Galactic Shift Extend

by Seanzilla1988

A familiar Beastkin goes through a familiar abandoned Cauldron. However, she doesn't end up in another timeline, but Bellwood, home to a teen with a watch he wears on his arm that can change his shape to save the world from harm.

103. Growing Chaos

SZ: Back to it with our crew's adventure in the Anur system…and last we checked, things are not looking good with Zy'Skar and Dark Dan's return

Z0: Yeah things got crazy, wait was that my fault?

GT: It was October…so yes.

Z0: You can't hold me accountable for Halloween Z0, he's my full chaotic nature uninhibited, also he's an idiot.

GT: Fair, fair. *sees the readers* Oh, hello. Uh…May as well warn you folks about something for this chapter: bad acne. Okay, we own zilch aside from our own ideas, so let's get started!

SZ: Yosha!

---

The Omni-Phantom Team was safe aboard Resolute, their escape from Zs'Skayr's Castle and the revival of said High Ectonurite Lord and the Evil Alternate timeline counterart of Danny, Dark Dan. All part of the machinations of Zs'Skayr's minions, as well as Hazama and Junko. To say it wasn't their best of missions, or even days would be underselling it. Not to mention it seems the Omnitrix reacted to Ben's concern and unlocked more new Aliens…and who knows what else. Speaking of that…

"Found it," Tetrax spoke, sitting in the main deck of the Resolute with Makoto and Noel, "It's from the planet Vesponica. A Male Vesponian says here their species have an extreme sexual dimorphism. The males are all large hulking brutes with powerful arm mounted stingers that rapidly regenerate, can be fired and secret a potent neurotoxin, their mandibles can cut through titanium, and are generally labeled as extremely dangerous species." he held up an image of several of the same Alien Ben turned into as they seemed to be attacking a giant scorpion creature…and tearing it apart.

"Yeesh…" Makoto cringed, "So…it's a predatory alien?"

"Actually, no." Tetrax explained, swiping to an image of said alien clinging to a tree…and drinking sap, "Their diet consists of sap, pollen, nectar, and honey. They actually can't process meat."

"Wait…wha…?" Noel blinked at that, "That big scary monster bug…only eats honey?"

"Wait, this is the boys…what do girls look like?" Makoto asked.

"..." Tetrax swiped to an image of a much shorter, at least 4 feet in height, humanoid Bee alien with a white fur like collar around its head, and smaller arms lacking the arm stingers entirely and having a regular bee abdomen as a tail…and compared to the male…actually looked downright adorable.

"...It's adorable. Why is it so adorable?" Noel whispered with stars in her eyes.

"See with these things, the females are the intelligent ones. They handle most things such as controlling their food supply, interacting with other races, and regular acts to keep their society functioning. However their world is ripe with powerful beasts and predators. So to defend their mates, the males evolved to be powerful brutes that can destroy any threat to their homes, mates, and children," Tetrax explained, "The females relied on their brutish mates to defend their homes, and the males relied on their intelligent mates to maintain their home and guide them." he explained, "It's possible that Ben in this form does the same. He knew Makoto was probably in a state of stress and anxiety…so he went into full defense mode. Or…Attack mode…"

"So…don't use this form unless Makoto is around," Noel stated, "Or…at all…it's scary…"

"But powerful," Tetrax explained, "These things are so ferocious, even the Tetramands don't want to mess with them."

"Yikes," Makoto winced at that.

"So…what else could be in this Survival Playlist?" Noel asked.

"Uh…well, I'm not sure. A lot of aliens could be considered extremely survival based," Tetrax spoke, "Look at me, for example. I'm made of crystals, I don't need to breathe, eat or even sleep like you guys." he pointed out, "But given what he got, and the fact I've rarely seen him become Arthropod like aliens…"

"Probably more insects," Sam guessed as she walked over.

"Well…Arthropods aren't exclusively insects, also Arachnids, crustaceans and other life forms with exoskeletons." Tetrax explained.

"Oh…so maybe…"

"GAAAH!" Ben's voice screamed, startling the girls.

"Boyfriend in danger!" Makoto called out as she ran off towards the source of his screaming, just as another scream could be heard.

---

Let's rewind time just a bit for some further context. See, at the same time our heroes were resting, healing, and planning…The Castle Zs'Skayr was in the midst of moving on with their plans and machinations as it were.

"Adjust the energy," Zs'Skayr ordered as two tesla coil like machines blasted purple electricity into a item held aloft by metal spikes, "No, higher, we need to reactivate cellular life entirely," he ordered.

"Yes master!" Dr. Viktor nodded adjusting a dial.

"So what's with the machine, Skayr?" Dark Dan questioned as he leaned against a nearby wall, "Personally, I'd like to go pursuit mini me and Tennyson, but something tells me this involves those 'Vladites' the Despair Bear was talking about."

"Yes, my intent is to clone and remake them, of course as subservient to me. As a sort of attack beast," Zs'Skayr explained, "They were a deadly predator, and using one against Tennyson and his lot will be most useful."

"Bringing something back to life just to turn it into a mindless slave? I like your style," Dark Dan laughed, "So what science nonsense will do that?"

"Sadly, science is not fast enough," Zs'Skayr spoke, "So, thankfully, that green haired fellow borrowed a certain magical item from another dimension to speed it along. Hopefully, the stupid brat who calls that world home won't bother us," he sighed at what he said before pointing as a flash of pink light went off in the middle of the lab.

"Ah crap…we forgot to shield the place from detection from the bitch!" Junko snapped with a delirious grin on her face.

"Not it!" Hazama laughed.

"..." Dark Dan raised a brow at Monokuma.

"Eh…We love Despair, even if it's on us! Upupupupu!" Monokuma snickered.

"Zs'Skayr!" Charmcaster's voice declared as the light faded, revealing her as she aimed an opened hand at the Ectonurite.

"I'm sorry, and you are…?"

"Here to reclaim the Alpha Rune," she frowned.

"My apologies, dear child. I have no idea what you are referring to…" Zs'Skayr stated, the evil Ectonurite was just toying with her at this point.

"It is an object as old as time itself, where all magic flows," Charmcaster stated, "It is the key to the true name of my realm, and the source of ultimate power! And it! Is! Mine!"

"...Oh you mean this Alpha Rune," Zs'Skayr grinned as he opened his cloak up a bit, revealing a piece of stone with a glowing purple marking on it, "I'm not quite ready to give it up just yet."

"...So be it," Charmcaster grinned as her eyes began to glow, her hands being engulfed in pink light as the wind began to pick up, "I am Charmcaster, Daughter of the Pathfinder, Conqueror of Agrecia, ruler of Legerdomain, and I…"

*BAM!*

"Apparently won't shut up," Junko muttered, tapping her bat on her shoulder as Charmcaster fell to the floor unconscious.

"...snkr!" Dark Dan began to snicker a bit, "I'm sorry, but the timing of that…"

"I know, right~?" Junko giggled, "Ah~ Interrupting declarations like that is just so thrilling~!"

"Well…I expected her to disappoint…Toss her out with the trash. She's stinking up the castle," Zs'Skayr sighed.

"...or…" Dark Dan began as he floated over and whispered, "We could use that rune of yours to dump her on Tennyson…"

"Hmm…I like it," Zs'Skayr noted before waving his hand, causing Chamcaster to vanish in a flash of pink light.

"Huh…To think such a tiny little thing like this has that much power in it," Hazama noted, twirling a butterfly knife in one hand, "Then again…lots of big things come in small packages."

"Like me!" Monokuma declared…before Junko literally punched his head into his body, "...Mhmhmphmhpmh (Well that was just rude)."

"Just get your stupid kids to spy on them, you idiot bear…"

"Mmhmhmhm…"

---

Which brings us to the Bathroom the Resolute, auto assembled for the human guests so as to have a proper place to clean and take care of themselves. Sadly, it was just the one to be shared by multiple teenagers; but, that wasn't the issue at the moment. No, the issue was one Ben Tennyson, who had been feeling rather…funny…since his new transformation. Lo and behold, this morning he awoke to a scareL a massive facial blemish forming on his right cheek. With 'huge' maybe underselling its size, Ben, like any boy in his late teens who hoped puberty had run its course of this, felt mortified. He resisted the urge to pop as he gently poked and prodded the blemish…or zit as it bluntly was. Really not wanting to make it worse…but wanting to see how bad this was, that is till a bright pink flash went off behind him, making him look to see a confused and recently awoken Charmcaster.

"GAAAH!" He screamed.

"What's happening!? Who is trying to kill us now!?" Skurd panicked as he slid out of his resting spot of the space under the Omnitrix, "Gah! Random Pink Goth!"

"Ch-Charmcaster?!" Ben exclaimed, reaching for a towel as he used it to cover himself…despite being clothed, "How and why?!"

"..." Charmcaster said nothing as she held up a small stitched up sack, "Who's that? That's supposed to be Ben Tennyson…Well how should I know where he got that freakishly large zit?"

"Zit? What's she-OH MY LORD!" Skurd snapped upon seeing the blemish, "Dear boy, your face is about to explode!"

"...Right…" Ben muttered, deciding it'd be best to wrap the towel around his face like a mask, "Uh…Charmcaster? Did you mean to teleport to the Anur System? Because Gwen isn't around here and…"

"Hm? Gwen? No, no, no. Not here for her," Charmcaster replied.

"Yeah…right…" Ben sighed.

"Wha…I have a life outside your cousin!" Charmcaster gasped.

"That implies you have a life, crazy magic hermit lady." Ben replied.

"I'm not crazy. I'm just…unique," Charmcaster retorted….before speaking to her stitched up sack once more, "Oh don't look at me. You're the weird one here."

"My point proven," Ben sighed before flinching as the door was kicked in.

"Ben! What happened, and…who's the pink emo lady?" Makoto spotted Charmcaster, "And why is she in the bathroom with my boyfriend?"

"...I swear this ain't what it looks like," Ben instantly defended.

"Who's the squirrel?" Charmcaster raised a brow..before whispering to her sack, "Well of course she doesn't look like a chimera…least I don't think so…"

"Oh! You're Hope, aren't you?" Noel asked as she poked her head in.

"?! How did you know that name?" Charmcaster asked.

"Hi," Ben replied, "We've fought you like a lot. We put all the info down."

"...Huh?" Charmcaster held the bag up to her ear, "...Wait, what?" she looked at Noel and blinked several times, "Wow. You, uh…You have a very strong flow to ya."

"I choose not to understand what you mean on account of you being criminally insane," Noel replied with a smile.

"I am not crazy!" Charmcaster snapped, "Oh…me getting offended means you win."

"Yes," Noel nodded with a smile, "Now out of the bathroom, crazy lady, or my sword will pull you out by his trunk!"

"Your what?" Charmcaster blinked before another scream went off, "?"

"Dude, what's wr-AHH!" Tucker's voice yelped as a green flash went off in one of the other rooms.

"...oh now what…?!" Ben groaned.

---

Needless to say, Danny was dealing with his own issues at the moment. For one...one half of his room was covered in ice while the other was covered in burn marks and bits of fire…and Tucker was caught right in the middle as he stood in a perfectly shaped outline of him in the middle of the room.

"Wh…wh…what a…ACHOO!" Danny sneezed as he let out a gust of cold air, further freezing one part of the room, "AHH! Oh come on!" he snapped as he ended up throwing an ectoplasmic fireball at the part he froze, causing it to melt and explode part of the wall, "..."

"Danny, is everything…all…" Sam began as she ran past the hole…before she began to step back and saw the condition of Danny's room, "?! Whoa now…I know you like to test out tricks with your ghost powers, but…"

"I wasn't testing anything, my powers just went crazy when I woke up, my ice powers are making me feel cold, then the fire makes me feel like I'm cooking in my own suit, and they keep swapping so its like I'm constantly uncomfortable…and I won't even get into what's going on with my nose! One nostrils fire the other ice!"

"And anger…don't forget the explosive…" Tucker paused as he coughed up a bit of smoke, "Anger…and fire breath…"

"I'm sorry, man. Just…something's up with me!" Danny groaned.

"Could be you're unlocking a new power," Sam guessed, "Remember when you were starting to freeze literally when you unlocked your ice ones?"

"This is pretty much exactly like that," Danny deadpanned.

"But not to this extreme," Tucker pointed out.

"I know, but still…!"

"Dude, is everything…" Ben began as he and the others hurried over…before moving back towards the hole in the wall, "?!"

"Wh-?! AHH! DUDE!" Danny exclaimed once he saw Ben's face.

"The heck happened in here/to you?!" Ben and Danny exclaimed in unison as they pointed at one another.

"I'm amazed Tetrax isn't mad," Sam muttered.

"He's honestly done worse," Ben noted, "It's Gluto who gets mad."

"!?" they heard gurgling as Gluto drove his little harness up to the wall, his little hands going to his face in panic as he gurgled something. He then launched one of his good tendrils and snagged Danny by the face before yanking him through the hole and dragging him off.

"Uh…he said into the quarantine brig," Ben translated before yelping as one of his tendrils grabbed Ben and pulled him off, "Me, too, apparently!"

"...Yeah, I'm just as lost as you are," Charmcaster whispered to her bag.

"Anyone else confused about that?" Sam asked.

"No, it's in her file. The bag is a sentient item," Noel replied.

"But does she talk to it like a looney?" Makoto asked.

"Uhm…no, that isn't in the file," Noel spoke, "She might actually have gone looney all alone in her dimension."

"Gluto, where do you keep the shovels!?" Makoto called out, "Just in case."

"Well you're rude for being Ben's…" Charmcaster paused as she looked Makoto over, "...pet?"

"Girlfriend, and I'm going to pretend you didn't say that…"

"...Right? Didn't expect for Ben to be that type," Charmcaster whispered to her bag.

"..." Makoto held her hand out as Gluto's tentacle dropped a large…serrated shovel into her hands, "Ooh~ combat shovel."

"On second thought, I see why they're together," Charmcaster muttered with wide eyes.

"You pushed the wrong buttons, crazy lady," Noel stated, "Suffer~" she smirked as Mari crawled up to her shoulder as Charmcaster tripped on her now tied together boots.

"And banzai~" Makoto cheered, swinging as a loud clang filled the ship followed by a few more.

---

"Okay…I get why we have a strange pink lady in my holding cell, with the anti-magic settings on. But…what did Ben and your buddy do?" Tetrax asked as everyone gathered in the brig.

"Is magic that common in space?" Noel couldn't help but ask.

"Annoyingly so," Tetrax shrugged, "But I honestly couldn't care. Why are two of our strongest locked up?"

"Dude, I'm as lost as you are. I was half-asleep and checking on Archie 'till I heard Makoto beat this lady's face in." Naoto shrugged..

"Well I went to check on Danny this morning and next thing I knew? I nearly got frozen/burnt by him," Tucker explained, "Ben? I'm…not so sure."

"Bad case of acne?" Noel guessed.

"So bad he had to cover his entire face with a towel?" Makoto raised a brow.

"Babe, you don't want to see it," Ben advised.

"Trust him, you really don't!" Skurd exclaimed, "I'm a single cell organism, essentially living slime, and I'm disgusted by it."

"...Moving on," Tetrax muttered before looking at Naoto, "How's that scout doing?"

"Archie should be fine. He should still be in his room recovering after what happened at 'Castlevania,'" Naoto explained, "But now we have more problems."

"Yeah…that Evil Ghostfreak and Dark Dan are back and working together," Makoto sighed, mentally trying to remind herself that Junko wasn't here.

"Don't forget the two crazy people!" Charmcaster spoke up.

"You are not part of this conversation," Sam sighed.

