An Alien World (Rated T) (Gwevin)

[fierysue]

So, I was so inspired by the fanfic contest that I decided to write something related to it. I think if I finish in time, I'll add the story as an entry to our very first fanfiction contest! WOO! Otherwise, just enjoy.

Anyway, to support our forum, I'll do what Melanie and Lasa are doing, i.e. posting here first and then on fanfiction.net. I would appreciate any feedback, but if you want to review please review on fanfiction.net. I don't have a beta, so maybe all of you can act as my betas??? The more the merrier, I always say.

So, this is taken 5 years in the future, and was supposed to be a sequel to In Perspective and Deadlock. I warn you, the epilogue starts with 4 OCs talking about Ben, Kevin and Gwen. Ben has already become Ben 10000, Gwen has MarySued and reached epic Anodite potential by the age of 21 and Kevin is - my fave cliche - an intergalactic crime lord.

I hope you guys can look past the OCs and enjoy the story. I haven't incorporated much of the original characters into the story. I know how I want it to play out, and I'm sure they'll appear sooner or later. Also, since my satellite is behind y'all and I haven't had time to see the more recent B10AF episodes, I would appreciate it if you guys corrected any contradictions with the series, OK?

I'll post the fanfic on fanfiction as soon as I'm satisfied that the chapter is good (which is why I need your help to help this story become better, OK?) and as I said, you guys saw it here first!

(JUST A THOUGHT, MODS, MAYBE WE SHOULD MAKE THE FANFIC SECTION LOCKED FOR ONLY MEMBERS? Just a thought.)

Anyways, enjoy!

WARNING! BECAUSE I DECIDED TO INCORPORATE MAJOR CLICHES INTO THE FANFIC AS I WANT IT TO BE AN ENTRY FOR THE FIRST FANFIC CONTEST, THERE WILL BE MAJOR CLICHES AND PROBABLE OOC-NESS! YOU HAVE BEEN DULY WARNED. ALSO THERE ARE SUGGESTIVE THEMES - STRONG T/LIGHT M RATING.

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An Alien World

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Epilogue: A Betrothal and A Shrine to Ben 10000

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Frankly, she would rather die than marry him, she told her father. First of all, she didn’t care whether he was handsome or anything; she wasn’t one for an arranged marriage. Secondly, she’d heard horrifying stories about him – how he was an evil child when he was a young boy, how he’d betrayed the superhero among superheroes and the powerful Anodite he was supposedly in love with, and how after his betrayal, he became one of the most notorious villains around. The Null Void didn’t seem to be capable of containing him; no matter how many times he was cast back in, he always managed to escape.

She supposed that was why her father was so determined to make her marry him. Her grandfather had been involved in the hushing up of the Roswell UFO incident, way back in 1947, and in order to maintain the façade that there was truly no Roswell incident, he, along with his own family and several other prominent figures involved in the incident, made contact with the aliens, and traveled to their planet (Styxion) far away in another solar system in the craft (which was surprisingly still able to function properly), beyond the orbit of Pluto (which was no longer considered a planet), and made sure no incident like that would ever happen.

However, in the planet, the humans were able to become richer beyond their wildest dreams. It was this greed that propelled her father and her grandfather before him to colonize the planet (successfully, she might add, for despite the aliens’ superior intelligence they were a peaceful nation not used to the brutality of mankind until they were oppressed, whereas being part of the military, every man and woman there knew how to fight), and thus forsake their morality. She was born in this world where man openly oppressed others, and now that Earth was beginning to realize that there were other life forms, and that the humans in outer space were openly oppressing them –

Which brought her back to the point. Why on earth would her father marry her to a criminal like Kevin Levin? The answer was simple: because her father was considered a criminal, a tyrannical dictator of an entire planet, was greedy for power. Ben 10000, despite being only twenty one years of age, was more than capable of bringing down her father’s entire regime, and her father decided to invest in relationships with other criminals – one of them Ben 10000’s now-archenemy, Kevin Levin, who was also more than capable of handling Ben 10000 and his allies. It had started off as a simple deal: keep Ben 10000 at a planet’s distance, and Kevin would be able to make off with treasures beyond his wildest imagination. However, for insurance (because Kevin Levin was infamous for swindling riches, besides a multitude of other vices), her father had been persuaded to make Kevin part of family by marrying him to one of his daughters. And Kevin chose her, instead of her other three sisters.

And she was not happy about it. There had to be a means of escape from this marriage, she told her sisters. And she had a month to do it.

“Good luck trying, Valeria,” Alexia (her eldest sister) replied, shaking her head.

“Well, I heard that he only is marrying you because you resemble that Anodite he used to be in love with,” Camellia (her second-eldest sister) said. Alexia frowned at her. Camellia shrugged. “It’s true. Apparently, she looks like you. Well, except that she has red hair, and her eyes are greener.” Valeria had pale, golden blond hair and grey-green eyes.

“Camellia, we all know you have crush on Ben 10000. He’s younger than you, so shove it,” Natalia (who was the third eldest) remarked.

“But it’s true!” Camellia said. “I mean, have you seen a picture of her? She’s just so –” Camellia trailed off.

“So what?” Valeria asked her.

“Well, I’m not saying that Valeria isn’t pretty,” Camellia said, earning a glare from Valeria, “But you should see her picture. She’s just – beautiful.”

“She’s part Anodite, isn’t she? I heard she has the magic powers of all Anodites,” Alexia said.

“Yeah. Her magic powers are legendary. She went to Anodyne to develop them when she was sixteen. She was so gifted that instead of taking decades, it took her only five years to develop her full potential.”

“Wasn’t that shortly after What’s-his-name betrayed Ben 10000?” Natalia quipped. Alexia frowned at her, and Valeria, for some reason, went cold. What’s-his-name, of course, referred to her fiancé, Kevin Levin.

“Can we get back to the point?” Camellia asked. “The point is, Gwendolyn Tennyson is beautiful. And perfect. I mean, I saw a picture of her once –”

“It was in your Ben 10000 catalogue, wasn’t it?” Natalia smirked.

“Natalia –” Alexia began. Camellia waved Natalia’s remarks off.

“That doesn’t matter,” Camellia said, airily. “The point is, she looks beautiful, What’s-his-name may have been in love with her and may still be obsessed with her and maybe that’s the reason he chose Valeria of all of us.”

“Ouch. That burns,” Natalia said.

“How exactly alike do we look like, anyway?” Valeria asked, out of curiosity. She didn’t exactly want to marry her betrothed, but since she had no choice, she might as well compare herself to the woman he was supposedly in love with.

“Yes, Camellia, show us your Ben 10000 shrine!” Natalia teased her sister. Alexia slapped Natalia’s shoulder for Camellia.

“Ouch, Alexia, that hurt. All Valeria and I wanted to see was a picture of the legendary Gwendolyn Tennyson.”

Camellia looked unsure.

“Please, Camellia?” Valeria asked, and she herself was surprised upon asking this question.

Camellia got up. The remaining sisters looked at each other. Valeria hoped she didn’t look as mortified as she currently felt; she was actually truly curious to see how the famous Gwendolyn Tennyson looked like.

However, Camellia soon returned with a poster of Ben 10000, Gwendolyn Tennyson and several other Plumbers (she barely could recognize any of them except for Cooper, who she heard was a staunch ally of the cousins).

“Holy guacamole, Valeria, you guys do look alike!” Natalia exclaimed.

“No she doesn’t,” Camellia said. “The coloring’s all different! Besides, Valeria’s nose is thinner and sharper, and Gwendolyn Tennyson has more prominent cheekbones and a heart-shaped face. Valeria’s face is also slightly longer. Isn't it obvious who's prettier?”

“Valeria is much prettier, in my opinion,” Alexia said. “She looks sweeter, more like an angel than Gwendolyn Tennyson. I think the only reason they look alike is because of the similarity of their expressions and some of the features. Anyway, Gwendolyn looks like a common kind of pretty; she’s not exotic like Valeria.”

Sisterly pride, Valeria noted, grateful for Alexia’s words. “It doesn’t matter who’s prettier,” Valeria replied instead. “All that matters is me getting out of this betrothal. If only I could get Gwendolyn Tennyson to marry him in my place.”

Natalia simply laughed. “Like, how are you ever going to find Gwendolyn Tennyson?”

“Actually, that’s an idea,” Camellia said. The other three sisters stared at her.

“It is,” Camellia insisted. “We could get someone who looked like Valeria to marry What’s-his-name in her stead. Someone who resembled both of them.”

“How’s that going to work?” Natalia asked.

“We could go to the Red Light District. There’s bound to be someone who looks like her there.”

“A common prostitute?” Valeria asked, indignantly.

“Like really. It's rare enough that there are two people alike in the world, much less three,” Natalia said.

“Some of the most famous beauties come from that district,” Alexia reminded the sisters. “They were from prominent alien families who were forced into poverty by father, and had to find some means for survival. Also, there are several human families who opposed father – their families were ruined as a result and they wound up in the same fate.” Alexia paused. “I remember someone who struck me as very pretty when I went out there to buy some silk with the maids. She looked very much like Valeria, except she had black hair and the strangest violet eyes. I think she was new there. We could ask around for her. I’m sure we could work out a deal for her; after all, not even the best prostitute would like to remain as a prostitute forever.”

“Yes!” Camellia said with energy. “We could surely work out a deal!”

“What a coincidence, that there's a third person who looks like them both,” Natalia muttered.

“But what about you, Valeria? There is no way we can have two Valerias in the same house,” Alexia suddenly said.

Valeria went quiet. She hadn’t thought of this.

“Perhaps they could switch identities,” Camellia asked.

“No sister of mine will work as a prostitute!” Alexia said, stubbornly.

“Why don’t we just see her first?” Valeria interjected. Secretly, she didn’t care whatever would happen to her, just as long as she wasn’t forced to marry an intergalactic crime lord. She wasn’t some helpless princess to be married off for an alliance with others, even if she was treated like one.

-

So, any thoughts?

