Galactic Shift Extend

by Seanzilla1988

A familiar Beastkin goes through a familiar abandoned Cauldron. However, she doesn't end up in another timeline, but Bellwood, home to a teen with a watch he wears on his arm that can change his shape to save the world from harm.

106. Ogres of the Gourd

SZ: *kicks open an outhouse door*Heya folks! Welcome to our swamp!

GT: Ew-ew-ew-ew…*furiously spraying bug repellent to keep the mosquitos away*

Z0: Uh-oh…now I'm gonna turn into that Z0…*sinks into the swamp*

SZ: Hey hey…since we're going to a swamp…may as well play the part for the intro! And no...not quoting the memes…

GT: Indeed. Now then…we own zilch outside of OCs and plot ideas for this fic that are not reworked episodes of Omniverse. Now to ru…

Z0: ALL WHO KNOW FEAR BURN AT THE Z0-THING'S TOUCH! *giant Man-Thing Monster rises behind both SZ and GT* Also we're going to a pumpkin plant not a swamp, but too late! You've made me into this! *grabs both Co-writers as their shoulders begin to sizzle*

GT: Not again~!

---

"So let me understand this," Tetrax spoke, "Everyone went out to barter to get parts to repair the ship. We got the parts, but Khyber the Huntsman with a predator version of the Omnitrix was here and let loose an ancient predator for the Thep Khufan…" he looked at Mari, still in her big form as Noel was giving her a lot of pets, "...And that Predatrix…"

"It's technically called the Nemetrix…" Ben began.

"Predatrix sounds better and using the wrong name of a device that was made to hunt you adds an extra bite to the taunting of whoever made it. Now, that device turned your 'mink' into a dangerous predator," Tetrax summed up, "Am I missing anything?"

"Tucker got kidnapped by these two Thep Khufan and was nearly sacrificed if not for Sam's quick thinking," Danny added.

"And I think I may have found a possible lead to where Raquel is," Naoto added.

"That…that seems to be everything," Makoto muttered.

"We've had worse adventures," Ben sighed to Tetrax.

"Oh I know. We once flew around looking for Azmuth while you were about to explode and take the universe with you. But this…this is just silly," Tetrax replied.

"Not me; the Omnitrix went into SDM," Ben quickly explained at the looks he got from those who didn't know the story.

"Self-Destruct Mode?" Tucker guessed the meaning.

"Yep. It was on a large time and, if it ran out? Bye-bye half the universe at best. It didn't help that I kept transforming and shortening the timer while also building up the charge faster."

"Why is there a self-destruct mode that could wipe out half the universe?!" Danny gawked.

"Azmuth hates everyone…" Ben explained, "Pretty much anytime he's made anything he thinks is cool? Someone has abused it, hurt people with it or done great harm. He also was so focused on his work, his lover left him," he added, "So you know, lots of mistakes, betterment, and general disdain for others…well not the best combination when putting together a device labeled as the greatest invention in the cosmos. What he intended to be a means of apology to the love of his life was twisted into a weapon by everyone else."

"Why have you never told me that story!?" Noel gawked.

"'Cause I knew you would fixate on the wrong thing!" Ben defended.

"But Azmuth is just an old man with a broken heart! That seems important!" Noel argued, bopping him on the arm with her fists with a pout.

"I kno-hey hey! Come on, Noel! Your punches are soft yet they kinda hurt!"

"Then stop babying me!"

"Ah! Why is it I know these should hurt more? But after all the training, it's just slightly painful!" Ben complained.

"Mmmm!" Noel pouted as she continued her barrage of light punches.

"I feel like a more important Metaphorical Elephant in the room," Makoto spoke up before snapping and pointing at Funkfreed in sword form, who nodded at that bit of cleverness, "Uh…Noellie…what are ya gonna do about…Mari?" she asked as at the mention of her name, the new Nargacuga jammed her head through a door to look at everyone, "She's still adorable…but she's also now the size of an SUV!"

Mari tilted her head in confusion before making a chittering sound.

"...Oh, you are not taking it like an insult. You look good, but you are huge now!" Makoto argued as Mari tilted her head again and rolled her eyes, "Hey, don't get snippy with me!"

"I think we're starting to get off topic…" Sam muttered.

"Well, her DNA was already altered by Dr. Animo," Skurd noted, rubbing a tentacle under his eyes, "Perhaps the inclusion of Nargacuga DNA has made it more malleable."

"Malleable?" Danny repeated.

"Well, my dear blade Funkfreed, care to share with Mari how it feels changing between sword and elephant?" Skurd questioned.

"...!" Funkfreed nodded before slipping out of his sheath, jumping outside as he changed into his elephant form, "Paon~!" Mari chittered, tilting her head, "Paon!"

"Okay…Why did you ask the sentient magic sword to talk about how it changes into an elephant and back?" Tucker asked.

"Because this new form of hers may be psychosomatic in nature," Skurd replied.

Psycho-whatnow?" Ben, Danny, Makoto, Noel, and Naoto blinked in unison, their eyes dots as they tilted their heads in confusion.

"In layman's terms and to quote George Harrison of Beatles acclaim…" Skurd pointed outside where Funkfreed shifted a few times between sword and elephant before Mari bounced a little in place before, with a popping sound, her little mink self landed on his head, "...It's all in the mind, you know."

"Oh! Great job, Funkfreed!" Noel cheered.

"...If Drei gets shapeshifting powers, too, I will eat three of your chestnut parfaits, Noel," Makoto betted.

"I shall make a note of that bet alongside my own from the D night about Noel!" Skurd declared.

"Well at least that's one problem solved," Ben noted before booking at Naoto, "And about this possible lead?"

"Ah right! I think they mentioned their home was located…near the temple…" Naoto replied with a cringe of realization, "Ahh…that stupid bird might've terrified the guy…"

"Ahh sorry, man…" Tucker cringed.

"It's fine, dude…no one expected that freakin' demon bird to appear," Naoto assured before sighing, "Still...now we gotta look elsewhere…"

"Well, we are running low on food supplies for humans," Tetrax noted, "Perhaps we should make a stop at Anur G'Rrnay and restock there."

"Anur G'Rrnay?" Noel repeated.

"It holds the most floral life in the Anur System," Tetrax explained, "Many of the foods eaten in the Anur System come from there with their biggest export being…pumpkins."

"Wait, seriously?" Danny asked.

"Yes. It's said that several Wrighters had seeds on their bodies when they were brought to Ormeowan. During that transport, those seeds fell off them and out into space where they fell into the verdant soils of G'Rrnay and grew. Others say that a Loboan once visited Earth during a 'harvest festival' and escaped with several plants that had a good scent to the Loboan, only for him to hit an asteroid and crash into G'Rrnay, sending the seeds of the plants all over." he shrugged, "Regardless, there's pumpkins there and the Phobiasapiens there hold them in high regard."

"...P…Phobiasapiens?" Makoto slowly repeated, "As in…Toepick's race?"

"Toepick…?" the Phantom team asked.

"It's one of Ben's aliens…with the power of fear," Noel explained.

"Power of Fear?" Sam asked in intrigue.

"His face has the power to make you feel intense, horrible fear," Noel explained further, "How, why? I don't want to know. All I know is if you can see his face, it's a sort of one hit win move."

"Why doesn't he use that more often?" Tucker asked.

"Because…he's essentially an ogre wearing the helmet of Hades from God of War," Makoto explained.

"I mean I can pick up a car as Toepick, and he does have other powers," Ben explained, "But he's big, he's slow, and his one hit finisher…is reliant on looking into his face. It's not the first draft pick for fighting thugs and monsters."

"Would make Black Friday easier to handle," Makoto noted, "But we don't do that because the first use of it on Psyphon showed that it is not good if that was tried because of psychological horrors and the therapy bills needed."

"...So all we need to do is make sure not to look at their faces," Sam noted, "...got it."

---

"We may as well get ready to head off," Tetrax's voice spoke from a vent as the Monokubs listened in on them, "But be prepared…given our current pattern, who knows what awaits us there."

"Haha! Sucks to be them!" Monokid laughed, "They didn't know about the other relic the big fucking tentacle ghost took from the temple!"

"SHH! Quiet, ya idiot…!" Monosuke hissed as he slapped him upside the head, "You want to give us away again…?!"

"Bitch, don't tell me what t' fuckin' do!"

"Ahh! Please don't fight!" Monophanie begged as she shook between the two, "Monodom, please stop them from arguing~"

?!= Monodom tensed as he flailed his arms about.

"Hey hey you guys, relax," Monotaro spoke up before putting a paw on his chest, "As long as we keep spying on these guys, we can relay to dad and the big bosses to where each relic is…and before they even realize it, the big plan will begin~"

"...You…actually remembered all that?" Monosuke raised a brow.

"...What were we talking about again?" Monotaro tilted his head, making the glasses wearing Monokub facefault, "...eh. I'm sure we'll remember. Isn't that right, furry danger noodle?"

"..." the others all looked at Monotaro's left…where Mari was chittering.

"...You guys suck at being quiet," Monokid bluntly told Monosuke and the others.

"You…!" Monosuke began with a growl before Mari pounced them just as the ship was taking off, "OH COME ON!"

---

"Come on, come on…There has to be something…" Tucker whispered, focusing on his laptop as he was trying to search something up.

"Whatcha up to?" Makoto whispered, making him stifle a scream and spin around.

"Ah! What?! Who! Me?!"

"What's your problem?" Makoto asked.

"...W-Well…" Tucker paused, clearing his throat as he calmed himself down, "I was trying to look up something…anything about relics or artifacts in the Anur System."

"...What spurred this on?"

"Those two kookie Khu'fan's mentioned something about some magic objects that used to belong to the Vladite King…and one of them was behind what happened on the moon."

"!?" Makoto tensed up at that, "...Tuck, why didn't you say that sooner?!"

"I wasn't sure! They were kinda stupid!" Tucker explained.

"...Mou…I'm getting Ben to slap you," she marched off.

"W-Wait! No! He'll think I did something wrong and hurt me! Please get Danny! Please!" he pleaded.

"Too late. Reaching for the door now."

"NO NO WAIT! ...What if Rachel knows?"

"?" Makoto stopped for a moment, "...Go on."

"I mean…she's a vampire and-in fear of being possibly shocked-ancient and stuff, right? Who's to say she doesn't have anything involving the Vladites?"

"Huh…Interesting point," Makoto noted, "...but question is will she be willing to help?"

"Maybe if we offer her something real fancy? I get the feeling she's the type that prefers super ultra fancy stuff like tea and all that."

"I'll check with Gluto to s-" Makoto began as she opened the door...before a pair of blurs pounced on her, "AHH!"

"Ah! what the…?!" Tucker panicked as the blurs tried to hide in the Beastkin's tail.

"Hey hey hey! Get out of there!" Makoto snapped as she reached in, only to yelp when she pulled her hand back, "D-Did you just bite me?!"

"No one sees the wizard!" Nago and Gii's voices shouted.

"Oh…it's gonna be like that is it?" Makoto growled, "Mari! Sick 'em girl!" she called out as an air vent and part of the wall was blown off as Mari turned into her Nargacuga form at that command.

"EEEK/OH THAT IS A BIG MINK…!"

=#RAF!R!= Gluto's voice gurgled from the PA.

"Uh! E-Everything's okay, Gluto!" Tucker assured as Makoto reached into her tail, grabbing something as she pulled the small red bat and large black cat out.

"Here girl," Makoto tossed them to Mari, who happily began chewing on them like new toys.…oddly complete with squeaky sounds.

"What is that squeaky noi-AH! Mari!" Noel called out, seeing her pet half way through a wall, "Oh no! You broke the wall!" she blinked as she continued chewing on the two new 'toys', "What do you have?" Mari stopped at her tone, "Drop it…" she crossed her arms.

"...Mreow…" Mari mewled as she spat Nago and Gii out, the two making a squeaking sound each time they bounced off the floor.

"Ah~ My fur's all soaked…" Nago whined with swirls in his eyes.

"I'd still take it over a mad princess~" Gii whined.

"...Ano…a-aren't they Rachel-san's familiars?" Noel blinked once she recognized them.

"They are," Makoto sighed before frowning at the two, "Alright spill…why did you pounce me and hide in my tail?! Otherwise, Mari's gonna keep chewin' on ya!"

"Please don't use my pet to intimidate someone…"

"GH~!" Nago and Gii panicked, shooting up as they hugged one another.

"...Wait. I know this feeling," Tucker spoke up as he looked the two over, "...Eeyup, they are afraid and mad scared of a girl they upset. I should know…so many failed attempts to pitch woo."

"Tucker, you should consider taking a break from relationships…to work on you…" Noel spoke slowly.

