Disclaimer I don not own Ben 10

Chapter 11: The First Bump

Ben woke up late the next day and the first the thing that he had seen seen he woke up was a sleeping Gwen. Her face close to his, only inches apart. He din;t move, thinking that if he he moved and she woke up they might accidentally kiss. Not that it was a bad thing, kissing Gwen but what would she think of him?

Slowly moving away from her he fell of the bed. Turns out that he was laying practically on the edge of the bed and the moment that he had moved made him fall off.

Grunting at the impact when he hit the floor, he wondered why that almost always happened to him.

The sound of Ben hitting the floor woke Gwen up and rubbing her eyes she saw Ben on the floor rubbing his back.

"Hey, Ben what happened?" she asked with a small yawn.

"I fell, I'm sorry if i woke you up." Ben said apologetically

"No it's alright, I don't ususally sleep in, so thanks for the waking me up." That was because she went night swimming.

"Well in that case your welcome." Ben said with a smile.

Gwen was happy that she finally gotten that stone out her her heart last night. She was now honest with her feelings towards Ben.

Ben thought that he felt a change in the air around Gwen and that it somehow made him giddy and really warm inside.

Gwen helped Ben get up from the floor and they both went down stairs to see if everyone was still eating breakfast. Before they left, the clock in their bedside table read that it was around 9 o'clock. So they thought that everyone had finished eating by then. But it seems the only one that was awake was John who was cooking their breakfast.

Everyone was tired after yesterday and everyone had decided to sleep in all except the dutiful John. He Greeted them and asked how they had slept. They responded that they were fine and were hungry for some breakfast. John asked them on what they wanted to eat and that he could whip it up if he has the ingredients and appliance for it. Ben wanted waffles and Gwen asked if there was some of those croissants that she had yesterday.

John had both ready in about half an hour. And he even prepared some hot chocolate for the two of them. Gwen learning her lesson from the previous day she added a good amount of sugar to her chocolate before tasting it. At first she thought that she added too much but the memory of the bitterness made her add a it more than she had intended. After tasting she had added just the right amount of sugar and asked Ben to try some.

The chocolate went great with their food and they finished quickly, Ben and Gwen sharing the mug of chocolate between them, John didn't notice since he was cooking. Ben didn't mind that he was sharing the chocolate with Gwen, although he didn't know what had possessed her to be so kind to him.

When they were done with their breakfast Gwen wanted to sit in the sand and relax as they digested their food. Ben agreed and so they sat there in the beach watching the waves cascade on the soft sand of the shore. By the time that they had felt so relaxed and they were both thinking that it was a great start to a vacation.

THough not far away a disturbance occurred in a small clearing on a different island. The ground started to shake and a burst of light, then there were two people standing in what was once an empty clearing.

"Are you sure you brought us to the right island?" One of them asked.

"Im not entirely sure uncle." Said the other.

"Well cast a dowsing spell and conjure up a map!" Said the first angrily.

"Yes uncle." The shorter of the two said.

When the light finally faded it revealed a tall man holding a staff which had a carving of a birds skull and He was wearing a black and red cloak. The other one was a girl who looked in her late teens and was wearing a purple cloak somewhat similar to the man's, Her hair was silvery gray and was very long. It was Hex and Charmcaster.

She said some incoherent words and a Map of the world and a small needle had appeared out of thin air, both glowing a light purple color. The map changed and then went to a group of islands The needle pointing to the one on the upper left of the map.

"You missed it by 2 islands!" Hex said

"Well sorry uncle I'm not used to transporting two people at once and its not like these islands are totally the same it's hard to distinguish one from another if I had never been here before." Said Charmcaster defiantly.

"I thought I taught you better, perhaps that is why you keep losing to that Tennyson girl."

Charmcaster glared at Hex then he said

"Well no matter, We will travel to the island and find that shaman and collect out prize."

With that a light glow emanated from the two of them and they began to walk through the small jungle and headed to the ocean which they were then walked on top of the water.

