Well, now the team will be training to beat Riser Phenex and his Peerage. Several people wonder what will happen as Bri technically can't get involved. Here's what will happen. Apart from the Occult Research Club, everyone thinks that Bri is one of Rias' Devil Servants. And as Bri can become a Devil at any time, she kind of is.

Besides, why involve Ben 10 if I'm not going to have him beat Riser to a pulp in the match?

Chapter 9: Training Montage

"Alright then." Rias said as they had a meeting in the club room. "After yesterday's little tussle, Riser's going to do everything he can to show us that we can't beat him. Fortunately, he at least agreed to give us 10 days for the rest of us to train once I explained that Bri had her Gear since she was 10."

"Cool." Issei said. He still couldn't believe he missed seeing that asshole getting what he deserved. That would've been awesome. "So we're going with a cover story for her?"

Rias nodded. "Her Omnitrix is a Sacred Gear, and she's also a pawn in our group. It won't be too hard to believe since Riser doesn't believe in aliens. That said, we're still outnumbered by a significant degree. We're going to have to be very careful during the game and not let up an inch."

"I've got an idea." Bri said. She had changed into a midriff-bearing black top and some really tight jeans. "One time, I needed to be in several places at once. I managed to create some copies to take my places, and they did pretty well. Sadly, they've all got different personalities, so the original plan was a bust."

"I won't be able to explain why I have a team of all the same person, but I could explain having identical triplets." Bri nodded before changing into Echo Echo. She split into 3 of herself before turning back to normal. The Bri in the center still looked like she always did, but the one on the right looked so happy. She gave a deep bow before speaking.

"Hello everyone." She kept smiling. "I hope we have a wonderful time during training. I suppose you could just call me Bri-chan." She was using a very polite form of Japanese, like something a shrine priestess would use.

The last Bri was scowling at them and slouched over, holding a toothpick between her teeth. "Sup bitches. I'm gonna destroy you motherfuckers during training. I'm sure Asia can't put your shitty asses back together for the most part." Her language was real crude. Did she think she was a delinquent or something?"

Normal Bri sighed. "God they were like this the last time too. Although Bri-kun was more a jerk than a foul-mouthed girl."

Bri-kun got in her face. "You got a problem with me, shithead?"

"Yeah I do." Bri countered. "And part of it is the fact that you forgot that we're still the same person."

Bri-kun looked like she was going to explode. "Why you…you… FUCKER!"

Bri-kun, that's enough!" Asia got between the three of them, trying to stop the fighting. Bri-kun looked at her for a bit before snorting.

"You're lucky I like Asia more than I hate you." She stomped over to the far wall and leaned against it, fiddling with her toothpick.

"Thank you so much." Bri-chan hugged Asia. "Don't worry. A few hours with me and she'll be all better."

Issei seriously doubted that.

(**/*\**)

He groaned as they walked up a pathway to the nearby forest. Why did he have to carry the heaviest bags? Bri's the one with super strength. They could just give everything to her and she'd still be faster.

"You're almost there." Rias shouted down at him. "Just a few more feet."

"Visualize, Issei." Akeno added, drinking some water from a nearby well. They had it easy. They weren't carrying any bags at all! This thing was nearly as big as he was.

"On your right." Yuuto called out as he passed, also carrying a massive bag. Jerk.

"Seriously?" He yelled, really annoyed. "Did they give you a bag of feathers or something?"

"Move it." Koneko said as she passed with a bag 5 times bigger. He could only stare in amazement until the bag caused him to fall over onto it. He was like an overturned turtle.

"Need some help?" Bri laughed as she pulled him back up. She was a red-skinned alien girl, with massive tits and 4 amazon red arms. She was wearing a gold-and-black dress/armor combo, and was carrying two bags with her top arms. Bri-chan passed by, a crab alien with lightning holding her bag for her.

"Greetings, good Issei." She said in a posh British accent. "I presume from you still upright that you have not suffered any structural damage from our most arduous climb?"

