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.

40. Beach Time Fun

SZ: yo guys. Welcome back to GSE...and this time we are heading to some fun in the sun!

GT: *behind a curtain* Aloha!

Z0: *sitting on a beach chair with shades and a coconut drink in hand* Disturb me...and no comedy power shall save you from evisceration…

GT: *still behind it* May need to double check that for after we give the disclaimers, Z0. SZ, please give them. I'm worried how long it'll be before Z0 tears down this curtain.

Z0: *sips drink*

SZ: We own nothing aside from original content, so start us off guys!

Z0: *snaps fingers making everything fade away*

GT: *the curtains faded away, revealing a blue ball and a dissolving tape player* =Great...Z0 did a finger snap, probably. Ah well. Have fun with Stitch filled up with capsules filled with concentrated coffee from a billion coffee trees in each pill=

Z0: *vanishes before Stitch can escape, leaving only SZ*

---

"Ugh…" Ben and Makoto groaned, both collapsed on the couch after another long day of fighting off criminals, villains, and just general nonsense.

"Babe…" Ben began.

"Yeah…?"

"We need a vacation…"

"Agreed...One that isn't interrupted, like our trip to the Venus Orbital Resort...stupid Vreedles ruining it."

"You think with any luck they are still sealed up in that pod...and won't pop up till 'they somehow destroy their current bodies and respawn?" Ben asked.

"I hope so...If they aren't, I'm gonna send them flying into the sun ala Astral Airlines," Makoto muttered.

"But yeah a vacation...where we actually get to relax...chill out…" he groaned.

"And snuggle without having to flinch from muscle fatigue every five seconds?" Makoto grunted.

"That'd be nice…" Ben groaned, "But how can we spin that to Grandpa? ...well, you're the smart one in this relationship…"

"You ruined it…" she groaned.

"Believe me...if I could enjoy it...I would…But my head is still ringing from that Giant bat's sonic scream..."

"Curse you, Kamikaze and your animal-robo hybrids…" Makoto grumbled, a pinkie in her ear.

"Maybe if we can convince the rest of the gang to join us, we can get a big group trip going...it won't give us alone time...but…" Ben trailed off.

"If it means no villains, no arch nemesis with an animal gimmick, no monsters, no invasion of frog people...no evil sentient computers…"

"I swear dumping Mountain Dew on it should not have worked as well as it did…" Ben chuckled, "Only you."

"Yup...but yeah. If it means no bad guys and stuff...totally worth it," Makoto nodded, "..Oh! What about a beach trip?"

"That sounds awesome...but I don't think it's Beach weather on Earth anywhere...but I think I know a place." he smiled as he remembered something.

"Oh?" Makoto's ears perked a bit at that.

"What would you say to a planet that's got Beach days...all year round...and the inhabitants are the true masters of the cannonball?" Ben asked.

"Why have we not bought a vacation home there for just us yet?" Makoto responded with.

"A vacation house for just you and me, huh?" Ben smiled, "Mmm…maybe another time. For now...let's just borrow Azmuth's place and take a much needed vacation."

"...I'd ask, but fair enough," Makoto nodded before looking around, "...Plus it'll give me time to whip out an old favorite of mine~"

"...It's not that swimsuit you wore when we tried to go to the Venus resort, is it?"

"Oh ho trust me...that was modest compared to what I normally wear," Makoto smirked as she reached into her table, "Where is it...I know I hid a bottle in h...aha!" she beamed as she pulled out a small bottle containing a gold gel-like substance, "BEHOLD~! The Golden Angel!"

"Is this something that I should only see with the door closed?" Ben asked.

"Maybe," Makoto giggled, "See by spreading the gel to your body, it clings to the skin and boom! Instant swimsuit based on your preference!"

"I feel like there is an unfortunate 'but' somewhere after that…" Ben mused.

"There is. You can't get fresh water on it, otherwise it turns back into gel in the process," Makoto answered.

"But Salt water is okay…" Ben figured, getting a nod in response, "Well then...how can I back out of this scheme after hearing all that? Ah...but promise no pranks with it."

"Ah poo…" Makoto pouted, "Fine...but don't let Tsubaki know about it. She'll most likely seal it up like she did with my fighting outfit."

"I've still yet to see it to be honest," Ben admitted, "Though if you wanted to show me in private…" he chuckled.

"If I can ever get it back." Makoto sighed.

"Alright, I'm gonna bug Azmuth to let us use his place...You good to trick Tsubaki into agreeing on your own?"

"Pfft...come on. This is me we're talking about, Ben-kun." Makoto laughed as she got up, "This will be a cinch."

---

"No."

"Aw come on~!" Makoto begged Tsubaki back at Plumbers HQ.

"Makoto, we can't just drop everything for a vacation," Tsubaki argued.

"I'm not saying we drop everything...but come on! Do you know how many times I've had to punch a monster into orbit...and watch my boyfriend get eaten!?" she shouted, grabbing Tsubaki by the shoulders and shaking her, "A girl should not have to see her boyfriend burst out of a giant mutant snail twice in one month! We've earned this, woman! And so help me...if you don't help...I'll go the extra mile to annoy you...and I don't just mean what I used to do..."

"Did...Did you just threaten me?" Tsubaki asked.

"Oh no...I promise." Makoto replied, "Just imagine all of my energy and attention focused on driving you crazy...and believe me...I can and will use my boyfriend to do it. So either help me out...or get ready for my worst…"

"Implying I've...oh my god! I've never seen you at your worst, have I?!"

"No….no you have not…" Makoto grinned deviously.

"..."

"Besides girl...you and the others need to relax," Makoto added, "I mean I know we got some big promotions and all that, but a vacation will defs help us to relax so we can get back to work 110%!"

"Well, I don't want to deal with a vindictive Makoto…" Tsubaki groaned, "And I suppose rest does help one put in more effort into work...I'm sure Magister would oddly agree with that…"

"Of course. It was Ben's idea, and Ben and his Grandpa think alike…" Makoto pointed out.

"At the rate yours and Ben's relationship is going, he might be your Grandfather as well soon…" Tsubaki mused.

"It happens when it happens," Makoto smirked, "So...does this mean...?"

"Yes...we can take a vacation…" Tsubaki sighed.

"YATTA!" Makoto beamed, "I'll go call the others and tell them it's Vacation time at the beach!"

"Hmm...a beach d...wait. Makoto a-" Tsubaki began before she noticed the Beastkin was no longer there, "...Should've seen that coming." she sighed, "She better not bring out that stupid slime swimsuit again...or so help me…"

---

"Hmm? Vacation?" Noel asked as she and Robotboy took apart what looked like a sniper rifle, "I suppose that be nice...wait...where?" she asked, giving Makoto a questioning stare with her hands on her hips, Robotboy copying her but with a happy smile on his face, thinking this was a game.

"Beach planet...more specifically Cannonbolt's homeworld...or second homeworld…" Makoto muttered, "All I know is the species is happy, and their former world's predators and dangers are gone. They now live a totally peaceful life, learning, teaching, and perfecting the art of the Orbital Cannonball into the ocean."

"Oh...That...actually sounds wonderful!" Noel smiled.

"Surf up!" Robotboy cheered, holding up a surfboard.

"I let him watch some retro Surfer movies and musicals," Noel explained, picking him up after he put the board down, "It sounds really nice, and Robotboy just got a lot of aquatic modifications the Professor would like me to field test." she went on, "Okay count us in!"

"Yes!" Makoto cheered, "I'm not sure how big the place is Ben's trying to get us, so let's keep it to our immediate friend group for now."

"Worst comes to worse, we can sleep in Max-san's RV space ship…" Noel pointed out.

"Good idea," Makoto nodded.

---

"A beach vacation?" Mai blinked, putting her spear down as she wiped a bit of sweat from her face, "Hmm...That doesn't sound too bad actua-you have the Golden Angel on you don't ya?"

"No…." Makoto said slowly, "Okay maybe…"

"...You're not gonna make me wear it, are you?"

"Nope. It's mainly for me and my boyfriend."

"Phew...Good," Mai noted, "So long as I don't have to wear it, I'm fine with going."

"Sweet! Ya won't regret it, Mai!" Makoto beamed, "Now if I can just get Kajun out of the lab...hmm…May need Jenny's help with this one."

---

"An entire beach planet?" Kajun pondered, "Very well. I do need to see if this new coating for Jenny and Robotboy will be good to let them avoid becoming rusted or get sand into their joints."

"I didn't even get to try to promise you I'd be even worse than normal 'till ya agreed!" Makoto gawked, "I didn't even have to call Jenny!"

"I had a feeling you'd use that threat," Kajun stated, "But yes...a vacation does sound rather pleasant."

"YES!" Makoto cheered.

"I also have one more thing to test," Kajun noted before holding up a vial of a gold and silver liquid, "Golden Angel V2."

"V2?" Makoto repeated.

"Yes. If I made this correctly, it shouldn't dissolve in salt-free water like the first version does," Kajun noted.

"Sweet!" Makoto smiled, "So should I return the old model to ya?"

"If you would. Thanks," Kajun nodded before it was instantly placed on her research table, "It should also change into sleep attire if you sit on a bed and change back when you touch sand."

"Cool. Hmm...wonder If Ragna would enjoy a vacation," Makoto pondered.

"Vacation now?" Kagura's voice spoke.

"..." Makoto's ears flattened, "No."

"Aww come on…" Kagura spoke as he walked in, dressed in his usual clothes as he grinned at the two, "I thought we were past that negativity."

"You just wanna go to see girls in swimsuits."

"Partially," Kagura admitted, "But also a bit of a needed vacation. Seriously, the pains in the tuckus that this last month has brought out is no fun."

"That we can agree," Makoto admitted, her ears still flattened, "But this is for our close circle of friends."

"Aren't I in it?"

"Depends...you gonna be sober and not hit on any of us girls like a lecherous old man?"

"Hmm...I think I have a method of proving his worth of going," Kajun offered.

"You do?" both asked.

"Yes. You simply have to do the same challenge Makoto did on her birthday," Kajun replied, "The food truck that does it is in the park. If you can get through at least half of what she did, then I don't see why you shouldn't come."

"Seems fair...ah, but someone reliable will make sure you don't cheat or lie." Makoto added, "And if...IF...you succeed...you aren't allowed to bring a single drop of booze."

"You are tough, but fair," Kagura noted, "...Alrighty then. Hibiki!"

"Yes, Lord Kagura?" Hibiki spoke, appearing right behind him.

"Need to do a special challenge at the local food truck Makoto went to on her Birthday. Mind coming with to make sure I play fair?"

"Depends...can you survive the ten hottest peppers on Earth?"

"Hibiki, it's me. I've faced a lot of tough foes...I've drunk my fair share of booze...a spicy challenge shouldn't be that hard for me."

---

"We have been getting a lot of folks challenging it since Makoto Nanaya won…" Stu noted as the trio watched Kagura, face-down beside the half-eaten plate of chicken wings and banging a fist on the table as a pool of sweat was slowly spreading out around him, "...and this has never stopped making me feel guilty for the poor stomachs that have to endure the challenge."

"The fact you made it this far shows your conviction," Hibiki noted, "You really want to go on that beach trip."

"I...won't give...up…" Kagura whimpered, "Even if my stomach is a furnace..I will pull through…besides...I've fought Azrael..."

"Yes...barely before he decided to go even further in strength," Hibiki argued.

"I...will...succeed…"

"At melting your tongue out of your mouth…"

"Must...make it...to...beach and...see...bikinis…"

"Ugh…" Hibiki groaned, "Trust me, Sir...he's gonna be here awhile...best you leave him be 'till he either barely passes or passes out."

"Well, he has seven minutes left," Stu shrugged, "Hopefully he'll survive the extra five minutes afterwards."

"...Five more?" Kagura gulped, "Ahh geez…"

---

=Any luck on your end?= Ben asked as he and Makoto chatted over their phones.

"Already got the girls minus Jenny, and Kagura is trying that challenge I took so he can join," Makoto answered, "Just need Ragna if he can come and Jin maybe...think your cousin and Kevin will be up for it?"

=It's Finals Week there. I had Rook check and he's up for a trip to the beach, too. Dude's never been to one. Can you believe it?=

"Given where he grew up, can't say I blame him," Makoto shrugged, "Plus not sure if we can invite Danny. Moment he's gone, a ghost or something will pop up and start spooking everyone."

=Yeah...I think he's fighting this giant plant ghost right now= Ben noted =At least, that's what reports from some Plumbers that decided to live in Amity Park so that they can work with his parents to make sure they know what's an alien and what's a ghost have reported on=

"Huh...neat. Well I'm sure he has it covered," Makoto nodded.

=Here's hoping= Ben agreed =Anyway, good luck trying to get Ragna=

"Can do, hun," Makoto nodded as she walked into Undertown, "Okay...where are ya, you big lug?"

"Damnit, Tao! Give that back!"

"Tag, you're it!"

"...Ask and I shall receive," Makoto muttered as she looked to the side, seeing Ragna chasing after Taokaka through the area, a bag being held in the catgirl's mouth.

"Tao, seriously! Get back here with my lunch!"

"Good guy has to catch Tao first!" Taokaka laughed before skidding to a halt, seeing a small red dot on the floor before her, "...Reow…Tao meets you again, fast red thingie..."

"...I keep forgetting to buy one of those," Ragna groaned, seeing Makoto holding a laser pointer as Taokaka tried to paw at the dot, "So what brings you here?"

"Eh, was curious if ya wanted to go to the beach on another planet," Makoto replied.

