Come one, come all to the newest and latest chapter!
Now for those of you wondering, yes the story is continuing. Like I promised, I would tie up all loose ends before ending this. And who knows? I might have enough loose ends to tie up so that the final chapter is posted on the 1st anniversary of this wonderful story. That's sort of a side goal for me, so lets see how that goes.
I mentioned this last chapter, but I'm not sure if everyone caught it or not, so here it is again. I am asking you, the viewers reading this story, to send me in your ideas for filler episodes before this story ends. I have ideas of my own, but I need more chapters to fill in the gaps between them.
So send me in your ideas for filler chapters, your very own 'episodes' per say, and I shall bring them to life for you and the world to enjoy! As long as it involves Ben and the rest of the Monster High cast, it will be excepted and examined. If it does not contain any of them, it will not be considered.
Another thing I have to say is actually from the suggestion of a friend by the name of Zak Saturday. They have suggested for a series of filler episodes to have the events of "Haunted" take place in my story. To solve this little problem, I've set up yet another poll on my profile asking whether I should do this or not. It's all up to you!
Now that that's out of the way, it's on to the story! As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below! And hey, send in your ideas for 'episodes' while you're at it!
Onwards!
"Are we ready to go home now?" Ben winced as Nefera carefully pulled a spear head from the back of his pants. "I don't think those Aztecs were too happy in finding out that Jetray wasn't a god."
"You think you had it rough?" Draculaura griped, yanking off a colorful headdress comprised entirely out of bird feathers. "You weren't the one that was almost married to their chief."
"As much as I would love to return you to your loved ones, Benjamin, our work is not yet done." Paradox smiled sadly; the group, consisting of Ben, Paradox, Hexiciah, and the Monsters were currently floating an empty, black abyss that the two Time Walkers claimed to be the space between the time eras, a sort of traveling space between the times.
"What are you talking about? We hid all the pieces of Maltruant, didn't we!?" Venus asked with an annoyed tone, her green skin covered in scratches and bruises, a couple of Troodon teeth embedded in her shoulder one of the nasty little buggers had bitten her.
"Indeed, Ms. McFlytrap," Mexciah told her leaning on his cane despite there being no floor of ground of any kind beneath them as they floated around in the endless space. "However, there is a small matter that only Ben can solve."
"Well, wherever he's going, we're going too." Frankie said firmly, all the Monsters agreeing with her.
"We expected as much," Paradox smiled. "Now, I'm sure some of you are familiar with a miss Elissabat?"
"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Draculaura screamed happily.
"You could say that." Spectra smiled.
Paradox blinked as he uncovered his ears. "Yes, well, as my colleague well knows, Ms. Elissabat escaped from Transylvania to Londoom to escape her destiny as the next Vampire Queen. He should know, considering he helped her."
"An act I am sure she is most grateful for." Hexiciah added with a smile.
"Indeed," Paradox smiled. "However, Maltruant's affairs in messing with the flow of time as upset the balance of time in a few events, a sort of accidental reset button, if you will." the Time Walker explained. "Maltruant's meddling has reset certain events back to their original states, an outcome that is not very desirable for most parties, I'm afraid."
"What does this have to do with Elissabat?" Ben asked, folding his arms across his chest as he began thinking of how to handle the situation.
"Due to Maltruant's interference in the time stream, Ms. Elissabat will never leave the country of Transylvania for Londoom," Paradox explained. "And she will have then never have entrusted the Vampire's Heart to my colleague, which in turn will mean that both Ms. Steam will not exist, and Elissabat will become a puppet under Lord Stoker's control." At the mere mention of the vampire's name, several of the ghouls confused or curious looks turned into deep frowns and narrowed eyes.
"Me and Paradox will send you to the correct time line while we take care of smaller matters," Hexiciah jumped in. "You must make sure Elissabat comes to my past self and convince her to head to Londoom. If you don't, then the entire Monster World is at stake."
"Lord Stoker's really that bad?" Ben's eyebrows shot up.
"Indeed," Hexiciah said with a grim tone. "He will not stop until all other Monster species are underneath him.
"And the Normies?" Frankie asked.
"Vampire food." Hexiciah with a dark tone.
"Then lets get going!" Ben shouted impatiently.
Paradox gave a small smile as a swirling portal appeared behind him in the inky blackness of the endless void. One by one, Ben and the Monsters floated through the portal towards what they could only assume to be another one of their crazy adventures together.
They soon arrived in a large patch of dark forest, with the moon full and bright overhead. Monstrous pine trees reached with their sharp branches to claw at the sky as a heavy fog hung low over the ground and obscured anything more than ten feet away. A sharp mountain range rose in the distance, its pointed peaks swirling with foreboding snow storms. A pack of werewolves howled in the distance as Ben and the Monsters all stepped out into the frightful landscape to be greeted by dozens of blood red eyes starring at them hungrily.
"This is Transylvania, huh?" Ben mused. "Not too different than Anur Transyl."
"So, where are supposed to be going?" Heath asked.
"Leave it to me," Draculaura smiled. "I know this place like the back of my hand. Me and Elissabat used to be Beast Friends. Before, ya know, she left for Londoom and me and my family were chased out by an angry mob, but details, details." she shrugged happily.
"Oooookay then." Ben hummed. "Lead the way then."
Draculaura giggled and skipped down the foreboding road that ran through the dark forest, not the least bit off put by the many starring eyes that watched hungrily from the trees or the large spiderwebs that hung overhead full of several bundles that were still moving before large spiders came to deal with them. At one point, Ben heard the sound of leaves and twigs being crushed under feet and the sound of heavy panting all around him, as if something were stalking them as they moved along.
"So, uh, is there anything we should be worried about?" Ben asked Draculaura.
"Well, if you don't count the wild werewolves, the rabid gargoyles, dragons, wandering spirits, and the occasional angry mob, nothing much." Draculaura listed off as Ben's face got paler.
"And you had to deal with all of this when you lived here?" Ben asked with amazement.
"Well, the angry mobs were a problem, but everything else wasn't so bad. If you don't count that time a gargoyle accidentally stripped me of all my clothing and I had to sneak back home in my underwear . . ."
"OK, that's enough information!" Ben said quickly, his cheeks turning a deep red; it was bad enough if one of his transformations had become smitten with, but it would really put him in the dog house if he fell for her too. Especially where Clawd was concerned.
After an hour of walking or so, they eventually left the dark forest behind them, coming out into an open field. Leafless oaks dotted the landscape, like islands in a sea of cornstalks that seemed to be barely growing under the bright moon overhead. More werewolves howled in the distance, and the screeching of a colony of bats could be heard overhead.
"Anyone else get the feeling we're being watched?" Heath gulped as the moved along the road between the cornfields. His eyes caught on an old scarecrow nailed to a post in the middle of one of the fields, its pumpkin head starring at him with hollow eyes and jagged teeth.