"What?" He nearly got trampled as Bri-kun walked past as Humungosaur, carrying a bag as big as Koneko's

"She asked if you were hurt, dipshit." She growled as she went past him.

Bri sighed. "I'd better follow her and make sure she doesn't start a fight with Bri-chan. Try to keep up." She rushed past him, leaving him to try to get his feet working.

One step at a time. He told himself. One step at a time.

(**/*\**)

He was surprised to find themselves at a fancy-ass mansion. It was sitting by a beautiful lake, and looked like a holiday retreat for a president of some foreign country. Devils must be rolling in dough to have this place.

"Wow!" Asia awed. "It's beautiful."

"Indeed." Bri-chan said. "I have no diffidence that this finely crafted domicile would simply be paradisiac to our prolonged cultivation." Issei gave Bri a confused look. She didn't look like she knew any more than he did.

"Uh. She thinks this place would be good for training?" She guessed.

"Alright team." Rias interrupted them. "Let's go inside and get started on this training."

"What?" He yelled. "But we just got here. That's evil, and nowhere close to fair."

Rias smirked at him, while Bri-kun smacked him on the back of the head. "Quit being such a fucking pussy." She growled at him. "Some training isn't going to kill you. Yet."

It didn't take long to unpack and get changed. Issei wished that they had co-ed rooms here. He'd love to wake up to Rias undressing every morning. But Bri got her own room to herself and her copies. He was afraid that Bri-kun might kill him or something. Maybe she was Bri's feelings about his perversion. At least Bri-chan was nice.

"I can see why Bri's plan to be in three places at once failed." He said to Yuuto. "One's a complete girl-girl, and the other is a foul-mouthed crazy bitch. She probably got Bri in a lot of trouble back home."

"Guess that's why she doesn't use it that often." Yuuto replied. "I don't think Echo Echo has a limit on how many times she can copy herself."

"Man, an army of Bris. That would be pretty scary. I just hope they share the pain or something."

"Sorry, that's Ditto's weakness." Bri said as she entered the room, he hand covering her eyes. "Sorry for interrupting, but Rias wanted me to bring this bag for you."

"Hold on!" He yelled as he tried to put his gym pants on. "So, where are Bri-kun and Bri-chan? You didn't leave them alone did you?"

"Nope. Their personalities were driving me crazy, so I turned back to normal. If you know how to work with one of me, you'll know how to work with all of me."

"So what do you suppose training will involve?"

"Well, Rias told me she wanted us to have a better idea of my forms and their powers. I'll start yelling their names so you get an idea what they're called. It'll be faster going 'choose Heatblast' than saying 'be the fire lady'."

"Nice. Let's do this. I'm ready to get stronger." Issei was pumped.

(**/*\**)

"Let me tell you something, Issei Hyoudo!" Bri shouted while looking like a humanoid tiger. She had a green leotard covering her modesty, while two large claws were extended from her hands. "Rath is gonna teach you how to fight better! You either do well, or Rath will show you how the cookie bounces and spits fire!"

"That… doesn't even make sense." Issei replied, holding onto a wooden sword.

Bri stared at him for a moment before growling. "I know!" She charged in, forcing Issei to start blocking her punches with his training sword. "Lesson one! Bad guys aren't going to just wait for you to attack them! You gotta be prepared for them to attack first, or you'll just be side order of bacon and hair!" He finally got some breathing room, charging in with a yell. But Rath blocked all his strikes with ease. "Don't just focus on the weapon! Unless they are the weapon! But usually bad guys will use all kinds of tricks against you!" She grabbed his blade and started twirling him around like a baton. He yelled as he was forced to let go, before slamming into the ground hard. "Now what have you learnt!?"

"Issei groaned. "Don't get in a fight with Rath?"

"Exactly!"

(**/*\**)

"Lesson 2." Akeno said to Issei, Bri, and Asia. "It's time you three became aware of the aura and magic surrounding you, and try to stream it to a focal point." Issei was struggling, while Asia and Bri meditated. "Let the image of light flow through you and be released as magic power."

