A/N: So I decided to post this up since I'm still writing the next chapter which might take longer than I want. Hopefully this will hold you guys until the next chapter update.

Cover Image Contest: I want to have a new cover image for this story so if someone can find a good picture or even draw one for this story, I'll write a Bwen one-shot request for the person who can give me the best cover image. I'll give more details at the A/N at the end of this chapter.

Enjoy!

New Friends and New Insight

The mana tornado with its three passengers soon arrived in a different part of the Null Void. Once they had landed on the ground the tornado quickly dissipated leaving a stunned alien, an exhausted Gwen, and a now human Ben standing in an unknown place. Ben was the first one to gain his bearings after the teleportation and immediately checked out his surroundings. He noticed that they seemed to be in some kind of farm like field, in fact he saw skinny blue colored aliens in field work cloths that were using plows on the ground just like any ordinary farmer. Ben also spotted caves that he soon realized were the entrances to various mines, seeing as how the alien farmers were pushing large filled metal carts in and out of the caves.

"It looks like we landed in some kind of farm," stated Ben as he continued to scope out the area.

"We're in the colonies, we're saver here," the green alien remarked in relief.

Ben then turned to the alien getting ready to ask him more about where they now were, unfortunately the sound of something heavy hitting the ground caught their immediate attention. The two quickly turned behind them to see Gwen passed out on the field.

"Gwen!" said Ben in alarm as he hastily went down beside her and held her unconscious form close to him.

Ben quickly checked her pulse and was relieved to see that she wasn't in any serious danger. Looking at her face made Ben slightly frown as he could see how fatigued Gwen really was.

"Is she alright?" the alien asked in concern as he moved in closer to see the unconscious girl that had helped saved him.

Ben let out a sigh at the question before he picked Gwen up from the ground and held her bridal style in his arms.

"She's completely worn out. She's been using her powers a lot since we entered the Null Void and I think it finally caught up with her. We need to find a place so she can safely rest," commented Ben as he turned to face their temporary companion.

"I have a friend that lives in this area. He'll be able to provide us sanctuary for the moment," the alien replied.

"Thanks," said Ben with a grateful smile.

"It's the least I could do after you both saved me, now follow me," he instructed as he began walking with Ben soon following behind.

They soon arrived at another cave and entered inside. Ben saw that unlike the previous cave he and Gwen had been in, this one was made for living conditions. Though it seemed that whoever lived in this cave was not one for luxuries as only the bare essentials for living were present.

"Azar, it me Tolen and I've brought guests!" he shouted out causing his voice to echo throughout the cave.

It didn't take long before one of the farmer-like aliens that Ben had seen earlier came towards them. Ben guessed that this alien was Azar which was proven when the alien greeted them.

"It's been a quite a while Tolen, I was beginning to think that you had been captured with the rest," replied Azar with a relieved expression on his face while giving the other alien a friendly hug.

"Actually I almost was, but these two Helpers saved me," he answered while motioning his head toward Ben, who still had Gwen in his arms.

Ben was confused when Tolen referred to him and Gwen as Helpers; however before he could voice any questions Azar immediately spoke.

"Thank you so much for saving my friend. We all would've given up hope by now if it wasn't for you Helpers and the Wrench," he stated to Ben with admiration in his voice.

By now Ben realized that there seemed to be some misconception about him and Gwen. For a moment he wondered if he should just let them believe what they thought, yet Ben decided that it was probably best to be honest with them.

"Besides, it sounds like the Helpers and the Wrench are our allies. Maybe these two can tell me more about them," thought Ben before taking a glance down at the still unconscious Gwen.

"But Gwen needs to be taken care of first," was Ben's afterthought.

"Do you have someplace where she can rest? She really drained herself out there," Ben said to Azar who then looked at the comatose girl in Ben's arms.

"Of course, this way," Azar proclaimed as he began leading everyone further into the cave.

Azar took Ben to an area of the cave that functioned at a small guest room where Ben gently placed Gwen on the makeshift bed. Ben then took the cover and placed it over her, tucking Gwen in the bed to make her as comfortable as possible. He took a good look at Gwen and could see that she already looked somewhat less worn. A sudden impulse overcame Ben as he placed a small kiss on Gwen's forehead. When he realized what he just did, a small blush came to his cheeks as he remembered that he wasn't alone in the room. Ben looked at the other occupants in the room and noticed the grins on their faces making Ben feel even more embarrassed. Azar and Tolen got the hint that Ben didn't want to talk about the small display of affection he had shown and decided to carry on as if nothing happened.

