Ultimate Fairy: Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Ben 10 was created by Man of Action and is owned by The Cartoon Network, Inc. (Warner Bros. Discovery). Fairy Tail was created by Hiro Mashima and is published by Kodansha. I do not own any characters, settings, or other copyrighted material from either series. This is a nonprofit fan work created for entertainment purposes only.

…

Ultimate Fairy

Chapter 4: A Royal Encounter

…

A day had passed since Ben, Wendy, and Carla left Gardenia. The road had taken them through beautiful forests and meadows. A couple of monsters had crossed their path, but between Ben's aliens and Wendy's Dragon Slayer magic, they didn't stick around for very long.

Now, the trio had made camp on the border where a meadow rolled into a line of trees, the grass flattened in patches from where their yellow tent was set up and the soil darker where Ben had built a small fire ring. Overhead, the sky was overcast, a flat sheet of gray that made the green of the meadow look deeper.

From his seat on a fallen log, Ben poked at the fire with a stick until the small flame caught again. The three of them had eaten most of what they'd packed. Wendy and Carla sat on another log on the other side of the fire.

Wendy cradled her wooden bowl in both hands, cheeks a little pink from the warmth. She took another bite, then looked up at Ben with a small, earnest smile. "Ben… this is good."

Ben blinked. He hadn't expected praise for something as basic as camp food. "It's just stew."

"It's good stew," Wendy insisted. "The flavor is nice, and it's not burnt at all."

Carla sniffed, though she didn't contradict her. "It is… acceptable," she conceded.

Ben's mouth quirked. "Wow. 'Acceptable.' I'll treasure that one forever."

Wendy giggled.

He went on. "After watching Grandpa Max cook for years, you learn what not to do."

Wendy tilted her head. "Your grandpa cooked a lot?"

"Yeah," he said, and for a second his voice lost some of its usual edge. "All the time. Road trips, camping, weird… situations." He paused, then added with a faint smirk, "He made a lot of, uh, weird stuff, too. Let's just say living through his experiments teaches you fast."

Wendy's eyes stayed on him, warm and curious. "That sounds nice though."

She perked up. "Do you have any stories from your world you can share?" Her voice softened, hopeful. "Like… the places you've been, or things you've seen. I just…" She fidgeted, then smiled shyly. "I think it'd be fun."

Carla's ears twitched, pretending not to care.

The corner of Ben's mouth lifted. "Well, I've got plenty of stories. Let's see," he paused to think before his eyes widened. "Oh! How about the time I met a dragon?"

Wendy gasped, leaning forward with wide eyes. "You met a dragon?! Tell me! What kind of dragon was it? Was it like Grandeeney? Did it talk? Did it have a name?"

Ben held up a hand, smiling. "Okay, okay. One question at a time." He exhaled through his nose. "So, a few years back, I ran into this group called the Forever Knights."

Carla made a small sound of disapproval. "That name is ridiculous."

"It really is," he agreed without hesitation. "And they took themselves way too seriously. Picture humans dressed like medieval knights—armor, crests, the whole thing—but with modern weapons and stolen tech."

Wendy blinked. "So… they're like a guild?"

"An illegal one is more like it," Carla added.

"Illegal? Yes. Guild? Not so much," Ben said, tone flattening. "More like a human-supremacist club that thinks it's the world police. Or… they were." He emphasized the past tense. "Anyway, they had different factions. The one that matters here was run by an old guy named Sir Patrick. He was obsessed with this 'legend' they'd been sitting on for a thousand years."

"A legend?" Wendy repeated.

He nodded. "They kept a 'dragon' imprisoned under their castle. And when I say dragon, I mean an actual dragon. They captured it a thousand years ago and never let it go."

Carla's jaw dropped. "A thousand years?"

"Yep. Sir Patrick's branch spent all that time trying to kill it and couldn't. Then they found some fancy alien cannon they thought could finally do the job. So Sir Patrick picks his 'bravest knight,' Sir Connor, to go down there and pull the trigger."

"Hold on. These knights spent a millennium trying to kill one dragon?" Carla's eyes widened. "How did it not starve?"

Ben shrugged. "They probably fed it. Maybe they wanted the 'honor' of slaying it instead of just letting it die. The Forever Knights weren't exactly consistent."

Wendy's voice went quiet. "That sounds awful… Why did they want to kill it so badly?"

"Because it wasn't human," he replied dryly. "That was their whole brand. Anything that isn't human is automatically 'a threat' to them. Anything."

Carla's tail flicked. "Humans."

Ben pointed at her like she'd just summed up his entire point. "Exactly. Anyway, Connor goes down there… and it turns out the dragon had already snapped most of its old restraints."

Wendy's hands tightened. "So it escaped?"

"Oh, it escaped. Smashed its way out like it had been dreaming about the sky for a thousand years." His expression tightened slightly. "The Knights kept calling it a monster, but honestly, it was just hurt from being caged and tortured all those years and was done being polite."

"So it was scared?" Wendy asked.

"Angry," he corrected gently. "Furious. And honestly? It had every right to be."

Carla huffed. "Reasonable."

Ben shifted a little closer to the fire. "My friends Gwen and Kevin were there with me. Kevin's first reaction was basically, 'Let it get its revenge.'"

Wendy's brows knit. "What did you do?"

"I tried to stop it," he continued. "Not because the Knights deserved mercy, but because the 'revenge' Connor wanted… and the revenge the dragon wanted… was going to turn into a massacre."

Wendy swallowed. "Could the dragon talk?"

Ben's mouth quirked. "It tried. That was the thing. It kept making these sounds like it was trying to communicate, but it couldn't. Turns out the old Knights had broken its universal translator while they were trying to capture it. So even if it wanted to explain itself, it couldn't."

Carla's eyes narrowed. "So they took its voice."

"Yeah." His tone sharpened for a beat. "And then, this part matters, it didn't go rampaging for fun. It went looking for something. We tracked it to a warehouse and it turned out the dragon was following a signal."

Wendy tilted her head. "A signal to what?"

Ben nodded once. "To a ship."

Carla blinked. "It had a ship?"

"A spaceship to be exact. The Knights had stolen it and hidden it." His gaze flicked to Wendy to make sure she was with him. "When we got there, I managed to replace its translator so it could finally speak normally. That's when we learned what it really was. An alien."

"An alien?" Wendy's eyes widened. "Wait! Like… from the stars?" She pointed up at the night sky. "Like your Take-Over forms?"

Ben nodded and smiled. "That's right."

"Wow…" Wendy breathed. "An alien dragon."

Carla made a small, unimpressed noise. "Of course it was. Your life is absurdly casual about things that should be impossible."

He snorted. "Yeah, that's fair."

"What was this dragon's name?" Wendy asked.

Ben frowned. "I actually never got his name. But for the sake of the story, we'll call him Mapmaker."

Wendy blinked. "Mapmaker?"

The Omnitrix bearer nodded. "Because that's what he was doing. Charting stars and worlds. He was the explorer type."

The Sky Dragon Slayer's face pinched with outrage. "So… They imprisoned a person."

"For a thousand years," Ben said, old anger warming his voice. "And Sir Patrick twisted it into something worse. He didn't want to just 'kill the dragon' anymore, they wanted a weapon that could kill him—and by extension anything like him. Typical genocide logic dressed up as heroism."

Carla's ears angled back. "Disgusting."

"And Mapmaker?" Wendy asked softly. "What did he want?"

Ben's expression tightened. "At that point? He wanted every single Knight dead."

"An extreme yet understandable motivation," Carla noted.

"What happened next?" Wendy asked.

Ben replied. "Gwen and Kevin kept Connor and his pals busy. I talked to Mapmaker. He was ready to start attacking them, and I was trying to convince him to just… leave."

"Were you able to?"

Ben looked down at the fire. "I told him I could transform and stop him if I wanted to, but I didn't. I just stood in front of him. Still human. I reminded him he wasn't a monster. He was a mapmaker."

Wendy's eyes shimmered. "And did he listen?"

He nodded, expression softening. "Yeah. He did, thankfully. He got on his ship and took off. Connor tried to stop him, but the ship's shields held. He made it home." His voice went quieter. "Back to his family. After all that time."

Wendy let out a soft, relieved sound. "That's… that's good. I'm happy to hear that."

Carla crossed her arms, still guarded. "And the Forever Knights?"

Ben's expression flattened. "Upset because their 'monster' escaped."

Wendy's hands curled into fists. "I… I don't like those knights."

"Yeah," the teen hero said quietly, watching the flames. "Me neither."

If there was one thing that came out of the Esoterica-Forever Knight war, it was that neither side existed anymore. Was that a dark thought on Ben's part? Maybe.

For a moment, only the crackle filled the space.

Wendy's face then brightened again, curiosity returning. "So there are dragons in your world too!"

"Alien dragons," Ben corrected, but he was smiling. "Still dragons though."

"That's so cool! Do you think there could be dragons here that make maps? Or dragons that do other jobs?"

Ben chuckled. "Wendy, if there's one thing I've learned…" He shrugged. "If you can imagine it, it probably exists somewhere in the multiverse."

…

The next morning, Ben walked with his hands tucked in his jacket pockets. Wendy stayed close at his left side, while Carla summoned her wings and hovered near the bluenette's shoulder. The road was a packed dirt path bordered by wildflowers Ben guessed were primroses. It sloped into a shallow valley where rooftops finally peeked through the treeline.

"Primrose Town," Carla said, reading the signpost ahead.

Ben glanced at the flowers. "Yeah… that checks out."

"In any case," she continued, "it's a sensible place to restock."

Wendy's eyes lit up. "Do they have a market? Ooh, maybe a library?"

Ben smirked. "You're twelve and you're asking for libraries on a road trip. Gwen would love you."

She blinked. "Gwen? Oh! Your cousin, right?"

"Yeah." He nodded, the smile on his face tightening for half a beat before he smoothed it out. His gaze stayed forward. "And sure, we'll check. If there's a library, we'll grab you a book for the road."

Wendy smiled at that.

"Do we have a plan for after this town?" Carla asked.

Ben grinned, shrugging. "You plan. Wendy explores. I'll make sure neither of you ends up as monster chow."

Carla's ears flattened. "Your confidence is not reassuring."

"It should be," he said. "Confidence is, like, seventy percent of my survival strategy."

Wendy giggled at that.

However, their conversation was cut off when shouts suddenly rolled over the low hill ahead.

Carla's head snapped up. "That didn't sound good."

Ben slowed, squinting toward the ridge. "Could be fine," he said, trying to be casual. "You know… the good kind of shouting. Like 'sale on bread' shouting."

Another cry carried over the hill. Higher, ragged, and unmistakably panicked. More immediately followed.

"…Or not."

"Oh no!" Wendy was already moving. "People need help!"

Ben didn't argue. "Come on!"

He broke into a run with them, cresting the hill, and saw the outskirts of Primrose Town…and immediately spotted the source of the disturbance.

Light-green magical seals with pink highlights popped up across the ground, and plant-based monsters crawled out of them in jerking, unnatural motions. Their limbs were dried bark and twisted roots, moss hanging off them like ragged hair. Thorny ribs jutted from torsos that looked more grown than built. Their eyes glowed a sick sap-green, and when they opened their mouths, it wasn't a roar so much as a wet, creaking groan.

Ben's face pinched. "That's gotta be the ugliest shrubbery I've ever seen, and I once fought a literal trash monster."

The creatures swarmed street edges, climbed fences, and tore through garden plots to drag themselves toward anything that moved.

A merchant stumbled backward near his cart, tripping over his own feet. One of the creatures lunged for him.

"Carla, up!" Wendy yelled.

Carla swooped down, grabbed the back of Wendy's yellow dress, and yanked her upward. Wendy yelped, then immediately steadied herself midair as Carla carried her higher for a better angle.

Ben's feet hit the town's outer road. He planted himself between the monsters and the nearest cluster of civilians.

"Everybody, move back!" Ben shouted. "Get inside! Now!"

A woman grabbed a child and ran. A shopkeeper slammed his shutters. Someone else froze, staring at the monsters like their brain refused to accept what their eyes were showing them.

Ben pointed. "You! Inside. Go!"

The man snapped out of it and bolted.

Wendy lifted her hands, eyes sharp now, fear shoved aside by purpose. "Sky Dragon's… Wave Wind!"

A cutting spiral of air snapped forward, slicing across the nearest cluster. The gust hit like a blade, ripping moss and brittle bark apart, throwing two creatures into a hedge hard enough that dead leaves exploded outward.

"Nice!" Ben called without looking back.

Carla hovered Wendy in a tight circle, keeping her mobile. "Do not get reckless," she warned.

"I'm not!" Wendy whipped another spell out. "Sky Dragon's Claw!"

A wind-empowered kick sent one monster skidding across the dirt, snapping its spine-like root column.

Ben tapped the Omnitrix faceplate, causing the green holo-ring with head icons to appear. Tapping the first head icon on the list, the faceplate slid back.

"It's Hero Time!" he declared before slapping down the core, emerald light flaring across the street.

When the flash died away, standing in Ben's place was a tall, muscular humanoid seemingly made entirely of rock and fire. Fire blazed around its head, oversized hands crackled with heat, and two small volcano-like vents sat on its shoulders, each belching flames. Centered on its chest was the Omnitrix dial.

(A/N: Credit to JupaGo25 on DeviantArt)

"Heatblast!" he announced in a raspy, crackling voice.

The plant creatures hesitated at the sight of the fire alien.

Heatblast lifted one hand. "Just so we're clear, guys. Fire beats plants every time. You sure you wanna keep doing this?"

The monsters didn't listen (or maybe they didn't understand) and continued advancing.

The Pyronite shrugged. "Suit yourselves." He shot a torrent of flames across the ground, the sweeping arc scorching the soil in a line ahead of the nearest monsters. The plant creatures hit the fire and recoiled, bark blackening instantly.

Wendy caught on fast. "Carla, get me above Ben."

"Right!" Carla angled high above the Pyronite where they wouldn't feel his heat.

"Sky Dragon's Wing Attack!"

A concentrated blast of wind slammed into Heatblast's flame front, feeding oxygen into it. The fire surged brighter, hotter.

Heatblast's eye holes narrowed. "Good thinking, Wendy."

Wendy's face brightened. "I can do more!"

"Do it!" Heatblast barked, and then he pushed his arms forward, releasing another controlled blast that turned three monsters into ash before they could reach the next fleeing civilian.

He didn't let the momentum die.

Heatblast snapped his wrist and fired a pair of fireballs that arced low, striking two monsters in the chest and detonated in bursts of heat that didn't spray outward like a bomb, but collapsed inward. Bark charred. Roots curled. Both creatures dropped in smoking heaps.

A third lunged for him, claws raking.

Heatblast sidestepped, then slammed his palm into the road. The ground trembled. A slab of earth tore free, lifting in a jagged chunk the size of a cart wheel. He ignited it with a flick of his fingers. Fire crawled across the stone until it became a spinning, molten-edged disk.

With a sharp gesture, he sent it whirling in a wide circle around him.

The flaming chunk carved through the swarm like a burning buzzsaw, forcing the monsters back. It clipped one in the shoulder, scorching straight through moss and bark. Another tried to leap over it and caught the heat on its underside, yelping in that wet creak as it tumbled into the dirt.

Wendy stared down in awe, the wind around her stuttering for a second as her focus slipped. "Oh wow! You're… you're controlling the fire!" Her eyes widened. "Just like the Salamander!"

Heatblast flicked a glance up at her while his flaming disk continued to orbit, keeping the monsters from closing. "The what now?"

"The Salamander of Fairy Tail!" Wendy blurted. "From the rumors!"

Heatblast gave a short, amused huff. "No idea who that is, but I'll take it as a compliment."

Her grin flashed. "It is!"

"Alright then but keep the wind coming!" Heatblast called, and Wendy obliged with another Wing Attack spell feeding oxygen into his flames so they burned hotter.

Heatblast fired again, this time a sweeping volley of fireballs that burst into controlled jets on impact, lighting only the targets and the ground directly beneath them. The monsters staggered and collapsed in blackened piles, and for the first time the civilians nearest the road started to move again, fleeing while the trio held the line.

Wendy's wind struck from above, slamming the stragglers back into Heatblast's flame lanes. Carla, still carrying her, circled tight and fast, keeping Wendy at the perfect height and angle while also scanning for more threats.

