NOTE: I missed Ben 10's 17th anniversary, sorry this couldn't be uploaded on that day. I do want to thank this franchise greatly for coming into my life and all of the people who had a hand in creating Ben 10. It made me happy waking up every Saturday morning to catch a new episode of Ben 10. I miss those days so much.

I hope to continue writing this fic and I hope that all of you will continue enjoying it and reading it as well.

Feel free to tell me your favorite Ben 10 moments/episodes/characters in the reviews.

Enjoy and Review!

Chapter 46: Persona Over

Yukiko sat across from Ben and Kenny, who were busy playing Ben's Sumo Slammers Smackdown, her attention turned to the storm outside. Back at the Navajo village, Naoto and her grandfather had explained to the Tennysons about the unnatural phenomenon of the purple lightning that's been popping up around the States recently. She and her family had been unaware of it up until that point, though Ben did mention seeing something like that during the weather monster debacle. So, now the heiress decided to watch out for any strange lightning tonight.

Next to her was Gwen, who shut her spellbook with a tired sigh. "I'm so bored!" She looked at Ben. "Even your stupid video games sound good. Let me play." She said to her cousin and brother.

Ben scoffed. "Sorry, Kenny and I are already halfway through this level and you'd just get us sent back to the start." He was playing his favorite character Ishiyama. "Ishiyama is the coolest, like me!"

"Sorry, Gwen, but Ben's got a point. You haven't played many video games before." Kenny added, his attention just as focused as Ben's.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "That doesn't mean I haven't played any." She scoffed, then an idea popped into her head. "Oh, are you just afraid that you'd just get your butt kicked by a girl?"

Ben paused the game, the blow and challenge to his ego was too high for him to ignore. He took off his headset, and walked over to the cabinets. "Uh? Ben?" Kenny asked, unsure of what his little cousin was about to do. Ben ignored him, reached into the cabinets and pulled out two other controllers. He handed one of them to Gwen.

"Uh? Why did you grab two extra controllers?" Gwen asked, taking one.

"Yukiko's playing too." Ben added.

"Hm?" Hearing her name the heiress finally gave them her attention. She saw Ben holding the controller up to her face and grabbed it. "Why are you giving me this?"

"Sumo Slammers Smackdown is a four-player game, meaning we can do teams. Kenny and I will be one team, you and Gwen are the other." Ben explained, sitting back down. He moved the small tv to the side of the table, so that they could all see it.

"But I don't play video games. Except for that one time with the horror game." Yukiko frowned at the controller. Gwen slung an arm around her, grinning confidently at Yukiko.

"Don't sweat it, Yukiko. This game is easy to get the hang of even, a toddler could understand the controls. We'll teach these boys about underestimating us girls." Gwen said.

Yukiko was still confused. What exactly were they all talking about when she wasn't paying attention?

Kenny shrugged. "Don't say we didn't warn you, baby sister. Ben and I are pros at this sorta thing."

"Exactly, this'll be a cinch! Whichever team gets the highest score at the end wins!" Ben laid down the terms and conditions. He loaded up the character select screen to allow his cousins to pick whoever they wanted, he obviously went for Ishiyama.

Yukiko felt a little uneasy at the competitive fire her cousins were exhibiting. Hopefully this wouldn't be too bad. Though, she had to admit she was a bit shocked to see a female character in this sumo game, let alone one with very revealing clothing on. Yukiko wasn't so sure she should be letting Ben play this game now.


NEW TOP SCORE:

100.355.967

PLAYER 3 AND PLAYER 4: Yukiko and Gwen

"Oh, wow… that was easier than I thought." Yukiko giggled. She saw the devastated looks on Ben and Kenny's faces and couldn't help laughing at them. The boys looked so silly to her, a pair of gag glasses would've made them look even funnier.

"Oh, yeah! New high score for Team Lucky Priestess!" Gwen gloated in their faces.

"Team Lucky Priestess?" Yukiko tilted her head.

"Yeah, it's a combination of us. Lucky Girl and your tarot card." Gwen explained.

Yukiko gushed, clamping her hands over her mouth as her eyes watered. "That's so cute!"

Ben growled in humiliation, he couldn't believe that Gwen or Yukiko could ever beat him in a video game, especially not Sumo Slammers! "Tch! It's just beginner's luck! I'll show you a real gamer!" He loaded the level back up, but unfortunately he ran into the boss character: Kenko the Shapeshifter. The boss grabbed Ben's character and killed him, bringing him down to two lives.

Kenny winced. "Oh! Kenko the Shapeshifter, bad luck, bro."

Gwen whistled mockingly. "Only one life left, dweeb. Be careful-hey!" She exclaimed when Ben yanked the controller out of her hands, then he unplugged Yukiko's. With the two unable to play, their characters were quickly killed by Kenko.

"Ben!"

"Benjamin!"

Ben blew his tongue at them. "Careful, you only have one life left!" He mocked Gwen's voice.

"Guys!" Max's stern callout grabbed everyone's attention. The entire time the elder had been taking a nap in the back of the RV. "Could you kids quiet down, I'm trying to grab some shut-eye here."

"Sorry, Grandpa." Yukiko apologized.

Kenny leaned back in his seat, yawning himself. "Might be a good time to turn the game off."

"You're right. It's almost Ben and Gwen's bedtime-"

FLASH!

Yukiko's sentence halted when Upgrade merged himself with the game console, none of them had been paying attention to him to stop him from transforming in the first place. The mechamorph used his abilities to cheat and bring the girls' score down to zero.

"Ben Tennyson, you are such a cheater!" Gwen hissed. Her hands vibrated with mana, ready to strike the mechamorph with her fury, shocking the teens. Yukiko grabbed Gwen, trying to hold her back.

"Gwen, wait! Don't hit Ben!"

Kenny relaxed after hearing that. "Phew, at least Yukiko's using common sense-"

"Let's wait for the watch to time out, then we hit him!"

"That's what you're stopping her for!?" Kenny yelled. He reached over to grab the two, seeing that he was the only one with common sense at the moment. Gwen didn't bother listening to Yukiko and brought down her fist on Upgrade.

Unbeknownst to the Tennysons, that was the exact moment a bolt of purple lightning struck the Rustbucket's antennas, sending a different form of energy through the outlet that Upgrade was connected to. In a bright flash of blue light all of the Tennyson kids vanished from sight, only leaving behind a trail of smoke.

Max, unaware of the fate that just befell his kids, sighed in relief. "Ah~! Finally, a little peace and quiet."


OP: Ancient Romantic by P-Maru Sama

Ancient Romantic!

(U! Ha! U! Ha!)

(U! Ha! U! Ha!)

A rotating shot of the Omnitrix comes into view before latching onto Ben's wrist. He's seen standing with Yukiko, Gwen, and Max in front of the Rustbucket.

For a split second the landscape around them glitches out as purple lighting cracks the sky above.

The miracle of humankind that I met at once was a loss if neither Edison nor Watson knew (Loss!)

Ben stands on top of a broken spaceship, staring out at the clear blue sky above him.

