NOTE: I'M BACK! EXAMS ARE OVER AND I'M FREE!
Have you guys noticed that Yor Forger from SpyxFamily looks and acts similar to Yukiko Amagi? Because I have and nobody else is pointing it out and it pisses me off.
This last two-week break that I've taken has allowed me to think about this story and I how I want to handle it. Just know that a lot of the plans that I had originally have changed. I might tell you later down the line and I may not.
Enjoy and Review!
Chapter 29: The Ultimate Persona
"So, what do you think? Bet you've never tasted anything like that before?" Max asked, excitedly to his grandkids. The family of four sat at the table, each one eating Max's cooking.
"I've had Yukiko's cooking. I don't think anything on Earth even comes close to it," Gwen said between bites.
"Aw! Thank you, Gwen!" Yukiko took it as a compliment.
"It wasn't a compliment…"
Ben looked down at his bowl as he crunched the food. "What's the crunchy stuff?"
"Dung Beetles."
….
"BLEGH!" Ben and Gwen both spat out the food immediately. Yukiko grabbed a napkin and spat into it, not wanting to betray her own dignity by copying her cousins. Max was unbothered by their reactions.
"What? Too spicy? You'll get used to it," He said.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
All four were surprised by the loud beeping erupting within the Rustbucket. Suddenly a cabinet popped open above Ben and Gwen, descending a screen down between the two. "Hey!" They exclaimed after almost being hit.
The screen got up close to Max, showing him an image of a brown mask with golden handles. "No…" He muttered.
"Grandpa? What's wrong?" Yukiko asked. She glanced at the screen since she was right next to him.
"The Mask of Apuk." Max moved the screen around so that all three of them could see it. "It's the most powerful and destructive weapon ever created."
"And there goes another almost normal day…" Yukiko sighed.
The Rustbucket zoomed down the desert road. Inside of the RV, Max had the holographic map projecting to guide him. "The Mask of Apuk is the guide to the Sword of Ekchuah. The Plumbers searched for it for decades without any luck."
"Ekchuah? What kind of alien is that?" Ben asked.
"Not alien. Mayan." Max corrected. "Ekchuah was the Mayan God of War. His sword was rumored to level cities with just one swipe."
Ben smirked; hyped from the story. "Sounds like just the thing the most powerful 10-year-old boy should have-"
"This is no toy, Benjamin! Whoever controls the sword controls the destiny of mankind. And I will not let it fall into the wrong hands," Max cut off Ben's excitement.
"You could say the same thing about the Omnitrix. Minus the mankind part," Yukiko thought back to what Tetrax told them before.
"This is different from Ben. Which is why I want you kids to take this seriously. Understand?" He glanced at them.
The three glanced at one another slightly taken aback from Max's sudden commanding attitude.
The Tennysons arrived at the dig site where the Mask was located on the map. "I bet they're keeping it in the basement. Ben, you go alien and sneak in then open the side door for us," Max instructed.
"Sneak in?" Ben felt insulted at the idea. "Don't you mean break in?" He grinned, expecting his grandfather to play along.
However, unlike the last times, Max wasn't in the mood. "Ben! I don't have the time to explain to you how important it is for us to get the mask. Now can I count on you or not?" He stared his grandson in the eyes, unnerving the boy.
Ben flinched back slightly. "...You know you can, Grandpa…"
Once he was certain that Ben got the memo, Max got up from the driver's seat to enter the bathroom.
Once he was out of earshot, Ben turned to his cousins. "What's up with Grandpa? He's so…uh…intense?"
Yukiko placed a hand on her heart, Max's attitude reminding her of Yu's attitude during Nanako's dungeon. "Grandpa…"
Gwen, while also unnerved, tried to understand her grandfather. "Cut him some slack. He's trying to save the world."
"As if I haven't," Ben muttered. He activated the Omnitrix and dialed up Gray Matter. Once he transformed the tiny Galvan hopped out of the RV and snuck into the main building where the Mask was being kept.
With him gone the girls turned back to their grandfather. "I know Ben can be a major doofus, but don't you think you were a little-"
"You're just kids, I don't expect you to understand," Max cut her off. Gwen turned away, hurt from being talked down to.
Yukiko stepped up. "I do understand, Grandpa. My friends and I saved our entire town-"
"And if this sword ends up in the wrong hands, then the entire world is under threat, Yukiko. This matter is bigger than what you went through last year. Like I said, you don't understand." Max ended the argument.
