Galactic Shift Extend: Side Stories

by Seanzilla1988

A series of side stories featuring the many characters and series within Galactic Shift Extend's universe.

14. Summer Camp Fun

SZ: Greetings folks. We're on the last few days/weeks of summer, so...may as well give you all a summer chapter. Also heads up..this takes place after the current arc in GSE, so that way it doesn't end up as confusing.

Z0: It's a side story after all.

SZ: Aye. Something to give to you all while GSE is on break, or while we're working on the next chapter...and right now it's the former kinda, so we hope you enjoy this relaxing, yet funny chapter.

Z0: Trust us, it'll be fun. This takes place at least a few months ahead of current events in the main story. So everyone is back home...plus Naoto.

SZ: Mm hmm. Anyways…*puts on a cap*we don't own anything in this aside from original content, so let us get this summer side adventure going!

Monokuma: *pops in dressed as Chris McClang*With your host, MonoCh-*gets punted out*Ack!

SZ: NO! NONE OF THAT!

Z0: Summer camp time folks! *puts on Hockey mask*

SZ:...ignore that.*pulls curtains down*

Z0: *chainsaw revs up as my co-writers and a stupid bear scream in terror* Guys...guys come back...this is for the bushes...what babies...

---

Summer is well known for many pastimes. A rather popular American one, however, is the act of parents dumping their kids on paid teenage chaperones to watch them out in the wilderness doing all sorts of fun activities to drain them of their boundless energy. For most, this is simply called...Summer Camp.

"WHY!?" several male voices cried in unison.

"Oh don't be a big baby." Makoto huffed dressed in a T-shirt with the words: Camp WallaKnokkYa, jean shorts and sneakers. She was mostly looking at her boyfriend who was wearing a similar shirt, black and green shorts and matching sneakers.

"Babe...please...anything but summer camp…" Ben groaned as he suddenly wrapped his arms around her waist, "Me and camp don't mix! Not since the giant mutant fungus!"

"Well we just need to make camp fun for ya!" Makoto declared as she held him up, "Besides, it was Jenny's idea and I wanted to expand on that idea."

"Besides, this serves us well, some community service will...alleviate your property damage tab…" Tsubaki spoke up as she was dressed the same as Makoto.

"While I can understand that for Tennyson...why...am...I...here?" Jin growled, wearing the same shirt and casual attire as Ben, and opted to wear glasses for the trip.

"Well...in as many words...You haven't used vacation time yet." Tsubaki muttered, "How...we work the same hours...and go on the same trips?"

"I put in a lot of overtime…" Jin fumed.

"Also I recommended you do it!" Alf declared, making Jin jump as the Malmacian was standing behind him in the same camp T-shirt, "Recent reports show...you're too antisocial. Do you know how many complaints I get of: 'Captain Jin is scary' or 'I think I have workplace mental trauma because of Jin'...cause if it's under three digits...you're wrong."

"Wha...you mean...I'm on some kind of probation!?" Jin demanded.

"Your words; not mine." Alf muttered.

"Furthermore why is this living 80's carpet swatch here?! I thought he was contracted as a therapist!" Jin shouted.

"Well Magister Tennyson would have volunteered to be Head Counselor...but...well people like working with him." Alf shrugged as he put on some sunglasses and went off to the Head Counselors cabin.

"I can not believe this…" Jin grumbled.

"Tsubaki...your man is gonna scare the kids...do something," Makoto complained.

"Oh don't worry. Jin won't cause any trouble," Tsubaki assured as she looked over at him, "Right...Jin?"

"I…"

"Right….Jin?" Tsubaki heavily repeated..while lightly tapping her paperfan in her hand.

"Yes…" he groaned in defeat.

"Okay...all of that makes sense…" Max spoke as he lifted some heavy crates full of supplies while armored up, "But...uh...why did the rest of us...get dragged into this?" he motioned to himself and Naoto and then, Noel, Kajun, Mai and Lambda.

"Well Rook wanted to come along, but then he realized kids would want to touch his face…" Makoto muttered.

"Also technically he can't be a counselor due to several technicalities." Tsubaki added.

"Like the fact he's a grown man…" Makoto chuckled, "Well...compared to us."

"And we already have more CIT's than normal thanks to Jenny bringing the Kibougamine student body over." Tsubaki finished.

"That I understand…" Naoto spoke up, dressed in the same shirt and summer clothing as the others, "What I don't understand is why they reopened a HAUNTED SUMMER CAMP!?" he then flinched, swearing he heard a wolf was howling in the distance.

"H-haunted?" Noel nervously repeated.

"Probably just a myth." Lambda argued.

"The lake is called Vorpal Lake...and is rumored to have a lake monster!" Naoto defended.

"Ben can fish it out." Makoto smiled.

"That still doesn't assure me!" Naoto snapped.

"He's got a point, w-what else is there?" Noel nervously asked.

"How about the ghost stories that this place is also haunted by a wendigo!?" Naoto asked.

"Oh please…" Makoto huffed.

"The story that a camp worker suddenly went crazy and killed the CIT's?"

"Yeah right…." Tsubaki muttered.

"Wait, what?" Jin blinked.

"Oh the story of the creepy giant with a hook for a hand who roams the place looking for teenagers to kill?"

"Oh now you're just riffing on cheesy summer slasher movies…" Makoto replied, "And giving Noellie a panic attack!"

"Breathe...breathe…" Lambda spoke, giving the now hyperventilating Noel a paper bag as the blonde cuddled an offered Bluey and getting head pets from Funkfreed.

"It's fine, Noel. They're just stories," Kajun assured the blonde, "All being disproved at one point or another."

"Besides...how can that be worse than half the things we've fought?" Max argued, "I'm just bummed cause Kajun finally made a game controller I can't turn into a hand grenade."

"Oddly not the hardest request he gave me…" Kajun muttered, "But...this could be a safe and controlled environment for more TURBO Energy testing. The lack of big machines for you to overload means we don't have to worry too much."

"See, positives!" Makoto smiled, "Plus...we kinda banked on the whole 'sending your kid to summer camp with two of the world's Biggest Heroes' thing. We tried to rope Danny into it...but he has to work for his folks."

"Besides, this is also for Jenny and her friends. They are coming over to experience American Summer vacation, and she figured Summer Camp was the best chance. Sari was able to pull some strings with her father's company to help set this all up. So please...try not to ruin this for them?" Tsubaki sighed.

"Fine...but I swear to god one lake zombie, and I'm out of here!" Naoto groaned.

"Ah…" Noel groaned as she fainted at that, quickly caught in her sword's trunk.

"...baka," Lambda deadpanned as Bluey started fanning Noel.

"Hey I'm not happy about it...but...Tsubaki has a point." Ben sighed, "Plus...hey it's kind of a normal thing teenagers do during the summer."

"No offense dude...but I'd rather be punching aliens…" Naoto sighed, "At least then I can go home after...to AC...and reliable indoor plumbing…"

"Oh come on, this place isn't that old. It's got some modern amenities." Makoto argued, "Don't be a downer...we already got one...and it's called a Jin."

"Wha…" Jin muttered at that as he held his arms up.

"Besides...after all the recent nonsense and battles, a little time of normalcy and dullness might do us some good." Makoto went on, "Also I always wanted to go to summer camp!"

"Alright...for you...I'll try and have a better attitude about this," Ben sighed, "But one mutant mushroom and I can complain all I want. That's my only stipulation."

"Deal," Makoto giggled before whispering to him while leaning in close, "Besides, when everyone else is sleeping, we can go have some quality time together~"

"Don't even try it," Tsubaki spoke as she popped up between the two, making them jump in surprise, "We want to make sure camp is enjoyable and clean for the kids, so I have my eye on you two.."

"Mou…" Makoto pouted.

"Can we at least still have some normal clean romantic couple time while we're off the clock?" Ben sighed.

"That you can do, yes," Tsubaki nodded.

"Well...I can't do all my fantasies…" Makoto muttered.

"I'm not touching that…" Ben grunted as he walked off, "Knowing will only make me suffer!"

"...wait. What's that supposed to mean?" Makoto blinked at that, "...Ben. Hey, Ben! Sweetie!? Hun?!" she called out as she gave chase.

"I know what he meant…" Max and Naoto muttered, the two fist bumping without looking at the same time.

"Yeah I figured it out too…" Mai sighed.

"You'd just smack him…" Jin sighed an explanation to the confused Tsubaki.

"Oh…" she realized.

"So...Jenny?" Noel groaned after getting up with help from Lambda, Robotboy poking his head out of Noel's backpack.

"She should be here any second," Kajun answered as she looked at her watch for the time, "Hmm...perhaps there's a delay in the Ground Bridge f-" she began before Ground Bridge opened near them, "There they are."

"We're here!" Jenny called out as she walked out first, "Ah! You have no idea how hard it is to get these guys to pack!" she sighed out as if out of breath, "If it wasn't one thing it was another…"

"WHOO~! Hello, camp~!" Ibuki beamed as she jumped out, doing a pose just as she landed before she played a riff on her guitar, "Ibuki is here to bring enjoyment!"

"Oh joy…" Jin groaned.

"Come on...Maki-roll...!" Kaito grunted as he, Shuichi, and Kaede were currently pushing a slightly annoyed Maki through the portal, "You agreed...to help!"

"And I'm still regretting it…" Maki argued.

"We got a stubborn one," Makoto noted as she and Ben walked back over, "...Oh Funky~"

"Funky?" Maki repeated before she was picked up by Funkfreed, "What?!"

"That's mine!" Noel called out, "He's kind of new...I promised he could spend all his time in elephant form here!"

"He changes forms?" Kaito blinked.

"It's...kind of a long...hard to believe story…" several of them muttered.

"We got stuck in another world…" Naoto blurted, "That's how I joined!" he thumbed at Bluey, "Him, too."

"My Bluey," Lambda quickly stated.

"Aww~" Hina cooed as she and Sakura were out of the portal next, the latter currently caring some luggage in one of her arms, "He's cute~"

"We went to some...pretty strange and bizarre worlds." Ben muttered, "Noel and Lambda brought back a lot of pets...we left some back home with Sari and Rook."

"We think it wasn't safe to let some of them run around the wild…" Makoto muttered, "Especially after what happened to one in particular…"

"Hey...it was hard to tell Mari she couldn't come, but I understood it was maybe not a good idea to introduce a super apex predator to the ecosystem." Noel huffed.

"You think?" Mai deadpanned as she rubbed her side a bit, "I still feel being whipped by her tail."

"Hey...she gave me the sad babydoll eyes...who suffered the most?" Noel argued.

"My ribs would like to argue…" Mai sighed sarcastically.

"It is a good thing we have a medical expert with us," Kibo spoke as he walked in next...with a very nervous Mikan poking out from behind him.

"Mikan, it's ok. Nothing's gonna hurt ya here," Jenny assured.

"But...Hiyoko said…"

"Eh ignore her," Akane waved off, patting the shy nurse on the head as she walked by.

"...Um...Is she a tiger Beastkin?" Naoto whispered to Kajun, looking at the tiger ears on her head.

"No, she has some Alien heritage which was awakened." Kajun explained, "In this case she has some Apoplexian ancestry."

"...that's Rath's species, right?" Naoto asked.

"Bingo." Makoto and Ben smiled.

"Oi…" Kuon's voice complained as he walked in next with several kids that looked like Akane clinging to him, "Why do your siblings cling to me?!"

"Duh. Because they like ya," Akane answered before Kuon gave a yelp, "Ah hey! Hey! Jan, no biting!" she snapped as she pulled off a small boy with her hair color, only his hair was messy with a pair of ahoge's on the left and right side of his hair, acting almost like a second set of ears, "Besides, you can munch all ya want once we start with the food."

"MEATO!" the boy declared with a cheeky smile

"I swear...that was the worst pitstop ever...of all time." Kuon sighed as he walked past the others.

"Hmm...did no one else feel that chill?" Naoto asked.

"What chill?"

"It's just...I don't know...like something strong…" he explained as Zaruba looked at Naoto.

"Oho? What an interesting boy. He might be worth a few...chuckles~" the Magic ring darkly chuckled to himself.

"Well besides you being weird…" Makoto joked.

"Hey…" Naoto frowned.

"It's okay...we're all a little weird." Ibuki cheered, "You learn to love it!"

"Gh…" Naegi grunted as he and Mondo struggled to pull a few of the less excited classmates through the portal, "Come on...we promised Jenny-san we'd do this!"

"You can do it!" Ishimaru cheered on, "We must not disappoint the kids once they arrive!"

"Nuh-uh! No way dude! I am getting some major bad JuJu from this place! I'm talking about haunted stuff!" Hagakure panicked, his legs being what Naegi was pulling on.

"H-haunted…?" Mikan and Noel nervously repeated.

"Yes! Like…!"

*CLANG!*

"Apologies...he was being loud," Kyoko whispered as she walked in next, tossing the wrench she used to knock Hagakure out back to Miu, "Thank you."

"Hey hey! Easy!" Miu argued as she caught her wrench, "These are delicate tools! How am I gonna help with arts and crafts if I can't show the kids something F….freakin' awesome?!"

"We've been getting her to curse less," Jenny whispered to the others.

"Oh...you're improving." Makoto awed.

"Good...last thing we need is you causing an incident around the kids." Tsubaki smiled.

"That goes for everyone," Ben smiled, "Try and set a good example…" he eyed several of them.

"Actually…" Naegi began as he dropped Hagakure's leg, "We got two more coming...and one we thought would be helpful for this."

"Wh-"

"Oh~! This is amazing!" Sonia awed as she and Gundham walked out, the former dressed in a elegant white camping outfit while the latter had a large hat on over his head, "It's almost like the trees back home."

"We wanted to see if Gundham would help us with any animal tips to the kids, and Sonia overheard and wanted to come with," Naegi explained.

"So literally everyone came?" Ben muttered.

"Uh well...no yeah literally almost everyone…" Naegi sighed.

"Well...at least this way the kids will always have someone watching out for them." Makoto muttered.

"I don't think it's the kids we'll have to worry about." Ben replied.

=Why?= Steel asked before noticing Miu looking at him =...She's giving me the same look Kajun did when we...I'm outta here!=

"Oh! What kinda 'bot is that?" Miu asked, a familiar look in her eyes.

"Ack! Funky, anti-Science Maneuver!" Makoto panicked.

*THUMP!*

"Mecha~!" Miu groaned on the floor, the impression of the flat side of a sword in her face.

"Huh...I guess this is the first time she saw Steel by himself...he was always fused to Max the whole time last visit…" Makoto guessed, "Funny I swore we went over this before…"

"Kajun has relapsed a few times…" Max chuckled.

"Allegedly…" Kajun frowned, scooting away from the blade that was turning back into a trunk.

"What matter of Elephant is this?" Gundham questioned.

"He's a very special case," Noel answered as she scratched Funkfreed under the chin and earning a happy noise from the Elephant-Sword.

"Amazing...to think you were able to find such a powerful familiar that can shift into an appropriate form," Gundham noted, "It reminds me of the phantom beast of the battle realm, able to take the form of blades that test one's might and see if they are worthy of wielding it!"

"...uh…" Naoto began.

"Chunibyo," Makoto and Tsubaki whispered to him.

"That explains why he's dressed like a demon lord," Naoto muttered.

"It's bad enough I am dragged here...now I'm being summoned…" Kokichi groaned, currently tied up to Kuon's back...before he untied him and let him down, "Ow~!"

"Chibis...attack!" Kuon ordered as Akane's siblings tackled Kokichi and...dragged him away while tied to a wooden pole.

"Hey! HEY! No fair! I'm supposed to cause mischief! N-oh don't you carry me away!" Kokichi complained as Akane's siblings carried him off to who knows where.

"Don't actually start a fire this time! And don't eat him! You'll ruin your appetite for dinner!" Akane shouted.

"Hai!" they all cheered.

"Well I can already tell this is gonna get crazy," Shuichi whispered to himself.

"Well I don't know, maybe making everyone take some responsibility will be good for a change." Kaede argued, "I mean we have so much freedom normally. Maybe putting us in charge of something smaller and more fragile will give some of us some perspective."

"Pretty big maybe…" Shuichi muttered looking over at his classmates, "But...I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try…"

"There we go," Kaede smiled a bit.

"Atta boy, Shuichi!" Kaito beamed as he wrapped an arm around him, "That's why you're my sidekick!"

"Please stop…"

"I fear what putting you in charge of children will bring…" Maki sighed looking at Kaito.

"What? No way! I'm great with kids! I love space, they love space, we have two alien superheroes! I'm practically a kid myself!" Kaito cheered, before blinking, "Wait a minute…"

"You said it…" Shuichi muttered.

"I can already tell this is gonna cause some major headaches," Jin deadpanned.

"Ahem! Anyway…" Tsubaki began, clearing her throat as she brought her hands together, "Now that we have everyone, let us go get things set up for the rest of hte kids showing up."

"Then we can think of proper camp activities for them!" Ishimaru added as he was already beside her, "I have already thought up of many proper rules, games, and what the children can do during their break periods! Plus I looked up how to perfect the perfect smore, but with gluten free graham crackers, sugar free marshmallows, and of course light chocolate."

