Ben 10 Alien + Vampire
Chapter 6: Club Hunting; Out of the Water
Back in Bellwood High school, the Bellwood Bears soccer team was facing against the Bellwood Squires from Madison High, the school fighting against Bellwood High. Ben, dressed in the green, black and white soccer uniform on the Bellwood Bears, had the ball at his feet, kicking at it as he ran. Flanking him were JT and Cash, who were playing for the Bellwood Squires. They were trying to get the ball from him. And to Ben, there was no chance in hell he was gonna let these two do that. Not in this game, because for Ben, it was way too important. When they both tried a sweep kick to trip him, he jumped over them and continued to run, snickering as the two collided, falling flat on their backs to the ground.
The goal was in sight, and with a single kick, he sent the ball sailing through the air and into the net of the goal. The crowd cheered as Ben had just scored the winning goal for his team once the referee declared that time was up. Among the crowd, his parents, Carl and Sandra Tennyson, cheered their boy on a victory well done. Gwen and her parents were there, applauding and cheering among the crowd.
Even among them was Grandpa Max, who gave Ben a thumbs up, smirking, "I am so proud of you, Ben." Ben smirked back, as he returned the thumbs up, right back to his Grandpa.
Feminine cheers and cries caught his attention as he turned to see the cheerleaders. They were waving and trying to get his attention for themselves. Ben smiled as he ran over to the cheerleaders… and saw a familiar pink-haired girl, wearing a sexy looking cheerleader's uniform from his school.
"Here, Ben," the girl handed him a bottle of water.
"Thanks, Moka," Ben said as he took the bottle.
Later on, the two were alone near the soccer field, away from spying eyes. They stood under a tree, hidden in the shade, as they stood together, holding each other in a close embrace. The two gazed into each other's eyes, their hearts beating fast as they both knew what was soon to come next.
"Ben," said Moka softly, a fresh blush appearing on her face as she softly smiled to his gaze, "Are you sure? You know what we're doing, right?"
"I know, Moka," he smiled at her, holding her close, as they embraced one another, as he answered, "And what we're doing is what our hearts have been telling us to do for a long, long time. Baby… you're my forever girl."
They both closed their eyes, puckered their lips and leaned in closer to…
WHAM!
Ben was suddenly shocked awake by a chalkboard eraser to the head. Snapping his eyes open, he looked to see Miss Nekonome glaring, but still retaining a sunny disposition.
"Now I sure hope my class isn't boring, Mr. Tennyson," the cat woman teacher said, her smile never disappearing even in situations like this.
"No, ma'am," Ben shook his head.
"Well, please try to stay awake, alright?" she advised, as the hair shaped like ears twitched on her head, "I have an important announcement to make."
Ben nodded and straightened himself up in his seat. He could hear his classmates snickering, Kurumu was just gazing at him lovingly, probably thinking he looked cute when he was sleeping, and even Moka was giggling too. He frowned but then it quickly turned into a smile as he remembered the dream. It didn't stop the throbbing in his head though.
"Now then," Miss Nekonome smiled. "Because our school is made much like human schools, joining a club is mandatory in our curriculum. That way we will be able to join the human world much more easily. Your participation in clubs will help better enable you to understand and fit more in human society. It will also deepen your tastes in their arts, and a better understanding of human culture."
Ben scratched his head. He really was getting used to the fact that he had to join one of the student clubs. Then again, a lot of these people weren't human and hadn't been raised in the human world. It made sense that they needed to get used to the things that humans did. Still, Ben was probably an expert at what humans did. He had been living like one his entire life. But the mentioning of the clubs returned him back to what he had dreamt of.
'A premonition?' He thought to himself, remembering what his cousin had told him about some dreams are somewhat of a subconscious gaze through a possible future. He blushed a little, as he smiled, 'Moka as a cheerleader. Hmmm. Seems reasonable; I can't think of anyone with enough spirit than her or Kurumu.' He then thought of Kurumu in a cheerleader outfit and had to hold his nose from blood loss, 'Perhaps a little too much spirit for her, at least.'
"But sensei!" one student called as he raised his hand. "If that's the case then you'd get an F for your disguise."
"Arw?" Miss Nekonome blinked. She looked at her behind and spotted her tail. She then poked at the feline ears on the top of her head. She looked between her obvious feline features and then back at the student who pointed them out. She was then a flurry of movement. "RAWWR!"
"Gyaaah!" the student suddenly cried. His face was suddenly covered with scratches. He dropped back into his seat, seemingly in a daze.
"Girls are scary when you say things they don't like," Ben gulped, and then thought back of Kurumu, the Siren Cheerleaders, and even the Inner Moka, and gulped harder. "But… monster girls are even scarier."
"Anyway," Miss Nekonome smiled, somehow looking fine even though she had just mauled one of her own students. "All the clubs will be running booths all day! Don't be afraid to visit the Newspaper Club too. I'm the advisor so don't be shy!"
Ben snickered at the blatant advertising. Still, he had been wondering if there was a soccer team here at Youkai Academy. He hadn't seen much in terms of sports teams since he came to the school. Of course, with all the fights he had gotten into, as well as the extra attention that his friendly girl trio had kept giving him, he hadn't been able to check.
"C'mon Ben!" Moka smiled as she took her friend's arm. "Let's see what kind of clubs are out there!"
"Oh, right!" Ben nodded.
