A weird chapter title but nothing else would come to me... Don't want to be too long (And I really don't know what to say that I haven't already in previous chapters.)

Ben was always a strange child. He had a strong imagination, gleefully telling stories of a green-clothed elf wielding a magic sword in a quest to save a princess. For many, this seemed like just the daydreams of a boy seeking adventure, taking the common stereotype spoken of in many stories and inserting himself in with dreams of being a hero.

She knew better now.

The stories he told were unlike anything she had ever heard, those tales were entirely unique to him and him alone. No one else would downplay the actions of the hero in the truly modest way Ben would describe but speak so highly of the princess the hero was supposed to save. Even what would constitute as mere side characters were given more praise then the actual hero himself.

His voice as he spoke of the legendary hero was one that was similar to someone who had experienced those hardships, who was retelling the tales of his glory and the sadness and pain that accompanied it. There was a hidden sadness in those green eyes, an ancient and, if she were to be completely honest, otherworldly essence present in those forest hues that the woman was never able to pinpoint when and where it suddenly appeared. For her, it was always there, hidden by the innocent green of a child that honestly scared her.

It was only the words of a time long since past that brought forth that sorrow and it was this unnatural aura, for what could it be otherwise, to try and limit the stories for all she saw was that pain, a misery no child should have to feel even if she couldn't understand the reason behind it.

When her son first told them of the alien device that had attached itself to it' arm and granting him powers and abilities beyond anything in the universe, she didn't know what to think. That same phantom pain that haunted his childhood came back but it grip was much more powerful then the shadow of misery it once was.

Ben's dream was always to be a hero and it hurt to have to be the one to put him down. To tell him he lived in a world were the type of heroes he always wanted to be were not needed.

This is the one time she was both delighted and terrified she was wrong.

One day her son came back, the one day it seemed like she couldn't even recognize her own son anymore. In the span of a few hours, he appeared to have aged several years, beyond what any human was possibly capable of. A great wisdom shone in his eyes, a blazing fire fueled by a courageous heart. This was a being capable of so much more.

She never believed in reincarnation, but his voice as he told them the truth behind those stories told in his youth, the otherworldly sword, the same one he used to draw in crayon and the very same sword that a drawing or painting could never accurately portray, strapped to his back convinced her otherwise.

Her heart broke when he told them his parents, in each and every life were gone and how ecstatic he was to have finally done something right to save his current parents in some way. And just like that, another piece of the puzzle clicked, the way he always sought them out, demanding their attention in one way or another and always questioned wither he was good enough. For the most part he had family but never his parents, the two people he wanted to see the most but up until now, never knew.

Carl and Sandra spent the next few hours telling Ben how proud they were to have such a noble and courageous boy like him to be their son.

Well... That was interesting. I honestly had the hardest time trying to find something to write about Ben's parents and how they got mixed up in this. Really what a wonder it is to be reading old material and reviews and suddenly be struck by inspiration for the first time in months. This is a lot more serious than my usual stuff for this fanfic but that's how this chapter wanted to be written. I suppose the fact you don't see Ben's parents a lot (from what I can tell from the wiki page) so it's kind of hard to get a deeper understanding of their character (at least for me)

So, how was this? I'd hate to think I screwed up on this when someone requested a chapter on the parents (or rather Sandra's view -sweatdrop- Carl did not what any part of this until the very end apparently).