Ben 10 Primix, chapter 28: Time to wake up.
Summary:
Gwen, Kevin and Eunice are held hostage by a new alien creature resembling the innards of a human. He intends to kill them, but Eunice uses the Ark as an excuse. The creature reacts and follows them onto the ship. They can feel a hostile aura trapping them inside the ship. The creature is very careful with Ben and forces them to bring Ben as soon as he wakes. If they flee, dead will be upon them.
Carls view:
I did not like that alien touching my son. It was disgusting to even look at. From my position I could see its heart beating. Yet somehow he stopped the violent energy surge of Ben with simple humming. I could see Ben's face relaxing even as a Vladat and soon after it threatened. I admit to feel satisfaction when he called Primus a mere machine, incapable of handling Ben. Could he have a method to get Primus off him? Everyone in the room glanced at the puddle of water on the floor that slowly disappeared. It was disgusting to see organs that look similar to us just dissolving into the same colored water and drip away. I waited until every last drop of it was gone before breathing. The large pressure around the ship did not lighten up, only its intentions seemed less violent and more protective. Heavy silence hung in the room. I sat down on the edge of Ben's bed and stroked his cheek, if only he'd wake up. His complexion was healthier and less white. The energy surrounding the crystal on his head felt balanced. I kept thinking of the things the creature said. The Ark, no Ben was capable of much more without Primus. Or did it sense Primus and see Ben as the artifact? It shouldn't be, should it?
A sharp female voice rang out in the room. "I Primus do not agree on being kept safe by this new species." Kevin sneered while glancing at the hourglass symbol. "Really, aren't you just humiliated that it called you a mere machine? Incapable of handling Bens energy?" He wanted to say more, but I glared at him, shutting him up. Best not to remind it about everything the creature had told us. Primus remained silent, although I could imagine it fuming in anger. Eunice stepped near the bed and Primus. "Are you willing to answer a few questions after your 'shut down'?" Primus remained silent, but that didn't stop Eunice. "What did you find about their species, do they belong to the human chain of evolution?" It almost felt like Primus snorted at her suggestion. "I classify it as devolution. The Dimidium sapien, as it name implies, is only half related to the current Homo sapiens. It appears to be an ancestor of the human race. Their bodies contain an even higher concentration of water and almost no flesh to speak of. They are able to breathe water and air like you just witnessed." Kevin snorted. "That would explain the tail. Wasn't that in biology class or something?"
Eunice glanced around the room and back at Primus. "Is that all? What is your conclusion about the pressure that's holding our ship in place?" Primus remained silent and grumbled no spoke. "No, I've found traces of a possible evolution stage even further back, but I lack both energy and vital information on their genes. That being could be the one holding up the pressure, since the Dimidium sapien shows no signs of this power in its genes. We should be wary of them. They are multiple times stronger than ordinary Homo sapiens and could potentially beat you all. I'm unsure why the human species weakened in their path of evolution to such a degree." Eunice fell into a deep thought. I sighed. "Go eat and discuss. I want to remain at Bens side for now." They all nodded and walked away from the door. Only Silvaros remained and closed the door behind him. "You should eat as well Carl. Whatever that creature did, it was good for Ben. You can be assured. I'll call you the moment something happens."
Ben's view:
I had felt so many different kinds of pains, sounds and feelings. It was overwhelming. My body felt like it wanted to burst from the energy and only my thin skin was keeping it together. It was getting torn apart cell by cell. My head felt like it exploded, so much information crashed around inside. I felt completely lost. All kinds of DNA structures and weather patterns I could barely notice passed by. My brain was fried and I couldn't understand a thing about it, yet it worked together. I could barely feel the support from Bellicus and Serena telling me to hang on. Another explosion of energy almost tore me apart, almost breaking all my effort towards the core. The bursts of energy were starting to tear at the delicate core I was trying to create. I could feel my success slowly slip between my fingers. Too soon, I tried to soon! I will fail, I'm going to fail. It was slipping between my fingers even faster. No, I had to create Anur Vladias! I need too, I must. I was almost at the end of the line; the pain was just too much, until I could hear a soft humming noise.
The humming relieved me of the stabbing and tearing pain. The massive amount of information that drowned me sorted itself out in seconds. A soft voice spoke to me. "You are doing well child. Take it step by step. This is your first jump into your destiny. You've done so well, even with that machine interfering in your process. Don't worry. Soon I'll learn you how to evade its interference, for it shall not obtain our pure core." The soft voice waited a bit and admiration sounded in the voice. "You'll grow into a beautiful universe." Who was this person? I could feel a cool and refreshing hand on my face. The soft humming felt so calm in my ears. The time rush and stress of failing was gone. It wasn't Bellicus or Serena. Better yet, I couldn't hear either of them. It was like a cocoon of silence around me, holding me in a tranquil place. It gave me time and rest to create Anur Vladias that was growing inside of me. Instead of observing it with Primus from a distance I could feel the core and now the planet grow inside of me. No, in the micro universe that resided in me.
