Hello, hello, hello! I'm back and here again once more!
First off, let me just say that I couldn't have done the main idea for this chapter without Menatron the Angel of Ideas. Have I told you that you rock dude? Because lemme just say that you rock. Big time. Really, all of you rock! Every single one of my readers rocks for following me this far so loyally and without too much complaining when I've broken promise after promise after promise so many times ;)
So, in gratitude for putting up with my negligence, enjoy the following chapter!
As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!
Onwards!
"TENNYSON!"
Ben was breathing heavily, his chest heaving in and out rapidly as he ran down the empty street, the cool night air rushing past his face. For a busy city like Bellwood, where a combined population of both humans and aliens would roam the streets, it was frighteningly empty of any life; no late night walkers strolled down the sidewalks, no cars were driven down the streets, no lights flickered on and off inside the buildings, no alley cats rummaged through the garbage cans. Not even a bad guy was trying to commit a robbery; all that was there was Ben, the city, and the wind.
"TENNYSON!"
Then again, that wasn't entirely true.
The ground rumbled and shook underneath Ben's feet in a steady rhythm that was usually compared to large and heavy footsteps as Ben quickly made a sharp turn down an alley way, breathing hard as he quickly dove behind a dumpster and tried to catch his breath. He silently prayed that he would be left alone, that his opponent would be stupid enough to run right past his hiding spot and leave him alone.
"So, thought you could hide from me, human insect?" a deep, dark voice growled sadistically as he easily lifted the dumpster off of the ground and tossed it over his shoulder; standing over Ben, in all of his evil glory, was none other than Vilgax. His tentacle beard twisted and curled with dark pleasure as he clenched his fist tightly, effortlessly clenching the bones inside his hand.
"C'mon, Omnitrix! Don't let me down now!" Ben begged as he turned on the device strapped to his wrist and slapped the activation without looking at what he had selected. Muscles quickly piled themselves onto Ben's arms and chest, short, brown feathers sprouting up from his skin to cover them. His and mouth melted together like butter, hardening into a yellow, horny beak as teeth lined them. The feathers continued to cover his body, racing up over his back and stomach, growing on nearly every inch of his body. Ben's wrists and ankles began to harden as thick scales appeared on them, his fingers molding together into three digits. His fingernails grew longer and bigger, becoming curved and black as they turned into talons. His toes all formed together into two long digits, his heel bone grinding against his foot as a third toe popped out behind them, the toenails growing into long talons. A white plume appeared on Ben's head, looking like a Mohawk of sorts as a pair of large, sharp blades grew out from his elbows. Green wrist and ankle guards materialized on his body, as well as a pair of black briefs and green and white striped belt. A green mask fit over his face as a green strap vest appeared on his body, the Omnitrix appearing on the vest hooker.
"Lets kick it up a notch!" Kickin' Hawk screeched as he thrust his foot into Vilgax's iron gut and only succeeded in knocking him back a few feet. He then went for a roundhouse kick that would have knocked most people out cold or at least sent them falling, but the Chimera Sui Generis quickly grabbed Kickin' Hawk's foot with a lightning reflex that only a few species in the galaxy were known for; and only Vilgax was known amongst his own kind for possessing this kind of ability.
"Aw, man!" Kickin' Hawk whimpered as Vilgax whirled him around his head and then chucked him down the alley way, a sadistic grin crossing his face as Kickin' Hawk bounced painfully across the pavement a couple times before stopping just as the Omnitrix timed out.
"Owwww . . ." Ben moaned as he climbed to his knees and rubbed his aching skull while Vilgax lumbered up to him.
"I will ask you one more time before I crush every bone in your body! Give me the Omnitrix!" Vilgax demanded, slamming a large fist into the ground and knocking Ben back from the blow and sending him flying down the alley to crash into a stack of garbage cans. He groaned and stumbled to his feet just as Vilgax slammed his fist into him and pinned him to the brick wall behind him.
"Agh!" Ben hissed Vilgax tightened his grip on Ben, his claws digging into the brick and crushing Ben's chest.
"I have had enough of your meddling!" Vilgax snarled. "If you will not hand over the Omnitrix, I will tear it from your puny body after I crush you to a bloody pulp!"
"Now would be a really good time for somebody, anybody to help em right now!" Ben yelped.
"That's not going to happen, Ben." a sweet, silky voice hissed. The Omnitrix wearer rolled his head upwards to see fourteen figures all crouching on the rooftop above him, all of them leaping down to the alleyway and ever so slowly making their way towards Ben and Vilgax.
"Ahh, my pets. How nice of you to arrive." Vilgax purred with a dark smile.
"Pets?" Ben cocked an eyebrow.
"Did they not tell you?" Vilgax asked with a smile. "Your dear ghoulfriends, as you call them, find me far more interesting than the likes of you, earth brat."
"We live to serve, Vilgax." Frankie bowed down to the Chimera Sui Generis; the others followed suit without hesitation as Ben's eyes widened with fear.
"N-n-no! N-no! Not again!" Ben cried, trying to reach beyond Vilgax's claws and touch the Omnitrix, the one thing in the universe that had never let him down when others had given up on him. It had never abandoned him when he was alone, when he was scared, it never left him alone. It was always there for him with its soft, green glow and millions of DNA samples. But seemed now, even his greatest friend couldn't save him both death and the betrayal of those closest to him.
"Which of you would like to play with Tennyson before I crush him?" Vilgax asked maliciously.
"Let me, master." Nefera hissed, whipping out her pair of long, curved katana blades that glinted in the moonlight. Ben gulped as she ran the two blades over each other, creating a loud, metallic whine that sent shivers down Ben's spine as she stalked closer and closer to him, a cruel smile creeping across her lips while Vilgax watched with sick delight. Ben closed his eyes, waiting for the torture to begin, where he would surely wish for death and not receive it until Vilgax grew bored of hearing him scream and then decided to kill him in the most sick and painful way imaginable.
Except, fortunately for him, it never came.
A sudden flash of shimmering light swept across Nefera's body and she swiftly changed direction, plunging both of her blades into Vilgax's knee with a yell. The Chimera Sui Generis howled with pain, buckling down to one knee and releasing his grip on Ben, dropping him to the ground as he stumbled. Two more waves of light swept over Frankie and Venus before girls screamed and rushed at Vilgax; Frankie cracked her fists together, her bolts sparking as she sent 20,000 volts of electricity coursing through Vilgax's body as Venus raised her hands towards the heavens and summoned several massive roots from the ground that wrapped around Vilgax's body, squeezing him tightly.
One by one, the ghouls seemed to snap out of their trances and all attacked Vilgax; Robecca drove a metal fist into his jaw before blasting him in the face with her rocket boots; Avea kicked him in his nether regions with her sharp hooves; Jane morphed into a rhino and ran her horn through his other leg before twisting her head and sending him flying. Soon, Vilgax was down on his knees, restrained by Venus's vines and Jane's reptilian coils.
