Chapter 4: Breakout

Her head turned down to see Eon's minions scurry quickly away, the same two with Ben's clothing. Then it hit her like a sledgehammer. There was only one reason for the creatures to have Ben's stuff: they were going to where he was! How could she have not noticed earlier?

Viskaas was already crawling down the air duct that followed the creature's path and she hurried after trying not to make noise.

Her sticky palms seemed to suction-cup themselves to the metal panels below her fingers; a miniscule pop resounding each time she picked them up; her knees feeling thick and numb. Anticipation had her hands slick with sweat and she could feel the rush of adrenaline course through her veins. Ben was alive! She was so close to him, too, she just knew. But, due to that knowledge, it was difficult to keep herself at such a tedious pace. The anxiety surged upward with each careful gait, so sluggish, depriving her of her beloved cousin. She knew better, though. If she gave herself away, her hopes would come crashing down.

Left…

Right…

Right…

Gwen diligently engraved each turn they took into her mind, aware of the importance in knowing the escape route. Even so, she could not readily ignore how every inch seemed far too long, like a meter stretched out before her hands; time progressed glaringly slow. Peeking upward, she envied how Viskaas could move with such speed and still remain elegantly silent. Several times it had to pause and wait for her to catch up, and each time fear crawled up her limbs that they might lose the trail. But Viskaas assured her every time that they were fine; soothing her enough to maintain her sanity, though, at times, she was doubtful she contained any wisp of it.

At last, as she rounded a corner, she spied Viskaas settled above an opening, peering down with gleaming eyes.

Holding her tongue, she pressed forward, nodding her gratitude as the alien gracefully positioned itself on the other side of the vent opening to allow her view. Gazing down she watched the grotesque creatures halt before a metal door. They toyed with the lock and heaved the door open, grunting to one another as they proceeded inside the room.

Gwen felt her heart all but stop. There, as she spied through the open door, within that tiny cell of a room, was Ben. He looked thinner than she remembered—or had he been that way his entire life?—and his eyes were wide with fear as he scrambled away from the intruders. Nevertheless, she could barely withhold the tears of joy that spilled over her face. He was alive!

But just as swiftly did that euphoria grasp her did the situation resettle into her consciousness. She realized that this was probably her only chance to save Ben. From the looks of it, the door was the singular entrance to the room—the tiny barred window above instantly ruled out—and, right then, it was opportunistically open to her.

She had to maintain her focus as she heard Ben struggle and cry out against the creatures that worked at him with the clothing, swallowing her impending anger.

Glancing down, she judged the ground to be a good twelve feet below her. Getting down was simple enough—a jump like that was an easy bound for the acrobat—but returning with Ben in tow would prove much more challenging. On top of that, she had to worry about Eon's henchmen. How would she get past them without drawing attention? The last thing she wanted to do was alarm Eon to their presence.

She quickly considered the cyclone spell she'd used once before when they'd fought Charmcaster; it could surely propel them back up into the vent, but it was a push. She wasn't wholly sure that she'd be able to cast it correctly in such a short time and that fact negated its further deliberation.

Viskaas hissed at her, as if reading her thoughts. Gwen looked up at it. "Viskaas help boost Ben up, boost Gwen up, Viskaas help," came the rolling whisper and once again she understood how invaluable the gray XLR8 had become. The alien had touched her heart with its sincerity and reliability. Frankly she could think of no way she would ever be able to properly thank it.

Peeling her gaze away, she now had to find a way to hinder Eon's minions. She would have to get past them to reach Ben and time was running out. The creatures seemed to be progressing with Ben and she raked her brain for something, anything that could help her. Then, all of a sudden, it hit her. The paralysis spell! It was something that she'd performed on some occasions and, regardless of its success rate, she'd have to settle; the seconds ticked by so very swift.

As she mentally ran over the spell and how she'd go about casting it, Gwen quietly loosened the bolts on the vent, gently tilted it and brought it up inside the airway. Shooting a quick look at the XLR8 she set her hands on either side of the opening and prepared herself for the drop. It nodded and she disappeared.

Tumbling to break the fall, Gwen pitched forward, drawing her breath and letting the magical prose seep from her lips as the fiends rounded on her. For a sickening moment nothing happened and her heart all but ruptured in trepidation of error, but then the writhing brutes ceased functioning just as she'd advanced on them. A relieved sigh tore from her mouth. It had worked, but she knew not for how long. Without a second thought she maneuvered around them to find a more than befuddled brunette.

