The Rust Bucket 3 hovered in orbit above Hazard. This was the infamously dangerous planet that Ben supposedly had spent the last few years training on. The group of friends watched the planet through the front windscreen. It was a large planet, in some respects similar to Earth. Both its poles were covered with ice caps, large swirling yellow clouds hovered over large land masses of mixed greens, browns, and reds. The oceans seemed to cover less of the planet's surface and seemed to be a dark indigo color instead of the bright blue of Earth. A few moons orbited the planet on opposite sides. From up here the planet hardly seemed to live up to it's name. However the numerous alarms and warning signals that sounded off when they approached the planet confirmed this was indeed the right place.
"So this is it huh?" Gwen asked quietly.
"Yeah…" Kevin responded equally subdued. The mood aboard the vessel was tense and quiet. Each member of the expedition was nervous and apprehensive. None of them knew what they could expect on this supposed death planet. More importantly they were worried for Ben's safety. Rook finally decided to speak up from the co-pilot's chair and began pressing buttons on the command console.
"We should be close enough to scan for Ben's omnitrix signal, if he indeed is here." He said aloud.
"Alright then, we'll triangulate his signal and then head down." Gwen agreed.
"Wait so we really are going to land there?" Kevin asked nervously.
"We have to Kevin, to find Ben." Gwen said sternly. Kevin groaned.
"If we are landing there we have to be prepared for anything and everything. There's not a lot of info on this planet. Every expedition has either disappeared here or escaped with horror stories." Kevin cautioned. Julie hugged Ship tight to her chest.
"I hope Ben's alright. I mean I know he's kind of a jerk but still." Julie added. Secretly though, she was extremely worried for Ben, not just physically but mentally as well. For him to knowingly come to a planet as dangerous as this made her worry that the young boy hero had finally snapped under the pressure. Memories of her last meeting with the young hero resurfaced in her mind, as well as a small amount of guilt for not spotting his troubles and trying to do something about it.
"I'm sure he'll be fine Julie." Gwen put a comforting hand on Julie's shoulder but her own smile was fake, she was equally as concerned.
Suddenly a beeping from Rook's direction distracted the group. Rook brought up a holo-display with a 3D model of the planet below and multiple blinking green dots.
"That is odd." Rook said aloud. He turned back to the rest of the group. "The scanner is picking up multiple omnitrix signals from the planet's surface. He explained. Indeed the holographic globe showed several dots scattered across the multiple continents of the planet below.
"How can that be? Is the scanner broken?" Gwen asked gesturing to the holoscreen.
"Hmm, it may be due to atmospheric interference from the planet causing the signal to refract and bounce back." Rook theorized.
"Okay… so which one is the real one?" Kevin asked. Rook thought for a moment, studying the different readings before pointing one out.
"I suggest we follow this one. It appears to be the strongest signal. Additionally, we may have better readings once we are inside the planet's atmosphere." Rook advised.
"All right then. Set a course Kevin." Gwen instructed.
"Just for the record, I still think this is a bad idea." Kevin announced before piloting the ship toward's the planet's surface.
The ship approached the planet, the land masses growing in greater detail as they drew closer. Kevin flipped some switches on the console as the ship began to experience turbulence. He announced that they were entering the planet's atmosphere. Outside, fiery red flames licked the edges of the ship as it sailed through the dense air surrounding the planet. The turbulence started to grow worse. The shaking and rumbling grew louder and more intense as they dove through the air. Gwen eventually had to sit down as the shaking was making her nauseous. Eventually the rumbling seemed to stop as they penetrated through the outer layer of the atmosphere.
In front of them, the puffy yellow clouds obscured the dark verdant forests of the continent they were approaching. Now that they had entered the planet all they had to do was secure a safe spot to land. Unfortunately, their landing would not be as peaceful as they hoped. As the Rust Bucket began to descend, Kevin began to notice the previously benign yellow clouds start to gather in front of the wind screen.
"That can't be good." Kevin managed to whisper before the sound of lightning cracking filled the cabin. Suddenly the lights began to flicker and alarms started blaring.
"What's going on?" Julie asked, scared.
"I don't know, it feels like we're flying through a storm!" Kevin called back as the turbulence returned even worse. The entire vessel began to shake and creak and Kevin struggled to keep them upright. He gripped the steering column tightly as the buffeting winds threatened to wrest control of the ship from him.