Yukiko deflated a bit from the way Max had just disregarded all of the pain she and her friends had gone through. Within her own heart, the heiress could feel a small bubble of anger boiling.
Gray Matter crawled out of a small sewage pipe within a bathroom. A small piece of filth on his head. "Oh man! I should've just gone Cannonbolt and busted my way in-"
GRRRRR!
Gray Matter turned his head to see a guard dog growling at him, teeth barred and saliva dripping onto the floor. He backed away just to find another dog growling right behind him. "AAAAHHH!" He screamed as both made a jump for him.
Gray Matter leapt into the air, causing both dogs to headbutt each other. The little Galvan sprinted out of the bathroom, pulling the mop bucket that was holding the door open, and closing the dogs within. "Ha! Who's the big dog now!?" Gray Matter taunted. He hurried down the hall to open the basement entrance.
Max and his granddaughters stood behind the building, waiting for Ben. They heard the knob turned, alerting Max to open the hatch. Gray Matter flipped off the handle, standing proud.
"Good job Be-"
"About time!" Max cut off Yukiko, entering the basement.
Yukiko clenched her fist at the rude gesture. "Grandpa, aren't you going to thank Ben?"
"No time. Come on." He ushered his kids to follow.
Gray Matter looked upset at Max's disregard of his success. Yukiko picked Gray Matter up and placed him on her shoulder. The heiress sniffed the air, smelling something weird. She looked at Gray Matter. "Why do you smell like dog saliva?" She asked as the three followed after Max.
Gwen closed the hatch, not noticing the black car that pulled up behind them.
The Tennysons walked down the hallway, following after Max.
"Have you ever seen Grandpa this serious?" Gwen asked Gray Matter.
"I've never seen anyone this serious," He replied.
"I have…" Yukiko said. Her words didn't bring the two any comfort.
They entered a room with a large safe sitting in the back. "It has to be in here," Max said.
"I'm on it!" Gray Matter crawled up to the dial of the safe. Scrolling through combinations until he heard the right click and motion for Max to open the safe.
"Good job, Ben!" Both girls congratulated him.
Max opened the safe, revealing the Mask of Apuk. "Beautiful, isn't it?"
"Uh? Not exactly," Gray Matter disagreed.
The retired Plumber picked it up. "Over 40 years of searching. Now finally you're-"
"I thought you retired from the Plumbing business, Mr. Tennyson," Loud metallic footsteps were heard behind the Tennysons. "Or may I call you…Max."
The family turned around to see the Knights from before walking up to them. "It's Enoch and those Forever Knights guys who tried to slice and dice me!" Gray Matter exclaimed.
"How nice of you to remember. And of course, how could I forget the family who left the Forever Knights without a castle!" Enoch exclaimed.
Yukiko whipped out her fan, summoning her Persona. "That's what you deserve for trying to turn my cousin into a science project!"
Enoch chuckled. "Aren't we feisty today? I'd love to chat about old times, but I'm late for holding the world at my mercy. So, I'll be taking that mask now."
Max gripped the mask tighter. "Over my dead body!"
Enoch wasn't bothered at all. "Excellent suggestion. Gentlemen?" Enoch motioned for his two lackeys to kill the family. Both knights pulled out swords, marching towards the Tennysons.
"Hey!" A security guard entered the room. "What's going on here?" He was enough of a distraction for Gray Matter to jump onto Enoch's face.
"RUN!" Gray Matter yelled. His family wasted no time in escaping the room, Max shoulder-checking the guard out of the way. Yukiko stayed behind to make sure Gray Matter could escape as well.
Enoch managed to pry Gray Matter off of his face, tossing the Galvan over to the desk in the room.
"MARAGI!"
Enoch and his knights were knocked back into the wall by Yukiko's fire, giving her ample time to grab Gray Matter, who was about to get shredded by a paper shredder. "Come on, Ben!"
"Yeah, yeah!" Gray Matter grumbled as Yukiko held him in her hands. The two ran away from the room to escape the building.
The knights gathered to their feet to give chase. "Wait!" The two turned around to see Enoch motioning for a different direction. "They aren't the ones for us to be chasing."
"Wrong way!" Max yelled as he and Gwen almost ran into a security guard. The two hurried for a different exit until a grappling hook snatched the mask away from Max.
