Now, they saw it in full, it's transformation complete: as big as a very large school bus, if not bigger; it's jaws similar to a crocodile's mixed with that of a shark's; it's limbs much bigger and longer; it's belly injury gone, leaving only a scar behind; the tentacles on it's back now fully healed and significantly larger; five blank eyes, two on the right and three on the left; some teeth randomly growing outside it's mouth; and a small extra arm emerging from the creature's back.

“Worst birthday ever...” declared Maroon, resigned.

Brigitte looked disgusted, but not afraid; Rob was afraid, but cautiously curious; while Ben just got ready. The Issue then suddenly charged at Maroon, specifically, frighteningly fast for something it's size.

“WHOA!!!” she exclaimed, barely dodging it's attack.

The nikeans scattered around, dodging it's gigantic claws. One of the tentacles swatted Maroon away (again), while Brigitte dodged and hit it's face, punching hard. But the Issue brushed the pain off and grabbed her with it's now-gigantic claw.

She was almost getting free from it's grip, but the Issue, with one of it's tentacle pincers, grabbed her head, struggling to try and snap her neck.

“BRIGITTE!!!” Maroon shouted as she charged at the Issue, slashing it's eyes, just as Ben stabbed it's back.

Brigitte easily escaped it's now weakened grip, proceeding to punch it's giant wrist, dislocating it.

“Thanks, 'Roon!!!” the Nikean-in-pink said to Maroon, who nodded back.

Noticing the mostly blinded creature limping away from them, Maroon began celebrating: 

“We got it now, we just need to-”

Just then, it's wrist healed, the bone popping back in place. It's eyes were healing too. Ben's sword was pushed out, it's back wound closing.

“Not again...” said a frustrated Maroon.

Ben went to recover his sword, then shouted “ROB, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR!?!?”, to his friend who just watched from the sidelines.

Rob responded “This thing is too strong now, we need a strategy!!! Attacking it like this can't-”, just before the Issue stomped him, sending him crashing below the floor.

“ROB!!!!” shouted Ben.

Brigitte then charged right at the Issue, her sword aiming for it's head. It was seemingly off-guard, until, at the last moment, the creature smacked Brigitte away, sending her crashing to the slums, surprising the hiding beggars.

The Nikean-in-pink quickly stood up and saw the frightened beggars in their (now ruined) homes, a disgusted look in her face.

“This place is grosser than that thing...” she groaned.

Meanwhile, Maroon shouted at Ben: “What chance do we have!? If even Breege can't hurt it enough-”

“Don't worry... we'll... find a way. Maybe, damaging it's brain...?” proposed Rob, having recovered, but still dazed, from being stomped.

Suddenly, one of the creature's intestine-tentacles quickly spat out a strange, dark grey ooze.

The ooze first hit Maroon and then Rob on their faces, suffocating them. But Ben dodged in time, exclaiming “What the Uffern!?!?”.

He quickly tried to help his friends, but noticed the ooze was hardening, like wax.

Looking up, Ben saw the the Issue about to shoot more of the ooze at them but, just then, it's whole skull was impaled by a sword.

It was Brigitte, catching it by surprise. She could've cut further or twisted the blade, but she didn't appear to think it was necessary. The Nikean-in-pink had still dealt a great blow.

“Gotcha...” she said, sure of herself. 

The creature had now stopped moving, as Ben took the opportunity and helped remove the still-hardening ooze from Rob and Maroon's faces, freeing them.

“Th-Thank you...” Rob said, grimacing, as he cleaned the remaining wax from his face, while Maroon was left vomiting.

“I... really should've called in sick...” she said, sardonically.

“I hit it's head... it should be dying...” said Brigitte, trying to motivate them.

But the creature began to move again. It was in pain, but still active; pulling out the sword with it's tentacle and throwing it far away.

“Just how tough is this thing?” said Ben, as Brigitte looked annoyed.

“Why me...” said Nikean-in-pink, sighing.

Strangely, the Issue stood still in place for a few seconds, the Nikean officers also pausing, not sure what to anticipate. Then, suddenly, the creature charged, specifically (again) at the still-dazed Maroon.

The Issue opened it's jaws, quickly grabbing Maroon with it's grotesque teeth. 

“AHHHH, NO!!!!” Brigitte's friend said as she was locked in it's maw.

“MAROON!!!!” Brigitte shouted in horror.

“Ma-Maroon is...!!!” said Rob, as Ben looked on, horrified. 

“No, there's no way...” said a despairing Brigitte.

