Once Upon a Tennyson

by Creaturemaster

(After WAM) Ben somehow arrives in a world of fairy tales and magic, where following one's destiny is important above all else and the student body of a certain school is locked in a war over how to live their lives. Can Ben unite the students under one flag before the dark force lurking within the shadows ends them and claims the world for itself? The first of it's kind!

11. A Blitzwolfer in Sheep's Clothing

And here we are again, monsters and fairy tales! It seems no matter I do with ya, you always come crawling back for more! Can't you take a hint? XD

I'm kidding, of course. I love you guys and gals, you are the absolute greatest. I love hearing from your guys, the feedback from the chapters are awesome, and the creative and interesting ideas I hear help me keep this story going. I honestly don't know what I would do without you peeps tuning in to read, so give yourself a round of applause!

In gratitude for your general awesomeness, I would like to do a shout out to mi amigo, the always brilliant and amazing Menatron the Angel of Ideas! This reader is, as their name implies, is a closet of ideas just full to bursting, made evident by how all of his ideas get turned into stories or used. All except one: an Avengers/Winx Club Xover. Now, I have no plans to write this myself (already got some other works in the works), but if you are up for the challenge, go ahead and PM them. Tell them i sent ya over.

Now, I've gotten some negative feedback on Ben and Headmaster Grimm's interactions with each other, and to be honest, I am not the slightest bit disappointed; I love constructive feedback so I can better my works. So, I would like those of you who didn't like what they see to tell what they didn't like so I can try to fix this in future chapters. Much appreciated!

Enough of my sniveling and blubbering! Onto your questions and reviews!

Cloud4012 – Glad you liked it. Had this actually been an episode or something, I would have felt a shiver of awesomeness go up my spine. At least, that's what I like to think.

Menatron the Angel of Ideas – Yep. Jigsaw is one of the new aliens I'm throwing into the mix of things. I can't really take all the credit though; Isom is the one that came up with a concept good enough for to instantly love and want to write in.

Wolfslick – Thank you. Expect to see more Looney Tunes references when Wonderland is involved!

spurlinpatricksean2 – I'm not sure I want to give the fairy tale girls Omnitrixes of their own, just to avoid a cliché. Though, I suppose it would be unfair to give the ghouls Omnitrixes and not the girls. It's something to think about.

StrongGuy159 – Thank you, thank you very much.

DracoAngel17 – Before you don't fall off! I hear falling out of one's seat is particularly dangerous. Especially if one is positioned on the edge of a precarious cliff over a pit of lava. Glad you loved the chapter.

Cartoonfan10 – Maaaaaaybe. Maaaaaaaaybe not. I don't know! XD

Isom – The picture of Jigsaw will hopefully be up soon; with keeping up with my stories and my regular life, this doesn't leave much time for my DeviantArt account. I'll try to get it up as soon as possible. My goal is to get it posted at least a week after this has been posted.

Guest – Jigsaw will be up on my DeiviantArt account about a week after this has been posted at least; as for Phantux, I fully intend to give him some special abilities that'll set him apart from Ectonurites (one that does not include giving him legs). As for Valkrie . . . just wait and see ;)

Codecrash – I was actually planning to use 'Incubus' as a funny petname for Ben, but I didn't think it was a good idea until now. I can just imagine Ben being driven crazy when his girls call him that (especially Maddie).

.908 – The vision of Ben's destiny only gave the gist of what was to come; while all the ghouls will eventually be drawn into the whole mess, all of the Ever After girls shown are confirmed to be in the harem; this does not mean that there will not be more though (this also means that girls such as Ashlynn, who is dating Hunter, will not be in the harem. I like her too much with Hunter to break them up).

Gosick5233 – The enchanted suits of armor are completely mindless and are only able to move around through magic; it's pretty much the equivalent of cutting down hordes of robots in Team Fortress 2: Mann vs. Machine. Plus, Ben was Brawn at the time, and Brawn has a tendency to . . . overdo somethings, especially when someone he loves is in danger.

Luffy1010 – thank you for the kind words. Now that you mention it, I could totally see that happening to Headmaster Grimm: it shall happen the next time Jigsaw appears. As for Josie and the Pussycats, I don't I'll be using the groovie with them, mostly it doesn't have a constant style of music like Jabberjaw did.

Darkness Rissing – Yes, that was an Aladdin reference made by Spidermonkey. And yes, Ben will try to warn everyone but, as usual, not many people will trust him at this point. And yes, both Daring and Dexter will challenge Ben to a fight, the former for his dignity and the later for Raven; Briar will also end up in the harem, though when will not be disclosed. As for Jigsaw, I plan to have a picture of him up on DeviantArt about a week after this chapter has been posted.

Kaiju Fan – Wildmutt is technically based on the Xenomorphs, but I have no problem with giving the Evil Queen Xenomorph-like monsters/demons/minions to control for her army. Again, they'll go through some modifications so they won't be pure Xenomorphs, but I like the idea enough to put in when the time comes. As for Toepick, I have never wondered for fear of being scarred for life and unable to sleep at night (he said sarcastically).

Classic Lover – Yes, Jigsaw is an original alien made by Isom. He will be making more appearances, which means more references to Looney Tunes whenever he rears his head (much to Headmaster Grimm's annoyance.

Royal Rebel – I am now very terrified of you. To answer your question, I didn't list every girl you mentioned because I wanted to keep people guessing at who would fall for Ben and who wouldn't. And actually, Cerise and Faybelle were with Ben in the vision. Sorry to disappoint you with Alien X though.

The Question – Yes, Jigsaw will appear on my account on DeviantArt soon enough. As for Maddie . . . even I don't know what I have in store for her. She's that unpredictable!

Erebor – Actually, no. I just thought it would look cool. But then again, now that I gave a look back over it, I think I might been unconsciously inspired by it.

Smaug – All will be explained in due time, mi amigo. That time is just not now.

Gojira – I think Raven might have realized it. I don't know. I'll have to ask her myself.

masterart – Unknown at this time. Glad you liked Jigsaw though!

king – Nothin'g much, doc. Just huntin' some plot lines, that's all.

1985 – I'm sorry to say this, but Cupid will not be in the harem. Similar to how I paired Abbey and Heath together in my previous work, I want to pair Cupid with someone else (three guesses on who it'll be). I am considering on writing a one-shot with Ben and Cupid as the main couple though, just because I feel Cupid would love Ben, just not in this story.

501st Legion – So many questions, so little time. Answers in the order you asked them: keep reading ahead; yes, it is because Headmaster Grimm believes Ben is controlling members of the female populace for his own selfish desires simply because Ben is not a fairy tale character (or is he!?); all in due time; just because she hasn't interacted with Ben before doesn't mean she won't; and very soon. And I actually picture Jigsaw laughing more like Bugs Bunny.

Redrangerlegacy – Trust me, things will pick up soon enough!

Unknown – Actually never heard of 'Slapstick'. I mostly just based him off of Isom's idea of a Wonderland alien who behaved similarly to Bugs Bunny. Glad you liked him though!

Maverickmoxey2000 – Glad you loved the chapter. I really enjoyed writing Jigsaw. Now then, about the villain line up: you got nearly all of them. Only two of them are wrong (as to which ones, you'll have to keep guessing). The new heavy hitters make a lot of sense, but I'd like to point out that Way Big doesn't have to be strictly used on To'kustar (he has gone up against Malware and Trumbipulor as well). As for the upcoming brawl between Daring and Ben . . . enjoy!

animefan – I hope your mind can be put back together again!

luciayshadow – I'm sensing some hostility towards Grimm, no? XD Either way, the dragon is a definite and awesome idea that will make its way into the story at one point or another; look out, Dragoon. Your girlfriend just got ten times hotter!

n1ght4ury – Maaaaaybe. Maaaaaaaybe not. You'll just have to see!

Morantis – To answer your question, those are only the confirm ones. There others that will join the already massive harem, but I ain't saying who! Canon couples, such as Hunter and Ashlynn though, will remina together. And yes, Albedo has been thrown into the mess of things! This should be interesting . . .

Da999 – I have no idea why I am not famous already. I should have my star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (he declared sarcastically)! As for the poll, I took it down because I already knew what ghoul was going to make the chapter (no hints to who it is!) and yes, it is taking me a while to post. I'll hopefully have it posted up by tomorrow (the day after this chapter is out).

Enough of my babbling. I would like to thank Royal Rebel for giving me the idea to start off this chapter. I have been a little rough on Raven, haven't I? ;) I would also like to thank the always helpful Codecrash for giving another idea to work with. One that involves everyone's favorite luchador alien!

As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below!

Onward!

Raven blinked as she looked around at her surroundings.

She had been expecting a raging storm to be whipping around her, threatening to send her flying off into the distance never to be seen again while Headmaster Grimm continued to try and force her to sign the book as her friends were used as incentive against her with Ben helpless to help anyone, even himself. She expected to see her friends die by her hand one by one as she refused to sign the book. She expected to see Ben fighting his way to her to try and help her, never gaining or losing any ground against the dark, Forever Knights that held him bay. She even expected her mother to suddenly appear and try to kill her, waking her up in a cold sweat that would often take hours to get her to calm down long enough to fall back asleep into fruitless slumber.

What she was not expecting however, was to find herself in a sunny garden surrounded by ancient, ivy coated, stone walls. She found herself sitting underneath of an old oak tree whose leaves let in dappled amount of light through the canopy; the fresh, green grass felt cool against her bare feet and legs as bright, colorful flowers sprouted up from everywhere and filled the garden with wonder and color, not to mention delicate and beautiful butterflies.

Raven glanced over herself to find herself in a loose, purple and black dress that reached down to her knees and let her arms out into the open air; she couldn't feel anything to pin her back and shoulders into place, nothing to prevent her from moving freely and how she wanted. Looking down at her arms, she found the silvery scars that had patterned their way all over her delicate skin had vanished, gone as if they had never been there. She felt someone grab her hand and she turned to see Ben sitting next to her, a warm and kind smile on his face as he leaned against the tree with her and held her close to him; he looked more grown up than she remembered, sporting a short beard on his chin and looking more muscled and grown than before as he wore two, green gauntlet-like devices on his wrists, a white and green T-shirt, a pair of green, cargo pants, and black boots.

A sudden motion caught her eye; she and Ben weren't alone in the garden together. A little ways off and sitting under another tree together, Raven could see what appeared to be an older version of Cerise, still wearing her mother's red hood after all the years that had seemingly gone by. The only difference was that the half-breed was no longer hiding inside her cloak, having her hood down and exposing her furry, wolf ears to the world without a care as she laughed and chatted with another girl that was completely covered in dark, earthy brown fur from head to toe, sporting a full head of luscious brown locks that hid a pair of pointed ears, a pair of sharp, golden eyes, and a mouthful of fangs. At their feet were three kids playing tug o' war with an old piece of rope like excitable puppies; two of them, a girl and boy, were covered in light brown fur and sported ivy green eyes as they dug their teeth into one end of the rope and dug their heels into the earth as the third child, a little girl that couldn't have been more than maybe four years old, bit into the other end of the rope, easily outmatching her siblings in the game. She wore a small, red hood had had midnight black hair with a brown and white streak on one side, her entire body covered in a light coating of brown hair that could have been easily mistaken for a tanned skin tone.

Sitting around a large toadstool as if it were a table not too far away from where Raven and Ben were sitting was what appeared to be Maddie, older and still crazy as ever; the Hatter now wore a large, bright blue hat on her head that occasionally slid down over her eyes much to the delight of the two little girls sitting on mushrooms as if they were chairs. They both had wild, untamed hair the colors of blue and purple with bright, green eyes that filled to the brim with wonder and insanity as they sipped on their sippy cups filled with tea. A sudden flash of light put the small tea party on hold as a pair of pearly white teeth flashed into existence on an empty toadstool before the rest of Kitty Cheshire appeared, now sporting a pair of cat-like ears underneath her perwinkle curls and a long, feline tail that flickered back and forth as she held a small bundle in her arms with her ever cheeky smile plastered to her face; the bundle squirmed and protested for a few seconds before Raven was able to get a glimpse of a small boy with mischievous, lavender eyes and dark, brown hair and fur.

