NOTE: Yup, another chapter because it is Thanksgiving Break. I hope you all had a great one if you celebrate Thanksgiving. If you don't celebrate it, then I hope you had a great day regardless. A little surprise in this chapter that I think you guys will enjoy.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own ANYTHING in this fanfiction.
Enjoy and Review!
Chapter 44: Persona Weather
"Rise-chan!"
"Yukiko-senpai!"
The two Persona users hugged each other tightly, happy to see each other again. Ben, Kenny, and Gwen watched from the sidelines as the friends were welcoming each other. The Tennyson family had stopped at a music festival after finding out that one of Yukiko's friends, Rise, would be there. Max was even more willing since his favorite band would also be at the music festival.
Ben stared at Rise, examining her features. She had long copper-colored hair tied in two pigtails, brown eyes and pale skin. She was dressed in a white see-through halter top, with a pink, light blue and orange shirt underneath it and tan pants.
Ben remembered the photo that Yukiko had shown them of her friends, so that they'd be able to recognize her just in case. Begrudgingly he had to admit that she was pretty, but he'd never say that out loud. Instead, he focused on the music he was listening to.
Yukiko and Rise turned back to the Tennysons, with the bubbly idol rushing over to the two kids. Before Ben or Gwen could do anything, they were picked up into a massive bear hug by Rise. "And you two must be Ben and Gwen! You're just as adorable as Yukiko-senpai described!"
"T-thanks…!" Gwen grunted.
"Ugh! Not another one!" Ben groaned.
Yukiko smiled brightly. "Aren't they just the cutest?"
"Yup! Just like Nanako-chan!" Rise agreed.
Rise released the two kids to greet the final cousin, who was doing his best to not look like a bumbling idiot. His face was hot red as he lifted his hand up. "N-nice to meet you."
Rise simply giggled, used to boys reacting to her like this. She returned the handshake and nodded her head. "Nice to meet you too."
Yukiko hummed at Rise. "Your English is pretty good, Rise-chan."
"Thanks!" Rise appreciated the compliment. "I've been getting worked to the bone by Senpai and Inoue." Rise complained. While her English wasn't perfect it was good enough for Americans to understand her speech.
"S-so, what are you doing here in Chicago?" Kenny spoke up.
Rise stared at him. "The music festival."
"R-right! Sorry… that was dumb." Kenny apologized.
Gwen leaned over to Yukiko's ear. "I think Kenny has a crush on your friend." She whispered.
"Really?" Yukiko blinked. She turned back to see Kenny bumbling through his words as he tried to speak to Rise. "How can you tell?"
"Trust me, I know my brother. He's only like this when a pretty girl enters his vicinity."
"He wasn't like that with me."
"Because you're related!"
"I see you're all pumped up!" Max finally left the Rustbucket to join his kids. The Tennysons and Rise stared at the ex-plumber with wide eyes. Max was dressed as if he was back in the 70's, much to everyone's confusion or in one person's case…
"Pfft! Hahahahaha! Grandpa, you look so silly!" Yukiko laughed.
Max wasn't insulted by it, knowing that he must've looked strange to the youths in front of him. That's when he noticed Rise standing with them. "You must be, Rise, right?"
Rise took his hand. "Yes, my name is Rise Kujikawa. Nice to meet you, Tennyson-san or Mr. Tennyson. Sorry."
"It's fine. You can refer to me by whatever makes you comfortable." Max reassured her.
"What's with the get-up, Grandpa?" Ben asked, taking off his headphones.
"Gotta look the part for the festival, ya know?" Max responded.
"Yeah, like you just came out of a time machine." Gwen muttered.
Ben looked over to see a News van parked outside of the festival's entrance. A reporter and a cameraman were doing a live broadcast. But the strangest thing about it was the strange machine standing next to the reporter. "So, expect another scorcher with highs in downtown Chicago to top 90." The Reporter said.
"And no rain in sight. It's enough to make my cranium rotate." The robot S.A.M added. His 'brain' rotated for effect.
"Not so fast, S.A.M. This meteorologist thinks this drought might be over." He said before posing for the camera. "This is Vance Vetteroy reporting!" The cameraman ended the broadcast, giving Vance the chance to check his script.
That was until Ben and Gwen ran over to play with his robot. "Hey, you're the weather guy we saw with your robot on TV last night!" Ben put his hand on S.A.M's bulbs, the static made his hair stand up. He and Gwen laughed at it.
"S.A.M is no robot! He's a sophisticated weather monitoring apparatus created by me! But corrupted by a news station to merely be a gimmick." Vance explained, angrily. Neither of the kids understood what he meant.
"Uh, okay. Whatever." Gwen and Ben walked away after that.
"Sorry about them!" Yukiko waved to Vance after Gwen and Ben rejoined them. The Tennysons and Rise walked away to enjoy the music festival.
Vance huffed in annoyance at the Tennysons' direction. He turned S.A.M around to access his control panel, much to the machine's confusion. "Vance, what are you doing?"
"What I should've done long ago, reprogramming your circuitry. When you ascend past the troposphere, you'll release a hyper oxygenated solution, creating a gathering of cumulus clouds to produce rain." Vance explained. Vance took out a remote controller, extending the antenna. "Instead of just reporting the weather. I'll finally be making it." He pressed the activation button, launching S.A.M's brain into the sky.
