Welcome back Ultras, and welcome to everyone who's new to the Ultra 10 Chronicles! Yes, I know that it isn't Monday yet, but hear me out! Last Monday we set two milestones for this book. Eleven hundred plus total views, as well as forty-four new views in one day. Then we broke that record again on Saturday with forty-nine views that day. That combined with me getting this chapter finished on Saturday made me want to put this chapter out a day early as a giant thank you to you all for your love and support for this story! (As a consequence, no chapter tomorrow, but maybe one on Thursday, as well as next Monday. No promises, though.)

There are a couple of trigger warnings for this chapter. There is some VERY light torture in this chapter. The reader hears it, so there is no depictions of it. It is in the paragraph starting with, "You dare blame your stupidity..." There is also one instance of choice language. It is in the very last paragraph before the author's note.

There are two soundtracks for this chapter. The first one is "You're My Best Friend" By Queen. You can listen to in on youtube. Youtube watch?v=upoNK5_GDsA. This covers the majority of the chapter, right up until Lucky Girl flies away from Maddi. I felt like the song really portrayed the happy feeling that both Gwen and Ben are feeling having a new friend.

The second soundtrack is "Heathens" by Twenty-One Pilots. You can listen to it on youtube. Youtube watch?v=eJ1HPUZSIiE. I felt that it really captured the creepy, almost ghost-like feel of the last bit of the chapter.

Enjoy the chapter!

The Ultra 10 Chronicles: Volume 1: The Beginnings of Ultra 10

Chapter 21: A Friend Gained

At Gwen's house

"So the first Charm of Bazel that I have, I got from this warehouse that had some soldiers standing guard in it, soldiers that looked like the PLUMMER agents that we saw tonight." Gwen finished her summarization.

"And you think that your grandmother could have been involved with these PLUMMERs?" Maddi asked. Gwen nodded her head.

"If she wasn't an agent herself, then she at least knew about them. At least, she left one of her prized possessions in the warehouse with them."

"If she died as long ago as you said," Ellie said. "Then it could be possible that she had put her things there before the warehouse was abandoned. Then the PLUMMERs moved in afterwards," Ellie suggested.

"I don't think so," Maddi cut in. "It sounds like whoever these guys are, they have been set up in the warehouse for a long time. It's probably nothing more than a front. Like with the mafia, you know? It's gotta take a long time to install an elevator like Gwen described."

"I wish that we could just head there and look around," Gwen said. "But the warehouse burned to the ground as a result of my fight with Hex." The three were silent in thought for a moment.

"I'd say that your grandmother worked with the PLUMMERs, probably as an agent," Ellie concluded. "If she was still active when she died, then they would have kept her agent supplies, which would explain why the charm was there…"

"I agree," Maddi said. "That's probably the most logical reasoning."

"So if she were working with the PLUMMERs," Gwen thought out loud. "Then how much does my grandpa Max know about the PLUMMERs?"

"Its hard to say," Ellie said. "He could have known all about it, or he could have known nothing about it. Secret agent work isn't usually something you talk about over the dinner table."

"Yeah, I'd agree," Maddisen said. "If he knew anything about it, he probably didn't know much at all. Like maybe he knew she worked for the government or simply had a job."

"Ok," Gwen concluded the subject. "That's probably pretty accurate. Thanks!" Both girls nodded.

"So, you got the Keystone of Bezel," Maddi offered. "Got any other charms?"

"Yeah, actually," Gwen responded. "I found the Charm of Luck and Probability on an online auction. But other than the two, I haven't been able to find any others."

"Have you tried your magic?" Ellie asked. "I mean, that's pretty much how you found the Keystone, right? Magic locator spell?"

"Why hadn't I thought about that?" Gwen asked herself. "Yeah, I could try to locate the rest of the charms!"

"Sounds like we know what we're doing tomorrow afternoon," Maddi said. Behind her, Gwen heard the garage door open, and her mother's car pull in.

"That's my mom," Gwen said quickly. "I'd better end this. Talk to you tomorrow then!" With that, the spell faded, and Gwen was left alone in her room. She quickly closed the Arcamada Book of Spells, it vanishing into mist, and stood up. She undressed, and got changed into her pajamas before slipping into bed for the night.

