Ben 10 Alien +Vampire
Chapter 8: Tests of Friendships; Kurumu's Slimy Stalker
Boys Dorm
Ben's Room
"I'm so glad Gwen made me take those foreign language classes," said Ben as he did his homework with Moka. Both of them were dressed in casual clothing and without their shoes, so they were barefoot and enjoying the comfort of just being teenagers and not students in uniforms. They sat at one of those lap warming tables, which Ben thought was pretty comfortable. "Thanks to her, and Grandpa Max, I'm able to understand all this stuff." Though, he did have some problems learning Japanese writing. Really, it all looked like chicken scratches to him when he started and now a portion of it was still chicken scratches rather than all of it. Thankfully, Moka was happy to lend a hand when he couldn't understand the writing.
"You always mention Gwen and your grandfather, but you never told me much about them," Moka mentioned, looking up from her work, looking for Ben to tell her all about it. "How come?"
Ben stopped writing and tapped his chin with his pencil. Moka was right; he never really told Moka much about his home life. "It's a pretty long story. You might get bored. Plus we got homework."
"I can take a break, Ben," Moka smiled beautifully, scooting .
To Ben, attending Youkai Academy really opened his eyes to the truth about monsters. Vampires weren't the evil bloodsucking demons that movies portrayed them as. They were like aliens; as different as they were, they were still people. That went for all of the monsters he'd been growing up scared of. They weren't evil or ferocious at all. They were people too and they were all different. No two were alike.
"OK, let's take a break," said Ben, setting his pencil down. Since Moka was asking, he really couldn't say no. "Well, Gwen, as you know, is my cousin. She's a witch but unlike Yukari she wasn't born one. She actually began to learn about magic after she became a superhero called Lucky Girl using some mystic charm. She lost the charm but then she got another magical artifact and became Lucky Girl again, also temporary. On one of our adventures, we met this teenage witch named Charmcaster, who was a villain that we bumped into now and then during that first summer, and Gwen took a book of spells from her. Since then, she's become a powerful witch."
Ben took out his wallet and took out a photo of his cousin, which was when they were both still ten and started out their adventures. "This is Gwen, and this is Grandpa Max." He took out another photo of his Grandpa. Moka could feel the warmth in the smiles of the people in the photo. "Oh, yeah. I never told you, but my Grandpa Max is a Plumber."
"So he fixes pipes," said Moka, nodding, but then became confused, as she asked, "Wait a minute, what does this have to do with aliens?"
"Not that sort of plumber," Ben corrected. "Plumbers is the name of the intergalactic police officers. They recruit races from all over the galaxy, and make use of alien tech weapons and gadgets. Their motto is to Clean out the Clogs of the Universe, namely the Scum of the Universe that cause criminal activities, terrorism, and destruction. My Grandpa was one of their human officers, a legend among them all, but he's semi-retired. So now it's more of a hobby; he may be an old man, but he's still got it." He smirked at remembering how much of a legend his grandfather was five years ago, and still was apparently.
"Wow," Moka's eyes went wide in wonder. "So, he told you he was one?"
"Well, it was after something happened that he had to tell us. You see I told you I got the Omnitrix when I was ten, right? Well, what I never told you was that it was meant to go to my grandpa. An alien… both colleague and friend of his named Xylene had it sent to him but I was the one who found it and well this thing made me really popular with an alien named Vilgax."
"Who's Vilgax?" Moka asked.
"An alien warlord who wanted to take over the universe. But these are just rumors, but from what I learned from my Grandpa, he was responsible for the destruction of a whole galaxy. He was after my Omnitrix, and wanted to mass-produce it to make an army of shape-shifting aliens. The aliens in the Omnitrix mostly have combat capabilities so that's why Vilgax wanted it. With it, he could become any alien he wanted. He even went so far as try and cut off my hand just to get it, several times."
Moka gasped in fright, considering Ben had gone through such an ordeal.
"Well, he never succeeded, but back then, those were close calls. Well, Grandpa Max then told us he tangled with Vilgax a few years back, when he was in his twenties, and sent him flying into space via nuclear rocket. Though, I still don't know how he survived that. He was my grandpa's enemy, and then for some odd reason, he changed his mind and suddenly became mine," Ben continued.
"What is Vilgax like?" Moka asked.
"Evil, and ugly too; but the real version is that the galaxy knows him as 'The Most Dangerous Being in the Universe'. Let me show you." He drew on a blank sheet of paper a picture of Vilgax from what he recalled in his memory. "This is Vilgax." Moka was looking at a depiction of a humanoid creature with a beard of tentacles. She grimaced. Indeed, Vilgax was hideous. "Grandpa Max warned me not to fight him, but I did anyway and beat him too."
"So, where is Vilgax now?" Moka asked.
"The last time I saw him was before I sent him into the Null Void," Ben answered.
"Null Void? What's that?" asked Moka.
"It's this dimension where dangerous alien criminals are put in," Ben explained, "It's one scary place, scarier than Yokai Academy. Big and dangerous aliens lurk in that place and call it home. It's a huge space with floating rocks."
