Hey, everyone, I'm back with an all new chapter!
Thanks to all that submitted their Nemetrix predators to the story! The contest is still active, and I will accept multiple submissions from readers and the likes until the contest is over! For the rules of the contest, go back to the last chapter and read the author's note. I'll wait.
We done? Good.
On an unrelated note, I will be going back to previous chapters and doing corrections to smooth out the writing and put in more material where there is lack of, especially when I was having one of those days with writers block and I was writing a sucky filler chapter. So, don't forget to go back to previous chapters and see if there's anything new!
Now then, before moving on, I must thank a few special people. I know I've probably said this a hundred time by now, but I couldn't have done this story without the help of DJ Rodriguez. He was the one that gave me the idea for this chapter and the next, so I would like to dedicate this chapter to him.
Another reader I would like to thank is Morantis. Thank you for the constant support you've given me ever since you discovered this story. It is greatly appreciated. And, for all of those who don't know who this wonderful author is, you seriously need to check out their story True Heart Desire, one of the best ApplexRaven stories out there.
And if you're looking for Ever After stories to quell your desire until the sequel, check out Moratis's story, as well as The True Love Loophole by Sigmu. Seriously, their story is absolutely fantastic in every way. Take my word for it and check it out!
Now that formalities are out of the way, don't forget to comment, review, suggest, and request down below!
Onward!
"NOOOOOOOOO!" Ghostfreak wailed, an outstretched hand over the railing and reaching for twyla's falling body, knowing he could not hope to reach her in time. But he had to try.
With a furious hiss, the Ectonurite slapped a taloned hand on the Omnitrix, narrowly missing Skurd as the Omnitrix activated and sent out a green light to wash over Ghostfreak, sucking him back into the Omnitrix and returning Ben to the world before injecting him with another set of alien blueprints. His wrists bloated to the size of basketballs, his fingers reduced to black claws as the blubber from his hands traveled up the length of his arms, expanding and growing and swelling to massive proportions on his shoulders. His belly suddenly exploded outwards, his legs becoming short and stubby, his toes becoming bony and sharp, reduced to claws like his fingers had been. Hard plating began to pile itself up on his shoulders and his expanding hips, his entire back becoming covered in the durable armor that could withstand almost anything. His head became round like a beach ball before muscles and skin melted his face into his chest, his neck disappearing altogether. Black stripes and coloring formed over his pure white body, the armor turning yellowing as it formed on the back of his hands and shoulders. The final transformations were the sudden flexibility of his spine and the addition of the Omnitrix and Skurd on his chest, a little ways below his wide mouth.
With a grunt, Cannonbolt hauled his weight over the railing of the platform and fell over the side, letting gravity pull him down, his arms spread out beside him and ready to scoop up Twyla's body into his grip. He edged closer and closer to her as the air whistled past his ear holes, dull wiring and tubing whizzing by his head in a blur that he could barely see. What he could see however, was a massive fan that took of the entire bottom floor of the main power core, possibly put there to keep it from overheating when in use. Unfortunately, Twyla was falling right towards one so that when she fell, the still blade would slice her in half, killing her; Cannonbolt wouldn't let that happen.
With a growl, he thrust himself downwards just in time to catch the back of Twyla's jacket, pulling her into his embrace and instinctively curling up on himself, wrapping his shielded arms over his head and face as his back plating encased the rest of his body, forming a protective shell that not even the most corrosive of acids or lavas could eat through. Just as the shell closed all the way, he could a dull clanking sound from outside and feel the sharp jolt as he bounced off the frozen propeller and dropped between it and another to the space below. The Arburian Pelarota remained still for a few moments, unsure of whether to uncurl himself for Twyla's safety, before relaxing and unfolding onto his back, Twyla lying limp on his chest as it heaved up and down.
After a few silent minutes, Cannonbolt gently slid Twyla off of him and climbed to his stubby feet as the Omnitrix timed out and reverted him back into Ben as the sound of wings flapping met his ears; Avea landed next to him a few seconds later, rubbing her bleary eyes as she clopped towards them. Ben ignored her for the moment and squatted down, tentatively touching Twyl'as skin and putting an ear to her chest.
No sound.
Ben felt his heart skip a beat as he jerked his head away from her and furiously began to pump his arms up and down on her chest before pinching her nose and forcing air into her lungs through her lips. When there was still no response, Ben turned to the Omnitrix in the hopes of getting an electrical alien that could revive his unresponsive lover. But as if by some cruel twist of fate, the watch was unresponsive, giving him a signal that would not allow him to transform.
Now desperate, Ben jumped onto Twyla's body, straddling her between his knees as he furiously began to punch her chest in the hopes of awakening her heart, her body jolting with each punch as Avea stood stock still nearby; she couldn't bear to tell him it was too late. But by then, Ben had already realized it and gave up, scooping his arms under Twyla's back and holding her close, burying his head into her twilight locks and silently praying for a miracle. But it was not meant to be. As if the universe was trying to be even more cruel to its greatest hero, a loud shushing sound began to fill the space.
Ben glanced up with pink eyes and looked at his fallen lover with a pleading expression as her pale skin turned a dark gray and became loose and grainy, her figure giving away into a pile of dust that quickly ran through Ben's fingers. The last thing Ben saw of Twyla before she became a pile of dust, was her scarred face, forever twisted into one of peaceful agony; all that remained was her eye patch.
Ben was at a loss for words, unsure of what to feel or say or do as he wordlessly starred at the pile of sand that use to be Twyla before finally doing something. With a pained yell, he slammed his fists into the floor and screamed towards the heavens, a yell that was filled to the brim with utter despair and defeat as it echoed throughout the entire base, reaching every set of available ears.
Avea jolted from the sound and quietly walked over to Ben, shifting her legs to sit down beside him, her legs tucked under her body as she rested a hand on his shoulder. She was surprised when he suddenly pulled her into a hug, burying his head into her shoulder as he let tears fall from his eyes. Avea, after getting over the shock of such close contact, cautiously wrapped her arms around Ben, holding him tight as her wings enveloped them both, cutting them off from the world and its troubles as the two just sat there in each others company, mourning.
As she sat there, comforting Ben to the best of her ability, Avea was thinking of other things amongst the death of her leader. She only then realized how good it felt to have such contact with someone; it wasn't that the occasional hugs she received from her few friends weren't good, but it felt wonderful to have someone else touch, to hold her in a way that didn't hold fear of any kind. Ben didn't fear her in anyway, and he had seen how ruthless she could become on the battlefield; yet, he was truly unafraid of her. And that made her feel special.
Another train of thought that was running along her mind tracks was Ben's sudden behavior. She had seen him enraged, happy, and even depressed on a few occasions. But she could always count on him regaining his happy, go-lucky attitude sooner or later, always ready to hurt those that hurt those closest to him. But now, she didn't know what to think. To see the person that had inspired a hundred different races of monsters to set aside their differences and unite to fight for their freedom, to see the person who stood tall and brave in the middle of war, to see the person that everyone saw as the strong, sturdy rock to shelter them in a hurricane, suddenly break down, to cast aside his rugged exterior and expose such a helpless and depressed creature . . . it rocked Avea's world to the very core. To think, someone like Ben, who had saved the universe countless times ever since his life had been turned on its head, could just suddenly turn into a person who was so empty and devoid of hope so quickly . . . it boggled her mind.
It seemed unreal that she, someone who everyone in the entire base was scared of, could comfort someone as heroic as Ben seemed like pure imagination. And yet, it had happened. She could feel his tears leaking from her eyes onto her shoulder as he shoved face into her breasts, holding her tighter as her mourned; Avea would have been aroused by the sudden movement, but suppressed the emotion. She was here to comfort Ben, not to fall for him.
So why did she find it so hard to pull her fingers away from his luscious, brown locks as she held him, her own eyes starting to water as the realization of everything came down on her. And for once, she was not in the mood for one of her cigarettes. Actually, to be quite honest, she was drained. She was completely exhausted, both mentally and physically. Her entire body felt so heavy, particularly her eyelids, and she found that with every blink of them the world became a little more distorted. To make things better or worse, she found that holding, cuddling, with Ben actually made her much more sleepy. She felt so . . . comfortable . . .
