And I'm back with another chapter! Man, I am good at this! I don't know how I do it, but I somehow do! I guess being dead has its advantages.
Anyways, I might as well bring some shameless advertising to this story. If you like Xover stories, Godzilla, and Disney, then have I got a story for you. From the very guy that has been helping since chapter 10 (I think) and has sent this story on the wild ride it is, DJ Rodriguez, comes his novel of a story Monsters and Magic! I highly recommend reading this story at some point in your life, and if you don't believe me, go onto Youtube and search the review the story was given by Youtuber NaruHinaProductions. Seriously, if a story is good enough to get a review on Youtube, then it's a very good story.
Another matter to address is for those who are following all of my stories. I may focus on this story more than my others, but it is simply because I have no deadline for this story, while the others do. I guess when I can post chapters whenever I want, it makes me want to work on them even more.
As always, comment, review, suggest, and request below! I love to hear from my readers!
Onward!
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Ben 10 or Monster High. All I own is Phobos.
Zs'Skayr glowered at the lowly Transylian that cowered before him. Everything had been going according to plan until he showed up. The High Eco-Lord's glare deepened as he angrily drummed his fingers on the arm of his throne. The twelve mutated Tetramands that lined the walls of the throne chamber growled and raised their hackles as their master got more ticked.
"So, Tennyson has returned, has he?" Dr. Victor heard his master hiss with great disdain.
"Y-y-y-es, m-master," Dr. Victor stammered, attempting to shrink under Zs'Skayr's intimidating stare. "T-they freed the Steins and destroyed m-m-my b-base of operations as w-well."
The Ectonurite ceased drumming his fingers and instead got up from his large, spiked throne. With scythe in hand, he floated down the steps of his throne and towards Dr. Victor with a seriously annoyed look on his face. The scythe gleamed in the torch light, catching Dr. Victor's terrified expression. The Transylian saw his light flash before his eyes as his master raised the weapon over his head, as if to strike him dead right where he cowered; he closed his eyes tight and waited for his head to the floor.
After a few harrowing seconds, nothing happened. Dr. Victor cracked open an eye and watched Zs'Skayr quickly change direction and head towards the nearest member of the mutant guard. With a single, fluid motion, the Ectonurite swiped the blade across the Tetramand's thick neck, severing its head clean off from its body and splattering thick, black blood all over the wall and floor. The effect was immediate as every mutant in the room converged on the carcass and messily tore into it, dispersing after a few mere seconds leaving nothing behind. The entire body was gone before it even fell to the floor, devoured within seconds like a shoal of piranha; even the blood stains on the floor and wall had been licked clean.
The mutants resumed their positions, leaving the space where their fallen comrade once stood wide open. A few silent minutes after that, an infected Necrofriggian took its place and silently stood there, awaiting orders as if nothing happened. Dr. Victor trembled from the sudden action, watching with terrified eyes as Zs'Skayr floated over to one of the grand windows that stretched the height of the throne room and looked out over the fortress, appropriately named Zs'castle Zs'Skayr.
"Victor, do you know why I keep you around after so many failures at the hands of Tennyson?" Zs'skayr asked after a while, never turning his steely gaze away from the cold window. Victor didn't dare move an inch from his spot on the floor; the slightest of wrong moves and Zs'Skayr would kill where he stood without a second thought. Still, he answered the question.
"B-because you need m-my intellect, master?" Victor trembled, adding the title at the end for good measure; Khufulu had somehow managed to avoid serious punishment from Zs'Skayr after losing possession of the genie so quickly. The Ectonurite suspected Tennyson had managed to accomplish the task and only gave the Thep Khufan the punishment of scrubbing his castle's floors with his own toothbrush. Perhaps cowering in fear and constantly kissing up to the master would save him his life?
"Close," Zs'Skayr whispered after a while. "The only reason I keep you around right now, even after utterly failing me, is because I require your services at the moment. Fail me again, and I shall not hesitate to retire you . . . . permanently."
Dr. Victor nodded shakily and climbed to his feet quickly, giving his master a quick salute and bow. "Y-yes, master! I shall not fail you again!"
"Good," Zs'Skayr growled, turning his bony face to the Transylian. "It is time to proceed with Operation: Cosmic Storm. Do not fail me." he hissed, floating over to Victor and putting the blade of his scythe just an inch away from his thick neck; one twitch of the weapon and his head would be severed from his body, his carcass quickly devoured by the mutants lining the walls and loking at him with hungry looks.
"Y-y-yes, master."
"How's your head?" Ben asked, sitting on the edge of Twyla's hospital bed. After Ghoulia checked her out, she deemed her ready to leave the med bay whenever she wanted, the Boogey Girl only suffering from a headache and large bruise on her head. She held a pack of ice to the wound, wincing at the freezing touch before relaxing into it.
"Good. You handled your responsibilities pretty well." Twyla noted.
