A Hero's Origins

by TheAlienBrony22

Rating: mature
Tags: Vice-Principal Luna, Original Character, Comedy, Adventure, Equestria Girls, Crossover, Sunset Shimmer, Main 7 (EqG), Profanity, Ben 10, Gore, Violence, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Narcotics
Length: 264613

This is the story of a guy who's been in a tough spot for years, & just wants to make a difference, much like the Rainbooms have. Thankfully, an alien watch that contains the powers of 10 super-powered aliens is just what he needed to take action.

[Disclaimer: This takes place in a drastically different version of the MLP Universe. Both EqG and FiM history and events have happened in a different order that better explains itself as the story progresses.]

Chance Marsten. He's someone with a less than average opinion of himself. Lost his father, his mother gave up, he was blamed for his father's death, and he's been in a rough spot ever since.

When he was forced to move to Canterlot City, nothing was really the same as he remembered. It was just the new normal he had to embrace. Magic apparently existed, seven crazy powerful chicks go to Canterlot High, and despite all that, he still felt miserable. He felt it more-so, knowing that he'd never get powers like that, to help people out.

That is, until the Summer of 2016 rolls around.

When Summer vacation is around the corner, mainly a week from now, and the students of Canterlot High decide to return to Camp Everfree, due to majority vote from the student body, it's from here that Chance, along with Sunset Shimmer and Vice Principal Luna, would soon realize that things would change for the three of them forever.

Once Chance finds a certain alien device when he returns to the Everfree, he finds that his life will never be the same, and he couldn't be happier.

Will he be able to master the Omnitrix's power, and find a way to save himself from becoming a worse person, or will he die trying when the universe throws deadly opponents, each stronger than the last in his general direction?

EDIT:
Yes, the art was made by me. Believe it or not, I have a DA account. Check it out if you wanna see art for the series.

EDIT #2:
Added the 'Gore' tag, for the sake of including much more mature fight scenes.

Published 2024-03-09 22:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-11-05 21:57:14 UTC

S1, Episode 1: Trouble Times 10, Part 1

Author's Note

Hello everyone, I hope you enjoy this new story I created.

Things will get dark, so if you can't handle themes of Alcohol abuse, Drugs, and etc., I recommend that you turn back now.

S1, Episode 1: Trouble Times 10, Part 1

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Trouble Times 10
Part 1

[Outer Space]

Within the the dark, sparkling star-littered vacuum of space, a battle was underway.

Within the rings of Saturn, a sleek red and white spaceship zoomed right past Saturn and through an asteroid belt. From behind, however, a large imposing gray ship, covered in what looked like pale and discolored white ribbons and tinted red glass bulbs, and purple pipes came up from behind. The ships had begun firing bright lasers back and forth, each of them trying to find a way to out-do or outmatch the other.

A stray beam of light struck the larger ship, causing the ship to rumble a fair bit, but still keep its trajectory focused on the smaller ship ahead.

Within the ship, several small pale yellow-skinned creatures with exposed brains typed away on computer modules. "Hull damage: 25 percent, weapons system's are still operational, however." The one-eyed creature announced.

A tall white creature sat on a shiny blue metal throne. It was pale white in most places, usually having black claws, talons and strange black protrusions growing from the side of its head. It had a hole in its stomach, supposedly rotting away as it revealed violet and red pulsing organs within. The top of the creature's head was comprised of a squishy dark purple bulb with lighter purple bulbs within it, as well as seven red eyes.

The tall creature leaned forward. "Proceed as planned, I've come too far to be denied, now!" The creature nodded as it typed away. "That foolish Cerebrocrustacean thought he was doing one good deed doing this, how pathetic! The Omnitrix shall be mine, and there is not a single disgusting being, some low-life stick-shaking vermin, in the galaxy that dares to stand in my way!" The creature declared.

[Marsten Residence, Morning]

Back on Earth, Chance Marsten, a 15 year-old teenage boy, immediately awakens from his slumber and sits up, wide-eyed as he tries to catch his breath. He looks around his darkened room, and groans. "Damn it all to hell, I gotta stop getting in-depth with my nightmares!" He uncovered himself, revealing his bare chest, covered in healing scars and a couple stitches. He walked to his closet, pulling out a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt with black detailing. He carefully opened his bedroom door and slunk out of his bedroom, closing it behind him.

Moments later, he walked back into his room, wearing the clothes he picked out and pocketed his phone. He saw himself in the mirror and sighed. "I need a change of pace, but what can be done?" Chance walks out of the room once more, leaving behind a packed bag full of camping stuff.

[MAY 2016, Canterlot Suburbs]

Chance felt the air blow in his face, walking forward. He pulled the sandwich he got out of the fridge from his bag, and began to snack on it as he walked down the street. For a brief moment, he stopped and sat down on a wooden bench, finishing off a sandwich as he checked the time on his phone. it was Seven-fifteen in the morning, probably the earliest he's ever been out the door. "Hmm, a quarter till seven, I still got time. May be the first time I show up on time this year, but by this point maybe I'd be better off skipping the day anyway, especially since it's the last day of the week. Not like anything I've learned will stick with me... well, anything useful, anyways." He remarked.

Before he could think of what exactly he was going to do, he heard the sound of a vehicle coming his way. He noticed that the car itself was a basic station-wagon, the inside of it was dressed and decorated to the nines in eighties and nineties memorabilia, all while it came to a steady and slow stop, till it was right in front of him. 'Oh great, the principals found me. Here I thought my troubles were over this morning.' He thought to himself sarcastically.

The window on the passenger seat rolled down, and out popped an older woman, somewhere in her mid-thirties. Dark black hair that cascaded down past her shoulders, dressed in her usual ensemble, a bright orchid top with a pair of blue jeans. 'Vice Principal Luna... well, this can only go well, here's to hoping this doesn't drag on too long.' He thought sarcastically. He took a deep breath, and calmly exhaled, letting a fake smile form on his face. "Hello, miss Luna. Good to see you, I suppose." he said with exhaustion. Luna clearly wasn't amused, and seemed more-so concerned. He sighed, his fake smile fading as something clicked in his mind. "She finally called the number, didn't she?" Chance inquired. Luna's head nodded, a sympathetic smile forming on her lips, which Chance responded with an exhausted look of displeasure.

Luna let her smile vanish. "Good morning to you too, mister Marsten," Her voice was soft, yet stern. "Why don't you hop in the back, we can continue our conversation on the way, maybe take things back to the office, if you're so inclined." Luna suggested.

Chance sighed, seeming defeated, but was more-so agitated. "I suppose this was gonna happen sooner or later, fine, but just this once. My morning was starting off good, considering the vaguely adult-shaped wackos were still asleep, I actually had time to prepare, but now, like usual, I'm getting another wellness check on the last week of the school year. I suppose I could use the company, better than being alone, but no funny business." Chance remarked.

He got up and stretched out his body as he slung his backpack into the back of the car, and climbed in himself. He buckled himself in as the car began to move. He looked over at Luna's older sister, the main principal of Canterlot High, Celestia. Her golden blonde hair cascaded down past her shoulders too, though she wore a white pan-suit with a Sun pin on it.

He sat in silence for a moment, before trying to break it with his words. "I'm pretty sure I can put two and two together and assume that for once, that mess of a lady finally called you. It's the only rational explanation, and I certainly don't wanna take your time and waste it, my time is the only thing that needs to waste away. Why'd she pick now, of all times, to get you to do something?" Luna looked back, only to write something down. Chance frowned and felt an uncomfortable sense of deja vu, and he certainly wasn't liking the vibe that was coming from the one-sided conversation. "If you're gonna sit in silence, and not answer my questions, guess it was stupid of me to answer any questions you may have. This ain't a game show, and if it was, this is the stupidest game on network television, it's a miracle this boring show wasn't cancelled in its infancy." He jokingly remarked, despite the hopeless visage hiding in the reflection of his eyes.

Luna's serious expression faded, and while she wanted to say something, she saw the look in his eyes. A look that only a few people have when they believe that they're beyond fixing. Luna, however, knew that this boy was savable, he just doesn't seem to believe it. "Y'know, you don't have to be difficult, mister Marsten. You look exhausted, and seem to be expecting something awful to happen twenty-four seven! For the past few years, you've made numerous reports that your home life is, in your own words, and I quote, 'Unsafe, unhealthy, so mentally, spiritually, emotionally, and physically unstable, it's a miracle the house itself hasn't collapsed on top of them just to end the cycle of misery', and 'It looks like if a mortuary, a graveyard, a crack den, a drug cartel, a Christian household, and a horror movie were all rolled up into one'. Those are just two of the many quotes you've made about your own home, and the things you've said about the parental figures in said home, are even more concerning," Luna pulled out a file that had Chance's name on it and handed it to him, and he opened it on a highlighted excerpt of one of his writing assignments.

He knew where this was going, yet he didn't stop her. "This highlighted segment, was the final bit of straw that broke the camel's back. I can't even begin to fathom how such a bright young mind such as yours, could delve deep into such dark subject matter. You know that aside from being Vice Principal, I am also legally qualified to be a counselor, but in order for me to do anything of the sort, you have to open up." Luna added, a twinge of fear in her voice.

Chance rolled his eyes, looking both uninterested and nearly asleep as he made eye-contact with the vice principal again. He saw the concern, the guilt she felt, and while he could relate, he was adamant on keeping up his front. "Ma'am, for me to open up, that would imply I have friends, or anyone worth their salt that I can actually trust to open up to. I don't have anything or anyone like that, let alone have something of worth to say. If you saw what kind of mess my 'home' was in right now, you'd see why there's nothing substantial to say, let alone anything positive," Chance took a deep breath and contemplated his next set of words carefully. "You see the problem here, or should I say everything back to you five hundred times over, just to simplify it for ya?" He asked with a tired and unimposing smile.

Luna opened her mouth to say something, yet Chance continued to speak. "I do have acquaintances, not very few, but I got some! That's as far as I've gotten with everyone else, but no friends. Hell, by this point, I don't think I have any actual family left, because that mess of a lady that calls herself my mother, she's a shell of her former self. Far as I'm concerned, she died when my father left on Christmas, and I found out he ended up dead when his dog tag was sent home on my tenth birthday. Talk about one hell of a birthday gift, right? Doesn't help one of his buddies is basically mooching off of my mom, and to top it all off, she ended up a fuckin' junkie too, just like him!" Chance stated, his voice raising higher as it begins to break.

Luna could see him drop his guard, but he still continued to speak. "I guess experiencing happiness through a high is all they really care about nowadays, since my mom and Moonshine sold off most of my dad's stuff just for more drug money! If I had no other choice but to grin and bare it, I'd like to take that option, please! But hey, that's a fantasy, since when do people like me ever get a good ending, or a chance to better themselves? No one knows the real me, and I'm fine with that. The less people know, the better off I am, dealing with my problems, so others don't have to get themselves mixed up in a toxic whirlwind of desperation and hatred. I'm better off without friends, because what's the point of having friends if they don't have your back when things get tough? I don't even have my own back, most days, because why should I, I'd be giving myself pity!" He remarked with a somber smirk, his head felt a bit heavier as he held it down, obscuring his face.

Silence suddenly filled the inside of the car, you could hear a pin drop. Celestia was justifiably uncomfortable by what the young man had said, but Luna, she could see that this boy not just looked bent out of shape, he was so bent out of shape, he hasn't the single bit of respect for himself. Then again, when she met this boy five years ago, he looked bent out of shape back then too, and somehow looked worse than he did back then. He may not say it, but he also looks like he's getting worn too thin, and he knows it.

He cleared his throat, letting a melancholic smile form on his face. "Besides, me? Benefitting from a talk? Is that your honest opinion, or do you read minds like that Sunset girl can? Trust me when I say this, you don't want to know what I know, considering I know what'll happen if I let the truth spill out, willingly or not..." After a couple more moments of silence, he continued. "Anyways, if I wanted to talk, I'd talk to a brick wall first before talking to you. We're not friends, I don't have friends, I already consider myself an orphan because the lady in my house is not my mother, not anymore! I'm not looking for anything right now, or any time soon. Better for me to be the only target than to get someone else roped in with my bullshit, anyway. The less others know, the less targets there are." Chance remarked, a solemn look of sadness and rage now painted across his face.

Luna looked back at the boy, a mild look of difficulty formed on the older woman's face. Then, an idea came to her. "I'll keep all of that in mind, mister Marsten. We're nearing our destination, so let me give you one more question, and some helpful advice, since you clearly won't admit that you need assistance," The boy looked her in the eyes, ready to hear whatever empty words she was gonna say. "Do you remember what you once said to me, back when we had that superhero costume party at CHS?" Luna asked.

Chance was taken aback. A cold, yet comforting feeling pulsed through him. "That was four years ago, and I was a quiet and conserved kid back then... I'm still quiet and conserved now, but that's not the point. I do remember what I said, and for the record, I was just a hopeful and delusional kid," Chance shrugged and scoffed. "As if I could ever be a hero... I gave up on that dream. I can't even save myself, how could I ever save anyone from danger, or their own problems? Not that I have a choice in whether I suffer or not." Chance wondered bitterly.

Luna let a small and hopeful smile form on his face. "Even heroes face hardships, but by overcoming those hardships, looking for another way to solve a problem, rather than try to punch or kick their problems away, heroes are just as capable of developing as people, growing and learning to be better. Mistakes become cautionary tales of what not to do, and I think you're capable of learning from everyone else's mistakes. There's always a choice, and sometimes, people in your position just can't see there's another way, until someone helps you down that forgotten path. That's what makes you capable of doing better, to better yourself." Luna explained.

Chance had no words. No remarks, no jokes, no retorts, he just sat there, letting those words echo around in his head, and for the first time in years, he felt something. He felt warm, he felt uncertain, he felt bad, almost regretful. It felt strange, but he didn't have enough time to ruminate on this feeling, as the car came to a stop, and CHS was right in his peripheral vision.

Luna looked back, smiling warmly. Chance made an uncertain expression as he got out of the car, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. "Why don't you try to communicate with your classmates today, and try to make some friends? If you can make one friend by the time the buses get here to take us back to Camp Everfree, I'll reward your efforts." Luna waged.

Chance frowned at that, but he felt a sense of uncertainty as he approached the building.

[Canterlot High]

The day started like any other, and was expected to end all the same, with the obvious change that summer vacation could possibly help him escape the confines of his home, but it felt as if today, the last day he'd spend, dedicated to conversating for a moment, waiting on the buses, yet he felt like it all droned on at a snail's pace.

In Cheerilee's classroom, everyone was excited to go back to Camp Everfree. Everyone was excited to make this last week something to remember, but Chance just couldn't vibe with what others were feeling. 'Damn it, why'd she want me to make friends? I know nothing of anyone here, aside from those seven girls that have magic, but everyone knows that. I still feel new here after five years, and I eventually picked up on that tidbit.' Chance thought to himself.

Chance was about to move to the back of the class, like he usually does, just so he can slump in his seat and sleep, until he saw a familiar blonde girl come his way. Her yellow-ish golden eyes may have been in different directions, but she was, at least, pleasant to be around. 'And so it begins. Maybe I can talk to her, see if I can't move things further with her. Everyone likes her.' Chance thought.

The quiet and conserved boy moved over to her direction, hoping to have an easy time with making an attempt, until he finally noticed the other girls she was sitting with, and suddenly, he froze up like a deer in headlights caught in a blizzard. There were four other girls sitting with her.

A girl who was as quiet as he was, if not more, with tinted glasses on her face and headphones in, steadily bobbing her head to whatever song she was listening to. Vinyl Scratch.

The girl beside her was sharing the headphones with Vinyl, letting her neatly styled dark brown hair contrast with her light brown skin, she was holding a book about classical music artists. Octavia Melody.

Two other girls. Both were pale as day, and from what all he's seen in passing, those two were practically attached by the hip. Lyra Heartstrings and Bon-Bon.

Chance was unsure of what to do, but he felt very nervous. His palms were sweaty, his knees felt weak, ready to collapse. His arms felt heavy, like they suddenly turned into thick arm-shaped pieces of titanium steel. He felt his stomach churning, and was uncertain of what to do. 'Well, this suddenly became a lot harder than it was supposed to be. Maybe if I'm fast enough, I can get back to my seat and play it off like I was just stretching. Yes, stretching, that's a good way to put it, least I think so-'

Before Chance could make a move, that's when he noticed it. Eyes were on him. The girls were staring at him, and seemed to be expecting him to say something. His eyes went wide as he started to shudder, his face becoming a bit red. He didn't know what to do, he never got this far, it was uncharted territory. He felt like a stranger in No Man's Land, only so much worse.

The yellow-eyed girl stood up, seeing the hesitation, the anxiety, the uncertainty in his eyes. His face was turning redder by the second, and much to his chagrin, a couple of the people in his class saw a ripe opportunity to poke fun.

A tan-skinned girl with bright blue stylized hair simply pointed at him, laughing. "Look, it's the beet-necked beat-neck!" the girl called out, laughing at the shuddering boy.

Another guy, a lighter tan-skinned guy with messy black hair looked in his direction, only to snicker. "Nah, he looks more like a strawberry! And here I thought Trixie looked fruity, he's the whole farmer's market with how red in the face he is!" The boy remarked, taking part in the teasing. The girl from earlier, known as Trixie, now seemed a bit offended, but went back to laughing at the quiet and conserved boy.

Chance could only keep quiet, but he did try to hide his face. As much as he hated to admit, he felt nothing more than shame. The blonde girl in front of him, however, had more of a negative reaction than he did, as did her friends. Lyra and Bon-Bon stood up and looked at the black-haired teen, less than amused. "What's so wrong with being fruity, hm? Besides, didn't you fall in love with a horse once, Flash?" Bon-Bon shot back. The teen, known as Flash, stopped laughing.

Trixie, along with the rest of the class, however, erupted in laughter. "Trixie, you don't have any ground to stand on, either. When was the last time you had a girlfriend that loved your crazy-ass, the fourth grade?" Lyra remarked. Soon enough, Trixie had stopped laughing, and was more-so just infuriated, and the cacophonous laughter was now focused on Flash and Trixie.

While the constant string of laughter was no longer aimed in Chance's direction, he didn't seem that interested, let alone feel any better in taking jabs at other people, especially since they didn't know him that well, and he didn't know any of them that well either, just from what was heard in passing.

Before Chance could go back to his seat, now that everyone's attention was off of him, the yellow-eyed girl stopped him. She gave him a smile, and handed him a muffin. He wasn't sure what provoked such a response, but decided to give a polite smile and take it, munching down on it. 'Chocolate chip, guess I got lucky, at least it's my favorite.' Chance thought, downing the muffin in a few large bites.

Before Cheerilee could get her class back in order, the PA system suddenly sparked to life, leaving the classroom silent. The speakers crackled a bit, till Principal Celestia's voice finally came through. "Attention all students, we would like to inform you that the buses to Camp Everfree have arrived. Everyone is to gather their things, clean out their lockers, and prepare for departure at this time, we leave in two hours. That is all. Also, Chance Marsten and Sunset Shimmer, please come to the office before following your classmates, please. Thank You." Celestia announced.

As the PA system quieted down, Chance was basically silent, nearly choking on the tiniest bit of muffin he had left. He felt ashamed, he felt like his face was frozen with fear, yet it burned like it was on fire. He couldn't put words to what he was feeling, but he felt a special type of bad, a type of bad that was so special, it's rarer than finding fifty-four four-leafed clovers in one patch of grass.

Everyone seemed to be expecting something, considering their eyes were back to being on him. His face stung, it was like he dunked his face in a mixture of salt and lemon juice. "The universe is enacting a sense of strong karma on the wrong person. What did I do in a past life to deserve this?" He muttered, grabbing his backpack and leaving the room.

[Meanwhile...]

Sunset sat alone, writing something down on a sheet of paper. She had a caucasian skin complexion, brown hair that was cut short and seemed a bit wild as it stuck out a bit, and shimmering bright green eyes. She wore a cropped deep blue and white shirt, a green tank top underneath, as well as gray sweatpants and blue sneakers.

She typed away at a calculator she had by her side, until she felt her phone buzz. She sighed and pulled it out, seeing a text message in a group chat.

"Hey sugarcube, any chance you'd be willing to talk?"

Sunset frowned disapprovingly at the message. "Applejack..." Sunset whispered under her breath. She typed away at her phone and sent the message.

"What do you want?"

Sunset waited, but eventually she got a message back.

"I understand if you don't wanna talk, so I'll keep it brief. I'm sorry about what happened during Anon-A-Miss. I definitely said some things I didn't mean, and so did the others, but ya gotta believe me, I truly am sorry for not believin' ya when you said it wasn't you, honest. I know I ain't perfect, and throwin' insults at you without good reason wasn't gonna change anything, except make me feel even worse. Could you find it in your heart to forgive me, so we can be friends again?"

Sunset gnawed at her lip. She wanted to forgive her, she wanted to forgive the rest of them, but she couldn't, not right now. The things they said, the things they did, it still hurt. Even after three months had passed since the incident was resolved, it still hurt too much. She typed her message, and after sending it, she shut her phone off.

"I may have to put up with you and the others for a week when we head to Camp Everfree again, but after what happened, I'm probably gonna cut my losses and think about everything. Till then, you and the girls can sit around all summer and really think about how sorry you really are. For now, the answer is No. I don't know if that answer will change, but if you give me my space, and not overwhelm me, then maybe I'll consider it. Till then, goodbye, AJ."

Sunset pocketed her phone and laid her head down, feeling an aching in her heart. She so desperately wanted to take that text back, but she still felt the sting, the pain brought onto her because of what happened during Anon-A-Miss. She couldn't forgive them for the time being, she needed more time. She felt as if she was gonna break down into tears, until the PA system came on.

The speakers crackled a bit, till Principal Celestia's voice finally came through. "Attention all students, we would like to inform you that the buses have arrived. Everyone is to gather their things, clean out their lockers, and prepare for departure at this time, we leave in two hours. That is all. Also, Chance Marsten and Sunset Shimmer, please come to the office before following your classmates, please. Thank You." Celestia announced.

As the PA system quieted down, Sunset raised her head and tried to calm herself down. She wasn't sure who the other person was, but it was another student at Canterlot High, she had nothing to worry about. She took a few deep breaths, wiped her eyes and put her stuff in her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder as she left the library and made a bee-line for Principal Celestia's office.

After cleaning out his locker and keeping whatever was worth keeping and throwing away what he felt was meaningless garbage, Chance moved through the steadily growing crowd of people, and finally made his way into the office. As he entered, he was met by a familiar face amongst the two principals.

He knew who this was, even judging by the sudden change in appearance. She once turned into a demon during the fall formal, she supposedly fought against sirens, one of her friends who got corrupted by magic, that counselor lady from Camp Everfree, but she wasn't alone in those battles. She had friends by her side, something Chance wished he could say the same about. This girl was Sunset Shimmer, a girl who supposedly came from a foreign country, and has been a main-stay in Canterlot ever since.

Chance swallowed hard and tried to keep a straight face. "Hello." He replied.

Sunset smiled, nodding in his direction. "Hi, you must be the guy Vice Principal Luna was talking about. It's nice to finally meet you," Sunset held her hand out for a handshake. "I'm Sunset, nice to meet." She introduced.

A sour taste was now present on his tongue, and glanced in the Vice Principal's direction, seeing her smile, unwavered by his glare. "You really are a counselor, because apparently, nothing is sacred," Chance shook Sunset's hand as he took his seat next to her. Sunset's smile faded, her eyes flickered white for a moment, and she seemed to see something. While she couldn't piece together what she had seen in an instant, it did have her looking scared for a brief moment before collecting her thoughts. Chance noticed that, but knew that wasn't important, not now, at least. "So, what happened this time, and how in the world does it involve me?" Chance inquired casually.

Celestia cleared her throat. "Well, you're not in trouble, nor are you suspected of causing such. Starting to think that's become a bad habit of yours, mister Marsten," Chance scowled at that remark and looked away. "Either way, it's good since you both are here now, so I figure now would be a good time for me to rally the students and get them on the buses. You two will join the rest of them in a moment, but there's something important that my sister, Luna, wants to discuss with you both. She won't tell me why, or for what reason, but this is her field of expertise. Don't take too long, Lulu!~" Celestia said in a singsong tone, leaving the office.

The two students looked at each other, then at the Vice Principal, who sat in her sister's chair, staring intently at the pair of them. They felt uncomfortable, and as they tried to get up, Luna sighed. "You two seem to be having... how I would say, complications." Luna stated vaguely.

The pair looked back at Luna, then at each other. Chance's curiosity, as well as concern, had been piqued. Before he knew it, he was back in his seat. "I know it's not any of my business, but what could you be dealing with that gets you lumped with me?" Chance inquired, concerned for whatever answer the girl may give.

Sunset looked away, sighing. "I'm just having problems with my friends, that's all. There was a misunderstanding that escalated into a shouting match, things were said that shouldn't have been, turns out they didn't have their facts straight, and after stopping the problem, I'm just trying to get some space from them, even when they try to get into contact with me to apologize," Sunset turned to face the boy. "Luna told me that you don't have friends, only acquaintances. I find that hard to believe, since Pinkie's friends with everybody." Sunset remarked.

Chance rolled his eyes, a frustrated expression formed on his face. "You're talking about little miss 'Life's a Party', right?" Sunset nodded her head yes. Chance sighed, seeming annoyed. "Figures. Look, don't get me wrong, I don't hate her, but I don't want a friend, let alone multiple. Besides, she knows everybody... everybody but me, and I personally prefer that. My life is what one would call, satanic happenings given sapience. In other simpler words, a literal living-"

"Hey, none of that language, young man! It may fly at home, and I let it slide during the car ride here, but that language will not be tolerated here, in this school, and in mine, or my sister's office! No one said anything to warrant that type of language to be used in-kind, so kindly watch what you say, mister Marsten." Luna sternly warned, leering in a sinister manner as she interrupted the conversation.

Chance's eyes went wide, surprised by her reaction, but soon frowned and groaned. "Snippy today, aren't ya," Luna frowned at that response. He looked back at Sunset. "Look lady, you get the point I'm trying to make. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it, I'm not your parents, at least your parents love you," Sunset reacted in a surprised and almost worried manner. "I'd rather suffer in silence and let my problems sort themselves out any way they can be, rather than rely on people who don't know what my life is like behind closed doors, and claim that they know what it's like as they make half-baked assumptions," Chance looked down at the floor, contemplating what else he could say, till a question finally popped into his head. He looked back at Vice Principal Luna. "What's the common denominator between the both of us, anyway? Why are we even still here?" Chance asked, getting impatient.

Sunset thought about it, and aside from Chance's rather defensive attitude, she was curious about why she and this guy were even in the same vicinity. She couldn't tell why though, but she knew he had more than just walls up, there was something about him that she couldn't figure out. "Yeah, why exactly are we here, Vice Principal Luna?" Sunset asked, keeping her voice calm and collected.

Luna sighed. "It's clear that both of you have no, as mister Marsten would put it, an 'escape', to your situations. Miss Shimmer, you'll still see your friends around town, and sure, it's easy to manage if you're dealing with one or two of them at a time, just making sure you can avoid them, but then it might become a hinderance later on, it could drive you mad without a proper way to comprehend these emotions, or drive you to do something you'll regret," Sunset leaned back in her chair, letting Luna's words ricochet in her head for a moment.

Luna's attention shifted focus on Chance, and she sighed. He tensed up, unsure of what she was about to say. "Mister Marsten, there's not enough words in every iteration of the dictionary that can describe what you have felt or experienced, for what must've been a long time," He raised an eyebrow, almost surprised by her immediate bluntness. "Your relationship with your family, or lack of one, is so unstable, I'm afraid the slightest touch of improvement could cause it to explode like an atom bomb. You're trapped, trapped in what, I couldn't begin to tell you, but here's what I can tell you," Chance raised his eyebrow higher, not objecting to everything the Vice Principal has stated, but at the same time, wondered where she was going. "To answer your question, Mister Marsten. You, like Miss Shimmer, are trapped. Sure, there's different ways to describe how different your traps are, but a trap is a trap, and you both clearly need a permanent escape, to reflect on your respective situations, maybe share perspectives to get another view. So, I have a proposition for you both." Luna explained.

Chance and Sunset looked at each other, uncertain of what exactly she was about to propose. Luna cleared her throat and showed a small map of the United States. She then displayed a photo of a motorhome. It was painted black and purple, with accents of gold paint and glittering stars dotted everywhere. "I want to take you both on a road trip. A trip across the world, getting far away from the chaos of Canterlot City, as well as getting you both as far away from your problems as possible, for the summer, at least." Luna offered.

The two looked at each other, confused. "Okay, now I know this has to be some kind of joke. Why us? She has a problem with her friends, and I have a problem that's been unresolved since two-thousand-seven, and things haven't gotten any better, and I know what comes next if it's interfered with." Chance remarked.

Luna contemplated and chose her words carefully. "Well, since this is the second to last year of schooling, and this town has been through so much already. From magic to superheroes, a bit of normalcy would be appreciated, no? Need I remind you, it'll be a great way for you both to expand your horizons. See the sights, experience things that could benefit you in the future, that sort of thing." Luna explained.

The pair of them seemed skeptical, but Chance was more-so. "How about we stop being cookie cutter about this, and you tell us what the catch to this offer is. Nothing like this seems like it'd come out of the goodness of your heart, like you keep implying it is." Chance suggested, suspicious of Luna's words.

Luna simply nodded her head. "Believe me, I'd take great joy in knowing that this could help you, but you're half-right. This isn't a standard-issue trip, you see. I recently came into possession of an RV from a kind man over in the south. Said it reminded him too much of the past, it belonged to an old friend he rarely ever saw before he passed, and wished for me to take it off his hands and give it one more round across the country. Since summer vacation is a week from now, and Celestia nor Cadance wanted to go with me, so I figured it'd make for a great way to get to know two of my most unique students. Sunset, you had a rocky start and a bit of a mean streak, but you came around and became the soul of this school, and you've done pretty well with your grades. Chance, you don't have any friends, and your home life has left you in pieces, yet you've made it this far. By staying and hearing me out on my proposition, you proved to me that there is potential to save you, and this trip might do just that." Luna explained.

Chance rolled his eyes. "Well, I just had to ask if there's catch, but it wasn't what I was expecting... maybe part of it was expected, but still. As long as you don't expect me to get in my feelings, then I suppose I could use a lift back to my place so I can pack a travel bag. I can at least make the excuse and say that it's for my second trip to Camp Everfree," Chance turned his attention to Sunset, who seemed to really think about the offer. "What do you think? You gonna go on this road trip, or is it just gonna be me and the VP for the whole summer?" Chance inquired.

Sunset fixed her attention on the boy next to her, then back at Luna. She took a deep breath, and slowly let it all out, letting a smile form on her face. "I'm more than honored to go on a cross-country road trip! I'd love to go, It'd be great to see the sights, and to get out of Canterlot City for the summer! Besides, anything that happens on this trip, it will be a learning experience. For one of us, or for all of us." Sunset affirmed.

Chance let a small smile form on his face before it disappeared. Luna seemed content with their answers, and looked at the clock. An hour has nearly passed, and the buses are still out front. "Well, those are some exceptional answers, but it's time for us to go, can't keep them waiting forever, one more thing before we make haste to the RV," Chance and Sunset got up and went to the door, but kept their eyes on Luna. "When we get to Camp Everfree, why don't you two try to get to know each other better, and maybe think more about why you made the choice to accept my offer with more diligence? After all, you don't wanna rush into something you may or may not regret later on." Luna cryptically stated.

Chance felt as if his eyebrow couldn't raise any higher than it already was, yet he was still feeling skeptic, but knew his choice was clear. Luna smiled and motioned for the two to pick up the pace, and the pair already knew something about their choice. For Chance, this trip meant he could finally get away from the irresponsible adults in that crack den he had to call a house, even if it was just for the summer, and that was a feeling of liberation he had never felt before, and he grasped it. Although for Sunset, she didn't express it, but she did feel uncertain about her choice. While she does love her friends to bits, and is thankful to have gotten so far with her second chance, after the incident of the fall formal, she couldn't help but feel a sense of worry. Either struggle to avoid her friends, or spend the summer with the Vice Principal and a classmate she knew nothing about.

As the three of them left the office, the lights to it were out, and the door was locked. Soon enough, the three of them jogged down the hall and made their way to the front entrance of the building, running out of the doors as they followed Luna to her car as the buses soon departed.

[Sunset Shimmer's Apartment]

Luna's car came to a stop, and as Sunset exited the vehicle, Chance got out as well, seeming incredibly confused. To his recollection, Sunset was an exchange student from a part of the world that was in Scandinavia, specifically a village that was more Norse, but if that was the case, then the choice to live in a garbage-rate apartment was just baffling to him. 'An exchange student lives in a trashy apartment. That speaks volumes about our country, and they aren't particularly positive.' Chance thought to himself, a pitiful expression forming on his face.

Sunset soon left the apartment and now carried not just a different backpack, but a duffle bag, as well. Chance was surprised, but more confused than ever. "Hey, you okay? You look like you saw something that wasn't supposed to exist." Sunset spoke up, snapping her fingers in front of Chance's face.

Chance finally snapped back to reality and just shrugged. "I'm just surprised an exchange student would willingly choose to live in a bad apartment. Almost makes me appreciate the literal drug den my home has become. Almost." Chance remarked with a wry smirk.

Sunset chuckled, which threw Chance for a loop, surprising him. "If you think the outside's bad, just imagine how tidy it actually is on the inside. Besides, I'm sure your place is fine." Sunset remarked with a smile.

Chance frowned, watching the trunk of the car open up. "Trust me, I wasn't exaggerating, but hey, whatever makes you happy." Chance remarked, getting back inside the car as Sunset packed her bags into the trunk.

As Sunset got back into the car, Luna started the car and drove down the road, leaving Sunset's apartment behind them. Sunset looked back at Chance, smiling. "I get the feeling you don't like your home. Why's that?" Sunset asked.

Chance gave Sunset a deadpanned expression. "Oh, you'll see. If the outside looks like a mess, just imagine how much worse it is on the inside. I swear on my life, my room and the bathroom are the only clean rooms in that house." Chance explained.

Sunset seemed confused, but figured it couldn't've been as bad as he was letting on.

[Marsten Residence]

After a couple minutes of navigating the streets and sitting in silence, the car finally pulled up to a very disheveled home. It had a couple windows boarded up, covered by curtains, or straight up have holes in the glass. Cans and bottles littered the lawn, and Chance exited the vehicle. "Okay, here's how it's gonna go down. You two keep Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Drunk busy at the front door. I'll go around the back, open my window, grab my bag, and be out before they ever knew I was here." Chance suggested.

Luna and Sunset looked at each other, then back at Chance, who seemed pretty dead-set on that chain of events. They were less amused, and more-so concerned that he thought that was a normal plan. "You make it sound like we're helping you rob the place, and are you talking about your parents? I guess you either hate them, or love them. It's clear which one you picked." Sunset stated, her concern starting to grow.

Chance smirked. "They rigged the vote against them, so they're both Tweedle Dumb." Chance remarked.

Luna exited the vehicle. "Miss Shimmer, I'd like to request that you stay in the car, and I'll talk with mister Marsten about how to go forward." Luna stated. She closed the door, and the two of them walked to the front door.

As the pair got to the front, Chance immediately tried to run and go to his bedroom window, but soon found that he was stuck in place, with his hand being held by Luna's. "What are you doing?" Luna asked.

Chance's eye twitched. "I was gonna go to my bedroom window, as I initially planned," Chance held up the hand that was clasped with his Vice Principal's. "What are you doing?!" Chance was a bit irate that his plan wasn't working as he hoped, and more so embarrassed that the vice principal was holding his hand, with a surprisingly strong and firm, yet very gentle grip, keeping him from running and stuck at the front door. So embarrassed, that his face was turning red. "Don't you think this is a bit much, what do you want from me?" Chance asked.

Luna turned towards the boy and simply put her other hand on his shoulder. "I want you to relax, mister Marsten. I get that this isn't easy for you, it wouldn't be easy for anyone in your position, but with me by your side, I can at least assure you that this won't be as bad as you're making it out to be. It will certainly help keep the police from getting involved because they'd suspect that I kidnapped you." Luna explained.

Chance was going to give her a rebuttal, until the front door opened, revealing a pale caucasian lady with messy bleach blonde hair, in a stained crop top and sweats. Chance looked disgusted and disappointed, and Luna was more so disgusted, but faked a smile. "Hello, miss Marsten, are you well?" Luna asked.

The woman looked at Luna for a moment, then at the boy beside her. "Hey, I was wonderin' where you went. Got ready for school and left without as much as a good morning! How's my favorite son?" The woman smiled as she pulled Chance into a hug, one that he did not reciprocate.

Chance groaned. "I'm your only child, Jean," Chance broke free of the hug and stared the woman down, her expression seeming more confused. "I just wanted to come by and get my bag. I'm taking another week-long trip to Camp Everfree, and after that, I might not be around for a while, most likely because you know why I don't like it here." Chance remarked, pointing towards an unconscious man who was shirtless and unconscious on the kitchen floor.

Luna gasped and covered her eyes and Chance just looked more disgusted than he already did, all while Jean simply chuckled innocently. "Don't you worry about him, he'll be fine, he just had one Merlot too many. I'll need some confirmation on why you won't be here after your trip, but I suppose every baby bird has to leave the nest at one point," Jean kissed Chance's cheek, something that made him look repulsed as he moved inside and went directly to his room, taking a napkin off the counter and wiping his face furiously. Jean smiled nonchalantly.

Luna raised an eyebrow at her response, but shook her head. "Before you ask, he's not in any trouble. He's just been through a lot, and needs time to recuperate. I offered him a spot on a road trip, something to do after the 2nd Camp Everfree trip, so he can better himself. I have another student who was given the same offer, and hopefully it'll be beneficial to them both." Luna explained.

Jean nodded. "As long as he's out of the house, then do what you must. He's clearly not happy here, not that I blame him... just wish he knew how to fake it, for his sake." Jean said in a dismissive manner, gesturing to the unconscious Moonshine, still unconscious on the ground.

Luna seemed a bit concerned about the state of the home, but if Chance was to be believed that his room and the bathroom were the only clean rooms in the house, Luna shuddered to imagine that this was the same environment a ten year-old boy was being raised in.

She felt her blood boil, and simply took a deep breath. 'How did either of them think it was a good idea to raise a child in these conditions? No wonder Chance ended up the way he is, now. The sooner we leave here, the better. Whether it's on the open road, or Camp Everfree, anywhere is better than this.' Luna thought to herself, trying to ease her tension.

Chance went into his room and found the bag he was looking for. A duffle bag with a camo pattern, his dad's old school bag. Chance held the bag close to him, feeling his hands shake and tremble.

He flicked the light switch on, illuminating the room in a shining light. There was barely anything in the room, other than a desk, a couple shelves collecting dust, a bedside shelf, a lamp, and a bed.

Chance looked in the drawer of his bedside shelf, noticing the same thickly-packed envelope he received from the same man that broke the news about his father on his tenth birthday. He still hadn't opened it, but figured now was as good a time to.

Chance sat on his bed and opened the envelope, seeing a letter, as well as an old photo. He carefully unfolded the letter and set the photo on his lap, prepared to read whatever was written.

"To my only Son, my pride and joy;

Hey Chance, I hope you're doing alright. Happy 10th birthday, buddy! Uh... I don't know how to tell you this, but if you got this letter, it means I'm not comin' home, plain and simple. I know it must sting, I already missed three of your birthdays already, and now I'm gonna miss the rest of them? Believe me, I get it. My old man wasn't there for me when I was your age, but I was able to handle myself... but I know you're more sensitive at such a young age, and leaving on Christmas tore us both up.

I didn't want to leave, you know? The world needed my help, and as much as I wanted to stay, to raise you right and prepare you for the world, I couldn't turn my back on the world, like my father turned his back on me, but I know you can handle yourself. You're a smart kid, you're kind, you're caring, you're selfless, you're my pride and joy, and I couldn't be more proud. I'll always be with you, son. In spirit, in your heart, and in your head.

...

On the off-chance that you're reading this in the future, like three, maybe five years after I'm gone, however, let me give you some advice. If your mom's givin' you grief that I'm not around, that ain't your fault. It's mine.

If anyone starts to thinkin' they can mess with people whenever they want, just because they think they're better, you gotta stand up for the people that can't stand up for themselves. If you find yourself in this position, then you have to fight back.

Just keep pushing forward, I'll always be with you."

XOXO

-Dad

Chance couldn't see properly, due to all the tears that had formed in his eyes. He tried to pull himself together, he tried so hard to stay strong, but he felt like everything inside him was collapsing. The tears cascaded down his chin, and Chance grabbed one of his pillows, jamming his face deep into it as he let out a muffled, but still incredibly loud auditory sound of distress and anguish.

He dried his tears and continued to scream into the pillow. He knew it wasn't healthy to bottle up his emotions, especially if they were this volatile, but he blames that on his father's supposed friend. 'Some friend he turned out to be,' Chance lifted his face from the pillow, and stared at his father's dog tag. It sat on his desk, glistening in the light that pushed past his curtains. 'He sleeps with his friend's wife, becomes a junkie, turns my mother into a junkie, not that she was doing a good job as a mother anyway when dad passed,' Chance examined the dog tag carefully, examining it with such delicate care, as if he knew that one wrong move, would besmirch and eradicate it forever. 'Then we move to some magical city, and life hasn't gotten any better! They're still junkies, dad's still dead, I'm still miserable and lost, and by this point, I'm willing to make a deal with the devil and his merry band of lawyers, why not, I've run out of solutions!' Chance thought.

He felt his blood boiling, he wanted to grip the dog tag in his hands with such a fierce and unrestrained tenacity, yet he still carefully put the dog tag back where it was on the desk. He swiftly punched the wall, a loud crack echoed out as a damaged spot the size of Chance's fist was now present on the dimly lit baby blue wall. Chance backed away, his anger, his anguish, it all started to overflow, and the tears came back in full-swing.

Chance collapsed to his knees, yet it felt like a hand was on his shoulder. It was large, it was firm, yet gentle and sympathetic in its touch. Chance silently sobbed into his hands, only to notice the picture he still had in his hand.

The picture was from Christmas, 2007. Chance went wide-eyed, seeing his father kneeling right by his bedside, he and his younger self were smiling, both of them wearing Christmas-themed pajamas. His dad wore a Santa hat, and his younger self wore an elf hat. Chance flipped the picture around, and saw writing on the back.

"Just keep pushing forward, buddy. I'll always be with you."

Chance got up, turning around to see who had witnessed his breakdown, only to be surprised. There was no one there, and despite his best efforts to look around for the individual, he did end up right back at his father's bag. He wiped his tears away, pocketed the letter, dog tag and picture, then took a few deep breaths, grabbing the bag's strap and going back towards his bedroom door, ready to leave.

After a moment or two of waiting, and hearing a sudden loud crack echo from the back of the house, Luna looked down the hall, seeing Chance sling a camo-patterned duffle bag over his shoulder. "Nice bag, mister Marsten. I almost forgot you were a military child, silly me." Luna commented with a smile. Chance let a brief smile twitch across his face as he nodded in silence.

Jean looked at the bag, only to be surprised. She knew whose bag that was, but before she could even say anything, let alone reach out to see the bag, Chance immediately walked back to the car, hiding his face behind his bag. Luna watched as Chance left in a huff, packing his bag into the trunk as he started to hesitate. He stared into the trunk of the car, only sneer and slam it shut, then returned to his seat in the car.

Jean looked tired, and despite the smile on her face, she seemed to reflect a sense of guilt. Luna sighed and shook Jean's hand. "Your son is in good hands, you don't need to worry. I promise you, he'll benefit from this." Luna reassured.

As Luna left the abysmal state of the home, seeing Chance stare at her from the backseat window, she definitely felt as if something else was amiss. As Luna got back into the driver's seat, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Luna looked back, seeing Chance put his arm back to his side. "Say I gave you the real reason why I accepted your offer, would I no longer be allowed on the road trip, or am I going either way?" Chance asked.

Luna saw Chance's eyes, they were a bit red, and the dried streaks on his face signified that he had been shedding tears. The smile he briefly had on his face seemed to be a bit more prevalent, but he immediately tried to hide it. Luna smiled and gave her answer. "You'd be more than welcome on the trip, if it's your choice to participate." Luna stated, starting the car up.

Chance leaned back in his seat, all while catching Sunset look at him. "Were you crying? I'm not gonna judge, but your eyes are a bit red." Sunset asked.

Chance rolled his eyes, straightening up as the car began to move. "So what if I did? It's healthy to cry, look it up. I did it for my benefit." Chance deflected, a hint of cheer in his tone of voice.

Sunset smiled coyly as she playfully nudged his arm. All the while, Luna looks at the rearview mirror, noticing Chance's attitude slowly start to change. Instead of being reclusive or reserved, he's at least making the effort to be a bit friendly.

Luna smiled. 'One step at a time.' Luna thought, a smile formed on her face as she focused her attention back to the road.

[Camp Everfree, Afternoon]

It had taken a few hours, but they finally managed to get to the camp. It looked a bit different from the last time they were there. For example, there wasn't a giant thorn dome keeping them trapped, and there was a lack of the woman who caused that to happen, via some magic rocks that were now in-possession of Sunset and her friends.

Chance thought about that for a moment, and figured he should get some context. As Chance walked with Luna and Sunset, he noticed a nervous and uncertain expression on Sunset's face. "Well, can't say I haven't seen myself make that expression before," Sunset looked in his direction, noticing him trying to look her in the eyes. "I've made that face numerous times, and that's when something's been eating at me. So, what's the tea?" Chance asked.

Sunset sighed. "It's nothing. I'm just not as excited to be at Camp Everfree this time." Sunset stated.

Chance nodded, as if he understood. "Yeah, last time, a crazy camp counselor transformed into Mother Nature's rebellious step-daughter, and nearly trapped us in a dome of thorns, can't say I don't blame ya for not bein' excited," Sunset chuckled slightly. "Hey, maybe if we're lucky, nothing like that will happen while we're here. One can hope, even if that hope is dismal, at best." Chance remarked, patting Sunset on the back.

Sunset smiled, and looked ahead, noticing a tan-skinned boy with curly brown hair approaching them, dressed in a red shirt and cargo shorts. "Hi there, I assume you two are Canterlot High students, correct?" He asked.

Chance and Sunset nodded, and he gave a thumbs up. "Great, you must be the late ones. We were told to not start until all students were present. We ran out of room for tents this year, since so many people decided to give Camp Everfree a second chance after the fundraiser last year, so you two will have to bunk with your principals for the week," He then proceeded to bow his head. "I apologize for the inconvenience, if there is any." the guy apologized.

Chance snickered at the guy's responses, only to be met by a sudden elbow to the side. Chance rubbed where he had been jabbed, noticing Sunset lowering her arm. 'Nice to know she takes no nonsense, but ow!' Chance thought. "No point in apologizing, it's no skin off my teeth. A place to sleep is a place to sleep. As long as it means I won't be mauled by bears or sleepwalkers, then I don't care where I have to sleep." Chance remarked, carrying his bag forward as he noticed a lot of the remnant thorns were still standing from the last incident.

Luna marched forward, guiding Chance towards the cabins as Sunset walks with the guy. "So, Timber, how're things with Twilight?" Sunset asked.

The guy, known as Timber, just simply shrugged. He seemed disappointed, but at the same time, kinda relieved. "We broke it off when she got here. I was concerned for her safety when magic stuff came around, she was insistent that she helped people rather than stand around doing nothing, she also wanted to go to a college outside of the state, and I wanted to go to a college that was still in Canterlot City, so it was obvious that things weren't gonna work out, but we decided to still be friends. We'll make it work, somehow." Timber explained.

Sunset nodded her head, still kinda surprised that the pair of them put a stop to their relationship, but was willing to respect their choices. "Any word from your sister?" Sunset asked.

Timber's face fell somber, like a pit had fallen into his stomach, and started to rot. "I haven't been getting letters back for three weeks, so that's concerning. I sure hope she's alright, and for what it's worth, I'm sorry she caused so much trouble for everyone. She wanted to keep our parents' legacy alive, and I did too, but we had very different ways of handling the situation. Hers was magic, which drove her insane, and mine was to open a gift shop, all proceeds go to preserving the wildlife of the Everfree Forest, as well as to the camp's general budget, until Filthy Rich stuck his hand in the beehive, and somehow I got stung for it. I guess both ideas ended up backfiring, who woulda guessed." Timber explained, a dry chuckle escaped his lips.

Sunset patted Timber's back and noticed a perky and very excitable girl heading their way. She had poofy chocolate brown hair, caramel skin, and was primarily dressed in her camp everfree uniform. Sunset grimaced, a frown forming on her face. "Uh, listen, do me a solid. Keep Pinkie, and the other girls away from me. We're not on good terms, and Pinkie's in denial. If you need me, I'll be at the cabin." Sunset remarked.

Before Timber could respond, Sunset bolted like a bat out of hell, and soon enough, the girl known as Pinkie, was within Timber's presence. "Heya, buddy-boy! Was Sunset with you? Was she still mad?" Pinkie asked.

Timber took a deep breath, and slowly let it escape him. "I'm pretty sure she wants her space. Though, I think she went over to the Archery targets, maybe check over there?" Timber inquired.

Pinkie nodded and sped off in the opposite direction of where Sunset went, and Timber sighed. "Something tells me it's gonna be a long week..." Timber told himself, looking at the cabin. Little did Timber know, someone had seen where Sunset went, and they were gonna make sure they got what they wanted.

[Outer Space]

Above Earth's atmosphere, the two ships continued their onslaught of a chase, until the smaller ship had taken a hit that slowed them down a fair bit. "Sir, their propulsion systems have been destroyed. They can no longer prolong the inevitable." The one-eyed creature announced.

The tall creature seemed pleased by this information, but was still pretty irate. "Prepare to board, and convert the crew while you're at it! I want the Omnitrix, this instant, and more capable hands on deck!" It demanded.

Before another word could be uttered, a sudden blast of light enveloped the screen, and burst into the room, blasting the large creature across with incredible force, as well as causing the one-eyed creatures to reel in pain and agony. The smaller ship had primed and fired numerous lasers at its enemy. It managed to pierce the control room, but the larger ship immediately retaliates, blasting the ship to pieces. Out of those pieces, two pods eject down into Earth's atmosphere, much to the unawareness of the larger enemy ship.

One contained a very precious piece of cargo, and the other was the ship's main pilot. The cargo pod seemed to drift more towards a very specific location, while the pilot's pod proceeds to crash in a very remote location, far from where the cargo pod would eventually land.

S1, Episode 6: Slaves to the Parasite

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Slaves to the Parasite

The RV had stopped somewhere on a desert road, with an ice cream parlor nearby. While Sunset and Chance get their ice cream, Luna is outside near the local ATM, trying to make a deposit. A faded blue pickup truck pulls up to the same spot, and a strong lady walks up to Luna.

"Gonna have to ask ya you move, Darlin'. I got a major withdrawal to make!" The lady announced.

Luna did not move, if anything, she continued fiddling around with it till the other woman grabbed her by the arm and attempted to throw her aside. From inside the truck, a smaller girl with blue hair and a gap in her teeth, most likely the strong lady's associate, just smiled as she waited in the driver's seat.

Back in the parlor, Sunset was trying to figure out what she could get, but she couldn't decide. "Ya know, I'll just stand back and let him figure out his order, I can get more time." Sunset said, backing up.

A frowning old man sighed and looked to Chance. "Well boy, whaddya want?" The man asked.

Chance was about to make his order, until the sound of a struggle was heard. Sunset and Chance looked out the window, seeing Luna on the ground holding her face, all while a strong lady in black overalls hooks up a chain and hook to the ATM.

Chance looked back to the old man. "I'll have rocky road and cookies n' cream, extra chocolate sauce. I'll be right back to pay, but right now, someone else has to." Chance remarked, running out the door as he activated the Omnitrix.

Outside, the strong lady digs the hook into the ATM and yells to her associate in the pickup. "Alright doll, it's in place! Hit it!" The woman exclaimed.

The smaller girl tries to pump the gas, but nothing happens. The girl keeps trying, but the car just sputters and starts to let out fumes. "You are in violation of numerous laws. Stand down or I will detain you." A synthetic voice spoke out.

The girl looked to the window and flinched upon seeing the being that had the fuel lines, as well as the battery in its hands. It looked like a human figure, but the bottom portion was missing, just hovering in the air.

It had an unexpected shade of dark purple skin, and it was pretty strong, or at least it looked it. It had a small circular screen on its face, displaying a bright white line in the midst of a dark background, and a blue bulb on top of its head. It seemed to be some kind of alien, but it looked like it was solely made out of mechanical parts. It wore a sleeveless top with white and black details, and white tubes reaching over its shoulders with the Omnitrix being smack dab in the center of its chest.

The smaller girl tried to punch the alien and make it stagger, only to then hear the unprecedented loud shattering sound of the bones in her hand and fingers breaking. The smaller girl winced and cried out, alerting the strong lady to come to her aide. "If you're so insistent on resisting the law, then I will oblige. Just know you brought this on yourself, and Crime Detector will be the last name you hear before you wake up in a jail cell." Crime Detector announced, his voice was purely synthetic, it warbled and warped, but it also sounded so emotionless, like an actual robot.

The strong lady threw a couple punches, and while her hands stung and already started to ache, that didn't stop her from trying to use the chain on him. She swung the chain like a mace, but Crime Detector simply caught it and yanked her forward, smashing his fist into her face as he broke a few of her teeth, broke her nose and knocked her unconscious. "Job complete. Notifying local authorities..." Crime Detector stood still as a bunch of radio static started to blare out through him.

Sunset rushed out, holding two ice creams in her hand as she came to Luna's side. Luna uncovered her face to reveal a black-eye, though it was incredibly swollen, it didn't look too bad. "I-I'll be fine. Just need to rest and put some ice on it. Nicely done, Mister Marsten," Crime Detector simply nodded, and soon enough, the radio static was gone. The Omnitrix started to time out and in a flash of red light, Chance was transformed back into his normal self, though he staggered a bit. "Well, I could've gone any other day without a swollen eye, but I suppose this will lead into our next stop a bit better." Luna remarked.

Chance and Sunset took their respective ice creams and looked at Luna curiously. "Where exactly are we going now?" Sunset asked.

Luna smiled. "I'm actually glad you asked. We're going to take a trip to my parents' place in Jaxton! I figured that since Chance hasn't been in the best mindset since Washington, I was getting a bit worn thin with these constant strings of adventures, and you didn't really want to participate in the whole situation with the Chupacabra, I called ahead to let them know that we could just have a small little relaxing outing." Luna explained.

As the RV drives down the road, showing off more and more signs of life as the desert becomes less barren, Chance can't help but remember his encounter with Animo, the Chupacabra, and most importantly of all, the Omnitrix. "Ya know, it starts off like a relaxing outing, but then trouble comes to us like a moth to a flame. The Omnitrix fixated on me, Animo robbed the one place we were at, and I'm not even gonna try to explain what happened with the Chupacabra, I'm just saying that there's a pattern. I don't know if it's me, or if it's because one of us was a hero already before I got my powers, but some semblance of a pattern is clearly identifying itself, and there's an odd peculiar sense of consistency." Chance explained.

Sunset gave Chance an amused, but bored smile. "It's not rocket science, bud. Sometimes we're just in the right place at the wrong time. It naturally just makes things difficult for us to relax, but I'm not upset at the good we've done so far, so in a way, it kinda balances out." Sunset remarked.

Chance sighed. "All I'm saying is, despite the good we do, we miss out on some fun stuff. Would it really be that bad to take a rain check on the next issue, or is that just me?" Chance asked.

Luna looked back at her students. "I know this must be hard for you both, but trust me, once we get to Jaxton, I'll show you two how me and Celestia used to have fun back in our home town." Luna reassured.

Chance raised an eyebrow and looked at Luna. "Jaxton? I never heard of such a place. Where is it we're going exactly?" Chance asked.

Luna smiled. "Jaxton is the smallest village in Oregon, and it's where me and Celestia grew up. You won't be able to find it on a map because it's only got a population of seven, maybe even eight hundred people, and it's rare that anyone moves out of Jaxton, unless its for college." Luna explained.

Sunset looked up and was rather surprised. "Interesting. I never really thought about that until now." Sunset remarked.

Chance re-directed his confusion towards Sunset, only to notice her hide her expression behind her laptop. Chance frowned and looked out the window, noticing a couple guys his age, only stronger and dressed in flannel shirts, boots and jeans. One of them sets their axe down and wipes the sweat from their brow, only to hock up a huge discolored orange-yellow colored glob of snot and spew it onto a nearby tree. Chance was caught off guard by that, and the guy saw him staring from the window. The guy smiled, and simply just waved like nothing happened.

Chance felt a chill run up his spine, but waved back as he looked away, only to utter a question. "Should I be worried about how the guys my age act here?" Chance asked, feeling a sense of tension start to rush through him.

Luna chuckled and looked back at Chance, who now seemed a bit worried. "Don't worry, mister Marsten, the boys are just hardened and toughened up by how they were raised in Jaxton. How do you think me and Celestia turned out so tough and resilient?" Luna reassured.

'I feel like with how calm you are around magic and aliens, it couldn't be because of what happened in your own little slice of nostalgia.' Chance thought, a skeptical look of bemusement forming on his face.

Somewhere in a small apartment complex, a man and a woman are setting stuff up in the living room. The man was caucasian, he was thin with a small bit of muscle, had long flowing blonde hair that cascaded down to his neck, with a few streaks of white and gray hairs here and there, and had a small orange crescent moon embroidered onto his dress shirt. The woman was more african, had short jet-black hair and was a bit wider than the man, but she had a bit more muscle on her body. She wore a purple and red sweater, with a vibrant blue sun embroidered on the back.

The woman yawned and stretched herself out, smiling. "Let me tell ya, I'm excited to see our little Lulu again. I was also pretty surprised to know she called, but I'm personally glad that she wanted to come and visit. Aren't you, Sol?" The woman asked.

The man, known as Sol, went over and embraced the woman in a hug. "Absolutely, Eclipsa. Even if Celestia isn't joining her, it's always a treat to see one of our little girls again... even if they aren't so little anymore." Sol expressed warmly.

Sol and Eclipsa smiled as they started to move into a slow dance, but below them was a woman who was vehemently disgusted by how thin the walls seemed to be.

She had long bleach-blonde hair, riddled with split ends, was also african, but the hate in her jade green eyes was enough to turn the toughest and bravest of souls into a pile of quivering mush. The woman wore a pair of blue-ish green lipstick and a torn up black gothic dress with green highlights, as well as black see-through leggings, both had holes in them. She also wore some worn out black stilletos.

The woman grabbed a broom and jammed the handle into the roof a few times. "Cut it out with the mushy crap! Some of us are trying to watch TV!!" The woman grabbed her remote and turned up the volume, eating what looked like a bowl of popcorn with a red drizzle on top of it. "No one makes Chrystina miss her horror movie marathon." Chrystina remarked.

As she reached for another handful, she suddenly pulled her hand back when she felt something cold and slimy. Chrystina looked at the bowl, only to go wide-eyed as she stared at a one-eyed monster. It looked like a squid, but its brain was clearly exposed, and it was oozing some kind of thick orange slime from its toothy maw.

Chrystina panicked, shrieking as loud as she could as the creature let out an inhuman squeaking sound and latched onto her face, muffling her cries any further. She struggled with all her might to fight the creature, but soon fell to the floor, losing consciousness as the TV blared, showing an old colored movie about a greaser and a cheerleader surrounded by parasites.

As the RV enters Jaxton, Sunset and Chance notice how lively the place is. The people were pretty friendly, waving to them as they went about their usual routines. "Well, this is much friendlier. Feeling any better, mister skeptical?" Sunset asked with a smug smile.

Chance let a smile form on his face for a moment, but a look of shock soon overtook him as he saw a man spewing a literal stream of that same strange goo into a trash can, only to continue waving like nothing happened. Chance gulped and seemed disgusted. "I think the summer heat has finally baked my last brain cell, I have to be hallucinating." Chance remarked, going to the fridge as he grabs an ice pack, placing it on his head.

When the RV stops in front of the apartment complex, Chance is the first to get out, still holding the ice pack to his head. The sun beats down on him hard, and he flinches a bit. "Ok, it wasn't this hot back on the desert road, why is so unbearably hot here, wasn't it supposed to be sixty-eight today?" Chance tried to look around, only to feel a sudden chill as cold water is sprayed onto his back. Chance whips around, seeing Sunset with who water guns and tosses one his way. Chance grabs it and sets the ice pack back on the table in the RV, and smirks, chasing after Sunset as he gets ready to hose her down. "Bring it on!!" Chance exclaimed, laughing as he chases after her.

Luna steps out, looking happy, yet mildly saddened at the sight of the apartment complex. 'You can do this. It's only been a couple years since the last visit, you can do this.' Luna thought, trying to reassure herself.

Chance runs past Luna, and just as he's about to spray more water at Sunset, he notices a gaze being burned into the back of his head. Chance turned around, looking at one of the windows above. Chrystina is looking down at him through the window, staring intently at the boy. Chance was starting to get uncomfortable, and almost as if Chrystina could tell what he was feeling, she smirked and licked her lips as she let her smirk become a scowl. She growled as she shut the blinds before he could react.

Chance felt thoroughly unsettled. "Okay, time for another rousing round of 'I'm getting the hell out of here!' I'll be in the RV." Chance remarked, backing up as fast as he could, clutching the water gun in his hand with a surprisingly tight grip, the fear in his eyes said it all. He was uncomfortable, he felt that sense of security leave him, and he wanted to leave immediately.

Sunset stood in Chance's way, causing him to back up into her, only for him to whip around and spray her in face without a moment's hesitation. Sunset looked unamused and spat out a bit of water onto the concrete. Chance gulped and gently laid the water gun on the ground. "I'm so sorry. I get an itchy trigger finger when something make me feel... well, uncomfortable." Chance explained, his face turning red as a wave of embarrassment washed over him.

Sunset smiled and sprayed Chance in the face, causing him to spit up a bit of water as he now felt thoroughly drenched. "Apology accepted, and now we're even. There's now nothing to worry about... speaking of," Sunset turned Chance around, the both of them noticed Luna staring off into space. "Does she seem a bit... different?" Sunset asked.

Chance looked at her, raising his eyebrow. "You're asking me?" Chance looked back at Luna, and she seemed almost nostalgic, but it wasn't a happy kind of nostalgia. "In my personal opinion, I think she's conflicted. About what though, I couldn't begin to fathom. I'm an alien superhero, not a psychic. By this point, that seems more like your per view." Chance remarked, shrugging his shoulders.

Sunset gulped and slowly approached Luna, gripping her geode tightly in one hand, and gently placing her hand on her back with the other. Sunset's eyes shined bright for a moment, but before she could truly see into Luna's head, feel what she feels, she felt her connection be severed. Sunset's eyes stopped glowing, and Luna had grabbed her wrist, an obviously irritated and defensive expression now formed on her face. "What do you think you're doing?" Luna asked.

Sunset gasped as she pulled her hand away. Luna stared down at the two, and it was clear to them that she was not keen on letting Sunset see into her head. Chance panicked and stepped forward, getting between them. "It was my idea, by all technicality. Y-Yo-You were spacing out, and we didn't really know how to approach the situation. I-I figured that by looking into your head, we'd be able to figure out the problem and come up with a solution. It was my idea, I'll take the fall for it." Chance explained.

Luna stared at the pair of them carefully, though upon realizing how she was reacting, she started to look less angry, and more scared. Luna sighed and leaned down to the two teens. "Look, I'm sorry for suddenly snapping, but there are things I don't want you to see... it's too personal, and right now, it's a very sensitive memory. Promise me you won't try this again until I'm ready?" Sunset and Chance looked at each other, then back at Luna, nodding slowly. Luna sighed and pulled the two close into a hug. "Thank you, again I'm sorry, but I need you two to just trust me on this. Lets focus on relaxing and having a bit of fun for now, so no more dillydallying!" Luna remarked, marching towards the front door of the apartment complex.

The teens looked at each other once more, and Chance looked down at Sunset's hand, seeing that it was not hurt or bruised in any way, yet couldn't help but feel a bit responsible. "Sorry about that. Had I known she would react in such a manner, I wouldn't've suggested-" Sunset cut him off, pulling him into a tight hug. "-It!! May I ask what's warranting any of this, or am I hallucinating via heat stroke!?" Chance remarked, his voice straining from how tight Sunset was squeezing him.

Sunset simply laughed and smiled. "That was for having my back just now. We both know you didn't have to do that, but then again, from what little I do know about you, your actions on this road trip seem to contradict what I initially expected of you. Not saying it's a bad thing, but I guess even the nicest people have to hide themselves in certain situations." Sunset explained, walking towards the apartment complex.

Chance whipped around and asked one more question. "What exactly did you expect of me?" Chance asked curiously.

Sunset stopped and looked back. "I expected a stubborn, aggressive, hateful and traumatized guy, guzzling down alcohol like soda and only willingly throwing himself into dangerous situations, just so that he can die knowing he tried doing something good. Instead, I'm seeing bits and pieces of the guy behind the façade he made to survive his time at home, who is genuinely one of the oddest, if not the hardest person to read I've met thus far," Chance was speechless, but he tried his best to seem unimpressed. Sunset's smile never faltered. "I don't know why you still hide behind a façade, even when we're miles away from Canterlot City, but... maybe it's not my business, not until you're ready to tell me." Sunset explained.

Chance simply took a deep breath and followed Sunset into the Apartment complex. He felt strange, like something warm was fluttering around in his stomach, yet it made him feel sick. He didn't feel like he was under the weather, but at the same time, he couldn't help but look at the window, feeling the hairs stand up on the back of his neck. Chance tried to shake off the feeling as he walked into the apartment complex. 'I don't know if I'll ever be ready for that...' Chance thought.

As the trio ascend the stairway to the next floor, Luna motions for the two to move towards a door with the numbers 3-1-1 engraved on some kind of metal plate. "Alright, you two, I want you to essentially prepare yourselves. Also, watch your cheeks, they always liked pinching mine and Celestia's when we were younger." Luna warned, yet her smile was unwavering.

Sunset covered her face, all while Chance gulped, seeming worried. Luna knocked on the door, and as soon as it opened up, Eclipsa and Sol pulled Luna in for a tight hug. "Lulu!" They exclaimed.

"Mother, Father, it's very good to see you! Just as energetic as ever, like the last time I saw you," Luna patted their backs as she finally managed to wriggle free, dusting herself off. "How have you two been?" Luna asked.

Eclipsa smiled. "We've been exceptional. Been staying in shape, like you instructed us on your last visit." Eclipsa said, pinching her daughter's cheeks, all while Luna seemed unfazed, smiling through it all.

Sol stepped up and pulled out a small neatly-wrapped box. "This is for you, in regards to your job. I did some digging, and with a bit of help from a buddy of mine, we were able to find this. I hope it helps, my little moon pie." Sol remarked, kissing Luna's forehead.

Luna chuckled and took the gift, unwrapping it to reveal a small little device. It looked incredibly complex, but from what Sunset and Chance could observe, they didn't know what they were looking at. "Either this is the world's most complicated flashlight, or the world's most unassuming bedroom toy. I don't know which one confuses and concerns me more, and somehow that's even worse," Eclipsa and Sol looked at Chance, who simply shrugged. "What, I call it like I see it." Chance remarked.

Sunset looked over at a few paintings that hung on the wall. Some of them consisted of the night sky, and some of them were preserved relics of the past. Posters of old movies, merchandise that was discontinued decades ago, but the one thing that caught Sunset's attention was a family photo. In it was a younger version of Eclipsa and Sol, but there was also Luna and Celestia. Celestia looked like she came out of an old nineties highschool movie, dressed to impress with a poofy scarf, sweater, a frilly skirt, dancing shoes and a bandana that tied her hair back.

Luna looked like she belonged on a biker gang, dressed in a leather jacket, sitting on a chopper with a toothpick in her mouth, and black shades over her eyes. Even her hair was cut short in a bob type of style, yet the ripped bell-bottom jeans, huge black boots, and the white leather gloves were all so unexpected. "Wow, miss Luna, back in the day you were a rebel! I guess that explains why you're so strict about rules now. I gotta say, somehow you pull off the leather jacket better than I do." Sunset remarked, smiling at the photo.

Luna flinched, her eyes went wide and her face was becoming red as she rushed over and set the picture on one of the higher shelves. "Well, it's all in the past. I personally don't like to discuss it, otherwise I'd be the history teacher," Luna noticed Sol and Eclipsa's reaction to the students in her presence, and sighed. "Mother, father, these are two of my students I'm escorting for the summer. The boy who seems to have no filter is Chance, and the girl who always tries to understand everything, even those around her, is Sunset. We've seen some ridiculously crazy things this summer already, and we were hoping to stay for the night, just to recuperate." Luna explained, introducing her students.

Eclipsa and Sol smiled. "Luna, you and your kids are more than welcome here. Besides, you could've had me fooled," Sol walked over to Chance and pulled out a picture of Luna when she was his age. She had messy and wild hair, it was like the style she was going for was a jungle. She wore some kind of odd suit that immediately had Luna sweating, looking nervous. The depiction of Luna in the photo was essentially jamming out to something, letting her tongue fly out of her mouth, even showing off a tongue piercing. "Back when Lulu was around your age, she was the most rebellious young lady in all of Jaxton! She raised hell so much that even grounding her didn't quell that rambunctious fire in her belly, it just stoked the flames higher... ah, those were the days." Sol remarked a sad, yet happy smile forming on his face.

Chance smiled and let a laugh escape him as he looked at the photo closely. "Damn, you were really jamming out! Last time I jammed out like that, I was listening to my dad's old metal album. Dude knew how to shred it on the guitar, lemme tell ya!" Chance looked at the suit she wore in the photo, but couldn't place where he saw it before. "Why does that suit look so familiar?" Chance asked.

Eclipsa let a wry smile form on her face as she pulled out her wallet, and then plucked a photo from it. The photo depicted an eighteen-year-old woman in a scantily clad black suit, decorated with white stars of various shapes, all while a red crescent moon was hooked onto the chestpiece. She also had some kind of gladitorial helmet with a tuft of cosmic fluff protruding from the top of it. "This might answer your question. It was from Luna's first time coming home after spring break. Believe it or not, Lulu wasn't just rebellious, she was a whirlwind of chaoticness. She saw one of those superhero shows she liked so much, 'Power Personas' I think, and she got the bright idea to try and become a superhero, cleaning crime off the streets with a silly costume. She even had her own little alter ego to boot!" Eclipsa explained with the brightest smile on her face.

Luna's face was getting increasingly red and tried to make herself vocal, but she couldn't find the words. "So, it's a skin-tight suit that she made herself, or did she take something and modify it from there?" Chance asked.

Luna ran forward and snatched the photos out of her parents' hands, pocketing them as she started to laugh in an awkward and panic-ridden state, her face was redder than a ripe tomato. "T-Teenagers, they're a handful!" Chance raised an eyebrow in confusion, only for Luna to lean in. "Chance, why don't you head out to the RV and grab my purse, I think I forgot to bring it in." Luna requested, a concerned, yet borderline irate expression formed on her face.

Chance frowned and walked towards the front door, only to hear some kind of commotion outside. Chance rushes to the window, seeing the woman from before trying to break into the RV. Chance was surprised, but he didn't waste anytime running down the stairs.

Chrystina tugged on the door handle, trying to rip it off, but couldn't seem to really make any difference. She looked around, making sure no one was around, until she felt someone tap on her shoulder. Chrystina whipped around, seeing Chance with a smirk on his face. "Peek-a-boo!" Chance called out, smashing his fist into the woman's stomach as he pulled her away from the door.

Chrystina headbutted Chance in the face, causing him to let her go, only to find himself in a stand-off. Chance was rather surprised that she managed to recover so fast, but that didn't mean he was going down without a fight. 'I haven't fought like this in years, sure hope I'm making the right decision not going hero right now.' Chance remarked.

Chrystina growled and readied herself, all while Chance put his hands up, like a boxer would when preparing for a fight. He shifted his feet into a wider stance, and motioned for Chrystina to come at him. Chrystina hissed and ran right at him, flailing her arms as Chance quickly backed up, weaving and dodging Chrystina's attempts to claw at him. Chance soon saw his opening and jammed his elbow into her bottom jaw, causing her to stagger back a bit. Chance hopped from side-to-side, trying to comprehend the situation. For a moment, he could've sworn that the woman's jade green eyes flickered red for a second, but it was probably just the sun playing tricks on him.

Chrystina grunted like a wild animal, trying her flailing tactic again, but Chance continued to dodge and weave, taking a few chances to get some light jabs and hooks landed, yet Chrystina wasn't falling. Chance knew he'd have to hit a little harder, so when Chrystina got on all fours and lunged at him, like a tiger pounces onto its wounded target, Chance ended up jumping back and slamming his heel into Chrystina's face, knocking her to the ground with a mighty thud.

Chance got out of the stance he was in, and looked at his hands, simply smiling. "I still got it, pops. A bit rusty for sure, but I still got it," Chance heard a gurgling sound that immediately had him on edge. Chrystina's body was starting to convulse and twitch. "Oh fuck, I went too far!" Chance stated, a sense of panic started to overtake him as he rushed forward, crouching down to turn Chrystina over on her side. As he did what he set out to do, he was shocked and appalled, seeing that Chrystina's face was split in two, and crackling with small bits of electricity.

'What the fuck?' Chance thought. He carefully grabbed her face, and to his own surprise, it didn't feel like skin. It felt like some kind of plastic metal. Through a mix of curiosity and whatever adrenaline was still pumping through him, he grabbed both halves of her face and pulled them off slowly. As he did, her body started to warp, almost being reduced to static. When he finally removed the two halves of her face, what he saw next was all the proof he needed as his fight or flight response kicked in.

On the ground, was Chrystina. He could only tell it was the same woman he thought he killed because parts of her were still uncovered, or not yet overtaken by this odd mass of tentacles that now clung to her face, and covered most of her body. Her eyes were blank, practically lifeless, but one singular eye continued to stare right at him. A big eye with a red dot in the center of the iris. Chance's eyes widened, he couldn't fathom what he was looking at, but soon saw the creature's toothy maw. 'Chrystina' looked at him, both with her regular eye, and the huge eye amidst the mass of tentacles.

The woman grabbed Chance's hand, the one with the device strapped to it. "So, it's true... You are the one... the human boy who found... the Omnitrix... prepare yourself boy, you're going in too deep... and all without a breath of air." Chrystina remarked, a wry toothy smirk forming on their face.

Just as Chance tried to pull himself away, the Omnitrix started to beep. The hourglass emblem transitioned into a helix shape, and started to flash yellow. "Genetic Damage detected. Shall we attempt to repair?" the device chirped, its voice was high-pitched, almost feminine, though monotonous in its delivery. Chance was surprised, but 'Chrystina' was clearly shocked.

Before Chance had any time to try and figure out what this would help, the woman smacked him away. He got up, surprised by how fast the woman recovered, only to see the woman hop onto the roof of the RV, then hop away, making a weird gurgling noise as that same goo oozed from her mouth.

Chance looked back up at the window, the one with the blinds closed. Chance looked back at the woman's body, only to notice the huge eye had now closed. Out of options, and knowing people shouldn't see this woman like this, Chance silently moved himself back into the apartment complex, and to the room that best corresponded with the blinds, noticing that the door was now off its hinges, covered up and practically encased in that same strange goo. "Oh son of a bitch." Chance muttered.

Sunset looked at a lot of the stuff Luna's folks had, and noticed that there was very little stuff about Celestia's childhood, something that confused her, but also piqued her curiosity. "Excuse me, miss Eclipsa, I apologize if this is a bit rude of me to say, but I don't see a lot of stuff that shows Celestia's childhood. Do you just not have the photos anymore, or is it too personal?" Sunset asked.

Eclipsa looked at Sunset, smiling. "Celestia, probably our highest-achieving child. She couldn't help but want to do as much as she could, but it left a lot to be desired when it came to cherished memories. We always thought Luna would work her life away, just because she was such a delinquent, but somehow, in a roundabout twist of fate, Celestia is the one we have the least amount of memories of... it saddens me to say such things, even if it's true, but I can't help but wonder if we pushed her too hard, and didn't push Luna enough." Eclipsa remarked, almost seeming saddened by the thought.

Sunset looked away, seeming a bit saddened, yet oddly relieved. 'Maybe that's for the better.' Sunset thought.

Sol and Luna are currently talking in the kitchen, preparing dinner. "So, tell me about those 'students' of yours, Lulu." Sol inquired.

Luna raised an eyebrow at her father, confused. "What do you mean?" Luna asked.

Sol nudged her daughter a bit, still smiling. "Come on, Lulu, you telling me you haven't found someone to settle down yet? here I thought these kids you brought were gonna be yours! That boy's definitely got your blunt streak, that's for sure, as well as your tendency for sniffing out trouble." Sol remarked.

Luna's face got very red and she groaned out of sheer embarrassment. "Dad, please don't pester me for grandkids! Besides, they're my students, nothing more and nothing less. If it's grandkids you want, pester Celestia, if you must." Luna remarked defensively.

Sol chuckled and pulled his daughter into another hug. "Come on, you know your old man loves to aggravate ya from time to time, I'm just pullin' your leg Lulu," Luna simply covered her face with her hands, trying to avoid anymore second-hand embarrassment. "Besides, I'm not wrong when I say that kid, is basically the spitting image of you back in your teens. Only difference is that funky watch on his wrist, and the fact that he's a boy. He could easily pass as your son, I've no doubt about it. That girl on the other hand," Sol gestured to Sunset, who was talking with Eclipsa, both of them seem to be enjoying each other's company. "She's got Celestia written all over her, I can just tell. The way she asks her questions, the way she phrases her words, the way she reacts to Celestia's name of all things, she reminds me of Celestia when she got back from studying abroad in Hong Kong. She learned so much, yet learned so little. What's her story?" Sol asked.

Luna looked at her father, seeming uncomfortable, yet she kept herself in check. "She's not my daughter, Chance isn't my son, nor are they Celestia's kids, that's for certain, otherwise I would've personally confronted Celestia about such a revelation, especially if it was a result of infidelity. Back to Chance, I doubt I could be a mother to someone who already claims that their biological mother is dead, and all that's left is a shell of what used to be. Can't say I blame him, I wouldn't want anything to do with that shell of a woman either, even if I got a ninety-percent raise to my salary, I just wouldn't be able to do it." Luna remarked.

Sol let out a long sigh. "It's that bad, huh? That woman must've done something dastardly to provoke such a response. That kid's either gonna be the death of himself, or something's gonna make him finally snap under the pressure, till there's nothing left to break. Kid clearly needs guidance, he's walking a dangerous road without a map, and he's lucky to have gotten this far without one. It's a bit of a dramatic choice, but ya gotta steer him in the right direction. Can ya do that, moon pie?" Sol asked.

Luna stayed silent, thinking about her father's words. Before Luna could give a proper response, the front door opens up, revealing Chance, who slowly but surely found his way to a recliner, slumping down into it, his head held low. Sol looked to Luna, and gestured for her to do something. Luna walked forward and stood near the recliner, tapping Chance's shoulder. "Chance, are you alright?" Luna asked.

"..."

He was silent, but he eventually raised his head. He looked crest-fallen, yet the confusion and concern that was in his eyes was enough to leave a soldier stunned. Luna had never seen Chance look so defeated, and neither had Sunset. It was clear to them both that something happened, and soon enough, Sunset was right by Luna's side, looking at the unexplained expression on the alien hero. "Chance, did something happen?" Luna asked, her tone was gentler than before.

Sol and Eclipsa looked at the boy, feeling the strangest case of whiplash they ever felt. One moment the boy was happy, if not a bit standoff-ish, like he wasn't used to interacting with people. Now, he was silent, he was confused, and he seemed conflicted, almost as if he didn't believe in what he needed to say.

Chance closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth. He wanted to say something, but he was also taking into consideration the environment he was in. Chance sighed, his breath was shaky. "I'll tell you. Just... both of you, mentally prepare yourselves for what comes next." Chance remarked.

Luna and Sunset looked at each other for a moment, only to realize that Chance recently got out of a fight, and while he did end up the winner, clearly something else occurred. Eclipsa brought a warm cup over to Chance's side, and he looked at it. "It was Luna's favorite when she was little. Hot Cocoa, with a bit of nutmeg, a cinnamon stick, and a bit of orange zest. It was something she enjoyed when she had a complicated problem on her hands. Helped keep her steady... take your time, baby, get your thoughts together." Eclipsa reassured, smiling.

Chance didn't respond, he just cautiously sipped the contents, all while Eclipsa and Sol walked to their bedroom. "We'll leave you three alone, just so he's more comfortable. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let us know, Lulu." Sol reassured, closing the door behind him.

The trio, now technically alone in the living room, were concerned. Sunset's eyes fell onto her friend, seeing him rattled like this was strange, and almost illogical that this is the second time. "Chance, what happened when you went outside?" Sunset asked, curious as to what exactly rattled her friend this time.

Sunset saw a look of anguish and shock on his face, and he seemed more conflicted. Chance continued to sip the contents of the cup, then sat it aside on the table to his left. "A woman tried to break into the RV, we fought, and then she ran away. She said something that freaked me out, as if what I saw was only the tip of the iceberg, and I couldn't do anything." Chance stated, feeling ashamed.

The pair looked shocked and incredibly surprised. "What!?" Luna exclaimed.

Chance flinched. "I didn't start the fight, I swear! Even if it was me, I had no idea she had a parasite latched to her, not till I beat her! She was being feral and aggressive, how the hell was I supposed to know she wasn't exactly in her right mind? She didn't exactly wear a t-shirt that said 'Sorry, I'm being controlled and slowly overtaken by a mass of tentacles!' I only found that out when I thought I quite literally split her face open, with my foot!" Chance defended.

The two were still shocked and surprised, but now they were confused. Chance pulled out the broken pieces of the mask he pulled off Chrystina's body. Luna was astonished and snatched the pieces out of his hand. "Where did you get this?!" Luna asked frantically.

Chance gulped. "Like I said, it was on that lady's face, the same one that tried to break into the RV. She was surprisingly resilient, and considering most of her body was being overtaken by a mass of tentacles, I'm not exactly surprised this is likely an alien thing. Before we even stopped in Jaxton, those boys chopping down a tree, one of them hocked up a large glob of snot, and then a man spews a stream of it into a trashcan, like nothing's out of the ordinary!" Chance gets up and chugs the rest of the cocoa, despite how hot it was, and takes a deep breath. "As she ran away, her mouth was drooling with that same goo, and her door was knocked off its hinges, coated and cocooned in the same substance. I don't even think it was the woman who was talking to me, but that thing attached to her... it called the watch by a name, but how the hell was I supposed to know this thing was called the Omnitrix? It didn't come with a manual. For all I know it could've been lies, but now I'm not sure." Chance explained.

Luna was perplexed, but at the same time, she was terrified. Luna thought about what to say, and finally just asked a question. "Did this strange alien have any other defining features besides tentacles?" Luna asked.

Chance nodded his head. "It had this one singular eye. It was black, but it also had a little red dot in the middle of its iris. It looked like it was sizing me up, but eventually it keeled over, most likely taking that woman with it. It just bothers me, knowing that a life has been taken," Chance tried to keep himself calm, but he already felt the fear bubbling to the surface. Luna was already starting to panic, it was like she knew something, but she didn't have the heart to say what. "Look, bottom line is, I had to fight the lady, and despite trying to simply knock her out or run her off, that thing managed to run and escape while still attached to that poor woman. I think it was because of the tendrils on her body, specifically the ones latching around the head. That thing was using her like a puppet, and that thing told me to prepare. I don't know what in the high tides of hell that thing's talking about, but if I were a betting boy, I'd say that this whole town has a bunch of people disguising themselves, hiding the parasites that have already taken them over. Something has to be done, or the rest of the world's gonna end up just like them! 'Slaves to the Parasite'!" Chance explained.

Sunset was the first person to speak up. "Okay, let's say I believe you. Where do we go from here? Someone knows about the watch, there's an alien parasite, or parasites, if there's more than one running around, and we have no real way of fighting it if we don't know its weakness. What's the plan here?" Sunset asked.

Luna stepped forward, putting a hand on both Sunset and Chance's shoulders. "The plan is that you two will stay here, and I'll go investigate. I won't risk both of your lives, or the lives of my parents for the sake of poor planning and bad timing. If I'm not back till the sun goes down, get out of Jaxton while you still can, and go back to Canterlot City. I mean it, understand?" Luna asked firmly.

Sunset was having trouble believing what she just heard, as was Chance, and the both of them knew their answer. They looked at each other, hesitant on their choice, then back at Luna, nodding their heads. "Good. If you need a place to hide, hide in the RV. Don't stop for anyone, no man, woman, child, or animal. It's all a ploy, an act to drop your guard," Luna walked to the front door and grabbed the knob, only to hesitate. She turned around for a moment, looking at the two teenagers. "If I do come back after sun down, and I don't seem the same, do what you have to. I trust that you'll make the right decision." Luna remarked, opening the door and walking out, slamming it behind her.

The pair were confused, and more-so just concerned. "I really should've told her the most important part before she left." Chance remarked.

Sunset looked at Chance, wondering what he meant. "The most important part? As if all of that wasn't already pretty important, what did you leave out?" Sunset asked.

Chance scratched the back of his head and sighed. "I was going to tell her before she stormed off, because in some weird roundabout way, the Omnitrix was the one who came up with the plan this time, When that woman grabbed me, the Omnitrix seemed to react. I thought it was going to turn me into one of my aliens, but it just stopped itself halfway from being activated, and it became this helix shape," Sunset was clearly confused, and Chance showed the Omnitrix. "It started glowing yellow, and said that there was genetic damage. It asked if I wanted to attempt repairs, and before I could even comprehend what happened next, that lady, or the parasite controlling her, swatted me away and ran. Looks to me that they did not like the sound of what the Omnitrix was offering, so if the watch can fix them, to some degree, maybe there's a chance we can save these people, and not resort to killing them." Chance explained.

Sunset was concerned, but then she remembered that Luna basically left them with her parents, and took the keys to the RV with her. "How did Luna expect us to leave Jaxton in the RV, when she has the keys on her?" Sunset asked.

Chance facepalmed, feeling like a serious moron, until he suddenly realized something else. "Let me answer your question, with some of my own," Chance looked over to where he was sitting, noticing the split mask was still there. "Why did Luna react to this thing, as if she saw it before, and why did she ask me if there were any other details about the parasite, unless she was trying to gauge the situation from the start?" Chance asked.

Sunset and Chance were starting to connect the dots, and it wasn't long till the both of them came up with a hypothetical conclusion. "She clearly knows about stuff we aren't aware of, she compared chasing after Animo to her days as a plumber, and she wasn't initially weirded out by the prospect that you turned into an alien when you first found that watch. This can only mean that she's been familiar with aliens and other strange stuff during the most important moments of her life as a teenager, or even as a blossoming adult!" Sunset remarked.

Chance nodded. "It would also explain why she was so insistent that I don't get involved in the affairs of a folklore creature, like the Chupacabra. She knew it existed, and she didn't react at all, she didn't even bat an eye, for god's sake!" Chance looked at the gift her parents got, and grabbed it, examining it closely. "I bet this is alien tech too, like the watch and that mask! Her parents are in on her little secret! What does this thing do anyway?" Chance questioned.

Before he could figure out how to activate the machine in his hands, it was quickly snatched out of his hands by Eclipsa. Her and Sol looked at the teens, concerned as they stared at them intensely, a look of worry and confliction was on their faces. "Busted." Sunset said, slowly backing up.

Eclipsa looked at the two, but she couldn't bring herself to be angry, neither could Sol. "Hon, do you wanna get the box full of Luna's stuff, so these two can look at it?" Eclipsa asked.

Sol didn't utter a word, yet he nodded, moving towards another door, pulling an old key out of his pocket as he unlocked it. As Sol vanished into his daughter's old room, Eclipsa simply stared at the pair of them. "How much do you two know about our Lulu?" Eclipsa asked.

The pair of teens shrugged their shoulders. "I was gonna assume probably as much as you do... but in this particular context, you knew more than you were letting on from the start, didn't you." Chance remarked.

Eclipsa smiled. "As were you, and both of our intentions were clear, in the context of hiding the truth. No one likes to deal with trouble when faced with it, but from what we heard on the radio, and on the news, talk of there being alien heroes running around, saving lives, we knew that deep down, in some roundabout way, our little moon pie had something to do with it. These 'heroes' weren't detained, sent back to where they came from, but now that I look at your watch, young man," Eclipsa approached and held Chance's hand up, the one with the Omnitrix strapped to it. "I can see why she didn't bring you in. She didn't want a repeat of what happened to one of her old partners, but by not telling you the truth, she's already made things worse, your relationship with her is strained by her secrets, and even she knows it'll come back to bite her eventually." Eclipsa cryptically explained, a sad yet knowing smile on her face.

Chance slightly pulled his hand free of Eclipsa's surprisingly firm grasp, feeling the strangest sense of deja vu. Soon enough, Sol came out with a huge locked chest, but the lock was some kind of high-tech scanner. Eclipsa pulled out a handkerchief and carefully bundled it up in a certain way, only to press it against the scanner. "It pays to be a mother who hangs on to everything their children leave behind." Eclipsa stated. The scanner blinked green and the lock was undone, allowing the two teens access to the chest's contents.

Chance reached his hand forward to the chest, until Sunset stopped him, grabbing his hand as she slowly pulled it back. "Why are you two doing this? You didn't have to do any of this, especially for a couple kids you know barely anything about, so why go through all this?" Sunset asked.

Sol and Eclipsa simply smiled, sitting down on the floor. "We know more than we let on, and that's simply because we're parents. A good parent will always know when something's wrong with their child. A change in their attitude, something or someone got under their skin and did something stupid to rile them up or put them down. A drastic change to their routine and changing everything about themselves, it's because they believe that they don't fit in, or are going through a phase to explore, experiment, to find out who they truly are. Luna certainly went through a rebellious phase, but that was just her experimenting, and through that experimenting, she found the person she wanted to be." Eclipsa explained.

"And that person she wanted to be was what exactly?" Chance asked.

Sol grabbed the machine from Eclipsa's pocket and placed it on the table. "You both are as sharp as a bull whip, so you both can probably recognize alien tech when you see it," Chance and Sunset grabbed the machine and examined it. "I wouldn't point it towards your eye, though, unless you're trying to get cataracts by the time you turn twenty-two." Sol cautioned.

The two froze and Sunset slowly pocketed the machine. Sol and Eclipsa simply smiled at each other, then looked to the teens. Chance looked into their eyes, and for the briefest moment, the hairs on the back of his neck stood straight stiff. Something was clearly wrong. "Tell us, where did Luna say she was going?" Eclipsa asked.

Sunset was about to say something till Chance immediately covered her mouth with both his hands. "Could you excuse us for a moment, we'll be right back to tell you everything, there's just something I need to tell her in private. It's a friends-only thing." Chance remarked, immediately getting up as he dragged Sunset out the front door, walking into the hallway as he closed it behind them.

Sol and Eclipsa looked to each other, blinking their eyes as small red dots started to form in the center of their irises. They looked towards the door, scowls forming on their faces as they started growling. The strange goo started to seep through their gritted teeth as they slowly rose to their feet.

Chance was on the other side of the door, looking through the peephole, he was astonished, but he was thankful to have made a good decision. "Okay, we need to leave, now!" Chance stated.

Sunset dusted herself off and simply stared at her friend. "Chance, what's going on, and why are you acting so odd?" Sunset asked.

Chance frowned. "Just follow my lead, and you'll see why." Chance remarked.

The door swung open, crashing into the wall with such a show of unexpected force. Chance and Sunset were leaning against the railing, facing away from 'Sol' and 'Eclipsa'. "Look, I'm just saying that becoming a teen parent is not a good idea, do you know how buried in debt and bills you'll be, just to take care of a child of your own? On top of all the other responsibilities you'd already have, a child just seems a bit too much." Chance remarked.

Sunset scoffed and rolled her eyes. "She's a girl who was raised on a farm for her entire life, I feel like by that point, family expects a lot out of the next generation," Sunset cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "Besides, at least she's got her family to help her out with the baby, right?" Sunset asked.

Chance rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, sure, nothing like dealing with another mouth to feed, especially if it ain't old enough to work for its keep, and renders another set of hands useless, too! Genius idea, Sunset, I must be talking to a fuckin' graduate with how asinine that sounds!" Chance loudly remarked, slowly clapping his hands in the most sarcastic way he could muster.

The two were staring at the teens, and the pair finally noticed them looking. "Oh, hey mister and missus, sorry for keeping ya, we were just arguing over a friend of ours, my deepest apologies if things started getting loud." Sunset apologized.

Chance sighed. "Yeah, sorry for yelling, I tend to yell when something starts pissing me off, hope I didn't wake the neighbors," Chance looked around, noticing an odd atmosphere of silence in the building. "Speaking of which, where is everybody? Is it bowling night, is there a karaoke thing going on at a bar, there's no way everyone here's a sound enough sleeper to ignore a couple impressionable teenagers when they're arguing and screaming." Chance remarked.

'Sol' and 'Eclipsa' simply looked at each other, and started to relax. "They're all down at city hall, most likely getting ready for an important meeting. You should come with us, learn a little something about our town." Eclipsa stated.

Chance shrugged. "Nah. Don't get me wrong, it sounds tempting, but me and Sunset should probably go and get some sleep. Sun's gone down, it's probably gonna get a bit chilly, may as well get some shut-eye in a nice warm bed." Chance politely refused.

Sunset smiled, nodding her head. She was starting to notice what Chance had noticed. She saw the red dots in the center of their irises, and subtle traces of the goo around the corners of their mouths. The fact that no one came out to check on the commotion was also a red flag that nearly made her panic. "Yep, gotta get some sleep and relax." Sunset agreed.

The pair slowly made their way down the stairs, the two adult figures stared them down as they walked out the front door.

Chance and Sunset wasted no time running towards the RV, opening the door and getting inside, slamming it closed behind them. "Okay, Jaxton might actually be jacked up with crazy parasite people!" Sunset remarked, trying to take some deep breaths and calm herself down.

Chance simply grabbed an empty glass and got a glass of water, chugging the contents down as they looked out the window, seeing the fake Sol and fake Eclipsa walking towards the RV, snarling and sneering as globs of goo started to rise up their throats. "Tell me something I didn't already suspect was true!" Chance remarked, placing the glass in the sink as he activated the Omnitrix.

Sunset ran to the door and turned a smaller switch like a gumball machine crank, locking the door. The two impostors tried to break the door down, but thankfully, Chance found the alien he was looking for. "Time to see how cold these body-snatchers like it. It's Hero Time!" Chance exclaimed, slamming the Omnitrix down as he started to transform.

Chance felt his wrist get cold, all while chunks of ice and a torrent of snow and slush traveled up his body, melding and sticking to his skin. As it reached his eyes, they squeezed shut, only to snap open, revealing an all-white eye. Chance felt his body changing its state of matter, from solid, to liquid, to plasma, to a type of compressed gas, and his hair became very cloudy and gaseous, much like the rest of his body. He felt small ice spikes jut out from his shoulders, as well as feeling his fingers freeze and meld together into three sharp clawed digits.

His legs were encased in ice as they changed into a compressed gas tail. His shirt had morphed around him, forming some kind of black and white top with a black tube belt that didn't connect all the way. The Omnitrix's symbol positioned itself on the center of this odd armored top.

The frozen creature balled his hands into fists and let out a raspy scream, posing as a cold cloud enveloped it, hiding it from being seen.

Nitrofrost opened the window a slight bit, and managed to fit himself through the slightest crack, sliding outside as he floated above the two attackers. "Don't you think you two are being a bit frigid about our situation?" The frosty cold hero quipped, flashing a hollow smirk down at the impostors.

They growled and spew large globs of the goo at the hero. While they did hit him, they immediately started to freeze and collapse into a sickly orange mist. Nitrofrost shuddered at the feeling, and delivered a few punches to the impostors, letting specks of ice form on their false faces. Portions of them started to distort in a similar way 'Chrystina' was when that mask was damaged, and they took the masks off, revealing their semi-overtaken forms.

Sol's entire left side of his body, and the right part of his face were covered by some kind of singular tendril, all while a large eye stares at him. One of the smaller ones were basically embedded into the side of his neck. Eclipsa's entire right side of her body, and the left part of her face were also covered by the same kind of tendril, all while a large eye stares at her. One of the smaller tendrils was constricting around her neck, yet it seemed almost painless.

Nitrofrost groaned and shot a wide blast of ice towards them, freezing them in-place. "Hate to give you the cold shoulder and run, but-" Nitrofrost didn't get the chance to finish his line when all of a sudden, the two boys he saw earlier when entering Jaxton, the man that spewed that goo into a trash can, and then finally, Chrystina, had joined the fray. The three men removed their masks, while Chrystina had remained in her semi-overtaken form. "-now I've gotta deal with your friends... great, kinda in a slush here, fellas, let's make this slick!" Nitrofrost remarked, manifesting large compact snowballs in his hands.

They roared out and rushed towards the alien, only to be knocked back an unexpectedly impressive distance once the snowballs collided with their chest. However, they just got back up and started spewing globs and streams of that goo stuff at him. Nitrofrost blasted his own stream of ice and slush, creating a winter wall between him and the aliens. They started to tear through the wall, forcing their way through, but Nitrofrost froze their limbs and knocked them back, repairing the wall as best he could.

Soon enough, Nitrofrost just decided to give up the ghost and re-entered the RV, grabbing Sunset in the process. "Chance, what are you doing!" Sunset yelled out.

Nitrofrost unlocked the door and quickly hovered down the street, further into town. "Getting us as far from them as possible!" Nitrofrost remarked.

Nitrofrost rounded the corner, noticing Luna. "You two, what's going on here?" Luna asked.

Sunset looked at Luna, only to frown as she saw the red dots in her irises. She closed her eyes tightly. "T-They got her!" Sunset exclaimed.

Nitrofrost looked at Sunset, almost not wanting to believe her, but then he noticed an obvious outlier about Luna, and that was enough for him to know that Sunset was right.

Nitrofrost looked at Luna, noticing a wry smirk forming on her face. "She must've binged a couple of those old movies. Honestly, it's ridiculous, alien parasites? That's the best she could come up with, how ri-" 'Luna' was then trapped in ice, but only halfway. Her top half remained unfrozen, and Nitrofrost scowled. He set Sunset down and moved towards Luna, grabbing the face and ripped off the mask with out so much as a warning or word of caution. Luna's face was partially obscured. The parasite had most of her lower body covered and converted to its control, but now the black eye she had was visible for all to see. "Aah!! W-Well, you were rather quick. What, do you want your friend back? Tough, she's mine, with the most tenacious and determined Plumber out of the way, nothing will stop us from conquering your pathetic backwater planet! Not even the one who wields the Omnitrix!" The parasite spoke through Luna's body.

Sunset looked back, and shrieked, catching Nitrofrost's attention. Nitrofrost looked back the way they came, and went wide-eyed. Numerous people, old and young, men and women, even some of the animals were in a mob, slowly approaching them. They all removed their masks, revealing the parasites that took them over. "Chance, you need to do something, and now would be the best time!!" Sunset remarked, backing up slowly.

Nitrofrost glared daggers at the singular eye that stared at him, and he gripped onto it hard, trying as hard as he could to dig his claws into its strange parasitic flesh. The creature's eye widened, and then the Omnitrix started to react, forming the helix and flashing yellow. "Omnitrix has detected genetic damage in quarantine zone, shall we attempt to repair?" The Omnitrix spoke.

Nitrofrost nodded, though he wasn't sure what the Omnitrix was talking about, in regards of a quarantine zone. "If it means they'll be turned back to normal, sure. Go on ahead. Fix the whole town, why don't ya." Nitrofrost stated.

"Request acknowledged," The Omnitrix began to spin at a rapid pace, and emitted a large pulse of bright yellow light. It passed over Luna, as well as the mob of individuals who tried to escape, but ended up getting caught in the blast either way. The overtaken individuals started to twitch and convulse in a similar manner to when Chrystina did, but this time, the parasites started to wither away. Their hold on their hosts loosened, and soon enough, the strange parasites cried out in anguish, withering away into nothingness. The numerous civilians collapsed onto the road, unconscious from the whole process, but Nitrofrost quickly grabbed Luna before she hit her head, noticing that she too was returned to her normal self. "Genetic repair complete, all DNAlien drones successfully purged of parasite. Quarantine Zone has been purged of Xenocite Outbreak. Power depletion upon reverting to human will extend recharge time to one day." The Omnitrix chirped.

Sunset ran over to Luna's side. Soon enough, the Omnitrix started timing out, and once Chance was enveloped in a flash of red light, he was returned to his normal form, and simply crouched down, looking at Luna. "Think she'll be okay?" Chance asked.

Sunset nodded. "She's still got a pulse, and I bet everyone else does too. Come on, let's go back to the RV, and get Luna into bed. We're gonna spend all night trying to get everyone home, and that could take forever to get it all right." Sunset remarked.

Suddenly, Chance had an idea. "Didn't Sol and Eclipsa say that everyone was down at city hall for a meeting? Why not drop them off there, make it seem like everyone was just so tired and didn't make it home, so they slept in?" Sunset was unsure of if that plan would work, but there wasn't many other options. "Look, it's either that, or explain to them that they were hosts to alien parasites." Chance remarked.

Sunset shuddered and nodded. The pair slung Luna's arms over each of their shoulders and hauled her back to the RV. "Ya know, this isn't the first time I've had to haul an unconscious woman back to bed, but I can safely say that this is the first time that alcohol wasn't involved, so that's a plus." Chance remarked, trying to lighten the mood.

Sunset could only smile and roll her eyes. "You are very strange. Just when I thought I had you figured out, you say something that makes me think otherwise. You really need to give me the rundown on how that brain of yours works." Sunset remarked.

Chance chuckled, looking up to the shining moon. "Maybe one day, Sunset... maybe one day." Chance said.

The next morning, everyone was slowly going back to their usual daily routine, but they also had to discard any trace of that goo, and that was gonna take hours, maybe even a couple days at best. Luna was reconciling with her parents, hugging them and wishing them the best. "We'll see you around, Lulu. Don't be strangers!" Sol reminded.

Luna smiled, holding a bag of frozen peas to her eye. "We won't, you can count on it. I'll let Celestia know you said hi." Luna said, walking into the RV.

Sunset approached and bowed respectfully. "Thank you for letting us into your home. We apologize if we were any trouble." Sunset stated.

Eclipsa just smiled and squeezed Sunset in a bear hug, catching the teen by surprise. "Please, you kids were a riot! Come back anytime you wanna get out of the city, we'll be here! Just be sure that the next time you run into trouble, keep your head on your shoulders! You'll be fine, kiddo." Eclipsa remarked.

Sunset smiled and walked to the RV, leaving only Chance to say goodbye. "Mister and missus, I'd like to thank you for letting us stay. I get that me and Sunset have been a bit off since yesterday, but that's because so much happened all at once. I'm sincerely sorry for stirring up trouble in your cozy little town." Chance apologized.

Sol and Eclipsa looked at each other, only to smile. "Kid, I gotta admit, you're a strange one. But, you're honest about it, so I'm willing to give ya a pass. Rarely anything happens in Jaxton, but this was the one time we made Roswell look like child's play in comparison. I'd say that's impressive, all things considered." Sol explained.

Chance was confused, but Eclipsa simply bent down and put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, it's clear that you suspect that our little girl's hiding something, and you'd be right... we're hiding stuff, just like you and your friend are. If it's any of our business, Luna will tell us in full confidence, but don't assume she's hiding things just to keep you in the dark," Eclipsa pulled out a small photo of Luna, wearing some kind of fancy astronaut suit. "She's just trying to make sure you're ready, just in case things take a turn for the worse." Eclipsa explained.

Whether it was his exhaustion, or the actual feeling of surprise, Chance was a bit lost for words. Eclipsa simply smiled and pulled him into a hug, before having to let him go. "Now, go on, don't keep them waiting." Eclipsa remarked.

Chance nodded and got to the door, only to look back. "Hey kid, one more thing! Keep up the good work, dealing with all those aliens you were telling us about the other night!" Sol encouraged with a smile.

Chance shrugged and nodded, giving a thumbs up as he closed the door behind him. As the RV leaves Jaxton, Sol and Eclipsa head back up to their apartment, holding each other close as they stepped up the stairs.

Somewhere in the forested areas near Jaxton, one lone Xenocite lunges at something. The sounds of muffled grunting could be heard, only for the Xenocite to be thrown against a tree, and then impaled by a large jagged crystal.

The figure was cloaked and covered in some kind of armor, but it was also decked out in weapons. "SS, log number zero-zero-three. More of these parasites were found somewhere in a human settlement a few clicks from here. From what my device is telling me, the Omnitrix was recently activated here. This settlement was hit by an unsuspecting infestation of Xenocites, and now I have to take this into my own hands..." The figure slammed his fist into a boulder, causing it to split open with a vicious cracking sound echoing through the woods. "Damn it, you stupid Chimeran, you couldn't've launched yourself closer to the Omnitrix, you were more worried about yourself than the fate of this planet..." The figure pulls his hood back, letting his black helmet eject a bit of steam and open up, revealing a vibrant red crystalline figure with one singular yellow-orange eye, but with a very tough and brawny build. "This is Sugilite Shard, signing off. End log." Sugilite remarked.

A clicking sound was made, and Sugilite pulled a small futuristic looking tape out from the side of his belt, only to pull another one out and replace it. Sugilite sighed, letting his helmet form over his head as he trudged through the brush.

Author's Note

And that was my take on the 'Permanent Retirement' episode. I didn't want to use the Limax just yet, that's for muuuuuch later. I also wanted to focus on the main conflict of the story, which was the DNAliens and the Highbreed trying to blend in and slowly take over humans before destroying what foolishly remains. You know, typical genocidal alien purist-type shit.

Also, despite the Omnitrix being a prototype, it's steadily becoming a bit more like the Alien Force Omnitrix, just a bit more nerfed until later. Able to fix damaged DNA, and maybe at some point will start to listen to its user... or not, who knows.

I hope you enjoyed this episode, I know I did! It'll also segway into what I wanna do for the next episode, just to take some down time before the next important chain of events.

S2, Episode 4: Where's The Fun In Feeling?

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Where's The Fun In Feeling?

The RV was parked in the midst of a wind farm, with Luna trying to work on the engine as a thin stream of black smoke billows out. Sunset was keeping an eye on Dash, who was still very much unconscious from the fight with Gilda. Chance was trying to make himself comfortable, but his wound was constantly flaring up, making his entire body tense up and strain itself, earning an exhausted and poignant groan of pain from the incapacitated alien hero. "I should've refused to relax, this hurts more than anything..." Chance groaned, resting a hand on his bandaged wound.

Sunset looked up at her friend, all while she laid a cold and damp wash rag on Dash's forehead. "Well that's tough, you still need to let that wound heal, mister alien superhero, that means resting and relaxing every once in a while," Chance frowned, and Sunset crossed her arms, raising her eyebrow. "Don't give me that look, you already had to wait and persevere through six days in the hospital back in San Fran, this kind of thing takes time. Eventually, Luna got over her injury when Flash got merged with that drone and the xenocite, she even kept the crutches! You can use those to move around, as soon as we know that your wound won't tear open." Sunset remarked.

Chance groaned. "Something's gonna get torn open in a second, and it isn't gonna be my wound..." Chance grumbled.

The brunette sighed as she continued to tend to her unconscious friend, never breaking eye contact with the bed-ridden teenage hero. "Bottom line is, you're not entirely at fault here, but some fault still falls unto you. It was borderline stupid for Dash to rush into this kind of fight, and you should've told her this won't be like the invasion. The DNAliens were one thing, but Gilda was already an entirely different beast, and that was before her sudden mutation. Now, she's truly become a monster," Sunset gritted her teeth and gripped her hands tightly as she tried to repress her anger. "She knocked Dash out cold, and ripped a hole in your body! You both could've gotten killed, possibly end up worse than dead, and you don't seem to be phased at all, that you could've died up there!! What's up with you!?" Sunset reprimanded, her voice breaking as her eyes started glowing blue.

Chance gritted his teeth and sat up, managing to get onto the ground, before taking a knee out of exhaustion. "I'm taking this seriously. Think about it, Sunset. If Dash and I didn't deal with Gilda, or if we died on that tower, do you really think she'd just let you and Luna go, considering she took in some of your magic, and became some weird magical alien chimera? Those are ten of my aliens inside her, and I'll take responsibility for that being my fault, for having hope, and a bit of good faith..." Sunset's anger started to lessen, but she didn't relent. "But, let me remind you, that your magic has still been pumping through her veins, like a never-ending rush of adrenaline... Gilda might've been my monster, when she absorbed my aliens at the time, Nitrofrost and Riptile respectively, but she did get her hands on your geode, too, and absorbed the hell out of it, making her a triple threat to just the two of us alone. She's become more dangerous now, much more than she already was before... it's either we need to get stronger, or lay down and die... and I'm not ready to die, not if it means letting innocent people be slaughtered." Chance gravely explained.

Sunset was about to say something else, but then the ground started to shake, a loud whirring engine and massive rumbling could be heard from outside. Luna and Sunset get up and head outside, all while Chance tries to follow them, but has to lean against the wall as his side flares up in pain. "Aghh! God damn it!" Chance gritted.

Chance barely manages to catch himself on the wall, all while his wounds feel like they're on fire. Chance manages to throw himself to the booth and slumps over onto the cold cushioned surfaces, trying to move himself with every bit of strength he slowly recovered, though he still felt rigid and stiff. "This has to be the worst day of my life... the second worst being manhandled by Gilda!" Chance gritted, feeling himself slowly slip into unconsciousness.

Luna and Sunset rush out the door, only to see a white pod-shaped ship has crashed into the ground. Luna froze at the sight for a moment, but soon saw that the pod was smoking heavily. The door fell open as Zuchi and Rook crawl their way out, the both of them clearly worn out from the sudden crash, covered in bruises, ash and soot.

Rook groaned and steadily propped himself up against the smoking pod. "I told you we should not have tried using such an ancient model of space travel, but you did not wish to listen to my warnings, miss Zuchi. Now, we are still stuck on Earth, and our food has been reduced to charred remains." Rook remarked, clearly not amused by their situation.

Zuchi shook her head and jumped up to her feet, dusting the ash and soot off of her body. "Zuchi thought we'd make it, how was Zuchi supposed to know that Revonnahgander was actually right? Zuchi's gut feelings never steered her wrong before." Zuchi argued.

Rook frowned, clearly not amused by the saiyan girl's pride in herself. "Was that before or after the highbreed managed to do what King Cold and his clan could not do previously, which was enslave the entire saiyan race in one fell swoop, temporarily putting your race on the brink of extinction?" Rook rebutted bitterly.

Zuchi whipped around and gave a glare at the revonnahgander, who was clearly giving her the stink eye. "Zuchi not the one who picked up a pitchfork and stupid gooey fruits! Zuchi only eat meat, kind that's high in protein! Zuchi not some sissy sad ass cat boy, who's useless like father!" Zuchi insulted.

Rook was now justifiably angered and got up in the saiyan's face, taking Zuchi back a bit by sheer surprise. "You do not talk about my father like that! Unlike you, he is an honorable man, even if he is stuck in the past of what once was! You, on the other hand, have no family to run back to, and you should know very well, that none of us had anyone but ourselves, had it not been for the wielder of the Omnitrix! Then again, for all you know, your family? They're probably all dead!" Rook yelled.

Rook immediately caught onto what he just said at the last moment, and covered his mouth, as if he had just swore. Rook saw Zuchi's expression. Her bangs draped over her eyes, obscuring the furious and absolutely livid levels of rage she had in her face. Her power started to rise. Zuchi growled, bearing her fangs as she let a powerful aura flare up around her body. "You do not have any right to talk about my family... you didn't even know them like I did!!" Zuchi roared out, her eyes momentarily flickered yellow for a moment, but it was probably a trick of the sudden burst of aura that was now flaring up around the saiyan girl.

Luna and Sunset were barely familiar with these two individuals, but they did recognize them as a bunch of survivors taken prisoner by Reinrassic after he conquered their races, destroyed their home planets, and put them in a perpetual state on the brink of endangerment and extinction. Luna stepped forward and cleared her throat, attracting the attention of both arguing parties, and suddenly the mood seemed to shift.

Rook was the first to recognize the woman and immediately crawled out of the small crater, keeping eye contact with Luna the whole time. "Y-You! You were there when Reinrassic came to collect the Omnitrix! It is an honor to properly meet you, miss. I am Rook Blonko, son of Rook Da, and one of the last sons of Revonnah. It is my greatest privilege to meet one of the companions that aided the wielder of the Omnitrix, especially on better terms." Rook introduced, bowing out of respect.

Luna slowly nodded her head, all while the saiyan girl started to recognize the two ladies present. While Zuchi's anger was not yet quelled, she was willing to suppress her anger, just to be polite in front of Chance's allies. "Revonnahgander keep guard up. We not done between us." Zuchi remarked, crossing her arms.

Sunset sighed and stepped forward, looking at Zuchi with caution. "It's been a little bit since we saw you two. What's been going on, hm?" Sunset asked.

Rook stopped bowing and pointed to the wrecked smoking pod. "We were trying to navigate through some of the old functioning alien spacecraft back at one of the many plumber bases we ended up crashing into, but then we started hearing about a commotion going on in the city you're probably leaving from. We figured that your friend, the one who wields the Omnitrix, was about to face the fight of his life, so we tried to use this old defunct saiyan pod to find your location." Rook explained.

Luna looked at the pod, and could only shudder. "Here I thought I was done looking at those old Brumaran space pods. They're not typical for saiyans in terms of space travel, but they were what remained when Frieza, and the rest of his race, got beat back and sent running to another corner of the galaxy," Luna looked around and seemed a little less tense than she was before, but she was clearly still concerned about something. "If you were able to find our location, why exactly were you trying to find us now? The problem was resolved a few days ago." Luna inquired.

Zuchi hopped out of the crater and landed, scratching the back of her head. "Time work strangely on your planet. Thought it was still a full day or two, that's how time usually work on Sadala. Revonnahgander picked up on a latent signature of energy, so Zuchi brought ship in for proper landing." Zuchi remarked.

Rook seemed a bit more displeased and scoffed. "If you saiyans call "crash landing" a method of landing your vehicles, perhaps it is wise that you stay on your jungle planet, there is a lot less for you to destroy." Rook remarked.

Zuchi gritted her teeth, her aura began flaring up again. Sunset quickly got in-between the two aliens and tried to keep things civil, though it was clear that the saiyan girl was getting very aggral, and Rook was clearly not getting along with the saiyan, either. "Okay, you both are at a nine. I need you both at a three, okay? My friend is trying to rest after what happened back on the golden gate bridge, and Chance, despite his wounds, wants to get up, but he really needs to rest. If you two could just stop pissing each other off, and be rational, reasonable people, that would be very appreciative." Sunset explained, almost cautioning them as her eyes flickered blue for a moment.

Rook took Sunset's words into consideration for a moment, and seemed right that there was an incident, and the wielder of the Omnitrix had sustained several injuries, and was willing to agree. Zuchi, on the other hand, didn't seem concerned, or wasn't listening at all. She just heard that Chance was wanting to get up, despite what wounds he had, and that seemed to excite the saiyan, causing the hairs on her tail to stand on end, and a burning desire for a fight roared in her eyes.

Rook was the first to do something, and Zuchi was met with a swift knock to the head, immediately bringing the saiyan back to reality. "Please control yourself, he is likely not in fighting condition. He has yet to recover from his last encounter, and from the sounds of it, it sounds dire. To try and even fight him in his yet-to-be-seen condition is dishonorable, scummy, and above all else, they are not in the right physical or mental state of mind to be a good fight. Understand, miss Zuchi?" Rook cautioned.

Zuchi growled like a vicious animal, and though she wanted to send the revonnahgander flying with just a burst of her aura, she had to admit that Rook made some good points, the kind of points that make sense to a saiyan warrior. Zuchi slowly backed off and rubbed the part of her head where she got hit, noticing the foreboding and cautious glares coming from Luna and Sunset. "Zuchi understands... Zuchi still want a good fight, though. Army-Trix wearer might be human, but still got potential to be warrior." Zuchi commented.

Rook sighed out of relief, but also out of mild irritation, earning confused looks from Sunset and Luna. The revonnahgander sighed and tried to find the words to explain what Zuchi meant. "She has been speaking of that for a few days. It must be linked to her race and their unique ability to sense levels of power. Whatever she is picking up about the wielder of the Omnitrix, is either true, or likely an excuse for her to finally cut loose and fight." Rook explained.

Sunset and Luna share a glance, and watch as the two aliens disappear into the RV. The pair quickly follow after them, hoping that they wouldn't try to break anything.

Rook and Zuchi notice the alien hero lying unconscious in the booth, looking pale, wrapped in bandages and bleeding heavily from his wounds, the wrappings slowly changing from white, to red, then to a deep crimson.

Rook winced at the sight, but Zuchi seemed rather satisfied. "Powerful puncture wound. Must've fought strong beast, or incredibly capable warrior. Wound still bleeding, meaning he's still alive. Army-Trix wearer still got fight in him." Zuchi remarked with a smirk.

Sunset and Luna were aghast by how the teenager's wound had reopened, but they were fairly aggravated that they knew this would happen. "Sunset, go get the first aid kit and check on miss Dash while you're at it, I'll make sure he doesn't pass out from blood loss," Sunset quickly runs to the back of the RV, all while Luna slowly rips the bandages and gauze off of the teenager, exposing the large claw shaped cut in his stomach, leaking and bleeding profusely. Luna nearly let a shriek escape her lips, but she kept herself composed, just barely. She quickly put her hands over his wound, trying to apply pressure anywhere she could without more crimson fluid spilling out of his wound. A stifled groan of pain escaped the unconscious boy, and Luna was just trying her best to do what she could. "You two, I'd like it if you made yourselves useful, rather than gawk at the boy who saved your lives as he unknowingly bleeds out. Do you have any recommendations?" Luna inquired.

Sunset quickly came back, noticing Luna's hands were completely caked in crimson, and that her friend's wound was so much worse than it was before they stopped. Sunset grabbed a bottle of peroxide and a fistful of cotton balls, drenching the white fluffy balls of material in the chemical, then quickly, but carefully stuffing the wound as full as possible, as well as wiping away any blood off the surface of the open wound. More groans and grunts of pain came from the unconscious hero, all he felt was what equated to torture, trauma and torment. A burning sensation, along with numerous sharp, jagged and rancorous sensations rocked his body. He was in agony, but at least he had people willing to help him this time with something like this.

Chance's body shuddered and twitched, but thankfully, the bleeding was beginning to lessen a lot. Though Sunset wasn't reassured about that, she was still worried. "I can't believe he managed to tear his wound open again! This is the third time in the span of two days he's done this, he needs serious medical help, and a serious vocabulary lesson on what the word "Relax" means! For Faust's sake," Sunset's face slowly contorted into that of an angered and furious expression, something that caught Zuchi's attention, as well as her intrigue. Luna rested a hand on Sunset's shoulder, and the brunette's anger slowly transformed into melancholy, a saddened expression forms on her face, an exasperated sigh escapes her lips. "Not even to mention that Dash also needs attention and constant observation, but she has the luckiest luxury of only being knocked unconscious during the final front of the fight. How do we fix this, how is he supposed to heal if he keeps trying to move, and makes his injuries worse?! What's it gonna take for him to finally realize that he needs to just chill out!?" Sunset questioned, who was rightfully concerned for, and aggravated at both of her companions.

Rook walks over to Chance's body and puts a hand on his forehead. At first, it seemed rather normal, but then a sudden pulse of heat started to push through, warming up the Revonnahgander's hand in mere moments. "I do not know if this kind of temperature is normal for humans, but I know that it would be too easy for him to succumb to a heat stroke. Providing some cold comfort would be wise and more effective to his recovery." Rook advised.

Luna looked over towards the fridge, shuddering for a moment as she looked back at the revonnahgander. Rook saw the uncertainty in the woman's eyes, and seemed to be picking up on the idea that she was hiding something. "T-There isn't another option? Isn't there anything else that can be done?" Luna asked.

Rook saw Chance's jaw move, his teeth were chattering, like he was freezing, but his face was turning red. His face and body were starting to become covered in a shower of sweat, and the teenager's breathing was becoming more difficult. He was clearly still unconscious, but it was very clear that his body wasn't reacting right to whatever was happening.

Rook shook his head. "I wish there were another way. If we had senzu beans, it would be very easy to heal the wound, replenish any lost red and white blood cells, and on the off-chance that he has not eaten anything, it will also solve that problem. I have a couple of special beans on me, the last remaining trace of Revonnah and its existence, but they are now becoming an exotic antiquity among the agricultural circle of the galaxy. For all I know, these beans have a fifty-fifty probability of either worsening his condition, or restoring him back to how he was before the previous fight." Rook explained.

Luna looked uncertain, but she walked over to the fridge and grabbed an ice pack. She noticed the bottle of remaining senzu beans in the side of the door, and grimaced for a moment. "I don't want to have to rely solely on those beans. Forgive me if it sounds ridiculous and selfish, but I'd rather my student know that the natural process of healing one's self through rest and relaxation can be beneficial to their state of mind. It doesn't have to be entirely clinical, like how you're making it sound. Besides, I'm not partial to such odds, so my answer is final." Luna rebutted.

Rook opened his mouth to say something, watching as Luna placed an ice pack onto Chance's forehead. Though he winced from the sudden chill he felt, Chance did seem to start relaxing, tensing up less and less as his body, his muscles specifically, they were slowly starting to relax. His state of unconsciousness was still a problem, however, but it seemed like the start of a proper process to recovery.

Rook sighed and thought for a moment, noticing that Luna's uncertainty was starting to mix with a feeling of guilt. "I am getting the feeling that something has not worked out like it was supposed to. Am I correct in that assumption?" Rook asked.

Sunset walked over to the back, noticing Dash resting peacefully. Sunset let out a shaky sigh and tried to calm herself down, to try and be a little stronger for both of her incapacitated friends. "It certainly hasn't been easy living since we took down Reinrassic, that's for sure. We dealt with a rogue plumber that had a similar power set to Gilda's, we fought a giant space tick that tried to eat the planet, fought Gilda and she mutated into some kind of magical Omnitrix Chimera, and now you two have crossed our paths again. This is slowly becoming the new normal for us, and I'm not sure if that's a good thing, or a bad thing." Sunset explained, letting a dry and saddened chuckle escape her lips, a concerned expression shined in her eyes as the Revonnahgander nodded his head.

Zuchi walked forward and placed a hand on Chance's chest, nearly pulling back from how cold and dead it felt. She closed her eyes as small specks of blue light start to shimmer where her hand was. The light slowly pulsed through Chance's body, with him being incapable of responding to it, but Zuchi seemed to have a knowing look in her eyes as she pulled her hand back, now focusing her gaze on Luna. "A Senzu could easily fix the damage, but simple rest and relaxation is not good enough to fix internal bleeding." Zuchi stated.

Luna and Sunset, as well as Rook, went wide-eyed at the saiyan's response. "Human's chest isn't burning up no more, but it does not feel lively. Blood stopped pumping, or something is bleeding when it shouldn't be. Senzu can fix issue, but must be given now. Damage could be too great for even senzu to heal," Zuchi squinted her eyes at Luna, the guilt was starting to eat away at her, and the uncertainty has slowly transformed into shame. "Still think rest and relaxation work now?" Zuchi questioned.

Luna looked at Rook and held out her hand. "Hand me the bean, please! I concede!" Luna shouted.

Rook nodded and reached into a pouch he had and pulled out an orange senzu bean. Aside from looking like it was made out of some kind of bright orange jam, jelly, or another form of edible gelatinous material, it would have to do for the time being. Luna quickly moved over to Chance and opened his mouth, placing the bean inside as she aided the unconscious teenager with consuming it.

Almost like a sudden miracle, Chance started to move on his own, his face scrunched up out of reflex, unfamiliar with the crunchy, yet gooey gelatinous texture that was now clinging to his tongue. The taste of something fruity, yet herbal and sweet permeated his lips, and in an instant, his body seemed to be reacting in a positive way to the bean itself.

Chance groaned and grunted as he felt his wounds start to instantaneously heal. His wound was closing up, and as strange as that felt, he also felt a lot of the blood he lost didn't seem to matter, as more blood started to become produced at a rapid rate of succession. The freezing cold and burning sensation that the teenaged boy felt in his body during his unconscious state, was starting to finally return to normal, and he was slowly starting to wake up.

Chance's eyes slowly fluttered open, feeling much like how he did before Gilda mutated and smacked him around like a ragdoll, but at the same time, everything felt different. He couldn't put his finger on what exactly was different, but he felt like something woke up inside him.

The teen groaned and rubbed his face, yawning and slowly sitting up as he let his eyes adjust. "Oh god, that was a painful dream. It was like some frozen cold force was deep freezing my organs, and then tossed them in a deep fryer, because why not... what happened?" Chance looked around, soon noticing the two extra individuals, Rook and Zuchi, standing before him, semi-relieved that the senzu bean had worked as it was supposed to. "Oh hey... when'd you two get here?" Chance asked.

Rook stepped forward, offering his hand to the teenager. Chance smiled and grabbed his hand, letting the revonnahgander pull him up from his seat. "We were on our way to assist you with the opponent you faced, but we found you a little too late after the fight had ended. If it makes you feel any better, you need not have to thank me for utilizing the phenomenal healing properties that senzu beans have. Think of it as my way of paying you back for saving my race from extinction, for the time being." Rook explained.

Chance nodded his head, letting a smile form on his face. "Well, it technically wasn't me, it was the Omnitrix who purged those parasites, I just smacked Reinrassic around like a sandbag, or at least, I tried to. Speaking of, what're you two doing here anyway?" Chance licked the interior of his mouth, noticing the strange fruity flavored gelatinous texture, and was rather thrown off by the taste. "And why does the inside of my mouth taste like some kind of jelly bean?" Chance questioned.

Zuchi snatched the pouch full of beans from Rook's hip and showed one off. "Senzu bean, special supplement. Heals wounds, restores stamina, and makes you full for ten days. Fancy beans are bite sized miracles." Zuchi explained.

Chance seemed confused, but shrugged it off. He was glad to be back on his feet, much to the strange looks of chagrin on Sunset and Luna's faces. "Well, I'm sure there's a lesson to be learned here. If you're gonna take on strong foes, you need to make sure you can stand on equal ground against them, or at least be a little tougher than them, but I doubt I'll be able to do that. I'm scrappy when the Omnitrix doesn't work as intended, but that isn't gonna be enough when dealing with Gilda. Even in alien form, she wiped the floor with me, how am I going to beat her in that mutated form?" Chance wondered.

Sunset groaned, clearly not liking his response. "Chance, for crying out loud, open your ears! You just got up from a coma, your body was constantly freezing up and heating up, you were coming down with something before Rook pulled that pouch of magic beans out as a suggestion. Let's relax for a moment, we'll deal with Gilda when the time comes, at least you won't be alone next time she rears her ugly mug, right, miss Luna?" Luna looked down at the ground, she looked ashamed, guilty, but above all else, she seemed disappointed. "Miss Luna, we couldn't've known Gilda would turn out like this, mutating into some kind of magical Omnitrix monster-thing, neither of us could've seen that coming, let's be real. What happened to Chance and Dash, it already happened, and we might be able to get them back on their feet right now, though it'll never fix how thick-skulled they can be. Maybe with one of those fancy beans, Dash can wake up, and maybe we can get another side to this story. Wouldn't that be the right thing to do?" Sunset attempted to reassure the older woman, but she was clearly lost in her thoughts.

Chance scooted forward and patted the woman's back. "You okay, miss Luna? Ya seem a bit... well, you seem to be beating yourself up over something. I know that feeling, I did and still subconsciously do that to myself when I messed up bad, even when it wasn't me who was at fault. Ya wanna talk about it, get it off your chest?" Chance didn't get an answer, not right away, but it was much less of a verbal response, yet it did do the former plumber some good. Luna kept her head hung low, but she pulled the teenager into a hug, clearly distressed. A few stifled sobs could be heard from the woman, but Chance simply returned the embrace, trying his best to provide some sense of support, reassurance and comfort. "I guess I got my answer... ya worry too much, ya know that? It ain't healthy for you to stress yourself so much." Chance commented.

Luna let a smile form on her lips, though she still felt her tears pouring down her face. "Don't you go saying that, I know that's the kind of preaching you're not fond of practicing," Chance let out a wry chuckle, he knew he deserved that one, but he didn't let Luna go. In a way, Chance knew she needed this, he had no rhyme or reason as to how he came to this conclusion, but something about how Luna reacted, it struck a chord with the teen hero. In a way, it was a familiar feeling that he felt... only difference was, no one capable was around to help him understand. "I... I'm just not ready to go back to that life again, I wasn't ready for any of this to happen... Plumber activity picking up, regardless of how shady it was, world ending threats coming to Earth like they own the place... knowing my students are in danger, my family is in danger again... I wanted to prepare you both for the worst, you and miss Shimmer, but I've been putting it off, just because I wasn't ready... because I was scared," Luna's voice cracked and broke as she spoke, but Chance let her continue speaking, still trying to reassure her in silence. "I figured the Omnitrix would be all that you'd need, but with what happened with miss Gilda, and miss Dash's condition, I- I-I... I just feel like I've been neglecting you both, and that was my worst mistake, because now someone else got hurt... this isn't how I wanted to handle this, nor was this how I expected things to go, but now, I know I have no excuses... I've put this off for long enough, and for that, I'm sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry." Luna woefully explained.

Chance looked over at Sunset, who kindly took one of the orange beans and made her way to her unconscious friend, but not before shooting a mildly frustrated look at the boy she'd been traveling with. As Sunset disappeared behind the curtain, Chance simply picked himself up off the ground, and pulled Luna up with him, embracing her tightly. "You can apologize all you want, but I still think you don't need to apologize for any of it. If I were in your position, I'd probably be doing the same things you're doing right now, and that's okay," Luna shot Chance a look, though it was clearly muddled by the tears and the emotions she was feeling. Chance ignored it and sat Luna down in the opposite booth. "Here's a thought, how's about we have some lunch, relax a bit and discuss this like allies, true equals on the same team. Shall we?" Chance suggested.

Rook and Zuchi looked at each other for a moment, but then Zuchi whipped her head to the back of the RV, suddenly being met by a blitzing rainbow blur pushing past her. Dash had found herself refreshed, healed, rejuvenated, and most importantly, reawakened from her unconscious state of being. "Someone say lunch?! I'm starvin'!" Dash blurted out.

Sunset groaned and grabbed Dash by the ear, causing the girl to freeze up and wince in pain. "Your side of the Gilda story first, then you can eat!" Sunset gritted irritably.

Chance sighed, this was a very off day, even for them. The teen quickly made his way to the fridge, hoping for a miracle that they had enough food for six people.

A couple hours later, the six of them have prepared their meals, and despite supposedly being already full, Dash was stuffing her face in a similar manner to how Zuchi was. The two girls were both going through plate after plate, devouring their food like starved cavemen, all while Rook and Chance simply made sure they didn't try taking their meals by mistake. Sunset and Luna were casually eating their food, not entirely pleased with the situation they were in.

Dash leaned back and pat her stomach, sighing in relief as she let out a belch as she slumped in her seat. "Whoo!! Man, I'm beat. I didn't think I'd be so hungry, but now I certainly feel full!" Dash remarked.

Zuchi smirked and continued to eat, stuffing her face with every bit of food she could get her hands on. Sunset frowned and glared at Dash, clearly getting impatient with her friend. "Dash, you need to tell us your side of the story. How did you know Gilda, and has this kind of thing ever happen before?" Sunset asked.

Dash sighed, and sat herself up. "Sheesh, you really won't let this go, will you?" Dash questioned.

Sunset's eyes flickered blue as a scowl formed on her face. Dash's eyes widened as Sunset leaned in, grabbing her geode as she readied herself to use her magic. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way, Dash. My friend was bleeding out a couple hours ago if it wasn't for these two giving us aide. Either you're gonna talk, or I'm going to root through your head till I find what I'm looking for, understand?!" Sunset growled lowly.

Dash scooted away from Sunset, clearly scared of Sunset's intimidation. "Y'know... despite changing to be a better person, you can still be a bit of a bully, right?" Sunset generated a bright blue tendril from the palm of her hand, readying herself to try and restrain Dash. The athletic girl gulped and put her hands up in a defensive position. "Okay! Okay, you win!! Fine, I'll tell you how I met Gilda, and how I found out about her power. Don't expect it to be a long and complex story, though!" Dash yelped out, clearly unwilling to let Sunset try and restrict her with her new magic power.

Sunset's hand was carefully grabbed by Chance, who tried to slowly lower it to her side. "Let's take a breather. Dash, start us off, how exactly did you and Gilda even meet?" Chance asked.

Dash sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose as Sunset calmed herself down, letting her magic flicker and fade. "Well, it's not an overcomplicated story, I'll say that again for those who didn't hear me the first time. Me and Gilda were like, the best of friends, long before I ever moved to Canterlot City," Sunset seemed a bit puzzled, but decided to let Dash keep talking. "Back when I was younger, I lived in New York City with my parents. The first friend I ever made was Gilda, who claimed she was a local. With how well she knew the city, and where tons of things were, it was enough for me to believe that she was a pretty chill person." Dash explained.

Chance took a bite out of his lunch. "So what happened next?" Chance asked, swallowing down the piece of food he was eating.

Dash sighed and pulled out a small billfold from her pocket. Inside it was a picture of her and Gilda when they were younger. "Gilda was three years older than me, but she was always a fighter. When she stood up for me against a couple robbers, it was like she was my own personal superhero. The way she commanded respect from everyone around her, it made her seem so cool! Gilda was my first friend, but our dynamic started to change as we got a bit older, and I should've seen the red flags when I had the chance..." Dash paused and took a long sip from her glass of water. "Flash forward three years, and I had turned ten, where she turned thirteen. Me and Gilda were the talk of the neighborhood. Gilda was always making connections, and I was basically her eye candy. Took me a long while to find out what that meant, and that just makes me hate Gilda even more. Back then, I praised her, kissed the ground beneath her feet... but then, we both found out about her powers." Dash explained.

Rook swallowed his food and began cutting another piece to eat. "You are saying that you both found out about her abilities at the same time? How could she have been so oblivious to her own powers for so long without unintentionally draining energy from light fixtures, machines, or even batteries?" Rook questioned, taking another bite of his meal.

Dash frowned. "I don't know, man! I don't even think Gilda knows what woke her powers up that day, but something did. We were hanging out with a bunch of goons, "hood rats" as my mom would call them. We came up with a plan to prank call people without spending quarters on payphones, and the idea was to finesse the wires so the booth wouldn't have to recognize any input of change. At first, it was all good, we were all having tons of harmless fun, but when it was Gilda's turn," Dash paused and noticed that her hands were shaking. She was terrified beyond compare just remembering what happened, that she was having a hard time getting the words out. Eventually, Dash was able to force herself to speak. "This was when our friendship changed, when she ended up becoming something I didn't want to be a part of." Dash choked out, sounding scared as she momentarily covered her mouth.

Sunset leaned over and hugged Rainbow Dash for a moment, trying to reassure her friend that nothing was wrong. "It's okay, Dash, it's good to talk about this sort of thing. People like Gilda don't take a lot of consideration in what they do, and how their actions affect those around them. You can tell us, I'm your friend... and to an extent, so is Chance," the teenaged hero sunk in his seat, but he nodded in approval, giving Dash a thumbs up. "He knows what it's like to be in your position, more than he cares to admit, and so do I. It's okay if you don't want to continue, but you've done such a good job so far already." Sunset reassured, trying to encourage her friend to keep talking.

Dash felt sick to her stomach, but she tried to keep it down as she spoke again. "The energy crackled from her fingertips, it pulsed through her body, traveling through her veins like conductive wires... she was like a whole other person, someone who vaguely looked like and sounded like my best friend, ranting about how the energy was making her happy..." Dash took a moment to wipe her eyes, noticing a couple tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. "The phone blew up in her hand, and her body was being overcharged with energy. By the time she absorbed every bit of energy from the booth, she was a walking blue being made up of electricity. A being that was vaguely shaped like the girl that used to be my friend, and after that, she was never the same. She was more aggressive, more manipulative, always trying to absorb energy like she needed a drug, even if it meant getting into trouble with the cops... by that point, my parents had made the decision that Gilda was too dangerous for me to be around, and they didn't want to risk my safety anymore than what was already done, so the first chance we got, we packed up everything we had and left for my uncle's place in Canterlot City, and from there, the rest is history." Dash explained, her voice caught in her throat as she let out a sigh.

Rook and Zuchi looked at each other, then walked out of the RV, leaving the remaining four to their thoughts. Chance got up and rested a hand on Dash's shoulder. "That must've been a lot for you to handle at one time, especially at such a young age. I'm sorry that happened to you, I truly am. How do you feel, knowing you let your feelings out? Any better, or any worse?" Chance asked.

Dash shrugged her shoulders, a look of fear and terror was clear in her eyes, she was aware of how it felt, and despite not knowing how to describe these feelings, she attempted to put them to words as best she could. "It... I-It almost feels like a bit of both. It feels like a weight's been lifted off my back, but now there's something heavier weighing me down... it feels like things have barely changed at all, but the changes made feel... well, good, in a way," Dash took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled, feeling Sunset pull her into a hug. "Maybe when I get back to Canterlot City, I can try to talk with the others, maybe talk to my parents about Gilda, see if I can't get some advice... especially after seeing her become that... t-that thing." Dash explained, letting a small smile form on her face.

Chance nodded his head and sat back down. "It's a start, but dealing with Gilda on your own is a no-go. Better to have backup with you, no matter who it is, as long as they can throw a punch, and take a few hits themselves. Gilda was already dangerous before we came along, and now that she has magic and my alien powers, she's like a rampaging bull with steroids in her blood. Bottom line, fighting Gilda one-on-one in her current condition, not the best choice. I know I sound like a dumb and very broken record, but getting stronger is the only way to stop Gilda in her tracks, and we're like mosquitos fighting a semi-truck." Chance stated.

Dash nodded her head, and looked towards Sunset. "Don't suppose you guys would mind having a fourth wheel with you guys, wouldja?" Dash asked, chuckling.

Luna smiled and pointed to both Sunset and Chance. "These two are already enough for me, miss Dash. Maybe sometime tomorrow, we can work something out, so you can head back to Canterlot City, while I take this into my capable hands. I promise you, we won't kill Gilda-"

"Speak for yourself, miss Luna. With all due respect, I can't make promises I can't keep. Gilda was fighting to slaughter when she mutated, and I'm the one who has to match her ferocity." Chance interrupted.

Luna sighed, shooting a small glare at the teenaged boy. Chance held his hands up and walked out of the RV, while Luna fixated her gaze on Dash. "As I was saying, we'll make the honest attempt to not use lethal force. Maybe with enough coaxing and fighting, we can literally knock some sense back into her. At least, I hope we can." Luna explained.

Dash nodded her head, smiling. "You're welcome to try. I know you might not like what I'll say next, but he's got a point. Gilda was intent on being rather murderous. If you can bring her back to her senses, it won't be for long. Gilda was never one to listen to reason, not until she's truly out of options and cornered like easy prey." Dash commented.

Luna frowned at Rainbow Dash's words, but she nodded in approval, taking some stock into what the girl was saying. Luna pulls back the curtains, noticing the teen sitting on one of the grassy hills, staring into the sky.

As Sunset and Dash go to the back of the RV, likely to have their own private conversation, Luna pulls out a small set of headphones, as well as a small palm-sized satellite receiver. She places it against the window, and turns the device on, plugging the headphones into the receiver, and switching the receiver on.

'This may be a breach in privacy, but I have to know what's going on with him.' Luna thought to herself.

Outside the RV, Chance sat on one of the grassy hills, looking at the windmills turn as the stars start to come out. Rook and Zuchi walked over to join him, wondering if he was pondering his situation. "Human alright? You're looking at sky like dumb puppy." Zuchi remarks.

Chance shook his head, watching as the sun sets, turning the beautiful orange hue into a violet-blue cascade, with various stars decorating the night sky. "Just watching the stars, haven't done this since my dad left, I'm considering doing this more often in my downtime, y'know, "relax", like Sunset's been badgering me to do since I got injured," The saiyan and the revonnahgander look at each other for a moment, then decide to lay on the hill, with the wielder of the Omnitrix following their lead. The cool summer breeze felt relaxing, and it was for the moment. But then, Chance felt another feeling within him. A sense of loneliness and insecurity. "My dad and I always did this on the 4th of July, before we set of fireworks. He said the stars reminded him of friends he lost along the way. At the time, I asked if I'd ever get to meet them one day, and he just seemed to give me a look. It wasn't out of anger, a line hadn't been crossed, he seemed sad, but it was the good kind of sad. It was just... a look, like he knew the answer, but he wouldn't tell me." Chance remarked.

Rook sat up and nodded his head. "My father is a wise man, and though he can be stubborn, stuck in his way of doing things, I know he always knows something. I just cannot imagine the idea of my father not missing our family, it almost feels... wrong, but I know he feels something." Rook stated.

Zuchi closed her eyes and sat up, crossing her legs. "Zuchi not too close to her family. Zuchi was born to be warrior, conqueror, but then Frieza clan show up, attempt to ruin everything. Zuchi's father hated her for being weak, but Zuchi always thought it was just her father's way of telling Zuchi to get stronger. Then Nameks came to assist saiyans in fight, suddenly Zuchi doesn't see father anymore... Zuchi still not know where father is, let alone even know if father is alive... Zuchi doesn't care, but at same time, Zuchi hates the idea of father being dead. Father not love Zuchi, but Zuchi will always cherish father." Zuchi explained, rubbing away the few tears she had in her eyes.

Chance takes a deep breath, pauses for a moment, and slowly exhales. "Sometimes, when I know Sunset and Luna aren't paying any attention to me, I tend to ask a question in my head... will I ever see him again? Him being my dad, I mean. I can't help but wonder, why do I ask that question, when I remember that he died five years ago. Is it a sick joke I'm not understanding, or am I finally in denial, after so long?" Rook looked to the teenager, seeing a deep look of confusion, melancholy, as well as frustration on the human's face. "I think it's because I don't understand any of this, if I can be honest. Aliens, magic, the whole shebang, it all still baffles me! Sometimes it's hard just being the hero, especially since it's already difficult just being me. Sometimes I just go with the flow, because it's easy. But, when something seems wrong, like people are at risk of getting hurt, killed, or likely end up worse, I always act like this is all a strange dream. I act like it's not real, so that when the time comes, I have enough conviction to do what I have to in the end, because that's what people need me to be. I've always wanted to be a hero, but now that I am, now that I have the power, the more I get hurt, the more I risk my life for others, the more I feel the responsibility weighing me down, slowing my progress to a crawl. I want to keep going, I want to keep pushing, even if all this weight drags me into the murky depths, trying to drown me, but who's going to save me, I wonder." Chance explained.

Rook and Zuchi seem surprised that the human, the same human that saved their lives, as well as their species from total extinction by parasitic enslavement, was having doubts. "I was not aware that someone so young could think this way, especially a human. You have done plenty of good with the Omnitrix, and I bet you have done plenty of good as yourself." Rook encouraged.

Zuchi patted the human's back, smirking. "Revonnahgander is right. Human got potential to be great warrior. Overcoming one's own short comings, confronting inner demons, not letting past define you, they are best ways to prove that you aren't like everyone else. Most saiyans never throw away their pride, but the ones who do, or define their pride in someone else, is what allows them to reach greater heights. That was once thought how the legendary Super Saiyan had come to be, but no saiyan, as of late, has yet to achieve the legend. Zuchi wants to be one of the few that can, but Zuchi holds herself back, and it frustrates Zuchi that she handicaps her strength, just because everyone else can't give Zuchi a real fight." Zuchi explained.

Rook sighed. "As barbaric as that sounds, miss Zuchi is correct in her phrasing. Back when we were escaping the ship that belonged to Reinrassic, when my father got overtaken by one of those xenocites, I froze up. I never once thought I would have to fight my own father, even if his actions were not his own. You, Chance, you convinced me to fight, and you fixed my father, saved him from becoming anymore of a monster. You are a hero in your own right, and I have faith that you'll be a better hero in the future." Rook stated.

Zuchi nodded her head. "Do your allies know of your struggle, or how you truly feel?" Zuchi asked.

Chance shook his head, confusing the saiyan. "I haven't told Luna and Sunset any of this for one sole reason. I don't want to push them away, I'm not good at processing my emotions, especially since the only emotions I've known before ending up stuck with the Omnitrix are hate, sadness, depression, despise, spite, dread, pain, paranoia, fear and hopelessness. I'm not as used to being in the constant presence of actual caring people who care what I have to say, who care about my well-being, who have had my back even when I fucked up... it just shows I've been around Jean and Moonshine for way too long, and by the end of the summer, I'll likely be stuck with them for the rest of my life." Chance explained, sitting up as he held his head low.

The revonnahgander and the saiyan looked at each other, both uncertain of how to respond to such. "Then why doesn't human just turn them in to Plumber custody?" Zuchi inquired.

Rook nodded in agreement. "Indeed. The Plumbers may not be your most conventional or average law enforcement agency, but they do still uphold the law. Why not just have the Plumbers arrest them for child endangerment?" Rook questioned.

Chance scoffed and sneered at the prospect. "It wouldn't work, they'd find a way out, and then they'd be another problem, one that gets worse and worse with passing time. Truly, the only thing that could stop them, is the death sentence. On Earth, we have a very important set of sayings and phrases, and two of them mean something to me. "Sometimes parents don't deserve to have a child, and sometimes, a child doesn't deserve to have parents". The first phrase hits personally for me. Ever since my dad left back in 2007, my mom had been on a behavioral decline. Once she found out on my 10th birthday that he died during his service to our country, she finally snapped. She seemed more angry at me, than she ever was sad that dad was gone. Think about that for a moment, she was seeing Moonshine five months after the Christmas of 2007, the day and year, my father left to do one more job, one more tour for his country... my mom didn't give a damn that he was dead, and she knows damn well I'd be better off if she took his place." Chance explained bitterly, biting his bottom lip hard.

He felt the toxicity, the venomous sting in those last few words he let escape his lips. He felt justified in saying those things, but he also felt ashamed. Chance took a deep breath, letting a couple tears stream down his face as he exhaled. "I wish I knew why I felt this way. If I felt this way about miss Luna, or Sunset, I don't think I'd ever forgive myself, let alone believe I deserve redemption. Ever since what happened with Gilda the first time, she betrayed my trust, my kindness, my attempt to be generous when I wanted to give her a second chance. It's like I haven't been able to trust my own judgement, and if I can't trust my own judgement, how can I trust anyone else's judgement on a situation like this." Chance explained, his tone of voice slowly became more grave and uncertain.

Rook put a hand on Chance's shoulder, as did Zuchi. "Do you actually think you are capable of doing something horrible, and not regret it?" Rook asked.

Zuchi stood up and pulled Chance to his feet. "Does human think he should truly be punished for the crimes of others?" Zuchi asked.

Chance was silent for a moment. A long moment. He looked at his hands, rubbed his cheeks, feeling the streaks of tears become cold to the touch. His eyes stung from his moment of weakness, but all he could do is look at the moon, then look back at the RV. He looked at his shirt, then he looked at the Omnitrix. He felt... something. It was like being vulnerable, but it felt more natural... like it was his decision to be vulnerable.

Chance finally stopped thinking about everything he wanted to say, and decided to say it.

Chance's face became that of anger, rage, pain, grief, shame, and most importantly of all... the determination to stand tall and confess. He took a deep breath and looked to the sky. He opened his mouth and decided to scream into the night. "I hate feeling like everything I do, with or without my power, is not enough!! I'm tired of feeling like every time I need to get stronger, I'm looked at and perceived like a thick-skulled meathead with no brains to be found!! I want to get stronger, so I can carry the burdens that others can't handle, to try and help others like Sunset and Luna are trying to help me!! I'm not heartless, I'm not a freak, I'm not a killer, I have a soul, a very damaged soul!! I'm a hero, I'm the son of a soldier, and I'll die like one if I have to fight for this entire universe!! I am Chance Blazkowicz Marsten, dammit!! I won't quit on others like my mom quit on me!! I won't quit until I've helped everyone I can get the justice they deserve!!" Chance exclaimed, his voice was breaking up, cracking as he fell to his knees, slamming his fists into the ground, hard enough to leave indents of his knuckles in the dirt.

The teenaged boy bellowed out a scream like he prepared for a war, his eyes were wide, filled with anger, pain, grief, shame, as well as a re-ignited sense of hope. More tears poured out of his eyes as he continued to scream into the night, all while Rook and Zuchi watched on, both rendered speechless. Luna and Sunset, along with Rainbow Dash, walked out of the RV, unsure as to what exactly was happening, but they could hear everything. They saw Chance slamming his fists into the ground, screaming like his life depended on it.

Needless to say, seemed like everyone was getting in their feelings. Some had it bad, others had it worse, and some were just scratching the surface of their issues.

Chance collapsed onto the ground, having exhausted himself with screaming so much. By the time Luna ran up to the teenaged boy, he had already passed out, and she could see the streaks of tears on his face from letting his emotions go unshackled. Luna sat down beside him, as did Sunset, Dash, Zuchi and Rook.

As the passed out hero lets his mind rest and be at ease, the remaining five simply make sure he's not alone. One thing Chance knew for certain, however, was that he always tried his best, even if it isn't enough. He just hopes to believe in what he's saying someday.

Author's Note

A neat little in-between episode, something that takes place after the last chapter, and something that takes place before the next episode. This one was less action oriented, simply because I wanted to tackle the different perspectives of not knowing why everything seems worse.

You try your best, you give it all you got, and then some extra... yet, nothing seems better than it was before, it feels worse, actually.

I told you the first encounter with Gilda would be eating at Chance, and now that Gilda has mutated into her amalgam form, it's been made so much worse.

This was Chance's breaking point. His past suffering from a time before he found the Omnitrix, his resentment of his biological mother, the pain that Moonshine has inflicted onto him at a young age, and finally, his injury. Chance finally snapped and broke down, screaming like had no other option left.

You needn't worry, the heroes are actually in a much better state of mind after this, but tomorrow is when the action comes back... as well as Gilda herself.

Hope you enjoyed, this has been long overdue. It's also a bit shorter, around 9,600+ words, but I prefer it that way.

S1, Episode 2: Trouble Times 10, Part 2

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

S1, Episode 3: Trouble Times 10, Part 3

Author's Note

Trigger Warning:

Themes of Abuse, Repressed Trauma, and Endangerment

S1, Episode 3: Trouble Times 10, Part 3

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Trouble Times 10
Part 3

[???]

Chance opened his eyes, seeing nothing but a dark room. It took him a couple moments to realize where exactly he was, but was confused as to how he ended up there in the first place.

He was in his bedroom. Well, not his current one, but the one he had spent a portion of his life in as a child, back in his old home. Chance was surprised to see the room again, exactly as he once remembered it looking before the move. A bunch of old games his dad loved to play when he was younger, a few photos of him and his father doing various activities he remembered well. Fishing, celebrating the first week of preschool, even going to a pizzeria they both loved fondly, often acting more like a pair of brothers enjoying their youth, rather than just being father and son.

Chance smiled at the photos, and even grabbed some of the old games he remembered his dad having gifted to him on his sixth birthday. A game about fighting ghosts with magic wands, a game about God becoming one of those superheroes he once saw in a few of his dad's old comics, but one of his favorite games was about a boy finding a magical stone that could give him the powers of a bunch of different ancient gods, making him into a demigod in-training. Chance was unsure why he liked this game in particular, but for some strange reason, he really resonated with it as a child. He loved it even more when his father would co-op with him when he got the chance.

Chance felt a saddened sense of happiness as he put the games back where he saw them, and walked towards his old bed, laying down on it as he embraced the comforting feel of the blanket his father made for him. A large blanket comprised of a bunch of video games, superheroes, as well as a bunch of cartoons he used to watch as a child.

As Chance closed his eyes, he was suddenly met by a moment of tranquility and peace. He felt like he was one with the room he was in, like nothing could hurt him, nothing could enter without his permission, and nothing could go wrong.

His fight or flight response kicked in. To anyone else, it would've seemed like it triggered for no real reason, but Chance's moment of tranquility was then wracked with a sense of panic and uncertainty. Chance scrambled to the door, and looked to an old calendar. Summer of 2011. Chance's smile transformed into a grief-stricken look of fear. Terror settled in and he began to shake and twitch, he felt like he was going to be sick and wanted to do a breathing exercise, but his lungs felt like they were on fire, and filled with something that wasn't supposed to be there.

Chance felt a stinging sensation in his widening eyes, and a profuse wetness on his face. Tears. Chance was unsure as to what was happening, but he wanted the moment of peace to return. He tried to focus and bring it all back.

Chance's heart stopped beating. He gasped, only to hear a set of footsteps approaching the door. Chance tried his best to try and move, but a blubbering whimper was the only thing he could muster with what strength remained in his body. With that strength wasted, he fell to his knees, trying to instinctively shield himself from whatever was approaching the door. Despite the lack of any strength, Chance found himself huddled into a corner, tears streaming down his face as the inevitable monster got closer and closer.

Before Chance could attempt to calm himself down, to try and show some sense of strength and hide the fear he was experiencing, the door was kicked open, sending it crashing to the ground, torn from its hinges. The figure was Moonshine, he looked glazed over as alcohol and spit dribbled down his chin. A lost and unaware, yet angry and vengeful look was in his eyes. In his hand, was a handgun.

Moonshine yelled at him. He couldn't understand a word he was saying, but he was pretty mad. Chance felt like he knew what was coming next, and squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for what was to come.

All Chance could hear after his eyes closed, was the sound of a gun going off, a ringing in his ears, and the last thing he truly saw, was a flash of green light enveloping his view.

[Camp Everfree, Near Morning]

Chance gasped as he sat up, clutching his chest tightly as he tried to steady himself. He quickly covered his mouth and tried to keep himself calm and quiet, as to not wake up the principals or Sunset. He tried to keep himself calm, but soon noticed a familiar wetness on his face.

Tears.

Chance sat there on the couch, dressed in an Indigo tank top, brown sweatpants, and gray socks. His face was drenched in a cold shower of sweat, a look of fear and terror was still coursing through him like a sudden shot of adrenaline was injected into him. A cold chill ran up his spine as he felt an unpleasant dryness in his throat. Chance's fear slowly started to fade once he recognized he was in the cabin, and was now wracked with shame as the rising sun slowly peaked through the curtains. Chance sat up as he bundled himself up in his blanket, trying to keep himself from freaking out.

The sound of a door opening caught Chance off guard, setting off his fight or flight response, and he just acted on instinct. Chance jumped from his seat and made a break for the small kitchen, grabbing a knife as he defensively brandished it as a weapon, pointing it at what would've been the perpetrator. Chance was, to an extent, surprised to see Sunset, holding her hands up in a defensive manner with a surprised look on her face. "Well, I think I know how your morning started. Wanna put the knife down so I can see what's in the mini-fridge?" Sunset asked.

Chance didn't say anything. He was hesitant, and Sunset could clearly see that, along with a few differences to the way Chance had acted before. He saw the way he reacted at the sound of the guestroom door opening, the way he was still reacting to her presence. Sunset noticed the fresh tears on his face, the shaky breathing, the wild and terrified look in his eyes, like he had seen something, or experienced something that he didn't want to see, yet bore witness to it, due to the lack of choice.

Chance gritted his teeth and put the knife back where he found it, only to try a breathing exercise. He still seemed shaky, frightened by what he was doing. Sunset grabbed a bottle of water from her bag and sat it down in front of him. Chance simply looked at Sunset, who simply gave him a warm smile. "You look like you've got something on your mind. Is it about what happened last night?" Sunset asked.

Chance backed away and went back to the couch, fishing for a fresh change of clothes. "It's just a bad dream, nothing special." Chance deflected.

Sunset raised an eyebrow, not believing what Chance was saying. "A bad dream doesn't make someone react like an intruder just broke in, you sure it was just a bad dream?" Sunset inquired.

Chance walked towards the bathroom with a fresh change of clothes in-hand and simply groaned in response. "It was a bit worse than most bad dreams, but it's still just a bad dream. It was just a bit more intense. Don't try to overanalyze it." Chance deflected, closing the door behind him.

Sunset rolled her eyes as she poured a cup of coffee. "A bit more intense my flank, mister knife-crazy alien dude." Sunset muttered.

Chance walked out of the bathroom, changed into a cleaner pair of the same clothes he wore yesterday, only now, the Omnitrix was still present on his wrist. The duo looked at the watch for a moment, unsure of what to make of it. "Ya know, I would've loved to have a dream about this watch, instead of..." Chance trailed off for a moment, then cleared his throat. "Anyway, this thing peaks your curiosity too, like it peaks mine, don't it?" Chance inquired.