Within a minute, the last of the initial swarm crumbled into smoking debris.

Heatblast let the flaming chunk of earth drop, its fire snuffing out as it hit the road with a hiss. "Nice work, Wendy."

Wendy looked like she might explode with pride. "We did it!"

Carla didn't relax. Her eyes narrowed, ears twitching. "Not yet."

She pointed to the shimmering ground ahead.

More magical seals flared into existence. And as if the earth resented losing its toys, every place a monster collapsed, the soil around it shuddered. Root tendrils coiled upward, and fresh monsters dragged themselves out of the ground as if the land was birthing them.

Carla shouted, "More are emerging!"

"Those magic circles," Heatblast growled. "Wherever they appear, more of those things just pop up."

"Someone must be summoning them!" From her vantage point, Wendy looked around the area and even tried sniffing for them. "But I can't locate them."

"So what do we do?" Carla asked.

Heatblast stepped forward. "Hold the ground until whoever's summoning these guys shows themselves, gives their dramatic villain monologue, and then we kick their butts."

Carla shot him a flat look. "You say that like you're certain they're going to politely announce themselves."

Heatblast gave a low, crackling chuckle. "Hey. Villains love an entrance."

Before they could engage, a new voice shouted out.

"Iron Rock Wall!"

A stone pillar erupted from the ground between Heatblast and the newest cluster of monsters. More pillars followed, slotting into place to form a barrier between the town and the creatures.

The soil rolled again, heaving into a trench that swallowed the monsters' feet and dragged them off balance. Large stone hands then formed from the ground, clamping around torsos and limbs. Bark splintered. Thorned arms snapped. The creatures were pinned so hard they cracked into brittle heaps of sap and shredded vines.

The pressure in the air shifted.

Heatblast felt it first, like the ground itself had taken a slow, steady breath. Wendy and Carla turned with him.

A tall, broad-shouldered man strode into the outskirts. Bald head, hard eyes, and a cloak-like mantle draped across his shoulders. Green, patterned coverings wrapped his arms. Fastened to his mantle was a polished silver medallion: a circular crest framed by a ridged outer ring, its face set with a bold cross-like emblem. Four white heart-shaped inlays sat around the center, catching the light with a sharp, star-bright glint every time he moved.

He didn't look at the trio first. He looked straight at the monsters.

He lifted one hand slightly…and the ground obeyed.

"Iron Rock Spikes!"

Jagged earthen spikes erupted in a tight cluster beneath the nearest plant-monsters, shooting up around their limbs and torsos and skewering them.

"You beasts chose the wrong town to terrorize," the man said.

Heatblast's eyes narrowed. "Whoa…."

Wendy hovered above with wide eyes. "Who is that?"

The man stepped forward again and pressed his palm to the soil like he was checking a pulse. A deep ripple traveled outward. The earth stopped birthing monsters. The ones already formed twitched, trembled… and then collapsed, crumbling into lifeless piles.

The sudden quiet was jarring.

Somewhere behind them, a child began to cry—not from fear, but from the shock of surviving. A mother scooped him up and whispered into his hair.

Wendy drifted down as Carla lowered her carefully. Her sandals hit the dirt and she wobbled, catching herself.

Heatblast noticed immediately. "You good?" he asked.

Wendy nodded fast. "Yeah. I'm okay."

Carla landed and her wings disappeared in sparkles, exhaling deeply.

The stranger finally turned his attention to them.

"I saw you fight off those summoned beasts. Well done." His gaze moved from Wendy to Carla… and then locked onto Heatblast. It lingered as his curiosity sharpened into caution. His eyes traced the green hourglass emblem on Heatblast's chest, then flicked to the flames wreathing his head and shoulders.

"I'm curious," he said evenly, "what manner of creature are you?"

Wendy stepped forward before Carla could say anything, chin lifting with stubborn little bravery. "He's my friend," she said firmly. Remembering how Juvia had attacked Waterhazard out of misunderstanding, Wendy didn't want this man doing the same to Ben.

The man's eyes shifted to her, then back to Heatblast. "A friend," he repeated.

Heatblast raised a hand to the Omnitrix dial set into his chest. "Yeah. Here, lemme make this easier for all of us."

He tapped the dial. Green light pulsed outward, bright enough that everyone instinctively shielded their eyes. When it faded, Heatblast was gone and Ben stood there in his human form.

"See?" Ben said. "I'm human. So no need to attack or anything."

The stranger blinked once, as if recalibrating. "I see. A Take-Over wizard, then," he said, tone thoughtful. "Whatever form that was, you controlled your flames well. Most fire users can go bigger and lose control."

Ben smirked, puffing out his chest just a little. "Yeah, Heatblast is all about flames and control and all."

"Heatblast?"

"That's the name of the ali—uh, Take-Over form he changed into," Wendy explained, catching herself mid-word.

The man's brow furrowed, curiosity deepening. "Yet I didn't sense the usual surge of magic power when a Take-Over wizard transforms. Interesting."

"It's, uh, kind of complicated," Ben said carefully.

A faint quirk tugged at the corner of the man's mouth. "I'm sure it is."

Wendy brightened, relieved the conversation hadn't turned into run-for-your-lives. "Sir, more were still coming from the ground earlier! But you stopped it."

"I noticed." The man's gaze slid to the scorched line Ben had drawn, then returned to Wendy. "And you. Your control of the wind is quite exceptional, especially for one so young."

The bluenette's blinked, cheeks warming. "Th-thank you."

Carla cleared her throat. "We were headed into town for supplies when we encountered the attack."

The bald man nodded once, then glanced toward the shattered remains of the plant-monsters. "Yes. I fear this may not have been random."

"Uh, we didn't get your name," Ben pointed out.

The man's expression softened. "Jura Neekis," he said, inclining his head. "A wizard of Lamia Scale."

Wendy straightened immediately. "I-I'm Wendy Marvell," she said, then gestured to Carla. "And this is Carla."

Carla gave a crisp nod, still wary. "Hmph."

Ben hooked a thumb toward his chest. "Ben. Ben Tennyson."

"A pleasure to meet you three." Jura spotted the Cait Shelter symbol on Wendy's right shoulder. "Are you three part of a guild?"

Wendy answered. "Carla and I are part of Cait Shelter."

"Hmm," Jura's brows furrowed, "I'm afraid I've never heard of your guild."

"We are on the small side," Carla explained.

Jura's gaze shifted to Ben. "And you?"

"Let's just say I'm exploring my options at this time."

"We're traveling across the kingdom together," Wendy added.

Jura nodded in understanding.

His gaze then swept the street again. The trampled earth, the gouges in the ground where the creatures had risen, and the way the attack had funneled toward the town's main entrance.

When he looked back, his tone was calm yet carried weight. "I'd like to speak with the three of you. To understand what happened here before I arrived."

Wendy nodded quickly. "Of course!"

"I suppose that makes sense," Carla sighed.

Ben shrugged easily. "Yeah. Sure."

…

From there, Jura led the trio through Primrose Town, guiding them down the main street. Townspeople hovered in doorways and behind half-drawn shutters, faces pale and exhausted, eyes tracking Ben, Wendy, and Jura with open relief, some of it tipping into reverence.

"So you were walking into town when those creatures crawled out of the ground?" Jura asked after hearing their explanation.

Wendy nodded. "We saw magic circles appear in the ground first." She rubbed her arm, as if the sensation still lingered. "And… the magic felt really potent."

His expression stayed composed, but his gaze sharpened. "I see."

"Still kinda weird the summoner didn't show," Ben commented. "Usually after you beat a bad guy's minions, they pop out to give the whole villain speech and everything."

"Villain speech?" Jura repeated, faintly amused.

"Don't mind him." Carla folded her arms from Wendy's left shoulder. "He's ridiculous."

"More like experienced," Ben shot back.

Jura glanced at him, calm and assessing. "You have experience with battles?"

The brunet gave a humorless smirk, then shook his head. "You have no idea." He let the moment pass, then shifted gears. "Anyway, what were you doing in town? Just passing through?"

"In a way," Jura replied, his mantle shifting with each step. "I'm on an escort job. We heard the commotion from across town, and my client requested I intervene."

Carla's ears twitched. "Requested?"

Jura's mouth quirked. "Insisted, more like. Still, I wasn't opposed to helping where it was needed."

Wendy glanced up at him, eyes shining. "S-Sir Jura… you're really strong."

Jura looked down at her, his expression softening. "You were strong as well, Ms. Wendy. You held your ground and protected civilians. That matters more than raw power."

Wendy straightened a little at that, doing her best not to look too pleased. Ben caught it anyway, and something warm settled in his chest. She was still starry-eyed, but she was also trying—really trying—to be braver, to be more experienced.

Ben noticed the way people kept staring at Jura as they passed. "Okay, I've gotta ask. They're looking at you like you're… royalty."

Jura lifted a hand and tapped the medallion fastened to his cloak. "It's likely because they recognize this."

Wendy blinked. "What does that symbol mean, Sir Jura?"

"It signifies that I am one of the Ten Wizard Saints."

Wendy and Carla both gasped.

"A, a Wizard Saint?" Carla's eyes widened.

Wendy's voice went small, reverent. "You… you are?"

Ben blinked, confused. "Uh, a what?"

Carla turned her head like she was explaining something obvious to an especially dense rock. "A Wizard Saint is among the most powerful wizards recognized by the Magic Council. They're ranked. Respected. Feared."

Ben processed that, then looked back at Jura. "So you're like… the cream of the crop."

Jura gave a short, amused exhale. "If that helps you understand, then yes."

Wendy practically glowed just walking beside him. Ben bumped her shoulder lightly with his, a quiet reminder to breathe. "Don't freak out," he murmured.

"I'm not freaking out," Wendy whispered back, her voice squeaking anyway.

Carla muttered, "You are both embarrassing," which only made Ben chuckle.

They passed beneath a stone arch that marked the far end of the market district, and the atmosphere shifted at once. The streets widened into a broader lane along the edge of town where wagons came and went and guards usually stood watch.

Usually.

Now, soldiers in battered armor were scattered along the roadside. Some sat slumped against fence posts, others lay flat on their backs staring at the sky, faces pinched with pain. A snapped javelin lay in the dirt. A torn banner fluttered from a broken carriage that had been dragged halfway onto the road.

The smell hit them first. Split wood, fresh sap, dust and blood. Wendy's nose wrinkled and Carla's tail went stiff at the sight. Jura stopped so abruptly Ben nearly walked into him.

Up ahead, a fancy carriage lay half on its side, one wheel shattered clean off. Harness straps hung loose and severed, and the horses were gone.

Thorny branches snaked across the road like living barbed wire, wrapped around shattered wood and spilled supplies. And in the center of it, was a man tangled and pinned beneath the heap of thorns.

He was tall and muscular, clad in a suit of armor despite the formal royal styling beneath it. He had dark hair hidden under his helmet, and a pointed beard sharpened the hard line of his jaw. Thick eyebrows framed eyes that were usually sharp and imposing, but now clenched with strain as he fought to stay conscious through the pain.

Ben's gaze flicked from the wrecked carriage to the man in the vines. "Is this your escort," he asked quietly, "or…was?"

"Arcadios!" Jura exclaimed, alarmed.

The man jerked his head up at the sound. He was pale, breathing hard, and the vines coiled around his torso and legs with thorns pressed close enough to draw blood. He'd clearly tried to pull himself free, but every movement only tightened the bind.

"Jura…" Arcadios rasped, relief and panic colliding in his expression. "It happened…so fast."

Ben was already moving. "Hold still."

Upon activating the Omnitrix, Ben's body was shrouded in emerald light.

When it faded, in his place stood a seven-foot-tall, plant-like humanoid with a body of green and black layered beneath clinging muck. Its head burned with a red, flame-patterned shape that cast the rest of its form into even sharper contrast. Red petals flared from its shoulders and around its head, while green frills jutted from its elbows and legs. Its feet were root-like, thick and uneven, as though black stones had been caught in the tangled growth. Its eyes were long and oval, tapering to points at each end, with smaller pupils mirroring the same shape. Centered on its chest sat the Omnitrix dial.

"Swampfire!" He shouted in a deep, nasally voice.

Jura's eyes widened a fraction. Another transformation… so that fire form isn't his only one.

Swampfire's declaration was followed almost immediately by a rank, rotten stench.

"W-what… what in the world is that?" Arcadios said, shock turning into immediate disgust as his nose wrinkled and his eyes squeezed shut.

"Eew!" Wendy backed away, clapping both hands over her nose. "That really stinks, Ben!"

Jura remained composed, barely. Even he had to pinch his nose. "That is… an interesting smell, Ben."

"A putrid one!" Carla snapped, also covering her nose as she shuffled away. "Why would you change into this?!"

Swampfire stepped forward, unfazed. "Because he can do this." He knelt beside the thorny branches wrapped around Arcadios and laid a hand on them.

The vines shuddered as if they'd been startled awake. Then, under Swampfire's touch, the branches began to loosen and untangle on their own, slithering away from Arcadios's arms and torso and retreating back toward the ground.

Freed, Arcadios let out a pained grunt and slumped forward onto the street, breathing shallowly.

Wendy was already moving. "Hold on, I can help him!"

Arcadios sucked in a sharp breath. "Those thorns… were poisoned," he said through clenched teeth. "It's… in my blood already."

Wendy didn't hesitate. "I can help with that too."

Jura's gaze shifted to her. "You can neutralize poison?"

Swampfire tapped the Omnitrix dial, and in a green flash, he returned to human. Everyone visibly relaxed the second the rancid smell vanished with him.

"She can do a lot of things," Ben said, a little too proudly.

Jura looked between Ben and Wendy, then settled on Wendy. “Then do it.'"

Wendy nodded, determination settled into her expression.

She drew in a slow, deep breath, then placed her palms over Arcadios's wounds. Soft blue light spilled from her hands, gentle and steady, and the air around her fingertips felt suddenly crisp, as if she were purifying it before pushing it into him.

"Heal." Wendy chanted. "This might feel… cool."

Arcadios flinched as the sensation seeped beneath his skin. Not pain, but a strange, clean chill, like fever breaking. The burning sting dulled. His breathing steadied. The tremor in his limbs eased as Wendy's magic worked inward, flushing the poison out in controlled waves.

Within moments, the venom's grip loosened. Color returned to his face in small increments, and he managed a full breath without choking on it.

Jura watched closely, surprise flickering across his features. "You can use Healing Magic?" he asked quietly.

Carla stepped in. "Wendy is the Sky Dragon Slayer. Her foster mother taught her healing techniques. She can't fix everything… but she can treat injuries and drain poison effectively."

Jura's expression sharpened, urgency edged with awe. "A Dragon Slayer? That's Lost Magic." he murmured in shock. "Incredible."

When Wendy finished, Arcadios gave a weak but grateful nod. "Thank you."

Wendy nodded, relieved. "I was able to remove the poison. But you'll still need to rest to regain your strength."

"I… I can't rest," Arcadios tried to push himself up. "I… have to save her." But despite the steel in his voice, his body didn't cooperate, and he sagged again with a pained hiss.

Jura crouched beside Arcadios, gently helping to sit up and lean against the fallen carriage. "Arcadios, where is she?"

Arcadios swallowed. "Taken," he said, shame and fury twisting his features. "The commotion across town must have been a diversion. They drew you away, then another pair struck the escort. They… they overwhelmed us… and took her."

"Her?" Carla repeated sharply.

Wendy's brow furrowed. "Who… who did?"

Arcadios's jaw clenched. "Dark wizards," he forced out. "Two of them. They… They wanted the princess."

Ben perked up. "A princess?"

Jura's eyes sharpened. "Princess Hisui Fiore."

Wendy gasped softly. "The princess!"

The knight's expression cracked. "She tried to be brave," he said, voice breaking. "She didn't scream until they covered her mouth."

Ben's hands curled into fists. "Okay then. Definitely not sitting on the sidelines for this." He turned to the Wizard Saint. "I know you're strong and all, Jura. But would you be open to backup?"

Jura studied him for a beat, then nodded. "Yes, I would."

Carla bristled. "And Wendy?"

Jura's gaze softened. "You and Wendy need to stay here. Take care of the wounded and protect the town in case of another attack."

