SZ: Welp we're back to this and…*looks around*No one tell Makoto who we're bringing into this...she will NOT be happy.
GT: Nope. No joy for her when she learns it.
Z0: Well...she's gonna find out eventually.
SZ: True...but she's gonna send someone to the moon. Ahem..let us get to it. We do not own anything in this aside from original content, so…Z0, start us off!
Z0: *drops piano on the camera*
It was a week after the failed transport and the escape of both Vilgax and Vexus, and the group was finally trying to calm down while the rest of the Plumbers looked into searching for the two dangerous villains. Today, however...didn't start as relaxing.
"Woah!" Jetray screamed as he was tossed onto a fire-hydrant, "Gah...I knew Jenny said something about this Kamikaze guy making mutant animals like Animo...but she didn't mention he could make landsharks with laser beams attached to their heads!"
"You forgot to add freakin'!" Makoto quipped as she dodged a laser blast.
"I regret bringing out that movie…" Jetray sighed as he fired back, knocking out several of the sharks mutants with his neuroshock blasts from his eyes and tail.
"Just stay out of my way and bring me Robotboy and XJ-9, or else my Shark Clones will destroy you!" Kamikaze demanded, sitting on top of Constantine like a throne.
"Yeah...How about no?" Makoto quipped, grabbing one of her tonfa as she tossed it, beaning a few Shark Clones upside the head before she caught it upon its return.
"You think you can get in my way!? Hah!" Kamikaze laughed.
"Okay...That's it. I'mma do it," Jetray sighed.
"No...then it'll be done too fast…" Makoto complained.
"I am in no mood." he said, slapping the Omnitrix and turning into Grimlock. He grunted, leaning forward as he transformed into Dino mode, "Grr…"
The Shark Clones stopped upon seeing the robotic prehistoric predator, looking between it and Kamikaze for a moment...before making the reasonable option and ran away as fast as their tail-fins could let them.
"Hey! HEY! Where are you going?!" Kamikaze snapped at the feeling mutants, "Wait! Come back you stupid fish!"
"Uh boss…" Constantine spoke as Grimlock walked up to them while Kamikaze had his back turned.
"I should have turned you into sashimi!" Kamikaze shook his fist before turning around and was face to face with the Cybertronian.
"Me Grimlock...hungry…" he growled.
"...I uh...I have just remembered something. Constantine left something in the oven," Kamikaze whispered with a gulp
"Huh? But I di...AH! MY SPINACH PUFFS!" Constantine freaked before running off, carrying Kamikaze as he did.
"Hmph…"
"Aw...but that was too fast…" Makoto complained as her ears drooped.
"Don't say...that's what she said…" Grimlock sighed reverting to Robot mode.
"Oh please. Like I…no no. You're right," Makoto muttered, "...Well. Least we saved Jen and RB a battle against that crazy midget."
"I thought he was just so old he started shrinking…" Ben muttered after flashing back to normal.
"Heh heh. Good point," Makoto chuckled at that, "Anyway…let's head back to HQ and report so we can get the rest of the day off. I'm looking forward to some good ol' smoothies."
"Let's just hope we don't get back and walk in on something important…" Ben muttered.
"It's weird how many times that happens," Makoto agreed as the two began to walk off.
"Tell me about it," Ben nodded, "I mean who knows? We may end up being some tourguids to some very important person or something."
"If they're fun, I might go for that. If not...well then we'd just grin and bear it," Makoto shrugged.
"...You seem to be in a chipper mood today," Ben noted as they were nearing the shop the elevator leading to Plumbers HQ was located.
"Yup! Since I woke up this morning, been feeling pretty good about myself," Makoto admitted as they walked in, "Not sure why, but I've been feeling rather happy."
"When aren't you super positive?" Ben argued as they walked into the elevator.
"Well for one; when someone brings up something racist around me," Makoto pointed out as they rode the elevator down, "Another...well let's say it involves someone I worked alongside with in my time...and let me tell ya. He. Was. Lazy~!"
"...He wasn't that bad, was he?"
"Almost half the time I saw him, his office was a wreck and smelled of liquor and many other things I will not say because he always found time to party when his assistant was away."
"How...how did this guy get any kind of job?" Ben asked, "I mean I'm lazy...you're also lazy, but that's at home...and at worst we forget to do our chores on the chart till it piles up, but that...that sounds like he's kinda driving an entire agency down the drain."
"Yeah...and you want to know the worst part? He's the current head of his family!"
"I'm starting to see why he's not fired…" Ben muttered, "Hopefully Tsubaki never finds out...oh boy just imagining the reaction…"
"...I'm almost afraid to tell her because...well that family I mentioned? It's actually the head of the Duodecim, which are the top families in the entire world that help support the NOL in a sense…Tsubaki's family included," Makoto admitted just as the elevator doors opened, "But I'm sure-and hoping-that he isn't…"
"Ahh Ben, Makoto, good timing," Max spoke, making the two turn to see him approaching them, "I have an important assignment for you two. I need you to be tour-guides for someone and Makoto, you may possibly know them."
"I do?" Makoto blinked as the two stepped out.
"Yes you do, Nanaya-san."
"OH GEEZ!" the two yelped as they quickly turned to face who said that, only to blink a bit.
Standing there was a young man of asian decent...though for a moment Ben thought he was a girl given his small, delicate and feminine features while his short black hair was done into a styled bowl cut that reached down to his cheekbones. He seemed to be wearing a Japanese military uniform consisting of blue and black in color with a small red tie with yellow trimming over the blue jacket and a pair of white gloves.
"...Hibiki?" Makoto blinked.
"You know him?" Ben asked as he looked at her.
"Remember that assistant I mentioned? This is him," Makoto answered, "The guy's practically a ninja, so you can never tell if he's right behind you and bring down the rule hammer."
"Cool...Wait a minute…" Ben realized, "You said that this guy followed around...that guy."
"...Wait...if he's here...then…" Makoto began before her eyes began to widen in dread, "...Oh no…..no no no no…nonononononono…"
"Hmm?" Max raised a brow at that.
"Nononononononononono!" Makoto began to rant, "No! I swear if he's here, I…!"
"AHH!" a female voice screamed, followed by a slap.
"He is…" Hibiki sighed as a figure stumbled in.
"Ow...not sure I deserve that…" the figure muttered, leaning against a doorway as he rubbed his sore cheek.
The figure in question was a tall, lean man with spiky black here, some bags under his
purple eyes, indicating he was up late. He seemed to be wearing a loose white shirt with black liens accenting the edges, the left side crossing over the right as it was held up by three belts, two thinner ones around his waist and a larger one with a gold buckle resting over his hips. He also wore a pair of black trousers and brown shoes with steel toecaps.
"..."
"That's him?" Ben asked.
"No!" Makoto shouted, making everyone jump as she walked over and picked up a Plumber battleship, "You knew this was coming!"
"Oh crap baskets!" Ben panicked, jumping and pushing Max down as she tossed it.
"...I had a feeling this would happen…" Hibiki sighed.
"Ahh...not so loud...that club we found last night before coming here was wild, but damn my hangover…" the man groaned.
"Oh big shocker! Y…Wait...you were drinking again?!" Makoto snapped as she turned towards him, "Why w-no..I should've expected that! I mean you…! Ugh! HOW AND WHY ARE YOU HERE?!"
"Uh...Big flash...me and him woke up in some place called...San Francisco…" he grumbled, "Uh...not sure what I said but for some reason I got real popular with a band and their groupies...then next thing I know, I'm here...and Hibiki tells me he found some dudes who can help…" he then blinked when he finally noticed who he was talking to, "...Well. Ain't this a small world. Hello...l-"
"Don't you dare say it…!"
"...L-"
"I'll hurt you, and I'll make it look like an accident!"
"...Lover number 3," the man smirked.
"Wait...you and this guy…?" Ben began.
"Lies!" Makoto snapped, "Nothing happened!"
"Aw come on...you were a blast in bed."
"Oh my god! That didn't happen!" Makoto exclaimed, "I had one too many drinks and I woke up in your bed topless!"
"Hey. I wanted a feel of those girls of yours."
"...Three…two...one…" Hibiki counted down.
"SEIBAI!"
*BAM!*
"...Not sure...I deserved that…." the man wheezed, implanted in the wall with a fistmark on his cheek.
"I beg to differ…" Max sighed, "Makoto...tell you what? How's about you...and the girls all take personal days and let Ben and Rook handle this." he offered before groaning as Makoto hugged him.
"Thankyou!" Makoto quickly beamed before rushing out of there in a blur...before rushing back towards Ben, "Oh Ben, that's Kagura-aka laziest perv to ever exist...have fun," she said before rushing out.
"...wait. That's the guy she told me about?!" Ben exclaimed.
"Yes...people expect…" Hibiki paused, "Something more sleazy looking...but he takes pride in being...conventionally good looking...I believe."
"Hey. The ladies…" Kagura grunted as he managed to pull himself out of the wall, "Love me...most of the time. Only time I back down is if one has a good boyfriend or engaged to someone...unless that person they're gonna be with is a sleeze bag."
"Pot meet kettle…" Ben muttered.