Below him was Yukiko, who stood in the shadows of the ship. Her eyes transfixed on her tarot card.

Mr. N was surprised at such a situation since the earth was created (Unexpected!)

Gwen walked past the two, her eyes focused on her spell book. She shut the book instantly, her eyes glowing with blue mana.

Max stood in the back and in his hands was a broken picture frame.

The ancient civilization and the school playground that I ran yesterday are all connected.

The scenery changed to Inaba. Yukiko is seen running through the town with the rest of the Investigation Team.

SHATTER!

Yukiko was now running around with the Tennysons. Ben, happily leading the charge with the Omnitrix ready.

SHATTER!

Yukiko was smiling brightly, her arms draped around Ben's chest as he proudly stood in front of her. His face is full of confidence and aspirations.

SHATTER!

Older versions of Ben, Yukiko, Gwen, Max, and Yu appeared. The Tennysons were standing around the married couple as Yukiko held a small blue bundle of blankets in her hands. She smiled warmly at her newborn baby.

The invitation to unravel the true nature of this romance is an initiation from ancient times.

Ben sat inside of a blue limousine. In front of him were both Igor and Maragret, the attendant holding a large blue book in her hands.

Sitting next to Ben was Yu, whose tarot card expanded into a blinding flash of light.

All members! Go in! Aye-aye!

Ben charged into battle first, slapping down the dial and transforming into Four Arms. Gwen came in next, hands glowing bright with mana. Yukiko summoned Sumeo-Okami, unleashing waves of fire. Max joined his grandkids, his own personal blaster ready to battle.

Let's dance in such an era! Dancing all right!

Yu appeared next with his sword drawn. Izanagi jumped out from behind him, his blade sparking with white electricity.

Naoto Shirogane dropped down in front of him with her gun pointed at the screen. Her Persona: Yamato-Takeru appeared next to her in a flash of light.

Rise Kujikawa descended downwards gracefully, with her eyes closed shut. Her Persona: Kanzeon had appeared behind Rise. Placing a red-colored headset over her user's eyes.

Rehabilitation! Introspection! I'll do it one after another! The past and the future are all mixed together!

Yukiko had her arms wrapped around Four Arms' neck as the two glided through a massive tornado. Four Arms loudly strummed his guitar.

Kenny and Lucky Girl stood back to back, facing off against an army of robots. The elder brother held a baseball bat in his hands, while Lucky Girl's hands vibrated with mana.

Collapse! Situation! Hurry up!

A familiar looking creature appeared dressed in shadows, its purple eye glistening with malicious fury.

The feelings of hundreds of millions of years are romantic over!

Three new aliens appeared on the screen. A Frankenstien's monster, a werewolf, and a mummy all stood in front of a large satellite. Above them the sun transformed into a massive purple eyeball.

March! Send! Do in! Do in Love! There is one love in any era!

The Rustbucket was speeding towards the satellite with its boosters activated. The Tennysons inside were determined to stop whatever was about to happen.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, you can see!

Chie, Yosuke, Kanji, Teddie, Nanako, Rise, and Naoto held each letter as they flashed across the screen.

H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, you caught!

For the last remaining letters were each held by Ben's aliens as they flashed across the screen.

Ancient Romantic!

Yukiko fell through the air, unable to stop herself. Ben reached for her as fast as he could, his hand only inches from her's.

(U! Ha! U! Ha!)

(U! Ha! U! Ha!)


Upgrade stood alone in an empty village. He gazed around, taking in the features of his new environment, especially the orange sky. The mechamorph turned to his left when three green circles appeared next to him, new arrivals spawning in a flash of light. Fortunately for him all three were very familiar people.

The first he took notice of was Gwen. She wore a light gray and blue outfit with a gray shoulder pad on her left shoulder and a gray headband. She seemed a bit dazed, but gathered herself quickly.

Next was Kenny, who was admiring the sword on his hip. He was dressed in a simple white and gray gi in the style of a kimono, a white obi around his waist, and a pair of wooden geta on his feet. His hair was long as well and had been tied into a man-bun.

And finally was Yukiko…what was she doing? The heiress knelt down with her back turned to the others, steam rising from her head as she tried to hide herself away. Upgrade would've pondered a question if Gwen hadn't stepped in front of him. And by the look on her face she wasn't happy at all.

"Do you even realize where we are, doofus!?"

"Uh..? What?"

"We're in the game, idiot! Why else would we be dressed like this!"

Upgrade paused for a second as he processed her words. "We're in Sumo Slammers Smackdown!? That's so cool!" He gushed.

"Um, it's so NOT cool!" Gwen huffed.

"So, what do you think happened?" Kenny asked.

"That lightning strike must've zapped Upgrade and trapped us all inside." She said before sending another glare Ben's way. "Good going, dweeb."

"Best mistake I've ever made!" Upgrade danced around.

Kenny searched around for their 4th member. "Hey, guys? Where did Yukiko go?" His question grabbed their attention, now noticing that Yukiko was no longer in the spot she was before.

"R-right here…."

The trio looked over to see Yukiko hiding behind a building, her face as red as Max's shirt. They tried to approach her, but Yukiko's hand forbade them from getting any closer. "D-don't! I-I'm underdressed…!" She squeaked with embarrassment.

"Underdressed?" Kenny raised an eyebrow.

"I'm sure it's not that bad." Upgrade waved it off. "Just c'mon!"

Yukiko slowly stepped away from the building, wrapping her arms around herself. It was at that moment that two of the Tennysons understood why Yukiko was so embarrassed. The heiress wore a kunoichi dress which was red in color and was sleeveless, as well with two red and white tassels at the back containing orbs of the opposite colors, and circular ropes around her shoulders. On her feet were black two-toed shoes with red linings. The embarrassing part for Yukiko was that the outfit was very revealing on her chest and legs, leaving little to one's imagination.

"S-stop staring!" She hissed at the three when they didn't look away from her.

"I don't get what you're embarrassed about. Looks fine to me." Upgrade shrugged. He was too young to really have any impure thoughts.

"You're not a girl, so you wouldn't get it." Gwen sighed. She walked over to Yukiko. "Maybe there's something we can use as cover for you." Gwen suggested

Kenny's face was pretty red from embarrassment of seeing Yukiko's attire. He tried to think of a way to ease Yukiko's embarrassment. "W-well… at least you look hot."

SMACK!

"OW!" Kenny fell back into the dirt from Yukiko's fan hitting him in the face. Upgrade laughed his ass off at seeing Kenny finally get a taste of Yukiko's wrath.

"It's about time you got hit." Gwen said.

Suddenly a large shadow blocked out the sun, eliciting the Tennysons to all look towards the skies. Above them was a large spaceship which opened up, releasing several metallic balls into the town.

The Tennysons huddled together as the balls turned out to be robot enemies in the game sent to eliminate them. "Robo Sumos? That is so level one!" Upgrade informed them.