Sunset nodded. "I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't interested in finding out more about this strange space watch," Sunset looked at Chance, meeting his gaze. "Say, what was it like being that ice thing, anyway?" Sunset asked.

Chance shrugged, but soon got an idea. "You got a pen and paper?" Sunset fished a pen out of her pocket, and decided to write on some notebook paper she had saved. "First off, I wanna clarify that if I'm stuck with this thing, I'm gonna give names to the stuff I turn into, helps with identifying them better. The ice guy, for example, I'm gonna call him Nitrofrost. To explain what it was like being Nitrofrost, it's a bit hard to explain," Sunset stopped writing as Chance contemplated what the best words would be. Chance pressed the button on the Omnitrix and twisted the dial to Nitrofrost's icon. "It's like I was still me, yet at the same time, it was like I was somebody else. I could easily compare it to slipping into a new skin, but that sounds disgusting, downright revolting." Chance remarked.

Sunset wrote down the last bit of info and looked it over before stuffing the paper in her pocket. "Tell ya what, I think we've got some time to figure this out a bit more, but we're gonna have to take this outside, and a little ways away from camp. We don't want people to get scared by your powers," Chance thought about that for a moment, and while he could've argued, Sunset did have a few valid points. "We especially can't let the girls know, they'd flip their lids if they found out about this, especially Pinkie. We can leave now to try a test-run, but we'll have to be quick. What do you think?" Sunset asked.

Chance did like the idea of using the watch again, especially since for the first time in a long time, when he was fighting those robots, he felt like he was finally having fun. Not like a power trip kind of fun, but it's like he's been set free. For the first time in fifteen years, he felt like he was finally free. "I think, we should leave now while they're still asleep. They won't even notice we're gone, and we'll be back before Luna becomes none the wiser." Chance suggested.

Without a moment to lose, the pair quickly made their way to the front door and left, closing it behind them quietly, then made a mad dash back to the hiking trail. Unbeknownst to them, Dash, as well as a daintier fair skinned girl were spying on them from afar, watching them go back to the hiking trail. She had a fancier hair style, despite that its jet black color allowed it to shine in the radiant light of the rising sun. "See Rarity, I told you! Sunset's hanging out with that jerk! If she hangs around him long enough, her old self might come back, and we might never get the chance to properly apologize for angering her. We have to separate them!" Dash remarked.

Rarity was less than enthused about the idea, and seemed skeptical of Dash's leaps in logic. "Dash, Darling, are you actually sure that's what's happening, and this isn't some hair-brained half-baked excuse to get us closer to Sunset? She's clearly still reeling from Anon-A-Miss, and from what everyone at camp is saying, that 'jerk' told you off about pestering Sunset, and called you out on your raucous behavior," Dash scowled at that, but she tried to control herself and hold herself back. "Admittedly, now that I think about it, I don't think I actually know anything about him myself. For all I know, I can at least make a proper first impression, and ensure I don't make Sunset angry. Pinkie certainly seems a bit more distressed ever since last night, yet you're more worried about some petty grudge than repairing the friendship you helped break." Rarity insinuated.

Dash rolled her eyes and pulled Rarity along towards the hiking trail. "Well, either way, I get the feeling this'll end in a scrap. So put on your best dancing shoes, Rares, because we're going to start off the morning with a ballroom blitz." Dash remarked, gripping her geode tightly as it glowed.

Rarity broke free from Dash's grasp as she sped off, and simply followed on foot. "I'll have to explain this to Sunset anyway. Hopefully she and her new friend are willing to forgive and forget." Rarity hoped, a worried tone present in her voice.

[Everfree Forest, Morning]

Chance and Sunset walk through the brush and into the clearing, the morning sun's light beholds the chaos that had been wrought last night. "Wow, let there be light, and you shall behold the true extent of destruction." Chance remarked.

Sunset whistled, almost impressed that the aftermath of the fight looks worse in the day. "I've seen my fair share of aftermaths in conflicts, but this could be a masterpiece," The pair stared at the scene for a moment, then decided to get down to business. "Alright, so, what's on the docket for today?" Sunset asked.

Chance pressed the button on the Omnitrix, popping the core up. Chance twisted the dial for a moment without making a sound, and after a minute of scrolling through his options, he ended up on the icon he wanted to try next. A hulking bipedal cat creature with a long mane and a curled tail.

Chance looked back to Sunset and cleared his throat for a moment. "So, this thing seems to have ten different aliens pre-selected, from what I've been able to observe. Since I used Nitrofrost last night and turned out fine, that means the other nine can plausibly be used in a similar manner. I'm gonna go for something a bit more tangible, and less cloudy in its physical structure. Just uh... take a couple steps back just to be safe, in case this backfires." Chance suggested.

Sunset took a few steps back as Chance pressed the core down, enveloping himself in another green light as he underwent another transformation.

The muscles in Chance's arm began to suddenly grow and pulsate with a golden glow. The muscles grew along his arm as they reached his head, forcing him to close his eyes, till they snapped open, becoming purely white with large black slit-like cat pupils. He felt his skin begin to turn a light blue as a light gray fur began to grow over his transformed body. A dark gray curly tail sprouts from his tailbone as his jaw extends into a massive underbite, and two golden fangs protrude out from his bottom jaw. Chance felt his shirt grow over his body into some kind of suit. A sleeveless Black top, and white shorts, with black cuffs on the shorts sleeves, with the Omnitrix being smack dab in the midst of its stomach.

He hunched out as his already wild hair grew out into a large and unyielding black mane. He became more and more like some kind of beastly cat creature, and then got down on all fours as he snarled and roared out, like a tiger preparing to attack its prey.

The flash of light died down, revealing a hunched over bipedal cat creature standing on its hindlegs, flexing its massive arms. "Oh yes! Haaa, this is some real serious beauty, right 'ere!" The creature bellowed out in a gruff Australian voice.

Sunset approached the creature, unsure as to what exactly she was looking at. "Well, this one's definitely stranger than the last one. What's this one do?" Sunset asked.

The creature smiled, showing off a whole set of sharp golden teeth. "Let's find out, shall we?" The creature's tail suddenly unfurled, and several golden spikes jutted out of the tail's end, and the creature brandished its own limb as some kind of weapon. "Let's get wild!" The creature exclaimed.

Before Sunset could say anything, the creature lunged forward and smashed the still frozen bot with its tail, miraculously shattering it into pieces. The creature looked towards the other drone encased in ice, and brandished its teeth. It roared out as it pounced onto the iced drone and tore through the ice like a predator tears into the flesh of its prey. The ice flew off and shattered like chicken bones compared to the golden chompers this alien was using as its main weapon.

The ferocity of this alien, combined with its strength, speed, dexterity, and most likely enhanced senses, plus the unique ability to force its golden bones to protrude from its body, Sunset was witnessing a feral monster rip into an already 'dead' opponent. The moment the bot was ripped into completely, the beast let out a laugh. "Oh, now that was a blast! Shame this bionic bloke was already given the cold shoulder, would've been one hell of a hunt, and an even better way to test my capabilities." The creature remarked.

Sunset gulped and walked forward towards the creature. "Well, that was... disturbing, to say the least. It was like watching a nature documentary, only it was about sasquatch's house cat," The creature raised an eyebrow. Sunset sighed. "So, you called the last one Nitrofrost, what're you gonna call this one? Wildcat, Catsquatch?" Sunset asked.

The creature looked Sunset in the eyes, flashing its refined golden chompers as a smirk formed on its face. "I was thinking of callin' this mad cat... Vitaguar." Vitaguar stated, a sinister tone present in its voice.

Before the two could say or do anything else, a blue blur came speeding towards them. Sunset moved out of the way, but Vitaguar simply didn't move. he braced himself and watched as the blur suddenly jumped over him, and came to a stop mid-air. In the air, the blur revealed itself to be Dash, now clad in a dark blue suit with lightning bolt patterns on it. Her skin was now a light blue, and her black hair was now more reminiscent of a rainbow. She also now sported a pair of large light blue wings as a crackle of electricity surrounded her.

"Back away from my friend, ugly, or I'm gonna turn you into a rug!" Dash warned.

Vitaguar sneered and growled. "Well I'll be plucked. I didn't know there'd be rabid birdies in these woods! Good, I was gettin' a bit hungry, anyway." Vitaguar remarked, letting a set of golden claws sprout from his fingertips.

Sunset went wide-eyed, seeming more worried for how this was going to go, so she gripped her geode, letting her hair become red with streaks of yellow, and her caucasian skin became more of a golden orange color. Her eyes also seemed to become much brighter than they were before. Sunset quickly tried to get between Vitaguar and Dash. "Okay, I'm gonna be the voice of reason here, and say that this is not gonna escalate any further, on either of your ends! Dash, stand down and stop, he's not-!" before Sunset could finish talking, Dash flew behind Vitaguar and kicked him square in the back.

Vitaguar roared as he got on all fours and pounced at Dash, slashing at one of her wings as magical feathers faded away. Dash landed as she gritted her teeth, wincing from the pain. Dash turned back to the creature, watching it get ready to pounce again. "Not this time, kitty cat!" Dash remarked, her eyes beginning to glow yellow.

Vitaguar lunged forward, all while Sunset tried to get between them to stop the fighting. She was too late, and soon enough, Dash's fingers began to spark with electricity, and unleashed a torrent of electrical bolts at Vitaguar. They connected, and Vitaguar roared out in a pain, yelling out as the electrical currents electrocuted the alien cat creature. Vitaguar glowed with a red sheen and before any of the three of them knew what happened, Vitaguar was sent flying into the brush, crashing through a few trees till he landed back on the path.

Sunset was shocked, no pun intended, astonished and surprised by what just unfolded. Sunset watched as Dash powered down, returning to her normal self with a confident smirk. "How's that for a shock to your system, pussycat! No overgrown mutant animal's gonna maul or make a meal out of my friend!" Dash remarked, feeling rather proud of herself.

As Dash looked toward Sunset, she only saw the abject horror on her face. "Oh. Heh, you're probably wondering what that was, right? It's just a new power I was trying to master," That got Sunset's attention, but she was still in a state of shock. "Twilight said that upon hearing Pinkie say that her magic would activate at random times, only for random stuff to happen when something on her body twitched, she was able to deduce that Pinkie was developing a new power of her own, and was having trouble mastering it. She said that at some point, it'd happen to all of us, and we'd all develop a new power or two. Mine happened to be the power of electricity! Pretty sweet, huh?" Dash explained.

Sunset looked back at where Vitaguar had been sent flying, and walked in that direction, only to be stopped by Dash grabbing her arm. "Woah, hang on, you're gonna go and check on that thing, after it was so close to mauling your face off, are you insane?" Dash asked.

Sunset broke free of her grasp and simply glared at Dash, and immediately ran off without another word. Dash was confused, but was starting to become more agitated. "She cares more about some giant cat creature than her own friend. What the hell's going on?!" Dash looked around, only for another question to suddenly pop into her head. "Wait... she came here with that nobody, so where is he?" Dash asked herself.

Dash decided to run after Sunset, feeling as if something isn't making any sense.

[Everfree Hiking Trail]

Vitaguar twitched and spasmed on the path, incapable of getting up. 'Damn it, this hurts...' Vitaguar tried to move, but soon heard the sound of the Omnitrix's beeping. 'Well, this is gonna start hurting a lot more, I reckon.' He thought. In a flash of red light, Chance was transformed back to normal and still spasmed and twitched. "Oh man..." Chance muttered.

Rarity walked along the path, trying to find out where Dash went, but upon seeing Chance's body on the trail, twitching and spasming, she had a feeling that Dash was involved in some way, and rushed to his side.

Sunset came out of the brush, and noticed a few fallen trees were on the other side of the trail, and Chance was back in his human form, twitching. Rarity was also by his side, only just now getting to the scene. "Chance!!" Sunset exclaimed, running towards his side.

Chance looked up, noticing Rarity and Sunset were looking down at him. "Chance, are you alright?! Say something, anything!" Sunset asked, trying to sit him up.

Chance groaned as he tried to prop himself up. "I feel like my body is buzzing," Chance looked at Sunset, then at Rarity. "Should I let you two have a moment, or what?" Chance asked.

Sunset and Rarity looked at each other, both of them uncertain of what exactly to say. Rarity turned her focus back to Chance. "Nevermind that, for now. Darling, are you fit to walk, can you stand?" Rarity asked.

Sunset was unsure of if he could, but soon enough, Chance was able to at least get to his knees, and slowly regain his footing. "Give me a moment, I need to re-collect my bearings, why don't you two talk for a moment... I think my pride and whatever's left of my lack of self-worth are somewhere down the path." Chance stated, limping away a little as he gave the two some time to chat, despite the uncomfortable buzzing he felt in his entire body.

As he left, the two of them looked at each other, uncertain of what to say. The two were silent for a moment, till Rarity finally decided to try and make an attempt to speak. "Darling, if you don't mind me asking, what's been going on? I understand that Anon-A-Miss has put a rift in our friendship, and I accept all responsibility for the consequence of my actions, but as of recently, like Dash told me, you and this boy were hanging out. Is he a friend of yours, an acquaintance from your homeland, who is he?" Rarity asked.

Sunset sighed. "In regards to him," Sunset gestures to Chance, who was trying to keep himself up, leaning against a tree. "He's rather secretive. He's been a student at CHS for the past five years, so that's a start. The only things I know about him is that he doesn't have a good relationship with his parents, his biological father is out of the picture, he doesn't hold himself at a high standard, let alone think he's worthy to be at the bottom of the barrel, he's got no friends, and I don't think he's even happy in his dreams." Sunset explained, a look of concern formed on her face.

Rarity was surprised, as well as remorseful. She wanted to say something, but couldn't find the words. "In regards to my well-being, I'm fine. It's Dash that's being a pain in the ass," Rarity was taken aback by the use of such language, but Sunset continued. "It's true! All she did was try to stir up trouble and threaten his well-being yesterday! Then, she shows up out of the blue, attacks something out of nowhere without knowing the context, and in the process, she ended up getting him hurt! I doubt she'd be sorry, considering she was acting like such a massive jerk!" Sunset explained.

Rarity didn't seem surprised by that bit of information, as it would make sense as to why she was having trouble finding her. "Dash has been a bit more arrogant when she found out about her new power. She wanted to talk to you about if you developed any new power yet, but I saw what happened when your friend walked out of the cabin, and came face-to-face with Dash. She once told me that she'll apologize for what she did during Anon-A-Miss when you finally believe that she's genuine about it. With how she's behaved, it's no wonder why it's so hard for you to believe her apology, her ego's taken control." Rarity explained.

Sunset's aggression slowly subsided, and Rarity brought her into a hug, once she immediately accepted, squeezing the fashionista tightly. "Why... Why does she make it so difficult to forgive her? Why does she have to act like such a self-centered jerk!" Sunset asked. Rarity simply pat her friend's head, and tried to keep her calm.

Rarity looked back in Chance's direction, only to now notice that he was nowhere to be seen. Rarity looked around her surroundings, but couldn't find any trace. 'I wonder where he went. Hopefully he doesn't run into any trouble. Whether it's Dash, or something debatably worse.' Rarity thought.

Rarity looked at Sunset, who finally met Rarity's gaze. "Darling, I get the feeling there's something you aren't telling me. I promise, I won't tell a soul what we talk about together, not even to Applejack." Rarity said, crossing her heart with her finger.

Chance slowly moved through the brush, and ended up on another trail. Parts of it seemed unfinished, still consisting of grass and weeds, and bigger sections of brush and foliage. He looked around and noticed a few birds, a couple rabbits, and an owl. Chance sat on a rock and smiled at the sight of nature, feeling a moment of peace return to him. The buzzing in his body was steadily fading, and he felt like he was returning to some semblance of normalcy, until he noticed something off.

The owl flew away, and the birds seemed to follow suite. The rabbits looked scared as they ran away. Before Chance could question it, he saw a large wolf, and a couple bear cubs run out of the woods and ran down the trail, not even paying any attention to him. Curiosity got the better of him, and he got up, approaching the section of brush that the animals fled from. He looked around, and at first, he didn't see anything.

He figured that it was probably something in the air that was spooking the animals, and decided that it was time to go back to the girls. As he turned around, that was when it happened. Before he could take another step, he heard the leaves rustling, as well as the loud and unexpected cracking of branches. As Chance slowly turned back around, looking up to the sky, he saw something that made his heart nearly burst out of his chest. The adrenaline was beginning to pump throughout his body fast, and he heard his mind screaming at him to run.

The genodrome, it towered tall and stood far above the trees, and it fixated its gaze on Chance. He looked down at the Omnitrix, noticing that it was still in the red, and the pieces had finally clicked together in Chance's brain, and suddenly, a sense of dread finally forced him to say something amidst the danger he now found himself back in.

He gulped, slowly backing away from the drone. "Huh, so that's where you went. Well then, imagine that." Chance uttered, a hint of fear in his tone of voice as he made a mad dash back into the brush.

Sunset and Rarity sat on the side of the path as she tried to explain. "Chance, as abrasive as he is, I feel like he's just a victim of circumstance. This morning, he reacted a certain way to the sound of a door opening, and seemed to have a look in his eyes. He looked like he experienced something, something terrible. He claims that it was just a bad dream, but a bad dream doesn't make someone react like an intruder just broke in and all you have is a knife to protect yourself," Rarity was caught off-guard, finding it believable, but still odd to imagine Chance with a knife in his hand. "I think the moment he recognized that it was just me, he clearly seemed uncomfortable, and maybe just a little ashamed that he reacted in such a manner. I almost wanted to use my power on him, but he clearly didn't want me to see something. I want to understand, but he's not exactly an open book. It's like every page has a special key code to gain access, and he's way too cryptic." Sunset explained.

Rarity took a moment to take that information in, and as much as it did bother her, she tried to put herself in that kind of position, trying to do all she could and making sure her sister stayed out of the line of fire, no matter how bad it could be. "I'm no psychiatrist, Sunset, but it seems like quite a harrowing experience to go through at such a young age, darling. If I had to take an estimated guess, it's possible your new friend has had a rather traumatic childhood, and it pulled no punches, if it ever intended to at all," Sunset was concerned as to what she was going to get herself involved in, but Rarity put a hand on her shoulder. "If I may, darling, I'd like to talk with him one-on-one, see if I can't pick his brain a bit and make him a bit more open. In return, I'd love for you to accept my apology for turning you away in your time of need, but still let me work hard to earn your forgiveness. It's the least I can do, to prove that I'm truly sorry for my actions. Do we have a deal, darling?" Rarity asked, holding her hand out for a handshake.

Sunset was uncertain if this could come back to bite her, but she let a small hopeful smile form on her face as she took Rarity's hand and shook it. "Consider your apology accepted, but I can't say the same for Dash, Pinkie, or the others, yet... thank you for at least offering to try and make things right, you have no idea how much I appreciate it." Sunset complimented.

Rarity smiled, pulling her friend into a hug. "I promise you, I have something planned that will knock your socks off! Just you wait." Rarity assured.

Before the two could say anything else, Dash came out from the brush. "Ugh, the brush in his place is so dense! Couldn't move through it with my super speed," Rarity looked displeased, and Sunset was no longer in a good mood. "So, Sunset, any chance you'd like to make things right and accept my apology? I did save you from that crazy beast, that's gotta mean something." Dash remarked, plucking a stick out of her hair.

Sunset got up, gritting her teeth. "Dash, you're unbelievable. You're dense if you think I'm gonna forgive you for Anon-A-Miss, or for everything you caused because of your actions!" Sunset reprimanded.

Rarity stood by Sunset's side, which surprised Dash. "I agree with Sunset, Rainbow Dash, you've been causing trouble for Sunset and her new friend since yesterday, and I won't stand for it any longer, darling!" Rarity firmly stated.

Dash's eye twitched and she just groaned out of frustration. "What is your problem?! I was just trying to help you, I saved your life!" Dash defended.

Sunset glared at Dash, disappointed. "So you think I'm supposed to owe you?! Your reckless decisions got someone temporarily paralyzed, and someone else injured!" Dash seemed confused, but Sunset just tried to calm herself down, so she could explain. "That beast, who's name is Vitaguar, was just looking for a friend of his, someone named Nitrofrost. The moment you showed up and started a fight, he was just trying to defend himself, and you blatantly ignored my pleas to stop fighting!" Dash's frustration was beginning to subside as a feeling of surprise began to slowly build up inside, along with regret and guilt. "You shocked him beyond compare and sent him careening through the brush! Chance wanted to go on a solo walk, and he got shocked in the process. It was so bad, he was temporarily paralyzed! I was lucky enough to know that Rarity was in the area, and we found him before it got too bad." Sunset explained, a repressed sense of anger lingered in her tone of voice.

Dash looked around, noticing that Chance wasn't around. "If he got shocked in the process and paralyzed, then where is he?" Dash asked skeptically.

Sunset grumbled, a look of genuine irritation forming on her face. "The paralysis eventually faded, and he just got up to resume his walk, but you could've ruined his life, paralyzed him forever, rendered immobile and helpless, because of your reckless actions!" Dash wanted to argue, but she knew she messed up. She did instigate the fight, she made the first move. She might not have been aware of Chance getting caught in the crossfire, but while it did piss her off that Sunset was defending him, she just couldn't bring herself to be mad by this point. She messed up bad, arguably worse than what happened during Anon-A-Miss, and that made Dash feel pretty guilty.

Dash opened her mouth to argue, but Sunset was quick on the draw. "No! I don't want to hear another excuse, Dash. Don't think about giving me an apology either, especially when I'm not the one who you need to apologize to. How about you take responsibility for your actions, and admit that you're the bad guy here!" Sunset furiously stated.

Dash tried to say something, but Sunset's glare was just too much. "You want to know why I won't forgive you? Here's the reasons that you keep tacking on with your reckless and thoughtless decisions!" Sunset pulled out a piece of paper, one listed with reasons for Sunset to not forgive Dash.

Dash wanted to plead for Sunset to calm down, but despite how her vision was getting a bit misty-eyed, Sunset started to speak out everything. "You abandoned me during Anon-A-Miss and broke my leg out of spite for something I never did, you were ready to fight Chance when we got to Camp Everfree, you made a scene out of nothing for no reason other than to appease your ego, you attacked someone without getting the full story, you got someone caught in the crossfire because of your oversized ego and your arrogance," Dash felt her ego suddenly deflate, and her heart grow heavier. Her pride was practically snuffed out, and her guilt came up like a feeling of nausea. "Do you have anything of actual genuine substance to say for yourself, or will your over-inflated ego always keep you as some meat head with no regard for others!?" Sunset exclaimed, her words echoed out to the whole forest as her voice broke a fair bit. A fiery look was in her eyes, mixed with a furious expression on her face.

Rarity didn't say a word, nor did she need to. It was clear to her that Sunset was holding her anger back, and while it worked for a time, the boiling point finally came in full-swing, though Rarity was still a bit taken back by Sunset's outrage. She could've sworn she saw her fiery hair flicker with glowing embers, but no, the sun's light was just playing a trick.

Dash didn't utter a word, let alone a sound. She just felt tears flowing down her face, and a lump in her throat. Dash simply backed away and sat down, putting her head into her knees. A few muffled sobs could be heard from Dash as she crumbled, laying on the ground to her side. The amount of tension between them was so dense, you'd think a dwarf star was just created in the midst of their spat.

Rarity felt a sense of uncomfortableness pulse through her, and stepped back a bit. "Good thing your friend wasn't here, I'm not sure how that would've transpired," Sunset looked back at Rarity, clearly still furious, but it seemed to lessen. Rarity suddenly realized something. "Good heavens, is he still gone?! You'd think he would've heard your screaming. How on Earth did he go so far with a mere limp?" Rarity asked.

Chance sprinted through the brush and onto another path, running into another direction as the sound of the genodrome following him echoed out. His shirt had been torn up a bit from how many barbs and thorns he got caught on, his hair was full of leaves and twigs, yet he kept running. "Damn it, god damn it!!" Chance exclaimed through gritted teeth.

As Chance rounded a corner, he came to a stop as he saw the girls from earlier. Lyra noticed Chance and how messed up he looked and smiled. "Hey bud, how's it hanging?" Lyra asked.

Chance frowned. "It's all goin' good, just getting chased by a giant mechanical monstrosity that fell from the dark void of space, no biggie!!" Chance remarked.

The sound of metal crushing through dirt and wood echoed out behind him, and soon enough, the girls saw the giant drone for themselves. "You need to run, for your safety and for those around you. Go back to camp and tell Vice Principal Luna that the kid with the weird watch wants her to know that problem has escalated. She'll know what that means, I guarantee you! I'll try to buy you time to hightail it back, but let's face it, without powers, I doubt there's much I can do!" Chance explained frantically.

the genodrome held out its palm, charging some kind of attack. The girls were astonished, until they saw Chance turn back around to face them. "Run, damn you!! This is no place for you all to die!" Chance exclaimed, shoving them back.

The girls took this as their cue to leave, and they all made a mad dash back to camp. Chance right behind them, trying to activate the Omnitrix, only for it to still be red. "God damn it, the one time I need this piece of shit to work! Why did I have to deal with Dash today!?" Chance griped, making a sharp right turn to go back into the brush.

Sunset and Rarity sat down on the trail, all while Dash's sobs continued to persist, but were starting to peter out. As much as Sunset was still angry at Dash for, well, being Dash, something about her sobs made her feel pretty guilty herself. 'Maybe I should've been easier on her, but what would that have solved? She probably would've assumed she got off scot-free... would she though? Did I go too far?' Sunset felt torn, and unsatisfied by how she exploded at one of her friends.

Rarity rubbed Sunset's back and hugged her tightly. She moved over towards Dash and simply crouched down, and rested her hand on her head. All the fashionista could do is let out an uncertain sigh. "Well, here's to hoping your friend's having a better time than we are." Rarity said.

As she said that, from the furthest part of the path, Chance had emerged, and saw the three of them back where he had initially landed as Vitaguar. He heard the giant steps and felt the ground shake beneath him, and that was enough of a prompt for Chance to start sprinting in their direction. Sunset looked in his direction, seeing him running at full-sprint and started waving at him, only to notice the concern and panic written on his face. With the leaves and twigs in his hair, plus the tears in his clothes, he's been running in the brush for a good bit.

When Chance got close, he came to a sudden stop, a bead of sweat traveled down the bridge of his nose. Chance was about to say something, but upon seeing a bit of rage in Sunset's eyes, Rarity petting Dash's head, and then there's Dash herself, sobbing in the fetal position. "First time in the fetal position? Take it from me, you get used to it after a while," Chance took a few deep breaths as he tried to calm himself down, even if the adrenaline coursing through him was demanding that he kept running. Dash sat up, still thoroughly upset. Her eyes were a bit red, but she wiped the tears from her face as she looked at Chance, confused and thrown for a loop by what he just said. "Listen you three, we need to make like trees. Uproot ourselves from this place, and get the hell out of here! It's not safe for anyone!!" Chance exclaimed.

Rarity slowly approached him and dusted him off. "Try to relax and gather your bearings, darling, you might still be a bit disoriented from the shock. Tell me, what happened?" Rarity asked.

Chance took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. He sighed, unsure of where to start. "I was walking in one direction for a bit, then figured I'd cut through the brush to see what awaited me. After a while, I finally felt comfortable enough to walk, and then run after a while. I sat down on an incomplete trail and watched the animals, but then they all started to run. I even saw a wolf and a couple bear cubs scrambling to get away. I didn't know what to make of it until I finally saw what scared them, and I don't blame them for bein' scared. I'd be shitting bricks and sprinting away too if I saw a giant robot rise above the treeline!" Chance explained.

That caught Sunset's attention, as well as Dash's. "That thing was huge, much bigger than those weird drones encased in ice, if either of you saw them at all. If I had to take an educated guess, I'd say they came down here looking for something. Couldn't tell ya what that something they'd be looking for is, but that thing's been on my tail for the past half-hour, and I'm convinced that it just wants to kill anything and everything!" Chance remarked.

Rarity was astonished, checking her watch and noticed that thirty minutes did indeed pass. "So, if there's a giant robot, where is it now? How did you outrun it?" Dash asked.

Upon hearing the question, the sound of metal puncturing the ground, and the shaking of the Earth was enough to signify that it was coming. The four of them looked up, seeing that the genodrome had its sights set on them, and aimed its palm towards them, its attack was primed and ready for fire. Chance felt a chill run up his spine and instinctively pressing the button on the Omnitrix, hoping it'd do something. It was still in the red. "When did I ever say I outran it, blue blur?" Chance retorted.

"We need to run, and go back to camp! Everyone's in danger with that thing stomping around!" Sunset stated.

Chance grabbed Sunset's arm and pulled her to the side. "Sunset, we have a problem. The watch isn't recharged yet, so it's safe to say I'm gonna be less of a help, and more of a burden in this fight. Aside from the obvious, I figured out now what that thing's after, and it's strapped to my wrist," Sunset's eyes widened as she looked down at the Omnitrix, then back to him. "Yeah, things aren't good right now." Chance whispered gravely.

Sunset pulled away as the genodrome continued its slow approach as it kept its palm outstretched. "Time to go, everybody run!" Sunset exclaimed, running away from the drone as Chance followed close behind.

Dash and Rarity quickly followed them as the drone fired several small bursts of energy. The blasts ripped through the gravel path, fell several trees, and scorched the brush into smoldering ash and embers. The four of them ran as far as they could, all while the genodrome started to close the gap between it and the Omnitrix.

[Camp Everfree]

Luna and Celestia were looking over a few of the campers that were present. "Well, aside from a few individuals who must've gotten up earlier, a bunch of our students are still accounted for, Luna. If it's the few absent Rainbooms you're worried about, they can handle themselves. They do have magic, after all." Celestia said, trying to reassure her younger sister.

Luna seemed distracted. She got a proper night's sleep, despite lacking a couple hours, yet she felt like something was wrong. "I appreciate the effort, sister, but it's more-so that boy that has me worried. He's got a pension for trouble, and an uncomfortably familiar relationship with death. How am I going to help him if he won't let me?" Luna inquired.

Celestia knew who she was talking about, but simply smiled and pat her sister on the back. "Relax Luna, if anything, Mister Marsten is surprisingly resilient for a boy his age. I had every intent of incapacitating him with the bat last night, but he just got back up, like it was nothing," Luna had to admit, Chance seemed like he was ready to scrap the moment he got back up from such a hit. It was impressive, but it was also concerning. "I'd say you're worrying too much, but in all honesty, from what I've observed, in my own opinion, you seem to be acting more like a mother attempting to connect with her son, rather than a counselor helping a troubled student." Celestia advised with a smug yet warm smile plastered on her face.

Luna went wide-eyed and looked rather irritated. "Goes to show how little you know, sister," Celestia's smile remained as she raised her eyebrow out of curiosity. Luna's face fell as she looked somber. "If you had bothered to come with me during those wellness checks, you'd understand that my actions and choices, regarding Mister Marsten's situation, are justified. Just by seeing the sorry state that house is in, along with the state of being the adults in charge of the house are in, I'm doing all I can to remind him that there are people who care about him. People that don't have to be family, or of blood relation." Luna remarked, attempting to defend herself.

Celestia chuckled wholeheartedly as she squeezed Luna in a hug. "I know you're trying, but you might be a bit abrasive in your approach. You're giving it the old college try, and I'm glad you're doing so," Luna's irritation began to lessen as Celestia pat her sister's head. "But try not to push him too hard. You might end up re-surfacing a traumatic memory. Remember, he's not you, nor is he I. I just hope you know what you're doing with this 'road trip' project you suggested to them." Celestia advised.

Luna looked up at her sister, smirking. "I knew you were spying on me. I know it'll benefit them both, but now that something else has become an important factor in that boy's growth, I can't help but wonder how he'll react to the truth." Luna remarked.

Before Celestia could say anything, a group of girls came running out of the trail in Luna's direction. "Vice Principal Luna, the problem has escalated!" Bon-Bon yelled out.

Luna's smirk turned into a frown, a sense of concern grew within her. "How dangerous is the problem we're speaking of?" Luna asked.

Lyra stepped forward. "According to that Chance guy, it's basically destruction at every turn! There's a giant robot towering above the trees, and I think it got him, considering he isn't with us." Lyra explained.

"It was rather metal though, gotta get whoever made it to mod my car!" Vinyl stated with a grin, only to feel Octavia's elbow in her side.

The students overheard what was said and started to worry. A few girls noticed and moved to see what the commotion was about. A farm girl with lighter tan skin, freckles and a brown Stetson that sat atop the golden blonde hair that shined in the sun's light, Pinkie, who looked a lot less stressed, a paler caucasian-skinned girl with long flowing brown hair with bright pink tips and held a small little bunny in her arms, and a darker skinned girl with glasses and pigtails, reading a book about a theory based on dimensional and universal overlap.

The girl stepped forward, taking her hat off. "Is there something the matter?" The girl asked with a mild Texan accent.

Luna turned and saw Applejack, as well as the other remaining Rainbooms. "If it involves who I think it does, most likely. You need to go and find your friends, I'll be right behind you." Luna stated.

Pinkie smiled, pumping her fist into the air. "Whoo! We're gonna fight a robot!" Pinkie cheered.

Applejack tipped her hat upwards, a stern yet determined expression present on her face. "Well, this is unlike anything we faced before, but if it's attackin' people, we have to step in! C'mon, ya'll! Let's go!" Applejack called out.

The girl with the bunny gently set it down on the ground, seeming apprehensive. "O-Oh boy... Well, h-here we go." the girl meekly said.

The girl in glasses gripped her geode as a bright violet aura enveloped her left hand. She rested her right hand on her shy companion's shoulder. "Don't worry, Fluttershy, everything's gonna be okay. Let's hope Sunset and the others are handling the situation the best they can." The girl reassured.

Fluttershy smiled slightly and nodded her head. "If you say so, Twilight... I'm still a bit worried, though." Fluttershy remarked, concern and worry in her tone of voice.

As the remaining Rainbooms went to the hiking trail, Luna was about to follow behind until she stopped and pulled something out of her pocket. A small white badge with a red circle in the middle. Luna hesitated, but stood firm and pocketed it. "Not now. Not yet." Luna firmly told herself, trying to catch up to the rainbooms.

[Everfree Hiking Trail]

Dash was putting herself through her paces, even without using her super speed. The drone was slow, but somehow, it was closing the gap. She fired bolts of electricity from her fingers to stagger the ginormous drone, but the bolts of electricity just seemed to bounce off its metal shell. Rarity attempted to cut the shell itself with her diamond light constructs, but they just shattered upon crashing into the shell itself, not even leaving a scratch.

In retaliation, the drone fired more bursts of energy, eradicating and destroying the area around them. "Either that thing's impervious to magic, or alien stuff is much tougher than I thought it'd be!" Dash unleashed her wings as she flew ahead. "Does anyone have a plan to stop this thing from crushing us?!" Dash asked, slowly starting to panic.

Chance, who was starting to get very tired, just simply glanced at the Omnitrix, seeing that it was now in the green. 'Took you long enough, ya junky-ass watch. Came from space, but you have the recharge speed of a brick! What the fuck?!' Chance thought, a mildly irritated expression forming on his face.

Chance took a deep breath as he tried to ignore the burning sensation in his calf muscles. "Dash, today has just been one massive clusterfuck for all of us. This all went completely unplanned, and you're asking if any of us have a plan? Look at our current situation, and you tell me if you have one, because I'm too busy running for my life to think straight!" Chance felt himself slowing down, his pace was losing its tempo, and the drone was getting closer. "I'm running out of energy, just go on without me, I'm a dead man anyway. I won't be delegated to the role of dead weight just so I can slow you three down!" Chance stated, watching Rarity pass him by.

Chance came to a stop and turned back around, noticing that the drone stopped. Before Chance could do anything else, he felt someone pulling on his arm. That someone, was Sunset. "Come on, we have to keep going, we can't stop now!" Sunset remarked, trying to pull him along.

Chance groaned, seeming more confused and pissed than anything. "Why are you not running away?! It's better for one of us to end up dead, rather than all of us end up a pile of charred corpses!" Sunset refused to let him go, so Chance tried to shove her off and loosen her grip. To his own surprise, she fought back, gripping tighter. "You're more stubborn than a horny toad trying to find a frog, you know that?! Just leave, don't throw your life away like this, at least I have nothing left to lose when I kick the bucket!" Chance argued.

"That's not true, you know that!" Sunset argued.

"Don't talk like you know what I've lost!" Chance shot back.

Dash and Rarity looked back, seeing the two struggling to get their way as the drone raised its palm. "Hey, the drone's gonna attack! Get out of there, Sunset!" Dash exclaimed.

"Darlings, you need to start running this instant! That thing's going to kill you both if you don't move!" Rarity yelled out.

Chance tried to get Sunset to let go, her grip strength was something to be impressed by, but he was just getting frantic. "Why are you doing this, you got a death wish or something?!" Chance yelled out.

"Do you?!" Sunset shot back.

Chance stopped for a moment, only to look at Sunset as she continued to grab his arm. "I don't want to die as much as you, or your friends do, truly. This isn't me being brave, I'm being practical! Again, why are you being stupid and clinging to me?!" Chance exclaimed.

The light from the drone's palm began to shine brighter. It was charging its attack. "You deserve to try and turn things around for yourself! Not many people get that choice!" Sunset yelled.

Chance gritted his teeth as he pulled his arm free, only for Sunset to pull him into a hug. "Why do you care about that anyway?! That's not your choice, that's not any of your business, let alone anyone else's! Why won't you let me go!" Chance exclaimed, struggling to shake Sunset off.

The drone's palm was beginning to spark and crackle as the energy built up. Every mechanism within it was whirring and going into overdrive. Soon enough, the attack fired. "Because you're my friend, even if you don't think so, that's why!" Sunset exclaimed.

Chance's eyes widened, and his struggling came to a sudden stop. Chance was unsure how to respond, but the attack was heading right for them and all he could do was stare. Chance closed his eyes, and simply turned around, trying to shelter Sunset from the blast that was coming their way, pulling her into an embrace.

"Look out!!" Rarity called out.

The attack connected, but Chance didn't feel dead, nor did Sunset. The two opened their eyes, looking at each other, then back at the drone, only to see Rarity, who ran in front of them and created a giant construct to block the drone's attack. "Rarity! You saved our lives!" Sunset said.

Chance was pretty surprised himself. "Didn't think you had it in you, thanks for the save!" Chance commented.

Rarity looked back with a weary smile, only for the drone to start charging up another attack. "I don't think I have it in me to block another one. Do you two have a plan?" Rarity asked.

Chance had an idea, though it was risky. He looked around and noticed that a portion of the ground in front of them had been scorched. He looked at the drone, then back at Rarity's construct, then at the portion of scorched ground. Suddenly, an idea came to him. "Can you keep the construct up just a bit longer? I just figured out how we're gonna give this thing a taste of its own medicine!" Chance managed to pry Sunset off of him and moved in front of the construct. "Come on, you egregious waste of parts! You think I don't know what you want?! If you want it so bad, stop with the hissy fit and give it all you got this time!!" Chance pointed to his heart. "Come on, put on in here, you extraterrestrial scrap pile!" Chance exclaimed.

Rarity was frightened. "Darling, with all due respect, are you crazy?! Taunting the giant robot into attacking doesn't seem like a safe idea!" Rarity remarked, concerned about what could happen next.

Chance moved back behind the construct, smiling. "Trust me, I think I know what I'm doing." Chance said.

"You think?" Sunset asked, equally concerned.

Rarity was hesitant, but she kept the barrier up. Chance grabbed the barrier by the top side with one hand, the right side with the other hand, and pushed his left foot against the bottom of it. The drone fired a beam of energy at the construct, and the moment the construct felt the beam hit, it began to crack, but Chance and Rarity held firm.

Chance gritted his teeth as he kept his right foot firmly planted onto the ground. "What comes around, goes around!" Chance let a smirk form on his face as he pushed the top end of the construct up, bouncing the beam onto the ground. "Let's see how you like it, ya techno freak!" Chance exclaimed.

Chance pushed the construct to the right, shooting the beam left, then moved back and rammed the construct with his shoulder to the left, causing the beam to suddenly rip right through the mid-section of the genodrome, cutting it in half.

The drone slowly started to fall apart, until it erupted into a furious explosion, showering pieces of hot metal and robot parts everywhere. Rarity let the construct down and the three of them ran towards Dash, who was a bit shocked by everything. The four of them ran around the bend, noticing that the rest of the Rainbooms, along with Vice Principal Luna, were a bit late to the party. "Hey girls!! You just missed it, we managed to beat back the robot!" Dash yelled victoriously.

Chance glared at her, but simply decided to let it go. "The important thing is, we're alive. It's over, and that drone isn't gonna disturb the peace of nature, or nearly disintegrate anyone into a pile of ash ever again... good thing, too. I think I've had my fill of nature walks this week. Even amongst the tranquility of nature, there's never a dull moment in this town, and that's not always a good thing." Chance said with a cheeky grin.

Sunset smiled as she sighed. "Finally, the worst has passed. I honestly can't wait for what comes next, right?" Sunset asked.

Chance rolled his eyes and nudged her arm. "Let's not jinx it now, I'm not fightin' that thing's remains like it's a robot zombie movie. I'd sooner chug a bottle full of Absinthe before I risk my life to fight undead scrap metal!" Chance remarked, chuckling a bit.

The Rainbooms looked at the pair, confused, but relieved. "Well, ah hope Dash didn't give ya too much trouble, partner, we're all familiar with how she can be sometimes," Dash looked away, scorned by the comment. Applejack approached Chance and held out a handshake. "Ah don't think we properly met. I'm Applejack, nice to meet ya." Applejack introduced with a warm smile.

Chance was hesitant, but he simply took a deep breath, and accepted the handshake. "I'm Chance Marsten, and despite five years of keeping to myself, it's a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance." Chance introduced.

Applejack took her hand back and shook it. "Whoo! You got a firm grip there, sugarcube! Actually had my hand feelin' a little sore!" Applejack remarked, chuckling a bit.

Chance smiled as he looked towards Luna, who was smiling. Chance rolled his eyes. "Okay, okay, let's save the mushy stuff for when we get back to camp. I feel like I could sleep for weeks without end after running for my life and getting the zapping of a lifetime!" Chance remarked.

"Then what're we waiting for?!" Pinkie grabbed Chance by the arm. "Let's stop lollygagging on this chapter, and lets party till we're purple!!" Pinkie exclaimed happily, rushing off as Chance got dragged along.

[Outer Space]

The tall creature continues to dwell within its pod, all while the one-eyed creature approaches cautiously. "You may speak, half-breed vermin." The tall creature announced.

The one-eyed creature seemed to shudder for a moment before speaking. "General Reinrassic the Second, the genodrome has finally gone offline. We suspect that the termination was caused by the one who wields the Omnitrix, but we're still unsure of a proper result. But, I assure you, my liege, this won't be the end. We will get you the Omnitrix, and we will finally be able to restore glory to your entire species." The creature reported.

The tall creature, Reinrassic, was furious, but also impressed. "Failure?! Unbelievable! The puny Earth being that is keeping the Omnitrix from me- will soon hang on my trophy wall... or become one with my rising army." Reinrassic stated sinisterly.

[Five Days Later...]

[Everfree Cabin, Mid-Afternoon]

Sunset was feeling tired, due to partying like it was the end of the world. Five days ago, it certainly felt like it, but she had fun, nonetheless. Sunset was currently packing up her stuff and noticed a lack of Chance that day. He wasn't on the couch, where he slept for the past week, and noticed Luna was looking for him, even looking in her guestroom.

Luna looked at Sunset, dressed back in her usual casual attire. "Do you know where Mister Marsten is? Time's running out, and Summer Vacation's about to begin." Luna asked.

Sunset simply shrugged, equally as unaware as she was. "He must've gotten up early today. I can only hope he didn't use the watch to do anything dangerous," She grabbed her brush and placed it in her bag. "By the way, I thought you said we'd be in an RV for the summer, not your car." Sunset remarked.

Luna pulled out a set of keys with a small crescent moon keychain. "The RV's gonna be parked right next to my car. Celestia drove her car back to our place earlier today before the sun came up, and she took the RV here, so she'll ride back in my car. Keeps things even and consistent." Luna remarked.

Sunset shrugged. "Well, here's to hoping Chance gets back in time. His bag is all packed, but he's nowhere to be seen." Sunset stated.

Just as she said that, a loud crack echoed out from the ceiling, like something unexpectedly heavy and severely dense just fell from the sky. The two looked up, only to hear that something was knocking on the front door. Before either could make the attempt to answer it, they saw an alien walk in.

This one was tall, vaguely humanoid in shape, had one huge white circular eye, and comprised of some kind of Amethyst-like crystal. It wore a full-body black and white, segmented in numerous spots. The Omnitrix's badge rested on its right pectoral. "Greetings! Sorry I'm late, was busy testing out Alien #3!" Sunset and Luna were surprised. "Meet, Armethyst!" The alien introduced. Its voice was tough, gruff, yet its higher pitched warping voice was contrasted by the sound of crystals grinding together every time it moved or spoke.

Sunset was the first to wonder what Armethyst could do, but all she could muster was another question. "No one saw you transform, right?" Sunset asked.

Armethyst nodded. "Don't worry, I made sure that no one followed me, and I made sure I was far enough to where no one would know, and so I could make it back. Trust me, you have no idea how hard it is to maneuver this guy without feeling a constant case of Rockjoint... huh, that'd actually make for a cool name, too! Gotta write that one down." Armethyst remarked.

Luna went over and closed the door, and soon enough, the Omnitrix started beeping and flashing red. Within a flash of red light, Chance was returned to his normal self once more. "Well, who's ready to get this alien pony show on the road? I know I am!" Chance remarked, a confident smile on his face as he slung his father's bag over his shoulder.

Luna smiled. "Nice to know you're in a much better mood, as well as gaining a more positive mindset, mister Marsten. Before we do go, what is your reason for accepting my offer?" Luna asked.

Chance stopped in place for a moment, and sighed. "My reason is that... my father would like to know that I became a better man," Luna was curious as to what Chance meant, as was Sunset, so he continued to talk. "I know my father would want me to see the world, to see what I've been missing while being a prisoner in my room, with the wardens being a couple junkies, one of them being what remains of my mother. He wouldn't want me stewing in my own self-pity, to think less about myself and put bad people on a higher pedestal. He wouldn't want me to grow up without friends, without a family that loves and supports me, no matter what I do... most importantly of all, he wouldn't want me to turn away from those who need help the most. Maybe with this watch's power, and the aliens that are housed within it, maybe I can really help people, instead of making things worse... just like my mom." Chance remarked solemnly.

Chance looked over at the pair of them, seeing their saddened smiles, he couldn't help but smile himself. "Okay, I haven't been one for emotions in a long time, so I'm going to put my bag in the RV and hope this whole road trip thing goes off without another hitch." Chance remarked, moving back to the front door.

Chance opened the front door, but saw Rarity standing there, smiling. "Hello darling, may I come in? I was told by Sunset that I could have a one-on-one chat with you before your departure." Rarity requested.

Chance looked back at Sunset, who looked nervous. He simply shrugged, and moved out of her way. "Okay, change of plans then. I'll catch up with you two in a moment, hopefully it won't be too long." Chance sat down on one of the wooden chairs. Luna and Sunset grabbed their bags and walked out of the front door. Once it was clear that they were gone, Chance looked over at Rarity with a sense of curiosity. "You wanted to talk to me, that's already a red flag. What do you want?" Chance asked.

Rarity sat down on the couch, her smile unwavered. "Sunset told me a few things about you when you limped off towards trouble five days ago. I was hoping to get your side of the story, to better get an understanding, and to properly gauge what kind of person you are behind your façade, darling," Chance raised an eyebrow, seeming surprised. Rarity simply chuckled. "Caught your interest, did I? Here's what's going to happen. I don't hate you, but I'm curious as to how you've become such an enigma. What is it about you that has Sunset's interest?" Rarity asked.

Chance thought about that for a moment, but he himself didn't have an idea. "If I had the answer, I'm sure you could tell that I know it. Don't need to be a lie detector or a mind reader to figure that out," Rarity nodded, understanding what Chance was saying, but was more-so curious to what the answer could be, if Chance himself didn't know it. "Let me ask you a question, Little Miss Rarity. Do you think the tough and silent front I put up is something I just came up with one day, or do you have an idea of where you know it stems from?" Chance inquired.

Rarity was curious to his questioning, but simply took a deep breath and prepped herself to give an answer. "I believe that it came from a lifetime that's only familiar with abuse. Verbal, physical, mental, emotional, you're experienced with being put down, told you are nothing, even if it's not blatantly said or told to you straight-forward. Yet, be that as it may," Rarity got up and moved towards Chance, gesturing for him to get up. He got up, but was more-so curious as to what she was playing at. "Darling, you've clearly shown that you can be a delight. Crude and colorful language aside, you seem like the kind of individual that's making the best out of a bad situation, because that's all you've ever known for the past few years. This offer you've been given, I feel like you're going to go and do great things with it. I don't need magic powers of any kind to tell you that, I assure you. I just want you to promise me something." Rarity explained.

Chance's curiosity was piqued even further. "And what's that?" Chance asked.

Rarity sighed, her smile faltered and changed into a scowl. Chance was unsure why, but he felt a chill go down his spine upon seeing it. "Promise me that you'll put your fancy new powers to use for good, and keep Sunset safe, and in return, I won't tell anyone your secret until you're ready for it to be known," Chance's eyes widened. "That's right, I know of your secret. Honestly, darling, it's not that hard for me to put two and two together. That strange gem creature that casually walked into the cabin, the casualness that Sunset and Vice Principal Luna showed without even acknowledging it, the gem creature adorning the same emblem that's on your watch, it just made too much sense. Now, do we have a deal?" Rarity asked.

Chance knew what she was doing, and as much as he had to respect the balls she had to do this, he wished he had something to kick right now. "Fine, I promise. Not that I want any harm to come to them, anyway." Chance remarked.

Rarity didn't seem convinced. "Do you Pinkie Promise?" Rarity asked.

Chance looked deadpanned, he didn't think Rarity was serious and simply walked to the front door, only for a diamond construct to block the way. Chance looked back at Rarity, seeing her scowl become a smug smirk. Chance's right eye twitched, and he gave in. "I cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Chance gritted through his teeth as his face became red from sheer embarrassment. "Man that felt fuckin' stupid." Chance remarked.

Rarity chuckled. "Don't you worry, darling, your secret's safe with me. Uphold your end, and I'll keep mine upheld until you're ready. See you soon!~" Rarity said, letting her construct disappear as she walked out of the cabin.

Chance gritted his teeth and couldn't help but let a smirk of his own form on his face. "Oh, I like her already. She's feisty!" Chance remarked, leaving the cabin as he closed the door behind him.

[RV]

As the RV drove down the road, Sunset and Chance were playing a game of checkers. "So, what'd Rarity want to talk about?" Sunset asked.

Chance smiled and shrugged. "She just wanted me to let ya know that while you're gone, she'll be working extra hard on earning your forgiveness. You ain't got anything to worry about. Let's just relax, and enjoy the summer, no matter what comes our way." Chance remarked.

Sunset looked at him quizzically, and Chance just simply smiled as he moved one of his black pieces to an empty spot on Sunset's end. "Checkmate!" Chance announced.

Sunset went wide-eyed, seeing that she had been beat. "Huh, nice job." Sunset complimented.

Chance snickered. "Thanks, my dad taught me how to play, told me it was to stop a bad habit of mine, can't recall what it was, though, but I am good at it." Chance remarked with a chuckle.

S1, Episode 4: Mutant Metropolis

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

S1, Episode 5: The Chupacabra

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

The Chupacabra

A bright moon is lighting up the night sky, cascading the lunar rays onto a motel in the middle of a dusty desert highway. Nearby, a built-in pool is lit up like a stadium. Sunset is resting her feet in the water, sitting on the edge of the pool, dressed in a black bikini with yellow and red accents and sipping on some kind of colorful fruity drink with a lime wedge.

Chance, on the other side of the pool, was bare chested, showing off his scars as he walks onto a diving board, dressed in a pair of bright pink camo-patterned swim trunks, smiling proudly. "Cannonball!!" Chance exclaims, jumping off the diving board and making a huge splash as he falls into the water, curled up in a ball shape.

The waves reach over to Sunset, who simply smiles and rolls her eyes, continuing to sip on her drink. Chance resurfaces and wipes the water out of his eyes. "Sunset, how'd I do?" Chance called out, paddling over to her.

Sunset thought for a moment and came up with a basic answer. "Hmm... Five-and-a-half out of ten. Execution was great, but the build-up needs work." Sunset critiqued.

Chance laughed. "Damn, when you put it like that, I'm pretty rusty!" Chance hoisted himself up onto the pool's edge and sat next to Sunset, looking up at the stars. "It has been a while since I swam in a pool, though, so I guess that's on me." Chance remarked.

Sunset chuckled and leaned back a bit, setting her glass to the side as she looked at the stars. Chance laid on the floor and did the same, watching a couple clouds pass by and just observing the brightness of the moon. "This is pretty relaxing. How often do you do this?" Chance asked.

Sunset shrugged her shoulders. "Usually whenever I have free time, or something's on my mind and I need to clear it to think straight. Mostly when I'm bored, though," Chance snickered, which made Sunset look in his direction, a curious smile forming on her face. "Oh, something funny, mister comedian?" Sunset asked in a coy manner.

Chance looked back with a smug grin. "Here I thought the infamous 'Shimmercode' was impervious to boredom," Sunset went wide-eyed and her face went a bit red. "You never struck me as the type to be easily bored. You literally set up a stream that lasted forty-eight hours, consisting of trying to weasel out a line of dialogue from a dolphin! If it makes you feel any better, I watched that stream for two days straight, so I can't fault you for it." Chance remarked.

Sunset sighed, relieved that it wasn't a serious jab at her. "In all fairness, it wasn't one of my best moments, hence why my fans refer to me as 'Dolphincode' when we play Aquarria," Sunset was then hit with a sudden realization. "Wait, you watch my streams?!" Sunset asked, surprised by the very idea that someone else knew about her channel.

Chance smiled. "Yeah, and your regular videos, too. I don't usually pay attention when personal stuff starts being mentioned, I deal with my own issues enough already, but I can respect that you were willing to pour your heart out to a bunch of people you barely even knew. That takes guts, the kind of guts I wish I had, at least then I'd finally be able to speak about the one thing that bothers me about..." Chance stopped talking. Sunset was motioning for him to keep talking, but he just laid there, silent. Eventually, Chance cleared his throat and stood up. "Anyway, I think what you're doing is cool, and maybe we could play a game or two together, sometime after the summer, if you aren't busy?" Chance asked.

Sunset was, yet again, a bit surprised, but she chuckled and smiled, getting up and patting his shoulder. "Maybe, we'll have to talk about that later. For now," Sunset let a yawn escape her as she stretched. "I'm gonna head back to the RV and get some shut-eye. You comin'?" Sunset asked.

Chance simply nodded his head in approval. "I'll be there in a couple minutes, just need to do one last cannonball." Chance stated, jogging over to the diving board.

Sunset rolled her eyes as she wrapped herself up in a towel and walked back to the RV. Chance angled himself towards the center, and was about ready to jump, until the lights suddenly went out. Chance stopped in his tracks, just barely able to keep himself on the diving board as he looked around. "Very funny, Sunset. Didn't figure you for a prankster, but you nearly got me. Now turn the lights back on, I can't see anything out here." Chance called out.

Sunset didn't respond, and as Chance waited for a response, he heard the pitter patter of little feet. It didn't sound human, but rather, similar to that of a small animal. Chance looked around, squinting his eyes into the darkness around him. The moon was now obscured completely by the clouds, and suddenly, Chance felt as if a tail brushed against his leg. His eyes widened as he so desperately tried to not panic. He heard a hissing noise, and that was all Chance needed to hear to know he wasn't safe at the moment.

A loud inhuman screech echoed out in the distance, and Chance, despite his best efforts, let out a loud panic-induced scream. Without a moment to lose, Chance dove into the water and stroked to the other side of the pool as fast as he could. The moment he climbed out, he immediately started running at full-sprint in the direction of the RV.

Chance managed to make it to the RV and immediately threw the door open, jumping inside and slamming the door shut, which woke up both Luna and Sunset. "That was not okay, not in the slightest! What in the god damn was that?!" Chance exclaimed, trying to catch his breath.

Sunset got up and looked at Chance, seeing the panic and terror in his eyes. "You get scared by the motel's chihuahua? For something so small, it's so ridiculously aggressive." Sunset remarked.

Chance stood up and looked less than amused. "How about the fact that a monster tried to corner me at the pool and STEAL MY SOUL!!" Sunset backed up as Chance's voice got louder, confused by what he was saying. Luna sat up, exhausted and trying to comprehend what Chance was saying. "A dog don't screech, it either barks, whines, or howls! Look, I got attacked by a monster and almost lost my soul, simple as that! It had a hairless tail, it screeched like a bat out of hell, it skittered around on all fours and terrified the living shit out of me! That thing didn't hide in the shadows, it blended in! That thing used some kind of shadow camouflage and tried to get at me!" Chance explained, the sheer fear and uncertainty in his voice was telling that he got spooked by something.

Sunset guided Chance over to the beds. "Chance, I think you might've ingested some pool water. Try to relax and get some sleep, something tells me you need it." Sunset remarked.

Chance's eye twitched, he felt incredibly irritated. "I didn't ingest pool water, I'm a fool, not an idiot!" Sunset looked back at him, skeptical of his claim. "I'm not kidding around, I swear it! Please, ya gotta believe me! You deal with magic stuff all the time, and compared to what we dealt with back in Washington, why don't you believe me on this?!" Chance pleaded, confused as to why Sunset, nor Luna, believed in his claim.

Luna yawned and covered herself back up in her blanket, laying her head back down on her pillow. "Chance, you're probably still shaken up about what happened back in Washington. Try to get some sleep, and if you can't, there's some Chamomile in the cupboards, brew yourself a cup and try to relax." Luna tiredly instructed.

Chance wanted to argue, but Sunset had already gotten back on the bottom bed, and Luna was already asleep once more on the couch. Chance just grumbled in defeat, going over to the cupboard to brew himself a cup of Chamomile.

The next morning, Chance, Sunset and Luna walk around a rocky trail, with Luna equipped with a large net. "I'm telling you, for all we know, it's watching us right now! We need to haul ass back to the RV and leave for our own safety, because you two clearly aren't taking this as seriously as I am!" Chance pleaded.

Sunset was getting pretty annoyed by Chance's persistent recap, and by this point, she was convinced it was all an elaborate joke. "Hey, I get that you were spooked by the motel owner's dog, but would you kindly cool it with the boy who cried wolf schtick for five minutes?" Sunset asked.

Chance looked at her in a mix of disbelief and severe frustration. Luna put a hand on Chance's shoulder and tried to reassure him. "It was probably just the owner's dog, that's all. Let's try to unwind and relax, I hear rabbits are hopping about on this trail, and there's no good eatin' like catchin' it yourself in Texas." Luna remarked.

Chance gritted his teeth harder than he ever had before, and the frustration he felt was almost biblical by nature. Sunset looked at Chance as he seemed to be clearly upset, but just decided to leave well enough alone. "I'm gonna go find some shade at the park, the sun is beating down too much. Try not to irritate Vice Principal Luna with your 'monster encounter' story, alright Chance?" Sunset asked, walking away.

Chance groaned out of sheer frustration and punched a nearby rock repeatedly. "This is ridiculous! They don't believe me, I experienced a horror movie and fuckin' survived, no wonder those two don't believe me! It's not like we saw dinosaurs come back to life, and saw a man command some kind of mutant hedgehog back in Washington, it's not like one of us has alien powers or can read people's minds with magic or anything!! Clearly I'm the insane one!!" Chance exclaimed sarcastically, letting his frustration out in bursts.

Chance groaned and ran towards Luna, noticing her expression. She seemed nervous, as if she knew something and couldn't let it slip. Chance was initially confused by how she looked, until they saw a man up ahead.

The man looked to be in his mid-thirties, was very tanned, and was struggling to pull something out of his backpack. he wore a bright yellow hawaiian shirt and shorts, and despite the rounded squareness of his jaw, he seemed like an approachable guy. "No, no es eso, definitivamente no es eso... joder- ¿¡Por qué sigo teniendo esto!?" The man cried out in frustration, a look of dismay could clearly be seen on his freshly shaven face.

Chance and Luna approached the man, and suddenly he seemed rather shy. "U-Uh... H-Hello! I didn't mean to draw in any attention, I was j-just looking for a special piece o-of equipment. It means a l-lot to me, a-a-and..." The man broke eye contact and crouched to the ground. "¿Por qué no puedo volver a ser sociable? Este tiene que ser el peor momento para hablar con los demás... Mi amore, lo siento mucho." The man sadly whispered to himself.

Chance raised an eyebrow, then back at Luna, who seemed just as confused, if not concerned, for this man's well-being. Chance, despite being in a bad mood himself, grumbled and put his problem aside. "Sir, what's got you in such a sour mood?" Chance asked.

The man looked back at the two, sniffling as he dried the tears that were forming in his eyes. "It's the anniversary of me and my wife's marriage. I haven't seen her, or my son, in a long time," the man gripped his backpack tightly, a grief-stricken scowl formed across his face. "Because of that foul creature... El Chupacabra." The man explained in a venomous manner.

Chance's interest was piqued, while Luna was more-so concerned. "What's the Chupacabra?" Chance asked.

The man looked at Chance, seeing that he had the teen's attention. "The Chupacabra, the Goat Sucker, whatever you wish to call it, I call it the thing that took my family away..." The man pulled out a picture and handed it to Luna. Luna saw a woman in her mid-thirties standing next to a boy that looked no closer to Chance's age. He had black hair like his father, fair skin like his mother, and hazel eyes like his father's own. He wore a red hoodie, jeans and seemed unhappy in the photo. "We went on this trail as a family three years ago, and I left a saddened and distraught widower. The Chupacabra is a dangerous beast of Mexican folklore. It's been described differently throughout time, but I know the real appearance of such a vicious beast. It's why I'm here, actually. I tracked it down here, to Texas of all places." The man explained.

The man pulled out another photo, showing off what looked like a giant rat. The creature in the photo had grey skin, a large head, and six big bulging red eyes. They also had long, rat-like tails. Chance looked back at Luna, with a knowing look on his face. Luna sighed and gave the photo of the wife and son back to the father. "Well, this was a rather riveting use of our time, but we really gotta get back to finding rabbits. Chance, can I speak with you in private?" Before Chance could give an answer, Chance was yanked a fair distance away from the man as Luna moved further away. Soon enough, Luna stopped and looked at him. "I know what you're thinking, and this isn't a good idea. Look, lets assume you were right about the monster attack last night. If it were this Chupacabra creature, why would it attack so close to a populated area?" Luna asked.

Chance groaned, he was clearly at his limit. "We faced mutant animals, resurrected dinosaurs, robots from space, and long before I found the watch that turns me into a bunch of alien superheroes, there were magical problems. Literal Magic. Why are you and Sunset acting like I'm the one who lost all ties to sanity, when this is, ironically enough, as sane as it gets nowadays?" Chance shot back.

Luna glared at him, and he glared right back, unwilling to back down. Luna's expression lessened as she let out a sigh of defeat. "This isn't the best time to talk about that... I had my reasons to doubt, but seeing that picture has changed my plans for today, and I don't trust that man completely," Luna pointed in the man's direction, seeing him coddle the picture of his wife and son. "The fact that he's been tracking this creature, that concerns me more than anything. I don't want to get you wrapped up in something that could spiral out of control." Luna explained.

Chance scowled at Luna. "Why, because he has a reason for going after this goat sucker, and I was the one who actually managed to survive and get away from it?" Chance remarked.

Luna groaned, she felt as if her words weren't making an impact. "Chance, this isn't up for discussion. I don't want you chasing some folklore fairy tale all day, and getting disappointed when you realize that man is most likely a bit mentally unraveled. I know you can handle yourself, but this just seems like a wild goose chase that'll result in an immediate failure." Luna rationalized.

Chance was clearly not having it, and backed up. Luna could see the frustration and obvious lack of belief written on his face. Her words were failing, and the boy had clearly made up his mind, and not without a lack of trying. "You can go chase rabbits all you want, but I'm gonna help a man with obvious survivor's guilt, drag the Chupacabra's body back to the RV once we capture it, and prove I was right! Got a problem with that, then you can come along for the ride, just to supervise and watch me prove you and Sunset wrong. Besides, if I'm gonna get better at using my powers, I need to be ready to fight any kind of danger, even if it's some freaky cryptid, fake or not." Chance remarked.

Luna was at a loss, but she eventually buckled, sighing in defeat once again. "Fine, but I'm merely coming along to make sure this doesn't turn into something illegal. Understand, mister?" Chance simply nodded his head yes, and the pair move back over to the man. "Sir, we discussed this thoroughly amongst each other, and we have decided to join you in tracking the Chupacabra. I'll be supervising over this boy, just so he doesn't get himself into anymore trouble than he's already gotten into." Luna explained, begrudgingly coming along on the hunt.

The man lit up, a hopeful smile formed across his face, and he pulled out a set of keys. He clicked a button on the keychain, and before the two knew what happened, a black jeep fell from above and landed in front of them, activating the car alarm as it chirped, flashing its headlights. The man simply smiled. "You like? It belonged to my wife, but I had a friend make some personal modifications, just so it isn't easily destroyed or damaged during my hunts." The man explained.

Chance and Luna just went wide-eyed, staring at the large black jeep as it cast a shadow over the two. "I've never seen a jeep like this before, but I'm kinda glad I got to see something like it before I die one day." Chance remarked, impressed by how shiny and new the jeep looked.

The man simply smiled, happy and encouraged by the boy's reaction. "I hope you two don't mind, but I never go on a hunt without my car. The Chupacabra isn't startled by the sound of a roaring engine, like most animals, it's more-so challenged by the tenacity and dangerousness of vehicular technology. I also had a friend who outfitted my car with sonars, maps, radios, a retractable bed, a mini fridge, and most importantly of all, a GPS tracker." The man explained.

Luna was just as surprised. Once she heard about the extra bells and whistles this jeep supposedly had, it was almost too good to be true. "You have all of that, built into your late wife's car?!" Luna asked.

The man shook his head. "My wife left me her car in the will, so to make sure the one thing she left behind never got destroyed, I had it fixed and upgraded beyond just a simple beat-up jeep she had since college. It's my way of making sure I can preserve the memory of my wife for as long as I possibly can." The man explained, his eyes were getting misty as he climbed into the driver's seat.

The pair looked at each other, both of them clearly having differing opinions on what the proper answer was to this whole situation, but they still climbed inside, and the man sped down the path, leaving a cloud of dust behind him.

The jeep moves down the path for a good couple hours, passing by several rocky cliffs and forested grottos as they kept to the path. Where the man was excited to have someone assist him in his hunt, the other two were clearly in a disagreement about something. Chance had his head held out the window, while Luna was trying to make sense of the paper map she found in the glovebox. The silence between the two was rather tense, so Luna decided to speak. "So... aside from chasing after a beast of myth, are you catching anything else interesting, just to keep things consistent?" Luna asked, feeling a bit awkward.

The man nodded. "Mostly just a couple deer, the occasional bird, a few reptiles too, and if I'm lucky, I'll even go fishing when I find the time," The man looked back at Chance, who continued to stick his head out of the window. "One thing I will say for certain, the Chupacabra is not drawn to the smell of vomit. Is he car sick?" The man asked, clearly concerned.

Luna looked back at Chance and tapped his shoulder. "Chance, are you alright?" Luna asked.

Chance pulled his head back in, seeing a serene yet determined smile on his face. "I'm all good. Aside from taking in such a beautiful view, I'm still keeping a close eye out for that Chupacabra. No way that thing's gonna get the jump on me a second time!" Chance remarked.

The man looked at the boy, a serious expression formed on his face. "What was your encounter with the Chupacabra like?" The man asked.

Chance smirked and sat back down in his seat. "So, it happened last night. I was gonna do one more cannonball into a pool near a motel not far from here. The lights went out, and I thought my friend was pulling a prank on me. I call out for her that she almost got me, and for her to turn the lights back on, but as I'm waiting for a response, I can feel as if I'm not alone. It wasn't my friend, but rather this small creature," The man had given the boy his full attention, slowing the jeep down as Chance explained his encounter. "It screeched like a bat out of hell, it had a hairless tail, and I promise you, that thing was skittering across the pool side. Luna thinks it was the motel owner's chihuahua, but even I know a dog is incapable of making such a monstrous noise. I've been on edge this entire day, just waiting for that thing to try and make another move, all while she and my friend aren't taking me seriously." Chance explained, leering at Luna.

Luna groaned, but the man was clearly intrigued. He pulled out a notepad, the pages were already filled with numerous scribbles, and he wrote down the key points of Chance's story, but as he was finishing up, a couple bikers zoomed by them, screaming as they went back the way the three of them initially came from. "Well, I guess this trail's not popular with the sporty types." Chance remarked, raising an eyebrow in confusion.

The man pocketed his notepad and kept driving, but did start talking. "I know this must sound like a waste of time for one of you, but I know what I saw. The thing that took my wife and child, that wasn't some ordinary wild animal. I'd sooner bet my life on the possibility that aliens exist," Luna flinched for a moment before calming herself down. "At least by hunting the Chupacabra down, I can make sure that no one loses anyone else they care about again to the unholy jowls of the Goat Sucker. I hope you can forgive me, if this turns up nothing. The Chupacabra is surprisingly elusive, it's evaded capture for decades, no one's been able to capture it. Not even those who set up the Alamo back in 1718. The Chupacabra has proven itself to be a fierce opponent, and I have yet to underestimate it." The man explained.

Luna looked back at Chance, who seemed pretty motivated to stop the Chupacabra. Luna, on the other hand, upon the mention of the Alamo, something didn't
set right with her. As she ruminated on her off feeling, the jeep came to a sudden and abrupt stop, causing Chance and Luna to lurch forward a bit from their seats. "What happened, why did we stop?" Luna asked.

The man's face seemed ripe with tons of expressions. Two of the most obvious to spot were anger and confusion. He got out of the car and approached a large fence, a huge gate made out of steel and metal. It also had numerous little signs plastered on it saying 'Caution! Private Property! Trespassing Beyond this Point!'. It didn't make any sense to the man, and he started to get mad. "Por amor a todo lo patético, ¿por qué el mundo intenta impedir que se haga justicia!?" The man exclaimed.

Luna and Chance got out of the car as they approached the gate. "Something tells me the state border patrol didn't put this up. Someone important move in to this location or something?" Chance asked.

Luna was actually a bit suspicious of the fence and gate, as it seemed pretty deliberate on wanting others away from this portion of the trail. "Something tells me that this is out of our hands, now. Maybe we should turn back." Luna suggested.

The man scowled, and he punched the gate, only to be met by a sudden and furious electrical shock. The pair jumped at the sight of electricity coursing through the man in a violent manner. The electricity was so bad, he got flung right into the front of his jeep.

"Attention! Texan locals! Please stop where you are," Luna and Chance looked around, only to notice a couple individuals walking towards the gate from the other side. Where the other men were wearing camo and holding tranquilizers, there was one man that rubbed both Chance and Luna the wrong way. He was a tall, thin and tanned man with a hawk-like nose. He had a stern-like face having tear troughs and dark lining around the eyes, giving him an almost tired look. He had short, blueish-black hair and a well-trimmed beard, with a bit of 5 o'clock shadow showing on his cheekbones. "Nice to meet. I am Joseph Mariana, the founder of 'Allies for Animals', we've closed this section of the trail off for an environmental inspection. You'll have to turn your car around and find another trail to venture through, as everything past this point, is not safe for tourists, let alone the local wildlife." Joseph explained.

The man got up, gritting his teeth as he approached Joseph, despite the electrical shock causing him to fidget and twitch erratically. "'Suppose we don't want to go back, gonna make us, estúpido bruto?" the man asked, a bit of venom lacing the last few words.

Joseph simply smiled warmly. "Sir, we don't believe in getting physical over such small matters. Besides, word spreads fast on these trails that some loon is chasing after some goat sucker, or whatever. We deal in facts, not fiction." Joseph remarked.

Luna stepped forward, slowly pulling the man away from Joseph, only for Chance to step forward. "Goes to show what you pansy ass environmentalists know, which isn't much to begin with. For all we know, you're nothing more than a bunch of filthy poachers, taking advantage of the situation to ruin the ecosystem with your greed and bloodlust." Chance remarked.

Joseph raised an eyebrow, his smile faltering for a moment as his eyes widened. Chance wasn't expecting that type of response, but before anything could be done, Luna had pulled him back to the car.

As the car drove away, Joseph leered at the car as it got further and further away. Something about that punk didn't sit right with him, and he simply pulled a set of car keys from his back pocket.

Chance continued to think about Joseph's response, and decided to make a note of it for himself, feeling it'd be important. Luna, on the other hand, just seemed exhausted. The man was checking his instruments, making sure everything was running, but as he was about to look back onto the road, the sonar starts to ping, alerting the trio.

"Ay dios mío! The sonar has found El Chupacabra!" The man exclaimed, stopping the car dead in its tracks.

Chance looked out the window, noticing a shadowy silhouette among the trees. Despite the large quantity of distance between the silhouette and Chance himself, it was on all fours, and he saw a flash of six bright crimson eyes staring right back at him. It skittered off to the left, and Chance immediately spoke up. "More like the thing found us! I saw it near the trees, it went to the left!" Chance exclaimed.

The man sped off down the trail, and soon enough, Luna saw the creature for herself, but she didn't seem as enamored like the other two were. The Chupacabra was a chihuahua-sized rat-like creature. It had a bulbous head with small tufts of fur on top, sharp teeth within an elongated muzzle, its six red eyes glowed from within some sort of fleshy skin covering that formed on its eyes. It also had a hairless/furless tail, though despite its frightening appearance, it looked more frightened itself. Chance noticed this too, but for a moment, he thought he was just seeing things.

As the man swerved into the creature, the thing just vanished in a puff of black smoke. The three of them were flabbergasted, confused as to where it could've possibly gone, until Chance saw what was up ahead. Two miles from their location, was a recreational area, some kind of park. Chance remembered how Sunset said she was gonna find some shade, and suddenly, he felt his heart stop for a moment. "Oh no..." Chance uttered.

Luna and the man looked back at him, seeing his complexion suddenly pale. "Chance, what is it?" Luna asked, a sense of concern washing over her.

The man shook Chance's shoulder. "Did you see El Chupacabra's true form?! Where did it go?" The man asked.

"The park," Luna and the man looked back at him. "It's going to the place with the most people, there must not be enough wildlife in this area for it to go after, and guess where Sunset most likely went to find some shade from the sun!" Chance exclaimed, a sense of panic was starting to bubble up the surface.

Luna's eyes widened, and a sense of dread and fear coursed through her body. "Sunset!!" Luna exclaimed.

Sunset was quietly relaxing underneath a tree with a book in her hand, provided shade by the leaves as she rests on a tree branch. "Now this is what I'm talking about. A good book, a warm breeze, and reading on a tree branch that's obscured by shade. All without some crazy monster in-sight..." Sunset was about to close her eyes, until she felt an odd pit fall into her stomach. A feeling of confusion and concern started to creep down her spine. "So why do I get the feeling something isn't right?" Sunset remarked, looking around.

Unbeknownst to her, and numerous other tourists, six red eyes were staring from the brush, and a low gurgled chittering sound slowly got louder and louder.

The man speeds down the road as Luna tries to hold on, all while Chance is trying to dial in one of his aliens, but is finding it difficult when he's getting haphazardly tossed around like a bag full of dirty laundry.

The man saw the parking lot and pulled in, stopping in one of the spaces as Luna and Chance ran out, with the man following after them. "Sunset!!" Luna exclaimed in a panic.

Chance pressed the button on the Omnitrix as hard has he could, desperately trying to make the device work, but to no avail. "The one time I need this stupid watch to work, it's the robot all over again!" Chance remarked out of irritation.

The man simply pulled out a pistol from his back pocket and checked how many rounds he still had, and unfortunately, he only had three rounds left in reserve. "¡Oh, encuéntrame en los Alpes! Better make these good shots..." The man groaned, running further ahead as he cocked his gun.

Chance stopped near a tree to catch his breath, only to hear the sound of a page being turned. Chance's gaze moved upwards as he saw Sunset in a tree, propping herself up on one of the branches. "Sunset!! Thank god you're alright, I was almost ready to expect the worst!" Chance exclaimed, climbing up the tree to the branch she rested on.

Sunset looks down, seeing Chance in a nervous sweat, a happy yet terrified smile forming on his face. "Let me guess, the monster thing was a bust, like I thought it would?" Sunset asked.

Chance's smile didn't waver as he pulled Sunset into a hug. "First off, I told you there was a monster, and after seeing it for myself, I was right to believe there was a monster attacking me last night, I just didn't know it'd be the fuckin' Chupacabra!" Sunset seemed confused, but Chance kept speaking. "Second off, the fact that you're okay makes me think of two possible outcomes. One being that the Chupacabra found some wild animals to hunt away from the park, or it's stalking its prey right now." Chance hypothesized.

Sunset and Chance climbed to the ground, and started to notice people running from the direction of a plaza. The Chupacabra screeched out as it opened its mouth, letting a skin-grafted tongue with a toothy hole at the end slither out of its maw. Sunset and Chance shuddered and looked back at each other. "So, I'm not gonna say I told you so, just for the sole reason of wanting an apology. In return, I apologize for losing my cool, it was uncalled for." Chance apologized.

Sunset was surprised for a moment till she nodded. "I'm sorry, too. I just wanted a break from the craziness, but that doesn't give me any right to pass off what you say as a joke, or a bold-faced lie," The pair looked back, seeing Luna approach the Chupacabra. "So, here's something I did learn about the Chupacabra. It was rumored that the Chupacabra only came out during the cover of night, it was masked by the shadows cast by the moonlight, hence how it was able to slaughter cattle on farms and ranches for decades. The Chupacabra attacking during the day kinda contradicts things, because it's more exposed. Do you know what provoked this sudden attack?" Sunset asked.

Chance remembered that large fence and the electric gate. An irritated and scornful frown formed on his face. "I can certainly connect the dots back to a wacko we met on one of the trails. I'll explain later, but right now," Chance twists the dial to the icon of a mole-like creature with sharp claws and a pointed muzzle. "Excavole needs to go on an expedition!" Chance remarked, slamming on the Omnitrix as he transformed.

Chance felt the Omnitrix embed itself into his arm, letting skin and muscle grow over it and up to his arm. He closed his eyes as the muscles went into his eye, forcing them to open, revealing them to be all white. His skin became a very light shade of sky blue, and his hair slowly formed into that of some kind of feathery plumage that jutted out from his head. His lips pursed together and extended into a large beak, opening up to make a sound reminiscent of a bird call.

Chance felt his fingers merge together and toughen up, opening up as sharp talons. Several blue feathers sprouted across his arms and all over his body, only for it to be sealed in a one-piece suit with a white top, and black pants, with the Omnitrix being dead-center in the middle of the creature's chest. Tail feathers grew from his tailbone and his feet became more like that of a bird's, only covered in a white protective fabric.

The alien posed as if he performed a jump kick, and cawed as he flapped his arm wings.

As the flash of light died down, Sunset just raised an eyebrow at the familiar alien hero, who even he had to double-check himself. Jump-Kick sneered and groaned. "Dude! I wanted Excavole, not Jump-Kick! Lame-ass Watch!" Jump-Kick complained, running towards the Chupacabra, with Sunset running after him, activating her geode as magic coursed through her body and altered her appearance.

Jump-Kick jumped into the air and tried to stomp on the Chupacabra, only for it to disappear in a puff of black smoke, like it did the first time. A sports car sped onto the scene, revealing Joseph and a couple of his crewmates from the fence. The Chupacabra reappeared on Jump-Kick's back and screeched as it immediately started going after them. Joseph went wide-eyed and got back into the car. "Get us out of here!" Joseph exclaimed.

Jump-Kick looked over at the Chupacabra and ran after it, jumping into the air as he outstretched his wings, gliding after the creature. One of Joseph's crewmates, 'Don' gets in the driver's seat and starts the car up, backing out very fast, knocking people out of the way and leaving them behind as they try to flee the scene. The Chupacabra manages to keep a very easy pace with the car and lashes its toothy tongue out at the tire, ripping several holes in it as the car swerved out of control. "Whoa!!" Joseph cried out, trying to hang on.

The Chupacabra used its tongue to tear the lock off the trunk, revealing two coolers with towels under them. Joseph takes notice and makes no hesitation as he unbuckles himself, and climbs out the window to get to the trunk, grabbing a wrench as he wields it like a weapon. "No you don't!" Joseph exclaimed.

Joseph quickly props himself up against the opened trunk and makes a few attempted swings at the cryptid, leading it to hiss in his general direction every time he attempted to hit it with the wrench. Jump-Kick comes onto the scene as he lands feet first onto the opened interior of the trunk, curb-stomping the Chupacabra with very little effort as he watched its head bounce against the floor of the trunk. Soon enough, the Chupacabra found itself realizing it was outmatched and outpowered, so it screeched and jumped back onto the ground, vanishing in a puff of black smoke.

Jump-Kick looked at Joseph, leering suspiciously. Joseph saw the alien's look and smiled. "Thanks for the hand, and the feet!" Joseph thanked in a grateful manner.

Jump-Kick looked down at the coolers, seeing so much condensation on them. It was the hero's best assumption that something was being kept on ice. "What's so important in those coolers-- that you'd risk your life for it, dude?" Jump-Kick asked, getting straight to the point.

Joseph cleared his throat and sighed. "Um... Our lunch!" Joseph quickly answered.

Jump-Kick squinted his eyes at Joseph, and looked at the coolers. 'This bastard must think I was born yesterday, but I know this dude's a poacher. He looks like he'd euthanize newborn puppies for fun!' Jump-Kick thought. The alien looked at Joseph, clearly not buying his story. "Let me see if I heard you right. You risked your life and almost got munched for a few measly sandwiches?" Joseph nodded in an approving manner. "So if I open those coolers up, I'll see actual food and drinks?" Jump-Kick asked skeptically.

Joseph seemed to tense up, but only for the moment. The Chupacabra suddenly reappeared and latched itself to each of the coolers, only to then vanish before either of them could do anything. Jump-Kick groaned, but just as he was about to get angry with Joseph, he heard the Omnitrix start beeping, and immediately knew he had to leave. "Looks like duty calls. Later!" Jump-Kick remarked, playing it cool as he quickly ran away, leaving Joseph very confused, and yet, also feeling a strange sense of deja vu.

Jump-Kick was running as fast as he could, leaping and gliding as much as he could when he got the chance, and he saw the man's car nearby, as well as the Chupacabra, and the coolers it took. The man had his gun out, aimed at the Chupacabra. "Almost there, just a bit further!" Jump-Kick was pushing himself through his paces, trying to run faster than ever before, and was then enveloped in a flash of red light, returning Chance to normal as he tripped over himself, and flew into the front of the car. The man was startled, all while the Chupacabra fled the scene with the coolers, all while Chance fell back onto the gravel trail, groaning.

Luna and Sunset came to his aide and helped him up, all while the man brought a first-aid kit, surprised by what just transpired. "I guess I wasn't wrong in assuming you folks were strange, but Ay dios mío! This day just gets stranger and stranger." The man remarked.

Chance groaned and shook his head, knocking a few pieces of gravel and dust out of his hair. "Don't suppose we can keep all this between us, right sir?" Chance asked.

The man looked at Luna, then Sunset, and fixating his gaze back to Chance. The man thought about it for a moment, then he let a warm smile form on his face, walking forward as he dusted off the dirt on Chance's clothes and opened up his first-aid kit, pulling out a cottonball and some peroxide. "I didn't see a boy turn into a talking bird, nor did I see a girl use what looked like magic, that's just plain silly." The man remarked with a wink.

The trio felt a lot more at ease, and Chance noticed something different. From over the man's shoulder, Chance saw the Chupacabra, watching them... no, it watching him. The Chupacabra's six red eyes were locked in a gaze with Chance's, and all he could feel, oddly enough, was a twinge of guilt. He didn't know why he felt guilty all of a sudden, but before anything could be done or said, the Chupacabra simply vanished in a puff of black smoke before anyone else could notice.

A few more hours pass by, a bunch of campers, trail-goers and tourists were all packing up, leaving as it starts getting dark. Chance, Sunset, Luna, and the man they met sat by a campfire, with Chance covered in a bunch of bandages in various places.

Chance had a mildly smug and proud smile on his face, yet he still couldn't shake the twinge of guilt he still felt. "Does anyone else feel like something's wrong? The Chupacabra got away, but I'm not mad about it, heck, I feel rather... satisfied?" Chance rubbed his head, a confused expression formed on his face. "I must've hit the car with my face harder than I thought, this doesn't make any sense." Chance remarked.

Sunset grinned. "Seems to me like you're empathizing with it. You didn't feel this way after Shade knocked you around back in Washington, did you?" Sunset asked.

Chance frowned. "This is different. I feel like Shade saved me from falling for a reason, but I can't find any real reason behind why I feel bad for going after the Chupacabra. It slaughters farm animals and attacked innocent people! It also attacked Joseph, but two wrongs don't make a right!" Chance explained firmly.

Sunset raised an eyebrow at that remark, but Luna simply sighed. "Mister Marsten, I'm sure Joseph was just as innocent, even if he has some skeletons in his closet. Let's leave it to the experts, like those 'Allies for Animals' people." Luna suggested.

Chance scoffed, stifling a feigned chuckle. Luna saw that Chance was clearly bothered by something, and it was clear that he didn't believe that 'Allies for Animals' were actually good people. "Yeah, 'Experts'. The real expert is sitting right next to us, and I'm just as qualified with the monster-busting watch on my wrist, by sheer technicality!" Chance looked Luna right in the eyes, he was clearly ticked off. "But hey, if you want a bunch of poachers saving the lives of animals, then I'll go enlist some cannibals into medical school, surely that won't backfire!" Chance sarcastically remarked.

Luna was surprised by Chance's response, but at the same time, she couldn't fault him for feeling like this. He stood up, an obvious sense of dissatisfaction was rising within him. He wasn't alright with letting Joseph go free. "Joseph clearly isn't the person he says he is, you know that he's lying!" Chance exclaimed.

Luna stood up, approaching Chance slowly. "Mister Marsten, please calm down. I know you must be angry, but this'll have to be the one that got away." Luna stated, trying to be rational.

The man got up and looked over at a sign that one of the park rangers put up. He walked over and started to read it, but by the time he got to the bottom, he finally found out who had this posted, and he was livid. "N-No... ¡¡Bastardos, todos ellos!! ¡¡No dejaré que esto siga así, no cuando vidas inocentes fueron amenazadas hoy!!" The man exclaimed, grabbing the sign and breaking it over his knee. An enraged scowl formed on his face as he threw the broken sign down on the ground, stomping it as hard as he could.

The trio noticed the commotion, and Chance was the first to approach. "What's goin' down?" Chance asked.

The man looked at Chance, clearly angry. "Those damnable 'enviro-punks' shut down every single trail and campsite! Nobody tells me where to go, and nobody keeps me from getting vengeance for my family! Nobody keeps Carlos Ferdinandez down for long!!" Carlos proclaimed, running towards his car, opening up the back as he looks for something.

As Carlos looks around in his car, Sunset and Luna go to the RV and get ready to turn in for the night. Chance, on the other hand, let's a determined smirk form on his face, knowing he had a whole other set of plans tonight.

As Carlos' car speeds down the trail, the RV sits nearby in the parking lot. Sunset and Luna are waiting on Chance to get out of the bathroom, but he's been in there for longer than expected.

Sunset knocks on the door. "Chance! Are you in there, or did you simply fall in?! Hurry up and get out, we need in there, too!" Sunset called out. No response.

Luna approached the door and noticed that the door was unlocked. "Mister Marsten, are you not feeling well?" Luna called out. No response.

Luna opened the door, only to reveal that Chance wasn't even in there to begin with. The pair of them looked surprised, but then they both came to the realization, looking outside to the parking spot that Carlos' car was sitting in before it drove off.

Luna gritted her teeth, a frustrated and concerned expression formed on her face. "Damn it, Chance..." Luna cursed under her breath.

As Carlos slows his car down and puts it on cruise control, he reaches into a small compartment to grab a drink to steady his nerves, only to suddenly realize that it wasn't there. Carlos quickly turned around, seeing Chance down an impressive amount of what was left in a green bottle, and simply chuckled. "I figured you'd want some back-up, in case things got too hairy. Hope ya don't mind, sir." Chance explained, belching as he handed him a similar looking bottle, only it was much colder, and full. It was almost brand-new, freshly made.

Carlos smiled and took the bottle, popping the cap off as they cheered and took a few more hearty chugs of what was in the glass bottles.

The car soon comes to a stop. The trail they were on was already lengthy and straight, yet it seemed more-so at night. "The Chupacabra was most likely scared off by our 'Animal Allies', but that doesn't mean it ain't out on the prowl tonight," Chance got out of the car, as did Carlos. He was now dressed in a type of western outfit, covered entirely in cowboy-type clothes, but it was all patterned in camo. "Only way to catch the Chupacabra, is to turn the hunter... into the hunted." Carlos said sinisterly.

Chance looked around and saw a spare western outfit, oddly colored in black and white like his shirt, albeit for the dark green plaid shirt underneath the black and white vest. Carlos pulled out his gun, and reloaded it with some ammo he found in between the seat cushions. "Give me a moment to get this on, and I'll be right behind yo-" before Chance could finish his thought, Carlos ran straight into the forested sections that were off the trail. Chance sighed. "Or go on ahead, I'll catch up..." Chance griped, grabbing the costume as he closed the trunk door behind him.

Carlos runs through the forest, climbing a few small cliffs as he tries to make his way through. He gets startled, but reaches an abandoned mineshaft. Peaking inside, he notices a small collection of miniature rat-like creatures with six red eyes. Not only did he find the Chupacabra's hiding place, but also found its offspring. Startling him again, he hears footsteps from behind him, and he whips around, pulling out his gun. Though, Carlos is thankful that it was just Chance, who was now dressed to the nines in a black and white cowboy costume. Carlos breathes a sigh of release, knowing the two of them were unharmed. Carlos runs back to his car as fast as he can, only to be surprised when he sees another car alongside his. As he walks to the front of the car, he's grabbed by a masked bandit.

Carlos is tossed onto the road, where two other bandits hold Carlos still, ripping the hat off his head. The masked bandit "Don't you know spelunking is dangerous, sir?" Chance stayed low, being very careful as to not be seen. "Unless of course... you went with a friend." The masked bandit implied.

Carlos spat a huge loogie onto the bandit's mask and put on his best angry face. "I've been tracking the Chupacabra alone. It's solely my burden to bear." Carlos stated firmly, unwavered by the intimidation attempts.

The masked bandit leaned forward. "With how kind you were to those people you met today? I find it a bit surprising you'd cut them out of the adventure of a lifetime." The masked figure remarked, chuckling.

Chance quickly and quietly moves to the side of Carlos' car, and soon sees a set of six red eyes staring at him from across the way. Right behind the sports car, was the Chupacabra, witnessing the whole ordeal. "I have nothing you want, and my car is all that's left of my wife and son, so you won't get any money from me, even in death." Carlos remarked.

The masked bandit simply laughed. "Ah, but you have us all wrong. All we want is information," the masked figure pulled a double-barrel shotgun out from under his poncho, having it already loaded and aimed at Carlos' head. "Like, what did you see in that mineshaft?" The masked bandit asked.

Carlos gulped and managed to muster out the words he needed. "Nothing worth while. Just an old minecart, some tracks, a door buried in rubble, and a lantern that I lit." Carlos stated.

The masked bandit flipped the gun around and smashed the butt of the gun against Carlos' face, knocking him out cold as he collapsed to the ground. The masked bandit chuckles, taking off the hat and mask, revealing the bandit to be Joseph Mariana. Chance wasn't surprised, but he was definitely angry. Chance looked over at the Chupacabra, who had vanished yet again, only to reappear and skitter off towards the mineshaft.

Chance finally understood why he felt guilty, and the realization made him feel terrible. 'The Chupacabra's a mother... she was just protecting her babies, and Joseph's been after them this entire time! That's why he had that fence and gate put up, to keep the Chupacabra in one location, to make sure it had nowhere else to run!' Chance thought.

Joseph looked over in the direction of the mineshaft, and simply stared, uncertain. "Well... I have to be sure." Joseph remarked.

Joseph pulled a small device from his pocket, and ran towards the mineshaft, Chance wanted to follow, but soon enough, Joseph came back, the device wasn't with him. "The tracker's been planted. Pack up 'Macho-Nacho' over here and load him into the car, and find out if he knows anything back at the Alamo. We'll come back later with a drill, and we'll collect the rest of the Chupacabra's runts later."

'Time to give Joseph a wake-up call he won't ever forget,' Chance looked at the Omnitrix, noticing that it was still red. 'You have got to be fucking kidding me.' Chance thought, thoroughly pissed off that the Omnitrix wasn't ready yet.

"In the meantime," Joseph opens the hood of the car and plants a small explosive charge on top of the engine. "I think the Chupacabra just found its next victim." Joseph remarked, a psychotic smile forming on his face.

Chance went wide-eyed as he heard that, and as the car drove off, Chance acted fast, grabbing a glove from the car as he slipped it over his hand, snatched the charge and chucked it somewhere ahead of the path, as long as it wasn't near the car or mineshaft, he personally didn't care. Chance looked back at the Omnitrix, seeing it glow green.

Chance nodded, a determined scowl formed on his face. Chance cycled through his aliens, and decided it was time to raise hell in the most literal sense possible, cycling to the icon of a misshapen human figure. "It's Hero Time, you son of a bitch!" Chance remarked.

Carlos' unconscious body shook as the car sped down the trail, with Joseph munching on some trail mix. Don looks at the rearview mirror, and goes wide-eyed as he sees something approaching. It looked human, but at the same time, it looked like a dead body. It was dressed in a ripped white shirt with black details, parts of its body seemed to be decaying, bones could be seen protruding from the flesh. Joseph looked back, seeing the creature for himself.

It looked like some kind of zombified mockery of that punk he met earlier today at the gate, only taller and rotted, and parts of its dark sickly purple brain poked through a portion of its skull. Its eyes were completely red, it lacked a nose and mouth, but it was clearly running without so much as breaking a sweat. Its bare feet stamped across the gravel trail, its torn up black pants, adorned with white details were waving with every rapid step. The Omnitrix didn't seem to look that different on first glance, but its appearance clearly changed, becoming more uniform and merged to his wrist, the white tubes becoming black, and the green hourglass becoming white.

A portion of Chance's stomach and midsection also seemed to be missing, only revealing a thick and sturdy spine holding both halves of his body together. The undead creature lunged forward, landing onto the back of the car and climbing right towards Joseph, glaring at him with a look of both anger and hunger. "Ya know, most bad guys usually look around before driving away from the crime they tried to commit. How unfortunate that after I'm done with you, there won't be anything left of you scumbags when I'm done ripping you open and eating you alive!!" The creature exclaimed, its voice even sounded like a twisted rendition of Chance's own voice, only it sounded so much more psychotic and aggressive.

Joseph was terrified as the creature maneuvered itself onto the roof. "First the Chupacabra, then aliens, now the dead's coming back to life?! Is it the end of the world!?" The undead boy slammed its hand through the roof of the car, grabbing Joseph by the throat. "What are you waiting for?! Light this monster up!!" Joseph exclaimed, trying to get out of the monster's grasp.

One of the other members of Joseph's crew pulled out a submachine gun, letting the bullets fly through the roof as Don kept the wheel steady. The creature let Joseph go, but soon positioned itself in front of the windshield. "Who wants to have a bad time?" The creature's face opened up, revealing a row of rotting sharp teeth. The undead creature saw a spider on the windshield and did not hesitate to grab it, smash it in his hands and devour it without a moment's hesitation. Upon swallowing it, not only did he gross out and scare the piss out of his opponents, he also suddenly sprouted four large zombified spider legs from his back, which freaked them out even more. "I know I do!~" The creature said in a creepy singsong tone, flashing his rotting teeth with an angered smile.

The creature jammed the legs into the car's front tires, popping them effortlessly, and then made his way to the back of the car, doing the same thing to the other two tires. "What a shame, your mode of transportation is gonna be ripped open like a can of tuna, but the damage to the car won't ever hold a candle to what I'll personally do to you wackadoos with only my teeth." The creature remarked.

Before the creature could start smashing the glass, Joseph poked out of the window and shot the creature with the shotgun he used to knock Carlos unconscious. He expected the thing to be actually dead, but soon found out the horrific truth. He managed to actually land the shot on the creature, but found that the creature was now pulling the bullets out of the wound without much effort, and to make matters worse, the wound was healing itself. "So, how does it feel to be armed to the teeth, and still feel defenseless, like a child being cornered by their abusive parents," The undead creature leaned in and smirked, watching Joseph's face fall as the terror settled in. "Don't feel too good, does it jackass?" The creature asked in a mocking tone.

Joseph retreated back into the car, only for the creature to tear the roof open with little effort. "Yup, just like a can of tuna!" The alien grabbed Carlos' unconscious body as Joseph smiled. "My pals will gladly deal with you. I've already had my fill of scaring the shit out of you. Be glad I don't kill you right here, you don't deserve un-death, even that's too good for someone like you." The creature remarked, slinging Carlos' body over his shoulder.

Joseph could only muster one question. "Who in the hell are you!?" Joseph exclaimed.

The creature looked back, letting the mouth retreat back under the skin. "I'm Zombrex. Sleep with one eye open, because when you're in jail, remember I'm out here, waiting for you to get out and fuck up again." Zombrex introduced.

Zombrex hopped off the car and sprinted away, leaving the car to just venture towards the Alamo, the driver, the gunman and Joseph himself, were startled and scared.

Back at Carlos' car, the RV was pulled up right next to it, with Sunset and Luna waiting and looking around. "You see them yet?" Luna asked.

Sunset shook her head. "No, but it definitely looks like a struggle happened. The dirt's all kicked up, and judging by a certain set of footprints that go further ahead of the trail," Sunset gestured to a four-toed humanoid footprint. "Chance must've thought he wouldn't be quick enough if he flew, so he used Zombrex's unlimited stamina to ensure that he'd be able to catch up to the Chupacabra and stop the next attack." Sunset remarked.

Soon enough, the pair of them look ahead, and see Zombrex carrying Carlos over his shoulder. "Almost there, just a bit more-" The Omnitrix began to flash red and beep, and Zombrex quickly came to a sudden halt. "I'm not gonna trip over myself again, not this time!" Zombrex remarked, letting himself be enveloped in a red flash of light.

Sunset and Luna ran over, undoing Carlos' binds as he slowly came to. Chance was returned to his normal form and dusted himself off as he tapped the girls' shoulders. "We need to talk about the bigger picture here, seriously." Chance stated.

Inside the RV, Chance and Carlos explain their side of the story, telling them about the Chupacabra's babies, Allies for Animals' involvement with it all, and while Luna was surprised to hear about all of it, Sunset was typing away at her laptop, searching for something. "Everything Joseph was doing here, it was all just to get the Chupacabra's babies! I don't know what they intend to do with them, but it can't be anything good!" Chance stated.

Sunset stopped typing and turned the laptop around for everyone to see. "I think I found out who Joseph is. I was looking up the organization 'Allies for Animals', they aren't listed or mentioned on any environmental website. But, I did find this," Sunset presses on a tab and shows Joseph standing on what looked like a lobster made out of rocks with its eyestalks in his hands. "Joseph Mariana isn't a friend to any kind of wildlife, he's a dirty poacher. He travels around the world poaching rare animals, crating them up and selling them to private collectors. In the special case of cryptids, like the Chupacabra, he's going to put the babies, then the mother under heavy sedation and have them encased in ice forever. Claiming it'll be the biggest and greatest pay-out of his career." Sunset read off.

"He's gonna encase them in ice?" Chance suddenly remembered the coolers that the mother took. "Oh my god, he had coolers in the trunk of that sports car, and the Chupacabra made off with them! Good thing I didn't stop her, hell hath no fury like a mother's scorn, and I feel that also counts for the Chupacabra!" Chance remarked.

Luna sighed. "Looks like I was a little too hard headed. Apologies, Mister Marsten." Luna said.

Chance looked down and sighed. "I'm sorry, too. I shouldn't've exploded like that earlier, at either of you," Chance looked at Sunset, seeing a smile on her face. "I can make up for that later, because right now, Joseph probably has a couple more of the Chupacabra's babies at the Alamo. It's where they wanted to take Carlos when they knocked him flat." Chance explained.

Luna and Sunset nodded, and Carlos stood up. "Come, we can take my car. If anyone knows the fury of a vengeful parent, it is I. ¡Vamos! We'll get through their gate, even if we have to bust through it!" Carlos suggested.

Chance suddenly had an idea of his own. "If I may, I think I've got another idea, it's a bit safer, but we need to get to the gate first. Let's move!" Chance exclaimed.

The three of them looked at him, and he motioned for them to go to the car. He followed suite, but he was dialing up one of his aliens, the mole creature he wanted to use prior.

After a fast drive back to the gate, it was clear that Zombrex's scare tactic worked a bit too well. They had spotlights, more men at the gate, they had assault rifles instead of tranquilizers, they were prepared for the end. Inside the gates of the Alamo, two workers were carefully lowering the sedated Chupacabra babies into larger and colder coolers. One of the worker's hands slip slightly, and Joseph immediately smacks them in the face, making them recoil. "Careful! -Or you'll be cleaning up the world's most expensive meat-skewer." Joseph warned.

The workers carefully lower the babies into their respective coolers, though the mother was still nowhere to be found, it would still be a major pay day. "After we sell these babies to the highest bidder, we'll be kicking back in a penthouse suite in Tokyo." Joseph reminded, smiling greedily.

Outside of the gate, the four manage to get close enough without alerting anyone of their presence, but they know that without proper cover, it could all end in an instance. "They're on high-alert! How bad did you scare them?" Sunset asked.

Chance shrugged his shoulders. "Maybe I went a bit overboard, but I don't honestly regret it," Chance looked at Carlos and pointed to a smaller secluded trail. "Drive in there, it's covered a lot by the trees, the brush hides us in the shadows, and it'll get us closer to the fence." Chance pointed out.

Carlos nodded, pulling into the secluded trail, all while trying to avoid the spotlight. Once the four of them knew they were in the clear, Chance looked at the three of them, and they all got out fast, moving through the shrubbery and making their way to a back door, guarded by a couple of the workers. Carlos and Luna got the jump on them and managed to knock them out, stealing their access cards. "Alright, you guys get in that way and find the coolers, they'll have the babies inside." Chance instructed.

Sunset looked at Chance. "What about you, you're not coming with?" Sunset asked.

Chance smiled, pulling her aside. "More like, we aren't going with. You and me, we're gonna go kick some Allies for Animals asses," Sunset raised an eyebrow in confusion, but Chance merely smiled and sighed. "Okay, let me explain. By providing a physical distraction, this gives Carlos and Luna an easier time sneaking around. We draw their attention out here, while they sneak around in there. With less attention and eyes on them, it'll be easier to save the Chupacabra's babies without flailing like a bunch of tactless chickens that just lost their heads to hollow-point rounds." Chance explained.

Sunset nodded, though she wasn't very confident in how this plan would work. "I promise you, we'll be fine. You have my back, I got yours." Chance reassured, activating the Omnitrix as he saw the icon he needed pop up. He pushed the core up and pushed it down, enveloping himself in a green light.

Chance felt small bright brown hairs sprout from his arm, and his fingers elongate into long, sharp and very dense claws. He felt his body become rounder, more rotund as his shirt formed around him like a suit. His nose and mouth elongated into a long, sharp and jagged snout, his skin got paler as more hair sprouted over his body. He clenched his eyes shut and let them open up, becoming all-white.

The Omnitrix formed on his chest, and he now wore a black and white suit, something reminiscent of overalls, but more unified. He let his claws separate as he raised them in the air, then burrowed into the ground.

The small mole creature, Excavole, seemed a tad larger than Pinch, if not by the slimmest comparison, and immediately started drilling into the dirt, burrowing under the ground as Sunset reluctantly followed after him. Unbeknownst to the two of them, the Chupacabra runs right through the door and screeches, running after a bunch of soldiers, who either fight and fail, or don't have the best reflexes to fend off the attack. The Chupacabra bit several soldiers, using its tongue to drain something from them, leaving them exhausted and drained.

Joseph noticed the commotion, and smiled evilly. "The bigger the cryptid, the bigger the payday!" Joseph remarked.

Joseph runs to a tranquilizer gun as some of his crew open fire on the Chupacabra. Somehow, it manages to evade the gunfire, and land some serious blows to the soldiers. One guard runs off inside the building, while another stays, firing shots that the Chupacabra evades with its reflexes, speed, and its weird vanishing power. To get to the coolers, the Chupacabra bites into the gunner, incapacitating them, but Joseph, armed with a Tranquilizer gun, snatches the coolers before they can be reached and tries to run. Joseph repositions himself and tries to open fire, but feels a disturbance in the ground beneath his feet. Excavole leaps out of the ground and onto Joseph's face, encompassing his view. Sunset climbs out and snatches the tranquilizer, firing several shots at the other soldiers.

Excavole leers at Joseph. "You want to mess with a monster? Try me on for size, bucko!" Excavole proceeds to headbutt Joseph a few times before Joseph manages to finally throw the mole off. He looks at the coolers, seeing that they were still intact, but Excavole was already a step ahead. Joseph took a step and tripped into the hole Excavole made, and Excavole tried to open the coolers. Joseph groaned and pulled a switchblade out of his pocket, only for Excavole to block the strike, causing the blade to break off and leave Joseph surprised, and without a weapon. "Nice try, you wackass! If one of my dad's friends tried that and it didn't kill me, you ain't gonna have much of a chance in this fight!" Excavole warned.

Sunset kicks, punches and counters a few of the soldiers, and even unloads the remaining tranquilizers into one of the soldiers who tried to flank her, screaming out as she covered the man's face in tranquilizer darts. The soldiers just stopped getting up at one point, but the Chupacabra was now fixated on her. "I'm out of tranquilizer, but I'm not out of options!" Sunset used her geode and pushed her hand onto the Chupacabra's head, deciding to try something. "Relax!" Sunset exclaimed, struggling to hold the Chupacabra back in her current condition.

The Chupacabra suddenly stopped attacking, and slowly but surely, it began to relax, just like Sunset told it to. Sunset slowly took her hand off as the Chupacabra slumped onto the ground, she was surprised. "Holy... I didn't even think that would work!" Sunset remarked.

Carlos and Luna could hear the chaos going on outside, and as much as it did make her concerned for the safety of her students, she knew that deep down, they were alright. Despite everything that's happened, they're alright, and they'll be even better after all of this. Luna and Carlos pushed forward, only to stop at a corner. Peeking around, they see an Allies for Animals member on the other side with their back turned, armed with a shotgun.

Luna looks towards Carlos and tries to communicate with him through hands. Carlos nodded his head and did the same, surprising Luna, and earning a grateful smile. The two nodded and readied themselves.

Outside of the Alamo, Joseph, Sunset and Excavole were wrestling over the coolers, with Excavole jamming one of his claws right into Joseph's eye, causing him to reel back and scream out in distress.

Sunset smirked and gave the alien a thumbs up, something the alien tried to reciprocate, but was then put into a surprise chokehold by Joseph. Sunset rushed him and jabbed him in the side, only to slam her knee right in the groin, incapacitating him for the moment as he collapsed to the ground.

Carlos and Luna were about to exact their plan, until they heard guns cock behind them. The workers they took out at the back door had woken up, and were aiming their guns at the pair. Carlos and Luna looked at each other, then glared at the two workers. "Alright you two, you've had your fun, but this ends now. Drop the weapons before someone does something they'll live to regret forever." Carlos warned.

The workers smirked and stepped closer. Luna rolled her eyes and stepped in front of Carlos, cracking her knuckles and staring the two down, unfazed by their choice to approach. "It's either we do this the hard way, or our way. The choice is yours, either way you'll end up in a prison cell, the only difference is that your stomachs will be ruptured before you get there." Luna explained.

The workers stopped moving, raising their eyebrows in confusion. Soon enough it finally donned on them on what was gonna happen if they got any closer, but they realized too late. Carlos grabbed one of their guns and knocked one of them to the ground with a punch, while Luna jumped into the air and spin-kicked the other across the face, leaving a red sneaker-shaped mark on their face as they collapsed onto their friend.

Carlos was surprised by the move, and couldn't help himself but smile and applaud, leading to Luna smirking and bowing. "That was incredible! ¡Muy asombroso! I've never seen such bravery, let alone such ferocity! Are you military?" Carlos asked, an impressed smile on his face.

Luna smiled and nodded. "You could say that, but I was definitely best out of my peers." Luna answered coyly, shrugging her shoulders.

Outside, Joseph and Excavole both run for the coolers, but thankfully, Sunset scoops them up first. "My babies!" Joseph cried out.

Excavole stabbed Joseph in the back with his sharp muzzle, causing him to groan out in pain, gritting his teeth. "But they look absolutely nothing like a disappointment to their parents!" Excavole quipped, slapping and slashing away at Joseph's back as he tries to shake the alien hero off of him.

Joseph jumps backwards and lands on Excavole, only to turn around and try to strangle him. Excavole manages to stop him, and they start to struggle for an opening. "Very heroic, kid, rescuing a bunch of fugly babies. Not very smart, though!" Joseph remarked.

Joseph manages to push pass Excavole's defenses and stomp his heel into the alien's stomach, making them stagger. Joseph sees Sunset running towards the gate and gives chase, but Excavole is able to shake off the beating for a moment, burrowing underground. Back to his senses, Excavole puts his hands together, tucks his head in, and starts to drill his way through the soil effortlessly, launching himself out of the ground as the Omnitrix times out, letting Chance return to his normal form as he screams out in a rage, tackling Joseph to the ground and puts him in a headlock, all while slamming his fist into Joseph's face as many times as he could muster.

Sunset tried to get the coolers out, but couldn't find a way to undo the lock on the gate. Chance looks over at the Chupacabra, still relaxing in one spot and pulls Joseph's body over to it. Joseph continues to struggle, delivering a couple punches to Chance's face, but it doesn't phase him, much to Joseph's surprise and disappointment. Chance looked down at him, and punches Joseph so hard, he manages to break his nose, causing him to wail in pain. "That's for sticking your nose around places you don't belong, and for the numerous creatures you harmed and crated in your pathetic excuse for a career," Chance shakes the Chupacabra and puts its muzzle right up against the flowing crimson that came from Joseph's nose. "And this is for trying to separate a mother from her children. Enjoy your lover's spat without your weapons, dummy!" Chance remarked, striking Joseph in the stomach as he quickly backed away.

The Chupacabra started to wake up, and as Joseph screamed out in terror, the Chupacabra attacked viciously. Chance grabbed another tranquilizer gun and ran in Sunset's direction. "Sunset! If we can't unlock the gate, then let's just kill the power. We can drive the babies back to the nest!" Chance exclaimed.

Sunset looked back and nodded, but soon enough, the Chupacabra screeched, catching their attention. Chance looked at the six red eyes that were now transfixed on him, as well as a bit of the blood that dripped from its lips. Chance gulped, carefully gesturing to the coolers and opened them up, allowing for the Chupacabra to take back her children. Whether it was through a sense of understanding, or sheer luck, the Chupacabra latches onto the coolers and vanishes in a puff of black smoke.

Joseph weakly gets back up, and Sunset grimaces, immediately looking away. Chance simply smirks and slowly walks towards him. Joseph's face was mauled and attacked to the point of being very raw and sensitive on one side. While it didn't look gruesome, he certainly didn't look pretty, let alone the same as he did before. Chance stood over him, watching him panic. "Let this be a lesson to you about messing with nature. Try to disrupt the natural order, Mother Nature and her many friends will not waste time in planting a firm boot up your ass. But hey, look on the bright side, at least your face won't be the only ugly thing you see in your cell." Chance remarked, delivering one more solid punch to the mouth on Joseph, knocking him unconscious.

Several hours after the fight at the Alamo, Carlos and his car were back in the parking lot, and the RV was too, the four were exchanging goodbyes, farewells and hope to see each other again. Carlos got back in his car and the trio was back together again, ready to take on the next challenge, and see what the next adventure in store for them is.

As Chance and Sunset step into the RV, Luna rests a hand on Chance's shoulder, getting his attention. "Are you sure you aren't hurt, sore in any place, are you certain you don't feel sick to your stomach?" Luna asked.

Chance smiled and gently took Luna's hand off his shoulder. "Relax, I'm fine. I appreciate the concern, but I'm okay, really," Chance pulled Luna into a light hug and simply went to go sit down, his face was getting a bit red and he tried to hide it. "Thanks for asking, though, I appreciate it." Chance muttered the last part, but Luna smiled as she walked to the driver's seat, patting Chance on the back as he tried to straighten himself up.

Luna took a deep breath, and started the RV. "Well, let's get this show back on the road, shall we?" Luna inquired.

Chance and Sunset looked at each other, and nodded. Luna turned the RV around and they left the park, wondering what was in store for them next time.

Out in the distance, the faint echo of the Chupacabra's screeching could be heard, as well as the screeching of its children. It laid within the tipped over minecart, snuggling and cuddling with its newborns.

Author's Note

I swear, I don't intend on making the next chapters this long, it's not intentional. if they do end up this long, it'll only be for important episodes.

Fun fact - I had my version of 'The Krakken' be about the Chupacabra, solely because I'm surprised no one tried doing this episode and base it off of some other mythical creature.

I felt like focusing on the Chupacabra for this one, solely because while I like the design Omniverse gave it, I like the idea of the Chupacabra being some kind of alien even more, maybe even the only truly 'alien' species that's native to Earth.

Hope you enjoyed this episode, It was lengthy!

S1, Episode 7: Stalked

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Stalked

Reinrassic's ship, continues to orbit the Earth. Inside the ship, on a levitating platform in a gladiatorial arena-like chamber, two spotlights shine on two bounty hunters. The first is lean, but surprisingly robust. It looked like a half-human/half-crustacean dressed in a kind of martial arts gi, flexing its large muscular arms and snapping its big meaty lobster claws freely; The second was smaller, more cold and calculating. A feminine figure clad in a thin but surprisingly durable full-body suit of armor, colored in black, gray and yellow.

"Begin the audition, lesser vermin." Reinrassic's voice echoed out through a speaker.

The second hunter immediately fires up a jetpack and lands in a circle of smaller genodromes. She pulls a small blaster from a compartment on her suit and shoots a few down. A few fire back; she rolls out of the way and fires small dart-sized explosives from her wrist in retaliation. She pulls a small rocket out of another compartment for another cluster of drones, as well as more parasite-ridden individuals, armed with strange melee weapons that crackled with electricity. The first bounty hunter jumps down to join, pounding one on his way down, grabbing another with a massive claw and using them as a projectile against another. Two more of the drones rush him; he catches one with his claws and rips it in two, then slams the two halves into the other drone, only to then chuck it at the armed individuals, causing them to drop their weapons and flee. A platform opens up on the ceiling, and a gigantic genodrome falls to the floor, ready to fire at the two.

The two hunters looked at each other and nodded, rushing towards the genodrome as it fires a laser blast. When the smoke clears, they're completely unharmed. Without a moment to lose, the second hunter flies into the droid's chest and punches right through it. The first hunter folds back the metal plates on its legs and starts to spew a thick green foam from its mouth, causing the inner machinations of the genodrome to start erupting into flames, then it exploded. Robot pieces fall to the ground, and a video screen of Reinrassic in his recovery tank appears inside the room.

"Rather impressive, for such lesser lifeforms. You both are hired," The video feed changes to a static image of the Omnitrix. "Your objective - is to retrieve the Omnitrix. The one who succeeds collects the reward. Do not disappoint me." Reinrassic instructed.

The two hunters saluted their injured benefactor and walked into one singular pod, jettisoning it from Reinrassic's ship as it falls towards Earth.

The RV was pulled over to the side of the road, and a small wispy trail of smoke was going out the window. Inside, there was a hot skillet, and a wire rack on the stove, getting hot as a few foods cooked on them, all while Luna carefully watched intently, smiling. "You two hungry? I'm making breakfast!" Luna called out.

From the back part of the RV, a curtain was pulled back, revealing Sunset and Chance. Sunset shuffled her feet across the floor and sat down on her side of the booth, while Chance fell to the floor, tiredly crawling to his side of the booth. The teens looked exhausted, downright drained of any energy they had the past couple days.

Luna noticed their odd behavior and decreased the heat on the stove top, turning to face them. "What's wrong, you two? You don't seem like you got up on the right side of the bed this morning." Luna inquired.

Chance grumbled and sneered. "It was another nightmare, nothing special, since it's the same damn one," Chance got up and walked to the coffee pot, grabbing the biggest cup he could find in the cupboard and wasted no time in preparing it, as if through muscle memory, despite his exhaustion. He pours the coffee, adds several scoops of sugar, grabs chocolate syrup from the fridge and squeezes a fair bit into the cup, adds more milk than expected, and stirs till its to his liking. He grabs the cup, tosses the spoon in the sink and sits back down. "It's almost like a twisted joke, if you think about it. You'd think with how peaceful I've been able to sleep these past few days, despite everything that's happened that should say otherwise, the nightmares would've finally gotten the hint and shoved off, but no! They persist and become a problem, like that one guy in the club trying to pick up chicks and won't take no for an answer. Only I'm the one who feels personally harassed, and no one's helping." Chance remarks, taking big gulps of his coffee.

Sunset groggily yawns and gets up, grabbing the cereal she got from the MegaMart and poured herself a bowl, then pours milk into it. Sunset sits down and starts to eat. "I also had a bit of a difficult time sleeping. It was like the horrible things I've done just keep screaming at me, preventing me from having an easy night of rest. I wouldn't call it a nightmare, but it was definitely hard to get some proper consecutive hours of sleep, especially with that going on." Sunset remarked, taking another bite of her cereal.

Luna looked down at the two, they both looked so out of it, and yet, they were still aware of the world around them. Luna turned back to the stuff she had been cooking. There were pineapple slices grilling on the wire rack, and chunks of sliced banana covered in some kind of pink batter, cooking away in the skillet. Luna looked back at the two, and simply smiled. "Well, would something new lift your spirits, like, breakfast?" Luna asked.

Chance perked up a bit, but while he didn't meet her gaze, he was clearly intrigued. That, or willing to play along, despite how exhausted he was. "What'd you have in mind?" Chance asked, his face still buried in his coffee cup.

Luna grabbed a couple tongs and turned the pineapple slices over, showing the sweet-scented brown wire marks grilled into it. She then reached over and pulled out a bratwurst, cutting it open as she laid it onto the wire rack, increasing the heat back to what it was before. She used the same tongs to turn the battered banana chunks over and let the batter fry a bit longer. She plucked some of the other battered banana chunks and set them on a plate, only to lightly sprinkle powdered sugar on top of them. "Both of you, try only one. Breakfast will be ready before you know it." Luna stated, moving the plate of pink dough-y banana chunks in between them.

The pair looked down at the cutesy little bite-sized treats, and cautiously took one each, and popped them in their mouths, chewing carefully. The pair of them were actually pretty surprised with how good it tasted. "Huh, fruity, yet not overly sweet. Actually kinda bitter, but I think that's just the grease not agreeing with powdered sugar." Sunset remarked, swallowing down the treat.

Chance simply shrugged, a content smile on his face. "It's like some kind of fruit candy, but wrapped in a pillow-y pink pancake. I couldn't give a care in the world about the grease, this tastes good! It's not even melting in my mouth, it's still a bit mushy, like a banana should be, but it's clearly been softened up by the grease, something I can definitely appreciate." Chance remarked, swallowing down the treat.

Luna, keeping her eyes on her cooking, simply smiled. "I'm glad you both like it. You can have more after breakfast, and speaking of which," Luna flipped something over and examined it for a moment before setting it on the plate, revealing one half of the bratwurst, now grilled and lightly covered in melted butter, several cut up pieces of the grilled pineapple slices, and a glass of pineapple juice. "Chance, your breakfast is ready. I figured you'd need a bit more fruits in your diet." Luna remarked, setting the plate and glass in front of him.

Chance looked at the food on his plate, and nearly didn't know what he was looking at. Chance grabbed one of the slices of grilled pineapple, and was almost surprised to know it had the same kind of dry texture as a raisin. He was hesitant, but he quickly popped the piece into his mouth and started to chew. He felt pretty dumb when he realized it actually tasted good. "Not as juicy as an actual slice of pineapple, but it's just as good," Chance grabbed the bratwurst with his hands and wholeheartedly took a large bite out of it, a snapping pop sounded out as Chance continued to indulge in the food on his plate. "I could, and will definitely eat this if it was prepared like this each time. I'm not a picky eater, but this might change my tune." Chance remarked, smiling as he kept on eating.

Luna's smile never faltered as she sat a plate down in front of Sunset. It consisted of numerous fruits, grilled and stuck together on some kind of stick, with a rich, yet thick golden glaze on top. "Sunset, this was always Celestia's favorite when we were children. It's a honey glazed fruit kebab, it's sweet, it's cooked, and it helps ensure you get fruits into your body." Luna said.

Sunset grabbed the kebab and started chewing away at chunks of skewered apple and oranges, enjoying how sweet it was, despite it being her breakfast. "I get the feeling that sugar for breakfast is not the best idea, but then again, I am off my diet, and I do like fruit skewers." Sunset remarked, pulling off a honey-coated grape and popping it into her mouth.

Luna kept smiling as she sat down with them, holding her own cup of coffee. "I take it you both like the breakfasts I prepared for you?" Luna asked.

Chance nodded, already finishing off the last of the pineapple slices, and guzzling down the juice. "Probably the most peaceful breakfast I've ever eaten and experienced in my life," Chance smiled as he leaned back in his seat. "But man oh man, I'm stuffed. There's a first time for everything, and I guess today's that day. I guess I haven't had the time to just sit down and eat a whole meal. Usually the foods I consume are just what I need, a side, and something to wash it down." Chance remarked.

Sunset plucked off the last couple fruits and popped them into her mouth like they were bite-sized candies. She swallowed them down and set the fruitless skewer on her plate, lightly nudging it aside. "This was great. You must've been a chef at some point, because this is good." Sunset stated.

Chance smiled and ate the last of the bratwurst, licking his lips to get at the butter on his face. "Seriously, how'd you know how to make this?" Chance asked, wiping his face with a napkin.

Luna's smile never faltered, but she didn't hesitate on her words. "It's a skill I gained from a life I left behind. You'd be surprised how cutthroat the most simple of professions can be, and how more-so they are now. Keep that in mind, just in-case that info comes in handy." Luna explained, sipping on her coffee.

Chance raised an eyebrow, then looked at Sunset, who was a bit surprised with the answer itself. Chance simply shrugged, got up and placed the plate in the sink. He stretched his arms upward and sat back down in the booth. "So, what exactly is this life you left behind? Is it your time as a Plumber?" Chance asked.

Luna nearly choked on her coffee, all while Sunset was silently trying to tell Chance to change the subject. Chance didn't do so, and Luna's reaction was all the confirmation he and Sunset needed. Her time as a 'plumber' had to mean something else, and she was clearly hiding something. Luna may assume she's covering her tracks, but in reality, Chance and Sunset are seeing another side to their vice principal bleed out and become more prevalent. "Chance, it's nothing you need to worry about. Don't get me wrong, I'm actually appreciative that you're taking an interest, to try and strengthen our relationship, but that's a tad too personal to be talked about right now." Luna stated, trying to keep herself calm.

Chance stared skeptically at Luna, then simply moved back and shrugged. "Well, figured I'd ask anyway. I'm sure you'll tell us something eventually, just as long as it's not too little, too late," Chance pulled out a small handheld device and clicked it on, playing some kind of video game. "If you wanna talk about anything, even if it's the slightest bit fucked up, let me know and I'll give you my full attention. If not, then I'll be on my bed, playing an old game my dad had growing up. Figured it'd be better off in my hands, than to leave it in my room, just for those junkies get their filthy grubby hands on anything else my dad left behind, just to pawn it for drug money." Chance stated, getting up and moving to the back of the RV.

Sunset looked back at Chance as he vanished behind the door, fixating his gaze on the game. "I think I'll go and see what he's playing, see if I can learn more about him." Sunset remarked, hopping over the booth and walking to the back of the RV.

Luna simply shrugged, sighing a breath of relief as she resumed sipping on her coffee. 'At least they'll be in each other's company. I can only hope that they won't get on each other's nerves, but Celestia and I didn't always get along either... When did my life as a Plumber get so complicated all of a sudden?' Luna thought.

Several miles back where the RV had turned off a couple days ago, Sugilite continues to track down the Omnitrix, only to stop when his tracker points to a can that's been drained of all its contents, even the minerals within its aluminum shell. Just as he reaches for it, the second hunter snatches it with an extendible grabbing appendage, all while speaking some kind of strange language.

The first hunter leaps from the tree tops and onto the asphalt road, cracking it beneath his sharp jagged feet. "Your guess is as good as mine sistah, I thought that bigot only hired the two of us to collect the Omnitrix, if I'm remembering things correctly." The crustaceous humanoid creature remarked, cracking his claws.

Sugilite, without a moment's hesitation, formed his hand into a crystallized blade and thrust it forward, trying to attack the crab creature. This didn't work in his favor as the crustaceous humanoid backed away, only to counter with a jump kick, knocking Sugilite back. Sugilite was quick to get back on his feet and fired several shards of crystals at the crustaceous creature, only for it to tank the hits as the crystals shattered against its pecs.

The second hunter speaks again, only for its strange language to be all that can be heard. The crustaceous looked back at his compatriot. "Yeah, as much as it irks me to say, you're right, wasting our time and energy on this Quartzian piece of garbage isn't gonna get us closer to the reward," The crustaceous creature focuses back on Sugilite. "You're getting off real easy today, pal, so we'll give you an introduction, and a warning. We are Lobbstar and Twenty-One, and we aren't messin' around. Next time you see us, we'll be known as the dynamic duo who found the Omnitrix. Do us a favor if you value your life, and stay away from us, or it's curtains for you. Remember the names of the ones who decided to spare you. We won't be so merciful if you interfere in our business." Lobbstar warned.

Lobbster leaps up and aims his claws at the ground, spinning himself very fast as he punctures the ground, acting like a drill and burrowing into the asphalt. Twenty-One sneers and seems to say something in that same strange language, only to fly away with her jetpack. Sugilite sneered and looked at the can, and a small opening on his helmet glowed, scanning the can. "This can was drained of its sugary contents, as well as any mineral stability from the can itself. The Omnitrix has access to Culicidopterran DNA, so I'm at least on the right track... unfortunately, now I have two more problems to take care of. Hopefully I'll find the one who found the device before they do." Sugilite analyzed.

As the RV moved down the road, Chance casually laid back on the top bunk, playing the game as his small pixelated character roamed through the grass, and soon enough, a battle commenced, transitioning from the blocky and colorful overworld to a more detailed battle scene. A small golden retriever with a lit matchstick for a tail, fire and froth coming out of its mouth with a crazed look in its eyes stared and let out a bark, all while its sprite shuddered. "Huh, a wild Matchpup! What luck, I needed a fire-type for the next station!" Chance remarked with a smile.

Sunset poked her head out. "Ya know, I never took you for a monster-collector fan. You always struck me as someone who was more into Sumo Slammers," Chance jumped and scrambled to keep the console in his hands. Chance sighed and looked to his right, seeing Sunset looking at the game from an awkward angle. "Guess I was wrong, not that you talk a lot about yourself, anyway." Sunset remarked.

Chance frowned and scooted away from Sunset. "If you wanted to watch me play, coulda said so. Besides, I like the Pocket Quest series much more than a bunch of samurai warriors, just because it isn't my style of play. Pocket Quest is a cutesy monster-taming game with lore so complex and dark, you'd think it was the grandfather of all those dark and edgy games trying to be artsy and easy to understand nowadays, only that artsy tortured shit is utter garbage, where as it's done right in this game." Chance explained.

Sunset looked down at the small but vibrantly bright screen, showing that Chance's character had thrown out a vibrant hexagon-shaped sphere, unveiling a large blue ogre-like creature with metal spikes jutting out of its body and vibrant purple bulbs sprouting on its body. "So, I haven't played these games before, what is it, and what exactly are these things?" Sunset asked, sitting next to the boy who continued to play, eyeing the screen intently.

Chance stopped for a moment and looked at her. "You mean to tell me, that Shimmercode, doesn't know a damn thing about the Pocket Quest series?" Chance asked, seeming surprised, if not offended by the idea that she was unfamiliar with the game.

Sunset's eyebrow remained raised at his offer. "It was never on my radar before. Could you tell me more?" Sunset asked.

Chance smiled. "I'll think about it, but for now, let's just talk a bit," Chance found himself back in the overworld and saved the game. Once the game notified him that the save was successful, he turned the game off and put it back in his pocket. "What's got you so interested all of a sudden?" Chance asked.

Sunset shrugged her shoulders. "You clearly have an interest in games, and this is the first time I've seen you have a game in your hands, and it's a Virtual Boy, of all things! I guess since we share that in common, aside from both of us having powers, I want to get to know you better, as my way of making up for not believing you during the 'Chupacabra' situation. Besides, I may as well find things in common with the only other person around my age, rather than only interact when danger comes knocking." Sunset explained.

Chance sighed and while his smile hadn't faltered, he was still a bit uncertain. "Well, if you want to learn about me, I should learn more about you too, it's the law of equivalent exchange. Tit for Tat, eye for an eye, take a penny, give a penny, you get what I mean." Chance remarked.

Sunset nodded. "It's a deal. So, let's start off with something easy before we work up to the hard-hitting stuff," Sunset thought hard about what to ask, then something did come to her. "What's your favorite color?" Sunset asked.

Chance sighed. "Green, and not the kind of green that's on the watch. I'm talking dark green, the kind of green that's more like mint, but deeper in hue. That's personally my favorite color. Green is usually the color associated with the sin of Envy, and it kinda lines up with how I always envied a better life, a better outcome. In a way, I guess something finally came of my envy, now I just need to figure out the rest." Chance explained.

Sunset was surprised by his answer, but not deterred. "Interesting option. I've always been a fan of red and yellow, the two colors associated with a roaring fire. I always loved how fires burned, despite the destruction a flame can cause if left unchecked, it's honestly beautiful. Ironically enough, it reminds me of a simpler time back home, where I burned my brightest, and still couldn't make the cut." Sunset remarked solemnly, smiling a bit.

It was Chance's turn to be surprised, almost enamored by Sunset's response. He was at a loss for words, but that didn't stop him from finding words to say. "Wow... that's incredibly sad, and yet, appropriately poetic." Chance complimented.

Sunset closed her eyes and sighed. "There are times where I wish I could go home, but I always fear that the day I do, everything's going to go up in flames, and I'll be accused of striking the match." Sunset confessed.

Chance let out a dry and stifled chuckle and sighed. "Yeah, I know the feeling. There are days where I wish I was back in Missouri, and to this day I still wonder what's going on back with the people I used to know... but then I look at this watch stuck to me, it's apparently called the Omnitrix I think, and I can't help but feel like they wouldn't look at me the same way they used to, it'd be like actually discovering aliens living in Roswell," Sunset looks at him and sees a tear forming in his eye. "It's almost kinda funny, you know? Out of the many years I've suffered, living with a couple crack-pot junkies and steadily losing my grip on reality, it's the magic and alien stuff that's somehow kept me from drifting away in the wind. I'd like to think that if I didn't take this offer to get as far from those nut-cases as possible, I'd end up just as crazy, if not more. That's what actually kinda scares me, ending up like them and meeting the same fate." Chance confessed.

Sunset and Chance sat in silence, letting everything they said ruminate for the time being. They looked at each other, and a small smile started to creep up both their lips. The two of them soon erupted into a cacophony of laughter, the pair of them held their sides as the laughter just poured out of them. Chance sat up, trying to catch his breath, still laughing at the whole situation. Sunset couldn't help but be on her back, holding her sides for dear life as she kept laughing. Soon enough, their laughter petered out, and the two were reduced to just chuckling.

Chance sighed and looked at Sunset. "Oh man, that didn't last for a whole second!" Chance remarked, starting to snicker uncontrollably.

Sunset slowly fell into a giggling fit as she tried to compose herself. "I feel like you're partially to blame for that, dude, I just stoked the embers." Sunset said, struggling to stop herself from giggling.

The two of them finally calmed down for the moment, looking at each other with goofy grins on their faces. "We're in for a world of hurt, I can feel it." Chance remarked, a snicker escaping his lips.

Sunset sighed and pat Chance's shoulder. "Knowing what we've been through already, I won't doubt you on that. But, whatever happens, we'll face it together, no matter how bad it seems." Sunset remarked.

Chance nodded and got up, stretching back as he dusted himself off. "Anything else you wanna know?" Chance asked.

Sunset did have something to ask, but even then, she wasn't sure what kind of answer she was gonna get. "Yeah, why did you buy a soda from a gas station vending machine yesterday, only to then use Fumesquito to drink the soda, as well as the can? You could've drank it like a normal person, yet you resorted to using one of your aliens. Why?" Sunset asked.

Chance was about to give an answer, but then soon realized he had no proper answer. "Well, this is a first, I actually don't know. Maybe Fumesquito was just on the brain at the time, and figured I'd try drinking a normal drink as one of my aliens, just to test for possible weaknesses," Sunset looked skeptical at Chance's claim, but the dumbfounded expression on his face said it all. He actually didn't know why he did it. "Lemme just say, on the record, Aluminum-Cherry Cola is the most straight-nasty thing I've ever tasted. It's like someone distilled blood that was too rich in iron into some cherry cola-flavored cough syrup! I'm not drinking soda as Fumesquito ever again for as long as I live, I promise you that." Chance remarked, just gagging at the very idea.

Soon enough, the RV started to splutter and buck, only to come to an abrupt stop, knocking the two teens off-balance and onto the floor. "Hey, VP, is that you at the wheel, or did we get cast for the sequel of 'Driving Batshit Crazy'?!" Chance yelled out.

Luna opened the curtain, seeing the two teens on the ground. She seemed worried, but strangely calm at the same time. "You two may want to get some fresh air, something went wrong with the RV." Luna stated.

The two teens step out of the RV, only to then notice that they were on an old dirt road, covered up and obscured by pine trees. Upon further inspection, they were in what looked like an abandoned little town, small log cabins took up space in specific parts on either side of the dirt road, yet the sun never peered through the pine needles.

Chance looked around and seemed genuinely confused about his surroundings. "Hey Sunset, I don't think we're in the United States anymore, this looks more like the Shire," Chance approached one of the nearby cabins and looked into the windows, seeing nothing but darkness within it. "Seems like no one's home." Chance remarked.

Sunset pulled out her phone and took a picture of the cabin, then typed away as she seemed to find something. "No one's been here for a long while. My IntelliMap app says this was an old pilgrim settlement known as Knöledgge. Incorporated in 1836 when it was speculated that the caves near the settlement were rich in resources and gold, but soon enough the mine was bled dry of all it had to give, and the inhabitants that lived here vanished without a trace, with the remnants of their civilization being all that's left to support the idea that they even existed." Sunset explained, reading off the information from her phone.

Chance looked at the other cabins in the distance, and shrugged. "Well shit, every day's a school day." Chance remarked, chuckling slightly.

"Aha!! I found the problem!" Luna called out.

Sunset and Chance quickly run back to the RV, seeing Luna take her head out of the RV's hood, several black smudges painted her cheeks as she looked to the teens. "As it would turn out," Luna held up a busted tube that was dripping, it also had a knife-like cut on the outside of the rubber covering. "A leaky fuel line. I'll patch it up, should be an easy fix till we get to the next town." Luna stated.

Sunset and Chance looked at each other, then back at the dripping tube. "Maybe I can give you a hand," Chance starts to twist the dial on the Omnitrix. "Maybe Riptile. No, Crime Detector would be a better option!" Chance suggested.

Luna put a hand over the Omnitrix, causing Chance to stop messing with the watch. Chance looked up, seeing Luna's patient and appreciative smile. "I think I can handle this on my own, but I do appreciate the assist," Chance's arm fell back to his side. "Why don't you two explore this quiet little town? It's not like you'll run into trouble all the way out here." Luna suggested.

Chance frowned. "If I had a nickel for every time you said that and trouble came our way no matter what, I think I'd have four, maybe five quarters. Which isn't a lot, but it's starting to sound real damning that it's happened four-to-five times already." Chance remarked, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked over to the cabin he was peering into before.

Sunset reached out to get his attention, but he was a bit too far for her to physically reach. "I'm gonna make sure he doesn't get into trouble, or in this case, attempt to keep him out of trouble." Sunset remarked, running after her alien-powered friend.

Luna sighed and grabbed a rag from her pocket, wiping the sweat from her brow as she continued to work on fixing the fuel line.

Chance looks into the window, trying desperately to find something of interest, if there was anything at all. Sunset stops beside him and sees him staring into the building. "Man, this place is barren. You'd think they'd have something, but I don't think they even had candlelight here." Chance remarked.

Without a moment's hesitation, Chance grabbed the door's handle and turned it, pushing his way inside as he was met by cobwebs and thick clouds of dust that reeked of mildew. Chance backed up and started to cough and hack, all while Sunset turned on the flashlight function on her phone, illuminating the interior. The cabin was a mess, almost as if a struggle occurred. The bedframe was snapped in half, the mattress was mauled to pieces, there were even specks of a dried red substance caked onto the wall. Torn up clothes and discarded buckle shoes too withered for salvaging were scattered across the small space, and almost immediately, Sunset backed out of the doorway and closed the door, once again concealing the carnage under the cover of darkness.

Chance shuddered. "Okay, that was gruesomely detailed. Starting to think these people didn't actually vanish without a trace, because if they did, there wouldn't be signs of a struggle or dried up spots of blood caked onto the walls. Something or someone was out for blood, and I don't want to think about what that means for us." Chance remarked, keeping his guard up.

Sunset sighed and looked down at the ground, only to notice a stray piece of cloth was stuck to her shoe. She grimaced and yelped, nearly falling backwards as she grabbed the cloth and tore it from her shoe. "Gross! This place is a crime scene." Sunset remarked, tossing the scrap of cloth at the window, shuddering as it stuck to the glass effortlessly.

Chance slowly backed away from the cabin, pulling Sunset in the same direction. "A crime scene for fairy tale creatures, maybe." Chance rebutted. Sunset and Chance kept moving forward staying close together, unaware of the set of eyes that were focused on them, or more specifically, the Omnitrix.

Chance and Sunset kept walking along the dirt road, and started to notice something strange about the cabins. The further they went along, the more destroyed, unstable and dilapidated the cabins became. "Okay, really hoping we aren't walking into a trap, that's the last thing we need right now. This place is creepy enough!" Chance remarked cautiously.

Chance and Sunset took another couple steps further, until they felt the ground start to shift beneath their feet. the two of them quickly backed away, only for Lobbstar to erupt from the ground and stand triumphant.

Lobbstar stretched his body out and looked down at the teens. "Heya, any chance you two have seen something called The Omnitrix anywhere?" Lobbstar asked, walking towards the teens slowly.

Chance gritted his teeth as Sunset grabbed her geode tightly. "C-Can't say we have. Who wants to know?" Sunset asked, trying to play dumb.

Lobbstar smiled, showing all of his sharp teeth. "Just someone who's lookin' to make it big and get rich." He vaguely answered.

Chance turned around to look behind them, only to flinch as he tapped Sunset's shoulder. Sunset turned around, seeing Twenty-One standing behind them, pointing two strange gun-shaped weapons at them. "Something tells me those aren't standard issue 9 millimeter pistols." Chance remarked.

Lobbstar chuckled. "Indeed, they are not. That's Twenty-One, my associate. I'll ask again, since research shows that you humans can be pretty slow-minded. Do you know of the Omnitrix, or not?" Lobbstar inquired.

Chance knew there wasn't a way to get out of this one. Even if he and Sunset answered no, what was to stop them from searching them, only to see the Omnitrix strapped onto his wrist. 'The things I do to keep a promise.' Chance thought, gritting his teeth as a smirk formed on his face. Chance brought the Omnitrix up and pressed the button, popping the core up. He twisted the dial hastily, but did keep track of what icon he was selecting. Before the hunters could do anything, let alone react, Chance stopped and found the alien he was looking for. "Let's say, as a hypothetical, we do. What's so special about it?" Chance inquired.

Lobbstar looked at Twenty-One and gestured for her to make a move on the boy. She complied and rushed towards him. Chance pressed down on the core and was enveloped in a green flash of light. Twenty-One struck the boy, but as the flash of light died down, it was revealed that the boy transformed into Vitaguar, and the strike she landed didn't seem to do that much damage. "Nice try, lass, but lemme show you buggers how it's bloody done!" Vitaguar remarked, flashing a toothy golden grin.

Vitaguar wrapped his tail around Twenty-One's neck and flung her into one of the cabins, then started to wield his tail like a mace, letting golden spikes protrude from the tip of the tail. Vitaguar wasted no time in lunging forward towards Twenty-One, swinging his tail mace around as he enacted his frontal assault. Twenty-One was quick to get back on her feet and evade the alien hero as best she could, only to fire her guns at the creature, which did nothing but irritate the alien more.

Sunset was evading Lobbstar's hefty strikes as best she could, then got the idea to leap onto his back and grab the back of his head. "Sleep!" Sunset exclaimed, trying to hang on to the crustaceous creature.

Lobbstar didn't seem to be getting tired, and finally managed to grab the girl and toss her aside, sending her sliding along the grass and brush. Lobbstar looked back at Twenty-One and Vitaguar's fight, and started charging at the alien hero, readying his claws. Vitaguar snarled and leapt upwards, letting Lobbstar tackle into Twenty-One, causing both of them to fall to the ground as Vitaguar slams his mace onto Lobbstar's head, earning a stifled grunt from his foe as he slumped over.

Vitaguar rushed over to Sunset and quickly picked her up in his arms, running back in the direction of the RV. Lobbstar and Twenty-One stirred for the moment, and then slowly got back up, both of them equally pissed. Twenty-One said something in her language, and Lobbstar couldn't help but agree. "Yeah, sounds like a plan to me. We rip that damn kid's ribcage open and filet him, then we give that bigot the Omnitrix and collect our pay. fifty-fifty, as we agreed." Lobbstar reiterated.

As Vitaguar continues to run away with Sunset in his arms, he's unaware of Sugilite in the distance, hiding in the trees, watching and hiding in plain sight. "Barbaric, as expected of humans." Sugilite remarked.

Luna walks out of the RV, now clad in a white t-shirt and jeans, beads of sweat trickled down her face as she pocketed a rag stained in numerous black splotches, all while holding a lemonade in her hands. "Well, the fuel line's fixed. I wonder how it got cut in the first place," Luna sipped her lemonade, but soon noticed Vitaguar rushing towards her, with Sunset in his arms. Luna's eyes went wide as she nearly spat her lemonade all over the ground. Vitaguar came to a stop as the Omnitrix started beeping, and in a flash of red light, Chance was returned to his normal form. "What happened?!" Luna asked.

Chance was trying to catch his breath, but stopped for the moment to take a breather. "Oh you know, the usual. We were looking around the cabins and got attacked by two strange-ass aliens. One of them is in armor, armed to the teeth, and the other's a lobster that looks like he knows Kung-Fu. Long story short, they're after the Omnitrix, they even called it exactly that, like that messed up lady did back in Jaxton when that parasite was on her!" Chance bluntly explained.

Luna felt her blood run cold, and soon enough, the three of them got into the RV, got in their seats and soon sped off, trying to get back on the main roads. Sugilite dropped down from the trees and stared at the RV getting further and further away. "Now's my chance, but I have to be fast!" Sugilite reached into one of his compartments and pulled out a circular rectangle, tossing it up as it expanded into some kind of bright blue hoverboard. "SS, log number zero-zero-four. I have confirmation that the Omnitrix is in the possession of a human youth, as well as confirmation that he's being mentored, or chaperoned, by a Plumber operative. Seems he learned the name of the device from one of the DNAliens here on Earth, and has now currently encountered the Sotoraggian and the strange crustaceous creature that it's allied itself with. I must move fast and get to the Omnitrix before these hunters do, it must not fall into Reinrassic's hands! This is Sugilite Shard, signing off. End log." Sugilite stated.

Sugilite hopped onto the hoverboard and sped off towards the RV's direction, all while Twenty-One and Lobbstar are moving off the path, their sights still fixated on getting the Omnitrix.

The RV pulls out of the dark and obscured dirt road and starts to speed up on the main road, trying to make as much distance between them and the aliens that attacked.

Chance had set Sunset in one of the booth seats and covered her up in a blanket, all while looking outside the window, trying to keep an eye out. "No sign of that crazy weapon lady and her lobster friend yet, but they better not show up again anyway, if they know what's good for them-!" Chance was then interrupted by the sound of something landing on the roof of the vehicle. Suddenly, a circular bladesaw starts cutting open the ceiling. "Oh man, this is why I don't trust hitchhikers!" Chance groaned, grabbing a knife from the drawer, gripping it tightly.

Twenty-One tears open the ceiling and peers inside; She backs their head away once Chance swings the knife, almost getting it close to her helmet. "I don't know who you are, or what you think you're doing, but you try comin' in here, fair warning to you that you'll get a free shanking, whether you asked for it, or not!!" Chance berated, holding the knife firmly in his hand.

Twenty-One starts to reach for Chance, causing Chance to retaliate by dodging her attempts and then stabbing her arm, only to be surprised when the knife bends upon coming into contact with her armor. Chance's eyes widened and he chucked the knife into the sink, only to grab her arm and try to land a punch, only to instead punch the ceiling and get a small but very painful cut on his knuckle. Luna slams the brakes, and while Twenty-One and Chance lose their grip on each other, Twenty-One falls off the back of the RV. Luna grits her teeth, her eyes full of fire as she shifts the RV into reverse, and slams on the gas, causing Chance to stumble a bit as the RV backs up onto Twenty-One, running her over. Luna smirks for a moment, but that smirk leaves her when they stop right then and there.

Sunset starts to slowly wake up, all while Luna and Chance get out and sees the tires are all deflated, having been covered with spikes. Twenty-One starts getting up and mutters something in her language, which isn't comprehended by either of the trio. Quickly searching for some cover, Max points to a ranger tower in the distance. "Hurry, get up there!" Luna instructed.

Chance saw Sunset slowly walk out, only for her to go wide-eyed as he carries her out and starts running, and Luna follows close behind. The trio, sans Sunset, run into the forest, passing through gaps in the trees and jumping over fallen logs as they see the ranger tower in-sight. Before Twenty-One can chase them, a few sudden tremors interrupt her. Their source, Lobbstar, erupts from the ground. Sugilite races past the both of them, going straight for the trio.

Lobbstar groans and burrows back into the ground, following after the trio and Sugilite as they navigate the forest.

Within the depths of the forest, the trio steers a corner and stop to catch their breath, with Sunset being set back on the ground so she can assess the situation. Chance slowly peers around the corner. He can see the ranger tower much better from where he is, though it's still gonna be quite the run. "Whew, the coast is clear, for now!" Chance reassured.

Before either of them could catch their breath, Sugilite appears, floating in front of them on his hoverboard. Luna and Sunset pointed behind him, and Chance felt like he knew what he was gonna see. "One of them's right behind me, aren't they?" Chance asked, earning a nod of approval from the two girls.

Chance turned around, and though he didn't recognize this guy, he knew something was familiar about him. "I'm a big enough man to admit when I'm wrong, but I don't like being right in these kinds of circumstances!" Chance remarked.

"You're the earthling that found the Omnitrix, I presume?" Chance didn't answer, instead he glanced at the Omnitrix, seeing that it was still red. "You're weary and cautious, like a soldier trying to pass himself off as a member of the opposing side. You must be a soldier, but someone so young seems a bit inexperienced." Sugilite remarked.

Chance felt a hitch in his breathing, and stepped back. "Who are you, what do you want, and are those two crazies with you?" Chance asked.

Before Sugilite could answer, Lobbstar erupted from the ground and got in-between Sugilite and the trio. "The Omnitrix! Hand it over!" Lobbstar demanded.

Luna throws a nearby rock at Lobbstar, who crushes it in one of his claws instantly. The trio, running low on options, run away towards the ranger tower, with Lobbstar chasing after them, and Sugilite trying to slow Lobbstar down. Chance taps on the button repeatedly, desperately trying to get the Omnitrix to do something. "Come on, Omnitrix! Do something, anything! Just get us out of this mess!" Chance pleaded.

They avoid Lobbstar as he collides with a boulder, and Sugilite tries to trap Lobbstar in a crystal prison, only for him to break through it like it was nothing. The trio get through the brush and into the clearing, noticing that the tower didn't have any stairs. "Now what?" Sunset asked.

Luna looked around, and noticed that there was an elevator. "We 'get a lift'." Luna remarked, directing her students to the elevator.

Chance and Sunset get in, while Luna presses the button for the top floor, yet she doesn't get in. As the small door closes, the two teens start to worry. Lobbstar has nearly caught up to them, but Sugilite has jumped off his hoverboard and pocketed it as he slams his fists into Lobbstar. "You are some of the most pathetic excuses for prey I've ever had the displeasure of hunting down!" Lobbstar roared out.

The elevator starts to rise, and Luna hastily jumps and grabs hold of the bottom, climbing her way up and back inside, only to be met by Chance and Sunset helping her up and hugging her. "If I keep going at this rate, I'll need to get some exercise tapes to stay in shape." Luna remarked, smiling.

Lobbstar looks upward and starts to attack the tower's legs, shaking the building as the elevator continues its ascent. The trio hold on for dear life, but the shaking suddenly stops. Twenty-One finally appears on the scene and starts to slap and reprimand Lobbstar in her language. "Whoa! Big talk for a damn gearhead, princess! You didn't have to make it personal!" Lobbstar remarked.

Twenty-One kicks Lobbstar aside and flies up after the trio, readying a few rockets. Sunset peers below the elevator and sees Twenty-One coming right for them. "We got company, and it's closing in!" Sunset announced.

Luna gritted her teeth. "We need a plan. Do you two have any ideas?" Luna asked.

Chance saw a green glow beneath his vision and saw the Omnitrix was back to full-charge, Chance smirked and pushed the button, cycling to Armethyst's icon. "Yeah, I got a plan. Give these freaks a taste of their own medicine, alien-to-alien! I'll distract them while you guys hold down the fort up-top!" Chance stated, pressing down on the Omnitrix's core, enveloping himself in a flash of green light as he underwent his transformation.

Luna went wide-eyed. "No, mister Marsten! That's just what they want!" Luna warned, but it was too late.

Chance's arm was immediately starting to cover itself in amethyst crystals, then they started to encompass his head. His head started to chisel into a thin rectangular prism shape, all while his eyes glossed over becoming purely white, and merging into one singular white dot. His body got tougher, taller and leaner, all while his shirt formed into a segmented white and black suit, with the Omnitrix forming on his right pectoral.

He formed his left hand into a blade, and let a vibrant rainbow energy flow into his right, and he jumped into a battle ready pose, and lunged forward.

Chance, now transformed into Armethyst, leaps out of the elevator and tackles Twenty-One out of the sky and back down to the ground, punching and blasting her as they fell.

Luna looked down in shock and bewilderment. "Chance!!" Luna exclaimed.

Armethyst and Twenty-One both get some distance and land feet first on the ground, while the elevator finally reaches the top. "Chance, hurry and get back up here! Come on!" Sunset yelled out.

Armethyst looked up at them. "Quit wasting time, and do what you have to do! I'll catch up, I just need to put some dents in this berserk soda machine!" Armethyst called out, balling his hands into fists as he gets ready to fight.

Armethyst prepares to fight, but to his surprise, Lobbstar grabs him from behind and smashes him against the tower's leg, shaking the building. Armethyst groans and starts getting angry, only to blast a ball of rainbow energy at Lobbstar, causing him to slide back and stagger. While they walk toward him, Armethyst rushes the two bounty hunters. Armethyst slams his fist into Lobbstar's gut, cracking a portion of his front shell and knocking the air out of Lobbstar's lungs. He starts to throw several fast punches and kicks at Twenty-One, but she manages to place a small device on his head, and it explodes, sending him back into the tower's leg.

Twenty-One starts walking to the alien hero, eager to claim the reward, but Lobbstar holds her back. "Back off, turret-tits! That reward's mine!" Lobbstar firmly stated.

Twenty-One grunted and said something in her language, which seemed to get under Lobbstar's skin. "You did not just say that about my mother-!" Before the arguing could go any further, a metal ball falls to the ground at their feet and releases a gas that knocks the two of them out. A few feet away from them is Sugilite, who fired the gas grenade. Armethyst slowly gets back up to his feet, but soon sees Sugilite standing before him on his hoverboard. He flies over to Armethyst, picking him up and dusting him off, only to then carry him away from the tower, going back to the direction of Knöledgge.

Sunset was crouched down, trying to calm herself down, but Luna, she just stared as Sugilite carried her student away. "Of course the Quartzian had to come along." Luna remarked.

Sunset was a bit shaken, but that didn't stop her from looking at Luna, a surprised and almost concerned expression forming on her face. 'Did she just... what is she hiding?' Sunset thought, curious and concerned by what the answer to that question could be.

Once they got through the forest and back into Knöledgge, Sugilite places Armethyst on the ground. "Billions of beings on this planet, and the Omnitrix winds doesn't up on the wrist of a qualified plumber, but instead onto the wrist of a powerless teenager who has the semblance of a fallen soldier. Can't say you were my first pick, but beggars can't be choosers in these desperate times." Sugilite stated.

Armethyst gets back on his feet, keeping his guard up as he slowly backs away. "Well, I didn't get the chance to tell your buddies this, but the Omnitrix doesn't come off. I've tried, and believe me, this thing is basically a part of me, by this point." Armethyst stated.

Sugilite groaned and grabbed Armethyst, pulling him close. "Of COURSE it doesn't. The Omnitrix's power utilizes alien DNA, which binds to the host's own genetic structure," Sugilite let Armethyst go and turned his back. "It cannot be simply removed like - taking off a hat!" Sugilite explained.

Armethyst shot a blast at Sugilite, but was surprised when the attack connected, but didn't do anything. Sugilite turned around and slugged Armethyst across the face, sending the alien hero flying into one of the cabins, causing it to collapse into a pile of wood.

Sugilite floated towards Armethyst, watching the alien hero dig himself out of the rubble. "Your choice of warriors is based SOLELY on brute strength, without regard for any strategy. Do you ever pause to consider your actions at all?" Sugilite questioned.

Armethyst was now getting pretty angry, and stood up. "Yes, I do! When I decided to use Vitaguar on that crab freak, I knew that my cat-like reflexes would pay off, despite my bones being made of gold! There was more thought with turning into Armethyst! I know this guy is durable, and any energy attacks that come my way, I can absorb them and throw 'em right back! If a piece of me breaks off, I can just regenerate, no harm no foul!" Armethyst explained.

Sugilite sighed, seeming disappointed. "Is that seriously all you consider when choosing the power of ten different alien species!?" Sugilite reprimanded.

Armethyst slugged Sugilite and shoved him back. "That's just one example, douchebag! Besides, I kick more than my share of alien butt! I've done a lot of good with this thing so far! I haven't once done anything that would warrant me to be questioned on why I have these powers!" Armethyst remarked.

Sugilite groaned. "-Such as your recent success at the tower with the bounty hunters." Sugilite stated sarcastically.

Armethyst was getting irritated. "It was one slip-up, ya fuckin' perfectionist!" Armethyst cursed, throwing another punch towards Sugilite, only for it to be countered.

Armethyst's arm was held behind his back and twisted, the sound of his crystal body cracking started to echo out. "You were moments away from losing your life - and the Omnitrix," Sugilite shoved Armethyst away and started to punch and beat on Armethyst, not giving the alien hero a chance to counter or defend. "Victory should've been swift and effortless, but instead, the Omnitrix is seen as your toy for amusement. When in reality, it's the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. The key to an epic war between good and evil." Sugilite explained.

Armethyst collapsed to the ground, rubbing his face, feeling the cracks regenerate. "Yeah, then whose side are you on?" Armethyst asked.

Sugilite chuckled. "You're still alive, aren't you?" Sugilite answered.

Armethyst was now very confused. "You're telling me you're the good guy?!" Armethyst asked.

Sugilite nodded. "My mission was to make sure the Omnitrix came into capable hands. I've been on your planet for fifteen, most-likely sixteen of your Earth years, hiding amongst the populous of your kind, waiting for the day the Omnitrix is delivered by an old acquaintance of mine. But, since things have gone completely wrong, and the Omnitrix came into your possession, forgive me when I say that the mission has changed. I'll have to train you, and show you how to scratch beyond the surface of the Omnitrix's potential. You won't be able to do that on your homeplanet, Earther." Sugilite explained.

