Hello again! I bring you chapter 3; do enjoy ^w^

Disclaimer: IDOB10

...

...

Gwen blinked owlishly at her new surroundings, barely able to comprehend what she was seeing. There was no doubt this was the same street she'd been standing in not a minute ago, and yet it felt as though that place was a world away.

The damage that their fight had dealt was gone, yet what she stared at now was in no way better. While the road was less cracked and the closest buildings not piles of rubble, the buildings all along the street were worn and crumbling, some with windows and doors completely barred with wooden planks.

Burnt out husks of what were once cars were scattered in a few places along the road, but there were no signs of any traffic and none of the totalled vehicles were Kevin's Challenger. Only a few of the shops appeared to still be in use, and even those were falling apart.

And the people. There were barely any walking around on the sidewalk, and those that were kept their gazes down and shoulders hunched as if expecting to be attacked at a moment's notice.

And maybe they would be. Mingled amongst them were what appeared to be guards. They were all dressed in the same uniform armour, some sort of blasters held ready in their grips. Their blank visors watched silently and passively at the humans passing them by. And they were all completely alien.

Why weren't the people freaking out? Sure, they clearly weren't happy or comfortable and Ben's transformations had significantly increased the chance of extraterrestrial sightings, but still! It was like having clearly alien soldiers patrolling the town was a normal occurrence.

One of the security guards was eyeing her suspiciously. She'd been staring too long and clearly looked out of place. And something told her it would be a bad idea to let herself get caught by these guys.

Gwen quickly lowered her gaze and hurried off in the opposite direction before any of them had a chance to catch and question her.

What could she do? Nethersian had done something, she was sure of it. And whatever it was, it had made Ben and the others disappear. She was certain it had also caused all these changes to Bellwood.

She needed to find Ben.

Ignoring the echoing words Nethersian had uttered, Gwen fished into her pocket, pulling out her phone and pressing Ben's speed dial.

Please pick up. Please pick up. Please pick up.

"Your call could not be connected,"

the recorded woman's voice informed her and Gwen pressed the end call button. A small frown pulled at her features as she read the words printed on the screen of the device: no service available.

Gwen unclenched her right hand and looked down at the pendant she had forgotten she was holding. It had been in Ben's possession for less than a day, so likely it had not been in contact with him long enough to use as a tracker.

Making a decision, Gwen fastened the pendant around her neck and set off in the direction of her cousin's house. If he wasn't there, she could use one of his belongings to track his energy signature. At least, she hoped so.

...

...

It was a good half hour before she arrived and she was pleased to note that it looked much the same as it had that morning, if perhaps showing a few signs of wear and neglect. She silently walked up the short path, rang the doorbell and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Maybe no one was home. But they hadn't been out for long, and Sandra had still been in bed when they'd left. With a growing pit of concern developing in her stomach she tried the handle. Locked; just as she'd suspected.

Uttering the words of an unlocking spell, the door gave a small click and swung open.

The interior was exactly as Gwen remembered it, except for one minor detail. None of the pictures on the walls were recent. She stood in the doorway momentarily, trying to listen for any sounds, but nothing reached her ears. Perhaps her aunt really had gone out. But she didn't have time to dwell on it now; something was going on and she needed to figure out what.

She was mildly surprised to find Ben's bedroom door was locked. While he'd occasionally have it shut, it was very rare for him to lock it; he had no reason to. Especially since he hadn't even slept in his room the previous night. She unlocked it in much the same way as she had the front door.

The first thing she noticed was how dim the lighting was. The curtains were pulled almost completely shut, only a thin sliver of light reaching in from between the material and illuminating the room.

An unidentifiable pang struck her chest as the sense of wrongness returned.

This was not the room of a sixteen year old.

There were less figurines lining the shelves, and the sports medals Ben was so proud of were nowhere in sight. The posters on the walls had changed and the once plain bed sheets now sported a Sumo Slammers spread. Clothes that were clearly far too small and dozens of papers and books littered the floor and various pieces of furniture in messy heaps. A few model space ships hung lifelessly from the ceiling.

