The village was destroyed.
Homes had holes in them. Debris scattered everywhere, personal possessions mixed in with the rubble. Broken clotheslines flapped in the wind. The village was more lifeless than Blonko thought was possible.
In his panic, Blonko didn't register that the village was still standing for the most part. He didn't notice that there was no smoke or falling rubble, that the damage wasn't fresh. He didn't find comfort in the fact that the village wasn't leveled. He just saw the damage and his stomach dropped.
There weren't any villagers around. Frantically, they searched the homes for any sign of life but each step just filled Blonko with more and more dread. He couldn't even begin to imagine what had befallen his home while he was away. He tried his hardest to ward off those thoughts and focus on finding his friends and family but he couldn't keep all his thoughts at bay.
He could have stopped this, whatever it was, if he was here.
XLR8 could have rushed all the villagers to safety. Bloxx could have built a protective dome around the village. Terrorsaur could have scared off any attackers. Wildvine could have hidden the village from sight. Any one of his other aliens could have fought an attacker off. But he wasn't here. This was Blonko's fault.
Faintly, he could hear Tetrax murmuring some quiet words to him as Wat-Sen embraced a crying Shar but all the noise fell on deaf ears. Numb to his surroundings, Blonko let his mind go blank and tune out everything around him. It was the one comfort he could afford.
But then, the sun began to set and life began to trickle back into the village.
"Blonko! Shar!" a familiar voice called and suddenly Blonko was being pulled away from Tetrax and into the strong embrace of his father. The moment his furred hand made contact with Blonko's shoulder, color bled back into his vision and the world once again exploded back into noise.
"Father," Blonko croaked as his father pulled him and his sister into a tight, uncharacteristic hug. Moments later, his mother, other two sisters, and little brother joined him. Blonko smiled, throat tightening with emotion. "Mother, Shim, Shi, Young One."
"I am so happy that you are okay!" Young One exclaimed, clinging to Blonko's calf.
"I am happy you are okay," Shar replied as the family broke apart, giving Shar the chance to scoop her younger brother up in her arms. "What happened? Where were you? Why is the village damaged?"
"We were just in the fields," Young One told her and Blonko felt a bit silly. Of course they were in the fields. It was harvest season. They weren't going to stand around at home when there was work to be done. They could focus on their repairs once all the amber ogia was harvested and the next year's supply of fruit was planted.
"Two aliens came and attacked in the middle of the night," Da informed them, eyeing Tetrax carefully. Blonko shifted uneasily. He was thrilled to see his family and happy to be on the receiving end of Da's affection but he cared for Tetrax as well. He didn't want his village to turn against his friend.
"Don't worry, Tetrax here was with us the whole time," Wat-Sen assured, propping his arm up on Tetrax's shoulder. Tetrax looked down at him, looking unhappy, but didn't brush him off. "A good man, this one. Really helped with those muroids."
The muroids were the farthest thing from anyone's mind but Tetrax seemed relieved that Wat-Sen was vouching for them. "Were the ones who attacked you Kraab and Sixsix by any chance? A metal crustacean and a pink humanoid?"
"Do you know them?"
"Tetrax was the one who saved me when Rayona and I were attacked by the, um, bird," Blonko blurted out before Tetrax could say anything. Tetrax's eyes were confused and probing but Blonko kept talking. "He fought Sixsix and Kraab near the path into the valley. He is not with them."
Da seemed to settle down and gave Tetrax a curt, but still wary, nod of respect. "It would have been a blessing to have you here during the attack."
Shar and Blonko visibly cringed. "Are you mad, Father?"
Da jolted, looking at them in surprise. "No."
"Why would Father be mad?" Young One asked, swishing his tail curiously.
"We were not here during the attack," Blonko explained. "If we had been here-"
"You may have been hurt," Da told him firmly. He looked in Wat-Sen's direction then back at his eldest children. "I believe it is luck that you were away and far from the danger."
Shi beckoned for Blonko to crouch down so he did. She leaned over to whisper in his ear, disgusting it as a hug. "Father is actually very grateful that you were not here. He says his heart would not be able to bear the loss of you and Shar."
