Back atop the cliff, Evan had only a split second to glance after the others before they went over the edge. His first instinct was to follow, but when he saw Ben falling too, he clenched his jaw and forced himself to trust that his cousin could handle it. That left one problem standing right in front of him.
The Yenaldooshi lowered its head and let out a guttural snarl.
Evan narrowed his eyes. "Looks like it's just you and me, pal. Let's have a dog fight."
He activates the Another Omnitrix.
The Yenaldooshi lunged at him the moment his fingers hit the dial, but a burst of golden light exploded outward before it could land the hit.
When the light faded, Evan was gone.
In his place stood a humanoid wolf-like alien on two powerful legs, with white and grey fur covering his body and black fur markings around his face like a natural mask. Three sharp claws tipped each hand and foot, and a black spike jutted back from his wrist. Two pointed ears stood tall from the top of his head, thick white fur covering his neck and upper body, the glowing golden eyes blazed beneath a gleaming white gemstone set into his forehead. The Omnitrix dial rested at the center of his chest, half-hidden by thick white fur.
He flexed his clawed hands and growled. "Fate Weaver."
The beast came straight at him, all teeth and fury, and Fate Weaver lunged to meet it head-on, his hands covered by a lair of dirty gold aura.
Fate Weaver allows him to tap and manipulate Aura.
Since this was the first time he used this alien, his control over its power was still simple and unrefined.
He could sense the beast's hostility toward him almost instantly, the beast's rage sharp enough to taste in the air by his new enhanced senses.
Fate Weaver met the charge with a sharp sidestep and drove a palm into the werewolf's chest.
The impact staggered it. Before it could recover, he followed with a fast burst of punches, hammering at its face and neck in rapid succession, keeping the monster locked in place long enough to throw it off balance.
He spun with the momentum, slamming his elbow into the werewolf's chest, then stomped down on its foot as it tried to regain its footing. His right hand kept up a steady barrage to its muzzle while he turned away, his left lifted to sweep back the fur on his own head, almost as if he was brushing his hair instead of fighting.
The Yenaldooshi was sent crashing backward, slamming hard into the ground before pushing itself up with a vicious snarl.
Then a voice shouted from above.
"Coming in fang faces!"
Both of them snapped their heads toward the sound just in time to see Ball Weevil barreling toward them on his enormous ball.
Fate Weaver's golden eyes widened, and so did the Yenaldooshi's.
"Oh, come on," Fate Weaver snapped.
The giant ball hit with devastating force a moment later, detonating a huge section of the cliffside in a violent blast of rock and dust. Both the werewolf and Fate Weaver threw themselves clear just in time, the explosion swallowing the ledge where they had been standing.
Ball Weevil landed back on solid ground and looked around at the destruction with a proud grin.
"Alright!" he cheered, still completely oblivious to the fact that there were now two wolf-like figures and not just one.
He had never seen Fate Weaver before, so he had no idea Evan was the other one that he tried to blow up.
Then the Yenaldooshi hauled itself up from the rubble, its glowing purple eyes locking onto the small insect alien right in front of it.
Its lung, its teeth biting into Ball Weevil's small legs.
"AGGHHH!"
It thrashed and threw him away. A second later, Ben's Omnitrix started beeping. Red light flashed, and with a burst of energy, he transformed back into his human self.
Ben gave a strained laugh, holding his pained leg. "Uh, that 'fang face' nickname? I meant it in a nice way."
The creature answered with an angry howl and shot to its feet, knocking Ben off balance. It spun and slashed through the air with its claws, but Ben scrambled back just in time and broke into a run.
He barely made it a few steps.
The Yenaldooshi was on him almost instantly, its speed terrifying. It swiped again, and this time its claws clipped the Omnitrix instead of Ben. The impact still hit like a truck, tossing him flat onto his back.
The werewolf snarled and stalked closer, its shadow falling over him.
Then the rubble behind Ben shifted. Fate Weaver rose from the debris, golden eyes burning as he locked onto the creature.
The Yenaldooshi paused the second it saw him, it let out a frustrated growl, then without another sound, the beast leapt back and disappeared over the edge of the cliff.
A moment later, Max and Wes finally pulled themselves up the cliffside. Wes had his gun raised before either of them had fully cleared the ledge, his expression hard and ready.
The second he saw Fate Weaver, he didn't hesitate. He pulled the trigger.
The tranq dart shot straight at Fate Weaver's head, but the alien tilted slightly at the last second, letting it pass harmlessly by.
Fate Weaver then turned toward them.
Wes's eyes widened, and he fired again.
Fate Weaver moved just enough to avoid it as he began walking toward them.