"Hothead worry too much." Abbey scoffed.
"What about the time we were chasing Clawdeen's sketchbook and got chased out by an angry mob!?" Heath shot back.
"Hothead has good point." Abbey admitted. "Hope we do not run into mob of angry."
"You fool, you just jinxed us!" Hoodude exclaimed, attempting to do an impression of Skurd and failing horribly at it; the group gave a nervous laugh, but could not help that in some way or other that Abbey had indeed jinxed them. They seemed to have a knack for getting into all sorts of problems, be it with relationships and school life or dealing with a psycho Chronosapien hellbent on rewriting all of creation.
What is that noise?" Robecca asked suddenly. "I can't quite make it out."
The group paused to try and attempt to pick up on the sound that Robecca was trying to hear. Naturally, Jinafire managed to pick out exactly what it was; aside from werewolves, dragons had some of the best senses in the Monster world.
"It sounds like . . . yelling. And weaponry." she paused, her face scrunched up into confusion. "I don't know how that is possible unless . . ."
"Angry mob!" Gil yelled, jamming a finger in front of them. The group whirled around to see a small figure running towards, occasionally glancing hurriedly over its shoulder as it ran. Behind the figure was a large mass of bodies, all sporting all manner of weaponry; pitchforks, shovels, burning torches, rolling pins were among the few that Ben could make out. The figure suddenly cried out and tripped on a root in the road, falling to the ground and laying there, trying to climb to her feet. The burning torches illuminated her pale, almost white skin and her dark violet eyes beneath her shawl that kept her dark hair hidden from the world; Ben could just make out a pair of sharp fangs behind her lips as the angry mob converged on her, ready to hack and her to pieces.
"Elissabat!" Draculaura cried out, rushing to her friend's safety. Ben was faster however, charging forward as he turned on the Omnitrix and cycled through his roster before coming across a suitable transformation and slapping the activation button. His skinny figure suddenly swelled as hundreds of muscles piled on top of each other, sending his growing form upwards until he was more than twice as tall as his previous self. His fingers pulsed as thick veins appeared on his arms, sending alien blood through them. A second pair of eyes appeared above his own and every hair on his head disappeared. A short beard appeared on his chin that ran up to his disappearing earlobes as his jaw jutted out. Suddenly, a second pair of smaller arms burst out from under his own, still just fresh muscle and bone. Draculaura felt like she was going to be sick until rough, red, skin covered them. Ben's toes melded into two large claws as a row of small spikes appeared on his head and shoulders. A black undershirt with a green stripe down the middle as a pair of black pants appeared as two pairs of black fingerless gloves came out of nowhere on his large hands, finishing the transformation.
"Leave her alone!" Four Arms roared, bunching up his legs and leaping into the air to come crashing down directly between a struggling Elissabat and the angry mob.
"Ah! It's a bloody demon!" a voice from the mob screamed in fright.
"Demon?" Four Arms blinked. "I dunno about that, but I'm gonna make sure you all go to hell either way!" he shouted, charging at the group as several brave members rushed out to meet him. The Tetramand easily took out the first man, driving a large fist into his belly and sending him to the ground; Four Arms wretched the pitchfork from his hands and snapped it two, taking the metal head and snapping the middle prong off before bending the other two out and making a make-shift boomerang. He quickly threw it at the upcoming men and watched as the weapon spun through the air and whacked two of the men upside the head before returning to him, its victims dropping to the ground unconscious.
"Next!" Four Arms yelled, socking two of his fists into his hands. The people in the angry mob all shared looks at one another before charging forward as one big, infuriated group of villagers, readying to seek vengeance upon their fallen comrades and to destroy the vampire and demon in front of them.
"Aw, Sphinx." Four Arms pouted before rushing out to meet them, stopping long enough to tear a large tree branch off of a dead oak to use as a weapon.
"Elissabat!" Draculaura called, running towards her fallen friend and shaking her shoulder. The vampire groaned and slowly blinked open her eyes, her vision blurry from her fall and her entire body running for so long.
"D-Draculaura?" Elissabat breathed as Gil bent down to pull her foot out from under the root. "What are you doing here? And why do you look so much older?" she asked.
"I'm from the future," Draculaura explained. "I don't have much time to explain before Ben times out, so we have to get going!"
"Wait, who's Ben?" Elissabat asked as she and Draculaura climbed to their feet. "And who are all these other monsters? Are you fleeing with me?" she asked, addressing the rest of the group.
"No, Ben is currently the four armed creature saving our skins," Jinafire explained, pointing towards the Tetramand as he smashed two farmer's skulls together and moved onto a nasty old hag brandishing a rolling pin. "I say we make sure his sacrifice is not taken in vain and leave."
"Wait, who are you then?" Elissabat asked, completely confused as Draculaura moved her along at a quicker pace, heading back towards the dark forest.
"That's Jinafire, Abbey, Heath, Hoodude, Gil, Venus, Robecca, Nefera, and Frankie," Jane explained as they ran. "And I am Jane." she added with a small smile before focusing on an image in her head. The first thing about her that changed was her face as the bones thrust outwards into a furry muzzle, pushing her lips and nose out. Her eyes turned a dark gold in color as they melted a little towards either side of her face, still remaining on the front as her teeth ground and sharpened into fangs. Her neck thickened as muscles hooked themselves up to her changing skull and jaw to create a massive bite force. Her fingers shortened and fused together slightly as her nails turned into sharp claws as dark, almost black fur raced up her arms and legs to cover her person. Her shoes tore and her clothes ripped as muscle and fur pushed outwards, organs sloshing and squishing about inside her as they were forced to move into new positions. Her legs bent backwards, the bones cracking and grinding together as her feet turned into large, padded pauses and a long tail bone popped out from the base of her spine, becoming cradled in muscle and tissue before being covered in skin and then fur. Her ears became pointed and rotated towards the top of her head, completing the form.
"She's a werewolf?" Elissabat asked skeptically and with fear; vampires and werewolves normally had a very bad past.
"Shape-shifter." Venus corrected as she ran past. "Where were you going anyways?"
"I-I was heading towards a private dock off the nearby shore," Elissabat told them as she struggled to keep up. "I was supposed to meet Hexiciah Steam there."
"Good," said Robecca from the air, her rocket boots powering her along; Elissabat nearly tripped over a rock trying to catch a glance at her. "Do you have the Vampire's Heart with you?"
"Y-yes." Elissabat panted, patting a secure pocket in her shawl.
"Good," Robecca repeated. "Make sure you give it to Hexiciah. He'll be able to keep it safer than you possibly could."
"Are you questioning my ability to keep the Vampire's Heart safe?" Elissabat asked with a frown.
"No, luv," Robecca sighed. "What I mean is that Stoker won't think to look for the Vampire's Heart in Transylvania if he thinks it's with you."
