Disclaimer: We don't own Ben 10.
Chapter 3.
The sky had the color of blood, buildings were in pieces and still crumbling down, cars left in the middle of the roads and the air was filled with a rotten smell. Somewhere a young child was wailing.
In one word, this place was horrible.
Rook had trouble that this appolgetic world came from Ben's subconscious. No, that was a lie.
Rook did not want to believe that Ben was hiding such darkness and deep fears from them- from him. But here was the full proof that. There was no denying it. "Brallada Ben..." The revonahgander breathed, having hard time swallwing past the tightness in his throat.
He wasn't the only one having trouble with this hellish place. Gwen had both hands over her mouth. "Oh my God." This version of Bellwood looked so much like what she seen when she'd gone back in time to stop Kevin from mutating.
Only this wasn't some alternate timeline or a memory.
This was Ben's greatest fear...
Out the three of them Kevin seemed to have the best control over his emotions. Not that this place didn't freak him out. He was just doing a better job at hiding it. "After this, Ben should see someone about these nightmares."
"Agreed." Rook nodded solemnly.,Ben would need to talk to someone about these nightmares and Rook would make sure that, that someone was him.
Kevin didn't seem to hear him. "What is this place even?" He continued. "Ben fears who ever destroyed Bellwood?"
"I do not believe it is just Bellwood that is destroyed." Rook answered, his expression sad as he gazed around. "This is- This would be a Ben's worst failure. Earth destroyed."
"I think we reached the heart of the nightmare, guys." Gwen infored Kevin and Rook, her arms wrapped around herself. This vision of her hometown... "Ben has to be in here somewhere."
"Sure, all we need to do is search through this nightmare of Bellwood." Kevin stated sarcasticaly.
Gwen shook her head wincing when she heard cackling laughter come from the sky. Was that Vilgax? It also sounded like Malware. Ugh she shouldn't analyse this. This place was literaly a nightmare, it didn't have to make sense. "Ben wouldn't stay out in the open in- this place. This whole place is a mix of Ben's greatest fears. He's probably hidden somewhere... Somewhere he feels safe."
"Somewhere he feels safe..." Rook echooed wistfully. He wanted to believe he knew where that was for Ben, but he knew better. There was still things about his boyfriend that he did not yet know about. He looked at Gwen and Kevin. "Do either of you know one place Ben likes to be the most?"
"Other then in your arms?" Kevin snorted.
Gwen reacted to that comment by slapping his shoulder. Now wasn't the right time and place for this.
"Ow!" The osmosian yelped rubbing his shoulder. "Too soon?" He asked Rook who's only answer was sending him a disgusted glare.
Gwen was unimpressed. "Lets see." She said gaining the attention of her male companions as she started to pace. "He probably wouldn't feel safe at home, he's been ambushed there a few times, Mr. Smoothies has been destroyed a few times to so that's a no, H.Q. had a few prison breaks before so that's not it either...Maybe the Rust Bucket?"
"Your grandfathers R.V.?" Rook questioned. He'd been inside the old vehicle servile times and was impressed how advanced it was for its' old-age.
"Yeah," Gwen nodded a nostalgic look on her face. "he and I loved going on those summer and weekend road trips with Grandpa Max, and when we were younger he loved playing in it."
"Then that is where we will look for Ben." Rook decided nodding to himsef. Out of habit his hand went up to grab his proto-tool only to remember that they were unarmed. "We don't know what we will find in this version of Bellwood so it is best that we proceed with caution."
Gwen and Kevin nodded and the trio started walking through the abandoned streets of Bellwood, occasionaly looking around when they heard strange sounds like evil laughter and disturbing moans.
Out of all the places they'd walked through in this nightmare, this one had to be the worst. "Man this place is creepy." Kevin commented. Someone had to say it. "It's like walking through a horror movie."
Gwen shuddered. "Kevin please don't get started. I'm creeped out enough-" She stopped talking when they suddenly heard angry shouts behind them.
Already knowing that they wouldn't like what they'd find the group slowly turned around their faces falling when they saw a huge angry mob make its way to them.
