NOTE: I couldn't come up with a better chapter title. No Investigation Team members will appear in Secrets of the Omnitrix, it's the final push of the summer that is just between Yukiko and the Tennysons. Anyone else would just get in the way and would feel unnecessary.
Do remember that I'm not doing Goodbye and Good Riddance. The episode ruins my plans for ending this story, but certain elements from it will be used. I do love the episode, but it's unnecessary.
I was gonna make a Spider-Man reference in this chapter, but it didn't fit. But I'm sure that the mutants' mom did make their costumes.
Enjoy and Review!
Chapter 63: Persona 4 Royal
"WAA-HOO! YEAH!" Ben's loud excitement could be heard all over the park. Laying on his stomach as he rode down the giant hill on a large ice block alongside his family. Yukiko, Gwen, and Max chose to simply sit on their ice blocks rather than on their stomachs. The family of four raced one another with Ben winning in the end as his block reached the bottom first. "Aw yeah! That was fun! Let's try the bigger hill this time!" Ben pointed at the even larger hill behind them.
"I think sitting on that ice block gave you brain freeze." Gwen responded.
"But he wasn't sitting on the ice, Gwen." Yukiko corrected her.
"I know that! My point still stands!" Gwen huffed at her sister. "Besides, there's no way he'll get the block up there before it melts."
FLASH!
XLR8 zoomed past them with the ice block in hand, racing towards the top of the hill. Gwen stared at her doofus cousin, resisting the urge to face palm. "And why do I even bother…?"
Posing at the top, XLR8 prepared for his greatest adventure yet. "Presenting! XLR8 on Ice!" The only one to respond was Yukiko, who clapped her hands for him. Now ready to please his audience, XLR8 kicked off the hill on his trusty ice mount. The Kineceleran cleared the slope in no time, blasting past his family at the same time. Unable to stop himself, the blue alien was heading straight for some picnic blankets, and accidentally stole some guy's hot dog along the way. "Thanks!" His enjoyment was short lived as his ice block finally melted completely, stopping him right in front of some kid and his mother.
"Mommy, why did that weird thing with a tail wet himself?" The boy asked.
"Geh!?" XLR8 realized his bottom was completely wet from the ice block. He was grateful that Yukiko wasn't nearby to laugh at him for the misunderstanding. Placing his mask back on, the Kineceleran sped off to avoid any more embarrassment.
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 the Forever Ninja, Dr. Animo, Charmcaster, baby Hex, Kangaroo Kommando, and Rojo. Surrounding them were 3 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.
Gwen released a yawn, exhausted from their full day of fun at the park. She had taken some time to get some fresh air before they hit the road again and was now looking forward to getting some good night's sleep. When she entered the RV, she found Yukiko reading in the back, Max washing dishes, and Ben was on her computer. A pretty normal night for them-wait what-
"Uh, hello!?" Gwen snapped at the doofus.
"Hi." Ben's remark pissed her off a bit more.
"What do you think you're doing?" Gwen asked.
"Hm…is this some kind of trick question? I'm going online to check out the new Sumo Slammer blog." Ben explained before continuing to use her computer.
"Not without asking me first. That's my brand new XT-9000." Gwen informed him.
"Okay, so can I please use your computer?" Ben asked, expecting her to say 'no'.
"Heck no, doofus!"
"See! That's why I didn't ask first."
Yukiko, who for once was trying to ignore them, turned to her little siblings. "Gwen, nothing bad will come from a little sharing."
Gwen gaped at Yukiko's choice of picking Ben's side, while the boy stuck his tongue out. His little enjoyment was short-lived as Yukiko's eyes shifted to him next. "And Ben, if you want to use someone's belongings, you should ask first. You wouldn't want someone messing around with your stuff without permission, would you?"
"No…" Ben grumbled.
"There! Now, don't argue for the rest of the night or no more computer for either of you." Yukiko laid down her law, then returned to her book with a sweet hum.
Huffing with a roll of her eyes, Gwen waved off Ben and headed for the fridge. Satisfied that he was left alone, Ben returned to checking out the new Sumo Slammer blog before accidentally pressing the wrong key, causing the screen to turn black. Panic set in for a moment and his eyes scanned over his family to make sure they weren't paying attention. Closing the computer, Ben hurried off into the bathroom before anyone could say something.
With his neck still safe, Ben tried to get the screen back on by pressing whatever key he could. However, nothing he did was working and it started to dawn on him that he had broken her new laptop. Ben could only imagine the anger and pain that would await him if Gwen were to find out.
KNOCK!
"Benjamin Tennyson! You better not be doing anything weird on my computer!" Gwen knocked on the door.
He cracked open the door, hoping that Gwen couldn't see through his nervousness. "Hey, I've got an idea! Let's all go out and do something as a family!" He suggested. Everyone stared at him as if he were some exotic animal. "Why are you all shocked!?"
"You never suggest doing things unless it benefits you!" Gwen replied.
