In the desert of Alabasta, the appearance of a large and ferocious worm-like creature coming out of nowhere and attacking the rebel army left Ben, Vivi, and Kohza completely dumbfounded.
"W-what is that thing?! Vivi stuttered.
"I don't know. But it's definitely dangerous," Kohza noted.
"Wait, none of you have ever seen anything like this before?" Ben questioned.
"No, I have never seen a monster like this in all my life," Vivi answered with a look of terror on her face.
Before Ben could retort, the screams of the rebels interrupted his train of thought as he saw the massive worm either crushing or knocking aside anyone who got in its way like they were nothing.
But Ben wasn't having any of that as he swiftly slapped down the Omnitrix core and transformed into...
"ARMODRILLO!"
"What in the hell?!" Kohza shouted in disbelief as he could only stare at the yellow armored creature that was now in front of him, "Vivi, what just happened?!"
"It's a long story, I'll explain later," Vivi replied, "But basically Ben has the ability to transform into many different creatures with their own unique powers and skills."
"Now to really shake things up!" Armodrillo exclaimed as he planned on burrowing beneath the worm while it was distracted and delivering a devastating punch with his drill-hand. He figured that his drill combined with the full power of his jackhammer-arm would be enough to take this creature down.
As the worm prepared to lunge at the remaining rebels, it stopped when its senses caught wind of a very enticing scent. Looking ahead it spotted the source: Armodrillo. At that moment, the beast's six eyes widened significantly as a primal instinctive urge overcame it.
The monstrous worm completely lost interest in the rebels and lunged at its other enemy.
"HEY!" one of the rebels shouted indignantly. "What's it doing now?!"
The worm arched its body in midair and aimed itself to fall directly above Armodrillo. The superhero had no time to react as the creature collided with him; both burrowers completely disappeared under the sandy surface.
"Ben!" shouted Vivi.
A short moment later, the monster-worm burst from the sand with Armodrillo holding both ends of its beak-like mouth open with his legs hanging out. It twisted and shook its head rapidly, trying to swallow Armodrillo whole.
The Talpaedan's arms creaked from the intense pressure behind the worm's jaws. He looked into the worm's mouth and saw sets of razor-sharp teeth spiraling around like a drill. He definitely didn't want to wind up in there. Armodrillo groaned from the growing strain in his bulky arms; he needed to get out of this thing's mouth pronto!
"Hey! No snacking on the superhero!"
Armodrillo repositioned himself to have his legs under him to hold back the lower jaw, freeing up his left arm in the process. He converted his hand into a drill and jabbed it into a dark purple tissue spot.
The predator opened its mouth wide and released a pain-filled shriek while flinging Armodrillo away. He spun around a few times in midair before landing on both feet with his arms out to catch himself. He looked up to see that the worm had quickly recovered once more and returned its predatory gaze to him.
The giant worm shot out of the sand and came down toward Armodrillo again. The yellow-armored alien dodged to the side to avoid the beast's lunge. Its front-half popped out of the ground again as it homed in on its prey.
Armodrillo's eyes widened when the worm opened its mouth and, in quick succession, fired a round of acid-balls at him. The Talpaedan quickly reacted by slamming his arms into the ground, summoning a stone slab in front of him. The rock shielded him; however, it quickly began to dissolve away.
Seeing its prey unharmed, the predator-worm prepared to fire another round of acid-spit before it suddenly recoiled as it was hit by a rain of bullets.
"Shoot that monster!" Kohza shouted as he and several other rebels shot many rounds at the worm.
Armodrillo's eyes widened in surprise and dread, "No, get away!" He tried to call to them, but it was too late.
The worm, without warning, lifted its spiky tail out of the sand and slapped it into the rebels once more with Kohza just barely diving out of the wat. They cried out in both fear and agony as they went crashing into the sand. The creature did this without even looking back at its attackers, keeping its gaze on Armodrillo alone.
"Uh...why are you looking at me like that...?" Armodrillo murmured.
Responding with a high-pitch screech, the beast snapped its head forward. Armodrillo sidestepped the lunge and reared back his right arm before punching the creature in the head. The shockwave rattled the sandy ground and knocked the beast to the side.
To Armodrillo's surprise, the beast lifted its head back up and glared at him, completely unharmed by the blow.
Armodrillo then tried a different tactic by punching the ground with both arms, creating a seismic tremor that forced the worm's entire body out of the sand and rolling backward at least ten meters. Concentrating on his abilities, Armodrillo summoned four giant stone slabs on each side of the creature. The creature had no time to react as the Talpaedan mentally commanded the rocks to smash the creature, sandwiching it in-between.