[perhapsormaybe]

I like it. Your OCs aren't over the top, and since she's so actively trying to get out of the marriage (and you specifically note that Kevin only chose her because she looks like Gwen), it helps. I really like where you're headed so far. I didn't note any grammatical errors, so I think you're ff.net ready. I'm really liking this so far, but I've gotta wonder...is the angst coming later or ?

[fierysue]

It should come later... I know it seems a little strange at the moment, putting it on the angst board.

It should head that way anyhoo. I can't write Gwevin fluff to save my life. Well, maybe I can, but I'm lazy... It won't be VERY angsty, come to think of it, but there will be drama.

If only I could update regularly. But with uni, the best thing I can hope for is weekly...

I'm glad you don't think my OCs are way over the top...

[perhapsormaybe]

Also, if you're going to enter this into the contest, it has to be on the contest board, okay? If you're still not sure and want to see if you can finish it in time, you can leave it over here until you're done, though.

[fierysue]

Haha, yeah, that's what I was planning to do...

I'll try and update as soon as I can, but I won't upload there until I'm finished...

[perhapsormaybe]

That's cool, just so long as you keep writing. Reading good fanfiction is the best part of my day.

[cuteinpurple]

Ah, I've read this like three times, and I just realized NOW that I haven't commented.

I love how it's going, I wonder if the sisters will succeed in their attempts, I also love how the OCs aren't "perfect". I love Camellia's shrine to Ben. lol, and what I find pretty ironic is that I act like Alexia. *trust me, ask one of my friends, they agree*

[fierysue]

So here's the next part of the story. I like the way it turned out, but again, not so sure whether it's good *shrugs*. Also, the next chapter may turn out to be a little OOC for Kevin and Gwen, but hey, a lot can happen in five years, which is why future fics are kind of awesome. If you guys see any place for improvements, just let me know, OK. I would have put this up earlier, but as you all know, I wasn't around here at the time *cries*, not even for my birthday!

Anyways, enjoy and criticize!

P.S.: Maybe I should raise the rating? There will be nothing graphic, but these themes, especially prostitution (I don't condone it, but it lends a certain irony, doesn't it?) might be too adult. I don't know, I remember learning about prostitution at age fourteen, and T covers from 13+, so yeah. If at any time you guys feel the rating should be changed, I'll change it.

And the reason why this is not on fanfiction is because I'm too lazy to post...

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Chapter 1: Intergalactic Crime Lords, Rogue Criminals and Red Light Districts

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Kevin Levin wasn’t really an intergalactic crime lord, as most of the universe thought him. After all, he didn’t order his minions to do his bidding – he didn’t have any minions, after all. However, that made his accomplishments the more amazing; as a rogue criminal, he was always ahead of everyone else when it came to technology, despite having had little formal education in his youth. One could say he had picked it up along the way.

Kevin Levin’s life story was a tale well-known in the alien worlds, especially to those he had terrorized to obtain riches and other assets of wealth. After all, he was at the peak of his notoriety, and that could only rise with time. Everyone reasoned that to defeat an enemy, one had to know the enemy, inside and out, past and present, so many historians and psychologists sought to understand his story. They knew little what happened in his youth, save that he was a posthumous child, his mother remarried shortly after his birth, and he did not have a good relationship with his stepfather. Not much else was known otherwise until his teen years, where he joined up with Ben Tennyson and his cousin Gwen, and then betrayed their trust when he provided several rogue aliens of mysterious origins seeking to annihilate Ben 10 in order to take over the planet Earth while Ben and Gwen Tennyson were looking for their paternal grandfather with certain vital information. When Ben and Gwen Tennyson learnt of his betrayal, he decided to leave them of his own accord. After that, his friendship with Ben and Gwen was severed and his Plumber badge was revoked yet again.

Without Ben and Gwen Tennyson, he delved further into illegal alien technology deals, and soon built up an impressive criminal record, which included swindling, murder, theft and – at one point during a large-scale alien deal gone wrong – genocide by his eighteenth birthday. It was then that he met Ben Tennyson and a posse of his allies, including several newly-ordained Plumbers, his grandmother Verdona and his grandfather Max – who had been discovered by his Anodite wife, Verdona, stuck in a quasi-Earth planet (but excluding Ben’s cousin Gwendolyn, as she was still in Anodyne developing her energy-manipulating powers). Verdona was quoted as saying to Kevin Levin: “We thought you were a good boy, Curtis.”

At any rate, after a long hard fight, Kevin Levin was tossed again into the Null Void for the second time. It didn’t take him long to escape and rebuild his arsenal by his twentieth birthday. This time, he committed grand theft when he stole priceless technological artifacts from an intergalactic museum to sell in the black market to hordes of alien villains. Yet again, Ben Tennyson was able to hinder this from happening when he managed – with the help of his 10000 aliens – to trap Kevin Levin in an advanced version of the Null Void, which was previously thought to be inescapable – until Kevin Levin did the unthinkable and escaped. Ben’s cousin Gwendolyn was not directly involved in this either, as she took on the alien villains on the other side of the universe planning a major coup in a planet which would threaten the peace of that particular solar system.

It was then he launched an attack on Ben Tennyson’s family as a means of revenge: Ben’s paternal grandparents, his uncle and aunt and cousin Kenneth were all his targets. Mass destruction occurred in Bellwood, and one of Ben Tennyson’s closest friends (a beautiful Japanese-American girl named Julie Yamamoto) was left barely alive (she was now in a coma). There was yet another duel, and this time, Kevin seemed victorious as he pummeled a bloody Ben Tennyson to the ground. It was at this time that Kevin was reported saying: “Tell Gwen I tried, Ben,” before attempting to kill Ben Tennyson, when Gwendolyn suddenly appeared and drove a blade of violet mana into Kevin’s shoulder, thereby preventing a blow that would have undoubtedly kill Ben. She attempted to trap Kevin in the Null Void but Kevin managed to escape being imprisoned this time by Gwen by burrowing deep into the ground as a means of escape, faster than Gwen could capture him. That day was a terrible day of destruction for all the Tennysons and the residents of Bellwood, especially for the Yamamotos, whose daughter was comatose. Ben was never the same again. It was said he harboured a tendré for the young woman, and despite advances in medical care, Julie Yamamoto was still comatose until today. That incident had put Kevin Levin on the top of the ‘Most Wanted’ Intergalactic Criminal Lists.

Kevin Levin didn’t really look much like a wanted criminal, though, as he walked along the streets in the planet of Styxion, so named by the humans who lived there because they considered it a sort of purgatory, like the River Styx in Greek Mythology. Styxion was one of the few quasi-Earth planets where humans could easily inhabit, and where humans had formed the major ruling coalition for the more than half a century, ever since a spacecraft malfunction of Styxionans (the original intelligent life native to Styxion) had caused the Roswell incident. Select members of the US government were asked to move there to ensure such an incident never happened again, and it didn’t. Greed influenced their minds and they were now the rulers of Styxion, and Kevin Levin, with his reputation of being an enemy of Ben 10000, was a welcomed guest and ally, despite the regime having many other criminal allies. After all, he was insurance against Ben 10,000, being one of the few who ever managed to defy the Tennysons and the rest of the Plumbers. The human rulers of Styxion had heard that the Tennysons were going to liberate Styxion from their oppressive rule, and suffice to say, they were none too pleased. Hence, an alliance was forged promising Kevin much power, control, riches and freedom. As a result, in about a month, he would be part of the Gallagher family upon his marriage to Valeria Gallagher; the rogue, wanted criminal would marry into the most powerful family in the underworld. Yet, Kevin Levin, with his expressionless face, did not appear like a wanted criminal.

Perhaps that was why Kevin Levin didn’t look much like a wanted criminal – the constant smirk that characterized his evil façade was no longer on his face. Instead, he retained the same passive, stoic facial expression as he used to, before he was a criminal, before the betrayal that had ruined his friendship with Ben and Gwen.

He hadn’t meant to betray them. It was supposed to be another one of those harmless alien tech deals. But the rogue aliens who were against Ben’s vision of a more peaceful world had come in numbers too great for him to handle. After all, Kevin was only strong, not invincible. And they had managed to overpower him.

They interrogated him.

They tortured him.

Some of them actually showed holographic images of how they would kill him, and how they would destroy both Ben and Gwen after that.

It nearly drove him insane with pain and fear, emotions that Kevin tried not to feel, ever since his mother died and left him with his brutal stepfather. The gory images, Ben’s lifeless body, Gwen’s screams as those vile aliens defiled her in those holograms –

And he swore he would never be overpowered by anyone again.

He didn’t realize he was being speaking, telling them everything. Ranting in pain was more like it. Somewhere along the road, the aliens must have picked up something important, and they released him, bloody and battered –

Kevin shook his head. He didn’t know why he was remembering what happened almost five years ago. Perhaps it was his impending marriage to Valeria Gallagher. It wasn’t something he looked forward to, but there were a lot of advantages that being linked to the Gallagher family would give him. Such as the riches, the power and the mutual protection they could provide each other against the enemy.

Speaking of the Gallaghers, he saw Valeria and her four sisters heading down in the direction of the Red Light District. He recollected their faces from the pictures he'd seen of them and wondered how he didn’t notice them before, but they were wearing thick black cloaks and hoods which nearly covered their entire faces. He supposed it was so that they would not be recognized.

Kevin frowned. What the hell were four young women doing, walking in the direction of the Red Light District? It was a seedy area, with shady men and beautiful women.

Beautiful women. For some reason that reminded him of Gwendolyn. He wondered where she was now. His infatuation for her seemed so long ago. He remembered her at fifteen, idealistic, intelligent and naïve. She cared a lot about other people – including him. When he last saw her at the Bellwood Tragedy, before he nearly killed Ben, her eyes were weary. She had been unhappy.

What had happened to him that had made him into this intergalactic criminal? At fifteen, he wanted to make up for all of the evil things he had done when he was only eleven. At twenty-one almost twenty-two, he was just adding to those evil things. He wasn’t proud of it, but it was the only way he knew how to survive now. He was not totally heartless, but he couldn’t go back to trying to atone for his sins. For one thing, it was too late.

