Diving beneath the water, Shellblade swam after the mutant octopus as it attempted to escape.
His body moved swiftly through the water, his blade-like arms cutting through the currents as he closed the distance between them. The creature's massive tendrils moved desperately, trying to put as much distance as possible between itself and the alien pursuing it.
Shellblade had no intention of letting it get away. At that moment, an overwhelming hunting instinct surged through his mind.
His eyes sharpened, narrowing as they locked directly onto the mutant octopus. The creature's movements, the direction of its escape, and even the slightest changes in its position became the focus of his attention.
It was an instinct that came from the species itself.
Shellblade's home planet was Kiusana, located in the Andromeda Galaxy. Before the planet lost most of its water, it had been home to an enormous variety of aquatic life. However, after a massive environmental shift, more than sixty percent of its landscape became desert.
The consequences were devastating.
Many aquatic species lost their natural habitats and eventually died out. The Kabutopterid was one of those unfortunate species, having once been among the most dominant creatures of its era.
In fact, the Kabutopterid had been the apex predator of its time, much like how dinosaurs once dominated their own era before going extinct.
And now, after entering the water and tasting blood once again, that ancient hunting instinct had awakened.
Shellblade's bladed arms struck the mutant octopus.
His sharp claws pierced into its flesh, causing the enormous creature to thrash wildly. Crimson blood began leaking from the open wounds, spreading through the surrounding water as the octopus desperately tried to shake him off.
But the claws did more than simply pierce its flesh. They began absorbing the blood from the mutant creature.
The octopus swung its massive tendrils toward Shellblade, attempting to crush the alien clinging to its body. One enormous limb came down toward him, but Shellblade quickly ducked beneath it, allowing the tendril to pass over him.
Before the creature could bring another attack around, he moved swiftly through the water, changing his position and approaching from a different angle.
His claws struck again. The mutant octopus continued thrashing, its movements becoming increasingly desperate as Shellblade refused to release his hold.
Back on the sailboat, everyone had quickly gathered around the railing.
They leaned over the side, looking down into the water and trying to spot any sign of Evan. Although they knew he would most likely be fine, that didn't mean they could simply leave him to handle everything by himself.
They had only just agreed to stop relying on him for every little thing, and now he had gone and jumped into the ocean after the mutant octopus without even waiting for anyone else.
Max stared at the water for a moment before finally snapping back to his senses.
"Forget it. Let's focus on finding the missing Ditto first."
He understood that there wasn't much they could do for Evan at the moment.
Everyone was standing around the railing, staring into the water and accomplishing absolutely nothing useful. They hadn't brought any equipment that would allow them to properly search underwater, either.
Even if they wanted to help, they had no practical way of doing so right now.
It would be better to find Ben first and deal with Evan afterward.
With that decision made, Max returned to the wheel and steered the sailboat toward the sunken ship.
The others remained focused on the water for a while longer, watching the bubbles and occasional hidden waves rippling across the surface beneath them. Every now and then, something seemed to move below, but it was difficult to tell what was happening at that depth.
Eventually, they reached the sunken ship.
Before leaving the sailboat, the family shifted their attention toward the water one last time, still hoping to catch a glimpse of Evan.
However, before they could do anything else, the Omnitrix dials on their foreheads began beeping.
The sudden noise was quickly followed by a sharp wave of pain.
"AAARGH!"
The Dittos screamed as the painful sensation spread through their bodies. It felt as though they were being electrocuted, forcing them to stop whatever they were doing and endure the sudden discomfort.
Then, just as abruptly as it had started, the pain stopped. The Omnitrix dials also fell silent. They took a moment to recover before finally moving toward the sunken ship.
They climbed aboard and entered together, keeping their movements quiet to avoid drawing any unwanted attention. If this really was Animo's base, the last thing they wanted was to announce their arrival before they had a chance to find him.
Fortunately, it didn't take them long to discover the mad scientist. To their surprise, Animo was hiding right inside the sunken ship.
He had set up a makeshift platform surrounded by water, using the wreckage as his temporary laboratory. He was still wearing his aquatic suit, while the missing Ditto was trapped inside a nearby water tank.
