Chapter 1: Dangerous Waters

"You really should watch that tongue of yours, it'll only make things worse for you," Kyber grinned, pushing the large knife against Ben's neck. A small thin line of blood appeared instantly, falling to his shirt collar and quickly staining it to a dark red. He adjusted his grip on the boy, so that one hand pinned down both of his wrists to the wall above.

Ben clenched his teeth, closing his eyes tightly, as if it would help him forget his current situation. But he knew that was only giving the hunter more satisfaction.

"Are you afraid boy? I can see you shaking in my grip."

He refused to answer, not wanting to give the hunter the pleasure of his disturbance. But he could tell his pale body and sweaty face were enough joy to please him. The alien smiled wider as he shook his head with disappointment.

"Too bad Rook couldn't be here to see your demise. He would of been terrified to see you dead in my hold. Ah too bad he'll be too late by the time he's able to locate you," The hunter chuckled. "Any last words before I end you, Tennyson?"

Ben spit in his face, growling, "You won't get away with this. My family WILL find you and kill you. You'll regret this."

The hunter gave a sympathetic look at the teen, clearly not affected by his 'death' threats, "Ah a feisty lad you are. I'll miss you but you were fun while you lasted."

In a split second, the hand holding his knife became a hand with large claws and entered his clothed stomach.

It only took one swipe from Kyber to place Ben on death's door.

The claw marks were deep. Blood seeped out within moments, pouring onto the floor, like a kiddy pool. The boy's skin turned more a whiter shade and his skin became clammy. The marks tore through his dirty burned shirt and left only a scrape of t-shirt left on Ben.

Kyber's grip was released and the boy fell to his knees, his eyes rolling back. His impact made a loud thud on the ground and the hunter smirked, realizing he had finally completed his long superior career as a hunter. He had killed Ben Tennyson.

Not a moment later, Rook appeared at the door's entrance. He took a single step before he froze in his tracks, not daring to believe what his eyes had bestowed upon him.

There stood Kyber, his hands a deep red and gazing down at a interesting object. As soon as Rook gazed down, he could feel breakfast make another reappearance and choked on a sob.

Ben was draped on the ground, stomach down, a pool of red forming around his body. His eyes were dull and gazing straight ahead at completely nothing. He didn't blink, didn't twitch, didn't breathe.

Ben wasn't moving.

Rook rushed to his side, completely forgetting about Kyber's presence. He needed to worry about Ben now.

It was a bad sign that if a human didn't move it was either a paralyzing trick or.. he was dead. Humans needed to breathe to continue to live, so that meant Ben needed oxygen quickly or his brain would lose precious air and die.

He searched his pack for anything and mentally slapped himself. He never needed anything, he always had his indestructible armor to assist. That meant he needed to call the Plumbers now for assistance.

He clicked a button on his Proto-tool, which sent out a distress signal to Plumber Base. He then turned to Ben, who was still.. unmoving.

He rolled the boy carefully on his back and pushed away the dirt on his face. Ben needed oxygen and the only way for him to get it was through him.

He put his mouth against the dead boy, and exhaled, hoping for some slight movement. He repeated the action until he tested for his pulse and received a small but solid one. His chest had begun to repeat its usual rhythm, which meant what he had done was paying off.

"Thank you," Rook whispered. "Stay with us Ben. You're strong."

His catlike ears picked up a familiar vehicle in the distance and he knew automatically it was the Plumbers who had arrived. He rushed over to the nearest window and punched it, shattering it into a million pieces. It was large enough for the Plumber ship to dock nearby safely and large enough to alert them of his location.

By the time they landed and rushed towards him, he knew Ben was getting worse.

"What's wrong Rook? What happened?" Max said with worry. His eyes were wide with fear and he held a large bazooka in his arms. "Where's Ben?"

"He is not well. Kyber.."

Max begun to search, ignoring anything else the Plumber agent had to say. If Ben wasn't around with Rook, that meant bad news. He hunted around, for any information that would lead to Ben and froze as he found an unconscious body on the floor, pooling a scary amount of blood.

He had almost ignored the injured creature for his grandson, until he noticed some scary features from the body. It had brown hair, it looked to be his grandson's height and.. it had his grandson's torn clothes from this morning. A clear omnitrix figure was printed on his left wrist and that just broke his spirit.

