A/N: Morning, one and all! Welcome back to Ben 10 RWBY and the conclusion of this little Khoros-based adventure! Also, yes, the title IS different than what I initially advertised. I'll be honest, this title was the primary one that I wanted to go with and I had debated back and forth with myself on using. But in the end, I ultimately said; "Screw it. This is my story, so I'll do what I want". So, here we are. On that note, let's get into it, shall we? Oh, and be prepared for a big surprise toward the end! This is…

Chapter 97: Combiner Wars

…..

"SCATTER!" Ben screamed.

The Omni-Hunters wasted no time in following his command. Things had effectively devolved into chaos on Khoros, to put it lightly. As Otto and his gang raced forth from the Red Wind Palace, the heroes were forced to retreat to avoid getting run over, with Looma and Manny aiding Gar in the process. The Tetramand guards were all thrown from their steeds as all of the Quadceratops were spooked and took off running, much to the warlord's vexation. "Agh! No, no, NO! Not my personal collection!" He thrust a finger after the perpetrators. "I will have your HEADS for this!"

"And I will see personally to it, father!" Looma proclaimed as she took Manny by the hand. "Come, beloved! Watch and learn!"

"W-Woah! Watch and learn what?!" Manny exclaimed… only to see what Looma was dragging him toward. "…Oh god, no."

Smiling widely, Looma took one of the alien ceratopsians by the top horns with only two hands, bringing her lower set in to SLAP its cheeks with a forceful yet gentle caress. "Ssh, ssh, it's okay… you are safe." The Quadceratops seemed to come to its senses rather quick and let out a friendly bellow, nuzzling its nose against Looma happily. "Haha, yes, yes, but now isn't the time for that. We must make haste!" Taking Manny's wrist again, she tossed him up onto the Quad's saddle before leaping up herself, taking the handle of bridle.

Kevin approved of the idea and immediately grabbed a passing Quad, ushering his Revonnahgander friend to come with. "Rook! Hop on!" Following suit, Rook leapt up and held on tight. "You ever ride one of these things?!"

"Of course… in simulations." Rook raised his hind leg and kicked the beast on the backside with a mighty; "HYAH!" That managed to bring their Quad to a halt, allowing Kevin to take hold of the bridle. "Now, punch it!"

"I'm tryin', but it won't go!"

Across the way, Looma rolled her eyes and took hold of the golden hook prod that was strapped to the beast's saddle. "Gah, typical first-time drivers! HYAH!" Swinging the hook across its horns, Looma bashed the Quad's head and made it charge ahead, much to Manny's surprise. "He means LITERALLY, Levin! PUNCH IT!"

Peering back, Kevin could see Rook lifting the hook prod for him to take… though instead, he simply absorbed the golden material and then shifted his own hand into a hook. "Giddy-yup!" *BANG* And just like that, they were off, leaving the rest of the team behind.

Gwen glanced over to her cousin with a deadpan stare, raising her brow at him. "Ben?"

"Yeah?" the hero replied.

"You DO know that you can just go hero and stop all of this right now, don't you?"

Ben gave a single nod. "Oh yeah, I know. But honestly? I kinda just wanna watch the chaos and see what happens."

"Same, honestly." Yang said, which Nora seemed to agree with as she pulled a bucket of popcorn out of nowhere and started munching. "The whole thing with Kevin might be water under the bridge… but it's still kinda fun seeing him struggle a bit."

Gar got a good laugh out of that. "Hahaha! I like the way you two think! You certainly seem to think like a Tetramand in some respects, even if you aren't one ALL of the time."

"That's not exactly a GOOD thing, sir." Weiss insisted as she thrust her hand out to the carnage getting underway. "If we don't do something soon, these criminals are going to wreck the entire show! How can you just STAND here and do nothing, Ben?!"

But the Omnitrix bearer raised a reassuring hand, still smiling as if nothing was wrong. "Weiss, don't worry. We've got this. Compared to the other stuff we've had to deal with, this is just a walk in the park."

Vernal folded her arms over her chest, raising a curious brow. "Okay then, Mr. Big Shot, if you've got a plan to stop them, then we're all ears."

"Okay, so obviously these guys are gonna try and escape with those cars." Ben jerked a thumb over his shoulder to the chase that was underway. "So they're gonna be headed straight for the nearest gate. My idea is that, once they get clear from the show itself, THEN we give chase to minimalize the damage to the city and anyone in it."

"That's… actually kinda well thought out." Gwen admitted. "But how do we catch up to them?"

"Gwen, are you forgetting what we came here with?" Ben gave the group a knowing wink as he spun around on his heel and ushered them to follow him. "C'mon, let's head back to the front gate. It's time we took our OWN wheels for a spin."

As Ben's plan was unfolding, Looma, Manny, Kevin and Rook were still in hot pursuit of Otto and his gang… or at least, the former two were. Looma was chasing down the bandits like a pro, keeping on their tails with her mount never losing focus. …On the other hand, Kevin could barely keep any sort of control on his, leading to him and Rook getting bucked around the place. It was too the point where they even rampaged through the food court, sending several patrons sprinting away in fear. "Guys! Seriously?!" Manny shouted.

Kevin rebutted with; "Hey gimme a break! I've never done anything like this!" He smacked his hook hand over the Quadceratops' head again, getting it back on course. And thankfully, it was just in time to catch the blue hover car, the beast leaping up to try and bring it down. The vehicle was sent lurching from side to side, but before they could bring it down fully… it went flying under a banner, which Rook and Kevin were quickly caught up in. "GAAAH!"

"Mayday! MAYDAY!" Rook exclaimed as the hover car managed to throw them all off. The Quad tumbled away as the two Plumbers landed in a heap off to the side.

Looma rolled her eyes as she and Manny continued without them. "Ugh! Amateurs!" However, when the princess looked ahead, her four eyes widened when she saw that the perps were closing in fast on the back gate. "No! Seal the gates! Do not let them escape!"

Thankfully, there were already several Tetramand guards prepped and ready for combat at the gate, armed with blaster weapons that they shot at the approaching vehicles. …Unfortunately, every single blast merely bounced off of the Taydenite car, which only caused even more damage to the surrounding era. And worst of all… the criminals didn't stop. The guards all yelled in terror and dove away from the gate, expecting the cars to all heap up into a mountain of wreckage in the next second.

However… the opposite happened. The Taydenite car actually cleaved through the supposedly impenetrable gate like it was paper. The sight was enough to make Looma pull to a halt, her and Manny staring after the cars in disbelief as Kevin and Rook joined them. "No… NO!" Looma clenched her teeth in ire and snapped around to the guards, who by this point were all cowering like scared children. "You IMBECILES! Do you have no honor?! You let them escape!"

"Woah, woah, Looma, let's not fly off the handle." Manny placed a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. "We can still catch up to 'em."

"Not at this point, Manny…" Looma shook her head, a hint of sadness making its way to her vengeful features. "A Quadceratops is fast, but it will be vulnerable to the Sand Rippers. We would have to find another way to—"

"Did somebody call for a pick-me-up?!" The quartet were all taken aback when, to their left, the rest of the team came in with the Proto-TRUK, which was still pulling Ben and Kevin's cars. That didn't remain so for long, though, as the hover trailers were both deactivated, setting the vehicles on the ground. Ben jumped out of the Proto-TRUK's driver's seat, while everyone else piled out from the rear. "So, who's up for a high-speed chase?"

Yang leaned against her boyfriend's shoulder, nudging her chin toward Kevin and the others. "C'mon, you guys know what time it is, right?"

Kevin, Rook, Looma and Manny all grinned eagerly, the latter smacking his fists into his open palms. "Aw yeah! Hero Time, baby! Let's GO!"

Reaching into his pocket, Ben pulled out his car keys… only to toss them over to their chaperone. "Vernal, you, Yang and Weiss can take my car."