Once in the sky the machine released the solution into air, bringing together the clouds, and created storm clouds. The clouds merged together, blocking out the sun, and bringing forth rain.
Rise whined as the rain poured on them. "Aw! This is so not good for my hair!"
Kenny took off his jacket. "Uh, here, you can use my jacket as a cover!"
Rise blinked at him before graciously taking the gift. "Thank you." She draped it over her head to protect her hair.
Ben frowned as rain was drenching his music player. Glancing up at the sky, he saw streaks of lightning flashing dangerously. And strangely enough some of those bolts of lightning were purple, but he brushed it off as a weird weather thing.
Up inside of the clouds S.A.M continued to pour out gas as lightning flashed all around it. The machine had no way of stopping the bolt of purple lightning that struck it, disrupting its power core. S.A.M began to spark purple electricity violently in the air. Vance gasped as his precious invention started to go haywire.
The water and winds were spinning around S.A.M violently and quickly, creating a massive blue monster that broke through the clouds.
Everyone was still distracted by the music and dancing. Yukiko was laughing up a storm as she watched her grandfather and Gwen dancing to the rhythm. Ben groaned, embarrassed by the two of them. "Oh, great! Could this day get any worse!?"
"AAAAAAHHHHHH!"
"RAAAAAAAAGHHHH!"
Screams of fear and panic halted the festival. Looking up above the stage, the Tennysons and Rise saw the massive water monster staring down at them with its purple eye.
"You were saying, dweeb!" Gwen glared at him. She wasn't the only one as Kenny and Yukiko were also glaring at him for jinxing it.
OP: Ancient Romantic by P-Maru Sama
Ancient Romantic!
(U! Ha! U! Ha!)
(U! Ha! U! Ha!)
A rotating shot of the Omnitrix comes into view before latching onto Ben's wrist. He's seen standing with Yukiko, Gwen, and Max in front of the Rustbucket.
For a split second the landscape around them glitches out as purple lighting cracks the sky above.
The miracle of humankind that I met at once was a loss if neither Edison nor Watson knew (Loss!)
Ben stands on top of a broken spaceship, staring out at the clear blue sky above him.
Below him was Yukiko, who stood in the shadows of the ship. Her eyes transfixed on her tarot card.
Mr. N was surprised at such a situation since the earth was created (Unexpected!)
Gwen walked past the two, her eyes focused on her spell book. She shut the book instantly, her eyes glowing with blue mana.
Max stood in the back and in his hands was a broken picture frame.
The ancient civilization and the school playground that I ran yesterday are all connected.
The scenery changed to Inaba. Yukiko is seen running through the town with the rest of the Investigation Team.
SHATTER!
Yukiko was now running around with the Tennysons. Ben, happily leading the charge with the Omnitrix ready.
SHATTER!
Yukiko was smiling brightly, her arms draped around Ben's chest as he proudly stood in front of her. His face is full of confidence and aspirations.
SHATTER!
Older versions of Ben, Yukiko, Gwen, Max, and Yu appeared. The Tennysons were standing around the married couple as Yukiko held a small blue bundle of blankets in her hands. She smiled warmly at her newborn baby.
The invitation to unravel the true nature of this romance is an initiation from ancient times.
Ben sat inside of a blue limousine. In front of him were both Igor and Margaret, the attendant holding a large blue book in her hands.
Sitting next to Ben was Yu, whose tarot card expanded into a blinding flash of light.
All members! Go in! Aye-aye!
Ben charged into battle first, slapping down the dial and transforming into Four Arms. Gwen came in next, hands glowing bright with mana. Yukiko summoned Sumeo-Okami, unleashing waves of fire. Max joined his grandkids, his own personal blaster ready to battle.
Let's dance in such an era! Dancing all right!
Yu appeared next with his sword drawn. Izanagi jumped out from behind him, his blade sparking with white electricity.
Naoto Shirogane dropped down in front of him with her gun pointed at the screen. Her Persona: Yamato-Takeru appeared next to her in a flash of light.
Rise Kujikawa descended downwards gracefully, with her eyes closed shut. Her Persona: Kanzeon had appeared behind Rise. Placing a red-colored headset over her user's eyes.
Rehabilitation! Introspection! I'll do it one after another! The past and the future are all mixed together!
Yukiko had her arms wrapped around Four Arms' neck as the two glided through a massive tornado. Four Arms loudly strummed his guitar.
Kenny and Lucky Girl stood back-to-back, facing off against an army of robots. The elder brother held a baseball bat in his hands, while Lucky Girl's hands vibrated with mana.
Collapse! Situation! Hurry up!
A familiar looking creature appeared dressed in shadows, its purple eye glistening with malicious fury.
The feelings of hundreds of millions of years are romantic over!
Three new aliens appeared on the screen. A Frankenstien's monster, a werewolf, and a mummy all stood in front of a large satellite. Above them the sun transformed into a massive purple eyeball.
March! Send! Do in! Do in Love! There is one love in any era!
The Rustbucket was speeding towards the satellite with its boosters activated. The Tennysons inside were determined to stop whatever was about to happen.
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, you can see!
Chie, Yosuke, Kanji, Teddie, Nanako, Rise, and Naoto held each letter as they flashed across the screen.