"You have not seen the last of me, Tennyson!" Vilgax hissed angrily as Twyla calmly walked up to him without blinking an eye. The Boogie Girl waved her hand over the Chimera Sui Generis and smirked as he screamed at the top his lungs, flickering like a faded light bulb before fading out of existence. Ben blinked as Twyla waved her hands over the rest of ghouls, sending them shimmering out of existence before she turned to Ben.
"Skelita's been telling me about your nightmare issue." Twyla said simply.
Ben sighed with relief. "So this isn't come other crazy-cuckoo nightmare."
"Nope," Twyla smiled. "But it's still a dream. Which means, I have to get going. So many sugar plums that must dance in little kid's heads." she shrugged with an apologetic smile. "I'll see you tomorrow, alright? In the mean time, try and think happy thoughts; that generally creates happy dreams." Twyla advised her image shimmered and faded away into thin air, leaving Ben all alone in the desolate city.
Bzzzz!
Bzzzz!
Bzzzz!
With a groan, Ben snapped open his eyes and sat up, blinking blearily as he tried to recollect what had just happened seconds ago and why he had been woken up in the first place; Spectra and Jinafire were still blissfully asleep on either side of him with Jane draped over the foot of the bed, sleeping peacefully and ignorant to the world around her.
Bzzzz!
Bzzzz!
Bzzzz!
Ben sleepily turned his head towards the source of the noise and saw his iCoffin blinking on top of the desk; he heaved a deep breath and crawled out from under the covers and over Jinafire, silently dropping his feet to the floor and shuffling over to the desk, still half awake. He curled his fingers around the device and barely noticed the picture of Nefera that was currently blinking on the screen.
"Hello?" he yawned.
"Ben? Ben, are you there?" Nefera's slightly panicked voice came from the other end.
"What's up?" Ben asked, still only half awake.
"I need you to get over here right now!"
Ben blinked and glanced at the clock on the wall next to the door. "Nefera, it's one in the morning. Why do I need to climb out of my nice, warm bed and rush out into the freezing cold to come over to your house?" he asked with a deadpanned tone.
"Because our relationship is at stake!" Nefera hissed.
"Meaning?" Ben wondered.
Nefera sighed with annoyance, though Ben couldn't tell if it was directed at him or not. "My dad found out about our relationship; he's not too happy that I'm dating that isn't famous or royalty."
This seemed to snap Ben back into reality; when it came to Nefera's father, their relationship had been somewhat rocky. In fact, the entire reason Nefera had been her original jerky attitude to Cleo and pretty much everyone around her was because of her father insisting that she should only look out for herself when the world fought against her. "Does he know I'm a Normie?" Ben asked.
"Thankfully, not yet. I managed to tell him you were another mummy, although he wants to meet you and make sure your up to his standards." Nefera replied.
"Alright, when do we meet?" Ben asked.
"Now." Nefera told him. "He only just got back from a business trip and wants to meet you now. And if there's one thing my father hates more than traitorous relatives, it's being kept waiting."
Ben sighed. "Alright, I be over there in a few minutes. Just try to keep him distracted long enough for me to transform."
"I'll try." Nefera sighed before hanging up.
"And here I was hoping for a peaceful nights sleep." Ben sighed as he slipped on his T-shirt, scribbled a quick note to the ghouls in case he didn't make it back before dawn, and slipped out of the room and down the stairs where he closed the front door behind him. He yawned again and turned on the Omnitrix, cycling through the roster before he selected Big Chill and slapped the activation button. Ben felt his skin began to scrunch up and harden as his bones slowly started to dissolve into nothingness. Four fleshy stalks suddenly burst from both sides of Ben's head, and he was now aware that he could see from 6 different perspectives until a hardened shell covered his original human eyes, and soon enough they lost all function together.A slight itching from the middle of his back produced large, insect like wings that were a dull yellow in color. A second pair of legs suddenly burst out from Ben's gut like some old alien horror film. His spine, what was left of it anyway, went out from his back and swelled at the end, forming a large, and very sharp stinger with poison sacks just above the point. His fingers melted into two sharp claws and a thumb, and his jaw jutted out as a few of teeth disappeared. The final touch was a rotting scent that, while Ben couldn't smell, he figured others would not be so welcome to it.
"And once again, this thing is fritz." Stinkfly sighed as he buzzed his wings and took to the night air.
"It is getting late, daughter."
"Yes, dad."
"And you know how I hate to be kept waiting." Ramses De Nile frowned underneath his bandages; literally every part of the monster's body was covered in bandages that hid his figure, leaving only his cold, piercing eyes to stare out at the world and his bony fingers to rest on his staff.
"Yes, dad." Nefera sighed, pinching her brow; she was dressed in a simple Nile blue nightgown and black pants to keep her warm with a fluffy golden bathrobe around her back and shoulders.
"Is there anything else about this Ben Tennyson I should know about?" Ramses asked after a few heated seconds of silence.
Nefera bit her lip; if what her dad had in mind was true, there was no way Ben would be able to accomplish the task without changing his form. And if her father was less than pleased with what he saw, which was most likely as he was rarely impressed by many things, she never be allowed to see Ben ever again. If he didn't have his loyal servants watching Nefera day and night, then he would ship her away to some far off place where she would live her life as he saw fit and never be able to see Ben again; even with his various alien forms it would take him weeks, maybe even months to track her down. And by then, her father could have simply moved her again, essentially sending Ben on a wild goose chase for the rest of his life. "Well . . . there is one thing that I forgot to mention . . ." she trailed off fearfully.
"And what would that be?" Ramses narrowed his eyes at his eldest daughter.
"She forgot to mention how handsome I am!" a voice interrupted.
Nefera and Ramses whipped their heads away from each other to see a tall figure strolling across the snow covered grounds of the De Nile estate with an air of royalty. He was tall, about two feet taller than Ramses, and was bandaged from head to toe, his fingers and feet nothing more than patches that drooepd slightly limp from his hands and feet. He had a black headdress with thin green lines and gold rimming the bottom. Around his neck and bare, upper chest was a thick, black and green color with eye-like spots on the shoulders. He had braces on his lower arms and ankles with green gaps and gold trimming and wore a shendyt around his waist held up by a green and white belt with a strange symbol on the front.
"Hmmm. I must say, he does pass the appearance test." Ramses mused.
"Thank you, Mr. De Nile." Snare-oh bowed low to the ground before the pharaoh.
"Hmmm. His manners are not bad either." Ramses noted, Nefera sighing with relief; her shape-shifting boyfriend was making a good impression on her father for the time being. She could only hope that he would be either impressed or at the very least okay with what would most likely happen next.
"I must say it is an honor to meet you, sir, and to be with your-" Snare-oh started before Ramses silenced with him with a quick gesture of his bony fingers.
