WereBen

Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10 or we all know what would have happened already.

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P.S.-: Check out One-Shot King Z's account.

Chapter 10: Summer's End & Revelations

A/N: I never surrendered! And as you can see, I'm not dead!

Summer - the time of endless fun and relaxation. A time when you gather with your friends and play football or soccer. Where endless adventures happen – was coming to an end and what a summer it was. Ben had found the ultimate weapon in the universe and fought villains for it. He thwarted the plans off evil space pirates, mad scientists, a raging teenage thug, and so on and so forth. Love was found and hearts were broken. Soon, the end had nearly come and a war was fought. Revelations came to pass, new family was discovered, and hearts were mending. Truly an eventful summer indeed.

Staring at the living room ceiling, Ben can't help but sigh. Summer was ending and he'd have to return to school soon. On top of that, he's still blue, furry, and looks like he's part wolf furry. He couldn't go home like this. If his parents saw him, they'd freak. Anyone would seeing him as he was now. Hell! They'd most likely try to lock him up, away from people or e3xperiment on him and he didn't feel like being sliced open and examined. "Then, there's Gwen," Ben thought. "She's been acting different ever since the omnitrix nearly blew up and took the universe with it. Worse she won't tell me or grandpa what's bothering her and I can't figure it out on my own! It's been driving me crazy!"
-With Charmcaster & Gwen-

For the last several weeks of summer, Gwen has been distant towards Ben. She avoided him whenever she could and when she couldn't she played nice, but it was a little obvious she wanted to be somewhere else. Max had tried to talk to her, but couldn't get her to open up to him. So, now it was up to Charmcaster to try her luck and get Gwen to open up to her. Though, if what her gut was telling her was true, then she already knew what was bothering Gwen so much. All she needed her to do was get her to open herself up to it.

"Now, where is she?" Charmcaster wonders.

Using her mana, Charmcaster casts a spell that lets her track Gwen down. She finds her in a secluded clearing, surrounded by trees. Apparently, she was flipping through Charmcaster's spell book, looking for something. "I really need to get her one of her own spell books," she thinks. A look of frustration crossed her face when she couldn't find whatever it was and she growls, pulling her hair in frustration. Not even a second later, she's sighing and looking once more. Charmcaster raises an eyebrow at this. "I wonder what she's looking for," Charmcaster thinks. Deciding to make herself known, Charmcaster approaches Gwen.

"What'cha looking for?" She asks, startling Gwen.

Gwen jumps a little, spinning around and glaring at her older cousin.

"Don't do that," she hisses.

Charmcaster chuckles. "Whatever. Gonna answer my question?"

"I'm looking for a spell."

"I can see that. I mean what spell are you looking for?"

"One that'll turn Ben back to normal."

"Why?"

"Because I can't have Ben blindly obeying almost every order I give him if he thinks I'm serious. Another reason is that he can't go home looking like he does. If he does it'll cause a whole nest of problems like the fact people – our enemies – will know where we live and that'll just put everyone in danger. Then, there's the fact that they'll try to lock him away and experiment on him. I cannot and will not allow that to happen."

"You could've asked me for help."

"This is something I needed to do this on my own."

"Looks like you're not having much luck with than and for good reason. A spell like that wouldn't be in that book."

Gwen stops flipping through the spell book. The pages slip from her fingers and she stands up stiffly. Charmcaster raises an eyebrow at her and crosses her arms under her moderate breast, waiting for Gwen to do something. Gwen turns towards her slowly with her head down. Charmcaster can see her shoulders trembling slightly and her fist are clenched at her sides. She sighs, before stepping forward and lifting Gwen's head up by her chin. Their eyes lock and Charmcaster can see more tears gathering in her eyes to join the ones already falling from her chin. She pulls Gwen into a hug quickly, rubbing soothing circles on the small of her back.

"Sssshhh," she tells Gwen as she cries into her shirt. "Sssshhhh, it's okay. It's all gonna be okay. I didn't tell you that to discourage you. All I meant was that the spell is too dangerous for it to be in that spell book. Spells like that are kept in grimoires, Hex had a few and I used to sneak and read them. I know the spell you're looking for, so sheer up. It's going to be okay."

Gwen nods into Charmcster's chest, but doesn't let go. She needed this. To be held while she let go, let go of everything she's been bottling up or avoiding for the past several weeks. Charmcaster seemed to understand this and hugged her tighter, humming a soothing tune. Slowly, but surely, Gwen begins to calm down as they stood there in each other's embrace. Once she was calm, she stepped back from Charmcaster, but doesn't leave her embrace. She wipes the tears off her cheeks with one hand and gives Charmcaster a grateful, teary eyed smile. Charmcaster wipes her cheeks as well; cupping Gwen's left cheek and smiles back.

"Thanks," Gwen tells her.

"No problem, I'm happy to help. Are you okay now? Or is there anything else you need to get off your chest?"

"Ummm….I-uh…..(sigh) – I'll tell you later, okay?"

"Hmmm….okay, but I'll hold you to that. Now, let's go help our cousin. Though, I do need to warn you that this spell is very draining and requires two people to pull it off. One saying the first half of the spell and the second saying the other half to balance out the power. We also need to have our mana levels equal to each other's so that we're in sync or the spell could blow up in our faces…literally. One of us could die. Do you still wanna do this?"