H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, you caught!
For the last remaining letters were each held by Ben's aliens as they flashed across the screen.
Ancient Romantic!
Yukiko fell through the air, unable to stop herself. Ben reached for her as fast as he could, his hand only inches from her's.
(U! Ha! U! Ha!)
(U! Ha! U! Ha!)
The monster unleashed its tentacles onto the festival grounds, forcing everyone to split up to avoid getting crushed. Ben had fallen to the ground from the impact, he looked over to see that the tentacle had crushed his music player. "NO! Not my Sumo Slammer Digi Downloader!"
Yukiko rushed over to him, helping Ben back to his feet. "We'll buy you another one! C'mon!" She pulled him towards their family.
People, who weren't as lucky to avoid the tentacles, were sucked up into the creature's body. The monster glanced down at Gwen and Rise. "What is that thing!?" Rise asked.
"No idea, but we need to run!" Gwen pushed the idol out of the way to avoid getting captured.
Vance watched in horror as his own actions had caused this. "This can't be happening…"
"We're back on air in 10 seconds!" The cameraman informed him, starting the broadcast.
"A-uh, a giant waterspout had sprung up out of nowhere! An entity with seemingly a mind of its own!" Vance reported.
Kenny and Max, who were hiding behind a hotdog booth, watched the creature's rampage. "You're the plumber, Grandpa. Don't you have anything to plug up that thing!?"
Gwen and Rise hurried over to them. "I would try looking for a spell, but all this water would just get in the way!"
"Who needs magic, when you got me!" Ben and Yukiko arrived next. Ben held up his broken downloader. "Alright, creep! Time for some Ripjaws payback!" Ben activated the watch and transformed.
FLASH!
"Heatblast!? Aw man!" Heatblast whined.
Rise whistled. "Oh! So, that's what it looks like!" She remembered how Yu had described Ben's transformations to her. It really was as simple as slamming down a dial.
"Last time I looked in a science book, water beats fire." Gwen said.
"Which makes us both pretty useless here…" Yukiko groaned.
Heatblast clicked his tongue. "Speak for yourself! It's time for my own science experiment!" Heatblast propelled himself into the air towards the monster. He sliced through multiple tentacles that tried to hit him, then shot his own blast of fire at the monster. However, his attacks weren't doing anything. As he flew around the monster it shot a tentacle at his back, drenching the Pyronite, and sending him crashing down into the dirt. The Tennysons and Rise rushed over to him.
Yukiko activated her Persona. "Fire Boost!" Her magic strengthened Heatblast's flames, helping him recover from the water.
"This thing's really starting to sting me!" Heatblast hissed.
"That's it!" Gwen exclaimed.
"What?" Her brother asked for everyone.
"Heat!" She turned to Yukiko and Heatblast. "Go supernova hot and turn its body into steam! Yukiko, give him another boost!"
"Fire Boost!" Yukiko gave Heatblast another boost.
Heatblast stood back up to full height, prepared for round 2. "Oh, and velocity equals intensity!" Gwen added.
"Huh?" Heatblast tilted his head.
Yukiko rolled her eyes. "Ben, the faster you go, the stronger you'll be."
"OH! Gotcha!" Heatblast exclaimed before taking off into battle.
Rise turned to the Tennysons. "Is he really that dumb?"
"Yes."
"Uh huh."
"Pretty much."
Heatblast, ignorant to the insults thrown at him, started to increase his speed as he spun around the water monster. His speed increased with every rotation, creating a massive tornado of fire. Soon enough the monster couldn't stand the heat and evaporated into steam. The clouds in the sky parted, bringing back the sunlight.
FLASH!
Ben exited the steam after turning back to normal. His family and Rise were waiting for him. "Oh yeah! H20 to H2NO!" He then smelled his armpits. "Guess, I don't need to take a hot shower for a while, huh?"
"No, you're taking one as soon as we get back to the Rustbucket." Yukiko frowned. She created a miniature flame to help dry off Ben and her companions.
"So, how did that thing even get here?" Kenny asked.
"I've dealt with a few weather abnormalities on the job. Some ETs can represent themselves as Elemental beings." Max explained.
"Oh! Your whole space police stuff. You know, it's still weird to think that aliens exist." Rise chuckled.
"You're taking this all pretty well." Gwen said.
"Spend an entire year jumping into TVs and you'd grow accustomed to the weird pretty quickly." She winked.
Ben gazed around the ruined festival, his ruined downloader, then back to Max. "So, since the festival got trashed, can we check out the Sumo Slammer convention in Milwaukee!?"
Max gave him a disapproving look. "We already had that discussion. We came to Chicago for the music festival."
"Ugh! This is so not fair!" Ben complained.
"Fair!?" Max exclaimed. "This entire summer we've gone where you've wanted to go, Benjamin!"
"What about Aunt Vera's place!? That wasn't my idea!" Ben argued.
"And you ended up having a good time." Gwen said.
"Yeah, okay, but-"
"And what about Yukiko? It wouldn't be right for her to have to leave her friend, when they haven't had much time to hang out." Kenny added. Though, another part of him just wanted to talk with Rise some more, but Ben didn't need to know that.
Ben couldn't disagree with that. "I mean, yeah, sure, but-"
"And you know I've waited all summer to see Shag Carpeting." Max held up a Shag Carpeting album.