"I feel like a part of it," she argued, "Besides, I got beef with Zs'Skayr as well."

"Why?"

"I…" Charmcaster began before blinking, "...I…can't remember."

"You can't?" Noel asked.

"No. I remember teleporting to the castle…then nothing," she admitted before speaking to her bag, "Well obviously they did something to remove that part of my memory…it can't be as simple as a blow to the head."

"Considering you're out here and not in Legerdomain ruling it…He probably took something important from there that you need to get back for it," Noel guessed, earning looks from the others, "...What? Funkfreed wanted to read about it and then Mari, Lachan, Bluey, and Drei got interested."

"Noel, how many files on my adventures have you read?" Ben asked.

"...All of them…" Noel admitted.

"All of them?"

"All of them…"

"...okay, back on topic!" Ben exclaimed as he clapped his hands together, "So Zs'Skayr and Danny's Future Evil self have something they stole from Charmcaster…and she has no idea what it was since she's dealing with selective amnesia…or being crazy again."

"I'm not crazy…!" Charmcaster growled a bit.

"You swapped bodies with my cousin in an attempt to jack my body."

"That didn't go as planned…and didn't appreciate you leaving me in a jail with women that hated my guts because of what Gwen did in my body," Charmcaster argued.

"Evil, tried to kill us…and evil." Ben argued, counting with his fingers, "You don't earn sympathy when all you do is lie and hurt people. Also, you made a machine that eats souls once and I'm pretty sure I died to that since the Ultimatrix didn't have the failsafe."

"WHAT!?" Makoto and Noel gasped.

"Not the shovel!" Charmcaster panicked at their tone and looks.

"Yeah, we're not letting her out," Sam sighed, "Can't trust 'talks to the purse' crazy. That's an unflattering crazy."

"Ah!" Charmcaster gasped at that, "Rude…"

"Yeah, that was the point. What's the matter? Magic lessons not leave a chance for social interactions?" Sam asked, "So let's do this the simple way: give us a good reason to help you, and if you talk to the purse, that's negative points. Now go on, magical girl, get to convincing."

"You've expanded your entourage to some very snippy people, Ben," Charmcaster huffed.

"It's why I like my friends," Ben replied, "Now can we get a fix for the acne that makes me look like a mutant from the Hills Have Eyes…?"

"I might have a theory on that," Tetrax spoke, "Last time I met with Azmuth, he told me of a few things about the Omnitrix for our next meeting with Ben. But I kinda just taped him and saved the files to the ship's computer. He tends to go…long. Gluto is looking and should have results in no time. Danny? I'll be honest…I haven't a clue what's wrong with you, so…I sent a long range message to Plumber HQ to get in touch with your parents."

"Ah man…calling my folks that I'm sick…" Danny sniffled.

"Well we gotta figure out what's wrong with you, man," Tucker stated.

"I know, I know…"

"For now. we'll keep you in there. That cell is immune to extremes in temperature and is grounded against phasing abilities. So you won't damage anything or suddenly phase through the floor," Tetrax explained, "I'm pretty sure we can let Ben out. As I understand it, your age group of humans often suffer horrendous sudden mutations at this age, a horrible affliction known as puberty."

"...Yeah, no, that's pretty accurate," Ben muttered.

"I wish I could understand it, but we Petrosapiens just…grow bigger as we age," Tetrax shrugged, "But it doesn't seem to be anything besides horrible skin blemishes…though they are…disturbing to think of and look at so…" he opened the cell and slammed Ben's helmet on, "Just keep that on, okay?"

"Oh trust me…I'm not planning on taking it off until this passes," Ben assured.

"And here I thought you didn't care for such things." Makoto teased.

"Haha…" Ben rolled his head, "Anyway, lets focus on the psycho who almost tossed the natural order out of whack on a whim…"

"Well it didn't even work so no need to get so upset." Charmcaster muttered.

"Your Evil Ex wasn't much of a fun time either." Ben added, "6 more and you got a story all its own to tell…"

"Hey…my taste in men isn't that bad…" Charmcaster complained.

"You dated Michael Morningstar…" Ben sighed, "And he used to dress like a rejected Dr. Doom."

Charmcaster looked at her bag, "Well…I don't get it…but if you're that upset, it seems accurate." she muttered.

"Come to think of it…he vanished from the police car after he got owned by an actually scary and powerful magic lady," Ben put his hands on his hips as he leaned forward, "Anything you'd like to say, Charmcaster?"

"Answer him, crazy lady, or I'm asking for the mining pickaxe," Makoto leaned against Ben.

"Did you get smarter?" Charmcaster couldn't help but ask.

"Nah, I've always been good at this, I just never tried 'cause I honestly didn't take you seriously; however, I'm the only leader for the gang here…so unfortunately for me, that means I need to be the serious Ben who saved the world and yada-yada, I've spoken about it before. Now start talking or I call a magic lady I know will make you talk." Ben sighed, "And stop talking to the bag. It's getting annoyingly creepy."

"It's not even a cute bag…" Noel muttered.

"And you'd know what cute is to a spellcaster?" Charmcaster questioned.

"Uh…they know magic." Ben pointed to Makoto and Noel, "In their original world everything runs on magic…and it's an alternative future timeline."

"It's a whole thing, worlds all altered and new things are around," Makoto chuckled and waved off the implications since they have spoken of this so much it felt routine by now, "But yeah, magic is common now, not even special anymore."

"The harsh thing is that's literally true," Naoto added, "The college Ben's cousin goes to even has entire classes and majors for it…"

"Wait, it does?" Ben asked.

"Gwen told us in her last postcard," Noel pointed out.

"Not ringing any bells…weird. I have a PHD from there…you'd think I'd know that…" Ben muttered.

"Oh that can't be true," Charmcaster laughed, getting looks from everyone, "...Oh come on, really!? Him!?"

"Yup. I got one as well," Makoto added with her own grin, "It drove one of my best friends nuts in anger."

"Okay, seriously, who is she?" Charmcaster asked Ben, "I thought you were dating that Julie girl."

"Uh…yeah, not anymore. This is my girlfriend, soulmate, life partner, Makoto Nanaya," Ben introduced, "You've been locked away in your creepy magic world like a weird friendless hermit for so long, we've moved on with life. Had ups and downs, etc and etc." he waved his hand around, "Pretty much everyone has a life now…well…except you…"

"Harsh…" Charmcaster muttered.

"How long do you think it's been since we last saw you?" Ben asked.

"I don't know. A few months…?"

"Try little more than a year…" Ben sighed, "I should have figured, when the world got remade, Legerdomain wasn't as effected."

"The world got what?!"

"Oh yeah. Ben reforged the entire universe as Alien X AKA a Celestialsapien," Makoto pointed to him, "Bet you didn't know he could turn into basically a god, huh?"

"Why didn't you use that to stop me then?" she asked.

"Weren't worth it and had him locked at the time with a pair of keys," Ben bluntly replied, "But yeah, things have changed a lot. Maybe try visiting the neighbors, you shut in," he sighed as she held the bag up, "Okay…who are you talking to, really? And don't say the bag. I already picked up each time I say something honest about that dork Darkstar, you hold the bag up as if it's offended; so, he's in the bag, isn't he?"

"You could not have…oh…you actually are smart and I'm realizing you act like an idiot 'cause you never took me as a threat." Charmcasrter sighed in realization, "Wait, even as a kid?"

"No, I was just a goofy 10 year old…" Ben chuckled, "Ah…but I did still kick your butt. And so did Gwen and half the times she did, she didn't have powers. She just karate kicked you and you fell over like a sack of hammers."

"Ah. Squishy wizard," Makoto shook her head, "Should probably give her Fairy Tail as a peace gift."

"W-Wait…you mean I could just kick her and she'd fall over?" Noel asked.

"Noel, you are way stronger than an 11 year old girl…you're stronger than most grown men…" Ben reminded, "You would put her into a coma if you kicked her upside the face like Gwen used to."

"Aw, thank you," Noel smiled.

"Can I take a whack at her?" Sam asked, "I'm just a normal girl."

"Why does everyone want to hit me?!" Charmcaster complained.

"You have a very punchable face," the girls all replied in unison.

"Mmm…" Charmcaster pouted.

"I'm amazed you haven't tried flirting, Tuck," Danny noted.

"Eh, I'd rather not get put into a magic bag," Tucker replied, "Not after that time with the stage magician with the ghost bag."

"Touche, and here I thought you liked crazy girls." Danny joked.

"Hey, crazy is acceptable, evil magic…nah man," Tucker chuckled.

"So Dorkstar is in your purse? How and why?" Ben moved the topic along..

"My guess, based on what was written about the final time you went to Legerdomain before the original Omni Team disbanded? …She's still upset with him about using her," Noel guessed, "Which…I can't really say I'm against. Hell hath no fury as that of a woman in love scorned."

"...Well she's not wrong about that," Charmcaster muttered.

"In hindsight? When a guy starts glowing and glittering…kind of a sign that he's a sucky boyfriend…" Ben muttered before pointing at Makoto, who had opened her mouth, "Those are powers unique to alien forms I take, not Michael Morningstar."

"Eh, fair enough," Makoto shrugged.

"...ugh. Will you at least help me get whatever Zs'skayr took from me back or not?" Charmcaster groaned.

"I don't know, you're kind of an unpredictable nutjob." Ben spoke, "I was gonna go kick his non-existent but anyway, so what are you bringing to the table exactly?"

"Are you making me barter to help you?!" Charmcaster gasped, "I respect how it's actually almost a little cruel."

"I can still call a scary magic lady who will seal you into a crystal ball and lock you in her closet." Ben offered, "Makoto, you still got that magic thing to call our magic neighbor lady right?"

"Indeed I do," Makoto smirked.

"You suck all the fun out of this and keep it for yourself." Charmcaster grumbled.

"Hey, my family has been kicking your butt since I was ten and you were…like what twice my age?" Ben smirked.

"I wasn't that much older than you!"

"Still lost to a 10 and 11 year old." Ben replied, "Now what's your offer to be a temp on the team?"

"Hah…fine! You help me, I help you, I get what I want and then I go home." Charmcaster offered.

"...what if I want the Goober?" Ben asked.

"The Goober?" Charmcaster blinked.

"Don't know what it is, what it's called, so I'm just gonna call it a Goober. And what if when we find it, I want the Goober?" Ben asked.

"Why would you want it?!" Charmcaster gasped.

"I dunno…I have a secret armory of all my villains stuff I steal off them…maybe I can put it next to some of your Uncle's stuff I've kept," Ben replied, "Which, yes, I've raided your Uncle's place sometimes and stole his crap, like tons of magic books and goobers. He probably doesn't even know."

"You're trying to get me to tell you what it is," Charmcaster groaned.

"I do not believe you." Ben laughed, "Sides, we have some nasty enemies in that castle. What insurance do I have that you won't double cross me to get what you want?" he asked with a more serious tone, "So yeah, I don't like the idea of blindly trusting you to take what's yours and go home. Also you're petty and vindictive, so…what assurance do I have you won't betray me just for a laugh?" he asked again, "I've fought and paired up with way worse monsters then you. And the backstab always comes, so…what else you got?"

"...You could always have someone keep an eye on me," Charmcaster offered.

"I'LL DO IT!" Hobble exclaimed as he bolted over.

"Oh Charmcaster…" Ben shook his head, "Try a little better. I know…hand over the purse." he offered, "You don't need it for magic…but it has your stuff. So…fair's fair, you get your Goober and purse back…after we're done working together."

"...fine. Can't even use this stuff currently anyway," Charmcaster admitted before flinging the bag over to Ben, "Just an excuse to not listen to that manipulative prick."

"And I guess you can have Hobble as a bodyguard," Ben sighed, seeing the excited look in the little aliens eyes, "He's good with a gun, so he'll cover your back…Hobble, don't take that in a weird way!" he preemptively snapped.

"Y-yes sir!" Hobble saluted.

"Hah…being a leader is such a pain…" Ben sighed.

"But it is kinda hot to see you work," Makoto smirked.

"I curse my luck today…" Ben groaned, noting his helmet.

"I find it insulting that the entire time we've been fighting, you haven't treated me like a threat…" Charmcaster admitted, "Did that bastard know you could do this?" she looked at the purse.

"I mean…I whipped him into shape to fight a war with me…so…yeah he knew." Ben explained as he clipped the purse to his belt.

"Add another point to smacking him if we let him out of the bag," Noel muttered.

"...Deal."

---

"Ahh….so bored~" Monokid groaned as he and his siblings were hiding in an empty alleyway in town, "When can we cause some fucking chaos?!"

"Not yet! We…uh…" Monotaro paused in his pose, "...What were we doing again?"

"Ugh. Pops wanted us to spy on Tennyson and his crew," Monosuke explained as he adjusted his glasses, "Make sure they're not up to anything suspicious…"

=...= Monodam kept a pair of binoculars up to his eyes.

"You see anything yet, Monodom?" Monophanie questioned her robotic sibling, earning silence from him, "...I guess not…"

=...?!= Monodom tensed before he began to flail his arms a bit.

"What? Ya see them?!" Monotaro gasped as he and the others ran over and peeked through the binoculars…which resulted in them all bunched up together as they tried to look, "I think...I do see 'em!"

"I see the chicks! Hehehehehe…I hope they let me motorboat!" Monokid laughed.

"Why ask for a boat?" Monophanie asked.

"Not that kinda boat~"

"Oh! Lewd profanity!" Monophanie gasped.

"SHH! Quiet!" Monosuke hissed as he snatched the binoculars, peeking out the corner as he saw Ben and his team sneaking around, "Yeah…it's them…and they got that crazy magic chick with 'em, too."

"What's with the wrap around his head?" Monokid pondered.

"You idiot, he has a helmet on…what wrap!?" Monosuke complained, slapping Monokid.

"The one lightly peeking out his helmet," Monotaro pointed out.

"Ooh…must be hiding something humiliating," Monophanie guessed.

"But what? What say you, random furry danger noodle?" Monokid turned to Mari, wearing a fedora, as she chittered and extended her razor claws.

"..." Monosuke sighed as he took his glasses off and pinched where the bridge of his nose would be, "I'm surrounded by freakin' idiots…"

With a hiss, the genetically altered Mink pounced as the sounds of shredding and cries of pain came from the alien world greenery. A very content Mari the Mink soon jumped out and scurried along to reach her owner and climb back to her shoulder, fedora missing from her head.

"Oh Mari, where did you go? Did you need some exercise? You're such a good girl." Noel cooed, scratching her pet, "I wonder if you found something to hunt on this planet…?" Mari chittered in content from the affections.

"How has she tamed such a dangerous and ferocious predatory creature?" Charmcaster asked.

"Oh nonsense. Mari is an adorable fluffy angel!" Noel laughed as Mari nuzzled into her, "Silly, silly magical girl," Mari turned to Charmcaster and, with her tail, made the 'I'm watching you' gesture.

"I think she likes you," Ben teased, while Charmcaster stared at Mari with wide eyes.

"Careful. She likes to play-bite sometimes," Makoto added.

"Do you torment all your villains when they come to you for help Ben?" Charmcaster sighed.

"Just the ones who've caused me to die at least once." Ben chuckled, "Congrats you did what some of my worst enemies only dream of. That puts you in a special club with Vilgax."

"So…you really don't die." Charmcaster noted, "You might actually be the scariest man in the world."

"And because of that we have a world, now lets get to sneaking into Castle Creepy and steal your goober. Thankfully…I have no moral dilemma with stealing from evil jerks. Also…I really want to kick Zs'skayr's spectral hide around…and land a good one on Dark Dan for Danny."

