GammaTron: *playing Okami* Okay...That Blight fight was easier than I thought it'd be...then again, I used an Inkfinity Stone and spammed Cherry Bombs…
SZ: Huh...never thought of using that strategy. I just went with the normal method…*mutters* Just wish it was as easy for a certain Boss after Blight…
GT: Ah well…*saves the game and looks over at the reader* Yo. Welcome to another chapter. Here's hoping to getting some more reviews.
SZ: Eeyup, and we hope to continue giving you all more good chapters. Besides, been getting more into a Sonic mood since the sonic movie was announced for next year, and we got three new characters for the IDW Sonic comic. Tangle the Lemur, and those two punk Skunks whose...names are escaping me at the moment...eh. More interested in Tangle right now.
GT: *nods* Can't wait for it to show up in bookstores.
SZ: Mmm hmm. But for now, let's begin with the story. We don't own anything in this story aside from our OCs while Alpha the Hedgehog belongs to KKDSilver. Now without any further ado...GT? Care to start off?
GT: *shrugs before tugging a string, causing the curtains to drop*
"Seriously, who the hell designed these places?" Ragna muttered as they continued to search the area, "I'm getting a bit tired looking at pinball 'bumpers.'"
"And getting sent up them?" Sonia joked, earning an annoyed grumble from Ragna.
"Well, look it at it like this; once we find the Time Stone, we don't have to deal with this area anymore," Makoto pointed out.
"Yeah, ye-" *BOING~!* "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
"...I feel like you jinxed that somehow, Makoto," Mai slowly blinked.
"I think you're right," Makoto agreed, she and Sonia looking at the spring where Ranga had been.
"aaaaaAAAHHHHH!" Ragna screamed as he crashed into the ground, leaving a hole in the shape of him, "...Damn it…squirrel girl…"
"...Snrk." Manic began to snicker.
"You laugh, and you'll wake up as a naked mole rat…" Ragna growled from within the hole.
"Gh!" Manic flinched, "Shutting up."
"You better…" Ragna groaned as he climbed out.
"...So...Did you find anything during your flight?" Sonic asked.
"Aside from more pinball stuff, I managed to faintly see the monolith," Ragna replied, "Only problem is, it has a 'guard dog' near it."
"...Is it that…"
"No. Not that damn worm thank god…looked more like a praying mantis/spider fusion..."
"Wait, what?!" Ben gawked.
"I take it you…" Makoto began.
"After Ragna left back when I was eleven, we got attacked by a praying mantis/spider alien," Ben explained, "It turned out to be Grandpa Max's old colleague Phil who we thought was stuck in the Null Void. But it was weird...when he changed back into Phil, it was like no one was there. Then he vanished in a red light."
"...I see…" Makoto noted in slight suspicion, "Anything in particular we should know about it?"
"Aside from it being able to eat electricity and shooting out electro webs?"
*POOF*
"...Sorry, Haseo," Ben apologized as Roll brushed down the shivering fox's fur yet again.
"U...un…" Haseo nodded a bit.
"...Anything else?"
"...Come to think of it…" Ben pondered for a moment, "It had a collar on it with what looked like a red fanged version of my Omnitrix."
"...A…red...collar?"
"...Wait. Are...no no…" Ben shook his head, "No way that spider thing and the monsters we've encountered before are connected."
"With this place, you never know," Sonic shrugged.
Not too far from where the monolith was, the praying mantis/spider-like creature in question hissed a bit as it looked around, as if searching for its next meal. It stopped for a moment, faintly hearing some footsteps coming from not too far away, its eyes slitting as it crawled into the shadows.
"Any sign of it?" Sonic asked as they walked into the area.
"Nope...bastard must be hiding," Ragna replied.
"Kinda looks like we're on a giant stone poker table," Manic noted, "See? There's the dealer's end over there and that rock formation looks like a deck of cards, don't it?"
"...Huh. Kinda does," Makoto noted, "Think we got time for a 'game'?"
*BAM!*
"Ow~!" Makoto yelped.
"No, Makoto. Just….no," Tsubaki groaned, holding a paper fan in her hand.
"...You don't think whoever owns that thing is after the Time Stones as well, do you?" Mai asked.
"Could be," Ben replied, "I'm just hoping it's not this one pain in the butt I know that's involved with time travel."
"Beg pardon?" Sonia raised a brow at that.
"His name was Eon and...long story," Ben replied.
"Here's hoping for hearing it later," Manic noted as he looked around, "Found the gem tower stone thing, dudes!"
"Where?" Roll asked.
"On top of the rocks that look like a deck," Manic replied.
"Huh...convenient," Sonic noted, "...So, who's up next?"
"Eh?"
"Whenever we dealt with these things, three of us usually fight whatever pops up," Sonic pointed out, "So who's turns is it now?"
"I don't know," Makoto replied, "What am I? A Random Number God?"
"No, you're Makoto," Ben joked.
*WHAP*
"Ow! Hey…" Ben frowned.
"Sorry. Reflex," Tsubaki apologized.
"Well, we know we have to have the ring Haseo has close to those things for them to activate," Sonic noted, "So I guess we won't know until we get up there."
"Of course," Tsubaki nodded.
"..." Haseo gave a slight gulp as he looked around, taking a deep breath as he pulled the ring out.
"You can do it, Haseo-chan," Roll assured him.
"...h...hai…" Haseo nodded, heading towards the monolith that was on the stack of 'cards,' "It's really high up…" he gulped before using his tails to fly up to the top of the 'deck' and landed before an obelisk with a pink diamond on the top, "A pink diamond? Oh! It's like Uncle P'li's story of finding a pink diamond in an old tomb in Chun-nan!" the ring began to glow, "It's happening again..."
The light shined brightly. In its hiding place, the strange alien cringed as the bright light nearly blinded it.
The hedgehog-like figure walked around with Paradox, almost akin to a puppy following its master. Different times, different places or the same places in different times. The figure's body seemed to display a sense of...happiness. Its body changed to one of sadness as Paradox seemed to say something to him in a futuristic area at night. The professor gave the hedgehog-like figure a green scarf and then he was gone.
"See? I told you we shouldn't have done some of those things," a ten-year-old Ben sighed as he sat beside a feline-like humanoid shorter than him.
