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)

112. What Happens Next?

A/N: And so, here we are. Hey there, everybody, and welcome back to Ben 10 RWBY, as well as the final update of 2024. Won't lie, this year has seen a lot of awesome progress with my stories, and I think next year will be much of the same. Though of course, in this story itself, the heroes are feeling pretty uncertain about what'll happen to them, hence the title of this chapter. Though I also see the title serving as a transition from one stage of this story to the next. Because let me tell you, there's gonna be some BIG developments happening in the next season, and I can't wait for you to see them. But on that note, let's get into it, eh? This is…

Chapter 111: What Happens Next?

…..

In the Land of Darkness, Salem stood outside her castle, both waiting expectantly and silently fuming at the day's transpiring events. To think, that little crab had snuck out of HER castle under her own nose. It was infuriating to think about, especially since he had slipped past every defense she had emplaced. And all because of a simple trick. She WOULD have been far more enraged… if the rest of the mission hadn't been a runaway success.

She and Eon had witnessed Red Son's success in unleashing his father upon the world once more, and while the Heavenly Staff was an unfortunate loss, they still had what they mainly came for. …Which was now falling into her domain at that very moment. From above, the portal that Eon had made to rescue the Demon Bull Family had dropped the four demons onto the ground in front of her castle. Though unexpectantly, there was also a massive fist accompanying them. The large arm pulled back and Neo came jumping in soon after, with Eon giving a taunting wave up to who Salem could only assume was Ben Tennyson before closing the portal entirely.

Beside her, Cinder, Albedo, Exo-Skull and Thunderhog all stared down toward the demons as they collected themselves. "…So, that's him." the Fall Maiden noted.

"Damn, he's HUGE." Hog muttered.

"And he's… purple?" Skull scratched his head. "Last I checked, bulls don't come in purple."

Salem glanced toward the rhino man and chided; "Don't be rude, Farkas. The Demon Bull King and his family are our guests, remember." The witch peered behind her, seeing Viktor waiting patiently. "Shall we?"

"Of course." The Transylian offered his hand and led her down the steps toward the very confused demon king.

DBK's eyes were darting around the land in shock and confusion. For some reason, the dark aura of this place was helping him replenish his energy much quicker than anticipated. Which, while not unwelcome, was leaving him very confounded. "W-What… what is this place?" he looked down to his wife, hoping for answers. "Dear, where have we been taken?"

"Hmhm, relax, hon." Iron Fan chuckled, placing a hand upon his chest. "This is where we'll be staying for the foreseeable. We are the most honored guests at this castle."

It was only at that moment did the Bull King notice the castle in question, his mouth falling open at its nightmarish splendor. The dark black stone stuck out amongst the eerie purple glow that the rest of the land provided, its highest peak appearing to pierce the sky as black clouds rolled past. Eventually DBK gave a wicked smile of approval. "Hm… excellent. You said that we but were guests here, though? Who owns such a magnificent place?"

"That would be me, Your Highness." Salem spoke up, bringing the demons' focus onto her and the other Ministry members as they approached. She, Viktor and the rest bowed respectfully in the king's presence. "My name is Salem, and please, allow me to welcome you to my humble abode, good sir."

"Hmm…" The Bull King took a couple of quick sniffs, quickly noticing the vague smell of dark magic. "You… are a witch."

"An incredible guess." Salem nodded. "I am indeed a witch."

Noticing the skeptical expression upon her husband, Iron Fan went up and took his hand, giving it a hard squeeze. "Sweetheart, we owe Miss Salem greatly." she said with a stern eye, his features twisting in surprise and slight pain. "She kindly lent us her immortal magic in order to free you from your prison."

Between her explanation and her firm tone, DBK wised up and recognized the witch's help. "A-Ahem, is that so?" he said, collecting his bearings before bowing to Salem in return. "Then I must extend my gratitude to you, Salem. Because of you, I can now take over this new modern world, and then dismantle the entire Celestial Court one by one…"

"I admire your ambition, Your Highness, though I must correct you; you are not on Earth anymore." Salem raised her hands to the world around her. "You are now in my realm on the world of Remnant."

The Bull King's face scrunched in confusion. "What now?"

Red Son chose this moment to speak up and clarify. "Ah, what she means, father, is that we are now on a world that is parallel to our own, one with many similarities, but quite different as well." He raised two fingers and brought them together. "In short; we're in an alternate dimension."

If anything, though, DBK only gave a frustrated snort as he rubbed his head. "Snrt… I really HAVE been asleep for too long. This is all so confusing…"

"Worry not, brother." Macaque said, placing a hand on the larger demon's arm. "Things will become clear in time. For now, though, we need to get you back to one-hundred percent." The dark-furred monkey's golden eyes went to his nephew. "And your son has just the way to do it."

"Oh-ho, yes, I certainly do!" Red Son rubbed his hands together, urging his father to join him. "Come, father! I think that you will be QUITE pleased with what I and my lab partner have—" But at that moment, a large Grimm hand suddenly sprouted out of the ground and blocked Red Son's way, making him stumble onto his rear. "G-GYAH! W-What is the meaning of this?!"

The other demons were equally astonished, with Iron Fan furrowing her brow toward Salem. "Yes, Salem, what is the meaning of this?"

She was met with a serious gaze from the witch, who instead focused on Red Son. "My apologies, Prince, but before you go in there, there is something important that you must know." The young demon raised a brow at her, only for a Seer Grimm to come floating by. Casting a spell upon the creature, Salem brought up what the dead Seer had witnessed hours before, showing Psychobos' escape to him. "…As you can see, your "lab partner" had no intentions of staying here. He bided his time, waiting for a perfect opportunity to escape… and he used one of your robots in order to do so."

Red Son's face fell in disbelief, his eyes twitching as he watched the footage over and over. Neo and Cinder were also left stunned, seeing their teammates get thrown up against the wall so violently by the exploding purple goo. "This… this must be fake—"

"My Seers are never wrong, Prince." Salem shook her head. "Psychobos is long gone. He has betrayed us."

"G…G-G… GRAAAAAHHH!" All at once, Red Son exploded into a violent outburst of fire, which Cinder had to keep at bay with her Maiden Powers. The young demon's hair, eyes and mouth all spewed incredibly hot flames as he cursed Psychobos' name. "That underclawed, two-timing, deceitful little BOTTOM FEEDER! The next time I see him, I'm going to COOK him with butter and a side of CLAM CHOWDER!"

The group could only watch as Red Son literally exploded in his anger, though while most merely stared in astonishment, his parents beamed with pride… well, at least one of them did. "Ah, he's just like you were when you were a young demon, honey." Iron Fan cooed as she wrapped her arms around Bull King's massive forearm.

DBK, while seeing the likeness, wasn't as impressed. "Hmph, maybe. But if he wishes to succeed, he needs to channel that anger into better uses than just spitting off flames everywhere." A slight grin appeared on his muzzle, however. "I will grant him points for the creative threat, though."

Cinder conquered with his thinking. "Creative, indeed. But, if you'll pardon us, Lady Salem…" Reaching out, the Fall Maiden grasped Neo's arm, taking the latter by surprise. "We would like to excuse ourselves so that we may check on the others."

"Permission granted, Cinder." Salem waved. "You may go."

On that note, the duo left, though the Bull King was still intrigued. He could sense an incredible power emanating from the girl in red and gold, prompting him to crane his head back toward Salem. "Who were those two, by the way? One of them was there when I was freed, while the other seems to have an impressive well of power within her."

"Ah, yes, they are part of my elite squadron of fighters." Salem explained. "The girl who excused herself is Cinder, my Fall Maiden. While the silent girl is Neopolitan, our resident master of disguise."

*FWOOM* "Hah… hah…" Red Son panted as his energy was expended, forcing him to kneel as he collected himself. "Hah… yes, and Neo was quite helpful in aiding to free you, father. She distracted Amaterasu by taking on my appearance while I went for the staff."

"Hm… I see." DBK's focus shifted back to the castle. "And their allies were hurt in the escape of this "Doctor Psychobos", you say?"

Salem pursed her lips with a disappointed sigh. "Yes, unfortunately. Though the fact that they were still recovering from previous injuries when it happened didn't help." She shook her head, moving back to the main topic she wished to discuss. "But more to the point; I believe that you and I could benefit greatly if we ally our forces with one another. Between your Demon Bull Army and my Ministry and Creatures of Grimm, we would be able to create an alliance which none would be able to withstand. What say you, your majesty?"

DBK narrowed his eyes, considering the idea. "Hmph, well, considering that you seem to be in conflict with the Monkey King himself, then I suppose that it would behoove me to agree…" He lowered his head toward the witch. "If I were to guess, your goal is to take over this Remnant world, correct?"

"Indeed, and you wish to rule over the Earth." Salem smirked knowingly. "And to be perfectly honest, I believe that we can bring about the mutually assured destruction of ALL our enemies."

"…And I am to assume that white and red giant that attempted to put us all into the ground is one of them?"

Hog and Skull both made sounds of disgust, while Albedo rolled his eyes as well. "Yes, you had the misfortune of being punched by Ben Tennyson, the Earth's modern-day champion." He extended his hand to the king. "And the giant—known as a To'kustar—is only one of his many forms that he can access through a device known as the Omnitrix, which allows its user to transform into several different types of extraterrestrial creatures."