"Talk is like the desert sand: It is worth nothing and changes direction with the four winds." the mummy merely said, turning on his heel and strolling back of the pyramid; Nefera and Snare-oh followed suit after sharing a look.
"Not too big on talking is he?" Snare-oh whispered to his ghoulfriend.
"You have no idea." Nefera sighed as the three of them passed through the doors and and traveled through several winding corridors that led into the throne room where there stood one large throne between two smaller yet still impressive thrones; Ramses ignored these and merely walked to the area in front of his own throne where he stamped the butt of his staff into the floor three times, each strike resonating off the walls. A loud rumbling shook the room as the floor in front of the three thrones slid back to reveal a hidden, dusty staircase down into the bowels of the pyramid.
"Let me guess: you want me to find some kind of lost artifact?" the Thep Khufan guessed.
"Close," Ramses nodded. "In order for you to be able to date my oldest daughter, you must travel down into our basement and retrieve for me an artifact my younger daughter Cleo left down there since the last century."
"Sounds simple enough." Snare-oh shrugged.
Ramses seemed to smile wickedly underneath his bandages. "It does, doesn't it? But beware, boy, for the basement is filled with traps that have claimed the lives of more than a few suitors of my daughters. As of late, Mr. Gorgon is the only to make it out alive, though not unscathed." Ramses replied sadistically.
"I would be shaking in my boots if I had any." Snare-oh gulped as he gave Nefera one last look before descending down the staircase just before the false floor slid back into place and drowned him in darkness. This did not hinder the Thep Khufan in any way, as the planets in the Anur System were constantly shrouded in darkness, forcing the inhabitants to evolve incredible night vision, though Anur Khufos did have a more considerable amount of sunlight than the other planets received.
Without much other choice, Snare-oh shuffled on through the dust filled crypt, his sensitive eyes picking up every last detail; cobwebs hung from the ceiling, sometimes in large curtains that the Thep Khufan had to shove aside to continue onwards while dust covered bones lay off to the sides of the tunnels, lying undisturbed for hundreds of years as scorpions and spiders skittered along the hieroglyphic covered wall and dust covered floor. After what seemed an hour or so of walking along a single, dark hallway, the room opened up into a large chamber with gigantic, rocky stalactites hanging from the ceiling and a huge, black pit that covered the entire floor of the room; all that joined one end of the room to other was a single, rickety rope bridge.
"And here we go with the cliches again." Snare-oh sighed as he decided to get it over with and started to cross the old, wooden bridge. The rotting planks groaned and creaked loudly under Snare-oh's feet as he ever so slowly made his way across the pit; below him was a seemingly bottomless, pitch black abyss of suffocating darkness that was bound to kill almost anything that fell in it. The Thep Khufan took another cautious step, wincing as the bridge groaned underneath his weight; another step and he would be halfway across. But just when it seemed the bridge would hold out long enough for him to make it across, the bridge gave a final creak and collapsed under his weight, sending the both of them plunging into the darkness.
"I should have seen that coming!" Snare-oh cried as he fell, snapping his bandages out and up towards the ceiling as he fell, being fortunate enough to wrap his long, flexible fingers around a large stalactite and stop his fall as the wooden bridge plunged past him and into the darkness; it didn't hit bottom for another five minutes. "What kind of basement is this!?" Snare-oh marveled before a low cracking noise caught his attention; the Thep Khufan fearfully glanced up to see a large crack run along the base of the stalactite he was hanging on for dear life to. "Aaaaaaand, the universe hates me again." Snare-oh sighed before the rock finally gave way.
"Fantastic." he managed to grumble sarcastically before he plunged down into the blackness again, the weight of the stalactite pulling him down faster than he could send another pair of bandages upwards to slow his fall. The Thep Khufan didn't even bother to scream as he debated over whether he should suck it up and try to survive the fall, change into a different alien to survive the fall, or change into a different alien to avoid the fall altogether; each option had either drawbacks that outweighed the benefits or benefits that outweighed the drawbacks. There was no guarantee that even his light body would survive the fall, and there was no easy way to determine how far it was to the bottom. On the other hand, changing into a different alien to either survive the fall or fly out of harm's way was easier to his health, but far more risky to his relationship; he had no idea whether Ramses would approve of Nefera dating a Normie of all beings, even if that Normie had a device strapped to his wrist that allowed him to change into a mummy-like alien.
"Oh, what the Hades? Might as well live to see my social life fall apart." Snare-oh shrugged as he released his hold on the stalactite and slammed a bandaged hand on the Omnitrix that resided on his belt.
"Eat it, Ramses!" the Thep Khufan managed to cry out in the hopes that Nefera's father would somehow hear him as the familiar green light washed over him and began to change his DNA. His body structure stayed similar to his human form, shooting up about a foot and a half as the Omnitrix worked its magic. His skin turned a pale gray and looked as if it would split and break with the slightest touch. His fingers became long, razor sharp claws as his eyes widened and turned entirely green. His flat human teeth grew into sharpened fangs, some of them not entirely fitting into his mouth and then curving over his lips. Muscles piled themselves onto his arms and chest as he felt his lungs grow very large and heart start to slow. He felt slightly empty and sort of drowsy, drained of the ability to eat normal foods and forced to eat . . . . other things. His feet became sharp claws, hidden beneath a pair of green boots. A tight, black and green costume that showed off his muscles covered him, a green mask with bat-wing horns appearing on his face. The Omnitrix symbol appeared on his chest as a thick membrane grew between his arms and his hips, forming wings and completing the transformation.
"Whampire? Eh, whatever works." the Vladat shrugged as he looked over himself. With a quick flap of his wings, the vampire-like alien halted his descent and soared back up through the inky blackness, flapping his arms every now and then to stay aloft until he landed on the other side of the vast pit with a sigh of relief.
"This is for you, my Jewel of the Nile." he breathed as he continued onwards.
Nefera winced as she spared a glance at her father, his grip becoming increasingly tighter on his staff as he watched the footage fed to him via video camera; just because Ramses was over 10,000 years old, didn't mean he didn't appreciate some of the privileges the 21st century had to offer. Although he did prefer using his thousands of servants for short travel, he greatly partook in the use of fancy aircraft and ships to get to more distant locations. And when it came to technology, he found the iCoffin, internet, and security cameras, he was more than happy to indulge.
"I take it what you wanted to tell me was that your boyfriend was not in fact a mummy, but a shape-shifter?" Ramses asked with an annoyed tone.
"Well . . ." Nefera trailed off.
"There is more? And here I here I thought I was placing my most valuable trust into my responsible elder daughter." Ramses huffed as he shifted himself on the plush couch in the De Nile living room, his attention never wavering from the gigantic flat screen TV hung on the wall; Nefera sat in a cushy chair adjacent to him, her attention flickering back and forth between the screen and her father. She nervously bit her lip as Whampire strolled into the next room and was immediately attacked by a gigantic, massive, three-eyed frog with a spiked, red collar around its neck with the name 'Fluffy' engraved on a bronze name tag.
