled up.
"I guess you caught me," Christian commented tiredly. "Now what?"
For a few moments, Zack remained silent. Finally he moved to the side and pulled up a stool which was in the corridor and sat in front of the bars. "Now, we wait for the other interrogations to finish."
"Other interrogations?" Christian asked, slightly confused.
"Just some people who either know you or have fought you in the time you have been at the academy," Zack replied, his expression unreadable. "Including most of the members of the Newspaper Club."
Hearing this, Christian began struggling against his bonds. "YOU LEAVE THEM ALONE! THEY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"
"Kuyo thinks otherwise." Zack said, however upon seeing that Christian still struggled he stated, "He assured me that they wouldn't be harmed."
"And I'm supposed to believe that?" Christian spat, trying to think of a way to reach the Omnitrix.
"Despite their stupidity in aligning themselves with you, I consider them innocent to your betrayal." Zack replied. "I made Kuyo promise me that he wouldn't harm any of your friends.
"They're your friends too." Christian shot back.
"Not at the minute," Zack stated, glaring at the boy in the jail cell.
For a few minutes, there was an uncomfortable silence between the two teens. "So…how were you able to do what you did?" Christian finally asked, looking at the blue device on the back of Zack's hand. "How were you able to copy the Omnitrix?"
"You're willing to use its name now?" Zack replied, an eyebrow raised.
"May as well. You already know it."
Zack was once again silent for a few seconds, contemplating whether he should answer Christian's question. Finally, he pulled down his hood and began to elaborate. "I'm not the strongest monster," Zack started, going completely off topic. "I've had to train all my life in martial arts and spiritual techniques just to survive. My Aura of fury is an example of what I've had to learn. Despite the fact it increases my strength and reflexes, it is not enough to take down a strong opponent. If we hadn't hurt Gin before you turned back into your human form and the moon was still out, I surely would have died fighting him."
"Okaaayyy…" Christian replied, slightly confused. "And this is going…?"
"My species always has to do this or else we would definitely die if we come in to contact with a stronger monster," Zack continued his explanation, ignoring Christian's comment. "After my parents died," he started.
"What!?" Christian interrupted. Zack had lost his parents like him? They were more alike than he originally thought.
"After my parents died," Zack repeated. "I went to live with my uncle. He took me on a journey around the world where I was taught to master all kinds of martial arts. My uncle even got me into contact with monks from temples where they helped me to learn defensive spiritual techniques to defend myself. However, these techniques aren't always enough. Due to this, we had to develop a technique to hide from predators. My species is able to copy the appearance of others thanks to this ability."
"But…That would make you…" Christian realised. He had been reading up on different monster species, especially the one that he was pretending to be. "A doppelganger…"
"Very good," Zack commented with mock praise. "I see you've done your research. Yes, I'm a Doppelganger. However, my abilities are weaker than others of my kind. Where they can copy people's appearances, I can only copy articles of clothing, including technology." He explained, holding up the Ultramatrix on the back of his hand. "However, it appears that something went wrong and I created an imperfect copy.
"That's…Incredible…" Christian stuttered. 'Azmuth would have a field day with him.'
"However, for some reason I still have other Doppelganger abilities," Zack continued. "You see, in order to tell each other apart, my species has developed a technique to recognise other Doppelgangers. If we are to touch another person we instantly know if they is another Doppelganger. That is how I know you are a human. I've known ever since I first touched you when we met."
"That doesn't prove I'm human," Christian replied, sweating slightly. He didn't know Doppelganger's could do this, it hadn't been in any of the books he had read on them in the school library. This was dangerous, if what Zack said was true then he had evidence against him. Christian needed to play his cards very carefully.
"Maybe not," Zack admitted. "But, there is other evidence to prove it. Do you know how many people say that you smell like a human? Hell, Moka gives us evidence every time she drinks your blood. Vampires love human blood, they're addicted to it."
"Just because Moka drinks my blood it doesn't mean I'm human." Christian defended. "And I smell like a human because I've lived among them all my life."
Zack smirked. "Keep telling yourself that," he said as he got up from his stool. "I'm sure you'll admit your humanity soon enough." With that, the raven haired boy walked away.
Zack had only taken a few steps when he heard, "Zack! I'm sorry for what I said to you. I just didn't want to lose anyone else." The black clad teen remained silent and still for a few more moments before leaving the jail block and Christian to his thoughts.
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For what felt like a few hours, Christian was left in darkness, desperately trying to free himself from the restraints which held him. If he were able to reach the Omnitrix, he could transform and escape. Unfortunately, he had no such luck.
Finally, he heard footsteps coming from down the corridor. After a few moments, two enforcers Christian didn't recognise entered his cell, one carrying a bag. After undoing his shackles and placing the bag over his head so that he couldn't see, Christian was dragged from his cell and out of the jail, the enforcers making sure that his journey was as painful as possible.
After a few minutes, he was thrown in to a chair and had his hands tied together, once again keeping him from activating the Omnitrix. When the bag was removed from his head, he found himself in a dimly lit shrine, Kuyo standing before him whilst the two enforcers that had brought him held him in place.
"Is this how you treat all your guests?" Christian asked, a light smile adorning his tired features. "May I ask where my friends are?"
"They're currently in enforcer custody. You may neither see nor speak to them until the interrogation is over," Kuyo stated, looking at the Omnitrix teen with a snide grin.
"I see," Christian replied, nodding his head. "Well if you will just untie my hands this whole mess can be sorted out and we can go on with our lives," he stated, holding out his bound arms.
