Ben slowly woke up and saw Whampire's stressed and tear-stained face. At first startled, Ben was calmed by the gentle, clawed hand on his head.

"Be calm young Ben. I am Whampire. I am…was…Vamps' brother," Whampire said sadly.

"W-Was?" Ben asked.

"Ben…Vamps is gone. Kusto returned and attacked us. Vamps stayed behind to protect us and make sure Kusto didn't harm us. He stayed to fight him even though he was injured," Whampire said, trying not to shed a tear.

"W-WHAT?! H-How?!" Ben said, now looking around frantically.

"Remain calm," Whampire said, now gently pressing him down.

"No you don't understand! He died because I was too weak to help fight that monster that attacked us! If I wasn't out cold, this wouldn't have happened," Ben snapped, now looking around angrily.

"That's not how he put it…" Whampire smiled gently. Ben looked at him in confusion. "Ben…Vamps told me how you bravely fought against Kusto."

Ben sadly looked away. "No…he did the rescuing. I was just a coward that blacked out at the last minute."

"Ben…" Whampire started.

"Is Vamps dead?!" Ben said in horror, now turning back to him.

Silence.

"Whampire…please tell me! Is Vamps really dead?!" Ben pleaded, now seeing the bloodshot eyes of this alien, despite the fact that his eyes are green.

"Ben yes! His energy signature is gone and our brotherly bond stopped altogether! I can't feel him anymore and he's…he's…gone," Whampire said, now turning and angrily punching a wall.

Ben sadly hung his head and ran a hand through his hair. This adventure was getting to a terrible start. Ben then flopped back on his bed and let tears run down the sides of his face. His first alien friend and ally was gone.

Whampire glanced over and saw the frustrated teen. He smiled a small smile and eased over to him.

"Ben…it will be alright." Whampire said gently.

"No it won't," Ben said, turning over and facing the wall. Whampire sadly hung his head and headed back to his room. He needed to figure out what to do because from the looks of it….he was now king.

The next morning…

Whampire helped Ben up to his room and sat the injured teen on his bed. He wanted to discuss their plan.

"Listen to me. You are in terrible danger here. I have overheard that Vilgax is heading back this way and he has a powerful device in his possession. It is called the Omnitrix." Whampire said.

"What is that?" Ben asked.

"It's a powerful device that can cause an alien to transform into other alien forms with simply a small string of DNA. It was created by a powerful inventor named Azmuth. Well, we heard that it was stolen at some point during the war and Vilgax has used it and its' power to increase his strength ten-fold. He has destroyed half of the galaxy or taken it prisoner and now he is coming back this way." Whampire said, now standing and pacing in worry.

"H-He's coming back," Ben said in worry.

"Yes. He is coming to finish what he started." Whampire said. "And to make matters worse, our planet is also under the rule of Lord Transyl."

"Who is that?" Ben asked. He was already frightened and it kept getting worse. Before Whampire could answer, there was knock. Whampire's eyes narrowed as Lord Transyl came walking through and gave him an evil smirk.

"Why Whampire…have you gotten into the habit of acquiring pets?" he sneered.

"I'm no one's pet!" Ben huffed.

"Well, well…if it isn't the little human from the pet shop." Lord Transyl chuckled. "You were the one who wanted to buy Vamps so badly. He must have been impressed with you to bring you here."

"He didn't bring me here. Whampire did," Ben said sadly.

"Oh? So where is our king?" Lord Transyl asked, feigning worry.

"We do not know. I am going to send some scouts out to search for him." Whampire said coldly.

"Oh dear. Well if he was in a battle with a To'Kustar, there is probably nothing left of him. Our poor king." Lord Transyl said lowly. Ben was about to say something but Whampire motioned for him to be quiet.

"Yes. Well then…if you wouldn't mind Lord Transyl, I would like to take some time to speak with Ben." Whampire said.

"But of course. But please join me in a few minutes in the conference room Whampire. We need to discuss battle plans. Vilgax was seen only two days away." Lord Transyl said, now closing the door and heading downstairs. Ben was about to say something, but Whampire still motioned silence. He then spoke in a louder voice.

"Ben, come with me. I wish to show you something." Whampire said, now gently picking him up and flying him out the window and onto the roof.

"W-Why are we up here?" Ben asked.

"Because Ben…Lord Transyl has eyes and ears in the entire castle. Ben, you can already see that Transyl is a snake. If Vamps is truly dead, he is the cause of the murder." Whampire growled.

"Yeah, he's creepy. Especially since he said something even more suspicious. How did he know Vamps was fighting a To'Kustar and how was Kusto all the sudden "well" enough to fight again?! Before I blacked out, I saw Vamps bite into his head fin. He should be been paralyzed for at least 24 hours." Ben said.

"How did you know that?" Whampire said, now impressed.

"Before I lost my family, I had a book about aliens and we would all gather together and discuss the different species on family nights." Ben said lowly. Whampire nodded in understanding and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Ben…everything is going to be alright. I promise," Whampire said, now helping him towards the inside. "But listen…if Vilgax comes, it will not be pretty. He is very dangerous and is known for taking the leaders of planets and torturing them."