"Hey, hey, hey~! I was not responsible for the disruption of the space-time continuum! That was the gear 'bot you turned into!" the creature argued, pointing to the somewhat bulky Omnitrix on Ben's wrist, before both of them sighed, "We're never gonna be Rangers…" his ear twitched as he looked up, "What's that?"
The scene changed to the creature working on the leg of a small silver robot. Spidermonkey swung down from the ceiling of a garage and changed back into Ben.
"That is a rather unusual ability. Are you a shape-shifter by chance?" the robot asked.
"No, I'm human. This watch is what lets me turn into sweet aliens," Ben explained.
"Hmm...Fascinating," the robot nodded as Ben walked over and handed the feline a tool kit.
"Thanks, Ben," the creature nodded as he opened it, "Oh, yeah...We never introduced ourselves. I'm Ratchet. This is my little bro, Ben. You?"
"I suppose my proper designation is warbot defect B5429…"
"B-what?" Ben raised a brow.
"Maybe we can just call ya Clank?" Ratchet sheepishly asked.
The diamond glowed brightly before it cracked open, releasing a pink smoke. The smoke shot into the air before crashing down onto the obelisk. Haseo yelped as he nearly fell off before a glove-covered hand shot out of the smoke and caught his wrist. As the smoke cleared, it revealed the feline alien and the little robot. The feline-like creature had rich blond and brown fur with a leather helmet on the back and top of his head with a pair of goggles to complete the look. He wore blue armor with orange detailing on it while the robot was acting like a backpack of sorts.
"Easy there. Long way down," Ratchet noted, pulling Haseo away from the edge.
"...Th...thank you…"
"No prob. Now..." Ratchet began as he looked at Ben, Manic, and Tsubaki, "Let's take care of some of Nerfarious' bots, shall we?"
"Of course," Clank agreed before his lower body shifted until it became a jetpack.
"E-Eh?" Haseo blinked before yelping a bit as Ratchet took off into the air and then down at the others.
"Ben…" Mai began.
"I have no idea who either of those two were," Ben replied.
"...Aw dang it," Manic groaned, "Now I gotta eat a hat Noel's gonna pick out."
Ratchet whipped out a large gun that was primarily blue with silver detailing. He pulled the trigger and a blue beam shot out of it as he swept around in a circle. The beam struck the ground and caused a large wall of ice to form where the ice hit, cutting the three Ratchet had seen from the others.
"Is it gonna be some secret rule that the second guard in every place is gonna cut those fighting off from the others with ice?!" Makoto complained.
"Okay, so he's got flight and a freeze ray," Tsubaki noted.
=Unknown DNA detected= Ben's Omnitrix went off.
"Not time for that," Ben glowered at his watch.
"Incoming missiles!" Manic shouted as four missiles were heading right for them, courtesy of another gun-like weapon the creature had switch the freeze ray for.
"Woah!" Ben yelped as the three rolled out of the way, "Okay...If he wants a far range battle…" he activated the Omnitrix, "Then I'll give him one." he pressed down on the symbol, engulfing him in green light as...Shadow Edge took his place, "...(I hate this thing most of the time…)"
"...Next time we see the guy who made that, he better do something about th-OH GEEZ!" Manic freaked as he rolled out of the way of another missile.
Tsubaki flicked her wrist and her blade segmented into its whip mode. The pieces of the blade erupted into flames as she swung the whip, cutting through some missiles aiming to hit her.
"Ben, didn't you tell Kirby once he was hitting his own Omnitrix too hard and was causing the mischoices?" Tsubaki called.
"(Excuse me for rushing when missiles are aimed at me!)" Shadow Edge signed.
"I can't hear hands, Ben!" Tsubaki called, her back to Shadow Edge as she blocked another missile with her shield.
"He says 'Excuse me for rushing when missiles are aimed at me!'" Manic called from behind a wall of stone he made with his drums.
"(How are you…)"
"Ferrel taught me to listen to the way hands sound when they're making hand signs even when explosions and gunfire is going off. We've got several mute thieves in the thieves guild," Manic shrugged before a large silver sphere with pink detailing landed behind the wall he set up, "Wha…" it pulsed rapidly, releasing pink shockwave that slammed Manic into the wall, knocked Shadow Edge away, and made Tsubaki skid back behind her shield, "Guh!"
"Ow-ow-ow~!" Makoto and Roll groaned, covering their ears as Haseo flew down, his own ears covered.
"Too loud~!" Haseo called out.
"What's causing that noise?!" Makoto exclaimed.
"Noise?" Ragna repeated.
"Must be something that only Beastkin and fox Mobians can hear," Mai noted.
After a few more pulses, the sphere exploded, peppering Manic and Tsubaki's shield with shrapnel. Manic grit his teeth, feeling the pieces of sharp metal in his back, as he fell off the rock wall, only adding further pain. Shadow Edge changed back into Ben once he recovered from the pulse attacks before he and Tsubaki ran over to the hedgehog.
"Manic!" Tsubaki gasped.
"I'm fine…" Manic grunted, "Not my first time getting a lot of sharp things in the back…"
"...Better have a closer look once we're done here," Tsubaki informed before using her shield to block an energy shot.
"Geez...how many weapons does this guy have?" Manic muttered.
"Most likely...a lot…" Ben figured as he looked through the Omnitrix again, "Okay. Let's try this again…" he activated the Omnitrix and selected his alien before gently pushing the raised emblem once the alien was selected, turning him into NRG, "Ja. Now this is good." he ran before Manic and Tsubaki, "Both of you stay behind me!"
Ratchet replaced his blaster with another gun-like device with a saw made of plasma on the end. He pulled the trigger and the saw shot out at NRG. The blade made impact and simly bounced off, leaving not a scratch.
"Interesting. The alloy of that armor seems to be highly impervious," Clank noted.
"No kidding…" Ratchet frowned as he looked over his shoulder, "Any suggestions, Clank?"
"Hmm...perhaps a Groovitron will buy us some time to come up with a strategy."
"A what-atron?" Manic blinked, overhearing that as Ratchet tossed what looked like a miniature disco ball, "...Uh…"
The disco ball lit up exactly like one and began to float into the air, spinning like one even. Disco began to blare and, for a moment, three looked up at it in confusion. That ended when NRG suddenly began to boogie.
