A/N: Well, haven't done THIS in a while. Captain's Log, Star Date; 10/31/2021. Happy Halloween, everybody! Yes, once again, it's that mystical day of the year where we celebrate ghosts, ghouls and monsters of all sorts. And man, do I love it! Of course, this should come as no surprise since I always make it a point to update on this day every single year for this series. And you can expect me to do so in the future as well… though next year might be a bit harder since Halloween is on a Wednesday in 2022. …Woops.

Well, anyway, before we get started, I just thought I should tell you guys about who I had in mind to voice the Feathered Serpent while I was writing this chapter, just so you can hear a clear voice in your head for him as well. As such, Quetzalcoatl's voice shall be mentally provided by special celebrity guest, Antonio Banderas. With that said, let's get on with it, shall we? This is…

Chapter 28: The Wrath of the Feathered Serpent

…..

Within the darkened halls of Evernight Castle, Salem had been listening intently after the initial battalion of Grimm she had sent had all been defeated by the heroes. She, along with Eon, Watts, and Viktor were all gathered in one of the living areas and were keeping a sharp ear on the proceedings as they happened, all of them eager to hear what would happen. Of course, Salem had not expected the Grimm to overpower the heroes, especially since she had only sent about a hundred, but the fact that her followers had unleashed the Ultimasauria onto the heroes soon after was sure to be a treat. She couldn't help the satisfied smile that came to her lips after hearing the beast's mighty roar.

And sure enough, after the Ultimasauria had been brought out, they heard Humungousaur follow soon after, and that's exactly what Salem was hoping for. "Oh, what I wouldn't give for this Seer to be able to peer through dimensions…" she had said with underlying excitement.

"Ahem." Eon cleared his throat, garnering her attention. "If I may, Lady Salem…" With a wave of his hand, Eon opened a small portal directly in front of the witch, showing her a clear view of the citadel. "I believe you'll find that this will be a FAR better viewing experience."

"Ah, yes! Thank you, Eon…" Salem trailed off as she trained her gaze through the portal and onto the battle, witnessing the Ultimasauria begin to overpower and toss Humungousaur around, much to her delight. "Ah-ha! Yes, excellent!"

"Most certainly, Miss Salem." Viktor concurred. "Khyber's pet certainly knows how to put Tennyson in his proper place; at the bottom of the food chain."

Watts, however, gave a small shudder as he watched the two beasts duke it out. "Ugh, I'm simply glad that I'm not there…" He trailed off as the Ultimasauria suddenly picked Humungousaur up by his legs, sinking its jaws into the Vaxasaurian's flesh before tossing him straight into the temple, making Watts' eyes widen. "Oh, my word. There goes a piece of ancient history, I'm sure…"

"Hmph, it matters not." Salem scoffed. "Just as Remnant will fall to us, Earth will do the same. Such monuments will be—" But then, Salem cut herself off… and a chill went up her spine the moment she felt an overwhelming force of power begin to permeate through… somewhere unknown. "Wait… did you feel that?"

Watts and Viktor both glanced at one another in confusion before the latter answered; "Um… no, Salem, we haven't felt a thing."

"I have." Eon piped up, the dimension-jumper's head having perked up a bit. "Whatever this is, it feels like it just slipped through an alternate dimension and into Tennyson's own… hold on." Eon changed the viewing angle of his portal up toward the sky… and immediately, he could see what it was. "There! It's that storm!"

Salem trained her sights on the massive cyclone as she could feel the great power growing more and more, with the twister lighting up in a brilliant white light. She felt the need to shield her eyes as a long and slender figure came slithering down the cyclone… before then spreading its wings and making the wind dissipate. And when Salem looked back, she felt her jaw drop. There, floating high above the temple, was a majestic, winged feathered serpent that had a golden headdress, its long body wrapping its way around the temple as it flew in place. It was radiating a golden aura, and as it roared to the sky, Salem could feel her insides grow ice cold.

"Oh… my word." Watts uttered.

Viktor blinked in disbelief, but the giant being was still there when he opened his eyes. "Is… is that a dragon?"

"…Not just any dragon." Eon noted. "That is the Aztec's Feathered Serpent; Quetzalcoatl."

Salem could feel her startled awe give way to anger. And not just any anger, but one that had festered within her for thousands of years up to this point. Given the type of power she could feel coming from the Feathered Serpent, there was no doubt in her mind that this being was anything BUT an ordinary dragon, for sure. "…It is a god."

…..

Rojo had never considered herself to be a religious woman. In fact, she had never gone to church a day in her life. Probably due to the fact that her shit stain of an old man probably didn't want her or her poor mother to confess anything that was going on behind their home's closed doors to the good Father. 'Fuck, just opened THAT can of worms in my head again…' The bounty hunter soon shook those dark memories away and instead focused on the new problem that laid before her. For indeed, if she didn't believe in any sort of god before… she most certainly did now.

The Feathered Serpent, Quetzalcoatl himself, was flying high above the temple that bore his name, and he was glaring daggers at her and her compatriots. However, what startled them and the heroes most wasn't JUST the fact that the draconic deity was real, but the fact that this beastly creature… was actually capable of speech.

"I will only ask this once;" Quetzalcoatl spoke, his lizard-like lips managing to somehow form words, "what are you doing here desecrating these sacred grounds and DESTROYING MY TEMPLE?!" His mighty voice, accompanied by an exotic accent, was enough to send chills through everyone, even those who he wasn't mad at. All the same, everyone could practically feel the rage radiating off the mighty god, his golden aura intensifying with his words. "Well? EXPLAIN YOURSELVES!"

Humungousaur craned his head down to the Ministry members and glared at them as well. "Somethin' tells me you should answer him, otherwise we'll ALL become dragon-chow!"

Rojo sneered at the Vaxasaurian. "Do you think I don't know that?!" she said harshly before quickly putting on a fake smile, trying to appeal to the mighty serpentine god. "Uh, hehe… hi! Quetzalcoatl, right?" She pointed double finger-guns at him and gave him a wink. "I've gotta say, you are MUCH more extravagant than all of those ancient art pieces made you out to be." GGRRRR… Rojo gulped when a low rumble was heard from the god's throat, unmistakably an impatient growl. "Uh, hehe, m-more to the point, we honestly didn't MEAN for your temple to get wrecked, honest!"

"We didn't?" Mercury asked, only to be met with a hard elbow in the ribs from Emerald, her face full of fear as she eyed the enormous dragon, hoping her partner would take the hint. "Oof! O-Oh, yeah, she's right! It was all just a HUGE mistake!"

"P-Per favore, Signore Quetzalcoatl…" Subdora started, trying to appease to the great god as well while Neo bowed her head rapidly and fearfully. "We truly did not know that such destruction would provoke your rage. I-In fact, we had no idea that you even existed before today. Onesta!"

Quetzalcoatl could tell that the five of them were afraid of him… and that was good. They SHOULD fear him. 'Glad to know I have not lost my touch over the centuries…' However, he trailed off when he saw a certain woman in red glare up at him… and her eyes were practically overflowing with powerful energy. He met her gaze and right off the bat, Quetzalcoatl could tell that she had immense power within her, right down to her very soul. It was… interesting. "Is that right? Then why do her eyes tell me otherwise?"

Five Ministry members all eyed Cinder warily, and much to their shock, her glare had not faltered. She was still powered up… and she seemed ready for a fight. "Cinder!" Emerald almost screamed through her teeth. "What are you DOING?!"

"What does it look like?" Cinder stated defiantly, not taking her gaze off of Quetzalcoatl. "I am sizing up this mighty god to see what he does."

"AHAHA!" Rojo belted out an awkward laugh and took Cinder by the shoulders, sending an apologetic smile up to the Feathered Serpent. "Hehe, I am SO sorry for my friend, Your Featheredness…" Rojo gave a hard glance over to Cinder, hoping she'd see how dire their situation was. "Cindy, I know you think your Maiden powers are all that, but going up against a freaking DRAGON GOD isn't anything to be proud of."

"Perhaps, but I am not about to kowtow to ANY god." Cinder asserted, only making the Ministry members AND the Omni-Hunters all the more nervous. "After all, Salem did not do so, so why should I?"

Quetzalcoatl bared his teeth at this defiance. "This is a poor decision, girl, I hope you know that. I do not know who this "Salem" is, but if she stood up to gods herself, then you must know the price you pay for defying them, correct?"

Just then, a pair of flaming swords appeared in Cinder's hands, much to the chagrin of her teammates. She pointed one up to Quetzalcoatl and declared; "You listen well, Sky God, it is my destiny to gain power. So much power that people will have no choice to bow before me!" Her glare hardened as she prepared herself for battle. "And if I have to best ANY god in order to attain power of that magnitude, then so be it!"

There was a long silence after that as everyone stared at the Fall Maiden, everyone utterly baffled by her words. "…Welp, we're dead." Nora piped up. "Soooo dead."

"Hmhm…" Surprisingly enough, though, this actually earned a small chortle from Quetzalcoatl, with everyone seeing a small smile appear of the dragon's face. "Worry not, young one, it is not you or your friends I am upset with…" He refocused back onto the Ministry with his eyes shining bright. "In truth, I had seen all I needed from my perch in the heavens above. These ones came with ill intentions…" The god then shifted his sights to Humungousaur, giving him a nod. "While you were simply trying to do the right thing, and protect my temple and the city. For that… I thank you, Ben Tennyson."