They were not the only ones in the room. Gigi, though completely healthy, was simply too tired to move to the dorms and was currently snoozing peacefully in one of the hospital beds; Ben made a mental note to carry her back to the dorm at some point. Frankie, after much arguing, was also asleep. Her parents, worried for her health, demanded she remain in the med bay so that she could continue to heal, as well as keep a close eye on her interactions with Ben. That last part only really applied to Mr. Stein, as Viveka approved off Frankie's relationship with the watch wearing hero. As she constantly tried to remind her husband, "There is no one in the entire universe that she could possibly be more safe with."
While the words greatly reassured Ben, that still didn't prevent him from feeling uneasy around Frankie's father, who watched him like a hawk when he and his daughter were ever in the same room together. At the moment however, he was more worried about Twyla's condition. "You want me to walk you back to your room?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she waved him off. She then attempted to stand, holding the ice pack to her head as she touched her bare feet to the floor and gently pushed herself off the bed. She stood there for a few seconds on shaky legs before they fell out from under her; Ben caught her just before she hit the floor.
"Doesn't look like you are," Ben remarked as he shouldered her arm over his shoulder. "I'm walking you back to your room whether you like it or not."
Twyla continued to argue, but eventually gave it up after the pair had left the infirmary and turned down the hallway, moving towards the back of the base. They mostly traveled on in silence, Ben filling Twyla in what she had missed while she had taken the day off. The Boogey Girl was surprised to say the least. She knew Ben was fully capable of being a leader, but she never expected him to lose it. The way he described the battle actually scared her a little, and knew the later descriptions she would receive from her troops would scare her even more.
"Why did you do that?" she asked when they finally reached the door to her quarters.
"Do what?"
"You know what I'm talking about." the one eyed girl said.
Ben shifted uncomfortably on his feet, Twyla's fingers drumming impatiently on his shoulder, awaiting for an answer. It was a full five minutes before he answered. "Because . . . back in my universe, I don't really have anyone to care about. No one really special anyway," he said, bowing his head slightly. "My cousin can easily defend herself, Kevin is a total animal, and Rook is, well, Rook. Other than them, my friends and family, I have no one to care about, no one special. I guess when I saw my ghouls in danger of being killed, without any hope of making it out, I kinda . . . . lost it."
Needless to say, Twyla was speechless. No one in her entire life had cared about her so much. She had never known her mother, who had presumably died giving birth to her. Her father, caring as he was, tended to neglect her every now and then he got too into his job, sometimes acting worse than the nightmares he brought upon the Normies he terrified at night. And here, a Normie of all things, was telling her that he cared about her safety more than anything in the world, even more than his own life. And not just her life, but of all those he had come to care for and love.
Without warning, she smashed her pale lips against Ben's, closing her one eye and jabbing her tongue between his teeth, silencing any struggling. She felt his arms slither around her waist like a pair of snakes, pulling her in tight as she moved her hands from his face to around neck. She ran her tongue over his teeth and own tongue, sliding down his throat and moaning as Ben moved his lips. She felt Ben's arm muscles tense as he lifted her off her feet, leaning back slightly as Twyla moved her pale hands under his shirt, tracing her delicate fingers over Ben's muscles. She Ben's finger twitch on spinal cord, sending waves of pleasure throughout her body. After a while, they eventually had to break for air, Ben setting Twyla back down as she rest her head in the crook of his neck, a smile on her lips.
"What was that for?" Ben asked, stunned.
"For being you, duh." Twyla replied sweetly.
Their moment was interrupted when the hallway exploded with a bright pink light, blinding them as they attempted to shield their eyes. The light died down to reveal a woman a couple inches taller than him. Her skin was slightly pale and she had dark markings under her violet colored eyes. Her snow white hair ran free over her shoulders and slightly wrinkled skin as she regarded the pair. She quickly saluted Twyla, wrinkling her leather outfit ringed in magenta and strange, golden symbols on the elbows, arms, shoulders, knees, and ankles. Her violet eyes then moved over to Ben, regarding him a bit before widening, her black lips dropping open in shock.
"Ben?" the woman stammered, slowly walking up to him and resting a hand on his face, as if not really believing he was there in the hallway with her.
"Charmcaster?" Ben wondered after a seconds of looking hard at the woman. It was indeed the heroin turned villain from Ben's past, right there in the living flesh. The sorceress cried happily and pulled Ben into a bone crushing hug, Ben returning the affection once he was sure his lungs wouldn't collapse in on themselves from the sheer force.
"It's been so long!" Charmcaster exclaimed happily, releasing her vice-like grip on Ben.
"Try about 50 years," Ben joked. "I hear you work as a spy for the Rebellion?" he asked. Charmcaster nodded vigorously. "After you didn't return from "taking care of some business", I tracked your mana to the warehouse and found the Rebellion." she explained, twitching her fingers under the quotes. "I take it you've been sent spinning through time or something?"
Ben nodded as Twyla cleared her throat. "I assume you have a reason for coming here, Hope?" she asked, Charmcaster frowing as her face turned red.
"I told you not to use my real name!" she hissed.
