Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

This world has been ravaged by war and the outer lifeforms. Our character was born after the wars came down, undisturbed by the nukes, unphased by the death his family stepped over, and protected from the evil who swore to end this planet’s freedom.

The richest survived, obviously, and the common man was mostly unable to hide. The war was large enough for outside forces to notice, and come down upon the ruins of the once beautiful land, now only covered in dull browns and lifeless greys. What little green was left was saved for the rich who could eat their cash, and the lowest of the land was given to any who took it.

The aliens came down on the planet, finding the helpless beings that lived had no structure to survive, and slowly they too were dying with the planet. In a way, it could be considered saving them. In another, enslaving. The planet would have once defended itself, but with most possessions lost, they could only submit, and became the planetary equivalent of China's once-had outsourcing labor. They were not as strong and not as smart (most of them, anyways), and the richest were exempt, being the ‘leaders’ of the world to allow this, and getting few funds in return to keep their own wealth growing.

I’ve watched these aliens for many years, and I cannot say they have ever been particularly nice. There were always new humans to come along, so of course, the labor would start as soon as possible. Harsh, cruel, endless, perfection. Some aliens made homes there, schools, religious places, factories, but the world yet again faced another war, destroying all the progress. Most left after this, leaving it only a working planet. Each city a new product, each continent a new company; little humans made their way outside of this working environment. Some would even have to be extremely lucky to be born outside of it and never taken in.

However, our story instead starts with a boy, one raised in those camps. His parents made him stay strong, keep his rebellious spirit, and one day aided in his escape. They needed a savior who would one day return and save them from the new hell befallen their planet. If only they were sure he’d follow through. If he were loyal.

His heart raced with panic, his legs moving faster than he could balance with. His chest heaved and burned as he tried to escape, but he could hear the guards catching up. He had to escape, or he would for sure be caught. As much as he wanted to go back for his parents, to cry to them and be comforted despite the situation, they were most likely dead for their defiance, and he could not give up the chance they had given him. He either had to survive or die trying. He could not let this final chance at freedom slip his hands.

...

"Still nothing, Max. How much longer are we going to be out here?" Gwen sighed, the backpack weighing heavy on her muscles. They had been walking for what seemed like hours, and Gwen was already missing home.

"Just a bit longer, okay? A few more miles, then we can take the shortcut home," Max reassured her, smiling down to her unimpressed expression. She was indeed hard working, it was just the boringness of doing nothing that ruffled her.

They walked past the forest edge, where tree stumps acted like obstacle-course jumps. They were dark and rotting, but still so strong after all these years. Gwen was looking around for anything to be interesting, anything at all to keep her mind off all the walking. But soon, the sewer came ahead, but this time, she quickly noticed it was lacking the usual bars on the entrance.

“Look, Max,” she pointed to the entrance, “Weren’t there bars there a week ago?”

“Well, You’re quite right, Gwen,” Max hummed, stepping closer to the sewer head, observing the empty darkness inside. “Someone must have needed an escape.”

“But that’s not a fast way to escape. And isn’t there a leviathan living at the center?”

“Yes, but there could be many reasons why they could have gone in,” Max shrugged, then looked to Gwen, “and you know not to go in there, right?”

“Yeah yeah, I’m not that dumb.” Gwen sighed with a roll of her eyes, looking away to the forest again. “Can we just keep going? I want to get home quickly…”

“Of course, let's keep going.”

The two began to walk past it, but just before they got too far, there was a rustling and a small voice. “H-Hello?”

The two turned back, but didn’t answer. They knew answering any unknown voice could be a trap. Gwen stepped behind Max, who pulled out his gun in anticipation of the attack.

From inside the sewers, there was a shuffle, then a hop down on the concrete. The creature peaked around the corner, but it wasn’t an alien, just a boy obscured in darkness, clearly terrified.

“A boy?” Gwen curiously whispered, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Max put the gun back in its holder, stepping a bit closer to him cautiously. “Hey, what are you doing in that there sewer?”

The boy was nervous, refusing to speak to them, even if they were humans like him.

“We’re not going to turn you in, son,” Max took another step, gesturing for him to come closer. “You gotta’ name?”

The boy carefully stepped forward, his hands held together at his chest, and his posture slightly slouched. His clothing was dark and dirty, tattered and covered with holes. His body was bruised and scarred, telling more than any words he could say.

“Oh my god…” Though Gwen stayed back, she couldn’t help but whisper out her surprise. He had to have been from one of the camps nearby. She only ever heard about the alien camps being deadly and watchful, but how could such a scrawny, small boy have escaped on his own?

The boy wanted to speak to them, but it caught in his throat like a painful rock, and his chest clenched as instinct kept him silent. He didn’t want to be hurt again.

“Son, you should come with us, we have a safe base you can stay at,” Max tried to convince him, feeling his heart clench at the sight of him so thin and scared. “We have warm places to sleep, all kinds of food you could want; I promise it’s better.”

The boy was still hesitant to trust, as if somehow these humans would hurt him worse than the aliens. But what else did he have? He would die out here, and these were the only people who could possibly help. He let out a small sigh, and stepped closer, keeping his head down.

Max placed a hand on his back, carefully guiding him forward. “Gwen, we might just have to go back sooner than we thought,” He turned to her, his expression serious.

“That’s alright,” Gwen nodded, hiding her relief behind a sympathetic frown.

The two stood at his sides, cautious of the landscape for any danger, if whoever had let him go might still be around, waiting for them to reveal his place. Ben grabbed onto Max’s shirt, not wanting to leave their sides.

…

“Our camp is just ahead; It’s a small place, about 30 or so people. Do you think you’ll be alright there?” Max explained, looking down to the boy at his left.

He had slowly relaxed around the two, holding himself up with a bit more confidence now. “Uhm…Yes. I sleep in a room with many people.”

Gwen chuckled with a soft smile, “Well, you’re probably going to have your own room for a bit while you’re quarantined, so you don’t have to worry about being packed in.”

“...What’s…The uh…”

“Quarantined?”

“Yeah, what that?”

“Basically, you’re gonna be kept in a separate room so you can be acclimated to our environment first, and to make sure you don’t have any sickness or whatever.”

“I have sickness?” He looked up to her nervously, his eyes nearly becoming crescent-shaped.

Gwen didn’t seem to notice, and added, “Probably not, but I mean, you were in the sewers and an alien camp, so who knows what you have?” 

“Gwen,” Max called her name with a warning tone.

“I’m not trying to be mean, I’m just saying what’s true!”

“But still, that’s not a nice comment.”

“Okay, okay…” Gwen sighed, looking away from the two into the forest.

“Who is going to be there?” Ben asked curiously. “Is there more in your family?”

Max nodded, “Yep, and a lot of other people. But in our family, there’s me, my son Frank and his wife Natalie, and then Gwen and Ken, who are their kids. But also Kevin, who’s Gwen’s little boyfriend.”

“Max!” Gwen protested with embarrassment. “We’re on break right now, you know that…”

“Yes, but you two were cute even before,” Max chuckled. “I wonder if Kevin will take a liking to him too.”

“If they’re anything like sewer dwellers, definitely,” Gwen crossed her arms over her chest, her face a bit red at the edges.

“Hey, be nice about that kid, he’s got some rough edges you can smooth outta him,” Max smiled at her, lightly nudging her behind Ben.