Outside
Club Fair
Classes for the rest of the day were cancelled because of the day's "Club Fair". All the school's clubs had set up booths to advertise their clubs and to draw in new members who were interested in joining. Ben looked around with a look of wonder and amazement. If he didn't know better, he would think that this really was a human school and not a monster school trying to mimic one.
"Ben, have you decided on a club yet?" asked Moka who was with him.
"Well, I was hoping to join the soccer team," he answered.
"Oh, you play, right?" Moka said, remembering when Ben once told her about his life in the human world.
"Made MVP one time too," Ben boasted.
"Well, if I was going to join a club, I wish it was with you," said Moka honestly with a blush. Ben blushed too, even when she made the suggestion, "Maybe… I could join the soccer team as a cheerleader. I could always encourage you to keep your spirit up."
Ben blushed even deeper, as he remembered the daydream in class. Definitely a premonition if he ever doubted it. "Let's look around for a bit, OK?" smiled Ben.
"Sure!" Moka cheerfully perked up, Ben thinking that her inner Cheerleader was awakening at the prospect of joining the school's soccer team.
"Are you both looking for a club to join?" a beautiful girl asked, with aquamarine hair and golden shells in her hair. She had a slender figure, which she was showing off in a purple bikini and sarong. Ben blushed bright red when he saw her. She was incredibly sexy.
"Uhhhh..." he stuttered.
Moka looked to Ben's drooling reaction, and nearly huffed that he was acting like this.
"I'm Tamao Ichinose, 2nd year student and President of the Swimming Club," she introduced. She looked Ben over. "You're Ben Tennyson, right? I've heard a lot about you."
"You have?" he blinked, as did Moka, but she sighed, knowing full well he would probably get attention as such, due to past actions.
"Who hasn't heard of you, Mr. Tennyson. There are a lot of rumors about you," she leaned in closer. "They say you can change into a lot of different monsters. I wonder if they're true."
"Well, you know how things get exaggerated," Ben shrugged. It seemed he had gotten a lot of fame through his Omnitrix-powered exploits.
Moka wasn't liking how Tamao was being too friendly with her friend Ben. She gave the sophomore girl a dirty look before grabbing Ben's hand. "Ben, let's look around some more," she sternly said, hoping to pull him away from Tamao, "Maybe we can find the soccer team."
"Oh, Okay." He said to Tamao, "See you around."
"Come back anytime," Tamao smiled back. "You're most welcomed." She watched as Moka dragged Ben off, and couldn't help but let a small chuckle escape her lips, sensing she had driven a wedge between the American and the Vampire.
Ben was a little confused as to why Moka was being so upset, but he figured how he was looking at Tamao probably didn't help. In his defense, when a girl walks up to you in a bikini, she can get kind of distracting. And things get worse, whenever a girl that was with you, gets irked at such a distraction.
The other clubs didn't look nearly as appealing as the Swim Club did. A creepy guy with his eyes bulging out, holding a camera and ghost photos moaned out, "Care to join the Photography Club, and take pictures of Ghosts?"
This gained a response, with Moka running into Ben's arms, with a startled scream, "Aaah!"
The same thing happened when they checked out the Acupuncture Club, with their latest member. A hulking green bald fellah with needles all over his body, glared down at Ben and Moka, as he asked, "Care to join the Acupuncture Club?"
Once again, Moka ran into Ben's arms, smiling as she screamed, "Aaah!"
Things didn't go too well elsewhere, as a gaggle of Mummies tried to surround them, "Mummy Club?"
Third time's the charm, Moka leapt into Ben's arms, swept off her feet, as she screamed again in startled terror, "Aaah!"
The Chemistry Club wasn't any better, as they were all a bunch of lovesick geeks, who held out Love Potions. One of the members, a perverted giggling geek, held out a violet flask, hoping for Moka to ingest, as he advertised pervertedly, "Care to Join the Chemistry Club, and test out our Love Potions, Moka?"
Moka ran up, pressing herself to Ben for protection, as she smiled with a startled scream, "Aaaah!"
Ben sweat dropped as he looked to the girl, and mumbled, "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" He then looked around, and groaned, 'Isn't there a single normal club out in this school?'
Later On
After a while both Moka and Ben walked around, almost feeling defeated in finding a club for them both to join. The Chemistry Club had proclaimed love for Moka, hoping to make beautiful love potions with her. The Mummy Club was filled with weirdoes in Ben's opinion. How they managed to become a club in the first place was beyond him. The Photography Club seemed to have more guys like the Love-Love Alliance who were busy taking pictures of Moka. The pink-haired vampire was a much desired figure for all the clubs. It got so bad both she and Ben had to escape outside. And after the prompt escape, they both walked together in utter defeat, the first in Tennyson's in High School, probably Moka as well.
"None of these clubs seem to be for me," Moka huffed after their prompt escape.
"Did you see that guy from the Acupuncture Club?" Ben asked incredulously. "He looked like something out of a horror movie. Some kind of pinhead or something; kind of like a Frankenstein version of Pinhead from Hellraiser."
"I guess the sports teams are set up somewhere else," Moka shrugged.
"Oh? Looking to joins a sports club?" a new voice asked.
Ben and Moka turned to see Tamao, still in her bikini and sarong, leaning next to a drink machine with a can of iced tea in her hand. She still had that easy smile on her face. Moka frowned slightly and Ben flushed slightly. "You know, the Swimming Club is holding a swimsuit contest to draw in new members. Even if you don't plan on joining, you're still welcome to come and watch," Tamao smiled, hoping for the American to reel the bait.
