...
...
...
hey so i'm alive :v
sorry for kinda going radio dark! i had a massive move recently, a new job, buncha new stuff. Uh, this season adds a brand new writer, a very talented guy by the name of Matt, and he actually wrote two episodes with minimal input from me. And I'm VERY happy about that.
This season has had a few revisions- mainly due to the fact we keep having ideas, but hey, who can blame us?
A bit of a content warning- there are some rather adult themes here, with Ben and Ruby. You'll see what I mean.
They were warned. And yet, they did it anyway.
Now, this statement could be applied to a LOT of situations, but let's delve into this, shall we?
Juaqborne is a town in a Canadian Hunter community. The town itself looks magnificent. With its ebony wood rooftops, red brick walls and frozen waterfall, Juaqborne has a whimsical, magical atmosphere. Not to mention, the fields! The fields were nice and plentiful.
...of course, that was if you ignored the Grimm problem. For some reason, Grimm loved to spawn there. No one was sure what the source was, but hey, it brought in good money for in-town Huntsmen. However, the most dangerous part of land was one in the deep woods. No one cared to venture back that way.
...except for a bunch of crappy capitalists. These "crapitalists" (the townsfolk's charming nickname for them) showed up one day from America- they had a bunch of permits, a crew, and a desire to make profit. The townsfolk warned them not to go back there, but did they listen? No. They spent a month clearing out the area where it was suspected 'oil' was.
Today was the first day of mining. Surprisingly, no Grimm had appeared since they showed up, so maybe the townsfolk were wrong.
...of course, the second they said that, Grimm showed up.
Here's what happened- the crapitalists were mining, and they hit something. Black ooze started to leak out, and they started to celebrate! They thought they hit oil.
...and then Grimm formed out of the ooze and tore them all to shreds. They hadn't hit oil at all.
They hit a Grimm pool.
Now, how about we check in with someone in town. His name is Bruno, age 13. His father is a fisherman- he's helping load non-Huntsmen onto the boats to get them to another town across the way. He's zipping all around the place, leading people to the docks. It's a dangerous job for a kid, but he can handle it.
Bruno was turning back to go join his father when he heard it-
A growl. He whirled his head around to see a Beowulf perched on top of a roof. Bruno didn't have a weapon or an aura. He was just a normal kid.
A normal kid who was about to get slaughtered.
The Beowulf snarled as it pounced at the poor boy, and Bruno let out a shriek-
And suddenly, the bisected Beowulf collapsed on the ground, before fading away. Bruno slowly opened up his eyes to see a woman in a red cloak standing before him. In her hands was a large red scythe with a glowing red blade. Bruno guessed she was from Atlas, given the updates on her weapon.
"Are you okay?" she asked, removing her hood. She was a teenage girl, maybe about 17 years old. She had windstruck black-red hair, pale skin, and piercing silver eyes.
"Y-yeah," Bruno stuttered. "Who- who are you?"
"Oh, me?" The girl grinned. "Just someone who's here to help out."
There was a loud buzzing sound, and the girl turned around. Lancers were swarming the sky, much to her annoyance. Bruno stumbled back in shock. These guys only appeared when there was a large amount of negative emotions going around- had the town really descended into that much panic?
The nearest Lancer didn't hesitate to go for the kill- it shot out its stinger, aiming for Bruno. The girl simply stepped in front of it just as Bruno rolled to the side.
He opened his eyes to see the Lancer's stinger had pierced the girl's abdomen. He screamed in shock as red petals drifted out of the wound. Despite how serious the wound was, the girl herself was unharmed.
"Whew!" the Huntress exhaled, wiping some sweat off her brow. "Good thing I have THAT technique nailed down." She easily sliced through the projectile stinger with her scythe.
Bruno was at a loss for words. "How did you-"
"Oh, that? I just used my Semblance to vibrate through the attack," the girl explained as she casually shifted her weapon to its rifle mode. She aimed the gun at her target and prepared to fire-
And suddenly, the thing went up in a massive explosion of blue flames. The Huntress lowered her weapon and sighed.
"Stop kill-stealing from me, dude!" she yelled in annoyance. Bruno looked up to see what looked like a man on fire, riding on a flaming comet. Said guy jumped off the comet and landed near her.
"Hey, I thought you needed the assist," the fire guy defended himself. "You know, buy time to get the kid away from here..."
The Huntress gave him a flat glare. It reminded Bruno of the way his mom sometimes looked at his dad- annoyed and clearly waiting for an explanation. The entire exchange, plus the fact that the guy was still ON FIRE, threw poor Bruno for a loop.
"...Okay, fine, I stole your kill," the guy huffed.
"AND?"
"I'm a kill-stealing jerkface."
"There we go," the girl said, casually smacking the flaming guy's butt. She walked on over to Bruno and knelt down. "Do you need help getting back to the docks?"
Bruno, who had already been having the worst day ever, was now just weirded out. "Uh, no! I can handle myself!"
The Huntress looked worried. "Are you sure? There's a lot of Grimm around here-"
"No no! It's fine! Thank you!" Bruno ran back to the docks and towards sanity.
"...that was weird," Ben stated.
Ruby shrugged. "Eh, par for the course."
"Should we meet back with the others?"
"Probably." She nodded, and the two darted off.
Back with the rest of the team, They were destroying Grimm effortlessly. Yes, Manticore Grimm weren't a joke, and yes, the teens were actually putting effort into their fights, but they made it look so easy.
Weiss leapt from rooftop to rooftop, slashing through the Grimm trying to claw their way inside. A Manticore snarled as it swiped at her, but she quickly blocked it with a Glyph. Weiss focused on Myrtlenaster as multiple glyphs formed around her. She snapped her fingers, and droves of ice crystals shot out of them, piercing the Manticore dead in the chest.
Blake used Gambol Shroud's kusarigama form to swing into the air, and to quickly wrap the ribbon around a Manticore's neck. Yang then punched right through it, causing it to crumble into ash.
"Now that was satisfying." Yang smirked before running back into the battle.
Min, her eyes glowing, had purposely surrounded herself with most of the horde. "Follow me into the water," she murmured as a black pool spread underneath her feet. The torrent quickly grabbed hold of the Creeps surrounding her, and in the blink of an eye they were sinking into the dark abyss, never to be seen again.
Kylie leapt off a building and swung True Rebel's chain, slicing a few Lancers swarming her. She landed on the ground, dissipating into smoke and obscuring her next move.
The Lancers swarmed the area, looking for their prey. Kylie quietly reformed behind a corner and loaded her pistol. She swung back around to unleash a few quick shots- the monsters exploded in a fiery blaze, only increased by the gas she had laid out prior.
Kevin wasn't messing around either- Smashing Pumpkins' vines had plugged into the bodies of some of the Manticores. They were trying to fly away and escape, but Kevin had those vines DEEP inside.
