With the season premier just around the corner, I'm having second thoughts about integrating his new aliens into the sequel. Then again, I saw the preview for Vengeance of Vilgax and saw Brainstorm's silhouette… If Brainstorm is still there then the continuity is screwed up.

I don't know if I'm ready to give up my two favorite aliens, Swampfire and Echo Echo… OH and you can't forget the once-used (or twice, I forget) GOOP! He just hasn't had a long enough time with these guys. I don't want to have to get to know an entirely new set of aliens and their personalities before writing.

Hell, if I have to I'll write a new story with his new aliens just to implement them.

(Strike that, Goop has been used at least twice. I'm watching an episode and he just used him, and it's not the Gauntlet episode.)

You know now I'm pissed. I'm watching a sneak peak and Big Chill is in it. I think the continuity is screwed up. I like it that I get to keep my aliens (xD) but I don't like that they lied to me.

Piss off Man of Action. Wait, don't. Well, okay, maybe you can. Just keep Ben alive cause I love him XD

ooo Ben ooo

This was the beginning of the end… I was to be carried off to a council who probably wouldn't listen to me, then off to my death.

I knew that no matter what I said, there was a greater chance I would die than live… even if it was in a cell for the rest of my pathetic life.

I didn't have much to hope for in this. Even if I live. What would I do? Escape again? I couldn't do it without Rika. She was the distraction… for the most part… She held of soldiers I couldn't have fended off alone.

I sighed.

"Come on, Ben. It'll be all right."

I looked up. "Liar."

The girl sighed. "Yeah… but you can't be sad… I'll feel worse if you're sad."

I smiled. "Why?"

"When I was younger… when I'd just learned my mother was a plumber, I got to learn all these cool bits of information about everyone. People that I'd never imagined to be caught up in the alien crap were in the thick of it.

"You… probably don't remember me… You got stuck in Home Ec. freshman year."

I laughed. "That's the only reason why I know how to cook an egg… and bake cinnamon rolls."

She smiled. "Yeah, I was the reason why no one ever got any help from the teacher. Mom and I were stuck in Bellwood and she was assigned to keep an eye on this stupid kid with the Omnitrix."

"Stupid?" I asked, laughing.

"Don't blame me, they were her words. She said, "He's reckless and he's giving a bad name to Bellwood. The only reason the aliens are here is because they're after him to begin with! Go watch after Ben Tennyson. I'll get you a school transfer tomorrow." I didn't believe her about the Plumber business until I met you."

"So, how'd you get mixed up in this jail mess?"

"Mother was incarcerated under false pretenses. I thought if I worked with them I could help prevent those kind of captures." She looked at me. "I guess I was wrong…"

"Considering I'm here, yeah…"

The guards at the door instantly straightened up, seeing us. The two commanders holding me upright spoke to the alien guards in a strange language and they let us through the gate. Looking behind me, the former classmate gave a sad smile and a wave farewell.

I sighed and faced the ground, ignoring the rather dauntingly high ceilings and ominous lights. There was a council of at least twelve, each identical in every way. I'd met them once before in this very room… the metal walls and lack of a jury were cold and unforgiving. They only added to the disappointment of the conviction.

"How much longer is this going to last?" I asked the guards.

"Hopefully… not very long," he laughed, a malevolent look in his eyes.

I sighed and took my stand in the middle of the room. Again…

ooo

For anyone who was watching the sneak-peeks on Monday, L-O-L to that one during War of Worlds!

First, he falls out of bed like he's never seen someone suddenly appear before him before. Then he belches as if he's alone (WOOO) Then he blatantly tells the guy he could probably turn into him without regard that the man is trying to be sociable.

Either he's becoming really lazy with the Omnitrix or Ben just got 10000 times funnier!

But as soon as the guy leaves he acts like the stupid award didn't matter! What the hell! 10-year-old Ben would've turned around and threw it in Gwen's face. LGJSLDKJGLSDKJG

Someone please tell me what happened!

Oh yeah. He became a teenager [:

ooo

"Benjamin Tennyson… To what do we owe the pleasure of having you before us again?"

I looked up. "So, what? You don't know?" I laughed. "I escaped out of your impenetrable jail! I think it's time to rethink your security system."

