[Template Progress: 2/100. Unlocking: Glitch Zs'Skayr!]
A surge of dark euphoria washed over Cian. His distorted grin widened, stretching the black-and-blue skin of his Kineceleran face. I can even get Zs'Skayr? This system doesn't play around.
True mastery of the Error Watch meant achieving what the original version never could: total dominance over the darkness within.
System, Cian asked internally, the Error aliens are usually weaker due to incomplete DNA. Is this version of Ghostfreak also diluted?
[Negative,] the System's voice rang out with chilling precision. [Glitch Zs'Skayr is an anomaly. He is not weaker. He is... evolved.]
Cian felt a shiver of anticipation. He suppressed the urge to transform immediately and instead focused on the heap of charcoal and rock at his feet. He gently nudged Ben.
The boy slowly groaned, his eyes fluttering open. The first thing he saw was the jagged, toothy visage of Cian's "Terror Star" inches from his face.
Ben's eyes rolled back. He turned a pale shade of green and nearly slumped back into unconsciousness. To a ten-year-old, this wasn't just an alien; it was the Boogeyman with a stopwatch.
"Ben," Cian's raspy, metallic voice cut through the air. "Get up in three seconds, or I'm going to find your 'Sumo Slammers' gold-edition cards, shred them into confetti, and then play your game console with hands covered in nacho cheese dust."
"You... you monster!"
The threat to his "2D friends" acted like an adrenaline shot. Ben scrambled to his feet, his magma-skin flaring bright orange. He was still shaking, but his eyes were burning with indignant rage. "I will never let you touch my collection!"
Beep... Beep...
A dual chime echoed through the forest. Two flashes of light—one a brilliant emerald, the other a sickly, bruised red—signaled the end of the transformations. Two boys stood in the clearing once more.
"I told you it was me," Cian said, waving a hand dismissively. "Satisfied?"
"Oh, man." Ben took a long, shaky breath, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Cian, your alien... it's not a hero. It's a literal Demon Lord!"
Compared to the nightmare Ben had just witnessed, his own Heatblast form felt like a cuddly mascot.
"Come on," Cian urged, guiding a still-trembling Ben back toward the RV. "We need to tell Grandpa."
By his mental clock, Vilgax's welcoming committee was already on its way.
The Campsite
The campfire crackled, casting long shadows against the side of the Rustbucket. Grandpa Max and Gwen sat in stunned silence as Ben acted out his harrowing encounter with "The Demon King."
"I'm telling you, Gwen, I was terrified! And then I realized it was just Cian!" Ben wiped his brow, the phantom chill of the Terror Star still lingering in his bones.
"Pfft," Gwen smirked, crossing her arms. She clearly didn't buy the 'monsters in the woods' story. "Nice try, Ben. You and Cian probably just found some high-tech toys. If there really was a 'Demon King,' I'd want to see it. Just to see you cry again."
"You'd pee your pants in two seconds!" Ben snapped back.
Nearby, Max sat in his Hawaiian shirt, his eyes fixed on the two watches. Did my grandsons just stumble into Azmuth's workshop? he wondered, his mind racing. Two Omnitrixes? That's impossible.
He looked at Cian, who was acting perfectly innocent. "Cian... what exactly did this 'Demon King' look like?"
"Let's just say he's not very photogenic," Cian laughed awkwardly.
"I'll show you!" Ben shouted, his competitive streak flaring up. He began fiddling with his cooling watch face. "I'll transform right now and prove it!"
"Ben, why don't you try the one I used?" Cian suggested, nudging the plot forward.
"Fine! This guy is called XLR8! Yours was... Terror Star!" Ben rotated the dial, slammed it down, and vanished in a flash of green.
A sleek, blue-and-black Kineceleran appeared, skidding to a halt in front of Gwen with a cocky salute.
"AHHHH!" Gwen screamed. Without missing a beat, she grabbed a heavy piece of firewood and swung it with all her might at Ben's head.
"Hey! Watch it, dweeb! It's me!" Ben ducked, his visor snapping up to reveal his human eyes.
Gwen froze, the wood trembling in her hands. The reality of the situation finally sank in. She and Max turned their gaze toward Cian. If Ben's alien was this impressive, then the one that had "terrified" him...
Swoosh! Swoosh!
The sky screamed. Red infrared beams suddenly peppered the ground, sweeping over their faces. Max's instincts kicked in instantly. He lunged, tackling Gwen and Cian to the dirt.
Ben looked up. The stars were gone, replaced by five hovering, octopus-like drones. Their turrets hissed as they locked on.
[OMNITRIX SIGNAL DETECTED.]
"Hey, scrap-heaps!" Ben yelled, sliding into a combat stance. "This is a private campsite! No drones allowed!"
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The drones didn't negotiate. Five crimson lasers tore through the air, detonating against the trees behind Ben and sending a shower of splinters and dirt into the sky. The firepower was overwhelming.
"Ben, I've got your back," Cian said calmly.
He stood up, his face silhouetted by the forest fires. He dialed the Error Watch to the silhouette of the Ectonurite. He didn't hesitate. He slammed the core.
The drones stopped mid-air. Their sensors whirred in confusion.
[DUAL ENERGY SIGNATURE DETECTED. PRIMARY SOURCE: CORRUPTED. THREAT LEVEL: UNKNOWN.]
Gwen and Max looked up, and the world seemed to grow cold.
The red light didn't just flash; it bled outward. A massive, terrifying entity rose from the shadows. Two meters tall, with a body wrapped in tattered, greyish skin that looked like a burial shroud. Long, sickle-like claws twitched at the ends of its fingers.
But the horror was in the center. Cian's chest was torn open, a gaping vertical maw lined with jagged bone. From within that darkness, a dozen blood-red tentacles and obsidian spikes writhed outward like a nest of angry vipers.
He looked like an ancient, cosmic horror—a Cthulhu-esque nightmare.
"Gwen, Grandpa... it's okay now."
Cian slowly rotated his head—a full 180 degrees—until his upside-down, single-eyed face stared at them with a malevolent, frozen intensity.
Thud.
Gwen's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed into the dirt, out cold.
Max held her, his face pale as he stared at his grandson. He slowly turned his head away, unable to maintain eye contact with the monstrosity. "Cian... just... go. Deal with them."
Ben's Heatblast was a hero. This was a god of the abyss.
"Now," Cian rasped, his tentacles snapping in the air like whips as he turned toward the drones. "Let's see just how strong a Glitch Ectonurite really is."
To him, the drones weren't threats. They were just scrap metal waiting to be dismantled.