The scientist was busy pressing some kind of machine into the water.
Ominous green energy waves spread outward from the device, and Animo wore a sinister smile as he worked. Nearby, additional pieces were being prepared for his suit, which he appeared to be getting ready to attach.
Seeing the opportunity, Orfevre immediately took action. She pulled out her clacker balls and swung her arm with considerable force, sending the metal balls flying toward the water tank.
Golden Aura coated the projectiles as they crossed the distance. The metal balls struck the tank, shattering its glass walls.
Water burst out in every direction, spilling across the makeshift platform and sending a sudden gush toward the mad scientist.
Dr. Animo gasped. Caught off guard by the sudden attack, he stumbled and nearly fell as the water rushed into him.
Meanwhile, the freed Ditto smiled as he climbed out of the broken tank. He looked up and spotted his family.
"Thanks! I owe you one!"
However, before anyone could properly respond, the Omnitrix beeped again.
The remaining Dittos suddenly began levitating into the air.
"Huh?"
Max quickly reacted, reaching out and grabbing one of the clones. Rather than allowing the clones to be pulled toward the center independently, he forced the pull to focus on the one he was holding.
The Dittos began merging together. One by one, their bodies combined until they had all become a single Ditto.
Then a burst of red light erupted. The alien form disappeared, and Ben returned to his normal human appearance.
"Whoa," he said, looking down at his hands. "I'm back to normal."
He flexed his fingers, looking rather pleased to finally have his usual body back.
Unfortunately, he didn't get much time to enjoy it. The entire sunken ship suddenly began shaking violently. The family quickly looked around as the water surrounding the wreckage started moving again.
Massive tendrils rose from the sides of the ship, wrapping around the structure and blocking every possible route of escape.
One after another, the enormous limbs emerged until all ten were surrounding the wreckage. They were completely surrounded.
Max narrowed his eyes, his expression hardening as he looked toward his grandchildren.
The relaxed grandfather who had been steering their sailboat was gone. In his place was the experienced veteran Plumber, someone who had dealt with more than enough dangerous situations to know when it was time to stop fooling around.
He quickly assessed the situation before giving his orders.
"Split up and keep them separated! We'll handle them one at a time!"
With that command given, Max activated the jetpack he had finished working on not long ago.
The device propelled him into the air, sending him directly toward one of the massive tentacles.
Rather than trying to avoid it, Max tackled the enormous limb head-on.
His body struck the tendril with enough force to knock it backward, disrupting its attack. He immediately shifted his flight path afterward, moving out of the way as another tentacle swung toward him.
With Max drawing the attention of two to three massive tendrils by himself, the others were left to deal with the remaining seven.
Everyone quickly split off in different directions.
The enormous tentacles followed, each one pursuing a different target as the group scattered across the abandoned ship.
Dream Journey and Nakayama Festa moved through another section of the deck, weaving between the wreckage while avoiding the massive limbs chasing after them.
They moved nimbly, changing directions whenever a tentacle came crashing down nearby. The old ship was already in poor condition, and the constant attacks only made navigating it more difficult.
Meanwhile, Orfevre used her brother's Air Shoes to skate along the railing. She moved through another part of the deck, keeping her balance as she avoided the tentacles swinging toward her.
Gold Ship and Fenomeno, on the other hand, were moving together.
Although their method of avoiding danger was considerably less conventional, both girls were managing to keep themselves out of reach.
Unfortunately, Gwen was caught in the middle of it.
The two girls were tossing her around while dodging the incoming attacks, forcing her to endure one close call after another.
"AAAAAH!"
Gwen screamed as she was thrown around, barely avoiding a massive tentacle that struck the deck right where she had been moments earlier.
Gold Ship certainly lived up to her reputation.
She would make sure you were safe when you were in danger. But when you were safe, she would make sure you were in danger.
Ben was also moving through the abandoned deck, rolling across the floor to avoid a massive strike from the tentacle chasing him. He quickly got back on his feet and continued running, deliberately drawing the creature away from the others.