With a grunt, Armodrillo stopped pumping his arms and pulled them out of the sand. He waited for a moment and kept his eyes on the stones, looking for any signs of movement. The stone slabs suddenly exploded into smaller rocks as the worm burst out, charging straight for Armodrillo.
"Of course that didn't work…"
Armodrillo widened his stance and grabbed both ends of the worm's beak. He grunted strenuously, pushing hard against the monster. However, despite putting all his strength into holding the beast at bay, he was easily driven backward while his feet left shallow trenches in the sand.
'This thing is crazy strong!' He inwardly exclaimed.
Without warning, the worm lifted its head up into the air with Armodrillo in tow. It reared to the side before flinging the Talpaedan away. His back skipped across the ground a couple of times before coming to a sliding stop near Vivi and Carue.
"Ben, are you alr - Look out!" Vivi shouted in alarm.
Armodrillo opened his eyes to see the end of the worm's tail coming down at him. He rolled to his left in the nick of time as the pincer-tail impacted the spot where he had been lying.
The monster-worm squealed loudly as it swiped its tail at its quarry several more times, the Talpaedan narrowly avoiding each swipe.
Armodrillo then brought up his right arm and his elbow-piston extended out, the pressure inside his appendage starting to grow exponentially. Upon punching the ground, a powerful shockwave vibrated through the sand and slammed into the worm-predator. It shrieked in pained surprise and went reeling back from the attack. A wave-like pattern was left in the ground from the shockwave.
"Yeah! Take that Slamworm!" Armodrillo turned to the princess who had a confused expression. "Ya know… 'cause it's a worm… and it's trying to slam us with its tail. Heh-heh… get it?" he chuckled in amusement.
The newly christened Slamworm raised its front-half up and let out an enraged squeal at the group. Then all of a sudden, it lunged at the armadillo-alien.
"LOOK OUT!" Vivi shouted.
Armodrillo turned around with wide eyes as the Slamworm rammed its beak into him, slamming him down against the ground.
"Someone kill this thing already!" One of the rebels shouted as he and several of his comrades prepared to shoot at the worm again.
The Slamworm lifted its tail and once more smacked the rebels away to the other side of the desert in a swift motion.
"How many times are they gonna get smacked by a worm tail today?" Armodrillo commented, exasperated.
The Slamworm shrieked in primal hunger as it tried to force the Talpaedan into its mouth. Armodrillo kept the worm's mouth open with his arms and legs, however, his appendages were beginning to quake from the predator's amazing power.
'Armodrillo isn't making a dent in this thing... I gotta switch things up!'
"Alright, Slammy! Let's see how you handle a friend I like to call Humungousaur!" He quickly pulled down his right arm to slap the Omnitrix dial.
In a flash of emerald, the Talpaedan was replaced with not Humungousaur but something completely different. It had the appearance of a Sasquatch-like creature with yellow and black fur, along with grey fingers and toes. He had four fingers as well as two bolts on the side of his wrists. He also had green eyes with black pupils and yellow lightning bolt-shaped horns. Lastly, He wore a green and white belt where the Omnitrix symbol was located.
"Shocksquatch? Okay, I can work with this eh."
The Slamworm stopped and squawked in alarmed confusion.
The Gimlinopithecus shot a bolt of yellow electricity from his mouth into the Slamworm's gaping maw causing it to shriek in agony as it was knocked back. Shocksquatch didn't let up as he jumped up and grabbed Slamworm by the head and slammed him down before sending a two-fisted punch down that pounded him into the ground, smashing through with a few good hits.
But it wasn't over yet as Shocksquatch roared out as he wrestled with Slamworm, grunting as his body sparked with yellow electricity as Slamworm tried to bite down on his head, which he grunts against as he shoved him off. The monster roared out as it was hit as Shocksquatch got up with a faint groan. He then saw the large worm coming back as he says, "Still at it, eh?" He then smirked as he ran on all fours away from Slamworm. "Okay…time to give you a…shock to your system." He smirked to himself at the joke as Slamworm followed after him, hissing darkly.
"Gotcha!" He roared out as he sent numerous down bolts of electricity at it, making it roar out in pain as it was sent back as Shocksquatch then fired down a yellow blast of pure energy from his mouth, making it roar out in anguish.
The monster hit the ground with a groan, its body having been completely burned to a crisp as Ben slammed the Omnitrix dial, turning back to normal.
"I-is it over?" Vivi stuttered, the princess shaking like a leaf as she saw the unconscious body of the monster worm.
"Yeah, it won't getting up anytime soon," Ben replied. Though he paid one more glance to the downed Slamworm.
'But I'm still surprised Armodrillo's last attack couldn't beat it.' Ben mused. 'It's like Slamworm was completely invulnerable to Armodrillo...'