Ben flinched in disgust. "Ew. Those guys make Wildvine look normal."
"Wildvine?" Rise whispered.
"One of his forms." Yukiko answered.
"Ah, I see." She said, "Why aren't you ripping into him too?"
"Oh, I will. But mine involve physical persuasion." Yukiko slapped her fan against her palm, making Rise flinch.
"Besides. Who listens to records anymore anyway!?" Ben insulted Max.
SMACK!
"OW!" Ben held his head after Yukiko smacked him. "What was that for!?"
Yukiko placed a hand on her hip. "Benjamin, we've talked about this. We get that you want to go to that convention, but we don't always get what we want. Sometimes you have to sacrifice what you want for other people."
Ben huffed, folding his arms. "Tch. Still not fair."
Rise knelt down to Ben's height. "Hey, Ben?"
"What?" He responded, rudely.
"You're upset about your downloader, right?" Rise asked.
"Is it not obvious?"
"Benjamin…!" Yukiko hissed.
Rise didn't mind, just smiling sweetly at Ben. She reached into her purse, thankful that none of her things were soaked by the rain. "Here." She handed her music player to him.
"What? Isn't this yours?" Ben looked at it.
"Yup. But you can have it. A little gift from Risette." Rise smiled.
Her gift seemed to have quelled Ben's agitation for the moment, he pocketed the device. "Thanks, I guess."
Ben listened to the music that Rise had given him as they walked through the crowded festival. He knew the music would be in Japanese, but for some reason he could tell what was being said in the song. "Weird."
"So many different types of music here." Yukiko gasped.
Rise nodded her head. "Yup. No form of music gets ignored during festivals like these. A place where all music lovers can get together and unwind."
Kenny cleared his throat. "H-hey, uh, Rise? Are you hungry? I could buy you something."
Rise hummed for a moment before smiling back at him. "Sure. I could go for some candy over there." The idol pointed at a stall to the side.
"Be back in a jiffy!" Kenny rushed off to the stall.
Ben raised an eyebrow. "What has him all excited?"
"Something you'll never understand." Gwen responded, eliciting a glare from Ben.
"Hey! Hey!" Max got their attention. "Shag Carpeting autograph booth! So, who wants to come to the booth with me?" Max asked, excitedly.
"I'd rather brush Vilgax's teeth with my tongue than get in line for those fossil's autographs-OW!" Ben yelped from Yukiko's smack. She grabbed his ear and brought it up to her mouth.
"Behave!" She hissed dangerously. Then released his ear.
"What the doofus means to say is that we'll catch up with you afterwards, Grandpa. Go have fun." Gwen said.
Max understood. "Okay, be at the stage for Shag Carpeting at Three." He informed before joining the long line.
Rise turned to Ben. "I don't think I've met a child as rude as you are before. Then again, most of my fans are teens or adults."
Ben rolled his eyes at her. "He doesn't care about what I want to do, so why should I care about what he wants?"
"Because he's your grandfather and you love him." Yukiko glared at him.
"Yeah yeah, I know." Ben stormed away.
Kenny joined back up, noticing Ben walking away. "What's up with him?" He asked as he handed Rise her cotton candy.
"Just another episode of Ben being a selfish doofus. Nothing new." Gwen said. She then noticed him and Rise having cotton candy. "Hey! Where's mine?"
"And mine?" Yukiko inquired.
Kenny frowned. "You guys wanted some?"
Both girls gave him a deadpan stare.
A few feet away on the fairgrounds was Vance and S.A.M. After repairing S.A.M, he booted it back up. "Get ready to go live."
"Everyone in Chicago will remember you forever, Vance." S.A.M said.
Vance looked uncertain about it but activated S.A.M back up anyway. The machine launched back into the sky, an aura of unsettling energy surrounding it. "But for all the wrong reasons…"
"Hm?" After hearing a strange noise, Gwen looked up into the sky. She saw S.A.M flying into the clouds. "Now that's weird."
"What's weird?" Yukiko asked.
"That!" Gwen pointed at the black clouds that began to morph above them. A massive purple light could be seen leading the clouds.
"Where is Nigel? We're on in five." A fish punk themed band stood behind the stage, preparing for their show. Ben walked behind their equipment, hiding himself as he activated the Omnitrix. "Who needs Grandpa when I can XLR8 there and back before he even knows it!"
FLASH!
XLR8 walked away from the equipment but was caught by one of the band members. "Nigel! I love the new look but get up here and jam!" The man grabbed XLR8 and dragged him on stage. The hero was placed on the drums as the audience cheered for them. Shrugging his shoulders, XLR8 went along with the performance until the monstrous cloud appeared above them, shooting a blast of lightning at the stage.
The Tennyson kids and Rise were chasing after the cloud as it attacked everyone nearby. It turned around, shooting a lightning blast at the group, forcing them to separate. Kenny rolled across the ground, looking up he saw a bolt of lightning coming straight for him.
"Persona! Kanzeon!"
A pink glow surrounded Kenny's body, protecting him from the lightning bolt that almost killed him. The oldest Tennyson was confused. "What happened?" Gwen rushed over to him, helping him back on his feet.
"Rise happened!" Gwen answered. She looked over to see Rise standing still, a dark red headpiece was lowered over her eyes as her Persona stood over her. The siblings rejoined their family as XLR8 zoomed over to them.
