And here is another filler chapter! I apologize if this does not meet up to my standards, but so many of you have been asking for a certain ghoul to come into the picture, and I thought "why not?". So here you go. Enjoy, and don't forget to review!
Oh, one more thing; I honestly don't mind it when readers leave me long reviews. It lets me know if I'm doing a good job, and I honestly prefer the long ones to the short ones, believe it or not. So, don't feel bad you type a lot!
A slim figure crept down the empty halls of Monster High before diving into an abandoned janitors closet. The figure closed the door and breathed a sigh of relief. Everything was still as she had left it; her makeshift bed of towels stolen from the school's pool and cushions from the student lounge was still unmade, and the unlit candle stick still sat on a stack of cardboard boxes. Her few spell books sat at the foot of her bed, still as she had left them. Her pile of discarded clothes lay in a corner. She sighed and slid down the back of the door, straightening her new black jacket. She was a mess; she had just discovered that her worst enemy, Ben Tennyson, had somehow found her knew hiding place. Fortunately, he had been distracted by a large fire when she had stolen her new uniform from the Maul; it was child's play to cast a fire spell to light the waste basket on fire and then lay waste to the building. She sighed again and stood up. It was time for some rest; she could destroy Tennyson in the morning. She yawned and lay down in her bed, pulling the large towels over her body as she fell asleep.
Frankenstrike opened the door that led down to the catacombs, wincing as the rusty hinges echoed in the empty hallway. It was well past midnight, and the school, for the most part, was empty; a few night classes for those monsters who couldn't go out in the daylight, namely most vampires and some ghosts, were elsewhere in the school. Spectra had no idea he had snuck out of her house to head to the school, and he knew that if she ever found out she would be hurt. After all, she did trust him some of her most embarrassing secrets, and he in turn trusted her. And he had to owe the entire night mission to a little note he had found in his locker at the end of the day, written by someone he did not know. All it had asked was for him to meet the mystery writer down in the catacombs after the clock had struck twelve. And that technically wasn't the latest it could get at Monster High; time ran differently here, with one more hour than what Frankenstrike was used to. So instead of a twenty four hour day, it was twenty six, with thirteen hours for the day and night. Frankenstrike found it a little odd, but not that strange; he did after all, have a "magic" watch that could change his form at will.
Frankenstrike clicked the door to the catacombs behind him and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. As Anur Transyl was always pitched into perpetual darkness, the inhabitants had larger eyes than most organisms to allow better night time vision. Transylians were no exception, and Frankenstrike put the handy power to good use as he walked down the cold, cobblestone stairs into the bowels of the catacombs, torches lit in skull shaped holders lining the walls every hundred feet or so. He could hear the constant sound dripping water and the occasional skittering of a mouse or rat as he pushed aside curtains of cobwebs. Hundreds of spiders lurked in them, and they only bothered him for the first half hour as he traveled through the maze of walls, following closely the crude map on the note provided. He twisted around corners and passed through long hallways covered in large molds that draped over the walls and pooled on the floors. Eventually, he came to a large curtain of green. He checked the map and pushed it aside, stepping into a large, domed, chamber. In the center was a small fire pit with a loud, crackling flame at its center. A snow white figure dressed in a black dress with a multicolored skirt. She had a large web of black and marigold streaked hair on her pale head. She looked up when she heard his large footsteps echoing on the stone floor and smiled. Frankenstrike saw that her face resembled a sugar skull, covered in bright, patterned dots and lines as she stood up and walked over to him.
"Greetings, Mr. Strike." the young girl said. "My name is Skelita Calaveras."
"Please, call me Frankenstrike." the Transylian said, taking her hand and giving it a good shake. Unfortunately, he had forgotten his own strength, and tore her hand off! Frankenstrike jumped back in surprise, the stolen limb in his large hands. "Woah! Sorry!" he quickly apologized. The young woman's small laughter caught him off guard a little. "Um, why are you laughing?" he asked, handing her hand back. The girl took the hand back and jabbed it back onto her stubby limb, wiggling her fingers before lowering her arm. "Do not worry; it doesn't hurt in the slightest. I am a skeleton after all."