A swimsuit contest. That was any man's dream. Even Ben seemed interested, as he thought of the idea of Moka in a bikini. But then, suddenly a thought of the Inner Moka in a sexy bikini. And in response, was the imagined platinum-haired beauty delivering to him one of her 'Know your Place' kicks to him. He shook his head, hoping to steer away from such thoughts, as he came back to reality.
"Well…I was kind of hoping to find if there's a soccer club," Ben frowned slightly.
"Well that's good," Tamao smiled. "Members from the other sports clubs drop by to have fun during the exhibition. We in the Swimming Club get along SO well with the others sports clubs."
"Really?" Ben asked with a growing smile. "What do you think Moka? This might be our chance to find a Soccer Club."
"Um…" Moka hesitated, clutching her rosary like a life preserver and doing her best not to sound scared, "Swimming?"
Sensing the fear, Tamao smirked a little, hiding it with her relaxed face as she looked at Moka. "Hm, I heard that you're a vampire, Moka Akashiya," Tamao said, and Moka gasped. "Wonder if all the rumors of that are true."
"Rumors?" asked Ben, looking to Moka, and then to Tamao, "What rumors are you talking about?"
"It's nothing," Moka spoke quickly, as she stood in front of Ben. She looked up to Tamao's challenging gaze, and answered, "We'll be there. We can find the Soccer Club if what you say is true."
"It is," Tamao nodded with a smile. "Well, we will see you there then. Bring swimsuits."
"Sure," Ben nodded, and looked to Moka without her noticing. It wasn't like Moka to be so confrontational; well, maybe a little from Kurumu at times, but nothing like this. Ben figured that something was bothering her.
Later On
Youkai Academy Swimming Pool
Swimming Club Center
"Oh…my…god," Ben murmured in English. He was dressed in a green pair of swimsuit shorts that stopped in the middle of his knees, with a white green line on both sides, and on the waist.
Ben was sure he had seen teenager heaven, as he gazed the sight before him. There were pretty girls in bikinis everywhere, all teenagers that didn't have at least a modest swimsuit, just all of them in drop dead tie on bikinis. Even the guys that were joining the club weren't having a bad gazing time, and actually got to interact with the girls with no signs of rejection. They were splashing and giggling with the boys who had come. It seemed too good to be true that they were getting along, with no signs of being shy around the boys at all. Ben was tempted to pinch himself to see if he really was dreaming or not. Still, he could have fun when he did what he had to do.
"Soccer Club," Ben reminded himself. "I'm here to find someone from the Soccer Club." But, his attention was taken to another sight, as he saw Moka.
Moka was the only person still in her uniform. She looked extremely uncomfortable and skittish around the pool. She was eyeing what everyone was doing carefully, and was staying far away from the edge of the water. Meaning she kept to the steel gate at all times. Ben was wondering what she was so nervous about, but guessed that she was hydrophobic or something. He decided to go over to her, and try to comfort her at least, just so they could find any members of the Soccer Team members for admission for membership in both team and cheerleader squads.
"BEN!" Kurumu suddenly appeared, tackling into the boy who was caught by surprise.
"Kurumu, hey-" He then took notice of her. 'WOAH!'
"Oh, do you like it?" she smirked as she did a sexy pose that made her breasts bounce. She was clad in a yellow bikini that didn't leave too much to the imagination. Ben nodded dumbly. She then hugged his arm to her chest. "Well, I hope we can get some alone time later. Then I can take it off for you." She pressed on further, as she asked, "Ben… maybe sometime today… you could teach me to swim."
Ben gulped, "Uh, yeah. But Kurumu, that swimsuit."
She blushed deeply, but not in embarrassment, as to what she did next. She undid the knot in the back, allowing the straps to come undone, but cupped her chest to keep the bikini on. Ben nearly went gushing out blood from both his nose to his ears, as she cooed, "Or if you'd like… you could help put some lotion on me. You know what they say about guys who have amazing hands, right?"
KLONG!
A large pail knocked Kurumu to the ground before it disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Stay away from Ben, you big breasted cow!" shouted Yukari who was clad in a blue onepiece. The standard school swimsuit. "He doesn't need you shoving your boobs in his face!"
"At least I have breasts!" Kurumu snapped as she got back to her feet. "You're as flat as a washboard! Why would Ben even think of looking at you? You're just a little kid!"
Yukari smirked, "Well, at least I won't have to worry about mine sagging when I get older!"
Kurumu nearly snapped at that, as she seethed iwht frustration, "Sag? Hardly! I doubt you'll get any bigger than a surfboard."
KLONG! "Take that back!"
"Make me!"
"Try me, Bazooka Girl!"
"Better a Bazooka Girl than looking like a little boy!" And once again, the two were in headlocks, pulling at one another.
"This is getting to be a running gag," Ben sighed. He looked over to Moka, who still looked uncomfortable. "So, how about we look for someone from the Soccer Club?"
"Okay," Moka nodded with a nervous smile.
"Well hello there."
Ben and Moka turned and again found themselves looked at Tamao again. She was without her sarong, but the bikini was still there. Ben gave an admirable effort not to stare at her figure. Moka huffed again at the appearance of the Swim Club captain.
"H-hey," Ben waved.