Armethyst's eye widened, immediately realizing what Sugilite was saying, and he wasn't down with that idea. "No way, pal! I'm not getting off this planet, even if you weren't wailing on me a second ago!" Armethyst argued.

Sugilite sighed. "Unfortunately, it's not your choice." Sugilite stated.

Armethyst punched Sugilite away, sending him back a good couple feet. "It is now...!" Armethyst rushes forward and tackles Sugilite, causing him to fall off his hoverboard. Sugilite was starting to get aggravated and grabs Armethyst by the face, then throws him off of him and gets back up. "You're not taking me off planet, not today, not tomorrow, not in a million years, not ever!!" Armethyst exclaimed angrily.

Sugilite grunts and rushes forward, surprising Armethyst as Sugilite forms his arms into crystal blades. He slashes and chips away at pieces of Armethyst, only to then blast him back with a beam of rainbow energy, sending him sliding along the dirt road. "It's especially disturbing how little you know of this alien's strengths and weaknesses. You barely scratched the surface of its potential!" Sugilite berated.

Armethyst groaned and slowly got back up, though he was clearly getting dazed. "Yeah? So what makes you such an expert?" Armethyst asked, his body slowly shaking.

Sugilite's helmet slides open and reveals a face almost identical to Armethyst's; although his crystals have a more vibrant reddish hue and he has one singular yellow-orange eye. Armethyst finally realizes that this is another member of Armethyst's species. "O-oh! Well... uh, that explains a lot!" Armethyst remarked awkwardly.

Sugilite stood firm, looking down at the transformed human. "I am Sugilite Shard. I am a noble Quartzian warrior, and from what I've seen and heard thus far, you are too inexperienced to utilize the Omnitrix's power properly." Sugilite introduced.

Armethyst got up as the Omnitrix started timing out, and in a flash of red light, Chance was transformed back into his normal self. "We've wasted enough time. Give me one good reason why I should even consider letting you keep the most powerful device in the galaxy!" Sugilite ordered.

Chance was silent for a moment, he didn't know what to say. He hated to admit that for a couple points, Sugilite was right, but not in the ways he thought he was. Chance debated on his answer, even looking to the Omnitrix for some form of epiphany, but all he saw was his reflection in the red hourglass... then something came to him. Chance gritted his teeth and glared at Sugilite as he took a deep breath. "You're right, but not in the way you think you are. You don't know me, you don't know what I've already been through, and I'm talking about the times I nearly lost my life before I found this stupid watch! The fact that I've been in a better mindscape, surrounded by better people, the fact that what I'm doing is making a difference, no matter how small, proves that I've taken this seriously." Chance stated, stepping forward towards the Quartzian warrior.

Sugilite looked down at the human, curious as to what he was trying to pull. "Let me put this in simpler terms for you to understand, you smoothed-out walking geode! I'm no soldier, but I'll keep fighting like one, till my last dying breath, to protect the ones I care about and to fight for those who can't. you taking the watch, that won't stop me from being a hero. If I'm bleeding, I'll cover it up. If I die, I'll walk it off. I already had to face a bunch of freaky ass parasites back in Jaxton, and I'm not scared of you, or your other two psycho hunter buddies. You want the watch, the Omnitrix, right? Bring my dad back to life and fix my family situation, then you can have it." Chance stated, a determined yet stubborn expression formed on his face.

Sugilite seemed confused for the moment, but for the moment, Sugilite saw the burning fury, the rage, the lamenting grief that smoldered like persistent embers in the teen's eyes. Sugilite stepped back for a moment, seeing the teen's expression lessen. "Yeah, now you realize that neither of us are gonna get what we want. You want the Omnitrix to go to someone you think is more qualified, and I want a normal and happy life again. Neither of us are gonna get what we want, and that pisses you off just as much as it pisses me off, doesn't it?" Chance asked.

Sugilite's eye widened, and soon enough, it was clear what was happening. Sugilite opened his mouth to say something, until Twenty-One came crashing into Sugilite, knocking him off-balance. Sugilite and Chance watched as Twenty-One landed right next to Lobbstar, who had Luna and Sunset trapped in his claws.

Sugilite reached for his hoverboard, only to realize he no longer had it. Twenty-One pulled his hoverboard out from behind her back, and Lobbstar was grinning from ear-to-ear. "Looking for THIS?! You're not getting off this backwater planet with the Omnitrix," Lobbstar looked at the ladies he had in his claws, then back at Chance. "And just to be sure..." Lobbstar started to squeeze them both, causing both Luna and Sunset to cry out in pain. Chance's eyes went wide, a sense of fear, and unyielding rage was bubbling within him, and as much as he tried to get the Omnitrix to work, it was still in the red. "What's it gonna be, a couple of stupid earth breeders or the brat that wields the Omnitrix?" Lobbstar bartered.

The two groups stand off in the setting sun, and the forested area starts to get darker. Sugilite looks at Chance, seeing him stretching his body out, as if he means to fight. Twenty-One holds her weapons close to Luna and Sunset's faces. Chance sprints towards the left side, and Lobbstar has Twenty-One tie Luna and Sunset to one of the trees, only to try and burrow towards Chance. Sugilite interferes and fires several amplified crystal shards at Lobbstar, distracting him and blowing a few small holes in his shell.

Chance charges straight at Twenty-One, and she equips her circular saw, revving it up as she seems to stare Chance down, despite him continuing his advancements. Chance put his hands up and swung his fists a few times at Twenty-One, only to barely dodge the saw when she tried to slice his face open. Chance grabbed Twenty-One's helmet and tried to put her in a head lock, but suddenly felt the saw cut into his shoulder for a moment, causing him to let out a guttural groan, the agony in his voice made it so easy to tell he was in pain, but that didn't stop him from retaliating. Despite the blood dripping down his back, he slammed his knee into Twenty-One's stomach several times, then smacked her head against the same pole Sunset was tied to, causing the Sotoraggian to stagger in a daze, dropping her saw.

Chance put his right hand on his left shoulder, feeling the sticky wetness of red steadily pouring out of his wound. Chance was starting to get dizzy, but he felt the adrenaline pumping through him, he knew he couldn't stop now, otherwise it's lights out. Twenty-One speaks something out in her language, which causes Lobbstar to swat Sugilite away and focus his attention on the wounded alien hero. "Don't blow a gasket, 'mecha-munch', I know what I'm doing! C'mere you soon-to-be amputee!" Lobbstar lunged at Chance, but despite Chance's pain and steadily decreasing blood cell count, he was barely able to roll out of the way and attempt to run towards what looked like an abandoned church. "Oh sure, pray to your pathetic human god for my mercy! Count your last few hours out, you little bastard!" Lobbstar exclaimed.

Chance rushes into the church, closing the door and barring it shut, only to notice a number of human skeletons in the rows. They all had moss and roots growing on top of their bones, and despite how much Chance wanted to comment on it, he knew he had to hide and dial up an alien before he passed out. Chance hid in one of the confessional booths nearby, and looked at the Omnitrix, seeing its bright green glow was enough to let him form one more smile.

The sound of Lobbstar trying to break down the door was enough to snap Chance back to reality. He pressed the button, and the Omnitrix's dial first lands on Riptile. Chance thinks back to what Sugilite told him.

"Your choice of warriors is based SOLELY on brute strength, without regard for any strategy. Do you ever pause to consider your actions at all?"

'Prove him wrong, prove to him that you do think about your actions. You know which one you need to use right now.' Chance mentally told himself.

Chance winced and twisted the dial past Zombrex, Jump-Kick, and Crime Detector. The church doors collapse and desecrate a few of the skeletons nearby, and Lobbstar looks around, only to behold a flash of green light emerge from one of the confessionals. "Come to confess your sins before you perish, brat?!" Lobbstar called out.

There was no response, so Lobbstar tore the confessional off the ground, only to see Fumesquito immediately jab his proboscis into his shell, and immediately started to drink. Lobbstar tried to pry the bug's nose-mouth thing out of its shell, but it was clearly not giving up. "GET - OFF - ME, YOU LOUSY BUG...!" Lobbstar cried out.

Fumesquito retracted its proboscis and Lobbstar thought he was in the clear, until a very potent seafood-scented gas enveloped him, causing him to wheeze, cough and hack like he came down with a contagious disease. Lobbstar could only scream and twitch as his body started to work against him, the muscles in his body started to bunch up, and parts of him started to ache, and then feel like pure and utter agony. Lobbstar eventually fell over, paralyzed entirely and rendered immobile on the church's floor. "How's that for an amputee, you stupid seafood dinner?!" Fumesquito remarked, flying out of the building.

Sunset and Luna look at the saw, and notice that Sugilite is keeping Twenty-One busy. Luna manages to grab it, and carefully positions it before she slowly activates it, cutting through the steel wire binds that were placed around their legs and ankles. Once Luna was free, she immediately started on getting Sunset free.

Sugilite was wasting no time in letting his punches do all the damage he can put out, even if her armor was cushioning some of the blows. Twenty-One backed up and pulled out her gun-shaped weapon, firing numerous bright red energy pellets at Sugilite, only for the energy to be absorbed right into his body. Sugilite smirked, and then felt something poke into his crystallized body, draining the energy he absorbed. He looked up and saw Fumesquito, and he seemed relieved that the boy was alive. "Sorry, still weak from the cut..." Fumesquito weakly buzzed out.

The insect alien started to glow with a vibrant rainbow energy, and spewed out a mix of a vibrant multi-colored mist, and a thick multi-colored nectar at the Sotoraggian. Twenty-One tried to evade the attack, but was eventually drenched in both the mist and nectar, and her armor started to lock up. She screamed out in her alien language, and in an instant, she fell over, stiff as a board, fully paralyzed and covered in vibrant colored goo.

Sugilite was surprised, but still thoroughly impressed. "So, still wanna take the Omnitrix off my hands, big man?" Fumesquito asked coyly.

Sugilite smiled and chuckled. "Pretty smart, that's some serious outside the box thinking... for a human." Sugilite commented. Fumesquito nodded, taking the compliment.

After a few minutes of lugging Lobbstar's heavy body towards Twenty-One, Sugilite then uses a device to deploy a small flying cube. It travels to where Lobbstar and Twenty-One are laying, grows to engulf them, then shrinks back to its original size, and them along with it. Fumesquito times out as Sugilite places the cube in his pocket. "That should be everything. I'm gonna head back to the Black Eye Galaxy and get these two detained proper, let the Galactic Enforcers deal with them. Don't assume this'll be the last time we meet either, Chance Marsten. I'll return as soon as I am able, training is something you still need!" Sugilite stated.

Chance smirked. "Don't be afraid to drop by if you wanna catch these hands, Sugilite. These hands are rated E for everyone, aliens included!" Sugilite smiled at that, until Chance suddenly realized something. "Wait, are you gonna let me keep this?" Chance asked, raising the Omnitrix for Sugilite to see.

Sugilite smirked. "It's in good hands until then," Sugilite looked towards the two ladies and smiled. "Nice to see the boy's also in good hands, not just the Omnitrix. Hey, why don't you take this off my hands, I won't be needing it. This may be of some use in the meantime." Sugilite stated, handing Sunset his hoverboard.

Sunset was surprised, and simply stared in awe as she ogled the hoverboard. "Are you serious?! I-I don't know what to say!" Sunset smiled as she examined it, but then a thought came to her. "Wait, is this your only mode of transportation? I would've figured you would need this to get off the planet." Sunset inquired.

Sugilite smiled. "That's what we in my line of business call 'Selective Disinformation'! It's very useful on odd jobs like these." Sugilite explained.

Sunset looked puzzled for a moment, only to then realize what he actually meant. "He lied. Figures." Sunset remarked, rolling her eyes as she continued to ogle her new hoverboard.

Sugilite takes a few steps forward. He pulls out a device from his belt; his helmet slides back over his face; and he presses the device, teleporting him away. The trio looked at the spot where Sugilite stood for a couple moments, and then the sound of wolves howling in the distance snapped them back to reality. "Well, I hope you both learned something from all this." Luna said.

Chance smiled, nodding his head. "I learned that from here on out, to not get comfortable. Clearly there's something going on out in space, and with what happened back in Jaxton, I'm convinced that training might be the way I have to go, just to make sure I'm getting stronger, and to make sure that I don't inflate my ego when it comes to my powers, and the attention my alien forms might get." Chance stated.

Sunset smiled nervously. "I certainly learned something out of all of this. Secrets are like a virus, they spread like wildfire, whether you like it or not." Sunset remarked, looking cautiously at Luna.

Chance seemed confused, but decided to shrug it off for now. The trio quickly made their way back to the RV before it got any darker, knowing very well that they'd be stuck on the side of the road for the next day or three just to get the tires fixed.

Back on the warship, Reinrassic and a DNAlien servant watch a feed of Earth: a spec of light exits the planet and shoots off into space. "Betrayed by those lesser creatures..." Reinrassic growled venomously.

The DNAlien taps on a pad, and looks toward the alien in the healing chamber. "My liege, sensors indicate that the Omnitrix is not with the mercenaries. The one who wields the Omnitrix has clearly proven themselves to be either a rare prodigal case amongst their kind, or a Plumber operative." The DNAlien reported.

Reinrassic let out a labored sigh. "It would appear the backwater creature who possesses the Omnitrix - is as clever as it is fierce. I'm almost impressed, but I shall not be denied." Reinrassic declared sinisterly.

Author's Note

That was my version of 'Hunted'. Didn't want to re-hash the whole concept of the episode, so I made it more-so about how the dangers and threats the trio will be facing are gonna be much more hectic and destructive. Also, I renamed the episode to 'Stalked' because it just made sense.

As they say, A hunter will stalk its prey, and wait for the perfect moment to strike.

I also wanted to show Sunset and Chance try to interact and get to know each other a bit better, but you can critique me on how I attempted it.

Fun fact, the idea of an abandoned pilgrim settlement, as seen in this episode where it takes place, it's my own version of Slaterville from the Classic Series.

I also felt like Sunset wasn't getting enough love, so I decided to let her get Sugilite's hoverboard. And from here on out, Chance, Sunset and Luna are gonna be extra wary of those they encounter, and have more incentive to train.

Whether it's Chance and his alien forms, or Sunset and her equestrian magic, they're gonna want to be at the top of their game.

Hope you enjoyed this episode, I know I enjoyed writing it. Don't be afraid to comment down what you think of the story so far, I can take criticism, y'know. :pinkiesmile:

S1, Episode 8: Gilda 11

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Gilda 11

The trio arrive at a hotel in New York City, while Luna is at the desk, making sure everything is going according to how she planned, Sunset is just in awe at how luxurious the lobby itself was, while Chance didn't seem all that interested to be there.

Sunset smiled. "Wow, this hotel has everything! Indoor pool, full day spa... Maybe Rarity should've come with us on this trip, all the craziness would've been worth it, right Chance?" Sunset asked, turning towards her friend.

Chance looked every bit as uninterested in the place the moment he heard that they were gonna stay in a hotel. "When you girls said you wanted to stay in a hotel, this overpriced fancy faux palace for the rich and prissy wasn't what initially came to my mind. That Rarity chick definitely seems like the type to enjoy this place, though." Chance remarked, typing away on his phone.

Luna approached the two, with a couple of well-stuffed backpacks. "Now Sunset, don't get used to it, it's only for one night," Sunset smiled and grabbed her bag, all while Chance typed away at his phone, purposefully not paying attention. Luna sighed. "Mister Marsten, try not to be in such a bad mood while we're here. I know this wasn't what you expected, but you can still have fun here." Luna said, trying to reassure the teenage boy.

Chance rolled his eyes and pocketed his phone, only to hear the sounds of a struggle. Chance looked towards the source of the sound, only to see a buff figure wearing a white hoodie trying to flee the scene, with something clasped in their hands. The teen smirked. "Just what the doctor ordered to alleviate my boredom." Chance pressed the button on the Omnitrix as he readied one of his transformations, only for Luna to grab Chance's hand tightly, and saw her give him a stern look. "Hey! What gives?! The bad guy's getting away!" Chance remarked irately.

Luna pulled Chance aside and brought her lips close to his ear. "Listen to me right now, young man. I know what you're thinking, I knew what you were planning to do, and I don't need to remind you that the lobby has security cameras, now do I?" Chance pulled away for the moment and looked around, only to see a few security cameras pointed in a general direction that happened to have him in their peripheral view. "Let's at least wait till we get to our room before you transform, alright? It's just one common crook." Luna whispered, pleading for Chance to have some restraint.

Chance broke free of Luna's grasp, and saw a couple guards in suits try to stop the figure, only for the figure to leap above them and stomp them both to the ground and run out the revolving door. Chance looked back at Luna, clearly displeased by the crook getting away. "'Just a common crook' she says. 'You can wait a little longer' she says. 'The Omnitrix is not a toy' she constantly reminds me of the obvious. Look where that got us, now someone's getting away! I'm not gonna let this slide!" Chance remarked in a disappointed and irritated manner.

Chance pulled his arm free from Luna's grasp, then he ran towards the front door. Luna just stared, watching as Chance vanished as he ran past the guards and through the revolving door, chasing after the crook. Luna sighed, a concerned frown forming on her face. "That boy just can't sit still without trying to get into another fight." Luna remarked.

Chance sprints down the road, seeing the crook up ahead. Chance looked around, he was lucky to know that there wasn't any people on the streets that night, and wasted no time pressing the button on the Omnitrix, then slamming down on whatever alien was randomly selected. In a flash of green light, Chance transformed into Vitaguar, and roared out as he managed to lunge forward and tackle the crook to the ground. Vitaguar tore the hood clean off, only to reveal a tall African man with tattoos on his body. "Ow! Hey, c'mon man! Be cool, be cool!" The man exclaimed, struggling to get himself free, but it didn't work.

Vitaguar raised an eyebrow at the man, only to then notice the item he took stuffed in his pocket. It was a large red and yellow cartridge with the only two visible words being shown on a label. Pocket Quest. "Mind tellin' me why you ran off in such a huff dodgin' the hotel staff, mate?" Vitaguar snatched the cartridge from the man's pocket. "Don't tell me it was for one ah these little beauties." Vitaguar remarked with a smug grin.

The man panicked, seeing the cartridge in the alien's hands. "I-I was just tryin' to find a gift for a friend of mine, she just her brother. C'mon man, don't you know what it's like?" The man asked.

Vitaguar looked unamused and unconvinced. "You got a name, slick?" Vitaguar asked.

The man sighed and stopped struggling. "It's Reggie." The man introduced.

Vitaguar smiled and got off of him, then helped him back up to his feet. "Name's Vitaguar. Listen, I get that you wanna make your friend happier than a jumping June bug, but that don't mean ya gotta steal for it. Look, I'm sure there's a Pixelshack you can drop by a couple blocks from here, so why don't ya get a game there," Reggie was clearly out of his depth if an alien was giving him advice, yet he was listening, taking in every bit of information he could. "Speakin' of stupid, why the bloody hell would a hotel even have a game like this anyway?" Vitaguar asked.

Reggie shrugged. "That place has a kiosk dedicated to games that'll release durin' the holidays. Christmas is months away, but that won't stop 'em from droppin' special demos. Those cartridges would cost around hundreds of thousands, to maybe even millions of dollars in cash... but that money won't be worth it if me or my friend get locked up," Vitaguar looked at Reggie, seeing him back up with his hands up. "Take the game, man. I'm gonna go to the Pixelshack and see if I can find anything worth a couple bucks. You're a strange dude, almost reminds me of that psycho chick who's on the prowl this time of night, only more civil. Catch ya later, man!" Reggie remarked, running off down the street.

Vitaguar wasn't sure what the guy was talking about, but he decided to keep that in mind for later, if it ever seemed important. Vitaguar quickly raced back to the hotel, hoping to make it back before he timed out. As he left the scene and started going back to the hotel, someone was watching him from the shadows of an alleyway.

The next morning, Chance was in the RV, sat down in his usual seat, which was the booth closest to the passenger's front seat. He was eating a bowl of cereal, only to notice that Sunset and Luna were coming back, and they looked agitated. 'Oh this can't bode well.' Chance thought, swallowing down the last bite of his breakfast.

Luna and Sunset entered the RV, and looked over at Chance. Chance casually smiled and waved at them. "Hey there, how was the hotel experience?" Chance asked.

Sunset groaned. "Terrible, absolutely hot garbage spray painted in gold!" Sunset exclaimed angrily.

Chance was a bit surprised by Sunset's anger, but he decided to be a bit patient today. Chance looked towards Luna, and she was equally as pissed off, if not less than how Sunset was. "The neighboring clientele wouldn't turn down the music, they wouldn't stop permeating the hallways with that putrid skunk smell, and I don't even want to imagine what our room looks like with a UV light shining on it. Needless to say, for a one-night stay, it was absolutely horrendous," Luna looked at Chance, who had a knowing look in his eyes. "Now I know first-hand what it must've been like for you, for the past five years. For such a highly-rated hotel, it was borderline disgusting and unacceptable!" Luna explained.

Chance snickered a bit. "Sounds like New York City, to me." Chance commented.

Luna sighed and sat down in the booth, tired and exhausted. "I couldn't help but notice that you didn't come up to the room. Why?" Luna asked.

Chance shrugged. "Fancy hotels like this place aren't my style. I prefer motels, because they're simple, cheap like Chapstick, and above all else, you know that despite being run down, and the likely possibility someone died in the same room you booked for the night, it's still better than this fancy drug cartel in disguise. If I had to pick between a motel room in the basement, and the penthouse suite for this hotel, I'd pick the basement one-hundred percent of the time, every time. But in this case, I didn't have the cash for a motel room, so I came back here to the RV, and slept like a baby." Chance explained, patting Luna on the back.

Sunset sat down, and just looked at Chance with the oddest feeling coursing through her brain. "Chance, how do you even know any of that, let alone know if any of what you just said is true?" Sunset asked.

Chance's happier expression soon fell into a frown. "Ironically enough, it's one of the only perks of living with a couple of dumb junkies. You recognize your environment long enough and get used to it after a certain amount of time, and you can pinpoint the little details no one else notices, decide for yourself whether or not you wanna contract tetanus or an STD just from using the kitchen sink." Chance explained.

Sunset's eyes went wide and she shuddered. Chance moved under the table and crawled his way out from underneath, just to grab his empty bowl and put it in the sink. "I'd love to stick around and talk some more, but as of right now, I'm gonna go explore NYC and see what it has to offer. First stop, the arcade I passed by when I was chasing that crook down last night." Chance stated, heading to the back of the RV to get a quick change of clothes.

Luna stood up from her seat. "That sounds like a good idea, we can all go together, make some memories. Been a while since I hit up an arcade, though. Last time I did that, I was on an odd-job as a plumber," Sunset looked at Luna skeptically, and Chance poked his head out from the curtains, curious as to what Luna was even talking about. "To make a long story short, I never thought I'd see arcade boxes produce an electric-conductive mold before once a pipe had burst, but that was certainly a learning experience for everyone involved." Luna explained, smiling sheepishly.

Chance rolled his eyes and got back to getting dressed. After a couple minutes, he pulled the curtains back, showing that he was dressed in his casual clothes. Luna was buttoning up some kind of short-sleeved shirt, it was navy blue in color, and had numerous light blue stars on it. Chance snickered, trying hopelessly to hold back the urge to laugh. "Well, I never saw you wear that before. How long has that been in your closet?" Chance asked, chuckling a bit.

Luna smiled and rolled her eyes. "It belonged to my mother. She gave it to me on my twentieth birthday, said I'd grow into it. Since it fits me perfectly, I'd have to agree that she was right." Luna explained.

The trio walk down the street towards a large sign. Luna stares at the sign, a bright blue background with red letters on it. "Total Zone. With a name like that, I'm more inclined to think it's an auto shop." Luna remarks.

Chance walks through the door. Inside, the trio sees many people around Chance and Sunset's age playing on arcade machines. Chance boots up a baseball-batting game. As the digital pitcher throws the ball, the screen immediately flashes 'Game Over'. Chance was confused and fed the machine a couple more tokens, but was met with the same result, only the pitcher didn't even have enough time to throw the ball. Chance frowned, he was getting agitated and he was not going to take this lying down.

Meanwhile, Sunset was playing a 2D fighting game, one that showed a bunch of scantily-clad ladies fighting to the death. At first, Sunset was all for it, until one of them ripped off her character's head, and started to use their spine like a jump rope. Sunset flinched and backed away slowly.

Luna was trying her best on a motorcycle racing game, and despite drawing a crowd of teenagers as she was narrowly close to breaking the high score, she ended up getting booted from the game and brought back to the title screen. Luna groaned out in frustration and got off the bike, trying not to lose her mind in front of numerous people.

The trio met back up and could clearly tell that each one was cheated in some way. "A baseball game ate my tokens and didn't even give me the chance to hit the ball! It's just like real baseball, someone always gets fucked and their talent is squandered!" Chance complained.

Sunset shuddered. "I don't think the 2D fighter games here are for me. The women are way too underdressed, and one of them used my character's spine like a jump rope, like it was a normal thing to do after you win. That's where I draw the line in the sand." Sunset stated, shuddering.

Luna sighed, still clearly frustrated. "I know both of your pains. I was cheated out of breaking the high score, and now I'm just mad," Luna took a deep breath, and sighed. "I'm gonna head back to the RV and bring it on around, we can at least see the sights before we move on. I'll be right back!" Luna stated, walking out of the front doors as she ran down the street.

Chance looked at a guy, seeing he had a manager pin, and decided to take his problem to him. "Hey, these machines ate our tokens and aren't up-to-code for what's allowed in an arcade, nowadays!" Chance commented, tapping the guy's shoulder.

The employee scoffed and pointed to a sign. "Can't you read, idiot? The sign says 'play at your own risk', dude. Not my fault you and your friend are dumber than rocks." The employee remarked with a smirk.

Chance punched the employee across the face and was about to do it again, until Sunset held him back. "Chance, don't! He's not worth it, he never was!" Sunset exclaimed, trying to hold Chance back from hitting the employee again.

The employee held his mouth, seeing a bit of red on his lips, and started to panic. "Y-You... you h-hit me!" The employee sputtered out, now starting to get scared. Chance stared the employee down, and he just ran away to the nearest bathroom, screaming like his life was in danger.

Chance took a couple breaths, and looked back at Sunset, seeing the disappointment and uncertainty in her eyes, it was a sobering sight for the alien hero, and he started to calm down, realizing what he had done. "Oh no." Chance muttered.

The arcade was silent for a moment, everyone had seen what he did, and while he was expecting people to get on his case, a lot of them just cheered, which threw him and Sunset for a loop, confusing them both. "Guess that guy wasn't popular with the customers. Not that I blame them, he was a serious jerk," Sunset let him go and turned her friend around so he could face her. "But, that still doesn't justify what you did, even if I did appreciate the gesture. You didn't have to strike him so hard like that, we could've gotten in so much trouble!" Sunset reprimanded.

Chance sighed, looking disappointed and ashamed. "I know, and I'm sorry, really I am, but I don't know what happened! It's always with those kinds of people that something gets under my skin, and I can't help but wanna give them a piece of my mind, tell them off about their horrid behavior towards others. I already had to deal with people like that back at that disheveled crack den that has my stuff in it, I don't need that shit when I'm so far from Canterlot City, it's like I never left." Chance explained.

Sunset pulled Chance into a hug, then smacked him across the face, causing him to hold the left side of his face carefully. "I know, and while I still don't know the full version of your side of the story, bits and pieces, small little tidbits about you are starting to reveal themselves, and it makes me question how someone like you could still want to be a hero. Ruminate on that for me, will ya?" Sunset asked.

Chance and Sunset frowned as they leaned against one of the machines. "Man, these games stink, they're like rip-offs, but somehow worse." Chance remarked, trying to change the subject and lighten the mood.

A figure stood right next to Chance, smiling and chuckling. "Yeah, you're right. These games do stink. But, I bet the place will be much better without that spineless sissy," Sunset and Chance turned to their right and saw a girl standing next to them, leaning against the same busted baseball game Chance was getting agitated with. She was dressed in a black jacket with the sleeves torn off, and was nearly as tall as Chance was, though she definitely had a bit more muscle than Chance did. She had black fingerless gloves, a torn up gray t-shirt, blue jeans, and black boots. Her blue eyes were mysterious, yet seemed to crave a challenge. Her black hair was short, messy and spiky, it was like an untamed shadow was latched onto her head. "What a poor excuse for a manager, right? Leave it to ol' Roddy to get too big for his britches, thinking he could get rich with an arcade manager's salary." The girl remarked with a smile.

Chance smiled and chuckled. "These games may suck, but not as much as that dweeb's breath. MAJOR case of zombie mouth, smelled like he frenched a corpse on the way to work, am I right?" Chance remarked.

The girl busted out laughing. "Oh man, that was good, you're funny!" Chance bows and gives a thumbs up, then the girl goes over to a token-dispensing machine and places her hand on it. "You did the right thing knockin' him back to his senses. If you didn't, I would've. Here, ya owe me one, slick." The girl remarked.

Before Chance and Sunset could register what the girl was about to do, her hand sparked with some kind of electrical energy. The moment energy started to leave the machine and into the girl, the machine seemed to break and started dispensing tons of tokens. Chance and Sunset were surprised to see what just transpired. Chance was more or less impressed, smiling from ear-to-ear and ready to partake in the bounty, whereas Sunset was worried about what this girl's deal was. "Yo, you literally broke the bank! How'd you do that?!" Chance asked, scooping up a handful of tokens.

The girl leaned against one of the games and blew on her fingers, eyeing the smoke that came off her fingertips. "I got some skills." The girl responded.

Sunset looked down at her friend, who was eyeing the tokens like a man dying of thirst finding a stream of water. Sunset had to be the voice of reason and shook his shoulder, causing him to wince in pain and drop the tokens. Sunset panicked and put a hand to her face. 'I shook the wrong shoulder!' Sunset knelt down and looked as Chance slowly got over the pain. "Sorry for that, but we can't take these. They aren't ours, anyway! You know Luna's gonna get suspicious, right?" Sunset warned.

Chance sighed and looked at Sunset, clearly bothered. "They're not in the machine, so I'd say they're ours, now!" Chance grabbed some tokens and stuffed them in Sunset's pocket. Chance looked back up at the girl, seeing her confident smile. "Thanks for the tokens, but I don't think we properly introduced ourselves. I'm Chance, nice to meet!" Chance introduced, getting up as he offered a handshake.

The girl smirked and shook his hand. "Gilda." She introduced.

Sunset took the tokens out of her pocket and got in-between them. "I know you didn't ask, but I'm Sunset. And we were just leaving." Sunset stated firmly, grabbing Chance's hand hard and pulling him away, causing him to stagger a bit as he was dragged along.

Gilda watched as Chance got dragged away by the other girl, only to then go wide-eyed, gasping as she saw a few other girls moving towards her. Gilda quickly moved backwards, only to then see she was cut-off, stuck.

Chance managed to break free from Sunset's grasp, and simply glared at her. "What the fuck's your problem?! Squeeze my hand any harder, and you just might break it!" Chance warned.

Sunset stared him down. "We need to avoid that Gilda girl. She's total trouble, and most likely a bad influence!" Sunset cautioned.

Chance rolled his eyes. "Seemed pretty alright to me," Chance looked back at where Gilda was last, only to then see a bunch of unfamiliar girls surrounding said spot. Chance and Sunset moved and saw Gilda being surrounded by three other girls. One of them had sporty shorts and a tank top on, another had one of those tribal Indian feathers on their head, and the other girl had a fauxhawk and looked like a serious rival, sporting a t-shirt that said 'Dragonz Rule' on the front of it. "Uh-oh, this can't be good." Chance stated worriedly.

Gilda was backed into one of the games, and could clearly tell she was in some serious trouble. "Long time, no see, G. Where you going? Home to recharge your batteries, freak?" The sporty girl sneered.

Gilda smirked. "Now why would I go home to recharge my batteries when your sugar daddy will help me out?~" Gilda remarked, chuckling coldly.

The fauxhawk girl decked Gilda in the face, knocking the back of her head against the screen. "Silence! You are going to pay for what you've done, demon!" The feather girl called out.

Gilda chuckled, only to cough and sputter, letting a bit of red paint her lips. "Still mad about your hideout gettin' trashed? You're gonna have to try a lot harder than that if you want me to pay!" Gilda taunted.

The fauxhawk girl grabbed Gilda's throat and raised her off the ground, astonishing Chance and Sunset, who watched in horror. "You're all talk till you start bleeding, birdie! This is where it ends, right here, right now!! You aren't getting out of this alive, that's the price you'll pay for stickin' on your own!" The fauxhawk girl declared, and started to squeeze Gilda's neck.

Chance ducked down and moved a couple lanes over, pressing the button on the Omnitrix, dialing in one of his aliens. "Good thing she's not alone, this time." Chance remarked, pressing down on the core as he transformed.

Chance felt the Omnitrix embed itself into his arm, letting skin and muscle grow over it and up to his arm. He closed his eyes as the muscles went into his eye, forcing them to open, revealing them to be all white. His skin became a very light shade of sky blue, and his hair slowly formed into that of some kind of feathery plumage that jutted out from his head. His lips pursed together and extended into a large beak, opening up to make a sound reminiscent of a bird call.

Chance felt his fingers merge together and toughen up, opening up as sharp talons. Several blue feathers sprouted across his arms and all over his body, only for it to be sealed in a one-piece suit with a white top, and black pants, with the Omnitrix being dead-center in the middle of the creature's chest. Tail feathers grew from his tailbone and his feet became more like that of a bird's, only covered in a white protective fabric.

The alien posed as if he performed a jump kick, and cawed as he flapped his arm wings.

Gilda swung her feet, kicking at the girl with all her might, but it was just tiring her out, and wasting the air in her lungs. Before Gilda blacked out, the sound of a bird's cry echoed out, causing everyone to look at Jump-Kick, who landed on the scene. The girls were confused as to why there was a man-sized blue jay standing in their presence, but one of the girls was stupid enough to speak up.

The sporty girl laughed at the alien hero. "Oh man, you're a little early for Halloween, aren't 'cha buddy?" The girl asked, still laughing at the avian alien.

Jump-Kick dashes over to them and grabs the girl with his foot, then proceeds to launch her into the air with relative ease. She shrieks out, and Jump-Kick spin-kicks her away as she falls back down. The avian hero jumps up and seems to disappear. "H-Hey! Where'd he disappear to?!" The fauxhawk girl exclaimed.

Gilda and the girl holding her turn around. The feather girl disappeared as something snatched her up into the rafters. Another is picked off and they are all piled over to where the sporty girl fell. As the fauxhawk girl lets go of Gilda and backs up, Jump-Kick appears behind her. "'Trick-or-treat'!" Jump-Kick said with a wry smile.

Before the girl knew what happened, she felt something hit her and launch her into the other girls, all while Sunset just watched on in shock. Without a moment's hesitation, Sunset left the building as Jump-Kick helped Gilda up to her feet, dusting her off. Once the Omnitrix started beeping, he simply waved and made a mad dash for the front door, leaving Gilda confused, but appreciative for the alien's assistance.

After some time has passed, Chance was in the RV, being scolded by Luna, who was told of what happened by Sunset. "You expect me to trust you after what you did in there?! Assaulting an employee, misusing the Omnitrix's power on a bunch of powerless girls, I don't have the words to describe how infuriated and disappointed I am in you at this moment!" Luna reprimanded.

Chance sulked, only to glare over at Sunset. "Congrats, Sunset, you earned the title of 'Snitch'!" Sunset sighed and walked to the back of the RV. Chance looked back at Luna, who was very furious. "Look, it's no big deal! You're missing the context here. The employee wanted to talk shit, so I let him have it! Besides, Gilda was getting ganged up on by a bunch of other chicks, one of them was aiming to kill her, I couldn't just standby and watch that happen! I did the right thing numerous times with and without the Omnitrix, why are you both having hissy fits over this one occurrence?" Chance asked.

Luna glared at him, and while he didn't back down, he did feel an unfamiliar chill run down his spine. "It's not how many times you use the Omnitrix, mister Marsten. It's about how you use it! This time, you have misused that device's power!" Luna stated firmly.

Chance groaned. "I did not! I used it just fine, like every other situation! I haven't once ever considered using this thing for my own entertainment, because it'd get stale pretty fuckin' fast!" Luna's patience was wearing thin, and Sunset was watching from behind the curtain. "Besides, it's their own fault, anyway! They shouldn't've been fuckin' around, and now they found out what happens when you do! No one likes a bully, it's either fight back and the bully drags you down with them, or succumb to getting the shit beat out of you and have little to no reason to fight back when they start swinging, because if you do, you're in as much trouble as they are, if not more! Sound familiar?" Chance inquired, scowling at .

Luna growled, gritting her teeth as she slammed her hand on the table. "That's it, young man! I've had it up to here! You don't seem worried about the consequences of your actions, so here's the consequences in full-swing! You're grounded!!" Chance's eyes widened, not out of surprise, but was more-so not expecting Luna to start screaming. "No more 'Pocket Quest' stuff for 8 weeks! No games, no trading cards, no-!"

"-Fair!" Chance interrupted.

Luna leaned in and stared him down. "Neither is getting booted and banned from an arcade because you assaulted an employee and a bunch of girls! You're lucky none of them pressed charges!" Luna argued.

Chance furrowed his brow and groaned. "Yeah, well neither is being hunted down by alien bounty hunters and getting my shoulder cut open! it was bound to happen at some point, let's be honest here!" Chance rebutted.

Luna sighed and sighed in frustration. "Again, you're lucky the employee didn't press charges! If the girls did find out who you were, you're still lucky they didn't!" Luna reminded.

Chance groaned. "I didn't fight the girls as myself, that was Jump-Kick! Something I'm sure the Vice Principal's pet didn't say anything about that!" Sunset quickly ducked behind the curtains. "Besides, the employee was being an asshole, I merely treated him like most assholes we've come across this summer, someone who clearly needs to learn some proper manners!" Chance argued.

Luna walked over to the curtain and pulled it back, leading Sunset over to the booth. "It was a spur of the moment decision! I just didn't want you to get in more trouble than that girl was worth! I was looking out for you!" Sunset defended.

Chance gestured to the pissed off and furious Luna standing above them. "And how in the god damn did that work out for ya, snitchy?" Chance asked rhetorically.

"Enough! Both of you!!" The teens flinched as Luna stared them down. "Chance, this is not the time, nor the place for your antics! Go to the back of the RV and think about what you've done!" Luna shouted.

Chance got up and stared at her. "No, that's not happening! I'm not gonna be punished again, just because I was trying to help someone in need, and stick up for my friend!" Chance walked towards the door, only for Luna to grab him by the arm, gripping it tightly. Chance whipped around and pulled his arm loose, now he was getting furious. "You can't fuckin' do this! This is my vacation too, ya know! You can't always tell me what to do, like I'm some obedient brain-dead foot soldier who follows commands at the drop of a hat. You're not my mom!" Chance exclaimed angrily, sneering at Luna.

Luna was stunned, as was Sunset. To some degree, even Chance was a bit hurt by what just escaped his mouth, but he stood firm, staring the woman down. He could see it in her eyes, she wasn't just stunned, she felt hurt. He saw the tears forming in the corners of her eyes, he crossed a line. Luna didn't say a word, she just stood there, her lip quivering as she walked away, sitting in the driver's seat.

Sunset looked at Chance, seeing the furious, yet remorseful look in her friend's eyes. Chance scoffed and opened the door, only to then slam it closed behind him. Sunset looked at the door, then back at Luna. A bit of her makeup was starting to run, and she looked back at Sunset. She tried to stifle a couple sobs, but Sunset knew that wasn't going to last long. Sunset sighed and got up from her seat, walked over to Luna, and rubbed her back. "Hey, I'm sure he didn't mean it. If it makes you feel better, I'll go after him, make sure he doesn't get into another fight and resorts to transforming in public." Sunset reassured.

Luna sniffed and nodded her head, only to bury her face in her hands. Sunset quickly moved to the door and opened it, closing it carefully behind her as Luna started to break down.

As Chance walked down the street, he saw the Total Zone arcade up ahead, with Gilda leaning against the glass windows. She looked up and smiled, approaching Chance. "Hey pal, where'd ya go? Ya missed out on this dope fight between a giant bird and a bunch of stupid bitches!" Gilda asked.

Chance smiled, chuckling a bit. "You're talking about Jump-Kick, right? The giant blue jay that's good with his feet, he's one of my homies. We're pretty tight knit, ya know?" Chance answered.

Gilda smirked as the two started to walk down the street together. Behind them, Sunset was trying to catch up, hoping to learn more just by being sneaky. As the two teens walked down the street, Chance decides to try making conversation. "So, how'd you get your powers? Let me guess, bitten by radioactive jumper cables?" Chance asked.

Gilda snorted. "Nah, though that would be metal as hell. I was actually born with my powers, it was only till three years ago I started really using what I've been given. I'm like an energy sponge," Gilda pulls out a couple polaroid photos of different kinds of machines. "Motors, air conditioners, lights, batteries, whatever! I can soak it up, then dish it out when I have to... or want to." Gilda explained.

Chance laughed and patted Gilda on the back. "Well damn, color me thoroughly surprised! That's awesome!" Chance complimented.

Gilda chuckled. "Hey, why don't I show ya where I kick back and relax?" Chance raised an eyebrow in confusion. Gilda scoffed and smacked Chance in the back, causing him to wince yet again. "Don't worry, it's all on the up-and-up. Trust me, you're gonna love it!" Gilda remarked.

Gilda stopped and moved towards an alleyway, with Chance cautiously following behind. Gilda pushes a dumpster away from the right-most wall, and reveals a huge hole in the ground, one that's been chiseled and molded into a pseudo staircase. Gilda hopped down and started walking, and Chance, against his better judgement, hopped down and followed suite.

Sunset looked down at the hole, a rising sense of concern was starting to whell up within her, and she just tried to keep herself calm. 'You told Luna you'd keep him out of trouble. So, keep him out of trouble by going back, and tell her what you saw.' Sunset thought to herself.

Without another moment of hesitation, Sunset carefully walked away from the hole, and the moment she was out of the alleyway, she immediately sprinted down the street, trying to make it back to the RV in time.

After a bit of walking down into the depths, the teens arrive at an abandoned, yet very clean subway station. A few TVs and game consoles sit on the floor, an ATM sits next to the abandoned ticket booth, and a tattered Pocket Quest poster is hung up on the wall. "Holy underground utopia! You live here?!" Chance asked, in awe of how strangely clean the place was.

Gilda looked back and smiled. "Yeah, and I have the whole place to myself! Pretty rad, right?" Gilda inquired.

Chance nodded, but then a question popped into his head. "What about your folks, your parents, do they live here too?" Chance asked.

Gilda's smile faltered for a moment, and she sighed. "Those assholes are long gone! Apparently, they weren't too happy to know they're 'little princess' was a freak!" Chance raised an eyebrow at that, but Gilda simply kept talking. "But that just means I answer to nobody! I make the rules, I'm top dog down here!" Gilda proudly stated, flashing the same confident smile she did earlier.

Chance chuckled at her proclamation. "Alright, get down with your bad self!" Gilda rolled her eyes and tossed a can of soda his way. Chance caught it and cracked it open. "So, if you don't mind me asking, why were those chicks after you, mainly out for your head? I heard one of them say something about a trashed hideout, did you have something to do with it?" Chance asked curiously.

Gilda paused for a moment and a sheepish smile formed on her face as she laughed nervously. "Yeah, it most likely did. I kinda trashed their hangout under the 39th Street bridge, but that's what they deserve for actin' like a bunch of cowards, thinkin' they could stand me up when Garble's acting like a tool!" Chance raised an eyebrow in confusion, unsure of who this 'Garble' was, but upon hearing that name, he kinda had to agree that he sounded like a tool. "What about you? When you came back after that bird dude kicked those girls to the curb, you seemed like ya had something on your mind." Gilda stated.

Chance frowned, staring down into the can of soda, seeing the uncertainty in his own eyes in the aluminum reflection. 'I can't tell her about my powers, not yet. I need to make up a truth now, before the real truth spills out later,' After thinking about Gilda's question, Chance decided to spill his guts, metaphorically speaking. "My 'mom' wanted to take me and my friend on a road trip, just to get us away from the craziness of our home town. My friend was the girl you saw me with back at the arcade, and she can be a bit of a stickler for the rules, but I always believed that you're not living life without a little risk. My mom was not excited about how I punched that employee dude, but if he didn't want the smoke, he shouldn't've struck the match. No one insults my friends and gets away with it. Know what I mean?" Chance explained, keeping his composure.

Gilda looked a bit impressed, but she scoffed and smiled. "Damn, I didn't know you were about that life! You must be god's right-hand rebel, huh?" Gilda chided, walking over to Chance and nudging him with her elbow.

Chance shrugged and rolled his eyes. "I do my part for the community every now and then, even if my mom isn't supportive a hundred-percent of the time. Literally last night, I wanted to go after some guy who stole something from the hotel, but she told me that it wasn't worth the risk. Heard one of the alien heroes, Vitaguar, got the stolen property back and left it in the care of the hotel's finest security guards," that peaked Gilda's interest, and her attention was now laser-focused on the teen. "Apparently the stolen item was an exclusive game demo for the new main line Pocket Quest game. Who'd ah thought?" Chance explained.

Gilda thought about what he said, and something came to her brain. An idea had manifested, and a sly smirk formed on her lips. "Say, is it that same Pocket Quest game that won't be out till Christmas?" Gilda asked.

Chance nodded. "The very same one. Pocket Quest Starry Platinum version, the 4th iteration of the series! I kinda wish I had a copy myself, but my mom ended up grounding me from playing anything related to it for the next eight weeks! How fuckin' dumb is that?!" Chance remarked.

Gilda nodded. "Suuuper dumb, man. Listen, I think I know what'll cheer you up." Gilda assured, smirking confidently as she had a mischievous look in her eye.

Several hours pass and nightfall cascades over NYC. Several miles out from Gilda's hideout was a warehouse. Chance and Gilda slowly approach the place, crouching down and staying low. "This was your plan, B&E?! Might as well shout Mazeltov about the new year while we're at it!" Chance remarked.

Gilda nudged his arm and they both moved forward to the back door. "Relax, my tip's pretty solid. She was a bit apprehensive to get me this kind of info, but once I told her it was for a pal, she was willing to do all she could to help out. Inside this warehouse is a shipment of that Pocket Quest game you were tellin' me about. We go in, get our copies, and get out. Simple as that." Gilda explained, trying to reassure the alien hero.

Gilda looks over at the keypad, and grabs hold of it, overloading it with electricity. "Excellent. Hey, help me kick in the door." Gilda requested.

Chance, however, had a much better idea. Chance looked around the area carefully, and noticed a pair of gloves and a crowbar. Chance grabbed the gloves, and nudged the crowbar with his feet towards Gilda. 'I can't believe I'm doing this. I hope to god that this doesn't backfire.' Chance thought to himself.

Gilda put the gloves on and used the crowbar to pry the door open, managing to do so with success. Before she took a step, Chance grabbed her and kept her still. Gilda looked at him weirdly, only for him to point towards a sensor near the bottom of the door's frame. Gilda nodded and pressed a finger on the sensor, overloading it with electricity as well, causing it to spark and dismantle itself.

Gilda cautiously walked inside, turning on the lights. Chance walks in a little bit after her, surprised to see thousands of stacked cardboard crates, all marked 'Pocket Quest'. "Hot damn, this place is huge!" Chance stated.

Gilda walks over to a crate and uses the crowbar to pop it open; it's full of copies for the new video game. Gilda stuffs one copy in her jacket, and stuffs Chance's copy in her back pocket. "Check it out, man! Christmas came early this year!" Gilda cheered.

Chance smiled, and the two of them quickly moved back to the door they came in, only to be met by a familiar sight. Chance's eyes widened as he saw numerous drones flying in the air, fixated on him. "Oh no..." Chance muttered.

Gilda was unsure as to why there were floating robots suddenly spilling into the room, but Chance grabbed Gilda's hand and pulled her towards one of the loading doors. "We need to get out of here, now!" Chance called out.

Gilda followed his league, and tried to help him lift the large door open, but it wasn't budging. "Shit, must be locked!" The drones started firing at the two, and they separated from each other, with Chance ducking down behind a crate, trying to dial in one of his aliens. Gilda, on the other hand, hopped onto a forklift and grabbed hold of it, charging the vehicle with energy. "Time to 'rev things up'!" Gilda stated.

The forklift suddenly speeds forward, heading for one of the shelves. At the last minute, Gilda ditches the lift as it crashes into the shelf, causing the whole thing to topple over, letting the contents crash onto the drones, and to then topple the other shelf right after.

Gilda runs behind the same crate that Chance hid behind, and the drones were getting more abundant. "Okay, this got pretty crazy, pretty fast! Oh, if only Dash was here, she'd love to see all this go down!" Chance paused for a moment, looking at Gilda with concern, but shook the concern off and continued to try and dial in an alien, but the Omnitrix was being strange. Gilda poked her head out, and looked towards the door they entered in, seeing that it was momentarily clear. "Dude, the door's empty! If we can get through the bots, we're home free! Got any ideas?" Gilda asked.

Chance looked at her, then back at the Omnitrix, only to shudder. "I've got only one idea, but can you keep a secret?" Chance asked.

Gilda opened her mouth to say something, but when she looked back at Chance, she saw a look of hesitation, regret and unease written on his face. Gilda looked back at the drones that were swarming the warehouse, and sighed, looking back at her new friend. "It's a done deal. Now, what'd you have in mind, anyway?" Gilda asked.

Chance nodded and pressed the button on the Omnitrix, letting the core pop up. Chance twisted the dial and found the icon he was looking for, all while Gilda looked at him strangely. "What're you doin' with your watch?" Gilda asked, only for Chance to slam the core back down, causing Gilda's eyes to widen as he was enveloped in a flash of green light.

Chance felt small bright brown hairs sprout from his arm, and his fingers elongate into long, sharp and very dense claws. He felt his body become rounder, more rotund as his shirt formed around him like a suit. His nose and mouth elongated into a long, sharp and jagged snout, his skin got paler as more hair sprouted over his body. He clenched his eyes shut and let them open up, becoming all-white.

The Omnitrix formed on his chest, and he now wore a black and white suit, something reminiscent of overalls, but more unified. He let his claws separate as he raised them in the air, then burrowed into the ground.

Gilda uncovered her eyes, only to be both surprised and confused when she saw Excavole staring at her. "Uh... I know I tend to call people rat bastards, but this is a bit too literal." Gilda remarked.

Excavole rolled his small beady white eyes. "I know! Just shut your trap and keep quiet!" Excavole ordered.

The alien mole started to drill through the floor, creating a deep human-sized hole in the ground, only to momentarily stop and poke his head out, just to gesture for Gilda to follow. The girl was hesitant, but went along with it, hopping down the hole as the two of them dug their way to freedom.

As Excavole dug through the ground, pushing and breaking through dirt, stone and concrete, they eventually found themselves outside of the warehouse, and in a darkened alleyway. The problem wasn't over yet, however, as the drones started to break through the warehouse, and started to hone in on their location. Excavole looked up at Gilda with a serious expression. "Do you know how to fight?" Excavole asked.

Gilda smirked and let her hands crackle with energy. "Oh, you know it! Let's send these buckets of bolts back to the scrapyard!" Gilda exclaimed, firing off several bolts of energy at a few incoming drones, destroying them upon coming into contact with the energy.

Excavole ran towards a couple of the drones and slammed his sharpened muzzle through both of them, piercing their metal shells and ripping them apart with his claws. Gilda encased her hands in energy as she punched and slammed against the drones, only to then absorb the energy they had and fire it out in short bursts, destroying fifteen to twenty of them at a time. Excavole sliced through the drones like a hot knife through butter, even straight up impaling eight to ten of them at a time with some kind of corkscrew drill attack.

The two stood side-by-side, steadily getting surrounded by drones. Before either of them could do anything else, the drones suddenly backed off, flying away as they moved up into the night sky. Once the drones were no longer visible to the teens, the Omnitrix started beeping, and in a flash of red light, Chance was returned to normal. "Phew. As much as I love having this watch, the problems and complications that follow it are difficult, to say the least." Chance remarked, sighing as he leaned against the wall.

Chance looked at Gilda, who was also tired, but was in a very happy mood. "So you're the guy behind that strange mole dude?" Chance sheepishly nodded, and felt Gilda slug him in the arm. "Hey, there's no need for that modesty crap! Be proud of what you got goin' on! So, that watch thing lets you become that mole dude whenever you want?" Gilda asked.

Chance sighed. "It's not just Excavole. The watch sends out this special energy that alters my DNA, allowing me to transform into not one, not two, not three, but ten different super-powered alien heroes." Chance briefly explained.

Gilda seemed surprised, but at the same time, it confirmed something for her. "So that blue jay back at the arcade, when he showed up and no one could find you, you were him the whole time?" Chance nodded his head in approval, making Gilda smile widely. "Dude, you're the MAN! Damn, way to make me look like a one-trick pony! C'mon, show me what other aliens you can morph into!" Gilda requested.

Chance shook his head. "I can't, even if I wished it could be that simple, it doesn't usually work in my favor. This thing tends to have a mind of its own, and I haven't the oddest idea as to why it does most of the things it does. I just know that it's important, and it's my responsibility... another thing to add to that growing list." Chance remarked, seeming saddened and bitter as the Omnitrix glows red.

Gilda looks at it briefly, then reaches for it, causing Chance to hide it behind his back. "Gimme it! Maybe I can make it work." Gilda told the teen hero.

Chance shook his head again. "If I could take this thing off, don't you think I would've done it already? It's stuck to me," Chance sulked as he sat down on the ground, feeling a weight on his shoulders. "Not like it matters, I'll have to go back to my mom eventually, and she's gonna be pissed when she finds out I took part in something as incriminating as breaking and entering. I'll probably be grounded the entire summer, or till I graduate and move out." Chance remarked.

Gilda thought for a moment, and then an idea came to her. "We should be partners! Hear me out, between the two of us, with our powers? We could do whatever we want, whenever we want!" Gilda turned towards Chance, seeing the confusion on his face. "I mean, think about it, we could totally cash in! What do you say? Friends?" Gilda asked, offering her hand to Chance.

Chance was about to reach out and take her offer, but he felt something strange. Chance pulled his hand back and looked at Gilda. "On two conditions," Gilda was now confused, but decided to let him speak. "One, we can't hurt, endanger or end the lives of innocent people with what we do. I can't handle the idea of blood being on my hands, it's not worth having power if people end up dead anyway. Two, and this is just as important, no secrets between us! Got something you wanna say, say it to your partner's face and mean it!" Chance held his hand out, offering it to Gilda. "We got a deal?" Chance asked.

Gilda wasn't initially happy with how things suddenly got flipped against her, but she had to admit, this guy had guts. Gilda took his hand and helped him up, dusting him off. "Deal." Gilda stated.

The two walked away from the scene, with Chance looking unsure of all that has happened thus far today. He wanted to head back to the RV, but something in his head told him that was the worst idea. 'Those two probably want nothing to do with me... I don't blame them.' Chance thought, following close behind Gilda.

Sunset heads into the RV and carefully closes the door, only to be met by Luna, who looked very concerned. The dried black streaks beneath her eyes was enough to tell that tears were shed, and it caused Luna's makeup to run. "Where's Chance, did you bring him back?" Sunset was silent, simply moving past her and getting in the front seat on the passenger's side. "We're gonna have to go after him, aren't we?" Luna asked. Sunset silently nodded, she was just as concerned for her friend, but she couldn't help but feel guilty for turning back like that.

Luna got in the driver's seat and turned the RV on, with the radio blaring. "We interrupt this broadcast with breaking news! The warehouse containing the yet-to-be-released game, Pocket Quest Starry Platinum, has been attacked by several strange drones that descended from the sky a half hour ago. Since then, they retreated back into the night sky, but who knows when they'll be coming back? What fended them off, or what scared them off? More news as it develops." The reporter stated as music began to play.

Luna and Sunset looked at each other, both of them equally concerned and aware of what that meant. The RV quickly sped down the road, hoping to find Chance in one piece, or more optimistically, still on Earth. Luna's concern was starting to mix with a rising sense of frustration, as well as embarrassment. "Of all the stunts Chance has pulled, this has to be one of, if not the worst of them all! He better be alive, let alone okay, when we find him. I should've gone to find him myself, that's what I should've done!" Luna remarked, a distressed, ashamed and irate expression formed on her face.

Sunset wanted to reach out and say something, but Luna was going through the emotions, and she simply sat in silence, watching as the buildings passed her by.

Meanwhile, in a subway station, Gilda and Chance hop over the ticket checks. They come into the empty station, which has two tracks on the floor. Gilda looks up at one of the lit up light fixtures. "Dope! Hey, gimme a boost, I need a quick recharge after dealing with a bunch of robots!" Gilda remarked.

Chance walked over and got underneath Gilda, getting between her legs as he stood up, propping Gilda up on the back of his heck. Gilda quickly positioned her feet on Chance shoulders, causing him to wince and grunt in pain, but he persevered. Gilda grabbed the light fixture and absorbed the electricity out of it. She hops off Chance and runs onto the empty tracks, gripping a switch. She charges the switch with electricity, causing the rails on one track to shift and connect to the other. Already, Chance felt as if something was wrong with this situation. "Uh, Gilda? What're we doing?" Chance asked.

Gilda looked back at Chance, only to realize she didn't fill him in. "Oh... right, I guess I didn't tell ya, my bad. Here's the rundown," Gilda pointed to the tracks. "A jewelry train loaded with expensive accessories comes down this track, so when it crashes into the incoming prisoner transport tram? BOOM! Instant - jackpot! You turn into that Excavole guy and we're outta here! Pretty sweet, right?" Gilda explained.

Chance's eyes widened, his body was twitching. He didn't say a word, nor did he move. 'A prisoner transport tram? They could get killed if I don't do something! Then again, it's a bunch of prisoners, some of them have to be already sentenced to death-row, this is just cutting out the middle man and getting money for it, but is that fair for those who got a light sentence, or innocent people who were probably wrongfully accused and put away?' Chance was torn and watched as Gilda watched the tracks, ready for her pay day.

Chance clenched his eyes shut, trying to make a decision. 'Luna would be disgusted by my lack of actions. If I let this happen, nothing will be the same again. I'll be just like him. Do I really wanna be the spitting image of the same man who waltzed in and ruined my life for the past five years?! Do I really want to be remembered as someone who was worse than him?!' Chance looked at Gilda, her back was turned to him. Chance gritted his teeth and started getting angry. 'Good choice, now tell that bitch off!' Chance thought.

Chance walked up to Gilda and shoved her to the side, knocking her off her feet and sending her to the ground. Chance moves the switch and switches the tracks back to normal. Gilda was surprised, but also very annoyed. "What the hell, man!" Gilda exclaimed.

Chance whipped around and glared at Gilda. "Shut the fuck up! This is not what we agreed on! Innocent lives are still at stake if we do this!" Chance stated.

Gilda raised an eyebrow and sighed. "Of course this is what we agreed on! Those suckers doing jail time got their sentences for crimes they committed, and I'm sure some of them got the death penalty anyway, so it's a win-win for both of us!" Gilda rationalized.

Chance's frown worsened as his anger rose. "And what about the ones manning the trains, huh!? Do they deserve to die in a fiery molten metal inferno, what about the few prisoners that were falsely accused? What about them?!" Chance stepped forward. "This isn't a risk we can just easily take!" Chance reprimanded.

Gilda shrugged, seeming not that bothered by the prospect. "Hey, 'No Pain, No Gain'. Now, enough fuckin' around, help me switch the tracks back, if you'd kindly." Gilda requested.

Chance stood between Gilda and the track's switch. "We can't do this!" Chance pleaded.

Gilda smiled. "Sure we can! I still got enough juice to switch the track back, we got time to fix this!" Gilda reassured, trying to put a hand on his shoulder, only for Chance to aggressively smack it away.

Chance groaned. "Do you need to clean the wax out of your ears?! Let me re-iterate, then! I'm not gonna let you do this, Gilda. No amount of money in my wallet is worth letting innocent blood stain my soul!" Chance exclaimed, his aggression echoed throughout the tunnels.

Gilda's smile finally drops. She could see that Chance was adamant on not risking lives for monetary gain, and it was starting to remind her of someone she thought she could count on. Gilda gritted her teeth and grabbed Chance by the throat, picking him up off the ground in the same manner that the fauxhawk girl did to her earlier that day at the Total Zone. She squeezed her hand around his throat hard, all while he squirmed to break himself free. "We shook... We're partners!" Gilda stated angrily.

Chance gasped and tried to pry her hand off of him, but still managed to squeak out a few words before his vision started to get blurry and dark. "I... I won't... l-let... yo-ou... d-do... t-t-thi-i-is...s..." He protested weakly.

Gilda scoffed and tossed Chance aside, causing him to land at a couple familiar individual's feet. Gilda looked back at the subway's entry, only to be surprised seeing Sunset, and Luna had arrived on the scene, and knelt down next to him. Chance's face was getting very blue as he weakly gasped and sputtered, coughing, panting and hacking as he gently held his own neck. "Oh great, just what I needed... witnesses." Gilda remarked, already pissed off by her partner double-crossing her.

Luna held Chance's face in her hands, and he weakly looked up at her. "I-I... s-sorr...y..." Chance tried to speak, but it all came out as a hoarse and raspy gasp.

Luna was absolutely livid. Not at Chance, but at the girl who put her hands on him. Luna grabbed a nearby metal pole nearby and brandished it like a staff. "Miss Shimmer, I may require your assistance!" Luna stated.

Sunset looked down at her friend, seeing him try to form a smile on his face. He opened his mouth to say something, but Sunset just put a finger to his lips. "Can you move your arms any?" Chance weakly moved the Omnitrix onto his chest, and winced as his left shoulder started flare up. He grunted and let out stifled and restricted gasps of pain. Sunset sighed, pressing the button on the Omnitrix, popping the core up, with the very first alien it dials up on is Nitrofrost. "I'm gonna try something. If you feel better afterwards, feel free to jump in." Sunset stated.

Luna roared out aggressively, swinging the metal pole at Gilda, only for the teen to back away and evade her attacks. "You're a bit too old to play hero, lady, maybe I'll put you out to pasture, just like my partner. How's that sound, at least you'll both go togeth-Urgh!" Gilda felt the metal pole jab into her stomach and then slam into the bottom part of her chin, staggering her and knocking her back.

Luna spun the metal pole in numerous ways, and gripped it tightly as she leered at Gilda. "Keep your hands off of him, you abhorrent monster!" Luna insulted, only to then see Gilda frown and charge up an energy attack.

Before Gilda could fire the attack, there was a flash of green light that caught her attention. Gilda was surprised, and a bit confused, but knew she was in some serious trouble. Gilda looked at Nitrofrost, he let out a spine-chilling grunt of dissatisfaction. Luna smiled, knowing her student was safe, but then noticed that Gilda had now changed her target. Gilda fired the bolt of energy, shocking him a fair bit, but not enough to put him down.

Gilda gritted her teeth and groaned, approaching the alien. Nitrofrost held his hand out, readying a powerful icy blast. "Back off." Nitrofrost warned.

Gilda let a wicked smirk form on her face. "Or what, icy pop? You gonna make some sherbet for your mommy?" Gilda taunted.

A large jagged ice spike jutted out from the ground mere inches away from where Gilda stood. Gilda flinched and jumped back, and looked back at the alien hero. "Fight me, and you're the one who's gonna get frostbite!" Nitrofrost cautioned.

Sunset and Luna stood beside Nitrofrost, ready to fight. "Really, 3 v 1? Hardly seems fair, don't cha think?" Gilda turns around, looking at the generator next to the track switch. Gilda smirks, "Then let's even up the odds!" Gilda remarked.

Before the three of them could do anything, Gilda ran over to the generator, grabbing onto it and absorbs all of the electricity. Nitrofrost, Luna and Sunset look around as the lights around them pop out and glass shatters; the entire subway station goes dark; Sunset uses her geode to provide some form of light source.

The trio looks over to the generator, but Gilda's not there anymore. Before they can look around for her presence, Gilda sneaks up behind Sunset and Nitrofrost, then grabs them both from behind. Gilda looks at the geode Sunset has and pulls her hand away from it, just so she could grab it. Gilda also tried to use her other hand to grab the Omnitrix, and managed to do so. Gilda starts to absorb them, but something starts to go awry. Gilda feels an odd sensation course through her body, causing her body to tense up and undergo some kind of internal and external spasm attack.

Energy crackled around Gilda as she cried out in agony, feeling the unnatural and unexpected pain of whatever was happening to her. Her skin suddenly became pure white, as did her hair. Her blue eyes became golden in color, and her clothes seemed to change color as well. Gilda's body was repelled and launched to the other side of the tracks. Nitrofrost and Sunset felt woozy, but managed to snap themselves out of it as they looked over at Gilda's location. They tried to move and see if she was alright, until a blackened torrent of ice and slush collided with Nitrofrost, sending him flying against a metal beam.

As Nitrofrost gets up and brushes off the literal black ice, he gets a good look at Gilda. The entire left side of her upper body and head has been transformed to have his same misty and snow-like composition, but there was also something else about her that was different. She seemed to have a lion's tail and large brown bird wings sprouting out from her back. Her eyes were also glowing with a golden hue. Sunset noticed her geode was reacting, and was frozen in terror. Gilda chuckled. "Sike! I absorb energy, remember?" Gilda reminded, her voice was raspy, but still had a similar inflection with her words. Gilda looked at her wings and chuckled. "Well, this is pretty cool! Guess that fancy rock on your neck ain't for sale, huh." Gilda remarked, causing Sunset to sneer in disgust.

Nitrofrost got back up and stared at Gilda. "You don't have to do this!" the alien hero pleaded.

Nitrofrost rushes Gilda, but she flies out of the way and blasts him in the back with an intense wave of ice. Nitrofrost groans and falls to his knees on a track. Gilda lands on top of his back and smirks in a psychotic manner. "It's time I got what's coming to me. Nobody's gonna call me 'freak' anymore! Especially her," They all suddenly hear a train horn to the left, seeing a prison tram come barreling down the track. Then, a second horn. Nitrofrost gasps, and Gilda just smirks. "Payday." Gilda said with a manic chuckle.

Quickly thinking, Luna whacks Gilda over the back of the head with the pole, causing a loud metallic thunk to echo out as she staggered to the ground in a daze. The prisoners' lives are saved; meanwhile, the jewelry train is about to ram into the trio. Nitrofrost grabs them both and creates an icy cold mist twister. The train conductor braces for impact, but the train simply goes right through the swirling mist. The trio has disappeared. Gilda gets her bearings back, only to look around the now empty station, puzzled and pissed off.

Gilda growled and let out a mix between a bird's caw and a lion's roar. "Forget the fuckin' money! Time to get some sweet, priceless revenge!" Gilda remarked.

Outside of the station, back on the surface, Nitrofrost managed to carry Luna and Sunset back to the RV, before inevitably collapsing onto the sidewalk, timing out and changing back into his normal self.

Sunset and Luna look down at Chance, his clothes were all torn up and ripped to shreds, he had more bruises on his body than a professional boxer, but at least he was breathing right this time.

Luna slung Chance's good arm over her shoulder as Sunset held the door, letting them both in before entering herself, closing it shut.

A few minutes later, Chance is now adorned in a few bandages, but otherwise, he was still fine. He could move, he could breathe, he could talk, but he's been silent ever since they got out of the station. 'I fucked up big time... She's gonna be pissed, I know it.' Chance thought, feeling a sense of shame wash over him like a tidal wave.

Sunset looked at Chance, and reached out to try get his attention, but he simply looked her way and shook his head in disapproval, clearly wanting to remain in his own head for a bit. Luna walked to the booth and looked down at Chance, it hurt her to see him wrapped in bandages, but Luna did know that some people can't learn certain things the easy way, and Chance was one of those people. "I'm sorry, Miss Luna." Chance spoke out.

Luna was a bit surprised to hear those words, but it felt bittersweet. Luna closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and sat down beside him. "I'm sorry as well, mister Marsten. I shouldn't've pushed you so hard as of late, and I shouldn't've gotten angry when you were just doing what you thought was right. You stood up for Sunset and saved that punk from getting killed, and one of those actions came back for the roundabout, nearly getting you killed," The trio sat in silence for a moment, but Luna gently pats Chance's back, making him wince slightly, yet he doesn't fight the gesture. "You know, this reminds me of an old saying my old tutor used to say. 'No good deed goes unpunished'. I always wondered what he meant by that, but for a time, I finally understood, and it made things so much harder for me. I guess in a strange roundabout way, you could say your kindness and show of good faith was misplaced in the wrong hands, and now Gilda is on the loose... I know you didn't want this, but I can only hope that with time, we can both learn to forgive each other for today's blunders." Luna explained.

Chance gritted his teeth and slammed his fist on the table. "This isn't over, not yet. Gilda's still out there, misusing Nitrofrost's powers and... whatever in the numerous rings of hell she absorbed from Sunset's geode... I think I know where she's going, and we need to get there, ASAP. She has to be stopped." Chance stated, standing up as he tried to get out of the booth, but Luna simply sat him back down.

Luna smiled. "Save your strength till we get there. Where exactly are we going, Chance?" Luna asked, getting up as she moved to the driver's seat.

Chance nodded, a look of betrayal and irritation forming on his face. "The 39th street bridge. Those girls must've had a hideout underneath it, and Gilda trashed it at some point, that's why they were out for her head. She even admitted it when I asked, I bet she's gonna turn them all into a bunch of punk-sicles!" Chance explained.

Luna nodded, and started the RV, turning around as she sped down the road, hoping to get to the address in time. As the RV moved down the road, Sunset looked at Chance, seeing the shame, guilt and betrayal on his face, it made her shudder, the feeling of regret formed on her face.

Meanwhile, huge pillars of black ice and waves of tar-colored slush and snow erupt under the 39th street bridge, at the thugs' hideout. The fauxhawk girl gets in front of the two other girls, as if she were protecting them. Two dudes behind them, one being a tan-skinned guy with a blonde mohawk, and the other was Reggie. "Gilda, please! We can talk this out, can't we?" The girl pleaded.

Gilda walked forward, brandishing her icy claws with a scowl on her face. "I don't think so, Ember." Gilda remarked, thrusting her mutated arm forward, blasting an ash-colored blast of mist towards the girls.

Back with the RV, it was currently stuck in traffic. "No, come on!! Get the hell movin', you lobotomized morons!" Luna exclaimed out the window.

Chance groaned and got up, activating the Omnitrix. "Goin' Vitaguar! I'll see you two at the 39th street bridge!" Chance pushed down on the core, enveloping himself in a flash of green light. Once it dissipated, Chance was not transformed into Vitaguar, like he intended, but instead, was transformed into Riptile, and he barely even fit inside the recreational vehicle. "Oh man... Well, this can still work!" Riptile remarked.

Riptile manages to get out of the RV through the front door. He closes it, and then starts jumping on the roofs of the cars in traffic. "Move it or lose it, ya filthy animals! Alien hero comin' through, ya lousy paper pushers!" Riptile called out as he jumped along.

At the hideout, five teens, comprised of Ember and the two girls she was with earlier, as well as the two dudes are stuck under a large pipe encased in black ice. Gilda simply crosses her arms and laughs at their misfortune. "Hah! So much for your gang, losers!" Before Gilda could ready another attack, the icy powers of Nitrofrost soon faded away, returning Gilda to normal, kinda. The wings, lion tail and other altered parts of her body remained the same, even with her hair staying white with purple tips. "Huh? What's going on?" Gilda asked, looking at herself.

A loud rumbling crash echoed behind her, startling her a bit, only to then recognize the large Omnitrix symbol on Riptile's belt. "Your power is gone, toots!" Riptile stated firmly.

Gilda smirked. "Really, because it looks like you're about to give me some more, pal!" Gilda rebutted.

Riptile crossed his arms and scowled at her. "You aren't gettin' shit!" Riptile proclaimed.

Gilda laughed, making Riptile look confused. "Dumbass, you don't have a choice!" Gilda turned around and let energy crackle around her hands as she aimed towards the trapped teenagers. "I still got enough juice to flash-fry these sons of bitches extra crispy!" Gilda exclaimed.

As the teens panicked, closing their eyes as they prepared for the end, Gilda was suddenly grabbed from behind, forcing her to blast her energy upwards, causing a bit of debris to fall. Gilda lets a smug grin form on her face and absorbs Riptiles' arms wrapped around her. Laughing manically, she bulks up as her skin turns into a sickly green, and she punches Riptile away. Gilda laughs as her skin lets a few warts and bumps grow all over her body, her teeth become sharper, and her right eye morphs into a large orange reptilian eye. Riptile is stunned, borderline shocked and appalled. Gilda runs up to him, suddenly grows a second tail, and whips Riptile with it so hard, he goes flying back.

Gilda stands and cracks her knuckles with a toothy smirk on her face. "Hahahaha, this is gonna be REAL fun!" She stated, her voice was now deeper and sinister sounding.

Riptile got up, already having trouble, but he simply put his fists up and croaked at the mutated backstabber. "TELL me about it while I'm kicking your ass!" Riptile yelled out.

The two charge at each other and started to square off and lock fists, trying to outpower each other. "Just so you know, when I'm done mauling you alive, I'm taking ALL your alien powers!" Gilda stated.

The two throw each other into walls and start to seriously beat on each other; Gilda was winning, overwhelming Riptile. As the two aliens fought, the RV parks up top near the bridge, Luna and Sunset get out and help lift the pipe off the teens, only for Riptile to be thrown into the black ice, shattering it and the pipe into numerous pieces before jumping back into the fight.

The teens were horrified and confused as they got to their feet, but Luna simply grabbed Ember and looked at her in the face. "Consider this 'Moving Day'. Pack your things and get out!" Luna ordered sternly.

Sunset smirked at the terrified teens. "I'd listen to her if I were you, this is just another Tuesday for us." Sunset advised.

Gilda throws Riptile into a wall and pounces on him, pummeling and beating the hell out of him. Riptile catches her fists, but struggles to hold them back when the Omnitrix starts beeping red. His eyes widen, but he starts to push her back. "NO! NOT YET!!" Riptile finds his footing and is somehow overpowering Gilda, which even surprised her. "I WON'T DIE BY SOME CHEAP IMITATION!!" Riptile roared out.

In a sudden burst of willpower, adrenaline, or maybe even both, before the beeping stops, Riptile tosses Gilda back, rushes towards her, and starts laying into her, he punches her, kicks her, even going as far as to claw and bite into her. Chance wasn't being merciful, he was going all out, giving her all he had. He went for the face, the gut, the sides of her body, over and over and over, it was becoming less of a fight and more of a one-sided massacre. Blood started to leak from Gilda's mouth, as well as from her wounds, and she was starting to lose the will to fight. With one last attack, Riptile jumped and slammed both of his feet into Gilda's chest, sending her flying back into a column of the bridge, knocking it down on top of her.

Riptile takes deep breaths and sighs as he was enveloped in a flash of red light, transforming him back to his normal state. Chance hobbled over towards the pile of rubble, seeing Gilda's mutated state crawl out, she put her hands up in a surrendering motion. "C-Come on! I-I give, I give! I'm sorry! Please, just...lighten up, man! Are you always this aggressive towards girls?" Gilda pleaded, seeming genuinely shaky, even in her mutated state.

Chance breathed heavily, the bandages on his body slowly fell away, and while his body was still bruised, and even more so from the beating Gilda gave him, he still shambled over towards Gilda, clearly still mad, yet somehow, less than he was before. Chance smirked. "I just did, by about 300 pounds or so, give or take," Gilda let a small smile form on her face, but soon Chance's face fell back into a scowl. "I think that's enough bullshit for the night, don't you think so?" Chance asked.

Gilda nodded her head, and sighed. "...I guess I went too wild with power. I don't have anyone else like you to help me... well, I used to, but she didn't like that I had powers, so she left... I haven't seen her, or heard from her since then." Gilda somberly admitted.

Chance cleared his throat and took a deep breath. "I'm guessing this person you're talking about is Rainbow, right? Rainbow Dash?" Chance inquired.

Gilda was a bit surprised that he knew who she was talking about, and nodded her head. "How'd you know?" Gilda asked.

Chance rolled his eyes and sat on one of the pieces of rubble. "Dash always was an adrenaline junkie, and the moment she got super speed, that's been more apparent. Around the time I got my powers, she was super fucking arrogant, her ego was bigger than Riptile ever was, and she tried to start some shit. She made a lot of mistakes and is trying to make up for them, one of those mistakes involved my friend over there," Chance pointed towards Sunset, who wasn't paying attention to the conversation. "That girl is the first and closest thing I have to a friend, something I haven't had in five to, most likely eight years. I made a promise to someone that I would not let anything happen to her, and I intend to keep that promise. It's easy to do good and do what's right when you have someone or something worth fighting for, at least, that's what my dad used to tell me. He had me and my mom, and he went down fighting for what's right, fighting to protect the ones he loved. You get what I'm saying." Chance explained.

Gilda frowned and looked away. "My dad was hardly ever around, so my mom took me to live with my grandpa. The only reason I'm on my own is because I figured they wouldn't be able to handle me with my powers..." Gilda admitted.

Chance sighed and looked melancholic. "Yeah, I know what it's like to not have your dad be around. Haven't seen mine in eight years. But her," Chance gestured to Luna, who was watching the interaction carefully. "She's the closest thing I have to a loving and caring parent, and it's hard for me to admit that. She helped me get this far, and I couldn't be more appreciative of her efforts to get me out of trouble." Chance confessed.

Gilda sighed and looked at him curiously. "Does all of this chit-chat have a point, or do you always make conversation with the people who beat your ass?" Gilda asked, getting tired of talking.

Chance thought for a moment, and looked at Gilda, smiling. "Ya know, we can still be partners, if you're up for it. The only difference is that we'd be kicking ass for good, instead of for ourselves," Chance got up and carefully held his hand out, a pained but genuine smile forming on his face. "If you stick with us, you'll be able to realize that for yourself, and you'll be able to get a better grasp on your powers. We can work together to make ourselves better. Whaddya say?" Chance offered.

Gilda was surprised, confused, she wasn't expecting him to show mercy, especially with how aggressive he was just a moment ago. "...W-What's in it for me?" Gilda asked, her Riptile mutation starting to wear off.

Chance chuckled. "For starters, people will like you! They won't see you as a freak, but as one of the good guys, like us!" Chance gestured to Luna and Sunset. "Maybe Dash will wanna talk with you again, sky's the limit, if you ask me! What do you think?" Chance asked.

Gilda, now reverted back to her semi-normal human form reached out to take his hand, but the moment he pulled her out of the rubble, she flashed a mischievous smirk and grabs his throat with her free hand, pinning him down on the rubble pile, catching him by surprise once his guard was down.

Luna gasped. "Chance!!" Luna exclaimed. She quickly rushed over to get Gilda off of him, only for her to swat her away with her lion tail.

Gilda chuckled and grabbed the arm that the Omnitrix was latched onto, and immediately tried to pull it off. "Hoho, man! you are so damn dim!" Chance tries to move his left arm, but Gilda stomps on it to keep it pinned, earning a cry of pain from the alien hero. "Did mommy drop you on your head when you were a little baby?" She said in a mocking cutesy voice.

Sunset ran forward, gripping her geode as he grabbed Gilda by the back of her neck, immediately looking into her head. Unfortunately, this didn't have the effect she wanted, and was immediately met by red electrical waves of energy that forced Sunset out of her mind, sending her tumbling off the rubble pile. Gilda smirked and looked back at Sunset. "Hah! Stupid bitch, I don't know what the hell you were trying to do, but it didn't seem to work, so I don't care," Gilda continued to pull and pry at the Omnitrix, all while a strange symphony of synthetic mechanical noises sounded out from it. "Now gimme that watch! Some goody-goody dipshit like you shouldn't have it! You should be at home, cryin' for your mommy!" Gilda demanded ruthlessly.

That set Chance off. He gritted his teeth as the Omnitrix suddenly turned green, and started to spark with some kind of green energy. "You're the one who must've been dropped on their head when they were born, I told you I can't take it off! I'd tell you to fuck off and go run back to your parents, but something tell me they didn't want you to begin with!!" Gilda paused for a moment, and immediately started to pull on the Omnitrix even harder. Chance, out of desperation, decided to try something. He wasn't even sure it would work, but he had to try something, otherwise things could go from bad to worse. "Omnitrix, help me!!" Chance exclaimed out of desperation.

As Gilda continued to try and pry the Omnitrix off of him, the Omnitrix soon started to glow even brighter. Gilda wasn't sure what was happening, but the Omnitrix suddenly sent out a large burst of green energy feedback, launching the two teens in separate directions. Gilda was sent into the other side of the bridge, causing it to collapse, and Chance was sent flying into Luna's arms, holding him tightly as Sunset rushed to their side. Chance's knees started to buckle, and he clung onto Luna, just to keep himself standing. Luna smiled and supported him, but then the sound of rubble being disturbed caught their attention.

The trio looked back at where Gilda had crashed, and saw her escape the pile of rubble, still partially mutated from Sunset's geode, but she didn't seem pleased that she had no alien powers anymore. Gilda gritted her teeth and clenched her fists tightly. "NO!" Gilda cried out.

Gilda looked back at the trio, and scoffed, flying away from the scene. Chance looked at Luna, then at Sunset, and didn't hesitate to hug them both. The two were surprised, but it had been a hectic day, things were said and regretted, they simply looked at each other with knowing looks, and made their way back up to the RV.

In the early morning, the RV drives out of the city. Chance is on his bed, folding up laundry, then notices his torn-up shirt from last night. Chance frowns at the sight of it, and does not hesitate to toss it back in his bag. 'The less I have to see that, the better... not my proudest moment, but I'll probably have more moments just like it.' Chance thought.

"Chance, can you come up here for a moment?" Chance sighed and got up as he pulled the curtains back, walking to the front of the RV, looking at Luna. "Take a seat, I want to say something important." Luna stated.

Chance gulped, seeming worried, but he took his seat up front, ready to listen. "Could you please look at me when I'm talking to you?" Chance sighed and looked towards Luna, seeing a patient smile on her face. "I want you to know that I've decided to reduce your grounding to two-and-a-half weeks. It's only fair, I overreacted yesterday." Luna stated.

Chance wasn't expecting that, but at the same time, he was appreciative, meant he had less time to wait. Chance was about to get up and get back to his chore, until he felt Luna put a hand on his wrist. "Mister Marsten, if you don't mind me asking... what was your relationship with your mother like, before things took a turn?" Chance turned around, seeing the caution in Luna's expression. "I-It's fine if you feel that's too personal, I get that you must be in a fragile state of mind right now, I don't blame you, I just want to make sure-"

"Everything was a bit stunted when Dad left, but it was otherwise normal, practically business as usual," Luna stopped talking, and let Chance speak. "She tried her best to reassure me that it wasn't my fault that he left, and as the years went by, I just didn't believe a word she said, and I still don't to this day. She always made a bad habit out of lying to Dad, lying to me, she's even lied to herself, convinced herself that nothing is wrong." Chance solemnly admitted, sitting back down.

Luna wasn't expecting that kind of answer, but that last bit was what set off a red flag or two in Luna's head. Sunset walks out from behind the curtains and sneaks up to the front of the RV, carefully taking a seat in the booth. "You got onto me yesterday about trust, but I can't even trust that drug-addicted shell shaped like my mom! I trust you and Sunset more than my own mom, my biological mother... it really puts things into a depressing perspective for me... you acted and cared more like a parent yesterday, than my mom has for the past five years! I wish my mom cared and gave a damn about me like you did, but she'd rather be happy within a lie, than to accept the truth and grow the fuck up!" Chance exclaimed, furious as his fist made contact with the glove box. His vision got misty, but he didn't care.

Luna looked at the boy beside her, staring down at him, he didn't even acknowledge the tears cascading down his face. "She probably wouldn't even care that her only son is far away from home, getting mixed up in some of the most ridiculous and dangerous situations, knowing that it's very much possible that she may never see her son alive again! She's not a mother anymore, she's not even my mother anymore! She's just a neglectful shell of her former self, and if I wasn't around you two this summer when I found this watch, I probably would've ended up just like Gilda. Alone, bitter, untrusting, dangerous... psychotic." Chance confessed, his body trembled, he clenched his teeth hard.

Chance stared at his reflection in the rear-view mirror, surprised and ashamed of seeing himself in such a state. "I thought I was stronger than this... I thought I could handle it if things went too far..." Chance closed his eyes, more tears streamed down his face. "I thought I could trust her..." he muttered.

No one said a word, but as Sunset opened her mouth to say something, Chance got up and walked back to the RV, leaving Luna and Sunset to share a concerned look with on another. "Should I-"

"No, give him some space, please," Sunset sat up-front with Luna, buckling herself in. The both of them looked concerned, but also exhausted. "I know you want to talk to him, I do too... but, clearly this has been a challenging turn of events for him, for all of us..." Luna advised.

The RV continues down the road, Sunset slumps in her seat, looking back at the curtain, unnerved by the deafening silence.

Somewhere within the abandoned subway tunnels, Gilda sits by herself in the dark. She tries to return herself to her usual coloration, but can't seem to do so.

Gilda, out of sheer frustration, kicks a trash can a good distance away. Gilda looked at her hand, focusing her concentration on it. "If they thought I was a freak before? Just wait!" Gilda's hand is enveloped in a frozen cold air as ice forms on her fingertips, she smirks at the sight. "I'll get my revenge, you bastard! I'm gonna split everything I do with you fifty-fifty. I do the crime, and you do the time." Gilda remarked, a wide psychotic smile formed on her face.

Gilda's laugh echoes through the tunnels, she walks further into the tunnels, dead set to stay on her path of chaos, destruction, and pure, unadulterated carnage.

Author's Note

And that was my version of 'Kevin 11'. Initially, the plan for this story always had a constant connection between its many, many, many WIP drafts. Gilda taking on the role as the Kevin Levin of this story's universe.

In this case, Gilda and Chance are two sides of the same coin. Both have superpowers, but have entirely different reasons for using them the way they have.

The ending of this episode is done a similar way to the canon, only in the vein of showing that things haven't ended on the best note.

Unlike Ben 10's canon for OS, this'll be a bit more consistent as the episodes go on. Chance, unlike Ben, when he messed up in this episode and it was never mentioned again or had any cohesive build-up in any way, this will be eating away at Chance for more than a couple episodes, and the dangers yet to come are gonna start taking their toll, more than they already have.

Also, I wasn't feeling that creative to come up with a better title for this episode, couldn't think of a good pun name, so I stuck with the generic idea of replacing Kevin's name with Gilda's.

I hope you enjoyed this episode, because I definitely enjoyed writing this one. 15k+ words for a single episode, that's very lengthy!

S1, Episode 9: Toxic Trouble

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Toxic Trouble

The RV drives down a long road, a light shower of rain pours down as Sunset taps away on her laptop. Luna turns on the radio, letting some folksy country music play, only to then immediately turn it off. "I don't know how miss Applejack and her family can listen to this kind of music, just a few seconds in and it's giving me a headache." Luna remarked, rubbing her temple with one of her hands.

Sunset shrugged. "Leave it to Applejack to be the most simple out of the group. Honest to a fault, but stubborn and strange in her own way." Sunset remarked.

Luna slowed the car down, noticing a fork in the road. Luna checked her phone's GPS, though a bit buggy, she smiled once she found what she was looking for. She put her phone away and turned left. Luna noticed the silence, and felt a bit paranoid, like something was watching her. It was nearly five in the afternoon, and the rain hasn't let up, despite being so mild for the past few miles. "Sunset, could you check on mister Marsten, see how he's doing?" Luna asked.

Sunset nodded, closing her laptop as she got up and walked to the curtains, pulling them back and seeing Chance sleeping, though the scrunched up looks of dissatisfaction told her another story. Chance mindlessly swiped at the air, moaning and recoiling in his sleep. "He's just asleep, like he's been since yesterday... I think he's having a bad dream, he's just swiping at the air, like he's being bothered by something." Sunset said, slowly letting the curtains drop as she returned to her seat.

Luna sighed, then finally spotted a town in the distance, a wide smile formed on her face. "Oh thank god, finally!" Luna turned around and looked at Sunset. "Could you please go and wake him up, we're finally reaching our destination!" Luna requested.

Sunset shrugged her shoulders and got back up to go wake Chance from his slumber. The moment she pulled the curtains back, Chance's reactions have somehow gotten worse, one could even say, more intense. Chance groaned and flailed his arms in a wild manner, his body was rocking back and forth, his feet and legs were jerking around in an erratic manner. Sunset carefully approached him and tapped on his shoulder.

Chance snapped his eyes wide open as he looked around, his face drenched in a cold sweat. Chance sighed and wiped the sweat from his face, only to see Sunset looking right at him. The teens stared at each other for a moment, until they felt the RV come to a stop. "Okay, the RV's parked, we made it to our destination!" Luna announced, pulling back the curtains.

The trio exit the RV, only to find themselves in a small town amidst the light rain shower. Luna readied her Umbrella as the two teens stayed close just to keep themselves dry. "Well, what do you think?" Luna asked, a bright smile forming on her face.

Chance yawned and rubbed his eyes. "I don't even know where we are..." Chance remarked tiredly, leaning on Luna's arm.

Sunset looked around and noticed a pizza place a couple blocks down. "Is that a 'Circus Pizza Emporium' location? Are we in Nevada?!" Sunset asked.

Luna smiled. "Yessir, this was where me and Celestia moved to initially when we decided to leave Jaxton. Specifically, we're in the small town of Caspiir. It's much harder to find on any maps, and sure, it's not much to look at, but it's actually a quiet and peaceful little town with a bunch of surprises. Everyone knows each other, and everyone's familiar with every person that passes through. It's one of those tight-knit communities." Luna explained.

Chance rolled his eyes and yawned. "Well, you girls go on ahead, I'm gonna head back to the RV and-" as soon as Chance turned around, he was met with a lightly tan-skinned girl that met his height, her expressionless look was unnerving. Chance's eyes widened as he jumped back and slipped onto the ground. "-Ow!" Chance groaned in pain.

The girl looked down at him, holding her hand out, her expression unchanging. "Oops. Sorry about that. Didn't mean to sneak up on you like that." The girl apologized, her vocal tone was monotonous, low and unexpressive.

Chance sighed and grabbed the girl's hand, and was a bit startled when she managed to pull him back up to his feet with relative ease. "Uh, water under the bridge, lady. Got a name, stranger?" Chance asked, wincing as he rubbed his back.

The girl nodded. "Maud Pie. You met my sister, Pinkie. I'm one of the eldest siblings in our family." Maud introduced herself.

Sunset smiled and hugged the girl. "Hey Maud, haven't seen you since the whole 'Battle of the Bands' fiasco a while back. What brings you here?" Sunset asked.

Maud let a small smile form on her face, then patted Sunset on the back, then pointed towards the pizza place. "My summer job. Much like Pinkie, I eventually got too comfortable back on the quarry, so like my sister did years ago, I left and went somewhere else, trying to earn enough money to get into a good college when I graduate. I was on my way to work just now, when I saw your recreational vehicle pull into town. Boulder told me that someone in that rig was troubled, so I figured I would attempt to help in whatever way I could. I don't have magic, but I can still help out in other ways." Maud explained.

Chance raised an eyebrow. "Who's Boulder?" Maud then proceeded to pull a rock out of her pocket and presented it to the alien hero. Chance didn't know what he was expecting, but considering it was Pinkie's eldest sister, he should've expected this, and it mildly pissed him off that he didn't. He wanted to say something, but he held his tongue for a moment. Chance took a moment to think of something different, and just spoke what came to mind. "Oh. Well, for a rock, he does look like a Boulder." Chance said, smiling a little bit.

Maud nodded, gently moving a finger on top of Boulder before putting him back in her pocket, and walked towards the pizza joint. "If you want to get out of the rain, you're welcome to come on down to the Circus Pizza Emporium, where we'll bust your guts with laughter, and fill 'em back up with good food," The trio looked at Maud in confusion. "It's their new slogan, it's a work in progress." Maud stated.

Luna looked down at the two teens, smiling. "Well, at least there's a familiar face, here! What do you think now, isn't this place neat or what?" Luna asked.

Chance yawned and felt his stomach growl. "I'm gonna go with, or what. I'll have a better answer once I've eaten, I don't think well on an empty stomach, I'm just glad I didn't wake up back in NYC, I'd never hear the end of it, otherwise." Chance muttered the last part, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he walked to the pizza joint, letting the rain cascade down onto him.

Luna looked at Sunset and handed her a couple bucks. "This is for whatever you and Chance want to order. I'm gonna see if there's a hotel we can stay in for the night." Luna stated, giving Sunset the money and the Umbrella, then rushed back to the RV.

Sunset sighed and quickly ran towards the Circus Pizza Emporium. "Well, this is a start to the day I wasn't expecting." Sunset told herself.

Chance and Sunset walk into the pizza joint, seeing that it was packed full of parents, children, teenagers, it was also pretty big on the inside. The place had a jungle gym, a ball pit, an arcade, they also had a stage, most likely for some kind of animatronic band. The oddest thing about the place, according to what Sunset saw, was that the waiters were all robots, each one modeled and constructed differently to look either masculine or feminine with numerous body shapes and sizes. The strangest thing about the place, according to what Chance saw, was the out-of-place elevator at the end of the arcade.

Chance and Sunset looked at each other, curious and skeptical, but eventually found themselves at the front of the counter, seeing Maud dressed in the same kind of uniform that the robots were in. "Hello, valued customer. Welcome to the Circus Pizza Emporium, where we'll bust your guts with laughter, and fill 'em back up with good food. May I take your order, please?" Maud asked.

Chance shrugged and stepped forward. "Hey Maud, I'll have a medium toffee and chocolate shake with no cherry, a medium box of fries, and a double cheeseburger with only ketchup, no other toppings or sauces, please." Chance ordered.

Sunset stepped forward as Maud typed away on some kind of keyboard. "I'd also like a quarter pounder veggie burger with extra cheese, a small box of waffle fries if you have them, and a small lemon-lime soda." Sunset ordered.

Maud typed away at the order and pressed enter, showing the price. "That'll be thirty-five dollars and forty-three cents, plus tax." Maud stated.

Sunset pulled out two twenties from the money she got and handed it to Maud. Once Maud counted out the change, four dollars and fifty-seven cents, Sunset simply put her change in the tip jar she saw on the counter. Maud handed Chance a receipt and saw a big number on top, reading as '2-9-5-6'. "Your number will pop up on that monitor, letting you know when your order will be done. Would you like to sign up for a chance to win the Ultimate Prize tonight?" Maud asked.

Chance and Sunset shook their heads, and Maud nodded her head. "Thank you for ordering food from Circus Pizza Emporium, have a nice day." Maud stated.

Chance and Sunset moved over to one of the booth tables and sat down. "Man, this place is expensive, but it also brings in a lot of customers. For a small town, this place is bustling, teeming with people who seem happy." Sunset remarked.

Chance looked around at the bright colors, and could feel his eyes undergoing a bit of strain. "Despite the joy this place brings to the natives, this place is purposefully hurting my eyes, it's like this place is assaulting my vision," Chance rubbed his eyes, but he didn't feel any better. Chance sighed and looked towards the arcade, At first he wanted to go and check out the games, but as he got up, he felt his blood run cold as he was reminded of the Total Zone. The employee insulting him and Sunset, the scuffed and busted rip-off games, Gilda. Chance immediately sat back down, and covered his head with his hands, ashamed of himself and his actions. Sunset looked at her friend, seeing the shame and guilt written on his face. Chance tried to shrug these emotions he was feeling off, but he couldn't rid himself of it. Chance looked towards Sunset and simply gave a weak, unconvincing smile. "Why don't you go check out the place and have fun, I'll let you know when our food's ready." Chance suggested, seeming indecisive.

Sunset seemed confused, and stayed in her seat. "You sure you wanna be alone? I'm perfectly fine with waiting on yo-Mph!"

Chance put a finger over Sunset's lips and stared her down. "I'm fine, Sunset, really," Chance saw Sunset's unamused expression and retracted his finger. "I appreciate the concern, but I probably just need to eat something, then I'll be in a better mood later. Now, go have some fun. I'll let you know when the food gets here. I doubt Luna will be happy anyway if she finds out I'm playing games when I'm still grounded." Chance rationalized.

Sunset looked at her friend, concerned as he leaned back against the cushioned padding within the booth. Chance looked stiff as a board, almost devoid of any sense of happiness or satisfaction. Sunset was unconvinced that her friend's change in attitude had something to do with being grounded, so she grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the booth, much to his distress, as they moved towards the arcade. "Come on, you need to lighten up. You're gonna play a few games, and I'll be right beside you with every step!" Sunset reached into her pocket and pulled out a disposable camera. "C'mon, it'll be fun! I'll even take pictures to preserve the memories!" Sunset reassured, all while Chance tried to slip out of her grasp and run the other way, only for it to be fruitlessly unsuccessful, and was dragged along the ground.

Chance gulped. 'I hope Luna's having more luck than I am.' Chance thought.

Chance and Sunset take various pictures, including in front of an old movie poster for 'Sumo Slammers', a "Punk Rock" Standee pose cutout, an air hockey table in which the puck gets hit too hard and is flung at one of the robot employees, the ball pit, on top of the jungle gym, they took a picture of themselves eating the food they ordered, Chance wearing a top hat and Sunset wearing an eye patch, the animatronic stage (the pair of them pretending to be robots), them sitting back at their booth bored, and in front of the elevator.

Chance steadily felt a bit less distressed, and though he still felt pretty bad, he had to admit, he was having fun. Sunset, on the other hand, was having a blast. This was the happiest Chance had seen this girl, and was at least appreciative that she was having fun, too. Soon enough, Maud walked up to the pair and pressed the button on the elevator. "You two seem to be having fun. Would you like to see something real special?" Maud asked.

Sunset and Chance looked at each other, then back at Maud. They thought they saw all they were allowed to see, but if this elevator is for public use, even for the customers, then what else were they missing out on? The teens nodded their heads, and the doors opened up. The three of them walked in as Maud typed in the same number on their receipt. As the elevator doors closed, they suddenly felt it going down. "Be advised, only paying customers are allowed down here, so I'm personally glad you ordered your food before stopping at the elevator." Maud stated, her expression and tone unchanging.

The two teens looked at each other, and sighed. "What should we expect to see?" Chance asked.

Maud looked at the alien hero for a moment, staying in silence. Then, she spoke. "You should always expect the unexpected." Maud stated vaguely.

After a few long minutes of traversing underground in an elevator, the metal box finally stops and opens up. The air is cold, and thick with a pungent rotten, decayed and mildew smell, like something's been molding and withering away for years, maybe decades. The rocky tunnels, supported and reinforced by metal support beams looked ancient. The two teens didn't know what this place was, let alone why anyone would want to go down here. "Sweet day in the morning, what kind of place is this?!" Chance exclaimed, the distress starting to climb back up.

Maud walked forward, gesturing for the two teens to follow her. "This is where the company is preparing a tourist attraction. An assortment of four known figures in the company's past, and how the past tends to resurface every now and then," The teens walked through the tunnel, the both of them could feel their hairs stand up on end. Maud stopped as she gestured to four run-down animatronics. A bull in overalls, a parrot in a pirate's costume, a lion in a loincloth, and the most obvious oddity of the bunch, a mime in a jester's suit, painted in black and gray, with a twisted smile on its face. "These are the former faces of the Circus Pizza Emporium." Maud introduced.

Chance leaned in, poking the jester's cheek, only for a stray spark of electricity to lightly zap him, making him recoil. "Freaky..." Chance remarked, a chill running up his spine.

The two teens were confused at what to say, a little bit disappointed, and very creeped out. "These four used to be the face of the Circus Pizza Emporium. The Bull was the 'leader' of the group, his name was Bill. The parrot was a swashbuckling pirate that gave out free candy to the kids, his name was Patchy. The lion was some kind of prideful caveman lion that was good at swinging through the trees, his name was Leo. Finally, the jester. He was apparently a defunct prize corner attendee, but would've been removed when the children would cry in its presence," Chance flinched, and didn't utter a single word. "He went under a lot of changes, and turning him into some kind of mime-jester was the best they could do. Kept his playful personality, all while making sure he didn't talk. I think he was named Feliz, but I'll have to go back through the paperwork pertaining to these relics. Why the company would want to re-create them, I couldn't begin to imagine why, I'm just doing my job. It's also mandatory to show these animatronics off to the paying customers, as a way to ensure they'll want to come back once they've been brought back into the public-eye." Maud explained.

Chance wasn't feeling well. The putrid smell of rot, decay, and mildew was starting to give him a headache, as well as upset his stomach. Chance started to look dazed and green around the gills, and Sunset gently pulled him away from the pile of animatronics. "Could you give us a moment, please? I don't think he's used to being so deep underground." Sunset requested.

Maud nodded. "By all means. I don't blame your friend for feeling queasy, these robots have quite the bloody history," Sunset seemed concerned, but also confused. "Sometime back in late 2000, around November or so, there was a supposed incident that led to a night guard, a private investigator, an out of towner, and a psychic all disappearing, and being found dead, stuffed in these same animatronics," Sunset's eyes went wide, as did Chance's as they both stared at the animatronics. "I wouldn't worry about your safety, though. The bodies were removed when they were found, which was back in 2001, given a proper identification and burial, but the murderer was never found. According to the documents, the suspected killer was found dismembered and concussed in his own home. All he could bring himself to say was that an Animatronic did it to him. No one really believed him, but to this very day, everyone's been wary of the idea of being in close proximity of these robotic entertainers." Maud explained.

That was the breaking point. Chance shoved Sunset aside, ran towards the elevator, noticing a trash can. Chance grabbed the bin like his life depended on it, hunched himself over it, and finally retched, unable to keep himself from under control due to the perpetuating smell, and the story behind the rancid, rotten and decaying smell didn't help any either. Sunset winced, but Maud simply walked over. "I'm gonna have to empty that bin again. That's the eleventh time today. Oh well, his pain is my gain," Chance froze as he wiped his mouth and coughed, feeling a burning in his throat. "The more I have to clean up after the customers, the more I get paid." Maud remarked.

Sunset walked into the elevator, patting her friend on the back as he moved the bin away from himself, and shuffled into a corner. "Are you two ready to go back up?" Maud asked.

Before Sunset could answer, the trio suddenly heard a loud high-pitched pinging sound suddenly blare out of nowhere. The three of them covered their ears, but Chance seemed to be getting the worst of it, erupting into a wailing scream as he clutched onto his ears as hard as he could, only for his scream to be drowned out by the wailing alarm. As Sunset and Maud try to figure out where the alarm sound is coming from, Chance fell back against the wall, it felt like two drills were being pushed into his ears, and were starting to meet in the middle. The pain could only be described as if his brain was crumpling up and twisting into a fleshy, meaty wad of uselessness, only to notice a faint glow coming from the Omnitrix. The hourglass emblem had formed into a diamond, only instead of one of his aliens, he saw a black warning sign, a small triangle with an exclamation point blinking.

"ERROR.Unknown toxic chemical detected in user's bloodstream. ActivatingUser-Preservation protocol." The Omnitrix chirped.

Before Chance could try to warn Sunset what was about to happen, Chance already felt his body trying to undergo a transformation. Chance, unsure of what he could do, just simply let the transformation happen, believing that there wasn't anything he could do. In a flash of green light, Chance was transformed into Armethyst. As the light died down around the transformed hero, Sunset was very concerned, whereas Maud, despite her expressionless visage, she was mildly surprised, if not enamored to see Sunset's friend have his secret involuntarily and prematurely revealed to another individual.

The alarm soon stopped, and Maud pressed a button with the word 'SURFACE' on it, and the doors closed, slowly raising them up back to the surface. Maud looked at Sunset, then at Armethyst, who awkwardly waved at her. "I see a lot has changed back in Canterlot. Is this magic, too?" Maud asked.

Sunset shook her head. "You might not believe me when I tell you this, but it's all alien stuff... It's hard to piece together what we're working with, but that watch is definitely a one-of-a-kind high-demand commodity, that's for sure," Sunset turned around, watching Armethyst twist the Omnitrix and tap at it, most likely trying to find a way to turn himself back to normal. Sunset sighed and looked back at Maud, who raised her eyebrow slightly in confusion. "Look, you can't tell anyone about this. My friends wouldn't understand any of this, and after Anon-A-Miss, I'm not exactly feeling keen to tell... almost all of them about his secret. Think you can have my back, just this once?" Sunset pleaded.

Maud looked at Armethyst, and curiously moved closer to the alien, grabbing one of his hands as she gets a feel for the crystalline gem parts that make up his body, it was almost like she was examining it. "These aren't your typical quartz crystals. They're compact, sturdier than the typical crystals you'd find in geodes and ore deposits. It also seems they've also blended with some kind of crystallized silicon-based crystal, giving it refractive properties to work with. Strange, they remind me of the stuff that the choosing stone is made out of, and I still haven't figured out what it is, it stumped me for a good couple years... intriguing, very fascinating," Maud held out her hand, as if she was expecting to receive something. "May I perhaps borrow a couple crystal samples, something to study and compare in my off-time?" Maud asked.

Sunset furrowed her brow, unamused. "Maud, I appreciate that you're not freaking out about this, but are you gonna tell anyone, especially Pinkie, about his secret?" Sunset asked, trying to vocalize her concern.

Maud looked back at Sunset, unwavered. "I won't tell a soul, me and Boulder will keep this secret, till it becomes public knowledge," Maud turned back, and was met with several amethyst-colored crystals of different sizes, lengths and density. "Thank you for the samples, this'll be very useful for my thesis." Maud thanked.

Armethyst gave a thumbs up. "No problem, Maud, all I ask in return is that you don't reveal my secret... I made that mistake once, and I'll be a damnable dead man to have foolishly made that mistake again." Armethyst remarked gravely.

Sunset glanced up at her alien friend, picking up on the underlying bitter hate in those last sets of words. 'Okay, he's still not over what happened back in NYC, that's just great... We were having so much fun, and he was happy for a moment, now all of a sudden he's right back to square one... what in Celestia's name did she do to him?' Sunset thought.

The animatronics laid there as the elevator ascended upwards. Within the murky cover of dark, the jester's eyes snapped open, flashing bright with a fluorescent yellow glow. The other animatronics started to wake up as well, trying to get up and move, but the mechanisms that helped them with moving were too rusted, jammed and damaged beyond simple repair.

Irritated, the animatronics started to radiate a sickly purple ooze, melting the animatronics apart and letting the ooze slip free. The strange ooze then started to bubble and make its way to the elevator, all while two mischievous yellow eyes bulge out and glare, oozing itself through the closed doors, leaving the metal doors to start melting and corroding away.

As the elevator reached its stop, the doors opened up, and was met by Luna, who was in distress, as well as an older stockier man with brown skin and silver hair, all paired up with a beard-goatee combo, and was dressed in the same outfit that Maud was, only colored in black and blue. The two adults looked at the three teenagers, with Chance seeming relieved that the Omnitrix eventually timed out before the elevator stopped. "Maudelina, ah shoulda figured. Your kids were in capable hands, ma'am, Maud was just givin' them the tour, earnin' her paycheck." The man reassured, chuckling a bit.

Maud nodded and looked at her watch, then took her hat off and walked towards the counter. "My shift's over, Mr. Cawthon, I'm gonna head home. Have a good night!" Maud announced.

Mr. Cawthon looked back at the girl and smiled, chuckling as he waved her off. "G'night, kid! Enjoy your three days off, live a little!" Maud took a card and punched a few numbers into the computer, then walked out the front door. The man sighed and looked towards the trio, now reunited. "That kid's my best employee. Shame this is just a summer job, she'd be perfect as Employee of the Month! Give these rust buckets full ah bolts something to aspire to be!" Mr. Cawthon remarked.

Chance nodded. "She's clearly got a lot figured out about her future, that's a start," Mr. Cawthon laughed at the alien hero's words, but it was clear he had something else on his mind. It wasn't his business to pry into someone else's, so he didn't acknowledge it. "I think you should give those dirty bots a thorough scrubbing, and a major bleaching if you want to put them on stage for people to adore. Otherwise, there's gonna be some much needed clean up everywhere." Chance advised, clutching his stomach.

Mr. Cawthon grimaced and nodded his head. "So you saw the old animatronics, they were pretty worse for wear... poor bastards, they didn't deserve what happened to them. Still can't believe someone would stoop so low as to murder people, and stuff their bodies in a bunch of robot animal entertainers! What's this world comin' to!?" the man remarked.

Chance chuckled. "The same world where there's alien superheroes coming out of the woodwork? I think life is a constant joke, and the punchlines speak for themselves." Chance quipped.

Mr. Cawthon laughed and pat the teen on the back. "Yeah, ya might be right. Logic already left the building, I wouldn't be surprised if it skipped town altogether!" The man checked his watch, and winced. "Sorry, I'd love tah keep chattin', but unfortunately, it's closing time. I'm gonna need you three to head on out, locking up is a meticulous and complex process for us." Mr. Cawthon said firmly.

Luna nodded. "Of course, I'm just glad my kids are safe. Come on, let's head to the motel and get some rest." Luna stated.

The teens nodded and followed close behind. Chance looked down at the Omnitrix, noticing that it was still acting strange. The hourglass was half-way completed, forming that weird DNA helix again, and was glowing yellow. Chance groaned, scowling at the device as he stuffed his hand into his pocket, clearly not wanting to deal with whatever the Omnitrix was about to go haywire about next. 'I will deal with your bullshit tomorrow. You nearly risked my secret being revealed, and you're lucky they didn't freak out or try to blab it to everyone.' Chance thought to himself as he walked faster to stay close to Sunset and Luna.

A couple hours later after the restaurant was closed for the night, the strange ooze has made its way to the surface, melting the doors open as it slithered into the main lobby. A gurgling growl escapes from it and starts to bubble as it stares outside, seeing the rain cascade down like an aggressive spring shower. It then puts a small purple tendril to the glass, and melts a hole through it. The ooze then starts to take shape and reveals itself to be what looks like a melting purple dog creature. It snarls and lets out a phlegm-laced bark and runs away onto the streets.

The next morning, Chance and Sunset were sleeping in a motel room, with Luna getting up, ready to start the day. Luna walks outside and is ready to behold the beauty of this small town, until she was met with a rather odd, terrifying and confusing sight. Most of the roads were corroded away, creating numerous pot holes. The buildings looked to be crumbling, even the motel they were staying at looked to be on the verge of collapse.

"What just happened out here!?" Luna exclaimed.

Chance and Sunset snapped their eyes wide open, a bit groggy from last night, but otherwise, they were a bit re-invigorated. The two teens got up and looked at each other, only to see the door open, with Luna walking in. "You two might wanna come out here, looks like it's gonna be one of those days." Luna advised.

Chance frowned, while Sunset got up and stretched, then took a deep breath. "Come on, Chance, let's see what kind of chaos suddenly came for us this time." Sunset remarked, pulling her less than enthused friend out of bed.

Chance groggily got to his feet as he was pulled out of the room. "Can I at least get some breakfast first?" Chance asked.

The trio walk outside onto the streets of Caspiir, and see that the whole place has been trashed. The rain didn't come down that hard, and there was hardly a breeze that could move through such an aggressive showering downpour, so the trio were confused, basically stumped as to how all of this happened last night.

Chance beheld the carnage, and despite still being half-asleep and hungry, he was aware enough to know that he should be concerned. "Whoa, what happened?" Chance asked.

Luna looked around, and unfortunately, she didn't have a clue. "I'm just as lost as you are, mister Marsten, but we'll have to get to the bottom of this before we leave. We can't leave the citizens of Caspiir like this." Luna stated, trying to keep her sense of composure.

Sunset examined a large crack in the sidewalk, seeing that it was disrupted from underneath. "Maybe an earthquake caused it, or a tornado came through... is acid rain a valid theory?" Sunset asked, unsure of what to make of this.

Chance shrugged his shoulders and looked around, the citizens of Caspiir beheld their sights on the damage. "Depends, let me answer your question with a question. Riddle me this, how god damn unlucky do you have to be for all three to happen all at once? Because by the looks of it, looks like all that happened within the span of last night!" Chance remarked.

The people of Caspiir look on at the destruction that's befallen their town. Down the street, Maud walks towards the trio and simply observes the damage without much reaction. "Well, looks like Caspiir isn't even safe from chaos and dangerous threats." Maud remarked.

Chance looked at Maud, seeing her dressed in a blue-gray sweater with a red skirt to match, and a black belt tied around her waist. He also noticed the large bag slung over her shoulder, and was curious. "What's with the bag? You leaving?" Chance asked.

Maud nodded. "Something broke out of the pizzeria last night, that was kind of the last straw for me. I figured this was gonna happen eventually, so I gave Mr. Cawthon my two weeks notice, he gave me my final paycheck, and now I'm probably gonna head back to Canterlot City, see if Pinkie's willing to let me have my old room back," Chance's eyes widened at that, and he scratched the back of his head, looking a bit worried, almost guilty. "Relax, it wasn't your doing. I checked on the animatronics, to see if the documents had to be updated, but they were all melted down and rendered beyond useless. It's like Mr. Cawthon told me on my first day on the job. You can fix a springlock, but there's no salvaging a melted rabbit." Maud explained.

Sunset stepped forward and looked at Maud. "What do you mean something broke out of the pizzeria?" Sunset asked.

Maud sighed and pulled out a small file from her bag. "This was a parting gift from Mr. Cawthon, something that came with the paycheck. He called it the Smooze, mainly because something about it just compelled him to keep it around. He wasn't sure what it was, but he tried to domesticate it. It didn't work out, and he ended up throwing it into an industrial fan, causing it to splatter over the same animatronics that were underground, hoping to be refurbished and remade into something more befitting the more 'modern' era. Though. if I had to make an estimated guess on how it survived for so long, that thing probably wasn't actually dead, and was only hiding in the animatronics, feeding off the residue that was left behind by the decaying bodies of the murder victims. It's like a slimy vulture." Maud explained.

Sunset skimmed through the folder, seeing the strange ooze in a pet cage, with Mr. Cawthon smiling at it. "He was rather attached to this thing, wasn't he?" Sunset questioned.

Maud nodded. "He used to be a lonely man with no friends or family, so I suppose companionship with the unexplained was his way of coping, rather than become a workaholic." Maud remarked.

Chance shuddered, lamenting on Maud's words, letting them sink into his psyche. Before he could start ruminating on his thoughts, the little dog-sized creature arrives and moves around Chance and Sunset, making silly poses and faces, and barks incoherently. It pulls on Chance's leg to get his attention. It makes intimidating expressions, growling as its engorged eyes stare at him with a twisted sense of enjoyment and torment while Chance simply looks on. The creature runs away, leaving the trio stunned.

Chance snapped out of his stunned surprise and was honestly unsure of what the hell he was dealing with. "What in the fuck was that?" Chance asked.

Maud simply pointed at the amorphous oozing dog creature as it rolled around in the pot holes it made. "The smooze. Seems to me that it's become more dog-like in shape, likely so it can be perceived as cute, to avoid the consequences of its actions." Maud stated.

Sunset stepped forward and grabbed her geode, transforming herself as she readied herself for a fight. "As long as we stick together, we can handle this, right Luna?" Sunset asked.

Luna nodded. "Lets hope we can stick it to this vile creature, or it may become more than a problem for Caspiir alone." Luna stated.

Near a soda machine, the Smooze sees the chance to cause even more trouble. It oozes into the machine and causes it to tremble, as well as slowly melt and spark with electricity, only to then suddenly start catching fire. "What's the dog doing?" Chance asked.

Maud snapped her fingers and grabbed an empty soda can off the ground, looking at the ingredients. "It's eating chemicals. The more it consumes unhealthy chemicals, the more powerful it's gonna get," The Smooze causes the machine to explode, sending burning pieces of the machine and emptied soda cans scattering everywhere. Chance, Sunset, Maud and Luna try to avoid getting hit, only to duck behind the RV. "It's also got a dangerous sense of humor, by the looks of it." Maud stated.

The citizens start to panic and run away, all while the onslaught continues, with the trio, and Maud, hiding behind the RV for cover. Luna looked at Maud, displeased by these current events. "That thing was inside four ancient animatronics that were full of dead bodies all this time? Isn't that kind of dangerous, let alone very shady?" Luna questioned.

Maud shrugged. "It was shady without context, and even with context it didn't make sense. This thing only started acting up after I showed the animatronics off to Sunset and her friend yesterday," Luna looked towards the two teens, who had no real excuse. "I doubt they did anything, it's very unlikely that this creature would suddenly react to these two in particular, but it was after I showed them the animatronics, that was when I learned about his secret. He's the alien heroes showing up all over the country." Maud explained.

Chance let a sheepish smile form on his face as a nervous laugh escaped his lips. Luna stared at him, and his smile faded away. "It wasn't my fault, it was the Omnitrix! It started freaking the hell out, and transformed me out of nowhere! It said something about preserving the user, or something like that... I couldn't tell ya what it was blathering on about, I just know that the watch has been acting strange ever since we got here!" Chance held the Omnitrix up for the three ladies to see. It was still spinning around, the hourglass was still in that DNA helix shape, emitting a yellow glow. "It's been doing this ever since we got back to the surface! This is not on me, not this time!" Chance defended, seemingly getting agitated.

Sunset held her hands up and rested them on his shoulders. "Take a chill pill, hero, no one's saying it's your fault. Relax, we still need to deal with that psychotic slime ball," Sunset looked at the dog-shaped slime creature, watching it go on a rampage. Sunset looks back at the Omnitrix, then back at the creature. Sunset ducks back down behind cover and starts to use her head. "Maybe the Omnitrix is responding in some way to the creature's presence. It's possible that it could be some kind of alien, rather than some kind of kooky creature from folklore." Sunset theorized.

Luna sighed and looked at Chance, who already looked like he had been through the ringer. "We're gonna talk about this later, I mean it. But, for now, how do we stop this thing?" Luna asked.

Maud shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know about you, but I'm going to hide, for the sake of saving myself. You guys are the heroes, you can figure it out." Maud stated, grabbing her bag as she walked into the motel.

The Smooze continues to cause mayhem, colliding with numerous objects and vehicles, causing them to melt and corrode, even causing a few things to spontaneously combust from the damage.

Luna, Chance and Sunset run through the damaged streets of Caspiir in search of the alien slime dog. "Don't suppose dog treats and chew toys will lure it out, will it?" Sunset asked.

The Smooze slowly zips through the ground beneath them. It sneaks up behind Luna and bites her in the leg, causing her to yell out in pain as it lifted her off the ground, struggling with her weight. "AAAAGH! That's not funny!" Luna cried out. The moment Sunset tried to intervene, it dropped Luna onto the ground and disappeared back under the asphalt. "Ohhh, that's just painful." Luna groaned, rubbing her leg carefully as it stung.

Chance gritted his teeth and stared down the amorphous slime, watching it smile in his direction. "That's it! I never thought I'd ever say this in my life as a dog lover, but I'm gonna put that mutt down!" Chance stated firmly, noticing that the Omnitrix was now acting normal again. Chance wasted no time pressing the Omnitrix's button and immediately pushing the core back down.

Chance felt his skin bubble, his fingers melted and merged together and then form into crab claws, hardening into some kind of pink-ish purple shell. His arms became more of an indigo-gray color, and he felt his head sink and meld into his torso. His upper body transformed into something more akin to that of a crab shell as his eyes opened up, becoming completely white. He felt a form of covering wrap around his 'neck' and a black spandex form over his midsection, as well as morph onto the top of his head, allowing for the Omnitrix to form on top of its head.

His legs transformed into that of two crab-like legs and his size soon reduced down to a certain size as he opened his mouth and exclaimed mightily in a high-pitched voice.

The flash of light died down, and Sunset was surprised to see Pinch in Chance's place. "You willingly chose the crab over one of your heavy hitters?" Sunset asked.

Pinch nodded. "Might isn't always right, Sunset. Plus, if there's one thing I've learned about Pinch, he's very resistant to a lot of stuff. If I'm gonna get in there and have that mutt put down, might as well go with an alien that can potentially resist it." Pinch explained.

The Smooze continues to cause havoc on the streets again. He makes a coin-operated newspaper stand explode with numerous quarters being fired off everywhere. One of the stray quarters ends up cutting through a street light, sending it toppling over onto a water hydrant, which started to spew water all over the road. The Smooze laughs, entertained by its carnage. Soon enough, Pinch rolls up and has his foamy bubbling spit ready to fire.

A foamy loogie whizzes by the Smooze, who seems to let out a very disgusting and viscous snarl. "Alright, you bad dog, time to put you back in the doghouse!" Pinch spat out another foamy loogie, to which the Smooze dodged. The smooze turned its tail into a tendril, wrapping up a chunk of loose concrete and chucking it at the alien crab. Pinch's eyes went wide and he scuttled to the side, narrowly avoiding the large piece of rubble.

Sunset carried Luna over to the RV, to which Maud stepped out of the motel, pulling out an opened bag of chips. "There's a lot more excitement going on today, though this is probably normal for you, isn't it Sunset?" Maud asked.

Sunset smiled nervously, nodding her head. Maud shrugged her shoulders and helped get Luna into the RV, opening the door and then carrying her by the legs.

The Smooze lets out a gurgled chortle at the damage it has done and mocks Pinch. Pinch scowled, angered by the teasing, and somehow accidentally fires a torrent of yellow sludge from his mouth. The Smooze barely manages to dodge it at the last moment, watching as the sludge completely disintegrates an untouched car.

Pinch was surprised. "Whoa! That's a new trick," Pinch glared at the Smooze, now seeing the shock on its face. "Not so funny now, is it? Just wait till I hit you with it, you muck-covered mutt!" Pinch remarked, shaking its claw at it in an aggressive manner.

The Smooze slowly continues to laugh and immediately takes off. Pinch goes after the Smooze, though it proves to be too fast to hit. The Smooze scampers all around the street, while Pinch attempts to get a hold of the Smooze, but it either dodges the attempts, or slips out of his grasp. Pinch finally manages to hit it with his new yellow sludge attack while it was mocking him, and manages to stun the Smooze for the moment.

Back in the RV, Luna now had her wound covered in an antibiotic disinfecting ointment, and had it heavily bandaged. Sunset and Maud watched as Pinch tried to keep the Smooze from going anywhere, let alone recover, but time was of the essence, and Chance couldn't keep it up for much longer. "How are we gonna drown out that toxic canine?" Luna asked.

Sunset thought about Luna's words, and suddenly got an idea, a smile forming on her face. "Miss Luna, you're a genius!" Sunset exclaimed.

Luna smiled. "Well, thank you, miss Shimmer... wait, why?" Luna asked, curious as to what was about to transpire.

Pinch continued to hose down the Smooze with his yellow sludge attack, but it was becoming more and more apparent that the alien hero was steadily getting more and more exhausted with every time he used it. Soon enough, Pinch's guard dropped, and the Smooze knocked the alien crab away, trying to limp away from the scene, parts of the Smooze were being eaten away by the sludge, but it still tried to get away.

Pinch got back up, getting irritated. "That's it, I'm gonna make sure there's nothing of you left!" Pinch looked around him, and picked up a license plate. "Hey, you walking pile of garbage, catch!" Pinch throws the license plate right towards the slime. The license plate cuts into the Smooze, though it seems to absorb the piece of metal into its body, then regenerates and closes up the wound. The Smooze suddenly changes into a much more viscous and greener color, all while getting larger, becoming the size of a motorcycle. Pinch is surprised, while the Smooze laughs at the hero. "O--kay. That's so not fair." Pinch griped.

The Omnitrix times out and Pinch transforms back into Chance, who slowly backed away from the Smooze. The Smooze lets out a gurgled howl and tries to attack Chance, only for Luna, Maud and Sunset to arrive in a fire truck, readying a large fire hose. They quickly snatch Chance up and he clings to the side of the fire engine. "Hey guys! Please tell me you got a plan, mine kinda fizzled out after a while!" Chance exclaimed.

Luna smirked. "Don't worry, mister Marsten, we'll teach this toxic pile of gunk a lesson it'll never forget!" Luna stated confidently.

Luna honks the horn as the newly mutated Smooze chases after the fire engine. "That's right, big dog, come and get it!" Sunset remarked, smirking as Maud unraveled the hose.

Luna shifted a gear as the engine stopped in its tracks, and Maud readied the hose, aiming the nozzle towards the Smooze. Sunset helps keep the hose up properly and a streaming torrent of water blasts out, cascading onto the Smooze, causing it to skid across the road as it started to dismantle and wash away, falling apart and smearing itself onto the road. The hose was turned off, and the Smooze seemed to be no more.

Chance stared at where the Smooze was standing, genuinely confused as to what just happened. "What did you girls do, other than completely obliterate that slimy hound dog?" Chance asked.

Sunset smiled. "We simply washed that gross slime ball off the face of Caspiir. Slime and muck doesn't stand much chance against highly-pressurized soapy water. Not bad, if I say so myself." Sunset remarked, seeming proud of herself.

Chance sighed, seeming relieved. "Phew, good thinking! Now let's hope that thing doesn't mutate again." Chance remarked.

The three ladies looked at the alien hero with confusion and concern. "Mutate?" Luna asked warily.

Chance raised an eyebrow. "You didn't see that thing was much bigger than it was a moment ago, as well as seeing it change color from purple to green? You didn't see that?!" Chance asked, mildly concerned.

Sunset looked back at where the Smooze was, and much to her despair, pieces of green Smooze goo were reforming back into the Smooze. It finally formed back into its mutated state, but then it started getting bigger, much bigger. The Smooze was now taller than the fire engine that hosed it down, and its green-ish color had now become a much clearer, if not somehow murkier blue-ish color. The dog-shaped creature now had three eyes on its face, and a second row of sharp teeth. "Oh no!" Sunset exclaimed, pulling Maud aside as they ran to the side of the road.

Luna and Chance quickly did the same as the Smooze closed its jaws onto the engine, ripping away at it and chewing it up, devouring it in a feral manner. "Well, this went from good to bad, to worse, and now it's blatantly catastrophic... this was clearly not our day!" Chance remarked.

The four of them watched in horror as the Smooze started to move through the streets, going further into town. Chance looked over at Sunset, and patted her on the back. "Well, we both tried, and we both respectively failed. Now what?" Chance asked.

Before anyone could answer that, the ground beneath their feet started to bubble and melt. "Everyone move!" Luna ordered.

The four of them quickly got off the streets, all while the buildings and roads started to bubble and melt, corroding and turning into some kind of mush. "What's happening?!" Sunset yelled out.

The four quickly got into the RV and sped down the road, chasing after the Smooze, watching as it slowly but surely kept growing in size. "The Smooze is devouring everything in Caspiir, leaving nothing but a toxic mush in its wake of destruction. If I had to make another guess, it's probably heading for the town's one source of alternative power. The oil tower." Maud stated.

"That thing is going to kill us all if something isn't done! We can't let that thing consume any oil, who knows what could happen!" Luna stated, trying to calm herself from the panicking sensation that keeps rising up to the surface.

Sunset stared at the creature, seeing it smile and revel in its destruction. It sickened her, and it made her mad. "That creepy freak's idea of good, clean fun is gonna have us all pushin' up daisies," Sunset looked at Chance, who was desperately trying to get the Omnitrix to work again, only to be met with little to no success thus far. "Chance, keep trying to dial up an alien, we need all the help we can get!" Sunset stated.

Chance paid her no attention and continued to try and make the Omnitrix work again, only being met by the Omnitrix flashing yellow and forming into that DNA Helix again. 'God damn it, why does it keep doing that?!' Chance thought, getting immensely aggravated with the Omnitrix's lack of cooperation.

Maud watches as the trio try to figure something out, then notices that they might've been going at this all wrong. Maud notices a flare gun near a first-aid kit and grabs it. She opens the door, hanging her arm out as she aims at the Smooze. Once she pulls the trigger, the flare fires out and manages to puncture the Smooze's dog tail, causing it to tense up a moment and growl in pain. The spot on the tail where the flare was had suddenly started to solidify and slowly turn to stone. "Looks like the Smooze's weakness is heat." Maud stated.

Maud closed the door and looked at the trio, who hadn't been paying attention and were more worried about how to stop this monster in its tracks. Maud sighed and shook Sunset and Chance's shoulders, bringing them back to reality, and did the same with Luna. "I think we might've been going at this all wrong. The Smooze clearly has a distaste for heat, and is working effortlessly to ensure that it stays cold. Too much heat in one spot, and that spot starts to solidify and turn to stone." Maud explained.

Chance raised an eyebrow. "How'd you figure that out?" Chance asked.

Maud showed him the flare gun, along with the lack of a flare. "I had to take a risk, and you three weren't paying attention. Hopefully this is beneficial information to you three, because it's too dangerous for me to accompany you any further," Luna stopped the RV and Maud grabbed her bag, stepping onto the road. "I hope you guys stop the Smooze, otherwise it might not stop at just Caspiir. I'm gonna head back to Canterlot City, and FYI, your secret's safe with me. Good luck." Maud stated, closing the door and running down one of the streets.

Luna looked at the flare gun, and at the new patch of stone on the Smooze's leg. "If we're gonna do this, I want you both to do your best. Push your limits if you have to, we need to stop this thing or it'll become a danger to the whole planet. Understand?" Luna asked.

The two teens nodded, and Chance noticed the Omnitrix was now back in the green. Chance cycled through his transformations, trying to desperately figure out which alien would be best for the job, and that was when he got an idea. "Fire can turn this thing to stone, right? I think I've got a plan, but you two will have to make some molotov cocktails while you're at it, we need to get this right in one go, or it's all over. I'll stall for time and keep the big freak busy, it's up to you two to light him up like dynamite." Chance stated.

Luna and Sunset shared an unsure look on their faces, but Chance was clearly set on his plan. The two nodded their heads as Chance cycled to one transformation in particular, and slammed it down, enveloping the interior of the RV in a blinding green light.

At the oil tower, the Smooze was busy trying to smash the tower open. A noticeable prick could be felt on the creature, and it looks up. The Smooze walks back and looks up to see Fumesquito on top of the tower. "This is your only warning. Knock off the funny business or I'll be forced to leave you paralyzed!" Fumesquito warned.

The Smooze roars out and hits the tower hard, causing it to crack and leak a bit of oil. The tremor shakes Fumesquito. He hops off and flies downwards, making sure to use his proboscis to take in as much oil as he can. Approaching the ground, he quickly slows his descent and flies back into the air, spewing a thick black nectar onto the Smooze's body, then sprays a large cloud of black mist onto the Smooze's head.

As Fumesquito does his thing, Luna and Sunset are taking bottles of alcohol and stuffing rags into them, letting parts of the rags hang out. Sunset stared at the bottles with uncertainty as she kept stuffing rags into the bottles. "Remind me, why do you have so many bottles of alcohol under the sink?" Sunset asked.

Luna smiled and laughed nervously. "You'd be surprised by how often Celestia and Cadence get together, but that's a story for another time. We're almost done!" Luna stated, getting back to the task at hand.

Fumesquito flew back up and drank up more oil, spewing it and covering the Smooze up more as best as he could, all while it roared out and swiped at the alien bug, but after getting nectar in its eyes, it couldn't see where the alien hero was going to be. Soon enough, Fumesquito had done all he could, and landed onto the ground, with the Omnitrix timing out in the nick of time, transforming Chance back into his normal self. "Please tell me they're ready?" Chance asked.

Luna smiled and nodded. The two teens grabbed a bottle each, and Luna lit the rags up. Chance and Sunset started to throw the molotovs at the creature, watching the oil that Fumesquito sprayed and slathered the Smooze in ignite in short bursts of light, causing the creature to roar out in pain, but was incapable of moving due to the paralyzing effect of Fumesquito's mist and nectar. The creature slowly but surely started to become encased in stone, and despite trying to fight back and force its body to move, the Smooze was soon encompassed in stone, rendered incapable of fighting back, let alone moving after the paralysis wore off.

The trio waited a few moments, just to see if their plan actually worked, and afterwards, they cheered, knowing that they were now victorious over the Smooze. "Finally, something turned out right in the end!" Chance yelled out, smiling from ear to ear.

Sunset laughed, leaning against the RV. "Yeah, this was definitely deserved! C'mon, let's go tell the citizens the good news, they'll be plenty happy to know that the Smooze was stopped." Sunset suggested.

Luna laughed and admired the teens' handiwork. Luna looked at Chance and Sunset, feeling proud that they worked together to stop the threat, and the trio got back in the RV, making their way back to the numerous citizens that are expecting good news.

Back at the town, several workers were busy getting everything back to normal. Mr. Cawthon and the trio stood in front of a huge object covered by a tarp. "You folks did right by us, and we couldn't repay you enough for savin' our hides." Mr. Cawthon stated, expressing his gratitude.

Luna smiled. "As fun as this little adventure was, we hope this wasn't too big of a setback for Caspiir." Luna said.

Mr. Cawthon let out a hearty laugh. "Are ya kiddin'?! More like giant step forward, if'n ya ask me! What, with our new attraction, soon we'll be raking the big bucks in! Thanks to you and yer strange kids, Caspiir might be put back on the map once people see our one-of-a-kind beauty!" The man pulls the tarp away, to reveal a stone statue of the Smooze, but upon closer inspection, it was still the Smooze, just trapped in its unconscious stone prison. "The monster of Vice and Greed, the Toxic Titan! It's gonna be a humdinger, let me tell ya, as long as people don't try to touch the darn thing!" Mr. Cawthon stated.

Chance leans in and notices a sign in front of the statue. "'Breaking the statue risks ruining other people's livelihoods. You've been warned'. Direct, yet cryptic, I like it!" Chance commented, giving a thumbs up.

As the trio makes their way back to the RV, Luna keeps them close by her side as she speaks. "I'm glad that adventure's over with, things just keep getting crazier and crazier. I can't help but wonder what's causing all of this, but maybe it's just a case of showing up at the wrong time." Luna stated.

Chance snickered. "Eager for a normal day, aren't you?" Chance asked.

Luna smiled, patting Chance on the back. "That's one way of looking at it, but starting tomorrow, when I know we're out of harm's way, you two need training. I couldn't help but feel as if we were unprepared this time, and it could've ended in chaos." Luna stated.

Sunset stepped into the RV and looked back at Maud, who was riding a bike out of the city. Maud casually waved at them as she passed by, and simply kept on pedaling. "Even so, we'll keep getting better at this, one way or another. Training wouldn't be that bad either, but I'll have to go easy on him, just to let him adapt at his own pace." Sunset stated in agreement.

Chance nodded, though he didn't say a word. He got into the RV, and Luna followed after, and the RV soon moved down the road, attempting to find a less destroyed path out of Caspiir.

Several long hours later and a few miles out of Caspiir, the RV was parked along the side of the road, and the trio was sound asleep... well, almost all of them were, but Chance continued to stir around in his sleep, all while he flailed his arms around, as if he was trying to defend himself amidst his slumber. Chance steadily woke up, sitting up carefully as he looked at himself. Chance looked at his hands as if he was trying to find something, but never seemed to find what he was looking for. Chance's throat felt dry, and his face felt wet, his eyes stung with tears and his face was showered in sweat, like he had been fighting in the sun for days without end, yet he didn't feel like he was in any immediate danger, or any kind of danger in general.

Chance sighed and laid back down, uncovering himself and just letting the cool air keep him from sweating too much. 'I need to put these nightmares in check.' Chance thought.

Author's Note

That was my version of 'Tourist Trap', and hoo boy, I was constantly changing this episode up a lot, most times just starting off from scratch. It wasn't the original idea to include Maud in this episode, or make the Smooze into an alien, but I'm not disappointed in those choices, I'm actually pretty proud of that creative choice.

I also figured it made sense that Maud would have some sort of interest in one of Chance's aliens, specifically Armethyst, since he is a walking gem crystal creature man. It also felt right to say that Maud wouldn't be that surprised aliens exist, since the craziness that happened with the fall formal and battle of the bands that involved Equestrian magic, people suddenly getting magic powers, like her sister, Pinkie, seemed like the new normal, and Aliens just seemed like the next logical step.

I wanted to try and translate the Smooze into a more inherently chaotic species, something that's actually kinda dangerous, rather than goofy and kind of off-putting, much like its G1 and G4 interpretations, so I made it a proper monster. Not sure about it's possible origins, though, maybe its a genetic off-shoot of Goop's species and the Sludgepuppies, hence why it can shapeshift its body, while still having a slimy and acidic body. I also took some inspiration from Shin Godzilla with my interpretation, showing that it can adapt and evolve into something very dangerous.

Either way, I figured I'd introduce a couple more features that this Omnitrix has. The User-Preservation protocol, and the Capture/Scan mode.

The User-Preservation protocol does exactly what you think it does, which is save its wearer from death. It's introduction also shows how truly toxic the Smooze is to other lifeforms.

Fun fact, much like the Definitive Omnitrix, this version of the prototype can gather samples from a distance, so long as it's within range. Which it did with the Smooze, hence why the Omnitrix was in Capture/Scan mode at specific moments in this episode. A neat little surprise for later, because why not?

I hope you enjoyed this episode, the next one will be out soon.

S1, Episode 10: The Laughing Dead

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

The Laughing Dead

At a pier side carnival, two robbers climb down a ladder into a getaway rowboat with a bag of loot. "Knocking over that yacht was a piece of cake, especially with that spoiled brat bein' keen as the center of attention! We made out like pirates!" The first robber gloated.

The two robbers laugh and get ready to climb up the ladder, until the first robber notices bubbles in the water next to him. Curiosity getting the better of him, he leans in to get a closer look, only to then be met by a pair of glowing white eyes staring up at him. Before the robber could pull away, a large red hand grabbed the man by the face and effortlessly yanked him under.

The second robber turned around, noticing that his partner was gone. He spots the first robber's beanie floating in the water. Riptile's face rises from the water and stalks him. Panicked, he runs back up the ladder and across the pier, with Riptile following him underwater. The robber stops to pause and look behind him, only for his jaw to drop when Riptile leaps out of the water, and lands onto the pier, cracking the wood beneath his feet. "Where ya goin', pal, don't you wanna take a dip with your buddy?" Riptile remarked.

The robber frantically backs up until he touches a hot dog cart behind him, running behind it and pushing it over. Hot dog wieners and gasoline spill out from the cart and surround Riptile's feet. Unexpectedly, a loose wire from the cart lands on the trail of gasoline, sparking it and setting it ablaze. Fire now surrounds the alien hero, who doesn't seem worried in the slightest.

The robber confidently starts running away, but Riptile hops towards the crook and slams him into a carnival game stand, knocking over a pile of cans. Riptile smirked and bowed, eyeing the carnie running the stand, staring up at the alien hero worriedly. "So, how many points do I get for that?" Riptile asked.

Later, the same robber is being arrested, along with his incredibly soaked and traumatized partner. An officer approaches Riptile, seeming eager to speak with him. "Hey, thanks for the assist! I don't care what anybody says, you circus freaks are OK by me!" The officer stated.

Riptile scoffed. "I ain't no circus freak, ya nutcase! I'm a hero, not some dumb-ass creep caked in makeup! There's a difference. One helps people, and the other has a mental illness." Riptile remarked.

Riptile leaps off, hopping away in a single bound as the cop looked confused. "Hmph, looked like a freak to me..." The cop muttered, walking back to his car.

The RV passes through town; Sunset looks out of the window and reads a sign going by. "'Zombozo's Travelling Circus of Laughs'? That sounds pretty neat! Any chance we could get a couple tickets, miss Luna?" Sunset asked.

Luna smiled, letting a laugh escape her lips. "Ah, I haven't been to a circus since I was a child. Sounds like tons of fun! What do you guys think?" Luna asked.

Sunset was excited, but Chance on the other hand, he felt his blood run cold, it was like chunks of ice were clogging the arteries and valves in his heart. "I love the circus! I haven't been to one in forever!" Sunset turned to her friend. "Chance, you've been to the circus before, right? What was it like?" Sunset asked.

Chance didn't say a word, he just slowly backed away and moved through the curtain, trying to remove himself from the conversation. Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Chance, you've been to the circus before, right?" Sunset repeated her question.

Luna looked in the rearview mirror, and from behind the curtain, Chance's face was pale, wracked with terror, fear, it was like he died as the question came up the first time. "Mister Marsten, are you feeling well? You look... uncharacteristically pale." Luna asked.

Chance took a shaky breath, and swallowed. "I didn't have the best track record for something as predatory as... the circus," Chance's words were venomous, hatred laced those two last words as they were forced from his mouth. "You two can go and experience it if you want, but I'm sitting my not-so-happy-never-gonna-happen-havin' ass right here, in the RV, where it'll stay till the circus finally packs its shit and leaves." Chance stated firmly.

Sunset was surprised at Chance's tone, but she really didn't get why he was responding this way. Sunset reached out as her geode glowed. Before Sunset could put a hand on Chance's shoulder, Chance was much quicker, grabbing her hand firmly as he glared down her. "Don't. You. Dare." Chance warned, glaring at his friend.

Sunset was shocked, and quickly pulled her hand away. "Okay, jeez! Man, you really keep your mind under constant lock and key, ya know that!" Sunset held her hand and backed away from him. "What is your deal? You really don't like the circus, but why?" Sunset asked.

Chance groaned and turned away from her, only to look at his left hand. Chance's anger slowly and steadily petered out, and he turned around to meet her gaze again. "Look, I'm sorry for how I reacted, I don't like the idea of people poking around in my head. Those two junkie bastards already poked around too much, and Gilda wasn't any better, why do you think I have problems with stuff like trust, especially if someone pretends just to earn it?" Sunset listened closely, and clearly Chance wasn't over what happened with Gilda. "As for the circus thing, I have extreme Coulrophobia." Chance remarked.

Sunset was confused. "Coulrophobia? What the heck does that mean?" Sunset asked.

Chance's face was getting red, either out of frustration or embarrassment. For him, it was definitely both. 'For someone so smart, you're somehow making me look like a Harvard grad-student right now.' Chance thought, a displeased expression formed on his face.

Luna looked at Chance, and decided to simply break the tension. "Chance, there's nothing wrong with admitting you're afraid of clowns, it's a rational fear, like thunderstorms." Luna reassured.

Chance's face went white, a shocked and terrified expression formed on his face as Sunset simply looked at him. She had no idea what to think. They both faced a bunch of crazy stuff already this summer, and he was terrified of clowns? Sunset just couldn't make heads or tails of this. "You're scared of clowns, even after everything that we've been through already?" Chance sighed, clearly displeased and embarrassed for the truth to come to light. He shamefully nodded his head, and Sunset looked at him with curiosity. "Is that why you didn't want me to look in your head? Were you scared of being made fun of for your fear?" Sunset asked.

Chance sighed and nodded his head, and Sunset was a bit surprised. "Look, I'm just not ready for you to suddenly root around in my head with your magic, I repressed a lot of stuff deep down in my mind for good reason, and the one thing I don't like is that your magic could easily act like a skeleton key." Chance stated.

Sunset decided to try and dig a bit deeper. "Why are you so scared of clowns anyway? We've already seen and been through a bunch of crazy stuff that makes a fear of clowns look like child's play, so what's the sitch?" Sunset asked.

Chance shook his head. "It's personal, and that's all you get." Chance bluntly stated.

Sunset was unsure of what to say, but she was starting to understand where he was coming from. Chance slowly approached her and put his hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for reacting like how I did. It's a bit hard for me to trust people right now, even those who're trying to help me seem a bit hard to read at the moment," Sunset felt strange, she was saddened by his words, yet she understood that he had his reasons for not being as excited. "If you two really wanna go the circus, then I won't stop you or dissuade you, go have your fun... I'll even go in with you, despite my better judgement. But, if I see a single clown, I'm leaving and going back to the RV." Chance stated, uncertain if he was making the right choice.

Luna sighed and though her smile faltered for a moment, she nodded her head as she started the RV and drove down the road.

After a bit of driving around, the RV is parked in a vacant space. The trio walk out and bare witness to a big top circus, set up in the middle of what looks to be a park. Lots of people are walking in, numerous people, old and young were eager to see the show playing within, and the trio walked with them, with Chance begrudgingly following behind.

Luna looked around at the numerous concession stands and games set up. "Ooh, looks like the entire town's turned up for the show! If only Celestia came with us, this would've been a trip down memory lane!" Luna expressed, rushing over to a cotton candy vendor, jumping for joy like a little kid.

Sunset looked at a psychic tent and couldn't help but want to rush over to it. "Ah! I love these psychic tents, they're so neat!" Sunset remarked with joy.

Chance just shuddered, looking around with unsteady nerves as he looked up at a group of posters. They all feature a clown with Navy hair, a toothy grin and a big sophisticated fedora with a few strange bulbs lined across it, this 'Zombozo'. The clown's eyes seem to stare down at Chance, and he felt as if his heart had stopped. Unfortunately for him, it didn't. Chance looked over at Luna, who was walking towards him with tons of snacks bought. "Uh, maybe this place sold out already, I doubt it's got any free seats left, may as well cut our losses while we still can." Chance remarked, chuckling nervously.

Before Luna could respond, the crowd roars out in excitement. Luna's smile gets bigger as Sunset pushes Chance inside, with Luna following after. The trio find their seats, and Chance can't help but feel antsy, an unpleasant feeling, a sensation of fear, his fight or flight instincts were telling him to run, possibly sprint if he had to, but Chance couldn't bring himself to, due to the fear paralyzing him.

In the center of the open space, a spotlight suddenly shines on a circus barker on a pedestal, shouting to the crowd. "Gentlemen, Ladies, and all you fine folks in-between! Step rrrrright up and see!The fingerless freak of nature, whose strength knows no bounds! THUMBSKULL!" The barker announced.

From out of nowhere, a big burly man in a black and gray strongman suit with unnaturally white skin, and a giant 'fingernail' on his forehead comes falling down from the top of the tent. He steps forward with a metal rod and bends it on his head, roaring out in a theatrical manner. The crowd is stunned. He tosses the bent bar in the air and something green catches it. "...And presenting, FRIGHTWIG! When this beauty lets down her hair, there's no telling what could happen!" The barker announced.

From out of the shadows, A pale-skinned woman with long red locks of hair, moving and twisting at her command, steps out, beckoning to the crowd. Her hair coils the metal rod into a pretzel and places it aside on a pedestal. "...And last but certainly not least, the freak whose unique skill is as vile as his attitude! Put your hands together, and cover your nose for ACID BREATH!" The barker announced.

The audience gasps, except for Chance, who was just trying to ignore the 'spectacle' happening, but was failing incredibly so. A pale starved man steps forward, wearing a mouth guard. He takes it off and exhales, his visible green breath completely melting the rod AND the pedestal with it. "Gross!" Sunset remarked, yet still cheered along with the crowd.

That was Chance's final straw, and without a moment's hesitation, Chance quickly got up and left, unsure as to where the exit was, and started to roam.

After a few minutes of sneaking around, Chance managed to find his way out of the tent. Unfortunately, he was at the back of it, and eventually comes across a tent with a "Keep Out" sign; light is shining through. He carefully peers in and sees Zombozo himself, sitting and rehearsing in front of a mirror. "H-H-H-HOWDY FOLKS! Are ya ready to laaaugh?" Zombozo then puts on his hat, smiling with his toothy grin. "Perfect. You're gonna knock 'em...dead." Zombozo remarks as he licks his teeth with his long, grotesque and... rotting tongue?

Chance soon felt dizzy, as well as his lunch coming back up, and immediately turned around to leave, only to jump and fall back surprised, when he sees Sunset behind him. "Hey, why didn't you say anything about leaving? I don't think we're supposed to be back here." Sunset remarked.

Chance clutched his chest and tried to steady himself, regain his composure. "Don't do that, you nearly gave me a heart attack!" Chance reprimanded, gritting through his teeth.

Sunset helped Chance back up to his feet and dusted him off. "Why are you back here lurking around like a weirdo?" Sunset asked.

Chance frowned. "I wasn't doin' it on purpose. I was trying to find the exit, but ended up back here instead. Got a personal look at that 'Zombozo' guy, and I already didn't like clowns, now I hate them more than anything!" Chance stated, trying to defend himself.

Sunset raised an eyebrow, skeptical of her friend's claim, but the two suddenly focused their attention when Luna called out for them. "C'mon you two. The show's about to start!" Luna called out.

Sunset gestured to the big top's entrance. "After you!" Sunset offered. Chance scowled and begrudgingly walks back to the show, with Sunset following close behind.

As the trio get back to their seats, the barker from outside, who was actually the Ringmaster, introduces the crowd to the act. "Ladies and gentlemen! Children of all ages! The Circus of Laughter is proud to present: "The Sultan of Smiles"! "The Crown Prince of Chuckles"! "The Grim Tickler" himself, the star of our circus! Please put your hands together and ready your guts to be busted by... ZOMBOZO THE CLOWN!" The ringmaster announced.

A small clown car speeds into the center of the floor, and a giant-seeming Zombozo emerges to the sound of a triumphant cymbal crash. Zombozo wore a grey and black jumpsuit with three buttons, a jacket which was dark red and light red, and magenta sleeves with white stripes and two magenta circles on each stripe. He also had a green nose, a dark red and white fedora with small magenta bulbs lined across it, and white shoes and gloves.

Everyone in the bleachers was already laughing, while Chance was mortified. Chance closed his eyes tightly and tried to calm himself down for his friend's sake. 'Don't think about the incident, don't think about the incident, don't freak out again!' Chance thought to himself.

The car suddenly speeds to the other side of the floor with a mind of its own, facing Zombozo and revving its engine, "challenging" him. Zombozo beckons it with his hand and pulls out a red toreador cape. The car charges like a bull, but disappears into confetti the moment it passes the cape. The crowd cheers, and Chance is still terrified. He wanted to get up and leave, but he couldn't, it was like something was holding him in place, and that made him want to leave even more.

Zombozo lets out a couple laughs and looks to the audience. "If you love clowns, then this is the place ta' be! You're gonna die laughing..." Zombozo snaps his fingers, and in a large puff of smoke, appears a gigantic machine, with ports ominously glowing red. "...That's a 'Zombozo Guarantee'!" Zombozo declares.

Chance could feel his breathing getting heavier and shaky, his hands felt heavy and numb, they felt hurt, and Chance could feel the tears welling up in his eyes. He needed to get out of that tent, he was not having a good time, and he didn't want to ruin it for Luna and Sunset, then an idea came to him. "I... I-I gotta go get more snacks!" Chance stated as he ran out of the big top.

Luna watched as Chance left the tent, and couldn't help but feel as if she needed to go after him. "I think something might be wrong with mister Marsten... I'll go and look for him, you stay here and enjoy yourself, okay Sunset?" Luna requested.

Sunset waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah yeah, go check on what's-his-face, or whatever, just be sure to come back, this is a great show!" Sunset said, blissfully ignorant and unaware of what was happening around her.

Luna looked at Sunset with concern, and finally managed to pry herself from her seat, then went after Chance. Once Luna left, however, Zombozo was starting to take the show to the next level. "I was never very good at math, but I believe I have your UNdivided attention!" A xylophone sting plays out from out of nowhere, causing the crowd to go wild with laughter. "Now how about some volunteers for this next showstopper?" Zombozo requested.

The entire crowd is laughing, especially Sunset. Zombozo is reflected in her eyes, and it slowly becomes clear that Zombozo has his sights set on a much larger goal. "Ahhhh, SO full of life!" The crowd laughs like it's their last day experiencing something happy. "-for now." Zombozo muttered under his breath, a sinister smile forming on his painted face. The spotlight on Zombozo shuts off, enveloping the interior of the big top in darkness.

Chance sprints out of the big top and off the entire lot, stopping and catching his breath once he's put enough distance between him and the circus. Chance took several deep breaths, gasping for air as he wiped away the tears in his eyes. Chance held himself as he stared down at the asphalt beneath him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and immediately yelled and swatted it away, backing up in a panic as he tried to activate the Omnitrix, not even recognizing that it was Luna.

Luna was surprised, as well as feeling a growing sense of concern for the teen hero's state of mind. "Mister Marsten, relax!" Luna moved forward and tried to reach out, only for Chance to try and fight her off, backing away and swinging his fists. "Chance! It's just me, Luna! Stand down, you're not in danger!" Luna pleaded.

Chance shook his head and rubbed his eyes, seeing Luna carefully approach him. "It's just me, mister Marsten, calm down!" Luna put a hand on his shoulder. Chance tried to pull away, but Luna persisted and pulled the teen into a hug, and though he struggled, he was resisting less and less. "You're not in danger, I'm not your enemy. You're okay... you're safe, you're with someone who isn't trying to hurt you." Luna calmly reassured.

Chance slowly but surely stopped resisting, and started to come back to reality. Chance slowly pulled himself away, looking directly into Luna's eyes. The concern, the desire to help, the care and patience he saw in her eyes, Chance felt his hands shake and shutter, all while Luna held him close. "It's alright, there aren't any clowns around... you're okay, and you'll be fine." Luna assured.

Chance relaxed, sighing in relief. Though hesitant, he carefully wrapped his arms around her, returning the embrace as he tried to compose himself. "I... I'm s-sorry... I-I didn't mean to..." Chance's eyes started to get teary as he buried his head into her shoulder. "I-I d-didn't mean to..." Chance muttered, his voice started to break.

Luna didn't let him go, and just simply waited, smiling all the way. "All is forgiven, but next time, don't hurt yourself for our sake. We'll figure this out together, I promise." Luna reassured.

The two stayed like that for what felt like hours, but was in fact just a few minutes. Chance slowly let Luna go, as did Luna let her student go, and they both sat in silent for a moment, all while Chance wiped his eyes free of the remaining tears that stung his eyes and hindered his vision. "I hate the circus... I hate clowns... The only thing I don't hate is the food, and that fucking sucks..." Luna would've reprimanded him for his foul language, but she was just focused on making sure he was calmed down. "I used to love the circus, but being at one nowadays drives me up the wall too much. My fight or flight instincts just go haywire... after the incident, I haven't been able to enjoy the circus ever since, and my extreme Coulrophobia was flaring up like mad once that Zombozo son of a bitch showed up." Chance confessed.

Luna's curiosity was piqued, but her concern was beginning to increase. 'This is the first time I'm hearing of an incident regarding the circus. I knew he was holding information back. Had to be because of the adults in his family... if his father was someone he looked up to, the only adult figure that could be at fault would be his mother... tread carefully, Luna, you don't want to upset him further...' Luna thought.

Luna held Chance's face in her hands and stared at him. "Chance, may you please tell me about this incident, if you can?" Luna requested.

Chance thought about it for a moment, until the sound of glass shattering and a car alarm blaring out broke them both out of their emotional grasp. The two of them quickly hide behind a car. As Chance carefully peeks out from behind it, he sees the trio of circus freaks from before, smashing the window of a jewelry store, and robbing an expensive sports car as its alarm blared out. "Holy shit, the freaks are felons!" Chance remarked, ducking back behind the car.

The freaks are robbing the whole street. Thumbskull grabs a handful of shiny bracelets, watches and rings from the jewelry store display, Acid Breath uses his breath to melt a parked car's door and roof, letting him reach in and rip a stereo right out, and Frightwig advances on an ATM, putting her locks of hair through the brick wall around it and ripping the machine right out of the wall, causing money to fly everywhere. "Finally, It's payday!" Frightwig called out, cackling maniacally as she dances in the middle of the raining bills.

Luna and Chance look at each other and Chance wipes his eyes as he activates the Omnitrix, selecting one of his tougher aliens. "Time to show these freaks how outclassed they are." Chance remarked.

As Thumbskull carries two flat-screens, he looks around and sees Vitaguar jump on a car, rocking it while snarling and salivating threateningly. Thumbskull panics and starts to back away. "Good kitty cat, down boy!" Thumbskull panicked.

Vitaguar lunged forward and smacked Thumbskull away with his tail, attracting the attention of the other two freaks. "I ain't no run-of-the-mill house cat, dingbat!" Vitaguar rammed into the other two freaks, knocking Acid Breath aside and running away. Frightwig tries to grab him with her hair but gets dragged along the pavement. Vitaguar lands on the freak's getaway car and rips out the roof, letting money and jewelry fly out. "Oi, I made it hail! Your name wouldn't happen to be Mary by chance, right lass?" Vitaguar quipped, smacking Frightwig away.

Thumbskull groaned in anger. "Hey, that's our stuff!" Thumbskull complained.

Acid Breath hissed. "No fleabag's gonna steal my loot. GET 'IM!" Acid Breath commanded, taking a deep breath. Before he could do anything, however, a bag of jewels was then smashed against his head, and then hammered against his face, knocking him out. Luna stood over the literal foul-mouthed freak and smirked, then ran to assist Vitaguar.