"Doppler," Kevin said, "If you would?"
"With pleasure." The tendrils slowly transformed into electrical wires. Kevin sent bursts of kinetic, thermic, and electrical energy through the cables, destroying the Grimm in a beautiful explosion.
Blonko spun his bladed weapon around, swipe-slashing the necks of a few Beowulf, followed by a low swipe to a few legs. He shifted the Prototool to its spear mode, skewering a few Beowulf into a wall with a single vault. Another Beowulf ran up behind Blonko, but he let go of his weapon, grabbed the monster by the arm, and lifted them up over his shoulder. Blonko YELLED as he tossed them onto the ground:
"Revonnah Kai: Stonecutter!"
In one swift punch the Beowulf was gone, as well as the ground underneath it.
Blonko shook out his fist, wincing. "Still not used to that," he muttered, looking at his Proto-Armor's gloves. The glove was somewhat scuffed, some rips appearing thanks to the attack. But the damage was ultimately minimal, so Blonko grabbed his weapon and ran back into battle.
Ceres rushed through the field, grabbing two Beowulfs by their necks and dragging them across the ground. Energetic from her recovery, her eyes glowed bright blue and equally blue flames erupted from her skin. Ceres screamed as she threw both Grimm in front of her and released a beautiful blue explosion from her gauntlets, destroying them.
Yang paused her fighting to nudge Weiss, who was busy incinerating a Creep. "Do you think Zeta Squad has been taking up the 'explosion count'?"
Weiss sighed. "You're seriously worried about that right now?"
"Hey, we've only done ONE explosion today," Yang defended herself. "The rest have gone to them."
"...so you're just gonna ignore the fact he hasn't caused an explosion today?" Weiss asked, motioning over to someone else.
Yang glanced over to see Rex, who was slicing through Beowulf with his giant sword construct. He quickly shifted over to "Smack Hands" and took a giant chunk out of the ground. He heaved it into the air, and the rock smashed into the face of a Manticore. Enraged, the thing flew at Rex, who just smiled-
And sliced it right down the middle. The Manticore dissipated before it could even touch the ground.
"...well, he gets a pass because of that," Yang said.
"Fair."
Rex quickly shifted his builds again, to the (stupidly) weirdly named "Boogie Pack" - a jetpack with a pair of wide orange turbine wings sprouting out of his back. He flew up above one of the Manticores and switched builds to a pair of massive orange super boots. He slammed his feet into the beast and it went crashing to the ground, shattering the tiles underneath.
Rex casually jumped off the dissolving beast and grouped up with Kylie, who was firing her pistol at some more airborne Grimm.
"Hey, Rex," Kylie wondered, reloading her pistol.
"Yeah, what's up?" Rex said as he formed an orange projectile cannon on his left arm.
"No offense, but...why are you here?" Kylie asked, trying her best not to sound rude. "Like, I appreciate the help, but don't the Ace-Ops need your help?"
Rex loaded the cannon quickly, the maw of the cannon to take a chunk out of the ground. "Well, one- you guys are cool, in my age group, and are all kinds of weird."
"We know that, but hey," Kylie shrugged.
"Hey, I'm the weirdest one here," Rex pointed out. "I'm the kid whipping out weapons out of thin air. Plus, the Ace-Ops? Kinda assholes." He quickly fired a rounded out chunk at a manticore, destroying it.
"Well that sucks," Kylie said lamely, firing at a Beowulf.
"Tell me about it," Rex muttered. He glanced up just in time to see a blue fireball soar across the sky, exploding the second it struck a Lancer. "Also, you guys are TOTALLY hogging the explosion counter."
"Hey, not our fault we're just so...explosible." Kylie frowned, reloading again.
Rex grinned. "Pretty sure that's not a word, but I am so using it."
Elsewhere, Ruby and a now human Ben regrouped with Ceres. "How're we doing?" Ruby asked.
"Everyone's been evacuated," Ceres replied, wiping some sweat off her brow. "We just need to shut down that Grimm pool- everyone's starting to run low on aura."
"That," an out of breath Blonko added, "And the Grimm are just getting stronger." He motioned over to the others, who were struggling to take down a massive gorilla Grimm. It seemed to shrug off most attacks as it rampaged through the town. Kevin attempted to plug it up with vines, but it barely pierced the skin.
Ben had to ask: "There's gorilla Grimm?"
"Yeeeeep," Ruby sighed, watching the Beringel knock Yang into the church. "That just means we gotta get to that Grimm hotspot before shit gets worse."
"Then it looks like you guys are gonna need a ride!" Rex called out. Ben and Ruby turned around to see him and Kylie riding in on Rex's poorly named "Rex Ride", a hovering orange motorbike.
Ben smirked. "Depends. How fast can you go?"
Rex smirked back. "Pretty damn fast."
"That's what we like to hear," Ruby called out as Kylie hopped off. "You guys take care of the Gorilla. We'll take care of the pool."
"How do you plan to do that?" Kylie had to ask.
"Eh, we'll bullshit something," Ben answered flippantly, hopping on the motorbike.
"What he said." Ruby grinned nervously as she also sat behind him. In seconds they were gone, leaving dust in their wake.
"...notice how they left us with the hard part," Kylie huffed.
"Eh, pretty sure clogging up a giant Grimm pool isn't all that fun," Ceres shrugged before rushing back into the fight.
Yang wiped some dirt off her face. "Ouch," she deadpanned, before setting her hair ablaze. She sped over to Beringel, delivering a brutal blow to it's throat.
...it would've been more effective if done on a human. The monster roared as Kylie unloaded some bullets into it's back. They didn't pierce the skin too deep, but they did divert its attention away from Yang. Ceres advanced towards the gorilla, releasing a powerful burst of flames from her hands. The flames did some damage, but not enough. The monster retaliated by slamming his arms onto her- but Blonko had intercepted, the Beringel's fists clashing against his shield.
Blonko flipped his weapon around, changing it into a staff. He jabbed the Beringel in the face and swung it a few more times, backing the monster up a few steps. He quickly shifted the weapon into a sword, slicing into the monster's neck.
...also not effective, Blonko learned. The Beringel swatted him away, the weapon stuck in its neck.
Blonko huffed. "My bad."
"Hey, I would've done the same thing," Kylie reassured him.
Blake swept Gambol Shroud's chain scythe form across the ground, tangling it around the Beringel's legs. She flung herself forward, trying to retrieve Blonko's weapon. The monster swatted at her but she instantly disappeared. Blake reappeared behind the monster's back and withdrew the Proto Tool. She then grabbed her own weapon and quickly wrapped it around one of the monster's arms.
"Hey, Blonko!" Yang yelled. He turned to look at the grinning blonde. "How hard can you punch the bastard?"
