NOTE: This chapter was difficult and I'm not joking. I explain why in the bottom, but yeah. Sorry for taking so long with this.
Review and Enjoy!
Chapter 14: A Persona's Last Laugh
"I should've just helped from the start," Yukiko watched as Ripjaws was surrounded by a ring of fire. Their family had stopped at a carnival pier to have some fun. However, a couple of thieves decided that now would be the perfect time to commit some illegal actions. Insisting that he could handle the situation on his own, Yukiko allowed Ben to do some solo butt-kicking.
"Amaterasu!" Yukiko summoned her Persona and manipulated the fire that was surrounding the fish-man. She carefully compacted the flames into a small tight ball, then smacked it away into the water.
"What the?" The crook was completely shocked by the sight. He was so focused on the weird phenomenon that he was completely caught off guard by Ripjaws' left hook. The punch was strong enough to send the crook flying into a can-stacking booth, knocking him unconscious.
Soon enough the Police arrived to apprehend the criminals. Yukiko carefully stayed in the back so that she wouldn't be noticed. She watched as an officer approached her cousin.
"I don't care what other people say, you Circus Freaks are okay by me," He thanked Ripjaws.
"Circus Freak? I'm not a Circus Freak. I'm a Superhero!," Ripjaws posed dramatically. The heiress giggled at Ben's need to be dramatic about his Superheroness.
Once he had jumped back into the water, she slipped away to wait for the Omnitrix to turn him back to normal.
"Zombozo's traveling Circus of Laughs?" Gwen read the sign as the RV drove past it. "Cool!" She exclaimed.
"I haven't been to a circus since I was a boy. Sounds like fun. What do you guys think?" Max asked his Grandkids.
"Oh! I've never been to a circus before. Inaba never really gets anything exciting like that," Yukiko responded.
Gwen turned to the older girl, an excited grin plastered on her face. "Yukiko, I know you're going to love it! The circus is such a fun attraction!" Gwen figured that with Yukiko's sense of humor, the heiress will have a blast.
"That's because you look the part, loser," Ben mocked Gwen. The boy was the only one who wasn't excited to see the circus, much to Yukiko's confusion.
"Ben," Max warned him.
The hero rolled his eyes. "The circus is kid stuff!"
"Hello? We're kids!" Gwen reminded him.
"Yukiko isn't!" Ben argued back.
"Yes, but I would still like to see it. I wonder if I could get a circus for the Inn?" Yukiko thought out loud.
"I really don't think you should…" Gwen was still shocked at the fact that Yukiko had sent the globe of Megawatts to her hometown. The heiress had assured them that even if the Megawatts managed to get free, they wouldn't be able to cause too much trouble. Nor would they even consider it if they didn't want to risk receiving another punishment from her.
Ben was deterred in the slightest. The boy gave out a fake yawn. "Besides, it's pretty late," He said.
"Ben, it's only 11:00 in the morning," Max reminded him. Ben grumbled in irritation at all of his attempts being thwarted.
"Fine, by me! Okay! Alright! If you guys want to go see some stupid circus, fine!" Ben gave up. He turned his attention to the window and glared at it.
"We don't have to go if you don't want to, Ben," Yukiko tried to compromise. She was held off by Gwen's hand.
"Don't let his negative attitude get in the way, Yukiko. We're going to have some fun!" Gwen huffed.
Suddenly, Yukiko wasn't so sure. It's not fun if everyone wasn't enjoying it together.
"Is this what a circus is like?" Yukiko asked. She observed some of the attractions as they walked through the front gate. There honestly wasn't as much as Gwen had been describing to her earlier, much to Ben's annoyance.
"S-see, it's nothing special. We should just go," Yukiko had noticed the small quiver in Ben's voice. There was something he was hiding from them, but she didn't know what.
"Step right up!"
"Hm?" Yukiko and her family looked over to see a man with a top hat and cane standing under a spotlight.
