NOTE: Welcome back! These updates will be quick, or at least I'll keep trying to make them quick.
Happy 15th Anniversary to Persona 4! So, I'm glad I could get this out on time! I've had a lot of people tell me that this story made them check out the game, so it makes me happy that you all enjoy not only Priestess 10 but also Persona 4!
I also want to clarify that the Haru and Ben thing last chapter wasn't a dream. It was something that did happen off screen before the Tennysons left Planetary Studios, so it was a memory.
Enjoy and Review!
Chapter 59: Divided Personas
"The time has come soon, I, Dr. Aloysius Animo, will bring about a new world order! And they thought they could lock me up forever!" The evil doctor, dressed in an orange prison uniform, declared his statement with great passion. However, his audience of pigeons didn't seem to care that much.
"Hahaha! You're not going anywhere, Dr. Freakamo." A prison guard popped his balloon. He and his fellow guard walked away from the doctor, mocking him still.
A seagull then flew down towards Animo, resting on his wrist. "Ignore them, my pet. For you have been exceedingly loyal. Bringing the components, I need one piece at a time." The seagull dropped a green computer chip in his palm. Unzipping his uniform, Animo took out his transmodulator which was fully operational thanks to the chip. "And now for your reward!"
His device zapped his loyal seagull, mutating the animal into a monstrous beast that erupted havoc in the prison yard. Animo hopped on top of his beast, happy as a kid in a candy store. The prison guards attempted to stop him, but the bird took off to the skies, not without taking the guards who mocked him with it.
"Put us down!" The guard from earlier ordered.
"With pleasure!" Animo laughed, ordering his bird to drop the two men into the ocean. He couldn't care less if they survived or not.
With his freedom secured, Animo gazed at the gray skies with determined anger. "And the first thing I plan to do is visit that snot nosed brat, Ben Tennyson!"
OP: Glory by BAND-MAID
A stream of stardust appeared, flowing like a peaceful river. The stardust joined together into a string of green DNA, twisting together before entering a single star. The star exploded in a blinding flash of light.
Trapped in conventionality, even denials are obvious!
The light disappeared to reveal Ben, who was busy playing his handheld game. His headphones placed over his ears as he engrossed himself in Sumo Slammers.
(That, there, this, whichever - Hey, isn't it true?)
A green flash changed the image to show Ben now preparing for battle. His eyes filled with a strong sense of confidence. His hand hovered over the Omnitrix's dial, ready to transform into Four Arms.
Why is it before you wake up you build a wall, saying it's impossible!
The scene switched over to Yu Narukami, the Fool was dressed in his Yasogami High uniform. He was peacefully making his way through the streets with his school bag draped over his shoulder.
(No discussions, no ideals)
This time a tarot card shattered the screen to reveal the teen now in his battle stance. His eyes were brimming with determination, his sword gripped firmly in his hands. Electricity bristled around his blade like a static coil.
Calling, calling, calling now!
The Omnitrix, Gwen's spellbook, and Yukiko's fan all popped up with each 'calling' that was spoken.
Even together, it's not the same!
Yukiko and Gwen were next to appear by each other's side. Yukiko was dressed in a pink apron with pink mittens on her hands. In her hands was a pot of disgustingly boiling purple liquid that threatened to spill out.
Gwen floated in the air, her spellbook in hand. The young girl was comfortably curled up as she read the book to herself.
Break yourself though, go way!
A tarot card shattered the screen again, showing that the girls were now battle ready. Yukiko's smile was dangerously beautiful, her left arm was raised into the air while the right held her fan, pointed right at the screen. She stood with the grace of a maiden, but a threatening aura could be seen on her.
Gwen was still floating in the air, her hands were extended outward, brimming with pink mana. The young sorceress' eyes were bright pink, burning a fierce intensity with a cocky smile.
Even if you lose your way, keep moving forward!
Max and a young chubby boy were up next. The ex-plumber was dressed in his fishing gear, a long green rod held in his left hand and a bucket of worms in the right.
The young blond chubby boy stood nervously next to him. His eyes looked everywhere but straight, his knees buckling with fear.
Our desires won't be stopped!
Another screen shatter brought forth a change from them both. Instead of his fishing gear, Max was wearing a grey exo-suit with blue markings on the suit's visor. His gauntlets vibrated with power, an excited grin making its way to the elder's face.
The chubby boy was even more different. Instead of his usual nervousness and fear, he hovered in the air, covered in blue energy. His eyes were completely white as his hair raised from the power radiating off of him, the boy almost looked omnipotent.
Oh, ah!
Mount Rushmore was the next thing to appear, but the screen cracked like glass, revealing that half of the National Monument had been utterly destroyed.
The whole wide world! Let your emotions spill!
Standing in front of the bright red background was the Forever King. His large frame towering above everyone else. Right under him was a ninja-like robot with a brown exo-frame. Surrounding them were 8 other silhouettes, blackened out, leaving their identities a mystery.
Keep rewriting, only glory!
The screen shattered once more to show a wide shot of the Tennyson family clashing against the Forever King and this new force. Ben was facing against the king, while the girls and Max were going against the other silhouettes.
If we're together! We can seize it! The war is just beginning!
Finally we have the Tennyson family standing together in front of the Rustbucket. Yukiko and Ben stood in front, her arms draped over his chest, holding the boy close to her. All of their wide smiles could be seen as they enjoyed being with one another.
The final shot was of the spinning Omnitrix, before the dial pressed down to envelop the screen in a blinding flash of green light.