"I'm afraid not, Mr. Hawke," Kuyo stated, a small smirk appearing on his face. "You see, we already know of your abilities, however the forms you turn into are like none other. With the exception of your werewolf form, no one has been able to identify any of the 'monsters' you have turned into."
"I suppose that's because they are native to America," Christian suggested, scowling at Kuyo.
"Possible," the blond teen admitted, bobbing his head as if he was considering the idea. "But unlikely." His smile widened as he snapped his fingers, signalling another enforcer to bring in a large cardboard box from outside the room. "You see, these were acquired from your club rooms store room," he explained, opening up the box and taking out an old newspaper. "I believe you're familiar with the being on the first page?" he asked, tossing the paper to Christian's feet.
A bead of sweat ran down Christian's head when he saw the picture on the front page. It showed Diamondhead in a black and white, sleeveless outfit. The right half of the uniform was black and the left was white. The Omnitrix symbol was on the left side of his chest. The picture depicted him holding up two criminals after catching them robbing a bank.
"So what?" Christian replied, trying to think of a way out of the situation. "That could be another person. I only recently gained the ability to turn into Diamondhead, this picture was taken six years ago."
"Maybe… However I notice that this being shares the same symbol that is on all of your transformations," Kuyo pointed out. "And as there is no official record of any of the creatures you can transform into, I can only assume that the device on your wrist is some kind of human weapon that allows you to change your appearance and abilities." Christian gritted his teeth at how close Kuyo was. There was no chance that Kuyo would guess the forms Christian could turn into were aliens and that the Omnitrix was made by a little grey frog person.
"Don't be ridiculous!" Christian shouted. "Do you have any idea how stupid you sound right now!? I'm not a human!"
"You say that, yet all the evidence we have collected says otherwise," Kuyo pointed out, holding up his left hand only for a flame to appear. The flames began to grow until Christian could clearly see an image appear within it.
The image depicted a single person sitting in a chair within a darkly lit room. Christian was able to recognise the person as Saizou Komiya. The sleaze bag was sitting in the chair like he owned it. A small black strip covered his eyes as if it could conceal his identity.
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"Yep, there's no doubt about it, that guy smelt like a human alright," Saizou reported. "That guy stank, it was sickening. Not to mention the form he used was unlike any monster I've seen before. I'm looking forward to finally beating the crap out of that punk."
The scene suddenly changed in a burst of static to show a man in his late thirties with spiky red hair wearing a track suit. Christian recognised him as coach Kotsubo. "Christian? Now that I think about it, his sport scores are below the average monster and his level of physical fitness is almost like that of a human's."
The scene changed again to a male student Christian didn't recognise. "Well, he definitely has a human like scent and everyone knows about him. It's a different case for what he can turn into."
Once again the scene changed to an unfamiliar female student with blonde hair. "Moka is always kissing him on the neck… I just thought they were together though. Maybe she was drinking his blood…"
Once again the image changed. "That guy reeks"
And again
"And he smells awful!"
The image changed and Christian saw someone he did recognise. It was Tamao, the mermaid swim captain. Ridiculously, she was still wearing her swim suit. "I didn't recognise the forms he used when protecting his friends, however before he transformed, I swear Christian smelt exactly like a human."
Another image change, "I saw him jump out of the third story window once, he slapped the limiter on his wrist and there was a blinding green light. When it faded, he was a monster that I had never seen before."
Once again, there was one more image change to show another student Christian did recognise. It was Yukari's class rep. His right arm was in a sling and he looked utterly afraid. "I've never seen something as powerful as what he turned into!" he shouted, looking around as if someone was going to attack him. "After turning the symbol on his chest, his form seemed to evolve. He became so powerful. He…He…He would have killed me! I could have died! PLEASE! TELL ME HE'S NOT HERE!"
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The image faded but the flame remained. Kuyo looked at Christian with hungry eyes. "As you can see, it doesn't matter who we talk to. Everything we hear points to the fact that you are human," the blonde pointed out, earning another bead of sweat to fall down Christian's brow. "Even your friends have given us a need to be suspicious."
The image in the flame flickered to life to show someone Christian was very familiar with.
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Kurumu sat in the same space the other students had, she looked extremely angry and irritated. "So, you don't believe that Christian Hawke is a human being?" a male voice sounded from off screen.
"Of course I don't!" Kurumu stated, a look of determination in her eyes. "Besides, no human is able to enter the academy, right?"
Ignoring the last comment, the male voice continued, "Why are you so sure that Hawke is human?"
"Because I've seen Christian transform loads of times. That should be all the proof you need to show he's not human," Kurumu replied as if it the most obvious thing in the world.
"But, out of all those forms, how many did you recognise?"
That broke Kurumu's confidence. She actually had no idea what Christian's forms were. "Well…No…I don't."
"Do you know what kind of monster he actually is?" the boy asked, his voice very much a monotone.
"He's a shape shifter," Kurumu answered immediately.
"That doesn't answer the question!" the voice replied sharply, causing the succubus girl to jump. "That is his ability. I want to know his species. Are you not friends with Hawke? He knows exactly what you are yet he is unwilling to share that information with you?"
Kurumu's eyes widened. All this time, she had no idea what Christian was. Could it be true what they were saying? Could Christian truly be human? As she lowered her head towards the ground, the image changed to show a very uncomfortable Yukari sitting nervously in a chair, her eyes were wide with fear as she shuffled in her seat.
