Ben 10 RWBY Volume 2: Ultimate Omniverse

by The Omni-Remnant

Having returned from a massive adventure in the world of Remnant, Ben, Team RWBY, and the rest of their friends find themselves faced with new challenges at every turn on Earth. Be it villains old and new… or even things that they never imagined to be real. It's going to be a challenge unlike any they've seen before, but they're up for it. It's Hero Time! (Cover Art credit inside)

96. A Rogue in the Night

A/N: Hey there, everybody! Welcome back to Ben 10 RWBY Ultimate Omniverse! And yes, I know that I'm a day late, but like I said in the Transformers MHA update, things had to be delayed a little bit thanks to… all of THAT happening last week. Just to repeat what I said over there; I'm thinking of going back to cross posting over on AO3, though I don't have an exact time frame of when that's going to start. I'll try and keep you guys posted on when that'll happen, though.

Before we start this chapter proper, though, a bit of a disclaimer; we're gonna be getting a brief snippet of Ben and the gang's vacation on X'Nelli, at the beginning here, and of course, I'm gonna give credit where credit is due. The concepts, locations and alien species that you're gonna see here were ALL thought up by people over at The Ink Tank, which originate from their And Beyond series as well as their 5YL universe. I thought that adding some of these aliens to Ben's roster would be cool, as would be incorporating their version of X'Nelli itself, so again, all credit to them for the original idea and please go support them and their channel. They do amazing work over there.

So now, let's get started, shall we? This is…

Chapter 95: A Rogue in the Night

…..

~X'Nelli, Midday~

As she emerged from the waters of X'Nelli's vast ocean, Yang Xiao Long felt refreshed and immaculate. She shook her head to get the access water out of her hair, her long, golden locks now very straight as they flowed down and clung her back. She was in her black and yellow two-piece, and of course, was managing to turn several heads. As happened, they weren't the ONLY humans vacationing here. Many Plumber cadets were there on vacation from the academy, and among them were many human males and humanoid alien males who were left gob smacked by the sight of her glistening form. She didn't pay them any mind, though. Even THEY knew they couldn't have her, since there was only ONE man who could stake that claim.

…Though there were also some ladies who were captivated by her as well. Yang made sure to give a few winks to them, which drove all of the guys insanely jealous.

However, the humans weren't the majority when it came to the ocean's inhabitants. No, that had to go to the Coastal Manzardill, who played on the Sand Skirt beaches and swam through the waters like it was an everyday occurrence. Because for them, it was! These Manzardill were deep blue in coloration, much less bulky than the Polar variety that Yang had gotten so used to seeing from her boyfriend. This, of course, was to help with their swimming capabilities, which was only enhanced by the water jets they exuded from their neck gills.

And this ability also had… other uses. *BOOOOOSH* "AAAH! Hey!" Yang whipped around after getting doused with that water jet… only to find nobody there. She scanned her eyes across the surface of the water… while failing to notice the dark from emerging from underneath her. And by then… "WOOAAAH!" It was too late. "AH-HAHAHA! Ben! I KNEW it was you!"

"Hehe, gotcha, didn't I?" Her boyfriend had got for a swim and came back with a brand-new alien. The Manzardill that was now carrying her was tall and slender with a rather large neck and head with an equally big fin on his back. His forelimbs were larger than his hind ones and he had a small fin near the tip of his tail. His underbelly was a paler shade of blue and his eyes were covered in what could only be described as a natural film that resembled goggles, especially with the black markings around them. His chin had a pair of whiskers hanging down and he wore a black and green body suit that went from his upper torso to right where his tail started; black on the right and green on the left with white ridges going down the belly. The Omnitrix symbol was situated on a belt near his belly. "What's the matter? Ya don't like RIPTIDE?"

"Did you just make that name up on the spot?" Yang placed her hands on either side of Riptide's head to support herself. "Because if so, spot on."

"Thanks! Though I've gotta hand it to you for some of the ones you came up with. Psykomodo is awesome."

His girlfriend winked down at him. "Hehe, I knew you'd like that one. But c'mon…" Yang lowered her head so that she was staring at him upside-down, her eyes half-lidded seductively. "You know who I really want."

With that, Ben obliged, transforming back into his human form and catching Yang right in his arms. "Ah! …Happy now?"

"Very." Wrapping her arms around his neck, Yang pulled herself in and immediately kissed her boyfriend, pressing her whole body up against his chest. Ben wasn't caught off guard by the move in the least, returning the kiss as he walked them both out of the ocean… while everybody stared at them enviously.

By the time the kiss ended, Ben was out of breath and they had reached their beach towels and umbrella setup. His green eyes locked with her violet ones me as they pressed their foreheads together, the two of them beaming with happiness. "You know… people tend to look at us when we do that." the hero pointed out.

"Ah, let 'em." Yang dismissed, hopping out of Ben's arms to start drying herself. "At this point, you should know that I don't really care about that stuff, Green Boy."

After letting her hair down and wrapping the towel around her, Ben poked his head over Yang's shoulder, side-eyeing her with a narrowed gaze. "Is that so? Well, what about me, huh? Don't you think I'd be bothered by a bunch of dudes ogling my girlfriend like she was eye candy?"

Yang rolled her eyes and spun back around, getting nose to nose with her boyfriend. "Pfft, please, you know that none of those guys would even try anything with me, let alone get within five feet of me."

"For their sake, I'd double that to ten feet."

"Of course you would." Yang prodded Ben's chest with her finger. "It's always gotta be ten with you, doesn't it?"

"You're damn right." Ben said, proudly puffing out his chest. "It's in my hero name, it's in my actual name, I even organize my Omnitrix playlists in groups of ten." He brought the device up and shuffled through a bunch of new aliens for emphasis. "And now, I've got about nine new Lizard Boys in this watch, so you know what I'm gonna do?"

Yang giggled and shook her head. "You're gonna be fiddling with your watch until ALL of your Lizard Boys are in one playlist, aren't ya?"

The Omnitrix bearer nodded. "Exactly. Because nothing's more satisfying than something being organized."

"How long did it take ya to figure THAT out, Mr. "Messy Room"?"

"Ah, going for ALL the low blows today, huh?"

The two were suddenly interrupted before their back-and-forth could go on any further. "Hey, you love birds done with the playful banter?" The couple craned their heads around to see Vernal approaching them, the former bandit in her own swimsuit. It was a simple black one piece that had exposed shoulders, allowing them to see her tattoo in full. She folded her arms and asked; "So, how was the dip?"

Yang practically gushed about it to her adopted sister. "Ah! V, it's to freaking die for. This ocean is the perfect temperature. You should go in for a swim yourself and see!"

"Huh, maybe I will." Vernal cocked her hip out and placed a hand on it. "Honestly, after checking in on everyone, I could use a refresher like that."

Hearing this piqued Ben's interest. "I see. How's everyone doing then?"

Vernal glanced over her shoulder, her sights moving toward the jungle at the very edge of the beach. "Doing pretty good. Rex and Weiss are up doing some mountain climbing, Ren and Nora are at the Sluice Slopes and—"

"H-Hold on, Weiss… is mountain climbing?" Yang repeated.

Ben scratched his head, utterly perplexed. "Wow, what the heck did Rex have to do to convince her to do that?"

"Not sure." Vernal shrugged. "All I know is that I spotted 'em on Plummet Ridge with those Talus Manzardills while I was taking the gondola." A smile curled to her lips and she let out a small chuckle. "Hehe, though if I had to guess, I get the feeling that he owes her a pretty special date by the time they're done."

"Oh, no doubt." Yang nodded. "Also, why am I not surprised that Nora's back at the slopes after yesterday? Haha, she had WAY too much fun with those Mire Manzardills."

The trio shared a laugh at that. "Haha, yeah, when it comes to Nora, I'm not surprised that she likes that so much." Ben smirked. "But if you ask me… I get the feeling that Ren likes watching the mudslides more than going down them, if you catch my drift."

Yang and Vernal were both astonished by his comment, but couldn't deny it either. "Ah! Ben!" the Blonde Brawler smacked him on the shoulder with a mock gasp. "I mean, you're not wrong, but have you been looking at Nora behind my back?"

Realizing the implication, Ben blushed and began denying immediately. "W-What?! No, of course not! I-It was just an observation, I swear!"

"A likely story, Tennyson." Vernal narrowed her eyes. "You'd better not be eyeing anyone except my sister."

"I-I'm NOT!" Ben bowed his head. "J-Just please, forget I said anythi—"

"HAHAHAHA!" Just then, both girls erupted into laughter, much to Ben's chagrin.

The hero let out a sigh and stood back up, giving the duo a deadpan stare. "I should've known you two were messing with me."

Nudging him with her elbow, Yang all but confirmed that. "Yeah, ya should've. But don't worry, Green Boy, you're not the only one we'll be teasing. After all…" Yang glanced back to Vernal over her shoulder with a knowing eye. "I've noticed a rather noticeable absence amongst our group. Tell me, sis… where's Gwen and Kevin?"

Vernal stiffened up a little when she was asked that. She knew exactly where they were… because she was fulfilling her end of the deal she made with Gwen. She couldn't tell them the truth, not with Ben right in front of them. So, she did what any good friend would; she lied. "O-Oh, I'm sure they're around. Maybe back in the jungle doing stuff with those Tropic or Fung Manzardills."