Rook approached from behind and sighed sadly.

"W.. what happened."

It was more of a statement then a question to Rook.

"Kyber."

"K-Kyber.. he did this?" Max whispered, slowly approaching his unmoving grandson. The closer he got to it, the more reality hit him. This was Ben. The face didn't deny it. He tapped something on his watch and strongly spoke, "Requesting immediate medical assistance at base and ship. Ben Tennyson, severe injuries, needing blood transfusions and surgery. Alpha orders."

The group he had arrived with, prepped a medical bed, slowly depositing the injured boy on top. Blankets were draped onto of him and then quickly wheeled away to the ship awaiting. Max and Rook slowly followed after them, not nearly surprised when they saw blood bags hanging on racks and trained medical personnels crowded around him.

Max had to literally fight his way inside to his favorite grandson, horrified at how severe his injuries really were. Multiple cuts and bruises and a large gash on his abdominal that if you looked closely, was able to see many torn veins and organs. Ben remained quiet the entire time, not making one groan of pain or hiss. He was silent.

By the time they had taken off, Ben was hooked to as many machines necessary, blood infusion and heart monitor plus more. Medical doctors hurried to patch the small boy up, safe enough for the planned surgery soon.

During the entire trip did Max not let go of Ben's hand.

During the entire trip did Rook feel like it was his fault.

As soon as they landed, Ben was rushing into the Plumbers' standard of an ER at a hospital. His condition was named critical as the medical door slammed shut, Rook completely stunned.

Rook stood outside the medical dorm of the Plumber ER, twilling his thumbs with worry. He hadn't heard anything yet and it had been a solid 3 hours. Worry had begun to consume him and he felt the guilt crush him. It had been his fault he hadn't found him earlier. It had been his fault that he had allowed Ben to wander around with no communication. It had been his fault that Ben was near death.

"I'm guessing you haven't heard yet."

Rook glanced up at Gwen and Kevin's forms and shook his head, not surprised at their dramatic entrance, "I have not. I am worried for him."

"Don't be. Tennyson's strong enough for anything," Kevin reasoned, with a supportive smile.

"Kids? Glad you're hear. We need all the support we can get," Max smiled softly, entering the waiting room.

"Ben. How's Ben?" Gwen said desperately, her eyes filling with hope.

Max put his hands up and chuckled lightly, "Ben's fine. He survived thankfully to all our hopes. He's reacting fine to everything and were guessing he'll be better in a couple weeks. The injuries were severe though but nothing important was hit. Thanks to you Rook, Ben's still alive."

"No problem sir, it was an honor to assist my partner in need."

"You all can see Ben if you'd like now. He's still asleep because of all the medicine we injected into him from earlier," Max said, nodding over to the double doors.

"Thanks Grandpa," Gwen smiled as she rushed down the hallway, along with Kevin and Rook.

They stopped at a woodened door with the name 'BENJAMIN KIRBY TENNYSON' printed largely on a clean piece of paper. Gwen hesitate but walked right in, bracing herself for anything. Ben had been in dangerous situations before and she was aware of the risks but she never thought her Ben could get hurt. It seemed impossible.

As she opened the door, she first noticed the peacefulness of the room. It contained a happy setting even though nothing in a hospital was ever happy. Her eyes focused on a bulge in the blankets and she found her injured cousin, sleeping peacefully. His face was a calm expression and his steady breathing was enough proof for her that he was going to be fine. IVs connected to his omnitrix arm and a breathing mask covered his face.

The soft beeps from the heart monitor relaxed her though.

"Ben," Gwen whispered, cautiously taking steps towards him. Rook followed behind, a twinge of fear creeping into him. "Why did I go to college now? I should of been there to protect you."

Rook shook his head, "No Ms. Tennyson, it is my fault. I wasn't fast enough to reach him, I was the one who had left him unattended in Undertown. If there is anyone to blame of his injuries, I shall take it."

"No Rook, none of this isn't your fault. I just wish I could of helped but.. I don't think anything would have prevented this," Gwen disagreed.

"Wow, I didn't know Benji was afraid of clowns and peacocks," Kevin chuckled, flipping through papers attached to a clipboard. Gwen hadn't seen the cover of the papers but she was aware they were Ben's Plumber and Medical Files.