"R-right. I knew that." Elissabat laughed.
Jane bounded ahead, her nose pointed towards the ground as the group started to tire a little. Her sensitive nose could pick out the tiniest of scents; the smell of fresh dew on the grass, the earthy smell of the pine trees, the noxious odor of their sap, the warning scent of animal dung in the woods, a smell that was similar to hers but seemed more savage in nature, it was all there for her to experience. She continued to sniff about, ignoring the scents of squirrels, owls, and werewolves, searching for a specific set of smells that would lead them in the right direction. And she soon found it: the salty smell of sea water, of rotting fish and seagull droppings, and the distinct odor of oil and grease.
The wolf gave a sudden howl and sped off away from the group down the trail, barking all the way as she tirelessly ran.
"Where's she going?" Elissabat asked.
"She's picked up a scent," Venus replied. "We must be getting close." Elissabat was about to say something, ask her rescuers some of the questions that buzzed around in her head like a cloud of bats trapped in a belfry when a loud roar shook the night and seven large bodies burst from the trees, quickly surrounding the group and cutting Jane off from the path. The guys and ghouls were quickly pressed together in a tight group as Elissabat began to tremble.
Each of the seven huge figures was covered in dark fur of ranging colors and wore shredded clothes depending on what genders they seemed to be. Furry tails flickered around at the base of their spines as they hungrily circled the group, access amounts of saliva and drool dripping from their razor sharp fangs. They stalked on half-bent legs, as if they were trapped in some horrific transformation, and razor sharp claws tipped their muscled fingers.
"Werewolves." Draculaura whimpered. "It had to be werewolves."
"Would you rather have it be dragons?" Nefera asked as she drew her swords and prepared to do battle.
"That's not going to work," Elissabat told the mummy. "Unless those blades are made of silver."
Jinafire muttered what sounded like a curse under her breath as she assumed a fighting stance, bending her legs and drawing back her right arm and slowly putting her left arm forward, giving a 'come-at-me' gesture with her fingers. The largest werewolf, what Jinafire could only assume to be the alpha, snarled and lunged forward, ready to kill the small dragon before it and turn her into a meal that would keep his endless hunger at bay for the time being. Jinafire merely sidestepped the attack and flipped up onto the werewolf's back, thrusting a pointed hand into a pressure point into the beast's neck and then springing off as it collapsed to the ground.
The pack of werewolves all roared and growled upon seeing their fallen alpha, ready to tear the offending monsters to pieces and feed off their remains until they came across their next meal. A werewolf lunged from the ring, leaping off its fallen leader and tackled Jinafire to the ground, pinning her legs and arms to the ground and negating all movement; the rest of the pack followed.
Nefera crossed her swords in front of her head, just barely blocking a swipe of a female werewolf's claws, pushing back on the beast before swinging one of her blades across the werewolf's chest and leaving a shallow cut; the beast's fur was like armor, and this worried Nefera greatly. The beast snarled and pounced on the mummy, pinning her to the ground as it tried to bite her head off repeatedly, always missing whenever Nefera twisted her head to the side.
Venus cracked her whip at a pair of werewolves, fending them off with a fallen tree branch. "Back! Back, you brutes!" she snapped, doing a very good impersonation of a lion tamer. The werewolves howled and snapped their jaws, backing up as Venus advanced forward with her flaming whip, unaware of the werewolf creeping up behind her until it grabbed her by the head and pitched her to the ground, her head dashing against a rock and knocking her out as the trio of werewolves went after the others.
Robecca hovered out of reach, providing cover whenever possible. Eventually, one of the feral werewolves got the idea to climb one of the tall pine trees surrounding them, jumping from branch to branch as it sought out Robecca, determined to send her crashing out of the sky in a small fireball. Robecca dodged a swipe of the werewolf's claws as she blew dangerously past the tree branch the beast had stationed itself on, opting to fly lower and to try and take out the ones on the ground. The werewolf in the tree growled and took a chance by jumping free from the tree and plummeting towards, catching Robecca off guard as it slammed into her and then shoved her into the ground, her systems shutting down from the impact.
And so it went. The guys and ghouls did their best to fend the werewolves off, landing a few lucky blows and hits that greatly hindered the beast's movements. But they were quickly over whelmed by the moon-fueled monsters; Heath was quickly taken out when his cockiness landed him in a ditch without his pants; Gil was taken out when his helmet was shattered, leaving him gasping for breath in a puddle in the forest floor; Abbey was the most difficult to tackle, nearly beating every single werewolf in the pack before four of them managed to hold her down, one of each of her limbs; only Spectra and Hoodude seemed to be untouchable, the first for obvious reasons and the second because they were naturally wary of him after one of their own had suffered a broken arm after he had fallen into a ditch.
Frankie ducked to the ground and tried to strike the werewolf's exposed underbelly with a jolt of electricity, but the creature was not to be fooled. As it jumped over her, it reached with a hand and grabbed her by the wrist, yanking her up off the ground as it touched back down to the earth and swung her against a tree, her limp form falling down to the ground as it moved on to Jane, tackling the wolf to the ground and pinning it there as Jane shifted back to her regular form with a groan; the werewolf blinked with surprise before giving her a toothy grin.
"Uh, nice doggy?" Jane gulped nervously, not liking the look the werewolf was giving her. The werewolf growled and inched its head down to her, licking her cheek and slowly, ever so slowly, moving its large hands away from her shoulders and towards her modest breasts, an act that greatly frightened Jane.
"Oh, Sphinx, someone help!" Jane cried, struggling to get herself free from the werewolf's grasp, attempting to shift her body to try and get away. But the werewolf seemed able to restrain her before she could change into something large enough to defeat it, jamming a hand down on her throat and cutting off her oxygen supply until she changed back to her original form.
"You will not touch another hair on her head, foul beast!"
The werewolf paused and turned its head toward the sky just in time to earn a knuckle sandwich to the face by a very ticked off Vladat. Before the werewolf could even fall to the ground, Whampire grabbed it by the shoulders and spun it around, throwing it into a second werewolf as it attempted to start snacking on Gil's dehydrated form. Whampire hissed and lunged at another werewolf, slugging it in the jaw and kicking it in the gut before drawing back his head and spitting something out past his fangs and at the werewolf's head.
"Get 'im, girl!" Whampire commanded, pointing at the rest of the werewolves. The werewolf, as much as it didn't want to, found it couldn't control its own body as it rushed at the rest of the werewolves, the Corruptura on its forehead negating any ability to gain control once more.
"Whaddya know? Ordering around henchmen is kinda fun," Whampire smiled, spitting out two more Corrupturas at two unaware werewolves and turning them against their pack. "Are you alright?" he asked Jane, bending down and helping her to her feet.
"F-fine." the shape-shifter said shakily. "That was too close for comfort."
"I can't really argue with that one," Whampire shrugged. "Mostly because I don't know what it's like to be raped."
