Alien Watch in a Monster School

by Emblemfan1

Christian Hawke's been given the mission to build a bridge between the world of humans and monsters. What challenges await him in his quest for peace? Will his bonds with his new friends help in his task or lead him to despair? Armed with his new Omnitrix, anything is possible.

14. Chapter 14

"..." Speech

'...' Quote

'Hi' Thought

"Learn your place!" Inner Moka through Rosario

Feedback=Christian

Positive Feedback=Zack

Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own OC's, everything else belongs to their own creators.

Alien Watch in a Monster School

Battle on the Knoll

Galvan II

On the rebuilt planet of the Galvan; Azmuth, smartest being in three galaxies, arguably five, was completely baffled. The old alien was currently in his lab checking the readings that he had received from one of his creations two weeks ago. They were astonishing.

According to the reports, the Omnitrix had attempted to scan a foreign substance that had entered its user's body before safely removing it. However, something had gone wrong and instead the Omnitrix had stored the substance into itself whilst releasing a small amount of it in to the user's blood stream. It was then that there had been a sudden energy burst in the alien forms genes that had increased their natural abilities for a short while before wearing off.

But there was still lots of the substance left over. But it had been dormant, whatever the Omnitrix had stored remained in its system database as an unknown variable and had even developed a protocol for when it should be released. There was only one reason that would happen. The Omnitrix had acted on its own in order to defend its user from something that could harm him. However, when this substance was first introduced, the user had been in distress and was dying. Whatever it had been, it had healed the user and had essentially brought him back to life. Why would the Omnitrix contain a sample that was dangerous if it saved its user's life?

To find out more information, Azmuth sent a software patch to that specific Omnitrix which was not only designed to monitor and report back everything that happened within the user's body, but also unlocked and enhanced some of the other functions. Azmuth was sure this anomaly was nothing to worry about but he wanted to be careful. Despite the fact he pretended not to, he did care about the users of his inventions.

Suddenly, an alarm began to blare on one of the many computer screens surrounding him, causing the ancient Galvan to rush over to the correct computer panel. Almost instantly the Galvan assumed Ben Tennyson had done something to break it again. Probably bashed it against a rock or something. However, the first thinker was surprised to learn that it was the bearer of the second Omnitrix, Christian Hawke that was causing the alert.

Much to the shock and alarm of the tiny alien, the Omnitrix was registering a dramatic drop in all his vital signs. "What in the blazes!" The alien began rapidly typing away on his computer panel in order to find out exactly what had happened to the teen. According to the readings he was losing blood rapidly, his entire body going into shut down. From the amount of blood that was being lost, Azmuth could only deduce he'd been stabbed.

Just as Azmuth was about to use his personal teleport to go to the boy, something remarkable happened. The screen suddenly registered that Christian was beginning to recover. His vital signs rising by the second. It was incredible, Azmuth had never seen anything like it before. This was going to be fascinating to examine. However now wasn't the time. Now was the time for work, and he had a lot of it to do.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The little girl was in awe of the lights around her, each one a glittering orb of wonder. Her eyes were ablaze with the sheer brilliance of the glow illuminated before her.

"Ruby, slow down," the girl's father chuckled, following his daughter side by side with his wife. "You'll get lost."

"But it's so pretty Daddy," the girl replied, turning and sending her parents a beaming smile. "This is where the humans live?"

"That's right," her mother replied.

"Would you like to live here one day?" her father asked, as he offered his daughter his hand.

"Yeah!" the girl cried joyfully, taking a hold of her father's hand before also taking her mother's. The family continued to walk through the hustling streets, hopeful that their future was going to bright. However something crossed the young girls mind. "Daddy…? Didn't you say we couldn't live with the humans?"

His daughters question had caused the man's eyes to become far and distant. It was like he could see a different world than the one in front of him. "That's true Ruby," he said with a hint of sadness. "But wouldn't it be wonderful if one day…both witches and humans can live together?"

"That would be wonderful Daddy!" the girl replied, still smiling happily as she used her parent's arms as a swing.

The family continued, the parents being practically dragged by their daughter. They crossed a road and that was when it happened. There was the ungodly shriek of rubber on concrete. The girl turned just in time to see a pair of lights heading towards her. Unlike the others, these lights were evil and uninviting. The lights swerved slightly but remained heading towards them. She heard her father shout before she felt herself being flung across the pavement. The girl closed her eyes as she heard another ungodly screech, the sounds of brakes being applied, the scream of a woman and finally two loud thuds.

Slowly and full of fear, the girl opened one eye and took a look at the upsetting scene before her.

"Mummy…?" she called out, tears beginning to form. "Daddy…?"

There was no reply. There was never going to be a reply to those words ever again.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruby's eyes cracked open only to be greeted with the sight of a hanging lantern over her head. Her entire body felt sore and it hurt to move, however Ruby urged her body forward. Sitting up, a small wet rag fell from the witch's head, showing someone had been looking after her. Looking around, she found herself in unfamiliar surrounding. She was alone in a in fairly large tent with a ice cooler and a lantern. She had no memory of how she'd got there.

It was then that it came back. The fight in the field, killing the human and finally those girls transforming and attacking her. But how was that possible? They were human weren't they?

"It's incredible!" a familiar, high voice shouted from outside the tent. "His body has completely recovered. All that's left is a scar."

"Yahoohoo! It's a miracle!"

"But how did it happen? I didn't inject him with any blood so how did he heal himself?"

Looking around, Ruby was unable to find her wand. Those teenagers must have either taken it or destroyed it. She was defenceless so if she wanted to escape and return to her master, she'd to have to be stealthy. Cautiously, the girl looked outside of a crack in the tent flap to see Yukari and the two girls from before crowded around the still body of the boy she had stabbed before. For a brief moment, Ruby took a sick pleasure in the fact she had managed to kill one of these humans before something registered in her mind. Yukari had claimed the human male had made a recovery. How was that even possible?

"Maybe the Omnitrix healed him," Yukari offered. "We don't fully understand what it can do. Maybe it tapped into Swampfire's regenerative abilities."

'Omnitrix?' Ruby questioned. She had never heard that term before.

"If that were the case then it would have healed him when Kuyo attacked him," The pinkette pointed out, clearly referring to a past event.

"Then what else could it be?" the Bluenette asked. "He's human after all."

'So he is human,' Ruby thought.

"Guys, one of us should check on Ruby," Yukari suggested, making the witch jump back further into the tent. However this action just alerted the girls to the fact she was awake. As one, the three students walked over and opened up the flap of the tent. Ruby knew she was in trouble. The looks the two older girls were giving her told the older witch that they were still very much angry with her for what happened earlier. Ruby prepared herself to be yelled at but to her surprise, they didn't do anything of the sort.

"So you're up," Kurumu stated, not looking too thrilled she was. "You may as well get comfortable. Oh yeah, I'm Kurumu by the way. Try not to stab me." She introduced before leaving the tent and going back over to Christian unconscious body. The surprised Ruby was now left with the smiling Yukari and monotonous Moka.

"My name's Moka. We still have some fish left over. Help yourself to it, our teacher will probably eat it anyway." With that, the pinkette left the tent and returned to her friend's side, leaving only the two witches in the tent.

"Why aren't you attacking me?" Ruby asked quietly, making Yukari look at her strangely.,

"Pardon?" the younger witch responded, cocking her head to the side.

"Why aren't you and your friends attacking me?" Ruby repeated. "I almost killed your friend didn't I?"

"True," Yukari admitted, looking very annoyed. "You'd probably be dead right now if it weren't for me."

Ruby's eyes widened. "You…saved me?"

"Yeah," Yukari bragged, looking rather pleased with herself. "When Moka and Kurumu attacked you, I used my magic and put up a barrier around you. It wasn't enough to fully protect you but it stopped them from killing you."

"I guess I should say thank you," Ruby mumbled, now feeling extremely lucky to even be breathing. "What are you?"

"We're students. We're on a school trip from Yokai Academy."

"Yokai Academy…?"

"It's a school for monsters designed to teach us to coexist with humans."

"Impossible!" Ruby declared, her glare sharpening. "Humans and monsters can never live together! They are greedy and murderous and-!"

"That's funny. I could say the same about you."

Both guys jumped in surprise when a familiar male voice sounded and tent flaps opened to reveal a solemn faced Christian who had apparently decided to wake up, he was wearing his jacket but not his shirt. Bandages were wrapped around his upper body, concealing the large circular scar that no doubt was now on his chest. Behind him was a happier Moka and Kurumu, however they still looked slightly apprehensive now that their friend was before the person who had stabbed him in the first place.

"Christian!" Yukari cried happily, jumping to give the teen a hug.

However, the teen winced from the contact. "Careful Yukari," he said, ruffling the younger girl's hair, "I'm still recovering over here." The younger witch quickly pulled away.

"Sorry."

"It's alright," Christian replied before turning to the scowling Ruby. "You okay?"

"How are you alive?" Ruby said bluntly. "The attack I delivered was a death blow."

The teen looked thoughtfully up towards the roof of the tent. "No idea," he said finally, making everyone in the tent sweat drop.

"What do you mean you don't know!?" Ruby shouted once she had recovered.

"I mean I don't know. One moment I'm dying, the next I'm waking up on the beach with Kurumu and Moka sitting over me. They told me you were here and I decided to say hello. I'm Christian by the way."

The older witch's right eye twitched in disbelief. How could this boy just casually talk to her after what she had done to him? "Is there something wrong with you?!" she demanded. "I'm your enemy! Why are you treating me like another of your friends!?"