The Next Afternoon

Gwen texted her team, and decided to meet up at Ellie's house to prepare to do the location spell. She had just arrived, and walked up the steps to the front door, giving it three loud knocks. In a moment, Ellie opened the door.

"Come on in," she said, smiling. Gwen thanked her, and followed her inside. They made their way up to Ellie's bedroom, where Maddi was waiting for them already. She greeted the girl, and all three sat down crossed-legged on her room.

"So how does this spell-thing work?" Maddi asked.

"Arcamada, Book of Spells, I call for you," Gwen said, holding her hands out in front of her. Mist swirled, growing thicker and thicker, until it started to take on the form of a book. Once it was formed, it dropped into Gwen's hands.

"Woah!" Both Maddi and Ellie said in unison.

"Every time, it is still cool," Ellie said. Gwen couldn't keep a smile from growing on her face. She might have been showing off a bit, but it was so cool that she deserved to show off from time to time, right?

"The spell is in this book," she said, as she opened it and started flipping through the pages. "And… Here it is," Gwen showed the two girls the page.

"Oh, I forgot that you both can't see the contents yet," Gwen remembered. "Still working on the vision potion. Anyway, this is a locator spell." Gwen pulled out her notebook that she had brought and tore out a blank sheet from it.

"I'm going to cast the location spell onto this paper, and then we'll need to match the map onto a map in an atlas. That will tell us where the map is," Gwen explained. "But I've only cast this spell a couple of times before, so I'll need some absolute silence." Both girls nodded their heads and waited for Gwen to cast the spell.

She closed her eyes, digging deep within herself to connect more fully with her mana pool. Gwen opened her eyes, having found her mana. Her eyes glowed a faint purple, as she held up the paper.

"Invenire locum," Gwen muttered. The paper looked like it aged a dozen years, dust growing on it like snowfall on the ground. Gwen felt the slightest amount of dizziness, but quickly shook it away. She blew off the dust away from her friends, and all three girls stared at the paper. On it was the borders of a city, situated on a bay near to the ocean.

"Well they are just outside of a coastal town," Maddi said. "At least that narrows it down a bit.

"Yeah, and it is probably pretty swampy, with all of this lakes everywhere," Ellie added. "Any ideas?"

"I suggest that we head to a library to do some research," Gwen said, standing up. She closed the Arcamada book, it vanishing into dust. Ellie and Maddi both stood up, stretching for spending so much time on the floor.

"To the library it is, then," Maddie said. The three girls made their way to the library. After about an hour of searching, Ellie exclaimed, "I found it!" Both Gwen and Maddi headed over to see. Sure enough, she had found it. The page matched the map Gwen had made perfectly. Maddi read the title.

"Map of New Orleans and the Louisiana coastline," she said. "Sounds like they are in New Orleans."

"A ways outside of New Orleans," Ellie corrected. "The map says that it's about forty miles southeast of the city in a wildlife sanctuary. That's quite the trip."

"I bet that we can catch a taxi most of the way," Gwen said. "The remainder I can manage with my magic. I can talk my parents into letting us head down for Spring Break."

"Sounds like we're heading to New Orleans next month!" Maddi confirmed. "I'd better start sweet talking my parents to let me go."

"Same here," Ellie said. "Speaking of which, it's starting to get a little late. I'll see you both at school tomorrow!" With that, the three girls went their separate ways.

Downtown Bellwood

Ben finished handing the last of the unconscious gangsters to the police officers, who loaded them up into the police car.

"I don't care what anyone says about you, Ultra 10. You're alright by me! Heaven knows that this city needs all the help that we can get," the officer said, shaking Ben's hand.

"I'm just doing my part to help out," Ben said, still in his FourArms form. With a waive, he hit his badge, transforming into Accelerate, before zooming off."

"You gotta admit, though," the second officer said. "He sure can get around!"

Ben zoomed through the streets of Bellwood for a few seconds, before coming to a stop in an alley way. He detransformed, and spoke into his comm link.

"Julie?" Ben asked. "Am I alright to bring Sam by?"

"I guess," Julie sighed. "Kinda feels like we're just welcoming him into the team, though."

"Not yet," Ben corrected. "Sam is a friend from school. He's been pretty obsessed with Ultra 10 and Lucky Girl for a while, and I've got an idea about how we can use that to help us out. But we've got to be outright and honest with him."

