GammaTron: *walks in* Um...Hi? *ducks the barrage of 'reviews' that only sum up as update the story* OI! OI! OI! *beats them away with Paws of Fury* Stop that! Look, my bad in not updating this in a long while, but trust me; there will be a lot of updates for this story for a little.

"The last of them has finished being repaired, sire," Shockwave informed.

Eggman nodded before hissing a bit as his bandaged nose hurt. Curse that rubber boy and that damn flag! He was suffering a broken arm (the one that wasn't robotic, mind you), a broken nose, and he had to get a new pair of glasses! To make things worse, he lost that castle as well. His intel had already notified him that a group of aquatic Freedom Fighters had already set up anti-aircraft defenses and the Chaos Emerald that was in it was already taken by the Royal Triplets! So he lost the Chaos Emerald, practically gave the Freedom Fighters a new base, and he needed a new pair of glasses! He was snapped out of his mental rant by a clearing throat.

"What?!" Eggman demanded before glaring at Sleet, who had been the one who cleared his throat.

Sleet squeaked before pointing towards the repaired Combaticons, the nervous Starscream, and the confused 'twins.'

"Ah. Yes," Eggman nodded, "Glad to see you five have finished repairs."

"Never. Again," Onslaught stated coldly.

"…Come again?" Eggman asked.

"What our team's leader is saying is that we do not want to do anything that involves dragons and little kids ever again," Vortex informed.

"I examined the recordings on what happened," Eggman informed, "Granted. Now then, I have called you all here for one reason; the capture of…" nearby, Sleet pressed a button and a monitor behind Eggman displayed Shockwave on a beach made of shaved metals, being buried up to his neck by Jetfire and Jetstorm, "…Sleet!"

"Sorry!" the coyote apologized as the slide changed to a surveillance video image of Jake, crashing through a store wall, "You need to find this raccoon."

"…That's a raccoon?" Swindle asked.

"What kind of raccoon has that kind of tail?!" Brawl asked as he pointed at the scorpion tail Jake had.

"He has a piece of Chaos 0 inside of him, which is why he has that tail," Eggman informed, "Furthermore, do not fail me. You robots, despite being the most advanced I ever built even with new modifications given to you by Shockwave, have all failed more than once against those blasted Hedgehogs and their three allies. Furthermore, you will be going up against the Seekers here in capturing that raccoon."

"Us?" Starscream asked.

"Yes. Considering your failure against those pirates, your team is also on the chopping block," Eggman informed.

"Oh, this is not to being good," Jetfire whispered to Jetstorm.

"Right, brother," Jetstorm nodded.

"Now head out!" Eggman ordered, "And find me that tail! I have business in Casino Nights." With that, he turned and left with Shockwave.

"Sir, reports have confirmed that the Echidna has been able to obtain three shards of his Master Emerald," Shockwave noted.

"Ah. No matter. We have three of his shards here," Eggman smirked, "There's no way he can rebuild the Master Emerald and stop Chaos. Speaking of that, Shockwave, were you able to find anything good from your studies on Chaos?"

"Indeed," Shockwave replied before pulling out a Chaos Emerald, "I discovered this earlier this morning and was going to inform you before you called the earlier meeting."

"Oh, you are a blessing, Shockwave," Eggman smirked as the two entered a large laboratory with Chaos 0 moving around in a large container, "Now, to see if the stories are true about this beast."

Shockwave nodded. He approached the container and opened a sealed panel. Before Chaos could move towards it, Shockwave tossed the Chaos Emerald into it and sealed the panel up once more. Chaos 0 approached the Chaos Emerald and both began to release a flash of gold light. The light faded and Eggman smirked. Chaos 0 had grown two feet taller and more 'muscular' in the right arm. Within the liquid limb, a series of 'bones' had formed, travelling from the shoulder to a few inches from the tips of the claws, the Chaos Emerald floating the middle of the 'hand.'

"Chaos 1," Eggman smirked.

