No one POV

The Appolplexian shakes the wolf he is currently holding, making multiple items fall out of pockets or pouches "A map, some stones, pouches of what I think are coins..." he drops the wolf and hold up the cloak, sniffing it "at least Rath didn't make the dog piss himself."

"<excuse me.>" looking over his shoulder, he sees that the tiger woman hasn't left yet

"What do you want with Rath, little girl?" she gets offended

"<I am not a little girl! I am eight, you planchuanka!>" the larger tiger growls, stomping towards her

"LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, LITTLE WHITE TIGER GIRL, YOU DO NOT GET TO CALL RATH A PLANKA....PLANCHUN......planchana........WHATEVER IT IS THAT YOU CALLED RATH!" the girl cowers but the Omnitrix starts to beep with red flashes

After a few more beeps, Rath is engulfed in red light and turns human, making him stumble a bit with a hand to his head "never...never getting used to that....bleh."

Omnitrix going into repair mode, Auxiliary power routed to Translator.

With a sigh, the shapeshifter starts to pick up the things Rath shook out of the wolf's pockets "Just great."

"<wh-what are you?>" Jason growls a bit as he puts on the cloak, finding it a bit large, even for his frame

"My name is Jason Tennyson. I'm sorry for....not being myself as Rath." he throws two of the 4 coin pouches to her along with the other cloak "Be safe." he turns and starts to walk off, going in a random direction

"<H-hey, wait!>"

Small timeskip Jason POV

It's about fifteen minutes into walking that I realize I can't read the map, which annoys me because that means the wolf language is different from the tiger species I scanned. And speaking of the tiger, she has been following me but has gone silent after the first five minutes of not answering her.

After a few more minutes, I stop which causes her to bump into me with me sighing "Why are you following me?"

"<.....I have nowhere else to go.>" I turn halfway to her

"And your answer is to follow me?" she pulls the cloak tighter around herself

I softly inhale before turning to her fully "can you climb up high and try to find a city nearby?" she seems startled at the request

"<W-well, yes but....>"

"Neither of us can read the map so instead of wandering aimlessly for possible days, we should try and find the nearest town." she hesitates but concedes, taking off the cloak which I hold for her

She jumps high, latching onto the trees and alternating between leaps and climbing. She soon disappears into the foliage but I can hear her rustling the leaves along with a few twigs dropping here and there.

I wait patiently on the ground for her to return, knowing I can't really do anything since the Omnitrix is in repair mode. But I noticed that the way she reacted back in the prison carriage was one of fear, specifically towards me before the wolves were going to check on us. Something about this world, planet or dimension, seems to have something going on but I can't put my finger on it quite yet.

"<Hey!>" the tiger lands on a branch, looking down from her position "<There's a town a bit from here that way>" she points to her left

Small Timeskip

I continue to walk with the girl following behind me, a bit close yet still a good enough gap to stay out of arm's reach.

"What's your name, kid?" she huffs with a bit of a low growl

"<I'm not a kid, I'm twenty in my species' years. And my name is Katheria.>" a bit surprising but lots of aliens have different age rates compared to humans.

A little bit more of walking in silence, I can hear Katheria fidgeting behind me, as if she wants to ask something but I decide to snip the bud "Why exactly did you decide to follow me? You seemed afraid of me back when we were in the caravan yet you've been following me for almost half an hour."

"<...>" I don't push it but I can see the path we are traveling on turns to bricked road up ahead

"We're almost there." but she suddenly grabs my cloak, causing me to look over my shoulder

"<I....my kind aren't exactly welcomed in human settlements. You.....you need to pretend to be my owner if we enter.>" i roll my eyes with a sharp exhale

"Liking your world less and less. Come on, I'll get us a room for the night but once my watch recharges, you're on your own, got it?" her ears fold back but she nods

Katheria POV

Entering the town was a bit tense as I stuck close to Jason, trying to avoid eye contact with the humans here but making sure to keep close to the human that makes his way through. Many humans give some looks towards me

"Just stay close." he looks over his shoulder to me and I nod

He asks around a bit with a few humans, based on how he kept saying no, kept offering to buy me but he declines all offers. But soon, he brings us to a larger building which I assume is the Inn, unable to read what the sign says. He engages with conversation with the human behind the counter, a look of disgust directed towards me

"Care to repeat that?"