"Kevin! Don't mess with that! There's no time for anything to be funny, Ben's hurt!" Gwen scolded, snatching the papers away and handing them to Rook.

Kevin frowned, "You think I find enjoyment that my best friend's hurt? He in freaking pieces! I just needed something amusing to take my mind off him. But I guess there's no escaping the truth huh?"

"Kev.."

"No, whatever. There's nothing you can say or do that'd make the situation any better," He muttered, walking over to an empty chair and plopping on it. He glared the other way, so that Gwen, Rook and Ben weren't in his sight.

Gwen sighed and turned to Rook, "What do the files say about his condition?"

Rook's shoulders slumped and he read, "Benjamin Kirby Tennyson is currently under critical 6:43 p.m. Diagnosed with bruises around body, 3 cracked ribs, large cut on neck, broken arm, and large severe gash on abdominal. Main surgery was success but additional surgery is required. Planned surgery available when Benjamin is awake. Has had 3 blood transfusions today with additional medicines."

"I didn't know it was that bad," Gwen whispered, horrified.

"You should of been there. It was worse at the incident. There was so much.. blood everywhere," Rook mumbled. "I was scared for Ben."

"I.. I don't know how to thank you," She said gratefully.

"No thanks are needed Ms. Tennyson. Having your cousin as a partner was a complete honor. He's taught me so much during these last couple of months," Rook smiled.

"Yeah, Ben does tend to have that kind of affect on people. He's a good person," Gwen laughed.

"I'm aware."

A loud groan interrupted the Plumbers' interruptions and they turned to only gasp in complete surprise. Ben's eyes were opened but half lidded. He was forcing a smile and raised his omnitrix hand upwards.

"What happened?"

"Ben. What are you doing awake?" Gwen turned to Rook, "Shouldn't he be asleep?"

"Yes, he should be asleep. The medicine and with all his injuries, it should be impossible for him to be awake," Rook agreed. "I don't understand."

Ben grinned, "Guys, I've been hit with things worse than medicine, it doesn't work on me that much."

"Ben, I'm so glad you're okay," Gwen squealed, rushing over to him and embracing him in a large hug.

Kevin walked over, realizing that he was truly awake and raised a fist, "Dude, you're okay."

"Yeah," He tried to return the fist but clenched his teeth in pain, dropping his hand.

"Ben!"

"I'm fine. Just sore. Everything's numb," He said hazily. "What.. happened? Where's Kyber? Why-?"

"Ben, please, do not overwork yourself," Rook smiled, "Just give us a couple minutes to explain. It's not quite easy to explain."

"Explain? What do you need to explain? He got mauled by Kyber and nearly died. Then we rushed him back before he did die," Kevin shrugged. He turned to face Ben's terrified and shaking form absorbing the new information. "Oops."

"Way to go Levin," Gwen swore, slapping the back of his head. She turned to Ben and grabbed a seat, setting it down beside him, "You're fine now though. Nothing's wrong with you. You're just a little weak, but with the proper rest, you'll be back to your old self again."

"No. Nothings fine," He whispered, shaking his head, "If Kyber tried to kill me now and thinks he did, imagine if he found out that I wasn't dead. That I'm somehow alive still. He's going to come back and find me, and finish the job. He isn't going easy on me anymore."

".. I know Ben. We've all figured that part out.. well maybe not Kevin," She heard a voice complain behind her, "But we're going to protect you. Til you're fixed. But me and Kevin aren't leaving. If we have to delay college to help you, then so be it. We can't lose you."

"Thanks Gwen," Ben grinned. "How bad are my injuries?"

"Pretty bad," Rook muttered, "I blame myself."

"How many times do I have to tell you? It's not your fault Rook! Nobody could stop this," She argued.

"I had guardianship over Ben. Your grandfather gave me full trust that I would never let him get hurt. I sighed a Plumber's oath, protecting him with my life. I couldn't even protect him from Kyber. I failed my duties as a partner," He muttered sadly, looking down and walking out of the room.

"Rook, stop." That voice forced him to a hault and he glanced around at Ben's desperate face. "This is my fault. I'm the one that left, I allowed myself to be kidnapped. This isn't your fault, it's mine."