"Well we can't stealth while he has a ghost allergic reaction." Sam sighed.

"Don't worry, I'll go in and make lots of noise with Charmcaster and Hobble. Makoto, you are in charge of the stealth team to get the Goober and not get noticed." Ben spoke up, "Though in the event the Goober is on someone's person…sneak attack and do lots and lots of damage for me, Babe."

"Ooh~! One of my favorite strategies~" Makoto grinned.

"They would be more focused on the Alien Shapshifter and Dangerous Magic Lady," Sam chuckled.

"And Hobble!" Noel added to try and include their friend.

"Hey, I'm just happy to be included," Hobble admitted, "This six man team is really effective."

"Why isn't the rest tagging along?" Charmcaster asked.

"Naoto and Tetrax need to stick around to guard the ship and Tucker's not a fighter; he's a tech expert." Ben explained, "Gluto is able to defend himself, but he's a pilot mostly."

"So it's just us then?"

"Pretty much," Makoto shrugged.

"As long as things don't get too crazy, we're here for a smash and grab in terms you understand," Ben taunted Charmcaster, "Sides worst comes to worse, I just turn into a walking nuclear reactor and flash fry the place."

"I hate that you're so good at this…" Charmcaster sighed.

"Years of practice."

"Mmm…"

"Anyway…time for me to sneak in," Ben spoke as he activated the Omnitrix, pressing down on it as he was engulfed in green light…as Swampfire took his place, "...huh. Swore I was going for Big Chill."

"Maybe you just smacked too hard again, Babe." Makoto offered, "Also thank you, space masks, for blocking that stink."

"Agreed," Noel spoke as she used her cape to cover Mari's nose.

"But I swear I'm getting better at not doing that," Swampfire groaned, "I even double-checked."

"He did pick the right icon, and did it like normal," Skurd added, "So…this is most odd. Perhaps it has something to do with the new Survival Playlist…or your sudden acne breakout?"

"My Acne?" Swampfire blinked, "Why would my zit make this happen?"

"Who knows, maybe it doesn't understand what it is?" Skurd shrugged.

"I've had zits before and still changed…actually my zits vanished after transforming…" Swampfire muttered, "I need to read that manual again…"

"Uhm…" Makoto grabbed her tail as she and Noel began looking through the fur, the latter pulling out a small smartphone sized tablet with a green screen, "Ooh!"

"I suppose the Omnitrix resets the lauric acid levels when you change." Noel muttered, "It does repair genetic damage, so it must reset you to average levels.'

"...know what? They vanished before…they might now," Swampfire muttered before stepping into an alleyway in the castle's outerwall, a green flash going off…before Ben with his helmet back on stepped out, "Nope...it actually made it worse."

"Okay…this might be some weird Omnitrix nonsense…" Makoto muttered.

"Great…now it's making me into a freak…I can never take off this cool helmet…I really am like Boba Fett now…" he groaned, "I choose to blame the evil wackos in this castle…"

"Me as well," Skurd added, "Oh they shall rue this day…"

"Why…?" Noel began to ask.

"Because I'd have to see his face each time he takes his helmet off."

"Hey…" Ben frowned at that.

"And you give me flack for speaking to my bag," Charmcaster deadpanned.

"Uh…Skurd's alive…this is a cheap sack of burlap you stitched a face onto." Ben argued.

"Exactly! You, rude woman, know thy place! Know it!" Skurd snapped.

"True..but know what the difference is?"

"What? You're crazy?"

"No…nobody else can hear my bag when he gets mouthy."

"Well thankfully I'm charming to listen to with my smooth and suave tacet tones…you…sound like an angry cat…" Skurd countered.

"You're right, Charmcaster, but at least my little buddy knows how to say a comeback. You're stuck listening to Dorkstar and his endless crying about how he used to look like a decent 8 in looks." Ben chuckled.

"Eh. He's more of a 6," Charmcaster shrugged.

'And you're a full 10…'' Hobble thought as he looked at her in a lovestruck manner.

"See? Slowly we are becoming friends," Ben chuckled, "I might just invite you to our New Years party, let you make friends who aren't magic rock golems."

"I don't need your pity," Charmcaster huffed.

"Fine, spend your life like a lonely friendless magic hermit," Ben replied, "Maybe you can find a boyfriend who's not a creepy paralel to horrible vampire romance books for weird teenage girls."

"I don't get your reference, but it seems especially harmful," Charmcaster admitted before noting the other half of their team was gone, "?! When did they…?'

"It's called Stealth…you know, the thing you and your uncle clearly knew nothing about…" Ben pointed out, "Otherwise, he would have stolen his magical goobers in secret rather than out in the open…" he smirked, "Also, we're the bait so thank you for loudly conversing with me, crazy witch lady."

"...I hate you," Charmcaster frowned just as a large group of pumpkin creatures began to move into the area.

"Thank you," Ben held up the Omnitrix before nodding to Skurd who headbutted the dial after he selected Arctiguana. However after a flash, once more Ben was Swampfire, "Wh-?! Oh come on!"

"Okay, I know that was the right choice that time," Skurd muttered.

"So it is a weird watch thing again, great…" Swampfire groaned.

"Don't worry, my lady! I will make sure you get t-" Hobble began dramatically…before he was literally pounded into the ground by one of the pumpkin creatures, "...to safety…"

(Hobble Own Count: 4)

"Hobble, you okay?" Swampfire asked while igniting his hands, "You're like…durable, right? Please be durable…"

"Finland~!"

"Eh, he seems fine," Charmcaster stated before summoning a barrier to block a strike from one of the pumpkin creatures.

"Well, he's a sharpshooter so…getting in the front might not have been the best idea…" Skurd muttered.

"Don't worry, buddy, I'll get you out." Swampfire spoke, shooting fire at the Pumpkin monsters, only for their heads to seemingly swallow the flames and ignite the innards, "Huh…fireproof plant freaks…I hate this place so much…" he clenched his fists and punched one through the head bursting it apart, "Seems kind of like a waste for them to be fireproof…but not smash proof."

"Evil Masterminds…who knows what nonsense they think of…" Skurd sighed, spreading along Swampfire's arms and molding them into Wildvine's arms as he grew sharp thorns and extended into long thorned whips.

"Works for me," Swampfire swung his arms and used the thorny vines to slice through the Pumpkin monsters, "Really hope no one tries to make this stuff into pumpkin pie."

"Don't give Noel ideas…" Skurd shuddered, "I don't want to picture what it looks like…"

"Smart call," Swampfire swung his whips up and then down to bisect several of the Pumpkin creatures only for more to grow in their place, "An ice alien would have been way more useful…"

"Well the Omnitrix seems to disagree," Charmcaster quipped as she did a cutting motion, sending out a cutting wave of mana as it sliced a few of the pumpkin creatures apart.

---

"Was it okay to just leave like that?" Noel asked as they scaled the walls of the castle, "It felt rude to leave like that."

"It's okay, Ben wanted to do a bit on the magic lady." Makoto cheered.

"Messing with your villains is a lot of fun." Sam chuckled in agreement, "Besides she's too noisy, ditching her to draw attention was the best idea. And I'm sure Ben is hyped to have a round two with Zs'Skayr and Danny's evil doppelganger."

"Boys and their fighting," Noel sighed.

"Hey. After what we had to deal with the first time with them? He more than deserves it," Makoto stated

"I know Zs'Skayr is probably the one Ben's worried about," Noel muttered, "In the files and from Magister Tennyson, I think Ben really sees him as one of his scarier enemies. Since he's an evil that essentially came out of him."

"Yeah…but that's not Ben's fault, that creep hitched a ride on his own DNA." Makoto argued.

"True…but still, this is personal for Ben….and we have to deal with that creepy….scary….nightmare fuel…." Noel began to trail off as she began to shake.

"Mari, cuddles," Makoto ordered.

Mari chittered as she wrapped around Noel's shoulders and nuzzled against her cheek. After a moment, Noel giggled with a content smile on her face while she returned the affection.

"And that's why we brought the cute pet that's a brave predator." Makoto smiled, "The Corgi is smart…but he's still just a corgi with little legs and a fluffy momo."

"Drei is a healthy and fast boy," Noel spoke up, "But…it's true he is still just a little corgi pup…Mari has superior survival instincts and abilities…also she deals with pests." she patted the hilt of Funkfreed, "And Funkfreed is a big, loveable sword that fights quite well no matter the occasion."

"Noel, you have the most diverse pets I've ever met…and I love that about you," Sam chuckled as they slipped in through an opened window leading into a hallway.

"She loves her pets and anything cute and adorable," Makoto grinned, "But I'm also glad that she's got three that are pretty good in their own ways of being able to handle themselves if need be."

"Genetically Enhanced Mink, Super Genius Corgi, and Magical Elephant Sword." Noel smiled, "The house also has a spectral bunny from another world and a cybernetically enhanced super kitty."

"Huh…The last one feels…" Sam softly began.

"Wait for it," Makoto whispered back.

"Now if only Max would stop overcharging her when she needs a bit of recharge because she keeps turning into a giant armored panther that reminds me of Battlecat from that He-Man cartoon Lachan likes watching," Noel sighed.

"Do you guys have a normal pet…like a goldfish?" Sam asked.

"No! No goldfish!" both panicked, making her jump.

Makoto was the first to calm, "Sorry, sorry…Just…very dangerous bad guy in Max's criminal roster has a 'pet' goldfish in his container that we do not allow to be harmed because the last time he lost it? Hoo boy…"

"He's normally quite peaceful in his cell when you don't try pointing out it's just a USB in the shape of a goldfish or switch it out with a fake," Noel added, "We'd normally give him a bit of an early release for good behavior, but he has to live in a suit filled with toxic chemicals to live which can come out of ports on his body that can cause harmful effects on anyone else…including a purple-skinned zombie outbreak when he first became who he is now." she shuddered as Mari nuzzled her with Funkfreed going full elephant to gently pet her head, "Kajun makes the folders too detailed when she has to fill them since she was there on a tour…"

"Yikes…duly noted," Sam muttered.

"We've had to deal with him a few times due to his temper tantrums," Makoto sighed, "He's such a pain unless Max or Ben are around to knock him silly. Since well…they are immune to the toxic chemicals…unlike us."

"I think I take for granted that ghost powers are more magical than regular scientific cause and effect…" Sam muttered, "Heck, there's one ghost that you can't see unless you're a kid at heart."

"So Ben and Danny?" Noel asked.

"Jazz, too, but that was a lot of work on Danny's end," Sam replied.

"Annoyed her into a child tantrum?" Noel asked.

"Yeah, how'd you figure?" Sam had to ask.

"Ben's done the same thing to Gwen and Tsubaki." Makoto explained.

"Ahh…gotcha," Sam nodded.

"Ben's normally a slacker and prankster, so seeing him be so authoritative is…rather new for us." Noel admitted.

"And hot…" Makoto giggled dreamily at the memory.

"Agreed…" Noel whispered before tensing, a blush forming on her cheeks before she quickly shook it off, 'No no! Bad thoughts! Focus on the mission…'

"Anyway while Ben's being loud and distracting, we should find the Goober, anything glowing and or magical." Makoto before pausing, "That narrows it down to everything!" she whisper-shouted to herself to not give their position away.

"Well I happen to remember some of the runes and drawings Ben made of magical stuff from Legerdomain." Noel explained.

"Pictures?" Makoto and Sam blinked.

"He has an Eidetic Memory," Noel explained, using her badge to produce a holographic image of drawn runes and images of a stone with purple markings, "Maybe it will have stuff like this written all over it."

"Better than nothing," Sam admitted

"What was with the rock?" Makoto asked.

"From what I read, it's known as the Alpha Rune," Noel explained, showing the image of a stone with purple mark resembling a trident ending in a large ring at the bottom, "Gwen went into great detail of it…but it was wordy so Ben's blurb at the end sums it up. Ehem: 'Basically a source of raw magic power, and part of the Map of Infinity, leave it in the hands of the crazy witch lady, better than another Aggregor'…."

"Oh…that guy." Makoto muttered.

"Someone bad?" Sam asked.

"Ben considers him one of the villains if he ever sees again…he is going to wreck so hard…they won't be able to cause trouble again." Makoto explained.

"That's a short-short list," Noel added, "So far only him and Vilgax are this…uhm…"

"Anger inducing?" Sam asked as they began moving.

"Good enough," Noel nodded, "But yes, chances are…oh maybe that's what was taken." she realized.

"So…basically an Infinity Gem but of magic…" Makoto groaned, "No way King Creepy put that on a pillow and left it under a glass dome, he has to be wearing it like a trophy…and using it."

"Meaning it'll be hard to get it back from him," Sam noted

"So how do we get it off him?" Noel asked, looking to Makoto for a clever plan.

"...Hmm…" Makoto mused, "We need to somehow get the drop…on a ghost. Noellie, still got them grenade things?"

"I always restock them when I leave the ship," Noel confirmed with a determined look and showed one, "These are Solar Grenades, designed specifically to combat against nocturnal enemies or ones who are photosensitive such as Ectonurites when the second skin is removed."

"Could let us get a good sneak attack off on Crypt Keeper and steal the rock." Makoto mused.

"That's a good idea," Sam nodded, "Makoto, if you see the creepy trio try to interfere…don't be afraid to hold back as we bolt out of there."

"You got it." Makoto gave a thumbs up.

---

"They just never end." Swampfire sighed as he whipped another Monster, splitting it in half, "Zs'Skayr!" he called out, "Come out here and fight me, you skeletal freak!"

"Ben!" they turned to the castle as Zs'Skayr floated up, "I'm surprised you came back so soon…and so understaffed."

"I beat you as a 10 year old." Swampfire declared, "I have gotten way stronger since then. And as you can see I'm here to make sure you know that."

"As proud as ever, Ben, such a shame you never got smarter," Zs'Skayr cackled.

'Knowing what I do now…I realize he's literally been treating this as a game…' Charmcaster rolled her eyes, 'Gods forbid the fool who awakens his true anger…might need to take up that friendship offer.'

"Hey…I'll have you know I have a degree from a very prestigious college, thank you very much," Ben snorted.

"You timed out again," Charmcaster pointed out.

"No, I…" Ben began before quickly looking himself over, "..."

"He's rather apt on your intelligence, my boy," Skurd sighed.

"Shut it," Ben sighed.

"Oh, Ben…you truly never-GH!" Zs'Skayr grunted as he was blasted back by a beam.

"Oh right…I know how to fight without Aliens now…bet you didn't know that, huh?" Ben lowered his laser gun, "And I learned how to shoot from a lot of good people. But I bet that's weird to you, relying on others rather than controlling them. But then again if I was going to fail at taking over the world like you…well I'd think it would be evil 101 to have someone to blame…"

"You upstart little pest…" Zs'Skayr growled, "I will enjoy devouring your soul…" he grunted as a ball slammed into him before exploding in orange smoke that quickly filled the area, "Gah…what…what is this!?"

"Skurd!" Ben called out as Skurd covered his arm and made another Wildvine limb that Ben swung around and extended like a rope around Zs'Skayr and began trying to pull him back, "Same orange stuff that removes ghostly phasing, now…come on down here, and let's see if you can do anything without being a ghost."

"Ghhh…" Zs'Skayr growled as he snapped his claws and his minions appeared at the Castle's Doors, "KILL HIM!"

"Of course you go with that option," Ben muttered.