Wes fired a third shot, and this time Fate Weaver seemed to get tired of playing along. He shifted into a familiar defensive stance, one hand angled forward, and parried the dart away with a precise motion that made the fur on his chest part just enough to reveal the golden Omnitrix dial beneath.
Wes's finger tightened on the trigger, but Max stepped in quickly.
"Wes, wait!" Max said sharply. "That's my grandson, Evan!"
Fate Weaver glanced at Max, then tapped the Omnitrix dial at the center of his chest.
A golden light swallowed him, and a second later Evan stood in his place, smiling and looking a little too pleased with himself.
Meanwhile, Ben was staring down at his own Omnitrix, brow furrowed.
It wasn't showing the usual red cooldown light. Instead, it was glowing yellow. And the dial was spinning on its own.
Ben blinked. "Huh? Is something wrong?"
He stared at it for another second, then shrugged in that casual way that only Ben Tennyson could manage after nearly getting mauled and launched off a cliff.
"Probably nothing."
...
Evan, Ben, Max, and Wes returned to the village sometime later that night. While Max and Wes were busy telling the villagers what had happened out in the canyon, Evan and Ben stayed near the Rust Bucket with the others, away from prying ears and the growing commotion around the village.
Ben looked around for a moment before turning to Gwen with a hopeful expression. "So, did Kai say anything about me while I was gone?"
Gwen gave him a flat look. "Uhh, not really."
Ben's shoulders immediately slumped. "Nothing?"
"Nothing." Gwen said simply.
"Not even one thing?" Ben asks.
Gwen thought for a moment. "Nope."
At that moment, Gwen's attention shifted toward Kai, who seemed far more interested in watching Evan and Orfevre than participating in the conversation.
Gwen honestly could not understand why those two seemed to enjoy fighting each other so much, especially when they made it look less like an argument and more like a game.
"They seem to be having fun," Kai commented, still watching them.
"Apparently, this is a twin-sibling thing," Gold Ship added from the side with complete confidence. "Big bro said it, so it must be true."
Kai raised an eyebrow. "I don't think that's a normal twin-sibling thing."
"Big Bro said there are two twin brothers named Vergil and Dante, and they like fighting each other too," Gold Ship said proudly.
Nobody besides Evan had any idea who those people were, but considering Evan and Orfevre's relationship, nobody questioned it too much.
The twins genuinely seemed to bond through combat.
At some point, Stay Gold had even developed a theory regarding the pair.
According to her, the twins possessed a strange phenomenon she called Synchronization, or Synchro for short.
The more they fought each other, the more their bodies subconsciously adapted and learned from one another. Through countless matches, both siblings had gradually begun understanding each other's habits, techniques, timing, and movement patterns to a degree that bordered on instinct.
Stego had mentioned the theory to Max months ago, and while the old Plumber originally thought his son was overthinking things, after watching the twins fight more and more, it now made him wonder if there was actually some truth behind it.
After all, normal children didn't fight like this.
Orfevre ducked beneath a punch before launching herself into a spinning kick.
Evan leaned backward just enough for her foot to miss his nose before grabbing her wrist and attempting a throw.
Orfevre immediately countered it.
Neither hesitated. Neither needed to think.
It was almost as though they already knew what the other intended to do.
Kai watched the exchange with obvious fascination. "Incredible..."
Ben noticed that she had spent the last several minutes watching Evan instead of him. He immediately frowned.
Gwen caught the look on his face and rolled her eyes.
"Let me give you a piece of advice," Gwen told him, ignoring his scowling. "Don't seem overly interested. Girls can sniff out desperation a mile away."
"I am not desperate." He said defensively.
"You asked me if she talked about you before saying hello." Gwen instantly fired back.
Ben opened his mouth. Then closed it again.
"Uh, right," Ben said, trying and failing to look calm.
Then Gwen looked past them and noticed something else. "Hey, where are all those people going?"
Villagers were gathering supplies and leaving their homes.
Max and Wes had just rejoined them, and Wes answered without taking his eyes off the villagers who were slowly leaving the area. "Off the reservation. They fear the Yenaldooshi's return, and with tonight's full moon, its power will be greater than ever."
He paused, glancing toward the distance where Evan and Orfevre were still trading blows. Orfevre spun her clacker balls with precision and smashed down the stones Evan sent flying at her, matching him move for move like they had been doing this their whole life.
Max followed Wes's gaze and gave a small shrug. "Just ignore them. As long as they aren't hurt, it should be fine."
"You sure Stay Gold didn't train them from birth?" Wes asked.
Max chuckled. "Stego would never do that."
A loud crack echoed nearby as Evan and Orfevre collided fists.
Wes continued staring. "You sure?"
"Pretty sure." Max said.