Humungousaur's eyes widened considerably at that. "W-Wait… how did you know my name?"

"Yeah, Ah Puch and Ek Chuaj said you've been slumbering for centuries!" Yang added.

Quetzalcoatl nodded his massive head once more. "That is very true. However, during my sleep, I would often dream. And within those dreams, my fellow gods and goddesses would visit me and tell me how the world has fared since our decline in power…" His golden-eyed gaze went straight down to the Vaxasaurian again and he smiled. "And, within the past several years, I would hear many tales of your exploits, young Benjamin. Truly, you are a hero worthy of defending this great world."

The hero couldn't help but sheepishly rub his hand on his neck at that. "Uh… hehe, well I gotta say, I'm honored."

"Oh give me a break…" Rojo rolled her eyes, only for Quetzalcoatl to snap his focus right back to her, making her swiftly cover herself. "U-Uh… I mean… isn't that just great?"

GYAAAAAOOOORRRR!

Another mighty roar rocked the very foundations of the citadel beneath everyone's feet, Quetzalcoatl's rage all too evident at this point. "ENOUGH! In case you've forgotten, I have seen through your little charade, and coupled with the fact that you had your pet destroy my temple, I believe it is time I apply proper punishment."

Emerald and Neo were shaking in fear at this point, the two girls holding onto one another. "O-Oh god, he's going to kill us and EAT us!"

Quetzalcoatl, however, sneered at the suggestion. "What? NO! How barbaric! Do you take me for a common monster? I have standards for what I eat." The Feathered Serpent spread his mighty wings, and his golden glow began to shift to a bright white light. "No, rather, I believe a proper punishment would be far more civil. As such…" The godly dragon let out another roar before his entire body immediately turned into pure white light, which forced everyone to cover their eyes as said light began to dart around the citadel. Eventually, it landed directly in front of the Omni-Hunters, and when their vision cleared, they couldn't believe what they were seeing.

Standing before them… was Quetzalcoatl, but he had changed form drastically. He was now only about eight feet tall, donned in a red and gold tunic with a green, blue and gold cloth adorning his waist. His legs were strong and covered in both green feathers and scales, the latter of which was more prominent down near the theropod-like feet. Each toe had a long, sharp claw, and there was a slender tail that came out of the figure's rear. Its arms, on the other hand, were more like the talons of a predatory bird, complete with the yellow avian integument. He had broad shoulders that were covered in extravagantly colorful feathers, which extended all the way up to the back of his head and the pair of powerful wings on his back. Finally, his facial features hadn't changed much, in fact, he still wore the same golden headdress.

The god glared back at the group of villains and crossed his arms, glowering at them as he finished his sentence. "For your crimes against the ancient city of Teotihuacan, your punishment… is for ALL of you to face ME in battle."

There was a long, stunned silence after hearing what Quetzalcoatl just said, though Velvet was able to break out of this as she noted; "…Huh, so THAT'S why most of his depictions are humanoid."

Rex was able to find his voice as well and he leaned over toward Kevin. "…Did you know he could do that?"

"Nuh-uh." Kevin shook his head, unable to form words at the moment due to shock.

"I-I mean… I had a feeling that he probably COULD do that." Gwen piped up, having found her own voice. "Considering what we saw Ek Chuaj do earlier, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary… but it's still amazing to see."

Coco lowered her sunglasses just to make sure that she wasn't seeing things. "Damn… guess he MUST be the real deal, then."

The villains, meanwhile, were all trying to process what they had just heard. "So wait… you want ALL of us…" Mercury pointed his finger around to his team members before sticking it toward Quetzalcoatl. "To fight you and only you?"

"That is exactly what I said, yes." Quetzalcoatl confirmed.

Cinder wore a wry smile as her swords burned brighter. "Challenge excepted."

"WHAT?!" the other girls all cried out, save for Neo, who pulled her hat down over her eyes.

Mercury wore a cocksure grin on his face as he cocked his boots. "Hell yeah! I've been wanting a good scrap. Sure, he's a god, but we've got a Maiden on our side! With the numbers game we have on him, there's no way we can—" WOOSH! Mercury was cut off when Quetzalcoatl suddenly rushed up and elbowed him right in the gut, sending him flying back. "AAAAAUUGH!" CRASH! The assassin made impact with the side of the temple, slamming back-first into the steps with a few new cuts on him.

"…You were saying?" the serpent god retorted.

"Mercury!" Rojo exclaimed before glaring toward Quetzalcoatl. "Ya know what? Screw it! If Cindy's not gonna back down from a god…" She took out Bloodstrike again, the laser rifle charging up for battle. "Then I'm not either! But first…" She craned her head up toward the Tyrannopede, which had been dutifully waiting for orders the whole time. "Sic Tennyson, boy! Make sure he doesn't get in on this!"

RAAAAAUUUG! The Tyrannopede rounded about and suddenly slapped its tail directly into Humungousaur's midsection, though the hero was able to catch it and keep his feet planted firmly.

"Gah! Man, you've gotta be kidding! Everyone, GET BACK!" Once he saw that his team had ran out of range, Humungousaur used all of his strength to lift the Tyrannopede up off the ground before spinning around in place. After building up a ton of momentum, he let go of the Tyrannopede's tail and sent it careening over the citadel's entrance, the beast landing just outside. The hero snapped his head around to Quetzalcoatl with a concerned gaze. "You need help?"

As he asked this, however, Quetzalcoatl dodged a laser blast from Rojo without much effort, before then getting out of the way of a deadly slash from Cinder's blades. "That will not be necessary, young Ben." The Serpent God assured before catching Hush in one of his talons, delivering a strong tail whip to Neo soon after. "You and your team go deal with that beast. I will be fine here."

Humungousaur let out a slightly disappointed sigh through his nostrils. As much as he wanted to fight alongside a god, he also knew that Quetzalcoatl had a point. There were still people fleeting the city, so they would need protecting from the Tyrannopede. "Right, we're on it!" The hero raised a fist to his team, ushering them to follow him. "Alright guys, let's go!"

The Omni-Hunters all followed after Humungousaur as fast as they could, leaving Quetzalcoatl to face off with the Ministry on his own. "I hope you realize the mistake you've just made, Serpent God." Cinder said as she shifted her blades into a fiery bow and arrow. "Because it is the last one you will ever MAKE!" She shot a blazing arrow that struck Quetzalcoatl right in the shoulder and she grinned, expecting the Feathered Serpent to be reduced to ashes in mere seconds.

…However, that proved not to be the case. At most, Quetzalcoatl's face merely twitched at the arrow sticking into his shoulder, his glare unwavering. He reached up and, with his bare talon, plucked the arrow from his shoulder and broke it in half, taking the villains aback. He pat down the wound as golden blood spilled from it and his feathers were singed black… only for it all to heal within a matter of seconds. "You managed to get a hit in. Impressive… but it will not be enough to save you from my wrath!" Quetzalcoatl spread his wings and immediately took to the air, flying toward the Ministry at breakneck speeds.

As everything was happening, however, a certain someone was watching it all go down at a safe distance. "Hmhm, well, this should be rather interesting." Orson noted as he sat down in a recliner he had snapped into existence. "Let's just see how this plays out, shall we?"

…..

"Hahaha! This is AWESOME!" Ruby cheered as she and the others all sprinted out of the citadel. The team were all pulling out their weapons, preparing themselves should they have to fight the Tyrannopede if it came down to it. "I can't believe that we've actually MET Quetzalcoatl!"

"Yeah, and all because the Ministry were stupid enough to desecrate his temple!" Jaune laughed as well. "You seriously can't make this stuff up!

"No, you cannot." Humungousaur smiled before stopping just before the group met up with the Tyrannopede, which had just gotten up from it being tossed earlier. "But let's focus on the here and now, shall we? We need to bring this thing down and soon!" He craned his head down toward his team and relayed his plan. "Alright, here's how I think we should do this; you guys should stay as FAR away from this thing as possible. Stay at long range and do some chip damage with your weapons while I handle the up-close and personal stuff."

"You sure, big guy?" Sun asked, raising a brow to the Vaxasaurian. "You may need us in there with you as backup, ya know?"

Humungousaur shook his head. "I appreciate the thought, Sun, really, but if that thing can do this to me…" He gestured down toward his leg, the blood having dried up around the wound. "Then imagine what it could do to you guys."

Rex, however, had a different opinion on the matter. "Sorry bro, but Sun has a big freaking point. Like you said, it gave you a pretty bad wound, so having some backup in there probably wouldn't hurt."

"Rex is correct, Ben." Penny added, the android activating her Nanites to bring out her Mechano-Crushers. "If anyone other than you stands a chance against that creature, it would be us."

"Exactly." The EVO then activated his nanites and brought out his Funchucks, a determined smile forming on his lips. "So the three of us are gonna give that thing an ass-whuppin' that it won't soon forget, got it?!"