Meanwhile on the island of Boracay, Ben and Gwen were relaxing in the beach in the shade of a palm tree and hadn't done particularly anything for most of the morning.

Back with Hex and Charmcaster they had reached the island that they were looking for. It was a small island and was not particularly interesting.

"Are you sure that it's here uncle?" Asked Charmcaster.

"Don't you dare question me! Hex snapped. "I know that it's here i can sense the magic resonating with it."

"What magic? I don't feel anything."

"Thats because the shaman here is using his power to hide it but if you know what to look for it is simple to find it."

They walked into the small jungle within the island and with Hex in the lead he followed the traces of magic from the resonance to its source. They entered a small clearing similar to the one that they had appeared in. There was a small hut and a man sitting in a chair with a view of the ocean with a small stream flowing next to him. The man looked like he was asleep and there was a clay jug and a small glass on the ground next to him. He was wearing a small turban and a white shirt that was pretty dirty and was wearing faded denim shorts and slippers. He had a sheathed short sword and bolo tied to his waist.

Charmcaster wondering if the man was the shaman they were looking for started to sneak up on him, her hands glowing with energy.

"Oh I wouldn't do that if I were you." Said the man with a thick filipino accent.

Charmcaster jumped and readied herself even more.

"Well I know that your aura is not from around here. Where do you come from?" said the man with a casual grace

"I am Hex a powerful sorcerer, now give me what i seek." Hex proclaimed

"Oh a sorcerer? Well then I guess I am out matched."

"Where is the object? I know that it is within this clearing but I cannot tell where it is. Tell me!" Hex demanded

"Inside the hut." The man said casually. "Sa shrine."

Charmcaster was becoming unnerved by the strange man's honesty, of course she was used to people telling her what she wanted to know but that was in fear when she threatened them but this man was just too casual about it.

"But good luck getting the key." Said the man "There are over 700 years worth of charms and blessings cast on that hut."

"We'll se about that." Said Hex.

Pointing his staff at the hut he blasted it with magical energy but it didn't seem to affect it in any way. That went on for several minutes until he got frustrated and began to cast spells of great power and tried to overpower the charms and enchantments on the hut but no matter what he tried it would not budge.

"Why don't you try simply opening the door?" asked the man who took the jug and poured a yellow liquid into a glass and drank.

Hex not wanting to admit defeat tried to open the door but it was locked, trying a lock picking spell but the lock would not budge.

Charmcaster was perplexed at the situation she had seen her uncle undo or break enchantments of ancient and powerful civilizations but why couldn't he break one that was only 700 years old?

"Well looks like it's locked, and I have the key." the man sitting with his back to them waving an old skeleton key. "Try and take it if you can."

Furious Hex sent a bolt of lighting at the man who easily swept it away with a large blade shaped like a leaf.(called Barong)

The man stood up causing Charmcaster to jump back next to her uncle.

The man's face looked old, very old. He was shorter than Charmcaster and his face was wrinkled with age.

"Well I guess I have to fight but I'm getting too old for this but good thing my apprentice is away buying food because he's been dying to watch me fight seriously."

Walking towards Hex he held the barong with his left hand not drawing the other sword from his hip. With surprising speed he closed the distance between Hex and Charmcaster in a blink of an eye, slashing at Hex and sent a punch to Charmcaster. Hex blocked the attack with his staff and the punch sent Charmcaster flying towards one end of the clearing. Hex tried to make some distance from him and the old shaman but he kept at it keeping close with Hex. Hex shot several fireballs, lightning bolts, and energy blasts but the old shaman simply knocked them aside with his Barong.

The fight went on for a few more minutes and up until it looked like Hex was going to loose to the shaman Charmcaster shot a energy blast at the blade making it fly out of his grasp and then she aimed for the old shaman but he drew the otehr sword from his waist. She thought that the sword was a regular straight or curved sword but she was both wrong and right on both accounts. The sword had an odd shape it was like the metal was made from waves and was sharpened into a sword(this is called a Kriss). And he caught the blast with it but instead of being deflected like the other ones the strange weapon it absorbed the energy that she sent and when realizing what was happening she stopped her actions and the sword began to glow at first purple like hers then it turned yellow then blood red and then he sent a blast of energy at her knocking her unconscious.