"I think I did it!" Asia shouted in excitement. Issei, Akeno and Bri looked on as a little green orb hovered between her hands. Everyone was shocked when a bigger, purple orb flickered in Bri's hands. Even she could do magic better than him.

"That's great you two. But Bri, try to focus on it more."

"I'll try." Bri said, her orb getting stronger.

"How are you doing that?" Issei was wondering. Maybe she could give him some tips.

"Well you see, I'm actually a quarter alien. My grandmother is an Anodite, a species literally made of mana. I never really had the spark for it, but I guess that was one of the things they changed for me." She smiled at him as her orb winked out. "Don't feel bad. I'm a complete novice compared to Gwen. She can do things even I can't do without Alien X."

"Your cousin sounds pretty cool."

"Yeah. She is."

Akeno clapped to get their attention. "Ok then. We're getting somewhere now. Asia, I have no doubt that'll be great at this. Bri and Issei, you'll need a bit more practice."

"I know, I know." Issei sighed, until Bri put her arm around him.

"Cheer up. At least this time we both need the practice."

"Just focus on what you want most." Akeno told them. "You'll get there eventually."

(**/*\**)

Issei preferred magic training. At least then he wasn't getting his ass handed to him. He cried out as he slammed against a nearby tree. Not far from him, Koneko and Bri were watching him. Bri was NRG, an alien trapped in a big boiler-like suit of armor. Where her eyes would be was a fiery grill.

"That was lame." Koneko said, dodging another strike and kicking him in the head. Before he could move, she sat on his back and wrapped her legs around his neck, trapping him in place. "You've got to aim more towards the body's central axis and learn to strike with precision at your victim's core." She twisted her hips, tightening her hold on him. He had no choice, he had to tag out. He slapped the ground three times as she let go of him. He crawled off while Bri stepped into the ring. When they fought, things were far more even. Koneko was faster than Bri, and able to lift her with difficulty. But Bri's armor was far too tough for Koneko to leave a mark on. She'd get back up and try again. It was more a test to see who got bored first. Suddenly, Bri turned into a green goopy alien, causing Koneko to fall off.

"Goop." Bri yelled, before following a small flying saucer above her head. She was faster than before, easily wrapping around Koneko and trapping her. He just hoped her slime started eating her clothes. That would be awesome.

(**/*\**)

Lesson 4 was using magic for cooking. At least he didn't have to worry about Bri being better than him. When she tried to have a pot boil, it exploded instead. No one was hurt, but everyone decided to let her leave the magic for fighting. Asia got the water to boil easily, while he was stuck peeling a crapload of vegetables by hand. He sighed. All he made in magic training was a tiny ball of light. How was he going to use that to peel these vegetables? His mind wandered to imagining Akeno naked. Now her tits were something he'd love to unwrap. He yelled in surprise as the onion he held in his hand burst open. All the skin had been shredded, leaving it ready to cook. It couldn't have been…

He grabbed a potato and imagined Akeno's breasts naked again. Just like before, the potato got peeled in an instant. So his magic was activated by his dirty mind? That… actually made a lot of sense. Sometimes naked girls were all he could think about. In fact, this felt similar to when he first activated his Gear against Kalawarner. He started laughing in excitement, waving his hands and peeling all the vegetables. This was amazing! He finally had a cool magic power. He was like a Sacred Gear super-star.

"I think that's enough!" Asia yelled. He stopped, looking around at the mess. He'd gone overboard, peeling way too many. Just his luck.

"I'm back." Bri yelled as she entered with the repaired pot. "Rias was kinda annoyed with me for breaking this but I…" She stopped, looking at the mess he made. "Did Issei do all this?"

"He did." Asia confirmed. "He was just so excited about having done some magic. But what are we going to do about the mess?"

"No problem. Upchuck can help." Bri turned into a short green alien in a black bodysuit. She looked a lot like a beaver. As Asia and Issei grabbed all the vegetables, she fired out several tongues that scooped up all the peelings. As one tongue pulled them in, another would grab the next mouthful. In no time, the kitchen was clean again.