Even without the Omnitrix, Ben wasn't panicking. He knew that he only needed to buy enough time for the Omnitrix to turn green again. Once it was ready, he would be able to transform and properly deal with the situation.
Until then, he would have to make do with what he had.
With everyone moving and keeping the mutant sea creature occupied, Max continued handling three massive tendrils by himself, flying through the air with his jetpack.
Meanwhile, Dream Journey spotted an opportunity.
She grabbed her iron shovel and threw it toward Orfevre. The orange-haired girl caught it, immediately gripping the metal handle as she prepared to counterattack.
With the weapon in hand, the future Tyrant released her overwhelming Aura. She swung the shovel toward the incoming tendrils, striking them with enough force to leave fresh wounds across their surfaces.
Crimson blood splashed across the deck. The tentacles recoiled from the attacks, giving Orfevre more room to move and counter them.
Elsewhere, Gwen had finally managed to calm down.
After being tossed around by Gold Ship and Fenomeno for long enough, she was now able to focus properly on using her magic.
She raised her hands and began casting her spell, forcing the incoming tentacles backward and keeping them away from the others.
"Finally..."
She could actually concentrate now.
At least, until something else caught her attention.
"Perry? How did you get here!?" Gold Ship suddenly shouted.
She had picked up the platypus, looking at him with surprise.
The teal-green mammal was someone she clearly remembered leaving back on the Rust Bucket. Yet somehow, he was now standing right here in the middle of their battle.
A moment ago, while Gold Ship and Fenomeno had been running from the tentacles, an old crane had suddenly dropped down from above. It landed directly on one of the massive limbs that had nearly caught them, stunning the creature and forcing it to pull back.
And somehow, Perry had been standing on top of that crane.
The platypus looked at Gold Ship.
"Grrrr."
"I see, so you're some kind of secret agent who's secretly protecting us!" Gold Ship declared confidently.
Of course, she had absolutely no idea what Perry was trying to communicate.
But that certainly wasn't going to stop her from coming up with an explanation.
"No need to worry. Your secret is safe with me. The ultimate menace, the tongue-flapping weirdo, Keter-class SCP, legendary unsinkable battleship, most chaotic member of the Gold family, Grampa Max's favorite grandkid, breathtaking beauty when silent, sole weakness: her eyes, chaos incarnate..."
She paused dramatically.
"Gold Ship!"
"Grrrr!"
"Excellent, Agent Perry."
Fenomeno stared at the two of them for a moment before looking down at the platypus.
"Didn't we leave him back on the RV?"
She was just as confused as anyone else would have been, especially considering Perry's rather unusual appearance and those unnatural, wall-eyed eyes.
"Could you two not joke around at a time like this!?" Gwen shouted.
She was currently using her magic to keep a massive mutant sea creature from attacking them, and these two were busy discussing how their pet had somehow managed to appear in the middle of the fight.
Honestly, she couldn't understand the Gold family sometimes. For a moment, Gwen seriously considered pretending that she had never met them. Conveniently forgetting one very important detail. That the Gold family was a sub-branch of the Tennyson family thanks to Max.
Which meant that, whether she liked it or not, she was part of this family too.
Before Gwen could complain any further, another burst of green light appeared from a section of the deck.
A familiar black alien emerged from the light.
The Xenomorph let out a roar before charging toward one of the massive tentacles that had been chasing the others. It slammed into the limb, pounding against it and forcing the creature to struggle against the sudden attack.
With Skewer joining the battle, the mutant sea creature's situation quickly deteriorated.
One by one, its massive tendrils were taken out of action. The group gradually regrouped, helping Max deal with the final three tentacles while the others continued attacking from different directions.
With all ten of its limbs either cut or badly damaged, the mutant sea creature finally began retreating.
It pulled its remaining tendrils away from the ship and disappeared beneath the water, seemingly deciding that continuing the fight was no longer worth the trouble.
With the immediate threat gone, the family gathered near the now-damaged railing. They looked down toward the water, watching the ripples spreading across its surface.
