Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10

So...what's happening to Ben? On with the story!

Chapter 2 – Trapped in Void

Ben spun around, adrift and scared out of his skin. He was hovering in void, all alone, floating without control. He lifted his arm in front of him, reaching out to anything at all, but to his horror he couldn't see a foot ahead of him; his hand was swallowed by the darkness.

He wasn't falling, so gravity didn't exist in this world. The only known place in the world where there was no gravity was in space, but he wasn't choking to death or blowing up due to his lack of a spacesuit. Sure, it was dark, but instead of being lit up by billions and trillions of stars, there was an eerie green light that simply existed without a cause, swirling like an ethereal mist in the sea of black.

"Gwen?" His shaking voice echoed into the dark, despite that there was nothing in sight for the sound waves to be rebounded back. The place, like the Null Void, seemed to go on forever. A chill went up his spine as the thought that he might be in hell, but he couldn't remember dying.

Something blue shot past him, something like an arrow, but it was so fast he was unable to get a glimpse of it. There was something very familiar about it though, but he just couldn't tell what.

Another flash of blue behind him, and he has had enough.

"Who's there?" he cried aloud with an inexplicable sense of foreboding. There seemed to be a problem with his vocal chords, because his words came out in a strangled hiss.

"ARGH!" He screamed in shock and horror when something like a rope wrapped itself around his ankle, tugging at his feet and tightening its grasp by the moment. Instinctively he bent down and tried unwinding the cord, only to find that it was a glowing tentacle of energy, not unlike the one Gwen has sent his body in her attempt to perform her spell.

However, the moment his fingers came into contact with creepy, snake-like tendril, it sent a wave of shock towards down his body, draining him of all energy. As though the thing that bounded his ankle was an electric cable, he felt burned and cut into two by some sword of serious agony.

Ben was only too grateful when the tentacle did nothing else but held him in place. He hoped that things couldn't be worse, but he was proven wrong almost the very instant.

He started to shiver when the temperature around him dropped like a stone from the top of a mountain. With the icy frost biting his skin, his fingers turned numb and he found difficulty in breathing, as if his windpipe itself was frozen. In his useless efforts to suck in breath he felt intense pain in his chest, and the lack of oxygen slowly caused his vision to blur. Ben struggled to stay awake, but all in vain. He felt his consciousness slip away from him like a ghost from a dead body.

Talk to me!

He knew the voice…he wanted to shout out for help…but he was too weak…

"Gwen?"

The heavy rock in her heart lifted when he finally turned to her, the glitter and life returning to his emerald orbs and the coolness of his skin starting to warm up. Sighing in relief, she let go of her cousin, collapsing onto the chair behind.

Ben stared at the red-headed girl, feeling confused. He felt shaken, as if he'd just been dumped into a pool of ice-cold water or being possessed by some ghost, but he couldn't remember the details. All he remembered was being stuck in the dark, but that was simply lame and impossible, as it one o'clock in the afternoon and the sun was shining brightly into the classroom.

"What's with the crying?"

Gwen's head snapped up to see the boy's puzzlement written all over his features. Wiping the wetness from her eyes with slight embarrassment, she couldn't help but feeling extremely mystified too

Ben seemed to be unaware of what just occurred himself. He had gone all strange and zombie-like, but he was in no freezing spell. She wondered if it was the side-effects of her unsuccessful mind-control enchantment. If so, she was in deep trouble, for she has no idea how to reverse the effects.

Gwen found her cousin peering into her face. "Hey, I asked why you were crying."

She needed to think alone. Some peace and quiet would really do when her mind was all messed up. The last thing she needed was a cousin who would bug the answers out of her or annoy her to death if it was the last thing he did. "No reason," she replied, feeling plain exhausted, "just get out of my sight for a while."

History repeated itself. His eyes flashed indigo for a split of a second, his whole body tensed and freezing, and his face became rid of all expressions. Noticing the familiar symptoms, Gwen shot up from her seat, terrified. What has she done again?

"Ben!" And yet there was no reply, for at that moment the boy dashed out of the room as if being chased by some wild alien. Panicked, Gwen stumbled over her chair and raced after him, only to find no sign on her cousin anywhere in sight.

"Huh -?" Gwen stared open-mouthed, completely out at sea. "Why -?"

Then realization dawned on her as she gazed at the empty corridor and a small gasp escaped her lips. So the enchantment was successful after all…she HAD mastered the spell. Her apprehension and fear was replaced by the utmost relief and just a little bit of naughtiness as a tiny evil grin took form on her face.

She told him to shut up, and he did, almost choking onto his tongue. She told him to get out of her sight, and he obeyed, too. She figured it she told him to dunk his head into the toilet bowl, he wouldn't hesitate one bit.

This could get fun, the girl mused as a million twisted ideas to humiliate her cousin flashed across her mind's eye. Though the fact that Ben would turn all creepy like some living-dead still bothered her to some extent, in her thrill and determination to get to Ben, all 'unnecessary' thoughts were thrown away into some nearby trashcan.

Time for some payback, Gwen smirked to herself.

This was definitely not his day.

The boy was drenched in sweat in his considerable efforts to resist against the strong energy bounds that snaked around his wrists, pulling him forwards. To where, he didn't know, but he was sure he wouldn't enjoy his little visit there.

"Let…go…!" His choked voice was swallowed up instantly by the void, and only his feeble echoes answered him. He cried out in anguish when the cords tautened around his wrists, cutting his circulation and turning his hands numb and cold.

"Help…!"

Where was the Omnitrix when you needed it? The most powerful weapon in the universe was no longer on his left wrist, but vaporized into thin air the moment he landed into this world of emptiness and doom. He could have turned into Grey Matter and darted out of the way, or Heatblast so that he might fight the evil tentacles off, but no! He was stuck in his powerless human form, unable to change into any of alien superheros.

There has to be a way out of this…there has to be a solution…

How had he ended up in this abyss of trouble and misfortune? As far as he could remember, this wasn't the first time that he had gotten trapped in this spooky empty space. It had to be the fifth time or the sixth, or was it his eighth trip already? He couldn't be sure. The wires in his head were all crossed. He was incapable of thinking straight.

Ben flinched as something slippery made its way around his neck, strangling him from behind. His terror and anxiety grew; his eyes were wide with dread when the tendril circled up his neck and around his face, silencing him. The boy felt the rubbery taste on his lips, the gag imprisoning his shouts for help and cries of fright within his mouth.

He was exhausted and all ready to give up. His struggles were to no avail; he was losing the fight. He relaxed for once and let the bonds pull him forwards into the forever darkness without resistance.

Ben wasn't sure if he was going to die, but at that moment, he couldn't care less. All he wanted was some rest and tranquility, and perhaps death was going to give it to him.

Okay, now, come up!

It was the familiar voice again! It seemed to be coming from no specific direction, but a little hope fluttered in his heart. If memory served, the voice was the key to the exit of this world the last time he had landed here…

Poor Ben. Gwen has no idea just what's happening in her cousin's head.

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