"Ch…" Tsubaki began.

"It's not Wednesday yet, Tsubaki!" Alf shouted, poking his head out the window.

"AH!" Most of the Kibougamine students panicked upon seeing Alf.

"Ah! S-Sorry, Alf. Almost forgot," Tsubaki apologized.

"I'm keeping my eyes on you young lady." Alf pointed at his eyes then to Tsubaki, he moved his head back before poking back out, "Hey!" he shouted, making the Kibougamine students flinch again, "Which one of you is the Super Duper cooking kid?"

"Well we have one, but…" Naegi began.

"He's a little perv," Kuon bluntly stated.

"But can he cook?" Alf asked.

"Uh...yeah…" most of them nodded.

"Step forward Cook kid." Alf ordered.

"We don't have him with us," Maki stated.

"Why not?" Alf asked, "I was going to force him to be my personal chef this whole trip."

"Alf…" Tsubaki sighed.

"What...I wanted to get something out of giving up my time for this gig." Alf argued.

"Oh! I can cook f-" Noel began.

"I'll be the cook," Lambda spoke up instantly, making her sister slump a bit.

"Well that's almost as good," Alf sighed, "Alright get to it kid, its your domain now." he pulled his head back in.

"What was...that?" Naegi asked after a moment to see if Alf would pop out again.

"Wait...are you guys spooked by Alf?" Makoto blinked.

"When you get attacked and tormented by a killer robot bear...you tend to be jumpy at anything fluffy and speaks very loudly…" Mondo muttered.

"Fair," Makoto cringed.

"I can hear you! I haven't hooked up my home entertainment system yet!" Alf shouted, "Side note...somebody help me set up this dang Smart TV! I thought it was smart enough to build itself but nope!"

"Uh short version...Alf is this alien survivor from a planet called Melmac…" Ben muttered.

"He's actually a very sweet and caring guy. Kinda lazy and selfish...but he's also a great moral supporter." Makoto added.

"He's helped us with a lot of issues." Tsubaki further added.

"Some more than others…" Jin sighed.

"He's honestly a big old softie." Noel smiled, "He wouldn't hurt a fly...metaphorically…" she corrected.

"He's technically a voracious carnivore." Lambda added, "His kind eat cats…"

"Hey! I haven't eaten a cat in several months. Thank you very much!" Alf argued, walking out revealing how short he was to the Kibougamine students, "I have shown amazing restraint. Now all I hunt is meat lover pizza and Italian subs. And sometimes the occasional entire roast turkey."

"...what an odd creature," Gundham whispered as his Four Devas looked at Alf in confusion.

"He reminds me of an old story I heard as a child," Sonia noted

"You have a story of a faintly aardvark looking creature where you come from?" Kuon blinked.

"I didn't do it." Alf quickly replied when Tsubaki turned to look at him.

"There are many stories in my home country of Novoselic," Sonia explained.

As she talked, everyone was unaware of a large figure looking on at the group from inside the woods, giving a quite yet heavy exhale as they eyed the group. They raised their hand and scrapped a rusty metal hook along a tree while continuously eyeing the multiple teenagers.

---

Higher up in the woods towards the nearby mountain a time portal opened as two familiar bikes drove out. The riders jumped out and landed in a rather comfortable clearing perfect for a campsite.

"Wow...so this is what it looked like way back when!" Chrono Spanner awed, using his helmet to zoom in on Camp WallaKnokYa.

"Wow...it was so...small," Chrono Driver added.

"Right? And a lot less Uncle Alf posters…" Spanner muttered, "It actually looks kinda cozy as is."

"Well at least they stuck with Camp WallaKnokYa, much more fun than naming it after the lake...why Vorpal Lake?" Driver asked.

"I don't know...some old legend of a fish man or...lake monster…" Spanner sighed as he sat down, "Wow...look," he pointed to Ben and Makoto, Ben hugging and spinning Makoto around as she laughed a bit, "Mom and Dad…"

"They're so young...and still so much in love," Driver noted with a happy sigh.

"I mean...it's one thing to see them acting like this after being married so long...but...it's just kinda surreal seeing them so close to our age and still acting the same." he chuckled as he removed his helmet, "Man...I wish we could go down and meet them."

"Same, but we can't," Driver sighed as she took her helmet off, "Otherwise mom and dad would know something's up back in the future...and I really wanna meet and talk to their younger selves."

"We just gotta wait and then we can meet them as well...our current selves." he motioned to his helmet, "But...I mostly want to keep an eye on this event. Mom and Dad said that this trip was almost ruined a lot by some of Dad's B...well former B List enemies."

"Everyone but Dr. Animo got majorly demoted…" Kokoro sighed.

"And he is on that list…" Ken sighed, "With an army of...killer...what was it?"

"I think it was an army of killer spine shooting porcupines." Kokoro muttered.

"Yeah that'll be fun…" Ken sighed.

"No it will not…" Kokoro muttered.

"Well, we got a base camp," Ken motioned to the spot around them, "We brought tons of supplies and our bikes act as beds...with a stealth mode. Might as well hunker down and wait for the nonsense."

"All the fun of camping...with none of the horrible parts." Kokoro smiled.

---

"Whoa!" Max awed as kids surrounded him and Ben.

"Come on, kids, this way to meet the superheroes." Makoto cheered, ushering the kids towards them.

"Everyone will get a chance to say hi, no need to push!" Tsubaki smiled.

"Girl cabins this way, boys that way!" Noel smiled, her and Robotboy pointing to a sign post showing two paths.

"Man these kids are super hyped," Kuon laughed.

"Ben and Max are literal super heroes." Jenny smiled as a few girls flocked to her, "It's actually kind of sweet. Yay~" she cheered while taking a selfie with some of the girls.

"Well they don't seem near as wild as Akane's siblings…" Kuon chuckled, "Shouldn't be too hard."

"They started a fire!" Kokichi panicked in the distance, "Who taught them tribal dances?!"

"Totally not because of those old western films when it was Jenny's turn for a movie night and held it at my place," Akane muttered to herself as her eyes darted back and forth.

"Woah hey! Easy kids!" Mondo grinned a bit as a few of the campers were climbing him, "Be careful not to mess with the do. It's a Biker's pride and joy!"

"Oh really? Well the Luminary of the Stars cannot wait to tell these kids stories about space!" Kaito laughed as kids were flocking to him.

"Ahh! J-Jenny, some assistance please?" Kibo asked as he was literally flocked by some of the more rowdy kids.

"On my way!" Jenny chuckled as she walked over.

"It's really not funny...they don't understand that I have some dangerous hidden features!" Kibo complained.

"But they are curious about you," Robotboy pointed out.

"Yes! And I..!" Kibo began before he tensed up...and began to give off a loud, opera-like baritone.

"You have an opera singing function?" Jenny blinked.

"Oddly in tune." Noel added.

"Loud…" Robotboy muttered.

"I-it was something Professor Idabashi programmed into me," Kibo admitted with a blush, "...they forgot to add in other music modern people these days would enjoy."

"I can fix that!" Miu declared as the robot arms popped out of her backpack, "You kids wanna see the great and smart Miu fix a robot?"

"Please no!" Kibo panicked.

"Hah? Why n-" Miu began before Sakura pinched her neck, "?!...Nigh nigh~"

"...one of your usual trouble makers?" Alf guessed as Miu plopped onto the ground.

"She can boast and talk trash all she wants...but she can't handle it when its aimed at her," Sakura explained.

"I have my work cut out for me." Alf sighed as some kids stared at him in wonder, "What? I ain't huggin' ya." the kids laughed, Alf sighed before opening his mouth and unleashing a loud honking sound making them all scatter while laughing at the trick.

"Alright, children! Please gather round so that we may tell what you shall be doing here!" Ishimaru called out while dressed as a male camp counciller...only to be ignored as the kids continued to run around.

"So much energy…" Naegi muttered.

"They are children afterall," Kyoko pointed out.

"Yes...rather excitable ones," Shuichi muttered.

"Aren't you going to help, Maki?" Kaede asked, looking over at her fellow classmate as she leaned against a tree, "You are the Ultimate Child Caregiver, so maybe…"

"No. I'm weighing my options," Maki argued.

"But they are so cute!" Ibuki declared holding a few kids in her arms, "They are so tiny and energetic and pure!"

"'PURE' MY FAVORITE CAPE! EEYOW! JAN BIT MY FOOT!" Kokichi's voice yelped.

"Oh great...now your siblings are gonna need a shot." Kuon sighed, "Who knows what Kokichi has…"

"Hopefully he won't transfer those creepy faces of his," Naegi muttered.

"Eh. I'm sure they're fine," Akane shrugged, "...but on the off chance...Mikan?"

"H-hai!" Mikan nodded, grabbing a medkit as she rushed off with Akane.

"Alright, kids, let's get your stuff to the cabins!" Max clapped his hands loudly getting all the kids' attention, "Our good buddy Ishimaru here will fill you in on where everyone goes on the boy side," he tapped Ishimaru's shoulder, "And Noel will handle the girl cabins."

"Please boys, follow me this way," Ishimaru advised the younger male kids, "There I will give you your proper guidelines, and how to straighten your beds, a-"

"Bro...just give them the basic rules and tell 'em to have fun," Mondo sweatdropped.

"They are kids Taka...you at best have their attention for another five minutes…" Naegi muttered.

"...ahem. O-of course," Ishimaru noted before motioning the younger boys to follow him, "Again, right this way."

"He's trying." Kyoko sighed.

"Okay everyone, this way!" Noel cheered as she and Jenny led the girls to the dorms.

"The CIT cabins will be closer to the middle," Makoto muttered reading the map, "And we are encouraged to take night watch and check on all the kids to A: Be sure they are in bed at curfew, and B: None are missing or in trouble!"

"I can handle the night watch." Kuon spoke up, "I'll just sleep most of the day to make up for it."

"You are rather...nocturnal." Naegi muttered.

"Well we need someone to check on the girl's side…" Makoto muttered.

"...ugh. Fine...I'll do it," Maki sighed

"Well don't sound so desperate to get out of fun camp activities." Kaito muttered.

"I'm normally not a people person," Maki argued, "Wakemen and her friends-mostly Mioda or Owari-keeps dragging me into their adventures…"

"Yet...you keep an eye on them regardless and keep them out of danger," Kuon noted, "You might not be a people person...but you're probably just too shy to admit you like some people."

"See...even Kuon can read you like a book~" Kaito added.

"...mm~" Maki puffed her cheeks a bit as she looked away from them….mainly Kaito.

"Great! We have our night time team!" Makoto smiled, "You guys are perfect for keeping this place in check at night."

"So we don't have anything to worry about!" Hina added.

"Well I guess all that leaves is to help get camp started for the kids," Mai spoke, unaware of a large hulking figure popping up from the bush behind her and Kajun.

"True...perhaps I can teach the kids a few things," Kajun offered.

"Just don't scare them with science mode," Mai sighed as the figure began to raise its hook hand...before a large rock ended up hitting its face, "?"

"Oh...they are strong…" Kuon noted as he picked up one of Akane's brothers, "Where did that boulder go?"

"You let them toss a boulder?" Mai asked.

"No...not me...her!" he jutted a thumb to Akane, "Apparently she's been trying to awaken their Apoplexian DNA!"

"What? it's been showing results," Akane argued before grinning at one of her little sisters, "Nice work, Mika!"

"Yeah!" she cheered in victory.

"You should be teaching them to control it…" Kuon sighed, "Look how long it took you to control yourself." he sighed when another boulder got tossed into the air, "Really?" he looked at the siblings as they scattered, "Oi! Get back here!"

"...are they gone?" Kokichi asked as he poked out form behind a tree...while covered in paint and mud while his clothes were torn, "Seriously...I've led trouble makers before, but these kids are literal demons~!"

"Says the kid who can make nightmare fuel inducing faces," Kaito deadpanned.

"Hey. I do it just for fun," Kokichi argued.

"Ah! He escaped!" One of the little brothers shouted, pointing at Kokichi, "Get him!"

"Oh!" they all cheered, picking up giant branches as clubs.

"Son of a…"

"Language!" Everyone snapped at Kokichi as he began to run.

---

"Wow...tiny Old man Oma is really getting it…" Ken muttered, watching through binoculars.

"To be fair, he has caused Aunt Jenny and the others a lot of trouble from what I've heard from old stories," Kokoro pointed out, "Like the infamous fruit punch incident."

"Yeah but it's so surreal…" Ken argued, "I mean...he's so...short in the past."

"Maybe they'll mistake him for a camper and send him to some random home at the end?" Kokoro giggled.

"I mean...I wouldn't...oh hang on…" he muttered.

"Danger?" Kokoro smiled.

"No...it's just the groundskeeper…" Ken sighed, "He slinked off to the tool shed while holding his face after a rock hit him. Nothing to concern ourselves with."

"Groundskeeper?" Kokoro blinked.

"Yeah, coveralls, machete for cutting the bushes, a hook hand. What was it Dad called him? Quartermaster!" Ken snapped his fingers.

"Oh right! The guy who's always sleeping!" Kokoro smiled as she remembered, "Man, I was hoping for some action." she pouted while hopping over to her Time Bike and taking out a bag of snacks.

"Remember to not leave a mess." Ken reminded.

"I won't~!" she replied, popping some chips in her mouth, "Weird...what a lazy day, I was sure Dad said something about one of his enemies showing up on the first day so they put on a show for the kids by beating them up…"

"Time ripple?" Ken asked.

"I prefer Time Boom."

"Of course you would," Ken muttered.

"Well…" Kokoro began before blinking, "...uh….bro?"

"Yeah?" Ken responded as Kokoro pointed to the side, making him slowly turn...and saw Mukuro not too far from them as she looked on through her own pair of binoculars, "..."

"Masks!" Kokoro fumbled as she grabbed her chip bag and put it over her head instead of her helmet.

"Oh crapbaskets…" Ken sighed.

"Hey~...Language~" Kokoro reminded.

"I…" Mukuro whispered to herself once she noticed them, "I'm not even shocked…" she muttered, seeing how much these two looked like Ben and Makoto, "...I won't tell anyone."

"Eh?" the twins blinked.

"If you truly are their children, then you are here for something of importance," Mukuro stated as she looked back through her binoculars, "Hence why I'll keep it secret."

"Really?" Kokoro asked, removing the chip bag from her head.

"Really."

"...that actually explains how she seemed to recognize us in our time just after we were born," Ken whispered.

"Oh thank you!" Kokoro cheered, rushing up and hugging Mukuro, "You are the best extended family Auntie ever!"

"You...are indeed...Makoto Nanaya's child…" Mukuro mumbled, currently being death hugged.

"To be fair, she's Makoto Tennyson in the future," Kokoro smiled.

"Technicality…" Ken muttered, currently looking through their binoculars before he spotted something faintly, 'Wait...was that Billy Billions just now?...maybe I was seeing things.'

---

"Today is our first day...what should we do?" Naegi muttered as everyone was still busy helping the kids pick out a cabin.

"I imagine we just let the kids get settled. They are the ones who had to ride the bus almost all morning to get here," Kuon offered as he carried a large tree trunk for the campfire later, "They didn't get the luxury of an alien portal to take them from place A to B. Not to mention given Taka...he's probably gonna tucker them out with rules..."

"He has a point," Shuichi nodded, "So I guess we just take it easy and such today."

"Sides...the whole point was for us to get to see how American Summer camp works. I've only ever seen it in cheesy horror movies…" Kuon sighed.

"Please do not bring those up," Kibo gulped a bit as he sweated a little, "I am still trying to comprehend and still have nightmares about that machete wielding zombie…"

"Oh come on, based on those tropes...you might have a better chance of survival." Kuon chuckled, "It's always the innocent goofy boy who tends to survive to live with the Final Girl."

"Besides, we technically have something those movies didn't," Naegi added.

"And...that is?"

"Superhero teens with little to no restraint on their powers," Shuichi responded, "I mean we have a world famous super powered couple in Tennyson-san and Nanaya-san, Yayoi-san, Kisaragi-san, three super robots with you, Wakemen-san, and Robotboy, and...Akane just to name a few, and Akane isn't technically registered as a hero.."

"Also...Kuon is kinda super." Naegi spoke, "And he and Sakura are technically human...but are way stronger than normal ones...even Akane can't get a hit on Kuon…"

"Surprise!"

"As if!" Kuon shouted, swinging his hand and smacking Akane away.

"Are we sure he's human?" Shuichi asked.

"Genetically...yes…" Kibo muttered.

"Physically...unsure," Naegi whispered.

"Gah! How do you always know?!" Akane complained.

"You're not exactly silent! I could hear your creepy laugh twenty meters back!" Kuon replied, slamming the tree trunk down, "You're gonna have to do better if you wanna get that kind of chance on me, Tora-onna!" He then held his arm up as one of her brothers was chewing on him, "See...this...this I let happen; 'cause it's a child. Unless you want me to give you the same handicap?"

"GH?!" Akane tensed when she pulled Jan off him, "No no!"

"You better have found a cabin to keep them in, and not just goof around with them all day," Kuon went on as he picked the log up again.

"It would be best if they had their own accommodations. Their...energy would make putting them with other kids difficult." Kibo agreed.

