Chapter 2: Forgiveness

After being trapped nearly three days in his stuffy hospital room, Ben had finally been released out, but forced to stay in the compounds of the Plumber Base. He had only been thankful he could escape that dreaded room and finally walk around, feeling somewhat useful to everyone. During those boring filled days, he had annoyed most people to death, asking what everyone was doing, how was the alien activity and if they would get him some smoothies.

Ben had now been confined to crutches, being surprised how difficult it was to walk. He was glad he had Rook beside him to help him out. Many times when he had began walking, his leg would give out and he would fall forward. But that wasn't a problem with Rook around, who caught him every time. He then had began walking around more often, without falling, feeling somewhat proud of himself.

The cuts and bruises had gone away in record time, only a small scar on Ben's stomach thanks to Plumber tech. He would still feel somewhat sore but it wasn't as nearly as bad as a couple days ago with the fight against Kyber.

But the stress about Kyber returning to get revenge only grew, Ben more stressed about everything. One small knock on the door and he had literally been on the tip of his feet, pale white, scared to death. But thanks to Rook, he could feel some ease on getting killed.

Ben wobbled towards the Plumber Command Center with Rook, wearing his familiar t-shirt and brown cargo pants. Gwen, Kevin and Grandpa Max were awaiting their arrival, all grinning at the remarkable improvement the hero had made in 3 days.

"Good to see you up and around Benji," Kevin chuckled. "Don't fall."

The teen rolled his eyes at the infantile boy, "Whatever you say Kev. What's going on now Grandpa? More alien sightings?"

"Yes, there has been a boost of crimes around Undertown and.. they all lead to a alien bounty hunter," Max said with a frown, "Don't worry, Plumbers are working to get Kyber down and captured, so we can investigate him and what he wants."

Ben smiled gratefully, "Thanks."

Max glanced at Rook, "And both of you; You maybe hurt Ben but I want you to practice your aim with Rook. This is no need to push back your practice schedule. I want you both to head to the armory center and practice using a Plumber blaster. That means no omnitrix and no Proto-Tool. I want you both to be read in case anything happens."

"Yes sir," Rook nodded, pulling the teen in the direction of the training center.

As soon as the heros departed, Max frowned at Gwen and Kevin. "I'm afraid I haven't told either of you the real truth."

"What is it Grandpa?" Gwen asked with worry. "Does it have to do with Kyber?"

"Yes. Those attacks in Undertown have been from Kyber but they aren't just plain attacks with no goal. I'm assuming Kyber's trying to break into Plumber Base. He's collecting valuable items to break inside without a trace. What's his goal? I have no clue but I know it has to involve Ben. So we need to keep more security around the Base, especially around Ben. But we don't want to show Ben that we're worried. If we're worried, that means he'll worry as well," Max explained, looking extremely doubtful.

"Are we going to alert Rook of this?" Kevin said, tapping on the keyboards beside him.

Max sighed, "I'm not sure. It wouldn't cause much of a disturbance and I think Rook's aware of what's going on but if you all would like to inform him, then go on ahead. It wouldn't hurt to say. But make sure Ben's away from you when you say."

"Got it Grandpa. And don't worry, we're gonna help Ben however we can," Gwen winked, hugging her grandpa. "Anything else Magister?"

"I think it would be a swell idea if you got Ben some food after all his training. Poor kid's been missing his food for almost a week," Max grinned. "Go cheer up your cousin."

"Yay, more driving for me," Kevin muttered sarcastically, trudging to his car. Gwen waved goodbye and hurried after him, disappearing into the elevator, filled with Plumbers.

"This is your regular training? Maybe it's cause I'm crippled that I can't shoot," Ben mumbled, trying desperately to shoot a target from 25 feet away. He lowered his gun after all the time ran up, himself only shooting 2 successfully while Rook had completed all 50.