Baffled beyond reason, Gwen numbly strode over to the bed and lifted a familiar black-striped T-shirt lying there, unfurling it and holding it out in front of her. How many times had she seen her cousin wear this shirt? But none of those times were recent.

Something was very wrong here.

This was the room of a ten year old.

Gwen's eyes took on a deep pink glow as she extended her mana into the shirt, her frown increasing when she was unable to locate Ben's energy signature. It was like last year all over again.

Gwen flinched, barely managing to put up a shield as something came at her from behind. Her eyes locked onto her aunt, who seemed just as shocked and confused as she was. Gwen removed her shield as Sandra lowered her weapon – a frying pan.

There was a long moment of silence as they stared at each other. The woman somehow appeared to have aged overnight. Her eyes seemed to hold less… less spark, and there were feint worry lines creased into her forehead and around her eyes.

"Um… sorry for… you know, breaking in," Gwen gestured weakly.

"Gwendolyn," somehow Sandra's voice conveyed both relief and anger simultaneously. "What are you doing in here?"

"I was hoping to find Ben, actually," she admitted, looking down at the shirt still clasped in her grip. "But I can't trace his mana."

Sandra's gaze followed her niece's. At the sight of the shirt, her face grew cold, her expression dark. Without a single word she snatched the piece of clothing from Gwen's hand and meticulously placed it back where it had been, almost in exactly the same position.

"Aunt Sandra?"

The woman ignored her, grabbing her wrist in an almost painful grip and hauled her out of the room, locking the door behind them.

"Aunt Sandra," Gwen repeated, a little more desperately.

"You should know better than to go in that room," Sandra said quietly, her back to Gwen.

"I… I'm sorry?"

Sandra turned, and it did not escape Gwen's notice that her eyes were shiny with the promise of tears. "Why are you here, Gwen?" she asked, almost pleadingly. "You of all people should know the risk you're taking. And I can't think for a minute that Max would let you come out here; especially on your own."

…What? "Aunt Sandra, I have no idea what you're talking about. Like I said, I was looking for Ben. There's something weird going on and–"

"Enough!"

Gwen flinched a second time, her voice faltering.

"Is this some kind of sick joke? Do you think it's fun to play with peoples' emotions like this?"

"Joke? What are you talking about? I'm serious; there's something going on–"

"I think you should leave."

"What?"

"I said leave. Get out of here before they find you."

'They?' Her aunt was really crying now, but she seemed not to notice the tears streaking down her cheeks. What on Earth was going on? She wanted to ask questions, find out exactly what the woman was talking about, but Sandra's apparent break down had stunned her into silence. Before she even registered what she was doing she was walking towards the door.

"The back door," Sandra corrected, making her pause. "It's not safe for you to be wandering around in plain sight."

...

...

The town looked like it had faced a war, there were aliens wandering around like they owned the place, Ben's room had gone back in time, and Aunt Sandra was acting weirdly. Yep, Gwen thought, there is definitely something strange going on.

Not to mention Ben, Kevin and Syvux had vanished without a trace. Her phone was out of service, and she couldn't even track… Of course!

Gwen reached into her pocket and pulled out her Plumber's badge. Even if her phone didn't work, she should still be able to use the communication network the badges provided.

"Hello? Ben? Are you there?"

Silence.

"Okay… this is getting weirder," she switched targets. "Kevin? Can you hear me?"

Nothing. Gwen sighed. Now what was she going to do? Maybe Grandpa Max?

"Grandpa? It's Gwen; please answer."

Again she received no reply.

"Hello? Who is this?"

She nearly jumped at the sudden, beautifully familiar voice. "Kevin, you have no idea how good it is to hear your voice."

"Um… okay? Who are you and how did you know I have a badge?"

That made her pause. "Kevin, it's me; Gwen."

"Sorry, don't know anyone by that name. Look, do you want something from me or are you just wasting my time?"

"Kevin this isn't funny. It's Gwen. You know, Gwen Tennyson, your… friend?" Something told her mentioning their relationship would be a bad idea.

"Tennyson?" a pause. "Oooh you're that bossy cousin of Ben's, right? That still doesn't answer my question, though. And you're definitely not my friend."

"Ben! Do you know where he is?"

