And I'm coming back from the Underworld with a new chapter! Why is that I always feel like yelling during these author notes anyways? Must be a side effect of being in the Underworld or something.
As always, comment, review, suggest, and request below or PM me if you would like to keep things private, so to speak. I promise, nobody but me and the billions of souls down in Underworld will see it. Oh, and Hades of course. He's surprisingly a big fan of my story. Who knew?
The wind was blowing past Robecca, getting caught in her blue and black hair as it simply slid over her bronze plating. She hung on tightly to the thick, green color that hung around her lover's neck as he thundered across the barren landscape, stopping every now and then to sniff the ground before taking off once more. Robecca could feel Venus's fingernails dig into her copper colored skin as they sped up, the Vulpimancer letting out a hoarse roar as it ran.
Now that most of the new comers were well enough to work for the Rebellion, Twyla had made it a point to send them out on simple missions and subject them to simple exercises, so that they could both work towards their goals. The Rebellion leader had decided to send Ben, Robecca, and Venus out on a recon mission towards Zs'Skayr's next base of operations; now that they had Gigi back and out of harms way, the Rebellion leader wanted to strike fast and hard to keep Zs'Skayr 's mind off of finding Whisp, too distracted by the many attacks on his troops and fortresses to worry about the shadow genie.
Which was why Wildmutt, Robecca, and Venus were out in sub-zero temperatures in the middle of a snow storm. And Skurd's constant whining about the freezing cold was starting to them all a little crazy.
"Skurd, I know exactly how you feel; I'm not used to these temperatures either," Venus said as calmly as she could through gritted fangs. "But for the love of fertilizer, will you please shut up!?"
The Slimebiote huffed and slithered off to some other part of Wildmutt's body, hopefully some place that was warmer than riding on the green collar in the freezing wind. After a few minutes of pleasant silence, Robecca spoke. "So, this what the future's become?"
Venus nodded grimly as Wildmutt slowed to a stalking motion, his large shoulder rising and falling as he put one foot in front of the other. "Ben's absence made it all too easy for Zs'Skayr to take over the world. As if that wasn't bad enough, Maltruant's supposed to be around here too. Somewhere." she added grimly. Robecca felt like her memory banks were going to explode with this much information given to her in a short amount of time. The moment she had woken up had been one of her happiest, but that had quickly turned around when Ben and Twyla had informed her about what she had missed while she was dead. On the bright side, they had managed to recover her gear, though it was still depleted of power.
Her thoughts were shaken free when Wildmutt came to a stop behind a large snow back, bending down close to the ground so the ghouls could hop off. Robecca did so without any problem, the cold not bothering her in the slightest; she had an internal furnace that kept her systems running in freezing weather. Venus however, was another story. Her skin had turned a pale shade of green and she held herself tightly, her fangs chattering as the wind blew past her, seemingly to get into every fiber of her being. The Omnitrix timed out and Ben handed her his white hoodie, not minding being freezing for a brief moment. While Venus gladly took the sweatshirt and put it on, flipping the hood up to conserve as much body heat as possible, she was still freezing. Feeling sorry for the plant girl, Robecca grabbed her arm and pulled her in close, giving her a tight hug.
Venus felt both surprised, embarrassed, and awkward at the same time, but what she mostly felt was warmth. Robecca's furnace was radiating heat throughout her body, her metal skin warming up and keeping Venus at a constant temperature. Her cheeks turning pink at the situation they were in, both she and Robecca sneaked up next to Ben, holding each other tightly as they peered over the snow bank to peer down at the structure before them.
It looked like a gigantic castle of sorts, with high and impressive walls surrounding the main structure, spikes decorating every possible feature; spikes on the walls, spikes on the towers, spikes on the windows, everywhere had spikes. As if the creepy building wasn't spooky enough, the guards and seeming residents didn't seem to be affected by the Corrodium that had infected the entire world because of one simple fact: they were Ectonurites.
Hundreds of the ghost-like aliens patrolled the walls and towers, their black shapes swooping past the windows inside as a few drifted through the air above the castle, providing surveillance of sorts. It was a wonder they hadn't been spotted yet. And the Ectonurite guards were especially creepy; while they all possessed the general ghost shape, some had multiple head-like protrusions on their bodies, though only one of them possessed an eye. Others wore burlap sacks over their heads, torn holes showcasing their toothy grins and eyes, shackles that rattled in the freezing winds, a few even wore straightjackets, as if they were mentally insane but sane enough to work.