"Ben!" she said quietly despite the sheer force of emotion behind each letter.

Acidic jades trained on her, mammoth and mystified. She didn't think it was physically possible for those eyes to grow any wider when he realized it was her. "…G…Gwen…?" he choked, uncertain if he was imagining her or not; praying he wasn't.

"Yes Ben, it's me," she smiled, trying to swallow the overbearing lump in her throat. Her hands trembled. She'd finally found him!

The boy gasped before a sob ripped from his lips. "Gwen!" he cried, leaping off the bed and crashing into her, clinging to her, burying his flushed face into her shoulder as the tears spilled down his cheeks. His sobs shook his very frame as all the pent up anxiety and grief burst out of him in waves. Gwen held him; it was all she had not to cry as well—she needed to be strong for her cousin.

Suddenly Viskaas was at her side. "Go! Us need to go!" it hissed urgently, glancing warily at the petrified creatures and the emptiness outside the door.

Ben, whom had jumped at the abrupt appearance, tried to regulate his breathing as he questioned, "V-Vis…kaas…? What…are you doing…here?"

"No time!" it growled, seizing the ten-year-old and bolting toward the vent. Gwen followed suit.

Once Gwen made it over, Viskaas used it's free arm to launch her up into the opening before bounding up itself, Ben in its arms.

The boy gritted his teeth to stifle any utterance that might bubble up. He wasn't about to question anything, yet. And why would he? He would go along with anything they did if it meant escaping. And it was Gwen for goodness sake! He could hardly express the unreserved liberation he felt when he saw her; a surplus of withheld emotions had swelled and burst out of him in tears that still stained his face. So when Viskaas jumped into the vents and set him down, he obediently followed Gwen's lead through the cramped maze.

It felt as if their progress through the ventilation system was just as sluggish as before; it was imperative they remain incognito. The only difference was, this time, they hoped to make it out before Gwen's spell clocked out. All the same, they didn't want to alert Eon prior to his minions freedom—he could be anywhere in the factory—for if he was, their chances of escape would disintegrate.

Gwen had to resist looking back to make sure Ben was still behind her, that he hadn't disappeared like a ghost, like he had when this all started. And, without a doubt, she was hard-pressed to do so. She didn't think she could handle losing him again. She recalled how her cousin had reacted when he'd seen her, how he'd broken down, his overconfident façade peeling to reveal the terrified ten-year-old child beneath. It was a miracle that she'd not cracked herself. The flood of emotions that slammed into her after seeing him was vastly overbearing, yet she'd managed to hold it in. Like she'd told herself before, it was for Ben's sake. He was caving and she was the bond that held him from fully shattering; she'd be damned if she ever failed him again. Now, as they continued their forced pace, the sounds of his soft breaths and sniffles as he futilely struggled to impede his tears reached her hypersensitive ears. The noises calmed her slightly. If she could hear him, then she could be certain of his presence.

They traversed a good ten minutes before the alien clicked its tongue in excitement. "Almost there. Almost there!" Viskaas cooed softly behind the brunette, encouraging the children as the outlet they'd entered through came into sight around a corner.

Abruptly, the metal beneath them trembled for a second before a vociferous explosion tore through the vents in their wake. Ben and Gwen screamed and scrambled for grip on the slick metal as the entire ventilation system tipped down toward the gaping hole. Using the last of its grip on the vent, Viskaas shoved the two kids forward and out the way they'd entered. As the cousins picked themselves up off the ground in confusion, the gray XLR8 positioned itself protectively between them and the building, crouched and snarling ferociously.

"W-What's wrong Viskaas…?" Gwen called questioningly, peeking around the lithe body only to gasp in horror as she sighted Eon materialize in a dark, grainy cloud. "Oh, no…" she moaned, feeling her stomach clench.

Viskaas' head snapped down at her. "RUN!" it barked, pushing her back with an outstretched limb.

"Oh dear," came the deep, accented voice from the shadows as Eon slowly, deliberately inched forward. He seemed amused. But that was the key word: seemed. "I hope you're not intending on stealing my adorable little Benjamin now are you?"

Ben mewled in terror, pressing his palms to his ears and bowing into himself, shuddering. Gwen churned indecisively; her anger leaped at Eon, but her worry centered on Ben. The poor boy was traumatized by the alien.