The commander robot raised its flag and charged, initiating the battle. It went straight for Upgrade, plowing the mechamorph away from the group. Unfortunately for the commander, Upgrade was the worst opponent for it as the alien hero fused himself with it. "Oh yeah!" He shouted as he knocked down some Robo Sumos. The rest of the army attacked even without their leader.

Gwen kicked one into a building before blasting several more with bolts of mana. She prepared to unleash a spell on the army when a menu screen appeared next to her face. "W-what!?" Gwen flinched back from its brightness. The magical girl stared at the screen, reading the text on it, her eyes widened once she realized what it was. "M-my spells!?" It didn't take long for her to realize that the menu was telling her that the spells she was trying to use cost too much mana, which meant that she was extremely limited on what she could use. "What is this!? Some kind of RPG!?"

Kenny weaved through the Robo Sumos as they tried to bash him into the ground. The older brother took out his sword, using it to block one of the attacks. "I don't really know how to use a sword but…!" He pushed back against the robo, and swung his sword like a bat, slicing it in two. "Can't be much different from using a baseball bat!" He grinned at his victory until he realized that more robos were coming towards him. "Uh oh."

Yukiko was surrounded by a few robos, the heiress putting her embarrassment on pause to focus on the battle. She summoned her tarot card and swung at it. "Come forth, Su-Su-Su-Su-" Yukiko's fan collided with the card as if it was a brick wall. Her eyes widened at the action, never before had something like this happened. It was as if she couldn't say her Persona's name, but the only way something like that could be possible is if that wasn't her Persona's name. The heiress jumped back when the robos tried to tackle her. When they were too busy trying to untangle themselves, she attempted summoning her Persona again. "Come forth, Su-Su-Su-Konohana Sakuya!" The heiress blurted out the name on instinct as her card shattered like glass.

Yukiko's eyes were as wide as dinner plates when her very first Persona appeared before her in all of its glory. But it shouldn't have been possible; their Personas couldn't go back to the state they were before after evolving. And yet somehow her Persona had been forced back to its very first state. "Maragi!" Yukiko bellowed out, blasting the robos to pieces with small fireballs. Yukiko called her card in her palm, staring at it in bewilderment. "W-what's going on?"

Upgrade happily continued merging with robo after robo, having the easiest time dealing with them. "This isn't a challenge! It's a slaughterfest!"

"Easy for you to say! Upgrade is the biggest cheat code ever!" Kenny cried as he was being chased down by a multitude of them. Seeing that his cousin was in trouble, Upgrade fused with a stray bot, and used it as a cannon to blast the rest of the army to pieces. "Oh yeah! You've been Sumo Slammed! Ben's the best, forget the rest!"

Gwen brushed the dirt off her clothes. "Okay, since you control everything, how about getting us out of here before you-?"

FLASH!

"Uh oh…" Ben winced as he turned back to normal. Ben's outfit was different like the rest of his family's. He wore brownish-green armor and had longer hair like Kenny, but it was tied in a ponytail. Ben turned around to smile nervously at his family, who were all equally pissed off at him.

"You absolute doofus!" Gwen roared.

"Great…" Kenny pinched the bridge of his nose.

Yukiko raised her fan, which was all Ben needed to know that he had to fix the situation somehow. "W-w-wait! Look, I can fix this! We just hang out till the watch lets me go Upgrade again." He raised up the Omnitrix, which had been transformed into a brown gauntlet. He turned the dial, but the watch was completely unresponsive. Seeing that it wouldn't work, Ben turned back to the others. "...Okay. There may be another problem."

SMACK!

"OW!" Ben yelped as Yukiko's fan was brought down on his head.

"You deserve more, but I'll be merciful just this once." Yukiko said.

"What happened to all the hero icons?" Gwen panicked as grabbed his arm, turning the dial herself. "Just great! How long are we gonna last in here until Up-"

"Don't blow a brain gasket!" Ben wretched his arm back. "I've played this game like a million times. Nothing can surprise me-"

BAM!

Yukiko and the others watched horrified as another Robo Sumo dropped right onto Ben, crushing him like paste. "BEN!" They screamed for him.

Suddenly, Ben respawned right next to them, Yukiko pulled him into a hug without hesitation. "Ben! Are you okay!? Are you dead!? Are you a ghost!? Please don't be a ghost! I don't want to exercise you!" Yukiko cried.

"I'm not dead! You're freaking crushing me!" Ben squirmed in her arms.

"Wrong choice of words there, little cousin." Kenny muttered, relieved to see Ben alive.

As Ben squirmed in Yukiko's arms, one of the gold balls on his armor disappeared, leaving him with only one lit up. Gwen noticed this and looked down at her own, then Yukiko's, and Kenny's. A horrifying realization came to her. "We're all down to our last life. Something tells me that the next time we get blasted apart, it'll be for keeps."

"We need to get out of here now." Yukiko said. The idea of dying in a video game did not sit well with her at all. She already didn't like the damn things in the first place.

"Yeah, well, I don't think he's gonna let us!" Kenny exclaimed, pointing towards the huge Robo Sumo that had crushed Ben moments prior. The robo tried to crush them, but the Tennysons jumped out of the way, they all tried to run but were cut off by more mini robos.

Kenny brought down his sword, slicing one in half while Yukiko blasted another to pieces. The two stood back-to-back as more robos jumped to tackle them. "Maragi!" Yukiko exclaimed, blowing them back with a blast of fireballs.

Ben tried to attack one, but his strength wasn't anything impressive and was easily knocked down by one. Gwen quickly came to his aid, somersaulting over the robo, and landing a devastating kick into its face.

"Ugh, there are too many. We need to find-" Ben looked up to see a floating crate above a building. "A Keni trunk!" Ben gasped. He used his boosted jumping abilities to scale the building with Gwen following him as Kenny and Yukiko continued to hold them off.

Ben broke the trunk, allowing two items to present themselves. "Dibs on the super samurai sword!" Ben took the first item. With the sword now equipped, he jumped back down to assist his older cousins. Gwen took the last item, which was a sheet of paper. She read it over before smiling at what she was given.

"Maragion!" Yukiko blasted away another batch of robos, but the damn things were never ending. She was breathing heavily by this point as well as if she had less energy than normal. "Is it because I'm so used to my evolution's boost in power that I've forgotten how to limit myself?" The heiress pondered.

"Gah!" Kenny grunted as he was knocked down by another robo, he gasped as it was ready to crush him until Ben hacked it into two. "Thanks, little bro."

"Don't mention it!" Ben helped him up.

THUMP!

The three turned around to see the bigger Robo Sumo raising its fists into the air, they prepared to fight it until something sliced its arms in half. Blinking in bewilderment, the three looked over to see Gwen holding a giant shuriken. The magical ninja used the shuriken to finish off the boss and won the battle.

"Woah! Where did you get that?" Ben asked, jealous.

"I read the instructions." Gwen answered.

Kenny grunted as he pushed back two more robos. "Instructions? Nobody reads those."

"Sounds like something everyone should read." Yukiko replied as her fan sliced through a robo.

Gwen rolled her eyes at the boys before noticing something in the distance. She gasped loudly. "The dojo! We can use it to get to the next level!" She jumped over to it with everyone following her.

