Author's Note: I'm trying something new this time. Using Italics to try and portray when people are thinking. Writing "Asta thought" too many times really messes with the flow of the story.


Black Bulls Hideout

The birds of the forest were chirping as the sun began to rise over the misshapen building the Black Bulls called home. The sunlight fluttered through Asta's window, causing him to stir from his covers as the day beckoned him forth. It was a bit of a struggle, however, as this was the best sleep Asta had ever had in his life. The sheets and pillow practically cradled him, trying to coerce him to stay. He eventually sat up, looking over to his table, where his equipment, including his new Magic Knight's robe, sat.

"It wasn't a dream!" Asta smiled as he stared at the robe. It was a symbol, a symbol that all his struggles up until now had paid off. He slipped out of bed, grabbed his coat and robe, and threw them on. Next, he grabbed his belt, securely fastening his plumber's badge to the side before slipping his sword and hoverboard into their respective holders. Finally, he lowered his revamped headband over his hair. He raised his hand over the Bulls logo, giving another smile before he opened the door.

"All right! Let's do th-"He shouted before he ran straight into a wall. He whispered in pain as he stumbled back, raising his right arm to his head to check for bumps. "Was this pillar here yesterday?"

Footsteps began filling the room as Magna rounded the corner of a hallway that hadn't been there the day before. "Hey, newbie. Did you sleep well?"

"Ah, g-good morning!" Asta gave a small wave. "Um, sir, about this pillar..."

"What about it?" Magna asked with a tad smirk.

"I don't think it was here yesterday," Asta asked as he continued to search his memories.

"Pssh, don't worry about a pillar." Magna explained, "The base changes its shape all the time."

"Wh-what?!"

"Don't worry about it." Magna assured as he patted Asta on the back, "You'll get used to it."

"Really?"

"Really. Now come on, let's go!" Magna said as he motioned for Asta to follow him. "You're in for a treat. The Great Magna Swing will personally show you around our super cool base!"

The two of them broke into a run. "Follow me, Shrimpsta!"

"You got it, !"

"Moron!" Magna scolded, "You mean the Great Magna!"

"Moron! The Great Magna!" Asta shouted, hoping to be correct.

"You don't need the "moron" part!"

"This is Cafeteria!" Magna shouted.

Inside the room were three long wooden tables, each featuring two rows of 6 benches lined up perfectly next to each other. A few paintings of the ocean, fields, and mist lined the walls. At the center table sat Charmy, already munching away on today's breakfast, which seemed to be a form of cheesecake.

"Whoaaaa!" Asta exclaimed, getting caught up in the excitement of the tour.

"What do you think?" Magna boasted, "It's stupidly huge!"

"Yeah! It's super big!"

The two quickly headed to the next room, a stone bathhouse. The room was constructed using dark green brick, with the waterspouts featuring stone gargoyle heads. Gordon was soaking in the corner of the water.

"This is the bath," Magna explained, already stripped and inside the steaming water.

"Whoa!" Asta exclaimed as he tried to hold his composure. "It's hot!"

"This kind of heat is nothing to a member of the Black Bulls." Magna explained, "Heat means nothing to a Bull!"

Asta's train of thought stopped at his words. "Heat means nothing to a bull?" Asta questioned before raising his arms, the water glistening off the black Alien Metal off the Omnitrix. The images of his hands on fire flashed through his mind before Magan broke him from his stupor.

"Hey? Do you need to get out already?" Magna asked, noticing the hint of distress on Asta's face.

Asta tightened his resolve. "N-No, not yet. I can take plenty more heat!"

As Asta struggled, Gordon began mumbling, "It's hot, and I want to add cold water. Hanging out together as friends is nice, though."

Asta and his guide eventually finished, donning a pair of towels as Magna led him another way. The hallway was filled with tripwires connected to the roof, which bore hanging spikes.

"Over there are all the girl's rooms. If any of us guys go in, you'll be killed by trap magic."

"What?!" Asta couldn't believe that such measures needed to be taken. Nobody would do that, though. Right?