The Issue had tried to close it's jaws, intent on crushing her, but the creature felt a sharp pain on the roof of it's mouth. Maroon had barely managed to stab her sword inside, unintentionally making a brace.

However, the creature did not spit her out, it was still bent on consuming biomass, but it also couldn't just bite down on Maroon now, not with the sword threatening to impale it. Even if it wouldn't kill it, the pain wasn't something it liked. Maroon couldn't escape either, the creature had retracted it's jaws back, sealing it's lips over them.

Thankfully, the nikeans began to hear Maroon shouting for them from inside it's mouth:

“I'M NOT... DEAD... YET!!!”

“Maroon!!!” Brigitte called out, relieved. 

“What do we do?” Rob asked the Nikean-in-pink.

A calmer, but still unsure, Brigitte answered:

“I... I don't know... maybe we should-” 

She was then interrupted by the creature attacking them.

As the officers dodged the Issue's attacks, Rob retreated farther back, attempting to come up with some plan, when he heard a familiar voice: “H-Hey, uhhhh... you coul' use som' help.”

The nikean responded: “Foreigner!? Stay right where you are, if you die now we'll never hear the end of it!!!”

“C-Can't reelly mov'... B-But that thin' is... way too tough for ya seems... I-I coul' help.” Forge offered.

“Help!?” Rob asked, confused.

The Man in the Jacket : “I-I coul' help ya kill that thin'.”

The creature kept absorbing any damage, not slowing down. Nothing the nikeans had done affected it for long, while Maroon was still barely avoiding being crushed by it's toothy palate.

“MAROON, ARE YOU ALRIGHT????” the Nikean-in-pink shouted.

From the Issue's jaws, Maroon's yells could be heard, saying:

“I... CAN'T MOVE HERE... I COULD GET EATEN!!!!”

Angered, Brigitte dodged the creature's claws and punched it's face hard, trying to provoke it into opening it's mouth. The hit was loud, echoing in the distance, as the Issue's bones cracked, blood pouring out it's mouth. Brigitte punched it again, this time on it's jaw, but it still had no intention of spitting Maroon out.

“Damn it... Maroon doesn't have too much time” Brigitte noted, worried for her friend, continuing with “I could've just crushed it's skull before, but with her inside...”. Ben's face was suddenly hit by another mass of dark ooze, just as Brigitte dodged more of the creature's attacks. 

Meanwhile, Rob started to tell Forge “We aren't supposed to work with...”, until he looked back and saw his friends in danger, then asked “...What exactly is your idea?”.

“I... I can blast Blamel... can it surviv' that?” said the Man in the Jacket.

“How do I know you'll actually help us?” Rob questioned.

“I-I meen... i-if you hav' any other optins...” Forge replied, sarcastically.

Rob, remembering Maroon stuck in the Issue's jaws, said “Fine!!! Brigitte's gonna kill me...”, as he reluctantly unbound the Trapper-Wrap.

Forge finally stood up from his chair and stretched his arms, relieved to finally be free again. For a brief moment, Rob looked unsure whether this foreigner would actually help them... or simply try to escape. But the Man in the Jacket quickly charged towards the Issue, prompting Rob to follow him.

“Maybe we can cut off it's tentacles again...” Brigitte suggested.

“It's... got her... in it's jaws... it's not giving her up.” replied a grimacing Ben as he removed the dark wax on his face.

The Issue's face and jaws were still injured, although healing, from Brigitte's attacks, when, suddenly, one of the wounds on it's lips began to pulse and beat, as if something was hitting it from the inside. Then it burst open, revealing Maroon, soaked in blood.

“I'm out!!!” she shouted, not noticing the blue ray about to hit the creature's face.

A large explosion surrounded the Issue's face, with Maroon falling out immediately after.

“What the Hell was...” Brigitte's best friend groaned, just before she noticed the foreigner responsible. Of course, so did Brigitte.

“Wha-what's he... he got loose!?” the Nikean-in-pink asked Rob, with a surprised, but increasingly angry, tone.

Rob tried to explain: “No, no... I let him loose so-”

“YOU LET HIM LOOSE!?!?!? YOU %#@$%&# FREED HIM!?!?!?” shouted Brigitte, with a face that screamed bloody murder.

“Uhhhh, off-officers th-” Forge tried to say just before Brigitte interrupted him: “Shut up, you shouldn't even be here!!!”

A scared Rob tried to explain himself with “I.... I know it sounds bad but-”, until he was interrupted by a blue ray energy blasting right in front of him.

Another explosion came, this one hitting the Issue's shoulder, hurting it more.

