Y'all, we're in endgame now. Thanks to Primal and Tricia for doing some editing on this!


Ruby and Ben had never seen adobe houses before. The earthen structures were naturally cool inside, and the sandy walls blended into the desert canyons beautifully, especially as the setting sun lit up the dunes. The entire town had this ancestral, age-old feeling to it that Ruby could appreciate.

Ben, not so much. They were all supposed to be listening to Max's friend explain something about a dream catcher, but Ben just yawned and scrubbed the exhaustion from his eyes. "I can appreciate a history lesson as much as the next kid, but we've been traveling all day. I'd rather not."

"Well, it is almost sunset," Ruby pointed out, taking in the purpling sky. "Either way we're gonna head in soon."

"Oh come on," Gwen griped. "How many other kids can say they've been on an actual Native American reservation? Can't you pretend to be a little excited?"

"I'll pretend when I feel like I'm not about to fall over," Ben stated flatly.

Ruby just shrugged. "I actually wanna share your opinion, Gwen, but honestly? I just wanna head inside right now. Besides, we'll be here for a few days. We can be excited tomorrow."

Gwen glared at them for a second, but Ruby's logic won her over. "Ugh, fair enough. At least pretend to be interested when Mr. Green talks to you about this. He's Grandpa's old friend, we have to make a good impression."

Ben and Ruby both made affirmative noises at that before following their grandfather through the village. Gwen trailed behind them, grumbling. All of them were in bad moods, the waning heat still lingering after a full day in a hot RV. Everyone had changed into fresher clothing before landing at the reservation- except Max, who looked as fresh as a daisy, somehow.

Ben was wearing an old but still good pair of green and black sneakers, dragging them against the sands. His new brown cargo pants ended against his ankles, which felt weird, but it helped against the heat. To complete the look was a bright green t-shirt with black sleeves, a white number 10 emblazoned over his heart. Gwen was wearing old but comfortable blue Converses with tan shorts she had picked up for the summer. The final touch was a light blue t-shirt with her favorite cat symbol on its chest. Ruby had gone for darker colors, which was weird to wear in the desert, but it suited her regardless. She wore matching black shorts and sneakers, paired with a gray tank top. She had thrown a thin, red plaid button up over the tank, a large black rose stitched on the back.

"Does anyone else hear music?" Ruby asked as they got closer to the center. "Like, heavy tribal music with drums."

"You think there's some sort of festival going on?" Ben wondered out loud as they joined the crowd.

"Could be a tribal performance," Gwen noted before they finally saw what was going on. It was, indeed, a tribal performance, specifically a group of musicians with a sole dancer. She was young, probably around their age, with brown skin and eyes, and hair like raven feathers. She was wearing a traditional red and blue dress, a circlet on her head. She looked serious and focused, her steps confident and unwavering.

"That's my granddaughter, Kai," Wes Green said proudly.

Max put a hand on his shoulder and smiled. "Aw, Wes, last time I saw her, she was barely walking! Now look at her."

"Oh we're looking," Ben muttered, the music irritating his ears. He might have been in a better mood, but a full day of travelling, plus having to deal with his shrill cousin left him in a tired, sour mood. (Though Gwen had made an effort to be nicer. It was slow progress though.) Ruby was doing marginally better- she at least looked mildly interested. Gwen just studied the dancer like she was trying to dissect her. It was weird, but typical for Ms. Smarty Pants.

The dance ended, and Kai bowed gracefully. She then walked right past them towards her grandfather, which made sense, since no one had introduced them. Honestly two out of the three kids didn't even care, they just wanted to go to bed.

Suddenly lightning crackled in the sky… except there weren't any storm clouds, just a setting sun. Despite that, it didn't stop the colorful aurora borealis from appearing.

...and then the thick, black storm clouds rolled in.

"Uh, sorry if this sounds offensive, but you're sure you didn't do a rain dance just then?" Gwen piped up, her voice quavering.

Kai merely looked confused. "No, I didn't. Why do you ask?"

The sky turned gray, cold rain started pouring down, and purple lightning struck the ground right by them.

"That answer your question?" Ruby deadpanned.

Max started pushing them to run. "Everyone take cover in the Rust Bucket, come on!" They did so just as more lightning crackled and struck land.

"I thought lightning wasn't supposed to hit the same place twice!" Ben shouted over the screams.