Strung between two more trees and lying happily in a hammock was Briar, still sleepy as ever as her wild, brown curls draped over the edge of the sling as it gently rocked back and forth in the breeze, nodding the princess off to sleep; the little girl in her hands that had vibrant green eyes, nearly white skin like Raven's, and short, brown hair felt the same way, cuddling up closer to her mother as she held the hand of another little girl perhaps a few years younger than her. The little girl had pasty, gray skin and twilight blue and pastel green locks with several purple streaks and wore a pajama-like dress as she she held a teddy bear tightly in her arm while sucking on her thumb with the other hand; a woman with light, gray skin, a similar hair color and style, a black, leather suit, and an eye patch over her left eye sat on a stump nearby in the shade of the trees, reading a book.

"Do you have any sevens?" a mischievous voice purred.

"Off with your head!" a small voice squeaked.

"Just like mother." Raven heard Lizzie smile proudly. A quick turn of her head and she found the Queen of Hearts sitting at another gigantic mushroom with a deck of cards in her hands; she wore a short, black and gold skirt and black leggings with red diamonds and clubs while royal red robes trimmed with gold hooked around her neck and shoulders. An impressive, gold crown decorated with ruby hearts and glittering, black diamonds sat on her head with black gloves on her arms and white ruffles just above her wrists. Sitting next to the queen on another toadstool was a little girl with pale skin, bright red hair with a single, black streak through her hair, and a large black diamond over the right side of her face, highlighting her bright, green eyes and small, red dress as she waved her hand of cards around in the air.

Sitting across from the queen and princess was an adult version of Faybelle; the fairy had pale, gray skin and long, luscious, blonde and blue locks that draped over her shoulders and down her back as a pair of curved horns grew out of her skull and a pair of large, black bird wings wrapped around herself like a blanket in the place of where her original fairy wings would have been. She wore a dress that was a wild collage of blues and blacks with a pair of black leggings in addition to the large, wooden staff tipped with a large eagle's claws holding a dull, orange orb in its grip; her belly was well swollen, as if she had swallowed a basketball and was still digesting it.

A sudden rustling of leaves caught Raven's attention, and she glanced up into the tree to see three figures sitting in the branches above her and Ben; the first was a woman with pale, green skin and bright pink lips that allowed several fangs to curve up and down over her plump lips at seemingly random points. She had neon green and pink hair on her head that was shaved off on one side and swept over the other, an odd look in Raven's opinion; in a way, it reminded her of Hunter. She wore a pair of bright, pink boots with multiple straps and buckles that reached up to her knees, the fronts of which seemed have massive teeth that dripped saliva and occasionally growled whenever a butterfly fluttered too close; sitting on her shoulder was a creature about the size of a monkey with tentacle-like roots and a football-shaped head filled with razor-sharp teeth and small, cute eyes. Settled comfortably in the woman's lap was a small boy with his thumb in his mouth as he cuddled something tightly to his chest, a second, smaller plant creature it seemed. The little boy had a somewhat wilted looked compared to what Raven could only guess to be his mom and had surprisingly sharp, blue eyes unlike nearly all of the other children Raven had seen; his hair was bright pink and his expression tired yet curious as he watched a pair of colorful butterflies dance in front of his face.

The second figure was a human girl with dark, brown skin in the same tone as the ancient tree she was currently sitting in, her skin so smooth Raven almost mistook it for wood; it wasn't until the witch noticed the bubbly, hazel eyes and purple streaks in the woman's wavy, chocolate brown hair that she realized it was in fact Cedar sitting in the tree as a real girl. She now wore a pair of bold purple pants with random, yellow and pink paint splatters and a loose, white T-shirt with a purple vest over it; sitting on Cedar's shoulder was a bronze, clockwork bird that nuzzled its head lovingly against her cheek every now and again.

The third figure, like the first, Raven didn't recognize. This was mostly due to the fact however, that the figure never seemed to hold the same shape more than once, constantly morphing into something different every few seconds as it lay sprawled out on the branch next to the green skinned girl, asleep; the woman didn't seem to notice or care about the strange entity resting its head in her lap as it changed in a sleek, purple stained jaguar before smoothly turning into a violet orangutan and then morphing into a lavender colored iguana, after which it finally turned into a shape that Raven recognized; it was a woman with light, purple skin and wild, untamed hair the color of black, purple, and dark pink and reached down to her waist, like that of the jungle shadows at dusk. She wore a purple skirt that bared resemblance to long grass or shaggy fur and a red top covered in faint, fern designs and with feathered shoulders. Clinging tightly to her back and equally as tired was a small, baby girl with pale, purple skin and black locks with a single, brown streak that couldn't have been more a couple months old at most, her grip tight and stuck fast to her mother's back, even all the way up in the treetops.

A happy giggling caught Raven's attention and she looked to see a little girl with hair as brown as earth, eyes as blue as the sea, and skin as white as snow come racing by in a red dress and a small, golden crown, the little girl giggling happily before she was suddenly scooped by a pair of equally pale arms and cuddled close to what Raven assumed to be an older version of Apple; the princess, now queen, had grown her golden locks out a little more, allowing them to reach as low as her waist while she wore a more casual version of her royal robes to allow her more mobility to play around with her child.

A low moan caught the two girls attention, and they startled as two pasty figures suddenly phased up from under the ground, moaning loudly and rattling their chains in a frightening manner before bursting out into fits of laughter and small giggles. The first was a tall woman with shimmering and wavering white skin that gave off a faint, purple glow as she laughed with her dark, purple lips and lavender eyes. She had deep, indigo locks that seemed to float as freely as she did off of the ground and wore a black and purple jumpsuit with chains wrapped around her legs, waist, and wrist. The little girl next to her had translucent skin as well, but her eyes were a vibrant, familiar green and her terra-twist hair was a light brown in color. Her image seemed to flicker a little between becoming invisible and staying solid, as if she couldn't make up her mind while she wore a white dress with black, silk trimming and a pair of black boots with multiple straps that reached up to her knees.

More laughter caught her attention and she watched as four figures entered the garden; the first was a tall woman with mint green skin, bolts that crackled with electricity jammed into her neck, stitches that arched their way across her body, mismatched eyes, and black and white streaked hair, a kind and cheery smile on her plump pink lips as she waved at Ben and Raven and went off to join in the card game Faybelle and Lizzie were currently loosing horribly at to Lizzie's daughter, much to her delight.

The other two seemed to be twins between the ages of four and five; the first was a boy with tanned skin, sharp, violet eyes, and hair as black as raven feathers. He wore a loose, black T-shirt with the purple symbol of a cawing raven on the front and a pair of brown pants as he ran eagerly towards Raven and Ben. His sister however, had frighteningly pale skin, soft, green eyes, and long hair that reached past her shoulders, half of which was a dull brown while the half was a dark purple in color; she wore a purple shirt and black skirt over black leggings as she bare foot through the cool grass, giggling happily at the pure, black, dog-sized dragon that scampered happily around their feet.

"Mommy! Daddy!" the little girl waved excitedly before she and her brother rushed over to Raven and Ben and slammed into them with as much force as they could muster, tackling the two of them to the ground in a fit of giggles. "Come play with us!" the girl begged.

"Please?" the boy added in a pleading tone.

Raven felt herself blinking back tears as she looked at the little girl within her grasp, holding onto her with unconditional love and affection and those big, green eyes; without hesitation, the witch wrapped her arms around the girl that she knew could only be her daughter and hugged her close, tears of joy starting to run from her eyes when she felt the little girl return the hug without pause.

---

Raven awoke with a slow start, her eyes blinking open lazily and drinking in the warm sunlight that gazed in through the window; she drew in a sharp breath and stretched a little without moving the covers or disturbing the sheets before settling back down, her mind going back over the wonderlandiful dream she had just had. For the first time in what seemed an eternity, she had experienced true happiness, even if it was only in a dream. The young witchling wanted to shed tears of joy, knowing full well that it would never happen, but she could always cry in her dreams; she wanted to cry at the wonderlandiful thought of her choice of turning Rebel paying off in the end, with everyone being able to follow their stories how they wanted to. Apple had still ended up getting her destiny and accepting that choosing not to follow ones' story was just as fulfilling as following it, Cerise had been able to come out from her under her hood without fear of being judged for her heritage, and even Maddie's wild and crazy personality had been excepted without concern.

"Morning, beautiful."

Raven blushed at the name and snuggled deeper into Ben's chest, a warm feeling sending a tingling sensation throughout her entire body as she reached her a hand to slip her fingers into Ben's and grasp it tightly; she held it like that for a few seconds before taking Ben's hand and setting it upon her left breast, pressing it deep and close to her chest as Ben turned a deep red.

"What are you-" he started.

"Just listen." Raven whispered. Ben did as he was told, not daring to even twitch his fingers in such a position as his ears picked up a dull thump thump! as his hand sensed a small, pulsing motion beneath Raven's soft skin; her throbbing heart. "It beats faster when you're near it." Raven smiled, her cheeks still a rosy red.

"I love you, too." Ben smiled, pecking Raven on the head. "When do you think we should tell Apple?" he wondered, nodding to the other princess that was peacefully sleeping next to him in his bed, oblivious to the fact that Raven had slipped beneath the covers with them in the middle of the night.

"It's better to tell her sooner than later." Raven suggested. "She'll be far more accepting of it if its quick, kind of like taking off a bandage."

"You think she'll be open to the idea?" Ben asked.

"In all honesty? Probably not." Raven admitted with a sheepish smile on her lips before she rested her head in the crook of Ben's neck. "But I'm not taking no for an answer." she sighed; Apple stirred slightly in her sleep before her blue eyes fluttered open, a pleasant smile crossing her face. "And I guess there's no time like now." the witchling noted.

"Good morning, Ben." Apple yawned as she sat up in bed and stretched slightly. "Morning, Raven."

Ben raised an eyebrow and looked to Raven for an answer, only to see the witchling holding up three fingers. Two. One.

It was then that Apple realized something was amiss. "Raven? What . . . what are you doing here?" she gaped, flabbergasted. "In Ben's room? In Ben's bed? With me? And with Ben?"

"So many questions, so little time." Ben sighed as he sat up and scooted to the edge of the mattress. "If neither of you two don't want the first shower, I'll just leave you two to talk." he said quickly before grabbing his T-shirt and scurrying into the private bathroom his dorm offered, making a mental note to buy a second change of clothes soon.

"What's going on, Raven?" Apple asked her roommate and friend for an explanation.

Raven winced at seeing those big, innocent, pleading eyes that Apple always seemed to flash without knowing it, but decided to remain firm and not crack underneath the pressure; the last thing she wanted to do was make the situation worse by lying. She wasn't quite sure what Cedar saw in lying, but it was definitely something the witchling did not want to get involved in if she couldn't help it. "Apple . . . I'm going to be completely honest with you," Raven sighed, knowing this was not going to end well. "I . . . I like Ben . . . a lot." she began. "And . . . he likes me, too. We actually being an official couple before . . . . you know, Headmaster Grimm tried to execute Ben. A little dramatic, if you ask me." she added quietly./

As expected, Apple was stunned and remained quiet for what seemed the longest time to Raven; she could hear the water in the bathroom come to a stop, signaling Ben was almost done with his shower. The witchling hoped in the name of the ancestors that Apple would decided to stay calm and not freak out like she normally did, a fine example being Blondie's most recent report. Eventually, the princess spoke up and it was thankfully in a calm and collective tone.

