Everything is burning, her world is collapsing before her in embers and ash. All Gwen sees is red and feeling her mana spark at her finger tips. The pressure bubbling to surface ready to spill over at any second. She's a walking bomb right now.
She's searching for Kevin, and she's bulldozing over any Forever Knight who gets in her way. She's already pounded a few into the stone floor face first. She's on a mission and she won't stop. She's following Kevin's own mana trail, it stands out boldly amongst the rest to her. Probably from how frequently she's been around him, she could sense it like second nature now. Where it ends is outside the doors of the practice arena.
She sees around ten or so Forever Knights blocking and barricading the door. She crouches around a pillar to assess the men in front of her. They are paired up in teams of two. She assumes it's for easier combat, but in general they all obviously outnumber her.
Well they would if she didn't have magic.
She starts to place her hands on the stone ground to strategically trap them all at once, but her vision suddenly blurs with green and blue.
Ben and Rook come barreling through, with no strategy, just blasting through the men, and Ben's voice screeching through. Gwen rolls her eyes in irritation and shots herself up to join them while grumbling under her breath.
Blue balls of mana come rushing past Ben's face and he turns to see Gwen's furious gaze directed at him.
"I was going to trap them until you two showed up!" She declares and smacks one of the Forever Knights aggressively against the wall. His body falls limp to the ground.
"Sorry Gwen! To be fair I thought you'd be with Kevin!" Ben shouts and punches one of the Knights through his helmet.
"I thought you were with him!" she grabs two of the Knights with her bright blue mana and slams their bodies into each with such force the noise of it makes Rook cringe. She drops them unceremoniously to the ground with a thud.
"None of us are in there and if we do not get rid of these knights Kevin will not last!" Rook huffs out in irritation at the cousins and blasts two more knights to the ground.
The group finishes off the knights easily and rush towards the door when they're done. They try to push open the doors but something on the other side won't let them through. Gwen huffs and tries to use her mana to force the doors open, but they won't budge. Whatever is blocking the door is too heavy, even for Gwen.
"Can we just blast through?" Ben asks impatiently looking through his Omnitrix for an alien.
Rook grabs his wrist and shakes his head, "You need to conserve that power. You already used too much trying to outlast Charmcaster."
Gwen's brain is rummaging through blasting spells she thinks can work but her thoughts are interrupted.
"Gwen!" Her head jerks toward the noise and she sees Ken, dirty and with some bruises, running toward her.
Right behind Ken is Argit, who looks less than pleased to be a part of all of this.
"Ken! What are you doing here? And with Argit?" She looks him up and down in confusion and he aggressively hugs her tight.
"Gwen I'm so sorry… He, Kevin's in there with Enoch. He pulled me out of the suit… I made that armor! He'll kill him with it! I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" Ken is rushing his words out and Gwen can barely keep up with him.
"Ken," She interrupts him and pulls back holding onto Ken's shoulders, "Where is Kevin?" she asks her older brother sternly.
"He saved me." He whispers out in a broken reply. Ken looks up at Gwen, Ben, and Rook.
Ben rolls his eyes and clips Ken on the back. "Of course he did, he's not a monster." Ben says sternly glaring Ken down.
"Can we get on with it? Kev's dying in there as we speak." Argit bites out and turns back around motioning for them to follow.
Ken blanks for a minute before responding.
"We'll take you to him, we came out the back side! He, he's going to need help." Ken responds and scurries after Argit's small form.
The small group pushes their way through a tiny hallway and emerge out into the practice grounds.
Gwen hears Kevin before she sees him, and it sends her running into the arena. The sounds coming from him are horrendous and are nothing like anything Gwen's ever heard before. The different vocal chords of Kevin's aliens combining together to scream out in a blinding pain.
Gwen sees Kevin's body convulsing from the electricity shooting through his body. He's screams are ripping from his throat and so horse Gwen fears how long he's been in this state. He sounds so helpless and hurt, she doesn't think twice before attacking.