After the two had gotten dressed, Magna led him to one of the most important rooms in any building.

"And this is..." Magna proclaimed as he swung open the door without knocking, "the toilet!" Immediately as he realized his mistake, he screamed in shock. Sitting on the throne was Yami Sukihiro, leader of the Blacks Bulls and one of the most dangerous people in the kingdom.

The menacing figure merely uttered three words, "I'll kill you." before the door was quickly closed as Asta and Magna gave their apologies before shooting over to the next room.

Magna led Asta down a dark corridor, the only light being that of purple candles. As they approached a massive gate made from reinforced steel, the new recruit felt a shiver down his spine. The silence was broken as six giant monsters tried to claw their way through the gate with their claws.

"This is the beast's room!" Magna explained.

"Wh-why do you have these?!" Asta questioned, feeling less safe by the second.

"This is Mister Yami's hobby." Magna smiled barely, holding back a laugh. "I'll let you have the duty of taking care of all the animals."

"eh?"

"It's a very honorable role," Magna lied, still holding back a laugh. "I really don't want to let you have it, but I will."

He guided Asta to a nearby room; it was filled with all the supplies needed to keep the monsters happy, healthy, and, most importantly, well-fed. He handed Asta a metal pole with jaws containing a piece of meat which they took back to the beasts.

"Go on, give it a try," Magna instructed.

Asta hesitated to move his arm any closer, as every instinct told him he would get his arm torn off by a beast. But that's when an idea popped into his head. He raised the Omnitrix, activating it before slamming down the dial, transforming him into a Vulpimancer hybrid. His robe barely managed to fit over his more prominent shoulders.

The beasts snarled even louder as they smelled a creature they'd never met before. Asta's stance grew firm, encouraged by his new alien strength and senses. He took a deep breath of air before releasing a roar louder than any of the other beasts. The monsters immediately grew quiet as he roared, all staring in bewilderment at how such a small creature could be so fierce.

As Asta finished, he continued to let out light growls. He raised the meat forward, ripping a tiny bit off himself, before giving the rest to the monsters.

Magna stared on in disbelief at what he had just witnessed. "Did... did you just become their leader?!"

"Something...like... that...I guess..." Asta growled before he knuckle-walked over to get more meat for the beasts.


After Asta's transformation had timed out and Magna stopped talking about how cool Wildmutt was, the duo began going through rooms faster.

There was the library, a Playroom(Read: Dungeon), and plenty of other rooms for them to mess around inside. They were running through the halls to see some of the outside benefits before Asta slammed into Magna's back as he stopped near the entrance.

"Ow? Magna? What's the de" Asta asked as he peeked around his superior.

Walking in was another member of the black bulls, one he thought he hadn't seen before. She seemed not even to give the boys any attention, staring right past them. He thought he may have forgotten her during the introduction. As he searched his mind, he returned to when he went to the past with Professor Paradox, seeing the girl only briefly during his outing in the past.

"Hey, Asta. That's your colleague, and she's the other recruit this year!" Magna explained.

Asta gave Magna a nod before extending his hand to greet her as she stopped before him. She put her hands on her hips as a slight frown crept onto her face.

"Hey! I'm Asta, from Hage Village! Let's do our best together! It's nice to meet you!" Asta chirped.

She looked down at his hand as her pink eyes tightened before she slapped his hand out of the way, to Asta's surprise.

"I didn't give you permission to speak to me." The girl scolded with disgust on her face, "I barely sense any mana from you, you lowly insect."

"Insect?!" Asta exclaimed in offense.

"Lowly?!" Magna exclaimed, surprised someone would say that to a person they'd only just met.

"My name is Noelle Silva. I belong to the royal family of this kingdom." Noelle exclaimed, a stern yet refined look on her face as she held an arm to her chest as if she's done this a million times before.

"Wh-what?! The Royal family!?" Asta screamed as he pointed at her.