"Hey…"

"Let's move it along, what happened?" Makoto turned to the two familiars.

"...Ahem! Well…we were minding our own business..." Nago began.

"We were rushing to the princess since it's almost her tea time," Gii corrected.

"We wanted to be sure her majesty was comfortable how she sees fit."

"He fears she'll use him…to hit me~!"

"Do you mind…?!" Nago hissed at him before clearing his throat, "And on our way to Lady Rachel's favorite spot for tea…well…"

"WE BROKE A REALLY IMPORTANT RELIC AND MADE HER SPILL TEA ON HERSELF WHEN SHE WAS ABOUT TO DRINK IT~!" Gii freaked.

"...You…mean like a vase?" Tucker asked.

"It better not be those stupid Spectacles of Eros," Makoto frowned.

"Wait. The what of…" Tucker began to speak only to stop when both girls covered his mouth.

"Ask further and we hit you in the head 'till you get amnesia," Noel stopped him.

"We shall never speak of them…EVER…" Makoto hissed.

"...Mmm hmm," Tucker slowly nodded, making the girls slowly lower their hands from his mouth.

"N-no no. Those are locked in a special vault that we can't even access," Nago assured, "No…this one was one of a kind."

"It was a vase that, when you shake it, screams with the voice of a thousand lives being extinguished at once by an inferno," Gii explained, "Listen to its screams three times in an hour and you spontaneously combust!"

"And when Lady Rachel finds us…oh she's gonna do worse than our normal punishments!" Nago screamed in panic.

"Yeah, this sounds like it's not something deeply important to us…" Makoto bluntly stated, "We have to worry about an evil spectral overlord of this sector, an evil parallel timeline version of our friend corrupted by evil and violence, and the revival of space vampire hyper predators…sorry if your boss's magical vase of nightmares is broken. But, can't you just, I don't know…glue it back together?"

"Oh trust us…" Nago began as he got up in Makoto's face, "She'll know…"

"It might look fixed…but she'll know the screams won't be in there~" Gii added as he squished his face against Makoto's.

"Get away from my face before I have my boyfriend atomize you." Makoto warned simply, "Or lock you in time."

"GH!" the two familiars freaked as they shot up against the wall.

"Look…I'm sorry this happened to ya, but we got something important to do, so how's abo-"

"Woah, hold on, hold on…" Tucker suddenly spoke up, earning the girls' attention, "...I may have a solution."

"You do?" Noel blinked.

"Yeah. The place we're heading to…chances are there might be some ripe ancient relics there or something," Tucker stated before looking at Nago and Gii, "If we find one, we'll give it to ya."

"REALLY?!"

"But…" he paused as he held a finger up, "You have to get your boss to answer anything we need about the Vladite leader and any magic McGuffins that come with him."

"That would be helpful, at least more so than Ben relying on his new survival playlist. Some of the…options have given Noel panic attacks," Makoto muttered.

"Why are they covered in exoskeletons…?" Noel asked as she hugged Mari, making her poof back to her small Mink form to be comfort sized.

"So….what's the deal gonna be?" Tucker asked as he approached the two, "We get you something to replace that vase so you won't have to get brutally punished…and you have to help us get the info we need."

"D'oh…why is a human bargaining with magical beings like us?!" Nago complained.

"It's either that or we 'hide' you in Mari's mouth while posing as chew toys," Tucker added, making Gii go pale white as the mink bared her fangs at him in excitement.

"Okay, okay! We'll do it!" the small fat bat screamed.

"Yes, yes! Just please hide us!" Nago begged.

"Fine, but you can't hide in my tail," Makoto sighed, "You can hide with Tucker as he does his research."

"Yes, ma'am!" they shouted before zipping under Tucker's desk, changing forms to look like a rug and a foot rest respectively.

"...wait. So…you guys can turn into anything?" Tucker asked.

"Not what you obviously think of at times, young man," Nago replied.

"Hey…" Tucker complained.

"You know the kind of teenage boy you are!" Nago argued.

"I'm sure they won't kill each other." Makoto replied as she and Noel walked off.

"I give it an hour." Noel replied with a giggle.

-line break-

"...hah…" Naoto sighed as he looked out one of the windows, looking out at space as they passed by some meteors, "Raquel…where the hell are you…?"

"Feeling alright, man?"

"?" Naoto blinked as he looked over his shoulder, "Oh…hey Ben. Everything alright?"

"Yeah. Was just checking up on Archie…still hasn't woken up yet," Ben replied as he walked over.

"To be fair…not many have the crazy strong bodies of most of us…or the will power of you?" Naoto pointed, "Seriously, does anything stop you?"

"Space overlord tentacle monster, Space God Tentacle Monster, a galactic murderer who tried to eat a baby god, entire race of xenophobes trying to take the universe down with them, ghost escaped from my own watch, evil vet with an army of mutated animals and revived dinosaurs…" Ben listed, "Sorry I don't think anything has ever really stopped me. Even the times I lost, I found some way to get back up."

"You humble brag like a champion to." he scoffed, "Seriously I thought my life was nuts…you've been doing this since you were ten…"

"Well I'm sure you've been through a lot of crazy stuff as well."

"Before I met Raquel, I was just a normal school boy that stayed with my aunt and cousin and often had to deal with my crazy ass sister," Naoto explained.

"You had a sister?"

"Yeah…we were part of a clan that was wiped out by her," Naoto explained before frowning a bit, "Good riddance if you ask me…took my mom's maiden name so I wouldn't have anything to do with the Terumi Clan."

"Ah…n-" Ben began before tensing, his head slowly turning towards Naoto with wide eyes, "...d…did you say your clan's name was…?"

"Yes…and something tells me that green haired bastard back at Anur Transyl is somehow connected to them," Naoto stated before gripping the window's edge a bit, "I swear if he harmed Raquel in anyway…"

"Hey man easy. Easy…" Ben spoke as he put a hand on his shoulder, earning his attention, "We'll find her man, but if you break that window…well…we'll die." he chuckled to break the tension a little.

"...eh heh…I guess so," Naoto sheepishly chuckled as he removed his hand, "Sorry, Just…memories is all…"

"I'm sure when I became Alien X and I used its power to counter total universal destruction, I dragged a lot of dangers from Makoto and the others world. That Terumi guy is just one of many I assume. There's also that creepy science guy and who knows what else. But I accepted it in order to save my home, family, along with my friends old and new. The Omnitrix has never failed me, and even then, I've learned to save the day without it. But…that time I had the dragon slaying sword Ascalon to give me an edge. Wouldn't mind Azmuth letting me have it back for emergencies."

"Does everyone find a cool sword in this world eventually?" Naoto asked, "Tsubaki runs around with Excalibur, Jin's got his ice sword, Ragna's big buster sword and you used to have the sword from the story of Saint George."

"He was also a sort of rival to me." Ben explained, "But I've faced a crazy eldritch horror god before, I can handle a creepy snake hipster and space Dracula's. It's this new super survivalist playlist that's tricky, I spent almost half an hour craving honey…"

"Well hopefully the next one you unlock might be something good," Naoto offered, "Like some sort of yokai-like form or something."

"Technically my aliens count as yokai in another universe," Ben joked with a grin.

"Touche," Naoto smirked back

"Let's get some supplies and head off to find…well whatever we can find first, it's not like Zs'skayr's Creepy Castle Chalet is going anyplace." Ben offered, "Maybe we actually can find a lead to your magical vampire girlfriend."

"Here's hoping…boy, she's gonna give me an earful for taking so long."

"Eh. I'm sure you two'll pass that bridge once you see eachother again," Ben shrugged.

"I mean at least you got to take your girlfriend with you for your multiverse vagabond journey," Naoto argued.

"That…is true." Ben nodded, "Maybe we can help you find her a gift as an apology?"

"Good idea," Naoto nodded before they felt the ship shake a bit, "And what timing…we must be landing…." he looked out the window to see them moving past some clouds, letting them see a lot of houses resembling…pumpkins? "Okay...that's…new."

"...Were you oddly thinking of a swamp?"

"Yup."

"Honestly? Me, too. Was not expecting the pumpkin buildings."

"To be fair, the two of you don't know much about botany or horticulture. You can't actually grow much in the way of edible vegetation in swampland or marsh," Skurd spoke up, "Well edible for beings like you that is. Aside from maybe rice…it's a bit of a no go."

"Well to be fair, the one time I worked on a farm, I did not care for it," Ben explained.

"Shocker, you are allergic to manual labor…with how much of a pack mule you've become at fixing your own messes…" Skurd rolled his little eyes around.

"Hey. I put in as much work as the others do," Ben argued.

"Without the Omnitrix?"

"...That's a trick question."

"Oh f-"

"Hey. We're being called outside," Danny spoke up as he poked his head in, earning the trio's attention, "Also you guys saw the pumpkin houses too, right?"

"We did," Naoto replied, "Weird right?"

"No kidding…was honestly expecting a swamp."

"Three for three on foolish boys," Skurd sighed before tapping on the Omnitrix.

Yellow?= Makoto answered.

"Makoto, my dear madam, you grew up on a farm, yes?"

Sorta. Why?=

"Mayhaps you know where Pumpkins grow then, hm?"

Well, duh! Ma grew the pumpkins for Halloween every year! …Wait. Nobody thought they grew in swamps, did they?=

"Oh praise be to you for not making it four out of four!" Skurd exclaimed in relief.

"Hey," Ben, Danny and Naoto complained in annoyance.

"You three be quiet!"

---

"...What?" Tucker blinked, noticing Sam looking him over for a moment.

"What's up with your hat and backpack?" she asked, seemingly noting how much…bigger his normal hat and backpack were, "...You didn't mess with a growth ray or something, did you?"

"What…no…of course not." Tucker argued.

"Then why do they look bigger than normal?"

"No reason," Tucker immediately replied before lightly hitting his hat and backpack the moment Sam turned around, causing them to shrink just as she turned back around.

"You seriously think I'm that stupid, don't you?" Sam asked.

"No, I do not, no."

"I will break your thumbs if you make me press this further," Sam warned.

"...could you keep a secret?"

"Oh lord. What did…" Sam began before Gii's face appeared on Tucker's hat while Nago's tail poked out from his backpack, "?"

"Hello, Madam Manson," Nago greeted.

"...Tucker…"

"Okay long story short, the little vampire girl's familiars are trying to hide from her because they broke a really ancient vase of hers, so I offered to hide them and find a replacement...in exchange for any possible information on the Valdites," Tucker replied.

"Hah…what does she like?" Sam asked the Familiars, "If you're hoping for him to find a gift a girl likes, you'll be even worse off."

"Well our princess has some very high standards," Gii stated with a prideful tone, "She likes roses, but she's picky on the type she likes."

"She a-"

"She also likes Mille Crepes and Financiers," Gii continued, making a tick mark appear on Nago for a moment, "But she really hates boredom, tomato juice, and bell peppers."

"Her favorite h-"

"Her hobbies include drinking tea, looking after the timeline as is her duty, she really values time and Meissen Tea."

"...and sh-"

"And she is very particular ab-"

"DO YOU MIND?! I'm trying to explain what she likes!" Nago snapped at Gii.

"No, they want to hear from me! Not some big old fat cat," Gii taunted

"Well better to hear from someone with experience than listen to an annoying little flying pig."

"Hey~! I'm not fat! I'm just pleasantly plump for a bat~"

"...Help me~" Tucker hissed to Sam amidst Nago and Gii's bickering.

"Alright..." Sam sighed before snapping her fingers, earning the two's attention, "Okay…Nago, you're with me."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I can already tell you two are gonna be bickering to high heaven and back, so I may as well take one of you so you're not shouting Tucker's ear off the entire time."

"...Hmm. Very good point," Nago whispered, eying at Gii for a moment before he changed into his big black cat form, "Farewell, Gii. I shall be hiding with someone with more class."

"Hey~" Tucker frowned a bit at that.

"Fat cat," Gii deadpanned.

"Stupid bat," Nago retorted before he changed into an umbrella for Sam to hold.

"...So you can change into anything, right?"

"Correct, madam. If this form isn't pleasing to you…" Nago paused before he changed into a backpack again, followed by a baseball bat, and then a bag, "I can morph into a much more suitable shape for you…not unlike a hat."

"Hey~! Hat's are a good hiding spot!" Gii whined.

"However since we're away from Madam Rachel at the moment…our abilities are somewhat limited to a few forms," Nago continued

"...huh. Noted," Sam muttered before pondering for a moment, "...Can you turn into a shield?"

"GH?!"

"...A normal shield?"

"Oh~ Eh heh…sorry. Reflex'," Nago sheepishly chuckled before he changed into a cat-themed shield "This good enough?"