"Sorry, Agent Ecto-butt Whooper," Twyla apologzied with sarcasm.
"Agent Ecto-butt Whooper? Really?" Ben asked his friend with a cocked eyebrow.
"Anyways," Charmcaster pressed on, trying to push past the somewhat embarrassing habits she had picked up during her time in the Rebellion. "I do have dire information, Glorious Leader. Lord Zs'Skayr is executing a plan called 'Operation: Cosmic Storm'," she informed Ben and Twyla.
"That doesn't sound good." Twyla mused. "What I wouldn't give to have a Merlinisapien spy force."
"I could always go ChamAlien and scope out the place." Ben offered.
"Oh, yeah, like I'm gonna send you out on more recon missions." Twyla joked as Charmcaster gave the two of them an odd look. "Is there something I'm missing here?" she asked skeptically. Realization crossed Twyla's face, her cheeks turning red in color as she nervously played with her hair with one hand; she grabbed Ben's in the other, squeezing it tightly.
"Oh, um, I guess you don't know . . ." Twyla trailed off nervously as Charmcaster folded her arms over her chest, waiting for an answer.
"We're dating." Ben said bluntly. Charmcaster blinked and processed the information.
"I always knew you still had in ya," she joked with a smirk. "But relationships aside, I've got bigger news."
"What?" Twyla and Ben asked in unison.
"I found Whisp."
"This is it?" Chromastone asked, swooping down low to the ground and landing with ease, Charmcaster landing beside him. The two had gone out on the mission to retrieve Whisp before Zs'Skayr could reach her, using standard travel instead of teleporting; according to Charmcaster, it wore her out. They had flown across miles upon miles of empty landscape before coming to the area Charmcaster claimed Whisp had taken up residence in.
A large cave yawned before them, its mouth wide enough for a being the size of Humungousaur to enter without ducking. Teeth-like stalagmites sprouted from the ground of the cave, making seem rather uninviting as water dripped from the ceiling.
"Yep. When Whisp ran away from the Rebellion, she really ran away," Charmcaster explained as she and the Crystalsapien started walking into the cave. "We're somewhere around where Los Vegas."
"Up for some gambling?" Chromastone joked as Skurd sighed and face palmed. They traveled on in silence, Chromastone's magenta colored crystals providing a light source as they traveled deeper and deeper into the cave. Water dripped down from the ceiling, creating a constant sound that echoed throughout the cavern and was bound to drive anyone who stayed in there too long absolutely crazy.
This made Chromastone a little worried; how long had Whisp been alone in this cave, away from any trace of the war between Zs'Skayr and the Rebellion? What had possibly made her leave her sister and friends and made her come here? And how on earth was she handling complete solitude, now that she could no longer see the world through Gigi's eyes if she wanted to? His thoughts continued to wander as his stone feet clapped loudly on the cavern floor. After a few more feet, Charmcaster and Chromastone came to the edge of large gorge, the rock walls extending downwards into the seemingly endless abyss. "Wow." Chromastone marveled as a green light washed over him and changed him back into his human form.
"There's some writing over here," Charmcaster noticed, summoning a glowing ball of mana to give them light. She moved over to a the rock wall of the tunnel that led to the edge of the underground canyon, blowing away the dust that had accumulated over the years. "It says, "Grow some wings and fly across, or you experience severe loss". How cheerful." said Charmcaster sarcastically.
"If the sign says so," Ben grumbled, accessing the Omnitrix and selecting Stinkfly. He then slapped the activation button and let the green light engulf him, working its magic as alien DNA was injected into his veins. He felt his bones and muscles dissolve into liquid, his organs vanishing as a sort of nervous system took over. Ben felt every fiber of his being, every cell in his body separate from each other, becoming lose and uneven. The cells became lose and slimy, melting down into a puddle of ooze as the Omnitrix left his presence, reconfiguring into another type of device that buzzed and floated above the ground. After a few seconds, he felt a sort of attraction to the device as he pulled himself together into a humanoid shape with random feeler-like protrusions sticking out of his arms and neck.
"Goop? Aw, come on!" the Polymorph whined as Charmcaster suddenly cracked up at the sound of his odd voice.
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up." Goop grumbled, focusing his attention on his Anti-Gravity Projector and taking to the air. He easily flew over the endless void, doing odd twists and turns as Skurd hung on for dear life. Charmcaster soon followed after casting a fly spell on herself, allowing her to swoop over the gorge, encased in a glowing, pink light.
"This seems too easy." Goop noted.
"Dear boy, have you learn nothing!?" Skurd yelled as a loud roar shook the cavern. The trio glanced down just in time to avoid a large tentacle as thick around as a gasoline truck shot up from the darkness, slime dripping from the razor sharp hook that lined the suckers. Another tentacle rose from the darkness and another. And another. And another. And another until there were almost a dozen.
"You!? Again!?" Goop screamed as he recognized the tentacles of the Kraken.