Besides, how could he? He was already in too deep. The best thing he could do was to play it out, and see where his destiny led him. Currently, it seemed to be leading him to the Gallaghers and cementing his reputation as an infamous criminal, he thought, as he cleverly nicked a black cloak akin to the ones the young women were wearing. Perhaps he ought to follow the Gallagher girls into the depths of the underworld – towards the red light district.

-

“There’s someone following us,” Camellia whispered, as she turned behind for what seemed to be the millionth time. The four girls were in disguise, wearing thick black cloaks with hoods covering nearly all of their face so that they could not be identified. After all, technically they weren’t allowed to go to the red light district. Not that it wasn’t safe to be there, but there were undesirable influences there.

“You’re too paranoid, Camellia,” Natalia said, without turning around. But sure enough, when Alexia and Valeria turned around, they saw a shadow following them.

“Whoever it is, that person’s pretty far away. Do you think we can make it into the brothel fast enough?” Alexia asked.

“Oh, please,” Natalia said impatiently, and walked in broad daylight into the brothel, unharmed.

The three sisters looked at each other, then behind them – although they saw no shadows by then – before scurrying behind Natalia towards the brothel.

-

Kevin’s eyebrows furrowed as he saw the four girls head into the brothel, before nicking a black cloak almost identical to the Gallagher girls’ cloaks. After all, he would have one if he wanted not be recognized, and he didn’t want to be recognized whilst going to a red light district.

But why would the Gallagher girls go there? They weren’t interested in the fairer sex – as far as he had heard – but there was something seriously wrong with this. They kept on turning behind, as if they were terrified of someone following them.

They didn’t want to be recognized, and they didn’t want anyone to know where they were going, just like him.

Kevin’s whole life was shrouded in mystery from others, but it was not all right for everything else to be a mystery to him. Perhaps it was because he wanted to control what happened. He didn’t want to lose that control over himself and over others to anyone else, and those four girls were acting in a way that he couldn’t control.

He would find out why soon enough.

-

The head of the brothel directed them to the room where the newest addition shared with another prostitute to the red light district was, after Alexia paid her off handsomely. The room was dimly lit with scented candles and floating muslin curtains, and silk bedsheets on two separate beds. Both women were not requested for tonight, so they were simply lying on the bed. Both were of exquisite beauty, although dressed differently – the newest addition, with her long black hair and violet eyes was dressed more modestly, in a long, flowy dress of white, while her roommate – a more worldly-looking (human) woman with curly golden locks, large blue eyes and rouged lips – was scantily dressed in black lace and furs.

“Ah, you requested for us?” The blonde lady asked in a sultry voice.

Natalia made a face of disgust. “No, thank you. We are here to see your friend.”

“You mean me?” The newest addition stood up. Valeria gasped.

It was like looking at a long lost sister who bore an uncanny resemblance to her. Valeria was the only sister who did not quite look like the rest of the Gallagher girls, although they all had the same pale blonde hair and grey-green eyes. But this woman – both of them were about the same height, and although Valeria’s face was thinner and the features and colouring not exactly the same, there was something in her expression that was so much like –

“Gwendolyn Tennyson! You look so much like her!” Camellia’s eyes widened.

Well, Valeria was about to say herself, but she supposed that Gwendolyn Tennyson who looked somewhat like her also resembled the violet-eyed woman.

The violet-eyed woman stiffened, as her blonde roommate gave a lilting laugh and said, “Violet hates to be associated with Gwendolyn Tennyson. Everyone has been telling her that, and she just gets more annoyed.”

“Violet? Like the colour of your eyes?” Alexia asked. “That’s very poetic of your parents.”

“I suppose,” Violet turned aside. “Why do you want to meet me anyway?”

“First of all, have you ever heard of Kevin Levin?” Alexia asked. Again, Violet stiffened.

“He wasn’t a client of yours, was he?” Natalia prodded, when Violet did not venture to answer after a few minutes. Violet’s eyes widened and her face was flushed – with anger.

“You insult me,” Violet said, through gritted teeth.

“You are wrong at being angry at us,” Alexia said. “My sister only asked a question. You are, after all, a prostitute.”

“Violet is just pretending to be a prostitute,” Her blonde roommate gave another lilting laugh. “She’s a prudish virgin. She actually paid to live here!”

“Dahlia!” Violet turned to her roommate, eyes flashing. For a minute, Alexia, Camellia, Natalia and Valeria thought that Violet would attack Dahlia.

But nothing happened. Violet halted, and then seemed to regain her composure. She slowly turned around, and though her face was impassive, her smoldering eyes were proof that her anger hadn’t completely subsided.

“I think you should go, please,” Violet said, with a note of finality.

“But –” Valeria began, but Alexia caught her eye and shook her head.

“We’ll return another time,” Alexia said.

“I’d much prefer it if you didn’t return here at all,” Violet said.

“But I need your help,” Valeria pleaded with Violet.

“Valeria!” Alexia cried. But Valeria would not listen to Alexia’s warning.

“You need my help?” Violet asked curiously, her eyes softening.

Valeria nodded. Now that she thought about it, it seemed a little impetuous to ask the favour. But she went ahead and asked it anyway.

“I need you to become me. I don’t want to get married.”

Violet shook her head. “You know I won’t do that.”

“Why not? It has to be better than living in a brothel!” Camellia cried.

“It’s my choice, and you can’t make me change my mind,” Violet said firmly. “Now, if you would excuse me –”

Alexia nodded. “We’ll go now,” She said, looking directly at Dahlia, who smiled back, before exiting gracefully out of the room. The other sisters looked at each other and quickly followed.

“You’re going to give up on this?” Camellia asked Alexia. “So you’ll let Valeria marry without love?”

“Of course not,” Alexia said, and said nothing else, although Valeria was waiting for a clarification. Five minutes passed.

“Well, are we going home now?” Natalia asked.

At that moment, Dahlia came out of the room. “Well, well, well. Still here?”

“What do you know about Violet?” Natalia blurted.

“She’s most likely a virgin who doesn't do what typical ladies of the night do. She might be loaded, I wouldn’t know. But there’s a reason she’s here at the brothel, and I doubt it’s just for the accommodations,” Dahlia let a slow smile grace her features. “I think she’s just scourging for information.”

“Scourging for information?” Alexia questioned.

Dahlia nodded. “Of course. Men don’t have many secrets to tell – unless it’s to their lover. And most of their lovers live in the red light district. I think she’s in a covert operation. She thinks she is incredibly clever by blending into the red light district as a brothel, but in all honesty, she should have taken her own room. We prostitutes know about life, and are more observant than most, because we actively search for opportunities to get ahead and get out of this sickening life. But she’s been very good, very intelligent, I’ll grant her that. As far as I can tell, she has been truthful about what little she’s told of her past, but anyone can tell she’s hiding something because she never receives customers. And I think she knows I know, but doesn’t care, because she’s got nothing to lose if I know. And I think she knows I’m telling you this, but she doesn’t care – which is just confusing. After all, she didn’t kill all of us when I spilled her secret.”

“So you don’t know much about her?” Alexia asked.

“All you need to know is that she’s not quite what she seems, and I’d advise you not to cross her,” Dahlia said. “I’ve done that several times, and you saw today she’s capable of anger. She’s got a flaming temper.”

“Like Gwendolyn Tennyson,” Camellia said. Dahlia looked thoughtful, but shrugged.

“Perhaps. From what I’ve heard of Gwendolyn Tennyson, she is a little feisty and strong-willed. But I think, form what little I know about the Tennysons, that Gwendolyn Tennyson cares too much about others. That’s her weakness. That’s what is going to ruin her. Misplaced care,” Dahlia shrugged again. “She thinks thoroughly about things, but she doesn’t want to run a plan that would involve people getting hurt – especially if they are all innocent. I don’t know much about Violet other than what I’ve told you, of course, so I can’t compare, but she seems – rigid. Too rigid. As if she can't bring herself to care about others, or is too afraid to care for them.”

“Indeed,” Alexia said. “Thank you, then.”

Dahlia didn’t budge. Natalia’s eyes narrowed. Dahlia smiled in response.

“If it’s money you’re after, you can have this. It’s not much, but we didn’t learn much from what you told us, so we’re even,” Camellia gave her a little jingly bag.

Dahlia’s smile grew wider. “You can’t blame a girl for trying to make a living.” She pocketed the bag around her waist, and shimmied a little. “Nice doing business with you folks. I guess you guys know that I’m the only one who knows squat about Violet, and I don’t tell secrets unless I’m being paid. Ciao, then,” she said, before going back into her room.

“Well, that wasn’t very helpful,” Alexia frowned. “You didn’t have to give her the money right then, Camellia.”

“She wanted it! She said she didn’t tell anything without giving her money.”

“Of course she did want it, you offered it to her! And I doubt she would have realized the importance of this information to us until you offered her money. Now she’s going to demand payment each time!” Natalia said, shaking her head. “But at any rate, do you guys still want to ask Violet to become Valeria’s stand-in?”

“It’s not possible,” Camellia said. “Remember what Dahlia said? Violet wasn’t someone to cross.”

“We’ll think of something. I’m sure there will be a way to convince her,” Valeria said. One failure was not going to set her back.

“What are we going to do, kidnap her?” Natalia asked, an eyebrow raised.

“Perhaps – if it comes to that,” Valeria said. Her sisters were unsure whether she was joking or was she actually serious, and truth be told, kidnapping was a possibility in Valeria’s eyes. But her mind soon wandered as a silhouette caught her eye nearby. She ran towards the last place the silhouette had been. It reminded her of the shadow that had followed the sisters on the streets.

“The shadow,” Alexia said, worriedly.

“I should think it’s harmless,” Natalia said good-naturedly. “Think about it, if it was looking for us, it would have hurt us, right? What’s stopping it?”

“What if it was looking for information instead?” Alexia countered. “I might just be paranoid but –”

“Well, then we’re doomed. But let’s try to think on the bright side,” Natalia quipped.