Then, a dark shadow began to appear beneath the water. Growing larger and larger by the second. Before anyone could react, a massive mutant shark suddenly burst out of the ocean.
Its enormous jaws opened wide, exposing rows of huge shark teeth as it lunged toward Shellblade, who had just emerged from the water. The massive predator tried to bite down on the Kabutopterid, but both creatures immediately disappeared beneath the surface again.
Their sudden dive sent a massive wave crashing against the sunken shipwreck, shaking the already damaged structure as water spilled across the deck.
The family managed to keep their balance despite the massive shockwave created when Shellblade and the enormous mutant shark burst out of the water.
The impact sent another wave crashing against the sunken ship, shaking the already damaged structure beneath their feet. Everyone struggled to steady themselves, grabbing onto whatever they could find to avoid falling overboard.
Even after the water settled, their attention remained fixed on the spot where the two creatures had disappeared.
Before any of them could voice their concerns about Evan, however, another voice rang out from behind them.
"It seems my new creation is even more magnificent than I expected!"
The familiar voice immediately caught everyone's attention.
"Animo!"
Gwen glared toward the source of the voice as the others turned around.
Dr. Animo was standing on his makeshift platform, looking rather pleased with himself. Judging by the way he spoke, he seemed completely satisfied with whatever experiment he had been conducting.
However, before anyone could say anything else, a loud metallic clang suddenly rang out.
Everyone turned toward the noise. A giant mutant insect was climbing out of the base. Its enormous body emerged from the wreckage before it spread its wings and took to the air, hovering above the sunken ship.
"Eww. He's even uglier than I remember," Orfevre commented, looking at the mad scientist with an expression of disgust. Looking at the mad scientist as though he were little more than a piece of trash.
"Huh, he seems even uglier than Evan's description," Nakayama Festa added, agreeing with her sister.
The two girls didn't seem particularly impressed by the creature.
Animo, however, paid absolutely no attention to their comments.
"You see, I have already incorporated its mutated powers into my own transmutation technology! Now, I shall lead this planet into a glorious new phase of evolution!"
He raised his arms, proudly presenting his creation as though he were unveiling the greatest scientific achievement in history.
"Oh yeah?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow. "You and what army?!"
"This one!"
The mutant insect suddenly turned its attention toward the group.
Its body began changing, and before anyone could properly react, it split into several different versions of itself.
Each copy looked just like the original. Animo had used Ditto's DNA to give his mutant insect the ability to duplicate itself.
"And this is merely the beginning!" the mad scientist declared, his grin growing wider. "Soon, I will replicate all of your aliens, and the world will be populated with a whole new variety of species!"
He spread his arms, clearly enjoying the thought of what his technology would allow him to accomplish.
"But first, a show of strength to silence those who dared to oppose me! And I think leveling a beach town or two will get my point across!"
With that declaration, the several mutant insects turned toward the distance and began flying away.
They were heading straight for the beach. The family watched the swarm move away, their expressions quickly becoming serious.
"We have to stop him before those things wipe out the entire coastline!" Max shouted.
"But how?!" Fenomeno asked, looking toward the swarm. "There are too many of them!"
The number of mutant insects was already a problem, and allowing them to reach the beach would only make things worse.
Before anyone could come up with an answer, Gold Ship suddenly stepped forward. With Perry lying comfortably on top of her head, the white-haired girl clenched both fists and raised them in front of herself.
She looked completely serious. Or, at least, as serious as Gold Ship could possibly look.
"With this treasure I summon!"
She paused dramatically, holding her pose as though she were preparing to call upon some legendary power.
"Two-Handed Undying Shapeshifting Carrying Big Brother of the Gold, EVER GOLD!!"
Everyone stared at her. For a brief moment, there was nothing but silence.
Then the entire sunken ship began to shake. The surrounding ocean trembled violently, sending waves spreading outward as an enormous shadow began rising from beneath the water's surface.
The shadow grew larger and larger, gradually approaching the surface until the water around it began to part.
A gigantic humanoid figure emerged from the ocean.