"The old boy just doesn't know when to give up, does he?" Skurd sighed as Goop wrapped himself around a section of a writhering tentacle, focusing himself as a loud hissing sound and noxious smell filled the air. The Kraken screamed in agony and withdrew the appendage, screaming even louder as Charmcaster yelled out a spell that Goop didn't catch, three glowing disks shooting out from the sorceress's hand and severing three more tentacles. With a slight laugh, Goop hacked and spat out a loogie of acid slime, the wet projectile splattering all over a section of tentacle and burning right through, the severed limb falling into the darkness as Charmcaster and Skurd gagged from the smell.
"Ugh, I can not stand that smell anymore!" Skurd yelled, stretching himself over Goop's gooey body and changing Goop's arms into a Pyronite sword and mace, both weapons instantly catching fire. With a garbled yell, Goop swung his sword and cut into another tentacle, blasting a jet of fire from his mace and cauterizing the wound, making the behemoth's blood boil as its body caught fire. Quickly catching on, Charmcaster blasted a wave of purple fire from her fingertips at the rest of the tentacles, smirking when they caught fire and raced down towards the head that sat in the darkness below.
"Lets get out of here before Calamari Breath calls his friends!" Goop cried, flying over to the over side as the Omnitrix timed out and reverted him back to normal, Skurd returning to his position on his wrist as Charmcaster alighted down and summoned another ball of mana to light the way. They walked through another tunnel in silence, water trickling down the walls and into a small stream that eddied out into a large pool in a large cavern.
"Anymore writing?" Ben asked Charmcaster.
The sorceress nodded and looked over the cave wall of the tunnel, wiping her hand across to read. "Grow some fins and dive into the water. Find the key or it will be worse than facy a giant, snaggle-tooth otter."
"Um, okay?" Ben cocked an eyebrow. With confusion written all over his face, he accessed the Omnitrix and cycled through his roster of aliens before coming across Ripjaws. Hoping to get a successful transformation, he slapped the activation button and let the green encase him and begin to change his appearance. He felt his bones liquify and his muscles turn into soup. His fingers and hands melted together into long, elastic tentacles. Ben felt every fiber of his being pulled apart as his face hardened and his organs moved up behind it. A hard casing formed around his organs and face, turning into a hard face plate with black designs on it. He felt the Omnitrix and Skurd slip inside him as his entire body suddenly turned into a large puddle of water, the face plate floating around in the water. With a surge, the water ripplied and reared up into a figure with a hunched back like a cresting tidal wave, two lose and large tentacles of water emerging from the wave as the face plate came out on a wet neck. The alien had no visible legs, but seemed to move around simply by washing and swooshing over objects like a torrent.
"What the- dude, who is this?" the alien asked Charmcaster in a voice that sounded similar to what a surf obsessed surfer might sound like.
"Ugh, you, my friend, are an Aquadite," Skurd grumbled from within the alien. "An alien whose body is almost made entirely out of water. And did I mention that I hate getting wet!?"
"Hmm," the Aguadite mused. "In that case, I'll this one 'Overflow'"
Charmcaster rolled her eyes. "If you're done staring at yourself, can you please just do the thing with the thing?" she asked somewhat impatiently. Overflow nodded and slipped into the pool of water. Charmcaster watched as the very surface of the lake stopped rippling and held so still it seemed virtually impossibly. Then, with an almighty roar, the water shot straight up into the air, cascading over the sides and soaring up towards the ceiling before coming crashing down in front of Charmcaster, accumulating into a much bigger version of Overflow. "Dude, you can like, totally grab the key now!" the Aquadite said happily. Charmcaster rolled her eyes and jumped down into the pit that was the pool, scouring the rocky bottom and finally finding a rusty, bronze key tied to an anchor by a thick, metal chain. A single blast from her finger broke the chain and released its hold on the key.
"Dry yourself off so we can get going!" Charmcaster called back over her shoulder as she crawled out of the pit. Overflow nodded and came crashing back down into the hole and releasing his hold and control on the water, climbing back out and shaking himself free of the water's hold, a green light washing over him and changing him back into Ben.
"Wonder how many more aliens I've got in this thing?" Ben wondered, glancing at the Omnitrix with a smile.
"If you're done marveling at your little watch, we should probably get going?" Charmcaster suggested, slipping the old key into a rusty, iron door in the wall of the cavern. The key turned with a little protest and the heavy iron door open with a loud moan that echoed throughout the cavern when Charmcaster and Ben put their backs into it. They walked through the door into blackness again, Charmcaster summoning another ball of mana into her hand.
"So, what's up with all the trials?" Ben wondered aloud.
"Isn't it obvious?" Charmcaster asked.
"Don't ask the boy that. Not much comes to him," Skurd grumbled, Ben whacking his wrist the stone wall to silence him. "Ow!"
"Think about it, Ben," Charmcaster sighed. "The first challenge was to fly over the gorge and defeat the Kraken at the same time, something only you can do. The second challenge was to dive to the bottom of the pool and get the key; that key was attacked to a heavy chain that could only be bitten through by Ripjaws, something only you can turn into."
