Alone

"C'mon, let me do it!"

"Not gonna happen, cootie queen!"

"Pleeeeeeaaase Ben? Be my hero?"

"The kitten eyes and the flattery would work better if you weren't smirking."

...well okay, he had a point there. She dropped the pleading look, narrowing her eyes at the translator Ben was holding away from her. A clunky device, but grandpa Max had assured her it would work.

Now it was just a matter of who was going to hold the thing when they started asking the Wildmutt outside questions but Ben wasn't budging. And grandpa seemed more than content to just relax against the kitchen counter, holding back laughter as he watched them bicker.

Pity he was there. She had about a dozen ways to make Ben melt, especially if she really broke out the big guns, but she couldn't exactly do that when their grandfather was right there, that'd be super weird.

...then again, the old man knew about them now. And accepted them. He might as well learn to live with what that meant the hard way. They'd sure had to. Gwen's smirk returned in full force. Ben's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What are you thinking dweeb-?" She raised a small hand to rake along his jaw, cutting him off soundly. She trailed the hand up, reaching his ear- and part of her wanted to give it a good twist just to spite him, but as effective as that would be, so was her current plan.

And this one was more fun.

So she ghosted her fingers over the shell of his ear, mentally ticking it off her list of erogenous zones- and trying very hard not to flush remembering that article because she needed to play this cool- before she tangled her fingers in his hair, pulling him to her.

She got to see his eyes widen just before she slammed their mouths together, his thinned lips meeting her welcoming ones. He resisted the dangled fruit for all of a second before he melted into it with a frustrated groan.

Behind her, a surprised but amused chuckle escaped grandpa Max. She smiled against Ben's lips, pulling on his bottom one with a sly smile as she pulled away.

Oh yeah. Definitely more fun than yanking his ear.

She really needed to figure out that time travel spell, just to tell her slightly younger self 'Hey girl, in a few months, you're gonna like kissing the doofus a heck of a lot more than kicking his butt, so save yourself the trouble and just dig in.'

She was pretty sure it felt under the definition of self-harm to make your younger self explode from the details of their future relationship, but she'd take it anyway. And probably steal a kiss from younger Ben just to see the look on his face.

Jeez, when did I become such troublemaker? She mused, pulling back completely, not quite able to fight down the blush on her face and entirely unable to stifle her giggle.

She took in the expression on Ben's face, somehow completely dazed and disgruntled at the same time. And smitten, if his blush was anything to go by. Her amusement faded into fondness. Right. When I started liking this idiot.

His arm had lowered, though. Gently prying the machine from Ben's boneless fingers, she stepped around him, smacked him on the butt (earning her another chuckle from her grandfather and a yelp from Ben) before she skipped outside.

The Vulpimancer was interested to see her, at least, immediately raising her head of the ground and cocking it. Gwen felt a strong twinge of unease, because night had fallen and she was surrounded by trees and this alien had attacked her and Ben just a few hours ago and-

She exhaled a breath, searching for the remains of her love spell, finding the fading but strong thread that tied her to Ben, and to the mutt in front of her. She'd be fine. She had to be fine. Calm down.

Hanging onto that thread for dear life, she grinned up at the mutt, holding out the machine and switching it on. "Okay Scooby, let's do this!" She spoke into it, the machine emanating the message as a series of grunts and growls. The mutt seemed more confused than anything, even if her tail was wagging- oh wow, this one even had a tail!- and Gwen just snorted. "So, what are you doing here?"

She figured she'd start easily, but the creature stilled, bringing her head closer to the machine, growling it's answer into it.

The answer came a second later, haltingly and plagued by static, but ultimately clear enough for her to hear. Clear enough to stop her heart.

"Hunt Red."

Her blood chilled and wind rushed through her ears, heart pounding a million beats in one second but none of the fluid it pumped around could warm her frozen limbs.

That couldn't mean what she thought it did.

Distantly, she felt the thread of her love spell snap, the last vestiges of affection falling away with nothing more than a sad, mournful whimper. Her breathing quickened, but she couldn't suck in enough air couldn't see couldn't breathe couldn't move-

The vulpimancer rose to it's full height in front of her, but she barely saw it, eyes fixed on the machine as it blurred in front of her. A low growl came to her ears, so low she could barely pick it up. But it was enough for the machine.

"Kill Red!"

Her eyes snapped up just in time to see the creature rear back, jaws spread wide and fangs gleaming, a vision growing dimmer through rapidly gathering tears.

But she could still make out the fist of diamond that crashed into the beast's face and the strong, warm arms that picked her up and carried her away.

Sometimes, Max felt it would be all too easy to believe the lie. To pretend, and forget that you were pretending.

He could pretend like they had left danger behind them on Xenon, that it would never follow them home. He could pretend that he was retired, and that he had nothing to worry about anymore.

He could pretend that his grandchildren were, if not fine, at least getting better.

And it was so easy when he saw Ben and Gwen experiment with the watch, tossing ideas at each other and bickering like an old married couple- which they always had, even if the hand holding was a new edition that spoke of the genuine care that lay at the heart of every biting word.

