Gwen Tennyson, All Grown Up

Chapter 10
Book Hunt

---

Chapter Description: The Tennisons and Charmcaster journey into the woods to search for Hex’s cottage and retrieve a book that could reverse Gwen’s change. But along the way, there will be some trouble.

---

Once the meeting between Gwen and Charmcaster was over, Ben and Grandpa Max entered the RV to get the rundown of what the girls were talking about. Once they got the information needed, the group then went on another road trip to reach Hex’s cottage. Max was driving while Charmcaster was next to him giving him directions. Meanwhile, Ben and Gwen were sitting at the table with the possessor of the Omnitrix and little unsure of their new guest. Gwendolyn noticed this and tried to talk to him about it.

Adult Gwen: “Hey Ben, are you okay? You seem a little spaced out as of late.”

Benjamin remained silent, just to figure how to put his answer together. But Gwen knows it was about their new temporary guest they brought along for the ride.

Adult Gwen: “It’s about Charmcaster, isn’t it?”

Ben then looked at his cousin with his eyes and grunted a little.

Ben: “I don’t trust her...”

Gwen sighed to herself and tried to reason with him.

Adult Gwen: “C’mon Ben, this is serious. I need to return to my old self again and get rid of these new powers for good. And Charmcaster is the solution for my problem. I don’t know who else to trust.”

Ben: “But I don’t think this is a good idea. That girl tried to kill us a couple of times, almost had procession of those charms, not to mention got us stuck in each other’s bodies. Argh... I still can’t get that out of my head.”

Adult Gwen: “Okay, maybe she had done so much bad to us in the past, but she is the only person that knows magic. It’s been past down to her family for generations and they know how to handle their powers. She’s the perfect person for my help.”

Ben: “Yeah, up until the point she might betray us!”

Adult Gwen: “Listen Ben, I know you don’t like this as much as I do. But we don’t have a choice in the matter. Once I get what I need, then we’ll take her to the authorities and pretend this never happened again. Got it?”

Ben thought this through as he turned back to see Charmcaster giving his grandfather directions to cottage. True he doesn’t like the fact that this crook is in the Rustbukcet and would help them reverse Gwen’s conditioning. If it were up to him, he would’ve gone alien and mop the floor with her. But Gwen was right under a couple of occasions. Charm does know magic and she has a long line of family wizards, quite possibly evil wizards from his guess. So what other choice does he have in the matter? So to that end, he took a deep breather and came to a conclusion, looking at his cousin for an answer.

Ben: “All right, fine! I’ll trust her. But if that sorceress tries to stab us in the back, I’m going to go Four Arms on her.”

Gwendolyn smiled and could tell he would trust her on this.

Adult Gwen: “Duly noted...”

As that conversation ended, the RV continued to ride down the highway to reach its destination. With Charmcaster taking shotgun, she keeps on instructing Max Tennyson where to turn and how to get to her uncle’s cottage. Soon enough, a highway went into a road and a road went into a forestry path. After about an hour and a half of driving, the Rustbucket made a complete stop at the path. Both cousins looked back at their grandfather and wondered why they stop.

Ben: “Hey! What’s the hold up?”

Adult Gwen: “Yeah Grandpa. I thought we were heading to Hex’s cottage.”

Max looked at the two and explained the situation.

Grandpa Max: “We are. It’s just that we bumped into a bit of a snag. Take a look.”

Both cousins looked at each other and headed to the front to see what he was trying to say. When they look at the front windows, they notice a blockade in front to them, blocking their way through. Ben lifted an eyebrow and was a little confused by this.

Ben: “A blockade? You can’t be serious Grandpa.”

Grandpa Max: “I’m afraid I am Ben. The road ends here and the Rustbucket can’t move past it.”

Ben: “Can you just use the Rustbucket to fly over or cut a path or something? I mean there has to be something this RV can do?”

Max sighed to himself and looked at Ben explained to him it wasn’t that easy.

Grandpa Max: “Sorry Ben, but this Rustbucket has its limits. I’m not going to loose my baby like last time.”

Adult Gwen: “Then why not take a different route?”

That’s when Charmcaster looked at Gwen and explained why they can’t take another route.

Charmcaster: “Because this is the only way to reach my uncle’s home. If we are to head to his place, then our only other option is to walk the rest of the way.”

Benjamin glared at the sorceress and was a little ticked off by what she was saying.

Ben: “You’re kidding...”

Charm then gave a sly smile on his face.

Charmcaster: “Oh I’m not kidding kid. As of right now, we are taking a stroll.”

At that moment, the group prepared to take a walk and left the RV. Once they were getting ready for their journey, Charm looked at them and gave them a bit a warning.

Charmcaster: “All right, it’s time to head to my uncles cottage. But before we go, I need to give you all a warning. My uncle doesn’t take kindly to strangers and won’t allow anyone to enter his home with the exception of family members like me. So he has the tendency of setting off traps to keep intruders away. So if we are to reach his place, we need to be cautious. Just one false move could ultimately end your life.”

Ben: “And how can we trust you with that information?”

She turned to the kid and answered with an intriguing grin.

Charmcaster: “Because I helped him set up the traps when I was young. I know where they are and how to avoid them. Unless you want to move on ahead and blindly step on them.”

Ben turned his head in disgust and didn’t like this plan at all. He then turned his head to his grandfather and tried to protest.

Ben: “Grandpa, I don’t think this is a good idea. You sure we want to walk on down there when we can use the Rustbucket to fly or something?”

Max sighed to himself and told his nephew that it was impossible.

Grandpa Max: “Sorry Ben, but I don’t think the Rustbucket won’t get us that far. And even if we do, we won’t even know where Hex’s house is. If we are to reach it, then we have to follow what Chamcaster has to say.”

Benjamin Tennyson groaned about this and muttered under his breath.

Ben: “Fine...”

Charm smiled about it decided to move on.

Charmcaster: “Now if there aren’t any more questions, we should be going now. Follow me.”

Soon enough the group left the Rustbucket and entered the dark woods where Charm’s uncle’s house is located. They journey through the swampy rivers and twisted forests, avoiding dangers at every turn. Even the sorceress showed where the traps were set and urged the others to avoid them at all cost. As they were walking, Ben was getting a little tired of following Charmcaster and complained once again.

Ben: “Urgh... How much father is this place? My feet are already killing me!”

Charmcaster: “Not far. Just need to go one more mile and then we’re at my uncle’s cottage before you know it.”

Ben looks back at Charm and didn’t like that answer on bit.

Ben: “And why should I believe you? I bet you’re just leading us right into a trap.”

The sorceress turned about and couldn’t take the kid’s bickering anymore.

Charmcaster: “What? You think that I’m trying to kill you guys? That’s impossible!”