“Yeah, whatever,” Gwen shrugged, looking away into the forest again.

Ben smiled to himself where they couldn’t see. These people, even in the worst kind of life, could still be happy at times. He grew up with a kind of apathy that had taken him over, with only his parents and few friends watering it down slightly. But these people had a life he could only dream of, and he hoped they could be just like they imagined.

“The base is right up there, Ben,” Max gestured forward, and peaking around the corner of the turning trees, a tall wall could be seen, barbed wire along the top, even above the gate.

As they came closer on the dirt path, two guards could be seen. They had their faces obscured by their helmets, and their clothes were almost as dark as the wall they guarded, if a bit torn and charred from untold battles. Ben was a bit nervous by them, being quite tall and looming over him, but when they got close, they were much friendlier than they appeared.

“Hey, Max, Gwen, you two are back early, huh?” The left one spoke up, nodding their head up.

“Who’s this kid? A survivor?” The one to the right added curiously, looking down to Ben.

Max placed a hand on the boy’s shoulder, bringing him forward despite trying to hide. “He ran away from the camp up north, we’re going to get him checked up to see if he’s alright. And maybe he can stay too.”

“The more the merrier, ey?” The left one chuckled.

“If there’s food left,” The right added. “But yeah, he looks like a good sport. Come on in, straight to the medical bay.”

The right one opened up the door, leading into quite a lush place. Ben was nervous, but Gwen pushed him in, leading him along. Inside the large base, there were a few outside tables near the path, and further down, a long, “n” shaped base, dark and with windows along the side.

Many people sat around outside, some not looking at them, others watching curiously. Ben kept his head down, feeling anxious at the eyes on his form. He never truly had this kind of attention on him, and it was like snakes along his back.

Once they went to and opened the door, a cool rush of air washed over them. He had never felt this kind of cold before, it filled him with an odd sense of wonder, something he never did or was allowed to feel before. What place could ever be this cold? Nothing was ever cold anymore, just hot. How was this place cold? It was even brighter than outside, but yet so cold? That was impossible!

The people inside were dressed like an angelic parade, and he hardly heard them speaking to him over his watchful curiosity of the inside building. He wanted to explore it all, unlike the outside that never accepted him. He was scared before, but he was now only amazed. White was rare yet so common along the walls, only the sun and beautiful gods could be it, yet it was everywhere–not sterile, beautiful.

…

As the night washed over the land in slow, dark waves, and the communal bonfire was lit, there was an uneasy question to be answered as everyone began to sit around the bright flames. Everyone knew it, even if they weren’t there. Word spread fast, but nobody was confident enough to speak up just yet. When the mayor came by, maybe they would ask for them.

The newcomer was still in the facility, being cared for by the two main doctors while they made sure he was safe. The boy was odd and quiet, like the rest of them. But there was hope for him yet.

Kevin usually sat with Gwen, but this night, he was with the few other kids that had lost their parents. Maybe it was because of an unheard rumor they kept away, or maybe Ken’s presence was enough to scare him off.

But eventually, the question was asked, and Mr. Shaw spoke up with, “Ey, Max, who was that boy you and Gwen came back with this evening'?”

“Oh, well, the boy must have escaped from the nearby alien camp,” Max explained, keeping his voice steady despite the hostility in Shaw’s tone.

“Really now? You know nobody escapes from that one—of all camps in the states.”

“He was roughed up and starving, you think I should have just left him there to die?” Max glared back to him, but did not raise his voice.

“I’m just sayin’ you should be more cautious! Who knows what that kid’s got, or who he’s leadin’ to us! I would've told the soldiers and had them look instead.”

“Well I’m not you, Shaw, so I’ll do as I damn please,” Max hissed to the disgruntled fisher.

Shaw scoffed, turning away from their direction to the front gate, “Well, I’m just saying, that if it were me, I wouldn’t be so quick to trust him.”

“And thank good hell you weren’t.”

“But he’s a good boy, Shaw, he’s lost his family, and he has a lot of potential here,” Natalie explained from beside him, her voice steady but serious. “He’s almost like Kevin, he has no family left, but nobody had a problem with him coming here. Where is this double standard coming from?”

“Well Kevin didn’t escape from a camp nor risk our safety. I’d rather trust Kevin to lead us into the pit's hell before I let some alien boy in here.”

“Really? Well, he needs a proper influence if he’s going to survive, so he’s going to be staying with us. And if you have a problem with him, you have a problem with all of us!”

“Uh…N-Natallie, w-we didn’t…” Frank spoke up quietly, leaning in close in quiet opposition, “w-we didn’t agree on that yet…”

“And we let that boy fall to people like Shaw?” Natallie added, keeping her voice down as well.

Frank squirmed in place, wanting to oppose her, but knowing she was right. He’d never let an orphaned child be taken into care of one who never cared for him.

Finally, once the talking came down and the fire replaced the ambiance, the Mayor eventually came forward. Mrs Liang looked over them all, quiet with the aftermath of their argument. They waited for her to be seated and to bring her own opinion to them all.

“Good evening, everyone,” she greeted them all softly, and a few answered back in kind. “I’ve been overhearing some of everyone’s opinion on the situation, and I want everyone to know that, if he is clean and acclimated, we will have a temporary trial-period for him to observe his worth as a member of our camp.”

Chapter Text

After he was freed from the confined space of the medical bay below the surface, Ben came out of his shell at last. He spoke, he played, he learned to read, he came outside; He became the extrovert they needed in this dull world, one of the few happy people still around, even if it came from slight naivety.

The adults liked how he began to open up, beginning to help around the camp, setting a reputation to those who had once doubted him. Despite his trauma and worries, he was doing well for himself here.

He took Tennyson as his last name, from the family that saved him, but kept Kirby as his middle name to remind himself of the old life he has mostly grown from, and a potential future if he ever chooses to help those back in that camp.

One morning, as a meeting happened at the surface, Mrs.Liang spoke up proudly.

“Good day, everyone. I hope you are doing all well. As you know, we do weekly expeditions, and at the end of our list, the Tennysons will leave to explore the abandoned science factory far north from here, to salvage anything that can be of use to us.” Though they were hesitant to let him come along, Gwen was able to convince them, saying it could prove him further a loyal and willing member.

And off they went; Max, Gwen, Ben, Ken, Frank, and Natalie all went, packed with weapons, medicine, and supplies as they carried on past the gate, and down the dirt path they traveled, map in hand.

Ben was used to the heat outside from his past, but he was not used to wearing thicker clothes that made the heat feel even worse. Thick layers had to cover every bit of skin, and they seemed more like strange animals than humans. It seemed to defeat the purpose to him, it was always hot, so why not wear something light? The only time you could have skin showing while outside was on rare cloudy days, late afternoons, and nighttime, the only time the sun was gone.

And it didn’t seem to help that the heat combined with being out in the woods where they could be found by dangerous creatures, he was on edge the whole time, even if the layers felt like a security blanket around him.

“Come on, Ben, this is going to be great!” Gwen smiled to him from behind her ski mask and sunglasses, her steps tappy and excited for this new adventure.

“Maybe…But the aliens aren’t far from here! Don’t you think they’d follow and come after us?” Ben fidgeted with his bag handle, an uncharacteristic nervousness crossing him, even with his face hidden.