"Eh… I doubt it." Ben crossed his arms skeptically. "Doesn't exactly sound like something my cousin would be into. And if Kevin's gonna do anything, he's probably gonna go lava boarding with those Slag Manzardills again."

"Hmmm…" Yang hummed, seeing that her adopted sister was trying desperately to save face. Ultimately, she decided to take it easy on her. "Eh, well, I'm sure we'll come across 'em eventually." In her head, she added; 'Provided Gwen's not walking funny.' She clapped her hands together, changing the subject. "So, what're we gonna do now, Green Boy? Wanna head back into the Night Sea to see those Bogglow caves again?"

"Ooh, that sounds fun, actually. I—huh?" Just then, however, something caught Ben's attention; a shadow that was slowly coming in overhead. The three whipped their heads up… and what they saw made them all smile. "Haha! Alright, he's here!"

Vernal placed her hands on her hips. "About time. I was worried he'd gone back to the farmer life completely."

Sure enough, coming to a landing on the beach was the Proto-Truck, lowering into a clear spot where no one was set up. Once it touched down, the ship transformed back into truck mode and, after a few moments, the rear hatch lifted up, revealing… a rather brightly dressed Rook Blanco. He wore a sunset yellow button-up shirt that was decidedly unbuttoned, revealing his periwinkle blue chest and abdomen. The short sleeves of the shirt also revealed the black stripes that went down his arms, which could also be said about his extremely purple swim trunks. Finally, he wore a purple visor hat, which completed his "vacation" wardrobe. In his hand was a surf board that matched the colors of his outfit.

Extending his thumb and pinkie, Rook greeted; "Aloha, everyone. I hope I have not missed too much of the vacation activities." However, the reaction was not what he was expecting. He saw his friends all stifling to hold back their laughter, which leaked out as small snickers and snorts, making him raise a brow. "…Is there something the matter?"

"N-No, but Rook…" Yang restrained another laugh as she pointed at his outfit. "Where on Revonnah did you get that?"

"Yeah, gotta admit, that's more color than I was expecting from you, dude." Ben added.

Setting his gaze down at his attire, Rook took the collar of his shirt between his fingers. "Ah, this? This was made with freshly plucked Amber Ogia. A generous parting gift when I told—" But he stopped right there when he realized what he was about to say.

"…When you told who about what, exactly?" Vernal grinned widely, prompting Yang and Ben to do the same.

Seeing as there was no easy way out of this, Rook just decided to come clean. "…Hah, when I told Rayona about my impending trip here."

Yang let out a victorious shout and pumped her fists into the air. "AAH! Yes! Rook Blanco for the WIN!" She went up and jabbed his chest, making him double back a little. "Congratulations, Rook! Ya got a gift from someone you care about."

"Yeah, you just took a BIG step forward, my friend." Ben added with a pat on the shoulder. "Nice! Next thing you know, you two will be going out on the regular."

"I… doubt it will be that easy." the Revonnahgander stated. "She HAS expressed interest in coming to Earth, but she does not want to leave her family behind entirely. I would not want to put her through that kind of decision…"

The three humans frowned, knowing that would be genuinely a difficult hurdle for them. "Ah… yeah, that's not gonna be easy." Vernal affirmed, though she put on a hopeful smile. "But hey, don't give up, Rook. I think you and Rayona can make this work… but first, you need to get it off the ground properly."

Rook returned the grin with heartfelt thanks. "I appreciate the vote of confidence, Vernal. Now, I believe it is time to begin—"

"BLANCO?! That you?!" The quartet snapped their heads around to see a bunch of young Plumbers waving Rook down, a mixed group full of humans and aliens alike. "No way! Good to see ya!"

"O-Oh! Greetings everyone!" Rook waved back before telling the others; "Those are my old platoon makes from the academy. Would you mind if I—"

"Of course not!" Ben assured. "Go ahead, catch up, man." Rook gave him a brief thank you before planting his surfboard in the sand and running over to the group, where he was met with open arms and a round of cheers. With a small chuckle, Ben turned to the girls and jerked a thumb toward the ocean. "So, we were gonna head down to those undersea caves, right?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Yang gave him a high-five. "We can go as soon as Rook gets back. For now, I feel like a little lounging is in order…" As she, her boyfriend and her adopted sister went to lay out on their beach towels, Yang's mind couldn't help but go out to her other sister, staring up at the sky as she pondered; 'I wonder how Ruby's doin' back on Earth? …Eh, she's probably fine. Knowing her, she's got things ALL under control.'

…..

~Undertown~

"Hehe, I've got this all under control." Ruby said confidently, watching on as an absolutely majestic scene played out before her. Pyrrha Nikos, the Invincible Girl of Beacon Academy, had just literally broke the walls down around this not-so-legal auction, doing so on the back of a freaking UNICORN. And best of all, the ringleader of the whole operation, Abbey Grey, was left absolutely astonished. Nothing could've topped this… at least not today. 'Knowing us, we'll probably see something ELSE super epic, but for now… just gonna drink this all in.'

"Ma'am," Pyrrha proclaimed as she pointed Milo down toward Abbey's nose, "in the name of the goddess, Artemis, I—Pyrrha Nikos—am repossessing this unicorn and bringing it back to its natural habitat." She leaned in and asked; "Got a problem with that?" all while narrowing her eyes at the mercenary.

Abbey pursed her lips, raising her nose up indignantly. "As a matter of fact, yes. Zzzakt!"

The Voltarian mercenary spun around, shifting his focus from Doyle to the unicorn as he raised his arm and sent out a huge bolt of lightning at it. Pyrrha gasped as it closed in, but…

Triple Dust, Loaded!

ZANDAR THUNDER!

From behind her, Jaune leapt up and over the unicorn in an impressively high jump, his sword raised and already covered with lightning. He pulled the blade up and actually caught the energy bolt, absorbing it into his sword and redirecting it toward Abbey. "Not happenin', lady!" He didn't hit her directly, but the explosion at her feet was enough to send her flying backward and into a wall. "Any of you freaks lay a hand on my girlfriend, and we're gonna have some BIG problems, capiche?!"

"WOO! Nice one, Jaune!" Neptune cheered… only to see the Cross-Z Dragon come flying out of the building with Kenny tailing behind. The Dragon seemed to hover around Jaune briefly, which changed Neptune's attitude rather quick. "Er, um, I mean… I-I could've done that."

"Gee, how generous of you to say, dude." Zak deadpanned.

"Oh come on, we're ALL in this competition together, man."

Before they could get going again, Blake leapt up in between them, shoving her hands in their faces. "Quiet! Both of you! Now is NOT the time for this!" She made sure to give them a cat-eyed glare as well. "Also, if you call this a competition one more time, I'm gonna make sure you can't sit down for a week."

The duo straightened up real quick after that. "Sorry, ma'am!"

"Huh, not bad, child." Zzzakt commended, though his hands began to glow with far more intensity than they had before. "But that wasn't even a full-power blast. Let's see if you can redirect THI—AGH!" Just then, the Cross-Z Dragon came flying in and rammed right into Zzzakt's face, which actually managed to make him stumble back. "W-What was—"

"Da-da-da-DANGYAAAAH!" All of a sudden, the Cross-Z Dragon began to glow and, in its mouth, a FullBottle appeared. Specifically, it was the Ninja FullBottle, which it then tossed into the slot on its back. Within seconds, the small dragon opened its mouth, now filled with purple energy, and breathed out a powerful attack.

CROSS-Z FLAME!

Purple fire was expelled from its maw, though it certainly wasn't any NORMAL fire… namely because the embers were shaped like flying shuriken. The spinning star-shaped flames shot straight at Zzzakt, hitting him straight int the chest repeatedly one after the other. "Ah! Ack! Ooch! Why you little—"

"Woo! Nice one!" Kenny cheered on. "Get 'em, little guy!"

"Kenny!" Winter called out, rushing across the battlefield after disposing of more alien criminals. "Are you alright?"

The redhead met his girlfriend with a short embrace. "Hah, never better. That little guy kept me safe in there the whole time!"

"Hah… well, I'm quite glad to hear that." Winter set her gaze upon the Cross-Z Dragon, which was currently making Zzzakt look like a fool. "Now all we have to do is dispose of him and the others. Everyone! Be on your guard!" At her word, the Omni-Hunters all readied their weapons as several more aliens closed in. "We are far from finished here!"

Her statement was one that Zzzakt couldn't agree more with. He belted out an angry yell and a burst of energy practically exploded from his head, which made the Cross-Z Dragon retreat. Once he was in the clear, Zzzakt concentrated the energy into his hands once again, aiming for the mechanical creature. "AGH! I don't know what you are, but I WILL destroy—" *WHAM* "GAAAUUGGH!"

Taking advantage of the distraction, Doyle delivered a straight uppercut to Zzzakt's jaw, before then activating his arm-mounted blaster and shooting him point blank in the shoulder. However, the energy being simply shrugged off the blast and reached forward to grab Doyle, though he was met with surprise as Qrow came in from behind and kicked him straight in the head. "Sorry, ya walkin' glowstick, but we're not about to let ya get off that easy."

"Exactly." Grabbing the dazed Zzzakt by the head, Doyle lunged up and kneed his rival right in the face, leading him to topple over, completely unconscious. The two uncles shared a handshake after the takedown. "Hah, nice assist."