Ben: “Really? Well coming from a teenage girl that tried to destroy us before, I find it quite amusing.”

Charmcaster: “Okay, then mind telling why I pointed to where the traps are so that way we can avoid them?”

Ben: “Isn’t that obvious? You’re leading us away from the place and sending us right into a bigger trap.”

Charmcaster: “Oh please! You think I would be that senseless?”

Ben: “Possibly...”

While the two were arguing, Gwen watched it all go down and heard enough. She came up between the two and told them to stop it.

Adult Gwen: “That’s enough you two! I know we all have our differences in the past, but now we have to work together if we are able to the find the spell book that could reverse my condition. Now play nice with each other or I’ll be the one to shut the two of you up permanently!”

The two looked at Gwen and listened to the young woman for once. But even though they can now get along, they still don’t like each other. The two then turned their heads and grunted to themselves. But Ben took it in a different approach. He then walked away from the group and decided to go on his own. His grandfather saw this and tried to stop him.

Grandpa Max: “Ben, where are you going?”

Ben: “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m going to search for Hex’s house myself!”

Charm could tell that he’s going to wrong way and warned him quickly before he leaves.

Charmcaster: “Wait, I don’t think you should be going there!”

Ben turned back to see the sorceress and wondered why she said that.

Ben: “Is that so? And why’s that?”

Charcaster: “Because there’s a trap down there that you really shouldn’t get into.”

Ben smirked about that and thought she was pulling his leg. So he turned back around and walked away.

Ben: “Right... I believe you.”

Charmcaster: “Wait!”

But it was too late. Ben disappeared through the forest as he does his own search. His cousin was curious about all of this and turned to Charmcaster to see if she was telling the truth.

Adult Gwen: “Is there really a trap where Ben is going?”

Charm looked at her and nodded her head.

Charmcaster: “I’m afraid so. And this trap is a whole lot worse then the others we’ve avoided so far.”

Grandpa Max: “Then we better get to him fast before its too late!”

Quickly the group ran to Ben and tried to stop him. Unfortunately, the woods were so dense that it would take them a while to find him.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

While they were searching, Ben was walking all by himself searching for Hex’s cottage. As he was searching, he had his head down with his hands in his pockets, kicking a small stone along the way, and mumbling to himself.

Ben: “I can’t believe this. What is Gwen even thinking?! Asking for Charmcaster’s help when she was the one that tried to take over my body a while back? This is ridiculous!”

As he kept walking, he stepped through something that triggered the trap. The problem was that he didn’t know he stepped on it since Hex set these traps with magic. Once he walked behind it, the ground slowly started to move.

Ben: “Why does Gwen even trust that witch is beyond me? It doesn’t matter anyways. If Gwen and Grandpa wants to follow that girl into a trap, that’s there problem. I’ll find this place by myself. At least I won’t get into any-“

But before he could finish, he felt a rumble from beneath the ground. Ben then lost his balance and fell to the ground back first. He then started to wonder what just happened until he noticed a shadow from behind was forming behind him, getting bigger and bigger by the second. Curious by this, he slowly turned around to see what was behind him. To his surprise, a huge bump was forming in back of him and was getting bigger by the second. Soon enough, the hill was about a mile and a half high in length. Just as Ben thought he had seen everything, the hill suddenly started to take shape. Two stubs grew out and form arms and hands, the bottom opened up and the two stumps sharpened into a pair of legs and feet, the middle section changed into a muscled body, a small stub grew on top and formed a male head. In a matter of minutes, Ben was looking at a huge giant of a man covered with trees, bushes, and shrubbery. His eyes were wide with fear and couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Ben: “Oh crud...”

The huge being lifted its hand up in the air and rocketed down towards Ben at blinding speed. He quickly got up and ran away seconds before the huge monster flatten him to bits. However, the punch caused the ground to shake and create a huge ripple around the impact. This of course caused Ben to fly after feeling that ripple and rolled around to the ground.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

At the same time, Gwen, Charmcaster, and Grandpa Max heard that loud thud and were now more worried then ever.

Grandpa Max: “What was that?”

Charmcaster: “Sounds like your grandson stumbled into one of my uncle’s trap.”

Fearing this, Gwen looked at the others and told them to keep moving.

Adult Gwen: “We have to save him fast before things get much worse!”

The two nodded and hurried to where the sound came from.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

While they were heading there, Ben was on the ground, felling semi conscious for the moment. After he shook his head, he got up and wondered what happened.

Ben: “Oh man, what an impact. What just happened?”

He looked up to see what just occurred, but when he did that he saw the huge forest monster still looking at him with angry eyes. Realizing what has happened, his eyes were wide in shock and was speechless for the moment.

Ben: “Oh... Right...”

The monster tightened its fist and raised it up to flatten the kid one more time. Quickly knowing what’s bound to happen next, Ben ran away from the spot trying to avoid the attack. And not a minute too soon, the giant missed him by a few inches but sent him flying from the impact. The moment he hit the ground, he rolled over and got back up, knowing he has to do something quick before the creature attacks him again. Quickly, he activates his Omnitrix and turns the dial to the alien that is suitable for the job. Once he got the alien needed, he looked up to the monster and had a tricky smirk on his face.

Ben: “You want to fight, then you got a fight! Going Heatblast!!”

He pushed on the dial and a green light engulfed him and blinded the creature for a moment. When the light faded, creature noticed an alien below it. But it wasn’t Heatblast Ben picked, instead it was a different alien. This alien he was in is a big and bulky one, like a wrestler except with a few things that are inhuman. For one, he has four muscular arms with the two at the side of his waste area and alien like feet. For two his skin color is red and had spikes on his arms. And three, he had four yellow eyes on his face and a black stripe that goes down to his nose. He was wearing black spandex pants and a white T-shirt with a black strip down the middle and down his shoulders and an hourglass emblem on his left shoulder. It was obvious that Ben had turn into not Heatblast, but his toughest alien yet, Four Arms. Looking at his body one more time, Four Arms groaned to himself and couldn’t believe what just happened.

Four Arms: “Four Arms? You can’t be serious?!? Oh well, I guess this will do.”

The huge monster saw that, lifted its arm up, and smashes him one more time. But just as it was going to crush him, Four Arms just stood there, waiting for the right moment to strike back. In a matter of seconds, the colossal arm hit the alien and left nothing but a plum of dirt around the impact. The monster thought it took care of the intruder but the moment it would disappear in the Earth from wench it knowing and suddenly started to shake. Within moments the arm started to lift itself up without the beast controlling it. The inhuman monster looked at that and wondered what’s causing it. When the arm lifted up fully, it revealed the alien it was crushing still alive and was using all of his four arms to lift the monster’s own appendage. Four Arms just grunted and wasn’t ready to give up just yet.

