[Galvantula]

The cocoon of the Monarch...

Deep inside the seemly harmless cocoon was a base. Not just any base, mind you, but the base of the Monarch himself. Its walls and floors were a mish mask of purple and pink, clashing with the yellows of the Monarch and his henchmen. Inside were computers, view screens, weapons, all the important stuff he needed to "arch" Dr Venture, who he hated more than anything in the world.

But just waking up was his pride and joy, Dr. Mrs. The Monarch. A woman in her late 30 (early 40s?) with black hair that would look right at home in the 1950s, a figure that said "older hot woman" and a intellect that made her indisputable to Monarch's operations, she was his world and she knew that. Years of smoking have taken their toll on her voice, leaving her with a manly voice, and I mean MANLY!

But she had the day off to relax and unwind (translation: the Moppets murdered someone they shouldn't have and she had to keep track of them before their banning was undone) and her husband was nice enough to make her breakfast in bed: toast, blackberry jam, orange juice, a small salad and a fruit bowl filled with fancy fruits cut into slices. It was quite tasty as she tucked in and enjoyed her meal.

She wasn't too thrilled with Vilgax joining on such short notice, but she needed a few days off and her Moppets needed to let loose some steam. Vilgax was not a octopus man monster as everyone else believed, but something was just off with Vilgy. Hopefully he wouldn't drive her husband too batty.

Venture Industries...

Poor old Monarch was trying to call the Moppets, but Albedo's screaming was getting on his nerves "I'm trying to arch Venture, but Super Stupid Vilgax is screwing up and hooking up some, I dunno, glove onto that bad tempered boy Brock brutalized a while back. He's a total wackjob and I have no idea why the Hell he keeps whining about Ben Tennyballs or some damn thing. It's like he hates people that he finds in the phonebook. Would you believe that one person is called Tojiro...Boato? Eh, whatever! I gonna make Killerger give me my money back. Vilgax is a total nutjob and I don't want him in my cocoon" he complained over the phone, but the Moppets aren't answering, as they were looking up new ways to frighten people. Vilgax shouted "IT'S SUPER VILGAX!" over in the other room, but Albedo's screams of pain and the Monarch not really giving a hoot made it unheard, to his fury.

Still, he had to know where did Sgt Venture run off to? He always was a bit of a oddball, even during his days as Sgt Hated, but it's not like he vanished off the face of the Earth, right?

Mr Bellman's market...

"Ben's previous model Omnitrix was a perversion of my peaceful works, known as the Ultimate Omni Matrix, or Ultimatrix for short. It lacked important features like genetic restoration, but it had a "evolution" feature that made eight of Ben's alien forms before ten times more powerful by placing the selected DNA sample though a simulation of a all-out planet wide war for an extended period of time, about a million years or so, in what is described as a "worst case scenario"; the actual DNA is then simply modified to match the new DNA. This survival of the fittest routine explains why the evolutions are more combat-centered than their baseline forms. This has its drawbacks as well, since a few abilities are lost during the forced evolution."

"During Ben's first battle with Diagon, the Ultimatrix was badly damaged by Vilgax near the war's end, and since Ben had proven himself to be serious about his heroics, I rewarded him with the Real Omnitrix, which is the device you see on his person now."

Azmuth took a breather and went on. "But I knew that although I dislike the feature immensely, it has it purpose in saving the universe. That is why I'm installing the feature into Ben's current Omnitrix, but I have placed two limits on it that not even Master Control can override." Azmuth said sterility, as Ben was obsessed with gaining that freedom of use, even since that day he unlocked it years ago.

"What Azmuth means is that Ben can no longer go "Ultimate" in his own dimension, as a precaution. Also, with my research with the Core Switch, I was able to modify the Omnitrix to draw on power from the Zodiac constellations, with Azmuth's help of course." Emoto stated to the assembled group, as Azmuth nodded his approval.

"Ben must first befriend a person strongly and then he is able to tap into that person's Zodiac sign to evolve a alien that has been preset for that sign into its Ultimate Form. To make up for the lack of ease of its use, each Ultimate is now 15 times stronger than its base form, plus there is no longer discomfort during the transformation sequence. This should prove useful in our battle to stop your foes, one of whom Azmuth has history with" the professor went on, as Azmuth stepped in to finish their presentation.