"Night-night," she mumbled quietly, barely more than a whisper. Ben didn't even know she had drifted off to sleep as her wings drooped slightly and rested themselves on his shoulders, wrapping him and Avea in a blanket of warmth as she drifted on to sleep. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Ben finally pried his face away from Avea's shoulder to sniff and wipe his red eyes. He did notice however, that Avea refused to remove her chin from his head, and when he jerked it away, her head comically to the floor, landing in his lap as she stirred slightly; Ben chose not to disturb her and carefully pulled himself lose from her, slowly prying her hands off of his back and gently pulling her wings off her shoulders.
But Avea didn't seem to want to let go so soon. As shortly as Ben had released her grip from him, she unconsciously, slipped her arms around him again and held him tighter, resting her head on his chest as if it were a pillow. Ben found this rather odd, as Avea didn't seem to be one to fall for boy's, especially at a time like now. But once again, he chose not to disturb her and slowly climbed to his feet, hauling Avea's entire weight up with him.
"Skurd? Do me a favor, will ya?" Ben whispered.
"It's not how you asked it, but how you said it!" the Slimebiote said cheerfully, keeping his voice down to keep Avea asleep as he turned on the Omnitrix and cycled through the aliens before selecting Four Arms and pressing down on the activation with all of his strength. A blinding green light washed over Ben, the new DNA coursing through his blood stream, twisting and distorting his body into something new entirely. His arms became more furry as hundreds upon thousands of yellow colored hairs sprouted all across his body, racing down his legs and over his chest, up his neck to cover his face as his pinky finger was sucked back into his hand, deemed useless for whatever alien he was becoming. His ears became large and fleshy, similar to that of a rodent's as they rotated up towards the top of his head, his face bulging outwards slightly as his nose became flat and primitive looking. His canines became longer and sharper as his teeth became slightly crooked, his skeleton cracking and groaning as it was compressed and shrunken down to a height of roughly four feet tall. Two, long, furry, prehensile tails snaked out from the base of his spine, cracking and whipping themselves around as if they had minds of their own as his feet became bigger and perfect for gripping, his big toe moving into a 45 degree angle that allowed them to be used like extra hands. Black, gauntlet-like coverings materialized on his wrists, allowing his fingers free movement as a suit that greatly exposed his furry chest appeared on his body with green rings on the knees and elbows; the Omnitrix and Skurd reappeared on a green and white belt around the alien's waist, completing the transformation.
"Cool! New alien!" the small creature cheered quietly. "But, uh, what exactly am I?" he asked.
"For once, I honestly can't blame you for not knowing," Skurd sighed. "You are currently a Vong Linducher, a little known species that has the ability to tell teleport!"
"No way! Seriously? Are you sure?"
"Does this look unsure to you?" Skurd grumbled with annoyance, gesturing to his featureless face.
"Uh, no," the Vong Linducher noted. "But in that case, I'm gonna call this guy Teleportail!"
"I swear, the names you give your transformations get worse every time." Skurd mumbled as Teleportail moved his twin tails into the air behind him, a mental instinct telling him exactly what he needed to do in order to do what he was born to do. The two tails began to spin like helicopter blades, buzzing in a tight circle behind him as a low hum picked up. Teleportail effortlessly spun his tails faster and faster until they were a yellow and black blur. And just when it seemed his tails would simply be torn free from his body and fly off somewhere else on their own, a sudden explosion of light rocked the main power core, engulfing the Vong Linducher and Avea in one swift gulp before disappearing from existence.
They reappeared moments later in a dark room, most likely another one of the ghoul's dorms. Unsure of whether he was alone in the room or not, Teleportail searched for the bunk that could only be Avea's; having such a unique body structure limited what she could and what she could not have, and the alien quickly found Avea's sleeping quarters. Really, it was nothing more than a bunch of blankets that covered the floor with a mound of pillows piled into one of the corners under one of the bunks. He quickly and silently dragged Avea over to her bed and laid her down on the mattress of blankets, pulling one of the larger ones up over her body as her wings instinctively wrapped themselves around her and him. Teleportail froze and waited a few patient minutes before carefully and quickly pulling himself free of Avea's grasp and making his way towards the door of the dorm, hanging onto the door frame with a strong hand as he slammed his feet into the door and banged it open; Avea didn't stir as the alien scampered down the hall, swinging from the lights overhead with ease as he quickly suppressed the fun feeling inside of him now.
He no longer had any time for that. As of now, he was in charge of the base in Twyla's absence, hundreds upon thousands of lives resting on his furry shoulders; and he knew several of the recruits would not be pleased in the slightest with his new position.
He didn't care though. He didn't care for the title as Leader of the Rebellion. He was quite happy being their secret weapon, always brought out when they couldn't do things themselves. And unlike most of the monsters in the base, he knew exactly how to set things right. He now felt his blood boil and all feel other than pure rage course through his body as he made his way to the front door of the base, patiently waiting for the doors to open before scampering out into the cold alone.
"My, aren't we serious?" Skurd asked in a monotone voice; Teleportail ignored him as he once again spun his tail in a fast action, not flinching when the blinding light consumed him and sent him across time and reality to another place on the mortal plane. Or, in the case of where he was heading, immortal plane.
The Lord of the Dead, Hades himself, reclined on his throne, a rather bored expression on his face as he impatiently drummed his fingers on the obsidian arm. His wife, Persephone, sat next to him, her violet hair flickering like fire as she remained fixed and emotionless for the time being, her arms wrapped around the little girl sitting on her lap. Hailey Hydra squirmed slightly in her new mother's lap, her three heads quietly whispering to each other as they impatiently waited for something; what they were waiting for, they did not exactly know, but all three of the heads stopped bickering with one quick look from her adoptive father.
A sudden rumbling caught her attention as the entire palace shook, dust and small stone pebbles raining down from the ceiling as the entire world shook in a steady rhythm that sounded suspiciously like incredibly large footsteps running at stop speed. So when Cerberus came crashing through the front doors of Hades's palace, taking out an enormous chuck of the wall in doing so, Hailey had a very good right to scream all three of her heads off as Persephone and Hades both flinched. The gigantic, three-headed guardian of the Underworld whimpered like a puppy and lumbered forward with his legs, all three heads bowed towards the floor with their ears pinned back in submission. Standing on top of the middle head, with his paws holding tightly to the gigantic ears like a pair of reins was none other than Rath.
And he did not look pleased one bit.
"Ben! So nice to see you again!" Hades said with a mocking, chirper tone as he recomposed himself; Cerberus lowered his main head to the ground and remained still as the Appoplexian growled and jumped at Hades, grabbing the front of his robe and yanking his face towards him as Cerberus took the chance to run away as fast as he could.
"Lemme tell ya somethin' Hades, Lord of the Underworld, God of the Dead and Wealth, The Silent and Rich One, Husband of Lady Persephone, and Adoptive Father of Hailey Hydra! Rath doesn't understand what game you're playing at, so Rath is gonna respond with something else that he doesn't understand but hopes is insulting as well as violent!" the Appoplexian roared before drawing back his fist and sucker-punching the god in the jaw, sending up towards the ceiling to then fall back down to the floor and land on his face with a sickening smack! Both Persephone and Hailey smiled with amusement.
"Okay, okay, I don't know what that was about, but I probably had it coming," Hades admitted sheepishly as he pried himself off of the floor and climbed to feet, cracking his aching back as the flames on his head died down to a cool blue. Rath didn't fall for this however, and pounced on the Lord of the Dead, bringing his face up to his and growling menacingly, exposing the many teeth within his jaws.
"Rath doesn't know and Rath doesn't care what you had coming! Because Rath will always come for you if you don't give Rath what he wants right now!" he yelled furiously, nearly extinguishing the flames that danced on Hades's skull.
"Okay, so what can I do ya for?" Hades nervously; really, he wasn't afraid of the large and rather stupid Appoplexian currently pinning him to the floor and threatening his immortal life. He was acting, playing it up in the hopes of finding out why he had come down to his domain and how he could possibly turn this into his favor. Still, Rath did look rather intimidating.