"Step right up to see a freak of nature! Who's strength knows no bounds! Thumbskull!" A large man with greenish skin and a freakin 'toenail on his forehead. Yukiko couldn't help but laugh at how ridiculously the man looked.
"Pfft! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She clutched her sides.
Everyone turned to look at the laughing heiress, confused as to why she was laughing so hard.
"Y-You look so stupid!" She pointed at Thumbskull.
The large freak glared and growled at her, while the Tennysons looked a bit embarrassed. "Yukiko! Cut it out!" Gwen whispered.
"R-Right right. Sorry," Yukiko regained her composure. If the circus was going to be filled with people like this, no wonder Gwen was so excited.
The announcer coughed into his hand to get the audience's attention back. "Y-Yes, well, next we have Frightwig!"
A red tendril with a black ball attached ripped the metal pipe out of Thumbskull's hands. The woman had 5 long tendrils of red hair. She was dressed in a black one piece that showed her shoulders, and black and yellow sleeves. "When this woman lets down her hair there's no telling what could happen!" She bent the metal like a pretzel with just her hair.
Yukiko didn't laugh this time, but she was definitely amazed. "Wow! She's definitely a weirdo!" Yukiko exclaimed. Her comment once again caused everyone to stare at her in bewilderment. Frightwig just glared at the heiress, irritated by the attention being taken from her.
She used her hair to place the pretzel pipe on the stand next to her. "Last but not least! The freak who's unique skill is as vile as his attitude! Acid Breath!" The disturbing looking man took off his mask. He opened his mouth to reveal his jagged teeth and released a toxic fume from his mouth. The gas had melted the pipe and the stand completely.
"Gross!" Gwen gagged.
"From this point forward I'm going to constantly remind Ben to brush his teeth," Yukiko said. The heiress was absolutely disgusted by Acid Breath and if she had her way, there would be a ring of fire keeping him away from her.
Looking down to do exactly that, Yukiko noticed that Ben was no longer next to her. "Again!?" She struggled to understand just how good Ben was at sneaking away from them.
Scanning everywhere around her she found the boy backing away from a tent. Walking over to him she placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump in fright. "Ben? What's wrong?"
He pushed her hand away and glared. "D-Don't do that!" He held his chest. The boy felt like his heart was going to pop out.
Not bothered by his words, the heiress pressed on. "Ben, you can explain to me what's wrong. This whole circus thing has been bothering you, it's okay to talk," Yukiko placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Ben looked her directly in the eyes and saw her sincerity. Had it been Gwen asking him right now, then he'd just blow off her question with his own bravado. There was always something about Yukiko that made him feel safe to talk with. "I-I just don't like the circus. It's not funny," He answered.
Yukiko could feel that he was still hiding something, but she didn't press on. It was a miracle that the boy had even answered her instead of blowing off her concern. "Alright, maybe I can convince Grandpa for us to just sit this one out," Yukiko suggested.
Ben was taken back by her suggestion. "R-Really? But, I thought you wanted to go see this?"
"If this circus is making you uncomfortable, then it wouldn't be right to force it on you. And it's not like I won't be able to see another circus again. We can let Grandpa and Gwen have this one," Yukiko gave him a warm smile.
Ben was seriously questioning why he was ever a jerk to Yukiko before, she was WAY nicer than Gwen. Before he could answer back the rest of their family approached them.
"Come on, you two. The show's about to start," Max said.
"Yeah, dweeb! Stop wasting time," Gwen added.
Ignoring his doofus cousin, Ben ran up to his Grandfather. "Grandpa! Can't Yukiko and I just sit this one out! I mean, it's just one circus!" Ben pleaded.
"It's making Ben uncomfortable, so maybe it would be best if he just sat this one out," Yukiko helped plead the case.
"What!? But, Yukiko, I thought we were going to enjoy the circus together!?" Gwen reminded her.
The heiress winced, remembering that she had promised to do this with Gwen. And she'd be a hypocrite to go back on a promise.
"No way, she promised me that we wouldn't have to see it!" Ben argued back.