"H-Hold on, what?" Vernal asked, catching the keys nonetheless.

"Yeah, exactly, WHAT?!" Yang approached her boyfriend with an irritant pout. "The heck is that about, Green Boy? You trust HER to drive over ME? Your own girlfriend?"

A wince made its way to Ben's features, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Goldie Locks, I know that you wanna drive, but if Raven ever found out I let you after explicitly banning you, she'd probably kill me." The Blonde Brawler grumbled, not satisfied with the answer. "B-But to make up for it, I'll take you on one hell of a date when we get back to Earth! How does that sound?"

While Yang still wasn't totally satisfied, she had to admit, she was curious as to what "one hell of a date" meant. "Hmm… alright, fine." she pointed at him with narrowed eyes. "I'll hold you to it, and I hope you've got a good idea for it."

"Oh trust me, I've been planning THIS date out for a while."

Just like that, Yang's frustration was done away with, her violet eyes widening. "…You have?"

"Mmhm! And believe me, it's gonna be a blast." he assured with a wink. Eventually, he saw Yang's smile return, along with a slight blush upon her cheeks. "Now, let's go catch us some perps, shall we?"

"About that… WHY did you give me your keys anyway?" Vernal inquired.

Reaching his arms up, the hero began performing stretches to get himself ready for what was to come. "Ah, I just wanted to test out one of my new Lizard Boys. I went out of my way to scan all NINE of these species, so might as well use 'em, right? On that note…" Activating the Omnitrix, Ben scrolled through his Manzardill playlist and found the exact one he was searching for. "Let's heat things up a little!"

Pressing down on the Omnitrix core, a flash of green light signaled the transformation, in which Ben's body took on a more reptilian shape. He was now a large lizard with mostly white skin, though his underbelly was bright red and he had several black lightning bolt-shaped stripes going down his back. He had three black claws on his hands and three white claws on his toes; two in front, one in the back. There was also a black pattern on his forehead and eyeridges, making his glaring, green eyes stand out all the more.

Across his body were several curved spikes, ten in total; four along his spine that curved forward, two on each elbow, and four near the tip of his tail. They were all black, but their sharp edges were so hot that they glowed a reddish-orange color. He wore a black and green body suit that covered his legs, torso and even a portion of his tail, with the Omnitrix placed directly on his stomach.

Sticking out his forked tongue while he rattled his tail, the Torid Manzardill proclaimed his name… with an energetic, southern accent; "SEARPENT! YEE-HAW!"

"Hah! Woo, yeah!" Yang pumped a fist into the air, clearly hyped to see the alien lizard. "I think that one is my favorite!"

"Heck yeah!" Nora agreed… though she still had her criticisms. "Still think you should've gone with the name "Heatsink", though. I mean, it's a THREE-FOLD pun!"

Craning his head to her, Searpent could only shrug. "Well, it's a good name an' all… but I just liked "Searpent" better. It just rolls off the tongue real nice-like, ya know?"

"Ben Tennyson!" The group spun around to see Gar approaching, the warlord pointing his finger at the hero. "I trust you and your team to return with my prized collection in ONE PIECE, do you understand?! Because if there is so much as a SINGLE scratch on any of those priceless vehicles… those perpetrators will not be the ONLY ONES being punished."

The Omni-Hunters collectively gulped at Gar's threat, but Searpent didn't seem to mind. "Ah, don't ya worry none, yer highness! We'll wrangle up those sidewinders faster than a caffeinated Kineceleran!" On that note, he curled himself up and began rolling out toward the desert, with the curved spines on his back acting like treads. "Now c'mon, ya'll! Let's roll out! YEE-HAW!"

"…This is going to get annoying really quick, isn't it?" Gwen deadpanned, which was met with several voices in agreement."

…..

And thus, the chase was underway, with Kevin and Vernal driving directly behind Searpent all the way while Rook flew low to the ground in the Proto-TRUK. Rex was also flying in the air with his Boogie Pack, acting as their eye in the sky in case anything unexpected decided to show up. Ren, Nora and Gwen were in Kevin's car while Yang and Weiss went with Vernal, all of them armed up with their weapons once again. Meanwhile Manny and Looma were seated in the back of the Proto-TRUK… while Argit was up front with Rook.

"I still don't see why I can't ride in your car, Kev!" the rodent alien complained.

"'Cause your Quills mess up my upholstery." Came the Osmosian's unamused response.

"Ya see what I have to deal with—OOF!"

Argit was quickly silenced as Looma reached up from the back and bonked him on the head. "Silence, rodent! We are gaining on them!" Pointing ahead, she indicated the four stolen vehicles coming into sight in the distance.

Rook contacted Kevin over his commlink once again. "Should I attempt to contact Magister Tennyson? Perhaps he and BUS could "head them off at the pass", as you would call it."

"Nah, let the old man rest." Kevin assured. "Besides, by the time he gets here, it'll be all over…"

Inside of his green and black muscle car, the Osmosian had hit a button on his gear shifter, bringing up a holographic targeting reticle above his steering wheel. From the back, Ren saw this and looked at what was happening curiously. "Uh, Kev? What is that?"

Without taking his eyes off his target, Kevin replied; "Hold on to somethin'. I'm gonna try and snag one with my Magna-Winch."

"AH!" Nora gasped, popping her head over Kevin's seat so she was directly next to his ear. "Kevin! You have a wench in here?! One; is that even possible? And two; if it is, then HOW is that legal?!" She raised three fingers right in his face. "And thirdly, what the heck makes her a Magna-Wench—AAH!"

Using her mana, Gwen pushed Nora back into her seat and buckled her in. "He said WINCH, Nora. NOT "wench"."

"OH… haha, sorry, my bad!" the redhead grinned cheekily.

"I swear to god, the things I put up with…" Kevin grumbled as he locked onto the Taydenite Car's rear end and shot his winch out at it… only for something to bump into his car the next second. As a result, the winch missed its mark and overshot the car, much to his confusion. "Huh? What the—" *BAM* "AH!"

Everyone whirled their heads around to see the culprit of the attack; two Sand Rippers in hot pursuit. The same could be said for Ben's car and even the Proto-TRUK, both of which had their own Sand Rippers pairing off to try and take them down. "…Oh, this ain't good." Vernal said behind the wheel of Ben's car. "What do we do about these guys? Shoot 'em?"

"Do not even ATTEMPT to kill them!" Looma's voice blasted through the commlink. "Sand Rippers are a natural part of Khoros' ecosystem and we are in THEIR territory. We need to try and shake them, not shoot them."

Weiss grinned when she heard that. "Then it seems we're going on the defensive. In which case, I'm your gal." She rolled down the window and began climbing out, using a gravity glyph to keep her balance on the car roof. Within seconds, the Sand Rippers began getting closer and closer to the vehicle, to which she called out; "Robo-dolt! Help me out with this, please!"

"Already on it, Ice Princess!" Falling out of the sky, Rex came down and SLAMMED his Punk Busters directly on top of the first Ripper, clobbering it straight down into the dirt. He then swung his leg up and sent it sailing into the air where, in a split second, he switched to his Smack Hands and batted it away into the far dunes. "One down!"

"And one to go!" Weiss created a Summoning Glyph directly in front of her right as the other Ripper was about to lunge out from the sand, bringing forth her Queen Lancer to intercept it. The giant insect rammed directly into it and launched its stinger out, wrapping it around the beast to chuck it out with its partner. Weiss smiled up to her boyfriend who came in for a landing next to her, where they shared a high-five. "Hm! Excellent teamwork!"

Rex sent her a wink. "Yeah, well, was there ever any doubt about that?"

Weiss rolled her eyes and leaned in, giving him a peck on the cheek. "Nope. Not in the least." she answered.

Back near Kevin's car, meanwhile, things appeared to be much more dire as the Rippers actually managed to latch on to the vehicle, much to the owner's chagrin. "Gah, seriously?! Every goddamn TIME with this!"

