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)

101. Of Dragons and Duplicates

A/N: Greetings one and all! Welcome back to Ben 10 RWBY and… holy cow, we're at a hundred chapters, people! I know that last week was technically 100 (counting the prologue), but honestly, I count BOTH this and the last chapter as a big 100th chapter extravaganza. After all, it's Kamen Rider Cross-Z's big debut, AND the unofficial start of Ben 10 RWBY Month, so it's all a pretty big deal. With that said, though, let's cut the chit-chat and get right into it, shall we? This is…

Chapter 100: Of Dragons and Duplicates

…..

To say that things were going well in Undertown was… only semi-accurate. Team RWBY and Raven weren't exactly struggling against the Ministry, per se, but the villains themselves weren't slouching when it came to the fight, giving it their all with every strike they delivered. Yang and Mercury were the perfect example of this, the duo matching blow for blow, hands and feet connecting in massive impacts that left both of them shaking. But even so, they didn't let up a single bit. After his latest kick once again sent both of them back in opposite directions, Mercury decided to go for broke, pulling out his signature breakdance move that sent a flurry of Dust rounds flying Yang's way.

The Blonde Brawler gasped and pumped her Ember Celica, propelling her into the air where she somersaulted out of the incoming hailstorm. Then, swinging her arms behind her, she shot two rounds of her own… which made impact with Mercury's shots and exploded behind her, propelling the girl straight down to her opponent with blazing red eyes. "How many times are we gonna do this routine, Mercury?! RAAHH!"

"Until one of us goes down for GOOD!" Mercury countered, swinging his leg up to meet her fist. "And trust me, it WON'T be me—AH!" Faster than he could react, Yang somehow saw the move coming and changed her tactic, instead grabbing his leg as she flew down.

"Well, it won't be me EITHER! GYAAAH!" Skidding onto her feet, Yang used her momentum to toss Mercury into the air, sending him careening into an old building and leaving a human-shaped hole in it. With another pump of her fists, Yang went to finish what she started.

Meanwhile, Emerald and Blake were having their own battle, dueling with double blades as the cat girl countered the thief's quick and targeted attacks. "Hah, okay, so since when does Salem start making deals with deities?" Blake questioned, getting right into Emerald's face as their weapons struck again. "I thought she hated gods!"

"Oh, these aren't gods." Emerald emphasized with a sly grin. "They're demons, and given Salem's whole thing, I don't think it's a stretch to see her team up with them."

Blake narrowed her eyes, which began to glow. "Fair, but just a word of warning—" Within seconds, she had disappeared, leaving an icy shadow clone that instantly froze over Emerald's blades.

"H-Huh?! You little—" *CRACK* "AGH!"

Reappearing directly next to her, Blake delivered a hard kick to Emerald's head, sending her staggering. "If she decides to team up with any BAD gods… just know we've got connections."

Not far away, Weiss and Neo were also dueling, the former heiress' Myrtenaster clashing against the latter's umbrella. The two had gotten in the zone, as it were, their eyes locked onto one another to make sure neither escaped the other's sight. "Hah, impressive… if unrefined." Weiss commented, earning her a nasty glare from Neo. "Oh, don't give me that." Weiss pushed against Neo and sent her back, summoning several glyphs to unleash a barrage of energy blasts upon her. But even so, Neo simply shattered into a million pieces, leaving Weiss on high alert.

Backing up, Weiss kept her eyes and ears open, and once she heard the sound of rustling clothes, she spun around and summoned her Boarbatusk, the beast rolling straight into Neo and knocking the wind out of her. "Ha! Gotcha, bitch!" However, as Neo landed in a heap, Weiss had to doubletake at her own bragging. "…Wow, I really HAVE been around Rex a lot if I'm saying that. And oddly enough, I don't mind!"

High above in the air, though, a much more intense battle was being waged. Raven Branwen, the Spring Maiden, and Cinder Fall, the Fall Maiden, were once again locked in mortal combat, bashing away at each other with elemental attacks and weapons of all types. Both women were deftly flying through the air while doing so as well, the force behind their attacks only increasing with each hit they landed. "Hah… hah… aren't you TIRED yet, you old hag?!" Cinder huffed.

"Oh… you did NOT just call me "old"!" From out of nowhere, Raven's hands erupted with electrical power, her lips curled into a snarl. "You WILL regret that, I promise!"

"Words will only get you so far!" Cinder focused all of her Maiden power into her hands as well, and from the ground, she pulled up huge chunks of earth to coat both her arms in rock-solid armor that ignited with heat energy. "If you want to shut me up, then you'll have to MAKE me!" Once more the duo flew in and collided their fists with one another… with ended up blowing both of them down out of the sky and back down to the surface.

There, Ruby and Rojo were engaged in battle, the former's scythe striking her rival's sword with many successive swings. Even so, Rojo was able to keep up with the Hooded Huntress, batting away at the blade with her own. "Little Red, I gotta admit, you're givin' me a good workout." Rojo pushed up against Crescent Rose and threw Bloodstrike into the air. "But now, I think it's time we end this!" As it came back down, the single sword split into its dual blade mode, and Rojo delivered a pair of kicks to the butts of their hands, sending them straight to Ruby like darts to a dartboard.

"WOAH!" Just barely ducking out of the way, Ruby let out an anxious breath, taking stock of the situation. '…Okay, so the bad guys have gotten better. That's expected, I guess… but still, it's not like they're unbeatable. Just gotta find a way to throw 'em off their—'

*RING-RING-RING* *RING-RING-RING*

All of a sudden, the scroll in Ruby's pocket began going off like mad, leading Rojo to pause her incoming charge. Across the battlefield, everyone else also ceased fighting for a brief moment at the unexpected sound. "Huh?! Girl, seriously?" the bounty hunter narrowed her gaze. "Ya couldn't have set that on vibrate or something?"

"Well SORRY, but I didn't think anybody important would be calling me in the middle of a battle!" Ruby irritably pulled out her scroll… and saw that it was Zak requesting a video chat. '…Dude, bad time for a talk.' she thought with a blush. Never the less, she answered it, and was greeted by Zak's face instantly. "Zak, what?! We're in the middle of a fight here!"

The boy on the other end flinched, but was insistent on what he had to say. "R-Ruby, I'm sorry! But… you guys SERIOUSLY need to see this! Full screen this if you can, because this is HUGE!"

The camera moved away from Zak as Ruby grimaced, though she still did as he asked. "Zak, this better be important, because I am on the losing end of this fight here—whaaaaa…?" Once the holographic screen was projected upward so everyone could see, Zak's phone camera landed on an unexpected target; Kenny. And strapped firmly to his waist… was the Build Driver. "…Excuse me, WHAT?!"

Furthermore, he was being confronted by Night Rogue and… another familiar masked villain. "Is that Blood Stalk?!" Yang exclaimed.

"AH!" Weiss gasped, seeing her sister being tended to by Jaune, Pyrrha and Gwen in the background. "Winter! What happened?!"

Just then, the Cross-Z Dragon came flying in and landed in Kenny's hand. After which, it folded its neck and tail up, allowing Kenny to slot the Dragon Fullbottle into its back. "I don't know…" Blake uttered, smiling slightly as the villains stared on in disbelief. "But I think Kenny's about to some serious payback for it." And sure enough…

Are You Ready?!

"HENSHIN!"

WAKE UP BURNING!

GET CROSS-Z DRAGON!

YEAH!

In a brilliant display of blue and gold light, Kenny transformed into Kamen Rider Cross-Z and proceeded to do away with Night Rogue with one Rider Kick, much to the girls' delight. "AAAH! NO WAY!" Ruby screamed.

Zak was laughing like a maniac as well. "Haha! I know, right? Honestly, this is too awesome for me to be disappointed that I didn't get it. Kenny's kicking ASS!"

"And he deserves it!" Yang concurred. "Dude worked his ass off getting into fighting shape, now he get to fight for real!"

…Meanwhile, the Ministry members were in complete and utter disbelief. "…You've gotta be kidding." Mercury muttered.

"Should've known THIS could've happened…" Emerald rolled her eyes while Neo shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Cinder's features twisted with rage, her entire body practically radiating heat. "…And here we go."

"Not… ANOTHER ONE!" Cinder roared in anger before shooting straight up and out of the hole that Wu Kong had made earlier, throwing Raven for a loop.

"Agh! CINDER! Get back here!" Raven was about to take off after her, but Yang held her back.

"Mom, wait! We should all go up there!"

Weiss nodded fervently. "Yeah, I need to see if Winter's okay. And I'm sure the others could use some more help with everything going on up there." She directed her sights over to the rest of Cinder's team, her eyes narrowed. "…Unless they want to keep on fighting."

Rojo glanced up to the screen, watching as Kenny summoned his new sword weapon and declared; "My name… is Kenneth James Tennyson. Kamen Rider… CROSS-Z!" From there, he charged directly at Blood Stalk, who was using his Steam Blade to defend himself.

"…Honestly? I think we're good for the day." Rojo concluded, placing her sword on her back. "Either way, we got three new members to your one, and even if you guys got your HQ protected, there's still gonna be TONS of collateral damage." She wore a victorious smirk. "…Meaning Harangue's gonna bust on you guys BIG time on the news." Seeing the girls scowl at her, knowing she was right, was all the satisfaction that Rojo needed. "C'mon, guys, let's report back to the Boss Lady."

As if on cue, one of Eon's portals opened up behind them, but Mercury was resistant on leaving. "Seriously?! Rojo, come on! We were just getting started!"

"Yeah! I vote we don't let these bitches leave either!" Yang piped up, slamming her fist into her palm. "I was just about to bend Mercury over my knee and—"

"YANG." Raven raised her voice, bringing her arm up to halt her daughter. "There are much more important issues to address than these clowns."