"Lemme tell ya somethin' Hades! Rath wants his girl back!" Rath roared, climbing to his feet and lifting Hades off the floor. "Rath wants Twyla, Daughter of the Boogeyman Man, and Glorious Leader of the Indestructible Rebellion right here and now! And if you don't, I will knit your intestines into a sweater like Rath nearly did to Jaret, Leader of the Pantophage and ex-enemy of the Lewodan Empire!"
Hades blinked. "Okay, then." he said calmy, laying a bony hand on Rath's fist as the Appoplexian lowered him to the ground, the claws on his wrists now bigger than they were. "First off, I have no idea who this Jaret friend of yours is, but, uh, can ya get me his number sometime? Sounds like my kind of guy."
Rath snarled and raised a fist, putting the tip of his massive claw to Hades's pale nose. "Okay, let me you somethin', Benny. I'm not an evil guy, I'm just doing my job. So I'll cut you a deal. You want your girl back? Here's what ya gotta do," Hades said with a laid back voice as if it were the last thing he cared about in the world. "Alls ya gotta do is defeat three, count 'em, three of my best champions in the ring again. You win, you and your friend go home. You lose, you become my eternal gladiator."
"No, lemme tell you somethin'!" Rath roared. "Rath wants to fight your three best fighters and if he wins he goes home with Twyla! If Rath loses, he does a favor for you! And lemme tell ya somethin' else! RATH NEVER LOSES!" Rath bellowed at the top of his lungs.
"Are you sure about that?" Skurd asked snide from Rath's massive belt buckle.
"Lemme tell ya somethin' Skurd the Slimebiote who I never really liked in the first place but am begrudgingly beginning to like in spite of myself! You stay out of this!"
"The booger has point, bub." Hades noted with a toothy grin, leaning on Rath's shoulder and glancing at his fingernails with a bored expression.
"Booger!?" Skurd cried angrily.
"Look, I need an answer NOW. Going once. Going twice," Hades counted off.
"Uh . . . Rath's not good at thinkin'!" Rath whined.
"Say yes, dear boy! Say it!" Skurd yelled.
"Going two and a half!" Hades counted off again.
"ERAGH! Lemme tell ya somethin' Hades! In spite of his better judgment, Rath excepts your deal!"
They were now in what Hades's had dubbed 'The Soul Reaper'. To put it simply, it was a large arena about the size of a small football stadium with a patch of solid rock for the playing field. Stands and bleachers rose up around the tight square, each seat packed with weary shades, impatient Furies and harpies, or other questionable creatures that looked nothing like the monsters that lived on the surface. Sitting smack in the middle of the stands, directly over where the 50 yard line might have been, was a special box where Lord Hades, Lady Persephone, and Hailey all sat, watching the spectacle below them interest, indifference, or disgust.
"Lemme tell ya somethin' Hades! Lets get this over with already!" Rath bellowed up to the box, jabbing an angry finger at the Lord of the Dead. Hades frowned, but stood up nonetheless to start the competition by speaking into a microphone dangling from above; where it exactly came from, no one was exactly clear on.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, monsters and shades of all ages!" Hades roared into the mic with the stature of a wrestling announcer. "In this corner, coming back for another round! Ya know 'im! Ya love 'im! You hate his guts! It's Ben Tennyson!" Hades announced.
"It's Rath!" Rath roared.
"My sincere apologies," Hades grumbled. "I mean Rath!" he corrected himself. The Appoplexian struck a dozen poses down below in the pit as the crowd roared and cheered their approval, their opinions of the Omnitrix-wearer having changed since last time.
"Thank you, thank you!" Rath greeted them between intimidating poses.
Hades frown quickly turned into a grin when he remembered who he had pitted against the dimwitted Appoplexian. "Aaaaaaaaand in this corner, coming all the way from Thebes, Greece! The Devourer of Man, the Master of Riddles herself! Give it up for the Sphinx!" Hades roared in the microphone, the following applause even louder than before as the doors opposite of Rath burst open, a loud roar echoing throughout the entire arena.
A creature the size of a woolly mammoth stepped out into the arena, lumbering forward on its four lion legs as its tail swished back and forth across the rough rock. A pair of gigantic eagle wings that easily dwarfed Rath sat connected to the massively muscled shoulder blades. The face of creature was surprisingly human in appearance, a beautiful maiden with pale skin and long, straight, black hair that ran down over her shoulders like a lion's mane as a pair of sharp fangs curved out over her ruby red lips. The Sphinx let out a bestial roar that shook the arena, rearing up onto her hind legs and spreading it wings wide as it fed off the cheers and hoots of the crowd.
"Rath's a dead man," the Appoplexian gulped nervously before summoning every last ounce of courage he. "Or he would be if Rath was a man! But Rath ain't a man, so technically speaking he's not dead, despite being in the Underworld itself!"
The Sphinx stopped appealing to its audience and dropped back to the ground, stalking forward and studying Rath carefully, her wise eyes actually seeming surprised to see an opponent so small and so stupid to face someone as massive and as smart as she.
"You do realize that your statement did not make any sense, correct?" she purred in a silky, booming voice.
Rath growled and frowned before speaking. "I KNOW!" he bellowed.
"My, ill-tempered, are we?" the Sphinx asked nonchalantly, lying down on her belly and absentmindedly licking her paw as her wings collapsed against her back. The audience was slightly confused; was there not supposed to be lots of blood, gore, and all around violence? With these two powerful creatures in the arena, should there not be much pain and only one victor? The Sphinx ignored the murmuring of the audience and laid her paw back down on the rock, composing herself to look regal and powerful as she continued.
"As you may or may not know, I am the Sphinx-"
"Rath already knows, but Rath doesn't care because Rath will destroy you!" Rath interrupted.
"Yes, well, you must answer one of my-"
"Rath doesn't solve anything unless it can be solved with violence!" Rath interrupted again, jabbing a finger at his far bigger foe.
The Sphinx frowned. "You must solve one of my riddles. You get three chances, and if you get the last one incorrect, I shall-"
"Do what, bore Rath to death!? Because lemme tell ya somethin' Sphinx, Master of Riddles! Rath does do anything but beat boredom into submission with his two fists!"
"I shall eat you!" the Sphinx roared angrily, jumping to her feet and nearly at her wits end with a luchador alien.
"Rath doesn't have all day, Cat Lady! I'm gonna call you cat Lady from now on, okay Cat Lady!?" Rath asked with a slight smirk; even Skurd had to admit he liked where this was going.
The Sphinx looked like she was about to explode before she sucked in a deep breath and calmed her frayed nerves, taking deep breaths to calm herself as she lied back down on the ground. "The first riddle: What creature walks on four legs at dawn, two legs at midday, and three legs at dusk?" she asked patiently before adding an after thought. "And only the big, stupid brute may answer."
Skurd huffed and crossed his tentacles over his chest, annoyed as Rath attempted to do what Appoplexian's were horrible at: actually thinking.
"Uuuuuuuuuuuh . . . Rath's not good at answering questions!" he yelled.
"Is that your final answer?" the Sphinx drawled.
"YES!"
"I'm sorry, but that's incorrect. The answer was 'man'," the Sphinx said with mock pity. "The second riddle: There are two sisters. One gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to first. Who are they?"
"Rath doesn't know who these sisters are, but they sound incredible gross and nasty to Rath!" Rath yelled.
"Is that your final answer?" the Sphinx yawned.
"NO! Rath's answer to everything to punch it with his two fists! Repeatedly!" he roared.
"Erroneous," the Sphinx sighed. "The answer was 'night and day'. The third and final riddle: I am the ruin of men, and yet they lust for me. I have no power, no strength, and yet I am the might of kings and armies. I am hard as dragon scales, and yet I flow like water. Men dream of me, and yet once found I am cast aside. I am a dancing rainbow: ever chased, never caught. What am I?" the Sphinx asked.
"You're a pain Rath's behind, that's what you are!" Rath cried, jabbing a finger at the behemoth and ignoring the question entirely.
