The Tennyson's next stop was in the middle of Nowhere. No, that wasn't sarcasm – they were literally in a place called Nowhere, Kansas.
As the name would imply, Nowhere was just an endless stretch of wasteland where all life seemed to die from both a lack of water and the intense heat of the cloudless sun…. And yet they somehow managed to find the only ice cream parlor within a hundred miles.
While Ben, Gwen, and Trixie had rushed inside for a cool, treat, Max first had to visit the only ATM machine in the entire county to withdraw some cash for said treat. Just as he pulled out his wallet, a pickup truck even more beat-up that the Rust Bucket pulled into the parking lot, driven by a pair of country hicks that tried dressing up as tough road warriors, only to make themselves look more ridiculous than they already are. The beefiest of the two hopped out of the truck and walked up to the ATM. Max saw the man coming up in the reflection of the ATM screen and looked over his shoulder suspiciously.
"Outta the way, grandpa," said the hick insultingly. "I've got a major withdraw to make."
The country hick grabbed Max by the shoulder and shoved him to the side at the feet of his partner.
Inside the ice cream parlor, the three children were perusing the choices of ice cream flavor, which wasn't really much considering they were literally in the middle of Nowhere and it was highly unlikely that they get regular visitors. Trixie looked between the vanilla and the chocolate flavors, not really deciding between the two tastes, but had a different thought on her mind.
"So humans like to eat sweetened frozen byproducts made from the lactation of bovine nipples, correct?" Trixie asked, looking to Gwen for answers.
"Ugh, only you could make me lose my appetite for ice cream," Gwen grimaced.
"I just find it fascinating how humans can create a wide assortment of necessities made from your Earth bovines," said Trixie earnestly. "Like for example, did you know that ninety percent of the planet uses bovine feces for – "
"I'm not listening! LALALALA!" Gwen chanted with her hands over her ears.
"For the love of space chickens, are you kids gonna buy anything or just stand there all day?" asked the impatient store clerk.
Ben, either ignoring or not caring about Trixie's detailed reports on the many uses of cows, was about to order when he heard a loud clanging coming from outside. He looked through the window to see the two hicks backing up the truck to the ATM machine and one of them dragging out a large hook.
"I'm about to go rocky road," said Ben before running away, activating the Omnitrix's core.
"Was that what you humans refer to as 'acting cool'?" Trixie asked Gwen.
"With Ben, it's never cool," said Gwen blankly.
Back outside, one of the would-be robbers smashed the sharp end of the hook through the ATM machine – whether he understood how the machine worked was still up for debate. The machine breaker gave his partner a thumbs-up and told him to "Hit it", which his goofy-looking friend in the truck took a full minute to understand before he turned the truck ignition on.
He slammed his foot on the gas pedal when the truck lurched forward and suddenly stopped only after moving an inch. The funny-looking robber looked out through his windshield and let out a terrified yelp when he saw the muscular tiger-man gripping the hood of the truck, keeping the vehicle pinned in place. Rath leaned in closer so that his face was directly in front of the windshield; his breath fogged up the glass.
"Let me tell you something, Mr. Getaway Driver!" Rath yelled. "Nobody is going to be stealing money in Nowhere as long as Rath says so!"
Rath smashed his clawed fist through the truck's hood, ripped out the engine, and threw it so far into the desert that it looked like a dot from where they were standing. The Appoplexian then ripped the door off of its hinges, grabbed the driver by the back of his shirt, and tossed him on the ground.
While the tiger-man disposed of his partner, the more muscular of the robbers pried the hook out of the ATM machine, gave it a good spin, and threw it at Rath's head. The Appoplexian effortlessly snatched the hook out of the air with one hand, pulled at it, and sent the robber over his head and slammed face first into a telephone pole. The robber slumped pathetically on the ground and tried to crawl away, but Max planted his foot between the man's shoulder blades and pinned him in place.
"Where do you think you're going?" said Max smugly. Gwen and Trixie came out of the shop; Gwen looked sickly and Trixie carrying several scoops of 'processed bovine lactation'. "Nice work, Ben."
"Let me tell you something, Grandpa Max Tennyson!" screamed Rath unnecessarily. "Rath can handle anything that gets thrown at Rath! Rath can take it! Rath is ready for whatever's next!"
"I hope you are," said Max with a smile. "Because we're heading off to meet my good old friend Muriel and her husband for the weekend."
"What? Boring old Aunt Muriel!" yelled Rath. The Appolexian dropped to his knees and screamed into the sky. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
The Tennysons were back on the road an hour later, on their way to meet Max's old friend, Muriel, and her husband, much to the disappointment of both of the Tennyson cousins. While Ben pouted at the table and Gwen fiddled with her computer, Trixie decided to clean yesterday's dishes since Ben neglected to do them…again.
Ever since Trixie showed up, it seemed to be a recurring theme that she did more of the workload around the Rust Bucket than either of the cousins. Not that she was complaining – she preferred doing something productive rather than just sitting around doing nothing.
"When Aunt Muriel said she wanted to move away from it all, she really meant it," said Gwen, never looking away from her laptop. "Well, at least it's a step up from their old farm out in the middle of the wasteland. That place was freaky as all heck and I almost literally died from the heat."
"Ugh, this summer was supposed to be about F-U-N," Ben complained. "Not hanging out in some old people's place."
"Is this Aunt Muriel really that bad?" asked Trixie curiously.
"Aunt Muriel's not bad – she's the sweetest old lady ever," said Gwen. "But her husband, Eustace, is a huge jerk. He's always complaining and being mean – kind like an older, balder Ben."
"Hey," said Ben.
"Now, now, that's enough of that, kids," said Max calmly. "I'm sure things won't be as bad as you think they will be – I'm sure Eustace has cooled down since they moved to the retirement village. Besides, they just got a new dog. His name is Courage. That'll be fun, right?"
Ben didn't seem remotely convinced.
And speaking of the elderly couple, Muriel Bagge hummed to herself happily as she walked about the kitchen, preparing lunch for when the Tennyson's arrived. Her hair all white and fluffy in an olive-colored dress, yellow apron, and sturdy black boots with a pair of tiny round glass, Muriel was the true embodiment of a kind old lady. And helping her prepare her lovely meal was her faithful pinkish-purple, black spotted dog named Courage, who seemed to be capable of walking on two legs even though it was highly unnatural for a dog.
"Oh, Courage, it's been years since I've seen Max and his grandchildren," said Muriel pleasantly. "I'm not sure I'll even recognize them. I think you would like them, Courage, especially Gwen – she's always been such a sweetie. Oh, and Ben is quite the troublemaker. I think Max even said they were bringing along one of their little friends. Isn't that nice, Courage. You get to have new playmates over the weekend instead of hanging around with us boring old people."
The strangely pigmented dog bounced over and hugged the elderly woman as if to say that he liked spending time with her, making Muriel laugh amusingly. Unfortunately, their brief moment of happiness was ruined when Muriel's husband walked into the kitchen. Eustace Bagge was a grumpy-looking man completely lacking in the hair department, concealed only by his crooked hat and wore dark-green overalls and tiny glasses that matched his wife.