"I suppose you're right," Julie said. "I'll see the two of you in a bit then!" With that, Ben ended the transmission and took off his mask, his suit folding up into its storage container. Ben reached into his pocket, and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed up a number and put it to his ear.

"Hello?" Sam answered from the other end.

"Hey, Sam," Ben greeted. "You ready to meet the team?"

"Heck yeah I am!" Sam cheered. "Where are we meeting them?"

"Where are you at?" Ben asked.

"I'm at home right now," Sam said.

"Cool. I'll be there in a moment, be ready," he replied. With that, he hung up, and opened his suit, it unfolding to cover him from head to toe. He activated the Omnitrix.

"Accelerate!" He shouted, and sped off towards Sam's house. He arrived in only a couple of seconds, and waited for Sam outside. He took a few moments to come out, but he was noticeably excited to see Ben standing there as Accelerate.

"Cool!" He cheered again, and hopped onto Ben's back. "I'm ready!"

"Great," Ben grumbled. "I feel like I'm dealing with Lukas again…" He sped off towards Julie's apartment. A moment later, they arrived. Ben pulled up in the parking lot, and Sam hopped off of Accelerate's back. Ben detransformed, and led the way up to Julie's apartment, knocking on her door. A moment later, Julie answered.

"Hey, Ben! This must be Sam," she said, sizing the two boys up. "Well come on in, it's a bit more private. Lukas is on his way." She stepped out of the door frame to let the two in. Ben led the way onto her couch, and Sam followed him.

"So I guess that I'd better start at the beginning," Ben started off, as soon as Julie had closed the door and sat down herself. "It started after a summer trip with my grandpa Max and cousin Gwen. The day I got home, in fact…" Part way through the story, Lukas finally arrived, and helped fill in the details of their becoming a team. Over an hour later, Ben was finally finished, and Sam was caught up to speed.

"And that's really it," Ben finished. "That's how I got the Omnitrix, and how we became Team Ultra."

"Wow," Sam said. "What a crazy story!"

"Probably wouldn't believe it ourselves, had we not been a part of it," Lukas added. "So why are we spilling our guts to Sam again?" Ben was met with a room-full of eyes.

"About that…" Ben said, somewhat hesitantly. "You remember when Lucky Girl visited you? Asked you to drop trying to find out who I was?" Sam looked somewhat embarrassed, but nodded.

"Yeah. Sorry about that, I just couldn't let it go…"

"It's alright, nothing we can do about it now," he said. "What I was getting at, is that I think that I've come up with a way that your enthusiasm could actually help us." Sam perked up at that.

"Yeah? How so?"

Throughout the city, we've gotten a few cameras set up. They're connected to our communicators, and alert me to crimes that are happening, even when I'm not there."

"Cool!" Sam said. Ben nodded before he continued.

"However, they are pretty limited. They only monitor certain intersections, and usually doesn't pick anything up unless it's big, like a fire, or unless there's a police radio about it. Which makes intervening before the police get there a little difficult."

"Go on," Sam said.

"Well if we could increase our ability to detect crimes as they happen," Ben said. "Then we could be much more effective at solving them, even before the police get there. Something like a database, or a server."

"So you want me to start a help-line?" Sam asked, starting to get the idea.

"Not a help-line really… More like a database. If someone sees a crime, they can report it, and it goes strait to us."

"That's actually not a bad idea," Lukas joined in. "Each person would be effectively a mobile camera."

"Precisely," Ben finished. "Sam could work on a program that can be downloaded onto people's phones that they can report to. It would send it to a virtual server, something that's hard to track, and maintains our anonymity."

"I'm sure Cooper could help with some of the coding," Julie said. "He's not entirely against helping out the team."

"It sounds like a plan, then!" Sam said, excited. "This is so cool that I'm working with Team Ultra!"

"Well, it's getting late," Julie said. "And I'm sorry to be the party pooper, but I've got things to do tomorrow. Ben, can you take one of them home? I can take the other."

"Sure. Sam, you're with me. I guess I'll see Lukas at school tomorrow," Ben said. They all stood up and headed outside, Julie and Lukas to Julie's car, and Ben and Sam outside, so that he could transform. Once outside in the parking lot, he activated the Omnitrix.

"Accelerate!" He shouted as he emerged from the green light. "Hop on."

"So cool!" Sam said as he got onto Ben's back.