At this, the Demon Bull King became increasingly intrigued. "Is that so? If that is the case, then I would like to learn more about this "Ben Tennyson". But first…" He approached the entrance of the castle… and immediately saw that he wouldn't fit. "…I need to make myself get through the front door." All of a sudden, the bull demon's eyes began to glow green… and his body was enveloped in the same light.

"Uh… what's he doin'?" Thunderhog questioned.

"I think he's… shrinking?" Exo-Skull deduced.

Just as the mutant described, the Demon Bull King was shrinking down in size, to about the same height as Viktor. But, even further, his form changed as well, which left nearly all of them stunned. The only ones who weren't surprised were the demons themselves, with Iron Fan wearing a rather… eager smile. "Oh, now this is the fun part…"

…..

Inside the castle itself, it hadn't taken long for Cinder and Neo to get to the medical bay, with the Fall Maiden knocking with great urgency. Neo could see the concern etched upon her features as her hand rapped against the door, but the silence spy reserved herself to only a knowing smile. Finally, after about ten seconds, a response came. "For the Gods' sake, what is it?!" Answering the door, Watts immediately became disappointed when he saw who it was. "Oh… it's you."

Cinder pursed her lips, souring at the sight of him. "Must we go through this song and dance NOW, Watts? Let me through, I need to see my team."

"Hmph, well at least you're getting straight to the point." Watts rolled his eyes and side-stepped out of her way. "Very well, but be warned; they've only JUST woken up, so they may not hold a conversation well—" *DINK* "AUGH!" The scientist staggered forward after a water bottle bounced against his head, making him spin around angrily. "Why you—"

"Dumbass, just let her IN." Rojo called from further in, which prompted Cinder and Neo to brush past Watts in an instant. It didn't take them long to find the redhead, who was laid up right next to Emerald. Subdora was there as well, no doubt giving them company. "…Hey, Cindy." the bounty hunter greeted, her eyes moving down in shame.

Cinder approached her bed, with Neo going over to Emerald's. "Rojo… are the two of you… well, I can see that you aren't exactly "okay", but…"

"We get it." Emerald assured with a weak wave and smile. "We're fine, thanks for asking."

Rojo, however, was a bit less happy at the moment. "Yeah, we'll be fine… at least physically." Balling her fist, she pounded it against the mattress in frustration. "But damn it, my pride's been wounded something fierce. I can't believe that walking, talking dinner plate just WALKED out of here! Next time I see him, I'm gonna—"

"Oh, believe me, Red Son already swore vengeance." Cinder interrupted. "Said he would eat him with clam chowder."

"Gah, dammit! I wanted to do that!"

Despite herself, Cinder couldn't help but snicker, though she tried to hold it back as best as she could. Which resulted in… "Snrkkt!" Needless to say, the amused snort caught all of the ladies off guard, and the Fall Maiden hastily pivoted to a different topic. "U-Uh, um… where is Mercury? I thought all of you had—"

"Present." Everyone raised their heads as a curtain in the middle of the room was pulled back, with Hazel being the one to do so. On the other side with him was Mercury, the silver-haired assassin grimacing in his bed. "…Be glad you weren't here for this, Cinder." he uttered in defeat. "Not our proudest moment."

"Yes, it was quite the mess to clean up as well." Subdora shuddered, remembering just how awful it was to clean up that good. "Eugh… I would not want to relieve such an unpleasant experience for the rest of my days."

Hazel approached the ladies with a serious countenance. "You didn't happen to see Psychobos while you were in that fight, did you?"

Both Cinder and Neo shook their heads. "No, regrettably, we did not." Her fist tightened with contempt. "But wherever he is, I hope that a healthy dose of karma comes his way…"

…..

"GAAAAHHH!"

Doctor Psychobos was both relieved and immensely alarmed when he saw his ride touch down from the sky. The relieved part of him was just glad that he could finally get off this dust ball and get AWAY from Salem. …The alarmed part of him was due to the craft not making a subtle landing in the least, and as a result, EVERYONE saw it touch down. And, by proxy, they saw him scuttling toward it. "GET OVER HERE, CRAB LEGS!" Nora bellowed as she charged straight toward the green, purple and gold ship on Titan's back. "Let me crack you open!"

"Psychobos!" Build shouted as he and Cross-Z drove on either side of the dragon on their motor cycles. "You're not getting away!"

"GRAH! Foolish amphibians!" the Cerebrocrustacean cried as he opened his carapace, using his electrokinesis to propel himself onboard the open craft. His landing was a rough one, rolling onto his back with a grunt. "OOF! Go, go, GO!"

"I'm goin', I'm goin'!" the female pilot of the small space ship assured. Once the back hatch had closed, the wings of the craft extended out and its boosters ignited, instantly bringing them into the air. Then, with another burst, they blasted off into the upper atmosphere in mere seconds… which plastered Psychobos to the back wall.

Down below, Titan came to a stop and Nora pouted in frustration, tossing her hammer to the ground. "Gah, dang it! First the Ministry get away, now THIS?"

Both Kenny and Cooper gave simultaneous groans, the duo finally taking their bottles out of their Drivers to transform back to normal. "Gah… this is just not our day." The former sighed.

"Don't worry, guys." Jaune said as he and the rest of the group caught up, bringing out his scroll. "I managed to get a pic of the spaceship before it took off. Whoever picked Psychobos up, we'll know as soon as we get back to base."

"Oh, we don't have to wait that long." Cooper assured, his eyes narrowing up toward the sky. "I already know exactly who that ship belongs to."

Gwen and Kevin both nodded as well. "Yeah… and it's probably not a good sign." The Anodite added. Just then, an Aurora Curtain opened up not far away from the team, and when no on came out, Gwen deduced; "Guess this is our ticket home."

Pyrrha and many others heaved a heavy breath as they made their way toward the portal. "Good. I've certainly had enough for one day…"

As the Omni-Hunters and their allies returned home, though, Psychobos was regaining his bearings within the small ship, scuttling his way up to the front. "Well, you were certainly—and I use the term loosely—c-c-cutting it close, my dear."

"Hey, I said I'd get ya outta there, and I did!" the pilot waved off, showing her white-gloved hand over her seat. "Never said I'd be subtle 'bout it, though. Ya shoulda warned me that ya had company."

"I SAID that I was in a tight situation!"

The pilot rolled her eyes and pressed a few buttons on the console, setting the craft to autopilot. "Ugh, whateva'. Now, question for ya… what exactly made ya reconsider our offa'?"

Psychobos cleared his throat and explained. "Ahem, well, let us just say that my previous employer was rather… short-sighted, and our goals did not perfectly align. She wished to take over the world and defeat Ben Tennyson, while of course, MY goal is to destroy Azmuth." His eyes narrowed in revulsion. "I WAS considering giving it a second try with her… but unfortunately, she had the GALL to ally with ALBEDO of all people."

"Albedo?" the girl questioned. "But don't you an' he both basically have the same idea? Tryin' to kill Azmuth an' all that?"

"Our goals are the same, yes…" Psychobos trembled as he seethed in spiteful hatred. "But I'll be d-d-damned if I even CONSIDER sharing the same team with a Galvan, even if he HAS taken human form." He scratched his smaller claw against his larger one. "And besides, let's just say that the dungeon she threw me is was—and I use the term loosely—less than ideal."

That only made the young pilot even more intrigued. "Ooh, this lady had a dungeon? Sounds kitschy. What's her deal?"

"Oh, she's an immortal witch from another dimension who wishes to conquer her world and the planet Earth."

"…Say what now?"

Psychobos raised his claws. "You heard me, and I have no reason to lie to you. It is quite the long story, if you have time to listen."

The girl seemed to ponder on that offer before making her decision. "…Maybe later, once we get to where we're goin'." She swiveled around in her chair, revealing herself in full to the Cerebrocrustacean. She wore what could only be described as a royal purple aviator's outfit, complete with a goggled helmet with twin straps on either side. In addition to her white gloves, she also wore a matching scarf and leggings, which contrasted with the rest of her outfit nicely.

But the most stand-out feature had to have been her face itself… because her complexion was a striking shade of emerald green. She didn't seem to have normal ears or hair, her nose being somewhat flat like a frog's. Her plump lips were a darker shade of green, the same of which could be said of the small spots on her cheeks and royal markings on her forehead. The sclarea of her eyes were yellow, which stuck out against her deep burgundy irises.

"The Incursean Invasion of Vilgaxia was an utter failure, so it's time we start pickin' up the pieces." The amphibious alien explained as she stood up out of her chair. "An' our next big target… is the same one your "witch" is lookin' to conquer, so we're gonna hafta' beat 'er to the punch." She pointed straight down to Psychobos, who took a step back. "An' just so we're clear; my father expects only the BEST results from you now that you've accepted our deal. Capiche?"

Psychobos bowed to the young Incursean woman. "Of course… Princess Attea."

…And that alone was all it took to set Attea off. Her lips curled into a snarl and she reached down, taking hold of Psychobos by the head and lifting him off the ground. He swung his crab legs uselessly as she got right into his whimpering face. "You listen 'ere an' you listen good, buster. That's General Attea! Princess, Scion and Teen Supreme of the deathless Incursean Emprie! Highest Commander of the celebrated Calaveras Legion! Know it. Remember it. An' don't screw it up! Ya GOT THAT?!"

The Cerebrocrustacean dutifully saluted. "Y-Yes, General Attea! Princess, Scion and Teen Supreme of the deathless Incursean Empire!"

"Good, I expect the full thing whenever you first address me." Attea let go of Psychobos, his body bouncing off the floor and into a chair. "Now strap in, I'm about to put this girl inta' hyper speed."