Emerald scoffed at that. "Clowns, eh? Well, we'll see who the clowns are after Salem enacts her BIG plan." That managed to throw Team RWBY and even Raven for a loop, to which Emerald smirked. "Oh yeah, did I mention? This whole operation? Just a little testing of the waters. Salem's got something MUCH bigger in store."

The ladies were left silent for a few moments, pondering on what that could mean… only for Weiss to point something out. "…Why are you telling us this?"

"Oh, that's the best part… because you'll never guess what we've got cooking." Emerald, Neo and Rojo wore similarly smarmy smirks as they backed into the portal, while Mercury sent the Huntresses his signature scowl as he walked forward. "Later, bitches." the green-haired thief waved teasingly. "Have fun trying to figure it out!"

And with that, the group were gone, leaving Team RWBY and Raven to stew on what they'd just heard. "…What could be bigger than a full-scale assault on Plumber Headquarters?" Blake wondered out loud.

"I… have no clue." Raven admitted. "But knowing Salem, it must be something grand by design. If this is only a taste of what's to come…" However, she shook her head, getting her mind back on track. "N-Never mind that now, though. We've got to get up to the surface, quick. Ruby, is Zak still on the line?"

"Mmhm." Ruby nodded, bringing the scroll up. "And he heard the whole thing."

Zak made sure to clarify further; "Actually, a LOT of us did. I've got my family, Neptune, Penny, Sun and Ilia with me, too."

The chameleon girl herself chimed in. "Guys, things are CRAZY up here. Vados is fighting Bashmouth right now, but I don't know how long she'll be able to hold him off. We'll need LOTS of back-up… hah, I wish our heaviest hitters weren't preoccupied right now."

Weiss raised a brow. "What about Rex? Isn't he there?"

"He JUST went off to find Ben to see if he could help him out." Sun answered. "But Bashmouth—WOAH!" *CRA-SMASH* Team RWBY leaned in after hearing that loud noise, and Sun's response didn't leave them with much hope. "…just sent Vados through a building." *SHYOOM* "And there goes Penny to help her."

As the events played out across the line, Yang pursed her lips, thinking back to what Rojo said before; 'we got three new members to your one.' The number stuck in her mind until an idea spurned from it. "…We gotta take out Bashmouth."

"…I'm sorry, could you say that again?" Blake asked, her cat ears flicking. "Because it sounds like you just said—"

"We NEED to take out Bashmouth." Yang asserted, her expression intensely serious. "The Ministry can't keep getting away with this. Every time something this big happens with them, they always like flexing new members or new assets or SOMETHING like that. Rojo bragged about getting TWO new members to our one new Rider, but let's see how Salem reacts if we subtract from her line-up a bit."

Ruby was all about the idea… though she was also trepidatious about it as well. "Yang, I love what I'm hearing, but I think you're forgetting that Bashmouth is practically UNSTOPPABLE."

But the Blonde Brawler smirked, reminding her sister; "Ah, not so. Remember how Ben had him on the ropes with Overflow when they made that first prison break?"

"Well, yeah, but there's no way Bashmouth will let the same thing happen again." Weiss stated.

"Maybe not… but there's another alien that I think can get the job done in a similar way." Yang nodded to her mother. "Mom, you know what to do."

The Spring Maiden raised a brow to her daughter. "You want me to take us straight to Ben? Even though he's fighting Albedo?"

Yang was immovably resolute. "Yes. I need to relay my plan to him directly. Please… trust me on this one." Raven seemed hesitant for a few moments… but ultimately, she smiled and opened the portal for them. "Thanks, mom."

"You're welcome. Now go, I will pursue Cinder before she causes even more damage."

"Sounds like a plan. C'mon ladies, let's turn the tide of this thing!"

…..

Back above the surface… very HIGH above the surface, in fact, another battle was being waged. Two equals yet distinctly opposite in almost every way. Though even then, they were more alike than the other would want to admit. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wu Kong, and the Great Sage who Informs the Wind, the Six-Eared Macaque, both locked in an intense and heated clash with one another in the sky above Bellwood. Their conflict was so immense that, without them even noticing… they had attracted an audience down below.

Mortal eyes gazed upon the two celestial simians in awestruck astoundment, none of them able to comprehend exactly what was happening before their eyes. Many had even pulled their phones out, though the ripples through the air at every impact the monkeys made wasn't exactly helping with the picture quality.

With his bludgeon-tipped staff, Macaque kept matching Wu Kong blow for blow, keeping pace with his once sworn brother. "Hah! Hah! Getting tired yet, old buddy?!" he taunted, seeing the Monkey King's gritted teeth and matching it with a smirk. "You can always call time out and take a nap. Maybe for another FIVE HUNDRED years!"

"Fat chance!" Wu Kong snapped back, swinging the Ruyi Jingu Bang around so that he shoved his opponent's staff away, only to then suddenly jerk it back and hit Macaque square in the chest. Using this, he then shot forward and SLAMMED Macaque into the roof of a building, though he didn't get much farther before the black-furred monkey grabbed the cudgel and shoved it off of him.

With remarkable speed, Macaque leapt to his feet and swiftly struck Wu Kong, shoving him back toward the other end of the roof. With a shrill screech, he then jumped up high, ready to bring the bludgeon down on his rival's head… only for Wu Kong to swing up onto his own staff, making it grow to at least three times the length. Then, with one mighty swing, he WHAPPED Macaque back down. "GRAH! Had enough?!" barked the Monkey King.

"Hah… hah… "The Victorious Fighting Buddha". …What a JOKE!" Macaque shouted back, the two engaging in what essentially boiled down to a stick fight. Eventually, Wu Kong was able to redirect Macaque's weapon into the roof, planting a foot firmly on it as they locked eyes. "Do you have ANY idea what we could've accomplished together?! What we ALL could've accomplished if you hadn't gotten too greedy?!"

"Oh, so we're back to this, then?" Wu Kong retorted. "You really can't let it go, can ya?"

"How can I when the rebellion went SO damn wrong?!" Macaque seethed. "We TRUSTED you to lead us, but in the end, I was right! You thought our Brotherhood could go up against the ENTIRETY of heaven! But it COULDN'T!" He raised his nose up to his former brother. "And now here you are… having turned your back on your own kind in favor of going on a journey of "enlightenment" with a dumb monk. After EVERYTHING we went through!"

Narrowing his eyes, Wu Kong could hear the feeling of betrayal behind Macaque's voice, even behind all of his rage. "I offered you a choice, brother! Just as I had offered it to the Dragon King and Bull King! Azure, Peng and Yellowtusk ALL accepted the offer, but you three chose NOT to."

Macaque's scowl deepened. "As if I'd want to actively PUT one of those pain circlets on my head! Like a dog on a leash! At least the pain for you wasn't a worry since you're immortal! You have ANY idea how many would give up everything for that?!"

"What? Immortality?" Wu Kong suddenly erupted in laughter, which only made Macaque angrier. …Though the dark monkey certainly wasn't expecting his response; "For that word, all realms and beings have RUINED themselves!" Kicking Macaque's staff away, Wu Kong swung the Jingu Bang straight into his double's side, knocking him off his feet.

Though that wouldn't be for long as Macaque flipped back upright in a split second, bringing his own cudgel back up to parry against his former brother's successive hits. By the end, both of them were pointing the ends of their weapons at the others' chests. "So that's it? Our choices were to be enslaved or be KILLED?!"

"I spared Dragon King and DBK!"

"Oh, as if sealing them away for an eternity is any better!" The Macaque's reply made Wu Kong's eyes widen. "Hah yeah, I've been filled in on the gist of what's happened since you killed me. Needless to say, Iron Fan's not too happy with you. You've got nowhere to run now, Wu Kong. Your past is catching up, and no stupid monk is around to help you!"

After a moment, Wu Kong… was again laughing. "Hahaha… dear "brother", if you think I need my master to help me deal with this, then you're wrong. He's already helped me in ways that I couldn't have imagined hundreds of years ago." He reached up and grabbed the spikey end of Macaque's cudgel, completely unfazed. "And as for you, your edge needs honing! But hey, I've been needin' a backscratcher!" Wu Kong shoved the weapon upward and delivered a kick straight to Macaque's chest, only for the six-eared simian do bat it away with his hand.

With a baneful screech, Macaque was about to keep fighting… when something caught both monkeys' attention. A spike in energy so powerful that it practically rippled through the air, a blue wave of light briefly washing over them. The duo looked off in the distance, where they could see smoke rising over the building tops. And oddly enough, the energy felt very familiar. "Was that… dragon energy?" Macaque glanced around. "But… I see no dragon."

"Maybe not physically… but I think it's more than that." Wu Kong smiled knowingly. "I'm pretty sure that a human's been able to harness dragon energy for themselves."

"That's impossible!" Macaque denied vehemently. "Mortals shouldn't be able to harness dragon energy in such a way! Not unless they're a sorcerer!"

A cheeky smile appeared on Wu Kong's features. "Well… we DO have plenty of sorceresses on our side, but knowing this group, I wouldn't be surprised if one of them WAS able to harness that kinda power." His smirk increased further seeing Macaque glare at him. "Betcha weren't expecting something like this, did ya? Times have changed since you were alive, brother."

Growling in aggravation, Macaque leapt into the air and shot straight off for the source of the energy pulse. "GRAH! I KNOW! So if what you said is true, then it's time I nip this problem in the bud before it gets too big to deal with!"

Wu Kong's brows shot up at his dark double's sudden departure, flying after him on his cloud as fast as possible. "HEY! You get back here! We weren't finished!"

…..

Below on solid ground, meanwhile, a certain pair of shape-shifters were still going at it themselves, knocking each other around downtown without remorse. Ben and Albedo had gone through at least three city blocks, battering one another relentlessly as citizens screamed and ran for their lives. Of course, the Omnitrix bearer had been careful to leave them clear escape routes, even during his skirmish, but it was getting harder to do the more they fought… and it was very obvious that both were getting tired. "Hah… hah… had enough?" the hero asked, currently in the form of Four Arms.