"I knew that." Ben huffed, walking onto the platform.

"Good job, Gwen." Yukiko gave her a headpat, making the ninja blush. The Tennyson family stood on the platform as it levitated into the air, taking them to the next level. Which was a sky area with a multitude of platforms to jump on.

"Okay, Mr. Sumo Slammer Samurai, what's the plan?" Gwen asked Ben. Before he could respond, a different group of robots appeared before them. These Robo Sumos resembled furnaces, dangerous flames threatening to roast the Tennysons alive. One did fire at them, forcing the four to jump out of the way.

"Keep moving and stay alive, duh!" Ben yelled at her before dodging another blast.

Yukiko noticed that there were too many and the platforms weren't big enough for the four of them to stay together. "Split up! Two to two!" She ordered.

"Right!"

Ben and Yukiko jumped onto another platform with the siblings going off to another, forcing the Robo Sumos to split up. The heiress and hero parkured through the level to avoid getting blasted by their enemies. "Ben, does this game have any element-like stuff?" Yukiko asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean if these things are strong against fire since they use fire?"

"Nope."

"Good." Yukiko turned around to face their enemies. "Maragi!" She exclaimed, blasting their enemies back with her flames. As she did that, Ben noticed a chest floating on a platform below. He jumped down and sliced it open.

Upon doing so, two items appeared before him, one was green and the other was red. He recognized one of them immediately. "Four Arms!? I wonder if…" Ben reached for it, watching the item get absorbed into the watch. He then looked at the red item. The icon looked familiar as he stared at it. "Wait… isn't that…?" Ben realized that the icon looked exactly like Yukiko's Persona. "In that case!" Ben activated the watch and transformed.

FLASH!

"Yukiko!" The heiress turned around to see Four Arms, who looked really different. The alien wore brown shoulder pads and knee pads, gray armor under his shoulder pads as well as black pants. The Omnitrix symbol was on his hat. "Here!" Four Arms tossed the red item at her, the heiress was confused until the item touched her hand.

At that moment she felt the familiar sensation of her Persona evolving. Yukiko felt as if a piece of her heart had just been regained. "Come forth, Amaterasu! Agidyne!" She declared, blasting the robos away once more.

Four Arms got ready to join in on the action until another large figure landed right next to him. "Ishiyama!"

The main Sumo Slammer character glared at Four Arms. "How do you know my name, strange creature?"

"I'm your biggest fan, I know all your stats! You weigh 527 pounds, you have a have 7 in strength, 9 in intelligence, 8 in agility-"

"Enough!" Ishiyama ordered, creeped out by Four Arms extensive knowledge. "Are you or are you not a shapeshifter?"

"S-sure, I guess you could say that." Four Arms answered.

"Then you could only be my arch-enemy Kenko! Sumo Slam!" Ishiyama declared, stomping on the platform with all his might and breaking it. Sending Four Arms falling through the air.

Yukiko turned and saw him falling into the void. "BEN!" She cried out. Looking at who could've done it, she glared at Ishiyama. "How dare you!?" She roared at the sumo.

Ishiyama glared down at her. "Are you associated with that shapeshifter, young lady?"

She raised her fan. "He was my cousin and you killed him!" Yukiko crushed her tarot card. "Burn. Maragion!" She bellowed, blasting a wave of flames at the sumo. Ishiyama powered up, plowing through the flames with no issue. Yukiko's eyes widened, not expecting the sumo to be that fast or strong.

"Sumo Slam!" Ishiyama roared.

The heiress was forced to jump off the platform to avoid the attack, she fell onto another one as Ishiyama landed behind her. The sumo raised his arms to crush her until a large shuriken whizzed past him, almost slicing him in half.

"Get away from her, sumo boy!" Gwen declared as she and Kenny landed in between the two.

"Where's Ben?" Kenny asked Yukiko.

Yukiko stared dangerously at Ishiyama before answering. "He's gone! And that overweight man killed him!"

"WHAT!?" The siblings cried, shocked.

Ishiyama glared at them. "All followers of my arch-enemy Kenko shall be-"

"WAIT!" Four Arms screamed, jumping back onto the platform. His appearance brought relief to his family.

"You're alive!" Yukiko exclaimed, happily.

"Of course I'm alive! It's gonna take more than that to kill me!" Four Arms replied.

Ishiyama stepped towards him. "Then allow me to finish you off properly."

"Wait! I don't want to fight you!" Four Arms raised his hands in peace.

"I will not fall for your tricks, Kenko. I will not rest until you are defeated, such is my sworn task!" Ishiyama declared.

"Kenko? He's not Kenko!" Kenny exclaimed.

"Yeah, I'm Ben! I'm a good guy!" Four Arms tried to explain.

Ishiyama didn't budge. "Forgive me if I don't believe you!" He tried to shatter the platform once again, but an invisible force was keeping his fist from hitting the ground. "Sorcery!?" He turned to Gwen, who was holding him back. "A witch!?"

"Uh, I prefer the term 'sorceress', thank you." Gwen corrected.

"But it's true!" Four Arms continued to convince his hero. "I own every Sumo Slammers comic book, doubles of every trading card, and I even eat your cruddy cereal!"

"I shall not be confused by your dubble talk! HYAH!" He broke free from her bindings, jumping into the air and destroying a platform above them. The debris rained down on the Tennyson family, Gwen created a shield to protect them all from getting crushed to death.

Ishiyama landed back down, staring at the wreckage before him. He failed to notice the Robo Sumos behind him, blasting his back with raging flames. The sumo noticed it too late, but before the flames could roast him a blue barrier protected him. "What?"

Kenny, who was on Four Arms' shoulders, hacked through some of the bots while Four Arms crushed them with his might. The rest of the bots were blown to pieces by an army of fireballs, courtesy of Yukiko.

The Tennyson family stood together and faced Ishiyama, who was staring at them with confusion rather than righteous fury. Gwen stepped forward. "Would Kenko or his followers have attempted to save you?"

"No. No, they wouldn't have." Ishiyama replied.

"Then let's start over. I'm Gwen." She introduced herself.

"Name's Kenny, her older brother." Kenny folded his arms.

"Amagi Yukiko." Yukiko bowed, respectfully.

"The hero of heroes, Ben Tennyson." Four Arms tried to make himself sound cooler.

Ishiyama returned their greetings with his own bow. "I am Ishiyama. You young sprouts fight like champion warriors." He said to the humans. Then, he turned to Four Arms. "You fight like a monster."

"Hey!" Four Arms cried out, upset that his hero didn't give him any recognition. "You want a champion!? I'll show you one!" He pushed past everyone else, jumping onto a Robo Sumo, riding it like a horse. "Whoo hoo! Ride 'em cowboy!"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

FLASH!

Ben was now holding on for dear life. "Probably should've seen that one coming! WOAH!" Ben screamed as the robo attempted to throw him off.

"Ben!" Yukiko jumped onto a passing bot, forcing it to follow her commands. "Hang on, Ben!" She tried to reassure him.

