Hey guys, I'm back with the new chapter. I hope you guys enjoy it. We are finally into the monstrel arc and I've been looking forward to this for a very long time. Prepare for a lot of dark shenanigans, mwhahahahahah!
On another note, I want to wish a very big happy birthday to my friend, Lewamus Prime. I hope you have a great day and thanks for everything you have done for the story. Have a good one.
As always, for those who do, please leave your reviews (good or bad) and let me know what you think. I'm always looking to know how I could do better and what I should continue doing. Thank you :)
"..." Speech
'...' Quote
'Hi' Thought
"Learn your place!" Inner Moka through Rosario
Feedback=Christian
Positive Feedback=Zack
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Christian, Dashslicer, Ultimate Crabdozer, Upgraded Atomix and the idea of Ironmonger's species, everything else belongs to their own creators.
Alien Watch in a Monster School
The Fall
"Guys, where are we going? We've been walking for the last twenty minutes. Christian needs help now," Moka said, ducking underneath a low hanging branch. Normally, the pinkette would have enjoyed walking through the Yokai Woods. The dead fauna and crows that constantly watched made it a paradise for a monster like herself. However, now all she could think about was her friend.
"Relax, Moka. Me and Zack know where we're going," Lala said, slowing her pace until she was alongside the other pinkette.
"But where are we going? You haven't told me anything." She couldn't explain it, but the further they travelled into the forest, the more unease she felt. If she hadn't been following her friends, she would have turned back by now.
"It's because you and the others weren't supposed to know about it," Zack said, leading the way with the unconscious, bloodied Christian in his arms. "If it weren't for the fact you would've followed us anyway we wouldn't have brought you. Well…that and it's unfair to make you worry."
"What do you mean?"
"C'mon, Moka! Savour the surprise. It's so cool and we're almost there!" Lala cried.
"We are?"
"Yep," Zack said, stopping for a brief moment to turn to Moka. "Just…don't freak out." He then took a step forward and, much to Moka's shock, the air itself began to ripple as the Ultramatrix teen was absorbed into the gaps between the trees.
"What?" The vampire was very confused. Zack had literally just disappeared into thin air. Laughing, Lala grabbed Moka's hand and dragged her forward.
"C'mon, Moka! You're gonna love it."
Moka felt a tingling sensation as her vision briefly blurred. When she could see again, she found herself standing next to Zack and Lala in a very large clearing that hadn't been visible moments before. More shockingly, taking up the space was a giant green, streamlined jet. A jet, Moka was familiar with.
"Is that-?"
"Yep, it's the RB3!" Lala said, punctuating her words with three fingers.
"But didn't it crash?"
"Kevin rebuilt it, but Ben's team don't really use it anymore. Therefore, Magister Tennyson gave it to Christian and Zack to use as their base of operations while attending the academy."
"But won't someone notice it?"
"Nah," Zack dismissed, "we were given this alien tech that not only camouflages the area around the Rustbucket, but also emits this field that stimulates the parts of the brain that induce fear. It'll make a weaker-willed person turn away long before they get here."
"So that's why I felt so scared," Moka remarked.
"Yep," said Lala, "but now you know what's beyond it, the fear field won't affect you."
"Why is that?"
"Lala told me before, but it is far too complicated to actually explain."
"You should have seen his eyes spin, it was so cute," the princess laughed. Moka noticed Zack turn away his head, probably to hide the redness of his cheeks.
"Let's just get Bro to the ship." He started walking. Moka and Lala shared a brief smile before running after him. The three approached the rear of the craft where Zack handed Christian to Lala, the pinkette gently holding him bridal style. The teen then pulled out a circular disk, that looked exactly like the Omnitrix symbol when transformed and held it up. The hour glass symbol shone twice and then the hatch ramp lowered. Lala and Zack quickly entered.
Moka watched as her friends ascended the ramp before slowly following. Entering the large hangar bay, she saw various crates of equipment strapped to the floor. She also noticed Christian's bike, the DV-8, parked at the side.
On the right-hand side were some new additions to the ship. There was a series of advanced machines, the like of which Moka had only seen at the Plumber Headquarters. There was what seemed to be a massive computer displaying a video feed of the outside of the ship as well as two large glass cylinder pods with monitor screens. The vampire watched as Zack approached the computer and pressed a few keys. Suddenly, a white mechanical table descended from a compartment above them with a long device that had an end that looked like a green coned lamp shade.
Once the table had stopped moving, Lala placed Christian on top of it. The unconscious boy's head fell to the side as he continued to slumber.
"Why didn't you guys tell us about this?" Moka asked as she approached the side of the table, looking down at her friend's face.
"It's not that we didn't want to," said Lala as she went to Zack's side. "Magister Tennyson told us not to."
"The Rustbucket was only supposed to be used to get us home and in extreme emergencies," Zack explained. "I'd say this counts as an emergency." Lala sat down in a chair in front of the computer and began to press a number of keys on dashboard. The cone like device abruptly sprung to life, emitting a green beam which spread over Christian's body.
Moka watched as an image of the Omnitrix teen appeared on the screen. A number of different pop up windows appeared around the image, displaying lots of information she couldn't decipher.