"Don't worry, Kev!" Nora pulled out Magnhild with a wild look in her eye. "Just let Auntie Nora handle this!"

"…I think I'm more afraid now than I was just a second ago." Kevin uttered as he watched Nora clamber out the window.

Once the Pink Dynamo was on top of the car, she twirled her hammer around before slamming it straight into one of the Rippers, sending it careening across the desert even further than either Weiss or Rex did. "Haha! That's right, you land sharks don't know who you're dealing with!" Performing a cartwheel across the roof, Nora crouched down in front of the other Ripper that was biting into the car, meeting its shocked gaze with a glare. "…Ya see what happened to your friend? That's gonna happen to you if ya don't let go." Wisely, the Ripper let go and scampered off. "Thank you!" Nora smiled brightly while waving the creature goodbye.

Having seen the confrontation, Gwen and Ren eyed one another warily. "…Remind me to never get on her bad side." the Anodite muttered.

"As someone who's been there recently, you definitely don't want that." Ren affirmed.

Further back, the Proto-TRUK was unfortunately dealing with not two, not three, but FOUR Sand Rippers. Two of the beasts were already latched onto its wings while the others were in hot pursuit, their fangs bared and ready to launch themselves onto the TRUK's rear wings. In the TRUK's cockpit, Rook had decided that enough was enough and, against Kevin's wishes, he contacted the Rustbucket IV. "Magister Tennyson, this is Agent Blanco. Do you read?"

He was greeted by a faint yawn over the commlink before Max properly replied. "Ah, Rook. You caught me right as I woke up from my nap. You kids enjoying the car show?"

"Unfortunately, the show is currently is great peril." Rook answered. "I apologize for the sudden call, but we are in pursuit of five lowlifes who have made off with Warlord Gar's personal collection. What's more, we are under attack by Sand Rippers. And they are EATING my TRUK!"

"What?!" Max exclaimed.

All of a sudden, BUS chimed in as well. "Woah! Sounds like we'd better go, go, GO!"

"Exactly what I was thinking. Don't worry, Rook, we're on our way. Max, out."

Once the call ended, Rook immediately felt his TRUK lurch to the left, which only made him grimace more. "Gah… I certainly hope they get here soon. These Sand Rippers are becoming more trouble by the moment."

"Uh, Rook?" Argit pointed his thumb out the window. "I don't think we'll have to worry 'bout 'em for long."

As it turned out, much to the ignorance of the Rippers, something was pursuing them now as well. From the sands, four large, curved spikes emerged, wherein Searpent came out and curled back up to continue rolling across the surface. He had submerged below when the Rippers had first showed themselves, moving from the head of the chase all the way to the back to get the jump on them.

Once he closed in, he unfurled himself and pounced onto one of them. "WOO-DOGGY! Ya'll are in for one helluva time, ya varmints!" Latching onto the Ripper's back, he immediately superheated his claws, making them glow entirely red before slashing at it. The results spoke for themselves as the Ripper yelped and veered off, clearly trying to avoid getting hurt anymore. "Yeah, that's what I thought! Now get!" Searpent leapt off its back and landed directly in front of the other one, opening his mouth and breathing fire directly into its face. Once again, the Ripper whined in pain and rushed away, now with a few more burns than it had before.

Meanwhile, on top of the Proto-TRUK, Manny and Looma had climbed their way up, balancing themselves near the wings and staring down the Sand Rippers that were chewing at the tips. The princess craned her head back and smiled to her fiancé. "Manny! Tetramand Sonic Clap! Are you ready?!"

"Whenever you are, babe! Let's—" But Manny cut himself short, only just realizing what he said. "Er, u-uh, I mean…"

"Did… did you just call me "babe"?" Looma blushed. She didn't know much Earth lingo, but she DID read up on several pet names that couples gave one another… and that was a very common one. "Oh… oh my…"

"C-Can we talk about it later? Please?!" Manny pointed out, trying to hide his own blush. "These things are gonna tear through the wings any moment now!"

Looma shook her head and got herself back on track. "R-Right, of course! Ready?" She saw Manny nod to her and the couple brought their arms up. "One… two… THREE!" On her count, they each brought their four hands together, unleashing a mighty sonic boom onto the Sand Rippers and forcing them to let go. Once they disappeared into the sands, Looma craned her head back to Manny with a joyous—if a tad nervous—grin. "Hah… we did it!"

The Plumber cleared his throat as he approached her. "Uh, hehe, yeah… w-we did…" After a few seconds of silence, Manny went to open his mouth again, but he didn't get the chance to say anything as Searpent piped up from below.

"Woah! Don't look now, ya'll, but I think Otto's tryin' to book it from those Rippers, too!" Sure enough, everyone could see the four priceless vehicles make a beeline for a craggy slab of rock that went up at an angle, which brought the Sand Rippers chasing them to a halt.

"He's got the right idea." Kevin said over the comms. "Rippers can't move through solid rock."

"Yet ridge running has its own drawbacks as well." Rook followed up.

And sure enough, he would prove to be correct as the Taydenite car closed in on the edge of the cliff, forcing it to come to a screeching halt before it went completely over. But then, even more misfortune befell the criminals as the other vehicles also had to pull to a stop… wherein they progressively bumped into one another until the Taydenite car was teetering over the precipice of a VERY deep canyon. "Oh crud." Yang muttered before sticking her head out the window. "BEN! I think the car made of money might be Gar's FAVORITE, if you know what I mean!"

Without needing to be told twice, the Torid Manzardill went spinning past Kevin's car as fast as he could go. "I'm one it, Goldie Locks! Time to wrangle these guys up…" The moment he reached the cars, though, another green flash signaled a quick-change transformation. And where Searpent once was… there was now a puddle of green slime splattered across the stone surface. From out of nowhere, though, a small UFO that beared the Omnitrix on top of it came down and began gathering the slime up, morphing it into a vaguely humanoid shape. Aside from arms and legs, the only defining feature of this blob alien were its almond-shaped green eyes that narrowed as he proclaimed in a high-pitched voice; "GOOP style!"

"…EEEEWW!" For many, this was their first time seeing this alien, and needless to say, they weren't too keen with what they saw. "That is SO disgusting!" Weiss grimaced, sticking her tongue out in revulsion.

"Yeah… I think I could've lived without seeing EVERY alien in the Omnitrix now that I think about it." Yang winced.

"Tell me about it." Vernal agreed.

With a weird warping sound, Goop stretched his way over and easily wrapped himself around the Taydenite car, all while pushing the other vehicles back. He extended his "head" around to peer into the windshield, where he saw an astonished Otto and one of his masked accomplices. "Sorry, Mr. Tin Can, but your little joyride's reached the end of the line!"

"Oh… nuts and bolts." Otto grimaced.

…..

"Ah-ha! There they are! Right there!"

The moment BUS pointed them out, Max set his eyes down to the ground below, seeing the team all gathered together in the middle of the desert directly next to a large cliff. They seemed to have gathered up all the vehicles, going so far as to line them up in a row to prepare them for their return. And, thankfully, he could see his grandson loading the prisoners right into the back of the Proto-TRUK as Goop, all of them completely restrained. "Huh, guess we weren't needed after all."

BUS didn't seem too thrilled about that. "Aw, man! And I was hoping to show off my new trick. I was all ready for it and everything!"

Max chuckled and pat the dashboard comfortingly. "Haha, don't worry, BUS, I'm sure you'll get your chance. For now, though, let's get down there and see if they need any help." At his behest, the Rustbucket IV came in for a landing and Max made his way to the rear hatch, where nearly everyone was there waiting for him. "Hey there, kids! Hah, would ya look at that? Didn't need me to come down after all."

"Told ya, man." Kevin called back to Rook, who was making sure that Otto and his gang were all secured.

