A/N: Captain's Log, Stardate; 10/31/2023. Well folks, we did it! They said it couldn't be done! They said it's too early, you're not allowed, but look at this! I'm in your house on Halloween! And a very HAPPY HALLOWEEN to one and all at that! Yes indeed, not FOUR days after the last chapter, we're here at the FINALE of the first Ben 10 RWBY Month! Granted, that means this chapter's gonna be a shorter one again, but I'd rather much have two short chapters in a row than one BIG one that I'd have to delay to get here. So, with that said, let's get right into things, shall we?
Though before we do, for all of those who read Transformers MHA, I'll be going back to that story NEXT Friday. Gonna give myself a small break from the hecticness this month brought on before diving right back in there, so please be patient and I'll see you all over there soon.
Oh, and as I said before; the Monkey King would be voiced here by Sean Schemmel himself. So whenever he screams, you know what to picture in your head. So now, let's get on with it! This is…
Chapter 78: Return of the Monkey King
…..
Ben couldn't believe it. He just could NOT believe it. …Well, okay, he did believe it, but he could've never see it coming. Standing—or rather, floating—before them was probably the single most powerful deity they had encountered so far. And this one… was probably the coolest in his book. 'No offense to Thor or Hercules, but… this dude is just freaking awesome. And why wouldn't he be? He IS the Great Sage Equal to Heaven.' He moved his gaze over to the rest of his friends, seeing their slack-jawed expressions and wide, disbelieving eyes. "…Yeah, this guy's got that kind of effect on people."
Just then, though, from the other side of the room, another certain voice called out to them. "BEN!" Everyone briefly turned their heads to see Yang, Ilia, Swift and Rook all sprinting over to them, no doubt having just seen the carnage taking place. "Those Forever Idiots FINALLY stopped coming!" Yang explained. "We're ready to fight that thing whenever—WHAT THE HELL?!" It was then that she finally noticed the tall monkey holding the Tarasque back one handed, and Ilia, Swift and Rook were just as astonished as she was.
"W-What in the world?!" Ilia rubbed her eyes to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "Is… is that Sun?"
"It cannot be." Rook denied, pointing over to the monkey Faunus. "Sun is right there."
Swift blinked a couple times in realization. "Then… that must mean." A smirk came to her lips and she threw her head back with a loud cackle. "AHAHA! No freakin' way, man! Oh, that freakshow is totally in for it now!"
Hope, was in a similar mood to her, the sorceress' smile wide as she pointed a finger at the monkey man. "I knew it. I knew it, I KNEW IT! Your energy was WAY too much for a simple familiar! Of course, you of all deities would be keeping watch in disguise!"
But Sun was still trying to wrap his head around all of this, the pieces starting to come together in his head. "W-Wait a second… the woodpecker…" He pointed up to the regally dressed monkey. "That was you?! A-And just who are you, anyway?!"
The monkey deity snickered and peered back to Sun over his shoulder. "Heh, just figuring that out now, eh, kid? Guess you're not too quick on the uptake. Gimme a sec, will ya? GRRRAAHH!" With a mighty yell, the monkey pushed the Tarasque back so hard that it flew across the room and slammed headfirst into the adjacent wall, causing the entire place to shake briefly. Now soundly dazed, the Tarasque was left to regain its bearings, allowing the monkey to fall down and land directly in front of the Omni-Hunters. "Hah, okay, so where were we? Ah, right, introductions."
"U-Uh… your majesty." Ben bowed respectfully. "It's an honor to be in your—"
"Woah, woah, gonna stop ya right there, kid." Wagging one of his long fingers, the monkey shook his head. "I'm not one for formalities, at least not among mortals." He pointed upward. "The gods and other guys up high can refer to me by any title that they want. But to you? Just call me Monkey King. Or just "Monkey", if you're feelin' saucy."
Toward the back of the group, Sun's eyes widened in shock, prompting him to make his way to the front. "W-Wait, hold on a sec…" As he stopped in front of the Monkey King, he pointed at him and nervously stammered; "Is… i-is this guy who I think he is?"
Monkey seemed to brighten up as the younger simian came to him. "Ah! Pilgrim! Finally wised up, did ya?"
Sun's brow wrinkled at that. "P-Pilgrim?"
"Yeah, that's the little nickname I gave ya in my head, kid." Monkey said with a wink. "Mainly because I used to be called "Pilgrim" back in the day, so I thought it'd be fitting."
"That still doesn't answer my question, though." Sun raised his head at the deity. "Are you—"
"The Great Sage Equal to Heaven?" Extending his hand, Monkey smirked knowingly down at the Faunus boy. "That, I am. …Sun Wu Kong, at your service, Sun Wukong."
There was a long silence as Sun slowly reciprocated the handshake. "…N-Nice to meet you." he whispered.
Wu Kong nodded back to him. "Likewise. You know, I was wondering when you'd finally get the hint. Apparently, my little helping hand back when ol' Thunderhead paid a visit to Bellwood didn't tip ya off enough." Seeing Sun still confused, the Monkey King lifted his staff, making sure the boy saw the golden clasps. "Look familiar?"
Seeing the staff, Sun's jaw dropped and he whipped his head up. "NO WAY! Y-YOU were the one who destroyed that giant ice crystal?!"
"BINGO!" Twirling his staff only his shoulders, Monkey hung his arm over the iron pole and crossed his legs nonchalantly. "Heh, though believe it or not, I've actually been watching over you guys for a LOT longer than you might realize." He cackled as he continued to jog Sun's memory. "Remember the little encounter in the Mexican jungle… Banana Boy?"
By this point, Sun's jaw was on the floor. "YOU were the monkey that STOLE my banana!"
"And one of the jaguars that chased after you." Wu Kong furthered. "Though to be fair, once you guys got away, I transformed into a lion and chased all the others off."
"Wow, I… I-I don't even know what to SAY to this." Ruby uttered.
"It's incredible, is what it is." Blake said with a slight grin, enjoying how her boyfriend was still trying to process everything.
Zak let out a laugh of his own, having broke out into a wide smile. "HA! No argument there!" He thrust his arms forward, shouting out; "IT'S THE FREAKING MONKEY KING! I'm finally actually getting to MEET a deity in the flesh!" He ran his hands through his hair, trying to come to grips with everything. "Oh my god, mom and dad are gonna FREAK."
Juliette was pinching her arm, meanwhile, making sure this wasn't a dream. "Is… is this real? Is this actually the real Monkey King?!"
"It's gotta be." Ilia affirmed, having already come to grips with everything. "After meeting Hercules and Thor, nothing really fazes me about these godly visits anymore."
"Hmph, playing it off all cool, eh, Color Girl?" Swift chuckled, nudging her girlfriend with her elbow. "Some of us haven't met as many gods as you guys have, remember?"
"Ah—small amendment, though; not a god." Monkey clarified. "Used to technically be a demon, gained immortality at least 14 times over, then I went on a long journey that we don't gotta get into right now to achieve enlightenment." He raised his arms and proclaimed; "Add all that up and well, you get the heavenly deity you see before you now."
Charmcaster, having regained her composure, also approached the Monkey King, bowing her own head to him. "I had a feeling that there was something off about that woodpecker "familiar" that Sun had. I will admit, you should've been my first guess, Wu Kong. But… you didn't seem to be all that powerful, so…"
With another giggle, the Monkey King explained; "Heeheehee! And THAT'S what makes my 72 Earthly Transformations technique so amazing! I'm able to suppress my power to the point where not even the most trained deities can detect my presence. But enough about me…" With a hearty SLAM, Wu Kong planted his staff into the ground, putting his free hand to his hip. "I think it's time we focus on what's going HERE and now." He leaned against his staff and pointed behind the group. "Because those two are making a break for it."
"H-Huh?!" Ben and the others spun around and immediately spotted Emily and, surprisingly, Jaqc, running off further into the cavern. "HEY! Get back here!"
Yang sneered at the sight of Jaqc rushing off with the White Knight. "Oh hey, would ya look at that? Weiss was right. Not surprised."
