NOTE: I am now on Winter Break, so I have some time to work on my fics!
I feel like I've been neglecting Eye-Guy, but there haven't been any situations that would fit him much so far. That will change soon don't worry. Wish I could say the same for Ripjaws.
Enjoy and Review!
Chapter 45: Persona Wolf
"Navajo legends says the web of the dream catcher protects the dreamer by holding the nightmares in the center, while good dreams travel down the feathers to bless the person sleeping." Wes Green explained to Max. Wes is a Native American man with long gray hair. He wears a light-yellow shirt under a dark green vest, blue-gray pants, and dark gray shoes.
The two elders walked away, leaving the Tennyson kids to marvel at the tourist shops. Ben yawned loudly, drawing the ire of his cousins.
"Speaking of sleeping." Gwen rolled her eyes, pushing Ben forward. Yukiko and Kenny followed behind the two, missing the person dressed in blue that was scanning the items right across from them.
"Ben, I told you to put that game away and go to bed early last night. Why didn't you?" Yukiko folded her arms.
Ben yawned again. "Kenny said it was okay."
The heiress spun on her heels to glare at her fellow teen, who was already backing away in fear. "W-wait, Yukiko! I didn't think he'd stay up that long!"
"He needs his rest! He's a growing boy!"
As Yukiko continued to scold Kenny, Ben and Gwen continued to explore. Ben shook his head to rid himself of his sleep. "I know Mr. Green is Grandpa's old buddy, but could this trip get any more…" His complaining stopped as he and Gwen arrived at a native dance performance.
Performing the traditional dance was a young Native American girl with black hair. The way she danced captivated Ben's attention in a way that he never truly thought of before. A small bubbling in his chest was felt and it was similar to the feeling he got from someone else, but he couldn't think of who at the moment. The girl's beautiful features were the only thing occupying his mind. "...Cooler." A dreamy smile plastered on his face.
Wes looked at her proudly. "That's my granddaughter, Kai."
Max smiled, putting an arm on his friend's shoulder. "Last time I saw her she was barely walking. Now look at her." Yukiko and Kenny, who looked a bit traumatized, joined up with the rest of their family to watch the dance.
"She's performing a ceremonial Navajo dance." Wes explained.
Ben perked up. "Y'know, I was hoping to see one of those before the summer ended!" His declaration confused his cousins.
"No, you don't. You haven't cared about a single thing since we got here." Kenny said.
"Ben, you spent the entire time complaining about coming here last night." Yukiko reminded him.
"Since when have you cared about a ceremonial Native American dance?" Gwen asked.
Ben pretended that he didn't hear a word they said. "This dance rocks!"
The dance ended, allowing everyone to congratulate Kai on her performance. As she walked over to them Ben fixed his hair, smiling like a goof. Gwen raised an eyebrow finding Ben's behavior strange, she would've further pondered but the sky suddenly turned dark. Looking up, everyone saw massive black storm clouds blocking out the sun. "Uh, you sure you're not doing a rain dance?"
"Positive. Why?" Kai asked.
Rain started pouring down with purple lightning striking the ground, almost hitting two tourists. The Tennysons and Greens stared at the phenomenon in shock. However, Ben's attention was still focused solely on Kai. "That's why!" Gwen yelled.
"Oh, come on! Not another weather monster!" Kenny complained. Max and Wes started pushing their grandkids towards the Rustbucket.
"C'mon, we'll take shelter in the Rustbucket!" Max exclaimed.
Yukiko realized something was off and looked back to see Ben was still standing in place with a dumb look on his face, which normally wouldn't be weird, but this wasn't the time for it. "Ben!" She yelled at him.
BOOM!
Another bolt of purple lightning struck the ground behind Ben, snapping him out of his daze. The boy turned around to see a massive werewolf staring him down. Ben stared at it with wide eyes. "Anyone want to ask that thing for an umbrella?"
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 smiling brightly, her arms draped around Ben's chest as he proudly stood in front of her. His face is full of confidence and aspirations.
SHATTER!
Older versions of Ben, Yukiko, Gwen, Max, and Yu appeared. The Tennysons were standing around the married couple as Yukiko held a small blue bundle of blankets in her hands. She smiled warmly at her newborn baby.
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!
Yukiko had her arms wrapped around Four Arms' neck as the two glided through a massive tornado. Four Arms loudly strummed his guitar.
Kenny and Lucky Girl stood back to back, facing off against an army of robots. The elder brother held a baseball bat in his hands, while Lucky Girl's hands vibrated with mana.
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!)
Before Ben could do anything, the Werewolf leaped at him with its claws raised. The hero rolled out of the way before the creature could rip him apart. He turned back around to the beast and raised the Omnitrix. "Alright, fido, let's see how you handle Wildmutt!" Ben slaps down the dial, awaiting the usual flash. Unfortunately, the Omnitrix doesn't activate. Quickly glancing down at his watch, Ben saw that the dial had turned yellow. "What the!? Why are you yellow!?"
The werewolf wasn't perturbed in the slightest and jumped at Ben once again. Until a pink fan slammed into its jaw, sending the creature spiraling to the side.
Wes stared at the werewolf in shock. "A Yenaldooshi? It's here!?" Wes exclaimed.
"A what!?" Max asks.
"It's a-" Wes tried to explain but Kai's cry cut him off.
"It's getting back up!" She pointed at the creature. The werewolf was getting back onto its feet and glaring at Ben once again.
"BEN!" Yukiko rushed over to grab her cousin, but Max stopped her. "Grandpa!?"
"We need to hurry, Yukiko!"
"Why!? Ben's in danger!"
"And so are we if we don't get to higher ground!" Wes shouted. He pointed behind them, where a massive flood could be seen heading towards them. "Flash flood!" With his warning given, everyone scrambled to higher ground. Yukiko and Kenny climb onto the rooftops with Max and Wes, while the girls attempt to climb onto the Rustbucket. Unfortunately, Kai wasn't fast enough and was swept away with the currents.
The werewolf saw the oncoming flood and quickly fled the scene. Ben turned around in time to see it coming as well and climbed onto the roof of a vendor stall. That was when he noticed Kai being swept away. Ben saw this as his moment to save the damsel in distress!
And obviously to save someone's life, of course.
"Going Ripjaws!" Ben had forgotten that the Omnitrix wasn't currently working. Even though he didn't transform, Ben figured the situation could still work in his favor. "Okay! Going by myself!" Ben raced across the rooftops to keep up with Kai; he jumped down onto a floating barrel; and pushed it forward. Once he was close enough to her, Ben reached out his hand. "Grab my hand!" Kai did as told, but unfortunately Ben didn't account for the sudden gust of wind. It knocked him off the barrel and into Kai, sending the two beneath the flooding water.