"Y-yeah, well, this time you can pick where we go! I won't complain, promise!" Ben's words of promise sealed the deal.
"Anything?" Gwen repeated.
"Yeah! Anything!"
"And you won't complain?"
"I promise!"
It was at that moment that Ben genuinely considered just revealing the truth when he saw the evil glint in Gwen's eyes. He knew he was going to regret this.
Much to Ben's utter despair, Gwen had taken them all to a poetry night event, something the boy would have avoided at all costs. But he did promise to not complain once, so he sucked it up and sat through all of the boring garbage that was poetry (Ben's opinion). It was only an hour long, but to Ben it felt like an eternity.
"That was amazing!" Gwen sighed, happy as can be. "I love listening to modern poetry! Don't you, Yukiko?"
The heiress tapped her chin in thought. "Well… I didn't understand everything they were saying but the rhyming was good!"
"Maybe, we can try writing some poems together?" Gwen suggested.
"Oh, I would love that!" Yukiko clapped her hands, then she looked down at the disgruntled boy. "Did you have fun, Ben?"
"I wanted to rip my ears off."
"Which makes it all even better for me!" Gwen enjoyed his misery. Ben huffed, walking away from them until he noticed a poster on the wall. It was a wrestling poster promoting an open tournament with a grand total prize of $10,000. His eyes lit up with renewed energy, pleased that he found his ticket to get himself out of his plight.
"Hello, new computer!" Ben grinned. Now he just needed to get rid of his family, so that he could focus on his mission without getting in trouble. Turning around, Ben pretended to be tired. "Well, it's getting late! We better get back and get to bed!"
"Really? There's a great ol' sawmill over here, I was hoping we could check it out." Max said.
"Nope, sorry, gotta go get some rest! We can do that in the morning!" Ben pushed his family back to the Rustbucket, confusing them greatly by his behavior.
Later, once he confirmed that his family was asleep, Ben scurried out of the Rustbucket as fast as he could. He didn't notice the pair of eyes that were following him as he left, and how they belonged to an older sister that knew when he was getting himself into trouble.
Ben sprinted along the sidewalk towards the huge stadium where the tournament would be taking place. He allowed himself to smirk at how well his perfectly crafted plan had succeeded without a single hitch. His family were fast asleep, unaware of what he was doing, and by morning he'd have replaced Gwen's broken computer without her notice.
Heh, he really was one heck of a genius-
SMACK!
"Ow!" Ben held the back of his head, hissing in pain. He spun on his heels, glaring at the person responsible. "What the heck was that for-Yukiko…?" Ben's anger wilted like a dead plant, slowly backing away from his older sister's imposing presence.
"Benjamin Tennyson!" Yukiko glared down at him, folding her arms. "What exactly are you doing sneaking around at night!? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for someone your age to be running around without permission!"
"Lay off! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!" Ben argued back. "What are you even doing here, shouldn't you be asleep!?"
"I couldn't go to sleep, because I was too worried thinking about whatever little scheme you were going to get involved in." Yukiko responded. "Now explain to me exactly what is going on here." She ordered, though a bit softer.
Ben didn't want to drag her into this, fearing that she'd just drag him back to the Rustbucket to explain it all to Gwen, but he knew that escaping her was impossible. "Fine…" Ben proceeded to explain how he broke Gwen's computer and was going to join the wrestling tournament in hopes of winning the prize to buy her a new one.
Yukiko's reaction was the opposite of what he expected and what he should've expected. "Oh, Ben!" She scooped him up into a hug, crushing him. "While I definitely think that you should've owned up to Gwen instead of sneaking out to partake in something potentially dangerous, I'm proud that you're willing to go to such lengths to make it up to her."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever! Just let me go!" Ben broke free from her hug. "Now that you know, you can head back to the Rustbucket."
"No, I'll help you!"
"What!?" Ben exclaimed. "No way, you don't know anything about wrestling."
Yukiko gasped, feeling insulted. "Not true! Father would always watch American wrestling back home, and I couldn't help but watch it with him whenever he did."
"So, you're some kind of wrestling fan?"
"I just think it's pretty funny! The costumes, the acting, the quippy one-liners, the theme songs, and special moves! It's like watching a comedy!" Yukiko started laughing the more she thought back to the sport.
"Should've expected that." Ben shrugged, then turned to the stadium. "Fine, you can come with me, but we're gonna have to hurry up." Before he could run towards the stadium, Yukiko pulled him back by his shirt. "What!?"
"Wait, Ben! If we're going to do this, then we'll need to do it in style!" Yukiko pointed towards a costume shop next to the stadium.
"Aw…great…" Ben groaned.
DING!
A large wrestler in blue spandex roared loudly at his victory, standing over his competitor's downed body. The crowd cheered loudly for his victor, desiring to see more violence. "None of these weaklings can beat the Immovable Object!" The wrestler declared.
"OH YEAH!?"
THUD!
