NOTE: We're back with the long-awaited Grudge Match! This chapter was a bit of a menace to figure out, but I'm pretty satisfied with the conclusion of it.
Hopefully you guys like it too.
Review and Enjoy!
Chapter 30: A Persona's Grudge
"GUAH!" Diamondhead flew into the windmill.
Marching towards him was none other than the mutated Kevin Levin. "You are one sorry sight, rockhead!"
"That's Diamondhead! And we were having a pretty nice day until you decided to show your ugly mug again!" Diamondhead growled.
Kevin cracked his knuckles. "It's payback time for turning me into this, Tennyson!"
"You were always a freak, Kevin! It's just now the ugly is only on the outside!" Diamondhead fired back.
Kevin's hatred grew as he continued to be called a freak. "Diss me all you want, but I'm 10 times better than you! I got all your powers plus my own! I'm Kevin 11!" Kevin fired off crystal shards at the Petrosapien.
Diamondhead caught one of the shards as the others broke on contact with his body. "Too bad each one of those is only a tenth as powerful as mine!" He crushed the shard in his hand and approached Kevin slowly.
Kevin opened his mouth, firing off Stinkfly goop from his throat. The slime made contact with Diamondhead's face, blinding him.
"Ew! Gwen and Yukiko were right. This stuff is gross…" He tried to pry off.
Kevin charged towards Diamondhead, prepared to tackle him until a wall of fire blocked off his path. Snarling at the interference, Kevin turned around to see both Yukiko and Gwen standing outside of the overturned RV. "You keep getting in the way!"
"And you keep breathing…!" Yukiko hissed. She pointed her fan at Kevin, glancing down at Gwen. "Gwen, you stay back here while we handle this."
"What!?" Gwen gasped. "B-but I can help you guys this time!" Gwen held up her spell book.
Yukiko didn't feel like arguing at the moment. "Kevin is too dangerous for you to get anywhere near and you're still trying to figure out how to use that book. Stay put!" Yukiko ordered before charging towards Kevin.
Gwen frowned at being seen as a liability, the girl wanted payback against Kevin for kidnapping her last time. This time she wouldn't be seen as useless.
Kevin raised his crystal arm. "Come on, princess! You've been a nuisance since New York!" He fired off more shots.
"Then the feelings are mutual! Maragi!" Yukiko unleashed small fireballs to destroy the crystal shards. Kevin tried to jump at her, but something grabbed his tail. Turning his head, he found Diamondhead holding him back.
"Where do you think you're going!?" Diamondhead began swinging Kevin around by his tail. The Petrosapien released the appendage, sending Kevin flying into a windmill. Both the mutant and the windmill fell to the ground with a loud crash.
Diamondhead glared at Yukiko. "I can handle this! You don't need to get involved!"
Yukiko shook her head. "You had your fight with Kevin back in San Francisco, Ben! This time I'm not going to let you fight by yourself!"
"Kevin is still my problem! My powers and my issue!"
"It's all of our issue!"
"Bet your ass I am!"
"Huh-"
BAM!
"GYAH!" Diamondhead had little time to react as Kevin smashed one of the propellers on top of him. The mutant shot green goop at Yukiko's feet, trapping the heiress in her spot. Raising his crystal fist at the heiress and launching several more shards before she could process what happened.
However, much to his disappointment the shards never made it to Yukiko's body. Each one was covered in a blue mist of energy before being flipped around and aimed back at him. Kevin used his arms to block each oncoming shard. "What the hell!? Who did that!?"
"Me!"
Kevin looked down to see Gwen running into the field and grinned happily. "Look who decided to show her annoying little head. It's the smart mouth! Now we just need the old man, and we'd have the whole family!"
Gwen clicked her tongue. "I'm not weak like I was before! You inconsiderate jerk!" She opened up her spell book. "Emocha Objectia!"
BANG!
BANG!
CRASH!
Diamondhead suddenly flew out from underneath the propeller, covered in blue energy. He was sent flying directly into both of the girls, sending all three Tennysons rolling across the ground. Gwen groaned in pain from the impact. "Oops…"
"HAHAHAHA! This is a riot! I might actually miss this once you're all gone!" Kevin marched forward.
The Tennysons quickly climbed to their feet, mildly embarrassed by what had just happened. Diamondhead glared at Kevin. "I think you got it wrong, Kevin! The only one going bye bye here is you!" Diamondhead charged at Kevin.
"Ben, wait!" Yukiko rushed in.
"You're not leaving me behind!" Gwen followed through.
Kevin and Diamondhead were about to clash fists just as a bright red beam of light engulfed the both of them along with Yukiko and Gwen. Leaving nothing but a large scorch mark in the middle of the grassy field.
Max, who had climbed out of the RV, had seen each one of them vanish before he could do anything. "KIDS!"
"Kya!" Yukiko landed on her rear from the sudden teleportation. She tried to locate where she was, but everything around her was completely dark. "Where am I?"
"WELCOMING ONE OF OUR NEWEST CHALLENGERS FROM PLANET EARTH!"
"Newest challengers?" Yukiko repeated as the world around her was now illuminated. The heiress gasped as she realized she was standing in some sort of arena. Rows of aliens staring down at her, cheering loudly. "What's going on!?"