"At the very least if we get the same thing again we'll be fine." Skurd sighed, retracting the vine as he slapped the Omnitrix and turned Ben into Swampfire again….only something was different this time he looked bigger in terms of physicality, his arms looked larger with what seemed to be thorns growing from the knuckles of his fingers, and the red petals on his head growing and melting together to frame his head and give it much more definition, "Interesting…"

"Well at least Swampfire is an alien I'm good with." he ignited his fist with fire as he charged and punched the large Loboan away, "Down, old yeller!" he grunted, punching him again before palming his face and unleashing a large cloud of methane right into his snout, making him yelp at the stink and double over.

"Curse you, Tennyson!" Viktor snapped as he aimed his hand and blasted purple electricity at Swampfire.

"Yeah yeah," he cupped his hands together forming a massive ball of fire, "I've heard it all before, sometimes with more style," he thrust his hands out while cupped together to unleash a massive condensed stream of fire into the Transylian and rocketing him back and into a wall, "Don't think I don't know how your powers work, I've been you guys before, and I don't just mean for Halloween." with that vines grew from his back and wrapped around the bandages that tried to grab him before tying the Thep Khufan who tried it into a giant ball.

Viktor growled as he broke free and rushed only to have his punch blocked. Swampfire raised his hand as he began secreting a mud like substance before slamming his palm into Viktor's face and rubbing the mud deep into his eyes. Swampfire smirked as Viktor wretched and gagged in disgust, before the Methnosian swung and landed an uppercut to the Transylian. Swampfire swung punch after punch to Viktor's face making him groan in pain before the Methnosian just held his hand up to his face and unleashed a blast of fire that pushed him back and to the ground. Swampfire stomped his foot as roots burst from the ground and bound Viktor and pulled him down into the ground partially.

"Wow…" Charmcaster muttered, "He kicks ass…"

"Yep, that's Ben for ya." Hobble chuckled, "Never get in the middle of his path while working…especially if you are a car."

"Oh come on, does everyone call me a Vehicle Destroyer?!" Swampfire complained as he ignored the Loboan punching his claws through his chest, his body closing around his arm before his body inverted to face him, "Hang on," he ignited his hands and bashed them on the sides of his face making an explosion on impact. He then clapped his hands together and brought them down on his head slamming him snout first into the ground, "You done?" he asked, earning a groan of pain and defeat, "Yeah, you're done." he kicked him aside, "Alright Skayr-y…you're next for this buttkicking, or send another minion I can beat up for fun."

"Grrr…" Zs'Skayr growled as he raised his hand as it began glowing with mana.

"Mana? You can't use mana…Ectonurites don't have any…unless…Son of….Charmcaster!" he snapped, "He has the Alpha Rune?! How did you lose that you idiot!" he shouted in pure anger.

"Gah!" she flinched at his sudden the anger, "It's not my fault!" she panicked hiding behind a trembling Hobble.

"Do you have any idea what that thing is?!" Swampfire growled.

"Of course I do! I just forgot that's what the Goober was…sorry!" Charmcaster replied.

"I should punch you in the face…with a rock!" Swampfire shook his fist at her.

"I said sorry! I didn't intend to lose it!" she tried to defend herself.

"I left it with you cause you'd never lose it…and look what happened…you lost it! I have half a mind to keep it in my closet and away from all you power hungry maniacs!"

"Wh-?! Its not my fault!" Charmcaster snapped, "I literally could not remember what he stole from me! In fact…he probably cast a spell on me to make me forget!"

"Admittedly nope. You just have a weak skull," Zs'Skayr admitted.

"..." Swampfire glowered at Charmcaster after hearing that.

"I…well…you're gonna keep it aren't you?"

"If not for the fact I probably can't break it without something bad happening…" Swampfire admitted, "Maybe if you actually help me fix this…I'll consider letting you keep it…and go home…on house arrest."

"...deal," Charmcaster replied after a moment before she sent out a cutting wave of Mana at Zs'Skayr, only for him to deflect it with his scythe.

"Can I ever have a day here where things don't get worse?" Swampfire asked while shooting fireballs at Zs'Skayr.

---

"...Oh you gotta be kidding me…" Makoto deadpanned as the girls looked at the many…many…many doors decorating the long hallway before them.

"Did there used to be this many doors last time?" Noel sighed in exasperation.

"I'm guessing this is the work of whatever the Goober is," Sam guessed, rubbing her chin in thought, "I mean, I remember there being zero doors the last time we were in a long hallway here. Just spikes, spikes, deadly traps, and a giant rolling ball of death after us."

"Ahh…right…I think I'd rather take the doors…provided this doesn't become that bit from Courage the Cowardly Dog…" Noel groaned.

"What bit?" Makoto asked.

"Open door…Jumpscare, slam door, scream, and then repeat several times," Noel explained.

"Oh~"

"Oh come on. There's no way it's that over exaggerated," Sam stated as she opened up a door…and immediately closed it when a large venus flytrap roared at her, "Then again, I could be wrong…"

"Oh come on. That's just a coincidence," Makoto huffed as she opened another door and ended up getting roared at by a giant reptilian kaiju about to breathe atomic flames upon her before she slammed it shut, "EEEEEK! NOPE! NOPE! NOPE! Do not open that door ever again!" she put a large red sticker on it, "Nobody open that, ya hear me!?"

"..." Noel opened her door and blinked a few times at a black and white Universal Studios horror monster film being played out before she closed it, leaving her to scratch her head in confusion as Mari had a blank face filled with fright on her face, "...Why was I expecting Columbo behind the door?"

"Ugh…this is gonna take a while," Sam sighed as she opened another door, showing a Mannequin…taking a bath in a small white tub, "...Well…this one isn't…" However as it turned, it let out a rising scream as its literal face flew straight towards her, making her quickly shut the door as an imprint of its face was plastered in the door, "!? Was that the freaky statue from the SCP Foundation?!"

"There's gotta be some clue around here," Makoto muttered as she opened another door…before slowly closing it as a faint sexy Jazz tune was heard from behind the door, "...Nobody open this one either."

"Wh-" Noel began.

"Just don't!" Makoto exclaimed with a heavy blush.

"Eep! O-Okay!" Noel yelped as she opened another…and blinked a few times on seeing a pair of child Ectonurite girls in matching dresses looking blankly at her, "...You're not going to…"

"Come play with us~"

"NOPE!" Noel freaked, slamming it shut and quickly pulling Funkfreed out with a toss, letting the elephant take full form to sit down before it, "Do not let them through the door, Funkfreed! I have read the novel and seen the video media for it! I am not going to be the one who gets lost in a garden maze and freezes to death!"

"...Stephen King?" Sam asked.

"It was a dare in the military academy and I grew to like them, okay?" Noel muttered with a tiny blush, "Except the one involving animals being the antagonists. Those are evil!"

"I swear I still have nightmares about Cujo," Makoto whispered with a traumatic look in her eyes before Funkfreed patted her head gently, "...Thanks, big guy."

"Paon!" Funkfreed smiled, really glad to have a nice owner with nice, but still scary strong, people around her.

"...Wait, aren't those Ectonurites?" Sam asked.

"Yes, they were," Noel confirmed.

"...And don't they have the ability to phase through objects like actual ghosts?" Sam reminded.

"..." Noel took a moment to blink as Mari and Funkfreed went a solid white with large, blank eyes, before taking a deep breath, "RUN FOR IT, FUNKFREED!"

"PAON~~~!-!-!" Funkfreed trumpeted in fright, scooping up the girls and proceeded to go on a one-elephant stampede of fear-induced panic.

"I hate this castle!" Makoto yelped.

As soon as the girls ran out of there, one of the doors opened up to reveal Monokuma, a towel around him while he wore a shower cap over his head.

"Hey! Can you keep it down?! I'm trying to take a honey-scented bath while chowing down on prime salmon, thank you very much!" Monokuma snapped, shaking a loofah on a plastic stick in the air, "Honestly...the nerve of some people." he turned around to re-enter the room only to pause as the two Ectonurite girls appeared before him with wide grins, "Oh crapbaskets…"

"Come play with us~"

---

"Ahh…geez come on…" Danny muttered in the quarantine cell he was in, half of it already frozen and the other half burnt up

"Dude you look like you're gonna die…" Tucker spoke up, "Are you sure you're just not like…ghost…space sick?"

"No…maybe…I don't kn-ACHOO!" Danny sneezed as he ended up sneezing a mix of fire and ice into the barrier, "!?"

"...Yeah…" Tucker turned to Gluto, "Maybe he's allergic to something here?" Gluto shrugged before blurbling as he started to type commands on a digital keyboard.

"...I don't like the tone in his voice, Tucker," Danny noted before a piece of pumpkin held by a robotic arm that came out of the ceiling smacked him in the face, "Pfft?!"

"Oh, nice! Allergy testing," Tucker noted.

"Not funny!" Danny complained, going intangible to let the pumpkin goop just fall to the ground.

"I beg to differ. Normally? You ditch me, covered in goop and to suffer, now…it's your turn~" Tucker smirked, Gludo gurgled something as it began to turn into a sort of laugh in the end.

"I don't like when he talks and no one translates," Danny stated.

"...Hit him with the next sample," Tucker replied as Gludo laughed again.

"No wait, Tucker no!" Danny panicked before he was deluged in water from the planet, "Blbblblblb!"

"...This is why I'm concerned when Gludo makes friends," Tetrax muttered as he watched from the door leading out of the brig.

"Eh, I'm sure he's earned it. The gang back at home often gets on Ben's case when he's acting a little jerkish. Mostly Makoto," Naoto shrugged, "As I can tell, the Hero type often leaves a mess for others to clean up."

"True, but that's the life of a hero at times, especially in trying to catch the bad guy" Tetrax nodded before looking over at Naoto, "What about you? Dealt with any unsavory characters before?"

"Outside of being flung across the multiverse without stopping? Not much…though is one that come to mind," Naoto replied with a frown, "He actually managed to kill me a few times, b-"

"Wait, back up," Tetrax spoke as he held a hand up, "You died? Multiple times?"

"Yeah…That, uh, that was a thing, yeah," Naoto scratched his cheek.

"..." Tatrax sighed as he put a hand on his shoulder, "Everyone has things that are hard to talk about, though I don't think multiple deaths is a usual one." he chuckled to help lighten the mood, "But Ben trusts you, and believe me when I say that his instincts are second to none. So don't forget you got some good friends here."

"...yeah. Yeah I do," Naoto smiled a bit with his own chuckle, "It's been pretty cool hanging out with them…helping, fighting assholes that deserve it…and…" he paused as he sighed a bit, "Hoping to find Raquel."

"Raquel?"

"Someone precious to me," Naoto informed as he held up his right arm, "Complicated story, but I originally lost my right arm...and when I met her, she bit me and formed a pact where if I didn't help her find something called the Blue within a year…would've gone full vampire."

"Huh…I see," he nodded, "I'll be honest. All I know about these vampires is what I've seen in these movies I watched with Ben called Blade." he admitted, "I'm positive those were not age appropriate for a 10 year old."

"Hey. Be thankful your first taste of cinematic vampires wasn't…" Naoto paused before shivering, "The Twilight series…seriously, Raquel would've honestly gone on a full blow tirade pointing out all the flaws about the vampires in that series…"

"Yikes…duly noted," Tetrax cringed, "But I take it this Raquel girl is not anything like the cheesy movie monsters, mostly since she seems like someone irreplaceable to you."

"Hey at first, she didn't even care what people thought of her, even seeing humans as cowardly and will do anything to save their own skin," Naoto stated, "But that softened up over time, and now…well she still struggles with new people…especially women from the times we've interacted with another woman."

"As I've come to understand, that might just be a universal Earth Woman thing," Tetrax chuckled, "The women of your home…are universally difficult to comprehend at times."

"Tell me about it," Naoto muttered as he leaned against a nearby window, "Honestly I wish…." he trailed off when he noticed a lone lightpost turned on outside..and his eyes widened when he saw someone for a moment, "?!"

"Something up?" Tetrax asked.

"..no no. Just..swore I saw her out there," Naoto whispered as he rubbed his head a bit, "I could've sworn it was her…"

"Any details I should know just in case?"

"Tall, pale skin, long blonde hair done into a long ponytail, big hair ribbon that makes it look like she has rabbit ears, and red eyes," Naoto listed.

"Hmm…" Tetrax nodded before pulling out a little smartphone sized tablet, "Note to self, actual Vampires might not follow known rules from movies…" he whispered while typing several things down, not just for reminding himself, but also for the ship's security system.

"Aw come on! This better be mud!" Danny shouted.

"Don't worry, it is, I'm not that cruel," Tucker replied, "Ah, we just made sure it looked convincing. By the way, that was for the time you left me and Sam to explain what happened when that main water pipe in the school basement burst!"

"Oh come on…!"

"Hey, you think I was happy getting in trouble for you? Because…at least Sam pays me when I do it for her," Tucker smirked, "And as your best friend, I must air my grievances with you, cause now that your famous you can do as you want, so best to do this now before your to big a name to humiliate."

"Dude, you profit off my fame!" Danny complained.

"Yes, but I also hide your location, make sure people don't hack your social network accounts to track you, deal with fake yous on the internet, and I deal with the paparazzi by taking your place for interviews…they never come back~" Tucker smirked.

"I…uh…wow…I guess you have been doing all that stuff for me…" Danny admitted.

"And that's 'cause I love it. But…this is for the time you left me in the library surrounded by bullet hole riddled books and an angry librarian." an old book was tossed into Danny's face, "What…you can be allergic to ink or paper."

"Okay seriously, Naoto, how do you guys handle Ben's fame!?" Danny groaned.

"The Dude's a walking danger magnet. No one is stupid enough to follow him unless they want to get squished by a rampaging dinosaur alien, a supervillain…or a flying burning car," Naoto explained, "And it turns out by going public, he's not liable for the stupidity of people following him into danger."

"Seriously?" Danny asked.

"Yeah," Naoto nodded.

"Dude, he came to town once and it was almost the apocalypse and it's why evil future you is here in the Anur System in the first place," Tucker pointed out.

"...Fair enough," Danny muttered before doing a spit take when a pillow smacked him in the face, "Dude?!"

"They have monster chickens that they use the feathers from in their pillows," Tucker explained.

"Oh…well so far no reactio-ACHOO!" Danny sneezed out another stream of fire and ice at the barrier.

"Huh…here I thought sneezing both at once would cause a thermodynamic reaction that would…" a small explosion went off, "Like that…yeah, just like that."

"Mmm…" Danny groaned as he stood there, his entire body blackened from the small explosion.

---

"GH!" Swampfire grunted as he was sent skidding back, cuts on his body before they began to heal, "Okay ...seriously getting tired of the scythe…and the pumpkin monsters."

"I am in full agreement, my boy," Skurd agreed, "Did he always have that in his possession?"

"The scythe or the pumpkins?"

"Yes."

"Well, I guess, technically, we never fought him…as him. He's technically been me most times.' Swampfire admitted, "Ghostfreak is my body. And it's a fully healthy prime Ectonurite. He never needed weapons before,"

"Oh how you wound me, Ben, and your ego shows again that you think I needed you to be at full power," Zs'Skayr cackled.

"I don't know. I've never lost to Vilgax…but…you did~" Swampfire smirked.

"...grr…!" the Ectonurite snarled as he slashed his scythe into the air, sending out a huge cutting wave that tore up the ground as it shot towards Swampfire.

"Quite the arm to cause enough momentum to cause the air to become pressurized to this extent," Skurd noted.

"Are you snacking on Brainstorm or Greymatter's DNA now?" Swampfire asked.

"Oh please…" Skurd scoffed before making a shield from NRG's armor that Swampfire quickly used to block the attack as they were sent skidding back several yards, "...You make it sound like I don't enjoy a taste of all of the samples all the time."

"Knowing you, you probably snack all the time," Swampfire sighed, "But, thanks to you, this is less of a chore."

