title: The Darkness Within [part 2]

Ben Tennyson x Reader
Ben 10: Omniverse

requested:  Alyssajj11

~~~

previously

"You should be scared of me!" She screamed. The last of her will was ebbing away, and she knew she had to leave or else she could hurt Ben.

So she ran.

~~~

She ran and ran, desperately fighting for her mind.

Whatever was wanting to possess her was determined and her brain felt like it was being sat on by a blue whale. As she ran into the heart of the city, she got many concerned and weird looks from pedestrians who probably assumed she had a boyfriend who had broken up with her, because of the tear tracks on her cheeks.

'NO! This is my mind... My mind...' She thought, trying to speak to whatever it was in her head.

Then suddenly she felt the pressure lift. The catharsis caught her off guard and she stopped running. Did it leave? Was she free? Her head throbbed, but it didn't feel like somebody was ironing it anymore. Breathing a sigh of deep relief, she began to walk.

Her body felt exhausted and her legs were screaming since the adrenaline had worn off, but she was relieved to feel free.

(Y/N) had only walked one block before something caught the corner of her eye. Looking into the alleyway beside her, her breath hitched at the sight of the alien. It stood right beside her, leering. She blinked.

It was gone.

Her breath quickened and she sped up to a jog. Behind her she heard whispering, right next to her ear. She turned.

There was nothing there.

Now she was fully on edge; a walking piece of anxiety mashed with a bucketful of dread. Her legs began to run down the street as fast as they could physically take her, but she skidded to a halt as a bus drove in front of her. It narrowly missed her and tooted angrily. She pulled herself to the footpath in front of a shop, out of the way of the traffic.

(Y/N) then looked into the window of the shop and almost shat herself. The alien stood in the window of the shop, staring right back at her. Its beady eyes were locked onto hers and she stepped back.
That's when she realised,

it was her reflection.

A sob escaped her lips as she turned around and saw that she was no longer standing in the street but in a room of fractured mirrors, all reflecting bits and pieces of the alien. The sound of her own distorted cries came ricocheting back to her.

A booming voice spoke and the cries stopped. The alien materialised in front of her.

"Human.

You cannot rid yourself of me, no matter how hard you fight. You will watch as I destroy everything the humans created with your body. They will believe that you despise them so much as to want to commit genocide. Your greatest fears will be the fuel to my success.

You cannot escape, you are helpless. Helpless."