"It's called being nice," Christian stated. "It's what you do when you aren't stabbing people. I still haven't gotten an apology from you by the way."

"How dare you! I would never apologise to someone like you!"

The three other girls looked unhappy with the witches answer but Christian was unfazed. "Fine," he replied before opening the nearby cooler and removing a can of orange tea and tossing it to Ruby. "You may want that. You must be parched." Once again, Ruby was surprised by the kindness Christian was showing her. "What are you?" she asked, looking down at the can in her hands.

"That's…A little harder to explain," Christian admitted, looking a little nervous. Upon seeing the weird look Ruby was giving him he gestured to his friends.

"Witch!" Yukari declared proudly.

"Monster." Moka and Kurumu stated with forced smiles.

"And I'm human," Christian finished. "Most of the time."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Sorry, trade secret," he replied cryptically. The witch scowled at the lack of information. But she still had questions.

"Why are you helping me?" Ruby asked. "I tried to kill you didn't I?"

"Oh will you stop going on about that," Christian said. "I don't care. If you had tried to hurt one of my friends then we would have a problem." The serious look in his eye told Ruby that he was being…well…serious. "We don't need a reason to help you. You were hurt and it was the right thing to do."

"I still don't see why we are though," Kurumu interrupted. "She did try to kill you."

"Said the pot calling the kettle black," Christian said over his shoulder. "Let's face it, everyone in this tent has caused me bodily harm at some point or another. Hell…I almost die every morning on the way to school." That made the three female club members shrivel in their seats. "Now Ruby…I understand you don't like us and at the moment I don't think we're too fond of you either. So how about we call a truce and you tell us your story."

"My…story?" the older witch repeated in bewilderment. "Is this a trick?"

"No trick," he replied. "Just interested. You're protecting that hill like your life depends on it and I want to know why."

Ruby looked at the teen for a few seconds, taking in his features and scanning for any indication he was lying or trying to play her. She found none and for some reason that scared her a little. After a short silence, she finally decided to talk. "When I was young…my parents were killed in an accident caused by a human." That made the teen flinch for some reason. "My mother and my father were all I had and they were taken from me in an instant. Ever since that day I have grown up cursing the humans and their putrid city." As she spoke, Ruby took a little joy in the saddened looks of those in front of her. "I ran away from that city and found myself on that hill. It was then that I was taken in by a powerful witch who raised me as her own daughter. We would have lived forever in peace if it weren't for the day the humans came with their damn machines. They tore up the flowers and began to destroy one of the last safe havens we witches have left." As Ruby remembered everything that had happened, her emotions began to flare, making her angrier. "Why!? Why do they do this!?" she cried, jumping to her feet and throwing the can of tea she had been holding away, almost hitting Christian in the progress. "It would be so much better to just destroy all of them!"

"Are you done?"

Ruby was brought out of her thoughts to see that Kurumu was the one who has spoken. "Because that's just sad. Something went wrong because of a few select humans and your solution is to kill all of them? That doesn't make you any better than them."

"But…" Ruby tried to say before being interrupted by the Succubus again.

"But nothing. Not all humans are bad," Kurumu continued. "Whether you're human or monster, there's no difference in the value of someone's life."

Ruby was taken aback by the girl's words and found herself second guessing her motives. Was she really no better than the humans who had ruined her life?

"I think we should all get some sleep," Moka suggested. "We can talk more about this tomorrow." The other member of the Newspaper Club nodded and one by one left the tent until only Ruby and Christian remained.

"Aren't you going to go?" Ruby asked, not nearly as hostile as it had been earlier.

"Well…this is my tent," Christian said pointing over to a bag of his stuff in the corner. But since you're here, I'm just going to grab a blanket and sleep outside. It's a nice night anyway." Once the teen had grabbed his stuff, he made his way out of the tent flap. However, just before he left completely, Christian turned and said, "Ruby…I know how you feel."

"I highly doubt that." The witch stated, not believing she and the human in front of her had anything in common.

"I wouldn't be so sure. We're more alike than you think. For one; we've both lost our parents."

"You…you lost your parents too."

Christian's eyes became sad as he remembered his parents. "Yeah…they were killed by some kind of…monster." Christian half lied. He didn't want Ruby to know about aliens, at least not yet. "I've sworn to avenge my parents so I can understand why you want to kill humans."

"Then why do you stop me?" Ruby asked, a little confused.

"For one I'm human so I can't exactly condone you killing other humans. Especially since what you planned on committing was genocide. You want to defend your hill and I can understand that. Let me help you. I know people who can make this hill a protected place. Trust me." Ruby stared at Christian for a few moments but remained silent. Knowing that he wasn't going to receive an answer, Christian proceeded to leave the tent. "Just think about it. No one needs to die."

With those words, he left Ruby on her own with a lot to think about.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In the middle of the sunflower field, two figures stood side by side amidst the golden flowers looking out at the starry sky. The first was a white robed woman with bright, oily yellow hair that was almost on the verge of being straw coloured. Her eyes were sunken and full of rage. The scariest thing about her was her skin which had a sickly green tinge.

Her companion was covered in a dark cloak that obscured his features. The only noticeable thing was the wooden staff he held. It was long and came up to the figure's neck. At the end was a carving of some kind of bird's skull with a ring going through the eye holes

The gentle silence was broken by the sound of the flap of wings. A crow as black as the night landed on the woman's arm before it began to caw. The woman leaned down towards the crow's head. "I see…" she said with an old but croaky voice. "Ruby was defeated and captured by the enemy. How could she be so foolish?"

"Perhaps you're student wasn't as skilled as you assumed?" The male voice of her companion was deep and full of pride, however it was also dark and cruel.

"Ruby is more powerful than you know my friend," the woman replied before turning back to the crow. "Fetch her." The crow bowed its head before taking off. Once it had gone, the woman turned back to her companion. "The war draws near." She gestured towards the flowers around them. Slowly, the ground began to mound as something pushed its way out of the dirt. "With the blessings of water and sunlight, our army grows unceasingly. While we may lead, Ruby is to be the general of our blossoming army." A green, clawed hand pushed its way through the dirt. "She will return. As long as she has life in her, she will always return to me."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruby continued to stare at the slightly dented tea can in her hands. She didn't know why but she just couldn't stop thinking about what that boy had said to her. All her life, she had been cursing the humans who had taken her parents from her. And now, in less than thirty minutes, four people had managed to almost change her entire perception. And one of these people was one of the very humans she had grown up despising.

She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of fluttering wings and the tent flaps opening. The witch's head snapped up to see a single crow looking up at her. Much to her surprise, the crow had her wand in its claws.

The teen recognised this crow as one of her master's familiars. "Found you Ruby." An almost childlike voice said in her head. "Come to get you Ruby. Brought your wand Ruby. Lady's angry Ruby."

The witch's eyes widened in fear. She needed to return or else she would only further incur her master's wrath. Taking a hold of her wand, she slipped silently out of the tent and in to the cool night air. The crow that had come to her was calmly perched upon the girl's shoulder. In one hand was her wand, in the other…was the can of tea. Before she walked away, Ruby cast a glance over at the boy resting peacefully by the dwindling fire. The blanket covering Christian was slightly loose and part of his shoulder was exposed. Ruby looked at the human she had harmed with intrigue. He seemed so peaceful and Ruby had no idea why. She was his enemy, why was he so relaxed? She could kill him right now, leave and his friends wouldn't be able to do anything about it. She could do it and return to her master victorious. So why didn't she?

"We've both lost our parents."

Ruby shook her head, casting out the thoughts. She needed to leave…now. Her wand glowed a violet light before six, black, bird like wings spread from her back. Before she took off, Ruby cast one last sideways glance between Christian and the tents that no doubt the other girls were sleeping in.

Against every instinct telling her not to, the witch teen leant down over the sleeping boy and placed the can of tea beside the teen's head before she gently pulled up the blanket so that it covered his shoulder. Ruby remained still for a few more moments before standing up and walking a safe distance. She then took to the air with a flap of her wings.

"Goodbye…" Ruby whispered as flew over the top of the hill and in to the beautiful field on top of it. "I wish…I wish I had met you all earlier."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Ruby continued to fly for a few minutes until she came to the centre of the field. It was there that she saw a single, cloaked figure standing alone in a large clearing amongst the flowers. Steeling herself, the winged girl dove down towards the ground, landing ten metres away from the white cloaked figure.

"Your Ladyship," Ruby began, her wings fading into nothing, "I have returned."

The woman in front of her remained silent. Then, in one fluid motion, the woman swung around and extended her arm. A long green vine lashed out from underneath the sleeve and struck Ruby around the face, causing the witch to fall to the ground.

"Is it true?" the woman asked, fury evident in her tone. "You were defeated by mere humans?"

"My lady…" Ruby began only to be struck again by the vine.

"Be silent!" the woman cried. "What do you have to say for yourself?! You are supposed to be powerful! How could you have allowed this to happen?!"

"I'm sorry!" Ruby cried desperately as she was struck again.

"That's not good enough! Worst of all, you let them nurse you back to health!" The vines wrapped themselves around Ruby's body. "What good have all my teachings been!? Do your parents' deaths mean nothing to you?! Do you care nothing for your people!? You are a disgrace to witches! And now…I must re-educate you."

"My…Lady…" Ruby struggled to say as the vines ensnaring her began to tighten.