"Ben?!" Tsubaki exclaimed before yelping as Manic spun her around, "Manic?!"
"The hell's going on?! I can't control my bod!" Manic yelped.
"I zink it's ze disco ball!" NRG exclaimed.
"Seriously?! Who makes something this OP?!" Manic exclaimed.
"The hell's going on in there…?" Ragna raised a brow, faintly hearing the sound of disco music inside the dome.
"It sounds like music Tou-san listens to…" Roll noted, her ear twitching.
"I think it's...disco?" Makoto raised a brow before shouting at the wall of ice, "Ben, when did you get a disco alien?"
"I DO NOT HAVE ONE!" NRG shouted on the other side, now spinning like a top.
"Huh...Didn't expect that cat guy to be a disco fan. ...Maybe the robot?" Makoto tilted her head.
"NO! IT'S THE DISCO B-AHH!" Tsubaki yelped when Manic suddenly dipped her, "M-Manic?!"
"Blame the ball, not me," Manic blushed.
"...Fair eno-kya!" Tsubaki screamed when Manic suddenly spun her like a top.
"Ah, the Groovitron...You just gotta love it," Ratchet chuckled as Clank was looking at a holographic screen, "Any ideas, Clank?"
"Hmm...we'll need something to pierce that creature's armored exterior…" Clank muttered, "Perhaps a repetition of heating up with the Magmabuster and a rapid cool down from the Cryoshot to weaken the armor enough for the Negotiator to break it?"
"Sounds good so far," Ratchet nodded, whipping out a pair of bulky blasters-one being primarily silver with a blue spiral going down the bulky barrel and the other a bulky gunmetal/orange trui-barreled gun with a handle on top-just as the Groovitron exploded, knocking Manic and Tsubaki over and caused NRG to trip in his final spin and crash to the ground face-first.
"Ow…"
"Why do all the balls explode…" Manic groaned as he got up.
"Manic…!" Tsubaki gasped, seeing the blood where Manic had been lying.
"Not the first time," Manic shrugged, "Though I'm gonna need a new vest…"
Ratchet aimed the silver and blue gun and pulled the trigger. A large ball of ice shot out of the gun just as NRG managed to get up.
"What…" NRG began before the ball of ice slammed into him, engulfing him in ice.
Ratchet then aimed the other and pulled the trigger, firing three blasts of pure lava at NRG. The first blast took care of the ice while the others struck his armor. Despite the surprise attack, NRG managed to move to shield Manic and Tsubaki from the shots of lava until another ball of ice struck him and froze him.
"The hell are they doing?" Manic pondered as Ratchet continued to switch between the two weapons.
"...They're trying to weaken his armor…" Tsubaki's eyes widened in realization.
"Huh?" Manic blinked.
"Normally fire and ice doesn't affect metal as much, but if used in unison at the right temperature…"
*crick*
"...They can cause it to become weak and brittle," Tsubaki grimaced as a crack appeared in NRG's chest.
"Ratchet!" Clank called.
"On it!" Ratchet replied as he pulled out a shoulder-mounted yellow and grey rocket launcher with two rockets on it before firing at NRG, blasting a hole in his armor, "Yes!"
"Gh...You…" NRG spoke before a red and yellow glow began to shine from the opening, "...really shouldn't have done that."
"Ratchet, I'm detecting high amounts of radiation!" Clank exclaimed.
"What?" Ratchet looked at Clank and then at NRG.
An arm made of pure red and yellow radiation emerged from the hole. A second followed before the pressed down on the armor and pushed. From the hole, a humanoid body made of pure radiation emerged from it, wearing a pair of green shorts and black bands on its wrists, ankles, and torso. On his chest was the Omnitrix symbol.
"What...the…?" Manic gawked.
"Surprised?" NRG chuckled, "Dat armor was meant to keep me in...though you may want to use the decontamination shower on ze bus vhen ve are done here. I'm pure radiation."
"...Pure...Radiation…" Clank whispered with wide optics, "Ratchet!"
"Already on it," Ratchet replied as a helmet shaped like his head with a tinted visor over the face formed over his head, "Good thing this suit has radiation protection."
"Noted, but can it take a full on blast from it?" NRG quipped.
"Excuse you?" Ratchet blinked at that before yelping, jumping out of the way of a blast of radiation, "...okay. That's just unfair."
"Shouldn't have cracked my armor zen," NRG smirked as he fired another blast of radiation at him, making Ratchet roll out of the way once more...and right into a boulder shaped like a fist, "And you forgot my comrades."
"Okay...ow…" Ratchet groaned.
"Geokinesis? We may be at the disadvantage while on land, Ratchet," Clank noted.
"Yeah...But we've got the air," Ratchet grinned as Clank turned into a jetpack once more and flew off into the air, "Yahoo!"
"Get back here!" NRG called as he flew up after Ratchet and Clank.
"Take a chill pill!" Ratchet quipped as he pulled out the Cryoshot and began to shoot as many balls of ice as he could at once from it at NRG.
"No thanks. Things are just heating up!" NRG countered as he began to fire beams of radiation at the balls of ice, blowing them up.
"...This is gonna be tough…" Ratchet frowned as he dodged another beam.
"...Ratchet, why not use the you know what?"
"The you know…oh~"
"Why don't I like the sound of that…?" Manic muttered as Ratchet put the Cryoshot away...and pulled out a large gun with a large ring-shaped barrel with a grate-like attachment at the bottom pointing ahead with eight spikes around the front of the barrel where a red glow was shining all connected to a blue/green part going into the handle, "?!"
"Say hello to my little friend, the 'R.Y.N.O Xtreme!'!" Ratchet grinned, "And, yes, there is an exclamation mark at the end of 'Xtreme.'"
"...Hoo boy…" Manic gulped, "Tsuki, you, uh...you seein' what I'm seein'?"
"From this distance, all I can make out are a…" Tsubaki began before Manic offered her his Binocucom, "Oh, thank you." she looked through it, "...If I'm seeing that correct, that's Level 20 tech. Possibly higher."
"Oh...so it's not just me who noticed..." Manic guled, "...Duck and cover time!"
"Yes…massively..." Tsubaki slowly nodded, paling as she saw Ratchet pull the trigger, "Manic…!"
An orchestra went off as the barrel began to spin.