"Ugh…" Knuckles groaned as he pulled himself out of a manhole, "There just had to be a shard down there." He pulled out a shard the size of his head before putting a hand over his chest and five more appeared, each the same size as the first, "I can still feel there are more of these somewhere." He began to look around the city he had ended up in, "But where?"

"Ugh!" Sonia hit her head on the table.

"Sorry," GreyMatter chuckled sheepishly, standing beside his king Chess piece.

"Why can't I beat you?!" Sonia groaned.

"Well, I do have two brains," GreyMatter noted, 'The fact that one of them is used for basic motor functions doesn't count, though. Thank you, Azmuth and the Alien Database.'

Sonia's eye twitched, "Let me get this straight; you have two brains? No wonder I can't beat you like this!"

"But you are improving," GreyMatter pointed out, "You lasted an average of two point six nine seven one four eight six moves longer than when I first used GreyMatter."

"Great," the tone of Sonia's voice did not convince the Galvan before the bus rumbled a bit.

"What was that?" Sonic asked in the kitchen as Roll paused in her cooking.

It was then that Manic and Tsubaki entered from the lab, coughing and hacking as black smoke followed them out.

"Ugh! Ben, we need…" Manic paused to cough a little bit more, "…we need…"

"Terraspin, please!" Tsubaki coughed out.

GreyMatter rolled his eyes. GreyMatter tapped his Omnitrix emblem on his back and a flash of light followed. Terraspin put his head into his shell before his legs forms a third fan. He spun his fins and let out a strong wind into the lab stairway. After a few moments, he stopped and changed back into Ben.

"What happened up there?" Makoto asked.

"W…We were trying to…" Tsubaki paused for a few more moments of coughing.

"Trying to use this," Manic held up one of the Chaos Emeralds.

"What were you trying to do?" Ben asked.

"A detector," Tsubaki managed to say after her coughing fit.

"For the Chaos Emeralds?" Sonic asked, "Not a bad idea."

"That's what I said when Tsubaki suggested it!" Manic grinned, "But, it's been kinda rocky as you can…" he paused to cough a little, "…see!"

"Well, do you guys…" Ben began to ask.

"We don't want any help, but thank you," Tsubaki informed.

"I was just going to suggest some tutoring using GreyMatter or Brainstorm," Ben noted, "Though…I could use them to make a one-time detection as an example for what you guys could try."

Tsubaki and Manic looked at each other. The two nodded. Thirty minutes later, Tsubaki and Manic were writing down notes as GreyMatter was explaining his process.

"Now we simply replicate the wavelength and…" GreyMatter hopped along a keyboard before landing on 'ENTER.'

Attached to the computer he was at was a small PDA in soft creams and dark greens. The screen was displaying a spinning Omnitrix symbol before changing to the image of a pair of drumsticks crossed behind a moon.

"…There you have it," GreyMatter smirked as he proceeded to go through the process of letting the device eject from the computer, "Now make sure you keep those notes handy in the case of this being broken. I am not going to fix it unless you've tried everything you both can think of both alone and together."

"Thanks, dude," Manic nodded as Tsubaki took the device.

"And, Tsubaki, I am glad to see that you're interested in something aside from the legal system," GreyMatter informed.

"W-Well, there's not really a need for lawyers in these times," Tsubaki joked.

"LAWYERS?!" GreyMatter screamed, "Gah! I loathe lawyers! When I worked on capturing criminals, this Chadzmuth fellow-a fellow Galvan-used his brains for being a lawyer and not a creator. You know what happened? Each and every single time that Gwen, Kevin, and I or me and someone else caught a criminal, they're out there yet again in five seconds flat! You know the worst thing about it? He gave me his card! When he successfully got every single criminal in the Plumbers Jail free, he gave me his card!"

"Ouch. Tough break, dude," Manic winced.

"And that is why I will never, ever agree to have him as a lawyer. Even if there was a universe-class action against me, I'll just defend myself!" GreyMatter snorted, "Now let's see what it says."