"Muriel, where's lunch! I'm hungry!" complained Eustace.
"You'll have to wait, Eustace," said Muriel patiently. "Max and his grandkids will be arriving soon enough. Just wait in the living room until then."
"Grr…," Eustace growled, but nonetheless walked back to the living room. "Stupid old man with his stupid kids in his stupid RV coming for a stupid visit to this stupid retirement village with stupid neighbors that are stupid…."
"Oh dear, he's in one of his moods again," said Muriel, shaking her head. "Courage, go see if you can cheer him up while I finish preparing lunch."
The pink-tinted dog whined, not wanting anything to do with the old man that made his life a living nightmare every time he walked into the room. But the kindly old lady was too engrossed with her cooking to pay any attention to her dog and Courage hanged his head in defeat, slowly trudging out of the kitchen.
He padded lightly down the hallway, stopped at the threshold leading to the living room, and cautiously peeked inside. Eustace was sitting it his favorite armchair, still grumbling under his breath with his arms folded, while he stared at the black-and-white television screen, not really caring what was on. Courage made another whining sound, making it more than evident that he didn't want to be anywhere near the grumpy old timer, but Muriel asked him to cheer Eustace up and he could never deny the sweet old woman.
The pink-tinted dog had only stepped into the living room when his canine ear caught a strange sound – it was squishy, almost like something gelatinous was being stretched.
Courage looked left and right without seeing what was causing the noise until he heard it again and turned his eyes to the ceiling. He only just saw the dirty-green blob clinging to the ceiling before it dropped on top of Eustace's head. The grumpy old man only noticed at the last second before the blob splattered across his face, muffling the sounds of his screams.
Courage's eyes became wide as dinner plates and let out a human-like scream at the top of his tiny lungs, running back down the hallway as fast as his tiny legs could carry him.
"This is gonna be sooo boring," Ben whined the moment they drove into the retirement community. "Their idea of excitement in this place is probably watching the grass grow."
Gwen rolled her eyes and Trixie had put on her ears plugs five minutes ago, drowning out the Tennyson boy's constant complaining. Ben grumbled, resting his chin on his fist, and stared out the window. This was gonna be the worst weekend ever…. Or at least that's what he thought before he saw one of the senior citizens pull off a backflip and land on the front lawn perfectly poised next to another older lady, who seemed none too fazed by the phenomenon.
"Whoa!" Ben yelled in surprise. "Did you see that?"
Gwen reluctantly pulled her eyes away from her computer and stared out the window same as her cousin. Just a street full of normal elderlies going about their day; nothing strange to see.
"See what?" asked Gwen exasperatedly. "The heat must be frying that pea-sized brain of yours."
Ben was immune to his cousin's barbs after spending a couple weeks trapped in the Rust Bucket.
He knew what he saw; he definitely wasn't crazy – at least no less than someone who was carrying the most powerful tool in the universe on his wrist and being chased by aliens and mad scientists. There was something weird about this retirement village beyond the questionable old people smell. But before he could think on the matter any further, Grandpa Max parked the Rust Bucket and told them they had arrived at Muriel's place. Ben grimaced from the brightness of the sun the moment he stepped out of the RV, using his hand as a shield to protect himself.
"Seriously, why do old people have to move where it's so hot?" Ben moaned.
Gwen smirked in a devious way, leaning close and whispering into Trixie's ear. The human Omnitrix nodded in agreement.
"Accessing Polar Manzadill sequence," Trixie announced monotonously.
Ben pivoted around when Trixie made the decleration and saw that the girl's hair had changed to an icy-blue shade and her eyes had black stripes around them. The Tennyson boy knew what they were planning, and before he could get in a word, Trixie breathed a mist of crystallized air in Ben's face. It took less than a split second for his eyebrows to turn chalky-white, icicles to form from his nostrils, and his now-white hair was swept backwards and frozen in place. Ben's teeth chattered uncontrollably as Gwen doubled over laughing and Trixie smirked amusingly as she shifted back to her normal form.
"N-n-n-not f-f-f-funny," Ben chittered.
"You're right, it's not funny," Gwen snorted. "It's hilarious!"
Ben glared at the girls as he shook his head to brush away the frost when he noticed one of the neighbors staring at them through the window. The only man in the house next to the Bagges dropped his jaw rather than humanly possible, hissing at ben while cracking his neck, and then closed the blinds. Ben felt a shiver run down his spine that he was sure had nothing to do with the Arctiguana breath.
"Well, they sure know how to make you feel welcomed here," said Ben.
"Just watch your cheeks," Max warned jokingly. "Muriel's a pincher."
"Max!"
And speak of the granny, Muriel had just stepped outside happy as a clam when she saw Max and his grandchildren (and Trixie, but that was implied).
"Muriel," said Max, happily greeting her old friend with a hug. When he pulled away, he gestured to the children. "I think you remember Ben and Gwen. This is their friend, Trixie. She's joining us for summer vacation."
"I can't believe you're finally here," said Muriel gleefully, hugging Gwen for a quick second before pinching her cheeks; Gwen moaned painfully. "And look at you, so grown-up!" She repeated the same sequence with Ben, earning a pained whine from the Tennyson boy, then moved on to Trixie. But when she went to grab the green-haired girl's cheeks, she was surprised to find that they were staggeringly solid. "Oh my, what strong cheekbones you have."
"Thank you, Petrosapien DNA," Trixie muttered silently.
"Well, come on in," Muriel invited them. "I can't wait to introduce you kids to Courage – ooh, Courage, you have perfect timing."
Ben and the other children were quietly alarmed when the door to the Bagges home was kicked open and a pink-furred dog had burst outside running on two legs, screaming nonsensically. He didn't seem to notice the strange stares he was receiving as Courage tugged at his owner's apron, pointing and babbling gibberish. Ben, Gwen, and Trixie had seen a lot of strange things since this road trip began, but this was by far the weirdest, even by Trixie's standards.
"Is that canine standing on two legs and…talking?" asked Trixie dimly.
"What is it, Courage?" asked Muriel, not at all taken by how unusual her pet was acting.
The pink-furred dog kept pointing and babbling without ever making sense when Eustace suddenly appeared at the threshold of his house. Courage wailed again, zipping out of sight, and somehow ending up inside Ben's shirt, shaking. Eustace walked down the pathway towards them; Muriel just smiled unassumingly.
"Look, Eustace, Max and his grandkids are here," Muriel announced.
"I'm going for a walk," said Eustace dryly.
And with that, the bald man marched past the Tennysons down the road without botherin for a single glance back.
"Well, that was a lot less mean than I was expecting," said Gwen. "I guess moving here really has mellowed him out a little."
"Oh, don't mind Eustace," said Muriel, waving off her husband. "He's just having one of his tiffs. Come in, come in, lunch should just be about ready."
Lunch was definitely a different experience compared to when Grandpa Max cooked for them. The food was edible and the children could finally hold down their meals without having to resort to nose clips, but Muriel's food had a rather…unusual taste to it.