"Ben, it's thoughtful of you to blame yourself bu-"

"No, listen to me. I got kidnapped, I taunted Kyber and his stupid dog, I gave him all my stupid quips thinking you'd come to my rescue. But he knew what we were planning from the beginning. He knew that you didn't destroy my Plumber badge and just used this to get back at our stupid selves. I got in a couple hits yeah but he knew my weak spots with him and that dog. There was no way I could have stopped him.. and yeah I guess I almost died but at least it showed what he could really do. He's not like Vilgax or Daggon. He's.. unstoppable. And next time we have to be really cautious," Ben explained, hoping that Rook wouldn't do anything that either of them would regret. Even though he had hated the idea of getting a new partner, Rook was different. He was unique and funny. It was actually nice to have him around, they were the perfect fighting team. And he wouldn't be able to picture fighting aliens without him.

Rook sighed but nodded, "Very well Ben. But in return, I shall guard you. I will not allow anyone to come near you and hurt you again. That I swear."

Ben grinned goofily, "Great. Now could someone head out and get me some smoothies and chili fries? I'm starved."

Gwen and Kevin laughed, "You haven't changed Tennyson."

The planned surgery for Ben had began that morning, after medical staff started screaming that Ben had awoken beyond schedule. They had alerted the doctors and Max minutes later and they had all rushed inside his room, wanting to see a peak of the young Tennyson.

And Rook had kept his promise; he hadn't left his side even though the medical staff had demanded he leave. Ben had argued against them, saying it was the only thing keeping him sane that someone else wouldn't come in and kill him.

But during surgery, Rook decided to guard from the outside, not wanting to risk seeing all the blood that was guaranteed to haunt him. Just imagining that it was Ben's blood soaking around the nearby blankets, forced him to shiver.

Halfway through the surgery, Kevin had approached him saying that he would take his shift. He must of been starving, which he was. But being stubborn, Rook shook his head, denying the chance of any food.

"You're just like Ben sometimes," Kevin commented, reaching into his pocket and pulling out two apples. He tossed one to him and sat down on the wooden bench, taking a large bite in the fruit.

"Thank you Kevin," Rook smiled gratefully, eating right along with his companion.

As soon as the surgery was complete, the medics had left the room, saying that it was a success and Ben would be better in no time. Rook and Kevin walked inside, not surprised that Ben was again asleep.

His mouth was parted slightly, drool falling from the corner of his lips. His head was lobbed onto the side, facing towards them and his hair was combed neatly in place.

Rook sighed in relief, that he was perfectly fine and walked up to his partner.

"Wow Tennyson looks good," Kevin laughed.

The cat like alien rolled his eyes, "You certainly know how to.. how would Ben say it? Kill a mood?"

"Tennyson's not a bad teacher," He smirked.

"And I am not a bad learner."

"What are you guys yapping on about?" Gwen interrupted, strolling over by their side. She took a glance at her cousin and smiled softly, placing a hand to push back his hair, "I hope he gets better soon."

"He will be. The doctors had told me he'll be fine. The surgery was fine," Rook nodded.

She smiled, "Good. If he stays cooped up in a place to long, he'll go crazy. He'll find something to mess up and then boom! This entire room is destroyed."

"Are you doubting your cousin?" Kevin taunted.

"No, just.. warning you guys. Ben isn't the best person to leave alone. He'll get bored and break something. But Rook, you're keeping him company right? That'll relax me a bit. Ben goes crazy without fighting an alien," Gwen said with annoyance.

"Do not worry Ms. Tennyson. Ben is in safe hands," Rook promised, raising a hand.

"Thanks, now I think it's a good idea to move him to his old room. We better hurry before other Plumbers get big ideas," She reasoned, grabbing a hold of Ben's bed and moving him out of the room. Rook and Kevin followed along, pushing the bed quickly.

Gwen paused, remembering something important and closed her eyes. "Valieris Mihi Occoltus Valieris Meus Amicitia Occoltus."

A pink dome surrounded them for a second before disappearing. Kevin gave her a look, "What was that?"

"It was invisibility spell. I don't want anyone seeing us when we move Ben to his old room," She answered, continuing forth on their route.