"Pretty hard," Blonko called back. "Why?"
"Works for me!" Yang charged forward and rapidly punched the Beringel's chest, dodging every wild swing.
Blonko turned back to the Grimm, focusing the energy into his body. "Revonnah Kai," he murmured before he sprinted forward. He moved faster than the human eye could see, his speed matching that of XLR8.
Yang and Blonko unleashed one powerful punch to the Beringel's ugly face, sending it flying into a wall...but still not killing it. Blonko grunted as he clutched his hand in pain.
"You okay?" Yang asked, concerned.
"I will be fine," Blonko said through the pain. "I still need some practice."
She shrugged. "Hey, at least it isn't broken?"
The Beringel roared loudly, making everyone refocus. Yang unleashed a few small projectiles around the monster's feet before retreating- the pellets beeped rapidly before suddenly exploding. The monster finally fell over, and Weiss decided she would be the one to finish this.
Weiss formed a glyph beneath her feet before propelling herself off of it. With Myrtenaster at the ready, she stabbed the blade deep in its chest. Her sword was coated in an icy blue hue, ice spilling out of the monster's chest.
Weiss withdrew her blade and smiled. "We're done here." She hopped off the monster and went to regroup-
The sound of ice breaking and an animalistic roar told them that, no, this battle was not over.
"...I have an idea," Min piped up, having sat back for a few minutes in order to recharge. "But we're gonna need to get that thing inside the church."
Kevin cracked his knuckles as he walked forward. "I got this." Doppler quickly merged into the AntiTrix, and Kevin slowly began to transform into a newer form. At first glance, it seemed he was turning into one of his go-to forms, Bashmouth, but once Kevin had gone from human to the wolf-like form, the second change started. Bashmouth's armor plating grew out and covered his entire body, fur replaced with dull grey metal.
Once the armor had grown over, Bashmouth's body hissed with steam and his arms and legs disconnected themselves, the limbs now held in place by an invisible force. The arms were now basically energy, large metal shoulder pads and hovering metal claws being the only signs they were still there. The legs had gone through a similar change with two pairs of metal leg plates and three drill-shaped claws. Bashmouth's head had now gained a sort of connecting rod between the tips of his pointed ears, like a Cyberman from Doctor Who. With the rod snapping together with a loud clang, Kevin had now changed into the form he dubbed Steppenwolf.
Steppenwolf let loose a louder, metallic sounding roar. He propelled himself towards the seemingly invincible gorilla, slashing at the monster with his heavy metal claws.
"How long can he maintain those fusions for now?" Yang asked.
"A minute," Min said, her eyes glowing yellow. "If we're lucky."
Ceres groaned loudly. "Enough with the puns already."
Steppenwolf tossed the monster into the air. He howled, rocketing above the enemy and clutching them before crashing it's foe down into the ground with a brutal piledriver. He clawed at the thing a few more times, not letting the Beringel recover, before throwing the bastard through the church doors.
"There," Kevin said, slowly reverting back to human. "Go get them."
Min gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek. "Of course~" She smiled as the doors to the church shut, leaving her inside with the Grimm. From down the way, the Beringel roared as it charged at her, tossing aside church pews as it ran.
Min raised up her hand and slammed it on the ground- suddenly, all the shadows in the room trapped the beast in a powerful vice. Min squeezed her hand just a little tighter...
CRACK!
The Beringel's mangled corpse dropped to the ground, and Min fell back, light headed and woozy.
"...I need a drink," she rasped.
As Ben, Rex, and Ruby finally reached the construction site, they could see that giant black puddle they needed to get rid of. It was a decent size- a pond size, Ben had to guess, just from a glance. Maybe Big Chill could freeze it, or maybe they could see if they could like...dilute it. He didn't know how to plug this up, honestly.
Rex pulled over to a relatively untouched side of the site- there were bodies of the construction workers littering the ground, but this patch of the area was relatively unscathed.
"Jeez," Rex murmured. "This place is a nightmare." And then he heard something.
"What's up?" Ben asked.
"...I think there's someone still alive out here."
"Wait, seriously?" Ruby asked, before her question was answered. A man in a business suit was crawling up a cliffside. Rex gasped as he ran over to help him.
"Easy, easy," he said as he helped the guy up. "What's your name?"
The man didn't respond with words, but with a blood curdling shriek. Black ooze leaked out of his mouth and eyes.
Rex screamed and threw him off the cliff.
"...okay, so, he's totally not alive," he stuttered, walking backwards.
"You think?" Ruby deadpanned.
As they looked closer, the sounds of whatever horrors had taken over this place were evident. The bodies littering the site were either completely submerged in the black ooze or were almost entirely mutilated in some form. It was like a scene straight out of a horror movie.
But something was stirring. There was one particular survivor that was near the Dust-powered machinery. What looked to be a foreman was already showing signs of muscle spasms and post-mortem decomposition...but something was very off about them.
A white mask, one that curled the face of the foreman up into a grin that nearly split their face in half. Their movements jerky and unnatural as its smile never seemed to fade, the mask almost looking like some kind of separate entity rather than some kind of odd facial wear...
"Something tells me that's not a hardhat," Ben said before activating the watch.
"You think?" Rex scoffed as he unleashed his Smack Hands.
"Get ready, this thing doesn't look too happy to see us." Ruby quickly prepared her scythe as the corpse seemed to float into the air, limbs flailing and cracking as the mask tried ever so desperately to hold onto its recent 'host'.
The sickening crunch of bone and flesh being torn asunder could be heard as the mask devoured the remnants of the corpse's head. The body fell to the ground in an ooze-covered heap as the mask began to expand and grow. Black, spindly limbs clambered out as their target had been discovered-
A Geist.
"...that's literally just Ghostfreak." Ben said incredulously. "I'm sorry, but that is Ghostfreak. I'd like to have a word with the CEO of Grimm-"
The Geist snarled as it swooped at Ben. He ducked under the slash as Rex tried to grab it, but the thing slipped through his hands. Ruby fired a few shots at the monster, but it seemed to dodge every bullet.
Ben slapped down the Omnitrix- orange fur with black stripes ran up his body as he became burlier and muscular. He donned a luchador's outfit and unleashed a loud roar.
"LEMME TELL YA SOMETHING, OBVIOUS GRIMM RIP OFF OF GHOSTFREAK!" Rath roared.
"Ooooh, here we go." Rex smirked, ready for a show.
The Geist simply glanced at Rath before simply floating higher and higher, its arms extending as if it was looking to latch onto something.
And attach it did, as the crane the group was standing by was suddenly being assimilated by the Geist, being added onto its mass as it became its large, destructive right arm.
"OH! SO NOW YOU ALSO RIP OFF UPGRADE!?" Rath screamed, offended on behalf of his alien brethren. "YOU'RE DEAD!"