But the scientist didn't have to do anything as the seatbelts wrapped around his torso automatically, catching him by surprise. "Urk! Ugh… this is going to be a long and strange partnership…"

"Only if ya let it, crab legs." Attea smirked as she lowered her goggles over her face, flicking multiple switches in preparation. "Now hang on tight." Before he knew it, Psychobos felt his body press even harder against his seat as the ship blasted further into outer space, as Attea gave yell of exhilaration. "WOOO YEAH, BABY!"

"I'm beginning to wonder if I made a mistaaaaake!"

…..

Back in the Evernight Castle, Mercury could only give a heavy sigh at Cinder's wish. "Well, guess that's the best we can hope for at this point." Deciding to change the subject, he asked her about the mission instead. "By the way, how'd the rest of the mission go?"

Emerald perked up at the question, too. "Oh, yeah! Did you guys manage to free the Demon Bull King?"

The Maiden was about to answer, but then, another knock came at the door… and this one was a bit more forceful. "Gah, what now?!" Watts decried, irritably twisting the handle and swinging the door open. "Exo-Skull, I swear, how many times have I… had… to…" His chastising was cut short when he saw that it wasn't the rhino mutant in question. Rather, it was a very tall, well-built man… with no shirt on. He stood about nine feet, his broad chest and shoulders easily dwarfing Watts' smaller frame. His head was also slightly larger as well, to be in proportion with his impressive frame.

His features were what could only be described as "ruggedly handsome", with a jawline sharp enough to cut glass, a full black beard and mustache that was well trimmed, and shoulder-length, slicked-back hair that was tied in a ponytail that sat flat on the back of his neck. There were some features, however, that were clearly inhuman, namely his blood red eyes… and the pair of curved bull horns on his head, the right one with its tip shorn off.

…He also had purple, furry lower legs that were clearly more bovine than human, complete with a tail that swung freely from under his brown loincloth. Of course, this was the Demon Bull King. Partially transformed, but still clearly him. "…I believe there is your answer." Cinder said, jerking her thumb toward the transformed king.

"This… I was not expecting." Hazel admitted as the others stared in astonishment. "I thought he'd be more demonic and less…"

"Bobba…" Subdora squeaked out, only to smack her hand over her lips the moment that word left.

Before anyone could comment on that, though, DBK narrowed his eyes down at Watts. "I wish to pass, mortal. Stand aside."

Watts was not about to argue. He was pretty sure the king could pop his head like a melon. "Y-Yes, of course, your highness!" With a theatrical bow, Watts ushered the Bull King inside, allowing the demon to scan his gaze across the room. He saw Cinder and Neo, the duo lowering their heads in respect while urging the others to do the same. While it took a second for the stunned spectators to do so, they bowed as well.

"Sire." Cinder spoke first. "To what do we owe the unexpected visit?"

"A simple inspection, Fall Maiden." DBK explained, while his wife and son filed into the room behind him. "I wished to see exactly what your elite squadron was made of. Heads up, now." Upon his order, the mortals all raised their heads, allowing him to look them all in the eye. "I need names and ranks."

Rojo cleared her throat, going first. "N-Name's Rojo, sir. Bounty Hunter."

"Mercury, assassin."

"Emerald, expert thief."

"Subdora, master thief." Upon that comment, the green-haired girl and Merlinisapien shared a brief side-glare.

"And I am Hazel." Stepping forward, the large man put a hand over his chest and bowed once more to the even larger demon. "I am one of the team's main muscle, though I also consider myself somewhat of a tactician."

With a low hum, the Demon Bull King took the information in, regarding their specialties carefully. He then zeroed his gaze upon them to see their aura, and what he found was quite surprising. While none were as powerful as Cinder, he found that nearly all of them had a unique energy all their own. Mercury's aura glowed a bright yellow color, while Emerald's was a vibrant green. Rojo's was of a golden hue while Hazel's was sterling silver. And finally, Subdora was a cool blue… which contrasted with his son's burning red aura. "…Is something the matter, father?" Red Son asked.

Closing his eyes, the Bull King hummed again, coming to a conclusion. "I sense within many of you… potential. Potential that you seemed to have used before, but are unable to now in your current state." He opened the palm of his hand and concentrated, summoning three spheres of fiery purple energy.

"Uh, what're you—" Rojo didn't get to finish her question as the bull demon sent all of the spheres out at once, each one entering the mouths of her, Subdora, Emerald, Mercury and Hazel. Of course, none of them were expecting it, so they cried out in shock. "GYAH! What the hell, old man?!"

"Hak-hak! You could've at least given us a warning!" Mercury coughed, doubling over in bed.

A sneer appeared on DBK's bearded features. "I would suggest that you all be more grateful for what I've done rather than complain about the momentary pain. Your potential is now unlocked."

Iron Fan, however, was quite impressed by her husband's generosity. "Ooh, you unlocked their potential? How nice of you, dear!"

"Hak-hak… our potential?" Hazel rubbed his throat, which felt like it was burning up. "W-What do you mean?"

"That will be for you to discover." replied the Bull King. "I have only released the shackles of your potential. YOU will have to bring it forth properly." He turned back toward his son. "And as for you, boy, you have this same potential as they do, but you are already capable of bringing it forth. I suggest you train them how to do the same."

Red Son's eyebrows rose up in surprise. "I-I… you know about…"

Seeing the demon prince's nervousness, Emerald sat up and eyed him questioningly. "Red… is there something you'd like to share with the rest of the class?"

DBK shoved his son's shoulder. "Show them, boy! I wish to see the best from these warriors, and you will show them how. Am I clear?"

"Y-Yes, sir!" Red Son complied, though not without a small groan. 'There goes leaving this a surprise…' Eventually, he stepped into the middle of the room… and let out a loud scream as his entire form began to glow bright red. "GYAAAAAAHHH!" *CHOOM* In a brilliant explosion of wind and heat, Red Son had transformed… into his avianoid monster form, leaving the others stunned.

"…WHAT?!" Rojo exclaimed. "Dude, what the hell?! You can still change into your monster form?!"

The red and green-feathered demon nodded. "Indeed. I discovered that I could still do so not long after our return from Rome." He snapped his fingers, conjuring a multi-colored flame at his fingertips. "And what's more, because the medals are no longer within me, I do not feel the overwhelming compulsion of greed."

Cinder and Neo, for their part, went wide-eyed at the sight of him. "So… THIS is the power of the medals?"

"Hah… I've never seen anything like it." Watts ran a hand through his hair.

Subdora placed her hands on her hips with an accusatory glare at Red Son. "So you intended on keeping this a secret for HOW long, exactly?"

"Guh—I was just hoping to bring it out if ever I needed a trump card!" the demon prince insisted. "I never intended on keeping it secret for long, honest!"

"So…" Hazel's gaze shifted back to the Bull King. "If you mean to tell us that you "unlocked our potential", then does that mean that we can access OUR monster forms again as well?"

"Correct." DBK affirmed, coming forward to clasp a firm hand on Red Son's shoulder… with a noticeably tight squeeze. "And my son will gladly help you achieve these forms once again. Right, boy?"

Swallowing hard, the prince chuckled weakly, agreeing hastily. "O-Of course, father! Without question, I will do everything in my power to aid them."

"Good." Taking his hand away, the Demon Bull King went back toward the door, putting an arm around his wife's shoulders to lead her away with him. "Now that that's settled, come. I wish to see what the rest of this castle has to offer."

With a quick salute, Red Son transformed back into his normal form, rushing out after his family. Once the others were left alone, a short silence followed… only for Emerald to break it. "So, I think we can all agree…" she wore a sly grin as she said; "more like "Daddy Bull King", am I right?"

"That's what I'm SAYING, mama!" Subdora shouted, thrusting her arms up in agreement. "My heart belongs to Farkas and Farkas only, but MMM! The jawline on that man!"

The green-haired girl gave a slight chuckle as she scratched her cheek. "Heh, he IS a hell of a looker… though I was more focused on that chest, if I'm being honest."

"Oh, girl, one-hundred percent." Rojo agreed, with Neo vigorously nodding next to her. "I am now officially jealous of Princess Iron Fan." She tilted her head toward Cinder. "What do you think, Cindy?"

Placing a hand on her chin, Cinder had to admit… the demon king was easy on the eyes. "I will say, when it comes to housemates, he IS already a marked improvement over the likes of Fistrick and Bashmouth." But ultimately, she waved her hand. "But I don't find myself interested in ogling others, even if they are attractive."

Across the room, Mercury, Watts and Hazel were all markedly unimpressed by the conversation. Though the former found some hope in Cinder's statement. "Glad to hear that. Oh, and by the way, WE'RE RIGHT HERE!"

"Oh, uh, hehe… right. Sorry." Emerald apologized. "I just needed to get that off my chest."

"Well, just so long as none don't have to pry you off His Highness' chest, I suppose it's fine." Watts scoffed, earning him several glares from the ladies.

Hazel pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to stave off the oncoming headache. "Ugh, this is going to be an interesting new living situation, to be sure…"

…..

Out in the hallways of Evernight, Salem led the Demon Bull Family along, the witch intent on giving them the full tour just as promised. But even so, the witch had been surprised when the Bull King had requested to stop by the medical bay. She hadn't expected him to want to meet her followers so soon, but when she witnessed what he had done from the doorway, she now knew that having him around would be incredibly beneficial. If there were any chances of her combatants' improving with those monstrous forms of theirs—complete without any greedy thoughts—then she was not about to say no.