"Get off of her!" a high pitch voice shouted, causing both witches to look up at the sky to get an eyeful of one of the strangest things they had ever seen. Suspended in mid-air, a trail of green energy shooting out of something on its back, was an orange humanoid parrot wearing green and black overalls. Two glider-like wings could be seen over his shoulders and there was some kind of symbol on its left shoulder that looked like an hourglass.

"What are you!?" the woman demanded angrily, the vines around Ruby slackening in case they needed to be used to fight this new entity.

"Human," the creature replied, making Ruby and the woman gawk in disbelief. "Most of the time." It was then that Ruby realised who this being was. This was what he had meant when earlier?

Acting quickly, Astrodactyl dive bombed towards the witches, pressing the Omnitrix symbol on his shoulder and disappeared in a bright light that forced them to cover their eyes. When the light had finally gone, Ruby found the vines that had been holding her laying loosely around her, scorch marks present where they had been severed.

"I think that is an improvement," a deep voice said, putting a lot of emphasis on the 'I'. Ruby looked up to see a humanoid being with long arms and bat like features. Scarily, the being had eyes all over its upper body with the exception of its face. He wore black pants with a green and white belt that had the same hourglass symbol the previous creature had in the centre. "I'm sorry but I saw you were busy and thought I should drop in. I can't stand it when I'm not invited to a party."

Ruby was flabbergasted. Christian was human. He had told her so himself. How was it possible he could be these creatures?

"Ruby!"

The witch turned to see Yukari, Kurumu and Moka running towards her, the former being the one who had called out. Ruby took notice Christian was not with them, further confirming the creature in front of her was who she thought. "Are you okay?" the younger witch asked, looking over Ruby in concern.

"Yukari…how did you…?" Ruby began, not fully understanding what was happening.

"I woke up and saw you had gone," Yukari explained. "We knew this was the only place you could have gone. We came as quickly as we could."

"You left this behind," Moka said, handing Ruby the can of tea she had left beside Christian. "We want to help."

"How did Christian…?" Ruby began, still trying to make sense of everything that had happened in the past fifty seconds.

"Christian has this thing called the Omnitrix that allows him to turn in to aliens," Kurumu answered casually. "It's no big deal."

"How is that not a big deal!?" Ruby demanded. "Wait…did you say aliens?!"

There was a bright flash that caught the girls' attention which showed Christian had reverted. Lady Oyakata's eyes widened in shock. now that the teen had returned to his original form she couldn't sense any type of monster energy from him. He was definitely human, but then…how did he transform into those creatures? "We can talk about that later." He said. "At the minute I'd rather like to know who you are." This was directed towards Ruby's mistress.

"Do you honestly think I would tell a putrid human my name?!" the woman snapped.

"Yes I do!" Christian replied, raising his voice and surprising everyone. "Today, I have been half eaten, stabbed, practically killed and my Omnitrix is acting weird. Do you have any idea how long it took me to transform into Astrodactyl? I am not in the mood to be messed with. So…May I ask for your name?"

The robed witch glared at Christian. She had just seen him as two strange creatures only to change back into a human. She had no idea what is potential could be. He could ruin her entire plan. She needed to buy time whilst her partner completed the ritual. "Very well then human…let my name be the last you shall ever hear. I am Lady Oyakata. I have heard how you treated Ruby. Tell me…what brings you back to my hill?" As soon as she had said those words, a powerful aura passed through the clearing allowing everyone to sense it. Seconds later there was a powerful gust that flew past the teens, making it difficult for them to remain on their feet.

"She's so powerful!" Moka shouted, holding on to Kurumu in order to keep each other up straight.

"How about you, young witch?" Lady Oyakata asked Yukari, who had been hanging on to Christian. "Come to us. It's not too late after all. Join your own people at last! We are superior to these humans you seem so attached to. I'll prove it…by killing them all!" As she said this, Oyakata raised her arm to show a greenish hand that seemed to have vine like tendrils running underneath the skin. The nails on her fingers peeled back to allow vines to come out which then proceeded to move like snakes. Yukari looked at Oyakata with wide fearful eyes before moving to hide behind Christian. Seeing this, the older witch lowered her head so the hood of her cloak covered her features. "I see…" She said in a low, regretful tone. "Then I suppose you will all have to die." Reaching in to her cloak, Lady Oyakata pulled out an old tome that was brown in colour with a purple gem in the centre. Almost automatically, the tome began to glow violently.

"Here she comes!" Kurumu cried, her eyes never leaving the witch.

"No…" Ruby murmured, looking fearfully out at the field as an hostile aura exploded from the ground. "Here they come."

"The sunflower field!?" Moka cried in shock.

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" the oldest witch laughed, confusing the four students, Ruby knew what was happening. "Sunflowers? Look more carefully. These are no mere flowers." As she spoke, the flowers around them withered and the stalks began to bend and move. "Horticulture is my hobby you see," Oyakata continued. "And I've been nurturing this species for quite some time…" The flowers were now completely gone, shrivelled up leaving only large green stalks which waved back and forth like a tail. It was then that a large claw burst from the ground. It dug its talons into the ground and pushed itself up. Everyone was now able to see what the creatures looked like. It had four legs, each possessing sharp claws. It had a horrible looking head with several blood red, pod like eyes. Opening its mouth, everyone was able to see a large set of sharp teeth.

"What is that thing?" Christian asked, feeling quite worried now that he was looking at the monster in front of him.

"A...Hanabake…" Ruby answered. "It's a man-eating plant monster."

"And one of my pets," Oyakata cackled as the Hanabake stared at the five teens with its empty red eyes. "And I think it's about time I fed it. And now I have the perfect fertiliser. What a lovely opportunity to see how my plants are growing. KILL THEM ALL!"

The Hanabake leapt forward and swung its massive claw towards Christian, who was only just able to dodge it by jumping backwards. Kurumu and Yukari reacted instantly, moving protectively in front of the teen.

"We won't let you harm him!" Kurumu declared. "You'll have to get though us first!"

"As you wish." Oyakata waved for her 'pet' to attack again.

"WAIT!" Christian cried, rushing in between the girls and the snarling monster. "Please! We only want to talk! We want to help you protect this hill! I have connections, people who can help make this place a sanctuary! Just drop this notion of revenge and I can get you protection with one phone call!"

A painful silence descended on the hill as the teens waited for Oyakata's response. However, she just gave a cruel smile. It was then that the Hanabake shot its tail forward, striking Christian across the face and making him fall to the dirt. As he sat up, he spat out a glob blood at the ground. The members of the News Club rushed to his side, Moka helping him back to his feet. Christian had to clench his fist in order to resist the urge to activate the Omnitrix, well if it would even work in the first place.

"You think you can weasel your way out of this!?" Oyakata demanded. "How predictably cowardly of a human being! Pathetic creatures like you are better off dead!"

"Is that how you feel, Ruby?" Christian asked, turning to the middle witch. "What do you think?"

Once again, a silence fell upon the hill as everyone froze. Even the Hanabake stopped to look at Ruby. The girl in question looked conflicted, shifting her head around to look at everyone present.

"She feels the same way I do!" Lady Oyakata claimed. "She was raised to hate them!"

"You're a great guardian aren't you?" Christian remarked sarcastically. "However I asked Ruby, not you."

Lady Oyakata looked at Christian in utter rage. How dare he talk to her like that? Who was he to do so?

"I…I…" Ruby began, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she felt herself heart tear apart. "I think that-"

"ENOUGH!" Lady Oyakata yelled, raising her tome as it glowed menacingly. "I have heard enough!" The Hanabake snarled, showing off its teeth. In one motion, the Hanabake lunged towards Christian, who still had his back turned. Its jaws were bared to rip apart the human's flesh.

"CHRISTIAN!" The rest of the News Club screamed, Kurumu already prepared to jump in to action.

"NO!"

A sharp black blade burst through the Hanabake's chest, stopping it just before its claws could touch the teen.

Everyone turned to Ruby in pure shock as she stood with her wings still present on her back, chlorophyll - like blood dripping from the hardened feathers. Lady Oyakata was the first to recover. Looking at Ruby with sad, uncomprehending eyes, Oyakata spoke in a gravelly tone, "Ruby…why? Why do you betray me?"

"My lady…" Ruby began, turning to face her mother figure with tear soaked eyes. "Is war the only way left for us? Must we kill the humans?"

As she spoke, the words of her father played through her mind. "But wouldn't it be wonderful if one day…both witches and humans can live together?"

"This boy told us he could help us…and…and I want to believe him," Ruby said. "I want to believe that one day…one day, humans and witches can live together in peace."

Oyakata stared at her adopted daughter in utter disbelief. Her lip quivered as she realised her final ally, the girl she had raised since she had come across this hill the fateful night, had sided with the enemies she had hated for centuries. "Ruby…so now even you leave me."

"Your Ladyship…I'm not leaving you. I'm just tired. Tired of all the hate." As Ruby spoke, she stepped towards her mistress. "Let Christian and his friends help us. No one else has to die."

"Ruby…" Oyakata repeated, looking regretfully at the witch in front of her. "It's already too late…"

With those words, the ground around them began to burst open as more Hanabakes jumped out of the ground. Each one was looking at the teens hungrily, green saliva secreting from their mouths. Within a matter of seconds, the teens and Lady Oyakata were surrounded by hundreds of the plant monsters.

"All of the sunflowers were monsters!?" Christian cried in shock, looking around in terror.

"There's an army!" Kurumu cried, her eyes wide with fright.