“Ben, listen. Yes, we’re in danger twenty-four seven, and anything out here could kill us, but how can you ever properly live your life if you don’t say ‘screw it’ and do what you want?” Gwen explained, calming herself to try and bring up a more calming, comforting tone. “Trust me, if you can let yourself breathe, nothing will seem as hard or daunting, just another challenge to run with!”

“How? …I don’t get how you can just do that,” He gestured to her, his expression confused but also cautious.

“Just follow my lead, okay?” Gwen leaned in, her expression a bit mischievous. She then straightened herself, tapping her mom’s arm, “Hey, mom.”

“Yes?” Natalie paused to look back at her.

“Can we run ahead? I looked at the map, I know where we’re going!”

Natalie sighed, her expression a bit exhausted by amused. “Just don’t go too far, okay? And be safe.”

“Yes, mom!” Gwen smiled, then pushed Ben aside playfully, and took off ahead of the three.

Ben was hesitant for a moment, but eventually took off after her, his crossed bag jingling against him as he hurried along.

The dirt kicked up under them, and they jabbed each other along as they darted through the flat land ahead of them. Even with trees dull and dying, they shifted and creaked as their speed brought a breeze along. The heat shimmered down on them, and warmed up their already tanning skin.

Ben slowly caught up behind her, eventually managing to shout, “Where are we going!” as he panted and gasped for clean air.

“To the lab! Keep up!” She encouraged him, keeping up her speed ahead of him.

Ben hadn’t ran like this in a long time, not since he escaped. Yet somehow, she ran faster and farther than he could, which made him chuckle slightly. He imagined if she were the one outrunning the aliens, quickly maneuvering around trees and sliding into hiding places faster than light, confusing them enough to slip away. If only he were that fast.

They ran for what seemed like miles, their lungs burning from both the toxic air, and the exhaustion of their long-lasted speed. But eventually, they took a momentary break to breathe and let the rest catch up.

…

The building was in the distance, but rounding a long path of dead trees, they eventually got to a road that led right up to it. The building was tall above them, a lightly faded grey covered in plants and only small patches shone in the light.

Ben was a bit intimidated, but Gwen held no fear, and quickly took off towards the building in a speed walk. She wasn’t going to go in without permission yet, but she was definitely going to peek in and try to see what she could through the broken windows.

Ben was lagging behind, still tired from all the running, but he was trying to not be too far behind. Being alone was dangerous in this world.

Gwen was eagerly peaking and talking to herself, and when Ben got close he collapsed and laid down on the grey-colored grass. Everything he was dying, and the sky was a very faint, dark purple-blue color, but everything around was brightly lit. That's what a lack of atmosphere does apparently. Even clouds were rare, more rare than lighting or thunder anymore, which was odd to everyone else.

Ben wasn’t born before the war and apocalypse, so he couldn’t imagine a world unlike this. The stories were great, but seemed utterly impossible in his mind. Impossible like total freedom.

“Ben, you’re going to love it here,” Gwen turned to smile at him, but Ben didn’t move from his spot on the ground.

“You maybe…” He mumbled to himself. “What’s in it?” He turned his head to the side to ask a bit louder, his expression tired under the gas mask.

“Oh, bunches of stuff. It’s a bit dark, but I can see counters, abandoned equipment, books, I might even see some living creatures. Oh, and stairs! Stairs that lead down! We can see what they got in the basement!”

“Can I take my mask off when we get down there?”

“If Max says so. Or he gives me one of his fancy radiation detector things. I think it was like…A guy-ger counter? Some weird name, I don’t know.”

“Cool,” Ben hummed, and laid his head back down.

Even if it wasn’t humid, the direct sunlight itself was horrible. Max said it was “worse than the last time I was in Arizona”.

Maybe if there was some breeze of air, it could be somewhat more tolerable. Though there was very little oxygen, it seemed to not be cold enough to even make convection currents to lift and change the air.

Yeah, he learned a thing or two in basic classes.

Eventually, steps far behind were approaching them, and Gwen turned to greet them with a wave. But she looked over to Ben and warned: “Better get up, Ben. We’re about to get going.”

Ben groaned, but he pushed himself up and brushed off, and he turned to see them approaching. They were all bundled up as well—Ben liked seeing Max’s unique, bird-like mask. He only ever saw true birds in books.

“Alright, you two,” Natalie gestured to Ben and Gwen, “You’ve got to be careful in a place like this. It’s falling apart, and who knows what sharp things could stab you if you fall. Just stick together and check places before you just waltz in.”

“I know, mom,” Gwen sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m not a kid anymore, you know.”

“You’ll always be my kid, so it don't matter.”

Max unlatched his long carrier bag, and took out a geiger counter to give her. “This should detect Beta and Gamma particles—not that it matters to ya’ much, but if it ever even grazes yellow or starts beepin’ constantly, you gotta come straight back up, alright?”

“Got it,” Gwen nodded, then quickly took Ben’s gloved hand to pull him towards the entrance door.

She rushed to open the door, and light rushed in the building from the doors. But Gwen was not interested in this level, she rushed over to the basement stairs with the same enthusiasm as a kid seeing a candy shop. Apparently.

“Come on, Ben! We don’t got all day!”

Ben was hesitant, looking all around himself and walking over sheepishly, keeping a hand on the dirty wall to steady himself.

Gwen took her flashlight from under her covered belt, and flicked it on. It was a long, narrow staircase, like what you’d see in an emergency exit.

Gwen took off down the stairs just as Ben got to her side, expecting him to follow immediately. He was tired, but he tried his best to keep up.

It must have been at least four flights of stairs before they got to a door, and Gwen swiftly pulled it open and rushed in. It was much more dark and large, but there was enough of a hole in the ceiling from dirt caving in to reveal some sunlight from above. It illuminated some counter along a far wall, but it had nothing important, so Gwen didn’t pay much attention to it.

“How far down are you going to take us?” Ben asked when he passed through the door tiredly.

“Just one level at a time. And are you going to be this slow the whole time?”

“Well, I'm not as energetic as you are, G. I’m not used to running around and being in dangerous places.”

“Then get used to it, because that’s how I am.”

Gwen walked forward, then made her way from the platform’s steps and into the lower deck—many desks, computers, scattered science supplies, and many other science things.

Gwen was eagerly looking around, going down each aisle of desks, touching each computer to see if it turned on, and looking through the drawers for anything she could take back.

Ben did not follow, instead leaning against the railing and moving to take his mask off. He took in a deep breath, but it felt like he inhaled sand, which scratched at his fragile lungs, and he coughed harshly. It was horrible, but bearable.

He took a look around the dark room, and could just see how long it was left to rot.

Walls were cracking and spilling out innards they had tried to hold back—dirt, insulation, circuitry, it was at every corner and wall edge with massive white plates cracked and shattered on the floor.

Some creatures crawled and slithered around, but Ben wasn’t as repulsed by him as he might have been in the past. They were just living like he was, so there was no reason to be afraid. Unless they were deadly, in which case be cautious.

“Ben!” Her voice came out of the void, and looking over, he could see that she was illuminated by a white light. “A computer works!”

“I thought this place was abandoned. Shouldn’t it not have power?”