"Cease running this instant!" Rook demanded as he prepped his Proto-Tool, ready to run after the duo.
But within seconds, Monkey leapt over and landed in front of the Revonnahgander. "Woah-hoho, let's pump the breaks a bit, Big Blue. We need a plan of attack. After all…" Now pointing in the opposite direction, Wu Kong indicated the Tarasque. "We gotta deal with that guy, too. Er, well, okay, mostly I've gotta deal with it, but you get what I'm talkin' about. Point is, we need a plan of attack."
"Wu Kong makes a good point." Ben affirmed, ushering his team to gather up. "Okay, we'll split up, then. Monkey can take care of the Tarasque while we focus on stopping the knights. Rook, Yang, you're with me. I've got a feeling they wouldn't run off like that if they didn't have a plan."
Yang didn't hesitate to give him a thumbs up. "We're right behind ya, Green Boy."
Rook concurred as well, though he asked the hero further. "Hm, do you have a plan of attack?"
"'Course I do." Ben grinned confidently, jerking a thumb to himself. "Just follow my lead and we'll be golden. Meanwhile…" His gaze directed itself toward Hope once again. "Hope, you're going to take the others and head where White Knight and Jaqc are running while we hold them off. Retrieve the tablet and anything else you come across, then we'll regroup from there."
The plan seemed sound to Hope, who agreed with what Ben was saying. "Right, got it. I'll have a teleportation spell ready to bring us back topside by then."
"Awesome, good to hear." Finally, Ben's sights went back to the Monkey King. "Wu Kong, you'll be able to beat the Tarasque, right?" The response he got was a raised brow and a slight tilt of the head, which Ben raised a hand at. "Right, sorry, stupid question. Probably shouldn't have asked it in the first place."
"Ah, don't worry 'bout it." Wu Kong shrugged off as he picked up his Ruyi Jingu Bang staff and twirled it in his hand, resting it against his shoulder. "By the time you kids are done, ol' Tarry over there should be satisfied."
"…Terry?" Ilia deadpanned. "Really?"
By contrast, Ruby cooed over the name. "Aw! I think it's cute!"
The chameleon girl gave her friend the side-eye. "We're still talking about the 60-foot-tall lion-bear-turtle-scorpion thing with six legs, right?!"
"Doesn't matter at the moment!" Swift got in between the two before a debate could break out, ushering them away from the action and toward where Emily and Jaqc were running. "Now come on, we can't let them get away!"
"Right, let's move, people! It's Hero Time!" Ben declared, with him and the others all starting off toward the opposite end of the chasm.
…But the only one who didn't go anywhere was Sun, which Blake was confused at as she stopped mid-run. "S-Sun?" Jogging back over, she looked to him in concern. "Is there something wrong? We've gotta go, quick."
Sun bit his lower lip, giving a hesitant; "Uuuh… about that…" Rubbing his neck anxiously, he attempted to make his intentions known. "I kinda, sorta wanna… well, you know… i-if it's okay with you guys—"
"You want to watch the Monkey King fight." Blake stated bluntly. She received an eager nod from him, to which she rolled her eyes and sighed with a smile on her lips. "Hah, of course. Should've figured."
Wu Kong himself couldn't help but chuckle as well, moving over to Sun and placing a hand on his shoulder. "Kid, I'm flattered you wanna watch me work, but you've got some more important things to take care of right now. Your team needs you…" Seeing the blonde's disappointment, Monkey held up a single finger and winked once again. "But hey, don't worry… this won't be your ONLY chance to see me fight. I guarantee it. Now go help your team, Pilgrim, and good luck."
The king's words managed to brighten Sun's mood considerably. "Y-Yeah, same to you!" Sharing a glance with Blake, the Faunus couple proceeded to dash off after their friends, leaving Wu Kong alone to confront the chimeric beast. The Tarasque had just regained its bearings and gotten up on its six legs again, its main still burning intensely as it glared at the Monkey King.
"Haha… oh man, I REALLY wish we weren't underground with a ton of people in here AND with a whole city above…" Stretching his long limbs, Monkey felt his muscles pop with every flex, loosening himself up for the fight. "Otherwise, I'd be able to REALLY cut loose. But ah well, a fight's a fight." With Ruyi Jingu Bang at the ready, Wu Kong took a combative stance, narrowing his eyes at the enemy. "Let's go, Tarry! GYAAAAAHH!" With a mighty yell, the Monkey King leapt into the air, the Tarasque bounding after him with its fangs and claws barred.
The resulting clash was enough to shake the foundations of Paris itself… something that was felt back above ground.
…..
"Hah, that's the last of 'em." Doc said as he set the last unconscious Forever Knight on top of the pile, his armor clattering against his comrades'. Scanning his eye across their handiwork, Doc had counted at least thirty knights in total for this operation, which he had to admit, was rather impressive.
Still, Drew was quick to remind him; "Not ALL of them, dear."
Pointing across the street, the couple watched as Rex and the Black Knight, both quite obviously out of breath and sweating buckets at this point, were still fighting. …Or at least, they were attempting to. Even with Rex armed with his SmackHands, his movements were sluggish and imprecise, not even leaving a dent in the man's armor. And while the Knight was far from helpless, his own strikes with his energy weapon were weak and barely cut into Rex's armor at all. In short; they had run themselves into the ground… figuratively AND literally as they stood in a ditch caused by their fighting.
"Hah… hah… will you just GIVE UP, pendejo?!" Rex shouted, his Smack Hand falling off in sheer exhaustion.
"Uh… ugh… fat chance… you little idiote." The Black Knight groaned, only for his weapon to switch off in the middle of his next strike.
Standing above them, Weiss had her hands on her hips and a deadpan stare upon her features. She had gotten tired in the middle of the fight and Rex offered to pick up the slack while she regained her energy. …But even when she offered to join back in, Rex hadn't left any sort of opening for her. The fight had gotten personal… a bit TOO personal, at that. "See? THIS is why when I offer to tag in, you should take it, Robo-dolt." she admonished.
As the Black Knight and Rex both fell to the bottom of the ditch in exhaustion, they still found the energy to point at one another, both saying; "He started it!" Weiss could only facepalm at their ridiculousness.
Lifting his head up, the Black Knight retorted. "Knave! I did no such thing!"
"Oh, dude, you SO started this just by walking your boys in." Rex refuted, rolling onto his hands and knees as he glared at the armored man. "But now… hah… your forces are down, you and I are tired as hell, and I think it's clear who the winners are."
"Hmph! Don't get too excited yet, whelp." Shifting to sit on his knees, the knight's tone still seemed rather confident, so much that Rex could practically hear the smile on his face. "After all, in a game of chess, if there are pieces still in play, the game is FAR from over."
Rex, his fatigue briefly forgotten, was left concerned when he heard that. "W-Wait, what do you mean—WOAH!"
*RUMBRUMBRUMBRUMBLE*
Without any warning, the earth beneath them began to shake and rattle around, causing everyone to lose their balance and fall to the pavement. Zon, Komodo and Smokey all roared out in panic while Doc held Drew's shoulders, supporting her. "W-What the—where's this coming from?!"
"A-An earthquake?!" Weiss exclaimed.
"No, this feels more unnatural." Drew denied, her sights locked to the ground. "Something… something must be going on down below."
Hearing this, Rex felt some spare adrenaline pump through him and he stood up, marching over to the Black Knight to take him up by his metal collar. "YOU! What the hell did you do?!"
"Hmhm, oh, it's not what I've done, chico." The knight emphasized. "But rather, what my cohorts have done. If you'll remember, the Forever Knights are MUCH larger than you think, even if we are not as massive of an organization as we were two years prior." He held his head up self-assuredly. "Even as we speak, my counterpart, the White Knight, is down in the catacombs right now, no doubt giving your teammates a hard time."
"WHAT?!" the group shouted, with Weiss adding; "How?! We've been watching the entrances!"
"Every entrance?" the Black Knight challenged. "…Even the illegal ones?"
Quickly realizing their mistake, Rex's hands few up to his face, throwing his head back with a shout. "GAH! God damn it! We should've KNOWN they'd do that! Ugh, Six would SO be shaking his head in disappointment right now!"