VROOOOM!
Turning around, Yukiko saw a dark green object rolling towards her. It stopped right in front of her, before unfolding into a large robot with equally large knives. The heiress' eyes widened once she realized what was about to happen.
Yukiko jumped away from the blade that came crashing down, it tried to slice her with its other hand, but she ducked down in time. Whipping out her fan, Yukiko summoned her tarot card. "Agidyne!" She bellowed out.
The large fireball knocked the robot away, damaging it with burn marks. The machine was undeterred, spinning its blades rapidly like a saw. Yukiko launched several more fireballs, only for them to be sliced in half by the robot.
"Great…" Yukiko growled. She had to move again to prevent herself from being sliced in half by the machine.
Within a bright red room were multiple screens showcasing four different battles. One of the screens showcased Diamondhead battling the same robot as Yukiko, another showed Kevin tearing apart a similar robot, the third had Yukiko being seen burning off the robot's limbs, and the final one was the most interesting one.
A young girl with orange hair with glowing blue hands stared down at the broken robot at her feet. Completely baffled by how she had managed to defeat the machine in the first place.
"Two humans…no…three humans," The mastermind corrected himself once he saw Diamondhead turn back into Ben. "And a mutant with a sadistic streak…a true gladiator. Yes…yes this will work…!"
Yukiko summoned Sumeo-Okami and used her sword to block the spinning blade from hitting her. "Enough of this!" Yukiko closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to focus all of her energy. Her eyes snapped open instantly once she felt the energy in her body peak. "AGIDYNE!"
The explosion of fire was strong enough to send the robot flying into the opposite wall, it exploded on contact in a brilliant glow of red and orange.
Yukiko fanned herself off as the audience around her cheered loudly for her victory over the robot. She ignored them to focus on the more important matter. "Where am I? And where are Ben and Gwen?"
Back inside of the room the mastermind nodded his head. "Yes, a resourceful human." He said as he stared at Ben's screen. Then turned his gaze to both Yukiko and Gwen. "Then the wildcards with extraordinary abilities not seen before."
"Yes, I will make quite the profit…"
Suddenly, the walls around her began to descend allowing Yukiko to see the rest of the gladiatorial stadium. She gasped loudly when she saw both of her cousins standing over the destroyed wreckage of robots. "BEN! GWEN!"
Both kids finally noticed one another and Yukiko. "YUKIKO!" Both started to make their way over to her, happy to see that each other were alright.
"TENNYSON!"
All three stopped in their tracks when they noticed Kevin standing in front of a large flaming wreckage, which they could only assume was also a gladiatorial robot. The mutant stepped forward before taking a leap at Ben.
"What's up with sending me to this freaky place!?" Kevin attempted to smash Ben with his larger arms, but the boy rolled out the way in time.
Yukiko and Gwen sprinted forward, standing ready close to Ben. "I had nothing to do with this!" Ben defended himself.
"As if, Tennyson! Everything is always your fault!" Kevin raised his fist.
"Don't try it, Kevin!" Yukiko warned.
"I'm going to shut you up once and for-" Kevin couldn't finish his threat before he and the Tennysons were teleported once more by another flash of red light.
"...all!" Kevin missed his strike due to being put off balance.
The Tennysons scrambled away from him with Yukiko wrapping her arms around them protectively. Ben broke out of her hold to attempt to look threatening against Kevin.
Gwen glanced around their new location. "I don't know about you guys, but I don't like whatever is going on…!"
"Just stay close to me, Gwen," Yukiko said as she attempted to pull Ben back towards them. It proved to be difficult with him constantly fighting against her.
Kevin was ready to make his move until three robot guardsmen approached the four of them. They raised their staffs into the air. One of them brought the bottom of it down onto Ben's chest, knocking the boy over.
"Ben!" The girls cried. They weren't given much time to fret or fight back when the bots turned on them and struck them in the chest as well. "Guh!" They grunted from the impact.
"What the…?" Ben glanced down at the little red marker that had been placed onto his chest. He saw that both Yukiko and Gwen also had one of their own.
"Hey, watch it!"
The Tennysons looked over to see Kevin had been struck by the guards as well. The mutant attempted to strike back, but the guard activated the markers, eliciting an electric shock that had both Ben and Kevin screaming in pain.
"Ben!" Yukiko helped the boy back up quickly, Gwen scurrying to his side as well. When the guards left the four of them alone in the chamber, the four of them took in their surroundings.
"Where are we?" Ben asked. He and the others all looked out the windows and all of the color drained from their faces.
They were inside of some sort of spaceship in the middle of space.
"This is not good…" Gwen blanched.
"What was your first clue, genius?" Kevin snarked. Gwen glared at him immediately, rising to her feet.
"At least I have a brain, you illiterate idiot!" Gwen growled.
"Say that again!" Kevin growled back.
Yukiko quickly got to her, placing a hand on both of their chests to stop them. "Quit it! We need to figure a way out of here," She said to Ben and Gwen. The heiress then turned to Kevin. "You can stay here for all I care."
"HEY!" Kevin glared at her, offended.
"I wouldn't try to escape if I were you guys."
The Tennysons and Kevin turned around, finding a whole group of inmates with markers like them. "Escaping here is impossible," One of the inmates said.