"I must say, Your Highness, your abilities are incredibly intriguing to me." Salem commented, peering up to the half-man, half-bull. "Not even I am capable of doing that, and my magic is incredibly ancient."

A slight smile pulled at DBK's lips as he answered; "That would be the result of Demon Magic, Miss Salem. An incredibly useful tool that I have benefitted from greatly over the centuries." He raised his hand, clenching his fingers into a soft fist. "Hmm… although, my energy has waned over the eons of my imprisonment."

"I was told that would be a likely side-effect." Salem nodded. "But worry not. The natural dark energies of my realm should help you along in your recovery."

As they passed by a window, DBK spared a glance outside, where he saw the Creatures of Grimm emerging from pools of inky black goo. "I will say, it IS an impressively malevolent land. Is all land in Remnant like this?"

Salem shook her head, her expression one of frustration. "Unfortunately, no. But I intend on making it so once I conquer it." Eventually, though, they slowed down when a certain pair of warriors came strolling toward them from the other end of the hall. "Ah, Yuma, Blood Stalk."

Upon being addressed, the duo stopped and bowed their heads in respect. "Lady Salem." Yuma addressed, notably still out of his Night Rogue suit.

"Ah, I was hoping that we'd come across you all!" Blood Stalk said with a more theatrical bow. Tilting his head up toward the Demon Bull King, he raised his arms to the practical giant of a man. "And YOU! You must be the famous DBK I've heard so much about! An honor, Your Highness, a well and true honor!"

"…And they would be?" DBK questioned without even addressing the cobra villain.

Red Son was glad to answer. "Ah, yes! Father, these two are my trusted volunteers who're handling my Transteam Gun system!" He extended his hands between the two. "That is Blood Stalk, and that is Yuma Kuromori—also known as Night Rogue."

Yuma's eyebrows rose at the reminder. "Oh, right. Nearly forgot…" He took out his Transteam Gun and inserted the Bat Lostbottle.

*CHK-WHRR*

BAT!

The funky music started and Yuma gave the gun a spin, bringing it down to his side before pulling the trigger. "Vaporize."

Mist-Match! Bat! Ba-Ba-Ba-Bat!

FIRE!

In a brilliant display of smoke and fire works, Yuma had transformed back into Night Rogue, stretching his arms to reacclimate himself to the suit. "Gah, there, that's better. Getting blown out of my transformation is the worst feeling, lemme tell ya."

"Hm… interesting." DBK commented. "And you created this technology, boy?"

"Er, well, I created this system." Red Son corrected. "The technology was pioneered by… someone else."

"That would be Kamen Rider Build." Blood Stalk tapped the side of his helmet. "The genius responsible for tipping the dominoes that brought US here in the first place." His attention went back to Salem. "And that actually brings me to why I'm here in the first place. Lady Salem, my mission was a success. The mole has been planted among the heroes. We should expect results soon."

Salem wore an insidious smile at the news. "Oh, excellent, Blood Stalk. I knew I could count on you to make this happen. Your Semblance has such a wonderful way of bending someone's mind to your will."

That made Blood Stalk chortle, his hand moving to his chin. "Hmhmhm, whether he knows it or not, our little grease monkey will soon make the heroes' lives a living hell."

"So, what comes next?" Night Rogue asked, only for his answer to literally pop in right next to him. "Gah!" Yuma doubled back as one of Eon's portals opened up, where the dimension hopper himself walked through. "Ugh! Mind giving a little warning whenever you do that?!"

"Hmph, best not to let your guard down with me around, young man." Eon rebuked, his hands behind his back as he approached Salem. He brought one hand over his chest as he addressed her. "Salem, I bring an important update. Khyber has retrieved his new hunting animal. Which means…"

The witch's eyes lit up. "The next step in our operation can soon commence. Does Albedo know?"

Once again, her inquiry was answered as Albedo himself emerged from the portal, also sporting an eager smile. "Indeed, I do. And I am quite excited. At long last, we will be rid of Ben Tennyson AND Azmuth." He clenched a fist as he stared Salem in the eye. "I can assure you, Salem, I will not fail you where that poor excuse of a Cerebrocrustacean did."

"I would hope not, Albedo, for our sakes… and yours." Despite her vague threat, she saw that Albedo was unflinching, which showed just how much confidence he had in this operation. "Hm… is there anything else that you need for your plan?"

"All I need is all hands on deck… and I DO mean all." The humanized Galvan sent her a knowing look. "I believe it's time we address what you showed me days ago."

Salem nodded in understanding. "I see… it's finally time." She craned her head back to DBK and his family. "If you'll excuse me for a moment, Your Highness, I have some business to attend to. Our tour will continue when I'm through."

Before she could walk away with Albedo, though, the Bull King raised a hand. "Wait. If there is something important at hand, I would like to know about it. After all, this IS a partnership, is it not?" He furrowed his brows at the witch. "Is this something you wish to keep secret from me?"

"Oh, not a secret." Salem shook her head. "I just assumed that something like this wouldn't be worth your time."

"With all due respect, Madame Salem, I have been sealed away for five hundred years." DBK reminded with a slight twitch of his eyebrow. "I am willing to do anything with my time if it means being able to move."

"…Fair enough. Follow me." Salem obliged, leading the group further into the castle. They took a nearby set of stairs up to a higher floor, where Salem turned down another hallway that was lined with multiple doors. "This is where the bedrooms are, by the way. I will show you where yours is once we're through here." Once the witch mentioned that, she approached one door in particular, twisting its knob without even knocking. "I must warn you, though… what you are about to see isn't for the faint of heart."

Iron Fan and the others weren't too perturbed, however. "We're demons, dear, we've seen our fair share of horrific sights."

With a single nod, Salem opened the door. "Very well. Come." Once she entered, the others followed suit… and were immediately met with the ghastly sight in question.

Laid out on the bed was… what they could only describe as a human-scorpion hybrid… that also happened to be a cyborg. Its right half was mostly made of natural armor that was a deep shade of brown, its arm sporting a retractable pincer that sat on its forearm to reveal a sharp-fingered hand. It had a "normal" pair of legs as well, with two-toed feet that were also clawed.

The cyborg enhancements, meanwhile, were almost exclusively on the left side of its body, with an entirely robotic left arm that had a permanent mechanical pincer. The left side of its face was mostly covered in titanium armor plating, complete with a big, red cybernetic eye that wasn't lit up at the moment. Finally, the last robotic aspect of the creature was its tail, which was large and multi-segmented, with a huge stinger that was filled with poison in a clear container.

"…Oh, that's unpleasant." Night Rogue commented. "Who or… what is this?"

"This… is Tyrian Callows." Salem answered.

That made Night Rogue and Blood Stalk do a double take. "…The serial killer?" the latter uttered. "Huh, guess that's where he went. Though he appears markedly different from his "Wanted" posters…"

Salem approached the bed, peering down at Tyrian's slumbering face. …It wasn't one of peaceful slumber, though. Just buy his agonized features, she could just tell that, whatever dreams he was experiencing during his coma, they were FAR from pleasant. "You can thank Dr. Animo for that." she said as her focus moved toward his cyborg parts. "As well as Watts for the cybernetic upgrades. He's slept for long enough, though…" She peered over to Albedo, the two sharing a nod. "…It's time for him to awaken."

Albedo activated his recently repaired Ultimatrix and transformed, taking the form of a Lemurian with red wings, bleach white skin and spikey black hair, wearing a black and red fur pelt. "Prrr, indeed." Negative Pesky Dust concurred as he flew over and took hold of Tyrian's head. "Though I can assure you… he will not be going gentle into this good morning."

"Do what you must." Salem waved, zeroing her gaze on her loyal cyborg scorpion monster. "He can take it."

For several minutes after, Salem's castle would be plagued with echoes of pained, agonizing screams, signaling the awakening of a mad man… turned monster.

…..

Back on Earth, the mood at Plumber HQ could only be described as "tense and somber". Of course, those who hadn't gone on the mission were thrilled to see everyone come back safe, especially the Saturdays. When they had heard what was going on, they were reasonably worried, especially since they had just missed Tsukasa when he had arrived to pick up the others. He and his family were on the Airship, having recounted the events of the battle to them in detail. "…Damn." Doyle commented. "Sounds like you all had one hell of a time."

"I'm just glad that none of you were seriously hurt!" Drew said as she hugged her son close, much to his chagrin. "The thought of you kids out there… we were scared out of our minds!"

The boy gave a sigh and gently wriggled out of her grasp, assuring her that everything was fine. "Mom, trust me, we had everything handled."

"Heh, says you."

Zak promptly snapped his head around and bit back at his mental roommate; "Will you shut up?!" He saw his mother with a stunned expression and quickly corrected himself. "Not you, mom! Him!"

"O-Oh, right." Drew muttered. "Still gotta get used to Kaz. But even so, it sounds to me like we DID have a reason to worry if what you said is true."

"Your mother's right, son." Doc insisted with a furrowed brow. "Between Argost and now the Demon Bull King, Salem's making some serious upgrades to her faction." He pointed a stern finger to Zak. "You're going to have to be MUCH more careful from now on."

The youngest member of the family wasn't too pleased to hear that. "What?! But dad—"

"Ah-ah, no "buts". Zak, as much as you don't want to admit it, you have to keep in mind that you're not as strong or as loaded out as the rest of the Omni-Hunters."