One of them some five council members down chimed up. "It wasn't you who we were worried about escaping. We were more worried about those Sapphire Sun beings coming after you. Truthfully—"

One of the other councilmen continued for him. "She should get your sentence. If it wasn't for her escaping—"

"And her brothers disappearing, the Elemental princes would probably have taken the fall for you, human." ((Ben's Humongousaur says Banana funny [: ))

"Wait, wait," I cut in. "They were killed."

"Killed?" the center one laughed. "Well… this is all besides the point. You already know your punishment for treachery."

I shook my head. "No! You know nothing of my reasoning! I was saving earth by leading them away! I watched them kill our—my President. I watched them take down everyone in office!"

One of the councilmen laughed. "You do know that's pointless, correct? Your feeble government is housed elsewhere! The… 'Whitehouse' as you call it is nothing but a political front! Didn't it seem a little odd how you can replace your so-called leader so quickly?"

"Well, duh! The only reason why I told them about our 'leader' is because it was pointless to have him 'leading' to begin with! Our government was a political front but it saved our hides. They rebuilt their Whitehouse staff in no time flat… By the four days I was gone they already had the lowest ranked soldier left alive running as President.

"They were going to destroy the planet and anyone else they could get their hands on. I don't know what kind of brainwashed, unbiased creatures you are, but I wasn't just going to stand around and do nothing!

"Someone had to die for the trade to at least seem fair, and I wasn't going to let innocent citizens die. It was either us, or the political front. I chose the one that mattered the least."

Someone sighed. "You're the only resolution in the galaxy if one species was to die out. You could've let them destroy everything and recreated it in seconds. You held onto emotional attachments and let them rule your decisions. Benjamin Tennyson—"

"We release you of your treachery conviction."

"However, your conviction for escaping the jail still stands."

My jaw dropped. "You're willing to overlook a steep charge, yet you're going to convict me on an unimportant matter compared to that?!"

"We hereby sentence you to death," they all spoke together.

"For incapability to keep you locked in a cell, the only choice we have is to—"

"Kill the wearer of the Omnitrix by way of Earth's standards—lethal injection."

"The Elemental girl will be captured and killed as well."

The guards surrounded me in an instant and grasped my arms.

"WHAT?! You're going to kill me on a minor charge?!" I screamed. "You should at least be smart enough to kill me for what I deserve! Stupid! If you're going to kill me, do it right! Bastards, listen to me!"

Lights started turning off one by one and the councilmen disappeared with them. I promised myself I wouldn't fight against it, but this was ridiculous! They were going to overlook my treachery… yet they were killing me for something so stupid! Unlike Earth, however, death row was literally instant. Instead of wasting money on imprisoning convicts on death row, they man up and kill them right there after their conviction…

As soon as I was carried out of the room, reality hit. I was going to die.

Ben Ten was going to die… along with the rest of the world.

Would I have a speech? A little message to those who respected me as thanks and farewell to the world as I knew it? It was just as likely of that happening as the council changing their minds about my death.

Did they know what they were doing? They were killing the only possibility of resurrection. I'd already been called out twice to resurrect an extinct species—one of my own will and another by force. They didn't know who they were messing with.

No. They didn't know who they were about to kill off…

The second I'm gone, people are going to start disappearing. Races are going to become extinct the second I'm down for the count. I've been keeping the galaxy in line, even if I wasn't fighting for it. The fact that I could come out of nowhere and kick ass was enough to scare them back into their homes.

I know it'll only be a moment in time before each end of the galaxy knows the Omnitrix is back in the hands of whoever can grab it first. They'll burn my body and the Omnitrix will protect itself. They'll dump my ashes into dead space and the Omnitrix will float with it. The instant someone grabs it, it's theirs. I have no say in who has it.

If… if somehow Vilgax was to come back again… No one would survive.

I closed my eyes and let them control my movements. I was placed onto a stiff gurney and tied down, completely immobilized. My wrists and legs were strapped down in two places, my left arm specifically tied in three.

I sighed. "Could you have been any more unoriginal? Your advanced, for God's sake."

The lights continued to grow brighter as I was wheeled off. However, four stray men caught my eye. They were running frantically around the bridges… as if they were escaping.

"Ben!" one of them shouted. "Great Ten!"

I quickly lifted my head. Only one person calls me that.

