Has anyone else ever noticed that in Episode 1, Season 1 of Alien Force, when Kevin is seen stealing a necklace from the Forever Knight's display case, later on, that same necklace is given back to him by Gwen, in Episode 9, Season 2 of Ultimate Alien, who states that it's a protection charm? Like it's the same design and almost the exact shade of red, the only difference is that the chain for the amulet is missing in the later appearance. As you will see from this story, I spent too much time obsessing over this little detail.

Disclaimer: I don't own Ben 10 and characters.


"Are we done here?" Kevin asks in a bored tone from where he's leaning on the hood of his car. Gwen and Ben are still rummaging around the ruins of the abandoned, and freshly-destroyed, Forever Knights castle.

They'd gotten a somewhat sketchy tip that one of the factions, Kevin couldn't remember their name, nor did he care about figuring it out, was using this castle as a cache for extremely illegal and deadly weapons.

The first red flag had been that the building itself; a castle wasn't exactly subtle-looking. Plus the Forever Knights had their emblem on display on just about any visible surface. The second red flag had been how ridiculously easy it had been to enter the castle. Caches were supposed to be inaccessible; Ben, Gwen and Kevin hadn't had to use any of their powers or skills to get past the front door.

The Forever Knights had practically painted on the walls "It's a trap!" with how easy they'd made it to find the rumoured weapons they were hiding. Kevin had pointed that out, to which Ben and Gwen had wholeheartedly agreed, prompting Gwen to use her mana to check out the rest of the building.

And that was the reason the trio were now standing outside the ruins of the booby-trapped Forever Knights cache, in one piece and with all their limbs attached.

Ben and Gwen had leapt at the chance to play detective, trying to figure out why the Forever Knights had so badly wanted to blow them up. Kevin didn't need any clues to solve this case; the trio tended to ruin any plan, evil scheme or business deal the Knights played a part in, so of course the Knights hated them enough to try and fucking blow them up!

Kevin had indulged the cousins for a while, but now he was bored. And he had stuff to do once they got back to Bellwood; they needed to get a move on it if they wanted to make it back to town before sunset.

"We're almost done," Gwen hollers in reply, quickly looking over her shoulder to ensure Kevin heard her.

"Yeah, almost done, Kev!" Ben confirms before bending down to pick something out of the ruins. Kevin doesn't see what it is, but he doubts it's anything useful to "solving" this mystery.

"The taxi to Bellwood leaves in two minutes, if your butts aren't in their designated seats by then, you can both fly back home," Kevin replies as he pushes himself off the hood of his car. With practiced ease, he unlocks the doors and climbs into the driver's seat. He's quick to put the keys into the ignition, turning it on so he can get the AC system started as soon as possible. It's a hot one today.

Despite his recently voiced threat, he wouldn't actually leave the Tennysons behind, especially in this unbearably humid temperature. He just knows that they're wasting their time out there; there isn't a big mystery to solve. You would think with how many times aliens and other villains threatened their lives, Ben and Gwen wouldn't take such a terrible attempt on their lives so seriously.

As he fiddles with the dial for the AC unit, Kevin hears the passenger door open, followed by the thick and humid air seeping into the vehicle as Gwen settles into her usual seat.

She closes the door behind her, careful not to slam it and ruin Kevin's fresh paint job.

"Where's Ben?" Kevin asks as he looks up from the control panel.

Gwen buckles her seatbelt before answering. "I don't know, probably already halfway back to Bellwood at this point?"

"What?"

"He turned into Jetray and flew off when we finished looking around."

"I was joking about leaving him behind," Kevin exclaims, surprised that Ben had taken his threat seriously. Was it not obvious that he was joking?

"We know," Gwen chuckles fondly. "He just didn't feel like sitting in a car for an hour. Plus his mom texted him that supper was ready and he said he was hungry."

"Nice of him to think about us," Kevin grumbles as he starts to drive away. "He's not the only one who's starving."

"Don't worry, I've got you covered," Gwen says, reaching out to open the glove compartment. Keeping his eyes on the road, Kevin doesn't see what Gwen pulls, but he can hear the faint crinkles of plastic as she starts to open whatever she's grabbed.

"Chocolate chip or oatmeal raisin?" Gwen asks.

Kevin glances over and sees that Gwen is now holding up two protein bars.

"When did you sneak those in my car?" he asks in an amused tone. He cleaned the interior of his car just the other day when he'd been forced to give it a fresh coat of paint after Ben had accidentally dented it during a mission. Kevin's pretty sure he glanced inside the glove compartment at some point; he would have remembered seeing some snacks.

He's also very aware of whatever Gwen and Ben bring into his car; he's set a lot of rules after having to deal with too many spilled cups of Mr. Smoothy and greasy chili fry stains.

Kevin reaches out to grab the chocolate chip flavoured bar.

"A while ago. I'm pretty sure I put them there at least three months ago," Gwen replies before taking a bite of her protein bar.

"I've checked the glove compartment in the past three months, and I swear to you, I've never seen them in there."