It was so easy when he saw Gwen bounce a ball around with magic just because she could, eyes alight with wonder all the while. And Ben's eyes would be the same when he watched her do so. Max used to think it was because he was as fascinated by magic as any child ought to be. In hindsight, it was just as likely that the boy only had eyes for her.

And even if that was new, and still a little shocking, seeing the two of them be warm, affectionate and loving with each other in a way that reminded him so viscerally of Frank and Natalie when they were younger, it was so, so easy to pretend that they were happy. That they would be fine.

Kneeling at the edge of the bottom bunk in the backroom of the RV, watching the miserable huddle on top of the blankets that was his granddaughter shudder at every sound, body wracked by anguished sobbing and gasping breaths, Max was reminded of the fragility of that small bit of peace they had carved out for themselves.

Ben was dealing differently. He was still outside, in front of the crystal prison he had hastily constructed for their guest, standing guard. And he would not move from there. Max wanted to find a tranquilizing gas bomb he had- in one of the closets in the backroom- just so Ben could come in and get his own comfort in.

But he could not leave his granddaughter like this for even another minute, and Ben was in no state to help her.

Max grit his teeth, heart breaking all the while but knowing that his frustration and sadness with the situation was not what mattered right now- truthfully it never would, because he deserved every second of that pain for letting Ben and Gwen fly so close to the sun without saving them when they inevitably burned themselves.

He hadn't been there when they needed him most. But he was here now, and if nothing else he needed to do what he could.

So he, slowly, reached out to place a hand on her shoulder. Gwen's breath hitched, body tensing even more, but Max soldiered passed it. In the past, whenever he saw the kids cope with their experiences, the other had been there for them, and he had refused to intercede, not thinking it was needed, not wanting to intrude on something that was clearly something between them alone.

Now, as he wracked his brain for a clue on how to help her, he regretted not being there for them in the aftermath either. At least then he would've known what to do, instead of having to find out at the worst possible time.

He moved to sit on the bunk beside her and slowly, tentatively, pulled her up to face him, desperately wanting to pull her in for a hug but knowing that she needed her space, knowing that her fears revolved around having no escape and needing to get out. Gwen was not looking at him, eyes scrunched shut. It did nothing to stop the tears still streaming out of them.

He didn't know if she was shaking in fear or because his touch on her biceps was constricting her, but he needed to do it- needed to ground her. If this one was one of his young recruits he'd drag them outside so they could suck in the evening air, give them as much space as he could.

But Gwen would not do well being outside right now. Not at night, not when surrounded by rugged nature on all sides.

Not with the growling coming from within the crystal prison. Not with her cousin, her bedrock, being right in front of her and too shaken himself to be the help she needed.

"Gwen." He spoke up, softly but clearly. "You're okay. You're safe-"

"No!" The girl denied, eyes snapping open briefly to dart around in fear, her shaking became more noticeable, her struggles more violent and her breathing more escalated. Max tried not to let his own panic show on his face.

"You're safe now." Max stressed. "Gwen, Gwen I need you to look at me. Please."

He was not nearly as stern or steady as he liked to be, but Gwen had always been better at listening than her cousin. And while he had to hide how unsettled he always was to see his granddaughter like this, Max did nothing to hide his pride when she actively wrestled herself under control, at least enough to open her scrunched up eyes and meet his gaze.

Her breathing was still heavy, her struggles had devolved to gripping the arms with which he held her own, nails digging into his skin. Her eyes were blown wide, red from crying, tear streaks clear on her face and she looked broken and miserable in a way that made Max want to go turn Vilgax into sushi and feed him to the Vulpimancer outside.

But she was meeting his gaze and fighting to come out on top and that was all that mattered. And it made him proud.

"You're safe now." He repeated, quickly adding "Ben's got the Vulpimancer caged and is standing guard. You're in the Rusbucket, with me, and I promise you I will not let anything happen to you in here. I know-" He started when she slowly started shaking her head, "I know it doesn't feel like that right now. But it will pass Gwen. It always does."

He tentatively released her left bicep and raised his hand slowly to cup her face. She flinched imperceptibly when the hand connected, only to lean into the touch a second later. Not quite the enthusiasm Ben got when he calmed her down, but Max could work with it. "We're going to do some breathing exercises together. I'm sure your mother showed you how. We're going to breath in-" he inhaled, "hold our breaths for four seconds," he exhaled slowly, "and release it for eight. We'll do it together, okay? On three."

It took them five minutes of that to calm Gwen down to the point that she, at least, was no longer panicking. That didn't mean she was fine, far from it, but at least he could now help her conventionally.

Or she can help herself. Max reflected ruefully when she threw her arms around his middle as far as they could go and buried her face in his chest. He hugged her back tightly, hoping to remind her that even if Ben wasn't there and even if being held close was not always possible for her...

He hoped she remembered that, before, what was so shortly ago but seemed so long, and must feel like an eternity to her, that she came to him for comfort, and that he could still help if she needed it.

"You always give the best hugs." She admitted with a sniff. Max smiled, cradling her closer, if possible.

"It's all the extra padding." He admitted. "Take a good look kid, Ben's going to be just as bad when he passes forty."

