Chapter 114: Looking for Grandma, the Mana Devourer Spider Appears
Even though Ben had ultimately chickened out of asking for Grandma Verdona's contact information, Klein wasn't about to let such a golden opportunity slip by. The sheer comedic potential of the situation was far too tempting. If Ben wouldn't instigate the chaos, Klein would gladly take the reins and actively seek her out himself.
Mind made up, he muttered a half-hearted excuse about needing to stretch his legs and slipped away from the campsite.
Once he was deep enough into the dense woods to avoid prying eyes, Klein raised his left wrist. His fingers brushed the dial of the Another Omnitrix.
'This particular form should make the trip to Anodyne a walk in the park,' he mused.
He pressed down on the core. A muted blue light washed over the forest clearing. In his place floated a being of mind-bending geometry—a twenty-six-dimensional Naljian he had affectionately dubbed 'Dot'.
'Now, let me find it. The exact coordinates of Anodyne.'
As soon as the thought crossed his expanded consciousness, Dot folded through space and vanished from the clearing without a sound.
Meanwhile, light-years away back on Earth, Max Tennyson suddenly jolted. A violent, icy chill racked his broad shoulders, making the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
Sitting across from him, Xylene tilted her head, her large eyes filled with genuine concern. "Max? Are you alright?"
Max rubbed the back of his neck, forcing a stiff chuckle. "I'm fine. Just... a sudden draft, I suppose." He brushed it off, completely unaware of the impending doom hurtling toward his love life.
The vibrant world of Anodyne boasted an ecosystem strikingly similar to Earth's, save for one massive difference: the sheer, overwhelming concentration of life energy. Pure Mana flowed through the air like invisible rivers.
At that very moment, Verdona hovered mid-air, patiently demonstrating the finer points of Mana manipulation to her granddaughter, Sunny.
Sunny, however, was staring blankly at a floating rock, a goofy, lovestruck smile plastered across her face.
Verdona's glowing violet form flared with a sharp pulse of irritation. She knew exactly what—or rather, who—was occupying the girl's thoughts. That infuriatingly handsome older boy.
If Sunny had developed a crush on any ordinary alien, Verdona would have simply tracked the boy down and given him a stern, physical warning. But that kid was a glaring exception. He possessed the ability to transform into a Celestialsapien. A literal god. Even with all her Anodite mastery, Verdona knew she couldn't scratch him.
Thinking of this, she rubbed her temples, exhaling a long, glowing breath of defeat.
A sudden flash of muted blue light shattered the peaceful atmosphere. Dot materialized just a few yards away.
"Who goes there?!" Verdona snapped.
She instantly threw an arm out, shoving Sunny behind her back. Her entire body erupted in blinding violet energy, her instincts screaming that the bizarre entity before her was dangerous. Extremely dangerous!
"Target acquired," Dot muttered.
He blinked his singular perspective at Verdona, slightly amused by her hyper-vigilant stance. A second later, another flash of muted blue illuminated the clearing, and the twenty-six-dimensional being collapsed back into the familiar, relaxed form of Klein.
Knowing the Another Omnitrix's failsafes would protect him from any sudden magical outbursts, Klein stood completely at ease, hands tucked loosely into his pockets.
"You! It's you again, you little brat!" Verdona barked, her glowing hair flaring wildly. She turned to warn her granddaughter. "Sunny, stay away from—"
"Handsome Older Brother!"
Sunny completely ignored her grandmother, launching herself forward like a guided missile. She slammed into Klein, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck. "It's been so long! Did you miss Sunny?"
Klein barely shifted his weight to accommodate the sudden impact. He didn't mind the affection—she was technically his cousin, after all—but he had a schedule to keep. A schedule of chaos.
"Grandma Verdona," Klein started, gently trying to peel the clinging Anodite off his chest. "I came here to—"
"Who are you calling Grandma?!" Verdona shrieked, pointing a glowing, accusatory finger at him. "You are not welcome on this planet, kid! Get out!"
Despite her fierce words, she didn't dare launch an actual attack. The memory of his Celestialsapien form was still far too fresh.
Klein stared at the furious Anodite. Diplomacy had never been his strong suit. Trying to reason with a hostile, overprotective magic user sounded exhausting. What he was actually good at was brute force. It would be much faster to just tie her up, drag her back to Earth, and let Grandpa Max deal with the fallout.
"Sunny, let go for a second," Klein said.
He gently but firmly detached the pouting girl from his torso, setting her aside. Then, he raised his left wrist, his fingers hovering over the dial. "Grandma Verdona, please forgive my lack of manners."
He slammed his palm down.
"Mana Devourer Spider!"
A brilliant flash of muted blue consumed him. In Klein's place stood a massive, terrifying arachnid. Its exoskeleton gleamed a deep, toxic purple, and three cold, unblinking eyes stared down at the Anodite.
Sourced from a parallel universe's Mana Devourer, this form possessed all the terrifying agility of a giant spider, coupled with a far more dangerous trait: the absolute ability to consume, control, and corrupt Mana.
Verdona took a subconscious step back. Her glowing skin crawled. Something about this creature felt fundamentally wrong. "You want to fight, kid? Is that it?" she challenged, her voice tight.
The massive spider offered no response. It merely crouched lower, its mandibles clicking softly.
Verdona read the body language perfectly. He wasn't leaving.
"Grandma, please don't be too rough with him!" Sunny pleaded from the sidelines, wringing her hands.
That was the final spark. Verdona's pride flared.
Her eyes narrowed into glowing slits. She thrust both hands forward, drawing upon the infinite ambient Mana of Anodyne. Countless violet energy beams materialized in the air, hurtling toward the spider like a meteor shower.