"Seriously? You went with the whole Ten Plagues of Egypt Trail?" Nefera asked.
"If your boyfriend is to both impress me and stay with you, he will have to learn our family history." Ramses replied without sparing a glance at Nefera.
"He's been through far worse." Nefera grumbled under her breath as she turned her attention back to the screen as Whampire pulled himself out from under the massive frog's girth and spat a Corruptura out from his fangs at the gigantic amphibian, his face contorting into one of annoyance when the parasite simply slid off of the frog's slippery skin. The frog let out a massive croak and lunged at the Vladat, slamming into him and pinning him to the floor. Whampire struggled for a few seconds, digging his sharp claws into the floor and hauling himself out, breathing heavily as he glared at the gigantic amphibian that seemed to be grinning mischievously at him. With a hiss, Whampire flapped his wings and charged right at the frog, claws raised and ready to rake them through the frog's delicate skin; instead, the frog opened its jaws and snapped out its sticky tongue, snapping up the Vladat like a fly.
"Aw, well. So much for that one." Ramses shrugged, reaching for the remote.
"Wait for it, old man." Nefera hissed under her breath.
"What did you say?" Ramses narrowed his eyes.
"Wait for it." Nefera repeated, deciding to leave out the insult. Ramses cocked an eyebrow, the bandages above his eyes, quirking upwards. He turned his attention back to the screen to see the frog's belly to rumble and gurgle a bit, the gigantic amphibian giving one last croak of worry before it simply exploded in a flash of green light, a loud screeching noise coming over the monitor that forced Ramses to cover his bandaged ears while Nefera smirked as Whampire recoiled in disgust and wiped frog guts off of him before trudging onwards, mutter obscenities under his breath.
"You were saying?" Nefera smirked at her father.
"Hmmm." Ramses mused, his expression becoming interested.
"What kinda of messed up mummy fills a room with flies and a pool of blood!?" Whampire spat as he crawled out of the last room, picking stray houseflies off of his black and green suit and trying to ignore the rank spell body fluids all over him, though he was sure the blood had actually been either a massive amount of fruit punch or simply water with a ton of red food coloring in it. Long story short, the last few rooms had not been pleasant whatsoever. The room before the previously mentioned room had contained stack upon stack of crates full of zit cream and the room before that had been the lair of some kind of demon cow.
"What's next, a plague of locusts!?" the Vladat exclaimed as he entered the next room. And much to his horror, it was a pit full of hopping, jumping grasshoppers, all of their big, compound eyes trained on Whampire as he resisted the urge to break down and cry. And then of course, to make things even worse, the Omnitrix timed out in a flash of green light.
"Screw it." he grumbled under his breath as he turned on the Omnitrix and selected a random alien at will; Nefera's father may have been trying to get rid of him, but he was not about to let some ancient walking corpse wrapped up in bandages separate him from one of his loves. His skin turned a metallic sheen as his skeleton began to crunch and slither towards the surface of his body, coating his entire body in a tough casing underneath the metallic gleam. His fingers sharpened into small claws as his toes all fused together into a single digit before his heel ground and split into two other toes that bent backwards. A pair of insect-like wings split out from Ben's spin as his skull was pulled back into a small crest while his eyes split into a second pair. The Omnitrix appeared on the center of his face, surrounded by all four of his eyes, as a green and black body suit appeared on him, completing the transformation.
With a sigh, Nanomech buzzed his tiny wings and flew over the pit of grasshoppers, ducking and weaving under the massive creatures when they jumped and bounced all around, startled by his tiny, glowing body. With what felt a mile or so compared to the miniscule Nanochip, he had a lot of thinking to do. If Nefera's father ever relented on his oldest daughter dating him, he was going to take ever single last one of his ghouls out on a date to the most expensive restaurant he could afford before he would be sent home by Paradox. Hopefully. As much as he was enjoying himself in this world of Normies and Monsters, he was seriously starting to miss home. He missed hearing Rook confuse Earth expressions, he missed Kevin constantly insulting him with sarcastic comments and Gwen constantly showing him up in nearly everything she did. He even missed Grandpa Max's disgusting cooking! What he really missed though, was home in general.
By the time he was done missing, he was already on the other side, but he didn't bother to land; why waste precious time risking his life through semi-life threatening and disgusting traps when he could be curled up under some warm covers with the ghouls he loved? He instead kept flying through the door opening, mindlessly swooping through clouds of gnats almost twice his size as he reminisced about the time Rook's siblings had paid a visit to Earth and accidentally brought along their crazy martial arts teacher. He was so busy remembering he didn't notice the gigantic golf ball hurling right at him until it was too late.
"AHH! What kind of crazy person has this many golf balls in their basement! It's like a hailstorm!" Nanomech screamed as he darted to and fro, dodging the pebbly balls of death falling down upon him from some unhidden source; as to why the De Niles had this many golf balls in the first place a mystery to him, as Nefera nor Cleo ever mentioned anything about playing golf in their entire lives. With a grunt, Nanomech slapped the Omnitrix on his face and was engulfed in a flash of bright green light as another strand of alien DNA was injected into him, changing his appearance. He felt his head sink down into his neck, almost merging with his chest as only a small amount of muscles built up on his arm. Several of his teeth became crooked in the jaw or disappeared altogether as large amount of fat built up around his shrinking skeleton, insulating him as his skin turned a dull yellow and thickened to nearly four inches. His eyes rotated to the farthest apart they could go while remaining on the front of his changing face as his mouth widened. His toes were sucked back into his foot, leaving the toe nails as his fingers became nothing more than dull claws. A pair of green and white underpants materialized around him as the Omnitrix popped out of his belly button. The final piece of the transformation was when several wart-like growths swelled up on his forehead.
"Ow! Ow! Now they hurt even more!" The Worst cried helplessly as the golf balls bounced off of his indestructible skin. Unfortunately, indestructible did not exactly mean it wasn't going to hurt in any way as the Atrocian ran as fast as he could for the other side of the room, crying out with pain every time a golf ball struck his squishy, yellow body until he had safely made it through the door way and promptly fell flat on his face, exhausted.
"For the love of Ra, please tell me I'm there!" The Worst pleaded with whatever almighty deity was messing with his life for their amusement. With tired eyes, he glanced up to see that his sarcastic prayers had been answered; an amulet shaped like a falcon with a scroll in its talons sat on a pedestal in the middle of room under a conveniently placed spotlight. Unfortunately for the Atrocian, there were about ten very angry mummies, each of them having been sleeping in an open lid sarcophagus lining the walls, stood between him and the priceless artifact. These mummies were not like Cleo or Nefera, no they were wrapped from head to toe in bandages with swirling shadows spinning around underneath their wraps as their eyes glowed a blood red.