"It's not a fun feeling, let me tell you." Jane shuddered. "If I'm gonna do that with anyone, I want it to be you and you alone."
"A comforting thought, I suppose," Whampire mused. "But I believe we have more pressing matters at hand." he said, pointing a claw at the remaining werewolves as the Omnitrix timed out.
"What about the angry mob?" Jane asked.
"More like the frightened mob, if you ask me." Ben cracked, turning to the Omnitrix and cycling through the roster before selecting one and slapping the activation button, the bright green light of the Omnitrix illuminating the dark forest. He felt himself taller and much more muscled as gray colored fur sprouted all over his body. His face bulged forward into a pointed muzzle, lined with sharp canine teeth as a black nose formed on the end. Organs sloshed around inside him and bones crunched and ground together as he felt said muzzle split into four ways and his fingers become longer and tipped with razor sharp claws that could easily slice through most objects. His toes melted into two, large talons as a third sprouted from his heel and a long, furry tail grew from the base of his spine. A mane of fur rose from the back of his neck as spikes rose from his elbows and shoulders. A green and black suit appeared on his body with green wrists bans and a collar around his neck with the Omnitrix symbol on it.
"Now its time to shut 'em up and shut 'em down!" Blitzwolfer snarled as the Corrupturas on the werewolve's heads shattered into pieces. The Loboan sucked in a deep breath as the pack, now only focused on killing the shape-shifting hero that defied them and made their hunt so difficult. The pack all roared and charged at once, hellbent on tearing the Loboan to shreds as they all prepared to pounce on him and feel his blood on their claws and teeth, his flesh between their jaws, and his life force slowly ebbing away.
"Cover your ears," Blitzwolfer quietly instructed Jane before his mouth suddenly split four different ways, exposing a double row of razor sharp fangs that went all the way down the carnivore's throat as a loud, ear-splitting howl rocked the forest, blasting the werewolves back from the sheer force of the howl and sending them back into the forest, toppling over a few trees in the process.
"Everyone okay?" the Loboan growled as Jane uncovered her ears.
"WHAT!?" Abbey yelled.
"Is everyone okay!?" Blitzwolfer repeated.
"WHAT!?"
"IS EVERY- you know what? Never mind." Bliztwolfer huffed.
"WHAT!?"
"Why do I even bother?" Blitzwolfer grumbled, stalking over to Robecca's fallen form and hauling it out of the ground and rapping a knuckle against her copper head. The robot girl shuddered for a moment, steam pouring out of her ears before giving a low groan; her eyes blinked open.
"Oh, my head," she groaned, clutching her aching cranium. "Remind me to update my systems when we get back."
"That's gonna require literally building an entirely different you." Blitzwolfer informed her.
"Not what I meant." Robecca told him, leaning against him as Nefera with Venus using her for support came stumbling up to them.
"Never fight werewolves during a full moon." Venus hissed, holding her head as sap leaked between her fingers; Blitzwolfer growled upon seeing the wound.
"I'll be fine, Ben," Venus reassured him. "Can't say the same for Heath though." she grinned, pointing towards the fire elemental as he hid behind a bush, not wanting anyone to see his boxers.
"Where are Elissabat, Draculaura, Spectra, and Hoodude?" Nefera wondered.
Blitzwolfer put his nose to the air, taking a deep sniff before pointing down the trail. "They're at the dock. If we hurry, we can catch them before Elissabat leaves." he told them as Frankie started to come to.
"Ugh. What happened?" she asked.
"Oh, nothing. We were just attacked by a pack of wild werewolves." Jinafire shrugged.
"You make it sound like we deal with this kind of thing every day." said Frankie.
"Ever since we met Ben, we might as well be doing it every day." the dragon smiled. "Now, shall we make sure our departed friends are alright?"
"Oh, where are they?" Elissabat worried; it wasn't that she wasn't in a hurry to escape the country and leave her destiny as the next Vampire Queen behind, but she was also concerned for her new friends. Or friends she was about to meet? Elissabat had to agree with the future version of her Beast Friend: time travel gave you such a massive headache.
Hexiciah Steam waited nearby, shrugging off the sudden appearance of mysterious monsters that seemed to know him already as if he dealt with it everyday. He also didn't seem to find the fact that they claimed to be from the future the least bit strange, a fact that confused the ghouls greatly as they waited by a small, old paddle boat that was moored up on a sad looking dock. Elissabat made no complaint about the remote location or the unsanitary conditions; the quieter and farther away she was from Stoker, the better.
"Don't worry, Elissabat," Spectra reassured her. "They should be along any second." she smiled, though the vampire could see the clear concern in her eyes.
A loud howl broke the night and Elissabat instinctively dove behind Hoodude, silently praying that the werewolves were just here to use him as a chew toy. The sound of feet slapping the dirt road repeatedly pounded in her ears, and it sound like there were twice as many werewolves than there should have been.
"You guys alright?" a deep voice asked.
Elissabat cracked open an eyebrow, thankful that she wasn't surrounded on all sides by savage, furry beasts that greatly wanted to turn her into a meal. She calmed her jittery nerves and stood up, daring a peek out from behind Hoodude to see her friends all in one piece, if a bit banged up; Heath was taking cover behind a bush for unknown reasons as Gil practically dunked his head into the water, thankful to have the small amount of oxygen the saltwater provided for his freshwater gills. Her smile of relief quickly turned into a frown of fright as her eyes caught sight of a large, burly, wolf-like creature standing behind the group, its furry tail wagging back and forth. Naturally, she did what all people who had had nasty encounters with werewolves in the past would do.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!" Blitzwolfer howled, clapping his claws over his ears. "My sensitive ears!"
Elissabat was struggling to get away from Blitzwolfer, clambering over Hoodude as he attempted to try and stop her from hiding on the boat.
"Pardon me, but should I interfere?" Hexiciah asked.
"YES!" Spectra yelled as she joined in. Hexiciah nodded and grabbed the struggling vampire from behind, pinning her arms to her sides and holding her place as Spectra slapped a hand across her mouth to end her screaming. "You can uncover your ears now." she said to Blitzwolfer. The Loboan sighed and uncovered his ears, thankful for the peaceful bliss.
"You remember Ben, right?" Spectra asked. "The guy who saved your life?"
Elissabat nodded.
"Well, that creature just happens to be him." Spectra told her.
"The creature can hear you!" Blitzwolfer grumbled.
"Now I am going to uncover your mouth," Spectra told the vampire in a calm tone, ignoring the Loboan. "And when I do, you are going to stay quiet. Got it?"
Elissabat nodded.
"Good." said Spectra as she removed her hand from Elissabat's face and Hexiciah released his hold on her. The vampire took a few short breaths to calm herself before speaking, cautiously making her way up to Blitzwolfer, the Loboan having to bend down to even come close to her height.