"How many of them do you think there are?" Moka asked, her head shifting from side to side as she tried to count the sheer number of monsters around them.

"From the size of the field and the number of sunflowers per square metre, we could potentially be dealing with thousands!" Yukari calculated, fright evident in her tone.

"Your Ladyship…please don't do this!" Ruby begged, rushing forward towards Lady Oyakata.

"It is not me doing this Ruby," Oyakata admitted. "He is the one in control."

"What!? Who!?" Christian demanded, running over to Ruby's side. "What are you talking about!?"

"A few weeks ago…a man came to the hill. He claimed to be a sorcerer and held great magic. He agreed to help us with our plan, claiming that the world belonged magic users and that we should return to the old order." Oyakata explained, albeit a little distastefully.

"The strange thing is that he often asked about the magic we possessed and spent great amounts of time reading the old scrolls and spell books we have like he had never seen anything like it before." Ruby added, looking at Christian strangely.

The Plumber teens eyes became wider and his breathing rugged. This person they had described sounded very familiar to what he had read in Plumber records. If he was right, then this situation just got ten times more dangerous.

"What is his name?" His voice came out as barely a whisper, his body beginning to tremble as he fought to control his emotions. "WHAT WAS HIS NAME!?"

Oyakata found the change in the human's demeanour fascinating. This was the first time he had looked this terrified. He hadn't even been this way when the Hanabake had attacked him. "The man who came here was called-ugh!"

Oyakata spasmed as her back began to smoke. Time came to a crawl as the elderly woman fell forward. She hit the ground with a thud, scorch marks on the back of her cloak around a hole that had burned through to her back, allowing Christian and Ruby to see the blistering skin beneath.

"YOUR LADYSHIP!" The teen witch dropped to her knees and cradled the woman who had been her adopted mother. "Please hold on!" she cried as tears formed in her eyes. "You're going to be okay!"

Oyakata looked up at Ruby with dying eyes, a small trail of blood running down from her mouth. Shakily, the witch rose her hand so that she was cradling Ruby's face. "I…cannot say I approve of your choice," she said, her voice weak. "But if it is your wish…then I shall not deter you." She turned to the shell shocked Christian. "Boy…you said you could protect this hill. Did you mean it?" A little shakily, Christian nodded. He found that it was the only thing he could do. Words could not come to him. "Then do so. Keep your word and protect the hill." Once again, the teen nodded. The girls on the side line watched the scene with teary eyes, completely unaware of the Hanabakes closing in. Finally, Oyakata turned back to Ruby. "I'm sorry I got you involved in my revenge…you deserve to live a happy life…"

"I will…" Ruby sobbed, tears falling on to Oyakata's chest. "But not without you. Please! Live! We can get help. I'm sure-"

"It is too late child," Oyakata said softly. "This is goodbye. I'm glad to have met you. You were the daughter I could never have." With those words, she closed her eyes, allowing her life to slip away. When her light breathing finally came to a halt, a gentle breeze blew over the hill, as if Oyakata's spirit was having one last passing through the sunflower field she had loved all her life before moving on.

"Your Ladyship…?" Ruby whimpered, pleading for a reply. "Please…answer me…" she sobbed, holding the body of her adopted mother closer to her. "Don't leave me alone again. I don't want to be alone."

All the members of the Newspaper Club were now crying, unable to bear with the heart wrenching scene in front of them. Of course, the sound of the growling Hanabakes around them meant that they didn't have enough time to mourn. Acting quickly, Kurumu unfurled her wings and unleashed her claws. In one motion, the bluenette savagely decapitated the Hanabake closest to her.

Yukari was quick to follow, using her wand to summon the tarot cards she had used earlier to slice apart any Hanabake unfortunate enough to get in her way. The two girls proceeded to go on a massacre, slicing apart any and all Hanabake in their path. Within a minute, Hanabake body parts littered the floor, surrounded in hordes of Chlorophyll like blood.

Moka, wanting to fight to, rushed over to Christian, who had his head down and eyes closed. "Christian! I need you to unseal me! I want to help!" Moka cried, only to be met upon deaf ears. "Christian?"

"How could he do this?" he boy murmured, confusing Moka. He couldn't believe this. Ruby had just lost another guardian, a parental figure. Having lost his own parents, he understood what it meant to lose a loved one. What he couldn't understand was what it meant to lose another. No one should have to go through that. Christian snapped his head up.

"SO WHAT'S NEXT!? ARE YOU GOING TO KEEP HIDING!? COME ON OUT WHERE WE CAN SEE YOU COWARD! HEX!"

"So, the boy knows who I am," A deep, cruel voice sounded. The group looked up to see a figure levitating above them. They appeared to be thin, bare-chested man with tattoos over his body and face, which had a skull-like design due to the black tattoos over his eyes and cheeks. He also wore a black cape and a hood with red seams. In his hand was a wooden staff with skull of some kind of bird carved into the top. "Should I be impressed?"

"What are you doing here?!" Christian shouted angrily. "You're supposed to be in Plumber lock up!"

Hex's eyes widened ever so slightly. "So…you are a Plumber? They must be desperate if they are recruiting little boys." Christian growled, fury flooding his veins. "During the attack a few weeks back," Hex began, referring to Khyber's attack on the Plumber base. "I, and a multitude of the other prisoners, were freed thanks to a technical glitch in the system. While I assume the others fled into Bellwood, I came here to learn and get away from the Plumbers. It was then that I came across this hill and the hag who owned it."

"SHE WAS NOT A HAG!" Ruby screamed. "She was a great witch who was far more powerful than you could ever be!"

"I agree," Hex admitted, looking at the witch disinterestedly. "And that is why I had to get rid of her. Despite being as old and senile as she was, the woman still had the ability to take control of these creatures from me if she wanted. She needed to be disposed of."

"So you killed her!" Christian shouted, his teeth clenching every time he closed his mouth. "Striking her from behind when she wasn't prepared!? You call yourself a sorcerer?! You're nothing more than a god damn coward!"

"How dare you!" Hex cried, raising his voice for the first time. "I am one of the most powerful sorcerers in the world and very soon I shall have more power than you or those Tennyson brats!"

"Oh that's what it all comes down to in the end! Who has the most strength?!" Christian countered. "I hate people like you! You pick on the weak and defenceless and take away all that's good in their lives. And for what? Some measly bit of power?!"

"Measly?" Hex repeated, his brow quirked in amusement. "If only you knew." Suddenly the wicked man raised his staff and pointed out towards the decimated remains. "Awakatelo Foligeto!" The eye holes of the skull glowed a bright yellow. In response, the red orbs that littered the floor shone for a second before they, and all the other Hanabake parts began merging together, reforming the creature they had once been with one key difference: They were now bigger and a lot angrier.

"What the hell!" Kurumu shouted as one of the Hanabakes reformed to her direct left. "Didn't we just kill these things!?"

"That must have been a reanimation spell…" Ruby theorised, watching as the Hanabakes swarmed around them. "But it's unlike anything I've seen."

"Who is this guy!?" Yukari cried fearfully, looking directly at the smirking Hex.

"He's called Hex," Christian stated. "One of the most powerful magic users out there and despite what he may say, he's human. Albeit from a different reality."

"What!?" The girls cried in utter disbelief.

"No human could do what he can," Kurumu stated.

"How many aliens have you seen me transform into?" Christian asked over his shoulder, not taking his eyes off of Hex.

"So…yet again a human has taken something precious from me," Ruby said sadly, looking at the ground with regretful eyes. "Her Ladyship was right…they should all be destroyed."

"Hey!" Christian shouted, making the girl look up at him with teary eyes. "Don't let the acts of one man define your view of humans. Hex is evil and after everything he has done can barely be considered human."

"But…" Ruby began.

"But nothing!" Christian interrupted, ferocity in his eyes. "We stop Hex now and punish him for everything he has done! This is our last stand, we either take him down or die trying!"

The girls were amazed. He was still prepared to fight despite seeing the odds against him. Confidently, Moka walked up to Christian's left and took a hold of his hand, clenching it reassuringly. "I'm with you Christian. Always."

The teen smiled as he felt someone latching on to his right arm. Looking to his right he found the smiling Kurumu, her wings still unfurled. "When do we get started?"

Yukari appeared at Moka's left. "Let's kick this guy's butt!" she stated with more determination than an eleven year should, her tarot cards appearing above her.

"I'm…I'm with you as well," Ruby said, moving to stand next to Kurumu, her own wings present. "This man shall pay for what he did to Lady Oyakata."

The dark mage above them looked down with disinterest.

"Five, you think five people, no matter what your abilities are, can defeat me and my army!" he asked in amusement, gesturing out to the blood thirsty Hanabakes that surrounded the teens.

"No." Christian let go of Moka and took hold of the Rosario. "Six." He ripped off the Rosario. Within an instant, Moka was engulfed in monster energy as she started to transform. To the Newspaper Club, they knew exactly what was happening and didn't flinch at the amount of monster energy around Moka. Ruby, however, was flabbergasted by the vast amount of raw power being displayed to her. As Moka's hair turned silver and her eyes became blood red, Ruby could only come to one conclusion. This girl was a vampire.

The Hanabakes, who could sense all of Moka's monstrous power, took a few steps back as they felt an enormous amount of pressure against them. Hex was forced to cover his face as the wind picked up, making his cape fly randomly against the gale.