"We've all been taken from our native worlds and forced to fight for our lives for the entertainment of the galaxy," Another one explained.
"Y-you mean we're going to be stuck here forever!?" Yukiko gasped, horrified. Thoughts of never seeing her friends and family again crossed through her mind. The way that this place was being described as sounded like some sort of slave camp.
Kevin growled, furious at being held captive against his will. His eyes shifted down to the main cause of him being stuck here in the first place. "HRAH!" He grabbed Ben and held the boy against the wall, pointing a diamond blade at the boy's head. "This is all your fault!"
"Let him go, Kevin!" Yukiko shouted.
"How is any of this my fault!?" Ben exclaimed.
"I-I don't know! It just is!" Kevin defended his claim. Both boys growled at one another until their markers glowed, eliciting another round of shocks through their bodies. Kevin fell to the ground, while Yukiko caught Ben in her arms.
An alarm went off above them. "Mealtime!" An inmate announced. Suddenly multiple trays were extended from the wall. From the ceiling purple sacks released sludge onto the trays.
"What do we do?" Gwen asked.
"I guess we eat…?" Ben shrugged. Seeing as there was no other option available for them, the Tennysons (And Kevin) sat down with the other inmates. All three were disgusted by the steaming sludge in front of them.
Yukiko gagged. "Who could cook something like this?"
Gwen and Ben side eyed her before looking at one another. "This might be more edible than Mystery Food X," Gwen whispered.
"Yeah, but I ain't about to find out," Ben responded. He turned to an inmate next to him. "Is there anything else to eat?"
The alien shook his head. "Nope, but it's the only thing we got here. You should hurry up and eat before Technorg and Bisca demand their offering."
"Who's Technorg?" Kevin asked.
"And who's Bisca?" Gwen asked.
RUMBLE RUMBLE RUMBLE!
Everyone turned to see a titan of a man enter the chamber. He had orange skin, a massive prosthetic left arm with a spiked ball for a hand, and prosthetic legs that steamed.
The other figure next to him was a bit smaller in body mass and had a feminine figure. She possessed a cybernetic body with razor sharp blades on her elbows. Pink skin and short raven black hair.
All of the inmates bowed down in his presence. "The reigning champions. You would be wise to show them respect."
The two stalked forward, not even giving the bowing inmates attention. Yukiko quickly ushered her cousins to also kneel down to avoid a confrontation.
Technorg grabbed trays of sludge, downing the mess easily, while Bisca stayed behind him. Her eyes are actually eyeing both Gwen and Yukiko with a bit of interest. Though, it was due to her watching those two that she noticed Kevin sliding his tail underneath one of the trays next to the human boy.
Kevin sent the tray flying into Technorg's face, getting sludge all over him. Bisca had a small smile on her face. "This might be fun."
Kevin grinned maliciously, while the Tennysons sat there shocked. "Woah! Major disrespect, you gonna take that from him?" Kevin pointed directly at Ben.
Technorg grabbed the boy with his large fist.
"Ben!" Yukiko made a grab for him, but Technorg slapped her onto the ground. "Kya!"
Gwen scrambled to her feet. "W-wait! It wasn't Ben's fault! It was Kevin!" She pointed at the mutant.
Kevin played the victim. "Hey now! It wasn't my tray that spilled all over him, was it?"
Ben glared at Kevin before turning back to Technorg. "Look, maybe we could-GAH!" Ben was interrupted by steam ejecting out of Technorg's prosthetics, the titan sent the boy flying across the chamber.
Yukiko got back onto her feet, glaring at Technorg. She pulled out her fan to help defend her cousin until an extended sharp blade found its way around her neck. Yukiko gasped lightly before a metal finger was pressed against her lips. "Don't interrupt now. Things are just getting fun, sweetheart," Bisca warned. "The same thing for you, little missy," She had her other blade pointed at Gwen, who nodded her head quickly.
Ben grunted as he glared at Technorg. "You play rough? Then try picking on someone your own size!" Ben activated the watch and slapped down the dial, enveloping the room in green light.
Technorg was confused until two red fists sent him skating across the floor. He looked up to see Four Arms standing tall, ready to fight.
"Oh~! This human is full of surprises! Bring me the humans and the mutant!"
Red light appeared underneath the Tennysons and Kevin, transporting them into the main control room of the ship. They were confused until the guards forced the four of them onto their knees. "Hey!" Kevin grunted.
"Where are we now!?" Gwen cried.
In front of them was the mastermind's silhouette. "I am Slix Vigma! This is the Mega Cruiser, everything on this ship belongs to me. Including you," Slix explained.
Kevin chuckled darkly. "I don't belong to anyone, Slix! You bast-ARRRGH!" Kevin screamed as shocks coursed through him.
"I speak, you listen...!" Slix warned. "These eyes see everything on this ship and these hands control everything on this ship. And I have decided that your relationship will make you an entertaining team in the arena," Slix spoke to Ben and Kevin.
"Team!?" Four Arms exclaimed. Both he and Kevin looked down to see bonded cuffs latched onto their ankles.
Slix then turned his attention to the girls. "And you two possess abilities that I have yet to see in the grand void of space. You two will make matches very interesting indeed!" Bonded cuffs were then placed onto both Gwen and Yukiko.