"Thanks, you weren't so bad yourself." The huntsman directed his attention back over to Abbey, who was glaring at everyone as they closed in around her. "Now, let's deal with that ex of yours. Sorry, by the way, I know the feelin'."

Doyle simply shrugged. "Eh, doesn't bother me too much anymore." He met Abbey's gaze, his expression softening a bit. "Abbey, we don't have to do this. Just turn yourself in and we can end this quickly."

The mercenary simply laughed at the suggestion. "HA! You think it'd be that easy? Well, I have one thing to say to that…" She thrust her finger toward the unicorn and shouted; "FIRST ONE TO GRAB THE FANCY HORSE GETS TO KEEP IT!"

Within seconds, every other lowlife present were back on their feet and barreled forward straight for the unicorn… and consequently, at the team as well. "Ah… crap baskets." Pyrrha grumbled, shifting Milo into its bow form and inserting a gravity dust vial into it.

Gravity Dust, Loaded!

"Nyyeeahh-he-he-heh!" The unicorn whinnied, moving its head around to look directly at Pyrrha.

"You want to help?" The redhead received a nod from the creature, its front hoof padding at the ground in anticipation. "Excellent! Then let's do it! Giddy-up!" Rearing on its hind legs, the unicorn gave another whinny and went off like a shot, circling around the charging bad guys all while its horn began to glow. Then, with some quick shots, the unicorn blasted several of them with what could only be described as a beam of rainbows, the effects of which were completely random. The top of one alien's head burst into flames while another one had a potted plant appear in their hands… which subsequently transformed into a giant Venus Flytrap and chomp down on them. Another was encased fully in ice while another became buried in a pile of rocks that came out of nowhere. All the while, Pyrrha kept peppering arrows into other aliens, the Gravity Dust power sending them flying back with concussive bursts.

And all the while, the team were just staring on, gobsmacked. "Uh… did anyone know that this is what unicorns could do?" Ilia asked.

"We did." Doc affirmed. "But that should go without saying."

"Unicorns are one of the only non-humanoid beings who're capable of using magic, after all." Drew explained. "Though theirs is pretty…" She glanced back to the galloping beast, which had just made all of the Kraaho go completely limp, their bodies stretching and bending into a heap of limbs. "…Random."

Ruby peered down at the Kraaho, Seebik included, with a mixture of entertainment and pity. "Not that they don't totally deserve this, but… they'll go back to normal, right?"

"Oh, yeah." Zak assured with a wave. "Unicorn spells are only temporary. They mainly use it as a defense mechanism… which kinda makes me wonder how Abbey caught—AH! Abbey!" The group spun around and, sure enough, their perp was gone. …However, so were Doyle and Qrow, and it didn't take long to find out where they went. The train station's roof broke open and from out the top came a small ship, which Doyle and Qrow were clinging onto while Abbey was behind the wheel. "Oh crap! Uncle Doyle!"

"Uncle Qrow!" Ruby activated her Semblance, shooting straight up into the air to lend a hand. "Hang on!"

At that moment, though, a set of guns emerged from the ship's underside, taking aim at the two men. "Sorry, luvs, no hitchhikers!" Abbey announced over the radio before blasting the two of them off. Doyle landed flat on what was left of the train station roof while Qrow transformed into his bird form and flapped as hard as he could after the ship, joining his niece in pursuit. …But by then, it was too late. Abbey activated her thrusters and she shot straight up into a nearby pipe, making a clean getaway.

"NO!" Doc roared angrily. "Abigail!"

"That little…" Drew stomped her foot. "When I tell her sister about this, she is SO going to regret ever showing her face to us again!"

Reaching out, Ilia placed a hand on Drew's arm, getting her attention. "While I agree that this whole situation sucks, I think we might want to move." She pointed across the battlefield back toward Pyrrha, the Invincible Girl still riding the unicorn while pulling back on her bowstring. "I think she's getting ready to finish things."

Following her advice, the group all reconvened off to a safe distance, all while Pyrrha slowly aimed her bow upward and waited for the right moment. *bleep… bleep… bleep… BLEEP* On that final sound, Pyrrha unleashed her attack into the air;

Gravity Arrow Victory!

From her bow, a multitude of purple energy arrows shot out of her weapon and went straight into the sky, only to then rain back down upon the hapless felons. The results were immediate as several immense bursts exploded upon impact, be it directly onto one of the alien lowlifes or on the ground in general. Either way, it was a potent attack that left pretty much all of them out for the count. The unicorn even made an energy shield in front of it so that its rider wouldn't be harmed by the force. Once the dust settled, it all but confirmed that every criminal there was down and out, and Pyrrha gently stroked the beast's neck in appreciation. "Thank you. You were a magnificent help." Leaning into her touch, the unicorn once again whinnied gratefully.

"WOO-HOO! Alright, Pyrrha!" Ruby shouted as she came in for a landing with her uncle, the Hooded Huntress rushing up to meet the redhead as she dismounted the horned equine. Pyrrha was immediately met with a hug from Ruby as the rest of the team came over as well, all celebrating the Invincible Girl's victory. "Haha! That was AMAZING!"

Pyrrha sheepishly smiled, but reciprocated the hug all the same. "Hah, thank you very much, Ruby… but it was nothing, really." She pulled away and gave a shrug. "After all, it's what heroes tend to do, right?"

"Yeah, but you still gotta admit…" Jaune walked over and pecked Pyrrha on the lips. "That was exceptionally awesome."

"Oh…" Pyrrha lowered her head bashfully. "It was nothing, I insist…"

"I must respectfully disagree." Winter asserted. "Pyrrha, you did an exceptional job."

Doc came forward with a bright smile. "Without a doubt. we can't thank you enough for what you did here today." He and his family all set their sights on the unicorn, who locked its eyes upon them in return. "Now we can get this handsome lad back to his rightful home."

Of all the things that Doc could've said… that was the one that took the Omni-Hunters off guard. "…SAY WHAT?!" Neptune thrust a finger toward the magical horse. "You mean to tell me this one's a dude?"

Drew let out an amused chortle and extended a hand toward the beast. "Hehe, of course. Sure, all unicorns seem inherently feminine, but it's the subtle differences that you've gotta watch out for." She directed the kids' attention to the unicorn's most prominent feature. "You see the horn? The females have much longer ones, if you can believe it." She then knelt down to indicate the hooves, or more specifically, the hair around them. "Same goes with the fetlocks. Females have longer, wispier hair here while the males are shorter and straighter. And well…" She raised a finger to the unicorn's underbelly. "I don't think I have to tell you the most obvious indicator."

The teens all cringed awkwardly while the unicorn simply raised his head with an indignant. "Hrmph!"

"Ahem, well, before this whole thing turns into an entire anatomy lesson, how about we get this guy back to Artemis, hm?" Blake suggested.

"Great idea." Qrow agreed. "But first, we should check in with the others, see how—"

*BOOOOOM*

The team gasped and whirled around, seeing a pillar of smoke and flames erupting in the distance. Immediately, they knew what that had to be. "…Oh no." Ilia uttered.

Ruby took out her scroll, making a quick call. Thankfully, it picked up first ring. "Penny!"

"Ruby! You saw that too?"

"Y-Yeah, but only barely!" she replied. "What can you see? Where are you right now?"

"I'm not far from the blast site. I'm headed there now."

A sigh passed Ruby's lips. "Hah, good… by the way, how's the star?"

"Well, unfortunately, I ended up being pursued by several hunters who wanted it. It was difficult to shake them." Penny's voice took on a more hopeful tone as she added; "But on the plus side, I managed to pass the package off to a trusted carrier to lead the hunters on a wild goose chase. They'll bring the star back to base as soon as possible."

That gave the Hooded Huntress pause. "A trusted carrier? What're you—ah, never mind. I trust you on this and we have more important things to take care of. We'll meet you back at the warehouse. Ruby out." Once Penny signed off as well, Ruby directed her attention back to the others. "Well guys, our job's still not done here. Let's go see how the others are holding up."

With a collective affirmation, the Omni-Hunters and the Saturdays began making their way back to the Griffon with the unicorn in tow. However, Drew stopped short when she noticed her brother, still staring up at the pipe where Abbey had escaped out of. She went over and placed a hand on his shoulder. "…I know. It's hard."

"Yeah… and it sucks." Doyle took a deep breath, his expression hardening. "But we've got bigger fish to fry. Let's go."

…..

Back at the warehouse itself… simply put, everything was on fire. The building had all but been demolished by the flames, which had been a team effort on the part of Cinder and Red Son to try and do away with their enemies. The Fall Maiden and Prince of the Demon Bull Clan stood outside of their fiery masterpiece, both smiling confidently. Nothing could've survived that explosion, least of all the sorceress and robot that had given them so much trouble. It had been instantaneous, leaving them no time to escape. "Hmhm… nailed it." Red Son chortled.

"My sentiments exactly." Cinder smirked with a side-eye to the young demon. "I must say, we make quite the infernal force, wouldn't you say?"

"Indeed!" Red Son raised a victorious fist. "Those heroes will now know better than to mess with—"

*BWAAAOOOOMM*

The duo simultaneously screamed as a powerful green laser shot out from the inferno, leading them to duck out of the way. The laser instead blasted straight through the adjacent building, leaving a perfectly V-shaped hole for them to peer through. At the sound of footsteps, though, they spun around and were astonished to see Vados emerging from the flames, none the worse for wear aside from a few scorch marks on her chassis. "An excellent attempt… however, it would seem that you came up short."