"Y-you . . . you love each other?" Apple croaked in a hoarse tone; Raven could tell she was on the verge of tears and quickly pulled the princess into a small hug, rubbing her delicate hands on her back.

"Yes, we do." Raven told her. "But Ben still loves you, too. Has he ever stopped showing affection for you sense you shared that kiss after the Multi-Hex Incident?"

"No . . ." Apple sniffed, forcing her tears of betrayal to stay put; she would not allow herself to be turned back into the sobbing mess she had become after Cerise's attack. That had been out of pure terror and an inability to understand why she had been attacked for a reason she was not aware of. She would not allow herself to be turned into another crying mess again, not if she could help it. "B-But . . . what will everyone else think?"

"Ben's told you he already has multiple girlfriends back home, right?" Raven suggested. "Most people will shrug it off as him not knowing any better before they begin to accept it. And if Headmaster Grimm has anything to say about it, Ben will make sure nothing happens to me or you. I've only known him for a couple of weeks now, and I already know he isn't one to give up on things easily, and that includes us." Raven reassured her.

Apple nodded in agreement, though she wasn't entirely aware that she was doing it. The princess was still mostly trying to wrap her head around the fact that Raven, her roommate, frenemy, and future arch enemy, had fallen in love with the same prince charming that had captured Apple's eye. It were as if the witchling were trying to make the already invisible target on her back all the bigger and more obvious by falling in love with a hero when she was to play the villain of her story; the princess had worried that something like this would happen, but she never thought it would happen so soon and so quickly. If her plan to isolate Ben for herself alone was going to work, she needed to act calm and collective; but on the plus side that her plan didn't work, she could at least be confident in the fact that she was sharing Ben with her friends and not some horrifying monsters that were no doubt just fattening Ben up to eat him in his sleep.

"I . . . suppose you're right." Apple agreed after a few minutes.

Raven blinked; that had been far easier than she had thought. Normally, Apple would have fought and argued that following ones' destiny was the right thing to do, even if one was not satisfied with it. At first, the witchling suspected the princess was up to something crafty, but then again Apple had been raised to be the most honest and fairest princess of them all, meaning she didn't have a single, scheming bone in her body. Right?

"So, I take it things have been worked out?" Ben asked as he walked out of the bathroom with a head of wet hair and a soaked T-shirt slung over his shoulder. "And before you ask, there weren't any towels." he added when he caught sight of both girls staring at him with red faces.

"Y-Yeah, everything's alright." Apple reassured Ben with a red face, trying not to stare at Ben's fit physic and wet muscles; Raven seemed to be handling things far better than the princess, though her face was just as red. "We should p-probably get going." Apple added.

"Yep!" Raven quickly agreed. "We'll see you at your interview with Blondie." she added as she quickly got up from the bed.

"Still can't believe Grimm fainted after that whole Storybook of Legends thing." Ben chuckled slightly; immediately after the slightly overweight Headmaster had fainted, all classes had been called off for the rest of the day due to Headmaster Grimm not being able to operate and function around school. That, and Giles had sensed an air of unease and overall overwhelming stress among the already shaken up student body and decided that everyone could use the day off to try and calm themselves down. In Ben's case, this had been spent trying to avoid stares thrown his way and catch up sleeping (waking up in old, wooden stocks was not a recommended way to catch a good nights sleep); Blondie herself had postponed the interview with Ben to work on her latest news post about none other than the very events that had gotten her the day off.

"See you later, Incubus." Apple giggled as she kissed Ben on the cheek.

"Stop calling me that!" Ben exclaimed.

"We'll stop calling you that when it stops being funny." Raven smiled, kissing Ben on the other cheek as she followed Apple out of Ben's dorm, hopefully before any of the other boys woke up and saw them in their pajamas. "Incubus." the witch added with a devious smirk before leaving.

"AAAAAGH!"

---

Blondie bit her lip nervously as she scrolled through the notes she had made on her Mirrorpad, hoping to hex that she would remember to hit all the key points and ask all the important questions that she. and her audience no doubt, were wondering. This was perhaps and by far the most important show she was about to report to the student body of Ever After High in all of her career; she could only hope that nothing went wrong.

"Are you alright, Blondie?" Dexter asked with concern as he made some final adjustments to the camera; a quick thumbs up from Humphrey Dumpty, a boy with skin as pale as an eggshell and just as fragile, signaled that everything was set and ready to go. All they needed was their guest to arrive. The Son of Prince Charming wasn't quite sure how he felt about Ben; on one hand, he found the short time he had spent with the shape-shifter on stage in front of the entire school with Raven to be one of the best experiences of his life so far. On the other hand, he wasn't sure he could fully trust him yet, considering how he had lied to everyone and hid himself away behind his transformations. The other members of their small band, Maddie and Melody felt similarly, though the Hatter semed to have somehow known beforehand.

"Yes . . . yes, I'm fine, Dexter." Blondie took a deep breath. "I'm just . . . nervous."

Dexter blinked. "You? Nervous?" he gaped. The very idea sounded preposterous.

"I know right?" Blondie laughed nervously. "It's just . . . this is the highest point of my career. I've never reported a story so . . . big."

"You think this is big, you should see me as a To'kustar. RAWK!"

The small news crew turned their heads towards the nearest window to see a roughly human-sized creature covered in rust red plating and having the head of something that looked like a large bird of some kind, save for the way the beak was serrated like teeth; the creature had a short crest thrusting out of the back of its head and a pair of antennae-like feathers growing out of his skull while it wore a pair of green and black overalls with green finger-less and toe-less boots and gloves. A pair of large, retractable wings grew out of the creatures back while a familiar symbol sat on its left shoulder.

"Ben? Is that you?" Blondie sighed with relief.

"RAWK! Do you know any other people that can turn into Astrodactyl?" the pterosaur-like alien squawked as he flew in through the window and alighted down on the floor before the Omnitrix timed out in a burst of green light and returned Ben to the world. "Hope I'm not too late?"

"Right on time, actually." Blondie smiled eagerly.

"That's a relief. Lets get this over with," Ben sighed. "I haven't had lunch yet."

"Hat-tastic!" Blondie smiled as she grabbed Ben by the shoulder and rushed him over in front of the camera and practically threw him onto the plush couch set up in the small studio that took up a significant amount of the Mirrorlab's space; other than the couch that Ben was now lying face down on, there were a couple of potted plants to add a more homey feel to it, a large desk for Blondie to sit at and question her guests, and a large window that overlooked the school grounds and made the studio look bright and vibrant when things were "just right", as Blondie often put it.

"So, what do I do?" Ben asked.

"You just sit there and answer questions, duh." Humphrey scoffed from behind Dexter while he was fiddling with some wires cords inside the main computer. "I would think even you would be able to do that."

"Don't mind Humphrey, Ben." Dexter defend the Son of Humpty Dumpty. "He's got his crown on too tight."

"Sure. That's the problem." Humphrey rolled his eyes before returning to his work. "Before you begin, Dex, send Ashlynn a hext; I think we got another dragonfly infestation."

"Noted." the Son of Prince Charming nodded before returning his attention to the camera. "And we're live in five, four, three, two . . ." Dexter listed off before holding up a single finger giving a thumbs up to signal that they were rolling.

"Good afternoon, Ever After High!" Blondie began cheerily. "We're coming to you live from our studio to give you a special report! Now, I'm sure every one ever after has heard about our latest student and that every one is simply dying to know more about him. So I have taken the liberty of securing an interview with him which, let me just say, was not an easy task." she chuckled nervously. "Please give a warm round of applause for Ben Tennyson!"

---

Cerise most certainly did not want to give Ben Tennyson a warm round of applause.

Currently, the half-breed was sitting by herself at one of the tables towards the back of the Castleteria where the light from bright sun didn't reach as far, casting the corners in dim shadows; Cerise bit viciously into a hunk of mutton, tearing off the meat with a quick motion of her head and angrily chewing as she watched Blondie on one of the large TV screens hung on the Castleteria walls that were normally used to keep students updated about school events when Blondie wasn't using it for propaganda reasons.

"Hey, Cerise!"

The Riding Hood rolled her eyes up to see Cedar standing in front of her with a bright, innocent smile on her wooden face; Cerise felt her stone glare soften slightly upon setting it on the wooden puppet, knowing she didn't deserve an accidental hit of the searing rage that growing in the pit of her stomach. "What's upon-ing, Cedar?" she asked with forced kindness, trying to act descent around her roommate.

"Nothing much." the puppet shrugged as she set her tray of food down on the table in front of her and took the seat next to Cerise; the half-breed mentally cringed, trying to keep her temper in check for Cedar's sake. "I hear Blondie got an interview with the new kid. What was his name again?" she wondered.

"Ben Tennyson." Cerise growled, tearing off another hunk of meat to hide the low growl in her throat.

"Oh, right!" Cedar laughed. "I forgot." she said before she noticed the view on the Tv screen suddenly switch to Ben sitting comfortably on a plush sofa in the Mirrorlab's news set; her face turned a light red in color when she caught sight of his charming smile and bright, green eyes. If Cedar didn't know any better, she would have mistaken Ben for being related to Daring, who was currently trying not to throw his lunch out the window in anger. "Ooh, I can not tell a lie! He's so hot!" Cedar gushed excitedly.

"Yeah, hot as dragon fire." Cerise rolled her eyes.

"So, Ben. Lets get down to business, shall we?" Blondie suggested.

"Music to my ears." Ben sighed, shifting his body posture to lay his arms across the back of the couch and rest his left leg over his right. "What do you wanna know?"

"What exactly are you?" Blondie began. "I know you and I had a talk not so long ago, but I feel that the rest of the school would feel better and somewhat . . . safer . . . knowing what they were dealing with."

"I suppose that's fair. Can't really blame them for being paranoid," Ben shrugged. "Just to make things clear, I am not an incubus. Just because girls find me attractive, doesn't mean I'm a sex demon. In fact, why hasn't anyone accused Daring of being an incubus, huh? Why's it gotta be the new guy with the watch that lets him turn into aliens!?" he wondered sarcastically, drawing a small smile out of Blondie.

"Speaking of your watch, I'm sure our audience is quite curious to know what it is. Care to explain?" the Daughter of Goldie Locks asked.

"Gladly," Ben nodded as he held his left wrist up to the camera. "This device is called the Omnitrix. It basically lets me turn into hundreds of alien heroes, each with their unique powers and abilities that I use to kick the bad guys' butt." he explained with a hint of mirth in his voice.

"Could we possibly see a demonstration? A form you haven't shown us before?" Blondie asked hopefully.

"Maybe later." Ben said, lowering his wrist. "Any other questions?"

"Well, I suppose there's no use in rereading the chapter," Blondie shrugged. "I'm sure everyone is curious to know . . . what story do you belong to? Your destiny . . . it's quite unlike anything I've ever seen." the blonde admitted.

"Unfortunately, I don't have a good idea at what's going to happen, but I can tell you who everyone is." Ben said; Blondie nodded and signaled Dexter to pull up the recording she had managed to capture on her Mirrorphone despite her shaky hands.

"What about these knights?" Blondie asked as she held up her Mirrorpad with the same recording paused and zoomed in on the image of a large, burly man clad in metal armor, two identical knights, a blood red golem, and a gigantic, ape-like creature that seemed more likely to go on a rampage than be dressed in royal robes.

"Those are the Forever Knights, enemies of mine from back home," Ben explained. "You can imagine the most racist person you know and then multiple that by ten, you have these guys; they will hunt down and kill anything that they deem to be supernatural or alien in origin; monsters, giants, witches, talking animals, unicorns, fairies, griffins, possessed puppets, and especially aliens or dragons. Don't get me started on dragons . . ."

"They sound . . . horrible." Blondie gulped; she had been raised to believe that all knights were honorable, kind, and courageous guardians of the innocent that always fought for what was right and never stopped until every possible wrong had been righted for the greater good. To be told that such terrifying men existed . . . it frightened her, especially now that she would no longer be able to look at the enchanted suits of armor that patrolled the hallways of their school ever after again.