"I…I don't know what Christian is…" Yukari said. "I always thought he was just following the school rules. It was never a concern for me to know what he was."
"It never occurred to you once?" a female voice asked as the red haired girl from the previous day walked in to view, circling around Yukari like a shark. "It didn't even spark your curiosity?"
"N…No, not at all," Yukari replied, tears beginning to appear in her eyes.
"Well, that's very impressive," the enforcer praised. "I admire your tenacity. However, I'm surprised Hawke wouldn't share his identity with you. After all, he does know yours."
Yukari looked at the enforcer with wide eyes. For the first time, she had no idea how to respond. She didn't want to doubt Christian but it was becoming harder to do so.
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Once again the image faded, leaving the flame to flicker in the darkly lit room. "As you can see, even your friends have doubts as to your true identity," Kuyo stated, taking relish in Christian's worried expression. "Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to interview everyone, therefore we are currently conducting our last interview now. Let's see how that is going, shall we?" the blonde stated, gesturing towards the fire as the image changed again to something that caused Christian's heart to miss a beat.
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Moka sat in a chair with a wooden desk in front of her, an item was placed in the middle of the table with a cloth placed over it. The vampire girl was clearly extremely worried about something. Suddenly, the same voice from Kurumu's interview sounded. "I've done lots of investigating on both you and Hawke. You appear to be addicted to drinking his blood and if I recall correctly, Vampires are addicted to the taste of human blood, are they not?"
"That's not the reason!" Moka cried, knowing what the enforcer was implying. "I drink his blood because it is tasty, not because he is human!"
Ignoring the Pinkette, the enforcer removed the cloth from the object to reveal a glass of water. Seeing this, Moka gasped in fear, water being a vampire's fatal weakness. The enforcer walked into the shot and moved the glass closer to Moka, making her squirm in her seat. "Vampires fear fresh water. It drains their abilities and renders them powerless." Moka didn't reply. The only thing she could do was continue to look at the glass of water on the table. Smiling evilly, the enforcer continued, "In case you haven't figured it out, that is exactly what is in this glass. Fresh water."
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That was when the fire dispersed, leaving the room silent. For a second, the silence continued however a frightening scream pierced the room. It was a scream of absolute pain and agony, it was also a voice Christian recognised. Moka.
"You bastards!" Christian shouted, struggling against his captors. "You promised that she wouldn't be harmed! That none of them would be harmed!"
Kuyo remained silent as another scream filled the room. "You may want to hurry and confess," he said finally. "I wouldn't want Miss Akashiya to end up like these three."
Christian's eyes widened in fear. "What three?" he asked.
Kuyo smirked as he snapped his fingers and caused a cube made of black, magical energy to appear out of nowhere. After a moment of its existence, the cube shattered and left behind the broken and bruised forms of the Fan Boy Fan Club Coalition.
"Them?" Christian asked in surprise.
"Yes," Kuyo confirmed. "They were very useful. They told me all about your little battle with them. You apparently were quite weak and couldn't fight back until you used your device to transform. So…why is it you who is supposed to have such great strength, can't even fight off three pathetic weaklings until he has transformed?" Christian remained silent, staring defiantly at Kuyo. Seeing that he wasn't going to get an answer, Kuyo decided to try and end the interrogation quickly. "You may not be able to save yourself but you can still save her. I hear that if you remove your limiter, the forms you have will overload and kill you."
Christian's breathing rate increased in fear as he realised what Kuyo wanted him to do. "No…"
"Yes," Kuyo replied, grinning madly. "If you wish to save the girl, then remove the limiter and prove to everyone your humanity."
A thousand thoughts ran through Christian's mind all at once. If he were to remove the Omnitrix, not only would he reveal himself to be human but he would be killed. If he didn't remove it…Moka could die. Another scream pierced the room and Christian's heart, hearing his friends scream was ripping him apart.
"You might want to hurry," Kuyo pointed out, bringing Christian out of his thoughts. "Moka seems to be all hot and bothered right now. Perhaps we should take her outside to the pool at the back of the shrine and let her cool off. The water is lovely this time of year."
Anger surged within Christian. Using his training from the Plumber Academy, Christian threw his bound hands round and smashed his hands into once of his captors face, breaking his nose. Before the second could react, Christian spun on his feet and knocked the other guy of his feet where Christian proceeded to kick him in the head, knocking the enforcer out.
Dashing forward, Christian used his bound hands to grab a hold of Kuyo's shirt and pulled him in. The elder student appeared to be un-alarmed and made no attempt to get Christian to release him. "How's this for unprotected?" he growled.
"There is no point in attempting to hurt me," Kuyo stated, ignoring Christian's question. "If any harm is to come to me, your little Moka will suffer."
Christian growled, furious with himself for allowing Moka and his friends to come into harm's way. Another scream was heard and his resolve shattered.
"FINE!" he shouted, releasing Kuyo and falling to his knees. "Fine. Just let her go." Kuyo nodded, agreeing to the terms. Kuyo then bent down and released Christian's arms. He was confident the boy wouldn't do anything to endanger his friends.
Saying a silent apology to his friends and the Plumbers who had helped him, Christian used his now free hands to input a few commands on the Omnitrix touch pad.
"VOICE COMMAND MODE ENGAGED," a synthesised version of Christian's voice replied, surprising those in the room.
"Decouple Omnitrix. Command code 0-0-0. Release coupling. 0."
