"Revenge? Was your homeworld also destroyed by the Great One?" Ben couldn't help but ask.
"No, no, no. Aranhascimmia is fine," Erik said quickly, shaking his head.
"Then what happened?"
"That damned Great One destroyed my girlfriend's planet. I'll never forgive it!" Erik growled, his voice tight with anger.
"Wait—your girlfriend..." Ben's eyes widened.
"Yes. She's dead." Erik sighed heavily, then clenched his fists. "That's why, two years ago, I pretended to be swayed by Tygon and joined the Great One's followers. I've been waiting ever since—for the day I could kill that monster myself."
"That... I'm sorry for your loss," Ben said softly, patting Erik's head, unsure what else to say.
If his own girlfriend had been killed by the Great One, he probably would've lost his mind too.
"Now your wish has come true. That stinking bug's as dead as it gets," Lucian said calmly.
Erik nodded, sadness flickering in his eyes.
"Hey, Erik, can I ask you something?" Ben spoke up suddenly.
"What is it?"
"Your girlfriend... what kind of alien was she?"
Lucian's mouth twitched slightly. Of all the questions to ask...
Still, it made sense. Ben was only ten—he didn't mean any harm, just pure curiosity.
Erik hesitated. "She... was an Arburian Pelarota."
Lucian raised an eyebrow. That name sounded familiar…
Arburian Pelarota...
!!
Wait a second—that was Cannonbolt's species!
He hadn't expected Erik's girlfriend to be from the same race as Cannonbolt. But he couldn't wrap his head around it—how did a lanky monkey and a rotund rolling alien even end up together?
One was all limbs and fur, the other a walking boulder. Could Erik even handle that?
The thought made Lucian glance at him twice, trying not to laugh.
Just then, sharp whistling sounds echoed from above.
Frog-Eye, Purple Axe Alien, and the Six-Armed Yellow Alien appeared, standing atop their hover discs as they descended toward the group.
"They're the Great One's lackeys! They must be here for revenge!" Erik snarled, eyes blazing with fury.
Lucian and Ben exchanged a look, both preparing to fight.
"Wait!" Frog-Eye raised a hand, signaling for calm. Steering his hover disc forward, he stopped before Lucian.
"I only wish to ask—who killed the Great One?" he said in a low, steady voice.
"What, you want revenge?" Ben said, cracking his knuckles, ready to go.
"It was me," Lucian replied evenly. Against these third-rate underlings, he didn't even need to take them seriously.
Frog-Eye nodded and drifted back toward his companions.
Just as Ben was about to strike, the three of them suddenly dropped to their knees, bowing in Lucian's direction.
"Long live the new Great One!"
"Long live the new Great One!"
...
The three knelt in unison, their expressions reverent and solemn, unchanged from before.
Not long after, Humungousaur Tygon and Red Spikesnake approached as well.
"Long live the new Great One!" Tygon roared, his thunderous voice echoing across the clearing.
Though he had once been the Great One's most devoted follower, his faith had always been rooted in reverence for power itself. For Tygon, so long as a stronger and more terrifying being emerged, it made no difference who bore the title of Great One.
Red Spikesnake, though clearly displeased, still dropped to his knees with the others, bowing respectfully before Lucian.
Rustle... rustle...
A faint sound of footsteps echoed nearby. From the emptiness, the figure of Chamalien slowly emerged.
"Greetings to the new Great One," Chamalien said respectfully.
Unlike Erik, who had infiltrated the Great One's ranks solely to exact revenge, these followers—Tygon, Red Spikesnake, Chamalien, and the rest—had truly worshiped the Great One.
In the end, Lucian dismissed them all, allowing each to return to their respective homeworlds.
However, aside from Spidermonkey and Chamalien, the Great One had already destroyed the others' planets. So Lucian asked Erik to take them all to Aranhascimmia to resettle.
With the vast Spidermonkey population there, Lucian trusted they wouldn't dare act recklessly. And if enemies ever came knocking, these aliens could serve as a valuable defense force for the planet.
To be honest, Lucian did have a bit of a personal motive—he'd considered keeping them around to help him fight future villains.
But Earth hadn't officially made contact with alien civilizations yet. These aliens had no legal status, couldn't stay permanently, couldn't appear in public, and certainly couldn't hold jobs.
Keep them hidden on Earth?
He didn't have that kind of money. Just feeding someone like Tygon—the guy probably ate more in one meal than Lucian could afford in a month!
It wasn't that Lucian didn't want to help them. He just couldn't afford to—and he didn't even have the space to house them.
Whoosh!
A massive alien spacecraft hovered above Yellowstone National Park.
Under Frog-Eye's command, the aliens began boarding one by one, preparing for their journey to Aranhascimmia.
"Lucian, thank you for helping me get my revenge," Erik said seriously, his fur rippling in the wind. "Without you, I might've gone my whole life without avenging her."
"It's nothing," Lucian waved it off. "Go on. I'm sure it's been a long time since you've seen your home."
Erik nodded. "Then I'll be going. If you ever need anything, come find me on Aranhascimmia."
With that, he turned and scampered up the ramp into the ship.
Whoosh!
The sleek spacecraft ignited with a silver flare, its engines roaring as it launched skyward, vanishing into the endless clouds above.
"It's finally over," Lucian exhaled, the tension leaving his body at last.
With the Great One destroyed, its vast reserves of energy had flowed back into Earth. The planet's ashen surface was quickly returning to its natural blue, bursting once again with life.
And as for Ben, the ordeal had turned out to be a blessing in disguise—he'd gained four new alien forms and couldn't stop grinning about it.
Lucian, on the other hand, hadn't recorded the DNA of Tygon or the others.
The reason was simple: the Omnitrix didn't lack high-quality DNA—it only needed time to unlock it. Lucian didn't want to risk adding weaker genes that might compromise his future combat potential. Better to have nothing than something inferior.
After all, every alien gene in the Omnitrix came from the absolute peak of its species.
Tygon might have been powerful compared to most aliens, but even he couldn't match the true might of Humungousaur.
Inside the Rustbucket, Grandpa Max sat in the driver's seat, grinning from ear to ear. "Now that was one unforgettable trip to the park! This old man hasn't felt a thrill like that in years."
"If I had the choice, I'd rather not experience it at all," Gwen muttered, clutching her clothes as she rushed into the bathroom to wash off the insect slime.
"Grandpa, where are we going next?" Ben asked eagerly, his eyes full of excitement.
"San Francisco!" Grandpa Max said, slamming his foot on the gas. "Let's go have some real fun!"
Vroom!
The Rustbucket's engine roared to life as the world blurred past the windows, the scenery whipping by like time itself was speeding in reverse.
Lucian closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking deep into his mind.
[Ding~ Successfully eliminated the evil Great One. Earth has been saved from destruction.]
[Reward: Powerful Hero Chest.]
The mechanical voice echoed clearly in his head.
"Open it," Lucian commanded silently.
Way Big... come on, Way Big...
Or maybe Atomix? Clockwork would be great too. Echo Echo? Not bad.
Arctiguana? Bloxx?
Maybe Frankenstrike... or Brainstorm?
A moment later, Lucian froze.
[Ding~ Powerful Hero Chest opened successfully.]
[Unlocked Alien Hero: Feedback.]
!!!