Enoch stood with the mask in his hands, his two knights at his side. "Your loss is my gain!" Enoch laughed as he escaped with the mask.
Sadly, for Max he didn't have enough time to get it back, he grabbed Gwen's arm and pulled her forward. "Hold on!" The two had to hurry before the emergency gate blocked off their only exit. Luckily, they managed to slide underneath it before the gate closed.
BOOM!
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
FLASH!
Ben coughed as he and Yukiko ran through the smoke. "Did you have to make the explosion that big!?"
"I had to get us through the gate somehow!" Yukiko defended her actions.
"And you say I cause the property damage," Ben rolled his eyes. The two stood outside of the building as the Rustbucket pulled up in front of them.
"We don't have time to fool around, you two! Get in!" Max ordered.
Yukiko growled as she and Ben rushed into the RV. "You could at least be happy that we're safe…"
The Rustbucket chased after the Forever Knight's car at high speeds, Max had activated the boosters to make up for the lost time. Max pressed a button, turning the front bumper into a battering ram, and smashed right into the back of the knight's car.
Suddenly, a mechanical saw came out of the back of the car, cutting through the Rustbucket's battering ram. Max was forced to deactivate it to protect the RV.
Gwen and Yukiko got out of their seats to reach the front. "Come on! Wildmutt? Ripjaws?" Gwen looked at Ben. The boy's watch was still recharging.
"Maybe, I could blow up their car with an Agidyne? But that might destroy the mask," Yukiko sighed. Her grandfather wouldn't be happy if that mask got destroyed.
Max eyed his grandkids before coming to a decision. "This looks like a job for a Plumber." He pressed the button for the autopilot, but the system wouldn't work. He grew frustrated for a moment before remembering something. "Yukiko, take the wheel."
"WHAT!?" The heiress screamed.
"You can drive, can't you?"
"Yes! A motorbike, Grandpa!"
"Same difference," He got out of the driver's seat. Without his hands on the wheel, the Rustbucket began to swerve until Yukiko took the seat. Ben and Gwen casted worried looks at each other as their grandfather entered the bathroom.
"Guess when you gotta go, you gotta go," Ben said.
The knight's car pulled back behind the Rustbucket. Both of the regular knights climbed out of the car and jumped onto the RV as Enoch used the mask to find the sword's location.
Yukiko did her best to keep the RV steady as Ben tried to activate the watch. Gwen had pulled out the spell book, trying to find something that she could use.
Max stepped out of the bathroom, revealing himself to be wearing his old Plumber uniform. His kids turned to look at him (Yukiko was looking through the rearview mirror). "Uh, Grandpa? What's with the fashion statement?" Ben asked.
"It's my Plumber suit. Been saving it for the right time," Max pulled back the curtains to see the car pull off to the side of them. He opened the door, using his old suction cup magnets to attach himself to the roof of the car. Max was about to reach for the mask until Enoch almost pierced through him with his sword. The old man was forced to roll off the roof of the car to avoid getting impaled.
"Grandpa!" Gwen watched from the window. "We need to help him!"
THUMP! THUMP!
"We need to worry about ourselves right now! Grandpa can handle himself!" Yukiko shouted as the two knights entered the Rustbucket. The Knight tried to reach for Gwen, but the girl rolled between his legs.
Ben jumped out of his seat. "Hey, you want a fight! Try picking on someone your own size!"
The knight was more than happy to oblige, pulling out his sword and swinging it down at Ben. The boy ducked under the swing and Yukiko had to move her own body to avoid getting hit as well.
Keeping one hand on the wheel, Yukiko pulled out her fan and swung it hard.
WHACK!
The knight was knocked back away from the front seats. The knight regained his senses and tried to attack Yukiko, but a blue aura of energy held his blade back.
"GRGH!" Gwen grunted as she did her best to levitate the sword away, but the man's grip was proving to be an issue.
Noticing this, Yukiko tossed her fan back. "Ben!"
The boy caught the fan in his hand and opened it up, remembering the exact way Yukiko would use it and spun it through the air. The object collided with the knight's head, knocking him down once more. With him not fully conscious, Gwen used the rest of her effort to levitate the knight out of the Rustbucket and into the street.
"ALRIGHT!" Ben and Gwen celebrated their victory. Yukiko had a small smile of her own as she looked through the mirror.
CRASH!