A soft, broken giggle escaped her and Max took it as a personal victory. "That's fine; means there's more of him to love." She pulled back giving him a tentative smile. "And more of you. Thanks, grandpa."

He grinned. "Anytime, pumpkin."

Her smile widened before turning a little sheepish. "Uhm, not that I don't appreciate it, but…" She trailed off, biting her lip. He chuckled, taking her meaning.

"Ah, of course. Who wants a hug from their grandpa when they've got a handsome young man in the bag?" He asked, shrugging and rising to his feet, delighting in Gwen's rapidly spreading blush. She was still shaken, that much was obvious, but she was coherent. Steady enough to think and talk passed it.

"I-It's not that. I just think he needs a hug too. And I think I'm okay to do it now. I just…"

Max nodded, sobering slightly. "Can't go outside right now." He ruffled her hair. "No worries, princess, I'll go fetch him." He reached for the closet and pulled out the gas tranquilizer- a small grenade like construct really. It should be enough to knock out an elephant, it'd do the trick for a Vulpimancer.

Making his way back to the exit, he added "Don't think I didn't notice you not denying that Ben is handsome. I'm telling him that."

"Don't you dare!"

Max quirked a smile, happy to have his feisty little lady back. But his mirth didn't last when he exited the RV. The surroundings were dark, even if the stars and moon overhead gave some illumination. Enough to show the crystal container, at least. A jagged, ugly pyramid of a thing, with only a small hole near the ground for air.

But the scenery and the prison, or its prisoner, were not what killed Max's joy. No, it was Ben standing in front of it in his human form, alert, ready, eyes narrowed angrily at the construct.

Every inhale of breath made the green glow in his eyes brighter and caused green luminescent veins to spring up down his face, neck and arms, every exhale caused them to dim. It was more than a little eerie.

Even more disconcerting was the poorly disguised shakiness in his frame and the hand clutching the short sleeve of his left shoulder, fingers bunching the fabric in a right hold while his left and clenched and unclenched under the Omnitrix.

Still, it was a clear relief to Max that the boy was not panicking nor trying to scratch his wrists open to remove the device. The old man took the small victory and ran with it.

"Ben." He called out, tossing the tranquilizer to him. When the boy caught it and gave him a guarded, confused look, he elaborated "Pull the pin and roll it through the hole. It'll knock it out for the next few hours at least."

Ben eyed the weapon for a long moment. "She." He said. "It's a she." With a bitter downturn of his mouth, Ben did as instructed, pulling the pin and tossing the tranquilizer into the small hole at the bottom.

Some of the gas escaped a moment later, but more than enough stayed inside. While the Vulpimancer yelped and whimpered, it did not break out and only moments later, a loud thud signaled it being dead to the world.

But instead of relieving himself of guard duty and rushing into the RV as Max had expected, the boy just stood frozen, gaze seeming very… lost.

That wasn't a look that suited Ben. Even if he had a bad idea, Ben always had some inkling of what he ought to be doing- uncertainty and deliberation were Gwen's specialty. Ben was the action, Gwen was the calm.

And it should be no question of what the boy's next action ought to be: get inside the RV and get some proper mutual comfort in. Approaching, Max placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder.

"Go inside, Ben." He told him, gently, and when it didn't look like Ben was going to move, he added "I think Gwen wants some comfort from her boyfriend." He tried for a smirk, but it fell flat when they boy actually flinched at the remark, shuffling his feet and staring a hole in the ground.

"She shouldn't." The boy responded, quietly, shaking his shoulder loose and stepping out of Max's reach. The old man's brow furrowed, cocking his head.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, not unkindly but very confused.

Ben exhaled a shuddering breath, running an agitated hand through his hair and he looked tired. Perhaps putting the beast to sleep had been unwise- if nothing else it had kept Ben focused but- no. No, he couldn't think like that. A soldier on a mission would sometimes need focus over rest, and while he had assured Gwen that they were safe, Max knew better. Danger could rear it's ugly head soon and if Gwen was too shaky to fight, that made Ben their best option.

But even disregarding that even endangered soldiers needed rest eventually to function, Max needed to remember that, contrary to what some of his former coworker had whispered over the summer, Ben was not a living weapon or a soldier.

He was a child.

And that made this entire situation so, so much worse.

"It- It's just that..." Ben started, waving his arm haltingly, seeming to try and grasp the words he needed out of thin air. "It's the same as before." He groaned. "This thing was sent because Vilgax wants the watch, but it wasn't gunning for me, it was gunning for her. Something is out for me, and it ends up hurting her. Again." He let it out in a string, seemingly relieved to get it off his chest, and while Max was tempted to let him keep going to just get it out-

"That's not your fault-"

"What does that matter if it just ends up the same?!" Ben interrupted, sharply, eyes snapping up with a heated glare.

Max only narrowed his own, refusing to be taken aback by Ben's fierceness or the eerie glow in his eyes. He knew his grandchildren well enough- when it became too much for Gwen, she had a good cry, let herself feel bad for a bit, and then proceeded to fix whatever was getting her down methodically.