"I know those people!" Rook gasped. A lot of those people were the same people that often interupted his and Ben's dates by asking Ben for an autograph or to take a picture with them. "They are Ben's fans!"
"Get rid of Ben Tennyson!"
"Get rid of Ben Tennyson!"
"Get rid of Ben Tennyson!"
The angry mob kept on angrily repeating those words as they ran towards Gwen, Kevin and Rook.
"Well, they're not his fans now!" Gwen cried out, instead of running away from the angry mob she ran through them, Kevin and Rook following her struggling to get past the many ex-ben 10 fans.
"There's to many of theses guys!" Kevin protesed as two people grabbed his arms and tried to pull him back. "It'll take forever for us to get to Ben!" He said, angrily a woman off of him.
"Rook!" Gwen cried when two guys nearl pushed her to the ground. "You go ahead of us!" She told Rook who was doing a far better job at avoiding the people in the angry mob than she and Kevin. "We'll catch up!"
Despite wanting to get to Ben as soon as possible Rook hesitated "Are you sure?"
"Yes!" Gwen yeled. "If one of us should get to Ben first it should be you! Now hurry!" She cried waving her arm in 'hurry' sort of gesture.
Meeting her eyes Rook nodded and started shoving his way through the crowd. Once away from the angry mob Rook sprinted towards Max's Plumber Shop. However he came to an abrupt halt when he reached the place.
Half of the front of the shop was gone and so was the roof.
Shaking his head in morose Rook rushed inside and was about to run to the secret entrance of Plumber HQ when he noticed a familiar silhouette behind the curtain on the door that lead to the back room. "Ben?" Rook asked, warily. "Is that you?"
Slowly walking towards the door Rook gripped the blue curtains before quickly pushing it out of the way only to jump back in surprise at what he found.
Albedo didn't say anything. He just grinned wickedly and slammed down on his ultimatrix, turning himself in ultimate Humongesaur.
Rook quickly dodged the punches Albedo threw at him, when Albedo turns his hand into a blaster Rook quickly picked up a broken pipe laying on the ground and shoves it in the blaster, he quickly ducked into the back room before the blaster exploded.
Not stopping to catch his breath, Rook ran to the bathroom where he pulled the string that opened the secret enterance to Plumber HQ. He stayed in the elvator long past the main deck. His fingers hovered over the 'Stop Elevator' button as he passed the 13th, 14th, 15 and 16th floor which was where they kept their prisoners.
Finally the elevator reached the floor where all old vehicles were kept, including the Rust Bucket.
Rook ran out of the elevator and sprinted towards the old RV. "Ben!" After everything that he had seen in this horrible nightmare-ish place Rook ached to get to his boyfriend.
Unfortunetly he had to stop when a bolt of electricity barely missesd his feet by a few inches.
He should have known that the R.V would be guarded. He should have expected them here.
But he hadn't. For three seconds Rook stared at Dr. Psychobos, Eon, Kyber, Malware, Z'skayr, Arggrego, and Vilgax Behind him. Ben's greatest enemies, all of which were preparing to fight their weapons at him.
"Where do you think you're g-g-going you n-n-nincompoop?" Psychobos taunted.
"Oh dear..." Not wasting any more time Rook took of, right when the villains started shooting at him. Rook rushed inside the Rust Bucket and slamed the door shut behind him.
Looking through the window, Rook's shouders sagged when he saw the villains circling the R.V, but not coming closer that a few feet.
Gwen was right, Rook realized. The Rust Bucket truly was Ben's safe haven. Ben had to be in here!
Turning around slowly Rook's eyes immediatly landed the curled up figure in the far corner. "Ben!" Mind blank with relief, Rook ran to his boyfriend's side and dropped to his knees besides him. "Ben!" He needily gripped Ben's shoulders. "Ben can you hear me?!"
Ben did not react the way Rook hoped.
The teen hugged his knees tighter, refusing to look up. "Go away."
Rook recoiled at those words, but he refussed to give. "Ben, It is me, Rook." He quietly told Ben, gently placing a hand on Ben trembling shoulder.
Ben roughly shrugged Rook's hand off. "NO!" The sixteen-year-old screamed, curling up even more. "Please just go away!"