"Amusing," the Sphinx rolled her eyes, climbing to her feet. "But wrong. The answer is 'gold'. It seems that I will have to devour you now. How sad." the giant beast sighed as she raised up a large paw and slammed it down on top of Rath, seemingly crushing him.
"And we're done here," the Sphinx sighed without removing her paw. "Most likely tastes horrid anyways." she mumbled to herself before realizing there was still movement coming from under her paw. She watched with shock as Rath, inch by inch, shoved her paw upwards against her tremendous strength and stood straight up, holding the paw over his head before tossing it off of him, breathing heavily.
"Lemme tell ya somethin' Lady Sphinx, Master of Riddles and Pain in Rath's Behind!" Rath roared. "Rath has had it with you! From now on Rath will be asking the questions with his two big fists!"
"That still didn't make sense." the Sphinx noted.
"I KNOW!" Rath yelled, lunging at the her. The Sphinx sighed and took to the air with a flap of her wings, hovering about a dozen feet about the ground and watching with boredom as Rath cursed at her. "Lemme tell ya somethin' Lady Sphinx, Master of Riddles and Pain in Rath's behind! Nobody goes unless Rath says they can go, because Rath goes before everybody! So don't go, yo!" he bellowed as he ran at her and jumped onto her foreleg, digging his fingers into her tough skin as she flew higher and higher in an attempt to shake him off.
"Is that all you've got, Cat Lady!? Because Rath's got tons more! In fact, I should give you some of mine so that it'll be a fair fight! And after that, everything I gave you, I can take it back again! AND MAKE YOU LIKE IT!" Rath roared.
"Is it just me, or does anyone else want to kick back with a box of popcorn and see where this goes?" Hades asked.
"It's just- okay, bring it out." Persephone surrendered with a small smile. Hades snapped his fingers and three bags of popcorn appeared before each of them, Hailey giggling as she listened to Rath's senseless ranting as he was carried away, higher and higher into the cavern until the arena looked like a toy from above.
"AAH! Give up, Cat Lady! You can't escape from Rath! YAAH!" the Appoplexian bellowed as the claw on his right wrist grew in size. With a war cry, he jammed it into the Sphinx's exposed underbelly with all of his strength, pleased to see his claw cut through the skin; the Sphinx roared in agony and began to take evasive maneuvers. But no matter how many times she twisted and turned, rolled and tumbled, flew up or down, the Appoplexian hung on, cutting into her skin before setting to work on her organs, slicing them open with ease as he quickly cut through fleshy tubes and the beast's lungs, ignoring the blood and disgusting juices that covered him until the Sphinx eventually gave up, both weak and exhausted, and simply fell to the ground.
"Crashing's good, too! Rath can crash all day!" Rath yelled as he dug into his fingers deeper into the patch of broken skin on the Sphinx's torn underbelly. But suddenly, the skin gave away, tearing away from the rest of the body and exposing the monster's white bones as Rath fell back to the arena, blood and fleshy bits tumbling after him.
"I hate you!" the Sphinx screamed as she fell.
"Oh, so now you're using gravity!" Rath remarked, ignoring the Sphinx again. "WELL FORGET IT! Give up, gravity! You can't beat Raaaaaaaaaaa-" he roared as he plummeted to the ground and landed with a loud boom! The Sphinx, with a dying roar, crashed to the ground about a dozen yards away, her chest heaving up and down as she attempted to breath. It was all for naught however, as her breaths became shorter and more raged before ceasing altogether.
"YES! HADES RULES!" the Lord of the Dead announced, jumping to his feet and spilling his popcorn when he realized there was no possible way Rath could have survived the from the height he was at; he had won.
"Ben!" Hailey screamed with concern, jumping off of Persephone's lap and to the edge of the viewing box, all three of her heads wearing expressions of worry as they all starred at a Rath-shaped hole in the ground, the dust finally settling and showing no sign of movement. Hailey feared the worst and was above to except that one of her few friends was gone when she heard the soft clatter of rocks being pushed aside. She looked up to see a black glove-covered hand reach over the lip of the hole and haul the luchador Appoplexian out of the hole, Rath breathing heavily as he caught his breath.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHLLLLLL!" Hades roared in anger, red hot flames consuming his body as Hailey clapped happily; Persephone gave her a loving smile before throwing her husband an annoyed look.
"Lemme tell ya somethin' stupid Rath-sized hole! RATH WILL DESTROY YOU!" Rath bellowed into the hole before stopping down as hard as he could on the rocky edges, determined to show the hole who the boss was.
"Geez, this guy makes Polyphemus look like a genius," Hades grumbled as he reached for the microphone overhead, pulling it down and speaking into it. "Well, wasn't that great, eh? Up next, we have a warrior so fierce, so terrifying, so absolutely hideous looking, one look at her and you'll become pertrified with fear!" Hades cracked. "Ladies and gentleman, monsters and shades of all ages, give it up for Medusaaaaaa!" Hades roared as the doors on the other end of the arena blew open and a creature slithered out into the open.
From the waist up, she looked like a relatively beautiful woman in her mid-twenties. But things got stranger as you went both up or down; her face, if one could actually look directly at it without suffering the consequences, was tight and angular, her long locks of hair now a writhering nest of seriously annoyed snakes, everything from cobras and coral snakes to boomslangs and vipers permanently attached to her scalp. Things got stranger from the waist down; instead of slender, human legs, they were replaced by a thick, scaly snake tail that she slithered around with ease, a long spear twirling around in her fingers as she approached the center of the battlefield.
"Please give me something without eyes," Ben whimpered as he kept his head down, cycling through his roster before selecting Wildmutt and slapping the activation button. He felt himself grow slightly shorter than before as his bones groaned and cracked, lengthening and becoming thinner as Ben's skin became lose like a paper bag that hung over his skeleton. After a few brief nanoseconds, the skin tightened and formed over the limited muscles that had grown over the bones, the skin know smooth and pebbled. His skin turned a pale shade of red as his fingers grew longer and his nails grew duller, his chin became a small cleft square spirals and swirls appeared on his skin. The skin then covered his eyes, blinding him and making them disappear all together as his organs sloshed and changed inside of him. The most noticeable part of the transformation however, was Ben's head. It began to grow upward, becoming slightly box-like in appearance as his brain began to expand and grow, filling every available space in the skull's brain case. A black jumpsuit with green, downward pointing stripes appeared on his body, the Omnitrix appearing on his chest and completing the transformation.
"While this is also acceptable, I'm going to have to get this device checked by Azmuth sometime," Mindmesser sighed with annoyance as he stood on thin, nearly skeletal legs. He soon quickly took to the air, hovering a couple feet above the ground as he used his telekinesis to keep himself aloft.
Without another word, the two enemies rushed at each other, Medusa swinging her spear wildly now that she couldn't use her stoning abilities on the blind Protinaphibian. The Gorgon thrust her spear forward, intending to impale the alien through the chest like a shish-kabob, but Mindmesser merely moved aside, raising a hand that glowed a mysterious red in color. A loud rumbling filled the air behind Medusa as the bare rock floor cracked and groaned before half a dozen boulders were raised into the air by the Protinaphibian's power. The reptilian monster had only moments to slither out of the way before the boulders all slammed into each other on the spot where she had been moments before.
"Impressive," Mindmesser noted. "Especially for a creature without functioning legs. Amazing to think Deuce will one day suffer a similar fate."
Medusa stopped in mid-strike upon hearing those words. "D-Deuce? You know him?" she asked in a shaky voice that was hoarse sounding.
"Indeed." Mindmesser replied, slightly confused before his massive brain realized something.
"Are you his mother?" he asked quietly.
The Gorgon nodded, lowering her spear. "Please, is my baby boy alright?" she asked.
"Indeed," the Protinaphibian repeated.
"I miss him," Medusa sighed, her snakes drooping and hissing sadly. "I wish I could see him, but I'm stuck down here. I can't leave until I die." she sniffed, tears starting to brim in her eyes before an idea suddenly came to her. "Will you kill me?" she suddenly asked.
"Pardon?" Mindmesser asked, stunned.
"She just asked you to kill her, dear boy!" Skurd shouted from Mindmesser's chest, his tentacles covering his beady little eyes. "I thought we were over you stating the obvious!"