"Not the time, Ben!" Ruby snapped as she tried to shoot down the Grimm.
The Grimm started to extend more of its ghastly arms...but it seemed this Geist was smarter than most. The goop covering the area was now starting to bubble and steam as if it was being dragged toward its host like a blackhole.
Corpses, metal, dust, rubble- all of it was beginning to slowly mangle together into large boulder-like appendages as the metallic crane swung around in a wide arc, hook already looking to skewer one of the three heroes where they stood.
The three of them jumped over the attack. Rex shifted to his Boogie Pack to start hovering in the air. "How do we take this thing out? It's huge."
Rath landed on a boulder and growled. "EASY! THE BIGGER THEY ARE, THE HARDER THEY FALL!" Powered by sheer anger alone, Rath boosted himself off the ground and tried to latch onto one of the Geist's massive arms, only to be casually swatted aside.
The Geist itself let out a screech that pierced the air. Its form was now a hulking mess, and already standing at least a hundred feet above the group. Large bone-like spires grew out from its back- this wasn't just a Geist but an alpha, a polter level Geist!
"I've only faced one of these, but it wasn't this big!" Ruby yelped as she quickly dived out of the way, swiping Crescent Rose at any rubble that was flung their way. The hulking titan was already aiming its sights toward the red reaper.
Rex weaved his way through the rubble, firing blasts of compressed air to block attacks. "Well, think back. How'd you take it down the first time?" he yelled as Rath tried to attack again, but was once again swatted aside.
Ruby wracked her memory as the titan stepped forward, already moving its arms closer. The eye on its mask started to glow; something was beginning to form as it was already sucking in more rubble and items...including some rather potent Dust ore.
"THAT'S IT! Ben, do you have something big enough to take this thing in a fight?!" Ruby called out, firing off a few more shots as the Geist began charging.
"LEMME TELL YA SOMETHING, RUBY IRIS ROSE! RATH IS BIG ENOUGH TO TAKE IT!" Rath stubbornly yelled, his wrist mounted claws sharpening.
"...your middle name is Iris?" Rex asked incredulously.
"YES, BUT THAT'S NOT THE POINT! RATH, I'M SORRY BUT YOU'RE GONNA NEED TO BE BIGGER!" Ruby screamed. "THINK ULTRAMAN LEVELS OF HUGE!"
The amalgam of metal and rock was already bearing down on her, swinging wildly and only barely managing to knick her as she was flung off to the side. She only managed to stop her launch with a few well timed shots.
"AUGH! FINE!" Rath yelled. "RATH'S GONNA NEED SOME TIME, THOUGH! DISTRACT THAT THING FOR ME!"
"Can do!" Rex grinned as he flew towards Ruby and scooped her up. "Think you can get some good shots in from above?"
"You know it! I got some targets in mind, I need Ben to break this thing wide open!" Ruby quickly changed Crescent Rose's form and aimed, using Rex's flight to help balance her as she fired a barrage of Dust shots toward the Polter-Gigas. Rex was just thankful Ruby wasn't heavy like Rath. The Geist swatted it's arm around again, narrowly missing the two.
Rex frowned. "Gotta take out that arm. It's got the most range on it."
"The arm will come down on its own! We just gotta sever its connection to the Geist!" Ruby exclaimed as she quickly fired off a number of shots, the bullets encasing parts of the crane in ice. The Polter-Gigas thrashed around, trying to keep it steady.
"Can we at least slice through the cable part? I don't really feel like getting slashed open by a crane. That sounds like a cool way to die, but people are gonna wonder if I was being an idiot," Rex asked.
"Go for it!" Ruby brought out the bladed part and focused- she was gonna need a lot of speed for this one.
"Ready?" Rex smirked, revving his jet turbines.
"READY!" Ruby grinned, and the two blasted off. Ruby's blade turned a bright red color as she sliced right through the cable like a hot knife through butter.
The Polter-Gigas looked at the suddenly removed cable but was quick to turn, slamming a boulder-foot down. And then it lifted the main body of the crane up to try and smack both Rex and Ruby out of the air.
"Think you can slice through that part?" Rex joked, half serious.
"I can try!" Ruby quickly spun her scythe as best she could. In an almost graceful display of elegance, she sliced through various beams of the crane, causing the Polter-Gigas to roar in annoyance.
And that's when Ben decided to strike. He slapped down the Omnitrix symbol, and his size increased elevenfold. Ben went from a very angry pro-wrestler tiger to a colossal humanoid creature with a large fin on his head. He grew blade-like growths on his shoulders and spikes on his waist. His arms were red with two black lines and white fins on the elbows, wristband-like outgrowths on his wrists and green eyes on his head with two extra eyes protruding on his cheeks, one on each. He had red feet with two toes, a black sandal-like covering on the middle of his feet and three black lines on the side of his neck.
"...that's a big alien," Rex said in awe.
"Oh trust me, I've seen bigger," Ruby joked. And then she jumped out from Rex's grip, spiralling herself down to a safe distance. "GIVE 'EM HELL, WAY BIG!"
As the Polter-Gigas quickly stepped forward, the large bone spires on its arms beginning to glow as it prepared to blast the massive humanoid alien-
Ben simply crossed his arms, and the blades glowed before forming a massive energy shield that blocked the Grimm's attack. Ben grinned as he countered, releasing a stream of pure cosmic energy that obliterated the Grimm clean off the face of the Earth. Rex shielded Ruby as best he could, but she didn't even flinch.
From elsewhere, Ceres and the others watched the massive plume of smoke rise above the forest line.
"...well, damn," Ceres said, visibly impressed. "Brought out the big guy."
"Suddenly our feat of beating Mojo Jojo on steroids pales in comparison," Yang huffed.
Ben watched the dust clear- the crater the blast created revealed the Grimm pool. He frowned as he crossed his arms again. Another beam of cosmic energy shot out of his forearms and hit the pool. The black liquid began to boil and bubble violently, before eventually evaporating into thin air.
"That takes care of that," Way Big's booming voice said, right before Ben reverted back to human.
After all their destruction, the team decided to help out in repairs. Min's attack on the Beringel had sort of destroyed the church, and, well, you know how destructive Zeta and RWBY were. Adding Rex into that equation was like adding Mentos to an already shaken Coke bottle.
Kylie, Min, and Weiss were helping make some food for the people, with Blonko and Blake serving it. Yang and Ceres were helping others move some of their stuff back to wherever it came from, and Kevin was helping with reconstruction.
Min stared at the church- there was...just a massive chunk missing from it, like someone had taken a bite out of the side. Her fault, probably. That Shadow Vice attack of hers was pretty damn powerful.
"...should I feel bad?" Min asked Blake.
Blake shrugged. "Depends on what type of religious people they are."