A metallic mace smashed through the roof of the Rustbucket, reminding the three of them that there was another knight to look out for. Gwen reached for the fire extinguisher that was underneath the cabinet and sprayed the knight in his face. Causing him to fall off the Rustbucket and into the water below the bridge.
Meanwhile, Max was still doing his best to avoid getting impaled. When Enoch stuck his sword through the ceiling, Max attached one of his magnets to the blade; making it difficult for Enoch to remove it. While he was distracted Max grabbed the mask and reentered the Rustbucket.
"GOT IT!" He held it for his kids to see. He noticed the truck that was barreling straight for them. "Yukiko, move!"
The heiress happily obliged, hoping out of the seat for Max to take over driving again. "Hold on!" Max activated the boosters and swerved out of danger right before collision would have occurred. He then activated a trap, releasing multiple spiky objects that popped the knights' vehicle's tires.
As the Rustbucket drove far from the knights' car, it eventually began to break down from the overuse of the boosters, forcing the Tennysons to stop.
"This is a metric! I said I needed a half inch wrench!" Max tossed the tool back over to Gwen. He was currently doing maintenance on the Rustbucket.
Gwen rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Grumpa," She snarked. She looked over to see Ben messing around with the mask, when he placed it over his face the eyes began to glow green.
"Um…Grandpa!"
"Not now, Ben."
"Grandpa, I think you need to look at this," Yukiko stepped closer to Ben in case the thing decided to explode. Green light shot out of the eyes creating a projection of a Mayan temple.
Max slid from underneath the Rustbucket to examine the projection. "It's a map to the ancient Mayan temple of Ekchuah. We need to beat them to that temple!"
"How are we supposed to do that? The RV isn't exactly in the mood for driving," Gwen pointed out.
BEEP!
Everyone glanced down at the Omnitrix finally recharging. "But the watch is!" Ben grinned.
Stinkfly flew through the air, carrying Max in his arms with Gwen and Yukiko on his back. The bug struggled to carry them all through the air.
"Ben! Can't you go any faster!?" Max demanded.
"I-I'm sorry, Grandpa! I'm not used to flying with such a heavy load!"
"I'm heavy!?" Yukiko cried.
Gwen pinched the bridge of her nose. "That's not what he-"
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Everyone's faces darkened as the Omnitrix started to count down at the worst of times. "Oh, come on! We were so close too!"
FLASH!
"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"
The Tennysons climbed to their feet, groaning in pain from the rough landing. Luckily the tree they fell in managed to cushion the fall enough to not kill them.
Ben spat out the leaves that got in his mouth. "I have got to work on my emergency landings…"
The Tennysons walked through the forest, finally arriving at the Mayan temple. They hid behind the large bushes to see the Forever Knights had arrived before them. The group planted charges to blow a hole in the temple, however the structure was too durable to be blown up.
The Tennysons snuck around the knights to find a secret passageway to enter the temple. "There's always a secret entrance to these temples," Max said.
Ben gazed down at the mask attached to his grandfather's waist and took it. He held it up to his face and scanned the wall.
"Ben, what are you doing?" Max asked.
"If this thing showed us how to get this far, maybe it can show us how to get in." He walked up to a loose stone and pushed it in. Activating the entrance, allowing the Tennysons to finally enter the temple.
"The sword would be kept in the center of the temple on the lowest floor. There should be some stairs nearby," Max said.
"Stairs? Oh man, where are the express elevators when you really need one?" Ben complained. As they walked the light began to dwindle trapping them in darkness until Max suddenly lit a torch too close to Ben's head.
"Woah!" The boy flinched from the close contact of the heat, falling off the ledge of a broken bridge.
"BEN!" Yukiko screamed.
Max dropped the torch and made a grab for his grandson, managing to catch his leg. Gwen and Yukiko held onto Max's belt to keep him from falling off too. Mustering up enough strength to pull the large old man and boy back to safety. Yukiko wrapped Ben up in a tight hug, refusing to let the boy away from her proximity.
Max picked the torch back up, staring down at his grandson for a brief moment before focusing back on the goal. "That was a close one. We almost lost the mask."
The heiress almost snapped then and there. Completely flabbergasted that Max just disregarded the fact that his grandson almost died.
"Okay, can you say obsessed?" Gwen said, shocked.
"Once he gets that sword…he'll be himself again, right?" Ben and Gwen both turned to Yukiko for reassurance.
