Chapter 110: Zs'Skayr's Resurrection
Returning to the present.
Max, Klein, and the other two made their way back to the control room where they had previously investigated the strange purple lightning strikes.
"There has to be something here. The headquarters' records must contain some sort of clue..." Max muttered, his eyes narrowed as he carefully scrolled through the encrypted files on the main computer screen.
The glow of the monitor reflected off his glasses as he processed the data. Suddenly, his hand froze on the mouse.
"Wait, this data is related to the launch schedule... I remember the Nova wasn't supposed to have its launch delayed?" Max leaned closer to the screen, his expression hardening as the pieces clicked into place. He abruptly pushed his chair back and stood up. "I have a very bad feeling about this! Dr. Viktor wants to go to space. I don't know his exact endgame yet, but he definitely doesn't just want to be Armstrong's successor."
He turned to the kids, his tone urgent. "Let's go! We need to find Dr. Viktor right now!"
Spacecraft Scrapyard.
"The logs said Dr. Viktor came out here," Max said, his eyes continuously scanning the towering mountains of rusted metal and discarded thrusters surrounding them.
Ben kicked a loose bolt across the dirt, looking thoroughly confused. "Why is he hiding in a dump?"
Gwen adjusted her backpack and shrugged. "I'm not exactly sure, Dweeb, but I highly doubt he came all the way out here just to recycle scrap metal."
Klein walked with his hands stuffed casually in his pockets, his eyes lazily sweeping over the debris. "Maybe it has something to do with his Big Boss."
The group handled through the labyrinth of discarded machinery for several minutes.
Suddenly, a faint, rhythmic sound echoed through the heavy air. Metal grinding against metal.
"Did you hear that?" Max stopped in his tracks, raising a hand to signal for silence. He cupped his ear, listening intently to the wind.
Following his lead, Klein and the other two paused to listen. Naturally, Klein was only pretending to focus; his enhanced senses had already picked up the exact location, frequency, and origin of the noise long before it reached Max's human ears.
"Over there!" Ben pointed toward a massive shadow in the distance and immediately broke into an excited sprint.
Seeing him take off, Klein and the others hurried to keep up.
The group arrived at the base of a colossal, abandoned spaceship. Its hull was scarred with rust and blast marks. Max stepped to the front, instinctively shielding his grandchildren with his body, before gripping the edge of the heavy iron door and prying it open with a harsh screech of protesting hinges.
As the door gave way, the sound of colliding metal grew deafeningly clear.
They descended a flight of grated metal stairs, stepping into a cavernous cargo bay. In the center of the room sat a massive, complex machine hooked up to thick cables, humming with raw power.
Standing at the control panel was Dr. Viktor, his hulking, Frankenstein-like silhouette illuminated by the sparking consoles.
Hearing the heavy footsteps on the stairs behind him, Dr. Viktor didn't even bother to turn his head. "What a bunch of annoying rats. I just can't seem to shake you off."
Ben puffed out his chest and crossed his arms. "Give it up, Big Boss Doctor! Surrender now, or I'm gonna have to beat it out of you!"
Faced with the boy's loud provocation, Dr. Viktor offered absolutely no reaction.
What could he do? How could he possibly pay attention to the kid? Didn't he see the absolute monster standing right next to him?!
Dr. Viktor caught a glimpse of Klein from the corner of his eye, and a heavy sigh forced its way out of his stitched chest. His Big Boss really was miserable. Even death wasn't enough to escape this terrifying human.
'Forget it,'Dr. Viktor thought, his jaw tightening.'At worst, the Big Boss just dies one more time. I'll find a way to revive him again after I make my escape.'
Having made his pragmatic decision, Dr. Viktor grabbed the heavy main lever, yanked it down with all his strength, and bellowed at the top of his lungs, "Revive! Big Boss!"
Klein blinked, utterly stunned.
'No, did you forget your lines?! Why did you just skip all the buildup and jump straight to the final villain monologue?' Klein's brow furrowed slightly at the sheer lack of theatrical pacing.
Before he could complain, the massive machine roared to life. Violent arcs of purple lightning erupted from the conduits, striking a pool of viscous black liquid bubbling at the base of the chamber. The sludge surged upward, twisting and solidifying into a grotesque, familiar shape—the very phantom that had once ripped itself out of Ben's Omnitrix.
Zs'Skayr.
"I am revived!" Zs'Skayr howled, his single eye widening with manic glee as his spectral form stabilized. "I am not alive anymore!"
He let out a chilling laugh, sweeping his sinister gaze across the room, ready to strike terror into the hearts of his enemies. His eye scanned past Max, past Gwen, past Ben, and finally locked dead onto Klein.
The laughter died instantly.
Klein, who was already annoyed by the abrupt summoning, deepened his frown. "What's wrong? Are you not happy to see me?"
Zs'Skayr recoiled as if physically struck, his tentacles twitching in panic. "Ah? No! Absolutely not what I meant!... Uh... that is... well... Long... long time no see?"