"Why are you so scared!? It's just a circus!" Gwen yelled back.
"I'm not scared!" Ben shot back.
"Look!" Max's authoritative voice prevented their argument from continuing. "Ben, would it be fine for you to see one act at least. Then when it's done you and Yukiko can leave. Is that fair?" Max placed the deal on the table.
Ben crossed his arms and sighed. "Fine! I'll see the stupid show!" The boy marched past them and entered the tent. Max and Gwen soon followed after him.
Yukiko watched him leave with a frown on her face. Before she entered the tent she felt a weird tingle in her head.
CRASH!
Yukiko gasped when her tarot card appeared again. "Amaterasu? What's wrong?" The card vanished as soon as it appeared, but that only increased the sense of worry growing inside of her.
"Ladies and Gentlemen! Children of all ages! The Circus of Laughter is proud to present! The Saulten of Smiles! The Crowned Prince of Chuckles! The Crim Tickler himself! The Star of our Circus! ZOMBOZO THE CLOWN!"
A tiny race car zoomed into the tent and exiting from the tiny mobile was the clown himself, Zombozo. The crowd laughed loudly at Zombozo's entrance, except Ben who only sat there with a baffled expression.
The car suddenly took off to get some distance from the clown. Zombozo was surprised but soon challenged the car with a grin. He pulled a red cape out of his glove and whipped it like a matador challenging a bull. When the car hit the cape it exploded into confetti. Everyone was laughing hysterically at the act.
"If you love clowns, then this is the place to be! You're gonna die laughing" Zombozo exclaimed. Behind him was a large machine with multiple circular cases on it. The machine began to glow as the laughter increased. "That's a Zombozo guarantee!"
Ben felt his own fear rise as he looked at the clown. The boy could no longer take it and got up from his seat. "I gotta go...get some popcorn!" Ben lied to get away from the clown's act.
"Maybe, I should've just let him skip out," Max said.
Gwen waved it off. "Welp, that just means more fun for us, right Yukiko?" Gwen turned to her female cousin. "Isn't this fun, Yukiko?"
"Hm? What?" The heiress turned to Gwen.
"I said, isn't this fun?"
"No, this isn't funny at all," Yukiko answered, truthfully. The heiress hadn't laughed once since Zombozo started his routine. "I'm going to go check on Ben," Yukiko left them to follow after the boy.
Gwen would've pondered it further, hell even had followed them. But, a sudden pull in her chest brought her attention back to Zombozo.
Ben crossed the entrance gate of the Circus entrance, breathing heavily from his running. But, the boy couldn't help it, he HAD to get away from all of that.
"Ben!"
He turned around to see Yukiko chasing after him. "Yukiko?" The heiress stopped next to him, breathing a bit hard herself.
"Ben, tell me what's wrong. You looked like you were staring death in the face," She stared him in the eyes.
"We-" He was cut off by the sound of glass shattering. The duo nodded their heads at each other and slowly made their way to the sounds of glass shattering. Hiding behind a car they saw the Circus Freaks breaking into a store.
"Woah, the Freaks are Felons!" Ben exclaimed.
"Never trust someone with breath that bad," Yukiko glared at the trio. They continued to watch as the Freaks broke into cars and an ATM. Yukiko looked down at Ben. "Ben, time for a show stopper."
"You read my mind," Ben dialed up Wildmutt and slammed down the dial. Yukiko covered her eyes as the light from the transformation died down. When it was finished, Wildmutt jumped on top of the car, growling at the Freaks.
Thumbskull backed away in fear. "D-Down doggy! Good boy!"
The Vulpimancer growled something as if trying to speak, it didn't take much for Yukiko to figure that her little cousin was trying for another pun. While Wildmutt had charged right in, Yukiko snuck around the cars for a better vantage point.
Frightwig attempted to grab Wildmutt, but a burst of flames knocked her hair away. The female Freak cried out as her hair was caught on fire. "OW! HOT!" She smacked her hair into the ground to put the flames out.
Wildmutt tore open their getaway car, with all of the stolen money and items.