“Maybe they had solar energy like we do, and it’s stored up and they just didn’t take the energy with them. Which also might explain why everything looks like it was left in a panic.”

“Hm…Maybe”

Aliens…Just that word made him sit on edge…Or lean. Like against this railing. You get what he means.

Eventually, Gwen made her way back up, but turned to him and showed him what looked to be a rusted scalpel. “May not be useful now, but in battle, it’ll be a great close-range weapon.”

“...With rust?”

“Yeah. Did they not teach you what tetanus is?”

“No, I’m just learning about animals to look out for next. And it’s all so confusing right now…”

“Well, you get tetanus from rusted things; like knives, nails, chains—it’s really gross. Try and avoid it sometime.”

Ben hummed in acknowledgement, and followed Gwen as she started to head back to the stairs. He was tired, but he didn’t complain. This was nothing compared to constant labor—this was much better, if boring.

Ben felt the floor sink under him, and he got the urge to jump, but was too late as everything collapsed under him, his hands reaching out to Gwen, but only his scream echoed through the hole he now slid through.

“BEN!!” Gwen shouted after him, her arm outstretched. But didn’t join him in the hole just yet.

…

His mind was slow to rise to the situation, but before he even opened his eyes, the pain was immediately throbbing and excruciating.

His chest—it hurt the most aside from his limbs.

His right wrist felt tight, it couldn’t move.

His legs were warm on top, but cold on the bottom where he touched the floor.

He also felt wet…Like water had been dripping on him, or maybe…He was bleeding.

He didn’t have the energy to even open his eyes, but slowly, his hearing came back to him. His pained, small breaths were first, then the strained sounds beside him.

But they sounded familiar.

…Gwen?

She groaned, but he couldn’t see her.

“...B-Ben?” She asked out to the air, but he didn’t respond. Maybe she noticed the movements of his eyes under the lids.

But how could she be in the dark?

“Ben, if you're here, I need some kind of sign. Anything. Please…”

Anything…Like what?

He took in a small breath, then held it, both to answer her, but to see if it would hurt less.

“Ben!” She seemed to notice his pause, but when he let it out once again, she sighed. “Damn you…I’m glad you’re okay. You got seriously hurt. Like…I-I don’t even know if I wanna tell you.”

She never held anything back from him, but her saying that meant this was seriously important.

“...But also. I think we stumbled into some underground lab. Like yeah, there was the one above, but here…It’s not pristine and white, not human-like even if it was human made. This here…It’s so different. No lights to speak of, but there’s this large computer, and it’s…Showing your vitals or something. I think it’s getting it from this watch thing. I-It just attached to you. L-Like it flew. It’s got to be some alien tech, but I can’t get it off you, and every time I try, it screeches like it’s alive!”

There was a pause, and Ben tried to process it. Even if it hurt his brain, he tried to imagine it behind his eyes, and maybe it was more phantasmagorical than it really was. He was creative like that.

“I looked through the computer—well I had to limp there, the hole was rather steep, I might have broken or at least sprained something, because dear god does it hurt. However, It…Gave instructions for the watch. Well, I assume it is, because it had some weird alien text name. But it has the same symbol, and it shows a curving arrow, then pressed down once on a specific icon. It showed a lot of crazy creatures, so I’m gonna hope this will help you. If not, feel free to bully me for it later.”

She carefully lifted his wrist, but it didn’t hurt like it could be broken, it was just incredibly heavy and tight.

She placed it on her lap, and began turning the dial, which clicked like a loud switch, likely showing different creatures to pick from. Eventually, she stopped on one, and she took a breath.

“Get ready, Ben.”

Ben would have tensed as if he were getting stabbed with a needle again, but he had no control, so he only…

Felt…

Darkness?

//**\\

He woke up with a rush, his eyes snapped.

God, where was he!

It’s cold.

Dear god it hurts!

Run!

He sped onto his wheels, but tripped on something raggedy and ran into a wall.

Damn it!

Where was he?

Why is he in a cave? What happened?

Run!

He sped around again, the cloth now gone, but it only went in circles aside from the hole in the ceiling.

Hole! He can escape!

“Ben, calm down! You’re still in the cave, you’re still with me!”

Who’s that?

Pink face? Raggedy brown clothes? Gross!

“Ben?”

“Who’s Ben?! Who are you?!” He shouted.

“I-It’s me! Gwen! Are you okay?”

“I’m fine! Who are you?! I don’t know any Gwen! Leave me alone!”

“You’re still hurt! Look at your legs! And your chest!” 

He looked down.

What?

His chest was dented and littered with scars.

Arms too.

Legs don’t look right.

Tail feels fine, crest feels good.

Where is he?

He has to go!

“Ben, I need you to calm down. Even like this, you need to take a break.”

“Breaks? I don’t have any!” He hissed, and zoomed around the room around the circle.

“Ben, just sit still for a moment! Come on!”

“I’m not Ben!” He shouted “I’m XLR8! I am speed, and I’ll blow you out of the water!”

“Not if you're injured! You may be fast, but you can’t outrun pain!”

XLR8 sped around, but Gwen quickly tore her head wrap off, and when she watched how he ran, she threw it out in front of him, causing him to be thrown off, and sliding against the ground horribly.

He bled even more, but his blood was purple, and stained his black and blue skin. Oh that cut was gnarly alright.

She stepped over to him, “Let me bandage you up. Then we can go, got it? I said, WE, as in you help me as well, not just run off, got it?”

“Let her help,” a voice whispered in his head.

XLR8 tried to breathe normally, but it was harsh and he could only get shallow ones.

Gwen sat down beside him, and took out some of her medical supplies.

“I suspect you broke your ribs, but I’m in no way a medical professional, so we need to get home first.”

XLR8 growled, dropping onto his side in pain and exhaustion, “...Whatever…You're terrible…You're a jerk…”

She took out bandaged and medical glue (wrapping bandaged around his broken ribs could push them further into his lungs and cause more pain), and began carefully applying them to his back scrape.

She then moved to his arms, then his legs, then his…Tail. It was also a bit scraped, but nothing a bit of alcohol drops couldn’t help.

He was crying like a baby at the alcohol, but it only made her chuckle, not

Once she was done, she placed it all back in her bag, and stood up.

“Alright, let's go.”

XLR8 pushed himself up, looking down at his bandaged body before back up to her.

“So how am I going to get you up there? Your gonna ride me like a s-han’athan?”

“...A what?”

“Just tell me how to get you up there!”

“Well, can you pick me up?”

“Maybe, but you're not aerodynamic, it might not work.”

“But if you don’t help me, nobody will help you. Aliens are hated on the surface, and nobody will listen to your needs. It’s a barren wasteland up there.” Gwen gestured up towards the hole.

XLR8 growled, his body tensing, but also rocking slightly on his wheels. “...Y-Your bluffing…”

“Then go up there yourself and tell me what you see…”

XLR8 glared at her for a long time, his tail starting to sway as well.

“…Fine. I’ll trust you for now.”

“Then how do I become aerodynamic then?”

XLR8 looked around the room, even stepping onto the ledge of rocks and watching just how steep it was.

Basically a vertical hole with an extremely steep ramp.

Whatever, that’s easy.

“You’ll probably have to conform to my bodyshape. How flexible are you?”

“Hmm…Can you make an ‘L’ shape and cross your legs?”