"Whoa. That could come in handy." Issei was impressed.

"It does in a fight." Bri said as she turned back to normal. "Now, how did you do this?"

Issei grew uncomfortable. He couldn't really admit he was thinking of Akeno naked. So he went with the other explanation. "Remember how my Gear blasted your clothes off the first time I used it?"

Bri frowned. "Try that magic on me, and I'll peel you."

"Fair enough."

(**/*\**)

After dinner all the girls went to the baths. Issei wanted to come, and Rias, Akeno and Asia were all willing. That plan got shot down by Koneko. Unfortunately, they decided to include Ben too.

He was in Hell.

"Are you ok Bri?" Asia asked him. He gave a bit of shriek. Ever since they had entered the baths, he had gone as far away from the other as possible. But now Asia was standing in front of him, baring everything for him to see. He turned to face away from her, blushing like crazy.

"Yeah, everything's fine." He squeaked. "Just, you know, having a bath here."

"Now, now Bri." Rias said as she came over. "We're all friends here. You don't need to hide all the way over here."

"I'm fine." But Rias wouldn't hear it. She grabbed his arm, pulling him along behind her and letting him get glimpses of her boobs. He wanted to change form and escape, but his brain stopped working properly. He couldn't really resist as Rias made her sit down next to Akeno. He gave her a quick glance before looking anywhere that wasn't her breasts.

"Oh how cute." Akeno giggled. "I didn't realize you were so nervous around other girls." He tried to stay calm, but he shrieked as Akeno hugged him from behind. Her boobs were squishing against his back and her hands were groping his chest. "You're so big Bri. You should be proud of your body."

"I don't want to have this body!" He cried out. "I just want to be flat as a pancake like Koneko!" He placed his hands on his mouth as he realized what he had said. He was worried she'd start beating him up for saying that.

"If…If you don't want them, then I'll have them." Asia yelled, squishing her boobs against his, as if they would melt together. He started yelling and thrashing in panic. "Please Bri. Give me your boobs!"

His scream could almost be heard back at the city.

(**/*\**)

He flopped back against his bed, giving off a massive sigh. He was never doing that again. He didn't care what excuse he'd use, he'd just never go into a shared bath again. He didn't think his nerves could handle that again.

Great. If the bad guys want to beat me, they could just stick me in a room with a hot naked chick. He blushed as he remembered how nice it felt, having Asia squish their boobs together. They were just so sensitive.

His super-hearing caught the sound of a door opening and closing. What made it weird was that it opened again not long afterward. He was pretty sure the bathroom was in the other direction. He sat up and closed his eyes, letting Wildmutt's senses reach out. He could hear the others snoozing away in their beds. He could smell the flowers from outside. And he saw the heated outlines of two people walking past his door. One was taller, male, and his left arm was nearly white with heat. The other as a girl, with long flowing hair and a modest bust. She was carting around something cool and rectangular.

He opened his eyes and blink a few times. Now what could Issei and Asia be doing at this time of night? And what was in the box? He waited for them to pass by before becoming intangible. He watched as they left the mansion and rushed into the woods. He frowned. Was he doing some more training, and not telling them because he was embarrassed? Or were they about to make love to each other, and didn't want to wake the household? There were so many things he didn't know.

Oh well. When in doubt, follow them. He used Spidermonkey's power to jump to the nearest branch, easily keeping up with them from the treetops. He nearly whooped in excitement. If felt great to do this as a human. He got why Ben 10,000 never went alien anymore. Not long afterwards, he caught up with them in a clearing. Issei was attaching a log to a thick chain, while Asia got one of her dresses out of the trunk she had carried. As he hung the log onto a branch, she was dressing it up in the dress. Ok. This was weird. He shivered as he sat there. He was in such a rush, he forgot that boxers and a shirt didn't make warm PJs. But he was even more curious as to what they were doing.