"But you broke the chain." Ben pointed out.
"Whatever. My point is that Whisp obviously set up these tests and trials so that only you, out of anyone in the world, could come and find her," Charmcaster explained. "She likes you."
Ben did not know how to respond to that. He didn't have to either as the pair entered what seemed to a final chamber. It was large and spacious and surprisingly devoid of anything else in it. On the other side of the cavern was an opening, an obvious exit.
"This seems to easy," Ben mused. "What's the writing say, Charmcaster?" Ben asked.
"Don't get killed." was all Charmcaster could read; the rest was so eroded away that nothing else could be seen of the small, but obviously important text. Ben gulped nervously as he slowly stepped out into the cavern, just waiting for something to go wrong, hand hovering over the Omnitrix. Charmcaster followed behind him, following his every step to the letter to avoid triggering something.
But of course, the universe wasn't ready to throw them a freebie.
Ben's foot accidentally stepped on a pressure plate, his foot sinking down about an inch into the ground. A low, rumbling filled the cavern, dust raining down from the ceiling as hidden gears rumbled and began to move. With a yelp, Ben dove to the left just as a large spike shot up from the spot where he had been moments ago. More spikes were popping up all over the place, from the walls and floors and ceilings and threatening to skewer all three of them without mercy. "Ben! Turn into XLR8 or something!" Charmcaster screamed as she just barely dodged a spike that reached all the way down from the ceiling.
"Come on, Omnitrix! No messing around this time!" Ben pleaded as he cycled through his roster and then slapped the activation button, praying that it would be helpful. His skin became cold to the touch the metal plating raced to cover his arms and transform his fingers into metallic fingers. He felt all of his organs simply vanish, as if they had never been there before. For a split second, Ben thought he was going to die, until he felt something else take their place. Things that were rounded and notched around the ends as they began to steadily turn against each other, making a steady ticking sound. The metal plating soon covered his whole body as he felt his face become more square like. A thick protrusion sprouted from his head as the Omnitrix symbol appeared on a glass window that showed his insides turning against each other.
"Clockwork? This is ridiculous!" the Chronosapien whined.
"Are you really that dense!?" Skurd cried out in anguish.
"Oh. Right." Clockwork realized. He quickly raised his hands above his head and commanded the windup key-like protrusion on his head to rapidly spin backwards, a loud ticking noise echoing off the cavern walls as a green wave pulsed outwards from his chest and out into the cavern. The affect was immediate as the spikes slowly started to come to a stop, frozen in suspended animation as Clockwork stopped the flow of the time stream. Once the task was done, he looked around and found Charmcaster frozen where she stood, her spine arched forward as she dodged a spike coming from above her and her arms and legs in odd positions as they tried to avoid the pointed objects. Clockwork walked over to her, his bronze feet thudding loudly against the floor. He then grabbed her wrist in his hand and she flinched slightly as she joined him in the current time line.
"Thanks, Ben. I owe you one." Charmcaster sighed with relief.
"Think nothing of it," the Chronosapien told her. "Now, let us leave this deathtrap before I time out." Charmcaster nodded and dashed towards the exit, leaping over spikes and rolling under them with ease as Clockwork followed from far behind, running as fast as he could (which was not a lot). After what seemed hours on end, he finally reached the safety of the exit door and dropped to his hands and knees, breathing heavily as the Omnitrix timed out. The time line was released and the spikes suddenly were sucked back into the walls, floors, and ceiling with a sudden pop!
"You gonna be okay, Ben?" Charmcaster asked with concern, helping the hero to his feet.
"Y-yeah. I'm fine," Ben panted. "But if I turn green, stand back." he warned her, only half joking. Without another word, the pair walked down the large tunnel, praying that there were no more trials to participate in. They soon came out into a spacious cavern lined with everything of luxury; silk carpets covered the floor, plush and comfy pillows piled into massive mounds, colorful and intricate tapestries lining the walls and hiding the cold rock. A slight breeze blew from some hidden hole, giving the seemingly empty room an eerie feel.
"Okay, this is weird." Ben said quietly. They silently separated from each other to cover more ground, Charmcaster summoning mana in her hands to strike at a moments notice and Ben hovering his hand over the Omnitrix, ready to change when need be. After a while of quietly moving about amongst the maze of pillows, running into each other every now and then, Ben noticed something.
Every tapestry that lined the wall seemed familiar. He looked up at one and nearly fell to the ground when he saw that it was an incredibly life-like making of Frankie. Everything was perfect, from her stitches and bolts, to her dress and discolored eyes; the tapestry even seemed to pulse out with Frankie's bubbly and friendly attitude. Ben traced with curious and slightly frightened eyes as he noticed that the other tapestries were of the other guys and ghouls from Monster High, everyone from Heath (hilariously looking as if he had just slipped on a banana peel) to Abbey, who's cold stare seemed to burn into Ben's soul. What startled Ben the most however, was the largest tapestry of them, hung right on the wall opposite of the entrance; it was a wonder he had missed in the first place.
