Gwendolyn found herself in a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts.
A quite literal one at that. Since this was a construction of her own mind, and she was a mere prisoner now.
Even casting spells and incantations wouldn't work at this stage. She barely had a physical form, and even then... what good would it do inside her head?
"No good, indeed." The damn Ectonurite flew in front of her. When he did that, she could feel her control slightly returning, enough to manifest a physical form, but not enough actually to gain control over her body. "Why the rush, Gwen? There's no reason to get out."
"Humor me." Gwendolyn spat, eyeing up the aberration in front of her. It seemed the freak was back to his old look from when he left the Omnitrix, instead of his grim reaper outfit. Of course, he couldn't manifest his scythe here, but Gwen was still not comfortable looking at his inverted skull and horrendous purple eye. "You're playing a dangerous game."
"I know." The Ectonurite reassured her. "I remember how I almost got the Omnitrix... how Ben was so afraid of letting you fall... but things are different now, aren't they? I don't need the watch when I have you..."
"That's oddly creepy," Gwendolyn stated. "I'm not your possession."
"No, indeed you're not. I intend on you becoming much more than just that." Zs'Skayr flew closer. "Merging our minds together, Gwen... because destroying yours would just kill you... we can perform a ritual to become one..."
"What?" Gwendolyn said indignantly. "You cannot be serious."
"I am." The Ectonurite smiled, his black lips curling downwards. "I need your power... and think of it, it will be like nothing will happen! Perhaps you will get some of my abilities-"
"I don't want to become a psychopath that takes over people's heads." She firmly said. "Killing Ben with my hands isn't gonna work. You can't beat him."
"We will see." He glided around wherever they were in her mind. "As of now, possession is the only option, since your dear cousin needs not to interfere with the ritual. Besides... it will be so much easier with him out of the picture..."
"Can't you get over it?" Gwendolyn blurted. "You freed yourself from the Omnitrix. Almost ten years ago for that matter! But you keep causing problems. Weren't you like, the leader of your planet?"
"I was." Zs'Skayr grimaced. "Until Ben defeated me the last time in Anur Transyl. Eventually, the light source he left there vanished, so I was brought back to life. But my position had been usurped... I must get it back... and what better way than with your young and powerful body?"
"You're a creep." She shivered. "I'm warning you, don't do anything weird. It's bad enough to have you using my phone, but do not do anything weird. I'd rather break my mind than to let you-"
"I have no need for that, Gwen," Zs'Skayr stated, though she was not convinced. "I am not human to have such thoughts. As of now..." Everything went dark, and Gwen's physical form vanished. She felt like she was floating in the void. "Your body feels quite hungry, doesn't it?"
If this was a nightmare, someone please wake her up.
...
"It's like we're confirming it, right?" Ben mused, drinking from his milkshake. They had gone to a mall together, where they had ordered shakes for the both of them. Ben had chosen a sweet berry one, while Hope had chosen plain old chocolate.
"Pretty much." Her hair was loose and she was missing her upper magenta robes. Instead, she wore her all-black outfit. Overall, she looked normal, if not for her marble-white hair and purple eyes. "Though people would jump to conclusions after our date."
"Mhm." It was still unreal to see Hope as... his girlfriend, there was no better term. But he was starting to get used to it. "I don't mind it too much."
"Neither do I. People would find out eventually, and it should be on our terms instead of someone watching us make out, don't you agree?" She leaned forward, her tone teasing. Ben laughed; a bit flustered.
"Yeah, you're right." He strolled through his phone, looking for notifications. "You know, people have been pretty quiet. I think only Lucy and Jimmy sent me something- oh, I didn't tell you about Jimmy, did I?"
"No... but that name is familiar. I did research your entire hero career, after all."
"Comforting." Ben smiled. "He's the kid that found out my identity through independent research. Probably earned hundreds of thousands of dollars selling his research to news channels."
"And how is he exactly?" Hope questioned, seemingly a bit skeptical of his telling.
Ben shrugged. "I mean, he's a nice kid. I was pretty angry at him when I first found out. But things worked out well despite the fame." On cue, two teenage girls approached their table, holding pieces of paper in their respective hands.
"Ben 10?" One of them, a dark-eyed blonde, called.
"Yeah?" Ben turned to them, and he could swear they both blushed.
"Could you sign this for us?" The other girl, seemingly a little bit older who had curly black hair and the same dark eyes, if not a bit intense, extended the piece of paper to him, as did the other girl, who also handed him a pen. It was two pictures of him transformed. The first was him as Rath, and the other was him as Ghostfreak. Ben quickly signed and handed them the pictures back.