"Does anyone else heard Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture?" Makoto asked.
"How do you know that specific song?" Mai asked.
"The song has cannons, Mai-chan. It. Has. Cannons."
"...Fair enough."
Upon the first cannon fire in the music went off, the RYNO began to fire a barrage of fireworks and lasers. NRG yelped, forming a sphere of radiation to protect himself only for a firework to shatter it with an explosion and let him be struck with a laser. More fireworks and lasers rained down on the ground, obscuring everything in explosions and smoke and falling dirt sent flying up by said explosions. After almost a minute of continuous fire, the gun shut down as its ammo was spent. Ratchet flew down into the smoke, dispersing a small area of it from Clank's rockets.
"Think we got them?" Ratchet asked.
"I do not sense them anywhere…" Clank answered.
Ratchet pulled out a large wrench as he and Clank started looking around. As more of the smoke and dust settled, the feline-like alien began to walk around. He took several more steps before a wolf head made of stone erupted from the ground and bite down hard on his leg, earning a cry of pain from Ratchet as he fell over.
"Ratchet!" Clank gasped, getting off the feline's back to kick the stone wolf's head to try to get its attention before another erupted from the ground, grabbed him, and threw the robot away.
"Clank!" Ratchet called out before another wolf head emerged and bite down on his wrench-holding arm, forcing him to release it.
"NOW!"
The ground exploded before Ratchet as Armadrillo shot out, Manic in his armor alongside Tsubaki on his back. Manic and Tsubaki jumped off and at Ratchet as Armadrillo reeled his fist back to punch the feline. Ratchet closed his eyes before...nothing. After a few moments, Ratchet opened an eye to see the three were frozen in air...in fact, it was like they were frozen in time.
"...Nice job, Clank," Ratchet sighed in relief, summoning a smaller blaster and shot the stone wolf heads and moved away from them.
"Just in the nick of time," Clank chuckled at his own pun.
After another moment, the trio moved once more, yelping as they tackled each other.
"OW! Wh...what just happened?" Manic blinked from the bottom of the small pile.
"...Ah dang it. One of them has time manipulation," Armadrillo realized.
"Ugh...I'm getting sick and tired of time manipulators…" Manic groaned, "...No offense to Clockwerk, Ben."
"None taken," Armadillo replied as he got up, Tsubaki hopping off his back, "In fact…" he slapped his emblem and Clockwerk stood in his place, "It iz a vonderful idea."
"How many forms does that one have?" Ratchet groaned.
"I do not know, but Nefarious did a rather good job with this o-" Clank began before realizing Ratchet wasn't moving, "Ratchet?"
"Ah. So you are ze one who iz ze time manipulator," Clank turned to see Clockwerk was the only one moving aside from him.
"Are you...a Zoni in armor?" Clank pondered.
"I have no idea who zey are," Clockwerk replied, "I am a Chronosapien."
"...Interesting…" Clank noted before poking Ratchet in the leg with a finger and, to Clockwerk's surprise, Ratchet began moving, "I was not expecting them to have a time manipulator, Ratchet."
"Ah great. Did Nefarious use a Biobliterator on a Zoni?" Ratchet groaned.
"...I vill bite. Vhat or who iz a Nefarious?" Clockwerk couldn't help but ask.
"...The...guy who created you and your two fellow bots...right?" Ratchet asked back.
"..." Clockwerk facepalmed, "I am hating zis Little Planet more und more…" lowering his hand, he spoke, "We are not robots."
"...Uh...Clank….what's going on….?" Ratchet slowly asked.
"I think I have read about a 'Little Planet' back in the Great Clock. Before we had to use the Great Clock to keep Time flowing, a tiny planet would appear above a lake on a single planet for three days once a year," Clank noted, "When the Great Clock was made, the Little Planet was never heard from."
"That...doesn't explain why we're here…" Ratchet stated, "And come to think of it...that emblem on him looks...familiar?"
"The book said that if Little Planet was forced to stay on the lake for more than three days, security measure would be set up by the planet itself, taking shape of obelisks that would react to a Time Key that takes shape of an item of importance to the planet Little Planet stays on," Clank recalled, "I believe that when the Time Key is in the vicinity, the obelisks would activate taking on the form of either powerful enemies they've met or have yet to meet or those from alternate timelines…" his optics widened, "Ah...I see now. We're most likely here because...well...we are the security system."
"...Ow...my head…" Ratchet groaned the info dump, "Wait...if that's true, then why did we see them as Nefarious' robots?"
"...Most likely? To give you guys a reason to fight us I guess," Clockwerk shrugged, "And in order for us to get zat Time Stone...velll...ve need to beat you."
"A Time Stone is here?" Clank asked, "That is the key component for the Great Clock. It what allows it to produce Time."
"Clank, please stop making my head hurt," Ratchet grumbled before pointing his wrench at Clockwerk, "Well, we're not gonna go down easy."
"Good...didn't vant zis to be too easy zen…" Clockwerk smirked before Tsubaki and Manic were moving once more, "Clank, ze small robot, iz the one who manipulates Time."
"Wow. Big things in a small dude. Kinda like Greymatter," Manic noted, twirling his knife, as Clank jumped back onto Ratchet's back.
"I vill say," Clockwerk chuckled, "But still, be careful. He can spread immunity to other time manipulators to his comrade Ratchet."
"...Noted," Tsubaki nodded as she stood ready.
"Good," Clockwerk nodded before looking at himself, "And while Clockwerk iz good fer time manipulation, I have been knocked out by laser shots before. So, ze time for Hero iz over. Now, it iz time for...Ultimate!"
He put his hand beside the Omnitrix symbol and proceeded to twist it. The emblem extended out before he pushed it down, letting the four spikes emerge. Clockwerk grunted as green sparks began to crackle off him. Another pulse of sparks made him stumble back.
"Ben?" Manic looked over at Clockwerk.