It didn't matter whether it was the glazed ham, the mash potatoes, the buttered peas, the biscuits, or the sugared beets – everything had the same poignant aftertaste that seemed to stay in their mouths no matter how much lemonade they drank. Ben and Gwen didn't seem to mind – they were just happy to have some real food for a change – but Trixie couldn't fight back her grimace as she took another bite of the gelatin. But the entire time they were eating, Courage was looking around like he was worried that something would pop out at any moment.
"Wow, Muriel, this is delicious," Max complimented.
"The secret ingredient is vinegar," said Muriel proudly. "I use it in all my recipes."
"That explains that taste," groaned Trixie.
"So, what have you children been doing so far this summer?" Muriel asked them politely.
"Dealing with alien lifeforms," Ben answered bluntly.
Max, Gwen, and Trixie all looked at the Tennyson boy like he was out of his mind for telling Muriel about their exploits, and Courage's eyes went cartoonishly wide, but Muriel seemed to laugh it off.
"Oh, you children and your vivid imaginations," Muriel giggled amusingly. "Now who wants desert? I made a nice cherry gelatin mold with extra vinegar."
"I do, I do, I do!" Ben and Gwen chanted in unison.
"Ugh," Trixie groaned. "You humans have stomachs of a Gourmand."
"Well, if you don't have room for gelatin," said Muriel as she stood up from her chair and picked up a bowl on the counter. "Then maybe you would like a bit of candy. Children do love candy."
"That doesn't sound so bad," said Trixie pleasantly, taking a handful of round, yellowish treats. The human Omnitrix popped one into her mouth and the instant the treat touched her tongue, her gag reflex started acting up. "Um…Muriel…what flavor is this?"
"My own special recipe," said Muriel proudly. "They're vinegar sweets."
"I need to use the lavatory!" Trixie announced, slapping a hand over her mouth.
The green-haired girl bounced out of the dining room, skidded around the corner, and stampeded so fast down the hall that she ignored the expensive vase and Bagge's wedding picture that she had knocked down. Trixie slammed the door behind her, leaned over the toilet, and vomited up everything that she had eaten for lunch. When her stomach was empty and she was leaning against the wall with a groan, Trixie couldn't help but find the whole thing ironic. She could eat octopi legs, eel eggs, refried maggots, and a handful of live worms from a bucket – and yet vinegar was her one weakness.
Trixie's stomach made an unpleasant rumbling sound and the green-haired girl held herself with a pained groan.
"I need to get out of here and find some real food before I die of starvation," moaned Trixie. "But how can I slip out undetected?" She pondered for a moment, trying to channel her inner Ben, when a stroke of brilliance finally came to her. "Accessing Ectonurite sequence."
Trixie's hair turned from black and green to a mixed shade of gray and black, her once green eyes becoming a deep shade of purple with black cracks in the skin around them, and floated several inches above the ground.
The ghostly girl floated forward and turned transparent as she passed through the solid wall. Trixie decided to check in on Muriel and the Tennysons before she made her escape; she poked her head through the high area of the wall where no one would think to look at her (Trixie hasn't learned the Ectonurite's ability to become invisible yet). Ben, Gwen, and Max were still sitting at the table as Muriel brought in the gelatin mold from the kitchen – Trixie didn't see Courage anywhere, but she wasn't really looking for him.
"Here we are: my cherry gelatin with extra vinegar," said Muriel proudly as she set it on the table. "I also have extra bottles of vinegar seasoning in the kitchen if anyone wants them."
Ben and Gwen cheered; Trixie grimaced. She had no regrets about ditching them now.
Trixie slipped out of the house through the back wall and floated several feet in the air, getting a good overhead view of the retirement community.
"There has to be something to eat around here that isn't drowning in vinegar," said Trixie.
Whether by coincidence or good fortune, a smell drifted past Trixie's nose and the human Omnitrix made a pleasant noise; something smelled fruity, like apple pie. And it just so happened that there was a freshly baked apple pie sitting on the windowsill being cooled off. Leaving pie on the window seemed very old school and made it easy for someone to steal, but Trixie wasn't complaining – her stomach needed sustenance.
Ectonurite-Trixie floated low to the ground to avoid being spotted and soon hovered over the freshly baked treat.
"Yes," hissed Trixie, her mouth salivating. "Come to Trixie, my delicious friend."
Trixie inched her skinny little fingers toward the pie when she saw an elderly woman swatting at a fly through an open window. This wouldn't normally be of interest to Trixie…until the elderly woman suddenly sprang up to the ceiling, clinging to the surface like an arachnid, and swallowed the insect like a frog.
"What in the name of Galvin Prime," gasped Trixie as the elderly woman dropped down cracking her neck in a disgusting way.
That was the moment Ectonurite-Trixie decided it was time to make herself scarce.
She floated low to the ground through the bushes when she spotted Eustace Bagge driving one of the residential golf carts down the street with what appeared to be a rolled up carpet in the back. Beside the strangeness of driving a carpet in the first place, Trixie thought it was odd that Eustace had missed lunch with his wife and the Tennysons – from her studies of human males, they are always impatient for food. And on top of that, the pink-furred dog named Courage looked like he was chasing after Eustace, sneaking through the various bushes, mailboxes, and lampposts to conceal himself. That just about sold it for her.
"Something strange is going on here," hissed Trixie. "And I have a feeling that canine might be on to something."
Eustace ended up stopping at the community dumpster. Courage arrived a few seconds after him and took cover behind the dumpster wall and Trixie floated up behind him moments later.
The bald, former farmer grabbed the carpet out of the back of the golf cart and walked over the gate. And by that, I mean he literally walked over the gate. Eustace's legs stretched far beyond normal length and stepped over the chain-link fence like it was a common occurrence. Courage whined softly, clearly scared out of his wits, but nonetheless climbed the walls with his surprisingly sticky paws and leaped over; Trixie took the alternative route by going through the wall instead.
Together, they watched Eustace push a heavy dumpster container with one hand – an impossible feat for someone so skinny – and revealed a hidden trapdoor in the cement. Just as Eustace started top open the trapdoor and the staircase hidden underneath, Trixie suddenly notice that her cold, Ectonurite skin suddenly felt warm again. Without ever realizing it, Trixie had morphed back into her human form and unceremoniously dropped on top of Courage.
The green-haired girl and the pink-furred dog groaned, rubbing their sore heads from the collision, and then looked each other in the eyes…. Courage screamed. Then Trixie screamed. Then Courage screamed again. Then Trixie screamed again. And after taking a few seconds to realize the full extent of their present situation, both the girl and the dog turned their attention back to Eustace.
The old farmer's face somehow managed to completely twist his head around and snarled angrily at the pair – Courage screamed at such a high decibel that he couldn't even be heard by humans anymore.
"Grr…stupid dog and stupid kid," growled Eustace.
The clearly fake Eustace twisted his body around so that he was facing the intruders, howled with his jaw hanging and green slime spilling from his toothless maw, and lunged at Trixie and Courage. He swiped his arms around for Trixie, but the green-haired girl ducked underneath, kicked him in the shin, and ran around while the impersonator staggered. She was running back to the gate when she realized that the chain-link fence was still locked from the outside. Trixie considered climbing the fence, knowing it was be easier for her to get caught, when Courage, screaming at the top of his lungs, ran past and smashed his way through the fence, knocking the gates clean off their hinges.