Ben didn't do sad, not usually. Ben got angry, and proceeded to beat whatever was making him angry into submission. A pity Vilgax wasn't here to be punching bag. "It matters when you, son, are blaming yourself for something that isn't your fault. Vilgax is doing this, not you. He is the one at fault. And we will stop him, Ben. You've stopped him with less than this."

Ben held his glare for a moment longer before his face crumpled and he all but collapsed into a seated position, staring morosely at the grass in front of him, uncaring of the cold water seeping into his pants.

"I don't know how to stop him." Ben admitted, teeth gritting in frustration. "He keeps hurting her- keeps hurting people I love, and I don't know how to stop him." He held up the Omnitrix. "I can't give up the watch, or he wins and will just kill us anyway. I can't keep the watch without having her be hurt. I'm supposed to stop him but I can't." He finished, miserably.

Max walked the short distance to the boy and knelt in front of him, placing his hand on Ben's shoulder again. They were shaking imperceptibly, and he wasn't sure if that was because of the cold, or because he was suppressing tears.

"That still doesn't make any of this your fault, Ben." He soothed, understanding why Ben felt like this on more than one level. Max had had so many times in his life where things went completely sideways and he was left to pick up the pieces of something he couldn't change, could never have predicted or prepared for, and still find himself wracking his brain trying to find out where he screwed up.

Ben met his eyes, misery radiating of him like heat. "But isn't it my responsibility?" He asked, jiggling the Omnitrix for emphasis. "You and Gwen always tell me that I need to be responsible- and even if I'm not doing the bad thing, it's still my job to fix it, right? Isn't that the point of being a hero?"

He raised his hand to place it on top of Ben's head, gently ruffling his hair. "It's our responsibility. You're a child, Ben. An amazing one, but still just a child. It's not on you to save everyone. We can do that together."

Ben seemed only mildly mollified by the support, eyes turning downcast again. "It's still my responsibility to save her." He countered, quietly.

Max was stopped from asking more questions by a bright streak of light moving across the distant sky, demanding his and Ben's attention. His brow furrowed.

It's not coming toward us. Looks like a meteor from here-

Meteor's don't make course corrections.

He rose to his feet, heartbeat quickening. And it's headed towards-

A flash of green saw Ghostfreak swiftly take off from the ground, the night giving it speed the day could never, in hot pursuit. "Ben!" Max cried out but it was far too late.

The old man mentally rattled off some choice words for the situation. Ben was an amazing child, and one heck of a fighter, but he was far from emotionally stable right now and he had no back-up-

A flash of blue caught his peripheral vision and he whipped his head around, just fighting the urge to scream when Gwen's magical form dissipated a few feet off the ground and she landed in a crouch, breath ragged and eyes wild. Max rushed over.

"No, Gwen- you're not- Ben's got this, he's strong. You stay put, I'll go after him-"

"He's not strong right now!" Gwen countered, slapping away the hand that reached for her. "I'm not leaving him alone. And he's not leaving me alone again!" She seethed, though her strong talk and harsh glare were undercut by her shaking frame and teary eyes.

But when she called forth her magic form a second time, it stabilized quickly enough, and with a strong leap she shot into the air and flew of in pursuit of Ben.

Max didn't keep the choice words in his head this time and rushed inside the RV to empty all the batteries he had to get the Rustbucket flying again. But even with that it was going to take too long.

"C'mon, c'mon..." he muttered as he grabbed the communicator. He had a long distance call to make. He might not be able to fix everything, but he sure as hell wasn't going to let his grandchildren shoulder all of this alone again.

When the call went through, his chest relaxed minutely and he spoke quickly. "Please, tell me that you're close!"

Wind whipped around her face, casting her ethereal hair this way and that, the rushing almost drowning out the sound of her heart in her ears.

Almost.

She grit her teeth, focusing on keeping her form stable and aloft. The night sky was clearer up here, the stars bright, and she could almost pretend she was just out and about stretching her powers, enjoying the sensation of flight the likes of which she'd only ever felt before when she could cajole Ben into giving her a ride on Stinkfly's back.

Not that she actually would go out on her own to just fly like this. She knew her powers were not really as stable as Ben's were. She'd want to have him around to catch her if she dissipated.

The thought alone almost made her spiral down into the seemingly endless forest of dark, nigh barren trees – you're above them, they're not gonna get you, breathe – but she shook it off as best she could and stabilized her form, glowing eyes fixed firmly forward, following the dim light moving towards Bellwood in the far distance and pointedly not looking at the endless woods beneath her.

Ben was not around to catch her if she lost focus, after all. Ben was the one in need of catching.

Sure, his Ghostfreak form (and why was that thing so bloody fast in the night? She'd really not given it enough credit when she last raced it) would not dissipate like hers, but that didn't matter.

Ben was at least as shaken up as she was. She could feel that much in her very bones. He could definitely still win this fight, whatever fight it was, but he'd do so alone. She'd have to wait for him alone.

She was not strong enough to face anything alone right now and neither was he. And if she were honest, a part of her was chasing him down because she was going to absolutely chew him out for leaving her behind again when they'd promised each other that they'd stick together!

She got it, he was totally thinking he was protecting her, probably thought she wasn't even up for a fight, just shot off in the heat of the moment – all things she understood and could agree with.