Blonko smiled and returned her fake hug with a real one. "Never change, Shi."
"Tetrax and I can help with repairs," Wat-Sen offered. Tetrax gave him a pointed look but Wat-Sen ignored him and continued. "You know I'm a lousy farmer. Consider it payback for all the kindness you've shown me over the years."
Da pressed his hands together and gave the older man a quick bow. "Thank you, Magister Wat-Sen. The village would greatly appreciate the extra help. We need all the hands on the field that we can, so a few of the neighbors were worried they would be sleeping with drafts for the rest of the season."
Da and Wat-Sen continued talking repairs, Tetrax chiming in every once in awhile. Bralla made a faint noise, drawing Blonko's attention. She said nothing but titled her head towards the house, silently telling him to go inside and get some rest. Blonko nodded and put his hand on Shi's shoulder, shuffling her inside, while Shar carried Young One and spoke with Shim in a hushed tone.
They did not eat but Blonko's stomach didn't growl. His belly was still tight from his earlier anxiety and even though his nervousness was coming down, he didn't think he could keep anything down. Blonko felt a wave of tiredness wash over him and he took Young One from Shar to carry into their shared room. Plopping his brother down on his bunk and clambering into his own, Blonko let the tiredness of the day consume him.
Despite the scare, everything was fine. He was safe and his family was safe. And it would stay that way if he had anything to say about it.
"Brother! Brother!" Young One called, running up to Blonko as the older Revonnahgander tried to hook his harvesting tool around the stem of a particularly stubborn fruit that grew under the safety of a rock. He was alone in this part of the field today and the noise of his brother startled him but Young One's eyes were wide with fear so Blonko forgot his own quickly to kneel down to try to comfort him.
"What is wrong?" Blonko asked as Young One bundled into him.
"Down in the valley!" Young One told him, pointing towards the cliff. His tail waved wildly behind him. "The bad aliens are attacking!"
Blonko felt his stomach twinge. "Are you certain?"
Young One nodded. "I saw a ship."
Blonko frowned but tried to keep calm for his brother's sake. He placed his hands on Young One's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Listen to me carefully. Run back home and tell Father. He will make sure the neighbors get to safety. Ask Shar to visit Wat-Sen and Tetrax then return home with Mother."
Young One's eyes went round as he realized how dire the situation was. "What are you going to do?"
Blonko looked to the horizon, jaw setting. "I am going to investigate."
Blonko didn't know what he was expecting but he shouldn't have been surprised when Young One launched himself at Blonko's leg and clung to him like a baby muroid on its mother's back. "No! It is dangerous! Let me come with you."
"I do not want to put you in danger," Blonko responded, trying to peel Young One off of him with little success, "and do not worry for me. I will remain safe."
"Promise?"
Blonko couldn't promise that but Young One didn't know that. "Yes. I promise."
"You will stay away from the aliens?"
No. "Yes."
Young One still looked reluctant. "What if-"
"We do not have much time, Young One. Forgive me," Blonko told him as he started shaking his leg. "It was good of you to tell me and I will do my best to help but you must do your part as well and warn the village."
The sudden responsibility on Young One's shoulders seemed to satiate him. His expression grew serious and he gave his brother an earnest nod. "Right."
Blonko felt some of the pressure lift from his chest once Young One had run off and was out of sight but his work was only beginning. Dialing up XLR8, Blonko took off for the valley and the villains that awaited him within.
XLR8 turned back into Blonko as he approached the ship. Normally, the time outs were annoying but it happened at almost the perfect time so Blonko didn't mind. It was much easier to sneak around when he didn't have wheels on his feet or a tail to hide.
The ship was different from the one Tetrax had parked behind the mountain but it still shared all the traits that defined it as a bounty hunter ship. Built sleek for speed, painted dark for camouflage, and armed with dozens of weapons hidden so well that only the trained eye could spot them, it was rather intimidating. Blonko ducked behind it and tried to get a closer look. He hadn't seen Kraab or Sixsix's ships and he doubted they came over together. He had to figure out who it was before proceeding.