"No way!" Lala remarked, her eyes widening and mouth agape.
"What!? What is it!?" Moka demanded.
"It's like his body is tearing itself apart!" the princess explained. "According to this, his body is in a perpetual state of accepting and rejecting a foreign substance in his blood stream."
"That's got to be Moka's blood," Zack said.
"That's not all. This process is putting a huge amount of strain upon his Omnitrix." An image of the device appeared on the screen. "Every time Christian has been close to death, it has released a portion of Moka's blood to heal him. It then regulated it in order to keep it from harming Christian. But he's been hurt so often, it's released too much, and it can't keep everything in check anymore, affecting his body."
"How so?" Zack asked.
"Moka's blood is bonding to his DNA. The Omnitrix is trying to stop it, but doing so has put enormous strain upon the frame." She turned and pointed to the unconscious teen's wrist. Both Moka and Zack looked at the device and let out a gasp. The device had several spider like cracks running around the strap.
"But isn't the Omnitrix supposed to be indestructible?" Moka asked, remembering something her friend had told her.
"According to Bro, it was built with materials that were near invulnerable to human means of destruction. Although, it isn't unbreakable."
"So, Christian could lose the Omnitrix?"
"Not just that," Lala interrupted as she continued to look at the screen. "Moka's blood isn't just bonding to Christian's DNA, it's also mixing with the DNA stored in his Omnitrix."
"Is that why Kickin Hawk looked so different?"
"He did?" Zack remarked.
"Most likely," Lala replied, finally turning away from the screen. "That brings us to another problem."
"Another one?" Moka cried.
"The mix of human, monster and alien DNA is poisoning Christian's blood. It seems his constant transformations is speeding up the process. If he keeps transforming, he is going to die."
Moka's left hand flew to cover her mouth as tears began to form in her eyes. Zack looked towards his friend and his fist clenched. In the heat of the moment, no one noticed the Rosario flash.
"Is…Is there any way we can help him?" the vampire teen asked.
"Well…Hopefully…If he were to rest and not transform for a while, the Omnitrix should eventually be able to fix him right up." Lala replied, giving the pinkette a reassuring smile. She reached up and squeezed Moka's free hand. "He'll be fine." The sound of shuffling alerted the three to their now conscious friend, who was getting off the table.
"So, I just have to stay out of trouble," he summed up, taking deep breaths and looking at the screen through half shut eyes.
"Christian! You should stay down!" Moka said, rushing to his side, taking his arm and pushing him back on to the table.
"Are you okay, Bro?" Zack asked, also joining his side.
"I'm feeling a bit stiff," he said, pulling forward his reddened shirt. "What happened to my chest?"
"Saizou brought someone with him and he got the drop on you. He cut you pretty badly," the vampire explained.
The Omnitrix teen took off his shirt, much to the embarrassment of the two girls in the room, revealing two scars bisecting in the shape of a 'x' across his chest. It seemed while he had been healed, he would now bear the reminder of the encounter for the rest of his life.
"It…uh…looks cool," Zack offered. Christian remained silent. Instead he put back on his shirt.
"Yeah. Am I alright to go back to my dorm?"
Lala bit her bottom lip before answering, "Uh…yeah. You lost a lost of blood so make sure you get some rest."
"Remember to take it easy, Bro. Let us know if you need anything."
"Sure. I'll see you guys later. Make sure you lock up, Zack." The teen sombrely got off the table but winced from the movement.
"Hang on, I'll go with you," Moka said as she hurried to his side, gently guiding him by the arm.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Lala asked Zack once they had watched the two disappear beyond the field generator.
The Ultramatrix teen bit his knuckle as he continued to stare at where his friends had been. "I don't know. We can only hope." They were suddenly interrupted when a beeping sounded in the hanger bay. The two hurried over to the computer to see a mail icon flashing. The Ultramatrix teen pressed a key and Max Tennyson's worried face appeared on the screen.
"Zack, where's Christian? I need to talk to him."
"He just left. Is everything ok?"
"No. No it is not. Listen closely."
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"Ugh!"
Blood sprayed the floor of the abandoned school building, the cry of Saizou Komiya echoing off the crumbling walls as he was punched down into the dirt. For the last few minutes, he had been beaten in turn by a group of monstrels, all of who were in their human forms. Saizou, who still hadn't recovered from his earlier defeat, did not have the energy to fight back. With blood flowing down from his brow, he clawed at the ground, desperate to get away from his attackers.
"No you don't, Saizou! You're not gonna pass out on me!" a boy with a baseball cap said, grabbing the trembling Orc by his long greasy hair and hoisting him up to waist level. "You disobeyed Mido's direct orders! You organised members of our gang to attack Christian Hawke, didn't you?" Just before the hat wearing teen spoke again, he delivered a savage haymaker to the side of Saizou's face. "And then you got your ass beat, loser!"
Saizou flew back, crashing into a collection of wooden boxes and coating the side with his blood. From amongst the splintered boxes, he reached a trembling hand towards the side of the room.