"How many ghosts do you think are this haunted mansion, 999?" Ben joked. The ghouls rolled their eyes and separated from each other, Venus actually seeming a little disappointed, though she hid this fact from Ben or Robecca. The trio slunk low behind the snow drifts, keeping their eyes trained on the spiked fortress in the hopes of noticing something important. Something caught Venus's eye, and she pointed this out to her partners; a small band of Corrodium infected soldiers came trudging up to the castle, some of them carrying wounded and injured soldiers. The Ectonurite guards on the walls overlooking the guards alerted the rest of the castle, a large group of the aliens came floating through the closed gate, swooping and swirling over the army and plunking up the weak and injured in their wicked claws, actually seeming to be careful as they flew back to the castle. The army then set up camp outside of the castle, waiting for something.
"What was that all about?" Robecca whispered.
Ben frowned and studied the scene. "I dunno, but it-"
"It's a hospital." Venus breathed. Robecca and Ben glanced at her with odd expressions until Venus explained her idea. "Think about it. Why else would the guards take only the injured into the castle, and leave the rest of the army outside? And instead of leaving, the army waits outside. As if they're waiting for their comrades to come back out, healed and ready to fight again."
"When you put it like that, it actually makes sense," Ben murmured. "But we're going to need more information. We need to get inside." he thought. "I could get inside no problem, but you two are going to be a problem."
"I could wear a sheet and pose as a ghost," Robecca suggested. "I can use my rocket boots to fly."
Ben thought it over. "It could work, but that would leave Venus out of it. And we all need to get inside," he grumbled. The trio bounced around ideas for a few minutes, diving into a snow bank when a guard got too close for comfort; Venus was once again freezing cold and had to warm up with Robecca once more, which she actually found comforting. It wasn't until they had to dive into the snow bank again did they come with an idea.
Or rather, Skurd did.
"You're sure this is going to work?" Ghostfreak rasped to his gooey partner.
"Have I ever steered you wrong, dear boy?" Skurd asked. "Don't answer that." he added when the Ectonurite seemed about to say something.
"Can we hurry this up? I'm getting cold again." Venus asked, once again cold now that Ben's hoodie had been returned to him. If their plan was to work, every trace of Ben had to be gone, including his hoodie; even the Omnitrix symbol on his chest had to be covered up by a spare bronze cap Robecca had. With rattled nerves, the trio edged towards the gate, Robecca and Venus's hands bound together with handcuffs Twyla had provided them with before the mission. The plan was simple; Ghostfreak would pose as a fellow Ectonurite and "turn in" Robecca and Venus as enemies of the high Ecto Lord, Zs'Skayr. With two prisoners in hand, they would gain entrance to the fortress and be able to scope the place out before making a hasty retreat.
"Halt! Who dares approach us?" a raspy voice called from overhead, and Ghostfreak looked upwards to see an Ectonurite holding a weapon that looked like a three headed spear of sorts.
"I come bearing prisoners, fellow Ectonurite!" Ghostfreak called up, roughly shoving Robecca and Venus forward for the guard to see. "They are enemies of the high ecto Lord, plotting his demise! I have brought them here for questioning!"
The guard above the glanced curiously to several of his comrades, and Ghostfreak feared the plan had failed. Not only would they be swamped within minutes by hundreds of Ectonurite guards and most likely shush-kabobed, but there was a rather large army of Corrodium infected spawn less than a dozen yards away, looking at the two ghouls with hunger in their savage eyes. After what felt like eternity, the guard above gestured for them to enter, and the trio nearly collapsed with relief. Ghostfreak grabbed each of the two ghouls by their shoulders with his talons and flew upwards and over the wall, dropping the two ghouls to the ground about half a dozen feet up before descending. A guard directed them to a prison cell for Venus and Robecca where they would be kept until questioning by the castle's leader would begin. Ghostfreak opted to stay and guard the two ghouls, saying he wanted to taunt them a little more and see if they would spill anything early; the guard had been skeptical, but had relented when Ghostfreak threatened to tell the head of the castle that he had gotten in the way of the master plan.
Minutes after the guard had left and the dungeon door had closed, Ghostfreak took the bronze cap off of the Omnitrix and slapped it, being briefly changed back into his human form before he was injected with new alien DNA. His body began to grow as millions of muscles piled onto every part of his body, his fingers and hands swelling as alien blood pumped through his veins. Stitches appeared on his body as the transformation teared through his shirt, ripping it to shreds as patchwork skin took the place of his old one. A pair of green gauntlets formed on his hands as metallic bolts burst out from his body on his arms and back, twin gigantic conductors tearing out of his shoulders and crackling with electricity as a pair of black pants and large boots appeared on Ben. His jaw jutted outwards, a few teeth sticking out as his hair turned jet black and became long and shaggy. The final piece of the transformation was the Omnitrix popping out his right pectoral muscle, a large scar etching outwards from it as if the device had been ripped out of his body.