The two were completely flabbergasted. "W-Wha—HOW did you—"

"The creators of my body thought of everything… so they made me everything proof." Vados raised her arm and split it apart at the nanoscopic level, only to then reform it. "The nanomachines that make up my body are made of infinitum. Meaning…"

"…She is nigh-indestructible." Cinder uttered in disbelief.

At this point, Red Son was twitching with rage, not wanting to admit that this robot that stood before him was far superior to his designs. "Th-That… is quite… the revelation." He ran his hands through his hair to try and calm himself down, taking a deep breath for good measure. "Well then, if that is the case, then I do not need to defeat you. Rather, I shall DISASSEMBLE you bit by bit with my own two hands!"

Seeing the demon prince come running for her, Vados shook her head. "I am afraid not. Because in reality…" She pulled up the Gatling and Hawk FullBottles, intent on using both. "This is where your tirade ends." Inserting them into her arms, Vados announced; "Hawk! Gatling! Best Match!" before her entire body began to change form, breaking apart and reforming into a new shape. Red Son stopped in his tracks, slack-jawed by the sight before him. Vados had just changed into a big, brown bird of prey… that had gatling guns emplaced under her wings. A pair of thrusters emerged from her rear and she shot across the sky, proclaiming; "The Airborne Wildgirl! HAWKGATLING! SCREEEEE!"

The transformed robot flew straight over Red Son's head, aimed her gatling guns down at him and Cinder, and began raining bullets down upon them. The duo were quick to get out of the way, but Vados kept pursuing her initial opponent, much to the Fall Maiden's relief. "Hah, well… I suppose disposing of that witch is victory enough for me."

*BLINK*

"Yeah… about that." Cinder gasped and spun around, just in time to avoid an incoming strike from a magically summoned energy sword. There, standing alive and well before her, was Charmcaster. "…You missed."

Cinder's features twisted in rage as she leapt forward, clashing an obsidian blade against the witch's weapon. "HOW DID I MISS?!"

"Well, I suppose technically you didn't." Hope elaborated with a superior smirk. "I just created a magical clone to take the attack before I got out of there."

"AAAGH!" Cinder pushed against Hope with all her might, managing to land a clean slice with the tip of her blade across her cheek. "Damn you and your magical tricks! If I had access to true magic, then there'd be no doubt I'd wipe the floor with you!"

Despite the small amount of pain, Hope couldn't help but let out a genuine laugh, which only angered the Fall Maiden even more. "Pfft—HAHAHAHA! Y-Yeah, sure you could, sweetie."

"I CAN and I WILL!" Cinder transformed her sword into a bow and arrow, firing off multiple shots at the sorceress.

Still, the silver-haired magic user managed to bat them all away effortlessly with her mana blade. "Psh, please. Your temper clouds your judgment. It takes years to master real magic… unless your name is Gwen Tennyson, but hey, we can't ALL be Anodites."

The remark made a sinister smirk appear upon Cinder's lips. "Oh? Do I detect a hint of resentment? A bit of jealousy, perhaps?" All she got was Hope's eyes narrowing at her before the sorceress charged in with a battle cry, swiping her energy blade in a downward arc. Cinder caught it with her bow and kept goading her. "You know, it doesn't seem fair. Why should she be the more powerful sorceress when you are clearly the more experienced one? I'll bet you that Salem could—"

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH!" Hope screamed before kicking Cinder in the stomach, driving the Fall Maiden back. "I've been through this scenario already, and I know the outcome! I'll just go back to being alone and miserable… AND I DON'T WANT THAT!"

Once Cinder regained her bearings, she shot forward again, separating the bow into two obsidian blades. She clashed against Hope, the two struggling against one another for supremacy. "…Touched a nerve, have I? What's so bad about being alone, exactly? I was alone for YEARS, and I got by fine."

"Oh, what, are you saying that your teammates mean nothing to you then?"

At that, Cinder's eyes flared with anger. "Don't assume anything, witch!" With a burst of flame, she sent Charmcaster flying back, and though she was able to recover with a midair flip, Cinder didn't give her any breathing time before her next round of slashes. "I said I lasted for years alone! I didn't insinuate anything more than that!"

"Aw, so the stone cold pyromancer has a heart after all."

"I will SLAP you into next week!"

"Heh, don't worry, you're about to get that treatment soon." Cinder was about to demand an answer for that… but when Hope ducked, she got the message. Mainly because it hit her right in the face. Rojo had been tossed half-way across the battlefield and collided with Cinder, sending them both sprawling to the dirt. Craning her head back, Hope smiled and gave a thumbs up to Velvet, who was wielding a hard light copy of Rex's Smack Hands. "Thanks for the assist, Vel!"

Velvet saluted, dispersing her hard light weapons in the process. "No problem, Hope! Always happy to lend a hand!"

On the ground, Rojo ground as she sat up, rubbing her now very sore head. "Uh… what the heck did I—AH! Cindy!" The bounty hunter practically scrambled to her feet to try and help her partner back up. "I-I am SO sorry! Are you okay? Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit, I screwed up so—"

"Rojo!" Cinder snapped a finger up and placed it firmly on the redheaded woman's lips, giving her a stern yet assuring gaze. "…I am fine. Really, I am." Taking her finger back, Cinder stood up and brushed off her dress, all while Rojo continued to apologize.

"I'm sorry, I-I didn't—"

"Do ANYTHING." Cinder asserted, nudging her chin toward the rabbit Faunus. "I'm sure that bunny bitch just got the drop on you. So, what're you… what are we going to do about it?"

Seeing the knowing smirk on Cinder's expression, Rojo brought up Bloodstrike, cocking the rifle and charging it up with energy. "Oh, I know what we're gonna do…" The duo squared off against their opponents, their resolve now bolstered. "LET'S WRECK 'EM!"

Charmcaster glanced over to her bunny-eared compatriot. "Are you ready for this?"

"Oh, of course…" Velvet reached behind her and activated her camera, producing two more hard light weapons for her to wield. And this time, it was none other than Cooper's Drill Crusher and HawkGatlinger. With gun in one hand and drill in the other, Velvet crossed them over her chest and proclaimed; "Let's get in it!"

As that duo clashed, though, two more sets of teammates were facing off against one another in a rather familiar clash. Coco and Yatsuhashi were in the middle of a battle with Emerald and Mercury. A rematch from the Vytal Festival… which was turning out to be quite familiar. Emerald was using the surrounding fire to her advantage, creating illusions of flames that she and Mercury hid within to try and trick the Second-Year students. However, Coco was keen on their strategy this time. "Yeah, that's not gonna work here. YATSU!"

"Grah—KYAH!" Yatsu SLAMMED Fulcrum upon the ground, creating a tremor so powerful that it sent multiple patches of earth into the air. All at once, the illusions disappeared, all thanks to Emerald and Mercury getting hit by the debris

Emerald in particular was sent flying back, but she used Thief's Respite's blades to catch herself before she went too far. "Agh! Dammit, I HATE when they catch on!" Shifting her weapons into their gun modes, she began shooting and strafing around the duo, while Mercury simply charged straight in.

While Yatsu blocked Emerald's attack, Coco confidently strolled forward, Gianduja unfurling into its minigun mode. "Heh, dude, you're either REAL sure of yourself, or your stupid." She took aim as the barrel began spinning. "I'm choosing that last option!" *RAT-AT-AT-AT-AT-AT* All at once, a hail of bullets went to pepper Mercury, all boosted by Coco's Hype Semblance.

"That so? HUP!" Blasting bullets from his boots, Mercury launched himself into the air at the last second, with the bullets only ripping up his pants. And while the clothes were damaged, his infinitum legs were all just fine. "'Cause from where I'm standing, you're a bit OVER confident!" He propelled himself down with another shot and then flipped back around, going to deliver a flying kick to Coco's head.

"Heh, wrong again, dude." In a split second, Coco deactivated her minigun and raised her handbag, using it to deflect the kick without issue. "I'm the right amount of confident."

She pushed Mercury away, though the assassin managed to backflip and land on his feet before delivering a volley of shots through his kicks. But even then, Coco was ready, swinging her handbag back and forth so the bullets ricocheted off in different directions. At her back, Yatsu was still doing much the same with Emerald's attacks, though the thief changed tactics when she whipped her weapon's chains out and wrapped them around Fulcrum. With her strongest yank, Emerald pulled herself in close to the tall swordsman with a flying kick… only for him to catch her by the ankle.

He raised a brow at her and asked; "Tell me, what did you hope to gain from this?" He quickly slammed her into the dirt, raising his sword for the finishing blow… only to be met with an astonishing sight.

"Hak-hak-hak! Y-Yatsu, no!" On the ground in front of him, covered in dirt and grime, was Julie Yamamoto, helpless and defenseless. "Please, stop! Don't hurt me!"

"J-Julie?" Yatsu backed away, looking concerned. "W-What're you doing here?"

"I came to help!" Julie stood up with an angry gaze. "But apparently you don't want that since you SMACKED Emerald right into me."

The young man bowed his head apologetically. "I-I'm so sorry, I—wait…" His brow furrowed in suspicion toward "Julie", leading him to ask; "…Where's Ship?"

At that, "Julie" hesitated. "Uh… I don't know—URK!"

"Wrong answer." With one punch to the gut, Yatsu broke Emerald's illusion. "Ship is ALWAYS with Julie. I doubt she would enter battle without him."