"That is impossible! There was no storm presence when we entered!" Rook called back frantically pressing buttons.
"Well I can't see where we're going anymore so what else would you call it?" Kevin shot back snarkily.
"Guys!" Gwen scolded.
However they were all cut short as a loud crack resounded through the cabin followed by the shrieking sound of tearing metal. The alarms grew even louder and the lights inside dimmed to emergency settings. Thunder and lighting flashed outside. The alarms were blaring to a deafening noise. The group felt the ship around them lose control and twist in every direction. Kevin struggled to restart the engine or at least guide their descent as they plummeted through the air. At last they finally seemed to escape from the tempest but only to discover that they were approaching the ground far too quickly. Kevin strained against the throttle, desperately trying to level out the ship. Julie and Gwen both screamed behind him as they felt their stomachs lift into their throats. Kevin eyed the fast approaching ground and realized they were going to crash. He absorbed the metal from the console, a metallic sheen coating his whole body.
"Everybody brace for impact!" He yelled through the air.
The Rust Bucket fell low, it's nose angled 45 degrees from the ground. It crashed headlong into a copse of trees, bowling the sturdy wood over. It skidded against the ground, plowing the forest down in front of it. The sound of cracking timbers and quaking earth filled the air. Eventually the broken ship slid to a halt in a clearing made of the fallen trees it had knocked over. Smoke emanated from the vessel at various spots. Occasionally, sparks would fly from the broken wires. At last, quiet fell over the forest once again as the crash seemed over.
Inside the wreckage Kevin slowly extricated himself from the airbag that had deployed during the crash. He stood up wobbily from his pilot's chair and looked over to find Gwen. The sorceress was shieled by a sphere of bright pink energy, encompassing both her and Julie. The other girl was surrounded by Ship's armored form, a protective effort by her loving pet no doubt. Seeing that the girls were relatively unharmed he turned his attention to his co-pilot. Rook's airbag had similarly deployed except his head had a minor wound that bled heavily. The Revonnahgander was unconscious.
"Hey you girls are okay right?" Kevin asked as he extricated Rook from his seat.
"Shaken but I think we're good." Gwen replied as she helped Julie to her feet, ship had transformed again and took up residence by her feet.
"Good, then come help me with Rook. I think he took a nasty bump to his head." Kevin called. Gwen made her way over to the passed out plumber. She wasn't too familiar with Rook's species in terms of medical care but she figured a simple healing spell wouldn't do too much harm. Gwen passed a glowing hand over Rook's head wound. She watched as the wound slowly stopped bleeding and shrunk smaller. Eventually Rook came to with a groan and sat up.
"How are you feeling? You took a blow to the head." Gwen informed him. Rook put a hand up to the wound and winced.
"I can tell. But thankfully I appear no worse for wear." He confirmed.
With their status secured the group exited the crashed vehicle and made their way outside. They stepped out into a fairly humid environment, the sun shining down brightly on them. Curiously there was no sign of the storm which had caused the damage in the first place. And there was a lot of damage no doubt. Kevin threw his hands on his head in exasperation. The Rust Bucket was missing half a wing and had panels and part of it's landing gear broken off. Parts of the bottom were sheared off or crumpled from the crash.
"Ughh I told you this was a bad idea!" Kevin complained. "This is going to take forever to fix!" He said.
"It does look quite bad." Rook agreed.
"Well we can deal with it later. Right now our priority should be to find Ben." Gwen ordered trying to get the group focused.
"I agree with Gwendolyn. There is nothing to do for the ship right now." Rook said. Kevin sighed and walked over to join them.
"Ok so which direction should we head?" Julie asked. Rook brought up a tracking device and examined the omnitrix signal. He pointed deeper into the forest.
"Ben is not far. We should need only travel a few miles in that direction." Rook announced.
"Hey Julie, you think your pal Ship there can transform and fly us to Ben?" Kevin asked. Julie frowned and looked at Ship with concern.
"I – I don't know. That last storm literally came out of nowhere. What if Ship gets hurt? Plus if we can't repair the Rust Bucket, Ship might be our only way off of here." Julie said.
"I think I must agree with Miss Yamamoto." Rook said. "Her points are very logical, also we are in unknown territory. There is no telling what kind of environmental or biological threats we will face. It is best to proceed on foot." Rook stated before beginning to march off into the tree line.