Everyone in the stadium gasped in shock at the newest competitor to join the ring. The Immovable Object turned around to see Four Arms, with a black luchador mask on, standing across from him and even more surprising was the young teenage girl sitting on his shoulder. She was dressed in a black waist split back dress with a white tie around her neck, and the skirt reaching to her knees. For some strange reason she had a pair of silly glasses on her face, somewhat ruining the professional look she had.
"Who're you supposed to be!?" Immovable Object demanded.
Yukiko got off of Four Arms' shoulders, and swiped the mic away from the referee. "This, ladies and gentlemen, and yes, even you overweight man!" Her comment earned a growl from the wrestler. "Is your soon-to-be newest champion, Four Arms!"
The Tetramand cracked his knuckles, grinning in anticipation. "Bring it on, movable object!"
"It's the Immovable Object, punk!" The wrestler charged Four Arms, but the Tetramand dodged it easily. He brought his upper arms down onto the overweight wrestler's back, then grabbed the back of his spandex, and tossed him into the ring's ropes. The momentum from the toss bounced the wrestler back towards Four Arms, who finished the fight with a strong punch to his face.
The referee did the countdown before concluding the match. "The winner, Four Arms!"
With Yukiko on his shoulders once more, the two posed victoriously at the crowd. The two jumped out of the ring, and watched as the unconscious wrestler was dragged away on a stretcher. "Do you think I went too hard on him?"
"It's wrestling, Ben, he'll be fine." Yukiko eased his worry. The heiress turned to the referee, a question burning in her mind. "How many matches are there exactly?"
"It's an elimination tournament! You joined up and didn't know about that? Could be up to 15 or 20 matches!" He answered.
"But that'll take all night!" Four Arms cried. "It's already past my bedtime!"
"Take it up with Mr. Grady, it's his show." The referee barked back.
A well dressed Caucasian man with light brown hair and blue eyes, dressed in a white three-piece suit with a black shirt and a white hat, walked over to them. Suddenly, the Omnitrix started beeping, prompting Four Arms to run off. "Wait! I wanna talk to you!" Mr. Grady exclaimed, wishing to speak to the Tetramand.
"Excuse me!" He turned back to Yukiko, who was smiling sweetly at him. "Anything you wish to say to Four Arms can be directed towards me as his manager and coach!"
Mr. Grady raised a brow, wondering how a teenager could possibly be a manager of a wrestler of that caliber, but didn't bother thinking too much about it. "Where exactly is he going?"
"Oh, he has bladder issues. He'll take care of his business and will return at his own time." Yukiko responded without missing a beat.
"Well, in that case, here." He handed her a business card. "H.E. Grady, event promoter. Your wrestler has headlines written all over him. Where exactly did you find that guy?"
"Oh, he sorta fell out of the sky. Hehe." Yukiko giggled at the true meaning behind that.
"I hope he continues to perform tonight, I'll be keeping my eyes out for you two." Mr. Grady said before leaving the heiress in the hallway. A few seconds later, Ben showed back up, wiping off some dirty and grime from his shoulders.
"What exactly did he want?" Ben asked.
"I think he just wanted to congratulate you!" Yukiko smiled, ruffling the boy's hair. "Good job out there, Ben. Keep this going and we'll have finished these matches in no time!"
"Yeah, we're totally getting that prize money!"
DING! DING!
Four Arms had been taken by surprise by his half crustation opponent. The crab-arm wrestler jumped onto the Tetramand's shoulders, closing his large claw around the alien's neck. Four Arms grabbed the claw, forcing it open, and throwing his opponent over his shoulder. Crab-arm bounced on the ring before getting hit by a K.O. punch through the ring.
"Hehe..my bad?" Four Arms laughed nervously at the referee. The referee was about to speak until Yukiko interrupted him once again.
"And the winner is once again Four Arms! Will anyone here in this elimination competition be able to match his raw strength and prowess!? Find out next time on-"
"Are you trying to end the episode or something!?"
The next match was a weird cyclops-looking guy getting his butt kicked by a humanoid alligator, who Yukiko and Ben had to assume was either an alien or a mutant. The following one had a porcupine-like guy shoving his needles up his opponent's ass, which had Yukiko and Ben cackling like madmen. "The winner's of this round are Gaterboy and Porcupine!"
"No wonder people weren't so surprised to see Four Arms, this entire competition is filled with very strange looking individuals." Yukiko takes note.
"Are you calling me strange?" Ben asked.
"Yes."
"You don't even hesitate…" Ben sighed.
"C'mon, Porcupine is your next opponent, so let's get ready!" Yukiko grabs her little brother, pulling him back towards their dressing room.
Yukiko stood on the side of the ring, ignoring the referee's insistence that she doesn't hold onto the ropes of the rings. The heiress had been nothing but a huge pain in the ass for him tonight and he was seriously getting sick of her. He turned to Mr. Grady, who simply waved it off as a trivial matter that wasn't too important. Then there were Four Arms and Porcupine, both growling at each other like animals.