"It's a waste of breath by this point...best to let him keep his facade of honor." Hibiki sighed.
"Ouch...that hurt, Hibiki," Kagura winced a bit with a laugh.
"Hm...I can see Makoto's points…" Max muttered.
"So what's the plan here, Grandpa?" Ben asked.
"Grandpa?" Kagura asked, appearing next to Ben, "Oh I get it! We're alike! We both come from families that handle important stuff! You and I are gonna be fast friends, Benny boy!"
"Oh geez…" Ben muttered.
"Heh heh...seriously though I'm already liking this place...so much better than the NOL base I…" Kagura began before a flash went off, "Eh?" he blinked before he was suddenly picked up by Grimlock, "Woah now!"
"Me Grimlock didn't hear that last part right…" Grimlock growled, unaware of Hibiki on his shoulder with a sword aimed right at his neck.
"Boys…" Max sighed, getting their attention, "Ugh...down Ben."
"But...Grandpa…"
"No...you can't incinerate him…"
"Aww…"
"I love this place," Kagura smiled, unaffected by the danger he was in, "Ahh...can't wait for that tour, Benji!"
"Don't call me, Grimlock that…"
"...Trust me. You'll get used to this side of him…" Hibiki sighed, making Grimlock jump a bit as he jumped off him.
"Okay I can see I'll have to...get some folks use to how things work around here." Max sighed.
"What's that?" Kagura blinked.
"Since you seem to be the one in charge of your dynamic duo...you won't mind doing this paper work for the both of you then," Max dropped a stack of papers in Kagura's hands.
"Eh?" he blinked, "EH...EEHHH!?"
"I'll make sure he does it," Hibiki stated, making Kagura tense at the tone he used.
"I'm starting to question which one is really in charge…" Ben muttered.
"Whoo! I don't have to deal with him!" Makoto whooped as she entered the house.
"Hmm? Deal with who?" Tsubaki asked, looking up from her laptop as Noel poked her head in from the kitchen.
"The b-" Makoto began before tensing, realizing who she was talking too, "...Uh…"
"Deal with who, Makoto?" Tsubaki asked again.
"Okay but...don't be mad." Makoto began.
"M-mad...why would I…?"
"Ever hear of a guy named Kagura…?" Makoto asked slowly.
"...Kagura...as in…Lord Kagura Mutsuki?" Tsubaki asked back with wide eyes.
"I just call him Lord Pervert of the land of the perverted drunkards…" Makoto smiled before flinching at the glare she got.
"Makoto, Lord Kagura is the head of the Mutsuki family, who lead the Duodecim," Tsubaki argued in a serious tone, "What you said there is highly disrespectful."
"Oh I'm sorry, did you have to deal with his being drunk and grinding on every girl within a 10 mile radius?" Makoto argued.
"I…wait what?"
"Eh?" Noel blinked.
"Oh yeah. I worked with this guy and had to deal with all that!...Oh and Noellie, stay far away from him. I don't want you to catch any Kagura cooties."
"You seriously didn't say that…" Tsubaki deadpanned.
"...Tsubaki, I love you…" Makoto suddenly grabbed her by the collar of her shirt, "But if you think for one minute I'm overexagerating any of this...Oho! You are in for a painful surprise! This guy is the absolute worst! The worst! Whenever his assistant Hibiki wasn't around, he'd take the chance to party and flirt with any woman he invited!"
"Okay...I un-"
"You understand nothing!" Makoto cut her off, "Nothing!"
"Your scaring me…" Tsubaki chuckled awkwardly.
"M-me too…" Noel meeped, hiding back into the kitchen.
"Hm?" Robotboy walked in, he took a second to process what was going on. He ran into the kitchen, picked up Noel and quickly carried her out of the house, "Okay! Con-tinue!"
"It's odd he already knows what to do in these moments…" Makoto muttered, refusing to let go of Tsubaki.
"Please let me go…"Tsubaki sighed
"Never! N...wait…" Makoto paused, dropping Tsubaki as she pulled out her Plumbers Badge, "Uh...Rook? I recall Ben's grandpa mentioning a tour of some sorts. where...are you and Ben taking our 'guests'?"
=I...I do not feel comfortable answering at the moment…=
=Where di...This is a strip club!= Ben snapped in the distance.
=Already i-aw come on!= Kagura complained.
=Sir...we are guest= Hibiki sighed.
=We took our eyes off him for 10 seconds!= Ben snapped.
"...Okay that slightly made me better," Makoto grinned before clearing her throat, "But seriously where do you plan on taking them?"
=Still unsure...most likely Undertown=
=Undertown?...My interest is peaked=
=You just wanna hit on hot alien girls don't you?=
=I love you know me so well, new best friend!=
"...Crap…" Makoto whispered, her eyes the size of dinner plates with her tail and ears drooped, "...Rook, make sure you or Ben don't encounter any Kaka Clan women!"
=Oh is that who I think it is?= Kagura asked =Why Lover Number 3...you must stop stalking me like this. I'd hate to get a restraining order~=
"I...y...ohohohoh~!" Makoto fumed at that, "You see, Tsubaki!?"
"I-I...I'm sure its…" she turned back to her badge, "Hello?"
=Say who's the other girl I hear...is she cute? What's she rank from 1 to 10...she sounds like a solid 9.5.=
"No," Makoto groaned as she hung up, "...Dang it! I...Even on my day off he has to piss me off! I...Ugh! I...I'm heading to where they are…"
"...I…" Tsubaki was still shocked.
"You realize he called you a 9.5 right…?" Makoto pointed out.
"I...n-no. It...it's probably a facade or something," Tsubaki denied, closing her laptop as she stood up, "In fact...I'm heading with you Makoto...to make sure of this."
"...Fine. But don't blame me if your image of him gets shattered," Makoto shrugged.
"Should I stay here?" Noel asked walking back in.
"YES!" both snapped instantly.
"Eep!"
"And this is Undertown." Ben sighed as they got out of the ProtoTRUK.
"Hm...I expected some aliens to be more on the...ick side, but this is so cool, I almost don't mind." Kagura spoke, jumping out, "I like it...its like something out of Star Wars."
"Even the s-" Hibiki began.
"We don't count those," Kagura instantly denied.
"Some things never change, no matter how far in time." Ben sighed.
"See!? Why can't you be like Benji and agree with me!?" Kagura smirked, slinging his arm around Ben.
"...I feel your pain." Rook put his hand on Hibiki's shoulder.
"Hai…" Hibiki sighed.
"So, Benji...what's our first stop here?" Kagura asked.
"Please, don't call me that…" Ben muttered as he moved Kagura off him, "And to answer...maybe the bazaar or something."
"Cool." Kagura mused.
"Alright...and he's gone isn't he?" Ben turned back to Rook and Hibiki.
"Yes…"
"...ugh. Great. Where…?"
=Fugah~!= the three looked up to see one of Psyphon's goons flying over them.
"..."
=Ugh…= Bubblehelmet groaned as he got back up from some broken boxes =Hey! What's your deal?!=
"Ugh...aga-" Ben began, about to turn the Omnitrix on.
"Oh I'm sorry…" Ben and Rook turned to see Kagura, a serious expression on his face as he stood defensively before a female alien, "Was I supposed to stand by and watch you pick on a poor defenseless lady, punk?"
"Huh?" Ben and Rook blinked at the sudden shift in personality.
"Hm...I suppose while yes it is his vice, It can motivate him into being a chivalrous person." Hibiki spoke, "However...this is the only situation in which that's possible."
"Not now, Hibiki...and I can be serious outside of this," Kagura argued, cracking his neck a bit as he approached Bubblehelmet, "So...how's about returning what you took from this nice lady here?"
=How about you buzz off, human?!=
"...Know what? Was gonna try and let you off easy, but…" Kagura paused, looking around before grabbing a nearby large-paddle, "Might as well teach you a lesson."
=...A paddle? You're gonna beat me with a paddle?= Bubblehelmet asked with a laugh before aiming at him with his blaster =You're a dead human f...= he cried out in pain when the paddle was smacked upside his head, making him stagger back. He quickly shook his head to take a look at Kagura...who was holding the large paddle easily with one hand =...Oh no...don't tell me he's another Grim Reaper…=
"Grim Reaper? Nah...I'm more of a Black Knight," Kagura quipped.
=Oh…= At that Bubblehelmet was struck and sent flying and bouncing off the many pipes above their heads.
"Huh...felt like something out of Smash Bros," Kagura smirked proudly, spinning the paddle before putting it back where he found it.
"Wow...not bad." Ben muttered.
"Thanks," Kagura smirked, holding his hand out before catching a bag before walking up to the female alien, "Here ya go, little lady. I believe this belongs to you."
"...Th-thanks," she whispered, blushing a bit as she walked off.
"So you're actually not a total jerk, are ya?" Ben asked, walking up to him.
"That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me…" he pretended to cry, "But seriously yeah...I don't like people oppressing others, especially women."
"...Then why work with the NOL?" Ben asked in interest.
"...so I can overthrow the 'Imperator'," Kagura answered.
"Politics ain't my game." Ben argued with a small smile, "I see a jerk oppressing people or threatening to start a war with the whole galaxy...I do what I do best. Take them down while making stupid jokes."