"Yeah, yeah. I've heard it before," Ben said as the two zoomed off towards Sam's house.

Over the next couple of weeks, Sam worked on the reporting app, and tested it with Ben and the team. There were a few crimes here and there for Ben to take on, but it seemed that most of the bad guys that Ben had been fighting were in prison.

"Nice night, isn't it?" Lukas asked through Ben's comm link.

"Yeah, it's quiet," Ben said in HeatBlast's deep voice. He was currently soaring over the city on a fiery platform.

"We've been having a lot of those these last few weeks," Lukas remarked. "Almost seems a bit too quiet."

"Whatever, dude. I'm enjoying it. No one trying to shoot me, or stab me, or beat me up. No lasers or aliens or explosions either. I'm fine with it being quiet."

"Just sayin', dude. When something seems too good to be true, it usually is too good to be true…"

"Well I don't see anything from where I am at. Has the cameras picked up anything?"

"Give me a second," Lukas said, as he checked on the cameras. "Nope, the surveillance grid is silent too."

"Cool, contact Lucky Girl and tell her that we are ending early tonight. I'm going to tinker on the communicator as GrayMatter. I want to see if I can some how attach the comm link to the Omnitrix. That way we don't have to worry about my mask's communicator getting damaged."

"Smart," Lukas said. "Sounds good. I'll let Lucky Girl know, and then I might stop by to hang for a bit."

"See you then," Ben said, as he ended the transmission. He headed towards his home, landing a ways down the street. He detransformed, and took off his mask, his suit folding away. A couple minutes later and he was in his bedroom, with his comm link laid out on his bed. He raised his wrist and activated the Omnitrix.

"GrayMatter!" He half-shouted, half whispered, as he was engulfed in a green light. He emerged no taller than about nine inches tall. He leapt up onto the bed and started inspecting the communicator. After a hour or so of tinkering, Ben got a phone call on his cell.

"Hello," Ben spoke into the receiver.

"Hey man," Sam said. "I think that the database is done. I'm just still trying to figure out how to get it out there without people figuring out that I'm working with you?"

"We've been thinking about that too," Ben replied. "How do you feel about starting a fan group?"

"I'm not sure…" Sam replied. "Why would I be starting a fan group?"

"If you were the leader, and Ultra 10 got word about the group, then he could give you the file for the database," Ben explained. "You could then pass it around, and no one would think that you were actually working with us, anymore than anyone else."

"Clever," Sam said. "But I still don't think that I'm the 'fanboy' type of person…"

"Hey, if you can come up with a better way to get it out, I'm all ears," Ben shot back. "That's just the best idea Julie, Lukas and I have come up with." Sam grunted in response.

"I guess that I can get a fan group started up… But you're going to owe me for this!"

"That's an understatement," Ben agreed. "Thanks, man, you are awesome!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Sam ended the call. Ben slipped the cell into his pocket, and picked up his communicator. It was now a circular patch, a similar size to the Omnitrix's face plate.

"Alright, GrayMatter, let's see how good your engineering skills are." He activated the Omnitrix, the face plate popping up. He placed the communicator over the top, and slammed down, instantly being engulfed in a green light.

"GrayMatter!" Ben shouted in the small alien's squeaky voice. "Alright, let's see how well the new communicator works…"

Riverview Academy, the following afternoon

"Are you two ready to head to New Orleans?" Gwen asked her two friends as they started their walk home. At first, they had only been pretend friends. Associates, or co-workers would have been a better term for them. However, they had been growing closer over the last few weeks, and Gwen was starting to really enjoy spending time with them, even when it didn't have anything to do with Black Cat.

"Not sure if this is what having a friend is like," Gwen thought to herself. "But whatever this is, I like it!"

"Yeah, I got it cleared with my folks," Maddi said. "However I had to tell them that your parents are going as well. That was the only way they'd let me go. They're a little bit protective that way."

"Good to know," Gwen said. "How about you, Ellie?"

"I tried to get my parents to allow me to go, but they just wouldn't," Ellie confessed. "They said that we have a family reunion on my dad's side to go to over spring break. They wouldn't let me get out of it."

"I'm sorry," Gwen said. "We'll bring you something back, though!"

"For sure!" Maddi joined in.

"Thanks, you two," Ellie gave them both a hug. "Are you both ready to go?" Maddi nodded her head.