"I really should've read those instructions!" Ben whined as his grip was loosening. He was eventually knocked off when Ishiyama tackled the robo he was on, letting the boy fall. Yukiko made a grab for him, catching him in her arms as they plummeted into the void. That was until Ishiyama came back, catching the two, and landing onto a platform.

Gwen and Kenny finally caught up with them as Ishiyama gently placed the two back onto the ground. "Your skills are impressive." Ishiyama complimented.

Ben figured it was for him. "Thanks, coming from you that's quite-"

"Not you, jester!" Ishiyama stopped him. "I'm speaking to the lovely kunoichi, Amagi." Ishiyama.

Yukiko blushed at the praise, also reminding her of her current state of dress. The heiress wrapped her arms over herself. "O-oh, thank you. You don't happen to have any covering or a cloak on you, right?" Her question confused the sumo.

Ben grumbled, pouting to the side. "Weren't you two trying to kill each other like two minutes ago?"

"Get over it, shorty." Gwen rolled her eyes. "Now quit wasting everyone's time and go Upgrade to get us all out of here."

"I can't! Only the Four Arms icon was inside of that trunk. Upgrade could be hidden anywhere, any of the other levels!" Ben explained.

"Not anywhere." Gwen took out a map. "Looks like it's on level 13, the Arena!"

"Level 13!? We'll never make it the whole way!" Ben grumbled. "Unless…" He glanced at Ishiyama. "Do you know any cheat codes that could get us there quicker?"

"A sumo never cheats. However, I do know a shortcut." Ishiyama answered.

"Well, that's better than nothing." Kenny shrugged.

"The journey will be treacherous." The sumo warned.

Yukiko shook her head. "Don't worry, if there are any dangerous traps in the way we can just throw Kenny and Ben in front of them."

"Why us!?" They cried.

"To protect us fair maidens from any danger." Gwen put on a cute face.

"I'd describe the two of you more as a pair of freaky demons than fair maidens…" Ben muttered.


The group were now taking the shortcut that Ishiyama was leading them through. The sumo glanced back at the Tennysons. "From what land do you hail from?" He asked.

"It's kinda hard to explain." Gwen replied.

"Just know that we're a long way from home." Kenny added.

Ben glanced around, surprised by the environment. "Woah! I've never seen this part of the game before." As he walked past a corner, a dark shadow watched the group closely.

"It's something that developers do when they're designing games. There are a bunch of things that the players never get to see that are still coded inside, guess this shortcut may be one of them." Kenny explained.

"How do you know that?" Yukiko asked.

"I watch a lot of internet videos." He shrugged.

Ben unknowingly stepped on a hidden tile, activating a trap door that was beginning to block off their exit. Ishiyama acted quickly, enhancing his body and keeping the door from shutting. It allowed the Tennysons to make it through the door. Ishiyama turned back to normal as the doors shut behind them. "Game? This is no game! The fate of the entire sumo world hangs in the balance."

Ben playfully rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. I read the back of the box."

"The back of the box?" Ishiyama asked. The sumo was utterly confused by all the talk about them being in a game, it made no sense to him. His world was real as was he.

Kenny grabbed Ben, pulling him away from Ishiyama. "Sorry, we need to speak for a few seconds." He and the girls pushed Ben off to the side to chat privately. "Ben, I think it's time we cool with all the game talk."

"What? Why?" He asked.

"Don't you get it, Ben? Ishiyama doesn't know he's a video game character. To him everything is real." Gwen said.

"Yeah, usually telling fictional characters that they aren't real doesn't exactly end well." Kenny said.

"Really?" Yukiko gasped.

Kenny nodded his head. "It usually ends with the fictional characters wanting to break out from the game to become real since the idea of being controlled by another person is horrifying."

Yukiko understood what he was saying. "Yes, being a video game character does sound terrible."

Ben rolled his eyes at them, sure he got what Kenny meant but this was real life. No way any of that would actually happen at all. He looked up and saw a trunk floating above them all. "A Keni trunk!" Ben broke it open, the item flew past them and towards Gwen.

Gwen admired her new item. "Thanks for the new sumo bow!"

SISSS!

A door opened up for the group, revealing a bunch of tokens with the Omnitrix symbol. "Who needs it!? I just hit the Omnitrix jackpot!" Ben ran towards them.

"Careful! One may be a trap!" Ishiyama's warning was too late as Ben touched one of the tokens. Activating a red laser that evaporated Ishiyama into dust. The Tennysons were shocked until the sumo respawned behind them. He stared at Ben with disappointment.

SMACK!

"OW!" Ben yelped from Yukiko's hit.

"Will you think for once!? What if that hit one of us, Ben!?" She scolded him. "Now apologize!"

"It matters not." Ishiyama told her. "My life doesn't matter in the quest to stop Kenko." The others watched him with hints of worry.


The group continued their trek through the passageway, until Ben managed to activate another trap. The ground beneath them began to rumble and tremble, putting everyone on high alert once more. "What's going on!?" Kenny exclaimed.

His question was answered when the floor beneath them gave out, causing everyone to free fall into the depths. "AAAAHHHH!"

SPLASH!

Ben realized quickly that they were all underwater, and oddly enough his eyes didn't sting from opening them. However, breathing was another thing, Ben held his throat as he gasped for air. Suddenly, a blue bubble formed around his head, flushing the water out so that he could breathe. "Huh?"

"You're welcome, by the way." Gwen said as she and the others floated by him. They all had a bubble-helmet as well.

"Where are we?" Yukiko asked Ishiyama.

"It would seem we've fallen into another trap. It would be best to hurry out of here." Ishiyama responded.

"Uh, yeah, not sure if those guys are gonna let us!" Kenny pointed at the approaching Robo Sumos. These ones were different from the previous ones, resembling piranhas with laser blasters. The robos started shooting at them, forcing the group to split up. "These things can shoot lasers!?"

[Persona 4 OST - Time to Make History]

"And of course we had to be underwater!" Yukiko groaned, she was already at a disadvantage.

Ishiyama powered himself up, clapping his larger hands, creating a shockwave that forced the piranhas to separate. The robo piranhas charged at the sumo, biting into his skin, but they barely did damage to his skin. However, what made them dangerous was how numerous they were, sooner or later they'd be overrun by the piranhas.

Yukiko bashed one with her fan, allowing a few more to get closer before unleashing her attack. "Agidyne!" Her fire bursted for a second, blasting the robots to pieces. She then turned around to face the next oncoming wave, all who began firing at her with their lasers.

A blue shield popped in front of Yukiko, protecting her from the laser attacks. Blue bolts surged through the robos, blowing them to bits. Yukiko looked over at Gwen, who was assisting her brother. "Thanks, Gwen!"

"No problem! Kenny, be careful!" Gwen hissed at her brother when a bot almost bit his arm off. She blasted it with a bolt of magic, destroying the bot.

"Sorry! I'm trying to fight them!" Kenny argued.

"You're trying to swing a sword underwater! You're pretty much useless here!"

"Useless!?"