"And that's not the worst part," Ben grimaced. "They're here in Ever After."

The news was like a bomb going off in the Castleteria; the majority of the magic and animal born fairy tales, such as the Three Little Pigs,Tiny, and even Duchess Swan were shouting and talking in loud and panicked tones. Cerise herself had experienced the knight's first hand and knew full well that they would not take kindly to such a monstrosity as her, with her wild, wolf blood running through her veins and forcing her into hiding.

"What about this one?" Blondie asked, sliding the image to the side to focus on the image of the ugly looking man that had appeared beside ferocious looking gorilla monster; the man was dress in a dark purple suit with metal gauntlets and boots adorning his hands and feet, multiple black straps criss-crossing over his chest and waist and making it look like he was wearing a specialized straitjacket of sorts. The man's face was hideous and deformed, a dull gray in color with a few, greasy hairs left on his nearly bald head, wild and hungry eyes, and a few teeth missing from his mouth as he seemed to be looking at something with great lust.

"Him? I think is name is . . . Blacksun or something." Ben guessed. "I normally only remember the really bad villains."

"Alright . . ." Blondie hummed, taking the Mirrorpad and moving the picture around to focus on another one of the villains in the line up; the creature looked like a gigantic, bipedal turtle with a nicked shell, clawed feet, muscled flippers tipped with razor-sharp claws, and spikes around his flaming head that crackled with purple fire. He wore a blood red loincloth with a bull's skull acting as a belt buckle and red bands trimmed in gold on his upper arms, a dark and vile glare on his face.

"To be honest, I forgot." Ben admittedly sheepishly.

Blondie frowned and turned the Mirrorpad away from Ben, sliding through the images of the rest of the villain line up, hoping that Ben would be able to at least remember the names of his other adversaries; she finally settled on one that she hadn't noticed before and turned it towards Ben, noticing with slight glee that he flinched upon seeing the image of an almost human looking villain with long, black locks, four fleshy growths protruding out of his skull, and dark, sinister rings under his blood red eyes. He was bare chested and wore a large, brown coat with multiple pockets and a black sash across his bare chest, a pair of baggy, blue pants, and black boots with several straps and buckles while he held a long, spear-like weapon in his grip, a stern look on his face.

"Aggregor . . ." Ben practically whispered.

"You . . . know him?" Blondie blinked.

"Know him? He nearly succeeded in taking over the universe and recreating it in his own image before I stopped him; and it wasn't even me that stopped him." Ben shivered as dark, terrifying memories came haunting back to him; while the Osmosian didn't frighten him as much as Zs'Skayr did or anger him like Vilgax was fully capable of, Aggregor was dangerous and terrifying in his own right, almost effortlessly able to combat against anything the combined efforts of Ben, Gwen, and Kevin had thrown at him before hurling it right back twice as hard and without mercy.

"Uh . . ." Blondie hurriedly panned through the stilled video, trying to something, anything to continue the conversation with; having ones' guest star suddenly seize up in terror was not very good for ratings or image, prompting Blondie to thank the ancestors when she found something to move the interview along with.

"I don't know which is worse," Cedar gulped, nervously drumming her fingers against the table as multiple, scared conversations rustled across the Castleteria, fear instilled in nearly every voice the wooden puppet caught a hold. "Those Forever Knights or this Aggregor guy."

"Pfft. Probably all bark, no bite." Cerise scoffed as she stripped her mutton to the bone and began to work on her second leg, trying to hold back the scalding and hurtful remarks swirling around in the back of her head.

"I'm not so sure . . ." Cedar trailed off, her eyes flickering up to the screen to take note of the latest picture there. A boy that bared a striking resemblance to Ben was plastered on the screen, his hair a bone white and his eyes a startling red in color as they glared at the opposing enemy with a calculating, confident look; he wore a black shirt and red jacket with black stripes of which a backwards, number ten was placed over his right side, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of black sneakers. A red, wristwatch device was attached to his right palm, a sinister and dark smirk on his face.

"Albedo." Ben snarled. "One my many arch nemeses. He was originally a Galvan that created his own version of my Omnitrix, believing a human to be too stupid to wield it; ironic, once you consider that he synced his Omnitrix to mine, making my DNA the default and turning him into a duplicate of me." he chuckled slightly. "Long story short, he's been trying to get revenge on me for apparently doing to him when it was his own fault and making him like chilly fries so much." Ben rolled his eyes.

"So, he's not a dangerous threat?" Blondie cocked an eyebrow.

"Actually, he's very dangerous." Ben corrected. "That Omnitrix strapped to him is no ordinary Omnitrix; it lets him upgrade his aliens into their evolved versions, a sort of ultimate stage that makes them stronger and better than their original versions. Meaning I'm at a disadvantage whenever I face him." Ben frowned.

"Oh, ancestors . . ." Blondie gulped.

"Yep." Ben nodded. "Fortunately, only the Forever Knights have shown up so far, and they're actually kinda pathetic." Ben admitted with a slight chuckle. "I can't tell you how many times I've beaten them with my Omnitrix dialing arm behind my back."

"That's a relief." Blondie sighed happily.

"Yeah, don't worry your pretty, little head." Ben joked; Blondie laughed along, but couldn't help but blush slightly at the compliment.

"Speaking of pretty, how things with you and Apple White?" Blondie asked; Cerise felt like she was going to gag and throw up every last hunk of mutton she had eaten if the interview continued down that road, but there didn't seem to be any sign of Blondie stopping. "Word has it that while things have been rather rough to start off, you two are a rather cute couple."

"Yeah, I love her," Ben nodded. "Raven, too."

Blondie blinked and paused, not expecting that answer in the slightest. "I'm sorry, but what did you say?" she asked. "I'm not sure I heard you just right."

"I said that I love both Apple and Raven." Ben repeated.

"You . . . like Raven . . . Queen?" Blondie blinked.

"Sure, why not? She's brave, smart, absolutely gorgeous to look at, and she isn't afraid to stand up for what she believes in," Ben explained. "Plus, she plays a mean guitar, too."

"And . . . Apple is okay with this?" Blondie pressed.

Ben nodded. "She found out earlier today and explained the whole situation to her. Admittedly, it took some convincing, but she was okay with it in the end. She doesn't seem to mind the fact that I have seventeen other girlfriends back home either." Ben added; it was then that the camera angle suddenly shifted dramatically, turning the image of a stunned Blondie on its side, as if the cameraman had suddenly fainted. The Castleteria was deathly quiet as the troubled picture on the TV was fumbled for a bit and then straightened back up, the usual amount of sarcastic grumblings from Humphrey being heard in the background.

"I'm having a hard time getting my head around this." Blondie sighed, pinching her brow.

"What's so hard to understand?" Ben wondered. "I just come from another universe where humans, aliens, and monsters all live together and where I have seventeen monster girlfriends." he shrugged before realizing what he had said. "Actually, now that I say that out loud, it does sound weird."

"Well, I'm glad we're all on the same page." Blondie mumbled. "We're almost out of time, so I'd like to ask you just one more question, please: which side of the Royal/Rebel conflict are you on?" the Daughter of Goldie Locks asked.

"Well, I haven't been here long enough to understand entirely what's going on," Ben explained. "But based on the few people I've talked to, I'd say I'm . . ." he hesitated; whether it was for dramatic effect or just because he was nervous, Cerise didn't care, though the entire Castleteria seemed to be waiting with baited breath.

"I'm more of a Rebel." Ben finished; a rousing cheer came from the large amount of Rebels in the Castleteria, their whoops of joy and rousing applause echoing off of the high ceiling and walls as the Royals either glared at Ben or shared nervous looks with each other. "I don't know," Ben continued. "Until it's been proven that not following your destiny is bad, I think it's cruel to force people into roles they don't wanna play. I mean seriously, take the story of Snow White for instance: Raven is technically Apple's aunt and her mom's half sister, and in order for Apple's mom to have followed her destiny, she would have had to die or at least divorce her father in order for Raven to marry him, who is not only twice her age but also her brother in law. Then you have Daring, who would either be Apple's brother or at the very least her cousin, in which Apple would then have to marry and produce a daughter with in order to continue the legacy while Raven would have to have a daughter with Apple's father. Apple would then have to die or divorce Daring so Raven's daughter could marry him and then repeat the whole story." Ben explained. "Seriously, it's worse than something Shakespeare could write, and this is coming from the smartest alien in my Omnitrix, Grey Matter."

"Well . . . I suppose that makes since . . ." Blondie admitted.

"And then you have all these other students who are somehow distantly related to each other!" Ben added. "Briar's related to the Daughter of Beauty and the Beast and Sparrow's somehow related to Cerise; personally, I don't see any similarities between him and my friend, Cerise. They're nothing alike." he huffed; Cerise felt a low roar come from her throat as he eyes flashed a frightening amber. He hadn't even noticed her crush on him? He still saw her a friend? He didn't know about all the pain and suffering and the two nights she had quietly cried herself to sleep? She suddenly wanted to charge right into the Mirrorlab and tackle Ben to the floor, not caring what the outcome would be as she took all her frustrations out on the one she hated.

Suddenly, Cerise couldn't take any more of it and got up from her seat, tossing her tray into the trashcan and stomping out into the hallway as Cedar flinched slightly at her roommate's temper; perhaps she should sleep with someone else that evening instead of sharing a dorm with the irritated Riding Hood. The wooden puppet then wished Cerise had stuck around to listen to the next bit of news that came from the TV, which sent the entire Castleteria into full panic mode.

"Well, that's all for now, everyone!" Blondie began to sign off. "Until next time, I'm-"

"STOP!"

Blondie and Ben startled as Daring Charming slammed the door open to the Mirrorlab and marched angrily in front of the camera to face down Ben and ignoring the limp body of his younger brother on the floor for the time being; he an enraged and challenging look on his face, as if he were ready to take on anything the world of Ever After had to throw at him. "YOU!" Daring growled, jamming a finger into Ben's face and nearly shoving it up his nose. "I challenge you to a duel!"

"A duel?" Ben raised an eyebrow.

"That's right, a duel!" Daring repeated. "If I win, I regain my title and the rightful hand of Apple!"

"Dude, did you even have a title in the first place?" Ben wondered.

"Never after mind!" Daring growled. "Today! At three! Bookball field! We duel!" he listed the conditions of the fight. "Last fairy tale standing, wins!"

"Uh . . ." Ben hummed.

"This just in, Ever After High! Today at three on the Bookball field, Ben Tennyson and Daring Charming duke it over who rules the school and who truly is Apple's True Love! I'll be there live to report and bring you all the news in the most dramatic battle this school has seen yet: Prince Charming vs. Shape-shifter! Until next time, I'm Blondie Locks! Spell ya later!" she signed off.

"What did I just get myself into?" Ben wondered in disbelief as Daring smirked triumphantly and marched out of the Mirrorlab to prepare for the fight of his life.

---

"Dexter? Dexter!"

That was all Dexter could make out for the time being as his vision swam before his eyes, only his ears seeming to work as a faint, melodious voice softly caressed his eardrums as a delicate touch slowly crept its way across his face and chest with great care. His vision was slowly starting to come back to him, his eyes working overtime to try and produce the image of the beautiful angel crouching over him with great concern; her face was twisted into one of worry, but that didn't make it any less beautiful to Dexter. Her skin was white as new fallen snow and her touch was as delicate and careful as fresh tulips in the spring. Her voice was more perfect than anything the birds of Ever After could ever hope to sing while her eyes like sparkling, violet diamonds, starring endlessly with such care and bravery.

"Dexter? Can you here me?" the angel asked him as she held his hand in front of her face. "How many fingers am I holding up?" she asked, holding up three fingers; the digits were distorted to the Son of Prince Charming however as he attempted to sit up and try to touch the angel stand over him before a pair of firm, strong hands grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back down.