"Perfect," Sam confirmed before putting him on her back just as Ben and the others walked in.

"Hey. So…" Ben began before he noticed the shield, "...Where'd you get the shield?"

"Found it back on the last planet we were on," Sam replied, "I like it. Black cats are all the rage."

"...eh. Fair enough," Ben shrugged, "So what's this about the local citizens coming to greet us?"

"Oh right. Tetrax said he was gonna go ahead and talk with the village chief and the citizens wanted to see the rest of the crew," Sam replied as she walked over to a nearby wall, "...Warning before I open the doors; if anyone makes even one Shrek or swamp joke, I'm going to hit them."

"?" the others blinked just as Sam pressed the button, causing the doors to open up to see a large crowd of Phobiasapiens standing outside...only instead of the large metal caged helmet you see on Toepick, they all had pumpkins on their heads, with various eye holes cut out to let a varying number of purple eyes peer out. Many of the locals awed at the appearance of their guests as they murmured amongst themselves.

"Huh…they're not freaking out." Ben noted as he walked forward, "Uhm…Hi!" he waved as they all awed once more and several waved back, "You folks…don't seem…freaked out by humans like us?"

One of them lumbered forward and spoke in a similar warbling voice that Toepick had, "We are not originally natives of the Anur system, our race evolved here eons ago after being stranded here. We know of other races out there, and we don't share the…odd mindset of local Anur Races" he explained, "But not many come to visit us due to our abilities. Only traders from other planets ever visit."

"You mean your…" Ben motioned to their masks, and then held his hands out dramatically, "The Scare Power?"

"Yes, our ability is…well documented," he nodded, "But we do not wish to scare people needlessly…in fact, we ourselves are not immune to our ability."

"Wait, so you could be defeated with a mirror…while you have such a powerful ability for self defense or hunting?" Makoto asked, hurrying up behind Ben, 'Thought that was just Ben…'

"It's because our ability is so powerful," he explained, "Our ability has the effect of triggering the most primal sense of fear with another being. Prolonged exposure can cause mental collapse or total paralysis. But it is because it is so potent…the only natural defense could be a will power unlike any other…even then the effect is not only psychological by chemical…so the body would still react even if they aren't normally the fearful type."

'...If that's true, then how'd…gh…J-Junko snap out of it?!' Makoto thought, lighting gripping Ben's hand for a moment to help calm herself down.

"I'm sorry to ask, but…could your ability wear off, even after extended use?" Ben asked.

"Well…it's not exactly like we know…" he muttered, "But with enough time and outside factors, one could heal or overcome the effects." he nodded, "However, we don't like using our powers unless they are absolutely necessary or to deal with the walking pumpkins."

"You have those here, too?" Ben asked.

"Oh yes. They are native to this planet. Though they didn't take on humanoid form 'till other residents of this star system began cultivating them to take that shape." he answered and further added, "Here…well they are more like that," he pointed as they saw a large quadruped pumpkin with four large vines acting as straight pillar legs like those of an elephant which it was also comparable in size to, "It's a bit early in the season to harvest, so it's rind is too soft to use for housing, and the flesh will not be tasty. But it's gotten rather big…" he scratched his mask as a local turned and lifted their mask to stare at the large pumpkin monster as a purple flash and mist was released and made the creature freeze in place before they got too close, making it give off a…rather high pitched scream before it ran off while shrinking in size, "See?"

"This has got to be the nicest stop in our stay in the Anur System," Ben admitted.

"Oh~! These are just the right kinds of pumpkin needed for a recipe I've been planning," Noel noted, "Grandpa Max and I need to come back here when it's harvest season."

"We've got plenty of recipes if'n yer wantin' some," another Phobiasapien offered.

"Oh! I would love that!" Noel beamed as she was instantly before them, taking them by surprise a bit, "Please, lead the way."

"Oh you are very eager…"

Makoto moved a bit closer to Ben and whispered, "What do you think the recipe is?"

"Gonna go out on a limb, pumpkin, pumpkin spice, or some form of gourd or squash recipe?" Ben listed with his fingers, "Bit on the vegan side, but…hey anything beats glowing purple mystery stuff…"

"You make a solid argument." Makoto smiled.

"Oh! Um…can I ask you people something?" Naoto asked the first one that had spoke, reaching into his pocket as he pulled out a photo, "By any chance…have you seen the girl in this picture here?"

"Hmm…can't say that I have," the Phobiasapien shook his head once he got a look at it, "Though curious…the aura she gives off is almost like that of a…Vladite…"

"...is that a problem?" Naoto frowned a bit, noting the tone in his voice the moment he uttered that word.

"Gh! N-no no...I apologize for assuming. Just…we have not felt that way in years," he sighed a bit, "...Mayhaps the chief will know once he is done talking to your Petrosapien friend. But other than that…you and your friends are more than welcome to explore our little village. In fact…perhaps the young female in this picture is somewhere here and we've never noticed."

"Thanks for the help," Ben nodded, "Girls?" at that, Makoto and Sam slapped Naoto upside the head, knocking him down to the ground, "Thank you."

"Anytime," Sam smirked, "That's for getting rude with the locals." she explained to the downed Naoto.

"He is very concerned, so he's prone to fits of stupid anger…or just stupidity." Makoto explained, "It's a true love type of thing, but doesn't mean we let him slide with his nonsense."

"Gomen…" Naoto gave a muffled groan before he pulled himself off the ground, "Still…thank you for the help anyway, sir."

"It is my pleasure, young male...and I apologize for pushing you into that mood there," the Phobiasapien replied as he helped him up, "Is there anything else you all would like to ask?"

"Oh! You wouldn't happen to have a market or something that has rare objects for sale, do you?" Tucker asked.

"Hmm….none that I know of, no…"

"...Oh! You should try Kresh's place. The guy's always collecting random things on his walks," one Phobiasapien suggested, "...and onions. He loves his onions…"

"Onions?" Tucker and Sam repeated, the group unaware of a vent opening up on the ship as the…mis-matching bodies of the Monokubs snuck out and into some nearby bushes.

"Yeah...his pumpkin soups are pretty strong thanks to 'em…"

"Well it's worth checking out. If anything, the soup might be good," Sam shrugged, "Thanks for the help."

"What are you guys looking for?" Danny asked as he followed Sam and Tucker.

"Keep it a secret?" Tucker asked.

"Secret? Uh, sure…but wh-"

"We're hiding Rachel's familiars because they broke something valuable and fear her wrath, so we're going to find something to help replace it in exchange for info on the Vladites."

"Info on the Vladites?"

"Well, there's nothing Madam Rachel doesn't know," Nago's voice spoke, making Danny blink before looking at the shield on Sam's back, "Hello, nya~"

"GH?!" Danny tensed as he jumped back a bit, "How…"

"They can change shapes," Tucker explained as Gii's face popped up on his hat.

"Hello, half-ghost boy~"

"...and you guys are not telling Ben and the others why?"

"Well…" Sam began before blinking..as she slowly turned to face Tucker with a suspicious frown, "Yes, Tucker Foley…why aren't we telling Ben and the others?"

"Hoo, the full name…you better answer or you dead," Gii stated to Tucker in a blunt tone.

"..." Tucker looked back for a moment, seeing they were already far from Ben and the others, "...ghh…oh fine…I think we've been helping Zs'skayr and Dan out. Remember that planet with the zombies and the cool Space Spawn that is Vendread?"

"Yeah….?" Danny replied with a raised brow.

"Well...found this out from those two crazy Khu'fans back at the other planet, but turns out the reason those zombies went nuts and mutated was because of a relic that belonged to the Vladite King…same for one that was basically in that temple holding the Thep Harusian."

"..."

"...Tuck?"

"Ye-"

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY SO SOONER?!" Danny and Sam snapped at their glasses-wearing friend, the force of their voices sending him crashing into the ground.

"Ow~! Why me~?!" Gii whined as a noticeable bump appeared on his hat form.

"You don't think Ben would be more mad if we didn't tell him that?" Danny asked, "That's one of his mortal enemies…one that came out of him no less! If he finds that out and that we didn't tell him right away…oh, he's gonna bend you into a pretzel as one of his buff aliens."

"I know~" Tucker groaned as he buried his hands into his face, "I wanted to try and find out something about them before I told you guys…I wanted us to be one step ahead of that freaky knock off Grim Reaper, but I didn't know he was making us do the dirty work for him!"

"...ugh. Who else knows?" Sam asked with an annoyed sigh.

"...Makoto and Noel when the former snuck up on me…"

"Well, maybe we can have her tell him…pretty sure he can't get upset with her," Danny offered.

"True, but still, we should also come clean on our own. After we save these little weirdos butts from…whatever their Master will do to them," Sam motioned to the familiars, "Then we deal with whatever nonsense is afoot in this sector of space."

"...yeah…good idea," Tucker sighed as Sam and Danny helped him up, "Hopefully this Kresh guy has what we're looking for…"

"Well better hope he somehow has whatever Vladite Relic that Zs'Skayr and Dan are looking for," Danny stated as they resumed walking.

"...You heard that right?" Monotaro whispered as he and the other Monokubs popped up out of a nearby bush.

"Yeah. Some guy may have something we can steal," Monokid grinned...while his head was stuck to Monophanie's body, "Also ew~ Why'd I have to be a girl? Not even busty…"

"Ah~! So mean…" Monophanie sniffled…currently stuck to Monodom's body as the robotic Monokid's head was stuck on Monosuke's with Monosuke's head…attached to one half of Monotaro's body.

"I told youse rushing it was a bad idea," Monosuke hissed to Monotaro.

"What~? We were able to get out in time before that danger noodle followed us," Monotaro assured as he patted his half of the shared body, "Worry not…we just silently follow ghost boy and his pseudo mystery inc, then when they get something on the Vladite Relic here…or the relic itself, we snatch it off them!"

"...Who are you and what have you done with my brother?"

...! Shared body…= Monodom suggested.

"Wh…oh god damn it. He's using my IQ!" Monosuke realized.

"Ech! No wonder I feel so dainty~" Monokid gagged.

"Stop bullying my body~!" Monphanie whined as she began to beat on him with Monodom's arms.

---

"...Man, it feels so calm here compared to the last planet," Ben noted as he, Makoto, Noel and Naoto walked down the dirt road through a small market place.

"I think that was the reason a certain buggy friend of ours decided to stay on the ship," Makoto guessed, "I think Gluto found him passed out somewhere after that whole ordeal with Petshop 2.0…and when he saw Mari-chan as a Nargacuga."

"Well, to be fair…adult Nargacuga are the most intimidating due to how stealthy and fast they were," Skurd explained as Mari poked out of Noel's armor a bit, "Also if you take one of their cubs….pray to the many gods out there you don't have the mother hunting you down."

"So almost perfect for a mink, since despite being so small they are dangerously effective predators," Makoto pointed out.

"Well thankfully Mari is a good girl," Noel smiled.

"I don't know…we left the TV on a documentary about bunnies…her eyes were glued to the screen like she saw a burger commercial," Makoto teased as Mari bashfully covered her face with her paws, "But, eh, it's a good thing she's friends with Bluey."

"Well of course. I made sure she would be a good girl around the other pets," Noel nodded, "...and she knows the chain of command is always my precious little loafy boy Drei."

"The fact that the corgi has become the alpha of the pets is kind of funny." Ben chuckled, "He's smart, yeah, but he's a little Corgi commanding animals that let's face it…are much stronger than him."

"It's always the ones you least expect to be the leader~" Makoto giggled a bit.

"Tell me about it," Naoto muttered, "While I was stuck traveling different universes, I ended up stuck in a place overrun by dogs…and the pack leader was a Chihuahua."

"You know, I don't think you've talked much about those adventures of yours," Ben noted as they stopped at a booth, "What kind of places have ya been too?"

"Eh…ranging from weird, to eh, to sometimes cool…to 'oh god I hope to never come to this freaking place again'," Naoto listed, "...but honestly a few I could try and take Raquel, too."

"Ah. So a possible trip with your vampire GF?" Makoto teased a bit.

"Eh, if I can figure out how to travel the multiverse again yeah," Naoto replied…before sighing a bit, "Just hope we find her soon."

"Don't worry man. We will," Ben assured, "Though now you got me curious on what she looks like."

"She must be something if she's that special to ya," Noel added.

"Oh she is…she really is," Naoto chuckled a bit as he pulled out the photo to show them, "See?"

"..." Ben, Makoto, and Noel blinked as they looked at the photo, seeing that Raquel…looked like a taller and older version of Rachel, which…pretty much further drove that one theory about her being an alt of the young time walking vampire.

"...Is…something wrong?" Naoto asked, noting how silent they were.