"I love being an equalizer," Skurd replied before more pumpkin monsters began to rise up out of the ground, "Though you may be right about the Omnitrix acting odd today. Swampfire might be one of your better forms…but this is not a good match up. He can't command sentient plans…or weeds."

"They are really difficult," Swampfire defended.

"If I can make a suggestion," Charmcaster spoke as she sent a mana blast right into a pumpkin creature's face, Hobble hiding behind cover as he fired a few shots at a few, "Maybe make a retreat and figure out a better gameplan?"

"Hmm…" Swampfire pondered, "Run and let skull face keep the dangerous magic goober…"

"It's not very appealing…it almost sounds like a bad idea." Skurd pointed out, "But given our lack of access to forms that can kick butt…maybe it's our only idea."

"Yes! Definitely a good idea!" Hobble exclaimed.

"I said only idea…not good idea," Skurd sighed, "Save it for when we aren't letting the king of alien spectors keep the source of magic."

"Great…the one time I actually need to use an artifact…" Charmcaster groaned before spotting a nearby river, "...better than nothing. Ben?"

"Huh?" Swampfire blinked before she pointed to the river, "Oh…on it!" he shouted he fired offa stream of fire, engulfing the entire area in a steamy green mist.

"Truly? You think this old trick will work!?" Zs'Skayr declared as he swung his scythe, sending out a shockwave that dispelled the mist…and revealed no sign of Swampfire and co, "?! Wh…how?!" he looked to the pumpkin creatures, "FInd them now!" he held a hand out as he forced Viktor and the Loboan to stand up, "That means you two as well…"

"Ngh…of course, master…" Viktor replied.

---

"You're…welcome," Charmcaster panted as she leaned against a stone wall, Swampfire having already changed back into Ben as the group was hiding within a cave outside of town, "Damn it…that took more effort than it should have…"

"Of course it would. You're used to the environment of Legerdomain with mana abundant there," Ben pointed out, "Your magic's basically forgot how to moderate for one with limited amounts of it." he earned a look from her and Hobble, "...What? Just because I can't use it, doesn't mean I didn't skim a book or two of Gwen's or read a few comics or manga or manhwa that involve magic use."

"...mmm. Noted," Charmcaster muttered as she sat down, "Tch….damn it…how could I forget it was the Alpha Rune that was stolen…?"

"No clue, but I'm not surprised you didn't learn it until we saw it," Ben noted, earning another look from her, "You have the guy who was a dumb manipulative fake boyfriend inside of that bag of yours. He likely knows everything about what you're missing prior to showing up in that bathroom, but he's not saying a thing to be petty about his predicament. Why do you even have him in there?"

"...I'm looking for someone," Charmcaster admitted as she looked to the side a bit, "According to…ugh…Darkstar there was this sorceress that made him look like an absolute fool…not that it's that hard, but still…I think he mentioned her name being 'Nine' or something."

"...okay. Telling you right now? Do not go after her," Ben quickly advised.

"Huh?"

"I'm being serious here," Ben spoke, "I tried fighting her once when she suddenly came by because she got curious with me. Keyword being tried. She is on a whole other level. Even Gwen struggled against her…she even had to go full Anodite to repel an attack that would've razed the entire school to the ground. Campus and all."

"S-Seriously?" Charmcaster asked, "...wait, is she…?"

"Nope. Totally different magic lady," Ben replied, "This one…technically, she's from the same place my girlfriend and her friends came from, and there according to one of said friends I see as a sister? She was known as the most powerful magician in the world."

"..."

"...This is just getting you more invested in trying to find her, isn't it?"

"She's the one who gave Gwen a hard time…how can I not?"

"Well you're insane, but I already knew that. Next you're gonna want to visit my Neighbor who has true infinite magic…" Ben sighed.

"...Focus on one at a time…" Charmcaster whispered to herself.

"Also hate to be that guy, but…she technically has dibs on Gwen," Ben added, earning Charmcaster's attention once more, "Yeah. For whatever reason, she seems focused on my cousin."

"What makes you two so special…?" Charmcaster grumbled.

"Space James Bond Grandpa and Space Magic Grandma…" Ben explained bluntly, "Being awesome is literally in our DNA."

"And apparently a matching ego to boot with you," Charmcaster deadpanned.

"Hey. I've gotten better about that," Ben argued.

"It's kinda true. People could barely tolerate him at work at times before the girls joined," Hobble admitted.

"Hey, now that's…I don't…" Ben tried to argue before slumping, "Yeah, no. He's right."

"Honestly not surprised," Skurd deadpanned, "But…ahem. I do believe we're getting off topic, so I suggest we move this along...and think of a plan to get the Alpha Rune away from Zs'Skayr."

"Which is…hard…" Ben began as he began to scratch his neck a bit, "Hard….gah! These dang zits are getting worse…it's getting hard to keep the helmet on."

"Keep it on…" Skurd pleaded, "I dread the thought of how worse it is."

"How do you think I feel?!" Ben argued.

"Scared your girlfriend will see 'em?" Charmcaster taunted.

"You stay out of this!" Ben snapped.

"Can't. I'm 'untrustworthy to be left alone.'"

"You can't really use that against me when it's true. Also you can't learn to shut up," Ben argued, "Maybe if you did, you wouldn't have lost to me as a 10 year old. Seriously, I was, like, dangerously stupid as a kid…You were an adult…"

"Teenager!"

"You were older than me, and you lost to a dangerously dumb kid who once broke that watch with a screwdriver…and it's indestructible," Ben pointed out, making Skurd slowly turn to him in shock.

"...I will remember that statement for later," Skurd stated.

"I…you….ugh!" Charmcaster groaned as she facepalmed, "We're getting off track again, and we still haven't discussed how we're gonna get back the Alpha Rune."

"M-Maybe take a deep breath to think?" Hobble suggested, "I usually do it too when I get frustrated…like when the paper files are out of place; but I'm scared to yell out in anger because chances are the person who messed with the files in the first place is s-stronger…"

"...noted," Charmcaster muttered as she shot a look at Ben, who shrugged in response for a moment, "...wait. What about your half-ghost friend?"

"Yeah, he's worse off than me," Ben argued, "He can't control his ice and fire powers. Not very helpful if your own friend is shooting randomly. But then again…you only have golems you throw out to be smashed," he pointed out, "If you're gonna work in a team, understanding someone's not gonna be able to perform due to external factors or understanding how they do things is what matters. Maybe something you should consider learning if you're serious about ruling your home turf. Unless you just wanna copy mister turtle man…"

"You just find a way to throw everything back at me…" Charmcaster muttered.

"Yeah, well excuse me if I often find trusting my enemies difficult. I have had nightmares because of Zs'Skayr, because of Vilgax and other monsters like them," Ben admitted, "And I've been forced to put them in positions to stab me in the back just to do the right thing. You think it's easy for me? Do you even know what I've had to fight? So how about you trust me on this: I'm getting that stupid Alpha Rune back, and you and it are going home and never coming back, got it?"

"Well, that seems a bit…" Hobble began.

"Bug Man, don't speak unless you want to stare down a man who's fought pure evil," Skurd cut him off.

"Gh?! S-Sorry, sir…"

"It's fine, Hobble," Ben sighed, "But I mean it. I'm getting that thing back. The last person I want having it is that freak. At least you'll keep it safe at home," he pointed at Charmcaster, "So, how about we settle it like this? You come up with an idea to yank it off him, I do it, we stop bringing up how much I am in no mood for being betrayed by someone psychotic again, and I swear to god if you try…I am not gonna be happy."

"...ugh. Fine," Charmcaster sighed after a few moments as she held her hand out, "As long as I get the Alpha Rune back from that crazy Ectonurite…then you won't have to handle seeing me again."

"Deal," Ben held his hand out to shake on it.

"Good…now here's the plan."

---

"Ugh~! What door are we on now?" Makoto groaned as the girls were riding on top of Funkfreed at that point…while still traversing the oddly long hallway of doors.

"237," Sam replied, "142 of them being monsters trying to grab us with a limb, tentacle, miasma, or tongue of some sort, 61 being environmental things like living thunderstorms and blizzards, 15 of them being things trying to jumpscare us…and 19 being iconic scenes of famous horror movies from Earth."

"Why does this place even know about those?" Makoto asked.

"Oh that one I heard from Isaac, a Transylian in UnderAmity," Sam noted, "A Thep Kufahn after trying and failing to 'return' some Ormerowons to Earth was doing it at a Drive-In that was broadcasting the 1932 film The Mummy during a horror film festival. Ended up during the chaos that Ormerowons normally cause to snatch the projector and all the films there. Apparently, horror films are considered comedies here."

"Oh, of course that's how it works…" Makoto groaned.

"...uhm…what are Ormerowons?" Noel asked.

"Uhm…Zombies…but their very presence does the conversion because their bodies grow Corrundium," Sam said slowly.

"...I don't wanna be here…" Noel whispered.

"Me neither," Makoto whispered as the two hugged each other in fright.

"Oh relax. They're not like the modern day zombies. Think more early era zombies, especially with the shots we've gotten to deal with that stuff," Sam assured, "Also, one thing to note: they're all descendants of Egyptians."

"...Say what?" Makoto asked.

"Yeah. Thep Khufans are the ones who helped the era of the Pharaohs in Egypt be as powerful as they were. Some returned to the Anur System with them and the Corrundium did what it did and nature just happens," Sam explained, "Just…don't bring up that around Thep Khufans, alright? Their whole race is mortified of what they caused."

"Yikes…noted," Makoto winced before she heard faint giggling, "?!"

"...wh-what was that?" Noel asked as Mari curled around her in fright.

"Please let it not be the twin Ectonurites…" Makoto whimpered.

"Here, let me borrow one of those," Sam sighed, pulling one of the anti-Ectonurite flashbangs, "Fire in the hole!" she tossed it over her shoulder upon activating it. Soon, a very bright light filled the hall with a horrible ring following soon after; thankfully, Makoto's gear left her the one least bothered by it.

"I keep forgetting I have them…" Noel muttered, "Fear and panic do this to me…"

"Paon," Funkfreed petted her head in assurance.

"Ow~" a pair of voices spoke, making the girls tense as they looked down from their spot on Funkfreed…and saw the two Ectonurite girls rub their eyes.

"Kya!" Noel jumped into Makoto's arms.

"Oh don't stress…that flash should have depowered them, remember?" Makoto reminded, "Now they are just two annoying little kids."

"I-It's a reflex…" Noel muttered as Mari jumped down and in a flash, tied the two Ectonurite girls up in a wire before dragging them over.

"Noel, how much did you train Mari?" Sam blinked.

"Why practically everyday, she learns really fast." Noel explained as her Genetically Augmented Mink returned to her spot around Noel's neck.

"Oh look she even stuffed another flashbang in the wire to go off it they try and get out…Noel how did you teach her this stuff?" Makoto blinked.

"...Why with a good deal of tough love, assertion, and yummy chicken treats." Noel listed as Mari chittered happily at the memory of said treats, "It took me a bit to be firm, but it was for the best." she stated while getting down, "Thankfully Funkfreed is a smart boy, so i just needed to give him lots of love. And Drei…well he's already a smart boy, he's the Alpha of the house pets."

"Wow….the amount you have to pay for pet food," Sam muttered.

"You've seen our paychecks right?" Makoto blinked.

"...okay fair point," Sam whispered, "Still…better getting back to looking for that thing…"

"You mean the Alpha Rune~" the two Ectonurite girls spoke up, earning the trio's attention, "It's not in here~"

"...what?" Makoto slowly asked.

"...and it's not here…" Sam whispered before looking back down at hte two Ectonurites, "Where…is it exactly?"

"With uncle Zs'Skayr~"

"...so we basically went…through a wild goose chase…when the object we need to find…is somewhere else," Sam slowly muttered.

"And it happens to be…in the hands of Zs'Skayr…" Makoto added with an eye twitch.

"Mmmmm…" Noel covered her face to muffle her scream.

"Sorry~" the two Ectonurites taunted in the most condescending way possible, as if to add more salt to the wound.

"Funky, please get rid of them." Makoto sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"What?" the two alien Ghost blinked before Funkfreed picked them up..before tossing them straight into an opened door, "AHH!"

"Well least they're gone…now w-" Makoto began.

"Hey hey~! Wh-" Junko began as she opened a door, only to be smacked upside the head by one of Noel's guns as she fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes, "Takoyaki…"

"Oh…it's her again…" Noel blinked before kicking her back further into the room, "We don't really want to bring you back anyway," she closed the door.

"Noellie, I love you can be so fearsome sometimes." Makoto spoke with a smile.

---

"...Are we done?" Danny asked in a deadpanned tone, practically covered from head to toe in a slime-like substance, "I think you already went through everything on this planet, Tuck…"

"Everything we can get our hands and robotic hands on." Tucker replied, "But we've ruled out allergic reactions, for now. Which means the next step is check if this is ghost flu…and force you to partake in non-drug based remedies before letting you partake in super effective cold medication."

"Oh come on, man. What's this one for?" Danny groaned.

"Well, there was the time you left me in the girls locker room…" Tucker muttered.

"Okay! Okay! I get it!' Danny cut him off.

"Hey. Tetrax is busy trying to figure out what's happening with Ben, so I'm trying to figure out what's wrong with you."

"Well not very well," Danny argued, "You've mostly been screwing with me." he motioned to all the stuff in the cell.

"Oh come on man, you've had worse…you've done worse." Tucker pointed out.

"I…Mmm…that's not the same…I mean…" Danny groaned as he paced around, "I didn't mean to do those things…it's just hard okay!" he snapped, making Tucker take a step back but blink as the elemental effects calmed, "I mean…don't you think I've wanted to just make things easy with my powers? On school, life, Dash! But…I've seen what happens when you do that: you become like Vlad or Evil me." he sighed, "I have to do better…be better. I can't use my powers like a jerk…I can't be selfish. Because…I don't want to be like…him…"

"Dark Danny?" Tucker asked, "Come on Danny, I'm just messing with you, you're nothing like that jerk."

"But I almost was Tucker…" Danny pointed out, "I…I just had to use my powers for myself, I could have become that monster if I stopped being the good guy…if I kept thinking the world owed me for doing good. I mean I've seen how Ben treats this…he loves the job of being a hero, he doesn't care about if he's owed anything. He is just happy to do good…I thought I was owed something for being the good guy…"

"Dude, you were stressed, you literally have to fight evil ghosts from another world. You only had me and Sam, you were stressed out. No one blames you for feeling like that," Tucker pointed out, "I mean you saved me even when I was a total jerk to you, multiple times. But you still saved me, your not going to turn into that loser version of you, or like Vlad."

"But Tucker…he exists because of me, he's here because of me. It's my fault he got free…twice now," Danny sighed, "I…me…just me being here helped that, and now I'm stuck in here while Ben is fighting with that crazy evil witch lady…who let's face it was totally planning to stab him in the back!"

"Oh no she totally was." Tucker nodded as Gludo did the same, "But…Dude, you can tell that, you're an awesome hero. And you have friends…who are also awesome heroes too. I don't have to rush to help you anymore, cause I can sit back knowing if you call for backup, someone who can shoot lightning or run at the speed of sound will be there to help you. Look man, I don't know how you feel, because…you've always been the one cut out for this hero thing. You feel bad for doing the dumb stuff I totally would have…and did do." he pointed out, recalling the one time he gained ghost powers, "You…you know how to be responsible. You know how to use those powers for good, you're the Hero here. I'm just your best friend, who's always got your back, and will remind you if you become a jerk."