Finally, Issei stood opposite the log, and started casting a wind spell. It blew the hem of the dress round, but it obviously wasn't what he wanted. He kept trying and trying, getting the same thing everytime. What was he after?

There was some rustling not too far from the log, as Asia ran into view. Issei's wind spell changed directions as he was distracted. Ben got ready to jump in and save her, but it was too late. The spell hit her, and she screamed as…

Her clothes were shredded, leaving her standing there naked.

What?

"It…It worked." Issei mumbled. He started laughing. "Yes! It worked!"

"I'm so happy for you Issei." Asia said as she tried to cover herself. "You must need a real girl for it to work properly."

"I think you might be right. Please go and put another dress on. I want to try again." Asia nodded, and slipped the dress from the log over herself. Issei cast again, and the dress fell apart like confetti. "Again." He said. Asia nodded and ran off to where her other dresses were. Ben decided this was a good time to talk to Issei. This was weird, even for him. He sprung from the branch, landing softly behind him. Issei didn't seem to realize he was here.

"So this is your big spell?" He asked, giving Issei a heart attack. "Your plan is to weaponise clothing damage?"

"Oh, hey Bri." Issei gave a nervous laugh. "Uh just…just how long were you watching?"

"From the moment I heard you and Asia leave your rooms. I thought you were doing…something else." Ben shook his head. "Not that this is much better mind you."

"Please Bri." He begged him. "This is my only spell. Please don't take it from me." God he looked so pathetic. Ben didn't have the heart to take this from him.

"Get up. I'm not going to stop you from using your only spell." He pulled him up before giving his hand a hard squeeze. "But I want you to agree to never use this on me."

"Yes ma'am." He said. Asia ran back through the bush in another dress, gasping as she saw them together. Ben looked down to see that their chests were nearly touching. He quickly stepped away, giving a quick cough.

"Well now I know what is going on, I'm going to hit the hay. I feel exhausted." She jumped back to the branches, rushing back to her window and phasing through. All the dirt on her feet fell off and hit the window as she jumped through. He gave his body a little shake before hopping into bed.

They're probably going to have a big day tomorrow.

(**/*\**)

"…and so that is why the rating games exist." Rias had just finished telling them the history of the war Riser mentioned. It was unbelievable. 72 Noble families, and only 34 were still alive today. That must've been pretty sobering. "You guys look tired. Why don't we take a break?"

"I'll make some tea." Akeno said. Asia ran off to help her, while Issei seemed to be contemplating something. Maybe he was thinking of starting his own Noble house.

"Oh Asia." Rias said. "I almost forgot. I'd love to learn about your life as a Holy Sister."

"You…you mean right now?" She seemed very nervous. She probably wasn't that good in a crowd. But she steeled herself and went off to get a few items. When she came back, she was holding several tools in one hand and a bible in the other. She placed them down on the table and started instructing. "Let's see. I did a lot of exorcisms, so let's talk about that. There are two things you need. One of them is holy water. She grabbed a bottle filled with sparkling water. "But Devils need to be careful. It's vital that you never actually touch it."

"Is it going to make us melt?" Issei asked her.

"It'll do something…bad." She answered. Ben figured that much out. But it could be bad like acid, or bad like disintegration.

"Don't forget, you're one of us too Asia." Rias said. "This all affects you too."

"I know. So there's not much point talking about how to make it. Let's move on to something else. The second item needed is the Holy Bible. I used to read it constantly as a little girl it was my favorite." She hugged the book to herself like it was a long lost friend. "But now everytime I read a verse, I get a terrible headache and can't get through it."

"Because you're a Devil now."

Asia started crying. "I just want to read one verse! It was always my favorite." She opened the book on a page. "Ok then. Here it is." She cried out in pain. "But I didn't even start yet! Dear Lord, please forgive me for not reading Your Words. I'm trying." She tried to read it again, but she started clutching her head. As she cried in pain, she tried again and again. Ben eventually rushed up and took the book away from her. "No Bri please. Let me just try one more time!"