"This is beside the point," Mindmesser grumbled. "I refuse to kill a helpless monster without good reason!"
"Please! Kill me so that I may see my son again!" Medusa pleaded.
Mindmesser thought it over. Although it was morally wrong his eyes, relatively speaking of course, the advantage it brought him was massive; it allowed him to get ahead in Hades's bet without physically or mentally exhausting himself and bringing him one step closer to bringing back the woman he loved. "What happens if I kill you?" he inquired.
"I'll be turned into gold dust and will reform after a few weeks, depending on how I am killed. I'll be fine." Medusa assured him. "Please, kill me so I can see my son again!"
"Um, ladies? I hate to remind you, BUT YOUR SUPPOSED TO BE FIGHTING TO THE DEATH!" Hades exploded, his entire body being consumed in flames. Persephone's own hair flared a dark indigo violet in color as she leaned over and grabbed her husband by the ear, yanking him down into his seat and whispering something into his ear. And from the way his face got even paler than before, Mindmesser could infer it was not very pleasant.
"Fine. But you are aware you will have to suffer through quite a bit of pain, correct?" Mindmesser whispered.
"Whatever it takes to see my baby again." Medusa agreed with a deep breath, dropping her spear on the ground. Mindmesser nodded his head and hovered back a couple yards, his hands glowing an omnious red as the entire arena rumbled and shook. Medusa's spear floated up into the air, followed by the boulders used in the previous attack. More rock was torn from the ground as the Protinaphibian stretched his power out over the arena until the entire air was filled with floating boulders and stones that spun like prisms in the air, leaving a large, crude crater in the arena as Medusa waited for the inevitable to happen.
"My sincere apologies, Ms. Gorgon." Mindmesser apologized with a solemn attitude as he thrust his hands down. Immediately, every rock in the air tightly packed together into a single body the size of a small island, dwarfing Medusa below before the entire island came crashing down on top of her, killing her in one smooth movement, a little gold dust sprinkling out from under the pile of rocks and ending the battle.
"Well that was anti-climactic," Hades pouted, climbing from his seat to speak into the microphone once more as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world. "Ladies and gentleman, monsters and shades of all ages! For our final round we have the Best Mortal Weaver herself, the Mother of All Spiders! Give it up for Arachneeeeeeeeee!" Hades howled into the microphone as the entire arena shook with the thunderous applause of the audience. Instead of the doors being blown from their hinges like before, Ben's opponent dropped down from the ceiling, landing delicately on her jointed legs. Ben had to admit, she looked beautiful.
From the waist down, she was all spider, skittering across the around on eight, dark purple legs whose armored skin shone in the limited light, small spikes rising up from her abdomen. There then came a smooth transition between Arachne's spider and human half, the dark armor giving way to pale, ivory skin that showed off her curves; her skin was so pale, Ben could actually see her organs and circulatory system underneath her skin if he concentrated hard enough. Her breast were moderately covered by pieces of her spider armor, pointed shoulder pads sitting on her shoulders as her smooth skin gave way to the arachnid armor that covered her human hands, her fingers ending in razor sharp claws. Her eyes were hollow and a deep red in color, her ears sharp and her lips small and full as her fiery red hair flowed out behind her. A pink and violet headdress that looked like an angry spider sat on her head, showing that she was queen of all spiders.
"So this is the greatest hero the world as ever seen?" Arachne purred in a seductive tone, slowly walking on her jointed legs over to Ben, swinging her hips and entrancing Ben where he stood. She quietly stalked over to him, her hands gently tracing over his arms and carefully caressing him as she ran the tips of her claws over his chest and around his neck, Ben never moving as she studied him with a sexy face.
"It's a shame I shall have to eat you," Arache pouted, and Ben felt like his heart was going to be ripped out of his chest from sheer sorrow the girl was feeling. He wanted to help her, to be with her for all of time. Forget about all the ghouls he had come across, this woman needed him, wanted him, wanted to be with him for all time and would give him anything he could ever want or need. He didn't struggle when Arache gently pushed him to the ground on his back, climbing on top of him and resting her abdomen on his groin area as she leaned down and tentatively touched the tip of her tongue to Ben's neck, rolling it around in small circles; it felt incredible. She caressed his cheek with the side of her talons, running it through his hair and across his strong chest, tracing her tongue up his neck to his lips, sneakily sliding her tongue between his lips and down his throat without ever touching them with her own.
Persephone covered Hailey's eyes from the scene as she frowned at the gigantic spider, silently pleading for Ben to snap out of his trace and kick her sorry thorax across the arena already. But Ben was completely unaware, forever trapped in Arachne's hypnotic gaze, oblivious as silk began to spit out from her spinnerets, feeding through her last pair of legs as they began to wrap the thread around his body, starting by binding his feet. And still Ben was unaware as Arachne finally pressed her lips to his the very tips of her fangs gently biting into them as she wrapped her arms around him.
By now, Ben's legs had become bind together into a single limb by the webbing, stuck fast to the ground. Never turning her gaze away from his face, Arachne parted away from the kiss and moved farther up Ben's body, skipping his groin and beginning to spin more web around his stomach and chest region, spitting out strands that stuck fast to the ground on either side of her prey before she began to wrap him up in more silk. But she never strayed her gaze away from his ivy green eyes, gently picking his wrists up in her hands and giving him a sweet kiss before resting them on her barely concealed breasts. She had to admit, the way he worked them was amazing, but she had a job to do; at least she would give him a chance for one last wish before he was ended.
Ben's chest was bonded to the ground, still unaware he was being wrapped up like a Christmas present as Arachne gave him a seductive smile and gently took his hands away from her breasts, setting them on the rock over his hand. She quickly opened her mouth wide and spat out a strand of sticky webbing that caught on the rocky ground, restraining his hands and arms to the spot. And now, she finally tore her gaze away from him, breaking the trance she had put on him as she scuttled back down his body toward his exposed area, Ben now realizing what was happening and starting to struggle against his bonds.
"Sorry, deary," Arachne said with a silky voice. "But it's been so long since I've had a meal so big."
Ben continued to struggle, thinking of something, anything, that could get him out of this situation and reunited with Twyla. Then he remembered something: didn't Arachne have a daughter, Wydowna Spider, if Ben remembered correctly? "What about your daughter, Wydowna? Don't you want to see her again?" he asked, still fighting against his bonds.
"Already saw her," Arachne said with a malicious smile, licking her fanged lips. "She and her pet fly made an excellent meal last month."
"You are sick, you know that!?" Ben snapped angrily.
"Meh. Heard worse," Arachen shrugged. "Be happy, boy, that I consider your qualities impressive enough for me to pass them along to my next generation of children."
Ben stopped struggling and processed that. "Wait, what are you- OH, SPHINX NO!" he bellowed as Arachne gave him a devious smile and slowly slipped off her modest dressings, exposing the rest of her ivory skin and breasts as the gigantic spider licked her lips.
"I'm in it, partner!" Skurd cried from above Ben's head. He could vaguely hear the sound of the Omnitrix as Arachne edged closer and closer to his exposed area, the tips of her talons slipping over the edges of his pants as she gave a hungry look that promised she would enjoy this.
"Skurd!" Ben pleaded as he felt one of Arachne's hands slip under his pants and boxers and just barely touch his dick.
"Got it!" Skurd announced, ramming his head into the activation button. Arachen paused and watched as the Omnitrix did its work, the green light racing over his body and changing his DNA and structure into something the world had never seen in all its days. 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 sky, dwarfing everyone below him and even making the arena look like nothing more than a collection of large boxes to him as he easily split free of the sticky webbing holding him into place.. 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. 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 teeny, tiny Skurd appeared on his chest, finishing the transformation.
"I'm going to squash you like a BUG!" Way Big roared, socking his fist into his hand. Arachne paled, an act very hard to do considering she was already pale, and skittered away as screaming as Way Big bellowed, the entire arena shaking and raining down rocks from the ceiling.