Wendy's shoulders tensed. She wanted to object. Ben could see it.

He crouched beside her, lowering his voice. "Hey, you did great." He nodded toward the fallen soldiers before turning to her. "Use your magic to help them. And protect the town in case the bad guys come back. I'm not asking you to stay behind because I think you'll slow me down. I'm asking you because there's no one else who can treat and protect them and the others while we're away. Can you do that for me, Wendy?"

Wendy swallowed, then nodded determinedly. "Okay," she whispered. "I will."

Carla's eyes narrowed, but she gave a short nod. "Don't do anything stupid."

Ben stood and rolled his shoulders. "No promises, but I'll try."

Carla sighed, exasperated. "I suppose that will have to do."

Jura turned to Arcadios. "Do you know which way they took her?"

Arcadios forced a trembling hand up and pointed to his left. "Down the road… into the woods… I blacked out after."

Jura nodded. "Then we start there."

Arcadios coughed. "Please… Jura… bring her back. No matter what happens, you must bring Princess Hisui home."

Jura's expression turned solemn. "I swear it," he said quietly.

Arcadios's gaze slid to Ben next, desperate. "You too, boy… You're clearly strong. Please, bring her back safely."

Ben met his eyes without flinching. "I will," he said, steady and absolute. "You have my word."

Arcadios exhaled and slumped against the wagon's undercarriage. "Then… I place my trust in you both."

…

Jura and Ben walked briskly past the outskirts of Primrose Town. The road narrowed, dirt packed hard by wagon wheels, and the trees ahead thickened into a darker wall of green.

The Wizard Saint spoke without looking back. "You travel with Cait Shelter, Sir Ben, yet you are not one of them."

Sir Ben? Ben decided to go along with it. He kind of liked it.

"They saved my life. Wendy especially."

Jura's eyes shifted to him. "You owe them, then."

Ben nodded. "I'm also new to this kingdom. Didn't exactly show up with a map and a plan. I wanted to explore, learn the area, figure out how things work." He kept his tone casual, almost light.

"And Wendy and Carla?"

Ben glanced over his shoulder toward town, now shrinking behind them. "They've never really ventured far from their guild. I figured… if they're going to grow, they can't do that by staying in the same place forever."

Jura's expression softened, just a fraction. "A good instinct, Sir Ben. But it puts Wendy and Carla in danger."

Ben's mouth quirked. "Yeah. Tell me about it." His gaze sharpened. "But that's why I'm with them."

When they reached the edge of the woods, Jura slowed and began scanning the ground.

"We spread out and look for signs. Footprints, broken branches, disturbed soil. Anything."

"Actually," Ben said, "I've got a better way."

Jura's gaze slid to him. "Better than tracking?"

"Better than spending hours searching." He hesitated, adding, "But I need you to do something first."

Jura raised a brow.

"Don't attack me when I transform. The form I'm about to use can't talk… and it might qualify as nightmare fuel."

Jura held him for a beat, then gave a small nod. "Understood."

Ben exhaled slowly, more relieved than he wanted to show. "Okay. Then just, uh… try to hold on to your stoic Wizard Saint composure or whatever."

Jura's mouth twitched. "I'll do my best."

Upon activating the Omnitrix, emerald light enveloped Ben's body, forcing the Wizard Saint to squeeze his eyes shut. When the glow cleared, a massive feline-like creature stood in Ben's place. Its truck-sized body was covered in orange fur, darker brown stripes running down its hunched back. A long tail flicked behind it, and sharp fangs jutted from its lower jaw. Razor-black claws dug into the ground as its chest expanded with each breath. Three black gills flared on each side of its thick throat. The Omnitrix dial sat squarely on its chest. Most unsettling of all, the beast had no eyes. With a low, vibrating growl, it snarled its name in an incomprehensible series of sounds.

(A/N: Credit to SalvaShark for this design)

This was Wildmutt.

Jura blinked, mouth slightly gapping. "…I understand your warning now. And this form can track the princess?"

Wildmutt huffed, then gave a sharp nod. The gills along his neck flared wide as they sifted through the countless scents in the air, assembling a rough, green-tinted three-dimensional map in his mind. At first, the trees and wildlife muddied everything. He pushed it aside, filtering for what didn't belong.

He lowered his head, gills pulsing as he drank the world in through smell. The forest sharpened into something readable, its shapes and movement sketching themselves into place. Three trails then cut clean through the noise.

Perfume and the sharp tang of poison, marked pink.

Iron, sweat, and cheap cologne, marked silver.

Floral with traces of sweat, marked green.

In Wildmutt's mind, it had to be the two dark wizards and the princess respectively.

The Vulpimancer turned, then lifted his right front leg, gesturing toward Jura and then to his own back.

Jura stared. "You want me to ride?" Wildmutt nodded and crouched lower, bracing his legs.

Jura hopped up without hesitation, settling his weight carefully between the creature's shoulders. His hands found purchase in Wildmutt's coarse fur, almost quill-like under his fingers, and he steadied himself.

Wildmutt surged forward, tearing through the forest and undergrowth as trees blurred around them. Claws bit into dirt and root as his body weaved between trunks with instinctive precision. Branches snapped past Jura's shoulders, but he stayed anchored, eyes forward, jaw set. The Vulpimancer pushed faster, adjusting his course in sharp, fluid corrections as he locked onto the pink, silver, and green trails.

"You're running with purpose." Jura leaned in, eyes narrowed. "You've found their scent?"

Wildmutt answered with a string of low, emphatic growls.

"…I will take that as a yes."

They drove deeper into the woods, the terrain shifting from gentle slopes into rockier ground. The trees thinned in patches, and the air sharpened as the land rose toward the foothills, colder with every mile.

The scent trails tugged them toward a jagged opening in the earth. The entrance yawned dark beneath a ridge of stone, half-choked by weeds. Old, rotting support beams flanked the mouth like broken teeth.

"An old mine," Jura noted.

Wildmutt slowed to a stop, claws scraping stone. He lowered himself and jerked his head sharply, signaling Jura to dismount.

Jura got the message and slid off.

Wildmutt tapped the Omnitrix dial on his chest and, in a flash of emerald, transformed back to human.

"The trail goes in there," Ben said, pointing at the mine and keeping his voice down. "Like Arcadios said, there are two wizards. One's a woman, the other a man. And I can smell the princess too. She's alive."

Relief eased Jura's expression. "Good. Well done, Sir Ben."

Ben nodded, eyes still on the mine. "They're close. Which means this goes one of two ways."

"We proceed cautiously and confirm her location," Jura said. "Then we strike."

Ben nodded once. "Yeah. Cautious."

The Wizard Saint and the Omnitrix bearer moved together, stepping into the cave's mouth. The light fell away fast, swallowed by damp darkness. The air turned cool and stale, carrying the mineral bite of old stone and the faint, lingering stink of rust.

Jura lifted one hand slightly. The rock beneath their feet seemed to respond, subtly leveling and muffling their steps until their footfalls faded into nothing.

Ben noticed, filed it away, and kept moving.

The tunnel narrowed as they went, the ceiling lowering in uneven dips. Moisture clung to the stone walls in cold beads, and the faintest trickle of water echoed somewhere deeper inside. Thankfully, it wasn't total darkness as thin smears of bioluminescent moss clung to cracks and seams in the rock, glowing a muted blue-green. It wasn't enough to read by, but it outlined the walls and kept their footing steady at least. Ben's eyes needed to work harder, his sense sharpening around the stale air, rust, and that faint mineral bite.

Farther ahead, the pair spotted a pale glow like lantern light.

Jura raised two fingers toward Ben in a quick, silent signal: there. Ben answered with a nod. They moved toward the light as careful and quiet as they could manage, Jura's manipulation of the cave floor helping to dampen their footsteps. Around the bend, the mine opened into a wider pocket where old cart tracks cut through dust and scattered stone. A lacrima lantern hung from a hooked nail driven into a support post, its warm orange glow contrasting against the cool green of the moss.

Beneath it, standing against a post, was a young girl in rumpled royal attire, her wrists bound with rope behind her. Her outfit consisted of a white travel cloak draped over her shoulders, fastened at the throat with a small silver clasp shaped like a flower. Beneath it, she wore a finely tailored dress of white and soft green, fitted yet modest, with silver embroidery curling along the seams. The skirt fell in layered panels, the outer white fabric parted just enough to reveal the richer green beneath. Silver trim lined the cuffs and collar, while her knee-high white boots and delicate gloves still retained an air of careful elegance.

Light-green hair, cut to her shoulders, framed her face in soft, disordered strands, and her large dark-green eyes remained fixed on the two figures before her with a stubborn refusal to shed tears.

Ben squinted. That had to be Princess Hisui. She looked like she could be around Wendy's age.

His attention shifted to the two wizards who'd taken her.

The woman was first to catch his eye. She stood with easy poise, wearing menace the way others wore perfume. She had brown eyes and brown hair streaked with green highlights that fell to her shoulder blades, and the dim light skimmed the lines of her figure. Average up top, all sharp emphasis in the hips and thighs. Her outfit matched the act: a fitted black corset-style top with vine-stitched seams, a cropped jacket in deep rose with petal-like cuffs, and a high-slit skirt layered over short, practical wraps.

A thin lattice of vines suddenly snaked from the ground and curled around Hisui's ankles and waist, pinning her gently but firmly to the post. "Just in case you get brave again, Princess," she said sweetly. "My Bridal Veil is tight enough to discourage struggling, gentle enough not to bruise. Let it be known that I, Rose Liberty, am considerate.

Princess Hisui's brows knit as she glared up at her captor, though the fear in her eyes was impossible to hide. "This crime will not go unpunished. Sir Arcadios and Sir Jura… they'll come for me. You'll see!" she declared.

"Arcadios?" Rose repeated, as if tasting the name. Her smile curved into something amused and cruelly elegant. "Oh, you mean the gallant knight I wrapped in my Thorn Bridal Veil." She let out a soft, delighted laugh. "How tragic. He struggled so beautifully."

Hisui's breath hitched.

Rose's eyes gleamed. "I'm afraid your captain won't be rescuing anyone. Not when my poison is already composing its little symphony in his veins." She tilted her head, almost fond. "Slow. Painful. Unforgiving. I do so adore thoroughness."

"No!" Hisui shook her head, eyes squeezing shut. "I refuse to believe that!"

Across from Rose, a broad-shouldered man leaned against a rock support, arms folded. He had blue eyes and spiky silver hair, flecked with black. His muscular torso was bare beneath an open, sleeveless white vest harness, blue pants riding low on his hips, black combat boots planted like he'd welded himself to the ground. Silver cross earrings hung from both ears, barely moving when he breathed.

He watched with a deadpan expression and exhaled heavily.

Rose glanced at him. "What? We're early. That means we have time to make a proper statement. Something poetic. Something that makes the King understand what happens when he ignores our guild's plight."

The man's eyes flicked to her lips. His fingers moved quickly at his side, signing.

Rose squinted at him. "No, I'm not being dramatic. I'm being effective." She then huffed. "I swear, Pitt Ferrous, you can be very annoying."

Hisui's gaze darted between them. She tried to shift her wrists, testing the bindings. The vine tightened with a faint twitch, and a narcotic sweetness bloomed in the air.

Rose noticed and smiled wider. "Ah-ah. No heroics, little flower. You'll make it worse for yourself."

Ben's jaw clenched. He didn't enjoy watching that woman toy with a child who was doing her best not to break.

Behind Rose and Pitt, half-buried in dust and fallen stone where the bioluminescent moss pooled in the cracks, something sat out of place and unnoticed by both groups: white, curved shapes far too large to be human.

Fossilized bones.

Jura leaned in, keeping his voice low. "Alright, here's what we'll do—"

Before he could continue, the Omnitrix chimed sharply as the faceplate flashed yellow. "UNCATALOGUED DNA DETECTED," its synthesized feminine voice announced, echoing across the cavern.

Jura's eyes widened, and he mouthed, What are you doing?!

Ben went cold. No. No, no, no. He slapped his hand over the faceplate even though it was too late. Not now, Omnitrix. Not now!

Rose's head snapped toward them, her smile sharpening into something pleased and predatory. Pitt perked up too, reading the change in Rose's body language instantly.

"Well, well," she purred, sweet as poison. "Looks like we have an audience."

With their cover blown, there was no point in hiding anymore.

Jura exhaled and stepped forward, calm as bedrock. "Release the princess."

Hisui gasped, straightening with renewed hope. "Sir Jura, you came!"

Rose laughed like he'd told a charming joke. "Oh, it's the Wizard Saint," she said, savoring the title. "You always make everything sound so official."

Pitt's hands moved. A grey magical seal flared in front of him, and iron flowed around his forearms into bracers with clean edges and riveted seams.

"Guess we're doing this," Ben muttered. He tapped the Omnitrix again and a holographic loading circle hovered over the faceplate.

"FUNCTION NOT AVAILABLE. PLEASE STANDBY."

Ben stared. "Are you kidding me?" he hissed, tapping it again. Same warning. Same lockout.

"Sir Ben," Jura called without looking back. "Are you having trouble?"

"Unfortunately. I can't transform right now," he said, frustrated.

"Then stay sharp," Jura replied evenly. "I can handle this."

He didn't waste time. With a grounded step, he drove his will into the mine floor. Stone surged beneath him like a living platform, raising him above the uneven ground.

Rose moved first, flicking her wrist with theatrical grace. "Briar Mourning Wreath." A snarl of thorny briers erupted from the ground around Jura, twisting up in thick, barbed coils that lashed and hooked like living wire.

Pitt stepped in behind the pressure and snapped his hands forward. "Iron-Make: Brace Cage." His voice sounded a little rough as if he were struggling to pronounce the words correctly.

As a result, iron bars slammed up in a half-dome meant to trap Jura.

Jura's gaze hardened, summoning a massive pillar of rock that shattered the cage, stone grinding through iron with a brutal snap.

"Efficient," Rose smiled, though the edge in her voice sharpened. "Rude. But efficient."

Jura drove his palm downward again. The mine bucked, stone pillars rising to pin vines and crush iron constructs before they could fully form.

He cut his gaze toward Ben mid-motion. "Sir Ben!" he called, voice steady even as vines snapped toward his shoulders. "Take the princess to safety! I will keep them busy!"

"On it!" Ben didn't hesitate. He darted forward, slipping between vines and the edge of Jura's rising stone.

He reached Hisui in two strides and dropped to a knee. "Your Highness," he said, keeping his voice calm. "We're getting you out." He pulled the stone knife Maguna had gifted him from his jacket's inner pocket and started sawing through the vine bindings.

Hisui swallowed, forcing herself to stay composed. "T-thank you!"

"You can thank me after we rescue you," he said, cutting through the last of the vines. The narcotic scent thickened, sweet and cloying, making his eyes sting. He squinted, breathed shallowly on instinct, and moved to the rope around her wrists.

Behind them, the fight intensified.

Jura swept two fingers through the air. "Iron Rock Wall!" Dense stone surged from the mine floor and rose into a clean slab, catching Pitt's volley of iron stakes with a harsh, grinding clang.

Pitt slipped around the edge of the barrier, hands moving in sharp motions as he swiftly assembled new constructs in the shape of spears, hurtling them at Jura. Jura raised a stone slab from the floor to block the salvo.

Meanwhile, Rose's vines snapped back in retaliation. Not at Jura, but rather at the mine ceiling. They lashed into the old support beams and struck them with deliberate precision.

"Careful, Pitt," Rose purred, almost cheerful as her vines wrapped and snapped with surgical intent. "If the saint insists on hiding behind walls, then we'll simply take the ceiling away."

The ground trembled. Dust sifted from the ceiling, glittering briefly in the lanternlight and the moss's faint glow before vanishing into the dark. A crack spiderwebbed along one of the older beams, and the wood groaned like it was waking up.

Ben had just cut the last of Hisui's bindings when he looked up and felt his stomach drop. "Uh… Jura?" he shouted, alarm spiking. "This place is coming down!"

Jura's jaw tightened. "Move!"

But it was already too late. The cavern quaked again and boulders began to break free from the ceiling. On instinct, Ben yanked Princess Hisui closer and turned his body to shield her as a shower of smaller rocks pattered down around them.

Then, within seconds, the ceiling gave way.

