CHAPTER 8: A YEAR MISSED

Kevin was slammed brutally against the far wall. He gasped as his head crunched into the stone wall behind him. He fell to the floor in a crumpled heap.

"Now? Where were we?" Dana Lyn cooed,

"I'll never work with that BASTARD!" Kevin roared, picking himself up and charging at the Pyrothanatos.

Dana Lyn shook her head and merely kicked Kevin in the chest, her heeled boot sending him flying backwards once more.

'Ben' walked up next to Dana Lyn, Kevin could not even look at the impostors face.

"It was you." He whispered, unable to obtain the rage that till a few moments ago, possessed every inch of his body. Tears bubbled up and over his eyes, spilling like acid to the floor beneath him, "It was you…you took everything away from me."

"Oh grow up Kevin." Ben snapped, "Nobody likes a sore loser."

"Oh…" Kevin smirked, picking himself off the ground, his pathetic demeanor suddenly vanishing. He looked over at Ben with a sly, crazy smile, "I haven't lost yet phony."

Dana Lyn stepped aside, purely amused at the show unfolding in front of her. She leaned against a wall and folded her arms.

"Really?" Ben said sarcastically.

Kevin laughed, "You are a fool Impostor for coming into my domain!" He snapped his fingers, "And thinking you can control me using force? Even worse."

"You will listen to Dana Lyn." Ben argued,

"Come at me then." Kevin shrugged, "Come tell that to my face."

Ben looked over at Dana Lyn, but she did not move a muscle, not even a blink.

Taking that as a yes, Ben smiled, he turned towards Kevin ready to strike. He quickly morphed into a giant snake-like alien and soared towards the Aufnehman.

Suddenly, faster then Ben could move, something jumped in front of Kevin. Ben was moving too fast to stop himself, and he felt his long fangs seep into flesh. He looked up and found his mouth wrapped around the arm of a boy…

…His boy…

…Kenny…

Ben immediately let go and jumped back, morphing back to 'Ben'. He gasped, "K-Kenny?"

The young teenager made no move, he stood there in front of Kevin, as if he did not even feel the four large puncture marks in his arm. He let the injured arm fall to his side, and stood there, waiting for Kevin's approval.

"Kenny!" Ben yelled, "Thank god your alive!"

Kenny made no move.

"Come over here!" Ben said, a little more excited then he meant to sound.

Kenny still did not move.

"I'm sorry for the bite son, get away from Kevin!" Ben gasped.

Kevin walked up beside Kenny and put his hand on the boys head. Kenny looked up, as if seeking approval from the large monster. Kevin just laughed, "I thought it was only fitting for me to take your son, since you so readily took mine."

"You are no father!" Ben spat,

"Oh? Am I?" Kevin grinned, "Though I am a little more corrupted since then, I can remember a certain little girl you stole from us that saw the world of me."

"You are not the same Kevin." Ben growled, "Release my son!"

Kevin pretended not to hear the last part, "True, I am not the same Kevin…"

He looked down at Kenny's dirty face. It looked as if he had not had a bath in years. The boy's hair was long, as if he had not cut it since coming into Kevin's care, and his eyes were blank and dark, as if there was no soul residing behind them. Ben felt his heart break as he stared at him.

"All it takes is a little complete brainwashing, and now, he thinks the world of me." Kevin grinned, "In fact, he can't think of ANYTHING besides the orders I give him. A complete drone."

"You monster!" Ben yelled,

Kevin just smiled, "And yet, this is not even close to your redemption. You took two children from me, turned them against me and made me fight them, taught little Gwyneth to hate me. My revenge has only just began."

Kevin whistled, and slowly, strutting from behind a curtain, strode Gwendolyn. She was wearing basically nothing, a leather tube top rested over her breasts, though there was not a sign of bra straps stretching out of it, and she wore a matching leather skirt that was so short, Ben was sure it would show everything if she bent down. She wore no shoes, no accessories, just those two small pieces of leather.

"I was thinking about dressing her in something exotic, but it sounded to 'Star-Warzy' to me." Kevin grinned. Gwendolyn walked over to Kevin's side, and he wrapped his arm around her, "Of course, I do give in to temptation and dress her up when we go out." He looked over at her, "Isn't that right my dear?"

Ben's mind was frozen. He looked over at Gwendolyn and felt his heart stop. She had the same blank look as Kenny, though at least she was clean and her hair nicely kept.