"Hmm…Manic, do you know where this is?" Tsubaki asked as she looked at the scanner.

"Yeah. I know that place. It's called Casinopolis," Manic informed, "Eggman made it to increase his money and steal more from the people."

"Is it high class?" Tsubaki asked.

"Yeah," Manic nodded, "They've got a strict policy on having something formal."

"Ah. Something formal, eh?" GreyMatter and Tsubaki asked in unison.

"Wait. So does that mean…" Manic began, getting an uneasy feeling.

"…the only way we're gonna get in there is to dress right," Sonic muttered, wearing a formal blue and white tuxedo.

"A-Ano…" Roll's voice caught the hedgehog's attention.

Sonic turned and blushed heavily at the outfit Roll wore. It was a one piece suit, combining intricate full-body stockings with a graceful corset and an elegant long sleeve, short top jacket sewn in. Since Roll's bust was in its full size, Sonic realized that she had to put it on without her bindings, with the tight outfit serving as a bra and overwear both. Roll liked how it felt on her. Made of what she thought was the finest silk, the feeling was sensual when she had slid into the satin lattice and filled out the pliable lacework with her volume. With the corset tight on her, it caused the suit to hug and clutch every curve on her with comfortable snugness, bringing out the rounds and the flow of her body. With the incorporated leather corset pressing into her waist, it also forced Roll to maintain a dignified, elegant posture. It fits like a literal glove, with rings across each of her fingers to pull down its sleeves and leather padding below the stockings of her feet. The fabric was featherlight and Sonic noticed how some parts did a better job at covering Roll up than others.

All over her body where the gossamer wasn't reinforced with jacket or corset, the density of the delicate velvet web varied with gold and jade silks. Although the silk hugged across Roll's breasts, womanhood, and behind as a triple layer that guarded against prying eyes, the surface of her hips and legs were covered by a golden and jade motif of flowers swirling across the lace. The cheeks of her soft-but-fit derriere had four sweeping, jade rose branches stitched across them while the jacket trailed past her lower back and partly covered her buttocks with its parted tailflaps, trimmed in gold. Sonic swore that when she bent over, he saw a generous glimpse of her developed behind. The same went for her bust; cupped, lifted and presented as they were to the outside world by grasping silk, their ample curve and tender flesh were clearly visible to him through the red lace. The only thing saving their modesty was the tactical application of a sea of organic gold and jade patterns across the lower half, with the curl of two gold roses covering just enough. The ensemble came with a pair of red stiletto high heels with the heels being retractable to let them be more like pointed running shoes while also letting Sonic mentally comment on how they perked up her noticeable posterior even more.

Roll blushed as the wind breezed by, and with the exception of the upper jacket, felt like she was wearing nothing at all. The sensation was only aggravated when she couldn't help but remember slipping a finger across her inner thigh and felt it glide up effortlessly across the textile earlier. It was like she only became more sensitive for wearing it. Roll could walk into a stately ballroom with as much confidence as she could a seedy burlesque, even though both places would be filled with people turning their heads. At least her blush was matching the color of the outfit, while an audience would try to figure out whether she was either a lost duchess or a harem woman.

"D…Do you like it?" Roll asked, mentally cursing Makoto for picking it out for her.

"Uh, er, well…I, uh…" Sonic stammered with a light sweat forming on his head.

"Oh wow! You look great, Roll-chan!" Makoto beamed.

The two jumped before turning to their right to see Makoto walk up, wearing an apricot and acorn colored and themed version of Roll's outfit. Ben was blushing up a storm, wearing a green and black tuxedo, as Makoto had her arms wrapped around one of his. Tsubaki, wearing a formal cream and white dress, shook her head at the Squirrel Beastkin with Sonia, wearing a seafoam-green and sky-blue dress. Manic was just grinning, wearing a green and red tuxedo.