…

Outside the mine, the ground vibrated with the aftershocks of the collapse as a cloud of dust spread out from the closed entrance.

A heartbeat of silence passed as the dust steadily settled.

Then, the ground split with a wet crack.

Vines burst upward in a ring, twisting into a living arch. A large single rosebud swelled at the center, blooming slowly. The rose unfurled as the petals peeled back almost like curtains.

Rose stepped through first, unbothered by dirt or danger, her smile intact as if she'd simply exited a parlor. Pitt followed, shoulders brushing the vine arch as he emerged, expression flat.

The plant wizard dusted her hands lightly. "Well. That was… brisk."

Pitt's jaw tightened. His hands moved in quick, aggressive signs.

Rose watched his hands and gave a small sigh. "Yes, yes, I know. Your concern is touching."

Pitt signed again, slower this time. His gaze cut toward the mine entrance, toward the rubble, toward the fact that their ransom tool had been inside.

Rose's smile thinned. "I wasn't aiming for the princess," she said, as if clarifying an etiquette mistake. "I intended to drop the ceiling on the Wizard Saint. He's the inconvenience. Or was." She smirked, emphasizing the past tense.

Pitt's brows lifted in pointed disbelief.

Rose's eyes narrowed. "Do not look at me like that. The saint should've been crushed. And if he wasn't, then he's at least delayed." Her smile returned, sweeter. "No matter."

She turned toward the earth beside the mine, palms lifting with theatrical grace. "Allow me to fix this predicament."

Holding out her right hand, a green magical seal with pink highlights appeared. "Botanical Servant: Briarwood Thrall."

Roots surged up in a tight spiral and pulled together into the shape of a single humanoid plant-monster. Bark limbs, thorned ribs, moss hanging like hair. Sap-glow eyes opened, dull and hungry.

Rose stroked the creature's "cheek" with two fingers as if it were a pet. "Go inside," she cooed. "Find the princess. Bring her out."

The plant-monster let out a low, creaking groan.

Rose's voice turned sharper. "And if the boy is in your way…" she added, her smile brightening, "prune him."

The monster's limbs unfurled into branches. It folded itself forward, then dug into the soil like a burrowing beast. Dirt rippled as it disappeared beneath the ground.

Pitt watched it go, expression still unimpressed. His hands signed one sharp sentence.

Rose rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes. I know she won't be much use if she's crushed. Why do you think I sent the vines ahead of her before we escaped? Give me some credit, will you, Tin-Ears?"

Pitt's gaze flicked toward her mouth. His brows furrowed as his corner twitched in annoyance, signing her a single sentence demand.

Rose's smile sharpened. "And no, Pitt. I am not taking it back." She leaned in. "You're annoying."

The rubble behind them suddenly shifted.

Rose's head tilted, pleased. "Ah. There he is."

The boulders near the mine entrance trembled, then were shoved aside, forced outward to carve an opening.

Jura stepped through, unhurt. Dust clung to his shoulders and the hem of his cloak, but his eyes were dark and calm. He didn't look at Rose and Pitt first. His gaze swept the area as if searching for someone else.

His expression tightened while turning back toward the mine. "They must still be inside."

Rose's tone turned bright. "Iron Rock Jura," she sang. "You're persistent."

Jura's voice stayed level. "You endangered the princess."

Rose sneered. "I endangered your pride. There's a difference."

Pitt's hands moved. Iron shimmered into being around his forearms again as bracers formed with clean, deliberate edges. He took one step forward, weight settling into a battle-ready stance.

Jura didn't flinch, lifting two fingers. "Iron Rock Wall." Stone pillars thrust up in a solid barrier, splitting the two dark wizards and forcing them to reposition.

Rose's smile faltered. "So rude," she murmured.

She flicked her wrist, and vines snapped out from the ground, hooking around the wall and crawling up it with hungry speed. Thorn blossoms unfurled as they climbed, and a sweet, drowsy perfume bled into the air.

Jura kept his momentum. "Iron Rock Spikes." A jagged burst of rocky spikes erupted, shredding the vine growth in an instant.

Irritation flashed across Rose's face. "Your Earth Magic is bothersome."

"There is a reason I was made a Wizard Saint," the earth quaked harder around Jura as his gaze somehow hardened. "You will see why."

…

Ben's lungs burned as he coughed into his jacket sleeve. Dust scraped his throat raw, and for a moment all he could taste was grit and stone.

He stayed curled over Princess Hisui, arms braced around her shoulders, his body shielding her head and ribs. His back throbbed where something heavy had clipped him on the way down, but nothing felt broken. At least nothing that mattered right now.

"Princess," he rasped, forcing steadiness into his voice. "Are you okay?"

Hisui's hands were balled in his jacket, knuckles white. She'd been silent through the collapse, shock holding her tight, but the second the dust began to settle, it hit.

She sucked in sharp breaths. Too fast and too shallow. "No," she whispered. "No, no, no!"

Her eyes darted into the darkness. The mine pressed in around them, the ceiling low, the floor uneven. Her chest rose and fell like it was trying to outrun her lungs. "I can't— I can't breathe!"

Ben shifted carefully, lifting his head. The only light came from faint blue-green smears of bioluminescent moss along the walls and the Omnitrix on his wrist, blinking yellow. The glow wasn't much, but it was enough to see Hisui's face.

Tear streaks cut clean lines through the dust on her cheeks.

Ben gently clasped her face in his hands, turning her head to face him and stop looking around frantically. "Hey," he said, soft but firm. "Look at me, you're okay. You're breathing. You're here. You're not crushed, you're not pinned under a rock, and you're not alone. Alright?"

Hisui's breath hitched. "B-but we're trapped."

"Maybe," he kept his tone steady. "But trapped doesn't mean finished."

Her gaze was wide and fearful.

Ben lowered his voice. "Do what I do. In through your nose… hold it… out through your mouth."

She tried and failed. Her next inhale came too sharp.

He didn't scold her. Instead, he slid a little closer so she had something solid to focus on, and lifted a hand, holding up two fingers like a metronome.

"Follow my count," he said. "One… two… ten…"

"T-ten?" Hisui tilted her head, blinking hard. "W-What happened to three? And the other numbers?"

"Right," Ben smiled easily. "I sometimes forget them."

The princess's tension cracked for a heartbeat. A small, surprised giggle slipped out as her mouth curled up. The tension temporarily easing from that she was calmer, she took notice of how close his face was to hers. She especially took notice of his eyes, which were a brighter shade of green than hers. The dim light inside reflected off them which made the pair shine a bit like emeralds. She felt herself blushing a bit at the close proximity, which wasn't helped as she also took note that he was kind of good looking.

"I didn't get your name," she said while thankful for the darkness which hid her reddening cheeks.

He sat up fully. "My name's Ben. Ben Tennyson." He then blinked. "Uh, should I bow or something?"

Hisui giggled, the bit of laughter helping her blush disappear. "There's no need," she then straightened. "I am Princess Hisui E. Fiore. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance," she bowed slightly.

"Pleasure's mine. Just wished we could meet under more ideal circumstances," he said sheepishly.

She looked at him curiously. "You came with Sir Jura. A-are you a knight?"

"Nope," Ben said with a quick, crooked smirk. "I'm a superhero."

Hisui blinked twice, then tilted her head. "I beg your pardon?"

"You know, a superhero. Someone with incredible powers. Beats bad guys. Saves people. Saves the day."

Hisui smiled. "That certainly sounds like a hero, though I've never heard of anyone putting 'super' in front of it." She giggled in amusement.

"It's kind of a thing where I'm from," he shrugged.

His gaze then flicked upward.

Above them, boulders and broken slabs hung at angles that should've collapsed completely, but they hadn't. Thick, thorny vines were wrapped around the largest stones like living straps, holding them suspended overhead.

Hisui followed his stare, gasping. "Vines? Rose's magic."

"Yeah," Ben said, voice sour. "I'll give her credit for not letting the whole cave pancake us, even if it was self-serving. So, the ceiling's probably not the issue." His eyes dropped to the Omnitrix flashing yellow, irritation spiking all over again. "Now if only my watch wasn't throwing a tantrum," he murmured.

Hisui blinked at the yellow light flashing from the strange device. "Your watch? Is that… your magic?" She asked curiously.

Ben offered a small, lopsided smile. "Kinda, yeah. Long story."

He then patted the inside of his jacket and his fingers found what he wanted, pulling out a palm-sized lacrima crystal.

Hisui's eyes widened. "What is that?"

Ben held it up. "Light." The crystal responded immediately, a soft yellow glow blooming from within. In that warmth, the bioluminescent moss along the stone became easier to make out, painting the cave walls in faint blues and greens.

"We can see better," Hisui exhaled in relief. "Thank goodness."

"Got this from a general store in Gardenia. Figured it might come in handy." Ben placed the crystal gently in her hands. "Here, if anything jumps out at us, you're officially in charge of dramatic lighting."

Hisui giggled as she clutched the light source.

Ben carefully stood and tested his balance. His back protested for a moment, but thankfully he could move normally. "Okay. We need to find a path or an exit. Preferably both." Scanning the rubble, he spotted a narrow opening between collapsed rock and a cracked support beam. "There. That's a start." Ben offered his hand to the princess.

"I-I can walk, Sir Ben. I promise!"

"I believe you," he kept his hand out anyway. "But you can take my hand, right?"

Hisui hesitated for the smallest moment, then took it and pulled herself to her feet. She stumbled a step before catching herself. Ben led the way to the cleft in the rock, squeezing through a single file. The space beyond was tighter, the ceiling low enough that Ben had to duck. Water dripped somewhere nearby, and the air grew slightly colder. Hisui lifted the lacrima crystal, its light washing over their steps. She watched Ben and the way he moved without rushing, how he checked the floor before each step, recalling how his voice stayed level. Even when the tunnel narrowed and the air turned colder, he didn't flinch or second-guess.

He just kept going, so steady that it made the darkness feel oppressive.

"Have you… done this before, Sir Ben?" Hisui asked quietly.

He glanced back. "What, getting buried alive?"

"No!" The princess flinched. "I didn't—"

"I'm kidding. Sort of." He faced forward again. "I've been in a lot of bad places. You learn to keep your head."

Hisui swallowed, then asked, "Is that part of being a…super hero?"

He smiled. "Actually, yeah. Rescuing little girls, princesses especially, from bad guys and collapsed caves is definitely in the job description."

Her grip tightened around the crystal. "Do superheroes ever… get scared?"

Ben didn't answer immediately as he eased around a jut of stone, then looked back at her. "All the time… You just don't let it drive."

The pair walked a little farther and the tunnel bent. The bioluminescent moss thickened along the walls as the space opened.

Hisui stumbled on uneven rock, and Ben steadied her instantly, his hand firm at her elbow.

"Careful," he murmured.

She nodded, embarrassed. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize," he said, not unkind. "You're doing great."

She blinked at him. "You keep saying that."

Ben glanced at her, then ahead. "Because it's true."

The princess didn't respond right away. She held the crystal higher and, for the first time since the collapse, her breathing stayed steady.

…

Impacts thundered across the clearing as Jura advanced, unhurried. The two dark wizards, Rose and Pitt, were forced to retreat as their footing was thrown off from the ground being torn up.

"Iron Rock Wall." Stone pillars surged up, hemming the battlefield in and blocking every clean retreat. The ground itself felt like it belonged to him.

Rose and Pitt landed on the only patch of untouched earth and the former flicked a quick sign at the latter. Plan Serenade.

Pitt nodded once and fitted a gas mask over his mouth and nose.

A green seal flared in front of Rose. "Bouquet Serenade." Thorny branches webbed along the stone, red roses blooming in rapid succession as a sweet, drowsy perfume rolled outward.

Jura barely reacted. "Tricks," he said flatly, and raised two fingers.

"Iron Rock Powder Explosion."

Earth-spikes speared up in a perfect pattern. Rose and Pitt both slipped away by inches, but the spikes tore through stone like paper and forced them to keep moving.

Pitt rushed in, hands flashing and a grey magical seal flared in front of him. "Iron-Make: Chain Mace!"

A large, iron spiked ball on a chain appeared and swung through the air, but Jura didn't even shift his feet. A slab of stone rose in front of him and the mace detonated against it, barely cracking the surface.

Pitt didn't slow. "Iron-Make: Chain Net!"

Jura turned his wrist. A curved ridge lifted mid-flight and the net clanged uselessly down, caught and spilled.

Pitt tried for speed instead. Two quick constructs, back-to-back. "Iron-Make: Twin Bolts!" Two spear-like rods launched out of his magic circle like javelins.

However, the Earth Mage summoned another thick slab and caught them cleanly, then compressed the stone until the bolts crumpled into broken pieces.

Pitt's brows furrowed. He glanced to Rose, who was standing off to the side, and signed quickly, "This is hopeless. He's too strong."

Rose signed back. "I know. I have eyes." Her mouth curled upward. "Just keep him busy a little longer."

Pitt rolled his eyes but nodded nonetheless, turning back to his opponent. His gray seal flared brighter. "Iron-Make: Hammer Fist!" A heavy iron gauntlet formed over his right forearm and drove forward in a straight punch.

The Lamia Scale wizard met it with stone again, but the impact shook the slab, hairline fractures spiderwebbing across it. Pitt followed immediately, forming a second gauntlet mid-motion and hammering again. Jura's feet slid a fraction.

The Iron-Make wizard saw it and switched tactics instantly. "Iron-Make: Restraint Bands!" Iron bands shot low, skimming the ground like serpents, aiming for Jura's ankles.

The Wizard Saint's fingers flexed and stone surged to intercept; however, his timing was a hair slower now, just enough for one band to catch and cinch around his leg. Jura's jaw tightened, yanking his foot free with brute force, snapping the band into pieces. The movement cost him though as his breath came out a touch heavier.

From her seat, Rose's green eyes gleamed. "Mmm. He's feeling it," she murmured sweetly.

Jura's gaze cut briefly toward the roses on the wall, then snapped back to Pitt. His voice stayed calm. "Enough."

He stepped forward and the stone underfoot rolled like a tide.

Pitt's eyes widening, trying one more spell. "Iron-Make—"

Jura's fingers snapped closed. Stone surged up around Pitt's boots and arms in one decisive motion, locking him in place before the seal could finish casting his spell. Even behind the mask, Pitt's expression could be made out as annoyance. He tugged once, testing the stone. It didn't give.

With the Iron-Make wizard trapped, Jura turned his gaze to Rose. "Surrender. Now." His voice was flat.

Rose's mouth tightened, expression flat.

Jura drew breath to cast again. "Very well. The hard way it'll… be…" His breath caught. Without warning, a creeping heaviness crawled up his spine and settled behind his eyes like warm fog. His focus wavered for a heartbeat as his thoughts felt like they were being wrapped in cotton. His eyelids lowered a fraction before he forced them back open.

Rose's eyes brightened with satisfaction. "Ah," she murmured, pleased. "There it is."

Jura's brow furrowed. He drew in a slow breath, grounding himself in the feel of stone beneath his feet. But the drowsiness didn't retreat.

I don't understand, he thought. Why is my strength and focus starting to fail? His gaze flicked up to the stone walls; specifically, the roses. Earlier, she'd claimed scenery. It had been a lie, but he couldn't decipher their purpose immediately. But now it made sense.

"Those roses," Jura said, voice lower. "A poison."

Rose's smile sharpened as she sat up from her bench. "A serenade," she corrected lightly. "Not everything has to be loud to be effective, Wizard Saint. Some things just… sink in."

Jura's fingers flexed at his side, stone answering him; however, it was heavier to call. The plant wizard's expression softened into something almost tender. Key word: almost.

"Now." Her fingers traced a delicate circle in the air, graceful as a dancer's wrist. "Thorn Bridal Veil." She purred, her voice honey-sweet.

Briers erupted from the ground around Jura like a wreath snapping shut. Thick, barbed branches studded with pale blossoms that looked pretty until you noticed the needles tucked beneath the petals. They coiled around his legs first, then his waist and arms, tightening with a wet, hungry sound.

Jura's breath hitched as the briers cinched, thorns biting into his skin. The poison went to work immediately, turning his limbs heavier by the second.

Rose's smile returned, triumphant. "There," she purred. "Hold still. You'll save us both the trouble."