Yukiko Amagi relaxed peacefully in her beach chair, dressed in a frilly white bikini with a beige sun hat on her head. Max had taken them to a beach for some fun and relaxation after the hectic dealings with the Forever Knights. The heiress was ecstatic to spend some time in the sea with her family, and even to spend some time under that accursed sun that wanted to melt her body into a puddle. It's a good thing Max had also gotten her a beach umbrella to keep the sun from getting her too much.
Now with a good horror novel to pass the time with, she could fully calm her nerves, because there was nothing that could possibly ruin this for her-
"AAAHHHH!"
She, Gwen, and Max jumped up from all the screaming and people running in fear. Countless incidents this summer have gotten them used to being prepared to fight whenever panic ensues. However, the source this time was more of an annoyance than anything dangerous.
"Of course…!" Gwen grumbled. The young sorceress was dressed in a light blue one piece swimsuit with a pair of white sunglasses resting on her head.
"I figured it was a little too quiet." Max sighed. The only difference in his appearance were the blue swim trunks he was wearing, other than that he still kept his famous Hawaiian shirt on. The ex-Plumber had to pause his work on the machine he was building.
Yukiko didn't say a word, but the red-hot aura pulsating around her spoke volumes of the heiress' mood at the moment. Gwen was glad that it wasn't being aimed at her this time.
The cause of all the commotion was none other than Ripjaws, who was riding on a surfboard. He jumped right off of the board, landing face first into some kid's sandcastle. The hero popped his head up, noticing all of the people who were running away from the beach. "Hey, where's everybody going? Surfs up dudes!"
The Piscciss Volann then noticed the familiar pair of long legs that stomped down in front of him. Gazing up slowly, he saw the terrifying sight of a pissed off Yukiko Amagi staring deep into his soul.
FLASH!
Ben, who is wearing a pair of red and orange swim trunks, tried to run away from Yukiko.
SMACK!
"OW!" Ben realized trying to run was the incorrect decision. "What the heck was that for-OW!" He cried again as Yukiko pulled him back towards their spot by his ear. "Yuki-ow! Quit it!" She then plopped down into her chair, then forced Ben down onto her lap, holding him in place so that he couldn't escape. "What the heck is your deal!?"
"Our deal, Ben, is that you keep causing trouble!" Max gained his attention next, and now he realized why Yukiko is holding him hostage.
"C'mon! I was just having some fun!" Ben defended himself.
"So, were we, Ben." Max countered.
"Only we manage to have fun without frightening innocent people half to death!" Gwen added.
Ben glared at them, not caring too much about his scolding. "Yeah, well, if I wanted to read books and build science projects I would've signed up for dumb summer school!"
Yukiko sighed, plopping her head on top of Ben's messy locks that she had spent the entire morning trying to comb. "Ben, we spent two hours earlier playing games in the water together. We just want to relax for the moment and have fun in our own ways, so please try to busy yourself without disrupting a bunch of innocent people."
Ben grumbled slightly, but he relented to Yukiko's request pretty easily. "Fine! I'll go have some fun without you guys." She released the boy, allowing him to head off on his own.
"Why does he listen to you, but not us?" Gwen asked.
"Because big sister always gets what she wants." Yukiko smiled.
"Can't disagree with that." Max chuckled, thinking of him and Vera when they were kids.
Max continued working on his contraption, pleased with the progress he was making on it until a ball smacked right into his back. The sudden jerk caused him to drop it on the sand, breaking the device and undoing most of the progress he had made.
Ben hurried over with a paddle in his hands, searching for where the ball had gone. He glanced at his grandfather for a quick second. "You done fixing that thing, Grandpa?" He asked, unaware that he just kept his grandfather from finishing it.
"I was…!" Max sighed with a hint of annoyance.
Ben found his ball, and then hurried back to their spot, putting his toys back into the beach bag that Yukiko had prepared for them. The heiress put down her book, noticing Ben tearing through Gwen's bag, searching for something that clearly wasn't there. She reached into the shared bag between herself and Ben, pulling out what she was certain he was looking for. "Here, Ben."
He looked over at her, seeing the blue frisbee in her grasp. "Oh, there! I was looking for that!" Ben took the toy from her, then looked down at their bag. "Why did you have to get bags that look exactly the same?"
"Ben, there are tags with our names on them." She pointed at the one tag that had her's and Ben's names on it.
"Oh." He made a noise. "Well, you should've made it bigger." He walked away from her to go play with his frisbee. She rolled her eyes before settling back with her book, but she did think about why he would want a frisbee if he was playing by himself-
"Gwen, catch!"
"OW!"
"And there it is." She mentally sighed, before deciding to let the situation fix itself.
Gwen, who had been minding her own business on a beach towel, glared daggers at the object of every headache she's ever suffered in her 10 years of life.
"C'mon, Gwen, throw it back!" Ben yelled. "You need the exercise anyway; you've been eating way too many sweets lately."
The young sorceress gave him a strained smile. "You're dead." Infusing the frisbee with mana, she tossed it at his head with the purpose of hurting him. Ben ducked the spinning toy of doom, watching as it ended up flying towards Yukiko. The heiress was unaware of the danger heading her way, so when the frisbee sliced through her book, she sat still for a solid few seconds to process what just happened. Her head slowly turned towards the twin terrors with punishment burning in her eyes.
"Uh oh." Both kids shivered in fear.