Clockwerk grunted as more pulses of sparks came off before a final eruption of them made him give out a roar. The black coloration on his body began to shine a metallic green before his body was engulfed in green energy. Ten gold stars shot out of the green energy as Clockwerk's body reshaped inside of it as the DNA sample evolved in an instant. The energy died down, revealing a more humanoid, solid black form akin to a perfectly fit male human in their prime. The eight stars flew around before two collided with his knees, filling in the darkness with gold and silver detailing down his lower legs and feet, adding three blades to the feet and spikes on the backs. Two more connected to the back of the hands and another two to the shoulders, filling in more of the body with platinum and emerald detailing with the fingers ending in claws. One connected to his chest, forming slightly bulky armor over the chest before two collided with his back, making green wings of visible light form, seemingly made from gears and clock parts. The last star reshaped into a five-pointed crown that connected to his head, giving him platinum and emerald-colored chainmail that covered the sides and back of his head down to his shoulders as a pair of green optics lit up.
"Ultimate Clockwerk!" the evolved Chronosapien declared.
"Huh...Now I'm kinda wishing I didn't deploy the RYNO so soon," Ratchet cringed.
"Agreed…" Clank whispered.
Manic stomped his foot and a pack of stone wolves erupted from the ground, snarling at the two...though mainly at Ratchet. ...In fact, all of them were focused just solely on Ratchet.
"Why do dogs always hate me…?" Ratchet muttered.
"Maybe...know what? Don't wanna add salt to the wound…" Manic shook his head before snapping his fingers, "Get 'em."
The wolves snarled and charged at Ratchet. Ratchet pulled out the Magmabuster and began to open fire as fast as he could, jumping to the sides and over the wolves. Ratchet's free hand donned a metal glove with a half a disco ball on the back of the hand before summoning a Groovitron into it. He threw it and it landed between Manic and Tsubaki as they were about to charge.
"Ratchet, above us!" Clank exclaimed.
Ratchet looked up in time to see Ultimate Clockwerk's foot heading for him. He jumped back, but his Magmabuster took the blow instead, tearing it apart. U-Clockwerk pressed on, delivering a series of punches and kicks at the feline, who revealed a surprisingly in-depth knowledge of martial arts as he blocked the blows while being forced back. The energy wings shifted into a pair of long flexible spikes that added in trying to hit the feline, only for Ratchet to perform a backflip to avoid them just barely. Ratchet skidded to a halt.
"That the best you got?" Ratchet asked.
"Nope," U-Clockwerk replied before snapping his fingers...letting Tsubaki's shield and Manic's armored fist slam into the feline, sending him into the ground while U-Clockwerk appeared above the Groovitron and cutting it in half with a chop before the music could start again, the halves disintegrating the moment they lost contact with U-Clockwerk's hand.
"?!"
"He accelerated the Groovitron's Time until there was nothing but dust left," Clank noted.
"And those punches and kicks hurt," Ratchet admitted.
"You haven't seen nothing yet…" U-Clockwerk informed, putting a hand on Tsubaki's shoulder, "If we can get them in sight, think you can hit 'em with an Astral Heat?"
"It will be two in a day, so I'll be in bed from exhaustion for the rest of the day, but I can," Tsubaki replied.
"Got it," U-Clockwerk nodded, "Leave it to me and Manic then."
"Of course," Tsubaki nodded.
"Good. Manic, let's go," U-Clockwerk ordered.
"On it," Manic nodded before making a wall of condensed dirt to block a beam...that turned it into a sheep, "A sheep ray?!"
"Sheepinator," Ratchet corrected, holding a red gun-like weapon and surrounded by stone wolves-turned-into-goats, "The upgrade for it is called the Goatinator." he snapped his fingers and pointed at Manic, "Sic 'em."
"Eh?" Manic blinked before one of the goats rammed into him, hitting in a certain...sensitive spot, "GH~!?"
Mai, Noel, Makoto, Roll, and Sonia tilted their heads, looking at the boys all on the floor, curled up with their hands between their legs. The only one not doing so, but cringing still, was Haseo.
"What's with you guys?"
"It feels like a guy was hit in the worst spot ever," Sonic shuddered.
"...I am so sorry," Ratchet honestly apologized with a cringe, "I honestly wasn't going for below the belt."
"Yet...it happened….anyway...you ass…" Manic squeaked, 'I've got freaking armor on and it still hurts!'
"I have heard that they become more sensitive the b…"
"A-buh-buh-buh! Not now, Clank…" Ratchet sushed him between clenched teeth.
Behind Manic, a crest appeared. It seemed to resemble a planet, yet had two figures above it, their arms spread out with an upside-down triangle at the top. The top figure had a wide mouth and huge claws for hands while the bottom figure seemed to be made from stone. Aside from the upside-down arrow, the crest spun before settling back on the more demonic of the two figures. Manic stabbed the ground.
"Fanged Beast: Fenrir…" Manic intoned, a purple glow shining in his eyes briefly.
The ground behind him erupted, taking shape of a wolf as big as Way Big. It had purple gems for eyes that glowed ominously. It tilted its head back, unleashing a deep, rumbling howl. The goats took one look, bleated, and fell over with their legs sticking up straight.
"...Oh, this is gonna be painful…" Ratchet whispered, his tail and ears drooping with his eyes shrinking to dots, "Clank...we're gonna be really sore in the morning…"
"Beg pardon?" Clank blinked as he turned his head to look at what Ratchet was seeing, "...oh dear…"
"...Manic's been practicing without us noticing," Makoto gawked, seeing the head of the wolf as it howled.
"Fenrir…" the massive stone wolf looked down at Manic, who merely pointed at Ratchet and Clank with his knife, "Sic."
The massive stone wolf howled, fangs bared as it pounced at the two. Clank activated his jetpack mode and took off. Ratchet yelped as the two barely avoided being devoured in the initial lunge.
"Okay! Giant wolf…" Ratchet gulped, "Clank, we might wanna go big."
"Agreed…" Clank nodded as they landed away from the wolf, the robot hopping off Ratchet's back.
"Now what are they doing?" U-Clockwerk pondered.
"It better not end with another kick to the nuts…" Manic growled.
Clank jumped up...before landing on very large legs and feet. His torso spun around before it was replaced with a much larger torso and arms with blasters on the back of the lower arms. Finally, he inhaled and his head popped out into a giant size as well. Ratchet whistled a little tune as he settled into a cockpit in Clank's torso.
"...They better not kick Fenrir in the nuts," Manic grumbled.
"Eeee! Mecha~!" Roll squealed, stars in her eyes as her tail wagged excitedly to the point she nearly took flight.