With his conductors crackling and lighting up the darkness, Frankenstrike grabbed the bars of the cell Robecca and Venus shared and tore it free from the cold, stone wall of the dungeon, a few rocks loudly falling to the floor as the two ghouls stepped out. "You were a bit rough back there weren't you, luv?" Robecca scolded the Transylian, rubbing her wrists.
"I had to make it look convincing," he shrugged. "Now, if I were some top secret plans, where would I be hiding?" he wondered, scratching his head. As he was thinking, Frankenstrike began to pace the floor, absentmindedly wandering about as he pondered the situation. Unfortunately, the dungeons were not known for being clean or dry for that matter, and thus Frankenstrike slipped in a puddle of water, landing flat on his back with a loud bang!
"Ben! Keep it down!" Venus hissed.
"Ben?" a frail voice called out from somewhere in the darkness. Frankenstrike glanced about in confusion, trying to locate the source of the sound as Robecca and Venus attempted to do the same. "Um, did you want something, Mr. Mysterious Voice?" he called out, hoping for an answer.
"Over here, you ninny." a gruff voice growled from somewhere in the darkness. The ghouls began to blindly follow the sound of the voice in the darkness before Frankenstrike found an old torch stub that was dry enough and lit it up with a zap of his conductors, providing a bright enough light source to see into the darkness. The trio walked a short distance, the only light being their single torch as the voice would call every now and again, seeming to change every time. First it would sound soft and tired, and the next it would sound rough and aggressive. Eventually, they across another cell in the darkness, the bars old and rusted, but strong enough to apparently keep its occupants in.
"Mr. and Mrs. Stein?" Frankenstrike wondered as he peered into the cell. Indeed, it was Frankie's parents, bound and chained to the wall by strong chains. The couple were looking worse for wear, their clothes tattered and torn as scratches and bruises decorated their bodies. Viktor had grown a beard since the last time he and Ben had encountered, and Viveka's hair was long and shaggy, having not been cut in a long time. "For once, I am pleased to your face again, Tennyson," Viktor growled.
"I'm guessing you're still upset about what happened to Frankie?" Frankenstrike guessed.
"What do your think, you incompetent fool!?" Viktor roared, his angered voice echoing throughout the dungeon and scattering a cloud of bats that had taken residence in the ceiling.
"Dear, try to keep it down. If you alert the guards, there won't be anyway Ben and his friends can get us out." Viveka said weakly from the cell, her voice cracked and hoarse with age.
"Yeah, if you ever want to see Frankie again-"
"Frankie is alive!?" Viveka shrieked.
Frankenstrike uncovered his ears before speaking. "Uh, yeah. Did you think I would seriously let Zs'Skayr take Frankie lying down?"
"Don't you dare say that name in my presence!" Viktor yelled. "Now be useful for once in your life and extricate us from these shackles!"
Frankenstrike frowned and handed the torch to Venus, who gladly took it. With a grunt, he put his hands on the bars and bent them with ease, creating an open big enough for him to enter. He trudged into the cell and released Viveka first, tearing the chain loose from the wall and then breaking it off of her wrist, accidentally pulling the hand off entirely. He then moved onto Viktor as Viveka put her hand back onto her arm, watching as Frankenstrike broke the chains from the wall and broke the shackles on the living cadaver.
"You're welcome," Frankenstrike grumbled.
"I never said thank you, you fool." Viktor growled.
"You're welcome," Frankenstrike repeated with a mischievous grin. Viktor paused and realized he had been made the butt of a joke; it took the combined strength of his wife, Robecca, and Venus to hold the monster back, and even then he nearly caught the Transylian in his mad attempt to strangle him. After a few minutes of this, Viktor finally calmed down enough for Frankenstrike to give both adults the short version of what had happened so far, Venus and Robecca interjecting every now and then with their own inputs.
"I'm just relieved that Frankie's all right," Viveka sighed, leaning against the cold, stone wall of the prison. "Do you think you could take us to her?" she pleaded.
"We were actually supposed to find out about Zs'Skayr's plans," Frankenstrike explained. "If you two happen to know something-"
"We do, dear boy," Viktor interrupted. "We used to agents of the Rebellion ourselves before we got caught. That Twyla girl is a very decent leader." he added.
"And you couldn't have mentioned that before?" Frankenstrike sighed, pinching his brow with his oversized fingers. Viktor smirked; his revenge had been made.