Gwen uses her blue mana and sends it from her arms as a whip, she smacks the massive metal machine and sends it reeling back.
It surprises Enoch enough to stop his attack and for Gwen to throw up a shield around Kevin's large form. She running toward him and she leaves Ben and Rook to handle Enoch in his metal suit of armor.
Gwen falls down next to Kevin's body and feels for a pulse from him. She finds one, faint but there from his neck. She passes her hand over his body, using her mana to help her see where he's been injured internally.
She can see the damage that's been inflicted, even without her mana, he's breathes are shallow and electrical burns are covering his exposed flesh. His eyes are still closed and Gwen thinks he might be passed out from the pain.
She presses her hand lightly to his face and his eyes fly open, searching for the source, until he lands on her.
He eyes that were filled with fear relax immediately upon seeing her.
He gently and slowly trying to reach a shaking hand up to hers.
"Stop moving you jerk," she tells him in harsh tone.
"I won't be able to help you if you push yourself too much." She whispers out to him.
He almost laughs, "It's good to see you too." His gravelly voice responds.
"I'm going to try and heal you okay? I haven't really experimented with this a lot, so it could be a bust…" She says softly, pushing his hair back.
"Keep talking to me and nothing could be worse than whatever that machine does." He tells her in a soft voice, his eyes dropping closed again.
"Stay awake okay Kevin? I can't have you passing out." She tells him sternly and holds his head in her hands gently.
He nods in understanding and stares directly at her, trying to take in all her features. She feels his gaze and it sends a cold shiver down her spine. She can feel his eyes roaming her features, like he's trying to drink her in one last time. It isn't a gross feeling, it just terrifies her that he thinks he won't make it. She shakes it off and tries to concentrate.
Gwen take a deep breath, and reaches deep inside herself to pull the mana remaining to the surface. She presses her forehead to Kevin's and closes her eyes.
"Spiritus vitae" She breathes out, her eyes open and the bright cerulean glows from her eyes. As she breathes out mana flows out from her lips and passes into Kevin's.
Kevin's body goes rigid, from shock mostly, he's caught off guard. His eyes widen as he feels Gwen's mana transfer to his body.
It sends his body into overdrive, his Osmosian powers start stirring inside him. His body is telling him to drain all of the energy out of her. He forces himself to stay still. Then endless hunger for energy rises in him the longer Gwen tries to heal him.
He hasn't felt that in so long it throws him off. His body is reacting in a way that he hasn't felt in a long time. He tries to shove that hunger down below his gut. He can't afford to lose control right now. He refuses. He's older now, if he can't control this than Gwen can never be safe around him.
He feels the need and want for her energy scrapping and gnawing away at him. It's a similar feeling to when he had grabbed Ben's Omnitrix, before he got greedy. His body just craves this energy, wants it and yells at him to drain her.
Kevin flinches at himself and digs his own hands into his thighs, ripping slightly at his own flesh. He feels the blood trickle down his legs and he focuses on that pain more than Gwen's mana flowing into him. How she's giving him some of the most vital parts of her.
His reality is suddenly grounded within seconds. It's like a gust of fresh air passes through his lungs.
Gwen gasps and closes her eyes and just as quickly as she started, it's over. It didn't seem long enough to her but to Kevin it felt like an eternity. He lets out a small sigh of relief.
Her body slumps a little into Kevin and he holds her close to his chest. Her shield she put up to protect him starts to fall around them and Kevin looks around to see Ben and Rook distracting Enoch.
He's able to stand now, which is better than before, and he lifts Gwen up and places her softly behind some of the larger equipment that was put away. Argit scurries over to her with Ken shortly behind him.
"Is she okay?" Ken asks, a panicked look crossing his face.
Kevin nods his head, "She'll be fine. She needs to rest."
Gwen groans in response and swats her hand at Kevin.
"I… I can still, fight." She breathes out raggedly.