"We should probably leave so we don't wake her up," suggested Tolen.

Ben hesitated on this as he glanced at Gwen with concern in his eyes. Noticing this Azar decided to ease the boy's worries.

"She'll be just fine here by herself and we're not going far from the room. Besides I'm sure you're hungry," Azar said in a friendly tone.

After a few contemplative seconds Ben relented, believing that Gwen would be safe for now.

"I guess I'm a little bit hungry. I haven't eaten anything since dinner," claimed Ben with a small grin.

Azar and Tolen smiled at this glad that the boy agreed to leave the room. Azar then lead his guests to his cooking area where Ben and Tolen were instructed to take a seat at the square wood table. It didn't long before Azar placed a steaming bowl of stew in front of them and both started eating it. Ben had been surprised by how good the stew tasted and was soon asking for seconds. Both Azar and Tolen were amazed by Ben's vigorous appetite as they watched him finish his fifth bowl of stew.

"That was really good, not as good as chili cheese fries but still good. By the way thanks for letting us stay here for a while," gratefully said Ben to Azar after finishing his meal.

"It's no trouble at all. You Helpers are always welcomed here," replied Azar in a kindly voice as he was glad to know he was of assistance to them.

However Ben quickly remembered that he needed to tell the two aliens that he and Gwen were not who they thought they were.

"Actually we're not Helpers," admitted Ben causing the two aliens to be surprised.

"You're not?" asked Tolen in a stunned voice.

"No we're not. We honestly don't even know who these Helpers are or the Wrench that you had mentioned earlier," Ben answered truthfully.

"Then who are you?" Azar questioned with curiosity.

"I'm Ben and she's Gwen," introduced Ben while pointing to himself and then in the direction of the room Gwen was sleeping in.

"We came into the Null Void because a friend of ours called for our help," Ben told them.

"I see," replied Azar as he took the information in while Tolen pretty much brushed it off.

"Even if you're not with the Helpers, you both still saved me so as far as I'm concerned you're alright. Besides we could use all the help we can get around here," commented Tolen, giving Ben a look of assurance.

Ben was glad that the two aliens took the news that they weren't Helpers well. Now that that had been settled, he was ready to get more information about what's been happening in the Null Void as of late.

"So now that that's straightened out, do you think you two could give me the lowdown on what's happening?" asked Ben which made a puzzled expression cross the aliens faces.

"The lowdown, you mean what's happing in the ground?" asked Azar with a bemused look before Tolen's face brightened as though he had been enlightened.

"Oh I get it, he's asking about the mines," Tolen stated.

"Ah yes, you see for months now D'Void has been forcing all of us to mine for materials to help build some kind of drill," answered Azar.

Ben didn't know whether to laugh or smack his head. He had forgotten that not all aliens understood or used slang terms. Shaking his head in amusement, Ben decided to ask his question without any form of slang usage this time.

"I hope I don't end up having to deal with any more slang deprived aliens anytime soon," thought Ben as he imagined how exasperating conversations with an alien like that would be.

"I was asking if you could tell me everything that has been going on in the Null Void lately," Ben explained, bringing understanding to Azar and Tolen's faces.

When Ben saw they were about to apologize for the misunderstanding, he quickly stopped them.

"Don't worry about it, so do you know why Dr. An…I mean D'Void is building this drill?" Ben asked wanting to get back to the matter at hand.

"Sadly no, we're pretty much treated like slaves here. All we're told is to keeping working. If anyone is caught even taking a short rest, they are captured and taken to the factory," Azar said in a solemn voice.

"What factory?" Ben questioned seriously even though he was sure he already knew the answer.

"About eight months ago a Highbreed and an army of DNAliens entered the Null Void. Even here we have heard of their recent invasion plans towards Earth but we never expected that they would even bother with the Null Void, yet clearly we were wrong. As soon as they arrived they started running their Xenocyte factory and from there they managed to take over the Null Void by mutating the Null Guardians. With the Null Guardians on their side no one stood a chance," Tolen explained which actually made Ben cringe.

Ben flinched at that knowing it was partially his and his team's fault for the DNAliens showing up in the Null Void as they had been the ones to send them here in the first place. Ben also realized that if Grandpa Max hadn't died from that explosion and was brought here then of course the same thing happened to that Highbreed and the factory.

"We really do have a habit of tossing people into Null Void without thinking about the consequences and now others are paying for it," Ben thought in guilt.

Not aware of Ben's troubled thoughts, Azar continued from where Tolen left off.

