Ben and Ester were having a picnic. Ben had definitely been surprised when Ester had pulled almost the entire meal from out of her coat. They had found a small opening, a flowery field where no trees grew.
"Gwen's going to kill us when we get back." Ben commented as he laid down on the blanket. "Man, I'm stuffed!" Ben stretched his arms above his head. Suddenly, he felt something very warm across his abdomen. Reaching to feel it with his arms, he realized that it was Ester, and she was sleeping.
"For future reference, yellow roses are my favorite." Gwen was saying to Rook as they walked down the street of the town, if you could call it a street. The area was lush and filled with grass, holding plants that resembled stalls that functioned as such for the merchants behind them. "I will certainly keep that in mind." Rook stated. "However, I have discovered a dilemma that needs our more immediate attention. Despite the wide array of goods presented here, there is something missing."
Gwen's eyes widened as she realized their plight. "You did bring proper scavenging equipment right?" Gwen asked. "Of course, Rook replied, but we will have to acquire it ourselves, seeing as the beings here do not need it to replenish themselves."
"That's okay, looking back, Grandpa Max was always preparing us for this day." Gwen replied. "Before we go searching for food, perhaps we should check in with our guide?" "Agreed." Rook confirmed. Their "guide", Alaxa, had told them that her dwelling was near the edge of town. So far, all the Florauna she had interacted with had been friendly, a pleasant surprise, considering she had spent years with her main encounter with Floraunas having been a near-death experience at their hands. However, shortly before arriving she had discovered the variation of individuals hailing from the planet.
Rook and Gwen traversed the town trying to discover the appropriate location they sought. As they did so, the two noticed the variety of homes Florauna lived in, some lived by caves, others in the forest, while even more lived out in a nearby field. Gwen noticed that the darker the area, the darker the disposition of the inhabitant. After a particularly dark encounter with an inhabitant who lived next to a cave.
"I can't believe that there are thousands of murderers on this planet. I really think we should find Ben and Ester and get out as quick as we can." Gwen stated with great concern in her voice. "Perhaps it was merely an elaborate ruse to trick us into being scared enough to leave this planet. I hope." Rook finished.
Meanwhile, Ben and Ester were on the move once more. Astrodactyl flew over the treetops for the fifth time searching for the possible location for his cousin's whereabouts. Giving up he landed once more, stating, "There's no sign of a town anywhere nearby, it must be somewhere in the forest." This statement was followed by a burst of green light.
"Shouldn't there be Florauna on top of the trees? They use photosynthesis for energy right?" Ester asked. "Photowhosit?" Ben asked. Ester glared at him, to which he responded by dropping his pretended ignorance. "Good point. I wonder why?" Ben postured. "Um, Ben, I think I know why." Ester said, stepping back away from him. "And why would that be?" Ben inquired. "Because that!" Ester pointed to a large alien creature about the size of a truck with four limbs with three large appendages similar to fingers, used for grasping a tree with each limb. Ben turned his head toward the direction Ester had pointed. "Run!" Ben shouted as he followed his own advice with great haste. The purple monster with the jaws of a turtle clambered down through the trees, moving at a pace much faster than the two below it. Ben, knowing a fight when he saw it, readied his omnitrix.
"Nope. Nope. Feedback, not useful here, Ballweavil, maybe? Gravattack? That's more like it!" Ben finished, slamming down the omnitrix. Ester stopped running about 15 ft away and readied herself. She wasn't sure if Ben would need her help, but she was ready. The green light flashed, and in Ben's place was Swampfire. "Swampfire? I guess it works." Ben shrugged and turned around ready to face off against the unknown creature.
Slurp! "Agh! Monster drool! Wait, what?" Ben asked. "It's a puppy!" Ester giggled. "Man, now I feel stupid. How uncool is that?" Ben said exasperatedly. While the beast continued licking him, Ben felt a sudden change within him.
"Whoa, this is...different...I can feel the others." Ben said dazedly. "You can feel Gwen and Rook?" Ester inquired. "No, the others, as in all the plant people! Come on! This way!" Ben shouted as he ran in the opposite direction from which they had been traveling. Ester, not one to be left behind, used her elasticity to overtake Ben, then slow down to match his speed.
Soon the pair found themselves at the edge of the village. As they arrived in the clearing, about eight Florauna pounced into the air to attack, and the watch timed out. "Are you kidding me?" Ben asked as the Floraunas hung in the air. Ben rolled out of the way as Ester swept six of them out of the sky. The other two swiped at his face as they landed on both sides of him. The other six now targeted Ester, attempting to surround her. Ben, now on the ground, continued trying to flee on all fours, shouting, "We come in peace, not pieces!" As the two continued swiping at him.
Unable to overcome Ester with sheer numbers, the Floraunas took advantage of the trees behind her, creating vines to attack her as well. Ester had responded with an astounding amount of elasticity, weaving herself through them toward the Florauna, then under the six, swinging at them from behind sending two of the six to unconsciousness. Ben rolled out of the way of yet another attack from his pursuers as his watch signaled that he could transform again. "It's hero time!" Ben shouted, opening the omnitrix and slamming it down. Heatblast now stood in Ben's place. The two Florauna recoiled their thorny appendages and each moved one of their tentacle legs to a nearby sturdy tree. Ben watched in dismay as the surface of the pair's skin turned into the same color bark. "Take that! Ben shouted, hurling a ball of fire at each. As the fire made contact with the two, Ben's suspicions were confirmed, the fire balls dissipated as they made contact with the Florauna. "Or not!" Ben continued his banter.
Meanwhile, Ester had been having little success with the remaining four, who now held a better grasp of their opponents capabilities. Ester had been using her elasticity to minimize the damage she took, but had only managed to stand her ground. "Ben, care to help?" Ester delivered with a jaded look, indicating her exhaustion with the ongoing situation. "Switch!" Ben shouted to Ester as he shot two balls of fire from one hand, managing to hit and knock one out with each impact. Ester used this moment to switch her opponents, and Ben followed suit. Ester's advantage increased due to the hardness of the bark covered Florauna. Ben charged at his newly appointed targets, who did their best to flee from his path in opposing directions. As he charged past them, he managed to surprise them with pillars of fire from each hand before they could reach the tree the others had. Ben turned to see how Ester was faring, and breathed a sigh of exhaustion as her arm hit one in the back of the neck. Ben watched as the alien went limp instantly, and Ben realized their weakness. "Go for the back of his neck!" He shouted. At that moment, a huge see-through pink slab of force came out of nothingness dealing the appropriate blow. The last of the aliens slipped to the ground, unconscious. "What happened?" Ben heard Gwen's voice behind him. "I dunno, they just attacked us!" Ben said throwing his hands up in the air.
"Perhaps you offended them somehow?" Rook offered. "I doubt it, the same thing happened when we were kids, except after I was captured, I was saved, so I really don't know why they did it then either." Gwen stated. "There are no plumber records of the incident of which you speak, I am certain. When did this occur?" Rook inquired. "When we were about 11? Me and him were in space because Ben had set off the self-destruct. We ran across them on Xenon." Gwen recalled. "It was the first time we met Azmuth. Which begs the question, why isn't there a plumber file on it? Hmm..." Gwen mused. "Because they're evil, duh." Ben jested. Just as Ester was about to input her insights on the matter, the four of them heard a loud rustling noise coming from the west of them. The entire group remained silent, anticipating what would emerge from the bushes. It was during these moments that the omnitrix, with its not so infinite power, timed out. Ben uttered an audible gulp.