The referee sighed at his life. He seriously didn't get paid enough for all of this. "Let's get it on-"
CRASH!
Four Arms and Porcupine crashed into each other before the referee could finish, but unfortunately for Porcupine, Four Arms' size worked to his advantage. The spiky wrestler got knocked back into the ropes, but he rebounded by curling into a ball and spin dashing at Four Arms.
Yukiko gasped loudly. "That's copyright!"
"Not the time!" Four Arms grunted, trying to catch the blurry brown rodent. Porcupine continued to use the ropes to spin dash into Four Arms, but he eventually managed to grab his spiky opponent by the throat, slamming him into the ring's floor.
Porcupine tried to get up, but his quills got stuck in the floor, leaving him in an embarrassing state of defeat. Four Arms pinned him down with his foot, and waited for the referee to stop his counting. "Four Arms is the winner!"
Four Arms picked up Yukiko, the two soaking up the crowd's cheering as much as they could. Neither of them noticed the heated glare being sent their way by Porcupine.
Back in their dressing room, Yukiko was busy fixing up her hair in the mirror while Ben chowed down on some snacks. Winning all of their matches so far earned them some of the best food the place had thanks to Mr. Grady's position as the promoter. "Oh yeah, I can get used to being a wrestling superstar."
"Don't eat too much of that stuff, Ben. We don't need you getting a cramp while fighting." Yukiko advised.
"Oh come on, we're dominating this thing! What's the worst that could possibly happen?"
CLICK!
Turning towards the door, both Ben and Yukiko got up from their chairs as Gaterboy and Porcupine entered their room. Neither of the mutant wrestlers looked like they were here for some friendly banter. Ben glanced at the Omnitrix and frowned at the red sign of it recharging.
Gaterboy stared down at Yukiko. "Where's Four Arms!?"
"What do you want with him?" Yukiko's eyes narrowed.
"We just want to say 'hi', we're big fans." Gaterboy responded, towering over her.
"Sorry, but he's not up for giving autographs at the moment, maybe if you're good little mutants he-" Ben's mouth clamped shut when Gaterboy grabbed him by the face, lifting into the air. Ben kicked his legs, trying to break free.
"You've got a big mouth, kid! But so do I!" Gaterboy opened his mouth wide.
"Get away from him!" Yukiko hissed dangerously, whipping out her fan.
"I'm not necessarily a fan of attacking girls, but if you don't want the boy to get hurt then bring out Four Arms-"
SMACK!
Gaterboy crashed into the wall from the strength of the slap, and dropped Ben onto the floor. Yukiko wasted no time in grabbing her little brother and running out of the dressing room to escape the mutants.
Porcupine helped his brother back up. "What are you doing!? They're just kids!"
Gaterboy hissed, rubbing his stinging jaw. "I guess I can see why she manages Four Arms now. For someone so small, she hits hard. Besides, I wasn't actually going to hurt the kid." Gaterboy reassured his brother. "If we scare them off, then maybe Four Arms drops out of the competition."
Gaterboy hurried into the shower room, checking to see if he could locate the hiding duo. His efforts were fruitless as his targets escaped the shower room while he wasn't looking. Unfortunately for the Tennysons, Porcupine was outside waiting for them to come out. He shot several quills at them, but luckily they avoided getting struck.
CRASH!
Gaterboy crashed through the wall, cutting off their only other path. With the two mutants blocking them, there was nowhere else for the Tennysons to escape. Yukiko wanted to avoid using her flames so as to not cause a big disturbance. At the moment, her only priority was keeping Ben safe from the mutants that attacked them, so she pushed past Porcupine and hurried down the hallway. The mutant brothers smiled at a job well done at scaring off the Tennysons.
After terrorizing the Tennysons, Gaterboy and Porcupine went back into their dressing room to be greeted by multiple black suited men. "Well, lookie here. The freak show's come to town." The leader mocked them.
"What do you want!?" Porcupine demanded, rudely.
"Mr. Beck wants to make sure you understand what will happen if you don't win!"
"That prize money is as good as ours! Don't worry!" Porcupine assured them.
"Oh, I'm not worried, but you should be if you disappoint Mr. Beck!" The leader threatened
"Ladies and gentlemen! This championship match is scheduled for one-for-all! Winner takes all! For the $10,000 prize!" The announcer hyped up the crowd. "Entering the ring is Gaterboy!" Pyrotechnics and confetti went off as the mutant stomped into the arena. Ripping off his hoodie and roaring loudly to declare his presence.
And much to his shock, his opponent's side exploded with a fiery tornado, shocking the crowd and staff. Bursting from the flames was none other than Four Arms with Yukiko sitting on his shoulders. "A-and his opponent, the one and only Four Arms!" Unlike all of their previous rounds the two didn't play along with the hype, instead choosing to glare at their opposition.
Yukiko stood by the ring as Four Arms and Gaterboy met in the center, staring each other down like bitter rivals. "You're a real tough guy when you're bullying young girls and kids. Let's see how you do against me!" Four Arms spat.