"Fine. Lets get out of here," Frankenstrike sighed, just as the green light timed out and reverted him back to his human state. Ignoring Viktor's obvious interest in the device, Ben cycled through his aliens, hoping that the Omnitrix would give him an alien that he could use. He then slapped the activation button, letting the green light washing over him and changing his DNA. His shot up about three feet, drawing about even with Viktor Stein as ever last strand of hair was sucked back into his body, making him completely bald. His bare skin then slowly turned a light green as his jaw jutted outwards and his tongue became long and elastic, just barely staying inside his changing mouth. Before anyone could even seen the alien's eyes, a pair of dark sunglasses appeared on his face, discouraging the view as the transformation continued. Ben's fingers molded together into three digits as muscles piled themselves onto his arms, chest, and legs, his toes turning into two long digits. A black bodysuit with green cuffs on the wrists appeared on his body, a green stripe materializing on the clothing as an airtank of sorts appeared on his back. The Omnitrix and Skurd appeared on the breathing device, the transformation complete.
"Bullfrag? AO, what gives!?" the Incursean complained.
"You honestly haven't figured out how to work that contraption of yours?" Viktor grumbled.
"Now you know what I have to put up with every day of my life so far," Skurd sighed, rubbing his beady little eyes with his tiny tentacles.
"Can it, Snot Rag." Bullfrag shot back, slapping the Omnitrix.
FWOOM!
"I say, this is quite unprecedented.!" Molestache complained.
FWOOM!
"Eatle? Seriously?" the large, bug-like alien grumbled before slapping the Omnitrix on his chest.
FWOOM!
"Arctiguana?" the Polar Manzardill sighed.
"Isn't cold enough?" Venus griped, shivering once more.
FWOOM!
"This is just getting ridiculous," Ripjaws grumbled, folding his arms over his bare chest and shivering, his breath appearing in the air before him.
"Mind if I have a go at it?" Skurd asked.
"Why not? Not like you'll have better luck at this thing." the Piscciss Volann growled. Skurd snorted and turned to the Omnitrix, tapping his tentacles lightly on the device before giving Ripjaws the thumbs up and scooting aside as the webbed hand came down. Everything about him began to change in one single way: it got big. It got huge. It got enormous as Ben's frame rocketed upwards towards the roof of the dungeon, dwarfing everyone below him. The dungeon began to shake and rumble, years wroth of dust falling from the ceiling as Ben's expanding back pressed against the ceiling and suddenly tore through with a loud crack! His skin turned a pale, metallic white and red, large, thin blades growing out of her wrists and arms, fins sprouting from her waist, wrists, and shoulders. A large, thin red crest rose up from his head, adding to his height. He continued to shoot upwards, growing taller and taller as he pushed through almost a dozen separate floors, tearing them into pieces as his growing body pushed them aside. Hard, metal knobs grew out from the corners of his mouth and he could feel a pair of organs forming in his hands, filling up with a sort of corrosive acid. The Omnitrix and a microscopic Skurd appeared on his chest, finishing the transformation.
"Way Big? Might have been way too big," the To'kustar commented as he looked himself over, standing in the ruins of the castle.
"Oh, that was so funny, I forgot to laugh." Skurd grumbled. Panicking Ectonurites swarmed around them, attempting to strike at the alien giant when they found out that the Omnitrix prevented Way Big from being possessed. Way Big swatted at them like a cloud flies, knocking most of them aside as he quickly stooped down and set down his hand to let the nearly invisible ghouls and Steins climb on. Once they were safely within his gigantic hand, Way Big closed his fist and stepped out of the wreckage of the castle and began to jog off into the distance. As he ran away he moved his hand up to his shoulder and opened it up, letting his passengers step off onto his shoulder.
"Um, luv, I hate to break this to you, but they're comin' after us!" Robecca cried out, gripping tightly against Way Big's skin as the cold wind rushed over them, the To'kustar's arms pumping up and down as he ran away as fast as he could. Way Big cast a look over his shoulder, grumbling under his breath when he saw clouds of Ectonurites shooting after him, a black and purple and incredibly vengeful army of Corrodium infected mutants. Way Big could have easily crushed every mutant under his foot without even trying, but the Ectonurites would be another problem; not only could they simply phase through every attack he'd throw at them, but if they managed to get near his ghouls or the Steins, it would be all over. Desperate, Way Big whirled around and crossed his arms over each other, right arm vertical and left arm horizontal, thumbs facing him as he felt heat build up in his wrists. A bright green beam of light burst out, aimed right at the swarm of Ectonurites and incinerating most of them before whipping back around to gain more distance.