"…Heh, with a speech like that, how can I say no?" Humungousaur smirked.

GRAAAAUUUUGG!

At the sound of a certain roar, the team all snapped at attention and saw the Tyrannopede finally up on all four of its strong legs, its head reared toward the sky as it bellowed. But once it was done, its attention went straight for the heroes, and it let out another roar in challenge before charging straight at them. Immediately, everyone went for their weapons, with Blake shouting; "Okay, I think plan-forming is done! Time to get moving NOW!"

"Right, let's do this!" Rex affirmed, and with that, the team split off into separate groups, with the main three combatants charging at the Tyrannopede straight down the middle. "Hey, Insecto-saurus! Let's see how you like eating THIS!" Rex leapt in and swung his Funchucks at the Tyrannopede, successfully striking it right in its face. However, upon his second swing back, the creature caught one of the Funchucks in its powerful jaws and bit down, successfully crunching through the metal construct and breaking it. "Woah, what?!"

"Allow me!" Penny offered before smacking it in the gut with her Mechano-Crushers, though it quickly whipped itself around and whapped her away with its tail. "Agh! Really? It didn't even flinch at that!"

"Like I said, it's gonna be one tough customer!" Humungousaur came in and slammed his fists into the Tyrannopede's head, catching it off-guard, but not for long. Soon, the two dinosaur-like aliens were in a grappling match, and it would almost seem as if they were evenly matched.

…That is until the shooting came. From the sides and behind the mighty Tyrannopede, an onslaught of Dust bullets came firing at it, letting loose barrages of fire, ice, and lightning all at once. There were even waves of icy energy, the odd fireball, and an entire bolt of electricity, all courtesy of the team that were supporting the group of three. "Everybody, hold your ground!" Ilia called out as she blasted more lightning at the beast with her Lightning Lash. "This thing's tough, but if we keep chipping away at it, I think we can—"

GRAAAAUUGH! Without warning, the Tyrannopede suddenly dropped down to its stomach, letting the incoming projectiles go over it and allowing them to hit Humungousaur instead.

BOOM! "AUGH!" Humungousaur cried out as he was sent sprawling to the ground, causing everyone to cease fire.

"Woah, woah, stop!" Yang shouted. "That thing's figured us out!"

"Not for long!" Ruby assured as she quickly zoomed to a different angle thanks to her Semblance. Up in the air, the Hooded Huntress quickly loaded a clip of Gravity Dust rounds into Crescent Rose and began firing at the Tyrannopede from above. The rounds ended up hitting it square in the back, and much to the beast's shock, it was actually driven down further to the ground with great concussive force, eliciting a pained bellow from its maw. "Woo-hoo! That did it!"

"Hey, Ruby's got the right idea!" Jaune approved as he loaded up his shield with Gravity Dust rounds as well, taking aim at the beast's side. "Eat this, Rexy!" BAM! BAM! BAM! In quick succession, Jaune let loose several rounds into the Tyrannopede's flank, with Nora joining him in letting out a barrage of grenades from her weapon. The creature let out another pained roar as it was sent rolling onto its side. "Ha! Sweet! Gravity Dust totally makes this thing a pushover!"

Nora pumped a fist high into the air. "Haha! We've got this in the bag!"

But, just then, the Tyrannopede shook itself off and got back to its legs, slowly but surely rising up with a rather furious expression. "Uh, you two might want to rethink that!"Ren noted as the monster glared at his teammates and Ruby with righteous fury. "I think you might've just made it angrier!"

"Well then, let's give it something to be mad about!" Rex said before exchanging his Funchucks for his Slam Cannon, the weapon's maw scooping up a chunk of Earth before he took aim at it. "Say cheese, perro!" BAM! He launched the projectile at the monster and it exploded in its face, making it return its attention to him. Much to everyone's surprise, though, Rex began shaking his rear at the beast, taunting it even more. "That's right, big guy, come and get this tasty morsel!"

The likes of Ruby and Nora couldn't help but giggle while Weiss just facepalmed. 'Rex, you are a total goof… but you're MY goof.'

GRAAAAUUGH! The Tyrannopede began barreling toward Rex at highspeed, laser-focused on the EVO as it opened its jaws to attack. But then… WHAM!A great force slammed right into the beast's side, sending it tumbling away across the dirt before it crashed directly into a huge boulder off the side of the road. The beast reared its head back and saw Penny standing there, her Mechano-Crushers raised up and at the ready. "Apologies, but you are not about to win this! Coco, Velvet!"

"We're on it, Pen!" Coco responded as she and Velvet ran up in front of her, the fashionista pulling out Gianduja while Velvet summoned a hard-light copy using Anesidora. "Let's see ya suck on this ya ugly son of a bitch!" With that, the duo unloaded every ounce of firepower they had on the beast, and while it did roar in pain at first, it lowered its back toward them so that its carapace absorbed most of the bullets, with some of them even bouncing off in random directions.

The moment one bullet actually zipped by Neptune's head, he ducked and let out a shriek. "GYAA! Stop, STOP! It's not working!"

Blake ducked under another bullet as well. "He's right, its just tanking it!"

Coco grit her teeth in frustration as she and Velvet stopped their onslaught. "Grr… damn, they're right."

"What do we do now?" Velvet asked. "We can't just keep firing until we break through its armor!"

Cooper, Fox and Yatsu all came up to them, the former briefly scanning the skies before going back to his team. "Maybe not, but we can at least keep going at it until we tire it out." His gaze then shifted over to Yatsu. "Think you can use your new upgrade to send that thing on a little ride, Yatsu?"

The tall swordsman smirked and pulled out a vial of Gravity Dust, inserting it into the handle of his blade. "I can certainly try." He twisted Fulcrum's handle and immediately, the sharpened edge of the blade began to glow purple. And the moment the Tyrannopede stood back up straight and began to charge at them again, Yatsu swung Fulcrum at it full force… and the wave of gravity energy that came out of the sword was enough to send the Tyrannopede flying all the way toward the Pyramid of the Sun.

BOOM! Everyone was left astonished when they heard the impact, and Fox couldn't help but whistle. "Hoo boy, I may not have seen that, but damn, did I feel it."

"Indeed, that upgrade of yours is quite impressive, Yatsuhashi." Pyrrha complimented.

"Thank you." Yatsu shouldered Fulcrum with a proud smile. "I think it's rather neat myself."

"Alright, now's our chance!" Humungousaur began charging toward the Pyramid with Rex and Penny in tow, with everyone else following a fair distance behind. "If we can catch it while it's down, we may be able to beat it!" His attention briefly shifted down to the Omnitrix. "But first…" Humungousaur reached down and slapped the Omnitrix, and within a flash of green light, he transformed back into… "HEATBLAST!"

This managed to take everyone by surprise. "Dude, what the heck?!" Kevin shouted. "We have that thing on the ropes and you're changing?!"

"Think about it, Kev; that thing's Humungousaur's natural predator." Heatblast reasoned as he landed on a section of ground and willed it into the air, the hunk of earth catching fire in the process. "If that thing can EAT Vaxasaurians, then it's probably best NOT to go toe to toe with it on that level." The hero pointed to his head with a slight smirk. "But don't worry, I've got a plan."

Gwen couldn't help but grin at that. Her cousin would often like to go on an all-out offensive most of the time, but whenever he pulled out a strategy, they were usually very good. "Alright, so just what ARE we going to do then, Ben?"

"Well, first we—" GRAAAAUUGH! "Oh, you've gotta be kidding me." The Omni-Hunters set their sights toward the pyramid, only to instantly see the Tyrannopede come barreling toward them again, now even angrier than ever. "Seriously?! Can this thing just stay down for TWO minutes?!"

Right at that moment, though, the group suddenly heard a small beeping noise, which was revealed soon after to be coming from Cooper's pocket. The genius quickly took out the small device, a grin forming on his face. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much, Ben. Everyone, sit back and watch the fireworks!" Cooper craned his head up toward the sky and lifted his hand, and then… SHWOOM! CLANG! Within a single second, something shot right out of the night sky and latched itself onto Cooper's arm… which upon further inspection was a actually an armored glove painted in metallic purple.

"…Oh." Coco smirked. "This oughta be good."

Within a matter of moments, more armor pieces began shooting down from out of nowhere and began covering Cooper's hole body, starting at his hands and feet before moving inwards. As this armor covered him, Cooper actually began running at the Tyrannopede, only to jump up as the final two pieces; a chest plate and a helmet, collided with his body, sending him flying right toward the beast. With his armor now fully on, the genius was greeted with the voice of his A.I. "Salutations, Cooper!"

"Hi, VADOS, glad you could make it." Cooper narrowed his eyes at the Tyrannopede, which had stopped in surprise. "Now I want you to do two things for me."

"And that would be?"

"Kick these thrusters into high gear… and play the last verse of "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath."

"Understood!" VADOS immediately boosted the rockets on the armor's boots and blasted Cooper straight toward the Tyrannopede, the blonde lifting his arms up to meet it with a powerful blow. As expected, he collided with the beast in less than a second, and through the sheer force of the blow, he managed to actually ram the Tyrannopede back several feet… so far in fact, that they actually crashed into one of the structures that was in front of the Pyramid of the Moon.