The ghost alien stammered, his mind racing at lightspeed. Every word felt like a step closer to a second death. He had just clawed his way back to the world of the conscious with incredible difficulty, and he desperately wanted to stay that way! He, Zs'Skayr, wanted to survive!
He frantically calculated his odds of winning. No matter how he ran the simulation in his head, it ended in a brutal, humiliating dead end!
He remembered how full of dark, conquering vigor he had been when he first escaped the Omnitrix. He had felt invincible. And then Klein had transformed into Ghostfreak and literally slapped the ghost out of him, teaching him the true meaning of fear.
Now, he had just been resurrected. He had grand, terrifying plans to achieve great things! But the universe had to play a cruel joke on him—he opened his eye and the very first thing he saw was this absolute nightmare of a human!
'I am so sick of this!'Zs'Skayr screamed internally. Then, a desperate thought struck him.'Wait! The Omnitrix!'
He floated back an inch, his voice wavering as he tentatively offered a compromise. "I was just thinking... I can still revert into raw DNA and go back inside your Omnitrix, right? Just tuck myself away?"
Klein stared at him, his voice dry and flat. "Do you honestly think you can defeat the Ghostfreak that's already living inside my Omnitrix?"
The words hit Zs'Skayr like a physical blow, leaving him completely speechless.
"Cousin! Stop wasting time talking to them, let's just trash 'em!" Ben yelled, breaking the tense silence.
He excitedly slammed his hand down on the Omnitrix dial. A brilliant flash of emerald light illuminated the dark cargo bay, fading to reveal the hulking, orange-furred form of Wildmutt.
Wildmutt sniffed his own massive paws, letting out a low, disgruntled growl. He clearly wanted to turn into Humungousaur for this fight, but the watch had other plans.
Hearing Ben's battle cry, Dr. Viktor didn't hesitate. He lowered his shoulder and charged straight at Wildmutt like a runaway freight train.
Seeing his loyal subordinate leap into action, Zs'Skayr's single eye lit up with hope. He reacted instantly, preparing to join the fray—but it was too late!
"Sorry, Big Boss. I will just have to revive you again later," Dr. Viktor muttered as he sprinted right past the ghost. He threw himself into a brutal, true man's one-on-one brawl with Wildmutt.
Whether by accident or intentional design, the sheer force of their collision sent both Dr. Viktor and Wildmutt crashing straight through the hull of the spaceship, taking their destructive fight outside into the scrapyard.
The cargo bay fell dead silent once more.
Klein and Zs'Skayr were left staring at each other in the quiet room.
After a long, agonizing pause, Zs'Skayr's tentacles drooped. He spoke in a faint, defeated whisper. "Can I... surrender?"
"Ouch! Ouch! Ouch!... I'm going to die! I'm going to die!"
Outside, the heavy storm clouds parted just enough to let a single, piercing ray of sunlight strike the earth.
Floating casually in the air was Klein, now transformed into Ghostfreak. One of his clawed hands was clamped firmly around Zs'Skayr's head, holding the screaming phantom directly in the beam of sunlight, treating him to a forced, agonizing sunbath.
A short distance away, Dr. Viktor was momentarily distracted by the miserable shrieks of his boss. That split second of hesitation cost him dearly. Wildmutt delivered a vicious, full-body tackle, his massive fist sending the Frankenstein-like alien flying dozens of feet across the dirt.
Dr. Viktor hit the ground hard, kicking up a cloud of dust. Wildmutt pressed the advantage, his powerful hind legs launching him into the air for a crushing pounce.
Lying on his back, Dr. Viktor thrust both hands toward the descending beast. Crackling purple lightning erupted from his palms, striking Wildmutt mid-air and blasting him backward with explosive force.
Wildmutt hit the ground, rolled, and violently shook his heavy head. With a furious roar, he scrambled back to his feet and charged at Dr. Viktor once more.
He leaped, his left claw raised to tear into Dr. Viktor's chest. But just as he closed the distance...
Beep beep beep.
A flash of red light washed over the scrapyard. Wildmutt vanished, leaving a very human Ben falling through the air. Ben's left hand slapped against Dr. Viktor's massive, muscular chest with a pathetic smack. It didn't even tickle the hulking alien.
Ben froze. He cursed the stupid broken watch in his head while his brain frantically scrambled for a way out of this. "Uh... so, about that..."
Dr. Viktor looked down at the boy. He calmly reached up, pinched Ben's wrist, and removed the hand from his chest.
Then, Dr. Viktor turned on his heel and ran for his life.
He didn't dare lay a single finger on the kid. If he hurt Ben, he knew he would never escape this scrapyard alive. The monster currently torturing his boss would make absolutely sure of it. If he just ran, he would most likely only have to face the Yenaldooshi and the Mummy later, which gave him a fighting chance at survival.
Ben blinked in surprise as the massive alien sprinted away. Refusing to let him escape, Ben immediately gave chase, his legs pumping hard even though his Omnitrix was completely drained.
Wait.
Ben glanced down at his wrist as he ran. He squints, noticing something strange. The faceplate of the Omnitrix wasn't glowing red anymore.
It was glowing yellow.
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