The tapestry was of him, much more muscled and heroic looking then he really was, standing on the edge of a large cliff over-looking a horde of mutants that Ben quickly recognized; Vulpimancer's, Aerophibians, Lepidopterrans, Vaxasaurians, they were all there. Ben, his brown hair long and flowing and out of his bright, green eyes was looking down on them with severe confidence, as if they were complete fools to go up against him. He triumphantly had his arm thrust towards the heavens, the Omnitrix glowing green. Behind him were all of his transformations, everyone from Frankenstrike and Ripjaws to Humungousaur and Way Big; Ben could even make out Nanomech standing on Swampfire's shoulder.
What really threw him for a loop however, were the two girls that stood next to him, looking both dangerous and totally in love with him at the same time. Ben quickly recognized Gigi, with her pale pink skin and royal looking attire, smiling lovingly up at Ben with a pair of large swords clipped to her belt. A large scorpion sat on her shoulder, clicking its claws angrily. Gigi however, was slightly overshadowed by the other ghoul that was much more closer to Ben than her. She looked exactly like Gigi, right down to the freckle that dotted their cheeks. One major difference however was that her clothing's colors were in contrast with Gigi's; where Gigi was pink, she was dark blue, like the night sky. The girl seemed to have a much more mysterious aura around her as well, as if she were hiding some deep secret that only she knew about. Her head rest on Ben's shoulder, her arms wrapped tightly around his arm as stared lovingly up at him.
"Okay, things just weirder." Ben said quietly.
"You don't like it?" a voice asked, sounding greatly disappointed.
Ben whirled around, searching for the sound of the voice. It was definitely feminine, as it was a lot higher than most voices he had heard. He squinted his eyes and looked around the chamber, desperately searching for the source of the voice he had heard. His eyes caught something from a pile of pillows, a sudden shift in the colors, something he just barely noticed. He saw the movement again and gave a yell as he dove into the pile of pillows, feeling hands connect with something slightly firm and soft. He, and whatever was in the pile, went tumbling, rolling together into a mass of arms and legs before coming to a stop, sprawled out across the floor.
With a groan, Ben climbed to his knees and looked behind him to see the same girl from the tapestry sprawled out on the floor, dazed. Unlike the rest of Ben's friends from Monster High, the girl hadn't aged a bit in the last 50 years that had passed.
"Whisp?" Ben wondered as he crawled over to the girl. "That you?"
Must you state the obvious?" Skurd sighed as Whisp sat, rubbing her head. She looked at Ben with wide, curious eyes, cautiously reaching out with a hand to touch his face. Her fingers felt slightly cold and careful when she touched his skin, as if afraid he would vanish in a poof of smoke. She traced her hand over his cheek and chin, lightly touching his nose and pulling on his ears before running her fingers through his hair.
"Um, Whisp? Everything okay?" Ben asked cautiously.
The shadow genie was quiet for a while before speaking. "It wouldn't matter anyway. It's not real. None of it's real."
Ben was taken aback by the statement. "What's not real?" he asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.
"Everything. You, me, Charmcaster, the tapestries, pillows, everything. All of it isn't real." Whisp replied, casting a look away from Ben and looking far away, as if her mind were miles off.
"Uh, I hate to break it to you, Whisp, but this is real. That's why they call it reality." Ben replied.
"Dear boy, can't you see she's lost it?" Skurd whispered to him. Ben threw him a look before continuing on with his words. "Whisp, look at me. Look at me long and hard." he told her. The genie slowly turned to look at him, her face emotionless and unwavering. Her eyes, they almost looked sad, as if she had her feelings hurt in some way.
"If you are real, then me this one question," Whisp demanded after a while, talking in a quiet voice; Charmcaster could be heard somewhere in the cavern, the sound of a pile of pillows falling over and a girl's voice crying out in annoyance being enough evidence. "Why are you here?"
"We're here for you, obviously," said Ben. "We came to get you to keep you out of Zs'Skayr's clutches."
"You came here to get me so that old fart can't abuse me just so can?" Whisp asked coldly. "Nice try, but I am not going with you."
Ben sighed and took her hand in this. "Look, I don't know what happened with you. I used to know a Whisp who kind and caring, with a mischievous and loving streak in her. What happened to you?" he asked with a pleading look.
"I left the Rebellion because I couldn't stand the fighting anymore. I did give them a chance to find me, for you to find me, but you never came. I spent years alone in this cave without anyone to talk to or keep me company. I spent my time weaving this tapestries of my memories and dreams, in the hope that they might come true," Whisp answered. "I was a fool to think that would happen."
"Why did you set the traps?" Ben asked, feeling he was getting somewhere.
"So only you, and you only, could find me. Other than Gigi, I didn't trust anyone else," Whisp said quietly. "It was stupid to think you would even come for me."
"But I did." Ben protested.
"Only to bring me back to the Rebellion to be used as a weapon. That's all I am to people, some weapon to use and exploit before throwing it out when it's no longer functional." Whisp hissed.