"Pl…Please. F-Forgive me…Mido. Please…"
"I told you, we don't forgive losing," he said, not looking away from the pinball machine he was playing on. He was wearing a white shirt with red seems and black trousers. "See, this is what I hate about monstrels…you never know if you've got one with real talent or just more trash." The little metal ball rolled around the insides of the machine, hitting the various targets and bumpers causing the electronic echoes to bounce of the walls. "Diamonds scattered in a pile of gravel. Monsters who possess power no purebred will ever have. And the other kind…the ones who don't deserve to live. Like you, Saizou." He finally looked at the orc with a smirk, allowing the ball to drop into the out hole.
"No…" Saizou whimpered, reaching out his shaking hand once more.
"Hehehehe. Yeah, like you," another monstrel jeered as he gripped Saizou's hair. He pulled him back towards the other waiting monstrels, each one looking at the orc with a horrid grin.
Mido turned away just before Saizou began to scream. "No need to tell the higher-ups about this yet, is there?" he asked as the hatted monstrel draped a black leather jacket over his shoulders.
The hatted monstrel's eyes narrowed. "Mido…you're going to cover for that piece of shit?"
"Hardly, idiot," Mido snapped. The image of the vampirized Kickin Hawk played through his mind. "There's just something I've got to do first. Slay Christian Hawke. And I think I know just how to lure him out. I need you to run an errand for me."
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Moka sat on a gravestone in the middle of the forest. Hot tears were streaming down her face and her right hand was grasping the Rosario. Christian was now back in his dorm having walked back in silence, with only the occasional wince to leave his mouth. When Moka had finally gotten him home, he gave her a brief thank you and went inside.
Needing to clear her head, the vampire teen wandered deep in to the Yokai Forest. All she could think about was her friend and his position. Undoubtedly, if he remained at the academy, he would die and it would be her fault. After all, it was her blood that was killing him.
"Please…Tell me…" she pleaded, "Will he recover without my help? Is Christian going to be-"
The Rosario suddenly burst to life, moving on its own and squirming. "Hey! I know you're upset but keep your eyes open! You're in danger!"
Moka didn't have time to turn before she was grabbed from behind.
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The next morning, Christian walked to school feeling like weights were chained to his legs. He'd been unable to sleep due to all the things on his mind. It seemed Max had been trying to get a hold of him, but Christian was worried if the old man saw his current condition, he may pull him out of the academy.
That brought on the second problem. The Omnitrix was breaking; literally cracking apart. Every time he used it, he would come closer to death. In the likely scenario he was mortally wounded, the Omnitrix would release more of Moka's blood in to his body. While it would save his life in that instance, the infusion would undoubtedly kill him even faster and the device was likely to break from the strain of trying to regulate his blood. It truly was a no-win situation. Speaking of which, he still had that new alien to try out from the update in the summer. Probably wouldn't get the chance now.
The other worrying matter was Moka's absence. He knew she was worried about him. Before yesterday, she had been practically attached to his hip, only leaving him alone when he was in his dorm. So why, when it was clear something was wrong, had she disappeared?
"Please let it be she just overslept," he begged. Christian continued to stumble his way to school with little to no incident, eventually making his way to the club room. Laid out across the centre desks were Kurumu and Yukari. They instantly perked up upon seeing the teen, giving him a wave. Judging by the amount of condensation on one of the windows, it seemed Mizore was sitting outside.
"Hey," Kurumu said as Christian took the seat next to her. Her smile quickly vanished when she noticed the teen's pained expression. "Are you okay? You don't look so good."
"I just need to get some rest. I'll be fine," he replied, waving off her concern.
"Why? What happened?" Yukari asked. Out of the corner of his eye, Christian noticed a bob of purple hair appear in the window. It appeared Mizore had taken an interest as well.
"I got attacked by some monstrels yesterday. I got hurt but the Omnitrix fixed me right up."
"Monstrels?" Yukari remarked. "You fought the Monstrels?"
"Yeah, but Kickin Hawk took 'em out, so it's not a big deal." He deliberately left out some key details, not wanting to worry them.
"It is a big deal! The thing about Monstrels is that there are so many of them. Making enemies out of them isn't good for your health. Especially lately, I hear. A gang of bad-ass Monstrels has formed and they consider any purebred monster as their enemy. You need to be really careful because they are bound to retaliate." Retaliate? Could Moka's disappearance just be a coincidence?
"How exactly would they try to do that?" he asked, scratching the back of his ear.
"Well…they may try to draw you out. Get you somewhere private so they can gang up on you to prove their so-called superiority."
"Right…uh…I need to go," Christian said, getting up and making a bee line for the door. "Should probably check if Ms. Nekonome wants me to do any presidential task before school. I'll see you guys later."
As he left, Kurumu and Yukari shared a look. "Did he seem weird to you?" the succubus asked.
"Yep, absolutely," the witch agreed. "What do you think, Mizore?" she called towards the window. No answer. "Mizore?"
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Christian ran as fast as he could towards the dorms, the dark trees of the Yokai Forest surrounding him more threatening than they had ever been before. He had a terrible feeling Moka had been taken by the monstrels. If she was in trouble, then…
"YO! Where are you rushing off to, Christian Hawke?" The teen stopped, turning to see a teen his age with extremely short hair and scars on his face and a penchant for leather. Surrounding him was a varied group of people, none of which were wearing the school uniform. "Are you, looking for someone?"