"You know what, Omnitrix? I give up." The Worst shook his head as the mummies stalked towards him, hissing and growling like savage beasts. "Surprise me." he sighed as he slapped the Omnitrix embedded in his bellybutton. Ben's arms swelled as his veins popped out, alien blood coursing through them as muscles piled themselves on top of each other. His legs became muscled as he stretched upward, growing taller and taller until he was a good two feet taller than the tallest mummy. Fur began to sprout all over his body, turning white on his chest, gut, hands, and feet, turning orange everywhere else. A few black stripes stretched across his broad back and shoulder, a handful of whiskers sprouting on his face. His eyebrows turned black and became longer as they grew up and off his head. His jaw jutted out as his teeth became sharper. His hands became larger and muscled as a single, black claw grew out of his wrist. The final piece of the transformation was the appearance of a green and black luchador outfit and belt with the Omnitrix on it.
"LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN' MUMMY GUARDS THAT ARE CONVIENTALLY BLOCKING RATH'S WAY TO THE AMULET THAT RATH NEEDS TO EARN THE APPROVAL OF NEFERA DE NILE'S FATHER SO THAT HE CAN DATE HER!" the Appoplexian roared with severe anger as the mummies advanced closer and closer. "RATH WILL DESTROY YOU!"
Nefera was now biting her lip so hard she could feel a trickle of blood dripping down her throat as she dared a glance at her father. There were several different ways a father of Ramses personality would react; there was the very small chance he would not care at all and simply shrug off the fact that his oldest daughter was dating a Normie. Then was the sudden fury where he would yell at Nefera for a few minutes and then either forget about it or make sure she never saw Ben again. And finally, there was the Silent Fury that Nefera dreaded the most, where Ramses would refrain from talking for hours on end sometimes before suddenly exploding in a fit of rage that did not end well for most parties.
"Nefera De Nile, please tell me what I just saw." Ramses said in a tone that both told her there would be no arguments that sent shivers up her spine.
"A-A Normie?" Nefera gulped.
"So," Ramses huffed. "My eyes are not playing tricks on me?"
"N-n-no." Nefera admitted fearfully.
"Good," Ramses grumbled. "Now kindly explain to me WHAT IN RA'S NAME YOU WERE THINKING OF!" he roared angrily as Rath savagely attacked the mummies on screen, ramming his shoulder into one of them and then grabbing onto its feet, swinging it around in a wide circle to quickly wipe out all the mummies shuffling towards him; the Appoplexian then threw the mummy to the ground before back flipping up onto the pedestal that held the amulet and roared, "Lewodan Anvil Drop!" before leaping into the air and landing painfully on the mummy's gut, making sure to jab his elbow into the bandages just as a stray mummy came up behind him and put him in a choke hold.
"Uh, well . . . you see, I . . ." Nefera tried to avoid her father's stern glare.
"You dare soil our royal bloodline with this shape-shifting vermin!?" Ramses continued to berate her; Rath grabbed the offending mummy by the head and hurled him against the opposite wall before whirling around and slugging another one in the face. The rest of the mummies were starting to come to and pull themselves up from the floor as Rath reached behind him and grabbed two sarcophagi from the wall.
"Tetramand Cymbal Clap!" the Appoplexian bellowed as he slammed the cases together like a pair of cymbals over an unfortunate mummy's head, smirking with satisfaction when the mummy exploded into a cloud of ancient dust and bandages. Rath then whirled around and cracked one of the sarcophagi over the head of another mummy before slamming the other one into a third mummy's chest; both mummies exploded into dust and bandages as the sarcophagi collapsed into shards of stone and valuable minerals.
Ooh! Shiny!" Rath grinned upon seeing the glimmering gold. "Rath likes shiny!"
"It wouldn't be so bad, daughter, if he was a mummy like us, but you to pick a Normie of all creatures!?" Ramses roared loudly as Nefera cowered under his stern glare; Rath was down on the ground now, tussling with one of the large mummies as they rolled back and forth along the floor of the chamber. The Appoplexian eventually ended up on top of his opponent and slugged him twice in the head before grabbing him by the shoulders and screaming, "Satyrian Headbutt!" before ramming the bandaged corpse in the head and throwing him against the wall, not even bothering to watch him explode into dust as he roared tackled the next mummy to approach him to the ground.
"Parae Cortarix Chop!" Rath bellowed as he threw his opponent into the wall and before karate chopping the poor mummy in the area between his neck and shoulders, forcing his head down just in time to get a swift uppercut to his jaw; the Appoplexian then grabbed him roughly by the shoulders and throwing him into an approaching mummy, knocking both of them to the ground. "Asteroid Body Slam!" Rath cried as he threw himself at the two mummies and landed with a sickening crack on them, dissolving them into a cloud of dust.
"Look out he treats our culture!" Ramses continued on as Rath grabbed another sarcophagus, yelling "Thep Khufan Sarcophagus Shot!" before he beat another mummy over the head with it and then threw it at another one, smirking when they both exploded into dust.
"They attacked him first, dad!" Nefera protested.
"With incredible skill, I must admit." Ramses added bitterly as Rath was suddenly attacked by the remaining mummies all at once, tackling him to the ground and restraining him anyway they could to avenge their fallen comrades as the Appoplexian struggled and yelled obscenities. The ball of bodies suddenly lurched and began to roll around the room, slamming into the remaining sarcophagi and bouncing around the tomb like an out of control pinball of doom before suddenly crashing into the video camera that was recording the whole battle; the device went to static and died, leaving the TV in a hailstorm of black and white fuzz.
"And he just destroyed private property!" Ramses cried.
"That was an accident." Nefera squeaked.
"Nefera Euphrates De Nile, you are to never speak, look, listen to, or interact in anyway with Mister Tennyson for as long as I-" Ramses started to lay on the punishment before the entire pyramid rumbled once and then twice, Ramses flinching with every blow.
"What in the name of Osiris is that!?" Ramses wondered before the floor in front of them suddenly exploded into a cloud of stone, expensive carpet, and coffee table splinters; Ramses and Nefera were thrown back from the force, landing painfully on the large couch that encircled most of the entertainment center, coughing vigorously as a low growl filled the air.
"Lemme tell ya somethin' Ramses De Nile, Antique Salesman and loving Father of both Cleo and Nefera De Nile! Rath got your stupid amulet back! And by that logic, Rath is now aloud to date your daughter, whether you like Rath or not!" Rath declared loudly as the cloud of destruction dissipated to reveal the precious amulet clutched tightly in his fist, unscathed.
"WHAT IS WITH ALL THE RACKET!?" Cleo screamed like a banshee as she stormed into the living room, wrapped up in Nile blue sleeping bandages with her gold and brown locks pulled back and her face covered entirely in some kind of blue face scream that made Rath startle before he realized who it was.
"Oh, hi, Ben." Cleo dismissed the Appoplexian with little more than a short wave and small smile before rounding on her father and older sister. "How am I supposed to look my very royal best if I do not get my much needed beauty sleep!?" she yelled. "And why are you up so late in the first place anyways?"