Zak tried to argue back. "But I can take a hit! Heck, I took a pretty big one today!"

Doc raised a brow to his son. "Maybe so, but can you hit just as hard back?" He reached down and placed a hand on Zak's shoulder. "Son, the reason I'm telling you this is because I'm concerned about you joining the team on more of these dangerous missions. If you are, I want you to promise that you won't shoot for anything above your weight class, okay? Leave the bigger villains to the ones that can handle them."

As much as Zak didn't want to admit it, his dad was right. Having felt the Demon Bull King's energy right there in person, he could tell that was something WAY out of his league. He suddenly felt something nuzzle against his hand, which brought his gaze down to see Smokey at his side. From there, Fiskerton, Komodo and Zon all gathered around him as well, expressing themselves through worried growls and whines. "Hah… okay, yeah. I get it, guys." Zak looked back to his father and nodded. "I promise, dad."

"Thank you, Zak." Doc smiled. "Believe me, if you had more than just Kur's Cryptid powers, I'd say go for it, but as it stands, your mother and I just want you to be safe."

While Zak accepted this, though, a certain voice in his head manifested outside of his body in that moment. "Ya know, this WOULD be a lot easier if ya just let me out." Kaz advised, his transparent form floating around his host. "You KNOW I'd be a big help with all this DEMON STRENGTH I've got goin' on!" The ghostly demon flexed his arms, puffing himself up for emphasis. "C'mon, give one of those magic girls a call an' let's get some work done!"

"Pfft, thanks for the offer, but no." Zak asserted, clearly unimpressed. "I already don't trust you as is, so what expects you to believe I'll let you out just like that?"

"'Coz without me, you WON'T get the gains to shoot above your weight class." Kaz said, crossing his arms arrogantly. "So, what's it gonna be—AH!" Zak promptly tugged on Kaz's tail and pulled him back into his body, dismissing the subject. "…Oh, alright, so THAT'S how it's gonna be. Fine, I'll just go ahead an' play pool by myself."

Zak could only roll his eyes, though his attention moved away from Kaz as he heard a set of footfalls come walking up the Airship's ramp. There, arriving with her signature bright smile, was none other than Ruby. "Hey, Saturdays! Hope I'm not interrupting."

"Oh, Ruby!" Drew beamed back. "Not at all, you're always welcome, sweetie. How're the others?"

"Well… they're still coming to grips with everything." the Hooded Huntress said as she took a seat with them. "Sun's down in Cooper's lab, hoping they can fix his weapon. Everyone else has just been debriefing everything to Max. And Ben…"

"Still asleep?" Zak guessed.

A grimace formed on the silver-eyed girl's features. "Not exactly. He napped for an hour, decided it wasn't enough, and now he's gone on another of his "enthusiastic walks" through the Hazard Chamber. …Luhley is NOT happy."

Running a hand through his hair, Zak sighed at the news. "Great… is he going through every alien he has like last time?"

"Nope. He's just been Rath the whole time."

"That doesn't sound healthy. We should probably go talk some sense into him." Zak got up from his seat and looked to his parents. "Hopefully this won't take long… fingers crossed."

Drew did just that and gave her son a hopeful smile. "Good luck trying to calm him down… from the sounds of it, Ben's taking this the hardest."

Across the room, Doyle gave a shrug as he pushed himself off the wall. "Eh, can't really blame 'im. Honestly, I'd be super pissed, too, if I were in his place." He stretched his arms up, loosening his limbs before taking up his jetpack. "Gah, welp, best of luck to ya, champ. I've gotta get rollin'."

Ruby did a doubletake at that, watching as Doyle strolled right past her with a salute while the rest of the family casually waved him off. "W-Wait, you're leaving? Just like that?"

"Yep, a new job's come my way, so I need to get there before anyone else snatches it up." Doyle sent her a thumbs up. "Gotta make a living somehow, right?"

"D-Don't you wanna at least say goodbye to everyone first?"

However, Zak shook his head. "Eh, Uncle Doyle's never been one for long goodbyes, Ruby. Not his style."

"Exactly." Doyle affirmed, only to see Ruby rather crestfallen. He gave her a quick pat on the shoulder and a wink. "But don't worry, I'll pop back over to visit again. And hey, make sure to tell Qrow that he and I still have to decide who's the better uncle."

At that, Ruby's gloomy face gave way to a determined smirk. "Ha! I can already tell you who's gonna win THAT bet."

"Yeah, well, you're biased, so you're disqualified from the judge's seat." The Hooded Huntress gave him a mock pout before he went over to Zak. "And kid, keep your head on straight. I know that it's occupied by another person right now, but make sure to stay sane."

"Eh, I'll try." Zak said as he hugged his uncle. "Not sure how much success I'll have with Kaz in there, though."

"…He's not the one I was referring to." Doyle whispered as he glanced toward Ruby, who was oblivious to the whole thing. A slight blush came to Zak's cheeks as his uncle pat him on the back. "Good luck, sport. Oh, and later on, make sure to swing by Ben's place. I left a little something for you guys there." Leaving Zak with that little nugget of information, Doyle hugged his sister goodbye. "And best of luck deciphering those Ishtar tablets, sis."

Drew let out a tired groan and rolled her eyes. "I'll need it, thanks. Ancient Sumerian language is one thing, but hidden maps are another."

Doc strolled up and extended his hand, which Doyle shook without hesitation. "We'll get it eventually. See you soon, Doyle."

With one last salute, Doyle said; "Peace, fam!" and walked out of the Airship, activating his jetpack to fly the rest of his way out of the Plumber hangar.

Once he left, Ruby and Zak eyed one another. "So… Ben?"

"Yeah, let's get him." With that, the duo were on their way, hopeful that the hero would be at least somewhat calm by now.

…..

Meanwhile, further in the base, Cooper was staring at what he could only describe as "a pile of scrap". Of course, one of his persona heroes was able to make a miracle out of a pile of scraps—on a cave no less—which he replicated with his Centurion project. However, this… would prove to be a lot more difficult. Sun's gun-chuck staff had been broken into more pieces than he knew what to do with. Of course, tech was still tech, so he could do SOMETHING with it… but he wasn't sure if he could give Sun the results he wanted.

"So… you can fix it, right?" asked the monkey boy, standing on the other side of the table with Blake, Winter, Weiss and Rex all present.

On the other side, Kenny, Caesar and Cooper himself were inspecting the shattered weapon… well, the latter two more so. Kenny was just hovering his head over the scientists' shoulders while peering down at the broken pile. "Er, in my professional opinion… hard to say." the redhead commented.

Sun deadpanned at him. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, man."

"H-Hey, I'm just calling it as it is." Kenny raised his hands defensively, receiving judgmental eyes from Cooper and Caesar.

"Hombre, leave this to the professionals, por favor." Caesar gently pushed Kenny away by the shoulder, giving him and Cooper more room to think. "In all seriousness, though, Sun… I will admit, it probably would never be the same again if we fixed it."

"Yeah, sorry, man." Cooper apologized as he picked up the two red and gold shotguns that hadn't been destroyed. "At most, we could make you another gun-chuck out of these two. Maybe modify 'em a bit with the parts that ARE intact, if you have any suggestions. Otherwise, if you'd want a full repair like it was, we'd have to go to Remnant."

Sun scratched his head with a despondent; "Ah, man! Hah, and this was a gift from my cousin…"

Rex's eyes widened at that. "You have a cousin?"

"Mmhm, her name is Starr." the blonde explained as he picked up a handful of broken pieces. "…She's basically the only family I have, which is why this weapon was so special to me."

"Oh, Sun…" Weiss' hand went to her chest. "I'm so sorry."

Blake tilted her head as a hopeful thought came to mind. "Hold on… does Starr live in Vacuo?"

Sun turned to her with an affirming nod. "Yeah, she still does. Even owns her own dojo there. Why do you ask?"

"Well, Ironwood told us that there's been a lot going on in Vacuo recently with those traffickers, remember?" The cat girl smiled up to him optimistically. "Maybe if we were to go there, she'd know where to go and get it fixed?"

"That… actually makes sense!" Sun beamed as his own hope returned. "Haha, Blake, you're a genius!" He went to spread his arms out… but then brought them back in, remembering the boundaries that were established recently. "Er, um… thanks."

"…You're welcome." Blake said, a twinge of sadness tugging on her heart. Even so, she mentally reinforced herself on the matter. 'This WILL be better for the both of you. Don't give in.' She took a deep breath and pointed to the weapon that was strapped to Sun's back. "In any case, until then, I guess you've got a few new things to learn with that stick right there."

Craning his head back, Sun reached behind him and pulled out the Heavenly Staff, running his hand across its black, iron shaft. In his hand, it felt perfectly balanced, but even so, he could tell that wielding this… didn't feel totally right to him. He felt like he hadn't truly earned it, that lifting it was a fluke. And yet, here he was, twirling it in his fingers like it was no problem at all. "…I guess so." he muttered. "But… how am I supposed to use it if I don't think I'm worthy of it?"

Just then, another voice interjected itself into the conversation. "Pilgrim, there's GOT to be a reason why you're able to lift it." Everyone turned their attention to the doorway where Wu Kong entered, with Zhu Bajie shuffling along side him. "If there wasn't we probably wouldn't have it here in the first place."

"He's right, boy." Bajie supported, pointing his rake at Sun. "Anyone else who would've tried might've dissolved into mush or burned their muscles into molten jelly. But neither has happened to you, so either Buddha's been watching you and he deems you worthy, you're immortal, or there's another reason we've yet to consider."