"Thank you!" The blonde blurted and turned on their heels, almost running away. Hope chuckled as they observed the girls getting into the crowd.
"Should I be worried that you have fan girls?" She asked, placing her hand on top of his.
"No. Trust me, don't bother worrying." Ben shook his head. "I try to be nice to anyone who asks for autographs or something like that, even if I don't like the concept like I did when Jimmy leaked my identity. But I've been so weirded out by fans that I closed all my DMs and alike. And to this day I haven't got any stalkers."
"As far as you know." She joked.
"That." Ben looked at the time. "Oh, there was something I wanted to do before we went back to the hotel."
"What is it?" Hope inquired, puzzled.
"Well... we've got to get to my home to find out." He smiled, and she raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, mister." The witch got up, extending her hand. "Show me the way."
...
The smell of the food was intoxicating. Ben would be lying if he said he had enjoyed his mother's cooking, especially in recent years, but apparently, that had been not because his mom outright couldn't cook, but because the food she had been cooking was just not to his liking.
Now, with a guest in their house, it made sense to do something more elaborate, and especially tasty. He had told Sandra earlier in the morning, as such when Hope and Ben finally arrived at his house, lunch was ready, the plates above the table, and her mother waiting for them.
Hope had been surprised, of course, but she imagined this could happen, of course. And it would need to happen. Ben's father, Carl, wasn't home, as he was always busy with work, but despite that, the three of them sat down and began serving the lasagna. Hope only took a small piece, perhaps she was feeling shy, or whatever, but Ben spared no sympathy for the lasagna, taking a whole piece for him.
"I hope you will find it enjoyable," Sandra told Hope, sitting in her chair. "I understand you are the ruler of your world-"
"Dimension." Hope corrected, but not in a rude manner. "But do not worry, Mrs. Tennyson. I may be a queen in name, but my life has been far from regal."
"So I've been told." Sandra served herself. Hope tilted her head.
"What else have you been told, Mrs. Tennyson?"
"Well..." His mother began eating and finished munching before answering completely. "Not very nice things, if I must be honest. But Ben has been adamant that Gwen was retelling something that isn't applicable anymore."
"Like Kevin," Ben argued. "You don't see Aunt Natalie fuming about Kevin even though he almost killed us multiple times."
"Regardless," Sandra continued. "I wanted to see for myself what Ben saw in you, eh... should I call you Charmcaster? I am aware it's more of a title than a name, but..."
For a moment, Hope seemed very conflicted, and she looked between his mother and Ben, until she sighed, turning to the older woman. "I don't share my given name lightly. Like how I did with Ben, consider it a sign of good intentions. My name is Hope... It's a pleasure to meet you."
"That's a beautiful name." Sandra smiled comfortingly. "Whichever your reasons, I'm sure you're not ashamed of it. But don't worry, I know very well you have no ill intentions towards Ben, or me, or even Gwen, despite what she said.
"I am trying to make up for my mistakes." Hope ate carefully from her lasagna. But the eyes her eyes brightened made it clear that she approved it. And so did he. "It just so happened that across the way both I and Ben got... lost."
His mother chuckled. "I know how that works. I've told Ben before, I met his father through a friend of mine, Ivana, God have her soul, and at first, I really butted heads with him. But we all ought to soften up eventually, if it's meant to be." Her eyes became dreamy, and she looked fond of the memories she was probably recalling. "If I understood it correctly you two weren't each other's nemesis. Gwen only said you are a bit older. But she wasn't even sure how older."
"In Earth years... I'm twenty-three, physically." Hope was now eating without restraint, but with manners that Ben expected to see from someone of higher standing. "But with the way time operates differently in my dimension – we call it Legerdomain, the Realm of Magic – I am not even too sure how old I am mentally. Perhaps twenty-three, perhaps a bit older, perhaps even younger... but for all intents and purposes I am twenty-three."
"I see." Ben was sure his mother got everything, despite how convoluted it all sounded. "Well, I am happy for you two. Even if it's early days, I can have him stay in the room all day long, can I?"
"Hey, I was sad." He tried to defend himself. "And I got over it. Much in thanks to Hope."
"I can see that, Ben. Just try not to get your heart broken again." His mother teased him, making him do an eye-roll. Sandra turned to Hope afterward. "Is your hair natural, Hope?"