"Heh...I can respect that, Ben Tennyson." Kagura smirked, "I would have been proud to work with you back in my time."
"Eh I think it could have been fun...but I'm not getting you out of danger next time you sleep with a married woman." Ben smirked.
"Hibiki...you told him didn't you?" Kagura turned around.
"No clue what you mean…" Hibiki turned away with a hidden smirk.
"Dude!" Kagura gawked, "Also...not my fault she didn't tell me was married!"
"Come on...let's go find something else to do." Ben sighed, "Also, you know if you want to hang around here you gotta cool it with that, right?"
"I promise." Kagura smiled.
"Your fingers are crossed…" Hibiki spoke.
"You know what…you're a real buzzkill sometimes, Hibiki...you know that?" Kagura groaned.
"One of us has to be the mature one here," Hibiki countered.
"Mmm...where is he?" Makoto muttered, she and Tsubaki looking around a different part of Undertown.
"Why can't you just call Ben, Makoto?" Tsubaki asked.
"Because Kagura will butt in and mess with me!" Makoto snapped.
"You just can't seem to agree with him, can you?" Tsubaki sighed.
"You heard him!" Makoto snapped.
"I did but...maybe...you know...deep down he's not horrible…"
"Well I never called him a horrible person…" Makoto argued.
"Well from…"
"Well you know what they say about people who assume Tsubaki…" Makoto smirked.
"You know maybe you two are alike…" Tsubaki frowned.
"You take that back!" Makoto snapped, making her flinch a bit, "Sorry sorry. Just...ugh. Come on...the sooner we find them, the faster I can stop him from possibly causing some intergalactic incident."
"You're overthinking it…"
"Oh I'm overthinking it?" Makoto replied, "I'm not the girl who set up a 12 stage plan just to talk to the boy she liked in highschool."
"Th-that's different!" Tsubaki argued with a blush.
"Keep in mind...this was talk...you somehow planned years in advance for a confession." Makoto went on.
"It was not years!"
"Uh yeah it was!" Makoto argued, "Seriously, Noel made an entire book based on those notes you made back at the academy!"
"It's true...oops…"
"Ahh~! See?!"
"...Well least I don't constantly deny my feelings f-"
"Uh look! I think I see them ahead! Let's go!" Makoto quickly shoute, trying to fight the blush on her face as she rushed off.
"Aha!" Tsubaki shouted running after her.
"We're done talking about this!"
"Oh no we are not! If you want to go there I'm going there!"
"This is different!" Makoto argued.
"Different how!?"
"I-it just is!"
"Just get back here, Makoto!"
"No!"
"...why do I feel like someone's talking about me in someway?" Ben muttered as his group walked alongside the riverbank.
"Probably a cute girl," Kagura teased.
"You know if the 'sneeze when someone talks about you' thing is true, you'd probably be hospitalized by now." Ben smirked.
"More cute nurses and Medical interns for me!" Kagura replied, 'Ahh...Tama was a cute one."
"Yes...after you got put into the medbay after what happened with Nanaya-san," Hibiki pointed out, making Kagura slump slightly.
"...Still worth it."
"I get the feeling Makoto is never going to let you live that down." Ben spoke.
"Hm?" Kagura blinked, "The way you say her name…" he leaned towards Ben, "You two...you uh...got a thing going on?"
"Huh?"
"Come on...you can tell me, buddy," Kagura smirked.
"What...me and Makoto? I mean…"
"Oho!" Kagura laughed, "This smells good...I can feel it…"
"Come on cut it out." Ben sighed.
"Argue it all you want, Ben...but you can feel it can't you? A pull...something that brings you and that girl together!" Kagura added, jumping up as Ben began walking ahead, "You two are vibing with each other…" everyone turned the sound of something being knocked over.
"Probably just Tao…" Ben shrugged.
"I mean it, man. She probably digs you a lot...and I can't blame ya if you do too. That smile of hers, that bubbly personality...that rockin' bod of hers…" Kagura listed off, not once turning as a figure began to approach him, "...and she's right behind me, isn't she?"
"No comment." Ben spoke backing away.
"If you strike me down, I'll only become even strongerrrrrr!" he cried as he was punted into the distance mid sentence.
"Grr…." Makoto growled, lowering her foot as she took a deep breath, "I...am so sorry for having you deal with him, Ben, Rook."
"Honestly from what I've seen...he seems to be decent...outside of that personality of his," Rook admitted.
"Say wha…"
"Deep...I'm talking deep deep...DEEP down…" Ben began, "He's an okay guy." he sighed, "He's still a mad pervert...but I think he still cares for people enough to risk his neck."
"It's ...true…" Kagura spoke, crawling back before falling over, "I'm not gonna be able to sit down for...a week…"
"I call nonsense!" Makoto snapped looking at Ben.
"Makoto...I've dealt with the worst of the worst...and Kevin…" Ben began.
"Hahaha...that sounds like an epic burn…" Kagura laughed.
"But...I like to think after years of giving second chances to people who deserve them, and first chances to people who didn't...I can give Kagura a chance." Ben smiled to Makoto, "Look I'm not saying he won't be a nightmare to Jerry and the HR department…"
"I feel like I'm gonna have to remember that name…" Kagura muttered.
"But if it comes down to his nonsense and making sure people are safe, I'm sure he's gonna pick the latter...and then go back to his nonsense." Ben sighed, continuing on as he kicked Kagura over into the river, "Look...don't trust him. But...trust me, I know deep down. He is a good guy."
"...I know, but...well if you can trust him...I suppose I can too...to an extent," Makoto sighed, "...And I will admit, he can throw a pretty good party…"
"That's the nicest thing you ever said about me…" Kagura 'sobbed', pulling himself back out of the water.
"It kind of is." Hibiki smirked.
"Oi!"
"Well...if we're done here, I can head back t-" Makoto began.
"Makoto…" Tsubaki began as she turned the corner, a small frown on her face, "What's this I hear about Ben being your Mate?"
"?!" Makoto tensed at that.
"...I'm sorry what?" Ben blinked.
"While I was on my way here to catch up to her, I ran into one of the Kaka Clan women, and they mentioned that she was Ben...er. 'Changing Guy's Mate'," Tsubaki clarified, making Makoto tense further as she began to sweat a bit.
"I knew it!" Kagura snapped shooting up, "Aha! I knew you two were...AH!" he cried as Makoto pushed him back down into the river, "I'm okay!"
"...SERIOUSLY?!" Ben exclaimed as he glared at Makoto, "Why would you say that?!"
"It was the only way I could get them off your back!" Makoto argued.
"Wait. Is that why I haven't been jumped down here?!"
"Yes!" Makoto crossed her arms, "B-besides, I only said it to save my own skin. So you should be thanking me!"
"Thanking you!?"
"Your welcome!"
"...Tsubaki…" Rook spoke.
"Yes Rook…?" she replied.
"I think you made them start that again." Rook sighed.
"This is normal?" Hibiki asked.
"Yes…" they both sighed.
"Oho! I'm so sorry being stuck with me is such a bad thing!" Makoto shouted.
"I never said that! Did I say that?!" Ben snapped.
"Well it sure sounds like it!" Makoto turned her head away.
"Oh that is not what I said and you know it!" Ben pointed at her.
"So then what's the big deal?!" Makoto argued.
"What...Well of course it's a big deal! What if it spreads like some crazy out of control rumor!?"
"Well I'm sorry for trying to help!"
"No. I'm sorry that I got you sucked into this!"
"Oh don't you even think of trying to reverse psych this on me!"
"I was not!"
"I hate it when Mom and Dad fight…" Kagura laughed.
"YOU STAY OUT OF IT!" Ben and Makoto snapped, the volume of their voices knocking Kagura back into the water.
"You see what you started?" Rook sighed as the trio took cover behind the corner of a building.
"I admit...this was my fault. But I oddly can't stop watching," Tsubaki muttered.
"I know right…?" Hibiki agreed.
"Oddly...me too." Rook muttered.
"Seriously, next time you decide to do something like that, think before you do something that makes people assume something crazy!" Ben snapped.
"I...you...you know what? Fine…" Makoto began as she turned, using her tail to smack Ben into the water as she stomped off, "See if I do you a favor next time, baka!"
"What I...wha!?" Ben sputtered.
"Aw...she likes you…" Kagura teased, laying on his side next to the river, "It always means a girl likes you when she runs off saying 'baka'."
"This isn't an anime." Ben complained.
"You'd be surprised how often cliches mirror real life." Kagura smirked, "Seriously, if she was willing to go through something embarrassing like that just to help ya out...you know she crushing hard on ya."
"..." Ben said nothing as he climbed out of the river.
"...Hey uh...Rook right?" Kagura spoke, getting Rook's attention, "Why don't you and Ms. Yayoi take Hibiki off somewhere?"
"Is that wise…?"
"I'm going with Ben...besides, you think any of you could stop me if I tried to get away?" Kagura argued.
"Fine, but don't blame me if he turns Into that Grimlock form and eats you." Hibiki sighed.
"Let's go find Makoto." Tsubaki offered.
"Good idea," Rook nodded as he, Tsubak, and Hibiki walked off.