"That manager of yours hits like a grown-ass man." Gaterboy replied before pushing his head against Four Arms'. "I'm gonna drop you like a bag of dirt!"
"Go to your corners and come out fighting at the bell!" The referee tried to gain control over the match, but the two refused to listen. "I said-"
"Ring the bell!" Yukiko ordered the announcers, who didn't know what to do about the teenager yelling at them. Seeing as they weren't complying, she took matters into her own hands and flung her fan at the bell.
DING!
Four Arms tossed Gaterboy at the ropes, causing him to fling back into his grasp. The Tetramand slammed the mutant into the ring floor and pinned him down. Gaterboy was huffing loudly, struggling against the Tetramand's strength. "L-losing is not an option! I've got too much riding on this!" He kicked Four Arms off and right when the alien got up, he put him in a full nelson. Which didn't matter much against Tetramand strength, since Four Arms easily broke out of it.
Four Arms grabbed Gaterboy's arm, spinning him around until the mutant managed to reverse the move against him. Four Arms was dazed for a moment from getting tossed into the corner of the ring, but got his bearings back in time to dodge the alligator's charge. Gaterboy knocked himself down from hitting the corner of the ring, assuring Four Arms' victory. At least until…
"Four Arms, look out!" Yukiko shouted, noticing the newest combatant.
"Wha-OW!" Four Arms yelped when several quills struck his back. He glared at Porcupine, who had unfairly joined the match, then turned to the referee. "Hey! Two against one isn't fair!"
"Oh and somebody having four arms instead of two!?" The referee challenged.
Yukiko hissed at the referee. "He can't help that he's like that! This shouldn't be allowed!"
"Shut it, girly! I should have you removed from the ring for all the headaches you've caused today!" He barked back at the infuriated heiress. "Now are you going to wrestle or flap your gums!?"
Suddenly, Four Arms was hit by a wave of nausea after removing the quills. He could hear Yukiko calling out his name as he fell to the floor, his eyes meeting Mr. Grady's. "Hehe…don't you just love show business!" The man couldn't care less about the rules as long as he profited from the match. Four Arms was then dragged back to the center of the ring by the mutant brothers, they pinned him down to end the match.
"1!"
"2!"
"Agi!"
Both mutants were blasted off of Four Arms before the countdown could finish. The referee was forced to call no pin, and allowed the match to continue. Everyone turned to see Yukiko stepping into the ring, the heiress' powerful aura was still threatening even with her silly glasses on. "If you're not going to play fair, then neither are we!"
"Can the manager even join the fight like that!?" Porcupine exclaimed.
"I'm more concerned about what hit us! It felt like fire, but I didn't see what happened!" Gaterboy gripped the side he got burned on.
"Regardless, we gotta win this thing!" Porcupine refocused.
"Right, we're doing this for-"
"RAGH!"
"What-"
POW!
Four Arms landed a devastating uppercut to Gaterboy's jaw.
SMACK!
Yukiko swung her fan into Porcupine's face, knocking him down onto the ring floor.
WHAM!
Brother and sister unleashed a tidal wave of smacks and punches onto the mutant duo without mercy. The mutant brothers collapsed onto the floor in a heap, Yukiko sitting on their bodies as she fanned herself off. "Whew, it seems I worked up quite the sweat." Four Arms and Yukiko shared a triumphant high-five.
"1!"
"2!"
"3!"
DING! DING!
The referee finished the countdown, signaling the end of the match. He walked over to the victors, grabbing their arms. "Do you two have a name for your team?"
They looked at each other before replying together. "Priestess 10!"
"OUR CHAMPIONS ARE THE PRIESTESS 10 DUO!" Yukiko and Four Arms sucked in all of the cheers and praise until their time began to run out.
Literally.
"Uh oh! Give the check to her!" Four Arms exclaimed, jumping away before the Omnitrix could expose his real identity. Yukiko simply walked away to fetch Ben, humming a sweet tune to herself.
Yukiko, now back in her regular clothing, stood outside the stadium with Ben. The two were being handed their prize money by Mr. Grady. "Good work, girly, though I kinda wish your boy stuck around to take some bows though." He said to Yukiko as he handed her the check.
"Don't worry about that, Four Arms is pretty shy about these things. Just know that he appreciates the love and support!" She giggled. With the money now secured, Ben and Yukiko walked away to properly cash in the check.
"Yes!" Ben took the check from her. "After we buy the dweeb her new computer there should still be some extra cash left over to use!"
"Which can and will be used responsibly and not blown in a single night, right, Ben?" Yukiko's smile sent a shiver down his spine.
"Yeah, yeah, sure what…ever…" He stopped suddenly, prompting his sister to do the same. She was confused until two familiar voices entered her ears. Looking ahead, Yukiko and Ben saw Gaterboy and Porcupine talking to one another.
