(Side note: Chapters in this story will be on the shorter side.)
A little bit of additional info: After the events of Ben 10: Destroy All Aliens, Ben's parents retained their memories of turning into aliens. This led to Ben, Gwen, and Grandpa Max to explain the Omnitrix and all that's happened.
While his parents were concerned for Ben, they knew they couldn't stop him. They set up some ground rules, like curfews and all that, in order to help him balance his two different lives.
After the Malware incident, and when Ben took off the Omnitrix, Sandra and Carl have become increasingly worried about Ben's mental state. Ben always says he's fine, but his parents don't fully believe him.
Anyway, we open up to see Ben on his way home from school. He is currently kicking a can as we makes his way home. Ben has been attending school for about a couple of months now, so it's in the middle of November.
Ben: 'It's been a little over a year since the incident with Malware. I can't believe I haven't gotten over it by now, especially with what Azmuth said about loss.' He misses the can and continues walking. 'I'm so damn pathetic.'
Ben eventually reaches his home and goes inside. At the moment, nobody is home. Not even his dog.
Ben: 'Weird, Rex isn't-. Oh, right. Mom and dad said they were taking him to the groomers after work.' He shuts the door and takes off his shoes. 'Homework time, I guess.'
Ben trudges his way upstairs and goes into his room. He sets his bag down next to his desk and sits at the desk. Ben takes out a folder from his bag, opening it, grabbing and setting setting down two sheets of paper onto the table. His math homework and his notes.
Ben sighs as he also grabs a pencil and eraser from his bag. Once he had everything, he started working on the math homework.
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After about half an hour, Ben finally finishes his homework.
Ben: "Finally." He leans back in his chair and sighs. "I hate homework so much."
Ben looks at his bed, or more specifically, under it. He then stands up from his chair and goes over to the bed, before kneeling down and reaching for something underneath.
Ben shoves his arm in, eventually grabbing and pulling a box out from underneath. He opens the box, seeing a bunch miscellaneous stuff. Ben sifts through everything, emptying the box until there is only one thing left in the box.
Ben reaches for the Omnitrix, hesitating for a moment, before grabbing it and staring at the watch.
The back of the watch opens up, with Ben jolting back a bit from it. Ben looks from between the Omnitrix and his left wrist for a couple of seconds.
Suddenly, Ben throws the Omnitrix back in the box and puts everything else back inside. He then shoves the box back under the bed.
Ben: "Still not ready." He stands up and heads out of his room. "I need to take a walk."
After some time, Ben makes it outside and walks down the street for about 10 minutes, eventually reaching the forest.
Ben: "A forest walk seems nice."
Ben makes his way into the forest, the crunching of fall leaves beneath his feet.
Ben: "Yeah, this is really nice. I didn't really get to appreciate this the last three summers."
After about ten minutes, Ben reaches a river, where a fallen log reaches from one side to the other. He starts walking across it.
Ben: "First and second summer was because of the Omnitrix. The third was....." He trails off, stopping at the middle. "......ugh, can't help but think about that, huh?"
Ben sighs as he finishes walking across the log, making it to the other side of the river, continuing his walk.
Ben wanders aimlessly for a couple of minutes, before stopping at a large tree, sitting at its base and leaning against its trunk.
Ben: "Ugh." He rubs his hand through his hair. "Why can't I just get over it? Feedback was just one of countless transformations that are in the Omnitrix. And I had far more powerful forms."
Ben bangs the back of his head against the tree. That's when he realizes something.
The forest is dead silent.
Even in the colder months of the year, it's never this quiet.
Ben snaps his eyes open, looking around as he slowly stands up. As soon as he is fully stood up, he spins around to keep an eye on his surroundings.
After a few short moments, a blast of red energy is shot at Ben, who just barely dodges in time, and the blast destroys a large section of the tree's trunk. This makes the tree start falling over, making Ben have to roll out of the way.
Before he could even think, a pink energy tendril grabs Ben by the ankle spins him around before slamming him into the ground.
Ben: "URGH!" He shakily gets onto his knees. "What the hell was that?"
???: "That would be us, boy."
Ben looks up and sees two individuals he would rather not be seeing.
Hex and Charmcaster.
