Disclaimer I do not own Animorphs or Ben 10
Chapter 1: Waking up
Ben's POV
I woke up, I kept my eyes shut. I didn't want to know what I was going to see but it was something that I never expected.
I slowly opened my eyes and looked up at a familiar light blue ceiling.
'Where am I?' I thought as I sat up in the bed. I looked around the room and saw that everything was familiar. At first I thought that I was back inside my house in Bellwood but something was wrong. The posters were not the ones I had put up. My old toys were replaced with different ones. My pile of comics weren't there. 'Where am I?' I thought again.
I looked out of the window of my room and saw that it was open. A chilly breeze blew in which made me lift the blankets closer to my body. When the edge of the blanket reached my chin I noticed a odd smell. It reminded me of something I couldn't put my finger on. It smelled sweet and rich the smell was so calming that i just sat there enjoying the smell of my sheets. After a while i finally figured out what the smell was. The sheets smelled very lightly of vanilla. They didn't smell like the chemical vanilla that people normally bought in supermarkets. I remembered that there was a bottle of vanilla extract that John had made back in Pablo's house. Right next to it was a small tin which smelled incredibly like vanilla. I smiled as I remembered.
Then I heard a knock on the door and my head snapped out of my reverie. I stared quietly at the door and I watched the handle turn. My heart was racing and I almost bolted from the bed and out the window until i heard his voice.
"Ben?" Said a kind quiet voice. I recognized his voice anywhere. Then the door swung a bit wider and he poked his head to look inside the room. "Are you awake?" He was wearing his cap it cast his face in its usual shadow.
He stepped inside the room as I stared up at him. He gave me a warm smile. "It's good to see you up Ben." Then I knew that I was fine.
"Runok. . ." I said quietly. "Where am I?" I asked him.
He looked uncomfortable when I had asked him that. He was shifting from foot to foot. He told me where we were. It shocked me, I was back in America? How was that even possible?
"Ben." Said Runok. "Before we discuss this further would you like something to eat?"
I nodded not sure how else to react and he walked out of the room, leaving the door open. What is happening here? How did I end up back in the states?
Runok had quickly brought up some food on a tray. It was a steaming bowl of soup. I ate a spoonful and I realized just how hungry I was. The soup tasted great and I was full by the time I finished it all. I gave a quiet satisfied sigh and looked over at Runok.
He had pulled up a chair while I was eating and twiddled his thumbs while waiting. I had never seen him like this before.
He took the tray off the bed and set it on a desk then he took off his cap and looked at me straight in the eyes. "Ben. . ." He began. His black eyes were filled with pity and remorse. "I don't know how to really explain this to you but." He paused, then said. "Earth was destroyed."
I stared at him blankly. I didn't understand what he had just said. The Earth was destroyed? But how was that possible if we are in America? "Runok aren't we on Earth?" I asked him.
He nodded, his eyes were still filled with pity. "We are but this isn't your Earth. I have brought you to this other universe to continue your life." he put his hand on my shoulder in a comforting way.
I couldn't digest the information. This was a different universe? The Earth was destroyed. Wait. . . Gwen! Grace! I looked at Runok and asked him. "What happened to Gwen and Grace? Everyone else?" Panic filled my voice.
Runok looked at me and took a deep breath, he said. "They're dead Ben. Everyone you knew, they're all dead." He said plainly, he didn't elaborate. He knew that I understood what that meant. I looked down at the sheets on the bed. My mind was a blank, I couldn't think. My chest tightened, my heart was pounding in my ears and I was gasping for breath. My vision was blurring as tears started filling my eyes.
I felt a tap on my forehead and heard a faint whisper, then my whole body felt like it was ringing like a clear bell, the pressure on my chest receded and my heart rate slowed, I was able to calm down quite a bit. I looked up and saw that Runok had tapped me with his finger. He gave me a warm comforting smile but his eyes were still filled with remorse.
"Ben, I know that this is hard for you, but you cant dwell in the past." His warm smile faded. "And I'm sorry Ben. It was all my fault. If only I had ended the fights quickly like I should have none of this would have happened."
He looked so small, it was unnerving how small Runok looked. It was a direct contrast to the powerful being that had protected me from Wevdin and the other aliens. Then I remembered back to when he looked like he was about to kill me. "Runok, what happened to you?" I asked him. He looked even more uncomfortable. "Back at the crater, you were acting differently." I gulped. "You said that you were going to kill me. . ." That was the only thing that I remembered clearly, the rest of it was just a blur or simply blank.
Runok took a while to respond but when he did it chilled me. "You know that I said that i have multiple personalities, right?" I slowly nodded. "Well I wasn't me exactly who was going to kill you, it was one of the many personalities that is in this body." I was confused then he explained. "I am a personality of this man Runok." He put his hand on his chest. "Right now he is asleep and we other personalities take over while he sleeps. The personalities that i showed you are a part of me. The others aren't, the one you met was one of those other personalities and he took over but i got control back in the nick of time." He looked down at his feet not meeting my eye.
He looked back up at me and said. "Now Ben in This universe a lot of things are different. it is early 1997 here and none of the people you know exist. Alright?" I nodded. "Now I have other matters to take care of and I will have to leave you here. I will leave you with two guardians who will take care of you, okay?" I nodded again. He gave me a warm smile and picked up the tray as he exited the room. Before he closed the door he said. "Also Ben since time is different here you'd better get ready for school on monday."
"What?" I yelled at him.