Ben sighed again. "Look, it's true that I did come to help you with the Rebellion. But that's not the only reason," he told her. "Gigi needs your help; she's become blind, and I can't restore her vision with one of my wishes without you."
"Since when did you get wishes?" Whisp wondered. Ben was about to answer when the genie held up a hand, not wanting to hear it. "Is that the only other reason you came here for me?" she demanded. Ben sighed and bowed his head, his cheeks turning red. He didn't want to have to pull the card just yet, but it seemed it was time to let the secret out.
"No. It's not the only reason," Ben said quietly. "I came to get a girl who I love back. I came to get you, the girl I've come to love with all my heart, back into my life. I miss you, Gigi misses you, the ghouls miss you, everyone misses you. And I feel as if a piece of my heart is missing without you." he trailed off. Silence followed for what seemed forever, the only sound coming from Charmcaster's cursing at her foul luck.
"I knew it all along," Whisp suddenly said, a deep smirk on her face. "I just wanted to hear it straight from the horse's mouth." Ben stuttered, mouth dropping open as Skurd suddenly laughed hysterically, falling back and laughing like a hyena as he slapped what seemed to be his knee. "Oh, she got you, chap! She got you good!" she squealed happily between fits of laughter.
"You are evil." Ben said with a slightly annoyed smirk; he was mostly just relieved that Whisp was back to her cheerful, mischievous self. He couldn't ask for anything more.
"Would this be evil?" Whisp asked with an even bigger smirk before jumping at Ben and sending him to the ground, landing on top of him as she pressed her lips to his, surprising him for a moment before relaxing. He felt Whisp's sharp tongue firmly trace its away around his lips before silently sneaking its way past Ben's lips and teeth, running itself over his tongue and the roof of his mouth before sliding it deeper down his throat, relishing the pleasure it gave her. She felt Ben's strong arms slowly wrap around her back, holding her nice and firm against him as she traced her delicate hands over his chest and shoulders, eventually slipping them under his shirt; she was surprised to feel how firm his chest was, figuring him to only be slightly muscled considering his somewhat overuse-age of the Omnitrix. Mentally smiling, she took one hand out from under his shirt reached behind her Ben's hands, gently grabbing them and guiding them down to her ass.
"You sure?" he asked politely, briefly breaking the sweet kiss, a single thin thread of glistening secretion between their lips.
"Being alone in a cave for half a century will make you fantasize some crazy things, Ben." was all Whisp said before letting Ben's hands go and caressing his cheek, forcing her lips back onto his and slipping her tongue between his lips. She felt his tongue, slightly rough and smooth at the same time, move against her own and felt it slip inside her own mouth, gently and carefully moving over her perfect teeth and tongue before going down her throat, deepening the soul kiss; it made her feel even better, slightly moaning as she moved her hand beneath his shirt again. She felt Ben's strong hands gently squeeze her ass cheeks, sending waves of pleasure through her body as she felt another part of her slowly begin to take over. Absentmindedly, she began to slowly grind her the area between her legs against Ben's, feeling something rather hard there. She felt herself grow hot at the mere thought of things and mentally slapped herself for doing it. Still, it felt wonderful.
An idea came to her as reached behind her with her other hand and grabbed Ben's right wrist in her fingers, leaving his left one to firmly pinch her left ass cheek, causing her to moan even more. She slowly, ever so slowly, brought his hand back towards her right breast, so as not to scare him. She guided his fingers onto her breast, gently touching them down on it before lightly forcing his palm down; Ben didn't move in the slightest. Whisp mentally smiled, her lips otherwise occupied, and gently moved his hand around in a small circle, leaving it to slid back under his shirt when she was sure he was getting the hang of things. She had never felt so good in her life; being alone for 50 years could do that to a person, especially if they were generally ignored by the outside world with only one other person to talk to for eternity. Whisp felt Ben tighten his grip on her breast and gasped with pleasure, grinding her ass even harder.
Ben then suddenly hefted their combined weight up and took put hands under Whisp to hold her steady as she wrapped her arms around him to stay firm; their kiss never broke, but it was definitely coming to end. Whisp was actually disappointed she didn't get to feel anything more, but she was sure Ben had his reasons. The two gave one last kiss before parting, both faces red in color.
"I was just having fun." Whisp whined, half joking.
"Whisp, I love in you every way possible. But we aren't old enough to go there yet." Ben told her.
"I'm older than Normie civilization, Ben." Whisp replied.
"And how many genie years is that exactly?" Ben asked with a deadpanned look. "My point is we, maybe only me, is too young to do that kind of thing. Maybe later, but not right now, okay? Whisp sadly agreed, but not before she kissed Ben again, causing the hero to turn red again.
"You ready to come back?" he asked.
"Only if I get to sleep with you," Whisp replied, much to Ben's horror. "I kid! I know my boundaries." she added, Ben sighing with relief. "I still insist you carry me though."