"COOPER!" Coco shouted, the fashionista immediately rushing for her boyfriend. The others were right on her tail as they sprinted toward the Pyramid of the Moon, seeing a cloud of dust where Cooper and the Tyrannopede had landed. The structure they had crashed into was cracked extensively after the impact, and while they could see the Tyrannopede laying motionless, they couldn't see any sign of Cooper. "Tech Head?! You okay?!"

Heatblast landed on the ground and shouted; "Cooper! What the hell were you thinking?!" No response came for a moment… but then a pair of glowing blue eyes shined through the cloud of dust, and before long a figure began to walk through the rubble. He was accompanied by a guitar riff, one that the Omnitrix-bearer, along with Rex, Gwen and Kevin, immediately recognized. With every riff, the Omni-Hunters could hear the sound of a loud metallic thunk on the ground, which were unmistakably footsteps. And then, from out of the cloud of dust stepped Cooper, and the gang all felt their jaws drop at what they saw before them. "…Oh my freaking god." Heatblast uttered with a big grin on his face.

The armor had added an extra inch or two to his height, making him appear far more imposing. What's more, the armor itself was actually FAR from similar to the armors that had came before it in terms of build. While the past armors all heavily took from the Atlesian Paladin designs, this one appeared to expand upon that, with armor covering pretty much every inch of his body while still being maneuverable.

Also, it was very evident that Cooper had taken much more design inspiration from the actual Iron Man armor this go-around, complete with a central power source within the chest, which of course was a Lightning Dust crystal, along with a pair of cyan Dust crystals imbedded in his forearms. However, rather than being a hot rod red like the Iron Man armor, the torso, boots, gauntlets and shoulder pads were all painted a rather prominent metallic purple, which actually popped out to the group quite a bit. The bicep and thigh pieces, however, were still painted gold.

But for the helmet, that was actually FAR from Iron Man in design and more… ancient Greek warrior. It was mostly purple like the rest of his armor, but the most prominent aspect of it was the golden crest that was on the top of the helmet, going all the way from Cooper's forehead before tapering off toward the back. Also, there were two disk-shaped structures on either side of the helmet near the earlobes as well. Rather than a visor this time, there were two individual eye holes that were separated by purple piece in the center, which pointed downward like a nose bridge protector. Finally, he had a gold Prime-esque faceplate where his mouth should've been, completing the overall look. And, as he stepped toward them, lyrics began accompanying the guitar riffs;

Heavy boots of lead,

Fills his victims full of dread,

Running as fast as they can,

Iron Man lives again…

Cooper stopped before his friends and raised his arms, presenting himself proudly. "Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to present the Atlesian Centurion Mark III." Just then, however, the Tyrannopede began to pick itself back out of the rubble once again, and it was FAR from happy at this point. "But please, hold your applause…" Cooper, or rather, Centurion, flicked his wrist, and what happened next took the whole team aback. His arm converted into a cannon, the armor shifting and expanding as the palm of his gauntlet opened up to reveal a gun barrel inside of it. The cyan Dust crystals began to glow more intense as he took aim at the Tyrannopede. "Because you ain't seen nothing yet. PULSE CANNON!"

BLAM! A powerful blue beam of energy suddenly shot out of the cannon and hit the Tyrannopede directly in the face, causing it to stumble back again and end up right where it had been before; right in the rubble. The insectoid dinosaur let out a pained roar as everyone, in utter shock and awe, were all astounded by what just happened. …That is until Ruby pumped her fists into the air. "WOOOOO! That was so COOL!"

"Hell, yeah it was!" Yang agreed. "Cooper, that new armor of yours is freaking AWESOME!"

Coco couldn't help but grin wryly as she approached the armored genius, taking off her sunglasses as she reached her hands up to the sides of his helmet. She pulled his head around to meet his gaze and gave a little laugh as she pressed her forehead against his. "Not only that, but YOU are awesome, Tech Head. I can definitely see you didn't waste your time on this baby."

Suddenly, Cooper's gold faceplate retracted to reveal his mouth, his smile unwavering as he closed in further on his girlfriend. "Hehe, what can I say? I wanted to make the most out of my time on this project… so I could spend even MORE time with you."

"You are SUCH a nerd." Coco closed the distance and the two kissed, much to the adulation of the team. Once they separated, though, Coco put her sunglasses back on and pat him on the cheek. "But we can do all of that later…" She glanced over and saw the Tyrannopede begin to move again, though this time, it was getting some distance away from the heroes rather than going in for an attack. "Right now, I think it's time we bring that thing down for good."

"Right you are." Cooper's faceplate came back out and he set his sights over to Heatblast. "Ben, just tell me how I can help and we'll get that plan of yours going."

Heatblast grinned and gave a thumbs up. "Right, you got it, Coop—er, I mean, Centurion. Rex, Penny, I'm gonna need you two again, too."

"Just turn us loose, Ben. We've got your back!" Rex said as he brought out his Smack Hands.

"Indeed so!" Penny affirmed. "But first…" The redheaded android stepped over to Cooper and peered at him curiously. "VADOS? Are you in there?"

Beneath his helmet, Centurion grinned before lifting up his left gauntlet, which opened up and began projecting a green hologram that resembled a power symbol. "Salutations, dear sister!" VADOS greeted, the symbol flashing when she spoke. "It is so good to see you again!"

A beaming Penny reached out and grabbed Cooper's arm with great enthusiasm. "Yes, it certainly is! So, how does it feel being in the new armor?"

"Oh, it is sensational!" VADOS replied giddily. "It feels so roomy, and there are far more features in this model than the previous one. I believe that all of you are in for quite the show…" VADOS trailed off a bit as something came to her attention… namely the ground shaking beneath all of them. "…Speaking of which, we should probably get moving… NOW!"

GRRAAAUUUGH! The team were all quick to move out of the way when the Tyrannopede came charging at them again, with Heatblast, Rex, Penny and Centurion all going airborne immediately. The Omnitrix bearer set his focus down to the rest of the Omni-Hunters and swiped his arm at them. "Everyone, get clear! We'll need room to pull this off!"

"Got it!" Jaune called back. "Good luck, guys!" With that, the blonde knight ushered everyone to follow him, the group all headed back toward the Pyramid of the Sun.

Once he was sure everyone had cleared away, Heatblast began relaying his plan. "Alright, Cooper, you and I will keep that thing busy and wear it down as much as we can. Then Rex, Penny, once that thing's tired, I need you two to pin it down." He then gave one more nod to Centurion. "And once they have it pinned, I'll need you to open its jaws for me. I'll handle the rest from there."

Centurion returned the nod, as did Rex and Penny. "Sounds like a plan, Ben. Let's do this!" The armored genius blasted toward the Tyrannopede with Heatblast hot on his trail, the two speeding toward the beast at breakneck speed. Once they were within range, the two boys began blasting it with their respective attacks, with Centurion delivering powerful energy blasts at the Tyrannopede's armored plating while Heatblast shot streams of flame at its more vulnerable underside.

The Tyrannopede roared in pain once again, but it still persevered and began to fight off the two heroes. It lurched its body around and sent a powerful tail whip at both of them, which Hearblast was able to dodge… but Centurion, not so much. CLANG! "GYAH!" With a hard THUD, Centurion was sent sprawling to the ground, clanging his way across the dirt.

"Cooper!" Heatblast sent another stream of fire as he called out to his friend. "You okay?!"

"Ugh, fine!" Centurion assured, rubbing his neck a bit. "I just… need to work on my reaction time in the air a bit." He focused back onto the Tyrannopede and narrowed his eyes at it. "Okay, big guy, if that's how you wanna play…" Just then, two missile racks rose up from behind Centurion's shoulders, each holding about ten projectiles each. "Then let's see how you like THIS!" All at once, the missiles were shot out and went flying right at the Tyrannopede, which took it off guard as they all made contact. The beast was struck in the stomach, its legs, and even its face, and the several small explosions were finally enough to daze it a bit.

As it wobbled on its legs trying to stay up right, Heatblast saw it as the perfect opportunity. "Rex! Penny! Now's your chance!"

"On it!" Rex and Penny both flew at the Tyrannopede at top speed before using their Smack Hands and Mechano-Crushers respectively to slam right into it, bringing it down to the ground. The pair used their massive arm builds to pin its massive legs and Rex craned his head up to Centurion. "Now, Cooper! Pry that monstruo's mouth open!"

Without hesitation, Cooper shot up and landed on the Tyrannopede's neck forcefully, which made its mouth open up slightly. He quickly got his hands in there and said; "VADOS, divert extra power to arm servos!" Immediately, he could feel his arms to feel much stronger, at least within the armor, and with all his might, Centurion began pushing the Tyrannopede's massive jaws open. Once there was enough room, he saw Heatblast land on the creature's nose, and he asked the hero; "Okay, Ben, now what?"

"Now… this!" Mimicking the form of an Olympic diver, Heatblast suddenly sprung up… and then dived down into the Tyrannopede's mouth, leaving everyone in shock.

"…Everyone just saw him do that, correct?" VADOS asked. "I think that this goes against the outcome he wants."