"Very...difficult," Shuichi and Naegi added.

"Well...I think I saw a cabin big enough for them near the lake," Akane spoke up.

"I'm pretty sure that's the boat house where we store the water sports stuff…" Kuon sighed, "Ah...you've just been goofing off, haven't you? Come on, I think we have a spare cabin near the CIT bunks we can stick them in," he complained as he tossed the log to the others, Naegi and Suichi panicking and jumping aside as Kibo struggled to catch it.

"Kuon!" Naegi complained.

"I'll catch up after I'm done helping the kids. Try and find more stuff for the campfire tonight!" Kuon ordered, walking off with Akane.

"Does he expect us to carry his share of trees?" Shuichi sighed, already feeling tired at the thought.

"I believe...he does…!" Kibo grunted, nearly about to tip over and fall as he struggled to balance the log.

"Something has to be special about him...street fighting alone can't make that kind of monster…" Naegi sighed.

"Agreed," Shuichi sighed.

"Whoa!" Kibo cried, losing his balance and swinging the log as it swung and hit the large masked figure, sending him flying from his hiding spot in the shadows, "Oh please tell me I didn't hit something…"

---

Just outside the camp, a set of bushes began to ruffle and shake. Almost as if they were inching closer to the camp gates.

"Ok…" Billy's voice began as he and Mazuma poked out of the bushes, "This is where Tennyson and his little group are working for the summer, meaning they'll be too busy to focus on anyone else…"

"What do you intend to do, Master Billy?" Mazuma asked.

"Simple...we ruin the first day at camp for everyone," Billy grinned, "As such, Tennyson will feel humiliated in front of not just a bunch of teary eyed, betrayed youngsters, but his girlfriend as well. In fact it'll be so humiliating, she'll break up with him, and someone can waltz right in and take her, thus ruining Tennyson's life in one single day."

"I counted several logical and tactical flaws with that plan," Mazuma spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Billy raised a brow, "This is a camp with Ben Tennyson in it...filled with kids who are most likely fans of his."

"But he's not the only registered Hero here." Mazuma pointed out, "Furthermore the other Counselors and CIT's are all students of a school known as Hope's Peak Academy, a school which trains highschool aged masters in certain fields, ranging from art, science, and even combat such as martial arts, street fighting, and military training."

"Such a school exists?" Billy blinked, "Why am I just learning about it now?! I..." he began before taking a deep breath, "No no...focus. We just need to sneak in and set the trap up, and once Tennyson trips it...boom. Instant humiliation."

"I still fail to see how this interconnects…" she sighed.

"You'll see. I'm never wrong; I just need a good trap." he muttered, "But what...it has to be humiliating to Tennyson…"

"If you…" Mazuma began before turning around.

"What?"

"I thought I heard something."

"That's not funny!" Billy panicked, "I never programmed you to be able to scare people like that!"

Unaware to them, a cloaked pair of Time Bikes were parked right behind them.

"It really was Billy…" Spanner sighed, hanging his head, "Dad doesn't even consider him an E tier enemy...less so after that restraining order Mom got on him…"

"That seems like a brutal downgrade." Mukuro spoke, riding with Driver.

"Right?" Driver nodded, "Daddy kinda felt sad for him and rather than strike his name from the villain list, he just demoted him...now more often than not we treat him as a Rookie starting villain for younger kids to train on!"

"I beat him when I was nine...without the Omnitrix…" Spanner groaned, "He's been doing this since this far back...oh the shame…"

"It can't be helped, our parents are worry warts who don't want us fighting anyone higher level." Driver replied, "Besides we have to do this, this trip is important and can't be ruined."

"Anyone...anyone cooler...Zombozo...Kangaro Komando, Rojo...anyone…" Spanner sighed.

"Noted," Mukuro whispered before she noticed Billy and Mazuma sneaking into the camp, "...targets have entered vicinity."

"Ah...we can't make a scene." Spanner sighed, "Dad and Mom aren't meant to meet me and Sis as we are for a little while longer."

"So stealth take down." Driver chuckled, "Should be fun...de...ah! Mukuro-Bachan ditched!"

"Huh!?" Spanner asked, "..wait. You mean she…!"

"I didn't even notice her leaving!"

"I forget she's more or less a super soldier," Spanner muttered.

"With a weakness for Uncle Naegi…" Driver muttered.

"Lets go before she kills him...which, no, we can't let happen…"

---

"Lunch is served," Lambda's voice spoke up.

"Whoa really?" Fourarms blinked as kids climbed all over him, "Wow...time really flew by…"

"It really does," Max muttered, "Still...wonder what she cooked up?"

"Given she's the best cook we know, it can be anything and I'll still eat it." Fourarms chuckled as he plucked the kids off and set them down, letting him change back into Ben.

"Ooh~ Something smells nice and tasty," Makoto drooled a bit as she walked over.

"Lunch," Lambda explained as she walked in, carting a rather large cart filled with various corndogs on top of a pile of different types of fries, "Corndogs...perfect for a summer lunch or dinner, and fries for them to enjoy. Added in vegetarian and gluten-free options for the children, and different types of fries."

"You are really amazing, La-chan!" Makoto awed.

"Prepared a separate cart for...hungry ones…" she muttered as she pointed inside, Bluey mimicking her while wearing a tiny chef's hat.

"...Akane?" Ben and Makoto guessed.

"And her siblings…"

"Well thanks for all your work Lambda," Ben smiled.

"The only difficult part was Alf…" she sighed.

"I get first dibs on food. It's in my contract." Alf strolled past them with a giant plate.

"It was the only way to get him to not eat the cornbread and dessert dogs for dessert later," Lambda clarified.

"I'm sorry, dessert dogs?" Max blinked.

"Replace the cornbread with vanilla or devil's food cake, and the hotdogs with edible cookie dough of different flavors," Lambda explained.

"Oh…" Makoto awed.

"That sounds unbelievably sweet," Ben chuckled.

"But tasty." Max added.

"I'll take ten of everything." Alf spoke up.

"Not until dessert later," Lambda argued with a frown, "Deal...remember?"

"Fine, you win, I can't argue with that." Alf shrugged as he walked off, the giant plate now filed with tons of corndogs and fries.

"Still, those look real good," Ben whispered as he picked one up, the group unaware of Billy and Mazuma spying on them from nearby.

"That's it, Tennyson...eat the bait so you can start the trap," Billy whispered to himself as Ben was about to take a bite of the corndog.

"Hey guys, wh-oh those look good," Naegi awed as he walked over.

"Want one man?" Ben asked as he offered him the one he was gonna eat.

"?!" Billy tensed up at that as Naegi took the corndog, 'No no! Don't let him eat it! You're supposed to eat it, Tennyson!'

Naegi began to bite down on the corndog...only to bite at nothing, making him blink as he noticed the corndog...was no longer in his hand, "?! Eh?!"

"Dude, I know you're hungry but...yeesh…" Max muttered, "We got plenty to go around." he offered another.

"But...I swear I had one in my hand!" Naegi argued.

"Maybe you were just that hungry," Makoto shrugged.

"But I swear...ugh. Nevermind," Naegi sighed, 'Still...what happened to my corndog?'

Hiding in one of the trees nearby was Mukuro...who was struggling a bit to cover her mouth as her entire face was a bright red. She rapidly looked around before spotting a carton of milk nearby, prompting her to rush out and silently take the milk before rushing back up the tree. She then opened up to chug its contents and quel the spiciness...only to tense up further as her entire body turned bright red.

"Where…?" Billy began when he noticed the milk was missing...until a huge stream of fire shot out of one of the nearby trees.

"ATSUI~!"

"Ah!" Naegi jumped, "What was that?!"

"Hey! Someone stole all my hot sauces and spices!" Alf complained, "I'm not mad...but who did it?" he looked at the kids, who shook their heads in response, "Oh I get it, some kind of prank. Well tell me if you're gonna use my stuff. Some of those spices aren't even from Earth."

'Mmm~~!' Mukuro mentally whined at that, the heat in her body even worse than any training exercise she had to go through while training with FENRIR.

"What just happened...Mazuma did...Mazuma?" Billy blinked, realizing he was alone, "Where'd you go!?"

"Robot get…" Driver whispered as she and Spanner carried the now deactivated Mazuma, thanks to an EMP device they stuck to her back.

"Now we just need to get Billy and rescue Aunt Mukuro," Spanner added quietly.

"Okay this isn't funny!" Billy shouted as he began looking around. He then jumped back when a bush began rustling. He slowly turned around only for one of Akane's brothers to poke out, "Oh it's just a stupid kid," he groaned, "Beat it kid!" he just tilted his head, "What's the matter, don't you speak?"

"Ah!" he shouted and pointed suddenly.

"What's…" Billy tensed as more rustling was heard until the rest of his siblings all popped out.

"Attack!" one ordered.

"AH!" Billy screamed.

"Nevermind...we're good on that end…" Spanner muttered.

"Eeyup," Driver giggled a bit before seeing a blur rush by them, "And there goes Aunt Mukuro….wow. She cannot handle spicy well."

"Ah...good thing Aunt Kajun made this stuff for just such an emergency." Spanner sighed, opening one of his belt pouches and pulling out a tiny medical kit, before opening that up and pulling out a small box of tongue strips.

"Mom did not learn her lesson…" Driver sighed.

"Quick, let's...put this thing in a dumpster or something…" Spanner sighed, "It honestly gives me the creeps…"

"Sacrifice!" Jan shouted as the Owari siblings dragged a hogtied Billy away.

"Oh!" the others cheered, one producing a lighter with which to start a fire.

"This isn't even funny anymore!" Billy panicked as he tried to blow out the flames, "Someone seriously get these psychos away from me!"

"Yakamashi!" Jan shouted, "Silence…" he ordered as one of his sisters stuffed a pinecone in his mouth, "Begin!"

"Alright, you little monsters...what have you done now?" Kuon sighed, making them all tense as he stood behind them.

"Ah...Kuon-niisan!" several panicked.

"Ah...I told you not to hurt your fellow campers...they are your friends." Kuon sighed while walking over.

"Not camper," several argued.

"What do you mean not a…" Kuon paused, "Wait a minute…" he pulled out his phone, "Ben sent us a list of all his lame enemies...Billy Billions…" he found his picture, "Huh...you're right...he's not a camper…"

"Not friend!" Jan cheered.

"Well I guess technically you didn't do anything wrong…" Kuon muttered, "Ah...still can't let you roast him…"

"Aww…" they pouted.

"How about I let you drag him to the bus stop so the cops can pick him up?" Kuon offered, "And no biting! You'll get sick if you keep biting gross stuff like...that…" he pointed to Billy.

"Mmm?!"

"Eww…" Most of them muttered.

"Come on, let's get it done so we can eat." Kuon sighed.

"Hai, Kuon-niisan!" the Owari siblings declared as they followed Kuon.

Billy blinked as the one with the lighter just smiled while holding it up. Billy began to panic...before he was roughly yanked and dragged away. Spanner and Driver poked their heads out once they left.

"Oh hey...it worked itself out." Spanner muttered.

"Ah...her arm fell off…" Driver muttered.

"Ah!" Spanner freaked.

"Seriously this is a really poorly made robot," Driver muttered.

---

"Really...just Billy?" Ben asked as they stoked the campfire, "That's so weird...normally he has that creepy robot sidekick."

"I just found the weirdo. He got ambushed by Akane's siblings, probably gave him a worse beating than you ever did," Kuon laughed.

"My money's on Mazuma got taken apart by them," Jenny deadpanned as she and Kibo gave the youngest two of Akane's siblings an annoyed look.

"What?" they innocently asked.

"Well if they did...they sure hid it well." Kuon replied, "I doubt we're gonna find that thing anytime soon."

"Eh...Tomorrow Ben's problem," Ben shrugged.

"At least he didn't ruin anything," Makoto smiled, "And I bet he won't be able to live down losing to a bunch of actual kids."

"You call them kids...I call them wild animals." Jenny chuckled.

"Gao!" one cheered.

"Those are my little sibs for ya!" Akane laughed as her tiger tail swayed happily.

"Wonder how Jin's taking to all this?" Max pondered.

"I believe this is yours…." Jin, whose shirt looked a little burnt, walked over to Akane with one of her brothers, "It seems he's become something of a pyro...you should keep an eye on him…" he finished with a violent eye twitch.

"Eh heh heh…" Akane sheepishly chuckled.

"Oh hey! Ibuki has an idea to cheer Jinjin up!" Ibuki's voice declared, making Jin tense up as the Ultimate Musician jumped over him, dressed in the female counciller's outfit while holding her guitar, "A campfire song while we wait for the desserts!"

"Please no…" Jin muttered, trying to back away.

"Sit," Tsubaki ordered as Jin jumped into a seat at that.

"Wow...Tsu-chan has so much more control…" Ibuki muttered.

"When you find the right guy...it's super easy to control them." Makoto smiled, Ben motioned to speak but stopped and lowered his head with a sigh of agreement, "Good boy." she smirked, patting his head.

"Feels like I'm forgetting something..." Akane muttered.

"..." Kuon took a moment to count, "No...your siblings are all here."

"No. Not that," Akane muttered as Ibuki adjusted the strings of her guitar, "It feels like…"

"Greetings, all. We would l-" Sonia began as she and Gundham walked over, only for both to tense as they saw Ibuki getting ready to play her guitar, "...Oh dear."

"Great calamity shall befall us…" Gundham whispered as his hamsters bolted for their respective pockets.

"I call this one...Fireflies dancing in the moonlight," Ibuki smiled as she began to take a deep breath.

---

"GAH!" Kokoro freaked out when a loud noise came from the camp, "Oh geez, my ears~!"

"This music….it's Aunt Ibuki's old music…!" Ken groaned.

"That's not music! That's Death Metal!" Kokoro argued.

"Ah your helmet!" he shouted as he put her helmet on, "It blocks out sounds too loud for your ears!"

"Oh sweet bippy thank you, bro…" Kokoro sighed in relief.

"I know you complained about it limiting your senses...but in the end, that helps you more…" Ken sighed, "Paradox really thought our tech out...ah...poor Mom…" he realized with a cringe.

"...oh hamburgers…" Kokoro realized.

---

"...That's...what I forget…" Akane whispered, her and her siblings' eyes looking like they witnessed the apocalypse...or that they were told there was no more food EVER.

"I think that song put the fear of god into me…" Kibo whispered as he and Jenny were a pale white.

"Bleagh~~" Makoto groaned as she lay sprawled out on the ground, her eyes blank while she foamed at the mouth.

"Oh man…" Ben sighed in worry.

"That was...something…" Max muttered, his helmet up.

=She almost blew out my audio receptors!= Steel complained from the chest plate.

"Not...what I was expecting from a song with 'Fireflies' in the title…" Tsubaki whispered.

"...Mioda?" Jin spoke up.

"Hai?" Ibuki began as she turned...only for Jin to snatch her guitar, "Ahh! My axe!"

"You're not getting this back!" Jin argued, "That music...that wasn't even music! It was...was...death metal!"

"What's your point?" she asked with a smile.

"Get her." Akane ordered her siblings.

"Oh!" They cheered, producing ropes and sticks.

"Uh-Oh!" Ibuki yelped as she ran.

"Hey, who's playing Melmacian Blues out there?" Alf demanded, poking his head out of his cabin's window, "Good timing with what's happening in the game. The Hypersonic Havoks are losing to the Quantum Quarks 53 to zip! I'm gonna be dealing with a crowing Ragna when we get back at this rate of them getting pummeled!"

"Sorry Alf, Ibuki was playing some of her music." Ben sighed as he picked up Makoto.

"She knows Melmacian Blues music? Huh, Earth never stops surprising me," Alf shrugged before pulling his head back in.

"She knows another species' music?" Sonia blinked, "...that...would explain how it sounds so...otherworldly…"

"Like Noel and her cooking…" Max muttered as he made his helmet vanish, "Weird coincidence…"

"And yet we suffer…" Naoto muttered.

"I find weird stuff happens all the time. The more chaotic stuff you put in one place the more likely the unlikely happens." Alf argued as he poked his head back out, "I mean we got an Alien shapeshifter, several Alien human hybrids, people from an alternate timeline, an alternate dimension, not to mention what I can only assume are some form of child piranha hybrid."

"Hey! My siblings ain't part fish!" Akane snapped.

"Then how did you know I meant them?" Alf argued.

"...A big sister just knows is all," Akane muttered as she looked away.

"Well after they eat, we should get ready for the night." Kuon spoke up.

"Good idea," Ben nodded as he looked down at Makoto, "I'm gonna take Makoto to her room...hopefully a good night's sleep will do her some good…"

"I'll help." Noel smiled.

"Night is when the creepy stuff begins…" Naoto sighed, "I swear we're gonna wake up in the middle of the night to someone screaming."

"It'll probably be Jin hitting his threshold," Max sighed, patting his shoulder.

"Grr…" Jin's eye twitched at that.

"I d-do not u-" Kibo began before Jenny smacked both him and herself, making the sparks on them stop, "Phew...thank you, Jenny…"

"Why was Robotboy unaffected?" Tsubaki asked.