As soon as they passed through the doors to Ben's old room, the spell wore off, a flashing pink light informing them. "Guess that's it. Thank goodness."

"Thank you for your assistance," Rook smiled, "I shall be watching him for now."

"Okay," She said reluctantly with a frown, "We'll be back with food for you and Ben. I'm assuming he'll be awake by then."

The Revonnahgander shrugged, "I'm guessing you are getting Ben's favorites correct?"

Gwen grinned, "Anything that'd make Ben feel any better. I think the chili fries and the smoothies are gonna help him a bit. Relax his nerves, you know. Want anything?"

"Anything but whatever Ben drinks. Sometimes the flavors that Mr. Smoothy comes up with are revolting," He shivered.

"Tell me about it. Well then, we'll see you later," Gwen waved goodbye, dragging along her boyfriend with her.

Rook sighed, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes and slumping in a nearby chair. He gazed at Ben's relaxed face and shook his head at everything that had happened in a day. He had gotten his partner nearly killed and put him through multiple surgeries to assist his health. Maybe Ben was better out without him..

He honestly wasn't sure what to think but honor the promise he had kept for his partner. Never to leave his side unless requested by him. He was only worried that something would happen to push him away and kill Ben.

Closing his eyes, he distanced himself to only listening to Ben's heart monitor which reassured that his partner would get better.

"Are you sure he's fine? He looks kinda pale."

"Well that's to be expected when he's undergone two surgeries," A soft chuckle, "I'm sure he'll be fine. 2-3 weeks tops."

"You better be right."

Ben could feel his mind awake but the rest of his body wouldn't cooperate with it. His eyes felt extremely heavy and he almost couldn't open them until he heard a small gasp from beside him. A sudden rush of power overwhelmed him and his eyes blinked open, hazily showing a blurry picture.

"Ben."

His vision cleared to be met with a room filled with familiar people: His parents, grandpa, and Rook.

"Mom?" Ben mumbled unsure.

"Oh sweety! You're awake. Max said you were going to be awake soon but I wasn't sure how soon and I was so worried when you didn't show up last night for dinner or anything. And I got a call from your grandpa saying that you were planned for surgery because of an alien fight," His mom went on, worry clearly in her tone.

"I'm fine Mom. No need to worry," He reassured with a laugh. "I feel much better."

"Oh thank goodness. I want no more alien fights from you mister until you are 100% fit. Not 85%, not 99%. 100%," His mother continued.

"We're back."

Ben's eyes gazed over to the entrance of the room to be met with Gwen and Kevin slumped forms, carrying alot of food in paper bags. Gwen held many smoothies, which made Ben drool at the sight of it. His stomach rumbled hard and he groaned, glancing at the large grease covered bag Kevin held in his fist.

"Here, this makes me sick anyway," Kevin muttered, tossing over the bag to his friend's lap.

"Chili fries," Ben said, shoving large amounts of fries in his mouth and grinning, slumped against the soft pillows behind him. He grabbed a green smoothie from his cousin, slurping it down and then burping.

"Sometimes I doubt that you were even injured by the way you eat," Gwen mumbled, utterly disgusted by her cousin's eating habits. She turned away, not wanting to see another fry munched down by him and gazed at Kevin. "Where's the 'good' food?"

"Right here," He answered, lifting another bag with 'better' food for everyone. He handed burgers out and dropped the extra food beside Ben. "Hope you don't get sick."

"Doubt it," Ben grinned, digging into the second stack of fries and burgers.

"So how are you feeling?" Gwen asked, halfway through her burger.

Ben looked up from his meal and swallowed, wiping his face on the nearby blankets that covered him, "Fine I guess. A little sore but that's expected from two surgeries right?"

"I guess," She replied back, staring solumnly at her half eaten food.

Rook smiled, "The doctor has said that you would be feeling better in a matter of weeks. I can not think of what I'm going to do for that long of a time without my partner."

He returned the smile, "Of course not partner. I just hope I can get out of here as soon as possible. I don't like staying in one spot for a long time.."

"We all know that Tennyson," Kevin grinned, making everyone burst out of laughter.

Ben blinked, cluelessly at everyone, and shrugged, digging back into his large bag of food.

"Is Benjamin awake?"