"I am sorry I hurt you," Elissabat apologized. "It's just that I've been running for so long and I didn't know who to trust . . ."
"Ah, don't be. Happens all the time." Blitzwolfer smiled as the Omnitrix timed out and reverted the Loboan back into Ben, startling Elissabat; Hexiciah's eyes widened and his lips tightened upon seeing the transformation, but didn't say anything.
"There. Not so scary now, am I?" Ben smiled.
Elissabat gave him a smile and took his hand in hers, giving it a good shake. "Well, it's been nice meeting you, but I have to get going. Londoom waits for no one!"
"You got that right." said Ben.
"Take care, Draculaura. I shall see you again someday." Elissabat turned to Draculaura, grabbing her into a hug. "Hopefully under more appropriate circumstances."
"You have no idea." Draculaura smiled.
"And thank you all." Elissabat turned to the rest of the monsters. "I wouldn't have made it this far without your help. I hope there is some way I can repay you for your services."
"Just make it to Londoom, okay, luv?" Robecca smiled as a swirling blue portal opened up behind her. Both Elissabat and Hexiciah's eyes widened upon seeing the anomaly, but by now they were use to seeing unusual things for the night.
"See ya later!" Hoodude waved good-bye as he and several of the ghouls stepped through portal, Heath making a choice to uproot the bush and make a mad dash for the portal, not even bothering to crack a joke to Abbey about seeing his underwear as he sped past her and into the portal.
"How long do you think that bush will last?" Ben asked Venus as they made their way to the portal; behind them Elissabat stepped onto the paddle boat as Hexiciah pulled away from the dock, Draculaura waving good-bye before following her friends towards the time portal.
"Not long enough," Venus smiled. "Now lets get home! I've had enough time traveling shenanigans to last a life time."
Skelita couldn't believe it.
Several of her friends and her boyfriend had just suddenly been incinerated by a mad Chronosapien. To be fair, said Chronosapien had also met a similar fate, but that did not change a thing. The closest people in her life next to her family had just suddenly disappeared from her life. Forever.
And the worst part was, Zs'Skayr was enjoying it. His chest heaved in and out as he cackled like a maniac, his arms raised towards the skies as he laughed. Laughed at her misery, laughed at his victory, laughed as the dark black night sky turned an ominous purple, swirling, dark storm clouds starting to slowly gather over head. The Ectonurite was relishing in his triumph as she mourned the loss of her loved ones. She began to feel her chest get hot and the mourning feeling start to ebb away as rage started to take hold of her. Skelita now thirst for revenge, to avenge her fallen friends and to make the cackling villain before her pay.
With a guttural scream of rage, she rushed at the villain and jammed her bladed staff into his gut, catching him off guard in his moment of triumph, and pinning him to the ground.
"MURDERER!" she screamed, tears starting to fall from her eyes.
"Dear child, it was not my fault Tennyson and his followers met their fate," Zs'Skayr said without concern, phasing through the ground and appearing to Skelita's right with scythe in hand. "Besides. You will be joining them soon." he grinned maliciously, swinging his scythe and ready to cut Skelita's head away from her shoulders.
Fueled by rage, Skelita raised her staff over her head, blocking the blow as she quickly lashed out with a leg and managed to catch Zs'Skayr in the chest, giving her enough time to whack him over the head with her weapon and second time before driving a bony fist into his face.
All around her were friends fighting for their very lives as they were slowly being overwhelmed by Zs'Skayr's forces consisting of twisted versions of Ben's Omnitrix aliens.
Normally, Neighthan was a peaceful guy. But now was not the time to be peaceful in any way. With an angry yell, he charged straight at a twisted Arachnichimp and lowered his head so that his horn was aimed right at the alien's chest as he skewered it right on his horn, not stopping as he skewered two more mutant's on his horn before tearing their corpses off of his head and using them as weapons to beat a mutated Vulpimancer into submission.
"This is for Heath!" Manny cried as he knelt down and rested his clenched fist on the floor of the warehouse, pawing the ground with a foot before charging forward and ramming his head into the gut of a Vaxasaurian, his horns cutting deep into the armored flesh of the belly. With a twist of his head, the minotaur pulled the turned alien to the ground and began to slug it repeatedly in the jaw, knocking several teeth lose and turned its face black and blue in color.
Cleo crossed her swords in front of her place, just barely blocking the punch of a turned Tetramand as it tried to slug in the face before driving a second fist into her gut, knocking her to the ground and coughing up a small amount of blood from the sheer amount of force put into the blow; her swords clattered to the ground a few feet away, just out of reach. Despite herself and situation, she found herself actually feeling something she never thought she'd feel before. What was this feeling that made her so . . . sad? Was it mourning? And if it was, who was she mourning? Was she mourning the loss of Frankie and Draculaura, two of her Beast Friends Forever? Was it Heath who, despite his stupidity and shenanigans, always managed to make her laugh? No, she found out it was neither of them. Sure, she missed them terribly, but wasn't their losses she was mourning. For some reason, her mind kept on returning back to one person.
Nefera.
Cleo never thought she'd see the day where she would actually miss her sister, to mourn her death and feel such loss. Her mind turned to the last few moments she had been with her sister, how she always covered her back when she was distracted. How she would constantly yell insults at her and tell her she never wanted to see her again. How Nefera never said anything, but took it word for word without spitting any insults back at her. Her mind turned to what had happened just seconds ago, when Nefera had suddenly grabbed her hand and dragged her towards Ben through the sea of mutants, cutting her way through the horde until they were safe.
In a way, Cleo was glad that she was still alive, that she still had a future to look forward to. And at the same time, she felt incredible sorrow, like she had never felt before; she would now have to go on living without her sister's presence in her everyday life, something she could hardly imagine. All her life, she simply wished she was an only child, that Nefera had never been born and had never had a chance to exist. Now, she couldn't bare life without her.
"Go on. Finish me," Cleo said to the Tetramand, as if it actually understood her. "I don't deserve to live." she said dramatically.
The Tetramand hissed and drew back one of its massive fists, ready to crush Cleo's bones into a pulp as she waited for the inevitable.
"Cleo! No!" Deuce cried, having just stoned a Lepidopterran; he was too far away to do anything to stop his girlfriend's death. All he could do was watch helplessly as she excepted her fate at the hands of the Tetramand as it powered its fists forward to kill her.
SCLISH!
Cleo cracked open an eye; she could still smell the stale scent of putrid blood all around, the strangled screams of mutants as they perished, the defiant yells of her friends they ended said mutants. This was not what she expected death to be like at all. She opened her other eye and looked around to see she was still in the warehouse, her bandages speckled with, black blood. She turned to see the Tetramand standing there in shock, looking at what had been its massive hand, now nothing more but a bloody stump with the decapitated hand lying on the ground, still twitching every few seconds.