At least, it seemed, Young One was wrong about the bounty hunters attacking. The village seemed fine and Blonko didn't see any signs of tracks leading towards his lakeside neighbors. That meant the bounty hunters hadn't left the ship yet and Blonko had the chance to take them out before they had the chance to hurt anyone or destroy another village. The only problem was how.
Blonko was alone. He wanted to be alone, this was his responsibility, but he'd never gone off alone since the day he got the Omnitrix at the beginning of harvest season. He felt confident using it but he knew logically he was too inexperienced to be taking any risks. His Omnitrix's light was green again. Maybe he should turn back into XLR8 and run back for Tetrax. Or even Shar and Wat-Sen. His sister and the old Plumber couldn't do as much in a fight as his Petrosapien friend but their support and presence still went a long way.
Blonko's fingers barely curled around the dial when the hatch of the ship opened up with a hiss. He looked up like a startled muroid and ducked further behind a nearby rock. There weren't many around but there were enough that Blonko could maneuver around while staying out of sight, provided Kraab and Sixsix didn't have any heat sensing technology. Maybe he could use this as a chance to observe them before attacking and catching them off guard.
The only problem was the figures that stepped off the ship weren't Kraab and Sixsix.
They looked remarkably similar to Sixsix. Definitely the same species, maybe even related, but Blonko could tell that neither was the bounty hunter he'd tangled with previously. The larger of the two shared Sixsix's stature but he was a bit leaner and his armor was lighter. His weapons and mask were a bit different as well but Blonko wasn't familiar enough with these things to understand how.
The second figure was far more slender, a trait Blonko hadn't seen in an alien yet. Blonko would say her build was similar to Shar's but upon closer inspection, Blonko could tell she was even smaller, even with the armor. She looked like a mean thing though and the purple armor did nothing to soften it.
They spoke in mumbles and grumbles, much like Sixsix, that Blonko couldn't understand. They walked out of the ship easily but the male seemed upset about something. He was talking rapidly, throwing in some arm gestures and wild gesticulations for emphasis. The female replied more calmly but seemed impatient. She lifted an arm and pulled up a hologram.
"You two there?" Kraab asked and Blonko flinched at the sound of his voice. He realized it was coming through a speaker a moment later and tried to settle back down but it was difficult. He knew his fur was sticking up under his garments. "It's about time. Sixsix called you a week ago."
Sixsix responded with some grumbles and a high-pitched screech that made Blonko's ears sting despite the distance and muffle of the speaker.
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I'm just not used to working with your siblings. This isn't even a hard job. I don't understand why you called them."
The male, Sixsix's brother, gurgled and pointed a finger at the hologram coming from his sister's wrist. Kraab groaned.
"Shut up, Sevenseven. You know that was a rhetorical question. Vilgax is offering some big tade for this job and we can't risk turning to another traitor like Tetrax."
Sixsix's sister mumbled something with an attitude that transcended language barriers.
"I know he got us this the job, Eighteight! I just- Nevermind. We attacked the settlement on top of the mountains awhile ago and there was a pretty good fighter there so be careful. My radar says you're near there."
Blonko frowned. He assumed Kraab was talking about Kundo. Who else had the strength and skill to put up a good fight? Still, it was concerning that it was necessary for Kundo to step in. Kraab and Sixsix had attacked when their target wasn't even there and that was telling.
"Sixsix and I saw the kid around that area," Kraab explained, "but he wasn't there when we attacked. There's another settlement in the valley you landed in and there are a few more on the other side of the mountains that Sixsix and I want to check out.
Eighteight gurgled something and Kraab nodded before signing off without another word. Blonko felt a flash of frustration. Whatever Eighteight said sounded important and he had no idea what it was. He needed to end this before they reached the village. Opening up the selection menu of the Omnitrix, Blonko transformed into the one alien he knew would do the job.
"Terrorsaur!" Terrorsaur screeched as he erupted like a phoenix from behind the stone. Sevenseven and Eighteight made stunted noises and took a step back each, surprised. Terrorsaur grinned maliciously and curled over the rock, lowering his head and concentrating his mind's inner power on the pair of bounty hunters.
Terrorsaur let himself get lost to the rampant imagination only a Phantasian had. He could feel the power crackle in his mind as horrifying hallucinations cooked up in his mind and pulsed out into the minds of his victims. He tried to fight off the primal glee the dark images and horrifying fantasies brought but he wasn't too concerned with it. His priority was neutralizing these too.