Doc went up to the EVO, clasping a firm hand to his shoulder. "Rex, calm down. We'll get through this. We just need to get down to the others as fast as possible." He set his sights out over the city. "We just need to interrogate these knights and make them tell us where their other members went in…"
"OR… we could do things the easy way." Weiss suggested, pulling out her scroll to make a call. After dialing in the number, she muttered a silent prayer as she put it up to her ear. "I just hope the time's not TOO different and everyone's awake…"
Thankfully, she got an answer on the third ring… and was met with a somewhat distressed tone from Gwen. "Hah, hah, h-hello?!"
"G-Gwen?" Weiss replied. "This is Weiss."
"Oh! H-Hey there, Weiss." The closer she listened, the more Weiss could hear the sound of fighting in the background of Gwen's voice, making the former heiress narrow her eyes in suspicion. "H-How's the search going?"
"…Not too well, honestly. We've been intercepted by Forever Knights up top, and the others down below are dealing with a bunch of them right now. The whole ground beneath us just shook, so…"
From the other end, Gwen clicked her tongue in frustration. "Tsk, darn that's not good… if only we had—AH!" A loud blast took Weiss and everybody else aback, loud enough to be heard by all of them. "NORA! For goodness' sake, I'm on the phone! Keep those explosions TOWARD the birds!"
Weiss furrowed her brow in confusion, putting the Anodite on speaker. "Wait, hold on, birds? Gwen, what is going ON over there?"
Giving a relenting sigh, Gwen finally explained. "Hah, okay, well… this morning hasn't exactly been the best. We've been dealing with an entire flock of Stymphalian Birds."
"Uh, Stympha-what now?" Weiss questioned.
"Stymphalian Birds." Drew repeated, explaining further. "Supposedly, they were one of the Twelve Trials that Hercules had to face. Apparently, they were tiny, mechanical birds made by Hephaestus that managed to escape his workshop and—wait." Realizing what Gwen was saying, she whipped her head back to the phone. "You kids are FIGHTING them right now?!"
"Yeah, they appeared out of nowhere. GYAH!" Gwen grunted in exertion, which was followed by a small explosion, meaning she probably just killed one of them. "But we've been working on getting them all taken care of. And uh, lemme tell you, Pyrrha's a crack shot with these things. I don't think she's missed a single one."
Rex tapped his chin, trying to remember the legend. "Wait, these birds were Hercules' third trial, weren't they? Am I the only one who's noticed that the trials have been happening to US in the same order so far?"
"Trust me, I noticed too. GRAH!" After another explosion, Gwen shifted gears. "But we can talk about this once you all get home. And don't worry, we'll have plenty of video evidence for you. Right now, we need to get someone down in the Catacombs to provide backup for the others, and fast." With a moment's pause, Gwen pondered on that before coming to fast conclusion. "And I think I know just who to send…"
…..
Back down below, Emily was practically sprinting away from the carnage that was happening behind her. She didn't fully understand what was going on, between the Tarasque and now the Monkey King himself having appeared out of nowhere, she was beginning to question a LOT of things. Admittedly before, she was somewhat skeptical about if the Armor of Ishtar was actually a real thing, though King Enoch's conviction was enough to convince her to join given his promise of power to her. But now, with deities and monsters starting to appear before her… 'Perhaps there is more to these legends than even I anticipated…'
Jaqc, meanwhile, wasn't doing too hot… especially since he was revived via smelling salts. "Blah! This is utter madness! The Tarasque! The godforsaken MONKEY KING! What's next, Zeus himself?!"
"Be silent and keep running!" the White Knight ordered. "Or do you not WANT that fat paycheck?!" Wising up to her words, Jaqc picked up the pace… only for both of them to be cut off when Rook, Ben and Yang all leapt straight over their heads, landing directly in front of them. "Gah! Dammit all, do you meddlesome heroes ever give up?!"
"Nah, that's not an option when it comes to us, lady." Yang rebuked, glancing to her right to see the rest of the team go sprinting past. "And besides, we're not about to let you get in their way."
Rook flashed his Plumbers' badge. "Emily Clotilde and Jaqc Lenoir, by order of the Plumbers, you are BOTH under arrest."
If anything, this only got Jaqc even more riled up. "N-No… NO! I will not concede! Not when I am so close!" With a flick of his wrists, something slid out of Jaqc's sleeves and into his palms. When he closed his hands around them, the trio were taken aback when a suit of heavy armor formed from around his fists, covering his body in seconds. Once finished, the suit resembled that of a MASSIVE knight, with a blood red visor glaring back down at them. The suit was so tall that it must've been at least twice Rook's height and had a pair of very broad shoulders, giving it an overall intimidating appearance.
Ben, Yang and Rook stared at the now hulking brute, astonished by the move. "Uh… wow. Overcompensating, much?" Yang quipped.
"Yeah, dude, could you have just always done that?" Ben asked.
"Of course, I could have!" Jaqc bellowed from inside the armor, smacking one of his oversized fists into his palm. "But I was told by the knights to save this armor incase of emergencies only. I can say that this qualifies."
The Omnitrix bearer frowned, unimpressed. "And the Tarasque didn't count?" Jaqc raised a finger to make a counterargument… but eventually found that he didn't have one. "Yeah, THAT certainly would've been useful when you were cowering in fear from it just a few minutes ago."
Emily swiped her hand at the matter. "Forget about that! After all, you will not have to JUST deal with his armor…" Pressing her chest plate, Emily's White Knight armor began to suddenly bulk out as well, matching Jaqc's armor in size and heft within mere moments. "…But MINE as well!"
Rook raised a brow, glancing to Ben as the White Knight bulked up. "Should we be allowing them to do this? I feel as if we should be stopping this."
"Hm, nah." Ben shook his head, a smirk forming on his lips. "Now that the Monkey King's on the scene, I'm actually kinda itching for a good fight."
"That's the spirit, Green Boy." Yang supported with a playful nudge. "We're gonna WORK for that win!"
Their answers only left the Revonnahgander even more confused. "I do not understand. A fight would be preferable to avoid, would it not? …And yet you two and the Monkey King actively seek it out." Rook scratched his head. "This is all very perplexing."
However, the White Knight quickly silenced them as her armor fully formed. "Enough of the nonsense! We are going to wipe you three off the face of the Earth and then we will be TAKING that tablet piece for ourselves!" She pointed one of her large fingers at them. "And there is NOTHING you can do to stop us!"
"Heh… hehehe." Ben chuckled, shaking his head before his demeanor took a much more serious turn. "Miss Clotilde, I don't think you've fully grasped who you're dealing with. Allow me to remind you…" Activating the Omnitrix, Ben transformed into Four Arms, the Tetramand now standing eye-to-eye with the battle mechs. "I'm Ben Tennyson, wielder of the Omnitrix, savior of the Universe, and champion of Earth. But most importantly in THIS situation, I also kicked YOUR tin can asses more times than I can count." All four of his eyes narrowed at the woman, sending a brief chill down her spine. "And allow me to let you in on something; I am SICK and TIRED of me and my friends LOSING all the damn time lately! So with all due respect, we're gonna leave your armor for scrap, take the tablet, and be on our way, THANK YOU."
Emily had to admit, the speech WAS rather intimidating, but she wasn't about to back down now. "I… I-I will NOT be daunted by your words, Ben Tennyson. You might be able to stop one, but…" Without warning, Jaqc's suit sprung right up into the air via a set of jump jets on the back, taking them off guard.
Jaqc himself was laughing it up as he flew over their heads. "Hon-hon-hon! Let us see if you can stop TWO on your own! Ahahaha—AAAH!" But then, seemingly from out of nowhere… a portal appeared in front of Jaqc, a red and black vortex that was all too familiar to the teenagers below. And their suspicions were only confirmed when a certain woman came shooting out of the portal and slammed feet-first into the suit of armor, sending it plummeting back down to the rocky floor below.