Ben watched as everyone fought off the bots to the best of their ability, but the numbers and terrain were not in their favor. Searching around for some possible way of turning the tides, Ben notices a trunk floating at the bottom. "There!" He swam down towards it, busting the trunk open with his fist. It was then that Ben noticed a familiar green item with a favorable icon. "Heh, aw yeah! Ripjaws!" Ben grabbed the item, absorbing Ripjaws into the Omnitrix.

FLASH!

Yukiko boosted herself back to avoid getting her head bit off, but the damn robots were unrelenting in their pursuit. Thankfully, Ripjaws appeared and plowed through the bots with his claws. "Ripjaws!?"

"Heck yeah! And this predator is ready to hunt!" Ripjaws tore through another batch of bots with his teeth. The Piscciss Volann saw that his cousins were being overwhelmed and rushed to their aid, using his strength and speed to overpower the robos. "Not even a challenge!"

"Oh yeah? I think this one disagrees." Gwen said, getting his attention. The Tennysons noticed a large piranha robo looming over them, its sharp teeth ready to tear them all to shreds.

"Ah nuts." Ripjaws groaned as the robot crashed into him, pushing him into the bottom floor. It tried to swallow him whole, but the hero pushed back against its teeth. "A little help here!"

Ishiyama flew through the water like a torpedo, his large size putting a massive dent in the boss robot, allowing Ripjaws to break free. The sumo maneuvered himself behind the piranha, grabbing it by its tail. He pushed his weight downwards to touch the floor, then began spinning the beast around before tossing it into the wall, cracking it from the force of the toss.

Gwen's eyes widened at that. "That's it! That's how we get out of here!" She turned to everyone else. "Guys, we have to break through that wall and drain the water!"

"I can't exactly blast it down with my fire." Yukiko said.

"And unless I was Four Arms, then I can't either." Ripjaws added.

"Then Ishiyama has to get a hit in, but we'll need to take out that robot as well." Gwen replied.

The sumo cracked his knuckles. "So be it." He said as the giant piranha rushed at him. It activated its blasters, shooting bolts at him, but they were all deflected by Gwen's shields.

Ripjaws descended on the robot with Yukiko riding him. "Hey, metal mouth, come get us!" The hero taunted. The robot monstrosity roared at them, chasing after the two, but Ripjaws was too fast. It decided to try shooting the two down, but each bolt was stopped by Yukiko's fire.

Kenny looked at his sister. "Gwen, get me close! I got an idea!"

She nodded her head, using her magic to push her brother through the water like a torpedo. He held tightly onto his sword and once he got close enough to the robot, he stabbed it into its sides, dragging the blade across the fish and destroying one of its blasters. Thanks to Gwen, he was propelled upwards over to the other side of the robot. Kenny pushed his blade through the second blaster, destroying it as well. "Got its guns!" Kenny alerted them.

"Then leave it to us!" Ripjaws and Yukiko charged into the belly of the beast. Everyone was confused by their plan until the water started heating up by the second. The metal of the beast was changing from its silver color to hot red and orange. It's body was bloating up like a balloon before reaching its limit.

BOOM!

It exploded loudly, leaving nothing but its massive head since the rest of its body was blown to bits. Yukiko and Ripjaws could be seen floating in the chunks that were left over, the fish alien shaking Yukiko repeatedly.

"You didn't have to make the explosion that big! I thought the heat was gonna kill me!" Ripjaws yelled.

"Hm. Fish sticks would be great for dinner." Yukiko mused.

"Don't think about cooking me!"

Seeing that the threat had been neutralized, Ishiyama jumped with a sonic boom, raising his huge fist towards the broken robot head. "Sumo Slam!" He shouted, slamming the head into the cracked wall. The force was more than enough to shatter the wall completely, draining out all of the water and the group along with it. Once they were all back on dry land, Gwen dispelled the air bubbles.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

FLASH!

Ben shook the water out of his hair. "Welp. I'm not gonna need another bath for a while."

Ishiyama looked over and saw a stairwell leading back up to the upper floors. "Come. Our way back is here and we must hurry."


The group entered a chamber with a large statue of a kappa. "The Chamber of Kappa will grant you access to the level of your choosing, but only if you solve this riddle." Ishiyama explained.

"The key names your weapon, but only by sight. When uttered by vow, a gesture polite."

"What do you think it means?" Gwen asked.

"Beats me." Ben shrugged. A familiar sound caught his attention, looking at a corner, Ben saw another Omnitrix token. "But I know what that means. I bet Cannonbolt will impress Ishiyama!" However, before he could grab it a blue dragon appeared in a flash of light. The creature attacked, wrapping itself around Ben's companions.

"Let them go, Kenko!" Ben ordered, knowing exactly who the attacker was.

"Tell me about this Upgrade icon, boy! Or your friends will pay with their lives!" Kenko demanded, squeezing his family and Ishiyama tightly.

"Tell him nothing!" Ishiyama grunted.

"We'll be fine, Ben!" Yukiko reassured him.

"They're right, Ben! We can't let Kenko loose in the real world!" Gwen yelled.

"The real world? Yet another domain I'll rule with an iron fist!" Kenko declared.

"See! This always happens!" Kenny said.

"Not the time!" The girls yelled at him.

Ben smirked. "No way! But I'm gonna show you some real sumo slammin!" He declared, grabbing the Cannonbolt icon.

FLASH!

Cannonbolt, who now wore black underwear with a brown outline and had skin sticking out of his head, stood proudly against Kenko. "Cannonbolt style!" The Aburian Pelatora jumped into the air, bouncing off the ceiling, and directly down on Kenko. But the dragon dodged, releasing his captives to get hit instead. Thankfully, Ishiyama got the humans out of the way in time.

Cannonbolt was now stuck in the floor. "Okay, maybe that was a little too slammin."

"Pfft! Hahahaha!" Yukiko couldn't help but laugh at Cannonbolt's position.

Kenko glared at the heroes. "I will leave you to my henchmen, while I find the Upgrade icon!" The shapeshifter slithered off as his deceased minions rose from the ground.

"Ghosts!?" Kenny squeaked.

"Warrior Gwen, your sumo bow! Warrior Amagi, your flames!" Ishiyama ordered the two.

Gwen grabbed a handful of arrows, shooting them at the ghouls just as Yukiko unleashed a Maragi. The flames fused with the arrows, burning the ghouls to death. Ishiyama bashed several into paste with his large size.

But that was the least of their issues as the boss zombie attacked Ishiyama head on.


Back in the real world, Max woke from his nap but no grandkids in sight. He got up, hearing the sounds of Ben's game system. "Ben? Gwen? Yukiko? Kenny?" He called for each one. Max sighed at the game system. "How many times have I told you guys to shut this thing off when you're done playing it?" Max moved to turn off the game system.


Just as Yukiko was about to unleash another attack something strange happened. She, along with her family, had all been frozen in place. Everything around them was frozen as well as if it had been put on pause. "W-what happened!?"

"I-I can't move!" Gwen cried.

"Grandpa must be messing with the controls! If he turns it off now he'll delete us along with the game!" Cannonbolt's explanation terrified them all.