Emerald wheezed as she narrowed her eyes at the big man. "You people… know your girlfriends WAY too well."

Yatsu's eyes widened and he began blushing madly. "Sh-She's not my girlfriend!" He tossed the green-haired girl straight into Mercury after Coco hit him in the face with her handbag, the duo landing in a motionless heap.

"Haha! Nice one, Yatsu." Coco raised her hand for a high-five. "Payback for the Vytal Festival!"

With a halfhearted laugh, Yatsu reciprocated in kind. "Y-Yeah, hah… go team."

"Hm? Somethin' wrong?"

"N-No, everything's just dandy!" Yatsu rubbed the back of his neck. "I-I'm not nervous! For what reason would I have to be nervous? HAHAHA!" His forced laugh did nothing to convince Coco in the least, leading him to change the subject. "H-Hey, let's go see how Cooper's doing, huh? Maybe he needs backup?"

Coco shook her head, but relented nonetheless. "I doubt that, but I'm down to see how Tech Head's doin'." The duo ran off in the opposite direction, keen to see their friend beat the heck out of their new bat-suited nuisance.

Mercury and Emerald slowly sat up with aggravated groans, both clearly annoyed. "Oh, sure, don't even bother checking if we can still fight." Mercury grumbled. "Guess that goes to show how seriously they take us as a threat."

"Not serious enough, apparently." Emerald rolled her eyes. "Ah well, almost time to go, anyway. …Hey, have you seen Neo?"

"Last I saw, she was fighting that blind guy… hey, have you noticed how she tends to go for him whenever we fight these guys?"

Emerald was about to deny that… but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that was the truth. "…You might have a point there, actually." She rubbed her chin ponderously. "Could she… nah, couldn't be. He's blind and she can't speak. How the heck would THAT work out?"

…..

"So you're saying that you're just in this because the man you admired most got eaten by a Grimm and you're looking for revenge?" Fox received two pats on the shoulders from a smiling Neo, indicating that he got it. The duo had gotten far away enough from the battle that they had ceased fighting all together, namely because Fox had inadvertently saved Neo from getting hit by a passing alien motorist. …At least, that's the excuse he was giving. He had willingly saved her and used that as an excuse to just… stop and chat. He couldn't explain why, but this mute girl was fascinating to him. They had even figured out that Fox's ADA unit could interpret sign language, which Neo knew… after searching it up on the internet.

The redheaded warrior let out a sigh. "Man, I can relate. When I lived in Vacuo, whole tribe was killed by thieves and I was raised by my Uncle Copper until he passed away, too. At first, all I could think about was revenge… but my uncle convinced me to become a Huntsman instead. Said it'd help me clear my head."

Neo pursed her lips hearing that, her brow furrowed in thought. She didn't exactly HAVE that kind of option, given her kind of upbringing. Roman had been the light in the darkness that was her parents' snobbishly rich style of "nurturing", and the fact that he was gone still hurt like hell. But still… as her monochromatic eyes met Fox's bleary white ones, she felt sort of… happy to be airing out her frustrations to someone who would listen. Sure, it was a pain in the neck to look up all of these hand gestures—some of which she did get wrong—but it felt worth it.

'It's just too bad that he's on the same side as that BITCH, Ruby Rose.' she thought with disdain. But then, that's when a thought occurred to her, and she whipped her head back down to her scroll to look something up.

"Hm? Everything okay?" Neo raised a finger up to him, a silent way to tell him; "Be patient". So, he did, and by the time she was done, Neo began signing to him again. "Am I friends with Ruby Rose?" The question too him by surprise, but he answered honestly. "Oh, Ruby? Well, we know each other at the least. I wouldn't exactly call us CLOSE friends, though. Pretty sure she's closer to Velvet than any of the rest of us." A few moments later, Neo began signing again, and what she had to say left Fox shocked. "W-Woah, hold on, what do you mean SHE'S the reason why he was killed? I may not be close to Ruby, but I know her well enough to know that she probably didn't do anything like that intentionally."

Neo's face scrunched angrily, which Fox didn't need an interpretation for. "W-Woah, hey, don't get me wrong, I understand how you must be feeling. Trust me, I do." He extended a hand to her. "But if there's one thing that my uncle taught me, it's that stewing in your own anger won't help anything." All he got was Neo turning away from him, and he could practically imagine her crossing her arms and sticking her nose up. "Tell me… have you properly grieved for him?"

The question gave Neo pause. 'Properly… grieved?'

"…Back when I lost my family, I was in denial for a long time. I was so shocked that it had happened that I didn't want to believe it… but every morning, I woke up to the same reality." Fox approached Neo from behind, setting a hand on her shoulder. "And as much as we don't want to admit it, it's a reality that has to be accepted. Because if we don't… if you don't… you may never find happiness again."

As Fox's words reached Neo's ears, the brown and pink-haired mute felt a turmoil of emotions churning within her. A mixture of sadness, anger, hatred, but also a little comfort. That might've been one of the more genuine things anyone had said to her SINCE Roman's death… and at that moment, she realized… that there were tears welling up in her eyes. She spun back around to Fox, but right then and there…

*BOOM*

All hell decided to break loose. The young man gasped and took Neo by the shoulders as Night Rogue came bursting through one of the buildings, flying through the air while blasting his Transteam Gun—still in rifle mode—down toward the ground. There, leaping through the new hole in the brick wall, was Kamen Rider Build, who was continually dodging the shots as they rained down upon him. "Give it up, Build!" Yuma proclaimed. "I have the higher ground!"

"Not for long, Night Rogue!" Cooper began cranking the Build Driver as fast as he could while holding his vacuum cleaner arm up toward his adversary, wherein a huge suction force began to pull the flying masked warrior back down to his level.

"W-Wait! No! What's going—AH!"

Once Night Rogue had been pulled down to a suitable level, the Lion Gauntlet on Build's right arm began to glow with an intense, golden aura. He stopped cranking the Driver and brought the arm up, letting out a yell as he thrust it up toward his adversary.

Vortex Finish! YEAH!

"HHAAAAYAAH!" The golden energy projected itself out as a giant lion head with its mouth wide open, ready to bite down on Night Rogue in a vicious attack.

But the bat Faunus wasn't about to go down that easily. "Not… like… THIS!" He spun the valve on the barrel of his rifle and then pulled the trigger at its base, whist simultaneously pulling the trigger of the gun itself. This unleashed a combined attack unlike anything that Build was expecting.

Elek Steam!

Steam Shot! BAT!

The rifle began spewing out bolts of lightning that coagulated into a large, bat-like projection, which let out a screech of its own as it flew straight into the maw of the lion head attack. Both energy bursts collided in a bright flash of light, and then…

*BOOM*

A massive explosion rocked the entire area, taking both of the suited warriors with them. "AAAH!" *CRASH* Build went careening into the nearest house while Night Rogue was flung straight into a billboard, which in turn, toppled over. Both men struggled to their feet all the same, though, neither one of them intent on giving up. "Hah… hah… that all you got, punk?!" Cooper barked.

"Not nearly!" Yuma snapped back, spreading his wings out to cushion his fall as he jumped back down to confront Build. "I'm still able to go a couple of rounds—"

*CHA-KOOM*

The two wouldn't get to do so immediately, though, for at that moment, a huge blast of flames came shooting through some nearby buildings. The two were caught off guard, but once they saw that it was Cinder and Red Son, things quickly added up. They, along with Rojo, were currently in a brawl with Hope, Velvet and Vados, and all six of them were clearly giving it everything they had. In addition, not too far away, they could see Coco and Yatsu coming in to help, while Emerald and Mercury hobbled in from the other side. "Hah… well, well, the gang's all here." Build remarked.

Night Rogue simply scoffed. "Hmph, well, not everyone. We're still missing a couple aren't we—HEY!" After a quick scan of the area, though, he found who he was searching for… and he wasn't happy with what he saw. Because Fox was still VERY much holding onto Neo, quite protectively, he might add. "What in the hell is this?! FLIRTING with the enemy?!"

That managed to catch the others' attention, with all fighting coming to a complete stop. The Ministry members and the rest of Team CFVY were particularly rattled by the sight. "W-What the—NEO?!" Rojo hollered. "The hell're you doin'?!"

"FOX!" Coco exclaimed. "W-Why are you—WHAT are you…"

The blind huntsman knew the jig was up, his cheeks breaking out into a deep, red blush. "W-Well, I, um, y-you see, I—" *tap-tap* "H-Huh?" He looked down to see Neo tapping on his shoulder… where she gave him a brief, apologetic face before lifting her knee up to hit him square in the jaw. "AUGH!"

Velvet gasped and immediately ran to help. "AH! No, Fox!" She reached him just as Neo backflipped away, leading the bunny girl to glare at her. "You little hussy! Taking advantage of his emotions like that!"

"Okay, that's it!" Coco unfurled Gianduja, aiming straight at Neo. "You are going DOWN, bitch!"

*CHYOOM*

But before any more shots could be fired, the arrival of a familiar violet vortex once again halted the fight. On the other side of the portal, the heroes could plainly see the Land of Darkness, along with several Grimm… which were being led by none other than Eon. The world traveler was, of course, forced to stay on his side of the portal, but he was smart enough to bring insurance with him should anyone try something. He strolled toward the very edge of his vortex, slowly clapping all the while. "Ah-ha, a brilliant display."