Immediately he dropped to the floor and began worshipping the girl. "I do beg your pardon. I'm but a puny insect that someone could blow away just by breathing."

"As long as you understand," Noelle affirmed as she motioned with her hand.

"Wait," Asta said as he jumped to his feet angrily, raising his fists. "Who're you calling an insect, huh?! We're supposed to be colleagues as Magic knights! Who cares if you're royalty?!"

Magna gave a firm nod before backing Asta up. "That's right, Asta! You tell her! Status means nothing!"

"Of course it does." Noelle corrected, annoyed at the foolish belief the commoners held.

"How do you figure?!" The two commoners demanded.

Noelle scoffed. "Are you two foolish peasants unable to understand this with words alone?"

She quickly raised her right arm, and the room filled with deep blue color as a ball of water manifested in her hand, a disgusted glare in her eyes.

"H-hey," Asta stuttered as he and Magna took a step back.

Tendrils of water began to pour into the orb as she spoke, "Know your place," before the ball shot forward with a surge of power, blowing back her hair as it headed straight for Asta.

Asta's hand was already reaching for the Omnitrix, "I won't make it in time." he thought before the ball of water diverted its course, slamming Magna straight into a wall. He tried screaming in pain before water began to flood his mouth, falling to the floor as the mana holding the attack together faded.

Noelle scoffed, dissatisfied that her attack had missed her intended target. She turned her head back towards the exit in shame as soaked Magna rose from the floor. "You little bitch!" he shouted as he fixed his sunglasses. "You've got some nerve! What do you think you're doing to your senior?!"

"You were just standing in the wrong spot," Noelle explained, becoming more irritated with the situation. "Who gave you permission to stand there?"

Asta stood in shock; "the Nobles at the entrance exam were nasty, but this...this is a whole new level of hate."

"Why, you little..." Magna scolded, doing his best not to go ballistic on a new member. "I'm your senior!"

"And I'm royalty!" Noelle replied confidently, truly believing she was in the right in this situation.

"What?!" Magna said as he raised his glasses, ensuring she could see the fury in his eyes. "I don't care if you're royalty or the Silver Eagles' captain's little sister!"

"Huh?" Asta thought, "She's the sister of a captain? Then why's she in this squad?"

Magna continued, "I mean, the only person who'd accept a spoiled brat like you is Mister Yami! Be more thankful, you moron! I held back because you're a girl, but now I'm going to have to initiate you, too, damn it!"

"Hmph," Noelle said before taking off her Black Bulls robe and throwing it on the ground. "Like I want to be in this pathetic squad."

And just like that, she started walking away as Magna picked up the robe. "Damn it...Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Who cares about the Black Bulls? I don't need that filthy thing." Noelle replied with disgust in her eyes, "This is the absolute worst Magic Knights Squad, and it's not where royalty like myself belongs!"

Magna was practically shaking with anger as he yelled at Noelle as she left, "Y-you bastard! Apologize to the robe and Mister Yami! Apologize! Apologize, damn it! You moron!"

Meanwhile, Asta was stunned. His robe meant everything to him, and the only things that meant more were the alien device that let him get it in the first place and his family. She took that symbol of his hopes, dreams, and hard work and just threw it on the ground like it meant nothing. He couldn't believe that someone would throw that all away, royalty or not. What was her problem?


The soft Orange hues of the morning had now passed as the sky returned to its vibrant blue. Asta was tired, getting lost in the maze he now called home, only to end up outside after failing to find the toilet.

He continued walking, hoping to find a tree he could use before the sounds of an explosion filled the area. A large plume of water rose into the sky, propelling a huge water ball straight at Asta. The tired "mage" couldn't dodge in time, getting hit by the torrent of dispersed water as the ball dissolved in the crater it formed. What in the world just happened?

The wielder of the Omnitrix followed more sounds through the bushes, eventually poking his head out into a clearing as he witnessed quite the sight. Noelle was standing with her arms outstretched, panting, and covered in sweat(Or maybe stray water?)with craters scattered around the area. A single large tree sat in the center of the clearing with a crudely drawn target on its trunk.