"Seriously?" Ragna asked, raising a brow.

"Yeah. Figured you could use a day off or something, Mr. Sheriff," Makoto grinned.

"Speaking of," Ragna noted before holding an arm out, causing Fistina to hit it, flip around, and land on her back and causing her head to pop off and land in his hand while Makoto caught the bag of Tayden Fistina had been carrying, "Yeah...it sounds fine. Been getting annoyed with Pencilneck's goons and Argit…"

"Being Argit?"

"An opportunistic manipulative little asshole, yes," Ragna nodded, "Besides, Tora agreed to look after the place for me if I ever end up sick or something."

"Great!" Makoto beamed.

"NYA~! GET BACK HERE!" Taokaka hissed, having dropped the bag as she continued to chase after the red dot, "Tao will catch you, fast red thingie!"

"Hope you got some swim trunks," Makoto noted.

"Eh. Noel helped me with some clothes stuff after I helped her out with a favor," Ragna shrugged, "...wait. You're not bringing Jin, are you?"

"Eh, Tsubaki's got a crush on the guy," Makoto shrugged.

"...You want to play matchmaker, don't you?" Ragna deadpanned.

"Been trying since we became friends and I learned about it," Makoto replied.

"...As long as it keeps Jin away from me, I'm in."

"Cool."

---

"...I hate you. I hate you so much…" Jin deadpanned, currently tied up.

"Aw come on. It's a beach trip," Makoto argued.

"You're just going to use that damn Golden Angel stuff again," Jin deadpanned once more.

"Yep, but a new upgraded version Kajun made," Makoto replied.

"And yet you trust her..."

"Hey. She's gotten better."

"..."

"What? I'm serious!" Makoto argued.

"And how long did you taste mint after she fixed your tongue?"

"An hour like she said," Makoto stated, "Look...I get you don't...do people, but you need to learn and be around people and relax. Also because Tsubaki would really like it if you joined us."

"...Ugh...fine," Jin groaned, "Now please untie me."

"Not until we get to the beach."

"Hah?!"

"I know you'll run if I do," Makoto replied, "That and...well knowing you and Ragna…"

"Grr…"

"Don't you give me that. You know it's true."

"Hmph."

---

"TIME!" Kagura called out as he stood up, his entire body bright red, "I...have done it!" he declared...before falling over, "Bikinis…"

"...He's...gonna be okay, right?" Stu asked.

"He'll be fine…" Hibiki sighed as he walked over to the downed Kagura, "Was it worth it?"

"Time will tell...H-hibiki...to...to the beach…"

"You realize as it stands you might be too sick to even get out of the bathroom by the time we arrive," Hibiki pointed out, grabbing his leg and dragging him off, "Thank you for your time."

"Uh sure..oh wait. Do you..." Stu began before seeing a bag in Hibki's hand, "...are you a ninja?"

"That's what I always say…" Kagura slurred.

"Let's get you to the medical wing…"

"No...to the ride...to the beach…"

"You are breathing fire."

"Damn right I am!"

"...Emergency medical attention might be needed," Hibiki sighed.

"Ah man…"

---

"...I get the feeling Kagura's not gonna be coming," Ben admitted, helping carry some stuff to the RV.

"Oh no...what a shame…" Makoto replied sarcastically.

"Hope he's okay at least," Jenny muttered, walking out of the RV.

"Eh. He'll survive," Makoto waved off, "Anyway, glad you can join us, Jen."

"Are you kidding? A beach trip sounds nice," Jenny smiled.

"I just want to enjoy some downtime." Makoto added, "With my friends and my boyfriend...separately." she giggled.

"Smooth," Ben laughed.

"What? ...I need to avoid double entendre around Tsubaki. She's so prudish, she'll mistake even my non-naughty jokes as naughty," Makoto pouted.

"Hopefully she can ease up when we get to the beach," Mai said as she carried a few bags of food.

"I can hear you…" Tsubaki pouted, helping Mai with the food.

"Gosh I think that was the point!" Ben laughed.

"No fighting." Noel spoke, crossing her arms, "This is a vacation, to relax and be happy. So from here on no more fighting and no hitting...no matter what naughty thing Makoto says."

"Yeah!" Makoto cheered.

"Though...please try to keep that to when you and Ben are alone…" Noel chuckled.

"I promise to try…" Makoto said honestly.

"Just try and keep your craziness -and Jin- away from me…" Ragna muttered, currently looking over the RV with Rook.

"Well maybe if you had a gal of your own, w-"

"No," Ragna argued, "...and don't even suggest Buttfloss."

"Okay okay...maybe you do need this trip!" Makoto laughed, "And don't worry, Tsubaki has Jin on both a metaphorical leash...and a somewhat literal one."

"I'm sorry, what?" Jin blinked, still tied up while sitting on the yard.

"The bracelet I slapped on your arm...it's like a shock collar to stop you from being violent or creepy," Makoto smiled.

"YOU WHAT!?" Jin snapped.

"I gave the remote to the person least likely to use it," Makoto argued, "So that means...Tsubaki is in charge of you."

"Makoto, please don't word it like that," Tsubaki sighed.

"Hey. Long as she keeps him from aiming his murderbo-" Ragna began before Rook cleared his threat, motioning his head at Robotboy, "...Long as she keeps him from attacking me, she can keep him."

"Please don't word it like that…" Jin replied.

"We ship it," Ben and Makoto smiled just to get a rise out of him.

"Can you not?!" Tsubaki and Jin snapped.

"Too late," Noel replied, standing next to them.

"Now now," Max sighed, lifting a surfboard over his shoulders, "We can play 'Pick on Tsubaki and Jin' any day..."

"You make a good point." Ragna agreed, enjoying his brother's torment.

"...But I okayed this trip to avoid stress; not cause it. So let's load up, get aboard, and get this well deserved break started," Max ordered.

"The moment I heard about the beach trip, I studied up on multiple beach activities," Rook spoke, "Did you know there is a game where you are blindfolded and you have to hit a watered melon with a bat...while dizzy?"

"That's a Japan thing?" Ben blinked.

"Yep." Makoto nodded, "But it's fun."

"Well, yeah. With you even if you graze it, you can still smash it," Ben chuckled.

"True," Makoto nodded, "Plus free melon to enjoy as a nice cool snack."

"Good thing I brought plenty of them," Max smiled, "Nothing beats watermelon on the beach to cool down and relax with."

"True...been quite a while since I've been to the beach myself," Kajun admitted, currently looking at a checklist, "Last time was during my and the girls' school year when we-along with Jin and a classmate of ours named Taro-got launched to a beach within Torifune...and what timing too. The climate control for Torifune was malfunctioning and we had to deal with an early winter."

"Wonder what happened to Taro anyway?" Makoto pondered.

"I'm not sure…" most of them replied. They then turned to Jin.

"What?"

"You were in the NOL...You should know where Taro is."

"I really don't...I was just glad not to have someone call me 'Jinny' everytime." he looked up at Ben's smirking face, "No...NO!"

"Jinny…" Ben smiled, making Jin scream in annoyance.

"We ready to leave?" Robotboy asked.

"Yup."

"Yay!" Robotboy cheered, picking up Jin.

"You put me down!" Jin snapped.

"Ok!" Robotboy smiled, tossing him into the RV like a missile.

"Not literally!" Jin snapped, "Trash, your doll is malfunctioning!"

"Who trash?"

"He means Noel…" Makoto explained before flinching as Robotboy grew into Battle Mode and walked in after Jin.

"Ahh! R-Robotboy! Matte!" Noel called out as she chased after him.

"...Should we assist?" Rook asked.

"Nah…" everyone replied.

"...Fair enough, I suppose…"

---

"...and you're sure this is gonna make me feel better in time to catch up?" Kagura asked, looking at Blukic and Driba in the medical wing.

"Yes/No!"

"...No/Yes!"

"...Maybe!"

"Lord Kagura, you can't be serious…" Hibiki sighed from nearby.

"Hey...It worked for Makoto."

"Yes...because Kajun was with these two."

"Oh...right…" Kagura recalled, "Well...hopefully, it'll work just as well."

"Famous last words…"

---

"Grr…" Jin growled in annoyance, a muzzle covering his mouth.

"Sorry...I can't risk you causing trouble with that mouth of yours again," Ben stated.

"Also it's relaxingly pleasant," Makoto smirked, resting her head on Ben's shoulder.

"Makoto…" Tsubaki began.

"So what is this place we're going to, anyway?" Mai asked, "I know it's on Cannonbolt's homeworld, but nothing specific about it."

"It's a place owned by Azmuth," Ben explained, "Think of it as his...vacation home or something."

"And the old man is okay with us using it?" Ragna asked.

"He has nothing of importance there, he says. He claims it's a sort of aquatic research lab, since the top links to an underground section out in the water," Ben explained, "He says we can use it...as long as we don't go in the basement."

"Why?" Ragna asked slowly.

"Something about delicate controls that he doesn't want any of us touching lest we cause the whole place to go kaboom," Ben explained, "What...you expected him to keep the swarm of nano bugs that eat anything down there? No...he keeps that in his pantry."

"..." Jin and Ragna gave deadpan looks at him.

"What? He's not called 'The First Thinker' for nothing," Ben shrugged.

"So nothing that will make our lives hell?" Ragna asked.

"When I told him I'd be going, he said he sent a team to clear out all his stuff...like...all of it," Ben explained, "It's more or less an empty beach house right now."

"So you're totally sure…"

"Would you leave anything important in your house if Makoto and I were gonna spend a few days in it?" Ben argued.

"Hell no...and he's smarter than us...damn that is a good point." Ragna admitted.

"Exactly," Makoto grinned.

"Sides, I think all he does is run tests on the waves caused by the inhabitants' super cannon balls." Ben explained, "Something about how the amounts of massive waves causes a sort of synthetic ocean current."

"Huh...and that doesn't raise any flags?"

"Eh. I'm not worried about it right now," Ben waved off, "Right now just wanna enjoy some fun in the sun."

"Agreed," Makoto smiled, leaning into Ben, "And one thing that ruins our relaxation time is getting a one way fist shaped ticket to the diving board that's in the upper atmosphere of the planet."

"Fine. I'll back off," Ragna held his hands up in defense"

"Good," the two nodded.

"We are approaching the planet's surface," Rook called out from the pilot's seat.

"Finally!" Makoto cheered.

"Whoo~ Beach time!" Ben added.

"Yay…" Noel cheered.

"I think I see the place," Mai noted as she and Jenny looked out the window.

"Oh...oh wow! It's huge, "Jenny noted.

"And lots of water," Robotboy noted.

"Oh, right…" Jenny cringed.

"Not to worry," Kajun noted as she pulled out a spray can, "This is the perfect opportunity to test out Plumber HQ R&D's brand new robot-friendly application: Anti-Water Coating. It will prevent any water getting into your circuits or joints and prevent rusting."

"Really?!" Jenny and Robotboy beamed.

"Of course. I wouldn't let you two go into water without proper protection," Kajun assured.

"Sweet! So Jen and RB can join us in the water!" Makoto beamed.

"...I hope you're not thinking of using the Golden Angel, Makoto," Tsubaki spoke.

"Nope."

"Phew…"

"I'm using Golden Angel V2!" Makoto beamed.

"...Kajun…" Tsubaki began.

"It shouldn't dissolve in non-saltwater," Kajun assured.

"...That doesn't assure me," Tsubaki sighed, "Fine...you can use it, Makoto...but the moment it dissolves, you have to change into something else."

"Fine fine…" Makoto muttered.

---

"Okay...stomach is no longer a furnace…" Kagura whispered, sitting up on the medical bed he was in, "Sweet. It worked...though now I taste peppermint-strawberry with an aftertaste of cinnamon."

"That should go away in an hour," Blukic noted.

"Noted," Kagura nodded as he got up out of the bed, "Now then..Hibiki! To the nearest ship! We are finally heading to the beach!"

"An issue with that," Hibiki noted, "The ships meant for Plumbers are all in use at the moment by others."

"Seriously?!"

"I am afraid so, yes."

"Darn it," Kagura muttered before holding his chin in thought, "...Wait...what about Kevin? He's gotta…"

"His girlfriend, Gwen Tennyson, has finals this week. Furthermore, his current job has him busy with repairing several cars from a wreck in the town caused by a drunk driver running through a red light."

"Ahh geez…" Kagura facepalmed, "...Wait...there is one ship we can take."

"There is?" Hibiki raised a brow before it dawned on him, "...No."

"Aw come on. He won't mind…"

"That is what Ben said when he and Makoto took it to a convention while his car was being repaired."

"Hey. It's either that, or we go to Argit for that 'borrowed' Incursean ship he 'found'."

"..." Hibiki looked away from Kagura.

"...What did you do?" Kagura asked.

"I may have informed the Magister about it and had it confiscated."

"...you have an answer for everything, don't you?"

"I need to for you, sir."

"...Ah man," Kagura slumped, "...I'm still not giving up, ya know."

"I know…"

---

"I'm surprised he made this place so big," Ragna noted as everyone stood before a large black and green house by a beachside.

"His assistant, Myaxx, is pretty tall, so of course he needs places like this big enough so she can be his assistant and be helpful," Max noted.

"Huh….go figure," Ragna noted, "Also...the old man has an assistant?"

"Oh right. She wasn't there when Psychobos, Khyber, and Malware attacked," Ben recalled.

"I have the feeling we'll run into her eventually then…" Makoto noted, "But enough of that. Let's head in and get ready for the beach!"