"Ben..." Vivi called out, snapping Ben out of his musings, "We should go check on the rebel army and see how many of them are wounded. "
Ben simply nodded, unaware of the Slamworm awakening and quickly burrowing underneath the sand, picking up dust everywhere which made both Ben and Vivi cough as the monster got away.
"Ugh…it got away." Ben said with a scowl before looking at the many injured rebels as he grimaced, "Yeah... this just got a lot more complicated."
Usopp, Chopper, and Rook VS the Mr. 4 Pair
As she ran, Ms. Merrychristmas changed into her hybrid form, claws sprouting from her fingers and toes and a mole's nose replacing her own. She became a mole-woman. Usopp and Chopper backed away in fear, But Rook was just confused.
"I do not understand this world."
"Ah!" Usopp screamed. "She turned into a penguin!"
"I'm a mole, you moron!" she yelled before burrowing into the ground.
There was suddenly a loud crack before more could be said and a large explosion bloomed into existence in front of the trio, flinging them backwards.
"What was that?" Rook questioned as he landed gracefully on his feet. He looked around the battlefield, which was now riddled with holes big enough for a person of Ms. Merrychristmas' figure. After taking some time to analyze them, Rook now had a rough estimate of the mole-woman's fighting style, so he knew that he would need to get rid of her tunnels to win. There was another crack causing Rook to quickly take in his surroundings. A baseball was coming toward the rookie Plumber.
Rook expertly dodged it as the projectile soared over his head and exploded behind him harmlessly. The Revonnahgander rode out the blast using both his training and experience as a Plumber and a member of Ben's team.
Meanwhile, Usopp and Chopper were stirring back to consciousness.
"Ow," Usopp whined. "What hit us?"
"Mr. 4 did, you morons!" Ms. Merrychristmas laughed, popping out of the ground next to the sniper. She took great pleasure in the look of terror on the pirate's face. "He's our fourth batter. He may be really slow, but when his gun spits out its time bombs, there's no one who can beat him." Chopper shifted into his Heavy Point and punched at the woman who ducked into her hole.
"She sure is one talkative penguin, isn't she?" Usopp questioned.
"I'M A MOLE!" said woman yelled from the tunnels.
"Forget about her," Chopper told him. "We need to focus on Mr. 4 now. Let's go."
"Uh, you go ahead. I think my ICan'tFightBattersWithExplodingBaseballs-itis is acting up."
"Shut up, Usopp. That's not even a real disease."
"How do you know?"
"I'm a doctor," Chopper deadpanned. "Come on!" Chopper took off toward the batter, leaving Usopp to follow lest he be left behind at the mole-woman's mercy. From somewhere behind them, the man's dog-gun Lassoo spat a triad of bombs which the blond hit into the air in an attempt to kill Rook. He was able deftly avoided all three.
Usopp sped ahead, pulling out a giant hammer with 5t painted in red on the side.
"Usopp Giant Hammer!" The teen brought the weapon down on Mr. 4, hitting him in the face. The man fell backwards.
"Mind if I cut in?!" Rook shouted to the others. "Stone Cutter!" He came down on Mr. 4 and landed a punch to his face which caused a massive shockwave that violently crushed Mr. 4 into the dirt. Blood flew from his mouth as the force damaged his insides before his head thumped against the ground. The shockwave blew Usopp and Chopper over as cracks spiraled out from the impact point. The ground, weakened from the tunnels Ms. Merrychristmas had dug, started caving inward.
"Are you trying to kill us?!" Usopp yelled hysterically, pulling himself to his feet and stomping over the Plumber. "You almost crushed us and you stole my win!"
"My apologies, but I saw an opportunity to defeat our enemies and I took it," Rook retorted. Neither one noticed the dog/gun hybrid that run over and started trying the wake the man by licking his face. Mr. 4 twitched, but he did not stir. "Would you have preferred to drag out this fight?"
"Well, no," Usopp conceded, "but that's not the point! It's the principle of the thing!"
"Uh, guys?" Chopper tried to say. The mole-woman watched from one of her surviving holes, confused about how someone as scrawny as Usopp could wield a five-ton hammer.
"In a fight, principles matter little. It is something that our enemies would no doubt take advantage of. Tactics and strategy are all that matters."
"But it matters to me! Brave warriors don't use sneak attacks to win! They fight their foes head on like the giants of Elbaf!"
"We really don't have time for this," Chopper told them. He was ignored.
"If you charge in blindly, it is guaranteed you can be overwhelmed by an enemy's sneak attacks or underhanded tactics!"