"I banished Albedo due to his absolute madness and disregard for the works of the Gavan. The world he is now didn't take kindly to his attempts of conquering it, and he was imprisoned by the task force known as Sphinx. Additional information will be given to you as it is needed from the locals. Now then, are there any questions?" the creator of the Omnitrix asked.

Yuki was first, signing to the others that Gentaro's questions will have to wait, as much of what was said went over his head and time was important right now. "Do you believe Vilgax is trying to access a vehicle that can safety travel though space in a attempt to find allies? If that's true, then we may have a big problem on our hands, since I doubt the aliens over there are not too fond of humans." Yuki pouted, not too thrilled about the fact that Vilgax would try to contract life outside Earth's orbit in the other universe and try to sway their favor to his needs.

Yuki wanted to become a astronaut to reach the Presenters, the alien race that gave the humans of the KRC's world the Core Switch, the means of which both Astro and Zodiart Switch were reverse engineered from. She wanted to befriend them so badly that she fell in love with space and all its wonders, to the point that she considers a well designed spacecraft cuter than herself (although she's beginning to understand that she is indeed cute) While she may clash with Gentaro at times due to his lack of formal education they are close indeed, as best friends should be. She wasn't too thrilled that Azmuth agreed with her grim prediction, and she teared up a bit in regards to that.

Ran was next. " How is the security forces in this world of yours, Sgt...Venture, was it? I hope neither of them are fond of abusing their power. I cannot abide bulling, no matter who does it!" she stated. Ran was proud of the fact that she can do the right thing and used her Aikido to protect her friends from harm, no matter how big the abusers were.

But at heart she is a gentle girl, hoping that she can find someone to love and marry (not Haru, as a few at school thought. He's more like a little brother to her and he in his part thinks of her like a big sister) and with two close friends with knowledge of space, she wanted to tag along and see how activities like swimming are in a lower gravity. She was not one to sit around and wait, no sir! She was always active, whenever it was swimming, fighting or just going for a jog, Ran was not going to sit on her duff and watch TV when it was a good day out.

"If it's alright with you I would like to see how you approach oceanography in your world" the first year asked, as she loved the ocean and wished to see more of it than just the short glimpse during her battle with Ben.

Sgt Venture was all too happy to answer. "Both OSI and SPHINX are defenders of the world, little lady! We would never think of harming innocent people like yourself and I'd be glad to show you the wonders of the ocean depths of our world!" as he placed a hand on her shoulder. Ran knew he meant her no harm, but Sgt Venture learned a important lesson that day as he was thrown down(not hardly though)

You do not touch Ran Kuroki unless she wants you to touch her.

Erin was third to ask a question. "I was wondering if there's a space station around. It would make keeping track of undesirables easier and plus it would be great to see how you approach space travel in your universe!" she happily wanted to know. Erin was a pretty smart student, a elite one at that. She was the first one at her old school to know the latest news about everything space related, plus she was always one to be ready for any challenge (a fact that made other students there uncomfortable. Erin was a good person at heart, she just wasn't too fun to be with when someone or something pissed her off)

Besides, just because a alien is attacking doesn't mean you can't have some fun on the side, right?

Sgt Venture wasn't too cheerful about what he had to tell her. "There was one built by Jonas Venture, the Gargantua-1, but something brought it out of orbit and made it crash. His second son, Jonas Jr., is working on the second one at this time" as he took his hat off to give respect to those that died when it crash mysteriously(Rusty's pee got into a circuit board, causing a malfunction) "He takes breaks to visit his family and resupply. Maybe you're get to meet him at some point" Getting the chance to meet a real live astronaut from another dimension made Erin and Yuki giddy with happiness.

Rook wanted to add a important point he wish to address. " Where will our living quarters be during our stay? I highly doubt there will be reservations made out to us, and humans do not do well sleeping outside, unprotected by the elements." Sgt Venture gave him a note from Dr Orpheus that they would be staying with him and Dr Venture during their stay. "Excellent. We shall pack when we get home and be on our way." Turning to Ben he buoyantly shouted to his partner, "We're going to boggie on underground!"

"You mean 'boggie on down', Rook." Ben corrected.