Meanwhile, Albedo was still Ultimate Negative Spidermonkey, the evolved Arachnichimp grunting as he huffed and puffed. "Grah… grah… not on… your life!" In a flash of red light, the transformed Galvan shifted into a different Ultimate… this time that of a Tetramand. Rather than blue, however, Negative Ultimate Four Arms was entirely deep purple with black and red tights. "Perhaps some ranged combat is more suitable for this situation!" On that note, his fists propelled off of his arms, launching directly into regular Four Arms and driving him right through a building.

"AAUUUGH!" Crashing through to the other side, Four Arms faceplanted directly onto the pavement, where he transformed back into Ben. Rubbing his head, the hero staggered to his feet… only to hear Albedo smashing his way after him through the building. But the hero quickly went into a nearby ally, ducking behind a dumpster.

"Grrr… come out, Tennyson…" Albedo taunted with a tune in his voice. "Perhaps a good thrashing will do you good…"

"Doubt it, you big, purple assho—" Before Ben could finish muttering his insult, though, one of Raven's portals suddenly materialized next to him, nearly making him gasp. Still, he kept his lips sealed as Team RWBY emerged, bringing a finger to his lips and shushing them immediately. "Kind of a bad time to show up, ladies."

"Huh? What do you—oh." Weiss immediately took notice of Negative Ultimate Four Arms, leading them all to huddle with Ben behind the dumpster. "Eugh… not my first choice for a hiding place, but anything's better than dealing with him."

Ben tilted his head to the girls. "What're you doing here? I thought you were fighting Cinder's team down below. And where's Raven?"

Ruby could only give a shrug. "Yeah, well, we kinda got interrupted when Zak called to update us on the fight at Plumber HQ. Things are going well, but Cinder took off when she saw the newest member of the team, so Raven went after her."

"Huh? What do you mean "newest member"?"

Weiss and the girls all shared a bright smile. "Oh yeah, your older cousin's Kamen Rider Cross-Z now. You should congratulate him when you see him next."

"…Kenny is Kamen Rider Cross-Z?" Ben repeated, getting affirming nods from the girls. "…Huh, I wanna say I'm surprised, but… I think a part of me always knew he had it in him."

"You Tennysons DO tend to be good at heroic stuff." Blake agreed, only for her expression to turn serious again. "But unfortunately, the Ministry's got three new members while we've only got one."

"H-Hold on, what? I know about Macaque and Albedo, but who else is—"

"We'll explain later, Green Boy." Yang asserted, placing a hand on her boyfriend's shoulder. "But if we wanna even things out a little, then we'll need your help."

Furrowing his brows, Ben was only left more confused. "Huh? What do you mean? Do you have a plan?"

The Blonde Brawler gave him a wink. "Yep. We're gonna take out Bashmouth. And the Mutanimals, too, if we can."

The hero's lips tightened at the suggestion. Granted, that was something he'd been keen on doing for a while. Albedo and Macaque were certainly no slouches, but having Bashmouth on their side made the Ministry a true force to be reckoned with. Nigh unstoppable, incredible strength and durability, and an anger issue that rivaled Rath himself. And of course, the mutant army that Animo had amassed would definitely be a problem down the line once he made even more. But still, there was one issue…

"I like the sound of that, but how do we bring down all of them at once?"

Blake pointed to the hero. "Yang says that you've got an Ultimate that can take all of them out in one go. If you've got something that powerful, then you should probably use it."

"Hm…" Ben pondered on that for a moment… but then quickly realized which form Yang was likely referring to. "Wait… oh, you want me to use him." Ben smiled at his girlfriend, eagerly approving the idea. "Yeah, that might actually work! Let's do—"

*CREEEEAAAKK*

"AH-HA! Found you!" The team whipped their heads around, seeing Albedo loom above them with the dumpster high above his head. "Now DIE!" He swung the container down and SMASHED it onto the five of them… only for Raven to have already cleaved it in half. The team all dove out of the way, with Yang and Ruby even rolling under Albedo's legs and shooting him in the back. "GAAUH! CURSE YOU ALL!"

Swinging Crescent Rose around, Ruby jumped and SLAMMED the butt-end of the scythe across Negative Ultimate Four Arms' face, throwing him into a daze. "Yeah, yeah, heard it all before! Ben! I think it's about time you dial up that transforma—GYA!" From out of nowhere, Albedo launched one of his fists out again, punching Ruby straight through a brick wall.

"RUBY!" Yang, Blake and Weiss all cried out, the former two laying on the Dust rounds while Weiss summoned several glyphs, blasting a concentrated energy blast upon the evolved Tetramand. And while Albedo was stunned a little, it wasn't enough to stop him from shooting out the other rocket fist at them. The trio managed to narrowly avoid it… but Negative Ultimate Four Arms only smirked.

"HAH! You fell for it!" With the psychic link he had to his rocket hand, he redirected it into Ben instead. The ladies could do nothing but watch as the hero was sent screaming into the same brick building… and this time, it collapsed in its entirety upon him, and consequently, Ruby.

"NO!" Yang screamed, whirling around toward Albedo as her eyes and aura flared up. With several punches, she unleashed powerful flares from her gauntlets… only for them to bound off of Albedo harmlessly. "You BASTARD! First my sister, THEN my boyfriend?! You are in for SO much pain!"

Her words piqued Albedo's interest as he approached, his rocket fists returning to him as he smiled maliciously. "Ah… so you're Tennyson's significant other, are you?" He saw Blake and Weiss jump in at Yang's sides, intent on defending her. But even so, Albedo didn't see them as much of a threat. "Hmhmhm, well, if that's the case, then I wonder how Tennyson will react if I end your life right here? Perhaps he will fall into such despair that I won't have ANY obstacles standing in my way of—" *FLASH* "Hm?"

A faint, green flash caught the group's attention, bringing their focus back to the collapsed building. And then… *FLASH* Another brief burst of green light happened. Then, the very next second… *CHA-KOOM* The entire building erupted, sending the debris flying everywhere… except decidedly not at the three girls. Rather, it was all homed in on Negative Ultimate Four Arms, with force enough to send him flying halfway across the street.

None of the girls could've predicted that. "W-What in the world?!" Weiss exclaimed.

"That had to be Ben." Blake stated self-assuredly.

Even so, the area around the building was obscured by dust, so none of them could see what was happening. "Ben! Ruby?!" Yang called out. "Are you two okay?!"

Thankfully, through the cloud of dirt, her sister was the first to emerge, cheering happily as she flew right into Yang's embrace. "WOO-HOO! We are MORE than okay!" The Hooded Huntress pumped a fist into the air. "We're cooking with gas now!" She saw Albedo start to get up down the street, to which she called back to the Omni-Hunters' leader. "Ben! Let's get to work!"

Through the veil of dust, a pair of oval-shaped green eyes flashed open… and a powerful ripple coursed through the air. It wasn't energy, nor was it any sort of elemental attack. Rather… it was sound. Raw, unfiltered, sound. The sonic wave was enough to make Yang, Ruby and Weiss wince… though Blake had to cover her cat ears. "AGH! What is that?"

"Uh… pretty sure that's the Ultimate that's about to get the job done." Weiss concluded, the dust having been dispersed thanks to the soundwave.

Standing there atop the rubble of the ruined building was a tall, blue alien with a very round and sleek body type, its arms, legs, shoulders and even its head all very curved and slender. The head was cylindrical in shape which tapered off on either side, with a thin, slit mouth beneath the big, green eyes. On each side of its head, as well as atop the head itself, was a glowing blue speaker, and there were even bigger speakers littered throughout the rest of its body. There was one on each shoulder, on the back of his hands, in his palms, under his arms, and two on each shin. There were also two thick, horizontal black stripes going around his lower legs, along with a vertical one along his belly and two on either side of his head. In the center of his barrel chest, the Omnitrix was anchored down. Clenching his thin, black fingers, the Ultimate alien declared his name;

"ULTIMATE ECHO ECHO."

The girls were all slack-jawed while smiling from ear to ear. "…Okay, that is way too cool." Blake said, with all the girls nodding at her claim.

"GRAH! TENNYSON!" Albedo launched both of his fists at the evolved Sonorosian in rage… but he'd quickly come to regret that decision. Ultimate Echo Echo raised his palms and began dispersing several floating speakers in front of his body, and all of them unleashed a powerful sonic burst that changed the direction of the fists right back at him. "W-Wha—NO—" *WHAM*

The fists were slammed directly into his chest, which also resulted in them smacking the Ultimatrix in the process. In a flash of red light and surging red sparks, Albedo was knocked out of his transformation and reverted back to his human form… leaving Team RWBY to doubletake. He was literally just a pallet-swapped version of Ben, complete with red jacket, red eyes and white hair. However, there were some key differences; he seemed to be much longer in the face, almost perpetually tired with heavy bags under his eyes. His hair was also much scruffier than Ben's, as well.

"Gah… this… this isn't over Tenny—AGH!" All of a sudden, the Ultimatrix on his hand—which had shifted shape to become more of a fingerless glove—sparked again, leaving him to recoil. "Ugh! You FOOL! I had just gotten this fixed!"

Ultimate Echo Echo reverted back to his normal form and then back to Ben, not wanting to waste the Omnitrix's whole battery. "Well then… far be it from me to not make this a fair fight!" On that note, the hero charged in and started throwing fists with his double, which only stunned Team RWBY even more.

"…Woah. Don't see this every day." Blake noted.

Weiss scratched her head, watching the two doubles trade blows with one another. "Ben going fisticuffs without using an alien. A rare sight indeed."

Before long, the two young men were tussling on the ground, kicking and punching each other with aplomb… which Yang was all about. "C'MON, BABY! BITE HIM! Bite his ear!"