Chopper sighed. It seemed those two would be yelling at each other for a while, so it was up to him the finish their fight. He locked his gaze on Ms. Merrychristmas who was still staring at Usopp and his giant hammer in horror. Bringing out and eating a Rumble Ball, Chopper bent down and changed into his Horn Point before charging. As much as Chopper loved Usopp as a friend and companion, he had to admit that sneak attacks were more effective for people who weren't Ben or the Monster Trio. He came within fifteen feet of the Baroque Works agent before she noticed his presence, but that was enough time for her to duck into the hole.
Chopper followed her. He jumped into the hole to find a web of interconnected tunnels with Ms. Merrychristmas' scent all over them. Using his nose, Chopper followed the strongest scent into the rightmost tunnel.
"Do you really think you can beat me?" the woman's voice echoed through the tunnel. "Do ya? Do ya really?"
"I don't have a choice," the reindeer called in the general direction of the sound. "My captain is counting on me. Failure isn't an option."
"Of course it is," Ms. Merrychristmas taunted from the opposite direction. "It was for him. We got word that he went up against our boss, he's as good as dead. He's a failure! A no-good, dead failure!"
"He's not dead!" Chopper snapped. "Don't lie to me!" There was no response. Chopper was still. Having lost her trail, he stayed put in the tunnel. Dirt shifting under him was the only warning the doctor had before the mole-woman appeared beneath him. She rocketed upward, forcing him up and through the ground. Chopper coughed blood, both her claws and the hard earth doing damage to his body.
Thinking quickly, Chopper changed into his Heavy Point and grabbed the woman by her face to pull her out of the ground with him. He threw her up before shifting into Arm Point and attacking.
"Carving Hoof Cross!" He hit her crossed arms, blasting her away. The woman landed on her back with a crack.
"That hurt, dammit! Hurt, hurt, hurt!" She dove into the ground, digging toward the reindeer, dirt rising where she passed. The woman reached him, jumping out of the earth with a cry of "Mole-Mole Slash!" Her claws shot up, cutting a gash in Chopper's side. He hissed.
In response, Chopper brought his fist up in an uppercut, hitting the agent in the chin and sending her away from the ground. He morphed into Jump Point and followed in to the air where he pushed her higher with his legs.
"Ahhhhhh!" Ms. Merrychristmas screamed, the sound finally catching Rook's attention.
"Oh no, I got distracted!" He exclaimed as he took out his Proto-Tool and converted it into an energy bow. Rook raised his weapon into the air and shot several energy arrows at the mole woman which exploded on contact, causing her to scream in pain as she hit the ground, forming another crater. Chopper looked on cautiously as the dust settled, revealing the still form of a now human Ms. Merrychristmas.
"D-Did you kill her?" Chopper stuttered.
"Of course not," Rook quickly replied. "My Proto-Tool was designed to incapacitate criminals not kill them. But if you do not mind me asking Dr. Chopper, just what were those transformations you used against that mole woman?" Rook questioned as he poked the twitching Miss Merry Christmas, punching her once to keep her knocked out.
"Oh, you mean my Rumble Ball? I created it to help strengthen my Devil Fruit powers! I used my 'Scope' ability to determine their weaknesses," Chopper explained.
"That is very interesting," Rook smiled. "I am indeed impressed."
"Shut up, you asshole!" Chopper blushed much to the Revonnahgander's confusion.
Rook then became serious once more, "Let us go find the others."
Usopp pointed to their knocked out opponents and cocked his head. "What about them?"
"I do not think they are going anywhere."
Winners: Usopp, Chopper, and Rook
Sanji and Kevin VS Mr. 2
"Dude, let me tell you, you are one fruity looking guy," Kevin mocked.
"I'm an Okama, you jerk!" Mr. 2 retorted. "Beware, for I will take you both down with my Newkama Kenpo!"
"Oh no," Kevin rolled his eyes. "I'm so scared, I'm shakin' in my boots."
"As you should be!" Bon Clay responded, not catching the sarcasm in the older teen's tone.
"Can we get this over with?" Sanji questioned. "I'm running low on cigarettes and the sooner this war is stopped, the sooner I can stop rationing."
"Fine then. Prepare yourselves! Memoir of a Winter Sky!"
The chef and the Osmosian dove to either side as the ground they'd been standing on shattered under the force of the man's toes.
"You've got some pretty strong legs," Sanji smirked as Mr. 2 spun around to try to ax kick him. Sanji countered, catching the man's hairy leg with his own. "But then again, so do I."
"Just who are you?" Mr. 2 asked, his eyes narrowing at the blond.
"Me? I'm just the chef of a pirate ship."
"Don't forget about me," Kevin called, bringing one of his hammer hands down to break Mr. 2's leg. The man twirled out of the way, aiming his other foot to take the Osmosian's head off. Kevin brought up his other hammer, the Seastone meeting the foot at full speed and ceasing all movement.