Ben shrugged and positioned his arms under Whisp's legs and upper back, carrying her bridal style with her arms around his neck as they walked out from behind the massive pile of pillows to find Charmcaster at her wits end with the rolls of carpets that lined the floor, one of which actually seemed to remove itself out from under Charmcaster and send her to the floor.
"Finally," the sorceress grumbled, climbing to her feet. "That magic carpet of yours is really rude, Whisp." she added, not even really paying attention to the way the genie and Ben were positioned. "We all set?" she asked. Both of them nodded and Charmcaster snapped her fingers, all three of them being engulfed in a magenta colored light before vanishing from existence for a split second.
Gigi nervously drummed her fingers on her knee. Normally, she wasn't this impatient to grant wishes, often being reluctant when her Finder made a wish within the first five minutes. It was standard Finder behavior, but the first wish usually led to more wishes that turned out worse than the first one; this was usually when her sister, Whisp, would come in and plant seeds of doubt and ill will into the Finder's mind, wanting to horde all the magic herself. Gigi usually managed to save the Finder just in time with the mirror given to her by the Brothers Grimm before Whisp could do any harm. Now that she and her sister were on good terms, and she no longer had any rush to get the wishes over and granted, how would things turn out?
It wasn't just that she now a Finder, after so long of just being a genie with no limits at Monster High. She had a Finder who could truly the change the world for the better. Despite being cocky and sometimes hilariously overconfident in his abilities, Ben truly was pure at heart, always doing the right thing for the common good. She felt unusually calm about granting his wishes, as she knew he would make them accordingly and reasonable.
So when she felt a sudden gust of wind and slight echoing color in her eyes, she knew Ben and Charmcaster must have returned. And, according to the familiar scent of shampoo Whisp often used, her sister had returned as well. "Hey, Gigi. How's it going?" she heard Ben's voice ask. She felt a slight disturbance in the air as he set something onto the ground, and from the sound of footsteps steadily walking on the smooth tile of the med bay, she guessed it must have been Whisp. Not smelling any blood or open wounds on her, she guessed that she had come on her own accord. And from the trace amounts of sweat and hormones she was smelling, she guessed that Whisp had fallen for Ben just as easily as she had; of course, she never told Ben this. It was against the rules to fall in love with the Finder.
"Fine," Gigi answered, opening her mouth to speak more when she slight, wet pressure against her lips. As soon as it had come, it was gone. She knew exactly what it was, and judging by the silence that had entered the room, she confirmed her guess.
"Did you just kiss your sister?" Charmcaster asked, bewildered and slightly disturbed.
"It's just my way of saying hello," Whisp replied, slight joy and happiness in her voice. "Besides, you tend to come up with . . . creative . . . ideas when you're stuck in a lamp together for a 1,000 years."
Silently muttering incoherent things under her breath, Charmcaster bid Ben and the Grant sisters good-bye and walked out of the med bay, presumably towards her quarters for a well deserved rest. Awkward silence followed before Ben cleared his throat.
"So, uh, Gigi? Do you want to try and grant a wish?" Ben asked cautiously.
"If you're ready," Gigi replied, perhaps a tad too eagerly. She glanced over to where she assumed her sister was and gave her a reassuring stare. She heard a slight cough to her left and turned to repeat thr stare at Whisp, her cheeks turned a dark purple with embarrassment. "Whenever you're ready, Ben."
"Alright. I wish Gigi could see again!" Ben wished.
"As you wish." both Grant sister said simultaneously, crossing their arms over their chests and jerking their heads downwards in slight bobs, bright light flashing from their foreheads as the wish was granted. A second flash of light came from Gigi's eyes, startling Ben for a brief second before it died down.
"Gigi? How many fingers am I holding up?" Ben asked, holding up exactly three fingers.
"Three." Gigi replied happily, jumping out of the hospital bed and hugging Ben tightly, she was so happy. She could finally see again! She could see everything, from the floor and walls to Frankie's sleeping form and Ben's blue face. Embarrassed, Gigi let Ben go so he could catch his breath, Whisp laughing hysterically to their right. When the laughter had died down and the color had returned to his face, Ben gently grabbed Gigi in a tight hug, happy that he could make someone so glad to live life once more.
"Would you like to make your second wish?" Gigi asked upon release. "You have twelve wishes left."
Ben firmly nodded, the Grant sisters eagerly awaiting the command.
"I wish Lagoona and all my friends who died for the Rebellion were alive!"
What is this? Another cliff hanger!? Hee-hee!
I apologize for the relatively short chapter, but I felt that this was a necessary end to the 'Reunion Arc', so to speak. Things will be far more interesting and more centered around Maltruant next chapter.
As for Overflow, he is not the only new alien to come into this story other than Phobos. I give all credit to a fabulous DeviantArt artist, kjmarch, for Overflow's art work. If you look on his profile and at the many pictures he has drawn, there are many more OC aliens that will appear in this series. I give all credit to their individual artists.
As always, comment, review, suggest, and request below! And see if you can guess which of kjmarch's aliens will appear in this story!
Hasta Luego!