Pitt coughed to get her attention. "Little help?" He asked, his words clipped.

Rose snapped her fingers and the ground around Pitt's feet split open as vines slid out and thickened into muscular cords. They spiraled around the stone trapping his ankles and wrists, tightening with steady, crushing pressure.

The rock groaned as hairline cracks spiderwebbed across the slab. With a final squeeze, the stone crumbled apart in chunks, freeing Pitt's feet and hands.

Pitt shook out his wrists and turned to Rose, signing a thank you.

Rose's smile sharpened. "Yes, yes. You're welcome. Try not to get pinned by geology again."

His eyebrows lifted a fraction. He signed again, then made a tiny circling motion with one finger like he was rewinding the moment.

The plant wizard's eye twitched. "No. That does not count as 'being embraced by the earth.'"

His mouth didn't move, but his expression somehow managed to look smug anyway.

She clicked her tongue. "Oh, don't get cute. Pitt, finish him off."

His gaze flicked to her lips. He tilted his head, blinking once… then signed a question with both hands: "Finish… like, kill? Or finish… like, wrap up?"

She stared. "Why would I mean 'wrap up' right now?"

He pointed at her, then made a neat little "bow" gesture with his hands like he was tying a ribbon.

Rose's eyebrow jumped. "No, we are not giving him a gift basket."

He signed again, deadpan: "Some people love gift baskets."

Her smile became strained. "Pitt."

He signed: "He does look like he'd appreciate complimentary fruit."

Sighing, Rose pinched the bridge of her nose. "We're assassins, Pitt. We don't give our targets fruit ever."

Pitt shrugged, then signed: "Fine. No fruit."

She exhaled sharply. "Finish. It."

He nodded like he understood, then started to walk… toward the mine entrance.

Her eye twitched harder. "Where are you going?"

As if he could feel her question, Pitt pointed at the entrance and signed: "Finish the job. Retrieve the princess."

Rose's jaw clenched. "No! My Briarwood Thrall is doing that. I meant, finish the Wizard Saint!"

Pitt blinked, then signed: "Oh."

She threw her hands up. "YES, 'oh!'"

Pitt signed, perfectly calm: "You should be more specific. You talk fast."

"I'm not talking fast, you're just—" She cut herself off, inhaled, then snapped, "Look at me. Right here. Read my lips."

He leaned in obligingly.

She enunciated with murderous clarity. "KILL. HIM."

The Iron-Make mage nodded once, signing back: "Finally. A simple request."

Rose's shoulders dropped in relieved triumph, until her partner added, "Do you want it artistic or efficient? I know you can be picky about that."

The brunette's eye twitched. "…Just," she said, voice sweet as poison, "kill him already."

Pitt nodded and calmly stepped toward the bound Wizard Saint.

A wide, grey magic seal flared in front of him, and iron poured out in thick streams, assembling into a massive construct: a coffin-like frame with interlocking restraints and deadly spikes, designed to slam shut and skewer its target.

"Iron-Make: Rivet Coffin."

The coffin construct shot toward Jura. Before it could reach him, a white blur streaked across the sky.

"Sky Dragon's… ROAR!"

A violent blast of wind tore across the battlefield, ripping loose dirt, pebbles, and grass into a churning cyclone. Pitt's iron construct was shoved off course and slammed into the ground well short of Jura, where it cracked and dissipated. The same wind shear stripped the drowsy perfume away from the thorn blossoms clinging to the rock pillars, scattering it into nothing.

Rose comically yelped as she and Pitt were lifted off their feet and thrown back, colliding with the rocks near the mine's entrance.

Jura didn't waste the opening.

He snapped his fingers downward and the earth surged, stone rising like a hand prying briers from his body. The thorny branches wrapped around him were torn away.

Still, Jura dropped to one knee. His breathing stayed controlled, but his shoulders trembled with strain. Rose's poison had done its job, draining his strength.

"What was—"

"Jura!"

The Wizard Saint looked up.

"…Wendy?"

Carla flew in holding Wendy by the back of her dress. The small white cat set Wendy down beside him, her wings vanishing into sparkles as she landed hard.

"Jura! Are you okay?" Wendy's eyes were wide with worry.

Carla panted, still catching her breath after pushing her Aerial Magic. "Wendy… hurry. He's… poisoned."

"Yes…" Jura confirmed, voice strained. "…my body is… struggling to counter…"

Wendy didn't hesitate. "It's okay!" She knelt and pressed her glowing hands to Jura's shoulder. "Heal."

Just like with Arcadios, soft blue light spread through the Wizard Saint, neutralizing the narcotic substance in his system.

Jura's eyes narrowed, then cleared. The tension in his jaw eased as his breathing steadied. "Thank you, Wendy…" He exhaled. "Your magic is incredible."

Wendy whipped her brow, slightly expended, but still smiling. "No problem."

Rose, picking herself off the ground, watched the healing take effect—and her composure cracked for the first time. "Impossible!" she blurted. "How can she nullify my poison?!"

Pitt grunted as he hauled himself away from the boulder. He dusted his forearms off, then looked to see Jura was healed.

He signed to her. "Did a child just nullify your poison?"

Rose's head snapped toward him. "Oh, hush!"

Pitt's eyebrows lifted. He pointed at her, then at Wendy, then made a little "ta-da" gesture with both hands like he was presenting the situation.

"YES, I SEE IT!" Rose hissed. "Stop signing it like it's funny!"

Pitt's expression didn't change much, but somehow it still read as smug.

Jura rose to his full height, rolling his shoulder once as feeling returned. "Wendy," he said, calm but firm, "though I'm grateful you cured me… why did you come?"

"I smelled something deadly in the wind," Wendy replied.

Carla glanced up at the tattered roses clinging to the cliffs. "It must've," she panted, "been those roses."

Wendy looked around, noticing the absence of one person. "Jura… where's Ben?"

Jura's brows furrowed. "The mine collapsed earlier. Sir Ben and the princess are still inside somewhere."

Wendy's eyes widened with worry for a heartbeat, then she shook her head, forcing herself steady. "It's okay. If Ben's with the princess, she'll be okay," she said, conviction settling into her voice.

Jura studied her for a moment, surprised by the steel beneath the softness. Then he nodded once. "Even so. We need to finish this battle quickly."

Across from them, Rose and Pitt had regained their footing and reset their stances.

Carla stepped in front of Wendy without thinking, one small hand lifting like a barrier. "Wendy, you've done enough. Let Jura handle this. He's a Wizard Saint!"

Wendy leaned around her, stubborn and bright-eyed. "I can help too."

"Child—"

"I'm not made of glass, Carla," Wendy said, voice steady now. "I'm a Dragon Slayer. Aren't I?"

Carla's mouth tightened, but her eyes softened, pride slipping through the worry. "Fine," she relented. "But please, your support Jura. Do not charge in unless you absolutely have to."

Wendy nodded, determined. "Deal."

…

Ben and Princess Hisui pressed on until the tunnel narrowed and ended in a hard wall of rubble. Boulders were stacked and wedged tight from floor to ceiling, packed in like a seal.

Ben exhaled through his nose. "Of course."

He stepped in anyway, braced a shoulder against the nearest rock, and gave it a shove. It didn't so much as tremble.

Hisui raised the lacrima higher, its glow sliding across the uneven stone. "Is there… another path?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Maybe."

A beat later, fear and shame crept across Hisui's face as she began to sniffle, tears spilling anew.

"Princess?"

"I-I'm so sorry, Sir Ben," she sobbed. "I'm royalty. I'm supposed to be brave, and… and I'm…" Her breath caught. "I'm so scared."

Ben's chest tightened at the sight. Seeing kids crying was absolutely not his favorite thing in any universe. He knelt in front of her and rested a hand lightly on her shoulder. "Hey," he said, voice softening, "it's okay. Being brave doesn't mean you're not scared. Royal or not."

Hisui swallowed, eyes squeezed shut as more tears slipped free. Ben stayed quiet, letting her cry without turning it into a bigger ordeal than it already was.

After a few moments, her breathing started to slow.

"You know, you remind me of a friend of mine, princess," he said gently. "Her name's Wendy."

Hisui blinked at him, lashes wet. "Wendy?"

He nodded. "Yeah, she's a girl your age. A Dragon Slayer too."

She gasped, eyes widening. "A Dragon Slayer?! But… That's Lost Magic!"

Ben nodded in confirmation. "Yep. She's one of a kind. But that's not the craziest part," he continued. "She was timid. Really timid. Sweet kid, but she looked like she was always one loud sound away from bolting." A faint smile tugged at his mouth. "And she still does get scared. That doesn't magically go away."

Hisui's brows knit, listening.

"But the difference now?" His tone warmed. "She doesn't let the fear steer. She feels it, sure, but she keeps moving anyway. She makes choices while she's scared. That's the part people don't get. Courage isn't the absence of fear. It's deciding you're not going to hand it the wheel."

Hisui drew in a shaky breath, the words landing somewhere deep. Her shoulders, still trembling, began to settle. She swallowed, wiping at her face again. Slower this time, more in control, then nodded once, small but certain, like she was memorizing it.

Ben nodded back. "There you go. See? You're coming back."

Hisui looked at him, her green eyes meeting his. "Thank you, Sir Ben," she whispered.

He chuckled. "You can just call me Ben."

She blinked, like the idea itself was unfamiliar. "I… I've been taught to address others by their proper title," she said softly. "It would feel disrespectful."

"Maybe to others, but not to me," he shrugged. "Besides, I'm not a knight or anything. I told you, I'm a superhero."

Hisui frowned. "I… still don't quite understand what that is."

"You'll find out soon."

With Hisui steadier, Ben's attention snapped to the Omnitrix. He tapped the faceplate again. It stubbornly blinked yellow as a tiny loading symbol still spun above it.

Ben groaned and tipped his head back. "I swear this thing hates me sometimes."

Hisui glanced at the watch, curiosity cutting through her fear. "Um, Sir Ben… is that… a magical item?"

He looked at her. "Sort of." He paused, choosing the simplest version. "It's what I use to control my Take-Over 'magic.'"

Hisui's eyes widened. "You're a Take-Over wizard?"

He gave a tired half-shrug. "That's what people keep calling it."

The princess studied him for a beat, confusion knitting her brows. "But… why didn't you transform earlier?"

Ben held up his wrist. "Because this thing's on the fritz." He tapped the faceplate once more; it flashed yellow again. "See? Right now I can't use my 'magic.'" He didn't bother trying to explain what the Omnitrix really was. "Magical item" was close enough.

Hisui's gaze lingered on the warning symbol. "So it's… broken?"

"Yeah," he muttered. "And it picked the worst possible time to do it."

He stood and scanned the tunnel behind them. Bioluminescent moss glimmered along cracks in the stone. Dust still hung in the air, catching the lacrima light whenever Hisui shifted her grip.

"Alright," Ben decided, keeping his tone calm. "We go back. See if we can find another route. Or make one."

Hisui nodded, clutching the lacrima tighter. "Okay."

As they turned to head back, the lacrima's light caught something off to the side: pale shapes layered and half-buried under dust.

Ben slowed, finally noticing.

Hisui stopped too, lifting the crystal slightly. The glow washed over a long, white curve. It was smooth, enormous, and far too large to be human. Another fragment jutted up nearby like a rib. Farther ahead, an arc like the edge of a massive jawbone vanished into the floor.

Ben stared. "Huh. Those are pretty big bones." He moved closer and crouched, brushing dust away with his fingertips. "Could be dinosaur bones," he murmured, mostly to himself.

Hisui tilted her head. "Dino… what?"

Ben blinked, realizing how ridiculous that probably sounded here. "Uh. Big reptiles. Like… giant lizards. Extinct. Where I'm from, people dig up their bones."

Hisui looked from him to the bone, unconvinced. "I've never heard of such a creature."

Ben opened his mouth to explain further, but Hisui suddenly gasped.

She stepped closer, eyes widening as she traced a jagged ridge with her gaze. "No…" Her voice dropped into something reverent. "These aren't bones of a 'dino-soar.'"

He paused. "Then what are they?"

Hisui swallowed. "They have to be Dragon bones."

Ben went still. His mind clicked through what he knew: Dragon Slayers. Wendy's magic. Grandeeney. And Carla saying no Dragon had been seen in centuries.

Ben's brows furrowed. "So… you think these bones came from an actual Dragon, huh?"

Hisui nodded, breathless. "They're enormous. And look at the structure. The density. This is old, but…" She shook her head, almost overwhelmed. "I've seen diagrams in books. Royal archives. This matches."

Ben's gaze sharpened. He glanced down at the Omnitrix again. Could that be what the watch is trying to scan?

Before he could ask anything else, the air shifted.

A soft scrape echoed behind them.

Ben's head snapped up.

From the darker part of the tunnel, something moved. A silhouette slid forward, unnatural in its stillness, then stepped into the lacrima's glow, and Ben's stomach tightened.

It was one of the plant-monsters from earlier. Unbeknownst to them, Rose referred to it as a Briarwood Thrall.

Its torso was knotted bark, limbs like twisted roots reinforced with thorny growths. Its "face" was a hollowed wooden mask, sap-glow seeping through the cracks like eyes.

It oriented on Hisui as if it had found its programmed target…and started forward.

Hisui sucked in a breath. "Sir Ben—"

"Stay behind me," he said instantly, stepping in front of her.

He tapped the Omnitrix faceplate again. "FUNCTION NOT AVAILABLE. PLEASE STANDBY."

Hisui blinked twice. "It… spoke?"

Ben snorted. "Yeah. It's got a great bedside manner too." He shifted his stance. "Fine, Omnitrix. I'll do it myself."

As the Thrall advanced, Ben grabbed a loose rock the size of his forearm, spun once, and hurled it. "Hey, discount Ent. Take this!"

The rock struck the Thrall's head with a dull thud and dropped harmlessly to the ground. The creature looked from the rock back to Ben with a blank, almost offended stillness, like it was saying, really?

Ben exhaled through his nose. "Okay. Plan B," he muttered.

His eyes flicked upward as he scanned the ceiling, then the cavern wall to his left.

A narrow cleft split the rock there, half-hidden behind a curtain of dangling glowing moss. It wasn't much, but it was something.

"Princess," he said quickly, keeping his voice low, "in there. Now."

Hisui hesitated only a heartbeat before Ben guided her by the shoulder and ushered her into the cleft. The space was tight, but it tucked her out of the Thrall's direct line.

Ben stepped back out in front of her, squaring himself to the creature.

"Alright," he muttered, rolling his shoulders like he could bully his nerves into behaving. "Let's go for a more direct approach."

He pulled the stone knife from his pocket and lunged, slashing hard across the Thrall's barked forearm.

The blade left a shallow cut, but it ultimately did nothing.

Ben's brows furrowed. "Seriously?"

The Thrall backhanded him with a heavy root-limb, forcing a pained grunt from the teen hero. Crashing across the stone ground, the knife was knocked right out of his hand and clattered out of reach.

Hisui gasped. "Sir Ben!"

"I'm okay…" Ben groaned, shakily returning to his feet with his chest flaring.

The Thrall raised both fists overhead, bark creaking as it pulled its weight up, then brought them down like a hammer over Ben, meant to turn him into paste.

Ben, however, saw the attack coming and threw himself to the side. The strike hit the ground with a crack that rattled the floor, stone chips jumping up and skittering across the cavern floor. He then pushed up and pivoted into a roundhouse, heel snapping into the Thrall's "head."

The wooden mask jerked sideways and the creature staggered two steps back.

For half a second, Ben felt a spike of satisfaction, but then it recovered like it hadn't even been inconvenienced.

"Yeah," he breathed, backing up a step. "Of course."

The Thrall surged at him again. Instead of running, Ben held his ground with narrowed eyes, drawing on his combat experience. Wait for it.

He then dropped low and hooked a leg out. The Thrall was unable to react in time as its feet were tangled. Its bulk pitched forward and slammed into the cavern wall with a hollow, splintering thud.

Ben didn't waste the opening.

He snatched up a jagged rock with both hands, raised it, and brought it down on the Thrall's head like he was trying to drive a nail.

Once. Twice. Thrice.

The wooden mask cracked with yellow sap-like glow sputtering.

After several more hits, Ben stumbled back with the rock still in his hands, breathing hard.

The Thrall twitched… and then it went still.