Ruby cheered him on as well. "Hit him where the sun don't shine! That'll teach him!" Blake and Weiss merely gawked at their teammates for their suggestions. However, right when it seemed that Ben was about to go for one of them…

*CHOOM*

…A certain familiar portal opened up beside the two boys, taking their focus off of each other. Through the vortex, they could see the desolate Land of Darkness on the other side… as well as a certain OTHER individual standing over them. "My apologies, but… is there any way ANOTHER Ben Tennyson could get involved?" Eon asked.

"Oh, you can just forget about that!" Ben snapped, shoving Albedo into the ground before standing up, placing a foot firmly on his counterpart's chest. "I've had it up to HERE with you people. Thinking you're always one step ahead, bringing my old enemies out of the woodwork to try and end me, it's getting old and I'm gonna put a stop to it!" He pointed directly at Eon. "Now, you're gonna CLOSE this portal and I'm gonna put Albedo right back into—"

*WHOOOOOOSSH*

"AAAAHH!" Ben let out a yell as he was suddenly whisked off his feet and sent crashing into Team RWBY, who managed to catch him the best they could while falling.

"Hmhm… I highly doubt that, young man." A rather mature, sultry voice spoke up from the portal, leading the heroes to grow wide-eyed at who they saw appear next to Eon. From the sky floated down a beautiful Asian woman dressed in red and gold robes, her jet-black hair done up like a pair of horns. In her hand, she held a massive fan made of metal, which matched her outfit to a T. She landed beside Eon and then walked through the portal, stepping in front of Albedo protectively as he stood up. "Macaque and I went through a lot of trouble putting this plan into motion, and I am NOT about to let you ruin it."

Yang scowled at the woman as the team got back up, glaring at her in challenge. "Oh yeah? And who're you to say so, lady?"

The woman stuck her nose up at the blonde girl, narrowing her eyes at the impertinent remark. "Hmph! Such impudent behavior. Mortals really HAVE become less respectful over the centuries." She stamped the handle of her fan on the ground. "If you must know… I am Princess Iron Fan. Mother of Prince Red Son… and spouse of the Demon Bull King."

"You're… Red Son's mom?" Blake uttered as all of the heroes inspected her appearance. "…Wow, he fell VERY far from the tree, if that's the case."

"Or he could take more after this dad!" Ruby added cheerily.

Weiss deadpanned at that. "Wouldn't he be more bull-ish in the face if that were the case?"

"Whaddya mean? I can totally tell that he's the result of her and a demon cow getting busy." Yang quipped.

Iron Fan's expression twisted wrathfully as she stamped her fan again, this time whipping up a sizeable gust. "ENOUGH!" She pointed her signature weapon at the debating teens. "I will NOT have you insulting my son in my presence! And I would not be so quick to make jokes at our expense if I were you…" Tracing her hand along the outer rim of the fan, she elaborated; "What you experienced just now is only a small taste of this fan's power. I once sent Wu Kong himself flying thousands of miles away with one blow. Now imagine what kind of force that could do… to someone who isn't an indestructible immortal?"

"…Fair point." Ben begrudgingly accepted.

The demoness glanced down to Albedo, who was just starting to stand. "So, you are Albedo. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Albedo let out a breath as he dusted himself off. "Hah, and you must be the one who commissioned the six-eared one to break me out. I thank you for that." His attention shifted back toward Ben… only to get a reminder that his Ultimatrix was fritzing out thanks to another jolt on his wrist. "Gah… this is not over, Tennyson! My new Ultimatrix may need some fine tuning yet, but once it is, you will come to know my revenge."

"Lemme guess, gonna try and go after Azmuth?" The Omnitrix bearer scoffed. "Please, we just stopped Malware from doing the same thing. You're mental if you think we're gonna let you try." He made a "come at me" gesture with his hand. "Come on, we should just finish this here and now."

"You are a fool if you think you can provoke me further." Albedo chided. "I may have lost my temper before, but I will not allow that to happen again." He turned toward the portal, intent on walking through. "But be warned; when next we meet… you WILL meet your end."

Ruby rolled her eyes and called after him; "Yeah, like we've never heard THAT one before! Bring it on, Mr. Negative!"

"Also, your Ben disguise was totally not convincing." Blake said with a swipe of her hand. "Maybe next time, try and talk the talk before you walk a mile in another's shoes."

Albedo nearly snorted in disgust. "Pssh, honestly! As if I would stoop so low as to use your Earthen lingo! Have you HEARD what people are saying these days?! Utter nonsense!"

Iron Fan couldn't help but agree. "Ugh, certainly. Mortal linguistics were never my forte, but 21st Century vocabulary is ridiculous." She waved her hand away from the group of heroes. "But more to the point, you kids should run along now. I look forward to our next encounter, but for now, I believe we're done here."

"We're done when I SAY we're done, lady!" Ben barked, even as Iron Fan followed Albedo. "What do you even WANT?! Why would a demon like yourself want to join the Ministry?"

Before she could cross the threshold, Iron Fan paused in front of the portal, peering back over her shoulder to the teens. "To put it simply? …Revenge. Revenge against that damned monkey for what he did to my husband—no, my family!" She placed a hand over her chest, her features mixed with rage and sadness. "I once considered giving up my life as a demoness thanks to Wu Kong's kindness… but then he took it all away when I rediscovered my love for my husband. …When you see Wu Kong, tell him that there WILL be a reckoning. And it will be soon." With that, Iron Fan stepped into the portal, to which Eon began to shut it.

"Farewell, fools!" Albedo insulted just before the aperture fully closed.

Just like that, Ben and Team RWBY were once again alone, left to ponder what exactly Iron Fan meant. "Her family…" Ruby put a finger to her chin thoughtfully. "So… Monkey King is responsible for taking her family away from her?"

"Well, her husband WAS a demon king." Yang pointed out. "It's not like he could've just LEFT him to his own without any threats of world domination or whatever."

"Maybe… but I feel like there's a lot more to this than we know so far." Blake furthered. "Maybe we should try and get Monkey King himself to spill the beans."

"Agreed, but first, we've got a mission to finish." Weiss reminded. "Let's get back to Plumber HQ, on the double!"

Ben clenched a determined fist in agreement. "Right. And we're gonna give the Ministry something to worry about. If they wanna tout all of the allies they've gotten… then it's time that we whittle them down a bit in return. Let's go!"

…..

There were many things that Viktor had prepared himself for when it came to this mission. He was ready for Ben Tennyson to suddenly return, he was ready for the Plumbers to put up a feeble fight against them, he was even expecting SOME form of secret weapon to be employed by the heroes. …But even if this WAS their secret weapon, Viktor could not have been prepared for what had just happened. A brand-new hero had entered the scene in an explosive way, taking out one of their new allies with a single attack. This hero—this Rider—had declared himself as "Cross-Z", and it was evident that he had the might of a dragon just from the fiery display that the Transylian had witnessed. And now, he was clashing his new sword with Blood Stalk's own, the latter seemingly… enjoying the encounter.

"HAHAHA! YES!" the cobra-themed villain laughed. "This… THIS is what I was hoping for when I came here! Such power… such IMMENSE power on display! It's PERFECT! AHAHAHA!"

"SHUT IT!" Kenny exclaimed, his sword shedding sparks as it grazed across Blood Stalk's Steam Blade, pushing him away. "Jeez, you're just as bad as the actual Blood Stalk with all the crazy monologues!"

As the two combatants continued, Viktor weighed his options on what to do next. He glanced around the battlefield, seeing Bashmouth, the Mutanimals and the Street Sharks all continuing their own fights against the Plumbers and Omni-Hunters. Though with Cross-Z's advent, it was evident that the heroes had found their second wind, quickly putting the mutants on the backfoot. And as for him… he was still dealing with a certain Osmosian.

"What's the matter, Vik?!" Kevin jeered as he used his Lightning Dust weapons to deflect the Transylian's attacks. "Kamen Rider Cross-Z got ya scared?!"

Fear was not something that Viktor felt… but caution was something that needed to be taken with this situation from here on. 'It's best that I change my target. That dragon warrior is far too much of a wild card to leave to just Blood Stalk alone.' With that, he countered Kevin's claim. "Not so, Levin… rather, I believe a change in tactics is in order." On that note, he stopped pouring on the lightning all together and simply charged forward, knocking the Osmosian off his feet and straight into the air.

"AAAAUUGH! Wha—NO! Get back he—" *WHAM* "UGH!" Much to Kevin's chagrin, Viktor DID come back… to grab him by the ankle and SLAM him face-first into the pavement. He then delivered a hard STOMP onto his back, embedding him even further in.

Viktor scraped his boot along the ground, kicking dirt onto Kevin to add insult to injury. "Apologies, Levin, but a bigger threat just emerged." He left the young man to grumble angrily to himself, all while trying to pry himself out of the ground.

Back at the battle between Cross-Z and Blood Stalk, the former was… admittedly barely holding his own. 'Damn, I probably should've waited until Winter was ready to train me in swordplay… but hey, when in doubt, imitate what you see on TV!' On that note, he pushed against Blood Stalk and managed to get behind him, before then grabbing the handle-shaped pommel of his sword and pulled on it once.

HIT PARADE!

The volume meter in the center of the silver blade began to light up as fast-paced dance music began playing, intermixed with dragon roars. The moment Blood Stalk turned around to press his attack, Kenny pulled the Beat Crosser's trigger.

SMASH HIT!

Igniting into blue flame, the sword unleashed its attack, with Kenny swinging it straight into Blood Stalk's chest. "AAGH! W-What… amazing power!"

"That's nothing!" Kenny said, pulling the pommel twice. "Get a load of this!"

HIT PARADE! HIT PARADE!