Frightwig tries to whip Vitaguar away, only for the alien to jump off the car before Frightwig's attack could land, tearing up their car. Vitaguar lands in between Thumbskull and Frightwig, then bats them away. As Frightwig gets up, he advances on her, only for Luna to get behind her, then kick Frightwig in the side and put her in a full nelson. "No so fun now when the fight's more fair, is it?" Luna remarked.

Acid Breath slowly gets back up, and sees that his allies are outnumbered, and somehow outpowered. Thinking for a moment, Acid Breath retreats into an alleyway, and loops around to run back to the big top while the heroes are distracted.

Back in the big top, multiple colorful images of popcorn, bowling pins and cotton candy float above the audience as they keep on laughing. Zombozo stands in the center, taking it all in as he shudders with delight. "Ah, laughter truly is the best medicine! For me!" Zombozo declared with a smile, relishing in the audience's laughter and joy.

The crowd continues to laugh, despite the lack of a joke. Before Zombozo could approach the audience, Acid Breath enters from the back and walks right behind Zombozo. "Hey, boss? We got a serious problem on our hands!" Acid Breath announced.

Zombozo slumps in disappointment, then turns around to glare at Acid Breath, despite his smile still being present. "How many times have I TOLD YOU! Not to botha' me while I'm eeeaaating!" Zombozo hunches backwards as a large metal wire connects to his back, all while a grisly bright blue plasma pumps from the machine and directly into Zombozo himself. Zombozo's body hums and shudders, amplifying the creepiness of his words. "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" Zombozo aggressively exclaimed.

Acid Breath sighed. "We ran into some trouble, that's what. Those alien heroes on the news, they're wiping the floor with us, and some woman joined in, and she's kicking our asses! This whole plan just went to pot, we need you to salvage this sideshow act!" Acid Breath explained.

Zombozo was not in a good mood, and frowned at Acid Breath.

Back at the fight, Frightwig and Thumbskull are being pinned down by Vitaguar, and Luna just got off the phone with the police, reporting the freaks' crimes. Suddenly, in a puff of smoke and a flash of confetti, Zombozo appears out of thin air. Vitaguar turns around, only to then start backing up when he sees him. Luna noticed the alien hero's change in attitude, then saw Zombozo for herself. "I hear you're full o' tricks, kitty cat. Let's see if you know how many lives you have left!" Zombozo remarked.

Zombozo moves forward and kicks Vitaguar hard and smacks him into a tower. As he walks forward, Vitaguar winces and hides under the tower. Luna gets in between Zombozo and Vitaguar, backing up as she continues to shield the alien.

Zombozo whips around, angry and very annoyed at the freaks. "This isn't a "mountain lion", it's a "house cat", a real big, scared house cat!" The freaks feel pretty embarrassed and seem to have no excuse as Zombozo looks back at the alien, seeing the woman try to get him out. "Bring the curtain down on this little sideshow, and make sure she goes down with it!" Zombozo commanded, disappearing in another puff of smoke.

The freaks stare angrily at the two, and spring into action. Acid Breath melts one of the legs on the tower, Frightwig pulls one of the legs with her hair, and Thumbskull rams into one of the legs, bending and snapping it in half. "It's all down hill from here, pussycat." Acid Breath remarked.

The tower comes crashing down on the two of them, leaving a huge pile of rubble. Thumbskull picks up a brick from it and smirks. "Now that's a Cat-astrophe!" Thumbskull remarked, chuckling at his own joke.

Frightwig snapped her fingers and got the other two freaks' attention. "Boss wants us to pick up the pace, something about bigger laughs to get." Frightwig stated.

As the freaks run off toward the circus, they don't hear the Omnitrix timing out. Vitaguar quickly makes sure that Luna is out of the pile of rubble unharmed. Chance turns back to normal, and Luna escorts him back to the RV as the police arrive, too little too late.

The show is now over. The air is dead. Chip bags and pages of circus brochures fly in the wind, boxes of popcorn and drinks are spilt on the ground. People slowly walk out of the venue stadium with light smiles on their faces. Some are still laughing sporadically. The pair of them get back and they see Sunset, sitting on a step, laughing to herself.

Luna and Chance make their way towards her, and notice that she's still laughing. "Sunset?" Chance grabbed her shoulders and shook her. "Sunset, snap out of it!" Chance yelled.

Sunset blinked her eyes, smiling slightly as she finally recognizes that Luna and Chance are in front of her. "Eheh- Oh, hey guys! Hehe ah- Where'd you go?" Sunset asked, seeming exhausted, yet her laughter persists.

Chance looked at Luna and sighed. "Don't worry about it, at least for now," Chance looked at where the big top tent was, and was impressed, as well as confused as to how it vanished so fast. "Where in the high tides of hell did the circus go?!" Chance exclaimed.

Sunset chuckled. "Oh -aha- I'm not so sure, uh..." Sunset lazily looked behind herself, only to be greeted to a completely empty stadium, with no sign of there ever being a circus at all. "I remember we were laughing. Hah- it was so funny, Pinkie would've loved it -heh!" Sunset remarked, an almost tired smile on her face. Just as Sunset finishes laughing, a deep-seated melancholy washes over Sunset's face.

Chance recognized that expression on her face, and already he didn't like where this could possibly lead him. "Sunset, pal, are... are you ok?" Chance asked, helping Sunset back up to her feet, letting her lean on him.

Sunset shuffles in place for a moment, clutching onto Chance's shirt weakly. "Aheh, I just...feel kinda tapped out, that's all." Sunset stated. Despite her sudden show of weakness, she suddenly breaks into a long laugh, which startles Luna and Chance greatly.

Chance felt it in his bones, down to his very soul. Something wasn't right. "Sunset, why are you still laughing?! You're actually starting to scare me!" Chance looked at Sunset's neck, and suddenly, he knew that something was out of place. "Wait a minute, where's your geode?" Chance asked worriedly.

Meanwhile, Thumbskull drives a truck along a highway, Zombozo was riding with him, admiring a necklace with a red and yellow dao symbol shaped like the sun. Zombozo looked at Thumbskull with a smile. "Didja pack me a snack for the road?" Zombozo asked.

Thumbskull smiles and draws back the curtains behind the driver's seat. 6 people are sitting in back, laughing to themselves. Zombozo smiles and chuckles as the truck drives away.

The RV drives down the highway, all while Chance finishes strapping Sunset down in the booth, keeping her still and out of harm's way. He propped her head up with a pillow and covered her up in a blanket, then gingerly moves to the front seat, sulking as he rubs his face and stares at his reflection. Chance looks away and feels ashamed, curling up into the fetal position as he hides his face in his knees. "I should've done something." Chance remarked.

Luna looked over and sighed. "You did the best you could." Luna reassured.

Chance shook his head, all while the RV was silent and tense as it moved along the highway. "Chance, do you wanna tell me what's bothering you?" Luna asked.

Chance sighed and nodded his head, uncovering his face. "This is the incident all over again. Someone's paying the price for me being stupid, and it doesn't matter if I was a kid then, feels like nothing's changed ever since!" Chance confessed.

Luna nodded her head and reached over, rubbing the top of Chance's head, attempting to comfort him. "Chance, I feel as if your mind is clouded by past traumatic experiences... for the sake of getting Sunset's geode back, as well as hoping to fix whatever's wrong with her," Luna briefly looked back at Sunset, seeing the melancholic, almost depressed expression on her face. "Tell me about the incident... please?" Luna asked.

Chance hesitated for a moment, and when it seemed like Luna's words didn't reach, Chance got out of the fetal position and sighed. "The incident of 2011 was what cemented my eternal hate and distrust in my mother, everything she ever told me, and it's why I constantly say that husk of a woman isn't my mother, she died and her body is just persisting after death without a soul, not like she ever had one in the first place... It all tied back to the circus, but in order for what I'm about to say to make sense, I need to start at the beginning... something I haven't had to think about ever since my dad's funeral," Chance looked at Luna, she saw the melancholic and remorseful expression on his face. "May I?" Chance asked.

Luna nodded. "Of course." Luna encouraged.

9½ years ago...

A strong and well-built man with light brown hair cut short was carrying a kid on his shoulders, happy as can be. They didn't typically stand out from a crowd, but they were having so much fun. The kid had wild bleach blonde hair and the brightest green eyes anyone could see. The man took the kid off his shoulders, and smiled as he hugged the kid and handed him a piece of cotton candy, something the kid happily accepted.

'Back when my dad was still around, I was his whole world, and he was mine. He was always there for me when I was hurt, when I was in need of help, and especially whenever I was scared.'

The man and boy sit in their seats, readying their snacks as a clown came out. Where everyone was laughing and cheering as the clown got into hijinks, the young boy just simply started to get teary-eyed and scared.

'Going to the circus was one of the only times I felt like I was both safe, and in the most danger I've ever been in. When everyone else just laughed as a clown slipped on a banana peel, or got chased by a lion, I was getting scared, sobbing as I clung onto my dad, as he was the only person I ever felt safe around. It was through him, he helped me get over a lot of stuff that would've made me seem more... unapproachable, if he hadn't helped me out when he did.'

The man looked down at the kid that clung to his arm, tears on his face and looking scared to death. The man gave the child a warm smile, sat him on his lap and gave him some snacks, patting the kid's head gently and whispering into their ears, which then made the kid feel a bit happier.

'For the life of me, I could never remember what he told me as a kid, but he always wanted me to recognize the differences between good and bad. Clowns were always an impossibility, but my dad never gave up on me. He wanted me to be strong, to be brave, something I wasn't during that stupid show earlier today. It sucks, knowing that this fear has subconsciously still been rooted into my brain, and has essentially given me such grief. My dad never gave up on me and he never did, but without him to help me figure this out, to help me not be afraid anymore, I don't know how to overcome this fear.'

Chance relaxed a bit as he leaned back in the chair, all while Luna looked at the young man, unsure of what to say. "I've been plagued by my extreme Coulrophobia ever since I was six, and it's only now, I've finally tried to address it..." Chance confessed, hanging his head low.

Luna thought about what Chance said, but something didn't seem to add up. "So, what caused such radical reactions in you when the circus was mentioned? When did the incident take place?" Luna asked.

Chance was silent, but instead of dodging or deflecting the question, he simply took a deep breath and sighed. "My mother's the reason I can't go to the circus anymore without feeling like I'm in constant danger. The one time she tried to be a caring mother, she fucked it all up from start to finish." Chance stated bitterly.

4½ years ago...

A slightly younger Chance is curled up in the backseat of a car, sniveling and crying as a younger and healthier Jean slowly stops the car and parks it, stopping in front of a big top tent, one that was similar to that of Zombozo's. "Alright kiddo, here's what's gonna go down. You're clearly still upset that your dad's gone, and Moonshine already got into trouble with the 5-0 for popping a cap in ya gut, so to make ya feel better, I brought you to the circus so you can have your fun and calm down a bit. You love the circus, according to your dad, don't that sound like fun?" Chance wiped away his tears and looked unconvinced, as well as scared. Jean scowled and groaned. "Come on, mopey! Let's go have some fun and spend some time together, or some shit!" Jean encouraged halfheartedly.

'Jean, believe it or not, wasn't always an oblivious junkie, a drug-addicted shell of her former self. She used to just be a shell of her former self already, after my dad's passing. She cared about herself a little less, she cared about me a lot less, and cared more about one of my dad's military buddies way too much. She was a pain in the ass for sure, but even she had her moments of trying to be like dad, trying to make me happy and teach me the right stuff, to keep me healthy and protected from harm, even if it was all just the bare minimum... but this was the one instance, where she should've just kept to herself and not involve me.'

Chance walked beside Jean, occasionally trying to reach out and hold her hand, only for her to start flirting with random men as they passed by, even straight up making suggestive hand gestures to the few that were staring. All the while, Chance just kept walking, trying to ignore the crudeness of those around him, and eventually found himself moving through the crowd. Everyone towered over him, they were all so angry, so vile and mean, not to mention crude.

'That was the first time I've ever technically been on my own. Jean stopped paying attention to me and would rather focus on a bunch of disgusting dudes asking for "favors" rather than protect her own son from any potentially dangerous people. Thankfully for me, this was the one time where people seemed to actually give a shit about a kid wandering around on his own, unsure of where he is or where his parents were, or why everyone was so damn aggressive and ignoring a kid in need.'

A woman with auburn hair, medieval-looking clothes and face paint smiled at the boy and sat him on top of the counter, where a man with a scruffy beard smiled and simply ruffled Chance's hair as he poured a bottle of alcohol into a cartoon cup and handed it to the kid.

'I was put in the care of a renaissance faire concession stand vendor who was selling old-timey homebrewed whiskey, and I got my first taste of alcohol for the first time in my life, and my mother still didn't know I wasn't by her side anymore, actin' like a cheap thrill for a bunch of drunken floozies.'

Chance, after struggling to drink all of the strange stuff in the cartoon cup, belched and wandered off, only to be picked up by a man in a jester's costume who looked confused and thoroughly distraught at the smell of alcohol on the child's breath, let alone the fact that the boy was all alone. The jester looked around and took him to the tent, all while the alcohol was starting to take effect on the poor boy.

The jester sat Chance down in a wooden chair and moved outside to go and find someone who might know of the location of the boy's parents. All the while, some sort of medieval play was being acted out, and Chance soon noticed he was amongst a bunch of other kids who had creepy smiling masks on their faces. Chance felt uncomfortable and curled up in his seat, scared and unsure of where exactly he was, or what exactly was going on at all.

'I was then approached by a man in a jester's costume. He seemed like the only person who wasn't off their rocker, and was bothered by the idea of a child even consuming booze in the first place. Unfortunately, the jester took me to a tent and left me there to go find Jean. All the while, some creepy theatre play was being acted out, and I was surrounded by a bunch of kids wearing these creepy smiling masks. I was in an unfamiliar place and terrified out of my mind, all while the alcohol did its dangerous little dance and started messing with my impressionable little brain.'

Chance started to feel woozy and sick. Chance got up and stumbled a bit as he waddled his way out of the tent, quickly gathering the attention as Chance drunkenly tried to walk. He tried to speak, but it all came out as mumbling gibberish and slurred syllables and sounds. Everything was moving too fast and too slow all at once for the poor kid, and eventually, Chance passed out in the middle of the crowd.

'All I could ever experience while drunk, was the fact that I kept seeing the jester's face when I passed out. It kept getting more and more contorted and disturbing, all I could hear was someone's demented laugh echo in my head, slowly becoming the stuff of nightmares. My head spun and hurt like hell, my stomach felt like it was on fire, my mouth was entirely numb, and I felt like I was dying. That was when I finally realized it wasn't Jean's plan to make me feel better, she wanted me to feel worse. She blamed me for the death of my dad, she blamed me for every bad thing that happened after he died. She didn't care about me, hell, the terrible attempts made by those who tried to help me did more than she ever did, which was nothing at all.'

Chance looked back at Sunset, then looked forward ahead of the road. Luna was... well, she felt a lot of emotions and none of them held Chance's mother up with praise. The expression on Luna's face was very hard to read. She was upset, disgusted, downright mortified, pissed off, absolutely livid, but above all else, she was concerned for her student's well being, unsure of how things will change after the summer's over. Chance sighed and looked at Luna, even he couldn't figure out what was going on in her head at that moment, but that was all he needed to know, truthfully.

Chance sighed and looked down at the floorboard, so many conflicting emotions were pulsing through his head, but all he could focus on was getting Sunset's geode back. Chance looked back at Sunset, seeing her curled up as she slept.

Chance closed his eyes tightly, and soon, all he felt was one emotion, one that was dead set on venting a lot of steam out. Rage. Pure, unadulterated, several years worth of rage.

After a long and silent drive, the RV finally arrives at the circus' new location. Luna gets ready to unbuckle her belt, but Chance puts a hand on her shoulder. "Stay here and keep a close eye on Sunset, I don't want her to be alone like this." Chance stated.

Luna got up and hugged Chance tightly. "I'll make sure she isn't dying, but are you sure you wanna go in there on your own, mister Marsten?" Luna asked, worried about the glint in his eye.

Chance lightly pulled away and walked out the door, slamming it shut as he walked down the street and towards the big top tent in the distance. 'You wanna laugh at something, bozo? Let's see if you're still laughing when I tie your asshole goons in a knot, and cave your face in.' Chance thought, dialing in one of his aliens.

The freaks were out back, busy moving boxes. Chance carefully sneaks up behind a few boxes and sees a big poster of Zombozo's face. Chance gritted his teeth and looked at the Omnitrix, seeing the alien he had dialed up. Chance pushed down the core and a flash of green light flashes behind a stack of boxes near Thumbskull. "What's that noise?" Thumbskull called out.

Before Thumbskull could fully turn around and make a move, Crime Detector rushed forward and punched Thumbskull back, sending him sliding into a wall. the mechanical hero fixates its attention on Acid Breath as he is covered in his dangerous breath, yet nothing happens. Acid Breath is surprised, and starts to back away, but Crime Detector grabs Acid Breath by the throat and slams him into a bunch of boxes.

Frightwig is a bit nervous, but stands her ground, readying her hair for an attack. "You alien heroes don't make this easy, do ya?" Frightwig remarked.

Crime Detector didn't speak and just moved towards her. Frightwig lashed her hair at the robot, only for it to grab the tendrils and start to twirl her around, smacking Frightwig against boxes, the fence, the ground, until he threw the freak up into the air, and shifted his left hand into a cannon. As Frightwig fell, Crime Detector aimed his cannon upwards, ready to fire. Frightwig braced herself, but Crime Detector moved out of the way, letting Frightwig collide with the ground, knocking herself out.

Thumbskull come up from behind, but is then blasted in the face by Crime Detector. Thumbskull was sent falling to the ground, knocked out cold and rendered unconscious from the blast. Crime Detector floated towards the entrance to the big top, and the Omnitrix then timed out, returning Chance to his normal form.

Chance looked down at the Omnitrix, and then walks inside, a look of anger and contemptment on the young hero's face. Chance notices a mirror, but keeps walking. As Chance continues to walk through the tent, he feels as if there's someone watching him. Chance sneers and keeps going.

"Hiya, son! Something tells me you'd be a barrel full of laughs!" Zombozo called out.

Chance rolled his eyes and kept walking. Chance notices another mirror, and can't help but look at himself. Before he can really evaluate what he's planning to do, his reflection suddenly changes and transforms into Zombozo. "Hey, Mr. Serious! How bout a...SMILE?" Zombozo requested.

Chance groaned and roared out in aggression, punching the mirror and shattering it. Chance kept walking forward, all while a sea of hands reach out from the other mirrors, desperately clawing at the alien hero, but Chance grabs one of the hands and does not hesitate to break it as he keeps moving forward. This seems to have caused the other hands to have retreated, leaving Chance free enough to keep moving.

Chance walks along a coiling yellow road. Zombozo's face, mounted on a spring, pops out from it, stopping him in his tracks. "What's your story, Mourning Glory? Was that your cat, that gave my freaks such frowns, What about that weird robot outside that put my freaks to sleep? Was that crazy lady with you, too?" Zombozo asked.

Chance grabbed the spring and pulled Zombozo's face down to his level, and socked it straight in the eye as hard as he could. The face contorted in pain as it retreated back into the road. "Give it to me straight, kid, at least smile a bit! Are you some kind of FREAK?!" Zombozo taunted.

Chance stayed silent, walking along the path as he tried to find his way to Zombozo himself. Soon enough, the road starts to crumble and Chance falls into a black void, Zombozo's face, etched in fire, appears and laughs as the hero falls. Chance catches his fall with a trapeze swing. He swings through a chomping Zombozo face and catches a new one. The swing's ropes break, sending Chance careening down, landing on a human-sized spider web. He starts struggling a little bit, but soon spots a golden spider with Zombozo's face comes crawling on the web towards him. "Come on, pal! You've gotta learn ta' loosen up! Laugh a little!" The spider, now close enough to Chance, holds his neck with his razor-sharp pincer, which still leaves the alien hero unfazed. "It's what keeps me going!" Zombozo remarked.

Chance pulls himself free of the web and aggressively bites onto the pincer, causing Zombozo's face to recoil and scrunch up in pain. "YEEOWW!! Sheesh, why'd I have ta deal with some rabid hard-ass teenager!?" Zombozo complained.

Chance slipped through the web and fell even further till he hits the ground. Soon enough, a spotlight shines down on him, and the anger on his face had not yet been satisfied. Chance eventually finds himself on the center floor of the main tent, back in reality. As he starts to get up, the genuine Zombozo calmly walks up to him. Chance sees ghosts reflected in the orbs on Zombozo's body, flying up to the large one on his top hat. Inside is Sunset, backlit by fire, laughing herself to death with a cold emotionless stare.

Chance's rage just continued to rise, and Zombozo was starting to realize that this kid was a much tougher nut to crack than he thought he'd be. "C'mon pal, should I make a few innuendos and dick jokes to finally getcha to crack a smile?" Chance stared at Zombozo and started to walk towards him, causing Zombozo to flinch a bit and start backing up, all while keeping a smile on his face. "W-Well, I guess you have a more refined palette, then." Zombozo quipped.

Chance grabbed Zombozo by the collar of his suit and pulled him close, staring daggers into the clown's eyes. "What do you hope to gain out of all this?" Chance bluntly asked.

Zombozo snaps his fingers and is now a few feet away from the alien hero. Zombozo snaps his fingers again, and a spotlight lights up the large machine in the tent. It is filled with screaming ghosts. The cable running out of the machine psionically links to Zombozo's back, lifting him in the air. "Why, only what every clown worth his floppy shoes wants, of course, ta' make people laugh!" Zombozo then gets all up in Chance's face. "THEN DRAIN THEIR POSITIVE ENERGY, LIKE A SPONGE IN A POOL PARTY! Is that so wrooong?" Zombozo asks while slobbering in a grotesque manner.

Chance looks at the machine, then back at Zombozo. "I'm gonna make a guess here, and say that's the machine you use to suck the happiness out of your audience, like a large media franchise who only cares about money, being stupid and not much else?" Chance asked.

Zombozo laughed. "Yup, I call it the "Psyclown"! Clever, eh?" Chance rolled his eyes, unamused and unwilling to entertain Zombozo and his theatrics. "Soon I'll be taking my act to tha' big cities. Millions of people laughing for me! Feeding me...making me STRONGER!" Zombozo explained.

Chance started approaching Zombozo again, and Zombozo was starting to sweat bullets. "Sheesh, you are one tough kid to please. I feel bad for whatever lady finds you attractive, they're in for a rough ride." Zombozo quipped, laughing nervously as Chance kept approaching.

Chance noticed Sunset's geode and growled. "I want my friend's accessory back, and I want her back! Give up the ghost, or you're gonna join 'em. Pick your poison, you unfunny half-ass." Chance demanded.

"Her?" Zombozo looked at the geode, and feigned a gasp. "Didn't ya hear, pal? Your little floozie ran away with the circus, and your momma brought 'er right to me!" Zombozo remarked with a chuckle.

Zombozo snapped his fingers, and a spotlight shined down, showing Sunset, lying on the floor off to the side. Her body was drained and frail, still coughing up a few laughs. Luna was strapped to a furniture dolly and gagged with a rag as the circus freaks stood nearby. Chance looks at them in shock, then at Zombozo, stewing in his rage. Chance pressed the button on the Omnitrix and once Nitrofrost's icon came up, he twisted the icon backwards, and found the alien he was looking for.

Zombozo looked over at Chance, only to notice that his eyes were staring right at him. "You think you're so funny, don't you, fugly?" Chance hovered his hand over the Omnitrix's core for a moment and let a smirk form on his face, yet the blistering fury in his eyes never seized. "You wanna know what's funny? You and your goons are gonna die tonight. That's what I find funny right now." Chance remarked, pressing the Omnitrix's core down as he was enveloped in a flash of green light.

Chance felt his body stiffen and toughen up as his skin started to rapidly decompose and turn gray. His muscles tensed up and started to expand, and his bones started to grow out. Parts of Chance's body started to rip, tear and completely re-arrange themselves. Chance's hair changed from brown to a very dark gray, almost black in color. His shirt changed and started to tear up, as did his body. The portion of Chance's body between his torso and his pelvis was now completely gone, leaving only his spine to be seen.

Chance's feet tore through his shoes as his toes turned sharp, like talons. His pants became more uniform, a pair of ripped black pants with white stripes and detailing. Chance's left arm suddenly tore apart, exposing the bone, but flexed it like it wasn't an issue. Chance felt his mouth grow shut as his eyes beamed red. The Omnitrix barely re-shaped itself, yet never left Chance's wrist.

The alien stood tall and then roared out as it lunged forward with a hungry look in its eyes.

The flash of light dies down, and Chance is now transformed into Zombrex. The alien looks down at Zombozo, unmoving, unflinching, and probably worst of all, he was eyeing Zombozo up like prey. Zombozo was silent for a moment, but suddenly busted out laughing. Luna was muffling, struggling to try and break free, all while the circus freaks simply stared at the transformed teenager. Once Zombozo calmed down, he looked up at Zombrex with a confident smile. "Nice try, kid. But I sell the tricks, I don't buy 'em!" Zombrex remarked.

Without even uttering a word, Zombozo was swatted to the other side of the room, which caught the clown by surprise. "Ya know, I'm real fuckin' tired of you. Just smelling all those souls in your body. You stole life, knowing that those souls don't belong to you, never have, and never will. But hey, at least I can fight you properly like this, knowing there's something I fear even more than you..." Zombozo looked around as Zombrex's voice echoed out everywhere. Zombozo turned around and was met by a back hand to the face, which knocked Zombozo back, tangling him up in his wire. "Like, losing my my family to some goofball good for nothing emotional vampire!" Zombrex taunted.

The circus freaks looked above, and they still couldn't see the strange zombie alien anywhere. "In other words..." Zombozo turned around, only to be punched in his clown nose, letting a honk escape it. "You're going down, clown. I'm gonna rip you open like a kid on Christmas morning!" Zombrex called out in a venomous tone.

Zombozo was getting angry, as well as a bit scared. He looks around, trying to find any trace of the alien corpse that's been out of his line of sight. As Zombozo turns around one more time, a metal pipe suddenly comes careening towards him, smacking him into his machine and causing the red nodes to spark and explode. "Souls" come flying out of the machine; one of them flies into Sunset, returning her to normal, and her geode ends up falling right in front of her. The rest of the "souls" release in a wave across the sky, returning all the drooling townspeople outside back to normal.

Zombozo manages to get back up, noticing that his circus freaks had high-tailed out of the place. Zombrex lands right on top of the machine, causing him to turn around as the alien zombie stares down at him. "I-I'm warning you to b-back off!" Zombozo warned, his voice breaking every time he spoke.

Sunset gets up and puts her geode back on, only to notice that Luna was tied up. Sunset quickly gets to work on getting Luna free, but can't help but notice Zombrex as he stared down Zombozo, who was quaking in his clown shoes. "I'm gettin' pretty famished, bozo... give me one good reason why I shouldn't sink my teeth into that empty head of yours, and I might consider letting you go to prison. I'm a nice guy, aren't I?" 'Zombrex' remarked.

Zombozo balled his hands into fists and tried to hit Zombrex, and while he did manage to connect one of his punches to his chest, it didn't do anything. Zombrex's face opened up, unveiling a row of rotting sharp teeth, and that was enough to cause Zombozo to just fall to the ground, breathing heavily, the villainous clown backs away against the wall, all while Zombrex jumps down and starts to walk forward. Luna and Sunset look on in terror as Zombrex gets closer, and Zombozo finally breaks. The villain was now curled up in a ball, shielding himself with his arms as he started to ball his eyes out. "Oh, don't tell me you're afraid of old Zombrex?" Zombrex asks, taunting Zombozo.

Zombozo snivels and starts to plead for his life. "Please... No more! I give up, you won already, you psychopath! Just leave me alone!! Don't kill me, please!!" Zombozo pleaded.

Zombrex leaned in, and saw the fear in Zombozo's eyes. "Boo!" Zombrex said.

That was the final straw. Zombozo's head suddenly expands like a balloon and his entire body explodes into confetti. Zombrex takes a moment to recognize what just happened, and then looks at his hands. "Woah... okay, that- That kind of freaked me out!" Zombrex remarked. The Omnitrix starts timing out and in a flash of red light, Chance was returned to normal, though he did stagger a bit.

As he re-found his footing and walked over to Sunset and Luna, their shocked and scared expressions were enough to tell Chance that something was off, and he had to admit, being Zombrex that time, while it was liberating to let off some steam, he did feel as if he went a bit too far off the handle. "Ok, maybe I shouldn't use Zombrex for a while..." Chance remarked.

Luna and Sunset nodded in agreement. "Chance, how do you feel?" Luna asked.

Chance didn't know how to answer that question, but instead just hugged her and Sunset tightly. "I'll get back to you on that, but I guess I feel... better, I guess? I mean, I don't feel as reserved as I did before we showed up at the circus, but I still don't feel as if I'm ready to open up more, if that makes any sense." Chance explained.

Sunset shrugged her shoulders and patted Chance on the back, smiling. "It's a start, we'll get there, and I'm sorry for trying to look into your head without your permission, that was not cool." Sunset apologized.

Chance gave a thumbs up and a smile. "All is forgiven, as someone once told me," Chance looked at Luna, seeing her smile. He looked back at Sunset. "I just wanna know, why do you wanna look in my head so bad?" Chance remarked.

Sunset smiled sheepishly and sighed. "There's just so little I know about you, it's a bit hard to relate to you in any way and we've been stuck with each other for the past couple weeks or so, we've been through a bunch of crazy adventures as of late, and I barely learned anything about you," Chance laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Isn't there anything else besides games and your dad that you're comfortable with talking about?" Sunset asked.

Chance thought about that for a moment, and something did come to mind, but it was an odd topic. Chance sighed. "We'll talk about it when we get back to the RV, I promise. It's just that this isn't the place to talk about this." Chance stated, chuckling awkwardly.

As the RV travels down the road, Sunset was passed out, sound asleep in her bed. Chance chuckled as he looked at her from the front seat. "Poor girl, can't say I blame her for passing out right then and there, I'm a bit tired myself after chasing some freaky clown all night." Chance remarked.

Luna laughed a bit. "I can definitely relate, I could sleep for a good few days after that fiasco," Luna looks at Chance, and remembers something that he said earlier during his fight with Zombozo. "Chance, do you mind if I ask you something?" Luna asked.

Chance looked at Luna, thought about it and shrugged his shoulders. "Shoot your shot, VP. I'm all ears." Chance casually remarked.

Luna sighed. "Back with the fight with Zombozo-"

Chance groaned. "I told you, I don't know what happened! I just wanted to overpower him and break his machine, then get you and Sunset out of there, I don't know where any of that came from! Sure, I was angry, and I definitely felt like killing something, but I wasn't gonna go through with it. The plan was to rough him up, tie him up, break the machine, call the cops and get you and Sunset back to the RV, and away from the scene, I don't know what happened!" Chance stated defensively.

Luna sighed, smiling patiently. "I'm not referring to that, mister Marsten, I know that wasn't you in control, and Sunset knows it too," Chance let out a sigh of relief. "However, I wanted to talk about something you said during the fight." Luna reiterated.

Chance flinched and looked a bit panicked. "Calm down, it's nothing bad, I assure you..." the conversation went quiet for a couple moments, and Luna decided to just say what was on her mind. "What did you mean when you said that you didn't want to lose your family?" Luna asked.

Chance was a bit surprised, but seemed to relax. "Oh, that? Well, I was talking about you and Sunset, of course! You two already seem like a better family than the poor excuse for one that has any genetic relation to me, with the only good things to happen to that family was my dad and me," Luna was taken aback, but smiled. Chance's relaxed expression suddenly changed to that of concern. "Ah shit, was that taking things too far?" Chance asked, a bit frantic.

Luna chuckled. "No no, it's fine, at least to me, it is. Honestly, it's rather rare I get to connect at all with any of the student body, mostly because everyone complains that I'm a strict stickler for the rules," Chance sulked in his seat, seeming a bit embarrassed. "But, I do appreciate the honesty and clarification. There's nothing to worry about as long as we stick together, all three of us." Luna stated proudly.

Chance was hesitant to say something, but he didn't want to bottle it up with his emotions. "Even after the summer, when we all return to our normal lives... and I have to deal with them again?" Chance asked.

Luna abruptly stepped on the brakes, bringing the RV to a screeching halt, causing Sunset to fall out of bed. Luna grabbed Chance's face and looked at him dead in the eyes with a stern expression, catching him by surprise. "Mister Marsten, I promise, I will do all I can that's within my power and position to find a solution." Luna reassured.

Sunset pulled the curtain back and walked up front. "What happened, why we stop?" Sunset asked.

Chance smiled nervously and got up from his seat. "Just wanted to make sure we didn't run over a turtle. Want the front seat?" Chance offered.

Sunset shrugged and sat down as Chance laid back in the booth. "So, where to now?" Chance asked.

Luna thought for a moment, and smiled. "We'll have to wait and see." Luna remarked, driving down the road yet again.

S1, Episode 11: Princess Empathy

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Princess Empathy

The trio walk around at a witchcraft museum. Chance looks through a metallic tribal mask, while Sunset and Luna are with a few other tourists, as well as an elderly female tour guide. The guide clears her throat and looks towards a large white ancient book. "...And behind this impenetrable glass is the recently discovered, and only known existing copy of the 'Archamada Book of Spells'." The guide spoke.

Sunset stared in awe at the book, smiling as a wave of nostalgia flows through her. 'Ahh... reminds me of the old days.' Sunset thought.

"It contains ancient witchcraft and rituals from the later sixteen hundreds." The two said in unison, Sunset mimicked the woman's words perfectly, much to the older woman's chagrin.

The tour guide gave Sunset a snide look and rolled her eyes, much to Sunset's disappointment. "Maybe you should work here, dear." the elderly woman remarked, wheeling a cart full of books away.

Luna was about to console her, until Chance walked to Sunset's side as she sulked, putting a hand on her shoulder. "Ahh don't let that old bat get you down. Far as I'm concerned, you've seen and dealt with more magical stuff than she ever has, she's got no room for her big mouth by technicality," Sunset scoffed and sulked further. "Hey, come on, you're not actually gonna let old 'mummy-face' get you down, are you? She's probably older than that spellbook, anyway!" Chance remarked, out-stretching his arms as he imitated a mummy's pose and facial expression as if they were in a tomb. Sunset felt a smile form on her face and laughed at her friend's attempt to cheer her up, which still ended up working.

Soon enough, the lighthearted moment is broken when rumbling begins, with everyone in the room soon lifting to the ceiling, seemingly magically. The tourists start to panic, and Chance immediately tries to dial in an alien, but is barely able to keep himself still long enough to see which one he was dialing in. They all reach the ceiling, and seem to be stuck. "Something tells me this isn't on the tour." Luna speculated, trying to get herself free.

Through the skylight window, a puff of red smoke travels through the air and reaches the book of spells, materializing into three individuals. The first one was a man with dark skin, had a red skull painted on his face, all while he was draped in a a red and white colored robe, and held a wooden staff with a bird's head. He wore a necklace with dozens of magical and mystical charms on it, and slowly approaches the case containing the book of spells. The other two individuals were somewhere around Chance's and Sunset's age, but one was clearly shorter than the other. They hid their faces behind masks. One had a magical rune painted on it, and the other, a crescent moon with a top hat.

The man observed the case, and smiled as he gazed at the book. "The Archamada book of Spells... All of its power shall soon be mine!" He exclaimed triumphantly.

The man takes a deep breath and opens his mouth. "Fah-Cah-Me-Doof!" The second right-most charm started glowing yellow, activating as he speaks. His eyes glowed bright as the glass encasement around the book shatters, and the book levitates off the podium, into his hands. "Finally, ultimate power is within my grasp, I can almost taste its divine essence radiating from its unexplored pages!" The man proclaimed.

Chance rolled his eyes and managed to get his hands free, then cycled to one of his aliens. "These dingbats get more wordy every time. This is a good time to go..." The man uses his staff to end the rooms' occupants' levitation, dropping them to the floor. "Hero! Oh come on!" Chance exclaimed as he fell.

Everyone screams as they're falling, and Chance quickly transforms into Armethyst, diving to the ground as he shot down a tapestry. Armethyst quickly grabs it and maneuvers it, having it act as a soft landing for the tourists, and barely manages to catch Luna and Sunset. "You two alright?" Armethyst asked.

They nodded. "We'll be fine, but they need to be stopped." Luna stated, glaring at the crooks.

Armethyst looked at the civilians and knew this was gonna be one of those kinds of fights, and decided to make an important move. "Everyone needs to get the fuck out, or you'll die in here if things go haywire!!"Armethyst exclaimed urgently.

The other tourists clearly recognize that the situation was not yet taken care of, and quickly evacuate, all while Luna, Sunset, Armethyst, the man and his two acquaintances stay behind. "Be careful, Chance. You don't know what tricks he's got up his sleeve." Luna cautioned.

Sunset stepped forward, transforming with her geode. "Let's kick their butts!" Sunset remarked.

Armethyst nodded, forming his hands into blades. The alien hero quickly jumped in front of the man, staring him down. "Dude, if you wanted a book so bad, go to the damn library!" Armethyst quipped, thrusting his blades forward.

To Armethyst's surprise, he ended up hitting only air, with the man suddenly standing right behind him. Armethyst quickly turned around, only to notice his second charm activate. He holds up his staff and takes a deep breath, then speaks. "Bethi-Mordor-Natta!" Flames started to erupt from the staff, setting the tapestry, as well as most of the museum alight. Armethyst backs up and gets ready to fire several crystals at the man, only for the man to fire red crystals out from his staff, causing Armethyst to go on the defense. Armethyst tries to charge at the man, only for a blinding flash and a large puff of smoke to blind the alien hero, causing him to slip and crash into display cabinets.

As Hex turns to finish him off, he's hit with a couple of trash cans thrown by Sunset and Luna, momentarily distracting the magician from Chance. "Guess we got his attention!" Sunset remarked.

The two other crooks stood behind them as the man gritted his teeth, approaching them with a furious look in his eyes. "Kind of wish we hadn't." Luna said, getting in front of Sunset.

The man's eyes widen, knocking Sunset and Luna back with a telekinetic force. The two individuals looked towards where the alien hero had been, only to then be met by an onslaught of several swift punches, both of the unknown attackers getting sent flying into the wall. One stood their ground, and the shorter one groaned in pain. The man tried to get a hit on the alien, Armethyst countered it and slammed his knee into his chest, then delivered several powerful punches, knocking him back into the only standing individual, causing the center-most charm to be tossed into the air in the fray, landing in Armethyst's hand while all three of the crooks get knocked out in the process.

After a few moments of pulling the crooks out of the semi-burnt building, the man and his two cohorts were lying on the cold concrete path, reeling from the attack. Luna puts a hand on Armethyst's shoulder, smiling. "Nice work!" Luna commented.

Armethyst nodded, but soon noticed that Sunset was sitting on a bench nearby, appearing saddened by something. Armethyst sighed and walked over to his friend, all while tons of cameras start to flash and people start to surround him, cheering for him. As comfortable as it felt for him to have some positive things said about him, he just wanted to talk to his friend, see what was bothering her.

Armethyst leered down at the reporters that were getting aggressive, lighting bopping him in the face with their mics, and a couple others tried climbing on top of him. At his limit with human interaction, Armethyst stared down at the reporters and simply formed his arms into blades, jamming them into the next few cameras that were shoved into his face. The reporters quieted down and backed off, all while Armethyst stared them down. "There's a thing called personal space, meatbags... respect it, or you'll get no respect from me and my allies." Armethyst cautioned.

The reporters backed off, slowly retreating from the crystalline alien hero as the man and the individuals associated with him get carted away. 'I fuckin' hate the paparazzi, no respect for personal space,' Armethyst looked over at Luna, seeing the displeased expression on her face. 'Oh man, now I'm in for an earful.' Armethyst thought.

As the RV drives along the road, Chance is examining his Rogue's Gallery box, putting away his latest trophy along with his other items, including Animo's Transmodulator, a photograph of Carlos, and the photos Sunset took of herself and him back in Caspiir. While Chance smiled at the memories, he was also listening to Sunset as she expressed her emotions. "All I'm saying is that you didn't exactly stop those three all by yourself today, okay? I helped save your sorry butt, but does anybody notice me and my contributions?" Sunset remarked.

Chance looked up at his friend, seeing the clearest sign of irritation in her eyes, all while she felt underappreciated. Raising an eyebrow, Chance decides to press further. "Hey, you still bothered by what that old crone said? If so, you do know we appreciate everything you've done so far. Sure, there have been hiccups here and there, practically everywhere, but no one's perfect. You're probably just surprised that no one outside of Canterlot City knows of the Rainbooms and their heroics, but I know that'll change one day, it'll happen!" Chance stated, trying to reassure his friend.

Sunset shot him a scowl. "That's not what's bothering me! Chance, open your eyes! I've been reduced to a damsel in distress in a number of our last few adventures, and even when I haven't been captured or taken out of the fight, I'm still doing nothing to contribute. I'm a hero, damn it! I shouldn't be getting captured or beat like this, or reduced to some passerby!" Sunset stared at the watch and sneered. "The only reason you're a hero is because of the Omnitrix. If I found it instead of you, I'd be getting all the attention, I wouldn't be trapped like some ditzy princess, and I'd get all the cool stuff that goes with it!" Sunset remarked loudly in frustration.

Chance's eyes widened in shock, "Wow, didn't even hesitate to go for the jugular, huh?" Chance looked at their sleeping space at the back of the RV, noticing the hoverboard Sugilite gave her was still right where it was when she sat it down after their encounter. "What about that hoverboard, aren't you gonna use it, rather than let it collect dust all summer?" Chance asked.

Chance watched as Sunset's eye twitched and started to shake the table in an aggravated manner. Chance was taken aback by his friend's aggressive display, but he did know where she was coming from, to a certain point. 'Wow, so this is what it's like being on the receiving end of this argument... Not gonna say what she said was false, because it wasn't, but damn, now I'm scared if the new power she unlocks turns out to be fire! I gotta think of something quick, or she's gonna blow!' Chance thought.

Chance looked around and came up with a solution, grabbing the charm that the man lost in the fight, handing it to her. Sunset stopped shaking the table and stared at the charm in her friend's hand. "Here, why don't you take it." Chance offered.

Sunset was taken aback, surprised by the offer. Carefully, Sunset picked it up, examining the charm closely as she stared down at it. "Really, you're just gonna give this to me?" Sunset asked.

Chance nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I didn't wanna let it collect dust in the box, so I figured it'd be for the best if you used it. Plus, I don't really know how the Omnitrix is gonna react to magic of any kind, whether it's your geode or the charm, so better not to risk it. Besides, the Omnitrix is all I need, why would I want to stack magic on top of it? I'm not Dash, my ego isn't as large as hers." Chance explained with a smile.

Sunset chuckled and playfully punched Chance's arm, hooking the charm to her necklace, letting the charm hang behind her geode. "Thanks, I appreciate it." Sunset said.

Chance nodded and leaned back in his booth. "You're welcome. Oh, and FYI, maybe you're right, in the sense that the Omnitrix is what makes me a hero, but my actions are genuine, one-hundred percent my own choices and decisions, with the rare exception being Zombrex, but I digress, maybe the next time someone needs help, I'll try to do it as me, Chance Marsten. That sound fair to you?" Chance asked.

Sunset smiled. "Sure, but don't be afraid to transform if you really need to. Don't try to get yourself killed just to prove a point." Sunset advised.

Chance chuckled. "Then it's a done deal." Chance stated.

In an ambulance, an EMT is monitoring the man, as well as the two individuals that assisted him in their attack. One of his charms suddenly glows bright yellow and he wakes up, grabbing the other two individuals and using the charm on them. "My destiny shall be fulfilled. Your work is not done!" The man proclaimed.

He blasts the back doors of the ambulance open, the vehicle screeches to a stop as he floats off, with his two assistants following after him, with the shorter one leaving behind her crescent moon/top hat mask.

In a restaurant, the trio are eating crawfish in a fancy restaurant. Down to just one crawfish, Chance moves in to snag the last one, only for Sunset to smack his hand, making him recoil. "I've been counting. You've had eleven craw-fish to my nine, let me have one more." Sunset remarked.

Chance rolled his eyes, both of them not noticing the charm's glow. "Sounds to me like it's time to make it an even dozen. A man's gotta eat!" Chance remarked.

As Chance moves in to snag the craw-fish, Sunset flicks the fork of her friend's hand with her own. "I don't think so, mister!" Sunset remarked.

The fork flies through the air and lands onto a waitress's foot, poking through her shoe. "Yowch!" The woman exclaimed.

The waitress tosses the glasses on her tray in the air in pain. One of the glasses catches on a chandelier, causing it to spin. The glass is then tossed into the kitchen, disrupting the cook and making him run into a cart with a bowl of live crawfish. The cart then rolls back into the table that the trio was sitting at, sending the bowl of crawfish straight onto Chance. Sunset casually collects the last crawfish and eats it. "OK, now I'm full." Sunset remarked, chuckling.

Chance tries to get the other crawfish off of him, all while one tries to crawl up his nose. "But they're not! OW!" Chance exclaimed. Sunset, Luna and the other patrons in the restaurant get a good laugh out of this. Sunset finally takes notices of her bright yellow glowing charm, which stops glowing just afterward.

At the witchcraft museum, Hex is sorting through all of the books looking for the Archamada Book of Spells. While he does this, the guard is stuck floating in the air. Unable to locate it, he questions the guard. "The Archamada Book of Spells. Where is it?" The man interrogated.

The guard pointed over to a large mechanical vault door. "I-It's in the vault, please don't hurt me!" The guard pleaded.

With little effort, the door is torn from its hinges, and levitated to the side. The assistants stand by the man's side, with the shorter assistant revealing herself to be Trixie, only her eyes seemed to glow and radiate a menacing red light. The man speaks out an incantation, and the book flies into his hands. "Yes, soon my power will know no limits!" The man tried to absorb the book's immense powers and abilities into himself, but soon found himself incapable of doing so. "W-What?! Why is-" The man looks at his charms, and notices that the center-most charm is missing, and recalls his fight with Armethyst. "Of course, the battle with that poorly-crafted golem!" The man gritted.

At a street market, Sunset and Luna were still laughing at Chance's expense, all while Chance kept a cottonball stuffed in the nostril that the craw-fish tried to invade, with it steadily getting redder by the second. "Y'know in all my travels, I never actually saw a craw-fish climb in someone's nostril, until today!" Luna remarked.

Chance rolled his eyes and scowled. Chance let out a mock laugh and groaned. "Nice to know my pain and suffering is entertaining to you, next time either of you feel like crying a river, I'll regale you with the story of how I got shot." Chance remarked sarcastically.

Sunset patted Chance on the back, still laughing. "Relax, it's a bit of harmless fun." Sunset reassured.

Chance stared daggers at the pair, then gestured to his nose. "Harmless fun for who, ya masochist?" Chance questioned.

Sunset smiled and pulled her friend into a hug. "Hey, by the way, thanks again for the charm, I really do appreciate the gesture. I feel like I should get you something in return," Sunset noticed an ice cream truck and ran over to it. "I'll have one strawberry pop and my friend will have a fudge bar, please!" Sunset requested.

As the ice cream man looked around in his truck, a woman cried out in terror. "Help! They stole my purse!" the woman exclaimed.

The two teens looked down the street, seeing three dudes that were much older than they were, but decided to step in and help. Luna stops them in their tracks and gets ready to fight. "That's far enough. Drop the purse, or the next ones to drop will be you three." Luna warned.

The crooks aren't intimidated and close in on her, but Luna was still prepared to fight. "Yeah? Who's gonna make us? You, bitch?" The middle man remarked.

Chance and Sunset stepped in and prepared themselves. "One woman versus three men, sounds like a very dangerous time, especially in public. Good thing she's not alone," Chance moved his feet and put his fists up, getting into a stance. "Hope you three skipped out on lunch and dinner, because I got a few knuckle sandwiches that have your names on 'em!" Chance remarked.

Sunset got into a stance and noticed the left-most man was staring her down, smirking. "He-he-hey. That's a nice necklace you got there, lady." The man remarked, reaching forward.

The charm glowed again as Sunset grabbed the man's hand, then his arm, and threw him onto the ground, twisting his arm and slamming her knee onto the back of his neck, causing the man to panic, seeing the fury in Sunset's eyes. Sunset puts her hand onto the man's face as her geode glows incredibly bright, and her eyes light up. "Sleep." Sunset commanded with disgust. The man suddenly fell limp, his eyes closing as he suddenly fell asleep.

Chance focused on the middle man and hit him with a punch, which finally provoked him to fight back. The man swung his fists at Chance, but the teen hero just weaved, ducked and dodged the punches, all while keeping his hands close to his face. Chance stepped carefully, ducking down and jabbing the man's side, only to hit something tough as a metal thunk could be heard. Chance's eyes widened and he headbutted the man, staggering him. Chance pulled the man's shirt up, seeing a pistol. Chance paused for a moment, and his face contorted into an expression of aggression. Chance yelled out and tackled the man down, letting the man have an onslaught of jabs, punches and even a couple haymakers, all while the man tried to reach for his gun, but was actually starting to lose the will to fight with how hard Chance was hitting him.

Luna was taking care of herself rather well, spin-kicking the man in the face and then pinning him to the ground. The man that Chance was punching finally gave up, and Chance dragged his bruised body over to his buddy. Sunset did the same, and made sure the men's hands were bound so they couldn't reach for their weapons, if the other two had any.

Sunset let out a sigh of relief. "Good thing that's over," Sunset looked at the middle man and his very bruised face. "Man, you really did a number on that guy, huh? I didn't even know you could fight like that!" Sunset remarked, looking over at Chance.

Chance chuckled and smiled a bit. "Yeah, my dad wanted me to learn how to defend my self, so he had me learn to box. It was hell, almost torturous, but clearly it paid off. I felt a bit rusty and my rage kinda took over for a moment, but there's always room for improvement." Chance explained.

With the incident over, the police show up on the scene as a man exits his cruiser. "We got word of a disturbance, what happened?" The officer asked.

The woman walked over to the old man as Sunset handed her the purse she nearly lost. "Those people are heroes, officer. Those lousy crooks tried to take my purse and assault that family, but they managed to stop them and get my purse back." The woman explained.

Chance scoffed and waved off the woman's words. "Nah, we're not heroes, we're just people who hate seeing dumbasses like these morons cause trouble for good people, and then subsequentially get away with it." Chance remarked, attempting to remain humble in the situation.

Sunset stepped forward and waved to the passerbys who saw the whole fight unfold. "Yeah, we were just lucky, I guess." Sunset remarked. The trio go back over to the ice cream truck, only for Sunset's gaze to travel towards a costume stand nearby, and smiles to herself, as if an idea just popped into her head.

The next day, the Rust Bucket is parked in a lot next to other RVs, while Chance and Luna are sleeping. Unfortunately, Luna was snoring very loud, to the point that Chance had to cover his ears with a pillow. "Hey. Sunset? You got any ear plugs on you that cancel out noise?" There was no response, and Chance was a bit concerned. "Sunset?" Chance asked.

Chance looks down towards Sunset, who happens to be missing. Chance raised an eyebrow, but could faintly hear the sound of a basketball being bounced and dribbled outside. Curiosity now had its grip on the alien hero, and he quietly snuck out to investigate.

Sunset was in a basketball court with the charm active, tossing a basketball at the hoop behind her without looking. The ball does not even hit the basket, but yet another series of strange and improbable events lead it directly to the net. Sunset cheered as Chance watched on, curious as to how she was able to even make that shot in the first place. "Nothing but the bottom of the net -again! Whoo!! Man, no wonder Dash loves these sports so much, this is fun!" Sunset remarked.

Sunset goes for another shot, and right as the ball goes into the net effortlessly, Chance catches it in his hand, looking skeptical. "Okay, so just from that impossible trick shot you pulled off, we're definitely not playing horse anytime soon," Chance dribbles the basketball and goes for the 3-point shot, only for the ball to bounce off the rim, and back into Sunset's hands. "How the hell did you even pull off that shot!? I can't even pull off a three-pointer!" Chance asked.

Sunset shrugged with a smile on her face. "Just lucky, I suppose. It's like every time it glows, everything just goes my way." Sunset explained.

Chance rolls his eyes. "I'm all for believing in luck, good and bad, but something that provides this much good luck has to have some form of repercussion. Not even to mention, how the hell did you put that guy to sleep so fast last night?" Chance asked.

Sunset shrugged. "What can I say? I'm charmed, maybe my emotions are tied to how strong my magic powers are." Sunset theorized.

Chance frowned. "Or the charm is making your geode stronger with every time it glows, and you use your pre-existing powers in tandem with it, providing some kind of weird power boost to your existing capabilities." Chance remarked.

Soon enough, Luna wakes up and walks out of the RV. "Nothing like a good night's sleep. Who wants breakfast?" Luna asked, stretching her body.

Before the two could answer, a loud explosion interrupts them, and their eyes look to a construction site in the near distance. "We'll have to get back to you on that, but for right now, It's Hero Time!" Chance stated, running towards the construction site as he dials in one of his aliens.

Sunset runs towards the RV, moving past Luna. "I need to get changed, it's time a new hero stepped into the lime light!" Sunset remarked, closing the door behind her, leaving Luna confused as to what was happening.

Luna follows after Chance, who had selected Vitaguar for the task at hand. Unfortunately, when he actually tried to transform, he was instead turned into Fumesquito as he flew onto the construction site. Two construction workers were stranded high above the ground and hanging by a thread, and Luna noticed another worker was trapped in a truck, a metal beam had crushed the doors as sparks from the overhead lights begin to cause fires to spread.

Fumesquito sighed. "This is gonna be close, I need to be as accurate as I can." Fumesquito remarked, fluttering upwards to the dangling workers.

Meanwhile, Sunset finally appeared on the scene, but she wasn't wearing her usual attire. Luna looked back, and was rather surprised by the sudden wardrobe change. "Sunset?" Luna asked.

Sunset was dressed in a black latex bodysuit with a silver and red tiara on her head, a red dress she had packed in her bag from Camp Everfree's fundraiser, a white domino mask and sleek elbow-length white gloves, with her body already transformed by her geode. "It's 'Princess Empathy' from now on, ma'am." Sunset corrected.

Sunset quickly ran towards the trapped man in the truck, and knocks on the glass to get his attention. "Stay calm, I'll get you out of there in no time!" Sunset's charm begins to glow as she proceeds to do a running jump onto a plank being cut, which sends the other half flying into a wrecking ball machine's controls, causing the ball to drop onto the truck, causing the metal rod to fly off hitting a control board. Fumesquito made it to the workers and was about to fly them down to the ground below, but the elevator hits him and sends Chance up into the air, screaming as he tries to regain control and save himself, all while the workers start to free fall. Sunset winces. "Uh oh!" Sunset exclaimed.

Fumesquito manages to regain control and flies back down, avoiding the elevator in the nick of time as he barely manages to save the two workers before they hit the ground. Unfortunately, the elevator ended up colliding with a support beam, breaking right through it, causing debris to fall to the ground. "Princess, move!" Luna exclaimed.

Sunset quickly darts for cover into a nearby vehicle, causing it to reverse and knock a chute-structure out of place, causing more debris to fall. Fumesquito moves upwards and tries to stop it the best he could, but ends up getting knocked down into a cement mixture. Eventually, one of the pieces of debris lands onto the truck, and pops the door open, allowing for the man to quickly escape the scene. An onlooking Fumesquito covered in cement mix wanders around, dazed by the events that transpired.

Chance looked over as Sunset was getting interviewed by a news reporter. "How did you pull of this amazing rescue?" the reporter asked.

Sunset smiled and was about to answer, but soon saw that Fumesquito was flying away. Sunset shrugged her shoulders and re-focused on the question. "With skill of course," Sunset turns to the camera and gives a triumphant thumbs up. "Who's your hero?" Sunset proclaimed to the camera.

"You heard it here first -Live!" The reporter stated.

Luna looked at Sunset with a mix of concern and worry. "This can't possibly bode well." Luna remarked, stepping into the RV.

Meanwhile, in another part of town, the man is searching for the charm, all while his assistants direct his gaze to a news report playing on a bunch of TVs, showing a teenager in a princess costume. "An exclusive, on the scene interview with our city's very own..."

"Princess Empathy!" Sunset declared.

The man is unamused, but then he squints his eyes, noticing the charm around her neck, hiding behind that accessory she wore. "Princess Empathy..." The man growled, smirking as his eyes glowed.

In the RV, Sunset was trying to learn more about the charm that made her more powerful, all while Chance is flipping through the channels on TV, only to grow more and more frustrated with every time he changes the channel, all he can hear and see is people talking about Princess Empathy. Finally, Chance just turns the TV off and slumps in his seat. Sunset smiled and turned her laptop around for Chance to see. "Hey, check it out. I cross-referenced the Archamada Book of Spells with dark magical charms, and look. It's a part of a set called the Charms of Bezel," Chance noticed one of the charms looked exactly like the one that Sunset now had. "This charm is "luck". There are also charms for fire, levitation, reincarnation... It's honestly fascinating for such powerful magical charms to even exist in a world that previously had no magic to begin with!" Sunset remarked, practically geeking out about the magic she had at her disposal.

Chance eyed the charms in the picture, and immediately recognized the rest of them as the same ones in the man's possession. "Those are the charms Mr. Freak at the museum wore when Armethyst kicked his ass!" Chance pointed out.

Sunset soon came to her own realization, snapping her fingers. "Of course! That's why he wanted the book of spells! But, I guess we dodged a bullet and put a pin in his master plan. It says that all the Charms of Bezel must be used for the spells to be at their full power, something you took care of when we crossed his path the first time!" Sunset smiled, acting giddy like a kid on Christmas morning. "But now that power's in my hands, a literal good luck charm! His loss was quite literally my gain!" Sunset remarked.

Luna sighed. "Heavy emphasis on 'was'. Sunset, as happy as I am for you to be getting stronger, we need to turn that charm back into the museum. Plus, Chance was right to assume there might be a drawback to all this good luck that we haven't seen yet." Luna explained.

Sunset's expression fell and her eyes widened. "What!? No fair, not before I use it again! The world needs someone with the power of Princess Empathy!" Sunset argued.

Chance looked back at his friend, skeptical of her motives. "Uh, news flash! You already had magical powers, ya yutz! Don't you think this is a bit greedy?" Chance questioned.

Sunset glared at Chance. "Well, now I can do a lot more than just look into people's heads and feel what they feel! I can actually kick some serious butt with this charm!" Sunset argued.

Chance frowned. "You weren't useless before you found the charm! You faced off against sirens, you literally stood up to that Twilight chick that started ripping open portals to god knows where! You helped put a perfectionist plant-powered camp counselor into jail for reformation! You're not fuckin' useless, you dumbass!" Chance stared Sunset down. "Besides, it's not you that's doing any of that stuff, it's the charm! That charm is literally manipulating your luck and turning you from an already cool chick, to a pompous and arrogant spoiled royal, and that costume's the icing on the cake!" Chance argued.

Sunset gritted her teeth and grabbed Chance by the collar of his shirt. "It's not you, either. It's that watch! You can turn into a bunch of aliens and do a bunch of stuff that normal people can't!" Sunset argued.

Chance glared at his companion and yanked her hand off of his shirt collar, gripping her wrist tightly. "At least I'm in control of my transformations and use them with the choices and decisions I make! You're solely depending on luck being on your side, so who's really in control of what they do?!" Chance yelled out.

Sunset got up in Chance's face, refusing to back down. "Last I checked, you have an alien that's literally a zombie, and you can barely even control that one! You wanna ask that question again, crybaby?" Sunset asked with a smirk, an unfamiliar golden tint started to shine in Sunset's eyes.

Chance was on the edge of exploding at the girl in front of him. Friend or not, he wasn't gonna let that slide. "Say that again, she-demon. I'll send you down to hell faster than you'd think possible." Chance growled.

Sunset balled her hands into fists, and Chance did the same. "You're just jealous that you're getting out-classed so soon!" Sunset taunted.

Chance cracked his neck. "Please, like I'd be jealous of a glorified geriatric leprechaun!" Chance taunted.

The two teens were about to go on the attack, until the radio as turned up. "And in the news of the weird, reports are coming in that the city's famed haunted history mansion has come alive, trapping dozens of visitors inside." The man on the radio informed.

That got the teens' attention. They looked towards Luna, and saw the knowing look on her face. "I'm on it, but you two need to work together on this!" Luna advised, turning the RV around.

As the RV pulls up at the haunted house, Chance runs out the door and gets ready to help. "Time to rock and roll out! Really hoping for Jump-Kick!" Chance popped the core up and selected Jump-Kick's icon, but before he pushed the core down, Sunset, dressed back in her Princess Empathy costume, jumps over him. "Hey, save some of the action for me, you spoiled royal!" Chance remarked, slamming down on the Omnitrix, transforming into Riptile instead.

Sunset leered back at the large alien. "Back off, I'll handle this!" Sunset demanded, running inside the mansion. Riptile groaned and ran after her, all while Luna ran after the pair.

As the trio arrives inside, they see the furniture and walls of the mansion wave about as if they were alive, with innocent people trapped inside. The man stands at the top of a staircase, staring down at Sunset. "I knew you couldn't resist... Princess." The man hissed with a smirk.

The innocent bystanders screamed out, and the man's staff lights up. Riptile and Luna come onto the scene, and get ready to fight, much to Princess Empathy's chagrin. "So, how should we address you when we turn you over to the cops, magic man?" Riptile quipped.

The man sneered as his lights were lit aglow. "Call me... Hex, for the curse I'll rain down upon you pitiful mortals!" Hex introduced.

Riptile looked to the innocent people and got ready to jump to their aide, until he felt a sudden kick to the face, which knocked him back, toppling him over with a pained grunt. Luna saw Princess Empathy as the attacker. "Back off, freak! I'll be the one to get them out! I've got the skill to pull it off!" 'Sunset' remarked.

Princess Empathy rushes over to help, but as she does, the second charm on the right lights up, and the stairs begin to fly apart. Riptile slowly gets back up and immediately notices the boards hurtling right towards them. Riptile quickly gets in front of Luna and shield her from the incoming attacks, wincing as the planks tear up and break into pieces as they collide with the alien hero's back.

Riptile shrugged off the pain he was feeling and chased after Princess Empathy. "I think the spoiled royal is confusing her luck with skill! Let me show you how it's done!" Riptile remarked.

Princess Empathy runs up the stairs as they fly apart, but is then flung across the room by Trixie. She's able to land on pillar with the aid of the charm, and struggles to keep balance on it as Luna catches one of the falling civilians up on the second floor. "Hurry, get outside and alert the authorities!" Luna shouted.

The person Luna saved was about to make their way to the front door, until a flying part of the catwalk above falls down and nearly crushes the person. The person soon saw that Riptile barely made it in the nick of time and lifted it above his head, and sat down as he glares at Hex. Another part of the catwalk is levitated by the sorcerer and thrown towards him, which almost knocked more civilians to the ground, if Riptile hadn't jumped at it and caught it, clutching it with all he had as he tried to keep it steady and unmoving. "I got it, thankfully!" Riptile called out.

Princess Empathy leaps across the hanging light fixtures towards the opposite side of the second floor, watching it slowly collapse. "And I've got them!" 'Sunset' announced as she swung onto one of the lights and landed in front of the civilians.

Princess Empathy closes her eyes as the pillar begins to shake, losing its balance. Her charm glows and her eyes shine bright, backing away as she jumps off, grabbing a chandelier and barely securing herself on the strut next to the civilians. "Everybody, grab hold!" 'Sunset' yelled out.

The civilians grab onto the chandelier, swinging away as the strut Chance is cautiously holding begins to move, collapsing on the floor, and sends Riptile flying, only for him to bounce and hop, rebounding himself off the wall to safety. After that, the chandelier begins to lose it's integrity, sending Princess Empathy and the others plummeting down, right until her charm glows the brightest it ever has since she got it, and the chandelier re-secures itself, tightening right before they hit the ground, allowing them to flee.

Princess Empathy jumped down as Riptile landed right before her. "Not bad, for a freakish oaf." 'Sunset' remarked, her voice now becoming remarkably deeper.

As the civilians run out, Hex closes the doors behind them, trapping the trio inside. Hex telekinetically throws Princess Empathy with his staff, and pins her to the wall, an angered expression on his face. "Give me my charm." Hex demanded.

Princess Empathy looks around and grabs onto a curtain, causing it to fall down over Hex, and as she drops safely to the floor, also topples a case of amour on him as well. "You should've said please!" 'Sunset' remarked, but before she could go any further, the two assistants stood in her way, with Trixie stepping up, her eyes glowed red as she balled her fists tightly. Princess Empathy grabbed the girl as the geode glowed, and peered into her mind.

Trixie sat with a taller and older girl with silver hair, dark purple lipstick, as well as pink-ish eyes. She wore a pink robe with purple hearts adorning it. Hex raised his staff as a blinding red light cascaded over Trixie.

Soon enough, a dark metallic necklace formed on Trixie's neck, one that looked like an amulet of some sort, but it looked incredibly familiar. The horn on the horse's head that poked from the top of the amulet gleamed red, as did the blackened wings that sprouted from its sides. The red diamond jewel in the center radiated a dark energy, and Trixie smirked wickedly, her eyes now enveloped in the reddened glow.

Princess Empathy recoiled, groaning as she clutched her head. The charm stopped glowing and started to crack. The geode stopped glowing as well, and soon enough, Sunset opened her eyes, no longer showing a golden tint that radiated from her gaze, but instead, a look of confusion. "W-Wha?" Sunset looked around, and then at herself. "What the hell am I wearing?!" Sunset wondered.

Luna yelled out, charging at the assistants with a sturdy plank in her hands, batting them away. "Sunset, run!" Luna exclaimed, trying to fend off the attackers as best she could.

Sunset quickly got up and ran off down a hall, with Hex freeing himself moments later, and goes after her. Riptile gets ready to attack the assistants, but Luna holds a hand out to stop him. "I can handle them, you must go after miss Shimmer! Keep that charm out of Hex's hands! Go!!" Luna shouted, finally managing to crack the taller assistant over the face, which caused the board to snap in half with a loud cracking sound echoing throughout the room, but Trixie wasn't giving in.

Riptile, against his better judgement, went after Sunset and Hex. Luna spun the board around, leering at Trixie as she summoned a red energy around her hands, gripping onto spheres of energy. "Don't assume that this is gonna be an easy victory, young lady! I can do this all day, if I must!" Luna exclaimed, gritting her teeth.

Sunset quickly enters a room full of antique ornaments, and doesn't see a way out of here. Sunset rests her arm on a bust's head, which reveals a button. Sunset carefully presses the button, then witnesses as a secret entrance opens up in the fire place. Sunset smirks and quickly runs through, with Riptile tackling Hex into the same room, both the sorcerer and the alien trying to one-up each other.

Riptile notices the secret passageway and smacks Hex away, then runs down it, using his tongue to pull it shut, just to try and buy himself and Sunset some time. Hex growls and looks around for another entrance.

Within the passage, Sunset runs past snakes, skulls, and rats before losing her breath. Riptile descends the stairs and can hear Sunset's breathing echo through the tunnel and tries to follow it the best he can. Sunset leans back against the wall, trying to rest and get her breath back, until she accidentally brushes up against a button, which collapses the tunnel on top of Riptile. As the smoke clears, Sunset sees him holding the collapsed rock above his head the best he can, but rushes forward as it drops to the ground. "Chance, thank god it's you! What the hell's going on?" Sunset asked.

Riptile sneered and gave her an irritated look. "Oh, my bad, I thought I was the 'freakish oaf' who got lucky finding this watch. Didn't think some pompous princess would be bothered to remember my name!" Riptile remarked sarcastically.

Sunset was very confused, and a bit hurt by his words. "Chance, I don't know what's going on, can you please educate me on what's happening right now?!" Sunset pleaded.

The alien reptile scoffed and just hoisted Sunset over his shoulder. "Let's just get this over with, I'm not gonna tolerate such disrespect from some spoiled royal, who was acting like a bratty little she-demon towards me just because I gave a damn about her, I'm especially not gonna let you get away with calling me a crybaby! You wanna start cryin', your highness? I'll give you something to cry about!" Riptile remarked angrily, marching his way down the tunnel.

Sunset was surprised, shocked and appalled by her friend's attitude. "Chance, what the hell did I do?! I don't know what is going on, and since when did I call you any of these things?!" Sunset exclaimed.

Riptile dropped Sunset onto the ground and growled, getting all up in her face like she did to him. "You got onto me for worrying about your safety and well-being! I was telling you about how I was worried about there being some sort of repercussion for that charm's power, but you didn't wanna listen! You wanted to argue, bitch, moan and complain about why it wasn't fair for you to return the charm to the museum, and you straight up kicked me in the fuckin' face, just so I wouldn't get in your way, you pompous little idiot!" Riptile exclaimed, his voice echoed out through the tunnels as the Omnitrix timed out, transforming Chance back to his normal self.

Chance stared down at Sunset, who was letting every bit of what her friend said sink in. The anger in Chance's eyes burned like a white hot fire, the neurons that activated in his brain could've ignited his whole body into a human-shaped pile of white flames. "You cared more about that stupid charm, getting attention from the news reporters, over saving lives and stopping the bad guys! What in the actual FUCK has gotten into you?! I knew there was something wrong the moment you showed up to the construction site dressed in a princess costume!" Sunset could hear Chance's aggravation echo out through the tunnel, but she had never seen him react like this. "Ever since I gave you that charm, to make you feel better, to remind you that your contributions do matter, because I can't stand to see you upset, you've had your head so far up your own ass, you can clearly taste what you ate day before we left Camp Everfree for this road trip!" Chance reprimanded.

Chance panted, trying to catch his breath as he stared down at his friend. He felt conflicted when she started tearing up. On one hand, he felt justified in what he said, he felt it within him that it had to be said. On the other hand, however, he was sure that he didn't have to be that aggressive in his tone of voice. It made him feel terrible, knowing he just screamed at his friend like that, his only friend...

Chance's anger subsided and he knelt down, pulling Sunset into a hug, one she reciprocated as she wiped the tears away. "I'm sorry, but that Charm isn't doing anything good for you, and it's pissing me off that you don't remember any of that stuff. I don't blame you, not directly, but that charm has to go. It's turned you into something that almost seems reminiscent of something you've tried to repress. The way you got aggressive, the way you held yourself to a higher standard than me, just because I can transform into strange alien creatures, you really did seem like a mix between your former bully persona, and a pompous royal blow hard who hates anything that isn't human... What's goin' on with you, can't you tell me?" Chance asked, looking at his companion with concern.

Sunset held her head low, she clutched her geode and looked into Chance's mind for a moment. Chance still expected an answer, but after a few minutes of silence, Chance pulled Sunset away, seeing that she was looking into his head. She finally snapped back to reality, and Chance just looked angry and ashamed, averting his gaze from his companion. "How much did you see?" Chance asked cautiously.

Sunset sighed, a sense of shame washed over her as well. "As far back as yesterday, that's it. Everything seemed so... surreal. To see myself in such a state of being, it was kinda cool, at first... but, the moment I got up in your face and said all those things, even feeling the weight of the things you said, I could see a golden tint in my eyes. Maybe you were right, this charm wasn't doing anything good for me, but was turning me into something I wasn't... specifically, something I was never supposed to be," Chance looked back at Sunset, unsure as to what exactly she meant by that, but considering she was starting to tear up again, he saw that deep down, that genuinely hurt her a lot, just to admit it. "I... I'm sorry, I mean it... not just for looking in your mind, but for the things I said... you know I didn't mean it, r-right?" Sunset apologized.

Chance sighed, pulling his friend into another embrace. "Only if you know that I didn't mean what I said either, I was just emotional... I felt hurt, as if you acting like this, getting all this attention on you and bragging about it, it felt like you were, in a sense.... leaving me behind." Chance apologized.

The two teens smiled and got back up, only for Chance to start floating upwards. Chance yelps and is thrown against the rubble, earning a pained grunt from the alien teenager. Sunset saw Hex, smiling as the masked assistant stood by him. "How touching, seeing two youths have a moment, it's adorable..." Hex snapped his fingers and glared at Sunset. "Grab her and snatch that charm off her body. Nothing she can do with her fancy rock anyhow." Hex commanded.

The assistant did as she was told, grabbing Sunset by the throat and dragged her along, all while she ripped the charm from her necklace, showing Hex the cracks on it. "Seems like its power can't handle you, you're a rather talented girl... how unfortunate that I'm not taking on anymore assistants... but, I'll gladly take you to your next destination, a consolation prize for being this persistent... I'll take you to your final resting place." Hex remarked.

Hex blasts a hole to the mansion's courtyard. The assistant holds Sunset off the ground as she weakly flails around. Hex places the cracked charm back in the center of his necklace, then opens up an empty tomb and has the assistant toss her inside. Hex smirks and chuckles as the tomb is closed, with several tree roots binding over the lid, encasing Sunset inside.

Sunset laid there for a moment, catching her breath within the tomb she was trapped in. She tried to push the lid open, but soon felt that something was keeping it closed. Sunset closed her eyes and shuddered, silently sobbing as she thought about how things got to this point.

Before Sunset could just lay there and wait for the end, she heard people grunting, tearing away at something large. Before she knew it, the tomb was opened, the sky was dreary and it looked like it was going to rain, all while Luna and Chance stood over her, offering their hands. Sunset wasted no time in climbing out, then squeezing the both of them. "Thank you!" Sunset expressed.

Luna hugged Sunset tightly, all while Chance stared intently at Hex and his assistant. The trio watched as Hex hovered with all the charms, as well as the book of spells. "This was an experience, but now, it's time to turn this city into an old memory." Hex stated, uttering an incantation.

A lightning bolt strikes the middle of a street, sending crowds fleeing, with some being caught up in the start of a tornado. Pillars of spewing lava erupt from the ground and apple-sized hail rains down from above, ripping through whatever they land on, all while Hex continues to chant.

Chance looks down at the Omnitrix, and it turns green. Chance pushes the button, and as the core pops up, he twists the dial around, trying to find the perfect alien for the job. Soon enough, he lands on the alien he needs and slams it down, transforming into Vitaguar. He interrupts before he can do any more major damage, and tackles Hex into a nearby mausoleum. With Hex's chanting stopped, the freakish weather starts to die down. Sunset and Luna run towards where Vitaguar landed, but the alien hero holds a hand up, trying to stop them. "Stay back, this son of a bitch is all mine after what he tried to pull!" Vitaguar called out.

Hex held his hand out, with his staff returning to his grasp. He started floating into the air and looked at the alien with a furious and insidious expression on his face. "You dare challenge me, changeling?!" Hex questions.

Vitaguar smirked. "Fuck yeah, mate! I'm gonna use your skull like a footstool, use your fancy magic stick like a toothpick, and turn your stupid cloak into my new bath robe!" Vitaguar remarked.

Hex clenched his teeth and his fists as tightly as he could, he has finally had enough, and is going to wipe these pests out. Hex enacts a spell which causes the gargoyles around him to come alive, with glowing red eyes. He also causes some of the tombs to burst open, revealing the revived rotting bodies of the deceased to be under Hex's control. The trio back up as they charge forward, ready to attack. Vitaguar fights with them, struggling to hurt them at all, even if it was just temporary, until they overrun him completely and separate him from his allies.

As Hex starts to recast his earlier spell, he's hit in the knee with a rock, which was pissing him off even more, whipping around to focus his attention on Sunset, who was smirking. "Luck only gets you so far, grandpa! You need skill, too!" Sunset chucked another rock at the sorcerer, this time it hit Hex right in the eye, causing him to roar out in pain and recoil as he tried to pull it out. Luna grabs a small, but very thick chunk of wood and runs at Hex, slamming the chunk of wood against his head, which knocks the sorcerer out. Luna smirked, but the assistant, along with a couple gargoyles and zombies were now focusing on them. Sunset rushed to Luna's side, gripping her hands tightly. "You've caused enough trouble for good people, now it's time you got a taste of your own medicine!" Sunset declared.

Sunset felt her geode glow, the heat it was giving off was like a roaring wildfire, but it felt comfortable, like a calm spring breeze. Much to everyone's surprise, the Archamada Book of Spells was starting to pour energy into Sunset herself. Sunset's body tensed up, and her eyes snapped open, now glowing entirely with a bright blue light, while that same blue light started to manifest in her hands. "You put innocent lives in danger, your stupid charm made me into something I don't deserve to be, you hurt my friend, you brainwashed someone I knew, and numerous lives probably severely injured, or outright dead! I. have. HAD ENOUGH!!" Sunset exclaimed, thrusting her hands forward, letting numerous bright blue tendrils lash forward, tearing through the zombies and gargoyles, but also smacking the assistant high into the air, careening them away from the fight altogether.

Sunset's breathing was tough, shaky and ragged. The energy soon dissipated, returning her eyes to normal as Sunset fell back into Luna's arms. Luna looked at the destruction and power Sunset exuded, feeling both impressed and rightfully terrified. "Oh my, looks like you finally unlocked a new power... whatever it was you did." Luna remarked.

Somewhere on the other side of the courtyard, Vitaguar was getting pretty busy with the monsters that kept coming his way. One of the sentient rock creatures gets sent flying across the graveyard, and Vitaguar pulverized one of the rotting bodies into a pile of parts. Another watches on as Vitaguar walks forward, picking up a gigantic decorative sword and making a taunting gesture at the gargoyle. It runs towards him as he spins the sword to clash with it, both the creature and the sword crumbling to bits. The final gargoyle and zombie get trapped in a choke-hold until both their heads gets vaporized and crushed into dust.

Vitaguar hears footsteps behind him and whips around, only to see a confused and frightened Trixie standing still. The alien sighed. "I nearly could've taken your head off, sheilah! The bloody hell're you doin' out n' about with a crazy sorcerer on the loose?!" Vitaguar reprimanded.

Trixie gulped and let out a sigh. "Can you tell me where I am right now? I don't know where I am, but I know it isn't Canterlot City." Trixie requested.

Vitaguar gritted his teeth and nodded. "You're a long way from home if you somehow ended up in New Orleans, Louisiana," Trixie's jaw dropped. "Look, seems to me like you got mixed up in the wrong crowd back home, must be why you don't remember jack about comin' 'ere. Try callin' home, tell the authorities that your friendly neighborhood alien superhero wants you home safe and sound. Bye!" Vitaguar instructed.

Before Trixie could say anything else, Vitaguar leapt over to where his allies were last seen, hoping he wasn't too late. Trixie sighed and pulled out her phone, noticing she had no service. "Damn it, I hope there's a phone booth nearby." Trixie remarked, trying to find her way out of the courtyard.

Luna ripped the charms off of Hex's body and laid them on the ground as Vitaguar came onto the scene. "Good, you're still kicking, that's great. Think you're strong enough to destroy a bunch of magic charms?" Luna asked.

Vitaguar smirked. "Let's find out, but first," Vitaguar walked over and hucked Hex's unconscious body into the same tomb that he trapped Sunset in. As Hex woke up without his staff and charms, Vitaguar closed the tomb on him, stacking several chunks of rubble on top of the lid. "Alright, now that the dark magician has disappeared, let's make these fancy trinkets-" Vitaguar looked in shock as Sunset picked up the charms, examining them thoroughly. "Oh bloody hell..." Vitaguar remarked.

The alien hero and Luna looked on, concerned as to what could possibly happen next. Sunset just stared down at the charms she grasped in her hands. "I could fly, shoot out bolts of energy, control the forces of nature, bring statues and the dead alive. I'd be unstoppable!" The Omnitrix timed out, and Sunset turned back to see Luna and Chance, their looks wracked with concern and worry. Sunset smiled and tossed the charms back on the ground, then grabbed a nearby shovel. "Or I could just be me, and I'm fine with that!" Sunset remarked, swinging the shovel down onto the charms as hard as she could, smashing the charms to dust as their mystical energy flowed into the Archamada book of spells, and then the book faded into pieces, scattering away in the wind and blowing into the sky.

Sunset smiled and dropped the shovel, walking side-by-side with the two people that liked her for who she was, and whatever she sets out to be.

Hours later, Hex sees the tomb opening, but as he's let out of the coffin, the police are there to arrest him. Hex sighed as the police cuffed and guided him to a police cruiser, along with his assistant, who was found unconscious in a bush full of thorns.

The police also called someone to come by and make sure Trixie got back to Canterlot City, all while she gave her side of the story, from what she remembers last.

As the trio drive off in the RV, with Chance and Sunset looking out the window, Luna decides to look back and smile at them. "I'm proud of you two for overcoming this difficult challenge, I know it must've been difficult. Mister Marsten, miss Shimmer, you two make for a pretty impressive team." Luna commented, returning her view to the road ahead.

Chance laid back on Sunset's bed, all while she scrolled through her phone's gallery, looking back at fond memories she shared with her friends. She smiled, but then she started to feel terrible. Chance looked over at her and sighed. "I know that look, what's on your mind now?" Chance asked.

Sunset turned her phone off and put it back in her bag. "Do you think I should forgive them, once the summer's over?" Sunset asked.

Chance's eyes went wide. He was not prepared for a question like that, especially since it hit a bit close to home, regarding the similarities in subject matter. Chance gulped and tried to come up with an answer, but all he could come up with was the honest truth. "I'm not the right person to ask that, since even I don't know if that would fix things, or cause things to stay as they were, unchanging, incapable of evolving past the situation that caused the problem in the first place... That's up to you." Chance explained, feeling very uncomfortable.

Sunset felt like she should've expected that from her friend, but in some strange way, he did have a point. It was her choice to forgive and forget, but the things her friends did, what happened during Anon-A-Miss, she didn't have it in her to move past it, not yet. Sunset smiled and glanced at her friend. "Thanks, really." Sunset regarded.

Chance let a mild smile form on his face as he playfully punched her shoulder. "You're welcome. So, Luna told me that you finally unlocked a new power," Sunset froze for a moment. "What was it that you did? When I showed back up on the scene, the monsters and zombies were totaled. I didn't even see that other crazy lady around, so you clearly did something awesome, what is it?" Chance asked.

Sunset looked at her friend and chuckled nervously. "I uh... I don't know what I did. I just know that the book of spells poured some kind of energy into me, and I guess my geode reacted in a... cooperative manner, I think? I-I'm not entirely sure what happened, but I did something, and it was useful, so that's all that matters. Now I need to figure out how to master it, channel its power into something constructive." Sunset explained.

Chance chuckled. "Don't worry, I know first-hand what it's like to have powers that you're not used to having," Chance gestured to the Omnitrix. "We'll figure it out together. Friends?" Chance offered, offering a fist bump.

Sunset smiled and laughed and raised her fist, bumping them together. "Friends." Sunset confirmed.

Luna looked at the rearview mirror, watching the two teens with a smile on her face. Chance sat up and pulled Sunset up with him. "Besides, you did do a good job with the whole 'being your own hero' thing, even if you did lose yourself for a moment. If things don't work out with your friends back home, there's no shame in being your own solo hero, or finding another team to work with. Because, well, I don't wanna downplay your friends and their achievements, but," Chance gestured to the entirety of the RV. "Just know that we'll always have your back, me especially." Chance stated, chuckling a bit.

Sunset smiled and rolled her eyes. "Keep trying, buddy, you'll get there." Sunset remarked, walking to the fridge.

Chance laughed as the RV drove down the road, almost curious as to what the next crazy adventure will be like.

Author's Note

And this was my version of "Lucky Girl". I actually do feel pretty content with how this episode turned out. I definitely wanted to explore what a genuine conflict/argument between Sunset and Chance would be like, and having the Charms of Bezel work in an almost possessive type of manner based on what power they embody, with Luck making the user pompous, arrogant and full of themselves, I think it works pretty well, but you all can tell me what you think in the comments below.

I definitely also like incorporating other characters into the story, just to make it more interesting and to give them something to do. Initially, I wanted to make Trixie and Flash into characters like Cash and JT, or Flash Thompson and Eddie Brock, respectively, but the more I thought about it, the more I had to re-work this one chapter and show off that there was something special.

This isn't the end of Trixie's appearances, she'll show up again, but it'll definitely be a little bit before she does.

I hope you enjoyed this episode, I definitely did with the constant brainstorming I did during the writing process

S1, Episode 12: The Unlikeliest Alliance

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

The Unlikeliest Alliance

High above the Earth, Reinrassic's ship floats through space. Its hangar opens up and two genodromes are ejected and sent to earth. A basic DNAlien drone monitors them and speaks to Reinrassic, who is recovering in his healing tank. "General, the drones have launched. Equipped with the improved internal tracking system, they should be able to find and retrieve the Omnitrix." the DNAlien reported.

Reinrassic nodded, glaring at the Earth. "They may find it, but retrieving it will not be easy. Whoever possesses the Omnitrix continues to be an opponent of extreme danger, and inspiring brilliance!" The large alien struggled as it attempted to stand up straight inside the tank. "It would have to take a calculated tactician to catch the wielder of the Omnitrix off-guard, something we've been struggling with for the past couple weeks." Reinrassic stated through labored breaths.

Meanwhile, at a gas station on Earth, Chance walks through the aisles, trying to find something to snack on as his stomach rumbles. "Man, I'm starved! I really need to eat something. My stomach is rumbling, demanding for food like a weekly-starved stoner!" Chance remarked.

Chance soon notices a stacked pyramid of cookie boxes. Chance smiles, licking his lips as he carefully takes one, only to go wide-eyed as the pyramid starts to shake. Chance tries to back away from it, but the rest of the pyramid loses balance and falls over on him. Sunset walks over as Chance pokes his head out from the pile of packaged confectionary sweets. "Smooth move, pal." Sunset remarked.

Chance smirked and rolled his eyes as he climbed out of the pile. "Laugh all you want, I try my best like everyone else." Chance commented.

As the two teens exit the store, they walk towards Luna, who was giving the RV a much needed cleaning, washing the back window of the RV. Someone had written 'Wash me! :(' in the window's dust with their finger. "Huh... Nice artwork, mister Marsten!" Luna remarked.

Chance looked at the message on the window and seemed confused. "I didn't write that, would've been much more crass if it were me." Chance stated.

Soon enough, a cacophony of laughter exited the gas station. Sunset turned around and went wide-eyed, seeing Flash talking with a couple of his buddies. She turned back around and immediately tried to hide her face, unaware that they were walking in her direction. 'Oh god no, why!?' Sunset thought.

Flash chuckled. "Yeah, that's always gonna be a bummer, Sandalwood always brought his best to each show," Flash looked and noticed Sunset, and decided to head on over. "Excuse me, fellas, but an opportunity has presented itself. I'll see you at the party!" Flash remarked, waving the other two boys off, and made his way towards Sunset.

Chance looked over, noticing Flash coming over, and rolled his eyes, bothered. "Oh great, the prodigal dipshit wants to grace us with his presence... woohoo." Chance sarcastically stated.

Luna looked over and smiled. "Ahh, mister Sentry! Good to see you, what brings you so far out of Canterlot City?" Luna inquired.

Flash smiled. "Hello, miss Luna. I was actually getting ready to stock up for a party my band's playing at tonight, but then I saw Sunset over here, figured I'd ask if she wanted to come with. It's gonna be off the hook!" Flash remarked.

Chance scoffed, which got Flash's attention. "Look, as hilarious as it is for me to see you have less game than a neutered bull, we really need to get going," Chance put a hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Hey, relax, we're heading out. Hop on in, I'll close the door behind me." Chance advised.

Flash raised his eyebrow and looked at Chance strangely. "Hey, you seem different... new haircut? Update your fit?" Flash asked.

Chance rolled his eyes. "You could say it's something like that, but it's for me to know, and for you to never find out," Flash leered at the alien hero. "Now, if you don't excuse me, I'm trying to be a good friend, which means keeping bottom feeders out of arms length." Chance remarked, getting between Sunset and Flash.

Flash raised an eyebrow and looked at Sunset. "Does he speak for you, or do you actually have something to say? I wanted to talk with you, not some random dude you're paling around with, unless-" Flash feigns a gasp. "Don't tell me that you're dating this doofus!" Flash remarked.

Chance shoved Flash back, glaring down at him. "Back off her, man, or you're not gonna like what happens next." Chance warned.

Flash glared back at the alien hero. "Or what?" Flash questioned.

Chance raised his hand over the Omnitrix, but then Sunset stepped in front of him. "Chance, relax! If he just wants to talk, I'll let him talk. If anything goes wrong, you can step in and give him hell, but don't hurt him bad, alright?" Sunset requested.

Chance sighed and walked to the RV's door. "He better not lay a finger on you, or I'm gonna tear that finger off and jam it right up his a-" An explosion rings out. On the street, a heavy-looking truck just got hit by a laser, blowing it open and letting it catch fire. "Oh motherfucker, WHY?!" Chance exclaimed, gritting his teeth.

The blast that shot the truck came from a gang, comprised of three vigilantes, all wearing full biker outfits and wielding laser rifles. They advance on the scene and notice the four individuals. "What are you looking at?" the leader questions, looking at Luna.

Luna is stunned, but once the leader aims their rifle at them, Luna pulls Chance towards the back of the RV. "You three, get back!" Luna exclaimed.

The leader fires the rifle and Luna pushes the three teens out of the way, all while Luna ducks down behind the RV, pinned down. "Shit, this just got dangerous! C'mon Sunset, we need to leave, and I guess your friend can come, too!" Flash stated urgently, trying to pull Sunset away.

Sunset pulled her arm out of Flash's grasp and gave Chance a knowing look. Chance nodded and made a break for it, the gang leader fired the rifle at him, but managed to get behind the building before he could be hit. "I have to get them out of there! I'm gonna need to tank those blasts and dish 'em right back. Please give me Armethyst, this is real important! I need to absorb those hits and put those psychos down!" Chance remarked, activating the Omnitrix.

The gang members grab bags of money from the hole in the truck, but a rumbling soon catches their attention: Riptile hops onto the scene and pounds the ground, sending a shockwave that knocks the gang over. "I see nothin' but a bunch of little bitches, thinkin' they're all froggy. If you're still feeling froggy, then jump. If you're smart, you'll hop away!" Riptile looked over at Luna, Sunset and Flash. "Go, now!" Riptile exclaimed.

Sunset helps Luna up, as does Flash, and the two teens carry Luna over to cover. Eventually, the driver of the blasted truck gets out, holding his head. "You alright, sir?" The driver sees Riptile, and is very terrified. The driver runs away, yelling out in terror, fearing for his life. "I really hope that was a "Yes"." Riptile wondered.

Distracted, Riptile gets blasted back into the gas station by the gang leader. The leader fires a second time, and while Riptile manages to dodge under it, the attack instead hits a gas tank, exploding in a big fire. Luna and Sunset looked over in terror, all while Flash rolled his eyes. "Well, it died a hero, big whoop. Now would be a good time for you two to get out of here." Flash stated.

Sunset glared at him, and he backed off. The gang trains their guns on the fire. Unexpectedly, Riptile leaps out of the pillar of smoke unscathed, surprising the three as he knocked the ground and sent them flying. The gang leader lands on the ground and their helmet visor cracks, whereas the other two are knocked into the truck. Riptile picks up the two and removes their helmets, to find that their faces are feminine and they're wearing lipstick, earrings, etc. Riptile raised an eyebrow, then casually smacked the two chicks heads together, knocking them out as he tossed them aside, only to turn around and barely have time to block another shot from the leader's rifle.

Riptile glared at the woman, only for her to smirk. The woman had pale caucasian skin, maroon hair, black lipstick and brown eyes. She wore brown jeans as well as a gothic black jacket, belt, and choker necklace, along with a grey shirt and gloves. She had three piercings on one of her ears, and only one piercing on the other. Her gang insignia was a skull, which she wore on each of the shoulders on her jacket. "Not bad, big brute, but that's not gonna stop me from makin' a new pair of boots out of your hide with the money I'm stealing!" The woman remarked.

Sunset moved from the cover. "Clobber her, man!" Sunset exclaimed.

As Riptile raises his head and the woman points her gun at it, he unfortunately notices something familiar in the sky. Through the pillar of smoke, two of Reinrassic's genodromes suddenly come flying in and start shooting. The gang and Riptile dodge, and the robots' shots hit the truck and blow it up even further. Bills of stolen money float through the air. Rojo grabbed a few fistfuls of the bills that weren't damaged, watching in anger as burning bills rained down. "Hey, this is my heist! Get your own!" the woman exclaims, firing at the drones with her rifle, her shots were missing.

The woman's associates got up and fled the scene. "You can have this heist, Rojo! This isn't worth it anymore!" The blue-haired woman exclaimed, carrying her blonde friend away from the battle.

Rojo walks towards Riptile, ready to shoot him while he's busy fending off the Genodromes. Though, before she can, Flash throws a tire at her back, knocking her down. "How's that for your heist, you crazy lady?!" Flash remarked.

Riptile whipped around, shocked by what Flash just did, but was distracted by the drones blasting away at him, and it was starting to piss him off. "Riptile, those drones must be after the watch! Get out of there!" Luna exclaimed.

Rojo got back up and readied her rifle, aiming right towards Flash. "You'll get yours, you little bastard!" Rojo exclaimed angrily.

Rojo fires the rifle and Flash ducks down to the ground, causing the above gas station roof to break in pieces and fall on top of Luna, incapacitating her. "Miss Luna!!" Sunset cried out.

Flash looked behind him, shocked. Riptile was finally at his limit. "NOOO!!" Riptile shot his tongue out and grabbed one of the drones, and then snatched the other out of the sky with his hand. "Nice try!" Riptile smashed the drones together into discs and throws them square at Rojo, knocking her back and knocking her out. Riptile glares and snarls at Flash, which actually scares him a bit before the alien rushes over to Luna, throwing the rubble off of her. "No... No, this is not gonna happen!" Riptile gritted.

Sunset pulled out her phone. "She needs to get to a hospital, I'm calling 9-1-" Sunset was then picked up by Riptile, as was Luna. "Woah!!" Sunset exclaimed.

"She ain't got time for that! Hospital's up the street anyway!" Riptile remarked.

Before Flash could react, Riptile takes giant leaps up the street, trying to get to the nearest hospital. As they leave, Flash looks at the crushed Genodromes beside the unconscious Rojo. Flash picked one of the drones up, noticing a strange tendril poking out inside of it. The tendril eventually wriggles out, revealing an exhausted and dazed Xenocyte. Flash panics, dropping the drone as he locks eyes with the strange creature. "What are these things?" Flash asked.

Flash grabbed the other drone, examining it closely. Flash turned his head back to the odd creature, and was too late to dodge its attempt to latch onto its face. As it did, however, the drone then jammed a plug into Flash's neck, force-transferring its innards into his body. As the Xenocyte rapidly took over Flash's body, the mechanical mutation caused Flash to undergo the most painful transformation ever. His jeans rip apart, his jacket sleeves get shredded by arm spikes. His eyes glow the same robotic yellow, his arms and legs develop strange purple-ish red veins. After a couple of seconds the robot stops and falls to the ground, dead. Parts of Flash was unaffected by the drone's mutation, but the Xenocyte had partially mutated him into a DNAlien. The other parts of Flash had been cybernetically mutated into that of the drone that housed the parasite inside, rendering his skin changing to a deep blue hue.

Soon thereafter his unexpected mutation, police cars immediately pull up behind her and officers get out with guns. "Freeze, freak!" The cops exclaimed.

Flash turned around, unveiling his new mutated form, causing the cops to grimace in horror. Flash sneered and his shoulders popped up, causing little laser bulbs to ready themselves. "Fat chance, any time trouble comes by, you're always late! I think it's time to sing a new tune!" Flash's new shoulder bulbs shoot the cars, blowing them up as the cops scattered. He walks past the flames and takes the bag of money that was in Rojo's unconscious hand. Flash smirked, looking himself over. "Hahahaaaa...this is gonna be a BLAST! Just wait till Sunset sees the new me, she'll want nothing to do with that doofus!" Flash remarked, chuckling in a sinister tone.

At the hospital, Chance and Sunset look down at Luna's unconscious body when a doctor walks in. "Your vice principal has suffered a severe concussion, she'll be out for several more hours. She also has several lacerations and a broken leg, but otherwise, she'll be fine. A bit of rest in her room for a few days, maybe a week or so, some physical therapy and she'll be back on her feet in no time." The doctor explained.

Chance groaned. "Cut the bullshit with the medical jargen and give it to us straight, damn it! Is she gonna be okay?!" Chance asked worriedly.

The doctor adjusted his glasses. "Well, young man, for a woman her age, she's incredibly strong. She'll be fine after some rest," The man pulls out a clipboard and looks at a couple of pages. "Now, it says on her admittance form she was 'hit by a car bumper'. Did somebody back into them?" The doctor asked.

Chance sighed. "Do you want me to just say yes, or do you want the truth, no matter how insane it sounds?" Chance asked.

The doctor seemed confused and looked over at Sunset. She shrugged, "It's been a very traumatic afternoon." Sunset stated.

The doctor cleared his throat and looked back at the teenage boy. "Well, what did happen?" The doctor asked.

"The bumper flew through the air, after this robot drone blew up the car!" Chance explained.

The doctor blinked a few times and looked over at Sunset. "...Vivid imaginations are good coping mechanisms in situations like these, even for teenagers." The doctor remarked.

Chance gritted his teeth, rolling up his sleeve. "'Vivid Imaginations', how about you vividly imagine my fist going right up your-MhphmhRhmm!!"

Sunset quickly covered her friend's mouth with a nervous smile. "You'll have to forgive him, our vice principal is very close and dear to him. He doesn't take this kind of stuff lightly." Sunset stated, trying to come up with a believable excuse.

Chance groaned and removed Sunset's hand as he stared the doctor down, gritting his teeth as Sunset tried to calm him down. "Easy buddy, they're trying to help her." Sunset said, trying to reassure her friend.

The doctor composes himself and puts a hand on Chance's shoulder. "She must mean a lot to you. I always heard of how children tend to imprint onto their teachers, because it's safe to be around them, but while this is a first I'm hearing of a student imprinting on their principal, it's not too different of a scenario," Chance groaned. "Relax, young man, she's in good hands. Whatever she means to you, I promise, we won't let her die. You have my word as a licensed doctor." The doctor reassured.

Chance slapped the doctor's hand off his shoulder. "The last doctor I ever went to, later lost his medical license because of medical malpractice, specifically, for stealing someone's entire skeleton. I wish I was making that up, but it was on the news back in 2014, look it up." Chance remarked.

The doctor shrugged and left the room, all while the teen hero looked back at Luna, falling to his knees as a large wave of guilt crashed unto him.

Back on Reinrassic's ship, the DNAlien drone approaches the still healing alien monster. "Speak, half-breed vermin." Reinrassic commanded.

The DNAlien brought up a data pad and typed at it. "Well, the drones were destroyed, that's the bad news." The DNAlien reported.

Reinrassic growled. "Then send out more! I want the Omnitrix, not constant failures!" Reinrassic demanded.

The DNAlien typed away at the pad and brought up a map. "We may not need to, General," The DNAlien typed at the pad, showing Flash's augmented and mutated state. "It seems the drones have somehow - merged. I'm receiving one combined signal, and that signal is on the move. It also seems that this individual has also been infected by the Xenocyte within it, but still retains its free will. This could be an opportunity knocking, your sinisterness." The DNAlien reported.

Reinrassic was about to go against this plan, but suddenly, he realized that the DNAlien subservient may have a point. "Hmmm... Perhaps one head is better than two..." Reinrassic pondered.

Flash was currently at a jewelry store, trying to look for accessories, all while the woman behind the desk just stared at him in abject fear and horror. Flash points at one ring and grabs it with his hand. However, as he held the ring high in his grip, he notices the gold shavings slipping out, shocking and frustrating Flash. "What?! No!! That's the fourth time this has happened today!!" Flash swats a table and knocks it over, scattering numerous priceless accessories to the ground out of frustration. "Why does this keep happening!?" Flash roared out.

Flash turns around and glares at the woman behind the counter, who is beyond terrified. Flash starts walking over to her in anger, until he's stopped by an ear-piercing tone. He stumbles back and falls to the ground in pain, yelling out in agony. A voice breaks through the tone. "Listen to me, whoever you are..." The voice spoke out.

Flash slowly got back up to his feet, all while a thick viscous orange drool started to drip from his mouth. "Where are you...Who are you...and why are you in my head?" Flash asked, breathing heavily.

"NO QUESTIONS! You are here to serve me now, vermin!" the voice roared out.

Flash gritted his teeth and tried to fight the loud tone, all while clutching his head. "Guess again, whatever you are. I work for me and my band, no one else! I need to get to my ex, make things right, show her the new me! I have to!" Flash remarked, trying to get out the front door.

The pain flares up again, now worse than it was a moment ago; Flash is sent floating down into a yellow and blue vein-filled vision. "You now possess power you could have never imagined, but unless you find a way to use it, it will be worthless!" Flash suddenly sees a gigantic version of Reinrassic appear before him. It was now Flash's turn to be terrified. "Fulfill my demand, and I will aide you in your pathetic waste of time you call 'love'. Fail me, and I will grind you into DUST! Understand, vermin?" Reinrassic offered.

Flash thought about it for a moment, and after weighing his options, he went along with it. "Alright, fine... it's a deal... so, what do you want?" Flash asked.

Reinrassic laughed sinisterly. "Only one thing. A piece of valuable alien technology that's missing from my possession. The Omnitrix, to be more specific. And luckily for the both of us, you are already programmed to find it! Do not fail me, or you will face the consequences!" Reinrassic commanded.

Flash held his head in pain once more, now finding himself back at the jewelry store. He gets back up on his feet and glares, flying through the roof.

Back in the hospital, Chance looked at Luna through the door, constant feelings of regret, remorse and guilt were bouncing around in his brain for the past few hours, and all Chance has been able to feel, is ashamed. "Chance?" The teen looked at Sunset, noticing that knowing look in her eyes as she smiled. "Chance, you heard the doctor, she's gonna be fine. It's Luna, she's not gonna go down that easy!" Sunset reassured.

Chance sat down in a chair and twiddled his thumbs. "I'm worried about her, I'm not gonna hide it." Chance confessed.

Sunset sat down next to him and patted him on the back. "I'd be more afraid that Riptile nearly got beat by a girl!" Sunset remarked.

Chance rolled his eyes. "Heroes aren't supposed to hit girls, but let's face the facts, I'm not a regular hero, and I'm okay with that," Chance looked at Luna, sighing as his gaze fell to the floor. "Seeing someone I care about in a hospital bed for my shortcomings, or someone else's is something I'm not okay with." Chance explained.

Sunset tries to help her friend relax, but she can't seem to get through to him. Chance is downtrodden, he feels his lip quivering as the tears start to whell up, and he quickly gets up, walking out of the room, into the hospital hallway. Sunset follows him, all while Chance tries to hide his face. His body is shaking, trembling is more like it, and Sunset can't help but stand by him, putting her hand on his shoulder. "Chance, why are you freaking out so bad about this? Usually when you get hurt, you brush it off, or sit still as we patch you up. But when me and Luna are in danger, it's like you can't help but want to be a shield, a tank meant for taking hits and providing defense. But this time is so much more... well, difficult from your perspective, it's clearly different for you, this feels personal to you... Is there something you wanna talk about?" Sunset asked, concerned for her friend.

Sunset looked at her friend, genuinely surprised at the look of melancholy and guilt on his face. The shame, the anguish, the sadness behind his tears. Sunset rubbed Chance's back, all while Chance gritted his teeth and let it all slowly come out. "Chance... what does Luna mean to you, anyway? You seem a bit closer with her after what happened with Zombozo, and for me, that was a very strange and very unexplained adventure," Chance flinched, but let a sob escape his lips. Sunset activated her geode and looked to her friend for permission. Chance couldn't even look her in the eye, but he nodded his head, allowing Sunset permission to look into his head again. "Okay, I won't go too far, but is there anything I should avoid?" Sunset asked.

Chance simply sighed, wiping the tears from his face. "Go to the point where Luna and I discussed the most important issue in my life, during the long drive to stop Zombozo... my relationship with Jean, the woman who used to be my mother. No further back, no closer forward." Chance advised.

Sunset took a deep breath and put her hand to Chance's head, and started to look back as her eyes glowed.

Out in the sky, Flash is flying around, trying his best to find the Omnitrix, but so far, he hasn't been able to pick up on anything. "Damn it, where is this thing! It has to be around here somewhere." Flash remarked.

Flash looks around and flies off to the west, hoping to pick up on the Omnitrix over there.

Chance stood at the window and let Sunset go around in his mind. Chance hugged his friend close, trying to alleviate some of the emotional pain that he was experiencing, but despite his efforts, he still felt responsible for Luna's current condition, and that hurt him more than anything. Chance watched as patients and doctors passed them by, and couldn't help but look away, feeling as if he was being judged for showing his emotions. 'Sunset better get done in there soon, I want all of this to be over... I wish I could go back and prevent this.' Chance thought, a sigh escaped his lips as fresh tears started to fall from his eyes.

Chance looked back at Luna, and he couldn't bring himself to keep a straight face. All he felt was sadness, worry, stress coursing through his veins like a poison that preyed on his emotions. Out of desperation, Chance looked down at the Omnitrix and started to scroll through his aliens. "Maybe if I use Crime Detector's higher brain power and interface with the machines, I could... I... I- N-No... No, no that wouldn't work! She's not a machine, he'd probably just pull her plug anyway!" Chance gritted his teeth and hesitantly looked at Zombrex's icon. "Maybe... Maybe I could temporarily turn her into a zombie... no pain, she'd be technically alive, she'd get to leave!... By the very will of god himself, what the fuck am I thinking!? Turn her into a zombie, like that's any better!?!" Chance exclaimed.

Chance yelled out and kicked a nearby trash can all the way down to the other end out of frustration. Chance covered his eyes as held his head low, sobbing hysterically. "Why can't I fix this... Why can't this be the one thing in my life, one of the rare few people I actually care about, that I can actually FIX!?" Chance exclaimed, his voice began to break as he fell to his knees, sobbing as his friend's hand stayed clasped onto his head.

Sunset snapped back to reality, letting Chance's head go as a couple tears fell down her face. Outside, there was a sunset on the horizon, its warm, comforting glow would've been enough to put anyone at ease. She grabbed a tissue from her pocket and wiped her tears away, all while she looked down at her friend, who was sitting against the wall in the fetal position, not sobbing, but silently letting the tears stream down his face, all while he tried to hide his face, to keep it from being seen.

Sunset knelt down and hugged her friend. "You've been through a fair bit, haven't you? What happened?" Sunset asked.

Chance gritted his teeth as he looked up at Sunset. "Doesn't it bother you?" Sunset was confused, but Chance kept talking. "Specifically, doesn't it bother you that neither of us can fix this? Because it bothers me, more than I'd like to admit," Sunset felt like she knew where this was gonna go, so she prepared herself for whatever was about to be said. "As a guy with so many other problems on his plate already, there's now suddenly so much more I need to worry about, in regards to my powers, and what happens to the people around me when I use them," Sunset listened closely, all while her friend just let everything out. "I was a scared little kid who lost his dad and disowned his mother. Now look at me, fifteen and strapped with a powerful alien device to his person, and my life is in more danger than ever before!" Chance confessed, the terror on his face was all too clear to see.

Sunset was unsure as to what she could say, but then saw Chance staring at the Omnitrix. "Chance, you know that's not gonna work, right?" Chance gave her a knowing look, and Sunset simply lead Chance down the hall. "Come on, let's get a bite to eat and gather our bearings, alright? It won't do Luna any good if we're just feeling sad and hopeless." Sunset suggested.

Chance fiddled around with the Omnitrix one last time, pressing the button and watched as the core popped up as it activated.

From the other side of the city, Flash feels something in the air and turns around, flying towards the sensation as it grew stronger. Flash stops above a hospital and zooms in with his eyes, spotting the Omnitrix through the windows. "There you are," Much to his surprise, however, the Omnitrix was attached to Chance. Flash smirked and chuckled. "Well, guess I can kill two birds with one stone!" Flash remarked.

Chance and Sunset sit down at a couple lunch tables, eating a couple bagged snacks from the vending machine. Sunset took a drink from her water bottle, all while Chance had managed to completely scarf down the entire bag of chips he got. Sunset looked at him and he looked away, embarrassed. "I'm a stress eater, don't you judge me!" Chance remarked defensively.

Sunset smiled and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, no need to get defensive, I bet Pinkie's probably the same way, I wouldn't put it past her," Chance crumpled his bag and shot it towards the trash can. It didn't go in, but it landed squarely on the lid. "Just relax, everything's gonna be okay." Sunset reassured.

In that moment, there is a noise, almost like a jet, getting louder and louder. Flash comes crashing through the hospital window and advances on the teens. Sunset gasps, going wide-eyed with shock and terror as Flash floated his way over. "Flash!? What the- how did- w-what happened to you?!" Sunset exclaimed, barely able to find the words.

Chance got up and stared at Flash. Even the alien hero didn't know what to make of her friend's ex's new look. It was strange, he recognized parts of his new form from the DNAliens he fought back in Jaxton, but the drones were the exact same as the ones that attacked with when he found the Omnitrix. They were the same drones that tried to ambush him and Gilda back in the warehouse. Chance was finally starting to put the pieces together, and soon felt as if this was gonna get particularly gruesome in a moment.

Flash smirked. "Hey, Sunset! Like the new me? What do you think, pretty rad, huh? My band's still playing tonight, so we can head on over, go backstage and talk, if that's what you want," Sunset was speechless, but Chance stood in-between them, like he did back at the gas station. Flash sneered. "You are a serious cockblock, ya know that? I'm getting real tired of you getting in-between me and her, in the literal sense, I mean. So, let's work out a compromise. You hand over that Omnitrix-thing to me, and I won't personally maim you beyond recognition! How's that sound?" Flash offered, flashing a pair of his sharp metal claws.

Chance gritted his teeth and sprayed the water bottle's contents in Flash's face, momentarily distracting him. "Come and pry it from my cold, dead hands, you second-rate limp-dicked bassist!" Chance exclaimed.

Chance and Sunset run away as fast as they can, all while Flash goes after them, blasting them with his shoulder bulbs. As the pair run down a hallway, they notice a nurse working a cart is about to get hit. Chance, without thinking, jumps to the wall, then jumps at the nurse, tackling her down as Flash flew over. Chance got up as the nurse held her head. "Now would be a good time to make sure the patients are moved to safer and more secure rooms!" Chance advised.

Chance looked back at Flash, seeing him coming his way. Chance runs at him, but slides underneath and keeps running down the hall, eventually catching up with Sunset. Flash groans out and blitzes towards the two, only for Chance grab a bedpan and smack the mutated teen over the head. Chance and Sunset look towards a door, noticing that it leads to the stairway. They open the door and close it behind them, descending the stairs fast.

The two teens stopped at one of the floors to catch their breath. "Chance, that thing's Flash! How did this happen? He looks like one of those robot drones-"

"-Mixed with those freaky DNAlien things! I can clearly see where their fucked up gene pool went!" Chance remarked.

Before the two could come up with a proper plan of attack, the door they went through exploded above them. Flash looks to the bottom floor and leaps all the way down, just as Chance pulls Sunset through another door. The pair run down another hallway, all while Flash was gaining on them, closing the distance with every passing minute. Flash swipes his claws at the teens, but is stopped when a pair of doors slams in his face, staggering him for long enough to lose track of the Omnitrix.

The two teens exit out into the parking lot, hiding behind a bunch of ambulances. "Chance, here's an idea, maybe now is a good time for you to go hero?!" Sunset suggested in a panic.

Chance twisted the dial, but much to his dismay, nothing was happening. Immediately, Flash blasts the doors down and flies into the air, clearly angry as more viscous orange drool oozes from his mouth. "Stop running away and comply, you bastard!!" Flash looked around, slowly walking through the lot, then spots a look at the mountainous peek. Flash smirks as he readies his shoulder bulb, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Think fast, zero!" Flash exclaimed, firing at the peek, causing chunks of rock to come tumbling down towards the hospital. The pair gasp in shock, all while Flash flies away, smiling with satisfaction.

The chunks of rock roll down towards the teens, and Chance finally gets the Omnitrix to work, selecting Riptile's icon. "Okay, Omnitrix! You gave me Riptile last time, feelin' generous?" Chance asked, pushing the Omnitrix's core down as he transformed.

Sunset panicked, feeling a chill in the air. In Chance's place was not Riptile, but Nitrofrost instead, who was very unamused. "Oh great, I need muscle and I get the alien ice cream maker instead," Nitrofrost looks up as the rocks get closer, then looks to Sunset. "Hey, if Scissors can cut paper, then Ice and Snow can cushion the Rock's impact, right?" Nitrofrost asked.

Sunset shrugged and simply backed away very fast. Nitrofrost turns toward the ambulances and starts shooting them instead, encasing them in ice and burying them in snow. Nitrofrost then creates an icy barrier to the side, in case the rocks try to roll near town. The icy alien hero quickly hovers over the mass just as the rocks arrive. Luckily, the mass is strong enough to stop the rocks in their tracks completely.

Nitrofrost sighs in relief, but is then put back on the offensive when Flash pins him to the ground. Nitrofrost makes the wispy mist on his head brighter, trapping the entire left portion of Flash's body in ice, causing his flying to not work properly, which causes him to fly backwards. Nitrofrost fires several dense ice cube chunks at Flash, who counteracts with spewing the same orange goo the DNAliens did, which stopped the chunks' momentum, letting them fall into the river below.

Nitrofrost and Flash grab each other's hands, trying to push one another back and gain an advantage. "Man, I've heard of getting the 'cold' shoulder, but this is getting to be a bit asinine! Just stop fighting me and piss off, you oblivious dipshit!" Nitrofrost remarked.

Flash fired his shoulder bulb at Nitrofrost, which then led to the alien hero crashing into an oil truck. Nitrofrost quickly gets himself away from the stuff, but then suddenly gets an idea. Nitrofrost smirked and motioned Flash to come at him. Flash ends up taking the bait, and just as Flash lands a punch on the hero, he disappears, trapping Flash's legs in ice, leaving him frozen stuck on top of the leaking oil truck. Flash looks around, then notices Nitrofrost hovering over the leaking oil, bowing as he flipped the bird towards his mutated adversary. "You want me so bad, Flash? I'm right here." Nitrofrost taunted.

Angered, Flash doesn't hesitate to fire his shoulder bulb at Nitrofrost. Unfortunately, that was what the icy hero was hoping for. Nitrofrost dodged the attack and watched the oil light up like a bonfire. The spilled oil acted as a trail for the flames to follow, and before Flash could realize what he had done, the truck explodes in a fiery inferno, sending Flash blasting off for the moment. Nitrofrost sighed, his smirk forming into a frown as he quickly makes his way back to the hospital.

Back at the hospital, Sunset and Chance were sitting with Luna, who had managed to wake up, which was a good start, but Chance still felt horrible, much more than he did previously when Luna was resting. "When I activated the watch, I must've led that sorry bastard right to you! Luna, I-I'm so sorry!" Chance apologized, hanging his head in shame.

Luna smiled. "Chance, calm down, it's okay. Since they moved me to a new room, and you haven't gone alien since then, we're safe." Luna tried to reassure him.

Chance scoffed, unconvinced. "Yeah, for now! But what about tomorrow, or the days after, when the summer ends, dare I even ask about years later?! I thought it'd be dangerous to be around someone with magical powers, with how many crazy things happen to Sunset and her friends all the time, but the more I think about my situation, I'm starting to realize that it might even be too dangerous for anyone, especially you two, to be around me! All it takes is one fuck up, one wrong decision, no matter how morally correct or logically sound, and for a handful of lives I save, I could've inadvertently killed hundreds of thousands. It's like the old saying goes, 'No good deed goes unpunished'," Luna and Sunset looked at the hero, seeing the anger, frustration and confusion on his face as he stares at the Omnitrix with contempt. "This is all your fault, you space-bound hunk of junk! If I didn't have you, none of this would be happening! How about you make yourself useful and actually work with me, instead of trying to fuck me and numerous innocent lives over, like a cheap whore in Las Vegas!!" Chance reprimanded.

Chance stormed out of the room, closing the door as he went to cool down. Sunset gulped and looked at Luna, who was taken aback by the hero's outrage. "He's been like this for a few hours. Ever since you got hospitalized, he has done nothing but blame himself. I've tried to snap him out of it, but he's really in deep, this time. I don't know what to do, other than let him have some time alone... but even then, I don't think being alone is gonna help him." Sunset briefly explained.

Over in the city street, Flash gets up out of a crashed car and terrifies onlooking civilians. His head starts hurting again, and he finds himself back in the vision, with Reinrassic staring down at him. "The Omnitrix, where is it, halfbreed vermin?" Reinrassic asked.

Flash scratched the back of his head and sighed. "I couldn't get it, How nice, you didn't tell me I would be fighting a wannabe superhero! No wonder I underestimated Marsten, he managed to kick my ass. Not even to mention Sunset, she was terrified of me... Fuck this, I'm through! Get someone else to find your Omnitrix!" Flash remarked.

Before Flash could react, The gigantic Reinrassic swallows him whole and sends him tumbling down a dark violet pit. "You have a lot of gall to talk to me like that, but it won't be enough! You will get me the Omnitrix, and if you fail again, your meaningless lesser life on this backwater dirtball of a planet will be over!" Flash snapped back to reality, all while Reinrassic relayed a few last words. "Now this time, make him come to you!" Reinrassic instructed.

Flash flew into the air, and smirked as he flew down towards a building, readying his shoulder bulbs.

Back at the hospital, night time has fallen onto the town, with only one of its temporary residents just now getting ready to leave. Chance leaves a folded up note that's a bit stained with tears on Luna's bed, and looks over at the sleeping Sunset. "I'm doing this for you both... No matter how much it hurts." Chance muttered quietly, walking out of the room.

Chance runs out of the hospital as his emotions boil past the limit. Chance runs into town and ducks into an alleyway, wiping his tears as he tried to hide himself from sight. It hurt the alien hero to have to do any of this, but to him, it was the morally and logically correct choice, no matter how much it hurt him to go through with it.

The next day, Chance finds himself at the park in the morning, sitting on a bench all by his lonesome. Across the way, a young boy was playing basketball with an older woman, most likely his mother, and then a girl around his age snatches the ball and makes a half-court shot.

The woman smiled and cheered. "Well done, honey! See, son? You can be that good if you put in the work! Your cousin can do it, and I know you can too!" The woman stated.

The kid smiled. "Yeah, you might be right, but that doesn't mean we can't play for fun, right mom?" The kid asked.

The girl laughed and held the ball in her arms. "Of course, I'm always down to spend some time with my family, never know when those times'll be too far in-between." the girl remarked.

Chance smiles, only to feel a saddened ache in his heart, but soon enough, his attention is caught by a breaking news bulletin blaring from the radio beside him. "Reports say the armored assailant has incredible firepower, and has blown up several police barricades before arriving at the Police Academy Training Center, just outside of Albuquerque." The announcer reported.

Chance's eyes widened, then he stood up. Chance's mind flashes back to when Luna was incapacitated, seeing that Flash dodged the blast of the rifle. Chance gritted his teeth and stared at the Omnitrix. Chance knew what he had to do, no matter how much it was gonna hurt him.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Sunset starts to slowly wake up, yawning as she notices that Chance isn't in the room. "Chance?" no response. Sunset shook her head and slapped her face as she tried to wake herself up faster, but Chance wasn't in the room. "Chance?" Sunset called out, looking around the room.

Sunset's eyes eventually fall onto a note, and grabs it, unfolding it as she sees a a whole letter written out. 'He wrote out a letter? This was unexpected.' Sunset thought.

"To whom it will concern;

I hope you don't mind me writing this letter... chances are you might, but that's why I'm doing this while you're asleep. Forgive some of the tears on the paper, I could barely handle the thought of leaving you both behind without some form of notice, so hopefully this will suffice. Trust me when I say that it's better this way, better to stay distant and not risk getting you killed. I already lost one person I cared about and blamed myself for years when it wasn't my fault, but if I lost you two as well, then hell will know not of the fury of a man who has nothing left to lose, except the one reason he keeps fighting...

I didn't want to leave, you know, but this was the morally and logically correct choice. I cherish you and Luna too much to let you get involved in this mess I'm in. So please, before either of you two do something reckless and stupid, let me say my peace. Sunset, from one friend to another, do me a solid and cherish the ones you love and care about, regardless of how much they fucked up, because you never know when they might disappear forever...

...

Mom Luna, words can't express how genuinely appreciative I am of your help. For the past five years, since I moved to Canterlot City as a child, a very damaged, terrified, and hard to understand child, who was shown the harsh reality of the world too soon... You did all you could, within your power and position, to help me feel safe in an unfamiliar place, and despite having your secrets to hide, I'm sure we'll meet again someday, and you can tell me all about it, once I know I've done all I can on my own... I still don't have the right words to say about what happened back in NYC, or with my loss of control as Zombrex back at the big top, but I am genuinely sorry... I'll find a way to control it and reign in those moments of impulsiveness somehow, I owe you that, and so much more...

On the off-chance that Jean is actually worried about me, tell her that she can kiss the whitest, most divine part of my ass, if she thinks I'll believe that for even a second. Also, tell her to choke on the bottle the next time she wants to drink her problems away.

Thank you, to the both of you."

So long and Farewell,

-Chance B. Marsten

...

P.S: I love you guys. I may not be vocal about it, or as much as I would like to be, but you two are the closest thing I've had to a stable and happy family. I haven't had a proper supportive family in eight years... thanks for the memories.

Sunset carefully laid the letter down on the bed and sat down, a feeling of devastation and warmth pulses throughout her body, all while she bites her lip, trying to hold back the urge to scream. Luna stirs in her bed and slowly starts to wake up. "Sunset? What's wrong?" Luna tiredly asked, letting a yawn escape her.

Sunset handed Luna the letter, all while she turned on the TV, being met with a news report. "-The siege at the Police Training Center continues..." Sunset turns up the volume, all while Luna starts to panic at the letter. Luna puts the paper down, and looks at the report on TV. "Early reports say several officers have been injured- Wait... I-I'm being told that a teenage boy has run onto the scene and got the attacker's attention. This might not result in a happy ending, folks." The reporter stated.

Sunset and Luna stared at the mini TV, wide-eyed. "Chance ran off to take the heat off of us, but I think we both know where he went off to," Sunset walked to the door and turned to Luna, who was still in a panic over the letter. "I gotta go, Miss Luna. He needs help." Sunset announced.

Luna immediately tried to get up and out of bed. "I... I'm coming, too!" Luna proclaimed through labored breaths.

Sunset gave Luna a deadpanned expression. "You are still healing, how do you think he's gonna react if he sees you on the street?! You'd be proving him right!" Sunset argued.

Luna groaned. "You can't go alone, it's too dangerous!" Luna yelled out.

Sunset, by this point, has given up on trying to talk Luna out of her decision. Instead, Sunset grabs the hospital bed's remote, and reclines her vice principal's bed flat, rendering her incapable of getting up. "Argh!! Now I can't get up!" Luna remarked aggravatedly.

Sunset smirked. "That's the idea, you need to rest and recover," Sunset walks to the door and opens it, but before she leaves, she turns back to Luna with a reassuring smile. "Besides, I won't be alone. Chance is there right now, I'm merely doing what a friend would do, give their friend some help, even if they didn't want it. We'll be back in a few!" Sunset announced, running out of the room.

Luna struggled to get out of bed, but it was clear she wasn't going anywhere. "Sunset, get back here!... Sunset Shimmer!!" Luna exclaimed.

In the parking lot, one paramedic runs to another standing by at an ambulance. "Haul ass, man! They need us down at the Police Academy, ASAP!" The second paramedic remarked.

The paramedics quickly get into the ambulance, unaware that Sunset managed to stow herself away in the back, ready to provide Chance some backup. 'Hang on tight, pal, help is on the way.' Sunset thought, closing the door as the Ambulance speeds off.

At the police academy, Flash is on a rampage, tossing cars left and right and shooting streams of laser into the side of the building. Suddenly, a rock or two hits him in the face, and is then met by Chance, yelling out and throwing punches at the mutated teen. Chance kicks Flash back, which didn't do much, but it did give him some distance. "Looks like you started the party without me, Sentry! Let a real metalhead show you how to rock and roll!" Chance remarked, getting into a boxer's stance.

Flash rushed forward and Chance weaved out of the way, but was then met by Flash's claws cutting into his side, causing the alien hero to wince and groan, but he didn't go down yet. Chance landed a haymaker to the bottom of Flash's jaw, which staggered him a bit and hurt Chance's hand in tandem, but Chance resumed his stance, dodging Flash's attempts to claw or strike him again, and as Chance connected his fist with Flash's face, Flash retaliated by kicking Chance into a police car. Chance groaned and slowly got up, trying to ignore the glass shards in his back as he got up and stared his foe down.

Flash was surprised for a moment, then smirked. "Ya know, for getting back up after that, maybe you aren't just a quiet guy after all. Not like it matters," Flash readied his shoulder bulbs, sneering at the persistent alien hero. "If that freak nasty monster wants his "Omnitrix", he can have it! This is starting to get fun!" Flash remarked with a wicked grin.

Chance raised his eyebrow in confusion, but soon remembered the drones and the DNAliens. "Who's "he"? The same guy who tried to turn an entire town into a parasite breeding ground, or the guy sending robots after defenseless teenagers?" Chance quipped, though he was now put on the defensive.

Flash's shoulder bulbs fire their lasers, and while Chance was barely able to roll out of the line of fire, the police car he crashed into exploded into an inferno, which knocked Chance back, pushing the glass shards deeper into his back, causing him to gasp and grit his teeth, trying to stifle a yell. Chance quickly clung to a wall and pulled himself up, all while barely managing to dodge a kick from Flash. Chance growled and propped himself up against the wall. "One good kick... deserves another, dipshit! Nut check!" Chance exclaimed, slamming the heels of both his shoes between Flash's legs, which caused Flash to reel back and collapse to his knees, all while glaring and oozing goo from his open mouth.

Chance quickly hobbles across the road to the police academy, taking cover behind a large blue mail box as the sound of something heavy started moving onto the road. Both Flash and Chance looked over in surprise and shock. An armored tank rolls up in front of them and adjusts its barrel, aimed straight at Flash.

Flash scoffs. "Nice try, but the doofus is all mine! You want some of this, come and get it!" Flash exclaimed.

Chance limps away, trying to hop out of the tank's range. Before either of them knew what happened, the tank fired and hit Flash square in the chest. Chance ducks behind a station wagon and looks back at the pillar of smoke. Through it, the tank rolls up to investigate. Flash was not where he stood, but underneath the Tank, playing possum and all without a scratch on him. Chance's jaw dropped and his blood ran cold as Flash picked up the tank and hoisted it above his head effortlessly. The tank's driver immediately bails and runs away screaming.

Flash smirks and tosses the tank in the direction Chance was hobbling away to, watching as it and several nearby cars explode in flames. Chance sneaks around and stands up straight, despite the pain that was everywhere in his body. Flash laughs and smiles at his carnage, until a finger taps his shoulder. "You graduated from second-rate limp-dicked bassist, to a grade-A mutated psychopath! Can't say I'm proud of what you've become, and neither would Sunset, but hey, you do you, dipshit!" Chance quipped.

Flash whipped around and tries to attack Chance, managing to land a few solid hits, but Chance grabs Flash's head and slams his head against his several times, then punches him away, causing the mutated teen to actually start losing ground. The two teenagers were, surprisingly even with each other. Chance rushed forward, going for an uppercut, but then slams his knee into Flash's side, catching him off guard. The teenage hero punches Flash several times in the face, all while trying to keep himself upright. Chance tries to land one more haymaker, but Flash quickly flies away and lands a fair few feet away, hoping to get some distance.

Soon enough, The ambulance finally arrives on the scene and the paramedics emerge, while Chance and Flash try to figure out what their next plan of attack is. "We came as soon as we got the call, who needs help?" The first paramedic asked.

When the dust of their fighting clears, Flash holds Chance by the throat, then drops him on the ground, walking towards the paramedics. They start running and he powers up a laser blast. Just then, Sunset opens up the back door of the ambulance and peeks out. Chance looks up and notices Sunset on the scene, Chance grits his teeth and forces himself back up, yelling as he tackles Flash from behind, slamming the mutated teen's face into the road several times. Flash goes limp for a moment, and glares at Sunset.

Chance quickly rushes over to her side and picks her up with what strength he can muster, then runs down the street and into an alleyway. Chance puts her down and leans against the wall, rubbing his cold arms. "Is it cold out here... or is it just me?" Sunset looked at Chance with concern and helped him up. "Sunset, why the hell did you follow me?" Chance asked, clearly distressed and displeased.

Sunset gave him a playful scowl. "'Hell will know not of the fury of a man who has nothing left to lose, except the one reason he keeps fighting.' Sound familiar?" Sunset reminded.

An explosion rings out nearby, and Chance winces. "We need to get out of here!" The pair flees down the alley, just as Flash catches up to them and starts shooting erratically. As he passes by a large plaque of the town map on the ground, the teens peek out from having hid behind it, waiting for the bass player to fly out of earshot. Chance looked at Sunset, seeing a concerned and very angry expression on her face. "I know what you're gonna say! 'You can't just run away from us! Meh meh meh!', Well, excuse me for caring about your safety! You might've been a hero longer than I have, but you never had to worry about people dying, or the villain of the week trying to KILL you, just to take your powers away!" Sunset was surprised, but had to admit that her friend had a point. "This is MY problem, MY fight, MY weird watch! I don't want people to die on my watch, not when I could've done something!" Chance protested.

Sunset smiles and pulls him into a hug. "Yeah, but you're my friend, despite what weird powers or crazy history you may have. Besides, who's gonna get you out of trouble if you're on your own?" Sunset remarked.

Flash roars out and fires at something nearby, and the two teens take that as their cue to get out of the open. Nearby, the teens see a door and quickly get it opened, and make their way inside, all while Flash is distracted.

The other side of the door revealed a dark room. After finding a light switch, it's revealed to be a large empty gym, treadmills and pull-down machines all lined up. "Well, we're dead." Chance remarked, sitting down on one of the pull-down machines.

Sunset looks around, until her phone starts to ring. Sunset pulls her phone and answers it. "Hello?" Sunset looks at Chance and hands the phone to him. "It's for you. We both know who it is." Sunset stated.

Chance sighed and put the phone to his ear. "Hi?" Chance listens as the other voice talks. "...Luna, can we talk about this later? I've got an indestructible robot-parasite-cyborg-thing that none of my aliens can take out!" Chance remarked.

Luna sits up in her bed, smiling at the letter as she held the phone to her ear. "Chance, if you can't destroy it from the outside, take it down from the inside." Luna advised.

Chance's eyes widened, and he glanced down at the Omnitrix. "That's it! Thanks M-" Before Chance could finish what he had to say, the building shook as Flash was starting to get very aggressive. "Sorrygottagobye!" Chance remarked, rapidly hanging up the phone.

Chance handed Sunset her phone back, and she gave him a knowing look. "Guess you're not better off without us, after all, huh?" Sunset inquired with a smile.

Chance rolled his eyes and put his thumb on the Omnitrix's button. "Go find a place to take cover, I need total concentration for this to work." Chance cautioned.

Sunset nodded her head and ran over to a nearby supply closet, hiding in there. As Chance pressed the button and activated the Omnitrix, Flash came crashing through the roof, alerted by the sound. Chance quickly cycles to the one alien he needs for his plan, and hesitantly pushes the core down.

Chance felt his body stiffen and toughen up as his skin started to rapidly decompose and turn gray. His muscles tensed up and started to expand, and his bones started to grow out. Parts of Chance's body started to rip, tear and completely re-arrange themselves. Chance's hair changed from brown to a very dark gray, almost black in color. His shirt changed and started to tear up, as did his body. The portion of Chance's body between his torso and his pelvis was now completely gone, leaving only his spine to be seen.

Chance's feet tore through his shoes as his toes turned sharp, like talons. His pants became more uniform, a pair of ripped black pants with white stripes and detailing. Chance's left arm suddenly tore apart, exposing the bone, but flexed it like it wasn't an issue. Chance felt his mouth grow shut as his eyes beamed red. The Omnitrix barely re-shaped itself, yet never left Chance's wrist.

The alien stood tall and then roared out as it lunged forward with a hungry look in its eyes.

Flash lands into the gym and walks around, searching. He walks right underneath Zombrex, who's white eyes glow in the darkness as he hangs on the ceiling. The alien zombie drops down on her and bites into his technological body. Flash cries out and struggles to shake him off. Suddenly, electricity shoots out of his body, which actually manages to cause pain to the zombified hero, causing it to scream out in pain and agony like never before.

Zombrex finds himself in Flash's vision world, floating before a giant Reinrassic. "You, who wields the Omnitrix. Listen to my every word: Be afraid. You cannot run, you cannot hide from me, whether on your planet, or anywhere in the known universe. I will find you, and when I do, I will retrieve the Omnitrix, convert your entire race into subservient soldiers, and destroy you, once and for all!" Reinrassic warned, swallowing the zombified alien hero whole.

Zombrex and Flash both cry out as the alien zombie is then sent flying through a few pillars before collapsing on the ground, twitching and convulsing as he tries to stand up. "Uuurrghh... that was not a good sign." Zombrex groaned.

Flash shoots at Zombrex, only for the lasers to rip holes in his body, with Zombrex not feeling a thing. Zombrex lurches forward, clawing and tearing away at the metal and scrap sticking out of Flash, and even started to pull away huge chunks of the Xenocyte, causing it to screech in a mortified and agonizing manner as the Zombie hero chowed down on the parasite, and stripped Flash free of the mechanical manipulation that had been affecting his mind.

Zombrex stood up, both he and Flash's unconscious body were underneath a flickering light. Sunset cautiously opened the door, only to be met by the Omnitrix timing out, changing Chance back into his normal human self. Chance's body twitched, all while images of the vision world replayed and burned into Chance's subconscious.

Chance shook his head and picked up Flash's unconscious body, hoisting the unconscious boy over his shoulder as he walked to the back door, with Sunset right behind him. "Chance, did it work?" Sunset asked.

Chance nodded his head, opening the door for Sunset. As the pair walked out of the building, they stayed in the alleyways, concealing themselves under the cover of darkness and shadows, all while trying to get Flash back to the hospital.

The next morning, Luna is discharged from the hospital with crutches, ready to get back on the road, while Flash was admitted last night. Luna takes a long sniff of the air outside. "Ah, it's good to finally get outta here, and back on the road!" Luna looks over at the two teenagers, who were waving towards her and walking in her general direction. "Heh, kids these days." Luna remarked, opening the door.

As Chance and Sunset walk to the RV, Sunset can't help but wonder about her friend. "Hey, you got a moment?" Chance stopped and looked down at Sunset quizzically. "what happened back there in the gym? It sounded like the souls of the damned escaped from hell itself out there, and you looked like you were possessed or something when you transformed back!" Sunset asked.

Chance gulped and sighed. "I-I don't know how to describe it, but here's what I can say about it, best I can. It was like...when I went Zombrex and bit into metal flesh, I saw this other alien. We were both floating through space and it was talking to me. It even referred to me as the one who wears the Omnitrix," Luna froze, and while she didn't turn around, she kept listening to Chance's description. "He looked kinda like if a DNAlien, a bug and a banana had a weird and very fugly three-way baby, but bleached white, had small black thorn horn-things sticking out of the side of his head, two red eyes on its chest, four red eyes on some sort of blue-violet mass of fleshy plasma stuff, it also had a tattered robe on its body. I wasn't weirded out, but then it said...I should be afraid." Chance explained.

The two teens looked towards Luna, and saw her frowning, as if out of fear. "Luna, you look afraid! Are you alright?" Chance asked.

Luna shook her head and averted her gaze. "I'm...fine, just a bit anxious to head back on the road," Luna looked back at the two teens and smiled. "And you'll be fine too. As long as we stay together." Luna reassured in a more uplifting tone.

Chance and Sunset hug Luna tightly, then pile into the RV, while Luna lagged behind. Her smile drops soon after as she looks to the sky, pondering something.

High above the Earth, Reinrassic's ship flies through space. A pair of menacing red eyes glow, leering through the window of a healing tank, and a large black three-digit claw presses against the glass.

Author's Note

And that was my version of 'The Alliance'. I could re-iterate everything I said last about Trixie and Flash, wanting to do more with their characters, and for now, they got their moments in the spotlight. Sure, they were assisting their respective villains and had a bit of brainwashing, but that comes with the territory for very few villains.

I'll most likely do more with each character in the next season, revisit characters that deserve a bit more time in the spotlight, just to flesh them out proper, but that's for later, or maybe in the S1 finale. I'll figure it out.

I hope you enjoyed this episode, I know I did.

PS: To those who may/may not point this out, I know I didn't do 'Side Effects' or 'A Small Problem', there's mainly two reasons for that.

1) Side Effects, next to Kevin 11, is my favorite Classic episode, but I couldn't do it justice. Maybe I'll try to remedy that next season.

2) A Small Problem is my least favorite episode, with, in my opinion, the least interesting villain team I've ever seen. Over time I grew to love them, but in classic, I just didn't feel like they lived up to the hype. I wanted to do the episode justice and make it better, but I just didn't have any ideas or good/decent concepts. Maybe next season.

S1, Episode 13: Invasive Secrets, Part 1

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Invasive Secrets,
Part 1

It's a calm and quiet evening back in Canterlot City, with everyone peacefully at rest, relaxing as they enjoyed the dreams that awaited them. At Sweet Apple Acres, The apple family was sleeping peacefully. Well, almost all of them. Applejack, the middle child out of her siblings, got up and stretched, yawning as she looked outside, staring fondly at the full moon.

Applejack changed out of her pajamas and put her casual clothes on, only to notice something out of the corner of her eye. The farm girl looked down the stairs, noticing that someone was in the kitchen. Applejack smiled and rolled her eyes. 'Probably just Apple Bloom gettin' a snack before bed. I'll head on down and get something myself, maybe some apple juice,' As Applejack prepared herself to descend the stairs, she saw her dog, Winona, scamper towards the kitchen, only to stop and growl halfway in. Whoever was in the kitchen was startled by Winona's presence, and the sound of glass breaking could be heard. Applejack was confused, but at the same time, she cracked her knuckles and looked at her geode resting on her belt. 'Alright, who's the city slicker that's tresspassin' on my family's farm!' Applejack thought.

Applejack quickly jumped down the flight of stairs and put her hands up. "Alright, partner, we can do this the easy way, or the hard w-" Applejack's words caught in her throat when she saw Rainbow Dash, poorly hiding her face in what remained of the apple and pear pie her grandmother made. Applejack frowned and stared at Dash, who simply smiled awkwardly, blushing incredibly hard. "Really? You nearly got yer skull cracked like an egg, just for some pie? Yer pulling mah leg, right Dash?" Applejack questioned, crossing her arms.

Dash laughed nervously, but her smile faded fast. The athletic girl sat the now emptied pie tin in the sink and sat down in a chair, all while Applejack got closer. "Dash, why in tarnation are you here so early?" Applejack asked.

Dash smiled. "What, I can't pop by to see a good friend, maybe raid the fridge for a light post-nightly-jog snack?" Dash countered.

Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash with an unconvinced and very skeptical look, unwavered by her honeyed words. "Uh-huh. Sure, Dash, you've always been welcome here, unless its cider season," Applejack took out a small dog biscuit and tossed it to Winona, who happily went after it, forgetting about Dash. Applejack pulled up a chair and sat down, looking at the girl who was too good to break past the locks that her brother would have to either replace, or reinforce. "Tell me the truth, and nothin' but it, sugarcube. Yer already on thin ice with everyone else, once they found out about what happened before that strange robot-fiasco, so fess up. Why did ya come here so early in the night?" Applejack asked firmly.

Dash winced at the mention of the robot, but she sighed and decided to come clean about why she was there. "Applejack, has something not... felt right, since Sunset left?" Dash asked, concerned.

Applejack was mildly surprised, half-expecting Dash's usual attempts at flirting. Applejack thought for a moment this was some kind of set up for a joke, or more flirting, maybe even both, considering this was Rainbow Dash she was dealing with, and yet... she knew something felt out of place lately, but she thought she was just getting stir crazy, Applejack's guilt finally clutching her in its grasp, and slowly driving her nuts.

Applejack took a deep breath and sighed, a cautious look could be seen in the farm girl's green eyes as she leaned in. "Be specific, Rainbow, what hasn't felt right?" Applejack asked.

Dash looked around, even looking past the farm girl to look at Winona for a moment. Applejack watched as Dash got up from her seat and looked up towards the staircase, then carefully moved back to the chair she sat in. Applejack could see it in Dash's eyes and the way she moved. She was trying to make sure no one could hear what she was about to say. Dash carefully leaned in and decided to whisper into Applejack's ear. "Something's wrong with a lot of people in town... My parents have been leaving town a lot more often and refuse to explain, Tank seems to know what's on the up and up, he's been more aggressive towards Scootaloo, as of late... Have you ever seen a Turtle actually sprint before?! I had to chase Tank down till I caught him staring at an alleyway near Sugarcube corner, he went from a vicious snapping turtle to a harmless puppy in a near instant. If that doesn't scream that something's wrong, then I don't know what's right anymore. I haven't brought this up to anyone, I know they're still pissed about the whole robot thing, but we might be in serious trouble. Look, in the afternoon, if you're in town, stand still and listen... it'll be way too quiet for it to be populated with people." Dash whispered.

Applejack gave a deadpanned expression. "Yer kiddin', right?" Applejack asked.

Dash groaned. "I'm not joking, something hasn't felt right since Sunset left, and I'm not talking about how she hasn't forgiven us yet. Need I say anything about the missing people posters, along with some weird goo I found in my trash can?" Applejack was now very confused. Dash pulled out her phone and went to her gallery, showing off the trash can outside her house. It was filled up with tons of viscous orange goo, and numerous missing persons posters, all of them seemed to be crumpled up, torn apart, or used to ball up that same goo, rendering them to be just as useless. "I need a second opinion. Can you tell me anything that you've found unnatural, or... well, abnormal?" Dash asked.

Applejack opened her mouth, but soon heard the creaking sound of someone stepping down the stairs. The two girls looked over at Apple Bloom, Big Mac, and Granny Smith, who seemed to be wide awake. "Oh! Uh, sorry about the noise, granny. I was just chattin' with my friend, Dash, for a moment." Applejack apologized.

Granny Smith looked idly at Dash. "No harm done, just thought we heard a ruckus, is all." Granny stated, her face barely even changing emotion.

Applejack looked over at her older brother, Big MacIntosh, and saw him looking at an old family photo. "Goin' on a stroll down memory lane, Mac?" Applejack asked.

Big Mac turned to look at his sister, nodding his head, then looking back at the photo. Applejack raised her eyebrow in confusion. 'Huh, someone's not feelin' wordy today. Maybe Dash was right, something is wrong.' Applejack thought with a small grin.

Dash smiled and waved, all while she could feel the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. Something was wrong, and she needed to get Applejack out of there without rousing suspicion. "Oh, that's right! Applejack, there was something I needed to show you, outside! It's a new trick, and it just can't wait till tomorrow! Follow me!" Dash stated, pulling Applejack aside.

Applejack tried to fight Dash's persistent pulling, and nervously waved to her family, all while she caught a glance at her little sister, Apple Bloom. The little girl's eye twitched, and she waved back, all without showing a single emotion, not noticing the red dot in the center of her pupils.

As Applejack was pulled out the door and towards the front of the farm, Applejack finally broke free and glared at Dash. "Alright, what in tarnation has gotten into you, Dash?! You got me pulled all the way out to the front of my family's farm, now what? What were you goin' on about back there, something about a trick?" Applejack questioned.

Dash pulled Applejack to the side, which was covered by a few tall thick bushes and her smile faded away, replaced by a look of terror and uncertainty. "Listen, we need to get the girls rounded up together, it's not safe to be alone right now! Those people in your house? That's not your family. That's not Apple Bloom, that's not Big Mac, that's not your grandma, and above all else, that's not Winona!" Dash cautioned.

Applejack was thrown for a loop, finally convinced that Rainbow Dash had finally gone crazy. At first, Dash was being secretive, now she's acting paranoid and being careful about something. 'What in tarnation is this girl talkin' about? Of course it's my family, they're just not used to bein' up at this hour.' Applejack throught.

Applejack walked back to the entrance of the farm and peaked around the corner, seeing her three family members standing with their backs turned to her. The farm girl was confused for a moment and was about to call out to them, until they pulled at their faces. In three blinding flashes of light, Applejack and Dash went wide eyed, bearing witness to the truth.

Three DNAliens stood, each one with a different size and shape. The one that was disguised as Apple Bloom reached down to Winona, pressing a button that wasn't on her usual collar. The disguise warped and faded, revealing the same Winona, but with a Xenocyte growing around her body, latched and ingrained with the canine's head.

Dash didn't hesitate to grab Applejack and activate her geode, speeding off in a flash. As the DNAliens simply turned around towards the front entrance, seeing nothing but the breeze blow by, they quickly made their way to the barn, opening it up, revealing several Xenocyte-affected animals housed inside, as well as numerous DNAlien drones harvesting strange egg-shaped pods with exposed brains and a thin faded yellow membrane wrapped around them.

The end was nearing closer and closer, and two of the Rainbooms were now aware of the horrifying truth that was about to be revealed to everyone.

Meanwhile at Fluttershy's, she was carefully tending to Angel's needs, despite him being very fussy about it. "Oh, I'm sorry Angel, but I need to make sure you're not coming down with something. You've been needlessly aggressive with mom and dad as of late, even towards Zephyr! I know he's a bit much, but you didn't have to try and attack him. I don't know if it's because you're fussy, or if you're doing it to get a rise out of me." Fluttershy reprimanded, trying to explain the best she could to her pet.

As Fluttershy grabbed a brush from her stand, there was a loud knock at the front door, making the poor girl nearly jump out of her skin. "W-Who could that be at this hour?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.

Angel rolled his eyes and hopped down to the front door, all while Fluttershy quickly went after him. As she did, she looked out the window, seeing that it was Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who seemed to be in a panic. Out of curiosity, Fluttershy carefully opened the door, only for Applejack to pull the shy girl outside, with Angel following after them.

Fluttershy yelped as she struggled, but Dash managed to get the farm girl to let her go. "A-Applejack, what's-" Dash quickly covered Fluttershy's mouth, noticing Fluttershy's brother, Zephyr Breeze, staring down at them from his window. Fluttershy pulled Dash's hand away from her face and looked up at her brother. "Relax, Zephyr, it's just Dash and AJ. Go back to your cosmetology stuff!" Fluttershy reassured.

Zephyr shrugged and started to move away from the window, all while Dash and AJ sighed. "Fluttershy, we need to move. Don't ask, we'll explain on the way." Applejack stated, trying to regain some form of composure.

Fluttershy was a bit confused, but then Angel hopped into Fluttershy's hair, making himself comfortable. Fluttershy looked at her two friends with a worried look. They looked so scared and paranoid... Fluttershy nodded her head and followed after the two, making their way towards their next closest friend. All the while, Zephyr and his parents watched as the three girls fled the scene. They growled inhumanely as orange ooze seeped from their lips, clinging to their faces like wet clay.

Rarity, meanwhile, was having her own fair share of oddity-related events. The fashion-saavy girl's hair was a mess, small blobs of orange ooze clung to her hair like chewing gum, and her casual clothes, which consisted of a blue sweatshirt and white pajama bottoms, were torn up and almost shredded. Rarity stared down at Scootaloo, who let out an inhuman gurgling noise. From atop the staircase, Sweetie Belle was gripping onto two Xenocytes, one in each hand, ready to clamor after the teenage girl.

Rarity created a few gem constructs and gritted her teeth, readying herself for another round. "I don't know what those vile little cretins are, or what they've done to make the pair of you so vicious, but if I must fight, then I shall!" Rarity flung several constructs at the two kids, and while it did stagger them, Rarity suddenly acted on instinct when she saw something coming towards her, creating a large construct to shield herself from the blow. The thing that hit the construct was another blob of orange goo, only it was much hairier and almost spindly, like a spider's web, or a cat's hairball. Rarity looked past her construct, only to be met by her cat, Opalescence. The white cat was now in a much more monstrous state. The cat's paws now had large black claws jutting out, all while a sickly skin starts to grow over the cat's matted and orange ooze-stained fur, all while a Xenocyte continues to grow and infect the housecat with ease. It let out a screeching alien hiss as Rarity prepares to keep defending herself. "Well... if you insidious impostors wish to fall, allow me to give you the push you need!" Rarity proclaimed, closing her eyes.

As Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Opalescence approach, Rarity's geode begins to shine brighter, and her body started to shine like a crystal. Rarity whipped her hair out of her face and shifted her face towards the three, gritting her teeth as she kept her eyes squeezed shut. "You broke into my shop amidst the cover of night, attacked my little sister, turned her, my cat and her friend into monsters, and you probably did the same to my friends..." Rarity snapped her eyes open, now glowing a rather sinister green color, all while a sense of fury burned, practically radiating from her eyes, like a wildfire that's been tempered and controlled. "I'll turn you filthy creatures into funeral centerpieces when I'm done prying you off by force!" Rarity exclaimed, screeching out as her blood began to boil.

The creatures watched as the constructs shrunk, only to then re-shape into constructs of a sword and shield. Rarity grabbed her weapons and yelled out, readying her construct blade as she lunged towards Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

Sugarcube Corner was currently under fire. Numerous citizens of Canterlot City were trying to break into the sweet confectionary joint, but the owners of the place, the Cakes, were dealing with problems of their own. Inside, Pinkie was chasing after a small group of Xenocytes, swiping away at them with a large broom handle, all while trying to run them out of the building. "No pests allowed! Scram!" Pinkie knocked one of the Xenocytes on the top of its exposed brain-like organ, causing it to squeak out and scuttle under one of the tables in a daze. She stopped to wipe the sweat from her brow, until one of the Xenocytes caught her off guard, latching onto her face. Pinkie stayed still for a moment, and simply pried the alien parasite off her face, much to the parasite's disbelief and shock. "I really wish you wouldn't do that, makes it harder to do this!" Pinkie remarked, tossing the parasite into the air and then smacking it with the broom handle, causing it to crash against the wall, unmoving.

Pinkie stopped and looked up at the staircase, noticing the silhouettes of her employers, the Cakes. "Oh, Mr. and Mrs. Cake! Sorry for the noise, I was doing a bit of pest control before I locked up tonight." The Cakes stepped out of the shadows, parts of the parasite covered their bodies in tendrils and that same sickly skin wrap, all while the same orange goo oozed from their lips. Pinkie's eyes widened and her smile started to falter, all while a nervous laugh escaped her quivering lips, and her legs started to feel like they were gonna give out. Pinkie gasped, and instinctively ran to the kitchen, locking herself in. Before the two infected individuals could go after the poor girl, a car burst through the front door and wall, causing the two to retreat up the stairs as a giant hole was made in the building. Pinkie poked her head out and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Pinkie Senses!" Pinkie remarked.

Pinkie looked at the van, quickly noticing that no one was at the passenger seat, or the driver's seat. Confused, Pinkie looked towards the hole in the building, noticing the individuals that were trying to break in. As Pinkie was about to call out and ask what happened, a familiar blue blur sped onto the scene, revealing Rainbow Dash, as well as Fluttershy and Applejack, who were all strapped and equipped with gear. Pinkie's smile widened as she hugged her friends tightly, all while the individuals outside started to move towards them, orange ooze dribbling from their lips. "ohmygoshguysimsogladyoureokayIdontknowwhatsgoingonbutIcangatherthatitsnotgoodforanyone!" Pinkie rapidly stated.

Dash let electricity crackle between her fingers and fired bolts of lightning at the approaching individuals, shocking them as they dropped to the ground, fidgeting from the electrical current that pulsed through their bodies, an errantly pained gurgle escaping from each of them. Dash looked back at Pinkie, noticing that her smile was starting to fade. "We'll explain everything the best we can, but right now, we need to find Rarity, and get to Twilight! Grab on, and we'll be at her boutique in ten seconds flat!" Dash briefly stated.

Pinkie looked back at the other individuals that didn't get shocked, noticing their throats swell up as the orange goo started to pour out more from their mouths. Pinkie nodded and grabbed ahold of her friends and sped off past the individuals. The infected Cakes stepped down and approached the crowd with a knowing look. The crowd of people nodded, pulling their masks off, revealing their partially infected selves.

The crowd started to walk in the direction the girls went, all the while, more infected people start to come out of the buildings, the alleyways, they were even popping out of the sewers. The mob grew larger and larger, and for a moment, it seemed like Canterlot was due for an unexpected snowfall as a snowflake fell through the horde of DNAlien drones.

The girls stopped in front of Rarity's boutique, and judging by the broken window, and the orange goo that aligned the visible parts of the building's interior, it seemed like they were too late. "Rarity?" Applejack called out.

The girls quickly rushed to the door, with Applejack kicking it open, only to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle tied up and gagged, as well as a disfigured and DNAlienized Opalescence trapped in a cage, aggressively trying to break out to no avail. And yet, Rarity was still nowhere to be seen. "Looks like Rarity managed to handle herself... but, where is she?" Pinkie asked worriedly.

From behind a ruined purple couch, a single xenocyte crawls on top of it, abandoning its hiding place and lunges towards the girls. The four of them try their best to shield themselves from the parasite's attack, only for it to let out a pained squeal as something pinned it against the wall. The girls uncovered their eyes, only to be surprised when they see that the parasite was not only pinned to the wall, but impaled by a bright gem construct. The parasite soon stopped moving, and a set of footsteps came down the stairs, revealing Rarity, who was spraying a can of something onto her hair as she straightened up her newest outfit.

The young fashionista was now adorned in a blue jean jacket and a pencil skirt, though she kept her sweatpants on, she now had a pair of brightly accessorized hiking shoes on. Rarity looked at herself in a shard of glass that stayed intact on a nearby mirror, licked her thumb and wiped away some of the orange gunk she had on her face, and looked to her friends with a smile. "Better late than never, darlings." Rarity remarked.

Pinkie, Fluttershy and Applejack quickly rushed to Rarity's side, pulling the fashionista into a group hug, all while Dash kept her distance and looked away, focusing her attention outside, watching for something to change. Rarity smiled and wormed her way out of her friends' grasp, only to chuckle and sigh. "It's good to see you all, too. I assume we're going to go to Twilight, see if she has a solution?" Rarity inquired.

Applejack nodded her head. "Eeyup. If anyone can find out what in tarnation is goin' on here, it's either Twilight or Sunset. Since Sunset isn't here, Twilight's our best bet." Applejack stated.

Dash backed away from the front door and looked at the others. "If we're gonna go to Twilight, we need to make sure we don't stay in one spot. I don't know why, or what it is about this entire situation, but it's got me on edge, something isn't right about any of this," The girls looked at Dash, a mix of curiosity and skepticism could be seen in their faces, and Dash groaned, feeling frustrated. "You're still pissed about the robot thing, I get it, you've constantly reminded me every single day, I'm not that tone-deaf! Get over it and grab on, or would you rather fight your way to Twilight instead." Dash remarked.

The girls looked at each other, then nodded their heads. "Then let's get the lead out and make our way to Twilight's lab," the girls grabbed hold of Dash and watched as her geode glowed. Applejack leaned in and whispered something in Dash's ear. "We'll talk about that other thing later." Applejack whispered.

Dash gritted her teeth and ignored Applejack's words for the moment. As the girls sped away, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle broke free from their binds and tore the cloth gags out of their mouths, each one stained in orange goo. The two looked at each other, then nodded, freeing Opalescence and going the opposite way the girls went, making their way to Sweet Apple Acres.

Within the basement of her home, Twilight was casually typing away at a large computer, all while a small gray dog rests peacefully on a dog bed behind her. Twilight stops typing and leans back, looking at numerous images of some kind of building, specifically, a hatchery. The girl lifts her glasses up and rubs her eyes. "I just don't understand, what's the purpose of this place, and why build one in Canterlot?" Twilight questioned.

The dog slowly started to wake up, all while Twilight continued her research. The dog rolled his eyes and brushed up against her leg. "C'mon Twilight, just get some rest. Aren't you tired after being down here for days, isolating and keeping yourself wide awake to continue your research?" the dog asked with concern.

Twilight looked down at her canine companion and sulked, shrinking the tabs on the hatchery, and pulled out her phone, pulling up Sunset's contact. She stared at it for what felt like an eternity, only to pocket the phone and reach down to pet her dog. "I'm sorry, Spike, I just need something to keep me busy, to keep the thoughts of Anon-A-Miss out of my mind. I'd hang out with the girls, but they don't seem ready to drop the subject," Twilight pulled up the Canterlot High webpage and typed in a name that's been buzzing around in her head. Soon enough, an image of Chance came up. "Then there's what Dash did to this guy. Sure, it was an accident and she didn't know he was around the area, but it's clear that the ostracizing we've been doing to her, keeping her out of the loop on certain things, it hasn't made things any better... From what little Rarity told me, he was able to get up after being struck by Dash's electrical attack and walk it off, that sounds pretty inhuman." Twilight explained, trying to change the subject.