But he'd promised-

A sharp pressure wrapped around her ankle and yanked, startling her from her thoughts and from her power, dissipating in a flash of blue fire as the sky twisted around her and the air roared even louder and where was up and what was happening-

Desperation sparked hot and fierce when the spinning world stabilized for just long enough to show her that the ground was coming up fast and with a cry she reached deep, mana flaring, blue flames engulfing her as the pressure around her ankle was burned away and strength returned to her body.

A second later, she hit the treeline hard, tumbling through the branches and colliding with the forest floor, tumbling through the barren undergrowth until she came to a bone cracking halt against a stray boulder.

Her form dissolved a moment later and she twisted until she was seated against the rock, groaning and panting and trying very, very hard not to cry.

She wanted to. So much. She'd already been having a bad day, and frankly, she could add 'heart stopping plummet to Earth and only surviving because of unreliable magic' to her list of things that were gonna be ruining her sleep for the next decade or so.

And blinking through the haze of tears (how did she keep making those? Shouldn't her tear ducts be done by now?) she only saw the darkness of the surrounding forest.

Yes, today was a very bad day.

She scrunched her eyes shut and sucked in a shuddering, fortifying breath. She couldn't cry now. She had to get out of here. She had to go find her doofus. She had to yell at him. Loudly. With all those curse words mom never let her use.

And then she needed to huddle up somewhere with her idiot and have a good cry and a solid day of cuddling.

She tried to hang onto that thought as she struggled to her feet, one hand on the rock as she rose. Her legs felt weak and shaky, probably from adrenaline more than damage (she hoped). All of her was at least a little sore.

A cursory probe of her mana told her that she was getting back on track wrestling it under control, and that she ought to have enough to keep going-

Her head snapped up at the sound of dirt moving. Her heart had already been beating a mile a minute, but now it went even faster. She knew why, though, and was thoroughly distracted from panicking by hope and dread.

It might be grandpa. It might be Ben, coming back to find her.

Or it could be whatever dragged her down here in the first place. Given by the sound of branches snapping and the shuffle of it as it creeped around the dark clearing, she had to assume the latter.

Channeling all her fear and misery into anger, a neat trick that Ben had always been prone to, she raised her hands in a battle ready stance, mana slowly stabilizing and rising to her call. Her foe crept closer, twigs and branches snapping in its path and she focused her attention on the silhouetted treeline, the spark of magic coming to her hand-

Roots coiled slowly, ponderously, as the silhouette of a nearby tree moved towards her and her heartbeat was gone a second later, hot anger replaced by ice in her veins as the last vestiges of her magic giving out showed limbs stretch out to block out the already faint moon, vines creeping towards her over the forest floor and a gaping maw opening.

Ben wasted no time in blasting off after the flare of light in the distance at a speed that was staggering for anything that wasn't XLR8. Ghostfreak worked best in the dark and when Ben was feeling particularly negative emotions.

He had plenty of those around. He was sad. He was scared. Above all, he was angry. Angry at Vilgax, angry at the mutt, angry at himself.

They hadn't been fine, not really, but they were getting better. They were getting help. And they'd been attached at the hip out of need, but they were also together and even if that sometimes felt more than a little surreal, it was something that he, that they, could greedily cling to as the one thing that didn't melt down around them.

And then Vilgax had to show up and wreck it all over again.

The only good thing about this was that he knew what the pounding in his skull and the beating of his ethereal heart meant. Being pissed off had been his default setting for a long time.

Usually at Gwen. Now, he was pissed off for her sake. It was a good thing she was in no condition to follow him right now. She'd be angry at him for flying off, but he needed her to be safe right now. Needed her far away from the danger.

And he needed to let off some steam.

With a rasping snarl he closed the distance to the flying light, a Heatblast, he noted, colliding with it and tearing his clawed fingers into it. The flaming body cried out in pain, and Ben echoed the sentiment with a hiss.

The fire hurt like hell but Ben was not letting go. Instead, he pulled himself closer and on top of the still airborne alien and shifted into Diamondhead, relief washing through him as the pain decreased to a manageable level.

And he was grimly satisfied to see that the added weight of his new form did as expected, sending them hurtling toward the forest below. The Heatblast in his grasp struggled, snarled and flared its flames brighter, but Ben refused to let go, merely tightening his hold and closing his eyes.

They hit the ground on their sides, both of them winded hard before they bounced apart. Ben was on his feet quickly, glad to see that the Heatblast had not taken the opportunity to blast off again but was instead eyeing Ben warily.

Ben eyed it back, and was dismayed to note there were scars all over its body – jagged lines in its magmalike exterior and twisted portions of hide that looked every bit as painful as the mutt's had, safe for one metal contraption attached to its shoulder.

The boy grit his diamond teeth, wrestling down his temper as best he could. It was tough going.

"We can protect you from him." He said without preamble. "You don't have to do this-" He was cut off by a ball of fire to the face, only shielding himself with his arms on the last seconds.

That was rude, but the angered scream that followed was what really rattled him.

"You protect me?!" The creature roared, sending another volley his way. "It's because of you that I'm in this mess!"

