A/N: Morning, everyone, and welcome back to Ben 10 RWBY! Well, it's officially October, the Halloween season! And if you've been around here long enough, you guys will probably know that I like to give you guys a particularly BIG storyline around this time of year. After all, what better way to celebrate my favorite season? So, let's get it started and see what this chapter has in store for us, huh? This is…
Chapter 24: The Talk Before Adventure
…..
The sun rose brightly in the sky as Ben peeked out the window of his bedroom, lifting the shudder to take in a deep breath of fresh air. It was Friday morning, and that fact alone made him smile. Yes, he and his team would still have to undergo a four-hour training session, but on the bright side; the fact that the weekend was soon upon them gave them all a little bit of a reprieve. Namely because they didn't HAVE to train on either Saturday or Sunday, which meant that they could do whatever they wanted. The weekend was their oyster and they were all eager to spend it however they chose.
'The only question is… what DO we do?' Ben thought to himself, going over everything in his head. At the moment, the big conundrum he was facing was that there were so MANY things that he wanted to do with the team, and all of them involved showing them what Earth had to offer. He had already showed them Niagara Falls, so that was successfully ticked off the list. 'But what to do next?'
With that question in his head, Ben closed his window and headed out of his room, ready to meet up with the girls to take them all to base. He continued to go over his options in his head before he finally made it to the living room, where Team RWBY were all waiting for him. "Hey Ben!" Ruby smiled. "Finally got yourself put together, huh?"
"Weird seeing as we expected you to be out here before us." Weiss commented.
Ben couldn't help but raise an eyebrow to her. "Uh… what's that supposed to mean?"
Yang smirked to her boyfriend and laughed a little. "Hehe, she's talking about the fact that you don't have to put on make-up, Green Boy." The blonde lifted her head with a proud smile. "Though to be honest, I barely have to put any on myself."
Blake glanced up from the book she was reading; "A Wind in the Willows", and gave her partner a blank stare. "Yeah, but you spend so much time on your hair that it pretty much makes up for it."
"Hey!" Yang shot a narrow-eyed glare at Blake while Wiess and Ruby snickered. "My hair's high-maintenance and you know it, Blake!"
"Oh, I do." Blake said with a sly grin. "You brush it so many times a day that you might as well know every lock by heart."
Yang grumbled and let out a huff, crossing her arms and turning away from the cat girl with a pout. Ben glanced between the two and gave a small sigh. "Hah… never a dull moment in the day, is there?"
"Would you have it any other way?" Ruby asked. "But back on topic, what DID take you so long to get changed?"
Ben went over and flopped down on the couch, his hands going behind his head as he explained himself. "Well, ya see, the weekend's coming up and since we've got the next two days off of training, I've been thinking on what I want us all to do."
Ruby gasped in excitement. "Ah! Oh yeah, that's right! We've got the weekend all to ourselves!" This quickly caught the other girls' attention and they all immediately huddled up. "Ooh, what do you think we should do?!"
"Oh, I know EXACTLY what we should do." Yang jumped in with an eager grin. "Girls, the weather's warm and after this crazy week, I think it's time to give ourselves a BEACH DAY!" Immediately, Weiss and Ruby cheered and raised their hands, with Blake reluctantly doing the same soon after. "Ah, c'mon, Blake, a little sun won't hurt ya."
"That is VERY untrue, Yang." Blake rebutted, her eyes darting back to her book. "Trust me, I'm not in the mood for a sunburn."
Yang clicked her tongue and shrugged her shoulders. "Tsk, too bad. Because if we go to the beach, there goes you getting to ogle Sun in nothing but his swim trucks."
Immediately, Blake's ears perked up and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head, her amber orbs darting up to her partner. She squinted at the smirk she was wearing, but at the same time, Blake couldn't deny the thoughts in her head that were making her blush right then. Yang's plan had worked. "…You win this round, Xiao Long."
"I figured I would." Yang winked. "Besides, to be fair, this gives us ladies ALL a chance for us to stare at our boyfriends." She sent a sultry gaze over to Ben, her grin wicked. "And vice versa for THEM as well, hehe…"
Ben was slightly confused at that, but when he DID pick up on the blonde's intentions, his eyes widened and his cheeks flushed red. His brain quickly turned to mush as he tried to hide his shame with his hands. "Er, I… I-I don't—"
"Aw, Ben…" Yang whined, the Omnitrix bearer practically hearing the puppy dog pout she was putting on. She came up behind him and pressed her chest against his back, her arms wrapping around his shoulders. "Don't you want to see me in a swimsuit?"
The hero's mind was beginning to short-circuit, meaning that Yang's devious plan was working. "I-I… well, I mean, i-it's not that I DON'T want to—n-not that I wouldn't mind or anything—i-it's just…"
Weiss couldn't help but groan as she watched Yang enjoy every single second of Ben's breakdown. She could only WISH she had the same confidence to do something like that with Rex. 'But, of course…' The former heiress glanced down to her form, pursing her lips at how… underdeveloped she was compared to Yang. Heck, without her heels, she was SHORTER than Ruby, and that was something that always upset her. 'Granted, Rex is so sweet that I'm certain he doesn't care about stuff like that, but still… I hope he at least likes my beach body…' She cleared her throat, bringing everyone's attention to her. "Ahem, Yang, if you're done breaking Ben, can we get back on track, please?"
Yang giggled and pulled herself away, giving a wink toward Weiss. "Alright, alright. But ya gotta admit, Weiss-Cream, the thought of seeing Rex in swim trunks? That must be REALLY appealing to you, huh?"
"Gah!" Weiss flinched and her cheeks broke out into a blush, which she tried hiding by facing away from the others. "Hmph, I will neither confirm or deny that statement."
"She totally is." Yang whispered to everyone just loud enough for Weiss to hear.
"Anyway…" Ben coughed into his head, hoping to regain control of the conversation before it truly went off the rails. "The beach is a pretty good idea… but I also kinda wanted to do something BIG, ya know?" The young hero became more determined as he continued, grabbing the girls' attention. "I'm talking going somewhere that'll really show you guys just what Earth has to offer. Somewhere cool, exotic, and exciting."
Ruby's eyes began to sparkle as Ben's words left their impact on her. "Ooh! Maybe somewhere adventurous? A place where we're certain to run into something that'll leave us speechless?!"
Ben snapped his fingers and pointed to her. "Exactly! …Except I have no idea where to start!" The Omnitrix bearer slumped over the couch's armrest, languishing at his indecisiveness. "There's so many cool places on Earth that I know you'd get a kick out of… but it's still so much and there's no clear beginning to it. Ugh, I'm stumped."
Blake closed her book and stood up, setting it down on the coffee table before eyeing Ben. "Well, don't worry, Ben. Maybe what you need is some more time to think, which you can do while we're training." Blake pointed to the clock, which read; 9:30. "C'mon, we'd better get going otherwise Six will chew us out." The cat girl sent a soft glare to her partner. "And no, you are NOT driving."
Yang pouted with a small whimper as Ben stood up, letting out a resigning sigh. "Yeah, you've got a good point, Blake. Maybe some training will get the gears going in my head. C'mon girls, let's go." With that, the group all headed to the door and Ben opened it up… only to reveal a visitor that took them all aback.
It was Rex, and he seemed to be holding a bag that was filled with groceries. "Hey, morning, guys! Good timing, I was just about to knock!"
"R-Rex!" Weiss stammered before going to greet him with a hug. She had to resist the urge to think about him in a bathing suit, but that was beside the point. "This is certainly a surprise!"
"Yeah, what're you doing here, Rex?" Ruby asked.
"Hehe… well, funny thing about that…" Rex held up his grocery bag that was filled up with MANY different food items, all of them small in nature. "See, Bobo and I share a room back at base, so naturally, we share a mini-fridge. Well, guess what happened when I found said mini-fridge with nothing in it this morning."
Weiss' brow furrowed at that and she rolled her eyes. "Ugh, why am I not surprised?"
"Eh, you get used to it." Rex shrugged.