"What's going on!?" He asked.
"Look up!" Yukiko pointed to the sky. He turned around to see the monstrous storm cloud striking the festival grounds with pink lightning. Surprisingly to them, Vance was running towards it!
Vance was trying to stop S.A.M with his controller. "No! I-I can't control it!" He realized. "It's over, you hear me!" He roared at the cloud.
"Actually, it has only begun." S.A.M responded. It shot a bolt at Vance, who was luckily saved by XLR8. The hero began speeding around the festival grounds to save anyone in danger of getting struck by lightning.
Rise grunted. "T-that thing is only getting stronger by the minute!"
"How can you tell?" Kenny asked.
"My Persona is a sensory type. I'm trying to analyze the best way to fight that thing, but it's going to take some time!" Rise answered. Unfortunately, it began moving out of reach of the festival, entering the city of Chicago. "No! We can't let it reach too far away!"
XLR8 stopped in front of them. "I'll follow it!" Before chasing after the cumulous monster.
"I meant that I need to be closer!" Rise yelled.
HONK! HONK!
"Looks like we don't have to worry, Rise-chan." Yukiko smiled as Max pulled up in the Rustbucket.
"Get in!" He ordered them.
XLR8 sped through the streets of Chicago, chasing after the cumulous monster. The Rustbucket wasn't far behind, speeding past the law enforcement. The motorhome was dodging each bolt that tried to strike it.
"A water creature and a lightning monster? Seems way too coincidental." Gwen said.
Max nodded his head. "Rise, you done analyzing it yet?"
Rise, who was sitting in the front seat, still had her Persona activated. "Sorta. This thing isn't like a Shadow, so I'm not too used to it. Though, I can feel a tremendous power source that's coming from it. Most likely the core of the storm."
"Then we need to tell Ben." Max said.
"How? Not sure any of us can run as fast to catch him." Kenny said.
Yukiko shook her head. "I wouldn't worry too much about that."
Rise smirked. "I can connect a mental link with him. It's how I communicated with the team whenever we separated inside a dungeon. I just need to focus." Rise focused her power as she searched for Ben's signature through all the chaos happening in the city. "Found him!"
"Woah! New episode of Sumo Slammers!" XLR8's thoughts loudly projected through her head.
"Oh, for the love of…" Rise huffed. "BEN!"
"WOAH!? What the!? Rise!?" XLR8 mentally exclaimed.
"Yes, I've built a link between us, and I know how to beat that thing. Now if you don't focus on the task at hand and not some cartoon, I'm going to tell Yukiko-senpai!" That threat alone was more than enough motivation for XLR8 to get his butt moving. Rise watched through her eyes as the transformed hero was catching up to the monster.
"So, how do I beat it?" He asked.
"Within that cloud there's a power source. You need to figure out a way to turn it off! But be careful, that thing is full of elec-"
"Got it!" XLR8 cut her off, running up a building. He jumped off the roof, using his speed to propel himself right above the cloud. Once he was, he spotted S.A.M, surrounded by a pink bubble. "You must be that power source! Time to shut you off!"
"I don't think so!" S.A.M shot XLR8 point blank with a blast of lightning, electrocuting the Kineceleran. XLR8 fell through the air and landed right on the windshield of the Rustbucket. Where he saw everyone giving him deadpan stares.
"Yukiko-senpai was correct. You have poor listening skills." Rise sighed.
XLR8 regained his bearings and rushed inside of the Rustbucket. "I can't get close enough to hit it. It'll just blast me with lightning."
"We need something to get rid of its electrical power." Gwen said.
"If only Kanji was here. He's resistant to electrical based attacks." Rise grimaced. "Don't you have an alien that can resist electricity?"
"Unless you want to wait 10 minutes in between transformations, then that idea is a no-go." Gwen said.
"Snowiest winter I've ever had, I've spent in Chicago." Max informed them.
"We don't have time for stories now, Grandpa!" XLR8 frowned.
Max ignored him. "City treated the roads with salt. Kept it stored in trucks like those up ahead." Max pointed at the salt trucks coming up.
"Then the sodium in the salt can mess with the machine!" Yukiko realized.
The Rustbucket soon came next to a news van being driven by Vance. The reporter watched as the RV drove past him. He was confused as to why the RV was going towards the massive monster attacking the city.
Rise turned to Ben. "Ben. It's not solid, so you'll have to either take the salt to the machine-"
"Which will take too long." Gwen interrupted.
"Or take the machine to the salt." Rise finished.
"Got it!" XLR8 zipped out of the Rustbucket to finish off S.A.M. The Kineceleran went max speed to get ahead of the cloud. Climbing to the top of a skyscraper, XLR8 jumped back down into the heart of the beast. "On accelerated funnel coming up!" Dodging the lightning that tried to fry him, XLR8 spun himself at super speeds. Forcing S.A.M out of the clouds and into the salt truck below.
Unfortunately, with nothing to catch him, XLR8 fell into the lake and transformed back to normal. Ben swam back up to the surface. "Uh, hey!" He waved to the fishermen.
Ben eventually made his way back to the Rustbucket, where everyone was waiting for him by the turned over salt truck. Yukiko prepared another fire to dry him off. "Good job, Ben."