"Yep. My mom's taking me over to Gwen's, and then we're off to the airport after that!"

"Well, you had better get a move on, then," Maddi said. "I guess that I'll see you when you get back!" The three girls went their separate ways home. Gwen made her way home, and up to her room. She pulled out her duffel bag she had under her bed, and unzipped it. Inside, she had some supplies of things she'd need. Clothing, snacks, money, the likes. She had also carefully packed both of her grandmother's diaries at the bottom. Having checked it again, she zipped it shut, and hauled it downstairs into the living room. Maddi's mom dropped her off, and within the hour, both Gwen and Maddi were on the plane heading towards New Orleans.

On a spaceship hovering over the Earth

"Report on the bounty hunter's progress," Vilgax demanded from his android servants.

"The bounty hunter Six-Six had confronted the current wearer of the Omnitrix, however it does not appear that he was victorious," one android reported.

"What is he doing now?" Vilgax demanded.

"His bio signature is hard to trace, but it does not appear to be moving farther than the range of a bio signature scrambler. It is possible that he is in some sort of confinement." Vilgax sighed a very annoyed sigh.

"Where is he?"

"He is in the vicinity of a mountain formation, one where the locals have defaced with images to themselves. Logical processors would conclude that he is being held underneath the mountain formation in a bunker, the mountain formation being used as a front."

"The wearer of the Omnitrix is both clever and powerful," Vilgax concluded. "Perhaps there is a more powerful bounty hunter that I may recruit…"

"The Omnitrix's energy signature has never been detected outside of the city as of yet," the android said. "Not even to this mountain formation. Logic processors would conclude that it is a different organization unconnected to the Omnitrix wearer that subdued and incarcerated the bounty hunter Six-Six."

"Interesting…" Vilgax mused.

"If it is not the vigilante wearer of the Omnitrix," a second android spoke up. "Then it is possible that a local governmental organization may have the firepower and resources to subdue and incarcerate the bounty hunter."

"Such an organization would certainly be a thorn in my side as I pursue my plans," Vilgax surmised.

"Tactical processor concludes that a strike on this organization would not only cripple Earth's defenses, but also free Six-Six, and gain us an ally in our debt," the first droid said.

"Then that is what I will do," Vilgax said as he leaned back in his throne. "Find and download the schematics of that secret base, so as to exploit any weaknesses. And find out whatever you can about this Earthen defense organization."

"Yes, my lord," the android received the order, and started typing away on his computer screen.

The next morning

"Alright, so what's our first move?" Maddi said.

"First," Gwen said, "I need to get a map that covers the area where the charms are at." She opened up her laptop and opened the google maps tab. She navigated to New Orleans, and pulled out her magically-created map. Using the satellite view, she zoomed in on where the charms were located.

"That looks like some swamp," Maddi commented.

"Yeah, but it also looks like there's an old mansion there too," Gwen pointed at the screen. "Right there. Might be left over from an old plantation or something." Maddi nodded.

"So how are we getting there?"

"We can get a taxi up to where the road ends. Right here," Gwen pointed to the spot on the map. "You can keep watch, and I can use magic to get myself the rest of the way there."

"Looks like it is about forty or so miles there," Maddi estimated. "To where the road ends. With traffic, that's probably about an hour and a half?" Gwen nodded.

"About that, yeah," Gwen used the computer's tools to draw a route for them to take. "From where the road ends, it's about another six or seven miles to the mansion. That's where the charms should be." Maddi checked her wrist watch.

"One and a half hours there, the same back. Probably another hour to the mansion, and an hour back. We're looking at about five hours. Think that we can do it?"

"Our plane leaves at seven, which gives us eight hours. We should be able to make it work."

"Cool," Maddi said. "Let's not waste our time, but let's grab some lunch first! I'm starving!" Gwen nodded, and the two girls wandered over to one of the restaurants that were inside of the airport. Twenty minutes later, and Gwen and Maddi were in a taxi heading out of town and towards the swamp. Ninety minutes later, and the taxi pulled to a stop where the gravel road turned into little more than a four-wheeler trail.

"You girls sure that you're going to be alright?" The taxi driver asked again. He wasn't too sure about dropping the two of them off in the middle of a swamp all by themselves.

"We're sure," Maddi said again for the third or fourth time.