"That is one impressive canine," said Trixie.
She skidded around the corner and made a dash for Eustace's golf cart, only to discover that Courage was already in the driver's seat, turning on the ignition. A normal person would have questioned where a dog could suddenly learn how to drive, but Trixie couldn't care less when there was contorting monster on her tail.
Trixie threw herself into the passenger's seat and Courage slammed his paw on the gas pedal, nearly throwing Trixie out when they lurched forward. The unusual pair zipped down the street at a good twenty miles per hours, but the fake Eustace was keeping pace with the motorized vehicle using legwork alone.
"What in the name of the Great Think is with these elderlies?" gapped Trixie. "It's like they're not even human."
"That's what I'm thinking." Trixie eyes went comedically wide at the sound of the voice, slowly turning her head to the direction it resonated from. She looked down at Courage and started to think that maybe – just maybe – she was going a little insane. Courage noticed the strange stare and asked: "What? What're you looking at?"
"YOU CAN TALK?!" shrieked Trixie.
"YOU CAN HEAR ME?!" screamed Courage.
Before either of them could wrap their minds around the abnormality, both the dog and girl lurched forward when the golf cart came to a sudden stop.
Courage and Trixie turned around in their seats, screaming in terror as Eustace's arms somehow managed to stretch over twenty feet and grabbed onto the back of the cart. The fake farmer grounded his feet into the street and actually started to pull them back despite Courage already pushing the gas pedal all the way down. Trixie looked around desperately, trying to find something that would shake the shapeshifter off, when she remembered that she still had Muriel's gross vinegar candy in her pocket. It wouldn't do any harm, Trixie though as she pulled out the handful of disgusting sweets, but maybe throwing them in its eyes would distract it enough to let them go.
Trixie stood up and lobbed the candies at the shapeshifter. The tiny treats proved to be surprisingly effective; the instant the candies touched the imposter's skin, it started to hiss, bubble and pop like boiling water. Eustace hissed fretfully, released the golf cart, and ran in the opposite direction while Courage and Trixie zoomed down the street.
With Eustace gone, Trixie fell back in her seat with a sigh of relief while Courage turned the cart down the road, not really paying attention to the strange stares from the neighbors. The green-haired girl slowly opened her eyes and craned her head, staring at the pink-furred dog concentrating on the road like a responsible driver.
"So…have you always been able to talk?" asked Trixie.
"As long as I can remember," Courage answered nervously. He was trying to get used to the idea that they were able to communicate, which Trixie totally understood. "It's just that no one has ever understood me before except for other talking animals. I didn't think humans could hear me."
"Well, I'm not exactly a normal human," admitted Trixie. "But we can worry about that later. Tell me, has Eustace Bagge always been able to do…that?"
"He's super scary, but he's never done anything like that before," answered Courage. "Something got to him this morning – it fell on his head when he was watching TV, but I got scared and ran away before I could get a look. And I didn't notice before, but the neighbors have also been acting funny for the past few days."
"Yeah, I saw one earlier," said Trixie, remembering the lady climbing the ceiling. "This might be way too over our heads. We're gonna need some back up."
Courage drove them back to the Bagge's home just as the sun was starting to cast a brilliant vermillion glow across the horizon. The pink-furred dog parked the golf cart on the lawn (and by park, they mean driving halfway up a palm tree) and rushed inside the house. Trixie found Max sitting at the dining room table while Ben and Gwen were reluctantly washing the dishes from lunch.
"Maxwell! Benjamin! Gwendolyn!" shouted Trixie urgently.
"Shush!" Max hushed her, pressing a finger to his lips. "Muriel is in bed."
"Really?" said Trixie, raising an inquisitive brow. "But it's only six thirty-two – no, wait, that's not the point. Listen, there's something unusual going on in this community. First, I saw one of the elderlies climb up the walls and devour a fly, and then Eustace – Muriel's husband – has been taken over or replaced by a shapeshifting creature. It chased Courage and I a few blocks away from here – "
"Trixie, you snuck out," said Gwen, somehow missing the point of the whole story. "Muriel was hurt."
"Yeah, that's the kind of thing you'd expect from me," admitted Ben.
"You three aren't listening," said Trixie exasperatedly. "I'm telling you that Eustace Bagge has been replaced by a shapeshifter, and he is apparently not the only one. Courage says that…whatever it is that has gotten to Eustace has always spread to the other elderlies."
"Wait…," said Gwen slowly. "The dog told you that some shapeshifting creature is running around replacing all the old people."
"Apparently I can communicate with animals now," said Trixie bluntly. "It might be a hidden feature that I forgot about when my memory banks were damaged. But we can discuss that later. Right now, we need to focus on what it is that is replacing the elderlies and find out where they have taken them."
"Finally, something that's not boring for a change!" Ben cheered, immediately going for the Omnitrix's core. "Okay, here's the plan: first I'll go Rath and pound the answers out of Eustace."
"There will not be an alien transforming until we get all the facts straight," said Max firmly, much to Ben's disappointment. "And since it's Trixie that found this out, there might be something worth investigating. But if what you said is true and Eustace or whatever he is saw your face, then he knows he can't come back here. So where do you think we should start looking?"
"In here! In here! I found something!" Trixie heard Courage's voice coming from down the hall.
"I think Courage might have found our first clue," said Trixie, already rushing out the kitchen.
Ben, Gwen, and Max looked at each other strangely – about what you would expect from someone who says they can talk to dogs – but followed Trixie nonetheless at a much slower pace. They walked into the den where Muriel's rocking chair and Eustace's comfortable armchair were set in front of the old-fashioned television, which was playing a black and white movie about aliens (is that ironic or what?) Courage was bouncing around and babbling something, which Trixie was nodding to.
"Well, nothing here seems out of whack," said Max.
"Except for what Eustace rolled up in his rug," said Trixie, pointing out a clean circle in the middle of the dusty den floor, "which used to be right here. Don't you see? The fake Eustace must have rolled up the real Eustace in here and then took him to wherever that trap door leads. We have to investigate."
"Now hold on, Trixie, let's not get ahead of ourselves," said Max, brushing her off. "I'm sure there's a logical explanation for everything."
"Like there is a shapeshifting creature kidnapping the elderly!" said Trixie impatiently. "Courage and I saw it!"
"The only other person that saw what you did is a dog that you can magically talk to all of a sudden," said Gwen disbelievingly.
"First off, magic is not funny," said Trixie seriously. "And secondly, how is my ability to communicate with animals any stranger than falling out of sky in a space pod or a watch that can convert a human DNA into a million different species of aliens?"
"She's got a point," Ben admitted.
"Look, we're all just really tired from the long drive here," said Max, much to Trixie's frustration. "Why don't we turn in for the night?"
"There is an unknown creature kidnapping people and you want to sleep?" said Trixie agape. "I do not understand your thought process on this."