Yukiko did her best to quell their worries. "He will be. I'm sure of it." Though it felt as if she was saying it to herself more than them.
They followed Max down the wooden structure that led to the lower levels of the temple. "Stay sharp. The ancient Mayans were notorious for setting-"
SNAP!
Ben held a broken piece of wood in his hands. The wooden structure began to shake violently. "Booby Traps!?" Ben gasped. The Tennysons look up to see multiple large stones falling from the ceiling.
"RUN!" Max commanded and the kids didn't waste time in following the order. Doing their best to avoid certain death as they raced down the collapsing structure. Their pathway was destroyed, and another stone launched them down onto another part of the structure. The four of them quickly climbed to their feet and ran down the wooden steps as the stairs collapsed behind them.
Ben was trying to activate the Omnitrix. "Come on…! Somebody…! Anybody!" Multiple stones fell at once, destroying everything around them, leaving them on only one unstable wooden platform.
Max pulled his grandkids close, activating a grappling hook from his suit, and attached it to the stone wall. "Jump on!" They did so and he swung to safety…
…Or safety with a rough landing, since the grandkids landed face first into the stone floor. Max landed on his feet.
"Thanks, Grandpa-"
"Are you three coming? Or are you going to stand there all day?" Max rudely interrupted Gwen. Already continuing his way to the bottom.
"...no…"
"Hm?" Max turned around to see a pissed off Yukiko glaring at him. "Yukiko, what are you-"
"Shut up…!"
Ben and Gwen both shivered at the venomous tone that seeped through Yukiko's lips.
Max met her glare head-on. "What was that, young lady?"
Yukiko clenched her fist tighter. "I said, shut up!"
Max shook his head. "I don't have any time for your drama, Yukiko. We have a weapon to find-"
"Shut the hell up, Maxwell Tennyson!"
The silence that followed Yukiko's anger was deafening, even Max had looked shocked. Never seeing this amount of anger from Yukiko before.
Ben had seen this before when it was aimed directly at him. And it terrified him to his core.
Yukiko stomped forward, the air around them growing hotter each second. "I do not give a damn about this ultimate weapon of yours! What I do care about is the blatant disregard and negligence you've been showing us since this mask appeared!"
"Y-Yukiko-"
"First!" The stomp that followed quickly silenced Max. "You order Ben around as if he's some type of soldier, disregarded Gwen and I's feelings, disrespected Ben when he's the one who has been doing the heavy lifting this entire time, and then completely ignore the fact that we almost died as if it didn't matter; as long as you got your precious sword!" Yukiko shouted as she stepped closer to Max. Glaring directly into his eyes, freezing the old Plumber in his spot.
"What's more important!? Us or this stupid weapon!?" Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as shouted those words.
Max found himself lost within Yukiko's eyes as her words triggered a memory from his past.
"What kind of father favors his work more than his own kids?"
"Yukiko…I…" Max tried to find the right words to say. But something prevented him from doing so.
CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!
Max and Yukiko turned to see Enoch walking forward, clapping his hands as if he just watched some drama play. "Good show, good show! Jolly good show! May I ask for an anchor?"
"Enoch!" Yukiko and Max stepped forward, but Enoch held out a hand.
"Ah ah ah. I wouldn't do anything if I were you two. Wouldn't want anything bad to happen to the kids now would we?" Enoch snapped his fingers and two knights walked forward. Within their grasps were Ben and Gwen, who were being held back with swords to their throats.
"Hand over the mask or the brats die. Your choice, Maxwell," Enoch said.
"Do you think this is a game!?" Yukiko growled.
"Yes, and I win." Enoch grinned underneath his mask.
Max stared at the terrified faces of his youngest grandkids, then looked at Yukiko's troubled expression. Knowing the heiress wanted nothing more than to save the two immediately. He knew what he had to do.
Max tossed the mask over to Enoch.
"Grandpa!?" Ben and Gwen gasped. Yukiko gasped as well.
"Let my grandkids go, Enoch!" Max ordered.
"Oh, I will. But first," Enoch snapped his fingers and two more knights appeared from behind Yukiko and Max. Restraining the two before they could even attempt to fight back.
"This wasn't the deal, Enoch!" Max growled.
"When did I say that I was going to keep mine? Bring them with us," Enoch ordered as he and his knights descended the stairs. The captured Tennysons have no choice but to follow.