"Thanks. So, can we head to the convention now?" He hoped.
"No." Max refused his request.
"But I went XLR8 and saved the day!" Ben argued.
"As a matter of fact, I was wondering about that. You just happened to be him when that cloud monster appeared?" Max narrowed his eyes.
Ben stiffened slightly. "Uh…yeah! Why?"
"Well, just that XLR8 could've zipped off to that convention without any of us ever realizing you were gone." Max entered the RV.
Ben glared at him. "Oh, like you think you know everything!"
"So, you're saying that's not something you would do?" Yukiko challenged.
"Not that I wouldn't do it, but you have no proof saying I'd do it this time!" Ben exclaimed. As they reentered the Rustbucket, the news van pulled up to the truck. Gwen paused for a moment, confused as to why it would be here of all places before closing the Rustbucket door. After the RV pulled off, Vance exited the van.
The teens and kids sat at the table, while Max drove them through the streets. Yukiko felt bad for her grandfather, while she got what she wanted in seeing her friend again, Max was missing out on what he wanted. "Sorry, about missing Shag Carpeting, Grandpa."
"Ah, it's fine. I'll just have to catch them at their next 20-year reunion." Max knew it was a pipe dream. No chance in hell would any of the band members be alive in 20 years. All hope for him was lost until…
"By popular demand! The Shag Carpeting concert will go on at the music festival which has seen its share of destruction today! LONG LIVE ROCK, CHICAGO!" The announcement on the radio brought a smile to Max's face. "How lucky are we!?"
"Is that trick ques-" Ben stopped his smartass comment when Yukiko's withering glare promised him nothing but pain if he dared to finish that sentence.
Vance approached S.A.M with a pipe in his hands. "Fool me once, shame on you, S.A.M. Fool me twice, shame on me. It's time you went offline for good." He raised the pipe.
Unfortunately for him, S.A.M was still functional. "I can't let that happen, Vance. You started all of this. Now I need to finish it. Whether you like it or not." S.A.M released a burst of electricity, upheaving the ground below them. Vance felt his toupe fly off as S.A.M began to morph into something horrific.
Back at the festival, Rise and the Tennysons enjoyed the pre-show to the Shag Carpeting concert. Well, not all of them were enjoying it. Ben was still pouting at missing his convention.
"Isn't this just the grooviest?" Max asked.
"Grooviest? And I thought Grandpa's shirt was out of date." Ben jokes. Suddenly, the lights on the stage flashed, revealing Shag Carpeting.
Max brought his grandkids closer. "Oh! It's the opening to Twister Alley!" Yukiko giggled, finding Max's excitement adorable. Though, her amusement turned to confusion when the wind started to grow violent.
Rise grew worried. "While music is powerful, I don't think it has the power to actually affect the weather!" The idol and Tennysons turned around to see a massive tornado approaching the festival. Everyone scattered in fear of the natural disaster that struck for a third time on the same day. The tentacles from the water monster emerged from the tornado, sucking people up. The tornado opened up to reveal a massive creature that was a combination of salt, gravel, and water. It commanded lightning to strike the earth below.
"Y-you've got to stop!" Vance yelled from inside the monster.
"Only once have I gotten my revenge on those who've stopped me!" S.A.M responded. Its light shining down on the Tennysons and Rise. "There you are."
The family and idol glared at the monstrosity. "This city has some weird weather!" Ben said.
"It's like that thing has become a combo platter of disaster." Max described it.
"If you think you can stop me again you are greatly mistaken!" S.A.M warned.
"A massive weather monster with the ability to speak English? That's something you don't see every day." Gwen exclaimed.
"A lot of this summer has been things you don't see every day!" Yukiko told her.
"I really don't think now is the time for this!" Kenny backed up. The winds around them began to grow stronger, lifting them all off the ground.
"WOAH!" Ben went flying first.
"BEN!" Yukiko released the railing, chasing after Ben.
"EEEKKK!" Gwen was next.
"GWEN!" Kenny cried out, flying behind his sister.
"KYAAA!" Rise wasn't far behind.
"AAGHHH!" Max was the last to soar through the air.
Yukiko and Kenny grabbed their own respective little sibling as Max grabbed Rise. They all landed on the stage. It wasn't as safe as they thought as S.A.M blasted them with lightning. "Contego!" Gwen conjured up a shield to protect them. However, Ben and Yukiko weren't in the vicinity of the shield and went rolling backstage.
Max looked up as a weird humming noise echoed through the storm. "I've heard that humming before!"
"Me too!" Rise agreed. The two gasped. "It sounds like the beginning of Twister Alley!"
Yukiko whipped out her fan, looking up to the sky as S.A.M loomed dangerously over them all. "Ready, Ben?"
Ben scrolled through his playlist. "Oh yeah! Going Hero!" Ben slapped down the dial.
FLASH!
Four Arms picked up Yukiko, allowing her to hold onto his back. He jumped to the front of the stage as S.A.M stared down at them. "Time to give you a hand or four!" Four Arms pulled back all four of his hands and clapped them together, creating a shockwave that blew S.A.M back.
"With a little bit of the summer heat! Maragidyne!" Yukiko unleashed a massive barrage of fireballs, destroying one of S.A.M's arms. Unfortunately, it grew back just as fast.