"G-Gwendolyn!" Ben finally spat out. He made a step forward, but Kevin just tightened his grip on Gwendolyn's throat.

There was nothing he could do, even as brainwashed drones, they were still his family.

"Well?" Kevin smirked, "You were saying something about forcing me to cooperate?"

Ben fell back, looking over at Dana Lyn as if she was his last hope. Dana Lyn just clapped. She pushed herself off the wall and strode over to them. She flicked her long hair off her shoulder and laughed, "Good show boys. But its time to get back to work." She turned to Kevin, "You will serve me, or else I'll kill you, and your hostages before you get a chance for revenge."

Kevin looked up, the Impostor was so close. Revenge was a flavor he longed to taste, and yet that damned Pyrothanatos stood between them. He could barely remember a time when he would not dare even to look at one.

"What do you want?" Kevin snarled,

"That's simple, all I want is information." Dana Lyn cooed, she walked over to Kevin, caressing his cheek lightly, "What do you know of Anastasia?"

Kevin blinked a few times, before finally saying, "I don't even know who that is."

"You hired her to rescue Tena." She made sure to stress the Tena part, and not the Ben.

Kevin's eyes flashed red, but he shook his head, "I can't remember…"

"ARGH!" She roared, slapping him across the face and stepping away, "Well if you do, or if you find out where she is, I want you to IMMEDIATELY get a hold of me. IS THAT CLEAR?"

Kevin grinned, "Why are you so obsessed with Anastasia? How could a single girl have wronged a Pyrothanatos so bad?"

Dana Lyn looked away, her eyes darkening. A look of pure hatred crossed her face, "A mistake. One simple mistake. But she will pay for it. I WILL kill Anastasia with my own two hands."

She looked away from him, "Just like you, I am searching for revenge. And I will do ANYTHING it takes to get it."

Kevin grinned, "Now that's a story I'd like to hear. How the most powerful creature in the Universe was made a fool of."

Dana Lyn turned around and went to strike Kevin, but Kenny jumped in the way. Dana Lyn backhanded Kenny hard enough to send him soaring to the ground. Kevin laughed, Ben cried out.

"Ben." Dana Lyn snapped, "Let us go. We have wasted enough time here."

"Yeah 'Ben'." Kevin grinned, "Run along. Its not quite time for me to get my revenge just yet."

"What?" Ben growled.

"Who knows? Maybe I will make your son kill you in the end. Just like Gwyneth will kill me." Kevin stated.

Ben looked down at Kenny on the floor and felt his heart break. If it came down to him verses his son, he knew he would let Kenny win. Is that what Kevin meant? Did he see Gwyn as a daughter? Would he kill her if he had to?

He shook his head and sighed, "I'll rescue you Kenny." Before following Dana Lyn.

Kevin merely turned around and looked out his window at his domain. Everything he saw belonged to him, though none of it he wanted. All he wanted was it to be over, for everything to just disappear and leave him with his misery.

Just the sight of the impostor fueled his need for revenge. He would have to be smart though, if the Impostor had teamed up with Dana Lyn, then that meant his job was now twice as hard.

He smiled in spite of himself. This was the first time he had clear thoughts in nearly twenty years. His brain was no longer clouded, though he knew he was just in shock, either from the sight of the Impostor, or when Dana Lyn threw him against the wall. This scary calmness would disappear soon, clouded behind his mad, crazed insanity.

But soon, it will all be over. His revenge was almost complete.

…

But wait? Wasn't it Ana trying to get revenge on Dana Lyn? Not the other way around?

~*~

Gwyn looked up at Kevin's tower as she hit back one of his soldiers. It was a war zone down here, bloodshed was everywhere she looked. The Plumbers, verses Kevin's Minions…

From what she could see, Kevin was winning, they're little rebellion was slowly being wiped out.

That was not going to stop her. One day, her step-brother and the other two would come back, and then they would wipe out Kevin's troops. She just had to be patient, and she just had to survive.

~*~

Ship finally finished teleporting to the small planet nestled in this forgotten corner. From this distance, it looked like a purple tropical paradise, though everyone on board knew otherwise.

This was Demetrious, the most dangerous planet for men in the galaxy.

Kal and Devlin exchanged glances as Ship entered the planet's atmosphere. They were nearing the ground in the shopping district, a small section of the planet where merchants sell their goods to the planet. Here at least, they'll know that they can disembark in peace.