"I think you've done enough reading." He yelled in pain as Asia bit him on the breast.

"Give me my book!" She yelled, her word muffled by the mound of flesh in her mouth.

"Quit biting me or I'll throw it in a fire!"

(**/*\**)

Issei wandered around that night. He'd just been talking to Rias about the attack plan. Things didn't look good. Riser had the power of immortality, and he only lost twice because he wanted to. And even with three Bris he still had them outnumbered. But their members were strong too, and Bri had more tricks up her sleeves than all of them combined. They were sure to win.

"Hey Issei." He heard her call out. He looked up to see her sitting on the roof. "Back from some more training?"

"Hey Bri. Actually I let Asia take the night off. I didn't want to keep her up for two nights." He replied. He was ok not getting any sleep, but he didn't want to force her to lose some as well. He was distracted as a swing made of bandages hung down level with him. Guess Bri wanted to talk to him. He sat down, and Bri pulled him up until he was standing on the roof. Those bandages were tough to lift him without breaking. "So what are you doing still up?"

Bri smiled, looking at the stars. "I was just thinking of home. You guys have the same stars we have over in Japan." They just sat there for a bit before she spoke again. "Ever since you met me, have you ever wondered what kind of Aliens are out there?"

"A little. I've just been too busy dealing with things closer to us."

"True." She laughed. "You know, I never used to wonder if we were alone before I got the Omnitrix. It would've been cool, but I didn't really believe in them. Now I meet them every other day. I even work with a few. It's pretty strange."

"Yeah." He never thought about religion either till Rias recruited him. "What are your friends like? You told us they were good, but you never really explained."

"Where to start." She sighed. "Maybe I'll start with Gwen."

"Back when we were younger, we never really got along. She was a straight-A student and a bit of a girly-girl, while I was a tomboy that always got in trouble at school. I didn't even want her on the road-trip that started all this. But as we dealt with crisis after crisis, we actually got a bit closer. I hated it if anything tried to hurt her. When we were teens, we actually got on pretty well. We didn't argue nearly as often."

"She sounds more like a sibling that a cousin."

"I know. Ironically enough, we actually share the same birthday. We always used to argue over who'd have their party on the day."

"You talk about your grandpa a lot. Were you close?"

"We are close. And I always enjoyed spending time with him. The road-trip was meant to have been just him and me. He got even cooler when I learned he worked with aliens. He's now in charge of all Plumber forces on Earth, and is hailed as one of the greatest agents in the galaxy."

"Whoa. That's kick A."

"Yeah. He was actually meant to have landed on the moon once. The only reason he didn't was because he got recruited for the Plumbers."

"What about Kevin? How did you guys become friends?"

She looked sad for some reason. "It didn't really start off that well. We were going to spend a night in a 4-star hotel, when I saw that they had a private event involving the latest Sumo Slammers game. Despite Grandpa Max telling me not to sneak in, I disobeyed him and got caught."

"How did you get caught? You've got invisibility."

"That was with a prototype Omnitrix. It only lasted for about 10 minutes. More if I was lucky. We got kicked out of the hotel, and Grandpa Max banned all things Sumo Slammers for a month. I stormed out, and went off to an arcade. One of the machines swallowed my quarter and wouldn't give it back, and the staff didn't care. That's when Kevin showed up. He used some energy to get all the quarters out of the machine. I thought he was so cool, not having to do what adults told him. I paid him back by dealing with punks that wanted to mess with him. We became great friends."

"I thought you said it didn't start off that well."

"It wasn't till later. We… kinda robbed a warehouse for that new Slammers game, and SWAT showed up."

"The game was guarded by SWAT?"

"I know. I used the Omnitrix to escape from them, and he wanted me to help him make some cash. I was up for it, until I found out how he was going to get the money. He wanted me to help him crash a money train into a passenger train at full speed. I told him exactly where he could stick that plan."

"He wanted to do what? Crazy psycho!"