Despite himself, Rex let go of the Tyrannopede's legs in panic. "BEN! What the hell are you—" BWAAAAUUUGH! At that moment, however, a huge column of fire suddenly erupted from the Tyrannopede's mouth, taking everyone by surprise. And, without Rex there to keep its first set of legs pinned, it managed to roll itself back over onto its stomach and let out a roar of agony as flames continued to spew forth from its burning maw. And it was then that Rex finally understood Ben's plan. "Ah… okay, so he's smart AND insane."

Penny slapped her forehead in realization. "Of course! If the enemy isn't taking outward damage, attempt internal damage instead! Brilliant!"

As the Tyrannopede continued to rampage with a flamethrower protruding from its jaws, however, a sharp sound suddenly graced its ears. The whistle of its master rang through the night, evident to the others by the sound of Blake and Velvet hollering in pain not too far away. "GUYS!" Blake shrieked as she covered her ears. "He's here!"

"W-Wait, what?!" Centurion exclaimed. "Who's here?" Right as he asked that, however, a red light flashed from behind him, alerting him to the Tyrannopede beginning to change forms. Where there had once been an insectoid dinosaur was now a different, yet familiar insect-like beast covered in a rocky hide and massive horns took its place.

Penny gasped and took a step back. "Ah! It's the Crabdozer!"

"Ben!" Rex cupped his hands around his mouth as he shouted to his friend. "You okay in there?!"

The EVO's question was immediately answered when the Crabdozer opened its mouth and spat out Heatblast… who was now covered in thick, sticky saliva. Centurion, Rex and Penny all wore disgusted faces as the Pyronite grimaced up to them, coughing up a bit of the liquid for good measure. "Hack-hack! You tell me!"Without wasting a moment, though, the Crabdozer rushed up to Heatblast and opened its mouth again, intending to take a bite out of the hero. …However, Heatblast was faster. "Oh no ya don't!"

The Omnitrix bearer slapped the device on his chest and immediately transformed back into Humungousaur, the Vaxasaurian towering over the Crabdozer within a second. And then, he reached up to the Omnitrix, twisted it, and then slapped it again, initiating the evolutionary function. Within seconds, Humungousaur's tan skin had changed to a dark green, and his back and chest were covered in an armored shell that had spikes protruding from every angle. His head and neck were also covered in thick armor plating that culminated with a horned helmet that had an additional mask over Humungousaur's face, and on his his arms and legs, there was metallic armor bits strewn about, including on his knuckles. A large, spikey club emerged from his tail as his transformation completed, giving way to…

"ULTIMATE HUMUNGOUSAUR!" The evolved Vaxasaurian roared and he brought his arms up, closing his fists and transforming them into his signature quad-barreled gun-like weapons. He took aim at the Crabdozer and fired a slew of projectiles at the monster, all of which exploded on impact and sent the beast flying several feet into the air. "Alright, time to end this!" With his hands going back to normal, Ultimate Humungousaur got on all four legs and began to charge, culminating in a mighty leap that he used his tail to gain some extra height on. He met the Crabdozer in midair and swung his tail at its head as hard as he could, knocking it out while also driving it straight into the ground. The Vaxasaurian landed on his feet after the Crabdozer slipped into unconsciousness, the beast transforming back into its Baskurr form. "Hah… BAD dog. Lay down."

"BEN!" Ultimate Humungousaur perked his head up and saw Yang and the others all coming his way, to which he changed back into his normal form and then back to human once again. With a smile on his face, Ben caught Yang in a hug immediately and she kissed him on the cheek. "Haha, that was amazing! You totally out-paced that thing!"

"Yeah, dude, you were awesome, as always!" Sun clasped his hand on Ben's shoulder and offered a fist bump, which the rest of the guys immediately followed suit with.

"Though you DO know that was kind of insane, right?" Ren pointed out. "I mean… jumping into the Tyrannopede's mouth? Pretty crazy."

Ben simply shrugged a bit. "Eh, sometimes, crazy works. But thanks guys." His sights then focused back down to the Baskurr. "To be honest, though, that thing kinda almost ruined my first plan. Didn't expect it to change on the fly like that, but hey, it's not the ONLY one who can do that, ya know."

Blake nodded and folded her arms, scanning her eyes around the general area. "Well, I think you can thank the owner of this dog for that. I heard his whistle right before the Tyrannopede changed."

The hero's eyes immediately widened at that. "W-Wait, the hunter's here? We need to find him, NOW."

"You're right, but first, I think we need to figure out just what exactly we DO with this thing." Weiss pointed down to the Baskurr, which was still breathing, but was totally knocked out. "How exactly do we deal with alien animals, anyway?"

Kevin immediately stepped up and went to kneel down, reaching for the Baskurr's collar. "Well first, I think we'll need to take THIS baby into custody and see what makes it tick—" FWOOSH! "Woah!" Before the Osmosian could even procure the device, however, a beam of light all of a sudden enveloped the Baskurr, and within a moment, it vanished completely. "Gah, crap!"

"Oh you've gotta be kidding!" Rex bemoaned. "After all that hard work to take it down?!"

Ruby could only offer a shrug. "Well, if you look on the bright side… at least it's gone so we don't have to deal with it."

"Well, yeah, but we still have no idea just HOW that thing and its owner got that transforming device in the first place." Gwen pointed out, to which everyone murmured in agreement. "If we want answers, we're going to have to either A; get that collar, or B; find this hunter and get him to spill the beans on just what's going on."

Ben placed his hands on his hips, giving serious thought to the matter. "Gwen's right. Something bigger is going on here and I want to know just what it is. Once we get back home, we should make it our mission to try and locate this hunter and bring him and the Ministry down. Then, maybe we can finally get some answers."

Pyrrha and the others quickly nodded in approval. "You're both quite right, Ben. But speaking of, I hope Quetzalcoatl isn't having any problems handling the Minist—"

BWAAAAAAM! The Omni-Hunters all cried out in surprise as a massive beam of light suddenly shot out from the citadel, bringing everybody's attention back to the temple. The beam petered out, but the mark of scorched earth remained, taking everybody aback. "…I think he's got it under control." Nora squeaked out.

…..

As the team battled the Tyrannopede, Quetzalcoatl and the Ministry had locked themselves in battle… or at least, that's what the Ministry thought at first. The Feathered Serpent god had flown at them at high speeds and they, in turn, came barreling right back at him. The two opposing forces met in the middle and the Ministry surrounded Quetzalcoatl immediately to gang up on him with attack after attack.

…Unfortunately, this actually worked against them as Quetzalcoatl did nothing but dodge all of their strikes. Be it from blades, kicks, or heck, even tails and umbrellas, all of the hits that came at him didn't touch him in the least. In fact, all the Ministry ended up doing was hurt themselves. Cinder and Rojo went in to strike with their blades, they just wound up clattering each other's swords after Quetzalcoatl got out of the way. Emerald sent the blades of Theif's Respite at the god, but he weaved away and caused the chains to wrap around Mercury's leg, making both of them collide into one another before falling to the ground. Subdora went for a tail slap to the gut while Neo wanted to crack Hush upside Quetzalcoatl's head… but he just ducked and caused them to hit one another instead.

By the end, the six Ministry members had all fallen to the ground while Quetzalcoatl had taken to the air, flapping his wings and gazing down to the villains in disappointment. "Tsk, tsk, tsk, is this really the best you have to offer—" Just then, Cinder snapped her hand up and sent a bolt of lighting through her fingers toward Quetzalcoatl, which he was just barely able to get out of the way of. Unfortunately, this momentary distraction provided enough time for Rojo to stand and raise Bloodstrike up, shifting it back into rifle mode and blasting a high-intensity energy beam directly at Quetzalcoatl's chest, making him cry out.

"Haha! Yes!" Rojo high-fived Cinder as the rest of their team got up. "We actually got…" But the bounty hunter trailed off the moment she saw Quetzalcoatl eventually absorb the laser into his body, the energy coursing into his right hand before he raised it up to them. The Ministry were at a loss for words. "…Never mind, I hate this now—" BAM! "AAAAAUGH!"

Quetzalcoatl shot an orb of red energy right back at Rojo, the blast hitting her right in the gut and making her fly back into one of the many stone structures surrounding the temple. "ROJO!" Cinder screamed, only for her rage to return a moment later as she snapped back to Quetzalcoatl. "How DARE you?!" The Fall Maiden brought her swords together and used her Semblance to reform it into a spear, one that floated in midair before launching itself at Quetzalcoatl.

However, without even flinching, the Feathered Serpent raised his hand and caught it… by its very tip. Cinder felt her lips part in shock as the god took hold of it and then tossed it over his head, before then shattering it with a single punch as it came down. Quetzalcoatl brushed his shoulder off nonchalantly, seemingly still unimpressed by the display.

Emerald's eyes widened in horror as she realized just how futile their efforts were. "Nothing's working! He's just too strong!"

"Indeed, I am." Quetzalcoatl agreed. "And might I say, it would probably be wise for you to collect your teammate and leave while you still have the chance. If you are lucky, I may spare you."

Before any of them could respond, another voice entered the conversation. "It would be wise to listen to him…" With a brief flash of light, Orson appeared right next to Quetzalcoatl, though the Feathered Serpent seemed to be the least surprised to see him. "After all, something tells me you youngsters are in WAY over your heads."