Letting out a gasp and backing away, Emily stared in shock as Raven Branwen landed in a crouch between the armored villains and the trio of heroes, rising to her full height soon after. "Hmph, well, well, well… seems they weren't kidding when they said that something big was going on down here." The Spring Maiden pursed her lips at the duo with a bored gaze. "But I have to admit… I was expecting something much bigger."
"…Oh no." Emily stepped away, recognizing the woman from Bellwood. "You again?!"
"MOM?!" Yang exclaimed, rushing up to greet her mother. "W-What're you doing here?!"
"Hello, dear." Raven greeted back, nodding to both Four Arms and Rook. "Weiss called just a few minutes ago saying that France was experiencing some seismic activity. I was free, so I decided to drop by and see how you all were doing." She nudged her head toward the armored duo. "Are these two giving you THAT much trouble?"
Four Arms quickly denied that. "Oh, no, we were just about to kick their asses. What you're looking for is over there." He gestured toward the other end of the cavern… where Sun Wu Kong was currently darting around the whole place, causing the Tarasque to grow dizzy from how fast he was going. The beast was unable to keep up, but still tried swiping at him with its massive claws to no avail.
…And the sight made Raven's jaw drop immediately. "…Okay, what?
"That would be the Monkey King, Sun Wu Kong." Rook clarified.
Raven's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "…There's two of them now?"
"Technically, yeah." Yang jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "Though OUR Sun is over with the others trying to get that tablet fragment…" Her finger redirected back toward the White Knight and Jaqc. "And WE'RE working on stopping these idiots."
Weighing her options, Raven decided to take the more logical route, turning away from the fight between Monkey and the Tarasque. "Hm, probably best not to get in between those two at the moment." Her eyes lit up with her Maiden Powers coursing through her, prepared to lay a sound beating down on the knights. "But THESE two, though, I'm game to join in on."
Yang pumped a fist in excitement. "Hell yeah! Let's go!" She nudged her head over to Jaqc, who was just starting to stand up. "Hey, you wanna take the patsy you knocked down together?"
"I don't see why not." Raven unsheathed Omen, smiling to her daughter. "Let's do this."
"Bah! Just a lucky shot!" Jaqc dismissed before raising his hand, which retracted into his armor to bring out a lance made of pure energy. "En garde, you mindless simpletons!" With another mighty jump, Jaqc went to stab the lance directly down onto Raven, but both she and Yang darted out of the way immediately. With his lance now in the ground, Jaqc was left flabbergasted. "W-What?! How are they so fast—GAUGH!"
A massive punch to the right side of his helmet sent Jaqc sprawling to the ground, and Yang rapidly followed up with several more strikes to his chest area. "Ha! GAH! Just because you're in a big tub now doesn't mean you know how to fight, do ya?!" She wound up for another punch, but Jaqc managed to catch that one with his free hand.
"Hah… perhaps not. But I can still do THIS." With a powerful twist, Jaqc wrenched Yang by the arm and sent her straight into a wall, eliciting a cry of pain from her.
Four Arms immediately went into protective mode. "YANG!" Before he could get anywhere, though, the White Knight came flying in and struck him in the chest, making him stagger back toward Rook.
Wagging her finger, Emily shook her head. "Ah-ah-ah, you are dealing with me now, remember?"
The Tetramand growled, clearly upset that he couldn't get to his girlfriend. …But at the same time, just past the White Knight's shoulder, he could see Yang start to pry herself free of the wall, landing on her feet while her Aura burned around her and her eyes became red. '…She's fine, Ben.' Four Arms said in his head. 'She doesn't need you right now. You know as well as anyone that she can take care of herself.' Focusing back on the White Knight, Four Arms balled his fists, ready to fight. "Right. Bring it on, lady!"
"I recommend a swift incapacitation." Rook suggested, his Proto-Tool shifting into a bladed tonfa for combat. "I would rather not allow this to linger on for longer than it has to."
"Oh, afraid of fighting a woman, little alien?" Emily teased.
Rook furrowed his brow, denying her question. "No. It is so that you can experience the sting of defeat much sooner."
In contrast to Emily's indignant scream, Four Arms smiled and gave a thumbs up. "Eh, a bit clunky in the delivery, but you're learning, Rook!" He slammed his fists into his hands, ready to get things done. "But let's cut the chit-chat and lay the smackdown on this crazy lady!"
As the duo engaged with the White Knight, things weren't looking too good with Jaqc, the man now faced with something truly terrifying. …An angry mother swiping her sword at him. "You just made a MAJOR error, you bastard!" Raven shouted, slicing several gashes into the thick armor which left small fires burning in them. "You hurt my daughter, I kick your ass! Simple as that!"
"Gah! Ach! Madame, this is SO uncouth of you!" Bringing his hand up, Jaqc managed to grab the Spring Maiden's burning sword, snapping the blade in half with just a twitch of his fingers. "Pheh, you and your daughter, BOTH so unladylike. Perhaps some ettiquete lessons will be in your future after—" *CLANG* "AAAAAUUGH!"
Jaqc didn't get to finish that sentence as an incredibly potent punch from Yang sent him flying straight into a wall, her aura and eyes burning with furious intent. "YOU WANNA REPEAT THAT, YOU SON OF A BITCH?! How's THAT for "unladylike"?!"
"Yang!" Raven raised her voice, getting her daughter's attention before setting a hand on her shoulder. "Calm. Down. Do not let him of all people get to you."
"Hah… hah… I-I'm sorry, mom." Yang breathed out, though she was still fairly upset. "I just hate it when people say that I'm—"
"Trust me, I know." Raven pursed her lips slightly. "I used to get those kinds of comments all the time. But remember, it doesn't matter what they think." She nudged her head over to Four Arms, who was busy engaging the White Knight. "What does is what those closest to us think. And I'm fairly certain you know what he thinks by now."
That managed to get Yang smiling again, though her red eyes and burning state remained. "…Hehe, yeah, you're right. Thanks, mom." She raised a fist to her as Jaqc came running at them once again. "So, ready to ice this asshole?"
Raven put Omen back in its sheath, switching to an Ice Dust blade as she returned the fist bump. "I thought you'd never ask, dear. What's that move you do with Weiss called again?"
"Haha! Freezer Burn!" Her gauntlets locked and loaded, Yang launched herself into the air and blasted straight for Jaqc, who let out a gasp at the sudden move. He attempted to raise his arms and block the hit, but Yang punched straight into one of the gashes her mom put in the armor, blasting straight through it and successfully hitting something that went crack.
Jaqc wailed in agony and threw his head back, though Yang was still on top of him even as he flung his now broken arm. "AAAAGH! Mon Dieu! MY ARM!"
"That's not the ONLY pain you'll experience, prissy pants!" Now latched on the back of his neck, Yang hooked her legs around his head and, with amazing strength, wrenched her whole body back… and brought the man with her, spiking him straight on his head with a hard landing. "PEGASUS POISONRANA!" Leaping up to her feat, she ignited Ember Celica and gave a fiery uppercut straight to Jaqc's midsection, sending him straight into the air. "Mom, NOW!"
Her eyes surging with power, Raven flew up after him, her sword also pulsating with cold energy. The Spring Maiden concentrated her Maiden abilities through her weapon and, with a single swipe, sent a wave of freezing cold energy at him, which iced him over completely in just a few short seconds. "There! Now, Yang, finish it!"
Slamming her fists together, Yang brought out the most intense heat she could muster and then launched herself at the falling frozen man. She caught him in midair and, with his body settled over her shoulders, she called out; "Borealis… BURNING…" Lurching to her right side, Yang fell directly to the ground, slamming Jaqc down into it headfirst once again. "HAMMER!"
The ice shattered immediately and embers were scattered everywhere, the helmet effectively cracking into two halves to reveal Jaqc's unconscious face. The armor shut down all together and Yang gave a satisfied sigh, her aura and eyes returning to normal. "Hah… phew, okay, THAT was intense."
"It certainly was." Raven agreed, sheathing Omen and moving to put her arm around Yang's shoulders. "But it was also very cool."
"Yeah, you were cool, too." Yang nudged her mom with a wink.