"Eon!" Build thrust his vacuum cleaner arm out at the villain "What the hell are you doing here?!"

Glancing down at the… strange choice in weapon, Eon cleared his throat and explained himself. "Ahem, well, aside from being threatened by probably the least threatening thing imaginable, I've come here to collect my Ministry comrades." He sent the seven of them nods of approval. "It was quite the show, all things considered, and Lady Salem is quite pleased with what she's seen…" His head turned in Yuma and Red Son's direction. "Especially from the two of you. You've proven yourselves to be fine additions to the Ministry."

"Hmph, I would hope so." Night Rogue thrust his rifle in Build's direction. "But I was told it was my mission to destroy Kamen Rider Build, and that's what I intend on doing!"

"Another time." Eon raised his hand, beckoning the others toward the portal. "For now, we have more important matters to attend to. There are still many plans to be laid out."

Red Son sent Night Rogue a serious gaze. "He is correct. And don't worry. The next time you encounter Build, you will most certainly be allowed to finish the job."

Seeing the other Ministry members begin to gather near Eon's portal, Yuma let out a frustrated sigh. 'If they recruited me for something, I would HOPE to be given the chance to at least finish things… but this DOES present another opportunity.' Giving a shrug, Night Rogue relented. "Ah, very well, if you insist… but at least allow me to give them a small parting gift…" In the blink of an eye, he spun the valve on his rifle again and pulled the trigger, unleashing a HUGE cloud of black smoke from the barrel's tip…

…And what Cooper heard made a chill go down his spine.

DEVIL STEAM! BAT!

The whole area was pierced by an ear-splitting scream that came seemingly from out of nowhere, all while the smoke began to congeal and change into a black tar-like substance upon the ground. …A substance which began to take a more solid shape. Emerging from the inky blackness was, to everyone's astonishment, a Creature of Grimm, one that resembled a gigantic bat. Once it had fully formed, the beast unfurled its wings and let out another shrill scream, forcing everyone to cover their ears.

"AHH! What in the world is that?!" Hope exclaimed.

"A Ravager?!" Coco shouted. "H-How the hell did he just SUMMON one from his freaking gun?!"

Beneath his mask, Cooper's eyes narrowed at his adversary as he strolled through the portal with the others, giving one final, dismissive wave over his shoulder. "…That LostBottle was made by Salem. Stands to reason that she made sure that ability was cooked into it." Another screech brought his attention back to the Ravager, which began to fly out over Undertown toward the marketplace. "Oh… this is awful."

"Cooper!" Vados called out, ejecting the Hawk and Gatling FullBottles from her arms and transforming back to her humanoid form. She grabbed the bottles and tossed them down to him. "Catch!"

Leaping into the air, Build caught the transformation trinkets. "Hah, thanks Vados! Time to begin the experiment…"

Taka! Gatling! BEST MATCH!

Are you Ready?!

"Henshin!" In a flash, Cooper changed into his familiar grey and orange winged form, taking to the air in seconds.

Tenkuu no Abarenbuo! HawkGatling!

YEAH!

Build went off like a shot through the air, creating a small sonic boom behind him as he chased after the Ravager. Along the way, though, he ran into some familiar faces. "Salutations, Cooper!" He whipped his head to his right to see Penny come flying in next to him, the redhead giving him a salute. "We saw you passing by and figured you could use a hand!"

"We?" Seeing Penny point behind him, the Rider spun around in midair to see the Griffon come flying in next top him, leading him to chuckle a little. He reached down to his Build Phone, calling Ruby up. "Hehe, you guys… I'm guessing the mission went well?"

"You betcha!" the Hooded Huntress answered. "Now let's wrap it up!"

As the Ravager flew straight into the Undertown Markets, it let out another deafening screech, which sent all of the alien citizens into a panic. People went running every which way in an attempt to get away from the Grimm, but the winged beast swooped down once it spotted a helpless little alien boy with green skin and three eyes. It opened its maw to scoop him up… but that proved futile as something ended up lassoing around it instead. An energy tether shot out from under the Griffon and made the Ravager pull upward, saving the boy at the last minute.

"Oh no, ya don't, ya rat with wings!" Zak taunted from within the ship. "You're not goin' anywhere!"

From the Griffon's drop hatch, Doyle and Qrow both exited and leapt down on top of the wrangled beast, blasting it repeatedly in an attempt subdue it. "Agh! Damn, this thing is tough AND ugly." Doyle quipped, noting the boney armor that didn't break easily.

"Welcome to dealin' with Grimm." Qrow said as he shifted Harbinger into its sword mode and went to stab it into the beast's eye.

But if anything, it only made things worse. The Ravager, seeing the plunging blade, lurched backward and threw the two off. It flapped its mighty wings and took to the air again, wrenching itself so hard in one direction that it managed to escape the Griffon's tether, making the ship veer off. "WOOOAAAHH! Mayday, mayday!" Ruby cried out as everyone held onto something inside the ship.

"Hold on!" Doc wrestled with the controls, steadying the ship out until it was level and they landed in the middle of the now abandoned marketplace.

Still, the Ravager was on the loose… though that wouldn't remain the case for long. While not MUCH damage had been done, Qrow and Doyle had done just enough for the beast to be a little shaky in the air, which allowed Build to catch up with it. He pulled out the HawkGatlinger and began spinning the chamber, charging it up for his final attack;

TEN! TWENTY! THIRTY! FORTY! FIFTY!

From the HawkGatlinger, its spherical hard light forcefield projected outward, encompassing the Ravager and stopping it midflight. The beast let out a cry and spun back around, intent on devouring the little annoyance that stood in its path of terror... only to be met with one of Penny's Mechano-Crushers straight to the head. And still, Cooper kept spinning the chamber…

SIXTY! SEVENTY! EIGHTY! NINETY!

ONE HUNDRED!

FULL BULLET!

"HAH!" Thrusting his arm outward, Cooper unleashed a hailstorm of energy bullets, which quickly took the form of tiny bird shapes that flew around the entire radius of the force field. And, in turn, all one hundred of them began to divebomb the Ravager, while Penny joined in by bringing out several Floating Array blades from her back and sending them out to do even more damage. In quick succession, the Grimm's wings were blown out, its body was eviscerated and finally, its head was left shredded to bits. With one last feeble screech, the Ravager fell out of the sky before entirely disappearing into a cloud of black smoke, assuring Build of their triumph.

As he and Penny landed, the Rider reached a hand up to his left antenna, running his finger along the bird wing. "The winning formula… has been executed." The sound of cheering alerted him to his team approaching from down the street, and the Griffon coming in from above made him crane his head up to see Ruby waving down at him from the inside. She gave him a big thumbs up, which he returned in kind. "All in all, a fine day's work."

…..

About twenty minutes later, once everyone had completely regrouped, they made their way back to Plumber HQ, landing the Griffon in the hangar bay before making their way toward the elevator to meet with Six and Raven. As they did, Ruby stepped next to Charmcaster, giving her a little nudge on the arm. "Thanks for coming to help again, Hope. We appreciate it."

"Oh, it's no trouble at all." the sorceress assured, giving a wicked smirk. "Anything to put that little wench, Cinder, in her place."

"Heh, man… you certainly have it out for her, don't ya?" Jaune asked, nudging his head toward Pyrrha. "Almost as much as we do, I think."

Hope chuckled a little at his comment. "Hmhm, well, I just like seeing her squirm. It's kinda fun AND easy to tease her." She shook her head to get back on topic. "But hey, how about you, huh? Not only rescuing THIS magnificent beast…" She gestured to the unicorn before shifting focus to the Ceryneian Hind. "But doing so with the blessing of the goddess Artemis herself! Pyrrha, you're certainly on a roll."

"Ah, it's no big deal, really." Pyrrha shrugged. "I'm just doing what any hero would. I have to set a good example while Ben is away, don't I? The gods are watching, after all."

Cooper strolled up behind her and interjected on her point. "Yeah, about that… how are you not freaking out more that Artemis asked YOU specifically to do this?"

Coco came up and nudged the redhead on the shoulder. "Yeah, c'mon P-Money, ya gotta be pretty hyped that you're the one being asked to take care of some godly business, right?"

"Well… it IS a very high honor, to be sure." The Invincible Girl conceded. "But still, I can't help but feel a little nervous about all of this." She stopped just before the elevator, prompting everyone to do the same as they listened to her. "I mean… these are gods, you know? Actual gods who've asked me to undertake various trials and tribulations. I know I am seen as a champion in Remnant, but… this is on a WHOLE other level."

There was a brief pause, many of them unsure of what to say… that is, until Jaune came forward and rested his arm across Pyrrha's shoulders. "Pyr, I get where you're coming from. Trust me, if I were in your shoes, I'd probably crack under pressure."

"You give yourself far too little credit, Jaune."

"Maybe, but so are you right now." The blonde knight beamed to his champion girlfriend, which despite her uncertainty, got her to smile as well. "Pyr, what you've been able to accomplish is something that only few mortals can probably do. And if you've already passed four of these twelve labors, then I'm sure you'll be able to handle the rest." He gestured to the rest of the Omni-Hunters and the Saturday family. "Especially since we'll be here to give you all of our support."

Blake nodded along with the others at Jaune's statement. "He's right. We've got your back, Pyrrha. ALL of us."