"GRANDPA DON'T!" All four shouted.


"DON'T SHUT US OFF!"

Max flinched away from the game after hearing his grandkids' voices echo out. "Kids? Is that you?" He asked. He sat down and put on the headset. "Oh, please tell me I'm on one of those hidden camera shows."


The next several minutes were spent with the kids explaining to Max all that has happened up to this point. "Now we need to get the Upgrade icon on level 13, so that we can get out of this game." Cannonbolt explained.

"There must be some way I can help you guys!" Max said. "Oh maybe if I push this-"

"NO!" They all screamed.

"W-we mean, just hit resume and we'll take over the rest!" Kenny laughed, nervously.

"Do not touch anything else!" Yukiko added.

"Okay. Here she goes."

STATIC

The battle resumed with Yukiko torching half the chamber, accidentally setting Cannonbolt's butt on fire. "HOT! HOT!"

"SORRY!" Yukiko apologized.


Max watched as his grandkids battled for their lives while he tried to think of a way to help them without accidently deleting them. He looked to the side and saw the game's instruction manual. "Huh? Sumo Slammer Smackdown." Max opened it and began reading.


Cannonbolt bashed through the undead army like bowling pins. Kenny hacked his way through them, avoiding their grabs for his face. Gwen infused her bows with mana, using a duplication spell to increase the amount of arrows she fired.

LEVEL UP!

Gwen perked up at the sound, looking up she saw the words in gold. Opening her menu, she noticed that her SP meter had increased. "Cool. Now let's get serious! Mercut Verditis!" She unleashed a stronger burst of magic to eliminate her foes.

Ishiyama and the zombie boss clashed in the air, but unfortunately for the zombie, his attack proved to be weaker. The sumo overpowered him and sent him crashing through the floor and into the void below. Ishiyama smirked at his victory until Cannonbolt crashed into him, knocking the sumo into the void, killing him for the 2nd time.

"Benjamin!" Yukiko hissed.

"What!? It was an accident!" Cannonbolt defended himself.

Ishiyama respawned moments later, obviously displeased. "M-my bad." Cannonbolt chuckled nervously.

"Good going, round boy, now he's down to his last life!" Gwen exclaimed.

"At least we all match now." Kenny tried to find a positive. Gwen's stare was more than enough to make his whittle like a plant.

"We still have to answer the Kappa's riddle if we are to continue our quest." Ishiyama said.

Gwen hummed in thought. "The key names your weapon, but only by sight. When uttered by vow, a gesture polite." She looked at her bow. "Name's my weapon? Oh! That's it! My weapon's a bow which mean I have to-"

"Bow! You have to bow!" Yukiko exclaimed. The heiress bowed in front of the statue, activating the hidden mechanism. She didn't notice Gwen's heated glare.

"Steal my thunder… yeah." Gwen muttered. When she noticed that the statue was bowing back, she pushed Yukiko aside, hoping to still get her moment. When the statue's water splashed over her, Gwen immediately regretted her decision.

"PFFFT! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Her family doubled over, laughing hysterically at Gwen's predicament.

The young girl's body had been transformed into that of a sumo wrestler, meaning that she was now 500 pounds bigger than before. Gwen's face was red as Yukiko's clothing. "I-It's not funny! I should've let you get hit instead!" She yelled at Yukiko. Angered by her family's mocking laughter, Gwen unleashed a powerful attack on the statue, destroying it and revealing the dojo. "The dojo!" The heroes quickly jumped on it before it left them behind.

"Oh sure, when I bust something it's all silent stares and a whack on the head. But when Gwen busts something she's a hero!" Cannonbolt complained. Yukiko just patted his head in response.


The heroes arrived at level 13, a huge magnificent sumo arena. "The Arena of Sumo Warriors!" Ishiyama marveled at the beautiful stage.

Behind them a golden statue glared evilly. "And the stage of your final defeat, Ishiyama!" It was revealed to be Kenko in a different form.

"Bring it on, Kenko!" Cannonbolt accepted the challenge, rolling at the evil boss.

FLASH!

"AAHHH!" Ben screamed as he face planted onto the ground. "Ugh… you'd think I'd be used to it, but I'm not." He looked up to see Kenko's foot was about to crush him and jumped away in time. Ben drew his sword, ready to attack but the others stopped him.

"Ben! We'll handle Kenko, you find Upgrade!" Gwen ordered, now back to her regular size.

"No way! I want to prove to Ishiyama that I'm a hero too!" Ben stepped up, but Yukiko pushed him back.

"And you can by finding that icon and getting us home. A hero doesn't always need to win the battle to show their heroics, Ben. Saving lives is what makes you a hero." Yukiko smiled softly at him. Ben nodded his head and ran off to find the icon.

"So, what's the plan?" Kenny asked.

"This. Agidyne!" Yukiko unleashed a huge fireball upon Kenko. The shapeshifter roared, plowing right through it.

"Any other plans!?" Kenny cried. Ishiyama jumped in front of them and threw a punch at his nemesis, but the shapeshifter transformed back to normal at that moment. He dodged the sumo's attack, and unleashed an uppercut that sent Ishiyama flying into the stands.

Kenko's tall cybernetic body loomed over the Tennysons. Kenny attempted to slash at him, but the cyborg caught his blade and shattered it. The elder brother laughed nervously before getting punched across the mat.

Yukiko unleashed another heatwave upon the shapeshifter, but he jumped over it. He transformed into a pterodactyl, swooping down and grabbing the heiress by her shoulders. Kenko flipped in the air before slamming Yukiko into the stands, shattering the wood.

"Yukiko!" Gwen cried out. "You're about to go extinct, dino-breath!" She charged up a magic blast, waiting for the shapeshifter to get closer before blasting him. It nailed him dead on, sending him flying into a wall.

Kenko roared in fury, transforming into a dragon, he was about to roast her alive until Ishiyama appeared. The sumo grabbed him by the face, smashing Kenko into the stands, and repeatedly pounded on the shapeshifter with his huge fists. Kenko eventually regained his momentum by blasting back against Ishiyama with his fire attack, tossing the sumo back onto the stage.

As they were fighting, Ben continued to slash through trunks to find the Upgrade icon. "C'mon, c'mon!"

Kenko grabbed them all with his tail, ready to finally incinerate his foe and his allies once and for all. "I would've expected more of a challenge from the great Ishiyama."

"The battle is not over so long as one of us still stands!" Ishiyama declared.

Ben hacked through another crate. "No! No! No-wait!" Ben stopped himself and smiled brightly. In front of him was both a green and red token. Two very familiar icons were on them. Ben prepared to grab his icon, but Kenko noticed it. The shapeshifter slapped him out of the way and turned back to normal.

"The power is mine, boy!" Kenko declared.

Ben smirked. "Yeah? Well, you should've checked for the other icon as well!" Ben held up the red icon and tossed it down to Yukiko.

"What!?" Kenko watched as Yukiko caught the red one in her hands. Almost instantly the heiress' entire body was engulfed in flames, these were way more powerful than the ones she's been tossing around beforehand.