"Moshimo tuned my ears to be immune to sonic attacks after Kamikaze made sonic screaming bats." Robotboy explained, "Still not as loud as Ibuki but still worked."

"Ahh...noted," Tsubaki nodded as she began to walk off, "I'll see you all in the morning, because tomorrow...is when camp truly begins."

"Let's try and get through one night first," Max sighed, "Kids can be a handful at night."

"True, but we do have Maki and Kuon to take nightwatch," Tsubaki stated, "I think we'll be good for tonight."

"What's the worst that can happen?" Naoto muttered, "I mean honestly...what could possibly happen we can't even handle?"

"I swear...just one mutant fungus…" Ben's voice was hard complaining.

"Mmm…" Makoto's voice groaned a bit.

"Sorry…"

---

"...nearly got caught…" Mukuro whispered as she sat inside a small tent, her mouth still a bit red with cartons of milk surrounding her.

"Why are you hiding anyway?" Kokoro asked as she and Ken poked their heads in, "Aren't you here with your friends?"

"..."

"...oh you followed them without them knowing, didn't you?"

"..."

"We never did get much on that whole story with your uh...sister." Ken spoke up, "Mom and Dad always tell us the bare minimum compared to their other adventures. If it's too complicated, we won't pry."

"'Sides...we're from the future, so we have no right to stick our noses where they don't belong." Kokoro sighed while hugging Mukuro.

"...You truly are their children," Mukuro whispered a bit, "...and you are correct. It is complicated, but…." she paused as she looked away, "Let's just say it's something your mother probably wishes never happened...to her."

"It seems like they have a bad time recalling that adventure. But...they love you like family, so...you must be a good person." Kokoro smiled, "You're probably just in your awkward phase! Kinda like Uncle Jin,"

"You really shouldn't say stuff like you're older...even in the past we're still the younger ones…" Ken complained.

"...technically true, but…" Mukuro paused as she sighed a bit, "Why don't you two head for bed? I'll stand guard outside…"

"You sure? Spooky stuff happens at night." Kokoro argued.

"Stop trying to get the whole haunted thing going...Mom and Dad said this place wasn't haunted...it was just a bunch of nonsense." Ken sighed, walking out of the tent before going to his bike.

"That we know of! I'm sure Uncle Kuon...did...uh…" Kokoro looked to Mukuro, "Did...nothing...forget you heard that, spoilers!" she panicked before running out.

"I see some things get passed on from generation to generation in their family…" Mukuro sighed as she began to step out of her tent.

---

The masked figure groaned, getting up after recovering from the last blow to the head he took. He looked around before finding the machete he picked up...only to find it now bent and useless. He stood up and began walking until he heard a horrible growling sound, he turned around to see something walking through the woods. It looked like a horrible skeletal figure, with dark fur covering its entire body, a deer skull, angers included masking its face. It turned to look at him, but before more could happen...it was suddenly run through by a sword. It groaned before dissolving away to reveal Garo. Garo grunted as he rushed off in a blur. The masked figure left just staring...unaware and honestly uncaring as to what the heck that was all about.

Garo skid to a half as his armor flashed away to reveal Kuon, he sighed sheathing the Garoken before it vanished in a small flash of light and turned into the sword themed charm/decoration on his bracelet.

"What was that?" Kuon whispered to Zaruba.

"It was just a regular old Wendigo, nothing to worry about. Compared to Horrors they are minor annoyances. But if left alone can cause some chaos to humans lost in the forest or mountains." Zaruba spoke, "I guess this forest is haunted if one is wandering around."

"Is there more?" Kuon sighed.

"Unsure, but even then we are vastly overqualified. You just need silver to kill one normally." Zaruba sighed.

"What, like a werewolf?" Kuon blinked.

"Silver is a remarkably useful weapon against the paranormal, not everything requires Soul Metal weapons to slay. Nor does it even need to be in a weapon form to be effective." Zaruba explained, "What you should worry about are the kids. We can't be too careful with such annoying little vermin."

"Mmm...true. Hopefully tomorrow will run the energy out of 'em," Kuon muttered as he began to walk off, "Supposedly there's gonna be archery training for them, so the shy one's probably gonna look things over."

"In ancient times, archery training was mandatory for Makai Knights,"

"Pass…" Kuon sighed, "I prefer to fight up close…" he groaned walking through the camp, "Now back to silent mode," he ordered.

"Hai hai…"

The Masked figure walked behind Kuon, following him a distance behind, but undetected. He raised his hook as he got closer just as Kuon passed one of the cabins...only for the door to swing open and smack the man in the face/mask. His mask cracked as he tumbled over backwards and rolled down a slight incline. Max yawned as he walked off with a young boy who needed to use the restroom, none the wiser as to what they inadvertently did.

"Make sure you turn the light off when you're done…" Max yawned waiting outside the bathroom.

"Hmm...aside from that thing...so far nothing has exploded or portals to another reality have opened…" Kuon grunted, stretching his arms, "I'm sure Maki's side is all quiet and boring too."

"They are."

"Gh?!" the two jumped as they turned, seeing Maki standing there as her eyes seemed to glow a bit in the darkness.

"A few tried to sneak out, but I managed to calm them down and such," Maki stated.

"Are you sure you're not a ninja?" Kuon sighed with a hand to his chest, "That would honestly explain a lot about you…" Zaruba rolled his non-existent eyes at that.

"I was asked to do this job. I figure I can do this much...efficiently." Maki argued.

"You know the point of this trip is to have fun. You can have fun right?" Kuon asked, "It's kinda the thing Kaito does, the guy you hang around with a lot."

"I usually don't do 'fun'," Maki argued, "And most times when I've 'hung out' with him, Shuichi, and Kaede...we're usually doing late night exercises…" her left eye began to twitch a bit, "While he always laid down to look at the stars with that smile on his face…"

"...The Tsundere is strong with this one," Max whispered to Kuon.

"Right…" Kuon chuckled, "Even still, not even you can be so sour around all these kids. Yeah they're annoying, but they have an adorable factor to them. At least more so than most of our friends at least."

"...admittedly true. Kids...can be a handful," Maki admitted, "But..it's my job to make sure they're safe and secure."

"That's why we wanted to bring you along." Kuon added, "It is your talent after all,"

"I still don't think I get how your school works, but I know you guys are all weird in your own way. And I know thanks to that, these kids will be safe." Max added.

"To be fair I don't get it either." Kuon shrugged.

=He's one of the weirdest. Should he even be allowed to say that?= Steel thought.

---

"Alright children, gather round," Tsubaki spoke, gathering the children near an archery range outside the camp as they were all holding wooden bows.

"Today, we shall be learning archery as it will serve as training for your accuracy, and being able to keep a steady hand," Ishimaru added.

"To be safe, these won't have actual tips," Max spoke up, "But when they go flying they can still hurt, so try and stay behind this safety line."

"Okay Mr. Max!" the students nodded.

"Anyway, Noel and Ben should be arriving to h-" Tsubaki began before something fast flew by her, "?! What the.."

"Greetings, children…" Revadoh spoke up, doing a flip in the air before he landed right on the ground next to his friends, "Before we begin the lesson, who wants to see me hit every bullseye...without even looking at the targets?"

"Oh, I have made a terrible mistake," Skurd groaned.

"Heh...figures he'd pull something like this." Max sighed/chuckled with a shake of his head.

"Oh lord a new form with an ego…" Tsubaki groaned just as Noel began to walk into the area, "Noel…"

"It's...rather complicated really," Noel muttered a bit

"...another part of that adventure you and the others were in?"

"Same place we got Bluey from," Noel replied.

"I really need to hear what you guys fully did once we're all home," Tsubaki muttered before she heard the children cheering, "?"

"Ahh! H-he hit every single target dead center..without looking!" Ishimaru gawked as Revadoh had his bow out, smirking a bit as he had his back turned to the current arrow embedded targets with the bullseyes full of arrows.

"Trust me...it is a weird adventure." Noel added, "I almost think you won't believe every world we landed in…"

"You'd...probably be right," Tsubaki whispered as the children were flocking to Revadoh.

"Yes I know I'm amazing! Wanna see me do it with my eyes closed?!" Revadoh cheered.

"Hai, tori-san!" Mika beamed.

"Should we let this happen?" Ishimaru asked.

"Well...he's got their attention," Max argued, "Maybe this way they'll listen to all the safety instructions."

"His race are master archers afterall," Noel added.

"Well...I guess he can be useful," Tsubaki sighed, "Noel, if you'd be so kind as to help out so he doesn't…"

"Spend the whole morning being the only one that took a shot?" Noel asked.

"Thank you," Tsubaki nodded.

"Alright children, w-" Revadoh began, his eyes closed as he prepared to take a shot at the targets from behind once more.

"Wait!" Noel called out as she put his arms down, "Why not let the children have a shot? That way...they can try and emulate you while also asking questions on how you did it."

"Ah! Yes! Splendid idea!" Revadoh nodded, "Brilliant! Let me impart my masterful skills onto them!"

"Yeah...that's the idea..." Noel rolled her eyes.

The masked figure groaned as he walked through the woods. He used an axe he stole from the toolshed to help balance his limp from the tumble he took last night. He grunted hearing the sounds of kids and lifted his new weapon up to rush them this time so as to not lose his chance.

"And fire!" Revadoh shouted.

The Masked man grunted as he looked down to see himself littered in arrows that pierced his overalls but not his skin. He grunted before feeling one last arrow hit his foot...followed by smoke. He looked down to see a fire arrow had hit and ignited his boot. He grunted, looking up as the flames grew rather quickly.

"AH Akane! Your brother got another lighter!" Noel panicked.

"Where do you keep getting those?!" Akane demanded as she ran in.

"I dunno…" he shrugged, everyone unaware of the masked man running for the lake with a hot foot.

"Well not a bad first try, but they mostly all veered to the left and missed." Noel noted.

"The key is taking in the air current and flow," Revadoh added, "You need to feel the wind against your skin...feel where it is blowing."

Some of the kids nodded as they followed along. It seemed to go better this time as they slowly began grasping what to do. One after the other they began hitting the targets. And with more clever manipulation of Revadoh's ego, a lot more teaching than showing.

"They seem to be doing good so far," Tsubaki whispered as she and the others watched from nearby.

"With Noel keeping Ben's new guy in check, so far so good." Max chuckled, "Thankfully no one's been hurt." he shrugged unaware of the figure in the distance still running around with a burning foot, as they got lost and couldn't find the lake.

"Minus the flaming arrow incident…" Tsubaki muttered.

"I swear I don't know where he keeps finding them!" Akane declared.

"Sure you don't," Ishimaru deadpanned, "And you are lucky you are not a camper yourself, otherwise I'd have to penalize you for not keeping your br-"

"Taka, one's trying to eat your shoe…" Tsubaki spoke up.

"Eh?" Ishimaru blinked before he noticed Jan chewing on his shoes, "...oh...so they are...AHH!"

"I half expected him to say a version of that catchphrase you said he used." Max muttered to Tsubaki.

"This conduct is not welcome in a Camp environment!"

"There it is!" Max and Tsubaki laughed.

"They are a lot more wild while out in nature…" Akane noted, "Must be that alien DNA stuff."

"Can someone...please help me?!" Ishimaru grunted as he tried to pry Jan off his foot.

"Jan release!" Akane muttered, grabbing and yanking her brother off...along with his shoe, "Ah…"

"It does seem since you awaken your latent DNA...you might be a key factor in awakening your siblings latent DNA." Tsubaki offered, "Kajun might know finer details."

"Your siblings are reacting to your new powers and slowly gaining their own." Max summed up.

=Part of it must be the Appoplexian instincts, that being, combat, hunger and randomness…= Steel added as he appeared from Max's chest, =They are acting like Appoplexian children at the moment…=

"Oh~ I gotcha now," Akane noted before grinning at Jan, "Ya here that? You and your sibs might end up being half alien like your big sis!"

=That's not how DNA works...but eh...she gets the important bits…= Steel sighed.

"So that's why they've been...so extra?" Tsubaki asked Steel.

=Hybridizing alien life forms should...fundamentally be impossible. But...it happens. I can only assume there are a lot of unknowns. Plus humans themselves are a strange species, I'm half certain some alien race made you eons ago...but that's my theory. What's important however is they learn to control whatever traits they gain, the dilution seems to have already triggered...for lack of a better term...deviations in traits= he pointed to Akane's tail =That could also be from another theory of mine related to Makoto's kind, but that's not important at the moment. We should prepare for the little ones to begin tapping into strength eventually…=

"It's not like they'll be a problem, it seems they've already submitted to Kuon as some sort of authority figure." Max chuckled.

"Yup! Once my sibs imprint on someone, they won't forget 'em anytime soon!" Akane laughed a bit before it began to die down, "But yeah...Kuon's good with 'em…"

"You'd think for the Ultimate Street Fighter, he'd be harder to get along with." Tsubaki smiled, "I guess we don't know what he ever fought for to be fair."

=He's oddly powerful for a human, I think he might have something more in him too= Steel spoke up =But wait...what did Akane mean by imprint...do...do you all act on some kind of animal logic?=

"Eh?" Akane and the others blinked at that.

"What no that's not…" Ishimaru stopped, "I mean…"

"She acts off what she feels more often than not…" Tsubaki added.

"What's your point?" Akane asked.

=Just a test...but...what do you think about Kuon?= Steel asked, making her tense up.

"Steel...I don't think you should be asking these type of personal questions…" Max muttered in an annoyed tone.

"Have some tact." Tsubaki complained as well to the UltraLink.

=Hey. I'm not the one who tensed up when asked that question= Steel countered.

"Get back in the suit!" Max complained, grabbing and shoving Steel into his chest making him vanish.

"Just ignore Steel. He…" Tsubaki began as she looked over at Akane, who seemed to remain frozen on the spot as her tail and ears pointed up, "...Akane?"

"Uh...I just remembered I was gonna help Hina and Sakura out with the equipment for swimming later!" Akane suddenly exclaimed before she bolted off, "Catch you guys l-ow! Sorry, groundskeeper guy!"

The masked man groaned as he fell over. He raised his head...before grunting and passing out again.

"Does this guy always like to find napping spots?" Max asked.

"Mm…" Tsubaki shrugged, "But still that was rude of Steel, he can't just ask a girl things like that."

"Yeah I don't think Steel has fully grasped the nuance of how these things worked. What do you expect, he only likes comic book content and that SCP stuff he reads...in his mind affection is something simple the hero gets for being heroic." Max sighed.

"Well that is just wrong," Ishimaru shook his head before gaining a serious expression, "A hero should be someone setting a good example for the people of the planet! Being there for them when they need a hero the most! As a h-ITAI~!"

"Sorry~!" Mika apologized as she tossed her bow away.

"Ah...someone get the nurse!" Max called out.

"Mikan!" Tsubaki shouted as she ran off, "We had an incident!"

"Maybe...we should end today's class at that, as an example of how to not safely nock an arrow." Noel muttered sheepishly.

"Agreed," Revadoh muttered before he heard Skurd snickered a bit, "...oh shut up…"

"Go enjoy some free time before swimming class." Max offered, "And leave the bows, arrows and Lighters here…" he lingered on one Owari sibling.

"Aww…" he groaned, putting yet another new one down.

---

"Oooh~ yeah he's defs gonna feel that later," Kokoro cringed, having watched the event through her and Ken's binoculars.

"So far nothing out of the ordinary." Ken sighed, drinking some water, "If I recall today's crazy event will happen at the lake...another one of those kraken things Dad fought when he was a kid."

"Kraken?" Mukuro repeated.

"We don't have a sciency name for it," Kokoro explained, "But it's a sea creature that evolved and exists naturally on Earth despite looking alien. Many of them now live in large lakes as a subspecies."

"They're normally peaceful, unless you enter their nest and disturb their young." Ken added, "Our Dad told us of how he fought one when he was 10. It turned out the real monster where the people who were trying to take it's eggs."

"They normally keep to themselves, but they are still essentially a mini-kaiju." Kokoro went on, "Dad might be able to beat one now, but I doubt he'd want to. To him it's just another animal."

"...and you do realize your parents and the other councillors are going to go to a lake where said kraken is, correct?"

"Well like we said, they are peaceful normally." Kokoro spoke, "If we wanted to distract it, we'd need to lure it away with bait."

"But it's not like Dad has let us get close to one before…" Ken sighed, "In our time they are actually protected."

"Maybe if we knew what it liked to eat we could bait it away from their side of the lake." Kokoro offered.

"That lake can't support enough fish for its diet…" Ken muttered, "It must come on land to find food...but...what is big enough to possibly feed it?"

"Large animals...like say a bear?" Mukuro muttered.

"...oddly specific…." Ken and Kokoro blinked, "Why?"

"Because one Dr. Kamikaze is trying to sneak into the camp with an army of robotic bears," Mukuro answered.

"So that's why it gets mad," Kokoro realized.

"We can divert them away...and let the Kraken attack them somewhere else." Ken offered.

"Good idea."

"Now we just need bait." Ken muttered.

"Oh...what about this plush doll of Robotboy Aunt Noellie made for me?" Kokoro offered, pulling out a plush doll that looked like Robotboy in his deactivated form, "From a distance he might not even be able to tell."

