Chapter Text
Ben’s feet fell heavy on the space station floor. He fiddled with the Omnitrix as he sprinted down the halls.
“C’mon, c’mon,” He plead with the watch, smacking it over and over again. Nothing.
“You can run, brat,” Khyber’s voice called from somewhere behind him. Ben practically skidded as he took a sharp left down an identical hallway. “But you and I both know you cannot hide from me.”
Ben ran, still trying and failing to get the Omnitrix to do something. His lungs were starting to burn as panic started to set in. He could now hear Khyber behind him, giving chase as he’d let his pets tire Ben out.
“C’mon... Rook, where are you?” Ben whispered. If the Omnitrix was going to do this to him he could really use some backup, but he and Rook had gotten separated nearly an hour ago.
Ben hit a dead end. He whipped around to see Khyber bearing down on him. With nowhere to go, Ben stayed still, hoping to juke around Khyber as he got close.
“Got’ya,” Khyber said, malice in his eyes. Ben waited for him to get into arms reach before ducking under Khyber’s arm and making another sprint for it. “Not this time.”
Khyber grabbed Ben from behind, and Ben struggled in vain against him. Pain shot through Ben as Khyber’s hunting knife was buried in his chest. He cried out as the blade was removed. Khyber let go of him and he stumbled forward. He tried, frantically, to draw in a breath, but hot liquid filled his lungs and he choked.
“Found you,” Rook called, rounding a corner. Ben looked up from his hunched over state, and watched as Rook’s expression turned from determination to horror. Khyber lunged forward, rushing past Ben to swing at Rook. Rook reacted fast, using the Proto-tool’s blade to block Khyber’s knife. He looked over Khyber’s shoulder to where Ben was now collapsing to the floor.
Ben’s vision swam. There was a scuffle as Khyber made a break for it. Rook started to chase, but then Khyber spoke.
“You have a choice, revonnahgander,” He taunted. “Follow me, and let your mate die alone, or stay and try in vain to save him.”
Ben tried to tell Rook he was okay, but couldn’t speak. Rook was at his side in seconds.
“Please, do not move,” He urged Ben. Ben wasn’t sure he could if he tried. Rook’s eyes looked down at him, wide with fear. Ben wanted to assure him he’d be okay, hold him, do anything at all, but he couldn’t. Rook pressed down hard on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding, and Ben groaned. Ben’s vision started to go fuzzy, and Rook’s voice was warped when he spoke. “Look at me. Please... You can not do this to me.”
Ben tried to raise a hand to wipe the tears falling from Rook’s eyes, but it wasn’t going to happen. As Rook pleaded with him to stay awake, Ben slipped into unconsciousness.
***
Ben jolted awake with a sharp gasp. In a panic he took a deep, experimental breath, and found it filled his lungs without a problem. He touched his chest. Nothing. As the adrenaline flooded out of him, he squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. What a horrible nightmare.
He opened his eyes again and rolled over, expecting to see Rook sleeping next to him. He wasn’t there. In fact, Ben wasn’t even in his own home.
“My old room?” Ben said softly, taking in the Sumo Slammers posters and scattered child art on the walls. He sat up and looked around. It was a mess. Had mom and dad really left it like this after he moved out? He noticed one of the shirts littering the ground; white with a black stripe down the middle. He thought he’d wrecked all those shirts growing up.
He stood up from the bed, hoping to turn on the light to get a better look. Something wasn’t right. Since when was everything so... High up? He looked down. Why was he so small? He went and flicked the light on and opened his closet door, looking at himself in the mirror hung on the inside.
“What the... Time travel?”
He tried to keep calm, looking himself over. He noticed his empty wrist, and started getting worried. He took a deep breath and tried to reassure himself that everything was fine.
“It’s cool, Ben,” He whispered to his reflection, wincing at his squeaky child voice. “This is some dumb time thing, and Paradox or somebody will come sort it out.”
Ben’s bedroom door opened, startling him.
“Ben, what are you doing up? It’s five in the morning,” Sandra said. She was fully dressed in workout wear; her hair pulled neatly back in a ponytail. She took in Ben’s expression and her features softened. “Did you have a nightmare?”
“Yeah,” Ben admitted. That wasn’t why he looked upset, but it was easier to explain to his mother. She entered his room and sat on the bed, patting the spot next to her. Ben climbed up next to her. She wrapped an arm around his shoulders.
