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.

94. Cough It Up

SZ: Just 6 more chapters until we hit the big 100 for GSE..let's keep this up!

GT: *sitting on a red and gold staff* Yep! Really glad to see progress!

SZ: Yeh! And for those wondering when we're gonna get back to the Cabal…oh don't worry…soon~

GT: Yeah. *munching on a peach* I mean, you can't grow a peach tree in a day.

Z0: *walks up to a planted peach seed* GROW! *tree sprouts up out of pure fear* Uh yeah we're gonna need a new metaphor for patience around here, I Z0'd another one!

GT: Hey~ Not too shabby, buddy! *door nearby opens and GT walks in, focused on a Nintendo Switch* …

Other GT: We own nothing but ideas here. *looks up at GT* …Who let Sun Wukong back in here?

Z0: Nope…not dealing with this today, *pulls out fruit before swallowing it* Ah…*turns into giant golden Daibutsu* BEGONE!

SZ: Oh crap baskets…*teleports out of there*

GT: …Start reading, folks. *ducks as golden palm met giant flaming pillar*

---

The sound of fighting filled undertown, so you know another regular day. Today in particular, our heroes were called down to help Ragna with the rampaging Sunder the Retriever. Who seemed to be looking all over Undertown and tearing it apart in his search for…something. Apparently not even he knew what he was looking for as he had roughed up several residents including a simple shopkeep who sold tube socks.

"Hah!" Makoto shouted, punching at Sunder and knocking him off his glider, said glider flying off only for Ragna to cut it down, "Ah…I don't have time for this! I have more important things to be doing then dealing with your nonsense!"

"Gh…" Sunder groaned.

"She's really excited, so try not to be that guy!" Ball Weevil sighed, landing on Makoto's shoulder.

"Excited? What? A new video game? New nut food or drink going around?" Ragna asked, "...Her ban at the arcade on the other side of Bellwood got lifted?"

"No, I still have two months left…" Makoto sighed before shaking her head and grinned, "But that isn't taking down my happy mood!"

"Her family is coming to visit," Ball Weevil sighed, "We offered to bring them via Ground Bridge, but it seems her Pops was insistent on a family road trip."

"They arrive today!" Makoto declared, "So help me I will be there and spend time with them! Now prepare for combat!" she grabbed Ball Weevil, "Boyfriend, I choose you!"

"WAH!" he cried as he was tossed at Sunder and landed on his face, "If not for the fact I love you deeply I would be so nettled!" he snapped as he began scratching Sunder's mask/helmet, before twisting it around so as to cover his eyes.

"I can't see!" Sunder panicked flailing around.

"Sneak attack!" Makoto shouted, rushing and punching Sunder in the stomach, sending him and by extension Ball Weevil flying, "Ah! Hey wait, that's my adorable dingus! My family is expecting to see him too!" she chased after them, "We're supposed to have dinner with his parents later!"

"That woman is gonna be the death of him…" Ragna muttered as he jabbed his sword into the ground to lean against it. He then looked up seeing a green phone slowly panning around to record the action, "Jones…that you?"

"...no…" Jimmy's voice called out slowly.

"You know one of these days you're gonna get abducted…and not in the alien way…" Ragna sighed as he poked out from a makeshift crows nest formed on a stall by four signs forming the hidden away spot.

"Well…most times the stuff that makes for good news happens down here." Jimmy argued.

"Yeah and last time I got called to deal with a little human boy turning an old ladies bathroom into a stake out spot, 'cause it had a view of the Tetramand barbecue place Ben likes…" Ragna argued, "Don't make me get Celica."

"No! She's never angry…only disappointed!" Jimmy complained.

"Then stop…just stop trying to get involved," Ragna sighed, "This type of stuff is dangerous, kid…Keep it up and someone's gonna assume you're a spy or something."

"What…a spy…that's crazy." Jimmy argued.

"Yeah, but we got a lot of weird stuff going on. And weird stuff plus someone who doesn't have business being involved in our business leads to wacky assumptions!" Ragna explained the logic.

"AH!" Ball Weevil panicked as Sunder chased him while swinging his ax at him, "Keep that thing away from me! I'm not going through another survival mode adventure in the Null Void!"

"Give me your Omnitrix, Tennyson!" Sunder roared.

"You get back here and be arrested, dang it!" Makoto barked, chasing after them.

"Sheika Slate," Ragna reminded as she ran by him.

"Oh! Right!" Makoto recalled, reaching into her tail as she pulled it out, "Hey, Sunder!"

"What?!" Sunder shouted before he suddenly caught a square shaped glowing light-blue bomb, "...What is th-!?"

*BOOM!*

"DAMN YOU!" Sunder shouted as he was sent flying

"And another reason you shouldn't be down here: I don't want your mom coming down here and complaining to my office about you learning curses down here," Ragna snorted.

"Okay one time, and that boss in the game I was playing was totally broken! I couldn't do anything, got frustrated and it slipped out!" Jimmy argued, "Besides you said it first!"

"Yes, but you shouldn't be imitating what you hear!" Ragna barked, making Jimmy yelp, "I….ugh. Look. Just…just hurry on home, kid…y-" he began before a metal block was thrown into his face, "...kid, cover your ears."

"Wh-"

"COVER!"

"Ahh!" Jimmy yelped as he did so.

"Sunder, I am going to fuckign beat that mask into your face, they'll need fucking cranes to pull it out!" Ragna snapped as he rushed at Sunder before slugging him hard across the face.

"GH! Grr…you will regret this! As soon as I take Tennyson's watch, your arm is n-!" Sunder began before he froze in place, a yellow glow coming off him as energy chains could be faintly seen.

"The finishing blow, my good sir," Makoto grinned to Ragna as she lowered her Shieka Slate.

"...so I keep hitting him while he's like this, it'll build up into one powerful blow that sends him flying, right?" Ragna asked.

"Eeyup."

"...Fine with me," Ragna grinned, single handedly cracking his knuckles before he drove his fist hard into Sunder's face, following by a right hook to his face before unleashing a series of punches as Sunder began to glow red rapidly.

"Aaaaaaaand…" Makoto began with a squirrely smile as she tapped her Sheika Slate, causing Sunder to cry out as he was sent crashing into the wall, "Done!"

"Gh….blast….you…..bleaugh…"

"...that is still so cool to see," Jimmy whispered in awe.

"Oh hi Jimmy!" Makoto smiled, turning to see him, "Hey…didn't your mom tell you not to come down here?"

"Maybe…" he replied.

"Well while I'm all about healthy rebellion against unfair rules…sorry Fanboy, your moms rules are fair." Makoto smirked.

"I know…" he groaned in defeat.

"Why is it so easy when you do it?" Ragna asked.

"Cause I know how to talk to those younger than me without sounding rude…you talk to them on the same intellectual level." Makoto smirked.

"Oi…" Ragna realized the insult to his intelligence.

"Is it safe to come out of the tail?" Ball Weevil poked his head out of Makoto's tail.

"Yup. Sunder's been KOed," Makoto assured as she looked over at the hole, seeing the knocked out Sunder's legs hanging out of it.

"Eh, that building was empty anyway." Ragna shrugged, "Excuse to build something far as I'm concerned."

"Oh thank any all mighty being who cares!" Ball Weevil groaned, jumping out, "I hate that guy's ax so much…first time I met him, he cut my hand off…and banished me to Ultimate Survivor Mode in the Null Void!"

"That's…oddly kinda hardcore…" Ragna muttered, "And you survived?"

A flash replaced Ball Weevil with Ben, "Thankfully…" Ben groaned, "I had to run and fight off full grown wild Vulpimancers, with one hand!"

"That…sounds like an awesome story." Jimmy awed.

"Oh hey Jimmy, keeping out of trouble?" Ben smiled.

"No he clearly is not." Ragna sighed.

"I keep telling him if he wants to hang out all he has to do is ask." Ben shrugged.

"Well I imagine that's hard cause A: You're his literal Hero, and B: He's Ten years old." Makoto pointed out, "Not a lot of things a kid can do in our company…"

"Yeah that about sums it up." Jimmy sighed.

"To be fair I sometimes forget how old he is cause he kinda sounds smarter than half the people I hang out with." Ben chuckled as Makoto and Ragna pointed at the other to indicate who said 'Half the people' indicated, "Anyways…babe, I do believe we have somewhere to be?"

"Oh! Right!" Makoto gasped as she rushed off in a blur, picking Ben up along the way, "I'll see you guys later, and Jimmy! You behave now!"

"Home…" Ragna frowned as he pointed to the nearest exit out of Undertown.

"...oh fine…" Jimmy sighed as he walked off.

"Good," Ragna nodded as he began to walk off himself while pulling his phone out, "Yo its me…yeah it was Sunder again…Look I told you, you had to stay behind to watch Celica because a certain someone had to go and wreck that water tank!"

=It was her robot! She threw me into it!= Bullet snapped.

"Well maybe she wouldn't have if you didn't yell your head off near her!"

=I stubbed my toe on the stupid wall corner!=

"Your a former mercenary…!" Ragna groaned, unaware of Jimmy sneaking off to a different spot, "Shouldn't you be trained to handle pain like that?!"

=You mean like you with that lego piece that fell from the skylight...which had been sharpened?=

"Whoever made that should rot in the biggest pits of hell," Ragna frowned.

---

"Investigators log; after seeing the hero Ben 10 and his girlfriend, along with the sheriff of UnderTown, I've started following a rather unsavory looking gentlemen to what I assume is the unsavory part of town," Jimmy whispered into his phone, following a robotic crab-like alien before he bolted behind some dumpsters for cover, peeking out to see the alien walking into a building, "...after careful analysis, this appears to be a meeting place for the unsavory elements…I'm going in for a closer look." he began to rush for the double doors, only to grunt when they wouldn't budge, "Gh!"

"Private party," the bouncer growled from behind the doors.

"Eh heh heh…" Jimmy nervously chuckled before a green flash went off inside the building, "?"

"Wh-?" the bouncer began as he…and the multitude of alien thugs turned to see the Chrono Riders standing right in the middle of the room.

"...Um…Are we interrupting something?" Spanner sheepishly asked.

"Probably nothing important," Driver shrugged, "Everyone knows nothing happens 'till the main act arrives."

"Actually…we were just about to begin said act," Psyphon's voice spoke up from behind the counter of the bar, "You both seem a little light for a pair of…bounty hunters.."

"Bouncer behind me?" Spanner asked Driver.

"Breathing that hot breath down our necks…" Driver sighed.

"I got it." Spanner spoke. raising his arms up and behind his head to grab the bouncer by his overalls…before throwing them to the ground with a loud thud.

"Oh…you have improved on the jiu jitsu," Driver complimented before swinging her hand out to launch Bubblehelmet flying through the wall and several others.

"Eh, not that bad. Compared to who trains us, this was light warm up stuff!" Spanner laughed while rolling his shoulder, the two walking over the downed and out cold out cold bouncer and up to the bar.

"...uh…" Psyphon began.

"Oh no please. Do go on," Driver encouraged as she and Spanner plopped onto a pair of seats, the latter taking the drink Psyphon had placed down.

"Alright Psyphon, this better be good." Kraab spoke up, "You've had all of us running around this dump, drawing the attention of Tennyson, that Sheriff, and not to mention all the other Super Red Spots."