Ben tried his best to get back up to the surface, but Kai had grabbed onto him in fear, preventing him from properly swimming. He reached out his hand hoping for someone or something to reach them in time as he was running out of air.
"Persona!"
"Y-Yukiko?"
"Yamato-Takeru! Tempest Slash!"
Ben didn't know what happened next, but one moment he and Kai were drowning in the flood and the next the two hit the hard ground as water drained out of the streets. Ben coughed up the water in his lungs and turned around, his eyes widening at the sight. There was a giant hole that was present in the town's wall, but what took his attention the most was the glowing spirit that was sheathing its blade before vanishing.
COUGH COUGH!
Ben turned his attention back to Kai, who was waking back up next to him and coughing out water. Kai took a moment before sitting back up, holding her head. "W-what happened? All I remember was grabbing your hand and then…" Kai looked at him. "Did you save me?"
"Uh-I…" Ben stuttered, blushing at her proximity.
"Yes, he saved you."
Both kids flinched at the sudden response. Turning to its direction the two saw a person approaching, someone who was vaguely familiar to Ben. She wore a dark blue double-breasted cardigan coat with a light blue bowtie and yellow buttons and plaid blue pants. On her head was a stylish blue cap. "Are you two alright?"
"Y-yes!" Kai stood up.
Ben tilted his head, trying his best to remember whoever this was. He was pretty sure he saw this person before. "Uh? Who are you?"
She smiled. "I'm not too surprised you don't recognize me, Ben Tennyson."
His eyes widened. "I didn't tell you my name!"
"You didn't have to, because I already know it. I was certain that she would've mentioned us around you, but perhaps your memory isn't the best."
Ben's irritation increased as this person just insulted him to his face. What was with people always insulting the moment they met him!? Especially in front of Kai, who just looked confused by the interaction. "Who are you anyway!"
She sighed. "My name is Naoto Shirogane."
"Eh?" Ben sounded like even more of an idiot, which just made Naoto pinch the bridge of her nose.
Behind them the silhouette of the werewolf could be seen taking one of the village's receivers.
The Tennysons and Wes watched as the flood drained away from the streets of the town. Once the ground was good enough to walk on, Yukiko climbed down the building in a panic. "Ben!"
She wasn't the only one since Wes was also concerned for his granddaughter. "Kai! Kai, where are you!?"
"Yukiko! Wes! Calm down, I'm sure they're okay!" Max tried to calm them down. Wes turned on his friend, concern written all over.
"How can you be so sure!?"
"Because, I have faith that Ben can pull through. He always has and I know he will." Max reassured him. Yukiko had faith that Ben would be alright, but that wouldn't stop her from worrying.
Kenny and Gwen joined up with them after he made sure Gwen was fine. "Sorry, I couldn't grab her in time." Gwen apologized.
Wes shook his head. "You don't have to apologize. There wasn't much you could've done in that situation. All we can do now is find them."
"Where do you think they were taken?" Yukiko asked.
"Not many places that you could be taken to here. Let's get search-"
"There'll be no need for that. Young Benjamin and Kai are perfectly fine."
Max and Wes whipped around so quickly; Yukiko was certain she heard something crack. She and her cousins turned to see an elderly Japanese man around her grandfather's age walking towards them. What confused her the most was the way he was dressed; it was eerily similar to a certain Prince Detective she knew.
"Kenji!?" Max and Wes exclaimed.
"Kenji?" Kenny questioned.
Max sighed, realizing he was gonna have some explaining to do after this. "Kids, this is an old friend of ours. Kenji Shirogane."
Yukiko's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. "Shiro…gane? Like, Naoto-kun!?"
The old detective smiled warmly at Yukiko. "It's nice to finally meet you face to face, Amagi-san. Naoto spoke a lot about you and the rest of your group."
Gwen raised an eyebrow. "Am I the only one feeling like we're missing some serious context here?"
Kenji chuckled at her. "Everything will be explained soon. Though, we should hurry up and meet up with Naoto soon and your grandchildren as well."
"Naoto-kun's here!?" Yukiko exclaimed.
"Yes, and I'm sure you two will have much to talk about once we reunite with them." His eyes then narrowed. "And about that creature that appeared during that flood." Kenji walked past the group, towards the direction his granddaughter was in. Wes hurried after to make sure Kai was alright. Kenny and Gwen followed a bit hesitant, but Max motioned for them to follow after.
Yukiko turned to her grandpa. "Grandpa."
"Yes, sweetheart?"
"You knew Naoto-kun's Grandfather this entire time?" Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Max sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I wasn't certain at first. You never mentioned Naoto's family name whenever you spoke of her. So, I assumed it was someone else until you showed us that photo of your friends."
"Why didn't you tell me? I thought we promised no more secrets?" Yukiko said. She felt Max wrapping her up in a hug.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I just didn't think it was something necessary to bring up at the time. It was a one in a million chance."
Yukiko hugged him back. "It's fine, Grandpa. I guess I wouldn't have known what to do with the information otherwise, but still. It wouldn't have hurt to mention it to me beforehand, having another connection to my friends would've made me even happier." She broke the hug. "Let's go find Ben." She left to follow the group.
Max sighed, feeling like he let down his family once again. Shaking his head, the ex-plumber tried to focus on getting to Ben and finding out about that werewolf.
The Tennysons, Shiroganes, and the Greens were inside of a museum after joining back together. All three families stood in front of a tapestry. "I never thought I'd see one." Wes said.
"See what?" Ben asked.
"A Yenaldooshi." Wes answered.
"You mentioned that before, when that werewolf attacked Ben." Max mentioned. "What is it?"
"A Navajo werewolf. I thought they only existed in folklore; their presence is a sign of pure evil. I must find it, I'll tranquilize it and capture it." Wes cocked his hunting rifle.
"I'll go with you." Max offered.
"Count me in!" Ben volunteered.
"If Ben's tagging along then I'm going too." Kenny said.
Kenji nodded his head. "I'll come along as well. It'll be fun to get these old bones moving again."
"I'll join too, Grandpa!" Kai exclaimed.
Wes gave her a stern look. "You know only Braves can be hunters, Kai."
Yukiko tilted her head. "What does that mean?"
"It means that only the men get to go." Gwen grumbled.
Yukiko furrowed her brows. "That sounds sexist."
Wes gave her a look too. "Times change, but traditions don't."