"Maybe it is your lack of aim that is making you so poorly," Rook commented, strolling beside him. Ben gave him a death glare and he backed away slowly, trying to make up another excuse that would satisfy him instead, "Or maybe it is because you are tired and aren't able to hold up the gun correctly."

He sighed and laid the gun back on the rental counter. He scratched his head, "I dunno. I think I am tired. I don't remember walking being this exhausting."

Ben and Rook began their walk back to Command Center but after a beep from Rook's badge told him that Ben's new room had already been set up and he could stay there. They changed course, traveling up the elevators into a new hallway the teen hero had never seen before. Rook paused at a door and grabbed Ben's omnitrix hand, placing it on the scanner.

The door beeped a green and opened, allowing entry for the new guests. It was in complete darkness and Ben whined, "Where're the lights?"

Rook, being familiar with these types of rooms, found the nearby light switch and flicked it on, the entire room glinting a bright flash. "Here's your new room. I have a room just like this, next door."

"Wait, this is all mine?" Ben asked in awe, staring at the nice decorations and furniture decorating the entire room. It was pretty large for him, larger than he deemed necessary.

"Yes. Since you are a guest and because of your hero status, there are a selected few who get large rooms such as this one. Some of those people are Ms. Tennyson, Mr. Levin and me," Rook nodded.

"Woah," Ben shook his head, "I don't think I deserve this. I just can't."

The Revonnahgander smiled, "Do not worry. It's for people who have worked for it. Plus you have been injured so it's only good for you to stay here. It's equipped with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen and a large living room. So do whatever'd you like. Just please don't exert yourself.. better yet, if you would allow me, to stay here and company you. You know for protection."

"I'd love that. Having you around would help me a little," Ben nodded gratefully.

"Great, now go settle in. I shall prepare you some dinner," He ordered, travelling to the kitchen to find anything that his partner would like. But a knock at the door stopped him. Gwen and Kevin ordered, holding up a large back of grease filled goodness. Rook didn't have to guess to know what was in the bag.

"And you both are always on schedule. Great timing," Rook commented, taking the bag from her and setting it on the table.

"So I'm guessing you told Ben about his new room? He liked it?" Kevin said, examining around.

"Indeed, he is probably in the bedrooms. You can see him if you'd like," The Revonnahgander smiled, pointing towards the hallway.

They nodded and followed his direction, finding him in the bathrooms. Kevin had almost spoken until Gwen had covered his mouth with her hand.

Ben was mumbling incoherent things to himself, glancing at the mirror with worry. He had his shirt raised up, lightly fingering the scar on his abdomen. He sighed sadly and harshly pulled his shirt down, combing back his hair. "C'mon Tennyson. Relax, he's not coming back to get me. Just relax."

He started his way out of the bathroom and Gwen and Kevin immediately darted out towards a nearby room. They focused their attention on a nearby window, pointing out as if they had been chatting.

Ben had noticed their presence as he passed the room, "Gwen? Kevin? What are you doing here?"

Gwen turned around and waved, pretending she hadn't seen her cousin's recent talk to himself, "Oh nothing. We came to visit you in your new room. You like?"

He shrugged, "I guess. It's pretty cool."

"We brought you some chili fries and smoothies. They're in the kitchen," Kevin added.

Ben's eyes lit up and he grinned, rushing out of the room towards the kitchen. Gwen turned towards him and raised an eyebrow, "What was that all about?"

"How else could we have gotten rid of him? Or do you wanna ignore the fact that Tennyson knows about Kyber coming after him? Who could have told him?" Kevin muttered, tapping his chin.

"Nobody. Listen Kevin, Ben's smart enough to figure it out on his own. Kyber nearly tried to kill him last time. If he finds out that he didn't, he'll come back and make his death worse. I don't know how Ben's taking all this though. I would totally be freaking out if I had a mad alien hunter after me," Gwen whispered, shaking her head. "We need to protect him more. So he doesn't worry."