Hex using the distraction to his advantage, he sent a shock spell and knocked out the old shaman.

Taking the key from him Hex went and unlocked the old hut. Inside he saw what he was looking for, it was a sword similar to the one that the shaman used except it was more wavy than the one that the shaman had and had runes on it's side in ancient filipino writings of it's name and it was still bright and shiny not a mark on the blade even though it was hundreds of years old. Hex took out a small charm with the symbol of Bezel on it. The charm when it got close to the sword it transformed into a small crystal and Hex inserted it into a small slot in the hilt of the sword. The sword began to glow with energy. Hex exited the hut and Charmcaster walked up to him.

"That's what we were after? A dumb old sword? Why not a staff or a book or even a charm or crystal?"

"Because Charmcaster this sword is the embodiment of infinite power. I inserted one of the charms we found and inserted it into the sword."

"Which charm?"

"The charm of the countering."

"And how is that supposed to help? That charm just takes magical energy then sends it right back. Pretty useless charm in my opinion."

"That may be true but the inhabitants of this country have a way of fighting that uses the concept of 'use your opponents strength and add your own'. So according to the legend, with the ancient enchantments of the shamans on this sword it produces its own magical energy to strengthen and send back the energy to the attacker, like the one that shaman used on you. With that in mind if I used the charm of the countering it will form an endless loop and its power will becomes infinite."

"Oh, I didn't think of that."

"Now we can take revenge on Tennyson, now dowse him out I want to test my new toy."

Charmcaster obeying her uncle dowsed for Ben and Gwen with Gwen being easier since she could use magic.

"They're not in America." Charmcaster said.

"Then where are they?"

"In this country on that island." She pointed in the direction of a far off island almost too far to see.

"Well, well, well, aren't we lucky." Hex said with a manic grin on his face.

Back at the private beach everyone decided to just stay and relax for the entire day when suddenly a bolt of lightning shot at Ben. Gwen instinctively shielded the both of them from the blast. They saw that it was Hex and Charmcaster, Hex was holing a sword apart from his usual staff and Charmcaster had her usual bag of magical golems.

"Hex? What the hell are you doing here?" Yelled Ben.

"What else than to exact my revenge on the two of you."

"If that's the case, going hero!" And Ben activated the Omnitrix on his wrist and in a flash of green light he transformed into Diamondhead.

Charmcaster threw a number of stone golems and began to attack Ben and Gwen. Just as they were going to strike John, Grace, and Pablo all with sticks in their hands went and defended them from the golems.

"We'll take care of these guys, the two of you get them." Said Pablo, although they were outnumbered 10 to 1.

"Thanks!" said Gwen and she began to cast a spell towards Charmcaster and sent a torrent of fire balls towards her.

Ben was busy with Hex, since Hex was in the air he shot several diamonds towards him but he just blocked them with the sword. Hex then retaliated with a bolt of energy but not with his staff but with the sword. It was such a great amount of energy Gwen wondered how was he able to cast it without any spells or charms, then her thoughts went to the sword that he was holding. Realizing that the sword must be some kind of ancient magical relic she tried to warm Ben but Charmcaster was keeping her too busy to shout.

Ben was blown away by the amount of force that Hex threw at him 'his energy blasts never hurt this bad before.' He thought, but looking at the sword he wondered if he had just gotten more powerful of it was the sword. Thinking that it was the latter and he decided to try and get the sword away from Hex and using it against him though he had no idea how to use magic. Ben tried everything to get the sword away from Hex, he tried shooting at his hand, Grabbing for it, tackling him to drop it but every time Hex sent a blast of magical energy that sent him flying back, Ben thought that either he was getting exhausted or Hex was getting stronger.