Naoto shook her head. "Traditions can change. You just have to be the one to make that first step. Keeping everything the same as it is, will do more harm than good."
"Even so, the Yenaldooshi is more important and too dangerous for young girls like yourself. Kai, you, Gwen, and Yukiko will stay here where it's safe." Wes ordered. Disheartened by his words, Kai walked off.
"But-" Gwen tried to argue but Max stopped her.
"Their land, their rules." He told her. Max turned to Yukiko. "Keep an eye on the girls."
"Yes, Grandpa." Yukiko sighed. The heiress turned her attention to Naoto, who was walking over. "How come you get to go?"
"Do I look like a woman right now?" Naoto quirked her brow.
"Not really."
"Then there's your answer. Besides, that's not what I want to speak about right now." Naoto's eyes turned to Ben, who was too busy watching Kai. "Why didn't you tell us about that watch?"
"How did you-"
"It's not hard to figure it out once you have the right lead. The exploits you and your family have been partaking in haven't been entirely mysterious as you may have believed up till now." Naoto explained.
Yukiko looked down at her feet, feeling guilty. As much as she gave her grandfather slack about keeping secrets, she still hadn't told all of her friends about the truth of this trip. "I-I'm sorry. It's just that we decided when Ben first got the watch to keep it all a secret. At the end of the day, it's Ben's secret to tell. Not mine."
Naoto nodded her head. "That's fair. Who else knows?"
"Yu-kun and Rise-chan."
"I see. Rise didn't explain much to me when she told me that she met with you all. Something must've happened there, right?" Naoto asked.
"Out of control weather machine that tried to kill us all." Yukiko answered. "The usual."
"How is that the usual?" Naoto sweat dropped. Though, the mention of a weird weather phenomenon fit the description of what she and her grandfather were looking into. "Yukiko-senpai. I have a question."
"Yes?"
"Have you seen any strange storms lately?"
"Strange storms?"
"Yes, specifically purple light-"
"No, I don't!"
"Yes, you do!"
Yukiko's face morphed into a tired groan. "Hold that thought, Naoto-kun." Yukiko turned back to Ben, Gwen, and Kenny. The older teen doing nothing to stop the argument erupting from the kids. "What are you two arguing about now?"
Gwen was grinning like a madwoman as if she was just given the best gift on Christmas. "Ben has a crush!"
"Eh?" Yukiko's mind went blank.
"No, I don't!" Ben denied, blushing. "I-I just want to cheer Kai up is all!"
"Eh?" Yukiko's voice was void of emotion.
Kenny ruffled Ben's hair. "It's alright, squirt. Everyone has their first crush at some point."
"I don't have a crush!"
"Eh?" The heiress stood frozen like a statue. It was at that moment when her cousins decided to pay more attention to her reaction.
"Uh… Yukiko?" Kenny asked carefully.
Gwen's amusement died. "I should've realized telling her was a bad idea."
Ben carefully waved a hand in front of Yukiko's face. "D-did we break her?" He flinched back when Yukiko finally started moving again. The heiress knelt down to his level, putting her hands on Ben's shoulders to make him look her in the eyes. Ben felt uncomfortable as the unusual seriousness in Yukiko's eyes bore into his soul.
"Ben."
"Y-yes…?"
"For as long as I live you are never allowed to date."
"EHHHHHH!?"
Naoto simply face palmed at the goofiness that seemed to follow her no matter which group she met. Though, a small smile graced her lips anyway. She had just met the Tennysons, but they were already reminding her of the team.
Wes knelt down on the ground, trying to find the werewolf's trail. Max and Kenji stood behind him, reminiscing about the past. "You know this reminds me of when we went after the yeti in the Himalayas that time."
Kenji scoffed. "I remember Phil complaining constantly about the cold weather the entire time. Used to drive me nuts. Have you heard from him in a while?" He asked Max.
Max's face turned cold for a moment. "Unfortunately. I'll tell the story to you later."
Kenji frowned at that, wondering what could've happened all these years.
Ben gasped loudly. "Wait, you're a Plumber!?"
"I was." Wes answered. "It appears the prints lead this way." He explained.
Kenny turned to Naoto. "So, what was your reaction to this whole Plumber stuff?"
"Shocking."
"That's it?"
"Yes." She responded then continued ahead of him.
Kenny rubbed the back of his neck. "And you seemed so talkative with Yukiko earlier…" He muttered.
Back at the town Yukiko and Gwen were left with Kai since there was no way to change Wes' mind about the traditions. Yukiko was wondering if she should strike up a conversation with Kai, but thoughts of Kai and Ben running off together with wedding bells in the background prevented her from approaching the Navajo girl.
Gwen on the hand had no such qualms. In fact, before the men had left, Ben had asked her to try and make him look impressive to Kai. She begrudgingly agreed since Ben hadn't really done anything recently to piss her off. "So, I guess my cousin saved you."
"I thought Naoto-kun had saved-MUGH!" Yukiko was interrupted by a stray newspaper that somehow magically flew directly into her face. The heiress' muffled screams could be heard in the background as she tried to fight it off.
Gwen lowered her glowing hand, smiling sweetly at Kai. "Ignore her."
Kai slowly nodded her head. "Yeah. I guess your cousin seems okay."
"By okay, do you mean on a dork meter, he'd only be a 9 out of 10?" Gwen smirked.
WOOOOOOO!
The loud howling had brought their attention to the distance, wondering just what could be making that noise.
All the while, Yukiko was still fighting to remove the newspaper on her face, not realizing she could just burn it off.
Back with the hunt, the men and Naoto hid behind a ledge. Below them was the werewolf from before, but the most shocking thing was that the creature seemed to be building something. A massive pile of scrap metal and machines surrounded it.
Wes aimed his hunting rifle and fired; unfortunately, the beast's keen sense alerted it of their presence, allowing it to dodge in time. It turned around and began rushing to attack them.
"Move!" Kenji exclaimed, pulling Naoto back as the others scrambled out of the way of the beast. The creature howled into the night sky before opening its mouth. A loud sonic screech blasted the group off of the mountain and to their demise.
"AAAHHH!" Everyone screamed as they fell. Ben, on the other hand, activated the Omnitrix. "You better be working this time!"
FLASH!
Wildvine groaned at himself. "I wanted Stinkfly, not Wildvine!" Naoto's eyes grew wide as she finally saw how the transformations worked. The Prince Detective knew it had to do with the watch but seeing just how simple it was had baffled her. Just what kind of technology would allow for this to be possible?
"Just hurry!" Kenny yelled.