"...Ended up breaking up a good relationship over doing something stupid?" Kagura guessed as he looked down at Ben, offering his hand to him.
"?" Ben blinked at that as he looked up, taking Kagura's offered hand as he helped him up, "How did you…?"
"Ben...when you've dated as many girls as I have, you can tell these things...and often experience them for the good ones," Kagura admitted.
"I guess if anybody would understand how I feel...its you huh?" Ben muttered.
"Trust me...I take no offense to that whatsoever." Kagura sighed, sitting down and motioning Ben to do the same.
"Huh...noted," Ben said as he sat down.
"Yeah...and trust me on this...the ones that get away? The ones you feel a kinship or a connection to? It hurts…it hurts a lot," Kagura sighed, "There was this one girl I used to train with when we worked underneath this one person, and let me tell ya Ben...she was amazing. Seriously...everytime I flirted with her, she always had a snappy comeback...and kicked my butt everytime we trained. We even had a small disagreement once or twice on occasion, but nothing too serious...ahh she was great. But then…came it…"
"Came what?"
"The Ikaruga Civil War…" Kagura sighed, a serious expression on his face, "That girl I mentioned? We and one other actually worked under the leader of Ikaruga, Lord Tenjou...but to make sure the NOL didn't get suspicious, me and the girl I mentioned went back over to the NOL side so no one there would suspect us...and let me tell ya...that war…" he paused as he gripped his fist, "It wasn't a war...it was a massacre."
"...what happened?" Ben asked, not liking where this was going.
"Lord Tenjou disagreed with what the NOL was doing at the time...and it resulted in the Imperator declaring war on Ikaruga itself...and not just soldiers died, Ben...they even targeted civilians...Sakuya-the girl I mentioned- tried to attest this when the soldiers invaded Ikaruga after Lord Tenjou was killed and tried to assist people in escaping, and I tried to talk her out of it because of how many soldiers were in the city... that was the last I ever saw of her. I wish...I got the chance to tell her how I felt before the war..." Kagura sighed sadly, "My beautiful snow angel…"
"I'm sorry…" Ben spoke.
"Ah...my problem man." he waved off. "You however...I don't know how you feel about that scary squirrel girl...but it's clear you probably need to start talking about it." he added as he put a hand on his shoulder, "Otherwise...you might never get that chance...and that she'd be the one that got away...and never see her again."
"Huh…I guess you are right." he sighed, standing up, "Maybe...I don't know how I feel at the moment...but I know I don't want things to end like that."
"No one ever does Ben...no one ever does," Kagura nodded as he stood up, "Come on...let's see if we can find Makoto."
"Yeah," Ben nodded, "Thanks for the talk by the way."
"No prob, man. I look after people I fight alongside with," Kagura ginned, "That includes you you, Ben."
"Heh...if only you could act this way all the time, man. You'd get way more girls…"
"You mad genius…" Kagura realized his point.
"Stupid Ben...I do him a favor and he chews me out," Makoto muttered as she walked along an empty area of Undertown, "I mean...I'd be miffed too if someone did something without my consent...but I did it to save not my own skin, but to make sure he didn't end up getting a massive harem. I feel he's the 'one gal only' type of guy a.." she quickly shook her head to get the blush off, "No Makoto...you're mad at him...just...try and find a-"
"Is everythin' all set?"
"Hmm?" Makoto blinked, her ears twitching as she looked over at a nearby corner.
"Yes...it'll be small, but it'll give those foul beasts from the stars a message."
"...The heck?" Makoto blinked as she carefully hurried over, leaning against the corner as she carefully poked her head out a bit, noticing what looked like knights discussing something, an infinity symbol on their armors, '...Do I spy on some sort of Renaissance Fair rejects or something?'
"These weapons the Forever King gave us should do the job," one of the knights spoke, holding what looked like a lance before pressing something on it, unleashing a large laser blast that destroyed an empty warehouse.
"Yes...and these should keep the larger ones in line," another noted as they held up what looked like ropes with cuffs at the end, "And what if Tennyson interferes?"
"We exterminate him like the rest of those that betrayed Earth to those filthy aliens."
"Uh-oh…" Makoto realized their thing now, "Racists...wait...no...what was the word for don't like aliens...Xenophobes?"
"?! Who's there?!" one of the knights demanded as they turned, pulling out a blaster-like weapon before firing.
"Woah!" Makoto yelped as she jumped out of her hiding spot just as the laser destroyed it.
"...One of those filthy Plumbers…" one of the knights frowned behind their helmet before noticing Makoto's ears and tail, "...and now humans are creating hybrid freaks?! Are humans losing common sense that they breed with beast?!"
"Dude really?" one of them asked.
"...You know, I am having a really bad day right now, and you guys are really pushing the wrong buttons," Makoto frowned as she brought her tonfa out, "So who're you guys supposed to be? ….Actually you know what? Nevermind...I'm gonna use you like punching bags to vent on."
"Yeah well...your face!" one of them countered.
"I'm surrounded by idiots…" another groaned, "Get her!"
Before one of them could get a chance to shoot, Makoto shot up before him and delivered a right hook across his face, making him stagger back as the Beastkin quickly jumped away from some laser fire. She hopped over another laser blast before grabbing the blaster the knight she landed before used and hit him across the head with it.
"Don't you know you could shoot your eye out with this?" Makoto scolded, "Oh, wait. That involved a BB Gun and a lamp shaped like a lady's leg." she ducked another laser shot, "Hey! Watch the ears! I don't want them pierced, dang it!"
"Silence, she-beast!" one of the knights snapped
"...oh, you are seriously pressing all the wrong buttons today, buddy!" Makoto snapped as she grabbed a wrecked hover vehicle.
"GH?!" one of the knights tensed as they barely avoided the thrown vehicle, "By the gods, what matter of c-"
"You're not British, Gary!"
"I'm just fitting the role!"
"You've been watching news feeds from Detroit about that archer again, haven't you?"
"...Noooo…"
"A beatdown and a show. Not bad," Makoto snickered.
"Silence!"
"Also who..or rather what are you guys supposed to be anyway?" Makoto asked as she easily dodged a laser, "You xenophobes rejected by a Ren fair because you got too into a role or something?"
"Nay! We are the Forever Knights, and it is our duty to cleanse the earth of you non-human scum!"
"Forever Knights? Forever...Knights…" Makoto muttered to herself, tapping her cheek in thought, "Where have I heard that name before?" she shrugged, "Eh, must have been unimportant if I can't remember."
"What?!" the three exclaimed.
"Yeah...I mean if you're knights, shouldn't there be more of you?" Makoto quipped...before a whistle went off as more Knights jumped out of something of abandoned buildings, "...Me and my big mouth."
"Can't leave you court jesters alone for a moment," the three knights separated as a large, red armored knight stepped forward.
"...Let me guess, leader?" Makoto guessed.
"Nay. I am one of the Forever King's chosen."
"Of course there'd be a Forever King…" Makoto muttered, "What? Is there a Forever Queen, too?"
"If only...but alas, you've seen something ye should not have," the red Knight frowned behind their helmet, "For opposing the Forever Knights and not being fully human...thy punishment is death."
'...I'm getting some major NOL vibes from these guys,' Makoto thought in light worry
"The rest of ye, fall back and continue the operations," the red Knight ordered, "I shall deal with the interloper myself."
"Aye!"
"...Yeah. Like I'm g-" Makoto began before the cuff of one of the ropes tossed by one of the Forever Knights had wrapped around her neck, making her tense as she nearly fell to her knees, "Wh...what the…?"
"Weak?" the Red Knight asked, holding the other end, "Our majesty had crafted these special cuffs to sap the strength of any non-human species it snaps onto, so now…" they paused as they pulled out a large executioner's sword, "Let us see if thou can fight like a normal human."
"Gh...so? I...don't need my strength to beat ya," Makoto countered as she held her fist up, 'Easy for me to say...I can barely lift my tonfa and stuff…'
"Defiant, are we? Well then…" the Red Knight began before using the rope to pull Makoto towards him, "En guarde!"
"Yeow!" Makoto yelped as she ducked under the slash before going for a punch on his chest armor..only to wince before she rolled out of the way of another slash..before she was stopped when the Red knight tugged her 'collar', "Gah! I thought Knights believed in fair play!"
"We do...its plenty fair now that you don't have your inhuman powers." The Red Knight argued.
"Just my luck I get the jerk whose clever!" Makoto complained before pulling her tail out of the way of a slash, "Hey hey! No aiming for the tail!"
"Ha!" he swung down only to blink as his swing hit nothing, "What trickery!?"
"Is the Shakespeare speech just...a requirement?" a voice spoke as the Knight looked up as Fastrack, "I mean even George wasn't that bad at it...in fact with him, it was almost charming...but you guys...ugh...I can feel Shakespear rolling in his grave."
"Tennyson!"
"Do I know you?" Fastrack asked, "No...I don't think so." he smiled.
"Oh you think your just cute, don't you!?"
"Buddy, I'm adorable. Look at these fluffy features, I'm like a kitty cat."
"Yeah...you are…" Makoto chimed in in a calm manner, "Now..how's about helping me here?!"