"At least it doesn't discriminate," Tsubaki noted, relieved that she didn't have to wear the ID Mask, "Ben, you and Manic need to add something to the interior of those ID Masks to make them a bit more comfortable."

"If we do, then it'll interfere with the disguise capability," Ben informed, "Trust me, Gwen once got Kevin to do it for her and it nearly cost us an important mission on spying on this rogue alien that was illegally on Earth."

"Who are Gwen and Kevin?" Sonia asked, making Ben's eyes widen.

"Uh…" Ben began.

"Hey now~! Aren't we here to get that Chaos Emerald, not ask questions?" Makoto interrupted before pushing Ben away to the entrance, "Come on, let's get going and get that Emerald!"

Ben raised a brow in confusion, but it was hidden beneath his relief of dodging another proverbial bullet. Unaware to them, a familiar Echidna was climbing up the side of the casino.

The first two words that came to Ben when they entered were 'crowded' and 'bright.' No wonder they had a formal attire policy for this place. He barely acknowledged the sound of Sonia slapping the back of Manic's head (strangely, he knew it was Manic's head from the sound of the impact) when a Mobian Tiger couple walked by, the woman of the two having a red, form-fitting, strapless dress on.

"Okay, we just have to act cool and try to fit in," Ben muttered.

"I'm down with that," Manic nodded.

"I'll make sure Manic doesn't try anything funny while we're searching," Sonia informed.

"Frick."

"So how are we going to find the Chaos Emerald?" Ben asked.

"We'll use the ones we have on hand," Sonic informed, discreetly showing the blue Emerald he had in his quills, "From what we've seen, the Chaos Emerald start glowing when they're together."

"So when we get close enough, they'll start shining," Makoto realized.

"So we'll need to split into two groups," Sonia noted, "Manic, Tsubaki, and I will go as one team."

"Just us?" Manic asked in concern.

"We'll be fine," Sonia assured.

"Okay!" Sonic grinned, "You got the Chaos Emerald, Tsubaki?"

"Indeed," Tsubaki nodded, lightly tapping the small purse she had with her outfit.

"Great. If it starts to glow, then get someone in the group to get the others," Sonic nodded.

"So until then, we'll try to blend in?" Ben asked.

"Yep. Come on, Ben, you're going to the poker table," Sonic informed as he pulled Ben off, Roll and Makoto quickly following.

"Well, I'm gonna try my luck at the roulette table," Manic shrugged as he walked off to the opposite direction Sonic's group went.

"Just remember the plan," Tsubaki advised.

As the two groups left, Ragna walked in wearing a red suit with a white button shirt under it. He scowled as he adjusted his tie once more before Rook followed him in with Alpha, both in suits as well.

"There are so many violations here," Rook noted.

"It's pretty much legal here," Alpha shrugged, "Are you sure Jake went this way?"

"Based on the reports of a strange Mobian with a scorpion tail, he is most likely in the vicinity of this area," Rook informed.

"Let's just hope the distraction you gave Jacky will last," Alpha noted.

"Good night?!" Jacky freaked as he started to rapidly change the channels on the tablet, "Okay! I understand what I need to do! I need to check the cameras and not get stuffed!"

J rolled his eyes at the antics of his sibling. He was thankful that Rook had thought ahead in case of a situation like the one they were currently in. If there was one thing Jacky liked more than money, it was video games…free video games even more. Noel whimpered as she was roped into playing it on her own tablet from Rook. She fainted in the middle of the first night when she got a jumpscare.

"So we'll need to split up in here. Everyone, try to get downstairs or to the roof," Alpha advised before he saw Ragna walking off, "Gah!"

"Relax. I know what to do," Ragna waved Alpha off, 'Now to get some cash to buy some new supplies. We're getting low…especially with what happened the other day.'

With that, Alpha sighed and went off. With Ragna, he was looking around, trying to find something he'd be good at. He walked by Ben and Makoto.

"Hey, Ragna."

"Yo, Ben. Makoto."