Back over with Rook and Four Arms… things weren't fairing much better for Emily. She immediately found out something very important; she was INCREDIBLY outclassed by both of them. At every turn, even with all the onboard weapons she had, nothing seemed to stop them. Her energy sword had quickly been dealt with when Four Arms caught her arm and Rook sliced through the circuitry of said arm, disabling the weapon completely. She then went for a rocket punch, but Rook had launched an energy net at it and brought it to the ground, which Four Arms then took up and launched back at her. Even her jump jets were useless, as the Revonnahgander would latch on to her with a grapple line, allowing Four Arms to bring her down with little effort.
At this point, there was only one thing left she could try… "Hah… you simpletons… WILL NOT BEAT ME!" With a bloodcurdling scream, Emily activated several arrays of missile pods built in all across the armor; on the legs, arms, chest, back and even one on her helmet. All at once, these missiles launched collectively at the duo, who were admittedly taken aback by the move.
"Huh… well, time to change things up again." Four Arms reached up and slapped the Omnitrix, transforming right before the missiles came in contact and engulfed the pair in a multitude of blasts and shrapnel flying everywhere.
Yang and Raven had rushed over just in time to see this unfold, and the Blonde Brawler gasped. "Ben!"
"AHAHAHA! YES! Tremble as your precious boyfriend is blown apart by my—"
"What the HELL are you doing, Green Boy?!" Yang continued, unfettered by Emily's postulating as she pumped her fist into the air. "Get in there and bowl her over!"
The White Knight had to do a double take as the smoke from the blast cleared and, much to her horror, there was the Omnitrix bearer himself, transformed into Cannonbolt. Uncurling from his ball form, the Arburian Pelarota let Rook go and gave a thumbs up to his girlfriend. "Haha, don't worry, Yang! That's JUST what I was thinkin'!"
That got Yang to pump her fists up even more. "WOO! Hell yeah, baby!" She sent a smirk over to the White Knight. "Did you seriously think I was worried he wouldn't be able to beat you? Pssh, as if."
"As I had advised, it would be best to end this quick." Rook remounted his Proto-Tool on his shoulder, the barrel folding down and taking aim at Emily. "And to do so, we will have to destroy that suit."
"Agreed." Cannonbolt reached onto his chest and rotated the Omnitrix, narrowing his gaze at the knight. "And as for you, mademoiselle… I suggest you get outta that thing if you know what's good for ya."
If anything, that only made the White Knight even angrier. "No… NO! I must succeed if ultimate power is to be MI—AIAIAIAIAIIIEEE!" She was cut off when Rook shot a taser blast at her, effectively stunning her in the suit. Emily fell to the ground, still spasming as the suit's functions were slowly disabled by the electric surge. "Y-Y-You wouldn't D-DARE!"
"Lady, you wouldn't be the first Forever Knight I've sent to the hospital." Cannonbolt pressed the Omnitrix down, bringing the anchors down and initiating the Ultimate transformation. "I suggest you weigh your options." Within moments, the white parts of Cannonbolt became a light blue, while the yellow ones became a metallic cobalt blue. Small, dulled spikes appeared on his shell as well, finishing the evolution. "ULTIMATE CANNONBOLT!"
The White Knight watched with wide eyes as the hero curled back up and the spikes on his shell grew, becoming much sharper in the process. Spinning with great speed, Ultimate Cannonbolt burst forward, leaving a trail of upturned rock and earth in his wake. And, in the end, Emily could see the writing on the wall. …But if she was getting out, she would do it in style. "Launch emergency teleportation disk, and initiate teleportation sequence out of suit!"
Before the suit went offline, the only working arm raised up and launched said disk out across the cavern, which was propelled by a small rocket. From there, a brief purple flash could be seen coming from inside the armor itself, and from there… *CRUNCH* With relative ease, Cannonbolt rolled over it, twisting the metal and ripping it apart until there was nothing left.
At first, Yang, Raven and Rook were left stunned and speechless at how merciless Ultimate Cannonbolt was when destroying the armor. …But once they noticed that there was no blood anywhere, they quickly realized that the White Knight was not there at all. They approached the destroyed armor as Cannonbolt unfurled back to a standing position, with Raven asking; "Where did she go now?"
"I am… uncertain." Rook admitted, scanning the area for her. "She did not visibly eject from the suit."
"Probably has something to do with whatever she launched out of her hand." Yang figured, searching for the disk. "But where'd it go?"
Cannonbolt, however, had a fairly good idea where she was. "There's only one place she'd want to go after losing against us. …And that's to try and salvage her mission. Come on, we've gotta roll out!"
…..
Meanwhile, far away from all the fighting, Hope and the rest of the Omni-Hunters had made it to the very end of the cavern, all of them completely out of breath from running. But thankfully, they were also far away from the action, which gave them a good amount of time to try and find what they were searching for. "Hah… okay, time to get that tablet piece." Sun declared, pumping a fist. "Ben's counting on us."
"Of course." Juliette breathed out, putting on a determined expression. "AND hopefully with it, we will find proof of Nicolas Flamel's research." The teens felt sympathetic for her as her features became somewhat downtrodden, though. "I will admit… it upsets me greatly that Jaqc did not have faith in our research… and that he sold us out to the Forever Knights. But we must NOT give up!" Clenching her fist, she set her sights onto the resident mage. "Hope, do you have any more of those sparkly spores you had before?"
"Yes, I do!" Unzipping her face-shaped rucksack, Hope pulled out the vial of sparkling powder she used before, tapping out a tiny bit more into her hand. "Be ready, everyone. Once this starts moving, we can't lose sight of it. Understood?" A resounding nod went through the group, prompting Charmcaster to whisper her incantation again and blow the powder out of her hand.
Within seconds, it began floating away from the team at a rapid pace, much quicker than it had before. "Woah! It's definitely got something!" Ruby rushed after it using her semblance, shouting out to the others; "Come on! This way!"
As quick as they could, the Omni-Hunters managed to keep up with Ruby, following her all the way to a… rather interesting corner of the cavern. Interestingly, this particular section was entirely black, almost as if it had been scorched by the Tarasque itself. But then again… something still felt off about it. "Woah… you think this was caused by THAT thing?" Swift questioned, running her finger across the floor.
Ilia shook her head, noting how all the black was infused into the rock. "I… don't think so. If anything scorched this place, it must've been a LONG time ago. Too fresh for the Tarasque to have done it recently." Her eyes briefly looked back toward where the fight was happening, hearing the beast and Wu Kong's battle still underway. "That and I doubt the chains were long enough for it to get over here."
"Also, look at this." Juliette pointed down, indicating something else that was strange about the area. There appeared to be certain sections where the ground or walls weren't scorched. They were all differently shaped as well; angular, circular, short and long, there was quite the variety. "My guess? There must have been some sort of explosion here that caused the area to be blackened, but the presence of these lines indicate object that took the brunt of whatever blew up." With a wide, excited grin, she asked; "Do you know what this means?! We could very well be standing in what was once a secret alchemy laboratory!"
"Woah, really?!" Ruby smiled as well. "That's so cool! But… why would alchemists need a laboratory down HERE?"
"Hmhm, well, it only makes sense if they wished to keep their findings a secret, no?" Juliette reminded, her gaze trailing across the area. "What better way to make certain of that than to create an entire cavern where people would never find you?"
But before they could search the area more, Hope thrust a finger up toward the powder, which had flown into a blackened wall. "Over there! That might be it!" The group all went over to where the wall was shimmering, and were met with what had to be another secret panel. "No time for subtly with this one. Everybody, stand clear." With her hand lighting up, Charmcaster created an energy tether and used it to rip the panel off with ease…
…And inside was exactly what they were hoping for; an ancient stone tablet fragment with ancient writing engraved into it. Zak's eyes brightened up and he laughed, reaching inside immediately. "Haha! Alright, we—"
"Zak, wait!" Ruby pulled him back right before his hand got caught in a series of metal spikes that popped up right at the compartment entrance. Everyone did a doubletake, but weren't too surprised by it. "Hmph, boobie trap. Of course, there's a boobie trap."