"Hey mind giving us a second, Round Table dude?" Fastrack spoke, leaving with Makoto.
"What?!" he asked in confusion before noticing the rope he was holding was gone, "Gah!"
"Yeah...they have some issues to talk out." Kagura sighed from behind him, making the Red Knight tense as he swung a fist at him, only for him to duck, "But don't worry...I can play with you and your merry little band."
"Please don't call it that…" the Sarcastic knight sighed.
"I call it as I see it," Kagura quipped before jumping back from an axe slash from the Red knight, "And of course you have hidden weapons."
"A knight must always be prepared to deal with interlopers," the Red Knight stated, holding a large two-handed axe.
"Hmm…fair point. Oh wait…" Kagura began as the Proto-TRUK drove in, crashing through a few Knights, "I have a retort."
"Hmm?" the Red Knight raised a brow behind his helmet before a bundle of black was tossed from the Proto-TRUK.
Kagura jumped up as he grabbed it, pulling on the cloth before draping it over his shoulders, revealing that it was a black cape with gold trim and crimson lining as he rested it on his shoulders. He then grabbed the item that was wrapped within the cape, revealing that it was an enormous black sword with red grooves along both edges, the handle having a white grip wrapped around it. What was odd about it was that it lacked both a tip to the blade and a guard for the hilt, making it look like a flat rectangle.
"What...is that?" the Red Knight blinked a few times.
"Oh this? My sword...Kagari: Rokushiki souken," Kagura answered, single it once single handedly as he got into a fighting position, "And you guys? You can call me Kagura...the Black Knight."
"B...Black Knight?" One Forever Knight gulped at that.
"Yup..and half your guys are about to be taken down," Kagura smirked.
"Hm?" the Red Knight pondered before a few Knights cried out, making him turn to see a few on the floor, Hibiki standing before them as he held a large metal sheath around his lower back, a pair of twin swords in his hands while he sported a jolting-sapphire-blue poncho-like jacket over his regular attire.
"...I did not even see him move," Rook noted as he and Tsubaki climbed out of the Proto-Truk, weapons in hand.
"So these are Forever Knights, seems they've lost the upgraded suits Ben talked about." Tsubaki noted, "And they have much...lower standards for recruitment."
"She's talking about you…" the three stupid Knights whispered to one another.
"However…" Tsubaki began with a frown as she stood ready, "That doesn't change the fact how dangerous they are from the reports I've read."
"...How bad are we talking?" Kagura asked.
"From what I've examined, Kagura-dono…" Hibiki began before he suddenly dispersed into a murder of crows jsut as one knight tried to slash him, making him tense before the crows regrouped behind him as the knight cried out fom the emerging Hibiki, "They had attempted to purge the entire city of all alien, half alien, and alien supporters."
"...How…" Rook began.
"I was looking into some notes while I was keeping an eye on Kagura-dono and make sure he signed those papers...with Magister Tennyson's permission of course," Hibiki answered.
"Purge?" Kagura asked.
"They even killed a Plumber agent reportedly while he was in the middle of a date." Hibiki added.
"So...you guys are that level of scum." Kagura scowled.
"Scum?" the Red Knight repeated with a growl, "We are the Forever Knights! It is our sworn duty to purify the Earth of filthy non-human filth, and the traitors who would side with that!"
"See I hear you talking…And all I hear is 'blah blah I'm horrible blah blah'…" Kagura taunted, "You guys clearly are nothing but a bunch of assholes who think they have a right to scare off anyone different than them. Well I've spent some time with these aliens...and the only bad guys I can see here...are you."
"What?!"
"Yeah...No one species is superior to another…" Kagura continued as he gripped the handle of his sword, "I've seen people like you before...people who have that 'holier than thou' personality and kill anyone that disagrees with them, or aren't like them. It's guys like you that make me sick to be a human."
"...How dare you…!" the Red Knight growled, "I will not let this stand! Forever Knights, destroy these traitors and that non-human filth!"
"Fine...have it your way," Kagura frowned, "Hibiki, you, Rook and Ms. Yayoi make sure none of the grunts get past you. I'll deal with big red here."
"Understood," Hibiki nodded.
"Wait...but I…" Tsubaki began.
"Moment I saw ya, knew you were the daughter of the Yayoi family," Kagura answered before using his sword to block an axe slash from the Red Knight, "But let's save that talk for later!"
"..Of course," Tsubaki nodded, using her shield to block a laser blast before charging.
"What interesting people we meet." Rook sighed, firing a few shots at a few Forever Knights.
"Stand still…" Ben muttered as he tried to get the 'collar' off of Makoto.
"I would if this thing wasn't itchy…" Makoto complained a bit as she fidgeted.
"How is a metal collar itchy?"
"It just is, okay?! Now hurry...I can feel my strength still slipping away…"
"Well just calm down okay?"
"I..okay," Makoto sighed as she stopped moving.
"...Hey. I'm sorry okay?"
"Hmm?" Makoto blinked at that
"I said, I'm sorry for blowing up like that before." Ben sighed, "I..just wished you talked to me about it before you decided to declare something like that."
"...Yeah well...their rulings are simple like that," Makoto sighed a bit, "Besides...wouldn't you do something embarrassing like that just to get some large clan of cat girls off my back?"
"In a specific situation…Yeah. I would," Ben smirked.
"...heh. Thanks then," Makoto chuckled a bit, "Seriously...be lucky you weren't the one there. You should've seen it. I mean..they clawed me, tore up my cloths..they threw everything at me, including the kitchen sink!"
"I guess Tao's not the only weird one." Ben muttered.
"Yea...least Tora and the elder have some common sense."
"Heh. Yeah…" Ben chuckled before grunting a bit, "Seriously...what did those guys make this out of?"
"Not sure...I'd break it off, but...strength sapped and all that."
"Hang on." Ben sighed tapping the Omnitrix as he became Upgrade. He tapped his finger to collar and began merging with it =Huh it got a lot of tech for something so tiny...thankfully it only works on organic life forms and not techno-organics or we'd be stuck like this=
"Oh phew…" Makoto sighed in relief at that, "...Heh. Could you imagine if you ended up turning into something that gave me armor of some sorts?"
=What? Like some type of sailor fuku or something?=
"Heh heh. Yeah...that would be cool...but probably pretty embarrassing to both of us since I'd be wearing you in a sense," Makoto giggled.
=...=
"...Oh~? You were thinking it, weren't you~?" Makoto teased.
=You know I could zap you right now and it spread through your whole nervous system, right?=
"Heh heh...learn to take a joke man," Makoto grinned before the 'collar' popped off, "Hoo...that's much better…"
=You are very much welcome= Upgrade laughed, moving off the collar as he changed back to Ben.
"Heh heh. Yeah…" Makoto chuckled, rubbing her neck a bit before a light blush formed on her cheeks, "Th...thanks by the way...for saving my tail back there."
"You'd have done the same for me." Ben replied, scratching the back of his head, "So...let's just call it even from here on. And make a whole new board of who's saved who?"
"Deal," Makoto nodded before smirking, "Now..how's about we head back to the others and beat those walking tin cans?"
"I always loved that." Ben smiled, "Ah I missed hearing dudes in metal long johns curse in the king's english."
"Grr!" the Red Knight grunted, clashing with Kagura.
"Wow...that's a good swing...what is that thing, powered?" Kagura asked, "Man that would explain all the craters from each time you missed. I highly doubt you are that strong of a person under there," he spun around and knocked another swing away, he twirled his sword around before thrusting it forward and hitting the Red Knight's chest sending him skidding back and slamming into a wall, "Now I see why Ben doesn't think highly of you guys. No skill and no style… you know...on top of being xenophobic nutjobs."
"Silence, traitorous scum!" the Red Knight snapped, shooting up as he charged.
"I get it. You hate people who like aliens, you ren fair reject," Kagura quipped as he blocked a swing.
"I am amazed he can lift that giant sword easily," rook noted, shooting a few shots at a few Forever Knights before kicking one that tried to sneak up on him from behind.
"He prides himself on being stronger than he looks to." Hibiki spoke slashing a knight, making his weapon and armor fall apart.
"Ahh! I've been exposed!" the knight freaked before Hibiki kicked him back.
"I b-" Hibiki began before a pair of laser blast nicked his blades, causing them to crack a bit, "..."
"Ha! Whatcha gonna do now?!" the knight that fired the shot laughed.
"...this," was all Hibiki replied as he pressed something on the grips, causing the blades to shoot out and pierce two more Knights' blasters before moving the grips to the sheaths on his back and with a quick motion, a new pair of blades were on the grips.
"You had to ask…" the Sarcastic Knight sighed before Tsubaki knocked him over with a shield bash, "Gufaw!"
"Well you know I figured…" the knight who fired began before Hibiki ran past him, "My armor's gone aint it?"
"Yes...also really...briefs?" the Sarcastic Knight asked from the ground, "You disgust me Jerry…"
"Ahh~! There's always gotta be a Jerry in a group!" Kagura laughed as he dodged a slash from the Red Knight, "Well...that or a Larry. There's always gotta be a Jerry or Larry."