"Easy, dude. What until we're sure you don't have a concussion or something before you start walking." a second voice told him; it somehow sounded familiar to Dexter.

"Is he going to be okay?" a third voice asked with worry.

"Not sure, Apple." the second voice said. "Usually I have to hit the bad guys a couple times to get them to fall over; Dexter just suddenly dropped like a sack of potatoes right in the middle of the interview."

"Oh, I hope he's okay." a fourth voice mumbled nervously. "Humphrey, can you stay here and shut things down while I go get the nurse? Just in case?"

"Sure," a fifth voice that Dexter assumed belonged to Humphrey, scoffed. "Leave it to Humphrey Dumpty to put things back together again."

"That's the spirit!" the fourth voice smiled.

"Hey, I-I think he's coming to!" the third voice noted.

"Well, at least we know he's alive." the second voice grumbled.

"Ben, knock it off! He could be hurt!" the angel protested.

""Sorry. It's just . . . this hasn't happened before." the second voice that Dexter guessed belonged to Ben, said. :Like I said before, I've only ever dealt with this kind of thing when I've punched someone one too many times or someone's just passed out from exhaustion."

"Wha . . . where . . ." Dexter tried to say.

"He's talking!" the third voice remarked.

"Gee, thanks for the tip, Queen Obvious." Humphrey grumbled sarcastically.

"Dexter? Please, can you hear us? How many fingers am I holding up?" the angel asked a second time, tilting his head up so he could see her hand better; the Son of Prince Charming's vision was starting to clear up a bit.

"Three . . ?" he guessed.

The angel relaxed slightly, breathing a sigh of relief as a bright smile came upon her lips; Dexter swore he could hear other angels singing and the very air vibrate from her radiate smile, though he also took note it might be because of the excruciating pain in his head. With a loud hiss, he shot straight up with his hands clapped to his aching skull; the angel jolted backwards, startled, as Ben held Dexter up in case he suddenly fell back over.

"Hey, Dex? You okay?" Ben asked.

"I . . . I think so . . ." Dexter groaned; he blinked his eyes and saw that he was still in the Mirrorlab, only now Blondie was gone to go and retrieve the school's nurse, Humphrey was currently packing things in the studio up and occasionally getting shocked whenever he tripped over a stray wire, and both Apple and Raven was sitting on their knees in front of him, concern etched onto their faces; the former of the two reached into her apple-shaped purse and pulled out an ice pack for him, holding it to his head for a few seconds before she allowed him to take it for himself.

"Wha . . . what happened?" Dexter asked.

"Well, we were right in the middle of the interview," Ben explained. "Blondie asked how things were going between me and Apple when you just suddenly fainted onto the floor; your brother challenged me to a duel, too, by the way." Ben added.

"Ben, that's the least of our problems right now." Raven scolded him.

"Sorry, babe." Ben apologized; Dexter could have sworn he saw the witchling's pale cheeks turn a light, rosy pink in color upon hearing the nickname. "I'm not entirely sure, but were you two watching the Mirrorcast by any chance?"

"We caught the second half." Apple confirmed. "The camera angle fell over; I think that's when Dexter fainted."

"What were me and Blondie talking about?" Ben asked.

"Like you said, you were discussing your relationship with Apple," Raven explained. "Blondie asked if things were stable between you two and you that you loved both her and . . . me . . ." Raven trailed off, realization crossing her face as she bit her lip and nervously glanced at Dexter, whose eyes had widened to about the size of dinner plates (this may have been a bit of an exaggeration).

"What's wrong with me loving both you and Apple?" Ben wondered; Dexter suddenly went limp in his grasp and fell back against Ben, the ice pack in his fingers landing on the floor with a wet slap! just as Humphrey accidentally electrocuted himself upon hearing those very words slip from Ben's lips.

"Aw, Sphinx!" Ben cried. "What'd I say!?"

"Dexter . . . kinda had a crush on me." Raven explained sheepishly. "I . . . never actually got around to telling him that . . . things wouldn't work out."

"So basically I did your dirty work for you?" Ben summarized.

"In a somewhat negative nutshell, yes." Raven sighed, rubbing her shoulder with discomfort. "I like Dexter a lot, but I never really liked him . . . that way. I thought I did, but . . . it never sat well with me."

"Do think he'll be upset once he wakes up?" Apple worried.

"If we can keep him from fainting again." Ben muttered; Dexter groaned and stirred on the floor.

"He's waking up again!" Apple gulped nervously. "What do we do?"

"We explain it to him slow and steady." Raven said calmly.

"Raven? Apple? Ben?" Dexter moaned as he slowly sat up and took the ice pack Ben offered him to set against his pounding skull. "Ugh, I had the strangest dream . . ." he groaned before turning to Raven. "You . . . and Ben . . . you were a couple . . . and Ben was dating Apple at the same time . . ."

"Um, Dexter?" the young witchling gulped nervously. "That . . . that wasn't a dream." she winced; Dexter froze up on the spot and blinked for several seconds before giving a low chuckle that turned into short laughter before burst out into a fit of insane giggles.

"What's so funny?" Apple trembled; this wasn't like Dexter at all. The sweet, nerd prince was more akin to stuttering and fumbling over his words in the presence of a pretty girl, especially Raven, not cackling like a maniac.

"I thought I heard you say I wasn't dreaming . . ." Dexter chuckled.

"She did, Dex." Ben said grimly. "You aren't hearing things." Dexter processed those words for a few silent seconds that felt like centuries to the trio of concerned teenagers before the Son of Prince Charming suddenly screamed and looked like he was about to pass out again; Ben quickly stopped this by smacking Dexter over the head, knocking his glasses lose.

"Thanks. I needed that." Dexter grumbled under his breath as he set his glasses back on his face and quickly scrambled to his feet with the ice pack still pressed to his head; he picked up his knocked lose crown from the floor and hurriedly made his way towards the exit.

"Dexter, wait! You need to lie down!" Apple cried.

"No! Just . . . just leave me alone!" Dexter yelled over his shoulder before storming out of the Mirrorlab and slamming the door shut behind him, the sound echoing through the high ceiling and making Raven flinch a little.

"Nice job." Humphrey rolled his eyes.

"Shouldn't you be getting shocked or something?" Ben growled with annoyance. The doors to the Mirrorlab creaked open again, and Ben hovered his hand above the Omnitrix in case Dexter was coming back to let his rage out on either him or Raven; in Ben's experience, royalty of any kind were highly unpredictable, a prime example being the time he, Gwen, and Kevin had acted as diplomats between the Pantophage and Lewodans and delivered the later's prince to the former, only to have Jarret, King of the Pantophage, swallow the Tiffin in one gulp. This had also been the time Ben had managed to unlock Rath, both a stroke of good and bad luck on Ben's part. Fortunately for Ben, it was not the Son of Prince Charming looking for vengeance, but rather a curious Cerise Hood.

"Oh. It's just you." she snarled, narrowing her eyes and wrinkling her nose at Ben.

"Well, with my line of work, what did you expect?" Ben joked; Cerise didn't laugh in the slightest and merely marched into the Mirrorlab, ignoring Apple as she whimpered and hid behind Raven for cover as the Riding Hood stormed up to Ben and abruptly and suddenly slapped him across the face before leaving Ben in stunned silence.

"What was that for?" Ben wondered, holding his throbbing cheek. Before either Raven or Apple could take a guess at why the Daughter of Red Riding Hood had suddenly smacked their boyfriend, a pearly, white smile appeared right next to Ben before the rest of Kitty Cheshire soon flashed back into existence with an ever crafty and cheeky smile plastered to the Cheshire Cat's face.

"I know why the little pup is so upset," she purred. "And I could tell you . . . for a price."

"Kitty . . ." Raven said in a warning tone.

"What do you want?" Ben asked without hesitation; he felt that he and Cerise had bonded and become rather close in the short they had gotten to know each other during their participation in the Jack Be Nimble Race and then as partners and travel buddies of sorts when he had volunteered to give the Riding Hood a lift to all her classes until her broken leg had fully healed. It seemed the magical qualities surrounding the school shortened the time it would take to mend the broken bones, but apparently it wasn't enough to mend the broken relationship between Cerise and Ben.

"A favor . . ." Kitty purred as she danced her fingers along Ben's arm; Apple narrowed her eyes at the crafty cat but didn't say anything. "Nothing more, nothing less. Just a small, little favor."

"Ben, I wouldn't-" Raven started to warn.

"Deal." Ben interrupted. Kitty's grin broadened even further, if that even possible, as her tail flickered back and forth excitedly while she now rested her head on Ben's shoulder to speak and hold up her half of the deal.

"It would seem our little Cerise has developed a crush," Kitty began, whispering her words in a subtle, seductive manner in Ben's ear. "She found your wolf form-"

"Loboan, actually." Ben corrected, trying to ignore the way Kitty was now moving around him, resting her head on his other shoulder and tracing her fingers along his collarbone while her tail wrapped slowly around his waist; Raven and Apple watched with increasing disdain, not liking the way the feline was behaving around their boyfriend.

"The Bandersnatch doesn't care if it is dappled or spotted." Kitty replied in Riddlish before continuing. "The pup was quite crestfallen to discover that you were not what you seemed; her heart is shattered in two, her heart strings now playing a rather sorrow tune thanks to you. Lovely music, I might add." Kitty smirked slightly, now resting in Ben's lap with her hands folded behind her back and her back arched upwards with her tail wrapped securely around Ben's waist.

"She . . . had a crush on me?" Ben blinked.

"Not anymore." Kitty purred, playing with her periwinkle locks with a finger. "Now, she just wants to see your guts; a little bit over there, a little over here, a little bit of you everywhere." she shrugged without care; Apple paled even further than she already was at the sound of those rahter unsettling words.

"I have to go." Ben said abruptly, quickly climbing to his feet and throwing Kitty off of him as he ran towards the doors. "Raven, you know what to do!" he called over his shoulder.

"Where is he going?" Apple wondered as Kitty grumbled and picked herself up off the floor, grumbling in Riddle under her breath. "And what does he mean that you'll know what to do?"

"I . . . haven't the faintest idea." Raven lied; she knew very well what Ben was planning. All she could hope however is that both Apple and Ben survived what was to come.

---

Cerise growled lowly to herself as she stormed through the hallways and corridors, snarling at anyone that crossed her path or walked too close for comfort; even the normally cautious and gentle Tiny received a low roar that made him very nearly accidentally step on Blondie and the school's nurse as they raced back towards the Mirrorlab, the big troll nurse practically outrunning the Daughter of Goldie Locks with every step she took.

It never seemed to fail; every time Cerise ever felt some kind of emotion that was even close to love, it would always be snatched away from her like a hawk swooping down to pounce upon a clueless field mouse. Her first crush had been on Daring Charming, a suitable choice considering he was what she considered to be the alpha of the student body of Ever After High, thus making him the strongest and most optimal for mating rights. But then there were the throngs of of over hexcited fairy tales cutting her off from the Son of Prince Charming and the only time she was actually able to get close to him was during Bookball practice, where they would be running left and right and become all tired and sweaty afterwards, hardly an appropriate look when she was trying to tell Daring how she felt. And the Ben had come along, shattering everything Daring had worked hard to create around himself and take his position as the alpha of the school; the fact that he had been disguised as a very handsome wolf did not help matters and only made her hurt inside even more when she had discovered the lie he had created.

It hurt that she hadn't been trusted enough to know his secret, but it mostly enraged her that she had been tricked; even though she and her mother were humans, she was not very fond of them in the first place. They were nosy, loud, and inconsiderate of other fairy tale's special needs, such as her inability to tolerate strong odors and loud sounds for long due to her heightened senses. But mostly, they were judgmental, forcing her to hide her true heritage, forcing Raven to throw away her destiny in favor of something more likable, forcing everyone in all of Ever After High to chose sides in their invisible war over the Storybook of Legends. Humans such as Ashlynn, Maddie, and Hunter to an extent were tolerable and even likable at times, but most humans she found to be severely annoying; Ben was no exception.