"Yeah, he was. He absorbed some of the Omnitrix's energy and became part alien. I fought him off, but he just went to kill the punks from before. I fought him, managed to kick his ass, and tried to give him a second chance. He tricked me though, and tried to get it off me. But its defenses blasted him away and returned him to normal. We thought we had seen the end of him."

"But a few weeks later, Gwen and Max thought they saw me go ape shit over a video game. I had been back at the Rustbucket the whole time, but they didn't really believe me. I saw Fourarms rush into the local mint, and followed him. Gwen saw Heatblast smashing the place up, and I came up behind her. It turned out that he had overloaded on the Omnitrix energy. He could turn into all m forms, but he couldn't stay normal. And guess who he blamed for it."

"You."

"Yep. So his plan was to get me in trouble. It was pretty effective, since the government created a team just to deal with my aliens. I eventually cornered him on San Francisco Bridge, where we had a big fight. Eventually, his power wore off. I could've beaten him some more, but I decided he wasn't worth the effort. That got him so mad he mutated, becoming a mixture of all my forms. And again, he blamed me. We had fights all during my holiday, most of them with me winning."

"But you guys are friends now, Right? How did that happen?"

We met up again when I was 15. He had calmed down a bit by then. It turned out that he was an Osmosian. They can absorb materials and energy, but absorbing energy drives them insane. He agreed to help us, because otherwise he'd get thrown back in the Null Void again. Over time, he fell in love with Gwen. And he managed to stay on the straight and narrow. Most of the time."

"And that's how you guys became friends. I thought he might've had an interest in you."

"Well…you see…I looked too much like a boy. He was actually surprised to find out I was a girl. I think it creeped him out a bit." She looked sad again. Maybe, she really wanted to be more than friends with him. "We had a rough patch not too long ago."

"What happened?"

"We ran into another Osmosian called Aggregor. He was determined to absorb the powers of a baby Celestialsapian."

"They have kids?"

Bri laughed. "I know. I was surprised too. But despite all our power, even the fact we had a younger me with us, he still nearly won. Kevin had to absorb the Omnitrix's power again to beat him. It was like a relapse. He was even worst that before. He put a guy in hospital because he owed Kevin $5. I was so worried about my family, that I nearly became as bad as him. Gwen wanted to save him, but I just ignored her. I nearly managed to kill him. But a part of me…didn't want to. I wanted Gwen to pull out some new trick that could save him. And she did. But I still have nightmares about that. About how I nearly crossed that line. How I nearly chose to kill someone." They sat there in silence for a bit, Issei deliberately ignoring her tears. That would've had to have been rough. He didn't think he could ever kill a best friend.

"So, uh…" He tried to think of something else to say. "You said you had a partner. Is this like a friend or…?

"Just a coworker. Rook is a newly graduated Plumber agent. He and I are completely different in our styles. I learnt everything from experience and use biological powers, while he's learnt everything he knows from a book and uses a multi-use tool as a weapon. He also really polite. I mean, his species sees contractions as swearing."

"Really?" Issei laughed. "Guess to him you've got a pretty filthy mouth."

"Probably. Though thanks to him, I learnt that my history is at least a chapter-and-a-half of required reading if you want to be a Plumber."

"Awesome. Any other quirky members?"

"Blukic and Driba. They're our resident Galvan scientists for Earth. They are the dumbest geniuses in the galaxy."

"They're what?"

"By our standards, they're geniuses. But for a Galvan, they make rocks look smart. Knowing how techy the Galvans are, they probably are smarter. I swear, half our problems are caused by them." They had a good laugh over that. Issei felt good. It was times like this that he remembered how awesome and great Bri was. No wonder she was a super-heroine.

She stood up. "Well, we should probably go back to bed. It's getting pretty late." She made a staircase from what looked like Lego. "You coming, or do you want to stay up there all night?"

He smiled. "I'm coming, I'm coming."

(**/*\**)

"You're going to need to use your Boosted Gear." Rias said to Issei. "Can you handle it?"

"Of course. But you said not to use it in training camp." He replied. "In fact, why can Bri use her Omnitrix during training?"