Rubbing the comically large bump on his head, Ben sighed in defeat. Yukiko and Max had banned him from playing with any of the other toys they brought unless one of them was playing with him. And since they were more focused on doing their own things, that meant he had literally nothing to do! He plopped down on the sand, feeling pretty bored and upset that he has no way to get rid of all his energy. Ben noticed some pigeons trying to find some food in the sand, seeing them all together brought his mood down further. "Aw man, even the stupid birds have others to hang with." When they flew off in a hurry, Ben raised a brow. "Well, that's weird. I'm not that ugly looking, am I?"
"SKREE!"
Turning around, Ben gasped at the horrific seagull swooping down at him. "But that definitely is! Wahh!" He rolled out of the way as the bird touched down in front of him. The hero activated the Omnitrix. "Guess a little air-to-air combat will spice up this day a bit! Going Stinkfly!"
FLASH!
Instead of Stinkfly, Ben had once again transformed into a new alien. This form is about the height of a human child. He has white skin, a black and white head and face, black shoulders, large hands with four digits and feet which are merely stubs. He has three fin-like growths on his head, and gem-like extended sensory nodes on his arms and waist. He's wearing black clothes that resembled overalls and green eyes with light green shines. The Omnitrix symbol is right on his forehead. Ben realized he was something else entirely. "Another alien!? Okay, so let's see what you can do!"
Ben charged at the seagull but was easily kicked away by the bird. The doofus skid across the sand like a cartoon character. "Okay… I guess you're not strong." The bird's shadow was the only warning he had to dodge its beak from piercing him. "Ahhh!" Ben attempted to crawl away, but the bird grabbed him by his leg, trying to pull him into the air. "Or fast! Let me go-"
SPLIT!
Ben stared at…himself? A duplicate of himself had appeared from the seagull's constant pulling. "Gehh!? Us!? Cool!" Ben was pretty happy to discover this alien's power was duplication. The seagull had his copy in its grasp though, attempting to escape with him. Ben chased after the two quickly.
"Hey! Come on-ow!" Ben(2) cried, dangling like a worm. Ben grabbed the seagull's tail to gain the bird's attention.
"Woah, woah, woah! Not so fast, bird brain!"
"AHHHHH!"
The Tennysons heard people screaming once again, assuming that Ben had once again caused a bunch of trouble. "What's Ben up to now?" Max groaned until he and his granddaughters actually saw what was happening. What they assumed to be Ben was fighting against a giant seagull with…another Ben? And the two were definitely not winning.
"Is that Ben!?" Gwen gasped.
"And… Ben!?" Yukiko jumped from her chair, racing to save her little brother.
"What alien or aliens has he turned into now!?" Gwen asked Max.
"Looks like he could use a hand! C'mon!" Max and Gwen chased after Yukiko, who had already started fighting the bird.
"Wha-Hey-Ow-C'mon-Ow!" Both Bens cried as the bird tried to fight them both. In an attempt to knock the original off it crashed into a lifeguard post where two kids were hiding.
Gwen quickly used a spell to prevent the wooden post from collapsing on the children as Max ran through the makeshift twister to grab them.
"Agilao!" Yukiko blasted the bird with a fireball, causing it to screech in pain, dripping Ben(2). That's when Yukiko grabbed the double, crushing him in a hug.
"Ben! You're safe!"
"Ow! You're crushing me!" Ben(2) struggled to break free.
"Ow! I felt that too!" Ben exclaimed. "Great, now I'll be feeling her hugs no matter what…" He groaned.
"SKREE!" The bird screamed at the heiress and Ben(2), attempting to crush them with its beak. However, Ben tore several feathers off of the bird, gaining its attention.
"Missing something?" He jokes, agitating the seagull even further.
"Back off! Agilao!" Yukiko pelted the bird with another fireball, still holding Ben(2) in her arms. It screeched at her, swiping at the heiress with its foot, forcing her to jump out of the way.
"Wait! I have an idea!" Ben(2) exclaimed.
"I think I have the same one too!" Ben agreed with his double.
Yukiko stared at the super adorable doubles of her little brother. "What is it?" Ben(2) broke out of her grasp, running away along with the original.
"Yo! Birdy, come get us!" Ben mocked it.
"Yukiko, get ready!" Ben(2) pointed over to the volleyball nets, cluing the heiress in on their plan. She raced around the beach quickly, getting ahead of the Bens and the seagull. The two aliens ducked underneath the net, managing to trick the bird into running straight into it. With the bird all tangled up like a ball, Yukiko unleashed her attack.
"Agidyne!" Yukiko's powerful blast exploded against the bird, sending it flying far away from the beach until it was nothing more than a twinkle in the sky.
The Bens draped an arm over each other's shoulders. "That's right, turkey! Nobody messes with…" The two stared at each other for a moment before settling on a name. "DITTO!"
"CUTE!" Yukiko had the two little idiots wrapped up in a hug, causing them to scream in pain.
"You guys couldn't have waited until we could figure out where that thing came from?" Gwen asked as she and Max joined them.
Max glared at the direction the bird had been sent. "I have a pretty good hunch that it's the work of our old nemesis, Dr. Animo!"
Gwen sighed, knowing that they'll have to deal with the mad doctor. "Guess, that's the end of our fun day at the beach."
Ditto scoffed, motioning towards his buddy. "Maybe your fun is over."
"But my fun is just beginning!" Ditto(2) leaned on the original's shoulder. The two looked pretty eager until a familiar ringing sound rained on their parade.
FLASH!
"As soon as the watch recharges…" Ben sighed.
Max crossed his arms, agreeing with Ben. "You're not wrong, Ben. We don't need to make any moves until either that bird comes back or Animo sends something else, so that we can properly track him down."