"Kakui~!" Haseo beamed, stars in his own eyes as his tails going nuts behind him.
"Video camera...Ah mou~! My need for a video camera~!" Roll looked around as Yacker floated out of her hair, taking pictures of the visible head of the giant Clank.
"Ano...I'm lost here…" Noel admitted.
"It's a giant robot, Noel. A giant. Robot," Mai replied, looking at it with stars in her own eyes.
"Which is so...cool~!" Makoto added before shuddering a bit, "Ohh...I think I just felt my naughty bits tingle…"
Sonia and Noel inched away from Makoto slowly so as to not be spotted, their eyes wide with cheeks pink. Sonic...was of mixed feelings. On the one hand, Roll and Haseo was going completely giddy over a giant robot. On the other hand...it was a giant robot. His war instincts of 'smash robots' was conflicting with 'don't make Haseo cry or Roll will punish horribly' instincts.
"I...I think I'm about done with...with just about everything today…" Tsubaki groaned, 'Now I need a clear shot at wherever Ratchet is in there!'
U-Clockwerk grabbed Manic and flew up on top of Fenrir's head. He and Clank glowed before time froze around them. Giant Clank approached, seeing Fenrir was frozen...before Fenrir suddenly tackled him over.
"Oh great! Now he can do what you can, Clank!" Ratchet exclaimed before plugging a gun into a port, causing a large copy to form in Giant Clank's hand.
"...And he can make giant versions of those guns too…" Manic groaned before tensing, '...He better not make a giant version of that RYNO thing…'
Giant Clank began to shoot balls of ice at Fenrir, who ran around, dodging the shots. Fenrir managed to get up close and grabbed the giant gun in its jaws, the fangs ripping through it and causing it to spark. Giant Clank smashed his fist into Fenrir, knocking it away, before the gun blew up, engulfing the gun-holding arm in ice.
"...Seems they have the advantage in terms of speed…" Clank noted as he looked at his frozen arm, "...Ratchet, we may need Mr. Zurkon to help deal with them."
"On it," Ratchet replied before putting a green and silver sphere into a slot on the console.
A larger version of the sphere formed in Giant Clank's hand before he tossed it. The ball opened up before transforming into a large, frenzied robot that hovered around Giant Clank. Its body resembled a business suit while its 'skin' was a sickly green. It had claws for hands and red, evil optics. It looked at Fenrir and its optics glowed.
"And now another one," Manic facepalmed...before the robot deployed dozens of guns from out of its back, all aimed at Fenrir, "...And that's just overkill!"
=Yoo-hoo! Mr. Zurkon is looking to kill!= the support robot declared.
"And it's psychotic, too... Why not bring the misses and junior while you're at it?!" Manic complained.
"..."
"..."
"...I jinxed it, didn't I…?" Manic groaned.
=MR. ZURKON DID NOT NEED TO BE REMINDED OF PAINFUL DIVORCE AND LOSING THE CUSTODY BATTLE!= Mr. Zurkon snapped before pulling out…
"OH COME ON!" Manic screamed as Mr. Zurkon charged up its RYNO.
"Ratchet, I thought I told you to not install a RYNO into Mr. Zurkon."
"Qwark triple-dog dared me."
"...Run, wolf, run!" U-Clockwerk shouted.
The massive stone wolf yelped as it began to run from the massive hail-fire of rockets, lasers, fireworks, bullets, and the sounds of the 1812 Overture. Fenrir ran all around before finally settling on hiding behind Giant Clank.
"Oh no," Ratchet and Clank got out before the last rounds slammed into the Giant Clank, tearing into the giant robot and exposing a slightly-burnt Ratchet to the world.
=Out of bullets= Mr. Zurkon growled before Fenrir jumped over Giant Clank and mauled Mr. Zurkon as fast as it could, even going so far as to bury the remains and sit on the pile of dirt while time resumed.
"Good boy…" Manic patted the giant stone wolf on the head, "Now we can focus on the…" a giant Groovitron landed, "...I'm conflicted. I want to remake all the weapons he's got…" he and U-Clockwerk began to boogie while Fenrir twirled like a ballerina, "BUT I HATE HIM USING THEM ON US!"
"Okay...now I hear that dis..co...ahh!" Makoto freaked as she suddenly started dancing, "The hell?!"
"Why are we dancing?!" Ragna snapped, "Dammit, body, stop moving!"
"Blame the giant disco ball!" Sonic shouted before Roll grabbed him, "...Don't you dare dip me. Don't you dare dip me. Don't you dare dip…!" Roll dipped him, "Ow~! I shoulda stretched!"
"She...dared…" Mai grunted out.
"Gomen nassai~" Roll apologized before spinning him off like a top.
"...Grr…" Tsubaki's eye twitched, unaware that an aura was slowly forming on her as her crest appeared behind her.
"Negotiator!" Ratchet plugged it into a slot.
Giant Clank formed the rocket launcher and quickly fired two shots, blasting Fenrir apart and sending Manic and U-Clockwerk crashing into the ground...before they got up and continued to boogie.
"I need to…" U-Clockwerk grunted before he timed out, "Aw come on~!"
"...Enough...is...enough!" Tsubaki snapped, the aura on her flaring up as her crest glowed behind her as the Groovitron ended, "I've had it with this blasted music...I've had it with these two...it's time I finish this!" her weapon changed into a giant energy bow with flaming wings, reeling her arm back as she drew an 'arrow, "Exceed Accel!"
"Clank!" Ratchet spotted Tsubaki, "She's doing something!"
Clank glowed before pausing time around them once more. Ratchet sighed in relief...before seeing her still moving.
"What?!" Ratchet exclaimed before recalling that U-Clockwerk had put a hand on her shoulder, "Oh, don't tell me…"
"Macto Lux…" Tsubaki began as energy rings seemingly made of fire formed in front of the 'arrow', "Kyrie!" she let the 'arrow' fly, which soon began to split into a flurry of energy arrows that overlapped each other into the form of a phoenix.
"Aw cragmites…" Ratchet gulped, covering his head with his arms as best he could.
The 'phoenix' collided with Giant Clank. Time resumed and Haseo yelped and hid behind Noel at the large explosion that shattered the ice wall blocking them off from the others. As the smoke settled, there was no trace of Ratchet nor Clank anywhere, just a massive crater that looked like it was hit by a large hail of arrows with the broken obelisk in the center of it all.