"Aye!" Noel and Mai cheered.

"Come with me, you two," Kajun spoke, picking up Robotboy while motioning for Jenny to follow, "We'll get to applying this new coating for you both so you can enjoy the beach."

"Gotcha," Jenny nodded as she followed Kajun.

"I will assist in putting our belongings away until we leave," Rook spoke, "Care to assist, Ragna?"

"Eh sure. Better than doing nothing," Ragna shrugged as he walked off with him.

"Grrr!" Jin muffledly snapped.

"Oh right..." Ben muttered before he began to untie Jin, "There. Happy?"

"Grr…" Jin mummered, pointing to the muzzle.

"Tsubaki has the key," Ben replied.

"Mmm…"

"...If it makes you feel any better...she had to deal with the muzzle, too."

"No I didn't," Tsubaki instantly denied.

"...Mmm?"

"N...No…" Tsubaki denied further as she began to blush.

"To be fair, it was Kajun who dared her to wear one for an entire game of Truth or Dare," Makoto noted, "And I got pictures~"

"Makoto, don't you dare!" Tsubaki snapped.

"Okay, okay…" Makoto chuckled, holding her hands up in a pacifying gesture.

"Are we heading in to put this stuff down and get ready or just stand around and bicker?" Ragna spoke, carrying the luggage with Rook.

"Oh, right!" Makoto exclaimed as she ran over to help get the luggage.

"You know...I'm honestly surprised Luna...er..Sena…Platinum didn't stow away," Ben admitted.

"Don't you remember? She's spending some time with Gwen." Max spoke up, "Oh….Kevin has not been enjoying it." he chuckled, "Apparently, she hogs all of Gwen's free time, leaving no time for him."

"I worry for what they learn from her," Ben cringed, "Remember when Gwen was still learning from her magic book she got from Charmcaster, Grandpa? Specifically what happened at the Botanical Garden in St. Louis when she pronounced that spell wrong?"

"..." Max and Ben shuddered in unison.

"Charmcaster?" Mai repeated.

"Another magician that comes from another world...that she's currently the ruler of," Ben replied, "It's a bit of a story and she and her uncle, Hex, have files in the Plumber's database."

"A magician from another world...huh…" Mai noted, "That...doesn't sound as farfetched."

"Given where we grew up, it's not that far off," Kajun added.

"So...you have a Dimensional prison...a ghost zone, and now a world filled with Magic," Makoto listed.

"Oh and the Magic world used to be ruled by an evil flaming headed Turtle alien," Ben added, "I wish I was making that up...Seems he's also a mutated variant of Terraspin's species, so he had an unfair Magic immunity power."

'I can think of a certain usagi who would argue at that...probably,' Ragna thought.

"Okay... Any other dimensions we should know about?" Tsubaki asked with a sigh.

"..." Ben paused as he took a moment to think, "Hey Makoto...did we ever tell them about the interdimensional Mr. Smoothy's owned by Mr. Hokestar?"

"The what?" Kajun asked, instantly before the two, "Explain. Now."

"Well, not our Hokestar since he's getting a fortune from his plant growth spray, but a Mr. Hokestar that runs a Mr. Smoothy's that traverses dimensions to sell smoothies in different dimensions," Makoto corrected.

"Oh right...I forgot that. They are legit the same person!" Ben laughed, "Still can't find a Mr. Smoothy's that can make a banana-strawberry-mango smoothie like his."

"But yeah that was a day…" Makoto muttered, "We got stuck visiting a few worlds 'till we got stuck in one we call Dimension 23 for a day. We helped that world's Ben...and then got stuck in another world where Ben was still 10...but according to our Ben, that world's Gwen...is much nicer and supportive."

"His Omnitrix also seems to constantly change how it looks and resets itself," Ben recalled.

"There was also that world that looked like something out of Mad Max...and for some reason, everyone had an Australian accent…" Makoto muttered.

"Explain how it worked darn it," Kajun sighed.

"I dunno," the two shrugged.

"Explain."

"?!" the two tensed before sharing looks, "...AH!" they screamed, pointing to the right.

Everyone looked to the right, seeing nothing but palm trees, beach, and ocean. A green light appeared from the corner of their sight and they turned back in time to see Makoto running backwards on Cannonbolt as he sped away from them.

"You two get back here!" Kajun barked, chasing after them.

"Not while you're in Science Mode!" Makoto yelped.

"You will explain about that store now!"

"NNNOPE!" Makoto and Cannonbolt exclaimed.

"Let's all relax…" Tsubaki sighed.

"Agreed…" the others added.

---

"Mmm…" Kajun fumed, wearing a purple and black one-piece swimsuit...and the muzzle.

"Protective measure," Tsubaki assured, wearing a pink bikini with a rose sarong and a hibiscus in her hair.

"Mmm…"

"It was the only way, Kajun," Mai sighed, wearing a modest dark-blue one-piece swimsuit.

"Least I finally have that damn muzzle off," Jin muttered, wearing dark-blue and black swim trunks.

"For now," Ragna noted, wearing a pair of red swim trunks with a black flame pattern on the left leg.

"Brother…"

"No fighting you two," Noel scolded, wearing a blue and white modest two-piece and revealing an intricate black tattoo on her chest, "We are here to relax. Not fight."

"...fine," the two muttered.

"Why do I oddly see Noel as the younger sister of these two?" Ben asked, wearing a pair of green and black swim trunks.

"That's just how adorable she is," Makoto giggled, wearing an acorn yellow-colored sling bikini with a brown tube-top like piece.

'...Damn. She wasn't kidding about the other one being modest in comparison,' Ben thought with a blush.

"Knew you'd like it," Makoto giggled before kissing his cheek.

"Aww that's sweet," Jenny smiled a bit, in her human disguise while dressed in a teal two-piece.

"We're just looking for some time to relax, and some light couple stuff…" Ben chuckled.

"I mean come on, we're not stupid. Plus you guys are here," Makoto added, "Also if we try anything further then kissing...Tsubaki will bonk us on the noggin."

"Indeed I would," Tsubaki stated, her paper fan already out, "And trust me...it won't be a paper fan either."

"Ruin our fun…" Makoto mumbled.

"Ms. Spoilsport…" Ben added.

"Oh shush you...you invited us," Tsubaki argued.

"I should have made her agree not to bother our alone time…" Makoto pouted.

"Next time?" Ben suggested.

"Next time," Makoto agreed.

"Alright kids. Enough standing around," Max spoke as he and Rook walked over, the former wearing his signature hawaian shirt but unbuttoned and a pair of matching swim trunks while the later was in a pair of black and dark-blue swim trunks, "What say we start enjoying ourselves?"

"Right!" Nearly everyone cheered.

"I have already come up with a list of activities we can do," Rook spoke, holding up said mentioned list, "Scavenger hunts, flag racing, volleyed ball, watermelon smashing, surfing…"

"...Did you look up everything done at a beach on Earth?" Ben asked.

"I did," Rook replied, "So many different activities..."

"Sound fun!" Robotboy beamed, a pair of blue swim trunks on him.

"Well we got plenty of time to try everything," Max smiled, "Personally I'm gonna hit the waves, been a while since I got on one of these things. Last time was when I was tracking a sea monster around Hawaii in my early years."

"Sea monster?"

"Don't…" Ben began.

"Oh that's a heck of a story!" Max laughed.

"Now you did it…" Ben sighed.

---

"...Okay...The coast is clear…" Kagura muttered, hiding in the bushes as he eyed the Proto-TRUK, "No guard dogs..no traps../Hibiki, any invisible lasers or anything?"

"Why are you never this determined for meetings?" Hibiki sighed.

"'Cause this...is important!" Kagura declared, "I did not turn my stomach into a lava pit just to be denied this chance!"

"You know the vacation time has already been approved. You could just hang out at home...and not risk your neck doing something stupid," Hibiki pointed out.

"Stupid it may be...But I will not rest until I can witness beauties in swimsuits in person!" Kagura declared, shooting up from the bushes...before multiple red dots appeared on him, "...That is a lot of guns on that truck."

"I tried to stop him...Lord knows I've tried," Hibiki whispered as gunshots and Kagura screaming filled the air.

"So much pain!"

---

"I'm telling you the barricade is necessary," Tsubaki spoke from behind a wall of sand as Makoto was being spun around while blind folded.

"Your grandpa's really good at spinning folks," Ragna noted.

"Eh, he did that to me when I was ten and eleven to do training on how to fight while dizzy," Ben shrugged, "It's why I'm not participating on trying to whack it."

"Okay. Just walk forward a little bit...no too far...alright." Noel spoke, "Take a left and three steps forward...turn to your right...no your right…"

"My right or your right?!"

"Makoto, we have the same right."

"I get the feeling you based that dizzy training off this," Ben deadpanned at Max.

"You think so?" Max chuckled.

"You seem like the kinda guy to pull turning a game into training," Ben smiled.

"I've been known to get creative," Max smiled before the ground shook and the sand wall collapsed partially.

"...Missed!" Noel called.

"AW COME ON!" Makoto exclaimed.

"I told you, it was your right!"

"I'm getting tired of hearing that, Noellie!" Makoto shouted, swinging wildly while spinning around.

*fweet-fweet*

"No swinging wildly!" Tsubaki called, lowering his whistle.

"Oh come on-Oops." Makoto spoke as the stick flew out of her hand as she spun around, sending it flying and through the wall of sand, Makoto lifted her blindfold and cringed before lowering it.

"This is why the wall…" Tsubaki sighed, "And that means next batter!"

"I could have got it…" Makoto pouted as Ben patted her head.

"I know you could," Ben smiled in assurance.

"Here we go again," Max chuckled as Rook accepted the blindfold.

"Okay...I am r-" Rook began before he was suddenly spun around rapidly, "WOAH!"

"Rules are rules, Partner!" Ben laughed.

"Wow! Look at 'im go!" Makoto cheered.

"And...go!" Max shouted as he stopped spinning Rook.

"Woah...very...disorienting…" Rook muttered, staggering in his steps.

"Um...Left...No, the other way, Rook," Noel noted.

"I am going left."

"Your other left!"

"You mean my right?!"

"No, you are going right. You need to go left."

"I am going left."

"That's right."

"Yes, I am correct."

"No, that's left!"

"For the love of...SWING!" Ragna snapped.

"AHH!" Rook shouted as he swung down, the sound of something cracking filling the air, "...Did I do it?"

"...Miss," Noel replied before Ragna got hit on the head with the broken half of the whacking stick they were using.

"Grr…" Ragna's eye twitched a bit, "NEXT GAME!"

"But...we didn't crack any watermelons yet," Jenny pointed out.

"Maybe Ragna's right. I get the feeling all of us are not cut out for this game…" Ben laughed, "I mean even with how good Noel is...blindfolded instructions are hard to understand."

"No they aren't," Jin argued.

"...Okay you go next," Ragna argued, "But you have to listen to anything Noel tells you to do. And if you get it done…"

"I ignore you all for the rest of the trip."

"I was gonna say you get to be cuffed to your brother for the rest of the trip." Makoto spoke, making Jin flinch, "But too late! You named your price."

"If you mess up...you need to be Nice to Noel for the whole time," Ragna crossed his arms.

"That's not necessary..." Noel spoke up.

"I say it is," Ragna argued.

"Fine…" Jin frowned, taking the blindfold from Rook before putting it on.

"And the spin," Ben spoke, spinning him around.

"Maybe a little more...he is an elite after all." Ragna smirked, helping Ben spin him around even faster.

"This is nothing," Jin stated, "I was trained to deal with stuff like this."

"..."

"...I can feel you smirking...don't you d-" Jin began before a green flash went off.

"Too late," Fourarms smirked, grabbing Jin before spinning him at high speed.

"DAMN YOU, TENNYSON!"

"Okay, I think that's enough!" Ragna laughed as Fourarms stopped, letting Jin slow to a stop.

"Rrgh...guh…" Jin groaned.

"Go smash the watermelon," Ragna ordered.

"Fine..." Jin muttered as he began to stagger a bit, "Directions?"

"..."

"...Anyone?!"

"I almost don't want to take part in this," Noel admitted.

"I want to see how long 'till he fails." Ragna countered.

"Isn't that mean?"

"It's what brothers do."

"Oh for the love of…" Tsubaki muttered, "Left, Jin!"

*SHING!*

"...Thank you," Jin sighed, putting away Yukianesa as the watermelon was cut clean in two.

"Boo…" Fourarms, Makoto, and Ragna complained to Tsubaki.

"Don't give me that, I was just being fair." Tsubaki sighed.

"More like trying to score future girlfriend points," Makoto teased, making Tsubaki blush a bit.

"If anyone needs me...don't," Jin stated as he walked off.

"You forgot your half!" Fourarms spoke, picking up half of the melon and rearing his arm back.

"Don't you-FUGWA!" Jin cried as he was flung into the distance by half a Watermelon.

"There...Now he's nice and isolated," Fourarms dusted his hands as he timed out and returned to Ben.

"I hate you...I hate you so much, Tennyson…"

"Right back at ya, Jinny."

"GAH!"

"You are never going to call him anything but Jinny, are you?" Makoto asked.

"Only when I'm being completely serious," Ben replied.

"Fair enough," Makoto shrugged, "Anyway...next game."

---

"...Okay, I'll bite. Why didn't the stupid truck shoot you?" Kagura demanded, his body smoking and covered in soot as he sat beside Hibiki...who was driving the Proto-TRUK.