"Too late for that Gwen. Ben knows what's going to happen. If Kyber can almost end him, what's stopping him from entering HQ? Plumber security isn't the 'best' and it's going to be too easy to enter and find him," He figured.

Gwen sighed, "We just have to keep a close watch on Ben. I'll look through my magic books and see if there's a spell for protection. Until then, it's only us and Rook."

"Let's go, Benji'll get suspicious."

Kyber wasn't stupid to know that the Plumbers were aware of his plans. He hadn't seen Tennyson in the papers about his death so he could assume the boy wasn't dead. That meant he had to come after him since most of the Plumbers around him would be aware of his plan. But what was more sweeter was that Tennyson would be more frightened of the hunter because of the last time how he nearly ended him.

Ben would be scared to death. Which was all the invitation he needed.

So from then on, he had been collecting weapons. From plasma blasters to illegal Plumber tech; he had gotten his hands on different technologies to defeat Tennyson. But these weapons weren't just random. No they were what past things had affected Ben.

Hurt what was close to him. That was a small quote he had heard a while ago but never quite understood it. Now, he understood it clearly. Not only did he want Ben to suffer, but his family and friends too. Watch him die in front of them.. oh that would make everything the more sweeter.

And he wasn't planning on using his pet for this one. No, this was all his fight. His prize. And at the end of it all, he would gather the teen's omnitrix arm and put it on display on his ship, allowing everyone to see he had killed the menace many had tried to do. He would be greater than Vilgax, greater than Dagon, the greatest hunter in all the galaxy.

Oh how he couldn't wait.

Kyber pulled out his signature weapon, his long blade, which had been created from the toughest of alien bones. Yes, this would be the sole item to end Ben, all he needed was one swipe against the neck to finish everything.

He had learned, while being on earth and collecting information about the boy, that humans were one of the weakest in the galaxy. They were very fragile and mostly anything could kill them. They had many pressure points and had a weak thin layer of skin protecting themselves. Their weak spots, however, is anything pierced into their body. The brain was the number one thing that would automatically kill them, along with the heart and any other important part.

Bottom line? Humans were completely weak and defenseless.

How Tennyson continued to foil him was beyond him, especially when the hunter had captured foes bigger than him and more dangerous. He grinned; but this victory would be the greatest. Oh he was already shaking in excitement.

But a couple more days he would have to wait. Just a couple so that their security would drop sightly and they would relax. Patience was all he needed.

The cold knife pressing against his skin made him shiver. And when the knife pressed to close for comfort, blood began to leak out of the small wound. The warm sensation trickling down his neck was too much as he began to squirm.

"Your death shall be swift Tennyson."

His eyes widened at the hunter's deep, hoarse voice and quivered in fear. "Please don't."

"I love when prey beg to me. But alas you will die, you've caused me too much trouble to let you go," Kyber's hot breath tickled his warm neck.

The blood down his neck began to make him light headed, already wishing for death to overtake him. He couldn't stand being trapped here, his murderer teasing him til he died on the floor, like a pathetic rag doll. But he was scared, terrified really. Nobody was going to help him.. he was stuck here, hoping to just die already.

"Ben! NO!" Rook. That had to be Rook. He was here? Had he been watching him being worthless towards Kyber? A begging sad mess? "Do not mess with my partner Kyber."

He could feel his brain begin to shut down, his lungs taking their last shuddering breath. He could feel himself slipping away, hanging onto the last words Rook had spoken. But his mind refused to corporate. He couldn't give up.

But the fight had already been over when Kyber had slashed him on the throat. His heart slowed and he choked in his last breath, trembling and remaining still.

"Beeeen!"

Ben jumped from his bed, screaming. Immediately, the door was busted down in a loud explosion, Rook standing there terrified, with his Proto-Tool in his hands.

"What is wrong?" He said, searching around the room, the weapon held higher.