"That's not really the kind of outlook you should have on this, Rex." Weiss scolded lightly. "Put your foot down and tell Bobo to not eat the entire fridge out of stock. It's as simple as that."
The EVO sighed heavily. "Oh, trust me, I've tried. But a chimp's appetite is nothing to mess with, lemme tell ya."
"Then get your own room and have a fridge of your own."
Rex was about to make a counter to that… but he had to admit, that was a pretty solid idea. "Hm, you know, I might just keep that idea in mind." Weiss gave him a happy grin, which he returned with gusto before giving the rest of the team a nod. "So, you guys ready for today's training sesh?"
Ruby pumped a fist into the air. "Yep! And then after that, we're gonna make plans for the weekend!"
"Hey, now THAT'S something I can get behind!" Rex cheered. "Okay, let's—"
"Ah-ah, hold on a moment!" Much to the teens' surprise, Sandra practically slid right up next to them with her hand held up, the Tennyson matriarch exuding a serious aura. Next to her, Raven walked up, wearing a similar expression with her arms crossed. Sandra shifted her gaze between everyone there. "Sorry to interrupt, but…" Her sights finally settled onto Ben and Yang, and it was then that she crossed her own arms. "I'm afraid that we need to speak with our children, so we'll be holding them back for a while."
Immediately, Ben and Yang felt themselves grow cold at their mothers both staring intensely at them, making them both worry that they had done something wrong. "W-What do you mean "hold us back"?"
"It means that you two will be late for training." Raven clarified before pointing a stern finger at both of them. "Though I fully expect both of you to make up for it later, understood?"
"Yes, ma'am!" the couple immediately answered.
Raven nodded approvingly. "Good…" Her attention went to Rex and she said; "Rex, tell Six that I'll be a bit late today, and that Ben and Yang won't be attending at all. You can get the girls to the base yourself, right?"
Rex was rather stunned by the bluntness of the question, but he gave a curt nod. "Y-Yeah, I can do that." The EVO activated his Boogie Pack and jerked a thumb to his back. "Ruby, Blake, hop onto my back. And Weiss…" He held out his arms with a confident grin. "…your usual seat awaits."
Weiss' eyes bugged out and Ruby let out a couple snickers, with Blake smiling knowingly as well. In the end, the former heiress rolled her eyes and huffed. "Y-Yeah, okay. Let's just get going, okay?" Weiss allowed Rex to pick her up, which she was impressed by since he was still holding his groceries, while Blake and Ruby boarded his back. The quartet sent a concerned look toward Ben and Yang one last time before Weiss said; "…Good luck." And with those final words, the group took off right into the air, headed for the Plumber base and their training.
That left Ben and Yang… and their moms all by themselves. Sandra waved her hand toward the couches and told them; "Come kids, have a seat."
'Bad sign.' the couple thought simultaneously. Nevertheless, they complied with Sandra's wishes and sat down on the couch, while Raven and Sandra herself… moved the chairs so that they were sitting across from their children, meeting them eye-to-eye. This successfully intimidated them further. 'Even WORSE sign.'
"Ahem…" Yang cleared her throat and put on the best smile she could muster. "S-So, uh… what is it that you guys wanted to talk about?"
"We're… not in trouble, are we?" Ben asked hesitantly.
Raven shook her head. "No. In fact, if anything, we're doing this to keep you both OUT of trouble."
Ben and Yang sighed in relief, the former wiping his forehead. "Phew, that's good to hear. So, what's up?"
"Well, to cut right to the chase, we heard what you both were talking about last night." Sandra stated, her expression resolute. "And it's something that we all need to address."
"Wait, what?" Yang eyed the two women warily and slightly confused. "What're you talking about—oh…" Immediately, Yang felt her gut simultaneously fall and flip all the way down to her feet as she saw her mother and Ben's mother both give her pointed looks, silently telling her that she knew exactly what they were referring to.
"Yes, "oh" is right, young lady." Raven concurred.
Ben, however, scratched his head, still confused. "Uh, pardon me, but I'm still kinda lost here. What's going on—"
"Green Boy, they heard us talking about how we wanna share a bed." Yang stated clearly, getting Ben to stop as a shocked expression etched onto his features. "Yeah, exactly…" Yang sent a soft glare to the women and raised a brow at them. "Though I would also like to point out that it's not exactly cool to eavesdrop on a conversation."
Raven and Sandra exchanged a guilty look before going right back to their kids. "Yes, we won't deny that. The privacy of your conversation was invaded, and for that, we're sorry." Sandra bowed her head before her expression grew concerned. "But, in this case, we feel like it's necessary to step in. Not because we want to stop you from doing what you want, but because we're concerned parents."
There was a brief pause, with Yang keeping her skeptical brow up. "…But you're probably not eager to let us sleep in the same bed anyway, are ya?"
"Yang, please understand." Raven interjected. "We wanted to have this talk not because we don't trust the both of you. …It's your hormones we don't trust at the moment." She raised an hand to them and explained. "We all know how much you love each other, but we just want to make sure that lust won't make you do something that you'll regret later."
Sandra nodded in agreement. "She's right. We're excited for grandchildren, but we're not that eager for them."
Both Yang and Ben blushed at that before the latter spoke up. "Raven, Mom, I-I swear that I wouldn't do that, especially not before I do two things; make sure that Yang is as ready as I am, and that we're out of this house when it happens. And heck, I already know that I'm not ready to take that step either." He pointed to his mother in particular. "Plus, I made a promise to you and I intend on keeping it."
"Exactly." Yang affirmed before craning her head to her boyfriend and giving him a smile. "And I'm sure as hell know that I'm not gonna pressure Ben into doing something that he doesn't want to do. I may tease him about stuff like that, but I'm NOT going to force him into something this important."
Both Sandra and Raven listened intently as their children made their case, taking in everything they said. The two women eyed each other, having a short, silent conversation before nodding to one another. They smiled back to their children and nodded to them as well. "Well, I can certainly say that both of you were very earnest just then." Raven commended. "I'm glad to hear that you're both taking this as serious as we are." The moment she saw Ben and Yang's faces light up at her praise, she knew that what came next would make them do a complete one-eighty. "But I'm sorry to say that doesn't automatically qualify you both for sharing a bed."
The couple faceplanted onto the coffee table at the news, with Sandra wearing an apologetic smile. "Sorry, but that's the rule… for now."
Instantly, Ben and Yang picked their heads off the table and echoed; "For now?"
"Yes, for now." Raven confirmed. "Listen, the two of you love each other dearly, and that's not something that we won't dispute. We all know that, one way or another, you both will be sharing a bed at some point." She raised a single finger. "But… it HAS only been a little under a week since we got to this world. Give it some time and we'll see about granting you that permission, but for now, make sure that the both of you think on this and be sure that you want this now." Her sights went to her daughter. "Yang, you'll essentially be moving in with your partner, and let me tell you from experience that it can be a tough transition, no matter how close you are."
"And Ben, that also means that your room will become a living space for two, not just yourself." Sandra said with an expectant look. "And that means you'll be expected to have a certain level of upkeep. Make sure you can keep your room nice and clean, because let me tell you, it's unacceptable when you're sharing a room with your partner."
The couple glanced toward one another, with Yang giving her boyfriend a wary face. "…Green Boy, I have to admit… they're kinda right. I'm willing to accept a lot of things, but sleeping in a pigsty ain't one of them." She sent him an imploring gaze and put a hand to his shoulder. "Keep your room clean, please? For me?"
There was literally no other option for Ben. It would be hard to break his old habits, but the last thing he wanted was for Yang to be uncomfortable in his room. "Of course." He reached up and grabbed her hand, giving it a soft squeeze. "Yang, for you, I'd literally clean anything and everything and make sure it stayed clean."
Sandra and Raven both smirked at that. "Hmhm, truly, your son will be good husband material." Raven whispered.
"I raised him right, didn't I?" Sandra whispered back.
"Uh… we can still hear you." Yang deadpanned.