"It's not!" Ruby shouted back. There was another loud crash, this time including smoke and glowing purple eyes. Her eyes widened. "Oh my god, is- is that a Grimm?"

Ben took in the wolfish shadow and grabbed at Ruby's arm, pulling her behind him. "I thought Beowolves stayed in forests, not deserts!"

"They're supposed to!" Ruby told him. "I don't understand how it got here, unless-"

The wolf stood up, growled, and ran away.

"Okay, what the fuck?" Gwen cried out.

There was another thunderous noise and water started to rush out from alleyways.

"Flash flood!" Wes shouted.

Ruby and Ben climbed up onto a building and clung to the roof, Wes and Max doing the same from across the street. Gwen made it up the RV's metal ladder, but Kai was swept away before she could grab hold. "Help!" she cried out as the water splashed over her.

Ben turned to his Omnitrix and declared, "Going Water Hazard!" He slammed down on the dial and… nothing.

"Now? Really?" Ruby complained, glaring at the watch.

"Okay, going me," Ben said as he jumped off the roof. He landed onto a tin drum and let the current carry him closer to Kai. Once she was within reach, he ordered, "Grab my hand!"

With some struggle she did so, climbing up behind him, holding onto the metal for dear life. She looked where they were headed and shouted, "Look out!"

Ben turned to see the wall, the flood crashing painfully against it. He grabbed Kai's hand and said, "Jump!"

The tin drum shattered against the brick wall. Ben and Kai did not, instead holding onto a woven roof. Ben let go of Kai's hand and gripped onto the structure as best he could.

"Thank you," Kai smiled. And then she smirked lightly. "But next time, don't use something as awkward as a tin drum. We kind of need those, anyway."

Ben smirked back. "I'll keep that in mind next time you need saving. You're welcome, by the way."

In the distance, they could hear something howling…

The museum was full of preserved Navajo traditions, from pictures of sand paintings to traditional costumes to even jewelry. Wes was staring at a mural, his eyes haunted. "I never thought I'd see the day," he was saying as the others caught up to him.

"What do you mean?" Gwen asked.

"A Yenaldooshi," Wes answered. "Navajo werewolf. I thought they only existed in folklore. Their presence is a sign of pure evil."

He hefted a rifle over his shoulder. "I must find it. I'll tranquilize it and bag it."

"Can you even do that to a werewolf?" Gwen muttered under her breath. Ruby just looked thoughtful.

"I'll go with you," Max stated, already mentally cataloguing what he could use.

"I could go too," Ben offered. "I may not know anything about Navajo werewolves, but I've dealt with monsters. I can be backup."

"Me too, Grandpa," Kai insisted.

"No, it's too dangerous," Wes told her gently. "Besides, only an expert tracker can deal with a Yenaldooshi. It's been that way for centuries." Kai backed down at that, her face scrunched up. She walked away, sulking.

"But we can still help!" Ruby countered.

"Their land, their rules," Max told her firmly, putting a heavy hand on her shoulder. She sighed gustily, but relented all the same.

As the two grown ups left, Gwen, Ben, and Ruby huddled together. "So, you think it's a werewolf?" Ben asked quietly.

"Or it could be one of those Grimm things," Gwen pointed out hopefully. "If so, we can just get Ruby to slay it."

"If it was actually a Beowulf, I'd do it. But I don't think it is," Ruby said grimly. Her eyebrows furrowed at the mention of said Grimm.

Ben blinked. "So, it's actually a werewolf?"

"It's definitely something inhuman," she affirmed. "Beowolves don't go to deserts, they prefer forests. The only thing I remember about desert Grimm are the Death Worms, and trust me, the situation would be a lot worse if it were them."

Gwen rubbed her chin. "Maybe it's an alien wolf. I mean, are human-wolf hybrids even possible? It seems more likely it came from outer space."

"Yeah, I'm with Gwen on this one," Ben said. "After everything that's happened this summer, it's been either a Grimm or an alien. I don't see how this would be any different."

"In that case, how do we defeat a giant, alien wolf?" Ruby wondered out loud.

"Aliens? Really?" Kai scoffed. The three of them shrieked when she suddenly popped up. "Okay, I know our grandpas are Plumbers, but I don't see how this could be an alien werewolf. It could just be a normal werewolf!"