“We should be going home now; father will be worried,” Alexia said, after a while. The other sisters nodded, and headed off.

They did not see a shadow in the main hall as they exited, watching them leave, nor were they aware of the violet eyes spying them leaving the brothel.

-

The head of the brothel had once been a shameless alien beauty, but even though she aged, there was still enough trace of the beauty she had once been as a young adult for her to retain her vanity. Therefore, when she spied a tall, mysterious stranger cloaked up mysteriously, with a hood covering half his face, she approached him without fear of rejection. His face – which was in shadow – seemed impassive, stoic in expression – although she thought he was rather pensive, thoughtful, and using her most seductive voice, she asked him, “What brings you here, oh tall, mysterious stranger?”

There was a glistening of white; the stranger smiled – it was a brilliant yet unsettling smile. “I’m looking for Violet. I will speak only to her.”

The head of the brothel was alarmed. This – ah, patron – did not seem as if he would – ah, visit – any other lady than Violet, even though technically Violet was no prostitute. She shook her head, a little frightened. “I’m sorry sir, but Miss Violet does not receive visitors.”

The smile froze, and there grew an expression – much like a smirk – on his face, and the stranger seemed even more unsettling than before. “Oh, Miss Violet (said in a mocking tone) won't refuse to see me.”

“I don’t know, sir,” the head of the brothel said, shaking her head, and her fear grew when she saw the stranger reach inside of his cloak. Please God, I haven’t been the most moral of women, but please let me live tonight –

But his hand held out a heavy bag. She took it hesitantly, and shook it. It jingled. Money? She looked back to the man. The smile was gone now; he seemed anxious.

“She’s on the second room on the second floor, living with Dahlia, one of our best,” she said.

“Thank you,” he said coldly, and then he was gone.

-

A knock on the door. “It must be a customer for me. I’ll go open the door,” Dahlia said, as she got up from the bed. The door opened, and Violet waited for Dahlia to close the door behind her, but the sound never came. Sighing, Violet called out, “Shut the door, Dahlia!”

But there was no answer.

Violet was annoyed by now, and she got up from the dresser, where she was brushing her hair before she would change from her white dress for bed. “Honestly, Dahlia, you know you should close the door, especially since I want to sleep,” she muttered, before hearing an ‘oomph’ noise.

Violet was alarmed by now. She thought of – but no, that would blow her cover. What could she do? She took a pair of twin blades she had received as a present out from her garter and swung them around, readying herself in a fighting stance. Her eyes widened when she saw Dahlia’s slim figure lying unconscious on the floor across the doorway.

“Dahlia,” she breathed, and walked towards the door, blades slicing the air.

“Hello Gwen,” a deep voice, so oddly familiar it made her heart wrench in pain.

“Kevin,” she breathed.

She thought he was a hallucination of her mind, but the blades felt so heavy in her hands, and Dahlia’s body at the doorway felt real and lumpy, and her palms were sweaty, her heart was racing –

Yes, this was real. She wasn’t sure what to do now. She should attack him; hurt him as much as he had hurt her, and Ben, and everyone else, especially Julie.

But why wouldn’t her hands move?

She dropped her metal twin blades and used her mana to generate twin violet blades, and attempted to drive them into his heart.

[perhapsormaybe]

I read this earlier but didn't have the chance to respond, so, here we go!:

I love it. Poor Julie, though...coma? Yikes. I knew it was going to be Gwen! Yay! I was right! ...but now you're on a cliffie and I want more. Please? I can't wait to see Gwen and Kevin really talking.

[fierysue]

Third chapter. Most OOC one. Danger of sappy Kevin, Drama Queen Gwen and Ben appears. He'll play a bigger role in the story than it seems, but a minor one. It's supposed to be angst romance, but I wanted Ben... However, can't keep it on Ben because then the story will be too large for me...

So, enjoy?

-

Chapter 2: Encountering a Memory of the Past, and Things Rather Forgotten

-

She just stared at him, with wide violet eyes and dark raven hair so similar to his, but he could only see her as he remembered her at fifteen, with long auburn hair and wide emerald eyes that could bewitch your soul. Though she changed her hair colour and her eye colour, he would always recognize her, even if she wouldn’t recognize him, with his piercings and body art (he’d loosened his cloak so that it hung loosely like a superhero’s cape, though he was far from being a superhero).

He had promised her he’d follow her anywhere. He didn’t exactly keep his promise, but he’d followed tales of her phenomenal abilities in Anodyne, tales of her heroism. He left her to save her, and she became stronger and more powerful for it. He was doing her a favour, really.

And yet here they were, standing across each other. She held twin blades in her arms, ready to strike, but she suddenly dropped them, and used her mana to generate violet twin blades.

Her hands shook as she raised the blades of mana to strike him.

“Wait, Gwen,” he said, softly.

Her hands shook harder than ever. There was a pregnant pause, and the tension on the air could be cut with one of her mana blades.

“I just wanted to speak to you,” he continued.

“I should hurt you,” she said, her teeth clenched.

“You should,” he said flatly, agreeing with her.

“You hurt me when you left. You hurt Ben so many times. You left Julie in a coma. You killed so many people.”

“I didn’t mean to, Gwen.”

“You didn’t mean to? So you just accidentally murdered nearly an entire planet in your quest for riches?” The violet twin blades glowed ever brighter.

“No, Gwen, I did that to survive.”

“You could have survived without killing people, Kevin.”

“I know. I’ve done a lot of things I’m not proud of.”

“Why does that sound familiar?” She asked bitterly.

“You never used to be bitter, Gwen.”

“I never had a cause to be bitter before.”

“Gwen,” he reached up to caress her cheek. She swatted his hand away.

“I know the truth, Kevin.”

“What truth?” He said coldly.

“Why you really sold out on Ben and I, Kevin. I heard what happened. You’d be surprised how much I know now.”

“Really?” He was the bitter one now.

She moved nearer to him now, stepping over Dahlia’s body. “Why did you run out on Ben and I without explaining what happened? We would have understood.”

“Would you?”

“Perhaps if you explained it.”

“I was in too deep. I told you that.”

“And I had told you to get a legit job.”

“As I said, I was in too deep.”

“You didn’t even try!” She said angrily. The violet blades glowed again, and this time, she attempted to strike him, but he held her arms by the wrist. She struggled against him.

“Ugh,” she groaned. “I should have hurt you when I had the chance.”

“But you wouldn’t, Gwen. You’re good. I never deserved you, not even as a friend.”

“When was I ever yours to deserve, Kevin? I had given you so many chances. All you had to do was to tell me.”

“Tell you what?” Kevin said, stiffly.

“You’re just as frustrating as ever!” Gwen shook her head, groaning in frustration. “What is with you? You and your macho man sort of attitude, unwilling to tell people about how you feel! You’re the one going to be missing out, just because you can’t reach out to other people. God, Kevin! Oh, you said, 'I'll follow you anywhere', you said 'Stay with me'. But you went away, and you're here now, trying to toy with my emotions.” She let out a defeated sigh. “Just leave me now, Kevin.”

“What if I told you how much I cared for you, how much I admired you, how much I loved you, would anything be different? If I told you everything that happened since we parted ways, would that make a difference?” He was now so close to her, staring into her eyes, now a bright violet instead of her natural brilliant green eyes.

“You loved me?” She whispered.

“Don’t push it, Gwen. It was mere infatuation. And I don't love.”

“So you say,” she said. “I don’t know whether to believe you anymore.”

“You could believe me, Gwen,” he said.

“Believe a felon? Believe someone who’s hurt so many people?” She gave a brittle laugh.

“I would never hurt you Gwen.”

“But you did. And it wasn’t just me, Kevin.” She paused. “When you agreed to help us – Ben and I – we thought that people could change. We believed in you, Kevin. I believed in you. You were my greatest hope – and it turned out to be my greatest disappointment.”

“Don’t you dare say that, Gwen,” He turned to her and grabbed her harshly by the shoulders. “I tried to do everything so that neither you nor Ben would get hurt. It’s not my fault I failed.”

“It is your fault because you didn’t try hard enough!” She said, shaking in anger yet again. “There’s always another way if you try hard enough. You just couldn’t be bothered!”

“Stop it!” His hands were now gripping her shoulders so tightly, that bruises were forming on her porcelain skin. She clenched her teeth so that she wouldn’t cry out against the pain. “What can I do to make it all right?”

“There’s so much you need to do Kevin. You’d have to turn yourself in, for starters, and you’d have to do your time.”

“No!” He said vehemently. “I don’t need to make amends to anyone but you, Gwen.”

“No, Kevin. The only way you can make one thing right is to make everything right.”

“Can’t you just be happy with one thing done right?”

“No, Kevin. I can’t. It isn’t right if you make things all right for me, but not for everyone else. What makes me different as a person from everyone else?”

He was silent.

“If you really want to make it right, you should stop all of this.”

He turned away from her. “I’ll make it all right again, Gwen.” And then he walked away.

Gwen stared back at his retreating figure, and sighed. That had been an anticlimactic meeting of sorts, but her heart seemed to be beating in overdrive. She dropped her violet twin blades of mana, and looked down at Dahlia’s body, sprawled on the ground. Dahlia was still unconscious.

How was it that he tried to project a façade to everyone, and how could she know who was the real him now? Was he was the monster he was to everyone else, or a tortured individual unable to express his feelings?

She must be insane to even consider feeling sorry for him.

-

Kevin did not know why she was here. Nor did he care to know. After all, Gwendolyn Tennyson was only a reminder of the past. A reminder of a weaker him, who wasn’t able to control anything that happened.

He wasn’t weak now. And he was always in control.

It was the little things that made him figure it out. The Gwen-like appearance may have been a coincidence, but it would be such a Gwen thing to do to ride into the face of danger, like ‘Violet’ had done. After all, he could guess why Gwendolyn was here, and it wasn’t going to work. The Gallaghers were very powerful and had eyes and ears everywhere. If Gwen wasn’t careful she’d be in a prickly situation. Gwen was impulsive and cared too much about doing her part in order to make sure everything would be all right, even if she was somewhere she didn’t belong. It was one of the things he admired and it was also one of the things that used to make him knock his head against the wall in frustration back when they were a team, all three of them. Even though Ben and Kevin tried to keep her out of harm’s way, she would insist on endangering herself. Ben wanted her out of the way because her parents would literally harm him if Gwen got into trouble helping him save the world. Kevin just wanted her safe because it was easier to concentrate when he wasn’t worried she’d be in harm’s way.