"Rook trusts me in keeping it maintained when he's unavailable to maintain it," Hibiki replied, completely unharmed.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Learning opportunity."

"Well, let's get this taken off to the skies."

"Cannot," Hibiki replied.

"Hah?!"

"I scheduled an appointment with the Plumbers' main mechanic to perform the vehicle's 50,000 lightyear tuneup."

"D'oh!"

---

"Okay, this is kind of fun," Makoto smiled as everyone watched Overflow use his water powers to push himself and his board across the water like a speed boat.

"Babe, ya haven't seen anything yet!" Overflow laughed when he passed by them.

"That still surprises me," Max noted.

"What does?" Tsubaki asked.

"Ben calling someone 'babe,'" Max admitted.

"It's something I asked him to call me if he felt comfortable enough to use it," Makoto shrugged, earning looks, "What? We talked a lot in our time stuck in that capsule."

"It just feels odd...to think you could have such...a mature and stable relationship with Ben after how much you two argued," Tsubaki admitted.

"I guess spending a long time stuck alone means you don't need to hide behind pride." Makoto smiled, "If you ever want tips, Relationship Expert Makoto is right down the hall back home!"

"I think I'm good, thank you…"

"You sure~? It could help ya land Jin~"

"I don't think your type of advice would help people like us…" Tsubaki sighed.

"Ah you're right...you're both too rigid to ever forgo your pride and talk like people in a normal relationship," Makoto taunted.

"Yes, we...Hey!" Tsubaki exclaimed.

"What? You are...I mean it should've been easy for you two. For god's sake, you were both in the Student council back at the Military academy! You guys spent almost every moment of every day together...when you weren't with us that is," Makoto muttered the last part.

"Well...that's...true…"

"I bet if you asked him out back then...he might not be that…" Makoto pointed to Jin in the distance, who was just watching them, "You know, Tsubaki...wanting to keep things as they are is well and good sometimes...but change is way better sometimes."

"Some change can be for the better," Noel smiled, "I think our lives are much better after our recent changes. We have each other again...and a bigger group of friends...or as Makoto said it...we're more like a family."

"Guess that makes Jin your moody emo brother…" Makoto muttered.

"Rook, mind lending me a hand setting up the volleyball court?" Max asked.

"Of course, Magister," Rook smiled as he picked up the poles to set up the net.

"Maybe we can do Boys VS Girls," Mai suggested.

"Alright, but Makoto...no Super Spikes." Max spoke up.

"Aw~!" Makoto complained.

"And no Aliens, Ben."

"Hah?!" Overflow gawked upon hearing that, resulting in him tripping and falling into the water; his arm popped out of the water after a second, "I'm okay!"

"Boo...Then why should we even play if we can't have fun?" Makoto pouted.

"It's called fairplay," Tsubaki smiled.

"And a way to help improve your control and Ben's human physique," Max noted.

"Hmm…" Makoto began thinking, "Cheating for fun...or Hunky boyfriend...seems like a no brainer."

"I don't like this mood!" Overflow panicked as he surfaced.

"This will be interesting," Kajun noted.

"What volleyball?" Robotboy asked.

"It's a game," Jenny explained, "You and a teammate have to hit a ball onto the other field before one of your opponents can catch it while defending your field to prevent the opposing team from scoring a point."

"Oh…" Robotboy nodded slowly.

"Just make sure the ball doesn't fall on your side, and you're not allowed to hold it; just tap it back into the air," Ragna added.

"Okay!" Robotboy gave a thumbs up.

"I'm surprised you know about it," Mai noted.

"My master used it as a training method once...emphasis on 'dodge' and change out the 'ball' with 'fireballs.'"

"...For a cat, he sounds pretty intense," Makoto noted.

"What do you expect? He was one of the Six Heroes," Ragna snorted.

"If he's here, as in this timeline...what do you think he's up to?" Noel asked out of interest.

"Given he might not have to do much...being lazy." Ragna muttered, "I mean...he is a cat after all."

"I now picture him sleeping on a scratching post, while filled up on tuna…" Noel giggled.

"Most likely," Ragna shrugged.

"Let's play!" Makoto cheered after finding the Volleyball.

---

"...Is it done yet?" Kagura asked, sitting on a chair near the workshop for Plumber vehicles.

"No," Hibiki replied.

"...Now?"

"No."

"...How about now?"

"..." Hibiki reached into his coat and pulled out what looked like a pen, he put it against Kagura's neck as an electric volt went from the pen into him, making him sputter and twitch like a madman before falling over...while smoking, "By the time you wake up...yes...it should be done. Note to self...thank Ben for this gift. Who figured I'd need to use it as much as I do."

---

"Okay, if Robotboy can't fly, Jenny can't do the stretchy arm thing!" Ragna barked.

"I feel we should've hashed this out before we started," Max muttered, sitting on a small makeshift tower with two wooden boards at his sides, one showing 'BOYS' and '15' with the other showing 'GIRLS' and '15.'

"To be fair, we only said the Lovebirds could not use powers at the start…" Ragna sighed as he calmed down.

"It's true," Noel nodded, "That makes this all our Bad."

"I've literally done nothing…" Jin sighed.

"Except for brooding."

"I don't brood."

"We went for the obvious ones and forgot to factor in the other bits," Kajun admitted.

"Hmm...Alright, since it's starting to get late, let's do this: all out and the first team to get the point will get two," Max informed.

"Yeah!" Makoto cheered.

"Uh-oh…" the boy team spoke in perfect unison.

"Goggles down," Kajun spoke, pulling out a pair of protective goggles before putting them on.

"...Wait a sec. He said 'all out,'" Ragna muttered before looking at Ben, "You heard him, kid."

"Omnitrix...please give me something amazing…" Ben panicked as he dialed around quickly.

"Oh this is gonna be beach-wrecking," Mai whispered to herself with wide eyes before Ben slapped down on the Omnitrix and, with a flash of green light, became Cannonbolt, "...Yep. Very beach wrecking."

"What can I say? We're on Cannonbolt's rebuilt home planet, so might as well go native," Cannonbolt shrugged.

"Famous last words, 'Sweetie'~" Makoto smirked, lightly tossing the ball up and down.

"At the least, Cannonbolt makes a good shield to block the shockwave." Ragna muttered.

"Let's call that Plan B," Cannonbolt spoke, "Ro...you can go all out just this once."

"Mm!" he nodded, bashing his fists together as he grew into combat mode.

"Up…" Makoto cheered, bouncing the ball up before she jumped after it, "Aaaand Spike!"

"Ro, toss me up!" Cannonbolt spoke as he rolled into ball form while he hopped up, letting Robotboy slam his fist into Cannonbolt and send him flying up.

Cannonbolt was able to crash into the Volleyball before it could reach the ground. The impact was loud as Cannonbolt spun to try and drain the momentum away from the ball and not let it explode on impact. Once the two balls ran out of kinetic energy to keep them up in the air they drifted in opposite directions as gravity began pulling them back down, Cannonbolt unrolled as he swung his large hand and spiked the ball back down the girls' side. Jenny extended an arm out, managing to hit the ball over to Noel, who bounced it up in the air which Tsubaki spiked at the boys' side.

Robotboy blinked before aiming and firing his fist off as a rocket punch to send the ball right back at them. Makoto jumped and bounced it back, only to gawk as it bounced off Cannonbolt who was in mid-free fall. Noel skid forward and bounced the ball up as Tsubaki swung her arms out and sent it back up, serving it for Makoto to spike once more.

"Ragna, bounce off me!" Cannonbolt grunted laying on his back as he took in a deep breath of air.

"This is freakin' weird!" Ragna grunted as he jumped and bounced off Cannonbolt like a trampoline, once in the air he swung his arm at the same time as Makoto as the two struck the ball at the same time.

The two grunted, only for the ball to be squeezed just enough to shoot it up. The two blinked and fell down into the sand...or back onto Cannonbolt's stomach in Ragna's case. Everyone looked up as the ball came back down, only to blink as Rook gently tapped the ball over the net and it fell to the sand.

"I believe that...is two points for us," Rook smiled as everyone fell over, "Maybe returning to basics will help you all next time."

Max blew a whistle, "Two points for Boys! 17-15! And game!"

"Mmm…" Makoto mutered, all but her head buried in the sand.

"It's over...banzai…" Ragna cheered half-heartedly, "...Why are you so comfy? ...Like some kind of bean bag chair?" he complained to Cannonbolt.

"I blame the rolling thing...gotta have something to cushion all those crashes…"

"...Okay, that's fair," Ragna admitted.

"Can someone help me out?!" Makoto complained.

"Oh, right! Coming, babe!" Cannonbolt shouted as he ran over.

"Hehehe...ah, and here I thought this would end in something silly like the ball exploding," Max laughed.

"It better n-" Jin began before the ball suddenly exploded near him, resulting in half of him being covered in sand, "..."

"Oh...nevermind then."

"How and why?" Ragna asked.

"Delayed reaction," Kajun answered.

"Huh...Neat," Ragna noted.

---

"Alright, the tune up's complete," the mechanic, a female Petrosapien noted.

"Thank you very much," Hibiki bowed, "I also would like to apologize for the out-cold person on your floor. He was being...difficult."

"Not the first time and won't be the last," she shrugged, handing Hibiki the keys before going back to work on any new orders.

"Alright...I'll call Rook, tell him we're using his Truck...and then I'm putting you in some kind kennel...so you don't touch anything," Hibiki looked down at a still unconscious and mumbling Kagura.

"Bikini...saikyo…" he grumbled.

"..." Hibiki pulled out the taser pen and poked him once more.

"GH~!"

---

"Ah...late night barbeque on the beach. This is the best!" Makoto cheered as the girls put on hoodies and shorts for the night now that it was darker and the temperature a little more cool.

"Just a little more…" Max muttered as he focused on cooking.

"Will you hurry up? I'm starved." Ragna groaned.

"Do not disturb the Grill Masters!" Heatblast complained...being used as the grill.

"You need to be patient," Kajun spoke, "If you rush a delicate process like this, it'll ruin it and it'll come out burnt or undercooked."

"Exactly," Max agreed, "Sides, with Heatblast's control of flames and their intensity, we have the ultimate grill fire. Just a little more and they'll be perfect."

"I mastered the art of perfectly toasting marshmallows in my hand without burning them," Heatblast chuckled.

"Not surprised he's using Heatblast," Makoto noted, "When the power went out at his parent's house on my second day in Bellwood, his dad used Heatblast to cook breakfast."

"We've learned to use Ben's aliens to our advantage a lot over the past few years," Max smiled, "You wouldn't believe how much faster fixing my RV goes since he learned to use aliens in combination with one after the other."

"Impressive," Kajun noted.

"To be fair...most of the time...I also break it..." Heatblast grumbled, "I kinda had to learn how to make it up to Grandpa."

"Yep. Plus, most of the kids here know that you can even use them for big jobs like fixing that tower," Max chuckled.

"I still feel phantom pains from Humungousaur's arms from having to keep that building up for the entire night," Heatblast deadpanned, "And aches and pains from some of the other aliens from Rath snapping at them both figuratively and literally."

"Huh?" Jin raised a brow.

"Echo-Echo lets him turn into duplicates of himself or other aliens, but each one gets a random personality," Makoto replied.

"It becomes worse when I try turning the clones human." Heatblast explained, "With Aliens, it's more those alien's traits form a more individual persona." he paused, "...Did I ever replace that Echo-Echo in my old car's trunk?"

"What?" Makoto blinked.

"It was my backup incase I ever die," he joked, "Ah...That is to say I normally expect myself to do something stupid...and it's actually happened before!"

"What?" Ragna raised a brow.

"Long story short...Kevin went insane after taking in too much power, went on a rampage, had to fight him to the death...made a stupid call to use normal Echo-Echo...he vaporized all of them but my backup clone I keep in the trunk before going in to fight him. It's okay...I returned the favor by beating him 'till he passed out, then Gwen used a plan that worked despite sounding stupid. It was a weird time where I was the intense and serious one…But it worked out!"

"Wait...Does this have anything to do with Kevin's irrational fear of speakers?" Makoto asked.

"Yep," Heatblast replied.

"Huh...That explains it then."

"...You people are weird," Jin muttered, making Tsubaki sigh as she walked off, "...What?"

"Smooth," Mai deadpanned.

"It's called an apology...Turns out knowing how to say it can make a girl really happy." Heatblast spoke, "More so when you know what to apologize for…"

"Waste of breath, Ben-kun," Makoto sighed, "Jin doesn't know the first thing about girls. I bet he skipped health class even…" she laughed.

"Doesn't help the two also grew up together," Kajun added, making Jin frown a bit, "What? Everyone knows of the relationships between the Yayoi and Kisaragi families."

"So...he's stupid, right?" Heatblast asked.

"Totally…" Makoto agreed.

"Blind as a bat," Kajun added.

"Mentally deficient," Ragna muttered, "Even I can grasp what's going on. It's that obvious."

"Indeed," Rook added, "Rather shameful."

"Jerk," Noel, Jenny, and even Robotboy frowned.

"Ugh…" Jin groaned as he walked off to follow Tsubaki.

"Just so you know, it only half counts if we made you do it!" Makoto called out.

"At least he'll get half a point…" Heatblast chuckled.

---

"...ahh. Jin...What happened to you to make you like this?" Tsubaki sighed, sitting by herself at the edge of the beach, "Or rather...is that what you're truly like?"

"Tsubaki…" Tsubaki looked over to see Jin approach her, "I had a feeling you wouldn't go far from the others."