Both women giggled at that as Raven waved them off. "Oh, alright, don't make a fuss over it. But still, it's good to hear that the both of you are committed to making this work in the future. We'll check back in a month to see where both of you are at, so until then, give this some serious thought and make sure this is exactly what the both of you want, alright?"
"Yeah, you got it, mom." Yang smiled. "And… thanks for not outright denying it."
Raven's smirk returned and she shrugged. "Hmhm, well, I'm not heartless, now am I?"
Ben sighed and leaned back on the couch, thankful that this talk hadn't gone south. "Yeah, no kidding." After a bit of a pause, though, Ben sent a questioning look to both women. "But uh, if I could ask something…"
"Of course, Ben, what is it?" Sandra obliged.
"Would it… be okay if Yang could come in my room during the day to watch movies, play games and all that stuff?" Ben rubbed the back of his head uneasily, with Yang just as unsure. "I-I mean, it's something we used to do all the time back in Remnant, but… well, we don't exactly have the same kinda basement that Tai has."
The two mothers shared another silent look, though this was slightly shorter as they both grinned and hummed an agreement before giving the couple an answer. "Well… I don't really see the harm in that, I suppose." Sandra conceded.
"So long as the both of you make sure that you go into your SEPARATE rooms when it comes time for bed." Raven insisted. "Then yes, Yang will be allowed in your room for entertainment purposes, Ben… just don't get too out of hand, if you catch my drift."
Yang rolled her eyes as Ben's cheeks became as red as a tomato. "Oy, we get it, mom. We won't do anything we're not supposed to do…" Her own grin crept back onto her lips and she stepped over to give her mother a hug. "But thanks, really."
"You're welcome." Raven returned the hug before giving her daughter a pat on the shoulder. "Now go on, get out of here."
The blonde blinked in confusion, with Ben just as perplexed. "H-Huh? What do you mean?"
Raven stood up and placed her hands on her hips, giving the couple a wink. "It means that the both of you are off the hook when it comes to training for today. I'll take whatever heat Six gives me. You two just go out and have some fun, alright?"
Immediately, both teens lit up at the news and they gave a loud cheer. "WOO-HOO!" The couple shared a high-five and Yang proclaimed; "A free day?! Alright!" She gave her mom another surprise hug for that. "Mom, you're the best and I TOTALLY owe you one! C'mon, Ben, let's go! I've been wanting to try out Mr. Smoothy's for a while now!"
"Haha, okay!" Ben followed Yang toward the door, but stopped to give Raven and his mom one final wave. "Thanks again, Raven. We'll see you guys later, okay?"
"For sure, son!" Sandra waved back. "See you soon." With that, Ben closed the door and the two women went to the window, seeing the DX Mark 10 rev up and pull out of the driveway soon after. Sandra wore a wry grin as she stood up, raising a brow to Raven. "You DO know that Six is probably not gonna be too keen on his regimen being skipped out on, right?"
"Maybe, but he doesn't scare me." Raven countered. "The man's intimidating, but I've experienced FAR worse, including my own father." The Spring Maiden waved her hand, changing the subject back to their children. "But that's beside the point. Thing is, Sandra, is that those two have their whole lives ahead of them. Training can be made up for, but after that talk we just had, they should have a little reprieve."
Sandra was impressed to say the least. "Hm, wow, and this coming from someone who once had a "survival of the fittest" mentality?"
Raven cringed a bit at the reminder, but ran with it. "That was the past me, Sandra. And right now, the present me is trying to make up for all of the mistakes I made when I had that mentality." Raven set her gaze back out the window, right to where Ben's car had gone down the street. "And right now… I think letting them off the hook for the day is a good place to start."
…..
Meanwhile, across town, Rojo stretched her arms out as she got out of bed, the redheaded woman letting out a satisfied groan as she heard several pops in her muscles. Yesterday had been a pretty awesome change of pace for her… or rather an awesome "back to normalcy", in her case. Training with Khyber again had taken her on a trip down memory lane and she was feeling great about it… granted, the rest of her team didn't exactly feel her sentiment given how hard Khyber went on them, but she had a feeling they'd get used to it. 'If I can survive his training methods, then they can too. Hell, I'm confident that they can.'
Rojo stood up and walked out of her room, headed out straight for the kitchen to make herself some morning coffee. Thankfully they all were able to take the day off when they told Khyber that today was the day that they'd be reporting in to Salem, so they'd all be able to relax for the day. And all the better for it since the first thing she saw when she walked out were Neo and Emerald splayed out on the couch, both of them still visibly roughed up around the edges. "Ah, mornin', ladies!" Rojo greeted with a salute.
Emerald and Neo both peeked over the couch and gave a lazy wave. "Oh, hey, Rojo." Emerald grinned tiredly, her eyes with heavy bags under them. "How's it goin—" Suddenly, though, both girls snapped their eyes open wide, the two stunned by Rojo's bed attire.
"Ah, I'm doin' good." Rojo shrugged before going to the kitchen, all while the girls' gazes were still fixated on her. "Haven't trained like THAT in a while, though, lemme tell ya. Khyber really knows how to work ya to the bone." The young woman quickly got the coffee maker going and began brewing a pot, letting out a chuckle at the memory of yesterday. "Man, Hog and Skull are probably gonna be feeling THAT for weeks!"
Neo blinked silently, rubbing her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things while Emerald hesitantly uttered; "Uh… yeah. I think Khyber made sure to go extra hard on them and Merc. …Now can you please explain why you're not wearing PANTS?"
Rojo's eyebrows rose up and she set her sights down to her body. Indeed, she was only wearing a black tank top and a pair of matching undergarments, making her eyes widen in realization. A slight hint of red rose to Rojo's cheeks and she let out a hearty laugh. "Ha! Whoops! Sorry 'bout that. Ya know, sometimes I forget that I'm living with other people in this place now…"
Emerald couldn't help but deadpan while Neo facepalmed. "Ugh… well, at least I pointed it out to you. Now go put on some pants before—"
Click! The three ladies all felt goosebumps go over them as their attention went right for the hallway. A set of light footfalls came from around the corner and there, standing with one of the most tired faces ever… was Cinder. The Fall Maiden was only just barely conscious, her eyes closed with her hair sticking out in one of the biggest messes they had ever seen. She was also wearing a rather fancy red and gold-trimmed silk rope that ended about half-way down her thigh… which caught Rojo's attention rather quickly.
The bounty hunter's light blush went into overdrive at the sight of Cinder's rather ample legs, so much so that she had to force herself to turn away the moment Cinder came walking toward the kitchen. 'Gah! Oh god, Cindy's got GAMS for DAYS! …Oh god, and MINE are right out on full display!'
"Oh god, this is bad." Emerald murmured to Neo before putting on a grin and speaking to her leader. "Uh… h-hi, Cinder! How'd you—"
"SSH!" Cinder shushed without even opening an eye, raising a single finger to Emerald at the same time. "Not now." she groggily uttered. "Coffee first, then talk." She passed by the still shell-shocked Rojo before going right up to the coffee pot, grabbing herself a mug to pour some of the piping hot liquid for herself. She took a good swing after applying her cream and sugar, making a satisfied sound as her eyes finally opened a bit. "Alright, much better."
The maiden turned around… and was immediately met with the sight of Rojo in her top and underwear. Cinder's eyes immediately snapped open as Rojo let out a nervous laugh, attempting to hide her bare legs from view. "Uh… hehehe… h-hi, Cindy! N-Nice robe?"
If anything, though, that made Cinder even MORE mortified. She was so tired that she had forgotten to change out of her comfortable sleepwear and into more casual clothes. The shock hit her so hard that she dropped her mug and booked it back to her room, letting out a yell as Rojo dove and saved the coffee from spilling. "AH! C-Cindy, wait!" SLAM! But it was too late. Cinder had locked herself in her room, leaving the other three girls to stare after her, stunned by her behavior.