"Alright, Okama," Sanji taunted. "Let's dance."
"Oh, I do love dancing! Remembrance of that Summer Sky!" Bon Clay launched forward gracefully, twisting his body to dodge Kevin's attacks while meeting Sanji's kicks blow-for-blow. "Oh ho! You've got this spark in you. I like that."
"Back off!" Sanji yelled, his kick speeding up to catch the okama's bent leg. Mr. 2 was sent skidding back, Kevin's hammer smashing the ground where he'd been. "I fight for the ladies and only the ladies! You got that?"
"Oh, you haven't accepted yourself, have you?" Mr. 2 questioned sadly. "I shall have to help you with that if you survive. Un, deux, trois!" Bon Clay leapt forward, ducking under Kevin's hammer to kick the Osmosian in the chest before exchanging rapid-fire kicks with the irate chef. Kevin slid backwards, gritting his teeth in pain.
"Are you implying I'm a homosexual?!" Sanji yelled angrily, kicking as fast as he could. Bon Clay met him blow-for-blow. "I fight for the beautiful women of the world! What in that gives you the conclusion that I'm gay?!"
"Oh, you poor, confused boy. I'll have to force your eyes open to the freedom of erk-"
"Not if I have anything to say about it," Kevin interrupted, landing a blow to the man's face. "I doubt you could to anything to Curly Brow over there, but I won't take that chance."
"What the hell, you think I'm gay too?!"
"No chances," Kevin repeated though on the inside he thought it was all hilarious. "I think I like our crew the way it is, thank you very much."
"You fools!" Mr. 2 cried. "Moral obligations aside, do you really think you have a chance of defeating Baroque Works?"
"We've already taken down four of your best agents," Kevin pointed out with a smirk. "Plus we beat how many already? Let's see... over one hundred at Whisky Peak... So yeah, I'm pretty sure the odds are definitely in our favor..."
"It doesn't matter!" Mr. 2 shouted, leaping forward. Kevin twisted out of the way, barely avoiding the attack. Sanji sprung out from behind him, his leg swinging out to introduce Bon Clay's face to his steel-toed shoe. The Okama was sent backward until his back met the sand, kicking up a dust cloud that covered the area and hid him from vision.
"Was that it?" Kevin questioned, eyeing the dust cloud.
"I don't think so," Sanji replied warily. "Crocodile isn't an idiot. If this guy's a number agent, he's got to have some skill."
"Red Dance of the Autumn Leaves!" Mr. 2 sprinted out of the cloud, reaching the pirates within a matter of seconds. There, his extended his right leg up in a perfect split, kicking Kevin in the chin. The young Osmosian was launched into the air. To finish his attack, Bon Clay switched legs and kicked Kevin in the stomach, sending him into the wall surrounding Alubarna.
Thinking fast, Sanji quickly swept his right leg out from under him before hopping into a handstand and wrapping both of his legs around the man's waist. Sanji twisted, forcing Mr. 2's momentum to change directions. The Okama faceplanted, eating sand.
The pirate stood and prepared to finish the fight, but his foe rolled out of the way at the last second, avoiding the small, cracked crater the force of Sanji's ax kick made on the ground.
"You're pretty good, Chef-chan," Bon Clay admitted, "but my next attack will have you rolling on the floor laughing, unable to protect yourself! The silliest hairstyle. The funniest eyes. The most ridiculous nose. The strangest mouth. These elements come together to form my Clone-Clone Montage. Behold! The world's funniest face!" Sanji stared at him blankly. "Why aren't you laughing?"
"You just added Usopp's nose to your face."
"Well fine. If that's not going to work..." The man changed his face once more, taking on the appearance of the Straw Hats' swordsman, Zoro. "You wouldn't attack your own crewmate, would you?"
Sanji simply gave him a deadpan look before nailing him in the face.
"You fiend!" Mr. 2 fumed, reverting back to his original look. "You just attacked your own friend!"
"You're still you," Sanji pointed out. "Your clothes didn't even change. Plus I kick that Moss-Head all the time. My real friends have been through many good times together, it takes more than a simple façade to fool me!"
"What strong friendship!" Mr. 2 wept tears of joy "It makes me proud to see a group that has been through thick and thin! Now the faces I copied from them are useless, what am I going to do with all of them?" he cried as he shifted through all the other Straw Hats' copied impressions. It was here that Sanji revealed a glaring weakness, one that Mr. 2 did not fail to notice.
Simply put, all the Okama had to do was transform into the physique of Nami, and the cook would lose all focus as he is entranced by the beauty of the navigator. Mr. 2 grinned upon seeing this: He finally has an edge!