Spike smiled and leapt onto her lap, watching the screen. "Looks familiar. You don't think he has magic, do you?" Spike asked.

Twilight shrugged. "Hard to say. If he does, then our geodes haven't reacted to him in any way. We would've noticed if someone like him got ahold of something magical, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's normal," Twilight typed away at her computer and pulled up Chance's educational statistics. "He's pretty average, if not just a percent above it. He's got a fairly clean reputation when it comes to putting in the work to keep his grades up, but then there's the more permanent record. He's gotten in fights, he's mouthed off to teachers and staff, and at one point he just stopped engaging, which caused a slight drop in his grades. He almost reminds me of Sunset, before she changed, I mean." Twilight explained, plugging some headphones into her phone as she selected some music.

As Twilight put the headphones on her head, Spike shrugged and hopped off Twilight's lap, ready to head back to bed, until he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Spike looked towards the storage closet and saw it barely opened ajar. Curiosity getting the better of the canine, Spike opened the door a bit more, only to then be pulled in, with the door closing on him, with Twilight being none the wiser. Spike yelled and howled, only for his cries to be muffled by something latching onto his face amidst the darkness.

Twilight continued to tap away at her computer, completely oblivious of the fate that her talking canine friend had now succumbed to. Twilight pulled up Sunset's records and put the two side-by-side, carefully comparing them.

The next morning, the trio was leaving a motel in the same city the last adventure took place, and while Sunset and Luna looked like they had the best time sleeping, Chance was right behind them, grumbling to himself. Slowly, he followed behind as he yawned, gingerly sipping on a cup of hot coffee he got from the front desk before they checked out. "I don't know how you two have had such great luck in sleeping, as of late. Call me crazy, but I think I'm actually jealous!" Chance remarked exhaustedly.

Sunset looked back, noticing that her friend did seem more exhausted than normal. "Well, I think it's just because of how Luna and I remained calm during the last time trouble came our way. I certainly wasn't expecting to be dealing with Flash, I'll admit, but then again, Trixie was also an unexpected surprise in the adventure before the previous one, too. I've also been a hero longer, so that might explain why I'm so used to this." Sunset attempted to explain.

Luna shrugged her shoulders, sitting down in the driver's seat. "I'm sure you'll get to feeling better soon, maybe when we head to Mount Rushmore, you'll be singing a happier tune!" Luna encouraged.

Chance rolled his eyes and chugged down the last remnants of his coffee before chucking the cup into the trash can. Chance lets a scoff escape him. "Easy for you to say, I haven't slept right in two days! These nightmares are becoming more frequent, and just when I thought my personal problems were already enough fuel for the fire, Now I'm constantly dealing with that fuckin' weird alien thing I saw in that weird void place," Luna felt her blood run cold, and slowly looked back at the teenage hero, seeing the steadily developing black rings forming under his eyes. "What's next, is the next night terror gonna be about fighting alien ghosts at hangman's tree!?" Chance exclaimed.

Sunset snickered, much to Chance's disappointment. "Maybe you just need to relax. Hero Time doesn't have to be all the time, y'know. I think you're just anxious for the next big fight." Sunset joked.

Chance sighed, lamenting that he wasn't being taken seriously. The teen hero looked down at the Omnitrix, only to have his attention piqued when it started glowing yellow, forming the DNA Helix again. "ERROR. Significant genetic damage detected." The Omnitrix spoke.

That got the trio's attention. Luna got out of the driver's seat and walked over to the teens, who watched as the Omnitrix slowly stopped spinning, and seemed to be pointing right at the motel, specifically, the front desk. Chance groaned and got up. "Son of a bitch, again!? This is the third motel in a single HOUR this thing has legitimately reacted to, and the past two had these damn parasites! Where the fuck do these things keep comin' from?!" Chance exclaimed through gritted teeth.

Luna sighed and opened the door. "Come along, let's get this over with." Luna remarked.

Chance marched right out of the RV and immediately made a beeline for the front desk. He saw a tall thin man leave and lock the place up, and Chance didn't hesitate to ram into the man and pin him against the wall. "Where are the parasites!?" Chance demanded.

Luna and Sunset quickly ran over, only for the man to let out a gurgled grunt, shoving the hero back with great force, despite his build. The man ripped his mask off, revealing the DNAlien's true form. "Clever, very clever. You may have stopped us before, but you will not stop what's coming. Once the general gets word of your identity, you will not live to see the sun shine again!" the DNAlien threatened cryptically.

Chance had an idea on who their general was, but he didn't say another word. He just simply activated the Omnitrix. He pushed the core down, and transformed into Armethyst. The alien merged his fingers into a large blade, and glared at the DNAlien, which recognized the situation as one that he needed to flee from. The DNAlien tried to run, but Sunset quickly got in its way, then grabbed it tightly as her geode glowed. "Sleep!" Sunset commanded.

The DNAlien, despite its attempts at resisting, inevitably fell asleep. Armethyst walked forward, and the Omnitrix started to react. "Omnitrix has detected genetic damage in quarantine zone, shall we attempt to repair?" The Omnitrix spoke.

Armethyst grabbed the DNAlien's head and nodded. "Attempt the repair, and whatever other parasites are still in the area." Armethyst confirmed.

"Request acknowledged," The Omnitrix began to spin at a rapid pace, and emitted a large pulse of bright yellow light. The man soon returned to his normal self, as did numerous workers and customers as they ran out into public, panicking as their masks started to short circuit, and the parasites began to loosen their grip on their hosts and wither away. "Genetic repair complete, all DNAlien drones successfully purged of parasite. Quarantine Zone has been purged of Xenocite Outbreak. Power depletion upon reverting to human will extend recharge time to twelve hours." The Omnitrix chirped.

Immediately, the Omnitrix started timing out, reverting Chance back to his normal form. As Chance let the dying Xenocite go, he walked back to the RV and moved towards the back of it. Luna and Sunset looked back at each other, then at the rest of the unconscious victims that were saved. "This is starting to become a problem, why are all these weird parasite things so bent on taking over people? Chance has a good question about these things, where are these things coming from?" Sunset asked.

Luna didn't answer, and simply looked back at the RV, seeing Chance rest his head on his pillow. 'I feel as if this is getting to him. I can understand that everyone needs their sleep, but Chance was ready to get aggressive. I need to do something, but what? How am I supposed to prepare them for this!? My secret could be compromised, regardless their status as heroes... His nightmares aren't gonna be helpful, either. He's been tortured enough, this is overkill.' Luna thought.

Luna closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm sorry, Sunset, were you saying something?" Luna asked.

Sunset sighed. "Nevermind. How's about we go get breakfast and see what's going on with him?" Sunset suggested, pointing towards Chance.

Luna nodded, and the two walked back to the RV. Sunset closed the door and watched as Luna looked back at the scene, almost bothered by how things played out. She started the RV and drove away, leaving everything as it was, while people slowly started to regain consciousness, unaware of what events just transpired.

As the RV drove down the road, Chance got up and stretched, finally experiencing the sensation of feeling well rested again. "Finally, a proper bit of rest. Can't wait to put this energy to use!" Chance hopped off his bed and walked to the front, noticing that Sunset and Luna were conversating about something, something he couldn't hear. He wanted to move up and join, but suddenly found that he couldn't move any further. Chance looked down, and much to his surprise, nothing looked or felt wrong, but it was like his body was vehemently telling him to not go forward another step. "Okay, this is a new feeling. Hey, can I get some help? I think my legs are experiencing paralysis!" Chance called out.

Luna and Sunset kept conversating, as if they didn't hear him. Chance picked up his left leg and placed it forward, forcing himself to walk forward. Much to his own surprise, his legs felt incredibly and unnaturally heavy, it was like his flesh was made out of stone, and his bones, steel and concrete. 'Okay, what the fuck is going on with my body? I should be fine. I know Flash went on a rampage, but I made it out fine!' Chance thought, incredibly confused as to why his legs were suddenly not functional.

As Chance got closer, somehow the conversation got quieter. Chance finally decided that enough was enough, and activated the Omnitrix, only to feel as if his blood had turned cold as ice. The icon he saw was similar to that of a DNAlien, and already, Chance was starting to feel concerned. He tried to cycle to one of his other transformations, but that didn't seem to do anything. Every time Chance twisted the dial, no matter what direction it was turned to, the DNAlien icon was permanent. "This is getting weirder and weirder." Chance stated worriedly.

Without any other options, Chance carefully and cautiously pressed the core back down. Chance was prepared for the worst. He was expecting a parasite to suddenly latch onto his face, or for the Omnitrix to try and take him over. He expected to be possessed or transformed in some way, whether it be painless or the most gruesome and life-halting experience of his life.

The one thing he wasn't prepared for, was that nothing happened. The Omnitrix simply faded from green to white, and Chance wasn't sure what was supposed to happen, if anything was gonna happen at all. The RV was silent, like a church in the midst of unholy rapture. Chance tried to reach a hand out to Sunset, only to notice his arm. It looked like a DNAlien's arm. Chance looked over himself, and noticed that every part of him was now more akin to that of a DNAlien. Chance tried to open his mouth, but several small tentacles launched forward, revealing that Chance's lips and tongue were now merged into some grotesque tendril-filled opening in his face.

Chance fell backwards, but instead of feeling the carpet, he fell into a void, all while he felt a mind numbing buzz in his head. He felt the skin on his face begin to itch and irritate his flesh, and hunched over as he fell, crying out as he pulled his face away. Chance now looked exactly like a DNAlien, and the Omnitrix was no longer on his wrist, but rested in his hands. Chance tried to gain some control over his body back, but his transformed self just moved forward, and knelt before a much darker figure. Six glowing red eyes peered open and snatched the Omnitrix out of his hands.

Chance closed his eye, feeling a powerful weight crush him, all while his life flashes before his eyes. Chance looks up at the towering figure, recognizing the tattered robe it wore. "Count your last few moments, vermin. The Omnitrix will be mine!" Reinrassic stated victoriously.

Chance tried to crawl away, only for something to fall on his head, causing him to go limp, blacking out. The last thing he saw was Moonshine, standing above him with a bloodied baseball bat and a wicked smirk on his face.

Hours later, Chance suddenly wakes up, screaming in terror as he flailed around, and then inevitably fell on the floor, where he continued to gasp for air and scream. Chance scrambles to get on his feet, all while he leaned against the wall, a sick and nauseating feeling began to pulse through him, and before he could try to make heads or tails of what just happened, something pulled the curtain back, and Chance just acted solely on instincts. He roared out and charged forward, only for Sunset to quickly get out of the way, and watch as Chance knocked his head against the dash, causing the hero to groan and fidget, all while adrenaline and fear pumped through him like a lethal poison that tried to numb his body.

Sunset watched as Chance scrambled to get on his knees and activate the Omnitrix, only for Sunset to walk forward, trying to approach him. Chance acted on his instincts, getting up fast as he tried to throw a punch, only for Sunset to quickly dodge it, and watch as Chance tried to pull himself together, gather his bearings and try to recognize that he wasn't in any danger. Chance rubbed his eyes and looked at Sunset, desperately trying to approach him. Sunset was genuinely a bit scared as Chance rushed at her like that, but she knew that this wasn't a typical response. Sunset got close and put her hands on his face, trying to hold him still. She activated her geode, only to immediately recoil and let him go.

Chance opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, he just fell flat onto the ground, breathing heavily and erratically. Chance could barely hear what Sunset was saying, but she seemed to be yelling at someone. Chance tried to move, but he just couldn't, he felt like his body was forcing him to relax, to be still. Chance was trying to cry out for help, because as much as it killed him to admit, he desperately needed it. Unfortunately, all that could come out of his mouth was a weak whimper and baited breaths. Unbeknownst to him, the Omnitrix was flashing yellow the whole time.

Back in Canterlot City, the five girls were running as fast as they could, pushing through the doors of Canterlot High. The numerous individuals of Canterlot City were on the prowl, hunting for them, chasing them down with no chance of relenting. Applejack saw the door to the basement, as well as a few child sized DNAliens blocking their path. Begrudgingly, Applejack activated her geode and stomped a foot onto the ground, causing small rock pillars to launch them aside. "Go! Get that damn door open, I'll buy yall some time!" Applejack's eyes glowed orange as she crossed her arms in an 'X' formation, causing several rock pillars to jut out from the walls in many directions, blocking off the DNAliens. "Hurry!" Applejack exclaimed.

Rarity pulled out a bobby pin and handed it to Dash, who immediately started attempting to pick the lock. As she did, a few Xenocites started to approach, and much to Fluttershy's dismay, one DNAlien managed to get past Applejack's blockade. A small white bunny rabbit with a wicked glint in its eye. The DNAlienized Angel Bunny lunged forward, trying to attack Fluttershy, but Pinkie quickly intercepted the attack by smacking him away with the broom handle. "Sorry, Fluttershy, but it was for the greater good!" Pinkie apologized.

Dash continued to jiggle the handle and try to pick the lock, but soon enough, the DNAliens were starting to break through her blockade, much to the farm girl's annoyance. "Why in tarnation did these things have to be more stubborn than a hornet's nest in a skunk's den on the hottest day in June!?" One of the DNAliens popped their head in, only for Rarity to push them back, creating some constructs over the holes. "Thanks partner!" Applejack complimented.

Rarity nodded. "Dash, darling, not to rush you or anything, but they're starting to break through! Hurry up and get it open, or we're going down!" Rarity called out.

Dash frantically moved and jiggled both the bobby pin and the handle, and finally managed to unlock it. "Yes, I got it!! Hurry, before- AH!!" Dash was flung back as a large muscular DNAlien burst through the door, with parts of the host revealing itself as Bulk Biceps. Dash's moment of celebration then devolved into a moment of devastation. "Oh come on!!" Dash got back up to her feet, gritting her teeth as electricity started to crackle around her body. "Can't I catch a break!? Just leave us alone!!" Dash exclaimed.

Bulk rushed towards Dash, only to then be blasted back by a bright spark of electrical energy, causing the infected Bulk to crash onto the infected Angel Bunny. "Everyone! Basement! Now!" Applejack exclaimed.

The five girls quickly rushed down to the basement, only to see a whole bunch of xenocite pods and a weird silky film webbed up in most places. "Something tells me Twilight's not down here!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Rarity snapped her fingers. "Then she must still be at her house! We need to get out of here before we get boxed in! There's an exit on the other side of the basement, it looks like a root cellar! Move!" Rarity stated.

Out of options, the five girls rushed through the room, all while the xenocites started to detect their presence, and immediately started to seek them out. The girls moved quickly and carefully, making sure no one got separated for even a moment, even as a Xenocite clung to Fluttershy's back, a well-placed zap from Dash's electricity was enough to send it scuttling away. Thankfully, Rarity was right, there was another way out. Unfortunately, there were a lot of Xenocites that were a bit too eager to meet them, and blocked off the exit, all while Xenocites started to surround them. "Well, damn it! We're surrounded! Put a shield up, Rares, we can't take the chance! We got this far, we can't give up now!" Applejack exclaimed.

Rarity tried to put up a shield, but the construct immediately dissipated into sparkling particles. "I'm a bit exhausted, darling! Can't you bust us out of here?!" Rarity suggested, backing up as the Xenocites started to get closer.

Applejack stomped on the ground, but aside from agitating the xenocites, she soon found that her powers weren't working either. "Oh crabapples..." Applejack muttered, backing up as the xenocites started closing in.

Pinkie swung the broom handle at the parasites, trying to keep them at bay. Unfortunately, she soon saw the DNAliens starting to flood in from where they initially came from. Pinkie dropped the broom handle and started to back up, as did Dash. "Oh man, this is not how I thought it would end! I thought we'd go out in a bang, go out on our own terms, something other than this! Please, someone say they have a plan!!" Dash pleaded.

Fluttershy was starting to get scared, then her geode started glowing. Fluttershy's fear soon started to become agitation, and then it became anger. Fluttershy squeezed her eyes closed, all while her emotions started to bubble up and boil to the surface. Fluttershy turned to the numerous xenocites and DNAliens closing in on them, and snapped her eyes open, glowing brightly.

The light that cascaded from Fluttershy's eyes seemed to stop the xenocites, as well as cause the DNAliens to end up on the backfoot. Fluttershy growled and glared at the parasites around her, causing them to back off and scuttle away. The four girls were surprised, as well as mildly terrified. "Well I'll be! Nice job, Fluttershy!" Applejack congratulated.

The four girls quickly walked up the stairs and kicked the doors wide open, with Fluttershy following after them close behind, her eyes starting to glow less and less. "I-I really hope you girls didn't mind me letting off some steam... I d-didn't mean to frighten you, i-if I did..." Fluttershy apologized.

Dash smiled and nudged Fluttershy's shoulder. "Think nothing of it, we're just glad to finally be out of there!" Applejack quickly closed the doors and barred it shut with a couple wooden planks. "But now we need to go to Twilight's, all while the whole city's after us! We need a vehicle, I can't run us all the way there, my magic's kinda tapped out." Dash remarked.

Pinkie nodded as she slumped down, sitting on the grass. "I think I'd personally like to find a place to rest, even if it's just for a moment. We ran around all night last night, and the whole time this morning! We're gonna be running on fumes if we keep this up any longer. Lets rest first, then go find Twilight." Pinkie suggested.

Rarity yawned and rubbed her eyes. "As much as I don't want to admit, we do need to rest. Our magic is running low from constant use, and it'd be nice to have a car! I don't care if it's a limousine or a hatchback, anything'll do, by this point. I refuse to be picky." Rarity agreed.

The sound of the cellar doors being hit and slammed against echoed out, leading to the five girls agreeing that they needed to hide. The girls quickly looked over to a truck and piled in. Dash used whatever electricity she could muster to start the vehicle up, and Applejack drove them out, moving through the emptied streets of Canterlot City with desperate need for a hiding spot those creatures won't find.

Rarity leaned back against her seat, sighing. "I can only wonder how Sunset's handling any of this, if she's seen these things at all." Rarity wondered.

The girls didn't respond, but they agreed. If these things were giving them trouble, all they could do in that moment was think about how Sunset was handling this situation. Things were gonna get much worse if they weren't stopped, but the girls kept their heads held high, ready to keep on fighting. But for now, hiding was their only chance.

Back at the RV, Chance had finally calmed down, all while Luna and Sunset tried to keep him still. "S-Sleep no, c-can't s-sleep, won't sle-ep." Chance muttered to himself, breathing heavily.

Sunset and Luna stood over him, watching with concern as Chance fidgeted in place, all while he quickly glanced around the room, seeing nothing but a pale mockery of the RV's interior. To him, everything was made out of purple and red metals, almost like they were the veins of a giant. The cold sensation he felt was persistent. Even when he was dressed in two sweatshirts, two pairs of sweatpants, jeans, a puffy jacket, and had the heat on as high as it could go, he still felt cold, colder than a lifeless body on the coldest night in December with a heavy snowstorm blowing down, burying the snow underneath its blanket of frozen cold numbness.

Luna sighed. "So he just got up, started to panic, and tried to attack you?" Luna asked.

Sunset nodded. "In his defense, I think he was still pretty asleep, even after he woke up. He saw something he needed to fight, but it's strange, I tried to look in his head, then try to calm him down, but the moment I looked in, I had to pull back... I saw darkness, and one of those weird DNAlien things that the Omnitrix keeps talking about. It was trying to take the Omnitrix away from a much larger creature, it looked like a DNAlien, like Chance had mentioned before, but it was much larger, bleached white, and those eyes... those red eyes, it was freaky looking," Luna's blood started to run cold, a sense of danger crept up her spine. "I tried to find where Chance was, but all I could see was a DNAlien, and some other creature, fighting for the Omnitrix." Sunset explained.

Luna looked over at the fidgeting teen, and decided to sit down beside him. "Mister Marsten, are you alright?" Chance didn't respond. Sure, he was able to meet her gaze for a moment, but his face terrified Luna. He looked terrified, scared to death. Chance looked at his hands, his skin was getting pale, and the tips of his fingers were getting blacker and blacker, like the jagged talons of some unholy creature spawned from the coldest depths of hell itself. "Chance, tell me what's wrong. Clearly you aren't well, what do you need?" Luna asked, pulling the teenager into a hug.

Chance immediately tried to pull away, the fear in his eyes was enough of a sign, and the yellow bloodshot in his eyes made it so much more obvious. Luna bit her thumb and looked over to the fridge. Out of options, Luna had one idea, but she wasn't sure if it would work, not that she had any other options. Luna sighed and got up. "Wait right here, mister Marsten, I think there's something that might be able to help you," Luna walked over to the fridge and opened the bottom door, seeing a red button on the side. Without hesitation, she pressed it, opening a small compartment in the interior side of the door, revealing a small glass jar of green-colored beans, as well as a small vial of red and blue syrup. She grabbed them, as well as taking a small tub of vanilla ice cream and a gallon of milk. "You've worked pretty hard already and stressed yourself out, it's all coming back to kick ya. Thankfully, I might just have the remedy to fix this. Sunset, try to keep him awake, this won't take too long." Luna requested, walking over to the counter.

Sunset was very confused, as well as concerned for what Luna was going to prepare, but by this point, she knew this was something she had to expect. It wasn't gonna be pretty, but Sunset sat by her friend, ensuring that it wouldn't be an easy escape.

Luna opened up a blender and started to get to work, pulling out an aged and very crumpled piece of folded paper. She unfolded it and read the writing on it carefully. Luna opened the glass jar of beans and took out around fifteen of them, then used a knife to cut into them and mince them up into a fine bright green powder. Luna added several scoops of ice cream and poured the milk in right after. Carefully, Luna put the powder into a small grinding bowl, then added the vial of blue and red syrup to the mixture, causing it to bubble upon immediate contact. Luna quickly worked at mixing the syrup and powder together, all while a very salty, sweet, herbal and medicinal smell filled the confines of the RV. Sunset was now very unsure of what Luna was trying to make, but to the alien hero, he slowly stopped fidgeting.

Once Luna was sure the stuff had been mixed properly, the substance in the bowl was now a vibrant earthy purple color with the consistency of a fudge topping. Luna dumped every last bit of the substance into the blender, and popped the lid on, then started to blend. Sunset watched as the mixture slowly became more and more of a lighter purple, and finally, her own curiosity finally got the better of her. The magical girl got up and quickly snatched the paper off the counter and started to read off the ingredients, much to Luna's dismay. "Fifteen Senzu beans finely minced, Manzardill syrup base, what in the hell is any of this, a keto diet for aliens?!" Sunset asked, clearly confused as to what this remedy was going to do.

Luna frowned. "It's a bit rude to take things that aren't yours, miss Shimmer," Luna took the paper back and stuffed it in her pocket, then grabbed a large glass from the cupboard and poured the bright lavender purple concoction into it, only to top it off with whipped cream and a straw. "There, now it's complete. All we have to do now, is get him to drink it." Luna stated.

Before Luna could set the glass onto the table, Sunset stood in her way. "What is going on?" Sunset asked sternly.

Luna sighed. "Miss Shimmer, if he doesn't take this, his condition could become much worse. I know you're curious, and you have every right to be, but standing in the way of his recovery is not gonna solve anything." Luna argued.

Sunset grabbed the glass and backed away. "Tell me how you'd even know to make something like this! Where and what in the wide world even was any of that stuff?!" Sunset questioned.

Luna was starting to get agitated and marched forward. "Sunset, if you spill that, he may never recover! I understand fully that you don't understand what's going on in my head, and that's honestly for the best! There are things I've seen, experienced and done personally myself that make me feel proud and ashamed to this day. I'm sure it isn't a shock to you, but the DNAliens are something I'm very experienced with... and I am well aware of the dangers that are associated with them. Is that what you wish to hear?" Luna inquired.

Sunset did not feel satisfied with that answer and backed up further, much to Luna's aggravation. "How long have you known? What are you hiding from us?! Why even try to hide it now!?" Sunset exclaimed.

Luna groaned. "I've known for a couple decades! I've been at this for a while, and I'm not particularly proud of most of the things I've done back then. I moved on, got a simpler job with my sister, but now that the Omnitrix is strapped to him, my hands are now being forced to push forward, to dig up the past and help you two understand the danger that's coming, or might already be here!" Sunset stood firm, clutching the cold glass in her hands. "Please understand, I didn't initially want to hide any of this, but after what happened back at Camp Everfree, then Jaxton, and at Knöledgge with the bounty hunters, everything was already getting too chaotic. On top of mister Marsten's numerous issues, coupled with the issues that now plague him because of the Omnitrix, he needs to be at his best, or he won't be able to handle the worst of what's to come." Luna explained.

Sunset hesitated for the moment, just letting all of that information slowly sink in to her head. She looked at the drink in her hands, then back at Luna. "Is this even safe for human consumption?" Sunset asked.

Luna nodded. "It was a recipe from an old colleague of mine. Loved to party, and especially loved communing with aliens. He was a wild, easily-tempted and crazy man, but he had a heart of gold and a silver part to his soul. He gave me the recipe, and I've given it to Celestia and Cadence whenever they fell ill. I've even made it for me when I get a faulty flu shot during flu season," Sunset was unconvinced. "It boosts your immune system drastically to fight off foreign germs and illnesses, it's sweet and herbal so it's not bland, it's cold, which reduces swelling, and it's a very easy to adapt recipe. The only downside to this recipe is that as of late, Senzu beans are becoming rarer and much harder to cultivate by the passing year. Thankfully, my old mentor was willing to spare a small stash of them, just in case anything went wrong... judging by mister Marsten's condition, I'd say my mentor made the right choice." Luna explained.

The two looked over at the teen, his breathing was becoming raspy and ragged. Luna sighed and looked back at Sunset, seeing the hesitation and uncertainty. "Sunset, I know how odd all of this must sound, imagine how I reacted when I was your age. Seventeen and discovering all of this crazy shit, it would drive anyone with nerves of steel mad, but it's still the truth. Look, I'm willing to come to a compromise, if that's alright with you," Sunset looked over at Luna, seeing the worry in her eyes. "If you give Chance the remedy and let it do what it's supposed to, then I'll explain everything, I'll come clean when we get to our next destination... I promise, I won't leave you and him without answers. Just be warned, once you have what you're looking for, I'm fairly certain that things won't be same. It won't be like the fall formal, miss Shimmer, nothing will be the same as it once was, even our little dynamic won't be as it was before. Do we have a deal?" Luna suggested, holding her hand out for a handshake.

Sunset heard a thud, and looked over at Chance, who ended up sliding out of his seat and collapsing onto the floor. Luna and Sunset were terrified. Violet cracks started to form on Chance's face, and he weakly reached out. Sunset quickly shook Luna's hand, and the both of them quickly got him propped back up in his seat. Sunset pushed the straw into his mouth, and Luna helped him grasp the glass, just to prevent it from spilling.

The pair watched as the teen weakly drank the blended remedy, seeming offput by the mild earthy aftertaste it had, but was starting to feel a lot better, if not incredibly tired. Chance slowly put the cup on the table and continued to drink, slowly enjoying how everything was starting to feel much better. He felt like with every sip, he was eating a whole sweet feast. After the last two sips he could manage, Chance leaned back and rubbed his stomach. The cracks on his face were now gone, the yellow bloodshot in his eyes lessened, returning to the usual red color, and even that started to lessen. The dark rings under Chance's eyes slowly started to recede, but eventually stopped at one point. Chance rubbed his head, specifically the part that collided with the dash, and while he still felt a bump beneath all his hair, it didn't hurt, or feel sore.

Chance got up and stretched, yawning as he looked over at the pair, who smiled. "Uh, you guys want... whatever this is? I don't know what kind of shake this is, but I gotta admit, it's pretty good. This must be that gourmet shit I heard so much about," Chance took a deep breath and took another sip, once again wincing at the earthy aftertaste, but reveled in how sweet and comforting it was. "How much did this cost, a thousand dollars? Sure tastes like it!" Chance looked around and noticed that the motel wasn't in sight. Instead, they were in a large parking lot. "Where are we? How the hell did we get here?" Chance inquired, seeming oblivious to the strange predicament that was ailing him.

Luna chuckled a bit and pulled Chance into a hug. "We'll talk about it when we get to Mount Rushmore. For now, you've been through a lot. Finish up your shake, and try to rest up a bit, you look like you need it," Chance was confused, but decided to think nothing of it. Chance took the straw and started to mix what remained of the drink with the whipped cream, and decided to chug it down. Chance then proceeded to get up and head to the back of the RV. "Oh, and Chance?" The teen hero looked back at Luna with a curious look. "If you have another nightmare... you can always talk with us about it, so we can help you make sense of it." Luna reassured.

Chance seemed a bit confused, and just gave a thumbs up, then went to go take a quick nap. Sunset looked back at Luna, the two shared a look and seemed uncertain. "I hope you keep your end of the deal, miss Luna," Sunset sat down at the booth as her phone goes off. She pulls her phone out, seeing a new message from Twilight. Sunset cautiously opens it, noticing that it was another apology. Sunset's face scrunches up and she turns her phone off, pocketing it as she laid her head on the table. "Something has to change..." Sunset said solemnly.

Twilight noticed that her message was read, and simply turned her phone off. "Apologies come first, I won't force her to talk if she doesn't want to. Just need to keep working." Twilight told herself.

She pocketed her phone and looked at her screen, looking at a digital photo she took of one of the clippings hanging on a yarn board in her lab. 'NEW HATCHERY OPENS IN CANTERLOT CITY! HELP WANTED! APPLY TODAY!' was written in big bold letters.

Twilight sighed and leaned back, closing her eyes for a moment, thinking about how things came to this point. 'Think Twilight, what would Sunset do in this situation... missing people, a hatchery opens up, and you haven't heard from your friends in days... what do I do?' Twilight thought, laying her head down in the dark.

To Be Continued

Author's Note

Well, the finale for Season 1 is underway! Really gonna take my time with this one, just because I want to convey this part of the story as best as I can. I also wanted to show the other six girls' perspective on what's been going on. Didn't focus a lot on the trio much for good reason, may or may not be revealed in Part 2, haven't decided yet.

It also made sense to give the other six some importance this time around. I wouldn't have tagged the Main 7 if it was all for literally nothing. It also helps with introducing what I've been experimenting with. I figured since the Main 7 were essentially the Elements of Harmony, but superheroes, I'd go full-on with the superhero idea, even gave them powers that correlate in some way to what their equestrian counterparts' special talents pertain to.

Rarity can now create weapons with her constructs, Fluttershy has her intimidating stare, Dash has electrokinesis, Applejack has Geokinesis, Sunset has tapped into something more... primordial, and Pinkie has her Pinkie Senses, or simply known as Pre-Cognition, with her odd premonitions of stuff in the future. I'll most likely show Twilight's new power off in Part 2, maybe, still haven't decided yet.

Also, for those who might be curious, the illness that Chance was undergoing is a fictional disease I dubbed 'Stress Disarmer'. It's similar to sleep paralysis, Full-Body Paralysis, heat stroke, the flu and hypothermia, but just slightly less lethal.

Stress Disarmer will only manifest in someone after a particularly damaging moment of neuron scrambling (like biting into mechanical flesh as an alien zombie).

It causes the infected individual's sleeping patterns to become more and more erratic and detrimental, as well as making them more agitated and aggressive in their tone and actions. Soon enough, all it takes is one nightmare or a bad dream to cause the user to wake up halfway and start attacking those in their vicinity, only for the antibodies in the infected to immediately rush to the brain, and force the body to undergo immediate paralysis.

Soon enough, the infected will regain little control over their motor functions, essentially fidgeting and shaking, feeling ice cold and white hot burning. Their breathing will get ragged, the infected will start to hallucinate, develop minor signs of paranoia, all while the stress is killing them slowly, like a poison coursing through the veins.

There was only one way to cure it, and that was to isolate the diseased cells in the infected body, and then purge them with artificial antibodies, usually administered through a flu shot. But, unless you're someone like Luna, who's more than prepared for these kinds of situations, there's always another option.

Speaking of, things are starting to get a bit tense. There's a bit of a disconnect between Luna and Sunset, all while Chance is none the wiser, for the time being. Hopefully they'll be able to come together, because at the rate they're going, it's gonna be a difficult call.

Hope you enjoyed this part, Part 2 is in the works!

S1, Episode 14: Invasive Secrets, Part 2

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Invasive Secrets,
Part 2

Up above, a news-station helicopter is following police cars chasing a speeding armored car under the pale moonlight. "We're live on the scene of a high-speed police pursuit of an armored car stolen earlier today from the federal reserve in Denver. It is believed the thieves also have a hostage, we're looking at a very dangerous situation tonight, folks." The reporter spoke.

Along the highway, they speed past Luna's RV and a large amethyst crystal grows out from the pavement, completely destroying the undercarriage of the car. The effect makes it spin and completely stop, crashing into the metal guard rails as it topples over. The police cars surround the vehicle, each cop was armed with different guns, practically expecting a fight. One of the criminals gets out of the vehicle with the hostage, and the other holding a rather large rifle, aiming it at the cops. The thug shoots the rifle and before it could hit the cop, Armethyst lands right in front of the vehicle, absorbing the shot as he glowed with energy. "Wait, what's this? Looks like the alien hero known as 'Armethyst' has joined the fight!" The reporter exclaimed.

The thug aims the rifle at Armethyst, but he fires a powered-up shard to his side, scaring the thug. Armethyst glares at the thug, then traps him by making a large crystal emerge from below him. "Yessir, looks like another alien sighting, folks!" the reporter announced.

The other thug walks closer to Armethyst with the hostage, but the alien hero doesn't seem that worried. Armethyst shifts his hands into large jagged blades and stares the criminal down. "You sure you want the smoke, pal, or do you really want me to give your cellmates a new hole to work with?" The criminal immediately surrendered, terrified of the alien's words. "Uh-huh, that's what I thought. Alright boys, you can take it from here. My work here's done, and it's been a long night." Armethyst announced, walking away from the scene, leaving the cops perplexed, but still appreciative for an easy job.

The reporter watches as Armethyst leaves the scene, only to see him throw up a peace sign the reporter's way. "We don't know where these strange creatures come from, but they seem to be here to help. This was James Johnson, keeping the news unfiltered and as weird as it comes! Have a goodnight, folks, and rest easy! The world has its valiant protectors watching out for us!" the reporter announced.

On Reinrassic's ship, Reinrassic himself watches the broadcast from his rehabilitation chamber. "This is a joke... The Omnitrix... wasted on pointless heroics! All the while, he continues to thwart my integration plans!" Reinrassic scoffed.

One of the DNAliens approached, holding a data pad. "Shall I dispatch more drones to retrieve it, General?" it asked.

Reinrassic shook his head. "Not this time, halfbreed vermin," the chamber opens up and one of the medical bots crawl out, only to be crushed by a massive metal foot. Reinrassic stepped out, fully rehabilitated, with a few extra features. He has a huge robotic leg on his right, a cybernetic arm on his left, four red eye-like spots on his chest, and has now unfurled a set of wings. "I've waited long enough, and all of our efforts have been in vain, basic failures. Alert all the drones in the Omnitrix's last known location and tell them that it's time to invade, I will see to collecting the Omnitrix myself!" Reinrassic proclaimed.

Chance floats around the strange vision world, clutching his head in pain. "Hear me and listen, wielder of the Omnitrix. Your time is coming very, very soon. Your will to fight will determine the fate of your planet. I've been trying to take you out and claim the Omnitrix as mine, but you're a persistent pain in my side. I'd be impressed by your tenacity, if you weren't a member of such inferior low-life vermin. Keep counting down to the end, vermin, because I'm coming for you now! I won't go down so easily!" Reinrassic's voice echoed out.

Chance screamed out, falling through the void as he clutched his head. The unexplained ringing in his head, that was all he could hear, he couldn't even hear his own screams of pain and suffering. Chance tried to fight the pain, only to be enveloped in a blinding light as his screams peter out.

Chance snapped his eyes open and screamed, sitting up as he wiped the sweat off his face. Sunset stirred in her sleep, then started waking up, seeing that Chance was getting out of bed, then sat down on the ground. Luna came in, rubbing her eyes as she approached the frightened teen. "Another nightmare, mister Marsten? That's five in the past few hours... rather impressive, but also equally concerning." Luna remarked, kneeling down.

Chance shook his head and tried to wake himself up a bit more. "I-It was that weird alien from my vision. I couldn't see it this time, but it spoke out to me! That freaky ass bastard has been out for my head ever since I found this stupid watch!" Chance exclaimed, still clearly shaken up.

Sunset sat up and stretched her arms. "You sure that shake isn't just making your nightmares worse?" Sunset asked.

Chance looked back at Sunset, clearly not amused by her answer. "It's just a bad dream, son. We can talk about it in the morning, alright?" Luna suggested, getting up as she walked away.

Chance got up. "You don't understand, this didn't feel like the last few nightmares! It felt too real, my head was pulsating, aching like it has never ached before! He said for me to keep counting down, because he's coming for me, and he won't go down easily." Chance stated.

Sunset seemed concerned, but Luna just stopped, a look of shock formed on her face. "On second thought, change of plans. We're hitting the road right now." Luna stated, rushing over to the driver's seat.

Chance and Sunset look at each other, with Chance being very confused. "What's got her spooked?" Chance asked.

Sunset shrugged her shoulders. "Miss Luna, it's three in the morning!" Sunset pointed out.

Luna looked back with a smile. "The best time to beat traffic, I always say!" Luna commented, starting the RV and driving away.

Chance looked back at Sunset, who continued to feign ignorance. "Well, can't argue with that kind of logic. Traffic fuckin' sucks during vacation! The earlier, the better!" Chance remarked, hopping back onto his bed.

Sunset looked at Luna, who was starting to tense up. 'She knows something, that much is clear. She's familiar with aliens and alien sounding remedies, she's clearly scared, and she wants to go to Mount Rushmore, for some reason... there's gotta be something there she's not telling us about.' Sunset thought, laying her head back down on her pillow.

Luna looked back, seeing the two teenagers trying to go back to sleep. Luna looked back to the road, sighing as a look of concern formed on her face. 'I'm doing the right thing. I know I'm doing the right thing. I'm doing this for them. I'm doing this for them... they're not ready yet, but that won't matter.' Luna thought, a fearful expression forming on her face as she gripped onto the steering wheel tightly.

Under the cover of night, the girls drove through the empty roads of Canterlot City. The teen heroines bear witness to how far across the city the DNAliens have spread their parasites. The beach was littered with tons of abandoned personal items, food that's begun to spoil, as well as more Xenocite pods. Applejack turned the car down one of the streets, seeing Twilight's place up ahead. "Alright girls, get ready! We're almost there." Applejack announced.

Applejack brought the truck to a stop a few blocks away from Twilight's home, and the girls slowly got out, readying themselves in case there was a nasty surprise waiting for them. Applejack motioned for the others to follow close behind, and Dash quickly moved up beside Applejack, readying her electrical abilities.

The girls walked slowly, staying close together as they listened to the sound of their foot steps, along with the eerie silence of Canterlot City. Pinkie gulped and stayed behind Rarity, who had kept her constructs up as shields. "Well, this is an unexpected change." Rarity said cautiously.

Applejack didn't look back, but she knew what Rarity was talking about. "It's quiet..." Applejack remarked, a sense of uncomfortableness crept up the farm girl's spine, but she remained resolute.

Dash, on the other hand, was pretty put off by the silence. "Yeah... too quiet," Dash looked around, watching as a small breeze picks up, carrying a couple scattered newspapers into the air. "There's no way they gave up on hunting us, just like that... right?" Dash asked, unsettled by the silence in the streets.

Fluttershy looked around, only to see a couple birds chirping in the air, flying past them. "The birds are noticing a steady decline in the temperature. It's getting too cold for the birds... they're migrating." Fluttershy pointed out.

Rarity looked towards one of the houses, feeling an unsettling sensation of deja vu. The house was run down, abandoned, a window was broken, yet it reminded her of someone. Without a moment of hesitation, Rarity shuddered as she walked past it. "If the animals can tell something's wrong, then it's safe to say that we need to set things right. How much further till we get to Twilight's, darling?" Rarity asked.

Applejack stopped, holding her hand up. Everyone else stopped and looked ahead. Twilight's home was up ahead, and in rough shape. The glass in the windows were broken, but they were also boarded up from the inside. The front door was open ajar, until something closed it. Applejack sneered at the home of her friend, and looked around, listening closely to the environment.

The birds had stopped chirping. The bugs stopped making noise. The air was starting to smell stale, wrought with a foul odor that permeated the girls' nostrils. "We need to get inside, ASAP. Dash, help me with the door. Flutters, Pinkie, stay behind Rarity. Rares, make a shield and don't let it down until we're all inside, understand?" Applejack instructed.

The girls nodded, AJ and Dash ran up to the door, all while the other three girls stayed close, with Rarity creating a large bright gem construct, and spreading it out across the lawn. Applejack tried to twist the knob, but it was clearly apparent that whoever was inside, locked it up tight. "Crabapples, we're gonna have to break it open," Applejack stepped back and looked at Dash. "Ya ready, partner?" Applejack asked.

Dash backed up and nodded. The two girls rammed against the door with their shoulders, and though the door did let out a loud cracking sound, wood splintering apart from the impact, it was still standing. "A couple more times, then." Dash remarked.

AJ and Dash continued to ram into the door, all while Rarity kept an eye out for the DNAliens. Rarity stayed focused, keeping an eye out on anything out of place, all the while, her mind drifted off to other thoughts, mainly the aftermath of Anon-A-Miss. She didn't know why she was thinking about that now, but I guess she still knows that Sunset hasn't forgiven them yet. "Darlings, I know this may not be the best time to ask this, but may I ask you an important question?" Rarity asked.

Applejack sighed, still trying to ram the door down. "If it's about your looks and your clothes, that ain't what I'd dub important." Applejack stated, ramming into the door with all her might. She could've resorted to using her geode's magic, but she wanted to use it when she absolutely needed to.

Rarity sighed. "I'd say it's pretty important... it's not about my looks or my clothes, but... it does pertain to Sunset, and where she stands with us." Rarity stated.

Applejack stopped, letting herself register what Rarity just said. The farm girl sighed and got ready to ram the door again. "What's the question, sugarcube?" Applejack asked out of obligation.

Rarity took a deep breath, and just let it all out. "Think about everything we've been through. Sunset was initially a bully, but the more I think about how things used to be, the more it seemed like we were too harsh to judge her. When she had a change of heart, and wanted to be our friend, it wasn't easy to accept her forgiveness, but we did it anyway. We stopped the sirens, we saved the friendship games, we also saved Camp Everfree and got our powers, and even then, out of all the most dangerous threats we faced, the one thing that disconnected our friendship, was Anon-A-Miss," The girls seemed uncomfortable, now expressing bits of shame, remorse, regret, as well as sadness. "What I'm trying to ask here is simple... Sunset has every right to make her own decision, whether it's to forget about us, or forgive us. Have you girls truly sat down and thought about how Sunset was not just hurt emotionally, but physically and mentally by what we've done... and still thought you deserve her forgiveness?" Rarity questioned.

Dash stopped ramming against the door and looked back at Rarity, a mix of guilt and shame formed on the athlete's face. "You girls already know what happened with me and Sunset... maybe I do still want some forgiveness, because she's my friend. Yet... I can't help but agree that I don't deserve it..." Dash admitted.

Applejack looked at Dash, only to sigh and stop her efforts. "I didn't wanna say any of what I said, but I said it anyway. Even after it was revealed that Sunset wasn't the red-handed culprit we all thought she was, it didn't make the pain go away. I'm willin' to admit, I've made many mistakes. No one's perfect and made out of plastic, but I can't help but wake up at night sometimes, wonderin' if I'm doin' the right thing," Applejack sighed and pulled her phone out, looking at the wallpaper, showing herself and Sunset sharing a couple bottles of cider. The permanent smiles in the image just made the farm girl hurt more. "Every action has its share of consequences, and each one hurts more than a pair of hooves to the face and landin' cheek first on hot coals... I'm not entirely sure I deserve any kind of forgiveness, but I still want to make things right... I just don't know how." Applejack confessed.

Rarity took a deep breath and sighed. "I certainly didn't feel better canceling Sunset's order for a new fall formal dress, or tearing up the one I completed out of anger and spite... I still have it in my room, hanging up on my door. It constantly reminds me of how I abandoned a friend when she needed me, and got greedy out of spite for the situation... I still want to make things right, and Sunset said she was looking forward to what I could offer, but I've had such a dreadful block on my creativity ever since..." Rarity admitted.

Pinkie sat down and buried her head in her knees. She remembered that day too well, the way she came home in a fit of rage, plotting to make intentionally harmful gags to use on Sunset, it made her so upset. She couldn't get back into the swing of things. She missed days, to weeks, to nearly a month and a half of work at Sugarcube Corner. Even after finding out it wasn't Sunset, it didn't make her feel any better, actually quite the opposite. Thinking back on it now, when Canterlot City and its citizens are in danger, it was enough to make Pinkie's head explode with how horrible she still felt. Making things right with Sunset was something she wanted so badly to do, but even she didn't have an idea of where to start.

Fluttershy didn't say a word, she just sulked. She felt terrible, she felt sick to her stomach, she remembered all the horrible things she did and said to Sunset's face. It was painful and nearly drove the shy girl to tears just remembering it all, but what hurt her the most was that she couldn't show her friend, the one who was in need of a friend to help her the most through such a difficult time, she couldn't show her an ounce of kindness. Fluttershy wanted to help all of those in Canterlot City right now, but how could she, she didn't help her friend back then.

The girls stood at the door, letting their repressed emotions run wild in their heads, but before they could focus on that for too long, the sound of locks being unlocked caught their attention. The door was being unlocked thoroughly, and as the door opened up, Twilight stepped out, wiping her glasses, and her face, of the tears she shed, all while bearing a sad smile as she dusted her lab coat off. "How about you all come on in, head down to the lab, and help me out with finding a solution to his mess." Twilight suggested.

The girls smiled and nodded their heads, walking inside as Twilight shut the door, re-locking it. Unbeknownst to them, the DNAlienized Angel Bunny was hiding on the rooftop, following them from out of sight. The controlled bunny hopped away, now certain of where the girls had gone off to.

Within the basement, Twilight had set up her lab, and after doing a thorough check-up on each of her friends, she kindly escorted them. "Nice to know I'm not totally alone. I was genuinely about to think I was the only one left in the city who hadn't been turned into one of the monsters outside." Twilight commented, reassured that her friends were alright.

Applejack looked around, noticing the yarn board on her wall, as well as the empty dog bed. "Where's-"

"Spike?" Twilight interrupted. "He... he didn't make it. It took me a fair bit to even recognize that my basement wasn't as permanent of a solution as I initially thought, and one of those parasites managed to get him in the cover of darkness... he's still in the storage closet, and I've carefully blocked it off, just so he couldn't get out and attack me. It hurt to know I was completely alone down here, especially when Spike is under that thing's control, but with you five now confirmed to be alive and untouched by these extraterrestrial parasites, that's changed everything substantially!" Twilight explained.

Dash raised an eyebrow. "How so, egghead? Do you actually have a plan to fix everyone?" Dash asked.

Twilight chuckled. "Absolutely not. I took several blood samples from the parasite itself, even got some strange goo samples to boot. I've run the data hundreds of times already, these parasites are fused to their hosts. They're stronger and more aggressive, but they do have a very significant weakness to extreme heat. Haven't you girls noticed the occasional snowflake falling outside?" Twilight typed away at her computer, bringing up a live video recording from a security camera, showing a huge tower off in the distance that stood above the clouds. The girls were astonished and practically speechless. "They're controlling the weather, making it colder so they can thrive in typically hotter climates or more urban environments." Twilight explained.

Rarity approached the computer and noticed so much stuff that was open on Twilight's tabs. "Twilight, darling, as incredible of a find as this is, what have you been doing down here, while we've been recently figuring out that everyone has been turned into a bunch of disgusting parasite monsters!?" Rarity questioned.

Twilight pulled up a few tabs, one of them being about the strange hatchery. "This is what started my research. You don't open up a hatchery in the middle of a place like Canterlot, if none of the things you're hatching can even survive in this kind of climate. I've marked down every possible and impossible option for what they'd be hatching over there, but when you have every option marked as incorrect, it makes you wonder what the correct answer even is... and I've theorized that those parasites are what they're hatching." Twilight explained.

Applejack was very confused, but at the same time, she figured there was something up. "Is it possible that they started shippin' these freaky varmints to bigger marketing competitors, making sure that they were taken over, but also ensuring that they'd have more space for their stock?" Applejack asked curiously.

Twilight nodded her head. "I'm aware of what happened at Sweet Apple Acres, Applejack. It's honestly surprising that they never tried to make you one of them," Applejack was surprised at that response, but before she could say anything, Twilight pulled up camera footage of the same night Dash showed up. "With your geode's power at their command, it would make whatever they're planning so much easier with more bulk behind their army of infected." Twilight explained.

Applejack was beyond confused. "What in the hell!? We don't have cameras at Sweet Apple Acres! Granny Smith barely even remembers how to use the old polaroid camera!" Applejack yelled out in frustration.

Twilight nodded. "That's because they put it up. It took me some time to hack into the city's camera feed, gaining eyes and ears everywhere, but I was finally able to do it. Dash was honestly smart for pulling you away from the farm. If these parasites got their hold on any of us, I doubt Earth would stand a chance, unless these strange alien heroes show up to shut them down," Twilight brought up numerous viral clips of Chance's alien forms doing good and selfless acts. Riptile saving a bus load of children from drowning, Nitrofrost putting out a forest fire, Crime Detector tracking down corrupt cops at a drug deal, Twilight was keeping close tabs on them. Rarity was rather impressed and very satisfied at what she saw. "These creatures started showing up around the same time that meteor fell to Earth." Twilight explained.

Fluttershy was confused, she wasn't understanding any of this very well. "T-Twilight... w-what does t-this have to d-do with the m-m-monsters?" Fluttershy asked.

Twilight sighed, shrinking the images and videos. "It's nothing substantial, not without more evidence," Twilight brought the hatchery-related stuff back on screen. "But in relation to the monsters, I believe that the hatchery, along with these monsters, they are the cause of all the missing persons cases." Twilight stated.

Applejack was now very confused. "Ya had me, but now ya done lost me, sugarcube, how in tarnation do the missing people come into play?" Applejack asked.

Twilight pressed one button on her keyboard, bringing up numerous videos, each one with a designated missing poster attached to each one. The people who supposedly went missing were walking into the hatchery. "These people went missing when they went to apply for the jobs at the new hatchery, and as such, they were easy to manipulate and trap, using the parasites they already hatched to create more workers. These people went missing for days, nearly a week and a half all at once, and suddenly returned, officially closing the cases. These creatures were using these to hide their true forms," Twilight opened one of her drawers and pulled out an ID Mask. "It's some kind of alien device that can disguise its wearer as anything, or anyone. These monsters have been hiding in plain sight, and now, they're getting ready to strike. It's likely that they want to conquer the planet, but why convert humans into these monsters, that's something I'm still trying to figure out." Twilight explained.

The girls were rather shocked at this information, but were more so concerned with how tired Twilight looked. Behind the smart girl's glasses were dark rings that were forming under her eyes. Twilight yawned, nodding her head like she was about to fall asleep. Applejack put a hand on Twilight's shoulder, helping her up to her feet as they walked away. "On a lighter note, has anyone tried to contact Sunset lately, or was it only me who tried?" Twilight asked.

Dash sighed. "Gonna be honest, Twilight, we haven't talked with Sunset in a long while. She's been out of town on the road trip, and we're probably too far out of service for her to receive our calls or texts anyway. I doubt she even wants to talk with us, Anon-A-Miss, what happened during it, and the aftermath was all she thought about. She wasn't exactly feeling cozy around us or anyone from CHS, unless you count mister nobody," Applejack slugged Dash in the shoulder, giving the athlete a wry glare. "Okay, I deserve that... I'll give him some props, he did have a plan after all to destroy that runaway robot, so minor props for him saving our butts, but still! Sunset's more interested in that guy than any of us. She doesn't want empty and meaningless apologies, especially from me... Even if she were to forgive us, she'd forgive four, maybe five of us, but one of us isn't exactly in the best position to be forgiven." Dash explained, rubbing her shoulder.

Twilight sighed. "I was afraid you'd say that, but it confirms that Sunset is purposefully ignoring us. I can at least understand that she's clearly still sore about what happened during Anon-A-Miss. It was the one time everyone, except for very few individuals, who thought Sunset returned to her old bullying ways. Even with the evidence that concluded that Sunset was innocent, the damage had been done. Need I remind you that we had to break her apartment door down, just to beg for her help in clearing her name? That was not a fun talk with Shining, or my parents, for that matter." Twilight remarked.

The girls felt horrible, but before they could dwell on the past any longer, a notification rung out from Twilight's computer. The girls quickly rushed to it, and Twilight clicked on a small envelope icon. A small tab opened up, revealing a message from an unknown source. "Chaos and Harmony, one and the same. The heroes at their weakest, calling themselves to blame. Come back to your senses, pick yourselves up and run! The DNAliens have found your underground slum!" The girls' eyes widened, all while Twilight quickly switched to a set of cameras, looking at a camera she had set up above the front door. The entire town of infected people were trying to break in. Without thinking, Applejack quickly rushed to a corner of the room, only to start lifting huge boxes and crates, stacking them up in front of the door. "If answers are what you seek, find your friend at Rushmore's peak. Find a way out, leave no one behind, 'cause the consequences will be far from kind. Venture towards Denver, where the aliens were last sighted. The final battle's encroaching, with the monster's horde of blighted. Need not ask who I am or be, just find your friend and restore Harmony." Twilight read aloud.

Applejack and Dash quickly moved towards the door, trying to block it the best they can, all while the sounds of muffled aggressive alien noises echoed out from the other side. The farm girl and the athlete gave each other a look, both of them sharing a look of terror. "Alright, enough of this damn lollygagging! I refuse to die down 'ere, or let anyone else get turned into one of them freaky creature features! Twilight, is there another way out?" Applejack frantically asked.

The DNAliens were already attempting to break down the door, but thankfully, Applejack's strength, coupled with the boxes and crates in front of the door, it was gonna be a bit till the DNAliens got through. Twilight looked around, then remembered the ventilation system. Twilight moved a few boxes out of the way and was about to open the door to the storage closet, until she remembered why the door was blocked.

A small but feral creature broke through the door, pouncing onto Twilight, earning a screech of terror from the poor girl. Spike, her most trusted animal companion, now mutated into a grotesque DNAlienized version of himself. He snarled, letting orange goo drip onto Twilight's face. She was paralyzed by fear, but that didn't last long till Fluttershy hit Spike with her stare, which sent the parasite-infected pup running back into the storage closet. Fluttershy quickly blocked the door back up, making sure to carefully block the hole Spike made, all while Pinkie looked up at the ceiling, thinking about something.

Applejack and Dash moved away from the door, only to shriek as numerous arms broke through the wall, swiping at them. Ranging from mutated human hands to mutated animal limbs, it was becoming very apparent that these parasites were taking tons of precautions. Dash zapped the arms, causing the DNAliens to yelp and retreat their limbs in pain, all while Rarity formed construct barriers over the holes. "I'll hold this for as long as I can, but we still need a way out of here!" Rarity exclaimed, watching the door bend as the DNAliens forcefully continued to try and break into the room.

Twilight looked around, only to suddenly realize that there wasn't any other options. "Girls, I don't have any ideas on how-"

Pinkie covered her friend's mouth with a calm smile. "It's alright, Twilight, leave it all to Pinkie! You still got that cannon I sold you?" The girls looked at their friend with a mixture of confusion and concern. Pinkie smiled. "It was a relic from the civil war. I found it on my family's farm, cleaned it and polished it up, and sold it to Twilight so she could experiment with it. Best dime I ever made, by the way. Wasn't gonna serve me much purpose, if it wasn't gonna be useful everywhere I went." Pinkie explained.

Twilight uncovered her mouth and sighed. "I do still have it, it's underneath my desk. I was able to fix it up and ensure that it could still fire ammunition. Why're you asking about it now?" Twilight asked cautiously.

Pinkie rushed over and pulled the cannon out, aiming the large barrel upwards to the ceiling. "Applejack, hold it still for me! Pinkie's got a sure-fire way to get us outta here!" Applejack hesitated for a moment, but if this was her last few moments with her mind intact, then she was going to do all she could for the moment, if it meant saving her friends. The farm girl hugged the barrel, holding it still as Pinkie fished around for something in her hair. Eventually, Pinkie was able to pull out two large bags of decorative sprinkles, and shoved them into the cannon. "Now, it's time to light this baby up! Let's blow the roof of this place!" Pinkie proclaimed with a wild smirk.

Applejack panicked as she let the cannon go, not even questioning how it's standing up on its own. "Pinkie, have ya lost yer marbles!? Firin' that thing in here's gonna be detrimental to our health!" Applejack exclaimed worriedly.

Pinkie smiled. "Nope, because Rarity will provide us cover! Once we set it off, we'll have our way out! Unless you girls have any better ideas?" Pinkie asked.

The girls opened their mouths, but soon realized that they truly were out of options. Twilight used her telekinesis to force the boxes and crates against the door, all while Rarity created a rounded shield construct large enough to cover all her friends. Pinkie grabbed the fuse and pulled out a clicker lighter. "Twilight, don't worry about your place, we'll pitch in to fix it when all of this is over. Till then," Pinkie lit the fuse, watching it travel to the cannon. "We're goin' out with a bang, like a Cherry-Bomb!" Pinkie exclaimed.

The cannon soon immediately fired, a smoking and glittering pink cloud tore through the basement roof, as well as the rest of the house, leaving the outside world now visible. "So, now that we have our way out, how're we getting up?" Pinkie asked.

Twilight sighed. She had to admit and give Pinkie some credit, they now had an exit option, but that window wouldn't be open for long. They needed to think about this, but Twilight was too scatterbrained to think properly. Instead, Twilight spammed a message to Sunset, a constant and frantic string of 'S.O.S' was being sent rapidly.

The girls frowned, but as the DNAliens continued to try and break through, Applejack kicked the cannon towards the door, barricading it with the hefty weapon. "Alright yall, get to brainstormin' on how we're gettin' through that hole, or we're in for some humongous trouble!" Applejack commanded.

Meanwhile, the RV was speeding down the road, passing by a large field with the city they were previously in now miles away, but still visible on the horizon. Chance tries to get up, but soon gets rocked around and catches himself on the counter, trying to keep himself standing. "H-hey, Luna? We got off the main highway hours ago. Either you didn't notice yet, or that's one helluva lead foot ya got there." Chance remarked, a bit disrupted by the occasional rocking the RV was doing.

Luna kept her eyes forward, but she still responded in kind. "I wanna make it to Mount Rushmore by nightfall. It's very important that we get there without anymore interruptions, so kindly sit back down and keep yourself busy. It's been a few days since your grounding ended, so play your Pocket Quest and entertain yourself." Luna stated.

Chance frowned, sitting back down on his side of the booth. "I would, but there isn't a single plug-in for my charger. The console needs to charge, and the battery died two days ago, but you're so dead set on going to Rushmore." Chance remarked.

Luna sighed. "Then try something else to keep yourself occupied." Luna firmly said.

Chance groaned and laid his head on the table. "That's a poor choice of words, and you know why it is," Chance looks over at Sunset, who had her headphones in, listening to music on her laptop. Chance was about to try and get her attention, until he suddenly heard a whole lot of buzzing sounds coming from her phone. Chance had seen her phone going haywire for the past few hours, it was clear to him, that something wasn't right. "Something tells me that ain't Romeo blowin' up your DMs." Chance remarked.

Sunset wasn't listening, she looked laser-focused on her laptop, and the more her phone buzzed, the more Chance felt his curiosity trying to get the better of him. 'Should I really stoop this low and look at her messages without her permission? I shouldn't, clearly that's the right choice... and yet, why do I feel like it's important that I do? I will never understand how my brain operates, not even if I live for trillions of years... oh well, let's fuckin' do it!' Chance thought.

Giving in to his curiosity, Chance pulled her phone to his side, which did catch Sunset's attention. "Chance, don't even think about it. I'm just trying to not give in and check my messages. It's either Flash or Twilight, and I can't convince myself which is worse, so put the phone down and-" Chance turned the phone on and looked at the messages, raising an eyebrow in confusion, all while Sunset scowled at him. "Chance, what the hell did I just say?!" Sunset cried out, taking her headphones off.

Sunset tried to snatch the phone out of his hands, but Chance held her hand above his head, all while scrolling through the messages with his other, just becoming more and more confused. "Seems to me like that Twilight chick you know, is goin' psycho. She's spammed the same message for the past few hours, you sure this isn't important? I feel like it might be important, Anon-A-Miss or not, it does seem urgent." Chance remarked.

Sunset frowned, finally snatching the phone out of his hands. She was about to turn it off, until she saw the spammed S.O.S message. Sunset was confused, but just as she scrolled down, the message kept repeating. Sunset scrolled through the messages, seeing the same S.O.S up till the latest and most recent repeat of the message. "What the... I guess things aren't going well back in Canterlot City. Well, I'm not there, so they'll have to figure things out on their own." Sunset remarked, turning the phone off as she returned to her laptop, putting her headphones back on.

Chance put the entirety of his palm onto his face, and leaned back in his seat. Chance looked at the Omnitrix, raising an eyebrow as curiosity started to take over yet again. A small smirk formed on the teen's face as he activated the Omnitrix.

On Reinrassic's ship, the activation signal of the Omnitrix is detected. "Excellent, my patience has been rewarded. Loyal DNAlien drones, pinpoint the location, the Omnitrix has been activated!" the drones type away at their consoles as Reinrassic steps forward, staring at the planet he's grown to loathe during his time in regeneration. "I have you now, vermin." Reinrassic stated, satisfied with how his plan was already succeeding.

In the RV, Sunset continues to listen to music on her laptop, only to then feel a light pinch on her leg, causing her to yelp. "H-Hey, what gives?!" Sunset looked down, only to see Pinch, who had a rather satisfied look on his face as a chuckle escaped the crustacean. Sunset growled, gritting her teeth. "Chance, I'm going to tell you this once. Don't do that again, or I'll turn you into some seafood dinner!" Sunset warned, displeased by her friend's attempt to entertain himself.

Pinch chuckled. "My mistake, I meant to aim my large pincher at your chee-EEEK!!" Pinch quickly dodged a broom being swung at him. Sunset got up and prepared herself to chase her friend down, a familiar smirk forming on her face. "Oh... errors have been made, I see." Pinch remarked worriedly.

Pinch quickly scuttled to the back of the RV, while Sunset ran right after him, pushing through the curtain as the sound of stuff being hit and stepped on started to echo out, as well as the terrified but entertained screams of Pinch, and the angered, but also very entertained laughter of Sunset. "Get back here, you pinch-happy crabcake!" Sunset exclaimed.

Pinch yelped as he felt the broom handle strike him in the face, yet he started to scuttle on the walls. "Forgive me, but I'd rather not!" Pinch remarked, all while dodging more of Sunset's attacks.

The two were clearly starting to have some fun, Sunset felt her anger fading, and was just starting to have some mindless fun. Pinch also felt his terror start to recede, and he jumped into his friend's arms, all while they laughed and reveled in the small mess they made.

Unfortunately, they weren't expecting the RV to suddenly come to an abrupt stop, with Luna pulling the curtain back, thoroughly displeased and irritated. The joy the two teens were suddenly replaced by a sense of dread and terror. "Chance Marsten, this is not the time to be fooling around with the Omnitrix, especially if you're using it for your own need of entertainment! Do you understand?" Luna exclaimed firmly.

Sunset quickly got up and put Pinch on the ground, then dusted herself off. "Alright, I'm sorry, sheesh! I was just fooling around, better than just sitting in awkward silence the whole time with nothing to do." Pinch remarked.

Sunset cleared her throat, causing Luna to look Sunset's way. The concerned and knowing look on Sunset's face said it all, and Luna sighed in frustration, slowly calming herself down. "I didn't mean to get aggressive, but this is not the time for tomfoolery, mister Marsten. We just don't need to attract any attention right now. Please, for my sake, for Sunset's sake, and for your own sake, don't play around with the Omnitrix again, unless it's important. Alright?" Luna apologized.

The Omnitrix starts to time out, changing the teenage hero back to his normal self, who looked rather astonished, yet defeated. "Alright, I promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. There, ya happy? Good, 'cause I'm not," Chance walked back to the booth and slumped down in his seat, staring out the window, bored out of his mind. "I don't see why you're so worked up about this. What kind of attention could I attract in here, anyway?" Chance remarked sarcastically.

Luna sighed and returned to the driver's seat. "Never you mind, just keep your hands off the Omnitrix, unless it's important, or till we get to Rushmore." Luna stated firmly, buckling herself up.

Sunset walked back to her side of the booth, noticing her friend's sense of melancholy. Sunset looked in her pocket, pulling out a spare set of headphones, and sliding them towards Chance. "Here. Listen to some music, relax a bit... it'll take your mind off of things." Sunset reassured.

Chance begrudgingly plugged the headphones into his phone, and pulled up a saved playlist of songs. Chance put the headphones on and continued to stare out the window, all while metal music blares into his ears as the RV starts to drive forward again.

Sunset looks down at her phone, and out of weakness, Sunset picks it up and turns it back on, selecting Twilight's contact and pressing the call button, but immediately presses the speaker button.

On Reinrassic's ship, the Omnitrix signal is lost, but the alien general seems pleased. "General Reinrassic, the Omnitrix's signal has faded. Shall we dispatch the genodromes?" one of the DNAliens asked.

Reinrassic shook his head. "No, not yet. I've narrowed down its location," Reinrassic pulled up a holographic map, zooming in on the Omnitrix's last known location of activation. He then looked to the side, seeing numerous screens displaying images of Chance's heroics as various aliens. "I know just how to draw this earthling out. After all, every hero... needs a nemesis to stand against." Reinrassic growled, smashing one of the screens.

Back in Canterlot City, the girls were still underground, readying themselves to put their plan into action. "Alright, here's the deal. Since we can't leave any of us behind, we stick together. Dash and Fluttershy, you two will fly Pinkie and Applejack high into the air, securing their safety, while Rarity and I follow close behind. If I concentrate hard enough, I can use my telekinesis to lift Rarity's construct off the ground, like a makeshift elevator. Once we're all together, Rarity will expand the platform for us all to stand on, and with Dash's speed, she can push us through the air and get us far enough out of Canterlot City, so we can escape and regroup, maybe find a more permanent solution to this problem." Twilight explained.

The girls nodded. "Alright, I guess this is the only plan we've got. We're sure there's nothin' that'll complicate things, right?" Applejack asked.

Twilight was about to say something, but then her phone started ringing. Quickly, twilight pulls it out and goes wide-eyed, seeing Sunset's number on-screen. Quickly, Twilight answers it, putting it on speaker, all while the girls pay attention, unsure as to how this was going to turn out. "Sunset!! Sunset, is that you?! Thank god, you're alright... you are alright, aren't you?!" Twilight frantically called out.

Sunset sat the phone down on the table, all while Luna tried to not listen in. Chance, on the other hand, subtly decreased the volume, keeping his sights on the passing scenery outside, while listening in. "Relax, Twilight. I'm fine... are the others with you?" Sunset asked.

"...will you hang up if I say yes?" Twilight awkwardly asked, the sounds of the DNAliens banging on the door and walls echoed out from the phone in the background.

Sunset was confused at the background noise, but decided to ignore it and sighed. "No, not this time, at least. Why are you calling anyway, especially with them being so close, is it another magical problem?" Sunset asked.

"Well-"

Suddenly, pained cries echoed out from the phone. "Gahahh!! D-Damn it, one ah those suckers got me off guard! Rrrhh, really broke the skin, too!" Applejack exclaimed, groaning.

Sunset was a bit surprised hearing Applejack swear, but it didn't really phase her, she'd been around Chance for long enough that it wasn't that surprising anymore. In fact, she's heard herself do it more often, too. "Applejack! Fluttershy, get the medkit, under my computer!" Sunset was very confused, as well as mildly curious as to what was going on. "Hurry, stop the bleeding, clean the wound and bandage it up! Make it fast, we only have one shot at escaping! Sorry, Sunset, things have been very hectic, and ridiculously dangerous as of late." Twilight cried out.

Chance glanced at the phone, his curiosity was now piqued. Sunset stared at the phone, letting the strange sounds in the background echo out. "Sounds like hell's come to Canterlot, by the sounds of it. What's going on over there?" Sunset cautiously asked.

"Well, Sunset darling, if you must know, CANTERLOT'S BEEN TAKEN OVER BY FILTHY FACE-HUGGING PARASITES!" The RV came to an abrupt stop, with Luna sitting at the wheel, aghast and mortified. Chance and Sunset were shocked by such a revelation, giving each other a knowing look. "These disgusting little creatures have been hiding in plain sight as regular people! It all started with missing persons cases cropping up, then they just return out of nowhere! Suddenly, every passing day, it's revealed that the people you can trust gets lower and lower! It's just US that remain in Canterlot now, darling!" Rarity cried out hysterically.

Chance took his headphones off and leaned towards the phone. "Ok, take a chill pill! What do these parasites look like exactly, and what exactly did they do?" Chance asked.

"Those things look like if a squid had a human brain, and was born with one eye and a sharp toothy hole in its hideous face! It latches onto your face and slowly turns you into those monsters!" Rarity let out a shriek as the sound of glass breaking rang out. "Those filthy creatures are getting IN!!" Rarity exclaimed.

Chance gritted his teeth and asked one more question. "Are they spewing huge globs of orange goo, occasionally hiding their gunk in trash cans?" Chance asked.

"They were, but now they seem solely focused on takin' us out like yesterday's garbage! Partner, I'm not entirely sure what's happenin' right now. Do any of yall got any inclination on what's goin' down, or any advice?" Applejack called out.

Chance looked to Sunset, who took a deep breath and sighed. "You need to get out of that room you're in. If there's a way out, start escaping. Now! When you're out of there, get out of Canterlot City, and make your way to Mount Rushmore. I know you have tons of questions, but you need to get there first. It's gonna be real hard to explain, but it'll give you some insight as to what we've dealt with already," Chance gave a thumbs up to Sunset, who was simply trying to hold her emotions back. "I'm going to hang up, and you girls need to get moving! I'll see you there, I promise." Sunset stated, hanging up the call.

Chance got up and moved to his friend's side, pulling them into a hug as he patted her back. Sunset covered her face, gritting her teeth as she tried to not let her emotions dictate her thought process. "That didn't go like how I thought it was gonna go." Sunset muttered.

Chance sighed. "Welcome to my world, lady. It's terrible, but it's slowly getting better. They'll make it, I'm sure of it. They did stand up to a bunch of crazy stuff already, and that was long before aliens came into the picture," Sunset looked up at him, seeing a hopeful smile on his face. "Trust me, they're gonna be fine. Not sure how they're gonna get all the way from Canterlot City to Rushmore, though, but crazier shit has happened." Chance reassured.

Sunset smiled slightly as he walked to his seat. "Besides, on the off-chance this was a calculated attack, what're the odds that the freakshow behind all this parasite stuff, is the same one who's after the watch? If they've been playing the long game, we need to start playing catch-up, and fa-AAAHH!!" Chance tensed up, a pulsating ringing sound started to echo throughout the teen hero's head. Chance screamed out, clutching his head as he fell to the ground. "Pain!! Nothing but pain!! My brain is burning!! Help!!!" Chance exclaimed, writhing in agony.

The two turned towards Chance, and quickly moved to his side. "Be afraid. Be very afraid. There is no fighting this battle, you've already lost. I know where you are, and when I find you, I'll tear the Omnitrix from your lifeless earthling body, vermin. You were a valiant challenge up to a point, but now, you will die." Reinrassic's voice stated, echoing in the teenager's head.

Chance writhed in pain, gritting his teeth as he screamed in agony. "Damn it, just get out of my head! Just shut the fuck up for one second!! God damn, you don't even have a mouth, and I wish you did, just so I could sew that shit shut!" Chance exclaimed.

Luna knelt down. "Chance, what's going on?!" Luna asked.

Chance tried to ignore the pain, but it felt like his brain was being sliced like sashimi. "T-That fuckin' alien thing! It knows where we are, and I'm gonna kill it!! This has gone on long enough, I'm tired of the nightmares, the headaches, the visions! I'm gonna paint the soles of my shoes in that thing's brains, if it has any!" Chance viciously exclaimed.

Sunset knelt down and put a hand to her friend's head, activating her geode. "Just relax, I'm gonna see if I can fix-" Sunset's words stopped as she fell on top of her friend, her body limp and unconscious.

Sunset opened her eyes, now finding herself in a dark void. "-this!" Sunset looked around, finding herself now knelt over the body of a convulsing DNAlien. "Oh no, what in the hell is goin' on in here?" Sunset asked herself.

A loud rumbling voice called out. "You, small earthling mare. Be afraid, be very afraid," Sunset looked around, trying to find the source of the voice, only to be met by the sight of Reinrassic himself, standing mere feet away from her, towering over her like a giant in a fairytale. Sunset backed away, but Reinrassic only got closer. "There is nowhere for you to run, nowhere for you to hide, because I will always find you. You're not the one who wields the Omnitrix, but you are familiar to their existence. Pass along a message to the one who wears it. Death will come for us all, but if the Omnitrix cannot belong to me, then the entire planet will be destroyed along with it. Either die with honor, or surrender without it." Reinrassic spoke.

Before Sunset could try to flee, Reinrassic brought a huge strike down onto the girl, and everything went white.

Sunset recoiled, backing up away from her friend as he slowly started to regain some form of control. Chance started to cough, hack and gag, and before he knew it, he managed to crawl towards the trash can, retching up the contents in his stomach. Chance held his head in the can for a moment, only to be startled by the sight of what came out of him.

He saw a huge amount of orange goo in the trash can. With curiosity taking the reigns yet again, Chance felt around his face, trying to grasp and pull at an ID mask, or anything, but he didn't feel anything. Nothing felt different, other than a sense of relief finally washing over him, but the orange goo was terrifying... as was the bits of metal that also stuck out of the substance. "Well, guess I found out the source of my nightmares... Kinda wish I didn't, fuckin' gross." Chance remarked, heading into the bathroom.

Over top a bison-filled field, Reinrassic's ship slowly descends. The hanger of the underside of the ship opens, and a small army of DNAliens, along with a swarm of genodromes and a violet large mace. The mace doesn't fly, so it just falls to the ground with the genodromes following it. It then begins rolling, leading its force on its way to a populated area called 'Rapid City', destroying the welcome sign along the way.

Reinrassic watches from inside the hangar, glaring down at the backwater planet that's caused him so much trouble as of late. It was finally time to put an end to the back and forth failures, once and for all.

Luna and Sunset hesitantly looked inside the trash can, and were just as concerned with the revelation as their alien compatriot was. "It's possible that Zombrex wasn't able to digest the metal from the drone, or convert that goo those xenocites make into something useful. He literally bit into metal flesh, and devoured a large portion of that parasite that took Flash over... honestly, it's terrifying just to think about, but some of that goo and spare parts must've dug itself into his body after he transformed back, not really digesting right, which explains the nightmares and the visions he was having. That freaky alien thing was talking, it knew of my presence when I was in his head," Sunset looked towards Luna, who was pretty unsettled, but still dead set in her choice. "Luna, you need to tell him. With how much we've stopped already, we'll be lucky enough to make it to Rushmore at all. He needs to know, and I'd like to know the full truth, too. You gave bits and pieces, and I was satisfied for the time being, but now that this has escalated, it's clear that you need to speak up and talk about this, before we get killed! Tell us what we're up against." Sunset pleaded.

Luna sighed. "I never thought I'd be back to doing the old Plumber stuff, but now my hands have been tied." Luna admitted.

Sunset motioned for Luna to continue, all while Chance finally exited the restroom. "Finally got that terrible taste out of my mouth. What's goin' on?" Chance asked.

Luna was about to answer, until she looked outside the window, her eyes widening as her jaw dropped. Sunset and Chance look to the windows, only to be equally as surprised by the fire and smoke coming out of Rapid City. "Well, guess it's that time again. Couldn't've picked a better time, too, with that stuff out of me, I'll probably perform a lot better," Luna immediately moved to the driver's seat and slammed her foot on the gas, rocking the teenagers as she desperately tried to flee the scene. "Hey, have you gone mental!? People need help!" Chance called out.

Luna was concerned for the peoples' safety, of course, but she was also terrified. "I-I'm sure the local authorities are handling the situation." Luna stammered.

Chance grabbed the TV Remote, turning it on. A news report was starting up. "It's mass hysteria, folks! We've never seen an attack like this! These strange bipedal squid people have started dragging innocent people out of their homes, forcing these parasite-like creatures onto their faces, and turning them into monsters like them! On top of all that, robotic drones are attacking civilians that have tried to run and escape the chaos. Now would be a good time for one of the alien heroes to save our skins, or we'll be trapped underneath a whole nother layer!" The news reporter cried out.

Chance gritted his teeth and turned the TV off. "I couldn't agree more," Chance got up and opened the door to the outside, watching as the world passed him by. "I don't know what your affiliation with dead famous people is all about, miss Luna, but it can't possibly be more important than saving lives. C'mon, Sunset! Grab on, I'll give you a lift!" Chance activated the Omnitrix, cycling to one of his aliens, but before he could transform, he looked back at Sunset, who didn't move from her seat. "Sunset, come on! I know you aren't gonna chicken out on me right now, not when innocent people are at risk!" Chance called out.

Sunset sighed and turned to look at him. "Chance, just sit back down. I know you wanna help those people, I do too, but this is important." Sunset pleaded.

Chance was at a loss for words. He wasn't sure what he should be feeling at that moment, but he certainly wasn't happy with her decision. "So you'd rather write about the lives of four dead presidents, all while people need a hero at this moment... I was the one haunted by nightmares of that alien freak, yet you seem to be the one who's lost their marbles!" Chance looked at Luna. "Luna, you told me not to mess with the watch again, unless it was important. I'd say this is very important! I don't know what's gotten into both of you recently, but you two have been hiding something. When I get back from saving those people, I want answers! The truth, the whole truth, nothing but it! You seem disappointed that I wanna help those people. Maybe if you found the watch, you could've ridden that selfish high all you wanted while people suffered. One of you was a hero before me, yet you want to sit down and do nothing to help. I am shocked and appalled, but above all else, I'm the only one who has a legitimate reason to be disappointed." Chance remarked, pushing the core down on the Omnitrix.

In a flash of light, Nitrofrost leapt out of the moving vehicle, propelling himself with streams of ice and snow, making his way to Rapid City. The RV comes to a screeching halt, with Luna and Sunset now genuinely scared of what could happen now. Luna was now at her wit's end, aggravated by the teenager running towards trouble... and yet, she couldn't help but feel nostalgic. "Sunset, get yourself strapped in. We might have to go after him." Luna instructed.

Sunset nodded, getting in the front passenger seat. Luna sighed and got back in the driver's seat, strapping herself in as she turned the RV around, making the gas pedal submit as she sped back to Rapid City, all while Sunset saw the destruction of the city in the distance. Sunset sighed and pulled her phone out, selecting Twilight's contact.

Meanwhile, a few miles away from Rapid City, A large gem construct is moving through the air. The girls were on top of it, all while seeing Rushmore in the distance. Twilight's phone goes off, and Applejack grabs it, answering it. "Sunset! We're almost to Rushmore, just a few more miles, and we'll be there!" Applejack announced.

Sunset sighed. "Fantastic, but there's been a change in plans. A lot of danger is happening in Rapid City, specifically, the DNAliens and parasites you were dealing with before. Chance went to help the people, but I doubt it's gonna be enough. He's tough, surprisingly resilient, but he's not gonna be able to take on all them alone! We're on our way to the city, but you need to give him, and the alien heroes some much needed backup! Can you girls do that for me?" Sunset requested.

Dash smirked. "You got it! Also doesn't help that all of Canterlot City's been tailing us for the past hour, so the more fighting there is, the more occupied we'll be!" Dash remarked.

Underneath the floating construct, numerous alien vehicles were being piloted by DNAliens, all while the chaos in Rapid City continued to get hairier. "We got your back, sugarcube, no matter what!" Applejack stated firmly.

Applejack ended the call and pocketed the phone back in Twilight's pocket. "Get ready, girls, I'm gonna bring us down! Start running and help the people get out of the city limits! If you see the alien heroes, or Sunset's friend, don't hesitate to lend a hand!" Twilight instructed.

Pinkie smiled and readied several small canisters full of decorative sprinkles. "It's time to kick butt and chew gum, and for the first time ever, I'm all outta gum." She stated.

The six girls hopped off the platform, to which Rarity used to knock several DNAliens off of their vehicles. "Grab one and spread out, don't let those dirty pod creatures get on your face!" Rarity ordered, stomping onto the head of one of the twitching DNAliens, earning a pained squelching groan from the possessed individual.

Nitrofrost flew over head, avoiding the drones, and then encasing them in ice, letting them crash and shatter onto the asphalt. Unbeknownst to the heroes, Reinrassic was watching the whole fight from above. The final battle was upon them, and the end was sure to come.

To Be Continued

Author's Note

Part 2 is finally out! Just one more part, and Season 1 will be wrapped up. Feel free to let me know in the comments what you think of the story so far.

Also, here's an optional question for you all who have been enjoying the story so far.

Q: If you could replace any of kid Ben's original 10 aliens with one new alien, which alien is getting replaced with who, and why? Feel free to comment your answer down below.

Hope you enjoyed this part, the final part will be up soon, then I might do something special for this story when Season 1's finally wrapped up.

S1, Episode 15: Invasive Secrets, Part 3

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Invasive Secrets,
Part 3

Civilians continue to run amok while the Genodromes and DNAliens attack Rapid City. Suddenly, Nitrofrost shoots ice at the genodromes and destroys a few of them. He lands and creates a circle of ice and snow around him, then looks at the few civilians he's saved thus far. "Go, find a warmer place to hide. Get out of town, if you must. I'm gonna make hell freeze over these jerks!" Nitrofrost called out.

The civilians tried to run, but were soon cornered by more DNAliens. Before they could attack, a blue blur slammed the DNAliens back, causing them to skid across the ground. Dash looked to the civilians, holding her hand out. "Come on, I'll get out of town, It's safer." Dash offered.

As the people grabbed hold of Dash, she flew up into the air and quickly flew through the air. Nitrofrost was a bit surprised to see one of the rainbooms, but then he saw Rarity and Applejack ahead, blocking the DNAliens' pursuit on civilians, and fighting them back with varying degrees of success. Nitrofrost moved closer, blasting the DNAliens and xenocites nearby, encasing them in ice. "Here I thought these freaks liked it cold." Nitrofrost remarked, chuckling at his own joke.

Applejack looked at Nitrofrost, unsure as to what exactly he was, but could only go off of what Sunset told her. "Ya must be one of them alien heroes right, from the news?" Nitrofrost nodded. "Then just know that we're here to help. Ya didn't happen to see someone runnin' around 'ere, didja? A boy, green eyes, brown hair, fifteen, that ring any bells?" Applejack asked.

Nitrofrost nodded his head. "Saw that kid beating the tar out of a few DNAliens in an alleyway. Haven't seen him since." The frosty cold hero lied, catching a xenocite in his hands. Nitrofrost froze the parasite solid and crushed it in his hands.

Applejack nodded her head and grabbed one of the DNAliens, trying to hold it still. "It's a darn shame that we can't fix these poor souls, I've been trying to pull my punches, just in case I accidentally hurt them too bad!" Applejack remarked.

Nitrofrost smirked. "Now that, is something I can help with," Nitrofrost grabbed the DNAlien, and in response, the Omnitrix started glowing yellow, forming into a helix shape. "Okay Omnitrix, give it to me straight." Nitrofrost remarked.

The Omnitrix flashed. "Omnitrix has detected numerous reports of genetic damage. Shall we attempt a mass repair? This will deplete all energy from Omnitrix reserves and immediately de-transform user, if approved." The Omnitrix spoke.

Nitrofrost grimaced. "Let's keep it simple, for now. Still need to be ready to fight the big bad, and I can't risk exposing my true identity," Applejack looked at the frosty cold hero, clearly confused. "It's a superhero thing, it keeps those that my allies and I care about out of danger." Nitrofrost explained.

The Omnitrix scanned the DNAlien in the hero's clutches. "Genetic damage detected. Shall we attempt to repair individually?" The Omnitrix chirped.

Nitrofrost nodded, smiling. "That'll work. With individual repairs being done one at a time, that gives us more capable hands, and it gives me a bit more time to stay transformed." Nitrofrost remarked, approving the action.

The Omnitrix started spinning, blasting the DNAlien with a bright yellow beam, causing it to fade away, revealing an unconscious farm boy that had a few similarities to Applejack. "Big Mac!!" Applejack cried out.

Nitrofrost handed the unconscious farm boy to Applejack, and immediately let the Omnitrix blast a smaller DNAlien, causing an unconscious little girl in a hoodie and shorts to skid across the snow. "Scootaloo, darling, are you alright!?" Rarity called out, pulling the child close.

Nitrofrost glared at the DNAliens approaching, and balled his hands into fists. "Well, that confirms my theory. Canterlot City got hit bad, and they didn't even hesitate to go after children," The frozen cold hero let the Omnitrix continue to cure as many DNAliens as possible. One by one, the DNAliens were either citizens of Rapid City, or citizens of Canterlot City. One DNAlien tried to run towards the alien hero, but immediately tripped and knocked itself unconscious, dropping a large red laser gun in front of the alien hero. The Omnitrix cured that DNAlien, revealing it to be Derpy, who was very much out for the count. "Okay, that just confirms it. I'm going to kill whoever thought taking Canterlot City was a good idea, let alone decent. Now... I'm sure I'll be running out of time soon, so there's gotta be another way to fix them." Nitrofrost theorized.

More DNAliens were starting to get close, and all the while, the Omnitrix was starting to time out. Rarity watched as Nitrofrost immediately got overwhelmed, all while a red flash shined from the crowd of DNAliens. At first, it seemed like it was over for the hero, until someone started beating them back. Chance had been turned back to his normal self, but he wasn't going down to some cheap and clichéd tactic. Chance was showing no mercy for the DNAliens, kicking one down and stomping on them, all while viciously pulling at the xenocite, causing the DNAlien to screech out in pain.

Chance grabbed the laser gun off the ground and started firing at the DNAliens like crazy, an angered yet trained look in the teenager's eyes as they scattered. The teenager looked over at Rarity, then tossed the gun towards her. "Just in case them magic powers fail on you, you'll still be capable of defending yourself. I don't need some fancy weapons to fight." Chance remarked.

Rarity caught the gun, feeling how heavy it was in her arms. She then saw Chance running towards a few DNAliens, instigating a fight as he tackles one to the ground, wrestling the gun out of its hands, and incapacitating the few DNAliens still in the area. Applejack ran to her side, watching as the teenager hunted down the DNAliens on his own. "That guy's heart is in the right place, but it's veritably stupid to go after these things on your own. Should we go after him?" Applejack asked.

Rarity simply smiled. "He can handle himself, darling. For now, we need to get these poor souls somewhere out of the line of fire. If you could be a dear to help me out with that, I'd appreciate it. I don't doubt he'll run into the others at some point." Rarity stated, slinging Derpy's unconscious body onto her back.

Applejack nodded, using her geode to amplify her strength, stacking unconscious bodies onto her own. The girls quickly ran away from the fight, trying to keep each other, and the unconscious safe, only to notice an RV stop in front of them. Luna opened the door. "Get in, hurry!" Luna ordered.

Chance rolled across the ground, taking cover behind a mailbox as he fired the gun at the DNAliens. Where some of them fell, others were much more resilient. The teenager groaned. "Damn it, this gun is slowly becoming more and more useless! I need to fix these people and thin out the horde at the same time, but how do I go about it?" Chance looked everywhere, but then noticed a plug-in wire dangling from the bottom of the clip. Chance looked at the wire with confusion, but then he looked at the Omnitrix. Before he could come to a consensus on his next move, he heard a familiar voice yelling out. Chance looked past his cover, only to see Rainbow Dash, who was being ganged up on by two DNAliens. Chance wasted no time in testing a weightless theory of his, and popped the core up, plugging the chord into the Omnitrix, with both the gun and the Omnitrix emitting a strange powering up noise. "Really hoping this works, because I don't wanna know how bad this could end up hurting someone." Chance remarked.

The teenager rolled away from his cover and pulled the trigger, letting a bright yellow beam blast between the DNAliens. Just when he thought he missed his shot, the beam suddenly split in two, knocking the DNAliens away as the parasites withered away. Chance was very surprised, looking at the gun in his hands. "Huh... I'm definitely gonna have to remember that!" Chance ran forward, seeing Dash try to compose herself.

Chance smiled, and Dash scoffed. "I didn't need your help, but I can appreciate the assist. Thanks." Dash remarked.

Chance nodded his head. "No problem. Not bad for someone so forgettable, huh?" Dash groaned at that response, until the two former DNAliens started to sit up, which initially startled the both of them. One of the two was a much older and stockier fella, who had black hair in the style of a small crewcut, and rather well tanned skin. The other was a woman with dimples, short brown hair, and magenta eyes. Chance looked between the two, then back at Dash. "Guess the apple doesn't fall too far if you throw the flip flop hard enough." Chance remarked.

Dash pushed past him and hugged the two adults, who seemed real eager to see her again. Chance smiled and left it alone, readying his gun as he ran back to the fight. Before he could get too far, Dash sped up and stopped him. "Hey, wait! I got something to say... I know it ain't the best time, but hear me out for a second!" Dash requested.

Chance rolled his eyes and gestured for her to continue. "You get one opportunity, lay it on me." Chance said.

Dash sighed. "I'm sorry about what happened back at Camp Everfree, for both instances. I was being a serious pain in the ass and wanted my friend back, and I wasn't being careful of how I used my powers. Sunset really let me have it, and if she won't accept my apology, then I can only hope to let you know that I didn't mean to cause you such grief. We cool?" Dash apologized.

Chance thought about it for a moment, and immediately slapped Dash across the face, then patted her on the back. Dash wasn't expecting the slap to sting so much, but was equally confused by the smirk on his face. "Now we're cool. Eye for an eye, tit for tat, all that shit. Don't worry about the slap, either. I could've done far worse, but I've developed a sense of restraint, as of late," Dash sighed as Chance walked past her. "Now, you go get your folks out of here, I'll take care of the other freaks on the ground, get them nice and prepared for you to evacuate." Chance stated, running forward as he kept a tight grasp on the gun. Dash smirked and nodded, walking over to her parents as she flew them in one direction.

Chance continued to open fire on numerous DNAliens, causing people to drop to the ground unconscious, letting the explosions and sounds of laser fire ring out. 'So this is what it's like... fighting for freedom, fighting for the people, all while a gun's in my hands, facing a semi-familiar threat to everyone's lives... If this isn't war, then I don't wanna know what this is,' Chance smirked and fired at a few DNAliens, causing them to collapse to the ground, returning to normal. 'Dad, I hope you're looking down at me right now, and I hope you're proud!' the alien hero thought, an excited laugh escaping his lips as he ran at a group of DNAliens, firing without hesitation as they turned back into normal people.

Twilight, Pinkie and Fluttershy were busy fighting back against several DNAliens. Fluttershy was sitting back, trying to let her magic get a moment to recover from prolonged use. Twilight was levitating pieces of debris, chucking them at the DNAliens, and Pinkie was keeping them at bay with her sprinkle bombs. Pinkie wiped the sweat from her brow, feeling exhausted. "Phew, this is tiring work, but I gotta admit that this is much more fun than the usual magic problem we usually deal with! Why don't we deal with stuff like this all the time!?" Pinkie remarked, smiling excitedly.

Twilight sighed at her friend's response, letting a tired smile form on her face. "While I admit, aliens are a breath of fresh air at this moment in time, magic enhanced items are always so easy to deal with, especially since there's usually something to learn from these situations! What exactly is there to learn from this?" Twilight remarked, levitating a DNAlien into the air, and sending them flying back.

One of the DNAliens spews a large glob of goo at Twilight, but before she can try to dodge it, a diamond construct forms in front of her face, to which the goo connects with, causing it to slide onto the ground. Rarity and Applejack jump into action, ready to assist their friends, as does Sunset and Luna. "Nice to finally see you again, face-to-face, that is." Twilight stated.

Sunset nodded. "Despite the circumstances, I can say the same, for the time being. You girls may wanna back up, I'm gonna go wild for a bit," Sunset stepped forward and let her geode glow. The girls, except for Luna, were confused by what Sunset meant, until her eyes and hands started to glow, emitting a bright blue light. Sunset yelled out as numerous bright blue tendrils lashed forward, ensnaring the DNAliens and knocking them around senselessly, then flinging them right towards where Chance was last seen. The girls were surprised, and Dash just came onto the scene, less surprised, and more impressed. Sunset let the glowing light dissipate, and she sighed, taking a knee. Sunset looked back at the girls, letting a small smirk form on her face, despite the exhaustion she was feeling. "So, who wants to prove how sorry they actually are, and who wants to actually be friends again?" Sunset asked coyly.

The girls smiled and helped Sunset back up to her feet, but were soon met by more DNAliens. Before the girls could try fighting back, all the DNAliens got shot, reverting them back into normal people that collapsed onto the ground, rendered unconscious. They looked up, seeing Chance with the gun aimed, his clothes were torn and tattered, but the angered smile on his face told a whole different story. "Partner, you look a bit worse for wear. Ya alright?" Applejack asked.

Before anything could be said, Chance dropped the gun, disconnecting it from the Omnitrix, and walked away. "I'm not done yet. Sure, people are cured, but there's still one more thing to deal with. I'll be right back!" Chance looked at the Omnitrix, seeing it return to its normal green glow. He activated the watch and selected Riptile's icon. Before Sunset or Luna could warn him, Chance had already pushed down on the Omnitrix. In a flash of light, the girls, except for Rarity, were all shocked to see Chance be replaced by Riptile. "I got an albino banana to peel into submission!" Riptile stated, laughing as he leapt away.

The girls looked at Sunset and Luna, who were unsure of how to explain what they just saw. Rarity quickly stepped in front of her friends. "Don't be too mad at them, girls, I knew the whole time, as well," Sunset and Luna were now just as shocked, but Rarity simply smiled. "Look, does it really matter now? People still need to be escorted out of the city! If Chance is going after the 'big bad' as he calls it, he'll need all the help he can get, right?" Rarity inquired.

Sunset nodded, still a bit shocked by Rarity's admission. "W-Well yeah, but why didn't you say anything to them?" Sunset asked.

Rarity's smile never faltered. "He made a pinkie promise to me before you two left for your road trip. He keeps you safe, I keep his secret. With his secret now revealed to the rest of the girls, technically the promise is still unbroken, but it's getting there. It wasn't initially my plan to go behind his back and spread his secret like a blazing fire, darling, I'd only tell people his secret when he was ready for it to be public." Rarity explained.

Applejack crossed her arms, clearly mad at the fashion-savvy girl. "So ya blackmailed him?" Applejack simplified.

Rarity was surprised by Applejack's assumption. "I did not blackmail him! He was fine with the deal we made, and that was it. Besides, do you think our magic would even compare to his alien forms if he went rogue, Applejack, considering Rainbow Dash's electrical attacks couldn't even dent one of the robots?" Rarity questioned.

Applejack was about to answer, until Luna got in-between them. "Both of you, I'm sure this is important to you, but right now, you six need to return to Canterlot City. If there's still more xenocites there, we can't let them roam free. Especially if they end up re-converting the people that have been cured. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie and Rarity, you four will go take care of the remaining Xenocites. Rainbow and Pinkie can handle keeping themselves at a distance, while Rarity and Applejack are more about being up-close. They must be destroyed, don't hesitate and wear protective gear on your faces!" Luna looked towards the other two. "Twilight and Fluttershy, you two need to get everyone home. They need leaders to guide them, as well as people to keep the morale strong. I'm trusting you on this, it's more important than anything!" Luna instructed.

Sunset sighed, looking around as the snow slowly falls. "Sunset, we need to go after mister Marsten. If I had to take a guess on who he's going after, it's the one behind all of this, and I'm hoping it's not who I think it is." Luna instructed.

The girls quickly parted ways, with Sunset and Luna getting into the RV, AJ, Dash, Rarity and Pinkie going back to the streets, readying their respective powers, and Twilight being carried by Fluttershy, who flew them to the city's limits.

Somewhere on the other side of town, a small family is being tormented by several genodromes, until Riptile crashes onto the scene. "Hey, rustbuckets! Why don't you pick on someone with some serious muscle?" As the alien hero said that, numerous more drones start to surround him, leaving the hero mildly surprised, but also excited. The small family quickly run away, all while Riptile gets ready to throw down. "Now that's what I'm talkin' about! Still seems a bit fishy, as if you were expecting me, but I'm not gonna look a gift horse in the mouth this time! It's go time, COME ON!!" Riptile exclaimed.

Riptile lashes his tongue out, grabbing a few drones as he swings them around, destroying several others as he crushes the drones to pieces. Riptile leaps into the air and slashes at the drones, even tearing into them with his jaws, unfazed by the screeching agony of the Xenocites caught in his sharp teeth. Riptile looks around at the carnage he left in his wake, only to suddenly be ensnared in an electrical net, pinning the amphibious croc to one of the nearby buildings. Riptile looked forward, only to notice the large mace rolling towards him. It stops rolling and opens up, and from within it, out steps Reinrassic.

Riptile was shocked, but at the same time, he felt proud, as well as a bit scared at how he's finally seeing this freak in the flesh... well, partially in the flesh, the mechanical limbs were very new to the alien hero. "YOU! You're the son of a bitch from my visions!" Riptile exclaimed.

Reinrassic stepped forward. Despite not having a mouth, Riptile felt as if this creature was smirking at him. "At last, we meet, inferior earthling vermin. The being that has caused me so much trouble, and will now die by my hands." Reinrassic snarled.

Riptile struggled to get out of the net, but he was struggling a fair bit, which was an uncomfortable and unsettling feeling for the teenager. "Okay, so who the hell are you? Saw you a lot in my nightmares, asshole, but I don't have a name to put to your disfigured fruit mug!" Riptile japed.

Reinrassic leered down at the alien hero. "I am known by my people as General Reinrassic II, the sixth noble of the noble Highbreed house of Di Ralla, direct militant descendant of the High Order of Rasecht. Heir to the-Aggrrh!!" Reinrassic was then met by a punch to the face, sending him back a fair few feet, only for him to fully recover.

Riptile finally managed to break through the electrical net, despite having trouble at first. "You're the heir to the throne of not shutting the fuck up! Christ, I'd rather listen to a documentary about how the term 'giving a fuck' ever came to be, than listen to your bullshit," Reinrassic growled as Riptile got back up on his feet. "In layman's terms, you've been the son of a bitch that's been sending drones and making parasites take over people, your bullshit ain't my problem, nor my priority! Get ready to catch these hands, banana boy, because I'm gonna peel you open and split ya down the middle!" Riptile roared out.

Riptile lunged towards Reinrassic, but he ends up catching Riptile in his hand. Reinrassic throws Riptile, sending him hurtling through numerous buildings at a time at high speeds. Riptile eventually lands under a pile of rubble, feeling the pain of the landing as he tries to get up. The alien hero shakes off the pain in a short time and bursts through the rubble. "Urgh... alright, I'm willing to admit that he's tough, but now I'm fuckin' pissed!" With one leap, Reinrassic lands close to the alien hero, causing a minor tremor from his landing. "I gotta slow him down, but how?" Riptile wondered.

Riptile looks over to an abandoned oil truck and gets an idea. Riptile stretches his tongue at the truck and yanks it to the side, flattening Reinrassic underneath it. Riptile quickly gets up and watches as Reinrassic struggles to get himself free, and walks towards him. As this happens, the RV turns a corner and drives directly towards the two combatants. Luna is shocked and angered by Reinrassic's very presence. "No... it- -i-it can't be!" Luna stammered, clenching her teeth.

Riptile grins smugly as Reinrassic attempts to get up. "Not so tough when you can't move, are you, fruity-tooty?" Riptile quipped, chuckling.

Before Riptile could get another word in, the RV comes to a screeching halt beside him, with Sunset opening the door. "Chance, Luna needs you to get in, now!" Sunset told him.

Riptile raised an eyebrow. "Whatcha talkin' about? I was just about to peel his alien ass!" Right as he said that, the Omnitrix started timing out, and Riptile growled out of irritation. "You little motherFU-" a red flash envelops the alien hero, transforming Chance back into his normal self. "No! Come the fuck on, Omnitrix! Who's side are you on!? I was about to peel this albino fruit fly several ways to next Sunday!" Chance ranted.

Luna made her way to the door, a rage burned in her eyes. "Chance Marsten!!" The teen hero flinched. "Get in the RV now, young man!" Luna furiously demanded.

Chance smiled and laughed nervously. "Well when you say it like that, who am I to refuse!" Chance remarked nervously, quickly hopping into the RV.

The trio immediately drives away, speeding down the road while Reinrassic finally frees himself, watching with a patient fury as the RV drives further and further away.

As the RV drives down the road, Chance is still keeping an eye out for Reinrassic. "Well, this didn't go to plan at all. I was so close to peeling that fruity albino bastard, then you guys show up out of the blue! I had it handled, mostly." Chance argued.

Luna sighs. "Chance, please listen to me. Believe me when I say: You do not wanna pick a fight with Reinrassic. You and Sunset are not ready to face someone like him. I tried to prepare you for this, but it wasn't enough!" Luna stated firmly.

Chance was now very confused. "Wait... how did you know his name, when you came late to the ass beating?" Chance questioned.

Sunset groaned. "Luna, tell him, for the love of Celestia! If this 'Reinrassic' guy is as dangerous as you claim him to be, some answers and explanations would be nice right about now!" Sunset remarked.

Luna sat in silence, all while genodromes were homing in on the RV. "Two robots, coming in faster than a stock car race!" Chance announced.

Luna tightens her seatbelt. "Sit down and hold on." Luna stated.

Luna speeds up, swerving the RV from left to right, all while evading the genodromes' laser attacks. "As impressive as this is, we can't keep that up forever! We need another option!" Sunset reached into her seat, grabbing the same laser gun that Chance abandoned earlier. "You might wanna use this, bud. You seem like you've got a better handle on it than I do." Sunset remarked.

Luna groaned. "Look, things will get better when we get to Mount Rushmore. Please, just trust me on this, you two!" Luna called out.

Sunset groaned. "Give us a reason to trust you right now! Why are you so dead set on going to Mount Rushmore!?" Sunset argued.

Luna gripped the wheel tightly. "Sunset, this is not the time to explain! I need to focus on the road!" Luna reminded.

Chance grabbed the gun and opened the door, aiming the gun carefully. "Come meet your maker, you piles of space junk! Your mother was an alien sex toy, and your daddy was a spoiled fruit basket!" Chance viciously exclaimed, squeezing the gun's trigger as hard as he physically could.

The genodromes evaded the lasers fired by the alien hero, but Chance decided on another tactic. He climbed onto the roof of the RV, and started aiming. Chance fired random bursts of fire at the drones, managing to rip right through one of them, causing it to crash and explode on the road. The other drone tried to dive at the Omnitrix wearer, but Chance quickly started wielding the gun like a club, and smashed it away, breaking the drone, as well as the gun. The drone eventually crashed onto the road, exploding into pieces, which made Chance feel rather proud. "Hah! Suck it, you extraterrestrial trash pile!" Chance taunted.

Chance quickly hopped back into the RV and closed the door. "Well, I got that handled! Who says you need powers to be a hero!" Chance remarked, feeling proud of himself.

Luna and Sunset let out a sigh of relief, only for Luna to then notice something launching into the sky, according to her rearview mirror. Luna's eyes widened, and she sped up more, all while something huge crashed into the road behind them, causing a huge tremor to echo out. "Don't tell me... the top banana got loose, and now he's gonna turn us into human puree?" Chance asked.

Luna sighed. "Reinrassic is not an easy foe to face. He was a problem back then, and he's still a problem now." Luna lamented.

Chance smiled. "That sounds familiar," Another tremor shook the RV, and Chance noticed that the Omnitrix was green again. "Alright, I got a plan, but you're not gonna like it, Luna," Sunset looked at her friend as he dialed in one of his aliens. "I'm going to go outside and give that albino fruit fly a much more thorough swatting! While I deal with him, you two will have enough time to head to Rushmore, for whatever reason Luna has to be there. It's the only way!" Chance remarked.

Luna shuddered in her seat. "Chance, no! That is a very grave decision!" Luna argued, a hint of fear and concern broke from her tone.

Chance shrugged. "Either I buy you two time, or he catches up to us and crushes this RV like a soda can in a hydraulic press, which is it? Life or Death?" Luna and Sunset were silent, and Chance nodded. "That's what I thought. I know this is a bad idea, but it's mine to make happen. Ironic, isn't it? This is the only plan I have, where none of us kick the bucket. I've been on a road trip with a couple of Martyrdoms!" Chance quipped, smiling as he pressed the core down, transforming into Fumesquito.

The large mosquito alien flies out of the RV, and starts to taunt the alien general. "Come on, fruity-tooty! Ya want the Omnitrix, right? Come and get it, banana boy!" Fumesquito taunted, flying back the way the general came from.

Reinrassic immediately started chasing after Fumesquito, all while Sunset could only watch as her friend risked his life for theirs. "I know what you're thinking, Sunset, and I know he needs help. We will go back for him, but we need to get some special help, or we'll get ourselves killed." Luna reassured.

Sunset sighed. "Let me guess, that 'help' is at Mount Rushmore?" Luna nodded her head, all while Sunset sat down in the front seat, trying to make sense of everything that's happened today. "Luna, if he somehow lives through any of this, you'll have to tell him eventually, there's no other ways about it." Sunset reprimanded.

Meanwhile, Fumesquito was evading Reinrassic's attacks, and managed to get the villain to jump into the river, which bought the alien hero some time to breathe. "Phew! Good thing I got some practice in with Fumesquito's style of flying! I was floating like a butterfly, and I'm as hard to kill like a Mosquito!" Fumesquito remarked.

From behind the alien hero, Reinrassic jumps a long distance and tackles the insectoid hero, and while Fumesquito does manage to get back in the air, Reinrassic kept his grip on one of his legs. "Give me the Omnitrix, pesky vermin!" Reinrassic demanded.

Fumesquito responds to him by spraying gas on him to knock him off. Reinrassic doesn't seem that affected by it, which surprises the alien hero, yet he attempts to tackle him again. Fumesquito dodges, but it's clear that Reinrassic is a lot more persistent than Chance initially thought. "Man, who the fuck is this guy!?" Fumesquito asked himself.

Reinrassic starts to chase the alien hero across the rooftops of the city. Reinrassic was starting to finally lose his patience with the constant game of cat and mouse, and finally attempts to tackle Fumesquito again, this time into a building, which somehow causes a large explosion thereafter.

As the smoke clears, Reinrassic holds Fumesquito in one hand, finally having the alien hero in his grasp. "I grow tired of this! Give me the Omnitrix, now!!" Reinrassic commanded.

Fumesquito rolled his compounded eyes. "Not gonna happen, you albino fruit fly!" Fumesquito remarked.

As Reinrassic holds the alien hero in one of his hands, he readies a finger on his other hand, causing it to glow red, then reverts Fumesquito back into Chance
after manually touching the Omnitrix symbol. Chance is confused at first, but then becomes surprised and worried. "Huh!? W-What in the!?" Chance looked up at Reinrassic, who was equally as surprised, as he was livid, which was absolute. "Well... I guess I need to figure out that trick, just in case I wanna spare the recharge time on this thing." Chance remarked nervously.

Reinrassic's numerous eyes started to twitch as his grip on the human teenager tightened, which made Chance flinch and wince from the increasing amount of pain. "A teenager... The Omnitrix has been in the hands of a mere human teenager!?" Reinrassic exclaimed, clearly frustrated by how he's been bested by a simple member of the human race's youth.

Chance shrugged his shoulders. "In all fairness, had I known your expectations would be so high, would've just told you right off the bat that I'm not the person you think I am." Chance defended.

Reinrassic then attempts to forcibly remove the Omnitrix from Chance’s wrist, but it emits a feedback which pushes Reinrassic against a building. He recovers instantly, while Chance slowly gets back on his feet. "It appears the Omnitrix has already merged with your own DNA, how unfortunate." Reinrassic remarked.

Chance starts to back up, chuckling nervously. "And yet, you are approaching me... you're not gonna let this go, are you?" Chance asked awkwardly.

Reinrassic shook his head. "Hardly." Reinrassic answered.

Chance gulped, now genuinely terrified. "At least you were honest, so in kind," Chance grabbed some dirt and threw it at Reinrassic's face, then immediately tried to run. "I never did fight fair!" Chance exclaimed.

Chance attempted to run away, but he didn't get far when something pricked him in the back. Chance fell to the ground, his body paralyzed and rendered immobile. Reinrassic plucks one of his claw projectiles out of his back, and carries Chance's body to the large mace that rolled up to him. "Your attempt to flee was underhanded... perhaps there's hope for you yet, vermin." Reinrassic stated, tossing Chance's body into the mace, and getting inside it himself. The mace closes up, and drives away, with Chance now held captive.

Meanwhile, Luna is driving along a side road in Mt. Rushmore. Sunset watches Luna closely, questioning whether or not this was in relation to the situation Chance was now in. He stops in front of a "ROAD CLOSED" sign, and Sunset is unsure as to what exactly they were doing on a restricted path. "Uh, miss Luna? I-I don't think tourists are allowed on this road." Sunset pointed out nervously.

Luna smiled. "We're not tourists, miss Shimmer. We're tenants," Luna reaches under the dashboard, and presses a button that Sunset didn't notice before. The ground beneath them appears to be an elevator, which transports them to a massive underground facility. Sunset is surprised, and very much in awe. "If you think this is impressive, just wait till we find the tool we're looking for. It's gonna blow Reinrassic's ass all the way back to his sterilized planet." Luna remarked.

Sunset was caught off guard by that remark, and was about to say something, but soon enough, the elevator stops, and Luna unbuckles herself. "Come on, it should be around B-Section 11-2. That's where the big boy toys are usually stored." Luna commented, letting an excited smile form on her face.

Sunset blinked her eyes and followed behind Luna, now genuinely concerned. "Never have I seen you so giddy about wanting to kill something... I don't know whether to respect you, or be afraid for you." Sunset stated, genuinely confused as to what exactly Luna just expressed.

Luna and Sunset travel the corridors of the facility and it's covered with hundreds of compartments. Luna pulls out a white and red badge and starts to open several of them, and they contain devices, which don't appear to be human technology. And much to Sunset's own dwindling sense of patience, none of it was what Luna was looking for. Sunset continues to keep following her, but soon loses her patience. "Okay, stop! I need answers to all of this, and you're gonna give an answer or two, Now! What the hell is going on out there?! Why aren't we helping Chance right now? What even is this place? And most importantly of all, how the hell do you know about that alien guy who's after Chance? Why does he want the Omnitrix so bad?!" Sunset questioned, panting as she tried to calm herself down.

Eventually, Luna finds what she was looking for. She picks up part of the equipment and wears it on her forehead. "Those are all very good questions, miss Shimmer, so I'll answer a couple of those questions. Mount Rushmore is a plumber base. I told you I was a plumber back in the day, but to be completely transparent with you hon," Sunset watches as Luna carries a large and deadly-looking weapon, a light blue cannon of some sort, to be specific. "Let's just say, I wasn't exactly a normal plumber before I retired." Luna commented, smirking as she effortlessly carries the cannon back to the RV, all while Sunset looks on, amazed, shocked, and even more confused than she already was.

On Reinrassic's ship, Chance starts to slowly come to, only to find himself restrained on some machine in a dark room. Where his left hand and feet were both held by some kind of bright energy field, his right arm was entirely locked into a large gray cylinder device. 'Well, using the Omnitrix is out of the question, for now.' Chance thought.

Soon enough, the lights came on in a blinding flash, which momentarily blinded him, until he finally recognized a few drones, as well as some DNAliens. Chance looked to the right, seeing Reinrassic typing away at a console, looking over some futuristic screens and data. "A teenager. I should have suspected as such," Reinrassic looked at Chance with disgust. "The Omnitrix being used as a means for pointless choices!" Reinrassic berated.

Chance rolled his eyes. "Oh cry me a river and kiss my ass, fruity-tooty! I've saved a lot of people with the Omnitrix, and it's sure as hell ain't pointless, ya fuckin' space racist!" Chance argued.

Reinrassic swung his fist at him, only for Chance to narrowly duck his head, making him miss. "Impudent fool! You hold the key to a power struggle so ancient, so vast, it is beyond your feeble comprehension," Chance rolled his eyes, completely uninterested. "Picture an entire army, each in command of an Omnitrix and all at my command. I will be invincible. I will rule the Universe! And the only thing standing between me and my destiny... is you!" Reinrassic growled.

One of the DNAliens presses a button, causing an array of tools to rise up from the floor, intimidating Chance a fair bit. "Now, are we going to do this the easy way, or the hard way, human?" Reinrassic asked.

Chance gritted his teeth and hocked a loogie onto Reinrassic's face, causing the general to panic and fall backwards. "How about we skip to the part where I get out of here, and kick your non-existent teeth in!?" Chance threatened.

Reinrassic swung at Chance again, with Chance narrowly dodging the hit that time, but for Reinrassic, it was disastrous. Reinrassic destroyed the machine that had the Omnitrix locked within it, and Chance quickly pushed the button with his nose and pushed the core down with his face, transforming into Armethyst. The energy fields were absorbed into his body, and then fired them at Reinrassic, who got pushed back against the wall. Armethyst tore his way through one of the doors and immediately started running. "Get him!! Do not let him escape!!" Reinrassic commanded.

Back at Mount Rushmore, the RV emerges from the elevator that led to the underground facility. As the RV speeds down the road, Luna hooks her badge on the front of her shirt. "Let me explain, Sunset. This weapon in particular, is keyed into Reinrassic's bio-signature. This weapon was literally made to take him down. Hopefully, it'll take him down for good this time." Luna remarked.

Sunset's eyes widened, now growing more concerned. "This time?!" Sunset exclaimed.

Luna immediately realized what she said, and put her face into the palm of her hand. "It failed once, and I'm hoping that the second time's the charm. Look, there's a small red button under that cabinet. Press it real quick," Sunset opened the cabinet and pressed the button she never saw before, and as she did, a holographic display shows up in front of them. Sunset is speechless, she's run out of things to even describe what's happening. "GPS-assisted tracking system. It's locked on the watch's signal, and right now, it's activated and on the move, Chance must be trying to escape. I'll steer, you navigate." Luna instructed.

Sunset gulped and observed the holographic display, confused and excited to figure it out.

Armethyst quickly ducks into one of the rooms, hiding amongst the shadows as DNAliens and robots pass him by, completely unaware. Armethyst sighed and looked at the room, only to be very surprised when he sees six more people. They were all in energy cages, and seemed to be miserable. Two of them seemed to look like Jump-Kick, but they looked very different. One was a brighter shade of blue and seemed more parrot-like with the yellow highlights on their feathers, and the other seemed to have feather-covered fins on the backs of their legs, as well as bright lavender feathers.

The other two individuals were pretty strange themselves. They looked like bipedal cats, but dressed in robes with black markings on their faces, and their fur was more of a blue-gray color. One was taller, thinner yet more built physically. The other was much older than the first one. They had a scraggly white beard, and seemed displeased by Armethyst's presence.

The last two were rather odd. One looked like a normal human lady, but dressed in strange armor and spandex with a bushy monkey tail, lots of muscle and hair on her body, but upon seeing Armethyst, she stanced herself up like a gorilla, barring her fangs. The other seemed to have a duplicitous air about them. They looked a lot like Armethyst, even down to the suit he wore. The only difference was the red eye they had, the green color of their crystals, and the lack of an Omnitrix being on their person.

Armethyst sighed. "I'm gonna assume that the albino fruit fly put you all in here, just because you're different?" Armethyst asked.

The younger cat biped shook his head. "That is partially the reason, Quarzisapien. We were all abducted from our homeworlds, just so that we could be a reminder to the next unfortunate race that crosses paths with the Highbreed. They took us all from our planets, essentially deployed their parasites onto our people like a biological weapon. They have tried to break us, but we have been dubbed as 'too resilient'. Pray tell, how did they capture you, Quarzisapien?" the man explained.

Armethyst sighed. "I'm not always a uh... what'd you call me, a 'Quarzisapien'?" The cat man nodded. "Yeah, this isn't what I usually look like, pal. Ya see this badge on me? The Omnitrix has me transformed into Armethyst, it's what I call this guy. But, I suppose proper introductions are in order. I'm Chance Marsten, happy to meet ya." Armethyst introduced.

The cat man smiled. "I am Rook Blonko, son of Rook Da, the man who is very suspicious of your being here," Armethyst turned to the other cat man, who was glaring at the transformed teenager. Rook suddenly realized what the stranger just said. "Wait, did you say that was the Omnitrix? The fabled Magnum Opus of the Galvan race?!" Rook asked, seeming genuinely interested.

The monkey lady scoffed. "Cat boy needs to shut trap for once. Army-Trix isn't real. Was wiped out. puny frog nerds gone too. Army-Trix is myth, like Frieza clan!" the lady remarked.

Armethyst scowled at the lady. "Sure got a big mouth, for someone who looks like they belong in a whorehouse, or did you grow up in a zoo? Hard to tell, really." Armethyst taunted.

The lady growled and slammed a fist against the barrier, only to be shocked and immediately back off. "I see... the barriers are your prison. I could let you all out, but I want some help in return," Rook was listening intently, all while the lady just stared the crystal guy down. "You help me escape this place, I'll find a way to get you all back home. How's that sound?" Armethyst offered.

Rook's expression fell, and sadness washed over him. "A kind and thoughtful offer, truly, but our homes are gone. Once the Atasian has claimed every life with their parasites, turning them into subservient grunts, the planet is destroyed. Do you not find it ironic that me and my father are the only ones who survived the invasion of Revonnah?" Armethyst looked at Rook Da, who now had his back turned to the alien hero. "Father has been unwilling to move on, unwilling to believe that mother, and our sisters, have made it out alive, or made it to a much better place. The Revonnahganders are doomed to die, unfortunately. Two males surviving, it is a foreboding omen passed down by our ancestors every Harvest Moon. Now, we fear that it will come true." Rook explained solemnly.

Armethyst was disturbed, angry, absolutely livid, sympathetic. "So... you six are the last of your species, all because of that giant white freak who's hunting me down?" They all looked miserable in their individual prisons. Chance felt it deep inside himself, he felt what they felt, and that was their hope, dying out like smoldering embers in a blizzard. Armethyst grabbed the energy fields that contained Blonko and Da, feeling the energy course through him as the fields deactivate. "Then let's see about getting you six settled down on Earth, just until we can fix all of this mess." Armethyst suggested.

One by one, Armethyst absorbed the energy from the barriers and helped them out. "You help escape? Why help us?" The lady inquired.

Rook Da nodded his head. "The Saiyan is correct in her questioning. Why help us escape, when you could've escaped already and save your own skin? You humans aren't always like this, are you?" Rook Da questioned.

Armethyst suddenly heard the Omnitrix start beeping, and let it flash. In a flash of red light, Armethyst was turned back into Chance, and he stared Rook Da in the face, surprising the man, as well as the lady. "Because I know what it's like to be trapped, and to lose hope. Some of you may doubt me and my capabilities, and you can have your opinions, but I've already had a shitty life with terrible people, the fact that I'm going out of my way to help you, should say a lot about how you bastards have probably misjudged others, and turned away great opportunities for the friends, families, and loved ones you've lost." Chance stated bluntly. The lady and Rook Da looked at each other, realizing that the myth, was in fact true.

Chance took a deep breath, and sighed. "Let me tell you about myself. My dad is dead, my mother is a shell of her former self, and she's letting a drunk drug addict stay with us. They caused me pain beyond reasonable belief for the past five years, and made me despise them beyond rational comprehension... but now, I have a new family, one that's worth fighting for, even worth dying for. A friend who cares about me, a mentor who's the closest thing I have to a proper mother figure. I'm not gonna let that albino fruit fly-lookin' bastard take them away from me, and you all deserve to have your lives back, to stop living in fear of that disgusting, prejudiced abomination. Help me put a stop to his plans, help me escape, and I'll help you find somewhere in the universe to hide, free from the Highbreed's reign of terror and tyrannical horror." Chance offered.

The lady stared the teenager down. "Human not tricking us, right? Zuchi hate tricks!" Zuchi remarked.

Chance smiled. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," the numerous races stared at him strangely. "It's Earth's way of saying 'We won't back out of a promise'." Chance explained.

The aliens nodded, and Chance looked to the doorway, seeing numerous drones aimed their way. "Let's go kick that fruit fly where the sun don't shine! Get 'em!!" Chance yelled out.

Meanwhile, Luna and Sunset arrive just in time, nearing Reinrassic's ship in the RV. "Alright, there's the ship. Now what do we do?" Sunset asked.

Luna took a deep breath and smiled. "We're going to board that ship, that's what we're gonna do!" Luna stated.

Sunset raised an eyebrow, clearly confused. "Board the ship, from here? How do you expect to do that?" Sunset asked cautiously.

Luna smirks, which made Sunset very nervous. Luna presses another button on the console that flips out of the dashboard. The RV's bumper extends and it spreads out. The RV then accelerates at a significant rate, which then launches them off the cliff, sending them hurting towards Reinrassic's ship. "Oh my god!!!" Sunset screamed, covering her face with her arms, bracing herself for the end.

Back inside the ship, it's now mass hysteria. The two Jump-Kick aliens are busting through the drones, all while the Armethyst guy simply swats DNAliens out of their path. Zuchi fires a bright orange beam of energy at the door, blowing it open as they all make a run for it. Chance notices that the Omnitrix is still red, but he's not worried about that. Hell, he's not worried at all, rather excited, actually. Chance runs forward, noticing Reinrassic was distracted with something. Chance pointed over to a huge line of escape pods, and gestured for them to move. Rook Da, the Armethyst guy, and the two Jump-Kick aliens moved towards the escape pods, but Rook Blonko and Zuchi stayed right beside him.

Chance raised an eyebrow, clearly confused as to why they weren't going with the others. "Hey, what's the big idea? I'm trying to help you, so why aren't you going to the damn escape pods?" Chance asked quietly.

Rook shook his head. "You are a brave human. Combined with the fact that you wield the Omnitrix, the device of myth and legend across numerous galaxies, you are the last hope for every world. It would only make sense to stay behind, to help you fight this monster, to avenge those we have lost to their cruelty." Rook explained.

Zuchi put her fist to her chest. "Zuchi sense potential in human. Untapped potential. Zuchi help human, so human is good fight for Zuchi later." Zuchi stated bluntly.

Chance was very confused, but he had to admit, he admired their spirit. "I like both of your styles. Thoughtful, yet straight to the point." Chance stated.

The three stepped out of their hiding place, and Chance whistled to Reinrassic. "Hey, albino fruit fly! Still lookin' for me?" Chance announced.

Reinrassic turned towards the three of them, unfazed by their presence. "You've found some allies of your own. Clever boy, but you will not be leaving this ship alive, especially not with the Omnitrix still attached to you." Reinrassic firmly stated.

Zuchi cackled. "Stupid bug fruit no match. Three on one, got you beat!" Zuchi remarked.

Reinrassic chuckled, which confused the wielder of the Omnitrix. "You think I'll fight you alone?" Rook Da screams out as a xenocite latches to his face. The same happens to the two Jump-Kick birds, as well as the Armethyst guy, though he doesn't seem affected. He just pulls the xenocite off and hops into one of the pods, leaving the rest to their fate. The three unfortunate souls soon got up, parts of their bodies now warped and twisted, mutated into DNAlien parts. Rook froze, he was terrified, but he couldn't bring himself to move or speak. Chance gritted his teeth and looked back at Reinrassic, who seemed rather pleased with himself. "Let's see how you fare against them, then we'll see if you can still take me on." Reinrassic suggested.

Chance groaned, then looked at the Omnitrix. "We'll see about that, Reiny," Chance twisted the Omnitrix and tapped at it, trying to get it to work. "Come on, you need to work now! There's a bunch of DNAliens on this ship, and they need to be cured!" Chance beckoned, trying to invoke some kind of response from the watch.

Zuchi got into her stance, letting a powerful blue aura flare up around her, all while a wicked grin formed on her face. "Zuchi know not what human speak of, but Zuchi buy human time to power up! Hyyyaaaarrrrh!!" Zuchi rushed forward, knocking the recently affected Rook Da back, sending them flying into a wall. "Puny parasites can't handle Zuchi!" Zuchi roared out, laughing in excitement.

Chance looked towards Rook, who was clearly disheartened by recent events. "Rook, I need ya to focus! Yes, it's sad what happened to your old man, I get it, but moping and being scared ain't gonna solve anything!" Rook looked to the teenager, seeing a glint of determination in his eyes. "Grab a weapon, and help her before she lets her guard down, I don't know a damn thing about Saiyans, but I really don't wanna fight a DNAlien version of one! I'll keep Reinrassic busy... First opportunity you both get to leave, you two need to go, even if it means leaving me behind! Don't feel bad, I'm used to it by this point." Chance reassured.

Chance continued to mess with the Omnitrix, all while Rook grabbed a metal pole and ran to help the saiyan lady. Soon enough, the Omnitrix does activate, but it's mainly through that same yellow glow, and the DNA Helix shape being formed. "I really need to know if there's a manual for this damn thing, and I'm gonna hope to god it's in English. Omnitrix, you've done this a few times already, what in the fuck have you been doing?!" Chance commented.

The Omnitrix did not respond in the way he had hoped, but in a way, it did give him home. "Omnitrix has detected numerous reports of genetic damage on space-faring vessel. Shall we attempt a mass repair? Omnitrix battery life will be reduced down to fifty-percent, if approved." The Omnitrix chirped.

Chance looked up, only to narrowly roll out of the way of Reinrassic's attack. "Do it, as long as I have enough juice for one transformation, go for it! Mass repair!" Chance approved.

The Omnitrix blinked and started to spin on its own, glowing brighter and brighter. "No, you won't do this to me!" Reinrassic exclaimed, throwing a large crate at the teen hero.

Chance jumps out of the way, sliding across the floor as the Omnitrix lets out a huge pulse of bright yellow light, one that encompassed the entirety of Reinrassic's ship. Numerous xenocites started to wither away, and the DNAliens on board started to change back into their normal selves, ranging from members of the Revonnahganders, to very few saiyans, to a whole bunch of alien races that had no idea what was going on. "Genetic repairs complete. All genetic damage has been repaired. Omnitrix battery life is down to fifty-percent." The Omnitrix acknowledged.

The xenocites on the two Jump-Kick aliens, as well as the one on Rook Da, withered away, freeing them from the parasite's influence. Zuchi looked back at the human, seeing him stand tall, smirking as Reinrassic approached. "Sorry, was that important?" Chance asked in a mocking sincere tone.

Reinrassic swatted Chance to the side, knocking his body against the wall of the ship. Chance felt as if his body was breaking, but he still tried to pick himself up. He wiped his face, feeling a bit of blood pour from his nose, staining his lips. "You... You took my subservient drones! Now I'll have to start over again!!" Reinrassic roared out.

Chance smirked, taking deep breaths as he continued to attempt picking himself up. "W-Well... that must suck for you, but I don't think you should be acting all high and mighty... how about I show you how much I don't care, by painting the soles of my shoes, with what little brains you have," Chance clung to the wall as he got himself upright. "You're gonna die regardless, so might as well accept it." Chance stated firmly.

Reinrassic presses a button on his mechanical arm, unsheathing a large energy blade from a small compartment. The alien general wields the blade and walks toward the exhausted an battered teen hero. "Tell me who you are, vermin." Reinrassic commanded.

Chance smirked. "I'm Chance Marsten, the wielder... of the Omnitrix." Chance introduced.

Reinrassic raised the blade above his head, and looked down at the human, unwavered and unfazed by the alien's intent to kill. "Chance Marsten, you have been a pain in my side, but that will soon change when I hack the Omnitrix from your lifeless corpse," Reinrassic watched as Chance sat against the metal wall. "Any last words, vermin?" Reinrassic asked.

Chance smiled and held the Omnitrix up with what strength he could muster. "It's Hero Time." Chance said defiantly.

Reinrassic shook his head and prepared to strike the human down, until he's interrupted by beeping, which comes from the RV. Before anyone knew what happened next, the RV crashes through the wall, and runs through two of Reinrassic's genodromes, and slams Reinrassic himself against the wall. The RV goes back a few yards in reverse. As Reinrassic slowly gets up, he snarls at the teen hero. "You planned this, didn't you?!" Reinrassic roared out.

Chance crawled along the floor, all while Rook and Zuchi helped the teenager to his feet. "You had me at your mercy, dipshit! On an unrelated note," Chance looked at the RV. "How in the fuck did they get it up here?" Chance wondered.

An alarm continues to blare. "Warning! Hull breach! Power surge!" The alert spoke out.

The RV's door is kicked open, and Luna steps out, equipped with the weapon she was looking for, and aimed it at Reinrassic, with a vindictive sneer on her face. "Claws off my boy, Reinrassic!" Luna warned.

Chance's jaw had dropped. "Miss Luna!?" Chance called out.

Reinrassic got up, surprised at first by the woman's presence, but once he recognized her, he sneered. "Equinox!" Reinrassic growled venomously.

Without a moment's hesitation, Luna fires the weapon at Reinrassic, and he's sent through the wall. Luna fires it again, sending Reinrassic flying through another. Carefully, Luna drops the weapon and runs towards Chance, seeing that he was being supported by Rook and Zuchi. "I see you've been busy, mister Marsten. Friends of yours?" Luna asked with a smile.

Chance chuckled. "Yeah, you could say that. Nothing like a good ol' fashioned jailbreak to make some friends," Chance suddenly realized just how odd this was, and immediately tried to bring himself back to his train of thought. "Now you wait a nit-picking minute, lady! What the hell is going on?! You know of that albino fruit fly, you're not weirded out at all around other aliens, and where the hell did you get that weapon... on an unrelated note, can I get one?" Chance asked.

Luna smiled and hugged the teen hero tightly. "It's a long story, and I'll explain later. Right now, we need to leave. Not sure how you befriended a Saiyan, but I suppose I can't complain. The moment we broke through the wall, we saw numerous aliens escaping the ship, mainly through escape pods." Luna remarked.

Chance sighed as he looked to Rook and Zuchi. "Well, I suppose everything worked out, for now at least. You two should probably get going, I got some personal issues to work out with that giant fruit fly, and it's not gonna be a pretty sight. I don't doubt that we'll see each other again, so don't consider this a goodbye, more like, a farewell." Chance expressed.

Rook bowed his head. "It was an honor to fight alongside you, wielder of the Omnitrix. I promise you, the Revonnahganders will sing songs of praise about your guiding hand, as well as your iron fist." Rook thanked, running over to his father.

Zuchi put her fist to her chest, and Chance did the same. "Become good fight for Zuchi." Zuchi requested, flying to one of the escape pods.

Chance smiled, looking over at Luna. "Nice people." Chance remarked.

Sunset stepped out, marveling at the fact that she was in an actual alien spaceship. "Woah, Twilight's gonna be freaking out when I tell her all about this!" Chance looked over at Sunset, and immediately limped over to her, pulling the girl into a bear hug. "Whoa!! Good to see you too, bud! Did Reinrassic go down for good this time?" Sunset asked.

The ship rumbles, starting to take off. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. Right now," numerous genodromes fly onto the scene, readying their weapons. "It's Hero Time!" Chance exclaimed.

Chance grabs the metal pole Rook left behind and glares at the machines. Several drones rush in to attack, with Chance having to deal with three of them. Sunset uses her geode, then ensnares two robots with her magical tendrils, crushing them with ease. Luna rolls to the side and grabs a laser gun, firing the drones down as they try to intercept the Omnitrix. Chance rolls out of the way, despite his body hurting severely, and manages to jam the pole into one of the drones, then proceeds to smack another drone with it. With two drones down, Chance discards the metal pole and jumps towards the drone, grabbing a hold of it as he tries to tear it apart, but to no avail. Chance maneuvers the drone towards the wall and leaps off, letting the drone crash into it, destroying itself.

As the ship continues to lose altitude, Luna quickly runs over to a console. "I need to get this ship under control!" Luna exclaimed, typing away.

Chance looked surprised, then looked at Sunset. "She can fly a spaceship?!" Chance asked.

Sunset shrugged her shoulders. "At this point, are you really surprised? Because I'm not." Sunset remarked.

Luna smiled. "I told you, miss Shimmer, if you thought the base was crazy, you're in for plenty more surprises!" Luna remarked.

Chance was very surprised, looking at his friend with utter shock. "You knew?!" Chance exclaimed.

Sunset laughed nervously, but then Chance pulled her into another tight hug. "Guess that explains why you two were acting so strange. I love you guys, but let me in on this kind of stuff next time, will ya! We're in this together!" Chance remarked.

Luna tries to control the ship, unaware that Reinrassic, unexpectedly, walks out of the room he was blasted into and throws her aside, tossing her towards the breach in the hull. Luna stopped just short of the edge and Reinrassic walks over, trying to crush her beneath his robotic foot. "You're getting less and less aware every day, Equinox. You are not going to stop me this time!" Reinrassic proclaimed.

Sunset and Chance were shocked. "Miss Luna!!" The two exclaimed in unison.

Luna struggles to break free, and she can't help but wonder why the weapon didn't work. "So much for a second chance at victory." Luna grunted.

Reinrassic chuckled. "Your weapon won't help, Equinox. As you can see, I'm much stronger than in our last encounter. With every year that passed me by, I became more and more pure! I became stronger, faster, more capable than I ever was before... your time is at an end, say your goodbyes!" Reinrassic remarked.

Sunset used her magical tendrils to try and pull Reinrassic off, but instead, Reinrassic pulled her close and shoved her away. Chance gritted his teeth, frozen in place by terror, just like Rook was. 'What the hell am I gonna do? The Omnitrix has half of its power drained, and Luna is at that thing's mercy... I shouldn't be scared of him. I shouldn't be scared right now...' Chance gripped his head, falling to his knees. 'No... I'm not scared, I'm overthinking this! Chance, listen to yourself! You can't just stand there and let that albino fruit fly get away with this! You're a hero, damn it, act like one! You've fought to stay alive all your life, even if those threats were grains of sand compared to Reinrassic himself, but are you really going to let him take another family from you?! Are you that far from saving!?' Chance thought to himself.

Chance got up and backed away, hanging his head low. Sunset watched as her friend moved, seeing him tightening his fists, clenching his teeth, the way he felt the heat radiating from his body from a few feet away, the way it burned like an exploding star, Sunset was unsure as to what Chance was doing, but he looked back at Luna, who was starting to lose the struggle.

Chance looked to the wall he was now backed up against. Chance got on all fours, getting to a track racer's position, as if they're preparing to run. Reinrassic was so close to winning the struggle, but then felt a strange heat emanating from the ship. "What is the meaning of this?" Reinrassic questioned.

Before anyone knew what happened, Chance lunged right towards Reinrassic, roaring out in a rage. "You wanna die that bad, bastard? Then let me escort you to hell!!" Chance roared out in a fury. Reinrassic was prepared to fend the human off, but to his own surprise, Chance tackled Reinrassic out of the hole in the hull, the both of them fell down towards Rushmore.

Luna and Sunset are astonished, then horrified as they look down below. "CHANCE!!" The two exclaimed.

Luna quickly got up, feeling a sense of panic. "We need to get out of here!" Sunset exclaimed.

The both looked towards the RV. Where Luna was a bit excited by the idea, Sunset was rightfully terrified.

Reinrassic hits the ground, with Chance landing on top of him feet first, bouncing off of the general, and falling onto the ground, landing on his butt. Immediately, Chance got up and rushed towards the general, getting on top of him as he starts to attack him. Reinrassic gets up and tosses Chance off of him, only for Chance to spontaneously recover, growling with a wild look in his eyes. "For a hairless ape, you are impressively persistent. But no longer will I play second best to some biped vermin!" Reinrassic gritted, walking towards the human.

Just as Reinrassic was about to grab Chance, the teen hero grabbed his arm and hard onto his hand, causing Reinrassic to roar out in pain, as well as disgust, then flings the teenager back, only to notice a bit of white skin was now trapped between his teeth. "You are a feral creature! A lowlife undeserving of the Omnitrix's vast ancient power!" Reinrassic insulted.

Chance spat the skin out of his mouth and sneered. "And you're the bastard son of a racist who's just as undeserving of its power. See, I can point out the obvious too!" Chance countered.

The two ran towards each other, the final fight was on. Reinrassic swung at Chance, but the human managed to roll out of the way, then jump backwards and headbutt Reinrassic in his right side. The Highbreed quickly started firing its claw projectiles, but Chance jumped out of the way, letting the claws dig into the rock. Instinctively, Chance grabbed two of them and brandished them as weapons, then charged at Reinrassic. The human swung and sliced away at the Highbreed, but Reinrassic was evading and countering the human's efforts.

The two continued to be put at a stalemate, with Chance refusing to use the Omnitrix. As the fight went on, no matter how many times Reinrassic tossed and attacked the teenager, he was still getting back up. 'This is rather rare... a lower lifeform is giving me trouble. Even with my body being regenerated and my mechanical enhancements, he's still fighting me, pushing me back. Either he's more tenacious than I thought, a mutated variant of his kind, or these Earthlings are a much more dangerous breed of sentient life than what was originally calculated.' Reinrassic thought, steadily growing infuriated, and mildly impressed with the human youth's will to fight.

Chance and Reinrassic were at an impasse, neither one could keep the other down for long, and even if Chance used the Omnitrix, there was always the possibility that none of his ten transformations could even lay a devastating blow. "You... are rather aggressive, in your fighting prowess. It's like dealing with a wild animal, but even a wild animal would be smarter than you, vermin." Reinrassic remarked.

Chance spat a bit of red onto the ground and scoffed. "Yeah, but a wild animal wouldn't know how to use the Omnitrix. You, for example." Chance stated.

Reinrassic sighed. "Human, we're clearly incapable of putting each other down. Let's just come to a consensus, shall we?" Chance was confused, but also very skeptical. "You hand over the Omnitrix, and I'll grant you power far greater than what it has provided you." Reinrassic offered.

Chance flipped the bird towards Reinrassic. "I'm not that stupid, jackass. The moment I give the Omnitrix up, I'll end up with a xenocite on my face! No deal!" Chance refused.

Reinrassic growled, coughing and sputtering as the general took a knee. "Please, human... I need it, the Omnitrix is my last hope." Reinrassic pleaded.

Chance rolled his eyes. "Should've thought about that before trying to attack me, infecting others with your parasite, and threatening to blow up my world, like you've done with many others. You must've ruined over trillions of lives, forced most of them to become DNAlien slaves, and made it impossible for any survivors to repopulate and save their race. You're in no position to bargain, and the fact that you're trying anyway, means you're running out of options, and you don't want to admit it." Chance remarked.

Reinrassic was shocked, the human had figured him out, and Reinrassic got angry. "If you don't hand it over, I'll kill your family!" Reinrassic threatened.

Chance walked closer to Reinrassic, glaring at the general. "You'll die before you can draw a drop of blood from either of them." Chance countered, lightly poking Reinrassic's neck with one of the claws.

Before anything else could be done, a loud crash echoed out. The two looked to the source of the sound, seeing Reinrassic's ship pass overhead and crash into the field below. Chance felt a sense of dread creep up his spine. 'Luna! Sunset! They were-'

Chance was kicked away by Reinrassic, causing the hero to drop his weapons. "How about we see what your family thinks." Reinrassic stated, unfurling his wings as he leapt into the air, gliding towards his ship.

Chance quickly got up, now feeling livid. "You bastard son of a bitch!" Chance exclaimed. Chance quickly jumped off of Rushmore, slamming down on the Omnitrix as he transformed into Zombrex.

Inside the ship, Luna and Sunset are strapped inside the RV, all while everything starts to collapse. "Better hang on to something. This may get a little bumpy!" Luna cautioned.

Sunset held onto her seat as much as she could, letting a momentary whimper escape her lips. Luna breaks through several walls and makes it to the ship’s stern. The RV pushes through and breaks through the ship, skidding across the disturbed ground caused by the ship's crash landing. Sunset and Luna screamed out as the RV nearly tips over, but then immediately sits right back into its proper position. Luna and Sunset made it out of the ship, but the RV was now very damaged and weakened.

Luna looked at Sunset, seeing the fear in her eyes. "Miss Shimmer, are you alright?" Luna asked.

Sunset nodded her head. "Ya know, I wouldn't mind dealing with another magic problem, some random object enhanced by magic sounds real cozy right about now!" Sunset remarked, laughing fearfully.

Suddenly something crashed in the back, getting both of their attention. "Chance, is that you?!" Sunset called out.

Luna gulped and took a deep breath. "Mister Marsten, how'd things go with Reinrassic?" Luna called out.

There wasn't an answer, but Reinrassic soon landed right in front of the RV, and as he raised his claw to attack, Sunset's screams echoed out, attracting the attention of the undead alien hero.

After a few minutes of constant hopping around, Zombrex finally made it to the RV, which looked busted up beyond compare. Zombrex crawls through the wind shield, only to notice that the place was wrecked and empty. "Miss Luna? Sunset?" Zombrex called out.

Zombrex climbs through the back window and emerges out of the back, only to be met by Reinrassic, who managed to capture Luna and Sunset, holding them by their throats. Zombrex growled and got ready to attack, but Reinrassic was prepared. "Not another step, vermin. It's your choice... You or them." Reinrassic stated.

Zombrex was about to lunge at the general, but looked at Luna and Sunset's unconscious bodies. The zombified hero falls to his knees, disappointed in himself. Reinrassic approaches him and his finger glows red again. As the taps the Omnitrix, Zombrex is reverted back into Chance, who's clearly very angry, as well as disappointed. "How noble." Reinrassic said sarcastically.

Reinrassic drops Luna and Sunset, then grabs Chance and walks towards his ship. Luna and Sunset regain consciousness shortly thereafter, and notice the highbreed general carrying her student back to the ship. "No! Don't go back in there, Reinrassic! It's suicide!!" Luna warned, but her words fell on deaf ears as the ship lifted upwards.

Reinrassic looks down at Luna, perplexed by her ramblings. "Foolish Earthing vermin, Why won't I-" An alarm starts blaring, cutting off the general. Reinrassic's eyes widen, causing him to drop the alien hero on the floor. "The auto-destruct launch sequence has been initiated!" Reinrassic exclaimed.

Reinrassic attempts to stop the sequence but the console crackles with electricity, rendering it inoperable. Infuriated, Reinrassic tears the console out and tosses it to a random corner of the room. "EQUINOX! You are a thorn in my side, and I will-" Reinrassic is cut off again as something blasts him into another wall.

Chance stands tall and carries the weapon. Chance fires the weapon repeatedly, screaming out in a rage as Reinrassic was slammed through walls, and buried in rubble and fire. "Shut up already, and die!" Chance viciously exclaimed.

The alarm starts to blare louder. "Commencing self-destruct launch." a digital voice announced.

Chance smirked, noticing that the Omnitrix lit up green much earlier than usual, and quickly dialed in the alien that started all of this nonsense in the first place. "Hey Reiny, tell the devil that Chance Marsten says 'hello'!" Chance shouted out, running to the hole in the hull, slamming down the core as he transformed.

Back on the ground, Luna and Sunset look up at the ship as it explodes, their hearts sink for a moment, until a small green flash is seen amidst the thick black clouds of smoke. Nitrofrost fires down numerous streams of slush and snow, creating a large towering hill of white as Nitrofrost is enveloped in a flash of green light, changing Nitrofrost back into Chance, to which the teenager slides down the hill. "Woohoo!!!" The teen boy shouted happily, laughing as he slid down his frozen cold creation.

Luna and Sunset smiled, laughing as they quickly ran towards him as he finally made it to the bottom. Chance stands up and dusts some snow off his torn up clothes and smiles. Sunset smiled and crossed her arms. "Not bad, but don't scare us like that!" Sunset remarked.

Chance looked over at Luna, giving her a smug grin with a knowing look in his eyes. "So, I'm under the impression that you have a lot to explain... care to share thy secrets?" Chance asked coyly.

Luna laughed, pulling the teens into a hug, all while they watched pieces of Reinrassic’s ship fall out of the sky, and onto the ground below. Chance suddenly remembers something, and his happier feelings are immediately replaced with concern. "Wait, what're we gonna do about the RV? All of our shit was in there!" Chance exclaimed.

Luna smiles, pulling out a small pill-sized capsule. "Don't worry, Mister Marsten, a Plumber is always prepared for the worst possible scenarios. Each of your belongings are safe, and the RV will be fine. I know where we can get another one." Luna remarked, winking at the teen.

Author's Note

Finally, Season 1 is over with! A three-part finale, in conjunction with a Three-part premiere. Not a lot of room for adventures, but that'll be something Season 2 fixes reaaaal quick.

On the topic of Season 2, I do want to start introducing a more expanded version of this story's universe. As of now, I've already introduced numerous ideas for episodes just in this part alone, so that'll be fun to work with.

Hope you enjoyed this final part, because with Season 1 out of the way, Season 2 is gonna be very interesting, especially with how I'll handle the unlockable aliens, and other neat characters and arcs.

S2, Episode 1: Nothing but the Truth

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Nothing but the Truth

Somewhere in the woods at night, a boarding school was being guarded. A security guard overlooks three small security cameras, each camera was pointed at the entrances of buildings. Suddenly, red beams shoot out of the windows, shattering them as a large cloaked individual leaps out and attempts to escape, all while two individuals in white and black suits give chase to the intruding perpetrator.

"Stop running from the Plumbers, xeno-scum!" One of the plumbers exclaimed.

The cloaked figure continued to run, managing to jump over a tall brick wall, forcing the two suited individuals to climb over it. "Well, this is one way to dodge a red flag, huh doll?" the suited man remarked.

The woman next to him simply punches him in the side. "Learn to shut your trap, and stay on his tail! Don't let him escape!" The woman remarked.

Somewhere nearby, the large individual runs through the park, trying to clearly reach a small alien ship. As the ship lights up, it's revealed to be Reinrassic, but smaller, draped in a tattered beige poncho like a cloak, and lacking the robotic limbs he initially had, now having all of his functional limbs intact. The two plumbers finally catch up to him, all while he holds a blaster in his hand. "Finally caught me, did you? Such pathetic Earth vermin, how your species came up with a group like the Plumbers, I'll never be able to fathom. Not that it matters, I'll still make sure to flee this backwater world before Operation S.T.E.R.I.L.E comes into fruition, and I will have avenged my race. If we must die out, we'll take you out with us." Reinrassic declared.

The two plumbers stepped into the light, revealing the strange helmets that concealed their identities. "It's over Reinrassic, we defused your little bio-weapon and shot it into the sun yesterday." The woman remarked.

The man stepped forward and pulled out a rifle. "You're coming with us, alien!" The man exclaimed.

Reinrassic chuckled. "Many have tried, NONE have succeeded! What makes you earthlings think you have a chance?" Reinrassic remarked.

The man gripped onto the gun, only for a sudden coat of the gun's material to move up the man's arm. The man gave the rifle to the woman and slammed his metal fists together. "Let's answer that question with one of my own. Who said I was human?" The man remarked.

Reinrassic fired at the man, only for the laser to bounce off. The man ran forward, delivering several powerful hits as Reinrassic started to get pushed back, until a few genodromes flew out of his ship, firing at the woman. The lady in question rolled behind a tree, carefully shooting the drones down while her partner gave Reinrassic a serious beating. The man knocked Reinrassic left and right, but as he went for an uppercut, Reinrassic grabbed his arm, and had him pinned, much to the woman's anger.

'God damn it, Talon...' the woman thought.

The woman slowly got out of cover, aiming the gun carefully at Reinrassic. The metal coating starts to crumble off of the man, and Reinrassic takes the helmet off, revealing a young adolescent man with a strong jaw, jet black hair and three small horns poking out of the top of his head. "An Osmosian... should've figured, here I was, beginning to have thought that you earthling whelps managed to evolve beyond your stupidity," Reinrassic glared at the woman as he pulled out a canister, revealing a live xenocite inside. "Back away, or watch one of your precious plumbers join my empire's ranks!" Reinrassic threatened.

The woman didn't back down. Instead, she walked forward, much to the man's appreciation. Reinrassic backed up, slowly unscrewing the lid. "Drop the weapon. NOW!" Reinrassic commanded.

The man gritted his teeth as he tried to squirm free. "C'mon doll, don't listen to this freak, he's nothing but an overgrown fruit fly lookin' for scraps!" The woman looked at the man, then at Reinrassic, and the xenocite in the canister. Much to the woman's frustration, she dropped the weapon, kicking it behind her. Reinrassic chuckled, continuing to back up, pulling the man forward. "Damn it, you can't let him get away with this!" the man exclaimed.

The woman scoffed. "Never said I would, Talon. Duck!" The woman quickly pulled a small red gun from her pocket and fired. Talon did as he was told and ducked his head, all while a bright red light shot Reinrassic into his ship, causing him to drop the canister, trapping the xenocite inside. The woman carefully pulled out a small shuriken-like device and threw it into the ship's console, then pressed the badge on her suit. "Sayonara, Atasian brute!" The woman remarked.

Talon quickly ran over to the woman's side, watching as the door to the ship closed, and the ship started flying away. "What are you doing?" Talon asked.

The woman took her helmet off, revealing a young adolescent Luna, who had her black hair in a short bobcut, smirking as she looked up. "Just showing Reinrassic what happens when you play with fire... you rightfully get 'burned'." Luna remarked.

Before Talon could question what Luna meant, the ship suddenly burned bright, fire and smoke started to pour out of the ship as it left Earth's atmosphere, showing a small glimpse of light amongst the stars.

Flash-forward to the present day, the new RV, now painted in numerous blues, violets and decorated with many white stars, drives away from Mount Rushmore. "And just like that, I quite literally lit a fire under that buffoon's rear end. No more Reinrassic, and no more cases of DNAliens," Chance and Sunset were surprised, enthralled by Luna's story. "Or so we thought. Everything that happened back in Jaxton this summer only confirmed my fears. He didn't go down like I'd hoped." Luna explained.

Chance smiled widely. "So, you were a hero before Sunset and her friends were?! That's awesome, mad respect to the VP here, total badass alert!" Chance praised.

Luna shrugged her shoulders, smiling. "Mister Marsten, please, I was just a woman doing a job..." Luna stated.

Sunset, while she was intrigued by Luna's story of her first encounter with Reinrassic, she now had so many more questions. "Excuse me for prying, but exactly what was that job?" Sunset questioned.

Luna's smile fell, and the woman sighed, looking on towards the front of the road. "We called ourselves the Plumbers. Officially, we didn't exist. We were the guys who fixed the problems no one else could. Extraterrestrial. Extrasensory. Extraordinary," Luna turned towards the two teens. "Whether it's aliens, magic, or any kind of strange oddity that didn't seem to make any logical sense for existing, the Plumbers took care of it, everything they did was carefully and meticulously logged off the books, kept out of the OCUI." Luna explained.

Chance was confused. "OCUI? The hell is that, some kind of alien?" Chance asked.

Luna shook her head. "It's an acronym. It stands for the Online Circulation of Unexplained Information. You could search up aliens on a modern day search engine and get what you'd typically expect. Search up aliens on a Plumber-mandated console, and you'll have access to the Extranet, which is a lot more expansive and much more chocked full of information on any and every alien life form in the first eight galaxies that neighbor the Milky Way, according to the last time I checked... and that was back in 2000, a few weeks before I retired and started helping Celestia with shaping the minds of the youth in school." Lune explained.

Chance was speechless. "So, the Extranet is basically just... alien internet, and it's much more expansive and chocked full of stuff anyone could wish or desire to find?! Luna, I want that on my phone, it'd make things so much easier for writing dull research papers for Mr. Cranky! No longer would I have to get infuriated by the slow and unresponsive chicken scratch internet connection at the library!" Chance stated, excited to be learning about alien stuff.

Luna sighed. "Maybe I should've kept my mouth shut about that," Luna looked back at Sunset, who seemed conflicted. "Sunset, have you anything to ask of me?" Luna asked.

Sunset felt uncertain. "So, with all of this revealed, is it even right for me to assume that you knew about the watch the whole time?!" Sunset questioned.

Luna laughed nervously. "N-Not at first, miss Shimmer. The Omnitrix was just a myth, a legend, nothing more than just rumors and scuttlebutt. I was surprised as you guys when it turned up on Chance's wrist, at first. However, after hearing that the DNAliens back in Jaxton recognized the Omnitrix, calling it by name around its user, that's what confirmed my concerns and worries even more." Luna explained.

Chance smiled and hopped into the front seat. "So, all this time, when I've been going hero, I've really been following in your footsteps!" Luna flinched, a sense of worry pulsed throughout her body as she tried to fake a smile. "That's awesome!! I'm basically a Plumber in training, Sunset too! We'd be kick-ass at this job!" Chance remarked, starting to get giddy as he started to imagine the possibilities.

Sunset sighed. "Luna, as appreciative as I am that we finally have answers, I don't feel like we're getting the whole story," Luna looked back at the teenage girl, seeing the uncertainty on her face. "You always told us we could tell you anything, Vice Principal Luna. Guess you didn't feel the same when things got too intense..." Sunset stated, feeling unsure of who the Luna at the wheel really was.

Before Luna could try to defend herself, she was cut off by the sounds of sirens behind them. Luna pulls the RV to the side, and lets ambulances and police cars pass him, even noticing a few SWAT vans pass her by. Luna was concerned, but Chance was over the moon, practically bursting from the seams with excitement. "All right, that's what I'm talking about! This could be a chance for the Plumbers to go 'back to work'!" Chance encouraged.

Sunset sighed. "Bud, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but maybe we should sit this one out. I'm all for helping people when they need it, but it's been literal hours ago, that we dealt with Reinrassic! You're that anxious to get in another fight, aren't you?" Sunset remarked.

Chance smiled and rolled his eyes. "Come on, I'm serious! We already have a few wins and a couple losses under our belts, and Reinrassic's defeat is our biggest win so far! What could possibly be wrong with taking our hero-status to the next level?" Chance looked forward and started twisting the dial. "Think about it. Master that weird energy tendril magic you've got going on, and if I can unlock more stuff on the Omnitrix for me to use, we'd be upgrading our hero status to the maximum, we'd be doing a bajillion times better! Plus, it'd be a great way to show how much you've grown, ready to take on anything at a moment's notice!" Chance explained.

Luna gritted her teeth, letting a concerned sigh escape her lips. "Mister Marsten, as refreshing as it is to see you in a better mood, there is no "back to work". My hero days were over a long time ago, and with Reinrassic out of the way, that ship has officially reached its final destination." Luna stated firmly.

Chance frowned, unbuckling his seat belt and running to the door, kicking it open. "Your hero days are only over, when you stop putting in effort. Besides, ours are just getting started!" Chance popped the core up and saw Riptile's icon. "Goin' hero!" Chance exclaimed.

Luna groaned. "Chance, wait!" Luna called out.

In a flash of light, Chance had transformed, but it wasn't into the alien he was hoping for. Instead of Riptile, Chance looked into the RV's side mirror, seeing Jump-Kick's reflection. "Aw come on! Jump-Kick, really?!" Jump-Kick complained.

As Jump-Kick reaches for the Omnitrix, the sounds of a fire truck get closer. Knowing he didn't have time, Jump-Kick quickly jumped onto the back of the moving red vehicle, hitching a ride as it zooms past the RV.

Luna quickly pulls in and follows close behind, all while feeling a wave of conflicting emotions. In a way, she was actually happy to see the teenage boy be so enthusiastic about joining the Plumbers, but at the same time, he didn't know the full extent of what the Plumbers usually did, and it worried her as she sped faster down the road.

A few miles later, the fire truck arrives at a very large hotel. Some people are outside, having been evacuated. The driver gets out of the truck and speaks with the manager, who is in total disarray. "There's s-some kind of creature inside, tearing up the place!" the mayor looks up and sees Jump-Kick standing proudly. "Ahh!!" The manager shrieked.

Jump-Kick leapt down and stretched for a moment. "Don't mind me, dude, just need to stretch before business is handled. Can't risk pulling something on the job. I'll take care of your alien problem in two shakes of my tail feathers, courtesy of the Plumbers!" Jump-Kick saluted, running towards the building.

As Jump-Kick steps into the building, he sees a lot of carnage left in whatever creature's wake, all except for a water fountain, which was relatively untouched. "Okay, who's the jerk giving us aliens a bad name?!" Jump-Kick called out, but no response was given.

Jump-Kick stepped forward, but before he knew it, A burgundy-colored alien with red eyes and a drooling toothy mouth jumps out of nowhere. It stands up and roars ferociously, but due to the creature being about 2 feet tall and not threatening at all, Jump-Kick was mildly tickled by the small little beast. Jump-Kick tries to hold back the urge to laugh, but it all comes out. "...PFFT-AAHAHAHAHAH!" Jump-Kick blared out, laughing uncontrollably.