"NO! I'm not going around being tied to this loser!" Kevin complained.
"You took the words right out of my mouth, Freakazoid!" Four Arms glared right back.
"Don't call me a frea-AAAAK!"
"AHHHH!"
Both mutant and Tetramand collapsed onto the ground in pain.
Yukiko had enough of seeing her cousin getting electrocuted. "If you don't stop it with the shocks I'm going to-" She was halted by Gwen clamping a hand over her mouth.
"I'm just as upset as you are, but I'd rather we also didn't get electrocuted…!" Gwen hissed.
Slix hummed; continuously intrigued. "Your fates are now linked. If one of you were to expire, then the shackles will ensure that the other does as well."
The girls paled considerably at the deadly info dumped onto them. "This really is like a slave camp…" Gwen muttered, scared.
"Now, your opponents await!" With that said both teams were teleported out of the main room.
Yukiko and Gwen found themselves standing inside of the arena once more. They got to their feet. "Ben!? Where are you!?" Yukiko screamed for him.
"He's probably in a different section of the arena!" Gwen exclaimed.
Yukiko nodded her head. "Yes, he and Kevin both are stuck fighting some match."
"Then who are we fighting exactly?" Gwen asked, nervously.
"Me."
Yukiko felt every danger sense in her body go off at once. She hastily grabbed Gwen and pulled the girl down to the floor just as an extremely long blade soared over them. The human girls looked over to see Bisca slowly making her way towards them, licking her lips.
"It's not every day that we get female competitors to join in. I hope you two cure my boredom a bit!" She raised her scythe-like blade into the air and brought it down.
The Tennyson girls rolled apart to dodge the blade, however that left the two vulnerable for Bisca to use her blade and hook their bonded cuffs. Grinning maliciously at what she had planned next. "Time for a ride, ladies!"
"Oh man!" Gwen cried as she was lifted into the air.
"Eeep!" Yukiko pressed her hands down against her skirt to keep it from flying up.
Bisca began to twirl them both through the air, much to the pleasure of the audience, who enjoyed watching the human girls get treated like fools. Bisca slipped her blade through the bindings of the cuffs, leaving the girls to fall through the air. Once Yukiko was within distance, Bisca lifted her leg and kicked the heiress in the stomach. Yukiko coughed up blood and saliva from the impact, her armor not protecting her enough from the blow.
Bisca then grabbed Gwen by her shirt, spun around, before tossing both girls across the arena floor. They struggled to get up from the floor as Bisca slowly approached them. "C'mon! I had hoped you girls would put up a better fight than that!"
Yukiko coughed, still reeling from the blow Bisca had dealt her. Lifting her fan, Yukiko smashed her tarot card. "Maragion!"
A legion of fireballs went soaring towards Bisca. The cyborg raised both her blades, slicing each ball of flames in half, leaving them to fly in opposite directions and explode instantly. She smirked until a larger legion of fireballs came crashing into her. Bisca cried out as she went flying back against the stadium wall.
The audience cheered louder from all of the violence taking place.
Yukiko used that chance to check on Gwen. "Gwen, are you okay!?"
Gwen was struggling to get up. "I-I'll be fine, but do you think that got her?"
Her question was answered by the extension of a silver blade that almost pierced through Yukiko's body had she not dodged in time. Only receiving a cut on the side of her white blouse. "No…I don't think that did it," Yukiko grimaced.
"W-What do we do!?" Gwen asked, worried.
"You need to help me, Gwen!" Yukiko answered.
"What!? B-but, I can't be of any help here!"
"You beat that robot from earlier, right?"
"By pure luck!"
Their conversation was halted when Bisca jumped into the air, blades ready to strike. "You two don't have any time to converse!"
"Maragidyne!" Yukiko fired off another powerful round of fireballs. Bisca was forced to block the fireballs or cut through them to avoid getting burned to a crisp.
Yukiko used this chance to run, pulling Gwen with her. "Gwen, we don't have time to second guess ourselves! If we don't work together, we'll die!"
"But you were right! I don't have full control of my magic yet! I've only screwed things up or got by on pure luck! It's like I haven't improved at all!" Gwen cried.
Yukiko felt a sense of Deja vu, remembering her first time fighting with her friends in the TV. When she wasn't as confident in her abilities to be of any use to the others, only seeing herself as a liability.
And that's exactly why she was the only one who could help with Gwen's self-confidence. "It's okay to screw things up, Gwen. I've messed up plenty of times in the TV world, so have my friends. Many times, we survived battles on pure luck when in all honesty we should've died." Memories of their close call in Rise's dungeon came to mind. "But even so, that's why we had to keep trying! Working as a team to make up for each other's weaknesses and improving ourselves is the only way to win! You have to believe in yourself, Gwen!"
Gwen's eyes widened from Yukiko's speech. Somehow Yukiko always knew what to say when the situation called for it. Clutching Yukiko's hand a bit tighter, a smile grew on Gwen's face. "...Okay! What's the plan!?"
Yukiko grinned. "We combine our power!"
When Bisca finally made it through the barrage of fireballs, she touched down onto the arena floor. "Where did you two go~" She searched for her prey.
"Over here, ya Terminator rip-off!"