"You fool! You let your emotions cloud your thinking and now you've given me the time to strike! Okama Chop!" In his lovestruck stupor Sanji failed to realize Mr. 2 had switched back, and he was sent tumbling away.
"Dammit! You-" Sanji grimaced and lashed out with another kick. The flying leg stopped inches when he realized that the Okama had turned back to Nami again. Even though he knew what trick the sneaky Mr. 2 is pulling, his own morals prevented him from bringing any harm to the impersonator, something that Mr. 2 took full advantage of. Another kick, the same result. And each time, Mr. 2 got in a free strike. It's not like he could do anything to begin with anyway; even seeing the navigator's form is enough to send the cook into a lovestruck trance. Soon Sanji laid bruised while Mr. 2 cackled triumphantly.
"Damn that Okama… using Nami-san's image like that…" Sanji gritted "I can't even get a hit in if I'm seeing her face…"
Mr. 2 attacked once again, forcing Sanji to jump out the way. When he tried to attack again, Mr. 2 pulled the same trick once again.
"For all your strength earlier, you can't do anything against a woman it seems! I will finish you off now! Mascara...!" Suddenly, Kevin appeared to ram his shoulder and side into Bon Clay, sending him rolling across the ground, "What?!" Mr. 2 exclaimed as Kevin rushed him again, bring his mace hand down hard onto Bon Clay's face before slamming his hammer hand into Bon Clay's stomach that sent him crashing backwards.
Kevin then quickly ran to help the chef stand up, "Hey lover boy, get your head in the game!"
"Y-you brute!" Bon Clay as he tried to get up, only to fall down on his knees now feeling weaker for some odd reason, "Now you've made me mad!"
Kevin then glanced behind the man. "Hey look over there! That store has a two-for-one deal on eyeliner and mascara!"
"What?! Where?!" Mr. 2 yelled excitedly. While he was distracted, Sanji attacked.
"Mutton Shot!" The chef's leg crushed Bon Clay's face into the hard earth, forcing him into unconsciousness. "Damn it," Sanji swore, lighting a cigarette. "I can't believe I let myself fall for his stupid crap." He then turned to Kevin with a glare. "Oi! You're not going to tell anyone about this are ya?"
"My lips are sealed," Kevin said with a knowing grin as he secretly had his fingers crossed behind his back.
Winners: Sanji and Kevin
Nami, Gwen, and Julie VS Ms. Doublefinger
As Mr. 1 was fighting Zoro, another fight was taking place further down the Alubarnan streets. Unfortunately for the Straw Hats, it was faring just as well as that fight. Specifically, it was more of a stalemate if anything.
Gwen was still exhausted from her earlier battle with Miss All Sunday and also had yet to fully recover from her injuries as her mana reserves were quickly running low. Bruises covered her body as she took the worst of what Miss Doublefinger dished out. However, this did not stop her from fighting the assassin.
She was also not fighting alone. Julie in her Mechamorph armor was fighting just as hard as her, but Gwen noted that Ship's body could take a lot more damage than it let on. Stab after stab, both Julie and Ship were not going down.
"You just don't quit, don't you?" Miss Doublefinger asked, both impressed and irritated.
"I can do this all day," Julie retorted as she kicked Miss Doublefinger in the stomach and the followed up with a harsh uppercut that knocked the assassin back. Just as she connected her blow, Miss Doublefinger created a spike that penetrated her fist cleanly, but Ship's own durability was able to protect his owner from injury. Julie quickly countered by stretching out her other fist and punched Miss Doublefinger hard in the chest that sent her reeling back.
"Ugh," Miss Doublefinger rubbed the wounded area and wiped some blood from her mouth. "You might have cracked a few ribs there, girl... but you really think that's going to be enough to beat me?!"
"Maybe this will?!" Gwen shouted as she shot a powerful beam of mana from her hands while Julie followed up with a green energy blast that Miss Doublefinger was unable to avoid as both attacks hit her at the same time causing a huge explosion, kicking up a dust cloud and causing her to cry out in unspeakable pain.
Gwen then fell onto her knees panting hard as she just used up the last of her mana, "There... that should be enough."
"You...you...!" Miss Doublefinger roared in anger. The smoke cleared and the two girls witnessed the full extent of the damage they had just caused: the agent's body was extremely injured and charred as she was covered in various bruises, burns, and bleeding cuts. She still remained conscious though, but it was clear that she was now on her last legs.
Now livid, Miss Doublefinger went to lunge at both girls, but found herself instead facing Nami, who pointed her weapon right at her. Two of the rods were stacked on each other while the third was placed on top, resembling an uppercase "T."
"Get out of my way, girlie!" Miss Doublefinger demanded, fighting through the pain to turn her right hand into a long blade.