"?! N-No no, man. Just…reminds us a bit of someone is all," Ben replied.

"Oh…fair," Naoto replied as the owner of the booth finally came up, the brunette holding the photo to him before he shook his head, "...ahh dang it."

"Try the chief's house. Few blocks ahead…"

"Thanks!" Naoto cheered as he jogged ahead.

"So…we gonna talk about it?" Makoto asked the other two.

"Feels worth noting…so…she's a doppelganger of Rachel from another world…That's a whole can of worms," Ben spoke up.

"Hoo, that is probably gonna be an awkward meeting…" Makoto muttered.

"...Hmm…" Noel pondered as she tilted her head a bit, "...Raquel being an alt of Rachel-san…Naoto's aunt possibly being an alt of Makoto according to him…"

"Good to know I'm a good aunt at least considering how he talked about her," Makoto nodded.

'And Naoto's sister being part of that Terumi clan….same name as a certain jerk Ragna's after,' Ben thought, "...Wait. Why bring it up?"

"...Call it a hunch, but…when his hair goes white, doesn't Naoto remind you guys of Ragna?"

"Well…" Ben pondered, "Now that you say it…" he muttered in thought.

"I…kinda…it…huh?" Makoto blinked a few times.

"I…well…hm…now that you bring it up…" Skurd couldn't help but add as he rubbed a tendril on his non-existent chin.

"...and both use red energy attacks," Noel added.

"With Ragna's affecting an enemy's soul while Naoto…is him using his blood, which is...honestly kinda hardcore," Ben admitted.

"...Wait…" the four spoke with blank stares, connecting the dots slowly in their head as a thought bubble popped up above them, chibi images of Ragna and Naoto popping up before they slowly merged a bit with Ragna's hair becoming shorter a bit to match Naoto's, "...AHH!" they all gasped in unison as they made the connection, "They're alt versions of each other!"

"...No wonder those two got along eventually," Skurd muttered.

"...sh-should we tell him?" Noel asked.

"That might give him a bit of an existential crisis, Noellie," Makoto muttered.

"Besides they are far from the same person," Ben added, "I think it's best we not bring it up unless it seems important."

"Probably for the best/h-hai," Makoto and Noel nodded.

"Ahem! Speaking of whom..should we stop him before he does something reckless?" Skurd suggested.

"Oh yeah/Definitely/We probably should."

"Then move!"

"Ahh!" the trio yelped as they quickly rushed off.

"...What interesting young travelers," the booth owner blinked.

---

"...don't…."

"But Sam…"

"I warned you guys if you even attempted to make a joke…"

"But…Sam…!" Tucker began.

"Don't…!"

"...We're near a swamp," Gii spoke with a Scottish accent, the trio looking ahead to see a sickly green pumpkin house amongst a small swamp, the words 'Knick Knacks or Whatever' in old letters above...before one letter fell into the water.

"...Tuck, can I have your 'hat' for a moment?"

"Ahh! Don't let her hit me~!" Gii begged Tucker.

"Wh-Don't drag me into it!" Tucker snapped.

"You're being dragged into it~!"

"Focus," Danny spoke, "You can deal with it later, Sam. Right now, let's just get what they need to replace whatever they broke and get that information."

"Right," Sam nodded as the trio began to approach the door, Danny knocking on the door a few times.

"What?! If it's about th' swamp complaints, I've been trying to grow turnips with my onions and pumpkins," a voice spoke up with a bit of an accent, the door opening up to reveal a rotund Phobiasapien with a weird pumpkin over his head, "...So…" he looked the three over as he crossed his arms, "What brings a trio of string beans like you all th' way out here?"

"Oh…well we heard you are an expert on all things weird and or interesting." Danny spoke, "And we are looking to replace a work friend's broken magical item with something of equal value."

"Oh really now?" the Phobiasapien raised a brow…before shrugging, "Alright. Come inside."

"Wait. Just like that?"

"Well of course…this used to be an antique shop before goin' under. Not a lot one can do with baubles when people barely come by…" he replied as he moved aside, seeing multiple boxes inside with various objects inside, "Don't mind th' boxes…they're just stuff I found on my walks."

"...Would…you mind if we checked those?" Sam asked.

"Eh, help yourself. Not much useful stuff in there," the Phobiasapien replied as he walked past them, moving to a lone chair as he turned...and plopped down right on it, "Oh yeah, that's the stuff…"

"...This was easier than I thou-" Tucker began.

"But if you break somethin', then we're gonna have issues." he warned with a 'frown', "Just because it's junk, doesn't mean it's not a treasure to someone else."

"And there's the catch…" Tucker sighed, "...still, let's get to searchin'."

"May as well," Sam shrugged as the trio began to look around the boxes.

"Think this is good enough?" Danny quietly asked as he held up a vase to Nago.

"Mmm….no. There's a crack near the tip," the transformed cat replied, "And before you argue…trust me. Valkenhyne will know…and then Madam Rachel will know~"

"What about a rose-themed tea set?" Tucker suggested to Gii as he held up a baggie filled with tea dishes.

"Mmmm….no. Wrong shade of red…and it smells like onions."

"Ah come on…"

"Then what shade of red does she like?" Sam asked as she looked over a book.

"Red…like the color of blood, but as stunning as a harvest moon," Nago replied.

"Hmm…so somewhere in the range of a deep crimson…" Sam nodded simply.

"Why yes~ Someone who finally understands milady's taste!" Nago beamed.

"Well I'm personally a purple girl, but I like a nice shade of red from time to time," Sam explained, "I grow roses in my greenhouse, and I like the darker shades of red; bright colors just aren't my style. Plus it's one of the few things my mom likes that I grow."

"Madam Rachel has an entire garden of roses she loves to sit within during tea time. It helps exhibit a mysterious vibe to it as the full moon shines above her home," Nago nodded a bit.

"By chance is there room in the neighborhood?" Sam asked, "But anyway, we know something to consider while looking."

"...Who in th' bog are they talkin' too…" the Phobiasapien blinked before seeing Danny pull something out, "Hey hey!"

"?!" Danny tensed as he nearly dropped a broken part of an amulet with a bat image on it.

"Drop it…that's not to be touched," he spoke as he got up, snatching it from Danny as he began to walk back to his seat.

"...um…what…"

"It's part of a stupid relic my brother and I agreed to hold so the Vladite King doesn't come back."

"I'm sorry, but…did you just say…Vladite King?" Sam asked, "Do you mind if we…ask about that for a second, you two?" she asked the familiars.

"Hmm…I don't see why not," Nago replied.

"Eh, sure…but I doubt he'll know more than the princess," Gii added.

"We'll see," Sam replied before looking at the Phobiasapien, "Okay…um…"

"Kresh, lassie."

"Thank you. What…do you know about the Vladites and…well…" she paused as she motioned to the amulet half in the Phobiasapien's hands, "That?"

"...It's as I said, it's part of a relic set that was used to help seal the Vladite King away," Kresh replied with a sigh, looking down at the amulet half in his hand, "Many years back, the Anur System was a much more dangerous place, what with all the Vladites going around…but none more dangerous than the Vladite King himself…" he looked to a nearby window, "My brother knows more than I do, but from what I remember…the Vladite King was so dangerous that a small group came in and stopped him, made of a band of all the races of the Anur System, but to make sure he wouldn't come back…they sealed his essence inside of a set of Relics and scattered them to different planets within the Anur System."

"W-Wait. Just their King, right?"

"Aye, but the King would be more than enough!" Kresh explained, "The Vladites' society crumbled and the whole lot of 'em got eradicated once their king was sealed. But if'n the king ever got loose, well…pfft…we're dinner!" he held his arms up in exasperation, "He was a famed mad Alchemist, blending science and sorcery together. If he revived, he could bring his entire species back using his evil alchemy."

"Alchemist?" Danny asked.

"Alchemy was a form of pseudo-science on Earth, with magic being normal in some planets…for all we know, he can do things beyond science and magic," Sam explained, "For all we know, he could revive his entire species with something even better than simple cloning."

"See? The lass knows we'd be in a whole lot of trouble if he came back," Kresh nodded a bit, "One of the moons has the King's Mind, said to mutate anything within its possession…then we got the King's Eyes that was sealed by the Khufans with the Vladite King's pet Thep Harusian…my brother and I both have halves of the King's Seal…feh! Don't count on getting the other half from him," he scoffed as he put the amulet half down, "We're not on speaking terms right now."

"No offense, but I think that oddly works in your favor given the circumstance of the amulet," Sam spoke up.

"You'd think so, but he's so stuck up his own gob, it's hard to even try and bargain with him!" Kresh complained, "Hmph. Don't even come to our parents' home for the annual Winter holidays."

"You guys have winter here?" Tucker asked.

"Oh aye…and if you think the pumpkin creatures are worse now, oh wait until then…" Kresh paused before leaning in a bit and whispered, "They adapt."

"Ulp…" Tucker gulped with wide eyes behind his glasses.

"Now then…" he paused once more as he sat back down, putting the amulet half down as he pointed at them, "If there's anything you'd like, continue lookin'…but the amulet is not for sale."

"Well…at least you helped us out in some way, sir," Danny sighed a bit.

"Mmm…well if you'll excuse me," Kresh began as he got up, grabbing the amulet half as he stretched a bit, "I gotta put this in a better place before…" he paused as soon as he saw it…which was just a small cardboard cutout painted in gold, "?!"

"What the…?!"

"...Alright," Kresh frowned as he looked at the trio, "Which one of you took it?"

"Hey woah! We didn't do anything," Sam defended, showing her hands.

"Yeah! We were just asking ya something, man," Tucker added, both Nago and Gii noticing a robotic limb slowly pulling itself out from a nearby window with the actual amulet in hand.

"Then how do you explain this then?" Kresh asked as he held up the fake amulet half.

"But w-" Danny began before Nago's tail nudged him, earning his attention before the tail pointed at the window, "...don't tell me…" he slowly looked over to see the limb trying to pull out.

"Ahh~ How do you move these, Monodom~?" Monophanie whined a bit from outside.

Con-trol…=

"Shaddup or we'll get caught!" Monosuke hissed.

"HEY!"

"GAH!" Monophanie yelped as the arm flipped up, causing him to stumble with the amulet half before she quickly pulled it out, "Ah! I got it!"

"What was…" Sam began before Danny ran towards the window, looking out to see the Monokubs poking out of a nearby bush.

"Hey! Give that back!" Danny shouted.

"No! Thanks for the info on the other half, ya fucking weebs!" Monokid mocked as he flipped him off.

"...oh don't tell me," Tucker began as he, Sam and Kresh caught up with Danny, "...Ahh! It's those freaky Minikumas!"

"Monokubs!" Monotaro shouted before they began to run off, "And ja-ne~!"

"Ah! Hey! You get back here with that amulet, you bunch of metal-plated, stubby, no-fingered, five-finger discounters!" Kresh shouted, shaking a fist at them.

"What did he say?" Tucker raised a brow.

"Who cares?! After those midget bears!" Sam shouted as she and Danny jumped out of the window.

"Uh…I'll let the athletic one and one who can fly do that," Tucker spoke up.

"Aye, lad makes a good point." Kresh agreed, "Get back the amulet!"

"Yes, sir!" Danny shouted.

"..AH!" Tucker panicked before shouted to them, "And don't let Ben and the others find out about the thing!"

"We'll try!"

"...you gonna die~" Gii whispered to Tucker.

"Shut up…"

---

"Wow…a triple decker pumpkin house…" Ben awed as they found the chief's home, which was the largest pumpkin cottage around, that also seemed to be built into a small cliffside letting the grass grow around it, "It's both a Pumpkin cottage and a Hobbit shire in one…"

"This world is like a much nicer fantasy land compared to the Halloween town nonsense of the other planets so far…" Naoto awed, "They even get just enough sunlight that it's nice weather here. I wouldn't mind if we landed here from the get go…"

"This place is downright pleasant." Makoto admitted.

"Mmm!" Noel nodded happily.

"Tetrax is supposed to be here as well, so may as well check and see how he's doing," Ben offered as he began to approach the front door, about to knock on it before it opened up, "?"

"Ah..thought I heard you guys," Tetrax spoke as he poked his head out a bit.

"How's the chief?" Ben asked.

"Pleasant company. The folks here are pretty calm despite having what is considered one of the universe's most impossible to defend against ability," Tetrax laughed.

"Yeah, they have been rather helpful," Makoto nodded a bit.

"And hopefully the chief can help me out," Naoto added, earning Tetrax' attention, "I'm hoping he might've seen Raquel in the area."

"Ah. I see," Tetrax noted before looking back in, "Hey chief, you mind if these kids ask you something?"

"Hmm? Ah let them in, lad…" a voice spoke up from inside, "I'd more than be happy to help them with any questions.."