Moka found all this fascinating. Even though Ben was human, he had fought many battles with the aid of the Omnitrix. "So, the Null Void is inescapable," she concluded.
"Supposedly, but Vilgax actually managed to get out," said Ben. "I don't know how, but something in my gut tells me I haven't seen the last of him." He sighed as he rubbed his temple, "And I should know, just before that first summer break with the Omnitrix, somehow Vilgax found my home, threatened my dad, and it was an all-out fight, ending with him getting blown to bits in a factory."
Moka blinked at all that, and nervously gulped, "W-Well, that would mean that he's finally gone, right? It's been five years since that battle; if he was still alive, he would have attacked by now. And even if he was, he couldn't find you here in Youkai, due to the barrier."
Ben shook his head, "I wish I could believe that, Moka. But it couldn't be farther from the truth. I think he's probably buying his time or something. And if he's still alive, he's probably stronger than when he was before. And the barrier wouldn't do much to hide me; he's found me several times before, he'll do it again." Moka looked worried for him; to think he had such He looked at his Omnitrix, "But it's been five years for me, and I'm not the same ten year old I used to be. I'll be ready for him; he won't know what hit him."
"Ben," said Moka worriedly, "If you do face him again, be careful."
"Moka, you're forgetting who I am," said Ben confidently, "I'm a Tennyson; if anything we're considered bad luck to the bad guys." He then smiled warmly, "Besides, I'm not worried about myself. I worry about everyone around me. Even you."
"Ben…" Moka blushed, knowing that he wanted to protect everyone around him. But saying that he'd protect her was even more touching.
"Moka…" Ben blushed.
"Ben…" she leaned close to him, her breath tickling his throat, "You… smell so good…"
"Moka…" Ben leaned in close, but went wide-eyed at that, "Hey, wait a minute."
"Oh, Ben… I can't help it when I'm around you," she lunged in, pinning him down to the ground, as she lightly nipped him in the neck, sucking his blood, "CHU!"
"Ack! Moka, watch it!"
The Next Day
Newspaper Club
"Stupid piece of junk!" Gin grumbled as he tried to get the computer to work. "Work already!"
In the Newspaper Clubroom, Ben was with the girls and Gin. They were on a deadline to get their paper ready, too. A week had passed since the incident involving Gin getting exposed as a pervert, but it was also their first big scoop. And hopefully more would follow for them to report to the Youkai Gazette, the school's official paper. Knowing villains like her, it wouldn't be long before she reared her head again.
"Why not let me try and fix it?" Ben offered.
"OK, fix it," Gin challenged.
He watched as Ben fiddled with his watch and slammed his palm onto it. Ben was bathed in bright green light and was in his new form.
"Upgrade!" Upgrade was a little taller than a human adult. His body was bulky and looked like one of those claymation characters. Most of his body was white with the Omnitrix symbol in the centre of his chest. His arms, back, and head were black with green circuitry lines running all over. His face was basically a lump with a green circle in the middle. His feet were just big stumps and his hands were comically big.
Omnitrix Encyclopedia
Upgrade A.K.A. Galvanic Mechomorph
These people hail from the moon Galvan B, which circles Galvan Prime, home of the Galvans. Galvan scientists created these people when they introduced nanotechnology to the moon. The nanites interacted with the minerals in the planet and created sentient life. Galvanic Mechomorphs can change their size and shape at will. They can also merge with technology to upgrade it beyond its original limits, hence Ben's name for it. They cannot interface with living beings and sentient machines are harder to interface with. They also possess weaknesses which can be attributed to machines. Electricity, metal corrosives, and magnets: these things can wreak havoc on their systems.
"Stand aside, Gin. Let this mechanical master show you how it's done!" Upgrade merged with the computer, giving the surface the same black coloration and green circuitry lines as his eye appeared on the monitor. However, it seemed to be more advanced when he merged with it in the process. "OK, I see your problem. OK, fixing this, tweak that and upgrading a few things here…and done!" Upgrade unmerged from the computer and reverted back to Ben. "Now, try it."
Gin looked to the computer and found it in working order. Heck, it was performing better than it had originally. "OK, you win," Gin sighed. As much as he resented Ben for his numerous talents, ability to attract girls, and fight on par with him, the American was an OK kid in his book. Gin then drooled as he pulled up a picture of a girl from his collection. "Nice…" He looked to Ben as he complimented, "Gotta admit, Ben. Whatever mad scientist made you all these forms… he really went all out."
He then pulled the photo down and continued with his work…or lack of work. He was really just delegating duties to the other members of the club.
"Hello, everyone!" Ms. Nekonome said cheerfully as she entered. "Working hard, I see!"
"Most of us," said a grimacing Ben, eyeing Gin.
"Well, why don't you all take a break? I've brought snacks," said Ms. Nekonome as she handed them all snacks.
"Sensei, this fish is raw!" Ben exclaimed.
Gin sighed as he shrugged, "Yeah, I forgot to mention. That's something else you're gonna have to get used to while Miss Nekonome's our advisor. She loves fish."
"And it tastes best fresh!" Ms. Nekonome answered. "Oh, Kurumu, this letter was left in front of the classroom for you."