The alien hero laughed and laughed, and continued to do so, feeling unthreatened by the alien that stood before him. Eventually, the alien picks up a rock and throws it at his head, knocking the alien hero back to reality, and now pissing him off. "Ohoho... Bad move, munchkin. You picked the wrong day to be an alien!" Jump-Kick firmly stated.

Jump-Kick leaps toward it and tries to kick it, but the alien dodges and Jump-Kick goes sliding across the floor, and knocked into the fountain. He gets up and spots the alien on a pillar. It snarls and leaps into the fountain, but Jump-Kick quickly dodges and dig his feet into one of the pillars. It spits a mouthful of water at Jump-Kick, but the alien hero gladly lets himself be sprayed, with the water doing nothing to him. Jump-Kick smirked at the small alien. "You're gonna have to try harder than that, you freaky gremlin!" Jump-Kick taunted.

Outside the hotel, the RV arrives on the scene. Sunset and Luna get out and approach the manager, who was very shaken up. "Anybody happen to see a giant, talking blue jay come by here at all?!" Sunset asked.

The manager nodded his head, pointing to the hotel's entrance. "T-The bird said he was gonna solve our alien problem. Must be a new hire with that other fella that came earlier." The manager explained.

Luna and Sunset looked at each other in confusion, then back at the manager. "Who would be stupid enough to go in there?!" Luna asked.

The alien climbs up a pillar, snarls at Jump-Kick and leaps into the darkened room. Jump-Kick goes after him, carefully exploring around. Unfortunately, he doesn't notice a man with a rifle, also exploring around the darkened room, clad in a futuristic white and black suit. Eventually, the two come back-to-back, knocking into each other.

They turn around and gasp. "AAH! Who are you?! Who am I!? Who are you?!" The two exclaimed in unison.

The man immediately aims the blaster, but Jump-Kick holds his hands up. "Woah, hang on a minute! I'm a plumber, and not the kind that fixes toilets and shit!" Jump-Kick blurted out.

The man was surprised, but at the same time, very confused. Behind Jump-Kick was the alien, and the man jumped to the right and pulled the trigger, hitting the small alien dead-on. The man lowered the rifle and looked at Jump-Kick, eyeing him up carefully. "Well, this is a rare sight. Didn't think I'd see a Sparpasserian on the force, let alone reveal to me that the Plumbers are picking things up again." The man inquired.

Jump-Kick was confused as to what exactly the man called him, but decided to ignore it for the moment. "Either way, the alien's been defeated, and now we do the most important thing to ensure it doesn't hurt anyone again." Jump-Kick stated.

The man smirked and went to grab the small alien, until another one jumped out of nowhere, roaring out in fury despite its small size. The man rolled out of the way and tried to aim at the creature, but it lunged at him, tearing off the barrel of his weapon with its jaws. Jump-Kick grabbed the creature with his foot and proceeded to stomp it onto the ground, slowly but surely pummeling the small alien into the ground.

Jump-Kick eventually stopped, letting the unconscious creature go as the man bunches them up in an energy net. "That was some handy footwork, pal. I was a bit skeptical when you said you were a plumber, but with that suit on, I can tell you're a real interesting sort. Still, nice work," the man slung the net over his shoulder and held his hand out for a handshake. "Name's Talon, what's yours featherhead?" Talon introduced himself.

Jump-Kick shook the man's hand and smiled. "Jump-Kick, pleasure doing business with a pro." Jump-Kick commented.

Talon chuckled. "I've been around the proverbial star or two as of late, but my old partner was a real pro, she was practically a prodigy in the making. A tactical genius and knew some serious cloak and dagger-type stuff," Talon walks over and tosses a chair out of the way, looking for something. "Say, you didn't happen to find a small voice box-shaped machine on your way in, did you?" Talon asked.

Jump-Kick shook his head. "Never saw something like that before. What's it do, is it important?" Jump-Kick asked.

Talon sighed and stopped looking, then turned to look at Jump-Kick. "It's not too important, but it's meant to be swallowed like a pill, and it enhances your vocal chords, making you capable of speaking and understanding numerous alien languages and dialects. I use it from time to time to disguise my voice, and get the jump on any rogue aliens that hide from the long arms of the law." Talon explained.

Jump-Kick was fairly impressed, but before he could ask any more questions, the Omnitrix started beeping and flashing red, which caught Talon's attention. "What's that thing doing?" Talon asked.

Jump-Kick was now worried, and tried to think up an excuse. "That's my badge. It does this when the job is done, and it informs me to get back to the base for my next assignment. Sorry to cut our talk short, but I hope to see you again, mister Talon! Godspeed, sir!" Jump-Kick explained, saluting to the man as he quickly ran out of the building.

Talon smiled and looked around, finding the device he was looking for tucked within the leaves of a potted plant.

As Luna and Sunset talk outside with the authorities, Jump-Kick quickly makes his way around the vehicles and quickly gets into the RV, where a flash of red light shined from the windows. Everyone looked at the RV, only to notice a teenage boy walk out, yawning as he slowly approached the two ladies. "Man, I really need to figure out how to work that alarm clock. Got an eye full of red light, and man that wasn't pleasant... what'd I miss?" Chance asked, looking thoroughly exhausted and spent.

Luna sighed and pulled the teenager into a hug. "So sorry for the inconvenience, officer, seems like I'm the one who can't keep an eye on my son, carry on," The officer raised an eyebrow, but eventually shrugged it off and walked back to the police tape being strung up. Luna immediately looked down at Chance, and was mildly relieved that he wasn't hurt, but wasn't exactly pleased by him running off. "Care to explain what went on in there, mister Marsten?" Luna asked sternly.

Chance smiled nervously and patted Luna's shoulder. "Relax, it's all taken care of. Ran into another plumber in there, guy had some serious moves. He seems alright to me," Chance looked back at the building, noticing Talon walk out with the small aliens slung over his shoulder. "There he is! He's gonna do what must be done to those aliens." Chance pointed out.

Luna looked over at the man in question, and Luna's eyes widened, genuinely surprised and shocked by Talon's appearance. Talon stepped over the police tape and saw Luna staring at him, which made him smile. "Equinox! I shoulda figured the moment aliens came back on the rise, you wouldn't be too far behind!" Talon remarked.

Luna smiled and ran towards Talon, the pair of them hugged each other tightly, laughing like they haven't done so in years. "And I should've figured the moment aliens were causing trouble, you'd be there to get in the middle of it." Luna remarked.

Sunset was confused, but Chance seemed to have an idea on what was going on here. "Miss Luna, you know this guy?" Sunset asked.

Luna smiled and looked back at the teenagers. "Well, you could say that. We used to be partners, back when the Plumbers were more active!" Luna explained.

Talon smiled and stepped forward, putting the contained aliens on the ground. "It was a long time ago, but I still cherish those days like nothing else matters," Talon looks back at the aliens he bagged and showed them off to Luna. "Recognize these little weirdos, Luna? Havoc Beasts from Tuchanka. Managed to bag them before they caused more damage." Talon stated.

Luna looked at the small aggressive aliens as they flailed in the net. "Havoc Beasts, huh? Just like the ones we we caught terrorizing Denver years ago. Haven't seen any of those since then." Luna remarked, impressed with the catch.

Chance cleared his throat. "It wasn't just you, Jump-Kick lent you a hand and ran to take care of another mission." Chance remarked.

Talon smiled. "Of course, how could I forget? It was still a surprise to see another plumber on Earth, much less a Sparpasserian." Talon remarked.

Chance shrugged his shoulders. "Life is full of surprises, as they say." Chance remarked.

Talon picks up the bagged aliens and brings them over to a sleek, yet dated blue car. "Still riding around in this beat-up thing, hm?" Luna asked with a smug grin.

Talon smirked. "Laugh it up, Equinox. Yeah, she's not much to look at, but it's better than that old corvette you used to drive!" Talon jabbed.

Chance stepped forward. "So, you must be pretty skilled to handle these kinds of alien problems, huh?" Chance questioned.

Talon smiled and closed the trunk with the aliens inside. "Yeah, well, good thing I was around. You know, 'once a Plumber, always a Plumber'," Talon looked at Luna, who was still smiling, but now seemed a bit unsure. "Speaking of which, you ever think about getting back in the game, Lulu? You know, relive the glory days and do something you enjoy?" Talon asked.

Luna smirked as her eye twitched. "First off, you still have a long way to go before you can call me that," Talon chuckled. "And two, no thanks. I'm retired. And so are the Plumbers. Some individuals just can't let it go." Luna explained.

Talon smiled. "The Plumbers were retired, thanks to you! Once you took Reinrassic out of the picture, the work just seemed to dry up." Talon remarked.

Luna smiled. "Eh, just doin' my job, nothing more." Luna stated.

Talon sighed. "Yeah, anyway... Looks like things are picking back up again. In fact, I'm starting my own freelance Plumber business! I could use the extra set of hands if you're interested," Talon looked over at the teenagers, and soon spots the Omnitrix on Chance's wrist. "Hey, cool watch, kid! It looks so familiar..." Talon remarked, squinting his eyes as he stared at the device.

Chance smiled. "Oh, this old thing? It's nothing special. It's a prize I got from a Japanese cereal box, and I haven't taken it off since then. Everyone's got a look, and this watch ties everything together." Chance remarked.

Luna sighs and pushes the two teenagers back towards the RV. "Oh, look at the time, it's getting real late! Well, we need to get back on the road, anyway. Nice catching up with you, Talon. Happy plumbing!" Luna shouted.

Talon raises an eyebrow as they leave, but decides to shrug it off and hop into his car, driving away.

As the RV drives down the road, Chance is just confused. "I don't get it! How come you didn't tell Talon about the Omnitrix? Surely the plumbers would be ecstatic to have such a device on their side, right?" Chance questioned.

Luna sighed. "That's on a need-to-know basis only, Chance. The less people know, the better off we'll be." Luna explained.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Guess that's your answer to everything, isn't it, miss Luna?" Sunset remarked.

Luna groaned. "I'm doing this for the good of you both. As much as it was great to see Talon again, I don't condone doing this for money or fame. Talon was a good man, but he always had a greedy streak." Luna remarked.

Chance leaned back in his seat, then finally got an idea. "Hey... Why don't we start up the Plumbers again? You, me, Sunset, and Talon! We'd be super alien ass-kickers! Plus, if being around you two could make me feel better and be a little better, maybe it'd help Talon out too with his greedy streak!" Chance suggested.

Luna sighed, a look of concern forming on her face. "Mister Marsten, I'm flattered you appreciate what I did, but you can't bring back the past." Luna stated.

Before another word could be said, a monitor suddenly opens up from the drink compartment and shows a broadcast from Talon. "Equinox! If you're out there, I need help! Two Felynxidae are tearing up a meat processing plant on Highway 44, and they're getting real nasty!" Talon called out.

Luna's eyes widened. 'Felynxidae?! He can't take them on his own! Damn it!!' Luna thought, gritting her teeth.

Against her better judgement, Luna turns the RV around, making a U-turn as she drives down the other road, putting the gas pedal to the floor as they sped off to Talon's location. Chance smiled and cheered. "Let's go!! We're back in plumbing business, baby!!" Chance shouted in joy.

Luna looks at the teenage hero worriedly, but doesn't have it in her to correct him. Sunset notices the concern and worry on Luna's face, but decides to let things play out before saying anything.

They park at the plant, its front doors torn wide open. As they walk inside the plant, Luna opens a curtain to a room with conveyor belts and hung-up meat carcasses. Inside is Talon, on the ground and trying to nurse a large bloodied scratch on his chest. "Talon!" Luna exclaimed.

The trio ran up to him, trying to help him up. Talon groans as he gets back on his feet and leans against one of the machines. "Luna! Thank goodness you showed up. Two aliens, nasty! We're gonna need a little of that ol' magic!" Talon stated, trying to keep himself from bleeding out.

Chance nodded his head. "Don't worry, sir, you'll earn your purple heart. We'll take it from here! Just one question before we do. What's a Felynxidae?" Ferocious roaring can be heard from behind a large door. The door swings open, and through cloud of steam comes two big black and red cat-like creatures. Soon enough, Chance could recognize immediately what the Felynxidae were, then looked at the Omnitrix. "Oh... that's a Felynxidae. Well, I guess you do learn something new every day." Chance remarked, mildly worried as they ducked for cover.

The creatures walked out of the room and observe the place. They have red stripes on their bodies and long torch-shaped tails, but their elongated bottom jaws, golden claws and long unkempt manes left no trace of doubt: they're the same species as Vitaguar. "Guess this was bound to happen again eventually, huh, Chance?" Sunset asked.

Chance peeked around the corner, seeing that the aliens had their backs to them. Chance activated the Omnitrix and cycled to Vitaguar's icon, which made Luna terrified as she tried to silently warn Chance to not use the Omnitrix, but nothing was working. "I don't like how our chances are pretty slim-to-none when dealing with two other Vitaguars. So, I'm gonna talk to them. They're not gonna be too friendly with some human, so might as well give us a proper chance to speak equally as one of their own. I'll be right back, I promise." Chance remarked, popping the core up.

Luna, out of options, just decided to be vocal. "Chance, no! Don't-" but she was too late. Chance pushed the core down and started to transform.

The muscles in Chance's arm began to suddenly grow and pulsate with a golden glow. The muscles grew along his arm as they reached his head, forcing him to close his eyes, till they snapped open, becoming purely white with large black slit-like cat pupils. He felt his skin begin to turn a light blue as a light gray fur began to grow over his transformed body. A dark gray curly tail sprouts from his tailbone as his jaw extends into a massive underbite, and two golden fangs protrude out from his bottom jaw. Chance felt his shirt grow over his body into some kind of suit. A sleeveless Black top, and white shorts, with black cuffs on the shorts sleeves, with the Omnitrix being smack dab in the midst of its stomach.

He hunched out as his already wild hair grew out into a large and unyielding black mane. He became more and more like some kind of beastly cat creature, and then got down on all fours as he snarled and roared out, like a tiger preparing to attack its prey.

As the flash of light died down, revealing Vitaguar, Talon was surprised, but at the same time, satisfied to have finally recognized the watch's identity. "Of course, that's why I recognized that watch... It's the Omnitrix! It's real!" Talon gasped.

Vitaguar nods to Talon and leaps in behind the two cats. "Oi, ya cheeky puss willows! Mind if I chew ya ears for the moment?" Vitaguar called out.

The two Felynxidae turn around and face Vitaguar, only to growl in response. "Bugger off, punk! This ain't the kind ah matter for you to butt your nose in!" the right Felynxidae warned.

Vitaguar chuckled. "That's where you're a tad bit wrong, mate! See, Earth's my home, and I don't like that you're scarin' the locals! Why don't we have a civil conversation about this, maybe over a couple fresh kills, if that's what ya both fancy?" Vitaguar offered.

The two Felynxidae look at each other in confusion, and then nod their heads. They turn towards Vitaguar and smack him back with their tails, snarling. "Bloody punk wants to get aggro, then we'll put ya in yer place, bruv!" The left Felynxidae threatened.

Luna sighed. "I tried to warn him that talking wouldn't work. Felynxidae were never that big on small talk or rational planning, even amongst their own kind!" Luna explained.

Vitaguar groaned and shook his head as he got back on his feet, snarling as drool dribbled down his chin. "Now ya made me right properly pissed!" Vitaguar roared.

The three Felynxidae charged at each other, with Vitaguar managing to smack one of them away with his tail. The Felynxidae swiped its claws and snapped its jaws at the alien hero, but Vitaguar dodged the attacks the best he could, and punched the Felynxidae in the stomach, then swatted them back with his tail. The second Felynxidae lunged at the hero and managed to tackle them to the ground, trying to attack them, but Vitaguar uncurled his tail, letting several golden bone spikes jut out as he impaled the Felynxidae on top of him through his bottom jaw, causing the creature to roar out as it backed off, the bottom portion of his jaw was now bleeding.

Vitaguar growled and snarled, roaring as he saw the previous Felynxidae tear a metal chain off of a hook and swing it around like a weapon. Vitaguar unsheathed his claws as his fangs grew out, all while he snarled at his foe, waiting for him to make a move. The Felynxidae roared out and swung his tail at Vitaguar, who managed to dodge the hit, but was then immediately intercepted by the bleeding Felynxidae, who seemed to be in a very feral state. Out of instinct, Vitaguar grabbed a chain and kicked the Felynxidae off of him, and started climbing. the Felynxidae crashed into a metal crate, which had numerous barrels on top of it. The barrels fall and open up, spilling pink liquid and guts all over its face.

Sunset shuddered, disgusted by the sight. "Okay, that was needlessly gross!" Sunset and Luna got ready to help, as did Talon, only for the bleeding Felynxidae to shift its focus onto them, slurping up one of the guts as it got closer. "Oh great, the bleeding predator wants a piece of us, how lovely!" Sunset remarked sarcastically.

Meanwhile, Vitaguar looked up to the base of his chain, seeing a piece of meat attached to it. The not-so-bloodied Felynxidae walks up to it and grabs it with its mouth, pulling the chain apart. Vitaguar watches it break and grabs another chain in mid air, then that one gets pulled apart too. He grabs another, and another, practically running out of room to swing and hang on as the Felynxidae below him tries to bring him back on the ground. Eventually, he leaps on to a conveyor belt. The Felynxidae climbs on to face him. It tries pinning Vitaguar down, resulting in a struggle; up ahead at the end of the belt are two spiked rollers, crushing, ripping and tenderizing the meat that goes through it.

Vitaguar's eyes widened, and kicked the Felynxidae off of him. "There ain't no bloody way I'm turnin' into a gold-encrusted wagyu treat for whichever dumbass rich bloke is hankerin' for an exotic meal!" Vitaguar proclaimed.

As Sunset and Luna hold off the feral Felynxidae, Talon runs over to the conveyor's controls and hits a button. The conveyor stops just in time, and Talon pulls a lever on the console, causing a chained piece of meat to move toward them, knocking the adult Felynxidae away from Vitaguar. Vitaguar leaps down and meets with Talon, smirking as he gave a thumbs up. "Thanks mate, that coulda ended real poor!" Vitaguar thanked.

Talon smiled, nodding his head. "What are partners for, right?" Talon remarked.

The two meet up with Sunset and Luna, then run for the curtain door. The first Felynxidae suddenly leaps in front and blocks their way, still bleeding out. As they back up, Sunset spins around, only to see the other Felynxidae behind them, snarling as they got closer. "Don't suppose you've ever considered becoming vegetarians, or something similar?" Sunset questioned, swallowing as she started to panic.

The two Felynxidae had them cornered, but right as they leapt in for the kill, a piercing sound wave filled the entire room. The two alien felines, along with Vitaguar, fell to the floor and gripped their heads in pain. The source of the sound was coming from a device in Talon's hand. "Sorry about that, Chance, it was the only way to bring down the Felynxidae." Talon explained.

Vitaguar groaned as he kept clutching his head, reeling from the pain. Luna sighed. "Yeah. Lucky for us, you had a Sonic Pitch Whistle with you. These would've been incredibly effective against large canine creatures like Vulpimancers or Loboans, but since the Vulpimancers all vanished one day and were considered extinct, and the Loboans haven't left or made any attempt to leave their moon, let alone their system, those bad boys had to be modified to work on the Felynxidae." Luna explained.

Eventually, the Omnitrix times out and Vitaguar turns back into Chance, who was still holding his ears. "Next time you do that, warn a brother next time, god damn!" Chance remarked, holding his hands over his ears.

Talon nodded. "So... all the stories are true. The Omnitrix really does exist," Luna smiled nervously as Talon looked towards the teenage hero. "And Chance, pretty good moves out there! You remind me of Luna back in the day! Tough and not afraid of nothing!" Talon remarked.

Chance gets back on his feet and stands by Luna. "All I was doing was being a distraction, but Vitaguar can be pretty aggro when things don't go to plan. Thanks for the compliment, though!" Chance stated, giving a thumbs up.

Talon nodded. As the four of them attempted to leave, Luna sees something in the corner of her eye. One of the Felynxidae wasn't completely incapacitated. "Talon, behind you!" Luna exclaimed.

Behind them, the bleeding Felynxidae gets up and bats them to the ground. Talon's pitch whistle drops to the floor, immediately getting crushed under the foot of the bipedal cat alien. The Felynxidae roars at him when something catches their attention. From the corner of its eye, Luna was angrily driving a forklift towards them. "Why don't you pick on someone with more meat on their bones?!" Luna roared out.

Luna jumps out, with Chance and Sunset attempting to catch her and break her fall, all while the forklift rams into the Felynxidae, then it rams into the other one and finally crashes into another room. As Luna finds her footing, so do the two Felynxidae. Luna quickly presses a button and a blast door comes falling down, trapping the two aliens in the room for good. "Consider yourselves iced, pussycats!" Chance quipped.

Talon chuckles and slowly gets back up on his feet, and looks to Luna. "Just like old times, eh? I think this is gonna be the beginning of a new partnership." Talon remarks, extending his hand to Luna.

Luna looks at Talon, a bit hesitant on if she should take it, but decides to smile and walk to the exit, motioning for the two teenagers to follow.

Back at the now lit-up hotel, Talon relaxes in his room with the trio. The room itself was well-furnished, stocked plenty with food of all kinds, as demonstrated when Chance immediately starts indulging in some shrimp and pizza. Luna looks around the suite with suspicion, thinking about how much money it would have cost. "Quite the ritzy suite, Talon. Must've cost you a pretty penny..." Luna remarked.

Talon chuckled. "It didn't even cost me a single penny. It's just a 'thank you' I negotiated with the owner of the hotel, as well as his staff, for helping the manager out with his alien problem." Talon explained.

Luna squinted her eyes at Talon, unconvinced. "Ya don't say..." Luna remarked.

Talon smiled. "Trust me, this is just the tip of the old alien iceberg! You three would make great plumbers," Talon looks over as Chance stacks a couple handfuls of Mozzarella cheese, Shrimp and hot sauce onto a slice of meat lover's pizza. "Especially you, big man. With the Omnitrix at your disposal, you'd make the Magister rank in no-time at all!" Talon remarked.

Chance nearly dropped the pizza as he carefully chewed up his bite and swallowed. "I would? I mean, I've always been a slow learner, but I pick up on stuff pretty easy, not sure what a Magister is, though. I'd be fine staying as a Cadet, or a Plumber In-Training, just until I've gotten a grasp on the basics." Chance remarked.

Luna let out a sigh of relief. 'At least he's humble.' Luna thought.

Talon laughed. "Modesty is a good trait to have, kid, but there's no need to be like that amongst the pros! Admit it, kid, you'd be a real chip off the old block, Luna's block, that is!" Luna stared at Talon, yet he kept going. "We'd all make a great team. With your powers, Luna's experience, and my instincts, we'd be an unstoppable team, a real Alien Force. What do ya think?" Talon offered.

Luna groaned. "I'm thinking it's quite the chain of odd coincidences for a couple 'hyper weasels' and two 'beastcats' to turn up on the same day. We dealt with those things back in our early days on the force, so a sudden trip down memory lane feels a bit suspicious." Luna remarked.

Talon smiled, shrugging his shoulders. "I wasn't expecting to learn that the Omnitrix was real, but hey, aliens... go figure!" Talon remarked casually.

Luna was unsure as to what was going on, but she knew something had to be done. Luna looked out the window, seeing Mount Rushmore in the distance. "I'm gonna go on a walk, get some fresh air. You two, behave and watch out for each other, I won't be long." Luna stated firmly, walking out of the room.

Talon glares at the door for a moment, then clears his throat as he stands up, smiling. "Hey kids, why don't you two help yourselves to whatever you'd like off the room service menu!" Talon suggested.

Chance smiled and grabbed the menu, eagerly looking through it. "Hell yes, sir! Where's the blackjack!?" Chance remarked, practically burying his face into the menu, much to Sunset's embarrassment.

Talon smiled and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. Sunset got up and moved to the door, standing on her toes as she looked through the peephole. She saw the glare on Talon's face as he quickly moved down the stairs to the lobby. "That's not concerning at all," Chance stacked a few pieces of shrimp onto another slice of pizza, only for Sunset to pull him aside and out the door, causing him to drop his slice of pizza onto the carpeted floor, leaving him thoroughly distraught. "We can get another later, but something's wrong. I don't think Luna's trusting Talon and what he's saying, and he left in a pretty sketchy way. We have to go after them." Sunset stated.

Chance bemoaned. "C'mon, Luna can handle herself! She's tough, she's resilient! Plus, need I remind you, that you said ya wanted to relax a bit, and not get into another hair-raising adventure." Chance remarked, reminding the brunette of her previous words from a couple hours earlier.

Sunset frowned as her friend slowly walked back to the room. "That was before I saw Talon trying to leave in a huff, immediately after Luna left to 'go on a walk', as one would say to excuse themselves, then cover their tracks. We have to go after them, you know we have to! Are you not worried that Talon might get the jump on her, and do something to her when we'd be none the wiser?" Sunset questioned.

Chance stopped for a moment then looked back at Sunset, a cautious, confused and worried expression formed on his face as his right eye began to twitch. "W-What do you mean by that?" Chance questioned, a bit of concern could be heard in his tone of voice. If Sunset didn't know any better, she could've sworn that she heard a hitch in his breathing.

The two teenagers rush out of the hotel, noticing that the RV and Talon's car were missing, but did notice the tire tracks that led towards one of the tourist trails for Mount Rushmore. "Luna's gone, and Talon must've followed suite. It's possible they went back to the base inside Rushmore, but the why is what's got me concerned," Sunset notices that Chance tries to dial in one of his aliens, but it would seem that the Omnitrix was not being a team player at that moment in time. "Looks like we're on our own again. Maybe finding a manual for that thing wouldn't be a bad idea, but how do get to Rushmore without any alien help?" Sunset wondered.

Chance looks around, and soon notices a man with a motorcycle pulling up to park. Chance sighed and quickly ran up to the man and got his attention. The man noticed the panicking teenager, as well as the horror and dismay in his eyes. "Sir, I need to use your bike! My mom just got kidnapped, and I won't let what happened back in '13 happen again! Please, may I use your bike? I will return it, I promise!" Chance pleaded.

The man looked at the teen for a moment, then noticed Sunset right behind him. "Only if you promise that it won't be scratched." The man stated.

Chance nodded. "Cross my heart, hope to die." Chance confirmed.

The man nodded his head and got off, leaving the keys in the ignition. "Remember, no scratches!" The man reminded firmly.

As the man walked away, Chance and Sunset quickly got on, with Sunset strapping a helmet on, and Chance just trying to mentally prepare himself. "You know how to drive one of these, right?" Sunset asked worriedly.

Chance hesitantly nodded his head. "Yeah, once or twice. It's been three years since then, but I can at least get us there!" While that didn't make Sunset feel any better, it was still a momentary feeling of reassurance as she squeezed Chance's torso. "Just hold on tight, just in case I'm rustier than I thought." Chance remarked.

Chance revs the bike up a bit as they immediately speed forward, then slow down for a moment. Chance tries to get used to handling the vehicle, and slowly gets a handle on it as the bike makes its way onto the trail, leading towards Rushmore.

At the Plumber base in Mount Rushmore, Luna carefully walks into a darkened room. She looks to an empty pedestal, noticing that something was recently disturbed and taken from it. Luna's eyes widen at first, but then squint as a scowl forms on her face. Luna hears footsteps behind her, and much to her own irritation, she was right about who took it as a figure stood in the doorway. "Talon, I knew this had you written all over it." Luna remarked, turning around to see her ex-partner, aiming a small gun-like device with a large lens at the end towards her, smiling contently as he watched the anger in her eyes flare up.

Talon smiled proudly as he grabbed a pistol from his pocket with his free hand, and let a coating of the gun's material travel up his left arm, all while he pocketed the gun. "Looking for this, Equinox?" Talon asked coyly.

Luna gritted her teeth and stood her ground. "The Null Void projector. I knew all those aliens were too familiar, you always had a problem with letting go of the past," Talon cocked his head, still trying to feign innocence. "You stole the Null Void projector to release the ones we caught back in the old days, making a fortune off the suffering of others, truly despicable and absolutely deplorable!" Luna sneered.

Talon's smile fell, leaving an emotionless, yet unyielding stare gaze upon Luna herself. Three small horns slowly grew out from Talon's head, poking through his hair as they slightly curved backwards. "You always were too smart for your own good, Lulu. But not wanting to join up with me was just plain dumb, but not as especially dumb by not telling me that you knew about the Omnitrix, so much for being partners again." Talon remarked bitterly.

Luna sighed. "Why, Talon? Why are you doing all of this?! Surely with your training, you could've become a marine, a soldier, but this is out of line, you've broken so many rules with this stupid scheme!" Luna reprimanded.

Talon gritted his teeth and stomped his foot, letting an echo travel through the whole base. "What, you don't see it? Job security, of course! I fell on hard times and I knew you had other stuff going on, so I took this into my own hands," Luna stared the man down, disgusted and disappointed. "It's easy money, let me explain. I release an alien, then get some hotel manager or mayor or whoever to pay me to catch it! With that kid strapped with the Omnitrix, the payout for money will be higher than I've ever imagined!" Talon explained.

Luna stepped forward, which managed to get a genuine sense of surprise out of the armed man. "I'm not gonna let you get away with this, Talon. By my authority as a Plumber, according to the former D-D Transcripts that coincide with the Casey-Kelly Accords, you're under arrest for exposing aliens to the public for monetary gain, and you're also under arrest for endangering the public with extraterrestrial labor!" Luna proclaimed, whipping out her badge as she stared Talon down.

Talon laughed, seeing that Luna was unfazed. "Yeah, I figured you might say that, Luna. Too bad, we could've made quite a team again! But now," Talon powered up the Null Void projector and aimed it to the right. "Now I have to tie up a few loose ends. Can't have people alive that know the truth." Talon remarked.

Talon fires the projector, letting a yellow beam open up onto the wall, and letting it form into a circular portal. The portal opens up, only for a giant green monster with spiked legs to suddenly step out from the portal, then it roars at Luna, setting its sights on her. "And don't worry, I'll be sure to tell Chance and his little friend how your last words to me, were how you wanted them to follow in your footsteps as my partners!" Talon called out, slowly walking backwards.

Luna looks at Talon, then back to the beast's jagged roaring teeth. Luna tried to back away, but found herself unable to even move a muscle. She was terrified, petrified with fear. The beast stood over her and slowly lowered its jaw down towards her head, and she just closed her eyes, waiting for it to be over. The roaring beast raises its claws at Luna, ready to kill her. In the blink of an eye it swipes, hitting the ground as Luna was pulled away, barely in the nick of time. Luna, much to both Talon's and the beast's surprise, was gone.

Talon was baffled. "What the-!?" Talon then saw a couple blue energy tendrils whip the beast back, causing it to stagger back through the portal. Talon looked to the side, and much to his dismay, saw Sunset and Chance, who were kneeling over Luna's body. "Uh... h-hey kids, close call there, huh? One of the machines busted and let that thing loose!" Talon's gaze was met by glares. Sunset was very angry, and Chance was pissed beyond rational belief. Talon let a nervous smile form on his face as he tried to find the words. "L-Look, I know this looks bad, but ya gotta believe me, she's holding you two back! Chance, come on big man, ya gotta believe what I'm saying! Listen to me, we don't need her! We could start back up the Plumbers again! Just you, your friend, and me...!" Talon offered.

Chance got up and ran right at Talon, pushing him against the wall. "I wasn't born yesterday, asswipe! You're no Plumber, you're just a pile of shit that got stuck in the pipes!" Chance put his hand around Talon's neck and immediately started squeezing. "If I'm gonna be a Plumber, it'll be with them, not you, or your shady-ass cul-de-sac scheme! You endangered innocent people for a quick fuckin' dollar, let's see how you like being the powerless chump in danger for a change!" Chance tossed Talon to the ground and stood over him, all while the Null Void projector fell out of Talon's hands. "To think I had any respect for you! A pile of literal garbage, the physical embodiment of expired meat, the prime example of wasted sperm! Fuck you, and your cheap-o alien terror business! There's nothing you can do or say to change my mind, especially if you laid your dirty ass hands on her!" Chance berated.

Talon was not expecting such a blow-out from the teenager, but had to admit, it was pretty funny to watch. Talon smirked. "...Sorry to hear that," The beast roars as it tries to step back through the portal, attempting to attack yet again. "Say hello to another old friend: a Wigzelian Org Beast!" Talon announced.

Acting off of the adrenaline that pumped through his body, Chance grabbed the projector and tossed it to Luna, who managed to barely catch it. Talon groaned and got up, trying to lunge at Luna, only for Sunset and Chance to restrain him. Luna gets up and examines the projector a bit, then aims it at the portal, firing at it again, causing the portal to close, keeping the Wigzelian Org Beast from escaping the portal. Talon groans and manages to shake Chance off of him, and pull out a small baton-like weapon from his pocket. He cracks it against the tendrils, which sends an electrical current up to Sunset, shocking her for the moment as she lost her focus, letting Talon go as he tried to escape.

Chance quickly got back up and chased after him, trying to activate the Omnitrix. "Get the fuck back here, you snake oil-selling bounty hunter!" Chance threatened.

Talon quickly turns a corner and notices his car nearby. He tried to go for it, but before he could, a rainbow beam of energy zooms right past Talon's head, and tears through the car's engine, rendering the vehicle inoperable. Talon quickly turned around and saw Armethyst standing there, energy glowing from his closed fist. "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way. Say you want this the hard way, I dare you, creep." Armethyst stated firmly.

Talon gritted his teeth and charged at Armethyst, grabbing his head as energy traveled up his arm, letting several bronze-colored crystals jut out of his arm before Armethyst managed to kick him away. Armethyst was shocked for the moment, but at the same time, he was reminded of NYC. He did not want to be reminded of NYC, but the fury that seemed to gleam off of Armethyst's crystal body was almost nothing short of intriguing to Talon.

Talon smirked. "You look a bit angry, kid, as if you've faced someone like me before," Armethyst said nothing and fired energy-charged shards at him, which bounced off and shattered against Talon's chest. Talon's smirk got wider and wider as Armethyst kept firing. "Faced an Osmosian like me, guess that explains how fired up you suddenly are. You really should be careful, we Osmosians tend to get rather... unstable, when we absorb too much energy or DNA. I can control myself rather well, been at this longer, can't say the same for whatever pathetic sap you faced before me." Talon advised, walking towards Armethyst as he was unaffected by the attacks.

Armethyst formed his arms into blades and rushed forward, with then tempted Talon to do the same, forming his arm into a blade as the two started to have a very heated duel. The two spared no time at all as they tried to land a devastating blow on one another. Talon seemed very experienced, but Chance's anger, combined with his stubbornness, made him a much more persistent and focus-minded foe. This fight could've been a tie, just for the sake of calling it even, but with the amount of crystal bits that chipped off and flew off of the both of them, they were both intent on fighting for their lives.

Armethyst grabbed his arm and kicked him away, knocking Talon to the floor. Armethyst stomped on Talon's chest, all while the Omnitrix started timing out, changing Chance back into his normal form. Talon aimed his arm at Chance, ready to unload a storm of shards at the human, unaware that Luna and Sunset had managed to sneak onto the scene, readying the Null Void projector.

Talon groaned as he tried to get up, only for his mutation to suddenly crumble and revert back to normal. "Look, kid! You're clearly capable, just give me some mercy, and help me deal with your little friend, and I'll split the profits with you, fifty-fifty, equal and as even as physically possible. It's a good deal, ya gotta admit! Come on, I can teach you how to use your aliens in ways you never thought possible, Luna and that brunette are just holding you back. Come on, do we have a deal?" Talon offered.

Chance lifted his foot off of Talon's chest, letting Talon think that he was actually being spared, only to then be curb-stomped in the face. Chance stepped back, gesturing for Luna to do what she needed to do, and fired the projector at Talon, sucking him into it. Luna took a deep breath, and sighed, setting the projector on the ground as she lamented on her choice.

Chance walked over to Luna and rested a hand on her shoulder, as did Sunset. Luna smiled as she pulled the two into a hug, then they looked down at the projector, unsure as to what exactly they should do with it.

Outside the motel, the man looks outside, seeing his motorcycle, now with a couple tree branches sticking out of a few places, but not a single scratch was ever seen. The man was mildly perturbed as an RV drove past, heading back onto the main road.

The trio try to relax as Luna places the projector in one of the cupboards, then looks down at the two, who seem pretty exhausted. Luna smiles and pulls them into another hug. "Students, I'm sorry I had to keep my past a secret for so long, especially when an explanation mattered the most. I should have known I could trust you both, you two know how to handle yourselves well, but you're both still my responsibility, and I guess I let that get the better of me." Luna apologized.

Sunset smiled. "Hey, it's okay. Besides, it isn't all bad, you missed out on seeing Chance drive through a pile of sticks and jump off a rock. Seriously, how did you not scratch that bike?" Sunset questioned.

Chance shrugged his shoulders. "I told you I was rusty, but I still got us there, and no scratches on the bike! That's a win in of itself!" Chance defended.

Luna smiled. "Mister Marsten, Miss Shimmer, for what it's worth, you both would make great Plumbers. As much as I'd hate to give Talon credit for anything, you both remind me of how Celestia and I were when we were your age, and that was a crazy time already. If you both want to truly become Plumbers, then that's your choice, but just so you know, I will train you both," Chance and Sunset looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders and smiled. "I didn't prepare you for Reinrassic, not properly, but I can only hope to train and prepare you both for what kinds of crazy threats may lie ahead. I want to make sure you both can handle anything, whether on your own, or together." Luna reassured.

Chance looked at the cupboard that held the Null Void projector as a couple questions popped up in his head. "So, what's gonna happen to Talon anyway?" Chance asked.

Luna's smile never faltered as she chuckled. "I think there are some things about this job we're better off not knowing." Luna responded.

Chance frowned. "Maybe, but it does bother the hell out of me that it was Gilda all over again for a moment there. Do you think they might be related, in some way?" Chance questioned.

Sunset shrugged. "I mean... constant jerk, a liar, can absorb anything and everything, tried to use a dirty trick to get the upper hand... it sounds like Gilda, but I doubt those are genetic traits... the verdict has yet to be conclusive, though, so who knows." Sunset remarked.

The trio take their seats as the RV drives away, all while they ponder as to what could await them next.

Author's Note

Season 2 is a go!

With this episode out of the way, I can tackle the next few adventures without much issue. Definitely gonna have to stop the long nightly benders again, though, it's messing me up bad. Also, this episode was actually supposed to be up a few days ago, but IRL complications made it rather difficult to stay focused.

The next few are In-Progress as we speak, so that's good news. I'll probably hold off on publishing one new chapter, though, just so I can post two, or maybe three chapters all at once, once they're finished, I mean.

I hope you enjoyed this episode, it was alright and I didn't wanna change too much.

S2, Episode 2: Really Ticked Off!

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Really Ticked Off!

The gorgeous landscapes of Yellowstone National Park, truly a marvelous sight to see. The waterfalls flow, a geyser named Old Faithful readies itself to blow, and various forms of wildlife continues to thrive among the lakes and trees. The RV is parked next to one of these lakes, as an elk drinking nearby gets spooked, as Sunset and Luna walk up to the edge and observe the nature around them.

Luna takes in a deep breath, and sighs, feeling satisfied and rather content with how peaceful it is. "Now this, is quite the needed change of pace. Nothing like finally relaxing in the peace and quiet of the great outdoors." Luna complimented, falling back onto a soothing patch of grass.

Sunset smiled and sat down near the lake, running her hand through the water as she looks at her reflection. "Yeah, this is actually quite nice," Sunset looked back to the RV, seeing Chance laying back against a fallen log, passed out and snoring. "Now if only he'd stay awake long enough to enjoy this with us." Sunset remarked.

Luna sat up and looked over at the slumbering alien hero. "I know we should wake him, but he needs the rest, Rushmore is miles away from us by this point, and he doesn't seem to be as talkative as he was prior. He'll be awake soon enough, and he'll join us in relaxing soon enough, just give it time." Luna reassured.

The alien hero in question soon started to stir, groaning as his eyes slowly fluttered open. Chance sat up and rubbed his head, feeling groggy and genuinely too tired to do anything else. "Mmmh..." Chance muttered, getting up as he walked to the RV.

Sunset and Luna look at each other, only to then see Chance walk out, fiddling with the Omnitrix. "I'll be right back, just need to pick something up." Chance remarked.

Luna sighed. "Oh no you don't, young man! You promised me that you wouldn't mess with the Omnitrix today." Luna reminded.

Chance groaned. "Oh come on, I'm just gonna go back to the burger place in Casper, then come back! Maybe pick up a family meal while I'm there, since it'll be better than eating whatever the hell I found in that fridge!" Chance remarked.

Sunset sighed. "Chance, did you even try it?" Sunset asked.

Chance frowned, clearly not wanting to entertain the idea at all. "You want me to eat a piece of a large tentacle that has red mold growing on top of and inside it?! I might've been ready to die on numerous occasions, but suicidal, I am not!" Chance rebutted.

Luna seemed to know what the teenager was referring to, and seemed a bit frustrated. "I knew I forgot to throw something away! Alien cuisine tends to spoil at a faster rate than most Earth foods, but I didn't know it was already molding!" Luna cried out, running into the RV.

Chance rolled his eyes. "What's the big deal, anyway? I'll be back in two shakes of a lamb's tail with Riptile bouncing me from here to there, and back again! Besides, if I run into any trouble, I can always fend off the bad guys, I'm not entirely useless on my own, ya know!" Chance remarked defensively.

Sunset put the palm of her hand to her face and groaned. "Look, Chance, relax and enjoy yourself, there's no threat to handle today, much to your agitation, I'd assume," Chance was not amused, but let her keep talking. "Just look around you, man. Yellowstone happens to be one of the coolest places around! Just hang out and appreciate it before the danger shows up." Sunset explained.

Chance was not that excited to just let his guard down, even if he wanted to, but before he could object, Luna comes out with the aforementioned molding tentacle. Luna tossed it into the lake as the fish swarmed towards it. "Sunset's right, Mister Marsten. Plus, if alien cuisine is not to your liking, we can just live right off the land." Luna suggested.

Chance raised an eyebrow, seeming a bit intrigued by the offer. "Like hunting for our food, cleaning and preparing it right here in the open?" Chance asked.

Luna shook her head. "Not with Plumber weapons, young man. Look," Luna pushes the same log Chance was sleeping on back, revealing bug-like worms wriggling underneath. "These are grub worms, a good source of protein, especially in a situation that pertains to your survival." Luna explained, picking one up with her hand.

Chance and Sunset looked at each other, the pair of them shared a disgusted and thoroughly concerned expression. "T-Tell me you're not serious, right? This has to be a prank!" Sunset pleaded, laughing nervously.

Luna chuckled. "Clearly you didn't know that Celestia and I used to be girl scouts. Back then, it was a grueling and tough time for us when we were children. Celestia and I got lost on a camping trip overseen by our local school district back in Jaxton. We were stuck in the woods for a week, and we certainly proved we had the stones to persist. That kind of experience also helped me survive a number of dangerous situations on various alien planets. Besides, these are even better if you grill them up with some sun-dried tomato paste, they are delicious!" Luna puts the worm in her mouth, much to Sunset's disgust, and Chance's horror. Where Sunset made every attempt to not look at the sight, Chance was too stunned to look away, he just stared as Luna swallowed the worm whole. "So, who's eager to learn how to survive in foreign territory?" Luna asked.

Sunset was gagging and heaving, all while Chance was still trying to process what he just witnessed. "I think I'd rather read Thirty Tints of Red, if it meant never seeing that again." Sunset remarked, trying to hold back the urge vomit.

Chance smacked his lips and simply continued to walk away from the scene. "Well, that's an image burned into my head... I wish it wasn't." Chance remarked. He was a bit scared of what he just witnessed, but at the same time, his respect for his vice principal just seemed to increase.

Sunset quickly ran in front of Chance and started fiddling with the Omnitrix herself. "Let me help ya with that, because A triple veggie burger with cheese doesn't sound that bad right now!" Sunset stated, twisting the dial in various directions.

Chance smiled. "After seeing that, being vegan doesn't sound like a bad alternative!" Chance agreed, pressing the button on the Omnitrix.

As the Omnitrix's core pops up, the Omnitrix starts to cycle through Chance's transformations on its own. By the time it reaches Zombrex, it then cycles to a brand-new icon. A tall and robust humanoid icon. Before Chance could say anything, he was enveloped in a flash of green light. Instead of transforming Chance into a recognizable alien, the Omnitrix has transformed him into an entirely new form.

In Chance's place was a seven-foot tall robust and broad-shouldered humanoid figure with gray skin and purely white eyes. Chance's brown hair was now black, messy and shiny, though his shirt had now become entirely white, with a black short-sleeved leather jacket draped over it. The sleeves of his shirt had a curved and pointed black stripe, all while the Omnitrix rested just a little bit above his left pectoral. He also seemed to have some very dark blue jeans and white boots with black cuffs.

The transformed teenager looked himself over, now noticing that he towered well above Luna, and even more so above Sunset. "What in the hell?! What in tarnation is this!?" The teen spoke out, his voice was now deep, accentuated by a very hard-to-miss southern drawl.

Sunset and Luna watched as the alien fell back onto the ground, trying to sit up and comprehend what exactly just happened. Sunset smiled and chuckled a bit. "Well, I guess even the watch got tired of being fiddled with." Sunset remarked.

The gray alien scoffed. "Ha ha ha, laugh it up and see where that'll getcha, ya wet rag!" The alien remarked, standing back up on his feet.

The gray humanoid gets back on his feet and looks himself over, both impressed and confused by his newly transformed state. "Was startin' to figure that this fancy piece had nothing more to give, and boom, here's a new alien hero, fresher than a mint!" The gray man remarked, dusting himself off.

Luna scratches her chin, examining the transformed teenager carefully. "And where there's one more, who knows, there could be a hundred more." Luna stated.

"Or thousands more, if you think about it." Sunset corrected, laughing nervously.

The gray man gulped, looking just as uncertain. "For all we know, there could be millions more forms to unlock... bottom line is, we don't know jack about what all the Omnitrix can really do, ya dig? Reinrassic hyped this thing up when he had me locked up, maybe there was some actual truth to what he was putting down," The trio seemed worried, but then something came to the alien hero's mind. "So... what do yall think he does anyway?" The gray man asked.

Sunset shrugged, and Luna looked over to a nearby boulder. "Let's start with basic powers and work up from there. Test yourself to see if you have any kind of additional strength on that boulder over there." Luna instructed.

The gray man shrugged his shoulders and cracked his knuckles as he ran towards the boulder. The gray man jumped into the air, managing to get himself a good few feet off the ground and punched the boulder with all he had, which managed to cause the boulder to crack and crumble to pieces. The gray man smiled and flexed his muscles. "Alright, so he can hit pretty hard, and he's got hops, too! Already, this one isn't half bad, but what else can he do?" The gray man wondered.

The gray man decides to take a deep breath and blows out as much air as he can muster, only to then realize that his trick didn't work. "Well, I can't breathe fire, that's a bit of a drag," The gray man tried to think about what other kinds of powers he'd possibly have. "Hmm, maybe I can fire shadow beams from my eyeholes!" He remarked.

The gray man squints his eyes really hard, all while Luna and Sunset look at each other with uncertainty. Eventually, the transformed teenager gives up, and holds his hands out. "Uh... do I at least get spider powers?" He tries moving his four beefy fingers in different hand signs, but none of them seem to work. The gray man was starting to get infuriated. "Aw come on, now! What other powers do I have besides being strong and jumpin' high!?" The gray man remarked, clearly aggravated by the halt in progress.

Sunset looks on, stumped and mildly unimpressed by the halt in progression as well, but as soon as she looks up to the sky, she sees a great ball of fire flying through the sky, specifically at her transformed friend. "Chance, get down! Danger's barging in!" Sunset called out, trying to warn her friend.

The gray man looked at the girl in confusion, but then he felt the heat start to increase. He turned around, only to be met by the meteor that was coming straight for him. "Oh man..." the gray man uttered out.

He quickly jumps into the lake, only for the meteor to fly right over him, crashing a short distance deep in the forest. As Sunset and Luna stare at the damaged trees, the gray man climbs out of the lake, coughing up and spitting out a lot of water. "Alright... breathing underwater is also confirmed to not be one of this guy's many talents... I'm also gonna hope that the meteor wasn't my doing." The gray man remarked.

Luna helps the alien back onto his feet and they look in the direction of the meteor's crash site. "Guess we better go check it out, get ready to fight." Luna instructed.

The two teenagers nodded, and the trio ran towards the meteor, unsure as to what kind of chaos has come their way this time.

As the smoke clears from the crash site, the trio arrives on the scene, where it's soon revealed that the meteor appears to be an enormous red cocoon-like structure. "Woah, that fucker is massive!" The gray man commented.

A tremor suddenly manifests. Sunset notices cracks forming in the cocoon, parts of it begin to crumble and fall off. "And alive! Scatter!" Sunset exclaimed.

As the trio runs away, the meteor begins to break apart. The cocoon starts cracking some more, with multiple cracks converging into one spot that a solid blue spike finally pierces open. As the creature emerges from the container, dwarfing the trio with its shadow alone, it reveals itself, much to the trio's shock and astonishment.

The creature seemed to have an uncanny resemblance to that of an Earth Tick, but it was roughly the size of a building. Its legs were blue and shining like steel, it had a large abdomen covered in pink armor, like a natural shell-like exterior. Its mouth was bursting with tentacles, and four blue spouts made of what looked like clenched muscle tissue seem to pulse and throb. It shoves its mouth and legs into the earth and relaxes its spouts, spewing out a green mist that makes the trio recoil.

Luna shuddered as she plugged her nose. "It also seems to be quite aromatic." Luna commented.

Sunset retched, starting to heave again. "Gross, gross, gross, and need I have to say it, gross!!" Sunset exclaimed.

The gray man sniffed the air, and despite not having a nose at all, the gray man was clearly not enthralled by the putrid smell that assaulted his other senses. "Pew!! Here I thought burnt amphetamines was the worst thing I ever smelled, jeez!" the alien hero remarked, taking a knee as it tries to power through.

Before the trio could even try to question what this creature was, an alien spaceship suddenly arrives above them. It has a sharp bow with a round center hull, which detaches and floats down. Standing on the platforms are three aliens, each of them different species. The first one was tall, lanky, had light blue skin, large bulbous blue eyes and a big bald head, it was easy to assume he was the leader, judging by the pleasant smirk on his face. The second one was small, had six arms, and very messed up teeth. The third and final alien was a bulky green alien with four eye stalks, equipped with a metal pole with a glowing blue axe head at the end.

The leader alien noticed the trio, and motioned the other two to float down to their level. "Rejoice. He's arrived, in all of his glorious glory." The first alien stated.

The gray man sneered and groaned out of annoyance. "Oh fuckin' great, a bunch of religious squares. As if this day wasn't already against me!" The gray man snided.

The yellow alien floats directly to the tick and puts his "ear" to it. "I await his proclamation." The second alien declared.

Luna gets back onto her feet, looking at the three aliens in confusion. "A Synabrosapien, A Currixula'a, and a Grantiforsch, working together? That's not a good sign. By authority of the Plumbers, identify yourselves!" Luna commanded.

The first alien raises his hands up slowly, smiling. "Relax, Earthling. We come in peace." The first alien reassures.

Sunset got to her feet, looking unconvinced and skeptical of his claim. "Yeah right, that's what they always say in the movies - right before they blow you to bits!" Sunset remarked.

The third alien buts into the conversation, smiling from ear to ear. "Hmmm, an earthling with attitude. I've heard they exist here in large numbers," The third alien floats around Sunset, circling her. "Or should I say 'did'?" The alien questioned.

The gray man got up and dusted himself off, only for the leader alien to eye him up, seeming pleasantly surprised by his presence. "And a Vreedle to boot, too!" the first alien rejoiced.

Sunset looked to the gray man. "At least we know what you turned into now, it's progress!" Sunset remarked.

The leader alien turned to the giant tick, rejoicing in its presence. "Truly, this must be a sign, provided by the Great One," The trio is confused, watching as the leader basks in the tick's appearance. "Is he not tremendous?" the leader inquired.

The three aliens bowed to the tick, confusing the trio even more. "Tremendous... All hail The Tremendous One!" The three aliens praised in unison.

The gray man was finally done with all of their bullshit, and appropriately whistled to the three aliens, who seemed to stop their alien worship. "Look here, ya space-bound Kookies! I'm not usually one to put down someone's faith in a higher power, but unless yall are starvin' for some knuckle sandwiches, I'd recommend that yall take your overgrown bug, and split while you still got uncracked skulls, if yer not gonna explain yourselves!" The gray man warned.

The third alien floated down in front of the gray man. "You're a little far away from home, aren't you?" The third alien snided.

The gray man gave the green alien a deadpanned expression. "I was born and raised on Earth, you literal four-eyed fat bastard." The gray man insulted.

The green alien backed up a bit. "You've got an attitude, too. Unfortunately, there's nothing to go back to, anyway. The Great One purified your planet last week." the third alien remarked.

The second alien started to shush towards everyone. "Shhh! Everyone quiet down!" Everyone was quiet for the moment. At first, they couldn't hear anything, but after a bit of waiting, they heard breathing. The tick was making noises, almost like it was breathing. "He's - speaking to me..." the yellow alien stated.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "All I hear is breathing." Sunset said aloud.

The yellow one rolled his eyes. "To a simple-minded Earthling like you, maybe, but I've been with The Great One ever since he purified my planet! It took me several years, but I'm the only one who can speak his language." The yellow alien stated, rubbing the giant tick as he listened intently.

The gray man just rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Spoken like a true religious nutcase, even space ain't safe from these odd balls." He remarked.

The tick's breathing starts to sound much calmer. "The Great One says... your planet will be purified before the next moon. You are quite lucky!" the second alien announces.

As he hugs the repulsive thing, its legs start darkening the ground around it. The darkness quickly spreads across the entire forest. The trio are surprised, and rightfully concerned. "What kind of backwards ass logic does your species run on, ya fink!? You call this lucky?!" The gray man exclaimed.

The leader simply smiles. "No, it's actually quite the experience. Let me show you!" The leader offered.

The green alien groaned, seeming annoyed. "Not the audiovisual thing again..." The third alien complained.

The leader shoots the green alien a puzzled look, but decides to continue. The leader presses a button on his headgear, which creates a pink holographic image of a solar system. "A little background explanation won't hurt. See, we followed The Great One from planet to planet, galaxy to galaxy, after he paid a visit to each and every one of our planets, purifying them with his excellence," the holographic shows off a planet. On said plant was the tick, plunging its legs and tentacles into the ground. "Notice his technique, Earthers. The deep burrowing of the appendages into the core of the planet, rotting it from the inside and then ingesting it." the leader explained. The tentacles lengthen until it has spread into every part of the core, the planet steadily begins to blacken, until it explodes, ending the holographic.

The trio is shocked. "We just got done dealing with Reinrassic, damn it!!" Sunset exclaimed.

The gray man was clearly infuriated, grabbing the leader by the neck. "THAT'S what your bug's gonna do here?! You're fucking with us, ya have to be!" The gray man pleaded.

The leader, despite being grabbed in a threatening way, still continued to smile. "Of course, the great one's body is a temple, one that needs a constant refueling of planet-sized capacity," the gray man gritted his teeth. "Your cities will be laid to waste, your oceans will dry up, your mountains will crumble." The leader droned on.

The green alien floated to the leader's side, and knocked the gray man aside with his weapon. "It will be the end of the world as you know it." The third alien stated bluntly.

The three aliens stood together, smiling as they basked in the forest's unsightly mutation. "Rejoice! Rejoice! Rejoice!" The three aliens chanted.

The gray man got back up, cracking his knuckles. "I don't think so, kookies!" The gray man protested.

The gray man runs forward and jumps into the air, launching himself towards the leader alien. The green alien makes a well-timed strike at him with his axe, sending the Vreedle back into the dense forest. Luna and Sunset watched him fly through the air, and crash through a few trees on the way down. "Chance!" They yelled out, running after their fallen ally.

The green alien smirks, holstering his weapon proudly. "That's better." The third alien remarks. The three aliens turn around, resuming their business as they praise and behold the sight of the tick, as it slowly kills the planet.

Luna and Sunset trek through the woods, noticing a large crater in the side of a hill, the transformed teenager slowly got up, revealing several rocks and chunks of wood were sticking out of his body. "Chance?" Luna called out worriedly.

The gray man pulled everything out of his body, and noticed that his wounds were regenerating. The wounds closed up and healed as the Omnitrix started timing out, eventually returning Chance back to his normal form, who was in a bit of a mood. "Well, this has been one of my worst days, thankfully it's only in the top twenty. Plus side, new alien! Down side, I need more practice." Chance groaned, barely able to pull himself out of the crater.

Sunset sighed. "We'll figure something out, pal, but that's for later. Right now, some giant planet-sucker is about to wipe Earth off the face of the universe!" Sunset reminded.

Chance nodded, all while he slumped against Luna, trying to keep himself up. As the trio try to move, they soon notice leaves falling off the nearby trees, which start inflating with grey tumors and turning into paste. "Um... it's gonna be a strange Autumn season this year, huh?" Chance questioned.

The sky starts turning brown as the paste starts spreading. "The trees are changing, no doubt because of the tick! We have to get back up that hill and destroy it," the trio starts backing up, all while a bellowing thunder echoes from the sky. "Before it destroys everything!" Luna explained.

The trio quickly climbs back up the hill, only to be greeted by long spotted tentacles wiggling up from the ground. Chance gulped, going wide-eyed at the sight. "Uh-oh! These weren't here when I crashed into the hill, were they?" Chance asked.

Sunset was starting to get worried. "No, I'm pretty sure we would've remembered them!" Sunset remarked, slowly climbing away from the tentacles.

Luna gritted her teeth. "It's the tick, no doubt about it! The tick's poison is mutating the landscape!" Luna pointed out.

Chance chuckled nervously as the tentacles got closer. "I've seen enough Japanese cartoons to know where this could go, and I'm not down with that!" Chance quipped, immediately jumping backwards, trying desperately to get away from the tentacles.

A few tentacles move their ends, which seem to end in mouths, towards the trio. Sunset let out a high-pitched shriek as she bats one away. "Get your slimy whatever-they-are away from me!" Sunset exclaimed.

Luna grabs one that tries to lunge at her, and tears its mouth off. Chance does the same, and that seems to make them angry. The tentacles quickly coil around the trio, dragging them down into the mucky ground that they sprang from. Chance looks at the Omnitrix, noticing that it was still in the red. "Hey, Omnitrix! This is your wearer speaking! HELP!!!" Chance exclaimed in a panic.

Sunset struggled to keep her head high, but the tentacles were relentless. "I'm sinking! Chance, go hero or something!" Sunset called out.

Luna struggles against the tentacles, but is inevitably dragged into the muck. Sunset tries to use her magic, but the tentacles bind her hands and cover her mouth, all Chance could hear was her muffled screams as she was pulled in. Chance struggled all he could, trying to get the Omnitrix to do something. "Come on, please, give me an alien I can work with, anything! Come on, GO HERO!!" Chance exclaimed.

Chance eventually was pulled completely into the muck, but a bright flash of green light could be seen within it. In an instant, Fumesquito burst from the muck, pulling Sunset and Luna out with him as he flew into the air. Before they can get any further, a group of tentacles shoot up from the ground, and two of them manage to latch on to Luna's leg, stopping them in the air and pulling them back. "This is why I don't let my guard down!" Fumesquito remarked.

Luna kicks the tentacles around her leg until they let her go. "Never was much for Tug of War. Either with Celestia, or a bunch of mutant tentacles!" Luna remarked as they flew away.

Sunset sighed as she climbed on top of the alien mosquito, helping Luna up as well. The trio look around, noticing how truly devastating the environment has become due to the tick's poison. "This is terrible, absolutely horrible!" Sunset grimaced.

Fumesquito quickly flew downwards, going into a rotten forest, next to a dirty waterfall. Soon enough, more tentacles sprout from the mutated trees and shoot themselves after them. "You two may wanna hold on. This flight's gonna get real bumpy!" Fumesquito cautioned.

The tentacles sprout out and attempt to ensnare the trio, but Fumesquito manages to bob and weave through them, even cutting one in half with his proboscis.

Back with the huge tick, its abdomen starts growing. The three aliens soon feel a tremor. "What was that?" The third alien inquired.

The Leader alien investigates, noticing a sign that's still readable among the muck. The "Old Faithful" geyser was now enormously backed up and pulsating. The leader smiles joyously. "It appears part of this planet is about to be liberated." The first alien states.

The second alien listens to the tick as it makes more noises. "Ah, yes. Yes. I understand, oh Great One. So shall it be." The second alien confirms.

The green alien approaches, curious as to what the tick has "decreed" this time. "What did it say?" The third alien inquires.

The second alien turns to his comrades, smiling happily. "He wishes us to see the effects of His greatness, and go witness his supreme and ultimate power." the second alien explained.

The three of them nod and float over to the geyser, unaware of the trio making their inevitable return.

Luna grits her teeth, grimacing at the desolate and wasted landscape that the park has become. "Chance, you must hurry! Yellowstone's becoming more and more poisoned!" Luna cautioned.

Fumesquito was still flying, but it was clear that the overgrown mosquito was starting to develop a bit of trouble. Before he can attempt to land anywhere, the trio all suddenly go pale as a "heartbeat" echoes out. "What was that noise?" Sunset asked, clutching onto Luna.

Luna looked over to the source of the sound, her eyes widened as she saw Old Faithful in its current state. "Sounds like Old Faithful's ready to blow, and to make matters worse, I don't know what that tick's poison could do to it when it does." Luna explained, pointing to the mutated geyser.

Fumesquito gave a thumbs up. "One detour, comin' in hot and spicy!" Fumesquito called out, immediately changing directions and heading for Old Faithful.

The three aliens arrive on the scene, ready to watch Old Faithful burst, but soon get a visual on the trio. "I have visual recognition on the adult female and teenage female, but why are they riding on a Culicidopterran?" The leader questioned.

Fumesquito started charging towards the three aliens. "To do a bit of blood work, that's why!" the aliens were now on their guard as Fumesquito flew right past them. "Now move it or LOSE IT, POSERS!" Fumesquito buzzed out.

The leader frowned, clearly displeased by the interruption. "Not until we witness the eruption of the Great One's power." The leader declared.

Fumesquito groaned and begrudgingly stuck his proboscis into one of the mutated trees, drinking as much as he could as he flew back into the air. "Sorry, but that's not gonna happen!" Fumesquito shifted his huge eyes behind him, looking at Luna and Sunset. "Hold on tight, I'm about to goop it up!" Fumesquito warned.

The alien mosquito flies back on top of the geyser's spout, shooting goop from his proboscis. It covers the hole and stops the pulsating, which angers the aliens greatly. Fumesquito quickly flies away to drop Luna and Sunset on safe ground, much to their confusion. "What are you doing?" Luna questioned.

"Letting you off, this mosquito's flying solo!" Fumesquito responded.

Sunset was a bit miffed. "You're not thinking of handling this on your own, are you? We're a team, we work together!" Sunset argued.

Fumesquito sighed. "Why do you think I'm letting you off right now? I'm gonna go play as a distraction, keep the religious nuts busy, while you two go back to the tick and find a way to fix all of this!" Fumesquito explained.

Luna had to admit, it was a solid plan in theory, and in practice, it could work as long as Chance doesn't time out too soon. But, she was a bit bothered that he didn't share the plan with them. "While I'm willing to go along with this plan, mister Marsten, you need to tell us these things beforehand!" Luna remarked.

Fumesquito nodded. "We'll work on that, just go-!" Fumesquito is immediately met with energy beams from the green alien's axe. He manages to dodge every swipe and spits mist in the green alien's face, flying past the other two as the green alien starts to feel the paralyzing effects. "You're gonna need more than a flyswatter to take down this bug!" Fumesquito taunted.

The green alien tries to keep himself in the air, but does manage to wheeze out a command. "Get him!" the third alien wheezed, falling off his platform, and into a dirty river.

Sunset and Luna managed to get back to the tick, and to their surprise, the RV was several good feet away from it, practically in walking distance. The pair of them quickly moved towards the vehicle, and Luna started looking for some equipment. "Sunset, find a way to get to Chance, I feel as if he may need the help. I'll find a solution, I just need one specific gadget." Luna instructed.

Sunset nodded and went to her bag, pulling out a familiar item, smiling confidently. "It's time to give this baby a test drive, beat those suckers at their own game!" Sunset remarked.

Meanwhile, the other two aliens chase after Fumesquito, but seem to lose him in a brown cloud. "Where did that insect disappear to?" The second alien questioned.

As they look around, Fumesquito carefully comes out of a cloud above them, readying himself to dive-bomb them. "Come on, split up. I know you will." Fumesquito hoped.

The second alien hovers to the left, while the leader goes to the right. Fumesquito quickly rams the second alien off of his platform, sending the yellow alien falling to the ground below, letting him land onto a mutated tree, creating a crater that covered him in a blue goop. "Oh yeah! Who's bad? Oh yeah!" Fumesquito soon hears the Omnitrix time out, and starts to panic. "OH SHIT!" Fumesquito exclaimed.

In a flash of red light, Chance was transformed back into his human form, but thankfully, he was still on top of the platform, though he had a rough time keeping his balance. "Woah-ho-ho! Steady... steady...!" Chance took a deep breath and kept himself still, trying to keep himself from panicking. Chance sighed as he kneeled down onto the platform. "Oh man, where's an instruction manual when you need it?" Chance remarked.

The leader pushes through the clouds, setting his sights on Chance. Chance notices that he's been spotted, and is now very worried. Chance pushes the platform down, and it moves forward, all while descending to the ground. "Come on... figure it out, you idiot!" Chance gritted, trying to figure out how to control the platform.

Chance wobbles the platform, causing him to zigzag in numerous directions, all while the leader alien continues to angrily pursue him. Chance closed his eyes and immediately stood up. Keeping the device level, Chance manages to slowly stand up and keep his balance. Chance slowly opens his eyes, and soon realizes that he's now riding it. The leader alien suddenly catches up, but Chance barely has any time to react. Chance braces himself, only for the leader to be knocked away. Chance watches as Sunset now joins in the fight, riding on her hoverboard. "Luna thought you'd need some assistance. How're you holding up?" Sunset called out.

Chance quickly grabs the rim of his platform and pulls it up, letting the leader alien fly right under him and overshoot his shot. "I've been better, does she have a solution yet?" Chance called out.

Sunset shook her head. "Not yet, but she's figuring it out! We need to keep them busy, or at the very least, slow them down!" Sunset called out.

The leader charges back towards the two teens, but then Chance gets an idea, looking back at Old Faithful. Chance smirks and looks over to Sunset. "Follow my lead!" Chance exclaimed.

Chance and Sunset climb up high and level out, moving out of the way of the leader's blasts. The teens could see that he couldn't keep this up, but soon enough, Sunset catches on and notices something on the ground. 'So that's what he's doing. Not a bad idea, to be honest.' Sunset thought, a smile forming on her face.

Chance and Sunset fly right beside each other, all while the leader barrels down towards them, his speed of descent becomes faster and faster. Chance nods his head, and Sunset nods back, creating a light blue tendril as it wraps around his waist. Chance jumps off the platform and onto Sunset's board, and the two stop mid-air, letting the leader blitz right past them. "BEEP BEEP, motherfucker! Pump the brakes next time!" Chance called out as they quickly flew away.

The leader alien was confused for a moment, but soon realized too late. The leader crashes into Old Faithful's spout, creating a wonderful splash of sticky goop and muck.

Chance and Sunset land right next to the RV, with Luna running up to them, laughing as she hugged them both. "I've seen and been in my fair share of accidents, but I've never seen an intergalactic fender-bender like that before! Way to go, both of you!" Luna congratulated.

Chance smiled, but looked over at the tick. "We can celebrate later. Right now, the tick needs to be stopped. Does anyone have any ideas before I try brute-forcing this?" Chance asked.

The two ladies look at the tick, now more massive than before. "Brute force can only get us so far, it's just getting bigger as it feeds." Luna stated.

Chance looked to the Omnitrix, seeing it glow green. "Then let's see how the tick likes a protein-rich Cajun diet, Riptile style!" Chance remarked.

Chance presses the button and pops the core up, selecting Riptile's icon. In one swift motion, Chance transforms into the red muscular amphibious reptile. Riptile punches, kicks and bites the tick in every-which-way, even whipping it with his tongue. But all it took was one toss from its legs, and Riptile was sent flying backwards. Chance groggily sits stunned in Riptile's crater. "This is gonna be difficult, just like I thought it would." Chance remarked.

After a bit of waiting, Chance dials in Nitrofrost, taking a deep breath as Sunset and Luna watch him mentally prepare himself. "Okay, one down, ten to go. Let's do this, ugly!" Chance remarked.

Chance transformed into Nitrofrost, attempting to put the tick on ice, but despite being encased and practically preserved in a large chunk of ice, the tick wasn't affected at all.

The next attempt was with Vitaguar, and even with his strength and golden bones, he couldn't scratch or pierce the tick's shell. Even a frustrated and feral tantrum from the alien feline wasn't enough to make a dent, which infuriated the alien even more, leaving it embarrassed.

Chance made another attempt with Armethyst, but his energy blasts, even when they were powering up the crystal shards he fired, they didn't even leave an impact on the tick.

Chance tried using Jump-Kick, but neither his talons, nor his feathers, or his powerful kicks could make the large extraterrestrial tick budge.

Chance attempted to use Pinch, thinking he could pry some of the shell off, or corrode a hole into it, but even that was fruitless.

Chance tried to use Fumesquito again, to attempt to drink any nutrients from the tick itself, or from the shell. This didn't work in any case. The shell, along with what exposed flesh could be puncturable, was somehow too durable and too dense for Fumesquito to puncture.

Sunset and Luna were starting to get worried from seeing so many of Chance's aliens fail to actually move this thing.

Chance transformed into Crime Detector, literally opening fire with no restriction, and despite giving it all he had, the tick was unfazed and unharmed.

Chance transformed into Excavole. His plan was to dig a hole so deep, he'd bury the tick and kill it with a cave-in. Excavole couldn't even dig five feet into the ground without being stopped in his tracks by the tick's engorged tentacles and legs.

Chance was already down to his last two options. Zombrex and his new alien. Chance was actually saving Zombrex for last, but considering how nine of the eleven aliens he has at that moment, have failed, Zombrex was, ironically enough, the planet's last hope. The zombified hero was the only one who made any progress in trying to stop the tick, and that's not saying much.

Zombrex was able to tear away a couple pieces of the tick's shell, but once it tried to eat its way into the tick itself, Zombrex just gave up. According to him, the tick's flesh was the equivalent to black licorice and an expired energy drink. It was quite literally the only living thing Zombrex couldn't stomach. Above all else, even from just one of the zombified hero's infectious bites, it didn't seem to be slowing down or speeding up the process of the Earth's decay. Zombrex's infectious disease didn't even have an effect on that gargantuan gluttonous tick.

Chance laid back on the ground exhausted, he tried to rationalize how this tick was able to best him, but he just couldn't admit defeat. Chance refused to let an overgrown lime disease-carrying bug get the better of him, and take his planet. "This thing's indestructible, it's almost bullshit with how this thing has resisted the same 10 aliens I started with this summer! Does anyone have any other ideas, because I'm not sure how Alien No. 11 is gonna take this thing down, when the other ten couldn't!" Chance remarked.

The trio looked at the tick, uncertain as to what could be done to save the planet this time. Unbeknownst to them, the three aliens have arrived back. "Reverse beam flow. They're powerless, for now." The leader instructed.

The green alien shoots a beam from his axe, this time creating a pink dome around the three humans. Out of frustration, Chance tries to hit it, but it shocks him, knocking him into Luna's arms. The three aliens hover in front of the trio, clearly angered and displeased by their attempts to stop the tick. "It's time for the final purification of your planet, and you three along with it." The leader declared.

Sunset gulped nervously as she looked to her friend and vice principal. "Please tell me we have a 'Plan B'?" Sunset asked.

The two shook their heads, much to Sunset's dismay.

A couple hours later, the sky has thinned out into white, the trees have started to finally wilt, and the ground is breaking. The green alien raises the trio's bubble in the sky and releases it, dropping them on the ground. As they get up, the Leader puts sponges in their hands. Chance was about to throw the sponge right back at them, until Luna motioned for him to hold off. "What are we supposed to do with these?" Sunset asked, already knowing the grotesque answer that awaited her.

The leader pointed to the tick, specifically the goop that was dripping and pulsating from its hide. "Before the Great One can cleanse your planet forever and move on to the next, He must be cleansed." The leader explained.

Sunset fell to her knees and puked on the ground, she couldn't handle it. As Luna knelt down to try and ease Sunset's discomfort, Chance angrily smacked the leader with the sponge he gave him, which angered the leader greatly. "You dumb motherfuckers are the ones who worship this disgusting thing, following its ugly ass around from planet-to-planet as it ruins numerous and countless lives, so why don't YOU lazy bastards fuckin' do it!?" Chance exclaimed, berating the three alien invaders.

The leader blasts a beam at Chance's feet, knocking him back. Just as Chance got back up to his feet, Luna lead Sunset over to him, and she helped him up. Luna looked at the two teens intently. "Do what they say. For now..." Luna instructed in a hush tone.

As the trio begrudgingly clean the tick, it begins to shed, revealing a yellow shell underneath its reddish exterior. Several large, purple pores also push their way out of the shell, spitting acid at random intervals. The falling pieces of shell almost crush Chance, Sunset, and Luna, but thankfully, they manage to dodge out of the way.

The three aliens, meanwhile, were right in-front of the tick, praising it. The yellow alien listens intently as the tick makes more gurgled sounds and breathing noises. "He says - He missed us," The three aliens smile, putting their hands together as if they were ready to send a prayer. "It was not our fault, oh Great One. Please forgive us for abandoning you on such a momentous occasion." the yellow alien praised.

The three aliens stand side-by-side. "Forgiveness... Forgiveness... Forgiveness... Forgi-" The tick shuddered, a labored gurgle escaped its mouth as it shed more of its skin. The yellow alien listened closely. "W-What is wrong, oh Great One? You seem discouraged." The yellow alien inquired, trying to listen to the tick's numerous sounds.

The trio continue to scrub blue goop off of the tick, much to Sunset's disgust, and much to Chance's irritation. "Ugh, could this get any nastier?" Sunset pulled her sponge away, only to then notice several small lice-like bugs crawling up her arm, making her shriek. "AAH!! Gross!! Space lice!" Sunset exclaimed, flailing around as she tried to get the bugs off of her.

The three aliens look to the tick, with the yellow alien clearly starting to become distressed. "Oh Great One, what has caused you such a grave disheartening?" The tick lets out a few labored breaths, all while the breathing seems to slow down. The yellow alien's eyes widen a bit, then a look of concern grows. "A-Are you sure? Is this true?... N-No, no, I don't, nor do my comrades, doubt your judgement, oh Great One... but, are you truly sure? Has there been a mistake?" The alien asked, the tone of concern begins to increase through the alien's voice.

The leader and the green alien look at the yellow alien with worry. "What's happening? Is the Great One alright?" The leader questioned.

The green alien hovered forward. "What's this I hear about a mistake?" the green alien inquired.

The yellow alien was starting to shake, a look of fear seemed to be all that the second alien could express. "I-It would seem... t-that the Great One... is... i-is..." The yellow alien was struggling to get the words out, but after a stern glare from the leader, the yellow alien just let it out. "The Great One's final hours in this world are upon us!!" The yellow alien announced.

The trio were listening carefully, trying to look busy. The other two aliens were caught off guard, almost distraught by the news. "T-The Great One's final hours are upon us... it wishes for me to translate its only confession, before it moves on to join the almighty after!" The yellow alien proclaimed.

The leader approached. "What?! The Great One... has something to... regret?! What does the Great One, the one who purified many planets, blessed every galaxy with its presence, have to regret!?" The leader questioned.

The yellow alien could barely look its comrades in the eyes, before it simply sat down on its platform, looking genuinely defeated. "T-The Great One... is displeased with us..." The two aliens looked at the yellow alien, surprised and taken aback by the news. "His only regret... was driving us to worship its destruction... the galaxies and planets we led him to... the ones he purified... he claims it all went too far... now death is all we can accept, if we are to repent for our sins..." the alien explained.

The three aliens were distracted, all while the trees continue to wilt. "We're running out of time!" Luna remarked.

Chance sighed. "And aliens. I've got one more alien to use, but I'm not even sure if he'll be able to do anything to stop this!" Chance remarked.

Sunset grabbed Chance by the collar of his shirt, an expression of agitation and anger was present on her face. "Don't try, and Earth turns into a giant cesspool, then becomes a pile of rubble!" Sunset reminded.

The trio look back, seeing the world collapsing and falling apart around them. Chance sighed and nodded his head. "Alright, but we got one shot at this! Once I transform, I'm gonna do all I physically can to stop this thing... even if it means doing something stupid," Sunset let Chance go, and Chance immediately pressed the button, popping the core up. As soon as Nitrofrost's icon showed up, he cycled to the left, seeing the gray man's icon. "Okay new guy, I really need you to save the world right now. You're the only alien I haven't tried yet, so help a brother out!" Chance pleaded, pressing the core down as he began to transform.

Chance's skin started to become pale, almost light gray in color as his muscles tensed up and expanded, traveling up his arm and into his eye, causing it to shine white. Chance's hair turned darker and blacker, growing out and becoming much wilder and unkempt as his body bulked up and became more robust and broad. His jawline became a bit more square, and his nose melded with his face, all while gray skin grew over it, covering it and burying it into his face.

Chance felt his shirt suddenly become draped in some kind of leather jacket as his shoes became white boots with black cuffs. His jeans became a much darker blue, and seemed to become a bit tighter. The alien puts on a stoic expression and takes a knee, pondering something as it flexes one of its large gray arms.

The flash of light dies down, revealing that Chance had successfully transformed into his previously discovered eleventh alien. Sunset and Luna were relieved that it worked, as was Chance, but soon enough, the Omnitrix soon started to react. "Genetic transformation sequence complete. Vreedle DNA Sample has been properly catalogued in Omnitrix database. Playlist 2 has been unlocked; Vreedle DNA Sample now accessible in Playlist 2." The Omnitrix informed.

The Vreedle smiled and flexed its muscles. "All right, it worked!" The Vreedle looked to the tick, only to then notice that the three aliens were clearly angered. "Alright fellas, this is how it's gonna go down! You tried to make my planet start burnin' rubber, like you did with all the other planets you visited, so you're gonna-"

"Do... d-do what you must." The leader stated, almost hesitating on every word.

The trio was a bit surprised by the sudden response. "Did I miss something crucial?" The Vreedle asked, genuinely confused.

The yellow alien hovered forward. "Please, let me explain... The Great One's final hours are upon us, and... he's in mourning. He wishes to be vanquished by this planet's protector, as recompense for trying to puri-... destroy your planet, like we've done to many others... You, shapeshifter, are clearly strong. Please, give the Great One a send-off worthy of his greatness." The yellow alien explained somberly.

The green alien hovers down and hands the Vreedle the axe. "I fought many for the Great One, even earned the right to wield that weapon when he came to my homeworld. Now, it's yours, for worthiness is something I no longer possess... Fare thee well, oh Great One." The green alien stated, backing away.

The Vreedle eyed the axe, all while another tremor echoed out. "A titanium-alloy forged handle with a compressed Lithium crystal that creates the blade... now that's God's righteous weapon right 'ere!" The Vreedle smirked as he twirled the axe around, then brandished it with a determined look in his eyes. "Time to make the scene, ya overgrown bug! It's Hero Time!!" The Vreedle called out, running towards the tick.

The ground begins to give way, and the ladies immediately run to the RV, with the three aliens trying to guide them to safety. "Keep your eyes on the vehicle of mobilization, everything shall be fine!" The leader reassured.

The Vreedle blasts and strikes the tick with all he has, but his blasts keep bouncing off the shell, and the blade isn't cutting through the flesh like he hoped. "Damn it, forgot it was indestructible! What a drag!" The Vreedle was about to take another swing, until screams echoed out, catching his attention. Sunset and Luna were separated, all while the aliens tried to reunite them. Just as Sunset tried to find her footing, the ground gave way again, causing her to fall, her screams echoed out. Luna was about to reach for her, until the Vreedle jumped down right towards her. The Vreedle managed to pull Sunset close, then jam the axe into the ground, stopping their fall. The Vreedle noticed how close another portion of ground was, and started to wall jump his way back to Luna. After a bit of leaping, the Vreedle managed to get back up to Luna, letting Sunset climb up and squeeze Luna tightly. "Thanks for the save!" Sunset commented.

The Vreedle nodded. "Not bad for the gray man who sounds like he came from Tallahassee." The Vreedle remarked.

The leader approached. "I believe you Vreedles referred to your bravest warriors as 'Hoss', if I'm getting their verbal vernacular correct." The leader informed.

The Vreedle smiled. "The Hoss from Tallahassee. Has a nice ol' ring-a-ding ring to it, but it's waaaaay too damn wordy," From above, a piece of the tick's shell bounces off the ground, hurtling towards them. The Vreedle quickly jumped towards it and caught it in mid-air, slamming it into the ground like it was a makeshift form of cover. "How about... Tallahoss!" The Vreedle corrected.

Tallahoss gets out from behind cover, only to then be drenched in more blue goop. "That's it, that fuckin' bug's been crusin' for a brusin' ever since it got here! Fuck it, I'm taking this to the extreme! You two, get in the RV and get out of here, I'll catch up!" Luna and Sunset were worried, but felt as if Chance did have a plan this time. Tallahoss looked to the three aliens. "You three, help me get in close! I'm gonna kill that damn thing, and I know how to this time!" Tallahoss instructed.

The leader was uncertain. "How do you intend to kill it? The shell is impenetrable, not even rockets and nukes could scorch it!" The leader reminded.

Tallahoss just let a smug smirk form on his face. "Who said I was gonna kill it on the outside?" Tallahoss questioned, a chuckle escaped the Vreedle as it cracked its knuckles.

The RV speeds away from the tick's location, all while the park is becoming more and more like a desolate and lifeless hellscape. "He's gonna be fine, right?" Sunset asked.

Luna just stomped on the gas pedal, unsure as to what exactly Chance intended to do. "I'm hoping he will be." Luna stated, trying not to dwell on the worst possible outcome.

Back with the tick, Tallahoss, along with the tick's former heralds, run to the front of the tick itself. As the ground gives way, the tick starts to suck in everything around it. Tallahoss smirked, looking back at the three aliens. "You three might wanna get as far as yall can go! Yer in the splash zone!!" The aliens were confused for a moment, until they saw Tallahoss jump right towards the open maw of the tick. "Open up, bug! I'm gonna take you out from the inside!!" Tallahoss exclaimed, vanishing inside the tick's mouth.

Inside, Tallahoss looked around, noticing a chunk of rubble that had the green alien's weapon still stuck inside it. Tallahoss happily pried it free, and chuckled. "Let's get to work! HYAAAAAHHHH!!!!!" Tallahoss screamed out, jumping as he hacked and slashed at various bones and mounds of flesh and tissue. Tallahoss was bouncing everywhere in the tick's body. Rupturing through organs, hacking the skeleton to pieces, and basically tearing the tick up from the inside, dismantling it without a care in the world. "RRRRRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!" Tallahoss roared out, jamming the axe against the tick's brain.

Outside of the tick, its body pulses and pulses with more goop cracking its shell, until only a mass of it is left to explode for miles across. The aliens watch, only out of respect for the slain creature. In the aftermath of the tick's inevitable end, was a steaming ribcage, truly all that remained of "The Great One". From a huge pile of tick goop, Tallahoss emerges from it, covered in fluids, yet still had a smirk on his face. "Well, that was something no one's ever done durin' summer vacation! That was the bomb!!" Tallahoss looked over at the three aliens, seeing their melancholic expressions as they looked upon the remains of the tick. The Vreedle's excitement started to fade, and it lowered the weapon, letting it be. "Uh... sorry about your god, no hard feelings?" Tallahoss asked.

The yellow alien puts his "ear" to a piece of shell. He is met by silence. "...Nothing. The Great One has been silenced forever." The yellow alien confirmed.

The leader sighed, looking upon Tallahoss. The Omnitrix beeped and in a flash of red light, Chance was transformed back to normal. "You... you destroyed him... Well, human, you protected your planet, all while risking your life for those around you... I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive us, as well as the Great One." The leader explained.

Chance sighed. "Sad as it is to say, your 'Great One' is gone. Clearly you had some attachment to that thing, but it was... well, toxic. I can't find it in my heart to forgive you three, not now, but if your tick god really was innocent in all this, then I'll forgive it, just this once... now, please get off my planet. If you choose to stay, you'll help clean up this mess, and better understand humans... and FYI," Chance looked the leader in the eyes. "You and your friends here are out of the loop, so let me break it down for you. I'm the wielder of the Omnitrix, and the one who put Reinrassic out to pasture. I'm letting you three off with a warning, and you're lucky I even consider this applicable as a warning. Cause problems on Earth, or in Space again, you answer to me, and the Plumbers. Understand?" Chance warned.

The three aliens nod their heads, hopping back onto their platforms as they float away. The yellow alien stops and looks back, waving slowly. "Enjoy the rest of your day, wielder of the Omnitrix." The Currixula'a complimented as it floated away.

The RV pulls back onto the scene, with the landscape slowly but surely returning to normal. The ship flies away and leaves Earth, all while Luna and Sunset watch as Chance sits down on a tree stump. "It looks like everything's going back to normal, somehow. Maybe that poison was more closely tied to the tick's lifespan. With the tick dead, Earth lives on. Yeah, that sounds like the new normal to me." Chance remarked.

Sunset smiled, sitting down next to him. "Chance, hate to break it to ya bud, but nothing we ever do is normal," Chance chuckled and ruffled her hair. "Nice job, man. Wasn't really sure myself if you'd make it, but here you are. Not really sure I approve of you letting those guys go, though. Really made a mess of things." Sunset remarked.

Luna smiled. "I'm just glad you didn't try to kill them. And yet, you're clearly bothered. What's up, son?" Luna inquired.

Chance sighed. "I'm fine, just... need to take a long... cold shower." Chance reassured, smiling weakly.

The trio get up and walk back to the RV. Meanwhile, the geysers burst and the birds return to the healthy sky.

Author's Note

Because I feel like it, here's what Tallahoss looks like.

I wanted to put an actual image in the chapter, but for some reason, FiMFiction has decreed that is not happening in a gazillion years. That's fun... real fun.

Also, for the Ben 10 fans reading this, I didn't feel like doing the bare minimum with the tick's fancy herald followers. They didn't have any actual species names, so I came up with some of my own. I like taking creative liberties to expand on pre-existing lore. I also wanted to make the yellow guy, the Currixula'a, as I've graciously dubbed him, actually capable of understanding the tick though the way it breathes and makes sounds.

You know, make them crazier than they already were for worshipping a giant space tick.

S2, Episode 3: Busy, G?

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Busy, G?

San Francisco, a busy place with even busier people. Somewhere on the street, a video game store has a long lineup of people. Of those waiting in the line are the trio, mainly Chance, who's been eager buy the newly released Pocket Quest game. Sunset, on the other hand, was actually tired, bored out of her skull. "Ugh, we've been in this line for two hours, and it hasn't budged an inch!" Sunset groaned.

Chance smiled. "Yeah, the wait's a bit long, but it's a small price to pay for "Pocket Quest Amethyst"! I'd do anything to get this game, even if it meant putting up with Rainbow Dash!" Chance eagerly stated.

Sunset raised an eyebrow. "Don't you already have that game?" Sunset asked.

Chance frowned. "No, that was "Pocket Quest BurningCrimson", it was a remake of the first games in the series, Crimson and Navy. Amethyst is the third iteration of the series, a true sequel to "Pocket Quest Garnet and Lapis"! New monsters, new characters, fifteen extra hours of Post-Game content, and more complex lore than the history of America itself! Everyone, their mother, even their pet goldfish, they're all clamoring to get this game, me included! We've been waiting on this ever since "Pocket Quest AshenBronze" came out two years ago!" Chance explained.

Luna smiled. "It's honestly a breath of fresh air seeing you so excited for this game, mister Marsten. I used to be a gamer myself, Celestia always hated it when I won in "Alley Brawlers 3"," Luna wiped a bead of sweat from her brow, and noticed a book store nearby. "You know, there's a nice air-conditioned bookstore over there, maybe we can wait inside until this line thins out a bit." Luna suggested.

Chance looked heavily offended. "And lose my place in line, after hours of waiting?! What's next, do I have to kiss Dash's ass, too? Hard pass, I'm not giving up my spot!" Chance sighed as he yawned. "Look, how about you girls go and get out of the heat. I'll be out with the game in no time at all, I'll meet you back at the RV." Chance suggested.

Luna and Sunset looked at each other, then shrugged their shoulders as they stepped out of the line. "Want us to pick up anything for you?" Luna asked.

Chance shook his head. "Nah, I'll be alright. Besides, it's summer vacation. Last time I genuinely read a book during summer, it was the bible. That was five years ago, then I stopped. Best decision of my life." Chance remarked.

Luna and Sunset exchange a confused look, then walk towards the bookstore, leaving Chance in the sun as they seek an escape from the summer heat.

Some time passes by, and by the time Sunset and Luna return to the line, it's already gotten bigger, with Chance nowhere in sight. "Seems to me like he couldn't take the heat for long." Luna stated.

Sunset smiled. "He probably started to get a bit stir-crazy after waiting so long." Sunset guessed.

They suddenly hear a loud crash and some screams. People run out of the video game store, before Riptile comes crashing out of it... only, he seems a bit different. Or rather, she looks a bit different? Riptile looked slimmer, and seemed a lot more feminine than the last time Chance became him. The alien's usual red hue seemed a bit darker and desaturated, almost like a magenta hue, all while the eye color was a vibrant gold. The suit the alien wore seemed too similar to Riptile's, despite the colors being switched around, but upon first glance, Luna and Sunset didn't know what to make of this.

Sunset was about to call out towards the rampaging alien, only to then notice one key detail about it, or rather, the lack of a key detail that the two seemed to fail to notice. The Omnitrix didn't seem to be present on this alien, but with Chance nowhere to be seen, it raised a lot of questions. A police car quickly arrives, skidding too fast and stopping in front of "Riptile". "Riptile" picks up the car and shakes the officers out of it, forcing the officer to run away as the alien snarled.

Soon enough, more officers show up on the scene, and a stand-off begins against the rampaging alien. A news helicopter comes to capture it from above, but "Riptile" throws around a dumpster and a street pole at it. While the pole did jam into the undercarriage of the helicopter, the dumpster ended up flying towards Luna and Sunset. The two barely manage to dodge out of the dumpster's way, all while "Riptile" growls at the officers hungrily. "Uh- why is Chance going berserk and fighting the police?" "Riptile" steps forward and immediately rips off an officer's arm with their jaws, cries of agony as blood sprays out onto the asphalt, all while the alien swallows the arm whole, looking satisfied. Luna and Sunset were shocked with disbelief. "H-Holy shit! What, did they run out of copies!?" Sunset shrieked.

Luna watched as the cops immediately ran away, all while the injured cop tried to crawl away. "Something isn't right about any of this..." Luna stated.

Two police cars roll up behind "Riptile", but she throws a car at them, causing both to swerve out of control. On Luna and Sunset's side, an armored vehicle slowly rolls up to the scene. Out of the driver's seat steps a tall man dressed in tactical gear, with a chiseled jaw, blonde crew cut, and a scar across his face. He shows his badge to the head officer as other men in riot gear climb out. Sunset starts to grow more and more concerned, but Luna was mildly surprised by the man's appearance. She looked pale, like she saw a ghost from her past, alive and in the flesh once more. "Lieutenant Steel; I'm with the S.A.C.T, Special Alien Containment Team. We'll take it from here," Steel gestured to his men and snapped his fingers. "Ready the concussion bazooka, ASAP! This alien's gonna find out what happens when you fuck around!" Steel ordered.

Two soldiers quickly assemble a large two-man-operated gun. They carry it to the front to aim it at "Riptile", who doesn't seem that worried. "That doesn't look good. Please, tell me this isn't happening!" Sunset pleaded.

Luna simply got up, and walked towards Lieutenant Steel, leaving Sunset on her own. The teenage girl groaned, finally fed up with the chaos that's gotten out of control in a matter of minutes. Sunset builds some nerve and runs forward, past the soldiers and up to "Riptile", much to the soldiers' concerns. "CHANCE, what the fuck are you doing!?" Sunset exclaimed.

As she holds a car above her head, "Riptile" gets excited to crush Sunset with it, much to the teenage girl's horror. Before anything could be done, however, Lt. Steel nods to the soldiers, who fire a blast at "Riptile", sending her flying backwards into a pizza shop. "Riptile" bursts out of the shop with a brick oven in hand. She throws it at a truck, causing it to explode, screams in a monstrous manner, then jumps away, fleeing the scene.

Sunset and Luna were incredibly confused, concerned, but also angry at what could possibly be the reason behind this sudden outburst.

Back at the RV, Luna and Sunset walk inside, where Chance is innocently playing his new Pocket Quest. Chance pumped his fist in the air, cheering. "Whoo!! That's how we do, get smoked, you bargain-bin monster tamer!" Chance was about to continue playing, until he felt a pair of eyes on him. Chance paused the game and took off his headphones, only to turn around and be met by Luna and Sunset. "Oh hey, I was wondering when you'd get back. Turns out the game store owners were tired of the line getting bigger, so they put up a discount, and everyone flocked over to it like moths to a flame," Sunset and Luna looked at each other, then back at Chance. "Got my copy for real cheap, and you won't believe who I ran into on my way out! Turns out Rainbow Dash was in town, and she's a closeted Pocket Quest fan! We were about to go back to the RV and talk about the game, until we saw the news report about a runaway train," Luna and Sunset were starting to become very confused. "Apparently an alien similar to one of mine robbed a train full of money and sent the train into overdrive! Me and Dash left our games here, and went to save the day! It was the oddest thing, seeing people be scared of me, after all the good my aliens have done." Chance explained.

Sunset's eye twitched, and proceeded to pull Chance out of the booth and push him against the sink, much to his own shock and confusion. "Woah, easy now! What's gotten into you?" Chance soon saw the angered looks on their faces, and was starting to realize that something happened recently. "Okay, I'll bite. What did I do this time?" Chance asked.

Sunset groaned. "Are you demented!? Riptile was rampaging through the streets, and bit a man's arm off, then swallowed it whole!! Got an alibi for that, genius?!" Sunset remarked.

Chance paused at that very moment. At first, Chance was confused, but then Luna turned on the TV, showing the news broadcast about Riptile's onslaught. Chance witnessed the very moment the cop's arm ripped from his socket, and was genuinely frightened. "I didn't do that, I didn't do any of that, I swear!" Chance pleaded.

Sunset was unconvinced. "Oh, no? I'm sure it's just some other overgrown frog croc alien going postal in front of a video game store!" Sunset remarked.

Chance was actually a bit hurt, but he was starting to get agitated. "Did you even hear yourself!? Of course it had to be another alien! Let's examine, shall we?" Chance snatched the remote out of Luna's hand and rewound the footage, pausing on a clear shot of this impostor Riptile. "Look, doesn't he look a bit leaner than normal? Not to mention that shade of red, he could blend in the shadows! They look more feminine, from my point of view, at least. Not to mention, what's with those golden peepers!? When I transform, my eyes aren't like that, are they? They're pitch white, and I usually have the Omnitrix on my person. It don't just vanish out of nowhere!" Chance remarked.

Luna and Sunset looked at the Riptile in the broadcast, and admittedly, Chance had a few good points to prove his innocence. "Plus, I'd never attack bystanders! Not by a long shot, and it fuckin' hurts to know you just blamed me for manslaughter! Thanks a fuckin' lot, Sunny, what a pal!" Sunset was starting to feel a bit embarrassed, as well as rightfully ashamed, but that still doesn't explain anything about what happened. "Here's the news broadcast about me and Dash, how we ended up saving numerous lives from a fiery painful death!" Chance switched the channel, showing live footage of Dash flying around, all while Jump-Kick runs and jumps along the rooftops of the train cars, with the Omnitrix being prominent on the alien bird's chest. Luna and Sunset look back at Chance, now seeing the anger on his face. "So, you two owe me an apology, big time." Chance remarked.

From the back of the RV, Dash walks out, dressed in a tank top, sun hat, shorts, and running shoes. "Sounds like trouble in the making, what's up?" Dash asked.

The trio look over at Dash, who sat down in the booth, eagerly waiting for an explanation. Chance sighed. "Someone might be trying to frame me, and had these two fooled. What say you and I go back to the scene and see if we can't figure anything out, maybe find the one who needs their thick skull cracked?" Chance suggested.

Dash smiled as she activated her geode, sprouting her wings. "Then let's do this!" Dash agreed.

As Chance and Dash exit the RV, Sunset and Luna are a bit ashamed, but decide to go after them, in the eventuality that something else happens.

The four of them make their way to the site of the rampage, where trashed cars are being towed and police are talking over their radios, all while blood stains litter the road as an ambulance drives away. Chance picks up a brick by his foot, noticing that it matched the bricks that came from the trashed brick oven. "Whoever trashed this place and tried to frame Riptile, they clearly didn't like pizza, and that's the biggest red flag here." Chance remarked.

Sunset looked around at the damage, only for her gaze to fall back onto her friend, who was trying to be as thorough as he could. Dash flew upwards, trying to find some significance to the attack, but hasn't been able to find anything of worth. "Nothing from up here!" Dash called out.

Chance sighed. He looked back at Sunset, seeing the conflicting emotions in her eyes, and he didn't want to deal with it. Chance walked over and held his hand out for a handshake. "Grab my hand, Sunset. Look into my head, and you'll see the truth. I was there at the train, trying to stop it. Get it over with, and let's find this impostor!" Chance suggested.

Sunset was hesitant, but at the same time, she had to know who was telling the truth. Sunset grabbed Chance's hand, using her geode to peer into his head. She saw images of the game store, him picking up his copy, running into Rainbow Dash, the news broadcast about the runaway train. She saw them both trying to stop the train, eventually succeeding, then coming right back to the RV. Sunset let Chance's hand go, but despite seeing the truth, she seemed stand-offish.

The four looked at each other, unsure as to what exactly they should do now. Before they could leave the scene, a noise in the alley catches their attention. A pair of golden eyes shine out as they retreat into the alley. "Found the fucker, they returned to the scene! Dash, with me! You two, circle around and corner it!" Chance ordered, running into the alleyway, with Dash following right behind him.

Luna and Sunset get to the RV, while Chance and Dash tail the impostor Riptile. "So, is this just the new normal for you? Fighting aliens, dealing with villains, like you're some kind of comic book superhero? Not knockin' what you do, just a bit on the nose, in my opinion." Dash questioned.

Chance groaned. "We can talk shop later, just keep tailing the bastard!" Chance tried to activate the Omnitrix, only for it to not respond, despite glowing green. "Damn it, I really do need a manual for this damn thing!" Chance remarked.

The Riptile leaps over a fence, which Dash flies over easily, while Chance climbs over. As the alley empties out into an open area, Chance stops to catch his breath. Dash looks around and spots the Riptile on top of a big white building labelled "U.S. MINT". "Of course, this thing's stealing money! That explains why the people on the train were actin' so odd around Jump-Kick! These alien impostors don't stop at Riptile! We have to stop it at the mint!" Dash remarked.

The two dash towards the building, while Sunset and Luna follow close behind, with Luna trying to keep her breathing steady. "Who said retirement was relaxing? They are a liar!" Luna remarked.

Luna and Sunset make it inside the mint, where coins are being printed on conveyor belts and carried around in big bags across the ceiling. "Are you sure they came in here?" Luna asked.

Sunset nodded. "We were right behind them, so I'm not sure how we lost them so fast," A sudden explosion in the corner of the room, leading to the two girls to run towards it. They see two security guards, being slowly backed up by a feminine Nitrofrost, who seems to be a bit more purple upon first glance. She shoots some ice at a bridge up above, causing large jagged ice pieces to fall down and surround the guards. "Okay, now there's two of Chance's aliens terrorizing San Francisco?! This has to stop now!" Sunset remarked.

Sunset steps forward, readying her geode. "Hey, Jack Frost! Turn down the AC before somebody really gets hurt!" The feminine Nitrofrost stops and turns around, staring at Sunset. "Now, if you take responsibility for all the wackass insane stuff you've been doing lately, I'm sure we can help you, and your pals that are framing my friend." Sunset offered.

Luna steps forward, only to then be met by Dash and Chance, who were running around trying to find the right room. "Sunset, get back!" Dash exclaimed.

Sunset turned around, noticing Chance and Dash, only to then realize that the frozen cold alien was starting to approach. Sunset quickly ran back to the other three, and stood her ground with them. "Okay, so who are you? Why are you doing this?" Sunset asked.

The cold alien smirked. "Me? I'm cool, can't you tell," The frozen cold alien looks over at Dash, and the alien's smirk seems to grow. "Hey Dashie, long time no freeze!" the alien remarked, firing off a torrent of snow at the four of them.

Chance quickly activated the Omnitrix, transforming into Armethyst as he created a crystal barrier to stop the attack. As the attack stops, the barrier drops as Armethyst turns his arms into blades. "Sunset, you, Luna and Dash need to get everyone out of here! This ice cold bitch is going down." Armethyst gritted.

Armethyst fires a few energy beams at the Nitrofrost, but she easily dodges them and fires a torrent of slush at the crystalline alien, sending it flying. The three ladies quickly got out of the way as Armethyst started swinging his blades at the cold alien, but is mildly irritated that his attacks don't seem to have any effect. The Nitrofrost fires a beam of ice, making Armethyst duck for cover, but once he gets back up, the Nitrofrost is gone, like she disappeared.

Armethyst groaned. "I don't know who you are, but you're giving aliens a bad name! Show yourself, you frozen cold hag!" Armethyst shouted.

The Nitrofrost's laugh echoed around him. "So why don't you cry about it? Or are you gonna go run and tell on me to your mommy, maybe that smart-mouthed magic friend of yours? or should I tell Dashie how you ran into an old pal!" The alien taunted.

Armethyst was thrown for a loop. Whoever this was, they knew him personally. "As flattered as I should be that a woman knows of me, you put a finger on any of them, and I'll jam my foot so far up your frosty cold ass, you won't be able to make snow balls for a week!" Armethyst threatened.

Before Armethyst knew what hit him, an icy cold blast hit him from behind, knocking him to the ground. Another icy blast explodes one of the ceiling bags, causing a mound of coins to fall on Armethyst and trap him. The Nitrofrost floats forward, smirking. "Hey, it's raining money!" the Nitrofrost remarked.

Armethyst was beyond confused, and by this point, he was the one on the defense, and he got trapped. "Who are you, what do you want from me?" Armethyst asked.

The Nitrofrost laughed. "You still haven't figured it out?" Armethyst shrugged his shoulders, much to the Nitrofrost's chagrin. "Alright, maybe this will help..." The Nitrofrost remarked.

Before Armethyst could even question what she was about to do, the Nitrofrost's face suddenly turns gray and sprouts Vitaguar's unkempt mane, then the affair turns into Armethyst's crystalline face, but colored gold. Armethyst is shocked, he doesn't know what he's witnessing, yet he felt an unsettling sense of deja vu. Then the Armethyst face becomes Crime Detector's face and, finally, turns into the face of a familiar girl, but with long, white hair.

Armethyst's eye widened. "Gilda?!" Armethyst exclaimed.

The two stare at each other, with Armethyst being thoroughly worried. "I-I don't get it! I thought you were drained of all my powers back in New York! How're you using my aliens at full strength?!" Armethyst questioned.

Gilda smirked. "It's actually rather simple, Chancey. You see, after our last pow-wow back in NYC, I was somehow able to absorb enough of your watch's weird energy when it sent out that blast of feedback, allowing me to transform into any of your stupid aliens whenever I want, if I concentrated hard enough. I can use the powers of all ten of your aliens, moron, but that's not all I can do now," Gilda focused real hard, and her form changed again. Soon enough, she found herself on all fours, with her entire body changing into two different things. Her arms, legs and body transformed into the body of a lion, but her head was more akin to that of a bird's, an Eagle, to be specific. She sprouted a pair of wings on her back and laughed. "What do you think of this, Marsten? Can you become a fucking griffon!?" Gilda questioned.

Armethyst was beyond surprised by this point. Gilda laughed at the alien hero's silence, shifting back into Nitrofrost. "I only found out about that form, once I realized that your stupid friend's magic rock did that to me. That energy was enough to splice something with your aliens, and by focusing hard enough, I was able to give myself a whole new transformation! Only one issue with all of this badass power, though. I can only stay human for a short time. You and your friend made me into this freak." Gilda remarked.

Armethyst groaned, now thoroughly annoyed. He scoffed. "Like this is our fault?! Whose dumb idea was it to drain out all the powers of the watch, then absorb a magic rock? Not mine, and not Sunset's! You got fuckin' greedy, we could've worked together, G. But no, you had to be a fuckin' prick!" Armethyst remarked.

Gilda sneered. "I don't care! Cause now it's payback time, partner," The sound of a helicopter could be heard outside. "Everything 50/50! I do the crime, and you'll do the time!" Gilda stated.

Armethyst groaned as he tried to break out. "You'll never get away with this! You hear me!?" Armethyst growled.

Gilda smirked. "WRONG! YOU'll never get away with this! I'm not me, I'm you! Remember?" Gilda snided, laughing maniacally.

The mint windows suddenly explode, and the same Special Alien Containment Team soldiers rappel inside. As Armethyst sees them and attempts to escape, Gilda changes into Armethyst and blasts him while his back is turned. "Heh. Keep the change, pal. You can use it to pay your bail!" Gilda then changes into Fumesquito, and starts to flutter its wings. "Gotta fly!" Gilda called out, fleeing the scene.

Armethyst watches angrily as Gilda zips out of the mint's glass dome ceiling. SACT Soldiers quickly surround him and are joined by their Lieutenant. "Sorry, 'Rock-Head'. No unauthorized withdrawals on my watch." Steel remarked.

Armethyst groaned. "While I did like that line, it's good material, the actual bad guy's getting away... or, bad girl, to be a bit more correct. I'm the good guy, peep the badge, sarge!" Armethyst remarked, gesturing to the Omnitrix.

Steel was unfazed. "Yeah, sure you are. Just like those "alien heroes" all over the news nowadays! No sale. To me, you're just a walking chandelier!" Steel stated.

Dash, Luna and Sunset run onto the scene. "Steel, stop!! He's telling the truth!" Luna called out.

Steel turned around, raising an eyebrow at the woman, as well as the two teenage girls. "Can I help you three with something? I'm in the middle of something here." Steel remarked.

Dash stepped forward. "One side, crew cut! That 'walking chandelier' is telling the truth! His buddy, Jump-Kick, he was there at the runaway train, trying to help stop it from going off the rails! They wore that same stupid badge!" Dash protested.

Sunset stepped forward. "He's telling the truth, officer! There was another alien here who tried to rob the place! They flew away, and you let them go!" Sunset stated.

Lieutenant Steel just rolled his eyes, disinterested in the teens' claims. "I don't try 'em, kids, I just catch them. We'll let the boys at Area 51 figure out who's naughty and who's nice." Steel stated firmly.

Armethyst kept trying to break out, but it was becoming a bit difficult. "But I am telling the truth! I didn't kill anybody, neither did Riptile! It was a copy cat, someone who's able to absorb our powers and make us look bad! We're here to bring peace and salvation to Earth, not kill, steal and conquer!" Armethyst protested.

Steel seemed unconvinced. "Really, because I have numerous first-hand accounts that put you and your alien pals in Chicago, Tallahassee, and Barstow, just to name a few. You and your outer-space pals have been keeping me real busy...but you're not getting away with it this time!" Steel explained.

Armethyst looked confused. "This time? Hang on a nit-picking minute, we weren't anywhere in those locations! We came to San Francisco for a holiday, then all hell broke loose! We're innocent, our newest member can even vouch for us!" Armethyst pleaded.

Steel was still unconvinced. "Not that it matters. Once an alien, always an alien. Men, ready your guns." Steel ordered.

The three ladies try to push past the soldiers, only for one of them to slam the butt of their gun against Luna's face, knocking her to the ground, reeling from the pain. Armethyst starts to evaluate the stand-off he's found himself in, readying his sharp fingers. He shoots two crystals into the barrels of the guns behind him. They explode, allowing him to escape in the smoke. Armethyst knocks one of the soldiers away, and gestures to the girls to leave, then runs in another direction. As the girls flee the building, Steel sees Armethyst trying to get away. Steel is beyond angry now, and the kid gloves were about to come off. "Get that thing!" Steel commanded.

Steel and rest of his men pursue the crystalline alien through the corridors of conveyor belts. As Armethyst walks quietly, a red dot shines on his chest. A soldier shoots him down from a high walkway, high-fiving the soldier next to him. They're interrupted by a crystal that flies past them. From the smoke where Armethyst was shot, flies four more crystals, cutting down the walkway and stopping the snipers. On the ground, soldiers and Steel spot Armethyst and fire at him. The hardy gem alien blocks their path by making giant crystals come up from the ground. "It's always something happening on a given day." Armethyst remarked bitterly.

Steel steps around the crystals and sees Armethyst flee up a ladder to a walkway. He wordlessly orders his men after him. As Armethyst reaches the top, the Omnitrix starts timing out, much to Chance's worry. At one end of the walkway are the two soldiers, and behind him is Steel. Armethyst's been pinned, but that didn't mean he was out of options. Steel raises an eyebrow as Armethyst looked around, and without a moment's hesitation, he leaps off the walkway and lands in the maze of conveyor belts. A soldier is already on the ground there. He holds at a corner, readying his gun. Around the corner, a flash of red light erupts out of nowhere. The soldier whips around with his gun, then quickly raises it when he sees a 15-year-old holding his hands up in defense.

Chance feigns a sense of panic and terror as she shudders. "Woah! Chill, chill!! Friendly, I'm a friendly!" The soldier backed down as Chance got back up to his feet. "What happened to the alien hero? Did they stop the other one yet?!" Chance asked.

The soldier puts his gun away as he leads Chance towards the exit, with the teenager sneaking a cheeky grin.

The mint was cleared, and Chance was brought to Luna, Dash and Sunset. Sunset quickly runs up and hugs him tight. "Oh thank goodness you found my cousin! We were so worried when he ran to the mint!" Steel raised an eyebrow, much to Chance's chagrin. "He's always wandering away. We're considering getting a leash!" Sunset remarked, laughing nervously.

Chance looked at Sunset, raising his eyebrow in confusion. "I'm a person, not a pet! Besides, that's too kinky, even for me." Chance countered.

Steel shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly as the guards let the four people go, but then spots the Omnitrix on Chance's wrist, glowing red. "Hmm. Nice watch. Never seen anything like it. Where'd you get it?" Steel asked.

Chance smiled. "From a special cereal box. I'm into those exotic exclusive cereals, and I haven't taken it off since, matches my style, ya know?" Chance responded.

Steel nodded his head slowly. "Yeah, of course it does." Steel remarked.

Steel seems unconvinced about the teenage boy, but he's interrupted by one of his soldiers approaching him. "No sign of either alien, sir. It's like that crystal thing disappeared into thin air, and that bug was long gone before we showed up! Security footage proves it!" The soldier reported.

Steel sighed. "I don't suppose you four have any information about this alien, do you?" Steel questioned.

The four shook their heads. "Nope, sorry sir." Sunset remarked.

"Yeah, sorry crew cut, but there's nothing to say, that alien's probably halfway across the U.S border by now." Dash remarked.

Luna smiled. "Even if we did, you'd be the first person we inform." Luna reassured.

Chance shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, let's be honest here. If I knew our tax dollars were being used to fund an anti-alien SWAT team, I'd be broke three times over with just donating my funds to the cause. As long as the good aliens are left alone, I personally don't give a shit." Chance remarked.

As the four of them walk away, Steel taps one of his soldiers on the shoulder. "Keep an eye on them. They know more than they're saying." Steel ordered.

The soldier saluted to Steel, all while Steel watched the four of them leave the mint.

Inside the RV, the four of them seem at odds as the trio tried to explain to Dash what happened back in NYC, and how Gilda was involved. "So, you ran into Gilda, and saw her freaky power?!" Dash questioned.

The three of them nodded their heads, all while Chance looked uncomfortable. Dash looked at her phone, seeing her background. A picture of her and Gilda doing incredibly stupid and reckless stuff. "Dash, Gilda's been pretty busy since we last saw her. She tried to get a bunch of people killed for money, and tried to use power that wasn't hers to get revenge when we first ran into her," Sunset turned her laptop around, showing an image of a newspaper. A feminine Excavole was on the front, all while a man was running away. "Gilda's been extremely busy using Chance's aliens to pin her crimes on him, and not just in San Francisco. "Vitaguar terrorizing Tallahassee", "Excavole in Chicago", "Zombrex in Barstow?!" Gilda has become a damn menace!" Sunset remarked.

Chance groaned. "That would explain why that SACT guy thinks all aliens are bad. He's only had experience dealing with Gilda! She's tried to set me up!" Chance put his head down on the table. "I'm gonna get blamed for all that shit, and it wasn't even me who did any of it!" Chance bemoaned.

Luna sighed. "That would explain a lot, especially when she said you'd to the time, for the crimes she committed. Now, I don't mind telling you, that girl's rowboat is missing a couple paddles, and she seems to not care that boat she's in, is sinking." Luna remarked.

Dash sighed. "Guess this is why my parents moved me out of NYC, Gilda was a bad influence on me... Damn it, G, why?" Dash lamented.

Chance patted Dash's back. "We'll get her, we just need to know where she went," as Chance said that, the sounds of screams could be heard out the window. They see a runaway cable car bolting down the sloped road, with the people inside panicking. The car seemed to be piloted by a more feminine Crime Detector, who was laughing maniacally. "Gilda!! That psychotic daughter of a bastard!" Chance exclaimed.

Luna gritted her teeth, getting to the driver's seat. "That crazy girl must've used Crime Detector to mentally override control of the cable car!" Luna stated.

Chance gritted his teeth, dialing in Crime Detector. "Anything she can hijack, I can do it much better! It's Hero Time!!" Chance slams on the Omnitrix, only to end up transforming into Nitrofrost. Sunset was about to say something, but Chance seemed rather ecstatic to have mistransformed this time. "What? I'm actually glad this thing didn't listen to me. Can't take the snowball's chance in hell that she tries to hack me." Nitrofrost remarked, leaving the RV as it chases after the cable car.

From a distance, a couple SACT soldiers were keeping a close eye on the RV, and one of them reaches for their walkie-talkie. "Mobile One, a low-temperature gas creature just emerged from the RV. Now both are heading down California Street!" The soldier reported.

The walkie-talkie fires up. "Maintain visuals. I'm on my way!" Steel called out.

Inside the cable car, people scream, while the conductor holds down the brake lever. The feminine Crime Detector appears in front of him, pushing him aside. "Now why would you do that? We're just starting to have FUN!" The mechanical alien rips the breaks out and tosses them onto the road, all while Nitrofrost fires ice and snow at the wheels, which did nothing. Traffic comes to a halt as the cable car speeds past, but Nitrofrost is able to finally get on-board. Nitrofrost phases into the interior, all while Gilda groans. "You know smoking's bad for you, especially when you're as cold as the lifeless dopes!" The feminine Crime Detector remarked.

Nitrofrost groans. "This has gone too far, Gilda. You need to stop, like, chill out!" Nitrofrost called out.

Before Nitrofrost can try to attack, the door opens and Gilda shoves him out of it, causing him to land on the RV. "Find another free ride, moron! These people are just now getting to theirs!" Gilda remarked.

Up ahead was a small wooden pier that leads out to the water. Everyone was terrified, but Gilda simply found her way to the top of the car, before shifting into Fumesquito, then flying away.

The RV is now following down the road with its fins extended. Sunset and Dash nervously sit in their seats, while Luna smiles excitedly. "You know, times like this, my stock car driving experience really comes in handy!" Luna stated.

Dash was surprised. "You drove a stock car!?" Dash exclaimed.

Sunset sighed. "By this point, nothing she says could ever surprise me! You should've seen what she did when she told us she was in the girl scouts!" Sunset called out.

Nitrofrost shook his head and looked back to the panicking people. "Chance!!" Nitrofrost looked back at Luna. "Attach the line to the bottom of the RV!" Luna shouted.

Nitrofrost sees a winch line at the end of the car, picks its hook-end up with his mouth, and leaps onto the RV. The frozen cold hero attaches the hook to the RV's underside and gives Luna a thumbs up. Luna begins stepping on the brakes as everything starts to buckle, shake and slow down. Eventually the car comes to a stop, but just barely. The RV isn't going to slow it down fast enough. Quickly thinking, Luna presses a button on the dashboard. Out from behind the RV, a grappling hook shoots out and plunges into a building. It penetrates a wall, then extends its hooks and holds on tight. The RV and the cable car get jerked to a complete stop, just as the car was about to fall into the pier.

The four of them let out a sigh of relief, all while the passengers cheer jubilantly. Steel shows up on the scene, all while the RV starts to drive away. Steel fixates on the RV, and lets it go for the moment.

At night, the RV stops in a parking lot, nearby a lone dumpster. Chance eventually steps out from hiding and meets with Luna, Sunset and Dash. "Not bad, man. Seems like you're pretty used to crazy stuff happening. How do you three do this every time?" Dash asked.

Chance shrugged his shoulders. "Sometimes we're in the right place, at the right time. Other times, trouble ends up finding us. It's pretty much 50/50 between those two." Chance remarked.

Before anyone could say or do anything else, a SACT Officer jumps onto the scene, aiming his gun at the four individuals. "Freeze!" The shouted.

A group of soldiers suddenly surround the trio by surprise. In an unfortunate situation, the SACT is there to take the trio, and by extension, Rainbow Dash, down, after seeing that they were involved with the alien business. Lieutenant Steel steps forward, staring the four of them down. "One move and you're all Swiss cheese!" Steel warned.

The four of them were speechless, and Steel steps forward. "You have two choices: tell me what you had to do with these aliens, or get measured for your prison uniforms." Steel stated firmly.

Chance instinctively looks down at the Omnitrix, which was still recharging. Steel grabs his arm, gripping it tightly as Chance winced. "It has something to do with this watch, doesn't it?!" Chance didn't respond, if anything, he froze up. His arm hurt, he wanted Steel to let him go, but the words just couldn't come out. Steel gripped his arm tighter, earning a cry of pain from the teenager. "Is it some kind of...signal to call the aliens?! Answer me, boy, I asked you a question!" Steel ordered.

Chance gritted his teeth as he felt his arm starting to hurt. Chance could've sworn he saw the skin under Steel's grip starting to bruise. "You're hurting me!! This is unnecessary brutality!" Chance cried out.

Luna pulled Chance away, glaring at Steel. "You will think it best to keep your hands off of him, or be sued for assaulting a minor!" Luna reprimanded.

The area on Chance's arm looked obviously bruised. Chance gritted his teeth and stared the lieutenant down. "The fuck is your problem! It's just a toy watch, it's not that deep, you militant moron! We didn't see any aliens come or go from our RV! Our brakes got cut and something saved our skins, barely! With a grip like that, I can easily assume that you don't have a wife. Is that scar from your last date, crew cut!?" Chance insulted, wincing from the burning pain his arm.

Steel opened his mouth to respond, until one of his soldiers ran up to him. "Lieutenant Steel, Sir, we're getting reports of a crystal alien rampaging on the Golden Gate. It looks similar to the crystal alien back at the mint, but more golden in color. It looks like it could bring down the whole bridge if it isn't stopped!" The soldier reported.

Steel looks at the four of them. Chance was holding his wound, Sunset and Dash tried to get him into the RV, and Luna glared him down. The Lieutenant sighs and pulls out a radio transceiver. "Falcon One, pick up at my twenty," Steel fixates his gaze on the injured teen, and starts backing away. "We're not done..." Steel remarks.

A helicopter immediately flies in above them. Someone from the copter tosses down a carabiner cord, to which Steel attaches to his belt and is lifted away.

A couple hours later, the bruised spot on Chance's arm was lathered in antibiotics and bandaged thoroughly, though the wincing pain was still unbearable. "Agh! Damn it!" Chance gritted, holding his arm.

Sunset pats him on the back and hands him the game he bought earlier. "Try to distract yourself from the pain, imagine that it's all in your head." Sunset reassured.

Dash sat up front, trying to think about anything else, but the numerous SACT vehicles moving towards the golden gate bridge made it difficult to think about anything else. "You know, a magic-enhanced TV doesn't sound that bad, in comparison to all of this. You've dealt with this kind of stuff ever since the summer started?" Dash questioned.

Luna nodded. "In a sense, yes, but i've been at this for far longer than those two have combined, and I've been at it long since before you, and your friends, were ever born. This is certainly a bit more dangerous, but we literally faced off against an alien tick that would've killed this planet, if it hadn't been for us to stop it." Luna explained.

Dash took a deep breath, and let out a long sigh. "So... aliens exist, he can turn into aliens, you've fought and worked alongside aliens, and we nearly got invaded and possessed by parasites made by aliens?!" Luna nodded, approving that that Dash said, was the truth. "Well, that's definitely awesome, but it's also very insane! At least my fan club can now officially say, that I'm truly out of this world! Rainbow Dash, the fastest attacker on the frontlines of an alien invasion! I could ride that high till I enroll into college!" Dash remarked.

Chance rolled his eyes and groaned. "And now, her ego's now bigger than the engorged tick I killed from the inside!" Chance remarked.

Dash frowned. "Come on, it's not every day you get to stop an alien invasion, how come you're not talking about that?! I'm sure everyone back in Canterlot would be looking at you differently, when they heard you helped stop an alien invasion, and still deal with alien threats!" Dash questioned.

Chance shot a scowl at the girl in the front seat. "Because unlike you, I prefer to keep to myself, and only interact with those who know me a little better, like these two," Chance gestures to Sunset and Luna. "They're the closest thing I have to a stable family. Sunset's the only real friend I have, and Luna means a lot to me, nuff said." Chance remarked.

Sunset turned on the TV, seeing the news broadcast about the attack on the golden gate bridge. "This is getting out of hand, Gilda needs to be stopped before she kills someone else." Sunset stated worriedly.

Chance clenched his hands into fists. "Those guys don't stand a chance against Gilda! She's not gonna pull her punches, like I do! I have to stop her. She's my mess, she has my powers, it has to be me!" Chance stated.

Dash sighed. "Let me at least go with you, your arm is bruised! Besides, it started with me, and it should've ended with me." Dash stated.

On the Golden Gate Bridge, citizens have parked their cars and started staring at something at the top of the tower. Gilda, as Armethyst, is at the top, shooting the bridge cables loose, which fall down to the bridge, crushing cars and inciting panic. He pauses when he sees the SACT Helicopter flying in. Steel jumps out, still attached to it. Gilda shoots the tail and tail rotor of the copter, which causes it to catch fire and spin out of control. Gilda pumps her fist into the air as she laughs. "Oh, yeah!" Steel, being pulled around in the air, gets out a knife and cuts his rope loose. He lands on the tower before the helicopter goes down. "Lieutenant Steel! So nice to see you again, like the little goose chase I sent you on back in Barstow?" Gilda remarked.

Steel grits his teeth and engages, all while Gilda cracks her crystal knuckles. Back on the ground, the RV pulls up to the Golden Gate. The four of them get out and see the top of the tower. "Ugh, just one more thing I'm gonna get blamed for, great..." Chance bemoaned, rolling his eyes as he ducks behind a police cruiser, dialing in one of his aliens. Dash does the same, activating her geode as her black hair starts to resemble that of a rainbow.

Back at the top of the tower, Steel is thrown into a wall. He has a black eye, cuts, and a swollen cheek. Gilda forms a blade of crystal, perfectly reflecting his battered face back at him. Shee picks Steel up by his shirt and gets ready to cut him open. Before Gilda can, however, a heavy thud echoes behind her, and a bright yellow spark crackles past her face. Gilda turns around, only to be surprised seeing Riptile and Dash crouching behind her. "Let him go, Gilda, this is about you and us." Riptile spoke out.

Gilda smirks. "Sounds good to me!" Gilda then proceeded to throw Steel off the tower. He lands on one of the beams, hanging off the side, a long way down underneath him. He musters up his last bit of strength to climb up and collapse on the beam. Gilda sneered at Riptile and Dash. "Still trying to be a goody-two-shoes, Chance?" Riptile snarled as Dash stepped forward. Gilda laughs as she sees her former friend. "Lemme guess, you just wanna help me! Right, Dashie?" Gilda taunted.

Dash gritted her teeth. "You had plenty of chances to get help, G, but you always messed it up! This time, you're getting what you deserve." Dash reprimanded.

Gilda chuckles. "Awwww, does that mean we're not friends anymo- AARRHH!!" Gilda is shocked by a bolt of electricity and flung back against the wall. Gilda growled as she picked herself back up. "I guess that answers that question!" Gilda remarked.

Gilda charged forward as she fired several crystals at the pair. Riptile jumped out of the way, and Dash rolled to the side. Gilda changes into a griffon and claws at Dash, nicking one of her wings and slamming her against the same wall Steel was knocked into. Gilda was about to land another blow, until her arm got caught by Riptile's tongue, who pulled her back and slammed her into the ground. Riptile jumped in front of Dash as Gilda got back up. "You risked all those innocent lives, just to get even?!" Riptile questioned.

Gilda roared and growled. "NOBODY'S innocent! They just haven't had the chance to make fun of me yet, or stab me in the back!" Gilda exclaimed, charging forward.

While the fight goes on, two SACT officers assemble the concussion bazooka and aim it at the two brawling aliens, as well as Dash. Sunset panics and tries to intervene. "Stop, don't do this! They're trying to help!" Sunset pleaded.

The soldiers push Sunset out of the way and get into communication with Steel. "Targets locked on, sir-"

"-permission to fire?" The soldier's voice spoke from the transceiver.

Steel grabs his transceiver and musters up enough strength to sit up. "Fire on my command only. Repeat, on my command only!" Steel weakly ordered.

The soldiers on the ground are confused as all hell, but while they wait for Steel's command, one of them is clearly anxious. "We gotta blow those alien freaks back into outer space! We can't risk it!" The soldier remarked.

The other soldier looked back at his anxious work mate. "Dude, you really wanna disobey a direct order from Steel? You must have a death wish." The soldier remarked.

The anxious soldier started to quiet himself down, but that didn't mean he was less anxious about the situation.

Back on top of the tower, things were getting vicious. Riptile socks Gilda with punch after punch, and Dash keeps firing electrical bolts when her guard is down. Riptile grabs Gilda and throws her down to the ground. Gilda looks up as Riptile prepares to use all of his weight to stomp down on her. She quickly transforms into Nitrofrost and pushes Riptile back with a burst of ice, with Dash quickly pulling him to the air, slowing his descent. Getting up, Gilda prepares another blast, but Dash charges through by crossing her arms to shield herself, and shocks Gilda again. As she spins around and backs off, Gilda prepares another blast, but Riptile bounces up and pounds the ground, sending a shockwave that launches Gilda into the air.

Immediately, she turns into Fumesquito and swoops down at Riptile, knocking him off his feet, only to try and get some distance as Dash fires bolt after bolt of electricity. As Riptile gets up, Gilda flies back around for another dive. Just as he starts to, though, Gilda's body turns back into her altered human form on its own. Riptile stands still and flexes his chest, bouncing the eighteen-year-old punk to the ground.

Steel sees Riptile and Dash walking up to Gilda. He frowns and looks to the transceiver in his hand. Gilda wakes and sees Riptile, the giant, and Dash standing before her. Riptile reels back a punch, and Dash readies herself to fire a bolt of electricity. Gilda gasps and closes her eyes, bracing herself for the end.

There was a loud crash that echoed out from the top, leaving everyone worried as to what exactly happened. Gilda slowly opens her eyes, in shock that she was still breathing, let alone unharmed. To the right, Gilda saw a scorch mark mere inches away from her head. To her left, she saw Riptile's fist rise out of the floor, an inch next to her head. Gilda was shocked, she didn't know how to respond, but Riptile and Dash already knew how to. They turned around and started to walk away, the both of them slipping into the dark.

Gilda quickly sat back up, getting to her knees as she stared at the two transformed beings. "Hey, get back here and fight, Marsten! You too, Dash, I'm not through with either of you yet!" Gilda exclaimed, her voice strained.

Riptile and Dash turned around, the both of them were nonchalant. "But we're through with you," Gilda's jaw dropped. "Enjoy making friends in the state pen, Gilda. Those are the only people who'd understand a monster like you." Dash stated sternly.

Riptile grunts and turns away, only looking back for a moment. "You're not worth it, Gilda. You never were..." Riptile stated.

As Riptile and Dash walk away, Gilda grits her teeth and starts to strain herself in a rage. Gilda's body starts to twitch and convulse, undergoing a whole nother kind of transformation. Gilda's right arm started to bubble, growing in size as warts formed on her shoulders, all while a golden crystal starts to grow over the arm itself. Her knees start to buckle and extend into something similar to Jump-Kick's, only bulkier and slightly decayed, with lion-like feet and Jump-Kick's talons. Gilda's whole body started to look like it was decaying and rotting, yet it barely held itself together. Gilda's ribcage rotted open, only for the bones and flesh to start growing crystals, ores, and coat themselves in gold. Nitrofrost's frozen cold mist started to encapsulate Gilda's entire skull, while her eyes changed drastically. Her left eye became like that of Riptile's, and her right eye became like Excavole's. Her left arm bulked up and started getting cold, all while a large skeletal shadow of bones and crystals could be seen within the frozen mist. Two sets of wings sprouted from Gilda's back. One was a larger pair of Fumesquito's wings, and the other seemed to parallel Jump-Kick's feathers, but mixed with griffon-like traits. A large feathery lion tail sprouted from her tailbone, and Fumesquito's antennae grew from her temples. Gilda's skin seems to stay entirely white, but she then felt two extra large golden crab claws grow out from beneath her existing pair of arms, each one seemed to be mechanically enhanced with some kind of nanite-like machine.

Gilda couldn't hold in the pain and agony any longer, and with one deep breath, Gilda screams out in immense pain, her voice breaking and warping beyond compare, as her transformation completes. The scream Gilda emitted could be heard from down below, alerting the soldiers, the civilians, Riptile, Dash, Luna, Sunset, even Steel, who saw the whole thing unfold.

Dash and Riptile turn around, only to be even more shocked than they already were. Gilda got up, standing firm as she tried to get her some air back in her lungs. Gilda was now completely transformed. She had become a giant, complicated amalgamation of all the original ten aliens in the Omnitrix, plus the griffon she was able to change into. While Gilda's top was completely unsalvageable, she still had her jeans, which were keeping themselves together surprisingly well. Gilda looks at her four arms in confusion, but clenches her hands and claws, trying to focus, practically straining to change herself back.

At first, it looked like she could change her appearance, but then she seemed to stop out of exhaustion, failing to transform back. "Uh, I- I-" Gilda tries to change herself back again, but it results in failure. " I can't change back... I- I'm stuck like this. LOOK AT WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" Gilda roared out, charging at the two.

Dash gulped, flying upwards. "This is worse. How the hell did this get so much worse!?" Dash questioned, now fearing for her life.

Riptile groaned. "Oh come on! Is there anything I'm not gonna get blamed for today?" Riptile remarked, getting slammed into the wall by the mutated Gilda.

Gilda repeatedly beats on Riptile, beating on him as she keeps him pinned to the wall. Riptile manages to lock two fists with Gilda, but Gilda uses her two extra claws to punch him through the wall. Riptile tries to fight back, but Gilda manages to jab one of her claws into the right side of Riptile's torso, causing the alien hero to gasp in agony, a red fluid starts to seep out from Riptile's wound, but that doesn't stop him from kicking Gilda away. Gilda immediately bounces back and throws Riptile towards the edge, causing him to almost fall as he dangles off the side, his wound still profusely bleeding.

Luna and Sunset are in shock at what just happened. Luna could feel her heart aching, all while Sunset gritted her teeth, her eyes started to shine blue. "I'm gonna kill her." Sunset gritted.

Gilda starts to approach Riptile, only for bolts of electricity to strike her in the back. Dash's eyes had now started shining yellow as bolts of energy connected against the mutant girl, but that wasn't enough. Gilda shot out her own prehensile tongue, and pulled Dash to the ground, stomping on Dash's stomach, then kicked her off the edge, letting her fall to the bridge below. Dash manages to at least aim for the RV, but the moment she landed on the hood, she was out like a light as her powers deactivated. Gilda stomps on Riptile's fingers and looks down at him, seeing the anguish and pain he was in. "You'll never beat me. Because you're one of the good guys. And good guys never have the guts to finish of monsters like me." Gilda remarked, smirking with several sharp golden teeth.

Steel gritted his teeth and reached for his transceiver. "But I do, freakshow," Steel activated the transceiver and brought it to his lips. "FIRE!!" Steel exclaimed.

The soldiers didn't need to hear the command twice, and they wasted no time firing the bazooka, striking Gilda square in the back, knocking her off the tower as she fell to the water below. "RRAAAAHHH!!!!" Gilda roared out.

Riptile barely manages to muster up enough strength to pull himself back up, and crawl towards the wall. Out of the corner of his eye, Steel looks like he's about to fall off, but Riptile jumps towards him, sliding down the large metal structure and catching him, pulling him back up and onto his back. Riptile jumps back to the tower, to which Steel jumps onto much more solid ground, only for the alien to slump against the wall, having used up the last of his strength. The Omnitrix started to time out, and in a flash of red light, Steel saw the alien for who he knew it was.

Chance sat against the wall, clutching the right side of his body as the white on his shirt started getting more and more red. Chance's breathing was getting labored and ragged, it was like his body was starting to fail him. His vision was getting blurry, but he saw Steel standing over him. Chance frowned as he tried to look at the Lieutenant, all while he felt himself fading. "W-What... y-you still looking... f-for... your a-alien...?" Chance gasped.

Steel watched as the teenager fell to his side, coughing up blood as he felt his body get colder. "Sir, the second alien seems to have vanished. What're your orders, sir?" the soldier called out on the transceiver.

Steel's expression lessened as he carried the teenager off the ground. He activated his transceiver. "We already got our alien. Stand down, get a helicopter up here, and get a doctor on the ground ASAP. We have one injured, teenager, fifteen by the looks of it. Got caught in the line of fire trying to be a hero... he succeeded." Steel ordered.

The transceiver was quiet for a moment, and Steel gritted his teeth as he reactivated it. "What are you idiots waiting for, a pretty please?! GET US DOWN OFFA' HERE!" Steel exclaimed.

A few days later, the RV was driving on the cleared bridge, finally getting out of San Francisco. Luna and Sunset looked over to the back, watching as a battered and bandaged Chance slowly limps across the floor, setting himself down as his body shakes a bit. Sunset moves over and sits next to him, grabbing a roll of bandages and some rubbing alcohol. "You ready to change those? It's gonna hurt like hell." Sunset asked.

Chance silently nodded, letting a small smile creep up on his face. "I know... make it quick, I already feel frail as hell, don't need to be treated like such." Chance remarked, letting a dry and tired chuckle escape his lips.

Luna took a deep breath and sighed. "Mister Marsten, are you sure you're alright? You know we won't judge you, we're just concerned... you were bedridden for three days, and had to spend three more on physical therapy. Are you sure you don't want to go back to Canterlot City, get some rest?" Luna asked.

Chance winced at the cold, yet burning sensation of the rubbing alcohol touching his wound. "I'm fine... if anything, I just need to get stronger... You did say you'd train us, when's a good time for you?" Chance asked.

Luna seemed nervous as she tried to find the words. Sunset wrapped the bandages around his body, and looked her friend in the eyes. "Chance, you have a claw-sized puncture wound in your chest. If you want to train, then at least wait till you've healed! You won't be helping anybody with a wound like this! You need to take it easy, something you didn't do, when your shoulder got cut open by an alien weapon weeks ago! Just rest for a few days, damn it, it's not gonna kill you! You're gonna kill you if you don't rest, relax, and let your wounds heal!" Sunset pleaded.

Chance sighed, putting a hand on Sunset's shoulder. A full smile forms on his face as he hugs his friend tightly. "If it means you stop raising your voice, when I'm right next to you, then fine... but, if you guys can't handle the next issue that comes our way, you need to let me know! I won't let you guys get yourselves killed, just so I can end up alone again." Chance stated calmly.

Luna sighed. "Let's change the subject, shall we?" Luna suggested.

Sunset nodded. "So, Gilda... Not even she could've survived that blast and that fall...right?" Sunset asked.

Chance snickered, but then groaned and clutched his side. "You're asking the wrong guy, lady. I thought she was gone for good the last time. If she was, I wouldn't be injured right now, and Dash wouldn't be unconscious on the floor of our RV, so you tell me!" Chance remarked.

Sunset laughed and sighed. "Yeah, I walked face first into that one." Sunset admitted.

The RV slowly comes to a stop, showing that Steel and SACT were blocking a path. Steel comes to the window, and Chance gets up, limping to the passenger seat as he rolled the window down. "Hello officer, what seems to be the problem?" Chance asked.

Steel takes a deep breath and sighs. "Your wounds, are they healing any?" Chance nodded. Steel nodded, then looked over at the Omnitrix. "Good, now for my real question. Why is it you three are always around when aliens show up?" Steel inquired.

Chance shrugged his shoulders, and Luna just gave a patient smile towards Steel, which made the man flinch. "Really, that a fact now? Hmm, we hadn't actually noticed." Luna simply replied.

Steel looked towards Chance, who gave a thumbs up. Steel's expression didn't change, but he nodded his head. "Yeah, guess it's just a coincidence, but I don't get paid based on coincidences," Steel backed away from the window. "Maybe we'll cross paths again sometime. Drive carefully, people. Lots of weird stuff out there." Steel advised, letting a small smirk form on his face.

Chance smiled and nodded his head. "Yeah, and good luck to you too, sir. Hopefully that franken-freak from last night is gone for good, but you know what they say about hoping. Catch ya on the flipside, Lieutenant." Chance saluted.

The soldiers unblock the path, and the RV drives on, unimpeded. Steel hops back in his vehicle, and SACT moves back into San Francisco, ready for whatever the next threat will be.

Below the golden gate bridge, however, bubbles start to rise to the surface, and something seems to be moving beneath the waves.

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed this Episode, it was certainly harder to adapt than the rest have been. I kept it relatively the same, but I figured I'd change things up a bit, include Dash for the sake of exploring the history between Equestria Girls' Rainbow Dash and Gilda (specifically my versions) a bit further, but still keeping to the story at hand.

I also figured I'd start making the fights a bit more aggressive, as well as show how much more dangerous these alien threats can actually be, compared to magic in general, hence why Dash got knocked the hell out after Gilda mutated into her Amalgam form.

S2, Episode 5: Galactic Jailbreak

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Galactic Jailbreak

Within the dark infinite void of space, a large spaceship is heading towards Earth, casting a shadow on the Moon's surface. Another alien threat seems to have set its sights on the planet.

On a single screen, two images have been identified. An image of Armethyst, and an image of Gilda in her mutated state. A robed figure smiles, seeming satisfied with something.

Meanwhile, on Earth, there was a vicious and high-stakes battle happening on the wind farm. The RV was tossed on its side, with Luna, Rook and Dash knocked unconscious.

On the outside of the RV, Zuchi, Sunset, and Chance, who transformed into Armethyst, are knocked back from someone, crashing into the base of one of the windmills.

A distorted and gurgled laugh echoes out. "You're one sorry sight, Rocky! Surprised you can still stand after what I did to you back on the bridge!" the voice remarked, feminine and gruff in its tone and verbal cues.

Armethyst picks himself up, clearly not happy to see this foe. "That's Armethyst, you mutant twat-muncher! Besides, you're one to talk about sorry sights, didja look in the mirror lately?" Armethyst rebutted.

Zuchi and Sunset pick themselves up, with Sunset readying her magic tendrils, and Zuchi powers up, causing her body to spontaneously bulk up for a moment. In front of the trio was a familiar and rather unfriendly face they could recognize all too well. Their perpetrator was Gilda, who seemed to somehow survive her supposed death back in San Francisco, and still as mutated as ever.

Sunset gritted her teeth. She didn't forget what happened back on the bridge, and she was looking at Gilda with the intent to kill. "You ripped a hole in my friend, and knocked the other out cold. It only makes sense to do so to you, ten fold." Sunset gritted angrily.

Gilda sneers and stares daggers at Chance and Sunset. "It's payback time for turning me into a freak! If anyone's getting a new hole ripped in them, it's you two fuckers! The new girl can get some of this too, if she's all buddy-buddy with you!" Gilda snided.

Armethyst rolled his eye and stared the mutated punk down. "You weren't always a freak, you just perceive yourself that way because now, the ugliness inside you, it matches what you look like on the outside!" Armethyst remarked.

Gilda smirked. "Diss me all you want, Marsten, it won't save you from getting another hole ripped in your stomach. Besides, I'm still 10 times better than you! I got all your powers, plus a griffon! I'm "Gilda 11"!" Gilda remarked, firing golden crystal shards from her enlarged Quarzisapien arm.

A few of the shards broke against Armethyst's skin, except for one that Armethyst catches inches away from his face, and breaks himself. "Too bad each one of those is only an eleventh as powerful as my complete transformations!" Armethyst remarked.

Sunset stepped forward and whipped Gilda in the face, sending her sliding back a few feet. "And the magic you absorbed from my geode will fade eventually, especially since you can't even use it properly. You only manifested a new form with it, and that's just pathetic. You made yourself simultaneously stronger and weaker by doing that." Sunset remarked.

Gilda bit into one of the windmills' base, absorbing the nutrients with a mosquito proboscis-like tongue, and shot some kind of shiny white goop at Sunset. She quickly moved out of the way, only for the goo to hit right in Armethyst's face. "Gah!! Ew...! You were right, Sunset, this is gross!" Armethyst remarked, shuddering from the gunk on his face.

Zuchi creates two glowing balls of energy in her hands. "Zuchi will dominate abomination!!" Zuchi roars out.

Zuchi charges at Gilda, grabbing her and flies her up in the air. Unfortunately, Gilda grabs Zuchi, and throws her into a windmill's fan. Gilda laughs as Zuchi knocks her head against a metal propeller, but Sunset uses her magic tendrils to grab Gilda by the feet. Meanwhile, Armethyst notices the entire fan blade that Zuchi crashed into fall down, and quickly gets an idea.

Gilda tries to freeze Sunset, but she easily dodges the attack by rolling out of the way. She continues to hold Gilda in place, wanting to make sure she can't dodge. Armethyst runs back to the fight, holding the fan blade Zuchi crashed into, and throws it at Gilda like a shuriken. It knocks her to the ground, leaving Gilda momentarily stunned. As Gilda gets up and Armethyst jogs over, the two lock eyes, nod, and start charging at each other.

Sunset runs over to Zuchi, hoping to get her back on her feet while Chance keeps Gilda occupied, but something seems to abruptly interrupt the fight. Before Armethyst and Gilda can collide, a red beam from the sky freezes them and teleports them away. After the two alien fighters disappear, Luna, Rook and Dash finally get out of the RV and find nothing but Sunset and Zuchi, who are just as confused as they were, and a trail of smoke in place of where the two fighters would've collided in their fight.

"Chance?" Luna and Sunset called out.

In a dark room, red energy materializes Armethyst, who unfreezes from his position and completes the punch he was going to do. A light illuminates the room, showing what looked like a futuristic prison cell.

Armethyst slowly got to his feet, though he was a bit disoriented. "Ugh, my head. Woah, what happened? Where am I? Why does this look like some kind of space clink?" the alien wondered.

Before Armethyst can try looking for a way out, a rolling yellow mass quickly appears behind him, which unfolds itself into a robot about twice his size. The robot towered over the alien hero, and besides being in such a small area, Armethyst raised his arms to block any possible attacks that may come his way. "Easy now... You look upset! If ya want the top bunk, then that's fine, I'm good with just staying awake in a corner." Armethyst quipped.

The robot unfurls a large blade from its arm joint and starts swiping at Armethyst, but the alien continued to block the attacks. He stops blocking and dodges the blade's swipe for the first time, then grips the blade with his hands a second time. As he holds the blade down, the robot stands up and opens smaller blade arms from its shoulders, which swipe at Armethyst and force him to lose his grip and back up.

Armethyst backs up against a malleable, yet see-through wall. The hero had to assume it was some kind of force field, and it lead to an entire hallway. He sees tons of holding cells, and a whole lot of floors. Chance is a bit overwhelmed, and can only do one thing that matters in this situation. Adapt.

Without hesitation, Armethyst pooled together as much energy as he could, and blast the energy two different ways. One beam ripped a hole in his robotic attacker, causing it to explode in his face, and the second beam ripped a hole in the force field. Thanks to his quick thinking, the explosion propelled the crystalline alien through the hole, and to the other side.

Armethyst quickly got up, noticing that the hole was fixing itself. Armethyst let out a sigh of relief, and looked around at the liminal prison-like location he found himself in. Something was not right with this place, and he needed to find a way out.

Meanwhile, in a silent blue room, the robed figure is observing camera footage of Armethyst escaping. The individual smiles as Armethyst starts to walk around outside of his cell. "Mmh, this one is rather clever, they've got spirit, too. They seem to rely on talking their foes down first, though." The figure commented.

The figure presses a button, switching the footage over to Gilda's cell, where a fight was beginning to brew.

Gilda was fending off some kind of bald gray humanoid in a black and orange-striped jumpsuit, almost looking like some kind of prison uniform. Gilda shot ice and froze the man solid. Without a moment's worth of hesitation, Gilda smacked her tail against the frozen man, and shattered them to pieces. It wasn't much of a fight, but more so a one-sided slaughter.

Gilda laughs and breaks the ice off of the man's severed arm. "Was that all you had!? I eat chumps like you for breakfast. Heh, and speaking of which," Gilda wasted no time in tearing the sleeve off, and swallowing the arm whole. "Didn't have breakfast today. Lucky you, you get to die with a purpose! Being my source of protein! Hahah!!" Gilda cruelly remarked, smirking evilly.

The robed figure leaned back in his seat as he pressed another button, letting the force field that contained her in that cell down. "Sadistic. Cruel. Merciless. Truly, the pinnacle of criminal activity." The figure remarked, as if they were enamored by Gilda's aggressive nature.

Chance continues to walk around, trying to be stealthy. A minute ago, the Omnitrix timed out, leaving Chance on his own to find a way out. Soon enough, he hears footsteps running his way, and he immediately ducks into a small room.

Just as Chance enters it, he's met by three strange individuals, all dressed in prison uniforms, each individual was stranger than the last.

One was a floating brain with tendrils and a circuit-patterned face. The other looked like a buff gray-skinned human with a domino mask over his eyes, dressed in the same kind of prison uniform. Then there was a four-armed female. She had huge muscles, long black hair cascading down one side of her body, with a drastically shaved part of her head being devoid of any hair at all. She had red skin, a similar shade to what Riptile's skin looked like, four orange eyes, and had large gray cuffs on all four of her wrists.

Chance opens his mouth to say something, but the brain uses his tendrils to cover his mouth as the guards run by. The four of them panic in silence for a moment, but then the guards keep getting further and further away. The four of them relax for a moment, and Chance uncovers his mouth. "Thanks for not ratting me out, whoever you three are. Mind if I ask who you are, and where exactly am I?" Chance asked, thanking the strangers.

The gray man nodded. "You're very welcome, young man. I'm rather surprised someone as young as you ended up on the Starcruiser, you must be like the rest of us. Innocent people abducted from their homeworlds, forced to be prisoners for crimes we didn't commit," Chance looked confused, as well as outraged. If what they were saying is true, then he knew someone needed to get their ass kicked. "Forgive me, where are my manners. I am Ultimos, and these two are my allies. Synaptak, and Tini. From what I can gather, Tini's the last of the Tetramands, it's a grim and horrifying fate, to be sure." Ultimos introduced.

The brain squid, known as Synaptak, seemed annoyed. "At least you kept quiet long enough for the guards to pass us by. We still need to know if the opening is, well, open! I refuse to spend another minute on this prison vessel that continues to make a mockery of our organization." Synaptak snapped, clearly aggravated.

Tini simply smiled and patted Synaptak's cranial area. "It'll be okay. We escape soon, find help. Possibly call the Plumbers." Tini reassured.

Synaptak sneered at the tetramand, much to Tini's concern. "Oh please, last thing I need to deal with is that Tennyson fool, him and his pathetic Omnitrix. Didn't like him then, still don't like him now." Synaptak bitterly remarked.

Chance raised an eyebrow at Synaptak's words. "Wait, the Omnitrix? You're talking about the thing I'm wearing right now," Synaptak and his allies beheld the green hourglass on the watch that was being worn by the human in front of them. "What exactly are you referring to as an organization? Who exactly are you people, and how'd you get locked up? How do you even know about the Omnitrix, and who's Tennyson?" Chance questioned.

Ultimos looked to his allies, all three of them looked like they all came to the same conclusion, and Ultimos cleared his throat. "Well, we are the Galactic Enforcers, intergalactic peacekeepers that protect innocent lives across various corners of the universe. Our most recent mission, which was thirty weeks ago, was about investigating a distress beacon being broadcasted from the Andromeda galaxy. As we approached, a fluorescent green wormhole opened up in the vacuum of space, all of a sudden. It sucked our ship in, and spat us out somewhere in the neighboring Triangulum galaxy. Our ship was completely busted, and we tried radioing for help. It didn't take us long to realize that the ship that found us wore our team's emblem. We assumed they were the good guys, but they've since besmirched the meaning of what the Galactic Enforcers are supposed to be. They locked us up and left our ship floating in space, we've been here ever since." Ultimos explained.

Synaptak cleared his throat, metaphorically speaking, and made sure his turn to speak wasn't wasted. "As for how we know about the Omnitrix, it's top secret information, highly classified, which means if you're not a Galactic Enforcer, you don't need to know." Synaptak remarked.

Chance scowled at the brain, and got up to his feet. He could've transformed right then and there, if he could, but he decided to try something different. "Fine, I guess I'll go now, make some noise and tell them about three goofy psych ward escapees hiding in a closet," Synaptak froze up, and as Chance turned around to open the door, he found himself stopped in some kind of psychic grasp. Chance smiled coyly. "Oh? Do I see someone trying to get me to scream out for the guards, rather than make them see me?" Chance questioned, a small smirk forming on his face.

Synaptak let him go, and Chance looked back at him. "That's better, now here's how this is gonna go down. I help you escape, and in return, you tell me who runs this whole place, so I can shut their wrongful imprisonment ship down, agreed?" Chance suggested.

Synaptak scoffed, as his allies looked at each other, as if contemplating the decision. "Please, as if we'd stoop to teaming up with some cheap knock-off Be-"

Ultimos held his hand out to the human for a handshake, smiling warmly. "Consider it done." Ultimos agreed, interrupting Synaptak.

Synaptak was furious, but it's clear that he just wants to leave, so if it helps to have a distraction, then it'll be beneficial to let the human help, at best. "Rrrrgghh!! Fine, but I'm not happy about this." Synaptak remarked.

Tini smiled at Synaptak, and then greeted the human properly. "You aid our escape, I am appreciative. Tell us your name, human." Tini requested.

Chance smiled and held the Omnitrix up for all three of them to see. "I'm Chance Marsten, wielder of the Omnitrix, and defeater of Reinrassic the Second," The Galactic Enforcers were mixed on hearing someone else wield such a device, but they'll get used to it. "Now, I'm gonna step out, and look around. I'll be careful to avoid the guards, but it'd be best for you three to stay here. I'll come back once I've found a way out." Chance stated.

Synaptak shook his head, a smug smirk forming on his face. "No need, we know there's only one way out of this polished prison rocket. The only way out is through the escape pods, but we haven't had the time, nor the right opening to escape. Right now, the guards seem to be looking for one of the prisoners as of this moment, so we've got a clear window." Synaptak explained.

Chance thought for a moment, and carefully opened the door. "You know where the escape pods are located, right?" Chance asked.

Synaptak nodded his head. "We move down this corridor, make a left, then a right, then we go right till we see a large force field with multiple doors. Those doors lead to escape pods, primed and ready for immediate evacuation... or in our case, our escape." Synaptak stated.

Chance nodded his head. "Down the corridor, turn left, then right, keep going right till we see a large force field with tons of doors. Got it. Now, here's where the plan changes, I need to go after someone who might've ended up here with me. I can't, in good conscience, leave them here. They might've done some bad things, but that's because of the power they can't control." Chance explained, moving to the direction the guards went previously.

Synaptak groaned impatiently. "You're risking your chance at escape for some lowlife?! Why!? This is asinine!" Synaptak argued.

Ultimos thought about it for a moment, taking into consideration that the human was wearing the Omnitrix, and suddenly nodded like he understood, a patient smile forming on his face. "Affirmative, let's move." Ultimos stated.

Synaptak and Tini looked at Ultimos, who looked back at the human, clearly seeing that he's made his choice. "Wait, human not coming with us?" Tini questioned.

Synaptak's brain lit up as a look of frustration formed on his face. "This is ridiculous. If he wants to get caught, let him! We have to leave now, while we have a chance to do so uninterrupted!" Synaptak argued.

Ultimos sighed and looked to his frustrated teammate. "I understand the urgency of our mission, but if he has to save someone from this place, and if he's going to try and shut this place down, then it only makes sense that we uphold our end of the deal. We help more people that way by shutting this nightmare down at the source." Ultimos explained.

Ultimos looked to the human. "Listen, in the time we've been here, the prisoners fear the name "Gray Man". It's clear to me, that this individual runs this whole complex. You may not have long, so be fast, efficient, and keep doing the right thing," Chance decided to pull out a pencil and piece of paper, writing the name down so he'll remember it later. "Now go, save your friend. We'll try to hold out as long as we can. If things get too hectic, we either got captured, or we made our escape while we still could. Farewell, Chance 10." Ultimos stated, saluting to the teenager.

Chance gave an awkward smile and a thumbs up to Ultimos, but did salute back. He wasn't that fond of that nickname, and he doubted that it'll ever stick. Nevertheless, he was glad to help those in need, if Ultimos' words were to be believed.

As the three Galactic Enforcers move one way, Chance goes the other, the same direction that the guards went. He knew he could've gone with them, escape this place and leave Gilda here in a literal prison ship, but it didn't feel right, it didn't set right with him. He had to help her, and by proxy, he had to help everyone else who was wrongfully abducted and imprisoned here. Even Gilda.

Chance ran down the hallway, noticing that the Omnitrix was still recharging. He was a bit annoyed that he was still rendered powerless, but he kept moving, focusing on the task at hand. 'Risking myself to save someone who wants me dead, I'm more concerned that this is the start of some form of Stockholm Syndrome. Regardless of what I feel, even Gilda doesn't deserve this. Being imprisoned by a faux judicial system, just to fight for your right to live and survive, that isn't justice. That's psychopathic.' Chance thought.

Regardless of what Chance felt, he knew that saving Gilda and everyone else, this was the right thing to do. It's what a hero would do, to help those in need. Whether they be good or evil, a hero strives to help and save everyone they can.

Chance paused for a moment, looking around and trying to listen for a sign that he was going the right way. He heard the sound of some kind of riot, and he picked up the pace, hoping that he wasn't too late.

Meanwhile, in some kind of cafeteria, several prisoners were surrounding Gilda, and some sort of large, muscular and feral beast man. It had green skin, scales, long dreadlocks tied up into a long tail, as well as four mandibles around its mouth. The rest of its face seemed covered up by a makeshift mask with black glass lenses fixed into the eyeholes.

It roared out, wielding a couple makeshift shivs in its fists, like they were claws. Gilda roared back at the beast, all while the guards tried to push through the crowd to break up the confrontation. Chance pushed through the door, hiding below the crowd, but could tell by the lumbering mass of mismashed alien parts that Gilda was getting aggressive.

The enraged alien roared out and slashed at the mutated girl, only for their hand to get caught and slightly consumed in both ice and golden crystals. The alien didn't seem deterred, and struck Gilda's face, knocking her back against the surrounding crowd. Gilda wiped her mouth, noticing a bit of blackened blood had been spilled from her lip. She gritted her teeth and smirked, her eyes started to go completely red as she looked at her opponent with a hungry look in her eyes. "Ohohoho... you have no idea what you've just done, big boy!" Gilda remarked, flashing her sharp teeth.

Chance managed to finally push himself through the crowd and end up in the fray. He took one look at Gilda, then looked at the large alien that was eyeing him down. "Hoo boy, you sure do know how to fuck around, G!" Chance remarked snidely.