“…Yes?” Gwen answered cautiously, unsure of what he had planned.

XLR8 sped behind her, glancing at her structure before declaring: “Ima have to hold onto you, so i hope you don’t mind it.”

“Uhm…Go ahead, I guess. If it means getting us out of here.”

He grabbed her under her arms, and pulled her close to his chest. “I’d assume you’d want to see where we’re going?”

“Well…I don’t know if I could. You go faster than I can see, so if that’s like…Mach one or whatever I’ll just pass out from that speed.”

He laughed, “Humans. As expected.” He then turned her around and held her close that way instead, his arms threaded under hers.

She brought her legs over his back, clinging like a Koala was said to have clung to their mother.

XLR8 crouched, taking in a breath, calculating, then…

…

“We’re going to have to look for her. If she’s not answering her walkie-talkie, she’s either really, incredibly far down, or injured,” Natalie anxiously spoke up, looking at Frank and Max “She can even hot-wire it, you taught her that one,” she added, pointing to Max.

He chuckled, “‘Sure did. Raised ‘er well, didn’t I?”

“Frank, come with me. We’re going to go find them.”

Frank sighed tiredly, “alright then…”

The three of them then made their way back over to the entrance, passing the left behind desks, bodies, and strewn about items.

Most of them were unsalvageable, but it never hurt to look.

Once the stairs came into view, Natalie bravely went first. She was running even, determined to find her baby girl before anything horrible could happen.

Frank was close behind, and Max instead trailed behind, taking his time. The stairs looked dilapidated, and tried to not break them any further with his weight.

They quickly came down the stairs (aside from Max), and Natalie swung open the first door she saw, and saw a rather large, spacious room, but with a break in the ceiling letting yellow-stained sunlight inside like an early morning sunrise.

It was rather dark, but she could see the black void of a hole a few steps from the door.

“Frank!” She called out, and he came to her side.

He saw the hole and asked, “what’s wrong?”

“That hole,” she pointed to it sternly, “could have been where they went.”

“And we’ll get them out how?”

Natalie turned towards the hole, taking out her shotgun from around her side, and using it to tap (rather harshly) on the tiles in front of herself, finding they were steady up until near the hole.

Frank followed close behind, and Max would eventually reach and stay at the doorway.

They peered through the void, and it was no lighter to the bottom.

Natalie took a small piece of tile flooring, and dropped it down the hole, listening for how deep it was.

1…

2…

It wasn’t a single thud, but as if it hit something and rolled away, getting quieter as it did. There must be a slope at the bottom.

But just seconds later, like a bolt of lightning only seen for a second, blue and black shot from the hole, scaring them back as the creature was launched into the air, and charged forward to grab onto the deck above the door.

The creature had Gwen latched onto him!

“Gwen!” She shouted out, and quickly brought her shotgun to her shoulder and aimed to fire, but the creature quickly pulled itself up, and Gwen seemed to drop off on the roof.

The creature looked off at them curiously, but it was shot in the shoulder, knocking it back in a pool of purple blood. It cried out grasping its wound as fire burned through its muscles like a gasoline fire.

And despite the burning and spasming of the surrounding muscles, he held his arm close, and dashed off the roof and sped past them, swinging around to hide behind the main deck.

Natalie tried to fire at it, but it was nearly as fast as light, she couldn’t move fast enough to even form a predictive path—it could have just as easily disappeared in the blink of an eye.

She watched the area for a long moment, then turned to where her daughter was left.

“Gwen!” She called out again, but she still didn’t answer. They had no way to get up there, so they couldn’t check up on her.

None of them could climb up, so it seemed only that aliens would be able to get her down. She stepped closer towards the railing, and Frank kept calling out to Gwen.

She came closer to the creature, and peaked over to see it. Its black crest was long, but its head was laid back to hide it behind itself. Its tail was straight out, and it was bandaged up on its arms and legs. Did Gwen do that?

It hurried away as soon as it saw her, dashing behind a desk many rows away.

Eventually, they heard Gwen’s voice groan. She reached up, and sat herself upright. She looked, and eventually saw her parents, but couldn’t form words to speak to them.

“Gwen! What was that thing?” Natalie shouted to her, but more concerned for her than upset.

“Are you okay?” Max added, stepping forward from the doorway to look up.

She didn’t answer at first, her mind temporarily empty of any thoughts. She probably didn’t know who or where she was.

Her hair was messed up, but she didn’t have the thought to fix it. Her head covering was pulled back, but she was still mostly intact.

But eventually, she let out a confused sound but it was muffled to where only she could hear it.

She looked over the edge, and held herself up with her left arm.

“Gwen, are you okay up there?” Frank shouted up to her, and she flinched at the loud resonance the lab room had. It didn’t sound right, but she was still disoriented.

“Where did Ben go? Do you know this alien?1” Natalie added with a stern glare, almost as if accusing her of something she wouldn’t say.

“...Ben…” She repeated to herself. And eventually, she became to come back.

But also…She knew they might not be happy with what they might learn. It had to be secret for now.

“...We…f-...Fell down the hole…”

“Then why are you up here? Is he still down there?!”

“A-Ah…T-The alien will get him, he’s not dangerous! We really have to go before the building collapses, it’s not safe here…”

“I am not leaving Ben here with that thing!”

“Mom, please, trust me!” Gwen leaned to the edge, placing both palms together then against her forehead in pleading. “I don’t ask much of you at all, just trust me this one time!”

Natalie growled, her expression twisted with protective anger. It was extremely dangerous to leave any of her kids for aliens like this, but if Gwen was acting like that, there must be some kind of chance.

“...Alright then. Just get down here quickly.”

XLR8 stood himself up aside the railing, still bleeding from his shoulder, but he knew that drop was high—to high to safely climb down as a human.

He steadied himself on his wheel, then shot outwards, speeding over the ramp of broken rocks to propell himself up, grabbed her and held her close against his chest, and zoomed past Max in the doorway, easily slipping up the flights of stairs.

The adults quickly followed behind, but Natalie took one last look down the dark hole before continuing, hoping Gwen was right this time.

XLR8 made it to the top in a flash, and looked around the upper building. There was no more stairs, but there was an open door that caught his eye.

He placed Gwen down with care, then sped over to the door. The ground looked light and a grey-tan color, but he looked to the sky, and instead of a bright blue sky…

Darkness. A single bright light shone down like a flashlight to a bug jar. It was distressing in a way, and he froze in place as he stared up.

Even as the adults came up and found him staring, he didn’t break away. Their eyes were adapted to looking at the sun for long periods, but the more he looked, the more it burned.

“He’s much ‘a character, ain’t ‘e?” Max hummed, observing the alien’s odd behavior.

“Lets just get home, labs are a lot more dangerous than usual missions like these,” Natalie complained, but also stated with truth. 

“Nat’, cut it some slack. These things are familiar to me…”

“Just because you worked with some secret, alien-government alliance group doesn’t change how I feel about those things,” Natalie hissed, crouching down to pick Gwen up into her arms like a little girl. “They destroyed our planet more than we already have ourselves; they are not going to garner any kind of sympathy from me.”

Max sighed, and turned to begin walking towards the alien. He didn’t feel any apprehension or fear. They were both known for being usually skittish, but also for being one of the species to not join in one the taking over of Earth. They were too primitive to leave their planet; no technology would mean this one would have to have either been taken from it’s planet and placed here.