*POOF!*
"Mmmmm…" Haseo whimpered, his fur completely puffed out to the point it strained against his clothes while he shivered like he was stark naked in the middle of the coldest winter recorded.
"...What…was that…?" Makoto whispered with wide eyes as Roll was quick in brushing down her brother's fur.
"I think...Tsubaki just pulled off an Exceed Accel…" Mai answered.
"A what?" Noel and Ragna asked.
"What I did with the first Obelisk when we first arrived here," Mai answered.
"That thing?" Ragna raised a brow.
"Hai. Basically...it's like releasing a limiter and unleashing a powerful attack," Mai explained.
A dome of stone collapsed, revealing Manic and Ben in the middle of it. Manic's armor glowed before turning back into his medallion.
"That was nuts!" Manic exclaimed, "Tsuki, dudette, that was…" he turned to where Tsubaki was...only to see her collapsed to the ground, "Ah!"
"...Side effect?" Ragna guessed as Noel hurried over.
"Hai...Exceed Accels are like Astral Heats. They leave you dead tired, but...not as much," Mai replied as Manic helped get Tsubaki turned over.
"M-Manic-san, you're bleeding!" Noel exclaimed.
"I've had worse," Manic replied.
"He's got shrapnel in his back from two explosions," Ben noted.
"Just help me get Tsubaki into the bus!" Manic barked.
"Demo...what about the Time Stone?" Noel asked.
"Her first, stupid stone later!" Manic replied with a bark in his tone.
"H-hai!" Noel yelped.
"He is really not helping his case," Sonia whispered to Sonic, who nodded.
"Hmm?" Makoto's ears twitched, "...There's that whistle again…"
"...Grr…" Manic's eye twitched before summoning his dagger again, stabbing it into the ground as Fenrir reappeared, "Whatever damn beast is out there, you better leave now or else Fenrir is having lunch!"
For a moment, everything was calm. Then a buzzing sound went off before a car-sized, blue moth-like creature with huge fangs and four wings flew out of the trees and began heading towards the Obelisk.
"...Ohh~" Noel groaned as she fainted on the spot.
"Get 'em, Fenrir."
Fenrir roared before chomping down on the bug. For a moment, things seemed well enough. It was then the bug exited through the side of Fenrir.
"Oh great...It's a Psycholeopterran," Ben facepalmed.
"You know what that is?" Sonia asked.
"Hypnotic eyes for eating prey and can phase through things not treated for things that can phase through them," Ragna frowned before noticing a red spiked collar on it, "And it's got another collar, too. Think this is the same one from Mt. Rushmore?"
"Better not be…" Ben frowned, "If so..this is too much of a coincidence."
"Theorize later. Swat now before it steals the Time Stone!" Sonia snapped.
"But it hasn't shown up yet!" Makoto pointed out before the bug phased through the 'deck' of cards and came out with a glowing orange perfectly cut gemstone between its teeth, "...Oh, that thing is a cheat…"
"And getting away with the Time Stone…!" Ragna growled out.
"I got it!" Mai shouted as she tossed her spear, the bug moving out of the way of it before it changed directions, the moth dodging the second pass as it flew off, "Mou~!"
"Great...that's two Time Stones we lost…" Sonic groaned.
"Only thing is...how did it know the Time Stone was in there?" Sonia asked as Haseo flew over to it.
"A-Ano...I think it saw this," Haseo pointed to an indent like the one that had been in the pile of boulders in the first area they had been in.
"Yeah, that's great, Haseo, and I'm glad you have an idea how it knew...but…" Manic began before collapsing face first, revealing the entire back of his jacket was soaked in his own blood.
"...Roll…"
"H-hai!" Roll nodded as she ran over, carrying a medkit.
"Everyone back to the bus," Sonic ordered, "Ben, think you can turn into Diamondhead or Underwraps to make a streter or carry them carefully?"
"Sure. L…" Ben began as he was about to turn the Omnitrix on, only to see the red light on it, "...darn it."
"...Needs to recharge?" Sonic guessed with a groan.
"..." Ben nodded.
"...Okay. There are times when that thing just annoys the heck out of me," Makoto frowned in annoyance, "Especially in times like this."
"Another Time Stone...Excellent work once again, Khyber."
"Thank you. A pity I could not test Tennyson once more due to the Omnitrix timing out beforehand, but a hunter knows when to strike."
"Soundwave, did you obtain video files on the battle?"
Soundwave approached a console and extended a tentacle from his torso once more. A screen appeared before the three as it replayed the fight.
"So that is an evolved Chronosapien. Much more athletic in appearance it seems," Khyber observed.
"Interesting...Soundwave, keep these in a separate file. I want to study these later."
"..." Soundwave retracted the tentacle and nodded.
"As for you Khyber, I have a pin-point on the next Time Stone…" the screen changed to a mountainous region surrounded by waterfalls, and a connected series of temples submerged in water in a massive lake, "Keep in mind, this place is not one to take lightly. It appears to be mainly submerged. There appears to be an Obelisk on land...and underwater."
"Oh?"
"However...the temples themselves are a literal maze, especially the parts submerged underwater. One wrong turn, and there's a chance you won't return...alive."
"Rest assured...I won't fail," Khyber smirked, red eyes glowing a bit.
The figure just nodded. Turning back to the strange device, they watched as a pink mist enter it, lighting up a pink light to add to the red, blue, and yellow (GammaTron A/N: Forgot to mention in the last chapter that the gem was a yellow one shaped like a trapezoid. Sorry) lights on the top. A progress bar on a monitor attached to the device rose up from twenty five percent to thirty three.
"Soon, Ben 10..." the figure clenched a fist.
"Roll's Character Interviews!" a Chibi Omake
A set of curtains rise up, revealing a white room with a large window in the background depicting the night sky. Before the window was a large couch, a few potted plants, a wooden desk, and a comfy chair behind the desk. Sitting at the desk was Roll, dressed up in a black and pink formal women's business suit. On the table was a coffee mug filled with hot cocoa with the word 'I' followed by a heart and then a picture of Sonic's symbol.