"Things only got worse when D'Void showed up. At first we all thought he was a god sent when he had found a way to turn the Null Guardians back to normal. Unfortunately too late we discovered that he only did this to recruit an army of Null Guardians of his own. Ever since then, there has been a war going on between the Highbreed and D'Void over control of the Null Void. It was only when D'Void began building this drill that the two seemed to have come to some kind of truce. So now the Null Void has been divided between them as they work together in building the drill," declared Azar in dismay.

"D'Void and the Highbreed regularly send scout groups of their Null Guardians all around the Null Void to search for more victims to become workers in the mines or to become DNAliens. Most of us usually try and stay hidden when they come in our area, but some are not lucky and get taken. I happened to be one of the unlucky ones this day…but then you both saved me so maybe I was lucky after all," replied Tolen as he chuckled at his own little joke.

"The only good news is that the Wrench and his Helpers are fighting against both evil forces. Their vigilance has spread through the Null Void and brought hope to us that the Null Void will be a peaceful colony once again," Azar said with a small smile on his lips.

"Wait a minute, I thought the Null Void was a prison?" remarked Ben in surprise to which Azar immediately addressed.

"Originally the Galvans created the Null Void to be a penal colony. The Galvans sent their prisoners here and as time moved on their descendants decided to live here. Yet there are others who have simply become settlers in this world. We settlers and descendants have been living together in peace for a long time despite other worlds throwing their own criminals into the Null Void."

"Nonetheless the Galvans predicted this would happen which is why the Null Guardians were created in the first place. They're meant to be the wardens that take care of the real dangerous criminals. For ones like Azar and I, they were our protectors, but now they're being used against us. It really is a hard thing for us to witness what's happening to them," Tolen finished with sadness in his eyes.

Ben once again felt the guilt rise up in him at hearing this. All this time he thought the Null Void was just an alien prison, but now he knew it was more than that. This place was a home to others and here individuals including himself carelessly tossed their problems on someone else. And now the creatures that they relied on to be their heroes were now being turned into their enemies. Ben knew that he wouldn't like it if several other words just decided to dump all their criminals in Bellwood without any consideration for the ones that lived there. And just the thought of someone manipulating him to hurt the ones he swore to protect make him feel sick. He didn't even want to imagine that scenario.

"I had no idea," was all that Ben could say at the moment.

Ben had wanted to apologize yet he knew it wouldn't do anything or make things any better. However Ben realized that the matter was definitely something that needed to be dealt with. As the hero that he was, he swore that he would find a way to fix this.

"I definitely won't be throwing any of my enemies in the Null Void anymore and I won't stand around and watch another do it either. I'll find a better way to deal with the bad guys," Ben promised to himself.

"Are you alright?" asked Tolen bringing Ben out of his thoughts after realizing he had spaced out for a moment.

"Oh, yeah I was just thinking…about everything," replied Ben in a passive way that made Azar frown.

He then placed a comforting hand on Ben's shoulder while giving him a sympathetic look.

"There is no need to feel guilty. Many do not know the truth about the Null Void and we don't hold it against anyone. We have accepted it as part of our way of life and we are content with the way we have lived for decades. Please don't burden yourself about our welfare," proclaimed Azar with assurance in each and every word.

"Azar is right. Normally we're fine with how things are in the Null Void. I guarantee when D'Void and the Highbreed are gone everything will be good again. And I'm sure with you, Gwen, the Wrench, and the Helpers working together that will happen a lot sooner!" exclaimed Tolen in a positive manner.

Ben was speechless. Azar and Tolen's words were moving. Ben gained more respect for the two aliens that accepted their lives with content no matter how rough it was. Ben could understand this as he too felt the same way about his own life. Ever since he put the Omnitrix back on, the weight of wielding it came upon him once more. However Ben knew that he would never regret putting the watch back on and if he was honest with himself, he felt his life was more complete with it than without it. And he wouldn't exactly be thrilled if someone tried to change his way of life because they thought it would make his life better. Gaining a look of understanding, Ben smiled at the two aliens.

"I totally get it. It's how you want to live and no one should try to mess with it. After all they say if it ain't broke, don't fix it. Though I still don't plan to contribute anymore to it," Ben told them in all honesty causing Tolen and Azar to smile.

"We understand and accept your decision," Azar replied gratefully to Ben.

In the room Gwen was sleeping in, a soft groan soon came from the girl's lips. As Gwen opened her eyes, she was surprised to find herself lying in some kind of small room. The second thing she noticed was how little light there was and that the walls around her were made of rock. Gwen was very confused as to where she was.