"Oh… thank you, everyone." Pyrrha bowed gratefully. "I will not take your trust in me for granted, that I can promise you."

Seeing the comradery on display, Kenny couldn't help but sigh and place his hands on his hips, all while the Cross-Z Dragon continued to hover over his head. "Hah, well, all's well that ends well, as they say. But uh, one thing, though…" The others shifted their attention over to him as he asked; "What DID you guys do with that dwarf star you snagged from the auction?"

His question took Cooper, Vados, Hope and Team CFVY aback, the group whirling back around to the others. "A DWARF STAR?!" they shouted in unison, with Cooper going straight to Ruby and grabbing her by the shoulders to shake her. "Ruby, why didn't you tell us this?! Do you have ANY idea what a dwarf star can do?!"

"I-I don't, but—"

"In the correct hands, a dwarf star has the potential to serve as a great energy source… but in the wrong hands, a lowlife would no doubt use it as a weapon." Vados interrupted, prompting Cooper to stop his shake-fest and leaving Ruby dazed. "If given the chance, I imagine that you would be able to significantly upgrade the Build Driver in some form or fashion, Cooper."

"EXACTLY!" Cooper thrust a finger into the air, leaving Ruby to slump down to the floor. "Which is why we must make SURE that something like this doesn't end up in enemy hands, especially Night Rogue's." He leaned down toward the dizzy Ruby Rose. "So, what'd you do with it, Ruby?"

But all Ruby could say was; "Aaahhb-ba-ba-baba…"

Cooper shook his head. "Didn't understand a word of that."

"I believe what she means to say is that I procured it." Penny explained with a small wink. "And worry not, I left it in the trust of a very good friend of ours. She said that she'd be here to drop it off as soon as she could!"

Neptune furrowed his brow, clearly confused. "Wait, "she"? Penny, who're you—"

*DING*

The conversation was interrupted when the elevator sounded off, and once the double doors opened, they revealed Raven, Six, Tetrax and Ironwood standing on the other side. "Ah, there you all are!" Raven beamed as they stepped off the platform, her focus squarely on Ruby. "When we informed of what was going on, we—BY THE GODS!" But her eyes were quickly drawn up when she saw the two sets of hooves belonging to the MASSIVE mythical creatures that stood with the teens, and of course, the guys all followed suit.

"What in the name of Oz?!" Ironwood exclaimed.

"Huh… well, there's somethin' ya don't see every day." Tetrax rubbed his head, taking things a bit more casually than the other two.

All the while, Six merely shook his head. "I've borne witness to the might of Thor and fought the Monkey King in a sparring match. At this point, I'm not surprised by anything anymore."

Winter, however, was more shocked by the fact that the general was there. "G-General Ironwood, sir!" She stood at attention and saluted her superior. "This… this is unexpected! What brings you to Earth, sir?"

"Well, I WAS here on a short leave." James explained. "Glynda recommended I go somewhere for a few days to relax my mind, but…" He shook his head as he continued staring at the unicorn. "My mind is FAR from calm seeing this."

"Hehe, h-hi Raven!" Ruby waved sheepishly to her step-mom. "You will NOT believe the day we just had."

Raven placed a hand to her forehead, trying to comprehend what she was seeing. "Ruby, dear… what are these?"

"Oh, ya know, just a unicorn and a giant deer belonging to a Greek Goddess." Ruby answered nonchalantly before pointing to Pyrrha. "Artemis entrusted it to Pyrrha so that she could actually rescue the unicorn."

"…Uh-huh. A-And I suppose that was what the incident report in Undertown was about?"

Qrow came forward to try and calmly explain what was going on. "Hah, Rae, you definitely missed out on a lot." He jerked a thumb to the horned horse. "So, turns out, this thing was bein' sold at an auction in Undertown, but the commotion we responded to was all surrounding that guy over there." He pointed over to Doyle, who gave a sheepish wave.

Processing the information, Raven blinked a couple times before glancing to her brother. "…And he is?"

The mohawked repo man took it upon himself for introductions. "A-Ahem, Doyle Blackwell. Former mercenary-turned-repo man." He extended his hand to shake Raven's. "A pleasure to meet you, ma'am. I take it that you're Qrow's sister."

"I am…" Raven steadily shook Doyle's hand, feeling a strange sense of familiarity. "Doyle… why have I heard that name before?"

"Hehe, you probably heard my son mention him a couple times, Raven." Drew explained as she leaned her arm against her brother's shoulder. "Because allow me to introduce you to… my little brother."

All at once, everything clicked in Raven's mind. "Ah! So you're the famous Uncle Doyle. Hah, Zak's done nothing but sing your praises since your care package arrived."

Doyle eyed his nephew, who moved his gaze away nervously. "Hah, well, glad that my reputation precedes me." It was only then that he noticed that Ironwood was still gawking at the hooved beasts, leading Doyle to call out; "Yo, Silver Sideburns, you still with us?"

That managed to jar James out of his stupor, the man clearing his throat to try and get away from the awkward moment. "Ahem, um, yes, my apologies. I just wasn't expecting… all of this." He put on a smile as he approached the Saturday family. "But while we're doing introductions, I realized that I never introduced myself to you people when I first got here. My name is James Ironwood, General of the Atlesian Army." He bowed his head respectfully. "And you're the Saturday family, correct?"

"That's right." Doc took James' hand and shook it. "A pleasure to meet you, General. I'm Doc Saturday. And this is my wife, Drew, my son, Zak, and my brother-in-law, Doyle."

"So I see." Once the shake ended, Ironwood gave a nod to them. "Well, it's very nice to meet you, too. The Omni-Hunters have already filled me in on your exploits."

"Yeah, and Ruby and the others have told us a lot about you, too." Zak saluted.

Ironwood chuckled and reciprocated the gesture. "Hah, well, I'm certainly glad about that. Makes things a bit easier for me." His eyes eventually found the beasts again, which led him to inquire; "So… I'm guessing that THIS is part of your job, too?"

"Oh, you betcha." Drew confirmed. "When it comes to preserving Cryptids, seeing stuff like this just comes with the territory."

"Fascinating… and here I thought the dwarf star was impressive enough…"

All at once, the teens did a doubletake hearing what Ironwood said. "H-Hold on, what?" Cooper piped up. "You're saying that the dwarf star's already here?"

"Ah, yes! That's actually the whole reason we came down." Tetrax explained as he heard the elevator coming back down again, prompting him to sidestep out of the way as its doors opened. "To that end, you all have a visitor."

On the other side, most of the Omni-Hunters were left completely surprised when, on the other side of the elevator doors, was none other than Swift. The Aerophibian girl was still in her store uniform, the magenta and yellow stripes making for a jarring contrast to her blood red skin and black hair. And, slung under her arm, was the dwarf star itself, which she lifted up to show off. "Last delivery of the day, people! Now who the heck ordered the dwarf star?" she asked with a smirk.

Ilia was left smiling from ear to ear as she rushed her way up to the front of the pack. "Swift! You're the one who Penny trusted with it?!"

Swift's grin became softer as she drew closer to her girlfriend as well. "Hey, babe! Yep, she sure did. I was running some deliveries for Mr. Baumann in Undertown today when, wouldn't ya know it…" She nudged her chin toward Penny, who waved back brightly. "…this one decided it'd be a good time to charge in with a freaking stampede of bad guys behind her. Once we gave 'em the slip, she asked me to bring this baby back to base as discreetly as possible."

"Thank you once again for doing so, Swift!" Penny beamed.

"Yeah, we owe you BIG time." Ruby affirmed.

As Swift passed the dwarf star to her girlfriend, she remarked; "Heh, damn right. 'Cause lemme tell ya, it ain't coming from my paycheck—" *smooch* However, the Aerophibian hybrid was cut off when Ilja came up and kissed her on the cheek, which changed her tune. "…On second thought, you owe me significantly less now." A small round of laughter echoed through the hangar bay before Swift settled her gaze upon the unicorn and Ceryneian Hind. "So… I'm guessing that THIS is what Penny meant when she said you were rescuing magical creatures, huh?"

"Well, we rescued one of them." Blake clarified. "The deer is on loan to Pyrrha."

"Ah, gotcha." Swift nodded before tilting her head toward the Invincible Girl. "Penny did mention something about a goddess, right?"

Pyrrha gave a single nod. "Correct, Artemis, to be precise. And we should really be getting back to Gwen's house so that we can return both of these to her—" *FLASH* "AH!" Without wany warning, a blinding silver light suddenly erupted from the middle of the hangar bay, forcing everyone to look away.

Once the light died down, however, they were met with the sight of a certain young girl in white robes and silver ornaments standing before them, her quiver and bow the most prominent of her accessories. "No need, dear girl." Artemis assured. "I am more than happy to come to you."

A collective gasp went through the crowd as Pyrrha hurriedly went to bow before the goddess. "L-Lady Artemis! I-I'm sorry if I kept you waiting, I—"

"Pyrrha, dear, calm yourself." Artemis smiled softly as she approached, the Ceryneian Hind walking its way over to join her. "I have been patiently waiting for you to succeed in your mission, and to see that you have makes me quite relieved." She craned her head up to her deer, stroking its neck tenderly. "And thank you for accompanying them, old friend. I appreciate it." The Hind let out a chuff and bobbed its head.

"Woah… so you're THE Artemis?" Neptune asked. "As in one of THE twelve Olympian Gods?"