"Hey, that's our stuff!" Thumbskull yelled.
"No, mutt is gonna steal my loot!" Acid Breath opened his mouth to release his toxic fumes.
"No, disturbing creep is gonna melt my cousin!" Yukiko growled. "Agi!" The fireball smashed the Acid Freak in the face, sending him flying back into the wall.
Frightwig growled at the familiar flames. "Where the hell is that fire coming from!?" She yelled. Suddenly another ball of flame came shooting at her, the female Freak used the balls on her fair to bash the fire away.
Wildmutt charged at Thumbskull, smacking the large lug into a wall. He roared at Frightwig, causing her to back away in fear.
Yukiko watched the scene, satisfied with herself. Everything seemed to be going perfectly- "Where did the bad breath one go?" She asked herself. The heiress had noticed that he had disappeared after she shot him in the face.
POP!
"Wha-"
POW!
Yukiko felt her body sail over the vehicles and smack directly into Wildmutt. The both of them tumbled on the ground from the sudden impact. Her head was ringing from the hit, gripping onto Wildmutt's arm, Yukiko looked at who had attacked her.
"I hear you like tricks."
"Zombozo?" Yukiko was surprised by his appearance. She could feel Wildmutt shaking at the sight of the clown, he bit the back of her dress to try and pull her back. "W-What are you?" Suddenly Frightwig's hair wrapped around her body, constricting her. "Gah!"
Too focused on his own fear, Wildmutt couldn't do anything to help her as he was pummeled by Zombozo. The orange dog flew right into the Cell Site, he whimpered in fear, and backed away.
Yukiko gasped, never having once seen her cousin behave like this before. And he only started behaving this way when Zombozo arrived.
"Don't forget about this one too, Boss," Frightwig held up Yukiko.
"Yeah, the girl with the motor mouth," Acid Breath said.
The clown grinned maliciously, staring at Yukiko. He placed a hand underneath her chin, lifting her head up. "Hm, she is quite the looker," He complimented.
"You perverted-" She was cut off by Zombozo's fist slamming into her face. The punch was too sudden for her to prepare for, knocking Yukiko out cold.
Wildmutt whimpered in horror at the sight of Yukiko's body going limp. Suddenly she was thrown towards him, her body rolling across the ground in front of her.
Zombozo turned to his Freaks. "Now, bring the curtain down on these side shows!" He commanded. The Freaks listened instantly using their unique abilities to bring the Cell Site down on the two heroes.
Wildmutt quickly used his body to cover Yukiko's, praying that the watch didn't time out as the tower collapsed on them both. Covering them in darkness.
Soon after, Ben crawled out of the destroyed tower, pulling Yukiko's body out of the wreckage. He laid her out on the ground and stared down at her. Guilt weighed heavily on his heart as he observed the bruise that was glowing on her face. He looked over to see the Freaks and Zombozo rushing back towards the circus and sighed. The next thing he knew, darkness covered his senses again.
When Yukiko awoke, she hissed in pain at the stinging on her cheek. "Dia," She whispered, allowing the bruise to heal. Picking herself up, Yukiko looked over to see Ben laying on the ground next to her.
"Ben," She called out to him, waking him up. He sat on his knees and stared at her in surprise.
"Yukiko! You're alright!"
"Of course I am," She smiled.
The guilt from earlier rose from his stomach. "Yu-Yukiko, I'm sorry. I-"
"Don't apologize, Ben. It's fine, let's go find Grandpa and Gwen. Those Circus Freaks need to be stopped," She slowly climbed to her feet and began marching back to where the circus was.
Ben watched her walk away, guilt still weighing heavily on his mind. If he hadn't frozen up like that, she wouldn't have gotten hurt. Shaking his head, he hurried after his elder cousin.
"Grandpa!" Yukiko and Ben ran over to the laughing old man.
"Heh, oh, kids. Heh, where did you two go?" He asked, lightly laughing. Much to Yukiko's confusion.