Gilda looked over at Chance, only just now noticing his presence. Rather than launching herself at the alien, she found herself with the urge to try tearing the human apart instead. "How's about you shut your trap, or I'll chew on your head like a wad of gum!" Gilda roared out, lunging towards Chance.

The teen barely had enough time to put his hands up and attempt to keep Gilda from sinking her teeth into him. Chance could see that her eyes were no longer that golden color, but were now pure red, and immediately, Chance was able to put the pieces together in time, and continued to try and keep Gilda from biting him. "Gilda, you need to calm down! It's Zombrex's zombie-ness, it's driving you up the wall. If you bite me, you could very well end up turning me into something that can't die, and can eventually tire you out and rip you apart like a fat man at a buffet!" Gilda wasn't listening, she continued to gnash her teeth at the human, eventually resorting to readying her lower set of pincers to rip another hole in him. Chance gulped and thought for a moment, and decided to try appealing to Gilda's desire for revenge. "G, listen! You want me dead more than anything! Turning me won't fix what happened to you, and if zombie movies taught me anything, this will come back to bite you in the ass, I promise you! Think for a moment, do you actually think that you can escape on your own?!" Chance cried out.

For a brief moment, Gilda seemed to hesitate, but then she was tossed to the side by the alien she was fighting. The alien picked Chance up by the collar of his shirt and sat him on his feet. Chance let out a sigh of relief, dusting himself off as he gave a thumbs up to the alien. Chance looks to the Omnitrix, noticing that it just now completed its recharge, putting him back in the fight. "Yes! Thanks a mil, pal, but I got this now." Chance stated.

Chance popped the dial up and scrolled to an alien he needed and pushed the core down. In a flash of green light, Chance transformed into Riptile, which surprised a lot of the prisoners, even surprising the alien Gilda was fighting. Speaking of, Gilda got up and growled at the transformed human. "You talk a lot about escaping this place, so why send us here to this freakshow in the first place!" Gilda remarked.

The alien hero rolled his eyes, his irritation slowly rising. "Oh sure, blame it on me. News flash, ya mutant broad, I didn't send us here! This place is an illegal prison vessel, we got abducted!" Riptile shot back.

Gilda groaned, she was clearly not happy with her current situation, being challenged by an alien she never saw before, and now continuing the brawl she believes she'll win against Chance. "Regardless how we got here, or who brought us, I know that one thing is for certain, jackass, you're a dead man!" Gilda roared out.

Riptile and Gilda lunge at each other, but just like they were back on Earth, their fight was interrupted when they were teleported away to a new location.

The alien stepped forward, dropping the weaponized utensils as it pushes through the crowd, seeming motivated.

The pair of them land in a room much smaller than the Cafeteria, not a single prisoner was in sight. As they resume moving, Riptile somersaults over Gilda as she throws a punch, and smacks her in the back of the head with his prehensile tongue, stoking her rage. Riptile lands on the ground and notices the change in scenery, and can't help but be a bit worried. "Okay, I definitely did not like that. G, let's call a truce, someone's clearly fucking with us." Riptile commented.

Before Gilda can respond, two robot guards advance in-between them, facing them both. Riptile got a good look at the robots, and noticed how uncanny and familiar the bots looked in comparison to that Synaptak guy, and that Tini lady he met earlier, only they looked like soulless machines in a dazed zombie-like state. "Huh, modeling bots after your prisoners, what a twisted way to remind them that they're their own warden." Riptile quipped, seeming genuinely uncomfortable with this.

The bots twirl their axe-like weapons and jab Riptile and Gilda's chests with the blunt ends, leaving behind a small implanted device. "Ow! Hey, I actually felt that! Back off, you walking scrap pile!" Gilda lashed out and tried to advance on the Tini look-alike, but the guard steps back and presses a button on their neck. Suddenly, both Gilda and Riptile receive a powerful and painful electrical shock all across their bodies. Both aliens were brought to their knees as the guards retreated from the room. Soon enough, the Omnitrix starts timing out and in a flash of light, Chance is turned back into his normal self. "Great, now I'm stuck with peewee the piss ant. Fucking great." Gilda griped.

Chance rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to temper his anger. Chance's body twitches for a moment, likely because of the literal aftershock. "Oh man, where are we?!" Chance looks around for some form of identification of the ship, but soon sees the outside of an overhead window and sees Earth. The ship they are on is moving away, just now passing the moon again. Chance's blood runs cold, and his heart nearly stopped. "...oh fuck, forget I asked! Gilda, pick yourself up, we need to get the hell out of here!!" Chance exclaimed, a sense of urgency and panic filled his tone.

"At ease, Earthling native. This is your home now, there isn't anything you can do, anyway. Escape is impossible!" Gilda and Chance look behind them, the robed alien that had Chance and Gilda's attention, the one that had brought them here, has made himself known. "I don't believe we met... well, for one of you, we haven't met," Chance raised an eyebrow, feeling the figure's gaze on him. "You both have been brought here, because you are criminals. As such, while I run this ship, you are free to do as you wish, but your actions add on more years and offenses to your sentences. Evading capture, starting fights, attempting murder in the highest degree... You both are as criminal as they come." The figure explained.

Chance couldn't tell why, but that alien's voice sounded so familiar, like he just heard that voice hours ago. Gilda, on the other hand, was pretty pissed off. Before Chance could try and reason with the ship's "captain", Gilda angrily shoved him against a wall on top of a platform. "This is all your fault! You got us trapped here!!" Gilda roared out.

Chance slugged Gilda in the face as hard as he could, and despite being in human form, it did seem to surprise the mutant. "First off, this isn't my fault! It's that dipshit in the gaudy robe's fault, they brought us here to be prisoners, accusing us of crimes that I didn't commit! Can't the say the same for you, however," Gilda snarled and growled. "Kindly ask yourself Gilda, and think for a moment. How in the hell is this my fault?!" Chance remarked.

Gilda scoffed. "I don't know... It just fuckin' is, somehow! That's enough for me!" Gilda remarked, clearly not liking that her prey was making a good point.

Chance scowled at the mutant. "Gee, what sound logic you must follow, you ditzy psychotic power-hungry gluttonous bitch!" Chance insulted, his anger was starting to take a lot of precedence.

Gilda got up close to Chance's face and roared out. "Arrogant fuckwad!" Gilda insulted back.

"Prissy punk brat!"

"Whiny little Momma's boy!"

"Pathetic excuse for a freak!"

"Witless dickhead!"

"Parentless, friendless, loveless, and merciless little deformed pussy willow!"

"Puny little bastard!"

"Fugly little miss monster lookin' ass Bastitch!!"

Before another insult could be thrown, or another attack could be made, the pair were once again shocked and teleported back to the Cafeteria. The robed figure seemed rather pleased, and sat back down on his chair.

As the two teleported into the Cafeteria, Gilda lost her footing and fell off the platform. The other alien prisoners were clearly unsure as to what happened, but they seemed to keep themselves focused on their food.

The pair look around, noticing around twenty to nearly fifty or so different foreign aliens sitting down at tables, plus five that seemed content with being on the ceiling, each alien was of all different shapes, colors and sizes. Before either Chance or Gilda can say or do anything, a light bulb descends from the room's ceiling and lights up.

"Meal time!" One alien shouts.

The aliens gather towards what looks like a dispensing station, a bench slides out in front of Chance and trays fold out of the wall. Tiles from the walls slide out and slimy purple growths start hanging down, dripping ooze on to the trays. All of the aliens calmly walk up to the platform and sit down in front of a tray; Begrudingly, Chance and Gilda look at each other, both were equally repulsed, but decided to do the same.

As the two sat down, with Gilda being the braver of the two as she ate the purple slop, ALL of the aliens were heartily devouring this purple goop. The alien sitting next to Chance motions to his tray, and notices how they look a bit like Riptile, only bluer in color, dressed in the same uniform as the other prisoners, and had grills and tattoos. Chance simply smiled and slid his tray the alien's way. "I'm not that hungry, I'm on a diet. Bon Appetit, big guy." Chance remarked.

The Riptile guy shakes his head. "You should eat at least a small portion of it before Wultha'arr demands his offering, the bloody Yautja." the alien states.

Chance and Gilda looked at each other in confusion, then back at the riptile guy. "Who's Wultha'arr?" Chance and Gilda asked in unison.

The alien seemed confused. "Ya just met him, yet you don't know who he is? The beastly girl you tried to scrap with was fighting him, and he helped you up. After you got beamed up to the warden's quarters, he went back to his cell and readied himself for another grueling day at trying to work off his sentence." The riptile guy explained.

A clicking sound rings out, and the entire Cafeteria falls silent. Chance looks over at the alien that was trying to beat Gilda, and it's clear that from his presence, he commanded respect among his fellow prisoners. All of the foreign aliens get down on the ground to bow, and Chance and Gilda decide that for now, they'll go along with it, if it means they don't end up dead, or worse.

Chance looked over at the Riptile guy and poked him to get his attention. "Question, why is everyone bowing to him?" Chance asked.

"Because he's the reigning champion! Every other night, we host a tournament to find out who's stronger, and deserves to command respect from the others. You were wise to follow our lead, otherwise he would've done what all Yautja before him have done... take your skull, and claim it as a trophy." The riptile guy explained.

Wultha'arr comes in front of each alien in the bowing line, one by one, and gulfs down their entire tray of slop, crushing the empty trays with his bare hand. Just as Wultha'arr comes up to Chance's tray, Gilda decides to get back at the human. Gilda sneakily weaves her griffin tail in front of the line and, while Wultha'arr is distracted, her tail picks up the next tray and pies him in the face with it.

Everyone is shocked; purple goo trickled down the Yautja's face, and Gilda feigns innocence. "Wooooow, MAJOR disrespect!" Gilda points to Chance, much to his displeasure. "You gonna take that from him?" Gilda asked.

The Yautja roared and grabs Chance by the collar of his shirt, bringing the human up to his face. "Okay, I know this looks bad, but this wasn't because of-" The Yautja doesn't seem to hesitate throwing Chance to the other side of the room, watching as the human's body slams against the wall. As Wultha'arr readies himself to move on, a flash of light catches his attention. Soon enough, a torrent of ice and snow catch the Yautja off guard, revealing that Chance transformed into Nitrofrost. Wultha'arr notices his upper left arm had been completely encased in ice. "I've had just about enough of people giving me the cold shoulder! Ya wanna tussle, big guy? Then let's tussle!" Nitrofrost announced.

The Yautja removes their mask, their eyes widening in surprise as Nitrofrost punches them away.

Meanwhile, the robed figure looks at the cameras, watching as the human changes their shape and goes against the Yautja. The figure's eyes, still having been watching, widen in anticipation and intrigue. "This human is full of surprises, and coupled with their history with the mutant... Yes, interesting, very interesting indeed. Bring them back to me." The figure said.

From the screen, Gilda and Nitrofrost end up getting teleported out of the Cafeteria, leaving the Yautja to ponder the situation.

The two end up back in the same room they were in prior, where the two look-alike bots immediately pin them down with their weapons. The onlooker reveals himself to the two, though a thin wall separates his room from theirs. The figure removes their hood, revealing Ultimos' face, much to the teen hero's shock. The only noticeable difference that Nitrofrost could see was that this Ultimos had glowing light-blue eyes with slit pupils, and what looked like metal frames and panels being fused with his skin.

"Ultimos" chuckled at the human's reaction. "You recognize this face, do you not? The face of a man I used to be long ago. I am Slix Ultra, the ultimate culmination of science and nature, an artificial intelligence fused with natural intelligence, truly a phenomenal breakthrough. Though, you may affectionately refer to me, as the man you helped escape my complex... Ultimos," Gilda and Nitrofrost tried to break free, but the bots were too strong. "This used to be a Megacruiser, a ship that belonged to a one former Slix Vigma. After fusing Slix's cybernetic components and artificial intelligence with his own, Ultimos became unanimously corrupted by Slix Vigma's psychotic and vile nature, but it was Ultimos' sense of justice that corrupted Slix Vigma's protocols. This ship, along with its former warrior denizens, were now seized under the Galactic Enforcers' name, and have been using this ship as a prison convoy. The Cerephalopod and the Tetramand tried to fight back, but in the end, they were converted into obedient robotic guards. In the wise words of Slix Vigma, everything and everyone on this ship belongs to me. Including you two." Slix Ultra explained, his tone monotonous, yet sinister in the delivery of its words.

Gilda was finally at her limit. "Fat chance, you waste of parts! I don't belong to nobody, "Slick". Fuck this place and fu-" Gilda roared out in pain as she was shocked into silence. Gilda collapsed to the ground, twitching from the shock. "OOooww..." Gilda groaned weakly.

Slix Ultra stepped down and glared lifelessly at the mutant. "Rule No. 1, Paragraph 5, section G-3. I speak, and you listen," Nitrofrost barely managed to muster the strength to get back up and try guarding Gilda. "These eyes see everything on this ship, and these hands control everything on this ship. And I have decided that your - "relationship" - will make you an entertaining team in the upcoming tournament that's happening in a couple hours!" Slix Ultra explained.

Before the two could question what happened, the guards connect Gilda and Nitrofrost's leg with an energy-based leg cuff, much to Gilda's displeasure, but she was still recovering from the shock. "Your fates are now linked. If one of you should happen to expire, the shackles will ensure the other does as well... Now, your opponent awaits!" Slix Ultra explained.

Gilda comes to, and she and Nitrofrost look at each other with concern as they're teleported away.

The pair arrive at a giant circular arena, with a large and recently acquainted shadow looming in front of them. The alien steps forth, revealing themselves to be Wultha'arr, the Yautja they met earlier.

"Uh oh. I think we're in trouble." Nitrofrost commented, not feeling confident in their chances of winning.

The Yautja eyes the pair and nods his head. "I'm sorry, but there's only room for one champion here, me! HRARGH!" The Yautja roars out, charging at the pair.

Nitrofrost and Gilda run in separate directions, but their shackles stop them from getting too far apart, and Wultha'arr grabs them both, tackling them to the ground, expertly somersaulting back on his feet to the cheers of the crowd. Soon enough, the Omnitrix starts timing out, and Chance is turned back into his normal form, and he's not feeling exactly one-hundred percent like he was back on Earth.

Gilda groaned and sneered at Chance. "Nice move, moron!" Gilda mocked.

Chance shot a glare at the mutant. "Give it a rest, G. This is both our problem, and we could end up dead if we don't get our shit together." Chance remarked.

The two look up, noticing Wultha'arr's shadow looming over them. The Yautja grabs the link between their cuffs, and spins them around in the air like a lasso, only to then throw them into an arena wall. Chance groans and Gilda falls to the floor, still feeling twitchy from the shock she received a moment ago. Gilda slowly picks herself up and growls. "Great, now I'm stuck with this stupid piece of dead weight," Gilda grabs Chance and holds him up, ready to try and kill him, all while the crowd begins to boast. "But not for much longer!" Gilda remarked.

Soon enough, Gilda's momentary show of triumph didn't last, and she, along with Chance, received the shocking of a lifetime. Gilda drops Chance to the ground, and she falls on her face. "OOowww... okay, that's really starting to hurt, now..." Gilda remarked, coughing up a small cloud of smoke.

Chance rolled his eyes. "You weren't entirely awake, let alone aware, when he said that our fates were linked, so I'll let you have that one, because I'm a nice guy. In layman's terms, any mistake you or I make, we both pay for it. Big time. You're clearly not taking the electrical shocks that well, and it's a miracle my brain cells are still intact, we need to work together to get out of this alive." Chance explained.

Suddenly, Wultha'arr's silhouette appears above them, about to smash into them as he lets out a roar. Gilda and Chance simultaneously try to dodge but they both get hit, causing a big explosion. Gilda lands on the other side of the ring, while Chance, who was still tethered to her, rolls on the ground and lands on his head, before hitting the ground as well. Gilda glares at her enemy, but notices the Yautja coming and runs away. As she runs she pulls Chance behind her, who gets dragged along the ground.

When Gilda stops, Chance looks up at her, clearly annoyed by the lack of communication. Gilda smugly smiled at him. "Aw gee, I'm sorry, did that huuuurt?" Gilda asked mockingly.

Chance growled and got back on his feet. "You're enjoying this, I can tell." Chance stated.

As Wultha'arr continues to advance on the duo, Gilda focuses on taking the foe head-on, but Chance seems to get an idea. As Wultha'arr approaches, Chance quickly gets behind him. As Wultha'arr attempts to knock Gilda out, Chance tugs on the link connecting his and Gilda's shackles, preventing Gilda from running away, while simultaneously tripping the Yautja over onto Gilda's body.

Gilda kicks the Yautja off of her and snarls at the human, who gave her a smug smirk in response. "Damn, my bad, did that hurt a little?" Chance asked.

Gilda growled. "You did that on purpose, you little puke!" Gilda snided.

Chance rolled his eyes and stared her down. "And you didn't?" Chance shot back.

Gilda opened her mouth to say something, but seemed to hesitate. She sighed and got back on her feet. "Fair enough, I suppose, you win that one, but that's the only time I'll let you win. Remember that." Gilda commented.

The pair look at the crowd, it was mainly comprised of prisoners, and they both could hear the boos coming from all around them. "Sheesh, tough crowd. This is why I'm not a people pleaser, let alone a crowd pleaser." Chance quipped.

Wultha'arr gets back up, hearing the boos from the crowd. "Boos?! No, this can't be happening! I am a hunter, a warrior, I won't be bested by a shapeshifter and their beast!" Wultha'arr turns towards the duo, who are immediately on their guard. "No one boos Wultha'arr, Wultha'arr is Champion!!" Wultha'arr roars out, flexing to the crowd, in an attempt to win them back.

Chance facepalms and sighs. "This is also why I don't watch wrestling, too hammy!" Chance looks to Gilda, who seems a bit exhausted herself. "G, I know you don't wanna listen to me, but he's ragdolling us both, and we keep fighting each other more than we're fighting him! We have to work together, or we're gonna get creamed and our skulls will be his prizes!" Chance rationalized.

Gilda sneered. "You're not my boss, and you never will be, shithead!" Gilda growled.

Chance groaned in frustration. "I'm not saying I'm your boss, I'm saying we both want to live and get the hell out of here! We can fight all we want back on Earth, but this place demands that we cooperate, or we're both gonna end up at the bottom. It's common sense, something you seem to be losing. due to your prolonged mutation." Chance explained.

Gilda was about to strike the human, until the Yautja started to slowly approach. "Fuck this, I'm taking him out myself!!" Gilda roared out.

Gilda uses Fumesquito's proboscis to drain a bit of nutrients out of the metal ground, and spews goo at the Yautja, all while firing golden crystals too. While some of the shards to pierce the Yautja's skin, causing phosphor green blood to slowly leak from the puncture wounds, it got the Yautja's attention, and Wultha'arr was not going down like Gilda thought he would.

The Yautja tore off the goo and pulled the crystals from his body, unflinching as he brandished them like brass knuckles. Gilda's eyes widened a bit, and notices Chance not backing down. "You were saying?" Chance inquired.

The duo start stepping back, and Gilda continues to try slowing down the Yautja. She shoots ice and snow at the alien warrior, but it doesn't seem to slow him down that much. If anything, it freezes his wounds shut. Chance is starting to get a bit concerned, but soon sees a bit of snow and ice come into contact with Fumesquito's goo, and the whole thing starts to harden and become denser.

Chance finally gets a good idea. "That's it! That's how we beat him!" Gilda looks at the human in confusion, and Chance meets her gaze. "Gilda, spew more of Fumesquito's nectar at him, and immediately hit it with Nitrofrost's ice attacks!" Chance suggested.

"What for?" Gilda inquired.

Chance glared at her, and it's not like she had any better ideas. Begrudgingly, Gilda uses the proboscis to take in more nutrients and spews the nectar onto the Yautja. Before they can try ripping it off, Gilda fires off a beam of ice at the goo, causing it to become completely white, and to her own surprise, the goo was suddenly a lot harder to remove.

Wultha'arr struggled to remove the frozen metal nectar, to the point to where he was on his knees. Gilda smirked. "Now that's cold, and I like it!" Gilda remarked.

Chance smiled and approached Gilda. "This explains why your powers are so weak in comparison to my completed transformations. By using your powers in combinations... you can make up for them not being at full power!" Gilda is surprised and looks at her mutated physique. Gilda smiles and notices the Yautja getting back up, slowly forming cracks in the frozen goo it was trapped in. Chance climbs up onto Gilda's back. "Okay, here's another example, G, follow me on this, because we might just win if my math is right. Jump-Kick's relfexes, plus Zombrex's immunity to pain, plus Riptile's strength, plus Vitaguar's speed and enhanced sense, and Pinch's strong pincers equals what?!" Chance questioned.

Gilda smiled and got ready to fight. "...One mean combo breaker!" Gilda answers aloud.

Wultha'arr manages to break the frozen metal nectar off of his body, freeing him from a temporary prison, and he was annoyed. Both he and Gilda run at each other, clashing like warriors who chose to not rely on weapons, and wind down at opposite ends of the arena. Gilda, using his immunity to pain, is fine, but Wultha'arr's makeshift crystal knuckles crumble in front of him.

Gilda wastes no time and rushes over to him before he can react, punching, kicking and basically landing the equivalent to a video game finisher on the alien hunter, knocking him out. The crowd roars, excited, nervous and absolutely surprised that their champion had been dethroned.

Gilda smiles and takes in the praise, and for a moment, so does Chance. The pair take in the admiration, even sharing a couple victory screams. It all felt exhilarating, till Slix Ultra's voice suddenly came on over some kind of announcement system.

"Congratulations to our prison's newest champions," Suddenly, a hologram of Slix Ultra appears in the middle of the ring, motioning to Wultha'arr on the ground. "Now, finish him off! Only the strong are allowed to survive!" Slix Ultra commanded.

Chance stops celebrating and looks over at the unconscious Yautja. Chance took a moment to think about what he was doing, and suddenly he felt his common sense finally start kicking back into gear. "Wait what?! N-No, we can't kill him! This isn't right!" Chance argued.

Suddenly, Chance was shaken off of Gilda's back. "Speak for yourself, doofus! I'll gladly get that bastard's blood on my hands." Gilda remarked.

As Gilda started walking towards the unconscious warrior, Chance pulls on his shackle link before Gilda gets any closer to land a killing blow. Gilda snaps around at Chance, and suddenly finds himself to be her intended target again, much to his chagrin. "Couldn't be happy for one moment, couldja!? That's it! It's Go-time, again!" Gilda exclaimed.

Gilda pulls on the link, dragging Chance across the ground towards her. Gilda gets ready to use a finishing move on him, but then the both of them are shocked by their collars, causing both of them to yell out in pain. Gilda collapses on top of the human, and two guards quickly arrive on the scene to retrieve them. "Mercy? What a novel and nostalgic concept, for a couple of criminals," Slix Ultra looks to a computer on his end. "Prepare for galactic hyperjump! I need to - recruit some new blood - worthy of our champions of crime." Slix Ultra ordered.

The fight is declared to be over, and the prisoners are soon escorted back to the Cafeteria, Wultha'arr, Gilda and Chance included.

Chance and Gilda eventually wake up inside the Cafeteria, and as they stand up, all the aliens bow to them in a similar manner to how they once bowed for Wultha'arr, as if they were paying homage to their victory. Chance was a bit uncomfortable with how people were bowing to him, Gilda didn't seem all that weirded out. If anything, she loved the show of respect she was getting. "Finally, nice to finally get a little respect around here! Bow to me, bitches!!" The pair look over, noticing a stone-faced Wultha'arr approaching them. "Nice job letting him live, dipshit, now he's likely got it out for us!" Gilda reprimanded.

Chance flipped the bird in Gilda's general direction without saying another word, and just worried about how Wultha'arr was going to react. Chance braced himself for something to happen, but to his own surprise, Wultha'arr knelt down in front of them both, holding out his tray of purple slop as a type of offering. "Uh... what're ya doin'?" Chance asked.

Wultha'arr hung his head low. "You bested the best, then spared my life. Among my people, this kind of act would have a hunter like myself be seen as inferior. But here, mercy is a commodity, a rarity in its purest form to be given a second chance. Now, you are my master." Wultha'arr explained.

Chance was finally starting to remember why he came after Gilda in the first place, and it was to get the hell off this ship. Now he felt like he truly couldn't leave any of them here, not out of good conscience or overwhelming guilt, at least.

Gilda snatched the tray of slop from Wultha'arr's hands and claims the offering herself. "Well, let me be the first to say, it was actually all my idea! Don't know why you're wasting your time with this scrawny puke, but whatever." Gilda remarked, swallowing the goop in one bite.

Chance felt utterly repulsed. "You did not just actually eat that shit, did you?!" Chance questioned with concern.

Gilda shrugged. "Don't knock it till ya try it, shrimp! Besides, it's not that bad! Beats the food they serve in the penitentiary any day!" Gilda remarked, moving over to a seat to sit down.

Chance looked at Wultha'arr, and finally decided that this was the most opportune time to make an escape. "Look, hunter dude, I don't wanna be your master. I just wanna get me, and my mutated... uh... frie-.... acquain-..." Chance thought about how to best describe Gilda, and just gave up. "I need to get myself, and this gargantuan bitch off this ship and back home to Earth." Chance explained.

The Yautja peers behind him. The guards are still there at the doors. He gets in closer to the human. "Even if you could free your collar and escape, this ship will soon be traveling to a new galaxy. It's already too late for some of us, there's no point in us trying to escape." Wultha'arr explained.

Chance wasn't about to give up, not after all this. "It's never too late to do the right thing. There must be some way to get to the guard's collar controls." Chance wondered, eyeing the guards carefully.

Wultha'arr sighed and shook his head. "Don't bother, we all have tried. None of us are powerful enough to overtake them! Even with my hunting prowess, and my silent movements, they still caught on to my attempts. I'm ashamed to call myself a hunter, let alone a warrior." Wultha'arr explained.

Chance thought about their situation for a moment, but then he started thinking about how he and Gilda were working together. By using Chance's knowledge on his transformations, and with a bit of cooperation, they were able to beat a trained hunter, a warrior that could've killed them at any time they wished. "Maybe the way you all went about this is wrong. The idea of escaping is something we all want, but you've all been going about it the wrong way." Chance stated.

The prisoners looked to the human in confusion, some were curious as to what the human was trying to say. "You all tried to escape on your own, didn't you?" The prisoners nodded their heads, and that was what the teenager thought was the problem. "That's the issue, you tried to escape on your own, but remember when me and Gilda fought your former champion? It was only through working together, cooperating, and looking out for each other, that we managed to win and come out on top as the victors of the fight! I know it's risky, but I risked my life for a bunch of alien strangers before when taking on Reinrassic II when he came to Earth not too long ago, and I'll do it again! It's time for a prison break, everyone, and it's time to shut that cyborg fucker down!!" Chance proclaimed.

The prisoners looked at one another, and as Chance stood up, the other prisoners, except for Gilda, stood with him. "Now, everyone huddle up, and G, listen in if you can. Here's what's gonna go down..." Chance started.

After some time has passed, the prisoners were brought back to their cells. Chance is hunched over at the wall on the right side of his cell, over where two robot guards are standing guard on the ground floor, guarding a set of doors. The plan was ready. He looks up, seeing Wultha'arr on the other side and on the floor above him in his own cell, and winks in his direction.

The Yautja nods and makes a clicking noise to his left, which was Chance's right. Within the cell next door to the Omnitrix wearer's was two aliens. One was Gilda, who was on the bottom bunk, and the other was a frog/tadpole hybrid alien, who seemed to let their tail down and tap Gilda in the face. Gilda nods, and puts on an angry face, trying her best to look annoyed. "Raaahhh!!! I can't take this shit no more! Get me off this fuckin' ship, now!" Gilda roared out loudly, firing energy blasts and crystals all across the room.

The Yautja see the guards coming up. "Stop her, she's out of control!!" Wultha'arr called out.

In a flash of green light that the guards took no notice of, Chance had gotten the signal to do his part of the plan. Soon enough, the forcefields that kept the prisoners in their cells started to shut down one-by-one in rapid succession. The prisoners get out and instinctively for the guards and their shock collar controls, to which the guards give the prisoners a shock. All of the aliens are blasted back by their shocks as usual, but something's different.

The collars sputter and short out soon after delivering the shocks. "The shock collars. They're disabled!" One of the aliens cried out.

The drones back up, only to then be shocked themselves as they crumple to the floor, with Crime Detector floating above them. "Consider this your break. Numerous crimes have been committed by this Slix Ultra, and I intend to enact justice." Crime Detector stated flatly.

On the opposite side of a door, a guard is pressing its buttons to try and open it, but then Wultha'arr quickly roars out and smashes it. "FREEDOM!" The Yautja shouts. Another guard is suddenly destroyed behind him by one of the ceiling aliens.

While Gilda is busy beating away at a guard on the ground, Crime Detector moves in behind her. "Gilda, it is imperative that we get moving immediately." Crime Detector informed.

Gilda groaned. "Just when I'm starting to have fun, too!" Gilda griped. She gave the guard one final punch, then begrudgingly follows the transformed hero.

Meanwhile, up high in Slix Ultra's office, above the repurposed arenas, Gilda opens a sliding door to an empty room. Crime Detector rolls up beside her and attempts to get a scan of the area. "The controls to the emergency escape pod should be somewhere. Slix Ultra said he controls everything on this ship from here, but I cannot seem to detect any large compressed storage units for data and computer equipment." Crime Detector stated.

The pair spend a moment or two scratching their heads over what they were missing, when all of a sudden, Slix Ultra's voice and image appear on monitors in the room. "What a pathetic attempt to find my controls. Next time, listen to my words more carefully, human, what you thought - that's not quite accurate. What is said was, "these hands control everything on this ship", including them," Soon enough, multiple guards, along with the Synaptak and Tini look-alikes enter the room and surround the pair. Each guard was now equipped with large axe-like weapons. "And, unlike you, they have no problem finishing off their opponents." Slix Ultra commented.

The pair assess the situation, and it's becoming clear to the duo, that their escape was gonna be the furthest thing from easy. "I told you, these eyes see everything, and so will everybody else," The sound of a recorded loop of a cheering crowd plays out, and the duo look outside the tower. Slix Ultra was out there, standing on a hovering device, wearing what looked like a comic book-inspired superhero costume, cape and all, painted in white, yellow, gold, with a big U on the chest. The spare parts that stuck out of him were clearly a result of him becoming more cybernetically augmented, but he seemed to have a manic grin on his face. "But your demise will not be the opening act, theirs will. After all, a criminal will always be a criminal, in life... and in death. And according to the laws and traditions of the Yautja people, this one has already set himself up to die like a whelp." Slix Ultra explained.

A video feed shows up on one of the holographic screens, displaying the main arena. All of the falsely accused alien prisoners, Wultha'arr included, are there, cuffed and at the mercy of many guards. A ring of the arena lowers into a pit full of savage orange/purple beasts, jumping at them in hunger. Wultha'arr is aghast, but at the same time, he almost looks like he's accepted his fate.

The pair look back at the guards, and get ready to fight. "That's where you made your first and last mistake, Slix Ultra. If we're going down-" Crime Detector morphed his arms into cannons.

Gilda cracked her knuckles and readied herself for a brawl. "-we're going down fighting!" Gilda roared out.

Soon enough, the Omnitrix starts timing out, but Crime Detector manages to quickly fire off two consecutive blasts before being forced to transform back into his normal form. Chance, now in his human form, balls his hands into fists and gets into a boxing position. Gilda and Chance look at each other, and for the first time since they got here, they smiled and nodded at each other. Before Slix Ultra could understand what exactly just happened, the duo roared out and leapt at the guards.

They dodge one guard's weapon energy blast, and another's axe swipe. Gilda grabs one guard and starts trying to bash its head in, while Chance was battering the other guards back, even resorting to snatching one of their axes and slicing one of them in half. Chance tossed the axe aside and ran at another guard, only to be hit by an electric shock in the process. However, that didn't seem to stop him this time. Chance stared at the guard, and for a moment, it seemed like the boy was angry, about what, no one seemed to know.

He punched the guard and knocked it back, then he punched it again, leaving a fist-shaped dent where he landed his blow. Gilda threw one of the guards at the others, all while Chance grabbed the axe again, and twirled it between his fingers. Gilda formed her arm into a large golden crystal blade, and started to stab and slice through the guards in a similar vicious manner that the teen hero was, and it was getting pretty ugly. Five guards remained, and the pair charged at them, cutting, punching, kicking, even dismembering them.

Soon enough, one of the guards tries to land a hit, but Chance brings the axe down and cleaves it in half, straight down the middle as it sparks and collapses into a pile of busted scrap metal. Chance tosses the axe down and falls to his knees for a moment. Chance starts to slow his breathing, only just now realizing he was breathing like a madman. Adrenaline pumped through his body, and soon enough, his breathing slowed down enough for him to try and regain his composure. Everything felt so intense, it took the hero a moment before realizing the carnage he left in his wake.

Before the duo could say anything, more guards started to enter the room. Chance and Gilda run out and reach the tower's balcony, and peer down at the arena below.

Meanwhile, Wultha'arr breaks out of his hand cuffs and turns to face his guards, but they zap him back with their energy blasts. Wultha'arr almost falls off the ring, gripping the edge. The animals leer, the recording of the crowd's cheers echo out, and Slix is calmly watching aboard his hovering craft. As Wultha'arr gets ready to accept his fate, Slix Ultra looks up, and sees both Chance and Gilda free falling in his direction. Kevin manages to land on top of Slix Ultra, while Chance lands on Gilda's back and goes to pull Wultha'arr up.

Wultha'arr dusts himself off, and nods at the human. "You've spared my life yet again, Earthling." Wultha'arr stated.

Chance groaned. "We can talk about that later, right now-" Chance looks over and sees Gilda holding Slix Ultra up by his throat, ready to crush his head into pieces. "G!! NO!!! Don't do that, or we're not getting out of here!!" Chance called out in a panic.

Gilda glares at the human, only to continue squeezing Slix Ultra's head. "How do you like being at someone's mercy for a change, asshole!" Gilda taunted, growling in Slix Ultra's face.

Chance quickly got in-between them, but Gilda still had her grasp on Slix's head. "Gilda, stop! Ease up, at least! We still have to let him open the escape pods!" Chance reminded.

Gilda growled and didn't bother looking down at the Omnitrix user. "I am done listening to you, I'm no one's patsy!!" Gilda roared out.

Slix Ultra managed to punch Gilda away with a surprising amount of force, but Slix seemed to be shorting out, sparks of electricity occasionally jumped out of the cyborg alien mastermind. "This is not part of the show. I co-mmand you-to...stop them...stop them...stop-" Slix Ultra kept repeating the word stop without any sign of stopping, his head sputters with electrical sparks, as do the robot guards, and the Synaptak and Tini look-alikes.

Chance finally understands what's happening here. "Wait, of course! The lack of computers and actual equipment in his office, it all makes sense!!" Chance tried to fiddle with the Omnitrix in an attempt to transform, all while Gilda got up and got Slix Ultra's head back in her grasp. "G, you need to trust me! Don't kill him, just hold him still while I dial in another alien!" Chance remarked.

Gilda doesn't listen, but it's clear that she's practically done taking orders. Gilda lifts Slix Ultra over her head, ready to attempt snapping him in half over her knee. But before that happens, a flash of green light shines out behind him, and Slix Ultra breaks free from Gilda's grasp.

Gilda is left confused, but soon sees that Crime Detector has made himself appear once more. "What the-!?" Gilda watched as Slix Ultra pulled Wultha'arr, Crime Detector and Gilda up. "How the hell did you-!?"

Crime Detector let Gilda go, and floated in mid-air next to Slix Ultra. "It's like I've been attempting to explain. Slix Ultra doesn't just operate the control console, but rather, he is the control console! It's likely that whatever happened to this Ultimos, it thought it be best to integrate with an organic being that resembles that of a superhero, makes things easier to keep covert and under the radar! Now with him under my control, I technically have control over everything on this ship!" Crime Detector explained.

Gilda rolled her eyes. "Well goody-goody for you, peewee. As long as I'm not chained up to your passive pansy ass for another minute!" Gilda remarked.

Through connecting with Slix Ultra, Crime Detector keeps the hovercraft stable and types away at a few keys. "Initiating intergalactic hyperjump launch." A voice announced.

"An Error has occurred. Slix Ultra is attempting to regain control-" Slix Ultra's manic smile starts to slowly form on his face. It's clear that Slix Ultra's will is stronger than Crime Detector anticipated.

"You don't have as much control over me as you thought, criminal scum..." Slix Ultra hissed.

Without a moment of hesitation, Wultha'arr punches Slix's exposed face, and the transformed hero assumes control of his body again. Crime Detector lands the hovercraft on the arena floor and meets up with the other aliens. "We must get to the escape pods before we blast off to the next galaxy!" Wultha'arr cautioned.

Crime Detector took a moment, and seemed very inclined to listen. "The next destination is apparently located in the Whirlpool Galaxy, we'll be too far gone if the launch succeeds with us on it." Crime Detector stated.

Through controlling Slix Ultra, he presses a single button, and the imprisoned aliens, along with the trio themselves, are all teleported away.

Once they teleport into the escape pod chamber, Gilda is already trying to punch a pod door open, with very little success. "Lemme guess, that robot pile of garbage has to open it?" Gilda questioned.

Crime Detector nods. Slix Ultra's body raises its arms, producing six mechanical tentacles from his chest and inserts them into a lock next to the pod door. They twist the mechanism open and, all around the room, the doors to the escape pods open. Crime Detector turns to the escaping aliens and gestures to the opened pods. "Each pod is programmed to get each and every single one of you home to your home planets, please escape in an orderly fashion." Crime Detector requests.

All the aliens find and enter a pod with no hesitation, except for Wultha'arr, who stops himself and stares at the pod, seeming concerned and surprisingly hesitant to leave. The rest all eject from the prison cruiser and fly off into different directions of space. Crime Detector appears behind Wultha'arr, wondering what the hold up is. "Is there a problem? If not, then you must go, while you still have a chance." Crime Detector cautioned.

Wultha'arr shakes his head and turns to the transformed teenager. "I cannot. Not only does my life still belong to you, I cannot return to Yautja Prime, not like this. I am a disgrace to my race, my culture, my traditions, how could I go back after getting captured and imprisoned here for so long." Wultha'arr somberly explained.

Crime Detector sighs and pushes Wultha'arr into the escape pod. "If Yautja Prime is somewhere you can no longer call home, then make the journey to Earth, start anew and get yourself back on your feet. Forget the tradition of your people, just do what you think is right. I'll return to Earth momentarily." Crime Detector explains, closing the pod door.

Soon enough, the Omnitrix starts beeping, and Slix Ultra starts to break free from Crime Detector's control. In a flash of light, Chance is transformed back to normal. "Oh man! Not now!" Chance cried out.

Slix Ultra grabs Chance by the throat, and starts to squeeze, much to the boy's rising sense of panic. Slix Ultra was fuming, he was beyond anger. "You little human meatbag... Nobody controls Slix Ultra, not even a criminal! You hear me?! Nobodyyyy!" The sound of something tearing through metal and flesh could be heard, and Slix Ultra dropped Chance abruptly.

As Chance tried to get some air back in his lungs, he looks up and is surprised to see Gilda, who jammed a golden crystal blade through Slix Ultra's body, and then crushed his head in her free hand, like an oiled grape. "G?!" Chance questioned.

Gilda sneered and tossed Slix Ultra's lifeless carcass over her body, letting it collapse to the ground. "What, you gonna bitch and moan about how I saved your stupid ass?!" Gilda questioned defensively.

Chance shook his head and quickly scrambled back to his feet. "No! I just... I wasn't expecting you to save my life, that was the one thing I never expected to happen today. Why did you save me? You could've let him kill me, or you could've killed us both at the same time... I'm very confused, and kinda conflicted, but that doesn't mean I'm not appreciative. Just... why?" Chance asked.

Gilda didn't answer right away, but it was very clear that she wasn't happy about it. "Don't read too deep into it, Marsten. I guess you could say I was inspired, but don't mistake this for friendship, dumbass. I hate you, and I know you hate me, but... I guess I felt like I owed ya, and consider this me bein' generous," Gilda pointed to an empty escape pod that was right behind Chance. "Go, go continue being a goody-goody and go back to Earth, and leave me be." Gilda vaguely explained.

As the mutant walked away, Chance immediately got in front of her. "What, are you a dumb puppy?! Get the fuck out!" Gilda barked.

Chance didn't move, so Gilda's hand was forced. Gilda wrapped Chance up in Fumesquito's nectar, and tossed him into the escape pod, closing it behind her as she ran deeper into the ship.

By the time Chance broke out of the nectar, the pod had just launched, and it was going towards Earth, specifically... the very same place where the two vanished in an instant. Chance sat in the escape pod, wondering just what exactly happened.

The teen hero was thrown for a loop. Gilda had spent the entire time getting into fights and fighting him since they got on that prison cruiser, but in the end, she let herself be stuck on that ship, sacrificing the one chance she had to go back to Earth, and she told him, the guy she fucking hated, and blamed for her mutation, to leave her there.

Chance looked out the window, just in time to see the ship vanish, and just as the escape pod breached Earth's atmosphere. Chance had so many questions racking around in his brain, but one seemed so prevalent and persistent that it demanded an answer. "Why did she save me?" Chance quietly asked himself.

Back on Earth, Luna, Sunset, Zuchi and Rook were trying to think about how to save Chance from wherever he ended up, but just as they come up with a plan, Chance's escape pod lands on the wind farm, burying the front end of the pod in the ground, with the hatch still being above ground for an easy escape.

The four of them rush over as the pod opens up, revealing a disoriented Chance Marsten as he clumsily got out of the pod. "Oof, next time I ride in an escape pod, I'm double checking for one built for first class! Jeez!" Chance comments, cracking his neck as he returns his feet to more solid ground.

Sunset and Luna ran over to him, pulling him into a tight hug. "Mister Marsten, you sure know how to scare the hell out of us! We were worried that Gilda learned how to do something new, and deadly!" Chance chuckled at that thought, and hugged them tighter. Eventually, Chance let them go, and stretched his body for a moment. "What happened anyway? Where did you go?!" Luna questioned.

Chance looked a bit unsure and scratched the back of his head. "It's a long story, you guys okay?" Chance asked.

Rook nodded. "Affirmative, we survived the fight and let our wounds heal without wasting Senzu Beans. This Gilda individual really is a powerful opponent, however." Rook reported.

Zuchi nodded, a confident smirk on her face. "Yeah, mutant girl is very strong. She's no saiyan, but she'll make for great fight later," Zuchi looks around, and seems to take note of a lack of Gilda herself being present. "Speaking of which, where mutant girl go?" Zuchi questioned.

Sunset looked to her friend, seeing an unfamiliar expression on his face. "Yeah, I'm a bit curious myself, pal, what happened to Gilda?" Sunset asked.

Chance didn't answer immediately, but he didn't seem to have a concrete answer himself. "...I'll be honest with you all, I don't know. I was with her, we fought with each other, and ended up stuck together, fighting for our survival and we helped tons of aliens escape, but at the same time, she saved my life and told me to come back to Earth... she didn't want to go back, and I don't know why," Chance looked around, noticing that Dash wasn't around. "Now's my turn to ask why someone's missing. Where's Rainbow Dash?" Chance asked.

Luna sighed. "She assumed that the worst had occurred, you and Gilda took each other out, to the point where there was nothing left of you. We tried to get her to understand that this couldn't've been possible... b-but she wouldn't let us get a word in. Before we could even attempt to stop her, she used her magic to fly back to Canterlot City," Chance hung his head low, and leaned against his escape pod. "Sunset already got into contact with the others, trying to explain the situation, and promised them that she'd update the situation... Now that you're back, we don't exactly know how we're gonna tell miss Dash, that Gilda is no longer here." Luna explained.

Chance took a deep breath and sighed. "Let me tell her the truth. I was there, and you guys weren't... frankly, I'm glad you weren't there, it was hell." Chance vaguely described.

Chance looked over, noticing that the RV was back on the road, and the wind shield was fixed. "I'm gonna take a quick nap, think about a few things, and then Sunset can call Dash so I can tell her the whole story. I feel like I haven't slept in days, but it's only been a few hours." Chance remarked.

As the hero walked towards the RV, the other four walked back as well. Exhaustion made his mind feel heavy, like an anvil made out of bricks and mortar, but at the same time, he felt hopeful, a bit more optimistic than he did the night before.

Before he stepped into the RV, he looked up into the sky, letting a small smile form on his face. 'Good luck, Gilda, wherever you are now. We'll see each other again, and when we do, I'll be stronger than before.' Chance thought.

Author's Note

And that, was my version of 'Grudge Match', as well as my version of 'The Galactic Enforcers', just to make things a bit more interesting.

So, in the beginning of the chapter, Chance encountered another version of the Galactic Enforcers, they came from another universe that has a Ben Tennyson in it. It's not necessarily Ben Prime, but it's another version of him that'll likely become very important later.

Now, it's around this time that I'm testing the waters to do some more experimental storytelling with other characters. I decided to include the Yautja, aka, the Predators, into this story's universe, solely because I have an ideal chapter I wanna tackle, and maybe bring back Wultha'arr when I get the chance to.

I had the idea to incorporate the idea that Chance's version of the Galactic Enforcers ended up basically becoming zombie-like slaves to Slix Vigma's artificial intelligence and persistent show of willpower and aggression for a couple of weeks, and it made sense at the time, and even while finalizing this story, it still works, to me at least.

I also wanted to show that this Gilda still had the potential to reform, as well as to show just how fractured her mental state became in such little time, that part of her original mentality still exists in remnant bursts of neurons, but having ten aliens inside you, as well as a griffin that manifested through stolen magic, it's not doing her any favors.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I need to get to another equally important episode ASAP.

S2, Episode 6: Trial by Valkyrie

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Trial by Valkyrie

Somewhere in Iceland, workers are operating a small rig to clear some land for a few new tourist attractions. The foreman looks on with a clipboard in hand, and suddenly feels the ground start to shake and crack open. "Something's wrong." He barely uttered out.

The machinery suddenly begins to crack, and an earthquake alerts them of the danger they are in. The ground breaks up while the tower falls below, crumbling at their feet. "Run!!" The foreman cried out in a panic.

The workers narrowly outrun the ground crumbling, while behind them, the newly made pit erupts with a large tornado comprised of fire, rocks and lightning. As the workers look on in terror and amazement, the flaming tornado soon reaches high into the skies, and reveals an ancient helmet, made from an ancient piece of leather, lined and trimmed with hacksilver, with clean, pristine white wings adorned on top of the sides, and a small spike jutting out from the middle of the top.

The helmet slowly fell to the ground, right before their very eyes, and they slowly approached it.

Several hours later, the trio find themselves in Iceland, ordering food from an Icelandic restaurant, hoping to get a quick meal before they get back on the road. "All I'm saying is that if this is called Iceland, then why'd some dipshit name one of the coldest areas on Earth fuckin' Greenland, of all things!? Was it to be funny, an absolute prick to pompous travelers, I don't get it!" Chance stated.

Sunset sighed, rubbing her eyes out of frustration. "Because it was plenty green and lush with plants more than two-point-five million years ago, and the guy who named it that way wanted to attract settlers! You don't do a lot of listening when it comes to history, do you?" Sunset questioned.

Chance frowned. "I listen, I just don't have any good moments to put that shit to practical use." Chance rebutted.

Soon enough, a waitress came by with the food they ordered, and the trio start to dig in. "Man, for something that's described as a fermented Shark, this isn't bad!" Chance stated.

Sunset nodded in agreement. "Yeah, this veggie burger with soy cheese is actually pretty fantastic, just wish I had some extra ketchup." Sunset stated.

Luna smiled, indulging in her fruit salad. "Nice to know you two are enjoying yourselves. It's a shame mister Rook and miss Zuchi didn't want to travel with us, but I suppose everyone has to go their own way at some point." Luna remarked.

Chance and Sunset nodded, silently stuffing their faces with the food on their plates. As the trio finished their meals, Luna's phone starts going off, playing some kind of alarm. Luna pulls her phone out of her pocket and pays for the meal, then sees what the issue is that she has an alarm for it.

Luna's eyes widened, to the point where both teenagers thought her eyes would pop out of her skull. "You two, we need to go back to the RV. Now!" Luna stated, her tone becoming more serious.

The teens looked at each other, and followed Luna back to the RV, leaving the rest of the patrons wondering how strange Americans can be sometimes.

Back at the RV, Luna sits in the driver's seat, with Chance and Sunset standing up front as she presses a series of buttons. Soon enough, the cupboards behind them open up to reveal a monitor, and another screen flips up underneath the unused ash tray. As the monitor lit up, Luna was shocked, as well as in awe. "No." Luna could barely say.

"Miss Luna, are you okay? What is it?" Chance asked.

Luna didn't even hesitate to speak her mind. "The Helm of Freyja," Luna slowly turns the screen to her students, showing the same thing that appeared at the work site. "It's the key to ancient Nordic magic that once supposedly belonged to the leader of the Valkyries, the Norse Goddess of War, Freyja." Luna explained, her tone was grave, focused and determined.

The two teens looked at each other, a sense of intrigue and curiosity, mixed with a hint of uncertainty stirred within them as Luna started the RV. The determination in her eyes rubbed the two teenagers the wrong way, but they didn't say a word.

As soon as the trio got back on the main lands, Luna started driving like she was on a mission. Every time she turned the wheel, put her foot to the gas or pumped the brakes, it always felt intense, but this was something different. It was like something in Luna finally kicked into gear, and she was focused on one thing, getting that helmet.

As Luna drives down the road, passing a sign with the state map of Texas on it. Inside the RV, the dashboard has projected a holographic display with a red dot marker on it, something Sunset recognized when Luna was tracking the Omnitrix when Chance fought Reinrassic II not too long ago. "Uh, remind me, what's so special about this helmet, who's Freyja, and what the hell is a Valkyrie?" Chance asked.

Luna cleared her throat. "In Norse mythology, a Valkyrie is a female warrior who chooses which fallen soldiers are worthy of a place in Valhalla, the Norse afterlife, something me and my family are well-educated and well-versed in. Freyja is the Norse Goddess of War, and she was the leader of the Valkyries." Luna explained.

"What about the helmet?" Sunset asked.

Luna didn't seem too responsive to that question, but she kept explaining what she knew about Freyja. "Freyja was known as the god of many things. Love, fertility, beauty, sex, death, gold, magic, but she was always associated as the Norse Goddess of War. Legends once described that she rode in a chariot pulled by two cats, she rode a boar, and she used a magic cloak. She had a necklace known by few as "The Necklace of Brisings", which used to be a fertility symbol associated with her status as a goddess." Luna explained.

Chance nodded his head. "Honestly, sounds pretty metal, and she sounds like a strong lady, but what about her helmet? What's so important about it?" Chance asked.

Again, Luna didn't seem too responsive to that question. Chance and Sunset were starting to get a bit suspicious, as well as a bit concerned. Luna seemed to be picking up on their concerns, and decided to explain. "The Helm of Freyja was spoken of back during my early enrollment as a Plumber operative. I brought up the helm to my family, and we worked tirelessly to figure out what made it so incredible, and we finally cracked it before I retired," Luna pressed a button on the dash, and showed a picture of Freyja herself. "It was once believed by those now called "Heretics" that Freyja was once a mortal woman, until Odin, the All-Father, blessed a helmet with his divine power, and by donning the helmet, the wearer is granted the powers of a Norse deity. Some say that Freyja died sometime after a war, during the war, or killed herself after out of guilt, while very few still believe that she lives. One thing's for certain, her helmet wasn't buried with her. Some say that Freyja's helmet will always seek out a path to Freyja herself, to continue granting divine power to the Norse Goddess of War, or for those who find it, will be guided to ancient Norse treasures." Luna explained.

The two teenagers took in the information and slowly let it all sink in. "Almost sounds like something Sunset could use, but then again, I don't wanna run the risk of the Charm Incident happening again. No offense, Sunset, but I'm a bit hesitant around magic stuff." Chance stated.

Sunset nodded her head. "Hey, none taken. I'm in the same boat as you, something as powerful as that needs to stay hidden, and out of the hands of crazy people." Sunset reassured.

Chance was about to say something, but soon enough, the RV stopped, showing that they arrived at their location. A building in the desert, surrounded by oil rigs and heavily-armed security guards. "Hoo boy, I'm guessing the helmet's in there?" Chance guessed.

Luna nodded her head. "Bet they're keeping it in the basement, it's a smart enough hiding place, but not safe enough," Luna looked towards Chance. "Chance, you go alien and sneak in. Once you're inside, open the side door for us." Luna told him.

Chance unbuckled his seat belt and started dialing in the alien he'd need, but something didn't feel right about this. "Uhh, miss Luna, are you sure this is what we need to do?" Chance asked, a bit of uncertainty in his voice.

Luna was starting to get a bit impatient. "Mister Marsten, I haven't time to explain how important it is for us to get that helm. Now, can I count on you or not?" Luna asked, her tone became stern and strict.

Chance flinched, he didn't know why, but he didn't even know why she was asking him that question. "Y-You know you can always count on me, miss Luna, Sunset knows that too. I'll get in and unlock the door before you know it, just needed a bit of confirmation.." Chance stated earnestly, dialing in Nitrofrost's icon.

Luna leave the RV, single-minded in her goals, all while Chance watches her leave. Sunset notices the look on her friend's face, and can clearly tell he was off-set by Luna's behavior. "Hey, you okay bud? You seem a bit shook up, that's never happened before." Sunset asked.

Chance slowly shook his head, almost hesitantly, and continued with using the Omnitrix. In a flash of green light, Chance was replaced by the frozen cold hero, and dispersed himself into a cloud of mist, traveling up into a gutter that was connected to the building.

Sunset steps outside, seeing Luna leaning against the RV, watching the building intently with a steely gaze she's never seen on the vice principal before. "Uh, miss Luna?" Luna doesn't immediately look towards her student, but she shifts her gaze to look her in the eye without moving her head. "Look, I'm just saying that he was just asking a question. Was it really necessary to talk to him like that? Don't you think you were a little--"

Luna sighs. "You're just kids. Well, you're teenagers, but still. I don't expect you to understand, not completely." Luna said, focusing on the side door of the building.

Sunset sighed. "Just cut him some slack, okay? I don't think he's entirely there after what happened at the wind farm, and whatever happened when he vanished. J-Just cut him some slack, will ya? He's trying his best." Sunset suggested.

Inside the building, Nitrofrost moves up through a drain inside the building's bathroom, noticing gum stuck on his head. "Ugh, disgusting. Who spits gum into a sink!?" Nitrofrost whispered.

Nitrofrost fully manifests in the bathroom, and takes note of two guard dogs that are growling at him. Nitrofrost feels a bit bad for what he's about to do, but he freezes the two dogs in place, and locks them into one of the empty stalls. The two dogs had their legs encased in ice, basically rendered incapable of moving.

Nitrofrost shuddered and went to go unlock the side door, feeling utterly horrible about this.

On the other side of the side door, the sound of a lock being undone could be heard, with Chance, now turned back into his human form, opening the basement door for them. As he does, however, Luna pushes past him, seeming more impatient than she did earlier. "It's about time." Luna remarked.

Chance felt like he got hit by a serious case of whiplash. Sunset steps in, and looks at Chance for a moment. "What's wrong?" Sunset asked.

Chance grimaced and shuddered. "I don't wanna talk about it... C'mon, she's probably getting too far ahead without us." Chance stated, walking forward.

As the two close the basement doors behind them, with Chance re-locking them from the inside, a car pulls up unseen.

As the duo catch up to Luna, the trio walk through the basement hallways. Luna leads the way, straightforward and staying silent. The tension was becoming a bit thick, to the point where the two teens could barely control their breathing. The two decide to lag behind a bit, and talk about the situation. "Have you ever seen Luna this serious?" Chance asked.

Sunset shook her head. "I've never seen anyone this serious, not even back home during times of crisis." Sunset commented.

As they keep walking, Sunset notices the concern and hesitation in her friend's eyes, it almost looked like he was on the verge of tears. "Hey, are you doing alright? You don't look too well." Sunset asked.

Chance shook his head. "I'm worried, something about this doesn't feel right. I- I don't know how to describe what I'm feeling right now, but I know it's nothing good." Chance stated.

As the two catch up to Luna, they finally reach the end of the corridor. They open a door and find a room with a safe in it. "The helmet has to be in there. Miss Shimmer, you've shown your way around a few padlocks during your darker days, can you handle this?" Luna inquired.

Sunset cringed at that prospect, but she stepped forward, hesitantly putting her ear up as she twisted the rotator, inputting the combination the best she could. It took a few minutes, but she eventually got it, giving Luna a thumbs up. "Good job, Sunset." Chance assured.

Luna opens the safe, revealing The Helm of Freyja. "Beautiful, isn't it?" Luna asks.

The pair look at the helmet themselves, and ironically enough, they're not that impressed. "Looked better in the photos you showed us, to be honest." Chance remarked.

Luna carefully holds the helmet and looks at it, almost entranced by it. "Over several long years of searching and now, finally, you're-" Before Luna could finish her sentence, the sound of robes dragging across the ground could be heard, along with footsteps. The trio turn around, seeing several individuals dressed in black, gray, and maroon robes, each one colored and trimmed with gold and jewels.

The woman that they followed wore a deep blue robe with the same gold and jewels adoring it, only she also had a silver Kitsune mask over her face, an infinity sign placed over an infinity sign, making it look like some form of infinite clover. The woman smiled in a creepy manner behind that mask, eyeing Luna from head-to-toe. "Here I thought you retired from the plumbing business, Ms. Equinox. Or may I call you, Luna?" The woman spoke.

Chance and Sunset were dumbfounded. "Okay, I give the fuck up. Who the hell are these wackos?!" Chance questioned.

The woman looked over at the teenager and giggled, which left him thoroughly uncomfortable. Luna stepped in front of the two teens, a silent rage burned in her eyes. "I'm not sure who you are, or how you know me, but you're not getting the helm of Freyja!" Luna yelled.

The woman scoffed. "Aren't we the feisty sewer rat? I'd love to chat about old times, but we're already a tad late for holding the world at my mercy," The woman outstretched her hand, expecting Luna to hand over the helmet. "So, I'll be taking that helmet now, Luna, if you don't mind." The woman stated calmly, yet her tone was venomous.

Luna gritted her teeth. "Over my dead body." Luna gritted.

The woman smirked, though it couldn't be seen behind the mask she wore. "My my, what an excellent suggestion! Gentlemen? Relieve Equinox of the he-" The woman was then met by a sudden punch to the face, causing the woman to actually crash into the wall. The sound of silver cracking could be heard, and Luna shook her hand. "Should've known not to do that. You two, follow me and run!!" Luna exclaimed.

Sunset sweep kicks a couple of the robed attackers, and Chance smashes another couple figures' heads together, letting them slump to the ground as he followed Sunset and Luna.

The robed figures pick themselves up and aide their leader, who starts going another direction, rather than going the same way as the trio did. As they did so, a security guard just came onto the scene, and saw one of the robed men and the open safe. He activated his radio and spoke into it. "We've got burglars in robes. Seal the exits!" The security guard called out.

Alarms blare as the trio run to escape. They come to an exit but see a guard stationed there, blocking their way. "Wrong way," Luna turns the two teens around and cut a corner, only to then be met by a grappling gun from behind, latching onto the helmet and yanking it from Luna's grasp. "No!" Luna gritted.

The woman in blue robes, now with a fractured and broken silver kitsune mask, holds the helmet with a smug grin on her ruby red lips. "How unfortunate, but your loss is my gain." The woman taunted, running away.

Luna was about to run after her, but the sound of closing gates had her worried. She looks to the teens. "Run, I'm right behind you!" Luna ordered.

As Luna decides to stay with Chance and Sunset, instead of going back after the helmet, they run down the hallways and manage to slide underneath the closing gates in the nick of time. Soon enough, the trio manage to get out of the building and back into the RV, only to buckle up and immediately speed after the unknown assailants.

Up ahead, the woman in blue is in the backseat of the car, laughing in amusement as she stares at the helmet in awe. "Yes, ultimate power and riches, all for me, and my cult." The woman tells herself.

The driver then sees the RV in the side mirror, with Luna at the wheel. "Boss, we might have a problem." The driver informed.

Luna is pushing the gas pedal to the floor as she activates the built in Plumber tech for the front bumper. She accelerates the RV to ram into the cultist's car, but then the cultist's car activates a saw blade that comes from the trunk in retaliation, forcing Luna to revert the front bumper back. Meanwhile, Chance is trying to get the Omnitrix to work, while Sunset readies her own magic, summoning her energy tendrils. "Come on, Chance, what's it gonna be this time? Vitaguar? Excavole? Tallahoss?" Sunset guessed.

Chance was met by the red color, and the sound of the device powering down to recharge. "I'm on my own this time, unfortunately." Chance remarked woefully.

Luna presses a button where the RV's horn should be, and a digital voice speaks out. "Auto-Pilot engaged." Luna gets up and heads towards the bathroom door in the back of the RV, which confused and shocked the two teens even more. "This looks like a job for a Plumber." Luna states, closing the door behind her.

Chance facepalms and balls his hands into fists. "This'll have to do, because apparently this RV has an Autopilot! Who the fuck thought to make that a feature!" Chance exclaimed.

Up ahead, More cultists are climbing out of the sunroof of their car, and jump onto the RV. Meanwhile, on the inside, the helmet seems to glow and show a glowing trail of golden light in front of the woman. "Oh my, so that's where you're hiding~." The woman commented.

Inside the RV, Chance tries one more time to get the Omnitrix to work, but unfortunately, he wasn't able to make any progress. The two hear the bathroom door open, showing off Luna in a slim pristine black and white suit with a big red badge on her upper chest. "Well, good thing Rarity's not here, she'd be flipping her lid at the sight of that suit." Sunset commented.

Chance nodded in agreement. "Yeah, and we'd be in more trouble than we're already chin-deep in!" Chance added.

Luna walked forward, going towards the front door and kicks it open without a moment's hesitation. "Watch and learn, both of you. Consider this your first Plumber-mandated mission." Luna stated, wasting no time to jump onto the cultists' car. At first, she seemed like she was about to fall off, but she managed to attach herself to it with a couple magnetic grips.

Sunset and Chance watch on in awe and amazement. "Okay, we really need to have a chat with her when this is all said and done." Sunset remarked.

Looking down through the sunroof, Luna sees the helmet, but the woman in blue loads a pistol and fires bullets into the roof to protect it, trying to hit Luna through the car's roofing. Luna was lucky enough to let a couple bullets hit her suit with little to no damage being taken, but she suddenly starts slipping off from the top of the car after avoiding getting bombarded by bullets.

Chance panics, trying desperately to dial in an alien that can help. "That's if she lives long enough to tell the tale!" Chance screeches.

As the two teens try to figure out how to help their vice principal, Luna's boots skid on the road, but she manages to get herself back up onto the vehicle. She hears the clicking of a gun, signaling to the Plumber that her foes just ran out of ammo, and starts to climb towards the sunroof again.

As the two look on at Luna climbing on the other car, Sunset and Chance are attacked from inside the RV, while the woman's henchmen begin smashing the roof with a large curved sword, as well as a mace. One drops through the open door to go after them, but are soon met by energy tendrils ensnaring them, and lobbing them back out, causing them to roll and skid across the road as the vehicles speed away.

Sunset looks over to Chance, who is trying to fend off another cultist that cut its way in through the roof. Chance manages to land a couple hits, but the cultist was unnaturally fast. Chance continued to try and land another hit, but it was starting to become rather tedious and borderline impossible as the cultist weaved and dodged with perfect timing.

Chance was getting frustrated, and the moment he went in for a punch, the cultist dodged, but was soon met by the teen's foot in their face, knocking their head against the counter top. "Yeah, didn't see that one coming, didja!?" Chance dragged the cultist towards the door and readied himself to toss it out of the RV. "Looks like this is your stop! Buh-bye!!" Chance exclaimed angrily.

The cultist flew out of the RV, and screamed as they fell off a bridge, landing into the water below. "And good riddance!!" Chance exclaimed.

Sunset was surprised, but then again, it was more surprising anything could still surprise her at this point. "You just threw a man out of a moving vehicle, and off the side a bridge!" Sunset exclaimed.

Chance gave the girl a deadpanned expression. "Are you honestly telling me that out of all of this stuff happening as we speak, that's what surprises you?" Chance questioned.

Sunset thought about it for a moment, and she did feel a bit silly, but even then, she was concerned. Sure, these guys were clearly cultists, but Sunset never thought she'd ever want to kill someone, but the man sounded like they landed in water, so her worries were lessened, but not by much. "Just warn me next time you do something like that, that was unnecessary!" Sunset cautioned.

As Luna climbs around to the side of the car, she punches the window and shatters the glass. The woman in blue grits her teeth as she discards the unloaded pistol and gets ready to use her hands. Luna climbs into the back of the car and immediately starts to wrestle with the cultist leader. The two pull each other's hair, scratch at each other's faces, punching, kicking, even choking, it was like watching a fight to the death unfold in the backseat of a Cadillac.

Eventually, Luna eases up and smashes the woman's face into the other window, and grabs the helmet as she aims it at the RV's opened doorway. "Marsten!!" Chance stood in view as Luna reeled her arm back, the same one with the helmet clasped in her grip. "Catch!!" Luna exclaimed.

Luna threw the helmet as hard as she could, and the helmet collided with Chance's chest, knocking a bit of wind out of his chest and causing him to collide with the fridge, wincing from the pain. Chance clutched the helmet in his hands and gave a thumbs up, handing the helmet to Sunset. "Okay... that hurt more than I'd like to admit..." Chance wheezed, slumping to the ground.

Luna quickly gets up and makes the jump to the RV, leaving the woman in blue to groan in frustration. As Luna closes the door behind her, she quickly takes the helmet from Sunset's hands and sets it in the front seat, barely even acknowledging the two teenagers that fended off a couple cultists, as she went directly for the helm. As Luna gets in the driver's seat, she panics as a truck starts coming their way, its horn was blaring.

Luna quickly fastens her seatbelt and turns the autopilot off, regaining control. "You two better hold on, it's gonna be close!" Luna called out.

Without much of an option, the two teens ducked underneath the booth's table and braced themselves for the impact. Luna turns on the rocket thrusters, boosting the RV forward as its speed increased. The two teens scream as the truck comes barreling towards the RV, bracing each other for the coming crash.

At the last second, Luna narrowly manages to avoid the truck, scratching the side of the RV a tad bit in the process. Luna takes note that the cultists are still behind her, and she presses a button on the dash, releasing a bunch of tire spikes onto the road behind them. The cultists' car sputters as its tires pop and burst beyond repair, all while the RV drives away, leaving the woman and her cultists in the dust.

The woman in blue grits her teeth and pulls out a small radio. "Send in the bird. I want to get to that location before they do." The woman hisses.

Luna looks back at the two teenagers, who barely manage to pull themselves out from underneath the table. "My life flashed before my eyes, and it all sucked the second time!!" Chance exclaimed.

Sunset was clearly rattled, breathing rather heavily as she held her chest. Chance pulled her into a hug, trying to reassure her that they were okay, that they were still alive, anything to calm her down and help her de-stress. But, soon enough, the rockets deactivate, and the RV's fault light starts to light up, much to Luna's frustration.

Under the harsh sun, the trio are stopped in the desert due to the RV's breakdown. Luna is currently trying to fix the RV's main issue, but she gets frustrated and tosses a wrench out from underneath the vehicle. "No wonder that damn thing isn't working, it's metric! Sunset, I told you to get me a half inch wrench!" Luna remarked sternly.

Sunset, who was sitting right next to the working lady, flinched for a moment as she sat with her head in her hands. "I-I'm sorry, Luna, it was an honest mistake," Sunset looked over at Chance, who was trying to figure out how to work the helmet without putting it on. "I'll be right back, your toolbox is on your right, so you can find the wrench yourself." Sunset stated, getting up and walking towards her friend.

As Chance continues to examine the helm, he notices Sunset's crestfallen expression. "Luna's giving you a hard time, isn't she?" Chance asked.

Sunset nodded. "You would know, she seemed pretty impatient when you were questioning her plan about breaking into the building. What exactly happened, anyway? You seemed a bit shook up when we got inside." Sunset questioned.

Chance paused for a moment and shuddered. "There were two guard dogs, and in order to keep them from drawing attention, I froze their legs in ice so they couldn't chase after us, and I locked them in a stall... I'm not proud of that, and shame doesn't begin to cover what I still feel about that. Breaking in was one thing, but I don't like hurting animals or causing discomfort unto them, I didn't have a choice, and Luna left me with very little options on sneaking my way in." Chance explained.

Sunset winced at the visual image, but Chance seemed rather repulsed by what he'd done. Chance looked at the helmet, and a look of anger and disgust formed on his face. "This helmet has brought nothing but trouble, I highly doubt if anyone puts this crusty thing on, all their gonna get is lice." Chance bitterly remarked.

Without a moment of hesitation, Chance attempted to put the helmet on, but just as he did, the entire helm began to glow. Chance panicked and immediately pulled the helmet off, but the helm continued to glow. "Hey, Luna!? The helmet we just stole is glowing!" Chance exclaimed.

Luna didn't hesitate to pull herself out from under the RV and break into a full sprint towards the two teenagers. Luna came to a sudden halt as he looked at the glowing helm. Soon enough, a glowing golden beam fired from the tip of the spike that sat on top of the helm, and it seemed to be creating a trail. Chance averted his eyes. "Man, it's a miracle we can even see this in the sun's light. What's this thing doing now?!" Sunset questioned.

Luna gasped, looking on in awe. "It's locating Freyja's body, trying to find its way back to the Goddess. We need to make sure we get there before those cultists do." Luna explained.

Chance frowned. "And how are we gonna do that? The RV's currently like the ice cream machine at the burger shack. Out of order!" Chance remarked.

Luna looked at him for a moment, then her gaze fell on the Omnitrix. "I wouldn't say we're completely out of options." Luna said.

Atop the jungle and its treeline, Fumesquito is flying fast through the air, though they were struggling to carry Luna, along with Sunset on his back. The alien mosquito continued to flutter its wings as Luna held the helm, leading the trio along its shining golden path of light.

Luna looks up at the mosquito, and can see that the bug is looking exhausted as sweat poured down the bug's face, he was basically running on fumes, ironically enough. "Marsten, can you try flying a bit faster?" Luna called out.

Fumesquito groaned. "I'm going as fast I can, miss Luna!! I'm not used to flying this much with passengers!" The alien mosquito focuses its compounded eyes forward, taking note of how the golden light was ending at what looked like an ancient temple. "We're almost there, we must be getting close!" Soon enough, the Omnitrix starts beeping, which worries the trio. "Bad timing! Hang on!!" Fumesquito exclaimed.

Fumesquito starts flying much lower to the ground, and as Sunset and Luna hop off, a red flash of light bursts out and Chance is turned back to normal. Chance groans and picks himself up, cracking his back. "I'm getting better at handling emergency landings, though, that's a plus." Chance commented, trying to find a silver lining.

Luna continues to walk forward with the helmet in her hands, leaving the two teenagers behind without her knowledge. "Sheesh, she is hyperfixated on this!" Sunset remarked.

Chance groaned and walked forward, with Sunset following close behind. By this point, the two teenagers were starting to reach their limits with this nordic helmet business, and were becoming increasingly concerned with Luna's almost compulsive and obsessed behavior.

As the trio arrive at an ancient pyramid on foot, they crouch down and see through the bushes, only to see the woman in blue, along with a few more of her cult members are already at the site. The trio watch as they attempt to open the pyramid's doors with explosive charges, but the stone doors seem a lot stronger than the cultists, or the trio, could even hope to imagine.

"Fire in the hole!" One of the cultists exclaim, running away from the charges.

There was an explosion, but as the cultists peek out to see the results, the doors are still standing, with barely a scorch mark being present where the charges were planted. The woman in blue was clearly frustrated. "Still not open. Use a bigger charge this time, you idiots." The woman reprimanded.

Chance nodded his head. "Wow, for a dusty ass temple, this place already has much better security than the place we broke into today," The trio carefully sneak to the side, and head another way to the other side of the pyramid. "So, what is this place anyway?" Chance asked.

Luna looked to Chance and sighed. "It's the temple of Ek Chuaj, home to the Mayan god of death and the underworld, Ah Puch. Ah Puch essentially guards an ancient weapon known as the sword of Ek Chuaj, a long since destroyed weapon of unfathomable power," The two teens look at each other with concern, but soon take note that Luna seems frustrated. "Not that it matters. I'm curious, though, why would this helmet lead us here, to a Mayan temple? As far as I know, Ah Puch never had any significant role or legend in Norse mythology, let alone a connection to any Mayan god/goddess named Freyja... I'm curious, and yet, I'm hesitant to wonder what we'll find inside." Luna explained, seeming enamored by the possibilities that filled her head.

Chance frowned. "I don't like this, not one bit." Chance remarked, shuddering as he looked around.

Luna ignores Chance's concerns and feels around the stone wall. "Now, there's always a secret entrance to these temples, it's just a pain to find when time is of the essence," Chance, by this point, was nearing his breaking point, and took the helmet from Luna, placing it on his head without a second thought. Luna was not pleased with the boy's decision. "Chance Marsten, take that off this instant!" Luna angrily stated.

Chance rolls his eyes, but just as he reaches for the helmet, his arms suddenly stop. The helmet's golden glow starts to envelop his entire body, and before Chance knows what happened, his eyes started glowing entirely red. Chance saw images of things he couldn't dare describe, but his body seemed to move on its own, and he felt one specific spot on the wall. A loose brick moves, and a whole new passageway opens up for the trio, allowing them to enter the tomb.

As the trio are about to move forward, Chance manages to wrestle control back over his body, and scream in abject horror as he threw the helmet off his head, and slammed it to the ground. The golden glow dissipates, and Chance's eyes return to normal, a sharp gasp for air escapes the teenager as he falls back on his ass, scrambling to back away from the helmet.

Chance cried out in abject terror, breathing heavily as he leaned onto the floor. The teen's eyes were filled with tears, a sense of fear loomed over him, all while Sunset tried to help him back to his feet. "Hey, hey! You're okay, you're alive, you're not in danger! Are you alright? What happened? Did you see anything?" Sunset asked.

Chance shuddered, shaking in his friend's arms. "I saw things I can't begin to describe... Death, rot, destruction, greed was their folly, and their lust for power was what sealed their fates. The only word that comes to mind in relation to what I saw... is Eldritch. For a moment, I had no mouth, and I had to scream. I had no eyes, yet I was forced to see things I didn't want to look at! This is fucked, with a capital 'F'!" Sunset reached out to use her geode to see for herself, but Chance swatted her hand back, a look of sheer terror on his face. "Sunset, trust me... you don't wanna see what I've been forced to. Trust me, it's not worth it." Chance warned, his tone softer, yet gravely serious in its warning.

Sunset eventually manages to get Chance back on his feet, and the pair notice Luna waiting on them, seeming more impatient than ever before. The two teenagers begrudgingly got up, and Sunset picked up the helmet as they walked inside. "If my math is correct, Freyja's body should be on the lowest floor, along with the body of Ah Puch. There should be some stairs nearby." Luna stated.

Chance was reaching the cusp of his limitations, and sighed. "Stairs, of course it had to be stairs. Why not, because everything hasn't been sucky enough today. Where's the Mayan or Norse god of elevators when you need one, for fuck's sake." Chance commented under his breath.

Luna grabs a torch nearby as the interior reaches pitch black, but the blinding light comes too late, which leads to Sunset beginning to fall into a very deep pit. "Woa-aahh!!" Sunset cried out.

Chance rushes forward and grabs her arm, while Luna grabs her shirt. The two pull with all their might to get Sunset back to the ledge, and while they pull it off, the helmet is dropped to the floor. Chance cradles Sunset away from the edge, while Luna does the same. "Phew, that was close," Luna lets the teens go and grabs the mask, hooking it to the side of her plumber suit. "Almost lost the helmet, that could've been a grave situation. Pick yourselves up, we need to keep going." Luna ordered, walking in one direction.

Sunset and Chance are floored, left in disbelief that what they just witnessed, actually happened. "Are you fucking serious!?" Chance exclaimed angrily, his rage was starting to reach a fever pitch.

Sunset got up and pulled her friend back to his feet. "Okay, we can easily assume she's obsessed, right?" Sunset asked.

Chance looked at Sunset, a look of uncertainty, rage, and various conflicting emotions were seen clear as day on his face, and he didn't know how to feel about this situation, by this point, he's letting his emotions out one way or another. "Let's answer that question with another question. Once she gets what she's looking for, she'll be back to her normal self again, right?" Chance questioned.

Sunset shrugged her shoulders, and the two stayed close to each other, both equally concerned for their own safety as Luna runs head-first into danger. As they walk down some wooden platforms, they manage to catch up with Luna, who was clearly not happy with waiting on her students. "Stay sharp, you two. The ancient Mayans were notorious for setting--"

A snapping sound could be heard, and Chance recoiled in fear as he looked down at his feet, seeing a broken piece of wood under his shoe. "...Booby traps. Sure, why not!" Chance exclaimed hysterically.

The trio feel a rumbling sensation throughout the temple, and then see boulders start to come down from above, breaking their path in all directions. "Chance, now's the time to go hero!" Sunset yelled out in a panic.

"Both of you, move!" Luna exclaimed.

The two teens jump over to the next platform, barely making it as they run alongside Luna. The trio rush down the crumbing stairs, all while Chance tries to dial in an alien, only to be met by the red color, and the sound of the device not having enough power. "Come on, Omnitrix, this fool's errand is running a risk on our lives already, give me somebody! Anybody!!" Chance cried out desperately.

From behind the trio, a rock smashes the stairs behind them, following them as they run. The trio barely manage to make it, but it's becoming rather clear that they're running out of places to go. Luna looks to the walls, and motions to the teens to come to her. "Grab on, hurry!!" Luna yells out.

As the rocks finally destroy the stairs, leaving the trio on one singular platform that barely stood in the air as everything was crumbling, Luna manages to use a grappling hook from her suit to get them to safety. Chance and Sunset clung onto her as they swung through the air, barely dodging any falling debris. They both cried out in terror, but the trio manages to make it to a stone floor, thudding against the ground. Chance and Sunset get to their knees as they catch their breath, relieved that they survived, for the moment.

Sunset sighed. "That was terrifying. Thanks, miss Luna," The two look around, noticing that Luna wasn't with them. "Luna?" Sunset called out.

"Are you two coming, or what?" Luna called out.

The pair looked up ahead, watching in utter confusion as Luna walked down a flight of stairs without them. "Remember when the summer started, and this hero stuff was actually kinda fun?" Chance asked.

Sunset nodded. "Yeah?" Sunset answered.

Chance and Sunset walked down the flight of stairs, begrudgingly following their vice principal's lead. "I miss the old Luna. Don't get me wrong, I was kinda excited to see what a Plumber mission would be like, but if it's like this... maybe I should start re-thinking things before the summer ends." Chance commented, feeling a bit sick to his stomach as he said those words.

Sunset nodded. "I agree, I'd eat whatever she considers 'Living off the Land' for a whole week if it meant we could get her back." Sunset commented.

As the two teens catch up to Luna, they see her eyeing a socket for some kind of artifact. "I knew it wouldn't be easy, if only I had that mask, it'd be much easier." Luna told herself.

Before Luna can think up a solution, some kind of work around to get further in, it's not long before she hears a feminine squeal, and a muffled grunt from behind her. Luna turns around, noticing immediately that Chance and Sunset couldn't be seen.

Luna grits her teeth and pulls out a small pistol-like weapon and aims it at the shadows, until a feminine laugh echoes out. The woman in blue stands in front of her, igniting a torch, and revealing that they now had Chance and Sunset held hostage. Something in Luna stirred, and it seemed to be conflicting with her current goals. "Who says you can't get a Plumber when you need one? They're always so handy~, without you clearing the back entrance of its traps and what-not, we wouldn't have been able to get inside the great chamber. Oh, but what a shame, miss Equinox," The woman in blue smirks as she pulls out a mask that fits the shape and size of the socket. "It's a shame you didn't bother looking further in that safe room. To think, the Helm of Freyja, and the Mask of Ah Puch, in the same room, it's deliciously phenomenal." the woman stated.

Luna didn't back down, but her hand was shaking a bit. "Who are you, how do you even know me?!" Luna exclaimed, enraged by the woman's words.

The woman chuckled, which evolved into a pompous and self-entitled guffaw of laughter. "You seriously haven't figured it out, Vice Principal Luna?!" The woman took off her hood, and removed the remains of her mask to reveal a familiar face, one that the entire trio are shocked to even recognize. The woman had a squared jawline, a mole on her face, and a pair of glasses that rested on the tip of her nose. She had her hair tied up in a bun, but the sick sense of satisfaction, combined with her maniacal grin, was all they needed to see. "After all, it's only fair that I make you pay for what you, and your meddlesome students pulled at last year's Friendship Games!" The woman exclaimed in a psychotic manner, smiling from ear to ear.

"Abacus Cinch!?" The trio exclaimed in shock.

Luna was absolutely confused, almost to the point to where she didn't want to shoot her weapon. "I... I-I don't understand, you joined a cult and came after us!? All because of last year's Friendship Games?!" Luna questioned, as if she was unsure of what Cinch just told them.

Cinch smiled crazily. "That's right. After I lost my job as principal to that girl known as Cadenza, my reputation was sullied by the soil that Canterlot High rested on. I wanted to take revenge, but simply going after those seven girls who ruined everything that day, it wouldn't be enough. So, I got into contact with an old acquaintance, and decided to take him up on his offer. It took a few months of hard work, but now I'm one of the top echelons of our organization, and it's all led up to this. My acquaintance was willing to get me some dirt on you, a reward for my efforts," Luna gritted her teeth, her hand was becoming more and more unsteady. "I never figured you were the type to be a part of some space police force, but I should've known that when it comes to Canterlot High, anything can happen. He also told me that you were quite the fighter, but I'm surprised someone like you can still move the way you used to all that time ago. Now, hand over the Helm of Freyja, and drop your weapon, or these two are going to end up with the rest of the dead." Cinch commanded.

Luna aims the gun at Cinch, but then she looks over at Chance and Sunset, worrying about their safety more than some Norse goddess' helmet. Through a show of weakness, Luna drops the gun and holds her hands up as Cinch takes the helm from her.

Cinch looks at her reflection in the helm, and smirks. "Good choice. Unfortunately, I can't have you three running back to Canterlot City, risking you telling your little friends what happened here today, that simply won't do. Ladies and Gentlemen, I believe it's time to toss the rubbish." Cinch called out.

After the door is opened up by the cult, Cinch and the other cultists have the trio stand with their hands up, and their backs facing a large, wide, deep, dark open hole in the ground. "Legend has it that the eternal pit of despair is bottomless," Cinch struts up to Chance, smirking wildly as Chance scowls at her. "Let's test that theory." Cinch comments.

Cinch shoves Chance back as he falls into the hole, yelling out as he flails in the air. "Chance!!" Luna calls out.

Cinch looks at both Sunset and Luna, her smirk never faltering. "Now now, don't weep for him, he won't be alone for long!~" Cinch shoves both Sunset and Luna down into the hole, hearing their screams as she turns to her fellow members. "Come, we have treasures and power to claim." Cinch commands.

Cinch and the cultists walk away from the hole, moving forward as they seek treasure and power, while the screams of the trio echo out from the hole.

The trio fall down the pit, and Chance is trying to dial in an alien he can use. Chance pops the core up and pushes it down, changing into Riptile. Riptile digs his claws into the wall and holds onto it, slowing his descent into the hole, and grabs Sunset in the nick of time. He notices Luna still falling, so he uses his prehensile tongue to grab her, and pull her up.

Riptile sighs and lets Sunset ride on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck. Sunset was breathing erratically, and before Riptile can try calming her down, Sunset's eyes close and her breathing stops for a moment, causing her to slump and pass out on his back. Riptile grimaces and shudders, only to then glare down at the unconscious Luna in his hand. "Okay, this has gone on long enough, and I'm puttin' this crazy train back on the right track!" Riptile remarked.

Riptile starts hopping back up to the surface, bouncing from side to side of the large pit as he tried to get Sunset and Luna to safety.

Meanwhile, Cinch places the mask into place, and a flash from the door indicates its opening. The door slides open revealing an open room. There, a large pyramid shrine rests, where the sword of Ek Chuaj would be expected to sit, yet the blade was nowhere to be found. Nevertheless, Cinch was clearly satisfied with everything falling into place, and couldn't help but laugh. "Excellent, truly magnificent. Go, bring the sword to me, and I'll put the helmet on that poor excuse of a goddess." Cinch commands.

The cultists begin walking towards the sword, but are startled by two unsettling sounds echoing from behind them. One sounded like a snarl, and the other sounded like a twisted mockery of a bird's caw. Cinch looked around, but couldn't find the source of the sounds...

...that is, until a set of withered and rotting feathers suddenly appeared from above the cultists, and heavy footsteps could be heard from atop the pyramid's shrine.

Back at the pit, Riptile finally managed to get himself, along with Luna and Sunset back up to the surface. Riptile set Luna on the ground, and Riptile swaddled Sunset's body, trying to keep her head elevated. The sound of the Omnitrix timing out echoed across the interior of the chamber, but Chance didn't care about it at that moment.

A flash of red light was enough to bring Luna back to consciousness, and she looked over to see Chance trying to make sure Sunset was alright. Luna looked the other direction, and got herself back onto her feet, and started to go in the same direction that Cinch and her cult members went. "Luna stop, please! Sunset needs a few moments to wake up, you can't face what's in there on your own! Just have some patience and wait for us!" Chance pleaded.

Luna stopped and looked back at the teen, still trying to get Sunset to wake up. "I'm sorry, Marsten, but no can do. Cinch may already have the sword, and couple that blade's power with Freyja's helmet and the power it can provide, it may already be too late to stop her, and I'm the one who has to try." Luna proclaimed.

Chance was finally at his limit. Everything that happened today was driving him crazy. Luna's change in demeanor and attitude, the way she shrugged him and Sunset off, the way she cared more about some dirty ass helmet, rather than care about the well-being of her students, and she doesn't have the common decency to help one of her students regain consciousness.

Chance carefully laid Sunset on the ground, and stomped over towards Luna. Luna turned around, only to be met by Chance grabbing her arm, and backhanding her across the face, the impact of the slap rang out across the chamber, but he didn't care. "What you need to do is shut the fuck up, and for once today, listen to what I'm saying!!" Luna tore her arm out of Chance's grasp, but she didn't back away, she was just surprised by how much that backhand actually hurt. She was more surprised when Chance's eyes started to become redder in hue. "Ever since that damn alarm went off, that crusty, dirty, unwashed and unpolished helmet is all you think about! You didn't care that Sunset nearly fell to her death, you just gave a damn about that fuckin' hunk of metal! You're obsessed with that thing, and it isn't doing you, or those around you, any favors! You called this a Plumber mission, one of mine and Sunset's first, mind you, and if this is what being a Plumber is like, then to hell with the plumbers, and to hell with your fucking obsession! I want the old Luna back, Sunset wants the old Luna back, not this delusional, psychotic, and merciless mockery!!" Chance screamed out, clearly enraged by this point.

Chance felt like he was sweating all over, his body felt hot, like he was boiling alive, he felt like this back on Reinrassic's ship, and he could barely believe he was feeling this way towards Luna. Speaking of, Luna finally shook off the sting, and could hear Chance's anger and sheer vitriol echo through the chamber. Luna shook her head and scowled at the teen, but he didn't back down. "You two have to keep your eyes on the prize and remember what's important here, otherwise you're doing this for nothing." Luna reprimanded.

Chance scoffed. "That's fuckin' rich, coming from you. We always remembered what's important, it's you who forgot." Chance stated gravely.

Luna pauses for a moment, her expression softens up a lot as a look of hurt forms in her eyes. Before Luna can try to say anything, the sounds of snarling and a twisted mockery of a bird's caw echoes out from the room up ahead. Luna and Chance run forward to check it out, though it's clear that Luna has made a grave error on her part.

Within the neighboring chamber, Cinch and her cult members are being tossed aside by two giant creatures, one who's face resembles the mask Cinch had, and the other looked like a Skeletal figure with a set of rotting feathers clinging to huge boney wings, dressed in tattered robes and damaged pieces of armor, all while long flowing locks of blonde and crimson hair fly out, wielding the blade Ek Chuaj.

Luna and Chance watch on from behind a corner, both equally shocked and concerned for their own chances in this fight. Chance looks at the two creatures, and looks at them both with a curious expression. "Now why do they look so familiar?" Chance questioned sarcastically.

Luna sighed. "It must be Ah Puch, the Mayan god of death and the underworld, making meals out of the cultists. But Freyja, the Norse Goddess of War, she's... oh dear god, she's nothing but bones. She's also wielding the sword of Ek Chuaj, likely due to her position as a Valkyrie." Luna explained.

Chance didn't bother to respond, he looked at the Omnitrix, seeing that it was still recharging. "Then I'm going in there, and I'm putting a stop to this," Chance gets ready to go into the chamber, until Luna grabs his arm. Chance looks back, and sees that she's trembling. "If you're going to try and stop me, I-" Before Chance could finish his sentence, Luna pulled him into a tight hug. Chance didn't want to return the gesture, he was still pretty pissed off with her behavior all day, but he felt bad that he had to scream at her to get her to see reason. Against his better judgement, he returned the embrace. "Any reason why we're doing this? You know I'm still mad at you." Chance questioned.

Luna nods her head, but she doesn't let him go. She sniffs and looks the teenager in the eye. "I know you are, you and miss Shimmer have every right to be, after today. I... I just want you to know that I'm sorry, and while I can't excuse my behavior, I'm not asking you to forgive me... not now, at least," The two didn't let each other go yet, they didn't want to. "Mister Mar--... Chance, I didn't mean what I said to you, or miss Shimmer, I was just so focused, so... obsessed, about finding all of this, that I didn't bother taking your feelings and thoughts into consideration. I'm so, so, so sorry..." Luna whispered.

Chance gently patted her back, and she finally let him go. "Go, you handle Ah Puch and Freyja, I'll keep Cinch and her crazed cult distracted. Grab that helmet and get it onto Freyja's head, that should put her at ease." Luna instructed.

Chance nodded and walked towards the entrance, but then he looked back at Luna. "For what it's worth, it's good to have the real you back, just wish we got the real you back sooner." Chance remarked, running head first into the fight of his life.

On this day, Chance picks a fight with two gods, and he knows damn well he's going to do all he can to win, even if it means doing something particularly stupid.

As Luna ran and jump kicked one of the cultists, the others flocked to her like flies to rotten fruit. Chance ran forward, noticing that the Omnitrix finally finished recharging, glowing green as he activated it. "Hey, you colossal butt-uglies!! How's about you forget the dipshits for a moment, and fight someone that's worth your time instead!" Chance called out.

Freyja and Ah Puch roared out and descended down upon the teenager, but before they did, a flash of green light shined out, transforming Chance into Armethyst. The crystalline alien shot energy blasts at both of the gods, and managed to knock them back a fair bit, but not enough to take them out entirely. The crystal hero ran forward and delivered a few powerful punches to Ah Puch, but Freyja sliced at the hero with the sword of Ek Chuaj, sending a powerful golden light slashing in his direction.

Armethyst jumped right at the attack, letting his body absorb the energy as he readied himself to fire crystal shards at the pair of deities. He fired energy-infused crystal shards at Freyja and Ah Puch, and while they did do some significant damage, they were still charging at him. "Alright, let's get ready to rumble!!" Armethyst yelled out, forming his arms into blades as the two gods lunged at him.

Luna was keeping the cultists busy as she fought them off, occasionally dodging Cinch's attempts to cut into her with an old sword she found. It may not have been the blade of Ek Chuaj, but it could still do some damage if Luna wasn't careful. Luna grabbed one member and put them in a full-nelson, only to let them go and roll to the left when Cinch tried to stab her, only to stab one of her members instead. The man cried out in pain, holding their bleeding wound, but Cinch didn't help him, she ripped the blade from the man's stomach and left him to keep attacking Luna, essentially leaving the man to bleed out while the other cult members panicked.

Luna ducked and dodged the blade every chance she could, but Cinch was persistent, and very angry. "Everything was perfect, Crystal Prep was on top, and Canterlot High was where it should've stayed; On the bottom, grazing on a steady supply of defeat! Now, it'll be you who fails again, when I rip the blade of Ek Chuaj from Freyja's hands, and use its power in tandem with her very helmet, to crush you beneath my heel!" Cinch cried out, swinging the blade in her hands more in an erratic manner.

Luna managed to dodge one of the hits, and managed to land a couple hits on Cinch, causing her to get far more aggressive. Luna notices the helmet resting near one of the steps, and slowly leads Cinch over to it, all while avoiding her strikes. As they continued fighting, Armethyst was starting to lose his edge in the fight between him, Ah Puch and Freyja. Freyja managed to keep Armethyst still for long enough that Ah Puch could tear off Armethyst's arms, and then crushes them to dust in his hands. While it did hurt for the hero, the two gods were stunned to see him regenerate them and break free. "Not cool, man!" Armethyst yelled out, slugging Ah Puch in the face.

Armethyst slowly starts beating the Mayan god back with every hit he landed, but then Ah Puch grabbed Armethyst and started to gain an advantage of his own. Ah Puch charges into several pillars and other debris, knocking him through all of it as he used Armethyst like a battering ram. The hero's almost able to gain the upper hand when he slices Ah Puch across the face with one of his crystal blades, but the Mayan god of death breaks the blade off and knocks him back, sending him flying out of the chamber, and making him slide across the floor, eventually coming up on the still unconscious Sunset Shimmer.

Armethyst slowly gets back up, letting his wounds regenerate, but Ah Puch and Freyja start moving towards him, and the Omnitrix starts to time out. Armethyst groans as he transforms back into Chance, but the human was clearly not that excited to be met by a couple of feral gods. Chance looked back at the supposed bottomless pit, and gets an idea. Chance steps back, stepping closer and closer to the pit, and outstretches his arms, as if he was inviting the gods to strike him down.

Ah Puch made the attempt to lunge at the teen, only for Chance to roll underneath the Mayan god of death, and watches as Ah Puch dives head first into the pit, roaring out as he plummets into darkness. Chance looks up, noticing Freyja flapping her molting skeletal wings as she stares the human down. Chance puts his hands up and gets in a boxer's stance, readying himself for whatever's to come. However, Freyja doesn't seem to be attacking, which confused the alien hero more than it pissed him off.

Chance groans, growing impatient of when the goddess would attack. "What're you waiting for, ya meatless turkey! Throw a damn punch already!" Freyja let out a deafening caw in the human's face, but again, it didn't attack him. "So that's it, you're gonna scream in my face, and do literally nothing else?" Freyja didn't respond, not that he expected a response at all. Freyja let out its twisted caw again, but it was much tamer in its tone. "I think you're trying to talk, but I don't understand what your bird sounds mean! Can you speak any English, like at all, so I can understand?" Chance called out.

Freyja seemed to understand that, at least, and landed, letting her empty eye sockets stare into the human's eyes. "Þú, formbreytandi mannsins. Þú berst eins og nýgræðingur, en eldurinn í hjarta þínu brennur af hreinleika, hreinleika sem var einu sinni yfirgefin fyrir mörgum árum--"

Chance held his hand up and shook his head, interrupting the goddess' speech. "You're talking in another language that I don't understand. English, not... whatever you're speaking at this moment. I'm not trying to be rude, I genuinely don't understand the language." Chance explained.

Freyja nodded and began adjusting some of the bones around her face, even rearranging the structure of her spine. Eventually, she stopped and attempted to speak. "Can you understand now?" Freyja spoke, her voice raspy and hoarse, but at the same time, it sounded strong, yet comforting. Chance nodded, gesturing for the goddess to continue speaking. "Shape-changer of Man. You fight like a novice fledgling, but the fire in your heart burns with a purity, a purity that was once abandoned by you, years ago." Freyja stated.

Chance raised an eyebrow. "The hell's that supposed to mean!?" Chance questioned, feeling a bit offended.

Freyja ignored the human's question, and continued to speak. "Hear me, juvenile of the modern world, Ah Puch has grown bitter and bloodthirsty against mortals of all walks of life. I came here to soothe his soul and ease his rage, but in the end, it's now my soul that yearns for rest," Chance looked back down at the pit, noticing that he never heard the sound of an impact during this conversation, but he did hear the faint sound of climbing coming from below. "You wore my helmet. Normally, a fellow Valkyrie, or a female of strong warrior descent can see the memories I once held dear, but you, while you are a descendant of a strong warrior, you can't comprehend its power... but, by bestowing my Helm back to mine possession, you will put my soul to rest, and ensure that my power will not be misused by greedy, revenge-driven mortals, like Abacus Cinch." Freyja explained.

The sound of climbing becomes louder, and more erratic as Ah Puch roars out from the pit. "Put mine soul to rest, and leave this accursed place. No more innocence should die here, let it end with those impure occultists, who proved to be unworthy of mine power, knowledge, and treasure." Freyja requested.

Freyja leaned against the wall, falling to the ground as if she lost the strength to keep going. Chance picked up Sunset and put her on her back, making a run for the chamber to get that helmet. As Chance runs, Sunset starts to wake up. "Uhg... my head. Bud, what's goin' on? Where's Luna?" Sunset asked groggily, trying to snap out of her daze.

Chance sighed. "Explanations later when we're not in danger, right now, I need to get that helmet back to Freyja, and we need to get the fuck out of here!" Chance briefly explained.

Luna continued to keep evading Cinch's attacks, until a couple managed to slice through her shirt, and cut into her sides, making Luna stumble back as she started to bleed. Luna fell back, shielding the helmet with her body as Cinch raised her blade up, ready to deliver the final strike. "This is it for you, Luna Equinox, the end of your road. Any last words before whatever afterlife takes hold of your soul!?" Cinch asked.

Luna grimaced, but looked behind her attacker for a moment, before letting a smirk form on her face. "You mess with me, you mess with my kids, and they are not happy with either of us." Luna grunted.

Cinch raised an eyebrow at that remark, before a hand grabbed a fistful of her bun and pulled her back with an aggressive amount of force. Chance was carrying Sunset on his back, and Sunset was dragging Cinch away by her hair bun, and managed to put her hand onto Cinch's face. "Sleep!!" Sunset commanded.

Before Cinch could try and resist, she was out like a light, passing out and snoring on the ancient stone floor. Chance let Sunset get off his back, and the two ran over to Luna. "Hey, you alright? Ya got cut pretty bad." Chance asked.

Luna nodded, smiling a bit. "I'll live. I was almost certain you two wouldn't come back for me." Luna confessed.

Chance and Sunset sighed, both teens were drastically exhausted. "Just because we're pissed off at what you put us through today, doesn't mean we're leaving you to die. We'd be no better than Cinch, and I'm still surprised she went this far just to get revenge." Sunset admitted.

Chance nodded. "We can discuss that problem later, we need to get out of here before Ah Puch comes back. Managed to get him to jump into the pit, but he won't stay there for much longer. How do we heal her wounds without those senzu things, or a med kit, for that matter?" Chance questioned.

Sunset tore off both of her t-shirt's sleeves and pushed them into her wounds, trying to stop the bleeding. "This should work until we get a med kit. How do we get out of here?" Sunset questioned.

Chance looked at the Omnitrix, noticing that was still in the midst of recharging. He looked around, and saw the helmet on Luna's left. He grabbed it, and looked back at Freyja, who was still slumped against the wall. It was at that moment that Chance got an idea. "This might sound crazy, but I think our ticket out of here involves a bit of "Divine Intervention"." Chance remarked.

The temple started to shake, and the interior starts to crumble. "Hurry, you pick one shoulder, I got the other!" Sunset suggested.

Chance and Sunset quickly got under Sunset's arms and hoisted her over her shoulders, carrying her out of the chamber as they ran towards Freyja's body. "Hey, listen, thanks for not killing me and my friends, I appreciate it, but can you get us out of here? You save our lives one more time, and you get your helmet back, I promise!" Chance pleaded.

Ah Puch's roar echoed out as he finally started to climb out of the pit, regaining his footing. Chance, with no more options left, placed the helmet on Freyja, and the trio grabbed hold of the goddess' ribcage. In a flash of golden light, Freyja's skeleton flew past Ah Puch, who was shoulder checked back into the pit as the temple started collapsing.

On the outside, Freyja drops the trio to the ground, and returns to the interior of the temple. The trio watch as the temple falls and crumbles, all while the sounds of startled animals cry out from the jungle as they scatter. Luna looks dead on before turning to see the two teenagers. Luna removes the now ripped and bloodied sleeves from her wounds, to find that her wounds have been instantaneously healed. "Guess the Goddess Freyja was one of the merciful gods, otherwise, she could've ripped us apart after giving her back the helmet she cherished. How do you feel?" Sunset asked.

Luna smiled softly. "Like a million bucks, but I feel like I owe you both a lot more," Chance looked away, while Sunset gave Luna a hug. "I'm sorry for how I treated you both, it wasn't okay for me to act like that, no matter the circumstance. I'm not asking for your forgiveness, nor do I expect it, but--" Luna was nearly knocked back a bit as Chance charged at her, and squeezed her tightly, along with Sunset getting the brunt of the sudden embrace. "Chance, are you alright?!" Luna asked, taken aback by the sudden heel turn.

Chance gritted his teeth and didn't let them go, though Luna could feel her shirt getting wet, and heard muffled and stifled sobs. "No, I'm not!! Don't get me wrong, I am still mad and I need time to get my thoughts in order. But, I'm just glad that you're both not dead, or worse! Stop scaring the hell out of me like this, I hate it when you guys do that!!" Chance sobbed.

Sunset rubbed the boy's back, and after a bit of comforting each other and several more apologies, the trio look around until Chance suddenly realizes something. "Uh oh..." Chance muttered, wiping the tears from his eyes.

Sunset looked at her friend. "What's wrong now, bud?" Sunset asked.

Chance looked around, then back at the Omnitrix. "Without Fumesquito or Riptile to travel long distances with passengers, how are we getting back to the RV from here?" The trio look around for a couple moments, and soon take notice the cultists' helicopter hidden amongst the tree. "Luna, in all your years of being a Plumber, you wouldn't happen to know to actually fly one of these birds, do you?" Chance asked.

Luna smirked and walked towards the Helicopter. "Come on, you two, let's get back on the road." Luna said.

The Helicopter flies above the jungle and towards the horizon, with the two teens smiling, glad that they survived such an ordeal, though Chance is still trying to wrangle in his emotions about what happened prior, he is glad this little adventure gave him the kind of experience he never thought he'd get. Fighting two gods, and making an ally out of one of them.

"Y'know, I just realized we left Cinch and her cult down there with Ah Puch, and Freyja's spirit is at peace now, I think. Do you think they survived and escaped?" Chance asked.

Sunset's eyes widened. "Oh shoot! I completely forgot about that. Well, if she didn't already have a reason to want us dead, she'll have another one now if she survived. I mean, we barely got away with our lives, this time, who knows if she escaped!" Sunset commented.

Luna smiled. "If she and her cult did escape, we'll be ready for her next time. Wish we could take this helicopter with us, but we can't run the risk of them getting it back, or them tracking it to our next location," Luna looks back at Chance, who notices her gaze. "Mister Marsten, would you be capable of destroying it?" Luna asked.

Chance smiled. "It'll be my pleasure." Chance accepted, nodding to the vice principal.

Author's Note

And this was my version of 'Ultimate Weapon'. I figured I'd want to try tackling this episode for a multitude of reasons.

The first reason is that we're finally introduced to the Forever Knights of this universe. It also made sense to bring an Equestria Girls villain back that never showed up again (as far as I know), and give them a chance to take revenge. So, I chose Cinch, because she already seemed batshit crazy.

The second reason was that I wanted to implement the concept that certain mythological pantheons have some form of unrecorded history, knowing these gods and goddesses likely crossed each other's paths for one reason or another, it makes me feel a sense of satisfaction to lay this kind of ground work for future story ideas.

I also wanted to tackle how strained Chance and Sunset's relationship with Luna would be, in comparison to how strained Ben and Gwen's relationship with their grandfather, Max, was in the original episode.

When Luna snaps or gets impatient with Chance, it's resurfacing trauma from the past, indicating that Chance has had verbal fights with Jean and/or Moonshine in the past, and he doesn't like fighting with Luna in this manner, fearing that his opinion of her will sour as a result, so he goes along with it the best he can, until he finally breaks under the pressure.

When Luna doesn't take Sunset's concerns into consideration, it almost feels like she's not being taken seriously, which reminds her a lot of herself, when she didn't listen to a certain someone from her past. When Sunset passes out, that's the tipping point for both of these teenagers to realize that this helmet nonsense has driven Luna crazy with her obsession, and needs to be brought back to reality.

I also didn't change this episode a whole lot, just because I felt like I wanted to keep to the original script for this one. Sure, I included Norse Mythology into the mix and had a Mayan God interact with a Norse Goddess, that's cool and all, but it's still the same as the original episode's canon.

One thing I will admit, however, is that Chance and Sunset are starting to question what the plumbers actually did when they used to be active, and Luna's change in demeanor, behavior, and the way she talked to and treated them during this episode was not the best impression. I was focusing on that aspect a lot, and wanted it to matter, as the story keeps going forward.

It may seem like everything's fine at the end, but this will be important, especially later.

Hope you enjoyed, and sorry for the lengthy Author's note this time around, I had a bit more to say about this one, compared to others.

S2, Episode 7: O' the Glory to Pushin' Daisies

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

O' the Glory to Pushin' Daisies

On a moonlit rainy night, the RV drives through the mountains, and all seems peaceful. On the inside, however, there's chaos being stirred amongst the teenaged passengers. "Just throw it away, Chance, it's not that big a deal!" Sunset yelled out.

Chance groaned, clearly annoyed. "How about no! Besides, it's your turn anyway, and I already fulfilled my responsibilities for the week!" Chance argued.

Luna looks on ahead of the road, her eye twitches as the two teenagers argue in the back. Chance and Sunset were near their beds, and it was clear that Sunset didn't appreciate finding Chance's torn up shirt, the one he wore during his first encounter with Gilda, suddenly dangling near her face.

Sunset groaned, looking frustrated. "It's just a shirt, ya dipstick! Look, I get things haven't been easy lately when it comes to not knowing what Gilda's up to, she's out in space for crying out loud," Chance looked away, but Sunset forced her friend to look at her. "But that doesn't mean you have to obsess over that first encounter, or ya might end up like how Luna did a couple days ago with that helmet!" Sunset remarked.

Chance snatched the ripped shirt from Sunset's hands and glared. "You wouldn't get it unless you were in my position when it happened. One moment, she stabs me in the back and rightfully blames me for her mutation," Sunset glared at him for a moment, but he kept going. "Now, I'm thrown for a loop! She saved my life and made me go back to Earth! She could've stranded me on the moon, or force me to be sent to another galaxy, for all I know, but she wanted me to leave her behind, and go back to Earth. I'm not saying she can be saved, but maybe the possibility isn't as small and minute as I initially thought. Bottom line, I like to remind myself why I keep going the way I am with that shirt, it's not that bad." Chance explained, still arguing his point.

Sunset took a deep breath and sighed. She was still mad, but in a strange way, she knew where he was coming from, but that didn't justify keeping a dirty ripped shirt for weeks, nearly a month and a half without repairing it, or even cleaning it. "Bud, I get it, but you could at least clean the damn thing! it's your shirt, and if you're not gonna use it, fix it or clean it, then toss it in the trash, for god's sake!" Sunset rationalized.

Chance rolls his eyes and decides to comply, opening the window, and chucking the shirt out into the night, drifting amidst the pouring rain. "There, ya happy, princess?" Chance asked in a mocking tone.

Sunset scowls at the boy, and he scowls at her right back. "I didn't say for you to toss it out of the RV!! Honestly, is it that hard to be responsible!?" Sunset remarked.

Chance frowned. "I've saved innocent lives, even some of the guilty ones, with my alien powers. I don't misuse them for my entertainment," Sunset looked at him skeptically, and Chance sighed. "Okay, I did it the one time, but you were enjoying it too, that was before Luna told us about the Plumbers, that can't possibly count! I can afford to be a little lazy, every now and then, I'm human, too, ya know!" Chance argued.

The two yelled in frustration and went to the booth, sitting on opposite sides of each other. Chance pops his left shoe off and starts scratching his foot like a madman. "Look, I just wanted to take a nap and ignore the itching sensation that's driving my foot crazy, but you're starting to drive me crazy!" Chance rebutted.

Sunset groaned. "I'm telling you this because I'm your friend, you need to learn a little something about personal responsibility!" Sunset argued.

Chance pulled his sock off and started scratching his foot, even putting it on the table to relieve the itching sensation better. "Man, my foot is itching like crazy!! It's like ants are crawlin' in my foot or something!!" Chance griped.

Luna sighed, reaching under her seat as she grabbed a yellow bottle. "Chance, here's something to relieve that itching. It gets rid of all kinds of fungus," Luna tosses the bottle and Chance manages to catch it. "I don't know why you two are arguing over this, even Celestia and I argued, don't get me wrong, but we never argued over something as small as this, what's the real issue between you two?" Luna asked.

Sunset looks up from her laptop and sighs. "I'm trying to figure that out myself, he woke up on the wrong side of the bed today." Sunset griped.

Chance groaned. "Only because you did first," Sunset sneers at that comment and puts in her headphones. Chance reads the label on the bottle. "Athlete's Foot Powder"? Well, I guess I am an athlete, of sorts." Chance comments, opening the bottle.

Sunset rolls her eyes. "An athletic supporter, maybe, but an athlete, you are not." Sunset remarked.

Chance glares at the girl across from him and applies the powder to his shoe, even putting some of it in his sock before slipping them back on.

As Luna drives down the slick wet road, two young boys limp out onto the road, holding each other up. They're both dressed in camp uniforms similar to that of Camp Everfree's, but they were a yellow-ish green with dark green pine trees on their left sleeve. One boy looked like he had tanned skin, while the other had cocoa brown skin. One had black hair that was combed back, and the other had messy and spiky light brown hair, and both had some kind of mold-like infection on each other's opposite arms.

The two looked ahead, seeing headlights coming their way. They froze up, and started to scream as the headlights catch them. "They're coming! Heeeelp uuusss!" The two boys exclaimed in unison.

Luna's eyes widened as she slammed on the brakes as fast as she could, but with how slick the road was, she was fearing the possibility that the RV wouldn't stop in time. The teens noticed the RV trying to stop, and looked up ahead. "Miss Luna!!" The two teens exclaimed.

Luna turns the RV and swerves on the road, trying to not hit the children, and much to her luck, she doesn't. However, the two boys are clearly experiencing shock, and nearly fall off the cliff as they hang on to an exposed tree root, hanging on for dear life to avoid the injury, or death, by the tall drop. Luna is about to tell the two teens to save them, but Chance was already out the door, sprinting with a determined, and fearful look in his eyes. Chance transformed into Tallahoss without a moment of hesitation and looked down over the rail, seeing the two boys hanging there.

Tallahoss jumps off the cliff and grabs the two boys as he falls. They yell and scream as they descend, but the Vreedle holds them close as he takes the full extent of the fall. Tallahoss guards the two boys as they keep tumbling down the hill, hitting the forest floor as they roll into a clearing.

The two boys are disoriented, they open their eyes as they look at Tallahoss' face. "You two alright, no broken bones, bruises and such?" Tallahoss seemed unfazed that he had a large tree branch or two sticking out through his body, which freaked the two boys out a lot, causing them to faint on the ground. "I'm gonna take that as a "no", just in case. Better get these fellers back to the RV, can't risk 'em catchin' a cold," Tallahoss notices the mossy infected growths on their arms and becomes more concerned. "And that doesn't seem like your run of the mill common cold, either... darn it." Tallahoss gritted, carrying the two boys under his arms as he ran back the way he fell.

Back at the RV, the two boys are more easily identifiable as they lay in the booths, covered up the best they could. Chance seems to be over-examining the unconscious boys, a look of concern plastered on his face. "They're fine, right? There's nothing wrong with them in any way?" Chance asked.

Luna was surprised by Chance's change in attitude, but decided to keep it to herself. "Yes, like you asked me the last four times since you brought them back up here, they're fine. The mossy growths on their arms are rather odd, but it can be treated. It'll take a little time, maybe three-to-four and a half hours to clear up, but they'll be fine, you don't need to worry so much." Luna reassured.

Sunset looked at the two boys, and her eyes widened. "Holy shit, this is Button Mash and Rumble! They're a long ways away from Canterlot City, and judging by their outfits, rather than going to Camp Everfree, they must've signed up to go to Camp Opinicon this summer instead." Sunset explained.

Chance looked at her in confusion. "Rumble? Like, Thunderlane's little brother? Damn, if he knew what happened to his brother right now, he'd be freaking the hell out, much like I am!" Chance looked over at Button Mash, seeming more confused. "So, Button Mash left Canterlot City, too? Guess his mom was finally fed up with him playing those games so often, thought going to a summer camp outside of Canterlot City's limits would do him some good, now look at 'em, they got moss growing on their arms like a damn staff infection! Who the hell is watching out for these kids!?" Chance questioned, clearly pissed off at the situation.

Luna put a hand on Chance's shoulder. "Let's find out, then. I saw a sign for the camp a little ways back. They must have a nurse." Luna suggested.

Chance's eye twitched, and a look of fury formed on his face. "What a great idea, go ask the nurse that was supposed to keep an eye on two infected campers, and lo and behold, because they didn't do her job, these two nearly got ran over!" Luna could tell the boy was angry, but from the sounds of it, he was particularly pissed, she could hear his vocal chords straining to keep his anger in check. "If there's a nurse still there, they're getting every piece of my mind, whether they asked for it, or not!" Chance yelled, hopping in the front seat and strapping himself in.

Luna and Sunset looked at each other, and regardless of what Chance's motives were, they needed to get to the bottom of this. Luna got herself in the driver's seat, and Sunset sat on her bed as the RV drove down the road, making an immediate change of plan to go to Camp Opinicon.

After an hour of driving, Luna finally spots a sign reading "Camp Opinicon" and parks in front of the main building, as it continues to rain and thunder. The trio walk in, with Chance leading the march, anger and frustration boiled up inside, it almost felt like he was going to explode into a raging fire ball. "Just remember, Chance, we need to talk to them." Sunset cautioned.

Chance slammed his fist on the double doors. "Hellooo? Anybody home?" There wasn't a response. They waited for a few minutes, but no one came to the door. Chance knocked on the door even harder, even showing that the door was starting to splinter due to how hard he was knocking on the wood. "Chance, calm down, I know you're clearly angry, but let's handle this with some tact, let's calm down and be rational." Luna stated calmly.

Chance took a deep breath, and gently pushed the doors open, exhaling as he tried to calm himself down. The inside of the building was some kind of dining hall, and judging by the sense of warmth they felt in the air, there was food recently made. Sunset closed the doors and the trio looked around. "This place looks abandoned, recently," Luna looked over to a plate of spaghetti, and held her hand over it. The steam that came off it was warm upon contact. "Food's still warm, meaning it was recently prepared. Looks like they left in a hurry." Luna identified.

Sunset looked over at Chance, who was trying to control his emotions. "Maybe they heard Chance was coming down, it would explain why everyone, including the staff, are basically nowhere in sight." Sunset joked.

Chance whipped around and glared at the girl, startling her for a moment with how fast he got up in her face. "Two kids are in the RV, likely sick from some kind of infection, and were abandoned, left behind by the staff. Make jokes all you want, I'm taking this seriously, and I'm going to seriously hurt the heartless freaks who thought abandoning children like this, was a "genius" idea on their part!" Chance gritted through his teeth.

The sheer rage and vitriol could be felt in every word, and Sunset didn't need to use her powers to finally understand why he was getting angry. This felt personal, and judging by how emotionally charged her friend was at that moment, Chance was going to make someone, or something pay for this. Suddenly, they hear a sudden loud crash of thunder, and the lights go out.

Quickly, Luna pulls out her phone and turns on the flashlight it had. He shines it on Sunset, then on Chance, who decided to use a few of the paper towels to cover up the spaghetti. Chance looks over at her, and frowns. "What?! I'm making sure we can save this for when those two in the RV wake up, they're likely gonna be hungry, and who knows how long they've gone without food before we showed up! It may seem like the staff recently left, but who truly knows, besides those kids?" Chance remarked defensively.

Luna decides to not argue with the teen, and hands a second flashlight to Sunset. "You two can share this one, if you're not still bickering over your personal issue." Luna commented.

Sunset clicked the flashlight on, and Chance quickly made sure the plate of food was properly covered and secure. Sunset shines the light on her friend, who clearly wasn't in a good mood. Sunset sighs, reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry about the joke. If I knew you were gonna take it personally, I wouldn't've made it, I didn't think you'd take it too seriously anyway," She noticed how Chance's mood and attitude seems to have lessened, yet he still felt incredibly intense. "Pal, just how personal does this feel for you? Is this resurfacing bad memories?" Sunset asked, genuinely trying to understand her friend's alteration in attitude.

Chance didn't answer, but for Sunset, that was all she needed to know. Before she could pry any further, the sound of crashing pots from the kitchen interrupts them. As they shine their lights at the door, they could see someone wearing a camp uniform retreat into the shadows, only to vanish from their sight.

Luna moves forward, shining her light through the door window before opening it and exploring the kitchen. As Sunset walks forward with the flashlight, Chance follows close behind, braving the cover of darkness with no sign of backing down. At the end of the kitchen, Sunset rests her flashlight on a pantry door slightly ajar, with six pairs of eyes glowing back at her, making her blood run cold.

"AAHHH!!!!" Sunset shrieked, jumping back as she bumped into Chance.

The flashlight fell out of her hands, rolling on the ground as it reveals that the eyes only belong to three small kids, each one they recognized. One was the daughter of Spoiled Rich and Filthy Rich, otherwise known back at CHS, as Diamond Tiara. The other two were kids that Sunset knew more personally. One had faded red hair, styled to look like Dash's hair style, tanned skin and magenta eyes. To Sunset, this was Dash's biggest fan girl, Scootaloo. The other girl was a bit prettier, in the sense that she had a bit more makeup on, though most if it looked ruined now. Mascara ran down her face, her hair was frazzled, and she looked like the other two girls she hid with. Terrified for their lives. This girl was also Rarity's younger sister, Sweetie Belle.

Luna and Sunset were shocked, as was Chance, but he was justifiably pissed that not one, not two, but five children were abandoned and left behind. "Is it safe to come out?" The three girls asked, shuddering in fear.

Chance nodded to the kids and motioned for them to come out. "Considering no one else seems to be here, kids, adults, or otherwise, you are, in fact, safe to come out, nothing's gonna get you," The three of them were scared, but they slowly stepped out of the pantry, with the three of them running to Luna and Sunset. "Kids, if you don't mind me asking, where's the nurse, or the counselors for that matter?" Chance asked, making sure his tone was not aggressive and loud, but soft and welcoming, trying not to perceive himself as a threat.

Scootaloo stepped forward. "W-We heard something outside. We thought it was one of the counselors, but i-it wasn't... it... i-it-it..." Scootaloo shuddered, tears whelled up in her eyes as she clutched onto Sunset.

Diamond Tiara stepped forward. "It was some kind of freak nasty monster!! It crawled out of the ground and started attacking people. Campers, counselors, the nurse, too! Some of the adults tried to evacuate as many as they could, but they left without us. We were running to the buses, but the doors closed and they sped off, all while the monsters tried to get us." Diamond explained, shaking profusely.

Chance looks over to the wall, noticing a wall-mounted phone. He quickly goes over to it and puts the receiver to his ear, but no noise comes of it. "Landline's down, probably because of the storm, classic horror movie cliché," Another crash of thunder rings out, causing the kids to cling to Sunset and Luna more. "How many of you were left behind, if you can remember?" Chance asked.

Sweetie stepped forward and cleared her throat. "About twenty-five of us were... They picked us off, separated us and the camp just got quieter and quieter the more people they took," Chance's blood ran cold, yet he felt it reach a boiling point, and the chill that ran up his spine just made him feel sick. "Button, Rumble, Scoots, Diamond and I are all that's left... w-we don't know where Rumble and B-Button went, but they s-said they were g-going to... t-to get help..." Sweetie felt Scootaloo pull her into a hug as she started to whimper.

Chance clutched his head, his anger and rage was at a fever pitch, but he still made the attempt to wrangle his emotions in, save them for the freak that deserved it. "Okay, is there any food or non-perishables left in that pantry?" The three girls slowly nodded, and Chance moved over to one of the tables, yanking the table cloth off. Chance went into the pantry, yanking the flashlight out of Sunset's hands so he can use it as a light source. The sound of rummaging through shelves could be heard, as well as some kind of fabric being tied together. Chance came out, carrying the table cloth, which was then used as a makeshift bag to hold the non-perishable foods inside. "Alright, here's the plan. In case we end up stuck here for a little bit longer, we're gathering all the food in the pantry, as well as taking whatever medication is still in the nurse's office, just to be safe. By the way, don't worry about Rumble and Button, we managed to find them before this weird monster thing could, they're resting and recovering in our RV, they'll be fine, and you three will be too," Chance sat the bag of food near the front door. "Luna and Sunset, you take care of the food situation, I'm going to raid that nurse's office and grab what I can, or grab whatever's left. You three get in the RV and make yourselves comfortable, talk to Sunset or Luna if you need anything, or if something about Rumble and Button change. I'll be back in a flash." Chance explained, running out of the front doors before anyone could object.

Luna and Sunset looked at each other, both rendered speechless by what just happened. "Did a switch get flipped in his head when he tumbled down the hill? This is clearly personal to him, but that was the first time I ever saw him act like that. What just happened?" Sunset looked over at Luna, who was guiding the three to the RV. "Miss Luna, do you have any idea what could've happened to him?" Sunset asked.

Luna shakes her head, much to Sunset's dissatisfaction. Luna waited till the three girls entered the RV, and closed the door, only to look at Sunset, seeing the confusion and concern on her face. "I'm not entirely sure, but one thing I can agree with you on is that this whole situation, children being abandoned and essentially left behind to rot... it's striking a personal cord with mister Marsten, likely making him remember a memory from when he was their age," Sunset's eyes widen a bit, a twinge of worry washes over her as she looks at the nurse's office nearby, to which Chance is trying to break into with a crowbar he found lying around. "He is on the defensive, he's emotional, he knows what it's like to be that young, to be afraid, to be in danger in a place you're supposed to feel safe, he's likely experiencing some kind of emotional attack, and is trying to cope... he wants to hurt whatever or whoever did this, the thing that put innocent children at risk of injury, illness, and death. He's trying harder than he ever has before to make sure these kids are secure and safe from danger, just to make sure no more children end up getting taken by whatever's here, end up dead, left behind... or worse. Go after mister Marsten, try to reel him back to reality and assure him that he's not alone in this. I'll stay here, and keep an eye on the kids." Luna expressed.

Sunset nodded and ran in the direction Chance did moments ago, while Luna walks to the RV, unaware that something is watching them... something that's become rather green with envy, as it hides in the shadows, glaring at Sunset, in particular.

Chance forces the door open to the nurse's office. Almost immediately, he sees a cabinet full of medicine bottles and boxes, each one likely full of pills, pain relievers or supplements of a similar sort. Chance, unwavered by this stroke of luck, marches inside, the sound of wood and glass crunching beneath his shoes didn't stop him as he tried to open the cabinet.

Chance pulled on the doors, but they wouldn't budge. Confused, the hero tried again, only to be met by the same result. Chance looked down, and noticed a metal coil attached to a padlock, and it was bound around the cabinet door's handles. Chance wasn't going to give up so easily, so without a moment of hesitation, Chance looked around and noticed a baseball bat underneath the nurse's desk. Chance took a moment to look at the office as a whole, noticing how scattered and thrown around everything was. It was like a struggle happened here, and the fact that he forced the locked door open didn't do anything but help add to the carnage.

Chance reached down and grabbed the bat, feeling the sensation of cold metal on his skin as he lifted it up. Just as he turned around, he saw Sunset standing in the doorway, growing concerned for her friend. "Hey, I see ya found a bat. It's not exactly the right time to be playing little league, ya know?" Chance didn't respond, he just moved forward and readied the bat, focusing on the glass windows of the cabinet. Sunset panicked and grabbed the bat, which seemed to be pissing him off. "Chance, I'm sure there's a spare key somewhere, we don't have to wreck this place... well, no more than it already was. I know you're trying to do what's best for those kids, I get it and I respect that, but on the off chance the staff come back after the problem's been solved, let's not make things harder for others, okay?" Sunset requested.

Chance's expression lessened as he lowered the bat, but he didn't let it go. Sunset walked over to the nurse's desk and started looking through the drawers, all while keeping an eye on her friend, but the both of them were clearly unaware that something was watching them both "They don't deserve this," Sunset looked at her friend, seeing the distress, the hate, the rage, the fear, the concern, it all felt too familiar, he couldn't hold his emotions in check for long, and he needed to vent his frustration. "They didn't deserve to go through any of this, that's not okay at all." Chance gritted, clenching his teeth together as if he was straining to hold something back.

Sunset looked through one of the larger drawers, and managed to find a small key buried under a couple files. "I know, it's a scary situation for all of us, but we can still save these kids from... whatever's causing this. We just need to push forward and keep our heads together," Chance fell silent, and for a moment, Sunset felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, all while Chance's body trembled and shook. "Chance, just calm down, there's nothing we could've-"

Chance whipped around, glaring at Sunset with a burning fury in his eyes. She could see the tears welling up in the corners of his eyes, and the way he moved himself around, he was struggling to keep his emotions in check. "Twenty-Five, Sunset. TWENTY-FIVE kids, stranded and left behind to fend for themselves against some unknown threat, and those five kids in the RV, if they're truly all that's left..." Chance's eyes widened as he heard the words come out of his mouth, he felt nauseous, he felt physically repulsed by the idea that those twenty kids didn't make it. Without warning, Chance let his rage take control, and slammed a fist into the wall, punching a hole clean through to the outside. Sunset was startled for a moment, but Chance fell to his knees, dropping the bat and clutching the wall in a desperate manner, enraged sobs escaped the teenager. Sunset walked over to the cabinet and removed the lock by using the key. She opened the cabinet doors, but then she looked back at her friend, and she knelt down to try and reassure him. "We could've gotten here sooner... t-those poor kids, whatever got them, they didn't stand a chance, not a damn chance in hell... they were left to die here, and aside from running and hiding, it would only work for so long... it makes me angry, it makes me sick, to know those kids likely died here, fighting for their lives as a bunch of cowardly counselors abandoned them. They never got to see their parents again, those parents never got to say goodbye... They didn't deserve this, and someone needs to pay." Chance growled, letting the tears stream down his face.

Sunset patted Chance's back, all while he slowly broke down, hunched over broken wood and shattered glass as his tears dropped to the ground. "Hey, you're not alone in this. Luna and I, we're feeling what you're feeling right now, but we're staying strong for those kids. If we're their last hope of escaping this nightmare unscathed, we have to stand tall and persevere for them. You're trying your best, but it's clear this feels personal to you, doesn't it?" Once again, Chance didn't answer, but Sunset knew she was on the right track. "What happened, pal, where's all this coming from?" Sunset asked, holding her friend close.

Thunder roared out in the distance, the occasional flash of lightning seemed to illuminate a figure standing in the door, only for them to be gone amidst the cover of darkness.

Inside the RV, Diamond, Scootaloo and Sweetie are bunched up together, wrapped in a towel. Meanwhile, Luna is trying to look around in the big bag of food for something to prepare. Meanwhile, Scootaloo is chowing down on the plate of spaghetti that Chance had tried to wrap up, much to Sweetie's displeasure. Scootaloo swallowed down her bite of food and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, I was a bit hungrier than I thought." Scootaloo apologized, nervously chuckling.

Luna pulled out a few cans of tomato soup and sat them on the counter top, then crouched down to look for a pot. "I don't suppose you three want to help me make some soup, would you?" Luna asked.

Diamond Tiara sighed and stepped forward. "I sincerely doubt we'd be of much help. Thanks for coming around when you did, though, vice principal Luna." Diamond thanked.

Luna smiled. "You're very welcome, miss Tiara, but I think the one you should be thanking is one of my students. They're a bit brash, sometimes, but that's only because he cares." Luna remarked.

Before the rich girl could say anything further, the door opened up, revealing Sunset and Chance as they haul in two duffle bags full of medicine. "For a summer camp, they really had some serious hospital-grade stuff in here. Aside from your typical painkillers, ointments and a huge locker full of some helpful stuff we couldn't get yet, there's also Tourniquets, Morphine, as well as tons of Epi-Pens, blood thinners, vitamin supplements, even immuno boosters and allergy suppressants. This place was seriously stocked." Chance explained.

Sunset placed her bag on the ground, and Chance did the same, all while the kids were unsure of what to say. "So, what's for dinner?" Sunset asked.

Luna grabbed one of the cans of tomato soup and tossed it to Sunset. The teenaged girl caught it and examined it closely. "All of this soup, and not a single grilled cheese in sight." Sunset quipped.

Chance smiled, but only for a moment. "Saltines also work well with tomato soup, though they're just salty and way too dry," Chance looked over at Rumble and Button Mash, noticing that they haven't woken up yet. "Those two are still under, huh?" Chance inquired.

Scootaloo nodded. "They seem pretty out of it. Maybe now that we're all together, and in a vehicle, can you guys get us to town so we can call home?" Scootaloo asked.

Chance looked over at Luna, and she moved over to the driver's seat up front. Luna turns the key in the ignition, but much to the dismay and confusion of everyone in the RV, the engine starts sputtering.

Chance and Luna walk outside, just as another shower of rain gets ready to come down on top of them. Luna and Chance open the front hood, only for the both of them to be surprised, shocked, and more confused than before. The engine was covered in grey growths, as well as noticing chunks of moss, a few mushrooms, a couple daisies, and a few roots covering the inside. "Huh, the engine's covered in some kind of fungus," Luna closes the hood, and Chance is seething. "Looks like we're hunkering down here for a while." Luna stated.

Chance groaned, gritting his teeth as he looked around the abandoned camp, trying to find some semblance of a sign, something to tell him that they weren't alone here. "If and when I find who and/or what is behind this, I'm not giving them an ounce of mercy, not a singular iota of mercy." Chance stated angrily.

Luna walked forward and pulled the teen into a hug. "Mister Marsten, I know you're upset, and you're likely very angry about the whole situation that unfolded here, we're not telling you that your anger isn't justified, or irrational, but you must temper your rage. Whatever forces are at play here, I'm sure if we calm down and handle this with calm and reassurance, we'll persevere and get through this. Do you understand?" Luna asked, her tone was calm, collected and motherly, though her delivery was firm and stern.

Chance didn't hesitate to nod his head. As Luna let him go, Chance winces and holds a spot on his stomach. Luna tries to reach out, but Chance backs away. "Don't, I'm fine. It's just an old wound flaring up again. We should get the kids and the food to somewhere else while we can, maybe use the mess hall as a temporary base of operations? Board up the windows and only use the front door when absolutely necessary." Chance reassured, immediately changing the subject.

Luna was confused and her concern was becoming rather piqued, and she moved closer to the teen. Chance was about to back up, but Luna grabbed the bottom of his shirt and lifted it up, seeing a wound around his gut that didn't seem to heal all the way. It was reminiscent of a bullet wound, but Chance pulled away before Luna could examine it further. "Mister Marsten, is that-?"

Chance pulled his shirt down and avoided looking at Luna. "Where Moonshine shot me when I was little? Yeah... it is. Look, I don't like talking about that incident, and after what happened during the whole Helm of Freyja thing, I'm not exactly open to discussing this with you, not now. I still need time to get over that, so let's drop it and focus on what's happening now." Chance responded, avoiding the subject of his wound.

As Chance walked back to the front door of the RV, Luna sighed and followed after him, worried about how all of this was going to unfold. Unbeknownst to them, however, multiple beings watch them from behind the trees, growling from multiple sets of mouths. One particular figure stares at the RV with contempt and fury, their glowing green eyes shrunk to the size of pin pricks as they glared at the heroes.

As the trio moves the kids, along with the food and medicine to the camp's living quarters, Chance feels a sudden itching sensation in his foot, and it's a lot worse from how it felt before they got to camp Opinicon. As they go into the counselor's cabin, Chance stops and puts the medicine bag down as he scratches his powdered foot, sitting on the ground as he tries to relieve the unpleasant sensation. "This athlete's foot powder isn't doing what it's supposed to do! I might need some stronger stuff, or I'm cutting this foot off, this is irritating!" Chance remarked, clearly not liking how his itching isn't quelling.

Scootaloo watches as chance scratches his foot like crazy. "Athlete's foot, huh? Everyone gets it here, especially me." Scootaloo remarked.

Diamond Tiara shuddered. "One would consider keeping that to themselves, ya know. I should've gone to camp everfree for the summer, at least Canterlot City would be five miles away, at least." Diamond griped, she was clearly terrified of her situation.

Luna laid Button Mash and Rumble on the bottom bunk of one of the beds. "You kids stay here, and do what miss Shimmer or mister Marsten ask of you. Miss Shimmer," Luna looks towards the teenaged girl, who's giving Luna her full attention. "Keep an eye on Rumble and Button Mash, I'm gonna see if I can't get some of that fungus off of the engine," Sunset nodded, and Luna turned towards Chance, who was practically scraping his hoot against the wall to appease the persistent itch. "Mister Marsten, if something happens, you and miss Shimmer need to work together and keep these kids safe, understand?" Luna asked.

Chance stopped scratching his foot and looked up at Luna. Chance nodded his head without hesitation, but something didn't seem to sit right with the young hero, and Luna could see it in his eyes, but she didn't comment on it, and walked to the door. "If I can't get the fungus off the engine tonight, I'll see if I can rustle us up a meal in the kitchen, just so we don't go hungry. I left a couple tomato soup cans in the RV, so it wouldn't be that hard to cook something. I'll be back." Luna announced.

As Luna left the cabin, Sunset sighed. "Let's hope she brings back only Tomato soup, and it has no meal worms inside it." Sunset remarked.

Chance gagged at the thought. "Great, ya ruined Tomato soup for me, thanks for that," Chance shuddered, thoroughly disgusted by the idea that now lived rent-free in his mind. "There's gotta be at least one intact care package in here somewhere, they can't all be gone, right? One of those counselors had to have smuggled a box full of candy, or some fast food, or something somewhere in here." Chance suggested.

The two teens look underneath the beds, but can't seem to find anything. "Darn it, not a single package in sight, this is not boding well." Sunset remarked.

Chance groaned, but before he could say anything, Rumble and Button both woke up, sitting up fast in a cold sweat, fear in their eyes. "THEY'RE HERE! ALL AROUND US!" Button Mash exclaimed.

Chance and Sunset whipped around to see the two boys now awake, and also noticing how the three girls were starting to freak out. Chance walks over and crouches down to the girl's level. "Easy now, don't panic, it won't solve anything. Take a couple deep breaths, close your eyes and just focus on going home to your loved ones, focus on being safe. Everything's going to be okay, we're not gonna let anything, or anyone hurt you or torment you further, understand?" Chance questioned, keeping his tone of voice low and calm, as to not scare or intimidate the children.

Sunset looked over at her friend, noting how the girls were doing their best to follow his instructions. Sweetie Belle was silently sobbing, barely even reaching a whisper, but Sunset knelt down and held the sobbing girl close, trying to calm her down. Scootaloo and Diamond Tiara were able to calm themselves down, but it was becoming rather clear that Sweetie Belle wasn't gonna be that easy to calm.

Sunset sighed. "O-Okay, Sweetie Belle, just calm down, try to stop crying for a moment, you're okay. Nothing's attacking us, nothing's trying to hurt us... just calm down, and think- th-think about about Rarity, she wouldn't want to see you in such a dangerous situation, a-and if she were here, she'd do everything in her power to make sure you got out of here safely. Think about Rarity, or think about Apple... Bloom..." Sunset's words were falling on deaf ears, but she still tried to calm the sobbing girl down. Sunset looked towards her friend, and he silently motioned to her that he'll give this a try. "Sweetie, please, we need to think about our next course of action... try to calm down for now, okay?" Sunset pleaded.

Sweetie's sobs started to slowly increase in volume, and Chance moved to try and hold Sweetie still. "Kiddo, look at me. I need you to look at me, okay?" Sweetie slowly opened her eyes, they were starting to become red from how much she was crying, and she looked at the teenaged boy in the face. "Listen to what I have to say. You're going to be fine, and you're going to see your sister again. You're going to see Apple Bloom again. You're going to see your parents again. You're going to live, you and your friends are going to survive and escape this horrid place," Sweetie sniffed and wiped away the tears forming in her eyes, still looking deathly terrified of the situation unfolding around her.

Sunset and Chance could both see her calming down a bit. "Okay, did you get all your feelings out, feel a little better?" Sweetie thought for a moment and hesitantly nodded, and Chance smiled. "Good, now listen to what else I have to say. I won't lie to you, or the rest of these kids you're trapped with. It seems like things are beyond saving right now, I'm not sure if we'll be able to save the few that got taken by... whatever's going on here, but I give you my word. I pinkie promise that we'll get you all out of here safe and sound," Sweetie slowly started to relax, closing her eyes as she took deep breaths, like he previously instructed. Sunset stepped back, and watched in awe as Chance kept talking Sweetie down. "You're doing fantastic, kiddo. Think about how Rarity will be proud of you, knowing that not only you'll be safe in her arms again, but that you stood your ground and faced an unfamiliar danger unlike the various stuff that happens typically in Canterlot City, and kept your friends safe. Sure, I won't lie to you, this is a very dangerous situation, but Rarity and her friends recently had to fight aliens for the very first time, imagine how Rarity must've felt when she was worrying about you. It's what you're feeling right now, and it's okay to feel like that, but it's not okay to let that feeling overwhelm you. keep your cool, stay calm, and collect as much of your courage from within yourself, and you'll survive and escape this place. Stay strong for Rarity, stay strong for Scootaloo, stay strong for Diamond Tiara, for Rumble, for Button Mash, for Luna, for Sunset, for Apple Bloom. Stay strong for me, okay?" Chance calmly encouraged, slowly backing away.

Sweetie let out a long, slow exhale of breath, and smiled, pulling Scootaloo in for a hug. Sunset was shocked, she couldn't believe what she just witnessed. She looked over at her friend, completely thrown for a loop by how he managed to handle the situation. "How... w-what-- h-how did you-- Since when did--"

Chance looked at Sunset, a somber yet content smile formed on his face as a singular tear fell from his face. "I simply gave her what I didn't have at her age at the time, someone to keep me grounded and focused, without screaming at them like a lunatic," Sunset opened her mouth to speak, but Chance held his hand up, stopping her in her tracks. "Before you say a word, I have you and Luna to keep me in check, and this is very personal to me, no child should be scared for their lives in a place they're supposed to feel safe. You might have the ability to feel what others feel, but I can speak from personal experience on this particular topic, the kind that I wish I didn't have. Plus, it also helped to mimic what Luna usually does to talk me down the best I could," Sunset was at a loss for how to even unpack what he just said, but Chance simply got back up to his feet and looked over at the stunned and silent boys that awoke from their unconscious slumber. "Alright you two, talk to me and give me all the details. What did you mean by "They're here"? Who and what are you two talking about?" Chance inquired.

Rumble and Button snapped out of their momentary stunning and start to recollect their thoughts. "I-It's Gaia Everfree, from the ghost story!!" Chance and Sunset's eyes widened and they both looked over at each other, then back at the two boys. "She came here one day and started going bananas! She took this camp by storm, and those weird mushroom monsters that follow her commands started snatching people and dragging them to the forest!! We're all that's left, and- a-a-and--AAAAHHHH!!" Button Mash started to hyperventilate, and Chance brought Sunset over to the bedside.

Chance gestured to her geode, and Sunset seemed to get the message. Sunset placed her hand on Button Mash's head and activated her magic. "Relax." Sunset softly commanded.

Button Mash's breathing slowed down until it eventually came to a slight stop, allowing for the boy to lay down and relax. "Gaia Everfree came back and started attacking people, claiming that she was taking the world back from the people who squander the forest's resources, whatever that means." Rumble briefly explained.

Chance looked over at Sunset, and she seemed to be internally panicking. "Hey, listen, keep calm. I'm gonna--" The sound of a woman screaming rang out from outside, along with several loud crashes of thunder, bright flashes of lighting crackled in the air as the rain started to really come down, it was like a sudden flood. "That sounded a lot like Luna, just now... Okay, change in plans, then. Sunset, you stay here and keep the kids safe. I'm not all too convinced on this "Gaia Everfree" story, but it does sound like someone we both encountered before I became a superhero. I'll go get Luna, and we'll hunker down in here till the storm lets up." Chance explained, walking over to the front door.

As Chance grabs the door knob, All five of the kids tackle him to the ground, much to Sunset's surprise. "Don't go!! Don't go out there, you won't come back!" Button Mash exclaimed, pleading desperately for the teen to not leave the cabin.

Chance manages to get himself back on his feet, but Rumble is still clinging onto his leg. "Th-They'll find you, and you'll be lucky enough to come back without an arm, or a leg!" Rumble exclaimed.

Chance smiles and gently pulls the kid off his leg. "Relax," Chance raises the Omnitrix into view. "I'm just gonna go undercover." Chance reassured, leaving the kids confused by what he meant.

The ground slowly bulges as Excavole burrows through the wet malleable ground. Chance initially wanted to use Vitaguar and have his enhanced senses pinpoint Luna's location through her scent, but he knows cats hate water, and Vitaguar was no exception, so Excavole was his second best option. As Excavole follows a trail of trees with mushrooms, he stops to take notice of an abandoned excavator on top of a hill. Once he reaches the top, a pit stretches out in front of him; completely covered in bizzare-looking vegetation, large thorn-covered vines all stemming from a central shaft dug in the ground.

Excavole shuddered. "Something tells me I'm gonna have to go down there..." Excavole told himself.

As the mole walks forward and passes by a few plants, they open up to reveal eyes, all of them secretly watching him. Excavole stops at the edge of the shaft and peers down it. Just as he does, however, purple and black vine-like tendrils covered and riddled with thorns suddenly shoot out of the hole, and begin to make their way towards the alien mole. Excavole panics and tries to run away, but they quickly wrap around him and slowly pull him back. Excavole tries to use his claws to cut the vine-like tendrils, but they don't seem to be strong enough, and he eventually loses his grip, forced to be pulled down into the dark.

Excavole squirms as he tries to wriggle his way out, but he just keeps descending into the hole. "Probably not the first to say this, but I've seen enough japanese cartoons to know where this goes, and I'm not okay with this!!!" Excavole exclaims, his cries for help ring out as the storm rages on.

Eventually, Excavole hits the bottom of the hole, and the tendrils keep dragging him through a tunnel. As he starts to finally break through some of the tendrils that had him ensnared, he notices Luna strung up in the tunnel. Luna's eyes widen in horror as her eyes fall upon her student. "Chance-Mmp!!" Luna's cry for help was abruptly cut off by more of those vine-like tendrils wrapping around her mouth.

Excavole slices through the tendrils and manages to finally break free, and starts running after his vice principal. While the mole digs through the ground, he's forced to resurface in one of the tunnels as the Omnitrix times out, and Chance tumbles forward in the cave, now reverted back to his normal form. "Ugh, fucking great, the Omnitrix chooses now to turn me back, and yet, it hasn't let me down as many times as Jean has, so I guess I can let it slide this time," Chance gets up, finding that the cave he was in was rather unsightly, but he needed to find Luna, he wasn't leaving this summer camp hellhole without her. "MISS LUNA!!" Chance called out, hearing his own voice echo out through the tunnel.

As Chance looks around, some mushrooms start to chitter and move. Chance stops for a moment, and suddenly, the mushrooms come to life. Revealing eyes, arms and legs, and twin mouths, it becomes more than just obvious that this was an alien-related issue, because this was too fucking weird to be anything else in Chance's eyes. They slowly walk towards him, but Chance immediately breaks into a full-on sprint as he tries to get out of the tunnel. Chance jumps over a few of the monstrous mushrooms and keeps trying to find a way out, but he soon finds himself getting tired.

As Chance stops to catch his breath, a giant trapping plant emerges underneath him and snaps at his feet, causing him to fall flat on his back. The mushrooms catch up and dogpile him, though Chance manages to shove, kick and punch a few of them away, giving him time to hop over a couple more and keep running away. Eventually, Chance manages to reach the end of the shaft; mushrooms, vines and tendrils were encroaching right behind him. Without a moment to lose, he quickly climbs out, digging his fingers into the walls as much as he can to have some form of grip on the dirt wall he desperately scaled to save his own life.

As Chance climbs out, he notices the excavator, and gets an idea. Chance makes a mad dash for the construction vehicle and jumps in the driver's seat, trying to figure out how to work it. "It's times like this where I wish I just randomly picked up a book and learned something from it." Chance remarked.

The tentacles and vines begin to move closer to the vehicle, but Chance manages to barely get the engine started, and shoots an aggressive smirk at the vines and tendrils. "Hope you freaks don't mind me getting to "the root of the problem"!" Chance quipped.

Chance shifts the excavator into gear and drives it forward, pushing all the mushrooms back down the shaft. The tendrils and vines, however, don't fail so easily, and quickly wrap themselves around the excavator. Chance scoffs, clearly pissed that the plan only partially worked, and jumps out of the vehicle as the excavator's lifted high in the air. "There's always something that throws a random wrench in a good plan!" Chance's eyes widen as he ducks his head, watching in awe and shock as the giant construction tool is lobbed a good fifty feet away, crashing down in the distance. "Well damn, mother nature, you good!?" Chance exclaimed, running back to the camp as fast as he can.

The vines and tendrils retreat down into the hole, all while binding around a humanoid figure, they sneer as they retreat into the hole, the climax of this nightmare was on their doorstep, and they did not want to be stopped after coming so far.

Back at the counselor's quarters, Sunset looks out the window, seeing shadows shift in the rough downpour of rain, all while the kids sit anxiously, huddling together to try and stay safe. Suddenly, Chance throws open the door and slams it shut, panting and breathing heavily. "Okay, you might not believe me when I say this, but-"

"-There are giant killer mushrooms, everywhere!" Button Mash exclaims in terror, tucking his head underneath a pillow.

Chance sighed. "Err, yeah! And-"

"-They're taking over the camp amidst the crashing downpour of rain!" Sunset added.

Chance frowned. "Yes, and they got Luna, too!" Chance stated.

Sunset's eyes widened with fear and concern. "That's not good, we need to get her back, but those mushrooms seem to be pretty aggressive," Sunset looked at a book on the shelf, seeing that it was about mushrooms, she grabbed it and started to slowly skim through it, looking for some kind of solution. "They must be a dormant species that came alive when the camp dug in this new area, judging by the excavator that we saw get tossed in the air from here." Sunset remarked, looking at Chance with an incredulous expression.

Chance frowned. "Oh sure, like that's my fault. I didn't expect a bunch of puny vines and tendrils to suddenly throw a machine like a soda can, give me a break, Shimmer!" Chance rebutted defensively.

Rumble stood up. "This just confirms everything we knew from the start, we gotta get out of here!" Rumble exclaimed.

Chance sighed. "The engine's still likely covered in fungus, so it won't start. Luna could remove it, but it's not like we planned to leave without her," Chance looked at Sunset, seeing the unease in her eyes. "Hey, try to focus on what's happening now, okay? Let's get the kids somewhere a bit safer, then we can discuss the plan. We're gonna be fine, and so will they." Chance reassured.

Chance and Sunset grab the bags of medicine, and keep the kids close to them as they leave as a group. "What do you think they want?" Sunset asked.

Chance looked at Sunset. "Be specific on who you're talking about, because I'm starting to think Rumble talking about Gaia Everfree might not be a coincidence." Chance stated briefly.

Sunset swallowed a bit of air and sighed. "If this is Gloriosa's doing, why would she go through such extreme lengths, and why attack another summer camp?" Sunset asked.

Chance shrugged his shoulders. "It's likely that her powers are finally starting to deteriorate her mental fortitude, and she's becoming rather... feral, in her approach." Chance theorized.

Sunset frowned, but not because of her friend's answer. "What about the other thing, the possibility of this being some kind of alien... what's your stance on that, what does this alien get out of this?" Sunset asked.

Chance looked at her face, she was getting desperate for a solution. "Hypothetically--" Chance was cut off as the ground started to shake. Suddenly, a towering blue bulbous fungus on a stalk suddenly erupts from the ground in front of them. "They probably just want us! For plant food! Back to the cabin, now!!" Chance exclaimed.

As the group runs back inside the counselor's quarters, they throw themselves against the door to prevent those mushroom monsters from getting in. Unfortunately, however, another one starts bursting from the floorboards, dubbing it to no longer be safe inside the cabin. "I already thought there was a fungus among us, but this just isn't fair! Back outside, ASAP, and stay together!" Chance stated.

The group runs back out as the fungus tears through the shack. Bulbous fungus after fungus erupts from the ground around them. Eventually, no more come, and the fungi settle in; their long stalks creating almost another forest around the group, all while the rain is pouring down, thunder and lightning crash and flash through the sky. "I don't suppose them stopping all of a sudden is a good thing... right?" Chance asked.

Diamond shook her head. "Actually, it's worse. Those are puffballs, containing BILLIONS of mushroom spores!" Everyone's eyes widen in terror. "If those mushrooms mature and release those spores, they could spread over the whole state, maybe even the whole country!" Diamond Tiara explained.

Rumble scoffs. "Since when did you know so much about mushrooms?" Rumble questions.

Diamond sneers and crosses her arms. "I don't intend on living off my family's fortune forever, doofus!" Diamond Tiara remarked.

Sunset gets in-between the two before something escalates. "Alright, break it up. We need to stick together, not try to tear each other apart, understand?" Rumble stuck his tongue out at Tiara, all while she turns up her nose and keeps her arms crossed. "Chance, what's the plan here?" Sunset asked.

Chance pulls Sunset aside, and judging by the look on her friend's face, he wasn't too confident in whatever plan he just concocted. "I'm going Jump-Kick. I'll get Luna out as fast as I can, and then I'll tear these towers down with a few well-placed strikes." Chance stated.

Diamond got in-between the two teens. "That's not going to work, the only way to eliminate a mushroom is to destroy its mycelium." Tiara corrected.

Chance looked at the rich girl with a confused expression. "It's what-now?" Chance asked.

Sunset frowned. "The mycelium is like its brain, Chance. Take out the brain, take out every last freaky fungus trying to get us, and we save the world, yet again!" Sunset explained.

Chance looks over at the direction of the hole, and he had a gut feeling he knew where this 'mycelium' thing likely was. "Then that's where I'm going, to kill a mushroom's brain... yeah, why not. You all sit tight, I'll be back in a flash," Chance begins to walk away, but Sunset stops him, which confuses him. "What, did I say something wrong?" Chance asked.

Sunset sighed. "I'm coming with you. Luna, she... she means a lot to me, too, you know." Sunset stated.

Chance frowned. "Sunset, you know damn well that I know you care about Luna, but those kids need someone to watch out for them, and out of the two of us, you're the most capable, you're the most grounded out of the two of us. I'm the only one who has a chance to go down there, and make it out alive," Sunset wanted to protest, but then Chance held up the Omnitrix. "We might share a bunch of stuff, pal, but we don't share this. I give you my word, we'll come back from this. You take care of the kids, and I'll take care of the overgrown piece of shitake controlling those spore buds and bring Luna back in one piece. Can we agree on that?" Chance explained.

Sunset pulled Chance into a hug, and he returned the embrace. "Be careful, I don't want to lose my friend down there." Sunset stated.

Chance nodded his head, and the two head in opposite directions. This was do or die, and they were both gonna do their best, they just hoped they weren't too late.

Jump-Kick glides above Excavole's trail. The bird stops to take another look at the mine. It's less wondrous than before, and more giant mushrooms can be seen sprouting farther away, along with some black thorny vines. "Dude, this is getting worse." Jump-Kick quietly said.

The avian runs towards the shaft and dives in head first. Once he gets to the bottom, he makes a mad dash through the tunnels, periodically stopping to look around. "LUNAAA?" Jump-Kick calls out.

There's no response, not from Luna, at least. The sound wakes up some living mushrooms, but Jump-Kick keeps moving, not really caring for the mushrooms at the moment. From the shadows, a feminine figure slowly reveals herself, her glowing green eyes glare daggers at the transformed teenager, and then her eyes change to a fluorescent purple, and the ground starts to shake.

Back on the surface, Sunset and the kids run through the camp's archery range and hide behind a target. All the while, it's becoming very clear that the children are starting to worry if they'll actually survive. "If we make it to the dining hall, maybe we can barricade ourselves in the kitchen." Button Mash suggested.

Diamond scoffed at the idea. "And fight these things off with what, a spatula? We're trying to survive the mushrooms, not sauté them!" Diamond remarked.

Sweetie buried her head in her knees. "We are so dead meat... Oh I hate it, hate it, hate it here! Why did Rarity have to sign me up for this place!" Sweetie cried out.

Suddenly, the ground starts shaking beneath their feet. A giant blue mushroom raises Sweetie and Button up from the ground; Rumble and Diamond fall off, but Scootaloo and Sunset manage to catch them.

As it stops growing, flaps on its cap open up, revealing tendrils that quickly bind around Sweetie and Button, causing the two to scream out as it gobbles them up. As it starts digesting them, Sunset quickly scrambles to find a weapon, and happens to see a few arrows and a bow nearby. "Six years of maining Archery in MMOs, don't fail me now." Sunset told herself, making a mad dash for the bow and arrows.

Meanwhile, Jump-Kick comes to a fork in the tunnel. As he decides which path to take, tendrils lower from the ceiling and try to surprise him. Much to their failure, Jump-Kick quickly slices them up with his quick sharp talons. "Keep your tendrils to yourself, creep!" Jump-Kick warned, running down the path on the right.

Sunset readies the bow and fires a few arrows, managing to barely shoot the giant mushroom down, gases spewing from it as it collapses to the ground. "And they say Shimmercode can't aim with a bow. If I was streaming right now, chat would have no excuse." Sunset remarked, feeling rather proud of herself.

Diamond, Scootaloo and Rumble help Button and Sweetie out. As they cough and recover, two identical mushrooms start sprouting beside the dead one. "Move it!" Rumble exclaimed.

The kids run through the archery range; mushrooms rising all around them. Just as they start to gain some distance from the rising mushrooms, they abruptly stop at a tower with rock climbing walls. "We need to get to higher ground, everyone up!" Sunset stated.

The kids were about to object, but considering their situation, they just decided to climb. Sunset let the kids go first, lagging behind to catch any of them if they fell. Sunset looked over at the dark shadows of the woods, seeing an all too familiar set of eyes staring her down from the dark. Once the kids were up, Sunset quickly started climbing.

Meanwhile, Luna slowly wakes up, just as Jump-Kick tears away the fungus blocking the room's entrance, seeing Luna stuck to the wall. "Miss Luna!" Jump-Kick yelled.

Jump-Kick quickly runs over, immediately ripping off her binds. Luna weakly leans onto the transformed teen, clearly lacking a lot of her usual strength. "Chance..." Luna replied weakly.

Jump-Kick shushed her. "Save your strength. I'll have you free in just a-" The all too familiar sound of the Omnitrix's beeping rings out, and in a flash of red light, Chance is transformed back into his normal self. "Omnitrix, what part of "NO" do you not understand!?" Chance reprimanded.

Luna looked up, her eyes widening at the figure that stood behind her student. "Chance, move!!" Luna cried out desperately.

Before Chance could react, black thorn-covered vines and purple tendrils began to ensnare and wrap around him. He tried to break through them, but it was too much for him to handle. "Luna!!!" Chance cried out.

Chance saw the face of his attacker for a moment before his vision was obscured, and he was not happy with how things were turning out.

Sunset climbs to the top of the course, leading the children the best she can. "Come on, we have to keep moving! You can do this!" Sunset encouraged.

As they all make it to the top, they take notice of the zipline. The tower they were on was connected to a zipline that stretches across the fungi forest and to the camp entrance. As Sunset studies it, Diamond Tiara and Rumble start fighting over the first trolley.

"Me first, I almost got ran over trying to save our butts!" Rumble argued.

"No! I'm going first! I'm not playing second fiddle to some second-rate dork!" Diamond insulted.

Sunset gritted her teeth and made the two kids look at her, she scowled at the two, and suddenly they stopped fighting. "Does it really matter?! Our lives are in danger, so of course it doesn't matter! Just for that, you two are gonna share it, and that's final!" Sunset remarked firmly.

Diamond and Rumble sunk for a moment, and sighed. The both of them grabbed one side of each trolley, and zipped down the line. Button and Sweetie did the same, with Scootaloo hanging onto Sunset's back as they went last. Scootaloo cheered as they made their daring escape from the monstrous mushrooms.