Ben exhaled, chest tight. "Okay… okay. That's—"

Hisui leaned out from the cleft, relief flooding her expression. "You… you did it. You did it, Sir Ben!"

Ben went casual. "Yeah. No big deal."

Before anything else could be said, the rock on the Thrall's head shifted. The cracked head repaired itself with a wet, unnatural creak. Fibers re-knit while splinters pulled back into place.

"Oh c'mon…" Ben groaned, exasperated.

The rock was shoved off as if it weighed nothing as the Thrall rose.

Ben stared at it in irritation. "Of course you have regeneration."

Hisui's breath hitched, fear returning sharper. "Sir Ben…"

The Thrall took a slow, deliberate step toward him.

Ben backed up half a step, hands empty, mind racing for anything he could use. And that was when the Omnitrix finally decided to be helpful.

The Omnitrix chirped while a yellow light bar was emitted, scanning the Dragon bones in the corner before returning to normal. "UNCATALOGUED DNA SAMPLE ACQUIRED. DRACONIAN DNA NOW ACCESSIBLE IN ACTIVE PLAYLIST."

Ben's shoulders sagged in sheer relief. "About time."

Hisui stared at the watch, wide-eyed. "What was that? Why did it talk?" She said to herself.

"Princess," Ben called out, tapping the Omnitrix faceplate and bringing up the green holo-wheel. "You wanted to know what a superhero is." Selecting the first icon on the list, he slapped down the core.

Emerald light filled the cavern and forced Hisui to shut her eyes.

When the flash died away, standing in Ben's place was a towering one-eyed humanoid plant with vibrant green skin. It had flytrap-like flaps adorned with sharp teeth on its shoulders, black pod-like seeds lining its back and long vine-like tendrils extending from its fingers. Its legs were composed of thick intertwining vines giving it an agile yet sturdy appearance. The Omnitrix dial gleamed on its chest.

"Wildvine!" He called out in a raspy echoing voice.

Hisui froze, looking at him with a stunned expression. "S-Sir Ben…!"

Wildvine turned his head toward her. "When I'm in this form, princess, call me Wildvine."

Hisui blinked. "Sir… Wildvine…"

The Thrall was unintimidated by Ben's transformation as it proceeded forward, likely because it couldn't feel any emotion.

"Alright, lumber-face. Round 2!"

Wildvine lashed out with his right arm, shaping into a tendril midair, piercing through the creature's bark chest with brutal ease, bursting out the other side. More tendrils sprouted out from his arm and wrapped all around the Thrall.

With that, Wildvine's tendrils pulled and tugged to rip the Thrall apart into shredded bark, roots, and sap which collapsed to the ground in a messy heap.

This time, it did not regenerate.

"And that is why you don't mess with a guy who photosynthesizes."

Hisui's breath trembled out of her. "You… you destroyed it."

"Yeah," Wildvine said, as casual as if he'd just swatted a fly. "Beating monsters and saving little princesses is in a superhero's job description."

Stepping out from the cleft, Hisui looked up at Wildvine with grateful relief. "T-thank you, Sir Wildvine."

Wildvine chuckled. "Again with 'sir', huh?" He then crouched carefully on his tendril legs, holding out his left arm. "C'mon."

Hisui hesitated for half a heartbeat, then let him lift her. He pulled her off the ground and toward his chest, holding her securely.

Wildvine turned toward the collapsed section of the tunnel. "Ready to get out of here, princess?"

Hisui blinked. "I am, but how?"

Wildvine grinned. "I've got an idea."

…

"Carla, higher!" Wendy called.

"Right!" Carla pushed her Aerial Magic, climbing until the battlefield opened up beneath them like a map.

Below, Rose had dropped to one knee, both palms splayed against the ground as if she were coaxing the earth itself to perform.

Her smile stayed sweet as she purred, "Briarwood Thrall: Ensemble."

The soil around the battlefield bulged as dozens of Briarwood Thrall store free in a ring around Jura, bark-limbs cracking, thorned shoulders flexing as they rose. Sap-bright eyes locked on the Wizard Saint at once, trying to capitalize on the lingering fog in his head, swarming for his blind angles.

Pitt, on the far side of Rose, shook out his wrists and signed something quick without looking away from Jura.

Rose's smile sharpened. "Yes, Pitt. I heard you. No, I'm not renaming this one 'Panic Bouquet.' That lacks romance."

His eyebrows lifted a fraction.

She sighed like she was the one suffering here. "Fine. To you, it's 'Panic Bouquet.' Happy?"

Wendy narrowed her eyes and thrust both hands forward.

"Sky Dragon's Wave Wind!"

A twister snapped into being and slammed into a cluster of Thralls behind Jura, flinging them across the clearing. Bark bodies hit rock with ugly, hollow cracks.

Jura didn't look back, but his voice carried, calm and absolute. "Good. Keep them off my blind side."

Wendy swallowed hard. Being addressed like an actual teammate by a Wizard Saint made her nerves spike in a way she didn't know what to do with. "O-Okay!"

Carla's breathing deepened with exertion. "Do not overextend yourself. Support only."

Wendy's chin lifted. "I am supporting!"

The brown-haired plant wizard tipped her head up toward them, affronted. "How impolite," she sighed. "Do you have any idea how long it takes to cultivate hordes of beauties like my Briarwood Thralls?"

Pitt signed something.

Rose flicked her eyes to him and scoffed. "No, Pitt. I cannot 'just grow more' instantly. I'm an artist, not a weed."

His mouth didn't move, but his eyes absolutely did. Flat, unimpressed, and somehow accusing.

Rose clicked her tongue and snapped her fingers. "Thorn Bridal Veil." A lattice of thorned vines shot up and out, netting through the air toward Wendy and Carla in a fast, hungry weave.

Wendy reacted on instinct, kicking down, wind gathering under her feet. "Sky Dragon's Claw!" The air cracked as her wind-empowered kick shredded the vine-net clean through, severing tendrils that recoiled and flailed away like cut rope.

Below, Pitt moved.

A gray magic seal flared, and iron assembled around his forearms with crisp efficiency. No flourish. No threat. Just function—like machinery snapping into place.

"Iron-Make: Chain Net!" Iron chain links flashed outward toward Jura, aiming to bind and drag.

Jura raised two fingers. "Iron Rock Wall."

More stone surged up between him, intercepting the chain net which fell away uselessly.

Pitt didn't pause. "Iron-Make: Hammer Fist!" A gauntlet formed and drove forward. The punch hit stone and spiderwebbed cracks across the wall's face.

Jura didn't even budge.

He simply shifted one palm, and the ground answered with the earth rolling under Pitt's feet, rising like a tide. Pitt hopped back fast but the terrain kept changing under him, lifting, dropping, tilting. Every time he tried to plant for another cast, the ground betrayed the stance.

Rose, re-positioning herself to get in his line of sight, snapped, "Pitt!"

He glanced at her lips mid-motion and signed back while he moved: I'm trying.

Rose's nostrils flared. "Try harder."

Jura stepped forward once, and the distance between them suddenly felt much smaller. "Iron Rock Spikes." Earthen spikes erupted in clustered bursts.

The Iron-Make wizard twisted, narrowly avoiding a direct impale, but one spike clipped his boot and caused him to stumble.

Jura immediately took advantage.

"Iron Rock Wall." Stone pillars burst from the ground between Rose and Pitt, splitting them cleanly apart.

Rose's smile faltered. "You're very controlling," she muttered.

"I'm a Wizard Saint," he replied simply.

Rose's eyes flicked. Her narcotic perfume couldn't drop him again, not with Wendy's wind spells blowing them away and Carla keeping her positioned safely above the battlefield. And Pitt, while impressive and efficient for a wizard of his caliber, still wasn't even close to a Wizard Saint's power.

Rose's jaw tightened. This is the last time I can cast this spell today. It has to buy us time to escape. Her fingers traced a tighter circle, quicker now, less graceful. "Briarwood Thrall: Ensemble!"

The earth around the clearing erupted again.

Several dozen more Thralls clawed their way up to join the existing ones, thorned backs flexing as they hit their feet and charged. The intent was obvious: drown Jura under sheer volume.

Carla sucked in a sharp breath. "There's so many!"

Wendy's heart lurched. "They're trying to overwhelm him!"

On the other side of Jura's stone divide, Pitt's gaze snapped upward.

He'd noticed them earlier, hovering, safe and annoying and useful.

A new seal flared. "Iron-Make: Chain Net!"

This one wasn't aimed at Jura. Instead, it lashed up into the sky.

Wendy was still tracking the Thralls below when cold metal links snapped around her. Carla got caught at the same time, the net tangling her wings and pinning her like a snared bird.

"Wha?!" Wendy gasped.

Carla's eyes went wide. "Child!"

The net's weight yanked them down, altitude dropping fast. Wendy tried to kick wind beneath her feet, but the links bit tighter with every movement, stealing leverage.

They hit the ground in a skid of dirt and rock, the iron biting into them like tight restraints.

Ahead, the swarm of Thralls tightened around Jura. And that was when the Wizard Saint's patience finally thinned.

"Enough!" His voice cracked through the clearing like a verdict.

He brought his hands together at his chest… and the ground went still for a split second.

"Rumbling… Mt. Fuji."

Power suddenly surged up out of the earth in front of him like an eruption. Stone and pressure and raw violence, contained by will alone. The shockwave ripped across the clearing and obliterated the Briarwood Thralls in an instant. Bark limbs snapping into splinters, thorns turning to dust, sap-eyes extinguishing mid-charge.

From his side of the wall, Pitt froze. Deaf or not, he felt that spell in his bones. He thought with grim acceptance: "Yeah… we're boned."

The blast slammed into the dark wizards with brutal finality. Pitt went flying, crashed into a boulder with a sickening thud, and dropped limp, completely knocked out. Rose hit the ground hard, skidding through grit and shattered vine fragments.

A few stunned moments passed.

In the aftermath, the earth in front of Jura was pulverized, reduced to cratered soil and fractured stone like a giant fist had hammered down from the sky.

Wendy stared, breath caught. "Wow…"

Carla's wings trembled against the net. "So… this is the power of a Wizard Saint…"

Rose shoved herself up on shaking arms, horror widening her eyes. Her strongest spell, erased like it had never existed.

"Dammit!" she hissed, composure finally cracking.

Her gaze snapped to Wendy and Carla off to the side, still pinned under Pitt's net, and something ugly flashed across her expression.

It washer. The one who ruined her poison, ruined her timing, and ruined the aesthetic.

Rose's fingers slipped into her black dress and unsheathed a slim blade; its tip beaded with drops of her magic's strongest toxin. She bared her teeth in a grin that didn't reach her green eyes.

"Nothing personal, darling," she sang, and then sprinted straight for Wendy with the last of her strength.

Wendy gasped, spotting Rose rushing at them with a blade, and clawed at the iron mesh. The net only tightened.

"Carla!" she choked, yanking again as panic turned her movements clumsy.

"Wendy!" Carla exclaimed, the net pinning her to Wendy's back. "Use your magic to free us!"

Rose closed the distance fast, blade angled low.

Spotting it from across the battlefield, Jura's breath hitched as he prepared to cast a spell to intercept. She's too close. Will my spell reach her in time?!

"Iron Rock—"

Suddenly, the ground between Rose and Wendy split apart.

A thick, green vine-rocketed shape burst up in a shower of dirt and roots.

Wildvine.

"Huh. I knew I should've taken that left turn at Alber—" Wildvine didn't get to finish. Rose's blade punched into his torso with a wet thunk.

Wildvine didn't even flinch. His singular eye blinked down at the blade… then back to her with bored disbelief.

"Huh," he drawled. "That was… adorable."

Wendy blinked, then spotted the Omnitrix symbol on Wildvine's chest. "Ben!" she blurted.

Carla craned her head over Wendy's shoulder, eyes widening at the sudden save. "He's so annoyingly casual about everything." She then sighed. "But at least his timing is on point."

"Hey," Wildvine said dryly. "You're welcome"

He extended his right arm, tendril-fingers looping into the mesh. With a sharp pull, he tore the net apart with ridiculous strength that made it seem like cloth instead of iron.

Rose, meanwhile, was frozen in place, staring up at Wildvine with wide eyes. Her shock wasn't that her best toxin had done nothing against this plant monster.

No.

It was something else entirely.

Who… what is this creature? Her gaze drifted up and down Wildvine's tall, exotic green form, cheeks coloring despite herself. Such magnificent beauty…

Wildvine finally turned to her, unimpressed. "Oh," he said, voice raspy and dry in a way that Rose loved, "it's you."

"Y-you know me?!" Rose yelped.

"You kidnapped the princess and dropped the ceiling on us back there." He paused, then added with maddening fairness, "Though your vines did shield us, so… thanks for that. I guess." His singular eye then narrowed. "Still, going after Wendy and Carla with a blade? That was a BIG mistake."

"Hold on," her eyes widened in recognition. "You're that boy?!"

"Yep."

Thorned green vines sprouted from the ground and snapped up around Rose's arms, waist, and legs. They twisted with ruthless precision, looping and cinching until she was wrapped head to toe, pinned so tightly she couldn't even lunge or posture properly.

Rose made a muffled sound that was far too pleased for someone being restrained. "Mmph! Tighter!"

Wildvine blinked. "…Okay," he muttered. "Yeah, you definitely need professional help."

"Sir Ben!"

Jura rushed over, closing the distance. "That is you, isn't it? Where is the princess?" he asked urgently.

"No worries." A section of Wildvine's torso parted, revealing Princess Hisui nestled safely within. "Sorry about the ride, Princess. I tried to keep it roomy in there."

With careful tendrils, he lowered the green-haired royal to the ground. Hisui sucked in a few steadying breaths, her small hands bracing in the dirt as she looked up at him with wide, shaken eyes.

"I-It is fine," she said, voice trembling but sincere. "Th-thank you, Sir Wildvine."

"Princess, thank goodness you're unharmed," Jura breathed, relief finally breaking through his calm.

"Sir Jura!" Hisui brightened, like the sound of his voice anchored her.

As the Wizard Saint shifted to check her over, Wildvine's attention slid back to Wendy and Carla. He tapped the Omnitrix dial, and in a flash of green, Ben was human again.

"Wendy, Carla—why are you here?" he demanded, still baffled.

Wendy inhaled, cheeks puffing slightly, then straightened. "I-I know you said we should stay in town. But after I finished treating the soldiers… I smelled something foul in the air." She hesitated, then admitted quietly, "And I felt it. In my gut. Something was wrong."

Carla sighed and crossed her arms. "I was against it… but I couldn't go against her when she was so determined."

Jura cut in without hesitation. "Had Wendy not come, I would have remained poisoned." He glanced at Wendy, genuine respect in his eyes. "She saved me."

Ben didn't react immediately.

A beat passed before his expression softened, pride warming his voice before he could hide it. "Good." He stepped closer and ruffled Wendy's hair lightly. "I'm proud of you. Trusting your gut, even when it means breaking orders… that's part of being a hero."

Wendy beamed so brightly it almost hurt to look at. "R-Really?"

Ben felt the look tug at something in his chest. "Really."

Once Jura confirmed Princess Hisui was fine—aside from dirt and scrapes—Hisui's attention shifted to the blue-haired girl.

"You must be Wendy, yes?"

Wendy finally looked properly at Hisui.

She blinked twice. The princess was… a kid. She actually looked Wendy's age.

Wendy bowed quickly, flustered. "P-Princess! I-I'm Wendy Marvell! From Cait Shelter! It's an honor to meet you!"

Hisui's eyes flicked to Ben, then back to Wendy, and her expression warmed into a small, brave smile. "Please, lift your head," she said gently. "And… you can call me Hisui."

Wendy lifted her head slowly, surprised. "A-Are you sure?"

Hisui stepped a fraction closer. "Yes. Thank you for coming, Wendy," she added, voice soft but steady. "I was scared."

Wendy's hands curled into small fists. "I was scared too," she admitted, then smiled. "But we still came."

Hisui blinked, then her smile widened with quiet relief. "Thank you," she whispered. "Thank you so much."

…

Later, as afternoon slipped toward evening, Wendy guided Princess Hisui away from the churned earth to a calmer patch of ground, with Carla hovering close. Hisui eased herself onto a smooth boulder, dirt streaking her skin and shallow scrapes glowing red against her pale arms.