"Until then, Ben, let me reapply your sunscreen." Yukiko began dragging the boy back to their spot. "You've been in the sun too long."
"Ugh! I'd rather deal with that bird again!"
Since her book had been destroyed by her little siblings, Yukiko spent some time going through some of the emails Chie had been sending her. She found herself laughing at a photo of Teddie and Yosuke chasing after a dog after it had stolen the bear's suit. She's still waiting to see if they managed to recover it.
FLASH!
"Woo hoo!" Ditto jumped over her beach chair, slightly startling the heiress. When she tried to get comfortable again a football whizzed past her head, almost hitting her in the face. The heiress glared at Ditto(2), who quickly tried to apologize. He had been hit enough times today in his opinion.
"If you two want to play catch then do it elsewhere, not over here where you can hit someone!" She ordered.
"C'mon, Yukiko, lighten up! I'm just entertaining myself, isn't that what you said?" Ditto responded, tossing the football back to his double.
"Exactly! No need to be such a buzzkill!" Ditto(2) caught the ball and tossed right back. "Leave that to Gwen!"
"Who's the buzzkill?"
"Huh-BWAH!" Both Dittos cried as Ditto(2) had been sent flying by a pink tendril courtesy of Gwen, who had been relaxing on a towel next to Yukiko.
"Been waiting to do that all day." Gwen said, feeling satisfied.
"Hey! No fair!" Ditto yelled at her.
"Sucks to be you then, doofus-"
SPLASH!
"Kya!" Gwen squealed as a water balloon exploded against the back of her head. The girls turned around to see Ditto(3) holding multiple water balloons.
"You were saying, dweeb?" Ditto(3) grinned. The clone tossed two more, drenching the girls in water.
"Benjamin!"
"Doofus!"
"Ben!" The girls and Ditto looked over to see Max walking over, carrying Ditto(2) with him. The ex-Plumber did not look happy.
Ditto rolled his eyes, huffing loudly. "Fine! We won't bother the girls anymore." He, Ditto(2), and Ditto(3) said simultaneously.
SPLASH!
"Kya!" Yukiko and Gwen were hit once again by more water balloons. Turning around, they saw Ditto(4), who had been hiding in wait the entire time.
"But we didn't say anything about him!" The Dittos ran over to Ditto(4), giving him high-fives and pats on the back.
"Benjamin! How many clones did you make!?" Yukiko demanded to know.
"Not that many."
SPLASH!
"Eepp!" Yukiko screamed as two more water balloons nailed her on the rear. Another two Ditto clones sprinted past her to quickly escape with his brethren. The heiress glared at the six troublemakers, resisting the urge to roast them in a fire bath. "They were adorable at first (still are in her opinion), but they're starting to annoy me."
"One Ben Tennyson is problematic enough, but multiple?" Gwen voiced her opinion as well.
Max sighed, scratching the back of his head. "We'll just have to wait till Ben's excitement dies down. Now c'mon, girls, I'll buy you two something to eat and we'll grab the Bens something as well."
"Sure!" The girls followed after their grandfather, letting the Ditto problem fade into the back of their minds.
The Dittos were now occupying the beach's basketball court, playing an even game of 3v3. The clones were having a blast until Ditto(3) decided to get a little rough and push Ditto(2) out of the way, so that he could dunk the ball.
"Time out! You fouled me!" Ditto(2) called.
"Did not!" Ditto(3) defended himself.
"Liar!" Ditto took the ball from his copy. "I felt it too!"
"I never fouled you, nimrod!" Ditto(3) yelled. "We're on the same team!"
"No, you're not! I'm on your team!" Ditto(4) corrected.
"Wait, then who's on my team?" Ditto(5) asked. That's when Ditto(3) threw the ball at his head, causing them all to yelp in pain.
"I am, dipstick!" Ditto(3) yelled at him. That's when Ditto(6) got into his face, glaring at the third clone.
"Don't yell at him, moron!"
"Who're you calling a moron, you moron!"
"You, ya moron!"
"Hey, hey, hey, break it up!" Ditto(2) tried to break up their fight. That's when the two shoved him into the ground.
"Buzz off, moron!"
What happened next could be called chaos as each of the clones started dogpiling on each other in a cartoonish dust cloud, pushing and kicking at each other. Ditto, ignoring the pain from their skirmish, sighed at his clones. As much as he loved them it was tiresome dealing with their attitudes…or his attitudes for so long. "Is this how the others feel?"
He was going to try and break up their fight until he felt something wrap itself around his leg. Looking down the Splixson saw a purplish red tentacle attach itself to his body before lifting him up into the air. "Wuahhh!" His confusion was short lived as his arch nemesis Dr. Animo, who was dressed in a metallic diving suit with a large glass pod on his back, appeared to be riding the mutant squid. "Dr. Animo!?"
"Tennyson!" Dr. Animo was pleased to see the object of his hatred. Then he analyzed the unfamiliar alien form. "Hm, it seems that your watch is chalk full of new alien DNA." He realized before dropping the boy into his glass pod. "And I'll enjoy extracting all of it from you as painfully as possible!"
Ditto stared at the mad doctor with worry, hoping that his clones will realize his peril before it's too late.
Yukiko and Gwen were walking towards the Dittos, both were enjoying some nice ice cream that Max had bought them. The heiress was holding a tray of ice cream cones to give to each of the clones as well. As the two got closer they noticed the clones were fighting each other, probably over something stupid.
"You know, it's funny watching you having to deal with yourself for once." Gwen said.