“Hey, bud,” Max softened his voice, and the blue creature quickly turned to face him, legs bunched and ready to flee. But Max crouched slightly and offered a gentle hand to him. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to hurt you at all.”

“...Who are you?” XLR8 asked, their head nodding up once.

Max seemed a bit surprised at his words, but continued: “I’m Max, i’m just a human. You know what humans are?”

“Mmmh…Weak creatures, that’s what I know. And violent with your weapons.”

“That’s only my daughter-in-law Natalie; she’s xenophobic, but I promise I’m not.”

“...I don’t believe it…” They huffed, rolling back slightly to keep a distance, now upright as they felt more confident with the distance. “You’ll have to prove it.”

Max looked over the alien, and only now he noticed the familiar green–and–black hourglass symbol on it’s chest. It might be a different colour, but it’s too distinct to be a coincidence. He had seen many like XLR8 without the symbol, so now he knew what he was dealing with.

Max took his gun from it’s holster, and carefully placed it on the ground. “I’m unarrmed, I promise I won’t hurt you.”

XLR8 growled, eyes narrowed. They looked behind themself, seeing the distance from the dirt road and the tree line was too far for any ambush, and the grass was all yellow and short, unable to hide any tricks.

“...”

XLR8 then carefully rolled forward, still cautious but trusting for the moment.

“I just have a question for you,” Max softly added, still having his arms apart to show he was not a threat.

“...What is it?”

“Do you know where that symbol on your chest is from?”

XLR8 looked down, and their eyes squinted as they tried to identify it. “...No?”

“Well I do. And I have a feeling that you aren’t really a Kineceleran.”

“How do you know? You’re a human!”

“I’ve worked with many alien species, and that symbol is not one I particularly appeal to. It’s from someone very dangerous, and I fear you could be in danger as well.”

XLR8 looked around again, moving back with a sudden anxiety in their chest. Still, no one was there, but it felt like he was a target, like someone was after him.

“How can you explain being able to speak english? Only humans and certain aliens are capable of that, it would be nearly impossible for your species to speak english based on your vocal structures.”

“...Are you lying to me?”

“We’re from completely different plants, there’s no way we could be remotely similar.”

XLR8 panted with slight panic, looking down at himself.

“...Just let me get close, I won’t hurt you at all. I just have to check something…”

“...NO!” XLR8 shouted, rushing back to keep a distance. “Keep away! Don’t touch me!”

“I wasn’t going to, I promise,” Max stepped back, hands still up.

From behind, Max heard the others coming towards them, and XLR8 became defensive once again.

Max turned to them, his voice a low whisper, “You gotta keep back, he’s very agitated…”

And so they stepped back, behind the other locked door and keeping out of his line of sight.

“...What are you going to do?”

“I’m just going to reset it, but I promise you’ll be fine. Nothing will happen to you. Okay?”

XLR8 yet again looked around for any danger at all angles, but eventually rolled a few inches closer.

Max kept slightly crouched, and he slowly came closer, each step as light as he could possibly make it.

XLR8 tensed as the hand came towards the symbol, as if expecting some kind of pain to come from it.

Max carefully rested his hand on the symbol, and with slight pressure, he managed to push it down with a click. There was no pain, but XLR8 bursted into a flash of green light, containing a white inside that shifted from the tall creature into something more familiar.

Something…

Ben!

Chapter Text

It would be nearly impossible to put into words anything he was feeling. Sure, he had been beaten, tortured, starved, all the works of a slave for the Bivalvan work, but this was an all new pain. Never had his muscles screamed and cried like flesh torn from bone. Never had bones felt so tight around his organs. Never had he wished to pass as much as he did now.

His whole body was stiff, as if they were weighed down with boulders. And oh, the agony with each lasting breath he struggled to take. And yet, somehow he still breathed. He felt…Forced to. Like the air refused to not be taken in and made welcome home in his lungs. How odd that felt.

His ears rung with a high pitched squeak that only came with intense silence—something he would never hear back at the camp. Never—not even in the dead of night, would silence ever be heard. There might have been screaming, or crying, maybe even the rare comfort of a snore; never pure silence. Yet, here it was. All in his face like it was nothing.

But of course he couldn’t open his eyes to look at what kind of crazy place only held silence. Maybe he went deaf, and he was still outside somewhere.

But he was warm, so maybe he wasn’t? Whatever was draped on him felt much too soft and comfortable to be his outside clothes, so he had to be elsewhere.

He tried, really did, but his body refused. It wanted to stay as still as possible. So, he gave in. He would stay still like this until something made him move.

He listened to the silence almost endlessly, his mind fading in and out of sleep. Sometimes he would fall back into a dreamless sleep, then he’d wake up and sit there for long periods. He also didn’t feel any other bodily functions other than sleeping, which was odd.

Maybe it was a coma, or some kind of strange sleep paralysis where time just didn’t make sense. Was he even in a plane of existence he could even understand? Was this silence the sound of space, or a worm hole? Was that why he couldn’t see anything? Were his eyes really open, but nothing filled them?

Eventually, a sound of clicking followed by footsteps came through to his ears at last, and he could finally make one movement—moving his head slightly to the right to follow the noise.

“Hey, Ben,” a somber, soft voice came to him. It was Gwen. Why? “Do you…Remember anything that happened back there?”

Ben would have answered with No, and sure he tried, but mostly silence came though.

“...That fall really did mess you up…I’m so sorry, Ben. If I hadn’t made you come along, this wouldn’t have happened…”

It’s not your fault, Gwen, he would have said. None of us were at fault.

“...Well. I mostly came in here to…Tell you about that thing on your wrist. I-If you’re even here right now. I assumed because you moved your head.”

Ben paused to think of a reaction, and managed to unceremoniously flop his head forwards, then up, and back down. Well, he was trying anyway. At least he couldn’t see; he must have looked ridiculous—he could tell by her small laugh.

“Well, okay then. So…Well, first, I should also probably tell you that Max has…He just now told me and hasn’t fully elaborated, but before earth was ruined, he worked for the ‘American Government’, which he didn’t know at the time was bad, and he worked with Aliens as apart of his job. And apparently, there was this case where alien allies found watches similar to the one on your wrist that they could use to become other aliens. And even now, after the case went cold, we don’t know who the creator is. But Max also said he never saw a version of these watches before, so he thinks it’s a new version, and maybe it’s safer and stronger. But we also don’t know how it ended up on earth when this case happened many planetary systems away.”

How interesting.

Ben hummed a tiny sound, and Gwen noticed it.

“I was just as surprised," Gwen chuckled softly, “But while you’ve been out, he’s taught me somethings about the watch—Acually, it’s called the Omnitrix. Don’t ask me why, I don’t know. And I’ve taken it upon myself to nickname them, because nothing is without a name. Do you wanna know them?”

“Don’t overwhelm him,” Another voice seemed to come out of nowhere, and it startled Ben, but he quickly recognized it.

“Maaax,” Gwen groaned, “I’m not overwhelming him. This is as simple as I can explain it.”

“I’m just sayin’, he’s just now woken’ up, he don’t need all this whiplash.”

“You’re the one who told me to tell him, so I’m gonna say it how I'm gonna say it.”