The half-breed snarled under her breath as she stopped at her locker, reaching for the lock to do the combination and grab her books when she noticed something; a disgusting, green substance was oozing out from the vents in her locker, slithering out from the crack between the door and the locker itself and down onto the floor in a slow, deliberate manner much to Cerise's disgust as the pile of green slime landed on the floor at her feet with a loud splat! The half-breed shivered as the pile of ooze started to shift and bubble before a small, metal disk came buzzing down from the air to hover over the puddle of green slime and move upwards, pulling the substance up with it as if the two were magnets; the green slime began to morph and shift into a crude, humanoid figure with exaggerated feeler-like protrusions out of its shoulders, head, and arms.

"Cerise? Can we talk?" Goop asked in a high-pitch voice that would have normally made Cerise smile if she didn't know who the Polymorph really was. Without another word, the Riding Hood reached up and grabbed the Polymorph's Anti-Gravity Projector before throwing it like a Frisbee out the nearest window, smirking slightly when Goop followed after it with a surprised yelp; Cerise then quickly grabbed her books and papers and stuffed them into her book bag before making her way towards Crownculus, hoping she remembered to do today's assignment.

"Nice throw." a gruff voice complimented her. Cerise glanced up and bristled with annoyance when she saw a large, gorilla-like creature climb in through the window ahead of her; the creature was blocky in appearance, colored bright colors of red, blue, and yellow as multiple knobs and bolts sprouted along its flexible body and the Omnitrix sat on its chest. "Can you just hear me out, please?" Bloxx asked.

Cerise's response was to simply draw in a sharp breath and turn on her heel away from the Segmentasapien to head down a different hallway that would hopefully have less annoying, shape-shifting fairy tales; a loud clattering sound caught her attention and she looked up to see Bloxx stretching himself over her, morphing and shifting his durable body into a strong dome over her, sealing her inside. "I'll let you out once we talk." Bloxx promised as his head appeared next to her.

With a low growl of annoyance, Cerise drew back her fist and slugged Bloxx in the face, shattering his head into a couple dozen colorful brick-like pieces; before the Segmentasapien could rebuild himself, the half-breed had punched her way out of the dome and back out into the hallway, taking off at a surprising speed as the Omnitrix timed out and returned Ben to the world, a calculating look on his face.

"Hmm. Looks like it's time for some real acceleration." he noted, turning to the device on his wrist and turning it on, cycling through the transformations until he found the one he needed and slammed a hand down on the waiting activation button, swallowing himself in a burst of green light. He felt his skin harden into a soft, metallic sheen as it turned the color of oil and tar while his skeleton crunched and compressed into a tough, inner shell just beneath his skin; his arms and legs were reduced to near toothpicks as his body shrunk down so that he was barely a foot tall. Ben's body shifted and molded with a loud snapping noise as his body became cylindrical in shape, his pointed legs sticking out of the bottom of his body and his pointed hands that included nothing more than a single finger and thumb out of the sides. A green lightning pattern etched itself down his front as two bolts appeared on either of his arms, a 'plus and 'minus' symbol appearing on his back as the Omnitrix appeared on his perfectly flat head, completing the transformation.

"What the- I asked for XLR8, Omnitrix! Not Buzzshock!" the Nosedeenian whined in a high-pitched voice similar to that of one after inhaling helium. The small, battery-like alien fumed for a few seconds at his mistransformation before an idea struck him. "Woo-hoo, woo-hoo, woo-hoo!" he laughed as he quickly converted himself in a static, electrical charge and raced down the hallway before diving into an open electrical socket and traveling through the school's power system, occasionally peeking out of light switches and other sockets to check his location before he finally managed to track down Cerise.

With a mischievous cackle, the Nosedeenian raised across the floor and jumped into the Riding Hood's pocket, careful not to accidentally shock her as he then moved himself inside the programming and circuitry of Cerise's Mirrorphone to then make some . . . modifications; Buzzshock quickly wrote off a hext to Raven before using the same number to write a message and then send it to Cerise's phone, making it seem as if the young witchling had sent the hext.

Cerise sighed when she felt her Mirrorphone buzz, signaling a message had been sent to her; with a slight grumble, she pulled the device out and turned it on, quickly reading over the hext that had been sent to her from Raven; she wasn't quite sure how she felt about her friend dating the one she despised, how her delicate, snow white skin now belonged to him, how her warm, purple lips that quirked up in the corners of her mouth in the funniest way whenever she laughed now belonged to him, how her delicate and coforting touch now belonged to him as well . . . she wasn't sure she could stand it. Unlike Ben however, Cerise trusted Raven completely and was willing to follow her anywhere . . . even if that anywhere was a dark, janitor's closet on the second floor.

Seconds after reading the hext, her Mirrorphone buzzed again and she picked up, only to very nearly drop it to the floor as the face of Buzzshock filled the entire screen with a wide, cheeky smile on his face. "Hiya, Cerise!" the Nosedeenian cackled.

Cerise promptly chucked her Mirrorphone out of the nearest window, smiling with slight amusement as the Nosedeenian wailed in terror.

---

Apple waited patiently in the darkness of the janitor's closet, occasionally pushing aside a mop bucket or crate of cleaning supplies to make more room for herself in the dank, cramped space; she had received a hext from Ben on Raven's Mirrorphone (Ben still owned an iCoffin and was still working on either trying to get connected to the school's wifi or scrounge up enough money to buy himself a Mirrorphone himself), telling her to meet him in the janitor's closet on the second floor of the school for a 'special surprise'. The princess felt such an odd mixture of curiosity, giddiness, and slight worry as she ran through the numerable, probable possibilities of what could possibly happen between her and Ben in the confinement of a janitor's closet.

There was the very big possibility that Ben simply wanted to tell her how much he loved her and hold her close to him, an idea that Apple was particularly fond of. Maybe he would even go so far as to say that he was going to cut all ties with everyone he had loved back home just to remain in Ever After with her and become her prince charming, awakening her from her slumber with a sweet kiss; the idea made Apple blush slightly.

Or . . . he could be coming to tell her that it was all over, that he never wanted to see her again in all his life, that he had somehow caught onto her little plan was severing all ties with her in favor of remaining with the hideous monsters he had back home that were no doubt just waiting for a chance to eat him when he wasn't looking. Maybe it was all a hoax and Ben wasn't coming after all, now probably somewhere in the school laughing his head off at how gullible she was with Duchess Swan or Kitty Cheshire for all Apple knew hanging off his arm and laughing along with him.

There was even the possibility that Ben wanted to kiss her and hug her in the safety of closet, hold her close and tell her how much he wanted to be with her for as long as he lived, how he wanted to marry her and be her prince charming as he softly pressed his lips to hers and filled her such warmth it was almost unbearable and yet pleasurable at the same time; Apple was so engrossed in her thoughts, she barely heard the janitor's closet door squeak open until a low growl caught her attention.

"Apple?" Cerise stood at the doorway, completely confused as her sharp eyes immediately adjusted to the darkness.

"C-Cerise? What-What are you d-doing here?" Apple trembled.

"I could ask you the same- WOAH!" Cerise cried as she was suddenly shoved from behind and stumbled into the closet, nearly crashing into Apple before she managed to regain her footing while the closet door creaked shut and locked with a loud click! Cerise growled and launched herself full force at the door, throwing her entire body weight against it as Apple curled up into a ball on the floor the farthest away from the enraged half-breed, hoping she wouldn't become a second victim of Cerise's temper. "For the love of dragons, let us out!" Cerise howled.

"Cerise, calm down." Raven's voice came from the other side of the door.

"Raven?" Cerise blinked.

"Yes," the witchling said. "I'm sorry to have to do this to both of you, Cerise, but Apple is completely terrified of you; she won't go anywhere that doesn't have either me or Ben within two feet of her and to be honest it's starting to get old." Raven explained. "I'm not letting you out until you apologize to Apple."

"You underestimate my strength, Raven. I'll break this door down if I have to." Cerise growled.

"Yeah, good luck with that." Raven said in a slightly sarcastic tone. "I've placed a locking spell on the door. It's gonna take a fire-breathing dragon just to open the door."

Cerise banged her fist against the door one more time, barely noticing the slight, purple glow it gave off as she slid down to the floor of the closet, her claws digging deep into the door and leaving long marks in the wood. The half-breed turned around to glare at the frightened princess curled up on the floor behind her, her breathing deep and heavy with rage that softened marginally; as much as she hated Apple and her destiny pushing ways, she knew deep down that even she didn't deserve what Cerise had heartlessly thrown at her. With guilt eating away at her stomach like a parasite, Cerise sighed and reached for Apple with a hand, setting it on the princess's shoulder and withdrawing it at once when Apple cringed away from her; Cerise reached for her again and gently touched her fingertips to Apple's shoulder, not retreating even when Apple flinched away from her again. Before the princess could scoot away in tiem, the half-breed had wrapped both her arms around Apple and hugged her close to her body, holding her nice and tight no matter how much Apple fought and struggled, begging to be spared.

"Shhhh," Cerise cooed in Apple's ear. "I'm not going to hurt you." she promised; Apple continued to fight against the Riding Hood, but her movements had become less panic-stricken than before, coming to a full stop as Cerise cautiously touched one of the wounds Apple had hidden behind a layer of makeup. She wiped away one of such wounds and winced upon seeing the ugly, red bruise that had been hidden under a layer of powder on Apple's temple. Unsure of what to do next, Cerise leaned forward and gingerly kissed the wound better like her mom had done to her when she had gotten scrapes on her knees and cuts on her elbows; the princes squirmed slightly in Cerise's grip, but she held fast and calmly ran her fingers through Apple's blonde locks while rubbing her back with the other one.

"I'm . . . sorry, Apple." Cerise said after a while, pausing to let a soft moan of comfort escape Apple's lips; the half-breed never suspected her touch to be so soft or effective on people. She always figured she would only be able to show them brutal and unforgiving pain and not comfort of any kind, but apparently that was wrong. "I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. I should have thought clearly about it and should have asked Blitzwolfer/Ben about it before taking matters into my own hands."

The two girls were silent for a few moments in the dark closet together, Apple just sitting there and enjoying Cerise's soft touch against the still painful wounds that marked her body; even after nearly two weeks of healing, they ached and throbbed when touched in the right manner. "I . . . forgive you . . ." Apple breathed with a somewhat sleepy tone when she realized how warm Cerise's hood and cloak was. It made her feel like a tiny baby again, loved and protected from the harm of the world. Even though she doubted Cerise would have any feelings for her, Apple wondered if she would be willing to at least let her borrow one of the many hoods Cerise wore, if only to just feel how soft and cozy it was for a few, precious seconds.

"Well, glad we're all friends again!" a tiny, metallic voice squeaked. The two girls startled as a tiny, glowing green orb floated out from the depths of Apple's pocket and fluttered and twirled around in the air for a few seconds before landing on the tip of Apple's nose, forcing the princess to cross her eyes just to get a good look at the tiny, alien insect.

"So I take it bygones are bygones?" Nanomech chirped.

"Ben? Is that you?" Apple wondered with a small smile; she thought the Nanochip sounded funny.

"Do you know anyone else who could shrink this small?" Nanomech joked lightly before he was suddenly crushed between Cerise's two palms as if they were a pair of cymbals; Apple yelped at the sudden movement and managed to catch Nanomech in her palms as he groaned and twitched.

"Hex, he's still moving." Cerise grumbled.

"Cerise, what is wrong with you? Why can't you just forgive Ben?" Apple pleaded. "He didn't mean to break you heart!"

The half-breed froze up upon hearing those words. "How . . . how did you know?" she bristled before turning to yell at the nearly microscopic Nanochip in Apple's hands. "Did Kitty tell you!?"