"True." Min shrugged before going back to cooking. Elsewhere, Ben sat down to rest after heavy lifting. He leaned against Ruby, who handed him a water bottle.
She smiled. "Good work out there today."
"I could say the same to you."
"Soooo," Ruby drawled, setting down her water bottle. "Are we still doing the sleepover tonight?"
"What?" Ben asked, caught off guard. "Oh, yeah, absolutely. Sorry, it's been crazy these past few days, you know? Go here, go there, do this, do that...I'm still up for it, but I'm gonna be a little...augh, y'know?"
Ruby tilted her head. "We're just gonna be hanging out, like old times. But I see what you mean. It's been a busy year."
"I'm not sure I can take being a dog of the military any longer," Ben grumbled. "I like helping people, but it's just mission after mission after mission! And not many of them have been related to...you know."
Ruby nodded. "I know, dude. It's getting a little annoying for me too. But that's why we're doing this tonight, okay? To relieve some stress. And, well, spend some quality time together."
Ben laughed. "True. Plus, it's been a while since date night."
"Yeah, it's been, what, two weeks? That's too long, in my opinion," Ruby declared. "We need to make up for 14 days of not being cutesy in private, damn it."
"Oh, absolutely," Ben said, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek.
"Hey, Ben!" He looked over to see Kevin, waving over to him. "Mind giving us a hand here?" He motioned to a pile of lumber.
"I just helped with that though!" Ben yelled.
"You're the only one who ain't busy right now!" Kevin yelled back. Ben opened his mouth to retaliate, but Ruby stood up.
"I got this." She grinned, taking off her cloak. She rolled up her sleeves and revealed her decently sized biceps. Ben smiled goofily as Ruby walked off and helped lift some building materials.
"You are a lucky son of a bitch."
Ben quickly wiped some drool from his mouth before turning to Rex. "Don't tell me things I already know. Why aren't you helping?"
"Me? I'm on kid duty," Rex replied, sitting down next to him. "They're eating right now."
"You're good with kids?" Ben said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yep!" He grinned, leaning back. "Kids love me 'cause I'm like a big action figure!"
"...you know what, that's SO fair."
"So..." Rex grinned. "What's it like dating Ruby?"
Ben raised an eyebrow. "What, are we gossiping pre-teens?"
"Hey, I'm just curious. You guys have been dating for, what, a year now?" Rex guessed.
"Year and a half," Ben said, watching Ruby lift some heavy wood with ease. "It's...nice."
"...that's it? Just nice?" Rex asked incredulously. Ben didn't respond. Rex waved his hand in front of his face a few times, but he didn't react. Ruby's biceps were literally overpowering Ben's senses, turning his brain to mush.
"Dude." Rex clapped his hands, snapping him from his trance.
"Huh? Oh, uh, well, of course it's more than nice," Ben chuckled. "Dating your best friend is one of the best things possible. You know exactly what the other is thinking, there's lots of fun banter...hell, dinner plans are easy to make because you already know what you want."
Rex chuckled. "That's one nightmare out of the way."
"It's definitely easier when you already know each other. You know how in some TV shows, the people who date aren't really friends at first?" Ben explained. "Like, two polar opposites hooking up, going on a few dates, and then breaking up after FINALLY realizing they're too different?"
"...I don't really watch that much TV, but sure." Rex nodded.
"Well, with us, we already know everything about one another. We know what makes the other one smile, we make an effort to learn one another's interests, we're honest and...we already know the stakes."
"...stakes?" Rex noticed that Ben's face had changed from a lovestruck expression to something much more serious.
"...after that scare back at the Battle of Beacon, we...both realized that..." Ben looked down at his chest, his voice quiet. "In our field of work, we have that nightmarish possibility of losing one another. And that's horrifying for us both."
Rex blinked. He'd actually never thought about that. Ben always seemed so invincible, especially considering he'd just turned into a giant alien just hours ago.
Ben curled in on himself. "If that arrow hit my chest just a little higher, or went in any deeper, it's possible I wouldn't be standing here right now."
Rex… didn't expect this to get so real.
"You okay?"
Ben blinked. "Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine, sorry about that. Just...I'm still a little fucked up from that whole 'nearly dying' thing."
"I...get it?" Rex said, confused.
"Yeah, I'm not really sure this is one of those 'I get it' situations."
"Not your fault, I just didn't expect this." The two sat in uncomfortable silence before Rex slowly sat up. "Anyway, I should probably get back to the kids. See you around."
"Yeah, see you," Ben said, still hugging his knees.
It was an hour ride back to Atlas, and most of that was just spent decompressing. Between the restoration and battle, Ceres felt exhausted.
But still, here she was in her lab, reviewing some plans she was hiding from the team. She cracked her fingers before looking over blueprints.
"Back to work, eh?"
Ceres chuckled. "Was about to." She spun around to an older man with messy gray hair. He was of typical height with an equally average build. He wore typical Atlas scientist garb, and like always, he had that serene smile on his face. Behind him was a skeletal humanoid design with a gray, white, and red color scheme, alongside cyan highlights. The robot was holding a tray with teacups on it.
"Why did you make both hibiscus and orange tea?"
"I didn't know which you were in the mood for. Like to keep my options open," Doctor Weller said. "Caliban, if you would..." The robot moved forward, politely offering the tray.
"You know, I used to be like this when I was your age. Coming in late at night, going through life using a typical Uberman sleep," Doctor Weller mused. "Good times, good times."
"Haven't heard that one before." Ceres shook her head, amused despite herself.
Doctor Weller was a decidedly odd man. He was the one who spearheaded a majority of Atlas tech, so you'd think he'd be a brilliant and serious man.
Nope. Eccentric scientist, with a hint of a cloud cuckoolander.
So he and Ceres got along well.
"How are you and the others?" Doctor Weller asked, some concern in his tone. "If you don't mind my asking, that is."
"Oh, we're all fine," Ceres said, carefully looking at plans for fireproofing something.
"You sure?" Weller prodded, picking up one of Ceres' blueprints. "I'm seeing you less and less every week, mostly because of all the missions you and the others are going on."
"Give me that," Ceres grumbled, pulling the blueprint away. "I know I'm a bit stretched thin, but...this project needs my attention." Her shoulders drooped, her body and mind equal parts exhausted and determined.
Weller backed off. "Well, alright. I'll be here if you need me."
Ruby stepped into Ben's Atlas living quarters- it was homier and cleaner than she expected. There were a few posters on the walls of movies and famous people, a desk that had a few dog eared books, a desk lamp, a laptop, and a few pictures- one of him, Max and Ruby at Mt. Rushmore, one of him and Ruby at the Beacon Dance, and a group photo of RWBY and the Zeta Squad posing together. There was also a sofa with an ottoman next to the desk, with a flat screen TV on the opposite wall.
"Nice place," Ruby said, setting down her bag.