Four Arms: “You think something like that is going to slow me down? Don’t count on it!”

He immediately gripped on the huge arm and used all of his strength to lift the monster off of the ground and fling him to the other side. He succeeded as the creature went over his head and plummeted to the ground with an incredibly loud thud. After that mess, Four Arms wiped his hands for a bit and was proud at what he did.

Four Arms: “That was too easy.”

He then walked away and continued on with his search for the house. But just as he was about to leave, he felt another tremor under his feet. Feeling that, Ben knew what it means.

Four Arms: “Please don’t tell me that’s not what I think it is.”

To his answer, the ground exploded and the huge monster was back, only this time it’s a hundred percent more upset then ever. The alien turned around and saw the huge beast, completely shocked by all of it.

Four Arms: “Oh man... This is not my day...”

The beast raised its arm and tightens the fist to give the intruder a dangerous punch. Quickly, Ben jumped up high with his alien like strength got out of there before the fist hit the ground with a deep impact. Once he landed on the ground, Four Arms looked at the monster and could tell this was going to take long.

Four Arm: “All right big guy, let’s get it on!”

With that said, the alien grabbed the closest heaviest stone he could find and lifted its up with his incredible strength. Once it was over his head, he threw it right to the creature, hoping to knock it out. But for some strange reason, the stone hit the thing and completely absorbed into its body. The magical being just smiled at the foolish attempt the alien was pulling. But Four Arms was completely shocked by this and didn’t know what to do.

Four Arms: “You can’t be serious!!”

The creature then lifted both its arms up and they started to extend straight towards to the alien with incredible speed and force. Four Arms jumped up again and avoided the next attack before the long arms could smash him to bits. The alien then landed on one of the appendages and ran right up to creature to get into full contact. The forest like man noticed that and knew it had to do something fast before the enemy strikes back. Its arm the alien was on sprout up and formed large spikes that could finish the job. Four Arms felt that and dodged this attack before he could get punctured in who knows where. Even the spikes that were blocking his path, he used his strength to knock them down in one blow. The monster could tell that he was getting closer and decided on another method to remove him. At the same time, Four Arms was just about to approach the creature and was going to give it a big killing blow. But just when he was about to do that, he felt a shaking under his feet. He immediately stopped and looks down to see what it was, only to realize that he was on one of the arms of the monster that was attacking him. He then looked up and blurted out...

Four Arms: “This can’t be good.”

And then without warning, a rocky slab rose up on his feet and around him and lifted him up with incredible velocity. Just at that moment, the slab stopped, causing the alien to fly of the platform and high into the air. The monster looked up and thought that the threat was long gone by now. What it didn’t know was that it gave Ben an advantage to take the brute down permanently. While he was in the air, Four Arms repositioned himself and came back rocketing downward, straight to the monster that launched him up in the first place. Like a comet, the alien tightened both his fists on the left side and was ready to finish the job. The forest beast kept looking up, wondering if the alien fell to the ground just yet. To its surprise, the alien is falling to the ground, but not the way it wants him to. From what the creature could tell, Four Arms was heading towards it, towards its face. Within a matter of seconds, the alien flew downwards towards his target and gave the beast a humongous punch right in the face. Judging by the incredible speed downward and the impact of the two punches on the same side, the end result was an earth shattering blast that rocked the forest area to the breaking point.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Just as that was going on, the others were looking for Ben before he gets himself hurt. Suddenly, they all felt a huge earthquake and tripped themselves up and fall to the ground. Luckily, the quake stopped in mere moments so there were no trees falling or the ground splitting up. The moment that’s over, the group got up and wondered what happened.

Grandpa Max: “What was that?!”

Charmcaster: “By the sound of that, my guess is that your grandson is having a blast. And pretty close too.”

Gwendolyn realized that this is a very serious problem and looked at the two to keep moving.

Charmcaster: “C’mon guys! We have to find Ben before its too late.”

The group then hurried to the place where they heard the loud band and hope that Ben wasn’t in trouble.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Not far from them was a huge plum of dust and dirt where the fight took place. The moment the smoke was cleared, it revealed Four Arms who stood valiantly against the monster after he gave it one incredibly hard punch, or two punches, on the beast’s face. Observing the damage, he wiped his hands together and was proud of his work.

Four Arms: “Huh... That wasn’t so bad. That rock monster didn’t stand a chance against me.”

He walked away from the mess and went back to the task at hand. What he didn’t know was that the monster wasn’t down, as a wave spread through the ground and approached the alien.

Four Arms: “Now let’s see... Where is Hex’s house? Maybe I should jump up in the air to see if there are any houses in the forest. That might-“

Suddenly, he felt another shaking from under his feet, interrupting his train of thoughts. Looking down on the ground for the moment, he looked up and realized what it means.

Four Arms: “Oh crud...”

In a matter of seconds, the ground exploded and something came out of it. That something was a huge open hand with Ben in the middle of it. He was about to escape, but the fingers sealed him up completely and trapped him within the hand. Once the hand enclosed the alien, the monster suddenly appeared out of the ground and stood up tall. After that he took a look at the enclosed hand and saw Four Arms head and upper part of the body, trying to escape. But even with all of his strength, it was too hard for him to get out with all the monster’s rocky hand. So he look up at its devious eyes and asked him to do a favor.

Four Arms: “Hey Rocky, you mind loosening up a bit?”

The creature’s response is to tighten its grip more then ever, crushing the alien’s lungs. Again, he tried to get out but the tighten grip makes it harder and harder to escape.

Four Arms: “Should’ve... said... please...”

Ben thought he was done for. But then, a wide range of multiple purple projectiles hit the hand that was tightening the alien to death. The monster felt that hit and screamed out in pain while opening its hand at the same time, freeing Ben from the death grip. Four Arms then fell from the monster’s hand and plummeted downward to the ground. Good thing he landed on his feet because if he didn’t, he would’ve left a huge crater on the ground. The moment he got up, he wondered where that came from. That’s when he heard a voice that’s very familiar to him.

Adult Gwen: “BEN!!”

Four Arms turned around and saw his cousin Gwen, along with his grandfather and Charmcaster running towards him. He blinked a couple of times and couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

Four Arms: “Gwen?”

Once they approached the alien, Gwen was completely irate.

Adult Gwen: “What were you thinking?! Going off on your own without knowing where the traps are. You could’ve gotten yourself killed! Don’t you dare do that ever again! Got it?”

Ben was shocked by what Gwen said and sighed to himself.

Four Arms: “Can we talk about this later? Right now, we got bigger problems in front of us.”