"Yes, yes, so you did." Rook rolled his eyes, stepping away from the Proto-TRUK.

However, before he closed the back, Otto gave him a rather out of nowhere compliment. "Quite the remarkable vehicle you have here…"

"Be silent, lowlife." Rook ordered curtly before closing the hatch.

Good floated his way over to his grandfather before changing back to normal. "Heh, all in a day's work, Grandpa Max." Ben assured confidently.

Yang came over and leaned against her boyfriend's shoulder. "Yeah, we didn't even have to get THAT dirty this time."

"Ugh, speak for yourself." Weiss bemoaned as she continuously dusted off her skirt. "I've got sand EVERYWHERE now." The same could be said for Rex and Nora, who were busy emptying their shoes. "Who knew just DRIVING through the desert could do this?"

"Hmhm, that's Khoros desert dust for you." Looma said before placing her hands on her hips and facing her father's collection. "Now, to get these babies back where they belong." She craned her head toward the team with a serious expression. "Can I trust you all to drive these cars back to the capital safely?"

Ren wasn't too sure about that. "Uh… well, that all depends on how WELL we can drive these things. Because I'm assuming they don't work like normal Earth cars. …Aside from the one made of money."

"I will be driving that one personally." Looma asserted.

"Ooh! OOH! Can I have the funny bubble one with the treads?!" Nora requested. "That one looks SUPER fun!"

"Worry not." Rook piped up. "I have experience in piloting several—"

*WHRR-TSCHZZ-TSCHZZ-TSCHZZ-CHKT*

But right then and there, the sound of loud, shifting, metallic parts made everyone jump in surprise and Rook spun around, his hand going to his head in shock. "…Bralla-Da."

It took Vernal a second to get the context of his remark, but when she did, it made her do a doubletake. "Hold on, did you just say motherfu—HOLY SHIT!"

Her shout made everyone else whirl around… where they were met with the sight of the Proto-TRUK doing something they had never seen before. The space ship had changed form, not back into its truck form, but rather… into a humanoid torso with shoulders, biceps, a waist and thighs, with the cockpit forming the chest. The wings stuck up out of each shoulder, and as the arms moved up, they sent out twin magnetic energy beams that pulled the four priceless vehicles toward it.

From there, Gar's personal collection formed distinct limbs, all of varying shapes. The red sail car unfurled into a relatively normal-looking arm, complete with a five-fingered metal hand. The sail itself formed a massive shield on the forearm and it attached to the robot's right arm. On the left, meanwhile, the blue hover car compressed so that its twin prongs formed a massive pincer weapon, which spun around to generate energy.

Meanwhile, the yellow bubble vehicle simply shifted its treads inward to form a massive foot before attaching itself to the robot's right leg. And finally, the Taydenite car's front end shifted down and up to form a large foot, making it look like it had sharp "toes" as it connected to the giant robot's left leg.

"Oh… my… god." Rex uttered. "You guys seeing this?"

"I am… and this would be SO cool if it weren't so bad for us." Ben affirmed.

Gwen's hand went to her forehead. "How is this even possible?"

"Otto has accessed the Proto-TRUK's mainframe." Rook explained, though he also seemed perplexed about it all. "But they are locked in the back. The controls SHOULD be inaccessible from there."

Kevin glanced over to him. "These guys broke out of a high security cell, remember?"

Rook could only offer a shrug. "I am merely saying… he has accessed the Nano-Shift Transformer."

Atop the giant robot's body, a set of three prong-shaped structures emerged and splayed out, projecting Otto's holographic head for all to see. "Haha! Now THIS is what I call a CAR!" Raising his new arms high into the air, the artificial lifeform declared; "Otto is no more! TREMBLE before the power… of OTTO-GESTALT!"

"…I did not see that coming." Argit admitted.

"Join the club." Ren agreed, watching as Otto-Gestalt made several flexing poses with his new body.

"Look upon me with regard! After all these years, I finally have a body worthy of my TITANIC intellect!" As he was self-aggrandizing himself, though, Otto failed to notice Ben, Gwen and Kevin all go back to their respective vehicles, all wearing bored expressions.

Kevin leaned toward his girlfriend and whispered; "Ya know, I kinda thought him becoming a giant robot would make things more interesting… but he's kinda just showing off how much of an egomaniac he is even more now."

Gwen rolled her eyes as she got into Kevin's car. "Yeah, that's usually how it goes with smart yet tiny bad guys when they suddenly get an upgrade, isn't it?"

"Pretty much, yeah." Ben nodded before sending a knowing smirk back to Rook and the others.

Thankfully, the Revonnahgander and Yang understood the assignment perfectly. "I am glad that your newfound power has not gone to your head." Rook quipped.

"Yeah, but then again, your "head" was already big in proportion to that old tiny body of yours, so I guess it's a bit more normal now." Yang jabbed as well, pressing her fingers together. "But all the same, on the inside, you're still that teeny-tiny insecure little shrimp, aren't ya?"

"Insolent WORMS!" Otto-Gestalt raised his fist to bring it down upon the group, but they all easily avoided the impact as Ben and Kevin pulled up alongside them. Without even needing to be told, the team all climbed into the cars and they immediately drove onto the Rustbucket IV, with Max already onboard and ready to close the hatch. Before Otto could reach them, the ship took off at impeccable speed, though he still gave chase nonetheless. "Once I'm rid of you, I'll got find a nice star system… and BUY it!"

Onboard the ship, everyone had gathered up into the cockpit and strapped themselves in, with Ben, Kevin and Max taking to the controls. "Everyone, brace yourselves, this might get bumpy." The elderly Plumber advised… only to wince as he sat down. "Oof… damn, still sore."

Ben placed a hand on his grandfather's shoulder. "Don't worry, grandpa, we'll take it from here. BUS, you good with evasive maneuvers?"

On screen, BUS's holographic eyes appeared made a smiley emote. "Hah! Who do you think you're talking to, Ben? I could out-maneuver that bucket of mishmash parts in stasis!" But then, his eyes went from smiley… to determined. "However, I think I've got a BETTER idea on how to handle this perp."

"Really? Explain."

"Well… I've been saving a special surprise for you guys." BUS elaborated. "One that I was hoping I'd get to show off soon, actually. Of course, the REST of the team isn't here to see it, but I think it's now or never."

At this point, everyone was clearly intrigued. "Ooh, a surprise?!" Nora bounced up and down in her seat. "I LOVE surprises! Well come on, don't leave us hanging, what is it?!"

An awkward chuckle came from BUS's voice box, a pixelated sweat drop appearing on his screen. "Ah, hehe… well, about that, I've gotta come clean on something first." His gaze shifted between Ben and Kevin. "Specifically, to you two." They boys raised curious brows at the artificial intelligence, urging him to explain. "You see… in order for this surprise to work, I needed some… EXTRA components. So, while you guys were vacationing on X'Nelli, I… might've modified your vehicles a little bit."

"…You did what now?" Ben's eyes widened.

"YOU DID WHAT NOW?!" Kevin repeated much more angrily as he got in BUS's now terrified holographic face. "You modded my car WITHOUT my permission?!"

Gwen got up out of her seat and held her boyfriend back. "Kevin, stop yelling! There's a lot more important at stake here than BUS making mods to your car…" However, she furrowed her brow at the computer as well. "But still, that doesn't excuse what you did, BUS. You should've told him before hand."

BUS's eyes lowered sadly. "I know… but I-I didn't want to spoil the big surprise! All I did was add in a Nano-Shift Transformer and Powerlink Couplings to both vehicles. Nothing more than that."

"…You added ALL of that to our cars?" Kevin uttered, suddenly less angry and more curious.

"Why?" Yang piped up, scratching her head. "What does half of that stuff even DO?"

"Would you like to find out?" BUS returned, making a big red arrow appear on screen to point them back toward the loading bay. "Head back to your vehicles and you'll find out!"