"The last thing I remember was trying to teleport us away from the Highbreed. Wait where's Ben?!" suddenly realized Gwen as she started looking around the room for her cousin.

When she didn't see him anywhere Gwen soon grew frantic as she began to think that her teleportation had failed and that she was captive once again. Her body started shaking as she felt fear crawl up her spine.

"No, this couldn't be happening again! I just managed to escape those monsters only to be in their prison again!" frantically thought Gwen as painful memories came to the surface.

The first image that came to her mind was of her being strapped down on an examination table while needles were harshly injected into her body, the searing pain of the various tools they used to cut open her flesh, the harsh and degrading way she was treated as a lab rat, and the constant mocking and ridicule as she was seen as nothing more than an insect. She could also remember the brutal cold and loneliness she felt when they had locked her up in a small dark room in solitary confinement for her acts of disobedience. More scornful memories went through her mind causing her to curl herself into a fetal position with her head buried in her arms.

When the memories became too much for her, Gwen did what she had always done to cope ever since her capture. Gwen forced herself to dig deeper into her memories for that summer that changed her life. As she began to relive those memories, she slowly regained some tranquility in her head as happier times played over and over though her mind. She stayed in this safe part of her memories for a while until this soon brought something very important to her immediate attention. Gwen uncurled herself in alarm as a look of complete distress crossed her face.

"Ben! How could I forget about him! What if he's imprisoned too? …No, I can't let him experience what I've gone through. I would never forgive myself if I just sat here cried while they're doing who knows what to him!" Gwen proclaimed in determination as she hastily got out of the bed.

Unfortunately the moment she stood on her feet, she immediately fell hard on the ground from her legs giving out. Gwen winced in pain after her body hit the ground yet she wouldn't let the pain stop her from getting to Ben. Gwen tried to make herself levitate off the floor however nothing happened. She then tried forcing mana into her hand only for a small spark of pink to promptly flicker in and out. Realizing that was all she could manage to summon made Gwen realize just how tapped out she really was. Gwen growled in frustration at the fact that she was temporally powerless, especially when she believed Ben was in trouble.

"I can't give up!" she exclaimed in determination while using her arms to try and push herself back up.

However the sound of fast approaching footsteps made Gwen freeze in dread. Her body grew tense and the expression on her face became emphatic as she prepared herself to face whatever was coming for her. Nonetheless her resolve shattered completely when she saw Ben enter the room with two aliens following right behind him. Ben quickly noticed that Gwen was lying on the ground and not in the bed which caused concern to come immediately to his face.

"Gwen!" Ben said in alarm realizing that the loud bang that they had heard must have been Gwen falling out of the bed.

Ben quickly made his way over to Gwen and kneeled down to help her get up. As Ben's arms came around her middle, Ben was surprised when he felt Gwen begin to squirm out of his hold. Ben was confused by this as he held her even tighter to try and stop her fidgeting. He could tell that she was still pretty weak just by how poor her effort in struggling out of his hold was and he didn't want her to end up hurting herself. He finally took a good look at her face and saw the fear and doubt hidden in Gwen's eyes. Not knowing why she was afraid, Ben figured it was best to talk to her and comfort her.

"Gwen, it's alright. I'm not going to let anyone harm you I promise," he reassured her in a firm tone as he pulled her into a reassuring hug.

As Ben began rubbing her back in a soothing way and continued to whisper comforting words in her ear, Gwen soon relaxed and wrapped her own arms around Ben's waist. She then looked up at Ben as small sobs came out of her mouth.

"I-It's r-really you right? P-Please tell me this isn't another trick," she begged in a desperate voice as tears threatened to escape her eyes.

Ben was shocked to hear Gwen ask that and he wondered what made her say something like that. However the most important thing right now was assuring her that he was in fact real.

"What do you think dweeb, and you're supposed to be the smart one?" mocked Ben while raising his brow at her in sarcasm.

A grin slowly formed on Gwen's face as swiftly wiped the few tears from her eyes.

"Yeah, it's you alright. No one could pull off being a doofus better than you," she teased back causing a small grin to come on Ben's lips as well.