Standing over her, breathing heavily and the entire upper half of her body covered in nothing but thick, black blood was Nefera, her eyes closed to keep the acidic blood out other vulnerable eyes.
"N-n-nefera! H-how . . ." Cleo stammered, her mind barely able to process how her dead sister was now standing before her, having just saved her life.
"It's good to have friends in high places," Nefera smiled. "And even better to have friends who know how to manipulate time." she pointed with a blood stained blade towards the sky and Cleo tilted her head back to see a large, swirling blue portal directly above her; Robecca flew out of the portal on her rocket boots to slam into a twisted Vulpimancer as it tried to attack Bonita from behind while Venus dropped out of the portal and cracked her flaming vine whips at a Lepidopterran and pulling herself onto its back to use it in battle.
One by one, more ghouls dropped out of the portal before Cleo's eyes; Draculaura wielding a pair of nunchaku with ease smashed in an Aerophibian's skull in; Jane somehow managed to turn into a lion, her loud roar shaking the warehouse as it pounced on Crüjo, apparently having some kind of vendetta against the Loboan; Frankie, alive and never looking better than now, landed on her feet and drove an electrified fist into a Vulpimancer's face, the poor mutant jolting and convulsing uncontrollably as hundreds of volts coursed through its body; Spectra flew out of the portal, delivering a knuckle sandwich to Kuphulu as he tried to choke Clawd, the Thep Khufan's bandages releasing their hold on the werewolf's throat as Spectra punched him in the back of the head; Jinafire came charging out of the portal, executing a perfect roundhouse kick to a Vaxasaurian's face before blowing a jet of flame at its head; Gil and Hoodude fell out of the portal at the same timer, Gil striking low and Hoodude striking high as they tackled a Tetramand to the ground and beat to a pulp; Heath fell out of the portal a few seconds, opting to run out of the warehouse with a bush around his waist, thought not before blasting a Lepidopeterran's wings into ashes; Abbey came roaring out of the portal wielding a dual pair of ice swords, decapitating a flock of Aerophibians as they lunged at her.
And last but not least, came Ben, with that ever present smirk of confidence on his face as he landed on his feet and turned to the Omnitrix, slapping the watch face without even looking at it. "It's Hero Time!" he cried as the green light washed over him, changing his DNA into something the world had never seen. Ben's skin slowly started to melt away, revealing dark red muscle underneath and multi-colored organs that sat on his skeleton. The muscle and tissue began to dissolve soon after the skin had vanished, the internal organs liquidating into a thick soup that pulled together into a glowing, green sphere; Cleo thought she was going to be sick. His bones began to blacken as his toe bones crunched and ground together into toe claws as a thin film began to form over his bones in a sort of suit of some kind. The soup that was his organs began to expand, gathering mass as the suit soon became whole and the organ soup exploded, filling with the space inside the suit and giving it an ominous green glow. A pair of black shoulder pads appeared on the alien's shoulders, a belt forming around his waist with the Omnitrix on it, completing the transformation.
"Bonez! I knew this guy would come in handy!" the Esqueletian boomed in a deep, raspy voice. Bonez narrowed his eyes and sucked in a deep breath before expelling it back out through his open jaws in the form of a noxious, toxic beam of radioactive energy. Every single mutant paused to gaze upon the bright light moments before it touched them and incinerated them on the spot as Bonez swept the radioactive beam back and forth through the sea of mutants, cutting down their numbers until they were almost nonexistent.
"Geez, I didn't know I had such a radiant smile!" Bonez cracked, earning several groans from his friends. "Okay, yeah, that one was pretty bad." he admitted.
"TENNYSON!" Zs'Skayr hissed with complete hatred. "How are you still alive!?"
"Time travel, you Grim Reaper Reject. Best friend I ever had." Bonez joked.
"I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Zs'Skayr roared, grabbing his scythe and throwing it at the Esqueletian, the blade spinning through the air like a wild saw blade of death. Bonez merely raised a hand, a small circular hatch opening up on his palm and releasing a bright beam of radioactive energy at the spinning weapon, melting into a steel soup before it could even reach him.
"You have to do better than that, Zs'Skayr!" Bonez shouted.
"And I will!" Zs'Skayr rasped, floating down from the ceiling and flying right at an unaware Dr. Victor as he fought Frankie. The Ectonurite phased right through the startled Transylian, pushing his mind down and putting his own in control as the large, muscled body twitched and jerked, dark jagged lines appearing around the eyes as Zs'Skayr took control. With a feral bellow, Dr. Victor slammed a fist into Frankie's side and sent her flying into a small pack of Vulpimancers before he charged right at Bonez, fists cupped together and raised above his head as he prepared to crush every bone in his body.
Bonez raised a hand and caught Dr. Victor's fist in his hand, his eyes glowing a dangerous green as a beam of radioactive energy shot out of them and blasted him in the face, a loud hissing sound filling the air as the possessed Transylian howled in pain. The Esqueletian dared not look at his handiwork as he drove a glowing fist into Dr. Victor's gut and delivering a swift upper cut to his jaw before blasting him with another jet of corrosive energy.
"I never thought I'd see you again." Cleo finally managed to say as Nefera quickly finished off the Tetramand with a headbutt to the stomach and a quick decapitation of the head.
"What happened to the Cleo that took every chance to insult me?" Nefera asked with a small smile.
Cleo, for once in her life, felt ashamed and turned her gaze away from her sister. The older De Nile sister bent down to her and rested a blood covered hand on her shoulder. "I forgive you for how you've been treating me. And I'm sorry for everything I've put you through since you were born." she apologized as he jammed a sword behind her and impaled an Aerophibian in the face.
"You're getting blood all over my designer bandages." Cleo finally said.
"Well, you better get use to it," Nefera smiled, pulling her sister into a hug. "Because our work isn't done yet."
"Ugh. After this I'm going to need a total makeover." Cleo shuddered with disgust, spitting out some of the disgusting blood when it got into her mouth.
"Me too," Nefera agreed. "My treat!" she called before crossing her swords in her front of her face to block a blow from a Vaxasaurian and then jamming a blade into its knee cap. The twisted alien bellowed in agony as Cleo thrust one of her own swords into its arm and swung herself up onto its broad shoulder, slicing off its head and jumping free of the body as it fell over backwards and crushed an Arachnichimp underneath.
"So it seems I will be my vengeance sooner than I thought." Crüjo snarled as it through the purple colored lion off of him.
"I doubt it," Jane said with a confident smirk. "I've learned a few new tricks."
"So I see." Crüjo growled.
