Turmoil, a ben 10 fanfic

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Ben 10: Alien Force belongs to Man of Action.

Turmoil

"How do you feel that you have saved the universe from this threat?" Once again, he stood in a crowd of people, microphones and recorders pushed in his face. He hated it, the way it made him feel, like he should be someone he isn't. But did it matter? No, it mattered not, the only thing that mattered was them, the people he would never see again and it was his fault, his fault, it was his fault.

"What does it matter? I couldn't save them, I couldn't save them…"

Yes, he had saved the universe, yet he had not been able to save his universe, the two people that had the most importance. His cousin. His best friend. They had been through so much together, they had saved him countless of times, but he couldn't save them, he hadn't been able to save them he hadn't. Why had he done this, why? He could have simply complied and they would be here, safe, even if the universe wouldn't have shared the same assurance. He struggled to remember what had happened, and he saw himself standing still, his mind willing his body to move but being unsuccessful. As much as he wanted to place the blame on someone else, the sense of lingering dread told him it was himself that had allowed his world to be killed before his eyes.

The boy did not realise that, what he was hoping so desperately for was true. It did not occur to him that, indeed, he had not been on his right frame of mind. He viewed himself in the light the couple's killer wanted him to; he could not remember the vow he had taken, that day when he had put on the damn watch again. The vow he had not broken in two years. The vow that even now lay, unbroken, at the bottom of his heart.

'No sacrifices.'

He continued talking, half-sobbing through the words, tears falling from his eyes, the shock of what he had watched catching up to him.

"Yes, it might have been the sensible thing to do, but it was wrong, oh so wrong! I was wrong…" he trailed off, "…and now it's time to pay up." he said sadly. Only the most sensitive of the microphones recorded the softly uttered phrase- as for the humans, they were oblivious.

"I want to be left alone." he told them, calmly. This calmness, for an unknown reason, sent chills down most of the reporters' necks. With the tear-streaks still on his face, he looked like… a ghost, would be the most accurate description. Someone who had lost his path at one point between life and death.

"What will you do?" a brave one asked.

"I'll… get some rest. I need it. It has been such a long, long day…" he said, with a faraway look in his eyes, not looking at them, but past them, as if they were not there at all. There was tiredness in his voice, the kind of which you would expect from an old man, one who has seen so many things he's tired of it all, he just wants it all to end. Few of the crowd around him recognised the unmistakable sound. His eyes, too, looked weary, prone to closing and taking a few seconds to open again, with much effort. They thought it was the exhaustion, but the physical could not even hope to match the emotional fatigue.

They had all seen heartbreak. Most of them had witnessed how, when something goes wrong, it all falls apart. Reporters may be labelled as emotionless and malicious- and most of them are- but what people didn't understand is that these situations they had to face had made them that way, immune to people's emotional suffering. So, they understood when the hero finally lost it and snapped at them to leave him 'the heck alone!' desperation his most prominent emotion.

Another trait reporters have is, they know when it's in their personal interests to leave. And right then, faced with a teenager bearing the most powerful weapon in the universe… Let's just say it was an easy choice.

There was a cliff somewhere, wasn't there? Just after the forest, at the tree-line's edge.

The girl wearily ran a hand through her short, black hair. If she took Ship, she could scan the area for her boyfriend's Plumber badge, and find him from the signal. Her decision made, she glanced up at the clock on the counter; twenty past ten. The interview had not been live, but it had been of the same day, at least. She just hoped she would have time.

With a sigh, she stood, making her way to the door and out of the house, not bothering to tell her parents where she was going. It was raining hard, the tiny droplets of water slamming into her, feeling like a thousand pinpricks against her face. "Ship!" she called, the worry eating away at her. She knew her boyfriend, and while he was one of the bravest people she'd met, he could be pretty reckless. Gryffindor, a Harry Potter addict would say. She merely hoped she wouldn't be too late.