Wendy knelt in front of her and inhaled. "Okay," she said softly. "This might tickle a little."

Hisui blinked. "Sir Jura said you healed him. But how? Sir Ben said you were a Dragon Slayer."

Wendy nodded. "Uh-huh. I use Sky Dragon Slayer Magic."

Carla added, a touch of pride slipping through her usual sharpness, "Wendy can heal even the gravest injuries… even ones caused by a Dragon."

Hisui's eyes widened. "That truly is incredible…"

Wendy blushed and smiled at the compliment. She then placed her hands over the worst scrape on Hisui's forearm. Blue light bloomed softly, and a warm, tingling sensation spread through the princess's skin.

The princess drew in a breath. "It's… cool."

"Yeah," the bluenette said, concentrating. "It's supposed to feel like that."

Moments later, the last of Hisui's scrapes faded completely.

"There." Wendy pulled her hands back. "Better?"

Hisui stared at her healed forearms as if she couldn't quite believe they were hers. "In the palace, the doctors always look so… composed," she murmured, quieter now. "They never look tired. Or shaky."

Wendy's shoulders lifted in a tiny shrug. "I get tired all the time."

Hisui's mouth quirked. "You don't seem like you should."

Wendy blinked. "Huh?"

Hisui hesitated, then her formal tone slipped, just a little. "You came all this way to help your friends. To help me. You heal people. You even fought alongside Sir Jura." Her voice steadied as she said it. "You're brave, Wendy."

Heat crept into Wendy's cheeks. "I was scared," she admitted. "But… Ben tells me being brave doesn't mean you aren't scared."

Hisui's eyes widened slightly. Those were the same words he'd told her in the mine.

Carla's gaze slid toward Ben in the distance, like she couldn't help herself, then returned to Hisui. "He says a lot of things," she muttered. "Sometimes ridiculous… sometimes he's on point."

Hisui followed her gaze, and her expression softened into something quietly awed. "He's… amazing."

Wendy smiled and nodded. "He really is."

Hisui looked down at her arms again, then back up, and this time the gratitude in her voice didn't hide behind a title. "Thank you," she said simply. "Wendy."

Wendy blinked at being addressed like that, then smiled brighter. "You're welcome… Hisui."

A little ways off, Ben and Jura stood over the two unconscious dark wizards. Rose and Pitt were bound back-to-back in thick stone restraints that wrapped their torsos and pinned their arms, Jura's magic holding them like statues.

After freeing her from Wildvine's vines, Rose's hair was mussed and her composure broken. Pitt's head lolled slightly forward, still somehow managing to look annoyed even asleep.

Jura glanced at Ben's left wrist, specifically, his peculiar watch. "Sir Ben," he said, calm again but with an edge of curiosity. "What happened in the mine earlier. Why did your… watch speak?"

Ben's eyes flicked to the Omnitrix, then back to Jura. "It's a support item. Helps me control my Take-Over magic." He hesitated only a beat, then nodded toward the mine behind them. "It detected the, uh, essence of a new creature down there. Something it didn't have logged."

Jura's brows lifted, interest sharpening. "Essence," he echoed.

"Yeah," the Omnitrix bearer said casually. "Sometimes it… gets loud about it."

The Wizard Saint's gaze stayed on the watch a moment longer. "Intriguing," he said quietly.

Wanting to switch topics, Ben tilted his head toward their restrained captives. "So, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

He jabbed a thumb at the dark wizard pair. "Did those two really give you that much trouble?" He asked, tone more incredulous than insulting. "I mean, were they really that strong?"

Jura's mouth tightened. "Their magical power if considerably less than mine. However, Rose's poison was more troublesome than I anticipated," he admitted, eyes narrowing slightly. "And I was holding back. I did not wish to kill them if I could help it."

A beat passed.

"Yeah," Ben said, quiet. "I can relate to that."

Jura's gaze flicked to him, understanding passing between them without either needing to spell it out.

"I underestimated them," the Lamia Scale wizard continued. "If not for Wendy's intervention, I could have been seriously injured. Or worse." His eyes hardened. "I will not make that mistake again."

Ben turned his head.

Wendy was talking animatedly with Hisui now and the princess was listening with interest. Carla stayed near Wendy, still protective, but not trying to pull her away.

The teen hero smiled at the sight.

The Earth wizard followed his gaze and let a rare warmth touch his expression. "Wendy is an impressive wizard for her age."

Ben nodded. "Yeah. And she's got room to get even better."

"I do not doubt it. A true Sky Maiden."

Ben blinked. Sky Maiden, huh…It had a nice ring to it. He filed it away.

While the Wizard Saint and Omnitrix bearer were talking, the ground darkened. Not from clouds nor from trees. A shadow raced across the ground as if it were alive toward Rose and Pitt. Once it reached them, both dark wizards vanished inside.

Ben's head snapped back. "What the—"

Jura thrust his palm down instinctively, stone rising in a jagged wall to cut off an escape route, but the shadow was already gone, sliding between trees and underbrush.

For a heartbeat, the clearing was silent again.

Ben stared at the empty space incredulously. "Seriously? We turn our backs for not even a minute!"

Jura's expression went grim. His eyes tracked the place the shadow had disappeared. "In the cave, that woman mentioned making the King understand something of ignoring their guild's plight."

Ben caught on. "So those two had backup to rescue them in case they got caught."

"Or kill them," Jura added gravely. "Whatever their guild's plan regarding the princess, they did not want it becoming known."

…

The next morning broke clean and bright over the Kingdom of Fiore.

After departing Primrose Town, Princess Hisui's escort moved in a tight formation down a dirt road that cut through open fields on the way to Crocus. The soldiers, steadier now thanks to Wendy's healing, kept their spacing tighter than usual. With Rose and Pitt taken by an unknown entity, the threat of another attack still hung over them.

That was why Jura had asked Ben and Wendy to accompany the escort to the next town, at least until reinforcements could be gathered for the remainder of the journey to Crocus.

Hisui rode in the royal carriage with Wendy and Carla, the interior padded and quiet compared to the road's constant rattle. Hisui sat upright with her hands folded in her lap the way she'd been taught, but her eyes kept darting to the window, hungry for the world outside.

Wendy sat across from her, doing her best not to look too impressed by the velvet seats. Carla perched between them, prim as ever.

"So…" Wendy started, soft but curious, "you really live in the palace?"

Hisui nodded, then grimaced like the word palace came with an invisible weight. "Most days. Mercurius, the Flower Light Palace. It's… hard to miss." Her mouth quirked, like she was trying not to sound like she was bragging. "It sits on an island in the lake at the very center of Crocus, towering over everything. From some streets you can look up and it feels like it's watching you back."

Wendy's eyes widened. "In the middle of a lake? That's so cool…"

"It's also the reason Arcadios nearly has a heart attack every time I sneak out," Hisui admitted, cheeks coloring slightly. "It's not exactly… easy to disappear from."

Carla's ears twitched. "He should. You were just kidnapped."

Hisui blinked, then looked away. "That's… fair."

Wendy tried to rescue the mood. "Carla would do that too."

Carla huffed. "I would not 'have a heart attack.'" Her eyes narrowed, voice flattening into offended certainty. "I would catch you before you made it three steps, carry you back myself, and then stay awake all night out of spite if I had to. Which, for the record, I should've done the first time."

Hisui smiled. "You're very protective, Carla."

"Someone has to be."

Outside, Ben walked behind the carriage with hands in his jacket pockets, scanning the fields and treeline. Every so often the girls' voices drifted through the door panels. He couldn't make out every word, but he heard enough to catch the girls laughing.

That alone made his shoulders ease. Glad that they're both hitting it off despite the class difference.

Inside, a sudden idea struck Hisui. "Wendy, Carla… can I show you something?"

Wendy blinked, and even Carla's guarded expression sharpened with interest. "Show us what?"

The green-haired girl hesitated, then lifted her chin. "Not many people know this," she admitted. "But… I'm a wizard too."

The bluenette's breath hitched. "You are?"

Hisui nodded and reached into her cloak, pulling out a small ring threaded with several silver keys. They glinted softly in the light. "I'm a Celestial Spirit wizard."

"Celestial Spirit?" Wendy repeated, curious.

"Celestial Spirit Magic uses keys to open 'Gates' to another world," Hisui explained.

"Another world…" Wendy's eyes widened. Ben's from another world! A thought sparked, urgent and hopeful. "Hey, if those keys open a 'gate' to another world, could humans go through them too?"

The princess blinked, confused. "I… don't believe that's how it works. I've never heard of a human going through a Celestial Spirit's gate."

Wendy deflated slightly. "Oh… I see."

Hisui continued, gentler. "Each key is tied to a specific spirit. When you call them, they can come through and help you. Most are silver, like the ones I have, but there are twelve Golden Keys for the Zodiac Spirits. They're much stronger." A faint flush crept into her cheeks as she glanced down at her ring. "But even if my spirits aren't as powerful… they're still my friends."

Wendy smiled at that.

Carla's ears twitched. "So the keys are contracts."

The princess nodded. "Yes. A promise, basically. I summon them, and they lend me their power. In return, I treat them properly." She drew a breath, then looked to Wendy as if asking permission. "May I?"

Wendy's eyes shone. "Yes! Please!"

Hisui chose one silver key and lifted it carefully. "Okay…"

She raised the key and spoke clearly, her voice still small but steady. "Open, Gate of the Canis Minor… Nikora!"

A golden magic seal flared to life on the carriage floor. A cheerful doorbell chime rang out, followed by a burst of yellow light.

When it faded, a short, stout little creature stood in its place, trembling with a nervous full-body wobble. It was pink from head to stubby tail, with blank black eyes and a tiny golden, horn-like nose. A small ribbon sat crookedly on the left side of its head.

"Puu-puun," it chirped in an adorable voice.

"Wow!" Wendy gasped, delight spilling over her face. "It's so cute!"

Hisui nodded, smiling softly. "I named this little girl Peony."

"Peony?" Carla stared at the creature, unimpressed and deeply confused. "Didn't you call her Nikora?"

"That's the name of the species," Hisui clarified. "When a Celestial Spirit Wizard summons a Nikora for the first time, they can name it whatever they like."

"And they're okay with that?" Wendy asked.

Hisui nodded. "They don't mind at all, actually."

Peony tilted her head at Carla, then at Wendy, and gave a happy little hop that looked very much like a greeting.

Hisui knelt and lifted Peony into her lap, cradling the spirit with obvious affection. "Peony, this is Wendy, and this is Carla. They helped save me."

Wendy leaned in, smiling so hard her cheeks hurt. "Hi, Peony! Nice to meet you!"

Carla narrowed her eyes. "She looks nothing like a dog."

Hisui giggled. "The name is… traditional," she said diplomatically, stroking Peony's head. "And even though they aren't fighters, Nikoras are wonderful companions."

Peony made a pleased little sound and nuzzled into Hisui's hand.

Wendy's expression softened. "That's so cute," she breathed, awed.

Meanwhile, outside the carriage, Jura drifted closer to the road's far side, calm as ever, his presence soothing enough that even the horses seemed to settle.

Ben walked alongside him until they were out of easy earshot of the carriage and the soldiers. "Hey, Jura. Can I ask something… kinda personal?"

Jura glanced at him. "Of course, Sir Ben?"

"You can just call me, Ben."

"I see… Then, what's on your mind, Ben?"

Ben paused for a beat. "In the mine, the princess and I stumbled across some old Dragon bones."

The bald man's eyes widened slightly. "You did?"

Ben nodded, keeping his gaze forward. "Sorry if this sounds strange, but there's still a lot I'm not familiar with in this kingdom. How much do people here actually know about Dragons?"

Jura didn't answer right away, as if choosing the right level of detail. "Most people speak of Dragons as legends," he said at last, "but they are not merely stories. Dragons are among the most powerful beings in this world."

Ben nodded, careful not to look too interested. "How powerful are we talking?"

Jura's tone remained even, but the weight behind it was unmistakable. "Powerful enough that an entire discipline of Magic had to be created simply to fight them. Even then, a Dragon's scales are so resilient that ordinary Magic cannot pierce them. Dragon Slayer Magic exists because most other spells won't break through."

He continued, eyes steady. "Dragons can wound each other… but if people were to face a living Dragon head-on, they wouldn't just be dealing with a 'monster.' They'd be facing a force of nature."

Ben's eyes widened slightly. "That strong, huh?"

Jura nodded once. "Very. There is no known equal to their power in this world."

The teen hero considered that. "But everybody talks like they're… gone."

"They are believed to be extinct, yes," the Wizard Saint confirmed. "At least, that is what most people accept."

Ben's gaze slid toward the horizon. "So if someone did run into Dragon remains like the princess and I did… that wouldn't be unheard of?"

"Remains, fossils, relics. Those are far more plausible to most than ever encountering a living Dragon."

Ben hummed, pretending that was all he needed. I guess that all tracks with what Carla and Wendy have told me. Though I had no idea Dragons were that powerful.

His train of thought was interrupted by the sounds of Hisui and Wendy laughing inside the carriage.

Jura's mouth quirked. "Those two seem to be faring well."

Ben smiled. "Yeah. They are."

…

Later that evening, the escort reached the next town called Marigold Hollow. All pale stone roads and warm lanternlight, with window boxes spilling color. The Fiore army soldiers were currently resting and restocking for the remainder of the march to Crocus.

When it was time to part ways, Princess Hisui stepped outside of the carriage with Arcadios at her side and a small ring of guards forming a respectful perimeter.

"Sir… uh, Ben," she corrected herself. "Thank you for everything."

Ben smiled. "Of course. Happy to help."

Hisui's mouth twitched, smiling at the way he said it. She then turned to Wendy. "And Wendy… if it weren't for you, Sir Arcadios and Sir Jura may have perished. And," her tone softened, "you even healed me too. Thank you."

Wendy's cheeks warmed as she nodded firmly. "I'm just glad everyone's okay."

Carla, wings summoned, hovered near Wendy's shoulder.

Hisui hesitated, then glanced between the three of them with a thoughtful little squint. "If you truly are exploring," she began, voice turning almost conspiratorial, "there is a place you might like to see. If it exists."

Wendy leaned in. "A place?"

Hisui nodded. "Sun Village. I have heard it spoken of as a legend. Giants and a flame that never dies. I cannot promise it is real. But… if you are traveling to learn the world, perhaps it is worth confirming." She looked embarrassed for a second, like a princess wasn't supposed to suggest chasing rumors. "At the very least, it would make for a wonderful story."

Wendy's eyes sparkled. "Giants…?"

Ben lifted a brow. "A village of giants with an eternal flame. Yeah, that sounds like a totally normal Tuesday."

Carla made a small sound of disapproval that wasn't quite a protest.

Hisui smiled properly this time. "Be careful," she said. Her gaze returned to Wendy, and something gentler slipped into her expression. "And… thank you again for your help…and company."

Wendy bowed out of habit, then caught herself and waved instead, still not sure how to be normal around royalty.

Hisui took two quick steps forward and hugged Wendy first, tight and sudden, like she'd been holding it in until she knew it was safe to show. "I hope we meet again someday," she whispered, voice muffled against Wendy's shoulder.

Wendy froze for half a heartbeat, then hugged back, smiling so hard her cheeks ached. "Me too," she whispered.

Hisui pulled away, blinking fast, then turned to Ben. She hesitated, like she wasn't sure if it was allowed, then hugged him too, smaller arms wrapping around his middle with surprising strength for someone her age. "Thank you, Ben," she said again, quieter this time. "For saving me. And helping me overcome my fears."

Ben went still, caught off guard, then patted her shoulder gently. "Yeah," he said, voice softer. "Anytime, Prince—uh, Hisui."

She stepped back, cheeks a little pink, and straightened as if remembering she was a princess again. "Farewell," she said, trying to be formal, then failing as her smile warmed. "All of you."

Carla smiled. "Safe travels, Princess."

Hisui nodded once, then let Arcadios guide her back into the carriage. Once the door shut, Arcadios turned to the trio, posture crisp despite the dust still clinging to him.

"On behalf of the Kingdom of Fiore," he said solemnly, "thank you. Your assistance in rescuing Princess Hisui will not be forgotten. Your service to the kingdom is greatly appreciated."