"Hello," Moka nodded stiffly.
"Why aren't you in the water?" Tamao asked in a pouting tone. "I don't think you can really enjoy what we have to offer if you don't get in the water."
"Well, I was kind of hoping to find a representative from the Soccer Club first," Ben replied.
"Oh, well I haven't spotted anyone from there yet," Tamao replied with a smile. "Why don't you enjoy the water? If I or one of my club members spots someone from the Soccer Club, we'll let you know."
"Well…I dunno," Ben muttered.
"Oh come on," Tamao giggled, as she took Ben's arm. "All work and no play makes you a dull boy, you know."
Moka tried to protest, but Tamao was already off with Ben. However, after seeing Ben like that, with Tamao, Moka seethed with anger, as she fumed, 'Stupid Ben, acting all flirty with her.' Finally, she shouted, "That's enough!"
Both Tamao, who didn't seem fazed by that, and Ben stopped in their tracks, as Ben looked to Moka, "Moka?"
"Ben, you really wanted to join the Swimming Club just so you could hook up with girls, didn't you?" she interrogated.
Pulling away from Tamao, Ben protested, "Moka, you know that's not why we're…"
"DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME I DON'T KNOW, BEN TENNYSON," Moka nearly screamed out. "I'm not putting up with this! Goodbye!" And started to run off, with Ben about to catch up to her.
But a sudden splash caught her attention, and she had to move to avoid being splashed by one of the other members of the Swim Club. She gulped, nearly getting hit by it, as she paled and slightly shook in fear. Ben saw that, and it was evident that Moka was afraid of the water for some reason. Tamao stepped up, and smirked, "You two sound like an arguing married couple." She then looked to Moka, and advised, "Listen, Moka. There's a fundamental rule in life that I've learned in my Freshman Year here. The only thing a boy and girl should know as they grow up, is to take and be taken, if you get my meaning. This is the swimming club, Akashiya, so if you're not going to swim, go bother someone else."
Another splash caught her attention, this time, striking a little water on her leg. Moka paled at the contact, and gulped, 'I've got to get out of here.' And ran off, before Ben could catch her. Just watching her run away like that in fear, it wasn't hard to see something here scared the life out of her.
Back With Moka
As for where Moka was, she was sitting in an alley between two buildings, gritting her teeth in pain. Some of the water had gotten on her and now she was in pain. To vampires like herself, water was a weakness and in her sealed state she was feeling intense pain.
Her rosario suddenly spoke, "You fool, why did you even go near the pool? You should've stayed away. You know what water does to us."
"I know, but I… I just… I wanted to be with Ben," she said, shivering.
"Fool, if the boy can't see how hurt you are he's not worth the trouble."
"I thought you liked him."
"I just admire his abilities with those alien forms of his but he hasn't earned my full respect yet." Indeed. To earn Moka-sama's respect took more than just strength.
Moka pulled her legs close, hiding her cringed fear, as well as a few soft sobs escaping her from her fear, as well as the huge wall that came between her and Ben. "Ben…" she whimpered, feeling worlds apart from him like this.
Back at the Pool
Ben was drifting along the water, looking rather miserable despite the environment. The view was nice and the girls seemed friendly, even helping some of the boys who actually had trouble swimming. Still, Ben suspected that those guys were only pretending to be having trouble so the girls would hold them. Still, Ben really wasn't having fun. He just wanted to find someone from the Soccer Club and any guy he tried to talk to told him to bug off before heading to meet with one of the Swim Club girls. It annoyed him to no end and he was getting tired of the disrespectful attitude that the boys were showing. Was he really drooling like an idiot over these girls?
Even worse, Moka seemed to be absolutely miserable. She had sitting against the fence and looking pretty sad. Ben felt a gnawing at his gut every time he saw her. Even after she had ran off, it made him feel even more miserable. Even Yukari took notice, despite her spat fight with Kurumu. She noticed Ben just sitting at the edge of the pool, looking around for Moka. Something was bugging him deeply, and she had to find out what it was.
Back with Moka
After Moka had regained her strength, as well as sobbed enough, she got back on her feet. Though most of her strength was a bit gone, she had to lean on the wall. She steadied herself, and prepared to go back to the pool. However, the Inner Moka wasn't about to let her do so, 'Don't even think about it. Do you really want to go back there and go through all that again?' Moka frowned at that, but Inner Moka wasn't through yet, 'Just end the relationship with the American. He obviously doesn't appreciate your needs. He doesn't care…'
"THAT'S NOT TRUE," Moka cried out, not believing what her Inner self stated. "He's not like that! Not Ben!"
She remembered clearly since the beginning of this year. How he had stood up to Saizou that first time, or when he decided to leave. It wasn't just because that she was afraid for himself, but he thought once she had learned the truth, their friendship would have ended with her fear of him being a human. Or when he had risked his own life countless times protecting not just her, but Kurumu and Yukari as well. He did care for them, because they were his friends. He didn't care what happened to him, all he cared about was making sure they were safe and happy. And that was exactly what he was trying to do: find a club they could all belong to.
'Even if that's so, you can't swim with the others,' Inner Moka advised, 'We couldn't go near them in the water…'
"I don't care," Moka said, moving much better and stronger, as if her determination was giving her strength again. "I just… I want... I want to be with Ben."