The little black and green blob came into view, eagerly closing the distance between them. Ship morphed into a spaceship that would put the Plumber's ships to shame. The little creature felt the girl's anxiousness and wanted to please her in any way. She was worried sick, but kept it to herself, not wanting to bother anyone. She did that a lot these last months, keeping things, feelings, and thoughts from the people around her, sealing it within. She simply hoped she would not be late.

Who would care? At that moment, she felt like a dam had broken, letting all her bottled up feelings out, almost overwhelming her in the process. But, she wasn't overpowered, and that made her stronger. She jumped onto the spaceship with renewed vigour, finding determination somewhere deep inside. She only hoped she would have time.

That dark green blur should be the forest, right? And after it, fate was waiting.

Earlier that morning, and even when there had been no clouds, a storm had broken out in a matter of moments. Weathermen were baffled by this more than sudden change. One moment the sky is clear, the other it is raining so hard you couldn't see! Since then, it had not stopped. The rain was still casting a curtain, separating you from everyone else, the wind was still blowing like crazy, as if determined to shoot the forest down. Huge waves crashed at the base of the cliff, the ocean black as the darkest night, reflecting the clouded sky upwards.

The lone, drenched figure was obscured from view due to the rain and trees, protecting their charge. He raised his drawn face toward the sky, jade eyes halfway closed, as if to thank it for helping; his stare then went to the trees, showing appreciation to them too. The weather reflected his internal turmoil. His steely gaze then returned to the muddy ground, trusting the path to lead him where he had to go.

Yes, there it was. The ocean was impatient.

It growled and spat, resolved on having a meal. It sent its huge, midnight blue tendrils up the cliff, trying to swallow more space, to ensure its victory. At that moment, he saw just how beautiful the sight before him was. From the vantage point of the cliff edge, he could see the ocean, seemingly unending in its vastness. The rain was dancing with the wind, the drops twirling madly in its grip. Lightning struck, radiating light over the sea. What a lovely thing to see at the end. Another lightning illuminated the strange device on the person's arm. It had caused so many problems…

There was the sense of falling, gravity pulling him toward the centre of the Earth; but gravity was his friend, he thought as he gained speed, shooting downwards like an arrow.

Then there was the impact, gentler than he expected. No matter, a mere human would not win. Where was the sky, where were the depths of the ocean, he didn't know. Everything was a blur of grey, blue and black, with the only sound being that of the waves as they fought over him. He could not breathe, icy water filling his lungs instead of air.

He did not fight, he didn't want to. He didn't have the strength to struggle, even for his life. That's why he was here; he'd lost his will to live. His thoughts blended together as surely as his body was merging with the depths, his consciousness fading fast. At that last moment, the turmoil inside him finally disappeared, giving way to a gorgeous, welcomed numb feeling. Peace was the last thing he felt before his world changed to black, at the same time as a cloud moved aside, to reveal the silver moon.

Ship morphed into a submarine even as they were falling, diving underwater as the radar was being created, the green dot telling them were the other teen was. The depths were dark, tranquil in comparison with the surface as they followed the current. There he was, a body twisting in the ocean's clutches.

They sped towards him. Ship opened a trapdoor, swallowing him along with half a ton of water. As the other side of the capsule opened, she took the brunet into her arms, getting soaked herself in the meantime. The ship swiftly approached the surface, where it took off as a spacecraft, undeterred by the liquid wall the sea had risen to stop their escape.

The rain had stopped, the wind slowed to a pleasant breeze. The clouds had dissipated into nothing, taking the lightning with them as they took their leave. The ocean had calmed, not a wave spoiling its serene presence. Who could guess that, just moments before, it had been so deadly?

The spaceship landed a short way off the edge of the cliff changing into the little black and green creature. The girl- no, young woman- gently laid her boyfriend down in front of her, on the rock. The moon was full, its light showering the sight, making the boy's already pale face look pasty, his eyes closed, his features set into a peaceful expression.