"Heh, you said "trap"." Sun quipped, only to receive a narrow-eyed look from Ruby. "…Sorry, force of habit. So, how do we get it out?"
Taking out her Lightning Lash, Ilia came forward. "Leave it to me." With expert-level execution, Ilia slashed her way through the spikes in less than two seconds, watching them fall to pieces on the floor before reaching in and pulling the tablet out. "And there we have it! Tablet, secured."
"Ha! Way to go, Color Girl!" Swift cheered, only to catch eye of something else. "Woah, hold on… there's another thing in there." She approached the compartment and carefully extracted another rectangular-shaped object, though this one was much smoother than the tablet, and was made out of wood. "I… I think it's a storage box of some kind."
Juliette quickly took an interest. "Oh! Can you open it?"
Swift tried pulling the top, but it was no use. "Gah, it's locked… and I don't see a key anywhere in there."
"No problem." The researcher approached Swift to place a hand on the box. "I have a lockpicking kit at my lab, we can—" But her voice was caught in her throat the moment she saw something come flying their way… a small, disk-shaped object being propelled by a rocket. One flash of purple light later and, much to her shock, Emily came flying out from it, armed with a sword and going directly in to stab Ilia in the back. It was obvious that the others saw this as well… but she was closest to the chameleon girl, so she acted first. "Ilia! MOVE!" With a quick shove, Juliette pushed Ilia to the ground. And then…
*SNRRRKT*
Everything seemed to go into slow-motion as the teens saw Juliette get stabbed in the side by Emily, the Forever Knight clearly not expecting the move. But, all the same, as she stared into the eyes of her former roommate, she couldn't help but sneer at her. "Hmph, you are in my way, Juliette." She removed her sword quickly, not feeling even a hint of remorse as Juliette fell to her knees, her breath hitching as she began to turn pale. The White Knight, donned in nothing but white leggings and a matching compression shirt, directed her attention to Ilia, pointing her bloodied blade at her. "Now, give me the tablet and no more harm will have to be—GYAH!"
"GET AWAY FROM HER, YOU BITCH!" Swift screamed, blasting the sword out of Emily's hands before she and Fiskerton suddenly leapt onto her. Fisk roared as he held her down, slamming the knight into the ground several times before tossing her up into the air. Swift followed up by grabbing the knight by the shoulders with her claw-like feet, and then flying straight up into the air and throwing her right into the wall, letting her fall straight down to the floor.
As the duo beat up on the woman, the others all went straight to the wounded Secret Scientist. "Juliette!" Hope knelt down by the her side, Juliette's breathing becoming fast and erratic as she struggled and bled out excessively all over the floor.
The others went in, wanting to help. "I-Is she gonna be—" Zak started.
But the sorceress advised against it. "Everybody, stand back! I need room to work…" Reaching into her rucksack again, Charmcaster produced Quetzalcoatl's tail, making it grow instantly and plucking one of its feathers. "Gwen told me to use this only in case of an emergency. This definitely qualifies…"
Sun and Blake locked hands with one another, worried for the Secret Scientist. "Please, let it work." the cat girl whispered.
Taking a deep breath, Hope took the feather and pressed it directly into Juliette's wound. And, after a few tense moments, she could feel the energy within the feather begin to do its job; spreading throughout Juliette's body. It concentrated mainly on the wound, though, and in close to ten seconds, the wound was completely gone. Juliette took a sudden, sharp breath, snapping up straight only to enter a coughing fit. "HAK-HAK-HAK! O-Oh my god!"
"Yes!" Zak cheered softly while everyone sighed in relief. "Thank you, Quetzalcoatl!"
"Hah, Juliette, it's going to be okay." Hope assured, easing the doctor back down. "I need you to stay calm for me, okay? You've lost a good amount of blood, so there's bound to be some nausea."
But Juliette still had several questions. "H-How… did you heal me so fast? Magic?"
"Kind of." Gesturing to her side, Hope indicated the rainbow-feathered tail, which she then shrunk back down to put away. "One of the feathers from this tail is what healed you. It came from Quetzalcoatl himself."
"…Quetzalcoatl?" Darting her eyes around the group of teenagers, Juliette couldn't help but ask; "…Who are you all, really?"
"Just a bunch lucky kids who end up meeting a LOT of gods." Ilia shrugged, kneeling down in front of the researcher. "Also, thank you. You saved my life, and I can never repay you enough."
Smiling soflty, Juliette shook her head. "No need, cherie. So long as you are okay, that is all that matters."
"I am, thank you." Ilia showed off the tablet, as well as the storage box that Swift left before going to pummel the White Knight. "And these are okay, too." She received a happy smile from Juliette, but the moment was shattered when Emily's body went flying straight over their heads, crashing into yet another wall.
Fisk and Swift weren't far behind, charging for her yet again. "There's more where that came from, BITCH!" the Aerophibian girl bellowed, only to be caught by her tail while Fiskerton's way was blocked by Zak. "Agh! Ilia, what're you—"
But Ilia's serious gaze made Swift stop in her tracks. "That's enough, babe. You've done plenty of damage to her already." She glanced down to Juliette. "Everything's fine now. Juliette's healed, we have the tablet and whatever's inside this box. It's time we find a way out of—"
"NO!" Standing up, a battered, bruised and bloodied Emily took up her sword once again, glowering at the team as they all took defensive stances around Juliette. "I will NOT be denied! I am leaving here WITH that tablet piece, no matter WHO I have to kill to do it—AAH!"
She and everyone else yelled as, much to their surprise, Sun Wu Kong came slamming straight into one of the black walls surrounding them, taking them aback. The Monkey King had been thrown across the room by the Tarasque… who wasn't far behind. "Hah… hey guys. Sorry for the interruption."
"M-Monkey King!" Sun exclaimed, rushing over to try and help him out. "Are you alright?"
Before he could even do anything, though, Wu Kong pumped his legs up and dislodged himself without issue. "Hah, oh sure, I'm ALL good!" He raised a finger and wagged it at Sun. "Tarry just found my blind spot is all. Don't worry, Pilgrim, I've got this—" *WHAM* Not a second later and the Monkey King was caught between the Tarasque's two front paws, leaving only his head and arm exposed. "…On the other hand—EEEEEEE!"
"Wu Kong, no!" Sun took out his gun-chucks and started shooting up at the beast's paws as it pulled Monkey up to eye level. But no matter how many he shot, the bullets just seemed to ricochet off of its thick, brown fur. "Let him go, you giant freak!"
"Hey, hey, watch where you're aiming, kid!" Wu Kong ducked to avoid a bullet as he advised the younger monkey. "I might be immortal, but bullets are annoying when they get caught in my fur! Besides…" Next thing he knew, he was eye-to-eye with the Tarasque, wearing a confident smile as it roared in his face. "I said I got this."
"GRRAAAAOOOWWRRRRR!"
"Heh, yeah, nice work there, Tarry! You managed to catch me!" Wu Kong's smirk increased and he quirked a brow. "Or… did ya?"
*POOF* In a small burst of golden light, Wu Kong disappeared without a trace, leaving everyone, Tarasque included, utterly confused. "W-Where'd he go?" Ruby's eyes darted around, searching for where he could've gone.
Zak, however, knew exactly what was going on. "Heh, that tricky monkey's fooled us all! Up there!" Pointing up into the air, the team followed his finger and immediately saw the Monkey King rising up behind the Tarasque, floating in midair with his eyes shining as gold as sun.
"Guys!" Whirling around, the team were met with Cannonbolt, Rook, Yang, and most surprisingly of all, Raven rushing over to them. Cannonbolt uncurled and transformed back into his human form, running the rest of the way. "Sorry we're late! It took us a bit to maneuver around the Tarasque. Is everybody okay?"
Hope nodded as she helped Juliette sit up, the woman's fatigue beginning to let up a little. "We're doing fine now, Ben. Had a bit of a rough spot…" She briefly glared over at the White Knight, who was too stunned to move. "No thanks to her. But thankfully, we managed to find the tablet fragment."