"…Huh." Emerald said as Neo scratched her head. "I… I honestly didn't expect THAT reaction. I didn't even know Cinder COULD get embarrassed like that." She sent a concerned gaze over to Rojo. "Think she'll be alright?"
Rojo stood in silence, staring after where Cinder had run off while still holding the hot coffee in her hands. All at once, though, her face grew determined and her grip tightening on the cup slightly, a plan forming in her mind. "I've gotta fix this!" Without hesitation, Rojo poured herself another cup of coffee before darting to her room, putting on a pair of sweatpants and slipping on a bra beneath her tank top before heading right to Cinder's room. She knocked on the door with her foot before calling in; "Cindy? It's Rojo."
"Go away, Rojo." came the dejected voice of the maiden, still obviously quite upset. "I… I need some time to just decompress after that."
"…Please?" Rojo raised her coffee cups up. "I got your coffee right here… AND I put on some pants. I think it's better to talk about it than just dance around it for god knows how long, so… wanna just get it over with?"
There was a long silence that followed before Rojo heard the door's lock click, giving her just the right amount of hope. The door was still locked via the sliding chain lock inside, but she saw Cinder peek an eye through the crack and the maiden sent her a skeptical gaze. "…No funny business? No tricks or anything?"
"Cindy… what reason would I have to trick you?"
"…Fair point." Cinder closed the door and undid the chain lock, allowing Rojo to come in… and see that she had changed as well. The amber-eyed beauty was now donned in a simple, red V-neck t-shirt and a pair of black leggings, along with a pair of matching slippers. Cinder took the coffee cup from Rojo and let out a sigh. "Thank you. Well… come in, I suppose."
"Thanks, Cindy…" Rojo smiled before she followed Cinder in… but at the same time, the redhead's eyes couldn't help but trail down to those legs. If anything, the leggings made them all the more noticeable, and Rojo had to bite her lower lip to keep her head in the game.
'Dear god, Rojo, you've got it BAD.' It had been something that Rojo had been internally struggling with for a while, but ever since the incident in Mistral, she had begun to see Cinder in a different light. Their partnership had resulted in them growing closer and closer since they first started out, and before long… those feelings of comradery and respect had transitioned into romantic ones. 'How is it that one woman can be so insanely pretty AND hot as hell?' She mentally kicked herself to get her mind back on track. 'Focus, Rojo. It's time to be her friend.'
The two sat down, with Cinder taking the bed while Rojo took the swivel chair near the vanity mirror and make-up desk. The duo stared at one another for a while before Rojo took a sip of her coffee, starting by stating the obvious; "Okay, so… I think we can both agree that we feel pretty awkward right now."
Cinder huffed, her sights going to her cup. "That's putting it mildly. We basically saw one another in our undergarments."
"Well, you saw me in mine." Rojo emphasized. "At least you were covered up."
"Barely." Cinder grumbled. "I'm lucky I didn't bend over in any capacity." The maiden facepalmed and shook her head. "Ugh, I can't believe that I was so tired that I forgot to change out of that."
Rojo only offered a shrug. "Hey, if anything, I can say that you have good taste in bedwear. Was that a hundred percent silk?"
"…Yes, it was."
"Heh, cool. You should show me where I can get one."
Cinder rolled her eyes, a slight tinge of pink on her cheeks. "Of course, YOU would say that… but I suppose it could prevent you from parading around the place half-naked."
"…Yeah, sorry 'bout that." Rojo apologized with a wince. "You wanna talk about being forgetful? Try forgetting that you're sharing the place with four different people and you can't do stuff like… well, that anymore." She raised a determined fist. "Point is, I promise that this won't happen again. Last thing I want to do is freak out my housemates."
A small smile worked its way onto Cinder's lips at her partner's vow. "Well, that's good to hear, at least. Thank you, Rojo…" At the same time, however, she couldn't help but raise a brow. "Though I WAS surprised that Emerald and Neo took it better than I did."
"Hehe…" Rojo smirked and put a head behind her head as she reclined in the seat. "Well, not to brag, but they stared at me for a good ten seconds before Em pointed it out to me."
"Ah, I see." But just then, Cinder let out a light chuckle. "Hmhm, well, something tells me that we're BOTH lucky that Mercury hadn't woken up yet, otherwise we would BOTH be utterly mortified and he'd be on the ground unconscious."
Rojo waved Cinder off. "Ah, c'mon, don't knock Merc out… he's already had enough of that after yesterday."
Cinder grimaced slightly at the reminder, the images of Khyber knocking Mercury out clean several times re-entering her mind. She shook her head and said; "Fair point… but I probably would've at least slapped him."
"Ha! I'm with ya there, sister." Rojo laughed before grabbing the brush off the desk, pointing at Cinder's still-messy hair. "Now, how's about we get that black mass under control?
The Fall Maiden peered into the mirror, taking note about how messy her hair was before giving Rojo a nod of approval. "That we can agree upon. Thank you, Rojo… and thanks for the talk as well. I needed that after… all of this."
Rojo stood up, allowing Cinder to take her place in the chair as they settled in front of the mirror. As she started brushing her hair, Rojo winked back at her. "Any time, Cindy. Any time."
…..
A couple hours later, once everyone was up, the team of villains all found themselves out in the living area, watching television as they waited for their final arrival. However, as they did, a certain silver-haired young man kept glancing up at the clock, nervously tapping his foot. In addition, his face was covered in several bandages, no doubt from the training session from the day before. "Ugh, when the hell is he gonna GET here?" Mercury grumbled as he jerked a thumb toward the clock. "It's eleven-forty-five and Salem wants us to check in at noon sharp! You know she'll chew us ALL out if we're late!"
Rojo rolled her eyes and waved over to him. "Ah, relax, Merc. Khyber WILL get here, I can guarantee you that. The guy's pretty much never been late for something important, and I doubt he'll wanna miss out on meeting the Boss Lady."
"Yeah, chill out, Mercury." Emerald nudged her elbow into her partner. "Things will be fine, I'm sure of it."
"Hmph, sure, whatever." Mercury grumbled, crossing his arms.
Cinder narrowed her eyes slightly at his attitude. "And what exactly does that mean?"
"Oh, I'll TELL you what it means!" Mercury shot up and glared at Cinder harshly. "It means that, if it were up to me, I WOULDN'T be waiting for that asshole to show up!" The young man pointed to his face and shouted; "I mean, look at what he did to me! How the hell is THIS supposed to be training?!"
"Pfft, really?" Rojo scoffed. "You're STILL upset that Khyber gave you a walloping yesterday." She then pointed to her own face. "Here's a news flash for ya, Merc; your mug looks JUST like how mine was after my first training session with Khyber, so I suggest you be ready for what's to come."
The entire room fell silent at that, with Neo's jaw dropping at the revelation. With a shake of his head, Mercury shouted; "S-Seriously?! Khyber did to YOU what he did to me?!"
"Yep, and lemme tell ya, it was NOT pretty." Rojo grimaced slightly at the memory. "I didn't even know I could bleed that much… but that's beside the point." She pointed an accusatory finger at her teammate, giving him a hard gaze. "Let me tell you a little secret, Merc. You wanna know how I handled Khyber's training?"
"Please tell me you hit him back even harder."
"I did… but only after I sucked up my pride, got myself under control, and learned." Rojo emphasized. "You're not gonna get anywhere if you keep doing what you normally do."
Mercury stared at Rojo dumbfoundedly, baffled by her words. "The hell is THAT supposed to mean?! You sayin' I'm a bad fighter?"
"No, but the way you're going about it is all wrong." Rojo shook her head in disappointment. "Remember, Khyber said that the reason for this training is so that your anger will stop clouding your judgement. It's cost you in pretty much every single battle we've had with those twerps, so now it's time to reign it in so you can ACTUALLY win for once."
With a roll of his eyes, Mercury began storming off. "Again with this?! My "anger" isn't the problem here! It's those idiot good guys that're the problem! With their stupid strategies that somehow work, and the way they just trick us into making fools out of ourselves! It makes me so… so—"
"Angry." Cinder finished, much to Mercury's irritation. "I don't care which way you try to spin it, Mercury, but you have an anger problem. And believe it or not, Khyber is trying to help you overcome it… in his own way."