"Where did we go? Where did the circus go!?" Ben questioned.
Max kept chuckling as he looked around the area. "Heh, I don't know. I remember we were laughing, it was so funny. You would've liked it, Yukiko."
"No, I definitely didn't," Yukiko frowned.
Max started dozing off, feeling extremely tired. Yukiko walked closer to her Grandfather. "Grandpa, are you okay?" She asked.
"Heh, I just...feel kinda glum is all. Hehahaha…" He laughed lightly.
"Then, why are you smiling?" Ben asked.
"And where's Gwen!?" Yukiko asked, noticing that the other female wasn't present at the moment.
"W-With the circus...heh," Max answered.
"WHAT!?"
"Zombozo must've zonked out the entire town during the show. While his freaks robbed everyone blind," Ben said. The RV currently drove down the road, chasing after Zombozo.
"But, why would he need to kidnap Gwen?" Yukiko asked. The heiress was silently cursing herself for failing to keep her family safe again.
"I-I don't know. But, don't worry...we'll catch that clown," Max spoke, softly.
"Don't fall asleep, Grandpa," Yukiko reminded him.
Ben chuckled nervously. "Y-Yeah, who would be afraid of a silly old clown?"
"You," Yukiko answered, bluntly.
He jumped up, surprised by the fact that she had figured out his fear. "H-How did you-"
"Ben. You have never once backed away in fear like that before. In every battle we've been in so far during this trip, you've always fought with confidence. This was the first time you've shown that type of reaction," Yukiko explained.
Ben lowered his head, disappointed in himself. "I-I'm sorry, I must look like a loser, huh?"
"Ben, everyone has their own fear. When I was a boy, I was afraid of heights. But, enough was enough, so I climbed to the top of the water tower. Sometimes you gotta...you gotta...scare the fear out...of…" Max felt his vision go blurry. He couldn't stay awake any longer and passed out.
"GRANDPA!" Yukiko quickly took the wheel, doing her best to keep the RV from falling off the road. "This is not like driving a motor-bike!" Yukiko yelled. She struggled to keep the RV steady, seeing that they were about to fly off the road. "Ben! Stay strapped in!" She instructed.
"AMATERASU!" Yukiko roared. Her Persona flared to life and floated outside of the RV. "AGIDYNE!" The fire melted the road in front of them, creating a strong enough speed bump to slow down the RV.
The Rustbucket crashed into the rails of the highway, but thankfully it didn't fall off. The heiress felt all of the stress leave her body, and released a breath of relief.
Ben unbuckled his seatbelt and maneuvered around Yukiko. "Grandpa, are you okay?" He asked, shaking him.
"...So sad...so very very...sad…" He whispered.
"Grandpa, what happened inside the big top!? After we left?" Ben asked.
"Ben...Yukiko...I think that Zombozo robs people of more than just their possessions. I think he steals people's happiness…until there's nothing left..." Max answered.
"And he plans to do that to Gwen," Yukiko growled, pissed off. "Ben, let's go!"
"R-Right…" He answered.
The two snuck into the deserted circus area of Zombozo. The two watched as the Circus Freaks began stashing away all of the loot they had stolen earlier.
"Ben, you handle the Circus Freaks. I'll deal with Zombozo," Yukiko said.
"W-What!? But-"
"You're still unsure if you can fight him and I understand that. You'll have a much easier time dealing with these three. I know you can," She patted his head.
"Are you sure?" He asked, the scene from earlier replaying in his mind.
"I am," She answered. He nodded his head and began to dial through the watch. "And Ben…"
"Hm?"
"It's okay to be afraid."
"You're not afraid of anything," He responded.
She shook her head, thinking back to the summer that had forever changed her life. "A lot of things scare me, Ben. Those things sometimes keep me up at night to this day. That doesn't make me weak or you weak. You just have to push past those fears to protect what matters to you," Yukiko said.
"To protect…" He repeated, her words sticking into his mind.
"Yep, now go kick some butt," She pressed down the dial of the Omnitrix, illuminating the dark area in a green flash of light.