"He does make a valid point." Gwen said as she went to follow. Julie followed suit after her. Kevin sighed giving one last glance at the wreck of the Rust Bucket before taking up the rear.
Several hours passed as the group of four worked their way deeper into the forest. Julie had adopted her more sleek battle armor to stave off the dangers of the alien forest. And there were many dangers. Only a few minutes into their journey they had encountered small monkey like creatures with mandibles and exoskeletons that had accosted them. Thankfully a few blasts of Rook's proto-tool had been enough to scare them off. Unfortunately the threats only became worse as they continued their trek. The forest began to turn to swamp land which sucked their feet in. Gwen had needed to create platforms for them to pass the muck. Then they were attacked by insects as large as softballs which swarmed around them and bit at their skin. Dealing with that distraction had taken up a good ten minutes as they blasted, swatted or crushed the meddlesome bugs. The vegetation proved to be equally dangerous as more than once they brushed by bushes or vines which shot out poison needles or released clouds of toxic fumes. It seemed as though Hazard's reputation as a death planet was well earned. Every few minutes they came across a new creature, plant, or terrain that threatened to do them harm.
By the time they had traversed only a few miles they were tired, haggard, and in a state of disarray. Rook, being the consumate professional, continued to march on without any complaint. The rest of the group were gradually beginning to slow however. They continued to slog through the mud and muck trailing after Rook who was using his proto-tool's blade as a machete to cut through vegetation. Julie struggled to pick up her feet and stumbled over a root hidden in the mud. She fell forward and landed face first in the muck. She struggled to lift herself up but was thankful when Kevin walked up from behind and offered her a hand up.
"Hey, can we… take a break?" She called out as she struggled to catch her breath.
Rook turned back from his trailblazing. "That would be unwise. This forest is full of dangers, sitting still would only make us more susceptible." Rook explained.
"I know but I can't keep going on like this. I just need five minutes that's all." Julie said. Rook frowned and examined the rest of his companions. They each looked equally exhausted and worn out.
"Julie's right Rook. We can't keep going at this pace." Gwen said. Reluctantly Rook put away his proto-tool.
"Very well, but we should not linger too long" He warned.
Julie went to lean against a tree trunk, resting her weight against the solid wood. She closed her eyes for a moment before snapping them wide open again. She had felt something slither across her foot. She looked down but couldn't see anything through the thick brown water. She raised an eyebrow thinking she might have just imagined it. Suddenly the feeling returned and she felt a thick tentacle wrap itself around her ankle.
"Guys! AHHHHHH!" She yelled as she was yanked into the air by the thick appendage. The tentacle was dark green and flailed about shaking her every which way. Julie continued to scream. Immediately Gwen, Kevin, and Rook jumped into action. Gwen began firing blasts of energy at the root while Kevin absorbed a nearby rock and shaped his hand into a crude stone axe. He ran up to the tentacle and began hacking away at it. The appendage recoiled but then tried to crush him under his weight. Rook examined the situation from afar trying to scout the best plan to rescue his friend. Suddenly he saw another tentacle rise from the murk right behind Gwen.
"Gwendolyn!" Rook shouted in warning. Gwen half-turned and barely managed to dodge the second tentacle slamming down on her. She rolled to her feet and threw arcs of energy to slash deep into the tentacles. Nearby several other tentacled appendages arose, writhing in the air and sensing for their prey.
"Where, ugh, do these things keep coming from?" Kevin asked as he fought off several tentacles at once. Rook surveyed the battlefield and spotted a large flower like plant hidden between a group of trees.
"Over there! There is a plant monster." Rook shouted drawing their attention. However there was not much they could do as the vines were unrelenting in their attack. The large roots, vines, whatever they were continued to undulate through the murk of the swamp and the humid gassy air. Despite their large size they moved deceptively quick, and their powerful strikes leveled nearby trees. No matter how many the group seemed to destroy, more seemed to appear in their place like the Hydra of myths of old.
Julie finally managed to sprout a weapon from her arm and attempted to free herself from the root's hold on her. However she barely could make a dent through the thick skin of the plant. She began to fear more as the tentacle slowly coiled itself further up her body. She struggled but could not free herself. "Help me!" She called in desperation. However her friends could not reach her, too busy struggling with their own dilemmas. Julie could feel herself getting dragged away from the center of the fight, through the trees. She was raised high in the air. Looking down she could see a large red flower bulb. She watched as the blood red petals opened up to reveal a horrifying maw filled with sharp teeth and yellow bile. The appendage began lowering her into the flower. Julie screamed for her life, struggling with all her might.