"Whoa, hey, watch the hair!" Hades called up to the giant as he was pelted with rock bits from above. The To'kustar ignored the Lord of the Dead and brought up a massive foot before stomping back down in an attempt to squish Arachne as she screamed and ran away from the advancing titan. The To'kustar marched after her, using his size to his advantage and staying just behind her, just barely missing her with every move of his foot as she continued to run away, still half-naked from before.
"My husband, should we not do something?" Persephone asked as Way Big passed by; the arena had become so deep from the last round, that the To'kustar's head actually level enough with the announcer's box.
"Does it look like I wanna do something?" Hades asked, raising an eyebrow as he summoned another box of popcorn for himself.
Persephone hesitated before speaking. "No," she admitted as Hades gave her a look and snapped his fingers, two more boxes of popcorn materializing out of midair and into his wife and daughter's hands.
The mad chase continued as Way Big marched around the arena, always a few feet behind the screaming Arachne. It was only after the To'kustar managed to clip of her back legs under his massive foot did Arachne finally have enough. She quickly skittered up the wall of the arena and spat out a strand of silk, aiming for Way Big's face and blinding him for a split second as he tore the webbing from his head. It was all the time she needed however as she jumped free of the wall and onto his leg. The gigantic spider skittered up his leg and across his torso as Way Big raised a massive hand and slapped the area on him where she had been moments ago. Arachne raced up the To'kustar's body, under his arms and across his back before climbing onto his shoulder, all the while being chased by Way Big's massive hands. Screaming with fury, Arachne suddenly bit down Way Big's shoulder, hoping her venom was potent enough to at least weaken the giant. But it was all for naught as the titan simply grabbed Arachne by the abdomen and pithced her towards the ground, leaving her in a small crater as he bent his legs and jumped into the air, preparing for a finishing move.
"As much as I don't like the kid, I like his style." Hades remarked as he watched Way Big, plummet back towards the ground, massive heel thrust out before him, ready to squish Arachne into a gooey paste. Unfortunately, the Omnitrix decided right then and there to time out, the green light washing over the To'kustar and reverting him back into Ben.
"Not again!" Ben wailed as he plummeted towards the ground once more. Arachne saw the unfortunate incident and licked her lips again, raising her claws and opening her mouth wide, ready to bite Ben in half or inject her venom into him and paralyze him and devour him. Ben quickly reached for the Omnitrix, not caring which alien he got as he slapped the activation button and waited patiently as the watch did its magic. His skeleton ground and crunched until he was only a third of his original height, his skull cracking as three fin-like growths split out from the bone, two pairs of fleshy growths appearing on either side of his face as his eyes turned wide and fully green. His arms only became slightly more muscled than before, widening into long claws as two metallic knobs appeared on his arms. A green and black jumpsuit with black patches on his ankles and under arms appeared on his body as a black belt with three knobs materializing on it. His skin turned a pale white as his toes were reduced to three, cat-like toes as the Omnitrix and Skurd appeared on his forehead.
"Wa-oh!" Ditto wailed as he plummeted downwards, flailing his little arms and legs before suddenly splitting himself into a dozen clones on instinct. Arachne cracked open an eye to see what was taking so long and nearly screamed as a dozen little Splixsons converged on her, tackling her to the ground and pummeling her with their little fists and stopping on her many legs and arms with their small feet. With a loud cry of anguish and rage, Arachen climbed to her feet and swiped her arm across a row of Ditto clones, knocking them back; all twelve of the clones yelped in pain when attacked clones rolled against the ground.
"Uh, why is she looking at us like that?" a Ditto clone whimpered.
"Don't look at me! He was here first!" another responded, jerking a thumb at another clone.
"Uh, guys? We've got bigger problems than that now!" the clone cried, running away when he saw a furious Arachne towering them. The rest of the clones took one look at the vicious spider woman and fled as well.
"Time ta split!" they all cried in unison, splitting into pairs so that there were about two dozen clones running away around the arena. Not sure which clone to chose, although she did have a theory it didn't quite matter, Arachne chased after a small platoon of Dittos, swiping her claws back and forth as she raced after them on her seven legs, the eighth one having been ripped off from Way Big.
"Run away, RUN AWAY!" a clone cried from the group. Two clones quickly backtracked, ignored by Arachne as she chased after the main group. The two clones quickly caught up to her before both briefly sticking out one of their legs, tripping the spider woman so that she landed on face. She was quickly swarmed by Ditto clones that pummeled her body with their small fists, dazing her as all the Dittos reformed back into one Splixson. The small alien then quickly reached towards the sky and split him several hundred times, forming a chain of Dittos that stretched all the way up to the roof of the cavern until the last Ditto at the top latched onto a stalactite overhead, the rest of the clones vanishing back into each other until it was just the one Ditto above and an enraged Arachne bellowed.
With a loud scream of annoyance, Arachne spat out a jet of webbing from her spinnerets at the rocky ceiling, latching onto rocky protrusion overhead and pulling herself up like it was a grappling gun. Ditto yelped and swung away, swinging from stalactite to stalactite as easy as a monkey through the trees.
"Thanks stalagmites or stalactites! Or, ya know, whatever you are. I always forget," Ditto said to himself before realizing what he was doing. "And now I'm talking to a cave. I gotta get outta here!" he cried.
"You think you have to leave this place? What about me!? I was split almost a hundred times and I'm a single-celled organism!" Skurd cried, rubbing his aching temples.
"Uh, isn't that what single-celled organisms do?" Ditto asked, pausing on a stalactite as Arache used her webbing to pull herself across massive gaps between the rocky protrusions overhead when she couldn't skitter across the ceiling on her jointed legs.
"Yes, but not like this!" Skurd cried. "Now get a move on, dear boy! If you go, I go! And I'd rather not become some hideous hag's dinner!"
"Hideous hag!? You will die first, Pond Scum!" Arachne hissed.
"POND SCUM! That's it!" Skurd roared as he pressed himself down on the Omnitrix symbol on Ditto's head, activating a dull transformation instead of accessing a set of alien DNA. His skin began to harden into a rich, brown exoskeleton as his teeth fused together into two tough plates. His fingers began to crunch and grind together until they were a single digit, forming a sort of pincer with his thumb as both digits became larger and sharper. His legs bent into long joints as his toes all melted together into a single claw. There was a sickening grinding sound as Ben's legs split in two, forming a second pair of crustacean like legs. The most noticeable change for Ben however, was his head. It simply exploded in size, growing to be almost five times bigger than his human head had been. Whiskers sprouted from his disappearing eyebrows and chin as Ben felt his brain getting bigger and bigger. He could soon see the world more than just a TV show he could interact in. Rather, he literally began to see how the world worked. Complex equations mapped out the quickest and safest escape routes, analyzed the stunned officer's face and body language, cataloged the different ways it could improve the building's circuity. A green and black neck brace and loincloth appeared around his body, the Omnitrix and Skurd at the center of the neck brace. The transformation was complete.
"Skurd, my slimy, single-celled friend, this seems hardly the time for such a tedious act." Brainstorm noted as he dug his jointed legs into the rock overhead, hanging upside down above the arena.
"Don't care!" Skurd cried, oozing himself over one of Brainstorm's claws morphing it into a Petrosapein arm complete with a very big and very pointy sword. Arache hesitated upon seeing the weapon but lunged forward nonetheless, landing on the stalactite directly opposite of the Cerebrocrustacean.
"Greetings, my arachnid friend," Brianstorm addressed Arachne. "It's time for you to do the right thing and-"
His was interrupted when Arachne opened her mouth and shot a blast of webbing in his face.
"Amusing," Brainstorm grumbled sarcastically, tearing the silk from his face. "Now I'm afraid I must insist that you position you posterior firmly into a surrendering orientation."
Arachne frowned and spat another shot of webbing at his face.
"You, realize of course, that I'm interpreting your inappropriately aggressive response, as an act of war!" Brainstorm announced before swinging his Petrosapien sword at the gigantic spider before him. Arachne quickly jumped out of the way and spat another round of silk at Brainstorm's face before landing next to him and spitting out another jet of webbing that pinned his Petrosapien arm to the rock. She then did the same thing to his other arm, sword, jointed legs, and massive head before stopping and pausing to lick her lips hungrily.
