A/N: Writing this is going to be harder than I thought it would be. Because Kevin vs. Big Chill isn't even remotely fair… Kevin's POV.
Disclaimer: Still didn't come up with this plot. Crushed Hale.x did. Still don't own the characters. Man of Action does.
I felt claws. Sharp talon-like claws that drove into my back like spikes or stakes being stabbed into my skin. My first reaction was to drop and try to reach for the sidewalk. The sidewalk would provide my protection.
Strangely enough, I was a bit comforted by the fact that I was fighting for my own survival again. Not once had I been on the offense in the Null Void. Defense had been my side of the coin. But now it was another fight for survival just as it had been all along. It was another day in the Null Void for us.
Except for I was already out of practice. A little over a month out of the Null Void, a month without having to defend myself from monsters of the shadows and creatures of the night and suddenly I felt weak and defenseless, like any movement from my attacker could kill me. The concrete cement was the only thing that could get me anywhere near safe.
I felt the beating wings of the monster, the swishing sound of the air all too familiar. And Gwen's screams. Put the pieces together. I instantly knew it was a Necrofriggian. Better yet, I knew how to deal with it.
My fingers brushed concrete. The concrete engulfed my body in rock-solid armor, the only defense I had against talons and claws. And as soon as I had a good grip on my powers and knew I was in a suitable fighting condition, I was throwing my fists at the creature. I felt my punches connect with limbs and one with a wing, the beats faltering for scarcely more than a moment. But I kept punching, just trying to keep it away from Gwen.
Besides the sounds of the swishing wings that made the air pulse with life, my ears were ringing with Gwen's screams. She was afraid; I could hear it. It was almost the same scream as I'd heard the day she dropped into the Null Void with me.
After living with her for that long, I was overprotective, defensive of her. Whatever makes her scream pisses me off.
I took a step back to see the Necrofriggian hissing and spitting. Then... talking. Which was something new to me. Talking. They didn't talk in the Null Void. They snarled and growled and hissed... but they didn't talk. "I won't let you hurt her, Kevin." Feral emerald eyes glared at me, glowing with pure hatred.
Got it. It was Ben. Sort of forgot how that watch doohickey worked.
Instead of coming up with a quick remark, I looked to Gwen. And I don't think I'd ever seen her more pitiful. She was cringing away from me and from Ben, arms shielding her face and chest as she tried to move away from us. I knew she was afraid of Ben. We'd had weeks and weeks of safety, of shelter. Now, seeing this beast in her sanctuary… I could only imagine it as a terrifying experience. I'd been living in a world of monsters forever from New York to the Null Void and now Bellwood. It was like I was living a nightmare, but Gwen was used to this plush house in a plush neighborhood with nothing to worry about but dogs pooping in her yard. This was her haven, her hideaway. Now, it'd been corrupted by a monster. A monster that she didn't think possible in this universe.
So I launched myself at the thing, one fist colliding with its head as another punched at the monster's chest, knocking it backwards. Maybe Benji didn't know how to work this one… Maybe I was getting lucky. Because I'd seen some fierce Necrofriggians and they could all fight better than this thing was doing.
More screams from Gwen.
God, that pissed me off. I hated hearing her in pain. That scar on her arm… Looking at that every day doesn't help me and my guilt. At all. I want to help her. I want to save her. I want to be the thing she can always depend on when the rest of the world is going haywire. I want to be the guy that she can always count on.
Why I walked away at her house, I have no idea. I need her just as much as she needs me.
Then Ben flew out of the way, up into the air. I'm tall, but I'm not that tall. "Just end this, Kevin," came the hiss from between fierce fangs. "We don't need to keep this rivalry going on any longer." Glaring eyes. Hatred seething through gritted teeth. Angry beating of wings. Flexing claws and talons. To say the least, he was not happy with me.
So he was planning to kill me. Great. Like old times.
His gaze found his cousin once more, his head turning to watch her cowering figure as she lay in the grass, unguarded and fearing for her life.
I couldn't help but look too. She looked so helpless… It physically hurt me to know that I couldn't go over and help her. I had a rivalry to end. But it was either kill him or have him kill me. Either side of the coin would end with Gwen losing someone. But how else to finish this? What other way out was there?
And then it hit me. Well, Ben hit me first, but then it hit me. 'cause why would Ben want to hurt his cousin even more? Using their bond to my advantage while saving my butt and possibly not killing Ben. Yes, I'm a genius. And don't you forget it.
As I was pinned down under sharp talons with sharp claws pressed to my neck with the cold breath of Ben hitting my face, I tried my best to squirm out from under him. I could've gotten out easily, but I didn't. "Just stop it!" I tried to shove him off only to find him too heavy to move. Necrofriggians were suddenly much heavier than I remembered. Especially when I couldn't think of anything other than to not kill him and to get to Gwen. "You're scaring her!"
A pause. Hesitation. He faltered. And looked to Gwen. Then back to me. And he must've seen something on my face that made him look again. To Gwen. Then to me.
No longer pinned down with sharp claws at my neck, I pushed him aside instead of off just enough so I could scramble away. I hated having to wimp out on something like that, but it was for the best. The scenario couldn't get better, it could only get worse. So I made the best of a bad situation.
Moving towards Gwen was all I could do. I was on my hands and knees beside her in a heartbeat, taking her hand and pulling her close to me, trying to get her to stop crying and screaming. She was still terrified, but I could tell it was subsiding once I had her in my arms. Her face pressed into my shirt and her arms were thrown around my neck as she clung to me for dear life. I could only continue to stroke her hair and wipe away her tears.
Ben still stared at us as his cousin lingered in my arms, holding onto me like I was something important to her. It must've hit him like a ton of bricks when he put the pieces of the puzzle together. "Aw man…" A flash of green and the blue monster was gone, replaced by a brunette fourteen-year-old.
I continued to wipe away her silver tears. I wouldn't die. Not today.
A/N: Fight scene was weak and I know it. In this, the Omnitrix has just reset itself to suit Ben's teenage body so he doesn't know the full extent of Big Chill. That's why he didn't freeze Kevin. Now leave a review! I'll update as soon as I get back from writing camp. Adios!
~Sky