"Hmph, I thought I sensed your presence nearby." Quetzalcoatl smirked. "How are you, old wanderer? I didn't think you'd be in this realm at this time."

"Well, let's just say I had a little business to take care of." Orson shrugged. "But hey, don't mind me, I am simply enjoying the show."

"ENOUGH!" Mercury suddenly piped up, the silver-haired assassin suddenly shooting up to his feet. "I've just about had it up to HERE with everything today!" He pointed at Orson with a nasty glare. "I don't know who the hell you are, old man, but if you're smart, you'll stay the HELL outta our way while we beat up this overgrown chicken!"

Both the Feathered Serpent and Orson were silent at that for a bit, though the old man was first to comment. "Hmm, young man, that temper of yours is quite overpowering."

Quetzalcoatl crossed his arms with a disapproving gaze. "Hm, you are correct, my friend. With anger like that, I am surprised that you haven't befallen a terrible fate yet."

Subdora got up to her feet and shot Mercury a warning glance. "Mia caro, I warn you; it is probably best to not be so confrontational here. You have no clue what he could do to you!"

"So what?!" Mercury punched his hand into his palm, ready to throw down at a moment's notice. "Khyber wants me to channel my anger into my fighting? Psh, I can do that, no problem." He grinned cockily as he balled his hand into a fist. "And when I beat this chump, he'll finally see that I'm not someone to be taken lightly."

The Feathered Serpent couldn't help but sigh at the boy's arrogance. "It is always the tough estupidos, isn't it?"

Mercury was quick to recognize when something sounded like "stupid", though, so he barked; "You take that back!"

"Alright, fine, you aren't tough."

"Okay, that's better—HEY!" Mercury let out an angry roar as he pumped his legs and shot himself forward, only for Quetzalcoatl to fly back toward another one of the ancient structures surrounding the temple. Mercury was about to close in and deliver a punch to the Feathered Serpent… but the god quickly flew up to the roof of the building, resulting in Mercury punching the stone wall. "AAAAUGH!"

Quetzalcoatl smirked in satisfaction. "Now, now, that wall is not your punching back."

But this just managed to make Mercury even madder. "YOU'RE A DICK!"

"I believe the phrase is; "takes one to know one"." At that remark, Mercury immediately shot himself up to the roof and went to kick Quetzalcoatl… but then he was sent tumbling backward with a powerful shot to the gut, making him fall back over the edge.

Mercury landed hard, but he stood up and made his way back up the side of the building. "He thinks he's so good…" he fumed with frustration. "I'll show him!" But the second he got up onto the roof, he was met with another blast and sent back down. "AUGH! Goddamn it! Grr… Alright, gotta go for the left, he'll never see me coming!" Mercury repeated the process… and was once again blown off the roof for his troubles. "Oh for FUCK—FINE!" He darted directly into the stone structure, his head craning up to the roof as he prepared to blast up through it. "Hehe, he'll never see me coming from below…"

"Hello, how are you?"

"Oh, you know, just waiting to get the drop on that idiot."

"Neat."

"Hehe, yeah, he won't see it—oh no…" BLAM! "AAAAAGH!" Without hesitation, Quetzalcoatl blew Mercury out the side of the building, making its wall crumble to bits as the assassin was sent sprawling onto the ground. With a snap of his fingers, the Feathered Serpent willed the building to repair itself, but still, he was surprised to see Mercury back on his feet a split second later. "Okay, ENOUGH is ENOUGH! AAAAAAHH!" With a battle cry that would've impressed any Aztec warrior, Mercury bolted forward and went for a kick… but then Quetzalcoatl caught him by the boot and twisted his ankle, bringing him in before raising his arm over his knee.

Mercury's blood drained from his face the moment he realized what was happening. "…Please don't break my leg."

"No." SNAP! With a raise of his leg and a powerful elbow, Quetzalcoatl successfully snapped Mercury's metal leg off his knee, making the boy cry out as he was sent sprawling again. "So, do you wish to keep going?"

"W-Wait! Please!" Mercury begged, the tired assassin raising his hand to the serpent god as he drew nearer. "I know that we got off on the wrong foot, b-but maybe we can still work something out! What d'ya say? Up high?"

"Down low."

"W-what—"

Quetzalcoatl's hand snapped right up in Mercury's face. "Too slow." BWAAAM! With a loud scream, Mercury was sent sailing back, landing in the exact same spot that Rojo had not minutes before. The serpent god sighed and shook his head. "These upstarts really need to learn how to not be so full of themselves…" He glanced over his shoulder for a brief moment before using his tail to strike something that wasn't there, only to reveal that Subdora had gone invisible to try and sneak up on him. "And my dear, perhaps you would do better to NOT try and sneak up on a god, it will not work for you."

This, however, just made Subdora smile in satisfaction. "Oh, I am not the one you should worry about, serpente…"

CRACK! "GAH!" Much to his surprise, Quetzalcoatl actually felt something hard make impact with his head, sending him stumbling a bit before a pair of chains wrapped around his wings. Before long, he felt someone pull back on him and a sharp double kick was delivered right to his spine, eliciting a pained roar from him as he was sent to his knees. "THAT was for Mercury you son of a BITCH!" Emerald shouted as Neo stood right next to her. "Neo, give him the works!"

Neo went to raise Hush again for another strike… but then Quetzalcoatl's tail came back up and wrapped around Emerald's waist, yanking her off of him forcefully before he slammed her right into Neo. The two girls were sent tumbling onto Subdora, the trio ending up in a massive heap by the steps of the temple itself.

"Very impressive." Quetzalcoatl admitted before catching another arrow out of the air. "But if you wish to best me, you will have to do better than that."

"Oh, don't worry." Cinder summoned three more flaming arrows and knocked them all in her obsidian bow. "I intend to!" All at once, Cinder unleased the fiery projectiles at Quetzalcoatl, only for one of the god's wings to suddenly erupt in a golden aura. He then brought his wing up in an arc, sending out a golden energy wave at the arrows and making them dissipate in an instant. This energy also managed to send Cinder sliding back on her heels, though her Maiden Powers sparked to life and she absorbed most of the blow.

"You are quite powerful, girl, I will give you that." The Feathered Serpent spread his wings and flew at the young woman, which she countered by lifting herself up with the wind and shooting herself directly at the Sky God. The two met in the middle and locked hands with one another, their respective glares meeting. "But you have so much potential that has yet to be unlocked. Your delusions of grandeur and pursuit of power… they will ultimately be your downfall—"

"SILENCE!" Cinder pulled one of her hands back and created a sharp blade from her palm, which instantly lit up in flames. She went to stab Quetzalcoatl in the gut, but quickly found that her arm had been caught by the god's tail. With a strong twist of his body, Quetzalcoatl send Cinder careening back down to Earth, though the Maiden managed to stick the landing. She snapped her head back up to him and shouted; "Don't you DARE try to lecture me, serpent!"

With a powerful thrust of her legs, Cinder went airborne once again. She then clapped her hands together, bringing forth a rather powerful bolt of lightning that she shot right at Quetzalcoatl, followed by another and another. Of course, the Sky God kept up his game of dodging, but much to his surprise… he felt a rather strong lightning bolt strike one of his wings, making him wince slightly as his feathers began to burn. "Gah!" With that, he was forced to make a landing while he healed his wing.

This gave Cinder the golden opportunity she had wanted. The Fall Maiden brought her hands together again and sent an icy blast of energy at Quetzalcoatl, managing to flash freeze him within an instant. The god's eyes widened at the sudden cold snap, but he didn't have much time to respond before Cinder summoned a massive fiery axe. She came down with a massive swing… and she sliced off the god's tail, eliciting a roar of pain from him as golden blood spewed from the new wound.

"Ah-HA!" Cinder maliciously smiled from ear to ear at what she had just done. "So the gods CAN be—" SMASH! Before she could even finish, Cinder was blown back when a strong gust of wind suddenly propelled from Quetzalcoatl's very being, breaking the ice around him in the process. The god was clenching his sharp teeth, but all the same, he bore through the pain as the stump where his tail once was started to glow… and within an instant, the entire thing grew back. Cinder was left flabberghasted. "I-I… WHAT?!"

"FOOLISH GIRL!" In a single second, Quetzalcoatl rushed forth and kneed Cinder right in the face, followed up by a flurry of punches and kicks to the still stunned Fall Maiden. By the end of this onslaught, Quetzalcoatl grabbed her by the face and then slammed her straight down into the earth, making a Cinder-sized imprint in the dirt. "I am a GOD, you arrogant welp! Did you really think it would be THAT easy?!" He felt Cinder scream against his hand, and he could feel that she was trying to burn it by the heat beginning to rise in his palm. "You lust for power comparable to my own. I can tell you now; that is a foolish venture. Perhaps it's time I teach that to you…"

All of a sudden, Quetzalcoatl began to glow once more taking on his more draconic form once again. The mighty serpent had released his grip on Cinder, and while the Maiden quickly tried to bring about a counterattack, it was far too late. Quetzalcoatl slung his mighty tail forward and wrapped it around Cinder's entire body… and then he began to squeeze. Immediately, the results were visible for all to see; Cinder's expression slowly began to go from one of pure rage to one that was almost completely blank, her struggle slowly but surely stopping as her face began to change colors.