JK and Tojiro shared this question, so they asked it together, JK being the main speaker and Tojiro adding bullet points to what his friend says. "Are we going to fit in at all? Fashion is something I take pride in and I don't wanna have to dress like some lame hobo just to get around." he inquired. He loved being able to express himself the way he wanted and nothing would change that fact.

"Do you guys like to rock out? Me and JK-kun don't do old man tunes" Tojiro asked, as he didn't want to put up with classical or worse, that music that Americans loved during the 50s (he shuddered at the memories of having to listen to those tunes during P.E.) "I have to get my rock on afterall. Plus, you got any good grub over there, Sarge?" he asked, as he was always hungry and he did love good food.

"I think you both are gonna love it in my world. Gary and Brock are two Sphinx members who know about food and good rock and roll, so I think you'll hit it off with them. Since we're a pretty laid back group about fashion, you'll do just fine with the duds you have on now!" Sgt Venture's statement made the tow rockers very, VERY happy indeed.

After Gen asked his questions, which mostly involved needing to understand how things worked and if he would be able to make friends there, annoying Azmuth to no end...

Ben punched his palm and exclaimed "All right, people! We pack up in a hour and then I going to go kick Vilgax's tush again! It's hero time in a whole new time zone!" as the others cheered him on!

Back in Venture Industries...

Throwing Albedo's old wristband away in a incinerator, Vilgax turned to the cloning tanks. Diagon showed him in a vision that these could be used to revive his former soldiers. Luckily he had his drones collect the dust that was Zombozo, Argreggor, DarkStar and Overlord into its own tank, he began working on bringing them back to life. Back for revenge!

Rubbing his new mechanical forearm in pain, Albedo was looking at Vilgax's handiwork. "You're lacking in both tact and manners, thought I must concede to your understanding of advanced genetics. It rivals that of what we Gavans know. "he admitted, albeit reluctantly.

Gavans suffered from severe ego problems and Albedo had it bad. Helping Vilgax load the tanks onto the Cocoon he had to ask this question or it may never be answered and that not having a question asked is taboo in Gavan culture.

"What is it with these people and the Guild that they talk about so much? I grow weary of hearing about their pointless rules and regulations" the white haired boy complained.

Viglax just shrugged and Albedo accepted that (for now, at least) and soon the four tanks were on board. Little did they know that the tanks they just stole were loaded with Hank and Dean's DNA and right now it was mixing with the DNA of Vilgax's former troops.

Later in the day...

Having done well for his first job here, Vilgax and Albedo were burning a message to Ben, with the Cocoon's lightning cannon( which hasn't been used since the battle with Ventronic) and it was short and to the point of their feeling for the boy:

"NUTS TO YOU, BEN TENNYSON!"

Vilgax was just about to enjoy his beer where the Order of the Triad came back for Round Two, ready for another go at it.

"Foul demon spawn, you shall never raise your master from his grave of stars and nightmares! Soon you yourself shall dwell in the land of wind and ghosts, monster!" Orpheus shouted to the heavens, forcing Vilgax to come out with Albedo to kick their butts...AGAIN.

"Are you ready sure you want to do this? I mean, look at the guy! He's got a beard made of squid parts and he's bigger than Brock Samson, and 10 times as mean! Oh, what I wouldn't do to just have this be a bad dream." the Alchemist whimpered.

However Jefferson was as combat ready as ever. "If we die, our friends can tell the world we died doing the right thing. Kicking ass and not bothering with names." a small smile forming on his face as he drew his katana from its sleeve, it blade glinted in the afternoon sunlight.

Vilgax laughed it off and stormed his way to where they were, about to finish them off once and for all when a portal opened up and out came Ben, Rook and the Kamen Rider Club!

"No!" Vilgax roared in rage. How could they get here? Why couldn't they leave him be and let him conquer, like he should be able to? Sgt Venture had the answer to that:

"I brought over your friends, Stupid Vilgax! I bet they missed you a lot" he sarcastically remarked, knowing quite well that they were his greatest foes.

