Chapter 85: The Arrival of Lava and the Loss of the Dog
"Uh, you are amazing."
Grandpa Max's mouth twitched as he stared at the towering, smug form of Rath. The massive Appoplexian stood in the center of the clearing with his chest puffed out, radiating an aura of absolute arrogance.
"The Yenaldooshi actually..."
Wes Green felt his lifelong beliefs crumbling into dust. The terrifying, mythical beast of Navajo legend—a creature of nightmares—was currently cowering on the ground like a scolded puppy.
A quiet blue light washed over the clearing. The hulking tiger alien vanished, leaving Klein standing in his place, casually brushing a speck of dust from his shoulder.
Seeing the terrifying tiger disappear, the Loboan's glowing eyes widened. The creature lowered its snout to the dirt, sneaking a cautious glance up at Klein. Its muscles tensed as it calculated the odds of a successful sneak attack.
Then, it saw Klein looking back.
Klein was smiling. It was a bright, beaming, utterly chilling smile.
The Loboan immediately slammed its head back down against the earth, whining softly. It decided right then and there to be on its absolute best behavior.
"Now we are just missing the cacti. Why aren't they here yet?"
Grandpa Max looked up at the night sky, the lines on his forehead deepening. The pale moon hung heavy and bright, its edges rounding out perfectly. Time was running out for Ben.
"There is no signal out here." Wes pulled a chunky cell phone from his pocket, glaring at the blank screen. "We need to find another way to notify the girls."
"Relax." Klein shoved his hands into his pockets, completely unbothered. "Gwen has her ways of finding us."
Klein knew perfectly well that Gwen could track their ambient Mana signatures.
"The situation is critical right now, son. We cannot pin our hopes on blind luck..."
Wes scowled, entirely unaware of the existence of Mana or Anodite tracking abilities.
Before the old man could finish his lecture, a familiar voice echoed through the desert brush.
"We found the matrimony cactus!"
Gwen burst into the clearing, holding up a spiky green plant, with Kai trailing close behind her.
Wes snapped his mouth shut, the silence hanging heavy in the cool night air.
"What did I tell you?" Klein shot Wes a triumphant, lazy grin.
Wes's scowl deepened into a severe frown, his pride taking a direct hit.
Kai jogged up, noticing her grandfather's sour expression. "Grandpa, what is wrong?"
"...Nothing. We still have a curse to break. Give me the cactus."
Wes shook his head, pushing aside his bruised ego, and reached out to take the thorny plant from Gwen.
Taking a heavy silver pendant in his left hand, Wes gripped the cactus with his right. He squeezed hard. Thick, milky sap dripped from the crushed fibers, pooling onto the polished silver surface.
With the prepared artifact in hand, Wes marched toward the crouching Loboan.
The alien beast let out a low growl, instinctively shuffling backward on its hind legs.
"Squat down."
Klein's voice was flat, carrying no room for argument.
The Loboan froze. It cast one look at Klein, whimpered, and obediently planted its rear back into the dirt. 'I am not afraid of this old man anyway,'the creature seemed to rationalize to itself.'I will just sit here and see what he thinks he can do.'
Gwen and Kai finally noticed the terrifying alien monster sitting quietly like a trained retriever.
Gwen blinked, her jaw dropping slightly. "The werewolf... why is he acting so obedient?"
Kai recovered from her shock a second later. She turned her gaze toward Klein, her eyes practically sparkling with undisguised admiration.
Ignoring the teenagers, Wes stepped up to the beast and pressed the sap-covered silver pendant directly against the Loboan's furry chest.
One second passed.
Two seconds passed.
The wind howled through the canyon. Absolutely nothing else happened.
"How could this be?! The ancient records do not mention this!"
Wes stared at the silver pendant in his hand, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Gwen crossed her arms, studying the confused alien. "So, he shouldn't be the Yenaldooshi after all."
Klein strolled right up to the massive, razor-clawed beast and casually patted it on the head. "What species are you anyway?"
Woof woof, woof woof woof, grrr, woof...
The alien let out a series of guttural barks and snarls.
Klein did not understand a single syllable. He turned his head. "Ben, translate."
"Huh? Oh! Wait a minute..." Ben scratched his head, his face scrunching up in concentration. "Hmm... I didn't quite catch that middle part."
Ben had not fully transitioned into his Loboan form yet, leaving his grasp of their native language somewhat lacking.
Suddenly, Ben gasped. He clutched his stomach, his knees buckling as a raw, agonizing scream tore from his throat. "Ugh! Ahhh!!!"
Violent arcs of emerald electricity erupted across Ben's body. His bones cracked and shifted, his jaw elongating as thick fur sprouted across his skin. In a blinding flash of green light, Ben completely transformed into a towering, howling Loboan—Blitzwolfer!
Watching the dramatic display, Klein clapped his hands together in sudden realization. "I knew it. It was just the broken watch scanning and recording new DNA. The transition process was just a bit glitchy."
Without a hint of hesitation, Klein stepped right up to the snarling Blitzwolfer and tapped the glowing Omnitrix dial embedded on its waist.
A flash of crimson light bathed the clearing. The massive wolf vanished, leaving a very human Ben sitting in the dirt.
Ben stared down at his normal, hairless hands, his eyes wide with shock. "I am back?! Awesome! I am finally back to normal!"
Grandpa Max rushed forward, wrapping Ben in a tight bear hug. "Thank goodness. Everything is finally resolved."
"There is still one minor problem." Klein turned his attention back to the original Loboan. "Why did you steal all that communication equipment?"
Woof woof! Grrr! Woof woof woof...
The alien barked out another long, impassioned explanation.
