Author's notes

* For those of you who were disappointed to see the Bencaster ship sinking, I've started an alternate version of Watch Boy & Lucky Girl called Mystic Vanguard. My intention is that readers choose only one of the two to read, depending on your shipping preferences. Between this fic and Mystic Vanguard, I will try my best to update both, but I will prioritize the fic that is generating more interest from readers (that means, please review to let me know if you're interested in this story)


Ghosts


"This wine tastes different," Sandra Tennyson said after taking another sip from the cup.

"You're right, honey. I've never had wine like this before. But it's delicious, so I won't complain." Her husband Carl shrugged as he cut a slice of meat with a knife.

Sandra let out a sad sigh, "There wasn't a worse moment for the two of us to go out in a romantic getaway than the week in which that Hope girl broke our baby's heart ..." Ben hadn't gone into detail about the break-up, but Sandra guessed that it was Hope who had broken up with him.

"Honey, don't blame yourself. When we made the reservations a month ago, we had no idea that was going to happen." Carl grabbed his wife's hand. "And we asked Ben to come with us, but he was very insistent to refuse, he said he was fine."

Sandra agreed with her husband, and the wine helped both of them to loosen up and leave the worries aside. After dinner, they headed for their room, kissing and caressing each other on the way - the small inn was almost empty, there were only two or three other guests besides them, and a few members of the staff.


"Wow, honey, this was... wow," Sandra gave Carl a peck on the lips while he rubbed circles on her back.

Then the lights started flickering and there was a sudden drop in the room's temperature.

"What's going on?" Sandra asked, in a worried voice.

"We have to get out of here now," Carl said very seriously. His father Max had taught him the basics about aliens... including evidences of the presence of Ectonurites.

Before the two could do anything, though, two translucent creatures that looked like corpses phased through the wall of the room. The ghosts began to float around the couple's bed with grim smiles on their disfigured 'faces'.

"HELP!" Carl shouted.

"Scream all you want. No one will help you," one of them said in a hoarse voice, "Everyone here is ours."

Carl felt a shiver through his body as he remembered that the inn was almost empty. He and his wife had come to a horror movie setting.

"What do you want, monsters?" Carl asked, as Sandra hugged him tightly, with her head buried in her chest, paralyzed with fear.

"Monsters? What a disrespect to us... We were so polite. We let you two have your fun..." The other said, "And we served you well, with our best drink... Or didn't you notice the special recipe of the wine?"

Carl finally realized what was different about the wine: Ectoplasm. Ectonurites had the power to possess people if they had them drink a portion of their Ectoplasm first.

"We prepared all of this very carefully for you two... Because we need you to get to your son..." the ghosts dived toward Carl and Sandra and possessed them.


Ben spent Friday night home alone. His parents escaped for a romantic weekend getaway and out of pity from his recent 'breakup' with Hope they had invited him to tag along, but Ben knew all too well that when it comes to romance, three is a crowd, so he refused their offer and said everything was fine.

He wasn't fine.

Ben felt guilty for destroying the sisterly bond Gwen and Charmcaster shared. He was also pretty sure he hurt the feelings of both girls. He kept mulling it over in his head wondering what he could have done differently.

Ben was trying to distract himself by playing Sumo Slammers when the doorbell rang. He saw it was Gwen and opened the door with a smile, but before Ben could greet her, she rushed in, closed the door behind her, and surprised Ben by pulling him into a fiery kiss.

Ben return the kiss, exploring her mouth with his tongue. Gwen tried to take his shirt off, but Ben stopped her. There was something strange. Gwen usually wasn't so 'forward' like that.

"What are you doing, Gwen?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Ben, I know you want me, and I'm willing to take the next step in our relationship," Gwen said in a shy voice, "Your parents aren't home and neither are mine. Today is the perfect opportunity."

Ben's jaw dropped.

He remembered Ryan, Gwen's first boyfriend. He had the perfect girl, beautiful, smart and funny, and he dumped Gwen simply because she wouldn't sleep with him. Ben knew others broke up with her for the exact same reason, or Gwen broke up with them because they kept pushing her. They were idiots in Ben's opinion, all of them. Not that Ben didn't want to sleep with his girlfriend sooner rather than later - he did - but he'd never break up or push Gwen because of that.

Anyway, that change in Gwen's attitude was very strange, "Who are you and what did you do with my cousin?" Ben asked cautiously, stepping back and putting his hand over the Omnitrix.

"Ben, it's me. Who else would know that when you were a kid you didn't wear colored socks because you thought it would color your feet, Doofus?" Gwen arched an eyebrow and folded her arms.

"Hey, that's a lie!" Ben protested, but he knew it was true. It was really Gwen.

Of course, now Ben wanted to rush her to his bedroom and make love to her all night long. Ben was ashamed to admit he was a virgin too, and he didn't want to waste this chance. But another part of Ben, the one with the weight on his conscience, made him do the right thing, "You used to say you wanted to wait until marriage to do it. Why did you change your mind?" Ben scratched his head.

Gwen bit her lip, "If you had chosen to stay with Charmcaster, she would have no restrictions about... physical intimacy. And you gave up being with her for me. So, I want to give you everything that Charmcaster - or any other girl - would give you. I can't lose you like I've lost other guys before. You are… I can't lose you."