The heiress felt her soul become whole again and smiled gratefully at Ben. "Thank you, Ben." She summoned her tarot card and smashed it to pieces. "Come forth, Sumeo-Okami!"

[Persona 4 OST - Reach Out To The Truth]

"MARAGIDYNE!" Yukiko roared. Sumeo-Okami pointed her sword right at Kenko, unleashing a multitude of fireballs at the shapeshifter. Kenko could only gasp as the fireballs slammed into him, burning the shapeshifter relentlessly. He screamed loudly, his voice was loud enough to be heard all over the game.

When the smoke cleared, Kenko was nowhere to be seen. A giant hole and smoke was all that was left of his previous position. Yukiko opened her fan, placing it in front of her face. "Was that it?" She taunted.

"Alright, Yukiko!" Gwen cheered.

"That was so awesome!" Kenny patted her on the back.

Ben grabbed the Upgrade icon, absorbing it into the Omnitrix. Ishiyama jumped over to him, for once smiling down at the boy. "Smart thinking, Warrior Ben."

"Y-you really think so!?" Ben asked, shocked.

"Yes, I-GUH!" Ishiyama grunted as a sword was struck through his chest, much to the Tennysons' shock.

"ISHIYAMA!"

The hero of the game disappeared in a flash of light, the killer being none other than Kenko, who looked completely unharmed after taking Yukiko's onslaught. "B-but, how!?" Yukiko gasped.

"Haven't you heard of a second life!?" Kenko laughed. "Now you don't have your precious Ishiyama to protect you. I'm going to enjoy tearing you all to pieces, starting with you girlie!" Kenko glared hatefully at Yukiko.

FLASH!

Upgrade glared hatefully at Kenko. "You're gonna have to get through me first, Kenko! We're playing by my rules!" Upgrade attacked mercilessly against the cyborg, using his own enhancements against him. The shapeshifter transformed into a dragon, attempting to roast Upgrade, but Yukiko stopped the flames cold, giving Upgrade the chance to turn his fist into a spiked mace and bash the shapeshifter relentlessly. When he was smashed into the ground, Kenko used that as his chance to hide away in the smoke.

"Come out, come out wherever you are, Kenko." Upgrade taunted.

"Quit playing around, Ben! We need to get out of here before you time out!" Gwen yelled at him.

Upgrade appeared right next to her. "Chill, doofus, I'm right here."

"You wouldn't leave before saying goodbye, would you?" A familiar voice called out to them.

"Ishiyama!?" Everyone gasped at the sight of the now alive hero.

"Heh, it would take more than Kenko to finish off my last life." He walked over to them. "You truly are an amazing group of warriors. I only wish that I could visit your world and fight alongside such nobel heroes!"

"Woah! Really!?" Upgrade couldn't believe it. "Well, maybe I can-" Before he could finish that sentence another player joined the game.

"Sorry, Ishi, your travel plans just got canceled!" Max's player avatar appeared. The ex-plumber drop kicked 'Ishiyama' away from his kids.

"Grandpa? What are you doing!? He's a good guy!" Upgrade exclaimed.

"Oh no, he isn't!" Max jumped up to the upper levels, revealing a hidden trunk. Max opened it and used the item to reveal that the 'Ishiyama' was actually Kenko in disguise!

"Kenko!?" Kenny gasped.

"He tried to trick us!" Yukiko growled.

"You were trying to fool me into taking you back into the real world!?" Upgrade was furious.

"Then let's get out of here before he succeeds!" Gwen said.

Upgrade shook his head. "A true sumo warrior never retreats. I'm gonna defeat him honorably." Upgrade jumps down to the ring.

"Why is it now that he decides to play fair?" Yukiko sighs.

Kenko vanished before Upgrade could get him, grabbing onto Kenny, seeing as he was the only one without powers. "I am not one bound by such honor!"

"Let me go!" Kenny struggled in his grip.

"Kenny!" The girls were ready to save him, but were knocked back by Kenko. The shapeshifter took the dojo back down to the previous level to escape, but Upgrade jumped after him. The girls quickly followed after him, all three standing against Kenko.

"Try anything and I'll kill myself and the boy!" Kenko threatened.

"I don't think so! This game's over!" Upgrade declared and infused himself with Kenko's body. Upgrade caused the suit to explode, revealing that Kenko was none other than a short skinny guy in a suit of armor.

"Pfft! Hahahahaha!" The Tennysons laughed at the defeated villain's true appearance. Kenko, humiliated, tried to attack them but Yukiko just swatted him off the platform with her fan, sending him into the void and killing the villain for good.

Upgrade stared at Gwen as if he was expecting something. "Come on, say it!"

"Fine! You're the better Sumo Slammer Samurai! Happy!?" She hissed.

Upgrade rolled his eyes, holding a certain green light. "Who cares what you think, geek. I want to hear it all from him!" Upgrade gave Ishiyama one more life, bringing his hero back from the dead. The dojo arrived back in the arena.

"Now who do you think is the best Sumo Warrior?" Upgrade asked, expecting it to be him.

"Him!" Ishiyama pointed at Max.

"Grandpa!?"

"Only a true Sumo Slammer would know to use the cleansing power of Sumo Salt to reveal Kenko's deception." Ishiyama said.

Max waved it off. "Ah, it was easy. I just read the instructions."

"The instructions!? Does everyone read that thing but me!?"

"YES!"

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"Oh crap! No time for goodbyes!" Upgrade grabbed his cousins and exited the game before he timed out.


FLASH!

Ben and his cousins stood safely in the Rustbucket. All happy to finally be out of the game and back home. "Could you cut it a little closer next time?" Gwen huffed.

Ben didn't reply, checking his watch to make sure all of his aliens were there, and thankfully all thirteen of them were. Yukiko did the same with her Persona and was happy to see that it was still Sumeo-Okami. "Hopefully there won't be a next time."

"Looks like it finally stopped raining." Max said. "How about you kids go out and get some fresh air?"

"I think I could use a little real world right about now." Ben smiled. He and Gwen rushed out of the Rustbucket to play some games. Yukiko and Kenny walked out of it instead of running.

"Still crazy to think we were in a video game. How many people could say they've been a video game character before?" Kenny asked her.

"Oh, not that many I'm sure." Yukiko giggled. The heiress turned to the 4th wall and winked before giving her attention back to Kenny.

Max watched his grandkids leave and chuckled. "Heh, I thought they'd never leave." The old man unpaused the game and continued playing.

Chapter End

NOTE: I hope you all enjoyed video game shenanigans! Let's get to the discussion.

1. Very blatant 4th wall break at the end, since Yukiko IS a video game character.

2. I added a water level just to give Ripjaws an appearance. I hope I made the Ripjaws fans happy there.

3. Yukiko's outfit is Mai Shiranui from Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters. Kenny's outfit is Samurai Jack.

4. Yukiko's Persona was treated like Ben's aliens here. I did it only because she's a video game character, so she had to 'evolve' all over again.

Next Chapter - Under Wraps