"Really? Normal werewolf?" Ruby shook her head and sighed.

"Wait, your grandpa was a Plumber?" Ben asked, genuinely confused.

Kai raised an eyebrow. "I thought you knew?"

"Our grandpa likes to keep things on a need-to-know basis," Gwen said, trying to save face.

"And what's this 'Grimm' thing you guys are talking about?" Kai asked. "Are you talking about the Brothers Grimm, or…?"

"To make a long story short, they're basically creatures of darkness that want to destroy all of humanity for shits and giggles," Ruby said, shrugging. "I'm surprised your grandfather didn't tell you."

Brown eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Wait, I think I know what you're talking about. You're a Huntress from Beacon, right?"

"Well, I'm in training to be one."

Kai scoffed. "Training to be a murderer, more like."

The three stared at her. "Uh, what?" Ben said flatly.

"Oh please, everyone knows the Hunters are just using this fake Grimm thing to poach wild animals," she exclaimed. "You hunt innocent creatures down until they're extinct and blame it on 'despair' and 'depression'. They're all liars!"

Ruby's eyes flashed dangerously. "I literally fight these things for a living. And Ben's seen them too, he can back me up!"

Kai rolled her eyes. "I'm sure he can."

"Okay, first of all-!" Ben started, teeth bared and practically snarling. Gwen's arm sprang out, halting him instantly. She sent him a quelling look as she used her other hand to draw Ruby back as well.

"Look, I don't know what your deal is, but considering I've dealt with aliens this summer, I'm inclined to agree with Ruby," Gwen told Kai, her voice like ice. "And since I'm convinced that Yenaldooshi is actually part alien, I'm going to look up any information I can on how to defeat it. You know, actually help the people going after it instead of arguing and pouting in a corner."

With that, Gwen steered Ben and Ruby down the hallway, far away from Kai.

"Gwen, I'm only going to say this once, but that was awesome," Ben punched out, eyes shining as he stared at his cousin. Gwen only smirked in response.

"As great as that was, I'm still angry over what Kai said," Ruby fumed. "Like, yeah, poaching endangered animals is a problem, but using Grimm as a cover up? Really?"

"Well, I don't think you're gonna change her mind anytime soon," Ben pointed out.

"You know, this Yenaldooshi thing is actually making me remember some stuff from one of my books," Gwen mused, her brow furrowed. "I need to get it from the Rust Bucket, but I might be able to find something that'll help."

"But you said it was an alien werewolf," Ruby said. "How are Earth myths going to help?"

"Hey, those myths had to originate somewhere," Gwen said, raising an eyebrow. "Who knows how long aliens have been coming here. It's worth a shot."

"And what if it is some wayward Grimm?" Ben asked.

"Well, you guys have more experience than me," Gwen shrugged.

"Plus I have a scythe, so, you know, Grim Reaper," Ruby joked.

"See?"

"Alright, alright," Ben said with a smile, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "Ruby and I will go after Max and Wes to bag this thing. Gwen, stay safe while you look for info. And try not to kill Kai while we're gone, I don't think her grandfather will appreciate it."

"No promises," Gwen called out as the two ran down the hallway.

In the dark of the night, Wes and Max walked through the canyon. Sounds of the Navajo desert echoed in the background, adding an ominous effect on the environment that they were venturing into. The possibilities of coming across the said Yenaldooshi were pretty slim, but it was worth a shot. For what it was worth, Wes saw this as a time to catch up with Max, the two of them exchanging stories about their grandkids while they tried to find the beast. It was like a monster hunting trip, if one stopped to think about it.

"And then Ben managed to destroy that mech with the power of refraction," Max happily boasted. "Still can't believe the stories about the watch were true!"

"Indeed. Sounds like your summer has been quite the adventurous one," Wes mused, as he checked his weapon once more.

"Can't imagine a better road trip, to be honest. I'm happy to take care of them."

"About this Ruby girl...is she related to th-"

Wes was suddenly cut off by the pounding of feet hitting the earth; something was charging from the dark, getting closer to them. Wes cocked his loaded tranquilizer, put his eye to the rear sight, and his finger to the trigger.

POUND...POUND...POUND…

Wes and Max patiently waited for the beast to come...and nothing ever came.

At least, not from the front. The wolf howled from behind them, and Wes immediately spun around and fired bullets into the beast. Wes grinned; he had always been quick on the draw.