Jane smiled and concentrated on an image in her head, not even flinching when the changes began. Her body began to throb and grow as her back expanded up and outwards, the back of her clothes starting to rip and tear as her bones grew bigger and muscles piled themselves on top of each other. Her fingers twitched and suddenly fused together into two, sharp claws as her feet tore through her shoes, now nothing more than three strong toes tipped with sharp talons that grew bigger and bigger as the transformation went on. A skeletal tail suddenly whipped out from the base of her spin, longer than her original self as muscle began to wrap around it followed by smooth purple skin. Her head was part of her that changed the most as it expanded it outwards and forwards into a rounded snout, her teeth ripping through her gums into razor sharp fangs that fit neatly over the bottom jaw. Her eyes turned a golden color with black slits as her skin suddenly became loose and hung off her expanding frame like a wet towel before it suddenly snapped back into place, now cracked and pebbled like a dark, indigo desert landscape. The transformation became complete when a small mane of black and purple feathers appeared on the back of the creature's head and it finally reached its full frame.
"HRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the Tyrannosaur Rex roared, every window in the warehouse shattering from the sheer magnitude of the sound. Crüjo howled and covered his delicate ear drums, in too much pain to move out of the way as the dinosaur swiped its head and collided it with the Loboan's frail body, sending him flying into a stack of crates. Jane bellowed in triumph and stomped out to the debris, crushing unlucky mutants beneath its heavy talons.
"Hold still, you insufferable phantom!" Kuphulu snarled, trying with all his might to even grab hold of the slippery specter as she swooped and flew out of the Thep Khufan's clutches, always just out of reach. And whenever he actually even managed to grab hold of her, Spectr'as phantom-like nature always let her slip lose simply by phasing out of his clutches.
"I am growing weary of this!" Kuphulu snarled.
"Then don't look behind you." Spectra smiled as she floated up towards the ceiling.
The foolish Thep Khufan dared a peek behind him just in time to be crushed under Jane's foot as she chased after Crüjo, snapping her jaws to try and catch him between her banana-sized teeth.
"I was going to make you extinct, but I think Jane beat me to it." Spectra smiled, bending down to rub it in the Thep Khufan's face; Kuphulu merely groaned, though whether it was from pain or the absolutely horrendous pun Spectra had made was up for debate.
Dr. Victor's conductors crackled with electricity as he punched Bonez in the gut with a large fist and shoved him away with a heavy boot. Bonez skidded for a few feet before coming to a stop as the possessed Transylian charged forward, ready to kill the Esqueletian where he stood. He drew back a second fist, only to have a thick vine wrap around his wrist and yank it back with a painful snap, making the Transylian stumble as he turned to see a ticked off Venus restraining him. Robecca flew by , blasting him in the face with her rocket boots before socking him the jaw with her metal fist with a loud crack! as Skelita, relieved beyond belief to see her loved ones were still with her, swept out Dr. Victor's legs from under him and sending him out of the fight as he fell to the floor; seconds later, Zs'Skayr phased out of the exhausted Transylian, all of the ghouls wincing painfully upon seeing Dr. Victor's face.
"You think you've won!?" Zs'Skayr hissed.
"Yeah, kinda do." Bonez smirked as he clapped his hands together and rubbed them up and down rapidly, as if trying to build up a static charge. However, instead of conducting electricity like a Gimlinopithecus might do, his entire body started to go a vibrant green as steam started to curl off his body and a loud whine filled the air.
"Hit the dirt!" Bonez cried as he raised his hands into the air, pointing directly at Zs'Skayr. Immediately, threw themselves to the ground as Jane stashed herself behind a wall of crates, trying to scrunch up her massive frame to remain hidden. A sudden explosion rocked the entire world around them as the Esqueletian practically exploded, sending out a toxic fireball in all directions that incinerated everyone that wasn't close enough to the ground or shielded by enough protection; Vaxasaurians, Arachnichimps, Aerophibians, Vulpimancers, Lepidopterrans, all were blown to ashes and broken down into their most simple of parts as the green fireball consumed them, the air practically shimmering with intense heat as Zs'Skayr screamed in agony.
"AAAAAGGGHHH! CURSE YOU, TENNYSON! CURSE YOU!" were Zs'Skayr's final words as the bright line blew his ashes apart and scattered them into the wind, sending them to the four corners of the earth. Or, at the very least, the four corners of New Salem.
"And that, is how it's done." Bonez smiled as the Omnitrix timed out and changed him back into Ben with a flash of bright light.
"As much as it pains me to say this, my love, but there is still the matter of Zs'Skayr's weapon, is there not?" Jinafire asked, grabbing some spare rope and turning an unconscious Crüjo on his belly to tie his hands behind his back.
"Right." Ben frowned, turning towards the large weapon and then to the Omnitrix. "All right, Omnitrix. I need Grey Matter to fix this mess. You here me? Grey Matter!" he yelled, slapping the activation button as the green light washed over him. The changes began as his skin turned icy blue, thick scales forming on his molding skin. His back swelled and hardened into a thick, hard, black shell. Four, large, blue dorsal fins sprouted from his back with a sickening sound as his face bulged outwards, black stripes forming around his eyes as pointed teeth began to line his jaws. His wrists swelled as four claws formed, chest plating appearing on his belly. The room temperature seemed to get lower as a icy vapor escaped from his nostrils, the Omnitrix appearing on his chest, completing the transformation.
"Arctiguana? Not cool, Omnitrix! Not cool!" the Polar Manzardil frowned, slapping the Omnitrix dish on his chest and once more being enveloped in the changing light. His arms and legs were pulled back into his body, shortening but not disappearing altogether. His fourth and fifth finger fused together as a short layer of tan fur covered his sifting body, rust colored spots appearing here and there along his arms. The brown mop of hair on his head was sucked back into his scalp as his ears became long and pointed before rotating to the top of his head as if they were liquid steel. His front teeth ground and cracked as they shoved their wave out of his mouth and over his bottom lip, giving him a rodent-like look as a green and black jumpsuit and a belt with the Omnitrix materialized on his body. The most noticeable change however, was when a massive, furry, blonde colored mustache appeared on his upper lip, finishing the transformation.
"Mole-stache? I say, this highly unprecedented!" the little, rodent-like alien frown, punching the Omnitrix on his belt and hoping it would give him what he needed. He grew upwards by a couple of feet, his skin becoming tough and more resilient as it covered his entire face. He could no longer see anything by light shining through the folds of skin over his eyes before his eyes vanished altogether. His ears moved to the top of his head and grew to a large size, becoming more like flaps on his head rather than small disks. Sharp teeth his mouth as sharp claws grew on the ends of his fingers and his toes burst out of his shoes. Then suddenly, he could see again. At first he just saw Frankie wrestling with an Arachnichimp. Then he saw Clawdeen fending off a pair of Vulpimancers. Then he saw Avea slug a Tetramand across the face. Then he could see up, down, left right, forward, behind, and all around until he could see in every possible direction as a pair of black and green shorts appeared below a green belt with the Omnitrix on it, completing the transformation.