"What does that mean?" The Dittos asked together. The idiots didn't notice the crab that was climbing up the leg of Ditto(6), it raised its claw and pinched the clone on the rear.
"YEOW!" All five Dittos jumped cartoonishly in the air, holding their rears as the pain swept through them all.
"Pfft! Snrk! Hahahahahaha!" The girls found the sight hilarious and satisfying after the headaches that Ben gave them today.
"It's not funny!" The clones yelled.
"You're right, it's downright hilarious!" Gwen cackled. Max joined up with his grandkids, but the sight of the Dittos confused him a bit.
"Wait, aren't there six of you?" He asked.
"Huh?" All five turned to each other, taking the time to count their numbers before realizing that Max was right. There were supposed to be six of them, so why was there only five?
"WRAR!"
The Tennysons and Dittos turned to the source of the roar, gasping at the sight of Animo retreating from the beach with a captured Ditto. "Looks like we've got trouble with a capital "A" for Animo!" Max exclaimed.
"And he took one of the Dittos!" Yukiko yelled.
"This is your fault!" The clones blamed each other like the children they are. The Omnitrix started to time out as usual, but instead of the usual red flash, nothing happened. Max and the girls stared at the clones with confusion as the clones just stood there awkwardly.
"Uh…? Shouldn't you be turning back into Ben right about now?" Gwen asked.
"Something must be blocking the DNA transformation process." Max theorized.
Yukiko hummed, thinking of the possible reason. "Maybe, it's like cooking a meal? You can't properly prepare a dish if you don't have all the ingredients to complete it, so it must be the same thing for the Dittos. They can't turn back into Ben unless they're all together!"
"That was the most roundabout way of just saying we needed them all together, but I shouldn't expect anything else from you." Gwen sighed.
"Thanks, Gwen!"
"It wasn't a compliment!"
The Dittos all came to an agreement for once. "We gotta go find the other me!" They all hurried over to Yukiko, pushing Gwen and Max out of the way. All of the Dittos started grabbing her arms, pulling Yukiko with them.
"Yukiko, you're gonna help me find a boat!"
"No, she's going to help me find a boat!"
Nuh uh, idiot, she's obviously coming with me!"
"In your dreams!"
Yukiko struggled to hold the Dittos in place, the copies of her little brother were desiring her attention, but she didn't know how to deal with all of them at once. She quickly turned to Max and Gwen, who were watching silently with a hint of amusement. "Help!?"
"Nah, seems like you've got this all under control. Besides, aren't you happy having Ben's attention all to yourself?" Gwen enjoyed the show.
"Just keep them busy, sweetheart, I'll quickly secure us a boat to chase after Animo." Max hurried off, leaving the girls to deal with the Dittos or more specifically, Yukiko had to deal with them.
"Ben!" Yukiko yelled.
"Yes?" Their green eyes stared at her without blinking.
"Let's play a game!"
"What kind of game?" Ditto(2) asked.
"Uh…" Yukiko quickly tried to think of something that could keep them occupied. She then noticed a seashell in the sand, quickly picking it up and showing it to the Dittos. "Whoever can find me the prettiest seashell on the beach gets a free hug from me!"
"No, thanks." None of the Dittos wanted to experience her powerful hugs.
"HUH!?" Yukiko cried, devastated at the instant rejection. All the while, Gwen just laughed at Yukiko and her children.
Inside of an abandoned sunken ship base, Animo and Ditto arrived via mutant squid, allowing the Splixson to see that Animo had transformed it into his base of operations, not only that but the mutant seagull from before was also present. However, Ditto noticed that it had several burns across its body from Yukiko's attacks. The squid removed the glass pod from Animo's back as the doctor touched the metallic floor. "Be careful, my pet. We don't want to damage our prize."
The squid tossed Ditto out of the pod, letting him land ungracefully on the ship floor. "Ow! You could learn to be gentle, Squidward!" Ditto shook his fist at the squid.
"SQUAK!" The seagull jumped down, screeching angrily at the Splixson.
"What's the matter, buzzard-beak? Scared I'll pluck out some more feathers?" Ditto taunted, pissing off the bird even further. Animo quickly jumped in the way before a fight could break out between them.
"No! We need the specimen alive!"
Ditto attempted to use this chance to escape, but the squid cut him off from the only exit. Leaving him cornered between Animo and his pets. "With your DNA the things I'll create will make these creatures look like single cell amoeba!"
"Never really paid attention in science class, but I have a feeling that's not good!" Ditto jokes before getting grabbed by the squid. The Splixson was tossed into a tank, leaving the cloning alien to float like a science experiment. Animo walked over to his worktable, grabbing the tools he knows will cause the boy the most pain. He put the electrical tool against the tank, shocking the Splixson.
"GYAAAAAAAHHHH!"
"GYAAAAAHHHH!"
All five Dittos screamed in pain, collapsing on the deck of the ship. Yukiko, now wearing a white jacket over her swimsuit, rushed over to her little brothers to check on them. "What's wrong!? Are you all okay!?"
Ditto(3) hissed in pain. "The other me is in trouble!"
"How can you tell?" Gwen asked.
"We can feel each other's pain even from this far away!" Ditto(4) responded.
"But if something happens to him… then what happens to us!?" Ditto(5) and Ditto(6) cried.
Animo's ranking on Yukiko's 'Who do I hate the most' list just bumped up to number 2, right under Vilgax. Hot quiet anger seeped through her mouth like a snake's hiss. "Every ounce of pain he causes you will be returned 10-fold the moment I get my hands on him."