The two turned their heads to see the rock monster trying to recover. What it did is to punch its handless arm to the ground and stick it in deeply. Once it got its arm out of the ground, its hand is back in its place. The creature curled its fingers open and shut just to see if it’s functional. After that, it looked at the group and roared at them for a fight.

Grandpa Max: “What is that?”

Charmcaster took a good look at the creature and knew what it was.

Charmcaster: “It’s an Elemental Guardian. It’s meant to protect its territory from intruders. My uncle must’ve created and controlled it to guard his home.”

Four Arms: “Any ways we can stop it?”

Charmcaster thought this through and noticed something about this guardian and its weakness.

Charmcaster: “It seems that this elemental guardian is of the Earth variety. There are multiple Elemental Guardians that make up the four elements. They include Earth, Fire, Wind, and Water. Each share a common strength, but they have different weaknesses.”

Ben turned to the sorceress and was a little confused about this.

Four Arms: “And that means...”

Charm looked at the alien and explained the weakness.

Charmcaster: “It means that since this is an Earth Guardian, then its only weakness is water! We need a large amount of it to destroy this creature once and for all.”

Adult Gwen: “And where are we going to find water around here.”

Charmcaster: “I think I remember a lake not far from here. If we can lure it there, the water would weaken it and we’ll be able to give the finishing blow.”

When she said that, Four Arms looked at the guardian and cracked his four knuckles.

Four Arms: “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s give this guy one heck of a bath!”

He then rushed towards the rocky monster and jumped up high to give it a swift punch in the gut. The guardian felt that but it wasn’t much but a mere pinch to it. It retaliated with the unimaginable. It’s waist suddenly exploded and out pop a tightening fist, sending Four Arms flying away from it. The three looked up as the alien flew over their heads and into the deepest parts of the forest. Charmcaster sighed to herself while rubbing her forehead from that unexpected move. She then looked over at Gwen and wondered about him.

Charmcaster: “Your cousin is a bit dense now is he?”

The young woman shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

Adult Gwen: “Yeah, he’s a little stupid but he gets the job done anyways.”

The two then looked up at the Earth Guardian as it was approaching them. They then positioned themselves ready for battle. But then, a lone projectile appeared out of nowhere and hit it on the right shoulder. Again, the guardian felt that impact and roared in complete agony. Both girls looked at what happened very quizzically and wondered who did that. What they saw was Grandpa Max carrying his high-powered propulsion cannon. Cocking it, he looked at the two and asked the sorceress something.

Grandpa Max: “Well? Shall we get this over with?”

Charm nodded and knew what he meant.

Charmcaster: “This way!”

Quickly the three hurried to the direction where Charmcaster told them to go and went deep into the woods. The guardian quickly recovered from the blast and looked at the three escaping into the woods. Noticing that, it quickly slammed its fist to the ground and let it sink into the dirt itself. As it was doing that, Gwen, Max, and Charmcaster were running through the woods, reaching the lake, passing through trees, and avoiding steep cliffs. As they were getting to the area, a huge wall made of dirt and stone came up in front of them and blocked their path completely. Max pointed his weapon at the wall and pulled the trigger to charge it up. Once he let go of the trigger, a huge energy blast came out of it and hit the Earth made wall, shattering it to pieces and creating an opening. The three went through the opening and continued to reach the lake. Suddenly, the ground started to shake as the trees around them started to rattle. Seconds later, all the trees around them loosen and fell to the ground, right on top of them. Charmcaster quickly chanted a spell as her hands glowed crimson pink.

Charmcaster: “Razoros Cuteous!”

She then waved her hands and the same pink energy came out of their hands and turned into razor sharp rings. The rings then connected to the falling trees and sliced them up into cinders. The moment that’s cleared, they continued to reach the place they needed to go. Once again, another earthquake was felt under their feet while they’re moving. They kept on dashing to the lake hoping they won’t fall to another attack. Unfortunately, that’s what happened. In a matter of seconds, the ground started to open up and create a huge gap between them and the lake. The group stopped and couldn’t believe this.

Charmcaster: “Terrific... Now the guardian is preventing us from reaching the lake. Now how are we going to get there?”

Gwen thought about this then came up with an idea on getting to the other side.

Adult Gwen: “I think I know a way there. Just follow me on this one.”

She then approached the edge of the cliff and begins to focus. She then started to wave her hands around and light purplish orbs came out of it. But then, huge purple squares came out of the blue and formed a bridge from one end to the other. Charm just watched on and was completely surprised by what she just saw. Gwen then turned around to told both her and her grandfather to keep moving.

Adult Gwen: “Everyone watch your footing! Last thing I want is for all of you to loose your step and fall.”

Immediately, Gwendolyn jumped onto one of the floating tiles and crossed them all carefully with Max not far behind her. But Charmcaster was still a little shocked about what she saw. She knew the moment she fought Gwen in the past, she thought her rival was weak with her spells. But now she noticed that Gwen not only has an older body, but with powers that look much stronger then before. In fact, too strong even for her standards. She then thought that maybe Gwen’s new powers could give her a good advantage. That she would find a weakness and exploit it. But just as she was thinking it, Gwen screamed to her to come.

Adult Gwen: “Hey Charmcaster! Are you coming, or your want to stray until that Earth Guardian flattens you?”

Charm snapped out of her thoughts and looked at Gwen and Max, who were already in the middle of the floating bridge. Realizing the danger that’s behind them, she decided to save her plan later and get on with what they’re encountering now.

Charmcaster: “Coming!”

She then jumped on one of the tiles and caught up with the others.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

But what they didn’t know was that the Earth Guardian was watching them cross the path and was making their way to the river. Immediately, it shoved both its dirt hands into the ground and let it sink into it.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

Back with the others, the sorceress made it to Gwen and her grandfather and was going to reach the other end. Just then, they all heard a rumble from down below and knew the guardian was planning something for them. As their assumptions were correct, they saw two huge like hands made of dirt, gravel, and stone emerging from the steep split and in between the purple floating bridge. The three looked up and realized they were all done for. They got themselves ready and waited for the guardian to make its next move.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

The guardian smiled very devilishly and was going to give the final blow. Suddenly, a huge boulder came out of nowhere and hit the Earth bound monster precisely at its head. The guardian looked up to see who threw that and to its surprise, it was Ben, A.K.A. Four Arms who came back after that huge punch and had boulders all around him. He cracked all of his knuckles and was prepared for a second round.

Four Arms: “Hey ugly! Ready for round 2?”

The creature groaned to itself and was getting a little ticked off by this alien. It then decided to save the others for later and concentrate on Ben by putting its hands out of the dirt and turned to the alien for another fight.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

At the same time, the three individuals were in their battle positions and were about to fight. But then, for some strange reason, the huge hands began to crumble and fall apart, falling to the dark abyss in the chasm. The group was a little perplexed and wondered what just happened. That’s when they heard a huge blast coming from not far from them. They all looked up and saw huge smoke coming out of the woods. Looking at that, Gwen knew what it meant.