"See here, now!" Brainstorm cried angrily. "I demand that you release me, toot-sweet!"
Arache smiled hungrily. "Yeah. I don't think so." she purred with an innocent tone. Brainstorm frowned and quickly twitched his Petrosapien arm, allowing enough movement slice through the webbing restraining it. With a quick movement of his weapon, he sliced the rest of himself free and pointed his sword at Arachne, the very tip touching her nose. "I reiterate myself: surrender now!" he ordered.
"Yeah. Still don't think so!" Arachne hissed angrily, swiping one of her jointed legs under Brainstorm's own legs and separating him from the stalactite. With a girly scream, the Cerebrocrustacean tumbled back down to the arena floor, landing on his face with a thud! Seconds later, Arachne landed on top of him, her abdomen pinning the majority of his body to ground; Persephone and Hailey winced.
"Do you submit, insolent insect?" Arachne hissed angrily, her talons pinning Brainstorm's claws to the ground.
Y-yes," Brainstorm groaned as the Omnitrix timed out and reverted him back into Ben. "I surrender."
"YES! HADES FOR THE WIN!" the Lord of Dead roared, his entire body becoming engulfed in flames as he jumped down from the announcement box and landed on the ground in front of Ben and Arachne. With a snap of Hades's fingers, Arachne disappeared in a cloud of black smoke and with an enraged scream.
"Hey, what can I say? You win some ya lose some," Hades shrugged as Ben climbed to his feet, rubbing his aching skull. "And unfortunately for you, you lost."
"Yeah, yeah, don't remind me." Ben groaned, cracking his aching back.
"Oh, but I do!" Hades cackled. "I believe you said something about me having to leave with my defeat for all of eternity. Am I right, or am I right?" he asked playfully.
"Don't push it," Ben frowned. "What's this favor I have to do for you anyway?"
"Favor? I don't have any favor you, Benny boy! You're supposed to be my eternal gladiator!" hades corrected him.
"Actually, the dear boy would be correct. You agreed that my partner would do a favor, any favor of yours if he lost." Skurd snarked at Hades. The Lord of the Dead merely gave a toothy grin, looking at his pointed fingernails as if bored. "And my favor would be for you to become my eternal gladiator!" Hades laughed cruelly.
Above, both Persephone and Hailey were watching the confrontation between Ben and Hades, worry on both their faces. While Persephone was supposed to be on her husband's side, she had gotten rather attached to the watch-wearing hero ever since he put her husband back in line of things. Sure, his ego had only shrunken a little, but it was a major improvement. And plus, he made her new daughter happy, having been the one to show her kindness when so few had. And if it made her daughter happy, it made her happy.
And now, she had to do something, anything to get Ben out of the miserable deal he had made with her husband in order to save his love from the Underworld. After much thinking, an idea came to her and she bent down to whisper it in one of Hailey's ears, choosing the middle, main head to speak to. The little Hydra girl's three smiles broadened and Persephone snapped her fingers, a puff of purple colored smoke appearing behind her husband; neither Hades nor Ben seemed to notice it.
The smoke cleared to reveal an old, dusty lamp that was shaped similarly to a gourd with a handle on one end. The lamp stood still for a few moments before suddenly bouncing up and down on the spot and then lunging at Hades, conking him on the head before falling to the ground and remaining still as if nothing had ever happened.
"Hey! Who threw that!?" Hades growled, whirling to find no one before returning to Ben. The lamp, apparently annoyed at being ignored, bounced up and down once more, knocking itself into the side of Hades's head and ramming itself into the rest of his body repeatedly without any sign of stopping whatsoever. Eventually, Hades grew "weary" of the lively lamp.
"GGRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHLLLLLLLLLLLL!" he roared in annoyance, his body being consumed into flames before he roughly grabbed the lamp in one of his hands. "New favor, Tennyson! Take this horrid thing away with you, NOW! I'll even throw in my chariot to take you home, just so long as you don't open it in my domain AND LEAVE!" Hades roared as the lamp jerked itself free from his grasp and continued to bop him on the head.
"I dunno," Ben hummed thoughtfully. "Throw in letting me bring Twyla back, and I'll take it." he said smartly.
"Would if I could, Benny boy, but certain laws prevent me from do so," Hades told him, taking a break from annoyance to give him a slightly sadistic smirk before returning to annoyance, trying to swat at the lamp as it continued to hit him. Ben frowned and sighed, running his fingers through his hair. For once in his long career as a superhero, he had failed. And it wasn't just a tactical retreat where he would run away only to surprise the enemy and kick their butts, or a time when it seemed all was lost until someone or something that seemed insignificant at first came just in time to save the day. No, this was a failure, and a permanent one at that; an idea occurred to him.
"Let me talk to her one last time," Ben pleaded. "Then I'll take this hunk of junk off your hands."
"Fine! Whatever!" Hades roared, finally managing to catch the lamp in one of his hands as he snapped his other set of fingers. A puff of black smoke appeared in front of him before dying down to reveal a white figure standing there, slightly blurry around her edges as she glanced around as if confused to where she was. Her eyes soon set on Ben and she visibly relaxed, running over to him and pulling him into a tight hug.
"You got lucky, kid. She didn't make to the Styx yet," Hades grumbled with annoyance, glaring at the lamp.
Ben ignored him and merely hugged back his dead girl, a tear leaking from his eye as he held her spirit in his hands. "I can't believe it happened," he whispered.
"Believe it, Ben," Twyla smiled sadly, her voice faded and far away as Ben startled upon hearing it.
"You can talk?" he asked curiously.
"Of course. I haven't lost my memories yet, including my ones from when I was baby and just starting to speak my first words," Twyla smiled before her face became solemn again. "Ben, you have to promise two things."
"Anything, Twyla." Ben told her.
"Get Zs'Skayr and Maltruant in my name. End this stupid war so we can all go on with our lives," Twyla pleaded quietly. "But most of all, I need to look in my desk in my bedroom."
Ben blinked and cocked an eyebrow. "Why?" he asked.
"Just please promise me you'll do it," Twyla begged, her figure already starting to fade. "Just promise me."
Ben gulped and took Twyla's hand in his. "I will." he vowed before pulling her into a last hug, holding her tight and hoping she would someway, somehow stay with him as she slowly faded into a ghostly vapor that slipped through his hands and swirled around him before flying high above the arena and zooming off in the direction of the Styx, leaving Ben standing there as if he were trying to hug the very air itself.
"Mmmm, a deliciously dramatic moment," Skurd sighed sadly. "I shall miss the girl as well."
"Well, at least we can agree on something." Ben sighed wearily.
"Yeah, that's great and everything, but I believe you're forgetting one small, teen, tiny, eensy, weensy detail," Hades grumbled quietly, holding the lamp tight in his hands as it jostled and buckled in his grip. "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO TAKE THIS STUPID THING WITH YOU!" he roared, red hot flames dancing across his body as he practically chucked the annoying lamp at Ben. The Lord of the Dead quickly snapped his fingers, his demonic looking chariot and horse appearing in a cloud of smoke, a large and rather ugly looking scratch on the side of the chariot. "NOW GET OUTTA HERE!" Hades roared again; Ben wasted no time climbing into the chariot and snapping the reins, the evil horse whinnying and taking to the air.
Hades was breathing heavily, sucking in deep breaths before realizing that he was in the middle of a packed arena. "Okay, okay, I'm cool. I'm calm. I'm cool as ice." he sighed calmingly, his red, hot hair turning to a cool blue in color. Hailey giggled quietly and jumped down from the announcer's box, Persephone watching with a grin on her face as her daughter snuck up behind Hades and sucked in a deep breath, blowing it back out across Hade's scalp and extinguishing his dancing flames.
"Whoa, is my hair out or something?" Hades wondered aloud, patting his bald head.
It was but a few hours after Ben had left the base. Without a word, he quickly walked through the dark hallways of the base, having sent the chariot on its merry way and hoping Hades would still be able to recognize that it was still a chariot. He ignored the confused questions of his friends and the troops as he quickly rushed back down to the main power core, a cloth bag he had found in an old janitor's closet in his grip as he hopped over the railing of the platform and fell between the blades of the still dead propellers; he could the clanking sound of Ghoulia working on the power core above. Knowing he had little time before Ghoulia was done, Ben rushed over to the undisturbed pile of Twyla's ashes and gently and carefully scooped as much of it into the bag before closing it tight.