Enoch turned his head to Max. "I really must thank you, Maxwell. Without you bringing the mask, we wouldn't have been able to get inside the great chamber." Enoch and the others stopped once they arrived at the chamber.
"Now, I believe it's time to toss the garbage!" Enoch declared.
The Tennysons were now being held at sword point in front of a giant pit. Max had been stripped of all his weapons as well.
"Legends has it that the eternal pit of despair is bottomless. Let's find out…" Enoch took great pleasure walking up to Ben and shoving him down the pit.
"GUAH! AHHHHHH!" Ben screamed as he fell to his death.
"BEN!" The three screamed as they could only watch him fall.
"Wouldn't want the lad to get lonely, wouldn't we?" Enoch commanded his guards to attack. Three of the knights kicked the last remaining Tennysons to their doom.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!"
Enoch watched them all fall with a satisfied smile. "This is what happens when you cross the Forever Knights. Come on, now." He turned around to the chamber's entrance. "Destiny awaits us."
Ben spun through the air as he fell down the pit, he managed to get his balance to activate the watch. He dialed up Four Arms and slammed down the dial. The Tetramand gripped the wall, stopping his descent.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Four Arms looked up to see the rest of his family falling after him. Using his arms, he managed to catch all three of them. Yukiko and Gwen were swung up to ride on his shoulders. "I am so going to band camp next summer!" Gwen whined.
"Oh! What kind of band?" Yukiko asked.
"Hopefully, the not alien kind," Gwen answered as Four Arms began to climb back up the pit.
They arrived back at the top, Four Arms released Max, allowing him to grab his weapons. Four Arms looked at Gwen, noticing her exhaustion. "Grandpa, I think Gwen needs a second to catch a breath.
Max turned around and stared at Gwen's exhausted face. Then he thought back to Yukiko's rant from earlier, noticing how the heiress was staring down at him with judgmental eyes. As if she was testing him.
Four Arms glared at his grandfather, shocked that he was still struggling with this. "Grandpa! What's more important? That weapon or us!?"
Before Max could answer him, a loud roar erupted from the chamber. The Tennysons rushed towards the chamber to see what was happening. They stood behind the chamber doors to see the Forever Knights getting tossed around by a large gray creature in Mayan clothing.
"What is that thing!?" Yukiko gasped, reminded of a Shadow.
"It must be Ah Puch. The Mayan god of death and the underworld. He's the guardian of the Sword of Ekchuah," Max explained.
"Why can't these places ever be protected by…like the guardian of cheerfulness!? Is that too much to ask!?" Gwen complained.
"Looks like he's pounding the bad guys for us," Four Arms said.
"Ben, keep him occupied while we get the sword!" Max instructed as he and the girls ran for the shrine.
Ah Puch smacked another knight away then crawled over to see Max and the girls climbing the shrine. He was going to stop them until Four Arms called him out.
"Yo! Rat Puke! Come and get some!" Four Arms challenged. Ah Puch was more than willing to accept the challenge as he tackled Four Arms into the wall. The two began to brawl with Ah Puch overpowering Four Arms.
Meanwhile, Max tried to use his grappling hook to get the sword, but Enoch cut the line. Max kicked the knight away before he could try to use his blade again.
Another knight tried to cut them off from reaching the sword, but Yukiko reacted faster. "Agidyne!" The massive fireball sent the knight flying off the shrine.
Enoch climbed to his feet and tossed lasso at the girls, wrapping them up, and preventing both of them from using any spells. The girls rolled down the steps of the shrine as another knight quickly approached with his blade ready to pierce them both. "GRANDPA!"
Max was just about to reach the sword as his granddaughters cried for help. Turning around he found them both about to be killed and realized something important. Activating his rocket boots, Max flew towards the knight. "Keep your hands away from my granddaughters!" Max tackled the knight down the shrine stairs. The blade landed right in front of Gwen.
Max then planted his feet onto the knight's chest and boosted himself back towards his granddaughters. Using a pocketknife to set them free.
The knight from before tried to reach them but Max launched several grenades at the knight, sending him flying.
"That was so cool, Grandpa!" Gwen cheered.
Yukiko smiled proudly at Max. "I'm glad you figured it out, Grandpa."
"I have you kids to thank for that. Now let's hurry!" Max grinned.