Gwen: “Looks like Ben’s keeping that thing busy.”

Grandpa Max: “Then lets get moving before it gets us again. Which way to the lake Charmcaster?”

Charm looked around and pointed to left.

Charmcaster: “Over there!”

Gwen: “Then let’s go!”

All three of them crossed the purple glowing bridge and made it to the other side. They then turned diagonally left and headed straight to the lake.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As they were running, Ben was ready to fight off the Earth Guardian. The rock monster roared out loud and was ready to put an end to this alien’s life. Four Arms just smirked and wasn’t intimidated by the roar.

Four Arms: “Oh give me a break.... You think that roar of your is going to threaten me? Come on and take me out!”

The guardian heard that and slammed its fist into the ground. That slam caused a ripple effect in front of it and rocky spears came out of the ripples, heading towards the alien. Ben watched that and thought it was too easy. The moment the spikes reached him, he used his alien feet and jumped off the ground with incredible strength and agility. He was high up in the air and was falling down towards the creature, ready to dish out some vicious beat down. But the guardian knew the strategy he was doing and was going to take advantage. The moment Four Arms was at proper distance, the guardian used the back of its colossal hand and swatted the alien like it was a fly. Ben just flew away from the impact and landed hard through a group of trees on the right. A huge cloud came out of the impact and the alien was nowhere to be seen. Guardian just looked the crash and laughed to itself very loudly. Unfortunately, that victory was short lived as a loose tree came out of nowhere and hit the creature right in the face. The impact caused its nose to break apart and fall to the ground while it screamed in total pain. It then look down to see who threw it and saw Four Arms with toppled trees all around him, one of which he was holding with one arm.

Four Arms: “You think that’s funny huh? Let’s see how funny it is when shove this tree right down your throat!”

The monster was upset at the unexpected attack as its nose grew back on its face. It then tightens its fist as it morphed into a huge heavy spear that would flatten the alien into a pancake. The creature raised it up and plummeted down to the alien. Four Arms just stood there as he raised his other arm up like he was going to catch it. In seconds, the spear reached its main target and hit the ground with dust flying around it. The guardian thought it took care of the intruder. But then, the sphere started to shake itself for no reason. Curious by this, the creature then notice the spear was lifting itself up as if it was not controlled by itself. That’s when it noticed Four Arms still in one piece with one arm holding onto the sphere with amazing physic. The guardian was completely surprised while Ben laughed it off.

Four Arms: “What’s wrong big boy? Didn’t expect a small alien like me to block your attack.”

Upon saying that, Four Arms used the rest of his strength to push the sphere hand off of him. The creature felt that strength and started to stumble a little, not expecting that to happen. It did regain some footing and was about to attack again. However, Ben had other intentions as he start picking up more trees with the rest of his arms and threw them at the guardian. It was able to use its arms and block the attack, but the trees were too much for it as they made dents with its dirt and rock skin. Once the onslaught was over, the creature recovered itself and looked at the damage on its arms. Observing the dents and cracks of its skin, it cried out loud in agony and couldn’t believe what happened. Four Arms just smiled at what he did and joked about it for a bit.

Four Arms: “I bet that had to hurt.”

The guardian just looked at the alien and growled lowly as it healed itself from that assault. It then screamed so loud that it made the land shake from miles away and pounded one of its fist right into the ground. The alien wondered what it was up to until he felt something shaking underneath his feet. He looked down and realized that the Earth monster was going to do. So it jumped up and was high in the air the same time the huge fist came out of the ground and tried to knock the four-armed alien down. Four Arms was able to get out of there in a matter of seconds. But he knew that the Earth Guardian’s abilities would follow him everywhere. Just his luck, he could see sharp points, dirt curves, and huge fists coming around him. He does all he could to avoid the incoming attacks and tried to find an opening. The problem is that with so much chaos around him, its impossible to take the beast down. That’s when he noticed a huge pointed cliff going up to the end. Looking at that, Ben came up with an incredible idea. He shifted to the left and headed straight to the cliff while dodging any known attack the guardian is throwing at him. He quickly ran as fast as he could, getting closer and closer to the edge. The Earth Guardian saw this and decided to pull the ultimate blow. It put both its hands right into the ground and sank through the dirt. In seconds, both its hands was raised up between the cliff Four Arms was on, and was going to destroy it. Ben saw this and moved fast before it could smash the cliff. The guardian closed its hands and both of them merged to form an arch like structure. It then rocketed downward to cut the cliff in half and let it fall to the ground. Four Arms was able to make it to the end of the cliff and his inhuman legs and jumped off it seconds before the arch thrashed the entire cliff. High up in the air, he tightened all of his fists and was ready to take it down with a huge blow.

Four Arms: “Here comes the pain!!”

He started to plummet downward right towards the guardian at high velocity speeds. The monster just looked up at the alien and saw him coming down to it. It got his hands out of the ground and tightened one of them into a fist, ready for a counter attack. Once Four Arms got close to the monster, he screamed out loud and throw his fists at it, the same time the Earth Guardian thrown its huge fist and flew it right towards the alien. The moment both fists hit each other, they was a loud boom that can be heard all over the forest.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As the fight was escalating, Gwen, Grandpa Max, and Charmcaster ran through the forest to reach for the one place the Earth Guardian would be at its weakest. After going past trees and shrubbery, they noticed a clear opening not far from them, so they quickly took it. Once they got out of the forest, they all realized that they’ve made it to the lake. Now the lake they entered was pretty huge, three miles wide to be more pr?cised. Not to mention that there was no telling how deep it can go. Looking at that, Max was amazed by this and was a tad speechless.

Grandpa Max: “Wow... When you said there was a lake near here, you’re not kidding.”

Charm just looked at the grandfather and cocked an eyebrow while smirking.

Charmcaster: “Would I ever steer you wrong?”

Gwen sighed to herself, knowing that the sorceress put them in the right direction. Charm then got serious for a second and told them what to do.

Charmcaster: “All right, here is the plan. The Earth Guardian is too big to bring done individually, so it will be impossible for one of us to bring it down to the lake. But if we work together, we might be able to bring it down easy. All we need to do is to lure it here and handle the rest. Nothing like a little teamwork to stop a huge Earth guardian. Right?”

Gwendolyn just looked at her and cocked an eyebrow.

Adult Gwen: “Really? Last time I check, we’re not teammates.”

Charmcaster: “True... But we need to put our differences in the past and defeat it if we are able to get into my uncle’s cabin and find that spell book that can help you reverse what you’ve done.”