Kurumu took the letter and read the envelope. "Wonder who'd send me a love letter?" It was from someone calling himself her secret admirer. She eyed Ben, who was hard at work, and her face got all flushed, 'Oh, Ben. Has he finally taken notice of me?' What she found, however, was a set of photos of her…dirty pictures. Some of them showed her in her underwear, and somewhat nothing at all. 'What!?' She also found a note telling her to meet the sender at the Monster Tree, in the main schoolyard. Kurumu quickly disposed of the items in the trash.
"Hey, what's wrong, Kurumu?" Ben asked, as he had taken notice of her. For some odd reason, she seemed a bit unfocused about something.
"Oh, nothing!" Kurumu denied. "Anyway, guys, I gotta go! I just remembered I have something to do!" She made a rush out of the clubroom.
"Wait, but the deadline!" Moka yelled.
"She's already gone," Ben sighed, as he pointed to the door.
"Hey, let's just finish without her!" said Yukari. "We don't need a ditcher!"
Ben flinched when he heard that, 'Pretty harsh for an eleven year old.' But he then began recalling the things he'd done in the past. He ditched out on numerous things before, simply because he thought they were boring or not any fun. He even tended to abuse the Omnitrix now and then when he was a kid. One such instance led to him meeting Kevin Eleven and their heated and downright malicious battles which followed up to Kevin's amalgam transformation, from which he couldn't change back, and his imprisonment inside the Null Void. Last he heard the guy had managed to escape and started trafficking alien tech. What he was up to since then, no one knew.
"Kurumu…" Moka murmured. As they continued to work, Moka recalled the first time she and Kurumu met. "I wonder if…she really does consider us friends."
"Moka?" blinked Ben.
"I mean the only reason she joined the club is to be close to you, Ben," said Moka, which earned Ben to fluster in slight embarrassment as well a hint of annoyance as to how emotional Kurumu was around him, which was slightly maddening. "I doubt Kurumu even does consider me a friend. Maybe…"
"You shouldn't be quick to distrust your friends without reason," Ben argued. "I've met my share of people who didn't seem like much or definitely not friend material, but in the end they're some of the people I'd trust my life with."
"Oh?" Moka asked. "Like who?"
"Well, after school, and when we're alone, I'll tell you about an old friend named Tetrax…" Ben smirked.
Meanwhile
Monster Tree
Kurumu followed the directions to the Monster Tree. The piece of foliage had definitely earned the name since it looked like an actual monster rather than just a simple tree which grew to look somewhat strange. Not many people went near it most days since there was a rumor going around that it actually was a monster who was just sleeping. Others say they had stepped inside its mouth and nothing happened. However, in a school where nothing was as it appeared, lots of people didn't like to take chances.
"Come on out, creep!"
"Oh, how mean, Kurumu," someone spoke from up in the tree.
Kurumu looked up to see a teen, light build but didn't look too strong, with brown hair that covered over one eye and freckles with a camera in hand. He looked like one of those greasy types who you never wanted to talk to because you knew something wasn't right about them. It was made pretty evident the way he sweated profusely; indicating that he was a heavy sweater of sorts. The creepy grin the guy had on his face certainly amplified the effect. Kurumu felt dirty just by how he was looking down on her.
"Who are you!?" she demanded, ready to pounce and attack.
"Forgotten about me, already?" the teen snickered. "I'm Nagare, one of your fans. You once asked me to take photos of you."
Kurumu was silent for a moment, thinking on it, until she finally put it all together. "Oh, yeah! Now I remember you!" Kurumu remembered.
Back when she had her harem plot going on, she asked the guy to do a photo shoot for her so she could get her image going around and boys would try to meet her in person so she could charm them. Now that she had met Ben, she didn't need that anymore and had simply forgotten about him.
Apparently he hadn't forgotten about her though. "So, it was you who took those pictures!?"
"Yup, and if you don't want me to spread them all over school, you'll spend the day with me!" said Nagare.
Kurumu scowled. She really didn't want those dirty pictures to be spread. She'd be having perverts from all over the school coming after her. Not to mention all of the girls would think she was some kind of call girl. What else would everyone think if someone spread photos of her in her underwear all over the school? She already spread sexy photos of herself once already.
"O…Okay," she yielded, slouching her shoulders in defeat.
He perked up immediately, "Alright!" acting like come cosplay otaku of sorts, as he drew out what appeared to be a trunk of costumes. "Now, all you have to do is dress up in any cosplay of my choice and pose for pictures." He sorted through the first batch, and pulled out a few goodlooking pieces, "Okay, first the gym clothes, then a school swimsuit, then a maid and…"
Two Hours Later
Eventually Kurumu returned to the club room, but she never felt so humiliated in her life. Nagare had a whole wardrobe of cosplay outfits ready to be used. Apparently he had been putting a lot of thought into his little plot. She didn't mind dressing up…so long as Ben was there to appreciate the view, but Nagare's perversely grinning face made her feel sick and dirty. She was just glad that he was done with his stupid photos and she could get back to work.