Suddenly she felt herself plummet. She closed her eyes but was surprised as she felt herself hit the muddy ground. She opened her eyes again to see that the tentacle which previously was coiled around her was severed from the plant. She scrambled away from both the flower and the now dead tentacle. She looked around to see a tall lithe figure covered in brown jumping between the trees. A large blade protruded from his arm which he used to slice through the thick vines effortlessly. The figure propelled himself back to where the others were and Julie ran to follow.
The rest of their group were equally surprised as Julie at the new arrival. They watched as the brown alien flipped and jumped between the numerous tentacles, dodging them with grace. A second blade emerged from his other arm which he used to dispatch more of the tentacles. He spun around with his blades slicing through the thick vegetation with ease. He became a spinning tornado of blades as he jumped from vine to vine, cutting through one after the other. Finally he turned to face Kevin and jumped towards him. Kevin raised his arms in defence but was surprised as the insectoid alien flew over him and chopped down another vine that had popped up behind him. The alien turned back around and close up Kevin could finally see a familiar green and black symbol.
"Ben?!" Kevin shouted in surprise. The alien finally seemed to take notice of his rescuees. Now that he had stopped moving Kevin was able to see that Ben had the appearance of a tall insect like alien with brown chitinous armor. His head had a wing of chitin in the shape of a samurai helmet with a pair of small v like antenna and a plate covering his mouth. His body was covered in small slots, presumably for more blades to pop out. His eyes were a pair of compound green lenses which turned to examine Kevin. As he spoke his mouth covering opened to reveal a jaw full of mandibles.
"Kevin? Is that you? Then that means…" Ben spoke in a low gravelly voice as he surveyed the rest of the battle field taking in both Gwen and Rook. At this point Julie had finally caught up and having heard Kevin's exclamation called out in joy.
"Ben!" She said happily and waved at the taller figure. Ben turned back to her, confusion written across his face as he took in her strange form. Suddenly a flash of recognition came across his face.
"Julie?!" He exclaimed. Julie smiled but her face fell at his next words.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded angrily. Before Julie could even reply he had spoken again. "Nevermind, there's no time." He said, quickly shifting his gaze towards the central plant. He took off in a sprint, blades extended out from his wrists again and held on either side of him. He made his way closer to the bulb, only smaller vines remained to defend against him. Ben easily dodged between the smaller appendages until he was close up to the bulb. He somersaulted into the air and stabbed into a round orange structure at the base of the bulb. A loud unpleasant screech was heard as the flower closed up and several large leaves folded up around the base. Ben jumped back and strode to meet his friends again.
The group were all excited to finally see Ben again, calling out greetings and rushing to embrace him. However Ben did not seem to share the sentiment. He crossed his arms firmly and spoke to them in an angry and serious tone.
"What are you all doing here?" He demanded. The group was taken aback by Ben's demeanor. "Don't you realize how dangerous it is here?" He followed up.
"We came looking for you!" Gwen tried to explain. "There's a lot we need to tell you about and your communicator device didn't work so we had to…" Gwen tried to say but a hand from Ben cut her off.
"Save it, you can tell me later. Right now we need to get somewhere safe. The sun will be going down soon." Ben said eyeing the sky. Indeed the sky did seem to be turning a strange shade of violet.
"Well the Rust Bucket is crashed a few miles back that way." Kevin offered. But Ben shook his head.
"No, if you guys crash landed here then you'll have no shortage of creatures trying to investigate. Plus the position is undefended. And trust me you want defenses during the night." Ben said authoritatively. The group was shocked. Not only did Ben seem to be speaking rationally but he also was giving orders.
"He does have a good point. Where else would you suggest then?" Rook spoke.
"My campsite isn't too far from here. I was making my way over to you when I heard you crash." Ben said and waved for them to follow. He moved through the swamp with hardly a look back. The group looked at each other with confusion before dutifully following behind the hero. The same thought echoed between them. This certainly didn't seem like the Ben they used to know.
A/N: The long awaited return of Ben. As well as the obligatory new alien form. I don't really plan to have a whole lot of new ones but they will pop up periodically. Also do you guys think these chapters are too short? They feel long enough to me but I don't really have a good frame of reference. Hope to hear some new reviews from you guys. Let me know what you think about Ben's new change in attitude.