That pride faded pretty quickly, though. The bullets hit something metallic, given by the ricochet sounds. Wes's eyes honed in on the beast. From out of its arms...were those shields?

The beast slammed its giant fists on the ground and caused the earth beneath it to crumble. The two men screamed as they went falling through the cracks, only to be saved by a giant, overgrown weed.

"Ben!" Max yelled out happily.

"Ben?!" Wes cried out in shock.

Ben casually wrapped his vines around the two men, and then a few around a nearby rock. He slowed them down, and then placed them on safer ground, before retracting his body back to wherever he came from. Wes gave Max a confused look.

Max chuckled sheepishly. "Uh, yeah. I know. I have some explaining to do, don't I?"

Ben rejoined Ruby on the nearby mountain. "Alright, got 'em. Any idea on where the wolf went?"

"Yep." Ruby motioned to the side of the mountain, where a thinner Yenaldooshi was scaling the side of it. Ben placed Ruby on his back before he started to burrow underground. The two dug through the mountain and burst out at the top, using surprise to sneak attack the Yenaldooshi. Ruby shook some dirt off her hair once they landed safely.

Ruby coughed. "Warn me next time before you do that!"

"Yeah, yeah," Ben said, rolling his eye. He wrapped his vines around the Yenaldooshi, making it squirm and writhe in an attempt to get free. "So, does fangface look like any Grimm you've seen?"

Ruby carefully eyed it. "No, actually! I've never seen this before!"

"Wait, are you telling me this could be an actual-"

The Yenaldooshi chomped down on Ben's hand. He shrieked and forcibly loosened his grip from the wolf. Said wolf used that distraction to break free of its bindings, running off. Ruby took out her Crescent Rose and started firing bullets at the beast...only for it to turn around and block them with the armored plating on its arms. Ruby gasped before the beast started running at her, eyes blazing. Ben dug his arms into the ground and sprouted multiple walls of tall cacti to slow the wolf.

"What was THAT?" Ben cried out in shock.

"I-I dunno," Ruby stuttered. "I'm just as confused as you."

Ben reverted back to human, at the worst possible time too; the wolf tore through the last wall of cacti. He stared at Ben hungrily, eyes glowing and saliva dripping from its maw.

"Uh, that fangface nickname?" Ben quipped. "I meant it in a nice way."

The wolf suddenly snatched Ben up by the arm and sniffed the Omnitrix. Ruby immediately jumped into action and fired a bullet into the wolf's leg. The beast howled in pain, before it dropped Ben and scurried off into the night.

Ruby ran over and helped Ben up. "Ben! Are you ok?"

Ben grabbed at the Omnitrix, nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Ruby then ran over to the mountainside to see if the wolf was still nearby, but there was nothing. Ben stood up and shook off some dust, before his eye caught something strange; the watch was glowing yellow, and the dial was twisting. He shrugged and decided to regroup with Ruby.

[Next Day, Wes' House]

A bunch of tomes were laid out across Wes' kitchen table. Max and Wes were furiously looking through some writings, while Kai was typing away on a computer. The others were just casually eating breakfast.

"So you saw it grow those metal plates too, right?" Ruby asked before she devoured a slice of buttered toast.

Wes nodded. "Indeed. But there aren't any readings on the Yenaldooshi being able to grow metal platings."

Kai sighed, leaning back in her chair a bit. "Nothing on the databases too."

Gwen put her spoon back into her yogurt. "Maybe that's because no one lived to tell of that part," she suggested. It was honestly pretty morbid of her to even suggest that. Wes sighed, fearing that may be true.

"I think I know someone who may be more qualified to talk about this than we are." Max said, motioning to Kai. "Mind if I borrow that?" She handed Max the laptop, and he began typing a few things.

Kai smirked at Ruby. "So, it wasn't a Grimm, was it?" she taunted. Ruby casually scratched her face with her middle finger. Gwen rolled her eyes and started looking through her grimoire. Kai chuckled; mentally, she'd won this round. "By the way, my grandpa told me what you did," she added, pointing a finger at Ben.

Ben put down his slice of toast and smiled nervously. "Yep, turning into aliens! That's just one of my many talents. Please, hold your applause." He faked a bow while sitting down.