She fell to her knees as she saw glowing magenta shackles form around her, binding her up. The floor then gave way and she fell and fell and fell, the world above growing all the more smaller until disappearing entirely.

~~~

Ben came downtown at the first sign of trouble. When (Y/N) had ran off, he had gone against his urge to follow her, wanting to give her space.
Boy did he regret it.

When he saw her standing in the middle of the road surrounded by a ring of police cars, he regretted letting her get out of his sight. The police had their guns trained on her, but she from what Ben could see she looked completely normal. Then she turned around and Ben's breath caught in his throat. Her eyes were glowing purple, like an Anodite, and her smile was a menacing grin.

"So, what's all this then?" A voice beside Ben startled him.

"Kai!? What are you doing here?" Ben was shocked at her sudden appearance, but then remembered her mentioning that she would be in town for a few days.

"I already told you. Anyway, what's going on?" She asked Ben, who shrugged his shoulders in response.

"I dunno. But I'm going to go talk with her, see what's going through her head." Before Kai could respond with a "No!" He was already halfway towards where (Y/N) stood.

The officers gave Ben dangerous looks, but they didn't dare tell him to get away since he was renowned for dealing with this genre of mess.

"Hey, (Y/N)... Uh, I'm sorry about before, and..." Her eyes bored holes through his soul and he left the sentence hanging. The silence was thick enough to cut through.

All of a sudden all six police cars exploded in plumes of fire, sending the policemen and Kai diving to the side. Ben flinched but got the message. He slammed down on the Omnitrix and felt his body morph.

Ghostfreak emerged from the green light and Ben frowned. That was unexpected, but as always, he would have to make do.

"(Y/N), don't make me hurt you," A pink bolt of energy hit his chest and threw him a couple of feet. "Okay then," He grumbled.

Standing up painfully, Ben flew over to her and wrapped his tentacles around her, restraining her.

"Snap out of it (Y/N)! This isn't you!" He shook her a couple of times in emphasis. But, his tentacles started glowing purple and he felt them being pushed away harshly. She looked directly into his eye with a blank stare. "Please stop it, you're scaring me,"

(Y/N) then levitated in the air above him and raised her hands.

"Good."

She had picked up one of the mutilated police cars using telekinesis and before Ben knew what was happening, it crashed into him.

"Ben!!" Kai screamed.

"Puny human, you possess the Omnitrix but you are weakened by your emotion. What a waste. Once my time on this wretched planet is up there will be nothing left on it for you to feel emotion for." Her voice was distorted and her words echoed through the street.

'This cannot be (Y/N), but if it isn't her, who is it?' Ben's head raced. Then he realised,

'OH! I'm Ghostfreak, I can check!'

Ben flew over to Kai and muttered his plan to her, who agreed that it was the best course of action.

Kai then ran out into (Y/N)'s plain sight holding a pipe.

"Hey, (Y/N)! You suck! You can't even take down me, and I bet you're too scared to try!" She was obviously trying to keep her attention, which (Y/N) caught on to.

"And where would the Omnitrix bearer be? Hmm?" She looked around sceptically.

"Right here!" Ben materialised right behind her and before (Y/N) could conjure anything to stop him he jumped inside her.

Ben had more resistance than when he usually used Ghostfreak to possess and he felt like he had to fight to even get an inch. But, after a struggle, his vision cleared and he could see a room of shattered mirrors. In the centre of the circular room an ornate staircase was carved into the ground.

Ben decided to follow it without a moment's hesitation; it was the only logical place to go. Descending down the stairs, he heard echoes of distant voices, thoughts maybe. They grew closer and closer and the light grew dimmer and dimmer as he went further down the staircase. He only stopped when he could see nothing at all. The voices were screaming words but he could not hear what they were saying.

His eye wandered around his pitch-black surroundings, trying to find something, anything.

That's when he saw her.

The voices ceased.

She was bound up to her neck in fluorescent magenta chains and the only light around her was the faint glow emitted from the chains. Her cheeks were wet from tears and her eyes were gazing into the distance, wherever that could be in this darkness. She hadn't noticed Ben yet.

"(Y/N)!" He called out. He saw her body jolt in shock.

(Y/N) quivered in fear at the sight of a humanoid approaching her from the darkness until she realised;
"...Ben?"

Ben ran over to her and began to pull off the chains, explaining as he worked.

"We're not sure-" (Y/N) cut him off,

"Wait wait, you said 'we', is there anyone else up there?"

"Kai is. Anyway, I'm not sure what's going on up there at the moment, but you- sorry, the alien, did a number the cops and is being really creepy up there. Do you know where the alien in your brain is so that I can kick its butt?"

She sighed. "It's in with my fears, I can feel it." Her voice was quiet. She knew that there was a fear inside her that she could not let Ben see.

"Let's go then!" Her shackles fell onto the ground with a clank and she rubbed her ankles, willing them to work. Standing up, she pulled Ben to a newly formed hole in the black where it seemed, impossibly, to be darker. (Y/N) grabbed his hand and stepped into the gloomy pit.

The sensation of falling into that pit was probably the worst thing about that entire journey so far, but the type of events happened to be getting worse and worse so who knew what could be in store for them once they reached the alien.

Light quickly rushed up to greet them and a grimy 70's carpet came into view. The pit ended suddenly and while (Y/N) drifted to the ground gracefully, Ben hit the floor with an unceremonious thud.

"Owww," He whined.

(Y/N) was quiet as she scanned the room. There were old knick-knacks stacked up in random places and ancient family portraits spread across the walls, cracked and faded with age. The furniture was old and creaky and the whole room smelled like an old lady.

Ben slowly got up, opening and closing his mouth in confusion.

"Why are we in your grandma's house?" At his question (Y/N) shivered.

"It's got to be the doll. It terrified me when I was younger, must still be one of my deepest fears."

A rustling sound in the far corner snapped them both to attention. The chest by the fire had wriggled ever so slightly, but it still put them both on full alert.

"If it's not in there I'll eat Rook's shoe," Ben whispered, creeping towards it. The chest jumped again.

He tiptoed right up to the chest, however, as soon as his hand touched the lid it exploded open and threw Ben back a few feet. A giant porcelain doll emerged impossibly from the remains of splintered wood and dust, its eyes just as empty as (Y/N) remembered.

She shuddered, feeling a tingle shoot down her spine.

The doll took one big step, then another, both clunking heavily on the old floor and leaving dents in the carpet.

"Now I know why you always came over when your family went to your grandma's," Ben chuckled, readying his stance.

(Y/N) and Ben shared a look before running to opposite ends of the room. The doll twisted around confused and did a full 360 before its eyes locked on (Y/N). But, just as it began to lumber towards her Ben leapt forward and tackled its ankles. The doll fell like a log in front of (Y/N).

She raised up her foot and brought it heavily down onto the dolls face. Its eye shattered in, and its head cracked open in a thin split.

Inside was a key.

It looked like an old jail key; overly extravagant compared to a house key and was an awkward size if one wanted to fit it into a pocket. The metal was rough and slightly tarnished but otherwise was not in a total state of disrepair.

"Uh, I haven't been to your grandma's recently but was there always a door there?" Ben asked. He was staring at a door; aggressively red and very out of place. It had appeared in the middle of the wall where the fireplace had been.

"No," (Y/N) curiously walked to the door holding the key. The keyhole was obviously meant for the large key, but still, she paused to check.
"Should I open it?"

"Do you want to stay at your grandma's place forever with a dead creepy doll?" Ben retorted. She rolled her eyes and put the key into the door. Before turning the key, she turned to Ben.

"Hey, before we go in can you promise me something?"

"Sure, what is it?"

"I uh, don't know what'll be on the other side of this door, but whatever it is I bet it's gonna be really personal." She took a breath, "So could this please stay between us?"

Ben looked taken aback, but still said a small

"Okay."

(Y/N) turned the key and the door swung open.

