156. Beginning of the New Journey

(Gwen POV)

- MEAAAAAAAAW!!! - came a loud feline cry that instantly woke up the entire bus.

- What is it, Nebula? - I asked with concern, looking at the blue tigress, who suddenly began to meow, which is not typical for her. At least not in the middle of the night.

- Meow! - Nebula meowed again as she jumped down from her seat and tried to open the front door of the RV.

- She seems to want to go outside. - Ashley said, rubbing her eyes sleepily.

- Then let her out. - Kai said, clearly annoyed at being woken up and not allowed to rest after her grueling workouts with Lex.

- Okay, okay, I'll do it now. - I said as I got out of bed and put on my slippers.

Approaching Nebula, who was worried about something, I gently stroked her head and opened the door, through which the tigress instantly jumped out and began to look around, continuing to meow loudly and run along the beach.

- It looks like something is bothering her. - said grandfather, who came up, looking at the strange behavior of our pet.

- Maybe something happened to Lex? Yet she is his familiar and must feel things like that. - I suggested, noticing that Lex's bed was empty and he was nowhere to be found.

- Hmm, quite possibly. I need to call him urgently. - not without excitement in his voice, said Grandpa, returning for the phone.

- He always disappears somewhere without warning us... - I said displeasedly, although I myself was very worried and worried.

- What is she doing? - pointing to Nebula Ashley asked as she approached, distracting me from my anxious thoughts.

- I don't know... - I said honestly, looking at the suddenly frozen tigress, who raised her head and stared at the sky.

Also raising my head, I saw only the night and cloudless sky, on which there were countless stars. It was a beautiful sight, but I couldn't find anything to draw Nebula's attention. At least, it was until I noticed how one of the stars, for some reason, began to glow brighter, and then increase in size, as if approaching us...

- Grandpa!!! - I shouted worriedly when I realized that it was not a star, but a spaceship that was about to land on our island.

- Don't worry, Gwen, it's not the enemy. Don't you recognize the ship? - Grandfather said with a smile, also looking at the sky.

Taking a closer look, I examined the outlines of the ship and immediately realized that I had seen it in the past. It was a gray alien ship with a cockpit at the front, to which were attached what appeared to be folded robotic legs, with two jet engines at the back. It was The Resolute, the ship of Tetrax Shard, our ally in the fight against Vilgax.

- And whose ship is this? - Ashley asked curiously, who joined us after the Bounty Hunter story.

- Now you know. - Grandpa said with a smirk as he got off the bus and walked towards the place where the ship was supposed to land.

- Looks like I won't be able to sleep tonight. - Kai finally got up wearily, casting angry glances at the ship preventing her from falling asleep again.

Ashley and I just smiled at her words, and went after Grandpa. Soon, the ship successfully landed on its 'feet' and a figure dressed in a fully enclosed spacesuit descended down the ladder.

- Tetrax, good to see you again! - Grandpa said amiably, approaching the alien and shaking his hand.

- Ah, now it's clear... - Ashley said, nodding her head, realizing who our guest was and now examining him with curiosity.

- Master Tennyson. - the alien said respectfully, removing his mask and revealing his crystalline face.

- I see you finally got there. - Grandpa said with a smile as Ashley quietly explained to Kai who Tetrax was.

- I've been as fast as I could since Lex called me. I was on the other side of the universe and the journey took longer than I thought. - said Petrosapien with impatience in his eyes.

- Yes, I can understand your feelings. - Grandpa said sympathetically.

- So where is Lex? Will be better, if we leave now. - Tetrax said impatiently, looking at all of us.

- Well, that's the thing, you know… - said Grandpa awkwardly, who didn't seem to be able to get through to Lex.

Tetrax clearly understood that something was wrong and was about to ask a question, but he was interrupted by a loud bang from the sky. We all looked up and saw a blue figure flying very fast in our direction.

The loud sound was caused by the fact that Lex, and it was he, in his armor created by magic, broke through the sound barrier, as he flew above the speed of sound. Only, it is not clear why he used the power of Anodite, and not his aliens, to return....