"There we go," Max smiled. He had connected with someone via comlink. He turned the laptop around to reveal an older African-American male, with dark skin, black hair with a streak of white going down the middle, and one dark brown eye, while the other was of a pale blue color.

"This is Doc Saturday," Max introduced. "He's an expert in the field of cryptidzoology."

"Wait, cryptids?" Ben asked, raising an eyebrow. "They're real? How come we haven't seen any of 'em?"

"There's a lot of species you won't find in any book," Doc explained. "That's because we make sure the public doesn't know the things that go bump in the night and protect all of them; unicorns, trolls, pixies…they're all real."

"Bigfoot?" Ruby piped up.

"Don't be ridiculous," Doc scoffed. "That's just a guy in a suit."

"...Mothman?"

"Yes, actually."

"Wait, I thought you said the Plumbers handled all the monster stuff," Gwen cut in.

"That was true," Max said. "Never said it was during this century. When the Plumbers formed before the Revolutionary War, they handled things like zombies and specters. It was during that war that aliens first made contact."

"So, tell me. You four all saw the beast first hand," Doc stated. "How would you describe it?"

Wes thought for a second. "From my brief encounter with it, it was a massive, hulking creature."

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "No, from what me and Ben saw, it was thin. What are you talking about?" The response caught him off guard.

"What do you mean? Wait…are you telling me that…" Wes trailed off dramatically. "There could be multiple Yenaldooshi in the valley?"

"Odd." Doc began typing something on a computer. "Yenaldooshi aren't really known for sharing territory. Multiple accounts and stories tell of Yenaldooshi brawling to the death, and then becoming king of the area."

Ben cleared his throat. "I've got a few theories on what could be going on. Dr. Saturday, you heard what happened in Washington, earlier in June? About the giant reanimated T-rex?"

"Yes, actually. An interesting story." Doc leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers together.

"Well, I think the guy behind that may be causing all the trouble here in New Mexico. It's up his avenue, especially the metal plates. He would totally cash in on this," Ben explained. "The complete disrespect of the legend, the theft of metal, even the plates of armor that randomly grew on their arms…"

"Even more baffling. But, perhaps that could be true," Doc agreed. "You'd have to investigate it if you're sure."

"I could help you guys out!" Kai smiled. "I certainly know the way around the reservation."

"Same here," Gwen added. "I've got a few spells that could really help out."

Doc scoffed. "Magic. As if that works."

"Ok, you see," Ben pointed at Kai, "that one makes sense. He has a reason not to believe that."

"Ok then, are Grimm real?" Kai asked Doc.

"Well, I've certainly seen a few, but I haven't had a chance to examine them."

Kai grinned smugly at Ruby and stuck out her tongue. "Me, three. You, zero."

Ruby tugged Ben's arm. "Can we shove her down a cliff or something?" she muttered under her breath.

[THE CLIFFS WHERE RUBY WANTS TO COMMIT MURDER]

Ben and co were investigating the canyon valley where they saw both the Yenaldooshi. Ruby brought them to the spot where she struck the thin one in the leg.

"You're sure it was here?" Gwen asked.

Ruby saluted her. "One hundred percent sure!"

Gwen opened her grimoire, and her hands start glowing a bluish hue. "Ostendo Specialis!" she chanted, as a dust swirled around the point where the Yenaldooshi stood. A wiry figure of the beast suddenly appeared in its place, glowing a faint blue.

Oh, now that's cool, Ben thought to himself. He already commented Gwen yesterday. He'd met his quota for the week.

The glowing wolf got shot in the thigh before it ran off, heavily favoring its uninjured leg. Ben and co. chased after the projection, following it through the valley and into a dark cave. The group stopped as the wolf entered the cavern.

"Know what's in there?" Ben asked Kai.

"Just a system of caverns," the girl replied. "Nothing too special."

"Then why'd the wolf go in there?" Ruby pointed out. "Seems perfect for an evil lair."

Kai paused. "Fair point...for a poacher." Ruby scowled, tightly gripping the Crescent Rose. After less than two days of being verbally harassed and looked down on, she was on the brink of murdering Kai. The girl in question flashed a sinister smile, knowing full well what Ruby was thinking. That didn't stop her from quickly leading the group into the dark cave. The deeper and deeper they went, more tunnels appeared, stretching out endlessly. Gwen cast a ball of light from her palm.