Raven, approaching the team, was happy to hear that. "Excellent. The others back home will be glad to receive that news." She scanned her eyes across the entire group, eventually landing on Ruby and Zak. "That said, I'm just happy that you all are doing well."
"Raven!" Ruby zipped up to greet her. "W-What're you doing here?"
"I got a call from Weiss saying that Paris was shaking. She was concerned for your wellbeing, but…" Raven craned her head up toward the Monkey King, as the Tarasque finally noticed where he was. "I think it's safe to say the situation has been handled well." She gave a nod over to Zak. "And hello again, Zak. Good to see you."
The boy couldn't help but swallow nervously. Ever since meeting Raven, he couldn't help but feel anxious, even though she seemed genuinely nice. '…Maybe it's 'cause she's Ruby's step-mom? …Or it could be that giant sword she carries around and the incredible power she holds. One of the two.' Nevertheless, he bowed his head to her. "H-Hello, Miss Branwen. Nice to see you again, too."
"Oh come now, it's Raven." The Spring Maiden insisted. "No need to be so formal. Now, I suggest we all get to a safe distance."
Sun wore a big, toothy grin, excited for what was about to happen next. "Yep! 'Cause we're gonna be in for quite the show!"
High above, the Monkey King, Sun Wu Kong, moved his neck from side-to-side, loosening and popping the muscles in his neck before he reached up to his ear. In a brief flash of light, a small pin flew out from behind his ear and then grew into his Ruyi Jingu Bang staff, the golden clasps of the red cudgel shining in the light from the chargestones. In one swift motion, he then threw the staff straight above his head, distracting the Tarasque… only for it to suddenly change course and WHACK it in the head, sending it staggering back.
Once it rebounded back, Wu Kong grabbed it and flew straight in toward its head, striking the Tarasque yet again. But the beast wasn't about to go down that easily. Snapping its jaws, it went to swallow Wu Kong, but the Monkey King moved in the blink of an eye, creating distance between them yet again. With a confident chuckle, Wu Kong latched his hands into the hair on his head and pulled, yanking out several locks before throwing them out all around him.
What happened next left the Omni-Hunters amazed. From each follicle of hair, an exact copy of Wu Kong was created, all floating around him displaying the same confident swagger. While the real Wu Kong floated in place with his arms crossed, he watched as his clones all bombarded the Tarasque, slamming and exploding into bursts of light against its body. This managed to push the Tarasque back even more… but it also grew even angrier, opening its mouth for a mighty blast of flame. In one burst, it managed to destroy the remaining clones…
…But while the smoke lingered, the Ryui Jingu Bang came bursting out through it, dispelling it all at once. And, after extending to a suitable length… the staff grew to at least TWENTY times its normal size, slamming the Tarasque into the wall at full force. The teens below had to brace themselves as the force of the impact sent concussive waves throughout the cavern.
"That shit gets BIGGER?!" Yang exclaimed.
"OH YEAH IT DOES!" Ben cheered, pumping his hands into the air. "Finish it!"
Wu Kong came in zooming over his own staff, flying straight at the Tarasque as it opened its mouth for another blast. "Hope you're ready, Tarry!" he called out as he pummeled the debris that came flying his way. "Because HERE…" In a flash, Wu Kong transformed into a falcon, flying past the Tarasque's fiery breath. "COMES…" Once he got in close enough, he transformed back and held out his hand, making his staff return to him. "MONKEY…" Whirling himself around through the air, Wu Kong went for the finishing blow. "KIIIIING!"
*SHA-KOOOOOOM*
Everyone yelped as a massive force came blasting at them all at once, prompting Charmcaster to create a shield around all of them to make sure none of them went flying. The White Knight stabbed her sword into the ground and held onto it for dear life as well. However, when the dust finally settled, it was all too clear who had won. The Monkey King came strolling out of the dirt and debris, an unconscious Tarasque laid out on its back behind him. "Ah… and THAT is how you do it, kids."
"WOAH-HOHOHO!" Sun laughed and charged forth the moment Hope lowered the shield, followed by everyone else following suit. Wu Kong leapt down and met all of them halfway, enjoying the younger monkey's excitement. "That was SO damn awesome! The way you just went WOOSH! A-And then NYOOM! And then finished it with a KA-POW!" He was expressive in the moment that he ended up falling onto his back, but he snapped right back to his feet without issue.
"Hahaha! Yeah, I'd say that about sums it up." Wu Kong affirmed, giving them a salute. "Hope you kids enjoyed that, 'cause there's more where that came from." It was then that he noticed the new face in the crowd, leading him to extend his hand to the black-haired woman. "Ah! And you must be Raven! Nice to finally meet the Spring Maiden properly."
"Hm, likewise, your majesty." Raven returned the handshake. "I hear you are referred to as the "Great Sage Equal to Heaven", though your attitude must belie that."
Her quip got a chuckle out of Wu Kong, who rested his staff upon his shoulders. "Eh, I just like to take it easy most of the time. Don't worry, I consider myself plenty wise."
Rook stepped forward, nudging his chin toward the Tarasque. "Well, if that is the case, do you have any ideas on how we can properly handle that? I doubt it would be wise to simply leave it deep under Paris unchained."
"I like you're thinkin', Big Blue. Gimme a sec…" Spinning his staff back around, Sun jumped over to the Tarasque's head and placed one of the clasped ends on its forehead. From there, a rather large magic circle, glowing with a golden power and with ancient Chinese characters along the outside, appeared. And within seconds, the Tarasque began to dissipate into gold dust, which was sucked right into the circle.
Swift, Ilia and the others were both awestruck and confused by the move. "W-Wait, what'd you do to it? What's going on?"
"Ah, just a little trick I picked up WAY back in the day." Wu Kong explained, the Tarasque now completely gone. "It's kinda like a teleportation spell, but able to transport really BIG things. And don't worry, Tarry's gonna wake up in a good place, one where no one will be able to bother him… aside from maybe a few of my monkey subjects, but they'll leave him alone once they get the hint."
Hope nodded in understanding. "Ah, I see. You sent him to Flower Fruit Mountain, didn't you?"
"Bingo! Like I said, he'll be perfectly fine there. But now…" Shrinking his staff back to the size of a pin, Wu Kong placed it behind his ear and clapped his hands together. "I think it's about time we head outta here! You guys got what you needed, right?"
"Sure did." Ilia affirmed, the tablet and box held securely to her chest. "Only… one problem." She craned her head around to see Emily approaching them once again, the White Knight glowering in utter contempt. "We have to get HER off our backs first."
Emily leveled her sword directly at Ilia, snarling; "That tablet RIGHTFULLY belongs to me! I was chosen to wield the Armor of Ishtar! I MUST have it!"
Wu Kong wore a bemused expression, though his grin wasn't deterred. "Is that so?" He approached Ilia and pointed to the items. "Hey, could I have the tablet for a sec?"
"Uh… sure?" Ilia handed the tablet to Wu Kong, unsure of where this was headed.
"Thanks!" Facing the White Knight again, the Monkey King flashed his teeth, declaring; "Alright, now I have the tablet fragment. …Tell me, miss, would you really want to risk getting into a fight with me after seeing what I just did?"
At his words, Emily's demeanor did a complete one-eighty. Her features were etched with fear as her eyes darted around, growing more and more anxious as she tried to avoid the Monkey King's eyes. But there was no use in trying… as his red eyes bored right into her soul, seeding a sense of dread that only he could. "You are… unstoppable." she concluded.
"Glad ya realized that." Wu Kong placed a hand on his hip, staring down at her with an unimpressed glare. "Now get out of here. And tell your Forever King that if he wants more of these pieces… he won't JUST have the Omni-Hunters to deal with."
Despite her fear, Emily still found it in her to be angry at the Monkey King. "This… this is NOT over, Sun Wu Kong! We WILL find the Armor of Ishtar! This, I vow!" Lifting her wrist up, she spoke into her watch; "Reload to last checkpoint. Forever Knights, full retreat!" And just like that, the White Knight once again disappeared in a purple flash, leaving the heroes by themselves.