Back at the Pool
Ben just leaned on the wall, watching the others play around, while he looked around to find someone from the Soccer club. But to no avail, as no one seemed to even care about finding athletic members for clubs. All they seemed to care about was hanging around the girls, getting smooshed in the back with their boots or even being touched by them. So far, he was starting to understand why Moka stormed off; thinking he was just here for something like that. He sighed at that fact, but it was something else that was bugging her deeply.
"Ben?" Yukari suddenly appeared behind him. Startled, he turned around and saw she looked rather concerned, as she asked, "You not having any fun?" She smirked a bit, asking, "You know, Kurumu would probably catch you like this with your guard down."
"Yeah, sorry about that," Ben apologized as he looked around, "It's just that Moka stormed off; I can't blame her. I was set to finding the members of the Soccer Club here, and all I find are just guys only interested in three things from the girls here." Ben emphasized the three measurements of girls, which was what boys were going gaga for when all girls wore was a bikini. But then he looked confused as he stated, "Though I think it has to do with Moka's fear of water."
"Fear of water?" the little witch asked, but then pieced it together, as she answered, "I think I know why. It's because the water can hurt her."
Ben looked confused by that, as he replied, startled of this intel, "Water hurts vampires? But I always thought their weaknesses revolved around silver, stakes, crosses, or even sunlight." But then he thought about sunlight, and realized Moka didn't get hurt by it, even if it was barrier-made. But the water made sense, considering that Moka was avoiding it altogether.
"Well, water is sort of a purifying agent," Yukari pointed out, "If a vampire comes into contact with it, they lose their power and become weakened. I can't believe Moka never told you that." She then looked at Ben, who was deep in thought at first, but then turned his attention to the gate door, and walking very warily to avoid the water… was Moka. It seemed as though she was returning, but was still uneasy. Yukari nodded to her, "Maybe you should talk to her on it. Patch things up between you guys."
Sighing, knowing full well this was all his fault, he paddled over to her and leaned against the wall.
"Hey, Moka," Ben sighed. "You came back?"
"Yeah," she replied, though looked around, weary of any splashes.
"Are you gonna be okay here?" Ben asked, knowing full well she wasn't okay, but wanted to ask her in order to help.
"Not…really," Moka admitted sadly. Unable to meet his gaze for a moment, after what she had said to him. Sighing, she looked to him apologetic, "I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier. About being here to hook up with girls. It's just…" she blushed, feeling ashamed at her thoughts, or what she said next, "It's just that in the water, those girls… they can be near you without ever getting hurt. And me…" She stopped, feeling that if she was ashamed for such a weakness.
"I heard vampires can't cross running water," Ben frowned, breaking the ice between the two. "Is that true?"
She was a bit surprised by that, but relaxed as she felt now she could trust him with this secret, as he trusted her with his. "Sort of," Moka nodded. "We can't touch water at all. Unless it's treated, mostly with special herbs, we can't touch it, let alone jump into a huge quantity of it, like in a pool. That's why I treat mine with a special Black Beauty Rose petal herb whenever I need to clean up."
Ben thought about it for a moment, and then nodded, as if he finally got something, "No wonder you smell like roses all the time."
Moka had to smile at that, but continued, "Once we come into contact with it, we begin to lose our power and weaken dramatically. If we're exposed to it, it's like being shocked with immense electricity. And if we're not careful… we could be weakened enough to be killed by any enemy taking advantage of that."
"Yeah, Yukari told me the whole thing, when you bailed," Ben replied truthfully. "Moka, why didn't you say so? I'm not even having that much fun here right now. Why don't we head out and find a different club?"
"But…didn't you want to meet someone from a Soccer Club around here?" Moka asked.
"We're better off finding their booth," Ben frowned. "All these guys prefer to look at the girls in bikinis." He then mumbled, though loud enough for Moka to hear, "Not that I was any different in wanting to see you like that." That earned a bashful blush from both him and from the vampire girl, as he continued, and looked to her seriously. "I swim to have fun, not stare at girls. Let me get my towel and then we can get going."
"Okay!" Moka smiled.
Both suddenly heard screaming and when Ben spun around, he saw the Swimming Club girls biting the guys and the guys started to turn into dry and wrinkly husks. "What's going on!?" shouted Ben.
"Ben, get out of the water!" shouted Moka as she reached for him but a splash of water caused her to recoil.
"Moka!" Ben cried but the water began choppy and messed with his balance. Suddenly, bands of seaweed shot out around his wrists like lassos, and dragged him further into the water. Until finally, he crashed in the middle of the slaughter house, as boys who were barely alive, keeping afloat and gasped. Ben righted himself, as he looked around to find a way out of there. But he saw Moka on the other end, almost looking like she'd jump in.
To prevent her from doing so, he shouted to her, "Moka! Don't worry, I'll get out of here!"
"Sorry, Ben Tennyson, but I can't really let you do that," smirked Tamao.
Ben turned to where the Swim Club captain was, and found that her legs were replaced by a large orange-scaly fish tail. Her ears were likewise replaced with fins of some kind. Obviously she was some kind of water aligned monster; possibly or no doubted a mermaid. One that Ben had to get away from. Unfortunately, Tamao proved to be fast in her true form, wrapping her arms around his torso and dragging him down.
He struggled to break free of her grip, as he gritted through his teeth, "Let go of me!"