"...I have to make sure the others don't do anything dangerous or the like," Tsubaki replied as she turned her face away from him, "That's all."

"...ugh. Listen...I'm sorry," Jin sighed as he sat down near her, "Just...your friends are weird...but I'm glad that part of them didn't change, I will admit."

"They are...eccentric...selfish...and odd," Tsubaki muttered, "But they keep me grounded. If I didn't have to stop and react to them...I'd be lost in my own ways…"

"Yes...At least I'm glad you're the same as you are…" Jin admitted.

"...May I ask you something, Jin?"

"Hmm?"

"Where, in what point in our time, did you come from?"

"...It was after I left the NOL to search for Nii-san, and you were tasked to take both me and Tr...Noel Vermillion down," Jin answered.

"I see...I, honestly, don't fully remember myself," Tsubaki admitted, earning Jin's raised brow, "When I was brought here, my mind was regressed to just the day after graduation."

"...Did you have the Izayoi with you?"

"Hai...but I don't know what happened to it."

"...The farther that damning weapon is away from you, the better," Jin stated.

"...Can I ask another question?" Tsubaki asked, earning a small nod from Jin, "What...made you into this?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean..you always kept certain people around you during the Academy, but...you were never this antisocial."

"...War changes people, Tsubaki," Jin sighed, "I was sent out to the Ikaruga Civil War...so I could kill Lord Tenjo, the leader of Ikaruga...I saw many people die in that war...both good and bad people, including the commander of the 9th department, Grimwood Huster...He and his unit planned to stop the war, but…"

...But what?"

"...The leader of the 0th Division Meifang Lapsilazuli killed them for defying the NOL."

"?!" Tsubaki tensed at that.

"That's when I started suspecting things about the NOL and the war...So I went to Lord Tenjo to have an audience with them in hopes of stopping the war...I ended up in a fight with one of their men," Jin continued, "After that...things started going blank. Like...some voice inside my head was telling me to kill Tenjou. When I woke up...I saw the frozen dead body of Tenjou before me...and I was declared the 'Hero of the War,' and yet it made me feel...empty inside."

"...And that's why you're so distant from everyone?"

"..." he looked at her for a moment, "Possibly…" he sighed after a while, "Many things happened...my mind...my patience...my humanity...I could feel it crumbling some days. But since I arrived here...it's like whatever did that to me...diminished. At times, I fear that influence coming back."

"...Then...we can work through this together," Tsubaki spoke, putting a hand on top of his, "Whatever happened to me before coming here...whoever messed with your mind...we'll find it out together."

"I would like to say you and me working together would be nice...but...knowing those idiots...the stupid one will drag her all powerful boyfriend into it...then Vermilion...then Nii-san...and then the rest of the pack of weird…" Jin sighed, "So...might as well wait 'till we get back to Earth...and work together to find this out."

"...Hai, Jin-nii-sama," Tsubaki smiled before tensing, a heavy blush appearing on her cheeks, "G-gomen! I...I didn't mean to say that!"

"Don't bother...after so long with Tennyson...nothing really bothers me but the sound of his many...Many voices…" Jin sighed, "That...isn't even a blip on my radar."

"Oh….f-fair, I suppose," Tsubaki muttered, her blush fading.

"If anything...being reminded of those days...feels refreshing," Jin admitted.

"It's always good to recall the good days, especially back in the Academy."

"...True," Jin nodded, "And...well...while I didn't even want to be here...At least having you here is worth it."

"...hai…" Tsubaki smiled.

"And….ugh. They're spying on us, aren't they?"

"All except Ben and Makoto."

"And that scribbling is Vermillion, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"...You aim for Vermillion, I go for the book."

"Eep!"

"Noel/Vermillion, get back here!" both barked.

"Never!" Noel shouted, riding on top of Robotboy as he flew away from the two, "My creativity will not be s-"

"Jin summoned the ice car!" Jenny called out.

"It's not an ice car, damn it!"

"Stop yelling!" Ragna snapped, drop-kicking Jin out of the air.

"I may need to include Noel in some sessions with her obsession like Tsubaki and chocolate…" Max muttered.

"Nii-san...why did you hit me? I'm the innocent one…" Jin groaned.

"Like hell you are, dumbass!"

"Does this mean if Jin and Tsubaki do get together...will Tsubaki have to call Ragna, 'Nii-san' on account of their being siblings?" Kajun asked.

"...Really?" Ragna, Jin, and Tsubaki all deadpanned at her.

"I only asked what I knew Tsubaki has been thinking since she learned of that fact." Kajun smiled, making Tsubaki blush.

"...Well l-AHH!" Mai yelped when she was suddenly hit by a snowball, "Cold!"

"I believe one beach activity included water balloons...sadly, we have none, so..." Jin paused, Yukianesa out as balls of ice and snow floated around him, "We'd have to substitute…"

"Oh no," Mai and Kajun spoke before more snowballs hit them, "GAH!"

"A Snowball Fight at a beach…" Max chuckled, "Every day brings something new when it comes to you kids."

"You could call this as another form of training, sir," Jin offered, summoning more snowballs before sending them out at the others, "To see how they handle what happens when you're attacked by ice-based foes on a beach trip!"

"...Really glad we didn't follow," Heatblast noted from where he was still acting as a grill while Makoto cooked, the two watching snowballs and ice going off where the others were.

"And they say we're nosy," Makoto added with a slight giggle, "Still...least we have some time alone together."

"Yep," Heatblast replied before tossing up a marshmallow to her, "Perfectly toasted."

"Yummy!" Makoto beamed, "Ahh...wish we had some graham crackers and chocolate. We could've made some killer smores."

"To be fair, I guess we overlooked that option packing enough to eat for everyone," Heatblast muttered, "Oh well...next time, right?" he tossed a marshmallow into his mouth.

"Think you're smart, do ya!?" Ragna snapped, forming a giant boulder of snow as he slammed it onto Jin's head, burying him in snow.

"I think this is the best those brothers have gotten along since we found out they were brothers…" Heatblast muttered, lifting his hand and melting a stray snowball before it could get near them and the cooked food.

"Least we're more or less curbing Jin's murderboner for his brother," Makoto added.

"URUSEI!" Jin snapped as several more snowballs were melted by Heatblast.

"No targeting the food station!" Ragna barked, throwing another boulder of snow on Jin.

"Ragna is also learning to tolerate him more...he just needs to punch him...or drop kick him...or do something to shut Jin up," Heatblast noted.

"Maybe they'll be able to spend Christmas together without having a sword fight with the Christmas trees…" Makoto muttered.

"...I would pay to see that…" Heatblast admitted.

"Three trees this year?" Makoto asked.

"I say so," Heatblast nodded.

"I'll make sure to have a camera," Makoto snickered.

---

"Mmm...What is this?" Kagura seethed, an eye twitching with his arms crossed.

"A traffic jam," Hibiki replied, the Proto-TRUK in its ship mode and was currently in space...stuck in a large cluster of ships in space.

"How is there a traffic jam in space?!" Kagura snapped, "HOW?!"

"There's other life on planets...of course there would be heavy spaceship traffic."

"But why now of all days?!"

"Unknown," Hibiki replied.

"...I pissed off god or something, didn't I? Why else am I dealing with this series of unfortunate events?!"

"I love those books," Hibiki replied simply.

"...I was not referencing a book series!"

"..." Hibiki held up a book.

"...Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events," Kagura read the title, "...Dammit, now I'm hungry for something with lemons in it…"

"Well, I haven't such snacks. But I did bring some food to make up for our late arrival. But I'd suggest maybe giving that book a read. It'll help pass the time," Hibiki replied.

"...ugh. Fine," Kagura sighed as he took the book, "But if this traffic jam is still going on when I'm done...Kagura's gonna get upset!"

"..." Hibiki spritzed Kagura in the face with a spray bottle, "No. We just broke you of talking in the third person last year. Bad."

'Ugh! Being sober for so long sucks~!'

---

"Well fun as this is, probably time we turn in," Max sighed as everyone finished eating.

"Probably a good idea." Ben nodded, "Wait...did we even figure out a rooming idea…?"

"I trust you kids to figure that out," Max grunted, getting up, "I got my own place to sleep." he smiled, walking off towards his RV.

"Hmm...how many rooms do we have?" Tsubaki asked, pulling up a clipboard before flipping a paper over on it, "I want to make sure it'll be even...and make sure a certain couple doesn't try anything nsfw."

"Hey!" the said couple exclaimed.

"How rude, we have self control!" Makoto complained.

"Yeah, we're not stupid!" Ben agreed.

"Oh I know. It's just that sometimes even those with control can lose it in the heat of romance when left alone," Tsubaki pointed out.

"Mmm…" Makoto pouted, "I'll remember this if you ever snag a boyfriend…or Jin..."

"I will flood the room you have with eternal winter…" Jin growled.

"Ahem! Now then…" Tsubaki paused as she looked at a list, "...Okay...Considering the ratio of men and women here, each side will get one side of the house where the rooms are."

"...You sure having these two in the same room is a good idea?" Ben asked, motioning to Ragna and Jin.

"Well...Ragna will stop Jin from killing you in your sleep," Mai offered.

"I wasn't thinking that," Jin defended.

"You were. You can't fool us dumbass." Ragna crossed his arms.

"Grr…"

"Also make your choice fast...I think the moon is coming out."

"?!" Jin tensed up.

"...Wait. Is...he afraid of the moon?" Jenny asked.

"I mean...as a kid he was always scared it would fall on him…" Ragna muttered, pausing to recall some old childhood memories.

"N-Nii-san!" Jin exclaimed.

"Ah! He is!" Makoto exclaimed.

"Dude...the moon isn't even a normal moon…" Ben laughed, "It's more of an orbital defense system. And doubles as an epic diving platform apparently."

"Diving platform?" Mai blinked as Ben pointed to something...falling from the sky and slamming into the water, causing a huge wave.

"Cannonbolt's race have such strong armor, atmospheric reentry is only a mild problem. I should know...I've had to do it enough times. I just never landed on something like water to cushion the impact," Ben laughed, "From what I understand, it's like a rite of passage for the young ones."

"Ahh…" Mai noted.

"Rite of passage?" Robotboy repeated.

"Well, they like diving off high places into the water. Once you jump off the moon Azmuth made, it's like you're an adult in their culture now," Ben explained, "Their race normally spends a lot of time studying in school, so when they have time to play, boy do they play."

"In a sense...Cannonbolt is probably among the few Arburian Pelarota's who knows how to fight," Kajun added.

"Yep," Ben replied.

"...Wait a second. Ben, did you do that yet?" Makoto asked, pointing at the moon.

"First one to jump off it," Ben replied.

"And we didn't get to see it?!"

"It was a really long while ago," Ben explained, "Azmuth made me prove it was safe after some of the elders were concerned with the fact that it's a synthetic moon."

"Oh...complaint retracted then," Makoto spoke.

"So back to the rooms," Kajun said, "I say we girls will take the ones on the left side of the building and the boys on the right."

"Sounds good to me..." Ben sighed.

"As long as Jin's in another room, I got no complaints." Ragna sighed.

"I believe we have at least two rooms to split," Rook spoke as they walked in.

"Then I get whatever room Jin isn't staying in," Ragna snorted out in a happy tone at how annoyed Jin looked.

"I will stay with Jin," Rook volunteered, "Perhaps we may resume our discussion on this 'Code of Bushido.'"

"...Know what? I am fine with that, Rook Blonco," Jin nodded.

"Just don't stay up too late," Ben noted, "We've got surfing and sand castles tomorrow."

"And scavenger hunt," Makoto added, "We can do pairings for that one."

"Yep." Ben smiled, "Just to be fair, I won't transform for that one. Makoto and I have to give you guys a handicap."

"Well, that's good," Ragna noted.

"Oh, think we should handcuff ourselves with each other, too?" Makoto asked.

"Isn't that just an excuse for the two of you to hold hands and be close to each other?" Mai pointed out.

"Maybe…" they muttered.

"...d-"

"Could do the same to Tsubaki and Jin," Noel offered.

"?!"

"Well, I was half joking...but that sounds like a great plan," Makoto smiled.

"All we got are the power dampener cuffs though...so if we did...Jin wouldn't be able to freeze it off," Ben laughed.

"...Fine. Then I will see to it that me and Tsubaki beat you, Tennyson," Jin frowned, giving him a challenging icy stare.

"Sure thing, Jinny, have fun." Ben smiled simply, making Jin growl in anger at how casual he was ignoring his challenge, "Makoto and I sure will!"

"I keep getting lost in his pace…" Jin growled in anger.

---

"Alright...I've read through the book twice…" Kagura noted, "...SO WHY ARE WE STILL IN THE SAME SPOT?!"

"Must be a very bad crash that caused the jam," Hibiki noted.

"Why is no one going around!? We're in the vastless expanse of space!" Kagura snapped, "Doesn't space go on forever?! Why is a space highway jammed like this!?"

"..." Hibiki turned on the radio.

=It's Hour 31 of cleanup efforts of a massive pileup caused by the Vreedle Brothers Octagon and Rhomboid=

"Ah!" Kagura complained, letting his forehead slam onto the dashboard,

"I have blankets and pillows to let us rest," Hibiki noted as he set the Autopilot on so he could relax.

"Lousy Vreedles…" Kagura grumbled.

---

"Ahh…" Ben yawned as the new day began for their little vacation, "Man, the beds sure were nice."