Ben: "Ugh, you've gotta be kidding me." He stands up, putting his hands into his jacket pockets. "So, I guess you two are here for revenge, right?"
Hex: "As astute as usual, boy."
Charmcaster: "So, how should we do this, uncle?" She charges pink energy balls in her hands. "I'm just about itching to hurt him."
Hex: "Long and painful, niece." He charges yellow ball of energy in his staff. "We shall make him beg for mercy. Which shall be quite easy to accomplish, considering the boy doesn't seem to be in possession of that device."
Ben: "What makes you say that?"
Charmcastsr: "If you still had that thing, you would have transformed by now."
As Ben and the magic users stand across from each other, Ben presses a button in his jacket pocket, holding it for three seconds before releasing the button.
Ben: 'These two are probably gonna kill me. My best option is to flee and hope Grandpa Max got my signal.' He glares at Hex and Charmcaster, squatting down slightly. 'Not my style, but I don't have much of a choice.'
Charmcaster throws several energy balls at Ben, who dodges with relative ease, and they explode behind him. That's when Hex surprises him with a torrent of fire from his staff, which Ben just narrowly avoids by ducking down and to the left. Though he wasn't fast enough and he got burned on the shoulder.
The combined attacks create a small smokescreen, with Ben using this opportunity to run off into the forest, back the way he came.
Ben: "Okay, I need to hurry!" He holds his burnt shoulder. "Gotta get back, gotta get back!"
As Ben runs across the log, a blast of lightning shoots at the middle of it, making the log break in half and fall into the river along with Ben.
Ben swims up to the surface and quickly makes it to the other side, panting and dripping wet.
Ben: "Jesus Christ! That's so cold!" He shivers as he turns around, seeing Hex and Charmcaster floating above. "Seriously? Could you have at least waited until after I crossed the river?"
Hex: "We are here to make you suffer, Tennyson. Why would we grant you any kind of mercy?"
Ben: "When you put it like that, fair enough." He discreetly grabs a rock. "But what took you guys so long? It's been almost two years since I saw either of you."
Charmcaster: "That's none of your business, kid!"
Ben: "And yet this kid has kicked your asses on multiple occasions."
Hex: "Enough of this!" He uses his staff to levitate Ben off of the ground. "It is time for your suffering to begin!"
Ben: "How about no?"
Ben quickly throws the rock at Hex's head, disorienting him and making both he and Ben fall to the ground.
As Ben scrambles to get onto his feet, Charmcaster sent out several sharp projectiles from her bag. Ben is able to outrun most of them, but some get lodged deep into Ben's back.
Charmcaster gives chase, with Hex following closely behind. Charmcaster sends out explosive projectiles from her bag, with Ben weaving between the trees to avoid them.
That's when Hex summons large knife-like attacks and shoots them at Ben. Some get lodged into the trees, some cut across legs and arms, with one lodging into his right arm.
Ben: 'I'm so screwed!' He holds his arm as he looks back, seeing Hex and Charmcaster gaining, before looking forward again. 'They'll catch me! I know they will! But I have to get as close back as possible before they do!'
As he thinks this, Ben's calves get stabbed by one blade each. This makes Ben fall to the ground, making him eat dirt. Ben tries to get back up, but Hex shoots a bolt of electricity into Ben's back from his staff.
Ben clenches his teeth, not giving them the satisfaction of hearing him scream. However, this proves to be a mistake.
Charmcaster summons eight rock monsters, which were slightly bigger than Ben. They then start beating on him as he desperately tries to fight back.
Ben: "Get the hell of of me!" He kicks and punches, but they overwhelm him. "Let! Me! Go-URGH!"
One of the rock monsters hit him in the gut hard, knocking the wind out of him.
As the rock monsters continue their assault, the sound of bones cracking could be heard every so often. Despite this, Ben refused to make much sound, only groans and small whimpers escaping his lips.
Ben: 'Fuck, this hurts so bad!' One of the rock monsters hits him in the ribs, breaking a few. 'FUCK! GOD DAMMIT!'
After a few more minutes, Charmcaster recalls the rock monsters into her bag. Ben now looks severely beat up, bruises all across his body.