One of the merchants looked over at them and chucked as the group descended from Ship. Her eyes scanned over Kal and Devlin deviously. "You know its not safe to bring men to this planet correct?"

"We're not staying long." Julie promised. She turned to the rest of the group, "I'll stay with Ship."

"Good idea. I'll call you if we need him." Ana nodded.

Devlin rolled his eyes, "Joyous."

Ana led the way, walking away from the shopping district, and into the overgrown trees. The trunks were placed so close together here, she felt safe traveling there. At least most of the Amazarians cannot fit between the trunks…the smaller ones on the other hand were the most dangerous ones to them, and probably could.

Ana felt confident she could take care of them if needed, and the trees would serve as a cover.

Devlin quickly snatched up a rock and placed it in his pocket.

"What's that for?" Tessa asked. He pulled his hand out of his pocket, it was coated with the rock. Tessa nodded, "Good idea."

They could hear the voices of the Amazarians speaking just on the other side of the thicket. They were barely covered by the tree line.

"Do we know where we're going?" Tessa whispered,

"A few kilometers away from here, the trees thin out a bit, there should be a small moss-covered patch where we found Ben and Owen."

Tessa lowered her head, "Dad…I hope he's alright."

Kal looked away from her, just looking off into the trees.

Devlin stopped in his path. He started walking off to the edge of the thicket.

"Devlin!" Ana warned, "Stay together."

"Hang on." He whispered, he stepped over through the tree line.

"Damn that boy!" Ana snarled, "Stay here." She turned and ran off after him.

She pushed herself through the trees.

"Ana look!" Devlin grinned, grabbing something from a nearby pond.

Ana did not look impressed.

It was a large light blue jewel. Devlin could not even wrap his fingers around it. He turned around and pointed out over the pond, "They're everywhere!"

"Devlin. We have to move." Ana snapped,

"Cool down." Devlin sneered, "If we 'harvest' some of these gems, we could easily pay whatever Ben needs to be resurrected, and then some!"

Ana looked back through the trees, "That's all nice and all…but you don't want those crystals. Put it down before…"

Ana quickly ducked out of the way. She may be getting old, and therefore, less agile then she used to be, but it was easy to dodge away from a swinging Amazarian arm. Devlin was not so lucky. A large Amazarian whacked him hard on the head, and he quickly collapsed.

A small Amazarian picked him limply up and examined him.

"Hey!" Ana growled, "Find your own!"

"You just tiny creature. I'm stealing him from you." She sneered.

Ana stepped forward to attack, but she could easily see, that they were surrounded. She shook her head and charged at the beast.

The Amazarian swiped at Ana, but she easily jumped over its arm and ran behind it, she kicked it as hard as she could into the back of its knee, and the large alien went down. Devlin fell limply from its hand, only to be picked up by a larger one.

The Amazarian looked at Ana, then at its fallen comrade, and ran. Ana swore and chased after it. But before it got too far, a flash of blue jumped out of the thicket, snatched Devlin from the alien's grip, and landed on the ground next to Ana.

"Good job XLR8." Ana grinned,

"What the hell happened?" It snapped,"That pond is full of 'Scent Crystals'. It's a gem that produces an odor designed to attract a mate. Blue attracts females, pink attracts males. Our friend Devlin here seems to take after his father in more ways then just appearance."

"Let me guess, he grabbed one?" XLR8 asked, looking around as the Amazarians approached,

"You think?" Ana snapped.

XLR8 pounced away, kicking one of the giant aliens in the face over and over. The giant just grunted and swatted the little alien away. XLR8 twisted itself around in the air and landed on its feet next to Ana.

Two Amazarians ran forward, but were quickly coated in a thick sheet of ice. Tessa broke through the tree line, freezing two more on her way. Ana nodded as the girl stopped beside her

"I need speed and power." XLR8 complained, "And this alien only has speed."

Ana was about to respond, when XLR8 transformed.

Where the little Kineceleran once stood, now stood that large alien from this morning.

"I read up on those things on the way here." Tessa replied, "Its an Loboan."

"Our thesaurus." The Loboan rolled its eyes, "What's it called?"

Tessa shrugged, "I believed Ben 10,000 called it 'Benwolf'."

"Ok then, this is Kalwolf." He snarled sarcastically.

He pounced forward in front of the Amazarians, letting its mouth split into four, a supersonic shockwave resonated from its mouth, pushing the aliens in front of it down.