Ben grinned. "So...wanna get right to it?"
"Oh, you know it~"
Without a second thought the two darted over to the couch, started up Ben's old Gamecube and started to play some old Mario games, for old time's sake. Yes, you heard that right. Two teens of the opposite sex, CURRENTLY IN A RELATIONSHIP, had a sleepover to play video games.
You have a dirty mind if you thought something else was happening.
Naturally, Ruby fell under that umbrella too.
Well, not something sexual, but something more...couplish. And she knew when to do it.
Ruby faked a yawn around 1 AM. "Ah man, I'm beat," she lied, like a liar. "How about you?"
Ben yawned for real. "Yeah, me too. You ok with sleeping on the couch?"
"Actually, no." Ruby grinned. "Your bed looks warm~ Mind if I sleep in it?"
"Yeah, sure." Ben shrugged. "I don't mind sleeping on the couch."
"...I mean with you in it, dude."
Ben blue-screened.
"Oh, sweet!" Ruby didn't hesitate to take off her clothes, throwing on an oversized shirt (stolen from Ben) and immediately hopping into bed. Ben stared at her, lost for words.
"Well?" she laughed, patting the spot next to her. "Are you coming?"
Ben, who was already in pjs, stumbled up to the bed and laid down next to her, stiff as a board.
"Dude, relax," Ruby chided him. "It's just like when we were kids. Only with a lot more sexual tension."
Ben blinked. "The sexual tension is what makes this awkward, Rue."
"The sexual tension is what makes this fun~" she teased, snuggling up to her boyfriend. "But, for real. We've been dating for over a year now; at this point I don't wanna do anything crazy just yet. I just wanna-" she paused to yawn. "Just sleep."
"Stop rubbing your leg up and down mine enticingly and I'll consider it," Ben joked.
Ruby grinned mischievously. "Where's the fun in that~?"
Ben stared at her for a moment, before narrowing his eyes and grabbing her breast. Ruby gasped...before making an evil expression.
"All according to keikaku~"
Ben gasped. "HOW DARE-"
"Dude, come on," Ruby said, grinning brazenly. "Maybe I'll let you touch them without the shirt~"
"DON'T TEMPT ME!"
Ruby grinned. "Want a peek?" She lifted up her shirt oh so casually, taking in her boyfriend's widening eyes, right before shoving his face into her chest.
Ben blinked a few times, looking up at the ceiling. Light fluttered in from behind the blinds. Last night all just felt like a crazy dream. And it probably was.
...until something moved in bed next to him.
"That was a good night's sleep," Ruby yawned, snuggling closer to him.
Ben would've screeched like Astrodactyl had he not been so tired.
His girlfriend clung onto him. "It was nice to spend the night with you. I know these last few days have been kinda stressful, so, you know, I thought I'd provide some relief."
"Well...I did enjoy this," Ben admitted, a smile on his face and his cheeks still cherry red. "We should do it again sometime."
"How about tonight?" Ruby smirked. "You still owe me for blacking out."
Ben nuzzled her head. "Sure thing."
Kylie knocked on the door a little while later. It was a brief annoyance, but it was probably a sincere question, something like 'you guys wanna get breakfast' or whatever.
What they didn't expect was them opening the door and Kylie immediately saying "Hey, uh...Azmuth is in the Atlas lab."
Ben and Ruby shared a look before looking back at her.
Ben lifted up his finger. "One moment, please." He shut the door, and Kylie heard a rush of footsteps, of Ben and Ruby rushing around the room, picking up clothes and throwing them on. Kylie waited patiently in the hallway, looking at her phone and wondering why Ruby was wearing one of Ben's shirts.
She wouldn't get it until later that week.
Ben and Ruby threw open the door. "So, why's Azmuth in the Atlas Lab?" Ben said, running in place.
"Dunno. I was in there bothering Ceres about my weapon when he just kinda...popped up," Kylie explained. "Dude was ON the table, just walking around casually. Thought you'd need to know. Whenever he shows up, something big happens."
"Fair point," Ruby conceded as she and Ben took off to the labs.
Kylie was right- Ben and Ruby found that Azmuth was just sitting on the table, stirring a massive mug of coffee. Well, to Ben and Ruby, the mug was small, but to Azmuth's perspective, it looked as if he was stirring a witch's caldron. Ironwood was already there, looking confused, and Weller was close by, bouncing up and down in place. He looked ready to burst with questions.
"So, you're the esteemed creator of the Omnitrix," Ironwood started, cutting through the silence.
"Yes. I am. You've repeated that statement quite a few times," Azmuth joked.
"Sorry. When I pictured the creator of an incredibly powerful device, I pictured..." Ironwood trailed off. "Can we drop this?"
Ceres smirked. "No no, keep digging."
"And I need to ask a few questions," Rufus interrupted, pushing Ceres out of the way. "Hello, Doctor Rufus Weller, Atlas head of science. So, about the Omnitrix: is it protected against hackers? Are there any Earth species inside it? How did you obtain all 1,000,912 alien samples?"
"I'm interested in that too, actually," Ben added, as Azmuth perked up.
"Ben Tennyson. It has been too long," Azmuth said, walking over. He extended his hand...and Ben extended a finger. Azmuth shook said finger before he cleared his throat. Even he knew it was awkward.
"Anyways, to the matter at hand," the genius declared, walking back over to his mug.
"It's unlike you to do a meeting like this on the fly." Ben crossed his arms. "Must be serious."
"Indeed it is." Azmuth moved his attention over to a laptop screen. "I've been monitoring Earth's energy spikes from my lab, as a precaution." He pressed a few buttons on his keyboard, and a display of the globe appeared, with a few multi-colored bursts of energy on the globe. "Most of these are from the immense bursts of energy from the Omnitrix or Albedo's Ultimatrix."
"Wait, you can just track that?" Ruby piped up.
"Of course. The Omnitrix is a Level 20 piece of tech. It's probably the only thing in existence that can radiate that sort of energy," Weller bemused. "Besides the Ultimatrix, of course."
Azmuth finished sipping from his mug with a straw. "However, I picked THIS up earlier this week."
He moved the globe to the middle of nowhere, where a massive spark of energy appeared, nearly encompassing a few square miles. "This is akin to an Omnitrix reading. We just can't figure out why the reading is so big."
"Salem..." Ironword murmured.
"We can't assume it's her just yet, General," Weller pointed out. "Worst case scenario, it's her. Best case? Something unrelated."
"How is that 'best case'?" Ruby has to ask.
Weller shrugged. "Hey, it could be with them, could be with us."
"We don't know what's causing this spark of energy, but we have to assume it's dangerous," Azmuth said. "That's why I've decided to send something over to level the playing field."
"And what would that be?" Weller grinned, even more excited than Ben. "A new toy?"