"W-what are we gonna do!?" Gaterboy asked. Before his brother could respond a black car pulled up in front of them.
"So, you're freaks and losers!" The suit leader from before insulted them. "Oh, that's a nice combination!"
"Give us another chance! We'll get your money, just don't hurt our mama!" Gaterboy pleaded.
"Our mama…?" Yukiko repeated.
"You knew what would happen if you didn't win! The boss is gonna turn her into an end table!" The car sped off, leaving the mutants to wallow in their despair…at least until Yukiko and Ben rushed over to them.
The mutants glared at the Tennysons, their reasons for anger were obvious now. "What was that all about?" Ben asked.
Not seeing the harm in it, the Gaterboy started to explain their situation. "We got mixed up with some gang members and…owe them money or they'll kick us off our farm! They're holding our mama as collateral. But since we lost the prize money…" Gaterboy didn't finish…fear and despair hitting him.
"You got a big mouth, you know that!?" Porcupine didn't like their business being told to anyone.
Yukiko felt bad for the mutants, understanding the fear of losing someone important to you. And it was partially their fault for joining the competition anyway for something trivial, even if it was for Gwen's sake. Saving their mother was a much higher priority than a computer.
And thankfully, Ben felt the same. "Maybe, we can help…or-uh, Four Arms and us could help!"
"We don't even know where they're holding her! She could be anywhere!" Porcupine admitted.
Ben walked over to the dusty mess the car left as it pulled off, running his fingers through it. "He said he'd turn her into an end table?"
"Which would mean a lumber mill has to be near!" Yukiko realized as well. She patted the boy's head to congratulate him.
"We know where one is!" Gaterboy exclaimed.
"Then let's get going and save mama!" Porcupine and Gaterboy sprinted down the street with the Tennysons right behind them.
The four arrived at the old lumber mill, quietly walking through the building in hopes of finding the mutants' mama. Porcupine turned to the Tennysons. "So, where's that Four Arms guy?"
"He'll be here! He likes to make a grand entrance!" Ben reassured them. His eyes glanced down at the Omnitrix, hoping that the watch wouldn't screw him over when the time was right. "I hope…"
CLICK!
The lights of the old lumber mill suddenly turned on, almost blinding them. Several armed goons walked out of their hiding spots, alerting the group that they were expecting them to show up. "Looking for someone!?" Walking out of the shadows was Mr. Beck, who had gray hair and was dressed in a similar-colored gray suit. "What a disappointment you boys turned out to be. I really thought you were gonna get me that money."
"They did!" Ben took out the check, showing it to Mr. Beck. The crime boss took the check from the boy. "Now let her go!"
"Well, isn't this a pleasant surprise? And I have one of my own." Beck motioned to the machinery above them. The group looked up to see the mutants' mother, Mrs. Fang, tied to a log that was in the direction of a saw.
"There's mama!"
Yukiko and Ben gawked at the human woman, who looked nothing like the two mutants behind them. "That's your mama!?" Yukiko gasped.
"Our folks say we take after our Pa." Gaterboy explained.
"I really wonder what their dad could possibly be." Yukiko questioned mentally.
Mrs. Fang glared at her sons. "What did I tell you boys about getting messed up with the wrong folks!?"
"Yes, mama!" They apologized.
Beck released a mocking laugh at the group. "You didn't really think I'd let all these witnesses live, did you?" He pressed a button on his controller, activating the saw mill to cut Mrs. Feng in half. Beck then crushed the controller to avoid the chance of it being stopped. "Finish them off!"
All of the goons pounced on the group with the intent to kill, but the prowess of the mutants and Yukiko blasted them back. Ben took one of the bats on the ground, using it to bash away some of the goons himself.
One of the goons caught Gaterboy with a chain, holding him down for his allies to jump and beat the mutant down. Porcupine tried to help his brother, however several more goons got in his way. He swiftly took them out, but then a chain wrapped itself around his leg to hold him down.
Yukiko's fan spun through the air, knocking a goon away from Ben. This cost her as two more wrapped her up in chains, pulling her to the ground. Several men surrounded her with baseball bats, raising them to bash the girl's brains in.
FLASH!
"Pick on somebody your own size!" Two Dittos captured their attention, swinging their own bats at the goons and blasting them away from Yukiko.
Porcupine, who hadn't seen Ben transform, stared at the Dittos with confusion. "Wait…where's Four Arms?"
The Dittos turned to him after freeing Yukiko. "Who needs four arms-" They created one copy each. "-When you can have eight of them!" All four Dittos yelled.
Yukiko quickly turned towards Mrs. Fang as her little brothers ran past to help free her. "Agi!" The fireball obliterated the saw that would've sliced the mother in half. Two goons tried to prevent the Dittos from freeing the matriarch, but four on two was hardly fair.
After dispatching the goons, the four struggled to break the ropes that held Mrs. Fang attached to the log. "Ugh! I can't tear it!" Ditto cried.
"Have you tried pulling harder!?" Ditto(2) asked.