While the boys were hesitant to do so, they followed BUS's instructions and went back to the rear bay, all while Argit continued to ponder what was going on. 'A Nano-Shift Transformer and Powerlink Couplings? …Wait a second!' He let out a gasp in realization and snapped his eyes up to the screen. "No way! Don't tell me that you're a—" *BONK* "OW!"

From out of the wall, a metal armature came out and bopped Argit on the head. "Be quiet, rat! Or else you'll spoil the surprise!" BUS admonished before opening his commlink. "Ben, Kevin, are you two in position?"

"Yeah."

"All ready!"

BUS's eyes became happy again when he heard that. "Excellent! Now, Rex, I assume that your powers let you understand technology on some level, right?"

The EVO could only shrug. "I mean, yeah, I've got some skills. You need a pilot?"

"If you'd be so kind." At BUS's request, Rex sat down in the captain's chair, taking hold of the controls. "Now, on my mark, you, Ben and Kevin will press the same button on our center consoles." He made a big arrow that pointed down to said button for emphasis. "It's crucial that you do, otherwise, this whole thing will be a disaster."

"Gee, thanks, no pressure or anything…" Rex mumbled.

Just then, Manny piped up from the window. "Uh, if ya don't mind, could we do whatever we're about to do FASTER?!" He thrust a finger down at Otto-Gestalt, whose pincer hand seemed to be charging up whilst spinning. "He's about to blast us!"

"O-Okay, it's time for action!" BUS complied, all while suddenly tightening everybody's seatbelts. "Everyone stay strapped in! This is my first time doing this, so it might be rough!"

"SAY WHAT?!" the entire team echoed.

"Let's do this…"

"OMNI-GATTAI!"

All at once, while in midflight, the Rustbucket IV began to break and split apart. But not in a destructive way, rather, it was a more cohesive break-up. The rear tailfins and the main wings all detached from the rear of the ship, sending the rest into free fall is it changed form. The ship's cockpit shifted up and onto the roof of the vessel while the big, grey intakes on the side extended out into a pair of large arms. The remaining rear section of the ship then split in half, witch each part rotating down below the cockpit to form a pair of massive legs.

During that process, both Ben and Kevin were launched out of the loading bay inside their cars… which began to change form. Ben's vehicle became a massive, black and green gauntlet with a green energy blade emerging from the hand, though it was still able to freely drive along the ground. "WOAH!" Ben shouted. "What in the world?!"

Kevin's car, meanwhile, also formed a large hand out its front end, only instead of a sword, a HUGE gatling gun emerged from its roof, taking the Osmosian aback. "Hoho boy…" Even knowing that all of this was installed without his permission, Kevin couldn't help but smirk. "Okay, NOW I think I see what you're gettin' at, BUS!"

Behind the duo, the ship-turned-robot was now standing on its own two feet as its head emerged from the cockpit chest. It had a fairly blocky helm that was similarly cream-colored as the rest of the Rustbucket IV, with a big, orange chevron prominently displayed on its forehead. Directly above the chevron, though, was none other than the Omnitrix symbol, which matched the robot's big, green, pixelated eyes. Its face was adorned with a silver mouthplate that added just a bit more dynamics to its overall structure… and if that weren't enough, the tailfins and wings came falling into place directly on its back, making it appear taller than Otto-Gestalt.

"Haha! I knew you would, Kevin!" BUS raised his arms, revealing his orange-plated metal hands. They weren't nearly as big as the fists that Ben and Kevin's cars had transformed into… but the boys had a feeling that was the point. "Now, for the finishing touch!"

Otto, meanwhile, was utterly baffled by what was going on. "What in the world are you doing—GAH!" But just like that, he was knocked off his feet when Ben and Kevin rammed into him from behind, the duo pulling off a 180-degree spin so that they could back up at top speed toward BUS.

The massive mecha lowered his arms down, allowing them to act as ramps. "Okay, I'm counting down! Three…" Ben and Kevin went in full reverse up onto BUS's arms, with the large fists shifting themselves in the process. "Two…" The moment the mech heard a burst of air hiss, he knew the moment had come. "ONE! Activate Powerlink Couplings!" On cue, Ben, Kevin and Rex all pressed the big red buttons on their center consoles, which locked everything together. As BUS lifted his arms, he allowed the larger green and black metal hands to slip over his smaller ones like a pair of gloves, with the green blade and gatling gun now serving as HIS weapons.

Needless to say, no one onboard the ship could believe what was going on. "…Hah, okay, I think this is a VERY worth while surprise!" Weiss said with a light laugh.

"HAHA! WE'VE GOT OUR OWN GIANT ROBOT!" Nora bounced up and down happily, all while hugging Ren in her joy.

"I will admit, this IS actually kinda cool." Gwen conceded. "So, what do we call this formation, anyway? Giant robots like this usually come with a name, right?"

Yang rubbed her hands together, already knowing exactly what to do. "Oh, I think I've got one. But we've gotta make it epic!" She thrust a finger out the windshield and called out to the mecha. "BUS! Let's get that oversized soda can!"

"With pleasure!" At the bottoms of his feet, BUS activated his thrusters, making him hover slightly above the ground. He then preceded to "skate" his way across the desert toward the bewildered Otto, pushing himself along while kicking up massive amounts of red dust behind him. "C'mon! Let's GO, GO, GO!"

Slamming her hands on the console, Yang sent a wild smirk out to their adversary. "Get ready, "Otto-Gestalt", to face the awesome might of…"

"Omni-Hunter Gattai! RUSTBUCKET ROBO!"

*Insert: Bakuage Sentai BoonBoomger Theme by Masaaki Sato*

Before the Rustbucket Robo could even get going, though, Rook brought everything to a halt. "WAIT!"

"Woah!" BUS shouted as he pulled to a stop. "What?! What's with the hold up?! I was ready and revving to go!"

"Remember, we cannot damage the arms or legs." the Revonnagander chided. "They are worth more than several planets."

Widening his stance, the Robo asked further; "Okay… what about the part that is your truck?"

Looma nodded affirmably. "That you may hit!"

Rook, however, wasn't too thrilled about that. "Pardon me?!"

"Thank you!" BUS clenched his fists, ready for some close-quarters combat. "Alright, NOW let's get into it!"

Otto-Gestalt didn't seem too afraid, though, mocking the Rustbucket Robo with fake fear and cowardice. "Oh dear, I'm trembling in my multi-trillion tayden shoes!" His expression hardened as he brought his own arms up for combat. "Bring it on, inferior artificial lifeform!"

"We'll see who's inferior, Screensaver Face!" Both robots let out a yell as they charged into one another and began exchanging blows, with BUS aiming directly for Otto's chest and midsection. Of course, every hit made Rook wince more and more as he watched his TRUK get battered, but at the same time… a question was raised.

"Hey, wait, what happened to those hooded men?" Ren inquired.

Vernal instantly smirked at that, letting out a chuckle. "Heh, probably still inside the Proto-TRUK. REALLY wouldn't wanna be them right now." A round of agreement passed through the group, only for another thought to cross the former bandit's mind as the Rustbucket Robo threw more punches. "Although… if they're getting pummeled, then how're Ben and Kevin doing?"

"Oh, don't worry!" BUS said, landing a shoulder tackle on Otto to put some distance between them. "The interior of their cars have been modified with gyroscopic seats specifically for this type of jostling." He raised his arms up to his chest so that the group could see that the boys were completely fine. "They're totally okay, ya see?"

Ben waved to them through his windshield. "Hey guys! Is this awesome or WHAT?!"

"Normally, I'd go with "or what", but… honestly, this IS pretty badass." Kevin admitted. "BUS, you're not off the hook, but I AM less mad than I was before."