Forge told the officers: “Th-That thin' was goin' to attack!!!”

“Stop that, we don't need your help, foreigner!!!! Brigitte replied stubbornly.

“It... It seems to me lik' ya do.” said the Man in the Jacket.

“What's going on now, why is he loose?” an approaching and blood-covered Maroon asked, very tired at the situation. She wasn't wearing her hat, it having been devoured.

“You got out!!!” Rob exclaimed happily, before he remembered, shyly commenting: “I... released him so he could help free you...”.

They were interrupted by the creature trying to attack them again, aiming for Maroon, as they scattered.

“Why me again!?” Maroon said, as she noticed the creature stared only at her and extended it's appendages to attack.

“Y-Ya need help!!!! This thin' is ren-reten... won' giv' up!!!!” Forge warned Brigitte. 

“I don't work with stupid foreigners!!! You should... be tied again to the chair!!!” she insisted. 

Rob and Ben attempted to stab the Issue at the same time, but it anticipated this and, with a tentacle, grabbed their swords, disarming them. Once it had their swords, it threw them far away.

“Wha- NO!!!!” shouted Ben.

“This thing is much smarted than we thought.” pointed out Rob.

“You think?” Ben asked, sarcastically.

The Issue then quickly jumped at, yet again, Maroon, almost grabbing her, leading her to shout: 

“Why is it always me!?!? It keeps chasing me and it tried to eat me too!!!”

The three made some distance from the Issue, when Rob reasoned: “Maybe... it remembers you were the first to actually hurt it.”

“Are you serious!?” she asked back, incredulously.

“It keeps attacking you, doesn't it? Even though you're the least dangerous...” Ben added. 

“What!?” said Maroon in indignation.

Suddenly, the Issue again shot out dark ooze at all three. They managed to avoid it, but the Issue then immediately jumped at Maroon, grabbing her arm with it's gigantic pincer-hand.

“GYAH!!!!” Maroon shrieked.

“Ugh, not again!!!” shouted Brigitte, who had been busy watching Forge until now.

The Issue held Maroon in place by her arm as Rob and Ben noticed the Issue only looked at her. Not attacking, but rather taking it's time.

“Y-You still sayin' you' d-don' need my help!?” Forge shouted at the officers.

A nervous Maroon asked the creature “N-No hard feelings for me cutting off your pincer and throwing that can at you right? Hahaha...?”, with an equally nervous smile.

Bizarrely, the corners of the Issue's mouth began to curl up, seemingly mimicking her smile. Maroon was already horrified enough before she felt it's grip get tighter, trying to crush her arm.

“SOOORRRYYYY!!!!” Maroon yelled, grimacing, just as Brigitte punched the creature's injured shoulder, this let Maroon escape.

Forge, sick of doing nothing, flew and punched the Issue's face himself, disorienting it. It recovered and tried to attack him with an intestinal tentacle, but Forge expected this and blasted a blue ray at the appendage, severing it completely.

The Man in the Jacket then tried to say: “We shoul' atta-”

“STOP!!! We don't need your help!!! Ben, Rob, trap him again!!!!” interrupted Brigitte.

Forge protested: “Com'on!!! I can be-”

“Yes, Breege, he can help, at least-” Ben started saying just when the Issue smacked him away.

Ben was sent crashing down, while Rob said: “We don't have our swords anymore, how can we...”

“We don't need those...” Brigitte responded.

The Issue flailed at Forge with it's remaining tentacles as he (barely) dodged them.

Thinking quickly, Forge charged his blue energy again and shot two more blasts from his blasts, one hit a tentacle, destroying it's pincer; the other missing, accidentally hitting and destroying part of a wall.

Noting this, Rob shouted at him: “Yes, keep attacking it!!!”

“NO, STOP!!! You are just causing more damage!!!” Brigitte interrupted, again.

“What's your plan then?” a frustrated Rob asked Brigitte.

“Just keep wearing it down...” she replied.

“I-I'll try to get rid o-of the tentaculs!!!” the Man in the Jacket said.

The Issue immediately tried to crush Forge, but, before the stomp hit him, the Man in the Jacket punched the creature's paw, breaking it. The creature limped away, growling at him.

“He's strong...” noted Rob.

Brigitte, angrily, began to shout: “I told you to-”

“Brigitte, stop whining and do something, if you don't want his help!!!” interrupted Rob, tired of hearing it.

At this, the unamused Brigitte stared at Rob, narrowing her eyes. 

Rob replied: “...I'm just suggesting!!!”