"Hold your horses!" Wildvine yelled back before stretching his vines to catch everyone. He then used his free vines to wrap themselves around the top of the mountain, slowing down their descent and allowing him to drop everyone safely on the ground. With them all taken cared of, Wildvine propelled himself back onto the mountaintop to face the werewolf.
Wes stared at Max in shock, baffled by how Ben managed to do that. The ex-plumber laughed nervously. "Y-yeah. I have some explaining to do."
Kenji brushed off his clothes as he stood. "Yes, Maxwell. I was going to wait till this was over to ask, but just exactly how did your grandson manage to get his hands on the fabled Omnitrix?" The question just made Max even more nervous.
Naoto turned her head up to the mountain top frowning deeply. Before they left, she had promised Yukiko that she'd watch over Ben and Kenny, but now one of them was out of her reach.
Kenny hurried over to her. "Hey, you have that Persona thing too, right?"
Naoto didn't look back at him. "Yes."
"Then you can go help Ben, right?"
"And how would I be able to do that without the ability to fly?" Naoto asked him, turning her gaze to him.
"R-right…" Kenny shrunk down.
With Kenny settled, Naoto looked for a way to get to Ben. She eventually found a walkable path leading backup to the mountain top.
Wildvine searched around for the creature, looking to his left he saw the creature climbing up another mountain side. The plant alien snuck his way around, biding his time before ensnaring the werewolf in his vines. "Tag! And you're it, fang face." The beast fought against its bindings, biting on the vines. "GAH! So, you want to fight dirty, huh?" Wildvine challenged before dragging the beast underground with him, smashing it against several boulders. "Going up!" He slammed the werewolf into the ground.
BEEP! BEEP!
"Not now!"
FLASH!
All of his earlier bravado was now gone as he stood powerless against the beast. "A-about that 'Fang Face' nickname, I did it in a nice way." His attempt at diffusing the tension failed as the werewolf tried to claw his face off. Ben tried to run away, but the monster was too fast, he raised his arm to block his face. Which so happened to be his left arm with the Omnitrix, allowing the werewolf's claws to scratch against the advanced technology.
"Guh!" Ben fell to the ground. When he sat up the beast was pouncing on him once again. "Oh, crud!"
"Tempest Slash!"
A gunshot echoed throughout the valley, the rubber bullet pelting the beast's skin before a diagonal slash from Yamato-Takeru blasted the creature away from Ben. Purple blood oozed from the wound on its chest, the beast howled loudly before running off.
"Benjamin, are you okay?" Ben looked over to see Naoto rushing over to him. A silver pistol was held in her left hand.
"Woah! You have a gun!?" He gasped.
"That's what you're more focused on? Not the giant beast that was about to carve out your heart?" She sweat dropped.
"Nothing unusual." He shrugged.
TWEEEEE!
Both looked down to see the Omnitrix was acting strange. Instead of the usual red or green, the device was glowing a bright yellow with the dial spinning on its own. "What's it doing?" Naoto asked.
Ben shrugged. "It was doing this earlier too. Again, not anything too unusual."
Naoto wasn't sure if she should be concerned about the 10-year-old boy being so desensitized to all of this or not.
"Yukiko! I'm okay!" Ben complained as Yukiko hovered all over him. The men and Naoto had returned from the failed hunting excursion and explained to the girls what had happened.
The heiress smiled warmly at him. "Oh, I know. Doesn't stop me from checking to make sure." Yukiko ruffled his hair.
"You can thank Naoto here. He really saved Ben's bacon back up there." Kenny pointed at the detective.
Yukiko smiled appreciatively at her friend. "Thank you, Naoto-kun." The detective nodded her head.
"It's fine. But we really need to discuss the important matters here." She spoke.
Ben agreed with her. "Exactly." He turned to Gwen. "Did Kai say anything about me!?"
Naoto narrowed her eyes. "That wasn't what I meant."
Ben ignored her too focused on knowing his crush's opinion on him. Gwen, who was busy filling her backpack, shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."
"Gwen!" Ben exclaimed.
Gwen rolled her eyes. "She just doesn't seem overly interested. Girls can totally sniff out desperation a mile away."
"I didn't know desperation had a smell." Yukiko muttered.
Gwen unfortunately heard her. "Why do you always… ugh… whatever." She then looked over to see a group of tourists walking away. "Where are all those people going?"
"Off the reservation." Wes answered. He, Max, Kenji, and Kai rejoined the group. "They fear the Yenaldooshi's return and with tonight's full moon it's power will be greater than ever."
Ben scoffed. "Well after I went Wildvine on it, I'm sure it's long gone."
"I highly doubt that." Naoto added.
Kai smiled at Ben. "My Grandpa told me what you did."
"Yup! It's just one of my many talents. I don't like talking about it-"
"Yes, you do-YEOW!" Yukiko yelped as Ben stomped on her foot. The heiress whipped out her fan to strike him but was being held back by Kenny and Gwen.
Ben continued to brag to Kai. "I'm kinda a superhero 24/7." The two walked off as he continued to explain his abilities.
Kai found it impressive but raised an eyebrow as Ben started scratching himself. "S-so, uh, what have you done?"
"O-oh, the usual." Ben grunted; his body was becoming oddly itchy all of a sudden. "Arrest criminals, take down aliens, save mankind-"
"Scratch yourself like a monkey." Gwen mocked him, making monkey noises.
Yukiko calmed down, walking over to Ben. "Are you okay, Ben?"
"I-I'm fine! I just can't stop itching! Can you scratch my back for a sec?" Ben asked.
"Sure!" She smiled happily and began scratching her sharp nails on Ben's back. Seeing that she was being a helpful hand to her cousin, Yukiko turned to Kai and released an aura of animosity. "See! He doesn't need you at all! Ben still needs his big sister(Cousin)!"
Kai looked confused by Yukiko's animosity.
Ben's scratching was growing even worse by the second, he plopped down onto the ground, taking off his socks and shoes. As he did that the boy's skin turned from white to dark blue. His nails turned black and became as sharp as a canine's. Everyone present was shocked and worried.
"Ben!?" Yukiko gasped.
"What?" He asked, his foot scratching behind his ear.
"Y-you look…" Kenny left it open.
"Handsome?" Ben suggested.
"No."
"Dashing?"
"Nada."
"Gorgeous?"
"Grotesque is more accurate." Gwen frowned.
"I was going to go with hairy." Kai said. Yukiko walked over to Ben, using her phone's camera to show Ben what he currently looked like.