BUS's eyes blinked happily. "I'll take it! Now, let's—WOAH!" In the nick of time, the giant mecha bobbed and weaved out of the way of an incoming punch from Otto-Gestalt, taking a few steps back from his adversary. "Hang on, everybody! This ride may get a bit bumpy!" The Rustbucket Robo raised his arms and started grappling with the 5-vehicle combiner, pushing against him with all his might before lifting his knee to kick him in the chest.

Otto-Gestalt predictably lost his balance and went stumbling… straight toward a cliff. "Oh no!" Nora exclaimed. "BUS! The cars!"

"AH! Sorry!" Rushing in to grab Otto by the chest, BUS only just barely saved him from falling over the edge, much to everyone's relief.

…Including Otto, who laughed nefariously as he reached up and punched BUS in the face. "AHAHAHA! Oh, you noble fool!" He went in for a running shoulder tackle, making the Rustbucket Robo stagger even further. "I once started life as a faulty AI unite for a ventilator!" He delivered another kick to his enemy, giving him enough distance to charge up an attack with his pincer weapon. "After coming all this way, do you, a lowly utility system, can stop ME?"

Right before Otto fired, BUS's eyes shined bright with resolve. "I can certainly try! Ben! I require a bit of feedback, if you catch my drift!"

"Oh… oh-ho, I get ya!" Ben rolled down his window and activated the Omnitrix once more… right as Otto fired his energy beam. There was a flash of green light right before it hit BUS in the chest, propelling him directly into the side of a mountain. Otto-Gestalt went in to finish the job with a final punch… but was blasted in the shoulder by a sudden shock.

"Gah! What?!"

As the dust and debris cleared, it was revealed that Feedback had absorbed most of the attack, and was now crackling with energy. "Sorry there, bud, but you're toast at this point. What's the play, BUS?!"

"Plug yourself into your dashboard and charge up the Omni-Blade!" The Rustbucket Robo raised his left arm, using the gatling gun to push Otto away. "It's time to finish this!" Following his directions, Feedback plugged into his car and began feeding energy directly into the green energy blade, which began glowing with a bright blue aura. "Everybody ready?!"

"YEAH!" everyone called out.

All while Rook covered his eyes. "No. Very much not."

Nonetheless, BUS readied himself, raising his arm toward the sky and activating his thrusters to once more charge at his enemy. "Omni-Blade… FINAL STRIKE!"

*SCHINK-SCHINK-SCHINK*

Three slices at the knees, elbows and head were all it took. The Proto-TRUK fell off its legs and its arms dropped to the ground as the robot toppled backward, with Otto getting whacked right off his shoulders, old body and all. As the self-proclaimed genius landed, he was met with the very tip of the Omni-Blade pointing at his face… and his scared gaze met that of the Rustbucket Robo, which glared back down at him. "You… you knocked my block off."

"Yeah, I did." BUS nodded. "And you… are done."

…..

Several minutes had passed after the battle, most of which were taken up by apprehending Otto and his gang while Ben transformed into Jury Rigg to fix all of the cars before taking them back. Thankfully, Gar's collection had sustained very little damage, so that wasn't an issue. However, the final one of those vehicles was FAR beyond repair. The Omni-Hunters all stood with Rook, trying to offer him some sense of comfort as they stared at his completely wrecked Proto-TRUK, damaged beyond repair. It was only affirmed when Jury Rigg emerged from the back with an apologetic gaze before transforming back to normal.

"Ah… sorry, Rook." Ben shook his head. "But a lot of those pieces are too damaged to fix."

"…It is destroyed." Rook fell to his knees in front of his wrecked vehicle. "Completely and totally."

Kevin furrowed his brow and eyed his and Ben's cars. Not a scratch on them, not even from the Sand Rippers. "And yet even after all that, our cars are still in one piece."

"Correct!" BUS exclaimed, still in his giant robot form. He raised a finger and explained; "In addition to the mods, I sprayed them with a layer of infinitum coating to make certain that they held together." He craned his head toward Rook. "Once your vehicle is repaired, Rook, I'll make sure to do that to yours."

Max came up and placed a hand on the Revonnahgander's shoulder. "Right. Once we get back to Earth, fixing your truck is the first thing on the to do list."

A smile managed to crack on Rook's features and he gave his superior a nod. "Thank you, Magister Tennyson. I—"

*VRRRRRRRR-VRRRMMM*

Everyone's heads snapped around at the sound of the loud, approaching engine, where they saw a cloud of dust steadily approaching from the Tetramand capital. And, when the approaching car came into view… Vernal gave a tiny gasp. It was the car. HER car. The spiked menace pulled to a halt and, to everyone's shock, riding atop it was none other than Gar himself. The warlord seemed mighty pleased as well, smiling and laughing as he dismounted the post-apocalyptic hot rod. "AHAHAHA! YES! Oh, I never doubted it for a second!" He raised his arms toward his four cars, relieved to see them safe. "My collection, still as pristine as ever! Good show, everyone!"

"Hah, thanks Gar." Kevin rubbed his neck. "And uh, sorry if we caused any headaches."

"Oh, not at all! In fact, we saw your battle all the way from the city!" The news took the group aback, but Gar laughed it off. "Hah, surprised, I see. Well, it's rather hard to miss THAT." He pointed up to BUS, who shuffled his feet sheepishly.

"…Well, fair point, I suppose." Weiss shrugged.

Gar approached Looma and Manny, placing his arms around them. "You all did fine work today! You shall be honored when we return to the city!"

Yang pursed her lips and glanced back to Rook's car. "Yeah, that's nice and all, your highness, but while we DID win, we also took some heavy blows. Our friend's Proto-TRUK is absolutely wrecked."

"Hm… I can see that. Well, unfortunately we cannot repair it here as we do not have the tools…" Gar rubbed his chin before snapping his fingers. "How about this? I'll provide the parts for the repairs, no charge to you!"

Rook's eyes widened, startled by the generosity. "N-No charge? Do you mean it?!"

"WOO-HOO!" Nora jumped into the air, quite happy at the news. "Haha, that's awesome, Rook! You're already on track to gettin' your ride fixed!"

But even then, Gar wasn't done. "AND, in addition, I will provide you with ANY vehicle of your choice from the show. Once again, on the house!"

At this point, even Looma was astonished. "Hah! Daddy, you're never normally this generous!"

"Ah, anything for friends of the groom!" Gar patted Manny's shoulder for emphasis. "Especially since they saved the festival!"

"H-Heh, much appreciated, Gar." Manny chuckled, his shoulder already feeling tingly from just that one pat alone. "So uh, no money down, we just take it with us?"

"Correct! So, if any of you youngsters were eyeing anything at the show, now would be a good time to—"

He was suddenly cut off when someone rushed past him so fast that they left a dust trail, and it was only when they heard a small *thump* did they see who it was. It was Vernal… and she was hugging the hood of the hot rod that Gar rode in on. "This one." she stated, plain and simple. "PLEASE, this one!"

Gar was initially perplexed until Ren spoke up and explained. "She was eyeballing that one REAL closely when we were poking around the showcase."

"Ah-ha! I see now." Without a second's hesitation, Gar strolled over, opened the driver's side door… and plucked out a plump, green alien with beady, black eyes, flappy ears and a trunk instead of a mouth. The Warlord held out his hand and the terrified alien handed over his keys without hesitation. "Thank you. You will be recompensed for this." Gar let the little guy run off and turned right to Vernal, passing the keys to her. "There you are, young lass! Handle her with care and she will in turn take care of you."

At this point, Vernal's eyes were shining with excitement and she bowed her head in gratitude. "Hah… th-thank you, sir! I will!" And just like that, she hopped into the seat of her new ride and put the keys into the ignition, relishing the moment as the engine ROARED to life. "Oh… listen to that purr." With a smirk upon her lips, she nudged her chin toward the teens. "Well? C'mon, anyone wanna lift?!"