"Come on in," Tetrax waved them in as he pointed to the door.

The group nodded as they walked in, seeing how tidy the place was within as they saw a large staircase leading through the multiple floors of the pumpkin home, seeing varying amount of books and knick knacks hung up.

"...Man, it even looks good inside," Naoto whispered as he looked around.

"So relaxing and charming!" Noel smiled, "I really wish we landed here first." she sighed.

"Oh we get that a lot," they turned to see a slightly larger Phobiasapien with wrinkled skin, which was a slightly darker shade then others they met with a white pumpkin acting as his mask, "We are among the two planets in this system that welcome outside travel."

"Ben, Naoto, girls, this is Chief Arv'est, the leader of this little village," Tetrax explained, "If there's anything you'd like to know, then you come to him for any information on the Anur System."

"Ah, I just like to study on the old days, keep records..often find a priceless relic to display and help preserve its history," the Phobiasapien chuckled a bit, "So what can I do ya for?"

"Oh. well…" Naoto began as he pulled out his picture of Raquel, "You wouldn't happen to have seen this girl around, have you?"

"Hmm…I think I'd recall…wait a minute…" he took a moment to look closer as he spun his pumpkin mask around to reveal larger eye holes as larger eyes opened to peer through, "Ah! I believe I have, boyo! Though not that I talked to her. However, I've seen this lady once before! It was during the harvest festival when folks from all over Anur come to enjoy the bounty. She stood out like a sore thumb, if'n you catch my drift."

"Yeah, I kinda do," Naoto muttered.

"I means unlike everyone else here, she wasn't ugly!" Arv'est laughed.

"Wait…you guys don't have…this Anur sensibility?" Makoto asked.

"Oh heavens no! We evolved here, but we originate from a different place. We like the flowers and the fields and what not…all them other Anur folks consider this place the ugliest corner of their star system," Arv'est scoffed.

"So she was here?" Naoto asked.

"Aye. She was a curious lass, asking all sorts of questions," he waddled off to a bookshelf, "Wanted to know about the history of Anur, mostly them bloodsucking Vladites!" he laughed at the memory, Ah~ Strange questions, but we ain't afraid to share the stories. As one of the few planets with daylight we are not as conditioned to fear them as the others." he pulled a book out, "'Ere it is, the legendary book that recorded the events, passed down the chiefs for generations." he put an old leather bone book on a table, "Took out some strange hand mirror contraption and began taking pictures, without a recording device. Can ye imagine?"

"So she has a smartphone," Noel noted.

"Oh thank god she must've found my old one," Naoto sighed in relief at that, "...Shoot. I can't remember the number."

"Who doesn't know their own number?" Makoto gawked.

"You're supposed to remember that?" the Chief asked sheepishly as he spun his mask around to the original eyeholes.

"I would agree, but I stopped using a phone for phone calls ages ago since everyone just calls me with the Omnitrix," Ben explained, "Mine is more or less just a portable link to the Externet via the wifi of the Omnitrix."

"We…do only call the Omnitrix most times…" Noel muttered.

"But you still knew your own number when you used a normal phone, right?" Makoto asked.

"Well…yeah, but….I'm trying to be fair here," Ben sighed.

"Ah. Understandable," Makoto nodded before pulling out a piece of paper in a glass bottle from her tail, "I have to keep mine hidden in my tail at times if I don't have my phone to check it."

"Well guess you'll have to check your mind for that number." Ben spoke to Naoto, "Put the thinking cap on."

"We have a thinking gourd." the Chief offered.

"...Anything will do at this point," Naoto stated before rushing off…before quickly coming back to bow, "Thank you so much, sir…"

"Not a problem," Arv'est replied with a happy chuckle, "Always glad to lend a hand to folks!"

"Hey cashew for brains, shouldn't we find out what your lady love was learning? Maybe it could lead us to what she's doing or where she's at?" Makoto pointed out.

"Ah…good point," Naoto nodded before looking back at the Phobiasapien, "Why was she trying to learn about the Vladites?"

"Ah…a lot to be honest, laddie," Arv'est replied as he moved to another bookshelf, "See, as we are essentially just refugees here, we didn't have much in the way of culture or knowledge. So once the Vladites were dealt with, we traded our crops for knowledge, technical education, and other useful things. Among things we were traded from the Transylians were their tomes of knowledge of the Vladites. While they themselves later burned all history of them for the sake of moving on, we keep the only original records of them. Not that anyone would dare come for them. No one wants to know, except for those who do. In which case, we teach," he pulled several books, "The Transylians leader gave us many of his original findings and history of the Vladites as trade for crops and supplies way back then."

"So…they gave away all the history and knowledge of them to you guys as trade for food after they got rid of them?" Makoto asked, "why would you want it anyway?"

"Knowledge shouldn't be lost; it should be kept. Knowledge can be used or abused. You could use it to help or abuse it to harm. It serves us in case anyone ever gets the horrible idea they can unseal the Vladite King. These books hold the truth of their weaknesses, their superstitions, their very biological make up, all kept here. Well…except for maybe the Castle Zs'Skayr."

"…Um, what method did whoever sealed the Vladite King away…seal him away?" Ben asked

"Ahh, see? That is the tricky part, lad," Arv'est replied as he pulled out one of the books in the pile, "You see, they used special relics to seal his essence within…but what those relics are I do not know because a certain brother of mine learned all about them and refused to share them with me."

"Your brother?" Noel asked, "What happened?"

"We got into a heated argument a few years back…mostly…" he paused as he approached another shelf, slightly pulling a book out as a wall opened up, revealing the other half of the amulet Kersh had, "The King's Seal."

"So I guess your brother has the other half?" Ben asked, "And…it's somehow related to the argument?"

"Yes…who gets the right to hold it so no one would steal it…hpmh! Not that he cares…all he cares for is that little shop of his and selling things that should be preserved," he huffed, "Had to avoid going to winter holidays with our parents just so we don't argue and ruin the festive atmosphere."

"...and I'm guessing amongst the arguing, you two ended up breaking it?" Makoto guessed.

"Oh aye…we're lucky the Vladite King's essence within it didn't escape, otherwise things wouldn't be as peaceful here as they are now."

"The seal must be stronger than just sealing him inside, since breaking it didn't release him. Guess this is some heavy duty stuff to make sure he never gets free," Ben noted.

"You did grow up with a magical nerd girl," Makoto smirked.

"I suppose this might be a blessing in disguise. With both halves separated, no one can undo the seal without both," Noel offered.

"GET BACK HERE!"

"?" the group blinked before Ben, Naoto, and the girls ran over to a nearby window, seeing Danny and Sam chasing after the Monokubs…with the lead one holding the half of the amulet they stole, "?!"

"Nyeh~! Nyeh~! You can suck off our b-" Monokid began with a laugh.

"Please stop!" Monophanie screamed as she used one of her borrowed limbs to shut him up, "We're already pushing the rating as is…"

"...Oh god, not them again…" Makoto whispered, slightly shaking at seeing the dual-colored bears.

"How'd they get here?!" Skurd exclaimed.

"Noel…unleash the danger noodle," Ben ordered.

"Mari…" Noel began as her Mink slithered out of her armor, "Sic 'em."

...?!-!?-!-!-!= Monodom tensed as he saw Mari leap out the window =Danger! Danger! Danger!=

"Huh? What're ya…?" Monokid began before seeing Mari as well, "...A mink?" she deployed her claws, "MARI THE MINK?!"

"Ooh…" Ben winced as the carnage began, "She has great instincts, bite to the back of the head, and she cleaves through with each swing. Is that why the house is pest free?"

"Most likely," Noel nodded as she flinched as a Monokub arm was thrown into the air then several others as more cries of pain filled the air.

"H-Have they been spying on us?" Makoto asked as Mari stopped in her carnage to nod in reply, "Aw man…Mari, make sure you dump the remains in a compost bin or something!" Mari stood up with Monikid's head in her jaw as she saluted best she could with her little paw.

"Ah wait! Wait!" Danny shouted as he skidded to a stop, reaching into the mangled pile as he pulled out the amulet half they had stolen, "...phew…no damage."

"Danny?"

"?!" Danny tensed as Sam caught up with him, the two turning to see Ben and the others looking out, "...uh…hi."

"Care to explain this?" Naoto asked as he motioned to the broken up Monokubs.

"...ugh. W-" Sam began before Danny held a hand up, "?"

"No, no...I'll take the brunt for him," he whispered to her before sighing, "Turns out…we've been playing into Zs'skayr's hands."

"Excuse me?" Ben blinked.

"We found out that he's been snatching Vladite relics from the planets we've been to before," Danny explained, "We inadvertently just did the heavy work for him…"

"Hmm…" Ben nodded simply, "I'll be right back."

"Chief, is there anything you need demolished as he has a moment of anger?" Makoto asked.

"Aye! A lot of rotten trees that need uprooting!" he declared, "I'll point the boy in the right direction." he realized how quickly it needed doing.

"Well thankfully…" Sam paused as Danny held up the amulet half, "We managed to get this back before they could get another."

"Good…now if you'll excuse me…" was all Ben said as he began to walk off.

"...Oh he's mad mad," Makoto whispered before a green flash went off outside the back of the house.

"MOTHER…!" was all they heard before they heard rumblings and stones crunching going off.

"Oh, he took care of the boulders for me, too. What a helpful lad," Arv'est noted.

"When he wants to be," Makoto smiled.

"I suppose you're not too worried since you could use a little helpful destruction…and your homes seem…" Noel lingered.

"Aye, we replace them like crazy. Whoever can capture the biggest pumpkin gets to have the new biggest house in the village!" Arv'est laughed , "Fifteen years and running!"

"Oh! Impressive, sir!" Noel beamed.

"...Wait. Did you guys happen to…you know…" Makoto began.

"Tuck filled us in and we're helping Rachel's familiars out," Sam replied as she held Nago up in his shield form.

"Say what?" Naoto blinked before Nago changed shape, "?!"

"Hello~"

"Oh good, but wait…if you have the other half of the amulet…?" Noel noted.

"Ah me no good brother probably sold it!" Arv'est snapped, making Sam and Danny flinch and jump back, "I knew it! I knew he was a good for nothin'!" he reached to his side and grabbed a shillelagh walking stick he began swinging as a club, "I ought ta split his gourd that good for nothing tchotchke peddler!"

"Ah! Whoa now! He did not sell this. He was actually quite adamant on not selling it," Sam quickly spoke, "Those bears swiped it and we were chasing them to get it back for him and you're his brother?"

"He let them snatch i-oh why am I not surprised?! He always keeps his stuff in too many boxes!"

"Yeah, I don't think we're gonna convince him of any narrative where it's not his brother's fault," Makoto sighed.

"This normally takes much more effort than a sound truth to ease years of bad blood," Noel added, "Give me an afternoon; I'll see what I can do." she paused, "Danny, burn those creepy bears, then put the ash in a compost bin." she ordered.

"HAH?!= the Monokubs' heads panicked.

"They upset Makoto, so therefore they upset me and I don't like looking at them," Noel explained simply, "I will be drawing much cuter designs. Especially for the pink one. Maybe make her into an adorable pink bunny with angel wings…"

"P-pink bunny?" Monophanie repeated.

"Ew~! Why a bunny?! Those are hellagay!" Monokid mocked.

"Because bunnies are one my list of top ten cutest tiny animals," Noel replied, "And she seems the cutest of you all…which isn't saying much. Now…" she gave Danny a sharp look, "...Turn them into ashes and compost them at once, Daniel Fenton!"

"Ack! R-Right away!" Danny yelped, picking up as many of the parts as possible as he quickly ran off, the amulet half flipping in the air before Sam caught it.

"I'll keep this just to be safe," Sam spoke up despite Danny being out of hearing range.

"THANKS!"

"Still…to think we've been helping out the bad guys this entire time…" Naoto frowned a bit.

"Ben's probably gonna be…busy for a while," Makoto muttered.

"It's all fine. We needed wood for the harvest season bonfire anyway!" Arv'est laughed.

"Well it's better than letting him turn the impounded cars of criminals into public art," Noel muttered, "Even if sometimes it's good art…"

---

"...Taking quite a while to get back…" Tucker muttered, sitting outside of Kersh's store as Gii rested on top of his head.

"Maybe they got caught by Ben and lost the amulet," Gii spoke.

"Doubt it on the latter. Those kubs have no idea who they're messing with," Tucker stated.

"Mmm….dunno. If it was the princess, she'd zap 'em before they could get a chance to get away," Gii argued.

"Yeah? Well, Danny sometimes forgets he has like a dozen super powers." Tucker replied, "But he always remembers when it matters."