"What do you mean "stealing" you sick freak?" Gwen growled, fists clenched at her sides so tight her hands were stark with lack of blood.

"Now, now. Mind you're words you filthy child. You and your…thing…are trying to get off with my property," Eon stressed his last word, grinning devilishly when Gwen practically burst a vein.

"Ben is NOT your property!" she screeched rancorously as Viskaas held her back. Her blood seethed with pure odium. Never had she loathed someone—something—so much as she did Eon now. She could practically see herself rending his face into indiscernible shreds with her own hands.

Eon chuckled darkly. "Oh?" he questioned. "Is that so?"

Gwen was abruptly aware of gargling sounds and she shifted to find four of Eon's minions surrounding them. When had they gotten there? She'd never taken notice of their approach. Swiftly, she seized Ben by the arm and sandwiched him betwixt Viskaas and herself; the XLR8 facing Eon, she his henchmen. But they were outnumbered.

"Come now, children. Let's achieve a consensus," Eon tried, opening his arms, palms facing up in an appealing gesture. "Benjamin will be returned to me, and in turn—"

"Never!" Gwen cut in, venom dripping from her lips. She would not let that alien have her cousin again. She'd promised to rescue him.

A scowl adorned Eon's once playful façade. "I grow weary of this game. Hand over the boy else I will take him by force," he spoke, the low tone burning with threat.

The sudden snarl that tore from Viskaas' throat was staggering in its ferocity—it was something bestial, horrific with its cogency, literally shaking the alien's form as it swelled out. Eon's minions drew back somewhat at this, uncertain if the XLR8 was not dangerous. The two ten-year-olds looked startled at the once placid alien.

"Viskaas will never let Eon get Ben, NEVER LET!" it growled, tail rushing up like a whip at the ready. Oddly enough, Gwen felt that it was trying to tell her something, as if there was some underlying message in its exaggerated—though not false—actions, but she couldn't quite place it. What could it be?

She looked over at Ben, and he at her, and within his emerald hues she saw the raw fear that plagued his very soul. Here came the epiphany.

Oh no.

Gwen stared at the alien, wide-eyed. It had finally occurred to her what the unspoken message had been. It wanted her and Ben to escape while it played decoy.

A mixture of aversion and distress lapped at her heart. No! She wouldn't abandon Viskaas, she couldn't! Not after everything that had happened. Not after it had helped them in more ways than she could count. Somehow she'd formed a bond with the strange creature and it pained her to even consider such a betrayal.

Her head was shaking even as Viskaas tilted it's view back at her slightly. "Save Ben," it whispered, beseeching her with all of its soul pressed between those two little words. Viskaas acutely understood her sentiments because it too housed the same ones. Nevertheless, it realized the sacrifices that had to be made in order to accomplish their ultimate goal. "Please," it begged when the red-head failed to respond.

"But—!" she began to argue, unable to accept the singular option that had been given to her. It seemed too selfish, too cowardly an act to escape whilst the XLR8 remained behind to fight. Even still, she realized that her pleas were fruitless. Viskaas had her pinned and with each passing moment her plight presented less and less importance versus the very real danger they now faced.

Eon's minions shifted forward, grunting and hissing in anticipation, causing Ben to flinch. That was enough to influence her resolution. Meshing her hand tightly with Ben's, she shot forward. The creatures reacted, only to be hushed by the blur that impacted them within seconds. Gwen dared not look back as an infuriated shout tore from Eon's lips. She merely focused on the darkened path before her and the boy stumbling in her wake as he struggled to keep up.

'I'm sorry…'

Be forewarned that the world might surely come to an end before the oh-so anticipated 2012 charade. The cause? I finally updated!

Moving on, that's chapter four! *dodges a flying rock aimed at her face; selectively ignoring the muttered curses for failure to update in a timely manner*

As customary, I apologize for my lateness.

More importantly, there is something I must inform you readers of. This story may very well have one more chapter, perhaps two at most (unless I, by some miracle, decide to continue). BUT! I do have plans to write a sequel taking place five years in the future (the newer seasons). I plan on having some Kevin/Ben and you better believe that Eon's going to be showing up in all his British-accented glory to dapple the chapters with some (mostly one-sided) Eon/Ben!

Frankly, I'm excited about it.

Until the next update! (Whenever that may be) ;3