The group landed on the planet after what felt like a couple hours. As soon as everyone got out, Ship changed back to regular size. "Ship!" Julie picked him up.
"Just stay with me, Ship." She told him. "No running away."
"Ship!" He got into her pocket.
"Glad to see he's listening this time." Kevin said.
"Okay, enough." Gwen said. "We're here on a mission."
"This place is huge." Ben said. "There's no way all five of us can cover it."
"Six." Julie corrected, pointing out Ship.
"I don't think he was counting that…Galvanic Mechamorph." Elena said, finally remembering the name.
"Okay, I was just saying." Julie said. "There's no need for you getting up in my face."
"Hey, knock it off!" Ben said. "We're a team here, so can we solve our group issues later?"
"Fine, but don't expect me to go with her." Gwen said. Although she and Elena had gotten slightly closer, they still had issues.
"Hey, what did I say earlier? Nobody's going off on their own!" Ben said. "All of us are staying together, whether we like it or not. Not many Plumbers have been here before, if they have, I don't know if they made it off this planet alive."
"Yeah, that makes me feel comfortable." Kevin said, sarcastically. At the same time, he was kind of nervous.
"Look, he's right. This'll go a lot faster if we stop fighting and start looking around." Gwen said. She noticed a strange-looking rock on the ground. She picked it up. "That's weird, there's a strange energy signature coming from it."
"I wouldn't be surprised after the last adventure we had." Elena said. Gwen closed her eyes and got a reading.
"There seems to be a group of aliens hiding in that direction." She pointed.
"Okay, then let's go." Ben said.
"Hold it, we can't just go in there." Julie said. "We know nothing about the race or races that live here. We should try not to get spotted."
"She's right, it could be really dangerous." Elena said.
"Hard to believe this is coming from the girl who risked everything to try and save her father." Kevin said.
"I did what I had to do." Elena protested.
"Okay, I think I have an idea." Ben said. "Wherever these guys are, let's try to stay hidden."
The group followed Gwen as they walked through a desert like landscape. "So, what were you guys up to while I was away?" Elena asked.
"We'll tell you later." Ben said. "It's best if we stay quiet, it'll give us the element of surprise."
"Right." Elena said, feeling stupid for saying anything.
"Hey, we all make mistakes, Elena." Gwen told her. "It's no big deal." It had gotten dark out, so she used a small energy orb for light.
Julie suddenly stopped at the back of the group. "What's wrong?" Ben asked.
"I don't know, something's shaking." Julie said. Then it hit her. "Or someone. Give me a minute?" She ran behind a huge rock nearby. The rest of the group looked at each other, completely stumped.
"What's with your girlfriend?" Elena asked. Ben shrugged. A second later, Julie returned to the group, carrying Ship in her arms.
"It was Ship, the poor little guy's been shaking in fear." Julie said.
"Is he okay?" Ben asked.
"Yeah, I've calmed him down." Julie said. She looked to Ship. "Don't worry, nothing's going to hurt you while we're around."
"You're really great with him." Ben said. Elena was watching, and was feeling a little jealous.
"Anyway, shouldn't we be investigating this place?" She asked.
"Yeah, guys, my mana orb isn't going to last all night." Gwen pointed out.
"Right, let's go." Ben said. All of them walked by the entrance of a cave.
"They're inside." Gwen confirmed. They looked inside, but there was nobody in there. "They were inside. They must've changed location."
"I think we just found them." Ben said, pointing to a group of aliens over in a valley. It was too far to tell what species they were.
"How are we going to get close without getting spotted?" Kevin asked.
"Leave it to me." Ben said.
"Okay, so this is our plan." One of the aliens was speaking. "We're going to take over this planet and make the inhabitants here feel the wrath after what they've done to us."