Kevin looks at Argit and Ken and fixes them with a stern look, "Do not let her get back up. Argit knock her out if you have to. Do not let her fight." His voice is firm and commanding. The two nod their heads and watch Kevin bolt up to help Ben and Rook.
Gwen rolls her body and she squints her eyes open. She lolls her head over to watch Kevin's retreating back.
In the distance she sees Ben, as one of his aliens, she can't tell from how blurry her vision is, but she sees him flying around Enoch. He's dodging at the very least and distracting Enoch.
Gwen can see a blue blur running and shooting and she can assume that's Rook.
Kevin's large form joins in, and continues the attack. Enoch seems overpowered. She relaxes for a second and leans into the wall. She closes her eyes. She tries to assure herself they can handle themselves, but her stomach still churns nervously.
"They'll be fine Red, I don't think that hunk of junk is gonna last too long." Argit tells her.
Ken's own eyes shift from his sister to the machine. He's body is stiff and rigid and he's nervously biting his nails.
"I'm so sorry Gwen. This is all my fault." He whispers out and holds onto his sisters' hand.
"I'm sorry I didn't listen, I just-"
Gwen interrupts him, "Why? Why wouldn't you listen to me at the storage unit?" She asks him. There is no malice in her voice, just a question.
Ken sighs and grips onto her tighter, "He, Enoch I mean, he made me believe that you didn't care about me. He told me about Grandpa and Dad and I just, I assumed he was right. I thought Kevin had done something to you, tortured you, brainwashed you, I didn't… I didn't know about the aliens… I didn't know about us." He says quietly.
"You know, Dad kept a lot from us. Including some of the most important things…We don't have to be like him Ken. Grandpa was wrong, but so was Dad." Gwen tells him.
She turns her head back around to see the three boys flying around Enoch, still attempting to take him down.
"We have people who really care about us, if you just let them in." She looks back at her older brother and squeezes his hand in reassurance. "I was really mad too Ken, I was so furious at Grandpa and Grandma. I was mad at our parents too, but we don't have to make the same mistakes."
Ken nods his head and rolls his eyes, "When did you become the mature one?" he asks her in jest.
Gwen laughs softy and reaches up to shove him a little, "Since I had to make sure you ate every day dummy. I've always been the mature one!" she pokes her tongue out at him.
Ken shakes his head and looks back over at the fight, his face falls and pales to a sheet white.
"He's going to kill them." Ken says looking at Argit and Gwen.
"What?!" Argit jerks his head and sees nothing has really changed, except a flashing red light on Enoch's machine.
"The suit, there's a self-destruct on it, it'll take all the voltage that's left and create a massive explosion. We have to leave." Ken rushes out and tries to pick up Gwen.
"Are you crazy?" She shoves her brother off and tries to stand, "We have to help them! How long do they have?!" she tries to shout; her body is giving out on her and she curses under her breath.
"Gwen they only have a couple of minutes, he's flashing and has hit the button on that suit! We'll all die and he's going to take them out with him. We have to leave!" He tries to drag her but she's resisting a lot for someone who's on the verge of passing out.
"Help me!" Ken pleads with Argit, "Use your quills!"
"Argit I swear if you let me live without them I'll make the rest of your existence a miserable living hell!" She spits out viciously at him.
Argit throws his small rodent hands up in defeat, "Listen, as much as I love and fear Kev, I fear Red a lot more."
Gwen pries herself off her brother quickly and starts running toward the battle.
"She'll die!" Ken shouts in anger at the smaller alien.
Argit just shrugs his shoulders in response, "They need her pal, I don't know if you know this, but she could take any one of them out." He says in an easy confidence.
Ken's face is red in frustration, "How do you know that?!" he hisses out.
Argit points at Gwen, who's body is already alight with a bright cerulean blaze, her feet already shedding her human skin, it's almost burned away to reveal a dark blue and black mass underneath.