The Fall Maiden could feel her joints popping as her circulation was cut off, struggling to breath as the tail just kept tightening around her. Her face went from red to blue to purple within a matter of moments, and she could feel herself beginning to lose her senses and consciousness. "P…P-Please…" Cinder managed to utter breathlessly. "D-Don't…"

"Do you yield?" Quetzalcoatl bellowed.

"I…I-I do." After saying those two words, Quetzalcoatl unfurled his tail and let Cinder fall to the dirt, the air returning to her lungs immediately as she took in several deep breaths.

"CINDY!" Though the Fall Maiden was still dazed, she recognized the use of her nickname anywhere. Her eyes shifted to the side and saw Rojo, Mercury and the other girls all running toward her… or limping in some cases. Rojo in particular scrambled to Cinder's side and picked her up, holding her gently as she got her breath back. "Oh god, are you okay?! Y-You were almost—"

The young woman coughed a little bit as her lungs refilled with air, but she quickly reassured Rojo of her condition. "I… I-I am fine, Rojo, really. Now, let us… oh no." Cinder's eyes widened as she saw Quetzalcoatl open his mouth, with a powerful golden energy beginning to gather within it. The villains were too late to react as the Feathered Serpent twisted his body around so that his head was level with them, the energy facing them almost point blank.

"NOW BEGONE!" Quetzalcoatl then unleashed the energy in a huge, powerful beam attack, one that the Ministry was blown back by instantly. The villains were all sent flying straight out of the citadel, and while they all braced for whatever impact came next… it never came. Instead, a beam of white light suddenly enveloped their vision, and in an instant, they had disappeared. This slightly disappointed the Feathered Serpent, but nonetheless, he was simply grateful that they were finally gone. "Hmph, and good riddance."

"Quetzalcoatl!" The Sky God's eyeridges rose up and he craned his head around, seeing the Omni-Hunters come sprinting back into the citadel. His reptilian lips curled up into a grin before he changed back into his more humanoid form in a flash of light, meeting Ben and the others as they came in. "Hah… that was—"

"AMAZING!" Ruby and Nora suddenly jumped in, their eyes glistening in admiration of the Feathered Serpent. "You just went all "BAM!" on those guys!" The Hooded Huntress exclaimed, shooting her hands out for emphasis.

Nora pumped an approving fist. "Haha, yeah! The Ministry didn't stand a CHANCE!"

With a hearty chuckle, Quetzalcoatl put his hands behind his back and nodded down to the two. "Hmhm, indeed, they did not. But I must say that all of you were quite impressive as well." The Feathered Serpent bowed to the group respectfully. "Thank you all so very much for protecting my temple. After all the work that had gone into it all those centuries ago, I could not bear to see it fall."

Gwen and the rest of the Omni-Hunters bowed back. "Oh, it was nothing, really."

Kevin wore a bit of a knowing smirk. "Hehe, yep! All in a day's work for heroes of our caliber." He leaned toward Quetzalcoatl slightly and added; "But, uh, from all the legends I've read, wouldn't this be the part where the heroes get some sort of devine reward or—OOF!"

"KEVIN!" Gwen seethed at him. "Do NOT be so rude to a god!"

Unexpectedly, however, Quetzalcoatl gave out a hearty laugh, much to Gwen's surprise. "Ahaha, do not worry about it, child. Your friend does have a point, because you are more than deserving of a reward for your valiant efforts…"

"O-Oh, no we couldn't possibly…" Pyrrha started.

"Yeah, getting to kick those guys' butts is reward enough." Neptune assured. "…Although, I guess technically you were the one who kicked their asses."

"Perhaps, but still, you all defeated those beasts that they summoned AND took on that other monster." Quetzalcoatl reminded. "So please, allow me to reward you with… hm, what to give you all…" The serpent god scanned his eyes as he thought of what to give the group, when he spotted a certain appendage of his that he had lost. "Ah-ha! Perfect!" Quetzalcoatl picked up his old tail and offered it to the group, shocking them all immediately. "Children, for your bravery and courage, I offer you this divine gift."

There was a long, stunned silence before Yang felt compelled to point out the obvious. "Uh… is that your tail?"

"Indeed. That pompous young woman cut it off during our battle." The serpent seemed particularly peeved at that, though he quickly refocused himself. "Fortunately, I was able to grow it back, but that is beside the point. What DOES matter is that while the tail itself isn't that useful, the feathers on it ARE." Quetzalcoatl ran his hands along the colorful tailfeathers, all of which seemed to glow with a golden aura as he did so. "You see, each of these feathers contains a great amount of energy, which can be used for almost anything you can imagine. Healing, a boost in stamina, spellbinding, among other uses. Simply pluck the feather and apply it for whatever you wish."

The entire team glanced at one another warily before Rex took the tail, hefting it up with some difficulty. "Uh, hah… thanks, Lord Quetzalcoatl."

The serpent nodded back to him with a smile. "De nada, amigo." Not soon after, however, he tilted his head toward the group. "So, what exactly happened to that monstruo that you all were facing? Did you manage to defeat it?"

Cooper, having taken off his helmet, reached behind his head with an awkward expression. "Well, we DID manage to take it down, but…"

"It was taken away before we could take it in." Blake finished, pointing over to Cooper, Ben, Rex and Penny. "Whoever owns that thing beamed it up almost immediately after they took it down."

"Hm, I suppose that IS disconcerting." Quetzalcoatl agreed. "And by the sounds of it, that same person must have rescued this "Ministry" right as I finished them off. Very curious indeed…" The Sky God shifted his eyes over to Ben, gazing at him curiously. "By the way, what WAS the meaning of this attack, young Tennyson? And who exactly IS this "Ministry"?"

Ben wore a bit of an awkward grin, knowing full well that this explanation would take a while. "Heh, well… that's kind of a long story." Over the next few minutes, the team gave Quetzalcoatle a brief cliff notes version of what had been happening over the past few weeks, including the whole story with Remnant and how far their world-jumping adventure had taken them so far. By the end, the Feathered Serpent was wearing a slightly stunned, if thoughtful expression, and the team were all a bit exasperated by the explanation. "Hah… and that's basically the whole story."

Quetzalcoatl blinked a couple times before giving a small hum. "Hm… well, I must say that your tale of grand adventure was certainly quite the yarn. And I must say, I am intrigued by the idea of alternate worlds truly existing." He put a hand to his head and let out a sigh. "Hah, I certainly HAVE been asleep for far too long, it seems. Many exciting things are happening in this day and age, there is no doubt about that." Still, the god raised an eyeridge to the team. "You said you had a talk with Ah Puch and Ek Chuaj, correct?"

"That's right." Jaune affirmed. "They're the ones who told us where we could possibly find you." He laced his hands together with a hopeful expression. "Speaking of, there's actually something that we wanted to ask you…"

"And what might that be?"

"Well, to make a long story short…" Nora started before immediately zipping up to the serpent god and bowing directly in front of him, her hands clasped together pleadingly. "PLEASE HELP US! Salem wants to conquer our world by bringing the Godly Brothers back and we need other gods to help stop them if she ends up getting all four Relics!" Her eyes started to glisten as her gaze met with Quetzalcoatl's, taking the god aback. "Please, we need your help…"

Ren couldn't help but sigh as he picked his best friend up. "Please excuse Nora, Lord Quetzalcoatl. She has a… flair for the dramatic at times."

Just then, Nora's features shifted to a more annoyed expression toward her friend. "Ach, Ren! I was working my magic! And besides, you can't deny that Salem bringing back the Godly Brothers IS a bad thing!"

The Feathered Serpent crossed his arms, pondering all of this over. "Hm, indeed. These Gods of Light and Darkness you have told me about certainly sound like a rather dangerous duo…" He scanned across the entire group of heroes, noting that all of their faces appeared to be earnest and truthful, assuring him that this was quite the serious matter. But then, he saw Ruby, and the Hooded Huntress appeared to shuffle awkwardly in place. Seeing her anxiety, he sent her an assuring smile and asked; "Is there something troubling you, child?"

"H-Huh?!" Ruby's head shot up and she raised her hands to the god, denying his inquiry. "O-Oh, no, sorry, I was just… well, I was thinking to myself."

"Hmm… well, you certainly seem fixated on it, if that's the case." Quetzalcoatl noted. "Would it happen to relate to the topic at hand?"

Ruby was silent for a few moments, a bit surprised that he had figured it out without much difficulty. But, soon enough, she relented and sighed heavily. "Well… I guess you could say that." She rubbed the back of her head and explained herself. "It's just… I'm having a bit of trouble understanding just WHY the Gods would return to judge a world that they had left for thousands of years. Heck, not even the people of Remnant are the same as the ones they left."

Quetzalcoatl nodded in understanding. "Yes, I can definitely see why this would be disconcerting to you, young… Ruby, was it?" He got a nod from the girl and he sent a sympathetic smile to her. "You see, while there are many gods that are benevolent and kind, there are others that are fickle or can become spiteful if they believe the world that once worshipped them so loyally has shunned them."