"I don't think so. Didn't you hear? We've got a tornado warning in effect!" Nami smirked at she pressed her weapon. "Tornado Tempo!" Two mechanical birds appeared and started to fly around Paula's arms, tying themselves around them.
"What is this?!" Paula cried before the top of the staff started to twirl around, taking the Baroque Works operative with her. Finally, Nami kept her aim steady as she fired the woman into the wall, causing her to fly through a set of buildings once more. But this time, it was enough to finally knock the woman out once and for all.
"Nice work...Nami," Gwen smiled before passing out herself.
Julie and Nami ran over to collect the girl, leaving Miss Doublefinger on the ground, alone and broken. "This looks bad," Nami frowned. "We need to get her bandaged up fast. Chopper should be near the main gate."
"Right," Julie replied as she gave one final look at their fallen opponent and followed Nami. Miss Doublefinger's fallen form was still and lifeless, but miraculously she was still alive. Julie considered it a small miracle, but then again she hadn't been fighting for as long as her friends have. She didn't feel right about all this violence, but she knew that it was necessary to save the people she cared about.
Hopefully Tetrax and Zoro were holding up as well. She didn't want to abandon them, but Gwen's life depended on it.
Winners: Nami, Gwen, and Julie
Zoro and Tetrax VS Mr. 1
Mr. 1 was actually feeling an emotion for the first time in a very long time: excitement.
Since eating his Devil Fruit, he had been offered no real challenges from any of his opponents. He killed and maimed for a living and, while that was a good way to relieve stress, after a while it stopped being interesting. The closest thing that compared was the fun game of guessing if his target would run or stand their ground.
Yet here were two people who dared to challenge him with such conviction that it caused Mr. 1 to reevaluate his initial thoughts on them. Upon realizing Zoro's identity, he figured he would be an interesting fight, but a short one regardless. The girl was the wildcard. He had underestimated her but once and she had managed to swat him away like he were a cat toy.
He would not do so again.
Turning his leg into a blade, Mr. 1 slashed down on Zoro, who met the attack with both of his swords. Wasting no time, he jumped backwards and went for a low strike, forcing Zoro to focus on deflecting kick after kick.
"You can't keep this up forever," Mr. 1 told him.
"You can't either!" Zoro grinned.
Switching tactics, Mr. 1 turned his each of his fingers and palms into knives and started to scratch at him, keeping Zoro continuously moving. As this was happening, the other one kept his distance as he shot numerous crystal shards from his hands that struck Mr. 1's back, further annoying the Baroque Works assassin.
"Hey! This is my fight, so keep out of..." Zoro started to complain before Mr. 1 attempted to knee him, making Zoro jump and roll away. The swordsman readopted his stance and proceeded to grab his third sword and put it in his mouth.
"What?" Tetrax gasped. "That third sword wasn't just for show?! What could you possibly do with three swords?"
"Oni..." Zoro started as he ran towards Mr. 1, who looked surprised at the oncoming assault. "Giri!"
The assassin flew into the air and hit the ground hard. For a split second, Mr. 1 had thought he was about to be hurt. As usual, the attack did nothing but hold him back.
"Pretty impressive for a human!" the mercenary was saying as Mr. 1 started to get up. "I can't even imagine the kind of training that you must have endured to obtain such skill."
"I don't get it," Zoro shook his head, clearly shocked at the sight of the unharmed Mr. 1. "You don't have a scratch on you...nobody has ever withstood my 'Oni Giri' attack!"
"You haven't fought me before today. I already told you, my Devil Fruit power makes me invincible. In order to cut me, you would have to learn to cut steel itself," Mr. 1 boasted. "Go ahead, cut me already."
Mr. 1 started up his kicks again, focusing on Zoro once more as the woman studied his techniques in awe. The swordsman was indeed doing an admirable job of blocking his moves, but it was time to end it. The man opened up his palms and pushed them out at Zoro, who caught them with his swords. "Sparkling Daisy."
As with the pillar before, the building behind Zoro started to slice in equal portions. The swordsman knew that he was done for, and Mr. 1 took little pleasure in what he was about to do. "Blow away."
Zoro proceeded to fly directly into the wreckage, crashing into hard debris that now crumbled on top of his bleeding body. Mr. 1 assumed that he could easily get out of there, but he knew that he had struck a deadly blow to his morale.
"Zoro!" Tetrax called out in shock. "ZORO!"
"Let him be, whelp," Mr. 1 sauntered over to him. "He needs time to lick his wounds like the dog he is. You've been on the sidelines for too long. Show me your moves."
Tetrax's right arm shifted into a large crystal sword. "Gladly. And you can call me Tetrax, 'Mr. 1!'"
"Good to know," Mr. 1 allowed him to make the first strike, anxious to see if his feelings about him were correct.