The witch drank water before she answered. She already finished her plate. "Yes. Partially. Not the purple strands. But my hair is white like that. Like my... like my father's." Hope never talked much about her father, Spellbinder, so it was surprising to see her bringing it up like this. But while her voice cracked slightly, she looked well-composed. "I've thought of shortening it, or dying it black, but I enjoy it like this."
"I think it looks marvelous." Sandra complimented, smiling. "It even reflects the light. Do you keep it maintained with magic or do you go to a salon?"
"Well... yeah, I keep it like this with magic. I couldn't be bothered to waste too much time in a salon. And... I like to look good." She said the last part quietly, blushing just slightly. His mother nodded.
"Who doesn't, right?" Sandra commented. At that moment, Ben's phone began ringing, and he clicked his tongue. It was Kevin. It was rare for the older boy to call Ben, so surely it was something important.
"Hello?"
"Ben!" Kevin's voice sounded on edge. It immediately alerted Ben that something wasn't right. "Where are you?"
"At home. Why?"
"Something happened to Gwen." His heart skipped a beat. "I didn't know if I should believe it when I heard but I got to see it firsthand. Ghostfreak got a hold of her."
Ben blinked; unsure he heard Kevin right. "I'm sorry, you're saying Zs'Skayr possessed Gwen?!"
"Yeah. Zs'Skayr, Ghostfreak, I forgot he has a name. But yeah, he got Gwen, and it's damn scary. I'm wrecked."
"How much? Do you need me to take you to a hospital?"
"Nah, I've got some Plumbers looking over me... and Hex too. He couldn't stop Gwen from going away. We're fine. But Ghostfreak- I mean, Zs'Skayr, he wants to lure you in. And Charmcaster too. Oh, thanks for not telling me, jackass."
Ben felt really awkward now amidst his growing concern. "Sorry, I just had a lot on my mind-"
"I'm just playing, Tennyson." Kevin chuckled weakly on the other end of the line. "I think he went to where Dagon's seal was... do you remember?"
How could he forget? "Yeah. Why there?"
"Dunno. I bet he can see Gwen isn't fond of that place. Hey, don't go alone. Call the team, and bring Charmcaster with you."
"I'll... keep that in mind. Thanks, Kevin, I'll deal with it. Take care."
"You too." Those were the last words Ben heard before he turned the call off. He immediately sighed deeply, rubbing his eyes.
"What happened?" His mother was the first to ask. "Did something bad happen?"
"Yeah. Do you remember what I told you once about an alien that got out of the Omnitrix that looked like a ghost and all that?"
Sandra nodded. "Is he around again?"
"Yes. And... he possessed Gwen."
Hope coughed loudly, straightening her posture. "Excuse me? Did you just say Zs'Skayr possessed Gwen?"
"Yes... I did." Ben shared a dark look with Hope, and she seemed to understand it immediately. She got up from her chair and turned to his mother.
"Mrs. Tennyson... we didn't want to leave, but-"
"Don't explain yourself, Hope," Sandra stated. "I'm used to things like this by now. It has been a wonderful time regardless. You're always welcome to stay here if need be."
"Thank you, ma'am." Hope respectfully said, and exited the kitchen. Ben stood at the table, contemplating his options.
"You're not going with her?" His mother asked.
"I am. She is probably going back to the hotel to gather her things." If on cue, a purple light shone outside the kitchen they didn't hear any more noises.
"She can teleport?" Sandra put her fork down. "That's useful."
"Yeah. I mean, she is pretty powerful. I hated being on her bad side."
"I can imagine." She paused. "How are you dealing with Gwen?"
"As I always do, Mom." Ben got up, stretching his fingers. "By kicking some alien ass. Oh, I'm not taking your car. Don't want to give him any ammunition against us."
"Smart. I wouldn't want you breaking your car, but now that it's mine-"
"Yeah, I get it." Ben smiled and gave her a last look. "Maybe we can come back for dinner?"
"That sounds good." His mother smiled, and Ben returned the gesture, before transforming into XLR8. As the kineceleran, he ran back to the hotel, to fetch Hope so they could go to where Dagon had been imprisoned. Why there, Ben asked himself as he ran. Ben knew Zs'Skayr was sick like that to taunt an already imprisoned Gwen inside her head. Ben knew very well how an Ectonurite possession worked. The host would stay conscious, watching everything but not able to do anything. It was maddening. Ectonurites were more like parasites than anything.
And Ben knew Zs'Skayr specifically would always come after him. That's why he got Gwen. To taunt him, to make him have doubts, to hurt his cousin if he was on the verge of losing.
As Ben got to the hotel, he only thought one thing.
Of how he would make Zs'Skayr regret returning to life again.