"Wait. You're a what?" Frankenstrike startled before he looked down and noticed that she had literal bones for legs. He looked up again to see her arms were also bones, her face a pure white skull of literal bone. He jumped back in fright but quickly recomposed himself when he heard the skeleton giggle. He chuckled and sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "So, uh, what did you want me here for?" he asked. Skelita motioned for him to sit down at the fire pit as she pulled out two long skewers. She then took her own after handing Frankenstrike his own, and stabbed it into a large pepper. Frankenstrike uncomfortably copied her and put it over the fire like Skelita had done. "Seriously, what did you want to talk about? I doubt it was about roasting red peppers over a campfire." he said uncomfortably. Mostly because the low bench he was sitting on was so small.
"I know this might sound odd, but I sometimes get this feeling in my bones that tells me when something big is going to happen." she explained, slowly turning her pepper over the crackling flames, her gentle voice echoing through the chamber. "The strange thing is, is that it only happens when I am near or around you." she said, raising an eyebrow. Frankenstrike gulped nervously and scratched his head. "Um, that sure is strange." he said uneasily. Skelita cocked an eyebrow. "Are you hiding something?" she asked. Frankenstrike shook his head, but Skelita continued on. "I also get the same feeling in my bones when I've been around Clockwork, Swampfire, Ripjaws, and that time when Bullfrag broke into our classroom to rescue some frogs. Do you have an explanation?" she asked kindly.
"Is it just me or is it getting hot in here?" Frankenstrike asked nervously, fanning himself furiously.
Skelita was about to press further, when she got that sensation in her bones; the tingling feeling that warned her when something was going to happen. She suddenly felt hot, the air feeling suddenly humid and hot. Then she heard it; a low growling sound that filled the air. "Now that you mention it, it does feel a lot warmer." she noted. The growling sound grew into a roar, and the sound of claws scrabbling against the stone floor filled the air. Skelita stood up, Frankenstrike following him as the sound got closer and closer. "What is that-" Frankenstrike began before he decided to stay quiet as a large beast entered the room through a large tunnel in front of him. The animal was covered in scales and walked on four, muscled legs tipped razor sharp claws. It had a lizard-like head with two large horns curving back and glowing, red eyes. The creature roared and pulled its full body into the chamber, a pair of giant wings opening up as it stood on its hind legs. A long, triangular tipped tail curled around on the floor as the monster bellowed and a wave of fire erupted from its teeth lined jaws. "Is that what I think it is?" Frankenstrike gulped as the beast glowered at them, licking its jaws.
"Dragon!" Skelita cried as the monster roared and lunged forward towards them. Frankenstrike quickly grabbed hold of Skelita's arm and pulled her out of the way just as the dragon crashed into the fire pit and roared in anger. It snapped its jaws and gave chase after them as they ran down another tunnel, Frankenstrike practically dragging Skelita as they ran for their lives. They ran through more tunnels and passageways, running across bridges in giant caverns seemingly miles deep, but the savage dragon was always just behind them, snapping its jaws as it reached for Skelita's dangling feet. They eventually ran into a dead end, Frankenstrike cursing as they stopped. "Darn it!" he yelled in frustration, stomping a foot down and cracking the stone beneath his foot. The dragon roared from down the tunnel, and it would soon would be upon them. "Ya know, Skelita?"
"Yes?"
"I guess I might as well come clean. Ya know, before get eaten and all." Frankenstrike said as the ever familiar beeping sound filled the air. "Just, don't freak out, okay?" he asked as the green light engulfed him, filling the tunnel with light and blinding Skelita. The green light faded, and Skelita rubbed her eyes, not quite believing what she was seeing. The towering monster that had just been standing next to her had been replaced by a somewhat scrawny teenage boy in the blink of an eye. "What are you?" Skelita asked, slightly frightened (more so than usual).
"The name's Tennyson; Ben Tennyson." Ben said, smirking as he activated the Omnitrix and slapped down on the watch face. The familiar green flashed lit up the tunnel once more, Skelita gasping as the transformation began. His skinny figure suddenly swelled as hundreds of muscles piled on top of each other, sending his growing form upwards until he was more than twice as tall as his previous self. His fingers pulsed as thick veins appeared on his arms, sending alien blood through them. A second pair of eyes appeared above his own and every hair on his head disappeared. A short beard appeared on his chin that ran up to his disappearing earlobes as his jaw jutted out. Suddenly, a second pair of smaller arms burst out from under his own, still just fresh muscle and bone. Skelita felt like she was going to be sick until rough, red, skin covered them. Ben's toes melded into two large claws as a row of small spikes appeared on his head and shoulders. A black undershirt with a green stripe down the middle as a pair of black pants appeared as two pairs of black fingerless gloves came out of nowhere on his large hands, finishing the transformation.