There was a small beep before the Omnitrix AI replied. "COMMAND CODE ACCEPTED. OMNITRIX DECOUPLED." Instantly, the binding on the device came undone and time seemed to slow as it fell to the floor. When it finally hit the floor, the coupling restraints slid back into the main body.
Kuyo waited for a few moments. However, upon seeing that nothing was going to happen, the blond bent down and picked up the Omnitrix, holding it in the palm of his hand. "I... …man." Christian mumbled, sadly.
"What was that?" Kuyo asked mockingly.
"I'm human!" Christian shouted. "I'm human alright! Now please, let my friends go!"
As soon as he had heard this, a mad grin appeared on Kuyo's face. "Hahahahahaha AAAHHHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Kuyo laughed before once again snapping his fingers. "Did you hear that everyone?" he asked as three boxes like the one that had encased the fan boys appeared behind Christian. No sooner had they appeared did they shatter to reveal Yukari, Kurumu and Moka. Each girl was unharmed and had a shocked look on their face.
Christian lowered his head so that his hair covered his eyes. The realisation that Kuyo had tricked him painfully weighed on his shoulders. Now his friends knew. They knew that he was human. Turning, he was able to see the look of fright, worry and sadness on Moka's face as she stared at her knees, tears forming in her eyes. Kurumu and Yukari had a different expression. Both bore a look of utter shock, fear and betrayal on their faces.
No sooner had the girls appeared, did several more boxes appear, each one shattering to reveal the members of the security committee. Zack appeared at the back of the group, his eyes slightly wide with surprise. With a prideful smirk, Kuyo spoke to the whole room. "Well, there you have it, straight from the horse's mouth. Christian Hawke has just admitted his humanity to all of us. He is a human. The mortal enemy of all monsters!"
From behind him, Christian could hear the comments of Kurumu and Yukari.
"No way…" Kurumu gasped.
"I…It can't be true…" Yukari denied, her world falling apart.
Kuyo and the security committee chuckled as they watched Christian's head fall in despair. Kuyo knew he would take great pleasure in executing this human. Christian had shown so much impudence towards him that he was looking forward ending his miserable life.
"As you can see, this shrine has barriers and illusion spells that can allow its occupants to hide in plain sight," Kuyo explained. "We can even make it seem like events are happening that aren't. Making it seem like your little girlfriend was in pain was trivial."
"Why?" Moka whimpered, her head still hung down as tears began to fall on to her clenched fists. "Why would you do that, Christian? Why did you tell them the truth?" Kurumu and Yukari's heads snapped around to look at the vampire girl. Even Zack in the back looked surprised. He hadn't expected Moka to know. "We were all getting along just fine." Moka continued. "You shouldn't have worried about me. You should ha-"
SLAP!
Christian turned with wide eyes to see that Kurumu had stood up and slapped Moka fiercely across the face. Moka neither made any noise nor flinched from the attack. All she did was sit in her seat, too ashamed to even look her friend in the eye. "You knew all along?" Kurumu asked, her tone a dangerous hiss which caused Christian to stand up. "You lied to the club, your friends?"
"Kurumu, wait," Christian said as he tried to approach the upset bluenette. "It's not Moka's fault."
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Kurumu cried out, tears in her eyes.
Christian stopped, backing away. Seeing this, Kuyo's grin grew. "Family feud, eh? Well you have been lying to them all along after all," he mocked. Kuyo then turned to some of his subordinates. "Miss Kurono and Miss Sendo are free to go. Place Akashiya in the holding cells."
Christian turned, anger once again flaring within him. "Why!? Let Moka go! She has nothing to do with this!"
"On the contrary. She knew about your secret beforehand and did nothing to perform her civic duty towards the school," Kuyo stated calmly.
"Why you…" Christian said, reaching for his left wrist only to remember Kuyo was holding the Omnitrix. The blonde in question merely stepped forward and punched Christian in the gut, causing him to gag as the wind was knocked out of him. The Plumber collapsed to the ground, his gloved hands holding his stomach.
"Christian!" Moka cried, making an attempt to run to her friend's side. However, she had barely taken a few steps before an enforcer held her back, lifting her over his shoulder. "Let me go!" Moka shouted, pounding on the enforcers back in desperation.
"That was for touching me with your filthy human hands," Kuyo stated, bending down to whisper in Christian's ear.
No sooner had he said that, guards proceeded to lead Kurumu and Yukari out of the shrine. Both girls leaving in silence. Moka on the other hand was carried away. "Christian! Please, run! Get out of here! Christian!" However, soon her cries faded as she was taken further away.
"MOKA!" Christian called out, trying to get to his feet only to be kicked back down by the enforcer whose nose he had broken.
Once the room was once again silent, Kuyo once again addressed the ensemble of enforcers. "Now then…Members of the Security Committee. In the name of order and for the sake of justice…I call judgement upon Christian Hawke."
The boy wearing glasses responded, "Guilty as charged."
The girl carrying a bow staff smiled innocently. "Guilty as charged," she said
Within a few seconds, the whole room with the exception of Zack had responded, "Guilty as charged."
"He's guilty," Zack said before he walked away, not looking back.
Christian watched his former friend leave before Kuyo approached him and grabbed him by the hair so that he was forced to look him in the eyes. "Christian Hawke, this court has found you guilty of being a human," he told him only to be met with Christian's hate filled eyes. "The sentence for your crime, is death." Christian continued to look at Kuyo with defiance, not giving in. "But first, let's learn about your little weapon."