Gwen just looked at the sorceress and thought she had something up her sleeves. She didn’t know what though. But she has to trust her still if she could get rid of the magic she cast on herself.

Adult Gwen: “All right fine. Whatever you say. But how are we going to lure it here when it’s a long walk back?”

Just before Charm could answer her question, they heard a loud bang coming from where the fight took place. All three of them look back and wondered what just happened. Just as they were thinking about it, they heard a loud rough scream coming from their left side high above them. They all turned their heads to that direction and saw Four Arms at a far distance flying over the forest and landing right into the stony shore. The fall caused him to impact the rocky floor and made a loud thud with a plow of smoke coming around it. Once it got clear, Gwen ran to her cousin and asked him if he was all right.

Adult Gwen: “Ben, are you okay? Speak to me!”

Four Arms groaned a little until he started to say something quite unexpected.

Four Arms: “No mommy... I’m don’t want to ride the ponies.”

Gwen smiled and had to giggle of his childhood dream. Their grandfather and the sorceress approached them and was relieved that he’s going to live.

Grandpa Max: “Looks like Ben is still alive.”

Charmcaster: “Yeah. But there is one problem.”

Max just looked at her and wondered what’s she worried about.

Grandpa Max: “And what is it?”

Charmcaster: “Well, your nephew was battling that Earth Guardian. Right?”

Grandpa Max: “Yes. So?”

Charmcaster: “So, it’s obvious the guardian did that to him. It might be possible that it’s going to check and see if he’s dead. That means that he might be coming-“

The moment she was about to come to the conclusion, a blast came out of nowhere and behind them, sending trees and rocks flying. They all turned around just to see who or what caused it. What they saw was the Earth Guardian coming out of the smoke and looking for the alien it took out. All three of them saw this and Max knew what the sorceress was trying to warn him about.

Grandpa Max: “Oh... Now I see...”

The guardian continued to look around to find its enemy and looked down to its left. That’s when it noticed Four Arms out like a light and three of his teammates he was trying to protect. Looking at that, it roared out loud and was ready to finish this fight. Gwen just stood up and realized they were in trouble.

Adult Gwen: “Oh boy... This won’t end well one bit.”

The guardian was approaching the three and formed a huge boulder from its hand to flatten them. But when its foot touched the shore water, it immediately reacted to it and screamed out loud in pain. It quickly lifted its foot up and observed the damage. To its and the others surprise, the foot broke down and disintegrated, crumbling rocks and dirt into the lake. Both Gwen and Max looked at that and were completely surprised by this sudden weakness while Charmcaster looked at them and had a raised eyebrow and a sinister smirk.

Charmcaster: “Told you so.”

The guardian then place its damaged foot onto the rocky ground and it repaired itself. Once its foot was back to its form, the creature stomped it a few times until it believes its stable. As it was doing that, Charm looked at the two and told them that now was to time to finish this.

Charmcaster: “All right, we got it to the lake, now let’s get it into the water!”

Gwen just looked down at her cousin and realized they can’t do it by themselves. She looked back and told her that it won’t work.

Adult Gwen: “But what about Ben? We need his help to stop this thing.”

The sorceress looked at Gwendolyn and realized she was right for once. Ben in his Four Arms form could easily bring the rock monster down to size. But now that he’s unconscious, it would be impossible for them to take it down. So she looked back at the Earth Guardian and told Gwen to wake him up.

Charmcaster: “Get him up quickly! Your gramps and I will keep it busy till you do.”

Gwen nodded and kneeled down to Ben, figuring out how to heal. As for Grandpa Max and Charmcaster, they got themselves ready as the sorceress charged her powers and the former plumber member got his weapon ready.

Grandpa Max: “So, any ideas on fighting this thing?”

Charms looked at the massive body and could tell that the feet are the best weakness she could think about.

Chamrcaster: “Aim for the feet!”

Max nodded and pointed his weapon at the feet. Charmcaster did that same and tightened her fists when pink energy emanated out of it. When the Earth Guardian knew its foot was okay, it then looked at the intruders and roared out for an attack. Quickly, the two started to fire as plasma blasts and pink hexes headed straight to its feet. Though they were all good hits, they didn’t slow the beast down as it tightens its fist and used it to flatten the two that was attacking. Quickly, the two made a run for it and was able to avoid the attack as the fist missed them by mere inches. But the impact caused them to fly away from the creature and were heading to the row of trees that might break them in half. Charm took action and threw more pink blades at the trees, cutting them into a dozen pieces. But now it leads to how to land safely on the floor with all the rocks and debris around them. So she chanted another spell that could save them.

Charmcaster: “Comfortous Ciuolous!”

That’s when two big pink cubes appeared on the ground and the two landed on them. When they landed, the cubes squished on top of them, making them completely comfortable after the fall. Once they landed safely, they got off the Jello like cubes and looked at each other.

Grandpa Max: “So much for aiming at the feet. Now what?”

Charm thought of this and knew the feet didn’t work at all. But then, she heard another huge roar not far from them. That’s when she realized that Gwen was still with her cousin, trying to wake him up. She quickly turned to the grandfather and told him the new problem they have now.

Charmcaster: “Now we have to save your grandchildren! Come on!”

Max Tennyson understood what she means and the two rushed through the woods to reach the others.

/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\

As they were reaching them, Gwen was trying to protect her down cousin from being flattened. She continued to shoot the Earth Guardian by throwing multiple light purple disks at it. Still, it didn’t slow the brute down a bit. Once it reached them, the guardian raised its arms up and tightened both its fist. It then throws them down and was going to crush them both. But Gwen quickly formed a huge light purple barrier and deflected the sudden stomp. The rock beast then continued to stomp on the shield, hoping to destroy it completely. The young women tried her best to hold on with all her power, but she could see cracks beginning to appear on the shield she created. Gwen knows that it would be a matter of time before the barrier breaks down and the fist would crush both her and her cousin completely. She just hope that her grandfather and Charmcaster get there and save their lives. The shield was deteriorating away and was about to break. The Earth Guardian noticed that and was about to give the final blow. As it was about to do that, there was a sharp pain on its leg. It then crouched down and was throbbing as bits of rock and dirt came off it. Gwen looked at that and knew that her prayers were answered. For coming out of the woods were Grandpa Max and Charmcaster. The former Plumber member looked at Gwendolyn and wondered if she’s safe.

Grandpa Max: “Gwen! Are you okay?”

The young woman smiled and told him she’s safe.

Adult Gwen: “Yep. Still in one piece so far. Thanks for asking.”

Max smiled and was relieved that his grandchildren are safe. Too bad he failed to notice the Earth Guardian had recovered and was completely angry with him. But Gwen was able to see that and warn him of his future faith.

Adult Gwen: “Grandpa, watch out!”