"Thanks for the ride, Leroy," Gwen thanked him and gave him a wad of cash. "We've got cell phones. We'll give you a call when we're ready to be picked up."

"Alright then," Leroy said, taking the cash from Gwen. "Like I said, don't hesitate to call, my shift ends in about three hours, but I'll keep on for you two. Stay safe, now!" With that, he waived them goodbye and drove off, back towards civilization.

"Let's find a couple of trees or something to hang out under," Gwen said. The two girls made their way to a clump of trees not too far from the road. They put down their bags as Gwen changed into her Lucky Girl suit.

"Ostendo!" Gwen shouted. Her clothes disappeared, being replaced by her black leotard, purple sash and black cat mask. "Alright, which way is the mansion again?"

"That way," Maddi said, pointing into the swamp. "Six miles in a straight line."

"Thanks," Gwen said. She stretched her hands out. "Arcamada, Book of Spells, I require you." The familiar mist swirled around her hands, forming the purple and gold, leather-bound book. Gwen flipped through several pages, until she found the one she was looking for. She closed the book, it vanishing in a poof of mist.

"Vadera expectorium perpetuon!" Gwen shouted. A flurry of wind quickly picked up, twisting around Gwen. It sped up, gaining in velocity until Gwen started to pick up from off the ground. The cyclone stayed at waist level, leaving Gwen's vision clear to see.

"I'll see you when I come back," Gwen said to Maddi. Maddi nodded as Gwen took off in the direction of the mansion located way out in the swamp. As soon as Gwen faded from her sight, Maddi sat down under the tree.

"Well, I guess that I can get a campfire going," she said outloud to herself. "Not a lot else to do until she gets back."

Gwen wasn't moving as fast as she could make this cyclone take her. She had a long distance to travel, so she was pacing herself. It wasn't as fast as a car would go, even traveling on a dirt trail. But it was definitely faster than walking. She had some time to relax on the way to the mansion. While she was waiting, she pulled out her spell book and decided to do some studying.

After what felt like forever, she spotted the mansion in the distance. She checked her watch, trying to gage how much time she would have to get the charms. She had about ninety minutes, plenty of time to search around the area. However, as she got closer to the mansion, something started to look more and more off.

Gwen had expected to see an old plantation mansion falling apart and rotting away in the middle of the swamp. However, that was definitely not what she was seeing. What she saw was a mansion, yes, but it wasn't decaying and being reclaimed by nature like she'd thought she see.

Instead, the mansion was in good repair. Old and dirty, yes, but it was definitely in livable condition. No sagging roofs or crumbling walls. The windows still had the glass intact, and it appeared like there was smoke coming from the chimney.

"No way that anyone lives all the way out here," Gwen thought. "It's a wildlife sanctuary!" Gwen landed sever yards away from the house, farther away than she'd planned on. She carefully crept up on the house, trying her best to stay behind trees or bushes whenever she could.

Gwen made her way around the side of the house, where there were fewer windows. She crept up on one of them and peered inside. Aside from the occasional candle, the house was dead in more ways than one. The swamp's stillness only added to the creepy feeling that the place had. Crouching down, Gwen pulled out a piece of paper from her sash and whispered a spell.

"Invenire locum," Gwen whispered, and blew off the paper. On the sheet was a bird's eye view of the surrounding area, but close enough for Gwen to be able to see the mansion easily, as well as the place where the charms were at. They were in the far corner of the back of the house.

"Sweet," Gwen quietly cheered. They're not too far from the window. I'll be able to grab them without being inside the creepy house for long!" She shoved the map back into her sash and continued to creep alongside the back of the house, taking care to not walk past any of the windows.

"This whole property smells strongly of mana," Gwen silently said to herself. "I didn't even feel dizzy casting that spell. I wonder if the mansion is cursed or something… That's probably why I feel so uneasy about it."

Finally, Gwen came up to the corner of the house closest to the charms. Gingerly, she peeked her head to peer through the window and into the room. Like the rest of the house, there were the occasional candle lit, but otherwise it was completely still. Gwen noticed that the window was an old design, the kind that could be slid up, and didn't even have a latch. Biting her lip, Gwen carefully pressed on the window and pushed upwards. The window slid up without a sound.