"Now Ben don't worry about it, today is a saturday so you can rest on sunday, now get some sleep I know you'll be having a lot on your mind but save them for tomorrow." He said chuckling.
At first I didn't understand what he meant then I looked out the window and saw that the sun had already set. I laid my head down on my sweet smelling bed and was out like a light.
"BRIIIIIIIING!
I woke with a start. It was a alarm clock I didn't even remember setting one up last night. I pressed the button and the ringing stopped. I hadn't used a alarm clock for over two weeks since I always woke up early in the Philippines. Then my vision started to blur, I blinked and tears rolled down my cheeks. Then more tears followed, some fell onto the sheets and I began to heave with sobs. I quietly cried in what was now my room, tears flowed freely from my eyes. They didn't seem to stop, I didn't even try to stop them. The memories were painful.
Eventually the tears slowed and I got a hold of myself I got up and went to the bathroom and washed my face of the tears before heading downstairs. The house was almost an exact copy of my house back in Bellwood except there were no pictures on the walls. Apart from that everything else was the same. I walked into the dining room and saw that Runok was eating a bowl of cereal and there were two people sitting on the table with him. The one sitting closest to Runok was a blonde woman with bright blue eyes, she looked to be around her late thirties. Sitting beside her was a man with dark brown hair and blue eyes. They both gave me warm smiles as I entered the dining room.
"Hey Ben good morning." Said Runok between spoonfuls of cereal.
"Good morning." I answered.
"This is Monica and Bruce." The smiled at me I smiled back. "They will be your guardians. Now I know what you might think and no they are not supposed to be replacements for your parents." He gave me a kind look. "Now They're good friends of mine and whatever you need just ask them. Don't be bashful about making requests but remember don't spoil yourself by taking advantage of them." He grinned at me, I returned the grin without thinking, Runok lifted my spirits a bit. I went to the kitchen and grabbed myself some cereal and ate with Runok, Monica, and Bruce.
We talked on the table and Monica and Bruce told me about themselves. Monica was a nice person. She worked at the bank and she said that she's a great cook, Runok enthusiastically agreed which lifted up my spirits even more. Bruce was quiet guy but he always listened to whatever I had to say as he nodded along and giving some of his thoughts on it or some advice. He worked as the CEO of some company but he didn't really like spending money like other people. I knew that we'd get along just fine.
Runok told me about some details so I wouldn't look out of place on this Earth and I listened. The day passed quickly and soon Runok was leaving.
"I'll check up on you once in a while okay Ben?" He said as he stood in the doorway and ruffled my hair.
"Okay" I answered him and he left.
Dinner was quiet with Monica and Bruce but I have to say Monica really is a great cook. I went through the normal routine before going to bed. Shower, change, brush my teeth, you know that sort of thing. The day was enjoyable, Runok really helped me calm down and forget some of the recent events that had happened.
I sat on a chair next to my bed and I looked at the Omnitrix on my wrist. It still looked the same as always. It's bright green and hourglass like symbol. Out of habit I activated it and fiddled around with it. Suddenly the Omnitrix started to beep and flash between green and yellow. A computerized voice spoke out.
"Omnitrix stealth mode and master control activated."
The Omnitrix flashed in a bright green light, I covered my eyes so I wouldn't be blinded by it. When I looked down at it The Omnitrix had changed. Instead of the slightly bulky watch, it now resembled a thin band around my wrist. It had a small bump with the Omnitrix symbol on it. I guessed that this was its stealth mode. Then I remembered back in my first summer trip when I got master control. All I needed was to think about the kind of alien I wanted and i turned into them. But what confused me was the stealth mode.
I began to feel sleepy and I decided that i should try and test my theory tomorrow somehow. I dreaded the thought of going to school after only three weeks of summer, but i had to listen to Runok. I climbed into my wonderful smelling bed and went to sleep.
"Are you sure about this Runok?" Asked Paradox.
"He'll be fine, I know that he will make all the right choices." Answered Runok
They were standing in a large field, looking up at the stars and their slow dance across the sky.
"But what if. There is always a what if Runok."
"What will happen will happen." He said.
"Also this game that Ellimist and Crayak are playing have you also been participating?"
"I've never had an interest in the game that they played but this was my only option. If I had sent Ben to a parallel Earth there would be two Bens and I'm not so sure how he would cope. Even if there wasn't a Ben in the universe he wouldn't be able to cope with everything that has happened to him with everyone there to constantly remind him of the people he knew and lost. You can't replace people so easily after something so huge for him as that"
"What is it about this Ben that makes him so special to you?" Asked Paradox genuinely curious. "There are hundreds of variations of Ben. Why this one?"
"I'm not sure. . . I guess he reminds me of me when I was his age."
"Well that is understandable."
"I guess it is. . ."
They both stood in silence for a while.
"If I may I would like to study the physics of this universe I am intrigued by the variations of space and time here compared to my own universe. I can go around easily enough but I am fascinated by Z-space and other such things."
"Do as you wish, but you will have to wait for me to get back to your universes since you can't find the door." Said Runok smiling.
"Yes yes I accept the terms." Said Paradox waving his hands, he then took out a pocket watch from his lab coat and looked at it.
And with that Paradox disappeared in a flash of white light. A door appeared in front of Runok he opened and stepped through it the door closing and disappearing behind him.
Authors Notes: I'm sorry if the style in the chapter is kinda rough I'm not used to writing in a 1st person POV yet. But expect later chapters to be better. Also I ask in advance that you forgive me for the Animorphs being kinda OOC I haven't read the books for a while and can't remember exact details of their personalities.
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