Tamao just chuckled at his futile attempts to break her hold, "Sorry about being so rough with you. But I never told you, I had my eye out on you for some time, ever since this school year started and I saw you at the Opening Ceremony." Her mouth then elongated, reminding Ben of one of his forms, only in female form. "You have such an intoxicating spell… much like a human." She saw the fear in his eyes, and reassured him, "Oh, don't worry, Benjamin. We don't kill, we're mermaids, after all; even if we suck the life-force out of our prey, we never kill. Besides, you're so cute."
Catching his attention further, several of the mermaids were swimming around, and whining that she had first bite on this guy.
"Tamao, come on."
"Yeah, don't hog him all to yourself."
"I want a taste."
"Yeah, me too."
Yukari and Kurumu ran to the edge of the pool, attempting to go and rescue him, as they both shouted, "Ben!" But they were stopped, as soon as a swarm of mermaids blocked their way, hissing at them to keep from making a move.
"BEN!"
That shout caused Ben to have the very blood to freeze in his veins, as he saw what was going to happen. Despite her Inner self's warnings, Moka jumped out to the water, and dived right in, in an attempt to try and save Ben from the mermaids. However, as soon as she was in the water, she shot upward, screaming in pain, as bolts of electrical energy swarmed around her, but didn't touch the others. This was only for her to feel this pain, as she cried out in agony; the water draining her power and strength as long as she remained in it.
"Hahahaha! So the rumors were true. Moka Akashiya is a vampire," Tamao chuckled, as she still held on to Ben, who could only look in horror at what was happening to her.
He struggled, as he saw her getting weaker by the second, and pleaded, "Please, just let me go! I have to help her!"
"I won't let you go," Tamao chuckled, as she reached for his neck, "Didn't I tell you before, you're mine."
And just like that, Moka sank into the water, most of her strength leaving her completely.
Ben struggled against Tamao's hold as she tried to drag him under water. He managed to get one arm loose and activated the Omnitrix. "Oh, no. I'm not giving you a chance to change," Tamao grabbed his arm, preventing him from slamming down the lens, "As I've heard, you can't transform without having to turn that on. So I won't give an opening…"
SMACK!
With a flying kick, Kurumu had flown in behind, and delivered a nosedive kick behind Tamao. This caused Ben to get free, as he looked behind, and saw Kurumu restrain the mermaid, "Go, Ben! I'll hold her off, just get Moka out of the water!"
"Got it," Ben nodded, and without looking, he scrolled through the alien forms quickly and slammed his hand down, "Going hero!"
He dived right into the water, as he swam as fast as he could to the sinking Moka. As he did so, the flash of green light was blinding and Kurumu, Yukari, as well as all the mermaids shielded her eyes. Everyone could see the glow of green shining under the surface of the water. As Ben was going through the changes, he was reaching for Moka long enough to get ot the intended target: The Rosario. If at all possible, in her True Form, the damage could be minimal and recovering would go faster. As his five fingers disappeared to make room for three webbed clawed digits, he snatched the Rosario loose. And in the mixture of the water, red and green flashes mixed together, as the alien and demonic auras mixed together.
Before anyone could figure out what was going on, there was a large splash as something leapt out on to the pool patio.
"Ripjaws!" the creature called as he revealed himself, holding a semi-conscious Moka-sama in his arms.
He had light blue scales with white eyes. He had a fish like head with green fins on his forearms and head, a face that looked like an angler fish's along with the hanging antennae and webbed feet and hands. He also wore a black loincloth that reached down to his ankles. A black patch of cloth on his shoulders bore the symbol of the Omnitrix.
Omnitrix Encyclopedia
Ripjaws A.K.A. Picciss Volann
These aquatic people hail from the ocean planet of Picciss. They share a few traits with the earth animals known as alligators, sharks, and fish. They have a large mouth which allow them to swallow large things, as well as sharp finger claws, capable of slicing through rock as well as steel like butter. They are able to withstand high pressures of water along with breathing it. Their danglers allow them to see in the dark. Despite their ability of land travel, they get quickly dehydrated within a few minutes of being away from water, making the use of this form on land limited.
Moka-sama coughed up a little water, and then glared at the alien Gillman, "You idiot! You took your time."
"Better late than never," Ripjaws told her, as he quickly carried her to the end of the patio fence. There, he set her down to lean against the fence, as he used his claws, and extending large mouth to tear open a hole. He threw the fence piece he took out aside, and looked to Moka-sama, "Try and get as many people out as you can. I'm gonna stop those guppies from eating anymore."
Moka-sama snarled at him as she spat out, "I'm a vampire! I don't take orders, at least from an idiotic moron who doesn't consider my Outer's feelings!"
"I didn't know about the water weakness," Ripjaws defended.
"That's no excuse, you insensitive idiot!" Moka-sama spat out back at him. "You should have considered the Other's feelings! Instead, all you did was thinking that you and she are on equal grounds, and never considered she would get injured in this!"
"Look I'm sorry. You can berate and bite my ear off on this later," Ripjaws attempted to reason with her, but started feeling a little… dried out, as he wobbled, "Just ge… COUGH! You just ha…COUGH, COUGH!" he then stumbled down on the ground on all fours, gasping deeply, almost to the point of wheezing.
Moka-sama looked startled at this sight, and blinked, "What's going on? Why are you… ?"
"It's… this form's… weakness," Ripjaws wheezed out, as the gills under his neck shrunk with every drying breath, "I can't… stay on land for… for much longer. If I'm on… on land for more… than a few minutes… then I'll dry out."