One of the four men stopped straight in his tracks and looked at me. He pulled something off that was tied to his pants and held it straight out for me to see. It dangled from his fingers, giving off a bright green glow. It was a Plumber's badge…

I got a better look at the young man and my eyes grew wide. The other three were continuously running wild around the bridges, as if looking for a way out. This one was the younger of the four. His skin was a striking color—blue. His eyes were golden, his short hair silver, and he wore only a brown leather of sorts. His ears were elongated and pointed and his smile was brilliant.

"Don't worry, Benjamin," the man spoke, yet his mouth remained closed—I figured it was telepathy. "I am Tano. Thank you dearly for taking care of our sister. Everything will turn out as planned, Benjamin. Hold your breath. We're on our way home… We won't forget you, Great Ten. Not after everything you've done for us. Good luck. We'll meet you on the other side."

My head fell against the board. I quickly closed my eyes and tried to think. That was Tano, the younger brother Rika was telling me about. That meant they weren't dead…? What about Kevin? He said they were murdered.

I clenched my jaw. I couldn't push questions toward Rika—or her brothers—and her powers. It would only raise confusion and I didn't want to make it any more difficult. However they are alive, I don't know, but it must have something to do with wanting to keep their sister alive.

I sighed, relieved. My death wouldn't be in vain then. Rika had family, now, and she wouldn't be alone for long…

I smiled to myself, awaiting the future… or lack of one.

They locked me up, alone, in a stark white room. I was freed from my imprisoning ties and allowed to walk around momentarily.

I sat down directly in the middle of the room and looked at my Omnitrix.

"We've had some good times, eh buddy?" I laughed dryly. "Looks like the end..."

The Omnitrix began beeping loudly.

"Oh, what now?!" I growled.

"Incoming transmission," it repeated over and over again.

I quickly covered the green device as two men dressed in solely white walked in. "In..cmn…trm…sn," the Omnitrix continued to announce, though the words were muffled by my hand.

I flashed a cheesy smile to the men. "Shut up!" I growled through my teeth.

"No wonder they're killing him. He's nuts!" one of them laughed as if I couldn't hear him.

I growled. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!" I shouted now, bashing the Omnitrix against the ground.

Another gurney was rolled in. Now this one seemed like something you'd expect—straight out of a sci-fi movie. Maybe I just watched too much TV to expect any different…

I was swiftly lifted onto the translucent board and quickly tied down once more.

"Don't you ever get tired of killing people off?" I asked through the Omnitrix's constant pleas.

"Just shut up and let the medicine run its course," the one man sneered, shoving a large needle into my arm.

My eyes widened as my arm began searing with pain. My vision quickly blacked out and everything went numb.

"Ben!" I could hear. "Ben, please… Oh you better get this message…"

I felt like my eyes were closed, and upon trying to open them I found myself in a similar realm as the Omnitrix. Whenever I'd tried to repair genetic damage I was brought here. This time it was different. I couldn't reach the Omnitrix for the transmission and the selfish little piece of technology got fed up with waiting. It demanded I hear what this person had to say.

"Ben, they're back. I-I don't know what to do…"

ooo

This is where it gets confusing. Because this is the last chapter (apparently) I have to split it to Rika, then back to Ben. Confusing. Just bear with me.

ooo Rika ooo

This is my planet. This is the bloodstained sphere I called home. Aikka suggested I take a look around in hopes I'd find some hope among the wasteland.

"Don't you think that someone has to be left alive?"

I shook my head. Tears seemed to fall at random times… I had no control over it anymore. "I watched them kill everyone. I knew all that lived here… not one of them were spared."

"Don't you think your brothers would be alive here? From what you've told me about preservation, each of your ancestors are alive in the walls of each building."

I snapped my fingers. "Right! They're probably swimming in the cesspool of unimportant people murdered over the thousands of years I've been alive!" I yelled at him. "Right, like that'll help us any!"

Aikka's ears pinned back to his skull, his eyes shifting downward. "I'm… sorry, Rika… I didn't know…"

I sighed. "No, it's not your fault. I'm just…"

"It's okay," Aikka smiled. "I know what you're going through. You have a legitimate excuse. I forgive you." His tail lifted back into the air and his ears rotated back around. "Ri—Watch out!" Aikka shouted, his fur quickly standing up.

"Wha--?"

"Sister!" someone laughed, bowling me over into the tall grass.