"..." Ken and Mukuro looked at one another for a moment before looking back at Kokoro, "Perfect."

---

"Alright, kids…!" Hina began, dressed in a blue one piece as she sat on top of Sakura's shoulder as the kids were in different swimwear, "Who's ready for a swim in the lake?!"

"Yeah!" they all cheered.

"Good answer!" Hina smiled, "Try not to swim too far out, there are only a few of us on lifeguard duty." she warned, "But don't worry. If anything happens, Sakura and I will save you in a flash!"

"Just be careful to avoid anything that looks dangerous," Sakura added.

"Thankfully, Hina is more than fast enough to help the kids. And Sakura is just as good, with the benefit of being strong enough to handle anything." Tsubaki smiled.

"Yeah, we might not even need the extra safety net of our Heroes." Makoto smiled, "Almost, thankfully Max is using this time to test his underwater mode. And in a pinch Ben is just being lazy over there." she turned to point to Ben currently sitting in a beach chair resting on the dock.

"We have the Fish Playlist on standby," Skurd assured while reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, "This old wizard seems more of a manipulative old fool than leader of the heroes…"

Meanwhile, near some trees not too far from the others, Kamikaze and Constantine poked out from behind a set.

"Okay...everyone is distracted. Now Constantine...where is Robotboy and XJ-9?" Kamikaze silently asked.

"I am looking, boss…" Constantine muttered, looking through some binoculars before stopping to see Jenny, Kibo, and Robotboy walking over to the others, "Oh...there they are...and they are with their friends."

"Where?! Let me see!" Kamikaze demanded, trying to swipe the binoculars.

"Hey!" a voice made them pause, they looked to see the Chronor Riders.

"Want this?" Driver asked holding the Robotboy doll, "Come and get it JiiJii!" with that the two ran off.

"Wait...how did... when…" Constantine muttered.

"You fool! Those two have Robotboy! Get them! Chase them down Kumatrons!" Kamikaze ordered, "Bring me back Robotboy!"

"But..boss…"

"GET! HIM!"

"...yes sir," Constantine sighed before adapting a frown and began to climb up after the two.

"Well that was...easy…" Driver noted as they used their jet boots to speed their get away.

"Old man Kamikaze was never the most...clear sighted of people." Spanner muttered.

"Nope...he was just a greedy old man…" Driver added.

"I will show you who is greedy old man!" Kamikaze shouted, shaking a fist at the two as he rode on Constantine's back.

"Did you hear something?" Robotboy asked, looking up at Jenny and Kibo for a moment.

"Probably just Akane's siblings chasing someone again." Jenny shrugged.

"Where did they get a trident!?" Kokichi shouted as Akane's siblings chased him with a trident, volleyball nets as well...nets, and other water/pool supplies as makeshift weapons.

"...that someone...being Kokichi," Kibo muttered.

"Could this be what people call Karma?" Robotboy asked.

"...I hope it is," Kibo sighed, "I am honestly getting sick of his robophobic 'jokes'..."

"Get!" the Owari siblings cheered, dragging the now captured Kokichi as he tried to get free of the net.

"Ah! Help! I've been caught by Akane's demon siblings!"

"...I'm sure he'll be fine…" Jenny whispered

---

"Think this is far enough?" Driver asked.

"We're clear on the other side of the lake…" Spanner spoke as he made a holographic map, "The shape of the lake and the trees should hide the Kraken…"

"Meaning no one will be able to see her," Driver nodded.

"Boss...I think I...ah...heard them…" Constantine's voice panted.

"After them! Do not let them escape with Robotboy!"

"Over here, Jiijii!" Driver shouted, "What's wrong? I thought you wanted Robotboy! Well we have him! All you gots to do is take it from two kids!"

"Or maybe we'll just give him back to that army of super powered teenagers! Maybe you would like to fail!" Spanner added.

"My army of Kumatrons will prove otherwise!" Kamikaze shouted as a few trees were knocked over, revealing Kamikaze riding on top of Constantin, who was riding on top of a large cyborg grizzly bear as a large group of cyborg bears began to step out, "So I repeat...hand me Robotboy!"

"Hold that thought…" Spanner spoke as he pulled something from his belt, it was a small discular device with what looked like a small tuning fork sticking from the top. He then tossed it over Kamikaze and his arm and into the water.

"You wanted to litter? Ha! What could that possibly do to stop I, the great Doctor Kamikaze?" he declared before loud splashing sounds and growling made them all tense, "Constantine...that hot breath down my neck...better be you…"

"You are on top of me, sir…" Constantine gulped.

"Then...whaaaaaAAAAH!" he shouted turning to see the Kraken, it breathed slowly as it eyed the cyborg bears, "WHAT IS THAT!?"

"She's a kraken," Driver explained, "They eat evil people…"

"And we think bears…" Spanner added, "Which would make sense. They're big, meaty, probably chewy from the winter fat…"

"Well...this feels ironic...maybe…" Kamikaze muttered.

"Boss I don't think that's how irony works…" Constantine muttered.

"Shut it Constantine and run…"

"Wh-"

"RUN!"

"And that takes care of that…" Spanner muttered as carnage began, "Man...you almost feel bad for em…"

"Eh...almost." Driver shrugged as the Kraken knocked the cyborg bears around, sending one flying into the distance.

---

The masked man groaned as he grabbed a harpoon and watched the swimming class. He flipped his new weapon up and grabbed it in a throwing pose. He aimed at Hina, but grunted as he heard something. He looked up, having just enough time to do so, before a Cyborg Bear slammed down on him, bending his harpoon and flattening him into the ground. The technologically altered grizzly growled as it chose to run off into the woods, leaving the Masked man groaning as he lay in the dirt once more. He slowly pushed himself up...before Kamikaze and Constantine landed on him next, their clothing torn to shreds.

"Get us out of this crazy place! America is insane!" Kamikaze snapped.

"Very much agreed, boss!" Constantine screamed, missing a few teeth while sporting a black eye, as he began to crawl away the best he could.

"You hear something?" Tsubaki asked while she and Makoto sat at the edge of the dock.

"Mm...sounds like a wild animal out there…" Makoto muttered as her ears twitched, "If it gets too close we can scare it away."

"Or we can have Gundahm subdue them into leaving," Tsubaki added.

"You want more pets?" Makoto asked.

"Nope," Tsubaki shook her head, "We already have enough back home. Plus...our food budget..."

"I have nothing to say about that subject." Makoto huffed.

"And I've come to accept that," Tsubaki sighed...before she adopted a teasing smile, "Although, it makes me wonder how you and Ben do when you have your own family…"

"Mm?" she blinked as she began blushing, "Wha...we're still a long ways from that!"

"And are you mentally ready for when he asks the question?"

"When did you get so good at this!? It's my thing!"

"Let's say I did my own growing while you and the others were gone," Tsubaki countered once more.

"Mou...it wouldn't be so funny if the topic is of you and Jin having a kid." Makoto huffed.

Jin sneezed in the distance suddenly as Tsubaki sputtered and began to blush heavily.

"C-C-COLD~!" Hagakure's voice screamed.

"...oh we must've interrupted his meditating again…" Makoto whispered with wide eyes.

"So it seems…" Tsubaki muttered.

---

"It feels like I'm getting the icy stare from across time and space…" Spanner muttered suddenly, "What a horrible chill…"

"What did you do to Uncle Jin before we left?" Driver asked, "Wait, could it…"

"Stop it now." he quickly spoke.

"Could it be…?"

"I will hurt you, and I will make it look like an accident, Dweeb."

"Oh you know I torment you cause I love you brother." she taunted, "Besides you know if you tried...Mom would somehow know...she always knows."

"Which is...honestly scary," Ken admitted as he put his helmet down, "But that's another problem solved."

"And we barely broke a sweat, and we fed the Kraken for at least a month." Kokoro agreed.

"So...two for two kinda," Ken shrugged.

"I've been curious." Mukuro spoke up, getting their attention, "Why are you here altering the past?"

"Do you know of a man called Professor Paradox?" Ken asked ,earning a shake of her head.

"We don't blame you, he's a wise old man who shows up to help our parents if they're in danger or if time itself is the problem. He's essentially the basis for Dr. Who; wise, British, very kind in his own way." Kokoro added, "After an incident in our time, he came to me and my brother and offered us all this stuff so we can travel through time and be heroes."

"But he gave us tons of rules, we can't change important events in our parents' lives." Ken added, "So...even if we really wanted to, we couldn't go back to their adventure at Kibougamine...and stop whatever it was that happened to Mom."

"But he said, we can go back all we want to these other small misadventures, and change them...so the stress doesn't build up for them as much." Kokoro spoke up, "It's small thing, like Daddy's small time villains caused too much trouble for him on this day, and then the next day another one did this, until he's worked himself tired for a whole week...and he can't fight at his full potential when a real enemy like Forever Knight or Vilgax arrives. We were born with Mom's Beastkin strength, even if only a little, and we've been trained all our lives how to fight these idiots too."

"It seems selfish...and like nothing on the surface…" Ken muttered, "But...when you stop to look at it, it's like our parents' lives is nothing but constant fighting. I thought Dad's life was easy 'cause he has the Omnitrix...but it's not. It's not easy to use like he makes it look. Even with all that power...sometimes you still fail. It took me really screwing something up to realize that, so...I want to make it up to him. Even if just a little, we want to help."

"We figure if we stop a lot of their small problems, fix a few big ones now and again. They'll have more time, so when the next big fight comes around, they'll be ready!" Kokoro smiled.

"...so this is what family truly is," Mukuro whispered to herself, 'They're no older than myself and yet...they're already this mature."

"Besides...its kinda fun to see our giant family when all the adults were younger." Kokoro chuckled, "So many of them are far off from the mature people we grew up with."

"Aunt Noel doesn't seem all that different."

"She was hiding in a boat under the docks spying on Mom and Aunt Tsubaki…" Kokoro sighed.

"How did you know that?" Mukuro asked.

"It's totally what she'd do…'cause it's what I'd do to spy on juicy romantic info." Kokoro smiled.

"She's not wrong…" Ken sighed, "Lord knows she's made poems and love stories based on not just our parents, but practically everyone in our extended family...and what's worse? My sister has been infected with Aunt Noel's love bug.."

"You can't blame just her, we are surrounded by nothing but true love couples!" Kokoro declared, she then pointed to Mukuro, "You'll see the more you get closer to your classmates!"

"What do you…?" Mukuro began before spotting the cheeky smile Kokoro was sporting, "I-I have no clue what you mean!"

"Oh you will~" Kokoro replied.

"...mmm~" Mukuro puffed her cheeks as she looked away.

"I'm tuning this out…" Ken muttered walking away, "I feel this is the wisest option for a guy to take."

"You can't be afraid of your feelings, Bro!" Kokoro shouted.

"Silence crazy woman!" Ken shouted back.

---

"Lunch is served, minna," Lambda spoke as she poked out of the food hall, Bluey resting on top of her head as he rang a tiny bell.

"Oh, what you got for us today?" Naoto asked as he led the kids in.

"Pizza. Freshly made," Lambda answered before motioning to a large table filled with different types of pizza, "There are also different dipping sauces for the crust, and different types of pizza so no one feels left out on a flavor."

"Wow...you're getting crazy good at this stuff…" Naoto awed, "And fast too, this looks like it should have taken you all day."

"I have learned to work fast. Sister is quick to take over if given a chance. It is easier to just do it first so as to not hurt her feelings," Lambda explained.

"You're a really good sister, you know that?" Naoto chuckled.

"I have been told many times...but mostly by my own sister...I felt she may have been biased," Lambda replied.

"Doesn't mean it's not true!" Noel declared from the kitchen.

"She is making Mai's lunch," Lambda spoke up quickly before Naoto could panic.

"Oh phew…" Naoto sighed in relief, "...wait. What exactly is she making?"

"I had an abundance of meat and tomato sauce left, so she tried to make something called a Sloppy Joe, a traditional meal for kids." Lambda spoke, "I'm not expecting any of those leftovers to survive…"

"Same…" Naoto shook his head before he tensed up, "...you sense that?"

"Hmm?"

"This...sense of danger...it...feels like…" Naoto began as he started counting the kids, "...wait. Where's Akane's siblings?"

"It did feel more peaceful…" Lambda muttered, "Danger."

"Ah!" Kaede and Shuichi gasped as they ran in, their hair and clothes an utter mess with small tears in them.

"It was...such a nightmare…" Shuichi whispered.

"And we were having such a peaceful music class too," Kaede sighed.

"What happened...you guys look like you were attacked by rabid wolverines…" Naoto muttered.

"Me and Ibuki were doing music lessons for Akane's siblings, and it seemed things were peaceful...until they just muttered 'hungry' simultaneously," Kaede explained.

"Kaito and I came in to see what was wrong, but….well…" Shuichi began.

"Aah! I'm down!" Kaito's voice screamed.

"Ah! Ibuki got bit!" Ibuki's voice yelped, "And they knocked out the groundskeeper again!"

"And they broke his chainsaw!" Kaito shouted.

"Yeah, I'm not getting involved. Only thing that can stop them is…" Naoto began as everyone blinked.

"KUON!-!-!" they all shouted.

"What did you do this time!?" Kuon shouted in the distance.

"Not us! Your little imprinted kittens are causing a ruckus in the music cabin!" Alf shouted, his large empty platter on standby for his meal.

"Ugh…" Kuon groaned, walking past the windows of the mess hall. Everyone saw him walk in before Kaito and Ibuki were ejected from the front door. After a few tense moments, the Owari siblings all walked out in a single file line, each one pouting.

"Mmm-hmm," Alf nodded before poking his head into the kitchen, "Noel, add this to your list on those two: 'Guy is good with her little siblings acting like a papa to them all.'"

"Ooh~" she replied as soon as he backed his head out.

"Here…" Kuon sighed, bringing them into the mess hall, "If you're hungry, then just ask them to bring you here. We have plenty of food...we need to feed people who I am sure are bottomless pits."

"Quite a few actually…" Naoto and Shuichi sighed.

"...Ahem. Now that everyone is here…" Lambda began as Bluey rang the bell once more, "Lunch is served, children. But be sure t..."

"PIZZA~!" the Owari siblings beamed as they bolted off with the other children to the pizza table.

"That's as controlled as I can get them…" Kuon sighed.

"It's better than any of us can do," Naoto shrugged.

"Kid has another lighter," Zaruba whispered.

"Hey! I see that!" Kuon pointed with the hand Zaruba was on so no one would notice the talking ring's moving jaw, "Where do you get those?!"

"Mm-mm," the kid shrugged.

"...What's his name again?" Ben whispered to Akane as they-along with a few of the others- entered the mess hall.

"Kaen," the tora-onna replied between bites of her own pizza slices.

"...That explains so much yet so little," Ben groaned, facepalming.

"I don't get it," Max admitted.

"Kaen means 'Flame,'" Jenny translated.

"So wait...his name means fire...and he's a pyro...who somehow is magically getting his hand on infinite lighters?" Max asked.

=Either that or he's hidden a lot all over after arriving to pick up= Steel suggested.

"Well, if they're all made of the same materials as this one, it may be difficult to locate them all if he did," Skurd noted, looking at the lighter, "The material can't be pulled in by magnets."

"Great…" the two teens groaned.

=But enough of that. They're running out of stuffed crust= Steel noted.

"Not the stuffed crust!" Alf panicked as he quickly rushed out.

"Wait! I still need your h-" Noel began as she poked her head out...and saw the carnage that was happening to the pizza table. She gave a few slow blinks before she slowly began to pull her head back in...and closed and locked the door to the kitchen.

=That is a fair assessment of the danger= Steel sighed.

"At least someone here has survival instincts…" Skurd muttered.

"Hey hey! Don't eat the table!" Naoto quickly shouted as he rushed over...until he was tossed back over the group while tied up in crust, "...how?!"

"It's kids and pizza, Naoto. Kids and pizza," Makoto replied.

---

"Alrighty, lunch is ready!" Kokoro beamed as she held up a pizza.

"How did you…?" Mukuro blinked a few times, trying to figure out how she did it.

"I learned how to make pizza from Auntie La-chan when I was in Girl Scouts," Kokoro replied, "And how to make it from stuff from nature. The bread's unleavened."

"Unwhat?" Ken asked.

"It ain't got yeast or baking powder, so there isn't carbon dioxide going into the dough and leavening it," Kokoro replied.

"Oh…"

"I thought you were the nerdy one here...you spend all your time with Dad in his smarty aliens as he makes stuff," Kokoro pointed out.

"Yeah, well, it's not like I learn cooking stuff while I'm with him...he just shows me neat tricks like how to make stuff explode...and how to shut down a robot with a squirt gun," Ken argued.

"Sounds more like Daddy is teaching you how to be the next era Vehicle Destroyer…" Kokoro sighed.

"Last year in our time in July," Ken deadpanned.

"Hey that scooter had it coming!"

"Sure it did…."

"I can't tell if you get along...or don't get along…" Mukuro muttered, nibbling on a slice.

"Oh, we do, but we also don't," Kokoro replied.

"I guess...it's just a sibling thing…" Ken muttered, "We've never tried explaining it beyond that. We are twins...but we're also totally different. Like Kokoro's got Mom's ears and tail."