"Bri can use it because we need to see more of her forms so we can work with them. And we've had lessons with her normal self. She's actually pretty tough. Even Yuuto and Koneko couldn't beat her." And there was another thing she did better than him. "And besides, you weren't allowed to use it without my permission." She turned to face Yuuto. "Kiba, could you partner up with him?"

"Sure thing." He said, holding his sword in a proper stance. "But I won't go easy on you, Issei."

"Don't worry." Issei replied. "I'm used to that with Bri. Boosted Gear! Go!" His Gear formed in a green flash as the jewel glowed.

"Good." Rias said. "Now, again."

"Go!" He yelled as the jewel glowed again.

"You can do better!"

"More!" The jewel grew brighter. Issei did that 12 times in a row. This was the most he's ever done before. Well, apart from against Charmcaster, but he had a few hours to kill back then.

"Do you see how far you've come? You could never handle so much power before." She was right. He always ended up collapsing by now. That training really was helping.

He did it once more, and was surprised to see gold writing form on his Gear. "EXPLOSION!" It shouted as a golden circle formed at his feet.

"You're up Kiba." Rias called out. Issei barely had time to block his strike with his Gear as Yuuto rushed him. But he managed to knock him back a bit. "Ok Issei. Unleash everything you've got at Kiba."

He gave a heroic yell, waiting for something cool to happen. But he only got a tiny little red orb in his hand. "What? That's it?" Yuuto yelled as he rushed as him.

"Trust yourself!" Rias yelled. Seeing no other options, Issei fired the ball. A massive red beam erupted from his hand, causing Yuuto to dodge it. The beam kept going until it hit a nearby mountain, creating an enormous explosion that nearly bowled them all over. When the smoke cleared, there was a line of debris leading to a crater at the top. Issei couldn't believe it as he collapsed. All that power came from him?

"Fuck yeah!" He yelled. "I finally can do something better than Bri."

Bri merely smiled. "I'll admit, that is impressive. But let me show you another form." She changed in a flash of green light into a very tall white being. She had an unbelievable physique, with curves everywhere. Her wrists slightly bulged out from green cylinders with swirly stuff in them. A massive Omnitrix symbol dominated her chest, even if it was partly hidden by her breasts. Finally, her head was mostly hidden by a mask, with a pointy helmet on top. "Atomix!" She shouted out in a heroic voice. "Now teammates. Watch as I show my strength." She started charging a ball of green energy in one hand while chanting something. "Haa-mee-na, haa-mee-na, haa-mee-na! Stellar Blast!" The green orb fired off in a beam like Issei's had, before impacting with the mountain. The explosion was far greater than his was. They were all bowled over by the winds blowing away, and he could've sworn he heard glass shattering. When the smoke cleared, he nearly crapped himself.

The mountain was gone. There was only a massive crater where it had been. He started crying. The one thing he thought he could do better, and she was way better at it than him.

She changed back with a flash, rubbing the back of her head in a nervous manner. "Eh-heh. Sorry about that guys. I didn't mean to do that much damage. But don't feel too bad Issei. Atomix is my second-strongest form." No wonder she did so good. The strongest form was obviously Alien X. How do you compete with next best thing to a god?

"Issei. Bri." Rias called out. "You two are the lynchpin of our plans. Your attacks will completely change what happens and the direction everything will go."

They nodded. "You can count on us." They said together.

There we go. Riser won't know what's coming.

Now, with Atomix, he is Ben's second most powerful alien, so I imagine an entire mountain isn't that difficult to destroy for him. And as for Bri-kun and Bri-chan, I remember in 'Duped' when Ben split himself into three that one was too nice and the other was a jerk. I thought they'd get on everyone's nerves too much, so they're not in this chapter. But don't worry, we'll see them next week during the match.

Edit: Got my information from the anime, so I could've sworn that Rias said there were only 3 families left. Have changed it to include the 34 that are really still active. I even looked on the wiki and counted the number of extinct families to try and get it right.