I screamed, scrambling in their grasp. "Get-get off of me! You better get off if you know what's good for you!" I opened my eyes slowly, now facing him. Tears quickly filled my eyes as I met a pair of golden orbs and blue skin.

"T-Tano…," I muttered.

The boy pushed himself off of me, sitting up on the ground. "Sorry, sis. You know me…"

"Aliens," Aikka laughed.

I quickly shot up, bowling Tano back over. I wrapped my arms around him as tightly as I possibly could, tears streaming down my face. "Brother! How did you …. Where did you …. You're alive?"

Tano nodded. "Sis… I can't breathe…"

I paused for a moment, then quickly sat up, straightening my clothes. "Sorry," I smiled. "You know me," I echoed his words.

"I do. That's what makes it funny," he laughed.

I felt odd, now. I was wearing these strange clothes… while Brother was wearing our traditional attire.

Why am I thinking of that?! My brother is alive! I should be asking him a million different questions!

"What in the hell are you wearing?" he asked, almost ironically.

I rolled my eyes. "They're a gift. I left my other… clothes… Never mind. How are you still alive?! Kevin said you were all murdered!" I rubbed my face free from falling tears, though that didn't stop them from falling in the least.

He smiled. "Well…"

"Drikrgia!"

I looked up. "You… all survived?" I asked Tano, seeing the rest of my brothers running in my direction.

"Actually, we never died. I don't know what kind of idiot you were talking to but—"

"Sis!" the eldest of my brothers picked me up off the ground, twirling me around.

I giggled. "I'm really glad to see you too, Takolo. I'm getting dizzy."

Tak put me down, laughing nervously. "Sorry, sis. I just didn't expect to see you alive. Why… do I smell human…?"

Tano laughed. "Benjamin," he smiled.

"That kid we saw in the jail?"

My jaw dropped. "You saw my Ben? Where is he?!" I grabbed Keolan's shoulders, shaking him.

"Whoa, whoa, wait, sis."

Tano looked up.

"Sis," Tak began.

"Benjamin… he… didn't look so good," Ixxes sighed, rubbing his neck.

I ran up to Ixxes, grabbing his hand. "NO!" I shouted at him. "Don't do that! That's Ben's nervous tick!"

"Whoa, what's gotten into you, Sis?" he asked, backing away slowly. ((One thing I thought I might add in is that Ixxes is pronounces Ick-sez. Weird I know but I love weird names if you couldn't tell!))

Tano, Tak, Keo, and Aikka laughed. "Love," they said in unison.

"I don't love him! I just… have some kind of obsession for him…"

Aikka sat down, laughing. "There's not much of a difference."

Keo nodded.

"Look, Sis," Keo began. "Benjamin… he's not going to make it…"

"His thoughts weren't all too promising," Tano added, standing up. "He knew he was in over his head."

I ran up to Tano. "You. You know what's going to happen! Tell me! NOW!"

Keo and Ixxes rushed to my side, holding me back from Tano.

"Rika, you have to calm down. I'm not going to tell you anything…"

Tano had the luck of the draw. He knew how to hide something from me. He had the perfect poker face and not even I, his older sister, could break it. I was the oldest of the group, yet they acted like I was the youngest.

Though I was the least mature… Probably at Tano's level. Even Tano knew he acted older than me. I didn't mind. I knew my rank as the older sister and I took charge as leader alongside Tak if the situation called for it.

Aikka looked at Tano, then back at me. "You can't press him for answers, mate. This guy has a tighter security system than the prison you escaped from," he laughed.

I growled, still under restraint. "Is he …. going …. to live?" I asked through clenched teeth.

Tano looked away. Most of the time that meant no. Other times it meant that he wasn't going to answer me in any case.

I growled. "ANSWER ME!"

Tak walked in between Tano and I and raised his hand, slapping me.

I looked down for a moment, then back up at my brother with an angered stare. My golden eyes burned into his skin and I knew Tak felt it.

"Look, I don't know what's going to happen but your boyfriend knew what he was doing."

"Shut up!" I shouted.

"You need to listen to me, Rika. You're being ignorant. You're letting your emotions rule your decisions ((Sound familiar?)) and they're screwing with your head! Do you have any idea who's coming here?!"

I stopped. "…What… are you saying?"