"Hmm?"

"Intangibility, flight, possession, cryokinesis, pyrokinesis, duplication, ecto blasts, ecto shield, Ghostly Wail…" Tucker listed off, "There is a lot he forgets he can do."

"...Your friend's weird for a ghost."

"Well he's only half ghost. In my experience from watching anime, being half something often means you get all the cool powers with none of the drawbacks," Tucker argued.

"Your friend's a Halfa? Heh. Haven't seen one of them since fifty years back," Kresh recalled, "Was pretty weird. Looked to be in the midst of a fight with a weird folk that reminded me of some idiot trying to pretend to be a Vladite and blasted a relic I just got, too. Kinda glad he did, though. After looking at the runes that was in its shards, learned it would've killed me in three years if it hadn't been busted up."

"Yikes."

"Ooh~ That sounds like it would've been a good gift," Gii noted, earning flat looks from both of them, "...What?"

"He doesn't have a sense of dying, does he?" Kresh asked.

"I'm just starting to realize that myself," Tucker admitted.

"Well duh~ I'm a familiar. I can live much longer than you mortals can~" Gii teased them in a prideful tone, "That's why the princess chose me over that stupid fatcat Nago."

"Why do you have it out for him, anyway?" Tucker asked, "...Is it because you're a bat and he's a cat?"

"Hah?! No…it's because I'm much younger and cuter than he is."

"Cats are cuter, man…"

"Nuh uh~! Have you seen a baby bat? We're adorable~"

"...How old are you?"

"...I plead the fifth amendment?"

"Hope you don't mean the one here. That's agreeing to admitting guilt to everything ye did in a crime, be shoved into a moldy pumpkin large enough to fit in but small enough to be really uncomfortable in, and then rolled down all the hills on the planet for a year," Kresh chuckled.

"ACK!" Gii panicked.

"Mmm hmm. I knew it…yer a little trouble maker, aren't ya?" Tucker asked with a grin.

"Uh…"

"OI!"

"Hmm?" Kresh blinked before looking ahead, "?! YOU!"

"Huh?" Tucker blinked before Kresh stomped out, making him and Gii look ahead to see Arv'est and Ben's team approaching, "?! Uh oh…"

"What the bloody hell are you doing here/letting someone steal this?!" both Phobiasapiens snapped in unison as Arv'est held up the amulet half that was stolen.

"?! My amulet half!"

"Yes! I found this after this young people here stopped a group of miniature ursine t-"

"Speak Phobian blast it, you gobbldy gooking nonsense spoutin gourd!"

"Ah! You take that back, you oafish solving pawn shop owner!"

"What in the H-E-double hockeysticks kind of insult is that?!" Tucker gawked before he heard someone clearing their throat, making him slowly look over to see Ben looking at him, "...uh…hey…I…"

"Save it man. Danny told me…and figured he was taking the brunt of the message for ya," Ben replied.

"...I'm in deep trouble, aren't I…?"

"Well it depends…" Ben began as he leaned in to whisper, "What have you guys learned so far from the chief's brother here?"

"...so far Skayr's got two. The King's Mind and King's Eyes," Tucker replied as he got serious for a moment, "The two brothers got the King's Seal…and Kresh let me study up on it a bit while I was waiting on you guys. Its a relief that thing is broken…if put back together, it unleashes something really nasty."

"Great…so it's one of those quests…" Ben sighed.

"Yup…sounds like something straight out of Castlevania 2 honestly," Tucker muttered, "But in all seriousness, if Zy'skayr gets his bony hands on those relics, bam! Space Dracula: the Revenge of the Vladites."

"Then we can't let him get both halves." Ben stated, "Thankfully the Chief's half is still hidden away. So even if they know of one half, they won't find the other fast enough."

"That's a relief," Tucker sighed while giving a mental sigh of relief, 'Thank god…just gotta make sure nothing happens and we can leave without conflict.'

However unbeknownst to the group and the two bickering Phobiasapiens, a certain green haired 'snake' was watching them from a nearby tree, a devious smile on his face.

"What's this? The little 'meddling kids' think they can relax without getting into conflict? Oh no we can't have that now…can we?" Hazama smirked before he was suddenly dragged backwards, his face unphased as he flipped through the air a bit before landing near a large tombstone of sorts, striking a pose while tipping his hat.

"Whoo~! Nice bossu~!" Junko declared from nearby, holding up a scorecard with the ten made out of snakes and bears, "Perfect landing~!"

"Now now, Jun Jun. We haven't gotten to the best part," Hazama informed as he turned towards the tombstone, lifting his hand up as the black and green armor appeared over his arm, "Afterall…what's the hero without fighting some conflict?!" he grinned widely as he jammed his armored arm into the tombstone, gripping something tightly inside as multiple cracks began to form on it.

As the tombstone began to crumble, large crystal skeletal hands shot out of the ground, gripping it tightly as something began to pull itself out of the ground, giving low growls as they did. A quartet of eyes began to open up on the rising figures, raising themselves up as they almost towered over the two.

---

"?! ooh~ Oh that was feisty!" Nago shivered, his tail becoming rigid as he changed out of his shield state and hopped off Sam's back.

"What was?" she asked.

"Something's rising up from ze dead~" Gii informed while making a spooky tone, "Something big and nasty~"

"...n-no its not," Tucker argued while trying to keep calm.

"Yes it is," Nago stated as he cleaned his paw a bit, "We're familiars of madam Alucard after all…we know when something akin to the undead springs forth."

"Well that's concerning…" Ben spoke.

"...weird," Makoto muttered as she sniffed the air a bit, "I don't smell anything decaying or rotten…think it could be a predator?"

"What creature would want to hunt these guys?" Naoto deadpanned as he motioned to the still bickering brothers.

"…okay good point."

"Thanks to their power they probably don't have any predator." Ben nodded, "But…this is still Anur and weird things are just buried under the dirt sometimes."

"Then what could be causing those t-" Danny began before the area rumbled a bit, "?!"

"And y-" Kresh and Arv'est began before they felt another rumble, making the two stop as they tensed up, "...ah bugger/how…"

"? Wh-" Noel began before crying as a large bony hand slashed at her from behind, making some sparks come off her armor as she flew back and hit the ground, "EEK!"

"?! No-" Makoto began before ducking as another boned hand tried to slash her, making her roll out of the way before it could slam down.

"...no….no no…" Tucker began to worry as several large crystal skeletons lumbered into the area, all four of their eyes glowing ominously as they looked down at the groups, "...No…!"

"A Calcititan?!" Tetrax tensed as he got into a battle ready stance.

"How…?!" Arv'est gasped.

"NO…!" Tucker exclaimed as he grabbed the sides of his head, 'I knew this wasn't gonna be easy!'

"What the heck is that?!" Danny asked while going ghost, he aimed and fired a beam only for the creature to block with its palm, "It's laser proof?" the Calcititan swung its arm as the crystal sheen along it became brighter and struck Danny with a great force that knocked him back, the Halfa coughing in pain as he went intangible just as it got closer, but was shocked when it grabbed him regardless and lifted him up, "Wh-What?!" he asked as it spun around and tossed him away, letting him phase through several trees and vanish into the forested area nearby.

"What the?! It ju-" Ben began before rolling out of the way of a slam from one Calcititan, pressing down on the Omnitrix as he was engulfed in a flash of light, Bashmouth taking his place as he stood up, "Oh hey! It's that one form the other Kevin had…alright. Let's see what damage this guy c-" he gave a dog-like yelp as a Calcititan smacked him into a nearby tree, "Ugh…that felt so heavy…why did it feel so heavy…?" he groaned, "It moves so fast…but it hits like it's a dump truck…"

"And it grabbed Danny…and just shrugged off a blast…" Sam spoke, "What kind of ability does that?"

"We'll figure it out…rrrr…Later!" Bashmouth growled as he covered his arm in metal plates as he blocked another swipe before punching the Calcititan across its jaw knocking it back, he then rushed and tried to pick it up only for its crystalline body to shimmer as the ground under it cracked, "It…It's getting heavier!" he growled finally lifting it up above his head, with a growl he tossed it away letting it impact the ground a good ten meters away and causing the ground to explode as it partially sank into the ground. Bashmouth gasped as the shimmer happened as it became almost translucent and…just simply pulled itself through the ground before the shimmer returned it to barely opaque, "Molecular Density manipulation."

"More than that, they can become dense or light, allowing them to control how solid they are to the point of being harder than steel, to being light enough to phase through things. That's how it grabbed Danny Boy, it itself match his molecular density." Skurd added.

"Oh great! Skeletons that can make themselves any density!" Tucker complained before yelping when one of the Calcititans looked over for a moment, "..psst! Hey bat!"

"Ye~?" Gii spoke as he floated over.

"Can you turn into a weapon or something?"

"Yes…but as the stupid fat cat told you, our transformations are limited."

"Such as…?"

"A ball."

"Ah man…"

"And a cannon."

"Wh-?! Lead with that!" Tucker snapped as he grabbed the fat bat.

"But I can't fire anything without the princess."

"Oh you little…!" Tucker seethed before he began to toy around with him.

"H-hey! What are you doing?!" Gii asked in shock.

"Trying to change ya into something more useful, ya annoying fat bat!"

"HAH?!"

"Oh my…poor Gii. I knew him well," Nago shook his head from outside, about to lick his paw before Sam picked him up by the scruff of his neck, "Mreow?!"

"Time to be useful!" Sam declared, "You're magic and can alter your shape, you should be useful for this."

"Ahh…good point," Nago whined with small tears in his eyes, "...very well. I shall keep my end of the bargain as best I can. What would you like, madam Manson?"

"Something blunt and hard enough to hit with."

"Hmm…..OH!" Nago gasped before he began to shift his form around a bit, molding into a fairly large hammer with his face on one of the blunt ends, "Will this do?"

"...mmm…" Sam muttered as she grabbed his face and lightly moved it to the side of the hammer, "There. Now you won't get a black eye."

"Oh phew...how considerate of YoooouuuAAAAAAA!" Nago screamed as Sam swung him into a Calcititan's fist, making it grunt as it staggered back a bit.

"GRR!" Tetrax grunted as he was sent skidding back, a few cracks on his arms as a few Calcititans began to approach him and the two Phobiasapien brothers, "Any ideas how we can beat these guys?"

"Oh Aye. There is one, but wait…" Kresh began as he snatched the amulet half from his brother, "It's broken thanks to a certain someone!"

"That was all you!" Arv'est snapped.

"Grr! Can't you use the whole fear face power!?" Bashmouth used his arms to block swing after swing as he kept Makoto and Noel behind him, "Grah…even with how strong this guy is, their swings are so heavy, it makes my arms go numb!"

"I'm pretty sure slashing attacks and gun shots aren't gonna be helpful. Not to mention hitting them would hurt…" Makoto listed.

"That kind of limits us…" Noel noted holding Mari close as she aimed one of her Bolverk guns just in case they got closer. Which just to test she fired a few shots that bounced off or went through the Celetitans.

"Then how can we beat these guys?!"

"...wait," Naoto blinked, quickly rushing up to one of the Calcititans much the others' shock as he quickly ran up one.

"Dude, what…?!"

"Hey ugly!" Naoto shouted to one Calcititan, making it turn as the one he was standing on was about to hit him, "Your bones are brittle and break like chicken legs!"

The Calcititan roared as it charged and tried to hit him, only to end up hitting the one he was standing on the moment he jumped off it, causing it to lose a crystal tooth as it landed near the girls and Bashmouth.

"Huh…so they might be strong with their abilities, but they aren't as clever as we think…" Makoto noted.

"Meaning all we have to do is just trick them," Sam added just as Danny stumbled back into the area.

"Ugh…I…Mmm…I'm good." he shook his head.

"Danny we need to rope-a-dope them to make them hit each other, their power fails against one another." Sam explained.

"Well that's gonna be hard since I rely on the intangibility thing…" Danny admitted.

"...Your taking boxing lessons when we get home." Sam stated.

"Ah man…"

"We need something that will trip them up. They can change speed and weight, and intangibility is useless." Makoto listed, "It's either super speed, or you need a power that makes them miss…"

"Makes them miss…?" Skurd asked.

"No…" Bashmouth shook his head.

"We just tested one of those new aliens with the perfect ability."

"No!" Bashmouth panicked as Skurd tapped the Omnitrix causing a green flash.

Makoto and Noel blinked, expecting to stare up at a taller alien before Makoto looked ahead and down slightly to see barely even five foot tall humanoid insect. Noel tensed as they looked at the alien with a black exoskeleton, its body was slim in build with its exoskeleton forming large forearms with small forward curved spikes ending in three fingered hands, the exoskeletal armor also bulked around the legs ending in two clawed feet, with a simple humanoid head with two ridges along the sides of the jaw that resembled mandibles, two large green compound eyes and two long antennae twitching from the top of its head. The alien moved his arms and began twitching his antennae rapidly as he looked at the Omnitrix now set in the center of his solar plexus area, as green markings formed along his sides under framing the abdominal section.