Ben's face is also really bloody, cuts across his face from the rock monsters. And despite not being seen, he has a couple of fractured bones across his body.
He has a fractured Femur in his left leg, a fractured Tibia in his right, a couple of broken ribs, a fractured Humerus in his right arm, and a fractured Radius in his left arm.
(For Reference)
Ben: "Is that.....all you got?" He sits up, groaning in pain as he does. "Cause if so.....you're gonna have......to try harder.....than that."
Ben is kicked in the chest by Charmcaster, inflicting significant pain to Ben as he falls onto his back, before going into the fetal position.
Hex: "Now now, my niece. We cannot kill him yet." He uses his staff to lift Ben off the ground again. "First, we make him suffer for all the pain he has inflicted onto us!"
Hex throws Ben into a tree, a faint crack being heard. That was the back of Ben's skull colliding with the tree trunk, fracturing upon contact.
As Ben falls onto the ground, he leans up against the tree. The back of Ben's head is bleeding profusely, leaving blood dripping down his back. The sudden impact also left his vision a bit blurry.
Ben: "Okay." He says weakly as he tries to stand up, but ends up falling back onto his rear. "That.....hurt."
Charmcaster: "And that's only the beginning." She smiles devishly. "We're going to enjoy this."
Ben looks up at Hex and Charmcaster, a look of defiance still on his face.
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Right now, Ben's parents, Grandpa Max, and Gwen are running into the forest, with a tracker in Grandpa Max's hand.
Sandra: "How much farther are we from Ben!?"
Grandpa Max: "We're very close. We should reach him soon."
Carl: "Are you sure he didn't hit it by accident?"
Gwen: "The device grandpa gave each of us needs to be held down for at least three seconds. There's no way Ben hit it by accident."
A loud scream could suddenly be heard in the distance, the voice clearly being Ben's.
Sandra: "My baby!"
Grandpa Max: "We need to hurry!"
After several minutes, they make it to the source of the screams. Hex and Charmcaster are standing in front of Ben, their backs to the Tennyson family.
Gwen: "It's Hex and Charmcaster!" She prepares mana in her hands. "What are you doing to Ben!?"
Hex: "Take a look for yourself, Lucky Girl."
Hex and Charmcaster move to the side, revealing Ben's body leaning against a tree. The Tennyson family is absolutely shocked and horrified by what they see.
Along with the already present fractures and bruises, there are numerous deep cuts across Ben's body in several places. Most notably is a cut across Ben's right eye, going down from his forehead to his chin.
Blood soaks Ben's clothes, and he moans weakly in pain.
Gwen breaks out of her shock and shoots a lightening spell at Hex, who uses his staff to redirect it at the Tennyson family. Gwen makes a mana barrier to block the attack.
Despite her attempt, it didn't work. The lightning bolt split into four parts and went around the barrier, shocking each of them. They each fall to the ground in pain, their bodies spasming every so often.
Charmcaster: "Uncle, don't you think it's about time for the finale?"
Hex: "I believe you are right, Charmcaster."
Hex moves in front of Ben, who looks up at the sorcerer as he points his staff at Ben.
Hex: "Any last words, Tennyson?"
Ben stays silent, before spitting a ton of blood onto Hex's foot.
Ben: "Go fuck yourself."
Hex continues to point his staff at Ben, red energy building up. Ben looks down at himself in disappointment.
Ben: 'Is this really how I die?' He looks back up at Hex. 'I expected either Vilgax, Malware, or Kevin to be the one to kill me. But I guess anyone could've killed me, even some lucky punk.'
The energy that Hex was charging up blasts at Ben, engulfing him in red light. The light gets so intense that everybody has to cover their eyes.
After a few moments, the light dies down. Everyone uncovers their eyes and sees that Ben has disappeared, only a large smear of blood on the tree and ground where he sat.
At around the same time, Hex fell onto his knees, panting hard. Charmcaster goes to his side and helps him up.
Carl: "NO!" He attempts to run up to the magic users, but Grandpa Max grabs his arms and holds him back. "Where is he!? What did you do to my son!?"
Hex: "It is simple." He catches his breath, before looking Carl dead in the eye. "The spell was a transportation spell, hence why it took so much of my energy to make the spell work."