I felt the cells in my body change according to the information I had received from the core. The image Primus created of a Vladat was close, but not entirely complete. It had closed certain gaps within the Vladats DNA with different species unlike the me now. Primus process had actually weakened and changed the Vladats body. A real white Vladat shared its energy with the core, gaining more power from it. The strange power of spewing hypnosis bats was a large miscalculation on Primus part. An original Vladat should be able to turn his or her body in one bat or a swarm of bats which they share a deep found connection with. And every kind of Vladat had different abilities with their bat form. It was interesting… knowing so much about my species? The soft voice spoke to me again. "Before you gain my guidance and recreate our core, you must keep this information to yourself. Don't allow that machine to merge deeper in the creation process. Tell them you failed, like you would have if I hadn't interfered. I have warned the celestial sapien to remain silent, for they agree with our distrust of the machine's goals. We will meet soon, but for now you should be ready to awaken. Concentrate on the planet you've created and the power of balance that belonged to the planets core."
Why I followed his words, I wasn't sure… but it felt so trustworthy unlike Primus. The vladat I was so certain that this person was good… but why; because it helped me, released me from the pain, saved me from failing in creating my home planet? So I concentrated on that feeling of the core inside of me and could vaguely glimpse at the planet that slowly regained its form. It was almost done; the head-splitting information surged into the world, settling inside the new core of Anur Vladias. Unlike the cores of others planets, I could feel that this one was truly mine. It also caused feelings of wrongness by the other planets like Medite. It was almost correct… just numerous tiny flaws were evidently present. The soft voice interrupted. "Leave those flaws for now or the machine will notice. Just wake your mind; the life forms surrounding you seem honestly worried about your health." As his last word fell I noticed my body flinching from someone's touch. My eyes were filled with light, burning them. I closed them in a hurry and groaned. My body felt like paper, weak and badly wrinkled like I was pulled from all directions. I noticed two soft voices and hands holding my own.
I tried opening my eyes again, this time the light in the room was dimmed. Two faces, one blue and one skin-colored glanced at me in worry. My throat felt dry like sandpaper. Their voices sounded garbled and echoing. I made a soft groan, whispering for blood. Their stares were slightly disturbed. Had I said something strange? My uncle stood up and disappeared from my sight. Only my dad remained at my bedside. I could see his worry and the dark circles beneath his eyes. I pinched his hands softly and tried to tell him I was okay. But my dry lips felt like they would crack. His words were still garbled. It felt like I was completely exhausted and incredibly hungry. No, I was thirsty. I could see my father's blood vessels coursing through his body. I wanted blood so badly, but dad's blood reeked of mana. I'd rather have some refreshing blood like Gwens. My uncle returned to the room holding a blood bag. He tried to insert a straw, but I could summon a bit of physic power. The blood bag moved to my mouth and I bit it with my fangs, slowly slurping the bag empty. The fresh blood smoothed my sore throat, relieving the stress and strain on my body. Dad was still talking to me, his words slowly making sense.
"Ben, are you okay? Do you feel all right?" I glanced at his face and moved the blood bag from my mouth. "My body is okay… I think? I'm just exhausted." Silvaros sat down next to me as well. His hand glowed above mine. My own energy bumped into his and dissipated. Silvaros nodded. "His overflow has completely vanished. I think the creation progress should be over. His body is emptied and now slowly refilling his energy. It should be the blood feeding him. Do you wish for another bag?" Honestly, yes! I still craved for that sweet red drink so I responded. "Yes, I'm parched." Silvaros held another bag in his hand, not even trying to put the straw in. Just now Silvaros touched upon an important topic here. The creation! The voice had told me to hide its completion. My arms had regained a bit of strength so I lifted the blood bag before my mouth and bit into the second one. Ah yes, this was the best drink after exercising. I was enjoying its flavor, narrowing my eyes. Silvaros and dads glances felt weird.
Dad scoffed. "So this is your new favorite? Blood bag instead of a mister smoothie?" I remember that milky fruity drink and almost retched. I could feel the sour bile in my throat. "Ugh, I'm not drinking that toxic waste!" Dad stared in surprise at Silvaros. A soft female voice entered the room. "Am I hearing this right? The great Ben 10 dislikes his smoothies now?" I slowly sat up while still sipping the blood bag. Gwen stood in the doorway glancing at me with worry in her eyes. I nodded. "Don't even mention junk food like pizza. I would only upset my appetite." Now all three occupants in the room stared at me in surprise. Dad strokes my back. "Your change in taste is a bit disturbing Ben? It wasn't so bad when you came home, right?" I shrugged. "I barely remember what happened." I had seen so much information rummaging through my brain. I glanced at the room I was in. Where was this? It resembled the room I occupied while going back to Earth? Hadn't I come home or was that just a dream? Yet dad was here in the ship with me? "Where… are we?" Dad sighed with a grin. "Still on earth." His grin grew solemn. "Around 2 kilometers underwater near the Mariana trench." Was he serious right now? "So you moved me… in a coma… on a ship that would dive deep under water? Where is the logic in this?" Dad snorted. "If it wasn't urgent, I wouldn't have agreed Ben. Nor would I have come along!" I nodded and stared at Gwen.