"…"

"Kevin?"

"Are you seriously asking me that?"

"Please, Kevin."

"Did you hit your head or something?"

"No! Look, I don't know what's going on and I don't know who else to turn to."

There must have been a hint of her helplessness in her voice because the next thing she knew he asked, "Ugh, fine. Where are you?"

Gwen glanced around at her surroundings. She'd wandered a short distance from her cousin's house. She gave him the street name.

"Alright. I'll be at Mr Smoothy in ten minutes. If this is a trap…"

"It's not a trap, I promise. I'll be there."

The connection cut out and Gwen breathed a sigh of relief. Kevin was acting weird, too, but at least it was a start. Agreeing to meet with her was a good sign, right? Not wasting any time, she quickly set off in the direction of the nearest Mr Smoothy.

...

...

Kevin had no idea what he was doing. Since when did he agree to meet random strangers – who, might he add, held close relation to the kid he'd tried to kill time and again – purely because they sounded scared and genuinely relieved to hear his voice?

Man, he was totally going soft. Maybe he'd have to go kick some puppies or something to make up for it.

The designated Mr Smoothy was more than a little run down, but it was one of the few remaining of its chain in Bellwood. There was only one person waiting outside when he got there; a girl with long red hair tied back in a ponytail, sitting at one of the tables. She looked up at the sound of his car pulling up in front of her and the smile that found its way onto her face had him stumped.

She really was glad to see him, huh? Weird.

She was also very pretty, he suddenly realised.

"This better be important," he told her as he got out of his car.

She was frowning now, something akin to worry or confusion or maybe a bit of both on her face.

"You mean… you really don't remember?"

"Remember what?" he rebuked.

She didn't say anything, looking down at her feet and wrapping her arms around herself.

"What did you want?" Kevin calmed his voice, hoping the less threatening tone might make her a little more comfortable. Wait. Why did he care if she was comfortable or not?

"What's… what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Kevin raised a brow.

"I mean, one minute we're fighting Nethersian and the next you, Ben and Syvux disappear and everything changes!" Gwen cried. She glanced back at the shabby building behind her. "Most of the buildings are falling apart, there are weird alien guards roaming around and I've hardly seen anyone at all in the last two hours!"

"You sure you weren't having a weird dream or something?"

"No, Kevin, it wasn't a dream."

"Well, I have no idea who 'Syvux' is, but if you saw Ben, it can't have been real," he replied carefully. "Not to mention I haven't seen you for like five years."

She was gaping at him now, her eyes wide and her mouth hanging open slightly. "W-what do you mean 'if I saw Ben it couldn't have been real'?"

Now it was Kevin's turn to frown. She really didn't know? How was that possible? He heaved a heavy sigh, ready to tell her something she should have already known and definitely wasn't going to like.

Laser fire struck the ground not a metre from where he was standing. With a curse, Kevin spun, quickly locating the alien officer charging towards them with blaster raised. "Damn, I knew this was a bad idea!"

"What? Why are they shooting?" Gwen asked, bringing up some kind of pink shield to block the oncoming fire.

She really must have hit her head. He couldn't come up with any other explanation. But where there was one guard, more were sure to follow. Without really thinking he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her over to the car.

"Get in!" he ordered.

Gwen didn't even hesitate, throwing open the passenger door and sliding into the seat like she'd done it a thousand times. In a matter of seconds Kevin had floored the accelerator and they were tearing off down the street.

"I don't know what's going on with you, but it's starting to freak me out," he said, not taking his eyes off the road.

"Why did they shoot at us?"

"Because I'm a wanted criminal and so are you."

"What?! You I can understand–"

"Hey!"

"But me? I am not a wanted criminal."

"Course you are," Kevin said with a roll of his eyes. "You sneak around, make raids, generally fight back against the Emperor. Sounds like a criminal to me."

"Wait, Emperor?"

This time he really did look at her. "What, have you been living under a rock? Emperor Nethersian!"

Gwen fell silent and turned to stare out the window with an expression of numb shock. They travelled without a word for a good five minutes before she asked, "Where are we going?"

"You asked me where Ben is. I'm taking you to him."