Rojo snapped her fingers and pointed at Mercury again. "Exactly. So instead of whining about it like a little bitch, get your shit together and, again, learn from it." She raised a brow at the assassin. "Or would you rather have Khyber keep beating you every day?"
Mercury clenched his teeth at those last words, with memories of past beatings courtesy of his father entering his mind. 'No… not again.' He balled his fists, took a deep breath, and calmed himself down, glancing to the crew back over his shoulder. "Fine… but don't blame me if I eventually beat Khyber until he's in a pool of his own blood."
"…Heh, wouldn't be the first time Khyber's had that happen to him." Rojo remarked before a knock came to the door. "Oh, speak of the devil."
'All too accurate.' Mercury thought to himself as he watched Rojo step over to the door, letting in their visitor.
There, standing taller than the doorway itself, Khyber loomed over Rojo, the alien hunter wearing his usual grimace. The Anubian Baskurr was by his side as well, the dog-like alien giving a low growl as it stood by its master loyally. All the same, Rojo greeted him with a smile. "Hey, teach! Glad you could make it…" Her eyes trailed over to the clock, seeing that it was now eleven-fifty-five. "And right on time, too."
"Of course, Rojo." Khyber said as he ducked down and moved his shoulders so he could enter the apartment, the Baskurr following him dutifully. "When you told me that you would be checking in with your benefactor today, I knew I shouldn't miss it." He scanned his eyes around the apartment, taking note how rough the place was around the edges. Yes, there was new furniture, appliances and the like, but it was still not a completely ideal living space. He raised an eyeridge to Rojo. "…My offer to have you all move into my ship is still on the table, just as a reminder."
Before Mercury could even say "hell no", Rojo smiled and shook her head. "Thanks, but this apartment's been a safe haven for me for years. Yeah, it's old, but I couldn't possibly part with it." Khyber gave Rojo an understanding nod, leading the redhead to clap her hands together. "Okay, so, who's ready to call the Boss Lady, huh? I'll be right back!"
Rojo left the living area promptly… leaving the four Remnant natives with Khyber in a somewhat uncomfortable silence. After a few seconds, though, Emerald decided to break the ice. "So, uh… Khyber! …Get any good sleep?"
"My species rarely sleeps." Khyber answered bluntly
"Oh, really? Why's that?" Emerald felt a chill go down her spine as Khyber narrowed his eyes at her, the large, intimidating alien lowering himself until he was eye-level with her.
"You do not want to know."
"Duly noted!" Emerald gave an awkward laugh before changing the channel. "H-Hey, how 'bout we check out the news? Must be SOMETHING going on in Bellwood today…"
With a click of the remote, Emerald changed the channel… and almost immediately, everyone was met with the sight of Kevin, Gwen, Team JNPR and… some weird, furry blue alien all standing together. They were at some sort of water port with multiple Plumbers at the scene, and they could see some rather punkish men being led into a prison truck. "And in our top story from last night, the Omni-Hunters have yet again saved the day!" the reporter said with a big smile.
At that, everyone groaned and Emerald was about to change the channel… that is if Rojo hadn't darted in with a backpack over her shoulder. "WAIT! Don't turn that off!" She pointed at the screen and shouted; "Pause it right there!" Emerald did as she was told and Rojo zipped up to the television, her sights focused in on the punk with the spikey mohawk and skull face paint. She then let out a sigh and slapped her forehead. "Ugh, of course. Fistrick, you jacked up idiot."
"Wait, Rojo, you know him?" Cinder asked.
"Unfortunately." Rojo admitted. "When I came back to Earth, we were business partners for a while. Didn't work out, ended up taking a couple of his gal pals and left to form my own gang…" The redhead pursed her lips and pondered; "Hm, wonder what DID happen to Amarillo and Azul?" But then she quickly shrugged it off. "Ah, doesn't matter now." Rojo took up the backpack and presented it to the others. "What DOES matter is that it's time for the call to the Boss Lady!"
Khyber couldn't help but be perplexed by the backpack, however. "And… I suppose whatever is in there is how you plan on contacting her, correct?"
"Mm-hm, just watch!" Rojo unzipped the backpack and… coerced whatever was inside of it out. "C'mon now, little guy. There's no sunlight to hurt you." With that, Khyber was left stunned at the sight of some kind of demonic jellyfish with darts on its tentacles come floating out of the backpack.
"…What in the name of the great Arlean moons is that?"
"That would be a Seer." Cinder explained. "A subspecies of creatures from our dimension known as "Grimm"." The Fall Maiden reached up and put a hand on the creature's glass dome of a head. "And this particular one is how we communicate between this world and our own."
"Fascinating…" Khyber leaned down toward it, peering into the dome curiously. "And is there a reason why you cannot have it in sunlight?"
Emerald perked her head up and said; "Ya know, that's the weirdest thing. Back in our world, Grimm aren't normally affected by sunlight, but in this one, the sun seems a lot brighter and it actually ends up hurting them." She pointed to the Seer. "It nearly got burned when it tried flying out into broad daylight, I'm being serious."
With a scratch of his chin, Khyber pondered on that. "Hm… interesting. But something to think about another time. So, are we going to speak with this "Boss Lady" now?"
"Oh, yeah!" Rojo grinned eagerly to the Seer and nodded to it. "Patch us through to Lady Salem." After a few seconds, the smoke in the Seer's dome began to swirl around, and it lowered itself to face level with the team of villains. And with that, Rojo spoke loud and clear into it; "Uh… hello? Boss Lady, you there?"
"Don't be so unprofessional." Cinder chastised before bowing to the Seer. "Lady Salem, we're calling in for our weekly report, can you hear us?"
There was a pause before an answer finally came. "Yes, Cinder, I can." The sound of the familiar voice sent another chill through the entire room. The group hadn't heard their mistress' voice in about a week, so it was quite jarring. "I'm glad to see that you are punctual with your report. So, have you made good progress on Earth?"
"I-Indeed, Lady Salem." Cinder answered, though she couldn't stop the shake in her voice. "We've set up a primary base of operations, we have found a steady source of income, and we've been keeping an eye on the heroes since we arrived."
"Very good. And have you engaged them in any way?"
Rojo rubbed the back of her head and cringed. "Well… you could say that. And while it went well at the start, things kinda got… out of hand."
"…Is that so?"
That question made everyone grow pale. They knew Salem didn't exactly like failure, like, at all. But at the same time, Rojo knew how to salvage it. "B-BUT we actually did come out of the whole thing with a net-positive! We escaped from those twerps after destroying a good chunk of town and…" Rojo ushered Khyber over to the Seer, hoping to introduce him. "We've got a new member for the cause! AND he's my old teacher, to top it off!"
The group heard Salem's voice perk up a bit. "Oh, really? Is that so?"
"Uh-huh! Boss Lady, allow me to introduce you to Khyber, the best damn huntsman in the galaxy!" Rojo faced up to her teacher eagerly. "And Khyber, say hello to Lady Salem."
Khyber gazed at the jellyfish creature once again and spoke into it. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Lady Salem. I only wish this were a proper meeting rather than… a simple call." He bowed his head respectfully. "Nevertheless, I heard through my protégé that we happen to share a common quarry; that being Ben Tennyson. Tell me, have you interest in the Omnitrix?"
There was another brief pause before Salem answered, her voice quite noticeably intrigued. "Yes… yes I am."
"Well, I have a couple of benefactors that are also interested in the device. Perhaps if we were to ally our forces, we could assist one another in our end goal." Khyber raised a hand in appeal. "I am certain that the other members of my faction would be more than happy to lend their talents as well."