Meanwhile, Ben decided it was time to reclaim the spotlight.
"Well," Ben said with a smug grin, trying to recover some of the attention for himself, "after I went Ball Weevil on its butt, I'm sure it's looong gone by now."
"My grandpa told me what you did," Kai said, turning toward him.
Ben straightened up immediately. "Yeah, it's just one of my many talents. I don't like to brag or anything, but I'm pretty much a total superhero twenty-four-seven."
Kai looked at him for a second, then asked, "So what kinds of things has your cousin Evan done?"
Ben frowned a little, but before he could answer properly, an itch suddenly started crawling across his skin. He shifted uncomfortably and began scratching his back like crazy.
"You know, I mostly do all the work. Unless it involves him, he won't even bother helping out." Ben kept talking, trying to sound impressive even as he fought the growing irritation under his shirt. "I helped arrest criminals, take down aliens, save mankind…"
"Scratch yourself like a monkey," Gwen teased, mimicking the way he was reaching around his back.
"Are you okay?" Kai asked, sounding more concerned than amused.
"I'm fine," Ben insisted, though he was clearly not fine. "I just can't stop itching. Gwen, could you scratch my back for a second?"
"My fingers on your back?" Gwen said immediately. "No thanks. I'd rather pull out my nails one by one."
Ben let out a miserable whine and dropped to the ground, kicking off his shoe so he could scratch his foot instead. Everyone stared when his skin suddenly turned a deep blue, his nails lengthened into claws, and his hair started growing wild and shaggy. A moment later, he even began scratching behind his ear with his foot like an actual dog.
Kai blinked. "Uh, Ben… your face is-"
"What, handsome?" Ben interrupted, still trying to act normal. "Yeah, I get that a lot."
Kai hesitated before finishing, "Actually… more like really hairy."
Ben froze. "Wait, what?"
Gwen stepped closer, her concern quickly replacing her teasing. "Ben, what's going on?"
Ben grabbed at his face as his ears slowly sharpened into points. "What the? Why am I growing fur? What is happening to me?"
Kai looked from Ben to the others. "So this isn't one of your superheroes?"
"Nooooooo!" Ben's answer came out as a wolf-like howl, and he slapped both hands over his mouth in horror. "I don't get it. How'd this happen to me?"
"Oh, oh, oh!" Gold Ship said, finally noticing Ben's new appearance. "Are you playing dog or something?"
That got Evan and Orfevre to stop fighting long enough to look over. Orfevre lowered her weapons and stared. "Wow. What happened to you?"
"Were you bitten by the Yenaldooshi?" Wes asked grimly, already sounding like he knew the answer.
"When I was Ball Weevil," Ben said quickly. "But it didn't even break the skin."
"Ben, this is nothing to make light of," Wes said seriously. "The Yenaldooshi is a spiritual beast that can create others in its exact image. And when it does, those followers will seek out and destroy those closest to them."
"Good thing we don't like each other, huh, Ben?" Gwen said dryly.
Evan stepped closer and patted Ben on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Ben. If you ever go feral, I'll put you down."
Ben stared at him, completely deadpan. "Wow. So encouraging."
Max folded his arms. "So how does Ben un-wolf?"
"The only way to reverse its spell is to stop the Yenaldooshi," Wes said.
"With a silver bullet?" Gold Ship asked.
"That's in the movies," Wes replied with a shake of his head. "You have to dip a silver pendant in the juice of the Árbol del Matrimonio cactus and place it against its heart. And we have to do it before tonight's full moon, or Ben could remain like that forever."
"Forever?" Ben squeaked, his voice jumping an octave.
Kai nodded slowly. "The Navajo also believe the Yenaldooshi is a god."
"A god, huh?" Evan said thoughtfully. "Does it bleed?"
Kai shrugged. "I honestly don't know."
Ben, who had been looking increasingly uneasy, suddenly straightened up and forced a grin that no one believed for a second. "You know, a little back hair's not so bad."
Evan, Gwen, Orfevre, and even Kai all raised a brow at him. Gold Ship stared for a second longer, apparently trying to imagine what Ben would look like covered head to toe in fur.
Gwen sighed and covered her face with one hand. Orfevre elbowed her brother in the side, and Evan smacked Ben across the back of the head.
"Ow!"
"Snap out of it, genius," Orfevre said in annoyance. "Did you miss the part where you'll eventually try to murder everyone close to you?"
Ben paused. "...Right."
"I'll get the pendant," Wes said, already turning back toward the village.
As he walked away, Ben suddenly sniffed the air. Everyone looked at him.
Ben's eyes slowly drifted toward a nearby cow. "Hey, is anyone else hungry?"