"Good work Kalwolf." Tessa cheered, freezing the ground in front of her, and soaring past Kalwolf and through the new opening between the Amazarians. Kalwolf quickly picked both Devlin and Ana, and raced after her. They were long past them before they realized what happened.

Kalwolf put Ana and Devlin gently down on the ground.

"Don't get cocky. The scent is still on Devlin's hands." Ana growled, "Jeez! Kids these days never listen to their elders."

She turned away from them and froze.

"What is it?" Tessa panted.

"We're here." She whispered, looking down at the ground. She put her fingers through the moss, "I know we are. This is where we found Ben."

"Are you sure?" Tessa asked.

"Positive." Ana nodded.

She looked around, "Hey! Where did Kal go?"

Tessa felt panic soar through her before she even turned to look around. When she did, that panic escaladed. Where was her little brother?

"KAL!" She screamed, when he did not answer her, she went to scream again, but Ana put a hand over her mouth,

"You trying to give away our position?" She snapped,

"But Kal…" Tessa complained. She fell silent, she knew that she had to be quiet.

Ana grabbed Devlin's arm and wrapped it around her shoulder, hoisting him up so she could drag him along. "Come on, there are no clues here. Let's move on to Mel's house."

"But what about my brother? And I believe that Azumuth called her Mei." Tessa complained,

"He'll be fine, and worse case scenario, Azumuth gets the tests he wanted." Ana replied,

"Ana!" Tessa snapped,

"Come on." Ana said, ignoring the girl's protests.

Within ten minutes, they came upon a large tree. Crudely written in the bark was the name,

Meishunakamayosharu

"Here we go." Ana smirked.

Tessa looked up the tree and frowned. It was a good ten story plus climb, "There is no way we are getting Devlin up there."

"And I would not recommend it with the scent still on him." Ana nodded, "And that's why I'm going up alone."

"But that's too dangerous!" Tessa argued.

Ana pretended not to hear her, "You stay here and watch Devlin. If you see any Amazarians, hide. Remember, the scent of the Scent Crystal is still on his hands…I'll be back soon."

With that, the Gotosapian leapt up the tree, her quick and stealthy movements easily taking her to the top. She climbed in, leaving Tessa on the ground.

~*~

'Oh, and one more thing…I am sending you to Demetrious on a special mission, but that's not the main reason I'm sending you there. I have a special mission for you Kal, and you cannot tell anyone else about it'

XLR8 sighed as he slowed to a stop away from where he left his friends. He sighed and transformed back into Kal, and leaned back against a tree trunk and took in a deep breath.

This was not going to be fun…

He quickly crept back to the Shopping District, where he found a small spacecraft. Natoni waited by the door.

"Are you ready?" She asked,

"No, but lets hurry up before they get worried." Kal muttered.

Natoni moved aside and let Kal slip onboard the spacecraft before closing the door.

"With our warp function, we should make it to Incarceron 2 and back again within an hour." Natoni promised. "We'll be back before they even realize we were gone."

Kal sighed and strapped himself into a chair in the back of the craft. He leaned his head back as it quickly took off of the ground. He can remember clearly what Azumuth wanted him to do…

"Go to Incarceron 2, one of the Prison Satellites, and meet with my old assistant, Myaxx. Find out all the hidden security and regular features she added to the Omnitrix behind my back. Lets see if Kevin's theory was right. Then, I want you to go to the lowest levels and meet with a man named Albido. We need him for some tests. Then, I want you to give him this offer. Trust me, he will not refuse…"

"Why do I have to do this alone?"

"Because Devlin and Tessa would remind Albido of Kevin and Gwen, and he refuses to meet with anyone then someone who also bears the Omnitrix. But beware, Ablido's fake Omnitrix syncs with mine, so he will look identical to you."

Kal sighed. Great, this was going to be torture, but what was even less fun, was the thought of how much torture this Albido person would be in when Azumuth has his way with him.

It was going to be a long day.

Do I smell rated M next? I think I do! Sorry about the wait times between chapters, I haven't watched a new Ben 10 episode in a while, they started repeating, so I stopped tuning in. I finally got a hold of my friend and asked her if anything happened, but she moved out of town, and she watched them online, so she says she'll check up when she hooks up internet again.

I need to get in the Ben 10 groove again. I read your lovely comments, and that inspired me quite a lot! I think I'll tune in today and see if I missed anything.