Ben stepped closer to Gwen and gave a chaste kiss on her forehead. "You're never going to lose me, Dweeb, and you already gave me everything I could ever want. We don't need to rush things with the 'physical intimacy' part."

"What?" It was Gwen's turn to be surprised, "Who are you and what did you do with my cousin?"

"Oh, no, I want this," Ben giggled, "But I don't want you to change, I don't want you trying to act like Charmcaster or any other girl just to please me. I want you to be yourself."

"That was... incredibly sweet and gentle," Gwen said, still surprised.

"I know I'm not being like this lately, but I'll try to be from now on. That stuff between us and Charmcaster made me rethink my actions. I'm really sorry for everything I made you and her go through," Ben sighed.

Gwen caressed his face, "Hey, Charmcaster created that situation using the Charm of Luck. Then I asked you to make a choice and you chose me. I'm not upset, you did everything I asked."

"It's not just about Charmcaster, it's about you too," Ben tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, "Under the influence of magic or not, my actions made you feel insecure, made you think you need to change your attitude or that I need a different person to make me happy. But you, with all your dweebness, is all I ever wanted."

Gwen chuckled and hugged him tight, resting her head on his chest, "Thank you, my love," she said, and Ben blushed at being called 'love', "I made mistakes too. With my mother pressuring me to date Natan, I am pretty sure I wasn't the only one feeling insecure. I have to solve this situation too."

After nearly a minute of a silent embrace, Gwen whispered, "The reason I planned to wait until my wedding is because I don't want to sleep with the wrong guy. If I decide to marry someone, it's because I have the conviction that this is the person I want to spend the rest of my life with. This is the moment I'd say, 'I want to sleep with this guy'. And, Ben, I already have that conviction about you. I don't need more time. I've known you since you were born. So, I don't have to wait with you. We can make love tonight."

Ben smiled. In these new circumstances, he would definitely be happy to do it, but he still didn't want to rush things, "I'm flattered, but I think you should think about it for at least a couple of days. Then, if you're still up for it, we take this step."

She nodded and kissed him on the cheek.

Ben and Gwen grabbed a snack, watched some cartoons and then went to sleep. The two of them laid spooning, with Ben hugging Gwen from behind and rubbing up against her butt - Ben was still Ben, and he wasn't going to miss the opportunity to feel her up.

Before they could fall asleep, though, Ben's cell phone rang. The caller was identified on the screen as Ben's father.

"Hello, Dad?" Ben answered the call.

"Hello, Watch Boy. Look at the picture you just received," the voice was his father's, but it was cold and devoid of emotion.

Ben looked at his messages and saw a picture of his father and mother with their eyes completely black - sclera and pupils. Terrified, he quickly realized what that meant: his parents were possessed by Ectonurites.

"Your parents belong to us now, and they will die, unless you do as I say. I'll send you the time and place where you should turn yourself in. Don't even think about asking for help from your friends at S.E.C.T," Carl's voice said before hanging up.

Gwen noticed the look of panic on Ben's face and he told to her everything.

"We will save Uncle Carl and Aunt Sandra," Gwen assured him while caressing his arm. Very recently, she had been in the same situation of having her parents kidnapped and Ben had comforted her and helped to save them, she hoped to do the same thing for him.

Shortly thereafter, Ben's cell phone rang again. Now the call was coming from an unknown number. Ben put the phone on speaker so Gwen could hear it too.

"Who's this?" Ben asked.

"An ally. I'm on your side, but I don't have much time," a voice whispered, "if you surrender to them, they'll kill you."

"Why do your people want me dead?" Ben hadn't even fought against Ectonurites before, "And how do you know my identity?"

"Your enemy's name is Darius, he is the current king of the Ectonurites on this planet. They have discovered all about you thanks to spies inside S.E.C.T., and you are a threat because you carry inside your watch a piece of Lord Zs'Skayr, our first and glorious king. And he is the only one who can help you," and then he hung up.

After a few moments of a deep silence, Gwen finally spoke, "This Zs'Skayr... is he Ghostfreak?"

"Well, every alien DNA in the Omnitrix has a source. For example, I got Benwolf after a werewolf bit me, and I got Magus Viridis after we kissed," Ben said, "Ghostfreak is an Ectonurite version of me with the Ectonurite part of the DNA coming from somebody else. And remember I told you once that Ghostfreak is different from my other aliens? When I turn into him, I feel like this 'somebody else' is in there with me too. And he gives me the creeps."

"Oh my God! Why didn't I think of this before?" Lucky Girl facepalmed, "The Ectonurites' minds are embedded in their DNA. So it's obvious that this Zs'Skayr can exert an influence over your Ghostfreak."

"I always try to keep him repressed, but I'm going to have to let him loose a bit if I want to talk to him," Ben said in a worried tone.

"Are you sure?" Gwen asked, "I know the saying, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend', but we're not even sure who the enemy truly is here. That Ectonurite who claimed to be an 'ally' might be lying, and all this can be a setup from Zs'Skayr himself so he can control you from wherever he is."

"I know, but I don't have many options. My parents' lives are at stake." Ben let out a weary sigh.

"I understand," Gwen put her hand on her cousin's shoulder, "I have an idea. I trap you in a magical circle, then you release Ghostfreak's inner self, and I can interrogate him."

Ben nodded, "Let's do this."

TO BE CONTINUED


* Thanks to Aurora Nightstar for beta-reading this