He signaled to the driver. As soon as the carriage lurched forward, the guards closed ranks and continued down the road.

Princess Hisui settled back against the cushioned seat as the carriage rolled forward. For the first few moments, she said nothing, only held her hands neatly in her lap and listened to the steady creak of the wheels.

But her thoughts were nowhere near as composed.

It had been... nice. More than nice, really.

For a few hours, she had not felt like Princess Hisui E. Fiore, a girl who always had to sit straight, speak properly, and remember what was expected of her. She had simply been Hisui. Frightened, embarrassed, dusty, grateful, curious. And somehow, around Ben, Wendy, and Carla, that had been allowed.

Wendy had spoken to her like she was just another girl, not someone to be carefully measured around. Hisui had liked that more than she could quite put into words. There had been no court manners, no rehearsed flattery, no careful distance. Just a kind girl with warm hands and earnest eyes, offering help because she wanted to.

And Ben...

Hisui lowered her gaze a little, watching the motion of her own fingers as a faint blush crept back into her cheeks.

Superhero.

Such a strange word. Silly, almost. Not at all the sort of title spoken in royal halls or preserved in old story legends. And yet when she turned it over in her mind now, she thought perhaps she understood it perfectly.

A hero saved people.

A superhero saved people while making them feel safe.

Even in the cave, even with the ceiling threatening to come down and fear overwhelming her, Ben had smiled at her, joked with her, steadied her, and made the impossible feel manageable. He had not just rescued her from danger, but from panic as well.

Hisui looked toward the darkened carriage window, where her reflection stared back faintly.

And... he was rather cute.

The thought came so suddenly that she startled herself and quickly looked away, cheeks burning hotter.

He had very green eyes, she thought helplessly. Very nice green eyes.

Hisui pressed her lips together, trying and failing to suppress a small smile as she sat up a little straighter before anyone could notice the direction of her thoughts.

Meanwhile, Wendy stared after Hisui's carriage with bright eyes while Ben watched quietly.

He didn't miss the sadness tugging at Wendy's expression. Even though the girls had only known each other for a few hours, they clicked fast. Maybe it was simply what happened when two kids their age finally got the chance to talk to someone who understood being the "young one" in a world full of adults.

…

Later, at an inn tucked just off Marigold Hollow's square, the three of them sat in the dining hall with steaming bowls and tired limbs. The room smelled like fresh bread and onions and the faint sweetness of pressed flowers hung from ceiling beams as decoration.

Wendy kept smiling into her food like it was the first truly relaxing moment she'd had all day. "Hisui was really nice," she said. "I didn't expect her to be… like us."

Ben laughed softly, setting his spoon down and leaned back a little. "Yeah, it's weirdly comforting when important people turn out to be normal."

Wendy nodded, still smiling. "She was just… a kid. Like me."

"A kid who outranks all of you." Carla deadpanned.

The Omnitrix bearer snorted. "Carla, let her have this." He glanced at Wendy, grin turning playful. "Besides, you looked like you were about two seconds away from asking if she wanted to be your best friend."

Wendy's face went bright red. "I was not!"

He smirked, unconvinced. "Uh-huh."

The little Dragon Slayer's cheeks puffed out in irritation.

Ben chuckled. "I'm just teasing, Wendy," he said. "I do think it'd be nice to meet more kids your age though."

Carla nodded. "Actually, I don't believe that would be a bad idea either."

"Wow," the teen hero said, spoon pausing midair. "Even you're agreeing with me."

The white feline shrugged. "Don't get excited. Even a broken clock is right twice a day."

Wendy tilted her head. "Wouldn't you be technically close to my age, Ben?"

"I meant close by like within three years," he clarified. "Big difference between an eighteen-year-old and a twelve-year-old."

"Very big difference," Carla affirmed.

"Oh okay," Wendy said, accepting it easily.

On that note, Ben's thoughts circled back to something that had bothered him for a while. Something he'd noticed, filed away, and finally couldn't ignore. "Hey… can I ask you both something?"

Wendy perked up. "What's up?"

"How come there aren't any kids at Cait Shelter?"

Wendy blinked and Carla's ears twitched.

Ben kept going, unable to stop once he started. "I mean, there's you. And there are adults. But I don't remember seeing any other children. Not teenagers and not even little ones running around. Why is that?"

Wendy opened her mouth. Closed it. Her brows knitted as if she'd never tried to solve that puzzle before.

Carla answered first, cautious. "Cait Shelter is a small guild."

"Okay… But small doesn't mean nobody has a family. Small usually means you know everyone's family."

Wendy's eyes widened slightly. She glanced toward Carla, then back at Ben, searching for an answer she didn't have. "I… I never really thought about it," she admitted, voice small.

Carla's tail flicked. "It's not your concern."

Ben tilted his head. "Isn't it?"

The white feline bristled, but there was something uneasy behind it. "The guild takes care of each other. That's what matters."

"Sure," Ben said. "But you gotta admit it's kind of weird, right? People live together, work together, eat together. Years pass. And nobody… pairs off? Nobody starts a family? Not even by accident?"

Wendy's cheeks went pink so fast it looked painful. "B-Ben!?"

"What?" he asked, genuinely confused. "I'm not trying to be weird or anything. I'm just saying it's statistically strange."

Carla went rigid, voice sharpening. "Do not continue."

He held up both hands. "Okay, okay." But because he was Ben, he couldn't help himself. "I mean, even Pepel. She's pretty. Like… objectively. She could've had half the guys in the guild if she wanted."

Wendy sputtered, nearly choking. "Ben!"

Carla's eyes went white. "Do not talk about Pepel that way!"

"Not saying she would or anything," he rushed, "it's just weird that she doesn't have a boyfriend or anything."

"This conversation is over," Carla declared, leaving no room for argument.

Ben sighed dramatically. "Alright, fine. I'll drop it. For now."

…

By the time they climbed upstairs and collapsed into their room, exhaustion hit like a blanket dropped over their heads. Wendy was asleep almost immediately, curled up with her hair across the pillow.

Ben slipped into the small washroom adjoining their room and shut the door with a soft click. He stood over the sink for a long moment, hands braced on the cool porcelain, staring at his reflection introspectively for a while. He tapped the Omnitrix and the green holo-wheel chimed into existence. His index and middle finger pressed down lightly as the alien head icons rotated by…and then stopped on the newest symbol. A reptilian head with horns.

The Dragon form.

Ben's throat tightened slightly. Jura's words echoed back in his head. "A discipline of Magic made just to fight them. A force of nature."

He continued staring at the icon. He wasn't new to powerful transformations. Way Big, The Andromeda Five, The Ultimate Forms and of course, Alien X. While this new transformation couldn't match some of those aliens (especially the last one), it was still formidable and dangerous based on the legends he's heard so far. While a part of him was excited about turning into a Dragon (because who wouldn't be), his logical side screamed that he needed to be cautious on when and where to use this transformation.

Then, there was Wendy.

She had grown up with a Dragon-shaped hole in her life that never really closed. Grandeeney hadn't died in front of her. She'd just… disappeared. One day present, the next day gone, leaving Wendy with memories and no closure.

Ben's eyes flicked to the bedroom door.

If he showed Wendy this—if he turned into a Dragon—would her eyes light up with wonder? Or would it break her a little, reminding her that the foster mother she loved was still gone and that even when Dragons appeared, they didn't stay long?

Ben exhaled slowly, the breath fogging the mirror for a second. "What am I supposed to do with you?" He muttered at the icon, voice barely above a whisper.

Sighing, he turned off the Omnitrix's holo-ring. He then splashed water on his face, stared at himself again.

He wasn't afraid of power. He was afraid of what it would mean to the people he was starting to care about.

Meanwhile, Carla lay on her end of Wendy's bed, staring at the ceiling.

Ben's words wouldn't leave her alone. It was irritating. Mostly because… he had a point.

Why weren't there any families or children at Cait Shelter? Most of the guild were adults, not elderly. And while she despised Ben's comment about Pepel on principle, it was still true that Pepel was kind and pretty and available… and yet no man in the guild had ever pursued her. No one pursued anyone.

Carla's ears flattened.

She didn't want to admit it, but something about that was wrong.

Her eyes narrowed as a new, suspicious thought about her guild took root.

…

Farther in the eastern side of Fiore, a building sat in the middle of a forest of dead trees with stone walls hunched beneath a sky that seemed unusually duller than anywhere else.

Inside, the air was cold and dreary. A long corridor ran through the heart of the building, lined with old paintings whose colors had darkened with age. Faces and landscapes watched from warped frames, silent witnesses to the guild's legal past.

Rose Liberty knelt at the corridor's end, head bowed, brown hair falling forward in careful strands. Even humbled, she held herself like a woman attending a performance. Beside her, Pitt Ferrous knelt in the same posture. Broad shoulders squared, hands resting on his thighs, expression fixed into deadpan calm.

Ahead of them stood the master of the guild.

He was tall and lean, mildly muscular, with silver hair spiked upward and a distinctive tuft falling along the left side of his face. His elongated features were sharp, his ears slightly pointed, and his dark eyes were ringed with heavy lines and marked with simple tattoos beneath each one. Blue, intricate spiral motifs crawled over his shoulders and chest like living ink.

Rose's voice came smooth despite the apology. "Guild Master Erigor… we accept full responsibility for the failure."

Pitt's hands moved quickly, signing the same sentiment with clipped precision, then adding something extra like, and for the record, it was mostly her fault.

Rose's eye twitched, interpreting Pitt's message. "…And we regret the inconvenience."

Off to the side, leaning against a support column with his arms crossed, a young man of average build watched with black, unblinking eyes. He had black hair tied into a short, spiky ponytail, a high-collared white shirt over a dark red undershirt, aquamarine pants, and small black earrings catching the light when he shifted.

Kageyama wore a thin, smug smile.

"Inconvenience?" he echoed softly. "You had the princess. The whole kingdom was supposed to choke on that panic. And you let her go."

Rose's lashes lowered. "We did not let her go."

Pitt signed with a sharp motion that translated easily in Rose's head: We were interrupted by a mountain with legs.

"Enough."

Erigor finally spoke and a beat of silence followed.

Kageyama's grin faded to a thinner line.

Erigor's gaze stayed on the two kneeling mages. "You were matched against a Wizard Saint," he said, cold assessment in his tone. "Not a fair match by any means."

Rose lifted her eyes slightly, the smallest flicker of relief passing through her composed mask. "Then you understand—"

"I understand you still failed," he continued, tone unchanged.

The relief died.

Pitt's shoulders tightened. He didn't look away, accepting the blow with the same stoic stillness he did with everything else.

Rose's smile returned, too bright and polished. It was the kind she wore when she wanted to turn humiliation into theater.

"For what it's worth, Master Erigor," she said lightly, "we had the knight captain and Wizard Saint Jura dead to rights."

"Oh?" He didn't blink. "Explain."

The brunette's fingers fluttered as if she were rearranging invisible petals. "I had them both wrapped in my Thorn Bridal Veil. The toxins had them singing a symphony," her smile sharpened. "I even had time to decide whether it would be a Rose Garden Funeral or Blooms of Regret."

Kageyama snorted. "Tragic. Poetic. Whatever."

Her eyes flashed. "Then a child," she emphasized the word like it offended her personally, "a little girl came and undid it all."

Erigor's head tilted a fraction, the motion almost lazy.

Rose pressed on, irritation bleeding through her elegance. "She was a Dragon Slayer. One that could use her magic to heal." Her mouth twisted. "She made my precious poisons useless."

For the first time, Kageyama's expression sharpened. "A Dragon Slayer? How rare."

Erigor's expression didn't change, but the air felt tighter. "A child wielding Lost Magic. Hmm…" A thoughtful look crossed his face. "I've heard Dragon Slayers have specific element types. What was hers?"

"…Wind. Wind, Master Erigor."

Something flickered behind Erigor's calm, interest with teeth. "Wind," he repeated, sounding amused. "So a little wind Dragon brat is breathing my element… and healing with it." His smile thinned. "How… irritatingly poetic."

Pitt signed quickly, then pointed, then signed again.

Rose translated with a long, suffering sigh. "And don't forget the… Take-Over wizard."

Kageyama's gaze narrowed. "A Take-Over wizard?"

Pitt signed again, more emphatic. His expression stayed deadpan, which somehow made the report feel even worse.

The brunette's cheeks warmed despite herself, examining the stone floor for flaws. "He turned into a… plant creature. And he," she stopped, lips pressing together like the memory was inconvenient. "He… well. It doesn't matter now."

The silver-haired wizard looked at her, arched a brow, then signed: "Did he do something to you while I was knocked out?"

"H-He didn't do anything!" She blurted out too loud and fast. She snapped her mouth shut, furious at herself for reacting at all. There was no chance she was telling them that she'd been caught in his vines…and that a sick, traitorous part of her had enjoyed the helplessness.

Pitt's hands moved again, almost lazily: "Don't tell me you're lusting after that guy's plant-monster Take-Over…"

Rose yelped, cheeks blazing. "I am not!"

Pitt exhaled, closing his eyes; his hands moving: "That reaction says otherwise."

"S-shut up! You were knocked out and didn't see anything!"

Kageyama looked between them, amusement resurfacing. "At least your comedy routine survived the beating."

Pitt, without moving his mouth, managed to look pleased with himself anyway.

Rose's glare could've wilted flowers. "Careful, Kageyama. I can easily grow my precious vines down your throat."

Kageyama's smile didn't move. "Try it, rosebud."

She started to cast…and then stopped. Not because she couldn't, but because Erigor's look made it very clear that this was not the time.

Erigor's gaze slid to Kageyama. "You're enjoying this."

The raven-haired man lifted one shoulder. "If our guild's 'top two' can get embarrassed by a legal guild and a mystery brat, then yes. I'm enjoying it."

Erigor's eyes narrowed. "And what would you have done?"

Kagayama's smirk returned. "I wouldn't have lost the princess."

Rose's laugh came soft, almost delighted. "Oh? Then perhaps next time you should volunteer to kneel in the mud."

Pitt signed, deadpan:"He would trip on his own ego."

She didn't even bother translating that one.

Kageyama was about to retort until Erigor raised a hand, and the air tightened as the corridor quieted.

"The princess was to be our lever to remind those Council blowhards that the Eisenwald guild was not always 'dark.' We once worked openly and took requests that paid well."

Pitt's hands signed:"We were professionals."

"Indeed, Pitt." Erigor's wind shifted. "They took that away from us." His voice dipped. "So yes. Kidnapping the princess was meant to force their hand and restore the rights they stole from us."

Kageyama pushed off the column. "And what now, Master Erigor? You can't ransom what you don't have. What's Eisenwald to do now?"

The guild master didn't answer right away.

He looked down the corridor, past the kneeling pair, past Kageyama, toward the deeper halls of the guild. For a moment, the only sound was the faint whistle of wind sliding through cracks in the stone.

His mouth then curved. "If we cannot force them to restore our rights," he said softly, "then we will give them something else."

Rose's head tilted. "Meaning?"

"Chaos. Fear. Destruction." Erigor turned his gaze back to them. "We will send a message to the Magic Council that when they lock people in the dark, the dark learns how to bite."

Kageyama's eyes brightened. "Now we're talking, master."

Rose's voice stayed polite, but her interest sharpened. "And how, exactly, do you plan to bite a Council that hides behind Rune Knights and Wizard Saints?"

Erigor didn't answer immediately, letting the moment breathe.

"Tell me, what were your favorite lullabies from your childhood?"

…

A/N: Hope all of you enjoyed this chapter!

Big shout out to Masamune X23 for his help in editing, beta-reading, and consulting through the writing process. He also provided the images of Hisui, Rose, and Pitt for this chapter too.

Major credit to BálintM for his ideas of this chapter's skeleton.

Rose Liberty and Pitt Ferrous were OCs that I had planned for the original Ultimate Fairy's Hex Arc. Since then, I've heavily revised their appearances and personalities. Hopefully they both feel like characters you could see existing in the Fairy Tail world.

With the events of this chapter, all of you can see that things are definitely NOT going to be the same as the original Ultimate Fairy as the story progresses. Professor Paradox's statement of Ben Tennyson having "Too much influence over the timestream" is starting to play out.

Special shout outs for my Goin' Ultimate members. Thank you so much for your support!

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