"And how Ken's got dad's flaw with lying," Kokoro grinned.

"I do not!"

"Your eye says otherwise," Kokoro giggled.

"No they don't!"

"Oh they do~"

'This...This feels different than what I am to when it comes to siblings…' Mukuro thought as she watched the two while eating another slice, 'Did I...ever really feel like they do? Did Junko?'

"I'm telling you that is not a thing!" Ken snapped.

"So says you…" Kokoro sighed with a shrug of her shoulders and a teasing smile on her face.

"You see what I have to deal with?" Ken sighed to Mukuro.

"Hmm...honestly I'm still not sure I understand your sibling dynamic...but it seems like you both care for eachother in the end, no matter how different you both are." Mukuro spoke bluntly, "It is...sweet."

"We had a really big family to help teach us the right things," Kokoro smiled.

"And really devoted parents," Ken added.

"Ben and Makoto seem the types to somehow pull off that sort of work/life balance." Mukuro replied.

"Aunty Kajun showed us the chart they had when we were babies once," Kokoro giggled.

"Apparently they were a little chaotic at the start...we hear they'd often abandon their own villains mid battle if anything came up with us," Ken added, "Mostly dad…"

"It's kind of a family joke now…" Kokoro chuckled, "That and Daddy spent a lot of time as XLR8 to help Mom out with everything."

"We were...mainly Kokoro, but we were rather...chaotic kids," Ken admitted.

"Given you seemingly have inherited Makoto's beastkin traits such as strength...I don't think normal childcare was an option…" Mukuro pointed out.

"Oh we were perma-banned from all 'normal' ones after the one time it was attempted," Kokoro admitted, "Daddy doesn't like to remember it since he's the one who suggested it."

"The only ones who could take care of us were our extended family," Ken added, "According to Mom...Kokoro once yanked out a chunk of Uncle Jin's hair as a baby."

"Now he respects and fears me!" Kokoro laughed, "Even as a baby I was amazing!"

"He respects you because you were brave and stupid enough to do it. He fears you because you know just how to make him go into fetal position with just words," Ken deadpanned.

"His own papa bear instincts are also his greatest weakness. And as best friend to his beloved daughter...I know every secret that will shatter his self esteem!" Kokoro laughed.

"Evil…" Ken muttered.

'These two are something…' Mukuro thought, a drop of sweat going down the back of her head.

"Ack! Where'd the pizza go!?" Kokoro gawked.

"Huh?" Ken looked down, "Ah! It's gone?!"

"Wait a second...We're eating with Aunty 'Kuro…" Kokoro muttered before slumping, "FENRIR eating habits…"

"It's our Summer Road Trip from when we were eight all over again," Ken sighed.

"I didn't get to eat a slice~" Kokoro whined a bit as she cried small, cartoonish waterfall tears.

"Ah…" Mukuro realized what happened finally, "Sorry…"

---

"So what are our evening plans for today?" Ben sighed, sitting next to Makoto.

"Hmm...well we were thinking at tonight's campfire, we'd tell ghost stories," Makoto offered, "But nothing too intense. Tsubaki warned me...and was very persuasive."

"One nightmare and you're doing the next shopping run...on foot!" she shouted from the distance, "And no super powers!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Makoto yelped a bit.

"Alright, no super scary stuff," Ben chuckled sheepishly, "But should be fun. If anything, we can just riff on whoever tells the worst story."

"Ooh~ That's actually good," Makoto grinned before whispering to him, "And maybe later, we can go and…"

"Makoto…" Tsubaki's voice began.

"Ah, I know…" Makoto groaned, "Ruin my romance time will ya…" she grumbled while holding onto Ben's arm.

'Considering we barely had any time alone since we got home and during our adventure, she really needs this…' Ben thought, "...You know, babe...while I was Revadoh and flying through the sky, I saw a spot I don't think even Tsubaki knows about…"

"Hmm?" Makoto blinked as her ears perked in interest.

"It's not too far away, but just far away enough for some alone time, and looks like a good camping spot on its own." Ben explained, "Honestly, I bet you could keep an eagle eye on the whole camp from up there!"

"..." Makoto slowly blinked before slowly placing her hands on his cheeks, "...Hun?"

"Yeah, babe?"

"Did I ever tell you how much I love you right now?"

"I love you, too. Now let's just go through the day and find a good time to...hike up there," Ben smiled.

"I shall be on the one eyed toaster 'till further notice…" Skurd gagged, "Multicellular relations...disgusting…" he flung his extending pseudopod away and detached from the Omnitrix.

"You're just j-" Makoto began to Skurd before Ben began to scratch behind her ear, "?! ...Mmmm~"

"At least he left, so ignore him…" Ben sighed.

"Hai~" Makoto sighed in content as she lovingly nuzzled against him.

"You do realize those two are going to sneak away to do...something," Jin sighed to Tsubaki as they watched from a distance.

"I've acknowledged they are more intimate then they let on. But if I can get them to take it away from kids, I'll consider it a win," Tsubaki sighed.

"So you thought that far ahead…" Jin noted with a whisper.

"More so...planned in case of catastrophic failure," Tsubaki rolled her eyes.

"Love is an...odd thing, isn't it?" Jin sighed.

"Given the stories from your brother...are you one to speak?" Tsubaki asked with an awkward chuckle.

"Nii-san...told you?" Jin asked with a nervous twitch.

"Several stories," Tsubaki replied before giggling, "You really practiced your archery as a kid aiming at the moon?"

"Nii-san...you bastard…" Jin growled.

"I think your brother has come to like you again, Jin," Tsubaki smiled, "Most times when I talk to him about you...he ends his sentences with something like: At least he's changed for the better!"

"...He actually said that?" Jin questioned with a raised brow.

"It seems he is happy to know you're not the old you," she went on, "I think he's happy you found a new purpose in life. And for once, you're both fighting on the same side. But I think he's mostly happy he now has a proper place to call home." she snickered, "Even if he hates the paperwork being a Sheriff gives. He once swore that it multiplies like rabbits."

"It does," Jin scowled, "I look away from it and I swear another stack pops up right beside it when I'm sure it wasn't there a second ago."

"You really are brothers," Tsubaki giggled, "Who knows...in time, maybe you two can become tolerable to invite to parties together more often."

"Are you implying you've left me out of celebrations in favor of my brother?" Jin blinked.

"Well...He is more friendly with the team as a whole…" Tsubaki sheepishly muttered.

"Well it's not like I asked to be invited anyway…" Jin turned his head away.

'Ragna is right...He's become more of a Tsundere since rejoining us...I think Ben is to thank for that. What with their constant battle of egos…' Tsubaki smiled.

---

"...The fudge happened in here?" Miu blinked as she, Kajun, and Kyoko walked into a really messy mess hall.

"Owari siblings…" Lambda spoke up, poking out from behind an overturned table, "Then suddenly the groundskeeper began to panic because of Nee-san's cooking...we took him to the infirmary for bite wounds and acid burns…"

"What the HFIL!?" Miu shouted.

"This is…I...have no words," Kyoko sighed.

"...Hmm…" Kajun pondered as she began to write something down..

"Are you seriously writing this down?" Naoto deadpanned from behind the table.

"Well yes. I must keep track of all things Noel makes...for fear it could one day form an Eldritch abomination," Kajun explained.

"Really!?" everyone but Lambda shouted, jumping back a step.

"No…" Kajun stated, making them all facefault, "It's just that her cooking always turns out to be some alien dish, and knowing what alien can eat it...tends to help with disposing of leftovers if Mai ends up full."

"Finding it out also for some reason makes it look...not blurry…" Lambda muttered.

"You noticed that, too?" Kajun asked.

"Many times…" Lambda sighed.

"So...then what happened?" Naoto sighed.

"I needed a being of pure power and iron will who bends to no one's will and can stand to any danger," Lambda explained, "So I asked Kuon-san to put an end to the nonsense...and he hit everyone and knocked them out."

"I...didn't do anything…" Akane groaned, still laying on the floor with a bump on her head.

"Your...siblings…" Shuichi and Kaede groaned from underneath a pile of pizza.

"So...Kuon is just like...magic, right?" Naoto muttered, realizing how much chaos he seemed to be able to deal with.

"No. I think he's...just that good," Kyoko responded.

"Fair enough," Lambda nodded as she picked up Bluey and walked off to the exit.

"Where you going?" Naoto asked.

"Gundham asked me to bring Bluey for a check up and that I can, as he says, 'divulge my familiar's abilities' to him," Lambda replied.

"Translation: he wants to give Bluey a check up and learn about his species," Shuichi translated.

"Yes," Lambda nodded as Bluey waved at them as she left.

"That's the kiddo who's the ultimate vet or something, right?" Alf asked, poking his head out of a pile of pizza crusts.

"Correct," Kyoko responded as she was helping Shuichi and Kaede out of the pile, "Specifically, he's the Ultimate Breeder."

"Wasn't he also that same guy who tamed an entire group of bears when they got near the kids and that mountain lion that got near Sonia?" Naoto asked.

"Again, yes."

"Given what he does, wouldn't Ultimate Animal Tamer make more sense…?" Alf asked, "Or is that a lost in translation thing?"

"Perhaps," Kajun replied.

"Originally we were referred to as 'Super Highschool Levels'," Kyoko explained, "But...the name didn't seem to stick so well, so they were changed to 'Ultimates' to refer to our special talents."

"So..what? You stick with that talent for the rest of your life?" Alf asked.

"Well, I suppose most do go onto a career based on their talents," Kyoko nodded.

"Gotta say, that sounds like it'd stink. What if your talent is something that doesn't equal a good job?" Alf asked, "Or you wake up one day and say: How about something else? Don't you kids get career counseling or something?"

"We do not," Shuichi sighed.

"It was something the former Steering Committee banned before their deaths," Kyoko added before frowning, "They thought that by having one sole talent you're good at, you're part of humanity's Hope."

"Well that's stupid," Alf spoke up, "You're kids! You're not supposed to know what you want to be! If you do, well clearly you're a well put together kid...but...gotta say...I only count a few of ya like that…" he cringed, "You should be focusing on stupid stuff, like parties and romance, like boys or girls, not in that order, you do you." he rambled.

"We could still do things like that kinda once we're done with classes," Kaede pointed out, "But...I do see your point…"

"Alf is oddly good at this," Kajun muttered, "And he mostly makes money off his multitude of blackmail on the government…"

"Not true! I've invented stuff you humans still use today," Alf argued, "...know what? In fact...I got an idea for tonight's campfire...and you Hope's Peak kids better be there, because this is gonna be a form of therapy."

"Eh? Therapy?" Akane blinked as she poked her head up.

"You kiddin' me? Have you seen that nurse friend of yours? The poor thing looks like she's been through heck and back before being dragged in for three more loops," Alf stated, "Matter of fact? She's gonna get an emergency therapy session with me tomorrow. Just doesn't know it yet."

"I think you flipped something in him…" Naoto whispered to Kyoko.

"I'm starting to see that…"

"Alf...is a selfish and greedy alien. But you can't say he doesn't care about those younger than him." Kajun spoke up, "It just so happens he likes to...choose certain people to annoy for his own pleasure."

"Hey Jin, pull my finger!" Alf ordered.

"NO!" Jin snapped.

"Oh you're gonna pull it~!"

"I WILL END YOU!"

"See?" Kajun spoke as she gestured at the two.

"I think so," Kaede replied with wide eyes.

---

"...huh. No one today it seems.." Kokoro whispered as it was her turn to look through the binoculars, "None of Mom or Daddy's present day B-list villains showed up...no Psyphon, no Vreedles, no Zombozo, no Fistrick...not even Captain Nemesis…"

"Aw...We never get to fight Nemesis," Ken sighed.

"How many of them left that list in your time?" Mukuro asked.

"Quite a few," Kokoro replied.

"By our time, most of the human ones are too old and some have just lost their edge," Ken added, "Also more and more dangerous villains have popped up. Like that cyborg rhino guy and his crazy girlfriend."

"The what?" Mukuro blinked at that.

"Cyborg rhino guy. I think he's one of Animo's experiments that kept him on the B-List," Ken replied, "Can shoot lasers from his horn."

"Yeah, kinda horny, beefy, and I think his name was Exo-something," Kokoro tapped her cheek, trying to think of the name, "Ugh, he recently got added with his girlfriend, a Merlinsapien that grew up in France on Earth."

"...and what exactly makes her crazy?"

"She likes to make heists a performance," Ken deadpanned.

"...So basically my sister when she's drunk," Mukuro noted.

"I guess if that's what comes to mind, seems right," Kokoro noted, "They aren't too big of a deal for our parents; they are the better fighters and couple after all! But don't think that means they are weak."

"No. They...can be pretty tough," Ken admitted, "But the point is...mom and dad have had a lot of enemies, some of which being enemies of our extended family."

"Which just means a lot more folks to come at 'em when they poke the sleeping dragon that is our big ol' extended family!" Kokoro beamed.

"You don't even wanna know what happened the time one villain decided to kidnap us…" Ken muttered, "Suffice to say...they are retired for health reasons."

"Noted," Mukuro nodded, "Also, your line is taunt."

"Huh? My li-ah! I got a bite!" Ken beamed as he ran over to his fishing pole that was repeatedly being tugged, "Ha-ha! Roasted fish on sticks tonight!"

"Come on, reel it in!" Kokoro spoke up.

"You can't just rush this!" Ken argued.

"You sound like Great Grandpa!" she complained.

"Who do you think taught me to fish?"

"...Mmm~! Just hurry and reel it~!" Kokoro whined impatiently.

"I am, I am! It's just a pretty strong fish!" Ken grunted.

"Oh here let me help!" Kokoro groaned as she grabbed the pole and began pulling with him, "Oh wow, this is heavy! What did you catch...a Volkswagen beetle…? Whatever it is...it's named Herbie now!"

"Oh quit with those really old movies!" Ken grunted.

"I have taste, thank you very much!" Kokoro huffed.

With that, the two pulled as their enhanced strength and the tensile strength of the line won against whatever it was they captured. A large splash came from the waters as their catch emerged...revealing it to be a strangely-built submarine based on a bass.

"...You caught a metal fish," Kokoro noted.

"That's a lot of pipework on its surface," Ken noted.

"...I think there's someone inside," Mukuro spoke as she heard something pounding inside the metal fish.

"A submarine?" Kokoro offered a guess, "It has to have a hatch then…" she looked around, "Or we can make one!" she punched the side before using both hands to rip open the side, "See-BAH!" she coughed as steam shot out and made her tumble over.

"D'oh...Now look at what you did!" a voice snapped as the steam began to die down, revealing it to be Steam Smythe as he was trying to fix the side of the metal fish, "I just finished this thing last week!"

"...psst. Bro, who's this guy?" Kokoro whispered to Ken.

"I honestly don't know…"

"An unknown?" Mukuro asked.

"Either he died of old age, retired before we were old enough to start having a good memory, or something," Ken replied, "But he seems to like fish and metal pipes and steam."

"So a Fish Sauna Man or something?"

"Sauna m-it's Steam Smythe!" Smythe snapped, "I'm here to find that no good brat who put me in jail! Ben Tennyson, but...d'oh seriously?! No one has ever heard of me?!"

"First we've heard of a steam punk themed villain…" Ken muttered.

"It seems like such a rare gimmick...you'd think it'd be worth mentioning on the villain registry," Kokoro muttered.

"There's a what?!"

"Let's see...he sounds like a low tier…" Kokoro muttered, making a holographic screen from her wrist, "S section...and...nope...not here...no Steam Smith…"

"SMYTH!" Smyth snapped.

"Nope, sorry...not there. Let's try the E List…" Kokoro muttered, scrolling through again, "Nuh-uh...you must have been taken off at some point...or never got on."

"That's...honestly sad, sir," Ken admitted.

"What is wrong with children these days?!" Steam Smyth demanded, "Grr...this is exactly why we need to bring back the age of steam! Things such as high tech phones, flat screen TVs...video games...these things need to be destroyed so that we can bring back the steam age a-"

"OH! Here it is!" Kokoro shouted suddenly, cutting him off, "You're in the 'No longer dangerous section'!" she smiled, "Let's see...it says officially you retired, and were so niche you were only a threat as long as no one paid attention and you made something way too big to control! Often resulting from self injury due to all your steam inventions lacking any form of proper safety system to keep you from blowing yourself up!"

"Wait, what?" Steam Smythe blinked.

"Still...not what we were expecting," Ken muttered as he and Kokoro donned their suits, "But a bad guy's a bad guy, right?"

"Eeyup," Driver nodded as she cracked her knuckles a bit, "Sorry, Ojii-san, but...well, we've got a duty to do."

"Oh dash it all," Steam Smythe groaned, realizing what was coming.

---

"And open," Gundham ordered before Bluey opened his mouth and let him look into the Blupee's mouth, "Fascinating. The teeth show that your familiar is an omnivore. There isn't a sign of swelling and...wait, is.." he pulled out some tweezers and reached into Bluey's mouth before pulling out a string, "Dental floss caught between two of their teeth?"

"Ah, I thought the floss fully broke this morning," Lambda blinked twice as Bluey let out a relived noise before a green Rupee popped out of him, "It must have hurt."