"Why isn't he talking?" Makoto asked as Noel hid behind her.

"Oh…this one can't talk." Skurd explained as the alien flailed his arms around in protest.

"What?!" Makoto gawked, "What do you mean my boyfriend can't talk!? That's the best thing about him!"

"Your love is pure and wonderful…but why is it bugs again?" Noel cried as Mari chittered and rubbed against her face, the Mink understanding it was indeed still Ben but that Noel…didn't like bugs.

Ben's new form stomped around before raising a hand and stopping the Calcititan's leg before it could stomp him. And proceeded to lift it up despite its becoming heavy and swinging it like a club into another knocking it away. Ben's new form then jumped and smacked a second one with the Calcititan he captured before spinning it around and slamming it into the third as he pinned both down.

"Oh right I forgot to mention! This alien hails from a planet encircling a Dwarf Star and is made of super dense molecules. He is probably as strong as an angry Tetrimand! And~" with that Ben's form suddenly vanished as a Calcititan swung at him. It flinched as it turned its head to its shoulder as Ben reappeared there and grabbed it by the head and flipping over it to swing and throw the monster, letting it slam into the first two that were getting up.

"He vanished!" Noel gasped.

"No…he shrank!" Makoto realized, "He can shrink, regrow and has super strength!"

"Yes, and…he can't speak~" Skurd laughed as Ben raged and stomped on the ground.

"Oh…I'll name this one," Makoto spoke up as Ben slumped and gave in to the fact he was stuck as this guy now, "I'll be creative, sorry honey." Ben just nodded before he jumped around and began clinging to one of the Calcititans.

Ben clicked something as he gripped the Calcititan in a chokehold as it flailed around. It was then knocked over by Tetrax as he and Ben pinned it down. Danny and Naoto ran as they made two of the Calcititans crash into each other.

"Hey! Over here!" Danny shouted before jumping back from an attempted slam, "Oh what was that? Can't hit a ghost kid like me?" he flew up to avoid another slam before shooting back down, making the Calcititan miss as it slugged the other that was chasing after Naoto.

"This is a lot less direct than I would like, but this works!" Naoto grunted as he jumped away as one of the Calcititans swung at him.

"How do we stop these things?" Tetrax asked, "We can't exactly lock them up, I don't think anything but my holding cell could…and no way we can fit all of them!"

"Hey you old guys know anything helpful?" Sam asked the two brothers, Nago's eyes replaced with swirls as she held him.

"Like any legends about…what these things are doing here?" Makoto asked.

"Preferably fast, I can only take so many scary things…" Noel gulped as Ben raised his arms in exasperation as he grew back to his original size, "Sorry Ben…" he slumped his shoulders with a silent sigh.

"Did you not hear us earlier?! The only way to get these things back in the ground is broken!" Kresh snapped.

"Oh for…this is why I tell you to pay attention," Arv'est sighed as he facepalmed, "There is a method…and you already know the answer to it."

"Okay, one at a time," Sam spoke up, "The thing that kept them locked up is broken, but…there is a method, that is important, what's the method?"

"Wow this guy might be short but he packs a mean punch." Makoto awed as Ben's new form tossed another Calcititan around like a ragdoll using it to club its fellow monsters, "This one will take some thinking…he's an ant…and he shrinks and grows…and retains his mass to hit things hard…" Ben flinched as the Calcititans jumped and dogpiled on him only for the now small form of his to slip out unharmed, "Pretty much annihilating their scary factor by doing stuff like that…"

"...Anthill?" Noel suggested.

"Anthill…?" Makoto blinked, turning to her, "I like it, like that old molehill saying, but he's an ant." she smiled hugging Noel, "Welcome to the you've named Ben's aliens club~"

"I am happy to help but I wish I could have named something more huggable…" Noel complained.

"Well you named Anthill!" Makoto smiled as Anthill lifted a boulder and bashed it on the head of a Calcititan as it was getting up, making the dog pile of them all fall over.

"Great, but how do we get rid of these guys!?" Tucker shouted from the store window, Gii groaning nearby as he was twisted up a bit.

"I can't feel anything…"

"...ugh. That's the answer, you sods…" Kresh groaned, "You…or rather we have to scare them," he explained motioned to himself and his brother.

"Okay and what's the 'but'?" Sam asked.

"Wise girl," Arv'est nodded.

"I know how this goes, there is always a 'but' to these things." Sam spoke as she took a quick glance to see the boys keeping the Calcititans in one place as Anthill jumped off their heads to make them smack one another in an attempt to swat him.

"We would both have to do it at once to make it effective," Arv'est explained, "Our great grandfather was able to scare off an entire hoard of them with just one eye open."

"Oh aye. Remember when dad said he used to chase a group of Ectonurites just because they woke him from his nap?" Kresh questioned his brother as he lightly patted him a bit.

"How can I forget? Father would always get into it and we'd laugh until the cows came home!" Arv'est laughed a bit.

"You have cows?" Makoto asked in a whisper as she looked around.

"So it would take a powerful member of your species, a prime specimen?" Noel asked as she lightly elbowed Makoto.

"...oh~!" Makoto gasped in realization.

"Oddly put, but aye!" Arv'est nodded, "A young strapping lad with great skill could surely do it by himself."

"We have one!" Makoto and Noel cheered as Anthill swung a log and bashed a Calcititan knocking it into another making them cry out in pain, "Ben!" Anthill stopped as he turned to face them, shrinking to dodge a backhanded strike making the attacker overswing and slap one of its own knocking a few teeth out. They then looked down as Anthill grew back to his human-like height before them making Noel yelp.

"Don't do that~" Noel slapped his shoulder, shaking her hand at the impact of his hard exoskeleton.

"Turn into Toepick!" Makoto continued, "We need a powerful member of the Phobiasapiens race to scare them." Anthill cheered as he raised his hands and fell to his knees, "Aw…being Anthill is suffering for you isn't it?" the alien looked up and nodded as waterfall tears fell from his eyes, "Good thing I have this still." She pulled out the remote and pressed it, turning him into Goop, "Oops. That's not right…" she pushed more and got Revadoh, Jetray, XLR8, and then Nanomech, "Hold on, hold on. I'm going to get this right." Noel reached over and pressed a pink button on it, turning him into Toepick, "Hah?!"

"I read the manual. Pink is the Anur System's species list." Noel explained

Toepick looked a bit different, his shoulders were wider and he looked more powerfully built rather then just rotund, like Arv'est and Kersh, his outfit was changed as now he wore a pair of shorts that where white on the outside and black on the inside with green lines separating them, his armor was streamlined, his helmet a more shiny green metal with a silver cage and silver horns on the sides, with green and black armor framing his upper chest with a silver collar around his clavicle and black material covering his 'neck', each shoulder was clad in pauldrons that were black with green lining around the sides and multiple spikes. A black stripe went down his chest and ended with the Omnitrix insignia in the center. A single large green eye blinked as several smaller eyes blinked around it before closing and vanishing as the sounds of slithering tentacles could be heard

"And you two wonder why Tsubaki snaps at you for forgetting the manuals," Skurd deadpanned.

"Sh͟͝u̷̡̕t ̴̛͡u͟p͜͞͡…̴̸" Toepick grumbled

"Ohh~ Oh now that's a Phobiasapien warrior of old there," Kresh noted.

"Oh aye. You can tell how terrifying he is by just how deep his voice is," Arv'est nodded in agreement.

"Wait, so a really healthy Phobiasapien has a super scary voice like Toepick?" Makoto asked.

"N̷͘͝ę̸w̕͞͡ t̛͟ò͟͡ m̧e…̵̡" he shrugged before looking himself over, "̸̧.̵͠.͢.͡͏̢h̴uh. ̸̸͢Ḑ͡o I͏̨ l̡͏͏o̴̶ǫk̡̛ di͝͡f̷͞fer̨͢ent̀ to ͞͡y̸o͘͡u͜ gu̷̷̶ỳ̢̛s?"͢

"Different?" Danny repeated before yelping as Naoto pulled him away in time just as a pair of Calcitians tried to grab them, only to end up crashing into one another.

"...Now that you mentioned it…" Makoto muttered as she looked Toepick over, "You have shorts instead of that weird armored underoos thing, and your helmet looks cooler. Heck you even look bulkier…in a muscle sense, before you were just big and tubby, now you look more like a powerlifter or sumo wrestler."

"The new helmet looks less creepy, but somehow still scary." Noel added.

"Ć̀͟ǫ̵oļ,̡"̢ he nodded.

"Everyone get behind Ben!" Makoto waved, "Trust me! This is a wide area of effect power!"

"In that case…" Sam began before she ran into Kresh's home before shutting the door...before opening it as Danny and Naoto quickly ran in, "You're good!"

"Oh dear!" Noel yelped as she and Mari quickly covered their eyes.

"Ears, too!" Makoto adjusted her headpiece as she closed her eyes.

Tetrax quickly did the same as Arv'est and Kresh moved their pumpkin masks around to cover their eyes. Toepick's helmet began to hiss and click as it began emitting green gas forward. The cage began to open slowly as the helmet adjusted and opened in sections to unfold like a hood slightly. Green light began to come from Toepick's face as tentacles extended around as horrible sounds of laughter, and shrieks of rapidly altering pitch filled the air. The Calcititans stopped as the noises grew worse and worse as they all froze and stared. Toepick marched forward as the Calcititans flinched and fell back. They opened their jaws and let out silent screams of terror as their bodies shimmered rapidly as they altered themselves to defend from the terror but nothing worked. Eventually their bodies went bleach white before freezing up as it seemed their own power hardened their bodies to the point movement was now impossible. Seeing this, with a rather creepy squelch, the tentacles retracted into the helmet as it began to close itself and sealed up with a hiss as it pressurized itself once more. The singular eye blinked open as Toepick let out a long sigh.

"́́͘Oh ̕͠thà̵͏nk ͟g͟ó̢o͏̶́d̷̛͝nȩ̶ss…t̕h͡a͏͠t̴ ͜͡͠w̶̛aś͡ ̷̴e̕ve̸͡n ͡͠f̡̡͡r͠͞é̶̕a̶̴͠k̸͘͞inģ̶ ̵͞me o̶ut̴́́…̢̀"͏͘ Toepick sighed as he adjusted the horns on his helmet to vent a little extra of the gas, "Ah̷͡…̸̕it ̛͠ad̷̢̛jusţ̕ş͜…Thi̵̴̴s h́elme͏t ư̵̕s͟ed ̴̛t͜ǫ ͟b́͟͏e ̕̕so ư̢͡nc̡o̶͏mf̡͝͠o͘r̶̶t̷a͘b̸̵͞l̢͝e ͞͠bef͏o͢r͢e…̴́͠Oh̵ ̴̷͢y͢e̛a̢͜͟h…̕͠"̶

"Thank god I made myself blind for that…but it was still disturbing." Skurd spoke, "Amazing! Their own automatic defense and attack turned against them in fear and compacted their molecular density to the point they are so solid…they can't even move. That's how the ancient folks here stopped them!" he cheered.

"I̧͘ m̛͢ay̸ ͡n̷̡͜o̷͡t̶̴͢ ̵̨̧li̡͟͝k̡̛͢e͟͞ b͞eįng To̴epi͏͜ck̴̀…but̢̀́…̧t̴his͏̨ ̕͡pò̸͡ẃ̵͞er ̛͝is majo͟rly ͝u̸s̡͟e̕̕fu̧̕l…" he turned around and lumbered over to Makoto as he gently nudged her with his giant hand, making her blink and smile as she adjusted her headpiece to hear again, Toepick giving her a thumbs up before jutting to the petrified Calcititans.