"Dad found out about Ben." Nefera sighed, rubbing her aching temples.
"Yes," Ramses rolled his eyes. "And now that I have met him, I never want to be in his presence again. Now you can show yourself the door, or I can have my servants do it for you."
"Uh . . . Rath's not good at making choices!" the Appoplexian yelled.
"Servants it shall be." Ramses frowned, raising his hand to snap his fingers and call upon the several dozen servants it would most likely take to subdue the dimwitted alien before him.
"Daddy!" Cleo frowned. "You can't get rid of Ben! He's the best thing that ever happened to Nefera!"
"Yeah! What she said!" Rath roared.
Oh?" Ramses cocked an eyebrow, lowering his hand slightly. "How so?"
"For one, she's a lot less annoying and jerky towards me," Cleo rolled her eyes. "Plus, Ben's managed to smooth out her manners, her cruel nature, and, for lack of a better word, bitch-like personality, just to name a few." she went on as the Omnitrix timed out and reverted Rath back into Ben in a flash of green light.
"And don't forget the awesome sword skills I taught her." Ben grinned mischievously.
"Sword skills?" Ramses cocked an angry eyebrow.
"Hey, a princess's got to defend herself when her royal servants and guards don't cut it." Ben pointed out. "Unless you'd like to lose your oh-so-precious daughter that you tried to mold into a tyrannical tyrant?"
"That was the point!" Ramses roared. "She will never be fit to rule a kingdom if she is soft!"
"And yet, Cleo is clearly the better child." Ben shook his head. "She's got a network of close friends she can rely on when tasks are too big, a guy who loves her unconditionally, and an actual heart at her core; you took all of that away from Nefera when you were trying to prepare her for the throne. But you only made things worse."
"What are you saying?" Ramses narrowed his eyes.
"I'm no parenting expert, but I'm pretty sure having your daughter refuse to show up for any appointment you've set up for her is a sign of bad parenting."
"I have done no such-" Ramses started before Ben interrupted.
"She doesn't know how to function properly in the real world because she's lived such a sheltered life where she can have everything she wants at her fingertips without even lifting said finger. That made her lazy and reluctant to do anything that required actually working." Ben frowned as he sat down on the couch next to Nefera. "Now you can either let us continue to be together and try to fix all the damage you did to her, or I can go Humungousaur on your butt right now and mop the floor with it."
"You dare threaten a pharaoh!?" Ramses snarled.
"No, I dare to threaten my ghoulfriend's uncaring father." Ben narrowed his eyes. "If you truly loved your daughter, you would let her lead her own life as she saw fit instead of trying to turn her into a younger version of yourself. She never be like you because she doesn't want to be like you. She doesn't want to a cruel ruler that controls her subjects with fear. She wants to be ruler that controls her subjects with respect. And if that's not a good enough reason for us to stay together, then I don't know what is."
"You know he's right, Daddy." Cleo shook her head as her father remained stunned, absolutely silent upon hearing the words that slipped past Ben's lips and dared to assault his eardrums. "I'll be in my bedroom trying to catch up on my beauty sleep if any of you need me." Cleo yawned before bidding them all goodnight and shuffling back to her comfy bed; after what seemed an eternity of silence, Ramses heaved a sigh and rubbed his aching temples.
"Fine, Tennyson." he surrendered with great reluctance. "You have clearly proven your worth, despite being of an undesirable species. But from the limited about of information I managed to gather from Ms. Vondergeist's blog, you are indeed worthy to date my oldest daughter." Ben gave a big grin upon hearing this as Nefera relaxed for the first time that night. "But know this, Tennyson," Ramses growled. "Hurt my daughter, and no form of yours will be able to save you from my wrath."
Not like I haven't heard that one before, Ben thought. Perhaps it wasn't the best time to mention that he had about a dozen or so other ghouls that he was in love with at the moment. At least, not until he could Ramses to like him better.
"It's late, Ben," Nefera reminded him. "Would you like to spend the night? I can't imagine flying through the snow is pleasant, even if you change into Big Chill." Ben took one glance at Ramses and nodded once the mummy had rolled his eyes and agreed with great reluctance.
"Great! You can sleep with me!" Nefera squealed happily.
"Wait, what!?" Ben managed to yelp before Nefera grabbed his wrist and dragged him down the hallway towards Nefera's room.
"Keep it clean, you two!" Ben heard Ramses call from the living room as he was pulled down several more twists and turns that he quickly lost track of before Nefera finally dragged him into her room and shoved him towards the bed and pulled the door shut behind him.
"Relax, Ben," she smiled teasingly. "I'm not gonna get you in trouble with my father just have you managed to cool his jets."
"Oh, so you're gonna get in trouble later?" Ben asked sarcastically.
"Maybe," Nefera shrugged as she sat down on the bed next to Ben and leaned into his frame, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him lightly. "But for the moment, do you think you can give me a massage? I've so stressed for the last few hours."
"If this turns into something I'll regret later on, I am marching right out the door and not coming back until morning." Ben threatened.
"Relax." Nefera repeated. "Now make with the magic hands!"
"If my queen commands it." Ben smiled as he cracked his fingers and rested them upon Nefera's shoulders; the mummy sucked in a breath slightly before she relaxed as Ben gently pinched her stiff muscle tissue, slowly rolling her his fingers along her skin and applying pressure to stiff spots that would have made Nefera's body moan with protest. She moaned slightly as Ben moved his hands farther down her back, gently punching her sore muscles with his clenched fists before rubbing his hands across her, his movements becoming more limited as Nefera ever so slowly leaned back into his frame with exhaustion. Her eyes were slowly drooping shut as she rested against Ben's strong frame, her breathing becoming more shallower and laggard.
Ben took this as a sign that Nefera was satiated with his work and moved her down along the length of the bed, scooting over to the other side of the bed and slipping his shirt off before pulling the covers over Nefera and leaving his side of the bed; should Ramses get the idea to check up on the two of them, he didn't want the already suspicious father to get the wrong idea.
"Good night, my Jewel of the Nile." Ben yawned as he dozed off on the silk sheets next to his ghoulfriend.
The sun was slowly starting to creep over the horizon, sending beams of light twinkling through the icicles that hung from the homes and bare branch trees of New Salem and creating twinkling, shimmering displays that dazzled the eye. The air was crisp and cool, the still morning air occasionally being broken with the sweet song of a chickadee or low bellow of yawning dragon that had awoken during its winter hibernation. The occasional car would drive through the slush filled street, sending up glittering waves of the contaminated snow and ice before its loud hum was no more and it had vanished into the distance.