"Of course Animo would set up shop here," Ben joked. "Place is dripping with creepy vibes."

Ruby sniffed the air. She nearly gagged; it stunk like rotten eggs doused in expired milk. "What's that smell?" Ruby said, plugging her nose.

"That's just the sulfur from the lava," Kai answered. "It's been dormant for years, though. Nothing to worry about."

Gwen then spotted a claw marking on a wall, one that lead all the way down a tunnel. "I think we just found our monster."

They were about to enter the cavern when they heard growling all around them. Ben turned to see glowing orange and pink eyes stepping out of the shadows, revealing multiple Yenaldooshi. Everyone gasped in horror, sans Ben.

"Ok, now this is the part where Animo shows up and gives some speech about how superior his animals are to the normal human." Ben smiled, eyes closed and arms folded, while he waited for the mad doctor to show up. The beasts stomped towards the group, closing in on them.

"I think your theory may be wrong," Ruby deadpanned.

Ben sighed. "Yeah, I'm starting to think that too." Ben activated the watch and scrolled to Heatblast's icon. "Whatever. Heatblast's gonna singe their mangy fur coats right off their skin!" He slapped down the faceplate, and cold green metal ran up his arm, covering his entire body, turning himself into Slapback. He posed like he would as Heatblast, and holds out his hands to start shooting fire...but nothing came out. He looked down at his hands and groaned.

"Great job ruining my cool one liner, Omnitrix!" Ben yelled.

The Yenaldooshi stared in confusion, until they saw the omnitrix currently placed on his left pectoral. Realizing what Ben can do, they immediately rushed him, nearly crushing him in their efforts to restrain him.

"H-hey!" Ben yelled as he struggled.

Gwen and Ruby fended off the others, with Gwen firing some energy blasts and Ruby engaging the beasts in combat, swinging and slicing at them. She kicked one in the face, sending it to the ground. Kai flitted around the sides, occasionally throwing rocks at the monsters but not doing anything of significance.

More and more Yenaldooshi started to surrounded Ben. Ben pushed them off and flung the two that were holding his arms into nearby walls. He slapped his back and split into two, and then four. The Yenaldooshis surrounded them, but Ben and his clones tackled the wolves to the ground with their heavy weight, knocking the wind out of their systems.

"Come on! Let's see what's really down that tunnel!" Ben yelled.

Ben and the others ran down the passage, with Ruby and Gwen occasionally firing back at the Yenaldooshi that chased after them. At the end of the tunnel was a giant nest of metal, pieces of tin drums and cars jutting out of it like a haphazard beehive.

"Woah," Ruby breathed, jaw agape.

"Well, they've been busy," one of the clones said.

Gwen turned to Kai. "How long have these attacks been going on?"

"Started when you got here."

Gwen shivered. "I don't know if it makes it impressive or frightening."

Suddenly, the metal started rustling, and something popped out of the nest to gnaw on one of the Slapback's legs. It was a cute baby Yenaldooshi. It was no bigger than Slapback, and was more like a feral pomeranian or corgi.

"...ow?" one of the clones said.

"Is that...a baby?" Another one asked.

"I guess they needed that metal for their nest or something! Must be that time of year," Ruby joked.

"And if there's one, who's to say there's-"

More and more baby Yenaldooshi popped up from the metal and growled at the group.

"...fuck."

The fully grown Yenaldooshi stormed into the room just as Ben reverted back to human. The baby Yenaldooshi let go of his leg in shock, staring at him. Ben slowly inched closer to it. The Yenaldooshis growled, but Ben simply picked it up and set it with the rest of the cubs, patting its head as he did so. The Yenaldooshi pup cutely licked his hand.

"Dude, it could have monster rabies or something," Ruby pointed out, walking up to him.

'It's better than dealing with the fangfaces," Ben replied, wiping his hand on her back.

The Yenaldooshi came up and sniffed the group, as if doing a test of character. None of them flinched; the Yenaldooshi soon went back to their cubs and started putting them back to sleep.

"Wait, so they were gathering the metal to...make a nest?" Gwen asked, still confused.

"None of the stories surrounding the Yenaldooshi mention how it reproduces. They're always born when someone evil murders a family member, gaining great supernatural powers," Kai explained, furrowing her brow.

"Wouldn't they be human in daylight, though?" Ben argued. "It's usually sunny in the desert."