Ben winced more from the words than from the attack. "I-I didn't do this to you, Vilgax did-"

"Because of you!" The Heatblast returned, still keeping Ben at a distance with flames. Ben was thankful for the wet and cold forest- at least it wasn't catching fire.

Yet. He had to make this quick.

"He plucked me up and hurt me because you angered him!" The fiery alien continued, seeming to huddle in on itself, equal measures of anger and fear. "But he said he'd let me go if I did my job..."

Ben took the momentary relief to slam his fists into the ground, causing a small wall of diamond to spring forth that he shot towards his adversary, slightly more to the left of it. Ben shifted his form after he sent the wall forth.

His foe dodged away from the wall, predictably, so it had no time to prepare for two of Fourarms' fists to slam into it.

The Heatblast tumbled through three trees before coming to a stop in the dirt. Ben followed at a pace, seeing that even when crashing through trees it wasn't strong enough to light them on fire.

This is what Vilgax sent in after him? "You won't do your job." Ben informed the downed creature, looming over him. He bit back whatever teasing or mockery he'd normally throw in. This one might be more malicious than the mutt, but it was still a victim. Gwen would be furious at him being petty enough to torment it. "You're too weak to beat me or outrun me to Bellwood. Just give up."

The Heatblast groaned, slowly righting itself and facing Ben. "That wasn't my job." It said, struggling back to its feet. Ben shifted back into Diamondhead, ready to cage it, when it spoke again. "My job is to give the plant beast an opening."

Ben narrowed his eyes in consternation. 'Plant beast?' 'Opening?' That made no sense-

"Hunt. Red."

Ben's eyes widened, memories of roots shifting filling his hearing. Memories of jaws opening wide and vines approaching.

"Kill Red!"

Memories of her scream when she was dragged under-

He instantly spun around only to be stopped by a blazing first to the back of his head, knocking him down and a flaming foot on his back keeping him pinned. Ben glared venomously over his shoulder, the Heatblast flaming much more strongly than it had been and the smile on its face was malicious.

"Now, now, let's not interrupt my associate's dinner."

Gwen barely slowed down when she crashed into another tree, feet tangling in the roots as she all but fell to the ground, only to correct at the last second and stumble forward, reaching blindly through the dark forest.

She didn't care where she was heading towards. She just needed to get away from the sound of creeping vines behind her.

A distant part of her was screaming, screaming that she was being ridiculous. That she could tear this creature limb from limb with her magic without breaking a sweat. That she was stumbling blindly when she could will light into existence with the barest whisper.

But she couldn't hear that part of her at all. Not over the pounding of her heart or her blood roaring in her ear.

And every second that she slowed down, took a moment to catch her breath, try to wrestle her racing heart and thoughts under control, she'd hear it.

In the absence of her stomping footsteps and the slowing of her heart, she'd hear the scraping sound of roots dragging themselves too close. If she lingered too long, vines would lash out to grasp her, and she would scream, summoning her magic in sheer panic and striking out with a volley of lightning, a spell she couldn't consciously remember falling from her lips in a hoarse gasp.

It would provide enough power to send her attacker back.

It would provide enough light to see the flailing vines and the glinting of sharp teeth, even through the tears that poured endlessly.

And she would turn and run again, only for the cycle to continue. She could've been at this for only ten minutes or all of ten hours and she wouldn't be able to tell.

But she could tell that her limbs were burning and getting tired. Her breathing was getting heavier and her mana was depleting. The realization only made her fearful heart shrivel further, put on that extra burst of speed, maybe she could lose it in the forest, it was so dense and dark here-

She came to a sudden halt when she crashed into what felt like a rock surface, one she could only very dimly make out. She whipped her head around and quickly found that she was hemmed in by trees that were too thick to run past, she needed to double back.

The scraping sound behind her caused her stomach to drop. Shivering, she turned around, pressing her back against the rock behind her, eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness.

She didn't need to see to know that it was there, blocking her. That she was tired. That she was weak.

That she was… trapped, with no way out.

The realization made her legs give out from under her and she slid down to the ground, tears trailing sluggishly down her cheeks, breaths shuddering.

When her surroundings grew impossible darker still and she felt the heat of the Wildvine in front of her, even if she could barely see it, all she could muster was a whimpering hiccup. She tried to reach for her mana but found it depleted and scattered. She reached for her strength but found her muscles screaming and useless.

All she managed was closing her eyes and by some miracle dragging her knees up to her chest and curling her arms around them as she felt hot, rotten breath wash over her.

This wasn't the first time by a long shot she'd been this close to her… end. She'd had plenty of close calls over the summer. At first, when she encountered those moments, she'd think of her parents. Of grandpa. Of school, even. Later in the summer, she would often think of Ben too. She knew she did the last time a Wildvine dragged her under. The knowledge that she'd kept him safe the one relief she was allowed.

Now she just felt cold and miserable with the knowledge that he'd left her to die alone in the dark.

Again.

Ben crashed into the ground with enough force to leave a small crater, his diamond form taking most of the blow even if it still cracked. He grit his teeth.