The blonde girl nodded to him. "Indeed, and you must be Neptune. My uncle has been keeping a close eye on you as of late."

All at once, the blue-haired boy's smile turned sheepish. "Ah, ha… I-I mean, of course! He spoke with me personally a little while ago… er, well, maybe not in PERSON, but definitely in my mind."

"Hm." Artemis hummed knowingly. "I see. Well, I'm certain you will get a chance to meet him personally soon enough." Her attention was directed to the rest of the team. "As will the rest of you as well, I'm sure, once my father deems you worthy of visiting Olympus, that is."

"Your father?" Ilia questioned.

"Zeus." Hope elaborated. "The ruler of Olympus and king of all the Greek Gods. Mortals may only enter his halls if he allows it."

Artemis confirmed her statement. "Precisely. Though I doubt it will be much longer until that happens. Your team has proven to be quite prolific in defeating the mortal world, so I'm sure that he will welcome you into Olympus at some point." She bowed her head to them. "But until then, I am at least very grateful to all of you for aiding Pyrrha in her mission." She briefly glanced over to Jaune. "And I do mean ALL of you." The blonde knight smiled knowingly, bowing his head in appreciation.

Meanwhile, Ruby bashfully put a hand to her neck and laughed. "Haha, aw, it was nothing, really. Just doing our jobs as best as we can! That's what heroes do!"

It was only then, however, that Artemis took note of the Hooded Huntress' eye color, which gave her pause. "…You wouldn't happen to be Ruby Rose, would you?"

"Uh… yeah, that's me."

"And you have… silver eyes." Artemis pondered, approaching Ruby to get a closer inspection. "Fascinating."

Once she was close enough, Ruby could see that the goddess' eyes were the exact same color as hers, which again made her gasp. "AH! Y-You have silver eyes, too?!" She leaned forward intently, asking; "Your eyes wouldn't happen to ALSO be able to shoot Grimm-destroying light beams, do they?"

"Ah, hah… no, I'm afraid not, child." Artemis' answer made Ruby slump forward, clearly disappointed. "But I can definitely tell that you have an impeccable gift, young Ruby. Behind those eyes, I can sense a power just waiting to be tapped into. And I am quite certain that you can." She reached out and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I wish you luck, dear."

Despite her displeasure, Ruby did her best to smile in the face of adversity and accept Artemis' vote of confidence. "Thank you, Lady Artemis. I'll make sure to keep training."

Artemis' smile widened at that. "Hm, good girl. Now, I really must be off…" She looked to the unicorn and it approached her, giving a slight bow if its head in recognition. "This handsome lad must be brought back to his family. Thank you all again—"

"W-Wait!" Cooper exclaimed, taking the goddess by surprise. "Lady Artemis, before you go, there's one thing I'd like to ask."

"Hm? Oh, you…" Artemis raised her brow, her interest piqued. "I recognize you. You're that "Kamen Rider" hero that's been going around recently. The gods have taken a great interest in you and your skills."

Cooper blinked, clearly astonished. "Th-They have?" He got nudged in the side by Coco, seeing her and the rest of Team CFVY giving him supportive smiles. "Er, I-I mean… I'm honored by the recognition, your grace. I hope I have impressed the Gods of Olympus well."

The Goddess of the Hunt went back over to the blonde, intent on answering him. "So far, you have. But what is this question that you have?"

The genius cleared his throat, mustering the courage to make his query. "Yes, well… I was wondering—a-and if this is overstepping, then I understand—but…" He pointed over to the unicorn. "Would it be alright if I could have a single lock of the unicorn's mane?"

"…What?" Artemis had to admit, that was a new one. She exchanged a short glance with the equally shocked equine and her Hind before continuing. "I mean… what a strange request. Might I ask why you would like to have a lock of unicorn hair?"

"W-Well, because I think I'd be able to use it for my invention…" Cooper procured the Build Driver and showed it to the goddess, indicating the Fullbottle slots to her. "You see, I take aspects from organic and inorganic things and use those to create the suits and equipment that I use as Kamen Rider Build. And I think having the power of a unicorn to use would be of great use in our battle against evil."

Artemis contemplated his explanation, but before she could come to a decision… an unexpected voice entered the conversation. "You may." Artemis and the others did a double take as the unicorn's horn began to glow, its sights locked on to an astounded Cooper. "You may have a lock of my mane, warrior, as a personal thank you from myself."

The reaction from everyone was understandable; "HUUUUUHH?!"

"I-It… it's speaking." Winter uttered.

"You mean to tell me unicorns can TALK?!" Ruby exclaimed.

The unicorn smiled and confirmed it. "Of course. Our magic allows us to communicate through telepathy." He made sure to bow to Artemis again. "Forgive me if I have overstepped my bounds, goddess, but I believe that these fine young heroes deserve a grand reward for their efforts in rescuing me." Gradually, Artemis' smile reappeared and she gave a silent nod. "To that end… Pyrrha Nikos." The Invincible Girl was startled as he called to her. "You will be the one to take this reward. Just… be sure to not have it be cut in an awkward place."

"Uh, sure…" Pyrrha shakily replied as she took out Milo and went over to the equine, taking hold of a lock toward the very back of its mane and lobbing it off as cleanly as she could. "Alright, it's done."

"Very good. I hope you all make excellent use of it." The unicorn nudged Pyrrha with his muzzle. "And of course, thank you so much for rescuing me. Because of you, I will be able to see my mate and colt again."

Pyrrha beamed back and pat his head. "You're very welcome. Now go, your family is waiting for you."

At her behest, the unicorn rejoined Artemis as the goddess began to glow with a silver light. "Hm, well, now that that's been settled, I bid you all farewell. Heroes! May your feats of grandeur continue ever forward! So says a Goddess of Olympus!" In another blinding flash—which made everyone flinch again—Artemis and the mythical beasts were gone, leaving everyone to continue on their business.

Ironwood let out a breath he wasn't even aware he was holding. "Hah, well… that was certainly something. First time meeting a Goddess and I didn't even get a word in edgewise." A round of laughter followed, but the general was keen on learning what Cooper was going to do. "Yes, yes, very funny. But Cooper, you seemed pretty eager on getting that unicorn hair… and the dwarf star, too. What's brought this about?"

"Well, general…" Cooper reached into his pocket and pulled out his Plumber's badge, bringing up a holographic image. "THIS is what's up."

The projection showed a clear picture of Night Rogue with the Ministry, no doubt taken from their battle. Raven, Six, Tetrax and Ironwood were all visibly stunned by what they saw. "Is… is that a Kamen Rider?"

"And he's with the Ministry?" Ironwood sneered.

Winter nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so, sir. It's an unexpected move to be sure, but one that we probably should have seen coming."

"Though he's not a Kamen Rider, per se. More like a Kamen Warrior." Cooper elaborated. "But all the same, general…" Cooper scrolled to another image, this one of Yuma before he had transformed. "We've figured out who broke Kuromori out of prison."

His fists clenched at his sides, James grimaced at the sight. "Damn… Salem keeps adding more and more to her ranks."

"And now we've got an arms race going down between us as well." Cooper furthered. "Which is why I've got to put this unicorn hair and the dwarf star's energy to use." He moved the image back to that of Night Rogue, his eyes narrowing at the new threat before them. "Because if the Ministry can evolve their technology to make true Kamen Riders… there's no telling WHAT kind of twisted powers they'll be able to create."

…..

A/N: And there you have it! The conclusion of this little Earth-based story beat before heading back into space proper, and hoo boy, did quite a lot happen. The heroes have succeeded in rescuing the unicorn and Pyrrha has passed her trial, though Abbey DID end up getting away. Cooper and Team CFVY's fight with the Ministry went about as expected, complete with absurd amounts of destruction. And by the end, the gang were allowed to receive a lock of the unicorn's mane AND a dwarf star for their troubles. But how WILL Cooper integrate those things into his Rider System? Well, we'll just have to wait and see on that one, won't we?

I wanna keep this ending note short, but just a few more tidbits; more Fox and Neo interactions! Yeah, been a while since we saw some of these, haven't we? And hey, seems Neo's figured out how to communicate with Fox… in a sense. I mean, hey, I know it's not SAID that his ADA unit can translate sign language, but since it essentially functions as a pair of eyes in his ear, I'd assume that it potentially could. Either way, they're keeping their little friendship on the downlow as best as they can… no matter who has to get hurt in the process.

Also, just as an additional way to tie this back to Special Delivery (the Omniverse episode that the auction was based on), I decided to have SWIFT be the one to get the dwarf star back to base via her delivery route. I mean, why not, right? She's literally working FOR Mr. Baumann, after all. Thankfully it DIDN'T get mixed up with a goldfish this time, though.

Oh, and of course, the mention of MANY different Manzardill species that the Omnitrix now has, including a brief appearance from Riptide. Expect to see many Manzardills being used in the future, by the way. Again, all credit goes to The Ink Tank for these alien concepts.

But for now, though, NEXT TIME! We return back into space, and after our heroes' time on X'Nelli concludes, their final stop on their space vacation is the Tetramand homeworld of Khoros… for an intergalactic car show! …Yes, that's right. But once there, Kevin comes across a rather unpleasant sight from his past… and no, it ISN'T just Argit. Next Time; OTTO-Motives. …Also, is that Looma and Manny here too? This oughta be interesting… Thanks for reading, everybody, and I'll catch you all next time! And of course, as always, stay safe out there!