Feeling his heart ache for his beloved Rook stared at Ben, screaming on the inside when Ben shield away from him. "Ben," Rook tried again, his voice gentle and soft. "I am not going to hurt you. I want to help you."
Ben didn't move. "I'm not afraid of you hurting me," his voice was hoarse. "I'm afraid of me hurting you!"
"What?"
Letting out a sigh that showed how exhausted he was, Ben lifted his head, still refusing to make eye contact with Rook. "It'd be better of if everyone just stayed away from me." Ben stated quietly. "I cause nothing but trouble ever since I got this stupid thing stuck to my wrist. I don't want everyone I care about getting hurt because of me..."
"It would be better if I was gone..." Ben whispered brokenly.
Rook stared at Ben, speechless. Hearing his boyfriend, the one he hoped to one day call his life-mate, sound so broken, speak out such lies about himself, hurt more than Rook could have ever prepared himself for. "No." Rook breathed out, his voice stained. He couldn't listen to Ben say that. "No!" He repeated furiously blinking away the wetness in his eyes. "That is not true Ben. Please tell me you do not believe that!"
Ben still didn't look at Rook. "What's there to believe in?" he asked, a single tear rolled down his cheek. "It's the truth Rook. I'm a danger to everyone around me..." He bowed his head. "You should leave me too. You'll be safe."
"Benjamin Kirby Tennyson I am never going to leave you!" The words were out before Rook knew it. "And the last thing you need is to be all alone like this!" Rook wrapped his arms around Ben not giving in when Ben weakly tried to struggle out of his embrace. "I knew when becoming a Plumber that it would be dangerous, but I did not care." He told Ben, not a single trace of hesitation in his voice. "Becoming your partner was one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me." Rook took a deep breath, but there was no calming the mix of emotions swelling in his chest.
He would have never expected such dark thoughts coming from Ben, this self-hatred Ben was showing was new and unexpected and Rook did not know how to react. But he did know what he wanted to say. What he needed Ben to know. "You protect the universe from people who threaten it, so let me protect you." Please...
Hearing this Ben paused, his body going still. He looked up, finally meeting Rook's eyes. Those eyes that looked down at him in concern but shined with compasion and love.
Suddenly Ben remembered all those moments with Rook. Battles where he knew someone had his back. He remembered all those times in which he found himself in Rook's arms just like now.
Safe, warm and loved.
Just like now.
Slowly Ben wrapped his arms around Rook, returning the loving embrace. Hicupping quietly, Ben burried his face in Rook's chest, letting all the worry and fear in the form of silent sobs that shook his whole body. "Please don't ever leave me..."
Gently, Rook planted a kiss on Ben's head. "Leaving you would be my worst nightmare." He gently brushed away Ben's tears with his thumb. "I love you, so much."
Ben sniffled, but managed a weak smile. "I love you too."
Ben allowed Rook to pull him into a kiss, both of them desperate to be close to each other and neither of them willing to pull away. When they eventually did so, Ben rested his cheek against Rook's chest, his entire body trembling.
Rook could feel Ben shake in his arms. This whole experience had been draining to him and Rook could only imagine how Ben must be feeling after being confronted by his worst fears. How much power had Zombozo gained through all this?
As much as Rook wanted to stay here, with Ben safe in his arms, they needed to get out of this place. Ben needed to wake up. He looked down at Ben's head. "Ben, none of this is real. You were hit with some sort of nightmare-ray which forced you into this eternal nightmare."
Ben looked at him, a small frown on his tear stained face. "So... you're not real?"
Rook answered him by pulling him into another kiss, this one deeper than the one before. "Well?" Rook asked when the pulled apart.
"You're real alright." Ben answered blushing.
"I thought so." Rook smiled, he became serious again. "You need to wake up." He said getting to his feet. "The longer you stay like this the stronger Zombozo becomes."
Ben understood that. He'd somehow felt the clown's presence several times... "But how? I-"
He was cut of when the villains outside started attacking the Rust Bucket, causing the R.V to shake violently.