Turning around, Bisca found Yukiko and Gwen standing tall, glaring at her. The heiress stood behind Gwen, hands clamped onto Gwen's shoulders, her body radiating a fiery red aura. The younger girl had her arms extended, palms glowing with blue energy.
Bisca shrugged. "Well, standing there definitely makes it easier for me to hit ya. Sorry, ladies, but I have a title to keep!" Bisca charged them with killing intent.
Yukiko and Gwen stood still, building up the necessary energy as Bisca was getting closer. Gwen took a deep breath to focus all of the energy entering her body at the center. The aura in her hands had changed into blue flames.
"Got ya!" Bisca exclaimed, right as she was about to reach them.
It was at that moment that both girls heard glass shattering inside of their heads, their combined energy reaching its breaking point. Their eyes snapped open, glowing blue and red respectively.
Bisca couldn't even react quick enough when her entire body was engulfed by blue flames.
"BLUE BURNING!"
"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Bisca cried out as she exploded into the wall. The cyborg groaned before collapsing to the ground, defeated.
"BEHOLD! OUR NEW CHAMPIONS!" The announcer declared.
Gwen and Yukiko were panting heavily from the amount of energy they used. "W-we did? We did it!" Gwen exclaimed, proudly.
Yukiko gave Gwen a head pat. "Yes, we did. All thanks to you, Gwen."
Gwen blushed under the praise. "Y-You don't have to say that. You did most of it…"
TZZZT! TZZZT!
"Hm?" Their celebration was short-lived when a projection of Slix appeared in front of them.
"Good, girls. Now finish her off!" He commanded.
"What!? No!" Both were horrified by the order. While Yukiko might go through with the action if it meant protecting her family, she wasn't going to kill someone for other's entertainment.
Slix seemed disappointed. "Oh well." His hologram disappeared.
"Wait! What happened with Ben!?" Yukiko cried out.
Her question was answered when the walls of the stadium were brought down to reveal Ben and Kevin being held by robot guards, and Technorg's body lying on the ground. "Yukiko! Gwen!" Ben cried out.
"BEN!" They tried to rush for him, but their marks shocked them. Leaving both to fall into the grasps of two more robot guards.
Slix hologram appeared once more, this time in a larger form. "Showing mercy? What an interesting concept. Prepare for Galactic hyperjump. I need to recruit some new blood worthy of our champions," Slix announced before disappearing.
"Hyperjump…?" Gwen questioned.
"I think it means we're about to lose our chance to get home," Ben grimaced.
The four were led back into the chamber, where all of the previous inmates were now bowing down to them after defeating the previous champions. Kevin soaked up all of the glory.
"Nice to finally get a little respect around here," He said.
"Maybe, you'd get a little more respect if you didn't act like a jerk all the time," Gwen snarked.
Kevin scoffed. "Shows what you know, smart mouth. I'm not a jerk. Everyone else is."
"View must be great from the glass house of yours…" Ben muttered.
"Kevin has a glass house?" Yukiko questioned.
"No, Yukiko. That's not what he meant," Gwen corrected.
"Is she always this dumb?" Kevin asked, receiving glares from the humans.
Their movement was halted when two familiar faces made themselves known. Both Bisca and Technorg approached the Tennysons and Kevin.
Kevin got into a fighting stance. "Good job letting them live, dipsticks!" He glared at the Tennysons.
Technorg kneeled down to Kevin and Ben, offering his tray.
Bisca also kneeled down to Gwen and Yukiko, before giving a flirtatious wink towards the heiress. Yukiko tilted her head, confused by the gesture.
"You bested then spared my life, now you are my master," Technorg said to Ben.
"You two surprised me in that fight, never have I experienced a passion burning that brightly before," Bisca said to the girls. Then she stared directly at Yukiko. "I wouldn't mind serving you~" She winked again.
Yukiko still didn't get it. "Oh, sorry. I don't like owning other people. That's wrong."
Bisca just chuckled. "Keep the innocence. It's cute."
Kevin's ego took a boost. "Actually, it was all my idea." He claimed. As he ate Technorg's offering.
"Please! You couldn't find your way out of a paper bag," Gwen rolled her eyes.
Kevin growled directly into her face. "Say that again!" She stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry in his face.
Ben was more focused on Technorg. "Thanks, but I don't want to be your master. I just want us to get back home to Earth."
Technorg glanced at the guards before talking again. "Even if you could free your collar and escape. This ship will soon be traveling through a new galaxy."
"There must be some way to get to the guards' collar control," Ben said.
"Sorry, sonny. We've all tried and none of us are powerful enough to beat them," Bisca sighed.
Yukiko giggled, placing her hands on Ben's shoulders. "Trust me, they've never had to deal with us before."
Ben smirked. "Yeah and when we work as a team nothing stands in our way."
"So, let's all work together to figure this out," Gwen turned her attention from Kevin.
"What's the plan?" Bisca asked.
Both alien gladiators were taken aback by the mischievous aura that the three Tennysons began to radiate brightly.
Ben sat next to the guards, head down on his knees. When he saw that the guards weren't paying attention, he winked over to Technorg. The gladiator tapped his knee to Gwen, who was next to him. Gwen kicked Kevin in his head, pissing the mutant off.