~~~

They were at a park.

Birds were chirping happily to each other, the trees were rustling in the light breeze, grass stretched over the large expanse of flat earth. There were strangers out walking and enjoying themselves in the sunny weather, some settled on the grass with picnics and squirming children. There were many things to look at at this park, and a stranger's eye would have been drawn to many other places.

But they both very plainly saw the centre of it.

(Y/N) burned in shame as Ben stared in shock at the park bench, both reminding themselves of the promise Ben had made seconds earlier.

It was a couple, passionately snogging very obnoxiously in the midst of the park, back turned towards Ben and (Y/N) and the open red door.

However, their actions weren't the reason why the pair were acting so strangely in reaction to this couple, no.

It was because the couple was very obviously Ben and Kai.

They were all over each other, so passionate and tender (Y/N) felt awkward watching them. Ben, on the other hand, was completely zoned out and blankly stared into the trees above the couples' heads. In a sense she was glad he wasn't responding; she had no idea how she was going to deal with the crippling embarrassment she felt.

After it seemed an eternity of awkwardly standing there, (Y/N) took half a step forward. As soon as she moved, Kai's head snapped towards them and the fake Ben faded away. Her face was set in a malicious grin, magenta smoke pooling from her eyes.

"Well well, you and loverboy finally made it. I was waiting for a while, but it wasn't half bad having your boyfriend here to keep me company," Kai's voice was slightly deeper than usual and sent chills down their spines. (Y/N) didn't bother correcting her about Ben being her boyfriend, instead choosing to glare at her. She knew that it hadn't been the real Ben Kai, or should she say, the alien, was kissing but it still panged in her heart.

"I am quite disappointed with your physical capabilities girl, I was aiming for someone with more potential. Like Ben here," Ben jolted out of his daze at the mention of his name.

"Huh?"

"Why are you doing all of this?! And do you want me to show you what I'm capable of?!" (Y/N) was spitting with rage, but the alien chuckled.

"You aren't threatening at all, remember I am inside your head." The alien flicked Kai's hair, "But I wish to exterminate the human race."

"You'll have to go to the back of the line, the waiting list is full." (Y/N) was comforted by hearing Ben's snarky remark and quickly glanced at him.

"Who are you!?" She yelled, losing patience.