"Yes! I, Thunderpig, don't even know what it is we're looking for!" Thunderpig declared as the other thugs and bounty hunters began to agree with him, only to tense as Psyphon fired a pair of lasers from his eyes and destroyed the wall outside, "...Please continue."

"Thank you…I've had my reasons for keeping you in the dark," Psyphon began as he crossed his arms, "But perhaps it is time to tell you what is going on. An object I had ordered was stolen off an armored transport three days ago...when I was attempting to rob it myself." he whispered to himself in an impressed manner, "But I digress, someone beat me to the punch...incapacitated the guards with a poison quill. Now I…"

"What's going on in there…?" Jimmy whispered as he leaned against the doorway, trying to listen in on the conversation…yet he was unaware of someone beginning to approach, "It sounds like bad news…especially if…"

"Hide."

"Wh-" Jimmy began before he was suddenly picked up, "H-hey! What…" he began before he was put into the dumpster, "Oh come on…!"

"I need you all to retrieve my object from the one who stole it…retrieve it today and I'll double your reward!" Psyphon declared to the bounty hunters.

"I dunno..how do we know you're not leading them on a wild goose chase?" Driver questioned.

"Wh-?! No, I am not..!" Psyphon growled at that.

"Given your track record, you'll probably try and double cross 'em," Spanner added.

"...fAfaf2!#..." SixSix growled as some of the Bounty Hunters glared at Psyphon.

"Pay no mind to these two," Pysphon stated..while nervously sweating, "...In fact, I'll triple the reward if you do it without Tennyson, his crew, or the Grim Reaper finding out!"

The Sotoraggian siblings began muttering amongst themselves before EightEight nodded for all of them in agreement to this.

"Excellent….now off with you! I.." Psyphon began before he noticed someone standing in the doorway, "...um….can we help you?"

"Huh?" the two Chrono Riders blinked behind their helmets before they and the Bounty Hunters turned to the entrance.

Standing at the entrance was a short human-looking woman, roughly 4'11", with her long, pale-blond hair pulled into a braided ponytail with a metal tip at the end of it. She was dressed in a white button-up shirt that was buttoned all the way up to her collar with a red tie. She had an indigo-layered underskirt with a black dressed over that, adorned with gold buttons and blue locks. Her azure-blue eyes kept focused on Spanner and Driver while her large cowlick on the top of her head was bent into a reverse-7 shape.

"...Aibou…" Driver nervously began to Spanner as she shook a bit, "Isn't she that one person the Professor told us to avoid at all cost?"

"...Run…" Spanner spoke simply, "This is a personal matter! We ticked someone we shouldn't have off!" he shouted while bolting for the wall and blasting it down with his arm mounted blaster, leaving a giant hole for him and Driver to escape through.

"You guys are on your own!" Driver shouted as they bolted out of there.

"...Anomalies fleeing…" the woman spoke, an emotionless tone in her voice as her eyes tracked the two, "...Proceeding to…"

"Oi…little human girl," Fistina began as she grabbed the newcomer's shoulder, "You best to be l-" she began before she suddenly found herself flipped over, leaving a sizable splintered crater in the floor. "?!"

"...Oh no….not another one…" Psyphon whispered in worry as the woman began to walk through the hole Spanner and Driver ran through.

"..." she turned around to bow to them, "Have a nice day." she simply stated before going after the two.

"...Oh thank goodness…" Psyphon sighed in relief.

"I was-bukaw-terrified she was gonna kick our behinds…" Liam shuddered, several other bounty hunters muttering in agreement.

"Y…You're all serious about this?" Kraab asked, "It…It was just a human girl, right?"

"Earthling girls that live in Bellwood are terrifying," Thunderpig admitted, "I, Thunderpig, avoid them as best as I can…especially the squirrel lady…"

"You haven't been here often enough to experience it all, have ya, Kraab?" one noted, "Jor-dann's still recovering from the smackdown he got from Nanaya when he tried to squish Tennyson with a giant boot."

"This planet just went down the drain after the Omnitrix landed here…" Kraab sighed before SixSix said something, "Oh shut up. That was never my idea and you know it. Besides, I told you to leave that jerk Tetrax alone…" SixSix replied with something, "Oho! Suddenly you're all tough with your big sister here?" At that, the two began grappling with one another, making SevenSeven and EightEight groan in embarrassment over their younger brother.

"Oh, this is going to be a long day…" Pysphon groaned.

---

"I keep telling you…we didn't learn anything," Ben spoke into the Omnitrix, "Sunder was just running around like a madman, and once he saw us…he figured he'd try and steal from us."

=Ugh…Bounty Hunters and thugs have been going wild for the past three days= Tsubaki sighed =We've been chasing them around with no lead as to what their target even is. But most just run…Sunder might be able to tell us something after he wakes up and we hand him over to Hibiki=

"I promise to keep the Omnitrix off silent mode if anything comes up. But try to call me for something impressive. Rook, Max, Naoto, and Ragna can handle anything we consider normal. Please don't call me for Thunderpig, Tummyhead, or Sweet-Eel."

"Especially Sweet-Eel. Ugh…Shoulda called him Sweat-Eel…" Makoto grumbled with a shudder.

=Right, right, please give my regards to your family, Makoto= Tsubaki rolled her eyes with a small smirk =But incase they go nuts again, be ready for another night of fighting SixSix and his siblings…=

"I swear we need to just toss 'em all into cells for a bit to cool their heads off," Makoto grumbled.

"We are probably running out of cells…but I'm sure some folks would love bunkmates," Ben joked, "We can probably stuff the NumberNumber siblings into one cell…whether or not they don't kill each other will be the miracle."

=True…still, whatever these bounty hunters are looking for can't be good…I'll keep you updated in case anything comes up=

"Glad to hear, Tsubaki," Ben replied, "Over and out."

"I swear if these idiots cause us to miss even a minute of being with my family and yours, I don't care if I end up bed-ridden, that next Bounty Hunter's getting my Astral Heat!" Makoto snapped before Ben began to rub behind her ear, "?! ...Mmmm~"

"Huh…Haven't had to do this in a while now," Ben noted.

"Well you have more or less helped quell her anger when she gets like this," Skurd pointed out.

"True!" Ben chuckled, "Speaking of…you calm?" he smiled at Makoto, who slowly nodded as she still had that goofy content smile on her face.

"Well she's calm…now we await the family. When did they say they would arrive?" Skurd asked.

"About another five minutes give or take," Ben replied, "Babe, you remember why they're coming, right? Aside from just to check in on you?"

"Huh?" Makoto blinked as her brain finally rebooted back to normal, "Oh right! Ma told me the bakery was doing so well back home, she and daddy are opening up another store here in Bellwood!"

"Aw really?" Ben asked, "Can't say I'm surprised. The cake she gave us to share back here with the others was awesome!"

"I'll say! It'll be nice to get some great baked goods!" Makoto grinned before looking at Ben in a bit of worry, "Um…"

"Worries about how our parents will act when they meet?" Ben asked, earning a nod, "Yeah, same here. But…I think there's one thing that'll help make things easy for us."

"What's that?"

"You have adorable little siblings," Ben pointed out.

"That and trading embarrassing childhood stories of you two," Skurd chuckled, making both flinch and go white.

"Well…a-at least we have no more secrets between us…" Ben chuckled sheepishly, "Oh…maybe they'll get along too well."

"Well…they did kinda during that one Christmas party," Makoto muttered, "But…this time it'll be a full on interaction with no other families involved…and I'm really hoping this goes well."

"Hey don't worry…I'm sure it will," Ben assured as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, "We'll do our best to just have a nice outing with our families, try to relax and enjoy a good meal or two with them." he blinked a few times, "Uh…Babe? I forgot to ask, but one of your family does have a license, right?"

"Ma does. Heard Pa's been banned from any non-boat-related license after an incident at the DMV," Makoto replied.

"Oh, I se-wait, why doesn't it include boats?"

"He's a natural on them."

"Makes sense with that giant fish he tossed when I first met him," Ben noted.

"Yeah, important work like fixing stuff, gathering stuff like supplies and food…sure, he's a natural at the outdoorsy stuff." Makoto smiled, "But…he might be a bit of a jinx around modern tech. The men in my family might have that in common…"

"Well good thing when I'm part of the family, it will be via marriage," Ben chuckled.

"Fingers crossed it skips a generation for any kids we may have," Makoto added.

---

"Ah!" Spanner shouted as he and Driver ran through Undertown as the girl kept surprisingly good pace with them, "She's so short, but so athletic!"

"I blame you! You have the family curse from Grandpa!" Driver snapped.

"Wh-?! No I don't! I'm the tech guy!"

"Yes, and how many incidents have happened because of said tech you make?!"

"I do not have the curse! It skipped me!" Spanner snapped as he slid under a cart while Driver jumped over it…before the woman sliced it in two with a large two-handed double-edged, blue-tinted sword.

"AHH! THAT SWORD'S MASSIVE!" Driver panicked, "How can she lift it so easily?!"

"...You're seriously asking that?" Spanner asked after a moment.

"I'm panicking, okay?!"

"Well so am I!"

"Anomalies must be detained or terminated," the woman stated in her emotionless voice, "Such is the will of the Azure…"

"?! She said 'Azure,' right? Please tell me I didn't hear her say 'Azure!'" Driver panicked.

"..."

"Why aren't you saying it~?!"

"Because it's futile because she did say it."

"Ugh~!"

"Just keep running!" Spanner called.

"Ahh mou~!" Driver whined, "I just wanted to get this mission done easily...and enjoy some nice pudding at home~!"

"?!" the woman stopped dead in her tracks, pausing in swinging her sword, "...pudding?"

"..." both teens blinked behind their masks, 'Did she stop because of the word 'pudding?''

"...Pausing in pursuit…" The woman whispered as her sword vanished in a faint blue light, "Break…for pudding."

"...Oh, she must have a Momot-" Driver began.

"Let's just run while she's distracted!" Spanner hissed.

"Running!" Driver yelped as they ran faster.

---

"Oh, I think that's them!" Makoto noted, hopping in place.

Ben leaned a bit to look at where Makoto was looking to see an RV drive down the road, several acorns drawn on the sides.

"Huh…your dad finally got that RV," Ben noted as the RV came to a stop.

"I expected bigger…" Makoto admitted, raising a hand to her cheek in contemplation.

"Could be like the TARDIS," Ben compared.

"Ooooh~ Good point," Makoto noted.

"WHOO~!" Mukoto beamed as he leapt out from the passenger door, "Hello again, B-" he began as he landed…before he ended up slipping on a stick and crashed into a bush, "Ahh!"

"Okay, so the men of the Nanaya bloodline are totally jinxed in some way shape or form…" Ben nodded.

"Hah?!" Mukoto gawked at that as he poked out of the bush, sticks stuck to his straw hat, "Big sis, why~?!"

"What? You know how bad your luck gets," Makoto muttered, "Also, it's not just you who has some sort of personal jinx. Yours…just has an effect on your hand-eye coordination."

"Mmm~"

"Now now…you know how your brother is, Makoto."

"Eee~! Daddy!" Makoto beamed as she turned to the RV to see Mack hop out.

"Hey there!" Mack greeted as he quickly caught his daughter to hug her, "How's my little acorn been?"