"Pretty sure we can rule the first two out." Sun rolled his eyes… only for his brain to start connecting the dots. And it all led back to what he had seen in his visions. "Hold on… you don't think this has anything to do with… me turning into that monster, do you?"

As everyone looked to one another in slight concern, Bajie was left inquisitive. "Monster? You?"

"Uh, yeah…" Wu Kong said awkwardly. "Pilgrim here had the genius idea to absorbed some cursed medals to get a last-minute powerup against some bad guys who did the same thing." He eyed his student, who lowered his head shamefully. "Nearly lost in mind in the process, too."

Bajie hummed, taking the information in. "Hmm, I see… well, it's not like we ALL haven't been monsters in the past." He thrust a finger up to Wu Kong. "After all, you once prided yourself on being a reckless monkey beast who rampaged through heaven and gained immortality five times over."

The celestial simian shot his porcine friend the stink eye. "Yeah, key word being "once"." He set his sights back to Sun. "I wanna make sure that my pupil doesn't follow directly in my footsteps, thanks, piglet."

"Yes, well… if a deviant such as I can achieve redemption in the eyes of Buddha, then perhaps he can as well." Bajie nudged his chin toward Sun. "I believe in you, boy, and I don't think the Heavenly Staff was mistaken in choosing its new handler."

His words gave Sun a bit of hope, his smile returning. "Heh, thanks, Bajie."

"Wait, back it up a bit…" Weiss interrupted, directing her sights down to Bajie with a raised brow. "You were a… "deviant", you said?" Her eyes narrowed at him. "Exactly what kind of deviant were you?"

"Uh—ahem, th-that is not something that I would prefer not to discuss." Bajie coughed into his hand, sheepishly glancing away as the others judged him skeptically. "Let's just say that I chased one too many goddesses back when I was part of the court."

That got a laugh out of Wu Kong. "Ha! Not just ANY goddess, but the moon goddess herself, Chang'e." He leaned down and poked Bajie on top of his head. "Ya know, the maiden who was sworn to her mortal husband, even though she could never be with him?"

A collective "ooh…" rang through the room as Bajie swung his arm to bat Wu Kong's hand away. "Gah, whatever! It's been millennia since that happened. We've moved past it, so let's not dig through old wounds, shall we?" Once more, he pointed to Sun. "What matters most NOW is you learning how that staff works, boy."

Lifting the iron pillar up, Sun inspected the fine craftsmanship of its handle. He had to admit, a part of him WAS excited to learn how to use it, even if he didn't feel totally worthy of it. "Yeah. I'm guessing it works a lot like how your staff works, right master?"

"Right you are, kid. But there's also a LOT more to it. Here, lemme see." Wu Kong put his Ruyi Jingu Bang back behind his ear and held out his hand, to which Sun handed him the Heavenly Staff. The moment it landed in his palm, the staff made itself slightly larger to fit the Monkey King's personal balance. Then, sure enough, he willed it to lengthen and shorten just by focusing his mind. "As you can see, we've got the standard growing and shrinking. But now here's where the fun begins…"

With a flick of his wrist, Wu Kong willed the staff to do something far more interesting. All at once, the pole became incredibly limp, almost as if it had changed to rubber while still being metal. Then, it reshaped itself around Wu Kong's forearm, morphing around his hand… until it became a large, black and gold metal glove that was in the shape of a giant fist.

Needless to say, nearly everyone's jaws dropped at the sight. "Woah! What the heck?!" Kenny exclaimed.

"H-How… how did it do that?" Winter stammered.

"Because unlike my staff, this weapon can become malleable." Wu Kong explained, thrusting his fist out and causing a small gust of wind to kick up. "And it can be reformed into any object the mind desires… within reason, of course. But, that's not all!" Wu Kong flicked his wrist again and returned it to its normal state, only to then smack the floor with it. Just then, that chunk of the floor began to glow and it shot up into the air, reforming in a golden light into… a tea cup.

He caught the cup in his hand, leaving the group astounded. "…It can create things out of other things?" Cooper uttered breathlessly.

Bajie couldn't help but laugh at the mortal's incredulousness. "Haha, impressive, is it not? I hear tell that the only limits are your imagination… within reason, of course."

"Yeah, ya can't just make, like, a "Beat Salem" button, for example." Wu Kong said as he handed the staff back to Sun. "Doesn't work that way."

The monkey boy gave a shrug. "Eh, knew it probably wouldn't be that easy. But still, that's freaking awesome! I can't wait to give it a try…" He started concentrating on the staff, focusing everything he had on it. "Alright, magic staff, let's try and make… a new pair of gunchu—AAAGH!" *SMASH* Everyone yelped and leapt back as the Heavenly Staff suddenly lengthened and sent Sun's head crashing through the ceiling, leaving his body dangling.

"Oh… I don't think it liked that." Wu Kong winced.

"Sun!" Blake called up. "Are you okay?!"

From up above, they heard him say; "Ash sh vuv, sh vuv sh hunna HAMAM nonna ma!" in a very out-of-it tone.

Rex scratched his head. "What'd you say?!"

*POP* "AUGH!" All of a sudden, Sun was pushed out from the hole by a hand and sent falling back down, though Cooper and Kenny quickly caught him as the staff shrunk back to normal size. Then, from the hole itself… Nora peaked her head down into the lab.

"He said "Ash sh vuv, sh vuv sh hunna HAMAM nonna ma"!" she repeated, with everyone giving her a deadpan stare. "…What? Sometimes it's just incoherent gibberish. Not that deep."

Blake rolled her eyes and placed her hands on her hips. "Nora, what're you even doing up there?"

"Oh, Sun's head left a hole in the floor where we were walking." The redhead answered casually with a snorting laugh. "Snrt—hehe, nearly stepped on his noggin." She stuck her arm through to jerk her thumb back. "Anyways, me and the others are headed out on the town for lunch and smoothies. You wanna come?"

"Eh… we'll catch up." Rex waved. "We've gotta get down to the Hazard Chamber soon and wrangle up a certain mad cat."

Nora immediately knew what they were talking about and waved down to them. "Oh, yeah. Well, good luck with that! Later, taters!" *POP* And just like that, the Pink Dynamo was gone, leaving the rest to confront the task that lied ahead; calming down Ben Tennyson.

"Well, we should probably get down there." Cooper resigned. "C'mon guys." He and Kenny began carting out the dazed Sun, followed by the rest.

Rex, however, paused a moment when he noticed his brother wasn't following. "You comin', bro?"

Caesar smiled and waved for him to keep going. "Ah, I'll have to take a pass, Rex. Still got a lot of work ahead of me here." He raised his data pad for emphasis. "Between analyzing all the data I collected from the battle, working on Sun's weapon, and a ton of other stuff, I've got a pretty full plate."

"Ah, gotcha. Well, we'll catch up later then."

"Aye. See you soon, mijo." On that note, Caesar was left by himself, taking a deep breath as he took stock of what was in front of him. He picked up the two shotguns that hadn't been destroyed, thinking of ways he could work on a temporary fix for them. 'Hm… I could add in a few upgrades while I'm at it—' That thought, however, was cut off when something else came to mind… though he wasn't sure how. It just… hit him right then and there. '…This isn't what you should be working on right now.' he shook his head and set the guns down, picking his data pad back up to instead move to the main console in the lab. 'There's more threats around than ever before now, so now's the time to expedite the next Driver model…'

After inputting some commands into the computer, Caesar brought up the blueprints for said model, which depicted a FAR different design than the current Build Driver. For one, there was only a single slot in the device's center, which was framed by a set of hydraulic clamps on either side. Beneath the slot was a small tube that ran up into a lopsided clear chamber on the right side that was topped with a big, red warning light. Then, on the left, was the lever for the clamp system, which was stylized to resemble a small wrench screwing a bolt.

At the bottom, the name of the device; "Sclash Driver", was on display, which Caesar locked his eyes on with determination. He wasn't sure where this sudden influx of motivation came from… though it seemed to come with an itch on the back of his neck that just wouldn't go away. Even so, he was ready to work on this new Driver… and get it done as soon as possible. "Alright… let's get to work, shall we?" he said, scratching his neck absentmindedly.

…..

Down below in the Hazard Chamber, things were… a mess, to say the least.

Ben had programmed in his usual run for when he needed to let off some steam… and then he cranked the difficulty ALL the way up. He needed some release, and going all out as Rath was just the way to do it. For the past twenty minutes now, he had done nothing but go on an unstoppable, Appoplexian rampage, downing robots, monsters, even constructs of some of his old enemies. But all the same, he kept coming back to repeatedly smash one face over and over again; Eon. And no matter how many times he did so, he didn't feel any better.

…Though that didn't stop him from trying. Even now, he was punching his way through a practical army of Eons, all of which were taken down in one punch. And each time one went down, another popped in. "LEMME TELL YA SOMETHIN', EON ARMY!" Rath roared to the heavens. "RATH DOESN'T CARE HOW MANY OF YOU THERE ARE!" Upon destroying another, in came a new Eon that was titanic in size, to which Rath thrust a finger up at it. "BECAUSE RATH IS JUST SICK AND TIRED OF YOUR SHIT—"

"Pause program!"

Just as the Appoplexian slammed his fist into another Eon, the clones all stopped in mid-run, much to his annoyance. "HEY! I WAS USING THAT!" He whirled around with clenched teeth, intent on digging into whoever had paused his run. …That plan quickly evaporated when he came eye-to-eye with a rather cross Yang Xiao Long.