"I'm back," she sighed as she entered the room, trying to look like nothing was wrong, but the stares she was receiving certainly weren't making her feel better. She gulped, 'Oh, man! They are mega-pissed off!'
"And just where were you?" Yukari frowned, her hands on her hips like a scolding mother.
"I was…dealing with something… very important," Kurumu answered, not planning on telling anyone the truth just yet, or not at all. "I…I'm sorry it too so long."
"That's okay," Moka sighed. "We got most of the work done already."
"Oh…okay," the succubus nodded. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do?"
"Just try not to get tangled up next time," Ben added as he and the rest of the group headed for the door, hoping to relax in the dorms for a while. "We need everyone on this and we're getting close to the deadline."
"Got it," Kurumu nodded solemnly.
As everyone left, Kurumu walked over to the final draft of the school newspaper, "They really did get it all done." There wasn't much left to do but select which articles would go where and put the paper together. Now Kurumu felt even worse. She had at least hoped that something would be left for her to do, so she could make up for some of the time she had wasted dealing with that slimy jerk and his perverse photography. Now she really wished she could have punched his lights out, but then he would have just spread those damn photos. But that wasn't what bugged her, it was that she had let them down. When she started high school, or school at all, she never had any friends, and it was never by chance or meet. She had only used her succubus powers to allure people all around her. But now that she had made friends, without the use of her charms, that was something precious to her. Tears nearly swelled in her eyes, as she realized that as she tried to hide this hideous truth of this perverted photographer, that not only did she betray her true friends, but she might end up losing them.
"Why so glum Kurumu-chan?" Kurumu whirled around to see Nagare, grinning with that stupid grin, and leaning on the side of the door frame. He looked as smug as ever.
"You!" the succubus snapped as she quickly wiped away the tears, staring daggers at her fellow student. "Thanks to you now, everyone thinks I ditched work!"
"Hey, you're the one who decided to leave so to protect your own reputations. Pretty selfish if you ask me," Nagare shrugged guiltlessly.
"You were the one who snuck to my window, so you could take those photos!" Kurumu shrieked, just itching to beat that smug grin off of his face.
"Maybe, but no one's gonna believe that considering your little harem plot in the past," Nagare laughed. Gripping his camera, his grin became a little wider. "Now, about tomorrow…"
"Whoa, hold on! There's not gonna be tomorrow!" Kurumu hissed, but also in shock that she had to do this all over again. "I posed for your stupid photos already! Deal's over!"
"Well, for those photos anyway," Nagare shrugged. "But you know, these cosplay shots I got are pretty good. It would be a shame if I lost some, but I made lots of copies so I can afford to lose them anyway. But I'm just so clumsy so I might drop some again and again and never know where they might end up." His face then contorted into the darkest, and scariest, sneer you'd ever lay eyes upon, "You're mine so long as you don't want these photos to fall in Tennyson's lap."
"Nnnnnn!" Kurumu hissed, looking rather both terrified and deafted if this jackass ever showed Ben the photos. "Fine! Just don't you dare spread those photos! I'll be back at the Monster Tree so you can take more."
"Clever girl," Nagare laughed, as the blue-haired girl stomped past in her anger and shame.
However, the guy knew damn well he couldn't keep this up forever. That was the whole problem with girls like her; cute as they were, eventually they'd grow a backbone. Gazing around the room, his eyes landed on the final draft of the school paper done up in an envelope. Seeing it brought another sinister smirk across his face as an idea came to him. Walking across the room, he grabbed the envelope and began to examine it.
"Final draft huh?" An even darker sneer spread across his face, as a new plan was forming.
The Next Day…
"It's gone, it's all gone!" Moka panicked.
"Even all the data's been deleted!" Yukari added, and paled even worse, "And someone even opened up my personal diary!"
"And we worked all day on it yesterday too!" added Ben. However, the boy took notice something of interest as he looked at the desk to where the phot
The group had returned to their clubroom, ready to put the paper together for submission to Miss Nekonome who was in charge of printing them up for distribution. However, arriving at the clubroom, they discovered their final draft missing and all of the data on the computer to be deleted. Everyone had put a lot of work into getting the work done on time and the feeling of despair was pretty heavy in the room. They didn't want all their hard work to have gone to waste, but that's what it looked like.
"We've got no choice people! We're working on a deadline now so all we gotta do is to do it all over again!" Gin ordered. Ever since he had joined the newspaper club since he first came to the school, he had never missed a deadline. Sure, he slacked off now and then, especially since he became the president, but you could always count on him to get the paper done on time and ready to print. He hadn't missed a deadline before, and he wasn't going to do so now!
Kurumu knew, of course, who was behind this. 'Nagare! That jerk!'
That slime bag wasn't content to just mess with her alone and blackmail her into getting his perverted photos. Now he seemed to be drawing pleasure from messing with her fellow club members too. Enough was enough! She might have been willing to go through with the photos, but her pride and reputation wasn't worth letting all of their hard work go to waste. Snarling, she dashed for the door, almost about to make it out.