When Hex was able to see again, he was the met with the sight of an angry, platinum haired girl jumping towards him. "Learn your place!" Inner Moka shouted at the top of her lungs as she swung around her leg, savagely kicking Hex in the chest and sending the man shooting towards the ground at high speeds, making a small explosion of dirt when the evil sorcerer collided with the ground.

Inner Moka fell gracefully to the ground and landed in a crouched position in front of Christian. Standing up, the vampire turned around to look at her friends. "Are we going to fight them now?"

The response she got was Kurumu and Ruby taking to the air, using their respective claws and wings to cut through a horde of the plant monsters. Seconds later, Yukari ran past with her wand raised high into the air, her razor sharp tarot cards encircling around her head.

After watching the girl go, Inner Moka turned back to Christian. "It would be wise to assume alien form."

"Way ahead of you," Christian remarked as he moved to activate the Omnitrix. However, his smirk soon disappeared when the Omnitrix didn't activate. "What!?"

"WARNING," the automated voice of the Omnitrix began. "OMNITRIX SYSTEMS ARE CURRENTLY RECEIVING UPDATE. ALL NORMAL SYSTEMS HAVE BEEN SHUT DOWN."

"No!" Christian cried, repeatedly tapping on the touch screen in the hopes it would activate only to receive the same message again. "Not now!"

"What's wrong?" Inner Moka inquired.

"It says it's updating," Christian told her, still messing with the Omnitrix screen and getting the same message as before.

"So stop it then!" Inner Moka shouted.

"Like I haven't tried! This isn't like the kind of update you can do on a PS4 where you can pause it when you have something better to do! I don't know how to pause it!"

"It's your device!"

"It doesn't mean I know how to use the bloody thing!"

"Hey! You two!" the familiar voice of Yukari caught the pair's attention. "When you two are done arguing like an old married couple, we could use your help!"

Christian and Inner Moka looked out at the battle field in front of them with small blushes on their faces. They couldn't see Kurumu and Ruby but were able to guess where they were due to the flying Hanabake parts that were being thrown in abundance, a spray of green liquid following them as they were ripped apart. Yukari was on the forefront of a large group, using her magic to take out any stragglers. Sighing, Inner Moka turned back to her companion.

"Stay here and out of trouble. Like this you will only get in the way," the vampire remarked, walking towards the horde of plant monsters who promised only death.

"That's a little harsh don't you think?!" Christian called only to receive no reply. Inner Moka simply jumped and axe kicked the closet Hanabake to her, relieving Yukari of the honour, and disappearing in to the large crowd of green monsters. Once Christian had lost sight of her he turned back to the Omnitrix, cursing it for not working when it was most needed.

"Christian! Watch out!"

Five tarot cards flew past him so quickly, he almost didn't see them. There was a dying, monstrous, moan before Christian heard something collapse behind him with a loud thud. The Plumber teen turned slowly to find the collapsed form of one of the many Hanabakes, puncture marks secreting its green life source could be seen on its back. Its right claw out stretched as if it were reaching out for the boy. "Thanks Yukari…" Christian said, releasing a breath he hadn't known he had been holding. "You really saved my skin."

"What's family for?" Yukari replied with a cheeky smile which Christian happily returned, glad to see that the young witch had accepted what he had told her earlier. "I'll protect you, so don't worry." The girl moved in front of Christian and raised her wand.

"I feel safer already," Christian stated, a small smile on his face before looking to the Omnitrix. 'I just wish this thing would start working.'

The battle of the hill continued, Kurumu and Ruby using their abilities to slice the Hanabakes apart. Inner Moka was simply moving from one monster to the next, obliterating them with every kick.

Slightly away from the battle field, Hex's eyes flickered open. The sorcerer rubbed his head, trying to rid the pain shooting through his brain. The skull faced man looked out across the battle field with a look of shock. He could not believe that these…teenagers…had laid waste to majority of his new army. After scouring the field below, Hex found the insolent Plumber teen who appeared insistent on ruining his plan. However, for someone who talked about him being a coward, the teen wasn't doing very much fighting, in fact…he wasn't doing anything at all. The arrogant cur was standing still and relying on a young girl to protect him. He was such a hypocrite, now who was the coward?

Using a small incantation to take to the air, Hex floated high above the battle aiming his staff directly at the Plumber teen. "Berdi Mordo Nata!" The inside of his staff began to glow. Suddenly, a torrent of flames burst from it, travelling at high speeds towards Christian.

However this did not go unseen by everyone. Ruby, who had been high above the air using her wings to attack from the high ground whilst the others attacked low. She had seen Hex attack but his attention wasn't on her. She could use this chance to kill the man and get revenge for her Ladyship. But no one had noticed the flames heading towards Christian and Yukari. If she didn't do anything then the human and her fellow witch would die. Making her decision, the teen witch spread her wings and dived, flying at a speed she didn't know she could travel.

Feeling the hairs on the back of his neck tingle, Christian turned to see the flames heading towards him.

"Not again…"

He turned and wrapped Yukari in a hug, bending over the surprised witch in order to protect her from the attack. As Christian was sure they were going to be hit, he felt a pair of hands push him and the witch out of the way. He and Yukari rolled across the dirt, coming to stop a short distance from where they had been. Still holding Yukari defensively, the boy looked up to see a sight that almost stopped his heart for the third time that day.

Lying face down on the floor with burn marks all over her clothing was a barely conscious Ruby, her wand was gone, burned to cinders leaving only the purple gem behind. "Ruby!" Christian cried. Letting go of Yukari, he ran over to fallen girl. His outburst had caught the attention of the other girls. From where they were, the girls quickly fought their ways over to their allies, Yukari arriving first as she was closest.

"No! Ruby!" The younger witch Christian's side and took hold of the older girl's hand.

"I guess…that was pretty stupid…" Ruby wheezed, a small, tired smile on her face. "But…I did manage to save you two."

"You're going to be fine," Christian said, although his voice was trembling. "Just stay awake. C'mon, just keep looking at me. You're going to be fine." As he spoke they were joined by Kurumu and Inner Moka. Both girls' outfits were torn in places and they were sweating from overexertion.

"I'm glad…I got to meet you. All of you…Thank you for setting me free. Remember…No sorcerer or witch…can perform magic without a medium to channel their powers…" With those words, Ruby closed her eyes and her breathing became thin.

"Ruby…" Yukari tried, shaking the girl. "Ruby!" The witch then cried, tears once again building in her eyes. There was no response. Slowly, Christian placed the girl on the ground, making her look peaceful.

"I can't believe it…" Kurumu gasped. "I just can't believe it…"

Inner Moka remained silent but her fangs clenched as she glared up at the man floating nonchalantly above them.

"It's my fault…"

The girls turned to Christian. His head was down, tears pouring down his face. "This happened because she was trying to protect me…"

"Christian…this isn't your fault," Kurumu said.

"But it is!" the Plumber teen cried. His breathing was becoming more rugged as his anger grew. "Hex has gone too far." Before anyone else could say anything else, the sound of beeping caught everyone's attention.

"OMNITRIX UPDATE HAS BEEN COMPLETED. REGULAR SYSTEM OPERATIONS HAVE RESUMED."

"Finally," Christian growled, stepping back before raising the device. "Time for Hex to learn what it's like to get burned."

"Hawke! Stand down!" Inner Moka shouted. "You're not in the right mind right now!" She looked down to the still Ruby. She could sense a heartbeat and knew the girl was only unconscious. "The girl is-"

"Sorry Moka…" Christian interrupted, selecting the head icon he wanted and raising his hand as the core became exposed. "But this has gone on long enough." He slammed down on the core.

"HAWKE!" Inner Moka shouted once again before she was blinded by the emerald light.

Immediately, she felt a great amount of heat, like someone had lit a fire in close proximity to the group. When the light faded, the girls were met with quite a surprise. In front of them was a large, brown furred, fox-like creature with green eyes. It had four long tails coated in green flames. Over its body was a green, black and white suit similar to Blitzwolfer's. It had a collar around its neck with the Omnitrix symbol in the centre. Unlike the other forms they had seen, the three girls instantly recognised this form and they instantly became concerned. In front of them, minus the fur and clothes, was the spitting image of Kuyo in monster form.

"Flarefox!" the new form shouted, announcing its name. His voice was deep and growly

"What!?" Yukari cried in confusion. "That's a Yoko! How did Christian change into a Yoko!?"

"I thought he could only turn into aliens?" Kurumu remarked.

Inner Moka looked at the new form with interest. Christian had some explaining to do.

Hex, on the other hand, felt his eyes burn with surprise and anger. The brat had the same abilities the Tennyson boy did. How was that even possible?

"HEX!"

The sorcerer was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Flarefox calling him out. "Time to burn!" The fox-like monster jumped high into the air and shot a blast of flame towards the evil sorcerer. Acting quickly, the evil sorcerer raised his staff and chanted another spell

"Tempestus!" he cried, making water burst from the ground below him to protect him. However, as the flames made impact with the wall of water, the liquid boiled instantly and dispersed, creating a fog of steam that covered both combatants.

Within the fog, Hex looked around nervously for his opponent, knowing he would use the change to his advantage. Suddenly he felt great amount of heat on his back. Turning, Hex barely had any time to react as a green and brown blur came out of the fog and pinned him down as they descended down to the earth.

The girls down below witnessed Flarefox exit the steam cloud, his hand like claws wrapped around Hex's arms. The two hit the ground hard in an area with no sunflowers, the sorcerer taking the brunt of the impact. Above him, the snarling monster glared directly into the man's eyes. "What are you waiting for?" Hex asked, with just as much anger as the monster was giving him.