"Well when you say it like that, I guess I do feel a little better," Danny sighed, "It's just…Tucker, that future evil me created…I remember it so much…and it only took one horribly stupid mistake on my part to lead to that. What if it just takes another mistake and I turn into him all over again?"

"Well, you got me and Sam, you got your parents…and Jazz…" Tucker muttered, "Now you got Ben and his friends, and the Plumbers…Pretty sure if you ever have a problem, we've got, like, five way stronger people who can check you." he mused, "But to me, you'll still be the best Superhero around."

"...yeah…superhero…" Danny whispered, one part of his room freezing up while the other began to heat up, "A superhero who totally didn't mess up by releasing his future evil self and his partner, which'll end up leading to even more nasty stuff happening, and every passing second he's just planning on taking everything away out of spite because of how much they've messed up royally…!" he let loose another sneeze, "ACHOO!"

"...Oh, I think I'm starting to understand what's going on," Tucker muttered, earning a questioning tone from Gluto, "People can get sick when they get over-stressed because it messes with our immune system among other things. Danny is stressed to high heaven because of what's going on." Gluto garbled something before his mechanical arm hissed and produced a syringe, his eyes wagging up and down as to imply what it was. "That's a super powerful relaxant, isn't it?" an affirming noise came from the blob-like alien, "...Smart idea. A stressed out Danny is one who tends to forget to do things…sleeping especially."

"What are you whispering about?" Danny asked.

"Well technically we're not, your ears have formed ice earplugs," Tucker motioned to Danny's ears.

"Huh…gah! Oh come on!" he groaned, removing the ice in his ears, "What's that?"

"Space Flu shot," Tucker lied through his teeth, but for a good reason for once, "No more games, man, just take some medicine and rest."

"I dunno…what if I'm not sick and it's just…" he blinked as the door opened and Gluto just stretched a slimy tentacle in and pricked his arm, "I…buh…" he passed out with a snore, "Zzzzz~"

"Phew. A bit of rest should take care of it," Tucker sighed in relief.

"Yo Tuck, everything okay? I heard a…" Naoto walked in and saw Danny, "Huh…what you do? Give him space cold medicine 'till he went to sleep?"

"Well something like that, more for stress," Tucker admitted.

"...you gave him some kind of relaxant?" Naoto blinked, "Is that safe?"

"In there, yeah, it's grounded against phasing. So…he can't fall through the floor…again," Tucker explained, "I'll go get him some pillows at least, I've had my best friend revenge, time to be a good best friend again."

"Ahh…noted," Naoto nodded just as Tetrax walked in..and he took notice of the situation.

"...Do I even want to know?" Tetrax questioned just as Tucker walked off.

"Apparently stress related and they gave Danny something that knocked him out," Naoto explained.

"Ah…well that is rather common in species with an abundance of special abilities," Tetrax explained, "Especially while reaching full…maturity…." he slowed down as if realizing something, "I know what's happening to the Omnitrix!" he declared.

"Hmm?" Naoto raised a brow at that.

"Gluto, what's today's date?" Tetrax asked, earning a few gurgles from Gluto as he pointed at a screen, "...I knew it. It's that particular species' growth period."

"Huh? Growth period?" Naoto pondered.

"Let's just say that Ben is going to be excited over something one of his aliens is going to become," Tetrax chuckled.

---

"Anything?" Ben asked, looking at the Omnitrix.

"From what I've been able to ascertain…something in the sample you call 'Swampfire' is causing a glitch in the Omnitrix to make it currently select just it and it alone," Skurd noted.

"Oh great…It's Big Chill all over again," Ben groaned, "...Except this time, I'm not craving jars of pickles and the juice in them…o-or eating metal." he blinked a few times, "Ah, right. Almost time for that time again." he shook his head, "Focus, Ben. Think about it later; focus on the now."

"And to this day I haven't told him about 'that' setting in the Omnitrix…" Skurd mumbled to himself, "Anyway…you recall Charmcaster's plan, correct?"

"Yes, I'm good on the plan," Ben sighed, "Anything to get that stupid rock away from spooky and get crazy golem lady out of here."

"Agreed," Skurd nodded as Ben moved out of his hiding place, which in turn caused a massive swarm of the pumpkin creatures to rise out of the ground as they began to surround him.

"And again with the pumpkins. Zs'Skayr, you sure you're not the high Pumpkin Lord?! Makes more sense then High Ecto Lord. You're basically just the pumpkin king…only you're not charming or have a soothing singing voice!" Ben shouted.

"...Heh heh heh…oh Ben…falling onto the bravado as usual, I see," Zs'Skayr's voice echoed as the air rippled for a moment, the evil Ectonurite soon appearing as he held his scythe in his hands.

"Hey, if it ain't broke," Ben shrugged.

"...and where, pray tell, is the failed witch and her pet cockroach?" Zs'Skayr questioned.

"And I should tell ya why?"

"I suppose it doesn't matter. They already knew they couldn't best me. I mean, only one being has ever done that,"

"Two…Vilgax got a win on you. Wasn't the plan…but…hey, I made you lose." Ben smirked, "So that means as long as Ben 10 is around…Evil Ghostfreak loses."

"No…not this time, Ben…" Zs'Skayr grinned, "My return is only the tip of the iceberg."

"I'm guessing you've got a rather large, convoluted scheme," Ben guessed, "Probably involving these pumpkins having somethin' in them that would go well with your pilfered Alpha Rune and whatever else you've likely collected here."

"Oh Ben, don't think me so foolish as to tell you the plan. The last time was just because it was already too late," Zs'Skayr cackled, "But you gave it the good old college try, didn't you?"

"Well, I do have a doctorate from a college of sorts, yeah," Ben retorted.

"...What?" Zs'Skayr deadpanned.

"Yup."

"...End him," Zs'Skayr ordered as the pumpkin monsters began to move towards Ben.

"Heard that one about two hundred and twenty three times before you," Ben huffed as he activated the Omnitrix and turned into Swampfire once more, but again he was different, rather drastically this time as well. The green around his neck grew out like petals and flicked out like a collar, his face was now a mixture of orange and red, with orange sharp petals framing the black marks around his green eyes; red thorns began growing from his shoulders and forearms, with his hands black with orange colored fingers, and green thorns from his feet, "Time for some pumpkin pie to be baked."

"You think if we gave them to Noel to bake…they would come out as regular earth pumpkin pie?" Skurd quipped.

"You know I almost kinda hope…" Swampfire muttered.

"If they do…I'm terrified of sampling one in the case it's akin to the case of that one female in the manga about the mafia baby and her sushi…"

"...Yeah, me too," Swampfire shuddered as he quickly began punching the pumpkins that started to swarm, "Skurd?"

"Already on it," the Slimebiot replied, covering Swampfire's arms before Armadrillo's arms covered them, "I also included Cestus's DNA in it for that added 'oomph' so to speak."

"Shockwave punches plus that red energy that amps the punches? Oh, now that is just overkill…and I love it!" he declared, having dug his feet into the ground, and swung a punch as the piston pumped before it sent out a shockwave that ripped apart the ground and tore through anything else in its path, which ended upon hitting the castle wall and causing a large section of it to crumple and warp into a dent in its stonework, "Oh-hoh-hoh~! Yep. Best combo so far with Swampfire as the base!"

"You just are full of tricks these days, aren't you?" Zs'Skayr noted, "You have so many new friends," he chuckled, "But yet you fight me all alone."

"Maybe, but I can trust my friends to take care of themselves," Swampfire countered before smirking "And who says I was alone?"

"?" Zs'Skayr raised a non-existent brow before a beam of mana hit him in the back, making him cry out in pain as he nearly dropped the Alpha Rune."GAH!" he then winced when a laser shot hit his wrist, causing the Alpha Rune to fall out of his bony hand as it fell to the ground, "What?!"

"I hit him!" Hobble's voice exclaimed, making the pumpkin creatures look up at a nearby cliff to see him, "...uh oh."

"Kill the bug," Zs'Skayr ordered with a growl.

"Yipe!" he panicked as the living Pumpkin patch began moving towards the cliff, "Bad day! Very bad day!"

"A planned sneak attack…not bad," Zs'Skayr spoke as he opened his robe up, letting a tendril shoot out to grab the Alpha Rune just as Swampfire grabbed it, "But still not enough!"

"I forgot you had those…" Swampfire grimaced, entering a tugging match with the Ectonurite, "Then again, I do try to avoid using your form if I can unless it's an emergency and nothing else would work."

"You haven't even mastered all my powers?" Zs'Skayr taunted.

"I still find it creepy being Ghostfreak 'cause of you!" Swampfire snapped, "I'm really glad it's in chains when I turn into it."

"You what?!" he snarled, "You dare put an Ectonurite in chains?!"

"...Let me guess: wearing chains is a very large insult to your species, probably equal to Apopplexians and not wearing clothes?" he groaned, "Well, sorry if my Omnitrix has a sense of irony," he grunted, pulling harder and yanking the Alpha Rune away. However, a green flash replaced him with Ben, "Ah chestnuts…"

"Get it back!" Ghostfreak commanded the ones that hadn't gone to the cliff.

"Oh geez!" Ben yelped as he began to run off, "Run, run as fast as you can! You can't me, you crazy pumpkin men!"

"You did not just butcher that nursery rhyme from May of 1875…" Skurd groaned.

"I did! And no one but you cares!" Ben cheered as he kept pace.

"Hpmh!"

"Your soul is mine, Tennyson!" Zs'Skayr shouted as he flew after him.

"You've tried that, Spooky! You can't even overshadow me!" Ben called back.

"No, but I can mount your head on a pike!" he hissed as he slashed down, sending out a cutting wave.

"You gotta get me first!" Ben cheered, jumping to avoid the long range slash, "And you've technically never beaten me! And I was 10 when we started all this! Ten!"

"While your butchery of a good read is deplorable…your way of enranging buffoons is quite the impressive mark," Skurd noted while Zs'Skayr let out a mangled menagerie of rage-induced gibberish upon them.

"Yeah, it's my only superpower as a normal human. Which is why I packed this!" he jumped and spun around while drawing his laser gun and shot Zs'Skayr, taking him by surprise as he was knocked out of the air. Ben chuckled as he rolled along the ground before aiming and shooting rapidly as he swung his arm to take out several Pumpkin monsters; he twirled the gun around on his finger before aiming over his shoulder as Zs'Skayr appeared behind him Scythe at the ready, "Nice try."

"Hah?" he gasped, only to duck out of the way of a laser instead of take his swing, "Grrr…what is this Ben?"

"...It's time I show you how good I've gotten since last time. My girlfriend has super strength, so a hug from her will mangle my spine," Ben declared, "Half our dates are us sparing. I have been flipped on my rear so many times. By this point, Zs'Skayr, I am built different, and you won't be getting the jump on me anytime, Bone boy!" he spun around, delivering several accurate shots that splattered the heads of a few more Pumpkin monsters, "And the shooting? A friend of mine is the best darn shooter in the history of the Plumbers, even among the intergalactic boards! I agree to try out her cooking in different alien forms, she gives me shooting lessons. Now if only she'd stop writing about mine and Makoto's relationship…"

"So…you've become better at defending yourself, it doesn't make you much more dangerous than before," Zs'Skayr groaned, "Especially with the Omnitrix seemingly not on your side."

"Well I've had worse situations," Ben argued, keeping his weapon aimed before tilting it sidewise to aim Skurd.

"Halt, you vile fiend! Let the light compel you!" Skurd declared as he formed Chromastone crystals and unleashed a bright flash of UV light into Zs'Skayr face.

"GAH!" Zs'Skayr cried out as he flinched back only to be blasted by a follow up from Ben, "Grrr…"

"I may not be able to pick an Alien…but Skurd gives me access to whatever power I need," Ben declared, "He and I may not always agree, but…this is a symbiotic partnership."

"True. We can put aside differences when it matters most. This being one such case," Skurd agreed, "En garde, vile spectral fiend! Your sample in the Omnitrix has always been a nuisance! It is akin to black licorice that's been left open for too long!"

"That tracks…" Ben muttered, "Now to find a crazy magic lady and have her jump out of this equally crazy place. Hopefully she'll be at the meeting spot…"

---

"...Come on…Come on, where is he?" Charmcaster whispered as she was hiding in an alleyway in town, "...Tennyson, I swear if you ditched me…"

"HELP~!"

"...Oh god, it's the bug again," Charmcaster groaned as she poked out of her hiding place, seeing the small bug-like alien benign chased by the pumpkin monsters.

"I did too good a job! Now they are after me~!" Hobble panicked.

"...Help him and deal with him clinging to me…or don't and get yelled at by Ben," Charmcaster whispered as she went over her options, "...The clinging will be better than the yelling."

"I don't want to be pumpkin food!" Hobble screamed before a beam of mana shot a pumpkin monster's head off, "?! My lady!"

"Stop…just…get to cover, you little weirdo. I can't let you get hurt," Charmcaster sighed as she fired off a few more mana beams from her hands.

"Gh! Y-yes ma'am!" Hobble saluted as he quickly ran out of there to find a place to hide.

"What an odd duck that one is…" Charmcaster sighed as the pumpkin creatures began to focus on her now, "...and me without my bag and enough magic to make golems…"

The pumpkin creatures hissed as they began to approach her, only for a loud crashing sound to go off as they looked up…and a few were crushed by Funkfreed as he landed on top of them. He switched straight to his sword mode, allowing Noel to catch him and do a spin, slicing the heads of several while shooting down several more.

"Well…that…" Charmcaster began only for a giant chunk of stone wall to crush the rest of the Pumpkin monsters, "..." she turned to a smirking Makoto and Sam, "How long have…?"

"Long enough to hear you mumble to yourself like a crazy lady," Sam replied.

"The sad thing is you think that my Ben-kun is enough of a coward to abandon you. Silly lady with trust issues, my boyfriend is way more of a man then any you've dated," Makoto gloated.

"He is very dependable," Noel admitted, quickly jabbing with Funkfreed to let him partially shift to full elephant to slam his front feet onto some Pumpkin monsters before she pulled back and he shifted back to full sword while she shot at some behind her over her shoulder as Mari pounced and shredded several others.

"Speaking of my goober of a boyfriend, where is he?" Makoto questioned.

"..ugh. Well right now I'm waiting for him so I can get my Alpha Rune back from Zs'Skayr," Charmcaster explained.

"So you talk to yourself when you're feeling impatient, crazy lady," Makoto grinned.

"I am not crazy…!"

"Look, from what Ben's told me, you…are all kinds of crazy. Maybe not evil, but totally crazy," Makoto stated, "Wait a minute…you sent my boyfriend to fight his literal personal demon alone?"

"No. He agreed to play distraction while me and that stupid bug hit Zs'Skayr from behind," Charmcaster argued.

"...Surprise kick to the shin!" Makoto called out, doing as she said and kicking Charmcaster in the shin, "I don't care what your plan is, Dumbass! You sent the love of my life with a glitching watch to fight the thing he has nightmares about!"

"So this is why you two love each other! You're both unreasonable!" Charmcaster grunted hopping around on one leg as that REALLY hurt thanks to super strength.

"I am so sorry for her," Noel apologized before Sam got in a few shots on some pumpkins trying to sneak attack her, "Thanks, Sam!"

"No problem," Sam assured before ducking under the thrown sword that went full elephant to belly flop on a group of Pumpkin monsters, "And thanks!"

"Don't give me sass, crazy!" Makoto grunted, kicking Charmcaster's other leg, "You and I are saving Ben now!" she grabbed Charmcaster, "Noellie! You, Sam, and Hobble will provide support for us at a distance once you finish. I'm getting Crazy here back home before she does something stupid like thinking of backstabbing us!"