He glanced up at a foreign alien doctor, which resembled a Galvin. The alien propped itself up beside him and nodded, satisfied that he was awake. "Ah I see, hello Benjamin. How are you?"

"Fine Dr..-"

"Symthith if you will. No pain? No uncomfortableness?" He asked, looking down at his small clipboard.

He shook his head, "Nothing.. just a little sore."

"Ah yes. That's expected. It'll last a couple days and then disappear. By then you should be able to walk around but with a cane or crutches. You can't put all your weight on your feet just yet, the gash had hit a couple nerves and you may not be able to feel them. And I want you to, if you do, walk around with someone. You could collapse and I don't want a risk of you exerting yourself. If you feel like you're about to fall, contact the medical center immediately. We'll send you whatever instrument you desire in a couple days and I'll check on you again. And about nutrition-" He muttered, eyeing the fast food in the boy's lap, "I don't recommend any other food but the food here at Plumber Medical. Fast food can be too much for some patients and'll cause more discomfort."

Ben nervously chuckled, "You mean no fast food for a week?"

"Until I say it's good enough for you to eat again."

The boy froze, faking some laughter. Dr. Symthith frowned at the boy's antics and rolled his eyes, "I'm aware of you and your addiction to the revolting food your kind eat but I think you are able to sustain yourself with a couple days of 'hospital food'.

"Fine," He muttered, turning away from the doctor.

"That's it Benjamin. If any more questions contact the hospital. Your release should be in a couple days if everything goes smoothly," Dr. Symthith nodded. "See you in a couple days."

As soon as the doctor left, Sandra wailed, "You better listen to the doctor or you're gonna be grounded for a month. I don't want to see you hurt again."

"Course mom," Ben laughed.

Carl got up from his seat and stretched, "I don't know about you guys but I think we should head home. It's almost late and traffic's gotta be jammed soon," He walked over to his son and patted his shoulder, "You take care of yourself, we'll be back to visit tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay," He agreed, waving goodbye to his parents as they walked out the door.

Gwen smiled, "We won't be going anywhere though. Grandpa Max got me and Kevin a room so we can stay and keep watch on you. But it is getting late, so I think we're gonna jet. We'll be back in the morning." She kissed his check and Ben blushed a bright red. "Don't do anything stupid dweeb."

"See ya Tennyson!" Kevin called from outside the hospital room and grabbed Gwen to leave.

Rook glanced at Ben, "Looks like we are alone."

"Yeah, so where are you spending the night?" He asked.

"I am not sure, I was thinking about staying here if you would allow me," The Revonnahgander mumbled.

Ben grinned, "Sure, I don't wanna be stranded her alone you know. I need some company."

"I had hoped you would say that," He laughed. "Are you sure you aren't in pain? You may fool your family but not me. I have known you well enough when you lie."

"I'm feeling fine.. it's just.. I have a hunch that something's bad gonna happen," The teen whispered.

"And what do you propose is going to happen?" Rook asked.

"I feel like.. like Kyber knows I'm not dead and he's going to come after me and finish the job. That's what I'm afraid of. If he's that close to killing me the first time, he won't hold back the second time. He'll make the death twice as worse so that I'll wish I was. He won't stop til I'm dead and he can spread around the galaxy that he vanquished me."

"That.. that is a very good hypothesis. And.. to be honest, I felt the same way. I'm aware of Kyber's hatred towards you and he'll do just that. It's a Kyber kind of thing to do," He slowly agreed.

"I don't know what to do. He's going to come back and kill me and this time I can't stop him. If I couldn't protect myself, what makes you think you guys will? He's going to kill me in front of everyone, you, Grandpa, Gwen, Kevin, my parents, everyone that's close to me," Ben cried, covering his face with his hands. Small pathetic sobs escaped the boy's throat and Rook could only watch as the universe's greatest hero laid uselessly, crying in the blankets. There was nothing he could do to protect his partner.

Kyber would come to kill him, it was a guarantee.

Recently got into Ben 10 again. And I had to make this. Oops.

The plot is kind of dark and the way I'm headed with this story, it'll turn into a M+ rating. Won't be filled with inappropriate things, just probably one chapter.

Anyways, hope you enjoy. Please leave me any thoughts on your opinion of the story, really helps me out alot.

~Tortoro15