"That was the best sleep I've ever had…" Ragna grunted, "Did the old man make beds from literal clouds or something?"

"Azmuth makes a lot of stuff," Ben spoke.

"Good morning~!"

"Oh, Mako…" Ben began before his face lit up in a blush on seeing her wearing an acorn-yellow and brown nightgown that hugged her curves with her shoulders and upper half of her bust exposed, "?!"

"Seems that Kajun was right 'bout the Golden Angel V2 changing based on the environment," Makoto noted, "Moment I sat on the bed in it, it changed into this little number."

"That's...honestly amazing."

"Ben…" Ragna put his hand to Ben's mouth and closed it, "You'll catch flies."

"And it didn't dissolve from all those snowballs, either," Makoto noted in amusement.

"Guess we can call this version a huge success," Ben muttered, shaking himself back to his senses.

"Still not gonna risk it," Mai spoke, walking past them.

"Oh it's been safe so far," Makoto complained.

"More importantly...Breakfast…" Ragna spoke up as he pulled some eggs out of the fridge, "Oi, Ben...you know the drill...change into something fire themed."

"We should have brought a grill or something…" Ben sighed.

"You're just a better cooking implement…" Makoto laughed.

"I don't even count as the chef?" Ben complained.

"No, you are," Makoto assured, "A lot better than me at times."

"To be fair, I kinda had to learn a little when I'm traveling with Grandpa…" Ben sighed.

"Your Gramps is a great guy...but his diet is a bit weird…" Ragna muttered, "And this is coming from a guy who's gotten used to eating alien food in an alien town...well, the stuff that at least looks like Earth food."

"You still come topside to take some good carryout though," Makoto added.

"I refuse to call a life without good food living," Ragna countered.

"Man makes a wise point," Ben chuckled.

"Omelet...and bacon," Ragna tossed some bacon to Ben.

"Right right...Makoto can you help me out." Ben sighed, taking the ingredients outside as he began selecting his alien.

"Sure thing!" Makoto beamed as she ran out and, the moment she touched the sand, her outfit shifted into a two-piece bikini with the cups for her chest resembling acorns.

"Huh...it changes each time, too?" Ben asked in surprise.

"Well, Kajun said it'll change based on what you're thinking about," Makoto shrugged, "For me, I was thinking food so acorn bikini."

"That's a weird jump in logic, Babe...Wait, are you hungry for Acorns then?" Ben asked as he flashed into Heatblast once more.

"Eh, more like food in general," Makoto shrugged as she hefted the large frying pan she had grabbed on her way out, "Now let's get to cookin', m'kay?"

"Right, I'll bring the heat...you just make sure I don't mess up and burn it." Heatblast laughed holding his large hand out.

"It's what I always do."

"Don't get cheeky," Heatblast laughed.

"It still amazes me how much they changed after admitting their feelings," Mai spoke.

"I guess that annoying tension is what made them argue...without it, they can act on their emotions properly," Ragna figured, "But what do I know? ...It's not like I've ever been in a relationship." he laughed.

"But that was rather insightful…" Noel spoke up, "Maybe you'd also be a good boyfriend to someone."

"No way...most women I know are either super pains in my ass...or feel more like sisters," Ragna laughed.

"Aw...I think of you like a brother, too," Noel smiled.

"Let's see...We start with surfing and then making sand castles and end it with a scavenger hunt," Tsubaki noted.

"I'm up first then!" Makoto called out.

"You sure, Makoto?"

"I've gotten a lot of practice done on Ben-kun's hoverboard...this should be a piece of cake."

"Famous last words," Ragna chuckled.

"...I'm gonna remember that the next time I feel prank happy," Makoto smirked, grabbing the surfboard before heading out to the water.

"Good timing, too," Heatlbast noted as Ragna took over cooking breakfast before Noel could even react before the Pyronite looked up at the moon and seeing a native falling from it, "Here comes a wave maker."

"Eh? Wave maker?" Makoto repeated, already out in the water before something shadowed over her, making her look up to see a massive wave heading right towards her, "...ohohohohohoh yes!"

"So that's how they make a simulated ocean current…" Mai muttered, "Each time they slam into the water, they push it all across the world."

"Yep," Heatblast replied, "Apparently Azmuth was worried about that since that was the hardest thing to make, but they fixed that. It's why he made this lab: it watches over all the math and complicated stuff."

"Bacon…" Ragna groaned.

"Hmm? Ahh shoot!"

---

"It seems the traffic jam is ending," Hibiki noted.

"Ugh finally!" Kagura exclaimed as he shot up, "Step on it, Hibiki! To the beach for sun, fun, and most importantly...BIKINIS!"

"Yes, sir," Hibiki rolled his eyes, taking it off Autopilot and began to fly off only for lasers to start shooting at them.

"AW COME ON!" Kagura screamed.

"We're receiving instant messages," Hibiki noted, looking on the console, "...Oh. It seems they're mistaking us for Ben and Rook since we're driving Rook's truck."

"Oh for…!" Kagura facepalmed, "Tell them we're not them!"

"They don't believe me," Hibiki spoke, "You would not believe how stubborn Ben's enemies and haters can be."

"BEN!" Kagura screamed.

---

"Ah-choo!" Ben sneezed.

"Aw come on, Ben…" Makoto sighed as the tower he was working on of the sand castle they were making collapsed from his sneeze.

"Sorry, Makoto," Ben apologized, "Guess someone's talking about me."

"Maybe...Still, we need to hurry and fix this!" Makoto exclaimed, "You see what Tsubaki and Jin are making?!"

"Huh? What a-" Ben began as he turned...see the two working on a large sand statue of an angelic guardian, "Holy…!"

"Tsubaki always got me to make snow structures with her when we were younger," Jin stated.

"That's some weirdly useful backstory!" Ben complained.

"Uh...Ben?" Makoto spoke.

"Now wh…" Ben began as he turned...and saw Mai and Kajun working on a sand sculpture of a monarch butterfly on a tiger's head, "..."

"I forgot aside from Tsubaki and Jin...Mai and Kajun were one of the top students in art class…" Makoto muttered.

"Ya gotta be kidding me…" Ben muttered.

"Like this, Noel?" Robotboy asked as he put a bucket on the ground upside down and pulled it up, revealing the sand inside shaped like the inside of the bucket.

"Exactly," Noel replied with a smile.

"At least Roboboy's is normal," Ben sighed.

"True," Makoto nodded, "Wonder how Jenny and Ragna are doing?"

"Okay, easy now," Ragna muttered, he and Jenny in the center of a one-story house-sized sand castle, the dichromatic white-haired man carefully using a toothpick to make detailing on a tower.

"Haven't made a sand castle before," Jenny noted, "Though I'm glad the times I made little things from metal shavings were useful here."

"Eh. Repairing vehicles and fixing houses in Undertown were simple enough for me," Ragna shrugged, "This is just second nature at this point…"

"I guess we are the less artistic ones of the group…" Ben muttered.

"Seems like it," Makoto shrugged.

"...Eh, it's all just a game," Ben shrugged, "Plus, I'm just enjoying doing this with you."

"Aw~" Makoto cooed before pecking his cheek with a kiss, "Thanks, Ben. I'm loving this, too."

"...There it is," Ben smiled, making her blink a bit, "There's that sun-filled smile I love so much. The one I hope never goes away."

"Aww, hun~" Makoto cooed as she hugged him, her tail swaying a bit as she nuzzled her cheek against his.

"Heheh," Ben chuckled before both paused on hearing pencil scribbling on paper, "...Noel…"

"...Mmm...I can't help it…" Noel pouted, holding her book and a pencil, "You two are just so cute together…"

"While that's true...you better not show that to anyone, you hear me…" Makoto pouted, "However...if you ever base a novel off us and sell it for mad cash...we expect 20 percent."

"25."

"...Noellie, when you barter, you go down, not up…" Makoto sighed.

"Does this happen often?" Ben asked.

"I'll be honest... First time we went to a flea market in the academy? I had to pull Noel away from their one place when she ended up raising the price to twenty thousand Platinum Dollars when it was just ten originally," Makoto replied.

"Noel, you are an adorable goof, you know that?" Ben chuckled.

"Mmm," Noel puffed her cheeks at that, a light blush appearing on them.

"Seriously, though, if you do turn our story into a novel...give us something will ya…?" Makoto sighed.

"Hai," Noel nodded as Robotboy put a tiny red flag on his bucket-made sand castle with a happy smile.

"Good."

"Hmm?" Rook blinked, a beeping sound going off from his badge as he picked it up, "...That is odd. There is an attack on the Proto-TRUK….Magister, w-"

"No!" Ben and Makoto snapped, making him flinch as he dropped it.

"No emergencies! No danger!" Makoto snapped.

"No work! No villains!" Ben added.

"JUST! RELAXATION!" the two snapped.

"...Damn," Jin blinked a bit, "They really did need this vacation…"

"Sit down!" both snapped as Jin sat down without a complaint.

"I don't know why...but I can't defy them…" Jin whispered to Tsubaki, "Help…"

"They're scaring me as well," Tsubaki quietly admitted.

---

"Razza-frazzin' no good space hillbilly hicks…" Kagura growled, tapping a foot impatiently as he and Hibiki were in a space station while the Proto-TRUK was being repaired...with the Vreedle Brothers tied up and bound while being hung upside down near them, "What do you have to say for yourselves, huh? I am missing primo bikini babes for your shenanigans!"

"Uh...sorry?"

"Damn right you are!" Kagura snapped, "Now once our ship is repaired, you two stay away or so help me..I will show you why they call me the 'Black Knight'."

"But the Night is already black…"

"How are you alive?"

"Respawn tank." they both replied honestly.

"...Why does that explain so much?"

"They're Vreedles, my lord...There's no explaining them," Hibiki sighed.

"Alright...what can we do…'cause I know if we bring them with us...Makoto will punch me and them into the nearest sun…" Kagura groaned, "So...where can we take them in a quick detour?"

"I've already called the nearest Plumbers HQ to pick them up," Hibiki informed.

"Good...less distractions the better," Kagura nodded, "And I will not be denied maximum bikini boobage!"

"I'm starting to wonder if those peppers had some affect on your mind…" Hibiki muttered.

"Any idea what he's talkin' 'bout, Octagon?" Rhomboid asked.

"Well, 'Boid, these here's what you might call a Terran male's desires on overdrive," Octagon noted before the flat side of Kagura's blade smashed into their faces.

"QUIET!"

"Ow…"

---

"Alright, all that's left is the scavenger hunt," Max noted as he stood beside a board, "And since Ben and Makoto suggested it, each pair will have one arm tied to the other." he held up a bundle of different colored ribbons to prove the he did have a way to tie them together, "I'll be tying them on in a unique way that I'll know if you tampered with it since taking it off means you're disqualified."

"Got it," Ben nodded.

"Now while you were all building sandcastles and sand sculptures, even though it was a sand castle competition…" Max noted as a few of them slumped on that while Robotboy smiled, a blue ribbon on his chest, "...Rook and I went out and hid the things you'll be hunting for."

"And I bet you hid them super well," Ben smiled.

"Yep. First team to bring me everything on their list wins," Max informed, "Form your teams and come up here. I'll tie the ribbon and give you the list of things you're searching for."

"You know who I'm with," Makoto spoke, hugging Ben's arm.

"Tsubaki is with me," Jin spoke before shooting a challenging stare at Ben and Ragna, "And we will win…"

"Eh…" the Couple gave Jin a teasing grin, "So fast to pick her…"

"Because it's the logical choice," Jin argued, "Stop giving me that stupid look!"

"Face it, Jin...you can't escape their pace…" Ragna sighed.

"Ready for this, Robotboy?" Noel asked.

"Yes! Very excited!" Robotboy beamed.

"Hopefully, things go well for us, Mai," Kajun noted.

"Right," Mai nodded.

"Up for winning, Jenny?" Ragna asked.

"You bet!" the robot girl beamed.

"Ready everyone?" Max asked, getting nods, "Let's get started."

"You start the moment Magister has tied the ribbon on and I give you the list," Rook informed, "Please line up."

"Go ahead," Makoto smiled to Jin and Tsubaki, letting them go first.

"Let's just get this over with," Jin muttered.

---

"Seriously, that is some neat stuff," Ben noted as he walked beside Makoto, wearing an acorn yellow and brown sundress while their wrists sported a green and yellow ribbon.

"Yep. I am giving major props to Kajun about this upgrade to the original Golden Angel," Makoto grinned.

"Seriously, her parents must be really proud of her," Ben added.

"Yeah. I….huh," Makoto blinked for a moment, "Come to think of it...none of us ever really met Kajun's parents before. In fact, she's never mentioned a word 'bout them, either."

"Really?" Ben blinked, "That's a little weird...I mean you girls have been friends for a long time...weird she never mentioned them before. Think it's something personal?"

"Maybe," Makoto muttered, "I hope it's nothing too serious…"

"Maybe we can talk to her about it," Ben offered, "And if she's not ready, then we wait."

"Yep," Makoto agreed before looking up at a tree, "Oh! Found something!"

"Huh?" Ben looked up at the tree, managing to see a metallic green thing in one of the larger leaves, "Wow. I can barely see it."

"Hehehe...Then it's a good thing you have me then." Makoto smirked.

"Yes, yes I am. Now...how do we get it down? Toss pebbles at it?" Ben asked.

"Better idea," Makoto grinned before moving Ben's arm to his back to let her hand grab his waist before she jumped up to the top of the tree, "Your arm good?"

"A bit stinging from how it's bending, but yeah," Ben replied.