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Once Kurumu and Yukari had left the shrine, the succubus had burst into tears, distraught to know the boy she considered her destined one had been lying to her the entire time they'd known each other. Yukari, surprisingly, wasn't in tears and was actually trying to keep a level head. Neither girl wanted to believe what they had just heard. Unfortunately they couldn't deny the facts and now Christian and Moka were being held and most likely going to be executed. Zack had left them and sided with the bad guys and Gin was nowhere to be found.
With nothing else to do, the two girls proceeded to make their way to a bench in the school gardens. Sitting down, they cried as they thought about what they were going to do next.
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In the jail cells beneath the Security Committee shrine, Moka had been thrown into a special cell meant for the most dangerous deviants at Yokai. She desperately shook the bars that imprisoned her, calling out to people who weren't even there. "Let me out! Please! I need to get to Christian! Please!" However, her cries fell on to deaf ears as no one bothered to answer her. After a few more minutes of shouting, Moka gave up and retreated further into the dark, curling up against a wall and cried, her hands clenched around the Rosario on her choker.
"Christian…" she whimpered, tears falling on to her uniform jacket.
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Zack stood on top of the enforcer shrine, looking out over the landscape. Having talked with Christian and seeing his self-sacrifice for Moka, he was now filled with doubts. His anger towards Christian hadn't subsided, that was definitely true. He wanted Christian to suffer for lying to him. However, something didn't feel right about the way Kuyo had treated Christian. Zack couldn't help but feel…Guilty.
Why? Why was he doubting himself now? He wanted Christian to suffer for lying to him so why did he have doubts now?
"Zack! I'm sorry for what I said to you. I just didn't want to lose anyone else."
"I'm human alright! Now please, let my friends go!"
Zack shook his head, trying to purge his mind of the unnecessary thoughts. Deciding that he had, had enough fresh air, Zack headed back inside. One thing on his mind.
'I need a root beer.'
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"Gah!" Christian cried out as he was kicked in the gut for the third time. He was back in his cell. After Kuyo had told him his sentence, two enforcers had picked him up and dragged him back. They hadn't seen the need to bind him as he was now defenceless. Kuyo had come with them, holding the Omnitrix in his hand. For the past five minutes the blonde had been demanding Christian tell him how the device worked and why it had ceased operating once it had been removed.
Christian had remained silent and was paying the price for it. It felt like a few of his ribs were broken and he was struggling to breath. After being kicked again, he coughed up a little blood, staining the ground below him. He needed to get out of here and save Moka, and now he had a plan.
"You are testing my patience," Kuyo said, rubbing his eyes in exasperation. "Tell me what I want to know and I can assure you that your death will be quick and painless."
I-I'll tell you," Christian wheezed. "I'll tell you how to use the Omnitrix."
"Good," Kuyo said snidely, gesturing for the two enforcers to step away from their prisoner. "I knew you would come around. Now tell me, why this thing won't work."
"It's…Coded to my DNA. It will only work if I'm the one wearing it," Christian replied, secretly pressing the sown in button at the end of each of his gloves, activating their function. "However, I can make it work for you. You just need to promise that my friends won't be harmed."
"Fine, you won't need to worry about your friends in the Newspaper Clubs suffering at all." Kuyo replied, smiling evilly. 'Their deaths will just have to be quick and painless.'
Nodding Christian began to speak. "Omnitrix. Voice Command engage."
In Kuyo's hand, the black and green device beeped. "OMNITRIX VOICE COMMAND ENGAGE."
With a hidden smirk, Christian ordered, "Omnitrix, disengage all safety functions on Omnitrix scan. Command code 0-0-1-1-0."
"COMMAND ACCEPTED, SAFETY PROTOCOLS DISENGAGED."
"What are you-?" Kuyo began.
"Omnitrix, scan closest unrecognised DNA signature now!"
"COMMAND ACCEPTED," the Omnitrix stated before it beeped and lit up with emerald electricity that shot out towards the closest being, which just happened to be Kuyo. The sudden shock caused the boy to shout out in pain as the Omnitrix scanned his DNA.
His two goons tried to go towards their master in order to help him but barely made it two steps when Christian stopped them by placing one hand on each of their backs. Before they could react, the two enforcers were shocked with several volts of electricity, knocking them out instantly. Turning off the shock gloves, Christian looked at Kuyo, who was on the floor, bug eyed and slightly smoking. The Omnitrix was on the floor beside him.
Quickly picking it up, Christian placed the device of his left wrist, causing the coupling to slide out of the main body and secure itself around his wrist. "I'm back," he said with a smile. The sound of someone getting to their feet caught Christian's attention. Turning, he saw Kuyo painfully getting up.
"You…Filthy…Human trash," he said, seething with anger. "How dare you-?" Kuyo began before a fist slammed into his face and making him fall back and hit the wall hard, knocking out the teen.
"That's for touching my stuff," Christian stated, rubbing his fist. "Time to find Moka and get out of here." He activated the Omnitrix and cycled through his transformations, taking notice of the new addition to his repertoire. Deciding that stealth was going to be required, he selected a head icon and slammed down on the Omnitrix core. After a quick flash of emerald light, a familiar blue moth man stood tall and proud amongst the unconscious enforcers.
"Big Chill," the alien announced before turning intangible and walking out of the cell. Once outside he turned and used his icy breath to create a solid wall of ice over the cell. Big Chill knew that Kuyo wouldn't be out for long. Hopefully this would slow his down.