One of the Yenaldooshi nudged Ruby and motioned for them to follow it. The rest of the group followed the monster through a passage, revealing an enormous, hexagonal-shaped spaceship. It looked halfway deconstructed, with some parts of it blackened from fire while other parts looked hopelessly flattened. No doubt the adults had harvested the good metal for their young.

Ben gasped. "No way! Are you telling me that these guys aren't the Yenaldooshi, but instead normal aliens?"

Kai thought for a moment. "That would explain a lot. I suppose they're just...alien werewolves or something."

"They're just obeying the need to survive. Think about it; gathering materials, overprotection of their young, attacking hostiles…" Gwen listed.

"Still doesn't explain how they got here, though," Ruby stated.

"I dunno, maybe they got attacked by Grimm!" Kai laughed at her own joke, before the place began to shake ominously.

"Wow, even Gaia hated that joke!" Ruby quipped. Suddenly, bright lava started to slowly ooze out of some cracks in the cavern's walls. "Wait, is that our fault?"

"We need to take the pack and get out of here!" Gwen yelled. Ben and the others ran back to the nest, with Ben scrolling through the watch.

"XLR8 should have us all out of here before that lava even touches us!" He slapped down the watch, and grey fur started running up his arms to his face. The fur spread through his entire body, and he quickly gained canine features. Claws and metal plating grew on his arms. As the transformation stopped, everyone realized that the Omnitrix was, yet again, screwing with Ben.

"...oh, so now you think that 'singe their fur coats off' is funny, huh?"

Ben and the others ran back to the nest, and the Yenaldooshi pups started latching onto his back. "Awwww, I wish I could take one of you guys home!" A few Yenaldooshi growled at him. "Ok, ok, realizing the joke was in poor taste."

The cave started to rumble as debris started falling from the ceiling. The heat from the lava was slowly becoming unbearable. "Come on, let's go!" Ruby shouted.

Ben sniffed the air before running on all fours through the caverns, everyone following suit. Huge debris covered an exit, but Ben grinned as armor coated his forearms. He punched through the earthy wall like it was made of tissue paper. The group continued to run, nearing the exit...before the ground before them crumbled and collapsed, revealing a giant river of lava.

"Time to see how far the big bad wolf can jump!" Ben picked up the kids, human and alien alike, and jumped over the huge river, with the other Yenaldooshi jumping with him. "Woah! Am I like the alpha or something?"

"Actually, the alpha and omega theory is completely inaccurate," Gwen corrected him.

"I could drop you, you know."

"Can you drop Kai too?" Ruby asked hopefully. Kai glared at her balefully.

Ben and the other Yenaldooshi escaped the cave in the nick of time; the cave collapsed, sealing up their exit.

"Something tells me their ship isn't gonna be salvaged from there," Ruby said, other Yenaldooshi whined in horror and fear, while Ben let the pups off his back, quietly counting them to make sure they were all there.

"So...what do we do now?" Gwen asked hesitantly.

"You go get Grandpa and Wes." Ben said quietly. "I have a feeling they'll know what to do next."

Ben watched as the Yenaldooshi were led onto Doctor Saturday's ship, happily carrying their young. "So, where are you taking them again?" he asked.

"We're relocating them to a more isolated area, similar to this one. Apparently, these aliens hail from some place called the Anur system," Doc explained.

"Anur system?" Ben repeated.

"It's where the aliens that go bump in the night come from," Max explained. "Aliens like Ghostfreak. We honestly don't know much about that place, due to it being ruled over by some shadowy overlord. We only really know the species names."

"So, you're telling us these cool aliens are from that creepy star system?" Ruby asked.

"Yep. They're called Luna Lobos," Doc added. He turned to Ben. "Can you please turn into that form?"

Ben shrugged. "Alright. One Blitzwolfer, coming u-"

"Wait wait wait…" Wes stopped him. "Blitzwolfer?"

"Yeah. What's up?"

"Did you actually name one of your aliens after a CNN host?"

"What's CNN?"

"...never mind. Carry on," Wes said, walking off. Ben shook off his comment and transformed into Blitzwolfer. Doc quickly took a few pictures of the alien form, did a quick walk around, and lifted up Ben's arm.