"That watch of yours is simply amazing," Viktor noted with amazment.
"Isn't it?" Way Big smirked. "And watch this. Skurd?"
"Alright, alright. Stop working me to the bone." the Slimebiote grumbled as he stretched himself over Way Big's legs, an impressive feet for someone so small.
"You don't even have bones!" Way Big shot back as a green light engulfed his legs and changed them into exact, albeit gigantic, versions of Crashhopper's. With a grunt, Way Big bent his legs and pushed off the ground, skyrocketing into the air, the wind rushing past his face. The G-force was incredible against the smaller passengers, most them screaming for their lives as the pressure pressed them against the To'kustar's shoulder; Venus had, fortunately, passed out after a few seconds of being airborne.
After they reached their maximum height, nearly touching the edge of the atmosphere, they cameobecca's shooting back down, Way Big covering his face as his body was engulfed in flames. His tiny passengers continued to scream as they came crashing back down to earth, pushing past the clouds as the ground came up to meet them. At the last moment, Way Big swung his body around so that he would land feet first, aiming for the tiny blob of black and purple beneath him. Robecca bit her lip and shut her eyes as a loud, sickening combination of crunches and squishes met her auditory sensors. She cracked open her eyes upon hearing the Omnitrix time out, or at least Skurd 'deactivated'; when she opened her eyes, the insect-like legs were gone and were replaced by Way Big's regular legs.
They continued running for a few more miles, running across snow covered ground and quickly ditching the last of the Ectonurites, despite Way Big being easy to spot from half a hundred miles away. He began to take a long detour back towards the base, just to make sure he had shaken their chasers, running across flat plains and through a wide canyon that reached as high as his neck. Venus eventually woke up to find herself being held against Robecca's warm, metal plating, a feeling that Venus found oddly endearing. This made her think; was she seriously crushing on her ghoulfriend when she was already in a relationship?
Oh, this is so confusing, she mentally sighed. Not only was she questioning her sexuality, but her sense of faith as well. She truly did love Ben, and not just for his Menthanosian and Florauna forms either; he kind, relatively smart, and she had never had more fun than before his coming to her universe. Robecca was one of her closest friends, and she had never felt this way about her before. Did she just like the Copper Beauty because she could keep her warm?
Venus glanced up at Robecca, whose attention was on the trip back to the base. She looked absolutely stunning in the cold sunlight, the way her jet black locks and abyss blue hair waved in the cool breeze. Her bright, hazel eyes shone in the sun, like molten orbs of hot liquid metal. Her lips were a perfect, tawny bronze color; Venus wanted to feel them against her own. She mentally slapped herself for thinking such thoughts and instead focused on enjoying the view with Robecca. Such thoughts should be reserved for later.
"Hey, babe."
Abbey sighed and closed her eyes, counting to 10 in Russian before turning around to look down on Heath.
"How many times must Abbey tell you?" Abbey said as calmly as she could.
"Right, right. Abbey, not babe. Abbey." Heath said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head under the girl's cold stare.
"What do you want from Abbey?" she asked.
"Uh, I was, um, wondering if you knew when Ben would be back," Heath asked. Abbey sighed and shook her head, leaning against the wall of the hallway.
"I do not know he will return," she answered. "Abbey very busy with training."
Training?"
"Yes," Abbey smirked. She suddenly lunged forward and swiped Heath's legs out from under him, sending him to the floor. Before he could even register what had happened, Abbey grabbed his arm and judo flipped him hard, landing him on his back faster than he could blink. She then proudly rested a foot on Heath's chest, smirking at his defeat. "Dragon girl has been training Abbey in arts of martial." she finished. Heath groaned as Abbey got off him and helped him to his feet. Heath opened his mouth to say something else when the entire base began to shake and rumble in rhythm.
"That would be Ben," Abbey smiled. "Boogey Girl be glad he back." Without another word, Abbey turned around and walked off towards the base's entrance, leaving Heath standing alone in the hallway. The fire elemental sighed and shuffled after her. No matter how he presented himself, he simply couldn't catch Abbey's eye. If only she would fall for me as easily as every other ghoul has for Ben! he thought miserably. Then, the most miraculous thing happened.
Heath had an idea.
And not just some hair-brained scheme that could result in terrifying adventures and escapades that the Monster High gang always seemed to come across, but a plan that was both safe (as far as he knew) and possibly effective. The only thing he needed was Ben himself. With renewed energy, Heath ran towards the entrance of the base, passing by seemingly endless doors and turns before coming across the exit of the base.