"Oh, that's because I hid them underneath all your speeding tickets and put a charm on them so only I could see them," Gwen happily explains.

Kevin glances at her once again and can't help but smile fondly at her pleased expression.

"Why go through all the trouble? You could have just told me they were there."

Gwen shrugs. "I needed an excuse to practice that particular spell and I wanted to make sure Ben didn't find out about my snack stash; I can't have him know I'm breaking your rules."

Kevin has to cough to stop himself from choking on the mouthful he just swallowed. With the crisis averted, he lets out a bark of laughter. "How rebellious of you, Gwen."

"Oh shut up," Gwen replies, playfully swatting him on the arm. "You know exactly how insufferable Ben would be if he found out I was allowed to eat snacks in your car and he wasn't. We'd never hear the end of it."

"Pretty sure I remember banning the both of you," Kevin answers.

"Well if that's the case, let me just take my snack back," she threatens, her hand inches away from snatching his protein bar away.

"Alright, alright," Kevin chuckles, swatting her hand away. "Just don't tell Ben."

"Duh," she replies, a big smile still on her face.

"So what else do you have hidden in there?"

"Just protein bars. I didn't want to hide anything perishable or that would cause a mess."

"Thanks," Kevin replies gratefully. He was glad that despite her "rebelliousness", Gwen was still trying to keep his car clean. "And thanks for the food, I didn't realize how hungry I was."

"No problem," she says.

Kevin keeps his eyes on the road as he merges onto the highway that will bring them back to Bellwood. They still have a long way to go, but at least they aren't winding down small dirt roads anymore.

"Any plans for when we get back?" he asks. He reaches back with his right hand, ready to stuff the empty wrapper in the small garbage bag he keeps tucked behind the passenger front seat, but Gwen is quick to notice what he's doing.

"I got it," she says, using her mana to grab the wrapper from Kevin's hand before tossing it in the garbage.

"Thanks." Now that his right hand is free, he readjusts his position and rests his hand on the gear stick between the two seats.

"No problem. And I don't really have any plans for tonight. I'll probably just shower and catch up on some homework," she says, answering his previous question. "Do you have any plans?"

"Yeah, and that's kinda why I was asking," he replies. "Do you mind if we make a quick stop at my garage before I drop you off at home?"

"I don't mind. I'm not in a rush to go home." Gwen uses her mana to throw away her wrapper. "What do you need to do at your garage?"

"I just need to pick up some stuff," he answers, knowing he sounds vague. Gwen knows he still collects and deals with stolen alien tech from time to time, but there's still a part of him that doesn't like admitting it or telling her the details. Normally he wouldn't bring her along if he was going to his garage to grab some stuff for a deal, but the exchange is on the opposite side of town and he'd be wasting a lot of time if he dropped Gwen off first and then circled back to go to his garage.

"Who's being the rebellious one now?" Gwen says, giving him a knowing smile.

"I don't think I ever stopped being rebellious," he jokes, flashing her a smile. It elicits a laugh from Gwen, which warms his heart.


The rest of the ride back to Bellwood passes by fairly quickly; driving around with Gwen always does. Kevin cherishes that time alone with Gwen; whether they're talking, listening to music or even when Gwen is absorbed in reading or studying.

This time around, Gwen fills the silence by telling Kevin about some of the activities she hopes to do over the fast-approaching summer break. Kevin instantly agrees to accompany her to the beach; he's eager to make sure Gwen gets to actually go to the beach. Lately, it feels like every time she's tried to go, she gets interrupted by aliens.

Just as the sun is starting to set over Bellwood, Kevin pulls up to his garage, parking outside to avoid having to open the large garage door.

"Want me to come in with you?" Gwen asks as Kevin unbuckles his seatbelt.

"Up to you, I won't be long."

Gwen unbuckles her seatbelt in response. She slides out of the car, making her way to his side as he unlocks the door to his garage.

Kevin reaches through the door frame to flick on the light switch just on the inside of the entrance. He then holds the door open, gesturing for Gwen to go inside before him.

"Thank you," she says as she steps into the garage. "Do you need help looking for whatever you need to pick up for your business deal?"

Of course Gwen would see through his horrendously veiled attempt to hide what he was up to tonight.

"Nah, I know where it is. But you can look around."

"Okay," Gwen answers. Kevin watches her idly start milling around his garage, peering into random boxes. He doesn't really care what she sees while she looks around. Kevin doesn't label any of his boxes, nor does he have a sorting system; everything he needs to remember is in his head and all the important, or should he say, dangerous items are hidden away in a vault he built into the back wall.

Kevin walks to the said vault and quickly gets to work on opening it. Once he's bypassed all the security measures, the vault door opens with a click. Kevin reaches in to grab a large pouch of colourful gems; a type of currency often used in interspecies deals. Tonight he's trading currency for information, and it's going to cost a lot. But it'll be worth it because if it's legit information, it'll be extremely helpful to the Tennysons on their most recent quest. But until he can validate the information, he's keeping the exchange to himself, so as not to disappoint Ben and Gwen if he ends up being scammed.

Bag in hand, Kevin locks the vault up and makes his way back to Gwen.