"Oh perfect! You literally scared them stiff!" Makoto beamed a bit

"͏Let's͢͜ hop̸é̶͟ ̴̡͟it ̀͘͢s̴t͟i̵̛c̷̢k̵̢ś̴," Toepick sighed, "So͢͡ w̨͝h̴̸at̷̕ do ͏͢we d̸̴͟o̶͢ ̷̴wi̶̢͟t̵h̀͢͢ ͝them nớw̴̢? ̛͞D̛́͝ump ͟͝in a̵ va̧͡͞t o̡̢f͏ ̶w̷et͡͡ cęm̨è̡n̶̴͞t̕?͏͝ M̕͜͝agì͟͠c̡͏ s̶͡t̷̴o͟͏̢n̵e ̶͘͟co̷̷f̶̴fin͟ ̛tha̷͜t ̶bi͝nd͢͝s ͘͝tḩe̛m in plac̴e…dum͜͞p̴͠e̕͝d ̨͜͞oų̕t ́͘of ţ̀h̴e̴ R̷̶e̕s̕ò͞lù̵t͟e̢͘'̶͝s̷̶̨ ̡̧̢aì͝r͏ĺo͏̷͞çk̀͝ ̷̴i̛̕͜nt͜͞o̸ ̡̛͠t̡̀he vo̢̡id̛ o͜f ̵̧Anų͜r͘͘ s͏ṕ͟ace͜ t͢o͟ ͠g̛e̢t s̶͜tų̢ck̵̕ ̸̨̀in ͟͜t̶̛͠h̶̕o̕͝s̷e ̛͡w̕͡ęird w̴͢eb̢̢ th͟͞͝in͢gs̀͢͝?̕"

"Oh don't worry, lad. All we need do is bury them," Kresh spoke up.

"Wait…just like that?" Makoto blinked.

"Oh aye. When they're this frozen with fear, it'll take the amulet being complete to wake 'em up by whoever wields it…or after a few couple millenia," Arv'est replied

"By that point it's the next generation's mission to solve it. So long as we pass down the legends and stories." Kresh added.

"Ah phew…" the others sighed in relief from inside Kresh's home/store.

"Yay~" Nago and Gii groaned from nearby, their eyes swirls while stars floated above their heads.

"Hmm…?" Sam mused, "Say…if we took the you know…skull off one of those?" she whispered to Kresh, "Would it be considered a cursed item?"

"Oh very much so, and it would forever wonder what happened to its noggin," Kresh nodded, "That's right, that would be but a mild annoyance to the buggers!" he blinked, "Why ya ask?"

"...OH!" Tucker realized before looking at Nago and Gii, "Hey!"

"Yes..?" the two groaned as they looked up.

"Will your mistress take that?" he asked as he motioned to one of the Calcititans, mainly their skulls.

"...hmm…" Nago pondered as he rubbed his chin with his tail, "..oh yes. That would be a wonderful replacement…"

"The Princess has been meaning to get a Crystal Skull for her collection," Gii added.

"Well…that's not creepy…" Makoto muttered.

"Ú̕ǵ͢h̕͞…͘͟I͠'m òņ͟ ̸̕͝it͡…̧͠"̴͢͡ Toepick sighed as he stomped over.

"Thank you!" the two beamed.

"Oh you have no idea how much this relieves us," Nago sighed.

"Now the princess won't punish us…" Gii added…unaware of the rose-colored portal beginning to form behind him and Nago.

"͝͏A͡l̢̡r̴̕͝í͢ght͏̕͠…̡Whȩr̴e̕ ̵şh͟͡ou̶̷͜l͝d…?̸" Toepick began as he tried to pick up a Calcititan skull.

"Just try twisting and pulling!" Makoto offered as Toepick tried and flinched as he successfully popped the skull off, making him panic and throw it up into the air, "Ah yeah. That would freak you out…"

"Careful! Milady likes h-" Nago began before a pair of hands grabbed him and Gii from behind, "HURK~!"

"Nago….Gii…"

"...Oh no…" the two whispered in pure worry, the hands coming from the portal behind them as a pair of red eyes glowed from within.

"Hoo boy…" Tucker grimaced, "Too late, I guess?"

Soon another portal formed above Toepick, making him blink before a pair of gloved hands grabbed the skull from him, "͡Wḩ͝a͝t's͡ h͘͟u͏h̡?͝"͏̵͡

"Thank you, young Master Tennyson," Valkenhayn's voice spoke as the hands pulled the skull in just as the portal closed.

"...Th-There see? Problem solved, Madam R-ACK!" Nago gagged when he was dragged in.

"You two are forgiven for the vase…but not the tea," Rachel stated, "Gii…a golf ball, if you please. Nago, I believe a golf club, preferably iron, would be best."

"Ah! Not the golf ball!" Gii panicked as he was dragged back in, "I always get stuck in the most cramped places~!" he cried just as the portal closed.

"...What….the heck was that about?" Naoto slowly blinked.

"Those two broke a vase and apparently left out they ruined her tea," Sam replied.

"...Ahh right…the tea…" Tucker realized with a wince, "I knew I left something out…"

"̀Hà̕ḩ̸…͠I'm g̴͘͝ó́͟n̵n̨͘a̵͡ d̶͢͞ig ͢a dee͏̨p…̢̧͘d̡̨̕e̸̡e̸͞p ́hole ̶f̴͝͝o̧͠r͢͟ t̵͝hese̕͠ t̕͞͡hin̷͞ģs̸͠ a͢͠nd prob̸͢a̶bly ̧̨͠m̴ak̡e͞ ̛͡͝s̴̶͞o͘͡me̛ ̴̀́h̛͘̕òm̸͟em͘͡a̵͘͜de ͜ceme͏̶nt̸ f̡̧̧ơr̛͜͡ e̸͘x͝tra ins͞u̡̢r̸a͏́n̢͠ce̢̕͡…"̧͡ Toepick sighed.

"Need some help, lad?" Kresh asked as he walked over, "I got some tools to help with the digging…that is unless a certain brother of mine is bothered by it!"

"Wh?! Of course I'm not!" Arv'est snapped.

"You just don't want to get dirty, Mr. Smart guy."

"Wow…brothers across the cosmos are always the same," Makoto muttered.

"͝I̶͞'̛ve ǹev̷̛e͞r bé̢en ̴͜so gĺ̶ad̕ ̶͝t̴ǫ̵̢ bȩ a̷n͝ ónly̨͝ ̡̛c͟hi̴̵ld̴͠…"̴̶ Toepick sighed.

"Honey, can you stop talking as Toepick now?" Makoto asked.

"It's a little creepy," Noel added.

"I find nothing wrong with it," Sam muttered.

"No offense Sam…but you are the exception…" Danny sighed as he skipped over to stand next to Makoto and Noel.

"...A͏̵̶hh g̵̨o̸̵̢o̴̧͘d ́p̸̢̧ơ̴͟int̢͠…̢̢" Toepick muttered as he tapped the Omnitrix symbol, engulfing himself in greenlight as he changed back into Ben, "Still…mission accomplished."

"And we made sure Zs'Skayr didn't get the amulet…" Danny added.

"?!" the two brothers stopped in their bickering, a cold sweat appearing on their faces.

"...lad did….did you just say 'Zy'Skayr'?" Arv'est asked.

"...I…did…" Danny replied cautiously.

"...brother," Arv'est began, looking at Kresh with a serious expression, "That day is almost upon us…"

"Aye…" Kresh added in an equally serious tone.

"What do you mean 'that day?'" Ben asked.

"The prophesied day…when the Vladites return," Arv'est explained, reaching into his coat pocket as he pulled out the other half of the broken amulet, "They say upon the blood red star…the eternal servant of the Vladite king shall gather his scattered essence, bringing forth a revival of Vladite kind…and enact their revenge on the universe."

"...r….revenge?" Noel repeated nervously.

"Aye…revenge against those who defied them all those years ago," Arv'est replied with a sigh, "...Naoto, correct?"

"Yeah?"

"Aye…you may want to find your lass sooner than expected," he explained, "There is another thing needed…to help fully restore the Vladite King's power and make his servants immune to the sunlight, and I think she realized that as well when she left in a hurry…"

"...?!" Naoto tensed as it began to dawn on him.

"...oh I don't like where this is going…" Tucker whispered as he noted how tense Naoto got.

"Oh aye…what's a king without his queen, ya know?" Kresh stated.

"Oh give him a second, he'll explode in 3…2…1…" Makoto counted down.

"WHAT!?" he snapped, his hair flashing white as his powers flared.

"Here…" Arv'est spoke as he and his brother approached Ben and Danny, giving them each their respective amulet pieces, "These will be safer in your hands…"

"Aye, we may be strong…but Zy'Skayr wasn't the Vladite King's right hand for nothin'," Kresh added.

"...How many more relics are there?" Both Ben and Danny asked, giving a serious expression to the two brothers.

"There's one in Anur Millag, and another in the moons of Luna Lobos," Arv'est explained.

"I'll let Gluto know where we're heading next then," Tetrax nodded a bit.

"We got one piece, but getting more and keeping them out of their hands will be smarter." Ben spoke. He pondered, "Though we also can't keep those relics with us, then he'd just need to attack us to get them."

"Well I have a very old Null Void gun," Tetrax offered, "Once we get the next two we can banish all of them to the Null Void and they'll never get their hands on them."

"Probably for the best," Makoto added, "The less chance Baron von Creepy and anti-Danny gets them, the better."

"...Tch…" Naoto growled as his hand balled up into a fist, his hair still flashing white as a look of rage was within his eyes, 'If they so much as touch Raquel…gh…Raquel…' his hair began to bleed back into brown as she started to calm down, 'Where the hell are you?!'

---

"...mm. So far nothing," a voice whispered from a cloaked figure, walking down a path within an abandoned temple of sorts with various symbols on the walls, "The damage caused by the water has made the runes near impossible to decipher…" the faint sounds of water splashing earned their attention, prompting them to quickly shoot out of the ruins just as Zs'Skayr and Dan walked in.

"Ech…too much water…" Dan muttered, wringing his cape out as his hair reignited, "This is why I hated Tennyson when he uses those stupid water forms…it always blows my hair out!"

"You whine more so than Tennyson whenever his Pyronite flames were extinguished by a fire extinguisher wielded by his cousin," Zs'Skayr huffed, his form going transparent and letting the water drop off him in a liquid 'shell' of his form, "And he was but ten at the time."

"Well I'm sorry if I care for the way I look, not all of us can pull off the emaciated Skeletor look," Dan replied.

"I despite the fact I understand that reference due to Tennyson's bond to me…" Zs'Skayr groaned, "Anyway, our goal here is to revive the Vladite King, and with him his species."

"Right and to do that you need a fetch quest to get all the items back." Dan nodded.

"Yes, but…chances are…no, I know Tennyson already is on to me," he explained, "Which means I need to be more clever."

"Why do you even want this guy back? Didn't he used to be the boss of this place before you came along?" Dan asked.

"The Vladites' abilities only work on living beings, Ectonurites and Ghosts are therefore…"

"Immune to his powers~" Dan smirked, "Meaning between you and me?"

"We can force him to work for us, under the pretext of working with us," Zs'Skayr smirked, "I mean, what life force can he steal from us? How can he command us? There's nothing he can do to either of us, however…that green haired twat and his weird tramp?"

"I have been getting a little annoyed by them, thinking they run the place as much as us…" Dan smirked, "But they are alive, meaning we can get rid of them and we can use this Vampire dude to help us get control of this sector of space…than…move onto the next world and then the next?"

"Granted we'll need to fix their aversion to solar radiation. Unlike my kind, who can grow a layer of skin or overshadow someone…they need to hide from it all the time," Zs'Skayr explained, "But he has a means to do that, we just need to move that along…and then~"

"Unstoppable Vladite army we can 'help' lead~" Dan laughed with air quotes, "And like you said, as ghosts, we are the one thing he can't control or harm. Brilliant."

"We will need to kowtow a little to get him into prime…backstabbing range," Zs'Skayr laughed, "But…I like to think acting is a forte of ours."

"Oh, it'll make the moment all the sweeter!" Dan laughed, 'But if you are right and Tennyson is already ahead of us with my mini-me…"

"He will hunt them down, but he's not so stupid as to keep them in one place that can be raided. He's 'been there, done that' enough times. No…he'd send them where…we couldn't get them."

"So not the Ghost Zone…" Dan muttered.

"The Null Void, then. Impossible to get to without the right tools," Zs'Skayr sighed, "But thankfully, I have a so-called genius who has made a portal there before…and I have loyal subjects stuck there~"

"So…we sit back and let the heroes win, so as to make this easier for us?" Dan realized.

"It would mean several nights stuck with…them…" Zs'Skayr sighed.

"If not for the fact something about that green haired freak was off, I would have killed him by now," Dan frowned, "But…in the long run, the look on Mini-Me's face when his hard work turns out to have been a help to us…worth every second of agony~"

"Same for me and Tennyson's face."

---

SZ: Ominous~

Z0: Things are gonna be intense.

GT: Very intense indeed…and, apparently, a splash for our heroes next time.

Z0: Wait water…*begins growing shark fins and gills as I morph into a shark man monster* I own a certain gluttonous sword from a manga…so…now this happens…

GT: …Meep. R-Read and review, folks! And nobody get cut near Z0 right now! Fish are friends, not food!

Shark Z0: but you're not fish…*eyes go red*