"Great!" Makoto cheered, "Oh~! I haven't gotten to tell any of you about the two trips I went on! Oh, I've gotten even tougher from 'em!"

"She's learned and collected a lot of stuff," Ben chuckled.

"Even a new supersuit!" Makoto beamed.

"Supersuit?!" Mekoto and Mokoto squealed as they poked their heads out of the car.

"And a magic tablet, upgraded gauntlets, and other stuff," Ben shrugged.

"Magic tablet?" Mack repeated.

"You heard him," Makoto smirked as she pulled the item out, "Magic Tablet! Well it's name is actually a Sheikah Slate, but for some reason it's like a tongue twister to folks, so Magic Tablet! I can move anything metal all over, freeze something's time, make round and square bombs, and freeze water along with some other things that KKajun needs to work on before I get to use 'em…"

"OOH~~" The twins awed at that, clambering to get out of the RV.

"What's this about a magic tablet?" Mikoto blinked before Makoto showed her the Sheikah Slate, "...Interesting…it looks like it was made in an ancient civilization…yet it works like current technology…but with magic I assume?"

"Yep!" Makoto grinned, "A few of us went on that big ol' trip and then a smaller trip and learned some new stuff!"

"Got some new forms from it," Ben shrugged before frowning, "I swear, Rook is trying to give me a concussion on purpose in trying to teach me this one thing that I'm pretty sure I can't learn."

"Oh! I also have a big surprise~!" Makoto grinned, "I made a friend in another universe and she taught me a technique I can teach anyone I want…so long as they're a Beastkin."

"Hm?" Mack raised a brow.

"I'll share later," Makoto promised.

"It's been a crazy time for her to figure out the trick…" Ben sighed.

"Best you don't ask," Skurd added.

"Well, Ah'm just happy to finally be here," Mayaka spoke up as she was the last one to come out of the RV, holding a babbling Mykoto in her arms.

"Hey Mrs. Nanaya," Ben greeted.

"Now Ben, son? Ah told y'all you can call me Ma," Mayaka giggled a bit as Mykoto tried to reach out for Skurd.

"Oh~I think you have a fan, Skurd," Makoto giggled.

"Well, of course I would. I'm me after all," Skurd chuckled, earning a happy laugh from Mykoto as she clapped her hands.

"Still got that there booger on ya, huh?" Mukoto asked.

"Hmm…Let me see," Skurd spoke before growing a Diito arm and dopeslapped him, "That answer your question?"

"Gah! Oh y'all done stink, ya booger," Mukoto grumbled.

"Well, y'all done asked fer it," Mayaka giggled before giving Makoto a one-armed hug, "Good t' see y'all, Makoto."

"Good to see all of you, too," Makoto agreed, nuzzling into the hug while petting a happily squealing Mykoto.

"Oh I know where this is going…" Ben sighed, tapping the Omnitrix and turning into Four Arms, "Haha! I hug first!" He grabbed the entire Nanaya family in his arms.

"WAI~!" the twins beamed as they hugged him back, "Ben-Oniichan~!"

"Strong hug as ever!" Mack laughed, "Acorn, you found the perfect boyfriend here!"

"Darn right I did!" Makoto beamed before her stomach began to growl...along with practically the entire Nanaya family, "..."

"...Just to let you know, a lot of buffets have banned Makoto because she ate them out of everything," FourArms warned.

"I have a high metabolism, okay?" Makoto pouted.

"What you lack though is self control…" FourArms smirked.

"It's ironic he says that for he is a collector of memorabilia…and never fails to try to get anything rare for said collection…" Skurd muttered, "He's traded a lot of autographs just for cards…"

"It was worth it…"

"...Know any good places t' eat, Ben darlin'?" Mayaka asked, "I can pay fer th' food…but nothing too heavy. Hoping to chat and exchange recipes with yer ma."

"I know several," FourArms replied, one arm pointed at Makoto and himself, "Two reasons to learn them, too."

"...Okay, you get points for that," Makoto noted.

"I will take 'em!" FourArms replied with a grin before releasing them and tapping his emblem, turning into Portaler, "A'ight! Next stop, Craftsman Wood Grille & Tap House. Dey opened a new joint here in Bellwood last Thursday all da way from New York."

"Been there before on a date and it is glorious," Makoto grinned, "Not too heavy, good atmosphere, and intergalactic TV service thanks to the manager of this place being a Petrosapien. Nice lady but she takes no crud from a Karen. You mess with her employees, you are outta there!"

"I am so glad dat I can finally get dat name from dat one memory bank I burped when practicin' ta not burp when I'm Clockwork," Portaler noted as he made a portal for them.

"Feels almost like we didn't leave home with that trick of his," Mack chuckled.

"Eeeyup," Mayaka nodded in agreement, "Alright kids, y'all remember to behave now. We're guests in town and don't want t' make a spectacle of ourselves, ya know?"

"Of course, Ma," Mikoto nodded.

"And Mukoto…Mack…"

"Th' one time…" Mack muttered a bit.

"Try not t' cause another scene…Other than that, let's get our grub on!" Mayaka declared.

"Yay!" the twins cheered.

---

"Investigators log: I am currently rushing to one of Ben 10's allies in order to tell them what the wannabee UnderTown Mob Boss Psyphon is making the Bounty Hunters do," Jimmy whispered as he rushed down the street, "Not to mention that lady that suddenly appeared and chased after those two armored warriors…whoever she is, just her very presence w-"

"Jimmy?"

"GH!?" Jimmy yelped as he nearly tripped on his legs, stopping as he slowly turned to see Rook, Max, Naoto, and Ragna looking over at him...with Bullet and Celica accompanying them with Minerva in the back, "...oh…h-hey…"

"Kid, didn't I tell you to go home?" Ragna frowned.

"I know! But listen! I have to tell you something," Jimmy gasped as he had a moment to catch his breath, "Psyphon…he's sending the Bounty Hunters into town looking for something he lost!"

"Pencil Neck?" Ragna raised a brow, "...Wait. He's the reason why Sunder's been tearing up the town for the last three days?!"

"I thought it was because he couldn't find another pair of those stupid socks of his…again," Bullet muttered.

"I don't even want to know what he's doing with socks," Naoto deadpanned.

"Still though, we now know exactly why bounty hunters have been raiding Undertown as of late," Rook noted.

"Knowing Psyphon, the thing he's having those guys looking for is probably really dangerous…or something unsafe in his hands," Max added.

"It better not be another dwarf star," Ragna scowled, "What else did you learn, kid?"

"Well honestly…not much. I could barely hear him from the entrance," Jimmy replied, "But I do know he mentioned something about a poisoned quill."

"Quill…." Ragna spoke.

"Whoever stole it first…used them," Jimmy explained.

"THAT RAT!" almost all of them, save for Rook and Celica, shouted.

"Oh dear…Argit's stealing what shouldn't be his again," Celica sighed.

"..."

"I know, Minerva. He really needs a good scolding from his mom…"

"That's not the weird part," Jimmy added, looking around before whispering to them, "These two armored warriors appeared in the middle of that bar…and then they ran from this one lady that put me in a dumpster to h-"

"Woah back up, Jim," Max spoke up, "What lady?"

"I don't know. I didn't get a good look at her, but she was wearing black, had blond hair, and was really strong despite being short…" Jimmy explained.

"Noel?" Most of them tilted their heads as some of those defining traits matched up.

"No, she used a sword from what I could tell. No guns."

"Noel has a sword…that becomes an elephant," Celica stated.

"You mean Funkfreed, right?" Jimmy asked, "The elephant-sword that actually signed an NDA to not spoil anything for the manga he's from?"

"Yes, but I suppose that means not the same sword," Celica nodded.

"Okay…uh…let me say it like this: if I was to get a hug from this girl…I would not be able to breathe!" Jimmy explained as it took a few seconds but it clicked with all of them, even Minerva nodded in understanding, "Really…that worked…man, people get weird as teenagers…"

"Don't you judge us…" Ragna groaned in slight embarrassment of this.

"Imma judge as long as I get to for a kid my age," Jimmy replied.

"...Just get home already, kid…" Ragna sighed.

"Wha…but I helped!" Jimmy argued.

"You're also 10…" Celica countered.

"And have no means of fighting alien criminals," Max added.

"No Alien Watch, no Alien DNA super energy, no magical nonsense, no super martial arts training…." Naoto listed, "You are a pretty good investigator, but face it, when things go bad…your contribution amounts to ducking for cover."

"I choose to take the compliment…" Jimmy crossed his arms, "But you're right…I…kinda would be toast…" he muttered.

"So it would be better if you went home so you'd be safe there," Celica spoke, "You don't want to worry your mom, do you?"

"No…" Jimmy sighed.

"Hey don't rush it, kid. In a few years, you might make a good detective," Max chuckled, ruffling Jimmy's hair, "Or you could put that blowhard Harangue out of business as an honest reporter!"

=I'd watch it=Steel agreed.

"Heck play your cards right, you might end up making him your coffee boy or something," Naoto added.

"...hmm…making Harangue my butt monkey…" Jimmy whispered in intrigue as he walked off.

"...alright…so it's clear, right?" Bullet asked once Jimmy was gone, pounding her fist into her open palm, "We're gonna skin that rat bastard?"

"Why did Kevin keep him around again?" Max asked.

"Maybe he figured keeping somebody worse around…would suck all the bad karma away from him?" Naoto sighed.

"Eh…I'd buy it," Ragna shrugged.

"Same," Max nodded.

"Eh. I'd believe it," Bullet shrugged.

"...Still, these armored warriors Jimmy mentioned…" Rook whispered, "...was he referring to the Chrono Riders?"

"Oh, those two Sunday morning Toku weirdos…" Ragna sighed.

"If there's someone after them…that honestly starts raising some red flags for me," Naoto stated.

"I hope they're alright," Celica noted.

"...Just in case, Rook? You go with Max and Naoto to go find and help them," Ragna spoke up, "I'll go pay Argit a…"

"You are going to pay him a beating, are you not?" Rook questioned.

"Know any better way to approach that backstabbing little suck up?"

"A giant glue trap?" Bullet asked.

"No…but…actually, I kinda like that," Ragna admitted, "Celica, write that down."

"I really don't like you making lists on how to torture Argit," Celica muttered…before giving an annoyed look at Minerva as she was writing it down, "Nor how you've gotten Minerva to write them down."

"Hey, she hates the rat through her own experience with him, so it's not my fault," Ragna shrugged, an amused smirk on his lips.

"...fair point…"

---

"...Hmm…What if I put that there…and that there…" Argit muttered as he looked over a map, sitting in what looked like a cozy office, "What if…no, that would get me a beating…and I…"

*SLAM!*

"ARGIT!"

"GH!" Argit yelped as he quickly tore up the map, seeing Ragna and his group standing in the doorway, "Heh…Sh-Sheriff Ragna…to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Save it, rat," Bullet frowned as she approached him, "We got intel from a reliable source that you stole something from Psyphon."

"Stole? Now that's just a lotta crazy talk," Argit replied, "I didn't steal nothin' from nobody today."

"Yeah? Well, we got some good intel that the guys who were moving the stuff got taken down with a certain kind of weapon…" Ragna noted, plucking a quill from Argit, "One of your quills, actually."