This made Ben flinch and look up at the stars. At that moment, it began to rain and Ben also noticed a large force headed back to the planet. His eyes widened in horror as he saw that it was Kusto! He had returned!

"T-That monster is back!" Ben hissed.

"I know." Whampire growled, but he was shocked as Ben moved forward. "Where are you going?!"

"To get even! He killed Vamps! We are gonna get even!" Ben snarled.

"Ben, Ben get a hold of yourself! Revenge is not the answer!" Whampire said. Ben spun around and faced him angrily.

"How could you say that?! Vamps is gone and the killer is right there! How can you say it's alright?! You're the next king now! You should order his death!" Ben said, tears running down his face as he broke free of Whampire and headed back inside.

"Ben stop! I need you to remain calm and logical about this. We need to focus on destroying Vilgax and our enemies!" Whampire said, following him.

"Kusto is our enemy! I-I should have just stayed on Earth! At least I could have died in peace rather than seeing more people I love die!" Ben said angrily to the ceiling as he threw open the door and headed back to the physician's room. Whampire watched him go and put his head down; he could feel Ben's pain and he was hurting too, but there was nothing more he could do. At least not now.

Later that night…

Ben got up from his bed and heard the rain beating down on the draft and terrible castle. He walked out on the balcony and could see the bricks literally falling off. It was very dangerous but Ben didn't care. Ben walked out and felt the rain beating down on his face, wetting him to the bone, but he didn't care.

"It doesn't matter what happens to me. I am always in everyone's way. I was in my parents' way and that's why they didn't' survive the first alien attack and I was in Vamps' way and that's why he's dead too." Ben said, a tear escaping his face. He then felt the balcony under him giving way, but he was alright with it.

Whampire was sitting on his bed when he heard the creaking. He managed to glance out his window and noticed Ben standing and not moving. Eyes widening in horror, he ran out to his balcony and called out in horror.

"BEN! BEN MOVE BACK! YOU'LL FALL!" Whampire pleaded. But Ben just closed his eyes and didn't move.

Ben accepted his fate and just closed his eyes tightly. But just as he felt his portion of the balcony giving way, he felt a hand snatch him back from the edge and pull him back inside the room.

"Whampire," Ben groaned, without turning around. "Why did you save me?!"

"I seem to always be saving your hide young Ben," a voice replied from behind him. Ben froze and his eyes widened. He recognized that voice. He then turned around slowly and saw Vamps smiling at him warmly. "Ben…if I saved you once, that does not mean you can go and put yourself into dan..HEY!"

Vamps didn't get to finish as Ben plowed into him and hugged him tightly around his waist as they fell on the bed. Whampire then flew in and was ready to fight, thinking that it was Transyl that had him. From his balcony, all he saw was a clawed hand that grabbed Ben.

When Whampire saw Vamps, he let out a shout of joy and jumped on Vamps too. Vamps curled his younger brother to him and they did nothing but hug. They then looked over and saw Ben actually crying as he held onto Vamps too. Vamps was more than a friend to Ben…Ben saw him as a brother, but Vamps did not know this. Vladats were not accustomed to this much emotion, but they let Ben release that emotion and pain. Pain that they still did not know everything about. But that could wait…right now, they were letting him release what he needed to.

"WHAT?! H-HOW ARE YOU ALIVE?!" Whampire said in shock.

"YES?! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU?!" Ben said.

Both of them kept asking him questions over and over again! So much so that Vamps had to cover their mouths.

"Shhh! It's alright you two. Calm down." Vamps cooed. Whampire struggled to get his hand off and so did Ben, but Vamps' grip didn't budge. "I'm not moving until you both are calm. I-I don't even know how I survived. I remember being knocked out and then waking up on a deserted planet. I was supposed to have died, but I just couldn't. Something was telling me to be strong and keep pushing." Vamps said.

Both of them just stared as they felt him remove his hands when he knew they were calm. They noticed his blood-stained side and the scars on his face, but it was miraculous…Vamps wasn't dead! He was alive and right in front of them!

"Brother, I'm just so happy!" Whampire said as tears poured down his face; he then began hugging him again tightly as Vamps hugged him back.

"Easy you two…easy…" Vamps cooed.

"J-Just please don't leave us again Vamps!" Ben pleaded, now burying his head back in his stomach and crying hard! So hard that both Vladats were startled. Vamps could only gently pet his back and soon Ben cried himself to sleep.

"I can take him to his room." Whampire offered.

"No…that is unnecessary brother. I will do it," Vamps said, now gently picking Ben up and gently pulling Whampire's arm. "You are cold Whampire. We will all rest in my private quarters on the bed. It is the warmest room in this castle. And at dawn, we will discuss our plans."

"And what deadly plans do you have in mind?" Whampire grinned.

"Plans that will wipe out both of those traitors…Lord Transyl and Kusto. When we get rid of them, we can focus on Vilgax." Vamps said.

Whampire nodded and followed his brother to his room where they could all use a goodnight rest. Because tomorrow was going to definitely be an adventure.

guestsurprise: Vamps is back! You guys know he's as tough as nails! ;)

newbienovelistRD: Right on! :D