"Pretty strange creatures. Especially their ability to generate metal from their skin." Doc went on and on about how fascinating the species was, but Ben and Ruby had directed their attention to something else.

On the ship of the bay, this eight foot tall gorilla cat looking thing was holding a few baby cubs. It was covered in dark tan fur, with v-shaped light tan fur that went from his neck to his chest. He seemed oddly threatening, but gentle at the same time. Next to him was a boy with black and white hair. His clothing consisted of yellow sweatpants, an orange shirt with an "S" on the front, and a black undershirt. The two suddenly felt someone was watching them, and looked over at Ben and Ruby.

Both sides took a moment to realize what they were looking at; one side had a giant wolf getting examined by an old man and a girl with a scythe. The other had a giant sasquatch-like creature and a young boy keeping watch over a bunch of alien cubs that could generate metal plates.

They all silently decided all of this was weird and broke eye contact.

"Now, real quick," Doc said, bringing back Ben's attention. "Can you demonstrate the metal platings on your arm?"

"Oh, sure," Ben said. He flexed some muscles, and the platings instantly grew over his arm.

Doc then handed a camera to Max. "Just a few quick tests. Promise I won't rough up the boy."

"Wait, wha-" Ben suddenly blocked a quick punch from Doc. His right hand had this weird gauntlet on it, and it was glowing, what the fuck?! Ben blocked a few more blows, taking a few steps back.

"Interesting," Doc said, as he deactivated his weapon. "Not even a scratch."

"W-well, you know," Ben stuttered, retracting his plates. "Alien stuff...always weird."

"True. But how fast can they grow?"

"I dunno, I've only had this form for-"

"DREW!" Doc ducked as a bunch of fireballs were flung at Ben. Ben yipped as he blocked the blasts.

"We'll have to review the footage later," A female voice said. Ben lowered his arms to see a young woman of average height and slender build, with long, pale blonde hair, blue eyes, and fair skin. To be honest, it reminded him of that one girl from the camp. Similar to Doc, her attire consisted of a full-length black bodysuit worn underneath an orange vest that reached down to her mid thighs, paired with orange, elbow-length gloves and matching belt.

In other words, she was stunning. Ben couldn't stop himself from wagging his tail.

"Dude," Ruby said, elbowing his arm. "She's out of your league. And married."

"Here's what I don't get," Gwen cut in. "Why'd the Lobos settle here of all places?"

"Funny you ask that," Drew said. "We don't fully know. Buuuuut, we figure it might have something to do with this." Drew presented a tablet showing some crazy infrared readings. "We've never seen any energy like this. There's also been similar readings in places like Egypt, Transylvania, West Virginia…"

"Never seen anything like it either," Max said, scratching his head. "Be sure to look into that, alright? You two better go take care of the Lobans. I have a feeling your boys can't really handle it." Max motioned over to the gorilla cat, who had become the chew toy of the Loban cubs. He cried out in pain as their other kid tried to pry them off of him.

Drew sighed. "I'll go get the first aid kit," she said, rolling her eyes.

"It was nice to see you again, Max," Doc said, shaking his hand. "And same to you, Wes. See you at the Christmas party." He followed his wife back to the ship.

Ben reverted back to human. "All the adults I meet nowadays are weird," he said once they were out of earshot.

"I suppose all's well that ends well." Ruby smiled happily. Kai, who had been hanging in the back, walked over to Ruby, eyes blazing.

"So. They were a bunch of aliens. Why are you so happy? I'm sure that if we didn't find out they weren't Grimm, you'd kill them like the little psychopath you are," Kai said savagely.

"No I wo-" Ruby stammered.

"You think you're soooo cool for hunting and killing make believe creatures, huh? And there's a society devoted to this crap? All of you are sick!"

"N-"

"OH! And the fact that some people are killed by these 'terrifying creatures'? HA! I'm sure they just realized their life was a lie and those cowards just killed themse-"

Ruby slammed her knuckles into Kai's face. Kai stumbled back, her nose bleeding profusely. Ruby was breathing heavily, tears threatening to spill.

"Don't EVER speak to me ever again," Ruby snarled before stomping off. Max and Wes shared a brief look, before deciding it was best to go. Max led Ben and Ruby away, as Wes went over to help Kai.

"What was that about?" Gwen asked, glaring back at Kai.

"...I think it's best we don't talk about it," Max said, frowning heavily.