"Hey kid!"
Big Chill turned in surprise at the new voice. Looking around, he found the Purple haired enforcer from the other day chained to a wall with several blue crystal shards laying around her.
"What do you want?" he asked angrily.
"Your little girlfriend will be in the special detention block," Keito stated. "It's on the other side of the shrine."
Big Chill blinked in surprise. He hadn't expected that. "How can I believe you?"
"That bastard Kuyo threw me in here after losing one fight to Orion like I was garbage. I no longer have any respect for him," Keito replied. "I don't exactly like you either but you're not the one who locked me in a cell."
Big Chill stayed quiet before nodding. "Do you want any help?" he asked, feeling like he owed the girl.
"I don't need anything from filth like you," Keito stated. "Just leave."
The Omnitrix bearer continued to look at the girl for a few more seconds before turning intangible and leaving through the wall. However, after a few moments, the blue alien returned with a set of keys he had acquired from one of the guards he had knocked out in his cell. Big Chill then proceeded to unlock all of the cells and allow the Enforcer's prisoners out. He came to Keito's cell last and threw the keys to her feet. "Now you can help yourself," he said before flying through the roof.
Keito watched him leave before sighing. "Lousy, good for nothing human. I hope he gets what's coming to him," she said as she saw the ice wall that entrapped Kuyo and the guards begin to melt, a light orange glow appearing on the other side.
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In the gardens, Yukari was now standing up and looking down upon the older girl who was sobbing upon the bench.
"C'mon Kurumu," she urged. "We have to do something." The young witch received no reply from her Succubus friend. "We can't just stay here and do nothing," she tried to reason and get the bluenette to respond. "Listen, I've been thinking about this since we heard what Christian said. I don't think it matters if you're a human or a monster, just if you're good or bad. I'm saying this from personal experience to. I mean when I first came to this school the ones who picked on me were monsters and the first person who stuck up for me was Christian and he was a human, the very thing that I was taught to be afraid of since I was little."
"Yeah, I know…" Kurumu whimpered, her eyes closed and her head down. "And I get it…"
"Well in that case-!" Yukari started, only to be cut off by Kurumu.
"But you don't get it. I'm upset for another reason." Kurumu was now shaking as she began losing the struggle to hold back her ever growing emotions. "We were all friends. But Christian...And Moka too. They didn't trust us enough to tell us the truth and what was going on."
"But Kurumu…" Yukari began.
"I mean, c'mon!" Kurumu continued, ignoring the young witch. "It's frustrating." Kurumu finally raised her head and looked at Yukari, allowing the witch to see the tears streaming down her eyes. "If they had just told us the truth, think of all the ways we could be helping them right now." Tears continued to flow as Yukari found herself unable to respond. "Idiots! Christian and Moka are idiots!"
Kurumu continued to cry for a few moments before Yukari spoke up. "Then maybe we should tell them that in person."
"Huh?" Kurumu asked, not understanding what she meant.
"You said it yourself, Christian and Moka are both our friends and despite lying to us, they don't deserve to die!" Yukari declared, grabbing Kurumu's hand and pulling her off the bench. "Both Moka and Christian have risked their lives in order to ensure our safety before. It's our turn to help them!"
This time, it was Kurumu who found she could not respond to Yukari's comment. It was true. Christian and Moka had saved them before and worked to ensure that everyone in the club was happy. So what if they had lied, no one needed to die. Looking at the driven Yukari, she smiled. "You're right, Yukari. Just like always," she said softly. "C'mon, lets go and save our friends, there will be plenty of time for Moka to beg our forgiveness after that."
Just as the girls were about to head back to the Security Committee shrine, an explosion rocked the area ahead of them.
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Minutes earlier, Moka sat curled up in her cell, burying her face into her knees. Helplessness consuming her. Christian was on death row, Kurumu and Yukari wanted nothing to do with them and Zack was a member of the enforcers. She was trapped and too powerless to do anything.
"I'm so sorry, Christian," she murmured, just as the Rosario began to glow, illuminating the darkness with its crimson light.
"Giving up already?" Inner Moka asked, her voice monotonous.
"No," Moka replied, although her tone said otherwise. "I'd do anything if it meant I could save Christian. It's just that unless the Rosario's removed, I don't have the strength to do it."
"You don't think you're the only one who's worried about him, do you?" Inner Moka asked, surprising Outer Moka. "Despite the fact Christian is human and is currently without the Omnitrix, he is very resourceful. I'm sure he will find a way to get away."
"You have a lot of faith in him," Outer Moka pointed out, the tiniest of smiles on her face. "I'm honestly surprised."
"I just respect his abilities," Inner Moka stated. "Nothing more, nothing less." With that the Rosario ceased glowing and Moka was left alone.
"I don't believe that," Moka murmured before she felt a shiver. She hadn't noticed but the room's temperature had suddenly dropped dramatically. "When did it get so cold?" the pinkette asked no one in particular.
"When I froze the guards," a familiar raspy voice answered.
Moka's head snapped round to see a blue, moth man with green bug like eyes and a strange mouth. The being was draped in in a blue cloak that made him look like a phantom. Despite the being's cold exterior, his green eyes were warm and filled Moka with an abundance of hope.
"Christian?" Moka asked, getting to her feet. Joyful tears beginning to form in her eyes.
"You've seen another alien moth man running around?" Big Chill asked mischievously before he remembered that Zack currently had his powers. "Actually, don't answer that."