"Good," Makoto nodded, grabbing the item that was in it, revealing it to be a metallic green badge resembling a star, before jumping and landed back on the ground, "That's one item off the list."

"Nine to go," Ben nodded as he held up the list.

"Onwards!" Makoto cheered, swinging her arm up.

"WHOA!" Ben yelped as he went up with the arm before Makoto's tail caught him, "..."

"Eheheheh...Oopsie?"

---

"Three down," Tsubaki noted, looking at a silver badge resembling a lightning bolt, a plastic hibiscus, and a plastic diamond the size of her fist in her sarong that she had made into a makeshift bag, "Seven to go."

"A bit of a hassle," Jin noted, "Each one needed us to work together on lifting a rock, climbing a tree, and even acting as a catching device with our feet while the other holds up the other."

"That is the point of this scavenger hunt, Jin. To promote teamwork," Tsubaki pointed out.

"True. But what surprises me is how fast they managed to get all this together," Jin admitted, "Ten items for each team should have taken longer than the hour we had for that sand contest."

"That was an hour?" Tsubaki blinked.

"Yes. I was keeping track of the time," Jin answered

"I guess this is just among the many mysteries of Max Tennyson…" Tsubaki spoke, "Along with how he can be such a great leader, and at the same time...the nicest man. He treats us like his own family but still acts as our leader when it counts. I mean...even you can't say you hate him."

"Don't tell anyone…" Jin grumbled, "But I get what you mean...the man is truly honorable...we could've used someone like him in the war…"

"Max would have slapped sense into everyone if he was…" Tsubaki laughed, "Then give half his platoon a fear of cooking."

"I suppose even amazing people...aren't perfect," Jin smirked.

"Oh. You smiled..."

"Hmm?"

"For the first time since we first saw you here in this time...you actually smiled."

"It wasn't a smile…" Jin denied, turning away.

"Oh it was."

"It wasn't…"

---

"Mmm...I feel as if I'm missing on some development of romance," Noel muttered, carrying Robotboy as they looked around.

"Look." Robotboy pointed up at a tree.

"Hm?" Noel looked up to see a metallic brown object taped to the trunk near the very top, "Oh! Good eye, Robotboy."

"I get," Robotbot spoke.

"Oh! H-hai," Noel nodded, holding onto Robotboy as he floated up to the object and took it off with his free hand, revealing a bronze coin with a star in it, "Oh! That's on the list!"

"Yatta!" Robotboy beamed as he floated back down before looking up at her with a tilted head, "Why write in book when others get mad for it?"

"Hmm?"

"When you write in book, Ben and Makoto get upset. Why they get mad?"

"Eh? Well…" Noel pondered how to explain it, "Let's just say I want to try and write something on them...but they see it as an invasion of their privacy."

"You ask?" Robotboy asked.

"Well...not really, but..there are times when you feel the urge to write-especially if prime material is before you-is so strong, you can't control yourself."

"So Noel do bad thing?" Robotboy asked with a frown.

"Uhm...I mean...I don't...it's…"

"Mmm…Noel do bad. We finish and Noel apologize."

"Hai," Noel slumped.

---

"Got it!" Jenny beamed as she retracted her extended arm from the top of a tree, revealing her hand now had a gold star.

"Not bad," Ragna noted, "Pretty nice trick with the extendable limbs, too. And glad they're not aimed at me like this one brat and this doll of his that he kept calling 'sis.'"

"You...really had a hard life before coming here, didn't you?" Jenny asked.

"Well see...I had my arm cut off by my brother Jin, the nun we saw as a mother died, the church we lived in was burned down, my little sister-who was sick-was kidnapped, I was decreed as the most wanted man in my world when I was old enough, could barely trust anyone except those close to me, I had nearly everyone come after me and my Azure Grimoire, and many other things I could list off...but we'd be here all day," Ragna answered.

"Jumpin' jiminy…" Jenny gawked.

"Yeah...pardon the language, but the future me and the others are from is...er...was pretty fucked up," Ragna stated, "But that's in the past...future...er...whatever! It was in the past of the future!"

"R-right..sorry," Jenny muttered.

"Bah, it's fine," Ragna waved off, "Let's just find the next item on the list."

"Right...hmm...well seeing how you and Jin interact reminds me and my sisters."

"...Sisters? As in plural?"

"Yep! XJ-1 through XJ-8. They're all currently in stasis in mom's lab in the Plumbers Mt. Rushmore base," Jenny replied, "Mom would only let them be activated when I can't be there to fight or if I was the one that was attacking."

"Say what?" Ragna asked.

"Vexus had ways to infect me with a virus to control me and they had to be activated to stop me only to be shut down the moment it was confirmed I was fine," Jenny replied.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. I'm thinking of asking if they can be brought online again on a permanent basis," Jenny noted, "Though I'm worried for the house if XJ-4 sees it on a day we don't clean it up."

"Why?"

"She's incredibly devoted to making sure everything is perfectly clean, even to the point of chiding others for messes they can't possibly help but create," Jenny noted.

"...Huh."

"And then there's XJ-2. She has this really powerful laser, even stronger than the ones I use. But...she gets hiccups easily and when she does, she can't stop shooting," Jenny noted, "XJ-3 is fragile and she tends to fall apart...literally. XJ-1 is a literal baby and never strays too far from XJ-4. XJ-5 talks like Makoto after she drinks a Monster energy drink. XJ-6 gets jealous easily. XJ-7 gets sad easily, but if you square dance with her then she gets really happy. And hoo boy...XJ-8. She's strong and I mean strong. She's so strong that Mom made me weaker."

"Seriously? Why?"

"Because she had made XJ-8 so strong that there was no space left in her for a complex teenage personality, such as sensitivity or sense of humor," Jenny replied, "Seriously, she mistook a kid hitting a pinata as an act of violence on an animal."

"Yikes…" Ragna cringed at that, "Sounds like Rath...only less angry and more serious."

"Exactly," Jenny agreed.

---

"Kinda feels like when we were on the run," Mai noted as she and Kajun walked along a path, "Only tied up together and not running from the NOL."

"Yes," Kajun agreed, "I must say that Azmuth is quite the genius. He was able to recreate an entire planet for an entire race."

"Indeed," Mai nodded in agreement "Though..it makes you wonder what he could do with one of the Nox Nyctoris."

"I'd rather not," Kajun admitted, "In all honesty, if he knew how they're made...I have the feeling he would be beyond livid."

"...Yeah, that is true," Mai muttered before shuddering, "It's insane." she paused when Kajun held up the emerald heart that they had found in the palm tree, "Uh…"

"Lick it and we may have a clue to where the others are."

"What?! No!"

"It's just one lick."

"I don't wanna lick something held by Rook or Max! Plus...isn't that technically cheating?!"

"Lick the stone."

"No!"

---

"How much longer is it gonna take to fix the truck?!" Kagura whined.

"Just a little bit longer," Hibiki answered.

"Ugh...Damn you, gods of this time…" Kagura cursed, "You're interfering with the greatest sight of all: girls in bikinis! Ugh...I need a drink."

"No drinks. You promised Ms. Nanaya, remember?"

"D'oh...shoot!" Kagura snapped, "What am I supposed to do then?!".

"I have the next few volumes of A Series of Unfortunate Events with me," Hibiki offered.

"...Ugh. Fine...book me."

---

"I see two teams approaching, Magister," Rook noted, looking out with a pair of binoculars.

"Oh? Who are they, Rook?"

"It appears to be Ben and Makoto and Tsubaki and Jin," Rook replied.

"Oh? A tie perhapes?"

"It might be," Rook replied.

"Huh...so you guys finished too, huh?" Makoto asked, noticing the makeshift bag full of items Tsubaki was carrying, "Neat."

"Where are all of your pieces?" Jin asked.

"In Makoto's tail," Ben replied as Makoto proved it by digging into her tail with her free hand and pulling out an emerald coin with a moon on it.

"Ahh...clever," Tsubaki noted.

"Could say my tail is like a swiss-army knife with how handy it can be," Makoto giggled.

"You rely on that thing too much," Jin deadpanned.

"Hey! I do not," Makoto pouted.

"You kinda do," Ben admitted.

"Ben~" Makoto whined.

"Makoto, you keep baggies with PB and J in there," Ben replied.

"Hey. Gotta be ready in case we get stranded or something," Makoto huffed, "Or if I'm on a stakeout mission and have to be undercover."

"The extra change of clothes in a ziplock bag?"

"Gotta be ready to change outfits on a moment's notice."

"..." Ben whispered into her ear.

"...Okay, I'll admit that's going a bit too far, but I refuse to agree on the fact that I don't wanna agree," Makoto noted, her cheeks a bit pink.

"I don't think I want to know," Jin deadpanned.

"Probably for the best," Tsubaki whispered.

"Can you give me your lists and the items you collected so we may count?" Rook asked.

"Hai/Of course, sir," Makoto and Tsubaki nodded, the former reaching into her tail to pull out a few things while Tsubaki presented her makeshift bag.

"Thank you," Rook thanked as he and Max began to go over the lists.

"Hmm...everything seems to be in order…" Max noted.

"Same here," Rook agreed.

"Alright," Max nodded before turning to the two teams, "Congrats! It's a tie!"

"Wait...we both won?" Makoto blinked.

"That is correct," Rook nodded, "You both arrived at the same time and have all the items on your lists."

"Well...looks like we're still tied up..Jinny," Ben smirked.

"Grr…" Jin growled in annoyance, "...rematch."

"Jin…"

"I refuse to remain tied with Tennyson."

"Well, we do have one last event," Max noted.

"What is it?" Jin asked.

"A luau," Rook informed.

"A luau?" Tsubaki repeated.

"...You mean..like the type with limbo?" Makoto added.

"Yep. All the good stuff," Max replied.

"...Sure. I'm good with that," Makoto shrugged.

"Hmph. This will be settled later then," Jin noted.

---

"Hibiki Kohaku? Hibiki Kohaku?" a Kinneceleran asked, zipping about before Hibiki held his hand up.

"I'm Hibiki Kohaku."

"Great! Your ship's repairs have been completed," the speed-based alien informed, handing over the keys and zipping off, "Thank you and have a nice day."

"Of course," Hibiki nodded, "Lord Kagura…"

"We ready?" Kagura asked, instantly looking up fom the current book he was reading.

"Yes."

"FINALLY!" Kagura exclaimed before zooming into the Proto-TRUK, "TO BEACH! NOW!"

---

"Rook, what are you doing?" Ragna asked as Rook was tying some soaked cloth onto two ends of a pole.

"Something I have been studying since learning of this trip," Rook replied, "Apparently, you soak cloth in oil and then ignite it. Then, you spin it around yourself in various ways."

"...huh. That's...odd and dangerous," Ragna noted, "Got another?"

"Right here," Rook replied, holding up another stick and some cloth for him to soak.

"Thanks."

"Oh, this is gonna be epic or hilarious," Makoto noted nearby as she and Tsubaki were setting up two wooden poles with extensions on one side while a third metal pole was beside them.

"Jenny has a fire extinguisher in her body on standby," Tsubaki noted.

"And Robotboy's got the ice ready," Jenny added, said young robot holding up a large bucket full of ice.

"What this?" Robotboy asked, looking at what they were setting up.

"It's called Limbo," Makoto explained, "You gotta go under the stick and if you hit the stick, you lose. When everyone has a turn, the stick will go down a notch and we do it again until there's only one left."

"Oh~"

"Hmph. Seems simple enough," Jin noted.

"No aliens, Ben," Max informed.

"What? Oh please, like I…"

"Hawaii when you were eleven," Max replied, making Ben pause.

"...Alright, fair."

"Heh...good thing I do some morning stretches," Makoto grinned, stretching a little.

"Yes, but you and Mai might have a disadvantage to this," Kajun pointed out.

"Eh?"

"Well, two for Mai and three for you," Kajun noted, tapping Makoto's tail on saying 'three.'

"Oh...shoot, you're right," Makoto muttered, her ears drooping.

"You could always keep your tail low to the ground, or wrap it around your waist," Ben offered.

"...Huh. That sounds…" Makoto began.

"But you'd still have two disadvantages, Makoto," Kajun stated.

"...Don't contradict my boyfriend like that, Kajun," Makoto deadpanned.

"Huh? Why Makoto have two problems? Robotboy only see tail," Robotboy noted innocently.

"...We'll tell you when Professor Moshimo decides to upgrade you to Robotteen," Makoto replied, making Robotboy pout.

"Okay...everything should be set," Rook spoke, "Now we just light these with the lighter."

"Shouldn't be too hard," Ragna shrugged, "Anyone got a light?"

"Yep," Jenny replied as she held up a thumber and the top opened, revealing a lighter.

"Light it up!" Ragna grinned.

"Alright," Jenny replied as she moved her lighter under the one of Ragna's soaked cloths, causing them to quickly ignite, "Use it to ignite the other cloths. I'll be on standby to put them out."

"Gotcha," Ragna replied as he put the flaming end to Rook's staff, causing the end he was touching to ignite before quickly spinning it and pressing both ends to Rook's staff's ends, causing the unlit parts to light up, "Alright! Let's get to it, Rook."

"Got it," Rook nodded as he hefted his lit staff up before starting to spin it, "Oh! Not bad."

"Neat."

"Okay. We are ready to limbo," Makoto smirked as she and Tsubaki stepped back, "Who's up first?"

"I'll take a turn," Max smiled, "Sides, I doubt I'll last long anyway!" he laughed, patting his stomach.