"Do I know you?" More kids walked out from the surrounding trees.
"No. But I know you," the scarred teen said, a smug grin on his face. "You took out some of my boys yesterday." One of the guys surrounding Christian chucked a school bag to his feet. Initially confused, the Omnitrix teen noticed a chibi bat figurine attached to the handle.
'So they did take her,' Christian thought as sweat fell down his brow.
"My name's Mido. I'm a monstrel. That should tell you my business with you."
"Where's Moka?" the Omnitrix teen growled.
"If you want her back…come with us."
With little other choice, Christian nodded his head and submitted to the monstrel's commands. He followed Mido as he led him further into the forest, any escape route cut off by the monstrel goons following him.
Behind a nearby tree, Mizore watched with baited breath as her friend was led away by the group of thugs. Knowing she could do nothing to help on her own, the snow girl bit her knuckle as she considered what to do. Knowing she couldn't do anything to help on her own against that many monsters, Mizore followed from the shadows. Once she knew where they were heading, she could get help.
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Christian followed Mido far into the woods. As the dead trees around them became sparse, he noticed various bits of grey rubble littered the ground, presumably from where monstrels had been testing their strength.
Finally, a building came into view. It was only one relatively small but quite wide. Many of the windows were broken and had been entirely smashed. Attached to the side was a large hall with great gaping holes in its structure where anyone could walk into. To the Omnitrix teen, it didn't look structurally sound at all. "What is this place?" Mido didn't spare me a look. He merely continued to walk forward.
"Used to be the original school building. Teachers abandoned it when more students began to attend. It's now our hangout."
"Nice place."
"Shut up!" One of the guys behind Christian kicked his arse to get him to move faster. The other monstrels laughed as he stumbled forward.
The group walked into the open gym attachment, showing that the buildings outward appearance was like a palace opposed to what was within. The room was filled with trash that seemed to have just been distributed randomly across the floor, several bits of broken wood littered the ground haphazardly and there were several crates being used as seats by the monstrel goons. Everything seemed to be damp, most likely due to the holes in the ceiling. It was pretty disgusting all things considered.
"NO!" The familiar voice brought Christian's attention to the far-left side of the ruined gym where he saw Moka struggling on a tattered sofa with her hands chained to steel ladder leaning against the wall. "Get away! Hurry!"
"Moka!" The Omnitrix teen tried to run forward but was suddenly struck in the chin when he passed Mido. The teen flew back and crashed into a pile of trash, crates and debris. The world around him spun and he could taste blood in his mouth. He could barely hear Moka, her cries being overpowered by the ringing in his ears.
"Come now…after all the trouble we took to kidnap your girl, do you really think we'd hand her over so easily?" Mido chuckled, his voice muffled by the ringing. "If you want her back, you'll need to take her by force. So, bring it on…shape changer."
His senses clearing, Christian pulled himself out of the trash. The newly formed cuts and bruises over his body were stinging like crazy and his legs were shaking like crazy. His breath was heavy, and his heart was beginning to burn. His eyes returned to Mido. He wanted nothing more than to kick the guys ass. But it would mean he would likely die from the blood poisoning his body. If he wanted to survive this he would need to unleash Inner Moka. But that also meant he was going to have get around everyone in the gym to get to her. If Mido was anything like Saizou, he may have a chance.
The other monstrels looked ready to join in the fight but Mido waved a hand and they backed off. "I gonna savour this," he said as his monster energy exploded. Christian grit his teeth as he felt sweat fall down his brow. Mido sneered, raising his right arm as spikes extruded from the back of it and it began to bulge and grow. "I hate guys like you. Arrogant little brats from your pure bloodlines. Think you're so funny calling us 'monstrels,' do you?" He raised his frightening arm high into the air. "Well it's time for us monstrels to show you who's really top dog!"
He brought down his massive fist upon Christian. The Omnitrix teen managed to react quickly, leaping to the side making Mido's attack fly past him and hit the wall. The impact smashed straight through the wall like it was made of paper, destroying not only a huge segment of the structure, but also a part of the ceiling. While the other monstrels smirked and laughed at their leader's strength, both Moka and Christian looked at the destruction in utter shock.
'What the hell? I couldn't even see his attack! He's nothing like Saizou!' Christian thought before returning his gaze to his attacker. Now in his true form, Mido grinned smugly at him. He remained remarkably human, only the right side of his body had transformed. His arm had utterly changed, becoming extremely monstrous and vastly contrasting to the rest of his body. His forearm had bulked considerably, becoming like a gauntlet and his fingers had changed into thick claws and several bone like spikes protruded from his shoulder and elbow. Two horns grow out of his head, the right one a lot larger than the left and extended down the side of the face like a crest and his right eye bulged in its socket.
"Well someone hit you with the ugly stick." Christian said, trying to stop his legs from shaking. "What happened? Your left ball never dropped?"
"Heh, you think you're funny?" Mido began raising his arm once again. "Let's see how funny you are when you're a smear on the ground. Now change form and fight back!" Mido threw his giant fist forward at Christian's head.