Kevin growled at her before initiating the plan. "Arrrgh! I can't take it anymore! I got to get off of this ship! NOW!" The mutant began firing off waves of fire and crystals all over the chamber and guards.
"Stop him! The lug's out of control!" Bisca yelled.
Technorg and the other inmates tackled Kevin to the ground. All of the commotion alerted the guards to activate the markers, that was until the markers short circuited. "The markers? They're disabled!"
Gray Matter crawled from underneath the robot's armor. "All it takes is a little short circuit and a little Gray Matter!"
"Get over yourself, short stuff! A monkey could've done what you did!" Kevin barked, jealous.
"Then why didn't you?" Gray Matter shot back.
Kevin growled before turning away from him. "Why did I have to be the one to start the riot?"
"Who else is better at causing untold amounts of chaos other than you?" Gwen answered.
Kevin smirked at her. "So, you finally see just how cool I am?"
"Pfft! Try being nicer for a change and I might just admit that," Gwen patted his arm before walking away. The mutant stared at her retreating form for a minute before puffing air through his nostrils. He needed something to relieve him of this stress, he glanced over at a robot guard.
"That'll do," He said.
FWOOOSH!
CHING!
Fire and blades mowed down the rest of the guards blocking their path. Yukiko and Bisca stood back-to-back.
"Heh, you're not so bad, princess~," Bisca smirked.
"Oh, thank you!" Yukiko took the compliment.
Gray Matter had taken control of the guards, he saw Kevin beating down on a defenseless guard. "Come on!"
Kevin grunted. "Tch, just when I started to have some fun!" He exclaimed before following everyone out of the chamber.
Kevin opened the entrance to the control room, finding it empty. The Tennysons pushed past him to enter inside. "The controls to the emergency escape pod should be somewhere." Gray Matter hoped down onto the floor.
"That Slix guy said he could control everything on the ship from here," Gray Matter said.
"Then where is he?" Gwen asked.
TZZT!
"Actually, that's not quite accurate," Multiple screens appeared in front of them with Slix on them. "What I said was that these hands control everything on this ship. Including them." More guards appeared to apprehend them. "And unlike you they have no issue finishing off their opponents."
"I told you. These eyes see everything and so will everybody else. But your demise will not be the opening act," Slix motioned down to the arena floor. "Theirs will."
All of the gladiators were recaptured and were about to be fed to an entire horde of hungry beasts.
The Tennysons and Kevin glared at Slix, prepared to stop him. "If we're going down…" Gray Matter began.
"Then we're going down fighting!" Kevin finished.
"Maragion!" Fire illuminated the dark room, balls of heat knocking each one of the guards back.
Kevin charged forward with Gray Matter on his shoulder, punching the guards' head clean off.
Gwen picked up the discarded staff from the dead robot and twirled it around. She brought it down onto another guard, slicing through its body. The two halves fell to the ground dead. "Hmph, not so tough now." Her taunting left her open for another guard to try and blast her.
"Gwen, watch it! Agilao!" Yukiko's fireball destroyed the staff in the guard's hand. Leaving it defenseless and for Kevin to smash its head.
More guards began shooting at them. "Toss me!" Gray Matter yelled.
Kevin grabbed the Galvin and tossed him at the guards. The tiny alien went inside the armor to take control of one of them. Using its spear to blast the last two dead. Gray Matter disabled the bot he was using before crawling out of it.
"Nice teamwork!" Gray Matter exclaimed.
"Yes! We all did very well!" Yukiko agreed.
"If you try to hug me, you're gonna get slugged," Kevin raised a fist.
"I thought you were nice?" Gwen raised an eyebrow.
"To everyone, but him!" Kevin replied.
The Omnitrix timed out, reverting Ben back to normal. Unfortunately more guards entered the room. "Time to bounce!" Kevin exclaimed. He turned to run away.
THUD!
"UGH!" Kevin grunted as Ben jumped onto his back. "What are you-"
THUD!
"HEY!?" He glared at Gwen, who had joined Ben. "I'm not a free ride-"
THUD!
"I'm going to kill you all...!" Kevin hissed as Yukiko happily sat on his shoulders.
"Just run, doofus!" Gwen hissed back. Kevin grunted as he approached the balcony. Below them both Technorg and Bisca had broken out of their restraints but were outnumbered by the guards. Slix was watching from his own hover carrier.
Kevin jumped off the balcony and onto Slix's carrier. He grabbed the mastermind and raised him over his head. "What do you think of this!?"
"Wait! We still need him to release the escape pod!" Ben yelled.
Kevin turned his head to Ben with hate filled eyes. "I am done listening to you!"
"Then listen to me!" Gwen slapped his chest.
The mutant almost did, but his desire for revenge was stronger. Kevin threw Slix down onto the arena's floor.
Slix stood up, seemingly unharmed. "This isn't a part of the s-s-s-s-s-show!" That was until he started to short circuit. "I c-c-c-c-command you! S-stop…stop…stop…" With Slix losing power all of the guards began to disable.
Seeing that Slix wasn't of flesh and blood, Ben smirked. "Wait a minute. Of course-WOAH!" Ben screamed as Kevin had jumped down to finish the job on Slix.
Yukiko and Gwen hurriedly followed after the two, rolling to soften their fall.