In his mind's eye, he saw jet black webs spreading across a smokey purple sky; monsters with even more eyes than him, glowing his hunger and the thrill of the hunt, prowled his mindscape; and ear shattering wails and the screeches of claws slicing through unmentionable things echoed through his mind. And they were all for Sevenseven and Eighteight to enjoy.
Sevenseven fell to his knees, clutching his head and shouting something in a language not even Terrorsaur's ears could understand. Eighteight, however, was resisting. Terrorsaur craned his neck ever so slightly, glowering at her, and focused more of his psychic power on her mind.
She responded by throwing her baton at his throat, abruptly cutting off his airflow.
He topped over, falling off the rock and onto his back. He blinked all eight of his eyes rapidly, disoriented from being snapped out of the psychic link. He'd only gotten a glimpse of Eighteight's mind but by Revonnah's suns, her darkness was comparable to a Phantasian, Terrorsaur would say. He'd definitely spend some time unpacking that later but for now, he had to focus on getting back to his hands and feet. Sevenseven would be up any moment now and Terrorsaur had to figure out the next course of action.
Unfortunately, he did not have much time. If he thought Terrorsaur's battle with Kraab and Sixsix was unfair, with all the clawing and biting and pinning and all, then this was certainly brutal. Eighteight leaped onto him the moment he managed to flip himself back over and attached herself like he was a mount to be tamed and ridden. Not a moment later, he felt a second weight on his tail and Sevenseven's weapons jabbing the soft spots around his lumbar and the vulnerable film of his wings.
Unable to form words, Terrorsaur screeched like an animal and flapped violently, trying to throw his attackers off, but that only made them hold on tighter. Then he felt a sharp jolt of electricity and he was transforming.
"Juryrigg!" he cried out as Eighteight and Sevenseven hit the floor, the mass beneath them suddenly gone then he did a double take and looked down at his hands. Pink fingers and green gloves replaced white claws and slender black hands. He'd transformed. "Why Juryrigg? How Juryrigg? I can't transform when I'm already an alien! Excuse the contraction!"
Eighteight and Sevenseven were pulling themselves up, grumbling and gurgling. Juryrigg suddenly spat at them, surprising even himself, and was filled with the undeniable need to move.
Cackling, he ran around the makeshift battlefield, leading to some confused noises on the siblings' end. Juryrigg hopped over Sevenseven and landed on Eighteight's head before zipping around his little loop again. Sevenseven drew his gun and lasers began littering the ground around Juryrigg's feet and the little gremlin realized he needed to direct this energy somewhere.
He raked his claws down Sevenseven's side and swiped the device Eighteight had shocked him with out of her hands. The phrase Ampri transmutator magnetic scrambler rang in his mind and somehow that made sense subconsciously, even if his conscious didn't quite get it. That was okay though because his little feet were already pattering towards the ship.
"Fix! Fix, fix, fix!" Juryrigg screamed, overpowering joy making his tiny body vibrate so much he nearly dropped his finds. The sadistic glee Terrorsaur got from creating hallucinations felt good but this was amazing! Juryrigg wasn't totally sure what was happening yet but he had an idea burning in his mind and his hands and feet seemed determined to make it a reality.
Sevenseven and Eighteight cried out in protest as Juryrigg scaled their ship and scored his claws over the metal on the outside, pulling out wires in the process. He deposited them in a neat pile on the roof before diving into the ship. In there, he couldn't contain himself and Juryrigg had no desire to. Letting loose, he shot through the ship and grabbed every piece of alien tech Juryrigg could get his hands on.
As a Revonnahgander child, he'd loved alien tech. It fascinated him. The rare scraps he managed to get entertained him on endless afternoons. When he grew older and his mind began to recognize their complex patterns, he began to build. His passion began to die after he got the Omnitrix and he realized how truly dangerous alien tech could be but right now, he had the means to build whatever he wanted and he had no desire to let his recent anxieties stop him.