"Yeah!" Max and the girls raced back up the steps. When they reached the sword, Enoch had tossed his shield at Max, knocking him back down into his granddaughters.
Meanwhile, Four Arms was getting his ass kicked by Ah Puch. The god of death was pounding the life out of the Tetramand.
While that was happening, Yukiko blocked a strike from Enoch's sword with her fan. Max punched the knight away from his granddaughter, but Enoch rebounded and smacked the Plumber away with the hilt of his sword.
Behind them Gwen was flipping through the pages of her book and found something useful. "Here goes nothing! Emocha Objectia!" However, instead of the desired effect, Gwen felt herself being levitated into the air. "EEEKKK!" She squealed as she was sent flying into Yukiko. Both girls tumbled down the steps of the shrine, leaving Max to fend for himself.
Enoch smiled at his opportunity and lifted up his blade to pierce Max through his back.
Four Arms saw this and found a new boost in energy. "NO!" He uppercutted Ah Puch and then nailed the god with all four of his fists. Sending the god of death spiraling into the shrine.
The vibrations from the impact stopped Enoch from killing Max and knocked Max off the altar. Four Arms was shocked at how he managed to do that. "I…uh…meant to do that!" He lied as the watch timed out. "Not good!"
Max tried to race back up the stairs to get the sword.
"Grandpa!"
He turned around to see Ah Puch was back on his feet and approaching his grandkids. Yukiko was doing her best to fend him off with her spells, but the heiress' fire wasn't doing anything to the god.
Max once again knew what he had to do. The old Plumber jumped onto Ah Puch's back. "How about you ground old beak face?"
His grandkids ran behind Ah Puch and pushed him down off the shrine. Max jumped off his back right as Yukiko crushed her tarot card. "MARAGIDYNE!"
Ah Puch was slammed in the back by a multitude of boulder sized fireballs. Burns sizzled against the god's back as he laid still on the ground.
They would've celebrated if it wasn't for Enoch finally obtaining his goal. "Enoch!"
"At last!" Enoch pulled the blade from the altar. "The ultimate weapon! The world shall kneel before me!" He held the blade into the air…until it crumbled to dust within his grasp.
Everyone stared at the broken sword in confusion. "Woah! What happened?" Ben asked.
"Snrk! Pfft!"
The kids perked up and turned to Yukiko, but it wasn't her who was laughing. Turning around the three saw Max clutching his sides as he laughed loudly. "Guess, that's what happens when your ultimate weapon is 5000 years old!" Max laughed at the irony.
Enoch tried to salvage the dust of the sword as the temple began to crumble. "Do you think that sword was booby trapped!?" Gwen asked. The Tennysons ran for their lives to escape the temple.
Max turned around to Enoch. "Enoch! Get out of here!"
But the knight wouldn't listen, he was still trying to gather dust.
Yukiko pulled her grandfather back. "We need to move, Grandpa!" He nodded his head and the Tennysons escaped from the temple.
Leaving both Enoch and Ah Puch to their fates.
Max and his grandkids watched as the rest of the temple crumbled to dust. He released a breath as the realization of his decade long quest finally came to an end. He looked down at his grandkids. "I'm sorry, kids. I shouldn't have let this quest control me so much. You guys didn't deserve to be at the end of my anger."
"It's okay, Grandpa," Gwen forgave him.
"Yeah, we all have our moments," Ben said.
"As long as we learn and grow from our mistakes. Then, everything will turn out fine in the end. At least, that's what Yu-kun taught me," Yukiko giggled.
Max smiled; feeling lucky to have grandkids such as these. This adventure had reminded him of the mistakes he had made in the past, helping him see that even at his age there was still room to grow.
There was still time to fix the mistakes that he had made.
But for now, he can focus on the three in front of him.
"So, how about that dung beetle stew? It's even better reheated, ya know!" He grinned. The reminder of his stew brought forth bouts of laughter from all of them.
Chapter End
NOTE: Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. This is another instance where I hope Yukiko's rant was understandable. It was meant to mirror the one she had with Ben back in Kevin 11.
Gwen used some magic here and just like in the show, it backfired on her. Always funny to watch.
I didn't really cover Ben's fight with Ah Puch, because Ben was getting his ass kicked that entire time. Like, Ah Puch was decimating him.
There was a small little reference to an incident Max had with his sons back in the past.
Next Chapter - Grudge Match