She searched for a pulse, for breath, but found none. She tried to get a look at the device on his arm, hoping against hope that she was wrong, that it was not over. The face of the gauntlet was grey, not a familiar colour. Suddenly, it flashed black, for just a second. Then, it grew bigger and detached itself from the teen's arm. It floated on the spot, and the girl tried to touch it without success, as an invisible shield was around it. It started moving upwards, gaining speed with an alarming rate, until she could not see it anymore as it had become one with the stars that adorned the heavens.

She looked at her boyfriend's bare arm. She could not fool herself any longer, it was over. She had been too late. Even the watch knew it, that its owner was dead. As she looked at the white, thin limb, she noticed something. There was a mark, right where the previous, similar device had been. Because of the wristwatch-like shape, she knew it was not the one that had flied away that very minute.

He had put the other on so soon after the first had been destroyed, that even he wouldn't have noticed it.

The Omnitrix had left its signature, marking its first and last true owner for eternity.

Fin

Alternate Ending

What if she had not been too late…

He did not fight, he didn't want to. He didn't have the strength to struggle, even for his life. That's why he was here; he'd lost his will to live. His thoughts blended together as surely as his body was merging with the depths, his consciousness fading fast. At that moment, the turmoil inside him finally disappeared, giving way to a gorgeous, welcomed numb feeling. Peace was the last thing he felt before his world changed to black, at the same time as a trapdoor opened and a cloud moved aside, to reveal the silver moon.

She was hitting him in the back, praying to anyone that heard; praying for him. She wanted him to be alright; just that, nothing else, if they granted her that favour she would never ask for anything else ever again. And she kept hitting, kept praying, her dark hair falling over her eyes, her breath coming in short gasps due to the tremendous effort it took just to keep hoping.

When he started to cough up water, she thought she was going to have a heart attack out of sheer thankfulness. The water kept coming out, so much that she was afraid she had been too late.

It felt like a far off dream that he was having but, at the same time, he didn't. Something was dripping from his lips, a salty taste on his mouth as his throat burned. He knew it should be the other way around; water should go down one's throat, not up. Yet, it didn't stop coming out. There was something distinctly familiar about the surface his hands were scraping against, something keeping his body up and a pressure on his back that kept leaving as soon as it came. He could not remember what had happened, his mind in no state to even begin the process of recalling events. Then the world faded to black once more, his thoughts fading along with his awareness.

For a while, she'd thought she had felt him trying to move; however, after a minute or so, he had fallen completely limp again. 'How much water has he swallowed?' she thought desperately. Mercifully, after a few more moments the torrent lessened until there was no more water to cough up.

Seeing him like this sent off a hundred alarms inside her head. She tenderly laid a hand on his chest, beyond relieved when she felt it rising and falling, slowly but steadily.

She was soaked to the bone, physically and emotionally exhausted, her boyfriend had just tried to commit suicide and she surely was in for a long lecture from her parents about informing them before going somewhere, but she was happy, really and truly happy, so happy that she didn't care about what would follow. That moment, that was paradise. When she was so happy her body couldn't take more, that one moment when everything was just perfect.

He was broken, but she would heal him. Piece by piece, he would come together again. She vowed to herself that she would never give up on him. And, in time, it would become alright again. The journey would be long and hard, but they would find more perfect moments. If they were together.

After all, even paradise can get boring after a while.

Fin

A/N: I know, I made an alternate ending, but I couldn't bear to kill him off. In addition, he was still in shock over loosing Gwen and Kevin to whoever you want it to be when he decided to kill himself. Also, something was affecting his mind, because let's face it; Ben would never let somebody be killed if he could stop it. Just so you know, it was inspired by Skylark Evanson's 'Pulling the Trigger'. I read it and then I was like 'What happens after?' However, this present fic is not a continuation of it, but a story standing on its own. Thanks for reading! ~Rena I. Vance

P.S. When he is repeating things in his mind I hope you understand he was in shock. Ah, the HP reference; I just couldn't resist, and besides Julie would want to keep thinking random things to take her mind off the situation. Wow, I just realised this took me a whole month, lol! Bye!

Started: 2/9/2011

Finished: 2/10/2011