Sandra: "Where did you send him!?"
Charmcaster: "Straight to the fiery pits of the underworld." She giggles. "Without that precious toy, he won't stand a chance down there."
Absolutely horrified, Sandra falls to her knees and weeps. Grandpa Max is still holding onto Carl, both of them filled with rage. Gwen is just in a state of shock, as if she can't believe what she heard.
Only one thing was going through their minds.
Tennysons: 'We all know you're too stubborn to let this stop you, Ben. We know you'll make it back.'
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Location: Hell
In the middle of all the lava and the brimstone, a red portal opens up, facing the ground. And out of it comes a bleeding and beaten Ben. He falls face-first into the ground, not knowing he just wound up in Hell.
Ben groans in pain as he tires to get up, his injuries making it difficult. So difficult, in fact, that Ben just fell back onto his face.
Ben: 'Welp, this is how I die. No epic fight to the finish, or dying with loved ones. I die alone, in some hot place that smells like rotten eggs.' He sighs as he relaxing into the hot, rocky floor of Hell. 'Guess this isn't too uncomfortable a floor to die on.'
As Ben begins to accept the sweet release of death, he hears footsteps approaching him, and they stop once they're right in front of him.
???; "Hey, you alright?" A tired, female voice asks. "You don't look so good."
Ben: "That's putting it pretty lightly, considering I'm bleeding to death."
???: "I could fix that for you, if you want."
Ben: "Seuously?" His voice sounds skeptical. "Well, if you can, that would be nice."
Without a word, the mysterious stranger's hand glows red, and Ben's body also glows red. After a few moments, Ben feels much better, as if all his pain has disappeared.
Ben: "Oh my god." He sits up, looking down at his arms, flexing them slightly. "I feel so much better. As if nothing ever happened." He looks up at the stranger. "Thank you so mu-."
Ben is somewhat horrified by what he sees, though he is mostly just surprised at the stranger's appearance.
Ben: "What the fuck?" He looks around at the hellscape. "Oh no. I'm in hell, aren't I?"
Pandemonica: "Indeed you are. My name is Pandemonica, Hell's Customer Service. It is quite unusual to find a living human down in Hell." She puts her hand out to shake. "Regardless, how may I serve you?"
Ben: "Uh, Ben Tennyson." He shakes her hand. "And you can start by answering some of my questions."
Pandemonica: "Sounds simple enough." The two stop shaking hands. "What questions do you have?"
Ben: "Firstly, Hell has customer service? That doesn't sound like something Hell would have."
Pandemonica: "Just because Hell is a place of suffering doesn't mean we can't have decent customer service." She yawns. "I assume you have other questions?"
Ben: "Yes. Is there a way out of Hell?"
Pandemonica: "Yes, there is. You would have to make it to Lucifer's castle first." She points off in the distance, where a large castle can be seen. "She is your only chance of getting out of here. And in case you need to get back asap, do not worry. Lucifer could send you back to the human world at any point in time."
Ben: "So she could, for example, send me to the night Jesus was born?"
Pandemonica: "Precisely."
Ben: 'Well that takes care of that issue. And who knew Lucifer was a woman.' "Well, that's good to hear. Now, is there some kind of map that can guide me through to the castle?"
Pandemonica: "Actually, I believe it would be best if I guided you there myself. There are plenty of dangerous obstacles between here and the castle." She pauses for a moment. "However, it will cost you."
Ben: "That's fine with me. What do you want?"
Pandemonica: "When Lucifer gets you back to the human world, I'll go with you and then you'll have to make me coffee whenever I desire."
Ben: "Wait a minute. So you're saying that you want to stay in my home and have me make you coffee whenever you want it?"
Pandemonica: "Exactly." She pats Ben's head, making him a bit flustered. "That's a good boy."
Ben grabs Pandemonica's hand and pushes it away, sighing as he does so.
Ben: "It's not like I have a choice anyway." He cracks his knuckles. "Lead the way."
Pandemonica nods as she starts leading the way to Lucifer's castle, beginning Ben's journey through Hell.
(Decided to make this one early, since I'm on Winter Break.)
That's the end of the chapter. See you in the next one!