"And if she did . . ?" Nanomech groaned. "Ugh, I think I can taste my liver . . ."

"When I'm done with you, you won't be able to taste anything!" Cerise snarled, making a lung to try and squash the metal insect again; fortunately for Nanomech, he zipped out of the way just in time, wincing when Cerise inadvertently crashed into Apple and spouted off several curses and apologies to Apple before moving to catch him again.

"This is gonna be a long Study Hall." Nanomech sighed as he slapped the Omnitrix disk between his eyes to enable a quick change as he was engulfed in a flash of green light. He felt himself grow taller and much more muscled as thick, shaggy gray colored fur sprouted all over his body as his back and chest swelled with tissue and muscle, his skeleton crunching and cracking as it was reinforced and changed to accommodate his new body. Ben's skull crunched and snapped in an almost painful manner as his face bulged forward into a pointed muzzle lined with sharp, canine teeth as a wet, black nose formed at the end; organs sloshed around inside of him as his bones crunched and ground heavily against each other while his muzzle split into four, flexible flaps. His fingers became longer and tipped with wicked claws that looked like they could easily slice through most objects as two, large talons ripped through his shoes while a third popped out from the back. A long, fluffy tail sprouted from the base of Ben's spine as a mane of dark, coarse fur rose from his shoulders and neck as spikes sprouted from his elbows and shoulders; a green and black body suit appeared on his shifting body with green wrist bands and a collar around his neck with the Omnitrix at its center, completing the transformation.

"Blitzwolfer? Seriously? I was going for Bloxx!" the Loboan snarled with disappointment. "Man, I can't believe this thing still doesn't work." he grumbled under his breath; his annoyance was short lived however, when Cerise suddenly let out a loud, ferocious scream of fury that sounded more like it belonged to a gigantic beast ten times her size as the half-breed launched herself at Blitzwolfer and tackled him to the floor. Startled, Blitzwolfer could do little more than block Cerise's furious attacks and strikes with his arms as she howled and screamed in anger; Apple had curled up into the farthest corner of the closet, completely terrified and unsure of what to do without getting herself hurt.

"Raven! Raven! Let us out!" Apple screamed loudly. "Cerise . . . she's gone insane!"

Dark, crackling, purple flames hissed and roared around the edges of the door as it was torn off its hinges by a pair of large hands constructed of dark, violet energy and tossed farther down the hallway as the construct disappeared; Raven barely had time to duck before Blitzwolfer was thrown out into the hallway and landed roughly on his back, just barely managing to catch Cerise in his claws and hold her away from his face.

"You . . . bastard!" Cerise roared; Apple whimpered at the choice of words as she peered out of the closet, biting her lip. "I'll kill you! I'll kill you!" the Riding Hood screamed, her voice deep and guttural, her teeth sharpened into spike-like fangs, her fingers lengthened into razor-sharp claws, and her eyes now flashing a bright, dangerous amber in color.

"For the love of gargoyles, calm down!" Blitzwolfer yelled, climbing to his feet and holding the struggling half-breed close to his chest in a tight bear hug. "I just want to talk! Nothing more!"

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say, you bastard!" Cerise spat in his face, managing to pull one of her arms free and slug the Loboan across the face before punching him in the throat to make him release her; unfortunately, her fist had struck the Omnitrix instead and engulfed Blitzwolfer in a burst of green light as his DNA was morphed and shifted into something new. Ben's arms swelled as his veins popped out, alien blood flowing through them as muscles piled themselves on top of each other; his legs became strong and lean as his frame stretched upwards, growing taller and taller until he was a good four feet taller than Raven or Cerise. Deep, orange fur began to sprout all over his body as his fingers split and cracked before bloating in size and strength; a razor-sharp claw ripped out of each wrist as his shoulders became massive and broad while patches of white fur smoothly appeared on his chest, gut, hands, and feet and dark, black stripes etched themselves across his back and shoulders; a handful of whiskers sprouted from his face as his skull crunched and his eyebrows grew longer and pointed. His jaw thrust outwards with a loud cracking noise while his teeth tore through his gums as the Omnitrix appeared on his chest, completing the transformation.

"What the- lemme tell ya somethin' new Omnitrix that still doesn't work right and keeps on turning Rath into the wrong thing! You still don't work right and keep on turning me into the wrong thing!" the Appoplexian roared angrily. "And lemme tell ya somethin' else, new Omnitrix that still doesn't work right and keeps on turning Rath into the wrong thing! You stopped giving Rath his awesome belt and making him speak Spanish!"

"Wait, you're . . . naked?" Raven blinked; Apple winced and covered her eyes at the apparently nude Appoplexian.

"As for you!" Rath growled, turning on Cerise and towering over her as he jammed a finger in her face. "Lemme tell ya somethin', Cerise Hood, Daughter of Little Red Riding Hood! You are going to let Rath apologize to you, and you are going to like it!"

"I'd rather be roasted over open dragon flame than talk to you." Cerise bristled.

"Grrrraaaaggh!" Rath clenched his teeth in anger. "Lemme tell ya somethin', Cerise Hood, Daughter of Little Red Riding Hood who refuses to let Rath apologize to her! You are lucky that Rath doesn't hit girls!"

Cerise suddenly got a very scary look (in Apple's opinion; she had peeked through her fingers) on her face, a mixture of cruel, savage hunger in her eyes and a twisted, feral smile of sharp fangs on her lips; with a ferocious roar, she launched herself at the Appoplexian, digging her claws deep into his skin and driving her boots into his chest as Rath stumbled backwards in surprise, grabbing her by the shoulders and trying to get her to let go.

"Ow, ow! Not the whiskers!" Rath yelped in pain as Cerise pulled on his face; the Appoplexian growled and finally managed to pull Cerise off him, holding her by the shoulders before throwing her down the hallway and snarling when she landed on her feet, as if defying him. "Lemme tell ya something', Cerise Hood, Daughter of Little Red Riding Hood who refuses to let Rath apologize to her! Rath may not be able to hit you, but that doesn't mean he can't fight!" he yelled; with a heavy grunt, he grabbed the nearest locker in his meaty hands and effortlessly tore it away from the wall to heave it up onto his shoulders.

"Tetramand Boulder Shot!" Rath declared as he chucked the locker at Cerise; the Riding Hood simply ducked beneath the attack, only to suddenly be tackled by the Appoplexian.

"Ben! Cerise! Stop!" Raven yelled; neither of them heard her over their yells and curses as they rolled around on the floor together and managed to get back up on their feet to face each other.

"Lemme tell ya somethin', Cerise Hood! Rath is gonna apologize to you if it's the last thing he does!" Rath shouted, thrusting a claw right at her.

"That's offer I'll take you up on." Cerise grinned wickedly; Rath growled with annoyance and charged at Cerise with his fists above his head, fully prepared to grab her. The half-breed smirked and ducked under the swipe of Rath's hands and quickly punched him twice in the gut before delivering a swift uppercut to his jaw. The Appoplexian roared in anger and slammed his fists into the ground in frustration before making a move to tackle Cerise to the ground in a hold, an attempt that was quickly dodged by the clever half-breed as she dodged to the side and then swept Rath's legs out from under him.

"Naaagh! Hold still so Rath can get you!" the Appoplexian roared.

"Make me." Cerise hissed before she dropped down to her hands and feet and let out a long, low howl; Apple watched with interest and fear, worrying her friend had suddenly gone crazy as she raced across the floor on all fours and pounced on Rath, tackling him to the ground and punching him twice in the jaw before folding her fists together to sock him in the stomach and then rake her claws across his chest and neck in an attempt to choke him. When that didn't work, she attacked with her teeth, viciously biting his neck and then attacking one of his hands, biting three of his fingers in two places each before Rath was unable to get his legs underneath her and push the wild half-breed off of her.

"Tetramand Body Slam!" Rath roared as he climbed to his feet and rushed at the dazed Riding Hood and jumped into the air, fully prepared to slam his body down on him and hold her in place, as the name implied; Cerise however, was too quick and rolled to the side at the last second, watching with amusement as Rath crashed into and then through the floor and to the level below, roaring and cursing all the way before he slammed into the floor below with a dull thud!

"Come down here and fight like a man! Or better yet, come down here and fight like Rath!" the Appoplexian demanded; Cerise happily obliged as she dove through the hole in the floor, hissing loudly with her claws and teeth bared as she landed on Rath's shoulders and attacked him without mercy, dodging the swipes of his hands and claws as he tried to get her off of him.

"What's happening!?" Apple whimpered, daring a small peek over the edge of the hole.

"If I had to guess, trouble." Raven sighed. "I knew this was a bad idea from the start."

"Who's winning?" Apple wondered; Rath finally managed to grab hold of one of Cerise's legs and yank him off of her before slamming her into the floor twice and then throwing her towards the farthest wall, racing after her all on all fours before jumping to then crash right into the wall, trapping the half-breed between him and the wall.

"At the moment, Ben." Raven noted.

"Lemme tell ya something', Cerise Hood, Daughter of Little Red Riding Hood who refuses to let rath apologize to her! Rath may not be good at apologizing, but that doesn't mean he won't try!"

"Please. Stop trying." Cerise growled as she raised one of her legs and kicked the Appoplexian right in the nether regions, causing him to bend over in pain and allow her to swipe his legs out from underneath him for the second time; she then grabbed one of his legs and managed to haul him off of the ground with some effort and spin him around several times before she finally let go and sent him flying through the wall behind her, creating a sizable hole. Screams of surprise and fright came from the other side as the sounds of pots and pans clattered loudly to the floor rang through the halls as the class from the other room fled the scene.

"Scratch that. Cerise seems to be winning." Raven corrected herself.

"Lemme tell ya somethin', Cerise Hood! Rath will not let himself be beaten by the a girl, even if that girl is very pretty and impressive at the same time!" Rath shouted from the Kitchen Class-ic classroom on the other side before he grabbed Cerise and tossed her over his shoulder and into the kitchen beyond; the half-breed snarled as she landed in a pile of discarded pots and pans and emerged with one on her head like a helmet. An idea came to her head and she picked up two of the pans in her hands before throwing them at Rath, missing both times as the Appoplexian caught one of the pots in the air and fit it over his own head before grabbing the second one from the floor to then whack himself over the head (most likely to make sure it stayed in place. That, or Rath just thought it looked cool).

"Lemme tell ya somethin', Cerise Hood!" the now protected Appoplexian yelled as he then grabbed hold of a rolling pin and held it out like a weapon before him. "En guard!"

"I didn't know Ben could fence." Apple remarked as she caught a glimpse of Rath and Cerise attacking each other with the rolling pin and a freshly picked up spatula; both parties, regardless of intelligence level, seemed to be well suited for battle as their weapons clashed together. Cerise furiously swung her spatula in an attempt to smack the Appoplexian with her cooking utensil, only to just be barely blocked every time by Rath's powerful strikes and blows from his rolling pin. While the half-breed was more quick and her weapon allowed her to strike fast and accurately, the Appoplexian's strength and temper let him add more power behind each swing he took and let him easily defend himself and nearly deal brutal damage to Cerise in the process. The half-breed suddenly made swing of her spatula and smacked Rath over the head before swatting him across the face, just barely ducking back in time to avoid a wide swing of Rath's rolling pin, allowing her to get up under his guard and wiggle the floppy end of her spatula under his arms.

"Hee hee hee, hahahahaha! Stop! Stop it! Ahahahahaha!" Rath laughed, dropping his rolling pin; Cerise then took the opportunity to slap the unarmed Appoplexian across the face with her spatula and then discard her weapon entirely, returning to punching and kicking him. Rath roared in annoyance and made a sudden movement, throwing Cerise off of him and to the floor.