She would be the one to give him a challenge. He knew it.
It wasn't very long till Tetrax found himself barely holding his own against Mr. 1.
The man had created several spinning blades on his arms, which not only functioned as a weapon but also as a way to defend his chest. The blades turned faster as faster, causing even his own crystal blades to merely connect as oppose to slicing through to his target. Regardless of Tetrax being able to cut through steel or not, Mr. 1 was not allowing him any chance for that to happen.
"Is that all you got?!" Tetrax taunted. "It's gonna take a lot more than spinning blades and tricks to take me down! It's not just about knowing your weapon...it's about knowing how to use it!"
Tetrax went in for a double-bladed strike, but had his bladed arms parried away by the assassin, preparing his hands to drill directly into Tetrax's chest.
"You forget, I am my weapon," he growled.
Just as Mr. 1 struck Tetrax, Zoro managed to free himself from the rubble and pushed the mercenary away, taking the full assault himself. Under his helmet, Tetrax looked mortified as the blades tore open his chest and sprayed blood all over the ground, losing all of his swords in the process.
"You should have stayed down," Mr. 1 told him.
"There's...no honor in that," he smiled before collapsing.
Tetrax ran over and checked Zoro's pulse, confirming that he was still alive. The mercenary's face contorted in anger as his helmet retracted to reveal his now enraged expression, much to the surprise of Mr. 1 at his enemy's strange appearance.
"What... are you?"
"A noble warrior, unlike you!" Tetrax spat out. "My ally may be down, but you are dealing with one of the greatest mercenaries in the known universe! You lost just by accepting this fight!"
"Funny; you didn't land a single blow on me," Mr. 1 reminded him. "You've yet to show me that there is any offensive skill behind your boasting."
As he was speaking, Tetrax summoned a massive crystal-fist at Mr. 1 that sent him flying, catching him off guard as he actually felt pain from the attack. Moving faster than he did before, Tetrax let out a series of punches, kicks, and slashes that were difficult for the assassin to block against. It was clear that Mr. 1 was now on the defensive, swatting away his opponent's blows and being forced back until he was suddenly slashed in the chest.
He started to bleed.
"WHAT?!" He could not stop his blocking or else he would have felt the blood dripping from the rather deep cut. "Nobody has ever cut me before..."
"Well, there's a first time for everything," Tetrax smirked. "It doesn't matter if you're a swordsman or not, a true warrior is aware of everything that's around them."
"That...that's what this is then?" a weak voice managed to get out as the two fighters stopped and regarded its source. Zoro, despite losing more blood then humanly possible, had managed to stumble towards the two clutching one of his discarded swords. "It's like I can hear... every breath that he takes."
"How are you still alive?!" Mr. 1 started to lose composure. "Why won't you die?!"
"Zoro! Stay down!" Tetrax commanded.
"I'm ending this!" Mr. 1 spat, kicking away the Petrosapien and running towards the warrior. Zoro, however, held himself together and held onto his sheath.
"Single Sword..." Zoro said as he unsheathed his sword, swiped it at Mr. 1's chest and sheathed it back in. "...Shishi Sonson!"
Another burst of blood erupted out of Mr. 1's chest. The man looked shocked, as not only had he not bled at all until that day, but here he was getting cut twice in one day. "You...you...what's next? Slicing diamonds?" he laughed, coughing up more blood. "I accept my defeat…thank you...for a good fight!" He used his last energy to chuckle, collapsing in a pool in his own blood.
"Thank you...for being a worthy opponent," Zoro took a knee himself, being caught by Tetrax.
"What in the world were you thinking?! You've lost too much blood! You could have been killed!" Tetrax started to fret over his companion.
"None...none of that matters...because I am a man who cut steel!"
Winners: Zoro and Tetrax
Meanwhile...
Somewhere outside Alubarna, in a spaceship, Khyber was sharpening his blade. His dog having just arrived already transformed back. "You did well, old friend. But this Ben Tennyson is more powerful than I imagined. And resourceful. His allies have proven to be quite skilled as well. He will be our greatest trophy. Khyber the Huntsman... promises it!" He said with a smirk as he looked around his trophy room; revealing many deceased alien relics from a skeleton of an alien from Rath's species, to a shell of a creature that resembled Terraspin, to a rug that looked akin to that a Vulpimancer and even the head of a large horn headed creature.
AN: Done. This took longer than I thought, trying to decide how each fight would go. But it's pretty obvious that the Strawhats' battle with Baroque Works would be a lot different with the presence of the Ben 10 characters in the mix, as well as a bit easier too. I hope you enjoyed Ben's fight with Khyber's pet, no doubt the first of many to come. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter overall as I'll see you again next time.