Flarefox didn't reply. Instead he simply allowed the flames on his tail to flow all over his body and down to his front claws, burning the sorcerer and making him cry out in pain. This seemed to slightly satisfy the fox monster, a toothy grin appearing. If one were to look closely, they would be able to see speckles of red appearing in his eyes.

Flarefox released Hex's right arm, and raised his claw in to the air, ready to strike. However, this also gave the sorcerer a chance to cast a spell. Painfully, he angled the end of his staff towards the ground. Quickly, the sorcerer said the first spell that came into his head. "Kalecky Erupt!" A large stone erupted from the ground and struck Flarefox in the side, making the monster fly off the sorcerer. However, as he was thrown off, Flarefox's claws brushed across Hex's unprotected chest and cut into the flesh, drawing a small amount of blood to the surface.

The girls didn't know what to make of the fight in front of them. Both combatants appeared to be giving it all. Christian was being particularly more brutal. Thankfully, Flarefox's flames didn't appear to be a powerful as Kuyo's otherwise it was possible Christian may burn down all the sunflowers on the hill.

The three girls tried to move to help Christian, but Hex saw them. As he dodged a blast of flame that Flarefox had sent him by levitating upwards, he pointed his staff out towards the girls and the Hanabake remains and cast the same spell he had earlier. "Awakatelo Foligeto!" As soon as the words left the sorcerer's mouth, the scattered Hanabake remains began to reform into the monsters they had originally been. Just like last time, they were now bigger and more ferocious than before. As soon as they were in one piece, the Hanabakes jumped so that they became a wall that separated the girls from Hex and Flarefox. Of course, this only made the girls more determined to get to their friend as they began to slash and kick apart the familiar foes.

Back with the main battle, Hex and Flarefox were circling one another, each combatant waiting for the most opportune moment to strike. Finally, after several moments of only glaring at each other, Flarefox charged forward with incredible speed, his sharp teeth bared. Within seconds, the monster was down upon Hex, taking a swipe at the sorcerer with one of his large claws, using his flames to boost the damage he could do. Unfortunately, Hex was able to dodge it by jumping and rolling to the side. As soon as he was upright again, the sorcerer was put on the defensive yet again as Flarefox sent another blast of flame. "Tempestus!" Once again, he created a wall of water that blocked the assault.

"What's wrong Hex?!" Flarefox demanded, glaring dangerously at the sorcerer with his teeth bared. "You can't kill someone without striking them from behind?"

"Insolent brat!" Hex shouted, his anger flaring. "I will send you to the pits of hell to join that hag Oyakata!" The sorcerer then proceeded to lift his staff and bash it into the ground, the eyes of the bird head glowing bright orange. "I shall show you all that I have learned from my time on this hill!" Before Flarefox could do anything, Hex began murmuring a chant the boy turned monster couldn't hear. Instantly, the red eyes of the Hanabakes glowed. Inner Moka had just demolished a Hanabake and was about to move on the next one, when her opponent ran away, following its brethren as they rushed towards their sorcerer master. All of the Hanabakes jumped on to Hex and began to meld their flesh around the sorcerer to become one mass.

"Oh no!" Yukari cried, making Kurumu and Inner Moka look at her in concern.

"What is it!?" Kurumu asked, not taking her eyes off of the growing thing in front of them.

"That guy is using a forbidden spell," Yukari explained. "It's a spell of last resort which merges the user with one or more creatures and incorporates their powers. However once it's finished, the user can never return to their original form." A loud roar caught the girls' attention. The three looked up to see an enormous creature, around the half the size of Way Big. It had four large arms that extended out from its body whilst dozens of large, thick tentacles were spread out all over its back. Millions of red eyes were spread out over its body. Its upper torso was covered in huge drooling mouths which were even present on its back. In the centre mouth, Hex could be seen, his cloak billowing out behind him whilst his hands and legs had fused into the pink flesh of the mouth he was in. His staff was positioned in front of him, also submerged in the flesh in front of him. The girls, including Inner Moka, looked up at the behemoth with eyes full of fear. They had only seen one other thing taller than what Hex had become, and they were glad he was on their side, if he really was still on their side. Flarefox was looking up at Hex with a large amount of fury, too blinded by his anger to be scared.

"Incredible!" Hex stated, his voice booming. "I can't believe the power this form has! No one will be able to stand against me now!"

"It doesn't mean I won't try!" Flarefox cried, flames encircling around his tails.

"Is he…?" Yukari began, looking at Flarefox in shock.

"Yeah," Kurumu confirmed, sharing Yukari's expression.

"Get down!" Inner Moka cried, jumping back as the heat began to increase.

"Let's see how you like this!" Flarefox cried as he released the flames running around his tail, sending out his own version of the Wheel of Fire towards Hex's lumbering form. The flames hit their mark, striking the mouth Hex was in. There was a large explosion as flames and smoke billowed out from the area that had been hit. For what felt like hours, the group waited in nervous silence to find out what had happened. As the smoke began to clear, the group were in for a truly horrible sight. The mouth Hex had been in was now hanging loosely ajar, the green flesh around it burned and charcoal black. Hex's body could be made out in the mess that had once been a jaw. It was mostly destroyed, burned away by the heat of the flames. Somehow, the wooden staff looked completely unharmed and barely charred. Hex must have cast charms on it to protect it from fire long before the fight.

The girls were in pure shock. Had Christian just killed this man?

Suddenly, the sickening sound of something squelching caught their attention. Looking up, the girls were amazed to see the ripped jaw returning to its proper place, the burnt and scorched marks healing instantly, returning to the sickening green it had been before. Inside the mouth, Hex's body was also recovering, his colour returning to normal. As his body reformed, a smirk appeared on the skull tattooed man's face. "Is that the best you have?!" he asked in a cocky tone. "I'm not impressed."

Flarefox became angrier as the flames around his body increased and obscured him from sight. "I'll show you the best I've got!"

Inner Moka knew what was coming and instantly moved to get her friends out of the way. Grabbing Kurumu and Yukari around their waists, the vampire jumped to where Ruby's unconscious form lay. Behind them, Flarefox's monster energy had exploded and was becoming raw power. After a few seconds, the emerald flames were blown away by a shock wave as something jumped out of them. The sorcerer felt a powerful, burning fist connect as something delivered a wicked right hook to his face.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hex was able to make out a being with a human-like upper half and a fox's lower half complete with the four tails Flarefox had. The upper body resembled the boy from earlier, except his hair was slightly longer, and brown fur covered his whole body. Fox-like ears stuck out from his head and his hands were clawed. Black markings were on his cheeks and he wore the same uniform Flarefox had. The Omnitrix dial was on a collar around the form's neck. The form's green eyes were wide with hatred as he looked at Hex. Hex, of course, had no idea what this form was, but the girls down below recognised it as a Yoko's battle form. Christian had just released Flarefox's true abilities.

The fox-like monster remained with his fist connected to Hex's face, standing inside of the mouth to keep him from falling. However, Hex merely chuckled before one of the large vines on his back reached inside the mouth and wrapped itself around Flarefox's waist and pulled him out. From there, Flarefox watched furiously as Hex's face healed itself instantly. Whatever Hex had done to himself, his body was now like putty.

But the monster didn't care. All that mattered was making Hex pay for what he had done. He just couldn't believe he had let more people suffer. His parents, those students Khyber killed, Lady Oyakata, and now Ruby. Hex wasn't getting away with his crimes and he was going to make sure of that.

Increasing the amount of flames around his body, Flarefox reduced the vine holding him to cinders, allowing the teen to fall gracefully to the ground. Now that Flarefox looked more human, the girls could see just how angry Flarefox was. His eyes were narrowed, his hands were shaking and his teeth where bared as he breathed heavily in and out. Inner Moka knew that he wanted to continue to fight but also knew that with Hex's new abilities, he didn't have a prayer in beating him. He could do all the damage he wanted and it would just be healed. Inner Moka needed to stop Christian from killing himself.

"Kurumu, Yukari; Look after Ruby. She's alive but is unconscious."

"What are you going to do?" Yukari asked.

"Smack some sense into the emotional wreck." Inner Moka stated. However before she could even act, there was the deafening sound of a large explosion from behind the girls. They turned to see Flarefox unleashing everything he had at Hex. The fox-like teen was now sending fire ball after fire ball all over the titan's massive body, each one exploding upon impact. However, no sooner had the smoke faded, did the injuries the behemoth receive heal.

"Give it up boy!" Hex thundered, clearly amused by his opponents ordeal.

"Never!" Flarefox responded, sending a massive blast of emerald flames at the mouth the sorcerer was in.

This time Hex did block it, using one of his four gigantic arms to take the flames. "I grow tired of this." He declared. "Once I finish you, I can move on with my army to conquer all the nations, taking all magical secrets for my own!"

"You're not even getting off this hill!" Flarefox retorted, sending another blast of flames at the sorcerer. However, just as before, it was ineffective. The flames hit the outstretched arm of one of Hex's new arms, which caused a large explosion with the bonus effect of creating a smokescreen that proceeded to blanket the area.

Inner Moka used this as her opening, diving through the smoke towards the only thing that was illuminated: Flarefox. The vampire teen spear kicked him out of the haze and down a small hill where they wouldn't be seen by Hex; Flarefox's flames died as he rolled down the hill. When he had finally come to a stop, the teen slowly pushed himself up from the ground.