"Kevin, wait!"
They turned to see Kevin approaching Technorg. He was about to toss the robot over the ledge until Ben had transformed into Upgrade and fused with Slix.
"What!?" Kevin put him down.
"I said wait!" Upgrade yelled.
"How did you?"
"This guy doesn't just operate the control console! He IS the control console!" Upgrade discarded Slix's robe to reveal the robot's body.
The girls approached them. "No wonder he didn't need the control room. No matter where he was, he had unlimited control over everything," Gwen said.
"Yeah! And now I control everything on this ship!" Upgrade exclaimed.
"Goody goody to you. Just as long as I'm no longer tied to your ugly butt anymore!" Kevin tore off the cuffs and left them.
Gwen watched Kevin leave, with an odd feeling of disappointment. She didn't stew on the thoughts longer since they had to go. Upgrade disabled the cuffs on his cousins as the two climbed onto Slix's hover carrier.
"Technorg! I got you, ya big lug!"
Looking over the Tennysons saw Bisca trying to prevent Technorg from falling into the pit, however his large size was proving to be an issue for her. She couldn't keep hold any longer and both fell into the pit.
Until the Tennysons scooped them both up in time to save their lives. The five of them hovered in the air for a moment.
INITIATING INTERGALACTIC HYPERJUMP LAUNCH!
"BEN!" The girls yelled at him.
"Wait! I didn't do that!" He looked down at his hands, which were typing away at the control board. "And I can't override it!" Horrifyingly, Upgrade began to melt off of Slix's body.
"What's happening!?" Gwen cried, disgusted.
Slix's hand started tearing off Upgrade like an old piece of skin. "You don't have as much control over me as you thought!"
"Not on my watch!" Both Technorg and Bisca whacked Slix on the head, keeping Upgrade attached to him.
"We must get to the escape pods before we blast off to another galaxy!" Technorg warned. Upgrade nodded his head, activating the teleportation switch. Everyone on the arena floor teleported out of the arena.
Kevin was trying to bust open one of the escape pods, but his methods were ineffective. He turned around to see the Tennysons and gladiators teleport into the chamber. "Need a hand? Or six?" Upgrade uses his tentacles to activate all of the escape pods.
"Everyone! Now's your chance to be free! Go!" Yukiko yelled. All of the inmates wasted no time in getting into a pod to escape. The only ones who didn't were Bisca and Technorg.
"You guys need to go too!" Gwen yelled as the Tennysons ran up to them.
"Sorry, kids. I don't have a home to go back to," Bisca shrugged.
"And my place belongs with you," Technorg said to Ben.
"And I'm giving it back!" Upgrade shoved Technorg into the pod.
"You can find somewhere to be happy! Anywhere can be a home as long as you're free!" Yukiko pushed Bisca into the same pod as Technorg. "Go now!" The doors to the pod closed just as the watch began to time out.
Upgrade defused himself with Slix before he turned back into Ben. "Oh man! Not yet!"
Slix unleashed multiple appendages from his body, tentacles wrapped around Yukiko's and Gwen's necks, choking them. Slix grabbed Ben by his throat, furious. "You disgusting little humans! Nobody controls Slix Vigma! NOBOD-"
SHINK!
Kevin thrusted a diamond blade through Slix's body, killing the bot for good. The Tennysons were shocked by Kevin's actions.
"...Kevin…you saved us?" Ben gasped.
Gwen smiled, feeling oddly proud. "Heh, it seems you can be nice after all."
Kevin was silent for a moment, his face showing no emotion as Slix's body went limp in his hands. Yukiko found it odd that the usual angry mutant was just staring at them blankly. She began reaching into her sleeve for her fan.
"...Yeah, I've decided to be nice."
Gwen smiled. Even Ben looked a bit surprised.
"Nice enough to give you a front row seat!" Kevin grinned sadistically. He rushed forward to make a grab for Gwen.
Yukiko bolted up on her feet. "Agi-"
"Enough out of you!" Kevin barfed out a torrent of Stinkfly goop, sending Yukiko flying into the wall. Ben tried to stop him next, but Kevin did the same thing to Ben, sticking him to the wall.
"Kevin, stop this!" Gwen yelled as she was lifted into the air.
"I'm just using my brain. Isn't that what you wanted?" He laughed as he approached the stuck Ben.
Ben tried to activate the Omnitrix, but the watch was on cool down.
Kevin just laughed as everything began falling into place. "Your lapdog Technorg and bitch Bisca aren't here to help you! I'm finally going to finish you off, Tennyson! Paying you back for everything!"
Ben kept pressing the buttons to activate the watch.
"You can't keep blaming Ben for everything, Kevin! Wake up!" Yukiko yelled, struggling.
"You're right, instead I should thank him for teaching me how to use these powers!" Kevin sharpened his diamond arm.
"Kevin, this is mad! STOP!" Gwen struggled to break free from his grasp.
"After I've taken care of Tennyson. I'll go after the princess next, but I'll leave you alone, smart mouth. I've gained an interest in you. You keep things interesting!" Kevin explained. He pulled back his arm, ready to shove the blade through Ben's skull.
Yukiko growled, terrified and furious beyond belief. "I was right, Kevin. Everyone was right! You're nothing more than a freak!"