But that was almost five years ago.

She hadn’t changed that much, not in his opinion. Though she tried to hide it, she was almost the same as she was five years ago, righteous and still somewhat idealistic and naïve. One would think Verdona and the rest of Anodyne would bring her down from the clouds, but no. To add to that, there was also a brittle, vulnerable side to her he’d never seen to her. It was strangely discerning; Gwen had never been anything but strong. She still had traces of her strong will, but now it seemed that she had a lower breaking point.

She was another mystery for him to solve.

And he knew that wasn’t the last he’d see of her.

-

When Dahlia woke up, she found herself lying on the couch with a strange throbbing on her head. What had happened? She could remember it vaguely. It wasn’t the head of the brothel there at the door; it was a tall, mysterious figure clad in black, and suddenly there was a quick movement, and – she vaguely remembered how sickening the crunch was as she fell to the ground when the figure hit her on the head. Then it didn’t hurt, but she supposed she was too stunned to feel anything.

What had the figure wanted?

“Violet?” She croaked out. “Violet?”

What if the figure had killed her? Or worse?

“Dahlia?”

Miracle of miracles, she was alive! But did that mean –

Whoever the figure was, for some reason, Violet was left unharmed. “You’re okay!” Dahlia exclaimed, forgetting that her head was throbbing and neglecting her smoky, sultry accent.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Violet’s brow furrowed.

“So, what day is it? Do you know what happened?” Dahlia asked. Something didn’t add up. Nothing seemed to be missing – not that she could tell.

But what other possibilities were there?

“I saw you lying on the floor,” Violet said, frowning. “I thought you fainted, but you had – I mean, you have – a nasty bump on your head, so I brought you to the sofa, so that you would be more comfortable. Did you hit your head when you opened the door?”

“And how would I do that?” Dahlia said, slightly annoyed. Common sense wasn’t that common after all, it seemed.

Violet shrugged. “What other explanation is there? How else could you have hit your head?”

Had she been hallucinating?

It was when she was changing that she realized that Violet was lying. Her skin was as smooth as ever. No sign of red dragging marks, and Violet didn’t look strong enough to carry her to the sofa.

-

“So she’s definitely hiding something?”

“Yes, I told you that!”

“Dahlia, you know how important this is.”

“She is definitely hiding something. You find out what she’s hiding, you can make her marry Kevin Levin.”

“Indeed.”

“Of course.”

“Thank you, then.”

“Excuse me, but aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Am I?”

“This kind of information doesn’t come for free, you know.”

“I suppose you can have some reward.”

Dahlia shook the bag, and had the satisfaction of hearing the jingling of what could only be money. “Ah, nothing like the sweet sound of money.”

“One would think you’d never had money before.”

“You never know what you’ve got till it’s lost,” Dahlia evaded the subtle hint to get her talking about a past she tried to forget.

“Indeed. You would know. Your father was one of the ones loyal to mine, Valerius Gallagher, and was an influential member of the ruling coalition, but he was brutal and a spendthrift, and sold you and your mother into this cruel business. I heard he was brutally murdered.”

“That was a fitting end for a cruel person,” Dahlia said smoothly, careful not to let her emotions show in her voice.

“And the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, does it? One of your patrons died suddenly of a heart attack.”

“Are you implying that I am a murderer? You insult me.”

“Just remember, Dahlia, no one tries to ruin my family and get away with it. My sisters are good people; I would do anything for them.”

“Ah, ever the protective elder sister, aren’t you, Alexia?”

Alexia turned aside. “I won’t let any of my sisters be hurt. They deserve a good life. If what I’ve heard about Kevin Levin is true, then he’ll hurt Valeria.”

“And so you’ll let Violet be hurt?”

“You scrutinize my morals. But Valeria is a dear sister; I won’t let her be hurt.”

“You’d better be careful, Alexia,” Dahlia laughed a lilting laugh. “You might end up getting hurt in the end.”

“If that’s a threat, Dahlia, it’s not working. And you forget who you are,” Alexia said.

“On the contrary, Alexia, I think you forget who your father and Kevin Levin are. This deception can only end badly for your sisters.”

Alexia turned around. “Goodbye, Dahlia. And try to find out more about Violet.”

“For this, Lexi, anytime,” Dahlia said, jingling the bag full of money.

-

It was difficult for Dahlia to get around to meeting with Alexia to convey little tidbits of information about Violet. The ladies of the night were often confined to their rooms unless with a patron, and were barred from leaving the brothel. Hence, Alexia often had to sneak into the brothel, being the bravest and stealthiest among the sisters.

On the other hand, this meant that Dahlia was hardly around, which made it easier for Gwen (or Violet, as everyone on Styxion knew her as) to send information to Ben about Styxion’s current political situation. After all, Gwen had plenty of time to set up and hide important communication systems that would transmit signals to Ben without being discerned. She was intelligent, so it didn’t take her long to fix it up without anyone noticing. After all, the head of the brothel was only greedy for money, and Dahlia – though she believed herself to be good in spying – allowed herself to be satisfied with small tidbits of information. Gwen prided herself on her acting skills. And if that didn’t work, well, she had her Anodite abilities.

Her Anodite abilities would not give her an advantage in this situation, unless in disguising herself. However, her other more human and feminine abilities made her the perfect candidate for this situation.

It was only a month ago that Ben had received a distress signal from the planet. It was from one of the most prominent thinkers on Styxion, who had joined the rebellion when his family had been driven into poverty and his younger sister died of starvation. He joined the rebellion to improve the Styxionan conditions. This was considered a feat, because most Styxionans were peaceful creatures who would not stand for conflict even if they were tortured, as was the case under Valerius Gallagher’s rule. But Gwen supposed that this Styxionan had lost too much to care for the set of principles all Styxionans lived by.

At any rate, this Styxionan eventually ended up in a concentration camp, which was where he had sent his distress signal. That distress signal was all that the Plumbers could receive from the Styxionan – he had managed to invent a makeshift radio using the few supplies he managed to obtain from around the concentration camp, which was itself an amazing accomplishment which showed the brilliance and superiority of that Styxionan’s mind. The Plumbers, horrified, vowed to right this and end Valerius Gallagher’s rule of tyranny. This was where Gwen came in.

The Plumbers could not attack Styxion without causing massive casualties to the Styxionans, and even then, there chance of victory was very slim. After all, Styxion had the most advanced technology and the armies willing to fight for Valerius were numerous because of the riches that the Gallaghers had amassed over their decades of rule. And then there was an added problem that the Gallaghers heard rumours that the Plumbers would confront them about their bloody coalition. They increased vigilance and were doubly wary, even enlisting Kevin Levin’s alliance by showering him with riches.

It had to be an inside job, and Gwen was perfect, her Anodyne abilities allowing her to disguise herself easily. Everyone had been reluctant to let her go, and no one wanted another tragedy for the Tennysons. But Gwen was certain it would work. After all, Styxion had to be liberated.

And now, while Dahlia was out of the room, Gwen had the perfect opportunity to contact Ben and the other Plumbers about her progress in Styxion. There wasn’t much to tell besides telling the Plumbers that she was settling in and she’d provide more information whenever possible, because she was still acclimatizing herself to the alien world. After all, she had to learn several customs before she could introduce herself as her Violet, her alias: a young lady who needed protection to hide from the government, her human parents having rebelled against Valerius before being brutally murdered, and was herself terrified of the bounty hunters she heard about who were paid by the government to kill her. Who could better provide protection than the head of the brothel for beautiful young women? The head of the brothel was greedy more than anything, and wouldn’t ask any questions if she was paid enough money. Thus Gwendolyn Tennyson became Violet, while she searched for vital information that could assist the Plumbers in toppling the Gallagher regime while she attempted to destroy the regime from within with help from several Styxionan contacts.

“Gwen,” Ben’s voice came.

How tired, how wan, Ben seemed. He had a lot on his shoulders, and Gwen knew that Julie, to whom Ben had begun to confide in whenever Gwen was away, was still comatose, so Julie was unable to comfort him. As a matter of fact, the face that used to give him so much comfort now gave him so much sadness, Gwen would think.

“Ben. You’re all right?” Gwen asked.

“I should be asking you that, Gwen.”

“I’m fine. I always am.”

“That’s what you always say. Just because you have a black belt doesn’t mean someone else can beat you up black and blue.”

“You’re being ridiculous, Ben.”

“Maybe. Did you find out anything?”

“Well, nothing much. I am just getting used to Styxion.”

“They are pretty attractive for aliens, Cooper insists.”

“Why doesn’t he marry one then?” The Styxions were extremely attractive even by human standards, with human-like but albino characteristics, although their faces looked rather feline, and they had large, golden cat eyes, sharp canine teeth and pointed ears lying on their head, and white hair and alabaster skin.

“Because he pledged ‘everlasting love’ for you?”

Gwen winced. No one had known Cooper had such a low tolerance to alcohol, or no one would have offered him so many glasses of wine, and then no one would have heard a tipsy Cooper singing all sorts of alien folksongs and love songs and a particularly embarrassing incident of Cooper declaring his everlasting love for Gwen. When he’d sobered up, he apologized profusely to Gwen and insisted he wasn’t in love with her and that he no longer had his crush on her, but now whenever people asked Cooper why he was single, everyone would say it was because of that everlasting love incident.

“Ben –” Gwen said warningly.

Ben gave a weak, tired laugh. Gwen felt reprimanded. Ben was still learning how to laugh again, and Gwen shouldn’t have said anything, even if the topic annoyed her. To think that ten years ago she would have relished the opportunity of making Ben uneasy and miserable – that just showed how close the cousins had become. Gwen would not dream of making Ben feel awful now, partly because they were close, partly because she lost her holier-than-thou attitude that she used to have with Ben at the age of ten.