"Christian!" Moka cried happily, running over to the bars. "You're alright! How did you get the Omnitrix back?"
"Kuyo's not the smartest guy when he thinks he's getting what he wants," Big Chill replied, opening up his cloak to reveal the Omnitrix symbol. "Stand back," he warned before pressing the symbol and transforming into Diamondhead. Once Moka was out of the way, the silicon-like alien morphed his hand into a blade and swiped at the bars, slicing them apart easily and created a doorway. Diamondhead slapped the symbol and in a flash, transformed back into Christian. No sooner had he reverted did Moka throw herself at the human, wrapping him in the biggest hug anyone could imagine.
"I'm so glad you're okay!" Moka cried, tears of joy falling down her face. "I was so worried."
"Shhh," Christian soothed, rubbing the back of her head in reassurance. "Everything's fine. It's time to get out of here."
"No one is going anywhere!"
Both teens looked to see Kuyo standing with the wrath of the gods embezzled on his face, the enforcer wearing glasses, the girl carrying a bo staff and giant enforcer at his side.
"Kuyo!" Christian cried in shock. "How did you get out of Big Chill's ice so quickly? It's stronger than normal ice."
"That? It was nothing against my power," Kuyo bragged. "Tell me Hawke, are you afraid to die?"
Seeing that there was no chance of getting out without a fight, Christian reached for the Omnitrix. "Moka stay back," he warned. "It's about to get hot in here." Activating it and slapping down on the core, there was a blinding emerald flash. When it faded, Christian had turned into a muscular plant man.
"Swampfire!" the alien cried before throwing his arms forward and sending out a torrent of flames towards the enforcers. Kuyo merely stood his ground, not concerned in the slightest. The other three weren't so lucky. Before they even had the chance to transform, the fire had reached them and they found themselves consumed by the flames. Once they had faded, the three fell to the ground, their uniforms singed and burnt in a few places. The glasses boy was half transformed into a being that possessed fur and disturbingly…Extra heads. Thankfully, due to their accelerated healing factor due to being monsters, the three would make a full recovery.
Kuyo looked back to his fallen subordinates and snarled, not liking that they had been taken out so easily. He turned towards his opponents only to discover that they were running away. "Where are you going Hawke!?" he shouted after them, a flame appearing in his hand. "There is no where you can hide, no where you can run from me!"
"That's why you won't be going anywhere for a while," Swampfire called back. "Enjoy the methane!"
"Methane?" Kuyo repeated, confused before he sniffed. His eyes widened to discover that there was indeed a rotten smell filling his nostrils. Apparently the form Hawke had turned into secreted the wretched gas and had filled the room with it after his first attack, and now Kuyo had an open flame in the palm of his hand. "Shi-!" Kuyo started before the room ignited and exploded.
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As soon as they had left the room, Swampfire had pressed the Omnitrix symbol on his chest and quickly transformed into XLR8 before grabbing Moka and speeding out of the Committee shrine at top speeds, getting out into the open air just before the jail cells exploded, a pillar of smoke appearing over the area.
Changing back, Christian dropped to his knees. It had taken a lot out of him to spread that much methane at once as Swampfire. "Are you alright Christian?" Moka asked, concerned for her friend.
"I'm good," Christian waved off. "I just need to catch my breath."
"Christian! Moka!" a young squeaky voice sounded, causing the two teens to turn and see Yukari running towards them, a look of relief on her face.
"Yukari!" the pair in question called out in surprise as Yukari tackled them in a joint hug and began crying. "I'm so glad you two are alright!"
"What are you doing here Yukari?" Christian asked, still a little in shock of seeing the girl.
"We're here to rescue her of course," Yukari replied.
"We?" Moka asked, confused.
"We," another familiar voice stated. The two teen looked towards the origin of the voice to discover Kurumu standing before them, her eyes covered by her cerulean hair.
"Kurumu…" Christian said with wide eyes. "You came." Yukari released both Christian and Moka and watched the Succubus with intrigue.
The bluenette walked towards the pair and did something unexpected. Like Yukari, she pulled the pair into a hug. "I'm sorry for shouting at you guys," she said, tears beginning to stream. "You shouldn't have lied to us, but we should have been more understanding."
"Kurumu…" Moka said in shock. She had expected to be slapped again.
"How sweet," a sickening voice said from behind the teens. Turning they saw Kuyo standing before them, a deranged smile on his face. Beside him was a familiar velociraptor-like alien with blueish white skin and blue eyes. Positive XLR8. Behind them was the unconscious forms of the three enforcers Christian had taken care of earlier. Apparently, Positive XLR8 had rushed in at the last moment and gotten the security members out of harm's way, not that Kuyo had needed it. "Friends reuniting," the blonde continued as Positive XLR8 reverted back in to Zack, his hood up. "It makes me sick. I think it's time to purge our school of the human menace and those he has corrupted. Don't you agree Zack?"
The boy in question remained silent. However, he was clearly sending Christian a death glare.
Christian stepped out defensively in front of his friends. "There is no chance in hell I'm letting you anywhere near them."
"You don't really have a choice," Kuyo responded.
Christian reached for the Omnitrix in order to turn into something he hoped could take down Zack and Kuyo. However, before he had even reached the faceplate, vine roots suddenly sprung out of the ground and ensnared the two boys.
"What?!" Kuyo shouted as he pulled against the vines wrapped around his hand.
"Why won't it come off?!" Zack cried as he struggle to remove the vines wrapped around his legs.