“Do you want to tell me about it?” Sandra asked. Ben shook his head. The content of the nightmare he woke up from would be impossible to explain. He looked up at his mother. She gave him a warm smile. “Okay, sweet pea.”
Ben smiled at the endearment. His mom never called him that anymore. He wrapped his arms around her midsection. As much as he would never admit it out loud, he really did need a hug from his mom right now. They stayed that way for a minute, Sandra rubbing small circles on Ben’s back.
“You should get back to sleep. You have a long day today,” She said, untangling herself from their hug. “Don’t want to be tired on the last day of school, right?”
“Right,” Ben said, climbing into bed. His mom tucked him in, and he smiled up at her. She smiled back before leaving, flicking off the light before closing the door behind her. Ben sighed to himself. He figured he should just go along with the day and hope Paradox showed up at some point to help him out. Nobody would believe him if he tried to explain the situation. With that settled in his mind he closed his eyes. Rest before a mission was important or so Rook told him constantly.
For a while Ben wasn’t sure sleep would come, but then he woke up to his alarm clock going off. He sat up, bleary eyed and unsure he’d even slept, and turned the alarm off. He went through the motions. Get dressed. Brush your teeth and hair. Sniff check? No shower needed. Go out to the living area. His mother and father were waiting for him in the kitchen.
“Look at you! Up and ready without even needing to be checked in on,” Carl said. He held up a hand for Ben to high five. “Good job, buddy.”
“Thanks, dad,” Ben replied, giving him the high five. His mom placed a little happy face sticker on a chart up on the fridge. He’d forgotten about the positive reinforcement charts. He still had some of the Sumo Slammers toys he’d gotten for filling those up with stickers.
“You can get another sticker if you try this,” Sandra offered, pointing at what she was cooking. Ben looked at her warily.
“What is it?” He asked.
“Egg whites with spinach and peppers,” She explained, dishing out a portion onto a plate. She placed it in front of Ben. Ben smiled. He could eat that. “You just have to try it, okay?”
“It’s okay, I’ll eat it,” Ben said. He took a forkful and shoved it in his mouth. It wasn’t great-- a little bland and the spinach had a bad texture-- but it was leagues better than some of the things he’d been fed in his lifetime. Sandra and Carl practically beamed at him as he ate.
“I think that’s worth two stickers, don’t you?” Carl said, as he sat to eat his own serving. Sandra nodded and placed two more stickers on the chart. She joined them at the table.
“Do you like it?” Sandra asked.
“I like eggs and peppers. Spinach feels gross,” Ben explained. If he was in his younger self’s body for the day, he didn’t want to lie and make his mom think he liked something he didn’t. Sandra smiled at him.
“Okay,” She said, amused. “Maybe we try the spinach uncooked next time?”
“Yeah, maybe,” Ben said, eating another bite.
The rest of breakfast passed normally until his mom looked at the clock and excused herself to go to work. She pressed a kiss to the top of Ben’s head. Then she crouched to be eye level with him.
“I’m gonna miss you so, so much this summer, sweet pea. Be good for your Grandpa Max, and have fun, okay?” She said. Ben nodded. Sandra peppered his face with kisses. Ben wiped his face off in mock disgust. She just smiled at him, and took his hands in her own. She squeezed them gently. “Be good. I love you.”
“I love you, too, mom,” Ben replied. Sandra gave him one last kiss on the forehead, and then took off for work. Ben felt a little bad that his younger self was missing his goodbye, but shoved the feeling down. It couldn’t be helped.
Not long after his mom left, his dad started getting them both ready to leave the house as well. He grabbed Ben’s packed duffle bag and hauled it up onto his shoulder. Ben did the same with his backpack.
“Okay, let’s do our big goodbye here, so you don’t have to get embarrassed at school,” Carl said, kneeling down. Ben appreciated the thoughtful gesture. Carl wrapped his arms around Ben’s shoulders, and Ben hugged him back. Carl pulled back. “Be a good boy this summer. Don’t cause any trouble for your Grandpa Max. I love you so much, buddy.”
“I love you, too,” Ben said. Goodbyes said, they loaded into the car and Carl drove Ben to school.
“Bye, Ben,” Carl called out as Ben got out of the car. “Grandpa will be here after school to pick you up.”
“I know,” Ben replied, waving back at his dad. “Bye dad.”
As soon as his dad pulled away, Ben’s demeanour changed. He was starting to get worried that nobody had come to help him yet. He’d never had to wait this long to get an explanation from Paradox. He chewed on the inside of his cheek, lost in thought. Then the bell rung, and he hurried inside the building.