"Wha-!?" Flarefox began before he felt someone slap him hard across the face. When his vision came back into focus he was greeted with the sight of an angry Inner Moka standing over him and looking the monster fiercely in the eyes.

"What on earth were you thinking!?" the angry vampire yelled, slapping Flarefox's other cheek. "Do you have any idea what you are doing?"

"But Hex-" Flarefox tried only to be interrupted once more by the vampire girl.

"Is far too powerful to fight on your own! Yes, the Yoko is a powerful form, but it clearly isn't the right one for this situation! As you have failed to notice in your angry outburst, this man's regenerative capabilities are far too great for this form's flames to do any damage. At this rate you are going to destroy the field you promised to protect! Not only that, but in your rage you forgot about your friends' safety! Did you even wonder what we were doing while you battled Hex?"

The truth hit Flarefox like a freight train. In his anger, he had completely forgotten about everyone. How could he have been so stupid?

"I'm sorry…" he murmured, looking down and feeling disgusted with himself, the speckles of red disappearing from his eyes. Slowly, he reached up and pressed the Omnitrix on his collar and disappeared in flash of emerald light. Once it had faded, Christian was back in his original form. He still had the gloomy expression.

"You should be!" Inner Moka reprimanded. "In a battle, you shouldn't let your emotions cloud your judgement! It's times like that when people die!"

"I know…"

Inner Moka sighed, knowing that she had done enough. "Either way, we should head back to the others. They will need our help, especially as they are guarding Ruby as-"

"Ruby's alive?!" the Plumber teen cried, his eyes wide with shock.

"The magician's attack only rendered her unconscious. She's alive though."

"Thank god…" Christian murmured, sighing in relief.

"If you're done, we should get moving," Inner Moka told the teen, earning a nod.

"Just let me get-" The Omnitrix wielder began before being interrupted by the ground beneath them shaking. Before either teen could react, several vines burst out of the ground and formed a dome around them. The sound of deep laughter met their ears as their new cage suddenly lifted itself from the ground and up over the hill. As they weren't actually strapped down, Inner Moka and Christian were not ready for the sudden movement and fell on each other, Christian ending up on top of his vampire friend. When the cage finally came to a halt, the Plumber teen looked around, curious as to what had happened.

"Hawke." Inner Moka practically growled his name. "Remove yourself before I have to teach you your place." The vampire teen snarled, her face slightly tinged red.

"Sorry!" Christian blurted out, jumping back to the other side of their green prison.

"Christian! Moka!"

The sound of their friends calling out to them made the two teens look out through one of the small gaps in their cage to see Kurumu and Yukari in a similar situation to them. The girls, plus the unconscious Ruby, were sealed tightly away in another spherical cage made of vines which were apparently so thick that not even Kurumu's nails could slice through them.

"Guys! Are you okay!?" Christian called.

"Don't worry!" Kurumu cried back. "We're fine!"

"But you won't be for long!" Hex's voice rang out, making both sets of teens turn to see his gigantic form towering in front of their respective prisons. "You shall die here, wishing that you had never dared to cross me! Then, I and my army of monster soldiers shall wreak havoc across this world, taking any and all magical secrets for my own!"

"You'll never get away with it!" Christian cried from his and Moka's cage. "The Plumbers will stop you!"

"The Plumbers will have no say in the matter!" Hex countered. "I'm far too powerful for them now!"

Christian growled, glaring hatefully at the monster Hex had become. However, a light bulb went off in his head as he remembered something the sorcerer had said only moments before.

"Plants…" he said, confusing Inner Moka who was beside him. "That's it."

"What?" Inner Moka asked, confused by what Christian meant.

"Hex's biology is basically that of a giant plant's right now. Swampfire has the ability to control them. If I transform into him now, I may be able to gain control of his body."

"But he was originally human," Inner Moka pointed out. "It may not work."

"It's worth a try, especially if it means you and the others will be safe." Christian told the girl, earning an extremely small blush that went unseen and unacknowledged by both occupants of the cage. Christian activated the Omnitrix, a little surprised that it had recharged already as he had just been in another form for so long. Quickly, he scrolled through the head icons until he found the one he was looking for. He was about to select it when the cage suddenly lurched to the side as Hex moved it to disorientate the prisoners. Unbeknown to anyone, Christian's finger slipped and another head icon appeared instead of Swampfire's. Shaking off the sudden movement of the cage, Christian selected the head icon on the holo wheel without even looking at it. Once the core had opened up, the teen slammed his open palm down upon it, transforming in a flash of blinding light.

When it faded however, Christian had transformed into another new form that neither he nor Inner Moka had ever seen before. The form was covered in thick metal. On it's back was a jet pack with two large thrusters just waiting to burn. His forearms, lower legs, jetpack and the shoulder pads that were on his arms were all dark green whilst his upper arms and legs, lower torso and face plate were black. In the palms of his gauntleted hands was a large circle which looked like an exhaust port. If one were to look, similar exhaust ports could be found in the base of it's feet. The slits in his face plate were green. The Omnitrix symbol was located in the centre of his chest.

"What the…?" the new form spoke, it's voice sounded synthesized and slightly heroic. "Who's this?"

"You didn't have this form before?" Inner Moka inquired, quirking a brow at the metal form.

The form looked at Inner Moka. Through the face plate, he could see targeting computers, system checks, and weapon capacities. Whatever he was, he was in a suit of armour. "Never," the form stated, looking back down at his hands. Suddenly, a section of his inner right arm opened and a small cylindrical object shot out in to the form's open hand, it was attached to two flexible strips of metal that connected it to the form's arms. Suddenly, the exhaust port in his palm opened up and connected to the object. Suddenly the object began to glow as a beam of high density, blue light particles lit up. The armoured form looked at his new weapon with intrigue, giving it a small wave. "But I like what he can do."

"That looks like some kind of sword," Inner Moka pointed out.

"Ironmonger."

The Vampire teen gave her friend a strange look. "What?"

"I think I'll call this guy Ironmonger," the newly dubbed form responded, placing his sword down towards the base of the cage.

Inner Moka looked at Ironmonger with a dumbfounded expression. "We are quite possibly going to be killed…and you take this time…to name a new transformation?"

"Why not?" Ironmonger replied, his face plate emotionless but voice slightly cocky. "As you said, this could be the last time I transform." Before Inner Moka could respond, the armoured alien turned to face their cage. For some reason, the suit scanned the structure of the cage and told Ironmonger exactly the density of the vines. Suddenly, the light of his sword became brighter and more intense. "Moka, watch this…" Before she could reply, Ironmonger slashed through the vines cutting through them like a hot knife through butter. Once he had made one large slash, he proceeded to make another in the opposite direction, creating a burning 'x' in the vines. The armoured alien then proceeded to raise his left hand towards the vines as the exhaust port on that hand opened up and a large blue beam shot out, bursting open the prison. "Cool." Ironmonger walked towards the new opening. Looking out he found an angry Hex glaring at him, clearly displeased by the teen turned alien's persistence in opposing him.

"So you still have some fight left in you!?" Hex's voice thundered. "I guess you can supply some entertainment before you die!"

"Moka," Ironmonger began, not looking back towards his friend, "If I go down here, you need to get everyone off this hill and contact the Plumbers. There's a communicator in my bag back on the beach. Make sure everyone gets away safe."

"Hawke, you are not fighting this alone." Inner Moka stated, moving to stand beside her mechanical friend.

"Fine," Ironmonger submitted, knowing there was no chance in dissuading the girl. "Can you hold him off while I free the others?"

"With pleasure," the vampire teen replied with a smirk, jumping high into the air and axe kicking one of the giant mouths that was present on Hex's new body.

"That's my girl," Ironmonger commented before realising what he had just said. Apparently this form was a lot more confident than he was in human form. Quickly thanking whatever deity was up there that his vampire friend hadn't heard him, Ironmonger released the grip on his sword, allowing it to retract back into his arm. "Please let this work," he said before jumping down from the high up cage. He fell several metres, giving a mental command to the armour as he did. Much to his relief, the vents on his jet pack opened, firing out large amounts of blue energy which propelled him into the air. "Woo hoo!" Ironmonger yelled as he flew up into the air at high speeds, leaving a blue light trail as he did. Performing a cartwheel in the air, Ironmonger dive bombed down towards the second cage which held his other friends.

As he approached, Ironmonger flipped in the air, opening up the exhaust ports in his feet to slow him down enough that he came to a stop just in front of the vines. Inside, Yukari and Kurumu looked at the new form in awe. "Christian…is that you?" Yukari asked, admiring the new form.

"Yep," Ironmonger confirmed, once again ejecting the cylindrical hilt from his arm and passing energy into it to activate the sword. "Stand back." The girls did as they were told, before Ironmonger plunged the light particle sword through the vines and cut a wide circle in the vines that was large enough for the girls to leave from. Once he had cut a full circle, Ironmonger proceeded to pull the vines apart, creating an opening. "Kurumu, you grab Yukari and take her down to ground level. I'll grab Ruby." Once the girls had obliged and gotten out of the cage, Ironmonger walked over and picked up Ruby bridal style. The metal covered alien then proceeded to activate his jet pack and hovered gently out of the cage and down to the ground.

Upon making sure that his friends were safe, Ironmonger left Ruby in the two girls care. "I'm going to help Moka," he told his friends. "Make sure you keep her safe."