"Find anything worth stealing?" Kevin asks jokingly as he walks up behind Gwen who's riffling through a dust-covered box in the corner of the garage.

"Where did you get the stuff in this box?" Gwen replies, her seriousness confusing Kevin a little bit; she'd completely ignored his joke. "They don't look like the alien tech I usually see you grab."

"Uh..." Kevin falters, peering over her shoulder to see what's inside the box. This was the downside to his lack of organization system; because he doesn't have one and this box is in the corner accumulating dust, he has zero recollection of what he's stashed in here.

"Is this a goblet?" Gwen asks incredulously as she pulls a medieval-style cup from the box.

"Oh!" Kevin exclaims in recognition. "These are all the Forever Knights' junk that I found. None of the stuff in there is of alien origin, so they're not useful to me. I kinda forgot I had this honestly."

"You mean stuff you stole?" Gwen asks, turning around to give him a playful smile.

"I mean, the Knights probably stole it before I found it, so does that really count as stealing?"

Gwen rolls her eyes, but the smile doesn't leave her face.

"Alright, Mr. Finders Keepers. Did you find what you came here to get?"

"Yup," he replies, lifting the bag to show it to her.

"Let's get going then."

"Give me a second," Kevin says, suddenly overtaken by the urge to look through the items in the box Gwen just discovered. He hasn't thought about this box in months; it's honestly ironic that Gwen has found it only hours after almost being killed by the very same people Kevin had stolen from.

See, this was another reason why the Forever Knights wanted them dead. Kevin was one hell of a good detective.

But now that he's thinking about this box once again, he can't help but feel like there's a reason he set the box aside and kept all the items. Sure they aren't alien tech, but he easily could have made a lot of money selling these artifacts on the Black Market.

Kevin sets his bag of gems on the floor and starts rummaging through the box.

It doesn't take him long to find what he's been subconsciously looking for. He pulls out a beaded necklace. The large gold pendant is adorned with a red jewel. Kevin remembers why he decided to keep it after stealing it from the Knights. Sure it was pretty and probably worth some money, but the necklace feels weird in his hands, not physically heavy, but there's a strange weight to it.

He's always wondered if there's something more to it than just being a medieval piece of jewelry. And he knows just the person to ask for help. He's just been too shy to ask Gwen when he first found the necklace. He'd convinced himself that Gwen would have thought that helping him was a trap. Or that she would be disgusted with the idea of associating herself with something he'd stolen.

He knows better now and he's glad he's held on to the necklace all these months.

Kevin turns around and shows the pendant to Gwen.

"I've been meaning to give this to you," he says, holding it out to her.

Gwen blinks in surprise, her gaze flickering between the necklace and Kevin's face.

"Oh, um thank you," she stutters, reaching out to grab the necklace from him. The faint blush suddenly colouring her cheeks makes Kevin realize why Gwen seems too stunned.

"It's not for you! Well I mean it is, but not like a present. I wouldn't gift you stolen junk. Plus it's really ugly," Kevin quickly blurts out, trying to do damage control.

"Okay," Gwen replies, sounding just as confused. But she seems to be fighting off a smile now. "So then why are you giving me a tacky, stolen necklace?"

"I'm not explaining myself properly," Kevin groans. "Remember when we explored that Forever Knights castle with Magister Labrid? The day you and Ben broke up my deal?"

Gwen's nodding prompts him to continue.

"Okay, well I stole this necklace from the Knights. I was planning on selling it to make a quick buck but it wasn't of alien origin so I wasn't sure if it was worth much. I planned on tossing it or something, but I got this feeling that maybe it was magic. I mean, if it's not alien tech, the Knights must have kept it for a reason!"

Gwen examines the necklace, mulling over his words.

He waits in silence, not sure what to expect.

"You had time to steal this while we were being attacked by that giant Mech dragon?" she finally asks. Kevin can't quite place her tone.

"Yes..." he replies cautiously. "In my defence, I pocketed it before we were attacked. And Ben saw it happen but didn't stop me, so that's on him for basically giving me permission to steal."

Gwen burst into laughter. "I'm not mad, nor am I surprised. But Ben will have a fit if you tell him that he's played a part in enabling your stealing habits."

"Yeah, probably," Kevin chuckles. "So, do you think you can figure out if it's magic?"

"Sure. I can take a look at it when I have a chance. There might be something about it in my magic books and grimoire," she confirms. "But you're right about there being something magical about it, I can feel it." Her eyes glow to that familiar pink colour as she uses her mana to examine the necklace.

"Thanks, Gwen."

"Of course," she smiles, her eyes returning to their normal shade of green. "It might take me a while, but I'll get it back to you as soon as possible."

"Don't worry about it, you keep it. Whatever that necklace does, it'll probably be more useful to you than me."

"Are you sure?" Gwen asks hesitantly.

"Yeah. What's mine is yours."


I don't know, maybe it was mentioned in the series if the necklace Kevin stole is then turned into a protection charm by Gwen, and I just missed it. But if not, I like to think something like this happened.

Thanks for reading!