Moka-sama looked shocked to that, believing that he was all but invincible in the alien forms he took. It never occurred to her or to the Other Moka that they had their weaknesses as well. She attempted to get him back in the water, until seaweed vines shot out, ensnaring Ripjaws wrists, and pulling him further away from the pool.
Tamao and the other mermaids, who used angles to ensnare Ripjaws, cackled, "So, even with all your forms, Ben, you picked a Fish out of Water. Not too bright of a choice, is it?" She then spotted Moka-sama get up, with a little strength, as she grabbed one of the vines, in order to break them and get him back in the water. But Tamao wasn't going to let that happen, "Oh no, you don't! You may be the most powerful monster, but now you're just a beached minnow like your friend over there."
She and the others then shot up in a sort of dolphin stance, and started kicking water at Moka, weakening her further, and to be certain they didn't splash the Picciss Volann. "C'mon, Vampire, drink up!" Tamao taunted, as the struggling Moka was doing her best to tear the seaweed, despite all the sparking electricity dancing off her body.
The other mermaids taunted as they kicked water at her, "Drink it! Drink it! Drink it! Drink it! Drink it!"
SLAM! BANG! CRASH!
The rows of mermaids were swatted down, all by wash pans, as Yukari, who waved her wand out, shouted, "Drink that, you big bazooka chested hussies!"
Moka still struggled to get the seaweed off of the gasping Ripjaws, realizing he didn't have long. Until Kurumu slashed at the seaweed bands, setting him free. She looked to Moka, "C'mon, help me get him in the water."
"I don't need your help in this," Moka-sama prideful defended.
"Come on, I know the water weakened you a bit. Ben knows it too, so just swallow your pride and let us help," Kurumu explained. The vampire nodded, as she and Kurumu dragged him as fast as they could, and dunked him in the water. They saw him float to the bottom, as Kurumu paled, "C'mon, Ben! Breathe!"
Even Moka-sama paled a bit, not seeing him move at all, 'Were we too late?' shaking it off, her anger override her and Outer Moka's fears, as she shouted, "WAKE UP, BEN!"
Suddenly, deep within the water, as if he had heard Moka's cry, the black eyes of Ripjaws opened up, as his lungs inhaled the water filling his fish lungs with the necessary oxygen it carried for him. The legs disappeared into the loincloth which then turned into a fish's tail before Ripjaws before he sped through the water like a torpedo. Tamao didn't hesitate as she let her face change to a slightly fish-like image with sharp teeth. She and the other mermaids meant business. On the other hand, so did Ripjaws.
Ripjaws plowed through the water like a shark, overshooting Tamao before she could even blink. At first Tamao thought it was an accident before the screams of her fellow club members reached her ears. Turning around, her eyes bulged as she saw her fellow mermaids being pulled under the water before being hurled out of the pool with a muffled 'krack' noise. Even some of the mermaids tried to escape, as they reached the edge. However, they weren't lucky, as they were pulled into the water screaming, like victims from the movie, Jaws. Others got a face full of fear, as when they tried to get to the edge, Ripjaws leapt at them with a gaping mouth, dragging them back in the water. If Ripjaws didn't hold back on biting or clawing them real hard, the pool waters would be running red with mermaid blood. Luckily, even as mad as he seemed, Ben or Ripjaws was showing much controlled restraint on this.
The collected boys were taking advantage of their sudden savior, and were scrambling out of the pool as fast as they could.
"No!" Tamao shrieked. "I won't let our meals get away!" She glared at Ripjaws, as he popped up to face-to-face with her, as she declared, "I don't care how tough you are in the water, this is our ocean, and you're just a barracuda."
"Yeah," Ripjaws pointed out, "But don't get cocky. I could both beat and eat a minnow like you in my sleep."
Tamao's forehead sported a vein, as she took that comment personally, "Minnow? You'll pay for that!"
Diving into the water, Tamao surged towards the image of Ripjaws, who had just punched one of her club members out of the pool when they tried attacking him from behind. Turning, Ripjaws narrowed his beady eyes on the approaching mermaid. Growling, he took off with a surge of water. She was the last mermaid in the pool.
Above the water, Yukari, Kurumu, and a still recovering Moka-sama, were watching the choppy water in concern. None of them were going to be any use in the situation. Luckily Ripjaws was holding back on ensnaring them, if he hadn't, it would have been a literal bloodbath. They were confident since Ripjaws had beached all of the other mermaids, save Tamao herself. They could see the two aquatic fighters swimming at each other at an incredible speed. Suddenly, the two shot up in the air, with Ripjaws higher than Tamao, who gloated, "Nowhere left to swim, Tennyson!" Just then, Ripjaws smirked, which irked Tamao, as she shouted, "And what's so funny?"
"You took the bait, just like a fish," Ripjaws gloated.
Tamao's jaw opened wider, as she shouted, "Oh, really? And what makes you think you have the advantage?"
"Because I…" Ripjaws started, as he tapped the Omnitrix symbol, and in a flash, transformed into Cannonbolt, "… can switch forms out! CANNONBOLT CANNONBALL!" and immediately balled up as he charged right at a screaming Tamao, colliding with her as the speed of the attack, as well as gravity, sent them pummeling towards the glassy surface of the pool
SPLOOSH!