Jason POV

The man doesn't hide his disgust towards Katheria "I said that your pet has to sleep in the cellar cages. We don't allow animals to stay in human accommodations." I narrow my eyes at him

"She is not sleeping in a cage. I will pay extra if i need to." he raises an eyebrow

"That'd be 3x the normal price." I grab one of the pouches and start to dig through it, pulling out 3 of what look like platinum coins that have different rune like designs on them

"Will this cover it?" he looks pleasantly surprised

He takes the coins "More than enough. That'll cover overnight expenses. But....keep the animal off the bed please." i ignore the comment and accept the key he gave

Back on earth, No one POV

"What do you mean my grandson is missing!?" the Elder tennyson slams his hands onto the console as the First Thinker keeps a neutral face and tone

"Maxwell, I'd like for you to keep calm as getting riled up won't solve anything."

"My grandson is missing, Azmuth, of course I'm not going to stay calm! Where the hell is he!?" the Galvan lets out a sigh

When Azmuth speaks, there is a bit of pain in his voice "Maxwell, Jason's Omnitrix signal has vanished. I have no connection to his unit, nor do I have a way to find him. I am sorry."

Max slams his hands onto the console again "Don't give me that, Azmuth! You are the smartest being in Five Galaxies, do not tell me that you don't have an answer!"

Azmuth shakes his head "i do not have an answer. But I can assure you that he is alive. Nothing can destroy the Omnitrix except for itself." The call is silent for a few minutes, Max taking a seat with his head in his hands ".......would you like me to tell Ben?"

The Elder Tennyson sharply exhales "No...no, I'll tell him." Max looks up at the screen "Find him, Azmuth. Please."

The First Thinker hesitates but shakes his head "I cannot make such a promise. But I will try."

Jason POV

Night has fallen with Katheria and I settling into the room after getting some food. It only annoyed me more when other people kept staring at us but I couldn't tell if it was from the 6ft 8 human or the 7ft Tiger woman. Either way, I'm glad I'm gonna be gone soon

"<Jason?>" I jolt out of my thoughts, looking over my shoulder to Katheria as she sits on the bed "<Can.....can i ask you a small favor?>"

"That depends." my answer makes her seem more uncertain, her tail squirming around and her ears are pulled back

"<I....I was taken from my village when I was 2......could yo->"

"No." she jerks up in surprise

"<N-no?! But wh->" i pull away from the window with a stern expression

"No. Last time I got involved with a planet's species, I stopped a war and almost died because I was framed for a murder. Once my Omnitrix charges, I am leaving."

"<B-but I can't get home by myself! This is human territory!>"

"That isn't my problem, Katheria."

"<But it is MY problem! I am far from home and don't have a safe way back! Please!>"

"I said NO! I will not get invo-" my breath catches in my throat

Katheria is on her knees with her hands to her chest, ears flattened and her eyes filled with tears. She looks like.....

she smiles at me, offering a hand, flickering to the storm filled night as I hold her body

"..........fine." she perks up at this

"<R-really?>"

"But I am ONLY taking you home. Once we reach your territory, I am leaving. Understand?" she wipes her tears and softly smiles, making my heart ache

Why does she have to look like her?

No one POV

Feet hit the ground hard as Jason runs, multiple Lycanmites smashing through the rocks with roars as they claw at him. Transforming into Cannonbolt, he bounces between the walls before he's shot by an electric ballista

"Corner him!" he transforms into Humungousaur, trying not to be overwhelmed by the Nekomites surrounding him with weapons and the Lycanmites surrounding him in their feral forms

"It wasn't me! I didn't ki-" multiple ballista shots hit him, sending electricity through him but he swings an arm with a roar to force them back

The Lycans force him to grow to max size but their strength added with their numbers quickly topple him, multiple claws and teeth scratching and biting into him

A flash of green and Goop manages to slip out but his projector is shot, forcing him to transform into Diamondhead, forcing a taydenite barrier between him and the Lycans but the Nekos fire sound grenades

"DO NOT LET HIM ESCAPE!!!" the grenades go off, cracking and breaking pieces off Diamondhead and forcing him to transform into Big Chill

He manages to take off but gets multiple ballista shots pierci-

Jason jolts awake, rolling onto a crouch with his hand above the Omnitrix dial as he breathes heavily. Taking a few shaky breaths, his vision focuses to show that he's still in his room at the Inn, Katheria still asleep in bed with the realization that it was just a nightmare.

"F-f-fuck me....." he sits back down at the wall he was sitting against, looking up at the ceiling as he grips his arm, still shaking with ragged breaths

Katheria, however, heard him through his nightmare and how he reacted waking up. But the human isn't aware that she was awake and heard it all.