"There's nothing more we can do for tonight," said Max. "I'm going for an early walk in the morning, but once I'm back; we'll check things out again. Now get some rest."
Max walked out of the den towards the guest rooms with Ben and Gwen following, but Trixie stayed behind a little while longer. Courage whined and Trixie patted his head in assurance. They just didn't understand.
But while the Tennysons slept that night – Trixie and Courage more reluctant than the others – Muriel was blissfully unaware in her bed, dreaming of performing sitar on Broadway. As she slumbered peacefully, something slithered across the ceiling of her bedroom. It wasn't until the strange blob creature latched onto her face that Muriel was rudely awakened, but her screams were muffled by the creature's gelatinous form.
The next morning, Trixie opened the refrigerator door trying to find something to nourish herself with since she never got a chance to eat anything amidst all the running and screaming in terror. The green-haired girl had hoped to at least find something that wasn't a part of Muriel's cooking, but it seemed like every trace of food and drink in the house was homemade.
"Vinegar bread, vinegar pudding, and, surprisingly enough, vinegar milk," groaned Trixie, slamming the refrigerator door in disgust. "What is with this woman and vinegar? Doesn't she use anything else for cooking?"
"Hey, I'm not complaining," said Ben, sitting at the table as he stuffed his face. "These vinegar waffles are awesome."
"And you have to try coffee with vinegar," Gwen offered from the coffee maker. "The way Muriel makes it is the best."
"…you people disgust me," said Trixie bluntly.
That was when Muriel Bagge walked into the kitchen. Courage got up from his spot on the little mat near the sink and padded over to her, but when he got close to the older woman, he suddenly stopped. He couldn't understand why, but there was something about Muriel that felt…wrong, almost like something bad was happening. Courage whined, backed away from the elderly woman, and ducked behind Trixie, peeking around her legs with uncertainty. The green-haired girl blinked, looking between dog and owner in curiosity.
"Morning, Aunt Muriel," Gwen greeted the woman. "How'd you sleep?"
"Just fine," said Muriel, strangely lacking her usual cheery tone. Her attentions seemed to focus solely on Trixie. "How about you, children?"
"Sleep was…adequate," aid Trixie suspiciously.
"I made you some coffee, Aunt Muriel," said Gwen sweetly, offering up a tray of both coffee and a bottle of vinegar. "I even got out the extra vinegar just as you like it."
Gwen only took a single step forward before she tripped on her own two feet, tipping the serving tray over and smashing the coffee and vinegar all over the floor. Gwen apologized profusely as the water and vinegar mingled together, sliding along the linoleum floor towards Muriel's boots. The elderly woman gasped in fright, jumped off the ground, and, to the shock of everyone present, threw out her legs and braced herself between the walls. Courage's eyes once again went cartoonishly wide, Trixie gasped, Gwen was stunned in place, and Ben's mouth was agape, spilling the vinegar syrup on the table.
"Clean it up!" Muriel demanded loudly. "Clean it up right now!"
"I'm…I'm sorry," Gwen said uncomfortably, picking up a worn-out rag and wiping up the mess.
While the redheaded was mopping up the mess, everyone else was still staring intently at the elderly woman as she returned her feet to the ground. Muriel turned her head toward the open door to the guest room, noticing that it was empty.
"Where did your grandfather go?" asked Muriel.
"Uh…he said he was going for an early walk," answered Ben faintly.
"Well, behave yourselves," said Muriel blankly. "I'll be back soon."
Ben, Gwen, Trixie, and Courage leaned their heads out of the kitchen threshold, watching Muriel walk down the hallway and out the door before she closed it behind her.
"Now do you see what I was talking about?" Trixie hissed the moment Muriel was gone. "Whatever creatures that captured Eustace and the other elderlies must have gotten to Muriel as well."
"In all honesty, I'm not surprised," said Courage, though only Trixie could understand him. "She was always the damsel-in-distress back on the farm."
"Yeah, it was totally weird," Ben admitted. "There's definitely something freaky going on in this place. We should investigate like Trixie said."
"Finally," said Trixie exasperatedly. "And I know just where to start looking."
It was still early in the morning when Courage and the children left the house against the fake Muriel's orders. The sun was still coming out from over the horizon, casting a reddish-orange glow across the sky.
Since Courage knew the area better than they did, Trixie had suggested he lead the way toward their destination while ignoring the strange stares from the Tennyson cousins. They still thought she was a bit touched in the head. They were all right with her partially turning into aliens, but talking to animals was somehow weird. Courage led the Tennyson children down an alleyway between buildings – Trixie translated for him that it was a shortcut.
"Okay, Dr. Dolittle," Gwen piped up, readjusting her backpack. "Where are you taking us?"
Before Trixie could answer, Courage pressed himself against the wall and made a hushing noise – Trixie repeated the motion. A couple of elderlies walked past their hiding spot, thankfully not noticing the children sneaking around so early in the morning.
"We need to get to that trapdoor underneath the waste container," Trixie answered once the elderlies were out of sight.
Once the coast was clear, Courage and the Tennysons made a run for it across the street.
But while the children were attempt their covert mission, the fake Eustace was waiting in an alleyway nearby, looking just as agitated as the real thing. Finally, the fake Muriel appeared around the corner.
"Is the food supply ready for transport?" asked Muriel.
"The pods are in the final stages of gestation," said Eustace. "What about the stupid dog and the stupid young ones?"
"Too chewy," said Muriel. "They need to age more before they get nice and tender."
"I'm not talking about eating," said Eustace impatiently. "The stupid girl and the stupid dog suspect too much."
But despite "husband's" worries, Muriel only smiled in response, seemingly unconcerned by the children.
Courage and the Tennysons walked down the street a little longer, trying not to look suspicious or give away how much they suspect everything going on in the community. The pink-furred do babbled something and Trixie translated for the Tennyson cousins:
"Courage says the waste container is not too far."
"Yeah, I think we kinda figured that out," said Ben, plugging his nose in an exaggerated way.
Courage and the kids were just walking by when they noticed a couple of elderly ladies playing shuffleboard in the middle of the street, which was peculiar in itself because there was no shuffleboard court.
Though Ben and Gwen didn't bat an eye at them, Trixie was still very suspicious of everyone there and couldn't resist sparing a glance at the two grannies. As it turned out, she was right to be suspicious. The two old women snarled, exposing their fangs and narrowing their eyes at the children. The elderly women pulled back their sticks and slapped the pucks as hard as they could, sending them flying towards the children's heads.
"Duck!" Gwen screamed, narrowly dodging a flying puck.
"Run!" shouted Ben.
The children made a break for it – Courage was unsurprisingly the fastest out of all of them, managing a good ten to twelve feet ahead of the others.
The elderly ladies continued to shoot at them with shuffleboard pieces nonstop, breaking the pucks against the street and walls close to them. The children managed to catch a break when Courage turned left around a corner out of their firing range, which caused them to stop for some reason. The four of them leaned their backs against the wall, trying to catch their breaths.
"Guys, what's going on," asked Max, suddenly appearing out of the shadows.