He shook his head and breathed slowly, relaxing himself. "N-Nothing. I.. just had a bad dream."

"What was it about?" He lowered his gun and walked to his partner. But on closer inspection, he looked like a mess. His eyes were bloodshot, he continued to tremble, and he was very very sweaty. His hair was stuck to the back of his neck and his hair was no way familiar.

He again shook his head, "I.. it was Kyber. He.. he killed me.. and you were watching me die."

"Ben, that will not happen. As long as I am here, with your cousin and mate to assist, and you are staying here, nothing bad will happen to you. I will protect you," The Revonnahgander smiled confidently.

Ben exhaled, "I.. Rook listen. I appreciate it and all but I don't think you guys could protect me if you tried. Kyber can defeat me? What stops him from just ending you all? I'm a goner either way. He'll kill me and that's the end of it. I'm just afraid of when."

"Stop thinking with all that negativity," Rook frowned, "That is how he will get you. You just need to fight and-"

"Fight? Look at me Rook!" He pulled up his shirt to reveal his newly added scar, "He could do this to me without trying. He could end you with a click of a button. Even if you somehow beat him, he'll keep coming after me until I'm dead. I.. gonna die on his hands. And you'll probably be watching.."

"Ben."

Tears fell down his cheeks and he turned away, not wanting to show his current weakness to his partner. But Rook forcibly turned his shoulders towards him, not giving him any option of looking away. The teen closed his eyes with fear, fear of being a laughingstock, fear of being killed and gone forever.

"Ben."

He refused himself to open his eyes. As if he did, he would just lose it in front of his partner. Rook would tell everyone, his family and friends and then the media. He would be a joke, a fake hero to everyone. And maybe he would actually enjoy Kyber killing him.

"Open your eyes Ben. I don't know what you are thinking, but you aren't a loser. You are a hero, to me and everyone in this town. You've defeated tons of villians, what makes Kyber so different?" Rook countered.

"Experience," Ben murmured, allowing the tears to fall freely, "Experience is what kills Rook. I.. I don't know what to do anymore."

"You can try and be the hero you were born to be," He argued. "You may have gotten 'beat' once but you can still beat him. Kyber is not invincible and cannot always beat you. You just have to show him. You need to show him that the omnitrix isn't the only weapon you possess."

He wiped away the tears with his arm and nodded, "Okay Rook, I'll do what you say. Just.. please don't tell anyone about this.. I don't want anyone to see that I'm.. weak."

"Your secret is safe with me Ben-Dude."

Ben grinned, "Thanks partner."

"Now return to sleep, we have training tomorrow," He reminded with a smile, ruffling the boy's hair and leaving.

The teen snuggled back to sleep but unable to close his eyes. He couldn't keep his mind off Kyber and what he was planning. He just hoped he could use Rook's advice and beat him for the last time. He couldn't take anymore of the hunter's craziness of killing him and all the suspense.

He sighed and closed his eyes.

"Now on the info of carrying a weapon," Lieutenant Sarge yelled out, holding out a basic Plumber blaster, "You must respect your weapon or the consequences of surviving will be severe. You must understand your weapon, own your weapon and feel your weapon. If you can do all that, you might have a chance of surviving the world. But til then, you're to sit through this lecture. Now let's speak about the basics of a weapon."

Ben hunched against the plastic seat they were all given, looking away with boredom. He didn't need this class, he had an omnitrix to protect him.. but to be fair, the watch sometimes never worked. But his grandpa had ordered he take this class, to prepare him for anything.

Especially Kyber.

He shivered and glanced over to his concentrated partner; his eyes were completely focused on the lesson, as if he actually enjoyed sitting through all these lame lessons. His Proto-Tool was tucked away and his ear twitched every so often to say that he was still indeed alive.

"Mr. Tennyson! Can you please recite the 3 weapon commandments for me?" Sarge shouted, barging up to him.