"EEEKKK!" Ben screamed loudly as he finally took in his new appearance. His hair had grown longer along with his teeth and ears being sharper. "W-what's happening!?"
"So, this isn't one of your superheroes?" Kai asked.
"NoOOOOOOO!" Ben howled into the night sky.
Naoto looked at Yukiko. "So, I'm guessing this isn't a part of the usual?"
"Unfortunately, this is new." Yukiko sighed.
Max lifted Ben onto the picnic table, so they could get a better look at him. Ben's appearance looked almost canine kinda like the werewolf. "Are you sure you weren't bitten by the Yenaldooshi?" Wes asked.
"When I was Wildvine, but it didn't even break the skin." Ben answered. "Or should I say the root?"
Wes shook his head. "Ben, this is nothing to make light of. The Yenaldooshi can make others in its exact image and when it does those followers will seek to destroy those closest to them."
Yukiko gasped, horrified. "You mean… we'll have to put Ben down!?"
"Don't word it like I'm some kind of dog!" Ben yelled at her.
"You have rabies!" She yelled.
"That's not what this is at all!"
"So, how does Ben un-wolf?" Max asked.
"The only way to reverse its spell is to stop the Yenaldooshi." Wes explained.
"With a silver bullet?" Ben gulped.
"Things like that only exist in movies." Kenji sighed.
"To stop a Yenaldooshi you must drop a silver pendant in the fluids of the Arbol del Matrimonio cactus and place it against its heart." Wes explained. "And we must do it before tonight's full moon or you could remain like that forever, Ben."
Kenny sighed. "Of course, it has to be a lot more complicated than just a silver bullet."
Kai took pity on Ben and a part of her liked Ben's new look more than his plain one. "The Navajo also believe the Yenaldooshi is a god."
Ben blushed at her. "In that case, a little back hair is not so bad."
"Ah, young love." Kenji smiled at how easily Ben was swayed. "Don't you think so too, Naoto?"
"Enough, Grandfather." Naoto rolled her eyes.
Wes left for his home. "I will retrieve the silver pendant."
Ben felt his stomach growl. "Is anyone else hungry?" He looked over to see a cow eating some grass. Ben licked his lips and tried to go for it, but Yukiko held him back. "Yukiko!" He whined.
"I'm not letting you eat a cow! We have food in the Rustbucket!"
Naoto sighed for what felt like the nineteenth time as she cooked Ben a meat bowl. The only reason she was doing it was because she didn't want to risk Yukiko's cooking killing the boy with his heightened senses. Once she finished, she placed the bowl down in front of Ben.
The wolf boy was hesitant to try it, not sure if her cooking was any better than Yukiko's but once good whiff changed his mind instantly and he dug in. She sat down next to Yukiko as the pieces of meat flew everywhere.
"Ben!"
He looked back up to see that his messy eating had splashed the meat and broth everywhere and on everyone. Ben chuckled nervously at Kai, who wasn't pleased with the bits of meat on her face. Her displeasure amplified at Yukiko's giggling.
Ben handed her a napkin with his teeth. "Heh. Napkin?"
Gwen rolled her eyes, then turned back to her computer. "The Árbol Del Matrimonio cactus". Kai and Kenny looked over to read the article on her screen. Ben had gotten up again and opened up the fridge.
Yukiko sighed. "Guess we're going grocery shopping after this."
"I'm not making him another meal." Naoto refused.
"I wonder what else I can wolf down!" Ben looked back up. "Get it!?" He looked at Yukiko to see if she found it funny.
"...Lame." The heiress shot him down.
"Tch." Ben clicked his tongue before going back to his searching. That's when a strained noise caught their attention. Everyone looked back at Ben as his body changed even more, he now looked less boy and more wolf. Even his height had increased too.
"You're looking more and more like a Yenaldooshi." Kai said.
"Well, I still feel like just me." Ben said. He sniffed the air before running out of the Rustbucket, using his night vision he saw his prey, a little white rabbit. The tiny animal crawled into its hole to avoid the predator as Ben tried to dig deeper down to get it. When he eventually snapped back to his senses, he looked over to see that he had thrown all of the dirt at Kai, who was not pleased in the slightest.
"Hahahahaha!"
"Yukiko, stop laughing!"
Ben looked apologetic. "Sorry."
"The NASA tracking station on the North ridge was just destroyed by some sort of werewolf." Wes said as the old men approached the kids. "It almost ripped apart the guards there."
"What did it want?" Kenji asked.
"It took some satellite equipment."
"And it took that receiver you had here. What do you think it wants?" Ben mentioned.
"Judging by the pile of scrap we saw back at the canyon and that the beast was building something that means these aren't just random attacks." Kenji said. "The werewolf is intelligent."
"Or the Yenaldooshi is angered by the technology that has invaded its sacred land." Wes argued. "We need to hurry and find the Yenaldooshi and find it fast."
"You won't be able to look for the Yenaldooshi and the cactus." Kai said.
"Let Yukiko, Kai, and I look for the cactus." Gwen suggested.
"Once we find it, we'll call." Kai said.
Wes agreed, since it wasn't technically breaking tradition. The old men got a head start on the search.
"Be careful." Ben, Yukiko, and Kai said together.
Gwen, Kenny, and Naoto all facepalmed at the three.
Wes used a stick to draw into the dirt. "The NASA station is west of here. It's surrounded by lakes to the North, South, and East. Which means the Yenaldooshi should've come this way."
Ben sat on a rock. "Let me see if I can help." He then howled into the moonlit sky. Luckily there was a response to his howling. "He must be this way!" Ben took off. The old men, Kenny, and Naoto followed after him.
They arrived at the ruins of the station where werewolf tracks could be seen. "The tracks end here." Wes turned around, cocking his hunting rifle. "I sense its presence."
"There!" Max pointed at the werewolf's silhouette. Bright green eyes looking down at them. Naoto also pulled out her gun, ready to defend them from the beast.
"NO! It's me! Benwolf!" Ben howled his name. His transformation had grown even more.
"The transformation is complete; we need the cactus!" Wes pulled out his phone, but unfortunately there was no service. "We'll have to summon them another way." He pulled out a flare gun.
Naoto stared at Ben, confused by Ben's transformation. If the boy had finished transforming from the curse, then wouldn't he have been trying to kill them by now? Something felt off and she didn't know what.
Yukiko, Gwen, and Kai searched around for the cactus through another section of the canyon. "This canyon is a sacred place. It's where our spirits go."
Gwen groaned loudly. "Well maybe the spirits could help us find that cactus."