"Stop! You're making a mistake!"
The fist stopped inches from the Omnitrix teens nose. Mido turned his ugly mug towards Moka. Tears were streaming down her face and she had stopped struggling against her bonds. "He's not the one you want! I am! This whole mess is my fault." Flashes of Christian from the last few days flashed through her mind. All the pain he had been in, the suffering, his transformations. "I'm to blame. So, if you want to hurt somebody…hurt me!" Christian's eyes widened, and his breath hitched in his throat.
Mido considered her words for a moment before turning away from Christian and walking towards the restrained girl. "Yeah… Now that you mention it, Saizou did say like that." He reached out for Moka's head, ready to crush it. The vampire teen clamped her eyes shut and turned her head away. But then…
"No!" Christian shouted. All eyes were once again on him. "That's not true! Moka, you're the reason I'm alive! How can I blame you for anything?" The teen shakily rose to his feet with a pained wince. The monstrels around the teen began to laugh at him but Christian kept his eyes on Moka. Without hesitation, he activated the Omnitrix. "You are the best thing that ever happened to me!"
"Christian! Don't do it!"
"Finally gonna fight?" Mido flexed his monstrous hand before charging at him. But, just before he could lay a claw on his body, there was a blinding green flash and Christian had vanished.
SNAP
The sudden noise brought the rooms attention to a velociraptor like creature standing in front of Moka.
"What!?"
"So fast…"
"Even faster than Mido…"
While the other monstrels were in awe of the display of speed XLR8 had shown, Mido was still trying to process how his target had managed to get around them. Moka on the other hand was looking into XLR8's eyes. The velociraptor alien was doing the same. Suddenly, the Omnitrix symbol on his chest flashed red and sparks began to ripple across his body. The alien fell to his knees with his head pointed towards the ground.
"Ah!"
"Christian!"
"I-I'm fine…" the alien said as he reached out for Moka's Rosario. "I told you before… I would gladly die for you!" he cried as he ripped the cross away from Moka's choker. Just before Moka's consciousness was taken over by her inner self, she noticed XLR8'sleft eyes had become crimson red.
Mido, having watched the exchange, smashed a crate underneath his heel. "What are you doing!? Why aren't you attacking?!" He ran towards them with his giant fist raised back ready to crush his enemy. But then he heard the sudden sound of chains snapping and felt the powerful blow of a kick to his chin. A spray of blood from his mouth showed his trajectory in to the far wall. His body struck the wall with enough power that it simply toppled on top of him, burying him.
The other monstrels stared at the wreckage burying their leader in awe before turning their gaze to the powerful silver haired vampire casually removing the remnants of chains from her arms, her eyes burning red with rage. "What a piece of trash," she said as she turned and walked away. "You dare raise a hand against me? Know your place." Ignoring the stunned monstrels, many of whom were too scared to approach the girl who had taken out their boss with one blow, Inner Moka made her way towards XLR8.
"Heh…Nice kick…You always save me, don't you." As he spoke more sparks of emerald and crimson electricity shot out from the Omnitrix and rippled across his body. His grunt of pain was easily noticed by Inner Moka. Fortunately, his eye had returned to the normal green.
"Christian…What you said before eased my heart a little. But what you are doing is foolish." While the vampire continued to speak in her normal proud tone, her eyes spoke volumes as to how she truly felt. Facing the alien from the side on, her eyes were cast down towards the floor. "Do you truly not understand what is happening to your body? It is breaking down, falling apart. If anymore of my blood is infused in to you, your life will undoubtedly come to an end."
As they spoke, a small drop of water fell from the rafters and landed on XLR8's head. However, it went unnoticed by the two teens. "I get it, I'm dying. I know the risks but-"
"Hear me out, Christian." The proud vampire interrupted the alien teen. She'd observed his pain from within the Rosario with no way to help him for the past week. Now she was free, she could finally say what she wanted for all that time. "You still have a chance to survive. Return to the Human World. It will give your body the chance to heal. However…You won't be able to come back to Yokai Academy."
"What are you saying?" XLR8 couldn't believe what he was hearing. She just wanted him to just leave everything behind?
As she said her next words, Inner Moka made sure they were as blunt as possible. "You can't ever have anything to do with the world of monsters again!"
"Moka…That would mean I'll never be able to see you again," XLR8 tried to reason.
"Yes. I know," she stated. She looked at the teen with a small smile. "But it isn't me you'll miss, is it? It's the 'normal' Moka. We both know the truth. Whatever happens between the two has nothing to do with me."
XLR8's eyes became as wide as plates as his breath got caught in his throat. "Nothing to do with…?" he repeated in shock. 'We'll never see each other again? Do I really mean that little to her?! She doesn't care if I go?'
Suddenly there was a loud crash as Mido erupted from the rubble covering him. "Idiots. Babbling in the middle of a fight!" The now shirtless monstrel covered the distance between himself and Inner Moka in less than a second. His monstrous fist was raised high above his head and appeared to have grown even larger. "Heh! This is payback for that little kick, vampire!" he yelled as he landed a direct hit to the silver haired girl's abdomen, which she only just managed to block with her arms. Inner Moka tried to hold her ground by planting her right leg firmly in to the ground. XLR8 tried to move to help but was stopped when another bolt of electricity shot through his body, stunning the alien.