"Christian!" Yukari cried, making the armoured alien look back towards the young witch. "Remember what Ruby said. Witches and Sorcerers need a medium to cast their magic through. It's a long shot but if you destroy that guys staff, there's a chance it will undo his transformation and render him powerless, it's slim though."

Ironmonger looked at the girl with his emotionless expression, despite that though Yukari could tell he was looking at her kindly. "Thanks Yukari."

"Ahh!"

The sound of Inner Moka crying out caused everyone to look up to see the vampire girl suspended up in mid-air by several thin vines that had pierced into her body. The vines could be seen travelling up under her skin, bulging grotesquely as blood squirted from the wounds in her neck, arms and legs as her body twitched.

"The power!" Hex cried, pointing his head upwards as he absorbed Moka's abilities. "This magic not only allows me to merge with one type of being, but many! This girl has power unlike any other!"

"Moka!" Ironmonger cried in alarm. "Let her go!"

"Or what!?" Hex mocked.

"Or I make you," Ironmonger growled. His threat wasn't taken seriously as Hex began laughing.

"You can't be serious boy! Any damage you do to me will easily be undone!" the mutated Sorcerer retorted.

Instead of a response, Ironmonger merely activated his jetpack, allowing it to build with energy before finally releasing it and shooting upward, creating a sonic boom as he did so. No sooner had he entered the air did Ironmonger once again eject the cylindrical hilt and lit up his sword. Hex retaliated by sending several vines to ensnare the armoured alien. Remarkably though, through his sheer determination to reach his closest friend, Ironmonger managed to either fly around or slice apart all of the incoming attacks. Just as he was about to reach Inner Moka, a wall of vines burst from the ground and wrapped themselves around Ironmonger, once again entrapping the alien within a cage of vines not allowing any of the green and black armoured alien to be seen.

"Christian!" The girls cried in fear, looking to the cage.

"You won't escape this time boy!" Hex gloated. "I have used my magic to increase the strength of those vines! You won't be getting out this time!"

"Wanna bet!?" Ironmonger's voice sounded before a bright blue light could be seen glowing through the small cracks in the vine cage, the light growing slowly as it became brighter. Finally, just as the light had reached its peak, the cage rippling as the energy inside continued to build before finally it exploded, annihilating the cage which held Ironmonger, leaving the iron like alien floating nonchalantly in the air with his arm's stretched out, their palms overflowing with energy.

While the girls looked with pure bewilderment and hope, the monster Sorcerer look with unbridled rage. Ironmonger turned his head so that he was facing Hex's. "My turn," he stated, flicking his arms and ejecting two cylindrical hilts, one from each arm, and activating them and forming two of the light swords. Once again, the form's jet pack flared with energy as Ironmonger propelled himself higher into the air, coming to a stop when he was just above the Hex's monstrous body. The energy flowing from Ironmonger's jet pack ceased, slowing his ascent until he finally came to a short stop in the air before falling once more back towards the ground. With an enraged roar, Hex rose one of his giant fists into the air and tried to hit Ironmonger out of the sky.

As the large fist and alien came closer, the latter reignited his jet pack and lit the exhaust holes in his feet, throwing the alien forward at a higher velocity. At the last moment, Ironmonger brought up his swords in a crossed formation in front of him and began spinning in the air, turning himself into a make shift drill that pierced through the green flesh of the creature's arm. Ironmonger continued to spin until he had left the confines of the creature's arm, his metal armour covered in dripping chlorophyll like blood. Continuing his momentum, Ironmonger shot past the vines holding Inner Moka in the air, using his swords to slice them apart and thus allowing the Inner Moka to fall towards the grounds.

Performing a flip in mid-air and returning his swords to his arms, Ironmonger then shot back towards his falling friend, catching her as she was midway to the ground. "We have to stop meeting like this," he quipped as he held the girl close so she wouldn't fall.

"Put me down Hawke," Inner Moka warned. "Or this will be the last time we meet."

"Touchy," the armoured alien commented before flying back down towards their friends. Once Inner Moka was safely back on the ground, Ironmonger flew back into the air until he was eye level with Hex. "I'm going to give you one last chance to surrender!"

"I should be saying that to you!" Hex yelled, sending a volley of large vines after the armoured form.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," Ironmonger sighed, activating his jet pack and shooting towards Hex's main body. Ironmonger swerved and barrel rolled around the Hex's vines, getting closer to the sorcerer with every passing second. Just before he reached it, Ironmonger ejected the hilt in his right arm and activated it. With a loud yell, Ironmonger swung his arm in an arc and cut Hex's staff in two. For a moment, nothing happened. Ironmonger simply looked into the shocked sorcerer's eyes whilst Hex looked into the slits in his faceplate. "It's over," Ironmonger growled before using his exhaust ports to shoot himself back to a safe distance.

"No…" Hex gasped in disbelief, is breathing slightly rugged. "NOOOOOOOOO!"

*BOOM*

As soon as Hex had started yelling, his entire monstrous body began to bulge and erupt with bright light. As it met its climax, Hex's new body exploded in a flash of blinding white light that covered the whole area.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The Sorcerer wearily opened his eyes, his body in complete agony. Looking up, he could see the night sky baring down on him. He appeared to be surrounded by sunflowers. His body was burned and he found it near impossible to move anything below his neck. Surprisingly though, there was one star that seemed to be green and getting brighter. It was then that the sorcerer realised that it wasn't a star. After a few more seconds, the bright object landed in front of Hex, revealing itself to be Ironmonger.

The sorcerer looked up at Ironmonger with tired eyes. The armoured form reached up to the Omnitrix symbol on his chest and pressed it, reverting back in to his human form. Hex couldn't believe it. Once again he had been beaten by a mere child. "Who…are you?" Hex asked, his voice wheezy as he struggled to speak.

"My name is Christian Hawke. I am a Plumber and student of Yokai Academy," The Omnitrix wielder began, unaware that Inner Moka, Kurumu and Yukari were moving to his side. "It is my mission to build the bridge between humans and monsters and I shall never allow people like you to get it the way of that."

"I will…remember this," Hex growled before succumbing to unconsciousness.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You did what!?" Ms. Nekonome cried angrily. After Hex had fallen unconscious, the Newspaper Club members had returned to their campsite and woken up Ms. Nekonome and told the cat-like teacher everything that had happened and why they had two unconscious people with them, Hex had been gagged and bound in vines 'graciously' provided by Swampfire and was currently inside Christian's tent.

"We stopped an evil, homicidal maniac," Christian repeated, a little scared as his teacher was right in his face with her cat-like claws out.

"But I'm your teacher! You should never have left the campsite without my permission! Especially at night!"

"You were asleep and it was kind of urgent," Christian pointed out. "I'm honestly surprised you didn't wake up. It was quite a large battle." That comment earned the Plumber teen a scratch across the face.

"In any case," Ms. Nekonome sighed, turning away from her victim and towards the girls who were fretting over the unconscious Ruby. "How is she? Not too hurt I hope."

"Ruby took quite the hit," Moka, the Rosario back in place, said. "She saved Christian and Yukari."

"She will need medical attention," Ms. Nekonome told the girls, bending down to take a better look. "The poor thing…she must have been through a lot."

"But now she has us to look after her," Yukari chimed, she was holding Ruby's hand tightly. "We can take her to Yokai Academy. They have a hospital there."

"That's probably for the best," their cat like teacher responded. "We can't really take her to a human hospital."

"I guess we should pack up our stuff then?" Kurumu asked sadly, earning a nod from everyone.

"It's for the best," the recovered Christian pointed out. "At least nothing else is going to happen tonight." Almost as if the Gods themselves were interfering, a thundering noise came from the sky.

The four teens and their teacher looked up to see a massive green jet that strangely resembled the Concorde descending from above, blue flames of energy bursting down from the exhaust ports on the underside of its wings. As the five people looked up in shock, the jet turned so that it was facing away from them and the back of the ship opened up to reveal a cargo bay. Standing just inside was a tall, muscular young man with raven hair that came down to his shoulders styled in to a choppy mullet. He wore a tight black t-shirt with a long sleeved grey shirt underneath. He also wore blue trousers and black combat shoes.

"Hawke!" the newcomer called out to the Omnitrix wielder over the roar of his vessel's thrusters. "Get in!"

"Kevin!?" Christian cried in shock, absolutely dumbfounded. "What are you doing here!?"

"You're coming with me!" Kevin cried.

"Where!?

"Where do you think!? You're coming back to Bellwood!"

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

And there you go. I hope you enjoyed the chapter as much as I did writing it. What mess has Christian gotten in to now? You'll find out in two chapters time as now it's time to see what Zack's been doing.

For anyone who's wondering, yes Ironmonger was based on Iron man but he is not what you think. He was also unlocked through the update the Omnitrix received.

Ironmonger is an energy based life form which cannot survive outside of it's own plant without the armour Ironmonger wears. The hilts in his arms work by pumping Ironmongers energy through the vent in his hand into the devices which Ironmonger can then meld the light particles into the shapes he wants. In this case a sword. If Ironmonger were to leave his armour for more than a few seconds he would fade away into nothingness, thus killing Christian.

Flarefox was unlocked in chapter eleven when Christian tricked Kuyo. For a full bio of these forms look on my profile page.

As for what the Omnitrix updated, I will cover that in two chapters time but for now you should know that his transformation limit has been increased and he has gained access to one other form which will be revealed in the Monstrel arc.

Anyway, as all ways please leave your reviews so I know what went well and what can be improved and I'll see you next time.