"Why do all of you say that!?" Charmcaster complained as she was carried off.

"Oh gee…maybe it's because you're crazy?!"

"I'M NOT CRAZY!"

"You have your ex-boyfriend in a purse!"

"It's 'cause I can't trust him! He's crazy!"

"I've met him. Trust me, I know." Makoto sighed.

"Mmm…!"

---

"Okay. I think I…lost…him...!" Ben grunted as he ran into town…inadvertently using his free hand to scratch at his neck.

"No…don't! Don't even think about taking that helmet off!" Skurd snapped.

"It wasn't the intent…but these are getting really bad…" Ben groaned, "And the helmet just pushes on them, making them more irritating…"

"Well, I've tried everything to clear them, but they are persistent, and this sort of nonsense is not common in most aliens. Puberty for them means rapidly growing or blooming into a new form, or shedding…" Skurd complained.

"...As soon as the Omnitrix recharges, hopefully the next time I turn into Swampfire will be the last I see of these thi-" Ben began before rolling out of the way of a pumpkin creature's slam, pulling his gun out as he shot it point black in the face, "These things are persistent! They really want that rune…"

"Well of course they do…" Zs'Skayr's spoke from above, making Ben tense as he quickly rolled out of the way of his scythe, "It's mine!"

"Not yours! It belongs to protect an entire realm of magic; not satiate the ego of a ghost alien who can't even beat a little ten-year-old kid," Ben countered.

"You seem rather insistent on sending that rock home. Why is that, Ben?" Zs'Skayr asked.

"You want to know why?" Ben asked with a chuckle, "I just don't want to lose."

"Ever the mystery, aren't you, Ben?" Zs'Skayr chuckled, "But you're low on options, even with your little friend."

"Well, this 'little friend' has more than made you look like a fool!" Skurd argued, pointing at him.

"Indeed Skurd is," Ben agreed, "But…yeah. I'm low on options. No real plan, no weapons aside from a malfunctioning Omnitrix at the moment, and no allies nearby that can get here in time aside from the one on my malfunctioning Omnitrix." he looked Zs'Skayr in his eye…and smirked, "And doesn't that scare you?"

"Grrr…" Zs'Skayr growled at that as, deep in his black empty heart, something had to admit, his history of loss to this child, almost believed that.

"Oh? Did I hit a nerve?" Ben smirked, "Or do you not have any in that scrawny bony butt of yours?" he ducked, avoiding a slash from the scythe, "Yep, I actually hit a nerve. Guess you really do have one after all in ya."

"Do you ever stop talking?!" he snarled between slashes at the fleeing Ben.

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't stop!" Ben retorted, "You should know this by now!"

"Grrrr…." Zs'Skayr snarled in anger as he flew after him, "Even now, so alone, so disadvantaged…you refuse to admit defeat, to give in, what?! What makes you so brave in the face of fear!?"

"..." Ben skid to a halt as he turned to face Zs'Skayr, "You already know the answer to that," he replied, pointing a thumb at himself, "I'm a Hero."

"Grah!" the Ectonurite Lord roared, swinging at Ben…who ran towards him, taking him by surprise before he tilted back and kicked his legs forward and slid right under the weapon and Zs'Skayr. Zs'Skayr turned only to be blasted with ultraviolet light, making him hiss once more.

"Haha! I got you good, you ectoplasmic fiend!" Skurd shook a pseudopod at him.

"Full output," Ben spoke to his weapon as he aimed and shot Zs'Skayr with a large beam that knocked him back; however, this caused the gun to spark, "Crud…fried." he smacked it a few times only for it to keep sparking until it fell apart, "Aw man~"

"That's just you all over…" Skurd sighed.

"It's rare for me to like a blaster…I hate how most Plumber issued ones feel…" Ben groaned as he picked up the pieces, "First thing I'm doing once the Omnitrix is working right is Upgrade and fixing this."

"A pity you won't be alive long enough to do so!" Zs'Skayr shouted as he slashed his scythe, making Ben quickly jump back before a pumpkin creature's hand rose up out of the ground, grabbing Ben's ankle as he forced him to fall to the ground, dropping the Alpha Rune in the process.

"Gah!"

"And now I take back what's mine!" Zs'Skayr shouted as he reached out for the Alpha Rune, only for a small barrier of mana to block it, "?! What?!"

"Sorry…but I think you have that wrong," he looked up to see Charmcaster standing on top of a rock formation, pulling the ball of mana towards herself as she grabbed the Alpha Rune, "This is rightfully mine…oh and duck."

"Duck?" Zs'Skayr raised a brow before a flaming energy punch sent him flying, "GAH!"

"Hand off my boyfriend, ya creepy imitation of a grim reaper!" Makoto snapped, shaking her fire-engulfed gauntlet at him.

"I love that woman so much…" Ben grunted as he pushed himself up, "She's seriously too good for me."

"Frankly, I think you're perfect for one another. Maybe your combined idiot genes will react and make a genius in the future," Skurd muttered.

"Hey…" Ben pouted before Makoto hugged him, "..." he chuckled, returning the hug, "Missed ya, too, babe."

"I do not like this place…" Makoto mumbled, "Can't even make a crack about a future but old to me anime I like watching involving a model kit that makes flaming punches and kicks that blew up a simulated moon with a phoenix at the moment with the fear in my system…"

"Hey, it's al…wait…they had a fire punch so strong, it made a phoenix that blew up a moon? That sounds so awesome!" Ben awed.

"Speak of it later," Skurd spoke up, "We still have a ghastly ghoul and his perilous perpetual pumpkins of pernicious passion to contend with."

"Right, Omnitrix still acting funny?" Makoto asked.

"Still gives me Swampfire, but…each time he feels different, like…bigger…" Ben muttered, "Also my Laser Gun broke…"

"Aw what~?" Makoto gawked, "Well, this glitch better fix itself soon. It was a good thing ya had in case ya needed it when the Omnitrix wasn't working right!"

"I know, right? Really glad for Noel's shooting lessons. Still, crazy glitch going on with my Omnitrix…"

"Unless…it's not a glitch?" Skurd muttered, getting their attention, "What do we know about the Methanosian species?"

"You mean besides being a walking methane flamethrower vegetable pile?" Ben asked, "Not much beyond how their powers work."

"...Wait. Are you saying what's happening with Ben…?" Makoto began.

"Coincides with this subject, yes."

"...So it really is like what happened with Big Chill!" Ben snapped a bit, "Only instead it keeps giving me more zits everytime I turn into Swampfire…"

"It's Alien Puberty…Your disgusting human DNA is responding with how I understand it…" Skurd pointed out, "You are a disgusting species…"

"Hey…Rude," Ben noted in annoyance under his helmet.

"But the point is, the watch is making you turn into Swampfire…because Swampfire is growing up! He's reaching peak maturity!" Skurd declared.

"So each time I turn into him, he matures faster," Ben realized.

"Your aliens…are still maturing?" Makoto blinked in confusion, "I thought they were all at peak physical form."

"For my age…all my aliens are the Peak Physical form for a version my age…" Ben explained.

"Human Males don't stop growing 'till their early 20s…" Skurd pointed out.

"Wait, what?" Makoto blinked.

"Girls stop at 18…" Skurd added.

"Aw come on~!"

"Still, this is a relief! I thought there was a massive glitch," Ben sighed in relief, "So when Swampfire's done, these probably go away and I can take the helmet off! …Though I think it's stuck at the moment. The zits have swollen to the point I think they've fused to the material."

"...How long until the Omnitrix recharges again?"

"I…" Ben began before the two quickly jumped away from each other just as Zs'Skayr's tendrils tried to grab the two.

"You dare ignore me…!?" the Ectonurite snarled.

"That just tells you how high you are upon our list of priorities," Skurd quipped.

"...hmm…" Charmcaster frowned a bit as she looked at the Alpha Rune…before looking back at her bag hanging off Ben's hips, 'It could be easy to grab it now that I have the rune back…but…'

"It isn't healthy to hold onto a grudge."

"?!" Charmcaster looked to her side to see Noel lying by her, Bolverk shifted into a sniper rifle that she was using to snipe at the pumpkins that Funkfreed in his elephant state-outside of his trunk being in his sword state-was missing in his one elephant stampede that Sam-riding on his back-and the fleet-moving Mari weren't hitting.

"You get so wrapped up in it that you can never see there's more out there than just what that grudge involves," Noel went on.

"You're seriously doing this now?" she asked in disbelief, 'That's weird…the way she sounds…' the rune glowed along with her eyes before she grimaced and held the side of her head, "Gh…"

"Gwen-san has the same issue when she looks at me, Lambda, or Mai with her magic sight. Possibly because of whatever caused Mai to have her powerful sense of taste while my sister and I are 'dolls' so to speak," Noel explained, getting three headshots with one round on an ambush the Ectonurite was trying to lead the two into, "Still, why not talk about it? Ben is giving you a chance to show that you are better than he thinks you are. You could go for the bag and prove him right or do what Kevin did and show you can let go of the grudge and become stronger."

"I…that's…" Charmcaster was just at a loss for words from all that, "You really think he has that kind of faith in me? The way he talked…the way he acts…"

"If Ben didn't have a little faith in you…he could be a lot scarier," Noel explained, giving a small shrug before another round took down another pumpkin mid-jump at Sam, "When he doesn't trust someone, he's a lot more intimidating. He was just making it clear that if you tried it, he probably would have beat you up seriously." she shook her head, "During a few breaks during Dungeons and Dragons games, Gwen-san and I talk. He was pretty much the same to Kevin at first until he showed he was trying to prove he was more than who Ben thought he had been."

"Oh the Grease monkey. I guess he used to be a real nut," Charmcaster muttered.

"If you want to earn his trust, prove you're not a bad person," Noel sighed, "You might have caused a lot of trouble, but you did have your reasons. You lost your father, your home… Your uncle was kind of a real jerk and you grew up with no sense of responsibility while having great magical powers in a world of powerless people. …Which you kinda deserved to get your teeth kicked in by a ten and eleven year old."

"...Ugh. What's your point? Trying to add salt to the wound?" Charmcaster groaned.

"Are we wrong?" Noel argued still in that eerily calm tone, "Tell me in what way were you in the right for half the things you did?" she looked at Charmcaster with a very annoyed expression while waiting, "Well? Justify it even a little…and, no, your crappy uncle and Trauma don't count. My original timeline is infinitely worse and none of us use it as a crutch."

"Why do you guys always make it so hard to complain when you say things that are true?" Charmcaster sighed in defeat, "Okay, I was a jerk, fine!"

=I would have gone with mega-bitch…= Sam chimed in.

"Oops…coms were open…" Noel muttered.

"Seriously, what is with your personality when that gun of yours is out?"

"Hm?"

"I mean it. One moment you seem meek, but you're a completely different person the moment you get that gun of yours out."

"Why do you focus on the most unimportant thing?" Noel asked, "Like why Ben is actually good at what he does, or why he has a new romantic partner when the topic is your issues?"

=You'd be surprised at how often this happens even in Amity, Noel= Sam sighed =Bad guys and those on the border between them tend to have this issue of not being able to understand certain subjects=

"How is that unimportant? I've never seen him be anything but a goofball!" Charmcaster argued.

"You're doing it again," Noel muttered while taking a few more shots, "Do you always focus on other people so you don't need to focus on bettering yourself?"

"..."

Noel sighed, shifting her sniper rifle to a rocket launcher and fired a round, sending pumpkin chunks about after hitting a large group of them, "We know a good therapist that will listen to what you need to get off your mind."

"Why is this my life…?" Charmcaster gave in, "Your friend is fighting an evil Lord of Ectonurites who has been feeding off the Alpha Rune for who knows how long, and you're worried about my issues?"

"Implying that I'd think Ben won't win?" Noel asked.

"..."

=She has ya there=

"...ugh. Fine….hopefully this won't take long," Charmcaster sighed as she hopped off the rooftop, using the Alpha Runes magic to slow down her descent, "BEN!"

"What?!" Ben shouted as he avoided another slash from Zs'Skayr.

"Toss me my bag!"

"Wh-?! No!"

"I need it so I can help get those pumpkin monsters and Zs'Skayr off your back!"

"Still no!"

"Oh for…!" Charmcaster groaned as she facepalmed, "Stop being so stubborn and trust me! Because in case you forgot, I got a bone to pick with that crappy sheet ghost too!"

"Ugh…" Ben groaned, "Fine!" he tossed the bag, "Catch!"

"THANK YOU!" Charmcaster exclaimed as she caught it..before frowning at her bag as she reached into it, "Oh stop complaining. Be lucky I'm even keeping you around, you ungrateful douche," she muttered as she pulled out a few rocks with magenta lines on them, throwing them out quickly as they began to take the forms of stone golems.

"What's this? Sticking around to fight? And here I figured you were somewhat clever," Zs'Skayr laughed as he pointed and directed his Pumpkin monsters to attack the Golems.

"Oh no. That wasn't clever," Charmcaster countered before her golems began to approach her, beginning to engulf her in a dome of stone before it shattered, revealing her to be wearing stone armor made from her very beasts with the Alpha Rune embedded in her chest armor, "This is." she smirked before holding her hand out…and unleashing a massive beam of mana that tore straight through the pumpkin monsters like nothing.

"Yeah…He may be a ghost-like alien with, probably, a lot of smarts…but doesn't change the fact that she's someone who's grown up living and breathing magic," Sam noted, glancing over her shoulder to look at Charmcaster while shooting at another pumpkin monster.

"Paon…" Funkfreed nodded as he stomped on the heads of two pumpkin monsters.

"Okay, that's pretty cool," Makoto admitted as she delivered another punch to a pumpkin that tore its head apart.

"I'll give you this, you've surprised me. Child. I was expecting you to abandon Tennyson, to run away like your people are known for." Zs'Skayr chuckled, "Maybe…you are just plain stupid."

"Maybe…but I'm not the one relying on pumpkins to fight for me," Charmcaster retorted, "Plus stone golems are more efficient anyways…"

'I'd like to quip that Grass beats Rock, but…' Ben thought.

"It's cool we have the Witch girl on our side, but we're still outnumbered by the giant evil pumpkin patch!" Makoto grunted, karate chopping one of the monsters in half down the middle, "We're gonna run out of steam, juice, and every other metaphor for energy eventually,"

"Only thing I got is, trust the Omnitrix," Ben sighed as it lit up, "Please…you always give me something that helps when the chips are down," he turned it on as it automatically opened the core to push on, "I know it's gonna be Swampfire, but I hope this is for a good reason."

"It's worth a try," Makoto muttered, punching another Pumpkin monster, only for more to begin growing, "Honest question: do folks eat these? 'Cause at least it's a steady food supply…"

"Given what this place is and who was controlling them…I wouldn't," Charmcaster muttered before she sent out another large mana blast, incinerating more and more of the pumpkin monsters.

"Hah!" Zs'Skayr swing at Charmcaster, who blocked with a mana barrier; the Ectonurie smirked as he phased his hand through the barrier and slashed her armor with his claws, "Mana has very little effect on beings without life force!" he cackled.

"Maybe. But…" Charmcaster began, grabbing him before he could fly back, reeling her arm back as she punched him hard in the face, "Least I can get a good hit in."

"Gh…you little…" Zs'Skayr began before a fire energy punch sent him flying, "GAH!"

"Ben now!" Makoto called out lowering her elementally charged arm.

"Right!" he slapped the Omnitrix as it let out a slow beep before a massive green flash unlike ever before filled the area. The flash even blew away multiple pumpkin creatures before slowly fading away to reveal the now muscular frame of Swampfire as his green body was now a much brighter healthy shade of green with the red thorns on his arms now glowing orange in the center as if with heat. His face had turned bright orange, yellow, and red with his emerald eyes glowing brightly as energy seemed to trail out of them and into the air.