"That thing that kidnapped Eustace also got to Muriel," Trixie explained, panting. "And there are more of them just back there. We need to – Courage, what's wrong?" the green-haired girl asked when the dog started growling.
"That's not him!" growled Courage. "It's not him!"
Courage's warning could not have come at a better time. When the fake Max Tennyson came closer to the children, his teeth were noticeably yellow and pointed like fangs.
The imposter swung his arms around to grab the kids, but Trixie shoved Ben and Gwen to one side, just managing to duck under his reach. The shapeshifting imposter twisted his head around as the kids started to run away, growling menacingly, and stretched his arms to reach them. He was inches away from touching the back of Ben's shirt when he felt a sharp pain in his left leg. He pulled his arms back with a snap and looked down. Courage growled as he sank his teeth into the imposter's leg, which was surprisingly stretchy the harder he pulled at him. Fake Max shook his leg spastically trying to knock the canine off.
"Get off of me, you mangy mutt!" shouted Max.
"Nuh-uh!" said Courage defiantly.
"We have to go back for Courage!" shouted Trixie, gazing over her shoulder.
"I think we might have bigger problems!" shouted Ben, pointing forward.
Eustace, Muriel, and a third elderly imposter had somehow flipped a rusty old pickup truck and hoisted it over their heads as easy as an Appoplexian. They tossed the pickup truck as if it were a baseball. Ben grabbed Gwen and Trixie by the arms and pulled them out of the way as the truck zoomed past their heads, barely clipping one of Trixie's black hairs. The truck was instead sent flying toward Courage and the imposter Max. Courage saw the truck coming before the faker and threw himself off the shapeshifter just before the automotive smashed fake Max into the wall, sending splatters of murky green flying everywhere.
"No!" screamed Gwen.
"Don't worry, it's not real!" said Ben, remarkably calm under the pressure.
As Ben said, the imposter Max turned out to be perfectly fine. The greenish blobs that had splattered everywhere quickly merged together to reform their impression of Max Tennyson, but fails to perfect the imitation as its left eye resembled nothing of a human's, instead round and alarmingly red.
The fake elderlies came together and hissed at the children when they heard a soft groaning coming from their left. Courage moaned as he rubbed his sore head after avoiding being squashed to death, but the shrapnel that flew out from the truck's destruction had conked him on the noggin hard. The pink-furred canine turned around, sitting on his butt, and stared blurrily at the imposters circling him. It took him all of two seconds to assess the situation and let out a glass-shattering scream.
"Courage!" yelled Gwen worriedly.
"We gotta save him," said Ben firmly.
"I'll make a grab for Courage," said Trixie insistently. "You two worry about getting that trapdoor open. Accessing Citrakayah sequence!"
Trixie's green and black hair turned to a mixed shade of black and blue with two strands pointing out the side of her head similar to Fasttrack's 'eye mask'. The part-human, part-Citrakayah took off in a blur of motion, leaving behind a blue trail in her wake. Ben had also slammed down the Omnitrix when she had zoomed away, but Trixie wasn't paying attention to that.
Courage whimpered as he tried crawling away from the shapeshifting old people, but there was nowhere for him to escaped since they had surrounded him on every side. Max, Muriel, Eustace, and another unnamed elderly had him pinned down, hissing and wiggling their fingers as if itching to strangle him (which wasn't all that uncommon coming from Eustace).
The fake elderlies moved in to snatch him up when a blue blur whizzed between them, leaving the space empty where there should have been a pink-furred dog. The shapeshifters twisted their bodies with overlapping snarls as Trixie skidded her feet to stop her momentum, carrying a shaken Courage under her arm. The imposter elderlies started to move toward her, but Trixie just as easily zipped through the group, knocking the creatures off their feet and on their backs.
As Trixie and Courage raced back toward the dumpster, they had already found that Ben (transformed as Diamondhead) had already moved the waste container out of the way and had thrown open the trapdoor.
"Get inside quickly!" yelled Trixie.
"You don't need to tell us twice!" said Diamondhead.
The Petrosapien pressed his hands against the edge of the trapdoor opening, creating a slide made out of the same material that formed his body – Trixie could only assume that the trapdoor led to a steep drop.
Gwen went down the crystal ramp first by the time Trixie and Courage reached the Tennyson cousins. Once she was out of sight, Trixie set Courge down and pushed him into the underground passage (the pink-furred dog forgot their dire situation for a moment and let out a happy cheer going down). Trixie crouched down and was ready to slide after him when two sets of fingers wrapped around her throat, making the Human Omnitrix gasp.
Eustace had been the first of the shapeshifters to stand back up and stretched his hand across the street, extending his finger like ropes to choke out the part-Citrakayah girl. The creature's fingers started the tighten and bruise Trixie esophagus when Diamondhead jumped in between and sliced the limbs with his bladed arm.
"Hey, hands to yourself!" shouted Diamondhead. The Petrosapien kneeled and formed a wall of crystal separating them from the shapeshifters before turning on Trixie. "That oughta hold them for a while."
"Not by much," Trixie informed him, already spotting the shapeshifters starting to climb the walls. "Let's get out of here!"
Trixie slipped down the crystal slide and Diamondhead followed her shortly afterwards. But before he went down, Diamondhead paused for a moment and flexed his hands around the trapdoor opening, covering the space until the underground entrance was completely sealed. There was no guaranteeing that it would hold off whatever these monsters were indefinitely, but it would buy them a little extra time.
One quick slide later and Diamondhead rejoined the group that consisted of Courage, Gwen, and Trixie (the girl returned to her base human form by now). The underground cavern was dark, but Gwen was prepared for anything as always, whipping out a flashlight to make things a little brighter. She roamed her tiny little light around the area, showing that there were many different tunnels that could have led them in any single direction; Trixie was careful to notice that these tunnels looked manmade and were done very recently given the lack of moisture or rock formations.
"These tunnels must go under the whole complex," said Gwen.
"Did you see the way those freaky alien things lifted that truck and turned all stretchy?" said Diamondhead. "It was so weird seeing old people doing stuff like that. Any clue what those things are, Trix? Know how we can beat them?"
"Well, it's not exactly that easy to differentiate one species of alien out of millions," said Trixie knowledgably. "There are plenty of species that are capable of altering their physical forms as well as possessing above-human strength and endurance. Galvanic Mechamorphs, Polymorphs, Green and White Martians, Lenopan – the list goes on. Until we can discern just what these things are, I can't tell you how we can fight them off."
"We should try to find grandpa and the other elderlies," suggested Gwen. "Who knows what kind of freaky experiments those…things might be doing to them."
"But these tunnels go on for miles," said Diamondhead, waving his arms to get his point across. "It'll take forever."
Amidst the Petrosapien's complaints, Courage decided to be more proactive. The pink-furred canine sniffed along the catacomb floor, trotting in a full circle past each tunnel trying to cycle through the dozens of different smells. When he finally found one familiar, Courage jumped on his hind legs, pointed down the tunnel, and babbled in his language that only Trixie could understand.
"Courage says he found Muriel's scent," Trixie translated for them.