"Where did…?" Gundham began.

"When he gets hurt or around Carrot, he produces Rupees," Lambda explained.

"Carrots?" Gundham blinked.

"No, Carrot is another bunny," Lambda shook her head.

"Oh another familiar..."

"No, she's a Mink." Lambda replied, making Gundham blink and give a slightly annoyed look.

"I...ah...uh…" he rambled, unsure what to say here.

"You had to be there." Lambda simply replied as Bluey turned pink on remembering the rabbit Mink.

"! He is able to alter his coloration like a chameleon," Gudham noted, "Yet based on his expression, it only happens when an intense emotion wells up deep from within. Blue is his neutral, standard appearance. Pink appears to be infatuation. Has he changed colors other than these two?"

"..." Lambda blinked a few times, "...I am unsure. I black out for a moment when he gets frightened and then I come to, seeing him alright."

A bear ran out of the nearby bushes, roaring. Bluey let out a frightened squeak, covering his eyes with his tiny paws.

*WHAM!*

The bear twitched from the indent in the floor shaped like it, the smolders of the flame that had been on its tail going out from the dirt that had gotten on it. Gundham and his Devas blinked several times, looking between the downed, knocked out bear and the armored Lambda hovering above the downed beast with smoke coming from her fist. San-D slid off Gundham and patted Bluey, the Blupee almost vanished completely. Bluey peeked out and let out a relieved sigh, seeing no danger and returned to full visibility. Lambda blinked twice before turning around and scooping up her Blupee minus her armor.

"See? Like that," Lambda turned to Gundham, "I see Bluey get scared...then I black out and I can no longer detect any form of danger. Hmm...Oh, this poor bear." she picked it up and put it on the table, "Hmm…" she put a green fedora and tie on the bear, "Much better."

"Why clothing?" Gundham asked.

"He looks dashing. Also, it feels right." she explained, "I'm sure he will do better not to scare harmless creatures next time. Maybe I can train him to find alternative foods...like stealing from those who don't deserve it."

"Oh! Like an animal version of the hero Robin Hood?" Sonia asked.

"Yes," Lambda replied.

"Hmm...His tail looks to have been burned," Gundham noted, quickly pulling out some salve to apply to the burn, "Someone inform the dark brawler to reign in the feral tigress's kin. The embodiment of fire is at it again."

"Hmm...You need a name," Lambda muttered, petting the bear, "Cute won't fit...you need something friendly though…"

"Oh this is fun," Sonia smiled a bit, "It reminds me of when we'd name the new horses that come to the castle stable."

"Horse names tend to be either majestic...or outlandish. What would be a friendly name for a grizzly bear? To show he won't harm humans ever, right?" she asked the bear as it groaned a bit, "Good boy."

"Your master is easily distracted from the original topic, isn't she?" Gundham whispered to Bluey, earning a nod as he chewed on a carrot, "And adding capable of eating carrots without worry to your section in the compendium."

---

"...Has anyone seen Makoto and Ben?" Mai whispered as she and the others were sitting around the campfire.

"Beats me," Max shrugged, "I think they're still out camping in the woods."

"And that's all we know, care to know, and will say about it," Tsubaki added as she began to take a sip of tea.

"Huh?" most blinked.

"They went out into the woods to bone," Kuon bluntly blurted.

"Pfft!" Tsubaki did a spit take at that, "B-bones! They went to go pick up bones, children! For the...uh….archeologist lesson!"

"I'm not even gonna try," Kuon smiled as he stoked the fire.

"Why must you…?" Naegi cried.

"What can I say? I am an agent of chaos," Kuon joked, "I can feel that glare, Tsubaki-san...I've felt worse…"

"I knew it was a possibility that those two were...much closer than we thought...but now it's just stuck in my head." Mai complained, facepalming.

"That explains what they caused to make us replace the couch," Noel muttered with a slightly horrified look.

"I knew it!" Alf shouted.

"Alf!" Tsubaki snapped.

"What...I never said I enjoyed picturing it...ick...talk about creepy," Alf replied, "But it explains so much…"

"...oh wow/my…" Hina, Mikan, and Kaede whispered in realization as their cheeks blushed a hot pink color.

"So they be fffffffff…" Miu struggled for a moment before Maki smacked her upside the head, "Freakin' busting a move!"

"Why is this such a big deal for people?" Kuon muttered.

"Humans are such confusing beings...their normalities change so drastically from era to era…" Zaruba sighed.

"Ahem! I...I do believe we are getting off track," Kibo whispered, "A-alf-san?"

"What's up, Robot Kid number 3?" Alf asked.

"Wait, why am I numbered three?"

"'Cause we got the Tall cute one, and then the small cute one...and you're just...the other robot kid." Alf explained as he pointed to Jenny then Robotboy and back to Kibo.

"J...just the other…?!" Kibo gawked as Kokichi laughed in the background.

"What...they're cute and you're not…" Alf argued, "I thought as a guy-bot, you'd be happier with that. Also why is the evil one hiding? Somebody bring him here!"

"Chibis, drag the idiot over here." Kuon sighed an order to the Owari siblings.

"Attack!" Jan shouted as a violent commotion soon followed.

"Remind me to ask Lambda to make them extra food tomorrow for the good work," Alf noted as Kokichi was dragged back over by Akane's siblings, "And everyone is here. Perfect…"

"Ow…" Kokichi groaned as he was dropped onto the ground, "...shut it, Kaito."

"Eh?"

"I can hear ya snickering! That's my thing!"

"Anywho…!" Alf began as he clapped his hands together, "We are here for something special. A sort of...counselling, if you will. So you kids can onload anything you might have brewing in your little heads. And this extends to the councillors from Hope's Peak."

"Beg pardon?" Maki raised a brow.

"Oh I'm gonna get to you," Alf pointed to Maki, "You just wait your turn, little lady," he turned back to the others, "It has come to my attention that you kids...are more than...well...you're all messed up in one way or another."

"Hey!" Mondo complained.

"Put a cork in it, Yanke boy, I'll get to you." Alf pointed, making Mondo sit down, "And don't try and argue it either. It's as plain as the fact Jin would have died alone without Tsubaki."

"What?!" Jin snapped.

"Now since I've spent some time helping and dealing with superhero kids who don't grasp emotional health fully..." Alf went on.

"We get it, Alf…" Tsubaki sighed.

"I already called up your principal, and after this camping trip, you weirdos are gonna be my new little project. Get ready...for Sensei Alf," Alf chuckled.

"I don't feel safe…" many replied in unison.

"Never do that again...it's 'Children of the Corn' level creepy…" Kuon groaned.

"Tell me about it," Alf agreed, "But first and foremost, I need to have a talk to all of you about what you're gonna do after school. And I mean in the sense of graduation."

"Well…"

"AH! If you wanna speak, you must hold the speaking ball!" Alf shouted while holding up a dodgeball before tossing it to Hina, "You first."

"Huh?"

"Well, what do ya have planned for after graduating?"

"Oh! That's easy! I wanna open a donut shop!" Hina beamed.

"Even if it doesn't have anything to do with swimming?"

"Well...no, but…" Hina muttered, "Well, I hope to open one up soon, but my dream is to one day be picked for the Olympics Swimming team in Japan."

"So you love both things you can see yourself doing either or happily?" Alf asked.

"That's right," Hina nodded a bit.

"Okay right off the bat. I chose maybe the only one of you...with a normal and healthy mind." Alf spoke, "So both a good and ironically bad example of my point. Kid you did good, now...point out the most messed up in the head person you know."

"You mean besides Jin-kun?" Hina asked as Jin threw his hands up in annoyance at being named.

"Eeyup." Alf nodded.

"...hmm…" Hina began to tap her cheek a bit, "That's...honestly hard to pin out since some of the people I do know that have...mental issues are back at school...oh! Mikan!"

"Eh?! M-me!?" Mikan yelped in worry as Hina handed her the ball, "Ahh! No no..I..i….mmm...I'm sorry…"

"You are one I need to have a lot of talking with." Alf pointed out, "Don't deny it, it is clear to see you got something going on. But what exactly shall be spoken of privately. For now, tell us what your plans are for after graduation. And if anyone cuts you off...you have my permission to order the short ones...to eat their leg." he pointed to Kokichi, "If its him...they can eat half his torso…"

"Mmmm…" Jan muttered as he began salting Kokichi's leg.

"Okay..this is the worst," Kokichi pouted as he snatched his leg away.

"Oh...I got plans for you boy. Believe me...big plans." Alf chuckled, using his ability to make his voice into a cartoony maniacal laugh, complete with thunder sound effects.

"...mm~" Mikan whimpered as she cautiously poked out from behind Jenny.

"Alf…" Tsubaki sighed.

"Oh fine...I'll traumatize my soon to be victim at my own time and leisure. Kids...leave him be, you can play ritual sacrifice tomorrow." Alf sighed.

"Aww…" the Owari siblings sighed as they put away rope, aztec costumes, and a dagger carved from stone.

"Okay Shy one, speak!" Alf ordered, "No you can't pass, this is meant to be safe. Anyone bothering you will join the short one in the kids game tomorrow."

"...what?" Ibuki asked when Kyoko and Maki shot her stares, "...what?!"

"She's annoying...but oddly positive." Alf muttered, "Anyway go on. What do you plan to do after you graduate, become an actual nurse and help folks? Or…" he trailed off so she could continue.

"...I...I honestly...don't know…" Mikan admitted, "I just...wanted to feel useful to people...feel..important to people. But..I...I'm nothing more than…" she paused as she began to sniffle, "I'm nothing more than a useless pile of air...s-sorry! I didn't mean to get off track! Just...please bully me. Put your cigarette out on my arms, make me eat mud, force me to walk around naked. Just please...don't be mad at me~"

"...sweet jeez," Mai whispered with wide eyes.

"Who...abused that poor girl?" Max added as almost everyone was looking at Mikan with wide eyes.

"Hmm...okay that's enough." Alf spoke walking up and taking the ball, "Just as I thought...you are gonna be a project and a half…" he sighed patting Mikan's head, "That's a solely human concept, where I'm from, you just like people. You can literally do nothing for me and I'd still like you. Heck I do nothing and people like me. Almost more then Jin."

"Why am I always the example!?" Jin snapped.

"You know why…" Tsubaki whispered.

"Anyway…." Alf began as he looked amongst the Hope's Peak students before stopping on Mondo, "...you."

"Eh?" Mondo blinked before barely catching the ball, "Oi!"

"Oh I can tell you got a lot going on in that head of yours. You gonna keep going as you have after school?" Alf asked.

"...honestly, no," Mondo admitted, "I mean..I enjoy riding with my buds, but...even if the Crazy Diamonds were still around, most of us were practically teenagers with nothing to look forward to. But…given what happened during the Incursean War, and that whole business with Enoshima...I've been thinking things different. Like...when does the ride have to end? Well I'm not stopping anytime soon, but..I'd like to try something else."

"Something else?" Naegi repeated.

"Yeah. Like...carpenting!" Mondo grinned, "Heh...I know how to destroy stuff, so it should be easy to make it. Heck, maybe make it more sturdy too!"

"Bro...that was…" Ishimaru began, holding his tears back before hugging Mondo tightly, "Amazing~! Such an amazing speech, and the drive to become a hopeful member of society…! If Leon and Fujisaki were here, we'd all be proud of you a-!"

"You don't have the ball." Alf spoke, tossing it at Ishimaru and knocking him over, letting it bounce back, "You shall respect the speaking ball."

"...ah! You're right! I broke the rule!" Ishimaru gawked...before going into a corner with a depressing aura around him, "I feel so ashamed…"

"You will also be a project…" Alf muttered, "Now...who's next…"

"..why not Jenny?" Robotboy asked from between the two older robots.

"Wait, what?" Jenny blinked at that before she quickly caught the ball.

"...that is an honestly good question," Kibo muttered as he pondered it over, "Jenny, what...do you plan on doing once you graduate? And I don't mean just...going back to helping to fight crime and such."

"Well I guess I never thought of that." Jenny shrugged, "I have all these powers, I figure that's what they are best used for."

"Seriously, Jen?" Kaito blinked.

"But...what if you wanted to stop fighting one day? What are you going to do then?" Kibo asked, "...then again. I am one to talk...I'm the Ultimate Robot, and yet...even if I did have a job, I fear people will still discriminate against me because I am a….well, robot."

"Dude, given you were born on Earth...and aliens are much more normal, I think you got less issues going on there than you think." Max spoke.

=Compared to Max and I, you're far more Earthling…= Steel rolled his eye.

"Well...true but still…."

"Sorry but I'm gonna have to cut you two there," Alf immediately spoek up to the teen robots, "See? This is what I was trying to get at. That school's got most of ya so set on your one very good talent, that you don't have any clear goals of what you wanna do with your life outside of your Ultimate talent."

"It's been something my father has been trying to reimplement lately, but…" Kyoko paused as she frowned once more, "The Steering Committee…"

"Yeah well they dead…" Kuon spoke up, "So now your old man should be able to do as he wants. Even hire an alien aside from that one Incursean teacher to help him."

"Don't you have any form of filter?" Tsubaki complained, swinging her paper fan as Kuon ignored its impact.

"I find its better to be blunt, people get less confused that way." Kuon replied as most awed at his ability to ignore something they feared Tsubaki doing.

"It does work for him...a lot," Naegi muttered, "...ahem! A-Anyway..I see what Alf-san is thinking and where Hina and Mondo are going," he spoke as his fellow classmates looked at him, "Sure we all have 'Ultimate Talents' but what if we want to do something else in our lives? Figure out how to use not just your talent, but your other skills to help the planet?"

"I am a Princess, so I may end up inheriting my father's throne," Sonia muttered, "But...there is still so much out there in the world I've yet to see and explore."

"I happen to have a job," Hagakure laughed a bit, "Reading people's fortunes."

"And yet you often get most of them wrong, bum boy" Miu bluntly stated, making him slump, "Also...how long have you been at school, or did you get braindead from your drinks or losing your 3 billion yen crystal balls?"

"It's okay we made his money back." Kuon spoke up, "We sold Miu's old junk for scrap…"

"That was a real life saving idea!" Hagakure laughed.

"You sold my stuff?!" Miu gawked.

"I thought you didn't care what happened to your old inventions?" Kaede asked.

"...pfft! O-of course I don't!" Miu denied as she turned away, "I, the greatest and amazing scientific genius on the planet have no need for old inventions!"

"Good...cause they sold more after Kuon smashed them for scrap!" Hagakure chuckled.

"One of them burned my hand...so I punched it…" Kuon explained.

"That explains the oil on your fist that one day," Akane realized.

"I was actually so mad I kept punching them…" Kuon admitted, "My hand got sore after about a couple that were made of titanium…"

"Are you sure you're human?" Kibo muttered.

"I bleed like one...sometimes…" Kuon muttered, "When I bleed that is...which is very rare…It's been a while since I fought someone that could...he also broke my arm and leg...not like it stopped me from punching him..."

"...so cool~" Robotboy and the Owari siblings-mainly Jan- whispered in awe as they looked at Kuon.

"Wait...someone hurt you before?!" Naegi shouted.

"It was an extreme situation...he had it coming for hurting people for selfish reasons...and I had nothing to lose from crushing everything he worked for." Kuon muttered, "Fighting is the only thing I've ever been good at because I was born with some inhuman strength, though really I just want a normal lazy life. One where I can come home from a tasty lunch and play games till I go to bed."

"Amen to that," Alf spoke up.

"...that...sounds like something to strive for," Jin admitted.

"Just cause I was given power doesn't mean I wanted it. I just use it cause I don't feel right ignoring people I can help. But I'm not looking to make it my whole life." he looked at Zaruba, "You can still be normal and help people right?"

"Hmph…" the ring scoffed.

"Ahem! Now then…" Tsubaki spoke up as the kids began to yawn, "It's starting to get late, children. I'm sure Mr. Alf will hold another session tomorrow night, and you'll be able to discuss any of your problems with him."

"It is rather late…" Lambda muttered as she and Bluey looked up, seeing the moon shining in the night sky.

"Chibis, bed time." Kuon ordered.

"Aw~!"

"You heard 'em," Akane spoke as she got up from her seat, "Bed now, or else I'm eating your bacon at tomorrow's breakfast."

"NOT THE BACON!" the Owari siblings exclaimed in worry.

"Then bed," Kuon and Akane ordered in unison as the younger siblings rushed off.

"..." a pencil writing on paper was the loudest sound.

"Give me the notebook," Kuon demanded.

"NEVER!" Noel shouted, hopping on Funkfreed and ran off on the Elephant-Sword.

"...you go high, I go low?" Akane asked Kuon in a neutral tone.

"Hai hai…" Kuon spoke, cracking his knuckles.

"Good…" Akane growled a bit, her eyes becoming slit as she cracked her own neck.

"Run faster, Noel! Funky!" Mai panicked.

"Danger...too much danger for me…" Lambda awed, "Best solution...ignore and go to bed…"

"Yeah sounds like a good idea…" Kaede nervously chuckled.

"...what in the nine realms just happened?" Gundham asked.

"I think...those two just synchronized," Sakura whispered.