"WOO! Hell yeah!" Yang and Nora shouted as they rushed to the car, with Ben and Ren both being pulled along for the ride.

"Gah! G-Gwen!" Ben tossed his keys to his cousin, who caught them without fail. "H-Hah, we'll meet you back in town!"

Despite herself, Gwen couldn't help but laugh and wave off the group as they piled into Vernal's ride. "Haha! Of course. Have fun!" As fire erupted from the car's exhaust pipes, the group watched on as Vernal took off, the young woman whooping it up with her hand out the window. "Hm, well, at least someone's leaving this show happy."

"Yeah, and that's a mission accomplished in my book." Manny affirmed, placing an arm around Looma's shoulders. "And you were pretty awesome back there."

"Oh, stop, you were just as impressive…" Looma sent her fiancé a half-lidded stare. "…Babe." The Tetramand hybrid was immediately flustered, just as Looma was hoping. "Hmhm, relax, beloved. You were positively wonderful."

Argit folded his arms and raised a brow to the group. "So… what're you guys gonna do now?"

"Well, I guess just ride out the rest of our vacation." Weiss shrugged. "I mean, there's only a day left at this point, after all."

Rex placed his hands behind his head. "Hah, yep. Better enjoy it while it lasts. …And hope that no more crap happens to us before we get back home."

Kevin waved off the EVO's concerns. "Eh, I doubt it. I mean, what else could POSSIBLY go wrong before we get home, right?" His comment only made everyone glare at him, as if they were insulted by the fact that he'd opened his mouth in the first place. "…What?" No body responded to his question, instead turning away to head back to BUS as he transformed back into his spaceship mode. "What?! Guys, c'mon, what did I say?! GUYS!"

…..

Meanwhile, back in the Land of Darkness, a certain demon princess was currently enjoying her complimentary tour. "I must say, Miss Salem, you have quite the… frightening abode."

The comment from Princess Iron Fan rang true as she and the aforementioned witch made their way through the hallowed halls of the Evernight Castle, all while a storm churned ominously outside. The lightning from the sky illuminated the dimly lit interior through the windows with every flash, casting massive shadows that only made the place all the more terrifying. Behind the two women, Cinder and her team were left somewhat perturbed by some of the twisted, misshapen forms that these shadows left. The only ones who didn't seem bothered were Red Son, Viktor and Yuma, though the latter was still in his Night Rogue suit, so they couldn't tell what his emotions were behind the helmet.

Salem though, of course, took it in stride. "Hmhm, why thank you, Princess." she chortled. "I certainly try my best to keep this place… scarily well decorated."

"Hahaha! I'm sure." Iron Fan laughed as a small wind whipped up beneath her, carrying her over to the nearest chair. Its frame was black and silver, the latter parts being fashioned to resemble Grimm bones. "Positively gothic."

"Please, have a seat." Salem ushered, making her way to a very similar chair while everyone else took to the sofas strewn around the study. "This certainly makes for a much calmer atmosphere than the meeting hall." Iron Fan happily accepted the offer, only for a Seer to come floating in… bearing a silver tea platter in its tendrils. The demoness was taken aback at first, but Salem quickly reassured her. "Ah, don't be discouraged. The Seers make excellent servants, and the tea is from my personal supply."

Iron Fan raised a brow, but took a cup nonetheless. She brought the cup to her lips and sipped, only to find her eyes widen at how good it was. "Oh… well, I certainly didn't expect such a rich flavor!" The princess nodded in approval. "You have excellent taste, Miss Salem."

"Please, no need for formalities." The witch dismissed as she took her own cup. "Simply call me "Salem". Now, I believe that you have a proposal that you wish to discuss, correct?"

"Ahem, indeed, yes." The princess' expression took on a more serious countenance as she glanced over to her son. "I have no doubt that my boy has already informed you of the… situation that we find ourselves in."

"Hm, yes. Your husband has been trapped under a mountain top for thousands of years and you are working on a way to free him."

Iron Fan nodded. "Exactly. And our plan is gaining progress with each passing day." Her lips curled into a brief, if nefarious, smirk. "We were fortunate to find you, though. The magic of an immortal is hard to come by, never mind finding an immortal who would even CONSIDER helping the likes of us." She bowed her head slightly. "And for that, I thank you. Freeing my husband has been my goal for so long and the fact that it's finally nearing fruition is… hah, it's almost overwhelming."

Salem bowed in return. "You must love him a great deal, Iron Fan. But make no mistake, I am not aiding you for nothing. I appreciate you lending your aid in our battle against the Omni-Hunters."

"Hah, think nothing of it!" Iron Fan waved her hand… only to then ball it into a fist. "If there's ANY way that we can get back at that damn, dirty Monkey King for sealing away my husband, then we're going to take it."

"And that's what I was hoping to hear." Salem steepled her fingers eagerly. "There's nothing that I can relate to more than wanting revenge against someone who has wronged you so much in the past…" She extended her hand out to the rest of the Ministry members present. "In fact, in that regard, you find yourself in good company here. Nearly everyone wishes vengeance upon that infernal Ben Tennyson for ruining our plans time and again."

Mercury folded his arms with a sour expression. "Or just the fact that he almost ALWAYS irritates us in some way."

Raising a finger, Emerald reiterated Salem's point; "But it IS mostly the number of times we've been beaten. That's the big factor."

"Oh, I'm sure." Iron Fan agreed. "My kind have observed Ben Tennyson for quite a while, and his penchant for defeating the likes of us is very… consistent, to say the least." Her smiled widened as she rapped her fingertips together, making her long nails click. "But at the same time, he has not gone without his fair share of adversity, and his mortal enemies are usually the ones that give it to him."

Feeling a slight bit insulted, Cinder narrowed her eyes at the princess. "Are you saying that we cannot be considered Tennyson's mortal enemies at this point, your highness?"

"Haha… my dear, with all due respect, you've been fighting Tennyson and his team for… how long?"

"Almost six months now, I think." Rojo raised her hand. "But I get where you're coming from, Princess. Even I know that there's a hierarchy to Tennyson's enemies. Hell, I shared a prison with his Number One arch-nemesis for a year. And that guy RAN that place."

Iron Fan nodded before moving on. "Precisely. Metaphorically speaking, Ben Tennyson has a totem pole on which he measures the threat level of his enemies." She waved her hand across the room. "And collectively, I'd say that everyone here, aside from Salem, ranks somewhere around the middle." She clenched her hand and proclaimed; "What this team needs is a REAL shot in the arm; someone who can give Ben Tennyson a run for his money."

"Yes, well, we already tried that with Malware." Cinder rolled her eyes. "And that didn't work."

The demoness sighed and rose to her feet, using her iron fan to hoist herself up. "Hah, yes, it would seem that way, wouldn't it? Hm, and I had high hopes for this Malware being. He certainly seemed quite driven in his plot for revenge." Her lips curled again as she raised a finger. "BUT… there is another option."

"If you're about to say "Vilgax", then you might wanna hold your breath first." Rojo said brazenly. "He's not really the kinda alien that does deals."

"Oh-hoho, no, not Vilgax, my dear." Iron Fan asserted. "Even I know he'd be a tough one to convince. No, my choice from Tennyson's rogue's gallery is much more… personable. Someone who would be MORE than eager to topple him and perhaps even aid us in our own goals to do it." She flashed a toothy grin. "And even as we speak, a certain ally of mine is making his way to break him out of his prison."

That earned her several surprised and confused stares. "Really?" Salem inquired. "And how long have you been planning this?"

"Only just recently." Iron Fan rubbed her thumb and pointer finger together. "This ally of mine has been observing the heroes since the Monkey King's reemergence… and he's actually the one who came up with the idea."

"Okay, so who IS this enemy of Tennyson's?" Mercury asked.

"Hm… how to describe him… son, what is that old human saying?" Iron Fan asked her boy.