She watched as Upgrade slithered off to merge with a nearby baseball machine. Knowing that her cousin will be just fine, Yukiko glared at the main tent.
When she entered the tent, Yukiko was greeted by a wide array of trick mirrors. As she walked down the hallway, she could hear a dark laughter echoing around her.
"Heya, girlie! Nice to see you again!"
"Zombozo…" Yukiko growled.
"I didn't think I'd see you again, but it seems you just couldn't resist the circus!" He laughed.
Ignoring him, the heiress walked right into a mirror. "Ugh, stupid mirros," She winced. When she looked back into it, her reflection suddenly distorted into Zombozo.
"Come on, gorgeous! Show off that pretty little smile!" He suggested, sickly.
"How about you burn in hell?" Pointing her fan at the mirrors, Yukiko wasted no time at all. "Agidyne!" The room illuminated with a splash of red and orange, the flames melted everything around her in an instant. Yukiko stood amidst the flames as Zombozo's reflections all melted with the mirrors.
"Hey! That's not how the game is supposed to be played!" Zombozo yelled at her. Suddenly the world around her changed, and Yukiko found herself standing on a Spider-web.
"Aw, is the clown upset? Maybe, it's time for the closing act?" She pointed her fan down at the webs. "Agilao!"
Yukiko held down her dress as she fell down from the burning web, her feet touching solid ground. Looking around, Yukiko found herself standing inside of the big top. "No more illusions?"
"No point, when you'll just set everything on fire," Zombozo marched forward. The heiress scanned all over Zombozo's body, specifically the orbs that littered his suit. She could see the happiness from the townsfolk that he had mercilessly robbed.
But, what caught her attention the most was the sight of the figure on his top hat. She could see Gwen shriveled up and laughing as all of her happiness was being sucked away.
"Bastard…" She growled.
Zombozo raised his hand. "Ah ah ah. Don't-"
"Agidyne."
"GYAH!" He cried out as his body almost melted completely. The clown scrambled back from the enraged heiress, trying to regain his breath.
"Don't-"
"Agidyne."
"KYUA!" He flew back, skidding across the ground. He sat up, glaring fiercely at Yukiko, any sense of playfulness gone. "THAT'S IT! No more Mr. Nice Zombozo!" He snapped his fingers and the tent lit up.
Yukiko saw the machine from before attach a weird cord into Zombozo's back. Suddenly, she felt a pull on her dress and was lifted into the air. "Any clown worth their floppy shoes would want to make people laugh! tHeN sUcK oUt ThEiR eNeRgY lIkE a SpOnGe In A pOoL pArTy!" His distorted face yelled, spitting all over her face.
"You're a freak!" She grunted.
"I know!" He sent a devastating punch into her face, knocking Yukiko back onto the ground. "As long as I have this attached to me! I'm the strongest clown in the world, Princess!"
"Give her back…"
"Hm?"
"Give Gwen back! Before I turn you into melted wax on the floor!" Yukiko growled, getting back to her feet.
"If you want her so badly, then look over there!" Zombozo pointed over at the side of the room. A spotlight illuminated a small skinny body, slightly twitching on the floor.
Yukiko rushed over to Gwen. "GWEN!" Before she could reach, Zombozo appeared in front of her.
"Ah ah ah. The show isn't over yet!"
"Move or die," Yukiko threatened.
Zombozo just grinned sadistically as he held up a finger. "That girl's life force is still connected with my machine there. Try anything, and I'll make sure she's a shriveled corpse!" He laughed watching Yukiko's face morph into an expression of fear. Pulling back his fist, he slammed into Yukiko's face again. Then again and again and again and again and agai-
"Hm?" He turned around to see that he fist was being held back by something. He tried to pull his fist once more, but it just wouldn't budge. "What the-"
POW!
Zombozo was sent sailing back into his machine, the clown groaning in pain from the sudden attack. "What was that!? Who did that!?" He stared down at Yukiko's fallen body. The heiress hadn't moved at all.