"Skurd? Get me Teleportail." Ben whispered quietly.
The Slimebiote, for once, didn't argue and gave Ben a salute before turning to the Omnitrix and cycling through the available transformations and selecting the Vong Linducher icon and pressing down on the activation button. A green light washed over the both of them, only affecting Ben as the Omnitrix did its magic on him. His arms became more furry as hundreds upon thousands of yellow colored hairs sprouted all across his body, racing down his legs and over his chest, up his neck to cover his face as his pinky finger was sucked back into his hand, deemed useless for whatever alien he was becoming. His ears became large and fleshy, similar to that of a rodent's as they rotated up towards the top of his head, his face bulging outwards slightly as his nose became flat and primitive looking. His canines became longer and sharper as his teeth became slightly crooked, his skeleton cracking and groaning as it was compressed and shrunken down to a height of roughly four feet tall. Two, long, furry, prehensile tails snaked out from the base of his spine, cracking and whipping themselves around as if they had minds of their own as his feet became bigger and perfect for gripping, his big toe moving into a 45 degree angle that allowed them to be used like extra hands. Black, gauntlet-like coverings materialized on his wrists, allowing his fingers free movement as a suit that greatly exposed his furry chest appeared on his body with green rings on the knees and elbows; the Omnitrix and Skurd reappeared on a green and white belt around the alien's waist, completing the transformation.
Without a single word, Teleportail began to spin his twin tails behind him, picking up speed and momentum until they became a yellow and black behind him, creating a loud buzzing sound. The Vong Linducher cast a look above him above just in time to see Ghoulia peeking over the edge of the platform above before a blinding little filled the cooling chamber and engulfed him, making him vanish from existence for the briefest of moments.
He quickly reappeared in Twyla's bedroom, stumbling around in the darkness for a few seconds before he managed to find a light switch and flick it on, shrugging it off and figuring Ghoulia managed to get the power back on. Twyla's room, much like the rest of the Rebellion base, was less about style and more about more convenience. It was sparsely decorated with nothing more than a gray blanketed bed, side table, desk, and weapons display case with a small closet and private bathroom off to the side. The Omnitrix timed out and reverted Teleportail back into Ben as he quietly walked over to Twyla's desk, pulling out the chair and sitting down before searching anything unusual as he set the cloth bag with Twyla's ashes within down on the desktop. He pulled open the first drawer and found nothing inside but a gun and extra energy cartridges. The second drawer continued nothing, as well as the third. Ben then pulled open the fourth drawer and discovered a stack of neat, crisp, white paper and a row of pens in them, but other than that nothing new.
With a sigh, Ben tried the last desk drawer, the biggest one directly in front of him. After a few brief seconds of struggling with the jammed container, it finally surrendered and opened up, revealing nothing more than a crisp, manila envelope that was folded closed. Curious, Ben reached into the drawer and pulled out the envelope, turning it over to see who it might be addressed to. He nearly dropped it when he saw the writing.
To Twyla
At a loss for words, Ben tore the envelope open and pulled out a folded piece of paper, casting the envelope aside as he opened up the note and traced his ivy green eyes over the cursive writing of Twyla, Skurd peering over his shoulder and reading at his own pace.
Dear Twyla,
Let me first start off by saying that this is a little weird, writing a letter to my past self. But then again, Ben will probably explain the whole thing to you once he and the others get back. If they get back.
Now before I become all depressed again, I have to fill you in on what's happened. 50 years into the future, Zs'Skayr succeeded in taking over the world, and I and the rest of the Monster High student body formed the Rebellion, in the hopes of defeating Zs'Skayr. It was 50 years before we finally found Ben and the others, who we all thought had perished but were miraculously alive.
And during those 50 years of isolation, of pressure, of having the lives of nearly a thousand recruits made up of your closest friends, I nearly gave up. I nearly destroyed myself because I couldn't take the pressure any long. And with the Thing lurking with me (Ben will explain), I just nearly wanted to end myself. But I held on, always believing Ben and the others were alive out there, somewhere. And now, I have a reason to live again.
Ben.
We both know that you (I? Time travel is so confusing) have a crush on him. And now, he knows it too. But he won't make any advances on you, no matter how much you might like him, if you don't show him you're ready. For the sake of both of us, get together with Ben. He's worth it in every way possible.
And if you don't believe me, look at the back of this note, where I've taped a picture of my old self before I was reunited with Ben. It is not, nor will it ever be, pretty.
Please, do this for yourself. You'll only regret not doing it later on.
Twyla, Leader of the Indestructible Rebellion and Lover of Ben Tennyson, the Multi-verse's Greatest Hero (or so he claims. So far, I have no reason to argue).
Ben blinked and read over the note a second time, not quite sure knowing what he was reading. A note written by Twyla for her past self so that they could end up together. He had always been wondering how he could go on without the ghouls he'd fallen in love with the future, how he could possibly make things so that they ended up together; he loved them so much, he could not bear the thought of living without them by his side. And it seemed they couldn't imagine life without him either.
The door to Twyla's room hissed open and Ben turned to see Avea slowly walk into the room, obviously still tired after her short nap.
"What're you doing up?" Ben asked, lying the letter on the desk.
"Couldn't sleep that long. Got thirsty," Avea yawned. "Don't worry though, I plan to get back to it once I'm done here." she smiled before she noticed the bag and letter on the desk, as well as the fact that ben was sitting in Twyla's desk chair. "Whatja got there?" she asked, walking over to the desk and making sure her wings were pressed tightly against her back. Before Ben could stop her, she scooped up the letter in her hand, her suspicious eyes tracing over the words before softening into a depressed gaze.
"She saw this coming, didn't she?" Avea sighed quietly.
"Apparently. One way or another, alive or dead, she was making sure we'd still be together," Ben replied, standing up from the chair and taking the bag in his hand. "This is all that's left of her. I thought we should give her a proper burial."
Avea nodded. "But not before I do something."
"What's that?" Ben asked. "As your new leader, I think I deserve to know what's going on in my new base."
"Avea smiled. "I plan on writing my past self one these, too." she answered, stepping closer to him.
"Why?" Ben asked, cocking an eyebrow. Avea smiled and merely took his hand in hers, bending down and lightly pressing her lips to his, stunned when Ben quickly wrapped his arms around her torso and pulled her in. Avea mentally smiled and wrapped her arms around him, like she had in the cooling space after Twyla's death, and held him tight, her cheeks turning a dark red when she felt his strong fingers, brushing over her delicate wings, stroking and smoothing out the riffled feathers from her sleep. Now that she had one part of her plan accomplished, she decided to move onto the second half. Without warning or a care, she forced Ben's lips open and jammed her tongue into his mouth, surprised when he didn't struggle and merely let her do what she wanted, as if he had done it a dozen times already. Then again, he already had so many girls to love.
And she knew he would still love her, even with all of them to love as well.
And done!
Okay, first off, let me just say that I think the ending was a bit rushed. I know some of, maybe a lot of, you were hoping for more hybrid love, so I wanted to get this quick and over with before ending. I have nothing against hybrid love, but I've put it off for this long, and I wanted to end it instead of dragging it out, unlike a certain genie ;)
Secondly, I apologize if Hades wasn't his usual self like last time. What can I say, he's a tough (yet hilarious) character to write, just like Rath is (who I think I did a much better job with in this chapter, by the way).
Thirdly, for those of you who paid attention and are huge Ben 10 fanatics like me (I own nothing but the video games, yet I know every Omnitrix alien's species names, most of their home planets names, and all their powers like the back of my hand) you'll notice there are several scenes and lines borrowed from various episodes of the Ben 10 franchise that have been edited to suit the story including Prisoner 775 is Missing, Vengeance of Vilgax Pt 2, and A Fistful of Brains.
Don't forget to comment, review, suggest, and request down below! And if you have any guesses as to what the deal with the lamp is, let me know!
Hasta Luego!