The Dittos quickly scurried away from her, fear of death powering them more than usual. The five shoved Max away from the ship's steering wheel and started fighting over it like children. "We need to move faster!"
"Get out of the way!" Ditto(6) pushed number 3.
"Your hands are too big to grab the wheel!" Ditto(4) shoved his clone.
"So are yours!" Ditto(2) yelled.
"I call shotgun!" Ditto(5) called out.
"That doesn't make any sense!" His fellow clones barked at him.
Max, Gwen, and Yukiko simply looked at the three with exasperation. They're worried but beyond tired of dealing with multiple Bens who absolutely refuse to listen.
Animo's excitement reached an all-time high as he examined Ditto's DNA. "It's better than I ever imagined!"
BANG!
The mad doctor turned to the alien hero, who continuously banged on the tank's glass. "With a single strand of your alien DNA, I can extrapolate a genetic code from your entire arsenal of alien creatures!"
"Ugh, are you sure you and Vilgax aren't related? I swear you both have the exact same ideas." Ditto groaned. He noticed the bird right above him and got an idea, seeing as Animo was currently distracted. Ditto banged on the glass and got the bird's attention, then proceeded to mock him by making a bunch of dumb faces.
"SKREE!" The seagull attacked the glass, trying to get through to tear the Splixson's face off. Animo glared at his bird pet with the face of an annoyed parent.
"I thought I told you to not damage the specimen!?" His shout got the bird to calm down, ruining Ditto's escape plan for the moment.
Animo went back to examining the DNA, noticing how it duplicated itself repeatedly. "Truly fascinating! Limitless cloning capabilities!"
"OW!"
He turned to the cloning alien, confused slightly as to why he was groaning in pain. He hadn't even begun prodding him again. What could've caused the subject pain?
"Now, what did we learn?" Yukiko addressed the Dittos, who were sitting in a circle in front of her.
"Don't try to steer a boat without your permission." The Dittos repeated, each with a comically large bump on their heads.
"And what will happen if you do?"
"We'll be on time out without snacks."
"Good!"
Max, who finally finished that project he was working on, noticed the sunken ship. "Good thing we have a couple of hands-on board! Gwen!" He got her attention. "Head for that oil tanker! It's the only ship offshore! Boys!" He got the Dittos' attention next. "Main the sails to help Gwen steer the ship."
"On it, Grandpa!" The Dittos hurried to complete their tasks. Unfortunately, they're incapable of operating without making a mess. Ditto(4) tripped and fell onto Ditto(6), causing the sail to collapse on top of them.
"Ow!" Ditto(4) yelped from the punch his copy gave him. "Cut it out, dweeb!"
"You're the dweeb!" Ditto(6) responded.
"Am not!"
"Are too!"
Gwen groaned, losing her wits. "Are they even capable of getting along without insulting each other!?" Yukiko stared at her little sister as if she had just grown a second head, it only took Gwen a few moments to realize what she had just said. "Don't say anything!"
"Say what?"
"Yeah, what?" Ditto(2) popped up between them, making them jump.
"Don't do that!?" They yelled.
"Do what? This." Ditto(3) appeared out of nowhere too, scaring the girls again.
"Cut it out!"
Max shook his head at his grandkids, the sooner they take down Animo, the sooner he could take a nap.
Ditto continued egging on the seagull, needing this plan to work. "What!? Too scared to fight me? Are you a seagull or a great…big…chicken!?"
"BWAH! BWAH! BWAH!" Ditto made loud chicken noises
THAT was the last straw, the seagull no longer cared if its actions would piss off Animo, all the bird wanted was to tear the annoying alien to pieces. "SKREE!"
SHATTER!
The glass broke instantly from the bird's charge, setting Ditto free of the tank. Animo, unprepared for the flood of water, slipped onto the floor while the bird collapsed from going headfirst into reinforced glass. "Woo hoo! Thanks, bird brain!" Ditto bounced off the bird's head and made his escape.
The boat grew closer to the oil tanker, the Dittos could feel the original was getting closer. "He's close! We can feel it-"
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Suddenly, with the beeping of the Omnitrix, all five Dittos floated into the air. The girls and Max watched as the five flew towards the tanker, likely being taken to the original. "WAHHHH!" The Dittos screamed loudly.
Ditto sprinted onto the deck of the sunken ship, avoiding the tentacles of the mutant squid as the Omnitrix beeped loudly. Suddenly, he was also thrown into the air by the proximity of his clones until all six finally merged back into one.
FLASH!
"BWAH!" Ben swam back up to the surface of the water, taking deep breaths. "Woah… I'm me again!" He realized, and he's pretty happy to be back to normal. Too bad it was short lived as the seagull descended like a vulture finding its prey. "AHHH!" Ben screamed as it picked him up by its feet, holding him between its claws.
Ben struggled, unable to break free. "As soon as my watch recharges, you're so fried!"
"AGIDYNE!"
"Or…maybe not!" Ben laughed as Yukiko's fireball exploded against the seagull's body, forcing the bird to drop him. "AAHHH-OOF!" Ben's fall was short since Max, using his new jetpack, caught him in his arms. "Grandpa!"
"I got ya, Ben!" Max descended back down onto the boat with Ben, who was instantly hugged by Yukiko.
"You're back to normal!" Yukiko exclaimed.
"Good, I'd much rather one of you than six of you." Gwen was happy to see Ben was alright.
"Honestly, I can't really disagree there." Ben responded.