"Well, here goes nothing!" Gwen whispered, as she silently slipped in through the window. Her eyes took a moment to adjust to the dimly lit room. She was inside of a magnificent library. It was a very old library, filled with very old books. But it appeared to be in good condition, other than a layer of dust that coated the table and chairs in the center of the room and parts of everything else. Gwen silently walked over to the nearest candle and pulled out her map.

"Alright, the Charms of Bezel should be over… there," Gwen whispered, looking towards one of the side walls. Where she was peering, she saw a large wooden chest, covered in a thick layer of dust. She crept over to it and noticed that there was no lock on it. She lifted it up, the hinges creaking, startling Gwen for a moment.

Taking a deep breath to steady herself, she lifted the lid and peered inside. There, laying on the bottom were the remaining Charms of Bezel. Gwen couldn't hardly believe it. Glancing around Gwen decided that the feeling she kept feeling were just her nerves. She reached into the chest and pulled out the charms.

"Alright, I've got the charms," Gwen said to herself. "And now to get the heck out of here!"

"Excuse me, ma'am? But would you be so kind to take Lumie too?" Gwen almost screamed.

"Who said that?" She demanded.

"Over here, ma'am! In the bird cage!" Gwen looked in the direction that the voice came from, and indeed saw the bird cage.

"Um… the cage is empty," Gwen asked.

"You're not looking hard enough," the voice said. "Look harder!" Gwen stared intently at the cage but still failed to see anything. Then, slowly, she saw a blur faintly grow into focus in the cage. Within a few seconds, she could make out the creature's generally humanoid shape.

Gwen blinked a few times, trying to focus her eyesight. She could made out the creature's head and oversized eyes and ears. It had pale gray skin, and was wearing some sort of a jumpsuit made out of a rough cloth. It had spiny hands and enormous fingers, almost looking like sticks connected at the wrist.

"Please ma'am, let Lumie out of here! Lumie means you no harm, Lumie only wants to escape!" The creature said.

"You're… you're talking?" Gwen asked in confusion.

"Yes Lumie can talk, but Lumie recommends that you keep your voice down, and we leave immediately. The masters don't take kindly to strangers!"

"The masters?" Gwen asked.

"Oh yes, Lumie will tell you all about them! Nasty, mean masters they are! But we need to leave now! A master is coming!" The creature tried to hide in the corner of its cage. Gwen took the hint and quickly ducked behind the corner of a bookcase. She heard footsteps coming down the hall towards the library.

"For your own sake, stay quiet and out of sight!" The creature whispered. Gwen sucked up to the wall and squeezed her eyes shut. She heard whoever was coming down the hall force the door open.

"Dümahr! Why is that window open? I hate the draft it creates!" An angry voice shouted.

"Yes Master, Dümahr will close the window right away! Dümahr is very sorry that the window was left open!" A small creature dragged itself across the room and slammed the window shut.

"Why was it left open in the first place?" The angry voice demanded.

"Dümahr doesn't know! Perhaps it was the other master?" Dümahr suggested in almost a pleading tone.

"You dare blame your stupidity on him?" The voice demanded. "Cruciatus!" Gwen heard Dümahr cry out in pain.

"Dümahr is sorry! Dümahr is to blame!" Gwen heard the poor creature cry out in torture for several more seconds before he was silenced. All the while the girl laughed in delight.

"Be grateful that I am not my uncle," she said. "He wouldn't be so forgiving." She walked down the hall and away from the library.

"Dümahr is grateful to Master for her forgiveness," the creature mumbled as it closed the door and followed the girl down the hallway.

"You can come out now, ma'am," the small creature in the birdcage said. "But we still need to be quick if we are going to escape!"

"Who was that?" Gwen asked as she slowly came out of her hiding place. She crept over to the bird cage to open the latch and let the creature out.

"That was Dümahr and one of the masters. Now you can see why Lumie wants out of here, yes?" The creature asked.

"Yeah, I think that I get the sentiment," Gwen said as the creature leapt from the birdcage to the ground.

"You were smart to come in through the window, we can leave through the window too! Quick!" Lumie made for the window.

"Wait a second," Gwen said. "I gotta grab the charms! I dropped them when I hid. They're on the table." Gwen crept to the table and picked up the charms. She stuck them into her sash and started creeping towards the window. However, behind her she heard the door suddenly open.

"I saw those charms laying out, and instantly knew that none of these useless creatures are that dumb!" The angry girl said, pride evident in her voice. "Now who the hell are you?" Gwen slowly turned around.