"They're coming!" Ben cried, terrified. Despite his fear he looked down at the Omnitrix already wondering which alien he needed to turn into to even stand half a chance against all the villains outside. Not that there was much of Bellwood left to save, but he-
"Ben no!" Rook grabbed Ben's wrist pulling him back from his thoughts. "They are not real!" He reminded Ben. "They cannot hurt you here! This is your mind, you are in charge of what happens here!"
"I-I-I'm in charge," Ben repeated frowning. If this really was his nightmare then... "they can't hurt me..." Ben nodded.
The world around them seemed to agree with Ben's words. The Rust Bucket stopped shaking and it was finally calm outside.
Ben-10-Omniverse.
Kevin was about to punch large man, but ended up hitting air. "Uuuuh..." Kevin looked around in shock. The angry mob had disapeared in the blink of an eye. But that wasn't all. The building were slowly growing back to the way they should be and sky was no longer an angry shade of red. "What just happened?"
Gwen smiled softly. "Rook did it."
Ben-10-Omniverse.
Back in the real world Max smiled when he saw Ben's expression change from a fearful look to a calm one. Chuckling softly, he gently ruffled Ben's hair.
"Looks like the kids are almost done."
Ben-10-Omniverse.
Inside Ben's subconscious Rook smiled as he carefuly eased Ben back down into a sitting position. "Just relax Ben, everything will be alright when you wake up." He told Ben, gently rubbing Ben's shoulders.
"And you'll be there to right?" Ben asked uncertainly.
Rook nodded. "I promise."
Hearing that, Ben finally allowed himself to relax and closed his eyes. He felt strange and heavy. When he opened his eyes again his vision was blurry. Ben blinked a couple of times to clear his vision. "Grandpa?" He asked seeing Max standing next to exam table he found himself on.
A relieved smile appeared on Max's face. "Easy there kiddo."
Ben let his grandfather help him sit up. "Where is-" He stopped talking when he heard soft groans coming from the three people sitting on the ground who starting to wake up themselves.
"That," Kevin muttered rubbing his eyes. "was seriously messed up."
Rook waisted no time and quickly stood up and walked over to Ben. He didn't say anything, just pulled him into a tight hug. "See? I promised I'd be here."
Laughing quietly Ben returned to hug, his smile grew when he heard a that soft rumbling sound come from Rook's chest, the revonahgander wasn't fully purring yet, but a few content sounds still escaped him.
"I suggest you get a dream catcher." Kevin said walking over to the exam table, a large grin on his face. "Your nightmares are really freaky."
"Yeah, sorry about that." Ben appologized, rubbing the back of his neck.
Gwen nearly tackled Ben with her hug. "Glad to have you back Doofus."
"Glad to be back, Dweeb." Ben replied returning the hug.
"So," Ben said when Gwen let go of him. "what are we gonna do about Zombozo?"
Both couples looked at Max expecting him to have an answer. "There haven't been any new reports of someone seeing Zombozo since you brought Ben in."
"He's probably enjoying his meal somewhere." Kevin muttered darkly.
Gwen nodded in agreement. "If what we saw was any indication then Ben's fear was probably strong enough to give Zombozo a ridiculous big power boost."
Going quiet, Ben looked down. He had felt it, a draining conection to Zombozo... If that crazy clown had all his powers back then he'd probably try something big, like he had when they were kids and- No. Ben's eyes narowed in determination. "Well what ever he's planning," He said looking up, his hand on the omnitrix. "I'll be ready to stop him."
"We'll be ready to stop him." Rook corrected, putting his hand on Ben's.
"As a team." Gwen added putting her hand there as well. "Just like always."
"Besides, I bet Rook's been wanting to punch Zombozo's teeth out ever since you got blasted." Kevin stated adding his hand to the pile.
Ben looked at Rook who had a thoughtful look on his face. "He is not wrong."
Ben snickered at that. "You're sweet. Come here you." Like had down so many times before, he pulled Rook down by his shoulder kissed him, Rook gladly returned the kiss.
"Aaaaw!" Gwen grinned clasping her hands together at the sweet display of love in front of her.
Kevin grimaced. "Ew, I think I see tongue." That comment got Gwen elbowing him in his stomach. "Ow!"
Max just chuckled. It was good to have his family with him, as odd at it was.