"...That's…new," Charmcaster slowly blinked.

"Hey…he looks…different…like…" Makoto muttered, "He's bloomed…Bloomed Swampfire!"

"I'll just stick with 'Swampfire,' babe, but I love the way to differ between the looks," Swampfire replied as he noticed his reflection in a broken window, "Huh…Not bad." several pumpkins began to charge at him, "Okay…Seriously? All these charging tactics have just. gotta. STOP!" slowly, the charging pumpkin monsters slowed to a halt as the ones trying to attack the others all stopped as well, assuming standby stances, "...Did…Did I do that?"

"Ohh~! I guess matured Methanosians can control even sentient plants!" Makoto awed before grinning, "If this form works on weeds as well, we are gonna have the best darn lawn in the neighborhood! That family down the street can suck it when the next lawn contest comes! Especially that daughter of theirs and her gloating!"

"So this is what being a house owner is like?" Swampfire mused before pointing to Zs'Skayr, "Get 'im, boys!" the pumpkin monsters spun their heads around to all look at the Ectonurite and screeched before charging with clawed hands extended out and jagged carved mouths opened to bite.

"What are yo-Gh!" he grunted swinging his scythe to behead several, "I am your master, obey!" he swung again before using his claws to shred one that got too close to ribbons, "What is the meaning of this!? I am their master!"

"Not anymore, seems like I'm the master of all things plant now," Swampfire smirked, "So this is what it's like commanding goons. I kinda dig it. Maybe I can take some of these guys' seeds so I can have an army of Pumpkins for battle?" he mused, scratching his now orange chin.

"Any chance you know if…?" Makoto began, looking at Sam.

"I tend to stay away from where they're working on making farmland in UnderAmity since Patra predicted my first time there would 'not be fun for anyone,'" Sam replied.

"Ahh. Gotcha."

"I'll keep a packet in my pockets for emergency deployment," Swampfire replied, he then held his arms up, "By the way, let's check another important part of this kit," he held his palm open before a flash went off in the center of his palm as he unleashed a massive stream of fire that swallowed up Zs'Skayr and many Pumpkins…before going on for a good distance 'till crashing into a rock formation…which began to melt and crumble from the intensity of the flames, "Oh-hoh-hoh~! Enhanced fire~! I dig it!"

"Oh he's definitely gonna feel that in the…er…" Makoto paused as she looked at the darkened sky, "...right…perpetual night…"

"But hot and bright," Swampfire smirked, "If anything, he's gonna sting for a week."

"Okay, how does a plant blast fire?" Charmcaster couldn't help but ask.

"Methane combustion. It's why I smell like I do," Swampfire sighed, "You should consider taking classes. We all saw how this stuff works in, like, middle school science class. My teacher did it with these bubbles that burst into fire. It was awesome!"

"Plus if anime has taught us anything, knowing how science works, means making magic copy it even stronger." Makoto smirked, "Why do you think Gwen's constructs and spells are so strong despite being a newbie compared to you? She uses Science to make up for what she doesn't know."

"That's the secret!?" Charmcaster snapped.

"Never give nerds super powers," Swampfire chuckled, "They take all the fun of figuring things out."

"We should know…we got a smart friend that tends to over analyze things like Santa Claus," Makoto added with a nod.

"In truth, nerds suck!"

"?!" the group tensed as they looked up at the sky, seeing Dark Dan grinning down at them as he carried a groaning Zs'Skayr underneath his shoulder.

"Tennyson, digging the new look," he noted before his grin turned dark, "Wonder how many times I can rip your head off before it stops regrowing?"

"Eh…most one guy got was 99…" Swampfire replied.

"Bet I can go over.." Dark Dan began before Zs'Skayr groaned, "...Oh come on. Don't complain because you got blasted by Tennyson and his mini harem."

"NOT A HAREM!" Swampfire snapped.

"Wh-?! I am not with him!" Charmcaster snapped.

"Yeah, my girlfriend is a thousand times hotter," Swampfire added, earning a flat look from the spellcaster.

"Oh, then it's cool if I headshot the blond and mini-me's flame then," Dark Dan smirked as he aimed a finger at Noel and Sam, only to get another groan from Zs'Skayr, "Seriously? You're killing my mood here."

"Grr…"

"Surprise!" Skurd called out, forming over Swampfire's left arm and turning it into Gutrot's before aiming and blasting both with orange smoke.

"Oh come on! What is this?!"

"It makes it easier to do this!" Makoto shouted, jumping and punching Dark Dan in the face and knocking him to the ground, "No intangibility for you, jackass!"

"...huh. Actually felt that…" Dark Dan muttered as he pushed himself up, using his free hand to move his jaw a bit, "Not as strong as Tennyson's strongest alien, but eh. Decent at best."

"Oh yeah…well how about I give it a shot then?" Charmcaster spoke before she fired off a massive mana beam.

"Oh please…" Dark Dan rolled his eyes as he summoned a barrier to block the incoming blast, "Even with that little rock you stole from Skayr, you're not all that threatening."

"Don't take it personally, he's literally the cause of the apocalypse in his timeline," Swampfire explained.

"Wh-?! YOU COULD'VE TOLD ME TH-!" Charmcaster began in her snap before she was sent flying by a blast of ectoplasmic energy, destroying her stone armor as she flew back, "AHH!"

"I got ya!" Swampfire called out as a wall of vines formed out to catch her, "To be fair, what makes you think anyone I fight is not at least dangerous to some extent? My mortal enemies are galactic dictators or dimensional elder gods…"

"Well I'm glad to be on such a high level of standards, makes this game all the more fun," Dark Dan smirked, aiming and shooting an Ecto Beam only for it to collide with a stream of fire…that was matching it in power, "HAHA! You leveled up! That is some real heat!"

"We've gotten better since your time stuck in a tin can," Swampfire replied.

"Oh ho ho~! Ominous! But can you handle this?" Dark Dan began as he began to take a deep breath, only to wince when he felt Zs'Skayr's claw scratching him in the back, "?!"

"Just take me out of here so I can recover, you battle maniac!"

"Bah…ruin my fun…" Dark Dan groaned, "I guess we can have Round 2 another day, Ben."

"I promised Danny I'd punch your teeth in for him, so rain check on that." Swampfire smirked, "I was just here to get the magical goober. No sense wasting energy on a prolonged fight."

"Fine with us," Dark Dan smirked before he began to fly off, "We can always find a replacement…"

"...Well that didn't sound ominous…" Skurd whispered.

Swampfire sighed, "Things just can't be easy, can they? Just wanted to go to a gothic circus…end up dealing with Zombozo and an evil ringmaster that controlled ghosts that led to the Anur System where one of my A-Tier villains and the evil future Danny were freed by a hipster and Junko."

"You left out the fact said 'hipster' being my former boss and was the reason Junko came back," Makoto shuddered.

"I was trying to not trigger you too much, I figured mentioning that psycho was already enough," Swampfire explained, "Also, Evil Pumpkins…go surround the castle and attack anything that comes out of it!" he ordered.

The pumpkin monsters groaned in response as they began to walk off, some picking up the remains of the others that were destroyed as they began to vanish into the fog.

"Do you really have to call them 'Evil Pumpkins' if they're listening to you?" Noel asked.

"I mean they were his minions first. Should I rebrand them as mine?" Swampfire asked, "Besides I already called them that."

"But…True…mmm~" Noel pouted as she couldn't think of anything to retort about that.

"Oh fine, I'll think of something else to call them, but they're still kinda creepy." Swampfire sighed in defeat, "You're not thinking of using one for Anur Pumpkin Pie, are you?"

"...How?" Noel asked.

"We know you too well," Makoto chimed in.

"Mmm~"

"Well, least we're done here for now," Sam spoke before looking at Charmcaster, "And you got your goober back."

"It's not a goober…" Charmcaster frowned, walking to the remains of her armor as she picked up the Alpha Rune, "It's an ancient relic that is a vital part of Legerdomain and signifies who the current ruler is."

"And yet you let it get stolen."

"I can and will turn you into a puppet."

"Learn to take a joke, will ya?" Swampfire sighed, "Seriously, how are you supposed to be friends with folks? You should hear how me and my friends talk to each other half the time."

"You can make cool magical armor, but can't learn the meaning of 'grow some thicker skin?'" Sam smiled, "No it's not literal. Wow…you should really spend time with people…and not the evil jerks in your purse. Once an asshole, always an asshole."

"You could do something like leave their tiny forms in your freezer?" Makoto smirked.

"No one will miss them," Noel nodded, "Especially the one who messes with fair maidens and their hearts in order to sustain his own looks."

"Seriously?" Swampfire asked in a deadpan.

"You know this debate never ends with us victorious," Skurd sighed.

"No, I know that, but I just mean…is that the only reason for Savage Noel?" Swampfire pointed out.

"Do you have names for my different moods?" Noel asked with a pout.

"...Noooo…." he lingered for a long moment while avoiding eye contact, "Of course we do…n't."

Noel shot him a deadpan stare...before poking a finger out as she tapped the Omnitrix symbol on him, causing him to change back into Ben.

"...Okay, you made your point…"

"...Seriously, you guys are weird," Charmcaster muttered before looking back at the Alpha Rune, "But now that I got my stuff back…I can get this back to Legerdomain…but not before I go searching for that Nine woman."

"...Uh, do you have a death wish?" Makoto asked with wide eyes.

"At this point, I think she's just stubborn," Ben sighed with a slight chuckle.

"Whatever," Charmcaster scoffed before she summoned a portal…before looking at her bag, "Well I don't care what you think, Michael…you're going to help me find her whether you want to or not…even if I have to use you as a literal meatshield."

"Hey, Charmy!" Ben called out, "If you want I can give you Gwen's number. Maybe if you hang around the person Nine is interested in, your chances of meeting her go up? Plus let her take a shot at spending a day with you. Maybe you can show her up in her school's magic class. Dethrone her as top nerd." he offered, "Just don't cause trouble, the last thing I need is complaints aimed at me, fair?"

"...dethrone Gwen…or go search for that Nine woman on my own…" Charmcaster listed her options as she thought it over…before looking at her bag once more, "You creep on her once, I will feed you to whatever eldritch abomination I can summon."

"Seriously, consider the 'putting him in your freezer' thing. Don't need to listen to him all day," Makoto cheered.

"Oh, probably put him in a bag filled with some au de skunk," Sam added with a snicker, "Dunces like him need to have it reinforced that they've goofed up majorly."

"I'd say put him in a box with a skunk, agitate it, then put that box into another box, then that one into another box, ship it to yourself, then cast your strongest ice spell on the box the moment it arrives at your doorstep and then you put it in a freezer," Noel suggested, Funkfreed and Mari slowly scooting away from their owner and behind Makoto.

"Heaven help anyone who upsets you socially," Ben muttered at all of that, "You are not allowed to show this side to the adorable Corgi or Robotboy. Ever."

"Wah…you think I'd show this to them?" Noel gasped.

"You showed it to the Mink and Sword that turned into a Pachyderm," Ben argued while crossing his arms.

"Ahh!" Noel gawked…before slumping as she had her head down to her pets, "I'm sorry~"

"Pfftt…It's so easy for him to get you, Noellie…" Makoto giggled.

"Mmm~"

"...I'll think about it," Charmcaster spoke, earning the quartet's attention, "Doesn't mean I'm gonna go good or anything…just want the chance to show Gwen up and prove who's the better sorceress."

"Well I'm not asking you to hang out in your free time, but at least don't make an unintentional doomsday weapon and just make Gwen hate her day by messing with her?" Ben offered.

"...I promise only to try."

"That's good enough for me," Ben nodded.

"Seriously?" Sam raised a brow.

"That's actually the family motto," Ben joked.

"...No wonder you and Danny get along well…" Sam muttered as Charmcaster began to walk into the portal.

"Wait, don't you…" Ben began.

"Technically, I don't have a cell phone…my last one was destroyed."

"By wh….know what? I already have a good feeling who…" Ben muttered.

---

Meanwhile, in another part of Anur Transyl, the burnt remains of some pumpkin monsters littered the area, electricity crackling a bit as an all too familiar young vampire stood within the center.

"Hmph…honestly such weak familiars…" Rachel huffed a bit as Valkenhyne walked over to her, "Anything?"

"Sadly no, milady…I've searched practically the entire planet for you in hopes of finding what you felt."

"Yes…that magical presence not unlike my own," Rachel whispered, "..and to think I was enjoying my vacation from home…"

"Oh I know. And after the good professor agreed o look after things for you in your stead for a while," Nago added.

"Yeah. It's not everyday you get to enjoy yourself, Lady Rachel," Gii added, "What with trying to find that scary guy in white armor, trying to detect what that sneaky snake is up to, preparing f-" he began before Rachel slammed Nago right on top of him, "FUGAH! P-Princess…"

"Mmm…mmm-hmmm…" Nago muffled out.

"...Well I do have some good news though," Valkenhayn spoke up, earning Rachel's attention, "While I was looking through town, I did notice young master Tennyson and his group were here."

"Hoh? The young boy with the watch crafted by those beyond the stars?" Rachel pondered.

"Indeed. Mayhaps we can ask for their aid and a proper place to sit down," Valkenhayn offered.

"Mayhaps…" Rachel replied before frowning a bit, "My slippers have been dirtied enough by all the dirt and those poor pathetic attempts at familiars."

"Worry not princess!" Nago declared, changing from his umbrella form as he changed into his large black cat form…complete with a saddle, "I shall make sure you don't have to take another step on these filthy grounds!"

"I shall send word ahead to Master Tennyson and the Captain of their ship, let them prepare for your arrival," Valkenhayn bowed.

"Hmm. Please do, Valkenhayn," Rachel nodded as she hopped on top of Nago…before she grabbed Gii and molded him into a pillow for her to rest upon, "Onwards."

"Yes Princess!" Nago cheered while marching.

'...That magical presence…' Rachel thought as a light frown grew on her face, 'Who or what are you…?'

---

SZ: Welp…this was a surprising chapter…and took a while for us to finish. Reason…*camera zooms out to reveal a PS5…and the author currently wearing paladin armor*FF14 and my new PS5…and often times streams for Spider Man 2

Z0; I envy him greatly, but as his friend I am also happy for him. But also as his best friend I can comfortably admit the envy. Sides I'll find my way to get one, even if I have to make Dark dealings.

GT: Aye. One day I shall get one or the next Playstation after it as well. Just have to save up after my family gets done making a tiny house for my sister to live in…and after saving up to buy the model kit for RollEXE from Kotobukiya.

Z0: Anyway, lets continue with the outro we got shit to do.

SZ: Yup. And before you all jump the gun…we're not trying to make Charmcaster good or anything. If anything…she'll be more of an antagonistic rival for Gwen…which is not all that different compared to how they act towards each other in the show.

Z0: But let's face it, the show dropped her character development a little…

SZ: Especially in Omniverse…which we promised to fix a LOT of the issues that was in said show, which we've already did so for a few.

GT: Indeed. Seriously…what were they thinking of letting her keep and listen to those two in her bag?! …I honestly blame Ben for it, possibly flubbing up more of the universe than just the taste of grapes.

Z0: But she was in Ledgerdomain…which is its own separate world. Know what maybe this isn't the place for this, lets just call it a night.

SZ: Hai. Tune in next time as we get to the main part of the arc.

GT: Aye. Until next time, please Read and Review!

Z0: Now everyone go to sleep! *headbutts everyone and then the screen*