"...Don't pay attention to it Tsubaki..don't...pay attention to it," Tsubaki muttered, mentally trying to convince herself that Kagura was pulling a facade...and not being a lazy older version of Ben...minus the puns of course.
"Why won't you take this seriously, jester?!" the Red Knight snapped as he slashed down, only for Kagura to catch it by the weapon's grip, "?!"
"Cause from what I can tell...Ben doesn't take you guys seriously anymore. I can tell at one point he did. But without the leader of yours he respected...you've fallen into disarray." Kagura explained, "The fact you even had a leader worthy of the respect of the World's greatest hero means maybe at first you weren't bad...but years and years of leader after leader twisted you into the kind of organisation I hate the most." he began pushing the weapon back making the Red Knight grunt in an effort to win ground over him, "But the fact he just ran off without beating any of you means that he finds you beneath his time. Which I kinda respect, since he trusted me to handle it of all people...but again…" he pushed back as the axe blade was now against the Red Knight's own collar, "You're clearly nothing but a joke, saturday morning bunch of villains. So let me treat you with the level of seriousness that entails."
"Wh...what…?!" the Red knight grunted, trying to move his weapon away...but to no avail.
"Alright, I've made my speech…" Kagura sighed, kicking the Red Knight sending him skidding away, "You guys can go home to your boss...now…" he paused as a new Knight walked up from the shadows.
This one had thin armor in a dull rustic maroon red. Two swords attached to its back that looked more like Katana's. His yellow visor flashed as he looked down at the downed Red Knight.
"Oh crap…" the Sarcastic Knight spoke in concern.
"So...who's…" Kagura began as the new Knight pulled out his sword and slashed at the downed Red Knight making him fall over, "Whoa!"
The new Knight said nothing before quickly turning to block a slash from Hibiki, he then flipped over him and swung to block a swing from Rook. The Knight pulled out his other sword and flipped it around to hold in a reverse grip as he blocked from Hibiki again. He spun around pushing them away, as the two lost balance, the Knight jumped and performed a split kick that knocked both away. The two rolled up only to flinch as the Knight's swords were aimed at their necks.
"Okay...that is a big boost in skill…" Kagura spoke, grabbing his sword and prepared to strike.
"I wouldn't if I was you, good Black Knight." a new voice spoke as yet another Knight walked out. His armor was more of a dull Platinum grey, with the Forever Knight's coat of arms in the center of his chest armor. Yellow lights formed in his armor as a red cape billowed behind him, his helmet was different, he had a head crest along the back of his helmet, his mouthplate had four glowing lines emulating a grilled visor guard, and a yellow wide V shaped optical visor, "I let these old members join my new Forever Knights but like the original versions...they just can't keep up with the times." he sighed.
"...Let me guess, you're the new head honcho of these guys," Kagura guessed, standing ready in case something happened.
"I dabble." he countered, "You...are another time displaced weirdo, right?"
"?!" Tsubaki tensed at that while Kagura raised a brow.
"Oh right...you don't let the public know that…" he sighed, "Right well see...unlike the old order, I am a modern man. And like any modern man...knowledge is power. Well Knowledge and money." he sighed as he then walked up and tapped the truck the other Knights where using to smuggle their weapons, "And broken down these will fetch me lots of money."
"...So. You're a bunch of arms dealers then," Kagura noted.
"Not by choice...do you know how hard it is to make money in this weird alien-filled world economy?" he went on, "Aliens have their uses...weapons...tools...research data…" he raised his arm as a shield of light formed and blocked a swing from Kagura.
"Buddy, you better not be implying what I think you are…" Kagura frowned.
"What if I am? They aren't humans…" he countered, leaning forward to match glares with Kagura, "Since they aren't human, I'm not doing anything wrong now am I?"
"No..but I know enslavement of an entire race and species when I see it or hear it being implied," Kagura countered back.
"Like I said...they aren't humans. Why? does that matter. They are just invaders from other worlds." he argued pushing back, making Kagura blink in surprise, "Earth belongs to humans...and they aren't...human." he swung his shield and pushed Kagura back.
"...Yeah well from that type of mentality, you're just creating more seeds of hate," Kagura stated, thw glare not leaving his face, "I can see it...aliens possibly hurt you guys at one point, so you're lashing back out...well here's the thing. If that 'invader' had a family, they'd take revenge on the people who killed them..Earthlings. And if anyone got caught in the crossover, you'd feed that growing hate and it begins again...an endless cycle of hate."
"Your good at the politics game kid." the Knight spoke, "But I'm not a political type. I'm the...Economic type." he clicked his tongue as he found the right word, "And...I don't see any problems with that." he raised his shield and blocked another slash before spinning around Kagura.
Kagura swung again, only to flinch as a mace of the same solid light energy almost struck where he was standing. The Knight pulled back on the energy mace connected to a metal handle before it flashed and reformed into a beam sword of yellow energy. The two clashed blades again as their strength was evenly matched.
"So...what do you get out of this whole nonsense then!?" Kagura demanded.
"The satisfaction that I was right." he replied simply blocking slash after slash.
"That's it?" Kagura grunted.
"Well its all I care about in regards to this whole conflict." he blocked another swing before turning around and reforming his shield only larger to the size of a riot shield to block Tsubaki's attack, "But really...what I want to know most of at the time being is how you folks ended up stuck in the past. Now that...is interesting."
"...How do you know of all this?" Tsubaki asked.
"Tennyson has his friends, I...have mine." he replied simply as he spun and deflected both away from him. He lifted his head and let out a whistle.
Everyone blinked as the sound of footsteps made them look to see a new set of Knights in a different uniform showed up. They all wore pure black body suits with silver armor covering their chest with the Forever Knights coat of arms in the center. Silver armor shields on their biceps, silver gauntlets and matching boots. With helmets marked with three Red visor vents. They raised their arms forming red light shields as they pulled matching handles off their sides which formed into various weapons of hard light.
"And these are?" Kagura asked.
"The Real Forever Knights…" the caped knight spoke simply, "The Elite, and my personal battalion."
"...Well…dang," Kagura muttered as he and Tsubaki stood up.
The Ninja Knight flipped over as he stood next to their leader. They all raised their swords at the ready. This time however...it was clear these Knights knew how to use their weapons. Taking proper stances for whatever weapon they had. None of them showed a weak stance like the ones before.
"Well...your move, Black Knight," the caped knight simply stated.
"So many...and one was enough to knock down even Hibiki," Kagura whispered as he and Tsubaki stood defensively.
"Yes...was rather taken by surprise of his moves," Hibiki admitted as he and Rook joined the two.
"Not a single weak point…" Rook noted, "Tsubaki, any ideas for a course of action?"
"...Unless Ben and Makoto show up, best I can suggest is retreat," Tsubaki answered.
"Aw...you do love us!" Makoto laughed, appearing next to them, "Sorry. We…" Makoto began before noticing the new Knights, "...Well. Looks like they leveled up…"
"Makoto Nanaya…" the caped Knight spoke, "Technically an Earthling...but something else...that strikes me as so odd…"
"You know our names too?" Tsubaki asked.
"I do, Tsubaki Yayoi." he nodded, "Like I said, Knowledge is power. I know of all of you, Noel Vermillion, Mai Natsume, Kajun Faycott, XJ-9, and all the rest of your friends."
'Ju...just how much does he know?!' Tsubaki thought with wide eyes.
"Okay that's creepy...Stalker Knight." Makoto noted.
"You can just call me Forever Knight." he spoke, "Or Forever for short...I know how much you enjoy nicknames."
"Yeah...but I'm not the only one that likes to make nicknames and puns," Makoto smirked as a green flash went off.
"Ah…" Forever began as his Elite Knights raised their shields merging them into a dome which served to block FourArm's strike, "Mr. Tennyson."
"Whoa...you guys are good." FourArms grunted, punching the barrier a few times.
"I should hope so...I tested this barrier to take some strikes form your biggest hitters." Forever replied, "Not gonna lie, I expected Humungousaur…I figured it fit with our Knight dynamic...you know since it kinda looks like a dragon...eh..."
"I disappointed the Forever Knights...what kinda weird day is this?" FourArms asked.
"Weird? I see it more as...interesting," Forever countered.
"Wow...what did we miss?" Makoto asked.
"A lot…" Tsubaki answered, "It seems like we've attracted the attention of the Real...Forever Knights."
"Wait...then those guys before…" Makoto blinked, "...I almost lost to rookies!?"
"Even a broken clock is right once or twice…" Forever sighed.
"Okay! Come on out of there, fancy!" FourArms demanded punching the barrier a few more times.
"Ah...if you insist." Forever swung his weapon handle as he launched a morning star that phased through the barrier and struck FourArms knocking him off the barrier.
"Oof!" FourArms grunted.
"FourArms...Tetramand." Forever spoke, walking forward as his Knights moved and formed a circle around Him and Ben, his visor flashed for a moment as he swung his morningstar down as the whip stiffened and straightened out making it into a mace as a spike extended from the top.
"Okay...so not like other Knights…" FourArms spoke charging and swinging only for Forever to duck under and around the swing, "What th-!" he grunted as the mace struck him across his face knocking him off balance.