"True," Ben noted as Jenny deployed a music player on her chest and steel drums began to play from it.

"Pay close attention to him, Robotboy," Mai noted, "It'll help you understand what to do."

"Mmm," Robotboy nodded as he watched as Max bent backwards to go under the pole before grunting as he got up.

"Phew. I think I'll be out in the next round," Max noted with a chuckle, "Who's next?"

"I'll try," Noel spoke, raising her hand up.

"Alright, Noel!" Makoto cheered.

---

"..." Kagura's eye twitched.

"..." Hibiki facepalmed.

"WHY?! WHY IS THERE SO MUCH DANG TRAFFIC?!" Kagura snapped, the Proto-TRUK in the middle of a 'highway' of other ships.

"I can't explain this...Are you sure you didn't upset some kind of deity before we left?"

"I don't know!" Kagura snapped, "...I swear to god if it's those Vreedles again…!"

"..." Hibiki checked the computer, "Kinda…"

"What do you mean 'Kinda?'" Kagura asked slowly.

"You didn't think it was just the two, did you?" Hibiki asked, "They are a large...very dangerous...and very…" he paused, seeing an explosion, "...Very stupid family."

"...They have relatives, don't they?" Kagura groaned.

"Yes," Hibiki confirmed, "The majority of them being clones."

"So, wait...this whole family...survives by cloning themselves each time they die?!" Kagura snapped.

"Everyone but the mother...who is the only one considered a threat. In a galactic sensus, many residents of the universe claim they are more scared of Ma Vreedle then Vilgax...However that might be mute; as is to say that the company that did the test was destroyed by Vilgax later…"

"What the heck is with space? It's filled with monsters and criminals that are just the epitome of scary…" Kagura shuddered, "...Ugh...That's it! We're kicking everyone's asses! And when we're done, we are getting to that beach and seeing! THOSE! BIKINI!"

'Master Kagura...When you have a single focus...you get scary, too,' Hibiki thought with a sweatdrop.

---

"Mmm…" Makoto pouted, sitting beside a resigned Mai.

"I told you two that you'd be taken out by your two obvious weaknesses," Kajun noted.

"Shaddup…" Makoto grumbled as she looked over at the limbo where it was just Jin and Ben left, "Come on, Ben! You can win!"

"I will finally break this tie, Tennyson," Jin glared.

"Even if you do...I'll just wait 'till next time, Jinny." Ben grunted as he was slowly inching his way forward under the pole.

'...No...I'm better than that,' Jin thought, very tempted to summon Yukianesa and have Ben 'accidently' trip.

"You weren't thinking of cheating, right?" Makoto asked with a dark aura around her contradicting her sweet smile.

"...No," Jin replied after a moment's hesitation.

"Yeah...I thought so," Makoto smiled, walking away.

'What was that?! Since when was she so intimidating…?! I was actually shocked for a moment!' Jin mentally ranted.

"And go!" Jenny declared, playing the steel drum music once more.

"What...my turn already?" Jin shook his head, 'I got so distracted by her that I didn't even see Tennyson play…'

He turned to the limbo stick, set on the second-lowest rung. Slowly, he lowered his body down to the ground while moving towards it. As he was going under it, he sucked in his stomach to help make himself thinner to go under.

"Is he...Is he gonna do it?" Noel asked.

'I can win…' Jin thought, his neck now underneath the limbo stick, 'I can beat Tennyson...then..I can beat Nii-san...no..nii-san's...if only I can be back on that island….brother island...nii-san…'

"Why do I suddenly feel uncomfortable?" Ragna muttered.

"NII-SANGASHIMA~!" Jin shouted as he shot up, causing the limbo stick to be sent flying, "..."

Max whistle, "Stick has been knocked off!"

"Wha…?" Jin began before the stick fell down and bonked him on the head, "Ah…" he groaned falling over.

"I don't think I wanna count this one…" Ben admitted, "Also, did he shout Brother Island?"

"...That explains the creepy feeling then…" Ragna muttered, eye twitching as he stomped over to Jin.

"...Ahh….I lost to Tennyson aga-" Jin began before he was suddenly german suplexed into the sand, "FUGAW!"

"J-Jin!" Tsubaki gawked.

"This is an argument between brothers! Heal your love interest's ego after I'm done with my job as a big brother!" Ragna snapped.

"I've never been more glad to be an only sibling…" Ben muttered, "Babe, anything to say as a big sister?"

"Sometimes, the dumb little brother or sister deserves it," Makoto simply replied.

"...Eh. Fair enough," Ben shrugged.

"That was oddly intense..." Max sighed, "Still it was fun. Too bad Jin folded under the pressure at the end."

"More like he snapped..." Makoto muttered.

"Maybe we should leave Jin for a few more days so he can have some...Jin Time," Ben offered.

"Probably a good idea," Makoto agreed.

"..." Tsubaki frowned at the two before looking over at a basket of ice with soda in it and grabbed one and shook it before walking over to Makoto, "Soda?"

"Oh, sure!" Makoto beamed, taking it and opening it...only to be blasted with the spray along with Ben, "Eek!"

"Gah!" Ben yelped.

"Tsubaki?!" the two exclaimed as the redhead giggle.

"Couldn't resist," Tsubaki replied before blinking twice, "Makoto...your swimsuit's bubbling."

"Oh no," Makoto squeaked as her eyes widened.

"Hmm...I'll need to add carbonated drinks to Golden Angel V3," Kajun noted.

"Good to know, but can someone get me some clothes before my 'swimsuit' melts off my body?!" Makoto exclaimed while steam started to come off her bubbling swimsuit.

"Ah...uh…" Ben muttered before slapping the Omnitrix as he turned into XLR8 and dashed off before coming back with an oversized hoodie and towel, "Your fault this time!" XLR8 pointed at Tsubaki.

"I...realized that," Tsubaki sighed before Makoto took the hoodie and towel, quickly putting them on just as her swimsuit dissolved into slime.

"You realize I didn't pack an actual swimsuit, right…?" Makoto muttered, "And I know you girls don't have anything in my size...except maybe Mai."

"I'll check my bag…" Mai sighed.

"Thanks…"

"Uh...maybe after the chaos is done with, we can set up some fireworks?" Jenny offered.

"Good thinking," Max agreed, his back to them all as he looked at the ocean.

---

"Honestly, I told you to bring a spare just in case," Kajun noted as Makoto fussed with the blue one piece swimsuit with a diamond cutout on the stomach.

"I forgot, okay?" Makoto muttered.

"You think we got enough?" Ragna asked, looking at the several dozen fireworks of various shapes and sizes laid out and connected to one another.

"Don't worry. Ben's got plenty of practice at this one, too," Max assured.

"Mmm…" Jin muttered, the muzzle back on his mouth once more.

"Yeah. You gotta have just to right balance to them all," Ben noted while holding a small box with a red button on it.

"Everything is connected. The moment you press the button, they will launch," Rook informed.

"Thanks," Ben nodded...before giving it to Jin.

"Mmm?"

"Eh, think of it as you getting to launch a volley of explosives at the moon," Ben joked.

"?!" Jin tensed at that...before immediately taking the box and jammed on the button, "MMMMMMMMMM!"

"And you did that why?" Ragna asked.

"Eh, thought he'd like to end the day on a high note," Ben shrugged.

"...Fair, I guess," Ragna shrugged

"MMMM MMM MMMM!"

"What he say?" Robotboy asked.

"I think he said 'DIE DEMON ORB OF SPACE!' or something," Jenny replied.

"Oh. ...There is bad ball in space?" Robotboy asked.

"No, I think he just hates the moon."

"Oh. ...Why hate moon?"

"I don't think it's a good idea to ask him right now," Jenny advised, earning a nod from Robotboy after a moment of thought.

*BOOM!*

"Oh~!" Noel awed as the fireworks went off, brightening the night sky.

"Quite colorful," Kajun noted.

"A perfect way to end a trip to the beach," Mai added with a smile.

"And just what was needed to unwind from all the crazy stuff back home," Ben added, sitting down beside Makoto while her tail wrapped around the two of them.

"Yup," Makoto agreed, resting her head on his shoulder, "A ton of fun these last two days. Gonna suck going back to work, but eh, that's life."

"Yeah...but life is a little easier with amazing friends and family," Ben added, "Even if Jin can be kind of a tool."

"Mmmm…"

"Sorry sorry…" Ben laughed, "I'll cover your shift for the week if it'll get you off my back, okay."

"...Mmm," Jin nodded a bit.

"Honestly, I needed this," Ragna sighex, crossing his arms as he looked up, "After dealing with Pencil Neck and his goons, punks trying to make a name for themselves, and Argit...being Argit, I needed something relaxing."

"A lot of different things happened this past year," Tsubaki spoke, sitting next to Jin, "New friends and allies, many discoveries...uniting against an invading force..."

"Harangue getting fired," Ben chimed in.

"Highlight of the year for sure," Makoto agreed.

"Going from most wanted criminal on Earth to being a sheriff for a town of aliens is something I never expected myself…" Ragna muttered.

"Being asleep for so long and being awoken here in the future was something I never expected myself," Jenny added, "Even if all my friends and family are gone..at least I know they had a good life. Plus…" she turned to Robotboy as she patted him on the head, "It's good to know someone is carrying my mother's legacy."

"It's not perfect...we still have battles here and there…" Noel began, "But...compared to our old world, it all feels so much nicer. Now we just have to hope our families ended up here, then it really could be as close to perfect as could be."

"And that's another hurdle I'll need to go through…" Ben muttered, "Meeting my possible in-laws."

"Don't worry, Ben-kun. My parents will like you," Makoto assured, giving him a peck on the cheek.

"I hope so," Ben chuckled sheepishly.

"Dude, you're the world's literal Super Hero…" Ragna muttered, "If her folks are half as eccentric...chances are they'd want you as a son-in-law even if you weren't dating."

"..." Ben, Rook, and Max all slowly turned their heads to Makoto, who was trying to not look at anyone.

"Well good thing you'll meet them after forming a strong and powerful relationship," Noel muttered, "So I'm sure Makoto would have to be the nervous one...since her mom might tell all sorts of embarrassing stories from when she was little."

"..." Makoto began to mentally sweat nervously at that.

"I'm sure it won't be bad," Ben assured.

"I'm certain her folks will love you, Ben...but chances are their over-eagerness will just embarrass Makoto," Mai giggled.

"B-Ben-kun...promise me...when we find my parents...you won't meet them 'till after I set down ground rules with them…" Makoto muttered slowly, "Okay?"

"Hey come on. You met my folks, both your first day and again to tell them we were dating...It won't be so bad," Ben spoke up to try and calm her down with some optimism.

"Please just promise me!" Makoto pleaded, shaking him by his shoulders.

"If I-I promise...will you stop giving me brain damage?" Ben muttered between shakes.

"Yes!" she then blinked, "Sorry!" she stopped, while lifting her arms up.

"S'alright…" he groaned, falling over and letting his head fall on her lap, "I...promise...you...meet folks first...then me…sleepy brain damage time…love you, babe..."

"...Love ya too, hun," Makoto whispered, smiling a bit as she looked down at him.

"Aw...you're at the 'I love you' phase." Noel smiled.

"Noel...I'll give you a ten minute headstart for ruining my moment…" Makoto replied.

"Eep!" Noel yelped as she ran out of there.

"Not gonna follow?" Jenny asked Robotboy.

"No. Noel do bad. Need say sorry to Makoto and Ben later," Robotboy replied.

"Ahh…"

---

"Okay...We went through Vreedles...space traffic...space cows...a literal meteor shower...and somehow a high speed chase…" Kagura muttered, his clothes disheveled and burnt while his hair was a bit of a mess, "Please tell me we're there, Hibiki…"

"We are," Hibiki replied as the Proto-TRUK landed.

"YES!" Kagura cheered as he jumped out, "HELLO, BI…" he paused and blinked a few times, "..." he looked around, seeing no one at the abode, "...Where is everyone?"

"They were only staying for two days," Hibiki informed, "I attempted to tell you several times, but you kept interrupting with shouting something or running off."

"...So...we….missed all the fun? We missed the beach food? ...We missed the girls-especially Makoto, Noel, and Jenny-in bikinis?!"

"Jenny?" Hibiki repeated as Kagura fell to his knees, "...Ah. ID Mask, most likely."

"That bracelet Kajun made actually…" Kagura corrected as his hands hit the sand, "I...I missed it...I...I went through all that...just to miss it…" he whispered, feeling as if his body became stone as a lone light shone down on him, "And I stayed sober for this long, too…it's not fair..."

"...Why don't we just head home? You can head to the beach or the local pool in Bellwood."

"It's not the same~!" Kagura complained as he began to hit the sandy ground with a fist, "Damn you, Vreedles! Damn you all to hell!"

'...Kajun can keep her bribe. This was more than worth it,' Hibiki thought in amusement while keeping his neutral expression while watching Kagura break down.

---

GT: Well, that was quite nice.

SZ: Indeed. A nice beach chapter it was...can't say the same for Kagura though.

GT: Eh. It was hilarious, especially since it seems Hibiki and Kajun were in cahoots on delaying him.

SZ: True...anyways, we hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and next month...well it's the first anniversary for this story...man we've come a long way.

GT: Indeed. And with the anniversary comes a new arc.

Z0: We'll just get more and more wild folks. They can't stop me anyway, nothing can stop me.

SZ: We hope you all enjoyed this, so please...read and review.

GT: 'Till next time, folks!