"¡Eye caramba! Eye asked for Grey Matter, Omnitrix! Come on already!" Eye Guy yelled with annoyance, slapping the Omnitrix on his belt as hard as he could, his patience wearing thin with the wondrous device. His bones ground and crunched as he was shrunk down to a height of only two and a half feet tall as his skin turned a smooth, blood red in color. A thin, spaded tail snaked out from the base of his spine as his fingers grew longer and his nails grew sharper. His eyes widened apart slightly as his nose suddenly jutted out at a comical, almost ridiculous, length. His ears became larger and slightly bat-like before becoming spiked as his toes melted together into three digits, his heel grinding against his foot before becoming a small spike. He became slightly obese as spikes formed on his chin and the corners of his eyes as a green and black aviators outfit materialized on his body, complete with a white ascot and a pair of goggles strapped to his head. The Omnitrix appeared on his belt, completing the transformation.
"Jury Rigg! Close enough!" the little gremlin cried, scampering over to the massive machine and prying off a heavy paneling with his little claws. He then dove inside the machine and began to tear out numerous wires and couplers, all the while singing a little song to himself. "Oh, the heat diffusion's connected to the Galvanic coupler! The Galvanic Coupler's connected to the Corrodium injector!"
"What's he singing about?" Robecca wondered aloud as she came in for a landing.
"No idea." Venus shook her head. "But whatever he's doing, it'll most likely end in a massive explosion when it's done its job."
"So, that means we should take cover, right?" Draculaura said worriedly as she helped Clawd to his feet, the werewolf dwarfing the small vampire under his massive frame.
"Precisely." Robecca nodded. "Every monster for themselves!"
" . . . injector's connected to the main grid!" Jury Rigg continued to sing just as he was suddenly electrocuted. "Agh! Razza frazza main grid!" he mumbled under his breath, kicking the piece of the machine before he crawled out from its bowels and messily git the paneling back in place. The little gremlin than hopped up onto the control panel and drummed the side of it in a quick rhythm beofre head butting a few buttons and then hitting the whole thing with a spare monkey wrench he had found carelessly cast aside inside the machine. The Corrodium Ray shuddered to life and gave a low hum, firing out a large beam of energy at the swirling storm clouds overhead; the clouds quickly dissipated and something was pulled of them as they retreated by the ray, Jury Rigg jumping free of the machine and scampering out of harms away as fast as he could just as the weapon exploded into large fireball.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" the little imp cackled pushed him through the air, tumbling head over heels until Robecca caught him in her arms and flew out of the warehouse as it was consumed in flames. "Thanks for the save, toots!" Jury Rigg smiled as the Omnitrix timed out and changed him back into Ben as Robecca dumped him on the ground.
"Well, we came, we saw, we kicked alien butt! I'd say that makes a pretty good night," Ben smiled as Skelita crushed him into a tight hug; how a skeleton was able to do such a thing without any muscles of any kind was beyond him, but he didn't really care now that he had everyone he loved back in his life once more.
"Missed you too, Skelita," Ben smiled. "Now do you mind letting go so I can breath?"
Skelita turned red and released her hold on her boyfriend, the color just starting to return to his face. "Anyone know what happened to Zs'Skayr's henchmen?" Ben asked.
"Right here." Nefera smirked, pushing Victor onto his side and onto an unfortunate Kuphulu and Crüjo, both of them unable to move due to the Transylian's weight and their bonds.
"Good." Ben breathed with relief.
"What happened to you, dude?" Deuce asked, resting an arm on Celo's shoulders, relieved she was alright and not about to be crushed into a bloody paste.
"Oh, just transported fifty years into an apocalyptic future where Zs'Skayr took over, that's all." Ben shrugged, his smile broadening when he saw everyone's faces upon hearing that answer.
"Uh, I think we're going to need a little more information that, Ben." Gigi coughed, waving a hand in front of her face as smoke filled the sky from the burning warehouse.
"I'll tell you all tomorrow," Ben promised. "Oh, and I have something for you actually. Actually, I have some things for a lot of you." he suddenly remembered, digging around in his pocket and pulling a stack of slightly bent and crumpled up letters. "Words of wisdom from your future selves." he explained, passing a letter to several confused ghouls; Twyla, Gigi, Whisp, Avea, Sirena, Lagoona, and even Clawdeen all received one.
"Ben, may I have a word with you?" Jinafire asked Ben as the ghouls curiously looked over the letters from their future selves, several of the other monsters all peering over their shoulders to try and read what was written. Ben raised an eyebrow, but followed Jinafire off a short distance away from the group.
"What's on your mind?" Ben asked once they were out of earshot.
"Do you love me?" Jinafire asked after a moment's hesitation.
"Of course," Ben smiled, taking her hand. "I love all my ghouls."
Jinafire smiled. "I was hoping that was your answer. Because in order you to be able to court me, you must win my hand in battle."
"What is this, the Dark Ages?" Ben wondered.
"No, it is part of culture's tradition," Jinafire replied. "Before you marry or even court a girl from my culture, you must win her hand in a battle. We will have to travel all the way back to Fanghai if this is to work."
Ben blinked, processing the information before shrugging his shoulders. "Okay. So, um, when do we leave?" he asked.
"Now." was the answer as Jinafire took hold of his wrist and turned on the Omnitrix, cycling through the list of transformations before selecting the one she was looking for, all before Ben could ever hope to stop her. The familiar green light consumed his body, injecting a set of alien DNA into his bloodstream and guiding the process along as it forced his body to change. Bens fingers hardened into sharpened blades as a long, whip-like tail sprouted from the base of his spine and stretched out a couple feet. His toes ripped out of his shoes and melted into four claws, two in front, two in back. The ball of his heel crunched forward, moving under his foot bones and becoming perfectly round and smooth, suddenly separating itself from his foot and held there by his curved toes. Ben felt his skull stretch back into a sharp point and his legs bent backwards. A pointy, black helmet with a slide down mask materialized on his head and a tight, black and green body suit appeared on himself, the Omnitrix and Skurd appearing on his chest, completing his transformation.
"Note to self: get a security system on this thing," XLR8 grumbled under his breath as he bent down low enough for Jinafire to climb onto his back and wrap her arms around his neck; the others had taken notice of the transformation, utterly confused. "We'll be back a couple of hours," the Kinceleran told them. "Gotta flash!" he cried before dashing off in a streak of black and blue.
"Uh, what just happened?" Manny asked, utterly confused.
And there we go!
Hey, who out there remembers Bonez from the Dream Sequences, eh? If not, then go back and read chapter 13 for a refresh. Anyways, since I'm on Spring Break and managed to knock this sucker out within two days, expect at least one more chapter in the following days to come!
And yes, Tyrannosaurus Rex had feathers. Get use to the fact that most terrifying creature to have ever walked the Earth is now suddenly a little less terrifying.
As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below! And hey, don't forget to check out my poll or PM me your ideas for filler episodes!
Hasta Luego!