Max turned back at the beast and realized it was now targeting him. It raised its foot up and was going to crush him like a bug. What it didn’t know was that a pink rope came out of nowhere and lassoed Max like a horse or bull. With one quick flick, the rope pulled him and got him out of danger before the beast would squish the nearly defenseless man. Max was pleased he was safe and knew who saved him. When he looked up, he saw Charmcaster at the other end of the magical rope, sighing to herself in pure relief.

Charmcaster: “That was too close to call.”

She then looked up and saw the rock monster heading towards them, getting impatient and wanting to kill them all. The sorceress decided to take a defensive move to keep the monster busy. He opened her magical bag and took out a bunch of small eggs with purple designs. She then chanted a spell very quietly and the eggs started to shake a little. In seconds, the eggs hatched and little stone birds came out and were completely alive. She then looked down at them and told them to handle the enemy.

Charmcaster: “Have fun my little pretties.”

She then lifted her hand up and the little birds flew away. The strangest thing is that the moment the bird left Charm, they all grew and become huge birds heading straight to the Earth Guardian. When they reach it, they flew all around it and got it distracted. The being was surrounded and tried to shu them all away. As it was busy, the two rushed to Gwen’s aid to see how’s Ben doing.

Grandpa Max: “Well Gwen, any luck?”

The young woman looked at her grandfather and shook her head.

Adult Gwen: “Nothing. He’s still out like a light and I tried everything to get him up. I don’t know what to do.”

Charm thought about this and came up with a way to wake him up.

Charmcaster: “I think I know how to wake him up.”

She approached the two and bend down on one knee to get a closer look. She then took out something from her bag of tricks and rubbed both hands together. After she’s finished, the sorceress opened her hands and blew something right into Four Arms face. What it was is a pink reddish mist that went to his face and into his nose after one inhale. The moment he sniffed it, Four Arms immediately got up and was flailing his four arms around.

Four Arms: “Argh! What was that? Get it off of me!”

All three of them was surprised that Ben got up quick. Hell, Gwen and Max was more surprised that Charm was able to get Ben up to his feet. Charmcaster just smiled at her work and was proud to wake him up. Ask for Benjamin, he’s still freaking out, getting whatever he breathed off his face. Max could tell that he was confused and tried to calm his grandson down before he losses it.

Grandpa Max: “Calm down Ben! Relax! Charmcaster was able to wake you up is all.”

Ben started to calm down and took another breather before he completely looses it. The moment he exhaled, he looked around and realized that he was at the lake. Scratching his head, he turns to the others and wonders how he got there.

Four Arms: “Um... What just happened and how did I get here?”

Gwen immediately got up and stomp her foot telling him what happened.

Adult Gwen: “What happened? You were fighting that huge rock guardian and nearly got knocked out! That’s what happened! You were lucky that Charmcaster was able to wake you up when we need your help the most.”

But just as she said that, Gwen wondered what the young sorceress used to wake him up. She turned to her and asked her that question.

Adult Gwen: “By the way. What did you use to wake him up? Some type of essence spell or a potion or something?”

Charmcaster just looked as her and gave her a bit of a smirk.

Charmcaster: “Naw... Just a perfume I made myself. The aroma on it can make any guy to wake up from a deep slumber.”

Gwen had a sweat drop coming down her head and didn’t know about that. Clearing her throat, she decided to ignore what the sorceress said. Ask for Ben he looked at all three of them and wondered what happened while he was out.

Four Arms: “So, what happened? What did I miss?”

As to answer his question, a stone bird came out to the ground and crashed right next to them, shattering it to a thousand pieces. All four of them looked at the destroyed bird and looked up at the Earth Guardian who swatted all the birds that were surrounding it except for the one it had in its hand. It squeezed its hand tighter as the bird struggled in getting out. After a few short seconds, the bird got crushed and the monster opened its hand, revealing nothing but crumbs raining down to the ground. There was a low grrr coming out of its mouth and was extremely upset of what the young teenager had done. Four Arms watched on and now understood what happened.

Four Arms: “Oh... I take it you guys were battling it while I was sleeping.”

Adult Gwen: “Yeah. And as you could tell, we’ve been doing poorly. This is why I’ve been trying to wake you up desperately.”

Four Arms: “Alright, so what’s the plan now.”

Charmcaster: “We take it down! That’s the plan! We’re already at the lake, so all we have to do is to shove it down to the water.”

Gwen turned to her and thought she was kidding, when reality is she’s telling the truth.

Adult Gwen: “And how are we going to do that? I don’t know if you notice this, but that thing is enormous!!”

That’s when Four Arms got up and tightens all four of his fists for a pounding.

Four Arms: “Leave that to me... I’ll take it down in a heartbeat.”

Charm turned around and smirked at what he said.

Charmcaster: “Yeah... And get knocked down like last time.”

The alien blinked with all four of his eyes and realized she has a good point. So he looked at her and wondered if there were other options.

Four Arms: “You got a better idea?”

Charmcaster: “Oh, I’m working on it.”

The Earth Guardian tightens its stone fist and plunged it right into the ground. Once it entered the ground, huge dirt spikes came out and form a line that was heading straight to the group. Charmcaster saw this and warned the others to get out.

Charmcaster: “Scatter!!!”

Everyone quickly got out of the way the same time the spikes reached their position and nearly killed them. Four Arms jumped up and landed around the fallen trees he hit during his fall. Looking at all of them, he decided to get back to his former strategy. He picked up a couple of trees and threw them at the rock monster. There were a couple of precise hits and it didn’t slow the creature down. It only made it completely angry. It then flexed its chest and stone spikes came out of it. Immediately the spikes fired and went rocketing towards the four-armed alien. Ben realized that and jumped up in the air, avoiding the oncoming projectiles by a couple of inches. Max Tennyson went to the other side of the spot of the first attack and charged his rifle once more, aiming it at the guardian. He let go of the trigger and a huge blast came out of it, heading straight towards the creature. The Earth Guardian moved out of the way only to be hit at the left side of its waist. Looking down at the half hole, it looked at the Plummer and roared out loud in anger. It tightens its other first and reached out as the arm stretched from its position and came hurling towards him. As the fist was reaching to his position, Gwen appeared out of the blue and waved her hands, forming a shield strong enough to deflect the attack. The fist hits the purple shield and didn’t break, though it made some cracks after the impact. Retracting its arm back, the guardian realized they were toying with it. Using its other hand, it formed a boulder big enough to flatten the two Tennyson’s. It then placed it on the ground and rolled it at such incredible force that it was speeding towards them. But just as it thought it would get them, out came Charmcaster as she took something from her bag of tricks. She got herself a sword made out of stone and black magic and it was glowing crimson pink. With one swift strike, she cut the boulder in half and destroyed it completely. The beast saw this and was completely upset by it. It then formed more boulders and rolled them down to her at high speed. Charm then continued her onslaught by slicing up more boulders that the guardian created. Once all of them were down, she ran up to it and jumped up in the air to deliver the finishing blow. But the monster used its powers to raise a column up over her and sent her flying over its head and landed on the other side. Gwen watched as her only shot in being normal was long gone for the moment. So she removed her shield and charged ahead of the beast herself. But she immediately stopped and thought of a way to restrain it. And although it might be risky, she had no choice in the matter. She opened her hands when purple disks emanated from her hands and then threw a purple streak right at it. The streak then split and surrounded the guardian. Once the two streaks surrounded it completely and connected on the other end, Gwen closed her fists and the purple ring enclosed around it, tightening the creature completely. The Earth Guardian struggled in getting out, but Gwen held on to it tightly as possible. It then started to thrash about, making it harder for the young woman to hold on. She focused all her power on the ring and made it stronger. Beads of sweat pour down her face as she was keeping the beast locked. That’s when it happened. For the moment she did that, her eyes started to glow purple and it was getting bright.