Christian turned around to see Kurumu was in her monster form and her eyes were glowing. Christian quickly deduced that she was using her illusions to buy them time to escape. Quickly activating the Omnitrix, he transformed in to a familiar orange parrot like alien with a strange formation on its back.
"Astrodactyl!" the alien squawked. Spreading out his glider-like wings, Astrodactyl ignited his jet pack and took to the air. "Kurumu! You take Yukari and follow me!" he cried as he swept down and picked up Moka underneath her armpits. Kurumu nodded and did the same thing with Yukari, picking her up before flapping her wings and taking off after Astrodactyl.
Kuyo, on the other hand, realised there was something strange about the vines that held him. He could neither feel them nor could his fire affect them. "Illusions," he growled. Calming his mind, Kuyo raised his monster energy until the vines that ensnared him seemingly burned away. Seeing this, Zack allowed his anger to rise and let a red aura spread over his body and cause the vine holding him to dissipate into nothing. Now free, Zack took some deep breaths and cooled off.
"We're going after them, aren't we?" he asked, transforming into his version of Astrodactyl as he said so.
"Let them run," Kuyo challenged, looking in the direction he had seen the four fly off. "It won't do them any good against one of my power." With those words Kuyo jumped ridiculously high in the direction towards the school, Positive Astrodactyl following closely behind.
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Astrodactyl landed with Moka on the roof of the school where he had originally talked to Moka about humans on the first day. Kurumu and Yukari landed a few seconds later. After taking a few minutes to catch his breath, Astrodactyl heard the Omnitrix begin to beep. After a bright flash, Christian once again stood amongst his friends. "Shit!" Why now?" Obviously so many quick changes had drained the power faster than it could recharge and now it wasn't working at all.
"We need to get you out of here," Kurumu stated.
"At the minute, all we need is to get me out of sight," Christian replied.
"No!" Moka argued. "It's too dangerous for you to stay here now. You need to escape."
"I'm not leaving," Christian countered. "Kuyo needs to be taken down. And I have just the alien to do it."
"Alien?!" Kurumu and Yukari cried in shock.
"We'll talk about it later," Christian replied, not in the mood for explaining. "For now, I need a place to hide before Kuyo finds us."
"Too late!" a familiar voice sounded. The four teen turned to see Kuyo and Zack standing twenty meters away from them, both looking ready to fight. "There is nowhere left to run, Hawke. It's a shame it won't be public but your execution shall now be carried out." A mischievous grin spread across his face. "But first," he said as a flame appeared in his hand. "YOUR FRIENDS WILL DIE!" With one fluid motion, Kuyo sent a spear of fire hurtling towards Moka at high speeds.
Seeing it approaching, Moka closed her eyes in fear, thinking that she was done for. However, at the last moment, the vampire girl felt someone push her out of the way. Opening her eyes, Moka saw something that would haunt her dreams to come. Standing with his arm still stretched out was Christian, a spear of flame pierced through his body. The other girls found themselves speechless as they looked at the boy of their affections. To the side of Kuyo, Zack was also bug eyed with disbelief, unable to comprehend what he had just seen. Kuyo, however, looked furious. "Hey! You can't die until you've suffered!"
Suddenly the flames from the spear spread of the rest of Christian's body, burning away the top half of his school uniform and leaving the skin black and charred. Crying out in agony, the teen fell to the floor, no longer able to support his own weight.
Acting instantly, the girls rushed towards their fallen friend, Moka scooping her up into her arms. "No! No! Christian, please! Stay awake! You can't die on me like this!" she cried, desperately trying to keep him awake, tears once again flowing like rivers down her face. Kurumu and Yukari remained silent, unable to find any words to say as Moka cradled their friend.
Difficultly, Christian raised his burned arm so that it cupped Moka's cheek. Despite the pain he was in, Christian smiled kindly at the girl. "Moka…If I don't make it…I want you to know…How happy I am I was given this mission…" Christian spoke, his voice no louder than a whisper. "My life became so much brighter… Coming to this academy… Joining the Newspaper Club…And meeting you."
"DON'T TALK LIKE THAT!" Moka screamed, pulling Christian close to her.
"There's just…one thing I wish to ask of you," he said, making Moka look at him in the eyes. "Protect the Newspaper Club…Protect our friends…And tell Max, I'm sorry," Christian moved his hand so that it was on top of the Rosario. "You mean…So…Much to meeeeeeee..." Christian trailed off as he breathed his last, his hand giving way and falling to the ground, removing the Rosario as he did so.
For a few moments nothing happened, Moka didn't transform, the other girls didn't move and Kuyo and Zack remained still. Even the wind didn't flow. Everything was deadly silent.
"Christian…" Moka tried. "Christian?" She had no reply. Realising what his silence meant, Moka let out a long and piercing scream as her monster energy exploded, her body being consumed in purple pillar of pure monster energy. Her hair turned silver and eyes became blood red, slitting as they did so. The sky became red and a terrifying aura, unlike any other filled the area.
With his dying breath, Christian Hawke had released Moka Akashiya's Inner Self and had given his friends the biggest chance they had to stop Kuyo once and for all.
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So, what do you think? Was it good or bad? Please leave your reviews and thoughts for me to read to know what I did well and what I could improve. I hope that you enjoyed the chapter as much as I did writing it.
I'll see you next time when the arc will end.
Quick note, Christian will not become a ghoul. I have no intention of doing that at all. I have something different in mind.