Swift, however, wasn't too keen on letting her leave. "Woah, woah, hold on a sec!" She narrowed her eyes at the Monkey King, pointing to him accusingly. "You're just gonna let her BAIL?! After everything she's done?!" Her finger redirected over to Juliette. "She almost got her KILLED and you just let her go!"
"I did, yeah, but trust me, if we cross paths again, I won't let her get off so easily next time." Wu Kong assured. "Besides, better to let the Knights know who they're dealing with. Let 'em feel a bit intimidated so they won't try this stuff again, ya know?"
"That… actually makes a bit of sense, actually." Zak admitted, while Fiskerton scratched his chin. "But now that all that's done… can we finally get outta this place?"
Ruby wholeheartedly shared the sentiment. "Yeah, I'd rather not stay down here for longer than we need to."
With her hands lighting up with bright purple energy once more, Hope began to cast a teleportation spell. "All you need do is ask, guys. Let's get out of here."
"Ah-ah, that won't be necessary, Miss Practical Magic." Wu Kong halted the mage, raising his hand while pressing his fingers together. "You kids have done a LOT already. Allow me to get in one last trick…" Snapping his fingers, the Monkey King summoned another gold magic circle underneath their feat, and the entire group began to dissipate into gold dust all at once. "Going UP!" And just like that, they were all gone, taking the light in the cavern with them.
…..
Back above ground, things had been relatively tense for the past half hour. The Black Knight, Rex, Weiss and the Saturday family could do nothing but focus on the intense rumblings happening beneath their feet, with no word from any of their allies leaving them all concerned. For a while, they could only guess what sort of conflict could be causing the tremors, but then, just as suddenly as they'd started… they stopped after one final BIG one. If anything, this only made them worry even more.
"Uh… any idea who could've won?" Rex wondered.
Weiss shook her head, biting her lower lip. "I-I don't know but—"
*Blip-blip* *Blip-blip*
The sound of a phone ringing caused Weiss to stop midsentence, bringing everyone's attention toward the Black Knight as he reached up to his helmet. "Emily! Haha, am I ever glad to hear from… w-wait, WHAT?! We're retreating?!" The knight's words immediately made Rex, Weiss and the Saturdays brighten up, all while he just got angrier. "What are you talking abou—s-slow down! I do not understand!" After a moment's pause, however, the Black Knight was left baffled with what he heard next. "What do you MEAN it's because "the Monkey King said so"?! That has to be the most preposterous thing I've ever—GAH!"
A collective shout rang through the area as a blinding light shined in everyone's eyes from the ground, but it disappeared just as instantly as it happened. And when it did, everyone was astonished to see the Omni-Hunters, Juliette, Zak, Fiskerton and Raven appear all at once, along with an unconscious Jaqc laying at their feet, in between Rex's group and the Black Knight. And, directly in the center of all of them, was the Monkey King himself, throwing his hands up in the air. "And top floor! Baguettes, nasty cigarettes and French action films starring Jean Reno! Hon-hon! This is FRANCE!"
No one could see it, but the Black Knight's jaw was slack underneath his helmet. "I-I-I-I—QUE?!"
"That's what I was about to say!" Rex concurred, himself and the others all staring at the tall monkey dumbfoundedly. "W-Wha—what the—who the—WHEN did—"
"Hey guys!" Sun waved over, jerking his thumb over to Wu Kong. "Guess who the little woodpecker dude ACTUALLY was?!"
There was a long pause as they let that settle in, but Weiss seemed to have an easier time comprehending it than the others. "You know, now that I think about it, that actually makes a LOT of sense." The former heiress and her EVO boyfriend moved over to the others, noticing Raven's appearance. "But Raven? When did you get here?"
Raven raised a hand to Weiss. "That's a story that'll have to be saved for later. Right now, I want to know if you all are okay."
"Oh, we're all fine." Rex promised. "Managed to beat those Forever Jerks pretty well… for the most part. But uh, did you guys manage to get the tablet?"
"Sure did!" Ilia affirmed, lifting the fragment for all to see. "Safe and secure."
"Hah, th-that's… that's great news!" Doc exclaimed, though his and Drew's focus was still directly on Monkey. "B-But… oh my lord, it's him. It's ACTUALLY him."
Drew had to cover her mouth, she was so thrilled. "I can't freaking BELIEVE this! Sun Wu Kong, the Monkey King, in the FLESH!"
Wu Kong waved the couple down, flattered at their excitement. "Haha, please, please, you're both too kind. But before we get down to brass tax, there's somethin' I've gotta take care of…" Producing Ruyi Jingu Bang from behind his ear again, Monkey approached the Black Knight, who was practically trembling in his armor. Slamming the staff down, Wu Kong lifted his chin and stared down confidently at the man. "So… you wanna try taking the risk that your partner wisely didn't? Or are you gonna be the stupid one here? Your pick."
"I, um…" The Black Knight typed in a command on his gauntlet and, from out of nowhere, a ship appeared, lowering down a long tether which he grabbed a hold of. "I'll be taking my leave. B-But mark my words, we WILL be prepared next time!"
"Yeah, keep telling yourself that." Ben retorted. "We'll be ready for you. Now get out of here, before I change my mind on letting you go." The Black Knight swiftly heeded Ben's warning, managing to get the rest of his troops on board the craft before it took off into the sky. "Hah… well guys… we won!"
"And about DAMN time, too!" Yang pumped a fist into the air. "And I say we celebrate!"
"Oh, I'm ALL for that!" Wu Kong agreed immediately with a wily smile, slinging his staff over his shoulders as he started to walk down the street. "C'mon, let's go find some lunch! I'm starvin'!"
The team could only stare at Wu Kong as he casually sauntered down the street, humming a little melody to himself… all while every single civilian was staring at him in stunned silence. "…Does anyone want to tell him that he's causing a scene?" Blake whispered.
"Yeah… we might wanna get him back to the lab before people start asking questions. But all the same, he DOES have the right idea" Ben ushered the others to follow him. "C'mon guys. After such a successful mission, we deserve some good food in us, right?" The team gave a resounding "Yeah!" as they followed the Monkey King, reveling in their victory while also trying to ignore the incredulous stares they received along the way.
…..
A/N: And there you have it, people! Forever Knights defeated and scared off, the Omni-Hunters got the tablet, and now we have a brand-new ally in the form of Monkey King! All in all, I'd say that this was definitely a successful outing. Also, yes, those who were calling for the heroes to finally obtain a win, your words have NOT been lost on be. And don't worry, going forward, the heroes are gonna start on a consolidated effort on making a comeback. They're all tired of losing, that's for sure.
But with that said, was this one heck of a crazy conclusion or what? We've got Wu Kong's fight against the Tarasque, Ben, Rook, Yang and an unexpected appearance from RAVEN taking on Jaqc and the White Knight, and then you have the White Knight going for the desperate move and wounding Juliette to get to the tablet fragment. Of course, that was meant for Ilia, but Juliette pulled quite the hero move to prevent that. Thank goodness for Quetzalcoatl's tail, huh?
Also, yes, the fight between the Tarasque and Wu Kong IS one big Lego Monkie Kid reference. Right down to the catchphrase he says when he finishes it off. What can I say? It's a good show and it's what'll be influencing my depiction of Wu Kong here in general (along with a few other figures from Chinese myth…). Still, the Monkey King might be a great fighter, but it seems his sense of social awareness might not be the best if he's just strolling through Paris like it's no big deal. Talk about aloof.
But with that, Ben 10 RWBY Month officially draws to a close, ladies and gentlemen. I will say, it was a pretty crazy time, but overall, I'd say I still had my fun with it. Let's meet back here next year and we'll run it back! But for now, NEXT TIME! Our time in Paris concludes with a small meeting between the heroes about how to go about storing the tablet fragment, as well as finding out what's exactly inside that box they found as well. But once we return to Bellwood, we get a little bit more insight on that Stymphalian Bird crisis that happened while the gang were away… but then we run into a problem. A very short, very annoying problem. Thanks for reading, everybody and I'll see you all next time! I hope you all have a Happy Halloween and, as always, stay safe out there!