"Kurumu, where are you going!?" Moka shouted, as Kurumu stopped but did not answer. "Kurumu…" Finally, Moka shot out, "You're just thinking about yourself, when everyone else's having a hard time! Don't you think about how everyone else feels?!"
Kurumu felt a stab of guilt through her, as she looked to everyone, uncertain what to tell them. But she shook her head, thinking better, 'I… I can't tell them.. photos or not, there's no telling what that slime ball would do with the final draft. Even if I told them the truth.' She turned her back to them, resolved in her decision, "I'm sorry… but I have to go." And was on her way out.
Feeling betrayed by this action, Moka, forgetting what Ben had told her, finally shouted in anger, and a slight tear going down her eye, "Kurumu! I thought you were different, as did Ben! But in the end, you don't think of us as friends or anything, do you? If that's the case, then leave the newspaper club… AND DON'T COME BACK!"
Kurumu closed the door as she left, but stopped on the wall, as she silently sobbed at what Moka had shouted out to her. But hardening her resolve, she sped off towards the Monster Tree.
"Okay, enough melodrama," Gin suddenly snapped to it, as he looked to everyone with a serious determination, "Our draft may be gone, but the battle's not over yet! We're just gonna have to slap something toegether as fast as we can! Despite the fact we're one man… I mean, woman down!"
"Yeah, but what about Kurumu?" Ben asked, slightly confused about her behavior.
Moka's back was turned, as she hid the look of being betrayed from everyone else, "She made her choice. I know you said that we can't judge people by first appearance. But this just proves she didn't care about us at all."
"Well, yeah but…"
"Forget her, that ditcher!" Yukari snapped. "We have a lot of work to do and we have to do it fast!"
Ben sighed in defeat, and got to work, despite this huge ick feeling in the back of his head. "Something's not right," Ben frowned.
Elsewhere
Monster Tree
"Nagare, you slimy bastard! Come on out!" Kurumu shouted as she showed up at the Monster Tree again. As expected, Nagare was sitting on one of the branches with that stupid grin on his face. In one hand he was holding his camera, all polished and ready for use. In the other, he was holding the final draft of the school paper. His grin just bragged how he thought he had her right where he wanted her. It wasn't too hard to figure what he wanted with that stupid look on his face.
"Looking for this?" he smirked, waving the envelope around carelessly.
"Give that back!" she demanded.
"Oh, and why should I? Unless of course you're willing to do something for me in return…" Nagare said lecherously.
Kurumu trembled. "Just…give it back."
"Why don't you get on your knees and beg? How about you do it naked too?" Nagare chortled. His finger was already going to his shutter button, thinking she would submit like she did for his photos. However, he then quickly produced a lighter instead, bringing it close to the envelope as he began playing with the igniter. "Now, off with your clothes Kurumu-chan!"
"What?!" the succubus cried out.
"Off with your clothes, Kurumu!" he laughed, "Or say bye-bye to this piece of garbage. Honestly, I could write better articles in my sleep! And this photography? Shameful!"
That did it, as she finally shouted, "It's not garbage! It's something me and my friends worked so hard together to make!" She let loose her wings and flew straight at Nagare. He was taken by surprise as she snatched the draft out of his hands. "Yahoohoo! Got it!"
"Oh…now you've done it…" Nagare snarled as a sort of tendril came out from his neck. "Take this!" He started to pump out some sort of weird gas.
Kurumu coughed, but as some of the gas entered her lungs, she felt weak around the knees. "W-what is this!?" Kurumu shouted, unable to focus or stay standing.
"I was just going to take photos, but maybe I'll just take the whole thing!" His skin started becoming a disgusting green, as his whole body began to change shape, "And when you're unconscious, you can't stop me!" He drooled, his teeth becoming spread apart as his whole body began to sag and droop like there weren't any bones in it.
"No…" Kurumu moaned.
Back in The Clubroom
Ben suddenly shot out of his seat; his head slumped down to his shoulders. Everyone seemed to get startled by his action, wondering why he had stopped working, let alone just stood up like that. Moka looked at him concerned, as she asked, "Ben?"
"I'm going to go look for Kurumu," he said flat out, sounding determined to look for her. "Something doesn't smell right about all this ditching. It's just doesn't fit her profile." And proceeded to head for the door.
But Moka shot up from her seat, preventing him from leaving, as she tried to reason with him, "You can't, Ben! If you leave now, then the newspaper really will miss the deadline!"
"But…"
"Please, Ben," she begged him, looking to him, begging him not to go like this. "… please… let's just concentrate on this right now. Why can we all just do what we can? Please, if not for the club, then, do it for m…" But he walked past her, seemingly not taking into her pleas. She went wide eyed with shock, and hten sunk over in sadness, as she nearly whimpered a whispered thought, 'Why…? We should have deepened our friendship in this club… and yet…'
"Ben," Gin shot a stern look at the boy, "Does that mean the Newspaper you said we'd create doesn't matter to you?"