"Really? We're gonna follow the dog again?" Ben complained once again.
"If you have any other ideas, please feel free to share," Trixie challenged, glaring indignantly.
Gwen and Diamondhead shared a look…then decided they were going to follow the dog again.
Courage led the Tennysons through a series of similar-looking tunnels that almost felt like a labyrinth to navigate through. Left, right, another right, two lefts, forward, then left again – Gwen had tried to memorize the path back to the start in case they got lost, but even she couldn't keep up with all these directions. Every once in a while, they came across a fork in the road or a four-way intersections and Courage had to reconfirm their course with his nose before they moved on. After what felt like an eternity (at least in Ben's young, impatient mind), Courage and the Tennysons stopped at tunnel that had been blocked off with a lot of wooden boards and attempted to hide in underground roots; someone didn't want anyone to find something. Courage sniffed the boards and then babbled to Trixie.
"Muriel and the others are on the other side," Trixie translated.
"One side, people," said Diamondhead, shoving his way to the front. "Alien piledriver coming through."
Courage, Trixie, and Gwen took several steps back before Diamondhead extended his hands into their bladed forms. It only took the Petrosapien two swings to cut through the roots and break down the boards. And just in time too because the Omnitrix just started beeping when the tunnel opened up and Ben returned to his human state in a flash of red light. Courage compelled himself not to freak out by why and how a kid turned into a giant crystal alien and back, thinking only that he needed to save Muriel (and maybe Eustace if he had to).
The blocked tunnel opened up to a high ledge overlooking a spacious area in the catacombs from which Courage and the Tennysons could see everything.
"Whoa…," said Ben in awe.
"'Whoa' is right," mumbled Gwen.
The majority of the cavern was taken up by a retro-style flying saucer – the kind that you would see in terrible 1960s black and white sci-fi movies – while the ground around it was littered with what must have been over a hundred of murky-green pods. Courage and the Tennysons cautiously climbed down the side of the rocky cliff and tiptoed through the sea of pods. The surface of the pods was covered in a thin, transparent membrane, allowing them to see the people inside. They were able to identify a few of the people from their run around the neighborhood.
"It's like everyone in retirement village has been podded up," said Gwen worriedly.
Ben roamed around a few paces before he came upon a familiar sight.
"Grandpa," gasped Ben.
The young Tennyson boy wasted no time ripping the membrane apart, which was surprisingly easy, and opened up the pod as a puff of gas spilling out with the elder man. Max fell over lightly, but quickly started to wake from his forced sleep, groaning and blinking his eyes sleepily as Ben and Gwen helped him to his knees.
"Ugh…I was out for a walk and then…," said Max, grimacing. "I can't remember what happened next."
"What happened was: I was right!" yelled Trixie, feeling immense satisfaction. She walked over to the next pod, digging her nails into the membrane. "C'mon, we need to get everyone out of here."
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
The fake Muriel and the other elderly imposters had managed to find their way in, no doubt through another tunnel. Courage snarled bravely, right up until one of the fake elders hissed and the pink-furred dog zipped behind Trixie's legs in the blink of an eye; the green-haired girl shook her head.
"Well, you're not us," said Ben defiantly.
"Not yet we're not," said Eustace confidently.
With their secret exposed, the imposters seemed to have no other desire to keep their masks anymore, morphing their bodies to reveal their true forms: tall, gelatinous creatures made from a murky-green substance with exposed pink organs and a cluster of multiple eyes.
"They're Limax!" shouted Trixie, back up with the Tennysons as the blob aliens moved closer. "Of course, why didn't I see it before! That's why they wanted all the elderlies! Limax have a diet of aged meat, particularly those of a more humanoid species!"
"Great, so how do we stop them?" asked Ben, trying and failing to activate the Omnitrix.
"Uh…I'll have to get back to you on that," said Trixie uncertainly.
The Limax stepped close to the Tennysons, backing them up until they were pinned against their flying saucer. But in a surprising stroke of good luck, Gwen's hand accidentally touched a secret switch on the surface of their saucer, opening a hidden door behind them. Gwen nearly tripped when she fell back inside the ship, but managed to catch herself. Inside the saucer, Gwen saw even more pods like the ones outside.
"Look what's back here," said Gwen, calling the attention of Courage and her family.
"Their ship," said Max in realization.
"Oh no, they found it!" the leading Limax yelped, worry filling his gurgling voice.
"It's not really that hard," said Trixie pointedly. "I mean, you can tell it's a ship just by looking at it."
"Don't let them escape," the leading Limax commanded. "Get the pods onboard. They've been marinating long enough."
"You know what?" said Ben, glaring down the Limax. The Omnitrix binged once its short recharge was complete; Ben activated the core and turned the dial until he found the alien he was looking for. "You guys really burn me up."
Ben slammed down the Omnitrix's core (despite Trixie telling him for the millionth time not to) and transformed into Heatblast in a burst of green light. The Limax edged away from the Pyronite in surprise as the humanoid Firestarter stared them down.
"Now I'm gonna return the favor," said Heatblast.
The Pyronite coupled his hands together and blew a heavy stream of flames into the Limaxes faces. But much to everyone's surprise, not only were the Limax somehow able to withstand the flood of fire washing over them, they seemed to act like it wasn't even there.
All but ignoring the flames, the Limax bounced to a single space, one-by-one merging together into a single mass of green slime. Heatblast cut off his attack and took a step away as the Limax's merged form twisted and molded into a rough, bipedal creature more than twice the size of the Pyronite.
"Whatever you are, you just made a terrible mistake," said the Limax. "Us Limaxes live for the heat. Why do you think we came to the desert in the summer?"
Heatblast twisted his head and shot an accusing look at Trixie.
"What?" retorted Trixie, feeling more than a little insulted. "I may share a bond with the Omnitrix, but that doesn't mean I know every little thing about every alien species. There's over a million of them."
Heatblast let out an annoyed sigh as he ran his oversized hand down his face….
The Pyronite recklessly charged at the merged Limax and started to freely punch at the alien's lower body. It was like trying to punch water – his fists smashed through the surface, but the Limax did not take any damage from the hits. And then on one of his punches, the Limax shaped a tentacle from its mass and wrapped it around Heatblast's arm when he pulled back. The merged Limax lifted Heatblast off the ground, whipped him around the air, and slammed him back down once…twice…three times in rapid succession. The merged Limax lifted the beaten Pyronite to eye level when it heard the sound of rapid movement behind it and turned around.
Gwen, Max, and Courage were all doing their part carrying the pods out of the spaceship one-by-one while Trixie used her Citrakayah transformation to speed things along. Not wanting to let their meal get away, the merged Limax spat out two blobs from its back, which landed closest to Gwen.
The blobs rose up and became a smaller version of the Limax outside the ship, sneaking up behind the redheaded Tennyson and whipping its arm around. Luckily, Gwen saw it out of the corner of her eye at the last second and ducked out of the way, but her backpack took the hit instead and dumped everything on the ship floor.