Gwen doesn't know how she's moving, maybe it's pure willpower, or maybe it's because she's stubborn, or maybe it's the biggest martyr complex of the century. She couldn't tell you.
The only thing she wants to do in this moment, is stop Enoch.
Rook notices her first and shouts for her, she can't hear him, her ears feel almost clogged. She can barely register Rook in her vision, everything she sees at the moment is the mana, all of the energy in the room is like a flowing liquid to her at the moment, and it's all she can see.
Gwen feels it in her feet, and her finger tips, she feels herself burning away her own body. It almost feels like taking off a corset that's too tight after a long day, it feels like she can finally exhale.
She pulls her body up into the air. She hovers like Grandma Verdona and Gwen commands the attention of the room. The room goes stagnant as everyone looks up at her, their breath caught in their throats.
She feels exposed, but in a powerful way, she has completely left her human form. All she feels is the mana around her, she inhales and she can practically taste it. It's too much and not enough at the same time. She feels invincible.
Enoch looks up at her and tries to blast her down. She waves her hand easily and dissipates the electrical attack with ease.
Enoch stumbles at that but laughs at her in a mocking tone, "You're too late! This suit is about to blow and it will take you all out with me. Humans will rule this kingdom once again!" he cackles out.
Gwen holds her hands out and easily traps Enoch in a dark blue mana bubble. She starts squeezing it in her hands and traps him in the enclosed space.
"The only thing you'll destroy is yourself." Her voice booms deeply around the room.
From the ground below Ben, Rook, and Kevin stare up at Gwen.
Ben lets the Omnitrix time out and he grabs onto Rook, "What is happening? Why does she look like that?" Ben rushes out staring up at his cousin.
"That is a pure Anodite form. She has moved on past us… her human body could not do what she demanded of it." Rook explains quietly.
"Can she turn back?" Kevin asks.
Rook looks away from Gwen's form and shrugs his shoulders at Kevin.
"I am unsure. Verdona can replicate a human form, but she is much older and more experienced." Rook claims.
Kevin looks back up at her, she is completely changed. Her body is still humanoid, but her skin isn't flesh, it looks like her mana but different. It swirls on her in shades of dark blue and black, taking over her whole form. Her hair is even different, a bright blue, more like how her mana looks when she uses it, replaces her red hair. It swirls around her in its own manner, like it has its own life.
Rook looks back at Enoch, who is trapped in Gwen's attack and he realizes what is happening.
"Get back! He is going to explode!" He grabs Ben easily and tackles Kevin down to the ground.
Kevin tries to sit up, so he can get to Gwen but is knocked back down.
Enoch explodes inside of Gwen's mana and the noise is sickening. While the majority of the explosion stays inside of Gwen's cage, the bit that escapes sends a shock wave out and knocks all of them down to the ground. The noise is like static and echoes throughout the room. There is a ringing that's left behind and ash on the ground of where Enoch stood.
Gwen lowers herself to the ground and looks at the remains of Enoch. She hovers over it and just stares.
As the dust settles Kevin makes his way into her view.
"Gwen?" He asks her, he's trying to get her to look at him.
Her eyes are vacant, just the bright blue of her mana, she's looking through him not at him.
"Gwen hey, I need you to come back to me." Kevin grips onto her shoulders tightly. His eyes pleading with her.
Gwen holds her hands in front of her, sparks coming from her fingertips as she stares at herself.
"I can see it all, I can feel everything." She looks up from her hands to stare at Kevin, "There's so much of it… it's intoxicating."
"Gwen look at me." Kevin tells her firmly. "I need you to come back okay? I know you feel powerful right now, but I need Gwen Tennyson the woman. The one who loves to read and laugh. The one who loves her family so much she could burst from it." Kevin whispers to her.
Gwen's vision is blurry, it's hard to see past the bursts of mana and how it feels to be surrounded by so much life. She's trying to focus on Kevin but it's hard with so much swimming in front of her.