Ben stopped, with his back still turned to all of them, but answered, "It's the opposite, Gin." He turned to look at all of them, with a look of determination on his face, "This has to be the newspaper we all created together. It wouldn't feel complete if Kurumu wasn't here." Both Moka and Gin looked surprised at the boy's determined goal to bring Kurumu back. He then looked to them all as he answered, "Besides, something just doesn't add up right. And I've pretty much nailed Kurumu's profile out, in that she would ditch us if I wasn't here or anywhere else."
"Oh, my! Guys!" Yukari cried.
"What is it?" asked Ben. Yukari was just tossing out some melon bread wrappers which Moka had gotten from some vending machines so everyone could have something to eat. Apparently something had shocked her something fierce.
"Look at these!" the tiny witch cried, bringing over several…candid photos of Kurumu in varies sets of underwear. She seemed to be totally unaware that she was being photographed. Ben blinked in shock before the witch pushed a letter on top of the photos. "There was a letter too!"
Ben picked up the letter and scanned over the words, his eyes widening in shock as he finished. "I don't believe this. Someone was blackmailing Kurumu! He was going to pass these all over school if she didn't meet up with him!"
"WHAT?!" the collected members of the club cried out, scrambling to read over Ben's shoulder.
Sure enough, the threat was written on the paper. Everyone quickly began to feel disgusted that someone was willing to do such a terrible thing to their friend. Even Gin. He may have been a pervert, but what he saw or what photos he collected stayed with him alone. He never passed photos along and he never told anyone anything about what he may have seen.
"He must have taken the draft as an extra precaution to ensure she'd stay under his thumb," Gin scratched his chin, piecing it all together, "And I thought framing you was low, Ben."
"Do you think that's why Kurumu ran out like she did?" asked Moka. "She knew who stole the draft of the paper?"
"Monster Tree," Ben read in the letter. "Moka, do you know where that is?"
"I do," the pink-haired vampire nodded. "I'll take you there!"
Ben and Moka dashed out the door on a mission to help their friend. Yukari was close behind, but Gin had quickly caught her by her shoulders, dragging the little witch back into the room. "Sorry. I'm all for helping Kurumu, but we need to get this done! If that guy did steal it, he may have destroyed it just to make Kurumu listen to him. If he still has it and we can get it back, then we can finish up later. Right now, we have to be prepared for the worst!"
"Got it!" Yukari pouted, and stared longingly at the door.
Meanwhile
Back at Monster Tree
Kurumu felt like she was in a nightmare. At the moment, she had locked herself inside of the equipment shed, huddled in a corner with the draft of the school paper in her arms. The gas that Nagare produced was definitely potent. Her wings felt like lead so she couldn't fly and her vision was swimming slightly. If she had inhaled any more of the gas then she would have been out cold and at Nagare's mercy. Last she checked, the boy seemed pretty damn determined to take her in every way possible.
"Damn it…" She felt so weak and helpless. "Ben…everyone…help me…" she began to sob.
"Nowhere to run, Kurumu…"
Kurumu's eyes widened as she scrambled away. She saw slime coming in through under the door and saw a pair of eyestalks and a scary grin. The organism alone looked like a pile of snot and Kurumu thought she might gag at the sight of him. "Here I am…Kurumu…"
"W-what are you!?" Kurumu demanded. She didn't want to sound afraid, to at least show courage despite the fact that her odds didn't seem so good at the moment. She wouldn't give the freak the satisfaction in making her look weak and himself look powerful.
"Oh, just a slimy slug monster," said Nagare, and he really did look like a huge monster of a slug with his grin as he left slime as a trail. His eye stalks easily scraped the ceiling of the shed and the grin filled with large rectangular teeth made him look like a nightmare to her. "Now, don't be shy. Let me a give you a hug!"
Kurumu's courage failed as she let loose a scream. Normally slimy slugs weren't all that scary…if you were prepared. They specialized in terrifying people and loved to do it as often as they could. Needless to say Nagare was doing quite well with his people's favorite pastime.
"Ben! Over there! The screaming came from over there in that shed!"
"I see it! Going hero!"
Suddenly, the door was smashed off its hinges with the item in question slamming into Nagare and dropping him flat underneath it. Kurumu looked up to see Fourarms huddling at the doorway, poking his head inside to see just what the slimy slug monster had been so interested in. His eyes instantly went to Kurumu, seeing her huddled in a corner.
"Kurumu, are you okay?" Fourarms asked, his yellow eyes showing relief.
"Ben…" Kurumu smiled. That was when the door shifted as the organism underneath it groaned, dealing with the sudden impact.
"Ew…" Fourarms grimaced, suddenly seeing the slug sliding out from under the door and the trail it was leaving behind. "What the heck did I drop the door on? Please, tell me that was just mud." He watched as Nagare slid out from under the door and managed to turn himself around, glaring at him with his crooked teeth and extended eyes. "OK, that is just gross."
"Don't interfere!" Nagare lunged at Fourarms, sticking to the Tetramand's body. However, it was quickly proven that while Nagare was tall in his true form, it was only because he was standing on tip-toe figuratively speaking. Fourarms was proving himself much taller as he tried to pry the slug off of his torso. However, he was revealing himself to be just as sticky as he was slimy as Fourarms tried to get a good grip on the monster.