"Geez, this place is starting to look like the Moon." Asta thought as he continued to observe.

Noelle's panting had slowed down, raising her arms as another ball of water formed before quickly propelling itself forward. It looked like it would finally hit the target before veering slightly off course and towards Asta in the bushes, destroying the bush and sending Asta flying back.

"Why.." Noelle whispered as she tried to stabilize her breathing and fired ball after ball of water. "Why won't it go the way... I want it to?!"

She was near her breaking point, leaning over her hands on her knees to try and stay standing as years formed in her eyes. "I guess I'm just..."

Her memories drifted back to her cousin and all the comments she'd heard over the years.

"Apparently, the youngest of the Silva family can't even control her magical powers."

"Who would have thought someone like that would be born into the royal family?"

"What's with that flimsy little grimoire?" Her youngest brother had scolded, "Are you really royalty?"

"It's pathetic that you can't even control your powers." Her sister mocked, "It disgusts me that you're my little sister."

Finally, Noelle's memories drifted back to her eldest brother's words. "I will not have someone as shameful as you in the Silver Eagles. Why couldn't you have died instead of our mother? You're a complete and utter failure."

Her palms tightened into fists as she calmed her breathing, straightening back into a fighting stance. "I'm not a failure! I'll make them acknowledge me!"

Noelle fired blast after blast as she screamed in frustration, as each projectile veered off target at the last second. Asta had found another bush to observe from, finding the same bird he's reencountered time and time next to him on a rock. "I guess she's got it rough, too," he whispered to the bird.

And with that, the bird flew away, chirping as it fleed, alerting Noelle to Asta's presence. Asta rose from the ground, bringing his hand up. "Hey."

"Insect?! "H-How long have you..." Noelle asked, embarrassed for someone to see her fail so many times. "I'm not going to be mocked again, am I?"

Her mind kept drifting back to the words of her siblings as fear took over her face, her eyes shaking as the words consumed her thoughts.

"N-No!" Noelle screamed as she held her hands forward, trying to blast Asta away before hearing more mocking. Except for this time, the ball sparked with energy as it began to grow, taking on a life of its own as it engulfed Noelle before rising into the air.


Meanwhile Inside the Hideout

Luck was reviewing his grimoire, taking note of any new spells he may have acquired after nearly killing Magna(again) yesterday, when a volt of electricity surged across his neck. A smile quickly grew on his face as he sensed a new challenge approaching.

Yami was nearby, returning to his room after using the bathroom, as he let out a yawn only to notice a colossal ball of water that dwarfed the base in size. The ball had multiple tendrils of water lashing out around the area. "What the heck is that?" Yami asked as it continued to grow in size.

The Black Bulls assembled outside, beginning to assess the situation.

"Oh, dear..." Vanessa whispered, clearly recovering from another hangover.

"Wow." Was all Luck could utter, marveling at the size of the spell.

"This is insane," Gordon whispered as Grey let out smoke in agreement.

"Someone's magic is out of control," Gauche concluded, seeming disinterested in the entire thing.

Charmy was munching on a muffin as Magna was shocked at the sheer size of the spell. "Such immense magical power... this will get bad if we don't do something."

Meanwhile, Noelle was trying to hold her breath inside the spell. The forces of the torrent threatened to drown her if she relaxed for a second. The mass of water moved closer toward the hideout, the tendrils continuing to lash out at anything in the vicinity.

"If we attack it with magic," Yami theorized as he took a puff of his cigarette, "she might not make it out alive." He turned over to Finral, hoping to solve this quickly. "Could you use your spatial magic to scoop just her up?"

"Please don't be ridiculous. I can't get near that." Finral explained, "My portals would be destabilized immediately by the force of the water."

"Right," Yami conceded. "If only we had someone who could freeze the water enough to get to her..."