Gwen then noticed the two aliens that were standing some distance behind Ben. Gwen had recognized one of the aliens as the one her and Ben had saved but the other one was unfamiliar to her. She remembered that they had come in the room with Ben. They had been watching her and Ben with interest and amusement on their faces as if they were watching something fascinating on TV. It then registered to her that no one seemed to be in any state of stress or urgency. Instead it appeared that she had been the only one that was on edge. Her gaze landed on Ben once more and she saw that he hadn't gone into his hero mode at all. There was no urging of them leaving the room, no alarms blazing, or no signs of any other beings anywhere near by. The pieces immediately clicked in Gwen's brain and she soon felt like a heavy burden had been lifted from her shoulders.

"My teleportation worked?" she asked Ben.

"Yeah, it did," Ben answered her with smile.

"What a relief," sighed Gwen, happy that they had managed to escape the Highbreed after all.

Ben seeing that Gwen was alright now began taking his hands from her waist only for Gwen to start falling forward. Ben had caught her quickly to stop her from falling and decided to continue holding onto Gwen to keep her sitting upright.

"You ok?" asked Ben with concern as he slowly helped her to her feet and led her back to the bed so she could sit down on it.

"Yeah, I guess I used up more energy than I thought," Gwen answered after she was comfortably situated on the bed.

A look of amusement had instantly shown on Ben's face when he heard Gwen's statement.

"Really? I would've never thought that creating portals, repairing computers, scanning an entire pocket dimension, fighting a Highbreed, and teleporting would be such an energy drainer," Ben mordantly stated causing Gwen to roll her eyes.

"Your sarcasm is dully noted," she retorted before a tired sigh escaped her lips.

"Though I admit I think I overdid it a bit. I've been using my powers a lot today and I haven't gotten a chance to restore my energy reserves since this morning. I'll have to absorb some mana from the Null Void to boost my energy level back to normal," admitted Gwen with a troubled expression on her face.

Hearing this made Ben frown, realizing that Gwen had been pushing herself too much. Yet her statement also reminded him of how he could help her.

"You can take some of my mana if you need to," Ben told her seriously while sitting beside her on the bed.

Gwen looked at him with a grateful smile before grabbing Ben's hands in hers.

"I will, thank you Ben," she said with sincerity to which Ben simply gave her a warm smile in reply.

The moment Gwen started gathering energy; Ben could feel his quickly slipping away. As Gwen was absorbing his mana and the mana around the Null Void, he could actually see the large amount of mana she was taking in. To his surprise only a few minutes passed before Gwen was finished and looking good as new. Ben had thought the process would've taken much longer and that he would be feeling weaker when in fact he felt just fine. His confusion about that must have shown because Gwen answered his unspoken question immediately.

"There's something in the Null Void that's generating a lot of energy, I was able to hone in on it easily and take a lot of it coming from that source. It also helps when you're getting energy from another Anodite as well," Gwen explained having given Ben a look when she said the last part.

Ben briefly wondered why Gwen referred him as an Anodite yet he felt that the power source that Gwen had mentioned was the more important matter of discussion right now.

"Do you know what's generating that power?" he asked, bringing a thoughtful look on Gwen's face.

"Since the mana was uncultivated, it had to be some kind of technology. It could be that drill that Dr. Animo is building," Gwen answered causing Ben to frown.

"If it is the drill and its producing that much energy, we can be sure that whatever its purpose is that it's big," reasoned Ben before turning to face the two aliens.

"Do you guys know exactly what it is they're forcing you to mine for?" questioned Ben hoping to get more insight on the drill.

"Rediolite, it is the very mineral that makes up the land masses around the Null Void. Yet the confusing thing is, is that Rediolite is a very basic material and has hardly any use but as a simple rock. Though I suppose it is a durable mineral so maybe it is used as the basic material for the drill's structure," reasoned Azar with a contemplative expression on his face.

"Or it could just be the fact that Rediolite was the only material D'Void could find and use. After all there really isn't much in the Null Void to begin with," Tolen suggested as an after thought.

"My suggestion is that you find the Wrench and the Helpers. They should be able to tell you a lot more about that drill and what's happening than we can," proclaimed Azar to which Ben thought was a good idea.

"If anyone feels free to fill me in just let me know," Gwen sarcastically remarked while folding her arms across her chest in a mocking way.

A sheepish look crossed Ben's face as he remembered that he hadn't informed Gwen of everything he, Tolen, and Azar had discussed.

"Our apologies Gwen, would you like to have something to eat while we inform you on what we discussed while you were resting?" Azar asked politely.

Gwen was a bit surprised by the alien's formality towards her and she had to admit that she was hungry.

"That would be nice, thank you," Gwen gratefully said to Azar with a smile.