"Hmph." Forever raised his shield arm up straight as his shield shot forward like an arrow and struck FourArms in the back knocking him down to the ground, "Data seems up to date." he spoke as his shield reformed.
"What the…" FourArms grunted getting up, "What are you?"
"The Forever Knight." he spoke simply.
"Oh your just clever ain't ya?" FourArms spoke as he clapped his hands sending a shockwave at Forever.
Forever raised his shield as it grew into a Riot shield he planted into the ground and blocked the blast. He then looked up as FourArms jumped down and punched the shield sending him skidding back. Forever tensed before his Knights parted and grabbed him before pushing him back forward. He jumped and rolled around slamming his mace into FourArm's face making him back away. FourArms swung an uppercut with his lower right arm as Forever leaned back and let it fly past his helmet. Forever grunted swinging his mace up and striking FourArm's stomach making him grunt and stumble back. Forever leaned back up, using his leg strength alone. FourArms blinked in surprise as he was struck across the face again.
"...Okay…you're really good…" FourArms muttered, wiping his lip of some blood as he quickly shook his head.
"I'll say…" Makoto muttered in awe, "I've never seen a human fight an alien like this…"
"There is Ragna," Rook pointed out...before pondering a bit, "Though given his level of strength and that power he used back when we first faced Khyber, I am pondering whether he is human or not."
"Ah yes…" Forever sighed, "I forget the peanut gallery." he raised his shield to block a punch before pushing it and FourArm's fist to the side, "A shame really, Tennyson...you would've been a great ally if you weren't so attached to your band of misfits."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" he grunted.
"I mean that, you, like me...when you aren't transformed, are still just human." he sighed, "Like you, I also respected George. He wasn't pointlessly xenophobic, he just knew if we left these freaks here...we'd only invite more dangers like the Dagon."
"Well they're here now...and we just gotta learn to accept them for who they are." FourArms spoke.
"And what if they don't accept us?" Forever spoke up, "What if they want Earth to be more like their home worlds? Like Vulcanus...or the Kraaho?" he listed, making FourArms stop for a second only to get bashed upside the head by his mace again, "You know I'm right…" he spoke, "We humans can barely live with ourselves...what makes you think we can live with aliens?"
"We're doing good so far…" FourArms coughed.
"Cause nobody knows these freaks are living right under our feet." Forever laughed, "Watch the moment Bellwood learns of this Undertown...all hell will break loose. And who will be to blame for it? You Ben Tennyson." he pointed at FourArms, "Can you honestly tell me if the panicked humans attack the aliens...the Aliens won't fight back in...self defense?"
"I'll make sure that doesn't happen!" he roared charging only to be blindsided by a shield bash to his face and a mace strike to his temple, "Gah!"
"Even your friend the Black Knight knows the point. I just know that when that cycle begins...I'll be there to reap the rewards." Forever spoke, "The simple fact...I was right. Humans and Aliens can't live in peace...the future your friends are from is but proof of that."
"You know about their future?" FourArms asked.
"Oh I do...I know how its a wasteland...its filled with beings that are part beast part human...but born of Earth...and I know that it's a potential future for our Earth." Forever spoke simply, "Why is that so important to me you wonder? Well...I guess I'm just a fan of the classic question: If you could go back in time...what event would you change?"
"..." Makoto tensed a bit at that last part, "...Change...
"...I know what you're thinking, and no…" Kagura spoke, earning the squirrel girl's attention, "If you think about making sure that never existed...you'd most likely end up erasing not just yourself but everyone you knew that was born from the timeline after its death."
"He's right…" Tsubaki spoke.
"I know…" Makoto sighed.
"See...even your own friends think about it." Forever noted, "Ben...what would you do if you could do the same thing?" he asked, "Keep Ascalon? Go back and defeat Vilgax of the past with your skills you have now?"
"Yeah...I think about that stuff...but I also know time travel is a dangerous game! One that can hurt more than it helps!" FourArms growled.
"But does it have to be?" Forever stopped him with that sentence.
FourArms took a moment to ponder it...only to be blindsided and bashed with the shield and then the mace knocking him down and reverting him into Ben. Ben grunted holding a swelling black eye as Forever stood over him.
"Ben!" Rook and Makoto panicked.
"You hesitated Ben," Forever spoke earning his attention, "Your smarter than you let on young hero. Deep down...you also wonder the What ifs...the Could have beens. How you can right the wrongs. I am like that as well." he put his weapon back on his hip as it deactivated, "Deep down Ben...you and I...we aren't so different." he held his hand out to him, "We could do much greater good together as allies then as bitter enemies."
"..."
"You know I…" Forever began before quickly turning to block a slash from Kagura.
"Sorry...but he'll have to decline your offer," Kagura frowned.
"Hah…" Forever sighed as his suit lit up brighter, he swung his hand pushing Kagura back from a sudden increase in force, "That's always the problem with you hero types…" he charged as he punched at Kagura who blocked with his sword, the force still pushing him back slightly, "You never work off reason."
"Maybe…" Ben grunted getting up, "But I make sure innocent people are kept safe!" he spoke slamming the Omnitrix and turning into Diamondhead.
"Ah…" Forever sighed as his Knights all dispersed and grouped around Ben's team weapons aimed, "I really wanted you at my side Ben...but I guess your too stupid to see a good thing even if it staring you right in the face."
"Well...you're right about that, but the good thing I'm missing sure ain't your slimey deal Knight boy." Diamondhead replied, grabbing a spike from his back as he pulled it out as a crystal sword.
"Alright, I can see we have reached a bit of an impasse." Forever spoke, "Let's make it...simple. Me and my elite guard will take what's ours and leave...you can keep the nobodies. And in exchange...everyone leaves alive…" he paused, "Well...except for him." he pointed to the Red Knight.
"...Tch...deal," Diamondhead groaned.
"Ben!" Rook spoke.
"Look around partner…" Diamondhead pointed to the Ninja Knight his swords aimed at Rook and Hibiki's backs.
"Good!" Forever clapped his hands as his Guards lowered their weapons followed by the Ninja Knight, "I had some important research data in here too for my partner."
"Partner?" Kagura asked.
"That...that's him now." Forever pointed as they heard footsteps from the shadows.
"So...this is him...fantastic." a voice spoke that sent chills down the backs of those who hailed from the Future, "The Wielder of the Omnitrix...a vessel that changes so drastically...but still holds the same soul each time. Truly...an amazing work of scientific art."
"...you gotta be shitting me…" Kagura whispered as a figure began to approach from the shadows.
The figure was an older man, possibly in his mid-thirties. He wore a magenta outfit that would be fitting for someone of the victorian times while his hair was blond and short. He wore a golden opera mask, a purple shirt with black rimming and had a knee-length magenta cape flowing over it. His cape had a golden X-shaped fixture to hold the cape in place and had two rings protruding out of the lower front halves of it. His baggy white tights were tucked into his stylized black and purple boots, these boots had golden toecaps that had a silver colored nail-like fixture on the top; the mouth of the boots also had a white and golden cuff to them.
"How...is that possible?" Hibiki whispered in disbelief, "You should be dead…"
"Hmph...so they say…" the masked man replied before looking at Tsubaki, "Hmm...interesting. You've been freed of the Mind Eater Curse…"
"No…" Tsubaki spoke, taking a step back before she winced, her head starting to her while her sight...began to blur, "N...nande…?! Wh...what…"
"Tsuba…" Makoto began before she tensed, feeling the masked man's gaze on her now.
"Interesting...you've survived going through the Boundary, and yet not an ounce of Seithr mutation on you…"
"...W….h….wh…." Makoto whispered, the Beastkin starting to shake as memories of sorts began to form in her head…bad memories. Memories of this man...no. This monster picking her mind...unleashing certain bad memories as she began to hyperventilate.
"Doctor...please stop picking on them." Forever spoke, "We have much work to be done." he gestured to the truck.
"Hm yes. You have a point my good lad." he sighed in agreement, "Much work to be done, and much to discover."
"Wait a minute...who the heck are you?" Diamondhead demanded.
"Humor him…" Forever sighed.
"...Very well…" the man nodded, "I am Relius Clover...and you boy…" he paused as he pointed at Diamondhead, "Have something I need for my research.."
"You want my Omnitrix." he realized.
"Yes...well if its attached to you or not doesn't exactly matter. But it's crucial for oh so many reasons." he smiled, "And such a wonderful work of science is wasted on a dullard boy like you."
"...Yeah well many guys like you have tried before and failed miserably," diamondhead countered as he slammed a fist on the ground, sending a wave of crystal spikes at Relius...who merely stood there before the spikes...phased right through him, "?!"
"Really Ben...attacking an unarmed man like that?" Forever asked mockingly.
"It's fine…" Relius assured, "The boy was testing to see if I would flinch or not…to see if I would counter his attack."
"Are you just a hologram?" Diamondhead asked.
"Maybe I am...Maybe I'm not." Relius replied simply, examining the crystals, "Fascinating...to think even beings made of crystallized earth exist in space...and they have their own soul...hm? Ahh...you tape a piece of your soul into the crystals to manipulate it."