"Morning, Ben." Nefera sighed happily as she nuzzled her head onto her boyfriend's chest. Ben stirred for a moment, his chest sucking in a deep breath that pushed Nefera's head up with ease before his lose limbs stiffened and he stretched his still muscles, blinking his bleary eyes and trying stifle his awful morning breath as Nefera hugged him a little tighter. It was then that he noticed that somehow during the night, Nefera had rolled over and ended up right next to him, taking the covers with her and enveloping them both in a world of warmth and comfort; he immediately started to readjust himself, should Ramses decide to drop in, but Nefera held him nice and fast in his spot.
"What is your deal, Ben? You're acting like I have a case of Dragon Pox!" Nefera wondered.
"Your father . . ." Ben yawned.
"Oh, forget about him, Ben." Nefera rolled her eyes. "I don't care what he says, and Cleo didn't care either when he found out that Deuce was her boyfriend."
"I just don't want to lose you, is all." Ben murmured; Nefera smiled and hugged him a little tighter, simply enjoying the moment of being alone in complete solitude with her love. That is, until she remembered something.
"Oh, Sphinx! We're going to be late!" she hissed.
"For what?" Ben wondered.
"We were all going to open presents together!" Nefera reminded him; Ben blinked before slapping himself upside the head before throwing himself and Nefera off of the bed and towards their separate choice of attire; Ben simply slipped his T-shirt back over his head while Nefera grabbed some clothes and disappeared into her private bathroom to change as Ben sat on the bed, trying rub the sleep from his eyes. After what seemed like hours of waiting, the bathroom door opened back up in a cloud of warm steam, Nefera emerging like a wandering spirit of unimaginable beauty; she came out wearing her hair tied up into a tight bun with a thin, golden crown around her head and feathered earrings no doubt having been made from some of Egypt's finest bird feathers. She wore a brace around her upper left arm and lower right wrist with a lose, white shirt covered in golden beetles that exposed her midriff. Around her waist she wore a gold belt with a scarab beetle buckle and tight, black, blue, and white pants designed to look like wrapped bandages that showed off her curves with a pair of black and gold pumps on her feet.
"Beautiful as always." Ben grinned as he got up from the bed and stretched before turning to the Omnitrix and cycling through the available transformations before selecting Terraspin and slapping the activation button, engulfing himself in a flash of green light. His skin turned a light lavender in color, his entire body shrinking down to about half a foot tall. Ben felt an itching on his backside and craned his neck to watch as seemingly fragile, butterfly-like wings sprouted and began to automatically flap to keep his small body size airborne. His toes melted together into two small claws as white gloves appeared over his delicate fingers. His cheeks turned pink and rosy as his hair turned violet and curled back. His ears became pointed and elf like as a green and black dress covered him, the transformation complete when the Omnitrix appeared on his chest.
"Close but rrrrrr no cigar, Omnitrix! I can fly, but I'm too small!" the Nemuina pouted as Nefera smiled upon seeing him, finding him as adorable as a little puppy just days old; Pesky Dust was not so amused as he slapped the Omnitrix on his chest and waited as the brilliant green light did its work. His skin began to crawl as it hardened smoothed into something similar to an exoskeleton, yet not at the same time. It turned black as it raced over his body, blue blotches with lighter centers appearing all over him. His fingers became sharper as they turned into claws, and he could feel his toes melt into toe as a third claw sprouted from his heel with a loud grinding sound. His teeth fused together into two plates that felt like they could bite through almost anything as his eyes widened and became larger, turning a bright green with three dots. Muscles piled themselves up on his chest and arms, but the most important and noticeable change however, was the itching sensation he got on his back and head. With a sudden, sickly sound, four large wings ripped out of his back, bigger than his entire body. Two large antennae burst out of his head. The wings and antennae flapped around for a few seconds before gently and silently wrapping around their owner like a cloak. The final piece of the transformation was a suddenly chilled feeling in his core, a feeling that ran through his veins and arteries that felt as cold as ice; the transformation was complete.
"Big Chill? It'll do." he sighed as he folded his large wings over his hunched forward, still standing a good few feet over Nefera despite his stature. Once the mummy had quickly thrown over an expensive, deep blue fur coat with white trimmings, the Necrofriggian gave a quick flap of his wings and hopped onto her shoulder, gently digging his claws into the thick cloth of the coat and flapping his large wings as he steered them towards the large bay window; at the last second, he forced every cell in his and Nefera's body to shimmer and waver, becoming intangible and wisp-like in appearance as they phased directly through the wall and out into the cold, morning air before they became solid once more.
"So that's what being invisible feels like?" Nefera shivered. "I'm not so sure I like it."
"You get used to it." Big Chill shrugged his shoulders as he flew them over the surrounding suburbs. While most families were inside, with the children excitedly opening the gifts Santa Claws had brought them and their parents watching them with smiles on their faces, a few monsters had opted to enjoy the morning outside in the cold; the Necrofriggian startled a pair of Fire Elementals as they desperately tried to build a snowmonster without much success. They flew across several more blocks and past the town square where a gigantic Christmas tree decorated with ornamental skulls, spiders, and bats stood for all the town to see.
After a few more minutes of flying, the Necrofriggian began to make his descent, soaring down in wide, open circles towards the porch of Spectra's house, dropping Nefera to the ground once they were close enough before the Necrofriggian continued on and tumbled into a heap of wings, arms, and legs with a groan.
"Not one of your better landings?" Nefera guessed with a laugh.
"Forgot . . . to turn . . . intangible . . ." Big Chill agreed with a groan as the Omnitrix timed out in a flash of brilliant, green light.
"It happens to the best of us." Nefera reassured him.
"Sure. Because you can phase through walls." Ben chuckled with a sarcastic smile as he grabbed hold of the lion headed knocker, not even flinching when the brass knocker roared before cuddling up to his fingers like an ordinary house cat, and banged the knocker against the door, a loud booming noise echoing throughout the entire house.
"It's open!" Spectra's voice came from the other side; Ben then pushed the door open, holding it for Nefera as she strolled in before closing it behind him and turning onto a strange scene.`Frankie and Clawdeen were lounging on one of the sofas next to each other as Whisp absentmindedly picked away at her fingernails above them, floating on a shadowy, black storm cloud while Gigi braided her sister's hair out of boredom. Robecca and Venus were sitting on the other sofa with a purple leopard covered in deep, black spots at their feet while Vandala and Spectra floated curiously over their heads. Avea stood next to the sofa, her knees locked and her attention now turned away from the muted television set as Bonita relaxed upon seeing it was only her boyfriend and fellow ghoulfriend; Skelita sat in the remaining arm chair while Twyla lurked in its shadow as Lorna tried to stifle a yawn and Lilith rubbed the sleep from her eyes; Jinafire was curled up at Skelita's feet, still dozing, as Charmcaster came walking from the kitchen with Dragoon on her heals, their expressions similar to the others. What was most strange about the scene however, was that there were two familiar gentleman standing on either side of the TV, the former leaning on his cane and the other fiddling with his mechanical arm.