There was a short pause, before Ben asked, “Did you find out anything?”

“Actually, Ben –” Gwen hesitated. “Yes, I did.”

“Really?”

“We were right,” Gwen said softly. “Valerius Gallagher is planning an alliance with Kevin.”

“Oh,” Ben was quiet, before saying in a sympathetic tone of voice, “Gwen –”

“What Ben?” Gwen asked, trying to keep an innocent, unemotional tone of voice.

“You never spoke about Kevin –” Ben trailed off.

“And your point is –?”

Ben sighed. “Gwen, you know if you ever find you can’t do this, no one will blame you if you decide not to go on with this.”

“I would blame myself,” Gwen said. “The Styxionans would go through even more suffering.”

“Gwen –”

“Don’t try and dissuade me, Ben,” Gwen said, tiredly.

“I wasn’t!” Ben protested. “I was just going to say – be careful –”

“Always am,” Gwen interrupted.

“I wasn’t done yet,” Ben said, petulantly. “I also wanted to say, stay out off Kevin’s way –”

“I can do that,” Gwen insisted.

“And don’t let Kevin find out who you are. It could ruin our plans.”

Too late for that. “Bye, Ben,” Gwen said, and the line disconnected.

-

[Lady Lasa]

I like this so far. It doesn't really seem all that OOC. After all, with the events you mentioned and the future timeline, it's certainly believable that the characters would be the way you've portrayed them.

Also, I think the rating is fine where it is. The mention of prostitution doesn't really give cause to up the rating. I would reserve an M rating for more graphic adult situations or violence.

All in all, nicely done and I'd like to see more

[perhapsormaybe]

It'd be OOC if the characters hadn't been through so much. With all everybody's been through, their attitudes and viewpoints would have changes, and you've done a great job of exploring those new feelings and attitudes. I'm really looking forward to more of this....I totally love bad Kevin, especially when he's still feeling guilty about what he's done....

[cuteinpurple]

This is awesome. I agree with Lady Lasa, nothing really graphic, it should just stay at a "T" rating. And they don't seem at all OOC, everyone's personalities and character change through some sort of situation. So, this doesn't seem to off, they're bound to change with all that they have been through.

I feel bad for Julie. Stuck in a coma, and it probably doesn't help at all with Ben's psyche, we all can tell that he isn't really the most STABLE guy out there. But with the way things are going now a days, who really is stable? lol, ignore that. That was just me being wierd.

Anyway, I like this story! It's very well written and I'd love to read more.

[fierysue]

Thanks so much for reading... Me's very happy! I'm glad you guys liked it. If you guys aren't sugarcoating it, that's good news for me... The OOCness of the characters (particularly Kevin) is making me paranoid, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE don't hesitate to give me the painful truth (I'll get over it, trust me). I'm also afraid that I'm putting so many OCs inside that people's heads are swirling. There are SIX OCs already inside (the Gallaghers and Dahlia), with one extra that won't really play that big a deal, so I'm really afraid because this is my first fic with that many OCs and - I'm rambling and I shall stop.

But thanks again for those nice comments!

At any rate, expect the next chapter tomorrow (or Sunday for you guys, actually). I'm almost done with it, and am tweaking it a bit. Am a little annoyed, because I planned for Ben to be in there, but it looks as if he won't. Also am annoyed because I think I need to give more flashbacks but it might just ruin the presentation and flow of the story. *shrugs*

Anyway, I'm off to bed. G'night (or morning, if that be the case... !

[fierysue]

Would it be very annoying if I said the further I go along with the story the more I am worried about it? I'm finding so much to criticise I'm feeling a bit hesitant posting this chapter. Also, this also happens to be my longest chapter (12 pages, single spacing, Verdana *lol* font size 11).

I hope you guys don't think it's going downhill, and it's all in my head. But if it IS going downhill, you guys better tell me before it gets worse, lol.

Note: the name Levetuda is my own. I put together 'Live' and 'Today', and altered it to get Levetuda.

-

Chapter 5: What Used to Be and What Is, or Flashbacks and the Present

-

If Ben Tennyson had been able to unlock the 1,000,903 alien DNA present within the Omnitrix at any specific time, then, by God, he would have. After all, each alien present was powerful, but from what little he knew during his crash course of Alien 101, the wider the variety, the better for him. However, Azmuth had conceded only that last one time to allow him total access because there was a real war, and he needed every chance he could get. After that, Azmuth reconfigured the Omnitrix so that Ben wouldn’t be able to unlock it of his own free will – besides, it would be easier to handle ten aliens at a time anyway, to get accustomed to ten of them and master them before he tried the others. It was only when he grew much older that Azmuth agreed to give him a wider range – 10,000 of them – Ben was mature enough, knew a lot more about the aliens and was wiser.

Besides, these were troubled times, what with humans learning that there was, in fact, such a thing called aliens when a group of independent scientists came up with a paper saying that there was in fact life on Mars. Humans had begun to be more aware of the paranormal facets of the universe, although even as they learnt more about the world, they kept more to themselves, which would not have been any problem. “Of course,” Aliens of many different species would whisper to each other, with a sideways glance, “Those humans can be so prejudiced at times.”

This prejudice had irked some other races, but luckily, the Plumbers were able to smooth things over before an intergalactic war broke out. Then, of course, there was another matter of those High Breeds, and the Forever Knights and DNAliens, but that was soon cleared up in outer space. However, the raids and battles kept recurring over and over again over a short span of time, and began to worry the Plumbers, whose resources were becoming depleted too soon as they were barely able to restock on weapons and equipment. Then, they realized in battle, that there was level 10 technology being used. Ben couldn’t remember what it was called and how exactly it worked (Azmuth was going all scientific-ky about it, and Ben’s eyes couldn’t help but glaze over some use of the technology – it didn’t help that humans usually use only 10% of their brain, Gwen added), but the Galvans had developed it as a sort of transmitter – and the DNAliens had somehow received them (or at least modifications of them) to transmit DNA, thus allowing them to amass huge armies at any time. Ben and company had infiltrated their base and had carefully managed to sabotage the equipment (their mission) – and more. For Cooper, who had joined them for this mission (because of his technopathic abilities) was able to come up with a database of traders for these technologies –

And one of the names was Kevin Levin.

And it was then that Kevin was hunted down as a criminal, to be put away as a criminal in the Null Void.

-

It had been a hot day, Kevin recalled, as he worked at the construction site. He’d had no formal education in anything after he’d left home when he was eleven, and now if he went back to school, he’d be considered a moron.

And Kevin Levin was in no way a moron.

Because he refused to go back to school, he couldn’t get a job. So as a middle school drop-out, he had to take on menial jobs to survive, because how else was he going to support himself? He would have preferred working at an auto-shop, but felt that working on cars which had the same stupid engine problems was beneath him (now his car, on the other hand –). Besides, he wanted to do something active, something that he could use strength for, something that pushed him to the limit physically so that he wouldn’t mentally think about everything that had happened since he left Ben and Gwen (it had been three weeks), or the torture, or anything.

He found it ironic that after that last deal he’d been able to get out of the tech deals for good – or so he thought.

Under the sweltering sun, Kevin had caught a shadow move. None of the other men saw it because they were ‘fainting’ and having ‘heat stroke’. Weak, greedy men, Kevin thought to himself spitefully, because these men would do as little as possible in a day even though they were clearly capable of more.

“Kev, y’hear me?” a voice whispered.

With a swift movement of his head to his left side, which so happened to be the darkest side of the construction side (as most of the foundation and first floor there was laid), he saw a familiar face.

“Argit, you still not dead yet? I thought you were a goner –”

“Yeah, yeah, Kev, I know you glad I’m still kickin’ about, and don’t ask. Too shameful for my ego (although Argit wasn’t dead, Kevin could still see that Argit looked awful – it must have taken ages for his wounds to heal, and even then he hadn’t healed properly). Listen, I’m in a bit of a conundrum here. I need to find a –” Argit’s words rushed out, but Kevin instinctively interrupted him, knowing what he would say.

“I don’t do that stuff any more, Argit, so scram. Get lost.”

“Hey, hey, man. What happened? Just because when you set up that last deal you got zapped don’t mean you shouldn’t ever deal again.”

Kevin snorted. “Why do I always let you drag me into this mess? I wanted to end it. That was supposed to be my last deal, and it screwed me over.”

“I heard about that,” Argit said, unsympathetically. “Too bad. Anyway –”

“Levin!” The foreman’s voice called.

“You better leave me alone, or I swear –” Kevin began, but was interrupted when the foreman called his name again.

“I’m here!” Kevin yelled in reply, and stalked off to see the foreman, but not before he turned around and glared at Argit, shooting him a warning look clearly meaning ‘Or else’. Argit gulped, but he wasn’t ready to give up. Kevin would come around, eventually. After all, he and Kevin, they were like this close, y’know?

When Kevin returned several minutes later to continue his work (the foreman only wanted to ask whether he could show one of the newbies how to do some of the work, which Kevin did – although the newbie – who happened to be older than Kevin – was struck fearful by the perpetual frown that Kevin sported since he left his old life), Argit was still there. Kevin swore, before saying, “What the hell did I tell you about leaving me alone?”

“Kev, I’m serious. I need help, and the guys like you. Beats me why they do; you’re an arrogant, bigheaded –”

“You’re really not helping your case here, Argit.”

“Look, Kev, d’you really want to do this forever? It ain’t you. Why d’you want to do this anyway?” Argit leaned closer. “I know that you’ve been kicked off the squad after you left, by that b – (Argit had been about to say words much harsher than ‘brat’, but – noting Kevin’s fist clenching, thus drawing attention to his muscles, Argit changed his mind) – boy Tennyson and that (he was about to insult Gwen, but remembered just in time – a rarity for him – that Kevin had spoken of the pretty red-head in admiration, although he seldom was succinct about it) girl cousin of his. See, they claim to be good, but they don’t care about you. Have they called you?”