"What are you?" Seklita asked.
"Say hello to Four Arms, baby!" the Tetramand said, flexing both pairs of arms.
A low roar came down from the tunnel, Four Arms turning to face the large dragon with all four hands balled into fists. The dragon, smoke drifting from its nostrils, surged forward, jaws wide open and fully prepared to devour the large creature in front of him. With a yell, Four Arms rushed forward and drove his top pair of fists downward, shoving the dragon's jaws shut. Before the dragon could react, Four Arms attacked with lower set of arms, boxing what seemed to be the dragon's ears and then jabbing it in the eyes. The dragon roared in agony and annoyance as Four Arms reached down and ripped away a large stone from the floor and raising it above his head before throwing at the dragon's head. The dragon fell to the ground and shook the boulder off its head, roaring. Four Arms backed up. "Any ideas, Skelita?" he asked nervously. Skelita mean while, had been watching the whole fight scene when her hand had pushed on a small rock in the wall, sending it through the other side. She rapped a bony knuckle on the wall and heard a deep, hollow sound. "Ben, er, Four Arms! Whichever! There's another tunnel behind here!" she yelled over the roar of the beast.
"And that means?" Four Arms asked, appearing next to her.
"If you can lure the dragon over and then destroy the wall, the collapse should daze it long enough for us to get away." Skelita said calmly.
Four Arms grinned. "I like you. You're smart." he said before turning to face the dragon, cracking his knuckles for dramatic effect. "Hey! Over here you big, dumb lizard!" he yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth. The dragon's gaze deepened as it opened its mouth and unleashed a jet of flame. Four Arms blanked; he hadn't been expecting that to happen, despite the fact it was a fire-breathing dragon. Without thinking, he dove in front of Skelita as she flinched, shielding herself with her arms. Four Arms cried out in pain as he turned his back to the dragon; it didn't hurt exactly. His Tetramand skin happened to be somewhat fire-proof. However, it wouldn't last long. "Can you do something please? This kind of hurts!" he grunted. Skelita panicked and did the first thing that came to mind; she reached down and picked up a small stone from the wall about as big as her palm and chucked it at the dragon, hitting it square between the eyes.
The fire stopped, and the dragon's closed as it tried to understand that it had been struck by an object that was much too small to do any damage by its prey. Four Arms was breathing heavily as smoke curled off his singed back. He look over his shoulder to see the entire back part of his shirt burned off. She shrugged and tore the rest off, discarding it to the floor, revealing his well defined abs and chest muscles. Despite having no skin or blood vessels to begin with, Sekltia felt herself blushing. A low growling sound filled the chamber once more, and they both turned to face the dragon, its lips curled back to show its teeth; it had had enough play for one day, and was more than ready to kill them. Four Arms glanced up and behind them, noticing that a large crack ran from the wall and up to the ceiling. A trickle of dirt would fall through the crack every time there a large tremor, and this gave the Tetramand an idea. "Quick, get down!" he yelled to Skelita. The young skeleton did not to crouch to the floor and cover her head as Four Arms both pairs of muscled arms and slammed his fists downward to the floor. The tunnel shook, and dirt fell from the ceiling as the crack began to widen.
BOOM! Another hit.
BOOM! Another hit.