Rook noticed the words burned onto the ground and thought they were a greeting for Ben. "I see the locals have planned on our coming here and wished to leave a note for us. Let me be the first to say 'Nuts to you, Ben Tennyson!" he happily said, not knowing that he insulted his partner. Ben just raised a eyebrow in annoyance about this. He'd correct Rook later. Right now it's time to stop Vilgax and Albedo!

"Wow. I know you don't take losing well, but making your new base look a Horoscope Switch? That's sad, even for you" Ben said, looking over the cocoon that floated by VI (as this happens all the time, people were there taking photos of the by now common sight.) Turning the selection screen to a alien he shouted out "I think it's time Way Big stomped down your garbage!" and soon the dial popped up and he pressed it down.

Awash in green energy Ben's body grew taller and a tad thinner, as his flesh was replaced by neon pink crystal, most of that being covered by dark purple stones, leaving his hands, forearms and face exposed. A single green eye was above his long face, as six spikes grew out from his back and two more by his pecs. On his forehead was a neon pink crystal and the Omnitrix symbol was on his chest.

"Aw great. NOW I get Chromastone!" Ben muttered, as while Chromastone was one of his best aliens, he was not the one he wanted right now. Before he could explain to Sgt Venture a lightning blast was going to hit him, but he used his energy absorbing powers to soak up the electricity.

"First off, it's a cocoon, numskull and second, it's mine!" the Monarch corrected from a view screen, letting everyone see his form. He was getting laughed at by JK and Tojiro, but that wasn't what he was mad about. "Vilgax! What is it with these people?! From all your hooting and hollering about them, I thought they'd be bad dudes, but you just picked them from the phone book, didn't you?!"

Vilgax ignored his shouting to the best of his ability and stepped down to fight. "We shall settle this once and for all, Ben!" Spitting ink at Ben,(who was able to dodge, albeit with some disgust) he ran towards Chromastone but he was blocked by Albedo.

But he was not himself at the moment, as he was now a alien made of blue crystal, with a mighty body and armor made of the same purple stones that covered Chromastone, leaving his arms and his face exposed. Spikes were on his back and chest, as the Guild Symbol was on his chest. Red and purple eyes gleamed at Ben with utter malice.

"I always wondered if Diamondhead could defeat Chomastone. Now I get to find out!" Albedo shouted as he used Dark Diamondhead's power to summon Crystal pillars to smash Ben to the ground. "I guess I proved my theory after all" Albedo stated with a smirk on his face.

Gentaro was not going to let Albedo have his way. "Hey! If you want to fight someone, then fight a Kamen Rider!" Turning his head, Albedo had no idea who the Heck this person was.

"And why should I care who you are?" the Gavan asked rudely.

Paying him no mind Gentaro continued on. "I'm Kisaragi Gentaro! My goal is to make friends with everybody in school and you, from what I heard, are no friend to anyone! I must make you repent your ways!" as he summoned the Fourze Driver and placed the Rocket, Pen, Drill and Hammer Switches in and began his prep for transformation.

"Three! Two! One!"

"Henshin!"

When the light and stream died down there stood Kamen Rider Fourze in Base States, as both he and Yuki did the "Uchu Kita!" pose and catchphrase, leaving Albedo unsure just what was up with these people. Gwen and Kevin were bad enough and they at least seemed sane!

While he was distracted Chromastone brook free and retaliated at the cocoon, destroying the lightning cannon. Monarch swore at the top of his lungs about that.

"You take care of Vilgax! I'll deal with Albedo!" Chromastone ordered and both boys went to their respective opponents.

Yuki knew that Chromastone was at a disadvantage since Diamondhead had no energy attack for him to absorb, and she had to let him know that. "Ben-kun! Use Echo Echo to gain the upper hand!" she shouted.

"Normally I don't take requests, but since you're my friends, I'll be glad to honor your wishes! Chromastone answered, a smile on his face as he turned the dial to Echo Echo and changed into the smaller form. Echo Echo shouted out a sonic howl, damaging Dark Diamondhead's body and knocking him to the ground.

"Not-bad-huh?" the tiny Sonorosian replied, as Albedo tried to get up but the form was damaged to use right now. Cursing the fact that only 18 aliens (17 if you remember that Alien X is pretty much useless) were available to him he switched to Dark Goop, who was red in color, trying to squirt acid into Ben's mouth, but Ben was able to block it with a clone.