The Heatblast had, unironically, turned up the heat and was blazing far more strongly and fighting far fiercer than it had been previously, the cracks in its hide that Ben's earlier assault had caused lighting up brightly.

Nothing Ben couldn't handle. Nothing master control wasn't leagues ahead of, and with the way malice just rolled off the alien with every wave of heat, Ben could easily shunt aside misgivings about giving this enemy hell.

He would if he could focus for long enough to do it. Every fiber of his being, be it made of diamond, flesh or fire, was screaming for him to get away and find Gwen!

Ben knew the Rustbucket was armed to the teeth and while he knew grandpa would rather die than let anything happen to Gwen (an outcome Ben also wanted desperately to avoid), he needed to be there for her!

He wasn't leaving her to face a Wildvine again. But neither could he let this numskull get away to jump them later, or worse, fly on to Bellwood. Ben moved to his feet and shifted into Four Arms. Its hide was not as tough as Diamondhead's, but still resilient against the heat and the stronger alien wouldn't need as much time touching the Heatblast to inflict a lot of damage anyway.

Ben straightened fully, loosening his muscles and got ready to tackle his flaming foe.

Said foe smiled cruelly. "You seem distracted. Maybe this will help." The creature reached up and tapped the metal contraption around its shoulder, causing it to give a static screech before it turned quiet again.

Ben was about to skip out on seeing what it did and just take the flaming sucker out when he heard the sounds of wood scraping coming from the contraption- as well as the sound of sobbing, labored breaths and pounding footsteps. Despite the warmth emitted by the Heatblast, Ben felt the bite of winter acutely.

"It seems," the other alien sneered, "that my associate is getting his food to go. I wonder, did he already clear out the vehicle and chased her away from it? Or," It chuckled darkly. "perhaps she tried to follow you and got a little lost in the woods?"

The Heatblast shot forward, propelled bit its flames, and slammed into Ben hard, knocking him back flat on his back. Before Ben could retaliate, its grabbed Four Arm's face and pushed its flaming fingers into the red alien's four eyes.

Ben screamed, his flaying arms knocking the smaller alien off Ben, hard, but when he shifted into XLR8 in hopes of getting his sight back, he found it to be of no use, the wound just carried over. The sound of the Heatblast shooting forward again compelled Ben to swiftly dodge, an easy feat in this form.

"Thinking of running? Of finding her?" The creature taunted, breathing hard. "Where would you go? She could be anywhere."

Ben tried not to let the reminder that even if he did defeat his foe he had no idea how to find Gwen in time- and the continuous sound of her running and crying over the machine didn't help. He shifted again.

He normally avoided using Wildvine for Gwen's sake and his own distaste with the alien, but it could heal itself and that was what counted. Regrowing the eye as quickly as he could, he only restored it just in time to get barreled over again by a solid flaming fist to the face, something his plant like form did not take well too.

Ben bit through the pain, quickly shifting into Diamondhead and slamming up a protective pyramid of crystal around himself before the Heatblast could repeat the stunt with his eyes.

The creature laughed again, slamming into the pyramid hard enough to crack it. "Fine, fine, take a breather. But I wouldn't take too long." Another slam and Ben moved to reinforce it, thinking that he could probably launch the pyramid in shards again, maybe give Four Arms another opening-

"I can still hear her breathing, but I think she stopped running."

Ben froze, and that was all the opening it needed to knock through the pyramid, slam into Ben and knock him back hard enough to crack Diamondhead's head jarringly, causing Ben to shift back into himself.

He groaned, world spinning, heart pounding and tears stinging his eyes. His vision was doubled, blurred, and even if he couldn't feel any wetness dripping from his head, his skull stung. His thoughts were getting hazier, but through the murkiness one thought remained clear.

He was failing her again.

Trying desperately to stay awake and focus, he saw the flaming monolith stand over him, smiling cruelly through the cracks all over its body, breathing labored and heavy, seeming happy despite its sorry state. "I wonder which of you will stop breathing first." It raised its hand.

The hot breath in front of her face disappeared with a gurgling sound that had Gwen whip her head up in both fright and hope. Maybe grandpa Max had caught up, maybe Ben had found her. She struggled to her feet and lit an orb of light in her hand, steeling herself for the sight of the Wildevine.

She hadn't expected to see Gluto, of all creatues, to be tangled up with its many vines and forcing half his own body down the Wildvine's throat and the most bizarre attempt to suffocate it.

Some relief filled Gwen- and she was going to kiss the slime alien if they made it through this, boyfriend be damned- but she didn't dare cheer yet. She tried to reach for more mana, but found only the barest hint, and even if Gluto was pushing the creature away from her, it was still clearly an uphill battle.

With a sinking feeling, Gwen realized that this wouldn't be enough.

But the temporary relief that Gluto had brought her was enough to bring the panic down, and instead of loosening her last bit of magic on the monster, she shot it into the sky where it exploded in a bright light, darkness returning as soon as it faded.