There's so much untapped energy around her she wants to be a part of all of it.
Kevin's voice pierces through her thoughts, it's so soft she almost doesn't hear him, but he could call out to her through the darkest abyss and she would always come back to him.
"I need you."
Gwen closes her eyes and focuses on Kevin. Where his hands are, the weight of his body, his voice, his breathing. She uses him to ground herself and she feels her bare feet touch the ground softly.
When she opens her eyes again he's looking at her with such warmth she feels it in her chest.
"You good?" he asks her tenderly, a slight mirth to his voice.
She nods her head and leans her weight into him, "I'm here." She says in a sigh.
Kevin wraps two of his massive arms around her and crushes her into his large chest. He presses his face into her neck and whispers against her skin, "I thought you were gone, somewhere I couldn't reach you anymore."
Gwen runs her hand through his hair gently, "How could I ever leave you?" she says boldly.
Kevin's breath hitches and he readjusts to look her in the eyes, he reels back a little to do so. He's looking so intensely at her, she feels vulnerable and exposed to him.
"Gwen…" Her name leaves him in a breathy way and Gwen can suddenly feel how close they are, his breath fanning her face.
She doesn't think about it and presses herself into him, she kisses Kevin softly. Her mouth is smaller in comparison to his. Her hands rake through his hair, pulling him in closer.
Kevin immediately falls into Gwen's pull. He kisses her back tenderly. The kiss isn't hot or passionate. It's filled with love and care. Kevin's holding onto to Gwen tightly, trying to pull her as far into him as he can. He doesn't want this to end. A small part of him still fearing she won't love him like he loves her. He'd give up the world for her, if she'd stay just like this with him.
Gwen pulls back but keeps herself close, resting her forehead on Kevin's. She looks at him and smiles softly.
"I've wanted to do that for a while." She whispers to him.
Kevin gives her a breathy chuckle in return, "I have too." He nuzzles his face into her neck. He gives her a soft kiss in the hollow between her neck and shoulder.
"Why didn't we do this sooner?" she's a little breathless as she murmurs into his ear.
He grins into her skin, "I was scared you'd hate me. What's your excuse?"
She huffs at him and swats his arm with one of her hands, "You push everyone away, I was scared too."
He brings his head up and a serious look crosses his face as he gazes at her, "I will never push you away."
Gwen grabs his face with both of her hands, she holds him affectionately and smiles at him.
"I love you." She whispers to him.
He returns her smile and kisses her gently and mumbles into her mouth, "I love you too."
The two of them remain in their bubble, undisturbed for a while. They forget about everyone else and all the two can see is each other. Kevin is enchanted by Gwen and she is in turn melting into Kevin's body. Their bodies are a tangled mess as the two cling onto each other like vices.
An ill-timed cough disturbs the two making them separate, only slightly enough, to turn around.
"So, are you two done being disgusting or?" Ben remarks, a cocky grin plastered on his face.
Without missing a beat Kevin responds in a dry tone, "Actually it is only going to get worse. Better get out while you can Tennyson."
Ben pretends to fake gag at them, but is smiling the whole time. Gwen swats at Kevin but is grinning herself.
Rook grabs Ben and holds him tightly to his chest, his face nuzzling into the top of Ben's head.
Argit and Ken are standing close by looking at the two fondly. Ken hugs his arms to himself, shifting his own weight, feeling a bit awkward.
There is a collective weight lifted off of everyone's shoulders. It's over. The Forever Knights have been taken care of, and their family is safe.
Gwen sags her body into Kevin's and realizes how exhausted she is. She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.
Everyone is exhausted, it reads in the way their bodies are falling and their faces carry new bags, scares, and bruises. They can fall into a deep sleep tonight and worry about the after math in the morning.
Gwen looks around at the people surrounding her and smiles to herself. She for once, feels like she belongs somewhere. She thinks maybe they all feel that way now. She turns her body slightly and clings onto Kevin.
This is home.