Four Arms unleashed a grand slam onto the ground, but it did nothing to the weather monster. "Oh crud."
While the two were fighting the weather beast, Gwen and the others were searching for backstage. "I saw a piece of that weather monster shoot up into the air. And the weatherman was at the salt truck earlier." Gwen informed them.
Max picked up a piece of equipment. "If that robot is its power source and all along it's been sending out that weird humming. All we have to do is create a sound on the opposite end of the frequency spectrum!"
Kenny picked up a guitar. "And I'm sure Ben wouldn't mind getting up close and personal to short it out."
Rise picked up a mic, testing it before smirking. "Well, it's not like we've never had musical accompaniment during our battles."
Back to the battle, Yukiko hung on for dear life as Four Arms evaded the lightning strikes. Yukiko released another torrent of fire at the monster, it responded by blocking the flames with a water tentacle. Blocking its own vision with steam. The next thing it saw was a massive trailer flying right at it, to which the creature pushed back at the duo with its wind.
Four Arms acted quickly, pulling Yukiko in his arms, and jumping away from the exploding trailer. The two crashed right in front of the stage, where the others were setting up the equipment.
"Ben! Yukiko! The feedback frequency you need is programmed into the amplifier! Get inside of that thing and start strumming away on the guitar!" Max tossed two guitars to Four Arms.
"And get as close to that robot as you can!" Gwen added.
"What about you guys!?" Yukiko asked as she jumped back onto his back.
Rise twirled the microphone in her hands. "I'll be assisting you guys from down here! Now get to rocking!"
The heroes had to duck back down as S.A.M tried to fry them with another lightning bolt. "HURRY!" Gwen yelled.
Four Arms, with Yukiko, jumped into the air, carried by the current to the top of the monster. Down on-stage Kenny strummed his guitar as Rise stood back up. The idol summoned her tarot card. "Persona!" It shattered to pieces like glass. "Kazeon!" The Persona came to life from the bright light no one other than Gwen could see. "Time to amplify these airwaves!" Kazeon raised her hand, a bright glow enveloping the equipment. Rise turned to Kenny. "Are you ready!?"
He nodded his head. "As ready as I'll ever be!"
Rise turned back to the massive monster. "EVERYONE! RISETTE IS GOING TO PUT ON A SHOW!" Rise's announcement through the mic, sent a powerful soundwave into the monster, pushing it back. Rise brought the mic back to her mouth and allowed her voice to carry on.
Thunder, rain and lightning!
Danger, water rising!
The creature roared in anger as the vibrations blasted it back. S.A.M attempted to blast Rise with lightning, but a bright blue shield prevented the lighting from reaching her. "As if I'd let you!" Gwen yelled.
Clamor, sirens wailing!
It's such a bad sign!
Yukiko and Four Arms skated across the body of the creature. Winds blowing past them roughly, forcing her to hold on tighter. Suddenly, tendrils shot out of the body in attempts to stop them reaching the top.
"Maragidyne!" The tendrils were destroyed by the balls of fire, Four Arms pushing through the steam and jumping back into the air.
Shadows of dark creatures!
Steel clouds floating in the air!
People run for shelter!
What's gonna happen to us?
Civilians continued to scream and run-in terror as the monster's rampage continued on, sucking up people and objects to increase its body mass. A teenage girl tripped, leaving her open for a tendril to absorb her. She screamed in fear as it approached her.
BOOM!
She opened her eyes to see the tendril was blown back by a sonic boom. Adding to her confusion was the feeling of relief that suddenly began filling her body. Not only that, but the beautiful singing that filled not just her ears but the entire area. Everyone present stopped as the music seemed to be protecting them from the monster's attacks.
All the steps we take, all the moves we make!
All the pain at stake!
I see the chaos for everyone!
Who are we? What can we do?
Kenny continued to work his guitar, enjoying the sensation of playing backup for Rise. His eyes made their way to the sight of her. Taking in every detail of her performance, it didn't matter to her if the world around them was seemingly in terror, the idol gave her best regardless. The older brother couldn't help but find that admirable, which made her even more beautiful in his eyes.
"I can't let her efforts go to waste!" Kenny put even more energy into his performance.
You and I are same in the way that
We have our own styles that we won't change!
Yours is filled with evil and mine's not!
There is no way I can lose!
Four Arms punched his way through the plenty of objects that filled the air to stop them. He grabbed a cord that was dangling from the creature's body and used it to swing himself upwards. However, it left him open to multiple tendrils rushing for him. Pulling back his arms, Four Arms unleashed another sonic boom that destroyed the oncoming tendrils. The Tetramand ran across the roof of a flying truck and jumped even further upwards.
Can't hold on much longer
But I will never let go!
I know it's a one way track
Tell me now how long this'll last!
Max dodged another bolt of lightning that tried to fry him. The ex-plumber gasped as several tendrils attempted to stab through him. Seeing a broken off pipe on the ground, Max picked it up and used it as a weapon. Smashing each oncoming tendril with all his strength. But, too many were coming at him at once.
Suddenly, each one exploded into droplets of water. Looking over Max saw Gwen smirking at him and he returned with one of his own.
Nor will I count on others!
Close my eyes and feel it burn
Now I see what I've gotta do!
Open your heart, it's gonna be alright!