Heath then stepped outside, meeting Twyla, Abbey, Nefera, Spectra, and Jinafire out in the freezing cold. They were quickly cast into darkness as Way Big walked through the base, being careful to avoid the chain link fences, vehicles, and storage houses as he walked towards the main door. He stopped just short of the ghouls and Heath, standing a mere half a dozen feet away from them as he reached up to his shoulder and pulled something free from it. The To'kustar then brought his hand down to the ground and opened it up, letting four figures fall to the snow as he was engulfed in a bright green light and reduced back to Ben.
"How'd the mission go?" Twyla asked with urge. Ben brushed snow off of him and was about to speak when his snot-colored side kick interrupted him.
"Splendid, glorious leader," Skurd said, bowing slightly. Twyla's cheeks flushed red as he continued. "We successfully infiltrated the base and discovered some keys facts about it before we found this lovely couple locked away in the dungeon," he added, gesturing towards Viktor and Viveka with his tiny tentacles. "And then this hooligan here destroyed with his oafish clumsiness."
"Yeah, what he said." Ben grumbled.
Twyla smiled and shook her head, turning her attention to Viktor and Viveka. "Glad to have you back, Mr. and Mrs. Stein," she greeted them. "Frankie is currently residing in the infirmary. She should be waking up any day now."
Viktor nodded grimly. "If it is alright, I would like to check up on her. I am sure Ghoulia did a fine job in my absence, but I do know more about Frankie than anyone else."
Twyla sighed. "Fine. But stay out of Ghoulia's lab while you're in there please. We want to avoid another prank war if possible."
"They were not childish pranks!" Viktor argued. "That child stole my wrench without my permission and refused to return it! These "pranks" you speak of were tactic attempts to retrieve it!"
"By nearly burning down Ghoulia's lab?"
Viktor attempted to come up with another excuse, but could not unfortunately find one and admitted defeat. He then lumbered back into the base, Viveka following after him, eager to see her daughter after so long. Twyla went after them, deciding to go with them just in case Dr. Viktor got any ideas. Ben cocked an eyebrow but shrugged it off as Nefera and Spectra happily wrapped their arms around him, eager to have him back.
"Hey, uh, Ben? Can I talk to you?" Heath asked.
"Sure. I'll meet you two in the training room, alright?" he suggested to Nefera and Spectra. The two ghouls nodded and strolled back into the base, Abbey and Jinafire following behind.
"If you get the chance, Ben, I need to speak to you too." Venus added as Robecca helped her up and into the nice, warm base; Venus would never take heat for granted ever again. First thing she would do upon returning back to her proper time was take a vacation to South Scaremerica.
"What do ya need help with?" Ben asked.
"Abbey," Heath simply replied.
"What about her?"
"I just can't get her to fall for me," Heath sighed. "No matter what I try, she doesn't fall for me like Spectra or Robecca ever did for you."
Ben smiled and shook his head. "Dude, I was just myself. Being yourself is the best thing you can ever do. Besides, do you really think Abbey would tolerate you constantly asking her out and 'mispronouncing' her name if she didn't like you?"
"She likes me?" Heath asked, bewildered.
"Duh. She just hasn't gonna cuckoo for ya because she's Abbey," Ben told him.
"I don't get it." said Heath.
"Just be yourself, dude." Ben sighed, pulling Heath back into the base.
Venus nervously played with her hair, biting her lip as she waited for the inevitable. She had to tell Ben and Robecca about what was happening to her. If she didn't, it just come back to haunt her in the future, never seemingly going away and inflating like a balloon until it popped into the worst possible situation. She had fortunately, asked both of them to meet her in the base's green house, which calmed her nerves a little; being surrounded by fellow plants just seemed to help with her problems.
She had to admire the base's green house; everything down to the last tomato plant was perfect, irrigation systems lining the walkways and watering the many plants. Grapes hung from the ceiling over patches of cabbages and carrots, and towering vines of ripe tomatoes guarded peppers and berry bushes. Cornstalks were dwarfed by the single apple tree that stood at the center of the green house, resting on a small, artificial island, of which Gourmand inspired mini-bots both harvested the food with their artificial tongues and kept the water ways clean. It was on this island, underneath this tree, that Venus sat, waiting for both her lovers to come to her.
The hiss of the door over the constant sound of rushing water and the slurping of the Gourmand-bots, and Venus looked up to see Robecca at the door, Swampfire standing behind her with an exhausted look on his face. Venus cocked an eyebrow as they both stepped into the green house, walking down the path and casting looks at the different plants.