Ben froze, giving Rook a look of desperation and confusion, and scratched his neck, "Uh, understand your weapon, own your weapon and feel your weapon?"

The man's eye twitched mirthlessly at the teen and frowned, "Correct Tennyson. I want you to pay more attention though, I can see you dazing off."

He decided not to argue with him, sensing that it would get him more in trouble with Grandpa Max. 'Just sit through a couple more minutes of this stupid speech and I can get out of here,' He thought to himself.

But a couple minutes turned to hours and he swore he had died in the inside. He had soon dragged himself to the Command Center along with Rook, seeing his grandpa barking out orders.

"Magister Tennyson, what is wrong?" Rook asked, taking in the new sight of dictatorship.

"Kyber's back. We just heard intelle that he's planning something big and he's going to break into HQ," Max replied sadly, "We need to keep everything safe and strong so that he can't get in. He's not going to touch my grandson."

Ben froze at the thought of Kyber coming for him and paled, feeling automatically light headed. His knees began to feel like jelly and his crutches began to quake unsteadily. Rook was automatically at his side, putting a hand on his forehead to feel his temperature. "Ben, are you okay?"

"I think he's going into shock. Get him back to his room quick and I'll call a medical staff to help. Alert Gwen and Kevin of what's happening. I want them to be ready for anything," Max nodded at Rook and watched as he carried Ben away.

Carrying the teen back to his guest room wasn't hard. In fact, it was pretty easy, which didn't spark a good thing in Rook's head. Lightness meant bad for humans. If he had to estimate, Ben was probably 95 lbs at his estimate and going through his files, he had learned that Ben's average weight was 135 lbs. If Ben felt lighter.. that meant he was losing weight.. but he hadn't noticed a change of skinniness from Ben. Maybe he was just crazy at the moment. Maybe he was just thinking wrong.

"Rook Blonko, medical staff has arrived for Benjamin Tennyson."

They had arrived quickly, not wasting anytime to help their hero. Soon Ben's shock had disappeared, making him completely relaxed. Rook had watched patiently as the medical staff finished, explaining what had happened and leaving behind a very drugged teenage boy.

"Rook."

He turned to his partner who was staring at the ceiling dazed, "Yes Ben? Are you uncomfortable?"

The boy shook his head, "No.. I just.. I feel so numb."

"That is probably from the drugs they had given you earlier."

"Who's they?"

Rook shook his head sadly, "Just rest, I shall explain everything to you later."

"Okay," Ben mumbled, before his eyes shut.

As soon as he had began snoring, he automatically contacted Magister Tennyson, Ms. Tennyson and Kevin to speak of the news. He had waited for them to all arrive at Ben's quarters before deciding to speak.

"Why'd you bring us here dude?" Kevin complained, shuffling in his seat uncomfortably.

"Yeah, we're suppose to be helping out with the security measures," Gwen agreed with a frown.

Rook sighed, "I have important news about Ben. It's not good news however."

"Well could you get us to the point?" Kevin muttered.

"We must wait for Magister first."

By the time Grandpa Max had arrived, everyone had become restless, waiting impatiently for the old man to come. They all settled into their seats, watching Rook pace around patiently, trying to find a good way to display the information.

"Could you take any longer?" The osmosian said sarcastically.

"I am just trying to say this in a not-so-bad way," Rook explained, sighing, "Very well. As the medical staff left, one of them had explained me what was happening to Ben."

"And?" Gwen said, allowing him to continue.

"Ben has began to settle into a stage of malnutrition. As I had carried him here, he had felt too light. He's also being submerged into deep amounts of stress which I assume from Kyber."

Max rubbed his chin, "Would explain why Ben's been acting a little weird the past few days. But I don't understand, the doctors at the Medical Center had explained he was perfectly healthy. How can this change occur in such a small amount of days?"

"I think it's from his body not allowing the nutrients in. That's why he's getting skinnier. And I've noticed the change too, I just thought my eyes were deceiving me cause of Kyber," Gwen explained.