The dragon was edging closer, its jaws wide open and a harsh glowing light coming from the back of its throat, preparing another blast to hopefully incinerate its prey. Four Arms grimaced and raised his arms one more time. Oh, please let this work, he thought to himself as he slammed his fists into the ground one last time. By now, the crack had widened enough that a truckload of rubble came tumbling down, smashing onto the dragon's head as it lunged forward. Four Arms shielded his face until the dust cleared and cracked open his eyes to see a wall of dirt and rock in front of them, two stone walls to his left and right, and another stone wall behind him, with about a dozen feet between the rubble and back wall. He sighed with relief as Skelita cracked open an eye. "Is it dead?" she asked, standing back up and pointing at the dragon. Four Arms dusted off his hands as he answered. "Nah, I doubt that; probably just knocked him out for a round." he said with a large grin. "We should probably get out of here before he-"
He never got to finish as a loud rumbling filled the tunnel and trails of dirt poured from the ceiling. Both of them looked up to see the crack widening even more, spreading the whole width of the tunnel as a wall of dirt and rock pressed down on. "Get down! Again!" Four Arms cried as Skelita fell to the floor again, Four Arms landing on top of her to act as a shield for her fragile bones. The world shook and fell around them as Skelita squeezed her eyes shut, covering her head and trying to block the sound out of her ears, despite not having any. After what seemed like hours, the roar of the collapsing tunnel stopped. She waited a few more minutes before she cracked an eye open to see nothing but brown and gray all around her. She began to panic until she felt a heavy breathing on the back of her vertebrae. She craned her neck to see Four Arms over her, protecting her from the falling rubble with his own back. She oddly felt touched by the gesture, despite having just met the strange boy moments ago. He had sacrificed him to protect her, and that was really counted for the young skeleton. And she would gladly thank him, if he could just get off of her.
"Um, Four Arms? Ben? You can let go know?" she said gently. Four Arms opened a pair of eyes and laughed nervously he realized she was right. With a heavy grunt, he rose up to his full height, rocks and dirt falling off of him as he stood up. Several small cuts from the stones marked his arms, but he barely felt them. What really hurt was his back. With an arching twist and he cracked it, wincing as he heard the loud pops and cracks of his own spine. "Ahhhh, yeah. That'll do it." he sighed with relief once his back was straightened out. He looked around to them standing up to their hips in debris, Skelita up to her shoulders. He quickly dug her out and helped her up before doing the same to himself, ducking his head against the low ceiling. "So, uh, what now?" he asked. Skelita shrugged and pointed upwards, a small shaft of moonlight shining down on them.
"Four Arms's is not gonna be able to climb that," the Tetramand said. "However, I think I know a guy who can fly us out." he chuckled, slapping the Omnitrix symbol on his green belt. Skelita shielded her eyes as Ben briefly changed back into his human self and let the next sequence of the transformation begin. First was the light covering of light and dark blue fur. It covered his whole body as he shrunk down to the size of a large bulldog. He was forced to hunch forward as his spine arched that way, a long tail sprouting from the base of his spine. His arms became thin, yet strong, designed to pull himself up and down, left and right, and whichever direction he pleased. He lost two fingers on each hand, but gained a second pair of similar arms that split out from his sides, thankfully already covered in skin and fur. Three pairs of green eyes appeared on his face as the fur on his head was flipped up and back. His jaw jutted out in an ape-like fashion as two, sharp canine teeth poked from his bottom lip at the corners of his mouth. Two green sashes appeared across his chest like an X with the Omnitrix symbol in the center, finishing the transformation.
"Jetray! Ook! Ook!" the alien cried out, posing with arms stretched out like wings. He then quickly looked himself over and noticeably drooped, his face falling. "Correction; Spidermonkey." he sighed. "Oh, well. I can work with this too." he chuckled. He aimed his tail upward and shot a jet of web fluid out of it, drawing a small squeak of surprise from Skelita as it rocketed upwards and stuck fast to a firm rock. Spidermonkey gave a few tugs before confirming it was safe. He then reached out with a hand and looped it around Skelita's thin waist. "Hang on tight! Ooh! Ooh! It's goin' ta be a bumpy ride!" he screeched before swinging up the tight rod of silk, Skelita screaming all the way. They rocketed up the thin rope of webbing and before they reached the top, Spidermonkey shot out another jet of web fluid, swinging on it like a vine and pulling him self to the other side of the hole before spinning around in a ball and shooting another shot of web fluid upwards, yanking himself up as the webbing was sucked back into his tail. Skelita continued to scream as they went through another series of mind boggling acrobatics before they finally slingshot out of the hole and into the night air, tumbling onto a soft bed of grass. "And the Amazing Spidermonkey does it again! Ooh! Ooh! Ah! Ah!" he cheered, pounding his chest like a gorilla as he jumped up and down excitedly. Skelita, meanwhile, was shaking on the ground.