"SKREE!" The Tennysons looked up to see the seagull was undeterred in its attempts to get Ben. It destroyed the sail and caused it to fall on top of the Tennysons. Max quickly took to the skies to distract the bird from attacking the boat even further. His grandkids needed a way to get up there and help, so it was a good thing the destroyed sail gave them an idea.
Max dodged the seagull as it attempted to clamp him between its beak, unfortunately for it a tornado of raging flames swallowed it completely. The ex-Plumber turned around to see his grandkids riding on the sail with Gwen using a tornado spell to keep them in the air.
"Hey, Grandpa, take a lesson in triple teaming from the experts!" Ben grinned.
"SKREE!"
"You have got to be kidding me!" Gwen yelled at the bird. "Did Animo make this thing fire resistant or something!?" The thing was badly burnt and bleeding, but it was still willing to fight them.
"I might have made it angry." Ben admits.
"You do that with everyone, I shouldn't be shocked." Gwen sighed. She steered them to the side to avoid getting hit by the seagull. The three descended down towards the ship, leading the bird on before changing directions. The bird couldn't react fast enough and went headfirst into a crane.
"Agidyne!" Fire burned into its back pushing the bird over the sea before Max landed the final blow by crashing into the seagull, sending it to a watery grave. With the mutant seagull finally taken care of, the Tennysons touched down on the deck of the sunken ship.
"Now that's what I call teamwork." Max congratulated his kids. That was until Animo's other mutation made itself known, the squid's tentacles surrounding the old tanker.
"Uh oh!" Gwen gasped.
"I'm on it!" Ben activated the watch, and for some dumbass reason he selected Ditto.
FLASH!
"Upgrade!?" The Mechamorph was displeased. "Aw man, I wanted to go Ditto!"
"Why!?" The girls yelled at him.
Before Upgrade could explain, the squid wrapped its tentacle around him, stretching him like a rubber band, attempting to tear the boy apart. "AHHHHH! OKAY THIS IS STARTING TO HURT!"
"Maragidyne!" Flames rained down on the tentacles, forcing the monster to release its hold on Upgrade. "Don't you ever put your slimy tentacles on him again unless you want to become dinner tonight!" Yukiko threatened.
Gwen quickly began shooting pink tendrils at the squid, slapping away the tentacles that tried to grab her while Max took to the skies to attack the tentacles. "Pull yourself together and give us a hand!" He ordered Ben.
Upgrade got back up slowly. "Ugh…working on it!"
"Hurry!" Yukiko yelled, jumping out of the way from a tentacle that almost crushed her.
Upgrade fused with the ship's crane, using the wires to wrap up each and every one of the tentacles. "Is this fast enough for you!?" Electrical bolts surged from his core, frying the squid extra crispy since it was underwater. The light from the attack was so blindingly bright that the others had to close their eyes from going blind.
FLASH!
"AAAHHH!" Ben fell from the crane, but luckily Yukiko caught the boy in her arms. He turned to the Omnitrix. "Man, that was fast. I guess being Ditto for so long took a lot out of the watch."
"HE'S NOT THE ONLY ONE THAT TOOK A LOT OUT OF YOUR WATCH!" Animo finally appeared, but he wasn't alone. The mad doctor was riding on top of a giant mutated version of Stinkfly. "You see I have already incorporated its power into my own transmutation technology! Now I will lead this planet in a glorious new phase of evolution!"
The Tennysons approached the mad doctor, unimpressed. "You and what army!?" Ben tempted fate.
Animo was more than happy to respond. "THIS ARMY!" The family of four stared in horror as the mutant stinkfly started to duplicate itself like Ditto, over and over and over and over and over again, until there were over a hundred of it. "And this is only the beginning! Soon, I will replicate all of your aliens and populate the Earth with a whole new variety of species! But first, a show of strength to silence those who would oppose me!" The doctor turned to the direction of the beach. "And I think leveling a beach town or two would get my point across!" He and his army headed towards the beach.
"We have to stop him before he wipes out the whole coastline!" Max exclaimed.
"But there's too many of them! Not even Yukiko could fry all of them before getting tired!" Gwen countered.
"What are we going to do!?" Yukiko asked.
The Omnitrix recharging catches their attention, boosting Ben's confidence. "We'll just make some more of us! It's about time this thing started working the way I wanted it to!"
FLASH!
Ditto stood proudly, but his family wasn't as confident. "Haven't you guys done enough damage?" Gwen asked.
"No-"
"-Way!" Ditto split into two, then high-fived his clone.
The Tennysons caught up to Animo and his army, one Ditto flying with Max and the other with the girls. The family soared over the mutant army to give Ditto his much-needed space and vantage point. "NOW!" Both jumped off, free-falling towards Animo. Within seconds Ditto went from just two to over a hundred. "IT'S ALL FOR ONE AND ONE FOR ALL!"
POW!
Several Dittos were bashed away by the mutant stinkbugs.
POW!
The Dittos continued to get their asses kicked effortlessly. Every single one fell into the ocean depths before merging back into the original two Dittos. They swam back up to the surface and were picked up by Yukiko. "That was pathetic." The heiress was blunt.
"You don't have to be rude about it!" The Dittos yelled.
"Do you guys remember every time you got hit?" Gwen asked the Dittos. "When one feels pain the others will feel the exact same thing."
"We still do!"
"So, if we just take out one of those stinkfly copies…?" Max realized where Gwen was going with it.
"Then, Animo and his army are done for!" Yukiko realized.
The Dittos were all for that plan. "Now, which stinkfly do we attack?"