The Galvan brought up the image of an electric key. "This is the Omni Driver. It was the predecessor to the Ultimatrix."
Ben raised an eyebrow. "Alright, what's it do?"
"Albedo designed it in case the future wielder of the Omnitrix found themselves in a world ending situation," Azmuth explained.
Ironwood glared at him. "And you send this now?"
"I could ask you why you haven't been doing much to slow her down, general. Sending out your soldiers on missions that have nothing to do with her seems...counterintuitive," Azmuth replied, narrowing his eyes. "But I'll hold my tongue."
Ironwood frowned- Azmuth was right, he just didn't want to admit it.
"So, when should we expect it?" Ben asked.
Azmuth paused. "Right about...now. Look down at your wrist."
Ben raised an eyebrow before rolling up his sleeve- The Omnitrix had changed appearance. The rim of the dial was white, the circles on the side were replaced by green arrows, and the area behind the hourglass and the wristband both became grey. The outer band was black with green arrows, and the sides of the dial and the ends of the wristband were silver.
"Whoa," Ben breathed.
"Ooooh, yes." Ceres grinned, already clapping her hands together and rubbing them in anticipation. "'Bout time that thing got a new look to it."
"Hey, what's wrong with the old look?" Ben pouted, covering up the watch.
"Well, you got that thing back in 2011?" Ceres guessed. "It's been out of style since 2013. It desperately needed a new look."
Ruby slowly nodded. "She's not wrong."
"This just adds more questions on top of my other unanswered questions," Weller noted.
"It will take a few days for the 'update' to really kick in," Azmuth explained. "It's going to randomly decide what aliens get these updates, and what sort of updates they'll get."
"How long exactly?" Ruby asked eagerly.
"I wouldn't know. 5? Maybe 6?" Azmuth sighed. "You'll still be able to access the DNA altering functions, albeit at a smaller time frame than usual. That's all for now." With that, he teleported away.
"...would have expected at least a 'goodbye' or something," Ruby huffed.
"I expected him to answer one of my questions," Weller said, let down.
Ben and Ruby didn't waste any time finding a place to stake out near the energy spikes- there was a small farmhouse Zeta and RWBY could stay in, at least until they got results. Probably wouldn't be too long.
Ben was especially happy to get some alone time with Ruby. Last night was fun, all things considered. He'd been worked to the bone for so long he'd almost forgot that he was 17 and still a dumb kid. He deserved to have some fun, right?
...well, all hope of that alone time was ruined when Rex invited himself on the mission.
Ben and Ruby honest to God would have rejected the idea, but then they remembered- Rex was kept on a tight leash around here.
So, pity points ultimately came through in Rex's favor.
The farm was small, home to at least two people given the size of that house. It was located on a large flat plain with mountains in the distance. The largest building on the farm was a barn, which didn't sound too impressive, but it was HUGE. There was a road right in front of the whole place, with a fence that was in desperate need of repairs. Miles and miles of hay spread across the fields, making the place feel...smaller, almost.
"Cute place," Rex noted, looking around. "I can see myself staying here for a week."
"It reminds me of home." Ruby smiled. "All it's missing is the raccoons." She walked ahead, leaving Rex confused behind her. He turned to Ben, who was carrying Ruby's bag for her.
Rex gave him a strange look. "Did she say raccoons?"
"Yeah, it's weird." Ben shrugged as he walked past Rex.
"...is Ruby like, feral or something?" Rex asked as he caught up with him.
"She bit a guy on the neck before," Ben replied. "That answer your question?"
Rex shrugged. "I guess." The two kept walking until they saw Ruby talking with someone.
The farmhand was a boy, short in stature. His skin was tanned and he had a faint, perpetual blush and freckles on his cheeks. His hair was black and perpetually messy. He wore a dirty and scuffed white shirt that had laces across the chest, with a pocket on the left side of his chest. Orange suspenders held up his olive pants, which were tucked into worn brown boots. As Ben got closer, he noticed something strange about the boy- his eyes. They were hazel, the main iris being forest green, with accents of burnt orange and yellow around the pupil.
As he got closer, he could hear Ruby talking. "Yeah, that's right. We're the party that reserved the place for a week."
"You guys are Hunters, right?" The boy asked, a touch awestruck.
"Official Huntress right here, with her two trusty sidekicks~!" Ruby joked, motioning to the two boys.
"Sidekick!?" Rex gasped, offended. Ben rolled his eyes and stood next to his girlfriend.
"We should probably introduce ourselves. I'm Ben, that's Ruby, and he's Rex." He smiled. "And you are?"
"Oh, me? I'm Oscar Pine. Nice to meet you," The boy extended his hand, and Ben shook it.
"We can't thank you enough for letting us stay here. We really needed a break from all the drama of Atlas. Return to our roots, y'know?" Ruby said, breathing in that fresh country air.
"Well, your roots. First time in the area for me, honestly," Rex pointed out.
"Yeah," Oscar said to Ruby, "I get what you mean. Never been but, you always hear about Atlas. All the lights, the Dust." The farmhand could practically visualize the self-proclaimed greatest kingdom.
Ruby chuckled. There was a shine to Oscar's eyes that she liked. "So, is there some place where we can set our bags before you give us a tour?"
"Yeah. I can show you your room while we're at it," Oscar said as he turned and led the way into the house. Ruby hefted her bag again and followed him in, along with Ben and Rex.
Oscar stepped into the house, holding the door open for the trio. Ben sniffed the air. "Is that apple pie?" he asked hopefully.
"Yeah, my aunt's baking dinner right now. You guys came at the BEST time," Oscar said with a smile.
"And you actually worried about this," Ruby told Rex.
"Ok, you must be imagining things," Rex shot back. "What's there to worry about?"
"Hey, you said it yourself, this is your first country trip."
"Hey, I can relax a little. It's nice and comfy here, isn't it?" Rex smiled, walking inside. "There's nothing to-"
A flying wooden spoon suddenly hit Rex on the forehead. "I KNOW you're not about to walk inside with those dirty boots!" nn older female voice exclaimed.
Ruby and Ben were doing their best NOT to laugh, but it was incredibly hard. Rex could only rub his aching forehead in stunned silence. Oscar sighed as he picked up the wooden spoon.
"Sorry about that. I should've warned you."
Rex looked into the kitchen to see the offender- she was a woman in her late 40s, with features very similar to Oscar. She wore a brown, long-sleeved blouse that partly exposed her collarbones over a long cream-colored dress. And yes, her brown shoes were spotless.
"Don't care if you're not from the area, you gotta learn," Oscar's aunt said.
"Dorothy Pine, right?" Ben asked, walking into view (with his shoes off). "Hi, I'm Ben Tennyson. We were the ones that contacted you about the inn."
Ruby shook her head, smirking. "I'm telling Yang about this when we get back."