Kevin frowned, "When I see that stupid hunter, I'll show him a piece of my mind."

"Include me in this beating," Rook agreed with a grin.

"So what about Ben? How's he doing?" Max interrupted, with a shake of his head.

"He is doing much better and I will be sure to force feed Ben if necessary," The Revonnahgander nodded.

"Good, thanks for letting us know," He turned to Gwen and Kevin, "Hurry back to your stations, the faster we install those new security features, the faster we can get Ben back to normal. Report to me after the job's finished."

Everyone had left in due time but Grandpa Max had stayed behind. He had paid a small visit to see Ben and frowned at Ben's condition.

"He's doing alright now, correct?"

"Yes, Magister, tip top shape."

He turned towards Rook, "Good, I want to keep it that way. I'm glad we assigned you to be Ben's new partner. You certainly meet the requirement of dedication for anything. Protect him with your life.. and this time I mean it. We can't lose Ben.. not to this ridiculous hunter. I don't want a family broken because of it."

"Of course, I won't allow anything to happen to Ben. Not when I am around."

Max smiled, "See you later Rook."

The rest of the day had gone unproductively, much to Rook's disappointment. But at least there had been no more troubles. Ben hadn't woken up from his long hours nap once and that had left him completely bored. He had been tweaking his Proto-Tool all day, hoping that he'd waste away the day.

It was already approaching dinner and still Ben hadn't awoken.

Deciding to wake him up himself, the Revonnahgander traveled to his partner's room, smiling when he noticed Ben was still sound asleep, snoring away loudly.

"Ben," He shook his partner lightly but didn't receive an answer. "Ben." He said again, slightly impatient.

He heard a click at the door and his ears picked up soft footsteps approaching the door. He froze before turning around and activating his weapon. He tiptoed towards the door, holding the tool in an active stance, ready to shoot.

"You should be more careful what you do dear Rook."

He spun around, blasting in the direction of the voice. But he was instead knocked down, struggling completely futile. He felt goop latch onto him and he soon felt himself hoisted into the air and glued to the wall.

"Kyber!" He yelled out accusingly.

The hunter disappeared from the shadows and gave a petty grin, "It's nice to see that I'm still recognized. How's Tennyson?" He chuckled, glancing over to the unconscious boy.

"You should know," He hissed, "Do not touch him!"

He smirked, "Oh I have many plans in store for Tennyson which involves that but first I must gather the rest of his family and friends. I want everyone to watch as I make him and you all suffer for deceiving me. And what is better than humiliating him in front of everyone? He'll loose his dignity and become the shell of his older self. I don't need to kill him, you and everyone has shown me that. Just make him want to kill himself."

"Ben will never submit to you and your devious plans, he's too strong for that."

"I'll wait and see what occurs but-" He yanked Ben from bed, throwing him across the room.

Ben jerked awake, his body automatically going into defense mode. But the weakness from his body overwhelmed him and he fell to his knees in a failed attempt. He hissed in pain and curled into a ball to protect himself.

"Hello Tennyson."

His eyes burst open, his green eyes widening in complete terror. He threw himself back, desperate to give space between his murderer. "Get away from me!" He wailed.

"Oh no, I think I'll do much worse than that. And just to make the situation worse for yourself, I've brought in a couple guests," Kyber said, glancing over to the door.

And as if things couldn't get any worse, his family and friends were forcibly thrown into the room, already tied up screaming to be released. Tied up was; Grandpa Max, Gwen, Kevin, and his parents.

"Ben! What's going on?!" Sandra wailed.

"Rook!" Max said with confusion, "What's-"

"Enough talking humans. Watch as I shed no mercy on your precious hero," Kyber grinned wildly, slowly approaching Ben.

That was when everything turned downhill. Nobody had expected the hunter to.. do this. It seemed inhumane, wrong. But they wouldn't be able to unsee what had happened.