“Alrighty then…” Max seemed to relent, but his voice was high in a way that seemed he was letting her do it, but not without warning.

Gwen sighed, but eventually continued: “So, you have ten aliens, and they all seem pretty diverse in their abilities; I based the names off them. I have it listed in the same way as the Omnitrix did, so we have Flame, Dog, Crystal, and Speed although he’s called himself XLR8 so that’s probably his actual name—then there's Tiny, Beef, Mosquito, Fish, Machine, and Ghost. What do you think?”

Ben let out a single not hum; not bad nor good.

“I know, it’s a lot after you’ve just woken up, but just know that Max is always going to be there for you if you have any questions. Literally, he’s right by the door watching you like a hawk.”

“Don’t be mocking me now,” Max amusingly scolded her.

“Whatever, you get my point.”

They would soon be interrupted by some more movement and walking, and more gentle female voices coming to him—like angels who would guide the dead to heaven (apparently).

“We’ll take care of him for now, don’t worry.”

“You can come back later.”

Then, they were alone. Still, he couldn’t open his eyes.

“It’s good you’re awake now, Ben. Can you open your eyes?”

No, he couldn’t.

“Vitals are stable,”

“We’re going to try and take this watch off you, alright?”

That sudden thought seemed to rouse him, even though he had felt indifference about the watch before. He felt his heart pick up, and the machine seemed to as well. He didn’t want it gone, he couldn’t handle it. They could not just take it from him!

God, what was he thinking? Why did he want to protect it all of a sudden? It was just a watch! It didn’t…

It did matter! It was his! How dare they!

Metal clanked and moved, their steps and breathing and whispering and touching, it overwhelmed him more than Gwen’s rambling. He had to move!

Move damn it!

They grabbed but it refused to part itself. It wouldn’t unlatch and it sparked audibly. The angerier it got, the same came to Ben.

Even their prying and slicing and tugging and scraping.

It is not yours.

***

“I’ll have to contact my old group about this. They might just want to test on it. If they can even get the watch off ‘em.” Max explained softly, bringing a hand through his hair with exhaustion.

“I thought you said you were done with them,” Frank accused. “You promised mom you wouldn’t go back.”

“Frank, she’s not with us anymore” Max turned to remind him, his expression as stern as his voice. “Maybe I did promise, but we do not have the resources to deal with a situation like this on our own. I’d make any other choice if I could, so you’ll have to just accept this.”

“And what if this gets us all killed? I knew bringing Ben along was a bad idea!”

“Frank, Gwen would have been there if not him! She would be in this situation if not him! None of this is anyone's fault, and we cannot sit around playing the blame game. I’d expect you’d treat family better than this.”

“I do! I care so much I panic all the time! Every second is a possible death! I can’t handle something like this!” Frank began to shout, his emotions fluttering in his chest like a hive of hornets.

“If you can’t handle it, why do you stay here? Why haven’t you become a lone wolf where you won’t have to worry about anyone you love dying? Why stay here and torture yourself?”

“I-I don’t know! I—”

“Because you want to protect them, Frank. You’d rather die yourself than let them. But you have to understand you’ll never always be at their heel, you’ll have to let them breathe and be their own person.”

Frank’s breathing grew faster, and he laid a hand on the nearby wall to keep himself upright.

Max kept a respectful distance, but also placed a careful hand on Frank’s left shoulder. “They’ll get hurt, they’ll be sad, but what is life if you don’t grow up and learn to handle it? Nobody wants to be a mindless slave. Trust me, it’s scary. But keeping them close only pushes them further away as they want freedom.”

Frank held onto his chest with his free hand, trying to calm himself.

“You’re gonna be okay. You’re doing just fine.” 

Frank kept quiet, slowly relaxing himself with the comforting thoughts and words.

Once he was calm, Frank apologized, “I’m…Sorry for that.”

“Don’t be, we’re always learning. Times are hard, and sometimes we don’t think properly without help. It’s going to be okay, even if it doesn’t feel like it right now.”

Frank thought back to when he was a kid—Max always talked like that to him. He never yelled unless the situation was completely off the rails (which was almost always never). He was surprisingly wise for just being in his early 60s.

That’s what nuclear war will do to a man. Maybe if all this hadn’t happened, he would be back to his old traveling self, creating a bucket list for things to do when he’s 80, and watching his grandkids grow up with no need to worry.

If only.

When Frank finally caught himself, Max spoke: “Now how about you get on with your work before lunch time? That should help calm you down some.”

“...Yeah…” Frank nodded, his voice breathy and exhausted.

Max brought his arm around Frank, giving him a side hug to try and calm him.

Slowly, Frank would catch himself, and could stand without the wall.

“I’ll see ya’,” Frank softly added as he began to go his own way.

“Be safe out there,” Max waved back with a slight smile.

Now alone, Max took a breath of his own. Being a psychologist to most people here was truly tiring, but if others had a better quality of life with it, he supposed he couldn’t complain about it.

He was about to leave the room and go to his own work station, but was caught off guard when the lights of the base suddenly dimmed, and a siren began to blare through the halls. It would only play for twenty seconds to reserve power, but it hardly ever went off unless someone deliberately pulled it from his own office.

He took off down a separate hall to his left, instead making his way out to the main entrance of the base—hoping someone would know what was happening.

Chapter Text

The creatures began falling from the sky in orange bullets, pelting the ground and immediately they began to search and destroy. They clicked and snapped and clawed and sliced—nothing was free from their crab-like claws.

Max made his way up to the surface, keeping under the metal awning but he was able to see the flying of alien bodies in the sky. And it wasn’t long until one perfectly landed in the court yard, crushing one of the benches with its sturdy frame.

They were orange all over, tall with black and white accents. They were taller than a human, and easily larger. He had no idea where the weak point was, but he was soon to find out as it lunged at him—their primacy claw outstretched like brand new pliers.

He dove out of the way, the crab slamming into the concrete of the building, but quickly rebounded after him. He didn’t have much ammo to attack with, but he had enough to find how to take them down. 

He flicked the trigger and landed one in its eyes, but it didn’t fall back like he expected. It swiped and clawed at him with its smaller hand, which he avoided with swift maneuvers around it, until eventually swiping its larger one, which he deflected with the stock of his shotgun.

It was incredibly powerful with the bigger claw, but it was nothing that couldn’t be handled with his weaponry.

From behind, he heard dull thumps of concrete. Were they seriously breaking down the walls he took so long to build?!

Before he could go to face them, or even hear them break down the wall, he heard the door of the base slam open.

“Max!” Kevin’s voice called out over the loud sounds of chaos outside.

“Help me out!” Max shouted back, still struggling against the creature’s claw.

The creature raised its large claw again, but Max jumped back to avoid it, leaving a dip in the dirt instead where it struck.

Kevin swooped in as quick as he could, his body suddenly changing its complexion, and he became covered with a shiny, silvery metal. The creature didn’t care, and kept swinging with attacks to try and get him down while Max set up defense against the quickly intruding other creatures.

They were all vicious, but soon enough, their weak point was identified. Their heads did not care for damage—all it did was blind them. Instead, shoot them at the crest in the middle of their chest; It was much more effective as more swarms came to attack them.

Kevin easily defended himself and threw its attacker towards the incoming group. Who knows how many out there they would have to defeat.