"Okay...this guy is creeping me out," Diamondhead muttered
"Science often is...but oh so worth it." Forever spoke, "Well as per our agreement Ben. We shall be leaving...not that your team other then Rook and Kagura are in any real state to fight with you if you changed your mind."
"St...stop it…" Diamondhead turned to see Makoto shivering, a look of fright in her eyes as she held herself, "Stop..messing with my head…"
"Ahh...I...I can't...why can't I see?" Tsubaki asked, her eyes starting to dull as everything before her started to get hazy.
"Hm...It seems Psychosomatic…" Relius noted, "Memories of...past meetings."
"What are you doing to them?" Diamondhead demanded.
"It's not what I'm doing...it's what I did," Relius corrected, "It seems they...are traumatized by me. I did some tests on them before to...fruitless degrees. But It was educational in its own merits as well...though for Tsubaki Yayoi..." he looked over at the red head, "It was not I who put the Mind Eater Curse on her, though...Oh, that is it...the Izayoi's effects. The temporal anomaly that brought her here must have neutralized the effects to an extent."
"Th...The Izayoi?" Tsubaki repeated, grunting a bit as she barely managed to see Relius, "Why...would I use my family's most sacred...weapon?"
"Why...to enact the justice you cherish so, my dear...the justice of the Imperator," Relius answered.
"So the Imperator isn't even here and their hold over people persists…" Kagura frowned.
"Cause and effect…" Relius countered, "But yes, she cursed herself due to her own faulty logic. The funny thing is I assume if she had just talked it out with her friend Noel Vermillion...it could have been avoided. But alas...that drive was key to…'purifying' her by the Imperator...and she wouldn't hesitate in wanting to kill her friends and Jin Kisaragi.."
"I tried to…" Tsubaki gasped, falling to her knees.
"Tsubaki, that's not you...Not anymore," Diamondhead spoke, getting her attention, "You have a second chance...I somehow gave you that. A Second chance, are you going to waste it just cause of what a version of you did?"
"...n...no...I won't…" Tsubaki replied, grunting as she began to stand back up, her vision starting to return...as her eyes constantly changed from blue to red for a few moments, "I won't...let that happen…!"
"Hm?" Relius blinked at that, "Did he...amazing...how strong is this boy's soul that he can help one free themselves from darkness…"
"RAH!" Diamondhead roared, unleashing a massive wave of spikes as they stopped before Relius and Forever, "You...you need to shut up…"
"Hmm?"
"Just hearing you talk...just looking at you is making my blood boil…" Diamondhead growled out, "You made my friends hurt just by being here...and I don't like seeing them like this."
"Your right...this guy is the absolute worst form our time." Kagura spoke with a scowl.
"Let's agree to disagree," Relius countered, "...But for another day."
"Huh?"
"Given the rage you seem to be giving off, Benjamin...it might result in the destruction of a third of Undertown," Relius stated, "Can you live with yourself on that?"
"..." Diamondhead lowered his arms.
"You are powerful...but when the temper flares, you cause a lot more damage then your villains," Forever pointed out.
"Just…just get out of here…"
"Very well..but know this," Relius began as he and the Forever Knights stepped back into the shadows, almost as if they were melding with it, "We will meet again…"
"See ya soon, Ben," Forever added.
"That was…" Rook began.
"Unexpected...freaky...humiliating?" Diamondhead began as he changed back into Ben.
"Horrifying...enraging...creepy?" Kagura added.
"Yes." Rook sighed.
"Perhaps it is best to return to the Plumbers HQ to tend to Yayoi-san and Nanaya-san...especially the latter," Hibiki suggested, noticing that Makoto was still shaking while the look of fear remained on her face.
"...Makoto…" Ben began as he walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Y-"
"?!" Makoto tensed before grabbing his arm and slammed him on the ground, "DON'T TOUCH ME!"
"O-Okay...I...I deserved that…" he grunted, his voice returning her to her senses somewhat.
"...B….ben…?" Makoto whispered, heavily panting as she looked down...her fist reeled back before she lowered it, "I...I...I am...I am so sorry…"
"You know you look almost as deceptively adorable scared as you do angry…" Ben grunted, "Oh my back...and my butt…"
"...I...I am sorry…"
"Let…" Tsubaki began, one of her eyes closed as she held a hand on her head, "Let's do what Hibiki-san suggested…"
"Good call…" Rook nodded.
"...And you're sure you saw Relius Clover?" Kajun asked, currently looking at some medical notes as she, Ben, and Kagura stood outside the medical wing of Plumbers HQ.
"Fancy hair...dressed like Dracula's cousin with a thing for purple and pink...gold phantom of the opera mask…" Ben listed, "Totally creepy and makes your skin crawl even when said skin is made of crystals…"
"...Not good. If he's here...we need to be extra cautious," Kajun frowned, "i'll have to inform Magister Tennyson to put out a high alert for him."
"...He's really that dangerous, huh?" Ben asked.
"Best you don't know what he's done," Kagura answered before looking over at Kajun, "So...how're Ms. Yayoi and Makoto?"
"We've calmed them down and they should return to normal after some rest." Kajun explained.
"...And Tsubaki's eyesight?"Ben asked, making her raise a brow, "After seeing Relius, she was holdign her head in pain...and saying she couldn't see. He then brought up this Izayoi thing th-"
"The what?" Kajun asked with wide eyes before whispering to herself, "She must've used it when...S-sorry. I need to focus on something right now…"
"Huh?" Ben blinked as Kajun walked off.
"Cursed item…" Kagura explained simply.
"Oh…" Ben understood, "Wait...how cursed?"
"The Izayoi lets you more or less manipulate light," Kagura explained, deciding to give the short version for right now, "Downside...VERY big downside is if you use it for too long, it makes you blind before eventually...you die."
"Man...that's insane." Ben sighed, "And Tsubaki used that…"
"Sometimes when you have a mission as heavily as the one she was given, you'd have to resort to drastic measures...even if it meant losing your sight," Kagura stated, "But hey...glad you were able to give her that second chance, Ben."
"Yeah. Now we just have to hope we never see that thing ever again."
"Yup..and I assume you guys have it deep in lock up, right?"
"Y…wait," Ben blinked as he slowly looked at him, "What…does it look like exactly?"
"Depends on the wielder, but most of the time...a hat with a half-open 'eye' on it, a book-shaped shield, and a quill-like dagger," Kagura explained, "Wait...did...she have it on her when you first met her?"
"...No…" Ben replied in worry.
"...Then it's still out there for some unfortunate sap to use it...or worse, an intelligent person to abuse it's powers," Kagura said in equal worry.
"You don't think…" Ben began.
"Hmm…" Relius hummed to symphony music softly playing in a lab as he turned a dial causing sparks of energy to go off from within a chamber, "Ah...sweet music that is my work." he mused turning the dial down, "This is a difficult one indeed. Why the sweet irony of meeting Ms, Yayoi...and then her very weapon being in that truck. Oh it's like the world wanted to make this happen for a reason…but alas..." he looked down at a glass case containing the Izayoi, "Find a capable user to use it effectively will be difficult for the Imperator's plan...unless the Mind Eater Curse is reapplied once more to Ms. Yayoi, but that boy...Ben Tennyson will most likely prevent that from happening."
"Can't you think of something more effective?" Forever asked standing near another machine, "Tennyson is strong, but he has weaknesses...most notable since his mortal enemies continue escaping him...his own anger."
"Yes...the boy does have some anger issues," Relius noted, moving to another machine, "And if pushed enough, he would become a force to be reckoned with."
"And also his own undoing." Forever added, making Relius smile, "Hmm...this subject is reaching its limits, Doctor. We'll need a replacement."
"Oh bother...those are so hard to find…" Relius sighed.
"No worries. If my information is accurate. Within time, we'll have plenty to study." Forever spoke, pulling out a tablet with a map showing something moving across a mapped out grid, "You recall the plan correct?"
"Of course. Lay low, and when the time is right, step in and begin helping...under the pretense of taking their technology." Relius sighed, "Honestly Tactics are much more your game my boy."
"I need to have some hobbies outside of work." Forever smirked.
"Yes and so did Terumi...in his own insane way," Relius countered.
"Well lets just hope that whatever storms come to Earth...we are the only ones who prepared to wait it out."
"Indeed…" Relius nodded, looking at a monitor that showed a weakened Incursean soldier, "And if what this soldier says is true...Earth is in for a dreadfully powerful storm at that."
"Yes...we made ourselves known today as part of the strategy. Sadly...to fully gain victory...we need a powerful Knight to topple their King." Forever began as he chuckled darkly, "And thankfully...we found two."
SZ: Well...a Blazblue villain finally appeared in this story...and it happened to be one of the top 3 worst ones...worst as in what they've done and stuff. And looks like he found an ally.
Z0: Yep, get ready cause if you thought we'd keep the Forever Knights as a hopeless joke in this story...oh you have sadly been mistaken.
GT: *throws away the canon* We do this our way. Screw the reviewers who hate that.
SZ: Aye...this is our story afterall
Z0: Yep, so be prepared for more competent villains in the future. And more and more threats.
SZ: Eeyup...ahem. Anyway that's all for now guys and gals. Be sure to read and review.
GT: and they better be nice!