'His attacks, there are openings. But the blows are so powerful if I take a direct hit…' Inner Moka thought as she felt the ground splinter behind her. The force she had created defending herself had made the ground to split apart.
XLR8, having recovered, dashed forward, albeit slowly, just as Mido cocked back his fist again. He grabbed Inner Moka, but just as he was about to get her to safety, more bio feedback from the Omnitrix sent shockwaves through his body and paralyzed him.
"Idiot! Stay away!" Inner Moka cried just before Mido's fist connected with both teens.
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Kurumu stopped walking as a shiver ran down her spine. She had been feeling uneasy ever since Christian had ran out of the club room and just now a great wave of unease washed over her.
"Huh…? Kurumu?" Yukari said once she noticed the older girl had fallen behind. They had decided to eat lunch together since everyone else was missing.
"Did you… Hear something like a rumble? Over there?" She pointed out towards the Yokai Forest. Yukari followed her finger before shaking her head.
"I didn't hear anything."
Kurumu bit her bottom lip as she gazed out across the sea of bare trees. Something was wrong. She couldn't explain how but she knew it.
"Hey! Hey Bazooka Girl!"
The Succubus felt the vein in her head begin to throb and her right eye twitch. With her nails ever so slightly extended, she turned towards the new speaker. Peering out from behind one of the white pillars that supporting the canopy above them.
"C-Can we talk?" she asked, much quieter than before. Kurumu and Yukari stared in disbelief at the girl. She was two metres away!? Couldn't she come closer! It was just awkward! As they got over their stupor, Mizore continued, "I thought since you two were friends…You might be able to help."
"Mizore! Why don't you come over?" Yukari asked.
"Yes, please do," Kurumu agreed as her nail extended a little bit more. "There's something I would like to say to you, Stalker Skank." Before anymore could be said, both girls found themselves frozen in a block of ice by Mizore's ice.
"I don't have time to argue with you," she said. "This is an emergency." Mizore softened the ice just enough that Kurumu and Yukari could break free on their own. "Christian's been kidnapped by monstrels! You've got to help me save him!"
"HUH!?"
"S-sorry…But I can't do it alone. There are too many of them and one seems really scary. He had this kind of…cold brutal energy. You never know what a guy like that will do."
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Back in the ruin that was the abandoned school building, Mido stood up from the crater of rubble he had made. He peered through the fog of dust with a sick sneer on his face.
"Heh heh. One down. One to go."
Indented in to the far wall, Inner Moka held Christian close to her, having protected him when Mido had punched them. While she had managed to endure the blow, a small shard of rubble had dug itself into her arm. Despite this, she was relatively unharmed. The Omnitrix user was another story. A large shard of rubble was buried in his right shoulder, a thick ring of blood staining his shirt. Fortunately, it wasn't a fatal wound so the Omnitrix protocol would activate. Christian himself was barely conscious and groaned as he tried to move. The pain he was in had caused the Omnitrix to revert him to his human form so now he was totally unprotected. Fortunately, it seemed the other monstrels had retreated for cover, sensing the impending battle to come.
"You…moron!" Inner Moka yelled at Christian. "Your body can't take anymore! You can't be healed with my blood any more either! Did you think you were saving me?!" As she spoke, small beads of sweat fell from her brow. "Do you actually think I need help from you?!" The teen tried to reply but immediately winced from the reply. His breathing was ragged and his vision hazy. It felt like his body was on fire. "Hawke…You can't even protect yourself! Don't ever do that again!"
"Heh…What's the matter, Vampire? You make it sound like it's ol' Christian who's the dead weight." The sound of Mido's voice immediately reminded Inner Moka that they were still in a fight. "What a loser," he continued as he let out a sigh. His sick grin never left his face. "And I was so looking forward to fighting him."
Inner Moka remained silent, focusing only Christian. As delicately as she could, she moved the Omnitrix user to the side. She took note that the Omnitrix itself looked even more damaged. The cracks in the frame had spread to the touch screen interface and it looked like the device would shatter from the slightest touch.
"Just wait her. Okay!?" It wasn't a question. "After I take care of this idiot…I'll get you out of here and fix you up. Don't move until I come back! I want to get you back to the Human World alive."
"But…Moka…" he managed to wince.
She ignored him. Instead, she turned and proudly walked towards Mido. Casually, she removed the building shard from her arm and tossed it to the side. "I've got news for you. This is going to end really quickly. I don't have time to play around with a monstrel."
Mido's eyes narrowed but he continued to sneer at the proud vampire. "Your power is impressive. I bet if that fool hadn't jumped in, you would have easily dodged my attack. Isn't that true?" Inner Moka remained silent. Christian turned his head away in frustration, knowing he had just been a distraction for his friend. "So, Moka Akashiya you're the vampire. What does that make Hawke to you? Some kind of familiar? He sure is a lame one. If I were you, I'd keep him in a cage." The Monstrel let out a volley of laughter which was soon followed by his gang from their hiding spots.
"Shut up," Moka said quietly as she disappeared from view.