"Pick one!" Gwen yelled.
Scoffing at Gwen's inability to understand the beauty of their madness, the Dittos dropped down onto the stinkflies, bouncing across them to get their true target. Which happened to be Dr. Animo's stinkfly copy!
"Gah! What's going on!?" Animo turned around to see both Dittos gripping the wings of his personal ride. "YOU…!" He spoke with much hatred.
"Your ride's over!" The Dittos and Animo went crashing down towards the sea, the mad doctor falling into the water as his stinkfly crashed into someone's boat, dying in the explosion. With the death of the original all of the copies turned into green goop.
"No! No!" Animo cried in despair as his plans were once again foiled. That was until Yukiko and Gwen floated down right in front of him. The mad doctor glared at the girls with just as much hatred. "You wretched little girls! You and that stupid brat will-"
SMACK!
SMACK!
SMACK!
SMACK!
Yukiko unleashed a torrent of ruthless smacks with her fan on the mad doctor. Animo was sent flying through the air until being caught by a pool of Dittos. The heiress fanned herself off, glaring at Animo's unconscious body. "That was for torturing my little brother."
The Dittos all laughed. "Ha! Guess, the doctor couldn't handle some good ol' medicine courtesy of Yukiko!"
The Tennysons watched as Animo was loaded into a police van and taken back to prison. They didn't even bother trying to listen to his whole revenge speech, having heard the same dribble from him before. "Do you think he'll stay in prison this time, Grandpa?" Gwen asked.
"Even if he does escape I deleted all of his computer files, so he won't be replicating anymore Omnitrix DNA." Max explained.
"Neither will I for a while." Ben told them. "I'm all Ditto'd out. From now on, we can have fun your way, guys." Yukiko was proud of Ben for learning his lesson once again when it came to letting people have their own fun. But…
"Okay!" Gwen grabbed Yukiko's hand, the other holding the broken sail. "Race you to the beach!" She and Yukiko hopped onto the sail, blasting off towards the water.
"Don't fall too far behind, Ben!" Yukiko yelled, she and Gwen giggling to each other.
"You girls aren't leaving me in the dust!" Max activated his jetpack, chasing after his granddaughters.
Ben was the only one left behind, a small act of karma thrown his way. "H-hey, guys! Wait for me! The Omnitrix is still recharging!" Ben ran after them, hoping for the watch to recharge. "No fair! Aw man, where's Stinkfly when you need him or XLR8 or Ripjaws! Hello!? Anybody!?"
Animo silently fumed in the back of the transport, already planning how he would escape from prison this time and exact his vengeance on the Tennyson family for the new humiliation they bestowed upon him. He'll make sure that Ben Tennyson and his annoying witch of a cousin paid dearly.
Suddenly, the transport vehicle started jerking violently, knocking him over from his seat. Grumbling like a grumpy old man, Animo yelled at the front of the vehicle. "Don't you imbeciles even know how to drive!?" He didn't expect them to answer the question besides their insignificant attempts to try and intimidate him. However, the mad doctor started to hear strained noises outside the transport. Sounds of struggle were heard before being silenced just as fast as they came. It only took a few moments before the back doors to the vehicle were torn open, revealing the bright sunlight to Animo.
When his eyes adjusted to the light, he saw who it was that broke open the doors. Standing in front of him was some sort of robot ninja with a crest on its chest. He somewhat recognized the crest but didn't remember where he saw it. "And who exactly are you supposed to be?" Animo asked. But the robot didn't answer. Growing annoyed quickly, Animo reiterated his question. "I asked-"
"It only takes orders from me."
A chill ran down the mad doctor's spine, something that hasn't happened to him in years. Walking from the side of the transport was the strangest looking person(?) he has ever seen. The technological suit was magnificent, if only he could take it apart to use for building himself another transmodulator.
"Dr. Aloysius Animo."
"Yes, that is my name and who would you be?"
"I am the Forever King, leader of the Forever Knights." The king introduced himself. "And I have a proposition for you, one that I am sure you won't reject."
"And why exactly is that?" Animo asked carefully.
"I'm certain that you would love nothing more than to exact vengeance on the ones who have put you in prison multiple times this summer, no?" Animo's lack of response was the only response the king needed, though he already knew what Animo was feeling. "I would like you to join me in ridding the world of the Tennyson family once and for all."
Animo let the words swim in his mind. "And even if I do agree to join you, what would be in it for me besides the satisfaction of exacting my revenge? I am a scientist first and foremost."
"Of course, you'll have access to our labs and the specimen inside, especially this one." Raising his wrist, a projection of the 'specimen' appeared before Animo. The king knew he won the moment that maniac grin spread across Animo's lips.
"When do we begin, Forever King?"
Chapter End
NOTE: This entire episode could be described as "Ben realizes just how annoying he can be". Let's get to the discussion!
1. Yukiko referring to Ben and Gwen as her little siblings is something I felt like she'd just start doing by this point. Yu does it when it comes to Nanako. Of course, if asked Yukiko will clarify that they aren't her actual siblings, but she simply sees them as such.
2. Yes, I am using the idea of the Negative 10 being gathered together as if it's the Avengers initiative. Animo being the first one to be recruited since he's the first of the rogue gallery that Ben actually faces. He doesn't come into contact with Vilgax until later, so I don't count him as the first one.
3. There's so much cartoony fun that can be done with Ditto, so I'm happy that I can finally use him! I pity Naoto, because Ditto will do everything in his power to annoy the shit out of her.
Next Chapter - Don't Drink the Water