"That could be anybody's," Argit muttered as he rubbed his head, "Besides, I'm a legitimate businessman. A pillar of the community. I mean look at my reward," he motioned to a golden-framed paper on the wall.

"...But that's a gift certificate…" Celica pointed out as she looked at it, "...from the car wash near the flea market."

"Because I'm a loyal customer," Argit stated with a chuckle, "Point is, I'm on the up and up, so you're good to go sheriff…"

"...You're lying," Bullet frowned.

"Argit…no one believes you…" Ragna sighed, "Now how's about you tell me why Bounty Hunters are after what you stole…and maybe I'll put you in the one safe place they can't get to you…my jail cell. 'Cause then it's through me to get to you."

"Or…we toss you outside and shout loudly; Argit has the thing!" Bullet smirked.

"For the record, I was deeply against the second part…but I was outvoted three to one." Celica explained.

"You tend to be outvoted on a lot of things…" Argit muttered.

"That's how democracy works, Rat," Ragna argued, "Oh…and try to run…and we wrap you in glue traps for a week."

"Seriously? Glue traps?!" Argit gawked, "Where do you keep coming up with these things?! From little kids or cartoons?!"

"Well I could pluck your quills out one at a time while both your arms and legs are broken and then use them against you as a sort of cruel reverse acupuncture," Ragna offered, "So you want the wacky nonsense…or do you want a taste of how messed up our original world was? Bullet can take Celica away for the day and they won't be back 'till I've violated at least a dozen laws I'm meant to protect…" he shrugged.

"Oh, I don't like when he brings up the wanted criminal past…" Celica pouted.

"But it is effective. The rat is actually shaking so much you'd think he was in the midst of an earthquake," Bullet pointed to a shivering Argit.

"Y-y-y-you don't scare me! You're not that scary…" Argit tried to argue but his knocking knees betrayed his false bravado.

"...I almost don't want to be mean anymore…almost," Ragna smirked before holding up his Azure Grimoire, "Interesting things about my arm here: before the frog and that annoying cat made a few limiters on it, I couldn't stay in a single place for too long."

"Wh-Why's that?"

"This limb is a little glutton," Ragna explained, "Its favorite food: souls. Without the limiters on it that I can turn off at any time, it would continuously 'smelt' souls around it until the body is the only remains. And with how long I've had these on…how hungry do you think this thing is?"

"...What are you people?" Argit asked in fear.

"A former Most wanted criminal that could wreck an entire world government building solo, a mercenary who could bend you into a pretzel and beat your face in if you look at her funny…" Ragna listed before jerking a thumb at Minerva, "And a highly advanced robot that will hurt you if you even think of looking at Celica funny…and she still remembers when you tried to steal her, too." he then gestured to Celica, "And a young lady who scolds worse than a mother…and need I remind you of what she did when you tried to steal all those presents?"

"..." Argit said nothing as he turned as white as a sheet, shaking nervously as he sweated bullets, "S..s….s…so…I c-"

*CRASH!*

"?!" the group tensed in surprise as both Ragna and Bullet turned, armed and ready, while Minerva moved Celica behind her.

"...oh crap. It's Kraab," Argit whispered as Kraab began to walk through the destroyed wall, "And if he's here…then SixSix is probably not too far behind…"

"Long time no see, Argit…" Kraab clicked his giant claw, "Now…if I know my scum sucking lowlife rodents…the only one that can shoot their stupid hairs at people…is your dirty rat face."

"Hehehe…is…is this about that…?"

"Yes," Kraab cut him off, "Now…if I know you as well as I do…which should be just about as much as I care for. You have it…and you hid it somewhere no one could…or would find it." he opened his claw and aimed at his stomach, "For the record…I hope I'm wrong."

"Does everyone hate you?" Bullet looked at Argit.

"Yes," Kraab and Ragna replied in unintended unison, "Stop…Stop that!" they continued.

"You want to die that badly?" Kraab growled as he aimed his claw at Ragna.

"I don't know…" Ranga paused as he began to unsheathe his sword, "Do you?"

"...Oi, Ragna," Bullet spoke up, looking out the window to see more Bounty Hunters running towards the building Argit's office was in, "Seems his buddies are not too far…and I bet they all want the rat's head on a pike, too."

"Ulp!" Argit gulped at that as he gripped his neck, "Oh this is bad…this is real bad…"

"Don't worry, Argit! We'll make sure to keep you safe!" Celica assured.

"Keep me safe?" Argit repeated, "I'm not worried about that…I'm worried about my reputation!"

"That sounds like a you problem," Bullet muttered before ducking as Kraab was tossed over her and Celica's head, crashing into the wall behind Argit.

"Hey hey! Watch the walls!" Argit snapped, "That's pure mahogany right there!"

"How did you even get this?" Ragna asked.

"Ya know that one mutated To'kustar that froze up and fell over during the War of the Frogs? Yeah…got a lot of monetary stuff as thanks for saving the folks there."

"That was you?"

"Told ya I was on the up and up," Argit huffed.

"Yeah, doesn't mean anyone likes you," Ragna argued, earning an annoyed grumble.

"Well…just because it's honest, doesn't mean it's nice to say…" Celica sighed.

"Where's the bolt hole?" Ragna asked.

"What? You think I have a bolt hole?"

"..."

"...Okay, yeah. I've got one," Argit admitted.

"Well use it, you little…" Ragna began before a laser blasted him through a wall, making them look to see Kraab.

"Argit…you run…" Kraab pulled the sword on his back out, "...and I tan your hide…"

"...save me," Argit hissed to the girls, "...and my rep."

"Your 'rep' is the last thing I…" Kraab began before Bullet pounced him, her palm buried right into his face, "?! Wh-"

*BOOM!*

"GH!" Kraab grunted as he was sent staggering back before Bullet flipped right off him, her legs holding onto his head as she threw him right out the window.

Bullet smirked before looking out it, "HEY!" the Bounty Hunters looked at her, "You stupid metal crab! You get back here with that bounty! I know you stored him in your chest cavity!" she pulled her head back in…before Kraab's screams mixed with shouts from the bounty hunters went off, "I bought time. Where's the bolt hole, rodent?"

"..." Argit said nothing before pressing a button on his desk, causing a level to pop out as he pulled it, revealing...a multitude of secret escape routes, "Take yer pick…"

"Wow…" the girls blinked at that.

"What? I gotta have several ready just in case, ya know?" Argit argued.

"...Bullet, you and Celica help get Argit out of here," Ragna ordered as he walked towards the window, cracking his knuckles a bit, "I'm gonna get my sword back…and start beating some faces in.""

"Will he be okay?" Celica asked.

"Blood Kain!"

"Yeah, he's gonna be fine," Bullet noted, picking up Argit by his ankle, "Minerva, grab her before she goes down the wrong tunnel and ends up in China!"

"Oh please, like I have a tunnel to China. Now Bellwood's Chinatown, on the other hand…"

"SHUT IT, ARGIT!"

---

"Okay…I think…we lost her…" Spanner panted as he and Driver hid out in a warehouse.

"Oh this is bad…this is real bad…" Driver whispered in worry as she paced around the room.

"Calm down…w-" Spanner began before his partner/sister suddenly picked him up, "Ahh!"

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?!" Driver exclaimed as she shook him, "Professor Paradox told us to not gain the attention of that woman and she mentioned the Azure…so now it most likely sees us as anomalies and can and will have us Deleted!"

"You've been playing that Legacy Collection again, haven't you?"

"It is awesome and even you can't deny it!" she began violently shaking him.

"Ah! Stop shaking! Stop shaking!" Spanner yelped before his hand darted out and she froze up, "Phew…so glad I've practiced that Neuro Grip…" he grunted as he got out of her grip, "Okay…I'll release it, but you have to swear on your love of cute and fluffy creatures to calm down."

"Mmmm…" she pouted, "Fine…"

"Good…" Spanner nodded as he quickly undid the paralysis caused from the move, "Still…this is bad…so long as we avoid her, everything should be fine."

"Avoid who?"

"OH JEEZ!" Spanner yelped as he turned, seeing both Rook, Naoto, and Max standing near the entrance of the warehouse, "...How...long were you standing there?"

=When we heard someone screaming their head off= Steel replied before Driver quickly pulled Max, Naoto, and Rook in before shutting the door.

"You weren't followed, were you?" Driver cautiously asked.

"Followed?" Rook repeated.

"I think she means that chick Jimmy mentioned," Naoto guessed.

"Oh believe us…that 'chick' is anything but normal," Spanner stated as he walked over.

=Oh great…What did we stumble upon?= Steel asked =Is she some sorta time guardian that destroys any time travelers?= a silence fell =...Did I seriously just hit the nail in the center?!=

"Yes…you did," Driver sighed, "Professor Paradox told us to avoid that girl at all cost…"

"Given the small details he shared with us….she goes by Es…and she's both the gatekeeper and protector of the Azure," Spanner added.

"Gatekeeper?" Rook repeated.

"If you manage to survive going through the Boundary, there's like this big gate…and in order to get past it, you'd have to go through her," Spanner explained, "And…well she basically serves both the Azure and the Master Unit…which is also deep in the Boundary."

"If she's after you and you're not part of that world's original timeline…" Driver paused as she clapped her hands together before parting them, "Boom…Deletion…as in it'll be as if you never existed."

"?!" the trio tensed up at that…especially Naoto.

'Shit…and I'm not originally from this world, too…' Naoto thought, '...I hope Raquel didn't come across her…'

"But you guys are like just from the future? Is it really that sensitive?" Max asked, "What? Did you guys pull a Future Trunks?"

"I understood that reference," Rook smiled mostly to himself, "That is actually an achievement for me."

"No…no no…" Spanner rapidly shook his head, "Our Future is your future, but that's all we can say!"

=So you pulled a Silver then?=

"We haven't pulled anything!" Driver groaned.

=Then why are you in trouble?= Steel teased.

"Mmm…"

"Easy there, Driver," Spanner sighed, holding up his hand to her, "It's because we're time travelers that she's targeting us. Time travel is a major no-no to her."

"Then why isn't she always chasing down the Professor? Isn't his whole thing that he abuses the heck out of time travel, oftentimes interacting with people…before he even properly met them?" Max pointed out.

"Because Paradox is experienced with handling her," Spanner explained, "He can handle her without worry. It's us he's been concerned with!"

"No offense, but you two really sound like a super familiar shade of stupid," Naoto blurted.

"You guys picked up on it, too?" Max asked.

"Oh thank goodness it is not just me," Rook sighed.

"Hey…" Driver grumbled, "We are not stupid. We're still learning, ok?"

"Yeah, we figured that." Max chuckled.

"But don't worry; we've seen this same brand of stupid many times." Rook smiled, "From Ben." he chuckled, making the two flinch at the mention of his name.

"Dingus…they are gonna find out…" Driver whispered via their helmets' personal intercom.

"Yeah, shutting up here," Spanner sighed, "You handle this. You're the better linguist of the two of us."

"Good idea…" she whispered before looking at Rook and the others, "Thankfully, she's distracted at the moment, so we can get to the mission at hand…see before she showed up, we learned Psyphon hired a bunch of Bounty Hunters to find something that was stolen from him."