"Ragna the Bloodedge."

None of them skidded to a halt and looked behind them until five minutes later. All three would shake it off and walk on to one of the tables nearest to them. Near Sonic and Roll, Rook was scouting around, a small frown on his face. He did not condone places like this, not at all. He bumped into something.

"Ah! Gomen nassai," Roll apologized.

"My apologies. It was my fault," Rook assured, "I am Rook Blanco."

"My name is Sakurai Roll," Roll bowed.

"Name's Sonic," Sonic introduced himself.

"A pleasure to meet you both," Rook bowed, "Tell me, do you know where a raccoon Mobian with a scorpion-like tail is? My companions and I are in the process of trying to locate him."

"No. I haven't seen anyone like that. But we'll be sure to tell you if we do," Sonic replied.

"Very well," Rook nodded, "Thank you."

"Well, he seemed quite nice," Roll giggled as Rook walked off.

"Yeah," Sonic nodded cautiously, "But you need to be careful, Roll."

"Hmm…" Rook noted to himself as he looked down at a device he had, "My scanner is detecting the same strange energy that seems to radiate off Jake at the moment coming from them." He narrowed his eyes, "Beginning observations."

"Player wins," the dealer informed.

"Yatta!" Makoto cheered as she hugged Ben's free arm, "Oh, you are so great!"

"Y-Yeah…" Ben gulped nervously, a red tint forming on his cheeks from the feeling his arm was having from Makoto's large bosom pressing against it.

"You know, there's a special game of cards happening in a few minutes. Apparently, there's a rare emerald that's put up as the house prize," the dealer informed, a sly look on his weasel face.

"Really?" Makoto blinked before whispering to Ben, "This is our big break."

"Yeah," Ben nodded before turning to the weasel Mobian, "Sign me up."

"Perfect," the weasel grinned.

"Heh. Jackpot," Ragna smirked.

"My, my," a robot noted as it floated over, "Not bad. You're quite a lucky man."

"Not really. Took me three tries to get this," Ragna shrugged as he was busy putting the coins into a sack to trade them in.

"Well, how would you like to try for the house's special prize?" the robot offered, "Lately, we've been having to defend it from a strange Mobian raccoon. Its tail looked like it was from a scorpion Mobian."

'Jake?' Ragna thought before saying, "Okay then. I'm game."

"Excellent. You can have someone accompany you as a guest for the event."

"Great," Ragna nodded as he spotted Rook and grabbed him, "Got him."

"Ragna, what is it that you are doing?"

"I found the right bait for getting Jake," Ragna whispered.

"Ah. Very well," Rook nodded.

"Are you serious?!" Alpha gawked at the two.

"Yeah. Whatever that house prize is, Jake wants it," Ragna informed.

"Great…" Alpha sighed.

"Which is why we need you to perform a search around the area during the time we are in there. Most likely, with the item exposed, Jake will attempt an attack," Rook informed.

"Aw bolts," Alpha frowned, "And if I spot him?"

"Subdue and contain," Rook replied.

"Got it," Alpha grinned.

"Great job, Ben!" Sonic grinned, patting the teen's back.

"Well, he is lucky with cards," Makoto pointed out.

"So all we have to do is swipe it," Sonic smirked.

"Do you want to have a hit put on you by all the casinos?" Manic asked, making the others look at him, "Ferral told me about this kind of casino. Despite how it looks, there's an underbelly to it that. If you do something to tick the guy who owns this place off, you get a hit put on you. He told me about a rogue member of the thieves guild that swiped some cash from here and, next week, severed head in his bed with his mutilated body strung up on the ceiling."

"…I keep forgetting that you're the least innocent of us," Sonia admitted.

"Well, I don't really bring it up that often, so I ain't surprised," Manic shrugged, "Ben's just gonna have to win it fair and square."

"So why does Ben only get to have one other with him?" Sonia asked.