"Hey Azar do you think I could get some more of that stew too?" asked Ben in excitement, hoping to enjoy another bowl of stew that he immediately grew to like.

"You must have the stomach of a Gourmand. This would be your sixth bowl," Tolen announced in an amused tone, which made Gwen smirk.

"Really Ben, sixth bowl?" she teased, making Ben quickly go on the defensive.

"What, his stew is really good and its not like I'll be able to come and get some anytime I want like the Burger Shack," retorted Ben to which Gwen just teasingly shook her head at.

They all eventually left the room and were now in the cooking area of Azar's home. When Gwen had tasted the stew for herself, she had to admit that Ben had been right about how good it tasted. She ended up eating three bowls of it herself while Ben finished with eight bowls total. While she had been eating her meal, the others had told her of their earlier conversation. Gwen's reactions had mimicked Ben's perfectly when she heard the truth about the Null Void and how the Highbreed and Dr. Animo were making the inhabitants of the Null Void suffer. Now that she was caught up with everything, Gwen agreed that she and Ben's next course should be finding the Wrench and the Helpers. So after both finished eating, they knew that it was time for them to leave Azar's home and journey on.

"It is rumored that one of the Helpers' hideout is somewhere in the colonies. If you search around this area you should be able to find it," Azar told Ben and Gwen as he was escorting them out of the cave.

"I hear the hideout is in one of the mining caves at the collection site. That's where you guys should probably look first," added Tolen before the four soon arrived at the cave's opening.

"Are you sure we can't drop you off back home Tolen? We don't mind," asked Ben.

"Oh no, I don't want to delay you in getting to the Helpers. That's much more important, besides Azar is letting me stay with him for the time so I'll be just fine," Tolen assured them.

"I guess we'll be off then. Thanks so much for your hospitality, we really appreciate it," declared Gwen, giving the two aliens a warm smile.

"You're quite welcome. It was my pleasure in meeting you both," replied Azar, returning the smile.

"Just be sure to visit us sometime," Tolen proposed, hoping that the two would indeed come back to see them again.

"We will," promised Ben giving them a gracious look before turning to face Gwen.

"Ready to go?" he asked her to which Gwen answered by levitating a few inches off the ground.

"Last one there has to eat Grandpa's cooking when we find him!" she shouted as she suddenly bolted out of the cave.

"Hey no fair!" exclaimed Ben before he quickly turned the dial of the Omnitrix and picked an alien.

"Big Chill!" announced Ben as he had transformed into the Necrofriggian.

He momentary turned his head back to Tolen and Azar as he prepared to take flight.

"Thanks again for all your help," Ben said to them before hastily flying out of the cave.

Tolen and Azar were left stunned after a major revelation hit them.

"Tolen, you didn't tell me that Ben was actually 'the' Ben 10," Azar commented as he faced his friend with a look of disbelief on his face.

Azar gave a nervous laugh at this.

"To be truthful I just realized that myself," he bashfully admitted, not believing that he hadn't realized who Ben really was sooner.

Azar shook his head in amusement yet a joyous expression came on his face.

"From this point on, I doubt our lives will ever be the same," Azar replied with a knowing grin.

"Yeah, we're his friends now," agreed Tolen with a pleased look on his face as they both gazed at the fleeting form of Big Chill in the distance.

A/N: So now we get more insight not only on what's going on in the Null Void but a bit of taste on what Gwen's imprisonment was like. Did you guys like Tolen and Azar? Would you like them to appear again in future Null Void based episodes? By the way Rediolite is a name I just made up for the kind of matter the land in the Null Void is made of. By the way did anyone catch my Omniverse Universe reference and a reference to a future Bwen story of mine?

Cover Image Contest (cont.): For those who are interested in helping me get a new cover image, I would like to have a picture that has two Gwens included in it. It could also have Ben and/or Kevin as well. But mainly I want the picture to reflect the core conflict of this story which is the two Gwens. It doesn't need to have the story's title on it but you can add it if you want. Again the image could be an already existing picture or an original image of your design.

Like I said earlier, for the person who gives me the best cover image I'll write a Bwen one-shot for him/her. The one-shot can be any rating (yes I will write a lime/lemon if you want that included in it) or genre. The story can take place in the Original Series, AF, UA, or Omniverse. The only restriction would probably be for the idea itself. I only ask that the plot for the one-shot is believable and realistic for the Ben 10 Universe only (sorry no crossovers please). It HAS to be Bwen, or implied Bwen, or Bwen ending pairing.

Thanks for reading and for those who take the cover image contest.