Gwen was finished fighting Charmcaster, she beat her by getting close and knocking her out with a punch. When she saw that ben was in trouble she tried to cast a spell on Hex closing her eyes and tapping into the magic of the area. When she opened her eyes again she could see that flows of magic in the air and sea, she could see the magic that was emanating from sword that Hex was holding. It was an incredible amount! The sword should be exploding from the amount of energy that was inside it, she could not even imagine how much power that the sword could hold and as she watched it was still growing exponentially.

During the cacophony of noise during the fight the old shaman had followed Hex by the energy that he was giving off. Seeing the fight on the beach he saw what looked like several golems and a crystal golem. The stone ones he could see was fighting for Hex and the crystal one was against him, he saw Gwen and thought that she had summoned the crystal golem as her protector or familiar. While Hex was fighting the crystal being and the young witch he thought it would be a good time to hit him in the back like he did him. Holding a stick in one hand he then floated up to the same height as Hex and struck knocking him out.

Gwen saw the strange looking man headed towards Hex and she thought that it was a lackey of Hex, so she kept attacking Hex then something unexpected occurred the man had knocked out Hex. Ben was just as surprised at the fact too, weren't they on the same side? Hex fell onto the sandy beach and the man caught the sword. Thinking that the man was a rival of Hex Ben shot several diamonds towards him but like Hex he had blocked all of them with the sword and the man yelled out with a thick filipino accent

"Hoy! stop that I just helped you!"

"Who are you and what is that sword?" Gwen asked the man

"I am a shaman on a island pretty far from here, this is an ancient sword that my ancestors used and cast enchantments on for ceremonies and wars."

"Was that why Hex took it form you?"

"Yes and he put in some stupid charm from a foreign country in it just so it becomes more powerful. Stupid, it is already too powerful and he just had to use the most simple of this swords abilities."

"What else can that sword do exactly?" Gwen asked now curious about the sword.

"Oh, many things it can cut through time and dimensions and more other things but I need to return to the island otherwise my apprentice would worry over me for my old age. Here catch!" He said tossing the charm to Gwen "Its a defensive charm and nice golem by the way, is it a familiar or a guardian?" He asked Gwen pointing at Ben as Diamondhead.

At that moment Ben transformed back into his human form which surprised the shaman

"Oh a shapeshifter, alright then i guess I was wrong, and your name is?" he asked to two cousins

"Ben"

"Gwen, and what is yours?"

"It's Agpalo but you can call me Paulo."

When they turned their attention to the others they saw that they had done pretty well against Charmcaster's golems. Although Grace had a sprained ankle and wrist and John had a dislocated shoulder while Pablo had no injury what so ever they were fine.

"Oh let me heal that" said Gwen

"Nonsense let me do this, I doubt that you have enough experience with healing spells." With that he walked towards Grace and John. Shocking all of them by taking the sword and swinging it at Johns shoulder. Before anyone could yell out there was a soft green light and the sword just tapped John and his arm was healed!

"What?" Paulo said jokingly. "You thought that the sword was going to cut off his arm, huh?" He said laughing. "This sword was used for healing the injured at one point so with the right mindset it will heal any injury." He said as he did the same with Grace.

"Well now it's getting late and I'd better go back my apprentice is going to be back on the island soon." He said leaving them back to his island.

"So what are we gonna do about them?" Ben asked Gwen

"I will just teleport them to a prison back in the states." Gwen replied and did just that as well as getting rid of all the stone golems that Charmcaster summoned.

"Aw man I was hoping for a nice peaceful vacation for once." Ben complained

"Don't worry Ben, it was just and odd coincidence nothing else will happen for the rest of the summer." She said assuringly.

"Thanks Gwen." That sincerity in his voice made Gwen well up with joy inside and she blushed a bit.

A/N:

So how was this chapter? Did I drag it a bit? Was there any problems? How was the fight scenes? please I need to know!

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