"You WILL NOT!" Rex gasped, offended.
"Awww, but she has to! Rex, best of the best, brought low by a wooden spoon!" she chuckled after she gave that melodramatic retelling. "It'll be great."
Ben rolled his eyes. "Ignore her. She's being silly."
Ruby could only smirk a bit. Sometimes it was just too easy to mess with others.
"So, y'all gonna be staying for how long now?" Dorothy asked.
"A few days," Ben answered. He really didn't know how long it would take to find the source of the weird energy. A few days was an optimistic guess. But there was no need to worry the hosts.
"Alright, alright. Oscar, show them to their rooms and give 'em the tour," Dorthy ordered.
Oscar nodded and motioned for them all to follow. "From the smell, I'd say everything's almost done. But we should have enough to get the whole tour in."
"Sweeeet," Ben drawled out. "Never been to a farm like this before."
"Yeah, it's not the most...," Oscar trailed off, searching for the right word.
"Active?" Ruby offered.
"Yeah. It's not the most active place, but we get by. No boredom out here."
"Just work?" Rex deadpanned.
"Kind of," Oscar admitted. He soon reached a door and held it open for them.
The bedroom was nice, with a good-sized bed, a small desk and chair combo, and a partly filled bookshelf close to the window. "This is one of the two. I'm not sure how the sleeping arrangement is gonna work-"
"We'll sleep in here," Ruby declared, taking Ben's hand and putting their bags inside.
"Oh, uh, ok. That was fast. Guess the second one's all yours," Oscar told Rex.
"I kinda figured," Rex shrugged.
Ruby flopped on the bed. "Ooooh, soft."
Ben blinked. "Well, glad I don't have to share the bed with Rex."
Oscar blinked, taking in their weird conversation. They all seemed pretty friendly to each other, so they probably had some history. Deciding it wasn't his business, he changed the subject.
"So...what's Atlas like?" Oscar asked Rex as he showed him to his room.
"Hmmm, well...it's kind of like what you think," Rex said as he set down his bags, "The high rises and all. But..." He hesitated to bring up the kingdom's issues and break Oscar's hopes. It was always nice to have some kind of dream, right?
"But what?" Oscar asked, confused.
"Sorry. It's not important," Rex said quickly.
Oscar shrugged. "Alright."
Ben and Ruby walked over, having finished for the time being. "So, tour time?" Ben asked hopefully.
"Oh, right!" Oscar said, already moving on. "Come on!" He led them back down through the house, making sure to point out the necessary rooms if they needed it. They already saw the kitchen but he pointed out other places, like a small storage closet in case his aunt ever needed paper towels or detergent or whatever.
But the real centerpiece of the tour was, of course, the barn. It was actually quite lively, with animals running around amidst the nice scenery...
"And, of course," Oscar said as he led the group closer, "here's the actual barn. We've got all the animals you'd expect around here." The farmhand made sure to check on the feeders and make sure the animals still had enough. The pigs needed a refill but when was that new?
"Man, smells like a barn in here," Rex said, trying to get a laugh.
Oscar rolled his eyes at that. "Wow, no one's ever made that joke before."
"Ok, you know the joke failed when even he's bringing out the sarcasm," Ruby chimed in.
"And this is where I come to chill out," Oscar said, presenting a smaller, more closed off section of the barn- inside it was a tractor, a couch dragged in from the side, and a bookshelf full of aged books with dog eared pages. "Feel free to chill out here. Just try and leave it the way you found it."
"Nice pad," Ben declared, flopping down on the couch.
"What's with the tractor?" Ruby had to ask. "This the country version of having a car in a mall?"
"Nah, just an old thing that's been with my aunt for...God knows how long," Oscar said, having to think about it. "Been trying to fix it in my spare time."
"Pretty cool ride. You ever try picking up chicks in it?" Rex joked.
"Not really," Oscar said, some annoyance in his voice.
"...you okay?" Ruby asked.
"Look at this place," Oscar sighed, motioning to the plains. "I'm supposed to call this home?"
"I mean, it does seem pretty peaceful," Rex shrugged, leaning against the tractor.
"I swear, the only reason I'm fixing this stupid thing up is because it's an excuse to go into town for parts. That's kind of an adventure, right?" Oscar huffed.
Rex raised his eyebrow. "Why are you so worked up about this? I'd kill to have a life free of rules or action."
"I just..." He took a deep breath. "Don't you ever dream of some place better? Of a life that's greater than it is? I just...all this feels so suffocating. And that feeling's only gotten worse after the Fall of Beacon."
"...I can see his point," Ruby interjected, sitting down next to Ben. "I was the same way when I was younger. I had that adventure a looooong time ago." She winked at Ben, who turned red in the face.
Rex rolled his eyes at them and decided to get Oscar and him out of the room.
"So Oscar, anything else you want us to see? Oh, and don't worry about those two, they'll catch up," Rex said as he not-so-subtly tried to let Oscar know.
"Oh! Yeah, I, uh, know a few more places." Oscar flushed as he turned away from the couple.
Rex chuckled a bit before leading the way. "Come on, let's give them some time."
Both boys left the barn, leaving the couple completely alone. Ben blinked. "...well, we scared them away."
"I wouldn't say that," Ruby drawled. "He just didn't want to make it awkward."
He chuckled. "Maybe."
"You know, aside from the barn, I could see something like this as a nice place to settle down," Ruby noted, leaning back against the couch.
"Really? Us, living out in the country?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Hey, I'm used to it. Pretty sure you could adjust. No light pollution from the big cities so the stars are on full display, for one."
"Oh, that's true," Ben agreed. "Always did like to see a full starry sky when we were camping."
"Not too noisy either. Cause, you have to admit, Atlas is a LOT of things, but quiet's not one of them," Ruby said with a smirk.
"Bellwood's fine, but...yeah, they got a nasty alien problem," Ben said, shaking his head. "And who knows, maybe I'll get used to living in a place like this."
"See? Knew you'd come around to it."
"But still, we gotta focus," Ben told her. "Energy spikes, remember?"
Ruby heaved a sigh. "I know. I can daydream a little, can't I?"
"Come on." Ben smiled as he stood up. "Let's go get some dinner. Then we can cuddle more."
Ruby smiled back. "Sounds like a plan."
"It's all setting itself up perfectly, isn't it?" Zs'Skayr rasped.
"It is," Salem replied. "All is going well."
"Will Breach be able to-"
"Sadly, not," Salem said firmly. "She's….busy, at the moment. Playing with her toys, it seems."
"How long has she been playing with Tyrian?"
"Too long, probably. But Tyrian needs less coddling, don't you think? Some time in Breach's world should help," Salem said, laughing softly.
"Well then, your team had time to shine at Beacon. Shall I send mine to retrieve the Corrodium?" Zs'Skayr cackled.