She was completely terrified. She couldn't believe moments ago they had been a mile underground and had covered that much distance in such a short amount of time. And the way they did it! She had always marveled at acrobats, stunned at how they made twirling and flipping through the air look so easy. She couldn't believe she had ever wanted to give it a try at some point! If she had a stomach, she would have emptied long ago, she felt so sick. She stood up on shaky legs, leaning against a nearby tree for support as she gasped for breath. Spidermonkey turned around and knuckle walked over to her, a look of concern on his face. "Are you okay?" he asked. She slowly shook her head. No, she was not okay. Why would he think she was? What they had done was just insane. "Promise me one thing." she said with a shaky voice, falling to her knees on the ground. "Don't ever do that with me again." she pleaded. Spidermonkey sighed and sat next to her, putting a comforting paw on her back and gently rubbing it up and down her vertebrae. For some reason, this seemed to sooth Skelita, calm down her jittery nerves a little. She moaned sleepily and sat cross legged as Spider monkey continued to rub her back gently, playing her soft hair a little as he did so. After a few moments, Skelita could feel herself becoming calmer; her heart had stopped pounding, and she no longer felt like she was on a sugar rush.
"Better?" Spidermonkey asked cheekily.
Skelita nodded her head. She did feel better than before. She took a breath and stood up, thankful that she wasn't in danger of falling over.
"That's good. Unfortunately, that means I also have to break that promise of yours." Spidermonkey said sheepishly. Skelita looked frightened and confused at the same time before she realized that he was somewhat right; they were in the middle of the woods. She could see the soft lights of the town a couple miles away, but there was no way they would get there before dawn. She sighed as Spidermonkey put a reassuring hand on her femur bone. "Don't worry! Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! I promise to take it easy!" he said.
"You call this easy!?" Skelita cried.
"Trust me; this is the least showy thing that I could possibly do." Spidermonkey said with slight resentment in his voice. He had promised her to take it easy. Unfortunately a small part of him wanted to do a repeat of the flips and twirls he had done back in the hole, and this was what he could come up with; a steady rhythm of shooting a strand of webbing out at a far away tree and swinging to it, twirling in the air for a few seconds before firing another jet of webbing and repeating the process. It was seriously the least nauseous thing he could think of at the moment. After about a quarter of an hour, they reached the outskirts of the quiet town. Skelita took a break from hyperventilating and gave him quick instructions to her house as Spidermonkey swung from lamppost to lamppost. They eventually arrived at a semi normal household done up in a Mexican style lay out. Large, clay pots sat on either side of the walk up to the front door, cacti sitting in each pot. Most of the lights in the windows were off, but a soft glow could be seen in the bottom floor of the house, in what Skelita said was the living room. With a flick of his tail, Spidermonkey snapped the strand of web and landed with a low thump at Skelita's doorstep. The skeleton was breathless for a moment but quickly recovered, smiling from cheekbone to cheekbone. A familiar beeping sound filled the air, and Spidermonkey disappeared, reversing Ben to his normal form. He then realized his hand was still around Skelita's waist and jerked it away nervously, smiling sheepishly as he did.
"So, um, good night, I guess." he said before turning around to walk back to the road. Skelita smiled and grabbed hold of his arm, yanking him backwards and towards him. Before he could protest, Skelita pulled him in and pressed her lips against his. Ben stood stalk still for a moment before deciding to go along with it and pulling Skelita deeper into the kiss. The two teens just stood there for a few moments, oblivious to the world around them, until they broke to take a breath.
"Wow." was all Ben could say with his signature goofy grin.
"Si." Skelita giggled as she put a hand on the doorknob to her house. "Buenas noches." she said sweetly. Ben waved good bye before turning around and walking down the walk. "See you at school tomorrow, Skelita."
The young skeleton smiled and entered the house, the door clicking softly behind her.
"Hija? Is that you?" a voice called from the living room.
"Si, mamá!"
"Where were you?"
"Having the night of my undead life." Skelita said with a sweet smile as she headed upstairs to bed.
And there's the first filler chapter! A lot of you were requesting Skelita make an appearance before Ben's secret be revealed, so here you go! And yes, I have decided to make this a harem story, based on a review I received from a loyal reader. I will not however, be featuring any lemons in this story. If you are that kind of person, feel free to write a story like it. This website needs more Ben 10/Monster High crossovers anyway.
As always, please comment and review below! I will be posting the big Halloween Dance Fiasco on Halloween. So, be patient until then!