"Why are you Swampfire?" Venus asked when they managed to get across the small canal and onto the island she had resided on.
"Training," the Menthanosian simply replied as the green light washed over him and reverted him back to Ben. "Any particular reason you invited us both here?" he asked, sittng down on the soft grass with Robecca.
Venus bit her lip even harder, drawing a trickle of green colored blood from her ruby red lips.
"Ben, you know I love you, right?" she asked nervously. Ben nodded, raising an eyebrow.
"And Robecca, you know your one of my best ghoulfriends?"
"Of course." the copper skinned girl nodded.
"Well," Venus bit her lip even harder, swearing she felt her fangs actually go through her lip. Now was the tough part that could break both relationships with both Ben and Robecca. She had to choose the right words in order for this to go right.
"What if I told you . . . . that I loved both of you?" she asked quietly, wincing as the question escaped her lips. The silence that followed was so thick one could have cut it with a knife, the only sound coming from the rush of the water and slurping of the Gourmand-bots as they scraped away at the algae that had built up on the bottoms of the irrigation canals. Ben was looking back and forth between Venus and Robecca, the copper girl's cheeks flushed a deep red upon hearing the question.
"Ooooh! Twist!" Skurd cried happily, wringing his tentacles with anticipation.
The ghouls and Ben ignored the Slimebiote. "So. Um, how long have you felt about this?" Robecca asked quietly.
"For a while, I guess." Venus admitted, full of shame.
"We might as well talk it," Ben sighed. "I know some monsters kind of look down on us, what with me having multiple girlfriends at the same. They keep on saying that I'll have to choose one eventually."
"That's bull," Venus swore, not feeling sorry in the least as Ben and Robecca looked at her in shock.
"Right," said Ben. "Um, anyways, I think this issue solves part of the problem. Robecca, if you feel the same way back, it kind of wouldn't matter. I'm dating both of you, your both dating me, and you technically be dating each other. Since we'd all be dating each other . . ." Ben trailed off as Venus's face brightened a little.
"I'm totally cool with it," Ben summed up. "It's just all up to Robecca if she wants to go with it." Six pairs of eyes, Skurd included, turned to look at Robecca. The Copper Beauty glanced between Ben and Venus, steam escaping from her ears as her processor went bonkers. She had long felt the same feelings for Venus, finding her incredibly attractive and beautiful; she had suppressed the feelings though, feeling that the beautiful plant monster would not feel the same way. And now that her secret love felt the same way, could she really date both of them?
Venus was of the same gender, so there was that issue. She honestly didn't care, loving her long, luscious hair, her bright eyes and lips, her beautiful figure, her fiery and rebellious attitude.
She loved for the same reasons, his handsome face and body, his goofy and heroic attitude, his charming exterior and kind actions. Could she choose just one, or could she possibly have both?
Gulping, she finally spoke, finding her throat dry as the words slowly came out. "Y-yes." she whispered, a massive cloud steam escaping her ears as her cheeks turned red. Venus immediately brightened and scooted over to Robecca, wrapping her arms around the bronze girl and pulling her close, planting a sweet kiss on her cheek. Robecca smiled and gently put her hand on Venus's cheek, setting her own lips to hers and going full out, each girl wrapping their arms around each other in their make out session.
Ben himself was incredibly turned on, as every boy would when they saw two hot, and incredibly attractive girls making out in front of him. And the fact that he loved both of them to the fullest extent of the word just made it all the sweeter. His vision was suddenly engulfed in a flash of green light. 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.
With an excited screech, Spidermonkey jumped at the two girls, grabbing both of them in his arms and swinging them up easily into the apple tree, hugging them both tightly as ghouls broke the kiss to hug the Aracnichimp. "Luv, why did you turn into Spidermonkey?" Robecca asked once they were all comfortable in tree's embrace.
"I honestly have no idea, ook ook!" Spidermonkey chattered. "I didn't even activate the Omnitrix."
Upon hearing that, all eyes turned to glance at Skurd, who was guiltily twiddling his tentacles. "What? I thought it would make for a great dramatic effect." he said innocently.
"You are weird."
"Get use to it, dear boy!"
The first thing Frankie noticed when she came to was the sound of uncontrolable sobbing and the constant rumble of heavy footsteps on the floor, the dull thrumming coming through the wall next door. With a groan, she cracked open her eyes, squeezing them shut again upon finding a bright light shone into them. Braving the bright light, she opened her eyes once more and attempted to sit up, succeeding after a few attempts.
"Ugh, what hit me?" she moaned sleepily.