"Never mind, I am not interested anyway." Klein waved a hand dismissively, cutting the creature off. "Just take us to where you hid the stuff."
Woof woof!
The Loboan gave a short bark, turned around, and began trotting toward the gaping maw of a nearby cave.
Klein and the rest of the group followed closely behind.
The interior of the cavern was pitch black. The night air outside offered no illumination, making the jagged, uneven path treacherous to handle.
Fortunately, Wes had thought to bring a heavy-duty flashlight. He clicked it on, the beam cutting through the gloom. However, the single, harsh circle of light only seemed to make the surrounding shadows dance, giving the tunnel an incredibly eerie atmosphere.
A sudden screech echoed from the ceiling. A massive swarm of bats dropped from the stalactites, fluttering frantically right over their heads.
"Ah!"
Gwen shrieked, instantly latching onto Klein's right arm. A split second later, Kai gasped and grabbed onto Klein's left arm in a tight grip.
Klein glanced at the Dork clinging to his right, then at the tribal girl clinging to his left.
'Forget it. I am used to this.'
He let out a quiet sigh, shifted his shoulders to accommodate the extra weight, and kept his eyes fixed on the path ahead.
Walking a few paces behind, Ben saw the girls clinging to his cousin. He puffed out his chest, deciding this was the perfect moment to display his fearless masculinity. "Kai, do not be afraid! With me here, you do not need to worry about..."
He struck a heroic pose, waiting for Kai to look his way.
Kai did not even glance in his direction. She remained firmly glued to Klein's side, completely ignoring Ben's existence.
Ben froze, his heroic pose crumbling into a statue of pure awkwardness.
Noticing the hold-up, Klein called back over his shoulder. "Ben, let's go! Keep moving!"
Ben's lower lip quivered. Tears of deep realization welled up in his eyes. "My cousin is the only one who truly cares about me!"
He sprinted after them, his worldview entirely shattered. 'What are women anyway?! They are not even worth a single hair on my cousin's head!'Grandpa Max watched Ben alternate between sobbing and laughing maniacally as he ran. The old man rubbed his temples, a deep sense of worry settling into his bones.'What on earth is wrong with this child?'
As they ventured deeper into the subterranean network, Gwen suddenly stopped, her nose wrinkling. "Do you guys... smell something strange?"
Hearing this, Klein took a slow breath through his nose. "Smells like... sulfur. Rotten eggs and burning rock."
Wes nodded, keeping his flashlight steady. "We are standing inside a dormant volcano. It is perfectly normal to smell sulfur vents down here. Do not worry, this mountain has not erupted in hundreds of years."
Ben suddenly raised a trembling finger, pointing down an adjacent tunnel. "So... I am guessing all that glowing lava over there is not fake?!"
The entire group snapped their heads toward Ben's pointing finger. A blinding, searing river of molten rock was surging down the tunnel, illuminating the cavern walls in a hellish orange glow as it rushed directly toward them.
"Run!"
Grandpa Max roared, spinning on his heel and leading the frantic sprint back toward the entrance.
Because the Loboan had been leading the way at the very front, it was now trapped at the very back of the retreating group.
However, the alien beast did not panic. Instead of running blindly toward the exit, it calmly backed away from the rushing magma. With a powerful leap, it launched itself onto the cavern wall. Its razor-sharp claws dug deep into the solid stone, allowing it to scale the vertical surface with terrifying agility.
While the humans scrambled desperately toward the cool night air, the Loboan crawled along the ceiling, heading deeper into the volcanic depths.
Bursting out of the cave entrance, the group collapsed onto the dirt, gasping for breath as the heat radiated from the tunnel behind them.
Klein dusted off his pants, looking around the clearing. He blinked. "Wait. Where is my dog?"
He scanned the tree line, then peered back toward the glowing cave entrance. "Oh my god. My dog is gone!"
Klein genuinely considered slapping his Omnitrix, transforming, and diving back into the inferno to retrieve his new pet. But as he watched the bubbling, superheated lava begin to pool near the mouth of the cave, he realized the reality of the situation. The dog was gone. Physically, literally gone.
Accepting his tragic loss, Klein sighed and turned to his cousin. "Gwen, use your Mana. Bring down those rocks and seal the entrance."
Gwen nodded, her hands glowing with vibrant pink energy. She hurled a barrage of Mana constructs at the cliff face, shattering the stone and causing a massive cave-in that completely blocked the tunnel.
The good news was that the lava was contained, and the volcano did not seem ready for a full-scale eruption.
The bad news was that Klein's dog was gone forever.
...
By the time they trekked back to the village, the first rays of dawn were threatening to break the horizon.
Wes approached Grandpa Max with a weary but relieved smile, explaining that several of the frightened villagers had already chosen to return to their homes.
"That is wonderful news." Grandpa Max extended a hand, shaking his old friend's grip warmly. "However, it is time for us to hit the road."
Standing near the edge of the camp, Kai fidgeted with her hands, clearly wanting to pull Klein aside for a private goodbye.
Before she could take a single step, Gwen smoothly intercepted her. The Dork threw an arm around Kai's shoulders, dragging her in the opposite direction while loudly chatting about completely random, trivial things.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Klein smoothly slipped through the doors of the Rustbucket.
He settled into his seat and glanced over as Ben trudged up the steps and slumped into the chair across from him.
Klein raised an eyebrow, genuinely confused. "Ben, aren't you going to say goodbye to Kai? This is a prime opportunity to say something smooth. If you leave now, you might never get another chance."
Ben stared blankly out the window. His posture was perfectly straight, his expression completely serene.
"No. It is no longer necessary."
Ben looked exactly like a monk who had just achieved total enlightenment. His eyes were entirely devoid of all worldly desires.
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