And with that, their solution arrived. Asta came rushing out of the forest on his hoverboard, a tendril of water following close behind. He bobbed and weaved through the few remaining trees, slashing through a few tendrils with his petrosapien sword before arriving with the rest of the group, hoping off his board before it shrank back down as he put it and sword back on his belt.

"You came flying by at the perfect time," Yami commented as he walked over and picked the boy up. "Could you use your Eye thing to take care of that?"

"Take care of that?!" Asta said with excitement as he raised his arm to dial in, "Okay! But how am I supposed to get close? I was barely keeping up with one of those things on my board, no way I could get past that many!"

"Quit your yapping!" Yami scolded, his eyes growing dark before a joyful smirk donned his face. "Now is when you need to go beyond your limits! Now go freeze that thing!" He then threw the boy toward the animated Tsunami, the boy quickly sailing through the air, faster than the tendrils could respond as he neared the center mass.

"You got it! One EyeGuy special coming right up!" Asta shouted as he slammed down on the Omnitrix, becoming engulfed in green light.

Asta felt his neck ripping open as he grew a set of gills. His fingers clenched together as silver scales began to line his arms before opening, revealing webbed claws. His mouth felt like he was swallowing daggers as his maw was filled with razor-sharp teeth. His hair gained murky green tips as his eyes seemed to gloss over, looking almost like pearls. His symbol sat underneath his clothes on his left pectoral, just above where his scales ended.

As the light faded, Ripjaws realized he'd gotten the wrong alien. "I asked for an Eyeguy special, not a Ripjaws seafood platter!" But he then realized this could work out in his favor. "Still works, though!"

He dove into the torrent of water, feeling at home inside the liquid. He swiftly dodged the stronger currents of water and made his way to the center where Noelle lay. He gave her a slight tap on the shoulder, careful not to scratch her with his claws. She opened her eyes slightly, nearly gasping in horror at the Sea Monster before her, before laying eyes on his clothes. "Insect?!"she thought as she grabbed onto his shoulders.

The passenger meant nothing to the half-Piscciss Volann, who continued to navigate the fierce water before making it to the exit. He tore through the bubble with his claws, going into freefall until the water grew more tendrils, grabbing at him and Noelle. It had completely restrained his arms, but not his most dangerous weapon. He thrashed about with his jaw, eventually grabbing onto one of the tendrils holding him in place, his teeth quickly shredding through the magic keeping the water together. Bit after bit, he'd freed them, pulling Noelle entirely out of the living Tsunami, causing the magic inside to fade away as it exploded into rain.

The two fell through the air as Ripjaws tried to pull out his hoverboard, successfully managing so as Noelle held on. Unfortunately, the two were still heading straight for the ground."I can't move in time!" Ripjaws thought before a white-grey portal opened in front of them before spitting them out near the other black bulls. Ripjaws slowed down the board before coming to a halt. "All right! We're alive!"

Yami let out a boisterous laugh as he pointed at Asta. "You're a fish! That's hilarious!"

"That was so much fun, wasn't it?" Luck commented as he approached Ripjaws, "And we got to see him transform again! Is this one strong? Can we fight? Can we?!"

"Jeez," Vanessa complained as she fixed her hair, "now I'm all wet."

Ripjaws hopped off the board, taking Noelle and placing her nearby before heading back to the group. "Thanks for that spatial magic, Finral!"

"You're welcome!" Finral said before he noticed Ripjaws uncanny fish eyes, "Just don't look at me when you're like this."

"Well done, brat!" Yami said as he pointed at Ripjaws.

"Right!" Ripjaws said before turning over to Noelle, "Hey, you!"

Noelle was still in shock from the whole situation, thinking of her sibling's words as she tried holding back her tears, "They're going to mock me again."

"You have some insane magical powers! They're so awesome!" Much to Noelle's surprise, Ripjaws complimented as he gave a sharp toothy grin, "I don't have any magical powers myself, so I'm jealous, damn it! If you train to learn to control them, you'll be invincible, Noelle!"