The same music began playing, only at a faster pace and with an added siren sound to it. Blood Stalk rushed in and struck with his Steam Blade, right as the Beat Crosser ignited into a mix of red, orange and green light. Cross-Z countered the strike with his own, all while an intense heat built up within his blade. "You feel that?! That's what I'm feeling inside! THIS is my power! GRRAAHHH!" With a mighty swing, he unleashed the energy in the form of a massive wave, pushing Blood Stalk back.

MILLION HIT!

"AAAGGH! Hah… hah… I must say, I'm VERY impressed!" Blood Stalk complimented, reaching a hand up. "So much anger, so much rage, so much HATRED! I can practically sense it building up within you! Well then, come at me!"

Kenny was about to do just that… when he heard his cousin let out a fearful yell. "AH! Kenny, behind—" *CLANG* "…you." But Gwen's warning came too late… though thankfully, Cross-Z's counter didn't. The eyes of his helmet glowed an intense blue as he raised his sword above his head, blocking Viktor's incoming fist from behind.

Needless to say, the Transylian was astonished. "H-How did—"

"Don't know." Cross-Z replied brazenly as he shifted on his foot and allowed Viktor to stumble forward. "Might have something to do with my Anodite half. But right now, I don't really CARE!" He swiftly pulled the Beat Crosser's pommel three times.

HIT PARA—HIT PARA—HIT PARADE!

This time, the music that played had a slower yet heavier beat to it, and the sword itself began to glow entirely blue while the volume meter went off the charts. Cross-Z pulled the trigger… and then tossed the weapon into the air. "You're in my WAY!" Spinning around on one foot, Kenny kicked the butt-end of his sword and sent it flying straight into Viktor's midsection, resulting in a massive explosion of blue energy.

MEGA HIT!

"WAAAAUUGH—" *WHAM* Viktor went sailing through a nearby building, straight over Cooper and Coco's heads. Kenny reached up and caught the Beat Crosser, redirecting his attention to Blood Stalk.

…All while everyone nearby were left absolutely flabbergasted. "…Winter? What in the world did you teach my brother?" Gwen uttered.

Winter herself was almost lost for words, her breath taken away by the display. "J-Just the basics… of Atlesian Military combat." In her head, however; 'I doubt that's just MY training at work, though. Perhaps awakening his Anodite powers has given him a boost in proficiency?'

Jaune seemed to pick up on the same thing. "Kenny didn't even flinch when Viktor showed up behind him. It was like… he could sense that he was there."

"Yeah, what my brother said was right." Gwen affirmed. "With his Anodite powers awakening in this way, my guess is that he's on some sort of high right now. Perhaps related to the dragon energy he's been exposed to…" Her focus went back to the battle. "This is gonna need further investigating…"

As they were talking, Blood Stalk was just laughing again. "AHAHAHA! Amazing! Glad we're of the same mind here; this battle should remain between US!"

Beneath his mask, Kenny's eyes narrowed in disgust. "I pray that's the ONLY thing we ever agree on, you monster! Because right now…" Reaching down to his hip, Cross-Z pulled the Lock Fullbottle off his holster and inserted it into the round slot in the center of his sword's cross guard, pulling on the pommel twice again.

SPECIAL TUNE!

HIT PARADE! HIT PARADE!

As a different track of fast dance music started playing, the Beat Crosser once again ignited into blue flames, with Cross-Z holding it two-handed as he prepared his attack. "I get the feeling I CAN'T LOSE! RRAAH!"

MILLION SLASH!

Swiping his blade yet again, Kenny sent a wave of blue fire directly into Blood Stalk, who crossed his arms in front of him to try and take the hit. Even so, it managed to push him back a considerable amount… and judging by the sparks that flew off his body, also did a considerable amount of damage. "Gah! Ugh… hmhm, I see." He peered down to see Yuma lying unconscious near his feet, leading him to crouch near the bat Faunus. "Very well, I can tell when the tides of battle are turning. I think it's time we took our leave."

"What?! NO!" Cross-Z belted out, charging straight for him. "Don't you dare—"

But then, smoke began to billow out of the pipes on Blood Stalk's costume, and just before he disappeared, he gave a final salute to his adversary. "Hehe… ciao." And just like that, he and Yuma were gone, making Kenny's temper spike.

"GRRAAAAAAHH! BLOOD STALK! You bast—" *KRA-ZZZZAAPP* "AAAAHH!"

"Kenny!" Gwen and Winter cried out, seeing Viktor regain his footing and launch a bolt of concentrated lighting from his canon arm at the dragon Rider.

Looming over him, Viktor glowered down at his new target, his own frustration beginning to boil over. "Oh, believe you me, dragon warrior, I will be having a strict conversation with our new ally." He raised his head and called out; "Blood Stalk! If you can here me, this battle is NOT yet over, and Salem will NOT be pleased with you!" He shifted his eyes back down to Kenny. "But for now… your career as a hero will be quite short-lived."

As Viktor reached down to him, though, a mana shield suddenly appeared in front of Kenny, blocking his hand. "Leave him alone!" Gwen launched a barrage of energy attacks at Viktor, drawing his attention away from her brother. "Kenny! Get up! Run!"

"Hah… no… not gonna… RUN!" Powering through the pain, Kamen Rider Cross-Z returned to his feet, managing to stab his sword right into Viktor's side… only for the Transylian to not even flinch. If anything, he just seemed much angrier. With a swing of his arm, Viktor batted Cross-Z away, though he at least managed to roll and land in a crouch.

Across the way, Cooper was seeing all of this and clenching his fist in frustration. "Dammit! I need to get back in there!"

He went to stand up, but Coco quickly pulled him back down. "Uh, are you insane, Tech Head? You're completely unprotected without a Driver!"

"Hehe… well then, it's a good thing I'm here, then, isn't it?" The couple perked their heads up at the sudden arrival of a certain other genius scientist friend of theirs. "Hola, amigos." Caesar said as he knelt down next to them, complete with the second Build Driver in hand. "Sorry to keep you waiting, had to make some final adjustments to make sure this baby worked just right." His gaze shifted over to Kenny, a slight grin on his face. "Though I gotta say… wasn't expecting your Driver to be the one he used to transform."

Cooper gave a shrug. "Eh, it's alright. No big deal." He steadily got up and placed the Build Driver over his waist. "We'll just switch when we're done."

Coco eyed her boyfriend warily. "Are you sure you're up for this, Tech Head? You're not, like, seriously hurt, are you?"

"Nah, I'm fine, really." Reaching down, Cooper took Coco by the hand and helped her up, staring into her eyes with love and determination. "But no matter what my condition is, right now, Kenny needs some help. And I intend on giving it to him."

The fashionista couldn't help but smile back. "Hah… you've really gotten a hang on this hero stuff, haven't ya? Alright, go get 'em… but you'll need these before you do." Coco raised her hands, revealing that she was holding the Rabbit and Tank Fullbottles between her fingers.

"…Oh, yeah, those would be nice to have." The couple shared a laugh as Cooper quickly took the bottles and slotted them into the Driver, cranking away to hastily bring the Snap Ride Builder up around him.

Are You Ready?!

"Henshin!"

Hagane no Moonsault! RabbitTank!

YEAH!

Back in his RabbitTank form, Kamen Rider Build wasted no time in bringing out his Drill Crusher, giving one final request to Coco and Caesar. "You guys help Jaune bring Winter's into the base. We'll handle the rest."

"No problema, Coop." Caesar gave a thumbs up.

"We'll get her out of here." Coco affirmed. "Now go kick their butts!"

With a final nod, Cooper split off from the two and charged straight for Viktor, leaping into the air with his Drill Crusher spinning as fast as possible. He raised the weapon above his head and, with a mighty yell, plunged it right into Viktor's shoulder, causing him to shout in pain. Gwen and Kenny were both taken aback, watching as Build then swung himself around and kicked Viktor straight in the face, dislodging his weapon and landing near them. "Woah!" Gwen gasped. "C-Cooper, are you—"

"Alright? Yeah, I'm perfectly fine." Cooper reached down and took a hold of his Driver. "Caesar brought me the other Driver so I could get back in the fight…" Build craned his head around to Cross-Z, a sly tone to his voice. "So technically, I'm using your Driver right now… Kenny."

"Coop…" The two Riders simply looked at one another in silence for a second before bringing their hands up, clasping them together in a firm handshake. "You ready for this… partner?" Kenny grinned beneath his helmet.

"Sure am. Just so long as there's no "heated drama between men" involved." Cooper said knowingly.

That managed to get a laugh out of the redhead. "Hah! Relax, man, I'm already taken."

"Lucky, so am I." Cooper pointed over to Viktor. "Now listen, I've got a plan to deal with this guy, but we're going to have to sync our Drivers up at the same time."

"Wait, we can do that?"

Build knocked his fist against Cross-Z's shoulder. "Hehe, we can now. I added this feature in just because I thought it was neat." Out the corner of his eye, Cooper saw Viktor starting to get back to his feet, prompting him to urge Kenny. "If we want to do this, we're gonna have to do it now. Are you with me?"

With no hesitation, Cross-Z agreed. "I am. Let's do it!" On that note, both Riders placed their hands on the handles of their Drivers and started cranking away. Sure enough, both devices began to glow as power generated within them, and in the process, Kenny could practically see the energy being transferred and shared between them.

READY—GO!

From out of thin air, Cross-Z's energy dragon construct appeared again and lifted him off into the sky, with Build following behind on his hard-light graph line. Once they reached the top of the graph, the dragon construct shot Cross-Z out of its mouth and onto the graph line with Build, launching both of them down toward Viktor at terminal velocity.

DRAGONIC-VOTREX FINISH!

YEAH!

"Haaaaaaaa—YAH!" Build and Cross-Z yelled in unison as they crashed straight into Viktor with dual Rider Kicks, resulting in an explosive finish that sent the Transylian hurdling through the air.

"AAAAAAUUGHH—" *CHOOM* …Unfortunately, Viktor never hit the ground, thanks to one of Eon's portals opening directly in his path, practically scooping him out of the air.