“No,” Kevin muttered. “What’s the point?”

“Kevin, Kevin, Kevin – they betrayed you –”

“Argit, just shut up –”

“They cast you aside and ignored you. And you know what the sad thing is? You’re letting them control your actions. You’re letting them control your life. And for what? Do you think they care any more whether you’re good? Or whether you’re alive?”

“Beats me,” Kevin shrugged. “I don’t care.”

Liar, Argit thought. He knew Kevin too well. “Just see what they’ve done to you!” Argit mock-cried (although not as loud as usually would have, now that he was histrionic). “They’ve turned you into a shell of what you’ve been. You don’t even care about yourself. I knew this turning good thing wasn’t a good idea, Kev –”

Kevin wrapped a hand around Argit’s neck and slammed him into a nearby wall, before releasing his grasp and dropping Argit onto the ground. “Goodbye, Argit.”

“Aww, come on, Kev, I didn’t mean it that way.” Argit sprinted to catch up with Kevin before he lost his chance of a great profit-making deal. “Look at it this way. Only goes to show that you can’t force yourself to change. You are what you are –”

“I’m not a bad person,” Kevin snarled at Argit.

Could have fooled me, Argit thought. Instead, he said, “No, man, of course you’re not. D’you think we could be this tight if I thought you was bad?”

“Only if there’s a profit involved for you,” Kevin muttered.

“Kevin!” Argit melodramatically raised an arm over his forehead, as if he were a damsel in distress about to faint. “How could you possibly think so?” From his peripheral point of view, he saw Kevin looking at him through narrowed eyebrows. He dropped the act. “OK, Kev, look at it this way. Y’can’t do what people tell you to do, y’can’t follow rules and restrictions all the time. You’re an independent person, a rogue spirit – these rules shouldn’t apply to you, and you’re too good for this – too smart for this. You hafta do what you do best.”

“And that’s dealing with technology, I suppose.”

“Exactly!” Argit nodded emphatically.

“So you want me to broker some deals, that it?” Kevin asked.

“‘Course!” Argit nodded emphatically. “Think about it.”

Kevin did. It would be good dealing with technology – he was good at it – and the money was good. But did he really want to go back to that life? After fighting alongside Ben and Gwen against those ideals, could he possibly go back to practicing them. He’d wanted to be a Plumber like his father, but his step-father mocked his dreams, saying that since he couldn’t control his powers and liked to hurt and attack others, he’d make a sorry excuse for one. He had his Plumber’s badge revoked when he made no excuse for the alien attacks, and the other Plumbers considered his silence as an admission of guilt.

He couldn’t go back to the way he had been as a child, a monster incapable of controlling himself, nor could he go back to the way he used to be with Ben and Gwen, when he was targeted as the weakest link and had been unable to control the situation, always deferring to someone else and thus losing control of who he was. Once he lost control, people he cared about got hurt.

“You could do whatcha do best, and gain some control over whatcha wanna do. It’s just a suggestion,” Argit shrugged.

Control.

Technology.

Money.

An unbidden thought of Gwen came to his mind, but he shook it away. He was no lovesick fool, not if he wanted to gain some control and stop hurting the people he cared about. And that included all the friends he'd made: Ben, Gwen, the Plumbers' helpers –

With control, he could do whatever he wanted.

“Jeez, I always thought you were a man of action, Kev. Why are you thinkin’ so much? Just make a decision. Take control.”

Something inside of him snapped at those words. He wanted control. He needed control.

“I’m in,” the seventeen-year old Kevin decided.

It was the worst decision he could possibly have made. Lured by the temptation of control, he soon redeveloped a taste for power and riches. And as he delved further and further into the underworld, he found that he was turning his back on the ideals that he shared with Ben and Gwen – fundamental ideals that he held dear to his heart, the same ones his father used to live by – that were totally impractical. But he couldn’t go back again. Not any more. Again, he was in too deep, and had lost control of what he wanted – not that he would admit to that. After all, he was in control of many other things: his life, his desires – but he had lost control of his values. His life was all about power and greed, and he didn’t mind hurting others to prove that he was, in fact, in control, when it couldn’t be farther from the truth. But at least no one he cared about got hurt – perhaps because now he had no one to care for.

At nearly twenty-two years of age, if he had known the story, he would have felt that he was like the man in the tale, who was dicing with the Devil. Too afraid to continue, but even more afraid to stop.

-

Gwen knew it was the right thing to do when she entered the brothel posing as a prostitute. Men were such fools when it came to passion. It was almost too easy to learn where the rebels were hiding and where most of the research bases where Styxionan technology was developed where – especially from Dahlia’s patrons. Dahlia must have been very, very good, because not only was she able to get the most influential and powerful men of the regime, the men somehow always told her about top-secret plans, gloating that the Styxionans, for all their reputation of being clever, were stupid to let themselves be utilized like this. Dahlia would always agree demurely, although she didn’t sound like she knew what they were talking about. Perhaps that was why the men told her so much – she didn’t understand a thing they said and they wanted to gloat over their ingenuity.

At any rate, this was good news for Gwen. Gwen would have thanked her Dahlia a million times, if she could actually confide in her roommate. But subterfuge was an important part of the plan.

No one saw her steal out at night, even when she stole out every night for the past three weeks, trying to support the Styxionan rebels who claimed that if she continued to help them, they’d be ready to overthrow Valerius Gallagher in six months’ time. Though careful manipulation of her mana, she often made sure that Dahlia and the notorious head of the brothel were always fast asleep, before stealing out and carefully executing well-thought plans which involved sabotaging research bases and stealing blueprints, as well as cautiously releasing as many rebels as she could – even as none of them knew who she truly was, except that she was an ally of Ben Tennyson. Nothing ever went wrong, as she meticulously carried out each fool-proof plan. It was as if she was Lucky Girl again.

For tonight, she was going to see whether she could sabotage some technology. Dahlia wasn’t around, so she would only have to worry about the patron. Carefully climbing out of the windows and gliding in the shadows, she moved as quickly and as quietly as she could. She decided tonight to practice on her flips and round-offs that she had learnt back when she took gymnastics as she stole through the dark alleys and the shadowy streets; she would need them for the research base tonight, as the research base was filled with level 5 traps and to enter it she would have to enter a secret pathway filled with level 6 traps, and Gwen wasn’t that good in technology that she could shut them down.

Apparently, according to Dahlia’s patron, the secret pathway (that the patron had designed – bow down to his superior intellect!) led to a secret storage room in the base that was created to store some level 9 technology, which, apparently, could be used to attack Ben Tennyson’s headquarters, and some level 8 technology that they’d received from other sources apparently able to subdue the rebels temporarily, although an unfortunate (this was said in a mocking tone) side effect of this technology would ‘scramble their brains’ (Gwen could guess what this meant). Of course, he did not explain this technology, because he did not fully understand it himself – anything beyond level 5 technology was difficult for most humans to understand and/or explain, but Gwen knew that if the regime ever had an opportunity to use them against Ben or the Styxionans, there would be a wide-scale catastrophe for them.

She couldn’t allow that to happen.

At any rate, she had arrived – to a scene of destruction. There was nothing left of what research base she had seen, but there were bodies everywhere. Twisted and mangled bodies – Gwen averted her eyes, trying to forget the sickening picture. Nearby, she saw a young Styxionan who was 5 years old (this would be equivalent to ten years old if she was human). Her clothes were grimy, tattered and torn, her hair ratty, and her face ashen gray. The Styxionan child had obviously been crying. Gwen approached her, cautiously.

“Are you all right?” Gwen asked. The child froze in fear. Gwen hastily reassured her, “Don’t worry, I mean no harm.”

The Styxionan child visibly relaxed, but did not answer Gwen’s question. Perhaps she was too shy.

“What happened here?”

The Styxionan child tried to restrain her tears. “My father was killed. Someone tried to destroy the technology by destroying the research base. Everyone else was killed too.” She looked directly at Gwen, with tearful, soulful eyes. “The fire was horrible. It was only level 2 technologies, but it was so awful, so painful.” The child paused. “Are you the Lady of the Night? Or are you the Silent Deception?”

“What do you mean?”

“They tell stories about them. Both of them beautiful ladies, hiding under masks, appearing at night only, here to help save the Styxionans. The Silent Deception is the more merciful of the two. She doesn’t do anything to hurt anyone, and she’s much more capable than the Lady of the Night, so much that everyone is sure she isn’t just an ally of Ben Tennyson, but someone who is destined for greater things.” The Styxionan child pondered for a minute, before continuing, “But the Lady of the Night is smart herself. She destroys, but only because she wants this to end. She said it’s a war, and people must be prepared to die for wars and makes sacrifices. B – but, it hurts so much to die for a war!” The Styxionan child cried bitterly. “I think you’re the Silent Deception. You look like how they describe her, with a black mask, black hair, and a black suit. And they said that the Lady of the Night was already here to prevent the technology from destroying Styxion. She did this, they told me. I suppose you don’t work together, otherwise you’d have known.” The child paused. “I’m going to die. They left me here because I was going to die.”

Gwen’s mind was still whirling from the discovery that she wasn’t the only one in a covert operation. This Lady of the Night was also aiding the rebels. The more the merrier, Gwen thought, even though she didn’t know who it was – Gwen had insisted other Plumbers not to join her for fear that their cover would have been blown easily, and Ben, who tried to help organize the other Plumbers would find it difficult to send other Plumbers anyway because it was difficult to find alter egos for so many Plumbers. Besides, it was difficult to send anyone anyway, because they had limited manpower and had to make sure their area (thousand of lightyears cubed in all directions) was relatively peaceful. So whoever it was, it most definitely wasn't a Plumber.

But then who could the Lady of the Night be?

But she heard the child saying softly that she was going to die. Almost – almost as if she were resigned to that fact. As if she had lost hope.