=By Argit. We already figured= Steel stated =What he stole exactly that made that wannabe-mob boss hire a bunch of bounty hunters to find and hunt down that little backstabber is the million dollar question=

"Must be good if he's looking for competent goons this time," Max sighed, "Ben says most of those guys have been tough fights in the past."

"Meaning whatever he hired them for must be really important…and dangerous," Naoto noted.

"Yeah…it…it's some pretty bad stuff that could've been used for good if it didn't get destroyed," Driver noted, "It's our job to improve the future with solving past issues."

=So like Silver?=

"We're not a comic book," Spanner groaned.

=I'm just saying...even he had good intentions…albeit really flawed ones because he didn't study hard enough, but still…=

"Point is…Psyphon bought something potentially dangerous and Argit stole it," Max spoke up, "...Ragna's probably already given him brain damage."

"Argit?" the two time travelers blinked.

"Of course. Who else could be so sleazy as to take it for their stupid reasons?" Naoto asked, "I only met him a few times…I feel like I needed to shower each time."

"Truth be told, even I find his presence rather offensive," Rook muttered.

"Wow…nobody likes old man Argit…" Driver muttered.

"Yeesh…" Spanner cringed a bit at that.

"So…what did he steal anyway?" Max asked.

"..." Driver and Spanner shared looks before they played Rock, Paper, Scissors…with Spanner getting Rock and Driver Scissors.

"Phooey," Driver slumped before looking at them, "It's…"

---

"Hoo…lordy, that was a mighty fine meal," Mack sighed in content as he patted his stomach…with several plates surrounding him.

"Good prices fer everything," Mayaka noted, only two plates to her name, "Mighty fine atmosphere."

"Nice kids menu, too," Mukoto added, looking over at the six plates that the twins had claimed each as they colored on their activity papers provided by the restaurant.

"Would eat here again," Mikoto stated.

"Gabuh~!" Mykoto giggled as she had a bit of mashed baby food on her face.

"Heh heh. Glad you guys were able to enjoy it," Ben chuckled a bit, 'And thank the Celestialsapiens for Makoto's mom paying for it.'

"Well this has been fun," Makoto smiled, "I can't wait for something like this to be more regular with a shop here."

"I'm gonna have to put in overtime…" Ben muttered to himself at that, "Or find a means of extra income…"

"The Omnitrix has a bodycam function," Skurd spoke, "YouTube videos~"

"Wait, I have a what?" Ben blinked.

"Yes. How do you think Tsubaki always knows what you did wrong? She asks me to download it into Kajun's personal server to investigate whatever happened. But I often edit out…the really stupid stuff before giving it to her. Like the countless times you did stupid things in alien form…"

"...So…all this time…Tsubaki's been spying on us?" Ben slowly blinked.

"No…only when it's work hours," Skurd explained, "Then I turn it off."

"Oh…phew th-" Ben began before the Omnitrix suddenly went off, "..."

"...Ah mou…not now…" Makoto groaned before she answered her badge, "Hey, you mind? I'm trying to enjoy a nice day with my family and boyfriend, so…"

=Argit stole Techadon Cubes= Rook informed.

"We have to go now," Ben stated seriously.

"Oh, that is Work Mode Ben!" Makoto noted, mostly to explain the sudden shift in demand to her family.

"Ooh~" the twins awed.

"Sorry, mom…dad, business as usual," Makoto sighed as she got up.

"It's fine. We'll meet up with y'all at Ben's house," Mayaka assured.

"I'll text my parents to tell them to meet up with you, but trust me…this is some serious stuff. Those Techadon robots have kicked my butt several times. We can not let an idiot like Argit have them," Ben explained, "Literally anything else…I could just leave it to the others; but those things…are just the worst."

"From the stories he told me…oh yeah. Can't let Argit go running around with something like that," Makoto added.

"Kick bad guy butt, Onee-chan, Onii-chan!" Mekoto and Mokoto cheered on.

"Kids, don't say 'butt,'" Mack sighed, "Ya say 'bum.'"

"Mack…" Mayaka shook her head.

"Kick bad guy bum!" the twins cheered.

"Attagirls!"

"We'll try to be done as fast as we can," Makoto spoke as they ran out.

"Stay safe now!" Mikoto called out.

"...Oh fiddlesticks!" Mayaka gasped.

"What is it, honey?" Mack asked.

"Ah fergot t' ask where his parents' house is."

"...Aw biscuits…"

---

"Alrighty…we should be good to hide in here," Argit spoke as he and the girls were hiding out in a warehouse, "Now my rep is…" he began before noticing the deadpanned expressions Celica, Bullet…even Minerva were giving him, "...what?...What?!"

"Seriously just cut the act, rodent," Bullet stated, "Why are so many bounty hunters after you?"

"...my…winning personality?" Argit replied after a moment.

"..."

"Ah….yeah. He's still lying," Celica nodded in agreement with Minerva, "Argit, just please tell us why those bounty hunters are after you. We can't help unless you are completely honest with us."

"What help? I don't need your help," Argit argued as he looked away with his arms crossed, "I'm sure this misunderstanding will blow over."

"..."

"...wh…why are you staring at me like that?" Argit asked, noticing the stern glare Celica was giving him, "...s-seriously…cut it out. It's reminding me way too much of my mom…"

"..."

"...n…nope…I am completely…innocent…" Argit whispered as he tried to look away…but he could still feel the disapproval coming off her, "..."

"..."

"...d'oh fine fine fine! I stole some Techadon cubes from a delivery meant for Psyphon, okay?!" Argit caved, falling to his knees, "Just stop with the look! What even is it?!"

"It's called a hard stare. It's for when one forgets their manners," Celica replied with ending the look and smiled.

"Wh-?! And people are just..like…" Argit began as he slowly looked at Bullet, who seemed to be texting something on her phone, "...wh-what are you doing?"

"Texting Ragna and Tennyson's friends about where we are…and what you stole from Pencilneck," she nonchalantly replied before hitting send.

"...oh…" Argit began to pale greatly at that before the walls suddenly exploded, "GH!"

"Argit…"

"...mmm…" Argit whimpered as he slowly turned, seeing the look of anger in Ragna's currently red eyes, "...eh heh…I…have a very…good explanation for.." he began as he took a few steps back…before bumping into something, "...did someone put a wall of sheet metal down?"

=Hello=

"GAH!" Argit yelped as he turned, seeing Max and his team glaring at Argit.

"Argit...you got some explaining to do…" Rook frowned.

"...you'll never take me a-!" Argit began as he tried to run…only to end up bumping into Ben and Makoto just as they stepped out of a Groundbridge, "Gh!...oh no…"

"We had to ditch my parents whom I don't get to see much…" Makoto crossed her arms.

"Argit…as someone who's fought an entire battalion of those robots…and gotten his own butt kicked by them…we're gonna go about this plain and simple. And if you lie…we all turn around and let Ragna do whatever he wants for five minutes." Ben warned.

"I like this guy when he's serious, we agree really fast," Ragna smirked, "And I'll only need one minute."

"...I wanted some bodyguards okay?!" Argit exclaimed, "You know how crazy you guys make my life? I'm always the butt monkey…and on the receiving end of whatever brutal punishment or fight you're always involved in! And would you rather have Psyphon use those things...or have someone trustworthy hold onto them?"

"Neither." Ben frowned, "And if I'm not making this clear, I'm taking those cubes and shooting them into the sun."

"Which would be the only thing strong enough to destroy them," Spanner added.

"So hand the cubes over, rat!" Makoto and Driver declared in unison before they looked at one another.

"...Hey…that's my line…how…" Makoto began before tensing as the glass roof above them suddenly shattered, letting the group look up to see SixSix and his siblings falling down towards them.

"Okay, normally you guys are a pain…but I have little patience for you." Ben sighed, recalling the time he beat one of these siblings with almost no effort, and smacked the Omnitrix to turn into Swampfire, "So…who wants their day ruined first?" he challenged as Max turned into Strength Mode next to him.

"We can handle them," Rook offered, taking a fighting stance, "Get Argit away from this place."

"Yes! Please protect me!" Argit exclaimed as he grabbed Makoto's leg…before she punted him away, "Aw come on…"

"Seriously…nobody likes…" Makoto began.

"Anomalies relocated…"

"...oh no…." the two Chrono Riders gulped as they looked at the hole Ragna made…and saw Es standing there with blade in hand.

"...who the hell is this?" Ragna raised a brow.

"Uh…short of it…think the Hallmonitor for time travel…with a violent streak." Max summed up what they learned.

"...new anomaly found…"

"And she's staring at me too…" Naoto whispered when Es looked over at him..

"Right…" Ragna sighed.

"Okay…someone keep Argit alive and get those cubes, we'll handle the NumberNumber siblings. And any and all temporal anomalies…honestly not sure what the plan for that is, just run." Swampfire sighed as he blocked a punch from SevenSeven before blasting him away with fire.

"No need to tell us twice!" Driver exclaimed, immediately picking up Argit before she bolted out of there, "RUN~!"

"No th-oh why do I bother…!" Spanner groaned as he chased after her.

"Uh…" Naoto muttered.

"Don't run with them, split off, make her waste time by choosing!" Makoto warned.

"Got it!" Naoto shouted as he ran, leaping right over Es as she tracked his movements, "Hey, you want me!? Then come g-yipe!" he yelped as he quickly ducked underneath a sword slash…which caused a large energy symbol to appear as it destroyed the line of stalls behind him, "?!"

"Anomaly three attempting to escape…proceeding to pursue…" Es whispered as she lowered her sword.

"..." Naoto slowly blinked…before he quickly ran to the left as Es began to chase after him.

=...Okay. I think we dodged a huge bullet with that one!= Steel exclaimed.

"Things just get weirder and weirder in this town…" Max sighed as he mandhandled SixSix and swung him around before slamming him into the ground.

"Agreed," Bullet muttered before catching a punch from EightEight and threw a punch at her, only for the female Bounty Hunter to catch her thrown fist as the two began to grapple, "Grr…!"

"Honestly, I wasn't expecting today to be so chaotic," Skurd admitted.

"Yeah well…Argit chose to steal cubes from the place that make the worst robots ever!" Swampfire groaned, grabbing SevenSeven by his helmet and swinging him on his extending arm to slam him into a wall, "So let's end this fast. Guys! Break their masks! For some reason their species can't stand the stink of methane! It makes them run for the hills."

"Sounds good to me," Ragna grinned as he cracked his knuckles, "You and me get that ugly bastard SevenSeven then…yo, rook! You guys handle SixSix while the girls handle EightEight."

"Sounds good…" Makoto began before jumping up just as Bullet tossed EightEight, letting the squirrel Beastkin knock her away with a roundhouse kick, "To me! Faster we can finish this, the sooner me and Ben can meet my parents at Ben's parents' place, because I am not missing out a day with them because Argit decided to be an idiot again!"

"Speaking of whom…they know how to get there, right?" Skurd questioned, making both Swampfire and Makoto tense up.

"...Goddamnit!" both shouted, punching their bounty hunter opponents across the face and shattering sections of their helmets.

"Oh this is going to be a long day," Rook sighed.

---

"Running, running, running!" Driver panicked, running along the rooftops.

"You…have one…tight grip…lady…" Argit choked.

"She does this when she panics and has to carry someone," Spanner sighed, running alongside her.

"Help…!" Argit wheezed.

Spanner pulled out an acorn-flavored snack bar and tossed it at Driver, causing her to drop Argit to catch it, letting him grab the rat-like alien so he couldn't flee, "Better?"

"Much," Argit groaned as they landed on a larger rooftop.

"Good…now about making sure you don't die," Spanner sighed, "Look, as it stands? You are being chased by everyone in town. Those cubes will paint a target on your back, now…and for a long time to come."

"It's pretty nasty. Always having to look over your shoulder…always unable to settle down for a full night's rest, stuck endlessly running for decades," Driver added, "It's…not a pretty picture."

"...not if I…"

"If you try to eat them...it will result in excruciating pain," Driver cut him off.

"I could go into detail on it. Like how each time the cubes produce one, their bodies will expand as they go up your esophagus so you can vomit them out. This leading to your voice becoming worse and worse each passing minute until you need a speaker hard-wired into your neck which would be agonizing since even with the anesthesia used would fail due to the severe agonizing pain that the surgery put upon the recipient," Spanner added, "Then there's the damage to your digestive system if they go out the other way."

"What…?" Argit blinked at that.

"Also…you know…your stomach is wet…and those things need water…" Driver pointed out, "So…what if all of them grow all at once?"

"Also…if someone kills you…they become their new master," Spanner added.

"..." Argit began to pale as he started sweating bullets.

"Oh my…that does sound painful."

"?!" Spanner and Driver tensed as they turned…seeing Celica standing there with Minerva behind her, "...how…?"

"I was going to head back to the office for something real quick, but I ended up following you two," Celica admitted.

"..."

"...Oh you know I know how to get back, Minerva," Celica pouted at her robot guardian.

"...No you don't," Driver spoke as she grabbed Argit's tail before he could sneak off, "And seriously, though…you're just gonna be a big target at this point, so just…please give us those Techadon Cubes before you make things worse?"

"Wh-?! When have I made things worse?!" Argit argued.

"Alphabetical or chronological?" Spanner asked.

"Trying to flee when you had those presents you swiped from beneath the tree," Celica noted one example.

"...What's your point?"

"Oh my god…this guy's so hard to work with," Driver facepalmed.

"..."

"Minerva, what do you mean by 'speak in his dumb language'?" Celica asked, "That is very rude…and he's speaking English. You know that."

"I think she means this, Ma'am," Spanner noted, "..." he looked at Argit, "How much you planning to sell two of the three?"

"...How much ya got?" Argit asked after a moment.

"...I dunno…" Driver began as she tapped her helmet a bit, "How do we know those cubes are authentic?"

"Wh-?! Of course they are!" Argit snapped.

"I don't think they are," Driver shook her head, "So unless you show them to us…we won't give you the cash."

"Grr…you know what fine!" Argit snapped, reaching into his pockets as he pulled out a small set of orange, black, or white metal boxes, "See?! The legit deal!"

"Hmm…" Driver nodded, looking them over, before suddenly punching her fist out into Argit's face, making the cubes fly out of his hands and into Spanner's.

"See I would normally say that was too far…but given the situation and the near suicidal levels of greed…" Celica muttered.

"We had no choice," Spanner nodded.

"I hate you all…" Argit groaned as he laid on the floor, his nose completely busted up.

"Sorry, but…these are too dangerous, and you are a very untrustworthy person for anyform of power." Driver replied, "You do have a known record of bad decisions and getting other people in danger for selfish reasons, stemming from your lack of trust from your only friend being Kevin when he was dealing with a lot of things. So you act greedy and selfish due to lacking trust in others, and trying to fill a void you made from your own selfish actions, resulting in a tragic endless loop. Truth be told, what you need is a friend more than a win."

"Wow, I even felt that…" Spanner muttered.

"Well sometimes you need to be harsh t-" Driver began before Naoto ended up crashing into her, and Spanner, making them yelp as the latter tossed the cubes into the air, "AHH!"

"Gh!" Naoto grunted as the three crashed, "...Okay…trying to throw her into the river…really bad idea…"

"Wh-" Spanner began before Es suddenly jumped up onto the roof, "...oh come on…"

"Oh dear…" Celica whispered as Minerva got before her defensively.

"Other anomalies found once more…" Es whispered with narrowed eyes, sword on hand as she began to approach them, "Proceeding to terminate…"

"Ahh geez…!" Spanner groaned, "Seriously, we didn't do anything wrong!"

"Regardless, the Azure's will commands the timeline must remain pure…as such…" Es began as she aimed her sword at them, "You must leave…or be terminated."

"Uh…kinda can't…" Naoto muttered, "I moved to this dimension because it sounded like it had the key for me to get home."

"?" Es blinked a bit at that, "...explain…I do not understand your statement…"

"...ugh look. Before I met Ben and co, I was…stuck hopping from world to world, hoping I'd finally end up home…and find the person I care most about," Naoto explained with a sighed, "Then I met someone who…basically fixed my world hopping problem and next thing I knew, I'm hanging out here in this world…hoping to find my way home and as I mentioned…find the person I care most about."

"...aww," Celica quietly cooed at that.

"...person…you care most about…" Es whispered, her mind flashing to an image of a person in her mind, "...and what of you two?" she looked over at Spanner and Driver, "Explain your reason...before I place judgment on you both."

"Uh…well we have reasons…it's just…" Spanner tried to find the right words.

"We are time travelers from the near-ish future, we are here to help those we call close friends and family who are bound to suffer great battles that will determine the sake of life, space, time and everything!" Driver declared dramatically, "We only change the smallest of things so that the champions who shall defend all fabrics of reality are not overwhelmed by the intense battles…which actually probably would be a problem for you…because well…uh…spoilers so come here~" she motioned Es closer, who after a moment to consider it inches closer and let Driver begin whispering into her ear.

"Hmm…I see…I can understand this…yes…that would be a problem," Es nodded as the explanation went on, "And you say…ah yes, I recall that…so then this is all actually…hmmm…yes most complicated."

"...wh-" Naoto began.

"Shhh…let them talk," Spanner hushed.

"Wait…will this work?" Naoto asked.

"Well we kinda can't tell you the truth…since…you're in our future." Spanner explained, "But…Es is a being outside of time so to speak. So…we can tell her the truth and…it won't cause a dangerous paradox."

"Oh~" Naoto nodded, "...wait…but what about Celica?"

"Uh…I can only hope she explains that." Spanner muttered.

"Oh!" Driver gasped, "One more thing…" she began whispering again.

"...ah…soka…so her fate is different…" Es whispered, "...understood…I will no longer pursuit you if it meant to protect the timeline…as the Azure commands…"

"Oh phew…th-"

"On one condition…" Es began as she held a finger up, "Given I must give up my task for now…and you made me chase you throughout the area, I demand something of equal value…"

"Equal Value?" Spanner asked.

"Oh god is this one of those cursed contract type deals?" Naoto gulped.

"Uh…you boys might be panicking a little too much…" Driver deadpanned before looking back at Es, "What is this something?" she asked politely.

"...pudding."

"Eh?"

"I require pudding…the good kind."

"...eh?" Naoto, Spanner and Driver blinked in unison at that.

"...oh~ You mean the fancy kind, right?" Celica asked, "The one made with custard?"

"Correct…"

"Oh well that doesn't sound near as bad as the boys made it sound." Driver nodded, "Uh…give us a second to deal with the tiny army of robots."

"Understood…however I must state something."

"What?"

"The cubes and the humanoid rat are gone."

"..." the quartet slowly looked over to see Argit was no longer there…along with the Techadon cubes…and part of the roof broken a bit, indicating he tried to flee….but was caught instantly by someone.

"..." Naoto sighed as he pulled his badge out and tapped it, "Yeah…it's me…good news, we don't have to worry about that Es girl coming after us…"

=...what's the bad news?= Makoto slowly asked.

"Argit got ratnapped…with the Techadon Cubes," Spanner answered.

=DAMN IT ARGIT!=

---

"Here's your stupid thief," Kraab muttered as he tossed Argit onto the floor of the bar…parts of the robotic crab's armor broken up and dented, "Take what you want, I'll take my money…and his skull as my bonus."

"I'd be a bad businessman to deny that." Psyphon smirked as he began to approach Argit, "Now…if you'll please, hand it over!"

"...h…hand what over?" Argit denied.

"You know what…" Psyphon growled, "The Techadon Cubes...I know you have them…"

"...I have no idea what you mean."

"...Search him!"

"GH?!" Argit tensed just as Thunderpig grabbed him, only for the rat to slip out of his jacket as he held up one of the cubes, "Stand back or I'll use it!

"Hahahaha! Please…nobody's that foolish," Psyphon mockingly laughed.

"You wanna bet?" Argit smirked as he held it up, "You think the beating Ragna gives ya is bad…oh you don't wanna see what these bad boys can do…"

"?!" a few of the bounty hunters tensed up at that.

"Please…he's bluffing," Kraab stated.

"Wanna bet?" Argit questioned before he held it over his opened mouth.

"...You seriously think we're gonna fall for that ploy?" Psyphon frowned, "Please…you don't have the guts."

"Yeah, well I…" Argit began before recalling the warning of swallowing them, "Oh, I almost messed up…"

"Did he just remember what happens if he'd swallow that?" Kraab asked.

"Even I-bukaw!-am not that stupid to do that," Liam admitted.

"Well aside from that…you know you need to hydrate them to turn them on…" Psyphon pointed out, "And my men just drank this place dry before you were brought in."

"...Ahh crap baskets," Argit paled as Psyphon and the bounty hunters began to close in on him, "W-Wait! Maybe we can make a deal!"

"Okay…the cubes…" Kraab began as he hefted his claw up, "For your head."

"...Maybe something else?" Argit nervously suggested, "I kinda need my head to…you know, be alive."

"That's the idea," Kraab spoke, "So…what's the big scheme to get away this time? That is…if you even have anything left?"

"..."

"...Thunderpig thinks he does not," Thunderpig growled as he held his mace up.

"Well…to be fair, how many bridges has he burned?" Psyphon laughed, "But if we're done picking on the rodent…cut his hands off so I can claim my cubes."

"No, wait!" Argit panicked as he was slammed to the ground by Kraab.

"For what? What possible lie could you tell now? You swung way too far above your weight class," Kraab laughed, "Little time crooks like you just dig the grave deeper and deeper…" he paused as his eyes turned green for a moment, "I wanna hear you say it, Argit. You messed up and got yourself in way over your head."

"I-I messed up! Okay?!"

"Now say you're a pretty little rat princess~" Kraab's voice changed to a warped gravely tone.

"I'm a pretty little Ra…wait…Ben?" Argit blinked as Ghostfreak phased out of Kraab.

"Honestly, I wanted to make you sweat a little…but I think you really pissed off Kraab," he cackled.

"Tennyson!" Psyphon panicked.

"How did you know we were here?!" Kraab grunted, holding his head, "And how did you even overshadow me!?"

"The crack in your armor let me slip in," Ghostfreak explained, "Been hitching a ride in your head since a few blocks. Your mix up was working with SixSix behind his sister's back. The moment I found the communicator with your number in the favorites…she began literally kicking his butt! That let me turn into an alien who can travel between electronic devices, find you, turn Ghostfreak, and hide inside your head…and well that just loops around to now, doesn't it?" the Ectonurite scratched his chin.

"Why didn't you let me go free then!?" Argit asked before flinching when Ghostfreak's eye moved along the black markings to look at him.

"'Cause you would have done something stupid…like run…or eat the cubes…" Ghostfreak crossed his arms, before grunting as he blocked Kraab's claw, "Also I'm a homing beacon for the others."

"...th…..the others?" Psyphon repeated before the doors to the bar were kicked open, "..."

"Pencilneck…" Ragna growled as he walked in, Blood Kain flaring off his body.

"Ooh~I just love when you use this," Makoto grinned, banging her fists together, "Enough Seithr's in the air for the real deals to come out~"

"Which is good for me…" Bullet added, a fiery aura surrounding her as one of her gauntlets was converted into a pile bunker, "All the more reason for me to beat that stupid face of his in."

"In hindsight…" Rook began as he stepped in, his arms coated in Haki as he swung his ProtoTool in its Bostaff form, "This could have been avoided had you not purchased these, Psyphon…"

"So…we in for a brawl…" Max began, already in his Strength form as he pounded his fist together, "Or you guys gonna cave?"

"..." Thunderpig stood up, cracked his neck, flared his nostrils with a snort, held up his mace…before throwing it at a wall, making a hole in it, and booking it, "THUNDERPIG DON'T WANNA END UP LIKE HIS UNCLE AS A BLT ON CHEDDAR BREAD!"

"...GRAB THE CUBES!" Psyphon exclaimed as he and his goons scrambled to pounce at Argit.

"Move it!" Ghostfreak grabbed Argit and lifted him up before flinging him over the others.

"I GOT HIM!" Makoto shouted as she jumped up only for Fistina's fist to grab Argit before she could catch him.

"Nyet! I got…!" Fistina began as she prepared to run, only for Rook to end up tripping her with his weapon, making her let go of Argit as he was sent flying..along with the cubes as they began to fly out, "AHH!"

"Nevermind the rat! Grab me those cubes!" Psyphon shouted as he prepared to fly out..only to gag when Ragna grabbed him by the neck, "...Please don't break my butt."

"No, why I would never…pffft…hahaha…ah…no, I'm totally doing that!" Ragna laughed, swinging him around and tossing him through the bar.

"Boo!" Ghostfreak shouted, extending tentacles to grab several goons and swing them around. He then flinched and ducked under a blast of orange goo, "Hahaha! Not falling for that trick again Kraaby!"

"You learned brat!" Kraab growled as he aimed his claw and fired the goo again, making Ghostfreak weave through the air to avoid it, letting it splat several bounty hunters and goons in the face, leaving them distracted for the others to take down.

"Wow…thanks for the support. You're a real team player, aren't you?" Ghostfreak laughed before raising his arm as Skurd formed along it and into a Diamondhead gauntlet he swung to punch Kraab, sending him stumbling back, "I don't need to be intangible to kick your butt," he opened his hand as his fingers became claws. He growled, swinging and gashing Kraab's mechanical claw, making him hiss in pain.

"Oh, you guys are new, ain'tcha?" Makoto asked several Bounty Hunters that surrounded her, "Well…Let me say something: Seithr is pretty special if you know how to use it." behind her, her emblem appeared for a moment before a large astral gate appeared, "Something violent is roaring inside of me!" she jumped up into the air, reeling her fist back as she aimed at the ground, "Big…Bang…" she swung her fist…and a massive astral fist erupted from the gate, slamming into the ground and bounty hunters, sending them scattering, "SMAAAAASH!-!-!"

"...Just what are you people?" Argit whispered in pure horror before Liam kicked him aside, "Ack!"

"Boss! I bukak! I got the c-" Liam began as he picked up the cubes, only to gag when Bullet punched him hard in the gut…and a violent explosion sent him flying, "BUKAW~!"

"...Gotta admit…love the shotgun upgrade to my gauntlets," Bullet whispered before hitting a grunt with the back of her fist.

"You sent the cubes flying, too!" Makoto shouted.

"Wh-?! SHIT!"

=Don't worry, boss! I…!= Bubblehelmet began as he ran to catch the cubes…only to end up bumping into Max =...uh oh…=

"Ben has told me stories of you," Max lifted him up by his arms, "These are expensive to fix, right?"

=...Please don't break my arms=

"Mmm….no," Max smirked before he tore the robotic limbs right off.

=Ah come on!=

"Sorry, but you can get new ones in jail," Max chuckled.

=...Um…Max? The cubes?=Steel reminded.

"Oh shoot! Right!" Max realized before tossing Steel out, "Boomerang fastball!"

=AHH!=

"...What…did we just walk in on?" Naoto whispered as he, Spanner, Driver, and Celica just arrived into the area…and saw the chaos that was happening.

=GET THE CUBES!= Steel called out, slamming into a grunt and causing an explosion of TURBO energy.

"Oh my…This is quite the terrible state this bar is in. Really glad this isn't Thrax's bar," Celica noted before Minerva caught a thrown bounty hunter that nearly landed on Celica and threw them away, landing in the river nearby.

"That's one way to clean up crime," Driver noted.

"Cubes," Spanner reminded, tapping the side of his helmet as his visor glowed, "Tch. They're in three different directions."

"Meaning we'll have to split up and grab 'em before anyone else can," Driver noted.

"Great. Just our l…Why do I feel Seithr in here?" Naoto asked.

"Ragna's using Blood Kain," Spanner noted.

"How do you…" Naoto began to ask.

"CARNAGE SCISSORS!" Ragna bellowed as several bounty hunters screamed while they were sent through the roof.

"And retracted," Naoto muttered, seeing the aura coming off the sheriff of Undertown.

"Right. Naoto, with me. Driver, go with Celica and Minerva," Spanner ordered.

"Got i-" Driver began before Minerva picked both her and Celica up, "?"

"...oh you may wanna brace yourself," Celica whispered, pulling out a set of goggles from her cap before putting them on.

"Eh? What do you m-" Driver began before a jet engine popped out of Minerva's back as she took off into the air at high speed, "WHOOO~!"

"That is still weird…" Naoto muttered.

"Agreed!" Spanner spoke as he took off with his jet boots, "Now hurry! These cubes need to be contained before they get wet!"

"This place is literally a damp cave! How are we not up to the ceiling in killer robots!?" Naoto panicked.

"The heat from the lava pits the Kraaho live in provides enough heat to prevent that kind of moisture from forming!" Bullet explained, having another Bounty Hunter in a chokehold using her legs before doing a flip and sending them into another, "We also have a Pyronite who lives near the lava pits that does a wet check every two weeks for the town." she rubbed her chin, "Makes a mean chili, too…"

"Now really isn't the time!" Ragna grunted, punching Psyphon across the face once he got up, "Get the cubes and make sure no one dunks them in the nearest liquid!"

"What do you think we're trying to do?" Driver replied as Minvera drop-kicked a Bounty Hunter away.

"Oh my…" Celica noted with a small wince on seeing the new hole in the floor from that kick, "Please don't do too much damage, Minerva. We may have to pay for all the damages."

"Why is there even a bar just for known criminals?" Ghostfreak asked as he clashed with Kraab.

"We need a place to get away and bond over how much we hate you, Tennyson!" Kraab growled taking a wide swing, only for Ghostfreak to go intangible and let the bounty hunter strike Liam, sending him flying through a wall.

"Oops…but that's what you get for fighting a ghost and running out of that orange goop!" Ghostfreak laughed before his Skurd covered arm changed into Feedback's before jamming his fingers into Kraab's chest, making the alien yell in pain as he was zapped by the energy discharge from its being drained. After a moment, Ghostfreak pushed him over with one finger, "Timber~"

"Gh…damn you….brat…"

"There it is!" Spanner called out, sliding to grab one of the cubes, only for a laser to send it flying away, "?!"

"G#!...bzzt!" EightEight hissed out a bit, parts of her armor cracked before she flicked her wrist..creating an energy saw as it hummed to life, " $q4rf…"

"Oh you are just petty…" Ghostfreak groaned.

"'Petty' nothing. Sh-AHH!" Makoto yelped as she dodged EightEight's attempted slash at her…specifically her tail, "Hey hey hey! Watch the tail!"

"!$!#ASFS!"

"...I didn't understand that, but I know you did not just say what I thought you said…" Makoto whispered with narrowed eyes.

=You do not wanna know what she just said about her mother…=Steel whispered to Max.

"WHAT DID SHE SAY ABOUT MY MA?!" Makoto snapped.

"You…" Max began.

=I forgot her hearing, yes…=

"W!raf….%..." EightEight began as she did a slicing motion across her neck, pointed at her head before holding her arm up as if she was holding something.

"..."

"...Oh she's dead," Ghostfreak whispered just as he quickly snatched one of the cubes.

Before EightEight could move, Makoto was instantly before her-absolute fury in her eyes-as her fist jammed straight into her face, punching her hand into the ground as she bounced up…before the Beastkin unleashed a multitude of fast punches on the armored bounty hunter before delivering an uppercut to her jaw, sending her further flying up as Makoto leapt right after her, her fist reeled back before she slammed it hard into her gut, sending EightEight crashing hard into the ground, cracking it while creating a sizable crater. The moment Makoto landed on the ground, she pulled out her Sheikah Slate and tapped it twice, causing the round and square bombs to appear and land on EightEight.

"Anyone else got something to say about my loving Ma?" Makoto warned, her thumb hitting a button on the screen before both bombs went off, the light of the explosions shadowing his face in a menacing manner.

"..." the remaining Bounty Hunters all blinked in unison…before dropping their weapons and quickly fleeing the area.

"I love that woman…" Ghostfreak spoke dumbly, nearly dropping the Cube in his hands had Rook not caught it.

'Wow…Haven't seen her get this enraged since that one idiot kidnapped us when we were nine,' Driver thought.

'I forgot how….scary mom is when she's mad,' Spanner thought.

"...j…js…" Psyphon began before spitting out some teeth, "What….are you people…?"

"You've asked us that like a hundred times…" Ragna sighed as he picked him up, "You should know the answer by now, Pencilneck…"

"You literally thought you could get away with buying absolutely dangerous Techadon Robots to use on us…" Rook added as he walked over.

"Aha!" Naoto cheered while holding up another.

"Oh I found this big one," Celica smiled, holding up the white colored cube, "Hard to believe a lot of robots are in this little thing." she then blinked as everyone heard creaking from within the walls, "Oh, I think that big boom ruptured the plumbing…" at that, a stream of water leaked from a wall next to her…and on the cube in her hands.

"Oh no," Psyphon, Rook, and Ghostfreak spoke in unison.

"Huh?" Celica tilted her head as the cube started to hum, "Hm?"

She looked down at the cube in time to see a part of it open, dropping a small white and black capsule. The moment the capsule hit the floor, it twitched before shifting and expanding. She blinked a few times, seeing the capsule replaced with a large white and black burly-looking robot with a metal 'U' on the front of its head. It turned to her, looking down at her with its black-tinted visor.

"...Um…Shake?" Celica offered a hand…which the robot gently grasped and shook, "Oh! It's quite smart." another capsule fell out and made another, "Ah! Another? Um…sit!" both sat down, "Oh my."

"...Oh no…oh no no no…" Psyphon whispered in realization.

"Uh…so that means…they all obey her now?" Naoto asked.

"Celica now has an army of super robots that are effectively immortal and adapt to beat whatever blows them up." Ghostfreak stated.

=You think they'll do a better job making sure she doesn't get lost than Minerva?= Steel asked as a third came out.

"Hopefully…" Max muttered.

"...ahh…not fair…" Psyphon whined a bit.

"Um…Oh! Mr. Techadon Robots, please clean up this establishment," Celica ordered, "You were the cause of all this mess, so you should help clean it up."

The Robots looked around as their screen-like faces began lighting up with streams of code. The trio all then held their hands up as they transformed into construction tools. They all then began getting to work fixing the establishment. The entire time…more and more robots came from the water activated cube and joined in the command instantly.

"Oh how nice!" Celica smiled, "I don't see why you were so afraid of these nice boys, Mr. Tennyson, Mr. Rook."

"Only you would turn a weapon of mass destruction into labor," Ragna muttered, a drop of sweat going down the back of his head.

"Great…the office will be crowded again," Bullet deadpanned, 'Right after we got rid of those two sisters, too…especially the perverted one…'

"...So…what do we do with these then?" Naoto asked, holding up the Cube in his hands.

"Well…I don't know what to do with them," Ghostfreak sighed, flashing back into Ben, "Honestly, I hated fighting these guys. Getting rid of them is still on the top of my list. Celica can keep hers as long as they listen to her. They are borderline better behaved citizens then most of us."

"Wha…?" several of them gawked only to give up arguing and just groan in agreement.

"So I can keep them?" Celica smiled.

"Train them to do my job, I won't care," Ragna smiled, "But they build their own place to stay."

"Yay!" Celica cheered, "Minerva has new friends then!" she turned to her robotic assistant, "Please don't teach them to throw people into bodies of water now, okay?"

"You know you can just tell them yourself not to, right?" Ragna muttered.

"Oh…so I can, Everyone! Minerva will teach you what to do from now on, she is your manager! But! Do not follow any instructions to throw people into bodies of water!" Celica ordered as the robots all paused and raised a hand in acknowledgment of this new command.

"...Well at least one of them will be in safer hands," Spanner noted.

"Yup…and speaking of safe…" Driver began as she plucked the second Cube from Naoto's hands, "We'll be keeping this one far away from any baddies that want to get their hands on it…or a certain rat."

"Oh come on…" Argit groaned from his hiding spot…which was a barrel near the destroyed pub the robots were repairing.

"Oh would one of you please grab him, please?" Celica ordered as one of the Techadon robots stomped over and grabbed the barrel, making it groan and start being crushed "Oh! Gently, please! We're shipping him home to his mother." the groaning of the barrel went away as the robot loosened its grip, "Good job!"

"Not good job…!" Argit groaned from inside the barrel as the Techadon robot carried the barrel off just as both Chrono Riders ran off with the second Cube.

"Oh…and may some of you collect the criminals, and…put them in the cell?" Celica asked as several robots made their hands into guns and aimed them at Psyphon, his crew, and the remaining bounty hunters, "Ah! No gunfire! No gunfire! You just repaired the place!"

"Again, I can relax with this arrangement," Ben sighed as Rook handed him back the first Cube, "The future folks took one…so that just leaves a third for me to chuck into the sun."

"Should we?" Rook asked, "I just mean to say, if Celica can prove their use in the right hands…"

"Yeah, but I still don't trust them." Ben sighed, "Plus by this point Celica has let like thirty robots come out of that cube."

=Actually the newest one makes 45…= Steel corrected =No wait, 46! And that was from just a small spray of the stuff!=

"Right, straight into the sun with this," Ben stated, patting the cube he had.

"And then it's off to my parents to get them to your parents!" Makoto declared.

"I'll be back." Ben smiled, "Celica…you keep these guys in line."

"I'll do my best!" Celica smiled and saluted, making all the robots do the same, probably programming them with something to wonder about later.

"...Five Taydens she names them," Bullet muttered as she and Ragna had deadpanned expressions.

"Well…this will be weird," Ragna shrugged, "But…hey get them to patrol for us…for free…" he smirked, "I can go fishing more."

"Hmm…a police force of our own," Bullet muttered with a smirk.

---

"...Okay…The coast is clear," Ken whispered as he and Kokoro snuck into the living room…the second Techadon Cube in their hands.

"I can't believe we actually did this," Kokoro whispered.

"I can't believe we actually survived encountering the Azure Guardian…" Ken muttered.

"Present," Es spoke while sitting in their living room, making them yell in fright as Ken jumped into Kokoro's arms.

"Why are you here!?" they both asked as Drei walked in and looked at the situation.

"...You never made good on our deal in the past," Es explained, "Pudding."

"How did you…why do…?" Ken asked before he was dropped.

"It's not like I knew your faces. I just followed your temporal signature here to this location in this era," Es explained as Drei jumped up on the couch with her and looked at her, "Hmm?" the two stared at one another for a moment…before she began scratching his ears, "Good boy."

"He is the best puppy ever!" Kokoro declared.

"Sis, he's in his twenties," Ken pointed out.

"But he still has the health and energy of a puppy!" Kokoro spoke.

"This dog is very bright," Es stated, holding Drei in her arms, "But back to the Pudding."

"Oh…uh…hang on," Kokoro muttered in thought, "You want the fancy Pudding…I got just the thing, but it will take a second." at that she raced off to the kitchen.

"Ugh…" Ken groaned as Drei was put on the ground. Drei looked at the cube, before he rushed and picked it up in his teeth, "Ah! Drei, that's not a toy!" Ken grunted, reaching for the dog only for him to run into his little doggy tunnel, "Dang it…" he groaned.

"I hope the dog slobber doesn't wake the robots up…" Kokoro muttered, "Then they'll obey a Corgi."

"Oh no…" Ken paled at the thought and how much worse trouble they'd be in with their parents afterwards.

"Anyway…First problem. Come here, Ms. Azure Guardian," Kokoro waved Es into the kitchen, "See for some reason our parents always have a supply of fancy puddings stored here." she smiled, "I thought Mom was just hoarding tasty treats for herself, but now I think maybe they have them in case they meet you again, 'cause Daddy does have a habit of using Clockwork to fix a lot of messes."

"The Chronosapien form your father takes on, yes," Es noted, "I am to see him later on in the past."

"Oh no…What did he do?" Kokoro asked in concern, pulling out one of the fancy puddings.

"Spoilers," Es stated as she opened it and blinked, "Rainbow colored?"

"Ehh…dimensional crisis and the fruit this pudding was made with got some seeds stuck in mom's tail fur," Kokoro explained, "It's so gosh dang delicious!"

Es blinked a few times before taking a bite, "?!" she swallowed it and stared at the pudding, "Seven flavors, each complimenting one after another…"

"I'm sure this is for you, we'll just tell them you came to pick it up," Kokoro smiled, "Technically not a lie and doesn't spoil anything."

"That…is really clever." Ken blinked before spotting Drei walk out of a different tunnel, "You get back here, you furball!" he declared while rushing the corgi, making him bark and begin running around the living room in random patterns, making Ken trip over the sharp turns Drei made, "How are you so fast for something so tiny?!"

"Best puppy ever~" Kokoro smiled as Es kept eating her seven-flavored rainbow pudding.

"Don't encourage him!" Ken complained as Drei ran between his legs and up the stairs, "You get back here!" He continued to chase.

"...It seems that dog is the smart member of the family," Es muttered, eating another cup of pudding.

"He is the smartest corgi in the cosmos. So I take it, we're good?" Kokoro asked.

"Your mission and secrets are safe with me. Next time, do inform me of these missions ahead of time so this does not happen again," Es explained.

"How do we reach you?" Kokoro asked.

"Just turn on the time travel device in your vehicle, I'll feel it turned on," Es explained as she then dug around in her clothes before pulling out what seemed to be an old, well ancient to Kokoro's perspective, flip-phone, "Also Paradox left me this…said you'd know how to use it."

"Cho-Retro…I think Setsuna-chan told me of this when we did a report on technology," Kokoro awed.

"I am aware these types of phones are considered…outdated," Es noted

"Well if the Professor gave it to you…it just looks that way," Kokoro explained, "Chances are…you could call anyone at any point in time with this thing."

"Ah…soka," Es noted as she looked at it, "That man is…odd yet interesting…"

"He's a fun time," Kokoro smiled, "But I guess he does work in weird ways, but he is always helping."

"...It would explain why the Azure…doesn't deem him a threat," Es whispered, "Much like the Alucard child…and that man."

"Hmm?" Ken and Kokoro blinked at that once the latter came back downstairs.

"Nothing…" Es whispered as she put the flip-phone away

"Okay, well I hope this makes us good for the time being." Kokoro smiled, "If you ever want more…just pop on by."

"Arf!" Drei barked happily, already sitting back on the couch.

"Well if the protector of this home says it's okay." Es nodded, earning silence form the two siblings, "...they are unaware of what you are doing, aren't they?"

"Arf!" Drei barked

"...still a lot to learn," Es sighed as she stood up, "You have a good day then…but just know, if the Master Unit does not like how this story unfolds…" her eyes narrowed a bit, "It can and will not hesitate in reading this timeline."

"Arf!" Drei barked, before sitting down and whining.

"You are right, I should have warned them sooner." Es bowed to the corgi, "Have a good day Guardian of this home."

"Arf!" Drei barked as Es vanished from view.

"...bro?" Kokoro spoke up.

"Yeah sis?"

"...I don't think I'm gonna sleep right tonight…"

"Yeah…I…feel a need to distract myself." Ken nodded.

"Arf!" Drei barked as he ran up and got up to push his paws into the back of Ken's knees making him yelp and topple over in surprise, the corgi then growled as he ran around, before jumping off Ken and landing in Kokoro's arms taking her by surprise, before he began licking her face to try and calm her down.

"...hmm hmm. Good corgi," Kokoro smiled as she gently rubbed his head..

"I would like to object…" Ken groaned.

---

SZ: Yeah the Chrono Riders…dodged a HUGE Bullet with Es…especially Naoto like in Central Fiction, only unlike that game…Makoto didn't have to sacrifice herself to make sure he'd get to the others in time.

Z0: Lots of things will be different.

SZ: Yeh…also sorry if we wrote Es...kinda out of character. Just…well will admit, none of us has looked into Xblaze, which was technically the prequel series to Blazblue…you'd think we would but surprisingly no we have not.

Z0: Weird ain't it. We can't write her as she probably should be written if…we don't know how she's written. Also to be fair this story is mostly its own thing and it's not like she's gonna show up every chapter from now on.

SZ" Nope…not unless there's some real serious shit happening, but that won't be for quite a while. Also…for those asking about when we're gonna get back to the Cabal…oh don't worry…soon~*thunder crashes ominously outside*

Z0: We got big plans okay, and it's a long game deal.

GT: Aye! Gotta be patient, folks! Patience is a virtue! Answers come sooner or later!

SZ: Yeh!...Still we hope you enjoyed this and…as mentioned in the intro, only 6…well technically now 5 more chapters to go until we hit 100!

Z0: YEAH! *headbuts the screen making it crack*