Needless to say, neither Cooper nor Kenny were particularly happy with that. "NO! Dammit, now he got away, too!" the latter shouted, punching the inside of his palm.

"Woah, woah, calm down." Cooper asserted. "We're not gonna get anywhere by being angry. Instead, let's be glad that's one less bad guy to deal with and focus on—WATCH OUT!" In a split second, Build tackled Cross-Z out of the way on a giant, incoming fireball that left a crater in the pavement. The two Riders collected their bearings, bringing their weapons back up and at the ready as the flames parted ways… making way for Cinder Fall to walk out of the impact zone.

The Fall Maiden's eyes flared up, her scowl directed to the dragon warrior. "…Kamen Rider Cross-Z, I presume."

Cross-Z nudged his chin to her. "Yeah, 'sup?"

"…That's all you have to say in the face of your doom?"

There was a clear amusement in Kenny's voice as he replied. "Lady, my sister ain't afraid of you, so neither am I."

Swiftly, Cinder's glare redirected over to Gwen, who was far less amused than her brother. "Wow, way to shift the heat onto me, Kenny—AH!" The young Anodite had to deftly dodge a strike from Cinder, the Maiden having armed herself with an obsidian blade.

"GWENDOLYN! You are the CONSTANT thorn in my side—oof!" Just then, Cinder received a flying kick straight to the stomach, courtesy of a certain sorceress.

"Oh, and I'm chopped liver, sweetie?" Charmcaster teased. "And here I thought we had something going on here."

By that point, a vein could be seen throbbing out of Cinder's forehead. "GAH! Is EVERY annoyance in my life just dogpiling onto me today?!" *THOOM* Just then, dropping down straight from the sky, was none other than Raven Branwen, the Spring Maiden standing directly behind Cinder with her own fiery gaze.

"Hm… let me think. I'd say the answer is "yes"." Raven swung Omen straight for Cinder's head, only for her to counter with incredible speed. Once more, the two Maidens were locked in back and forth conflict, allowing the two mages to reconvene with the Riders.

Hope was all smiles as she nudged Gwen's shoulder. "She is SO fun to mess with."

"I know, but let's not let our guard down just yet." Gwen advised, her sights scanning across the entire battlefield. "Everyone's still hard at work trying to deal with the mutants and Bashmouth. We need a plan of attack—" *bleep-bleep-bleep* "Hm?" Reaching into her pocket, Gwen produced her Plumber's badge, answering immediately. "Hello?"

"Gwen? It's Ben!"

Everyone was quite keen on hearing the hero's voice, especially his cousins. "Ben! Oh, thank god, just what we needed. Did you deal with Albedo?"

A despondent yet annoyed sigh came with the hero's reply. "Hah, unfortunately no. He got away… courtesy of one Princess Iron Fan."

That made the girls' eyes widened. "Wait… now Iron Fan's in with the Ministry too? First her son, then the Macaque, and now her… that's not good." Gwen shook her head. "W-Well, if anything, we could really use you here. The Ministry's still putting the hurt on us at base."

"We're on our way. And we've got a plan." Ben said with hope in his voice. "I need you to help the others corral the mutants and Bashmouth into one spot if you can."

"Corral them… like animals."

"Yeah, yeah, the irony isn't lost on me either."

Cooper interjected into the conversation. "Ben? This is Cooper. We can get those guys gathered up by the time you get here, guaranteed."

At that moment, Ruby piped up on the other end, clearly surprised. "Coop! You're okay? Last I saw you, you were on the ground…"

"Uh… Ruby, how did you—"

"Zak called me to tell us what was going on. By the way, if Kenny's there, congratulations on becoming a Kamen Rider!"

Rubbing his neck sheepishly, Kenny gave a chuckle and thanked her. "Haha, thanks Ruby. Honestly, though, I wasn't meaning to make a show out of it."

Ben continued on, clearly proud of his cousin. "Well, ya did, cous. We'll talk about it more later, though. Right now, I'm counting on you guys to round those mutants up."

"We will, Ben. See you in a few." Gwen ended the call and looked to her allies, all of them appearing ready to help. "So, any ideas on how to round these bad guys up?"

With a crafty chortle, Kamen Rider Build reached up to his chin, already concocting a plan. "Oh, I think I've got one. Kenny, you and your sister head over to the Mutanimals. Charmcaster and I will take the Street Sharks…" Reaching down to his holster, Cooper pulled out two new Fullbottles; an azure one with a skull-and-crossbones and a lime green one with a boxcar train molded into them. "So, shall we begin the experiment?" After taking out his main Fullbottles and giving the new ones a good shake, Cooper inserted them in exchange;

Kaizoku! Densha!

Best Match!

Are you Ready?!

Cranking the handle once again, the Snap Ride Builder appeared around Cooper, constructing the two halves of his new form. "Build Up!" The two halves snapped right over his body, with compressed air shooting out the seams of the suit to seal it in.

The azure parts of the suit consisted of the left helmet, right chest and arm, and the left leg, and it was clearly pirate-themed. The eyepiece on the helmet was shaped like half a skull-and-crossbones, with one of the bones serving as the antenna. The left arm, meanwhile, had a shoulder pad that was basically the entire stern of a pirate ship, complete with a white bit that looked like the ship's mast. What's more, there was also a black cape hanging down from that shoulder for some added flare.

The lime green side, on the other hand, was railroad inspired, made up of of the right helmet, the left chest and arm, and the right leg. The eye on this side was just straight up a rail road track, and that theming continued as another track ran across Build's left pectoral up to his shoulder… which looked like a rail-road crossing, complete with red and blue lights and a hazard-striped cross guard. Furthermore, at his forearm, his whole gauntlet was molded to resemble a box train, one that would typically be seen in Japan. The sound of epic music began as the Driver announced this form's name;

TEIKOKU NO HANGYAKU-SHA!

KAIZOKURESSHA!

YEAH!

The group could only stare at Cooper in complete perplexity, unable to rationalize the "Best Match" concept of the form. "…Pirate Train. This one definitely confuses me." Gwen muttered.

"Ah! But I've just recently learned WHY it works out!" Cooper said, raising a finger. "See, the word "Kaizoku"—which means "pirate"—sounds similar to "Kaisoku"… which means "high-speed" in Japanese. So "high-speed train" is literally one later away from being "pirate train"."

"…That is so dumb, but it's such a clever pun that I'm sure Yang would appreciate it."

"And isn't that what matters most?" Cooper said cheerily as he raised his arm and summoned this form's specific weapon from the Driver. "Now c'mon, ya scurvy dogs. ALL ABOARD!"

In his hand appeared a large bow and arrow-type weapon that was stylized to heavily resemble two things; an anchor and a ship. The ship part was easier to see, as the weapon's middle section was clearly molded to look like the bow of a ship, colored azure and black with hints of lime green around the tunnel-shaped hole in the center. There was also a skull-and-crossbones above said hole, making it resemble a mast.

The anchor motif was less visible in the design, but could be seen upon closer inspection. Each tip of the bow had the spikes of the anchor, while the long section at the back had a gear-shaped ring at the very end. Said long section, however, was where the train motif came back, as it was actually a long set of track that had a small, green, pull-back box train settled on it… which, in a way, acted as the bow's "arrow".

Kaizoku Hassha!

Once the weapon declared itself, Build wasted no time in charging toward the battle with the Street Sharks, to which Hope gave a shrug. "Well, better go follow "Captain Conductor" over there. Meet up with you guys soon!" Gwen and Kenny nodded and parted ways, ready to go deal with the Mutanimal side of the conflict.

…..

Back at the main battle, the remains of Teams JNPR and CFVY were having mixed results. Since their leaders had gone to help Winter and Cooper, they had remained steadfast in fending off the Street Sharks, and things seemed to be going well for the most part. Seeing Kenny's first transformation into Kamen Rider Cross-Z had only strengthened their resolve and the six teens were doing their damnedest to make the walking carnivorous fish ladies fall. But, even so, Thrasher, Lunge, Stripes and Crunch were keeping pace with them, even with the heroes' superior numbers. Both sides were visibly exhausted, though it seemed that the sharks were less so, no doubt thanks to the mutagen giving them some extra energy.

"Hah… hah… gotta admit, you lil' sods ain't too bad!" Thrasher complimented, amusement laced in her voice as she grinned maliciously to the heroes. "But now… you blokes must be pretty tuckered out, wouldn't ya say? How 'bout a nice meal to tide things over?"

At the head of the group, Pyrrha narrowed her eyes at the Street Shark's leader. "If you're about to say that WE'RE your meal, then we aren't about to fall for it!"

Nora bounced in, raising her hammer with both hands. "But rest assured, we WILL be having MANY pancakes after this is over! Topped with chocolate syrup, whipped cream and marshmallows!"

"Oh… oh, actually, that sounds pretty good…" Crunch admitted, earning her a slap to the shoulder form Stripes. "Ow! Sorry!"

"Enough!" Lunge barked, swinging her dual hammers eagerly. "It's time we end this! NOW!"

*PEW* *PEW* *PEW*

All of a sudden, a barrage of blue energy blasts shot out from behind the heroes and struck the ground in front of the Street Sharks, taking them aback. "I couldn't agree more!" The six teens all spun around, seeing Kamen Rider Build and Charmcaster dashing their way toward them. "Hey guys!" Cooper greeted, raising his bow weapon. "Sorry to keep you waiting!"

Velvet gasped, herself, Fox and Yatsu all meeting him halfway. "Cooper! You're okay!"

"Hah! Knew it'd take more than that to keep you down." Fox knocked the Rider on the shoulder. "Say, where's Coco?"

"I asked her to help Jaune bring Winter inside. But don't worry, we can handle the rest."

"We have a plan to take out all of these mutants in one fell swoop." Hope explained further. "And be ready, Ben and Team RWBY are on the way."

