A/N: My power came back on yesterday, the internet this morning. Lost power for five days. Big storms… Big, big storms… Power lost across town. It was bad… Anyways, this is what I did in some of my spare time.

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own Ben 10. Plot's by Crushed Hale.x.

Ben let us inside. He let me get Gwen on a couch and settle her down so she could explain what was going on. Not like Ben would listen to a criminal like me. Especially not after I just tried to kill 'im.

I'm not sure why I had to back down, but I did. I had to, for some reason. It was my only option to go to Gwen. Not during the fight but before, when I had a choice. I went to Gwen. And I don't know why. But I'm pretty sure that had resulted in the fight, which nearly got me killed. I was lucky that I thought of retreating to Gwen then too. If I hadn't...

"Where have you been?" asked Ben as he brushed away the hair from her face; it was something I should've been doing. He was watching me as I kept my distance, standing with my back against the wall and a foot kicked up against it, sure to leave a print from my combat boot. Wary jade eyes analyzed my every move.

"Can ya leave her alone for five minutes?" I was set in overprotective mode. "She's scared shitless and you're freakin' her out more with all the damn questions." The New York in me was coming back out like a snake from its hole, spitting and hissing. The bits and pieces of Gwen that I'd picked up over the years were receding like they'd never existed. "Let her take a break. The Necrofriggian thing runs deeper than you know." My arms folded across my chest as my gaze swept her body for signs of recovery from the mental beating she'd just taken.

His voice was hostile in a heartbeat, retaliation coming back at me like I'd asked for it. Reluctantly, I will admit that I was sort of asking for it. "Not like you helped much, attacking me the second you were free."

"I was takin' her home, Tennyson. I ain't the bad guy here."

He looked a little bit shocked, a little bit hurt. And maybe, just maybe, he was regretting attacking me. Ben pulled away from his cousin, eyes growing fierce quickly. He was ready to fight. It looked like he hadn't had a good battle in ages when he'd nearly killed me. He was out of practice with his old toy. He was still working on learning and such. Which was fine by me. It was probably the only chance I'd had to survive. "The only reason I'm not fighting you," he said, "is because I don't know who you are anymore and I don't know what role you played in helping her. You should be grateful you're not splattered on my front lawn right now."

"You would've kicked my can halfway up the block and back, I'll admit." I didn't want to fight him again. I hated to do it, but I had surrendered. To this puny little punk who couldn't lift a hundred pounds. "But you should be thanking me for bringing her back, not accusing me of attacking you." A satisfied smirk settled on my features. "Let's not forget who made the first move, Omnitrix-boy."

A scowl passed his lips and a low snarl came loose. "I should pound you to China and back. The block isn't big enough for the butt-kicking you deserve."

"You wanna bet?" A challenge. I liked it. Sure, I would die, no questions asked, but I'd die having some fun. And giving a damn good beating to my worst nightmare. I wasn't going to complain too much.

"Stop it, both of you."

Any threats I was about to lay out on the table were sealed right back up for later use. Benji could feel my wrath another day. My first priority was Gwen. She was the only reason (besides killing Ben) I ever wanted out of the Null Void. She was who I wanted to protect from the dangers of an intergalactic prison. She was my only one.

Seeing her coming out of a dusky haze, I was pushing off the wall and at her side within an instant, holding her hand and tucking her against me in the way that I could only hope was comforting. It was all I knew how to do. Hold her and wipe away tears. She'd cried endless nights because she knew she was going to rot and die in an eternal Hell before going to the real thing. Because we both knew that that was where we were all going. It's a prisoner's destiny, even in innocence.

I was lucky that she was still weak and scared to the point of holding onto me. Her hands found mine and her grip was tight. She let her head fall into the crook of my neck, her warmth radiating through my body as she used me as a full-sized pillow. Not like I cared or anything. Emerald orbs shut and silence stilled her tongue. Gwen clung to me like I was the only life preserver on a sinking ship. And she was mine. I was sinking in this new reality; she was the only link that kept me attached to my humanity.

It took a few minutes to wait for her heart to beat normally again. Thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP, thump-THUMP. Only then did I feel like I could pull away from her so she could face her cousin. He wouldn't talk to me without words of aggression.

"Ben, I need to tell you the whole story of what happened in the Null Void. You won't get how we came here if I don't explain it completely." She still leaned against me, my arm wrapped around her waist so that I could keep a hold on her if she needed me. I would always be there for her. Always. She gave me back my sanity. I gave her back her reality.

He gave us cautious and wary glances. A bit of confusion laced his countenance, but he seemed like he wasn't as angry or vengeful as he had been before. Then, as if on command, Ben nodded, sitting down in a chair to prepare for the worst. He bent forward a little bit, elbows on his knees, hands hanging down by his shins, and listened to Gwen as she began to tell the story of two kids who got screwed over in this fucked up world. The story of a couple of prisoners who'd ended up in a pretty damn good life under a satanic red sky. It wasn't for the faint of heart nor was it for small children, but it was our story and it went a little something like that.

A/N: Next two chapters will be epilogues. Two of them. Yeah, 'cause I had to. Anyways, review! I apologize for the length, but that's exactly how I wanted to end the main story. Just like that.

~Sky

P.S. Yeah, I know I quoted "Darkstar Rising" ^.^