“No,” she said firmly to the Styxionan child. “You’re coming with me. And you will live.” She scooped the frail child up in her arms; was this what Ben (and Kevin) had called her ‘maternal instinct’? All she knew was she couldn’t let the child be hurt and left abandoned to die, amongst the putrid smell of dead corpses. There was no one left alive, and she was left by those who were supposed to help her in this massive graveyard. “And you’ll be safe. You can stay with me for a while, and then I’ll send you somewhere safer. Sleep now. You need to rest if you want to recover.”

The child gave a faint smile. “Thank you, Silent Deception. My name is Levetuda. I –” Levetuda sounded as if she wanted to say something else, but she had fallen into the eternal sleep of death.

Gwen was too stunned by the sudden death of the child. Only before was she still living and breathing, and looked as if she’d make a recovery. It was the first time Gwen had actually come face to face with a real victim whose life ended, with no longer a sliver of hope for the future.

The tears fell freely, and Gwen didn’t even know why. After all, the child Levetuda was just another victim of a war that had been waging on in Styxion since before her birth. She supposed it was because reality finally hit her, that people were actually suffering and dying, and that Levetuda’s death symbolized the end of hope.

She cradled the child in her arms, holding her close. The body was becoming cold, but the child’s face still held that faint smile. Gwen wondered how, in the face of destruction and torture, the child could still leave the world smiling. In fact, Levetuda’s face was peaceful and serene.

Gwen laid the child down on the hard, unfeeling ground and walked away. The child – all of those who died – deserved a far better memorial than this, but Gwen could not afford to stay for long. Someone could come along, and she could be captured and blamed for this obliteration. With slow and steady steps, she walked away, the child’s dead, serene face all the while haunting her. Gwen could only hope that the child was in a better place now than this terrible nightmare that used to be her reality.

-

“Outrageous!” Valerius Gallagher declared at the dinner table, where he was dining, together with his family and several guests, including Kevin.

Valerius Gallagher was a slight, frail man in appearance, and although he looked as if he couldn’t hurt a fly, he was, in actuality, a cruel and brutal man, much like his father. It was said that he had murdered his elder brothers, Alexander, Charlemagne and Nathaniel in order to succeed his greedy father, and that he murdered his wife, when, after Valeria was born, she failed to provide a son.

The messenger who had provided the news that the research base had been destroyed was literally pale with fear. His eyes were blinking rapidly, and you could see him shivering with fright – with good reason, too. Valerius looked as if he would strangle the man right there and then, his face literally red with anger and his veins were visible.

“How could they have done it?” Valerius yelled himself hoarse. “My security is top-notch!”

“My lord, she just – destroyed everything, regardless of the casualties,” the messenger stammered.

Valerius sat down, hand pressed against his forehead. “You may go now.” Turning to Kevin, he asked, “What do you think of this sorry situation, eh, Levin? They are destroying the country from within. They question my authority. What would you do, if you were in my situation?”

“You’re asking me?” Kevin asked, nonchalant.

“But of course!” Valerius replied. “After all, you will soon be my son-in-law. We shall be allies.”

“Not quite,” Kevin smirked. He leaned forward, continuing, “I don’t have allies. I work by myself. You know that.” He leaned backwards. “Too much betrayal if you depend on someone, and trust me, when someone betrays me, I don’t just get even, I get revenge.” Kevin gave an unsettling smile, as if he were the big bad wolf about to eat Little Red Riding Hood.

“Indeed,” Valerius smiled. “And how would you get even with your enemies?”

The unsettling smile only grew wider. “Try to rat me out and you’ll learn soon enough.”

“Yes, I heard how you’d ended things with that urchin, Argit, by deserting him in Mars.” Valerius laughed a hearty laugh, but his daughters remained quiet. Valeria was sickened by her father’s blatant approval of the diabolical man he’d chosen to be her husband. Alexia’s lips were pursed, as if she was trying to prevent her emotions from getting the better of her. Camellia looked like a deer caught in headlights, frightened and dismayed. Natalia’s eyes were narrowed, and her lips were curled in a twisted imitation of a mocking smile.

None of the four were pleased with how things were going.

It seemed as if Valeria had no choice but to marry Kevin Levin at this point. After all, it was less than two weeks into the wedding, and yet Dahlia had been unable to come up with any potential blackmail information about Violet. There was no way that the girls could possibly force Violet to marry in Valeria’s place, not unless –

“Valeria, you can’t be serious!” Camellia cried, horrified, when the girls had retired to their chambers after dinner. “You can’t actually think of kidnapping!”

“My sister has gone and lost her mind, she’s really going to get it this time,” Natalia lamented.

Valeria ignored Natalia’s comment. “Don’t you see I’ve no choice? I know it sounds selfish –?”

“Sounds? It sounds selfish?” Natalia asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“But what would you do? We’ve had dinner with the guy every day for the past week! I don’t see a way I could get out of this marriage!”

“What about running away?” Camellia suggested.

“If she ran away, what do you think will happen?” Alexia asked, softly. “Father would be furious. She wouldn’t be able to survive a day outside, nor would she be able to even stay outside for long – you know how vigilant father’s soldiers are. He’d throttle her with his bare hands, I don’t doubt.”

“So that’s why my only choice would be to kidnap Violet,” Valeria said, firmly. Her face fell. “I don’t want to do it, and I know it sounds selfish, but – I’m only seventeen. I want to explore the world.”

“How much exploring can you actually do here, Valeria?” Natalia cried. “Look at us. We can barely leave and walk around freely! How often have you left the palace since you were born? Not even once every week on average since our birth!”

“Well, anything would be better than staying here! That’s exactly my point! I want to leave this sorry palace and explore, and I can only do that if people think I still live here! Hence, we bring in Violet.”

“But what about Violet’s eyes? Her hair?” Camellia pointed out. “You need hair dye and contact lenses for that – how on earth are we going to get them?”

“We can get them from the brothel – that’s easy enough,” Valeria said. “Look, from what we saw of Violet, she seems like an understanding person –”

“So understanding she rejected your request outright,” Natalia muttered.

“I didn’t have enough time to explain it to her,” Valeria protested.

“She might think it’s just selfishness on your part, Valeria,” Camellia said.

“That’s enough,” Alexia’s voice rang out over the sisters’ conversation. It was enough to stun the girls into a short silence.

It was Natalia who broke the pause. “Valeria, you know I care about you, and I do want you to do what you want, but you must know that I’m just trying to remind you that this can have an extremely bad outcome.” She paused. “If you’re really set in kidnapping Violet, I’ll help you, but only because I care about you and I don’t want this to be all screwed up.”

Camellia shook her head. “This bodes no good, Valeria, I hope you know that. Kidnapping a person, just to get out of an arranged marriage –” She trailed off, obviously uncomfortable with the idea.

“Valeria deserves her happiness, and I’ll do anything to make sure you reach that happiness goal, Valeria. I don’t think Kevin Levin will make a good husband for you, and I think he’ll only hurt you. I won’t let you be hurt by that – that – malevolent man,” Alexia added.

“Camellia?” Valeria turned to her softest-hearted sister. Camellia bit her lip, unsure. But she finally opened her mouth to say: “Valeria, only for you would I do something I disagree with.”

The show of solidarity between the sisters touched Valeria. “You are the best of sisters. Now, as for planning –”

“About that,” Natalia began. “We might want to be careful. Papa told us that several minor allies will be visiting for the wedding to repeat their pledges of allegiance. Some of them are coming tomorrow, so we’d better be in early in the morning. We can do it during the afternoon.”

-

Charmcaster was none too pleased about her companion to Styxion, and she was sure that Michael Morningstar – she apologized, it was Darkstar to whom she was referring to – didn’t care. There was little that ruffled the Vladite, she thought, and she would be right. The only thing he seemed to care about what energy, and that was only because – power-hungry creature that he was – his powers were stronger when he absorbed greater energy. She tried to keep out of his way, because every time he looked at her, he had a look of hunger in his eyes –

It was if he wanted to eat her and satisfy his hunger. Which was close to the truth, she supposed, because he had a near-insatiable – if not quite insatiable – hunger for mana. That she had a lot of, despite being human. She supposed it was evolution. She had a theory about that, actually, that towards the end all beings would evolve into the same species (Anodite) as the world became more disordered. Then again, she wasn’t a physicist.

Still, it would explain why she and her uncle (and the rest of the humans living in the dimension she was from) was able to manipulate mana like most Anodites. And her greater than average possession of mana would explain why Darkstar looked like he was a vampire ready to strike.

The spacecraft that bore them to Styxion hovered above the ground before landing gracefully. “We’re here,” Charmcaster said, grimly, to Darkstar.

“Good. I was getting drained of my energy,” Darkstar replied, his tone haughty and aloof. She knew she didn’t look like a bona fide villain, and with her silvery-blonde hair and piercing amethyst eyes, she could easily be mistaken for a beautiful, troubled young woman, and that was why Darkstar held little regard for her abilities. Valerius Gallagher never made that mistake, though, and she grew to consider Valerius as her benefactor (he often provided her with funds when she did anything to disrupt the peace). As for Darkstar – she supposed the reason why he was a close ally with Valerius Gallagher was because they had a strangely symbiotic relationship. Valerius Gallagher provided him with living beings, and Darkstar would – well, they were his source of energy.

Which – she was reminded – he was dangerously low on at the moment.

“Now what?” She asked him.

“Unless you want to be lunch, Charmcaster, you might want to move aside. I need energy. Go find your uncle or something.”

Her uncle Hex was stuck in the Null Void again, and no way would she go and rescue him, again. She didn’t owe the dirtbag anything. She looked around, and saw Darkstar going off in the direction towards the palace, his fists clenched. Charmcaster knew the possible reason for Darkstar’s annoyance was that he was to be replaced by Kevin Levin, and although he had never been outspoken about his hatred for the former hero-turned-villain (unlike said Kevin Levin had been), he must have felt slighted that Valerius Gallagher had been more desirous of an alliance with Kevin Levin. Which made her wonder why on earth he was even here for his wedding.

Darkstar inhaled deeply. “Energy,” he said, as if he were drunk. “So much energy, so much more than before.” He turned to Charmcaster, an evil smirk gracing his features. “I love it here.”

And that was why. She shuddered. She did not have a good feeling about this.