He pulled levers clean off control panels, yanked batteries out of various devices, and broke down the ship's power core. He danced over boards covered with buttons, pulled weapons off their racks, and tore up whatever metal his claws found their way to. And he built. Oh, how he built. That was the best part. Mashing all the chunks of tech together, crudely typing wires together, changing the way energy thrummed- his Revonnahgander mind could never comprehend all of this and certainly never at the speed Juryrigg did.
By the time Eighteight and Sevenseven had gotten up and really started their efforts to stop him, Juryrigg had crafted a canon and aimed it right at them.
"Fix! Fix!" Juryrigg yelled as he began flipping switches. He had no idea what they did, not what this device did, but his fingers were flying and he couldn't hope to stop them. He tried to hoist the canon up on his shoulder but he wasn't strong enough so he secured it to the top of the ship and fired. "Canon! Portal, portal, portal!"
Eighteight and Sevenseven froze as the beam flew between them and struck open air. A wide rift tore through the fabrics of space and a doorway appeared behind them, revealing a forgein realm with blood red skies and floating islands. Sevenseven and Eighteight grew vocal and their expressions shifted with alarm as the portal began sucking them in.
Juryrigg laughed as he held onto the ship and watched the bounty hunter siblings getting dragged inside. They clawed the ground and shouted to no avail. Within a few seconds, they were long gone.
Juryrigg switched off the device and slid it off the ship. And then he timed out and Blonko realized what he'd done.
Horrified, Blonko dropped the device like it was on fire and jumped away from it, eyes wide. He scooted around it so it wasn't aimed at him but a second portal opening wasn't really what he was worried about. The fact he'd opened a portal at all was terrifying. The fact he didn't know where it led was worse. The fact that Juryrigg had sent two people, even bounty hunters, away with zero moral questions was far, far worse.
He'd thought Terrorsaur was bad, with his hallucinations and sadistic tendencies, but he hadn't even realized what Juryrigg was doing until he timed out. He'd been so caught up in the high of creation that he didn't even know he'd fired a weapon until he was himself again. Building a weapon was one thing. Blonko's feeble mind couldn't comprehend what Juryrigg was building. But firing a weapon? He should at least have been able to recognize that!
But the worst part was… He didn't feel that bad.
They were bounty hunters. And it wasn't like he killed them or anything. It was kind of nice to rediscover the joy of building. He certainly wouldn't be using Juryrigg again without some practice but… maybe he could get control over the goblin's terrible moral compass. And then he could try building again. Young One was showing interest in alien technology now. Obviously he wouldn't transform in front of him but maybe he could study Juryrigg's creations and learn enough from him to share this passion with his brother.
He still wanted nothing to do with the weapon he'd built today though. Blonko paused a moment before approaching it and gathering up the bulky device in his arms. The lake was near here. The water had done some damage to the drones once he'd slammed them against the bottom of the lake. Maybe Tidetail Wave's teeth would be wrong enough to shred this thing enough for the water to do the rest.
He was only a few steps from the lake when he heard someone calling his name. "Blonko! Blonko!"
Blonko looked up to see Tetrax and Wat-Sen running up to him. Shar wasn't with them which was a bit of a relief. Lifting up the device as high as he could, he shoved it into Tetrax's crystal arms as soon as he was close enough. "Take it!"
Tetrax looked confused for a moment but recognition spread across his features as he gave it a closer look. "Was this on the ship?"
Blonko shook his head. "No. One of my aliens ripped the ship apart and built it. He called himself Juryrigg. A small alien with pink skin."
"A Planchaküle?"
Blonko shrugged. How was he expected to know? "Probably."
"So Sixsix and Kraab are gone for good?"
Blonko shook his head again. "No. I think Juryrigg's device opened a portal, it was not a true weapon. And this is not Sixsix or Kraab's ship. Sixsix invited his siblings, Sevenseven and Eighteight. Sixsix and Kraab are heading towards the villages around the valley."
Wat-Sen and Tetrax exchanged a look. A bit awkwardly, Wat-Sen put a hand on Blonko's shoulder. "You head back to the village. I can tell you're upset by… this. Get some rest, kid. We'll handle the bounty hunters."