Ren gave a thumbs up. "Excellent. Anything you need, we'll help out."

However, Cooper waved his hand. "Ah, don't worry. You guys have done enough." He and the silver-haired mage approached the Street Sharks, tracing his finger across one of his antennae. "Rest up. We've got the winning formula here."

If anything, the Street Sharks all laughed at the Kamen Rider's arrival. "AHAHAHA! Oh… Oh DO ya?!" Thrasher guffawed, leveling her axe at Build. "You? Whaddya plan on doin'? Makin' us LAUGH into submission with that ridiculous getup?! AHAHAHA!"

"Man, you'd better quit while you're ahead! Haha!" Stripes cackled.

"Funny… I was just about to say the same about you." Raising the Kaizoku Hassha, Cooper pulled back on the little green train for a few seconds, charging up a shot before letting it loose.

Kakueki Densha! Shuppatsu!

From the bow, two energy blasts flew out and struck the ground at the Sharks' feet, sending up a cloud of dirt and debris which shrouded their vision instantly. "Gah! Hak-hak! Oh come on! Are you serious?!" Stripes growled, keeping her claws at the ready in case of any surprise attacks. But even so, she failed to notice Build's eyes light up through the haze behind her. "Girls! Heads up! I think that guy might tryin—" *SWASH* "GYAH!"

In one fell swoop, Cooper slashed his bow across her back, proceeding to do the same against the other sharks. The pointed ends of the weapon were as sharp as harpoons that they had no trouble breaking through their naturally rough hides. "AAUGH! You WANKA!" Thrasher screamed in pain, swinging her axe around only to hit nothing as Build disappeared through the dust cloud. "Wait till I get my hands on ya! You won't be able to WALK eva' again!" Her ears perked up at the sound of Build's weapon charging up again, only this time it was a bit longer.

Kyuukou Densha! Shuppatsu!

In a split second, three more energy blasts pierced through the haze, one of them striking Lunge straight in the face. The other two made contact with Stripes and Crunch as well, leaving only Thrasher standing. "No! Girls, get up! Fight back!"

The three grumbled at her order. "Grrr… how CAN we?!" Crunch snapped. "I can't smell him with all this dirt in the air! And he's bein' stealthy!"

"Brute force it! I don't care! But we can't let this lil' bugger beat—"

Kaisoku Densha! Shuppatsu!

Once again, Cooper unleashed another charged shot, this time sending out FOUR consecutive blasts that struck all of the Street Sharks and sent them flying across the battlefield… straight into the Mutanimals. "Agh! W-What the—what're you idiots doin'?!" Thrasher bellowed, getting up close and personal with Tora Flame.

"US?! What about you, bro?!" the fiery tiger mutant countered. "You're gettin' your fishy asses beaten by ONE dude! We're at least gettin' ganged up on!" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, pointing out Sun, Neptune, Ilia, Gwen, Kevin and Kamen Rider Cross-Z all standing behind them. However, on that note, Pyrrha, Nora, Ren, Yatsu, Fox and Velvet all came in to surround the mutants as well, with Build and Cross-Z coming in to seal the circle side-by-side. "…Oh, well, guess we're ALL outnumbered now."

"YA THINK?!"

Pushing his way past the two, Silver Smack derided their argument. "Enough, both of you! I'll have us outta here in no time!" The gorilla mutant let out a mighty roar and stared banging his chest, releasing waves upon waves of force from the Gravity Dust on his body. "Get ready for a lesson on GRAVITY, ya ungrateful runts!"

Thankfully, Hope was ready for that. With a wave of her hand, she created a magic circle and called out; "Gravitas Contrarium!" All at once, a sizeable barrier was brought up around the circumference of the Omni-Hunters' circle, which reflected the gorilla man's attack right back at the eight mutants, forcing them all into one another.

With the villains all howling in pain, Cooper and Kenny shared a nod. "Shall we finish this?"

"You bet." Cross-Z pulled back on the Beat Crosser's handle three times while Build began charging his own finisher, with multi-colored energy building up at the front of the bow.

Kakueki Densha… Kyuukou Densha… Kaisoku Densha…

KAIZOKU DENSHA! HASSHA!

With Cross-Z entire sword bathed in a golden light, Build released the little train, unleashing the energy all at once… in the form of a massive, green train construct. The energy train construct practically ROARED its way onto the scene, plowing straight into the mutants before Kenny stormed in after it, delivering a final slash across the entire group.

MEGA SLASH!

With the energy mixing together, it resulted in an explosion so big that it not only sent all of the villains flying, but also collectively destroyed their Gene Slammers. By the time they landed on the ground, they were all were back in their human forms, thoroughly defeated. "B-B…Bloody… hell." Thrasher—or rather, Dominique uttered before falling unconscious along with the others.

"WOOOOO-HOOO!" Nora cheered, jumping into the air. "YES! We won guys! We WON!"

*CRA-SMASH*

A collective gasp went through the team as Bashmouth came careening down from the sky, followed by Penny and Vados—still in her GorillaMond form—piling onto him instantly. "Uh, I wouldn't call it so soon, Nora!" Sun warned, stepping back from the fight taking place.

"GRRRAAAHH!" Bashmouth flexed his arms and threw the two androids off of him, his anger beginning to come to a boiling point. …And it only boiled over once he saw his underlings and the Street Sharks all laid out on the ground, defeated. "AARRGHH! Are ya serious?! Do I have to do EVERYTHING by myself?! Fine, then! ALL of you are 'bout to feel what REAL pain is like!" He went to take a step forward… but his legs wouldn't move. "H-Huh?!" He whipped his head down, only to see that he was trapped thanks to a gravity glyph. "…Oh, you've gotta be kid—"

*SMACK* *THWAP* *SOCK*

From out of nowhere, three streaks of red, black and yellow came and relentlessly hit Bashmouth repeatedly upside the head, taking him off guard. The heaviest blow came, however, when the Arma Gigas rose from the ground behind him and delivered a MASSIVE overhead punch, implanting him into the pavement. "Actually, it's time that you felt some pain yourself." Weiss stated as she, Ruby, Yang and Blake appeared behind the Metallikanine.

"Yes!" Penny cheered. "A sensational sneak attack, ladies!" She reached up to her sister with a reassuring hand. "Vados, you can take a break now."

The Fullbottles ejected from Vados' arms, the robot girl sighing in relief. "Hah… I am glad, because at this point, I believe I would have overheated…"

From behind Team RWBY, Ben walked up and glared down toward Bashmouth, reaching for the Omnitrix once again. "…Time to finally end this." In a flash of green light, he transformed into… "Echo Echo!" …only to then transform further once again. "Ultimate Echo Echo! Everyone, stand back." Following the tall, blue alien's orders, the entire team retreated to a safe distance, allowing him to detach two sonic speakers from his person. The speakers then multiplied until they were surrounding Bashmouth, who had only now pried himself out of the ground.

"W-What the… TENNYSON!" The Metallikanine made to lunge at the evolved Sonorosian… but it was too late.

"Sonic… DOOOOOOOOOM!"

At his command, all of Ultimate Echo Echo's floating speakers unleashed an utterly relentless attack upon Bashmouth, trapping him in a deadly echo chamber. The sonic waves not only pelted him physically, but his ears were also under heavy assault. "AAAAAAAGGGHHH!" Bashmouth's screams were drowned out by the subsonic attack… until his body finally gave out and went limp, which Echo Echo took as the signal to stop. All of the speakers reabsorbed themselves into one another before going back to his hands, wherein he transformed back into his human form.

"Hah… it's done." Ben said with finality, allowing his team to finally cheer in victory and reconvene with him.

"YES! Freaking FINALLY!" Neptune celebrated, sharing a high five with Sun. "We brought Bashmouth and his goons down!"

"This is huge." Ilia emphasized. "W-We need to get everyone here in cuffs and bring them in!"

Thankfully, someone was already on it. "We're way ahead of you, Ilia." Six said as he, Ironwood, Tetrax, Qrow and the entire Alpha Squad approached from down the street. "Alpha Squad, apprehend these criminals." At his command, Brannigan, Molly and the rest of the Plumbers took out their energy cuffs and began placing the unconscious criminals under arrest. Bashmouth, however, was a different story. "And someone bring us a Null Void projector. This one's better off in solitary confinement."

"Woah, really? Getting that serious, huh?" Qrow questioned.

Ironwood, however, was all for it. "This one nearly destroyed Beacon Academy by himself. Confining him to a normal prison just wouldn't be practical if we want him to stay out of Salem's service." He gave the Omni-Hunters a proud smile. "But good work, all of you. You kids really put in the effort today."

"General!" Ben said, clearly surprised by the man's presence. "Didn't know you were here. What brings you to Earth?"

"A matter of great importance, actually." James explained as he shook Ben's hand. "But I wanted to wait until all of you were here."

Ben sighed heavily at that. "Hah… well, if it's not one thing, it's another, I guess. But before that... there's someone I gotta see." He scanned his eyes across the team until his gaze landed on Kamen Rider Cross-Z. He wore a knowing smile as he asked; "…That really you under there, Kenny?"

Cross-Z brought a hand to his neck sheepishly. "Hehe… yeah, it's me."

"Ah, bring it in, cous!" Walking up to his older cousin, Ben clasped his hand and brought him into a hug. "I knew you had it in you. Once you started training with Winter, I was sure it was only a matter of time."

"H-Huh? What're you talking about?"

Pointing a finger at Kenny's chest, Ben explained. "I'm talking about your hero potential, man! We're Tennysons! It's kinda built into our DNA."

Gwen couldn't help but roll her eyes, though she agreed with her cousin. "Well, Ben's kinda got a point. The grandkids of Max Tennyson do have a knack for the whole "hero" thing." She gestured up and down her brother's new suit. "Though I definitely would never have expected THIS to be how you'd get in the business. All the same… I'm proud of you, big bro."