"A trust system of sorts. If you bring in a girl, most likely you're not cheating. You bring in an Overlander or a 'Beastkin'-though everyone calls them Mixes-while you're a Mobian most likely means that you could care less about the public opinion on them. Same in the reverse: it shows that Overlanders and Mixes want to be in peace with Mobians. If you don't bring someone, it either means you're a cheat or just a guy with no friends."

"And if they think I cheat?" Ben asked.

"They call a hit on you," was the green hedgehog's blunt response.

"Oh," Ben deadpanned with wide eyes and tiny pupils.

"Yeah. The guys that runs his joint take their games seriously here," Manic advised, "Especially since they donate fifty percent of what they actually earn every night to various organizations, including the thieves guild, orphanages, and the Freedom Fighters."

"Wow," Ben blinked a few times.

"Right this way," a human informed as he led Ben and Makoto into a room with a lone poker table with six seats, two occupied already.

"Ragna?!" Ben exclaimed.

"Ben," Ragna blinked twice before smirking, "Well, look at you. How old are ya now? Sixteen?"

"Seventeen," Ben replied.

"Ah," Ragna nodded.

"And I've heard that you've become quite the pain in the side for the police where you're from," Ben smirked.

"Heh. As if they're strong enough to call themselves police," Ragna snorted, "Honestly, I can count on one hand all the strongest guys I know that would be perfect in different places yet are all crammed together into one city."

"So who's the guy you're with?" Ben asked.

"Oh, that's Rook," Ragna shrugged, "He's after you for the shitty reason of mistaken identity."

"Again? Does the name 'Albedo' ring any bells to you, Rook?" Ben asked.

"…" Rook hit his head on the table.

"Guess he has," Ragna noted, "Who's that anyway?"

"A Galvan that made his own Omnitrix, but got stuck as a copy of me with white hair, red eyes, and red where I wear green," Ben explained.

"Ah. Okay then," Ragna nodded.

"Shall we begin?" the dealer asked, "Our last guest has arrived."

The two turned, "Eggman/Robotnik!"

"…" Ragna looked at Ben, "Eggman?"

"What? It's a good insult."

"Ahem. While I would very much like to capture you four and Roboticize you all, there are rules here that I'd rather avoid to break," Eggman frowned at them, recalling the severed SWATBot head that he found in his bed the last time he didn't follow rules in a casino.

"We're keeping an eye on you," Makoto, Ragna, and Ben said at the same time.

"Have a seat," the dealer informed as she shuffled her deck, "You extras may sit at the table over there."

Shockwave, Makoto, and Rook oved to the table nearby. Shockwave made a point to sit across from the two organics so as to observe them better. The Dealer proceeded to set out two cards to Ben, Eggman, and Ragna before placing three cards face-up before himself.

"You doing okay, Roll?" Sonic asked as the two walked out of the casino.

"H-Hai," Roll replied before shivering a bit, "This isn't really good at warmth, though…"

"…" Sonic removed his coat and put it over Roll's shoulder, "Here. Don't want you to get a cold or anything."

"…" Roll pulled the coat a little closer together before lightly pecking his cheek, "Arigatou, Sonikku."

"N-No problem," Sonic blushed.

"Gah! OH GOOD LORD!" The two turned to a truck where a raccoon with a sock on his head was looking at something in the back with fright, "That was deplorable and frightening!"

"Shouldn't have played the third game, J!" another Raccoon pointed out with a laugh.

"…Maybe we should walk back in," Sonic noted.

"O-Or back into the bus and lock it," Roll suggested, neither aware of Jake climbing up the building to the top where the game was going on.

"Impressive. All tied up so far in wins and losses," the dealer noted, "Okay. Last hand, meaning all players either Fold or go All In. Winner gets the prize."

Ben looked at his hand, as did Eggman and Ragna. Eggman discarded two cards before shoving all his chips into the center, two cards being dealt to him. Ragna only tossed one before being dealt one and shoving all his in. Ben…discarded the whole thing. He was dealt his five and added his own pile to the other two.