"We're under attack. Again. The only reason we disappeared was to delay the attack and to give you and Benjamin time to get to safety! We knew word would reach you very fast. That gave Benjamin time to get you to safety. We were right to trust him," Tano looked at his brothers and they all nodded in agreement.

"Those bastards are on their way back here. The second they found out you'd escaped, they wanted to put you in your place. And they're all coming. Every last warship."

Keo and Ixxes cautiously let me go.

"So we're going to die, too?" I asked quietly, falling into the tall grass. I didn't bother to cross my legs.

Tano sat down. "We're not going to die… and that I'll tell you."

I laughed involuntarily. "You should meet Paradox. He knows all about the future."

He smiled. "I know. We'll meet him soon."

I fell completely back into the grass, facing the sky. The sun was warmer today than it normally was here, though it was nothing compared to Earth's sun. There was comfort in those rays, like suffering and pain was erased the second it was shown down on every living being.

It was different there.

I liked it better there.

"Sister," Tano sighed. "You need to keep your thoughts away from there. It'll only make it hurt worse."

"Make what hurt?" I asked. "Ben is going to die! You know that better than I do. How can you just sit there and—"

Suddenly, Tano looked to his left. "Get down!" he shouted.

Three.

Two.

One.

The ground shook violently and my brothers quickly followed his instructions. Aikka leapt onto my chest and I held him close. "Close your eyes," I whispered to him. He did so, and pinned his ears back. We all stuck close to the planet's surface as a large cloud of dust, debris, and smoldering rocks flew by in a large explosion.

"Tano!" I screamed.

"Stay down!" he shouted over the deafening blast.

Aikka's claws dug into my skin as the debris began to plant itself in his fur. "Please, don't let anything happen to me!"

I held on tighter to the young cat, wishing it was over.

This was the attack Tano was talking about. The war… we're right back in it again.

The gust of wind suddenly came to a standstill and Tano shot up. "Get up! We don't have long!"

I got to my feet and set Aikka on the ground. He could run faster than any of us. "Go!" I shouted.

"Keo! Ixxes! Get to the base and attack anything that moves!" Tak ordered.

"Hey!" Aikka objected.

"That doesn't look like any of us!" he added.

"Right!" the two agreed, running in the opposite direction. Tano and Tak grasped my arms, pulling me forward.

"One minute until the next bomb!" Tano announced.

I nodded, stopping in my tracks. Tak and Tano ran off ahead.

I yanked the Plumber's badge from my neck and tapped the center. "Ben!" I shouted. "Ben, please… Oh you better get this message…" The badge flashed. "Ben, they're back. I-I don't know what to do…" I began to cry, falling to my knees.

Aikka looked up. "Ben…"

ooo Ben ooo

"We can't handle this war on our own… You know the story better than anyone else! Our warriors are dead… Ben, I need you."

"No!" I shouted, whether it was audible or only in my mind I couldn't tell.

A loud, piercing sonic scream blasted through the air. It wasn't from Rika's end.

The Omnitrix… it must've been defending itself. With the chemicals in the injection… My DNA was being compromised and it didn't like that.

"Please… if there's any hope… We all need you." I could hear the tears in her voice. "You can't lose this time, Ben! You can't die… You have to live!"

The world around me disappeared yet the screaming remained. In a flash of green light, the world returned, along with involuntary movements.

"Alien X!"

Now… now I was someone on the sidelines watching my own escape… I'd vowed never to use this alien again, but how can I follow through when I had no choice? The Omnitrix acted on its own… and I have absolutely no say in what I do next.

With the Omnitrix taking control, Serena and Bellicus have absolutely no voice in what happens… as much as they would like to.

"Welcome back, Ben!" Serena smiled.

"Not so nice to be here," I grumbled. "Better than dying, I suppose."

She gasped. "Your friend…"

"Oh, just shut up and let him hear the message!" Bellicus growled.

"Rika…"

"Tano, Keo, Tak, Ixxes, and I can't fight this battle alone. Ben… I'm begging you… I don't want to die!"

ooo

I hate to cut it at a cliffhanger but…

Okay, I love cliffhangers, but that's it! Look out for Lifeline, the sequel to Captured! Should be up later today.

It's going to be a long ride, I have a minimum of 40 chapters planned out for Lifeline! Have fun guys!

Love you all [: