NOTE: This story is now 1-year-old and that makes me extremely happy. Thank you all for the support.
College starts back up next week, so updates will be slower depending on how I balance everything out.
Review and Enjoy!
Chapter 40: A Change of Persona
Yukiko was giggly with excitement as she, Max, and Gwen stood outside of a costume shop. The three of them were dressed as Pilgrims. When Max had told them that they'd be stopping by a costume shop to dress up, she had almost exploded in joy. She had finally gotten the chance to dress up the four of them in matching costumes. All they had to do now was wait for Ben and then she could start taking pictures.
Max knocked on the shop's door. "Enough of this, Ben. Get out here."
Gwen was getting sick of waiting for Ben and was about to open the door. Until Ben decided to swallow his pride and walk outside. He was dressed as a Pilgrim, but only from the waist up. He still had his regular pants and shoes on. Yukiko had wanted Ben to wear the full set, but she had gotten sick of him complaining so much. This was just the best compromise.
"I feel like a dweeb," Ben complained.
"That's because you are a dweeb. Now you're just a Pilgrim dweeb," Gwen said.
SNAP!
Ben and Gwen turned to Yukiko after seeing the bright flash from her camera. The heiress stared at them for a moment, before smiling nervously. "What? You both look so cute! I couldn't help myself."
Ben was already at his limit. "Okay, time to change-" He attempted to walk back into the shop but Max yanked him back by his collar.
"Nonsense. You can't visit Salem, Massachusetts without soaking up the local history." Max gently dropped Ben onto his feet.
Ben grumbled silently. "I doubt Yukiko even cares about the history. She just wants to take pictures of us."
SNAP!
Three pairs of eyes slowly made their way back to the heiress, who refused to meet their stares. "No…" She answered, hesitantly.
"She's lying." Gwen sighed.
"Just come on," Max motioned for his kids to follow.
The four explored the town, walking past a couple of tourist kids who were taking pictures of a statue. The two kids noticed the Tennysons' outfits and figured they'd be good amusement. The two surrounded Ben and started snapping photos of him, much to his annoyance. His annoyance tripled at Gwen's enjoyment.
SNAP!
Ben's glare now turned to Yukiko, who was joining the kids in taking pictures. The heiress stopped once he had noticed her. "Sorry!" She apologized quickly. Ben rolled his eyes, getting away from the kids with Yukiko.
"Grandpa! Can I please change now?" Ben requested again.
BOOM!
A large explosion downtown had changed any plans Ben had on changing his clothes. The Tennysons could hear the screams of fear coming from the tourists and residents of the town.
"Ben. You can go ahead and change now," Max gave permission.
Obviously, he meant a different kind of change. Ben was still all too excited to go through with it. "Yes!" Ben activated the Omnitrix and dialed up Stinkfly. "Goodbye zero and hello Hero!"
FLASH!
"It feels good to be cool again!" Stinkfly exclaimed. Though, he still had his Pilgrim hat on his head.
"Wait!" Yukiko quickly ran in front of Stinkfly and took one more picture.
"Really?" He groaned.
"Yes!" The heiress put her phone away and climbed onto his back. "Okay, now let's save the day!" Stinkfly would've rolled his eyes if he could. Flapping his wings, the bug and heiress took off into the skies.
From the rooftop of the burning building stood none other than Charmcaster. The witch smiled happily at the chaos she had ensued. "Ah~! I love being a witch."
OP: Ancient Romantic by P-Maru Sama
Ancient Romantic!
(U! Ha! U! Ha!)
(U! Ha! U! Ha!)
A rotating shot of the Omnitrix comes into view before latching onto Ben's wrist. He's seen standing with Yukiko, Gwen, and Max in front of the Rustbucket.
For a split second the landscape around them glitches out as purple lighting cracks the sky above.
The miracle of humankind that I met at once was a loss if neither Edison nor Watson knew (Loss!)
Ben stands on top of a broken spaceship, staring out at the clear blue sky above him.
Below him was Yukiko, who stood in the shadows of the ship. Her eyes transfixed on her tarot card.
Mr. N was surprised at such a situation since the earth was created (Unexpected!)
Gwen walked past the two, her eyes focused on her spell book. She shut the book instantly, her eyes glowing with blue mana.
Max stood in the back and in his hands was a broken picture frame.
The ancient civilization and the school playground that I ran yesterday are all connected.
The scenery changed to Inaba. Yukiko is seen running through the town with the rest of the Investigation Team.
SHATTER!
Yukiko was now running around with the Tennysons. Ben, happily leading the charge with the Omnitrix ready.
SHATTER!
Yukiko was now covering her face with her hands, her back turned to the audience. Ben stood in front of her back with a traumatized expression.
SHATTER!
Older versions of Ben, Yukiko, Gwen, and Max appeared. Each one had their backs facing the audience as if not wanting to face the truth.
The invitation to unravel the true nature of this romance is an initiation from ancient times.
Ben sat inside of a blue limousine. In front of him were both Igor and Maragret, the attendant holding a large blue book in her hands.
Sitting next to Ben was Yu, whose tarot card expanded into a blinding flash of light.
All members! Go in! Aye-aye!
Ben charged into battle first, slapping down the dial and transforming into Four Arms. Gwen came in next, hands glowing bright with mana. Yukiko summoned Sumeo-Okami, unleashing waves of fire. Max joined his grandkids, his own personal blaster ready to battle.
Let's dance in such an era! Dancing all right!
Yu appeared next with his sword drawn. Izanagi jumped out from behind him, his blade sparking with white electricity.
Naoto Shirogane dropped down in front of him with her gun pointed at the screen. Her Persona: Yamato-Takeru appeared next to her in a flash of light.
Rise Kujikawa descended downwards gracefully, with her eyes closed shut. Her Persona: Kanzeon had appeared behind Rise. Placing a red-colored headset over her user's eyes.
Rehabilitation! Introspection! I'll do it one after another! The past and the future are all mixed together!
An older version Four Arms charged in, clashing his fists against a more monstrous and older version of Vilgax.
Yukiko and Charmcaster stood side by side before a static shock hit them both, causing their eyes to swap colors.
Collapse! Situation! Hurry up!
A familiar looking creature appeared dressed in shadows, its purple eye glistening with malicious fury.
The feelings of hundreds of millions of years are romantic over!
Three new aliens appeared on the screen. A Frankenstien's monster, a werewolf, and a mummy all stood in front of a large satellite. Above them the sun transformed into a massive purple eyeball.
March! Send! Do in! Do in Love! There is one love in any era!
The Rustbucket was speeding towards the satellite with its boosters activated. The Tennysons inside were determined to stop whatever was about to happen.
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, you can see!
Chie, Yosuke, Kanji, Teddie, Nanako, Rise, and Naoto held each letter as they flashed across the screen.
H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, you caught!
For the last remaining letters were each held by Ben's aliens as they flashed across the screen.
Ancient Romantic!
Yukiko fell through the air, unable to stop herself. Ben reached for her as fast as he could, his hand only inches from her's.
(U! Ha! U! Ha!)
(U! Ha! U! Ha!)
Yukiko pulled out her fan, manipulating the raging flames to cool down enough for Stinkfly's goop to put them out. With the fire blocking the exit gone, the people inside were able to run out.
Charmcaster looked up, taking notice of the familiar family trying to save the day. She smirked as her plan started to fall in place. She just needed a bit more to make it land. Reaching into her bag, she pulled out some magic bombs.
The fire increased ten-fold after the chain of explosions she had unleashed. Stinkfly and Yukiko noticed it, prioritizing the larger approaching flames first.
"That's it…closer. Come into my parlor, said the spider to the Stinkfly," Charmcaster chuckled darkly.
The duo wasted no time in putting out the worst parts of the town fire. Stinkfly touched back down onto the sidewalk to measure how much was left. Yukiko jumped off his back, so she could snuff out the last few embers on the ground.
"Oh man!"
"What's wrong, Ben?" Yukiko turned back to her cousin.
Stinkfly was looking at his reflection in the glass window, finally noticing his Pilgrim hat was still on. "Great! Now I look like an alien dweeb!"
"I think even as a repulsive bug creature, you still look good with it," Yukiko complimented him.
"I feel like you didn't have to add that first part…" Stinkfly sweat dropped.
Yukiko was going to respond until a stray purple bolt struck her, knocking her away from Stinkfly. "Yukiko!" Stinkfly called out to her. He looked back to see Charmcaster standing in front of him, a cocky smirk present on her face.
The witch began casting a spell, a purple bubble surrounding her. Stinkfly was confused until Charmcaster shot out another bubble at him. The bug took off into the air to escape it, but the magic bubble was surprisingly too fast.
"AAGH!" Stinkfly cried as he was trapped. "I feel kinda weird…" There was nothing he could do as his bubble and Charmcaster's began to grow closer together.
Yukiko crawled back onto her knees, a bit dazed from the surprise attack. When she looked up, the heiress was surprised to see Charmcaster had returned. Even worse was that the witch had Ben trapped in some sort of bubble. "BEN!" Yukiko got to her feet, sprinting towards Stinkfly's bubble. The heiress attempted to push Stinkfly's bubble away from Charmcaster.
Charmcaster growled. "That attack should've knocked you out!" She was ready to blast Yukiko again, but something unexpected happened.
"EEEEKKK!"
Suddenly, Gwen came flying past Charmcaster on a horse carriage. The horse ended up turning suddenly, sending Gwen flying off of the and Stinkfly both gasped loudly as Gwen barreled straight towards them. The young girl crashed into Yukiko, knocking them both into the bubble, but in an attempt to stop them, Stinkfly tried to grab them. Gwen's momentum was too much and she ended up kicking Stinkfly in the face, pushing him out of the bubble, but before he flew out completely he had grabbed her ankle to pull her out with him.
Leaving Yukiko alone inside of the bubble, much to Charmcaster's horror. "No! Not you!" It was too late for her to cancel the spell and the two bubbles collided.
VROOM!
BOOM!
An explosion occurred from the collision, sending both teens flying out in the opposite directions. Both bodies were hot from the explosion, smoke rising from them.
Stinkfly groaned in pain after getting kicked in the face. "Ugh. I wonder what that was…" He turned around to see the out of control horse and flew off to stop it with Gwen in his arms.
Charmcaster slowly got up from the ground, blinking slowly. She looked over to the broken glass window and saw her reflection. "W-what!?" The witch jumped up in surprise. "Charmcaster!?" But something was off.
Like REALLY off.
Charmaster slowly crept up to the glass to see her reflection. Poking her face lightly, touching her hair, wiggling her fingers, even making funny faces.
From behind a corner, Yukiko peeked over to see Charmcaster. But that wasn't right…there was no way that… Yukiko's eyes shrunk in horror at the realization. The heiress promptly collapsed onto the ground to cry at her crappy luck.
Once she was done poking… her body? Charmcaster finally put the pieces together. "Wait! That's me! But that's Charmcaster! And I'm not Charmcaster! I would never wear an outfit this hideous! What's going on!?"
A horse's cries got her attention. She looked over to see Max, Gwen, and Stinkfly attempting to stop the runaway horse carriage. "Ben! Grandpa! Gwen!" Charmcaster shouted.
"Oh no, you don't! Not going to ruin my plans this time, bitch!" A purple aura surrounded Yukiko's body. She jumped into the air and landed in front of Charmcaster.
Charmcaster was shocked to see her own body, smiling evilly at her. "See ya!" Yukiko punched the witch in the face with enough force to send her flying into a tree.
Stinkfly turned back to normal. The Tennysons finally took notice of the teenagers behind them and hurried to Yukiko's side. "Yukiko, what's going on!?" Max asked.
Yukiko quickly thought of a lie. "I-It's Charmcaster! She must've been behind this whole thing!"
Charmcaster gasped, scrambling over to the Tennysons. "W-wait! Guys, it's-GUH!" Charmcaster was bashed into the concrete by Yukiko's fan.
Yukiko took a moment to admire the weapon. "Huh? No wonder she likes it so much." She turned to the Tennysons. "There! Problem solved." It amazed her that the Tennysons didn't look all that bothered by the act of physical violence. "Let's hurry up and call the police before she can utter some spell that could turn us all into weasels or something! No telling what could come out of her mouth!"
Yuki-caster was horrified as the police ushered her into the back of the police car. She couldn't even say anything due to the tape that had been placed over her mouth. The misplaced heiress couldn't believe she was being arrested for a crime she didn't commit and that the true perpetrator was currently walking away free.
With HER family right behind her.
"Okay, jailbird. Your new home sweet home is going to be juvenile maximum security." The policewoman shoved her inside the car.
"MGHMGHH!" Yuki-caster tried to scream. She watched in despair as Charm-kiko sauntered up to the window with a shit-eating grin on her face.
"Don't worry, Yukiko. I'll take care of your family…" Charm-kiko's eyes trailed down to the Omnitrix. "And that watch…"
Charm-kiko combed through Yukiko's wardrobe to find an outfit other than the Pilgrim costume she was currently wearing. The misplaced witch grumbled at the multitude of dresses that Yukiko owned. "What's with all the dresses and skirts? Does she not own any pants? Like, at all?" Charm-kiko pulled out a policewoman costume. "And why does she even have this?" The misplaced witch tossed the costume away. Eventually she found a suitable outfit to wear and retreated into the bathroom to change.
Standing in front of the mirror, Charm-kiko groaned. She currently wore one of Yukiko's black dresses with a red scarf tied around her neck. "Why does everything she owns look so tacky? Is it because she's Asian or she just lacks a sense of style? Seriously, this wardrobe could use some purple." Charm-kiko exited the restroom. Looking out the window, she found Ben and Gwen conversing outside. Smirking in anticipation, the witch prepared to put her best acting to use.
"Hello, my family! Beautiful day, isn't it?" Charm-kiko gave a wide smile. Both kids raised an eyebrow at her, slightly confused.
"Uh? Yeah…I guess," Gwen responded.
"What's with you anyway? You don't really like the heat." Ben noticed the way she was dressed.
"She shoots out fire and can't take the heat? Talk about pathetic!" Charm-kiko resisted the urge to laugh. "Oh, I just thought I'd try something a little different today! Anyways, Ben! I just wanted to ask you something!"
"What?"
"Once you've dialed up the alien you want, you just slam it back down, and you're ready to kick butt, right?" Charm-kiko asked.
The question confused the two 10-year-olds. "Uh, yeah. But you know that already. What gives anyway? You've been acting more like a weirdo than usual." Ben expected a slap to follow that comment, but there was no pink fan in sight.
Charm-kiko sweated a bit. "Oh, I'm just curious is all. It's not everyday that your own little cousin can turn into a big hulking alien whenever he wants."
Ben's suspicion didn't lessen. "No, you probably want me to do something! Like…read a book or something!"
"Reading would probably do you some good. Everyone knows your reading level is lower than a preschooler," Gwen smirked.
"Shut up, dweeb!" Ben hissed at Gwen. He turned his attention back to Charm-kiko. "There's no way you're ever going to get me to read one of your weird horror books!"
"But-"
"Lalalalala! Not listening!" Ben covered his ears to tune her own. Every time Charm-kiko attempted to get his attention, the boy just got louder. If it wasn't obvious already, then it would be good to know that Charmcaster wasn't good with kids. Pulling back her hand, the witch took a big swing.
SMACK!
"OW!" The force of the hit sent Ben crashing onto the wooden planks.
"Listen to me when I'm talking to you, brat!" Charm-kiko hissed, venomously.
"Hey! Cut it out!" Gwen pulled Cham-kiko back. The magical girl was used to Yukiko giving Ben a smack on the head, but those were meant to be light stings. What she had just watched Charm-kiko do was just plain violent.
"What gives!?" Ben cried out, pissed.
Max stepped out of the Rustbucket after hearing their shouts. "What's going on here!?"
"Yukiko's popped her lid, Grandpa!" Ben explained.
Charm-kiko realized that she needed to calm down unless she blew her chances. "Oh…uh, Ben's right. I shouldn't have hit him that hard or gotten so upset. Must be the heat getting to my head." Charm-kiko picked Ben up off the ground. "I'm sorry, Ben. Will you forgive me?"
The Tennysons stared at her for a moment. "...Sure. As long as you do my chores for the rest of the day."
"Sure! What are cousins for?" Charm-kiko's smile grew another three inches. "In fact! I'll cook up something special for dinner today!"
"NO-I-We mean…" Charm-kiko was caught off guard by the reactions of Ben and Gwen. "Y-you don't have to do that!" Gwen said.
"Nonsense. I'd be happy to!" Charm-kiko retreated into the Rustbucket. She didn't understand why the two had reacted that way, but if she wanted to keep up appearances, then she'll just have to whip up the best dinner they've ever had.
BUZZ!
"W-wait! I'm innocent!" Yuki-caster tried to explain as she was shoved into the detention center. The guard didn't bother listening to her and shut the door. "Please! You have the wrong person!"
"Yeah, that's what they all say." The guard responded.
Yuki-caster wallowed in despair. This couldn't be happening to her…it had to be a nightmare. The heiress took a seat at an empty table, walking past the other female criminals that were in the room. "Somehow I got trapped in Charmcaster's body, mistakenly arrested by the police, and now Charmcaster's doing who knows what with my body, living MY life! While I'm stuck in this disgusting evil body! And these pants feel uncomfortable!" Yuki-caster sighed loudly. What was she going to do now? How would her friends react to find out she wasn't her anymore? Would her parents even love her if there was no way to get her original body back?
She was all alone.
CRASH!
"Huh?" Yuki-caster heard the familiar noise of glass breaking. Looking down into her hands, she found her tarot card shining as brilliantly as always. A soft smile found its way to her lips. "Of course…you're still here with me, Sumeo-Okami." Then a realization popped into her head. "That's right! If Charmcaster can't use my Persona then Ben and the other should figure out that she's not me! It's perfect!" Yuki-caster's celebration didn't last long. Having never been in jail before, the heiress didn't expect what came next.
"What are you in for, princess?"
Yuki-caster looked up to see two punk girls walking up to her. "Wearing your Halloween costume in the summer?"
"Haha! Good one, pinky-"
"Shut up!" Pinky yelled at her partner. The two sauntered over to Yuki-caster, trying to look as intimidating as possible. "There are two rules here! Rule 1: I'm in charge, so what I say goes." Pinky patted Yuki-caster's face, confusing the heiress.
"Wait. You said there were two rules. So, what's the second one?"
"Obey rule 1 or else." Missy cracked her knuckles. Their intimidation tactic would've worked if it was anyone other than Yukiko.
"Oh. Well, my name is Yuki-I mean-Charmcaster. I hope we all get along!" Yuki-caster held out her hand for a handshake. Both punks just stared at the heiress blankly, usually the intimidation factor works immediately.
"I-Is she dumb?" They both thought.
Charm-kiko placed a bag of ingredients onto the back of an open truck for the moment, since it got too heavy. She and the Tennysons were at a fisherman's market to gather ingredients for 'dinner'. Max scratched his head, staring down at the list. "Wow. Judging from this list of ingredients, whatever you're cooking up is going to be very exotic."
"Her cooking can already be classified as exotic," Gwen mumbled.
"Sea urchin eggs? What do I look like? Mr. Seafood gourmet?" The vendor laughed at Charm-kiko. "What you see is what I got, girlie."
Not taking too kindly to being insulted, Charm-kiko discreetly used magic to levitate the dead squids at the vendor's face. She took joy out of watching him struggle. "Interesting. Bad things can happen to you when you're not nice!" Ben and Max went to help the vendor, while Gwen watched Charm-kiko with a hint of suspicion.
Behind them, two punks stole the vendor's truck, which had Charm-kiko's bag still inside of it. Ben and Max got the squids off the vendor's face just as the truck took off. "Hey! That's my truck!" The vendor tried to chase after it.
Charm-kiko growled. "My ingredients!"
Ben smirked. "Looks like a job for XLR8!" He ducked down behind some crates to transform. Unfortunately, for him he didn't get exactly what he wanted.
"Diamondhead? Man, I have a need for speed!" Diamondhead complained.
Charm-kiko turned to the left and saw two electrical scooters parked. "We'll use these!" Charm-kiko grabbed one, while Diamondhead got the other one.
"Rats, no keys! We'll have to find another way to-" Diamondhead was cut off when the scooter took off on its own. "WOAH!"
Charm-kiko smirked. "Guess, you won't need them! Let's go!" She had discreetly used her magic to get the scooters working.
Gwen watched the two take off, narrowing her eyes at her elder cousin's retreating back. Something didn't feel right about Yukiko. The heiress' recent behavior and mannerisms were a lot more violent or too creepy. But what was tipping her off the most was the magic surrounding Yukiko's body. As her connection with magic grew, Gwen grew accustomed to feeling out people's auras.
Her grandfather's aura was warm and strong.
Ben's aura was more wild and powerful.
Yukiko in comparison to the two of them had always felt like a beacon. The only other person surpassing her's was Yu in that regard, which Yukiko had told her had something to do with his Wild Card ability.
However, ever since their encounter with Charmcaster, Yukiko's aura just felt off. Like, it was just more mischievous and cruel. At first she figured it was just an after-effect of whatever spell Charmcaster was using before and thought it would wear off with time.
Now she wasn't so sure.
Charm-kiko and Diamondhead chased after the crooks to get the bag and truck back, which was incredibly dangerous due to them having to push through moving traffic. Charm-kiko ignored the cars, maneuvering through the street recklessly.
Diamondhead got separated from her, driving through the park, and almost hitting several pedestrians. Diamondhead managed to get back onto the street behind Charm-kiko, but the scooter eventually gave into his weight. He skidded across the pavement, bouncing off of it, and flying into a dumpster. Diamondhead expected his cousin to come back to check on him, but her attention was solely on the truck. "She must really want that bag back…"
Charm-kiko couldn't care less about the Petrosapien, only desiring to get her bag back. Growing sick and tired of the cat and mouse game, Charm-kiko simply teleported into the back of the truck.
The driver glanced at the rear-view mirror. "Hey! Where did she go!?" Both men glanced back to see Charm-kiko sitting in the backseat. Her eyes glowing dangerously with malicious intent.
"I'm one princess you don't want to kidnap!"
Outside of the truck, Diamondhead had been jumping from building to building. He shot out a wave of shards, popping the truck's tires. The vehicle stopped once it could no longer go any further. "Yukiko! Are you alright!?" Diamondhead rushed to check on her.
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"That doesn't sound right." Diamondhead watched as Charm-kiko laughed sadistically at the thieves. Who were being attacked by the lobsters in the truck.
"W-we give up! Just get these things off us!" They cried for help.
Diamondhead looked concerned. "Um? Don't you think we should help them?"
"Let them suffer! That'll teach them to steal from me!" Charm-kiko hissed. "Welp. I have more shopping to do."
"Okay, something's weird." Diamondhead knew his cousin could be a bit sadistic at times. Thinking back to when she literally tortured a group of Megawatts, but that was only in retaliation for being thoroughly humiliated by them. These two were nothing more than some crooks that didn't deserve it nor would Yukiko approve of this.
Yuki-caster flinched at the white sludge that was plopped down onto her food tray. "I-Is this supposed to be food?" It reminded her of the purple sludge that was served on the Mega Cruiser.
"The only meal you'll be served here, honey." The lunch lady replied.
"Couldn't I get something a little more home grown?" Yuki-caster asked. She expected the lady to either say no or grant her request. What she didn't expect was for the lunch lady to reach into her own nose and shove a nasty booger into the sludge.
"Grew it myself. Have a nice day, sweetie." The lunch lady laughed.
Yuki-caster wanted to throw up. There was no way she could eat that now! Maybe, since it's Charmcaster's body, she could digest vile substances. Either way the heiress wasn't in the mood to try it.
"I wonder if I could feed this to Teddie. I'm sure his stomach would be able to handle this-"
"Yo, princess! Whatcha mumbling about over here!" Yuki-caster looked up to see Pinky and Missy standing over her table. "Who's this 'Teddie'? Your boyfriend or something?"
The two punks did not expect Yuki-caster to respond with the most appalled and distrubed look they've ever seen from a person. As if the assumption that she would date whoever this Teddie person is was a crime against humanity. "Are you stupid?" Yuki-caster replied.
The fact that she of all person just called them stupid infuriated both punks. Pinky grabbed Yuki-caster by the collar, pulling her close to her face. "What was that, bitch?"
The heiress realized that the situation may have escalated into something she didn't want. She had to think of something quickly. "What would Ben do?" Looking down at her tray, an idea formed in her mind. "Oh! This will work!"
"What will-" Both Pinky and Missy were taken by surprise by the nasty sludge that splashed them. Yuki-caster had taken her tray of food and tossed it at them. The two punks stumbled into another table and spilled more sludge on another group of girls.
Everything eventually escalated into a full on food fight within the cafeteria. Yuki-caster used this chance to find somewhere to hide. Unfortunately, Missy noticed her and attempted to grab her. The heiress stuck out her leg, tripping the punk, and sending her spiraling into a bigger girl. Who wasn't so happy about having her lunch ruined.
Yuki-caster smirked at her clean getaway, until she ran face first into a pair of boobs. "Huh?" Looking up, she had bumped into Pinky.
"You got guts, girl. I'll give you that. Now it's time to teach you some manners!" Pinky picked her up by her collar. Acting entirely on instinct, Yuki-caster reached into her sleeve to grab her fan. But instead she grabbed six pink and brown eggs. The eggs all hatched, transforming into tiny little chicks that attacked Pinky.
Turning around, she found the rest of the inmates had stopped fighting, and decided to focus on the one who started it. Luckily, her chicks returned to defend her and chased off the rest of the inmates. "Who knew Charmcaster would actually be useful for once?" She smiled until a large hand yanked her by the collar.
Yuki-caster found herself face first with the lunch lady. "Troublemaker, huh? Well you'll be scrubbing pots and pans until those pretty little hands fall off-"
"Agi."
"Wha-" The lunch lady couldn't even process what happened. All she would remember once she woke up was that her stomach felt oddly hot as she lay knocked out on the floor.
Yuki-caster's actions against the lunch lady had caught the attention of her peers, earning her their respect.
The good fun didn't last long once the guard from earlier walked into the messy cafetiera. "Let me guess. You're innocent?"
Yuki-caster glanced around the cafetiera and realized she may have taken things a little too far. At this rate she wouldn't be able to escape back to her family if they locked her up in a cell.
She could only hope that the others figured things out in time.
Ben, Gwen, and Max stood outside of a small shop at the docks, waiting for Cham-kiko to return from her shopping. Gwen was flipping through her spellbook, searching for something.
"Uh, have you guys noticed that Yukiko has been acting kinda weird today? I mean weirder than normal," Ben asked.
"Now Ben, just because you don't like Yukiko's cooking that much doesn't mean you can talk your way out of eating it," Max said.
Gwen shook her head. "No, Grandpa. Ben might be onto something here. As much as it hurts me to say that."
"What do you mean, Gwen?" Max asked.
"Think about it. Yukiko has been acting weird lately after we fought Charmcaster back in town. Not only did she stop snapping photos of us in costume, she hasn't laughed at Ben being an idiot-"
"Hey!"
"Hasn't made any really lame jokes, hasn't tried to convince me to wear different costumes, way too overly nice, and she's been way too violent."
Ben raised a finger.
"More violent than usual. When she slapped you earlier, Ben. That didn't feel like one of her usual smacks did it?" Gwen asked.
Ben touched his right cheek, where he had been hit. "...Yeah. Usually she'd hit me on the back of the head and the sting doesn't last long. But that slap hurt, like really hurt."
"It's also weird that Yukiko would be asking about the Omnitrix and how it works, when she already knows how it works," Gwen said.
Max nodded his head, thinking hard about Yukiko's recent behavior. "You're right. If she's asking about the watch it would be more like she's confirming something."
"There was also that car chase from earlier too. Yukiko hadn't used her Persona at all and was so focused on getting her bag back. I understand she likes to cook, but to be so obsessed with it that she didn't bother to check on me when I could've potentially gotten hurt was weird," Ben told them.
"She didn't use her Persona?" Gwen asked him.
"Yeah. She somehow got inside of a moving truck with no issue too. I didn't really think too much about it at the time, because I was getting those lobsters off those crooks," Ben explained.
Gwen flipped through the spellbook, turning it to show Ben and Max. "Body Transference Spell?" Max read aloud.
"Yukiko not using her Persona and her aura feeling entirely different could only mean one thing…"
All three Tennysons turned to the entrance of the shop with only one very concerning thought on their minds. "That's not Yukiko!"
Charm-kiko exited the shop with a small box in her hands. "I finally got it! The final ingredient."
For the moment, the Tennysons tried to go along with the act. "That's great, sweetheart." Max took the box out of her hands. "Sea urchin eggs? Must've been expensive."
"Not really. I sweet talked them into giving me a deal," Charm-kiko took her box back. With her back turned the Tennysons glared at her.
"What do we do now, Grandpa?" Ben asked. "Kick her butt?"
"Play along for now. If we act too fast then she'll do something unexpected. Nothing is more dangerous than a cornered rat. I also don't want to do anything that could hurt Yukiko's body," Max said.
"Then we'll wait for her to have her guard down completely. And see just what it is she's cooking up," Gwen agreed.
"What about the actual Yukiko in Charmcaster's body?" Ben asked.
"We'll find her. Don't worry."
Yuki-caster, Missy, and Pinky were cleaning up the mess from the food fight. "And when you're finished up here, one of you gets to buff my bunions." The lunch lady was supervising them.
"Heh, small price to pay to see the look on crab tree's face when she got sent flying," Pinky said. "You're alright, princess. Look you ever need anything-"
"Actually, what I need is to find a way out of here." Yuki-caster cut her off. The heiress had grown tired of waiting. The longer she waited, the longer her family was in danger of whatever Charmcaster had planned.
"Armed guards at every exit? No way you're getting out of-" Missy dismissed the idea until Yuki-caster interrupted her.
She was staring down the sewage drain. "Hey! I think I found a way out of here. But we'll need a distraction." Yuki-caster knew it was wrong to use her new 'friends' as a means to break out. She could do it on her own, but that would mean destroying an entire detention center.
The punks smirked. "No problem." Pinky lifted her hose, spraying down the lunch lady. Missy tossed her mop, tripping up the female guard.
Yuki-caster used one of Charmcaster's bombs to blow open the sewage drain. While she and the girls jumped down the hole, Charmcaster's bag (which had been confiscated) escaped to find its master.
The three girls were blocked off by the iron bars. "Check it out! This must spill into the city's main drainage system. If we can get past it, we're home free!" Pinky exclaimed.
Behind the girls, Charmcaster's bag had found them. Yuki-caster held it in her hands as it revealed more grenades. "Step back." She told the punks. Yuki-caster tossed a few grenades, blowing away the iron gate.
Yuki-caster turned around to her cohorts. They may be criminals and attempted to bully her before, but they did help her escape. Maybe, there was a chance they'd change their ways? "Once we get out would you two be willing to become law abiding citizens?"
The two laughed in her face. "As if! We gotta make up for lost time!"
Yuki-caster sighed in disappointment. At least Adachi was willing to see the errors of his own ways at the end. Apparently these two needed more time to think their lives over. "Unfortunate." She tossed two rock monsters into the sewer water, blocking off the punks from following her. As Yuki-caster made her escape, the punks were blocked off and caught by the guards. The rock monsters followed after her once their job was done.
Pinky and Missy were pissed off at the betrayal. "If I ever see you again, princess! I'm gonna introduce you to all 10 of my friends here!"
To keep up the act of feigning ignorance, Max helped Charm-kiko fill the boiling pot outside of the Rustbucket. Ben and Gwen peeked their heads out through the door. The smell from the pot entering their noses. "Ugh! She may not be Yukiko, but that smell would've convinced me otherwise," Ben gagged.
"Quiet, doofus! Remember the plan and act natural!" Gwen hissed.
Ben rolled his eyes, walking out of the Rustbucket. "Yeah, yeah. Keep your pants on." Ben walked away from the Rustbucket to get away from that smell. He made his way to the parking lot exit and before he could even take one step, a familiar figure was walking towards him.
Ben's eyes widened at the sight of Charmcaster? Yukiko? Whatever! All he knew was that had to be his cousin. "Wait! You're-GUH!" Before Ben could do anything the rock monsters jumped him.
"Wait, stop!" Yuki-caster ordered them. The rock mutts obeyed her orders, getting off of Ben. She rushed over to him to help him. "Ben, I know this might come as a surprise and you might not believe me, but I'm-"
"Yukiko!" Ben grinned.
"Yes, I'm Yuki-wait what? How did you know!?" She gasped.
"Her cooking tasted better than yours."
"EH!?"
"I'm joking!" Ben got to his feet. "Gwen figured it out earlier today. Charmcaster did some weird body switching spell in an attempt to get the Omnitrix. Ya know. Same old, same old."
"How is this the usual?"
"What is she doing here!?" Both Yuki-caster and Ben turned around to see Charm-kiko, Gwen, and Max staring at them. The witch is doing her best to continue putting up her act. "Let's hurry up and send Charmcaster back to jail!" Charm-kiko yelled dramatically.
Nobody made a move. Only the wind blowing some leaves past them.
Charm-kiko was confused. "Uh…I said let's go get her!"
The Tennysons all stared at her.
Charm-kiko turned around to face Max and Gwen. "Are you guys deaf or-
WHAM!
Gwen punched Charm-kiko in the face, sending the witch flying back. Charm-kiko gripped her nose, hissing in pain. "What's the deal, Gwen!? We're family-"
"Cut the act, Charmcaster. We figured you out!" Gwen exclaimed. Ben and Yuki-caster join the rest of their family in facing Charm-kiko.
Charm-kiko was puzzled. "Wait what? But how did you figure-"
Gwen took out the spell book.
"You have got to be kidding me…" Charm-kiko had completely forgotten that the Tennysons stole her book back in Las Vegas. Brushing off the dirt on her dress, the witch glared at them. "Fine by me. At least I can finally cut the goody two shoes act. I was lucky that you have a magical aura or else my spells wouldn't have worked."
"My Persona?" Yuki-caster asked.
"Yes, whatever that thing is, it's something powerful. Even after switching bodies the residue energy from it was more than I would've thought. No wonder my uncle is so interested in them," Charm-kiko explained.
"Hex is interested in Personas? What does she mean-"
"Who cares about any of that!" Ben interrupted her thoughts. "Give Yukiko her body back, Charmcaster!"
"Hm. Nope! Think I'll just kill all of you before taking that Omnitrix. Maybe, I'll spend some more time in this body too. I mean, you do have a super hot boyfriend, right?" Charm-kiko smirked.
The mention of Yu and other inappropriate implications was more than enough to piss off Yuki-caster. "Die. Agilao!"
Charm-kiko unleashed a shockwave that dispelled the fireball coming towards her. She uttered another spell that sent the Tennysons flying back into the concrete. "Doesn't take much to piss you off, huh?" Charm-kiko smirked. The rock mutts came to her side once they realized she was their real master. "Now I switch bodies with the brat and every spell I cast will be alien supercharged!" Charm-kiko took the mana from her potion, so that she may cast the transfer spell once again.
Ben and Yuki-caster realized what she was doing and rushed in to stop her. Charm-kiko hadn't been expecting the two to get so close just as she was finishing the spell. "WAI-"
BOOM!
Gwen and Max were blinded by the smoke. "Ben! Yukiko!" Max called out for his kids.
The first person to appear from the smoke seemed to be Charmcaster, who had been put back into her original body. "No! This wasn't the way it was supposed to happen! I'm me again!"
"Ha! Your spell screwed up again!"
"So, everything should be back to normal! But, I feel shorter…"
Once the smoke cleared, Ben and Yukiko were able to see themselves again. Or at least they thought they'd be seeing themselves. The spell had switched their bodies, meaning Ben was in Yukiko's and Yukiko was in Ben's.
Ben-kiko examined his new body. "Woah. I feel weird…" He was about to move his arms when Yuki-Ben forced them to his side.
"Benjamin Tennyson, if you know what's good for you, you'd keep your hands to your sides unless I tell you!" She hissed. The last thing she needed was Ben-kiko getting curious about his, hopefully temporary, new body.
Max stared at them confused. "Wait, so, you're Ben?" He pointed at Ben-kiko. "And you're Yukiko?" He pointed at Yuki-Ben. "Then you're…" Max looked down at Gwen.
"I'm still Gwen, Grandpa." Gwen answered.
Charmcaster had enough with the Tennysons getting in her way. "You fools! Now I only have enough ingredients to make one more transference spell!"
Gwen flipped through her spell book. "Good to know. At least I know I'll be able to fix this once we're done kicking your butt!"
Ben-kiko grinned. "Yeah! It's Hero Time!" He forgot that he was no longer in his body. Meaning that the one with the Omnitrix was…"
All eyes turned to Yuki-Ben, who was struggling with the watch. "D-do you usually press both buttons or just one-OH!" She exclaimed as the dial popped up. "Now which one do I pick-GAH!" Yuki-Ben was interrupted by one of the rock mutts attacking her.
"Hey, lay off! Persona!" Ben-kiko shouted.
Nothing happened.
"Oh, come on!" He complained. The misplaced hero dodged the other rock mutt, making it crash into the other one. Yuki-Ben scrambled to her feet and ran with her family. Charmcaster started tossing bombs at them in hopes of killing the troublesome family.
Ben-kiko glared at Yuki-Ben. "What are you waiting for!? Hurry up and transform already!"
"I'm trying! But, how do you pick one!? There are too many!"
"Will you two hurry up and-"
FLASH!
"WOAH!" Yuki-bolt exclaimed from the sudden transformation. She hadn't expected to suddenly transform and fell over. "Ugh! Is this how you normally feel?"
"KIDS, MOVE!" Max pushed Ben-kiko and Gwen out of the way from another explosion. Yuk-bolt had been sent flying further away, but was relatively okay.
Gwen glared at Charmcaster, extending her hands. "Emocha Objectia!" A blue bolt sped towards the witch.
Charmcaster jumped out of the way of the attack and returned fire. Gwen rolled out of the way of the attack, but was knocked down by Charmcaster tackling her. She stomped her foot on Gwen's chest. "Time to show you who the real sorceress is!"
"WAAAAAA!"
The scream was the only warning Charmcaster got to dodge out of the way before Yuki-bolt came flying through the air. The heiress struggled to control herself and crashed into a nearby shed. "How does Ben do this!?"
Max grabbed a wooden plank, using it as a weapon to keep the rock mutts away. The creatures bit through the wood, leaving Max with no defense. The ex-Plumber punched one of the mutts, but the second one was too quick for him to react to.
A pink fan spun through the air and smacked the mutt away from Max. Ben-kiko caught the fan as it came back to him. "Woah! Seriously need to get myself one of these!"
Charmcaster growled at the Tennysons and noticed Yuki-bolt was struggling to get up. "Perfect! Third time's the charm." Charmcaster began the transference spell once again, using the last bit of mana in the potion. A pink bubble surrounded herself and Yuki-bolt.
Yuki-bolt gasped in horror as the two were getting closer. "BEN!"
Gwen saw that they were too far away for Ben-kiko to make it by running. "Doofus! Hold on tight!"
"Huh-HEY!?" Ben-kiko cried as Gwen levitated him into the air. She swung with all her might, tossing Ben-kiko directly at Charmcaster.
Ben-kiko grinned excitedly, preparing to hit Charmcaster with all he had. The hero swung his fan with all he had, smashing it into Charmcaster's face. The witch never saw it coming and went flying out of the bubble. Ben-kiko was now the only occupant in the bubble as the two merged together.
VHROOM!
BOOM!
"Oh, finally! I'm back to normal!" Yukiko exclaimed. She hugged herself tightly, appreciating the feeling of her own body.
"And I'm Cannonbolt!" Cannonbolt was equally as happy.
Charmcaster was beyond infuriated at this point. "I'll just cook up another transference spell! I can't be-KYA!"
Yukiko didn't waste time in bashing Charmcaster with an Agidyne. The witch screamed in pain as fire burned her into the ground. She could barely move after the intensity of the attack.
"Y-you…" Charmcaster growled.
Yukiko stepped forward. "You put me through a lot today, because of your little spell. So, now I'm going to pay you back for all of it!" Yukiko's murderous aura was almost suffocating to Charmcaster.
Yukiko turned to her cousins. "Ben, Gwen. It's time that I taught you two a little something my friends and I used to do whenever we downed an enemy."
"What's that?" Gwen asked.
"An All-Out-Attack! Are you ready!?"
"YEAH!"
"IT'S GO TIME!"
THUMP!
WHAM!
BAM!
SLAM!
A large body of smoke appeared as the Tennyson kids wailed on Charmcaster. Her cries of pain could be heard from miles away. "KYAAAAAAAAAA!" Charmcaster came flying out of the smoke. Her beaten body went flying into a tree, where she hit every branch as she fell until the back of her pants got caught on a branch. Leaving the witch defeated.
"That was awesome!" Cannonbolt exclaimed before turning back to normal.
"We should totally do that again!" Gwen added.
Yukiko agreed with her cousins. "It's been awhile since I've done one of those. You two did it perfectly!"
"Uhh…hey!"
The three turned around to see Max still struggling with the rock mutts. Yukiko smashed her tarot card. "Agidyne!" The mutts were blown to pieces by her fireball.
"Phew. Thanks, Ben," Max said.
"It's Yukiko, Grandpa!" Yukiko corrected.
Max shook his head. "Alright. That's it. I give up." His grandkids just laughed at his plight.
After handing Charmcaster back to the police, the Tennysons were leaving Salem in the Rustbucket. Yukiko was in the back fixing her wardrobe that Charmcaster had run her hands through. "You happy to be back to normal, Yukiko?" Gwen asked.
"Oh yes! It feels great to be back with you all. I was afraid that you'd leave with Charmcaster, mistaking her for me," Yukiko said.
Max looked back at her. "Never. We would've found out eventually, Yukiko. Nothing would've stopped me from getting you back."
"The same goes for us," Gwen said.
"Yeah! It felt weird not having you around," Ben admitted. His admission was met by a loud squeal and Yukiko's arms picking him up into a hug.
"You missed me, Ben!?"
"Gah! No way! Let me down!" Ben tried to fight back.
Yukiko didn't let him go, snuggling him closer like a teddy bear. Inside her mind, the heiress was happy to be back with them. This whole experience had made her appreciate having the Tennysons by her side even more.
But it also made her sad, because she knew this wouldn't last forever. Soon the summer will end and she'll be heading back home to Inaba. Not knowing when she'll be able to see them again, but that was fine for now.
She'll appreciate them as much as she could with the time she had left.
Chapter End
NOTE: That's a wrap! Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter.
Yukiko taught her cousins an All-Out-Attack. Something that I've been wanting to do for a while. Charmcaster was one the receiving end of it.
Charmcaster brought up that Hex was researching Personas. That'll get brought up more on a later date.
Yukiko does have magical affinity from both her Persona and being part Anodite in this story. That's why Charmcaster could still use magic.
The Tennysons figured it out fast that Charmcaster was in Yukiko's body. Gwen has the spell book, meaning that she wasn't going to be fooled for long.
I didn't do the whole pirate ship battle. Just didn't feel it was necessary and wanted to be a bit different at the end here.
Next Chapter - Merry Christmas