Rise posed dramatically as her portion of the work finished. Kazeon illuminated in a bright light as the finishing of the song practically punched the monster in the stomach, knocking it further back. "It's up to you guys now!"
Four Arms and Yukiko finally reached the top of the monster. Four Arms reached down, tearing out a portion of the monster, revealing S.A.M at the center of the head. Several tendrils attempted to stop them, but Yukiko blew them away. Four Arms pulled out the guitars and prepared to unleash the soundwaves.
"Of course!" The new voice brought their attention down to the face of Vance, who was stuck to the monster. "You're planning to use frequency on the opposite ends of the spectrum to-MGFMG!"
Yukiko stopped him from speaking by covering his face with a blob of slime. "Go ahead, Ben." She smiled at him.
"Uhh…" He was a little unnerved by how unconcerned she looked for that guy, but he shrugged his shoulders. "Gotcha!" Four Arms strummed both guitars, as powerfully as he could. The guitars could be heard all over the festival grounds. S.A.M cried in pain as the soundwaves disrupted his circuits.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
FLASH!
Both Yukiko and Ben stared in horror at Ben turning back to normal. "Oh crud! That's not the sound I like to hear!" A water tendril took advantage of their downed guards, knocking Ben off the head.
"BEN!" Yukiko watched as her cousin was swept through the air. The heiress wanted to help him, but she was forced to dodge several other tendrils that were trying to hit her. She backed up into the guitar that Ben dropped and picked it up.
"YUKIKO!" Ben's shout made her look up to see the boy land right back down beside her. "LET'S ROCK!"
"YEAH!"
Both cousins strummed their guitars together, disrupting S.A.M even more. The machine cried in pain as it was basically being split apart at the brain. "You two are giving me a headache!"
"That's the idea!" Yukiko grinned.
"Does it feel like your head's gonna explode!?" Ben laughed.
Their combined music was too much and S.A.M exploded into pieces. Without him controlling it, the monster's body began to fall apart into mushy muddy water. Ben and Yukiko rode their guitars down the sludge, dodging the obstacles in their paths. Unfortunately, the creature was falling apart too quickly, ending their ride prematurely. Both cousins fell through the air, Yukiko wrapping Ben in her arms. "HELP!"
Max acted quickly, catching both of his grandkids before they could hit the ground. The two smiled appreciatively at Max. "Thanks, Grandpa."
"Don't mention it."
The Tennysons and Rise looked around to see everyone and the festival all covered in muddy salt water. Vance picked up the broken pieces of S.A.M. "And good riddance." Vance tossed the parts aside. He turned to the Tennysons. "Well, for now on, I'm just reporting the weather. Not trying to change it. I guess there's nothing wrong with just being another handsome face, huh?" Vance was still missing his toupe.
Max smirked. "Yeah, I know what you mean."
"Pfft! Hahahahaha!" The teens and kids all laughed.
"What?" Max smiled at them.
With the monster finally destroyed for good, Shag Carpeting were finally able to do their concert. Gwen turned to Max. "So, are they still as good as you remember?"
They watched as one of the guitarists fell on stage. "No. They're better!" He laughed. Max looked over to see Ben snapping his fingers to the tune, finally enjoying the music.
Ben realized he was being watched and turned to see his family and Rise giving him teasing smiles. "What? It's good music."
Max gave a hearty laugh. "I knew you'd come around, son. Sorry you couldn't make it to the convention."
"Nah, it's all good, Grandpa. I'd rather be here with you guys anyway." Ben said before Max picked him up and placed him on his shoulders.
"If you like them so much, let's give you a better view!" Max exclaimed.
Rise giggled, happy to see Ben have a change of heart. Her eyes trailed over to Kenny and an idea popped up in her head. "Kenny."
"Huh?" He turned to her and his jaw dropped when the idol placed a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Thanks for being my backup." Rise giggled.
Kenny's entire face was a deep shade of red. "I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-" No other word was leaving his mouth.
Gwen laughed loudly. "You just broke my brother! Hahahahaha!"
Yukiko wasn't much better. "H-H-He looks so goofy! Hahahahaha!"
Rise just shook her head. Her Senpai was right, the Tennyson family really was something else, not that it was a bad thing. Seeing it for herself made her realize that these people really do bring out a different side of Yukiko she's never seen. It was as if Yukiko was finally complete.
Chapter End
NOTE: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and Rise Kujikawa herself! I did mention before in the Investigation Team chapter that Rise was going to be in this episode. Naoto will be here very soon.
I don't think the prototype Omnitrix has the universal language function, but it does in this story.
Originally Rise was going to sing Ben's theme song in this chapter, but I changed it to "Open Your Heart" by Crush 40, because it just fit WAY better. Ben's theme song will make itself known in the main story at some point.
They had already gotten in contact with Yu and Rise before this chapter, which is why nobody was freaking out about Rise knowing about the Omnitrix or her learning she can use her Persona. Yes, it was done off screen after "Ben 10, 000". And yes, this means the Tennysons have already agreed to help with the Love Meets Bonds Festival, which will be its own seperate thing.
Am I pairing Rise with Kenny? Eh, I don't even know. I just thought his crush would be funny.
And yes, that purple lightning is what you thought it was.
I hope you all enjoy and have a great day!
Next Chapter - Benwolf