Seeing that Gwen was in danger, Courage acted out of his namesake and jumped in front of the redhead, growling at the slime aliens. For a moment, the Limax gave pause and actually shrieked in fright before backing away from the dog and the girl. They almost thought that Courage had frightened them off, but they quickly realized the Limax were focused on a bottle that had fallen out of Gwen's backpack – a bottle of vinegar.
Courage hummed thoughtfully…then he picked up the vinegar bottle and held it up against the Limax. The gelatinous aliens screamed in terror and made a mad dash for the door while Courage chased after them, waving the vinegar bottle like a battle axe. Gwen and Max watched the strange scene from afar while Trixie zoomed up next to them, all sharing a look of utter bewilderment.
"You just happen to have a bottle of vinegar on you?" Trixie asked Gwen strangely.
"Aunt Muriel said I should keep it in case of emergencies," answered Gwen.
"There is something not right about that woman," said Trixie, shaking her head.
Courage chased the Limax until they dove back and merged with the larger Limax. The merged form of the gelatinous alien slowly turned with a vicious snarl at Courage, who grounded his feet to a screeching halt and shrank under its malicious gaze.
The merged Limax whipped Heatblast off in some random direction and took a step closer to the pink-furred dog. Courage's body shook violently and his teeth chattered, but he couldn't find the strength to run away. The shivering canine closed his eyes and held the vinegar bottle out in front. The larger Limax didn't seem as frightened as its smaller counterparts, but there was a noticeable quiver in its body. That's when the idea struck Gwen.
"They hate vinegar!" shouted Gwen in realization.
"Well, then they can't be all bad, can they?" said Trixie dryly. "But I suppose you're right. Muriel reacted badly to the vinegar in the kitchen and Eustace's skin burned when I threw that vinegar candy at him on the golf cart. All it takes is a little drizzle… Ben, can you hear me?" Trixie shouted across the cavern.
"Yeah, I hear you!" Heatblast shouted back, standing up from where the Limax tossed him.
"When I say 'Now', I want you to blast a fireball over the Limaxes head!" Trixie shouted her instructions; Heatblast returned his answer as a thumbs-up. "Courage, toss the vinegar as high as you can!"
The pink-furred dog regarded his human friend with a look of temporary confusion…but nonetheless nodded in agreement, pulled back his stubby arm, and tossed the vinegar bottle with all his might.
The Limax's multiple eyes followed the bottle of harmful liquid, its body rippling from being in close proximity of the material. Once the bottle was squarely above the Limax's head, Trixie shouted the signal ("NOW!") and Heatblast lobbed a small fireball to collide with the jug. The vinegar bottle exploded and all of its clear contents rained down over the Limax. With every drop of vinegar that touched its skin, the Limax bubbled and popped like boiling water, shrieking in pain and fear as its body slowly but surely dissolved into a murky puddle of green goop.
"See ya, slimeball!" said Heatblast.
Trixie was carrying out the last of the elderlies when the spacecraft began to power up and whatever remained of the Limax that survived the vinegar shower slipped inside before the door shut.
Trixie's Citrakayah transformation just about wore off as she set down the remaining pods next to the ones Gwen and Max carried out when the entire cavern began to rumble. The Limax's spacecraft's outer exterior glowed as it started to rise out of the ground, revealing that their star craft was a lot bigger than originally expected. The cavern echoed with the roar of the ship's engine and Courage and the Tennyson's knew they had to duck out of the way before they were turned to ash in the afterburners. The Limax's ship drove through the cavern ceiling, creating a massive hole that opened up into the desert sky, and then just as quickly vanished into space.
Courage and the Tennysons all let out relived sighs; Gwen leaning against one of the pods and Trixie just flopped on her back, too tired and sore to even move at this point. The girls wanted nothing more than to just stay where they are and drift off into unconsciousness – it had been a rough day for them. Unfortunately, their work was no done just yet.
"We should get them back to their condos so they'll think they never left," said Max, referring to the podded elderlies.
"Why?" Trixie whined. "Can't we just leave them here and let them work themselves out? I'm too tired…."
"Give me a few minutes," said Heatblast. "I'll see if Fasttrack can help out."
The next day came too soon for Trixie's liking – she was still tired and sore from all the investigative work she had to do yesterday while Ben and Gwen had been stuffing their faces in vinegar (which she was going to hold over their heads for a very long time). But more than anything, she was sad that she would have to say good bye to Courage.
After the Limax were gone and everyone was safely back in their condos, the two of them had really bonded and shared stories with each other (Courage went through a surprising amount of ordeals back in that farmhouse – Trixie learned never to underestimate Nowhere again). But alas, every visit had to come to an end, and thus Trixie and the Tennysons stood outside of the Bagge's household saying their good byes.
"Don't be strangers," said Muriel, hugging Max.
"We won't," said Max assuring.
"Bye, Aunt Muriel," said Gwen.
"Thanks for everything," said Ben earnestly.
"It was no trouble, dearies," said Muriel happily. "Oh, I almost forgot. This is for the road." She reached behind her back and pulled out a cherry gelatin mold. "It's my special cherry vinegar gelatin. I made sure to put in extra vinegar just for you."
"Thanks, Aunt Muriel," said Ben and Gwen in grateful unison.
Trixie fought back the urge to gag, but found herself smiling all the same. While the Tennyson cousins hugged the old woman one final time, Courage walked up to Trixie and mustered up a smile as well.
"Sorry things got a little weird around here," Courage apologized.
"My whole life is nothing but weird," said Trixie jokingly.
"Yeah, I know that feeling," Courage chuckled humorously. With another smile, he held out his paw and Trixie accepted it, shaking briefly. "You know, it's nice having someone to talk to that isn't trying to strangle me or eat me. Maybe we could talk again some time. Muriel still doesn't know how the internet works, but I'm learning fine. Maybe we can chat online so time."
"I'd like that," said Trixie. And without warning, she kneeled down and hugged the pink-furred dog, which he was all too happy to return. "See ya, Courage."
"Bye, Trixie," said Courage.
The Tennysons said their final good byes as they loaded up onto the Rust Bucket and rolled out onto the road again, though Trixie made sure to roll down the window and wave good bye to her new friends one last time. Muriel and Courage waved in return until they vanished beyond the boundary of the retirement village.
That was it…everyone was safe…everything was back to normal….
"Hmm, I wonder whatever happened to Eustace," said Muriel curiously.
Courage's eyes went wide – he knew he had forgotten something.
Out into the endless reaches of space, Eustace screamed through the viewing glass of the Limax's ship as it sailed through the black ocean of stars.
"Stupid dog!"
This turned out to be more Trixie-centric than I had originally anticipated, but I think that's a good thing in the end – gives Trixie more development as a character.
Trixie's power to communicate with animals stems from the Unitrix's ability to absorb animal powers, but not a function that Azmuth had intended – this is a result of Trixie's unconscious ability to learn and evolve. At this stage in her life, Trixie can only communicate with animals that possess above average intelligence like Courage and not animals that act solely on instinct, which is why she could not communicate with the Kraken in the previous chapter. As she gets older, this power will become more refined, but in her current state, it has limited capabilities.
Next episode: Hunted (featuring some surprise guests)