In a room deep underground, Chance and Luna are strung by tendrils against a wall. As Chance tries to get the Omnitrix to work, he discusses the situation with Luna. "So, somehow, in some way... Gloriosa Daisy, the same psycho chick that tried making a dome of thorns around Camp Everfree, managed to escape where she was confined, and now she's on a rampage?" Chance questioned.

Luna nodded, though it seemed like she was missing something about this whole situation. "It's hard to imagine that she'd just target a random summer camp of her own free will, something about miss Daisy isn't right, and I mean more than her still having magic, when we escape, stay on your guard, mister Marsten," Luna looks down, noticing that Chance was struggling to push the faceplate back down. "Any luck with using the Omnitrix?" Luna inquired.

Chance shook his head, still struggling to press the core back into place. "Ugh, I'm trying, ugh. I think it needs more time to recharge-" before Chance can utter another word, he suddenly succeeds, and the Omnitrix starts to glow green uncharacteristically, and begins to undergo a transformation.

Chance's body starts to burn up, all while his veins bulge and travel up his arm. His eyes, ears, nose and mouth start to leak an excessive amount of smoke, so much so that the smoke envelops his entire body. Suddenly, a strange desaturated red material grows and molds itself over the smoke, creating two black smoke tunnels on its shoulders, and two horn-shaped smoke tunnels from the top of its head. The head of the creature opens its four white eyes, and the Omnitrix forms on the creature's right pectoral. A pair of white shorts form on the alien's lower body, along with black leggings.

The creature hisses, letting a couple bursts of red flames puff out from the horns, and the alien grips its round exaggerated fingers into fists, and strikes a violent pose as smoke and fire erupt from the alien's head.

The flash of light dies down, leaving Luna surprised and stunned at the new alien's appearance. "Seems like the Omnitrix has something else in mind, what's this one supposed to do?" Luna asked.

The alien looked itself over, unsure as to what exactly he transformed into this time. "Okay, now I'm convinced the Omnitrix is fucking with me, I've never been this one before," he points to himself, only to flinch for a moment when a small stream of fire streams out of his engorged fingertip, burning the vines and roots away. The alien carefully tries it again, and burns away Luna's binds. "But I am starting to like what he can do. I've heard of playing with fire, but this takes it to a whole new level." the alien remarked, its voice was growling, but at the same time, it sounded like it was also choking on some kind of smog.

Luna and the new alien nod and get ready to leave. "Let's get out of here, Luna, this place is driving me up the wall." The alien remarked.

"You're not going anywhere." A warped feminine voice called out.

Luna and the new alien stayed on their guard, until more vines and tendrils managed to catch them by surprise, pulling them into the ground. Before the pair could understand what just happened, they emerge in a giant cave room below, which is barely containing an enormous pink mass of tissue, roots, and spores. "The mother of all fungus", as it were, and lo and behold, the other mother was perched right on top of the enormous pink mass, now dressed clad in a dress made from blackened leaves, and it was all held together by more of those black thorny vines and purple tendrils. Gloriosa Daisy, one of the former camp counselors for Camp Everfree, was now completely turned into a malevolent depiction of Mother Nature.

"I communicate with all vegetation on a telepathic level. I speak to you myself, because I know you wouldn't understand." Gloriosa responded bitterly.

Luna and the new alien gasped, all while Gloriosa let a wicked grin form on her face.

As Sunset and the kids continue ziplining, one living mushroom makes it to the top of the rock climbing tower. It uses its sharp cap to cut through the zipline rope, and the kids start falling. Thankfully, the giant mushrooms on the ground broke their fall, luckily enough. Rumble and Diamond wince as they get up, but Sunset makes sure they get back on their feet, all while she fires more arrows at the pursuing mushrooms, but this was proving to be a futile effort.

Hundreds of living mushrooms in the way of the main building stare them down. Button anxiously looks around, and spots a small storage hut. "In there, hurry!" Button cried out.

As the group run towards it, the mushrooms immediately descend onto them, trying to get ahold of them. Tendrils erupt from the ground and shoot towards them. Button looks behind him and screams as they get closer, though Sunset is luckily able to get everyone inside and shut the door, before the tendrils slam against it.

Sunset lets out a momentary sigh of relief, only to wince as Rumble and Diamond start arguing. "We wouldn't even BE here now if YOU didn't make us hide in the kitchen! Who hides in a kitchen, for crying out loud!?" Rumble argued.

Diamond Tiara growled. "You wanna talk about bad ideas? You and Button decided to leave, and as a result, you nearly got RAN OVER! At least we were safe in the pantry, and with food, no less!" Diamond rebutted.

Rumble sneered. "Knowing you, ya prissy rich kid, you would've eaten everything before we got a crumb to ourselves!" Rumble insulted.

Sunset gritted her teeth and grabbed both of the arguing kids by the ears, silencing them immediately. "STOP IT, both of you! I don't care who started it, it doesn't matter who started it, or whose fault it is. What matters is you're stuck together, and instead of trying to tear each other apart, you need to stick together. One more argument, and you can find your own way back to Canterlot City. Got it?!" Sunset reprimanded, glaring daggers at the two.

Diamond and Rumble looked at one another, and though they didn't like the idea of working together, they knew that they'd both be mushroom food if both their plans didn't work. Diamond and Rumble shook hands for a brief moment and nodded their heads. "...Okay. We're sorry." The two agreed in unison.

Sunset nodded her head, though her scowl didn't change. "Good, because we're gonna need to FIGHT our way out of here." Sunset informed, grabbing a baseball bat from the corner of the room.

The kids looked around the room for a weapon and some protective gear, and thankfully, they found exactly what each one was looking for.

Back inside the deep depths of the hole, the new alien and Luna were staring at Gloriosa and the large pink mass. "I'm gonna take a guess here. You're the 'beauty', and the pink freak behind you is the 'brainiac'." The alien remarked.

The pink fungus brings the alien closer to it and reveals a mouth lined with sharp teeth. "They prefer the term 'mycelium', you uneducated creature." Gloriosa stated.

Luna struggled to get out of her binds, but Chance seems to finally be understanding what exactly is happening here. "I'm starting to think Gloriosa is only partially responsible for what's been going on here. The real mastermind is Mr. Mushroom Head over here, these two might have some kind of connection or something," just as he said that, the mycelium lowers the alien closer towards its open jaws. "Oh man, is it really that hard to be a vegetarian?" The alien remarked.

Gloriosa moved closer to the alien. "Struggle as you may, you cannot stop us. Soon, we will consume every living creature on this planet." Gloriosa stated.

The alien glared its eyes at the psychotic woman and burned away the roots and tendrils holding him in place. "Well, hate to burst your bubble, but you're NOT starting with us!" The alien resisted.

The alien breaks free from Mycelium's vines. As he starts falling, he reaches for the ceiling, which inadvertently causes his hands to shoot out fire, and propel him to the side, all while black smoke escapes the ports on his shoulders and head. As the alien struggles to control its newfound flaming propulsion, his hand slips and he fires a small fireball at Mycelium, and it explodes upon contact, which seems to make Gloriosa wince and cringe in pain. Curious, the new alien resumes blasting himself towards Luna, freeing her from the vines. He lands her on one of Mycelium's large roots, while Gloriosa rushes in to attack on her own.

The alien gets in front of Luna, and points its fingers out as they start to ignite. "You wanna get roasted that bad, huh, then enjoy getting flambéed at point-blank range, curtesy of SMOKESCREEN!" Smokescreen exclaims, blasting several flaming bursts of fire, smoke and embers at the power mad woman.

Sunset kicks the door to the hut open, and leads the kids into the fight. Sunset wields the bat; Rumble is decked out in hockey gear and stick; Sweetie has a visor and a paintball gun; Scootaloo excitedly holds a baseball pitcher machine like a railgun; Button nervously wields a canoe paddle; and Diamond wields a screwdriver in each hand. The group run toward a group of Fungal Force, ready to fight for their right to live.

Sunset bats the first few away, then kicks a couple over to vent some frustration; Sweetie and Scootaloo shoot some with paintballs and baseballs; Rumble shoots a puck that hits and bounces off multiple mushrooms; Button manages to swat and smack a couple of the mushrooms away before the paddle end snapped off, leaving him with a jagged wooden spear; Diamond Tiara stabs a few of the mushrooms in the eyes and generally just keeps her distance.

As Sweetie and Button continue, one mushroom climbs to the top of a giant mushroom and stands on the edge of its cap. It jumps off to attack them from above, but gets shot away by something. Sweetie and Button look back and see Scootaloo lowering her baseball gun. "Say hello to my little friend, you poor excuses for pizza toppings!!" Scootaloo cries out, laughing as she fires more baseballs at incoming mushrooms.

Sweetie and Button smile, cheering Scootaloo on. "Nice shot!" Unfortunately, their victory is short lived as they see more mushrooms coming up behind her. "Scootaloo, run!" The pair exclaim in unison.

The duo drop their things and run away. Scootaloo, not knowing what the two were saying, looks behind her and sees a horde of stampeding mushrooms. She still has a few baseballs left, and decides to fire them all in rapid succession. It didn't take long for her to finally run out of ammo, and she eventually runs away with the others, discarding her now useless baseball gun.

They all run away. Sunset, Rumble and Diamond turn a corner around a group of giant mushrooms, while Sweetie and Button follow close behind. Scootaloo almost takes the wrong way, but immediately corrects herself as she continues to laugh to herself. The mushrooms luckily stop at the fork and consider which way to go. The kids stop running, as they reach the shoreline, semi-disappointed that some of the canoes were destroyed.

Sunset frantically looks around and spots an abandoned rowboat. "You kids thinking what I'm thinking?" Sunset asked.

The mushrooms eventually found their way to the shoreline, but were immediately bombarded by a turned over canoe plowing through their horde. "CHARGE!!" Sunset and the kids exclaimed, pushing through the monstrous mushrooms.

Scootaloo laughed and curb-stomped one of the mushroom monsters. "Take no prisoners!" Scootaloo exclaimed.

Diamond and Sweetie stop and watch as Scootaloo does her thing. "She's really enjoying this, isn't she." Diamond remarked, surprised and kinda frightened by Scootaloo's confidence against the mushroom monsters.

The group drops the boat once the RV and the main building are in sight. As everyone beelines to it, Scootaloo is suddenly grabbed by a tendril and snatched up high in the air. Rumble turns around and sees her; he opens his hockey bag and pulls out a pair of skates. "Really hoping this works, or I'm gonna be wishing those mushrooms catch me," As Scootaloo tries to free herself from the tendril, she notices Rumble on the ground twirling something above his head. Rumble was twirling around the skates, tied together like a pair of razor-sharp bolas. "Hey you freaky worm-thing! How's about you split!" Rumble exclaims, throwing the blades at the tendril; slicing it clean in half and dropping Scootaloo right on top of him.

Scootaloo gets up and pulls Rumble to his feet. "Thanks for the save, maybe you're not the jerk I thought you were." Scootaloo commented.

As the two run into the kitchen, Sunset finally closes the door, locking and blocking it.

Meanwhile, Smokescreen and Luna were busy taking care of two problem at once. Luna was busy keeping Gloriosa distracted, while Smokescreen was burning Mycelium's roots with his flamethrower fingertips, yet despite what both of them did to slow them down, it almost seemed like nothing was actually working.

"Resistance is futile, worms. For even if you destroy him, you cannot possibly destroy the billions of our spores we're about to release into the atmosphere." Gloriosa remarked, seeming calm and confident in her victory.

Smokescreen rolled his eyes and kept setting fire to Mycelium's roots. "Don't you worry, little miss pushing daisies, I'll take care of them next!" Smokescreen remarked.

Unfortunately, just as the alien said that, the Omnitrix started to time out. In a flash of red light, Chance is transformed back into his normal human self, and vines quickly ensnare both him and Luna. Mycelium pulls them close and lowers them slowly into its jaws, all while Gloriosa watches with a twisted smile on her face.

Chance tries to break out, but it almost seems impossible. Chance looks over to Luna, seeing the concern on her face. "Luna! ...I-I'm sorry." Chance whispered, his breath hitching in the back of his throat.

Sunset and the kids have barricaded the front door with every table and chair in the room. Though, as they turn to the other set of doors, mushrooms come walking in from them. They turn around, screaming, as the mushrooms and tendrils also manage to bust open the barricaded set of doors. The creatures now surround Sunset and the kids.

Sunset closes her eyes tightly, then she grunts, her eyes glow a bright blue as magical tendrils manifest from the palms of her hands. "Don't you dare lay a tooth on these kids. Go back to the mushroom hell you freaks of nature were spawned from!!" Sunset roared out, numerous tendrils began to grab the mushroom monsters, and started to swat them away, throwing them through the walls, the ceiling, she was not going to let these monsters do to these kids like they've already done with the last twenty.

Sunset rushes forward, leaving the five kids to look on in shock and terror as the shadows depicted a brutal and savage display of what can only be described as Sunset using her tendrils to personally eviscerate and dismember every single mushroom monster that got remotely close to those five children. If those kids weren't scared already, they were plenty scared now. Not of the monsters, but of what Sunset did to the monsters.

As Mycelium holds Chance and Luna over its open mouth, multiple red tongues rise up to them. Luna kicks one away, much to Mycelium's and Gloriosa's irritation. "I won't go down without a fight. If I'm going down, I'm at least gonna kick the fun out of this fungus!" Luna remarked, taking her frustration out on the next tongue that rose up towards her.

Chance thought about what Luna said, and suddenly looked down at his shoes, specifically the one that was full of athlete's foot powder. "You took the words right out of my mouth, miss Luna!" Chance remarked, trying to slip his shoe off.

Luna stopped and looked at her student in confusion. "I did?" Luna asked.

Chance nodded, giving a smug smirk to both the Mycelium and Gloriosa, much to their confusion. "I wonder if Athlete's foot powder works on alien fungus. No time like the present, not like I have a lot of options left!" Chance remarked.

Chance swiftly kicks off his shoe, and even slips his powder-filled sock off, watching both fall into the Mycelium's mouth. To Chance's satisfaction, and Gloriosa's concern, Mycelium starts bleeding and reflexing in pain. Chance manages to free his right hand and reaches over towards Luna, pulling the rest of the bottle out of her back pocket, cracks it open and drops it down too. Mycelium's roots start breaking and it falls to the floor, dropping Chance and Luna. It convulses before completely exploding in a tidal wave of goop.

Gloriosa begins to panic, screaming out in frustration and defeat. Before Luna and Chance can try and stop her, she flees the underground chamber, and the duo decide that now is the best time to leave.

Up on the surface, the mushroom monsters continued to keep coming, and Sunset was covered in various body parts that came from the monsters. Just as Sunset was getting ready for another onslaught, watching as the first mushroom steps forward toward the kids, it starts shaking; its body twists up until into a thin figure; and falls to the floor. All the other mushrooms do the same.

Sunset takes a deep breath, and her magic slowly deactivates, letting her magical tendrils fade away. "What just happened? Why are they all shriveling up?" Button asked shakily.

Sunset sighed, smiling towards the children. "Chance just happened. Nice job, pal." Sunset remarked weakly, passing out on the floor.

The kids calmly walk outside, past the twisted, fallen, dead mushrooms. "This camp ROCKS!" Rumble and Button Mash exclaim in unison.

Diamond Tiara scoffs at the boy's reaction. "I don't know what camp you're talking about, but I'm NOT participating at this camp again, not after this!" Diamond Tiara remarked.

Scootaloo and Sweetie walked side-by-side, smiling as they finally relax. "I wouldn't say it was that bad. Would've been a little better if Apple Bloom was here, though." Scootaloo remarked with a chuckle.

Sweetie giggled. "I honestly wouldn't mind coming back next year, if it means the whole 'alien mushroom monster' thing doesn't happen again." Sweetie responded optimistically.

Sunset smiled, but was soon surprised to see Chance and Luna running back to them. "Is everyone okay!? No one's hurt, right? No bruises, cuts, bleeding, who needs to go to the ER?!" Chance called out.

Sunset pulled the mildly panicked teen into a hug, with Luna embracing them both. "Good to see you too, bud, I can hardly almost believe ya did it!" Sunset remarked.

Chance shook his head, confusing Sunset. Chance pointed up at the large bulbs full of spores. "We're not done yet, but we're at the homestretch. We still got to stop those spores." Chance reminded.

Everyone looks up at the puffballs, still standing tall. Chance suddenly remembers something and he turns to Scootaloo. "Hey, you did say everyone here gets Athlete's foot, right?" Chance asked.

Scootaloo nodded with a cheeky grin. "I was usually the one who had it the most." Scootaloo added.

Chance looks over at the infirmary, and rushes over towards the building, with everyone following after him.

Inside the infirmary, Chance opens a cupboard stocked full of powder bottles. "Never thought I'd ever call a cupboard full of athlete's foot powder the jackpot, but here we are," Chance grabs one of the bottles, and then looks at the Omnitrix. The teenager gets a pretty solid idea. "I think I know how we can get this stuff out there, we just need to wait a little bit for the watch to recharge." Chance remarked.

After a fair bit of waiting, daytime finally starts to come up on the horizon. Without a moment to lose, a cloud of foot powder starts raining down from above. Sunset shakes the powder down, riding on top of Fumesquito with the wind in their faces. The powder makes the puffballs instantly shrivel up, all while Sunset was laughing and hollering with joy.

A few hours later, the trio, along with the five kids they were able to save, were sitting down celebrating at a pizza restaurant, waiting patiently for the authorities to come and take them home. "Nice work, pal. Couldn't have done it without you." Chance commented, chowing down on a thick slice of pizza.

Sunset smiled. "Anytime." Sunset thanked.

The trio enjoy their pizza with the kids, enjoying each other's company, and from Chance's point of view, this felt pretty nice. It was calm, it was happy, though he still wanted to pummel the snot out of those counselors, he was fine knowing he, along with Luna and Sunset, managed to keep these five kids, these five tough little survivors, alive and well.

Chance did feel bad that the other twenty will never return home, but there wasn't anything he could do about it, even though he wanted to do something. Regardless, he felt relatively at peace, and he had another new alien to use, so he was getting stronger, adding another set of powers to his repertoire of transformations. Chance grabbed another slice of pizza and took a huge bite out of it, and though the pizza was topped with several types of meat and three different cheeses, it tasted like victory.

Victory never tasted so savory before.

Author's Note

And that was "O' the Glory to Pushin' Daisies", my version of "Camp Fear".

Getting this out of the way, the twelfth alien has made its debut, and it's Smokescreen! Smokescreen is based off of some early concept art for Heatblast, but technically, it's not Heatblast.

Smokescreen is the Omnitrix's DNA Sample of a Typhoctian from the planet of Mistrosol

I also managed to figure out how to add a bigger image, yippee!

Anyways, I don't have a lot to talk about for this one, so I hope you enjoyed this episode, and don't expect the next one to be out too soon, it's one of the more important episodes again.

S2, Episode 8: Undead Academia

Author's Note

Chapter Content Warning!

This chapter in particular is gonna be very violent, bloody, gorey, likely involving dismemberment and minor/major zombie-related body horror.

Reader's discretion is advised. You have been warned.

S2, Episode 8: Undead Academia

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Undead Academia

In a park, overlooked by a city on the horizon, a boy has thrown his frisbee into a nearby tree. The boy climbs the tree to get it unstuck, but finds that he's too afraid of the height to do anything other than cower. "Huh! Ooh... Help! I can't get down!" The boy cries out.

Chance and Sunset come onto the scene and stand beneath the tree. "Don't worry, kid! We'll come up and get you!" Sunset called out, attempting to reassure the trapped boy.

Chance looked at Sunset for a moment, a bit confused. "We? As in, you're actually gonna help me out with this, this time?" Chance questioned.

Sunset snorted and laughed in an incredulous manner, which irritated the alien hero. "You're the one with all those alien heroes at your fingertips, wise guy. You go get the kid, I'll see if Luna can track his parents down." Sunset remarked, walking away from the scene.

Chance rolled his eyes and activated the Omnitrix, selecting the alien he needed. In a flash of green light, Chance was transformed into Vitaguar, and begins to climb the tree. Unbeknownst to the teen hero, Sunset starts to come back towards the tree with Luna, with the both of them limping and shambling in a strange manner.

Vitaguar quickly climbs up the tree and slowly moves across the branch towards the frightened kid. The kid becomes more terrified as it tries to back away, revealing that the kid had an injury.

The kid's leg was drenched in blood, both red and black, all while grotesque purple veins inch further and further up the boy's body. The bite itself looked human, but Vitaguar was more concerned about helping the kid. "Oy, little one! Don't be afraid, please. I may look hairy, unsightly, and right proper freakin' ugly, but I'm a hero!" The boy didn't move towards the bipedal cat alien, but at the same time, their breathing started to slow to a crawl, which sent a shiver up the alien's spine. "I'm here to help ya get down! That bite looks pretty bad, we need to get ya to a hospital, ASAP!" Vitaguar reassured.

"I don't want to get down," Vitaguar was confused, but at the same time, he didn't want this kid to die up in some tree with an open bleeding wound in their leg. Vitaguar moved closer, but then the kid turned and showed their face. The alien hero recoiled at the sight. The kid was missing the bottom right part of their face, it was mangled, rotting and showing off bits of decayed and spoiled flesh. The kid's teeth were sharp and rotted, and the kid's eyes looked glazed over, seeped in red. "I want to take you out!" The kid growled, their voice was gurgled and screeching, yet the alien hero could see the familiar hunger in their eyes.

Vitaguar leapt off the branch and landed on the ground, only for the Omnitrix to immediately time him out, rendering him confused and rightfully concerned. "Already leaving me to fend for myself, Omnitrix? Are you sure you're not fucking with me? I better get Sunset and Luna before this gets too--" Chance felt a cold, yet firm hand on his shoulder. It pulled him back, but Chance immediately slapped the hand away and ran forward, only turning around to face the attacker. "Back off, you bath salts smokin' weirdo! Learn to keep your hands to your--... h-hands to y-your... your... self..." Chance's eyes widened, fear, terror, despair and dread coursed through his body like a rush of adrenaline, all while a lump was caught in his throat. His eyes teared up as his body refused to move closer, nor further from his attackers. "N-No... no... no no no... w-what-- w..h..y..." Chance's voice decreased in volume greatly, to the point to where it was a mumbling whisper.

Chance couldn't force himself to run away as his family shambled hungrily towards him, all while he was forced to collapse to his knees.

Luna looked like she'd been dead for weeks. She was missing tons of pieces of flesh, her body was practically painted in her own blood. Her face was decaying, her left eye hung out of its socket with a huge bite taken out of it. Luna's lips were chewed off, revealing nothing but the sharp rotting teeth she now used as her means of attack. Her hair was ripped apart in various places, and much like how the kid looked, her eyes were glazed over in complete redness. Bits of her bones could be seen, as well as her ribcage, which seemed to be busted open, revealing a couple of the ribs puncturing her lungs and heart.

Sunset looked recently turned, but that didn't make Chance feel any better. Her face had pieces of her skin and flesh forcefully ripped and peeled off, all while her skull seemed to be caved in. Sunset's arm was lacking any kind of skin, only showing the torn up mangled flesh and gnawed on bones from where she likely got attacked. Sunset's nose was busted open, pouring red and black blood down her face, staining her chewed up and thoroughly mangled lips. Her stomach looked as if it got clawed open, tons of chewed up piles of her digestive track was completely beyond simple medical help. Sunset's neck was devoid of barely any flesh at all, just leaving behind any small spots of meat that hadn't been picked clean, it looked like her head was barely able to balance itself on her spine.

Chance retched, gagging on the bile that rose up his throat, but Chance managed to finally come back to his senses and run to the RV, all while Sunset and Luna chase after him.

Much to the hero's misfortune, his zombified family seemed to prove themselves in being much faster than he was, and before he could close the door behind him, Sunset managed to tackle him to the ground. Chance held Sunset back as she gnashed her teeth at him, trying to devour him alive. He tried to use the Omnitrix again, but it was still recharging, much to his irritation and dismay. Chance managed to kick Sunset off of him, but as he got up, Luna pinned him against the sink, immediately sinking her teeth into his neck.

Chance winced and grunted, trying to stifle a scream that Sunset eventually managed to coax out of him by jamming her hands into his stomach. Chance's eyes widened as blood pushed up his throat and out of his mouth as he screamed out in agony, feeling his own life begin to fade in rapid succession.

Chance's body eventually fell to the ground, with Luna and Sunset, along with the zombified kid he tried to save earlier, devouring him alive as he tried to resist, only to fail and waste his energy while more undead piled into the RV, each one craving to get a piece of him.

With whatever energy he had left, Chance managed to find it in him to let out one more scream as the final thing he sees, is one particular zombie that wore the Omnitrix's badge on its chest. The undead clawed into his body, ripping him apart as the Omnitrix decouples from his wrist, and is then busted into pieces by more of the flesh-hungry undead that stormed in, sealing his gruesome and grisly fate.

Chance's eyes snap open, a strained and silent gasp escaped him as he laid on the top bunk. A cold shower of sweat on his face greets him as he slowly sits up, clasping at every body part that he thought was being eaten. He wasn't covered in blood, he wasn't being eaten alive by the walking dead, but he still felt uneasy.

The teen hero got up and made a beeline for the bathroom. As he threw the door open, he was met by Sunset, who was just about to leave the facilities. "Woah, ease up, buddy! I know everyone has to go, but sheesh, have some patience!" Chance pushed right past her and threw his head towards the toilet, emptying the contents of his stomach into the porcelain bowl, much to Sunset's disgust and chagrin. "Okay, that's a bit dramatic, don't cha think? What, did something you ate not agree with you?" Sunset remarked.

Chance's vomiting only seemed to intensify after he heard her say those words, much to Sunset's immediate regret. She closed the door and walked back to the booth table. "Okay, I guess that's all he wrote." Sunset remarked, shuddering in disgust.

After the teen hero finally got done emptying the contents of his stomach, Chance fell back and leaned against the wall. He looked tired, terrified, he buried his head into his knees as the feeling of bile in his throat caused a burning sensation. Chance thought back to the horrified zombie renditions of Sunset and Luna, and silently sobbed, genuinely wracked with fear, disgust and unrest.

The teenager has had some bad starts to very few days, even in light of recent events. However, this was much worse, much more horrifying than what his nightmare made him see, what it usually made him experience. Chance tried to calm himself down, to reassure him that it was just a nightmare, but then the nausea came back in full-swing. He had a bad feeling about today, and for once, he felt like he was gonna be the one responsible.

An hour-and-a-half later, Chance is sitting on his side of the booth, staring out the window with his head in his hands. He watches the greenery as they pass by, until the RV crosses over a bridge and goes up the road towards a school. Chance wasn't exactly all there today, mentally speaking, and it was becoming rather eerie for Luna and Sunset that Chance had been silent the entire trip.

"Mister Marsten," Chance wasn't paying attention. He played back those agonizing scenes from his nightmare, feeling the bile rise up his throat. Finally, enough was enough, and Sunset finally smacked Chance across the face with a rolled up magazine, snapping him back to reality. "Chance!!" Luna yelled out, making the teenager flinch.

Chance's breath hitched in his throat as the bile went back down, but Sunset was clearly not in the mood for any of this. She smacked Chance again, causing him to finally return to his senses. "AHuh!? Wha--" Chance looked at Sunset, who seemed pretty irritated. The teenager looked up front to see Luna's face, she seemed concerned. "What, did I forget something?" Chance asked, clearly unaware as to what exactly was going on.

Sunset groaned. "Have you not been listening to what we've been saying!? Clean the wax out of your ears next time you use the bathroom," Sunset turned her laptop and showed a very fancy private school. "But, since you weren't listening, here's the abridged version. We're going to Bancroft Academy, one of the top-rated schools in the country, for a tour! I'm also hoping to send in an application for enrollment during the end-of-summer period." Sunset explained.

Chance felt woozy, but he got the basic gist of what exactly was going down. "Oh, that's neat, I suppose. I might hang back in the RV for this one, though, I'm not feeling particularly... excited for a tour." Chance remarked, his tone absent and exhausted.

Luna and Sunset looked at the teenager with concern. "Mister Marsten, are you okay, son?" Luna asked.

Chance nodded his head, forcing a small smile to form on his face. "Yeah, I guess I'm still just a little out of it thanks to another nightmare. I'll probably be fine when I make a cup of coffee." Chance stated, clearly uninterested in talking about what he saw.

Sunset reached out to grab his hand, but Chance immediately put his hands in his pockets, trying to get comfortable in his seat. "It would probably help not eating unhealthy things before bed, but you're the one who insists on having a 'light snack', and don't get me started on how you nearly broke the toilet with your puke earlier." Sunset remarked.

Chance, without so much as a heads up, snatches the rolled up magazine from Sunset's hands, and tosses it towards the back of the RV, letting it land near their bunks. Sunset was surprised, as well as inadvertently annoyed by her friend's odd behavior. "I don't get why you'd want to go to this private school anyways, you're already very smart. Besides, according to a few solid negative reviews about this place, it's just a fancy building full of nothing but snobs, posers, along with ass-kissers, brown-nosers, and whiny little twats who have no concept of human decency," Sunset and Luna stared at him with looks of disappointment, but Chance didn't seem to care. "Don't get pissy with me, that's the least negative thing I've heard so far about this place." Chance remarks.

Sunset glares at her friend and pulls him close by the collar of his shirt, which causes Chance to freeze up. "Chance, I'm serious. This is the only warning you get. Don't do anything to embarrass me on the tour of the campus, or I'm going to get you back when you least expect it. Got it?" Sunset requested, her tone serious and sinister as she stares daggers into her friend's face.

Chance didn't respond for a solid two minutes. Chance just froze in place, even after Sunset let him go. Sunset's irritation slowly started to form into curiosity, then concern as she notices the sudden fear and horror she saw in his eyes, the way his pupils dilated made it seem like he just got his guts ripped out. She could've sworn that she saw a couple tears forming in the corner of his eyes, but she wasn't sure what was going on with her friend in the first place. It was only a good couple weeks ago that they dealt with the whole incident back at camp Opinicon, and he seemed much better afterwards... unless he was repressing something.

Eventually, Chance shakes his head and snaps back to reality, and gives a silent and shaky thumbs up to Sunset, much to her chagrin as he walks back to bed, clutching his stomach as he held back the urge to scream. As Chance closed the curtain behind him and hopped onto the top bunk, burying himself under his covers, Sunset and Luna both glance at each other, with Sunset starting to feel rather stupid and guilty. "Okay, maybe that was a bit much... I-I should apologize before we stop." Sunset commented.

Just as Sunset got up, Luna stopped the RV, parking it right outside the gate. Luna got up and put a hand on Sunset's shoulder. "Perhaps he just needs some time alone. After what happened at camp Opinicon, I think he just needs to re-evaluate, and he'll likely come back to his senses when we get back." Luna reassured.

Sunset sighed and walked out of the RV, leaving Luna to lag behind as she looks to the closed curtain. 'Whatever is ailing you, Chance, you know you can talk to us... don't forget that.' Luna thought to herself.

Luna walks out of the RV, closing the door behind her, all while Chance tries to sleep off this unsettling feeling.

Sunset and Luna walk through the gates, and are met by an overly snobby-sounding student that seemed to be around four years younger than Sunset, who clearly doesn't seem all too interested in the pair's presence as other school-children walk around the grounds. She has long blue hair, brown eyes, caucasian skin and wore the uniform for Bancroft Academy, comprised of a white button up shirt, a black tie, a red blazer, white socks with red tips, black and white shoes and a black pencil skirt. "You must be the girl who wants to apply here, correct?" Sunset nods, holding out her hand, gesturing for a handshake. the snobby girl sneers in disgust, which leaves Sunset feeling awkward. "Regardless, I suppose this tour will give you a taste of what Bancroft Academy expects of the students who attend. Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Tiffany, and I'll be your tour guide for the day... lucky me." Tiffany states, clearly not interested, let alone enthralled about being reduced to a mere tour guide for a couple out of towners.

Luna steps forward and clears her throat. "What kind of standard does Bancroft Academy have for academic events and contests, in comparison to a place like Crystal Prep, and follow-up question, does your answer explain why this place is so high-maintenance with student enrollment?" Luna inquired.

Tiffany raises an eyebrow, but she seems to finally understand what Luna is asking of her. "Well, as of recently, Bancroft Academy was awarded the prestigious solid gold main-cup trophy for top-rated prep school on the East Coast," Tiffany gave a proud and smug smile to the pair of them. "So you can see why we're very picky about who we admit. So many delude themselves into thinking they are Bancroft material. It's so sad." Tiffany explained, seeming rather proud of her choice of words.

Sunset took a deep breath and tried to steady herself. "Well, I'm capable of a lot of stuff, and sure, it may not impress you, but the stuff I'm capable of pulling off has saved tons of people and prevented deaths." Sunset remarked.

Tiffany is clearly not impressed, and the tour continues on uninterrupted. Sunset sighs solemnly, looking to her side, expecting to see Chance walking with them, till she remembers that he's still in the RV. "Is it weird that I kinda wanna pull him out of the RV and have him come with us for the rest of the way? I feel like it is, but at the same time... I think I need to apologize, let's go back and talk to him." Sunset suggested.

Luna holds Sunset still and gives her a patient and reassuring smile. "I know you want to make things right, and that's wonderful to hear, but I think he needs time to get a grip on what seems to be troubling him. It's clear he isn't in the best mental state right now, but--"

"Pardon me, but is there someone else with you?" Tiffany interjected.

Luna and Sunset look over at Tiffany. "Um, yes, but they're not feeling well today, so they're residing in our RV till the tour is complete." Luna explained.

Tiffany sneered. "Then I guess the tour will be put on hold till all are present." Tiffany stated coldly.

The pair were shocked and confused. "What!? Why?" Sunset asked.

Tiffany pulled out a stack of papers and opened the stack to one particular page, pointing at one of the paragraphs. "These are the rules of Bancroft Academy. Rule No. 453, Paragraph 34, line 28, subsection 12-FXG. Those given the tour must all be present and accounted for to lessen the risk of vandalization and total destruction of private property, even if the tourists aren't apart of the academy's student body. We have a few delinquents here who stir up trouble like its witchcraft, but we tend to put them under more times than not. We won't have any rogue visitors causing mayhem, no matter the cost." Tiffany instructed.

The pair stared at each other, then looked back at the RV. "I'll go get him. Sunset, why don't you stay with miss Tiffany while I go get mister Marsten." Luna suggested.

Before Sunset could object, Luna was already running towards the gates to get to the RV.

Meanwhile, Chance is having troubles of his own. Chance shifts and turns constantly, swinging and flailing his arms and legs, all while cold beads of sweat pour from his face. He can hear it all, the groans, the demanding hunger for flesh commanded by the soulless drones of the zombies that chased him in this latest nightmare, even seeing Luna and Sunset among the horde that hunted him down demanded to rip him apart and devour him to hear his soured symphony of screams.

The RV door was thrown open, and causing Chance to scream and roll out of bed, falling onto the floor. Without a moment of hesitation, Chance scrambled up to his feet, backing himself into a corner as he readied the Omnitrix. He swallowed a bit of air, panting and breathing like a paranoid crackhead who hasn't gotten their fix. He could feel his heart trying to beat out of his chest, the adrenaline and fear coursing through his veins, sending chills through him like his blood had become ice cold.

Luna pulled back the curtain, alerted by Chance's scream, and she could hardly believe that the teenager huddled in the corner, keeping his hands close to the Omnitrix, was the same boy who defeated Reinrassic the Second. She saw the terror in the teen's eyes, his body trembling as the fear slowly settled in, the way he breathed, the way he shuffled in place, he was mortified.

Luna slowly stepped forward. "Mister Marsten, are you alright?" Luna asked.

Chance blinked his eyes slowly, finally registering that Luna was right in front of him, uninfected and not a zombie. "M-Miss Luna? Is... Is t-that you?" the teenager looked around, noticing that Sunset wasn't with her. "Where's Sunset, is she okay?" Chance asked, concern being the most noticeable thing Luna heard in his voice.

Luna was not sure what exactly was going through the young hero's mind, but she pulled him close and hugged him. "I'm okay, Chance, and Sunset's well, too. She's just waiting for us to get back so we can continue the tour. Are you gonna be up for it?" Luna looked at the young hero, he looked unwell. "Mister Marsten, are you alright?" Luna asked.

Chance shook his head. "I feel like I'm losing my mind. I don't think I can go out there, I'm not decent. I'm fully clothed, I showered, and I look presentable, but I'm not decent!" Luna raised an eyebrow, to which Chance groaned, seeming annoyed. "I had another nightmare. You woke me up before... before it... i-it could get worse. I g-guess a tour wouldn't be that bad, but I haven't had my coffee, yet, so I might need a cup... or six, just in case I start dozing off." Chance lied partially.

Chance knew Luna and Sunset cared, but Sunset was clearly serious about enrolling at Bancroft Academy, so his plan was to bullshit and lie his way to the end, because he was not comfortable yet with telling Luna what was wrong, since he didn't know why he felt this way at all.

Luna could tell that Chance wasn't being entirely honest, but judging by how terrified the teen looked, how tired, exhausted and generally unwell he looked, she was starting to grow concerned that he was coming down with something bad. "Look, I promise, I'll keep you standing and make sure to keep you notified if something happens. Now, come along and hang on to me if you must, alright?" Luna inquired.

Chance cautiously nodded his head and used Luna as a means to keep himself standing, clutching onto her tightly. Luna saw it in his eyes, his fight or flight response was acting all on its own, and he was terrified. Luna was very concerned, and held the teen close, helping him out of the RV. 'This is new, he hasn't looked this terrified since meeting Gilda for the first time... now he's like this because of a nightmare? I'll have to tell miss Shimmer about this, see if she can calm him down.' Luna thought.

Luna slowly helped Chance away from the RV, closing the door as she led him back to where Sunset was waiting.

Sunset listens, bored out of her mind as Tiffany goes over the academy's rules, but she soon sees Luna and Chance coming back, only to see that Chance looked much worse than he did when they left him in the RV. As Sunset gets up, she runs over and tries to hold Chance up, all the while, he shudders. "What happened to him?" Sunset asked.

Luna shrugged. "Starting to wonder that myself, but I think it's due to the nightmares." Luna briefly stated.

Sunset and Luna help carry Chance over towards Tiffany, who is clearly weirded out and not approving of the strange behavior of the boy they mentioned. "Well, that's a pitiable and sorry sight. Am I to assume he's handicapped, using both meanings of the word?" Tiffany commented, snickering at Chance's condition.

Sunset frowned and was about to say something until Chance propped himself up on Luna's shoulder. He looked angry, but he felt unwell. "You should look in the mirror if you want a more accurate definition, kid." Chance rebutted.

Sunset and Luna looked at Chance, shocked that he said that, but Tiffany was seething. She quietly turned around and motioned for the tour to continue, all while Chance's legs started to buckle, and he clung to Luna the best he could. The trio continued, with Chance trying to keep himself on his feet for a little while longer.

Meanwhile, the circus freaks stand in one of the school's hallways, staring into a glass case containing tons of trophies. Their image is reflected on the glass panes containing said trophies, and they all smile at the sight.

Acid Breath smirked, letting a trail of acidic breath escape his disgusting maw. "See what I mean? Private schools like this are easy money." Acid Breath commented.

Before the circus freaks could make a move, a gun shot rings out, thudding against the fingernail growing out of Thumbskull's head. The circus freaks look behind and see a security guard, armed with a pistol. Thumbskull smiles evilly, all while the guard backs up, trying to get away, only to then be apprehended by two new faces. One was now completely made up of machinery, and the other looked like a magician that performs in Vegas, both were colored in black and gray, with the same sickly white skin that the original three freaks had.

The only noticeable differences was that one was female and had a crescent moon and star tattooed on their face, while the other was male and had blue hair with a grim smile on his face.

The security guard struggles as the security guard is pulled into a supply closet, letting out a scream as the door closes.

Back with the trio, the tour reaches the science lab, and immediately, Sunset is enamored. Inside the lab was a huge microscope laid on one of the tables, as well as Bunsen burners on others. Sunset squees in excitement as she rushes inside, examining the microscope up close. "You guys have an electron microscope!? This is incredible!" Sunset exclaims, getting giddy like a kid in a candy store.

Chance rolled his eyes, and rubbed his head and eyes. "This place gives me a headache... Why are the lights so bright?" Chance questioned, feeling uncomfortable as the lights blind him.

Tiffany steps forward. "I'll have you know that these lights are state-of-the-art neon bulbs, commonly used by the CDC to utilize exceptional lighting for their staff." Tiffany explained.

Chance shuddered, his face slowly turned a sickly green. "No wonder this place feels so clinical and unfeeling," Suddenly, the teen hero started feeling woozy, managing to catch himself on the wall as he leans against it. Before anyone could say anything or try to help him, Chance's eyes widened, and he immediately lunged towards a nearby trash can, vomiting into it in a vicious manner. Sunset, Luna and Tiffany were grossed out, but Luna and Sunset were equally becoming more concerned for the boy's health. Chance slowly raised his head, coughing from the burning sensation in his throat from the bile. "This wasn't worth getting up in the morning, my stomach is getting emptier and it feels like it's on fire..." Chance bemoaned.

Tiffany shuddered in disgust at the display. "I do hope that you were listening when I was reciting the rules. Your success-rate upon application will be determined by those you associate with." Tiffany remarked.

Sunset glared at Tiffany and tried to help her friend to his feet. "You okay, bud? You've been rather... well, sickly is putting it nicely. What's going on?" Sunset asked.

Chance opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, he's interrupted by a sudden noise coming from the gym. Chance gritted his teeth, looking uncertain at the Omnitrix. He sighed and slowly limped his way towards the noise, leaving the room. "I'll go check the noise out. My stomach..." Chance stated, shuffling and shambling out of the lab and towards the gymnasium.

Chance slowly makes his way around the corner after a long bit of shuffling and shambling towards the noise, and notices the smashed trophy case, and the bits of glass and blood that now littered the ground. Chance's eyes widen and he can feel his stomach churning, but he pushes forward. The sound of laughter echoes out, and he moves towards the doors to the gymnasium. Barely able to push them open and side-step inside, he sees the circus freaks terrorizing a couple more security guards, having them strung up in the rafters like pigs meant for slaughter.

The circus freaks were laughing together, but Chance took notice that there were two more freaks among them, and he was both angered, confused, and very concerned about how they got involved in this rag-tag group of criminal misfits.

Flash Sentry and Trixie Lulamoon, two individuals that Chance came across during this particular summer and had to deal with them during two misadventures when they became threats to innocent people. Trixie was being controlled and manipulated by Hex and Charmcaster, while Flash not only got partially turned into a DNAlien by a xenocyte, but also ended up getting turned into some kind of cyborg when one of the drones embedded themselves into him.

'I thought they went back to Canterlot City... why the hell are they here, and what the hell's with their new get-ups?' Chance tried to keep his thoughts clear, but his stomach ached, he needed to eat something but he didn't want to waste time and let the circus freaks escape. 'I knew I should've gotten that coffee sooner... oh well, I'll have to double down on beating them fast.' Chance thought.

Chance cleared his throat, which hurt pretty bad from the burning sensation after puking his guts out. "I didn't know circus acts did private showings for Bancroft Academy, and I see you got tweedle dip and tweedle dope working for you, this time..." Flash and Trixie looked over, noticing Chance's presence. Flash didn't react, but Trixie was just annoyed. "You two just can't help sticking your nose where it doesn't belong, can you? Flash, I thought you'd learn your lesson after what happened last time, and Trixie, why the fuck didn't you go back to Canterlot City, the sideshow act is over. It's curtains for both of you, if you stick around with these clowns." Chance remarked, trying to act like everything's fine, though the occasional twitching and shaking that wracked his body told another story.

Thumbskull panicked, but immediately glared at the teenager, balling his hands into fists. "It's that guy who took down Zombozo." Thumbskull pointed out.

Acid Breath hissed. "Not to mention, they beat us black and blue over some puny accessory!" Acid Breath reminded.

Frightwig flipped her hair, causing a whip cracking sound to echo out as she stared the teen down, noticing that something was clearly different, but decided to keep it to herself, for now. "That was a sweet gig working for that clown, and you ruined it!" Frightwig got into a stance, readying herself for a real fight. "Now it's payback time!" Frightwig exclaimed.

Flash stepped forward and gripped his mechanical hands. "After what you did to me, I'll be glad to get rid of you. Sunset shouldn't be friends, let alone associated with a freak like you, and FYI, it's not Flash anymore. Call me, "Mister Machine"." Mister Machine stated, readying himself for a rematch.

Trixie stepped forward, pulling a small handheld staff from her top hat and transforming it into some kind of electrical ribbon wand. "Don't you dare call me by that name anymore either, it's "Arcane", now. He tells me you're the alien heroes that have been showing up lately," Trixie flashes a sadistic grin and readies herself for a fight. "Let's see if you can survive now that it's five-on-one." Arcane remarked.

Chance sighed and activated the Omnitrix, scrolling to Smokescreen's icon. "You're one to talk when you use smoke and mirrors as your means of attack, nothing but poor excuses for illusions... let me show you how I use smoke to my advantage. Smokescreen will be more than enough to light a fire under you damn freaks." Chance remarked.

Chance, unbeknownst to him, wasn't paying attention. Thinking he dialed in Smokescreen, pressed the core down, enveloping himself in a flash of green light. When the light dies down, Chance was instead replaced with the undying zombie hero that's been plaguing his nightmares recently, Zombrex. The transformed teen looks himself over, only to be very confused. "Zombrex? I didn't pick you! Ugh, stupid watch!" Zombrex remarked.

Acid Breath chuckled slightly. "Nice trick, kid," Thumbskull picks up a chunk of the gym's bleachers and throws them at the zombified hero. Acid Breath continues by melting the pile in a cloud of green mist. "But we aren't as scared of the dead as we were before." Acid Breath remarked.

The circus freaks all laughed together, but then Zombrex pulls himself out of the melting acidic pile, with the acid slowly eating away at his decayed and rotting flesh, yet it still didn't slow the alien zombie down as it walks towards the circus freaks, a hungry look in its gleaming red eyes was all that could be seen. "You should be... especially since I'm already fighting you... on an empty stomach." Zombrex growled.

What happened next was horrific, not just to the villains that the preceding actions were acted upon, but for the hero that was forced to watch, a prisoner inside his own head, as this alien zombie did what all zombies do. "Flesh, organs, to me it makes no difference. I'm starving, and I'm looking at a six-star gourmet meal named The Circus Freaks." Zombrex commented.

Zombrex lurched forward, ramming Mister Machine into Thumbskull, sending both of them flying towards the bleachers. The alien zombie fixated its gaze on Acid Breath, and their attempt to melt the zombie with his acidic gas. Zombrex jumped to the left and pinned Acid Breath down. Acid Breath expected to be punched and beaten into submission, but the typical rules that a superhero usually follows were not gonna be enacted this time. Zombrex wasted no time opening his face, revealing the row of rotting sharp teeth it had, and immediately biting into Acid Breath's chest, causing the circus freak to scream out and flail, trying to push the alien zombie off of him, but the alien zombie soon backed off, seeming revolted.

"Yuck! You taste worse than how your breath smells, you won't do as a meal, but give it a little bit and you'll understand..." Zombrex looked over towards Thumbskull, who was getting up and was shocked by what happened to Acid Breath. Thumskull slowly started backing away, but Zombrex was already walking towards the musclebound man, licking the blood off his rotting teeth and lips. "You, however, are packing a lot of protein in those muscles. Don't mind if I do~" Zombrex commented hungrily.

Thumbskull threw a punch towards Zombrex, but he expanded his mouth like a snake and bit down on the whole fist, causing Thumbskull to recoil in pain. Zombrex took that opportunity to jump on the musclebound freak's back, and started to bite ferociously into Thumbskull's back and neck, finally deciding to take an extra large bite out of the criminal's skull. Thumbskull cried out, though his cries slowly petered out the more the zombie indulged itself on his flesh. The crunching of the cranium's crust, coupled with the snapping of the thumbnail on Thumbskull's head, Thumbskull was basically dead, or passed out due to fear. Zombrex snacked on Thumbskull's brain for a moment, only to once again, be revolted. "Augh! Gross, you taste like an unwashed foot, even on the inside! This won't satisfy me either." "Zombrex" commented.

Frightwig was horrified, losing her lunch a bit as her colleagues got seriously mutilated and eaten alive by this zombie creature. Soon enough, the alien zombie's gaze was now fixated on Frightwig herself, much to her fright. "B-Back off, kid! I- I w-won't hesitate to kill you!! W-Why, why did you do t-this!?" Frightwig cried out, confused and horrified by the sick and twisted fate that befell her teammates.

"Zombrex" simply got up, and walked towards her. "Poor circus outcast, all alone, stuck with a couple of newbloods. That's real sad, but I feel no pity for my food. After I'm done with you, I'm gonna rip that dipshit out of that metal suit like he's a tin can and devour him without mercy, then I'll take care of that annoying little pissant magician-wannabe, then this whole academy will be my all-you-can-eat buffet," Frightwig was beyond scared, as was Mister Machine and Arcane. They've never seen him act like this before. "You pitiful creatures exist because I allowed you to, and now, I seek to eat like a king, and take this world like the black plague." The alien zombie remarked.

Frightwig tried to run away, but was soon pulled back by her hair. Frightwig cried out in terror, tears streamed down her face as she frantically tried to fight back, only for things to get much worse. Acid Breath and Thumbskull's bodies started to twitch and move, slowly causing the pair to be resurrected as zombies. Their pale white skin somehow got worse, now becoming covered in dark red and thick black cracks, all while their eyes glazed over, becoming a pale desaturated red. Blood pooled from their wounds, as well as their mouths, and they were now making their way towards Frightwig.

Frightwig shrieked as she flailed around, trying to escape the alien zombie's grasp, but by the time she thought to cut her hair loose, it was too late. The alien zombie swallowed her head whole, her screams were muffled as the alien zombie started biting down repeatedly on her neck and throat, blood pooled out with every chomp the alien took into her flesh. The zombified Acid Breath used their acidic breath to melt one of her legs off, and have it to himself. Thumbskull, on the other hand, was less patient and ripped what remained of her bottom half off of her body, and began to eat that.

Frightwig's screams eventually petered out, and the alien zombie let her head go free. Half of her face was eaten away, her organs and blood were spilling out of her body, her vocal chords were torn to shreds, and her colleagues were devouring her without a care in the world. The alien zombie seemed satisfied and smirked at the two zombified circus freaks. "Well done, boys, you might just be useful to me, after all," The alien zombie turned towards the two new circus freaks, Mister Machine and Arcane. "But we're not done... yet. I'll rip the boy's metal suit open, and you two can argue who gets to partake in eating him. The magic bitch is all mine." "Zombrex" remarked.

Mister Machine and Arcane were horrified. "Okay, this isn't good. We need to get out of here, this isn't worth the revenge!" Arcane exclaimed.

Mister Machine simply got up and readied himself for a fight. "I won't stop till that jerk is dead... even then, after what he did, Sunset couldn't possibly want anything to do with him after this. You can run if you want," Mister Machine opened a couple compartments in his arms, unsheathing a couple blades. "He made this personal, and I'll come out on top." Mister Machine remarked.

Arcane gritted her teeth, but before she could try to leave, "Zombrex" tackled the girl to the ground with impeccable speed, and her agonizing cries and whimpers could be heard as the sound of ripping flesh from bone and gushing blood echoed through the gymnasium. Mister Machine looked towards the security guards, who were clearly horrified of how much worse the situation got, and decided to cut them loose.

Unfortunately, this did more harm than good.

The guards hit the ground and slowly got themselves out of their restraints, only to then be met by the zombified Thumbskull and Acid Breath, along with the now zombified Frightwig. Her bottom half was missing, so her hair tendrils were what now carried her to her prey. The zombified circus freaks grabbed hold of the security guards and devoured them. The alien zombie suddenly heard a familiar beeping, only to then look down at the Omnitrix, seeing that the time-out function was finally starting to kick things back into gear.

The alien zombie roared out, trying to rip the Omnitrix from its very being. "No!! I'm not going back in that watch!! This world is mine, and only MINE!!!" The alien zombie roared out.

Mister Machine was unsure what was happening, but as a flash of red light enveloped the interior of the gymnasium, the zombified circus freaks take notice that Chance has been returned to his normal form. "Oh god... Man, I feel sick, but not as bad as I did this morning... man, am I finally glad to be rid of that monster." Chance remarked with relief.

Chance looked up, only to be terrified, frightened and confused at the sight of the zombified circus freaks, along with the now infected Trixie Lulamoon, now known as Arcane, twitching and convulsing in a pool of her own blood as she starts to turn. "W-What's going on, w-why aren't they returning to normal? I'm not Zombrex anymore, this shouldn't still be going on!" Chance questioned.

Mister Machine was about to step forward and attack Chance, until a pair of razor sharp claws pierced him from behind. Chance's eyes widened in shock, and winced at the sound of metal being bent and peeled. Flash's metal suit was now completely peeled from his body, and a set of jaws chomped down on his shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. Chance cried out in terror, and watched as blood trickled down Flash's body, staining his clothes as his body started to slowly go limp. Flash's eyes rolled into the back of his head, and was then tossed aside.

"Calling me the monster? Oh, Marsten, here I thought we were close," Chance looked up, stunned and horrified by what he was seeing. "So nice to finally meet you, Chance Marsten... face to face!" "Zombrex" introduced.

Chance looks up to see that Zombrex was still there, and hunched over in front of him, to his horror. He saw the blood on his teeth, and the bits of skin and flesh stuck between them, too. Chance nearly retched again at the sight, but all he could do was back away.

Chance stood completely still, frozen by fear and confusion at the towering zombie figure that used to be what he'd transform into. "T-This isn't possible... This can't possibly be happening. You can't be you. I'm you, yet somehow-- What the hell is happening, what did you do?! What the hell did I do!?" Chance exclaimed.

"Zombrex" snarled and scowled at the human that stood before it. "I was never you, you naïve little prick! I am a Necroleus, our collective conscience exists even in a few strands of DNA, much like our Ectonurite neighbors within the Anur system," Chance backed up a bit more, trying to get back to the door. "When the creator took a sample for the Omnitrix, A part of me was trapped inside. But now, I can reveal my true self! Thank you for being so dumb, by the way. FYI, Zombrex is a stupid name for a would-be superhero," The alien zombie's body begins to shift. the exposed flesh on the left arm starts to regenerate, and the muscle begins to expand and increase in mass. The alien zombie rips away the Omnitrix on its person, crushing it beneath its feet like it was a piece of plastic. The entire body shifted and morphed, to the point where the traits Chance recognized as him started to fade and wither away. The alien was now incredibly huge, twice the size of Thumbskull, and looked like a rotting muscular behemoth of a monster. "And I am no hero." The zombie alien growled.

The alien was now this hulking mass of rotting and decaying muscle, the fingers became more like sharp claws, bones popped and grew out of the body, sometimes haphazardly, other times they'd grow around and merge with the body's exterior. The alien also had what looked like its ribs growing out of the front of its body, and its mouth had now taken up most of the head's area. He saw a large red eye inside its mouth, and sharp rotting teeth protecting it. It was also dressed clad in some kind of long draped black fabric, white and black boots, and a belt.

This alien had now become a disgusting monster, barely resembling anything that Chance's version of the species even resembled. "I am the death of all, the disruptor of the natural order!! I Am the Revenant of resurrection!! The king of rot and decay!! I am not "Zombrex", my name is Nekrosis, the first of my kind, and born from disease that originated from your backwater planet!! I proclaimed that I'd be back, and when I return, this planet is mine to conquer!" Nekrosis roared out.

Chance frantically tried to use the Omnitrix, but it was still recharging. Chance felt his back go against the door, and without a moment of hesitation, Chance opened the doors and closed them behind him, jamming them shut with a nearby broom and mop before he made a mad dash back to the others, sprinting down the halls with terror in his eyes.

Nekrosis smirked and looked over to the other exit of the gymnasium, then at the five zombified circus freaks that were now following his command. "Go forth, feed on the humans that are in this building. We will amass an army, and those who resist and oppose us, devour them till nothing remains." Nekrosis commanded.

The five zombified circus freaks start to move towards the other exit, while Nekrosis follows behind. He had a lot of work to do, and he wasn't going to let anyone get in his way, especially the wielder of the Omnitrix.

Run. That was the only thing on Chance's mind. Chance put his feet to the ground as hard as he could and broke into an immediate sprint, unaware of the literal cracks he was making in the marbled tile floor. Chance slid into corners and continued to run until he found Luna and Sunset, and so far, he couldn't find him, and that's what had him concerned. "LUNA!!! SUNSET!!! ANYBODY!!!" Chance called out, his voice echoed through the building.

Chance looked over at one of the doors and looked through the window. Sunset and Luna were inside, with headphones on their heads as they take some kind of survey. Chance tried to open the door, but found that it was locked. Tiffany stood in the doorway, glaring daggers at the teen. "Hey, let me in, this whole place is about to go to hell in a handbasket!! I need to get my family out of here, please!!" Chance called out desperately.

Tiffany rolled her eyes and walked away from the door, forcing Chance to have to do things the hard way, the way he was the most used to doing when no one complied. Chance backed up away from the door, and charged at it, ramming into it with his shoulder. Chance continued this process for a good few seconds before his shoulder got sore, but he wasn't gonna give up that easily. He slammed his fists on the glass, trying to break it, and much to his satisfaction, he was starting to crack the glass.

Tiffany's eyes widened as the teen desperately kept trying to break into the room, and with one final punch, the glass shattered, and Chance reached to unlock the door. As he felt what seemed to be a key, he unlocked the door, pulled it out and threw the door open. Chance pocketed the key and immediately went towards Luna and Sunset, shaking them to get their attention. "Take the headphones off and let's go, we have a very serious problem in the making here!" Chance remarked.

Luna took off her headphones and looked at her student, seeing the terror in his eyes. "Mister Marsten, what happened? Did you satisfy your curiosity?" Luna asked.

Chance saw that Sunset was still wearing her headphones and working on some kind of test. Chance snatched the headphones and tossed them across the room, much to Sunset's displeasure. "Sheesh, have you lost it!? What's your problem?!" Sunset reprimanded.

Chance grabbed Sunset by the collar of her shirt and pulled her up from her seat, the frustration and terror he has experienced has finally reached its breaking point, yet again. "As we speak, Zombrex is on the loose and has already turned the circus freaks, Flash and Trixie into zombies! They're gonna turn everyone in this damn academy, likely including us, into obedient zombie slaves to conquer the world, that's our problem!" Chance angrily explained.

Luna and Sunset look at each other, then back at Chance, wondering if he just said what they think he just said. "Zombrex is on the loose? How, you're right here, aren't you?" Luna asked.

"And what do you mean Flash and Trixie got turned into zombies? What were they doing here!?" Sunset questioned, clearly confused.

Chance groaned in irritation. "He said that a Necroleus' conscience exists even in a strand of their DNA. Apparently a part of this 'Nekrosis' guy got locked inside the Omnitrix, and he doesn't like being called Zombrex-- It's complicated, okay!? As for why Flash and Trixie were there, they teamed up with the circus freaks to get revenge on me, because fuckin' everyone else doesn't already want my head on a pike!" Luna and Sunset watch as the wielder of the Omnitrix starts to have a mental breakdown. "God dammit, why did I get out of bed today! I had a bad feeling ever since that first nightmare this morning, but of course I had to get out of bed for some pompous know-it-all brat's stupid school and their stupid rules, because I give a damn about doing right by my friend, to be on my best behavior for her, now everyone's gonna die because of my blunder, and I have no one else to blame for the gorey bloodshed that's about to occur, except for myself!!" Chance exclaimed hysterically.

Chance falls back onto the floor, covering his face with his hands. "This is all my fault, it's all my fault! I should've just stayed in bed this morning, then none of this would be happening!" Chance cried out.

The pair look at each other, then back down at the Omnitrix's wearer. "Mister Marsten, I'm sure you didn't do this on purpose. You know that, don't you?" Luna asked, trying to reassure the distressed hero.

Chance sat up and shuddered, his face becoming a familiar sickly green. "I was a prisoner in my own body. I tried using Smokescreen, but the Omnitrix turned me into Zombrex instead. The moment I got knocked out by something falling on top of me, Nekrosis took control... I- I was forced to listen and watch what happened next... guts, blood everywhere... their screams, dear god, the screams, the things Nekrosis made me do, all while I was a momentary prisoner in my own body. I... I-I-I don't think I can forgive myself for that." Chance explained.

The dread, the nausea, the looks of horror as he was forced to watch and listen to the circus freaks' cruel demise, and to involve Flash and Trixie, too, it was too much for the hero to handle, let alone comprehend. Sure, he didn't exactly like them, and they likely didn't have anything good to say about him, either, but even he wouldn't wish this kind of fate on his worst enemies. To him, it's needlessly cruel, and a fate worse than the death sentence.

Chance sat himself in the fetal position, shuddering as he let the terror set in. Luna and Sunset leaned down and sat with him, much to Tiffany's disgust and annoyance. While she left the room, the trio were left alone.

Luna held the boy close, trying to reassure and calm the hero down. "You lost control, but everyone loses control every now and then. Sure, this is rather different than most situations that normal people go through, even compared to the stuff Sunset and her friends usually dealt with before all of this alien stuff occurred, but Zombrex was always different from the rest of your transformations, Mister Marsten, especially since it just looked like a more zombified version of you." Luna explained.

Sunset nodded her head. "It's true, pal. Zombrex, out of the ten, to now twelve different aliens you can turn into, Zombrex was always the outcast of the bunch. It looked like you, it vaguely sounded like you, it still shared some of your typical mannerisms, but that's it. It's just you, but with a fresh coat of zombie paint. You didn't do those things, it was all Nekrosis praying on your fears and your already strenuous mind that likely has yet to fully process the last couple adventures already, so don't beat yourself up too bad, okay?" Chance looked up, letting a slight smile form on his face, though he still felt disgusted with what his transformation had done. "Nevertheless, we still need a plan of attack. If Zombrex turns the entire population of Bancroft Academy and escapes, he's basically equipping himself with an army of the dead. Everyone knows how to fight and kill zombies, but how do you fight an alien zombie and win, without killing anyone?" Sunset questioned.

The trio got up, and Luna looked at the Omnitrix, smiling. "I think I have a plan. Let's go back to the RV and get some of my old Plumber equipment, just to be safe." Luna advised.

As the trio left the room, they could already hear the distant sounds of screaming and chaos. The trio run out of the building, seeing that various students, teachers and other paid staff were being constantly assaulted, overwhelmed and devoured by various undead students. Chance growled and was about to run and help out a group of students trying to fight their way to a bus, but Luna and Sunset pulled him back. "Chance, no! If you try to fight these things without proper protection, who knows how worse things could go if you got infected!" Luna exclaimed.

Chance looked back at the group that fought their way through the zombies, seeing that while a couple students didn't make it, a large majority of them managed to escape, driving away and escaping Bancroft Academy before the gate closed. The trio follow the direction of the bus, and squeeze through the bars, making a break for the RV. "I sincerely hope this plan you have works, because I'd feel pretty damn stupid for nearly causing the zombie apocalypse!" Chance remarked.

The trio pile into the RV, closing the door as Luna starts to look through a compartment in the wall, while Sunset and Chance sit down and try to keep themselves calm, collected and focused on stopping Nekrosis and his plan to conquer the world.

Time begins to pass, a bright orange sunset casts over Bancroft Academy, all while the undead roam the outside and inside of the property. The zombified students fed on any remaining faculty members and whatever students they could get their hands on, clearly demonstrating that this wasn't going to be as easy of a situation to fix.

Nekrosis sits in the gymnasium, chewing on more meat that still clung to the security guard's spine. Nekrosis looks over at the circus freaks, who're eagerly devouring faculty members, then over at Flash and Trixie, who seemed to be eating less and less. The alien zombie scratches its chest, and finally stands up. "I grow tired of waiting. If the wielder of the Omnitrix will not come to me, then we will go to him and his allies. He won't stand in our way, and we'll make sure of that." Nekrosis stated.

The alien zombie walked to the blocked off door, and kicks it open without much effort, snapping the broom and mop that held it shut with ease. The zombified Flash and Trixie shambled behind Nekrosis, as did the zombified circus freaks, eager to gain hold of another potential meal.

As the sunset comes to an end, the dark of the night cascades over the area. Chance, Sunset and Luna search the campus using a Plumber device, while Chance is trying to get the Omnitrix to work, only to be met by it not responding to him. "We've been at this for hours. If Nekrosis is still on campus, then he's really making it difficult for us to see him!" Sunset remarked.

Chance nodded his head. "With how huge and muscly that thing is, I'm surprised we can't hear it stomping around," Chance looks towards Luna, who's focusing on the device in her hands. "Anything we can go off of, yet?" Chance asked.

The device suddenly starts to react, and the smell of decay becomes more potent. "I'm picking up some trace amounts of zombie activity from around that corner, and judging by the smell of decay, we need to be prepared for anything." Luna informed.

Chance nodded. "Time to put my game face on, then," Chance activated the Omnitrix and tried to transform into Riptile, but the Omnitrix was once again, not responding. "God dammit... Anyone got a crowbar? I know I'll desperately need it." Chance requested.

The trio walk around the corner, and as they do, school-children scream, running out of an entrance below the school's clock-tower, all while their zombified classmates chase after them. The trio's attention focuses on the clock-tower as the kids run off.

The zombified Circus Freaks, Flash and Trixie emerge, with Frightwig suspending Tiffany in the air by her hair, eager to eat. Frightwig was about to sink her teeth into Tiffany's face, until a magic tendril slices through Frightwig's hair, setting Tiffany free. The girl runs away, screaming and crying, leaving the trio to face the zombies on their own.

Nekrosis steps forth, leering down at the trio. "Hello, Marsten. I see you've finally found yourself some guts, to be able to still stand against me." Nekrosis remarked.

Sunset shuddered, not expecting to see this musclebound flesh eater. "Ugh, major horror show." Sunset remarked.

Chance stepped forward and put his fists up, getting into a boxing stance. "It's over, Nekrosis, this has gone too far, and I'm putting you back in the watch, where you should've stayed." Chance remarked.

Nekrosis chuckled. "I don't think so, for it's you and your allies, who will join me. Observe," Nekrosis let a long fleshy tendril jut out of the palm of his hand, and wrapped it around Chance. Without warning, Chance was yanked close and felt Nekrosis' teeth sink into his shoulder. Sunset and Luna recoiled in horror, but much to Nekrosis' shock, so did he. Nekrosis recoiled as he dropped Chance to the ground, letting him fall back to his allies, all while his body slowly started to heal itself. "Blegh!! You taste terrible... something else isn't right, why aren't you infected? My virus should be coursing through your veins, but it was purged the moment I sunk my teeth into your flesh... what is the meaning of this?" Nekrosis questioned, clearly confused as to what exactly just happened.

Sunset and Luna were pretty lost on what just happened, as was Chance, but then he noticed the Omnitrix's dial spinning on its own, all while his wound finally healed up all the way. The Omnitrix's dial stopped spinning "User Preservation Protocol completed. User's body has been temporarily sterilized to isolate and accurately purge unknown infection/contaminant." Everyone, including Nekrosis, was stunned. "ERROR. DNA Sample in Slot 10 is unaccounted for. Running system diagnostic to resolve issue. All functions will be unavailable, please stand by..." the Omnitrix chirped.

Chance's hope died as fast as it showed up, which was slow and gradual. "This thing saves my life again, and leaves me defenseless... fucking great." Chance remarked bitterly.

Nekrosis was pretty damn pissed to know that the Omnitrix was keeping the user from becoming infected, but he eventually calmed down. "It would seem that as long as the Omnitrix is attached to you, I can't infect you with my disease. No matter, time is on my side. You won't be able to run or hide from me, or my zombies for long enough to stand a chance against me," Moans and groans could be heard in the distance, and the trio look around to find themselves surrounded by the undead. "If I can't infect you, I can at least make the honest attempt to kill you. Get them, and don't let any of them live!!" Nekrosis commanded.

Sunset readied her magic, Luna readied a plumber rifle she brought with her, and Chance readied his fists. Zombie Thumbskull charges at Chance, and he quickly dodges out of the way, causing him to collide with a statue. Thumbskull followed by picking the statue up and throwing it back over himself, pile-drive style as he launches it at Chance, knocking him to the ground as the statue lands on a few undead, crushing them into a rotting red meaty paste.

As zombie Frightwig and Acid Breath jump into the fray, shooting blasts of acid that the trio barely outruns and takes cover from, Nekrosis swats the trio away through another series of statues. Acid Breath hops on Thumbskull's back and they approach, but Sunset quickly defeats both of them, knocking them both down and using her magic tendrils to cut off their limbs to keep them from getting back up, frustrating Nekrosis even more. Frightwig, who nonchalantly tosses more undead towards the trio, starts to descend on Tiffany, who was watching the fight from afar.

Frightwig tosses Tiffany into the air, but before Frightwig can try to kill and devour the girl, Sunset darts over to smack the zombified circus freak away and breaks Tiffany's fall, leaving them both knocked prone in a pile. "I think I'm gonna get a second opinion on applying for Bancroft Academy before I make any final decisions." Sunset remarked, while Tiffany frowns.

Frightwig gets back up, and is now assisted by Zombie Flash and Trixie, who confront Luna. Luna aims her rifle at Frightwig and tries to shoot her hair tendrils, but Flash and Trixie prove to be rather difficult and physical, attempting to snatch the rifle out of Luna's hands and then try to bite her. Luna blocks their attempts to disarm her the best she can, and manages to kick them away, continuing to aim for Frightwig's hair. She fires a few shots and manages to blast off a few strands, knocking the zombified circus freak off balance. Luna quickly gets up close, letting the tendrils attempt to try and grab her, and then uses the severed tendrils to bind, tie and braid them together, where she proceeds to tie her up with her own hair.

After struggling to get free, Luna severs the rest of the hair strands from her head, and leaves her to lie on the ground, tied up and rendered immobile, though Flash and Trixie were very persistent. Luna was about to use her gun again, but Flash managed to finally knock the rifle out of her hand and far out of her reach. The two teenaged zombies were about to bite down on Luna, but Chance quickly came through and jump kicked the pair to the side, while Sunset ran to join them.

Chance and Sunset were covered in blood, and Chance had various healed bites on his body, yet he wasn't infected or turning. "Figured if the Omnitrix was just gonna give me an immunity to straight-up zombie germs, might as well fight like I've got nothing left to lose. I tried to minimalize the amount of times I got bit, but that backfired the moment I lost count after the fifteenth time I got bit." Chance remarked.

Sunset didn't seem to show any signs that she was bit, but she was clearly exhausted. "When we're done with this, I'm taking a long, much needed shower. They make it look so easy in the movies, but this is disgusting." Sunset remarked, thoroughly grossed out by the infected blood on her.

The trio look towards Nekrosis, who towered over the trio. He snarled and was ready for a fight. "You can play with your zombie foot soldiers all you want, Nekrosis, but you're going down, and this undead nightmare ends with you getting your ass kicked!" Chance stated firmly.

Nekrosis smirked. "All right, maybe I need a new partner. Someone more interesting for you to battle, someone..." Sunset yelled out in pain, as did Luna, as Trixie and Flash sunk their teeth into their legs. Chance's eyes widened as he threw Flash and Trixie away from them, but it was too late. "Like your family." Nekrosis growled in a satisfactory manner.

Much to the alien's lack of paying attention, Chance gritted his teeth and whipped around to glare at his foe. Chance's eyes had become redder, and as such, his rage was becoming more and more untethered. Chance had gotten angry a lot in the past few instances, sometimes in recent adventures, but this was personal.

He wasn't going to let some asshole waltz into his life and take what he wanted with no regard for the consequences, not again.

As Sunset and Luna slowly succumbed to the virus, Chance grabbed them both and held them tight in a hug, not uttering a single word, and slowly lets them go. Immediately, Chance starts marching towards the towering musclebound space zombie, who seemed more curious rather than scared of the Omnitrix user's change in attitude. "Oh? You're approaching me? Your loved ones are going to join my army of undead slaves, and yet you continue to advance on my location. Do you seek vengeance, boy, or is it retribution for your failures?" Nekrosis questioned, entertained by the change in the human's attitude.

Chance didn't say a word, he just kept moving closer, moving faster as he shoved through the various zombies that tried to chew him up. Chunks of flesh and human meat were being torn off of the teen, and though it hurt, he just kept pushing. As he moved through the crowd of rotting monsters, his clothes and body becoming more torn up, chewed on, scarred and bloodied as they clawed at him and tore sections of his flesh away to eat, the zombies started to stop indulging on the persistent human, much to Nekrosis' confusion.

One by one, and soon enough, dozens by dozens, the zombies that devoured parts of Chance's flesh started to stop going after people altogether. It started slow, then the feeling grew in mass. Chance's body slowly healed and regenerated itself, thanks to the Omnitrix, but it was becoming rather clear that Chance was after one thing, and one thing only.

Chance stood in front of Nekrosis, looking up at the alien, stained in blood and covered in various bitemarks. Chance gritted his teeth, and as tears began to whell up in his eyes, a few words escaped his lips. "I believe in honesty... especially now, in what will be your final moments in this world. Consider these next few words to be the last you ever hear... I'm not one to easily be swayed in believing that death is a fitting punishment for the damned, with only two exceptions in my mind... you, however, are the third to make me believe. You deserve a permanent death, and you'll be the first I'll enact divine execution upon thee... with no regret to shoulder." Chance growled, hanging his head low.

Nekrosis was confused, but by the looks of it, the hero was not backing down, still approaching the alien. "And what the hell is that supposed to mean, other than you spouting nonsense, likely out of fear of being devoured by the dead!" Nekrosis exclaimed.

Nekrosis slammed one of his arms down onto Chance's body, but the moment it made contact, the alien couldn't move his arm any further, nor could he pull it back. "What you call nonsense, I call a promise I intend to keep. In layman's terms, you shambling excuse for a living being," Chance wrapped his arms around the alien's arm and started to pull at it as hard as he could. Nekrosis tried to smack the teenager away, but then he felt his skin tearing. Then the muscles began to unravel, and the tendons began to snap, then finally, the bone began to break. With blind look of rage in the hero's eyes, and a single grunt, Chance tore the alien zombie's arm off, leaving only half of it to remain on the body. Nekrosis was shocked as the hero tossed the arm to the side with little effort and stepped forward. "I'm going to rip and tear until nothing remains of you." The teenager gritted.

Nekrosis growled and laughed, earning no reaction or response from the teen. "What a joke, a powerless teenager can't fight against the might of the undead! Who do you think you are challenging me and my plans to rot this world and its inhabitants!?" Chance stepped forward, cracking his knuckles and reaching into his pocket to pull out some kind of handle with a red button on it. "You're nothing! You might wear the Omnitrix, but whether you wear it or not, truly, you're nothing but a piss ant! A piss ant that I'll squash like the insignificant insect you are!" Nekrosis roared out.

Nekrosis sprouted several rotting flesh-like tendrils from his torn off arm, and sent them towards the arm that the human had ripped off. The tendrils grabbed the arm and burrowed into the open wound, reattaching the missing limb. Chance pressed the button, and it morphed into a rifle made of alien tech. Chance held it close and rested his finger on the trigger, aiming it at the alien that escaped the Omnitrix and caused all hell to break loose in Bancroft Academy.

Chance gritted his teeth and smirked. "Well, you know what they say. The bigger they are, the harder they fall!" Chance roared out.

The alien hero pulled the trigger, the rifle fired a barrage of red lasers, to which Nekrosis crossed his arms and attempted to block the energy fire. The lasers connected and burned a few holes in Nekrosis' body, and though it burned like nothing he'd ever felt before, the alien zombie was just pissed off that this one human was that eager to die by doing something so stupid as fighting back.

Nekrosis growled and roared out, but Chance simply widened his smirk, ignoring the tears in his eyes as they flowed down his face. "Come and get me, you people devouring freak, it's just you and me, now! Mano-a-Mano! Come get me if you're that starved for my attention!" Chance exclaimed, running away towards one of the towers.

Nekrosis proceeded to follow, but decided to climb the tower and look out to the enormous horde of zombified students and staff. "To me, my army of undead!! Find the one known as Chance Blazkowicz Marsten, devour him alive till nothing remains, and bring unto me the Omnitrix!!" Nekrosis roared out, his voice growled through the air, and the horde became agitated, as did the zombified Luna and Sunset.

Each and every zombie began to twitch and growl, a collective set of monstrous hungry screams echoed out from the horde as they all broke out into a full sprint. Even the dismembered circus freaks managed to put themselves back together, and roared out as they joined the hunt for the wielder of the Omnitrix.

Chance ran towards a ladder, all while a few zombies sprinted towards him. Chance smacked the butt of the rifle against one of their faces, and punched another away, but he finally fired the rifle and put the undead attackers on the ground, though he knew it wouldn't be a permanent solution unless he aimed for the head, and that wasn't gonna fly. The collective screams of the undead horde echoed out, and Chance immediately started climbing. 'Come on, you can do this. It's not the end, you can beat this. You can't let this spread to the rest of the world, it'd be too catastrophic,' Chance continued to climb, all while the screams of the undead continued to get closer. Chance's foot slips for a moment, and he hugs the ladder tightly. He looks down, seeing the various zombified people tying to reach for him, each one gnashing their teeth at the sight of the hero that stayed out of their reach. 'Okay, this is a bit more difficult than the whole DNAlien invasion thing, but you can still do this. Nekrosis may have been trapped in the Omnitrix for who knows how long, but technically, he was still your transformation, and you need to set this right. You owe it to them that you stop this, and this might be your only chance, or it's gonna be a cold, rotten day in hell for everyone... it's risky, but I have to try, I don't have any other options.' Chance thought, climbing the tower with little to no hesitation.

Chance, after fifteen minutes of climbing, finally reached the top, and much to his expectations, so did Nekrosis. Following his lead, were the zombified circus freaks; Frightwig, Acid Breath and Thumbskull, who roared and screeched at at the young hero, clearly eager to eat him alive. Chance did not show an ounce of fear, only a deep-seeded rage as his eyes gleamed red. He readied the rifle, aiming carefully at the trio. "Still relying on your undead henchmen, I see, so much for the whole 'Mano-a-Mano' schtick," Chance looked at the Omnitrix and slowly lowered the rifle. "What's say we even the odds a bit, considering you've got an army, and I don't want to die?" Chance suggested.

Chance activated the Omnitrix and tried to scroll to an alien, but the Omnitrix was still running its diagnostic. However, Chance could see that it was nearing completion, judging by how the empty space in Zombrex's slot was about to completely fill up with a yellow light. So, Chance came up with a simple plan. Stall the zombies, avoid getting cornered till the Omnitrix finally completes what it needs to do, and then take the fight to the top zombie, Nekrosis, and save the world from the alien zombie apocalypse.

'I'm so fucked if this doesn't work... Oh well, I got one try. Come on, Marsten, make it count.' Chance thought, a bead of sweat trickled down his face as he gripped onto the rifle tightly.

Nekrosis points to the human. "Get him, and devour him till all that remains is his bones. After that, deliver the Omnitrix unto me!" Nekrosis commanded.

The undead circus freaks roared out and charged at the human, eager to make the hero their next meal. Chance took a deep breath, and gritted his teeth, planting his feet firmly on the ground. He ran towards the pursuing zombies, and yelled out at the top of his lungs as he readied his weapon. Chance fired the rifle and knocked Acid Breath to the floor, while Frightwig tried to ensnare him with her hair tendrils. Chance felt the hair tendrils wrap around his body, but he shot Frightwig in the head a few times, not aiming for her head directly, but mainly the scalp, ripping through the base of her individual hair tendrils and severing them from her head.

The tendrils loosened up, but Thumbskull was the main problem. Without the ability to turn into any of his aliens, Chance looked like easy prey for the hulking zombified villain. Chance held the rifle close and dove underneath the hulking villain, rolling to the other side as he runs and gains some distance. The zombified Thumbskull seems confused, until a barrage of laser fire could be felt burning through and tearing into the zombified villain's back. Zombie Thumbskull roared out and turned around, still feeling the onslaught of laser fire come from the young hero.

Thumbskull growled and was about to charge again, until a few more lasers ripped right through the zombified villain's knees, causing the legs to collapse and shatter underneath Thumbskull's large body, sending the zombified Thumbskull tumbling down to the ground below. Acid Breath eventually got back up, and tried to use his acid breath, until Chance ran forward and shoved the zombified villain off the roof, sending them careening down into a large section of bushes.

Zombie Frightwig continued to try and crawl towards the young hero to bite him, now rendered without her hair tendrils to move in an easy manner; Chance walked away from the crawling corpse of the circus freak, and readied the rifle as he walked towards Nekrosis. "Three freaks down, one to go. Hope you've said your prayers, Nekrosis, you're gonna need divine intervention after what I do to you." Chance warned, aiming the weapon at the alien.

Nekrosis growled and smirked, earning a raised eyebrow from the teenager. "I wouldn't say you're done. After all, remember what I told you. I just need a couple new partners, someone for you to battle and stay busy," Chance's eyes narrowed and a scowl formed on his face. He felt a tendril pull him away, and another one knock the rifle out of his hands. Chance looks behind him, seeing the zombified Sunset and Luna behind him, both were snarling, growling and groaning as they gnash their teeth toward the hero. "Seems your family are a bit starved for company. Surely you don't mind if they chew your ear, do you." Nekrosis remarked.

Without a moment of hesitation, Chance turned himself around to face the two zombies, and got into a boxing stance. Chance looked at the Omnitrix, seeing that the Omnitrix's diagnostic was almost complete, but he was steadily running out of time, and steadily losing out on options. Chance sighed, a mournful and regretful expression formed on his face as he tightened his fists. "Sorry guys, I'll fix this in a moment..." Chance took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. Zombie Sunset pulled Chance closer, but he didn't fight it. She pulled him closer, and once again, he didn't resist. Nekrosis was perplexed as to why he wasn't resisting, but then Chance looked back at the alien zombie, smirking. "I just needed you to get me close." Chance commented.

Before Sunset and Luna could try to bite into their former companion, Chance quickly snatched Sunset's geode and kicked the both of them away, and put it around his neck. "Just need to borrow this, now how do you work this thing," Chance grabbed the geode and tried to make the magic geode work, but nothing seemed to come of it. Chance sighed and facepalmed, groaning. "It's times like this where I start to consider that most of my plans have no proper foundation to keep themselves standing. How does her magic work, do I just- Is it just friendship that makes it work? She's a zombie and it still worked for her, so that has to mean something," Chance continued to try and make his friend's magic geode work, but nothing was happening. Chance was starting to worry and stress out, all while getting frustrated and angry. "Oh come on, there- th-there has to be something to this! Auugh!! Why is this so complicated!? The Omnitrix won't work, and I can't use Sunset's magic geode to defend myself, fuckin' great. What's next, lightning strikes, acid rain and a slight chance of high winds!?" Chance remarked, aggravated and displeased by the turn of events.

Nekrosis smirked and chuckled, stepping down and slowly approaching the defenseless hero, crushing the rifle into numerous pieces beneath his heel. "Oh how the mighty hast fallen from their grace. The end of all will be rewritten, child. Death will no longer be permanent, and life will be an eternal battle for survival, like how you humans fought to survive long before you developed as a society and constructed such primitive machines. I will rule over you cretins and devour your kind like a king, and I'll use the Omnitrix's power to ensure no one can stand against me," Chance backed up, but then he notices Luna and Sunset getting back up, shuffling towards the alien hero. Nekrosis grabs Chance by the collar of his shirt and lifts him into the air, dangling him over the edge, with the hungry horde of undead eager to rip him apart. "This is the end of the line, Marsten. This is how life will be from now on, with I as humanity's judge, jury and executioner, as well as its savior. Any last words before I damn you to an eternity of becoming a food source for my undead servants?" Nekrosis questioned.

Chance looked at Luna and Sunset, seeing them reach out to him and gnash their teeth hungrily, growling and grunting as they swiped their arms towards him. The teenager looked down at the ravenous and hungry horde of undead, then back at Nekrosis. Chance was about to consider accepting his fate. Sunset's geode wasn't working in his hands, the Omnitrix still hasn't completed what it needed to do, he was ready to just give up.

That is, until he heard a chime come from the Omnitrix, causing his eyes to widen. "System diagnostics complete; Genetic sample No. 10 has regained sentience; Biohazard protocol updated; Initiating sample data restoration..." Nekrosis and Chance's eyes widened, and then Nekrosis started to feel a strange sensation. Nekrosis roared out in pain, tossing Chance to the side as Sunset and Luna descended on him, trying to devour him, much to his resistance. The Omnitrix was emitting a signal, and Nekrosis' pain seemed to increase in its intensity.

Nekrosis clawed at where his heart would be, tearing away the flesh and rotting skin, and soon found the source of his pain. The ribcage was being broken through by something emitting a beeping sound, it sounded similar to when the Omnitrix would start timing out of a transformation. Nekrosis tried to keep the thing from breaking out, but it was becoming too much for even him to handle. Bits and pieces of bone, flesh and rotting skin burst from the alien's chest, as did a badge with the Omnitrix's emblem. Nekrosis tried to grab it and destroy it, but it knocked the zombified Sunset and Luna away from its user, and seemed to compress itself into yellow binary, letting its code be reacquired by the Omnitrix itself.

The device cycled through each alien before landing on Zombrex's empty slot. The device soon loaded up Zombrex's icon, and the Omnitrix shined green, much to Nekrosis' irritation and distain. "Sample data restoration complete; Necroleus DNA Sample and transformation data has been restored to Playlist 1; All functions have been made available again to user." The Omnitrix chirped.

Chance smiled and steadily got up on his feet, smirking as he stared the alien down, feeling rather satisfied. Nekrosis growled and stared at the human with hate and hunger. "What did you do, what just happened?! Answer me, Earthling!!" Nekrosis roared.

Chance smiled and felt faint, taking a knee. "I always wondered if the Omnitrix would still have data on my transformations, should one of them go rogue. Since the Omnitrix only flashes yellow when I get a new transformation, I figured there had to be a reason why it acted so strange around you, and lo and behold, there was," Nekrosis was surprised, and saw Chance seeming satisfied with using Zombrex for this fight. "I finally understand, now. The Omnitrix was missing data on Zombrex, as well as DNA for the transformation itself, that's why I couldn't use the watch at all. Without one sample present, the whole device seizes up. That Omnitrix badge that burst from your chest, it clearly still had data that identified you as still being a part of my arsenal, and by getting that data back, I also got some of your DNA back in the watch without your crummy personality quirks and flaws. The Omnitrix was trying to get Zombrex back, to fix the issue that was you, still being present, while keeping me powerless." Chance explained.

Nekrosis was confused. "What the- give it to me in English, what are you saying?" Nekrosis questioned.

Chance chuckled, the red faded from his eyes as the familiar green began to shine through. "Because you forced us apart when I was transforming back, the Omnitrix assumed I was still transformed into Zombrex, the alien you claimed was never you. By regaining the DNA sample and the data that came with it, the Omnitrix is recognizing that you aren't me, nor are you Zombrex, but instead, just an asshole who broke the watch with his own stupid escape plan," Nekrosis growled, but Chance still smirked. "Honestly, in a roundabout way, you wasting time helped me get the Omnitrix back in working order, as well as give me Zombrex back. Thanks a bunch, ya rotting zombie jackass!" Chance popped the Omnitrix's core up and kept Zombrex's icon selected. "Here's my last words before I tear into you, like you tore into innocent people... Turnabout is fair play, and oh how the tables have turned against you! It's payback time!" Chance growled, pressing the Omnitrix's core down, enveloping himself in a flash of green light.

Chance felt his body stiffen and toughen up as his skin started to rapidly decompose and turn gray. His muscles tensed up and started to expand, and his bones started to grow out. Parts of Chance's body started to rip, tear and completely re-arrange themselves. Chance's hair changed from brown to a very dark gray, almost black in color. His shirt changed and started to tear up, as did his body. The portion of Chance's body between his torso and his pelvis was now completely gone, leaving only his spine to be seen.

Chance's feet tore through his shoes as his toes turned sharp, like talons. His pants became more uniform, a pair of ripped black pants with white stripes and detailing. Chance's left arm suddenly tore apart, exposing the bone, but flexed it like it wasn't an issue. Chance felt his mouth grow shut as his eyes glowed white. The Omnitrix barely re-shaped itself, yet never left Chance's wrist.

The alien stood tall, smirking with sharp rotting teeth, and then roared out as it lunged forward with a hungry look in its eyes.

As the flash of light died down, Nekrosis was met by the alien zombie hero, Zombrex, now sporting a pair of glowing white eyes, rather than the expected red that he shared with Nekrosis. Zombrex looked himself over, smirking with the utmost confidence and growled at the hulking zombie alien villain. "Hey, I actually meant to do that! Now, let's finish this!" Zombrex taunted, flashing his sharp rotting teeth.

Nekrosis roared out and charged at the alien hero, and Zombrex did the same. Nekrosis tried to slam his arms down, but Zombrex caught the attack and kicked the hulking zombie behemoth back. Nekrosis caught himself and slid across the ground and lunged towards Zombrex, punching the zombie alien hero right towards the tower.

Zombrex collides with the wall, cracking it as he slid down and fell to his feet, feeling a bit dazed. Zombie Sunset tries to bite into Zombrex's face, but the undead hero was finally getting agitated. "Okay, you wanna bite me that bad!? How's this!" Zombrex bit down onto Sunset's neck, and her body seemed to stiffen up. Suddenly, Zombrex felt infected blood course through his veins, and Sunset's body seemed to slowly start to return to normal, undamaged and untainted by infection. As Zombrex removed himself from his friend's neck, he saw no signs of a bite mark on her shoulder, or on her ankle. Instead, Sunset simply gasped for air, and collapsed in his arms, now reverted back to her normal self. "Uh-- Wha-Huh!?" Zombrex questioned.

Zombrex looked down at his unconscious and unzombified friend, surprised and confused as to what exactly just happened. "Wh-- How did-- Since when could-- Okay, that's a new trick! That might come in handy!" Zombrex brushed the hair out of Sunset's eyes and carefully set her down, only for the zombified Luna to try and attack him. Zombrex, now curious to see if he can replicate what he did to Sunset, takes a huge bite and sinks his teeth into Luna's shoulder. The same thing happened to Luna, her body was becoming more and more alive, untainted by infection and restored to life. Luna gasped for air as Zombrex stopped biting her, and fell unconscious. He laid her next to Sunset, and smiled. "Interesting... I'll have to figure this out later, but for now, let's get back to business." Zombrex remarked.

Nekrosis was not happy in the slightest. Somehow, someway, the wielder of the Omnitrix has managed to use his species' ability to infect others with their plague, to remove their infection from the afflicted. It was like witnessing the impossible be made possible, he never knew of any member of his race to be capable of such a thing... until now, that is.

Nekrosis was infuriated, but at the same time, he now had a reason to fear the wielder of the Omnitrix. Zombrex looked over at the hulking zombie behemoth and smirked. "I wonder what'll happen if I try that trick on you. As curious as I am, I think I'm just gonna kill you. Someone, or something like you cannot be allowed to live on this planet, or any other planet susceptible to your plague. Now would be a good time to think of your last words and pray to whatever sick twisted god you worship, because you're gonna need that divine intervention when I get rid of you for good." Zombrex commented, chuckling as he let sharp bone claws protrude from his fingertips.

Nekrosis had finally been pushed to his limit. He roared out and charged at the alien hero, and Zombrex did the same. When the two got within arms length of each other, Zombrex immediately had the advantage with his new bone claws. Zombrex slashed and cut at the zombie alien villain, actually drawing a thick black blood from the new wounds Zombrex inflicted. "Sheesh, I don't know whether to hate you or pity you, by this point... actually, no, I know what I'm feeling, and it's not pity. I'd rather choke on a sandpaper cock than feel pity for you, ya muscle-brained lout!" Zombrex remarked, kicking Nekrosis onto the roof.

Nekrosis got up and growled, only for Zombrex to jump into the air and reach into his torso, pulling out his heart. Zombrex threw the heart down at Nekrosis' feet, and was surprised when the organ exploded into a sudden splash of viscous red and purple juices, coating the villainous alien zombie from head to toe. "Blech! What was that supposed to accomplish, other than piss me off?" Nekrosis questioned.

Zombrex landed on the ground, shrugging his shoulders. Soon enough, the zombified circus freaks crawl up the walls, sniffing the air as they look at Nekrosis hungrily. "What're you buffoons waiting for?! Kill him!!" The zombie circus freaks didn't listen, but instead started to approach Nekrosis himself. "W-What are you doing?! I turned you into immortal warriors of death and unliving! Obey me!!" Nekrosis roared out.

Zombrex let out a gurgled laugh, feeling entertained like his stomach was about to burst. "Well damn, even as zombies, their loyalty to their bosses ain't worth the shit on someone's shoes! HA! Now that is fantastic, for me, not so much for you, muscle boy," Zombrex looked at the zombie circus freaks and pointed at Nekrosis. "Sic 'em, you weirdos earned a treat after getting the run around from me." Zombrex remarked.

As Zombrex walked away, Nekrosis tried to fight the undead circus freaks off, but unfortunately, Thumbskull proved to be much more of a problem when he couldn't feel pain, and his strength was now enhanced with unnatural zombie strength. Acid Breath melted Nekrosis' chest and stomach open, and the circus freaks began to tear the undead alien apart.

As Nekrosis roared out and continued to try and fight the undead circus villains off from tearing him apart, Zombrex shuffled back to Luna and Sunset, letting the Omnitrix time out and revert him back to his normal human form. Chance ran over and knelt down, observing his companions closely. Chance took Sunset's geode off and put it back around her neck, only for her to shuffle and flutter her eyes open slowly. "Hey, how're you feeling?" Chance asked.

Sunset groaned and yawned. "Feels like rigor mortis just settled in, and now I feel as loose as a rusted pipe... what happened? I remember us fighting zombies, and then I felt a bite on my ankle, then everything blacked out." Sunset groaned.

Chance smiled. "I'll explain what happened later, right now, I need to wait for the Omnitrix to recharge. Bancroft Academy isn't gonna cure itself, ya know." Chance remarked, chuckling a bit.

A few hours later, and various breaks from curing the entirety of Bancroft Academy later, the undead nightmare was finally over. Outside in the midst of the night, the three uninfected Circus Freaks are arrested, carted off past the trio and an uninfected Tiffany. Thumbskull with his hands in oversized cuffs, Frightwig was cuffed and restrained in chains with a drastically balding head with split ends, and Acid Breath being carted away in both a straitjacket and muzzle, all while still missing his arms.

Sunset looks to Tiffany who snobbishly turns her chin up at her, much to Sunset's dismay, and much to Chance's confusion. "What was that about? Surely she doesn't want zombies running around, right?" Chance asked.

Sunset groaned. "It's not that, but something tells me that I am so not getting into Bancroft Academy." Sunset remarked.

Chance sighed and pulled Sunset close, patting her back to reassure and comfort her. "I'm sorry, pal, this is my fault. But, hey, look at the bright side, the silver lining to this situation," Sunset looked up at Chance in confusion. "You don't need this stupid school to prove you're smart, because you already are. Do you think any of these eggheads could have brought down those circus freaks, or stand up to a horde of zombies? I don't think so." Chance remarked with a grin.

Sunset gives Chance a tight hug, one to which he reciprocates. "Sorry for freaking out at ya earlier, that was uncalled for and unprofessional." Sunset apologized.

Chance smiled and patted her head. "Ahh don't worry about it, it's all in the past now, kinda," Chance walked away and the trio made their way to the RV, but before Chance got in, he saw Flash and Trixie, both unzombified, running away in the opposite direction they were heading. At first, he wanted to say something, but at the same time, he felt that it'd be best to let them be, especially after what happened that day. "I hope I can get my powers under control, so this doesn't happen again. I'm actually kinda glad to have Zombrex back, and to have some control over him again is fine too, but the last thing I need is an undead alien invasion on my hands." Chance remarked.

As the teenager sat down in the booth, sighing in relief as he yawned, he noticed Luna sitting down across from him, staring intently at him. "Let me guess, we're finally having that talk?" Chance guessed.

Luna nodded her head. "I hope you've braced yourself, mister Marsten, we have a lot to discuss." Luna remarked.

Chance sighed and sat up straight. "Of course we do... guess it was bound to happen eventually, might as well be after I stopped the zombie apocalypse from happening, because that's a good conversation starter." Chance quipped, chuckling a bit.

Sunset stepped inside, closing the door behind her as she made a beeline towards her bunk. The entire day was exhausting for the heroes, some moments were more exhausting than others, but with one less enemy to worry about, Chance has gained a new understanding of his undead alien transformation, and intends to put its zombie-like abilities to a much more constructive and heroic use.

S2, Episode 9: Lucky You, Princess!

A Hero's Origins
By TheAlienBrony22

Lucky You, Princess!

At a prison, a young sorceress is seen taking down several police guards with magic. One by one, the guards fall and collapse to the ground. The sorceress tries to cast a spell to bust the door open, and closes her eyes to concentrate. "Fallum Quarca Daminigan." The sorceress chanted.

The spell breaks the door down, revealing Hex, who has been floating in the air whilst restrained in a straightjacket. "Charmcaster, I've been waiting. How kind of you to break your uncle out of this wretched hovel." Hex snided.

Charmcaster rolls her eyes. "Well, major jailbreaks aren't exactly easy to pull off, you know." Charmcaster snarkily remarked.

Charmcaster was immediately smacked across the face with one of the straightjacket's sleeves, revealing that Hex managed to somehow free himself without the use of his magic. Charmcaster held her face as a single tear formed in her eye. "You will show me respect my dear niece, or you will suffer the consequences. Understand?" Hex demanded, his voice echoed throughout the cell.

Charmcaster nodded her head hesitantly. "Y-Yes uncle, sorry uncle." Charmcaster stated, stuttering a moment out of fear.

Hex held out his hand. "My staff. You have it, yes?" Hex requested.

Charmcaster nodded her head, unzipping her little side pouch, and proceeds to pull out the Staff of Ages, and hands it to Hex, who snatches it impatiently. "Uh, the magic must have drained out of it or something, I couldn't get it to work properly," Hex looked over, unmoving and not showing any emotion at all. "It doesn't work, b-but I swear it's not my fault. I-I s-swear!" Charmcaster hesitated.

Hex grumbles and looks away. "Always the naïve girl you are, Charmcaster. It's powers can be brought to life, but only in the hands of a master magician. You have a long way to go before that ever happens, much longer than you've once assumed," Two more police guards step in, aiming their weapons, but Hex uses his staff to blast the guards away. "Now to find the keystone. The moment of alignment is nearly upon us," Hex snaps his fingers, causing the lights in his cell to illuminate a whole wall dedicated to Sunset and her temporary alter ego, Princess Empathy, as well as clippings of Chance's alien heroes. "Once I have completed the ritual and gained its powers, I shall take my revenge on the ones responsible for imprisoning me in this festering sewer!" Hex declared, his voice was strained and full of hate.

Hex and Charmcaster leave the prison, levitating off the ground as the sound of more guards being defeated echo out from the halls.

At the first sight of Sunrise, Chance and Sunset were busy jogging, all while wearing gray t-shirts and camo shorts. The both of them were sweating like crazy, but Chance was really determined to keep moving. Luna was running right behind them, smiling as she readied a megaphone. "Come on, you two! Put the pedal to the metal! I'm not training a couple of lazy couch potatoes to save the world, now get your butts into gear!!" Luna shouted.

Chance was putting in a lot of work into keeping himself at a brisk level of speed, but Sunset was pushing herself to the limits, perhaps a little too much from how blue in the face she was getting. Chance noticed some tires up ahead and side stepped through them as much as he could, all while Sunset was starting to trip over herself.

Sunset slowed down and lied down on one of the tires, all while Luna stood over her. "Alright, let's take five and relax a moment, you both did pretty well for first timers, though you could use a bit more focus and resolve, miss Shimmer," Chance ran over, jogging in place as he was entirely showered in sweat. "Mister Marsten, I said lets take five!" Luna repeated.

Chance came to a stop, standing up straight as he saluted to Luna. Chance helped Sunset back on her feet and guided her back to the RV, with Luna following close behind. "Man, I haven't felt like this in a long time. My body is aching, I'm exhausted, I'm sweating worse than a man stranded in the desert, and on top of all that, I've never felt better. Hah... I missed this feeling, reminds me a lot of when my dad would help me get into shape." Chance remarked.

Sunset panted and wiped the sweat from her brow as she made her way to the bathroom. "I'm gonna take a quick shower, I'm tired and covered in sweat. I know sweating is healthy, but sheesh, I feel like I'm drowning in it!" Sunset remarked, pulling back the curtain as she looked into her bag for a change of clothes.

Chance smiled. "You get used to it, though I highly recommend a cold shower after a workout like that. Nothing beats the aching in your bones like a cold shower after working and sweating like crazy!" Chance grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and sat down in the front seat, all while Luna tied a durag around her head to reduce the amount of pouring sweat trying to get in her eyes. "So, how was that for a military kid's workout routine? Not too shabby, huh? A mile run, pushups, jumping jacks, and a good ol' fashioned obstacle course. Good thing this camping spot had so much junk we could repurpose, otherwise it'd just be going to waste for no reason." Chance commented.

Luna smiled. "Nice to know you're in a much better mood, but I can see why it's not for everyone. I hope you aren't too upset that we had to stop half-way." Luna remarked.

Chance chuckled, taking a sip from his water bottle. "I'm fine, I haven't felt like this in years, nearly a decade ago, I would've been crying and snotting all over, begging for this to stop. But, I think because of all the danger we've gotten into this summer and the magic stuff that usually happens back in Canterlot City, my body is retaining some of that old muscle memory, or some of that training is coming back to me in waves, I'm not sure how to explain it, to be entirely honest," Chance grabbed a nearby clean rag and poured some of the water from the bottle onto it, then wiped his face and neck, feeling the cool sensation wipe away the pouring sweat and grime he gathered from the training exercise that morning. "Either way, this is a very good way for us to keep getting stronger, but I can't solely rely on one form of training forever, otherwise, what's the point. We're doing good right now, but we could be better. Like my dad always said, you can train all your life to be the strongest, but no matter what, there'd always be room for improvement, even if you don't think so. He was wise like that, it always sounded like he spoke from experience." Chance explained.

Luna smiled, though a thought crossed her mind for a moment. "Mister Marsten, you seem to remember a lot about your father, including numerous experiences I'm sure you haven't told to us yet, but from what little I've gathered thus far, your father seemed like quite the capable man. It's almost baffling to assume he'd die or fall so easily on what seems like a routine job," Chance immediately became silent, something Luna noted for later. "Apologies, Chance, I'm not meaning any disrespect, but do you remember what your father looked like, any distinct facial features? From how you described your father from memories and past experiences, he seemed like a wonderful man who clearly took care of himself and those around him, but at the same time, with you being the son of a military man, he also seemed rather accustomed to the violence of war," Chance looked at Luna with a bit of confusion, but also with a twinge of intrigue. "For all we know, he was probably a Plumber operative, and you never knew or remembered because you were so young." Luna inquired.

Chance's intrigue was now at the highest it's ever been. "You actually think my dad was a Plumber?" Luna nodded her head, and Chance began to think hard about how possible it could've been. "I'm surprised you want to follow up on this conversation, but I already told you before that there's no possible way he was. He used to tell me stories about how he faced demonic creatures from beyond the stars before I went to bed each night, but I always thought he was just very passionate about his christian beliefs, I doubt he was a Plumber, since he'd probably call aliens demons, and I doubt that would go well. But, let me indulge you for a moment," Chance took a moment to think, then he got an idea. Chance got up and went to the back of the RV, grabbing his bag as he pulled it up front. "If it's true that my dad was a Plumber, then the stories that he told to me were just him remembering his days on the force! I remember before we left for Camp Everfree, I was packing up stuff that I didn't want to risk getting ruined by the ditzy drug addicts on Dwayne Street. Maybe one of the things I packed with me has some clues to confirm or deny if my dad was a Plumber." Chance explained.

Just as the teen unzipped his bag, the radio suddenly flared to life. "Attention! Attention! Is anyone on this frequency!? A tour bus full of senior citizens just spun out of control and is dangling off the side of a bridge! We need help!!" The voice called out in a panic.

The pair looked at each other, and Chance let out a sigh, setting the bag aside. "This can wait. We passed a bridge on the way here, didn't we? Strap in and step on it!" Chance stated, hopping into the passenger seat and buckling himself into his seat.

Luna turned the key and the engine roared out as it sped down the road, though she was keen on continuing their conversation later.

At a highway, a tour bus with several senior citizens inside is about to fall down the side of a bridge, but before it can finally tip over, something huge managed to pull the bus back onto the road. The citizens in the boat looked at the back of the bus, seeing it be torn open by Riptile and tossed to the side. "It's okay everybody. Everything's alright now, so if you'll be so kind to come forth one at a time, you'll be helped out of the bus and escorted to your destination when the next bus comes through." Riptile reassured.

One by one, the senior citizens approached the alien and were carefully lowered to solid ground. While Riptile evacuates the senior citizens, Sunset is back in the RV, looking at magical artifacts and princess regalia, all while reminiscing about her time as Princess Empathy. "Oh Princess Empathy, I wish you were more than just a Halloween costume," Sunset examined the domino mask she had along with her old costume, and couldn't help but feel melancholic. She looked out the window, seeing Riptile evacuate and assist the senior citizens. "I could've helped with the magic I have, but I'm still a bit spent from that training exercise. Good thing I heard the RV start, otherwise I would've been tossed around during my shower." Sunset told herself.

Luna walks into the RV, and a flash of red light envelops Riptile, transforming Chance back into his normal form. Chance walks into the RV and closes the door behind him. "Man, sometimes this hero stuff gets a bit stale. Like, I'm thankful for my powers and I'm glad I'm making a difference by helping others, don't get me wrong, but I'm not gonna lie, it's getting a bit stale." Chance remarked, slumping down in the empty booth.

Luna smiled. "You should be proud of yourself Ben. Those folks would've been in a real bad place without your help." Luna stated.

Chance nodded, looking rather spent. "I know. I'm glad I could help, I truly am, but I just wish we could have one regular summer day, where we could just hang out all day along and do nothing. No alien attacks, no supervillains, no magical psychopaths of any kind, you get the gist." Chance remarked.

Sunset frowned and furrowed her brow. "You should appreciate what you have, I only got to be Princess Empathy for a few hours, and I barely even remember any of the stuff that charm made me do." Sunset remarked.

Chance raised an eyebrow. "You're still hung up on that? You already have magical powers, ya dummy, so why not just don the costume, use the magic powers you already have, and bring your hero alter ego out the next time some psycho wants to come out and play?" Sunset opened her mouth to say something, but instead just chucked a pillow at her friend's face, now leaving him rather bemused. "Real mature, princess. Real mature," Sunset gritted her teeth and ducked down to hide behind her laptop. Chance looked over and saw how sad she was. hated seeing Sunset like this. From what he can remember, ever since what happened with the fall formal and Anon-A-Miss, he hated seeing her be so mopey and miserable. He hasn't seen her like this since what happened with the luck charm, but then an idea popped into the teenager's head. "Hey, I'm sorry if I pissed you off, it wasn't my intention. Tell you what, how's about I make it up to you? Those senior citizens were talking about a magic convention in Las Vegas, and we're on our way there, anyway. Wanna go and check it out?" Chance offered.

Sunset picked her head up and looked at her friend, curious as to what exactly this was. "I wasn't aware that there were such things as magic conventions. Anime and video game conventions, maybe, but never magic... I guess it wouldn't hurt." Sunset accepted, smiling a little.

Chance grinned and looked towards Luna. "So, viva Las Vegas?" Chance asked.

Luna chuckled. "Sure, we can make a day out of it, too, just a fun trip for the three of us." Luna agreed.

The two teenagers buckled up and Luna drove down the road, eager to check out Vegas for herself.

Somewhere out in a desert, Hex and Charmcaster are standing near a large campfire, and Hex has readied himself to use some kind of ritual magic. "Darkara Dorokey Aghosto!" Hex tossed a handful of strange pellets into the fire. The fire rose, the smoke and embers intensified, and soon an image of a red charm appears in the thick cloud of smoke. "The Keystone of Bezel. Reveal your location to me!!" Hex commanded.

The image of the keystone warps and forms into a magical octagon shape with various lines connecting and intersecting inside of it. In the top-center portion of the image, a blinking dot makes itself visible to the sorcerer, signifying itself as the location of the keystone.

Charmcaster seemed apprehensive about the whole thing, and finally started to slowly back away with a nervous smile. "Okay, well nice seeing you again uncle, good luck with your magic... thing. I'm gonna head out of here." Charmcaster spoke out.

As Charmcaster turned her back to her uncle and walked away, Hex blasts a magic beam from the staff, causing Charmcaster to jump and turn back towards Hex, who seemed ready to blast her again if she moved another inch. His eyes glowed a sickly yellow-green as his staff crackled with magical energy, and he stared her down. "You seem to have forgotten where your loyalties lie, Charmcaster. You may leave my service, only when I say you can." Hex bellowed out.

Charmcaster, out of fear for facing whatever horrifying fate could befall her if she stepped out of line again, shook in place as she slowly, but hesitantly nodded, frightened for her life. "Y-Yes uncle... apologies, u-uncle Hex." Charmcaster stuttered.

Charmcaster carefully stepped forward towards Hex, all while the sun continued to shine down.

Meanwhile, the trio arrives at the magic convention in Las Vegas, they walk past people practicing cheap magic tricks, much to Sunset's dismay. "Magician of the Year Expo?" It's all cheap junk and gross-out tricks," Sunset hung her head low, seeming more disappointed than she was before. "I thought it was going to be 'magic' magic, not cheesy stage magic. This is more up Trixie's alley, rather than mine." Sunset remarked.

Chance facepalmed and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, pal, I thought it would be genuine, but I guess I didn't listen well enough... but hey, that doesn't mean we can't have a good time," Sunset looked at Chance as if he suddenly grew another head, to which Chance pointed over at a box on one of the shelves. Chance walked over and pulled a box labeled "Ogres & Oubliettes: 6th Edition" on the front of the box, showing a warrior mage fighting what looked like a spider-snake-starfish chimera. "Look, it may not be real magic like what you, your friends and I are used to dealing with, but I can assure you, that sometimes it helps to broaden your horizons, to get a better perspective. In layman's terms, it helps to escape to another magical world, to better understand the magic you already have access to. Entertain the thought please, for me?" Chance explained.

Sunset looked down at the tabletop game, and sighed in defeat. "Okay, we'll give it a try, but I'm still gonna find something here that is more my speed. I like tabletop games, don't get me wrong, but it's a bit insane, especially without as many people you'd typically need for it." Sunset remarked.

Sunset was still a bit disappointed in all the fake and staged magic stuff, but she was appreciative of her friend trying to help her find a way to make the most of their visit, even if it wasn't meeting her expectations.

Luna walked over to the two teens and patted them on the backs. "Well as long as we're here, we might as well make the most of it. Let's split up and look around for some items we're interested in, but remember to stay in my line of sight. Conventions are a breeding ground for the inept and arrogant." Luna stated.

As the trio splits up to look for a few items, Sunset walks around the place, gazing at various stands that have tons of stuff for sale, she finally settles on a magic jewel booth that offers magical charms. "Hello. I don't suppose you have any real magical artifacts for sale, would you?" Sunset asked.

The woman behind the booth, who was reading a book about wiccan incantations simply looked at the teen. "What you see is what you get honey, not much else to tell you." The woman stated before returning to her book.

Sunset looks at the jewels for a bit, uninterested by what she's seen so far, but then she eyes a gauntlet that was colored red, yellow and brass. She picks it up and examines it, taking notice of the red stone embedded into it, as well as it's uncanny resemblance to the Charms of Bezel. Her eyes widen, a twinge of curiosity tells her to put it on. 'Well, this is an interesting development. I should probably be worried, but if all of this is really fake, then this won't have any effect on me. It's likely just a coincidence,' Sunset puts the gauntlet on her wrist, and it feels like a perfect fit, with the way it seemed to pulse with a familiar energy. Sunset smiled and tapped the woman's shoulder with an eager smile. "I'll take it." Sunset stated.

Sunset pulled out a few dollars and handed the cash to the woman, all while Luna came by with a small basket full of fake magic stuff. A top hat, a magic wand, as well as a dreamcatcher, and various other items. Chance wasn't too far behind, though it seems like he was only able to keep the tabletop game on his person, as nothing else seemed to entrance the alien hero the same way as it did their vice principal. "Well, I guess Ogres and Oubliettes is the only thing that really caught my attention. Meanwhile, Luna made like a Harpy and got very grabby." Chance commented.

Luna chuckled. "I'll have you know, mister Marsten, that most of the items I have on me are going to be gifts for Celestia and Cadence. The top hat, wand and dreamcatcher are more so... keepsakes," Luna looked over at Sunset, noticing the gauntlet she now adorned. "I see you found something after all, miss Shimmer. What do you think?" Luna inquired.

Sunset nodded, admiring the gauntlet with intrigue. "Yeah, I love it. Y'know, it kind of reminds me of-" Sunset is cut off by the sound of a man's screams. The trio look at each other and quickly rush out of the building, only to look up in shock. A man is hanging from a rope attached to a flying helicopter, and it seems that the helicopter is breaking down. "Oh my god, that's definitely not good!" Sunset exclaimed.

Luna was very concerned. "I don't think that's part of the act, and even if it was, someone could get hurt if no one tries to stop this!" Luna advises.

Sunset and Luna look toward Chance, and the teen sighs, stuffing the tabletop game into Luna's basket. "So much for a normal day... Alright, I'll go save the half-wit Houdini!" Chance remarked, pushing through the crowd as he reached for the Omnitrix.

The helicopter continues to veer out of control as the man screams in terror. The helicopter flies into the power lines, slicing through them as the man almost gets the final shock of his life, but the active cable barely misses the defenseless man. Unfortunately, one of the other sliced cables manages to set fire to the rope that held the man in the air, making the man more terrified than before.

As the helicopter starts to veer towards the ground, Vitaguar jumps from the side of a building and clings onto the bottom of the helicopter. "Oy! Stop yer screamin'! Don't worry, ya cheeky thrill-seeker, everything's under control!" Before Vitaguar could try to save the man, one of the blades pop out of the helicopter and starts to go right towards Luna. "Or not!! Bloody hell, this ain't me lucky day!" Vitaguar exclaims.

Sunset looks at Luna, who is looking at her, not realizing that the blade is flying right at her. Sunset runs forward to try and help her, and unbeknownst to her, the charm in the bracelet shimmers and glows. Sunset jumps over one car, and bounces herself off of another and perform a mid-air front flip, and tackles Luna out of the way, letting the blade zoom by and slice into a nearby unmanned taxi, slicing the vehicle in half.

Sunset and Luna pick themselves up off the ground, and Luna is genuinely astonished and marveled by Sunset's attempt at saving her life, but she's also curious as to how she did it. "Miss Shimmer... how'd you do that? I knew you were athletic, but that was rather... lucky." Luna said, unsure as to how else it could've been phrased.

Sunset looked at where the blade landed, then to her gauntlet, and finally back at Luna, only to smile. "Just lucky, I guess." Sunset stated, just as curious and astonished as Luna was, but then she looks at her gauntlet again. Sunset thinks about the situation and what she just did, but the pieces start to click into place, causing the teenaged girl's eyes to widen at the realization.

Back up above, Vitaguar continues to hang on under the helicopter, and he uses his golden bone protrusions to rip his way into the chopper and start pulling any people inside towards him. Vitaguar quickly cuts the roof and pulls the dangling man close as he lunges toward the side of a nearby building. He digs his claws into the wall and slows his descent, but Vitaguar immediately drops the pilot, the endangered magician and whoever else he got out onto the floor and immediately chased after the plummeting helicopter.

Vitaguar quickly runs as fast as he can, and manages to get in front of the helicopter before it crashes to the ground. He kept it off the ground the best he could, but he suddenly felt as if it was lighter, for some reason. The feline alien looks over to his left, noticing Princess Empathy shouldering the extra weight of the copter on her back. "Princess?! Well I'll be damned!" Vitaguar exclaimed.

The duo carefully lays the helicopter on the ground as a fire engine pulls onto the scene, immediately hosing the fire down before the vehicle explodes. The people cheer for them both, but it becomes obvious that they are cheering for Princess Empathy more, though it doesn't seem to bother the alien hero.

Vitaguar looks at Princess Empathy, only to see her give him a glare. "Don't even start with me about taking your advice. I only put the costume back on because I got Princess Empathy's powers back." Sunset stated defensively.

Vitaguar smiled and lightly nudged the princess. "Cheeky move, lady, but to be fair, I'm glad you intervened when ya did. I was trying to go Fumesquito, but the watch has decided to act like a total bugger and turn me into Vitaguar instead, really tied up my initial plan into a knot," Sunset looked unconvinced, but Vitaguar continued to talk. "I'm serious, I'm just happy to finally get a little backup. But now I'm curious. How'd you suddenly get your Princess Empathy powers back anyhow?" Vitaguar questioned.

Back in the RV, the trio are sat at the booth with Sunset using her laptop to do some research on the charm bracelet. Chance examines the charm closely, and even he had to admit that it looked exactly one-to-one with the other charms. "This is some freaky voodoo shit, right here. I don't mean to be a downer, but just like the last charm you had in your possession, I got a bad feeling about this." Chance stated, feeling a chill run up his spine as he put the charm back in the gauntlet.

Sunset gestured for Luna and Chance to lean in towards the laptop's screen, displaying an image of the keystone they had in their possession. "You might have a point, bud. It's one of the Charms of Bezel." Sunset stated.

Luna was concerned and shook her head. "No, that's impossible. Miss Shimmer, you destroyed all those in that cemetery fighting Hex." Luna stated.

Chance nodded his head. "She's right, we saw you bust those things into pieces." Chance confirmed.

Flashback...

"I thought I did..."

Sunset swung the shovel in her hands down onto the charms as hard as she could, smashing the charms to dust as their mystical energy flowed into the Archamada book of spells, and then the book faded into pieces, scattering away in the wind and blowing into the sky.

The trio look at the charm in the gauntlet, now feeling extra cautious about what they were dealing with for the second time. "...but according to what I was able to dig up, this is the legendary lost keystone," Sunset pulls up a wall of text for Luna and Chance to read. "It's rumored to increase ten times the powers and skills of the one who possesses it. This could be my big chance to bring Princess Empathy back, after all." Sunset explained.

Chance facepalmed, he knew that nothing good could possibly come from this. All it took was one bad experience with one of these charms, and the alien hero wanted nothing more to do with it. "Well, legends seem to be more fact than fiction nowadays, and that's the most dangerous thing we could know is true... Sunset, make a Pinkie promise for me," Sunset looked at Chance for a moment, seeing the caution and concern in his eyes. "Promise me that the moment you feel like that charm is doing something weird to you, and not the good kind of weird, you take it off and bust it into pieces. Please? I have the utmost faith in you, really I do, but after what happened last time, I don't wanna take any chances that aren't worth the risk." Chance requested.

Sunset didn't say anything for a solid minute, but she had to admit that he had a point, and understood where he was coming from. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," Sunset did the hand motions that followed, and Chance felt himself be put at ease. "Well, what do we do now?" Sunset questioned.

Luna looked outside, noticing that everyone was going back inside the convention. Luna looks at one of the signs, and notices that a magic show is starting at this time, and suddenly she gets an idea.

Inside the magic convention, a magic show is commencing. On stage was the announcer, who was ready to get things started. "And remember, the magician of the year will be crowned in just a few hours during the solar eclipse. Now please welcome our next contestant, a determined runner-up who's competed for the past five years, the Amazing Alan!" The announcer spoke out.

Alan appears on stage, he was a caucasian man with blonde hair, a squared jawline, had streaks of gray and white hair that cascaded down past his shoulders, and was dressed in a white and purple outfit, mainly consisting of baggy clothes and accessories. "For my first trick, I need a volunteer." Alan told the audience.

The crowd clamored for one of them to be the volunteer, but instead, Alan set his sights on the absent-minded alien hero. 'Hmph... not paying attention, a foolish mistake,' Alan pointed a finger towards Chance, and a spotlight momentarily blinded him as the crowd gasped. "You, the one with the exotic watch! I choose you to be my volunteer! Be not afraid of the magical arts, for we shall face them together!" Alan proclaimed in a dramatic tone, striking a theatrical pose.

Chance's eye twitched as he slowly walked up to the stage, the crowd moved out of his way as he got closer. 'Maybe it's me who's not being fair, but I swear that Rarity chick must be around here. I can smell the excessive abundance of dramatics from where I was standing,' Chance stepped onto the stage and gave an uncertain wave of his hand to the crowd. Alan opens up a box, and the alien hero cautiously climbs inside it. 'Just relax, it's just fake magic, nothing you can't handle.' Chance thought to himself.

Alan closes the box and faces the audience with a confident smile. "And so, the boy goes in, but what comes out will amaze and surprise you!" Alan closes the lid and locks it with a padlock, then he starts to wave his hands and wiggle his fingers at the box. "Abracadabra! Alakazam!! Showeth to the audience the real magical sham!" Alan chanted in a dramatic voice.

Chance sat in the box with a smirk on his face. 'If you say so!~' Chance thought, dialing in one of his transformations.

For a moment, the box begins to rumble and shift in a couple directions, like something was trying to escape. Before anyone could wonder what happened, a burst of green light peered from the box, and all of a sudden, it stopped moving. Before anyone could wonder what happened, a gray decaying arm forced the lid open, and a sickly gurgled growl escaped the box.

In a swift moment, Zombrex leapt from the box and roared out at the crowd. The crowd screamed out in terror, as did Alan, but then the crowd began to cheer, much to the alien hero's disappointment. "Damn it! What's it gonna take to earn a proper scare from people nowadays?" Zombrex was about to walk off-stage and hide someplace till he timed out, but then suddenly, a red fog hovers above the building and enters the convention. The dust disappears, revealing Hex and Charmcaster. "Well, good thing I'm already changed... let's dance, you psychotic shaman!" Zombrex growled.

Alan stepped in front of the alien zombie and glared at Hex, who seemed unperturbed by the hero and the stage magician. "Hey! Wait your turn pal, you're ruining my act! I waited a whole year to try this again, and you won't--" before Alan could say another word, he was levitated into the air and thrown into a bundle of curtains, then fell onto a bunch of props, incapacitating the stage magician. "Ooouuuhh..." Alan groaned weakly.

Hex sneered at the alien zombie and readied his staff. "I have no time for amateurs, nor do I have the time to waste on you pointless pests. I will only say this once, and should you not comply, I will put you in the ground where you belong, you vile draugr!" Hex reached out an empty hand, as if he was expecting Zombrex to give him something. "Give me the Keystone of Bezel!" Hex commanded.

Zombrex stood his ground, but Hex was clearly not pleased by his lack of cooperation. Hex retracted his empty hand, and prepared his staff. "So be it. If it's magic you want, it's magic you shall have." Hex declared.

Hex starts to generate some kind of magical explosive fog around the convention, causing people to cough and panic, running away in fear. "Hex is back to his old tricks, I see. If I had to guess, that girl who's with him must've busted him out of prison." Luna stated, pulling her Plumber badge out of her pocket.

Sunset looked down at her gauntlet, and knew what she had to do. "This looks like a job for Princess Empathy." Sunset said, running to a place she can hide and change.

Zombrex growled as Hex approached, but before Zombrex could land a hit, the mad sorcerer tossed the undead alien hero to the side with a quick smack from his staff. Zombrex's head was hangling by a few purple bunches of strenuous rotten flesh, but the alien hero managed to get his head back on his shoulders in the correct position, though he was a bit stunned by how much that hurt. "Hand over the keystone or I shall destroy you all!" Hex demanded, his voice reverberating across the entire building.

From behind Zombrex landed Princess Empathy, equipped with the gauntlet and keystone, and using her geode's powers as well. Her eyes shimmered with a blitzing blue glow as she stared Hex and Charmcaster down. "You forgot to say "pretty please", Hex." Sunset remarked.

Hex's gaze falls onto the gauntlet, and the keystone refracts a glint of the sun's rays, making the sorcerer's eyes widen in surprise. "Princess Empathy and the keystone? How... convenient." Hex noted.

Zombrex roared out and tried to tackle Hex, only for the sorcerer to move and let Charmcaster play with the undead attacker. Hex tried to blast Zombrex away, but soon found his staff snatched away from him by one of Princess Empathy's magical tendrils. "You'll get this back once you surrender, like a good psychopathic magician." Princess Empathy quipped.

Hex groaned and looked towards Charmcaster, who was barely able to keep Zombrex from trying to land an attack, but it was becoming all too clear to the girl that she was running out of places to run. "Charmcaster, do something! Stop acting like you have nothing to show for yourself!" Hex reprimanded.

Charmcaster flinched, something the alien hero noticed and hesitated on his approach, but Charmcaster unzipped her little satchel, reached in and tossed a couple metal donut-shaped disks at Zombrex. The disks managed to stagger the undead hero for a bit, but Zombrex continued to press onward, as if the attacks weren't affecting him at all.

Hex's eyes glowed with power and managed to call his staff back to his hands, dissipating Princess Empathy's magic tendril and staggering her for a moment. Zombrex quickly whirled around, only to be met by a blinding flash and a sudden push launching him across the room, his gurgled groans and grunts could be heard as he landed on one of the booths. Zombrex managed to poke his head out of the debris, revealing a wooden table leg to now be jammed where his heart should be. While it felt like a mild form of discomfort, Zombrex just pulled it out of his body, and kinda collapsed on the ground for a moment.

Sunset moves forward and charges at Charmcaster, only for her to throw metal disks at her too. Sunset jumped to the right and managed to pull off a spin kick on the older teenaged girl, knocking her to the side as she got into a fighting stance. Before Charmcaster could try to fight back, a bowling pin suddenly hit the side of her head, revealing that Luna threw it to distract the young sorceress.

Already frustrated, Charmcaster retaliates by using her magic to make a giant metal disk chase Luna, to which Zombrex steps in and tries to stop the ring, leaving Sunset to fight Charmcaster and Hex two-on-one. Sunset grits her teeth and clenches her fists tightly. "I don't know a lot about you, but if you're paling around with Hex, then you're no friend of mine." Sunset stated firmly.

Charmcaster huffed, as if she were offended by such a statement. "Paling around with", As if I have a choice..." Charmcaster gets into a fighting stance and stares Sunset down. Both girls didn't move for a solid minute, but before Sunset could make the first move, Hex's hand grabbed her gauntlet, and she struggled to get free. "Oh come on, uncle! I was waiting for this and you--" Hex shot Charmcaster a nasty glare, and Charmcaster immediately felt her words vanish from her mouth, as if they never existed in the first place. Charmcaster swallowed and bowed her head, shaking with a look of terror on her face. "F-Forgive me, Uncle... many apologies, uncle, I didn't mean... I-I'm--I'm sorry..." Charmcaster quivered.

Sunset's eyes widened at Charmcaster buckling under Hex's glare, and soon felt his hatred-ridden glare on herself. "There's two kinds of luck, your highness. Allow me to educate you on the bad kind." Hex stated grimly.

Sunset smirked, much to Hex's confusion. "Clearly you didn't get the memo, Einstein. I'm not just lucky anymore, I'm a hundred-percent kick-butt," Sunset shoves Hex away and kicks him back, staggering the sorcerer a fair bit. The pain Hex felt was indescribable, and Princess Empathy just looked down at the sorcerer, as if he were but a mere peasant. "And I'm keeping this keystone, whether you like it, or not. Never thought I'd ever get the chance to say this in my life, but here's a command for you. Recognize the strength of my majesty." Sunset stated.

Hex got up and gritted his teeth, his patience has been worn thin for long enough. "Even with your new powers, you are no match for a master magician. You've barely even scratched the surface of what the charms are capable of, and you'll never understand their secrets like I do," Hex readies his staff to blast Sunset away, being completely unaware that Zombrex was trying to shove an entire radio down on him. "Now give me the Keystone!" Hex bellowed out in a rage.

Zombrex gives the radio one final push, and Hex finally looks up and behind him, noticing that it is about to fall on him, but he dodges out of the way at the last possible second. Zombrex lands on the ground, standing side-by-side with Princess Empathy as they ready themselves for another round. "Finders keepers, skull-face! Now go back to your witch hut and cry about it!" Zombrex taunted.

Hex glared at Charmcaster, who hesitantly got up and unzipped her satchel, causing both of the teen heroes to turn around and face the sorceress. "I-- I'm sorry for this, I-I really am..." Charmcaster throws some magic rock models in front of the two heroes, much to their confusion. "...Hear me spirits, my faith dost show, make my rock model monsters alive and grow!! Sapientaas Dormanicus Incantuulim!" Charmcaster chanted.

The small rock models began to glow purple, and soon grew to be rock monsters, now becoming the size of dogs. Two quadropedal stone golems with magical purple markings now faced them, ready to attack. "Okay, I know she's trying to kill us, but that's actually pretty good." Sunset admitted.

Zombrex grabbed one of them as they lunged in his direction and bit its head off, chewing on the rocky material as the monster crumbled into pieces. As Zombrex swallowed the rock, he noticed white magical patterns forming on his rotting and decaying skin. "Ooohhhh~ Magic powers! Nice!~ I'm the zombie supreme!!" Zombrex tackled Charmcaster to the ground, trying to figure out how to work his temporary magic abilities. "Let's see, how does this work?" Zombrex wondered.

Charmcaster struggled underneath the alien zombie, and finally decided to open her satchel again. A magical force escaped and pushed Zombrex off of Charmcaster and rolled aside, all while the Omnitrix started timing out.

Sunset was fending off the rock monsters pretty well, and using her magic tendrils seemed to take a lot less of a strain on Sunset's body than she remembered, so it was easy to dispose of the monsters by shattering them to pieces. Charmcaster was about to create more, but Luna got behind her and knocked the girl out cold with a magical scepter prop.

Finally, Hex got back up, and was finally at his limit of failures for the moment. "Enough!!" Hex uses a vortex spell to launch Luna and Sunset into a nearby hedge maze, and levitates Charmcaster's unconscious body to venture after them. Chance, now returned to his human form, soon got back on his feet and tries to stop these psychopathic sorcerers from accomplishing their likely sinister plan... or rather, he hopes to just beat the head sorcerer, Hex, if his hunch was correct.

Luna and Sunset flew out of the building and land smack dab in the center of a hedge maze, but they manage to get back on their feet, even without a sense of direction to properly escape. "Where's mister Marsten?" Luna asked.

Sunset shrugged her shoulders. "I think he's still in the building, he tried to fight that magic girl with the silver hair, but it didn't work out. We have to find our way out and keep the keystone away from them," Sunset was about to walk forward, until three more rock models rolled at their feet. "Well, we're not going that way! RUN!" Sunset exclaimed.

Luna and Sunset run away as the models morph into rock monsters and chase them. The pair make a right and hide behind a section of the leafy green walls. Two of the rock monsters pass by, much to their relief, but then the third one turns the same corner, wondering where they went. They stay still and quiet long enough for the rock monster to keep running in another direction, giving the pair a chance to keep going and distance themselves from the magical rock creatures.

Soon enough, another trail of red fog slams down in another part of the maze, revealing Hex, who was clearly angry and disappointed, and Charmcaster, now awake, back on her feet, and seems terrified of her uncle. "You have one last chance to prove yourself worthy of my mercy, Charmcaster. Circle around, and drive them toward me, like lambs to the slaughter," Charmcaster hesitated to move, her eyes started to tear up, but Hex was clearly starting to get angry. "NOW!!!!" Hex roared out, shaking the ground a bit from the sheer volume of his rage and impatience.

Charmcaster yelped and sprinted away down one path, while Hex stayed in place, waiting for the trio to be led to him. 'I grow tired of that girl, and her naïveness. Should she falter once more before the ritual, she will be whom I sacrifice to regain the power I deserve!' Hex thought.

Luna and Sunset run down a path, only to come to a fork in the path. Luna goes left, and Sunset goes right. Sunset runs almost aimlessly through the maze, while Luna is trying her best to memorize her path back to the crossroads, so she can try to follow Sunset. Unfortunately, Luna ends up running into a dead end, and two of the rock monsters had been tailing the plumber closely. Luna whips around and tries to block the monsters' attacks, but is soon interrupted by the sound of a rather aggressive intervener.

The sound of stone busting and cracking apart could be heard, and by the time Luna looked to see why they hadn't attacked, she was surprised to see Chance, now covered in scratches, bruises and his clothes were now torn and littered with the remains of the monsters. She noticed immediately that his knuckles were bleeding, and immediately tried to bandage them. "You okay, miss Luna?" Chance asked.

Luna looked at her student's eyes, briefly seeing a flicker of red fade from his determined green eyes. "I'm fine, but are you okay? H-How did you stop them? They were made of stone and likely imbued with a powerful magic, yet you broke them with your bare hands! You're bleeding, Chance, you don't feel that?!" Chance looked puzzled, but then he finally noticed the stinging sensation on his knuckles, as well as the fresh red streaks running down his arms. The wielder of the Omnitrix was rather confused, and yet, this feeling was familiar to him... too familiar. "Are you alright, mister Marsten?" Luna asked worriedly.

Chance shook his head and dusted himself off. "Not the first time I've bled, and it won't be the last, but I'll live. Where's Princess Empathy?" Chance asked, looking a bit scared at the blood that stained the remains of the rock monsters.

Sunset moves through the maze in a calm yet scattered manner. She's constantly checking behind where she was, periodically stopping to try and listen for anything, or anyone nearby. Eventually, she rounded a couple corners, only to stop once she heard the sound of leaves rustling. Sunset smirked and rubbed her hands together. "Okay, Hex, time for you to get taken out like yesterday's garbage." Sunset quietly remarked.

Sunset jumps and backflips over the wall, but instead of Hex, like she was expecting, she instead kicks Charmcaster, who already looked like she was fearing for her life. Charmcaster rubbed her head tentatively and made eye contact with the fiery haired magic girl, eyes widened like she was staring death in the face for the first and final time. "D-Don't hurt me!! Don't hurt me, I give up! I surrender, just don't hurt me, please!!" Charmcaster cried out, desperately trying to back away from Princess Empathy, who was rather stunned by the sorceress' change in behavior.

Sunset was not sure how to tackle this situation, but it was clear her original plan was gonna have to be benched. 'Okay, not what I was expecting, so maybe I should do this the old fashioned way. Why do I get the sudden feeling that this could backfire on me,' Sunset slowly stepped forward to Charmcaster, much to the older girl's fears and worries as she tried to shield herself from an attack, when no attack had been made. Sunset thought about her next move carefully, and removed the domino mask on her face, revealing her real self as she let her geode power down, showing who she really was. "Try to stay calm, I'm not going to attack you... it's clear to me that from how you're acting, someone has already attacked you before our fight." Sunset stated calmly.

Charmcaster's body shook like a jackhammer, the fear and tears in her eyes was unexpected to Sunset, but she saw her geode was reacting, and that was all she needed to know. Sunset carefully took one of Charmcaster's hands into her own, and took a momentary look into the sorceress' mind. She felt terrified, trapped, scared, betrayed, hurt... abandoned. Sunset let Charmcaster's hand go, and judging by the sympathetic and saddened expression on Sunset's face, Charmcaster knew that this girl somehow saw her memories.

Sunset reached a hand out to Charmcaster, though she was pretty reluctant to take it. She looked like a wreck, runny makeup stained her cheeks, she was gnawing on her quivering lip, she was clearly starting to unravel. "Okay, how's about we calm down, and let's talk. Okay? Clearly you're scared, and you have every right to be, but know that I'm not going to hurt you. I'll even make sure my friends won't lay a hand on you, but you gotta understand that they're the people I trust the most. Do we have a deal?" Sunset asked, trying to explain what needs to happen.

Charmcaster swallowed hard, she was scared, but then she asked the most important questions she could. "Answer two of my questions... a-and I'll c-consider it," Sunset thought for a moment and nodded in response with a warm smile. Charmcaster sighed and thought carefully. "That girl that Hex manipulated to get the Archamada book of spells, did she get home okay?" Charmcaster asked.

Sunset bit her lip and sighed. "She's running away with my ex. Both of them got involved with this crazy stuff during this summer, and it hasn't been easy to track them down, but we're not giving up. I'm surprised that you're worried about her, though, wasn't expecting that at all." Sunset responded.

Charmcaster nodded her head, she felt tired. "You could say we were... close," Charmcaster carefully thought about her next question, and finally she knew what to ask. "W-Why are you trusting me right now? I couldn't've done anything to earn your trust, I'm an accomplice to my uncle's prison escape, plus his crimes... why are you trying to help me?" Charmcaster asked, growing concerned by what possible answer Sunset may have.

Sunset didn't really know how to answer that one, but she did have an answer. "Simple, I look at you, and see someone who's a lot like me and my alien friend who tried to go full-on zombie on you. You're kinda like us, trapped in a bad situation and forced to live with it without an escape," Sunset held out her hand, and Charmcaster carefully accepts it, only to be helped back onto her feet. "I was having a rough time with my other friends due to a heinous incident, and Chance... well, I have no doubt that he'd probably relate more to your issue than you'd initially think. He may not look it, but he has some issues bottled up to the brim, and it's a miracle they haven't exploded," Sunset chuckled, though Charmcaster was a bit confused. "My point is, I think you could benefit from having a friend or two, maybe someone who can help you figure out where to start healing. Sure, we all still have our own repressed problems in regards of an untold past, an uncertain future, you name it, but it's through dealing with it together, we can finally overcome adversity and move on." Sunset explained.

Charmcaster thought for a moment, and her eyes widened with uncertainty. "Are you asking me to leave my uncle?" Charmcaster asked.

Sunset nodded. "I am, he doesn't seem to treat you very well, based on what I've seen... Nevertheless, I think you'd be better off sticking with us." Sunset explained.

Charmcaster looked nervous. "I-I can't. You know what he's like. He doesn't take no for an answer, I doubt he'd be happy if I aided in your escape," Charmcaster stayed silent for a moment, then she got an idea. "I-I can help you, though. I didn't mean to hurt anybody. My uncle made me do it, otherwise he'd punish me again if I didn't do as he commanded, but I can tell you his plan," Charmcaster pointed to the keystone in Sunset's gauntlet. "He's after the Keystone. He plans to use its powers to strengthen his own, and by doing the ritual of Bezel at the highest point during the eclipse, he's going to re-create the Charms of Bezel, the ones you destroyed!" Charmcaster explained.

Sunset's eyes widened in shock, but just as she was about to say something, the sound of footsteps running their way could be heard. From around the corner, Chance and Luna ran towards Sunset, though Chance could see that the situation had been handled. The pair came to a halt, all while Sunset reassured Charmcaster that they were on her side. "Easy, just relax, they're not your enemies, nor are you their enemy. The only enemy we all have, is Hex." Sunset stated.

Chance looked at Charmcaster for a moment, then carefully held his hand out for a handshake. Charmcaster was hesitant to return the gesture, but with some encouraging from Sunset, the sorceress shook the alien hero's hand, feeling an unexpected source of strength from him, which startled her a fair bit. "Now that's rather unfortunate, I thought my niece would fear me more than appreciating some pathetic show of kindness, what a pity," Everyone looked around, wondering how Hex sounded like he was everywhere around them. "Are you enjoying your new friends, Charmcaster? Wanna see me make them disappear?" Hex's voice called out.

Hex arrives, phasing through the leafy green walls of the maze, and begins to levitate a few of the convention visitors as a means of torturing them. "Give me the Keystone, or watch them suffer our painful demise." Hex demanded.

Luna and Chance get ready to fight, as does Sunset, but Charmcaster grabs her satchel and aims it at her uncle, gritting her teeth as fresh tears flow down her face. "I won't let you do this, uncle. Consider this my way of saying 'I Quit!'" Charmcaster exclaimed.

The satchel opens, letting Rock Monster bats fly out and surround Hex, disrupting his focus as he lets the convention visitors go, though he seems to be struggling with the swarm of rock monster bats. The bats begin to grab ahold of him, making him float and then get carried away. "Charmcaster, how dare you betray me, you ungrateful sow!!" Hex exclaims.

The bats carry Hex over the maze and towards a nearby pool, to which they drop him in and fly back to Charmcaster, leaving Hex to soak for a moment. Charmcaster lets the bats fly back into the satchel, and Sunset smiles as she pats her back. "I guess you were legit, I had a small bit of doubt, but now that's no longer an issue. Come on, let's get out of here and finish the job before Hex dries off." Sunset suggested.

Charmcaster shuddered, whimpering softly as she fell to her knees. "He-H-He's gonna be really, really, really mad at me..." Charmcaster stuttered.

Chance patted Charmcaster's back gently. "It's okay, you're gonna be fine. Look, give it time, and you'll get used to it, then it'll just be a momentary feeling of numbness. It'll almost be like you don't care about him anymore," Sunset and Luna looked at Chance with a concerned look on their faces. Chance frowned and looked unamused by the eyes on him. "Oh don't you dare look at me like that, I'm not gonna give a single care about my abusers, and neither should she. I don't care if they're family, that doesn't justify the twisted shit she's been put through because of them." Chance remarked defensively.

Luna sighed and helped Charmcaster back to her feet. "I'll stay with her, you two deal with Hex." Luna stated firmly.

The two teens nodded and ran towards where Hex got carried away, all while Charmcaster clung to Luna's side and started sobbing. Luna sighed and tried to comfort the poor girl, she knew this would be a crazy day, but she wasn't expecting all of this.

None of them were.

The duo arrive at the pool to confront Hex, who is making a fountain spell out of the water. Chance looks down at the Omnitrix, which was still in its inactive mode, glowing red. "Damn it, the Omnitrix still isn't charged yet! I'm gonna have to wait, you stall him while I try to get an alien dialed in!" Chance stated.

Sunset furrowed her brow. "We can't, there's no time!" Sunset remarked.

Sunset ran forward and tried to leap towards Hex, but soon found herself tripping over her dress, falling onto the ground. Hex slowly dismounts from the fountain spell, and Chance decides to charge at him, balling his fists. Chance jumps towards him, but Hex moves to the side, and lets Chance fall head first into the water.

Hex grabs Sunset's wrist, all while she struggles against his grip. "Give me the Keystone!!" Hex examines the gauntlet, only to notice that the keystone was missing. Hex thinks for a moment, then a sinister smile forms on his face. He lets Sunset go, and notices Luna and Charmcaster arriving on the scene. "We'll see each other soon and finish our business then. For now, however," Hex held up his hands and let a dark shadowy aura envelop his hands. "Ledger Hephis Dominu!" Hex chanted.

Before anyone knew what happened, black shadowy light beams wrapped around Charmcaster and trapped her in a bubble. She screamed out for help, but no noise could escape. She banged her fists on the bubble, but it was clear nothing she did was going to break it. "Hope you enjoyed playing with these pests, Charmcaster, because this is the last time you'll ever see them again." Hex proclaimed.

Before anyone could try to stop him, Hex and Charmcaster vanished in a red fog, gone without a trace. Chance finally manages to resurface from the pool and crawled himself out, coughing, hacking and throwing up pool water as Sunset picked herself up. "What... what just happened?" Chance gasped, trying to get his breath back.

Sunset looked down at her gauntlet, only to now notice that the Keystone was gone. Sunset didn't want to believe what she initially thought could've happened, but it was the only reasonable explanation for it. Sunset gritted her teeth, she was beyond pissed, and she pulled Chance back up on his feet, dragging him back to the RV. "Charmcaster... Charmcaster happened." Sunset growled.

On top of the Stratosphere Tower, Hex has Charmcaster trapped inside that magical bubble, to which she now sits in the fetal position. She sobs as Hex examines the Keystone with great satisfaction. "Yes, this is very promising. Even when you turn your back on me, you can't help but want to aide me," Charmcaster didn't answer Hex, she just continued to sob and cry. "Regardless, it matters no longer. Soon, I shall have enough power to destroy all my enemies and rule the world!" Hex proclaims.

Inside the RV, Chance is still coughing up water as he dries himself off. "Have I ever expressed how much I'm starting to hate those stupid charms? Because I'm starting to really hate how I've gotten the shortest end of the stick today." Chance remarked, clearly displeased by how waterlogged his ears were.

Sunset didn't seem to be paying attention, but she was clearly upset, practically seething with anger. "I can't believe it, why would she do this!? Was all that "my uncle made me do it" stuff just an act, was it because she needed to get close enough to me to steal the Keystone?! She tricked me, played me for a fool and I let her!!" Sunset punched the table, then curled up in her seat, burying her face in her knees. "Some hero I turned out to be... what was I thinking?" Sunset groaned.

Chance put a hand on Sunset's shoulder and knelt down by her side. "Hey, it's not your fault. You were just trying to help them, and sometimes, you never know what people are gonna do, you're not to blame for this," Sunset looked at her friend, who then held her in an embrace. "It's gonna be okay. For now, the thing we should be worried about is how to stop Hex and Charmcaster before they recreate the other charms." Chance stated.

Luna tapped a button on the dash, bringing up a holographic map of Las Vegas. "She said the ritual would be performed at the highest point during the eclipse, and the highest point around here is the Stratosphere Tower." Luna stated.

Chance raised an eyebrow in confusion. "The thing that looks like a bootleg space needle? Go figure, of course they use the knock-off space needle as the location for a ritual during the eclipse. Might as well ask for a blood sacrifice and the tanned hide of a virgin Mary." Chance remarked sarcastically.

Sunset looked out at the horizon, gazing at the Stratosphere Tower in the distance. Sunset clenched her fists tightly, knowing that the final confrontation was coming sooner than expected.

Hex uses his staff to blast a beam of magic at an elevator door, sealing it shut. "I do NOT want to be disturbed, not when I'm so close to imminent victory," Hex cleared his throat and began to concentrate, channeling his magic throughout his entire being as he gazed up at the coming eclipse, gripping onto the Keystone tightly. "Barban Hextida Zerzam! Barban Hextida Zerzam!" Hex chanted.

The Keystone began to glow with a golden aura, and soon began to float in the sky, causing the moon to synchronize with the sun. Charmcaster continued to try and escape the bubble Hex trapped her in, but it was becoming more and more pointless as the air inside got thinner.

Back on the ground, the trio arrive at the tower, where there is a live audience of people watching the ritual take place up above. "We're running out of time! The eclipse is only a few minutes away, you two need to stop them!" Luna stated.

Sunset hung her head low, then she made eye contact with her friend. "Guess it's all up to you now, pal. Without my powers, I'm just--" Sunset was then met by a firm backhand to the face. Chance had smacked her, and clearly wasn't amused. Sunset rubbed where she got hit and looked at him with irritation. "Okay, OW!! What was that for!?" Sunset exclaimed, clearly confused why she got smacked.

Chance pointed to Sunset's geode. "One, you may lack those dumb charms, but you still have magical powers. You were a hero way before I was, and you need to face reality and start acting like it!" Sunset was rather surprised to hear him so agitated, but he only got like that when she had lost herself to the luck charm. Chance then pointed at Sunset herself. "Two, you never needed those damnable charms to get the job done! You faced an alien invasion, you faced magical threats long before I found the Omnitrix, you're not some hopeless dope! You're my friend, and I'm not gonna listen to you demean yourself about those damn charms for another second!" Sunset was at a loss for words, but then Sunset looked at her reflection in the side mirror. She looked like a wreck, a torn up costume and wearing a mask like some kind of wannabe vigilante. She's no costumed vigilante, she's a hero, and a rather empathic one, at that. She nodded her head, a look of determination slowly formed on her face, which brought a small smile to Chance's face. "That's much better, that's the Sunset Shimmer I recognize. Now, pick your ass up, put your mask on, and ready that hoverboard Sugilite gave you! Your pal's gonna teach you how he survived dangerous situations before he found the Omnitrix; Making due with what you got, and giving it your best shot! Are you with me?!" Chance stated firmly.

Sunset smirked and put the mask back on. "It's Hero Time," just as Chance was about to walk away, Sunset held him still and smacked him across the face, leaving a red hand-shaped mark on his left cheek. "That was for smacking me. Tit for tat, remember?" Sunset stated.

Chance smiled and chuckled as he watched Sunset run back into the RV. "Nice to see you back to your senses. No more wasting time, let's get this magic show off the road!" Chance stated.

As the ritual continues with Hex uninterrupted, Charmcaster is slowly losing consciousness due to the lack of circulating air in the bubble. Soon enough, Charmcaster slumps to her side, her eyelids become heavy as her eyes begin to close, she sheds a few more tears as she finally slips into unconsciousness. "I-... I'm... s..o..r..r...y..." Charmcaster weakly whispers.

"Barban Hextida Zerzam! Barban Hextida Zerzam!" Hex chanted, caring not for his niece's well being.

"Hey, who-do-you-voodoo! Did you really think you could ditch me that easily?" Hex's eyes widened and he whipped around, mildly entertained by the sight of Sunset, who seemed to somehow be levitating in the sky. "Now, Hex, make it easy on yourself. Give me back the Keystone, or deal with the royal powers of Princess Empathy!" Sunset declared.

Hex was rather perplexed, he wasn't aware that the girl could already levitate herself, but then Hex thought about the situation more thoroughly, noticing that a window washer platform was currently in-use right where they were standing. Hex uses a telekinetic spell to lift Sunset and Luna up, revealing the latter to have never been levitating at all, just her principal holding her legs up. Hex discards the spell and drops both of them on the ground, then blows the window washer to pieces. "Your silly stunt has given you nothing! It's pathetic to think you could ever stand as my equal. No wonder Charmcaster warmed up to you so fast." Hex reprimanded.

Sunset smirked. "You of all people should know better then anyone, that magic is about misdirection!" Sunset remarked.

Hex is confused. He slowly turns around, only to see Chance driving into him with the X-321 Hoverboard. Hex is sent sliding across the ground, and Chance hops off the hoverboard, gesturing for Sunset to use it. "You two keep him busy and distracted, I'll make sure she isn't in harm's way." Chance stated, running towards the black magic bubble the sorceress was trapped in.

Chance looked into the bubble, seeing that Charmcaster was clearly unconscious. "That bubble isn't letting much air in, so it's time to pop it!" Chance punched and rammed himself against the bubble, but it was a bit more difficult than he expected. He was getting angry, and for once, his temper was gonna be in his favor.

As Chance tries to free Charmcaster, Sunset and Luna are keeping Hex's focus on them. Sunset rides on the hoverboard and whips Hex with her magic tendrils, all while Luna occasionally kicks and punches Hex back, or tries to keep him from casting another spell. Hex was getting aggravated, and uses his telekinetic spell again to throw Luna aside, sending her sliding across the ground where Chance was wailing on the magic bubble, slowly chipping away at it with every strike he landed.

Sunset jumped off the hoverboard and yanked the staff out of Hex's hands, and aimed it right at him. Hex smirked and simply stood, unimpressed. "Truly, you are just a foolhardy youth. That staff only works in the hands of a "master magician", and you are not a--" The staff began to channel magic from Sunset's geode, all while her eyes glowed blue and a scowl formed on her face. "--master magician?" Hex's eyes widened in surprise, and as he moved out of the way, Sunset changed where she aimed at the last moment, then fired the blast into the sky. Hex looked at himself, and simply laughed in a triumphant manner. "Silly girl, your aim needs work!" Hex taunted.

Sunset glared at him. "Who said I was aiming at you, skull-face?" Hex paused for a moment and looked up where the blast was aimed, only to go wide-eyed and gasp as the blast came into contact with the Keystone, cracking it and causing it to burst into pieces. "I just needed you to get out of the way while I really ruined your plans. Consider this an act of Karma, for all that you've done in the past." Sunset sneered.

Hex was not only furious that he had been stopped for a second time by the trio, but he was also pretty infuriated when he heard the sound of something breaking. Hex whipped his head around, noticing that his magical bubble had been burst and shattered open. Chance and Luna were carrying Charmcaster's body over, all while Sunset aimed the staff at Hex, charging up another blast. "Boy am I glad this thing works in my hands. Not sure how it is, but it helped stop your plan for conquering the world, and that's all that matters," Sunset passed the staff to Chance, who gladly took it and snapped it over his knee. Magical energy poured out of the staff, all while magic began to leave Hex and Charmcaster. "What's happening now?" Sunset asked.

Hex felt his body getting weaker. "No!! Do you know what you've done?!" The trio looked at each other, and then back at Hex. "You- I will have my revenge on you, yet!! Next time we meet, I will conquer this pathetic world!! I won't be denied!!!" Hex exclaimed.

Chance rolled his eyes. "Yeah yeah, you and all the other supervillains." Chance snided.

Hex growled and tried to charge at the trio, but he lets out a pained scream as the last of the magic leaves his body, causing him to pass out. The moon unsynchronises with the sun, and the eclipse comes to an end. The day is saved, but Charmcaster still hasn't woken up yet. Sunset uses her geode to try and look into Charmcaster's mind, but then Charmcaster's eyes slowly flutter open.

Charmcaster barely manages to lift her head up and smile weakly at Sunset, only to let her head hang low again due to exhaustion. The trio look at each other and go towards the hoverboard.

The next day, the trio stand on the outside of the magic convention, with Charmcaster facing them with a sense of appreciation. "Thanks for coming to my rescue. I'm sorry for taking the keystone, I've always been a bit of a kleptomaniac growing up. It was how I coped with my uncle's torment... I'm so sorry." Charmcaster stated.

Sunset nodded her head. "We're just glad that you're alive, and the day was saved anyway, no harm no foul. Though with your uncle back in jail, what're you gonna do now?" Sunset asked.

Chance stepped forward. "I was wondering the same thing, since she doesn't seem to have any magic powers anymore. From what I checked in your fancy magic pouch, it's now just a regular pouch with inanimate stone carvings inside, along with a small book with weird words written in it," Chance pulled the book from his back pocket and handed it to Charmcaster. "What is it, and do you want it back?" Chance asked.

Charmcaster shook her head. "There's no need. I don't need to have magic to recognize a spellbook. It still has a bit of my magic housed within, but I think she'll get a lot more helpful use out of it than I did," Sunset was rather surprised, but Chance gave the book to Sunset, who pocketed it for later. "As for what I'm gonna do now, I think I'll head back to school when the summer's over. Till then, real magic is a bit too much for me, but the fake stuff, like Ogres & Oubliettes? That's definitely more my speed. My uncle hated it, however, never lets me play it." Charmcaster explained.

Luna frowned, seeming concerned. "Are you sure we can't drop you off anywhere else, miss Charmcaster?" Luna asked.

Charmcaster smiled. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm alright staying here, for now. And for future reference, my name isn't Charmcaster. It's Hope, and thanks for saving the world from my crazy uncle. Hopefully this won't be the last time we meet, hope to see you again!" Hope introduced.

The trio smiled and got back in the RV. The vehicle drove forward, all while the trio and Hope waved each other farewell. It was a crazy time for the trio, dealing with the return of Hex, but the world was safe once more, and thus, the heroes moved on to the next location, where adventure continues calling to them.

Author's Note

That was 'Lucky You, Princess!', my version of "Tough Luck". I wanted to change Charmcaster's character for a short number of reasons.

One, she's my favorite magical villain in the original series, and always seemed like she had the potential to reform and be a good guy, like an occasional ally for Ben and his friends to look to for a magic problem.

Two, reforming Charmcaster made a little more sense (in my opinion) than reforming Hex, like what was initially done in Omniverse. I liked seeing Hex be not a psychopathic villain, but it just didn't feel as fleshed out as I would've expected.

Three, having Charmcaster be a TTRPG enthusiast who wants to go back to school, after not wanting to deal with actual magic anymore, sounded like a good idea at the time (I was writing this episode back in September), and I still believe it works out. It keeps her interested in magic, and she doesn't become a deranged lunatic like her Prime counterpart.

I also eluded to how Hex and Charmcaster's family relationship is more toxic and violent. The idea is that Hex is so enthralled and absorbed in his work with rituals, magic and the occasional dabbling in the occult, that his soul has become permanently stained by the sins of otherworldly demons, to the point where he doesn't really value Charmcaster as anything more than a mere lackey, or if push came to shove, an easy-to-access blood sacrifice.

Power corrupts, and in Hex's case, it's absolute.

I also wanted to experiment more with Sunset's magic, and how her interest in other forms of magic has played key factors in her development as a person thus far.

Likely being used to her geode's natural flow of Equestrian magic, Sunset would likely be intrigued and eager to study other types of magic that have no ties to Equestria, it's why she was so fascinated with the charms and the keystone of Bezel, it reminded her of a time when she'd do anything to prove her strength.

It also helps to add that her magic tendrils are tied to her geode as well, but it's a little more complicated than that, and judging by how easy it was for her to use Hex's staff against him, and now that she has Charmcaster's spellbook, magic in general is going to be the sole focus for Sunset, from here on out.

Hope you enjoyed this episode, the next one will be a bit of a side adventure, exploring the more personal side of the Omnitrix's user.