"Don't worry, Gwen. We'll find that cactus quickly and turn Ben back to his adorable self."
"Adorable isn't the word I'd use." Gwen groaned.
Not watching where she was going, Yukiko tripped on a rock, falling onto her butt. "EEEEPPP!" The heiress squealed loudly as she fell butt-first onto a cactus. The heiress jumped cartoonishly into the air before landing face-first onto the ground, her butt pointed up to the air.
"Pfft! Snrk!" Gwen couldn't help but laugh.
"N-not f-funny… Gwendolyn…!" Yukiko painfully hissed.
CLICK!
Yukiko's eyes widened after hearing a camera's click. Looking at Gwen, she saw the young girl holding a camera in her hands before shoving it back into her bag. "G-Gwendolyn Tennyson! Delete that photo!"
"Nope. I think Ben will find this pretty funny." Gwen smirked.
Kai walked back over to them and saw Yukiko's predicament and smiled. "The Árbol Del Matrimonio cactus! You found it! I guess the spirits did help us after all." She bent down behind Yukiko and began pulling it off her behind. "Just hold still, this won't hurt a bit."
"KYAAA!" Yukiko screamed as the cactus was yanked in one whole pull. The heiress wasted no time in casting a healing spell on her poor butt.
"Here. Put this in your bag." Kai handed it to Gwen. She pulled out her phone and frowned. "Great. No signal."
FLASH!
The girls looked towards the sky as a flare went off. "There! They must be sending us a signal!"
Back over on the other side of the canyon, the hunting team was confronted by the werewolf once again. The creature growled fiercely at the group, staring them down with bloodthirsty eyes.
"Who are you lookin at, ugly!?" Ben challenged.
"I think he's looking at you." Kenny answered.
"Ben, we need the cactus to destroy it!" Wes exclaimed. Before they could do anything, the creature tackled Ben, but the wolf boy was quick enough to toss the werewolf off.
"Yeah, but it doesn't need anything to take us out!" Ben replied.
The creature stood back up and unleashed a sonic blast from its mouth, sending everyone flying into the rocky walls. "I guess its bark is worse than its bite!" Ben and the werewolf clashed. The two exchanged powerful blows with one another. The werewolf eventually overpowered Ben, pushing him onto the ledge of the cliff.
Naoto whipped out her gun, a tarot card shimmered in front of her eyes, and she shot it to pieces. 'Tempest Slash!" She called out. After hearing the attack before, the creature jumped off of Ben and dodged the slash attack. With it in the air, Naoto aimed her gun right at it. "You're in my sight! Megidola!" She shouted. A bright ball of light appeared out of thin air, the attack raced towards the werewolf, who was unable to avoid it. Instead, it opened its mouth and unleashed another sonic screech which caused the ball of light to explode from the clash.
Naoto and the others were forced to cover themselves as a huge cloud of dust erupted from the explosion. The werewolf needed no time to collect itself, charging through the dust and tackling Naoto onto the ground. The Prince detective hissed as its claws dug into her arms.
"Get away from him!" Kenny smacked it with a stick that broke instantly. His deed caused the beast to turn its attention onto him. He backed away. "Uh… nice doggy?"
POW!
"GAH!" Kenny bounced across the desert ground.
"Kenny!" Max yelled. He and his former colleagues watched as the werewolf approached them next.
Naoto grunted pointing her gun at the creature. "Tempest Slash!" Yamato-Takeru surged back to life and attempted to slash the creature in its back, but it dodges just in time. Leaving the attack to hit the ground and the shockwave to send the ex-plumbers sliding across the dirt.
Ben stood back up. "Time to go XLR-Wolf-wait!?" Ben realized the Omnitrix wasn't on his wrist anymore. "It's not on my wrist!" He grabbed a rock on the ground and tossed it at the werewolf's head, bringing its attention right back to him. The werewolf would've attacked him had a massive fireball not crashed directly into the beast. The flames engulfed the werewolf, exploding in a bright blaze of red and orange.
Yukiko and the girls appeared, the heiress glaring at the downed werewolf. "That's for turning my cousin into a werewolf!"
Kai hurried to her grandfather, who was getting back onto his feet. "Grandpa, here!" She handed him a vial of the cactus juice. Wes took vile, splashing it onto the silver pendant. The Navajo ex-plumber ran to the werewolf and prepared to place the pendant on his chest.
Unfortunately, the beast woke up faster than they expected, the moment it saw the pendant it lashed out at Wes, sending the old man flying.
"Grandpa!" Kai ran to him in distress. Gwen looked down and noticed that the pendant had fallen in front of her. She picked it up and charged at the wolf. Ben quickly held the werewolf in a full nelson as Gwen slammed the pendant on its chest.
Everyone waited for the beast to drop dead, but nothing happened. Even the werewolf was confused by their plan. "I-It didn't work!?" Gwen yelled. The beast took advantage of their stupor and flipped Ben over its shoulder before jumping at Gwen.
"GWEN DUCK!" Kenny screamed.
His sister listened, ducking down as the beast flew over her. They watched as it climbed up the mountain's wall, leaving them to their failure. Wes picked up the pendant. "I don't understand, that should've worked. Why didn't it work!?"
"Because that werewolf isn't a Yenaldooshi." Naoto answered. Everyone turned to her to see Yukiko healing her injuries.
Her grandfather gasped as her words clicked in his mind. "Of course! I should've realized it sooner! That creature isn't a mythical beast at all! It's an alien!"
"An alien!?" Everyone else exclaimed
"Wait, if it's an alien then why am I-Guh!" Ben coughed as his body continued to morph and he was enveloped in a bright flash of green light. When the light died down everyone was finally able to see Ben's final stage. He had grey fur, a long flowing mane, and a large bushy tail with three sharp claws on each hand and foot. He has spiked elbows and shoulders and wears a white jumpsuit with black stripes, but the most surprising detail was the black belt that formed around his waist with the Omnitrix symbol in the middle.
"Naoto is right. You're not a Navajo werewolf, but an alien werewolf!" Gwen exclaimed.
Yukiko nodded her head. "Which explains why Ben wasn't able to transform before, he was already transforming!"
"It also explains that weird howl thing it does." Kenny added.
"Okay, but how exactly did this happen in the first place?" Ben asked.
Naoto stood back up once her injuries were healed. "It was back when you fought the werewolf on the mountain during the first hunt. When you fought, I saw its claws hit the Omnitrix, then afterwards the watch was glowing yellow which Ben said wasn't what it normally does."
Ben gasped. "Unlike all the other times I unlocked a new alien, the werewolf must've screwed up the watch when it hit it!"