"Okay, folks, let's see those hands," the Dealer smirked, looking towards Eggman first.

Eggman laid his hand down, revealing the King of Diamonds and King of Hearts. The Dealer looked at Ragna, showing the Ten of Hearts, Jack of Diamonds, the Queen of Hearts, and King of Clubs. Eggman scowled at Ragna's hand before the Dealer looked at Ben. Ben laid down the Ten of Spades, the Jack of Spades, the Queen of Spades, the King of Spades, and the Ace of Spades. Eggman and Ragna gawked as the Dealer blinked twice. He rubbed his eyes before quickly skimming through the remaining cards and the discarded ones for the last hand.

"R-Royal Straight Flush of Spades…" the Dealer gulped before looking at Ben, "B-Ben Tennyson wins the Pot."

Shockwave reevaluated his initial analysis about Ben in his Human Form as Eggman continued to scowl. The Dealt revealed the Chaos Emerald once more and gently handed it to Ben. He let go and the window nearby shattered. Everyone turned to it as Shockwave aimed his blaster. Jake snarled as he tackled into Ben, sending the Chaos Emerald into the air.

"Hell's Fang!" Ragna roared, Jake jumping over the Azure-coated punch.

Rook jumped for the emerald but a heeled shoe stepping on his face made him go to the ground. Makoto grabbed the Chaos Emerald and was tackled by Jake for her efforts. The Dealer screamed as he ducked, the two slamming into the wall behind him. He pulled himself up, wearing an US Military helmet and holding a radio.

"Security! We got a thief! Racoon with scorpion mixed in!" angry grumbling came over it, "Yes, I know there's a code, but I can't remember it out of fear!"

"Hentai!" Jake slammed into the wallacross the room as Makoto stood up, a hand over her chest due to the fabric being torn, "Stupid scorpion tail…"

Shockwave open fired on Jake, who jumped around before managing to grab the Chaos Emerald and jumped out the window. Ben ran to it and scowled, seeing Jake wasn't there.

"What was that about?" Ben frowned as Eggman and Shockwave left the room.

"You're sure you have to leave?" Ben frowned.

"Yeah. That guy…well, I owe a guy a favor for finding my sword and, well, that's the guy I need to catch," Ragna informed.

"And it requires the help of a Plumber?" Ben raised a brow.

"Originally, I was here to arrest you, Ben Tennyson. However, due to recent revelations, it appears you have been accused," Rook noted, "Though, I am interested. How is it that a mere five years have gone by, yet you still look as if you're no older than the Day of Chaos."

"Day of Chaos?" Makoto repeated.

"Five years ago, a mass assault upon all Plumbers known by the late organization-the Forever Knights-occurred on January 1," Rook informed as Ben's eyes widened, "The aftermath was the complete massacre of the Forever Knights and the loss of one Galvanic Canis Mechamorph and one Homo Sapien known as Julie Yamamoto and the MIA of Benjamin Kirby Tennyson. Analysis of the deceased Forever Knights remains revealed a strange energy, much like the energy my scanner detected in that strange jewel."

"The Chaos Emerald?" Makoto repeated as Ben stared at nothing ahead of him.

"…Excuse me," Ragna picked up Ben and moved to the other side of the medical room they were in…before slapping Ben.

"Ow!" Ben winced.

"Tch. Ben, what happened that day?" Ragna frowned.

"Wh-What?"

"What happened when you were attacked by the Forever Knights?" Ragna scowled.

"…They…Julie was my girlfriend," Ben informed, glancing over at Rook trading contact information with Makoto, "She was my girlfriend for just a little over a year and a half. Nothing too big; just small dates and the occasional kiss. But…" he sighed, "The Forever Knights…They hated aliens to the point of wanting to commit genocide of all races not human." He shivered, "Since I have the Omnitrix, I could restore any alien race they wiped out and they knew it. They…They killed my parents as a way to warn me against doing so."