A/N:

And that is where I am ending it this week. A cliff hanger, I know! But it is just too good of a scene to try to cut up, so I cut it just as it was getting good! (Facepalm!) What did you think about Sam making the database for Team Ultra to use? Sam's not excited about being a "fanboy," but he's sure doing one for the team! Any ideas as to what exactly Lumie or Dümahr are? And what are their roles in the story? Who exactly is the female "master," and who is her uncle? Other ideas as to where the story is going? Don't forget to favorite and follow! Any ideas, comments or criticisms, leave them in a review! Once again, big thank you to everyone who have given this story a read, and for breaking two records in the same week!

Have an awesome day!

Review Responses:

UchihaNaruto247: Ah it's been a little while since I've read this story, but I have some chapters to catch up to. It's cool to see Gwen building her own team and even giving it a name. I did get a little excited when we cut to Sam's house, just seeing his detective skills in work impressed me very much, honestly just utilizing his character is pretty cool. I'm honestly cool with him either being part of them team or him being a Gordon Ramsey type of character. Verdona trying to build a strong magical family line is something I can imagine, seeing Ben's luck is due to a blessing from his grandma made a little more sense to me and adds more to the story. Though they way you mentioned it in your author's note, is he going to lose it? Or is Gwen going to get something to have even better luck than him? It'll be a little tough for Ben cause he's gotten through so much due to luck.

Yeah I didn't expect this Six-Six guy to kill/eat someone, but it seems fitting in a way like you mentioned. At this point, from an objective point of view, it looks weird when both birthday kids aren't at their own party. Speaking of the party, that little prank was hilarious, I can imagine the pain of dealing with something like that. It'll be hilarious if when Gwen goes back home and deals with the aftermath of the prank. (Maybe she does, I'm only a chapter behind the latest one.)

You know when you mentioned there'd be a Star Wars reference here, I was a little embarrassed because I've never watched Star Wars. (One of the things I have to cross of my bucket list some time.) I can't even blame Ben for his slip up, from the way Sam revealed his secret to him, he made himself look as if he had all the cards to know the facts. and was just waiting for a reaction from ben(nice little psychological effect) and Ben isn't experienced with dealing with accusations like that, he should really work on that. I think Ben and Gwen have a higher chance of figuring out Max's secret life quicker than he'll figure out their identity. He's mentioned he's a plumber, and if they see something that's slightly uncharacteristic of a plumber from him, they should be able to connect the dots pretty quickly.

Hey, Uchiha! Glad that you came back to the story! I'm glad that you're enjoying Gwen's character arc so much! Sam is rapidly becoming a very interesting character to write, and I enjoyed writing that scene probably as much as you enjoyed it! I assume that you meant Commissioner Gordon from Batman? (Now I'm just thinking of Sam as a hilarious chef with really good burns! Haha!) As for the hint about Ben's luck, no spoilers yet, but it is coming up soon! (Like only two or so chapters away!)

Haha! I'm glad that I threw you off with Six-Six's appetite! I felt that it added to his sense of "savagery," and fit him well! As for Ben and Gwen, Ben had already planned to "hang out with Lukas," so it wasn't hard for him to slip away as it was practically Gwen's party with his thrown in on the side. But as for Gwen, Ben's prank pretty much ended the party, and Natalie wasn't going to make Gwen suffer the smell, so she let her go to her friend's house after her party guests went home. It was pretty easy for Gwen to slip away, similar to Ben, though it was quite a bit later than Ben. I hope that it shows how similar that the two actually think sometimes, regardless of how different they think they are.

Yeah, the Star Wars reference is from the old game Star Wars Battlefront 2. It's a variation of what some of the soldiers shout during gameplay. Further than that I won't say so as to keep it somewhat a mystery. As for Ben's slip up, yeah, Sam played his cards like a pro! And yeah, Sam was going to figure out Ben's identity sooner or later. Probably a good thing too, as he's definitely a detail-oriented person. Him covering for Ben rather than trying to unmask him is something that Ben is going to really need, that and his ability to plan ahead, something that Team Ultra really needs.

(Sam walks in wearing a white apron and throws a pizza at the wall.) "This pizza is so bad that if you took it to Italy, they'd arrest you!" (Still laughing at Sam as Gordon Ramsey!) Thanks for the humor!