"Ha…?" Mido managed to say before he received another kick to the face from Inner Moka. "Huh!?" The monstrel skidded back, bruised but still conscious. 'She's so fast!' he thought.
"I don't give a damn about you." This time the voice came from behind him. Before he could react, Mido was slammed into the ground by yet another kick from the powerful vampire. He was slammed into the ground, causing it to shatter. The other monstrels were speechless at seeing their leader beaten so easily a second time.
"Taking hostages from behind. You're just a cur who can't win without cheating. You're not even worth my anger. You're just in the way," Inner Moka spat before making her way back to Christian. Unbeknownst to her, some of the monstrels were murmuring amongst themselves and slowly making their way to the far side of the ruined gym.
Christian on the other hand watched as the silver haired girl approached him with a hand outstretched. "Moka…"
"Can you stand? You're going home." That was when they heard the sound of cracking and rocks shifting.
"Huh? What's that?"
Both teens shot their heads around. Mido was slowly rising, his monster energy stronger than ever. He truly had incredible endurance to have withstood two of Inner Moka's incredible beatings. He gave a small chuckle. "So it's true what they say about vampires. You can channel your monstrous energy in to pure power. A simple, but horrific talent. Every one of your blows hits as hard as anyone else's special attack." Mido was now back at his full height. As he stared at Inner Moka, a sneer spread over his face. "Well…That's still not enough to defeat me."
"What are you-?"
"Vampire's aren't just known for having the most strengths. They have the most weaknesses too! Crosses. Silver bullets. Oh yeah, I've done my research." As Mido spoke, the two teens could hear a loud hiss coming from above them. It was hard to see at first but looking up, Christian was able to see several coils of hose piping surrounding the scaffolding holding up the roof.
Having seen it too, Inner Moka's eyes widened. "Don't tell me…"
Mido's grin became wider. "And there is one thing that saps a vampire of all its power. Is it true, Moka? Is a vampire helpless against this?"
Suddenly, sprinklers above them activated. A hail of water rained down upon all those inside the gym. As Christian felt the dampness against his skin, his heart sank and he ground his teeth together. He knew what was going to happen next.
Moka began to scream. Sparks of cerulean electricity shooting from her body as the purifying effects of the water sapped her powers.
"Moka!"
"Heh…What do you think of my shower?" Mido gloated as he walked up to the weakened girl. He raised his arms up towards the water and embraced it. "I made it especially for you by rerouting the fire hydrant!"
Inner Moka remained silent as she tried to remain on her feet, however her legs continued to wobble as sparks continued to fly from her body. Mido smirked. Then delivered a vicious right hook to the vampire girl's face. The girl was sent skidding back with blood pouring down her face. 'The water! It stole my powers! I can't fight back!'
"Hahahaha! What's the matter? Not so arrogant now, are you?" Mido laughed, revelling in his deceit.
"Moka!" Christian struggled to his feet. He had to try and help.
"Don't come any closer!"
"But-"
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Inner Moka glanced at the teen. A mixture of blood and water was flowing down her face. "I'm not the sappy Moka you love. I don't need help. Least of all from you."
Christian's entire body just froze. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. It was worse than any pain Mido could do to him. Worse than Kuyo's fire. Far worse from the rubble buried in his shoulder. It was as if his heart was being torn out his chest. Unfortunately, Mido was quick to butt his way in again.
"You're dumber than I thought," he said as he raised his arm once again. "After what I just did to you, you still want to take me on?!" Mido's monster energy spiked and the bone like protrusions on his elbow grew even larger. "Purebred 'pride.' What a load of crap. That's why you're all going to die! It makes no difference how you fight. Nothing matters but winning!" He brought his fist down, ready to crush the defenceless vampire. Knowing she could do nothing, Inner Moka closed her eyes.
"MOKA!" Christian yelled, rushing forward.
"DIE!"
The collision caused more dust to fly and was so powerful, it sent out shockwaves. The other monstrels, strained their eyes to try and see exactly what had happened.
"Did he…Did he do it?" one of them asked.
As the cloud began to dissipate, the monstrels gasped at what they saw. When she realised she couldn't feel any pain, Inner Moka opened her eyes. And then they went wide as her breath caught in her throat. Mido also couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"Wh-What the hell?"
Mido's arm had been stopped by Christian, the claws of the monstrel's arm were embedded in his shoulders. Blood had sprayed everywhere as he held back the assault.
"N-No way! How did you block my full-on attack?!"
Ignoring him, Christian turned his head towards the shocked Inner Moka. His eyes were crimson and slitted, just like hers. "M…Moka…I…" he managed to say, coughing her a small amount of blood. With a snarl, Mido back away, allowing the Omnitrix teen to fall.
"CHRISTIAN!" Inner Moka yelled as she caught him. She immediately assessed the damage. His shoulder was shattered and he was losing a lot of blood. It seemed that his sudden strength was due to the amount of her blood already in his system. "Stupid! Why did you do it?! I told you I don't need any help! Why…?!" She was yelling at him, water and blood were streaming down her face like tears.
"I…Couldn't take it…When you told me you didn't need me." He coughed, but his eyes never left Inner Moka. He gave her a small smile. "You mean…Too much to me. You. Not just…The Outer Moka.