Weiss couldn't help but grimace a bit as she recalled what Jinn had showed them. "We can all thank Salem for that, even if it DID come from a place of good intentions at the time."

Blake tilted her head to the serpent god. "So… will you help us, Lord Quetzalcoatl?"

The godly dragon stood in silence for another couple of seconds, thinking it over briefly before his grin returned. "Well… considering that the Ministry has already wronged me greatly today, there is already a strong case for me assisting you." He watched as the Omni-Hunters all wore hopeful smiles at that, but all the same, he had to bring the mood down a bit. "Unfortunately, however, I cannot commit to anything without the rest of the pantheon's approval."

Immediately, everyone let out a disappointed; "Aww!" before Sun slapped his forehead. "Man, that's the same thing that Ah Puch and Ek Chuaj told us."

"Indeed, but rules are rules, after all." Quetzalcoatl pointed out. "Remember; we gods are not to interfere in the lives of regular mortals unless we deem it necessary to. Otherwise, the human race would become far too dependent on us."

"Yeah, makes sense to me." Coco admitted. "Well, I guess we can only hope that the rest of your Tezcaltipoca friends approve of this."

"Oh-ho, not just them, mija, but EVERYONE in the pantheon." Quetzalcoatl tapped the side of his head, a thought having occurred to him. "Which reminds me, I may have to wake up several others of my kind that have been sleeping for eons as well…" He sent his sights back down to the team and gave them a nod. "Meaning that I should really be going."

The teens all became visibly saddened by this news. "Man, really?" Ben uttered in disappointment. "That kinda bites."

"And here I was hoping I'd get to ask you more about how you and your brothers formed the world." Gwen added.

"Hmhm, worry not, young ones." Quetzalcoatle reassured with a wave. "For I will be sure to check in on you as soon as I am able." The reptilian god sent them a wink. "After all, us gods are not confined to our realm of origin. Perhaps you will see me flying over your home town at one point or another." This made the group grin once again and Quetzalcoatl continued; "But until we do meet again, keep on fighting the good fight against the Ministry. I can sense that all of you have the makings of great heroes… though of course, all of you already are, so that's a given." He then focused on Ruby again, and what he said next surprised her quite a bit. "And young Ruby, about that power of yours…"

"P-Power? I—" But Ruby quickly realized what he had meant. "You mean my Silver Eyes?"

Kevin furrowed his brow in suspicion. "Wait a sec, we never even TOLD you about those. How do you know about the Silver Eyes?"

"It's quite simple, really; I could sense the power within her." Quetzalcoatl explained before pointing at Ruby's eyes. "The moment I saw you, Ruby, I could tell that you hold quite the gift, and I want to encourage you to keep training that gift. Because if you do, I know that you will be able to do many fantastic things and help many people with it."

Ruby's reaction was to smile at first… but then her face faultered and her frown returned. "That's very nice of you to say, Quetzalcoatl, but… I'm afraid I don't really know how to use these eyes of mine yet." However, a quick revelation took hold of her mind and she smiled hopefully up to the serpent god. "Do you think you could teach me how?!"

But Quetzalcoatl could only shake his head. "I am sorry, Ruby, but these Silver Eyes are beyond my own understanding. I am afraid I cannot help you." He saw Ruby become downtrodden yet again, but was quick to reassure her. "However, that does not mean that there aren't others who can't help you." He outstretched his hand to the rest of her team. "After all, you have your amigos to help you along the way. And I am sure that you will come across others who may be able to help you as well." Quetzalcoatl placed a hand to Ruby's shoulder and gave it an assuring squeeze. "But most importantly of all… remember to never give up hope."

Slowly but surely, Ruby's mood took a positive turn once again, and her smile was back. "Thank you, Quetzalcoatl. I appreciate the kind words."

"You are very welcome… and also, count yourself lucky. You do have the Allseer watching over you."

"W-Wait, the what—" WOO-WOO-WOO-WOO! Everyone went on high alert at the sound of approaching sirens breaking through the night, and before long, they could see red, flashing lights approaching from beyond the citadel. Ruby winced and shrunk back a little. "Oh… that's not good."

"Ah! Oh no, the police!" Velvet exclaimed as her hands went to her cheeks. "What are we going to tell them?!"

"Er, the truth, maybe?" Fox guessed, only for the entire team to deadpan at him. "…What? We're the heroes, aren't we?"

Yatsu shook his head and facepalmed. "Fox, we may be the heroes in this situation, but I doubt that the police will take kindly to us having a hand in all of the destruction that's happened to their ancient city."

It was at that point that Quetzalcoatl placed a hand on his chest. "You kids should get going then. I will distract the law enforcement while you get out of here." He smiled and winked to them once again. "And do not worry, I will handle any other damages that might have happened." With that, Quetzalcoatl gave the group one final bow. "I hope that we cross paths again someday soon, young ones."

The Omni-Hunters bowed back respectfully. "The feeling is mutual, Quetzalcoatl. And thank you again." Ben returned before ushering his team to gather up. "Alright guys, let's get back to the cars. Maybe if we're quick, we can catch that Triple C show."

"I'll teleport us to the parking lot." Gwen said as her eyes began to glow pink. "Hopefully the cops won't have the entire place surrounded…" The redhead proceeded to create a pink mana sphere around all of them and, in the blink of an eye, they were all gone, leaving Quetzalcoatl all by his lonesome.

"Hm, farewell for now, my friends…" the god murmured to himself.

"FREEZE! Hands in the air!" From behind him, the Feathered Serpent felt a bright light being shined on him, as well as someone barking at him in fluent Spanish, which he understood perfectly. He did an about face and saw a whole squadron of police officers with their lights trained on him, their sidearms at the ready. "Who—or, WHAT are you?! What happened here?!"

A light chortle escaped Quetzalcoatl's lips as his body began to glow with his signature golden aura. 'This ought to be fun…' Within an instant, the serpent god's body morphed back into his giant, draconic form, and immediately, he could see the officers all gazing upon him in utter bafflement. They all dropped their sidearms and flashlights out of shock alone. 'And now, time to play it up…' Quetzalcoatl then spread his wings out and announced in over-the-top fashion; "REJOICE, MORTALS! For I, the Feathered Serpent, God of the East and Sky, have returned to your realm!" He lowered his head down to the officers and snorted at them, unleashing a bit of fire from his nostrils. "Now go, spread the word of my return, and rest assured, your world will be safe from harm. So says… Quetzalcoatl!"

GYAAAAOOOORR!

After unleashing a mighty roar, Quetzalcoatl burst into the air and passed over the entire city of Teotihuacan, making sure to fix any other damages that may have happened in the battle. In doing so, he saw several vehicles peel out of the parking lot, and immediately, he knew it had to be the Omni-Hunters. "Safe travels, young heroes. And best of luck in your mission." His gaze then shifted over to see none other than Orson staring directly up at him, the man giving him a smirk before he walked off and disappeared as well. "…Though I can only hope that you are all prepared for what else is to come."

With that, Quetzalcoatl gave one final roar before his entire body began to glow gold again. He then shot up straight into the sky, flying off into the toward the East with resolve. It may have been thousands of years since he had last seen the world at large, but he knew that the time had come for him to protect it once again. And he was looking forward to it.

…..

A/N: And thus, we have come to the end of the Mesoamerican Arc. Man, this was quite the undertaking for the month of October, but I believe it all turned out rather well! Sure, we had a couple delays, but hey, it was worth it, I think. That said, while this IS the end of the expedition into ancient gods in Mexico, this ISN'T the end of the team's vacation, so stay tuned to find out what they end up doing!

Speaking of the team, though, they managed to beat back that Tyrannopede fairly well, especially with Cooper's armor and Ben's little strategy came into play. Sure, the Baskurr switching things up on Heatblast was a bit of a hiccup, but with one quick change into Ultimate Humungousaur, the alien predator was beaten into submission and our heroes came out victorious! …Unfortunately, Khyber managed to get his dog out of there before they could do anything, so that Nemetrix remains elusive.

What's more, the villains got their absolutely BODIED by Quetzalcoatl. Cinder may have gotten the most damage in, but in the end, even THAT didn't really matter. He just basically squeezed the life out of her until she was forced to surrender, so guess that'll teach her to challenge gods all willy-nilly. Also, there IS a certain moment in this fight that references a different fight from another series, but I'll let you figure that one out. Here's a hint; it's where Mercury gets his ass whupped.

And of course, we had our heroes' little conversation with Quetzalcoatl at the end… including the strange souvenir that they got in the form of his old tail. Wonder if THAT will come in handy down the line? Still, thanks to the Feathered Serpent, the team were able to make a quick getaway before winding up in trouble, so the next question to ask is… now what?

Well, we'll just have to find out NEXT TIME! After making it to the Lucha Libre show and sticking around for the main event, the team take most of the next day to do some sightseeing at various spots all throughout Mexico. Just what exactly will they come across? And more importantly… WHO will they encounter? We're going back to Fridays for the next few weeks, so until next time, everybody! Thanks for reading and, as always, stay safe out there!