When the Wildvine ripped Gluto from its mouth and threw that smaller alien beside Gwen, she only saw it happen in the barest hints of shades and heard the whimper of Gluto when he hit the ground beside her. She could sort of see the Wildvine turn back towards her, the hope she felt earlier slowly leaving her when she caught the faint flint of teeth and the rotten stench of its breath finding her nose again. But when they Rustbucket came shooting out of the sky and hit it full force, Gwen allowed herself to feel relief.

The Heatblast barely got out a scream before shards of diamond lodged into its shoulder and chest, managing only a rattling grunt before it was shoulder tackled away by… Tetrax?

Ben wasn't entirely sure, head still spinning. He duly noticed the Petrosapian walking over to the downed enemy and doing… something. A distant part of Ben knew what was happening, but he couldn't quite form a coherent thought.

The world spun completely and he felt himself being picked up and carried off. The suit Tetrax wore was tough and stiff while the arms hidden underneath were hard and unyielding diamond. It was uncomfortable, but it helped keep him awake.

He remembered that he needed to stay awake.

"Wha-" He slurred, trying hard to focus. "What happ-"

"Don't speak." Tetrax informed him. "And stay awake. You've suffered a concussion. There's a medical bay on the ship that can fix you up, but you need to stay awake. I'll answer your questions after."

No no no that wasn't good enough, he only had one question. He frowned, but the effort made his head sting. Tetrax glanced down, harsh face softening just a little. "She's safe, Ben."

The tightness in his chest relaxed and before long they arrived at a clearing where he saw Tetrax's familiar ship- or he assumed the blurry blobs were actually one and the same ship.

Ben suffered through the healing process, more out of impatience than actual pain- Tetrax just injected some fluid into him that would 'help with the swelling and the damage' before he went to boot up the ship, giving Ben strict orders to 'stay awake just to be safe.'

While a part of Ben desperately wanted to sleep, as his head slowly cleared off fog anxiety started to creep in. By the time the ship landed, not too far from where they Rustbucket had been parked in the first place, right next to the prison he'd made for the mutt, his stomach was a tight coil of dread.

Grandpa Max came out of the Rustbucket quickly enough, and Ben tried not to let the tired, hard look throw him. Or the fact that there were tree remains stuck to the front of the RV.

Some questions, Ben didn't want to know the answer to. But he was relieved to learn the old man was alive and eagerly jumped into the waiting arms, allowing himself to take in all of the affection he'd pushed away earlier. But as soon as the boy was set down, his eyes drifted to the RV. Grandpa Max followed the look, sighing tiredly.

Ben didn't ask how Gwen was doing.

Grandpa didn't offer anything either, merely clasping Ben on the shoulder as if to say 'good luck' before making his way over to Tetrax.

The boy took a deep breath before making his way into the Rustbucket, nodding to Gluto where the blob rested by the doorway. It seemed just about everyone knew to give them some privacy, and while normally Ben was thrilled to have his dweeb alone, it didn't feel like nice at all.

Gwen lay on her side on the bottom bunk, facing the room. She wasn't sobbing though, even if the tear tracks on her face told him she had been. Mostly, she just looked tired and scared.

Ben made his way over cautiously and, when she made no move to stop him, climbed onto the bottom bunk beside her and laid himself down in front of her, facing her. Her green eyes focused on him slowly, ponderously.

The room was well lit, warm and kinda cozy, quite literally their home away from home. It didn't provide any comfort for either of them.

They remained like that for a long minute, seconds trickling by, until Ben tipped himself closer, brushing their foreheads together. He felt her body relax ever so slightly and took it as an invitation to reach over, trailing his fingers from her cheek, passed her ear to tangle in the hair at the nape of her neck, running his fingers in what he hoped was a grounding way.

It wasn't a gesture of comfort, not really. Ben didn't feel like he was worthy of providing it. Gwen probably didn't even want to receive it.

But they needed it.

When Gwen finally spoke, her voice was broken whisper. "Where were you?"

Ben closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, trying not to let the faint accusation in her voice stop his heart. He considered half a million responses and apologies. None sounded good enough.

"Not… not with you." He said, opening his eyes.

Her face cycled through anger and sadness before it crumpled, eyes scrunching shut and her head bowing. Ben pulled her in close, and she buried her face in the crook of his neck, a sob finally tearing from her throat, shoulders shaking minutely.

Ben held her close, whispering apology after apology into her hair. She accepted none of them. He didn't blame her. When her shaking stopped, he pulled away slightly to give her space.

"Do you… do you want me to go?" He asked, not knowing how far he'd even be able to go before either her fears or his dragged him back.

But he couldn't stay for his own sake. He couldn't be that selfish.

Gwen's eyes were huge, wet and green when she looked at him, misery and a sort of resignation.

She nodded.

Ben tried to ignore the way his heart cracked a little at the sight. He swallowed hard before untangling their limbs, not realizing that they'd become so intertwined in the first place. Every limb he reclaimed felt cold and useless. He turned his body and placed his feet on the floor, but before he could rise he felt a her delicate hand on the small of his back, fingers curling into the fabric of his shirt.

He waited. For her to ask him to stay, to show him any sign of undeserved forgiveness, anything.

Her hand fell away and Ben again tried not to crumple then and there. Instead, he sucked in a deep breath, stood, and walked out of the room without a backwards glance