"...Ibuki is scared," Ibuki gulped.

"It wasn't that bad, guys...surprising but not bad," Jenny pointed out.

"Yeah. Besides, we sh-" Kaito began before the bushes rustling made him tense up.

"Now wh-" Maki began before Kaito grabbed onto her, "?!"

"What was that?!" Kaito exclaimed in fright, unintentionally moving Maki's head closer to his chest.

"Stand back," Jin ordered as he began to approach the bushes, Tsubaki and the other capable fighters standing ready as the ice user began to move the bushes.

"Ah! Sorry! The kiddos ended up knocking me into there!" Alf gasped as he moved out of the bushes.

"Oh...it was just Alf," Tsubaki whispered.

"Then wh-" Jin began before he heard another rustle, making him turn as he summoned his sword and swung upwards, ending up encasing the masked figure in a pillar of ice, "?!"

"Jin...you froze the groundskeeper in ice…" Kajun blinked.

"We have a groundskeeper?" Jin blinked.

"Well we never said he does a good job. He mostly just sleeps." Mai added.

"But...he has a mask...and a hook for a hand…" Jin pointed.

"And you have ice powers, we have three robots, and two alien shape changing super heroes…" Alf argued, "Also a me…"

"You shouldn't judge a book by its cover!" Noel shouted, "Eek!"

"Damn it! I missed!" Kuon snapped.

"How is this elephant so fast?!" Akane snapped.

"Hey, it looks like he's skinnier than normal! Is...is he using an in-between state to speed up?"

"...is...he gonna be okay?" Hina asked as she and Ibuki poked the frozen masked figure.

"He should thaw by the morning," Kajun guessed.

"I hope not...I'm getting bad juju vibes from him," Hagakure gulpe as he hid behind Sakura

"Nee hee hee~Maybe he's secretly The Thing~" Kokichi's voice teased, making Hagakure tense up as the little trickster poked out from behind him...while sporting a creepy expression on his face.

"Oh please...he's just a lazy weird groundskeeper." Mai sighed, "You guys are just being paranoid 'cause your entire school gets attacked by monsters."

"We still don't know how or why!?" most of them shouted.

"Not everything is some supernatural threat to your lives…" Kajun added, "This is just a poor man Jin froze cause he had a stupid moment."

"Does no one even notice the chainsaw on his back?!" Jin snapped.

"Again, grounds...keeper," Tsubaki reminded.

"I give up…" Jin groaned, throwing his hands up in the air as he walked off, "I'm off duty for the week. If anyone needs me...don't."

=Okay mr moody…= Steel deadpanned.

"That guy needs to pull that stick out of his butt…" Max muttered.

"Agreed," Most of the group muttered in agreement.

---

Days have passed for the camp. Many events went down, many new experiences were learned, and just peaceful-if not chaotic when it came to Akane's siblings- days from there on. Today sadly...was the last day of camp, so the group decided to send off teh kids with something nice, simple and fun...a scavenger hunt.

"Remember children, you need to work together with your designated partner if you want to find the items on the list," Kyoko informed as she, Shuichi and Tsubaki stood in front of a chalkboard with the words 'Scavenger hunt' on it.

"Be sure to take advantage of your surroundings and keep an eye out for anything that might seem out of place," Shuichi added.

"If you think you see something unsafe or scary, please come and find us," Tsubaki spoke up, "We'll be wandering around the woods to keep an eye out and watch out for you."

"Try and stick to the paths Ben made earlier as one of his aliens." Kyoko pointed to Ben, currently as XLR8 as he returned for more cones and rope to set up the trails.

"We were extra careful, so there won't be anything dangerous or scary animals!" Makoto declared happily.

"That's the last of it!" XLR8 spoke, skidding to a stop, "Now for the hunt items!" He grabbed a bag and dashed off again.

"Ben!" Makoto called out as he came back, "Remember not to make it too hard for the kids." she reminded.

"Relax! I won't do anything stupid, nice and normal!" he assured as he ran off again.

"...he's unintentionally gonna do it," Tsubaki sighed.

"Yup, but that's Ben for ya," Makoto giggled a bit.

"Alright children...you can start now," Kyoko spoke as the kids rushed off in pairs of two, "Tsubaki, me and Shuichi will overlook the competition."

"We'll leave you and Nanaya-san to talk," Shuichi added as the two walked off.

"...So, Makoto…" Tsubaki began as the two were alone, "How were things for you and Ben during your time alone?"

"?!"

"And before you ask how, I overheard you and Ben," Tsubaki stated, "Don't worry...considering what you two went through, and how I kept...well…"

"Ruining the mood and blocking my advances and plans for my man?" Makoto deadpanned.

"...yes, that," Tsubaki whispered, "Ahem! What I'm trying to say is...I didn't want to say anything about it, and since it was not too far from the camp but away from the children, I allowed it to happen."

"Hey look, we want time alone...but we're not doing anything crazy…" Makoto muttered, "We just...wanted some couple time is all. So don't make such a big deal about what we do in privacy...ah...bad example, but you get my point."

"I do, and I don't mean to be so...controlling when it comes to your relationship," Tsubaki sighed, "Just...I know you two are mature about this, but I can't help but feel you two will end up making a huge mistake that'll change things between you two."

"Eh...is that what you're worried about…?" Makoto blinked, "We're mature enough to use protection you know…" she deadpanned, making Tsubaki blush, "Plus it's not like we did anything too bad out here...we're not that pent up...wait. Could it be...you imagined we did some extra ecchi stuff?"

"..." Tsubaki said nothing as she looked to the side.

"Oh-ho~" Makoto smiled.

"St-stop it," Tsubaki quickly ordered as a heavy blush formed on her cheeks

"You imagined us doing some R-18 naughty stuff didn't ya?" Makoto smirked while cupping her chin.

"...I mean...c-considering how handsy you get with Ben at times...and the fact you two like to flirt..a LOT…" Tsubaki muttered in admittance, "Plus...the old couch…."

"Ah...you got us there…" Makoto chuckled, "If it's any consolation...it was just some super aggressive making out…"

"Sure it was," Tsubaki deadpanned.

"Tsubaki, me and Ben know what we're doing," Makoto assured her, "You're one of my best gal pals who I see as sisters, Tsubaki...but you don't have to worry THIS much for me and Ben."

"Right. I suppose I have been too concerned about it. Speaking of...Where is Ben?"

"Behind ya," Makoto replied with a grin.

"Hm?" She turned and yelped, jumping back from the upside-down Shadow Edge, muted laughter evident from his body hanging from the branch shaking, "Seriously?!"

"What? He's using it to keep an eye on the kiddies," Makoto explained with a giggle.

"That and a bet between you two on if any of the kids notice him as he spends the entire event as a ninja outside of emergencies," Skurd added.

"Why is he…?"

"The last world we were in was the year 2021. Saw a video on YouTube about this guy breaking down ninjas in culture."

"That explains why you have those consoles and Noel's plushies."

"It was weird but fun! Also we didn't have to do as much fighting for some of them." Makoto explained.

"You still never told me what happened with that man who suddenly dropped you onto the front lawn." Tsubaki spoke.

"Tsukasa is a very...strange friend…" Makoto muttered, "In the end, it's safer to say we're lucky he's on our side rather than against." she turned to Shadow Edge who rubbed his head, "Oh right...we still get boots to the head when he's bored."

"I thoroughly enjoyed it," Skurd chuckled...before Shadow Edge flicked him off, "Ahh!"

"...one more question. Was this Tsukasa...like Professor Paradox in a way?" Tsubaki asked.

"Nothing like Paradox…" Makoto quickly replied, "Trust me...he is much more...blunt…"

Shadow Edge nodded in agreement as he flipped off the tree branch and landed on the ground.

"Oh don't dance around the issue. Unlike all of you...he takes that final blow…" Skurd sighed, "It made it awkward for a bit…"

"It really was," Makoto sighed, "Seriously...close to beating the big bad, and poof. He takes the final blow…right after we deny what said big bad says to try and convert us or worse."

"So he's not one for our usual methods." Tsubaki sighed.

"No he is not," Makoto shook her head, "But...he was a help at least. He's...helped us out a lot in some rather...unexpected ways."

"She means like the fact he is constantly protecting our dimension from some rule snobs who think we shouldn't exist." Skurd added.

"We...are technically not supposed to exist…" Makoto chuckled.

"Beg pardon?" Tsubaki blinked.

"Well remember the time Ben saved us by making the Anhilarg a dud? Well...turns out he fixed and stitched the world with multiple fragments of other worlds, which normally wouldn't work. But...it did. So...now we're all here, and the powers that be...don't like that. But we lucked out in that we have a jerk with a heart of gold keeping an eye on us."

"...is this true?" Tsubaki questioned Shadow Edge with wide eyes.

Shadow Edge just gave a nod in response.

"Yes, you wouldn't think someone as...well...jerkish as that would care that much. But turns out...he does. He was still very rude and locked Ben and Makoto in a locker to keep them out of an adventure." Skurd explained.

"Which he then blasted off into the atmosphere!" Makoto snapped.

"It wasn't that bad."

"We ended up in the middle of…!" Makoto began.

"Stop," tsubaki spoke as she held a hand up, making the two be silent as she took a deep breath, "Let me understand this...if it wasn't for him, our world...aka the one we share with all our friends-who like us are part of alternate realities which are now part of Ben's-would've been erased from existence?"

"That's right." Skurd nodded.

"We just blew your mind, didn't we?" Makoto chuckled, "How's that for some H.P. Lovecraft level cosmic perspective?"

"...I...I think I need to lie down…" Tsubaki whispered as she staggered off a bit, holding her head as she had a look of pure disbelief on her face.

"...oh wow. We really did blow her mind," Makoto whispered.

"I wonder how much this will affect her…" Skurd muttered.

"And she fell over in the fetal position…" Makoto muttered, "Oh boy…" she sighed.

Shadow Edge just stared wide eyed before he changed back into Ben, "Yeah...Jin's not gonna like this…"

"Like what, Tennyson?"

"?!" the two tensed up as they slowly turned, seeing Jin with an icy, soul piercing scowl as he glared at them, "..."

"We'll let you handle her." Makoto said, dragging Ben away by his arm as Skurd quickly jumped onto Ben's foot.

"Wait! What did you-!?"

"Jin...I might be having another meltdown!" Tsubaki called out.

"What...what just happened?!" Jin exclaimed in both confusion, worry...and anger...mainly at Ben and Makoto...mainly Ben...yeah he's gonna try and tomb him in an icy prison later, "TENNYSON!"

---

"...oooh~ Yeah...Uncle Jin's gonna try and freeze daddy again," Kokoro winced, looking through the binoculars as Ken was finishing packing his things up.

"Alright...One last check. Billy bopped?"

"Yep." Kokoro sighed as she put the binoculars down, "He's still locked up in that small little sheriff jail cell, as there is no cell service to reach his parents and his robot has been taken to the dump."

"Dr. Kamikaze demoralized?" Ken asked.

"I almost feel bad for the big guy. He's just a loyal sidekick, but his boss always gets him hurt." Kokoro sighed sadly.

"Nemesis neutralized?"

"We sprayed his suit with bear pheromones...and last we saw a bear was dragging him away." Kokoro nodded.

"Zombozo zoned out?"

"We fed him to the kraken…" Kokoro muttered.

"Animo annihilated?"

"Little bit of pepper...and his porcupine army literally backfired on him. The doc should be resting uncomfortably in the prison hospital." Kokoro nodded.

"Scraplets scrapped?"

"Still shocked there was a Scraplet Trap buried here. We also owe Aunty Mukuro new guns for that trap to kill the little devils."

"Mmm…" Mukuro muttered as she finished packing up some guns into a large carrying bag, almost each one damaged via bite in a vital place thus ruining them for the foreseeable future.

"Kangaroo Komando KOed?"

"With Animo. Really nice of him to be Aunty's punching bag."

"I had issues to work out." Mukuro added, "It oddly helped."

"And last...Fungus foiled?"

"That one we almost lost to if Garo hadn't been doing a bathroom trip and heard us fighting it. Thank luck that he didn't see Aunty while she was tied up. She's technically a fugitive still."

"And I need to leave before anyone else sees me," Mukuro stated as she lifted her bag up, "Still...it was nice working with you two…"

"It was fun hanging out with you, too!" Kokoro beamed as she hugged her, "You're normally so intense, so I'mma hug ya as much as I can now!"

"I think...I avoid it out of self preservation…" Mukuro coughed from the crushing hug.

"Yeah, well you're gonna have to get used to being around people more," Kokoro countered as she released the hug, "Anyway, time for me and bro to head out before mom and daddy notices we're gone."

"Isn't this a time machine?" Mukuro asked.

"It has weirdly specific rules to teach us responsibility…" the twins sighed in unison as they slipped their helmets on.

"Oh...noted," Mukuro whispered as the twins grabbed their bags before hopping onto their bikes

"Anyway, bye auntie Mukuro!" Driver waved, "Oh, and try not to faint around uncle…!" she began before both her and Spanner's bikes drove off.

"...uncle who?" Mukuro blinked, '...this is gonna bug me…'

Nearby, the masked figure groaned as he rose up out of some bushes nearby...this entire time, not once. Not...once has he gotten to kill any of these annoying teenagers, and he's suffered nothing but pain, concussion and his weapons either being broken, taken, or unknowingly used on him! He then looked up to see Mukuro, who seemed to be distracted at the moment. He saw this as a chance and he began to step towards her...only to end up falling into a pit trap as soon as he stepped on the ground. As soon as he got up...he noticed he was surrounded by growling badgers...yeah. He was done and just gave up on killing teenagers at camp.

---

"...no sign of them," Kokoro whispered as she and Ken slowly began to creep into the living room of their home, "Just gotta get to the couch and things should be…"

"Kenshiro, Kokoro…"

"...aw nuts," the two whispered as an older Mukuro rose up from the couch, her hair longer and done into a side ponytail as she wore a camo-colored trench coat on top of a black tee and combat shorts. "Hi…" they awkwardly replied.

"So...is this a...you knew the whole time...or has time changed and caught up to you and…" Ken rambled.

"Zip it."

"Yes Ma'am!" Ken yelped as he stood at attention.

"Sit," she ordered as the two sat down on the couch, "...so, this is what you two were doing after school while you're grounded…"

"So...are we busted?" Kokoro asked.

"With me, yes," Mukuro answered, "Your parents….I won't say a word. I know how worried your parents tend to get."

"I don't think it's that bad…" Kokoro muttered.

"The first time one of Ben's villains ever targeted you...he put them in the hospital…" Mukuro spoke, "And made sure to let the others know...you are off limits. And punctuated it with ensuring that the villain would retire from this life after that. I've never been scared of your father…'till that day."

"Dad can be….really scary when he wants to," Ken whispered.

"I don't see the problem…" Kokoro shrugged.

"Of course you don't…" Ken groaned.

"I'm more afraid of mom finding out...Daddy is only scary to other people...Mom is the one I truly fear…" Kokoro argued.

"Which she is," Mukuro admitted, "When you two went missing...she went on a literal warpath across the galaxy to find you two."

"See!? Mom is the one to fear!" Kokoro argued to her brother.

"But what I think is the scariest thing in this world?" Mukuro began, earning the siblings' attention, "Both your mother...and father being enraged beyond belief."

"Why you gotta be this way, Aunty?" Kokoro asked.

"I was kidnapped, taken in, and raised by mercenaries and had a psychopath of a sister hellbent on bringing the world to despair," Mukuro countered

"That answers nothing, Uncle Ragna had just as weird a backstory and he's fine...ish…" Kokoro argued.

"The fact you love me so much as to find my origins weird, rather than sad...shows how much better company I keep." she sighed.

"That is true and...we're still gonna be punished by you, aren't we?" Ken asked.

"You are," Mukuro nodded as pointed at a locked box, "In that is a special cake I had purchased. You can have it...if you find the machine keys I hid inside Kenshiro's room. If you fail to find the keys within 30 minutes...you'll have to do 100 push ups, sit ups, leg lifts, and jumping jacks...without stopping for each one."

"What…" both paled.

"Isn't that going overboard?" Ken nervously asked.

"I may be one of your favorite aunts...but I'm also one of the more tougher ones on you when you get into trouble," Mukuro countered before holding up a stopwatch, "Also you have twenty nine minutes and thirty seconds left."

"GH?!" Ken and Kokoro tensed at that.

"Clock is ticking you two…"

"AH!" they panicked as they ran off..

"Sydney, Maurice, you better not have turned traitor!" Ken shouted into his room.

"The sentient roaches are real!?" Kokoro screamed.

"Just shut it and start looking!" Ken freaked.

"...hm. Honestly those two…" Mukuro chuckled silently to herself as she sat down on the couch, "They truly are like their parents…"

---

Z0: Ah summer memories.

SZ: They are forever…

Z0: Well that was fun.

SZ: Very, and we hope you all enjoyed this chapter.

Z0: Indeed, it was a relaxing and fun write.

SZ: Mmm hmm...and in time too as we are on the last days of summer, so..despite the unbearable heat we got we hope you all enjoyed it.

Z0: Later readers.

GT: Please read and review, folks!