After Kyber had spoken those last couple of words, he had corned Ben, automatically ripping off his clothes. Just seeing Ben in his underwear had sickened many until the boy had began to scream and plead to be left alone.

But that wasn't the end of it. Kyber had.. toyed with hero, just making him a sobbing mess in front of everyone, but it wasn't that bad until he had finished fore playing and showed the real action. He had then ripped off Ben's remaining clothes, and began to rape him.

All the blood, tears and shrieks were enough to scar everyone, especially Ben. Rook couldn't watch his partner get molested by a fearsome hunter and know he couldn't stop it from happening. His partner was hurt, crying for mercy, but no one would be able to assist him in this desperate time of need.

When he had finished, that's when Ben had passed out from blood loss and insanity. Kyber had grinned so evilly, it wasn't right at all.

"Well I think I've had enough with the poor lad," He mocked with a crooked smile, "Good day."

The ropes binding the large group disappeared momentarily and they had all rushed towards Ben, who was growing paler and weaker.

Everyone had begun to work, doing something to assist the teen hero. His parents sat back watching in utter fear at what they had seen; Gwen had started to check his vitals with a spell; Max had called the medics, who were hurrying to their location now; and Kevin, of course, had started after the hunter in an effort to try and take revenge.

But Rook? He had just stood still watching everyone try and help but he knew it was his fault that this had happened. He wasn't strong enough to protect his partner.. what was he strong enough to do? He had let down Ben and broken his promise.. and how because of that, he had been violated sexually with a villain.

Grabbing his Proto-Tool from his shoulder, he unlatched it from his suit and placed it gently on the floor. He didn't deserve a weapon such as that, it didn't deserve a personnel such as him to protect others.

Max noticed this and frowned, "What're you doing Rook?"

"I'm unassigning myself from this project. I.. I have proven I am not worthy to protect anyone.. including Ben. You are all better without me. Please give Ben my regards," He mumbled and turned away.

"Rook Blonko, as Magister Plumber, I command you to desist. I have no idea what's going through your head but believing that this is your fault is wrong. This isn't your fault. You couldn't have stopped Ben from getting hurt the first time and then the second time. Kyber is just too strong and too skilled to stop us from protecting him," Max sighed, "I wish there was a way to protect him.. Plumber Base isn't the strongest place for defense."

"What about Azmuth? Doesn't he have like the best security in the universe?" Gwen intruded, looking up from Ben.

Max rubbed his chin, "I suppose that would work.. but we aren't sure that Azmuth would even accept us for taking care of him there."

"You only have to ask."

Everyone turned to the new mysterious voice, which was easily recognizable as Azmuth, the smartest being in the universe. He gave a sad smile towards the direction of Ben and nodded, "I will take Ben off your hands. Recovering from this won't be easy in his case. I'll have the best counselors look at him and help him with his injuries as well. He'll be perfectly safe with me."

"So you'll be moving him to Galvin Prime? And we won't be able to see him?" Gwen asked.

"You are allowed to visit but I'm afraid for Ben's benefit, he shouldn't leave the planet," He replied with a shake of his small head.

"Are we allowed to have someone supervise him? Make sure he'll be fine during this 'change'," Max questioned.

He nodded, "You are allowed, but I would only recommend one."

The Magister automatically turned to Rook, "You'll be watching over him for now."

"But sir I do not think-"

"Listen to me Rook, you may have not been able to help him before but you can help him now. And it's either this or you lose your duties as Plumber. You're Ben's partner, I want to see you act like that," He reasoned and picked up the Proto-Tool from the floor. "You'll be needing this to help him. And please don't let this drag you down. You're a Plumber. Plumbers don't give up."

Rook sighed and nodded firmly, grasping the weapon in his hands, "Thank you Magister Tennyson."

"Just please watch over my grandson."