"Ben. That's enough." While Rath held himself back enough to not give one of his eclectic threats, he still growled in frustration, which Yang didn't take lightly. "Oh, don't you growl at me! Are we gonna have a problem? Because I can give you a problem."

"…Lemme ask ya somethin', Yang Xiao Long." Rath brought his cadence down several notches as he pointed at his girlfriend. "How is it a crime for Rath to wanna let off some steam for half an hour? I ain't doin' anything wrong?"

Yang folded her arms over her chest as she raised a brow at him. "…Ben, it's been three hours." That information made Rath's eyes widen, and Yang gave an affirming nod. "Yeah, you've been Rath for a lot longer than you realize."

It was at that point that Rath's vision began to clear, his rage subsiding to reveal that… the Hazard Chamber had nearly been totaled again. The simulated city background had long given way and the huge, spherical room was in shambles. And to top it all off, Rath saw that it wasn't just him and Yang there. Ruby, Blake, Weiss, Zak, Sun, Rex, Gwen, Kevin, Winter, Kenny and Cooper were all there with them.

"Hmph, finally out of it, I see." Weiss said with a disapproving gaze.

Kevin could only shrug. "I'm just surprised that the Omnitrix hasn't run out of—"

*beep-beep-beep-beeeeeep*

*FLASH*

"Oh, spoke too soon."

In a flash of green light, Ben was forced back into his human form, but that didn't stop him from being incredibly grumpy. "Gah, man! And I was so close to finishing the thing!"

"Ben, stop it." Gwen asserted. "You know you'd be nowhere finished if you had stayed Rath." She saw him huff and turn away, clearly still unhappy. As a sigh passed her lips, Gwen's expression softened and she went up to try and help. "Ben… we all know what you're going through. Trust me, we're ALL upset at the fact that we couldn't stop the Ministry from freeing the Demon Bull King."

"Yeah, dude, you're not the only one who's upset about this." Zak agreed. "We all think it sucks, but—"

All of a sudden, Ben rounded about and pointed at them. "No! Stop right there! I know exactly what you guys are trying to do, trying to make me feel better and tell me it's all gonna be okay. But it's NOT, guys. It's NOT gonna all be okay. Don't you get it?!" He looked down to his hands, hanging his head in shame. "I'm a freaking FAILURE as this world's protector! I just let an evil demon king get unleashed on MY watch. Right when I think we got a leg up on the Ministry, they just bounce RIGHT BACK and lo and behold, our bad luck streak is back in full force! I don't deserve to be called this world's "champion", let alone "hero"! Who knows?! Maybe Harangue had a point all alo—"

*SMACK*

"GAH!" Ben recoiled as a hard, stinging pain spread across his face.

…Courtasy of his girlfriend's palm. "Benjamin Kirby Tennyson, SHUT UP!" She thrust a finger directly into his chest, making sure she got her point across. "I will NOT stand here and listen to you belittle yourself over one. Single. Mistake."

"But Yang—"

"NO "buts"!" Yang swiped her finger in front of him. "I don't care what you say about yourself, you are NOT a failure. You're the bravest, most selfless, most kind-hearted people I've ever met." Just then, she changed things up entirely… and pulled him into a hug, burying herself in his chest. "…You're also the person I love most in this world. Even though you don't think so, you ARE worthy of being called a hero, Ben. …And don't you forget it."

Even from just her muffled tones, Ben could hear that she was getting choked up. He pulled back, and sure enough, there were tear tracks running down her cheeks. "…Y-Yang, I…"

"Please… don't say Harangue is right." The Blonde Brawler choked out desperately. "That's the last thing that I ever want to hear from you."

Ben's heart sank into his shoes. What was he thinking? "Yang, I… I am so sorry." He pulled her in close again, hugging her with all his might. "I'm sorry that I said that. Hell, I'm sorry for even considering it in the first place."

"Snf… it's okay. I'm not angry at you, Green Boy. I'm just worried about you."

"We ALL are, Ben." Blake affirmed, with many of the group nodding in unison. "And we want to do whatever we can to help."

Ben's lips tightened as he scanned his gaze across the group. He was glad to have their support, for sure… but he wasn't certain if they could help him much with what he was facing. "Thank you, guys. Really, it means a lot, but… it's just…"

"You find yourself at a crossroads, Ben Tennyson." At that moment, someone else spoke up from the side, which caught everyone's attention. An Aurora Curtain had materialized within the Hazard Chamber, and there, standing before them, was Tsukasa. "And neither of the paths are clear to you."

Ruby, Zak, Cooper and Kenny all brightened up at his presence. "Kadoya-san!" Ruby chirped.

Though the Omnitrix bearer furrowed his brow in confusion. "Decade? What're you talking about?"

Tsukasa raised a finger at him. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, Ben. As someone who can travel through worlds, I've seen all of the things you've been able to accomplish, across several different timelines. I've seen what you can do with your level of power." Ben's eyes widened slightly before Tsukasa continued. "And I also know… that it frightens you to go all out with this power you have. Because you're scared that you may go over the edge."

The group, aside from Gwen and Kevin, all looked at Ben with slight surprise. "…Ben, is that true?" Winter asked.

"…Yes." Ben hung his head low as he gripped the Omnitrix. "Guys, this is the single most powerful device in the universe. And if I go all out, I… even I'm not sure how much damage I could cause.

The young hero trailed off, which prompted Tsukasa to step up to him. "But the damage isn't the issue… at least not the collateral damage." The Rider pointed at his chest. "You're afraid of going off the deep end. You keep telling yourself that you'll stop holding back, but you only ever do so just a slight bit. Because you know that truly unleashing your full power is something that no villain would ever be prepared for." Tsukasa slipped his hand back into his pocket. "And because of that, you're afraid of going past the point of no return."

"…You're afraid that you'll start killing indiscriminately?" Sun asked in concern.

"Not exactly." Ben shook his head. "I'm… afraid that I'd kill the wrong people. These aliens in my watch, some of them have powers that'd be catastrophic if I unleashed them all at once. NRG? A walking nuclear reactor. Gutrot? A smelting pot of chemicals that could melt through an entire town if I'm not careful. And Way Big is literally a planet buster." He took a deep breath as one other alien came to mind. "And then… there's Alien X. If I were to get full control of him… I would be able to literally reshape the universe to my will." He rubbed his shoulder uncomfortably. "That thought scares me most of all, honestly."

"You'd basically be a god…" Blake contemplated with a deep breath. "Honestly, yeah, I can see how that'd scare you."

Ben hummed affirmably. "Yeah… I mean, heck, I almost went too far when I wielded Ascalon, too… and I don't want to risk that again."

Yang, however, reached up and took hold of her boyfriend's wrist. "But that's not gonna happen! Not if I have anything to say about it." She managed to bring Ben's attention back down to her. "Green Boy, I know that you're afraid of going all out, but you've gotta know that we're not about to let you lose yourself."

Kevin and the others all nodded at her statement. "Exactly. Listen, dude, Salem's got herself some pretty heavy hitters now. If we wanna actually do some big damage to her, we've gotta put everything we've got into what we have going forward."

"Exactly." Cooper voiced as well. "Heck, I'm already starting on getting my first upgrade for the Build System going."

"And I'm going to be researching more powerful spells with Charmcaster." Gwen added. "Hopefully one of them can provide a more permanent seal for the Demon Bull King…" She reached up and placed her hand upon his shoulder. "We're not saying that you should unleash EVERYTHING you have all at once, Ben, but we all know that Salem's not pulling her punches."

Ben sighed and glanced down to his watch hesitantly. "Yeah, I do know that. But still…"

"But no matter how you decide to handle things with the Omnitrix going forward…" Yang went on as she reached down and laced her fingers with her boyfriend's hand. "…Don't think that you have to go it alone."

"She has a point, Ben." Tsukasa said, nudging his chin at the team. "You may think that this is a burden that you have to carry on your own, but you have a pretty solid group of friends to help you out. Trust me, I know that's a pretty great thing to have."

Slowly but surely, Ben eventually managed a small smile. He definitely wasn't certain where to go from here, but he DID know that the Rider and his girlfriend both had a point. "…Hah, yeah. You guys are right." He leaned his head down, pressing his forehead against Yang's. "Thanks, Goldie Locks. …And I'm sorry for making you worry."

Yang tilted her head up and pecked Ben on the lips. "It's alright. I probably should've expected that, getting in a relationship with you." She gave him a reassuring wink. "But hey, I'm a "ride or die" kinda gal, so you can count on me to keep riding with you. And that's a promise."

"And I am SO glad for that." The couple went in for a slightly longer kiss before Ben addressed Tsukasa. "And thank you, too, Kadoya-san, for the wise words."

"You're welcome." Tsukasa returned… before dropping the big news. "I only wish I could stay longer."

At that, everyone's eyes widened. "H-Hold on, what?!" Zak exclaimed. "You're leaving, too?"

"B-But why?!" Ruby exclaimed. "You just got here!"

"Eh… more accurately, I've been in your world for about two weeks now." Tsukasa said with a shrug. "I'm not exactly known for staying in one place for too long. Besides, I have others that I need to get back to."