Adult Gwen: “Oh no... Not again!”

She tried to regain control of her powers, but it would be a matter of time before she would loose it. Just then a pink lasso appeared from the other side and tightened the guardian as well preventing it from escaping. Gwen looked on the other side and saw Chamcaster with her lasso in tow. With it secures, she looked at Four Arms, who landed away from the spikes that would’ve killed him, and told him to deliver the blow.

Charmcaster: “Ben, don’t just stand there! Knock this thing down into the lake! Now!!!”

Ben turned to see his sorceress struggling then looked back at the Earth Guardian, still trying to get out of the purple ring and pink lasso. Seeing that, Four Arms followed her advice and get his shot before it breaks free. Positioning his legs, he ran incredibly fast and charged right towards the monster. The creature saw Ben heading to it and realized what it was going to do. Though it was defenseless, it still has ways in protecting itself. Stomping on the floor, its feet sank to the ground and absorb the nutrients underneath it. It was then that rock slabs came up from the ground and rose up in the air. Four Arms could tell that it was blocking his path. But that wouldn’t stop him one bit. He twists, turn, sweep, and shift around the oncoming obstacles just to reach the huge beast. The moment it got out of that little obstacle course that was created he was getting closer to his target. Realizing it didn’t work, the guardian pulled one more ditched effort to stop him. In a matter of second, the ground shook and created a crack between the alien and the rock monster. This huge crack opened wider and wider as sections of the ground started and lift and fall from different areas. Four Arms noticed a section of Earth rising up, forming some kind of ramp. Observing that, he knew where to go and how to reach his target. As he was reaching it, he heard a blinking sound coming from his shoulder. He looked to his left and noticed his Omnitrix symbol blinking red, meaning that it was about to time out in mere moments. Realizing it’s now or never, he ran faster and reached the ramp like cliff. Upon getting to the end, he jumped off it and flew high in the air, reaching the rock monster. The Earth Guardian watched on and now knew it was going to be too late. So in a last ditch effort, it roared out load and formed huge spikes out of the ground and raised them high into the air, just to pierce the alien from bottom to top. Four Arms quickly avoided those attacks by jumping on one pointed edge to another. Once he reached the last one, he pushed off with his feet and sped faster in the air, getting closer and closer to the creature. The moment he reached it, he tightened both his fists on the right and punched the guardian right in the face. The impact was so forceful that the protector of the Earth fell back while his face was crumbled up in the nose. Gwen and Charmcaster could tell that the creature was falling and released the purple ring and pink lasso before they get dragged in as well. As both objects faded, the rock monster dropped like a tree that was cut by as chainsaw and plummeted right into the lake. After it splashed into the water, Four Arms landed on the ground feet first the same time the Omnitrix timed out. The red flash appeared and faded and in the alien’s place was Ben himself, observing the end result. A few seconds later, the Earth Guardian came out of the lake and scream and roar in agony as the water started to eat away though its skin. He could also see chunks of dirt and stone falling from its body and plummeting into the water. It then reached its hand out and gave off one final roar before sinking into the lake with its arm falling apart and vanishing into the depth below. The moment it vanished, Charmcaster approached the young kid and was impressed by this feat.

Charmcaster: “Well now, that was interesting.”

Ben turned to the sorceress and gave off a deep stern expression.

Ben: “Coming from the woman who got knocked down by the guardian before we took it out.”

She peered her eyes to him and snickered for a bit.

Charmcaster: “Yeah, well I guess I was a little too ahead of myself. But at least we got the job done. Where’s your cousin anyways?”

Adult Gwen: “Right here...”

The two turned to their right and saw Grandpa Max carrying his granddaughter by the shoulders. Ben looked at her and could tell that something was wrong with her. She looked extremely tired, was sweating profusely, and was hyperventilating a little bit. As the two approached the other two, Ben looked at his grandfather and wondered what’s causing Gwen to act like that.

Ben: “What’s wrong with Gwen Grandpa? Is she...”

Max looked over his shoulder at Gwen and gave Ben an answer.

Grandpa Max: “Yeah something like that. She almost lost control of her powers again. She’s trying to relax herself before she explodes like last time.”

Gwen then opened her eyes to look at her cousin. Her eyes were brought back to its green color, but there was purple glow around them.

Adult Gwen: “Don’t worry about me guys. I just need a little rest is all.”

Ben rolled his eyes around and was now getting worried about this.

Ben: “What ever the case, we need to get this book that can reverse your spell.”

He then turned to Charmcaster and asked her about the place.

Ben: “Where is you Uncle’s house?”

Charm blinked a few times, with them not noticing the condition Gwen was in. She immediately cleared her throat and answered the young kid.

Charmcaster: “Not far. My uncle’s cottage is about ten minutes from here. Just don’t walk into any more traps this time. Last thing I want it something that will kill you again.”

Ben nervously chuckled about it a little and reminded himself to stick with the others this time and not walking into any traps.

Ben: “Then lets go. The sooner we get Gwen back to her old self the better.”

The three left Charmcaster and went back into the woods. Meanwhile, Charm looked on and now realized Gwen’s condition. She could tell that the young woman couldn’t handle those new powers that are manifesting in her and it would only be a matter of time before she looses it completely. Thinking about this, it might give her the chance to defeat her. Once they reach the place and get the book, then she’ll fight her rival and end her life completely. As she was thinking about it, Max called her out.

Grandpa Max: “Charmcaster! Get back here right now! We need your help getting to the house.”

The sorceress shook her head and snapped back to reality.

Charmcaster: “Coming!”

She ran to the others and led them to the cottage, with the others unaware as to what she’s planning.

 

---