Inner Moka found herself at a loss for words. She truly couldn't believe what she was hearing. She noticed the Omnitrix was beginning to turn red. Its sub protocol was beginning to activate. "No…That's madness! I told you! It's too dangerous! Another infusion of my blood could kill you!"
Christian suddenly coughed up another small amount of blood.
"Christian!" 'He's losing too much blood and his temperature is dropping'
"OMNITRIX USER'S LIFE IS IN PERIL. BEGINNING SURVIVAL PROTICAL ELEVEN. RELEASING FINAL AMOUNT OF STORED UNKNOWN SUBSTANCE."
There was nothing she could do. The Omnitrix was going to release more of her blood in to Christian's body. "Now do you understand? Why I told you I didn't need you?" she asked the teen resting her head on his chest and wrapping her arms around the drenched teen. "Why I pushed you away and tried to send you back to the human world? It's because I didn't want you to die!"
Her body was becoming even weaker from the continued onslaught of the water. She was losing all her strength. It seemed Christian had also fallen unconscious. Had the infusion finally killed him. Finally, too weak to keep herself up right, her body fell.
Only for the Omnitrix teen to catch her.
"Chr-Christian…"
The teen's eyes were glowing a blazing crimson and his expression was vacant. The Omnitrix shared the colour of his eyes and a red light was shining out from all the cracks on the device.
"Got a second wind, Hawke?" Mido sneered. "I don't know what you're thinking, but I want you to know I appreciate the entertainment. I won't even need any tricks to beat you down."
Christian was silent. With a simple flex of his body, the piece of rubble in his shoulder shout out. Inner Moka watched as the wounds instantly healed themselves.
'Something's wrong. His energy is completely different.'
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" The Omnitrix teen suddenly spasmed as he screamed, clutching at his chest.
"Christian! What's wrong?" He didn't reply. He just kept screaming. It was then Inner Moka noticed the core of the Omnitrix had popped open and a black and red fluid was flowing out from under the device. "Is this a transformation?"
The substance continued to flow. Spreading over Christian's body and overtaking him. Once it had completely covered him, it began to take shape, becoming like armour. Three spike like blades protruded from his elbows, his forearms became gauntlets with sharp, pointed fingers. His head became like a cone with only one slitted red eye in the centre of his face. Pulsing red veins were spread over his body and several red spikes stuck out on his shoulders, legs and around his waist. The Omnitrix symbol was on his right pectoral and was continuously flashing between red and green. Small sparks of electricity were shooting out from the symbol every few seconds.
"Shadowstreak!" the form groaned in a low and gravelly voice.
"What…?"
"Is that…?"
The monstrels around the gym were whispering amongst each other as they looked at the new form.
"Christian? Is that you?" Inner Moka asked. Something felt terribly wrong. It didn't seem like the Omnitrix teen recognised her voice. "Hawke! Answer me!"
That was when Shadowstreak began to yell again, thrashing around as he grabbed at his head.
"C'mon Hawke, you feeling down?" Mido mocked as he used a claw of his monstrous arm to gesture for the alien to come at him. "You don't look that strong." Suddenly, Shadowstreak dashed forward and grabbed Mido's monstrous arm with both hands. "Wha-?" The red veins on the alien's arms began to pulse brighter. After a moment, the began to change, growing in size and length until both looked exactly like Mido's monstrous arm. "No way…" Was all the monstrel was able to say before Shadowstreak unleashed a devastatingly powerful right hook to Mido's face.
The monstrel flew back with blood flowing from his broken horns and nose. He crashed and found himself embedded into the far wall. Inner Moka and the other monstrels watched on in utter shock as the enhanced alien let out yet another gravelly yell as he fell to his knees.
"Christian!? What's wrong?!" Inner Moka tried to get up to help but found herself too weak to get up. "You need to snap out of it!"
"Aaaahh!" The alien yelled again before four black and red tendrils burst from his back and began to flail around.
"Hey Hawke!" Both Inner Moka and Shadowstreak looked up to see that Mido had once again risen to his feet. He was seething, his teeth ground together and his eyes blood shot. Blood was pouring down both sides of his face from his horns and his nose was completely crooked.
"We're not done!"
"Mido! I'm warning you! Don't do this!" Inner Moka yelled.
"Shut up! This is between me and him! But don't worry, you'll be next!" Mido said, pointing at the vampire. He then turned back to the alien who had copied his power. "Bring it on!"
Shadowstreak's eye narrowed before charging forward with a frightening roar. Mido grinned before doing the same. As the two came together, they clashed fists causing a shockwave that sent the other monstrels flying and Inner Moka skidding backwards.
As water continued to hammer down upon the ruined gym, the silver haired vampire watched with fright as her friend bounded forward in to a fight, completely out of control.
One thing was for sure. Whatever was to come, this was only the beginning.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx And that's that. What is happening to Christian? Will he recover? Will the Omnitrix be fixed? What did Max want with Christian? Will Kurumu and the others make it in time to help? And where is Zack and Lala? Find out next time.
Thanks for reading, I hope you all have a good day and I'll see you later.