"What do you think, doofus? Ditto(3) shot back.
"Now is not the time for this!" Ditto(4) yelled at himself. "Let's do this together!"
"All hands on deck!" They created another copy each, bringing them to eight overall. With their combined strength, the Dittos freed Mrs. Fang from the log.
"Maragion!" Yukiko carefully aimed her flames at the remnants of the goons in the lumber mill. The men were sent flying out of the building from the power of her flames, luckily not getting anything else on fire.
The mutant brothers hurried over to their mother to make sure she was alright.
From the sidelines, Mr. Beck was infuriated by how easily his men had been beaten. "It's so hard to find good help these days! Guess, I'll have to close down this freak show myself!"
"Not if we can help it!" He turned around to see all eight Dittos with Yukiko standing behind them. The surprisingly strong elderly man charged at the nine of them, swinging his cane at the Dittos. They jumped away to avoid getting hit, then jumped on him. However, the old man threw each one of them off with ease.
Raising his cane, he blocked the pink fan that had been tossed at him. Pointing the object at the heiress, the bottom opened up to blast bullets at her. Yukiko hurried for cover to avoid getting gunned down by the gang leader.
"He's too big!" Ditto(3) exclaimed.
"Think like a wrestler!" Ditto got his clones' attention. "We need to use his size against him!" All eight grinned with the same idea.
"Tag team times eight!"
The Dittos began running all over the place, confusing and avoiding the gunfire from the gang leader. Beck was struggling to nail the little suckers, comparing their scuttling around to that of rats. "Quit running around!"
"Agi!"
His back exploded in pain from the fire attack, leaving him open for Ditto(2) and Ditto(3) to release several logs. Beck was too late to dodge the incoming logs, forcing him to run on top of them like a cartoon character.
Ditto(5) and Ditto(6) pushed a hanging log right at him, bashing the crime boss in the chest. He fell directly into a wheelbarrow being handled by Ditto(7). The clone pushed the crime boss around, giving him a fun ride before tossing the guy into the air.
Ditto(8) jumped off the top floor and dived feet first into Beck's back, sending him crashing into the wooden floors. Beck groggily looked up to see Ditto(4) holding a hose in his face. "Aw yeah! Another one bites the saw dust!" He declared before blasting the crime boss with saw dust.
Beck coughed loudly, stumbling into Ditto(2) and tripping onto his back. Standing above him on one of the support beams was the original, who held up a single finger. "Yukiko!"
The heiress, using her fan as a microphone, joined in on the fun. "From the top rope! The champion takes his finishing plunge!"
"DITTO DIVE!" He shouted and body slammed into Beck's sternum, taking out the crime boss.
"Pfft! Hahahahaha!" Yukiko laughed, having enjoyed the little performance.
Gaterboy and Porcupine hurried over to them. "Where did Ben go?"
Ditto grinned with them, obviously keeping his secret. "That boy is never around when you need him."
After calling the police to have Beck and his men arrested, the Fang family were thanking the Tennysons for all of their help. "Your wrestlers were amazing, Yukiko. How many of those guys do you manage?" Gaterboy asked.
"Oh, just 10…" She started
"... And counting." Ben finished it with a shared grin.
The boys turned to their mother, who quickly brought them in for a hug. "We're sorry, mama. We never should've gotten involved with those guys. We thought we were doing the right thing." Gaterboy said.
"But now we still don't have enough to save our farm." Porcupine stared at the ground. "We're still $10,000 short!"
Their mother understood the plight, but she was happy to be alive and have her boys safe. "Well, at least you boys fessed up and took responsibility for your actions."
Yukiko turned to Ben, who was staring at the check with a bit of apprehension. "Ben…"
"I know, I know…!" Ben waved her off. He walked over to the Fangs and handed them the check. "Here."
"The prize money!? We can't take this!" Gaterboy cried. "You and Four Arms won it fair and square!"
"It's okay!" Yukiko smiled warmly. "You guys have to save your home and the only way to do that is with the money. A home is important, especially if it's with your family."
Porcupine was bustling with energy. "I-I don't know what to say! Nobody has ever been this nice to us!" He grabbed the two, wrapping them up in a quill filled hug. "Thanks!"
"Ow! Ow!" Yukiko cried from the poking quills.
"Ouch! I'm gonna reconsider!" Ben struggled.
The Fangs just laughed at the two, and were thankful for all the help the Tennysons had been.
Yukiko yawned tiredly as she and Ben walked back to the Rustbucket. Their whole adventure had taken up the whole night, meaning they barely got any rest at all. They entered the motorhome, greeted by their grandfather. "Morning Ben, Yukiko!"
"Morning, Grandpa…" Yukiko yawned out.
"I'm surprised you're up early, Ben." Max noticed.