Instead of evading, the Mana Devourer Spider reared up on its hind legs. It unhinged its massive jaws.
What happened next left both Anodites utterly paralyzed with shock. The destructive energy beams didn't explode on impact. Instead, they warped, bending unnaturally through the air before funneling directly into the spider's gaping maw. The creature swallowed the lethal barrage like a light snack.
"How is that even possible?!" Verdona gasped, her hands dropping to her sides.
Refusing to accept it, she channeled an even denser concentration of Mana. More than a dozen thick, crackling violet energy whips lashed out, aiming to bind the beast's limbs.
Yet, just like the beams, the whips abruptly changed trajectory the moment they neared the creature. They dissolved into pure energy and were sucked straight into the spider's mouth.
"What kind of monster are you?!" Verdona stared blankly at the purple arachnid. The very concept of a biological creature capable of effortlessly eating raw Anodite Mana defied everything she knew.
The Mana Devourer Spider had no intention of giving her time to process the existential dread.
Capitalizing on her stunned silence, the spider lunged. Its abdomen contracted, firing a thick, shimmering volley of webbing. Before Verdona could even raise a shield, the silk wrapped around her, binding her tightly into a dense cocoon. Only her head remained exposed.
With the threat neutralized, a muted blue light washed over the clearing. The terrifying spider melted away, leaving Klein standing casually in the grass.
Sunny immediately sprinted over, grabbing Klein's right arm. "Handsome Older Brother, please don't hurt my Grandma, okay?" she asked, her large eyes looking up at him.
Klein's mouth twitched in mild exasperation. "I never intended to fight her in the first place. I already told you, she's my Grandma too."
"Hah!" Verdona scoffed from her cocoon, glaring daggers at him. "How is it that I am completely unaware of having a grandson like you?!"
Even bound and helpless, her haughty attitude remained fully intact.
Klein looked down at her, his expression deadpan. "My Grandpa is Max Tennyson."
That single sentence hit Verdona harder than any physical blow. Her glowing eyes widened to comical proportions. The hostility vanished, replaced by absolute bewilderment.
'He really is my grandson?!'she screamed internally.'Why didn't you lead with that?!'
She glared at him, though this time it was purely out of familial annoyance. "You unfilial little brat! If you're my grandson, why aren't you untying your Grandma this instant?!"
Klein sighed. He raised his right hand, curling his fingers inward. A brilliant golden light began to coalesce in his palm, rapidly solidifying into the ornate, gleaming hilt and blade of the Sword of Ekchuah.
With a few casual, precise flicks of his wrist, the divine blade sliced through the Mana-infused webbing as if it were warm butter. The silk fell away in useless ribbons. His task complete, Klein willed the sword away. It dissolved back into golden motes of light and vanished.
Freed at last, Verdona stretched her stiff limbs. She rolled her shoulders, then turned to look at Klein. The wary hostility was completely gone, replaced by a radiant, glowing look of absolute pride and relief.
She had spent the last few minutes terrified that this boy was some unfathomable, god-like enemy. To discover he was actually her own flesh and blood? It was a massive weight off her shoulders.
'As expected of my grandson,'she thought smugly.'He's incredibly powerful. And so handsome, too.'
Immediately shifting into full doting-grandma mode, Verdona began bombarding him with a rapid-fire barrage of questions, completely steamrolling over Klein's attempts to explain why he was actually there.
It was only when she finally paused to ask for his specific lineage that things hit a snag. Klein bluntly explained that he wasn't related by blood; he had been adopted by Max.
Hearing this, Verdona's glowing form dimmed just a fraction. A flash of inevitable disappointment crossed her face. She had been so thrilled at the prospect of an Anodite-adjacent descendant possessing such terrifying power.
Sunny, on the other hand, practically vibrated with joy. Her eyes lit up like supernovas. 'Not related by blood!' she cheered internally.
Recognizing the brief lull in conversation caused by Verdona's slight disappointment, Klein seized his opening. He leaned in slightly.
"Grandma," Klein asked, his voice perfectly level. "Did you know Grandpa Max has a mistress?"
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Verdona roared, her violet aura exploding outward in a shockwave of pure, unadulterated fury.
"She's with him on Earth right now," Klein added smoothly.
A faint, highly satisfied smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. The trap was sprung.
"Take me there right this instant, my dear grandson!" Verdona demanded, grabbing his shoulders. "You must have a way to transport us quickly, right?!"
As a fully matured Anodite, Verdona was more than capable of traversing the cosmos under her own power. But interstellar flight took time. And right now, she didn't have the patience to wait a single second.
Klein nodded agreeably. "Of course." After all, causing this exact brand of chaos was the entire reason he had made the trip.
"I want to go too!" Sunny chimed in, looking at Verdona with wide, pleading eyes.
"Absolutely not! You go straight home right now!" Verdona snapped. There was no way she was letting her impressionable granddaughter witness the violent, messy domestic dispute that was about to unfold. Besides, they were close to their territory, and Sunny was more than capable of defending herself on Anodyne.
Sunny crossed her arms, her lower lip jutting out in a massive, dissatisfied pout.
Stepping smoothly into the role of the responsible older brother, Klein walked over and gently patted the top of Sunny's head, expertly coaxing her out of her bad mood with a few quiet words.
Crisis averted, he tapped the Another Omnitrix once more. The muted blue light consumed him, shifting his form back into the mind-bending geometry of Dot. Grabbing hold of his seething grandmother, the Naljian folded through space, leaving Anodyne far behind.
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