Blonko nodded silently and did as he was told. He couldn't wait to go to bed and pull his blankets over his head. He had a lot to ponder tonight.
"Is that a Null Void projector?"
"I think so."
"How'd that little troublemaker manage to build it?"
"No idea. I've heard Planchaküle are good but… Yeah. This is impressive."
"... We are going to use it on Kraab and Sixsix, right?"
"Oh yeah. Definitely."
Tetrax didn't want to admit how cool he felt dropping down from the mountainside into one of the villages below and scaring the complete bejeezus out of Kraab and Sixsix in the middle of their raid.
"Wah? Tetrax! What are you doing here?" Kraab demanded, roughly throwing down the Revonnahgander he'd been shaking. Tetrax's face twisted in distaste. Even when he was running on the wrong side of the law, he didn't go after innocents if he could help it. That's what made him different from Kraab or the Sotoraggian siblings.
"Stopping you, apparently," Tetrax replied, putting his hands on his hips. Sixsix looked up from… whatever he was doing and ventured over, muttering and screeching in his native tongue. Tetrax smirked. "Yeah. I found your siblings, Sixsix. And I'm giving you one chance to abandon this job and leave this planet before I send you where the Omnitrix bearer sent them."
Kraab scoffed but Sixsix looked uneasy. Kraab boxed him in the shoulder. "Come on, Sixsix. He's bluffing. You know no one could take down Eighteight and with Sevenseven? Unstoppable."
"You better believe it," Tetrax replied, trying not to enjoy this as much as he was. For as much as he worked with these two, they really got under his skin. Their relationship was strictly business. He would not be sorry to see them gone. "Last chance."
"I think… Not," Kraab declared and lunged at Tetrax with his pincer. Tetrax stepped back with one foot, rolling with it, and built up a layer of crystal over his right arm. With one swift motion, he grabbed Kraab's wrist and plunged it into the dirt.
Sixsix flew at him with his swords out, screaming as he tried to bring the blades down on Tetrax's head. The Petrosapien's hand clasped around them and he lashed out with a kick, sending Sixsix flying. He smiled at the swords in his hand. These would make a good gift for Shar. He'd love to teach her how to master a weapon like this.
"What are you doing?" Kraab asked as Tetrax dumped him on top of Sixsix. The villagers hung back near their homes, eyeing the spectacle warily while keeping their distance.
"I said I was going to send you where the Omnitrix bearer sent Sevenseven and Eighteight," Tetrax responded as he backed up. He waved for the villagers to do the same but he didn't know if they were watching him or not. "Magister Wat-Sen?"
"Here. Keep away, big guy," Wat-Sen answered as he wheeled the Null Void Projector out. Kraab and Sixsix's eyes widened with fear and recognition. They began shaking their heads and shouting but Wat-Sen fired before Tetrax could register any of their pleas.
The moment they were gone and the portal closed, Tetrax shifted his hand into a hammer and brought it down on the Null Void Projector, effectively smashing it. The Null Void was hell and the Projector was dangerous. He was glad to have his former allies but he'd be damned if the wrong hands turned this thing against the people he'd grown to love.
Vilgax's drones had spent hours trying to get into contact with his bounty hunters. When that failed, he took a crack at his ship's comms panel but even he and his genius couldn't contact someone with a busted comm or no comm at all. His frustration catching up with him, Vilax slammed his hands down on the panel and stalked away.
He decked one of his drones and sent it flying down the hall leading deeper into the ship. He knew it wasn't productive but he just needed to let the pent up anger out. He growled at the wrecked machine and flexed his fingers. He wanted to strangle something or at least feel the feeling of some flesh being crushed under his powerful fingers. But a solitude life was the life of Vilgax and there was no one nearby to satisfy his need.
Taking control of his emotions, Vilgax straightened and gazed out the ship's windows down onto the world below. It was a pretty thing but that only made Vilgax angrier. On a war-torn or military world, the decision would have been so easy but on peaceful ones, subtly was the better choice in case of some unexpected surprise that could take his ship out.
But his drones and the bounty hunters had done plenty of scouting. Save the occasional martial artist or Plumber, Revonnah was defenseless. And that meant it and the Omnitrix was Vilgax's for the taking.