"Hey, get off me!" shouted Fourarms as he stumbled back, trying to peel Nagare off. "You slimy little freak, get off me!"
"KURUMU'S MINE! MINE! MINE! YOU CAN'T TAKE HER FROM ME! NEVER!" Nagare shouted as he continued to stick to Fourarms.
"We're just giving her a way out," Fourarms struggled to get the slippery bastard off, "Through you if necessary!" However, Fourarms didn't count what else this slug could do. He began to secrete some sort of acidic slime which began to burn through Fourarm's clothes. Panicking, Fourarms managed to grab Nagare and toss him off. The slug monster landed heavily on the dirt some feet away. Groaning, he managed to ooze himself upright, facing off against Fourarms once again.
"That was my favorite shirt!" Fourarms snapped, revealing the fabric have been melted away and ripped red muscle underneath.. "Alright, time to-" FLASH! "Beat…you…down?" Ben looked himself over and then glared at the Omnitrix. "Do you enjoy doing this or something? Seriously, you did this five years ago and you're still doing it today. It's not even funny anymore."
Meanwhile, Kurumu was still in the shed, holding the draft protectively. She was shivering from the experience of almost being almost violated by this thing. Usually a succubus would be able to fly away from any kind of scary situation, but being forced inside of an enclosed space with her wings feeling like lead had been a somewhat frightening experience. It was this frightened girl that Moka found as she entered while Ben and Nagare took their fight elsewhere.
"Kurumu!" Moka exclaimed as she dashed towards her friend. "Are you okay?" She knelt beside Kurumu. "You're not hurt or anything, are you?"
"Moka…" Kurumu had tears in her eyes.
"You've risked everything to save our newspaper. I'm sorry I doubted you." Moka slowly hugged Kurumu. "We found the photos that were being used to blackmail you. Kurumu. You shouldn't have tried to deal with something like this yourself. We would have helped you no matter what."
"Oh…Moka…" Kurumu sobbed, hugging her back.
She knew she should have had more faith in her friends and asked them to help. But those photos were so embarrassing and her damn succubus pride in dealing with clingy men probably helped her make her decision. Now she wished she just came clean and told what her problem was. Ben probably would have liked those photos anyway…damn hindsight.
They then heard Ben's voice, screaming, "GIRLS! I KNOW YOU MIGHT BE HAVING A MOMENT IN THERE BUT I SERIOUSLY NEED SOME HELP! ARGH!"
"That's Ben!" Moka gasped. "Kurumu!"
"I know. That slimy worm is gonna pay for messing with me and my friends!" Kurumu's wings and claws were out, her adrenaline having flushed the last of Nagare's gas out of her system, "And also.. NO ONE MESSES WITH MY DESTINED ONE!"
Ben was jumping around, dodging Nagare's slime attacks as the slug monster spat at him. The Omnitrix was still in the red. He was running out of time to live faster than the Omnitrix was recharging. However, years of dodging attacks as a regular human gave Ben the experience to stay alive more than long enough to let the device recharge. However, it seemed that Nagare was used to targets that would run away. While Ben was kept busy dodging blasts of slime, the slug monster had managed to get in close. However, unknown to Ben or the slug monster, the Omnitrix's lens glowed yellow, almost as if it silently scanned Nagare the moment he and Fourarms made contact, and was initializing the DNA to unlocking a new form.
"DIE, TENNYSON!" Nagare roared and Ben screamed as he was about to be body slammed by the slug. However, at the very last minute, he was snatched out of harm's way and in Kurumu's hands.
"Kurumu?" Ben blinked.
"What would you do without us, Ben?" Kurumu smiled before depositing him safely a safe distance away. But didn't leave his side, until she snuggled in a hug, "Oh, Ben. What would you do without me?" Moka joined them too, with the draft f the newspaper in her hands. Of course, Nagare took notice of her right away.
"Oh, Moka Akashiya too! That's great! I'll take pictures of you too!" Nagare cheered. He immediately started drooling as his eyes began roving over Moka's form unashamedly. It made the pinkette shudder in revulsion. Just one look and she already wanted to take a bath.
"Fat chance, you perverted, slimy, disgusting piece of fish bait," said Ben, trying for the banter. "You've really crossed the line now! When I'm done with you, you're gonna be a smear on the sports page of our newspaper!" The Omnitrix beeped for a few seconds more, still in red but switched to yellow again, much to Ben's confusion, before returning to green. The face lifted up, revealing a new form. The new alien looked like an alien made of slime and Ben grinned. "OK, let's see you handle this! Whatever this is." He slammed his hand onto the Omnitrix.
FLASH! In the green flash, Ben's whole body began to melt like a wax figure, until he was a puddle of green sludge. Suddenly a small metallic object began to form, as it swirled around the slime, forming a body of sorts. And once the flash ended, the new alien form stood in a heroic pose.
"Goop!"
The new alien was all green with light green eyes and resembled slime in a humanoid shape. Its arms and legs were thick and looked heavy. In the centre of its chest was the familiar Omnitrix symbol which went with all of Ben's forms. Floating above Goop's head was a small cup saucer-sized UFO-like object.