Max rubbed the back of his neck. "An alien werewolf. Just when I thought this summer couldn't get any stranger."
"Aw man!" Ben whined.
"What's wrong, Ben?" Kenny asked.
"If I knew that all I needed to do was let aliens touch the watch, then I'd have let them do that from the beginning! I'd be an awesome Vilgax!" Ben exclaimed.
Yukiko's face showed disgust. "I'm happy that you haven't turned into Vilgax."
Kenji patted Naoto on the head. "Nice sleuthing, granddaughter."
His words caused some of the group to spin their heads at Naoto. "GRANDDAUGHTER!?"
Naoto rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm a girl. Let's move on."
Wes glared at Kenji. "You broke our traditions…!"
Kenji sighed, feeling a bit guilty. "I know and you can yell at me for it later, old friend, but right now we have an alien werewolf to catch."
RUMBLE!
BOOM!
Everyone stopped talking after that large tremor and explosion. "Something tells me we need to get moving and fast." Wes said.
The group made their way into a cave tunnel to find the werewolf. Gwen sniffed the air, smelling something weird. "Do you smell that?" Gwen asked.
"What? My werewolf breath isn't that bad." Ben said
Kai frowned. "It kinda is…"
"Oh, sorry." Ben blushed in embarrassment.
Wes answered Gwen's question. "The smell of sulfur is the sign of lava, but the volcanoes around here have all been inactive for millions of years." As soon as he said that the cave lit up as if the sun rose. They turned around to see a wave of lava heading straight for them!
"So… uh… that's not real lava!?" Ben exclaimed.
"EVERYONE RUN!" Kenji shouted. Nobody needed to be told twice and booked it away from the magma of hot death.
"So, it reactivated the volcano somehow!" Max exclaimed.
"Maybe it wants us off our land! One way or the other!" Wes tried to explain. The group eventually found themselves standing in front of a broken path with a pool of lava right below them and the lava behind them was catching up.
Ben came up with a solution. "Time to see how far this big bad wolf can jump!" Ben grabbed the girls first. "Who wants a ride!?" He jumped to the other side and safely released them, then he went back for the men. When he landed back on their side, the path was crumbling quickly. He grabbed Max and Wes, letting Kenny and Kenji climb on his back. "I gotta carry all of you and I'm gonna need a little help!" Ben opened his mouth, releasing a sonic screech that propelled them all into the air.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"Oh, come on!" Ben yelled.
FLASH!
THUD! THUD!
Max and Wes landed on the other side safely, but Ben, Kenny, and Kenji didn't make it as Ben turned back to normal. "BEN! KENNY!" Yukiko and her family cried.
"GRANDFATHER!" Naoto screamed. Everyone hurried to the ledge to see the three holding onto a ledge for dear life. Quickly they were helped back up to safety by Max and the others.
Ben lifted the watch. "The Omnitrix finally timed out! And check this out!" Ben showed off the werewolf silhouette.
"The watch absorbed its DNA!" Gwen exclaimed.
"Welcome to the club, Benwolf!" Ben smiled.
Yukiko frowned at the name. "Benwolf?"
"Isn't the point of a secret identity supposed to be not telling people your name?" Kenny said.
"Oh, right. Then what do I call him?" Ben asked.
"How about Blitzwolfer?"
The Tennysons blinked at Naoto, who had suggested the name. The detective blushed under their gaze, turning away with her hat blocking her face. "I-It's just something that came to mind!" Or more so it's a name she felt that Kanji would've approved of.
Ben smirked, liking the name. "Alright, Blitzwolfer it is!"
The group now found themselves inside a cavern with different tunnels built in. "Look! Must be the way out!" Gwen said.
"Yes, but I'm wondering where all the satellite equipment that it took is." Max said. Their trek was halted by the werewolf stomping down in their path. It opened its mouth, bleaching out a strong sound wave. Everyone dodged out of the way of the attack.
"Going hero!" Ben activated the Omnitrix.
FLASH!
"Yes, finally! The correct alien!" Cannonbolt exclaimed. The werewolf tried to pounce on him, but the robust alien easily buffed him off. Cannonbolt charged up a spin dash to bash the werewolf. As he did so, Yukiko smashed her tarot card.
"Agidyne!" Her spell infused itself around Cannonbolt's body, creating a spinning inferno bolt! Cannonbolt crashed into the werewolf, burning it with the flames.
Naoto attacked next, shattering her card with a bullet. "Megidola!" The bright ball of energy descended down onto the werewolf…
…And Ben.
"GAAAAHHH!" Cannonbolt cried out alongside the werewolf. "Hey, watch where you're aiming!"
Gwen was next, her hands blazing with mana. "Mercuta Verditis!" She shot out a powerful bolt of magic that smashed right into the werewolf…
…And Ben again.
"GAAAAHHHH!" Cannonbolt fell flat on his face, smoking from the blast. "I'M STILL HERE!"
"WE KNOW!"
"YOU GUYS ARE JERKS!"
RUMBLE!
The cave began to shake violently from the fighting, suddenly lava bursts through one of the cave walls, illuminating the dark area. "We can't let that lava leave the mountain side and reach the village!" Wes yelled.
Cannonbolt got back up to his feet. "I'll seal it up! You guys go!"
"I can help!" Yukiko tried, but Naoto pulled her back.
"Yukiko-senpai, lava is much different from fire! That will kill you!" She pulled her senior back. Suddenly, the werewolf proved just how tenacious it truly was and tackled Cannonbolt. The cave continued to fall to pieces, the pathway between Cannonbolt and the others broke apart. Leaving Cannonbolt to face the werewolf in the lava flooding cave.
"BEN!" Max and Yukiko both screamed.
"JUST GO!" Cannonbolt yelled as rocks fell on both him and the werewolf. The group unfortunately had no choice but to leave as the cave was collapsing too quickly. Once they were out the entrance to the cave collapsed, trapping both Ben and the werewolf to their fates.
"BEN!" Yukiko cried out running towards the ruins. She started to pull off rocks to get back into the cave.
"Ben…" Gwen mumbled sadly. The Tennysons couldn't believe that Ben was gone, despair washed over them like a tidal wave. Everyone else silently mourned the loss of the young boy who stayed behind to save them.
"He…he can't be…no…!" Yukiko cried. Gwen walked over to her and hugged Yukiko, something that Yukiko didn't waste time in returning.
RUMBLE!
CRASH!