With a confident grin, Red Son snapped her fingers. "I believe the one you're looking for, mother, is "fight fire with fire". After all, what better way to fight Ben Tennyson… than with ANOTHER Ben Tennyson?"

Viktor's eyes widened when he realized who it could be. "Wait… you don't mean…" Iron Fan only answered with a simple nod, which made Viktor grin back, to the others' bewilderment. "Oh… this may just get interesting."

Salem craned her head to her advisor, hoping for more information. "Well, Viktor, if you know, please enlighten us."

"Yeah, because if this involves a SECOND Tennyson, then I'm out." Mercury resolved with a swipe of his hand.

"It isn't exactly that, I can assure you." Viktor assured. "I've done business with this individual before, and while he may share Tennyson's face, he is FAR from an exact duplicate."

A chuckle passed Iron Fan's lips as she continued as well. "Hmhm, which is all the more fitting, considering who I sent to fetch him." She raised a fist, clenched with determination. "I assure you, with this one by our side, ALL of our plans will come to fruition. And all we need to do is wait for one little addition to our ranks."

"Indeed, mother." Red Son bowed. "But of course, that doesn't mean that we need to stop recruiting. After all, I have so many more ideas that can come to fruition… such as…" Reaching into his pocket, he procured a new Lost Fullbottle… this one depicting a silver cobra with its fangs bared.

Night Rogue seemed to perk up at the bottle and immediately reached for it. "Ah, don't mind if I do—" *SMACK* "Gah! What?!"

Wagging his finger, Red Son chided his Kamen Warrior. "Ah-ah, now Yuma, they can't ALL be for you, you know." He lifted the Lostbottle with a dastardly smirk, a lightning flash illuminating the cobra's glare. "After all, why stop at one when there can be two to be had? Ahahaha!"

…..

~Incarcecon Prison Complex, Deep Space~

Walking his way through the halls of Incarcecon, a seemingly ordinary Plumber was headed to the high-security area of the prison. He was armed with a standard issue blaster and kept his head covered with a white bucket helmet that kept most of his face obscured, including his eyes which were hidden behind a visor. After taking an elevator and giving a retinal scan, he was cleared to go through… all according to plan. 'Heh… this was a piece of cake.' he thought to himself. 'Sneaking in, taking a poor shmuck's identity, easy-peasy. Hardest part was findin' my way around this place, but hey, I'll take that over my cover being blown.'

The lone "Plumber" continued through the vaults, passing by some of the worst criminals the galaxy had to offer. The ones who weren't QUITE bad enough for the Null Void, but definitely teetered on the edge of that threshold. However, he was only interested in ONE of the prisoners here… and coincidentally, that one was the only inmate who actually REQUIRED guards 24/7. And there, at the very center of the room, was his target.

It was a cylindrical holding cell, making it stand out from all the rest, and there were two Plumbers guardsmen already standing on either side of the heavy door. The "Plumber" offered his best smile, the only feature visible under his helm, and spoke to them; "Evening, boys. Shift change!"

"Hah, really?" One of the Plumber's—a human—checked his holographic watch to confirm that. "Huh, well I'll be."

"Few, finally." The other Plumber sighed. He was a multi-eyed alien with blue skin and his shoulders slumped forward tiredly. "I'll be glad to finally get some sleep. I—wait." He raised one of his many eyebrows at his colleague. "Where's your shift partner?"

The "Plumber" waved his hand. "Ah, he had to take a quick pit stop. He should arrive shortly, you guys can head out if ya want."

"Eh, sorry, but no can do." The human nudged his head toward the cell. "This one's a strict two-person duty to keep watch over. Magistrata's orders."

The blue alien shrugged. "It's no prob. We'll just stick around for a few minutes until your bud gets here."

However, the "Plumber" sighed and rolled his eyes. "Hah… really wish this had gone the easy way, guys."

"Huh? What're you talking abou—"

*THWACK* *THWACK*

The on-duty guards were promptly knocked out cold with two swift chops to their necks, their bodies falling limp to the floor. A sinister chuckle passed the infiltrator's lips and he lifted his helmet, freeing his six ears as he bent down toward the cell's retinal scanner. "Once again, all too easy…" His eye shifted in color and pattern before landing on a match for the scanner.

"Identity confirmed. Welcome, Magister Hulka*

Tossing the helmet over his shoulder, the intruder watched as the cell opened for him. And sitting there on the cold, hard slab that was his only seat… was his target. "Hey there, champ. You awake?"

Lifting his head, the prisoner revealed blood red eyes, his ragged white bangs falling over them to lend another level of intimidation to his gaze. "…Who goes there?"

"Eh, just a fellow doppelganger." The intruder revealed his appearance to the inmate, something that made his eyes widen. His liberator… was a massive monkey. He stood about seven feet tall and had spikey black fur all over his head. His complexion was a dark brown, but he also had red markings around his golden eyes, which seemed to flash a wicked purple as he smirked. "Lookin' to cause some mischief. And you, I think, would be able to help me do just that."

"Really? And, pray tell, what is in it for me?" the convict retorted.

Lifting his arms, the monkey said; "Name it and it's yours! Power, money, fame… but I think I know what you REALLY want." He leaned in close and whispered; "Revenge."

At this, the prisoner grinned with the same wicked mirth as the monkey, standing up from his uncomfortable seat. "Now you have my attention. Very well, I will join you. But first… a request." The black-furred monkey nodded, urging him to go on. Stepping into the light, the prisoner revealed himself… to be a near exact double to Ben Tennyson. His features were a bit more sunken in, though, with deep black circles prominently on display under his eyes. He was clearly suffering from exhaustion and undernourishment, which he sought to remedy…

"Bring me to the nearest establishment… that sells chili fries."

…..

A/N: See? Told you there's be a surprise. Indeed, it seems that Princess Iron Fan has been observing Ben's exploits for a while and has studied the enemies he's faced. And thus, out of all of them, she has chosen ALBEDO of all villains to free from his imprisonment to aid her plans with the Ministry. And, of course, she's also enlisted the help of a certain six-eared simian to help her out, but of course, we'll delve into HIM more soon. I know that many of you must be eager to see more of him, so look forward to it. And… ooh, it seems that Red Son has created the Cobra Lostbottle as well. Will we soon see the SECOND Transteam Gun user appear? Only time will tell…

But more to the main point of this chapter, the Omni-Hunters have successfully brought Otto's attempted grand theft auto to an end! …But not before having to deal with him nicking off with Rook's Proto-TRUK in order to make himself into a giant robot WITH said cars.

Thankfully, we had the big reveal that he wasn't the ONLY one with a trick like that up his sleeve! Indeed, as it turns out, the Rustbucket IV, and thus BUS, has a robot mode that he can use for combat! And even better, it can combine with Ben and Kevin's cars for additional armaments! Now that's what I call a pretty sweet ride. …Also, yes, if it wasn't completely obvious, this IS based on the recent Sentai Mecha, the Boonboomger Robo that's voiced by Ash Ketchum's Japanese voice actress. Why'd you think I fan casted Ash's English voice actress in this very role? It all links together, people!

All the same, though, the day was saved… and Rook's Proto-TRUK is in shambles. Big Oof. But on the plus side, Vernal's got the car of her dreams now, so at least she got something out of it! Also, it seems that Looma and Manny are growing fairly close. Perhaps this whole relationship will work out for those two after all!

With all that said, though, NEXT TIME! We return to Earth where Sun and the Monkey King are seen on the return trip to Bellwood after almost a straight ten days of training. However, when they arrive, they're met with a surprising sight; Ben is home early. Needless to say, once everyone sees this, they're very confused… but as a deity gifted with the ability to see through illusions, Wu Kong knows better. But how can he convince everyone else of this deception? Tune in next time to find out with… Double Trouble. Thanks for reading, everybody, and I'll catch you later! And of course, as always, stay safe out there!