"I am Al'kra, half Ectonurite half Anodite, not that you would understand what those are. Your race imprisoned me when my capsule came to your pitiful planet, performing relentless tests and experiments on my strange form. You, humans, had no respect for my blend of two races!" The alien monologued, slowly growing in size with every second they talked.
"I yearned for freedom, but your scientists ignored my pleas! Only when they died and their work was forgotten did I have my moment, contained in a weak capsule in waste disposal. I didn't want to destroy your race in the beginning, but those long years spent with your scientists made me loathe you. When you opened the lid of my capsule, girl, I was hoping for someone with strength, with potential to harm. But instead, I got you."

Al'kra in the form of Kai now towered over Ben and (Y/N), the size of an entire apartment block. (Y/N) found it disconcerting to be looking up at a gigantic evil Kai and was absolutely certain that she would never mention this encounter again if she could help it.

"Prepare to die, so that I may be able to use your body without hindrance." Al'kra boomed.

"Not on my watch" Ben shouted and brought his hand down on the Omnitrix. To his dismay, it didn't work.

"You're in my consciousness remember? We've gotta be tricky about this." (Y/N) whispered to him, desperately trying to formulate some sort of plan in her head.

Ben didn't listen. He ran up to Kai's foot and began to climb. Al'kra was fully aware of this, however, let him continue with an evil grin on Kai's face. He climbed higher and higher and was up to Kai's shorts when (Y/N) realised in horror why Al'Kra had let him climb.

"BEN GET DOWN! THEY'RE GOING TO-" Her cry was cut off by Ben plummeting through the air.

"NO!!" She screamed, all thoughts seeming to halt. (Y/N) felt wracked with anguish for the few seconds he fell. The world seemed to slow down for her, almost coming to a complete stop.

Suddenly she was aware that it wasn't just her feeling the pause in time, and that it was affecting everything. Ben was actually stopped in the air, Kai's hand that had flicked him off was paused in action. There were birds in the sky, unmoving and the previously energetic children in the background were still.

The realisation came to her; 'This is my mind, I'm the only one who can control how it works.'
A grin spread across her face.

Ben felt himself being lowered slowly to the ground and Kai's face morphed into one of confusion. As soon as Ben's feet touched the ground he looked at (Y/N) sheepishly. It was his mistake to crawl up Kai's leg after all.

Al'Kra went to move, but the grass around their feet appeared to be melting and Kai's feet up to her ankles were stuck. Roaring in fury, they tried to knock (Y/N) over, however before they got close a massive chain erupted from the ground, wrapping around Kai's wrist.
Another chain shot out from the Earth, capturing her other wrist and pulling her into the sinking grass.

Al'Kra was screamed in absolute rage and struggled against the pull of the chains, but was no match for it. They only stopped yelling and shouting when their cries turned into gurgles, then were muted as the liquid grass swallowed their head. Bubbles appeared on the surface of the liquid soon after, before popping and hiding all evidence that there had ever been something there.

(Y/N) let out a shaky breath and looked into Ben's eyes before closing her own, tumbling back into reality.

~~~

"Ugh," She moaned, opening her bleary eyes.

"Huh?" A figure was leaning over her, staring into her eyes, concerned.

"You're awake!" Kai sighed in relief. She stood up, and from her angle on the ground (Y/N) could see that she was a little worse-for-wear. There were scrapes on her knees, her face was smeared with dirt and ash, and her hair was a tad singed.

It was both disconcerting and relieving to see the real Kai. (Y/N) didn't know how to feel about it, considering she just locked "Kai" (really Al'Kra) into the depths of her subconscious. However, when Kai offered a hand to (Y/N), all feelings except thankfulness ceased.

Both girls heard the telltale sound of the Omnitrix timing out behind them and turned around to see Ben standing there, a light smile playing his lips.

"I guess I saved the day, again. You're welcome." Ben smirked and prepared for the girl's reactions. He often did this just to annoy them, and of course to inflate his ego post-battle.

"Just shut up and c'mere," (Y/N) sighed, pulling Kai and Ben into a group hug.

When they all pulled away, Kai was talking about what happened once Ben went into (Y/N)'s mind.

"Her body kind of collapsed, and there was this huge whirlwind thing that surrounded her. The police were freaking out so I had to help them get out of the way, and there was a bunch of small fires-" Kai went on. But Ben and (Y/N) were hardly listening and Ben mumbled to her halfway through Kai's explanation:

"After this, there are a few things we need to talk about."

(Y/N) blushed. That was going to be an interesting chat.