"Lewodan Anvil Drop!" Rath yelled, using the wall as a spring board to launch himself into the air to and land on Cerise with his elbow jutted out, a move that would have pinned the half-breed to the floor had she not rolled out of the way in time and let the Appoplexian slam into and then through the floor for a second time, crashing right into the Lifairy below; the Evil Step-Librarins shushed Rath loudly as he came hurtling through the floor and landed painfully on the floor. "Gosh, darn it!" Rath cursed. "Rath doesn't know which is worse, being tricked by a pretty lady again or crashing into a place full of books that rath can't read!"

"Too bad you won't be able to learn how to read once I'm through with you!" Cerise snarled as she jumped through the hole with her feet slammed together and pointed downwards like a sharp arrow, landing painfully on Rath's stomach and knocking the window out of him before she flipped off of him and landed on her feet, a cunning and hungry grin on her face.

"Oh, what hit Rath . . ?" the Appoplexian groaned as he sat up and climbed to his feet, a hand over his stomach before a very big and heavy book was suddenly chucked at Rath's head and ended up sticking firmly between his jaws; Rath growled and quickly bit the book in two, earning another silence from the Evil Step-Librarians. Cerise chucked another book at Rath's head and rushed at him, fist raised and ready to slug him in the face when the Appoplexian suddenly and effortlessly caught her tiny hand in his massive fingers and held it back with ease.

"Lemme tell ya somethin', Cerise Hood, Daughter of Little Red-" was as far as Rath got before Cerise suddenly twisted his arm around, this shifting his upper torso and allowing her to give him a swift kick in the behind that sent him flying a short distance into a bookshelf, destroying it into splinters.

"Ooh, karate!" the Appoplexian admired as he climbed to his feet with a slight grin on his face. "I'm gonna call you Karate Girl. Can I call you Karate Girl, Karate Girl?" he grinned, taking note of Cerise's expression as he confident grin turned into a furious frown at the nickname and how her fingers digging deep into her palms, actually drawing blood. "Tell you what, Karate Girl, I'll hold real still like a stack of boards, and you can meditate until you're ready to chop me in half, okay?" the Appoplexian taunted.

Cerise could no longer take it and and rushed right back at him blindly, drawing back her fist and getting ready to sock him in the jaw when her strike was expertly blocked by the giddy Appoplexian. "I lied," he smirked as he snapped out his other arm and grabbed Cerise carefully by the neck and easily lifted her off of the ground. "You know the difference between Rath and a pile of boards is? Boards don't hit back!" Rath roared as he hurled Cerise across the Lifairy and directly through another wall, sending rock and plaster everywhere as he charged through the hole and after Cerise, picking her frail body off of the ground in one hand by the front of her shirt and holding her far enough that she couldn't do much else other than kick and scratch at his head.

"Now . . . I'm mad." he growled in a low, sinister tone. Cerise didn't have any sarcastic or threatening comeback to the Appoplexian; her body ached all over, her wolf side thankfully granting her a much more durable body than a normal girl her age, thus allowing her to take body crippling hits like she just had with little more than just excruciating pain. "NOW LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN', CERISE HOOD, DAUGHTER OF RED RIDING HOOD! IF YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP RATH FROM APOLOGIZING, YOU CAN FORGET IT! NOBODY, AND I MEAN NOBODY, KEEPS RATH FROM SAYING HE'S SORRY TO A GIRL HE REALLY LIKES! EVEN IF IT'S THE GIRL RATH IS TRYING TO APOLOGIZE TO AND THAT HE REALLY LIKES!" Rath bellowed loudly at the top of his lungs in Cerise's face, blowing off her hood from the sheer force of his breath and exposing a pair of furry, pointed wolf ears on either side of the Riding Hood's head; this did little to stun Rath, as if mostly just confused him. "Now are you going to let Rath make it up to you, Cerise Hood, Daughter of Red Riding Hood who I just realized for some reason has really cute wolf ears, or am I going to have to get mean- uh, meaner?" Rath corrected himself.

It was then that Cerise realized her hood was down, exposing her heritage for anyone lucky enough to stumble upon them in the empty classroom they were currently standing on a pile of rubble in; her anger and rage quickly gave way to panic and terror as she squirmed and tried to reach for her hood to hide in, but Rath merely tightened his grip, cutting off her air supply briefly until she stopped moving.

"What's your problem!?" he snarled.

"Please . . . l-let me hide my ears!" Cerise gasped. "N-no one can . . . s-see my ears!"

"So what!?" Rath shouted. "'Cause lemme tell ya somethin', Cerise Hood, Daughter of Little Red Riding Hood who for some reason has really cute wolf ears! Rath thinks they're better then that dumb hood!"

Cerise continued to plead. "I . . . I don't care! Just . . . l-let me go! No one c-can see my ears! No one!"

With a low grumble of defeat, Rath reached with his other hand and grabbed the limp hood between two of his fingers to pull it back up over Cerise's head, snugly fitting her wolfish ears inside and shadowing her face once more. "Whatever. Looks stupid anyways." he grumbled under his breath. "Now are you going to let Rath apologize, Cerise Hood, Daughter of Little Red Riding Hood who is strangely self-conscious about her appearance even though looks beautiful regardless!? Rath is getting tired of trying to say he's sorry! So you better let Rath it make it up to you, or Rath is going to make you let Rath make it up to you!"

Cerise just starred at him in complete and utter befuddlement as the sound of fancy shoes slapping against marble flooring caught both of their attentions and they turned to see Headmaster Grimm come to a skidding halt right outside the hole that led into the Lifairy, even earning a shushing himself from the Evil Step-Librarians as he stared at gaped at the massive hole in the wall before him; his expression was somewhere between amazement and fury and equivalent to that of a goldfish that had foolish jumped out of its bowl and was now flopping helplessly on the floor below.

"Ms. Hood and Mr. Tennyson!" the Headmaster roared as soon as he was able to form words again. "What . . . what is the meaning of this!?"

"Uh . . . Rath doesn't understand the question!" Rath replied.

"Um, what he said." Cerise agreed, deciding playing dumb was worth a shot.

"That does not explain this inexcusable behavior!" Headmaster Grimm snapped furiously, stamping his foot in anger as he clenched his fists. "Destruction of school property, endangerment of fellow students, not to mention disturbing the peace . . . you should be ashamed of yourselves!"

"Rath doesn't have shame!"

"Uh, what he said." Cerise repeated, still dangling from the Appoplexian's firm grip on her neck; she had managed to work herself free slightly and shift Rath's hold on her from her neck to around her waist, allowing her to rest her elbows on his fist and her chin on her hands as she waited for the Headmaster to blow his gasket and then deliver the punishment swift and quick.

"Ms. Hood, I realize that you are not as literate as the other students here at Ever After High, considering your rather odd disappearance during Nursery Rhyme School, but this does not mean you can get away with such things!" Grimm tried to say in a calm tone before he turned on Rath. "And as for you! I knew you were trouble from the start, but did they listen? No!"

"Are you mad at Rath?" the Appoplexian wondered.

Headmaster Grimm sputtered. "Mad? You . . . no, of course I'm not mad. I am furious!" he roared. "I am talking detention! I am talking suspension! I am talking exportation!" he yelled. "I will have you expelled!"

It was then that the Headmaster realized what he had just said, as if the lights had finally clicked on in his head. "I . . . I . . . I can . . . expel you . . ." he practically whispered giddily to himself. "I can . . . expel . . . you. I can expel you!" he cheered happily. "Ahahahahaha!"

"What is going on here!? My class can barely hear me teach!" a deep, gruff voice roared angrily; Cerise and Headmaster Grimm flinched slightly upon seeing Mr. Badwolf stalk through the Lifairy to the gaping hole in the wall, his lips curled back to showcase his rows of dagger sharp canines; he was, as his name implied, a tall, large wolf that walked on his hind legs and was covered in dark, gray fur from muzzle to tail with white patches on his chest, face, and palms. He wore a pair of torn, blue jeans and an old, hunting coat with a thick belt around the waist and faux fur at the cuffs and covering the inside. His expression softened slightly upon seeing Cerise, only to return to rage when he saw she was being held off the ground by Rath.

"I am sorry, Mr. Badwolf, but it would seem our newest student has already earned himself a one way ticket out of here." Headmaster Grimm apologized with a sinister grin.

"Stop smiling at me like that! It's creepy." Rath snarled.

"I don't care. You are going to be expelled for all the damages and out of my hair!" Headmaster Grimm grinned deviously.

Professor Badwolf narrowed his eyes at the scheming Headmaster. "You do realize that that is being completely unfair to Mr. Tennyson, correct? Cerise is just as to blame as he is for all the damages done to the school; I can smell her scent everywhere."

"Well, yes, but surely she is not responsible-" Grimm started to protest, shutting up and wincing under the wolf's glare.

"As I stated before, I can smell Ms. Hood's scent; it is quite tainted with anger and aggression." he explained in a threatening tone. "I may not be able to pinpoint exactly what Cerise was feeling at the time, but she is just as to blame here as Mr. Tennyson is. Meaning if you expel hi, you would have to expel Ms. Hood as well, thus jeopardizing her entire story." he summarized. "You know that I am right, Headmaster Grimm."

The Headmaster tried to argue and find some way around the trap one of his employee's had walked him right into, but he couldn't find a loophole or backdoor of any kind that could keep Cerise still within the clutches of the Storybook of Legends and get Rath out of his hair and his life for good; with a dejected sigh of defeat, Headmaster Grimm surrendered. "Fine. Eight weeks detention. I am placing the both of them under your watch, Mr. Badwolf." he added sternly.

"I will ensure they have been punished properly." Badwolf nodded. "But make no mistake, Mr. Grimm. I am not a lap dog to be taught tricks." he warned in a threatening tone; gulping, the Headmaster left, grumbling incoherent things under his breath. Once he was well out of earshot, the anthropomorphic wolf turned towards his daughter and her Appoplexian jailer. "Does he know?" he asked Cerise.

"In his current state? I highly doubt it." Cerise sighed. "When he changes back? Probably."

"Rath is really confused right now." the Appoplexian mumbled. "Can someone explain what's going on to Rath?"

"Sometime later, Tennyson. For now, you will let my daughter go." he growled in a low tone, throwing the Appoplexian a threatening look that said if he didn't comply, suffering eight weeks of detention with him would be the least of his problems; this did little to deter Rath in the first place.

"Lemme tell ya somethin' Mr. Badwolf, apparent father of Cerise Hood, Daughter of Little Red Riding Hood and the Big Bad Wolf who had pretty wolf ears that I like! Rath will let go of Cerise Hood when he's good and ready! And Rath is nowhere near ready to let go of Rath's girlfriend right now!" he yelled at the top of his lungs. With that being said, the Appoplexian marched off towards the opposite side of the classroom and kicked the door off its hinges before ducking through the door frame and storming out into the hallway with a stunned Cerise still in hand.

"Huh." Professor Badwolf scratched his head, a small smile coming to his face. "I like that kid already."

And there we go!

Wow, this is one of the longest chapters I've written. And I only say that because it is about three more pages than I normally write and the fact that I had to rewrite this sucker about three times; the first few just didn't feel right or up to my usual standards. I'm glad I kept on going though, because this chapter was definitely worth it.

Now for some bad news. I've been dedicating a lot of my time to this story and I absolutelty never get tired of writing it. But then again, I have been neglecting my other stories, namely my Ben 10/Monster one-series, Cupid's Crystal Ball, my Total Drama story, Pahkitew's Vengeance, and a Ben 10 collaboration story I'm writing between me and Data Seeker entitled A Charmed Childhood that has yet to be postedIf you haven't read either of them, I recommend reading at least one chapter! So anyways, this story won't be updated for a while, a couple weeks at the latest if life doesn't stop me from writing, that is. So until then, keep reading!

As always, comment, review, suggest, and request down below! I love hearing from you guys and your awesome ideas! I seriously don't know where I would be without you guys!

Hasta Luego!