Omnitrix Encyclopedia
Polymorph A.K.A. Goop
These beings come from the planet Viscosia and through some strange quirk in evolution, their minds and bodies are two separate organisms. The body of a Polymorph is in fact an all purpose ooze which can be manipulated into doing just about anything. The mind of the Polymorph is in fact the metallic object which hovers nearby. The goo itself can become acidic to the touch while the metal craft can cut through dense materials easily. One weakness does exist in their beings. Should the goo be too far away from the central mind, it will become inert and impossible to manipulate until the mind comes close enough again.
"Eew…" Kurumu and Moka grimaced.
"Oh, come on, you know it's cool," said Goop, his voice sounding very high and child-like. "Alright, fish bait! Let's dance!"
Nagare lunged at the transformed Ben who dodged using his now flexible slime-based body. "Miss me!" Goop taunted. Nagera snarled and unleashed another swing of his slug body. "Miss me again!" Growling, Nagare started shooting balls of slime at his enemy. "Ooh, so close! You're getting warmer! And now you're cold!"
"RARGH!" Nagare roared as he unleashed a cloud of gas.
"OK, that's gross," said Goop. "If I were you, I'd go and see a doctor about that gas leak you've got."
"Ben, that gas will knock you out if you breathe it in!" Kurumu warned.
"Now she tells me!" While he wasn't one hundred percent sure that this new form needed to breathe, he didn't want to risk coming into contact with the gas. After all, his actual body was in the UFO that hovered above the ooze. The green slime was just an extension of him. The confusion was understandable because in forms like Upgrade, it felt like he was still breathing even though he wasn't. His trip up to space as a ten year old certainly clued him in on that. To that end, he backed away from the smoke, hoping that none of it went too close. Who knew what kind of effect it could have on him in this form?
Kurumu was now beyond pissed off. She was upset, embarrassed, scared, and downright angry! Hurting her was one thing, but hurting her friends, including the boy she loved, and trying to destroy the precious work they did together was completely unforgivable. Her eyes glowed with an evil red light as her aura rose.
"LEAVE BEN ALONE!" Kurumu roared, catching everyone's attention for a moment. All of a sudden reality seemed to warp all around them. Of course, Nagare didn't seem to notice since he was too busy trying to kill Goop so he could get to his action with the two girls.
"Huh!?" Moka gasped, feeling the energy that her friend was giving off. It was way more powerful than normal!
'It's her true power!' Moka's rosario spoke, 'A succubus is not only able to Charm her victims with her gaze, but is also able to cast illusions. It seems that in her rage the succubus has awakened her potential.' The Inner Moka also smirked, 'Hmm, I wonder. Had she used that before we became allies, she would have probably beaten me. Better to have her as a comrade than as an enemy, I guess.'
Nagare felt the earth tremble beneath him, which gave him pause. Looking around, he saw the Monster Tree beginning to groan and growl. To Nagare's horror, the eyes of the tree began to light up with a monstrous glare as its roots tore themselves out of the ground. The Monster Tree lashed out, trapping the increasingly terrified slug monster within its grasp.
"Nooo! LET ME GO!" Nagare screeched as he was pulled closer to the Monster Tree's widening mouth.
"Now…as a close friend of mine likes to say…KNOW! YOUR! PLACE!" Kurumu shrieked, diving down at the screaming slug monster.
Her razor-like nails slashed through his slimy body, making his pain become very real. Trashing and writing in pain, his gas production was halted and what gas was made quickly dissipated into the air.
Goop didn't need more of an invitation that that, "Vice versa… KNOW YOUR PLACE, SLUDGEBALL!"
Collecting his slime into a large ball, he shot forward with the speed of a bullet. Nagare was too busy being wrapped in the illusion of the Monster Tree chewing on him to dodge. The orb of ooze smashed into his face, knocking several teeth out and rendering him unconscious. The slime and UFO splattered into the ground before there was a flash of light, returning Ben to his proper form.
"That's what you get for messing with my friends," Ben frowned, hoping that the illusion had been as terrifying as it looked from a distance, if not more so.
Afterwards
The aftermath hadn't been pretty. Nagare was immediately turned in for what he tried to do and Miss Nekonome reported that he would definitely be expelled. The headmaster did not take kindly to someone blackmailing his students or trying to rape them. What happened to Nagare after that depended on what the slime slug leaders decided. Although she reassured them that despite of their fondness for scaring humans, not all slime slugs were as horrible as Nagare was.
Kurumu was accepted back into the club with open arms. However, even with the return of their draft, the club had to work like crazy to get the copy of the paper ready. Miss Nekonome had come to get the paper ready for printing and found the club all asleep with the finished copy ready to be handed over. Gin was slumped over on his desk, drooling much like a dog would. Ben was leaning back on his chair, Moka and Kurumu both burrowing into his sides, while Yukari had her head in Moka's lap.
"It seems their friendship was as strong as it ever was," Miss Nekonome smiled as she collected the original copy of the paper. "They've all earned this break."
Next Chapter: Time Alone with the Stars; Pier Pressure