Noelle didn't know what to think as a slight brush crept onto her face. The fish boy looked so creepy, yet she could hear just how much he meant it in his voice. It had been so long since someone had said something nice to her, and here was the boy who had to go out of his way to save her, complimenting her.

She rose to her knees, embarrassed. "Insec-... Asta..."

"I'm gonna keep doing my best, so I won't lose, either!" Ripjaws promised as he held a claw up to his chest.

"Really?" Magna said as he approached, "You just couldn't control your magical powers? You should've just told me earlier, you royal failure."

Noelle seemed disappointed at his response, but his tone suddenly lightened.

"We're the Black Bulls," Magna chuckled. "We're a whole group of failures! No one cares if you have a flaw or two, you idiot."

As Magna spoke, Vanessa used her wand to bring over Noelle's Knights robe, lowering the warm robe down onto her.

"Anyway, thank goodness you're safe." Finral chimed in before whispering, "By the way, I know a great pasta place. Want to go sometime?"

"Before that," Charmy said as she held forward a for with a bit of souffle to Noelle, "you should try this. 'Kay?"

"So much power." Vanessa complimented, "If anything, the one thing I'm great at is controlling magical powers, so I'll help you out with that. I can show you some womanly techniques, too."

"I'll tell you how much of an angel my little sister Marie is," Gauche said, already drifting back to his usual antics as Gordon whispered and Grey let out some smoke.

Noelle was overwhelmed, the tears finally beginning to break through her resolve. A red flash filled the area as Asta was back to his usual self, lowering an arm down to help Noelle up. "Here. Let's do our best together."

With a thankful but hesitant smile, she accepted his help as a rainbow formed overhead. "It's a pleasure to work with you."


Looming above the atmosphere sat the chimerian hammer. Any damage to the ship had been sufficiently repaired, restoring the vessel to its former glory.

Vilgax sat within his regeneration pod, a few small crab-like robots scuttling about his body as they zapped him to facilitate cell growth. His eyes furrowed in frustration and anger as he watched his minion work.

"Psyphon!" He hissed from the tank as his voice played from the speaker, "Why haven't you dispatched more drones as I'd ordered!"

"My liege!" Psyphon responded, "I've already dispatched multiple scouts since the bounty hunters failed to retrieve the Omnitrix. They're destroyed every time!"

"By the wielder of the Omnitrix?!" Vilgax asked, raising his voice.

"No! No..." Psyphon assured as he brought up a holographic map of the planet, "Ever since the signal of the Omnitrix moved from this general area, the drones never managed to make it past the lower atmosphere. They're not built to resist this planet's natural energy, and the few that do make it down are dispatched by someone else."

"Enough with your excuses!" Vilgax roared, "What do you plan to do about it! Or will I have to do it myself!?"

"My lord, I assure you, I've already been concocting a solution using one of your many treasures." He walked over to a nearby desk, picking up a small box before bringing it to his lord's pod. Opening the box revealed a red crystal.

"I believe this crystal you acquired from Petropia is the key, and it seems perfectly capable of siphoning the energy, converting it into pure power." He swiped his hand across the datapad, the map switching to display the specs for a colossal green attack drone. "I'll have a prototype drone ready within one planetary rotation, and I merely need to finish duplicating the crystal's molecular structure to begin mass production."

"Acceptable," Vilgax scoffed as bubbles floated away from his breathing apparatus. "And what then?"

"With its enhancements, the drone will finally allow us to begin properly surveying the planet," Psyphon said as he chuckled. "Once I have the data, I shall retrieve the Omnitrixfor you myself. Nothing will stand in the way of your glorious vision for the galaxy!"

"Excellent," Vilgax smiled as he took a deep breath. "Then the Omnitrix shall soon be mine."


Alright everyone. This was a shorter chapter this time around. I had planned on combining it with the start of the next mini-arc, but I decided to give Noelle and Asta's introduction to one another a chapter of it's own to shine.

Favorites and Reviews are always appreciated. Critiques help improve my writing and the story, which makes everyone happier.

Next time on Black Hourglass: Go! Go! First Mission!