"Frankie! You're awake!" Frankie fully opened her eyes upon hearing her Mom's voice and nearly choked when her Mom suddenly pulled her into a worried hug. Frankie looked around the room, absolutely confused as to where she was and what was going on. She saw her father standing off to the side, wiping a tear of joy from his eye. To her left was Gigi, apparently just sleeping peacefully, completely dead to the world.
"What happened? Where am I? Where's Ben?" Frankie asked, noticing her father's face twist with disapproval.
"You were, to put it simply, transported fifty years into the future, dear," her father explained with a heavy sigh. "You are in the Rebellion's Secret Base, having suffered damage to several parts of your body and being drained of all energy. As to where that miscreant Tennyson is-"
"I didn't know you cared." a smug voice said jokingly. A black and blue blur had rushed into the room faster than Frankie could blink, screeching to a stop in front of Frankie's bed with Robecca and Venus hanging on tightly. Both ghouls dropped to the floor as a green light washed over Fasttrack and reverted him back to Ben. "Glad to see you're finally awake, babe." Ben said playfully, Frankie turning a light shade of pink.
"Tennyson," Viktor growled. "Stop referring to my daughter as 'babe' or 'baby' and the likes. It was bad enough when Holt did it." he added quietly.
"Dear, you use to say the same thing to me when we were still dating," Viveka chirped, a smug smile on her face when her husband tried to hide. "Even if the only date outside of your father's lab was running away from an angry mob."
All the teens snickered at the comment, Viktor greatly humbled. "Again, happy to see you're awake." Ben said with a smile. Frankie grinned back, relaxing back in bed upon feeling a slight pain in her head. Despite having slept for days on end, she was still exhausted. She then noticed that Robecca and Venus had remained silent for most of the conversation. Not only that, but both of them were holding hands.
Frankie blinked. "Um, Robecca? Venus? Is there something you want to tell me?" she asked.
Both ghouls turned a bright shade of red as Ben grinned and decided to save both of them the misery of explaining. "Yes, they are dating. And yes, they are dating me as well," he told Frankie. "Kind of solves the issue of me dating multiple ghouls."
"Excuse me!?" Viktor roared, immediately be shushed by everyone in the med bay, Ben pointing towards Gigi, who grumbled and turned over in her sleep. Viktor nodded. "Excuse me!?" he repeated in a much quieter voice.
Ben shrugged. "Ghouls just can't keep their hands off of me." he joked.
"You are not dating my daughter if you are dating someone else!" Viktor yelled at the top of his lungs. Ben sighed and pinched his brow. "Then you're absolutely going to hate me for this." he said simply. He quickly accessed the Omnitrix and slapped the activation button without even looking at who he transformed into. His skin suddenly exploded into patterns of the prime colors, red, blue, and yellow, racing and dancing over his body until it looked like a paint truck had exploded on him. He looked down at his feet to find them completely vanishing into box-shaped toes, rings of cubes and squares racing up his legs with the sound of a thousand clattering LEGO bricks. The rings ran up his body, becoming wider as they reached his chest and arms, his fingers melting together to form three digits on each hand. The blocks raced up his back and neck to envelope his face, making his face cubular and boxy as the Omnitrix appeared on his chest, completing the transformation.
Catching onto his plan, Venus and Robecca quickly climbed onto Bloxx's back as the Segmentasapien stretched out his arms and grabbed a sleeping Gigi in one, and Frankie in the other, quickly putting both ghouls on his back and quickly building seat belts of sorts around each ghoul's waist before running out of the med bay, using his long arms to pull himself forward as fast as he could as he ran away.
"TENNYSON!" Viktor roared.
"Your Dad really needs to take a chill-pill, Frankie." Bloxx grumbled.
"You have no idea." Frankie sighed.
And there it is! Sorry if you didn't like the ending, but I always wanted to write Frankie's dad doing that.
Some questions to address!
I am sorry if Skurd was silent most of the time for the last chapter. I honestly forgot about him a little, even if he is fun to write.
Paradox is Paradox. He only appears when necessary. And despite the situation, he is not needed at the moment.
The reason Gigi can't use the wishes to bring Lagoona and the others back to life is because she can't do it without Whisp. She simply isn't powerful enough.
I believe I've addressed all the necessary questions. Anyway, I might as well beg that someone make some fanart or something for this story, because I honestly am a glory hound and want to see picture of this. I'm pretty sure you would feel the same way if you wrote a story like this.
Anyways, as always, comment, review, suggest, and request! We're almost to 300 reviews! Lets see if we can't meet that goal!
Hasta Luego!