"Konnichiwa, minna!" Roll greeted, "And welcome to another episode of 'Character Interviews'! I'm your host, Roll Sakurai." She looked towards the couch, "In this segment, we interview characters in the story thus far and may even revisit some characters later on!" she looked back at the 'audience,' "So, minna, let's give a big round of applause for our next guest...Oh! Manic-Nii!"
"Yo, dudes and dudettes!" Manic waved to the audience as he sat down.
"Konnichiwa, Manic-nii!" Roll greeted, "It's nice to have you on here!"
"Glad to be on, Sis-in-Law," Manic relied, "So how's this gonna be workin' out?"
"Well, I have some questions to ask you. It is an interview show, ne?"
"Right," Manic nodded.
"Well...There was something I've always haven't understood. Waffle Sunday."
"Well, I talked about the rough version of it; once a month, Ferrel would make these wicked delicious waffles and he could only make so many. And considering I was raised by thieves, they'd swipe waffles from each other and eventually fights break out," Manic explained, "And before anyone asks; yes, Ferrel's waffles are that good. Hell, only dudette that I know that could make waffles almost as perfect as them is you, Step-Sis."
"Arigatou," Roll thanked, "That's something else I'd like to ask, but...you don't have to answer if you don't want."
"You mean how my life was growing up?" Manic asked before shrugging, "Well, it wasn't as good as Sis's and not better than Bro's. It was a rough life, even with Ferrel raising me himself. I spent most of the time in sewers and picked up the trade from some more trustworthy thieves...and a few untrustworthy ones. First time it happened was where I got a scar on my back. It was pretty nasty and I couldn't get out of bed for a whole week outside of the bathroom and mandatory daily baths from Ferrel to prevent an infection."
"Oh my!" Roll gasped.
"Yeah...But I got a few things out of it. The first was lessons on how to tell body language, the second was the cool scar I got out of it, and my first vest. Ferrel told me he was gonna sell it, but he just gave it to me instead," Manic shrugged, giving a small smile, "Heh. He's a great dude." he frowned a little, "Still, it wasn't all fun and games and the occasional danger from untrustworthy thieves like that guy. Compared to me, Bro and Sis have yet to know what death's like."
"Eh? Y...you mean…?"
"What'd ya expect? We lived in the sewers and the most abandoned places out there," Manic said, "I think the first dead body I saw was when I was five. Guy overdosed on a combination of Spice and Cocaine. Ferrel, when he found it, didn't say a thing. He just took a shovel and buried the guy in an unmarked grave and gave a prayer." he gave a weak smile, "He told me after he finished praying that he'd always do this for the deceased, letting them have at least someone there to give them final rights whether they were good or bad in life. He taught me that everyone has a life they live; sometimes it'll be painful and long, something it'll be a wonderful life but cut short and everything in-between. But the important thing to remember is that everyone's equal in death."
"Soka…"
"Ya know, it's actually how I grew up that always got me pissed off with Sis for the first couple years we knew each other," Manic noted, "She didn't know shit about anything outside what could be considered a 'gilded cage' to me. More focused on looking 'beautiful' or 'fashionable,' hated getting dirty aside from the mud masks, and just...just all kinds of triggers ta me. Sure, we got along well enough, but…" he shook his head, "It wasn't 'till she first saw someone die in front of her that we started really getting along like actual siblings."
"I see," Roll noted, "And how did you learn how to fight with a knife like yours?"
"Ya mean Carn?" Manic asked as his wolf-knife came out, "Well, one of the more trustworthy thieves taught me. Lemme tell ya, the dudette was awesome at it! Heck, until the last test, I never once beat her in the lessons she gave me. But…" he sighed, "She got caught one day and, well...Roboticized. Turns out that she was out there to get me a gift fer learning all she knew." he tugged on his right glove to show a silver ring with a blue stone on it on his pinky finger, "Ferrel found it."
"Ahh. Soka, soka…" Roll noted, her hand moving down to her family's katana and just patted it.
"Anything else ya wanna ask, Sis-in-Law?"
"Ano...Not right now. Would you like to ask anything, Manic-nii?"
"...Hmm...you ever get in trouble on occasion before we met ya?"
"Eh? Ano...Not that I can…" Roll began.
"She ate an entire strawberry cake when she was three and, with her speed, caused all the Kunoichi and Shinobi in the Ryoichi Corps untold amounts of trouble for an entire day until she finally crashed from the sugar rush!" Skye called from backstage.
"O-Otou-san!" Roll exclaimed, her cheeks lighting up in an embarrassed blush.
"Ha ha! I knew you'd have a rebellious bone in your body!" Manic laughed.
"And then there was the time she managed to get a cup of sake by accident when she was five!"
"Eek! Otou-san, matte!"
"She even got a few of th-GAH~!"
"No...bad Skye, kyu," Miyuki's voice frowned backstage, "There are some things a lady doesn't want revealed, kyu."
"Didn't...s-s-see...that...coming…" Skye shivered before giving a sneeze.
"Oh man...Did ya streak?" Manic asked.
"Mmmmm…" Roll whined, covering her face with her tail as the curtains fell.
GT: Ah...now that was a Chapter.
SZ: *stands in a depressed corner, surrounded by beaten and battered ABC Machine monsters from Yugioh* Hai...it was something...sorry. Just..getting sick and tired of losing...and…*looks at the dented and nearly broken A Assault Tank* my poor machines have taken a nasty beating…
GT: Ah come on. I know these guys are tough as nails. You can bounce back soon enough.
SZ: *looks over* try saying that after going against True Dracos, Dinosaurs, Trickstars, and Pendulum Magician….
ABC machines:*twitched at the mention of the first and third names*
GT: You'll do good, dude. And someone get those buckets from Kancolle. I heard they do wonders for machines.
SZ:...I hope so…*gets up* Well..hope you people enjoyed this chapter.
GT: Aye! Hope everyone reads and reviews! Please! I don't want Kokonoe to kill me due to lack of questions for her segment at the end of Chapter 55…
SZ: *pales*...same! I don't wanna have to keep bailing us out! I'm running out of questions!
GT: *nods* So we must pray for reviews WITH QUESTIONS! But for now…*picks up SZ and his machines and runs off* FLEE FROM THE CRAZY CAT LADY!
SZ: RUN! RUN! And please someone repair my ABC Machines! I paid good money for these things!