Meanwhile Gentaro was busy with Vilgax, as he used Rocket's Module to strike Vilgax in the chest, then used the Pen Module to lay a puddle of ink there, as Vilgax in his haste slipped on it, landing on his butt.

"I can't allow you to hurt anyone ever again, monster!" as he replaced Drill with Wheel and set up a new Limit Break.

"Rocket, On! Wheel, On!" Pressing the lever the Driver announced that it was time for a "Limit Break!"

"Rider Rolling Punch!" With the Wheel Module at max speed Fourze punched the dark ruler in the chest with Rocket, knocking him back into the cocoon, as he roared in utter fury as he was beaten again by some teenager!

Inside...

Vilgax crashed just a foot of so away from Dr Mrs. The Monarch as she was putting the dishes away. Her husband was nice enough to make her breakfast, and this is the least she could do for him.

"Not so easy to arch, is it?" she told Vilgax in her rocky tone of voice. Vilgax let that slide as he limped away to recover from the Limit Break. 'Curse this worthless body', he thought to himself. How he wished he had his real body back!

Outside...

Fourze ran inside with the KRC and Emoto as they were going to tend to the wounded with Fourze's Medical Module, leaving Albedo in Ben and Rook's hands.

Rook used the Proto Tool to make a net to try and catch Dark Goop, but he switched to Dark Big Chill, a muscled mothman with the Guild Omnitrix as a belt on his waist.

"I would love to get to know you better, but Ben has to pay me back for all the suffering he caused me!" Dark Big Chill raged as he froze Rook's legs, leaving Ben on his own. "Now it's just you and me, Ben" he growled, as he slashed at Ben with his claws. Ben tried to use Echo Echo's powers to get a edge in, but D. Big Chill's phasing ability was countering everything he had to offer.

Emoto thankfully was able to come out and get Rook to safety, as his help was needed more than his right now. Breaking him free from the ice, Rook silently thanked him and was on his way, as Emoto sprinted over to Ben's side. "Ben! Use your own Big Chill to even the odds!" he ordered the younger boy in his taskmaster tone of voice.

Ben did as he was told and went with his Big Chill, who was thinner and had green eyes compared to Albedo's red and purple ones. "I guess now's the time to use the new function, but in order for it to work, both people must have absolute faith in one another! But I have done horrible things in my life. I doubt you would trust me if you knew the truth about me." as he hung his head down in shame.

How could he live with himself, even though he fought against the Horoscopes to the best of his ability. He killed Rokuro Utahoshi, Kengo's father when he was left so jealous of him that he betrayed him and stole the Zodiart Switches, leaving him to die on the Moon.

Just then, his field of vision was replaced with white light, as the ghost of Rokuro walked over to him.

Emoto was in a state of shock! Why here, of all places? "You must be here to haunt me, old friend. I knew the day would come when I must answer for my sins. I'm sorry" as he hung his head down in shame.

But Rokuro wasn't angry at him at all. "I am at fault here too, Kuniteru-san. I should have paid more attention to your needs. Now Kengo is left without me and I fear he feels alone."

Emoto knew that that wasn't true, as he now had friends of his own, as well as a loving family (handpicked by Emoto himself) "When I found out how far Gamou would go I could no longer abide his wishes. I spent the last 17 years fighting against him from the inside and out. But I know I can never be forgiven for taking you away from the world" the professor sobbed, as he feared that his friend was here to send him to Hell. He knew that he may end up there, but not now!

"There's nothing to say, old friend. I have been watching you from beyond and I know your heart is true. Now go help your friends and put your pain behind you." Soon after Rokuro faded away, but now Emoto was free to tell Ben that he was able to help him now.

"Dude, are you OK? You kinda blacked out there for a sec." the young Plumber asked out of worry. Emoto nodded to show that he was alright and Ben only had one more thing to ask him. "How does this new Ultimate thingy work?"

"With the power of friendship, my dear boy."

Before Ben could protest such a corny line a light with the Virgo symbol came out of Emoto and into the Omnitrix Symbol. Green light flared out and cover Big Chill and when it subsided Ultimate Big Chill was on the scene! But instead of the evolved Ultimatrix symbol there was just the Virgo symbol in green where the peace sign was.