There was a sudden explosion from the pool as the two images collided into the water. The water splashed in all directions, soaking almost everyone. Yukari cast a protective shield so Moka-sama wouldn't get wet, while Kurumu just took advantage of it. Everything was silent as the water calmed down. The image under the water moved to the edge, as suddenly a green flash was made, and a soft splashing noise announced Ripjaws exiting the pool. In his hand he was clutching the unconscious Tamao in her human form, as he walked to where the huddled mermaids were, as he overshadowed them.
"Now, listen up, because I'm only gonna say this once! We are not your food!" Ripjaws snapped at the recovering mermaids, making them shiver in fear. His big-toothed maw made for an intimidating sight, as he roared out, showing how big his gnaw could get. Frightening the mermaids that he could swallow their heads whole. "Learn some self-control! Or the next time this happens… I'LL BITE ALL YER HEADS OFF! RWOAAAAAAOOOOOOOORRRRWWW!"
The mermaids all screamed in terror as his roar lasted about thirty seconds, and he stopped. Though the mermaids turned human girls screamed for an additional fifteen seconds, until finally, they looked at Ripjaws in fear. He leaned in, and whispered, "This is the part where you run away." And they did so, as they reverted to human form and sped out of there like crazy fan girls at a boys band concert.
Dropping Tamao on the ground, Ripjaws walked over to his friends. He raised his webbed hand to the Omnitrix symbol and deactivated it, flashing green. Now Ben again, the American walked up to his friends. But not before he grabbed a towel, and walked over to Moka-sama placing it over her like a warming blanket in a fire.
"You guys okay?" he asked in concern.
"We're OK!" Kurumu smiled, "Way to go, Be… I mean, Ripjaws! YAHOOHOOO!"
"I'm okay too!" Yukari smiled.
Moka-sama kept her face hidden in the towel wrapped around her body, until she looked at him as he knelt down to her eye level. He then bowed his head in apology, "I'm sorry. I should have considered both your feelings from the start of all this." He then clenched his fists, as he grit through his teeth, "Instead, I just… "
Sensing the anger, not because of the mermaids, but of his own actions, Moka-sama took a hand out. Both Kurumu and Yukari thought for a moment she would slap him. Until she placed it on his shoulder, getting his attention, and instead of seeing anger or annoyance, it was more of an apologetic look on hers. "I should also berate myself as well," Moka-sama admitted, "I didn't realize your various forms had their own weaknesses as well. You nearly risked yourself dehydrating just to make sure I'd stay away."
"So… we're okay," Ben asked hopefully.
Moka-sama took the rosary from Ben's hand gently, but before she snapped it back on, she smiled, "I think the term you Americans use is… frosty, right?" Ben nodded, with a relieved smile on his face, as her cocky attitude returned. Secretly, she was pleased to see that the American had finally taken notice of both her and her softer side's discomfort, 'He's finally starting to learn.'
Needless to say, none of the four friends wanted to join the Swimming Club after the little stunt the senior members had pulled. After Kurumu and Yukari got their regular clothes back on, all four friends made tracks.
Three Days Later
Unfortunately, most of the club booths were full and the ones left were clubs that were either filled with weirdoes or clubs they didn't want to join.
When Ben eventually found the Soccer team, they'd refused his application. Apparently, they didn't have any spots on the team anymore but in reality they were doing it out of spite because of Ben being so close to Moka. He didn't know this but he had a feeling that they'd rejected him out of jealousy. Well, who needed them anyway?
At the moment, the group of friends was sitting in the cafeteria. Kurumu sighed, "I guess we don't have any clubs to join now, huh?"
"I guess so," admitted Ben.
Moka just looked to Ben, and smiled, "I'm just glad you're safe, Ben."
"I'm sorry I brought you to the pool, Moka," Ben apologized. "I didn't know that water did that to you."
"That's okay, Ben," Moka smiled. "I never told you so how would I expect you to know?"
Ben smiled at Moka's forgiveness. She could have been seriously hurt by the water and the mermaids had she been exposed too long, but she chose to forgive him anyway. It had been about three days for her to recover, just sleep and daily visits from Ben so she could intake his blood, seeing as how feeding on his blood sped up her healing. He felt better about that much, and knowing that he could help her out at least. Still, their main problem was still there. None of the good clubs had room for them now.
"What's this?" asked a cheerful voice and they turned to see their teacher, Miss Nekonome, looking at them. "Why so glum?"
"We don't have a club to join," said Ben.
"Oh, no problem!" said their teacher with a knowing smile. "Why don't you all join the Newspaper Club? All our members graduated last year so it's pretty empty. How about it?"
Ben perked up. "Hey, that's not a bad idea." It was a chance for him and Moka to be in the same club. He turned to his pink-haired friend, "What do you say, Moka?"
"It sounds like a good idea," said Moka.
"Hey, let me join too!" said Kurumu, as she and Yukari ran up to them, attempting not to get separated from one another. "If Ben's joining the club, then so am I. I'm not about to let either you or the Inner Moka snatch him away like that!"
"Me too! Me too!" Yukari added.
Ms. Nekonome smiled, "Alright! Talk about a lucky break in finding new blood!" Looks like the Newspaper Club was going to get some new blood after all.
And speaking of Blood, Moka lunged at Ben, embracing him, getting close to his neck… "CHU!"
"Moka, come on! I gave you three days of blood already!" Ben cried out, feeling the fangs in his neck again.
Next Chapter: The Peeping Howler; Wolf vs. Wolf