Freak.
Freak.
Freak.
Freak.
FREAK!
"DON'T CALL ME A FREAK!" Kevin instantly turned-on Yukiko, launching a dangerously sharp shard directly at Yukiko. The trajectory of the shard was aimed directly for her skull, Yukiko gasped as her life began to flash before her eyes.
"NO!" Ben and Gwen cried out.
Gwen's eyes illuminated with a blue glow as her anger skyrocketed instantly. Thrusting her hands forward a blue barrier appeared in front of Yukiko, protecting her from the diamond shard. Seeing that Yukiko was still alive, all of the anger left Gwen's body, and she passed out in Kevin's hands.
"WHAT!?" Kevin turned his anger onto Gwen. "You Tennysons keep getting in my-
FLASH!
"...way?" Kevin opened his eyes to see Ben staring him down with the nastiest glare he's ever seen. Not only that his nemesis was also using a form he had never seen before. "What the hell is this!?"
"Kevin. Meet Cannonbolt!" The Arburian Pelatora curled up and spun past Kevin. The mutant growled, tossing Gwen's unconscious body to the floor and shooting a blast of fire at Cannonbolt.
Cannonbolt bounced off the doors and went right for Kevin. The mutant managed to dodge in time but was unprepared for Cannonbolt to bounce off the wall and smash right into his back.
Kevin struggled back onto his feet, trying to punch Cannonbolt. "Hold still, creep-"
BASH!
"GAH!" Kevin staggered back from another blow.
BASH!
BASH!
BASH!
Cannonbolt was unrelenting as he struck Kevin over and over and over again. Spinning faster with each blow. Once Kevin went flying into the opposite wall, Cannonbolt opened himself back up and scooped up Gwen into his arms. He tore the slime off of Yukiko, grabbed her, and curled back into a ball.
Cannonbolt rushed into the last pod and released his cousins. "Good job, Ben!" Yukiko held Gwen's unconscious body.
"Thanks, but…how do we work this?" Cannonbolt gestured to the control panel. He started pressing buttons in hope that the pod would activate.
"TENNYSON!" Kevin roared, recovering quickly. He was tearing open the door to reach inside of the pod.
Cannonbolt and Yukiko could only stare horrified by Kevin's bloodlust. "I got you now-GUH!" A large orange hand gripped the back of Kevin's skull and tossed him aside.
"Technorg!?" Cannonbolt gasped.
Kevin attempted to get up again, but a smaller figure appeared to stop him. A large gash was cut across Kevin's chest, spurting out blood.
"Bisca!?" Yukiko gasped. "But why didn't you two escape!?"
"I told you. My life belongs to you," Technorg said.
"And I couldn't leave such a cutie to fend for herself~," Bisca winked.
"Heh. Looks like we're even," Cannonbolt smiled.
Technorg activated the pod, sending the Tennysons back down to Earth before the ship entered Hyperjump.
Kevin was left to fend for himself as both Bisca and Technorg approached him. "So, I'm a lapdog, am I?" Technorg lifted his mace.
"And I'm a bitch, huh?" Bisca hissed, licking her blades. Kevin backed away in fear as he was about to receive the beating of a lifetime.
The Mega Cruiser entered Hyperjump, heading to a new galaxy.
Max watched as a pod landed down in the grass field. He approached it with hesitation until the doors opened to reveal his grandkids stumbling out. Yukiko holding the unconscious Gwen. "Kids! What happened to Gwen!?"
"Ugh, long story." Ben groaned.
"Gwen, should be fine physically. Emotionally however…" Yukiko frowned.
"What about Kevin?" Max asked.
Ben shrugged. "Let's just say he's found some new people to play with."
Chapter End
NOTE: I hope you all enjoyed the additions made in this episode. Let's get to the discussion.
First of all, my adding of Gwen into the main events. Obviously, it was meant to give Yukiko a partner because I didn't want to just lock her in with Kevin and Ben. Which is why I went through the whole process of rearranging the episodes. Yukiko and Gwen also got to do a team attack which I was looking forward to doing the most. The inspiration for their attack "Blue Burning" comes from Yu-Gi-Oh. Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl have an attack called "Black Burning Magic". "Blue Burning" is a combination of Yukiko's fire magic and Gwen's magic energy.
Secondly, Gwen & Kevin. No, Gwen is not in love with him, though she did feel like he could be better. The more they argued the more she wanted to keep pushing the button to see what would happen. She hoped that he wasn't going to try and kill Ben again after all that they went through. Unlucky for her in the end.
Thirdly, Bisca. She was created for the sake of this chapter; I do not know if I want to bring her and Technorg back later on. We'll see depending on what I decide to do. She is not going to be paired with Yukiko. The main pairing of this story is still YuxYukiko. She's just flirtatious and has never seen someone as beautiful as Yukiko, remember Yukiko is described as a natural Japanese beauty. Yukiko not picking up the signals from Bisca is because Yukiko has a difficult time noticing when people are romantically interested in her. Took her too long to figure out her own feelings for Yu but can pick up signs if others are interested in each other.
Fourth, Kevin is still an ass. Back with a Vengeance is gonna be fun.
Next chapter is not an episode, but I think you guys will be pleasantly surprised.
Have a great day!