"Coooollllllll. It's great to have this guy back in the fold. Thanks, Emoto!" Ben was always polite, or at least tried to be. Emoto was pleased to see that Ben was grateful for things he got from others. He knew that he made the right choice.

Albedo was not pleased at all! "How could that fool and Azmuth recreate the Ultimate power? It is inconceivable!"

Ultimate Big Chill just smiled and said "I think you need to chill out with a nice, cold fire." as he used his plasma flames to freeze Dark Big Chill. Breaking free, Albedo tried to phase away, but U. Big Chill would have none of that nonsense. Using his own phasing power he grabbed D. Big Chill by the ankle and threw him down.

"Curse you, Ben! Why must you ruin everything for me?! I wanted nothing more to do with this backwater planet, but now I must set it ablaze to silent your worthless human mouth! Opening his mouth to attack Albedo was caught off guard by Ultimate Big Chill's speed, as he placed his hand in his mouth and froze him from the inside out. Albedo was in pain, more than he even conceived was possible, as his body reverted to normal form.

"I shall make you rue this day, Ben! When we return, I will end you!" as he was just able to board the Cocoon before it took off.

Later...

Albedo was fuming over his loss. How could Ben have the Ultimate Power without the Ultimatrix? How? He would have to find a equalizer to stand up to Ben and fast. This Fourze was a bother as well and the Triad would be a threat to their plans as well.

As Dr Mrs. The Monarch thanked the Monarch for her mean Albedo went to check on the tanks. Soon the new versions of Zombozo, Arggegor, Darkstar and Overlord would be born and Ben and all his friends would know the true power of Albedo! Even Vilgax will kneel to him as his master!

Venture Industries...

Rusty awoke to a fright as the faces of Rook, Yuki and Gentaro were looking at him. "Don't shoot! I'll give you money, just don't hurt me!" he sobbed.

"Honestly! If money is all you think is important, then you need our help more than you think." Yuki scolded Dr Venture. Her face softening after that, she calmly told him "We're here to help you. Your friend Dr Orpheus sent for us and we want to help you." Extending her hand she told him that "I'm Yuki Jojima! I wish to be friends with you!"

Gentaro was pleased to hear that. "I founded the Kamen Rider Club to help out everyone and be their friend. When a friend is happy and able to trust their own buddies, then that is the best feeling one can have!" he happily explained to the doctor."I want to be the best of buds with you, great doctor!" as he flashed him a big smile and shook him hand with much joy.

"We have much to do to clean up, so relax and let us do the work for you, Rusty" Rook politely told Dr Venture, as his Proto Tool changed to a mop to well, mop things up.

Ben, who had powered down and returned the Virgo power to Emoto was sweeping the floor, as he saw something from the corner of his eye.

"I think this must be Rusty's robot, as it was damaged during the battle. He's seen better days, but I think I can fix him up." Erin said as she picked Helper up and placed him down gently on a table.

Ran could feel something from the robot too. She wasn't totally sure, but Helper was almost...alive in a sense. Seeing him react to being treated like a person and not a machine confirmed her suppositions. Helper was self aware and he was being treated better than he had been in a long time.

"Even though he's a machine he has feelings too and emotions. He deserves better than whatever that thing was. From a piece I found he was stuck to that thing for some time now." Ran growled as she glared at the wreckage of the Walking Eye, Helper's body up until now. Helper meeped and beeped in terror, but Ran and Erin were able to calm him down with their kind faces. "Don't worry, little robot. We'll have you fixed up soon." Ran said with a smile, making Helper feel better than he did in a long time. "Erin-chan, do you think we have everything here to help out little Robot-chan?"

Erin shook her head sadly. "If there were parts, I doubt he would have been stuck on that ghastly thing for so long. We may have to build our own parts for him." But what could she do? She was knowable in robotics, but Helper was like nothing else she'd ever seen before.

"I think Grey Matter can help with that. You'd be surprised at what Gavans can cook up with the right stuff at hand!" Ben answered and changed into little Grey Matter, and got to work on Helper's new body, with Erin and Ran at his worksite, happily helping Ben out with their new friend's needs.

Next time: see Helper's new form and how our heroes react to the world of the Venture Bros!