***

Zoom! He went as fast as he could.

Where? Don’t care.

Go! Run!

Escaping enough was bad, but now he was being rained on by aliens! He already had enough to deal with!

“X, I need you to listen to me!” Something called to him.

“Who are you?! Why are you in my head?!” XLR8 shouted, shaking his crested head to try and rid himself of the noise.

“I’m not in your head, I’m in the watch! I’m the owner of it, I need you to calm down!”

XLR8 slowed and turned to their left to stop their intense speed, stopping near an abandoned building and taking cover from the rain of orange.

“What do you want?!”

“Don’t be shouting, they’ll hear you and we’ll get in trouble!”

XLR8 growled, but lowered his voice to say: “Fine. Just tell me what you want!”

“I’m Ben, I know we haven’t properly talked before. Your body is just as much mine as is yours, so first, you have to be careful what you do. Second, we’ll have to work together if we make decisions. Do you think you can fight?”

“Fight? No! I’m too fast! I’d rather run!”

“Then you’ll have to change forms. If you can’t fight, we won’t be able to fight the other aliens out there.”

XLR8 was panting slightly in panic, and he rolled over to the entrance he came through. Everywhere. No escape.

“...I-I can’t just run?”

“You can, but running will only get so far. They’ll learn your patterns and capture you.”

XLR8 whined, scuffing his wheels uncomfortably. He didn’t want to fight, but he had to!

“...Fine! I’ll try!”

The creatures outside might not be looking for him, but they sure are looking around and stealing things.

“Have you seen these creatures before?” Ben asked.

“Not even once. Not on my planet at least. You?”

“Nope. If they’re not easy to defeat, we’ll have to find someone who can get them.”

“I said I’ll try!”

XLR8 rolled over to the entrance of the building, watching as they walked the broken and torn up old roads.

XLR8 took a deep breath, sliding on their protective mask before taking a stance.

Hands in front, tail straight back, legs compressed.

One…Two…

He sped swiftly, sound just hardly following behind as he stuck the creature in the chest with his curled body at speed more than a jet at full.

With its shell cracked, they landed at the grass and shot up just to see the creature fall back—dead.

“That was surprisingly easy,” XLR8 hummed to himself.

“There’s no time to dwell! We got company!” Ben warned.

XLR8 looked up to just narrowly miss a shot from an energy pistol. He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

He darted forward as he had before, yet again smashing through its chest like a simple bullet. He felt his heart rush with excitement, his nervous system sparkling like tiny live wires.

It was like an addiction as he burst through each creature he saw, not one being able to withstand his incredible speed.

He ran and swam around plants and other creatures, attacking any of the creatures as he ran with no place in mind.

It was almost endless, but quickly enough he stopped himself and came to a halt a few feet away from a body of water.

XLR8 panted, looking around quietly at the now flat land around. 

“Dead end?” XLR8 asked no one, though as he glanced into the water for just a second, he jumped back as another bullet flew through, nearly hitting him yet again.

They had good aim, but he was faster.

“In the water now?” Ben groaned. “...Alright, X, do you know what a fish looks like?”

“...No??”

Ben sighed, “Alright, well, it has a tail with two points on the end, and no back legs, it only swims. You need to turn the Omnitrix till it gets on a symbol like that.”

“Why??”

“Look at them, they’re all down there!”

XLR8 scuffed his wheels on the ground nervously, “I can’t swim!”

“Well get the symbol on the Omnitrix, then as you go to jump in, press the symbol and you’ll transform!”

“How do you know all of this?!”

“Because I wasn’t fully unconscious! I could still hear and think! Now let's do it, fast!”

//**\\

Though Ben had not of control of the transformations he had already become this day, still there was a second pair of eyes for him through the being itself.

They peered open sharply, but this one did not take time to look about its surroundings. Not because it was being shot at (although it contributed), but because he knew these creatures.

These Premann must have tracked him to have ended up in foreign waters. They were always hunting their kind—unwaveringly persistent for creatures of such equal balance.

The alien flew forward with a burst of speed, and with an unhinged jaw, slammed into one of the crab-like creatures—and with a harsh snap and twist, it was easily decapitated. Others began to flood around and strike back against the lone Volann, but this one was superior in water, though not speedier than sound as such previous.

This one—of scale and fins soon covered in black blood—seemed easily able to eliminate these creatures, like it was built into its very nature. It refused to end its carnage until, at last, all of them in sight were dead. Ben could not possibly hold back this creature’s lust for ending the species it enemizes.

It at last would finally come out of its tunnel vision once the last one fell in the water, and it finally took a moment to gaze in the water, its illicium bouncing with its head like the rest of their fins.

Finally, it could hear a voice trying to communicate. “Hello! Can you hear me?”

It turned its head and body, trying to find the source of the sound, but it couldn’t yet find it.

“I need you to listen to me! Just calm down for a moment!”

“Where?” It snarled, still not understanding.

“I’m from the Omnitrix! But I don’t know where that is on your body. Do you know what that is?”

“No.”

“Uhhh…Do you know what an hour glass is?”

“No.”

Ben sighed, “Well, I can only see what you’re seeing—just look over yourself!”

It twisted and turned to look at itself—flailing ridiculously to find what about the new voice had needed interest in.

“There! On your waist!”

It peered its head down towards itself, and at last found that around his waist—breaking the line of their dark fish parts, and upper scaled body, upon it was a green and white band, with a black hourglass shape on green, making up the circular buckle of it.

“...How come?”

“I don’t know! It was on X’s chest, I thought it would be there too…But I guess it’s different?”

“...Curious…Why do you talk to me, spirit?”

“I’m not a spirit! I’m…I don’t know how to explain it! I’m you, but not. This thing, it changes me from myself, into you! Does that make sense?”

“...No…”

“Damn…Well, make of it what you will. There’s still a lot of those creatures on the surface. They…Oh god! They probably got my family by now! We need to go back and help them! I can’t believe I ran away like that!”

“But I can’t breathe outside of these waters!”

“But my family—!”

“Families die sometimes, nature will always take full course. But though I am sure they are strong.”

“Come on—uh, I never got your name?”

“Just RipJaws is fine for you.”

“RipJaws! Okay, I know you don’t want to go to the surface, but this is still my body, it just has your consciousness with it. So you have to listen to me!”

“How come? If I can control this body myself, why should I listen to a voice that can only command me? You’re more than spirit, I do not care to listen.”

RipJaws began to swim again, turning on his right side, and with flips of his fish tail, he swam deeper and further into the deep, murky water, tangled in debris from years of neglect. It was also more shallow than the home oceans he was used to, but nothing he could not swim in.

But at a certain point, the Omnitrix began to spark and buzz, like a wild eel preparing strike. It was like a stabbing in his midsection—an awful constant pain the more he swam. He was soon forced to stop, and began to swim towards the surface. Perhaps Ben was somewhat right, but not for his family, but that they needed the surface, as the device was not water proof. Expected of most technology.

He surfaced with only his head, the sky still black, but the earth not less colorful. The water was of green-brown muck, and just barely could he float on his own.

The shore was so far, but again the Omnitrix struck him, so he bit over his pride and rushed just under the surface of the water to get to it. He wouldn’t be able to breathe, but just maybe, he could make it before he passed out from the striking pain abusing his system.