It was an enormous alien with a red-and-white body, four golden eyes, and a massive golden Omnitrix dial embedded in its chest. Two of its eyes were positioned where ordinary eyes would be, while the other two rested on its cheeks.
Its sheer size was enough to dwarf the sunken ship.
The alien continued rising until its upper body was fully exposed, with the depth between the sea surface and the ocean floor only reaching up to its waist.
"Waybig!"
His voice echoed across the ocean as he stood upright.
The sudden appearance of such a massive alien left the others looking up at him.
Waybig's four golden eyes shifted toward the swarm of mutant insects flying in the distance.
He raised one hand and swung it, releasing a golden energy slash that swept through the air.
The attack crossed the distance in an instant, cutting through the swarm and tearing the mutant insects apart. The enormous slash continued forward, cutting through the sea itself and temporarily dividing the water before the surrounding ocean rushed back in to fill the gap.
The swarm was dealt with in a single attack.
Waybig then shifted his gaze back toward the sunken ship.
In his other hand, he was casually holding the massive, headless body of the mutant shark. He had managed to deal with it before returning to the surface.
Without showing any particular concern, Waybig dropped the shark's body before taking a few steps toward the wreckage.
The enormous alien reached down toward the ship.
Animo barely had time to react before Waybig's fingers closed around him and plucked the mad scientist off his mutant insect, before casually tossing him away, letting him crash into the metal deck of the ship, causing his equipment to shatter into pieces from the impact.
Waybig then began crushing the mutant insects like bugs in his palms.
...
The police officers loaded Dr. Animo into the back of their squad car, preparing to take him back to the island prison. From the Rust Bucket, the others watched as the vehicle pulled away, carrying the scientist off once again.
"Do you think he's going to stay in prison this time?" Gwen asked, watching the squad car disappear into the distance.
"Definitely not," Max answered without much hesitation. "But even when he does escape, I deleted all of his Omnitrix computer files. So, at the very least, he won't be replicating any more Omnitrix DNA."
"Neither will I for a while," Ben added, sounding thoroughly exhausted. "I'm all Ditto'd out."
"Maybe it would have been better if we had just dropped him into the ocean. After all, no one would be there to hear him scream."
Dream Journey delivered the suggestion in her usual calm voice, as though she were commenting on the weather.
For a brief moment, nobody said anything. Then Ben, Gwen, Fenomeno, Gold Ship, Nakayama Festa, and Orfevre all took a step away from her.
Max, on the other hand, chuckled lightly before reaching over and giving his granddaughter a gentle pat on the head.
"Now, now, Journey. We don't kill unless there are no other options."
He gave her a friendly reminder, apparently not too bothered by her rather dark suggestion. However, he wasn't quite finished.
"And that goes for you too."
Max added, moving his other hand over to rub Evan's head. He knew his grandson was probably thinking along similar lines to his older sister, even if he hadn't said anything out loud.
Evan didn't offer any particular response, allowing his grandfather to pat his head.
Ben chuckled, deciding that it was probably best to steer the conversation away from that subject. They had already dealt with enough trouble for one day, and there was no reason to let the mood sink again.
"From now on, let's have fun your way, guys."
"Okay," Gwen replied with a smile.
Then, before anyone could say anything else, she suddenly took off running.
"Race you guys to the beach!"
"Saphirius Expectorium Perpetua!"
A twister burst from beneath her legs, lifting her into the air and temporarily sending her flying forward.
Max wasn't about to let her get too far ahead, either. He activated his jetpack and quickly took off after her, flying in hot pursuit of the beach.
The moment the Gold siblings realized that a race had started, all six of them immediately lowered their bodies into running stances.
Their feet pressed against the ground.
And they burst forward. Their speed was far beyond anything a normal human could manage. In only a few moments, the six siblings had already rushed past both Max and Gwen, leaving the two of them behind.
"Hey, guys! Wait for me!"
Ben watched them pull ahead, then glanced down at his Omnitrix. He began fiddling with the device, hoping it would finally be ready to transform him again.
"No fair! Where's Stinkfly when you need him? Or XLR8?! Guys, come on!"