Yukiko and the others all stood back from the rumbling entrance, suddenly it blew open, Gwen created a shield to block the debris from hitting them all. Their eyes widened at the sight of the large black and yellow ball that dropped down unharmed.
"OH YEAH! SHELL POWER!" Cannonbolt shouted. The Omnitrix flashed red, and he turned back to normal. Ben was tackled by Yukiko and Gwen immediately, relieved to see that Ben had made it out alive.
"Don't you ever scare me like that again, doofus!"
"Ben, I'm never letting you go again!"
"GET OFF ME! WHAT'S YOUR DEAL!?"
Everyone else simply laughed at the three, also relieved to see that Ben had made it out of that cave alive.
Everyone returned to the village happy to finally rest after dealing with that werewolf. Wes, who had just finished talking to some people, smiled at his friends. "Good news. It seems a few people are returning. Thank you."
Ben puffed out his chest. "Ah, well. It was nothing."
"What do you think that alien wanted anyway?" Kai asked.
"Since we never found any of that satellite equipment or your receiver we can't say for sure. But that's a mystery we're going to have to put on hold for now." Kenji answered. He said that, but a part of him knew that there was more to it, but whatever pieces lead to it were still unknown.
"Who cares? We kicked its butt! And now maybe I can collect alien DNA!" Ben smiled at Blitzwolfer's silhouette.
Wes put an arm on both Max and Kenji's shoulders. "Come into the museum. I can't send you both off without a few souvenirs. And we still need to talk about you breaking our traditions." He glared at Kenji for that last part.
"You remembered?" Kenji frowned.
"Of course, I remembered." Wes said as they reentered the museum, leaving the kids and teens to themselves.
Ben turned to Kai, seeing that this may be his last chance to get his feelings out there. "It's a long summer. Maybe I'll see you again?" He blushed lightly.
Kai hummed softly. "The thing is Ben… you seem like a nice guy, but you're just not my type."
Ben's brain did a double take. "W-what…"
Kenny winced. "Little bro's first heartbreak." He side eyed Yukiko to see how she was responding, oddly she didn't look ecstatic as he thought she would.
Ben was confused, greatly confused. "I-I thought you really liked me…!"
"Well, that was before you turned back into… well… you." Kai motioned at his entire body.
Ben felt his heart breaking like glass. "W-what's wrong with me?"
Kai shook her head. "Nothing and the alien stuff is cool. Just not as cool as a Yenaldooshi. I figured I could train you, tame you, y'know like a pet."
Ben's stomach dropped to the bottom pits of hell after hearing that, his heart had shattered to pieces. He backed away from Kai, not feeling comfortable around her anymore. "O-oh..." It hurt when your first crush didn't even see you as a person.
Gwen felt her anger spike and was about to give Kai a piece of her mind, but Yukiko's handheld her back. The aura pulsating off of Yukiko was enough to make Gwen shrink to the size of a mouse. Both Kenny and Naoto wisely kept to the back, but also were angry at what Kai had said.
"Kai."
"Yes-" Kai's eyes widened at Yukiko. There was no anger, or any emotion really present on the heiress' face, but she was smart enough to know the heiress was pissed.
Yukiko's eyes bore directly into Kai's soul. "Ben Tennyson is the bravest and toughest boy I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. And thank the heavens that I have the chance to be a part of his life. He may be brash, loud, obnoxious, foolish, reckless, and a little slow."
"Hey!"
"But those are still parts of him that I love the most as well as his kindness and his love for his family. If all you could see from him during this entire ordeal was his alien transformations and not the heart that controls them. Then you, Kai Green, were never worthy of his attention in the first place. For the sake of your future, I do hope you learn to be better than this and grow up."
Everyone was silent after Yukiko finished speaking, both Kai and Ben were staring at her with wide eyes.
One was filled with disbelief.
The other was filled with admiration and appreciation.
Kai slowly stepped away, not knowing what to say. She promptly turned around and slowly walked back into the museum. "Is she gonna be okay?" Kenny wondered.
Naoto shrugged. "She definitely took Yukiko's words to heart, how she decides to interpret them is up to her."
"I guess so." Kenny said.
Ben slowly walked up to Yukiko; the heiress didn't say anything as Ben wrapped his arms around her. "Thank you."
Yukiko happily returned the hug. "You don't have to thank me. I'll always defend you, no matter what."
Naoto smiled softly as she watched the heartwarming scene. It would seem these Tennysons really brought out a different side of her senpai. Her smile vanished quickly as she gazed back up at the sky. She'd wait until they were done with their moment to speak to Yukiko and her family about the weather phenomenon that had begun to plague the states. She and her grandfather had come out here for the hope that Yukiko would know about it. And she couldn't help but feel whatever that werewolf was after had something to do with it.
That Purple Lightning.
Back inside of the boiling hot cave the werewolf could be seen activating a mobile satellite.
Chapter End
NOTE: I hope you all enjoyed Naoto and her grandfather (Correct me if he has a canon name. I honestly don't know if he does). Let's get to the post-chapter discussion.
1. Yukiko and Kai. I did not want Yukiko to explode in anger at Kai or hit her, both actions would've been wrong. Instead, she keeps her anger in check and explains to Kai what she just lost. She was very protective over Ben in this chapter, but if Ben ever found love she would be happy for him. Kai just wasn't the one for him, because she couldn't see him as a person.
2. Kai as a character. As Yukiko said in the end here, she needs to grow up and realize that Ben is a human being and that she can't treat people in that way. Had Omniverse given her more time to develop and interact with Ben (And if Ben's previous relationship with Julie didn't end as dumb as it did) then I'm certain people wouldn't have been so off put with Kai as they were. Don't worry in this story she isn't Ben's pairing, but she will reappear to make amends with Ben before Omniverse.
3. Naoto is one of my favorites and I do see why Atlus loves using her so much (Besides their obvious favoritism for detectives). She has a role in this arc and don't worry both Yu and Rise will reappear as well. She and her grandfather learned of the weird weather phenomenon of the Purple Lightning and are trying to uncover the mystery about it. Thus, enlisting the help of Yukiko and the Tennysons.
4. This is the second time in the story where Ben hugged Yukiko willingly. The first was in the Null Void when he hugged both her and Gwen. This one felt more personal since Yukiko just defended his honor as a human being, bringing them closer together.
5. I had honestly forgotten that Ben mentioned turning into Vilgax in this episode, so it's funny to think about how the reboot finally went and did that with the transformation Gax.
6. Phil got an honorable mention.
7. Yukiko admits that she may've been hypocritical at Max. Damage has been done not much she could do now.
Next Chapter - Game Over