"...Not exactly." Ben responded. "I have a confession to make." His words caught Gwen's attention, who was about to open her computer. "I broke Gwen's laptop when I was playing with it when she said not to, so I had to figure out how to get the money to replace it! So, Yukiko and I spent all night in this wrestling competition to get the prize money, but then these bad guys were messing with this family who really needed it! So, we gave them the prize which means I can't replace it and I'm really sorry!"
Yukiko gave Ben a flat tired look. "Was it really that hard?"
Gwen didn't look upset at all. "So, you think you broke my computer?"
"Yeah…but I'm really sorry! And I'll make it up to you somehow!" Ben didn't give Gwen the chance to speak. "Oh, I know! I could do all of your chores!"
The young sorceress held another evil smirk. "For the rest of the summer?"
"Yeah!"
"You promise? You know how we treat promises in this household."
"I promise with everything that I have!"
"Good." Gwen and Ben shook on it to seal the deal.
"If you two are good, then I'm going to sleep." Yukiko was happy that everything ended peacefully between them. She walked towards the bunks and collapsed like a falling log.
Ben walked over to the dishes, taking over for Max. Behind him, Gwen turned on her computer which caught Max's attention. "Hey, what's the new doo-hickey, Gwen?"
"Oh, this? It's a fingerprint scanner." Gwen showed him the little device. "That way only I can start my computer."
"Wait what?" Ben turned around. "You mean… I didn't break it?"
"Nope!" Gwen gave her most shit-eating grin possible. "But it's nice to know you are so responsible. You better scrape that pan twice, Grandpa's snail stew gets extra crusty overnight."
Ben stared at Gwen with the most amount of disbelief and anger that his small body could muster. He fell to his knees and cried to the heavens. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
SMACK!
"OW!"
"I'm trying to sleep!"
ELSEWHERE:
The Forever King stomped through the destroyed remains of the psychiatric ward, ignoring the bodies that littered the floor. In front of him was the room he had been searching for, clearly under lock and key. With a single push, the door dropped to the floor of the completely white room.
Greeting the king was a single shaking body, but they weren't shaking from fear or sanity loss.
No…that was far from this person's mind.
"Hahahahahaha…" Sickened dark eyes slowly turned to him, the crusty largemouth crept into a disturbing smile. "So…who do I owe the pleasure to on this fine hour?"
"Zombozo the Clown."
The Clown Prince of Crime looked nothing like his profile. Instead of the presentable respectable clown that he used to be during his time of running a circus, he had been stripped completely of his clown getup, and dressed in gray pants and a white straight jacket that kept his arms to his sides. The sick bastard's skin had lost most of its blue color, leaving him extremely pale as if something had sucked him dry.
Obviously, the king knew what and who had left him in this state in the first place. Not that he cared too much about that, because the clown's spirit may have been weakened but it wasn't broken. "I have a proposition for you."
"Oh? And what would you like with little ol' me? What makes me special enough to burn this entire prison to the ground. Not that I don't mind." Zombozo responded.
"Because it's time for the circus to come back to town, and I'm sure that a certain family would be more than happy to see your opening act."
"Oh oh oh oh." That sick grin just seemed to grow wider, almost disturbingly so. "Are you sure that you want someone like me? I'm sure there are more…safer options."
"Who else could bring a smile to the faces of children and adults alike other than the clown that sucks them dry of happiness?"
"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" This time Zombozo's laughter felt genuine, the clown's thoughts swimming with memories of better times. When he could steal the joys of others to fill himself with power! To watch as people became nothing more than shriveled corpses of sadness with nothing left to hold on to! A time of true happiness!
A time before Ben Tennyson ruined everything…
Zombozo stood up on his weakened legs, still laughing as if he's heard the best joke in years. He stared at the Forever King with renewed vigor. "I can't wait to steal every ounce of joy away from that stupid brat!"
Chapter End
NOTE: We're very close to the end! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Next chapter is a future-filled one with the children of our cast here! I know people have been looking forward to it!
Discussion time?
1. Yukiko being a wrestling fan, because she finds it funny is the most in-character thing I've ever done for her in this fic. Her dad showed her American wrestling (Old school WWE) and she just breaks down into a laughing fit. You could tell she was having fun in this episode.
I do understand this could've been opportunity for a team attack between Four Arms and Yukiko, but the two didn't want to risk heavily injuring their opponents. A team attack between the two will happen on a later date.
And yes, title drop.
2. I love this episode, because the writers let Ben be competent for once, because Max and Gwen weren't there. He's able to show off his best sides when he's not forced to be dumbed down to make Gwen and Max look more capable than him.
3. Zombozo is our next member, bringing us up to 8 members of the Negative 10. I'm just going to tell you that the 9th member is Clancy, because I'm not going to cover him in a chapter. The knights had him under lock and key the entire time, experimenting on his body. The 10th member will be covered in a filler chapter that takes place before the N10 episodes.
The current members are: Forever King, Forever Ninja, Dr. Animo, Charmcaster, Hex (Yes, baby Hex), Kangaroo Kommando, Zombozo, Rojo, and Clancy.
Next Chapter - Ken 10