"Paradox? Hexiciah? What's going on?" Ben asked worriedly; normally when either of the time travelers showed up, it was never a good sign. If both of them showed up in the same place at the same time, then things must have been at an all time low.
"So you don't know what's going on either?" Dragoon muttered as he sat on the arm of the sofa Venus and Robecca were currently residing on.
Do not worry yourself Benjamin," Paradox reassured him. "All is well and as it should be."
"For the moment, at least." Hexciah added as he finished his tinkering and turned his attention to the conversation at hand after adjusting his black top hat. "On a related note, we come bearing wonderful news!"
"What kind of news?" Ben asked suspiciously; generally one person's opinion of good news differentiated from another.
"News I am sure you will enjoy." Paradox smiled.
"Um, Mr. Paradox? If could just get to the point please?" Frankie asked; Jinafire stirred, smoking drifting up from her lips as she yawned and rubbed her eyes, oblivious to Dragoon's longing look before Charmcaster slapped him upside the head.
"Indeed, Ms. Stein," Hexiciah nodded. "To put it simply, Mr. Tennyson is now able to return home; the inter-dimensional fields are all in alignment to ensure swift travel and all is well and as it should be right here for the moment."
Most people in Ben's situation would have jumped for joy, done ridiculous victory dances, cried with joy, or maybe even done an embarrassing combination of all three. Ben however, had frozen to the spot, his expression unreadable save for his wide eyes. "Paradox, not that I'm not happy to hear that, but what about my ghouls? I can't just leave them!"
"Do not fret, Benjamin," Paradox smiled warmly, shifting his weight from his cane. "They will be coming with you."
"We will?" Bonita squeaked.
"Worry not, Ms. Femur. I assure you that you will find Ben's dimension quite desirable." Hexiciah tod her with a tilt of his top hat.
"But why do we have to go? Not that I don't want to see where Ben comes from, mind you." Clawdeen added.
"Certain rules prevent me from telling you for certain," Paradox replied. "Certainly though, it will be adventure worthy of the gods." As if on cue, an plume of dark, purple smoke exploded in the center of the living room, accidentally destroying the coffee table in the process as the cloud died away to reveal a large figure standing in the living room over them all, a pleasant smile on her face. She stood perhaps twelve to fifteen feet tall and had flawless, ivory pale skin with bright purple eyes that flickered like candles. Her long, indigo locks wavered and crackled like a campfire, thin trails of smoke curling up from her scalp as she crossed her pale, arms over her well developed chest and curled her thin fingers over her wrists; she wore a simplistic purple robe with lavender trimmings, her feet invisible underneath and her black lips curled upwards into a kind smile.
"Speak of the devil." Paradox chuckled with delight. "Right on time as usual, Lady Persephone."
"I was not aware I was supposed to arrive at a certain time." Persephone raised an eyebrow.
"Time Travel, luv. Time Travel." Hexiciah reminded her asDragoon and all the ghouls but Avea shared surprised looks and immediately dove to the floor to bow before the goddess in respect.
"Oh, not this again," Persephone sighed. "Rise. Please refrain from doing that in my presence. My husband may be egotistical, but I am far from that. Really, I can barely stand it when billions of souls and Underworld monsters do it."
"Speaking of Hades, Mom, where is Flame Head?" Ben wondered.
"Trying to forget your latest victory over him." Persephone smirked as the ghoul's eyes widened even further between Persephone and Ben; Avea merely smirked and tried to hold back her laughter while Dragoon fainted on the spot.
"Mom?" Venus wondered.
"Mama?" Skelita repeated.
"Yes, my mom. In the adoptive sense." Ben explained. "Long story short, I kicked Hades's sorry but in the future before getting my butt kicked and then kicking his butt once more in the present once Persephone searched through my memories. We all caught up? Good."
"Forgive me for interrupting, Lady Persephone, but I assume you have reason to honor us with your presence?" Hexiciah coughed, trying to steer the conversation back to the matter at hand.
"Ah, yes," Persephone seemed to remember. "I wish to join you on your journey back to your world, Ben. I would very much like to see where you are from and to meet your true mother. She must be a wonderful woman to have mothered such a brave and heroic son such as yourself."
"Careful. You blow up his ego." Clawdeen warned the goddess with a laugh.
"I'd be honored, Mom," Ben smiled. "But I assume there's another reason for wanting to come with?"
Persephone sighed with annoyance before speaking. "Alright, alright. Hades won't stop whining about how all the other gods are going to hold your victory over his head, so I'm trying to get away from him a bit while he lies low and waits for the whole thing to blow over. He'll probably show his face sometime around the next century, but I'll take what I can get." the goddess shrugged.
"Glad to have you on board, Lady Persephone." Paradox bowed. "Now then, Ms. Doubloons, if we could all board your wonderful ship?"
"Aye, aye!" Vandala cried cheerfully; the cold blue ghost pirate then pulled out a set of what looked like car keys and pressed a button on the small device. A loud rumbling noise shook the house asDragoon, Charmcaster, all the ghouls, Time Walkers, and goddess rushed to the windows to see the Salty Spectre coming in for a landing above the street outside, Aye at the wheel and with a cheery look on his wavering face.
"All aboard!" Vandala cried.
"That's not a train." Spectra pointed out.
"Oh." Vandala mused. "Uh . . ."
"I'm afraid we don't have much time, Ms. Doubloons," Paradox shook his head as he glanced at the Chrononavigator that had taken place of his right hand. "There is trouble back home that is in dire need of some handling."
"What is it?" Ben asked worriedly as the large group boarded the Salty Spectre.
"Nothing you and your ghouls will not be able to handle, Benjamin." Hexiciah reassured him as the skeletal monkey screeched and hopped onto his arm, chattering loudly as the rest of the skeletal crew adjusted the sails and hauled up the anchor under Aye's command.
"Wait, what?" Ben started before the pirate ship groaned and took off on the chilly, winter wind, soaring higher and higher into the sky as the wind rushed past them all. Persephone was at the bow, her arms spread wide like a bird as she laughed warmly at having the cold wind play with her flickering hair. I looked rather odd to most, seeing a goddess acting like little more than a child, but when one was trapped down in the Underworld for half of the year, one tended to miss certain things such as open air and the world itself; how Persephone even managed to convince Hades to let her leave the Underworld in the first place was a mystery in itself. But it did not matter know as both Hexiciah and Paradox raised their hands in unison, summoning a large, swirling portal that was the color lavender in the winter sky.
Ben was finally heading home. And with his ghouls at his side and a smile upon all of their lips, he could only hope that things were still as he had left them.
And there we go!
Ben's finally heading home! How great is that? Once again, the story does not stop here and will not stop for a few more chapters, so don't worry! Also, this will be the last chapter for a couple of weeks; I need to concentrate on passing my school year and then working on my other story plus some works for other authors that I promised to help. So be patient!
As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!
Hasta Luego!