"Aw, guys." Kenny put a hand to his helmet. "You're making me blush…"

But just then, Weiss spoke up. "Um… not to interrupt the nice family moment, but has anybody seen Rex?"

Ruby was also scanning her eyes around for a certain family as well. "Yeah, and where are the Saturdays? Zak called me earlier, so shouldn't they—"

*KRA-BAM*

Without any warning, a massive hole was blown through the building that everyone was gathered around, a pair of powerful laser blasts forcing them all to duck as they gasped in surprise. What's more, a certain EVO and the family of cryptid scientists in question were collectively thrown out of said building, along with Bobo for good measure. "GAH! Ay dios mio, what IS it with these dudes?!" Rex shouted in frustration.

"I dunno, but be on your guard. We—huh?" Doc's proclamation was cut short when he saw the entire team gathered around, staring directly at them incredulously. He also saw that the rest of the Ministry were all laying defeated on the ground. "…Huh, guess we missed a lot."

"To say the least!" Zak smiled, pumping an excited fist. "Nice, guys! Now we've only got THESE idiots to deal with!"

He pointed to the hole in the building… where Thunderhog and Exo-Skull emerged, the two remaining mutants clearly unhappy with what they were seeing. "…Ah, right. Forgot about those two." Cooper deadpanned, raising the Kaizoku Hassha again. "Look alive, people, we've got company!"

*KRA-CHA-KOOOM*

But before either side could engage Hog and Skull, several more combatants came back into play, smashing into the earth from the sky above. There, Cinder and Raven were still in the middle of their struggle, but just as prominently, the Monkey King and Six-Eared Macaque were bashing their staffs against one another, creating powerful ripples through the air with every strike. "GAH! Will! You! Just! Give! UP?!" Wu Kong bellowed.

"AUGH! Not a CHANCE!" Macaque screamed, shoving his rival away with a shove of his bludgeoned weapon. His eyes snapped toward the young heroes, calling them out; "Hah… now… WHERE is the Dragon Warrior?!"

The team were confused by what he meant… but a rather gutsy Kenny was happy to answer him. "You're looking at him."

Gwen highly advised against the move, though. "Kenny! Stop, don't you DARE challenge a demon this early in your hero career!"

"Hahaha! You? Well, didn't expect that." Macaque's sights trailed over to Sun, who flinched at the recognition. "And I thought for sure it'd be you, kid. You ARE Wu Kong's apprentice, after all. Word of advice; don't trust a damn word he says—ACH!"

With a swift kick to the side, Wu Kong sent Macaque sprawling away, giving a serious look to his student. "Pilgrim, don't listen to him. Macaque's just tryin' to get into your head." He thrust his finger toward Kenny. "And you! Dragon energy or not, you should probably back off before you get hurt on your first day."

Back at the battle of the Maidens, Cinder and Raven had just pushed each other away with a powerful burst of energy, their attacks shattering their respective weapons. "Gah! Damn it… when will you accept defeat?!" Raven spat.

Cinder stamped the ground, creating several fiery hot projectiles that rose into the air on their own. "Not until we get what we CAME here for—"

*CHOOM*

"Cinder!" One word was all it took for the Fall Maiden to halt her attack, her head spinning around to see another one of Eon's portals. And there, standing with the interdimensional traveler on the other side, was Salem herself. Immediately, the Omni-Hunters were on high alert, though Gwen and Charmcaster couldn't help but grimace at the witch's oppressive aura. She made no moves to step through the vortex, but she did give Cinder, Macaque, Hog and Skull a very stern look. "That is enough, all of you. Our operation here is complete."

"…What?" Cinder spun around toward Salem fully, her eyes full of confusion. "B-But Salem, wasn't our mission to retrieve the—"

"That was merely a façade, Cinder." Salem continued. "Rather, this was a reconnaissance mission disguised as an operation to retrieve the relic." Her eyes met Ben's, the Omnitrix wielder unflinching as she spoke to him. "I know for a fact that the Relic of Knowledge is well guarded within that base, but brute force is not the way to go about repossessing it."

The hero narrowed his eyes at her. "If you think that you can get it, then I'm happy to disappoint you."

"Hm, we'll see, Benjamin. But right now, we'll leave you be. We have much more important things to tend to, after all." The witch extended her hand. "I'll be taking my mutant army back now, thank you very much."

But before she could pull anything, all of the Omni-Hunters, the Kamen Riders, the Plumbers, and the Saturdays, collectively charged out to form a barrier around the apprehended villains. "No way! We caught these guys fair and square, and we're NOT giving them back!" Ruby insisted.

Yang raised her fists as well. "Yeah, you've got Albedo, Blood Stalk, your demons AND your own monkey man! So buzz off!"

Salem closed her eyes, her features etched with annoyance. "I'm afraid you misunderstand…" She gave a single nod and Eon snapped his fingers, expanding the portal… and revealing tens of dozens of Grimm behind them. Everyone gaped at the sight of the beasts as Salem opened her eyes again. "I will be taking them back. By any means necessary." She thrust her hand forward and calmly ordered; "Attack."

"GRRROOOOOAAAARRR!" At her command, the immense horde of Grimm began pouring into through the portal and onto the streets, all while Cinder, Macaque, Hog and Skull all watched gleefully.

"EVERYONE! Prepare for battle!" Ben directed, with absolutely no hesitation given from the rest of the group. "No matter what, those Grimm WILL. NOT. PASS—"

*SHWI—POOOM*

However, the hero's fears were left unfounded as, in one fell swoop, a massive pink swath of energy came down from out of nowhere and completely cut down the entire horde of Grimm in one fell swoop. Needless to say, everyone was left completely flabbergasted, including Salem herself. There was nothing but silence for a few moments as they watched the blast mist that was once the Grimm dispel into the air, with Blake being the one to break it. "Woah… nice going, Gwen."

"Yeah! You blasted those things to Kingdom Come!" Nora beamed.

Gwen, though, slowly shook her head, just as dumbfounded as the others. "Guys… that wasn't me. Hope, did you—"

"No…" the silver-haired sorceress said, her head craned skyward. She lifted her arm and pointed up to where… or rather, who she was focused on. "…It was her."

Everyone's attention was brought to the sky above and there, floating probably about thirty feet over the Earth… was a female Anodite. She was visually quite similar to Gwen's Anodite form, but just from first glance, they could tell that she was much more mature, being taller and more… regal, for lack of a better word. The sight of her hair-like energy tendrils being splayed out in all directions certainly helped elevate her presence, nearly blanketing the area in bright, pink light. Her glowing white eyes were zeroed in on Salem and her forces… and she was clearly NOT happy.

"I've come half way across the galaxy to see MY grandchildren, and THIS is what I find?!"

Just from those words alone, Gwen and Ben were immediately put at ease, completely elated by the Anodite's presence. "Grandma!"

The others, understandably, were completely astonished. "GRANDMA?!"

And Salem was completely beside herself. "…Grandma?" she seethed.

The Anodite, Verdona, put on a bright smile, bringing her hands together as she greeted her grandkids. "Hello, sweethearts! Grandma's home for the holidays!"

…..

A/N: And on that note, I think we can call it there! That's right, everybody, grandma's in the HOUSE! I've had plans to bring Verdona in for a while and I think now's a pretty opportune time given what's happened. …And, of course, to drive Salem up a wall because POWERFUL ENERGY GRANNY.

But we'll have plenty of time to talk about Verdona come next time. Right now, let's focus on what we saw with THIS chapter, shall we? Because we got a LOT. Of course, we had Kenny's big debut fight as Kamen Rider Cross-Z, not only dispensing of Blood Stalk, but also Viktor as well (with some help from Cooper), as well as seeing the skirmishes between Wu Kong and Macaque as well as Ben and Albedo (and there will be more to come from both sets of doubles, to be sure).

In terms of the former doubles, though, we got a hint at Macaque and Wu Kong's history, and if you've seen Monkie Kid, again, very similar to what went down there. Same goes for Iron Fan—whom Ben and Team RWBY met here—and why she has a grudge against Wu Kong. Definitely gonna expand on these two as the story goes on, and I'm eager to get to them.

Going back to Kenny, though, he did pretty well for his first battle, though that could just be due to the high he's experiencing from unlocking his powers. Still, he certainly knows how to use that music-playing sword effectively. As for Cooper, though, he got to show off another new form here! Last time we got KeyDragon, but now, my personal favorite Best Match form makes its debut! KaizokuRessha! I think it's all down to the colors and how cool the weapon is for this form. It's all very bright and it works surprisingly well. And, with the help of said form, the group was finally able to put away the Street Sharks and the Mutanimals! …Yeah, this has been a long time coming. The villains have been getting a bit crowded, so it's time to do some downsizing so that we can have a more focused cast on their end.

And that also involves finally bringing Bashmouth to justice as well… with the power of ULTIMATE ECHO ECHO! He's definitely my personal favorite Ultimate form (as well as many others', I'm sure), so I made sure to give him the gravitas he deserves. Complete with Sonic Doom!

That said, however… if any of you follow Transformers MHA, you know that I teased something at the end of that last chapter that was supposed to happen concurrently with the end of THIS chapter. However… I ended up running out of time, so instead, I decided to push it to the start of the next chapter. A very slight change, but ultimately, given what Ben 10 RWBY Month is gonna be about this year, I'd say it'll fit better there. With that said, though…

Next Time! Ben 10 RWBY Month kicks off with Verdona taking care of the riff-raff! But why IS she here, though? And what did she mean by "home for the holidays"? We'll find out as the team meets her and things settle down in the aftermath of the battle. But then afterwards… the Saturdays receive a call from a certain character we met during LAST year's Ben 10 RWBY Month, and she says that she's made a major discovery… in Italy! Time for another field trip! But until then, thanks for reading, everyone, and I'll see you all next time. And of course, as always, stay safe out there!