Later that night, Ben had been boarded up on a new ship set for Galvin Prime. His condition was stable, which was safe enough for travel. Everyone had said their goodbyes, even though Ben hadn't awoken from his 'coma' like state. Azmuth had overseen everything, saying there would be a specially built house for the both of them to reside in for the time being.

The ship's rockets blared and blasted off into the sky, automatically teleporting to the other side of the universe. The sun was a speck of light in the distance and soon Galvin Prime was visible.

It had taken a total of an hour to reach their destination and still during the entire time Ben hadn't woken up. Deciding quickly, Rook had carried the boy to their new place, which was surprisingly large for two people. The shape of the building reminded him of the shape of an hourglass, similar to Azmuth's place. It wasn't that large though maybe half of the area of the large tower and it looked more cozy at the entrance.

He opened the door to find a highly advanced room, giving it a nice warm feeling, as if they were home. He allowed this chance to set Ben down on the sofa and examine the rest of the house. A large kitchen, which was filled with many exquisite food ingredients. He had guessed at the large amount of potatoes, spices, and meat, that it was for Ben to create chili fries. Of course Azmuth would get those things for him..

He found 2 large bedrooms, each the exact same size with large bathrooms. But the trick to each room was that it accommodated the owner. A green color schemed room filled with numerous awards, video games and Sumo Slammer posters spoke that it was Ben's. His was blue colored, filled with many Galvin inventions and had the aroma of.. Amber Ogia. There was pictures of his family on the counter of the bed and he frowned sadly at what he had become. He had left his family to pursue the career of a Plumber, protecting innocent lives. But at what cost?

He set down the photo and turned to the living room, which his ears were able to pick up movement of life. It was probably Ben waking up from slumber. Blukic and Driba had said he'd be waking up in a couple hours.

Familiar groaning was heard and then the shuffling against the sofa. "R-Rook?"

"Yes Ben?" Rook asked, appearing from the hallway. "Is something wrong?"

"Where are we? I.. I had a messed up dream.. like you wouldn't believe," He shivered violently and closed his eyes, "I don't even wanna think about it."

"Was it about Kyber?"

"H-How'd you know?" He whispered, glancing at the Revonnahgander.

Rook sat down beside him and held his hand, restraining him to move in case he reacted violently. Ben probably thought the incident was a dream.. a cold terrifying dream. This just made everything worse.

"That was not a dream, Ben. It happened. Everyone saw what happened.. I am sorry," He mumbled sadly.

He paled and tried to back away from his partner only to see it fail. He panicked, trying to break Rook's tight hold, "Lemme go! Please!"

"Ben listen! We are on Galvin Prime. This place is going to protect you from Kyber. He will not touch or harm you again, I swear on my life. Your grandpa put me as the person to protect you from everything. Azmuth is here to help as well. You just need to calm down. Nobody will hurt you," He promised, pushing Ben into a secure hug.

The boy continued to struggle until he realized it was inevitable to try. Everything he had dreamed was real. He had been raped by his worst enemy yet. He had lost his innocence.. he was pathetic. He didn't deserve to live. And when he felt Rook only tighten the embrace, he felt tears fall down his cheeks.

What a stupid hero he was. Crying in front of his partner? Showing weakness? He wasn't a hero anymore. Just a shell of what he used to be. He was nothing but a whore..

When he had let go, he was expecting happiness or light sadness.. but sobs coming from Ben wasn't right. He continued to cry in Rook's shoulder, choking out breaths against his suit.

"Ben, please stop crying. You are a hero," He begged softly, pushing back his hair.

He glanced up at his partner and shook his head sadly, "I'm not a hero Rook. I'm not even Ben. I'm just nothing.."

And that was when the long journey of restoring Ben to normal began.

Thanks for all the support on this story. Really helps me out.

I just realized that I've been spelling Khyber wrong.. but I don't honestly care. It's kinda the same thing. But anyways thanks to you all and see you in the next installment.

~Tortoro15