After that, however, they heard something that they had not expected Salem to say. "…Eon, would you be a dear and open a gateway for me? I wish to continue this conversation… in person." A few seconds later, a bright purple vortex opened right in the living room, taking everyone there by surprise. However, Salem spoke in an inviting tone. "Mr. Khyber. I believe that we have quite a lot to discuss. Please, step in and why don't we discuss our mutual benefits in this partnership. And Rojo, Cinder, please come as well. There are some important matters I wish to discuss with you as well."
Khyber eyed the portal warily, but Rojo sent him a reassuring look, which eased his skepticism a bit."Hm, I can tell that you are quite eager to talk, Lady Salem. Very well, let us have a chat…" With that, Cinder and Rojo entered the portal first, with Khyber heading in after them. But before he stepped through, the Zaroffian glanced over to Mercury, the young assassin having been standing silent in the corner with his arms crossed. "You have been awfully quiet, boy. Even more so than the illusion girl."
Neo couldn't help but snicker at that while Mercury simply scowled and shot back; "Got nothin' to say." Khyber hummed and acknowledgement to that and stepped through the portal, his Baskurr following him close behind. Once the portal had closed, Mercury turned his head away. "Jerk."
…..
The moment Khyber stepped through to the other side, he was left both impressed and stunned by the room he had emerged in. It was a great hall with multiple large windows all throughout, which only served to give him a view of the darkened landscape and reddened skies outside. There was a massive table before him, and he saw that Rojo and Cinder had already taken their seats near the end on either side of it. Sitting at the table as well were several more people; four men on either side with a lone woman sitting at the head of the table itself. And all of them were focused squarely onto Khyber.
On one side of the woman was a man dressed entirely in black, complete with a leather duster and a rounded helmet. Said helmet also had a purple visor, and there were several other purple highlights all throughout his armored outfit, especially around his gauntlets. The man a hand to his chest and nodded to Khyber. "Ah, the great huntsman, Khyber. Such an honor to have you as our esteemed guest."
On the other side, a large Transylian hummed in approval, his monocle-like eye scanning Khyber. "Indeed, I have heard many tales of your successful hunts. To have you in our ranks would be most fortuitous."
An audible scoff came from another man, one who seemed to have a rather posh demeanor with his extravagant clothes and bushy mustache. "Pfft, Eon, Viktor, do not be so quick to suck up to the new blood." He cast his eyes over to Cinder knowingly. "After all, don't we have enough people in this Ministry with inflated egos?"
Before Cinder could bark at him, the last man, one with pale green skin and stark white hair, interjected. "Now, now, Arthur, no need to judge so harshly. After all, from what I hear tell, Khyber can certainly back up his reputation…" With that, the rather scrawny man stood up to Khyber and gave a polite bow of his head. "My apologies on behalf of my college, Doctor Watts. He can be rather… dubious when it comes to new arrivals. I am Doctor Aloysius Animo, by the way. A true pleasure to meet a huntsman of your caliber, Mr. Khyber!"
"Hmm… the feeling is mutual." Khyber muttered before setting his sights on the woman in the chair. Her skin and hair were as white as snow, with her hair in particular having been done up in a rather unique style with black ties. The sclerae of her eyes were black, and her irises were blood red, serving as a great contrast along with her matching dress. Most disturbing of all, however… was the creature on her shoulder. It seemed to be some sort of rat-scorpion-spider-serpent hybrid, which raised several questions in Khyber's mind, but he decided to address those later. "So… Lady Salem, I presume?"
"You would presume correct, Mr. Khyber." Salem said as she rose to her feet, moving away from her seat to approach Khyber herself.
"Please, no need for formalities." Khyber insisted. "Simply "Khyber" will suffice."
"As you wish. I must say… you are almost exactly how I pictured you after hearing your voice."
A slight smirk worked its way onto Khyber's lips. "Hm, you are too kind. I must say, your abode is… quite lavish and somber at the same time. Very impressive."
"Thank you, I quite like it myself." Salem returned. "But let's not spoil ourselves with pleasantries." She tilted her head up to him. "Now, let me see if I have this correct; you have an interest in killing Ben Tennyson?"
"Indeed." Khyber raised his clawed hand and balled it into a fist. "Though a more accurate term would be "hunt". Tennyson is a quarry who is certainly worth hunting down. His head shall be my greatest trophy."
Already, Salem was liking what she was hearing. "Hmm… I see. I can appreciate your lofty goal, Khyber. But tell me, how DO you plan on hunting Tennyson down?" It was then, however, that Salem noticed the Baskurr standing next to Khyber… and immediately, her eyes grew enamored at the sight of the hellish hound. "Oh… perhaps with this lovely creature?" She reached her hand out to pet it… and it immediately snapped at her, growling as she pulled her hand away.
But then, Khyber was quick to scold the beast, taking a hold of its neck and pressing down on it firmly. "No! Bad!" He sent an apologetic gaze to the witch. "Lady Salem, my most humble apologies."
"Oh, there is no need to worry." Salem assured, giving a devious grin down to the dog-like creature. "I simply adore the fierceness of your creature. What is it, exactly?"
"This is an Anubian Baskurr." Khyber explained. "One of the greatest hunting and tracking animals in the galaxy. I have trained it for years to suit my needs, though at times, it CAN be a bit… jumpy." The Zaroffian eyed the strange hybrid on Salem's shoulder, and noticed that his Baskurr was trained on it instead of Salem. "Not to be rude, but I'm afraid that it might be because of your… pet."
"Ah, yes, that would explain it. Viktor?" At her call, Viktor rose up and walked over to Salem, his footsteps making the ground rumble slightly as the witch took her "pet" off her shoulder. …And then she proceeded to coddle it. "Lilith, be a good girl and go to Viktor, please." The hybrid abomination made a clicking noise before scuttling off Salem's arm and onto Viktor's. "And Viktor, dear, please take her back to my boudoir, if you would."
Viktor gave her a nod. "As you wish, Miss Salem."
With that, the Transylian stepped out and the Baskurr stopped growling, which Salem quickly took advantage of by petting it. "See? Everything's better now." The dog alien gave a small whine as Salem took note of the rather… interesting collar around its neck. Or more specifically, the somewhat familiar device that was attached to it. "…Khyber, what is this?"
Khyber saw that she was pointing to the device and a smile curled back to his lips. "Ah, that would be a very special device that one of my benefactors created." He reached down and procured the device, showing it off to everyone. "You see, I knew that hunting Ben Tennyson would be no small feat, so this device was created in order to match his transformations. And what better way to hunt a boy that can transform into aliens… than with a beast that can transform into the natural predators of those aliens?"
This took nearly the entire room by surprise, save for Cinder and Rojo who already knew about that. Eon was also a bit less surprised, but he still tilted his head in intrigue. Watts promptly stood up from his seat and pointed at the device. "W-Wait… so you're saying that thing is like… l-like an—"
"An Omnitrix?" Salem finished.
"Indeed, but this is the antithesis of the Omnitrix." Khyber continued. "A… Nemetrix, if you will."
Salem's smile grew sinister once again as she placed her palms together, an eager glint in her eye. "Please… tell me more."
"Why tell when I can show you?" Khyber placed the Nemetrix back on the Baskurr's collar and said to it; "Ready." Almost immediately, the Baskurr stood at attention, ready for whatever command Khyber gave it. The Zaroffian lifted his head and whistled through his jaw, making the Baskurr's ears perk up as it let out a roar. And, with a flash of red light, its body began to morph and change.
Salem let out a gasp at the transformation, as did Watts and Animo. The three watched in awe as the beast transformed into a large, white and black insectoid-lizard alien with four red eyes and several sharp red spikes along its back, along with a set of protruding gums and sharp teeth along with it. Animo had to lift up his goggles to make sure that he was seeing things correctly. "Oh… oh my word."
"That thing is grotesque!" Watts exclaimed.
Off to the side, Cinder couldn't help but smirk at the doctor's repulsion. "Hmph, speak for yourself." The Fall Maiden set her sights onto the Buglizard approvingly. "I think it's rather fearsome."
"Yes… and it is beautiful." Salem added, taking everyone by surprise. She knelt down and stroked the beast's scaley head, which gave a low chuff at her touch. "Khyber… this is exactly the type of advantage we have been looking for. With a creature and device such as this on our side, Ben Tennyson will surely finally meet his match."
However, Khyber held up a hand. "Ah, but Lady Salem, the demonstration isn't nearly over yet…" Once again, he lifted his head and whistled, leading the Buglizard to belt out another roar as its entire body was enveloped in another red flash.
Once more, the creature transformed… and this one was MUCH larger than any transformation anyone there had seen, including Rojo and Cinder. This… gigantic beast was almost as big as the room itself, its massive size making the floor crack beneath its four massive legs. The legs also had two sets of red claws on them, as did its six smaller arms a bit further up. Its underbelly was a light shade of violet and its appendages were a purplish grey, and there were four large spikes on the end of its massive tail. Its back was covered in a scaley, black carapace that went up to its neck. And its head… well, no one could really see its head since it was up near the darkened ceiling. But they COULD see its glowing red eyes and the tip of its muzzle, which were both an intense red.
The whole room was left slack-jawed at the sight of the massive lizard-like monster, though Animo was quick to raise his arms up to the beast in worship. "It's… it's… IT'S GLORIOUS!" WHAM! "…And Watts just fainted." The doctor glanced down to Watt's unconscious form, his eyes having rolled back into his head.
"Very impressive, indeed." Eon concurred. "It's nearly as tall as Humongousaur at full height…"
Khyber gestured to the monstrous alien creature for its introduction. "Everyone, may I present… the Kaosseffexx Ultimasaurias. The natural predator of the Vaxasaurians."
Rojo was drawn out of her stupor at what her teacher had said. "W-Wait, THAT thing eats Vaxasaurians?! But… but that's Humungousaur's species!"
"That can kill a Humungousaur?" Cinder exclaimed, only to realize that Salem had her head craned straight up, her eyes locked onto the Ultimasaurias with an intense and admiring gaze. "…Um, Lady Salem? Is everything alright?" The Fall Maiden could only watch as Salem went right over to the giant predator's leg and began to slowly caress it, making the beast give a content growl at her pets. After a few more moments, Cinder decided to ask; "…So I'm guessing this means the Grimmungousaur project is off the table?"
"I'm sorry, what was that, Cinder?" Salem uttered, completely marveled by the monster before her.
Rojo chuckled and leaned back in her seat. "Yeah, that's what I thought." She moved her sights up to the massive pair of red eyes that were glaring down at them from the darkened ceiling. "Ya gotta admit, that thing's metal as fuck."
"Not the choice of words I would have gone with, but fair enough." Salem said before she shifted her focus back to Khyber. "So… how soon can you start?"
"Effective immediately, Lady Salem." Khyber placed a hand to his chest and knelt before the witch, lowering his head to her. "I appreciate this opportunity, and I am certain that my benefactors will be eager to work with you as well."
"Excellent, I look forward to meeting them." Salem approved as she continued to stroke the Ultimasaurias' leg. "I especially wish to meet the genius behind this Nemetrix…" Her grin became more devious as an idea crept into her mind. 'Perhaps I could even make Grimm based on these transformations as well…' She put the idea into the back of her mind for the time being and got back on track, facing back to Rojo and Cinder. "Now, moving onto other business, there is something that I would like your team to do."
Cinder bowed her head to her mistress without hesitation. "Of course, Lady Salem. Whatever you wish, we will carry it out."
Rojo leaned forward again, eager for whatever job needed to be done. "Alright! What's the mission, Boss Lady?"
"I need the both of you to take Animo back to Earth for the time being and assist him with a project that he's been working on." Salem answered. "He says that it is something that could aid us in our war against Tennyson and his team of heroes."
"Is that so?" Cinder raised a brow over to Animo, who was wringing his hands together eagerly. "And just what is it that you have cooking up in that mind of yours, doctor?"
"Ooh, I can assure you, Cinder, that I have MANY projects in my secret laboratory that would greatly benefit our cause!" The mad doctor went over and took up a suitcase that he had already prepared, ready to leave at any time. "So, once Watts regains consciousness, we will be off!"
Rojo and Cinder couldn't help but sneer at that. "Wait… we're not taking Watts WITH us, are we?" the redhead asked.
But Animo quickly waved her off. "Oh, no, not at all. After all, he still has MUCH work to do here with Tyrian and his new prosthetics. I simply wish to say my farewells to him is all."
"Phew, that's a relief." But then, Rojo realized that the subject had been moved to the resident newly-mutated scorpion man. "Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. How's the crazy mutant doing anyway?"
"Hmph, still in a coma." Animo huffed. "Probably won't be out of it for some time. And let me tell you, I don't want to be anywhere near this place when he does wake up." The scientist felt a shudder go down his spine at the thought of just how bad Tyrian's rude awakening would be. "I cannot imagine how he'll take having lost an arm and an eye to that girl's eye beams…"
Rojo shivered herself at the idea. "Yeah, no kidding…" She faced Cinder with concern etched across her features. "And to think that almost would've been you, Cindy."
The maiden sighed and smiled gratefully to her partner. "Yes, I still owe you for that one, don't I?"
"Ah, don't worry about it." Rojo smirked before giving her a wink. "So tell me, ya ready to REALLY get started on bein' a pain in those hero's asses?"
Cinder matched Rojo's smirk and ignited her hand with a bright, flickering flame. "Oh, with absolute pleasure."
Salem gave both of them an approving nod. "Excellent, though keep in mind that you should never underestimate your enemies, especially now that you are on Tennyson's home turf." The witch began walking back to her seat as she went on. "Remember, just because our numbers are growing, that does not give you ladies an excuse to be complacent. Be sure to train yourselves hard and keep your focus, lest you fall victim to their ploys once again…" Salem sat down and locked eyes with the two ladies, who both saluted as she finished with; "And above all else; do not disappoint me." Cinder and Rojo couldn't help but gulp at that last part, but all the same, they assured the witch that they would not fail her. And once Watts had regained consciousness, Salem waved her hand to Eon and gave the word; "Eon, open the portal back to Earth, please. It's time for our operations to truly begin…"
…..
Back in Bellwood, Yang was in an absolute fruity heaven. When Ben had first said to her that Mr. Smoothy's makes some of the BEST smoothies around, she couldn't help but feel that it was a bit of an exaggeration. After all, for a place that had chocolate and carrot mixes… along with lamb and sardine and apparently a grasshopper flavor, she wasn't exactly sure WHAT to think. Still, it made her no less eager to try the place out and see for herself… and from what she was tasting now, she was GLAD to be wrong. Sure, those odd smoothy flavors were still strange, but when it came to the actual fruit smoothies, they were to die for.
And Ben couldn't help but note that as he watched his girlfriend slurp down her own custom concoction. "So, how's the strawberry-banana-watermelon smoothy treating ya, Goldie Locks?"
Yang finally removed her lips from the straw with a satisfied "ahh…" before staring dreamily at the cup. "It's so freaking GOOD! Ben, you were not lying; Best. Smoothies. EVER!"
Ben pointed his own cup to her and winked. "See? Told ya?" He took a sip of his own drink and grinned approvingly. "Mmm-MM! And this blueberry-vanilla-celery smoothie ain't half bad either. Wanna sip?"
Yang's eye twitched a bit, her expression sheepish as she kindly refused. "Uh… yeah, thanks but no thanks, Green Boy. I'll leave the more… creative smoothies to you."
"Suit yourself." Ben accepted before taking another sip, only to them retreat back into his mind to think of what to do this weekend. "Ugh, man, I'm still pretty stumped on what to do, Yang." This caught the blonde's attention with a questioning gaze. "Sure, the beach sounds great, but I was hoping that we'd all be able to do something BIG together. After all, Cooper and Team CFVY are due back in Remnant next week, so I wanna make sure they get a good experience before they have to leave for a little bit."
"Hm… good point." Yang concurred as she put her own thinking cap on. "Well… the beach is still mandatory. The girls and I have been wanting to get some beach time since we first got here, so that goes without saying."
"Yeah, I'm sure you, Ruby, Weiss and Blake all want a beach day…"
There was a brief pause before Yang sent a sly wink over to him. "Well, yes… but they're not the ONLY "girls" I was referring to." With a puff of her chest to emphasize the point, Ben faceplanted on the table, his cheeks as red as a fire hydrant. "Ahaha! Ben, seriously, I love you, but you make this WAY too easy."
Ben, with his head in his hands, narrowed his eyes at her through his fingers. "And YOU are a massive flirt. …But then again, I wouldn't have you any other way." Yang let out another laugh as Ben collected himself, propping his arms on the table. "But still, I'm utterly stumped. I mean, where do we even START with all the awesome stuff there is to do on Earth?"
Yang hummed an agreement before slurping on her drink again. However, weather it was the coldness of the smoothie kickstarting her brain or just by pure happenstance, the Blonde Brawler suddenly recalled something that her boyfriend said back in Remnant that he had wanted to do when they got back to Earth. With a small gasp and a wide grin, she shot up out of her seat. "Ah! Wait, Ben, that's it!"
"Hm? What's "it"?"
"You remember what you said back in Remnant?" Yang stood and rushed over to his side of the table, her excitement beginning to build. "About how you wanted to search around your planet to see if certain myths and gods were real after hearing about OUR gods being real?"
All at once, the gears in Ben's head began to turn and he brightened up considerably, though he still slapped himself in the forehead. "AH! Of course! How could I have forgotten that?!" The hero promptly stood up with his girlfriend and took her by the shoulders. "Yang, you are a genius!" Without hesitation, he kissed her on the lips, though this one had the added effect of them tasting the flavors of one another's smoothies. Once they separated, Ben gave out a; "Huh, you know, your fruity smoothie is REALLY good!"
"And yours… surprisingly works really well." Yang conceded with a grin. "But back on topic, you really think we can find out if your world's gods and myths are real?"
"Oh, we already KNOW they're real, remember?" Ben jerked his thumb toward his chest. "After all, I fought the Mayan death god himself when I was just ten years old! So, if anything, I think THAT'S where we should probably start…" With a dramatic turn and a raise of his hand, Ben pointed over the horizon in determination. "Yang, get ready, because this weekend, we're headed south to central Mexico!"
Yang smiled sheepishly and pointed in a different direction. "That's great, Ben, but… south is that way." For a third time that day, Ben face faulted, much to Yang's amusement. "Hehe, okay, okay, I won't harp on ya for that. But I definitely like your attitude! Let's do it!" Yang offered Ben a fist bump, which he graciously returned. "Still, before we head out on this little adventure, I think we should dress for the occasion, don't ya think?"
The Omnitrix-bearer raised a brow at her suggestion. "Uh, whaddya mean by that, hon?"
With a small giggle, Yang gave him another wink as she led him over to the DX Mark 10. "Oh, don't you worry, babe. Just get me to the mall and I'll show ya what I mean!"
…..
A couple hours later, outside the Tennyson residence, Kevin's car pulled up to the curb, the doors opening as Ruby, Blake and Weiss emerged from the backseat. Following them out was Gwen and Kevin himself, the Osmosian gesturing to the house with a cheeky grin. "And with that, you have arrived at your destination." the Osmosian announced. "And please don't forget to tip your driver."
Weiss rolled her eyes at that. "Sure, says the guy who can afford to buy a two-story house."
"Hey, you'd be surprised how far tips go, rich girl." Kevin countered.
"Former rich girl."
Ruby quickly got between the two with her hands up to them. "Okay, okay, could we NOT have a match of wits here, please?" Weiss and Kevin grumbled a bit, but they backed off one another none the less, leading Ruby to sigh as she bowed to Gwen. "All the same, thanks for driving us back, guys. Since, ya know, our usual ride went to have fun for the day."
"Ah, it's no problem." Gwen assured. "Though I do still wonder why Raven and Sandra wanted to keep Ben and Yang from us today…"
Blake glanced away and muttered; "Well… I think I may have a pretty good idea why."
The rest of the group perked up at that, with Ruby in particular zipping up to her cat-eared friend. "You do?! Well then tell us, Blake! What's going on with Ben and Yang?"
"…That's not my place to tell you, Ruby." Blake shook her head. "Yang will let you know what's going on when she's ready." Just as Ruby was about to retort, Blake raised a finger. "And before you say that this is me keeping a secret, yes, it is, but this is something that's been trusted to me by my best friend. When she wants to tell you about it, she will, but just have patience."
Ruby deflated and hung her head low. "Hah… alright, fine." In her head though, Ruby thought to herself; 'I WILL get to the bottom of this…'
HONK-HONK! The whole group snapped their heads around and saw the DX Mark 10 come rolling down the street before pulling right into the driveway, making Weiss put her hands on her hips. "Heh, what do you know? Here they come now…" The moment the passenger side door opened, the former heiress began speaking to the couple. "Well, I hope you two had a nice day since you missed out on Six's training… from… hell?"
Weiss couldn't help but trail off when she saw what Yang was wearing, with everyone else being left speechless as well. The blonde was donned a light tan long-sleeved button-up shirt with two pockets on the chest, the sleeves having been rolled and buttoned up into place. She was also wearing matching cargo shorts that ended just above her knee, along with a pair of brown hiking boots, her orange bandana tied around her neck, and white leather gloves. But most jarring of all was what she was wearing on her head. Rather than the cowboy hat that had been gifted to her before leaving Remnant, she was wearing… a pith helmet. "Heya, guys!" Yang greeted as she shut the door behind her. "How was training?"
"…Uh, it was good?" Gwen answered. "Yang… why are you wearing that?"
"Ooh, Gwen…" Yang rubbed her hands together eagerly. "Do we have some news for you guys! Tell 'em, Green Boy!"
The driver's side door opened and Ben emerged… and almost immediately, Gwen, Kevin and the rest of Team RWBY felt their jaws drop. The Omnitrix-bearer was donned in a brown leather jacket, a green button-up undershirt, and a pair of tan cargo pants. A set of brown Alden Indy boots donned his feet, and in his hand… was a brown, wide-brimmed, cotton-blend safari hat, one that appeared to be ripped straight out of Indiana Jones. The hero placed the hat atop his head and smiled to his still-baffled friends. "Everybody, pack your bags! We're going on an expedition for gods and monsters!"
"…This won't end well." Blake deadpanned.
…..
A/N: And just like that, Ben and Yang are ready for adventure! Can't go anywhere without the right gear, ya know? Seems the others are a bit unsure at the moment, but I'm fairly sure that a certain EVO will be on board for a trip to Mexico, even if the purpose of said trip is a bit unorthodox to him. But WILL the gang find anything down there? Well, stay tuned to find out!
But, of course, other than that, we saw plenty of other stuff as well, such as Sandra and Raven having a rather important conversation with Ben and Yang about the sleeping situation. Always good to make sure that your kids know what they're getting into with a big decision such as that, for sure. But, of course, we also saw Khyber and Salem meeting for the first time… and it seems the hunter is more than willing to lend his services to Salem's cause, if only so that he can hunt down Ben Tennyson. Plus, it definitely seems that Salem is all about the Nemetrix. And, if you know your Ben 10, you guys will probably know what the "Kaosseffexx Ultimasauria" is. And yes, that IS its real species name. So, how will this new partnership fair? And when will Salem mee Khyber's other "benefactors"? And what exactly does Animo have on Earth that could give the villains the edge? Well, we'll just have to find out those answers as they come along…
But for now, NEXT TIME! The whole team meet up the next morning before departing to Mexico. Their destination; the Mayan pyramid where Ben fought the death god Ah Puch all those years ago. But, following closely behind are the villains, who quickly notice that the heroes are on the move. Of course, they have to make a quick stop at Animo's lab first, so what exactly IS the doctor scheming? All of this and more next time, so until then, thanks for reading everyone! I'll see ya later and as always, stay safe out there!