Soon, Lex flew to the island and landed heavily on the beach, immediately dispelling the armor. I was about to ask where he went in the middle of the night without warning us and making us worry, but I stopped, as soon as I saw his face. Something was wrong.

Physically he was fine, but the same could not be said for his emotional state. Lex was angry, very angry.

- Lex, what happened? - I asked worriedly, seeing the boy's cold face and eyes burning with rage, sometimes literally, when they flashed with magic.

- Nothing. - Lex obviously lied as he approached us.

Lex is very difficult to piss off and is usually superbly in control no matter what the situation (unless it involves romantic relationships), but right now he's beside himself with rage and can hardly control himself, and that's only because he doesn't wanted to make us worry.

Something really terrible must have happened if he was like this now. I've never seen him like this...

Looking at the others, I saw that they, too, had noticed Lex's condition and were now looking at him, unsure of how to react. If Lex needed help, he would say, and since he didn't, it means that we can't help him in any way, although that doesn't mean we don't want to.

I wanted to at least say something in support and ask again what happened, but I was stopped by Grandpa, who shook his head, clearly indicating that now is not the best moment, and it's best to let Lex cool down...

- Tetrax. You're already here. - Lex said, turning to the alien, who didn't know how to react either.

- …Khem, yes, I arrived as promised. I'm glad to see you. - Tetrax said a little nervously, glancing at the magic that was leaking out of Lex a little due to his strong emotions.

- You have no idea how glad I am that you are here. You arrived just in time. - Lex said with a menacing smirk, looking like he was planning something bad.

- Can we go to Petropia? - Tetrax asked, completely ignoring Lex's behavior in order to get his planet back as soon as possible.

- Plans have changed a bit. First, we need to visit another planet. - Lex said, obviously not going to listen to any objections.

- … - Tetrax was clearly at a loss for words, not too pleased with what he heard.

- Lex, what happened? You have to explain at least something. - Grandpa asked delicately.

Unfortunately, delicacy didn't help much, and Lex clenched his fists in anger as his magic began to run amok even more. Luckily, he quickly calmed down and after a couple of seconds said: - …the Omnitrix has been deactivated.

Having comprehended what was said, we all looked sharply at his hand and saw his watch, which returned to its original appearance and seemed to have lost all colors, become gray and lifeless.

Before anyone could ask anything, Lex continued his explanation: - While he is in this state, I cannot turn into aliens and I will not be able to help you, Tetrax. The only one who can fix this is the clock maker. It is to him that we must go.

- I understand. We just don't have a choice. Without a clock, nothing will work. In that case, we need to hurry. - said Tetrax, hardly accepting that the fulfillment of his dream is difficult.

- Right. - Lex said, and after looking at us, he added a little softly: - I'll be back in a few days. Everything will be fine, don't worry. And don't get in trouble.

- All troubles will go away with you. - Ashley said, the only one who had the courage to do so.

- Maybe it is. - with some strange intonation, Lex said, and then added: - Take care of yourself. Let's go, Tetrax.

The alien nodded and led Lex into his alien ship. Nebula followed them, clinging to her master's leg and obviously not going to leave him.

- Grandpa… - I pleaded, looking at Lex's back.

- It's okay, go with him. I don't know what happened, but he needs support now. I think your mere presence will help him. - Grandpa said softly, also worried about Lex, but knowing that there was nothing he could do about it right now.

- Are you sure? - I asked, looking at him and Ashley and Kai.

Grandpa just smiled and gave a thumbs up as Ashley said with a smirk: - It's your turn to go on an adventure with Lex. Let's go.

- Now is not the time to think about it. He clearly needs help. - I said sternly, but then I added: - But, nevertheless, thank you.

- Don't worry, we'll be fine. Tomorrow we will go further and spend the whole day on the road. - Grandpa added to lessen my anxiety.

- Okay. Thank you. - I said sincerely.

- Good luck. - Kai finally said.

Nodding my head, I immediately ran to the Tetrax ship and at the last moment managed to jump inside before the gangway was completely closed. Too bad I'm still in my pajamas.

'Where to now?' - I thought as I looked around the spaceship's vast storage room, where there was no sign of Tetrax and Lex.