She closed the door. "Verdona, wanted you near me to create a link to Anodyne, but I was repelled because of Anur Vladias." Ah yes. They assumed that I had succeeded. This was a good opportunity to tell them otherwise… although lying about it felt wrong. And I rather wait with Anodyne if I were to believe that soft voice. I can't fully trust Primus. What if it interfered like with Anur Vladias or covered it in flaws like Medite? I made my voice cold and rash. "I'm not fully recovered, so that can wait!" I clenched my wrist, trying to seem frustrated. They all noticed my change of tone. Dad embraced me in a hug sensing that something was wrong. I glanced at Gwen and winked softly before slightly glancing at the symbol around my waist. She remained silent and shifted her eyes towards dad. "Just rest, I was so worried that you wouldn't wake up again. Is everything okay, what happened to you?" I bit my lip while feeling his warm skin. My reply felt detached. "I'm okay dad. Please just enlighten me on the situation. I'm getting the feeling of being left out!" Silvaros increased the strength in his fingers that were holding my hand. He began telling me everything that happened after I fell into a coma. Dad told me about the warning of the council and Gwen about their first meeting with the Dimidium sapiens, especially about their treat. "So wait? The alien that helped me contain the energy was humming?" Was it the one that helped me?
It was the voice that guided me through the process of creation and kept me from failing my species. Was it them that wish to teach me how to escape Primus grasp? Damn, I'm supposed to have failed and… they saved me. Just thinking back at the panic of almost losing the planet and its core caused my eyes to redden. "We can trust them. They don't want to harm me. If they guard the core… then they have done so for millions of years with success. They protected me… I almost… I almost d…" The strength of dads hug increased tremendously. Gwen stepped nearer. "Ben, what happened? How did you create…" I interrupted her while staring at her. "I failed! I failed them…" Tears formed in my eyes. I let my body tremble. The cold female mechanic voice resounded. "Benjamin Kirby Tennyson, inform me of the current process of Anur Vladias. Has the creation failed? I cannot detect its existence." I hid the smirk trying to sneak on my face. To make it more believable, I tapped into the memories of my 'clone…part of my soul thing'. They day I lost my parents, my friends and was hauled into the cave for eternal damnation. "It failed, the core was so far gone, causing these massive energy explosions. They hurt so much. They tore the feeble core apart; it slipped through my fingers, just slipped…"
I hung my head on dads shoulder and cried. He stroked my back. "It's okay Ben, you can cry. You'll just have to try again in bringing Anur Vladias back. I'm sure you can do it." The female voice interrupted harshly. "No, Anur Vladias is gone. The data is insufficient for both the core and the planet. I informed you that it was a onetime attempt and you have completely erased all changes of success. If you hadn't shut my system out, this wouldn't have happened. You can only blame yourself for overestimating your capabilities." Dads grip grew stronger. I softly pinched his side while glancing into his eyes while rolling mine. Hopefully he got the hint that something wasn't right. After that I cried bitterly, but not the me now. No, I could feel the core from Anur Vladias humming inside me. The one crying was the child that had lost it all, carrying the fear and frustration of centuries. The child that had to survive in hell, his misery was etched into my mind. His feelings of despair could have easily overwhelmed me after waking up, yet the soft presence around me kept my mind calm and collected.
Those feelings flowed out like water making my act of failure believable. Primus couldn't sense Anur Vladias! It is better if she believes that I failed rather than succeed. Why I felt that way was uncertain. Why did I trust a stranger's word more than a thing that accompanied me for almost half my life? That was unlike me, yet those words felt so safe and familiar. And he showed respect to my family unlike Primus who endangered them multiple times. Yet I won't let my guard down just yet. Gwen should have noticed my silent message that not everything was as I had told them. Hopefully dad would remember my reaction as well before crying. This should keep Primus out of the loop. He can see and probably sense my movements, but it shouldn't be able to understand all emotions and behavior of living people. It was a machine and had showed this many times.
How strange, being able to think so clearly while I was literally bawling my eyes out. No, I should be honest. The part of me that experienced that world was traumatized badly. This went beyond PTSD. I was thankful for my soul having experienced multiple battles and dangers to my life or my mind would have been completely taken over by fear and despair. My experience negated the negative effect those memories would have on me. I wouldn't have been able to remain myself if they truly took over. The fear and frustration had bottled up and was stashed away for so many years, flooded out freely. Keeping that in would be akin to a time bomb waiting to explode. One that Primus would be able to use for its own purpose. It was certain that she would use this as an excuse to keep greater watch on the creations from now on.
Authors note:
So, for those who are a bit confused by Bens extreme OC behavior in the chapter, here's the reason. He's basically a Vladat (vampire) now, who only drinks blood. As I mentioned in a few chapters back, his memories are very strong changing his behavior with it, which can both be a blessing and curse while fighting his enemies. (I know he hasn't done that for a long time, which will be coming soon). Sorry for the long wait and I hope you enjoyed the chapter.