Upon hearing that, Ruby's features softened in understanding. "Oh… I didn't even think about that. I just thought you were…"

"A constant world traveler, like your friend Paradox?" That made everyone do a doubletake, which made Tsukasa laugh. "Haha, yes, I know ALL about him. And I know about Eon, too." He gave Ben a final nod. "And don't worry, I'm going to search for ways to take him out of the equation. Maybe then, the villains won't have as many sneaky getaways." He extended his hand to Ben. "It's been an honor to fight by your side. And that goes for ALL of you."

"The honor's been all ours, Kadoya-san." Ben said as he shook the Rider's hand.

Next, Tsukasa shook Cooper and Kenny's hands, which the duo were thrilled about. "Understatement of the millennium." the former stated. "Learning that Riders ACTUALLY exist somewhere out in the universe was a real eye-opener."

That got a laugh out of Tsukasa. "Ha, I'm sure it was. …Speaking of which, though, take care in case other Riders end up popping in every now and again. I'm not the only one who can travel between worlds, you know." He pursed his lips as another thought occurred to him. "Oh, and to further that; if you come across four dummies in a time traveling train… try not to interact with them. For your own sanity."

Most of the Omni-Hunters were left confused, but Zak, Cooper and Kenny all knew exactly what he was talking about. "Eh, we'll try." Zak shrugged. "Though knowing their luck, they'd probably get caught up in on of OUR misadventures."

"Hah… fair enough." Tsukasa shrugged. "But anyways, I'd better get going."

"Will we see you again?" Rex asked.

"Oh, definitely. After all, I'm—"

But before he could say anything, Kenny piped up as he and Cooper stared at the Rider hopefully. "Oh! Wait, wait, could you say it in Japanese? Please?"

Despite himself, Tsukasa grinned and gave a small chuckle, before then giving the boys what they wanted; "Hehe… Tōrisugari no Kamen Raidā da." Just then, his Aurora Curtain appeared behind him and he gave a salute. "Oboete oke." As Tsukasa stepped through the portal, the team could hear the DecaDriver activate, and in a flash, they saw him transform into Decade before he disappeared, leaving their world with a wave.

"…That dude is one of the coolest heroes I've ever met." Ben stated, which everyone gave a collective agreement on. However, that's when he realized something else. "Wait, Zak, what did you mean by he was "leaving too"? Did someone else leave?"

"Oh, yeah, my uncle's flown the coop for a bit." Zak said casually. "He's got another job that he's gotta run."

The news made Weiss roll her eyes. "Psh, talk about rude, not saying goodbye to everyone."

But Zak wasn't too bothered by the remark. "Eh, that's just how he is. Besides, he said that he left a "surprise" at Ben's house." He sent the team a knowing smile. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"…Dude, if he left us more Bionicle, I'm gonna scream." Kenny said, clapping his hands in anticipation. "Let's get over there!"

The group went to follow him out of the Hazard Chamber with similar excitement, though Ben couldn't help but trail behind as his thoughts lingered on Tsukasa. Though more accurately, he was thinking about how he had mentioned knowing Paradox, and from there, he wondered how Oscar was doing with him out in the cosmos. 'It's been a couple months since we've seen those two.' he recalled. 'If I didn't know any better, I'd say they'd forgotten about us. …Eh, we'll see 'em eventually, I'm sure.' Slipping his hand into Yang's the couple strode out of the Hazard Chamber after their friends, ready to take on whatever came next.

…..

~Turrawuste, Milky Way Galaxy~

Three. Years.

Three long years had passed since Oscar Pine had departed Remnant… at least, from his perspective.

Upon leaving the world he had called home for his whole life, the young farm boy had been told by the world traveler that their trip across the cosmos would not only be for sight-seeing, but training as well. Both physical and spiritual. The spiritual training was meant as a way to find a happy medium between Oscar's and Ozpin's souls, so that they may both coexist within the former's body without the whole fusion thing happening. For that, they had gone to the world of Aldabra in the Andromeda Galaxy, and there, he trained with the Geochelone Aerios monks. After a full year, he and Ozpin's souls had found balance, though unfortunately, the curse had not been completely lifted. But, at the very least, Oscar didn't have to worry about his soul merging with someone else's… for the time being.

And as for the physical training, the remaining two years had seen a markable improvement in the boy's strength and stature, to say the least. He was now pushing six feet, and was built like a lean Olympic runner. His farmer's tan had evened out over his travels, and his dark brown hair now reached the nape of his neck. …Though his sense of fashion was still the same; tan button-up shirt, brown pants and work boots, orange suspenders, gloves and the tattered wrappings around his neck.

"…I really need to update my look when I get to Earth." Oscar said as he stared into a mirror made of natural sand glass.

"So you only NOW realize that."

Oscar deadpanned at the remark. He and Ozpin had developed a friendly repartee since their souls became balanced, and they would often take friendly jabs at one another. However, the Headmaster's dry wit often one out in those instances. "Hey, we've been traveling across galaxies for three years. Forgive me if I'm more focused on seeing the sights than my fashion sense."

"Hmhm, I'm only poking fun, Oscar." Ozpin assured with a chuckle. "I imagine that the others will gladly aid you in updating your wardrobe. I can tell, though, you're excited to see them."

Taking a deep breath, Oscar tried to steady himself… though he ended up coughing on the hot and dry desert air. He could tell why THIS was the last stop on Paradox's galactic tour; because there was NOTHING here besides giant insects, sand worms and miserable conditions. "Hak-hak, yeah… yeah, I am. …I wonder how they'll react, though…"

"Oh, I'm sure that you'll turn quite a few heads. Though I think Ruby will be absolutely galled that you're now older AND taller than her."

"…Yeah, that's gonna be weird to explain."

Just then, a voice called out from across the dunes. "Oscar!" Perking his head up, the former farmhand peered out and saw that Paradox was waving him down. "Come on now, don't dally! It's time to go!"

Oscar waved back, calling out; "Coming, Prof!" before jogging toward the world traveler. But right as he was about to go up a dune… *baff* "Ugh!" …He tripped. "Ach, what the… huh?" He scanned the sands to see what made him fall, and there, half-buried in the sand… was something that seemed very out of place.

Picking it up, Oscar examined the black, square-shaped object. It was a small, folding container of some sort with a clear window, which had a symbol of some sort printed on it. He unclipped it open, seeing that it had a slot that was meant to fit cards of some sort inside, though at the moment, it was empty. "…What the heck is it?"

"It appears to be… a train pass?" Ozpin said in confusion. "At least, that's what I'm assuming it is. The logo on the front seems to resemble a connecting junction of some sort." Oscar noted the upside-down, L-shaped symbol again, with Ozpin remarking; "I'm not certain what it could be doing here, though."

"Oscar, are you alright, dear boy?" The young man gasped and whipped his head up, seeing Paradox leaning down to offer a hand. "You took quite the spill."

Taking the hand, Oscar hoisted himself up and presented the train pass to Paradox. "Yeah, I… tripped on this. Oz says it's a train pass."

Paradox tilted his head… and his eyes widened upon seeing the logo. "I… see. What a peculiar find."

"What do you think it goes to?" Oscar inquired. "Not exactly many trains on this planet, at least I assume."

The professor placed his hand upon the pass and pushed it toward Oscar. "I do not know… but I think you should hold onto it for the time being, my boy. We will investigate it later." A smile appeared on Paradox's face. "For now, I believe we should get going. The others are waiting." Oscar beamed back to his mentor, and in a flash, the pair were gone… though if they had stayed a bit longer, they would've heard the distinct sound of a train whistle off in the distance, before that too disappeared as well.

…..

A/N: And just like that, Ultimate Omniverse Season 4 draws to a close with the promise of many things to come in Season 5. The return of Oscar and Ozpin, the awakening of our "favorite" scorpion, the impending Incursean invasion, the unsuspecting mole in the heroes' ranks, and the Demon Bull King aiding the Ministry in their endeavors. And, of course… four imbeciles on a time traveling train. For all you Rider fans, you KNOW what's coming, and I can't wait for them to join the party.

Though of course, we've also got a lot of other interesting bits strewn throughout this chapter that require our attention. For one, apparently the Ministry members who transformed into monsters thanks to the medals can still access those forms! They just had to have their potential unlocked and train a bit before they can. Thanks to DBK, seems the Ministry are once again going to see a BIG upgrade.

We're also seeing the departure of a couple heroic allies, such as Doyle and, indeed, Decade as well. I knew going in that I couldn't keep these characters around permanently because; 1) I'm already working with a ton of characters as it is, and 2) I want to keep their aura intact. Both Doyle and Tsukasa are gonna be considered as a treat whenever they show up, so I don't wanna keep 'em around for TOO awful long, ya know? Especially Decade. If he stuck around, his mystique would wear off pretty quickly.

And speaking of Riders, it seems that Caesar's working on getting the next Driver up and running… though whether he knows it or not, it may not be used for the right purposes. We'll see how that goes. Meanwhile, though, Ben's wrestling with himself on holding back against his enemies. Of course, it's understandable that he's afraid of going too far since it's almost happened before… but eventually, he WILL need to do so if he wants to defeat the Ministry.

However, those will be problems to address further down the line. Right now, looking into the immediate future, I see that Season 5 is gonna start out… probably not the way you'd expect. We're not gonna be jumping into Albedo's big plan right off the bat. Instead, we'll be taking the time to reacquaint our heroes with a certain farmboy who's gonna give them a HUGE surprise. But then, later on… a certain four-armed portal-maker is coming back, and she's got her eye on someone. …Though probably not who you think. Thanks for reading, everybody, and I'll see you all in Februrary after Transformers MHA Month! And of course, as always, stay safe out there!