"…" Ragna clenched his fists tightly.

"It took me a year before I could go back into our house," Ben continued, "Then…Then came the day they kidnapped Julie. They…" he shivered as he narrowed his eyes, "They raped her and tortured her. The only reason I knew is because one of them actually sent me the video." Ragna grit his teeth under his scowl, "Then they…They threw her off the highest point of their base during our attack to get her back. I used XLR8 to try to catch her, but…But I was too slow. Just a nanosecond more and…and she'd be alive."

"…" Ragna nodded before bonking Ben on the head.

"Gah!" Ben yelped, making the other two look.

"Baka!" Ragna barked, "Do you think she'd want you to be here, feeling like shit? Listen to me, Ben, you are a living being, a human. Sure, you can turn into aliens with that watch of yours, but you're still a human first and foremost. Never let go of that. So long as you still see yourself as a human, you'll stay yourself. So live, not just for yourself, but for her."

"Ragna…"

He smirked, "Next time we see each other, you can expect that I want to have a fight with you. See if your title as 'Greatest Hero in the Universe' fits."

"…Heh. Sure thing, Ragna," Ben nodded.

"Good," Ragna nodded, "Come on, Rook, we're getting out of here. We need to follow after Jake."

"Indeed," Rook nodded, "It was a pleasure to meet you, Makoto Nanaya."

"Same to you, Rook!" Makoto grinned before Rook followed after Ragna, "Hey, Ben, I got Rook's contact info if we need it."

"Are…Are you okay, Makoto?" Ben asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine. He just got the top of my dress," Makoto shrugged, glancing down at the white T-shirt she was wearing over the ruined top, "…Ben…"

"Please don't ask about it, Makoto," Ben spoke, "It…I'm not ready."

"It's fine. I'll wait," Makoto replied, "When you want to tell me, my ears are open."

Ben nodded.

"Fortunately, I was able to obtain a proper scan of the energy signature of that unique signature the 'Chaos Emerald' had, so we can now track both it and Jake," Rook informed, his scanner out as Ragna drove.

"I still can't believe that Ben was here. Small universe, huh?" Ragna chuckled before glancing over at the frowning Alpha, "Aw, cheer up. Next time, you go in with me instead of Rook."

"It's not that. It's just…how did Jake escape? That window was directly above the truck, but we saw no one."

"Quite peculiar. It was as if he just…teleported," J noted.

"He teleports now?!" Jacky exclaimed, "Son of a bitch!"

"You really think he teleported?" Alpha asked.

"It is the most likely explanation," Rook agreed.

"So first, he grows a damn scorpion tail. And now he teleports? Son of a bitch," Ragna shook his head before looking at Rook, "Hey, Rook, mind telling me a bit about this Julie girl. I mean, all I know is that she was raped and killed from a long drop."

"…That is not true," Rook noted.

"What?"

"The corpse of Julie Yamamoto showed the same energy as what was on the killed Forever Knights," Rook informed, "Furthermore, she did not die from a fall, but by the removal of her head and spine from her body."

"Seriously? But…But that's not what I heard from Ben. And…" he shook his head, "He wasn't lying, or…" his eyes widened, "Son of a bitch. It's Terumi all over again."

"Who?" Rook repeated.

"The bastard who took my arm," Ragna motioned to his Azure Grimoire before shaking his head, "For some reason, my memory of that night has been clearer than ever."

"That night?" J repeated.

"The night I lost everything that mattered to me at the time," Ragna replied.

Jake growled as he curled up around the Chaos Emerald. The light rumble of thunder did nothing to sway the possessed raccoon to go for shelter. Instead, he remained curled around the emerald. It shined brightly before the light died down. Jake crawled off, his legs now gone, the tail having consumed them in its growth. He let out a hiss as he crawled off, the last thing seen in the night being the two Chaos Emeralds fused together replacing the stinger of the now-larger tail.

GammaTron: Read and review, please!