Chapter Eighteen - Jaws of the Beast
As they continued to drill deeper and deeper into the Earth's crust, Steven's stomach started to drop. Not just because of the elevation, but because of a mounting sense of dread he was feeling.
More so than his companions, Steven knew how dangerous this mission was. And, how potentially hopeless it was. The power of a Diamond, Peridot had said, was needed to stop this horrible miracle of gem science. Steven had been hoping he would have more back up. However, as he glanced to his side, he saw that Jake was looking around, with a similar expression to his. Their eyes met, and Jake gave Steven an expectant look.
"So," he asked quietly, "what's the plan for the Cluster?"
Steven's stomach squirmed.
"Uh…" he said. Jake, reading his expression, seemed to understand.
"You don't have one, do you," he guessed correctly.
Steven sighed and shook his head. He didn't have a plan. The half-gem didn't know if there was anything he really could do, but he knew he had had to try.
As they finished their interaction, the drill shook violently. The passengers in the back stumbled about, and shouted in dismay. It was impossible to tell if the shaking had been caused by another earthquake or some other malevolent force, but it got all of them on edge. The team exchanged nervous glances. Moments later, Peridot's voice over the p.a. sliced through the tension.
"We've got company," she said, "a really big prototype is heading our way."
Ben quickly ran to the viewport. For a while, there had been nothing but soil in the small, circular windows that lied the hull of the drill. Now, though, Ben could see that they had entered some kind of large cavern system, complete with an underground lake. As they roared through the tunnel, something caught Ben's eye. A bubbling, churning disturbance on the lake's surface.
Jenny's twin-tail's quivered, and then WHAM! The entire vessel rocked as something huge erupted from the lake's surface. The drill was thrown off course, skidding onto its side on the cave floor. The passengers rattled around like pinballs before the drill eventually stopped. Then, the teens and Bismuth immediately looked for an exit. As if Peridot had read their minds, the emergency hatch in the back of the vehicle popped open. Without hesitation, the small band of would-be heroes scrambled out of the drill.
"No way," Jake said, as the team all finally laid eyes on what had knocked them aside.
"That's.. Not a gem monster," Bismuth said.
Hovering in the air before them, a massive 15 feet across, was an enormous, squid-like being. A massive, semi-translucent abomination, sickly green and with piercing red eyes. It gave off an uneasy green light, which dimly illuminated the cavern. If one stared long enough, they might pick out the horrible fanged maw that hid behind the first layer of green tentacles. As they each took in the hovering specter, like something from an eldritch horror novel, one by one they realized what they were up against.
"It's Vilgax," Jenny said. She clenched her fists, and her mechanical body shifted into a more agile, battle-ready state.
There was a telltale chime as Ben's watch shifted into the active mode. While the hulking being that had to be Vilgax had appeared to hover passively, it seemed to reanimate upon seeing the Omnitrix in action. It's terrifying red eyes honed in on Ben, and the boy gulped hard.
I will admit… I did not expect to have to resort to my true form to defeat you meddlesome brats.
The present party winced as the new and improved Vilgax's psychic voice splintered into their minds.
No matter. Now, you die… and your planet along with you.
"Move!" Jake shouted. He tucked into a somersault, and, halfway through, vanished into a burst of hot flame, replaced on the other side of the roll by the Dragon's form.
However, Vilgax was already in motion. The monster lashed out with several bio-luminescent tendrils, and he snatched at Ben first. Ben recoiled in fear, and frantically reached for the Omnitrix.
"Ah!" he shouted.
"Ben! No!"
There was a flash of white light, and Jenny zipped in front of Ben. It was her instinct, at this point, to protect him. She took the attack for him, and so she instead was snatched up by the glowing green tentacle. It quickly retracted, pulling her closer to the main bulk of Vilgax's new form. Jenny pushed hard against the grip, even activating her white-hot rocket boots. However, with his newfound strength, Vilgax easily held her in place.
"Jenny!" Ben shouted helplessly.
Another tendril launched towards Ben, and another. Bismuth charged in next, deflecting the first tendril as well as she could with her hammer first. However, she was quickly batted aside by the second. The impact sent her flying across the cavern until she landed, with a splash, in the underground lake.
"Ben! Move! Transform!" Jake shouted, flying up and breathing a jet stream of flame at Vilgax's face. Several tentacles reared up to defend the sensitive eyes, and Jake had to perform several daring barrel rolls and fancy maneuvers to avoid being snatched up. Luckily, he bought the others some time.
Unluckily, another tremor hit at that exact moment.
Ben, who had been about to hit the Omnitrix and transform into Four-Arms, was sent tumbling forward, landing on the ground and getting the wind knocked out of him. The quake shook the cavern, and several stalactites broke free of the cave ceiling. The large, stone spikes came crashing down around the combatants. Steven summoned his shield to protect himself and Ben from the falling debris.
Vilgax had no such shield, and one of the falling spikes managed to lodge itself into the side of his enormous head. While not severely damaged, Vilgax did react in pain and surprise, and his grip on Jenny lessened just enough for her so blast away and be free once more. Now, she and Jake began to fly around his head like flies, pelting him with red and white fire.
"Steven!" Peridot shouted, pulling the half-gem's attention away from the battle at hand. With a little help from the jostling of the quake, she had managed to right the drill, and she was now standing next to the door, waving at him. "We don't have time! The Cluster is going to emerge any minute!"
"Go, Steven!" Jenny shouted, unleashing a massive blue beam that Vilgax blocked with a wall of tentacles. "We'll handle this!"
Steven glanced nervously from them, to Vilgax, to Ben, the latter of which had quickly gained a dark glint in his eyes that Steven recognized. He had seen that look in their dream encounter with Vilgax, right before Ben had turned tail and run.
"Hey," Steven said, gently putting a hand on Ben's shoulder. "You good?"
Ben looked down at his trembling hands. Even after the ground had stopped shaking, his body had not. That being… Vilgax. The way he single mindedly sought Ben's destruction set the boy's body on fight or flight. However, as he turned his hands over, and he felt the reassuring grip of his friend, Ben found courage in the green beacon on his wrist. Turning to Steven, he gave him a confident nod. The Omnitrix popped into active position.
"Yeah," Ben said. "I'm ready to waste this Cthulu wannabe."
Steven nodded determinedly, and then stood, looking up to Jake and Jenny.
"Are you sure?" He shouted up.
"AHHHHHH!" Came a battle cry.
There was a splash of water, and Bismuth came charging back out of the lake, swinging her hammer hands like a mad gem. She smashed the ground beneath her so hard that it splintered, one end smashing down and the other flying up like a catapult, launching the grey gem at Vilgax's face. She collided hard with the strange tentacle monster, and while the impact was jarring, she was quickly swatted down. However, that didn't deter Bismuth, and the hardy alien picked herself back up to her feet.
"Yeah," Jake said, swooping past Steven. "I think we're good!"
"Go on, suga'!" Bismuth shouted. "We got this!"
Steven was still wary to go, but nodded as he saw his friends and teammates determined to fight.
"Right. You guys fight the monster! I'll go make sure the planet doesn't explode," Steven said. Then, as he turned and ran to the drill, he added, under his breath: "Somehow."