"You've gotten carried away, Chuckles."
Zombozo jumped back, surprised from the sudden voice. The clown glared at the direction of the voice, but he couldn't see anything.
POW!
Zombozo's face was rocketed back by the punch, skidding across the ground.
"I always thought that clowns were the scariest things ever."
"Grr...How about you show yourself, freak!? This is my act!" Zombozo roared, angry. Suddenly a grey ghost-like figure materialized in front of him, confusing the clown.
"Losing my family is more terrifying than anything you'll ever be."
Zombozo charged at Ghostfreak, just for the Ecotonurite to disappear from his vision once more.
"You're going down, clown."
A Ghostly fist met the big blue nose, Zombozo was sent flying into his Psyclown machine. Due to Zombozo's body smashing into the glass cases, the machine broke and exploded. It released all of the happiness that was stolen from Zombozo. The clown stuttered out of the machine, glaring at Ghostfreak. "I'm warning you to back off, Freak!" He yelled, ironically.
"You want to see something really funny?" Ghostfreak asked. The ectonurite pulled back its skin, revealing his true form to the evil clown.
The clown's eyes grew wide in fear, as he stared into the horrific sight that no man should ever see. He ran away into a corner of the tent, petrified for his very own life. Ghostfreak floated down towards the terrified clown.
"Aw, don't tell me you're afraid of little ol' GHOSTFREAK!"
"P-Please! No more!" Zombozo begged.
"Boo."
Zombozo exploded. No literally, the clown exploded into confetti.
"Okay, that even freaked me out," Ghostfreak said, as the watch began to beep. Ben turned back to normal and ran over to his cousins.
"Yukiko!" He shook her awake, noticing all of the bruising on her face.
"B-Ben? What happened? Where's Zombozo?" She asked.
"Him? Uh, not really sure. Kicked his butt, though," Ben shrugged.
Yukiko looked over at the pile of confetti on the floor. "I still couldn't keep them safe...Ben had to be the one to save the day…" She felt a sense of pride knowing that Ben faced his fear of clowns, but she couldn't overcome the sense of failure that was building up inside of her. "Let's go grab Gwen," She said.
The Rustbucket drove away from Zombozo's hideout as the Police arrested the circus freaks.
"You feeling okay, Grandpa?" Ben asked.
"Happy as a lark. Pretty clever. You scaring away your fear like that," He winked at Ben.
"Thanks," He smirked.
"BOO!" Gwen suddenly jumped up, trying to scare him.
"Oh, hi Gwen. Trying out some new make-up?" Ben smirked, no longer afraid.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Yukiko fell out of her seat laughing at Gwen's mask.
Gwen grumbled at both Ben and Yukiko. "Ugh! You're no fun anymore!" She threw away the mask. "And stop laughing!" She yelled at Yukiko.
Chapter End
NOTE: I was debating long and hard if I wanted Yukiko to beat Zombozo, but I decided not to do it. A lot of these episodes in season 1 are moments that Ben literally needs to grow as a person/Hero. Which is why I'll be doing a bit more with season 2, 3, and 4 because Ben will have gotten some of these lessons and morals down. Which will give me the space to take some creative liberties with them and to include things. This will also spread into AF/UA and Omniverse.
If you're wondering when exactly Ben went Ghostfreak, it was when Zombozo first started beating the shit out of Yukiko. The boy lost his temper and went in with the full intention of protecting his family.
Yukiko's self confidence has also taken a hit due to getting beat the way she did and having to leave the day saving up to Ben. We'll see how that affects her going forward.
Originally I wanted Yukiko and Ben to sit out the circus act, but I wanted you guys to see that Yukiko didn't find Zombozo funny. Amaterasu was also trying to warn Yukiko that the clown was dangerous due to him BORDERLINE stealing people's souls. Like, Zombozo is fucking terrifying. I did leave in the conversation between Ben and Yukiko, because she understands the concept of having fears and wanting to overcome them.
That's it for now, thanks for reading this chapter.