"Yes," Gwen replied without hesitation. She didn't need to think about it. It was for Ben after all.

Charmcaster raises and eyebrow at her. "You sure?" she asks just be safe.

"Absolutely," Gwen replies, voice determined and fire in her eyes.

Charmcaster smiles. "Alright then, let's go."

-With Max & Ben-

Feeling a little anxious, Ben had left the rv's living room and went outside to get some fresh air. Max watched him from a distance, standing next to the rv. Ben was standing close to the forest, just staring up at the sky. Being closer to nature helped him relax more, despite his mind still being occupied by other things. Suddenly, his head snapped down and towards the forest surrounding them and he stares into it. Max raises an eyebrow at him, cautiously reaching for his stun gun. Out of the forest emerge Gwen and Charmcaster. Seeing them, Max relaxes instantly. Meanwhile, Ben continued to stare at the two as they approach and his tail constantly wags behind him. Both Charmcaster and Gwen stop right in front of him, not saying a thing. They didn't need to. Looking into their eyes, Ben can clearly see something had gone on between the two and it involved him. He sighs.

"So," he starts, "I can tell that whatever it was that was bothering you isn't anymore."

"Yeah, I'm good now."

"Did it involve me?"

"Yes."

"…..I see."

Silence falls and Max watches on a little confused.

"What was it about?" Ben eventually asks.

"Turning you back," Gwen states.

"H-huh?" Ben asked surprised.

"I was trying to find a spell to help turn you back to normal. I realized a while ago it'd be dangerous if you went back looking like you are now and tried to find a way to fix it."

"Oh….- um…d-did you?" Ben asks hopefully.

"No, but Charmcaster says she knows the spell already."

"R-really?!"

"Yes, I do. We can try it now, if you wish."

"That's be -"

"Hold on a minute," Max interjects.

The three cousins turn their attention to Max, finding him approaching them quickly.

"Now, I'm all for returning Ben back to normal, but using a spell you know next to nothing about could be very dangerous."

"Grandpa," Ben says, eyes locking, "You and I both know I can't go home looking like I do now. I'm not a hundred percent sure what'll happen to me, but I have a pretty good idea and I don't like my options. And I'm sure you actually know what will happen to me, don't you?"

Max sighs. He doesn't answer Ben's question, but he doesn't have to – they all know the answer already. He knew exactly what would happen to Ben if he went back as he was, he's seen it before. Begrudgedly, he nods his head towards the trio, silently giving them his permission to proceed. Ben smiles and hugs Max tightly.

"Thanks grandpa," he mumbles gratefully. Then, he turned back to Charmcaster and Gwen. "Alright, I'm ready. Let's do this."

Both females nod and move around Ben as Max backs up a few feet. Gwen stands in front of Ben and Charmcaster stands behind him. Gwen locks eyes with Ben and he nods to her. She closes her eyes as she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. Opening her eyes, Gwen begins to chant. Charmcaster follows up after her.

"Quod mutatum est homini" Gwen chants.

'Maturum reditum vestri vera form" Charmcaster chants after her.

A magical circle appears under Ben and spreads out across the field. It stops an inch behind Gwen and Charmcaster, surrounding all three cousins. As this happens the girls begin to chant faster. An orb of mana forms above them and expands until it connects to the magic circle. A dome is around then then, cutting Max off from them. Gwen's already pink glowing eyes, turning into a vibrant blue. Charmcaster's go from purple to a lovely violet. Electricity begins to dance around the three and Ben's eyes begin to glow a very vibrant green.

Mini spheres of mana surrounded the three, connecting them together by electricity. Ben's eyes stopped glowing green and mirrored the glow of Gwen's eyes, as did Charmcaster's. Then, unsuspectedly, Ben cries out in pain. His pained cries quickly fade into savage growls. Then, the growling fades and escalates to a terrifying roar. His legs buckle from under him, sending him crashing into the ground on all fours as he shifts into his second stage of his werewolf forms. The omnitrix pops up and mimics the color of Ben's eyes. Then, it slams itself down and a bright light flashes, covering the area and nearly blinding Max.

As the flash dies down, Max quickly looks back at his grandchildren. A sigh of relief escapes him as he sees that they're alright. Ben was still on all fours, but he was back in his first stage form. Slowly, as he stays unnaturally still, the blue seems to fade away. Not in the sense that he changed color by getting brighter or darker, but in the sense it faded away like water. It seemed to shrink back revealing his normal skin tone. Eventually, it all faded away until he was normal again. Though, his ears and tail remained, but they were brown now instead of blue. (For those having trouble picturing it, think about the way Naruto reverted from his form tailed transformation after his fight with Orochimaru.)

Slowly, the spell starts to die down and the mana field vanishes. Gwen and Charmcaster, who started floating half-way through the spell, slowly touch the ground. Their eyes stop glowing and the wind dies down. Ben sighs and collapses face first into the dirt, out cold. Gwen falls flat on her ass, breathing raggedly. Charmcaster stood there, slouching a bit and slightly winded. Max quickly rushes to their sides.

"D-did it work?" Gwen asks breathlessly.

"Since, we're all in one piece; I'm going to say yeah. Though, he still has his ears and tail," Charmcaster replies.

"S-so, w-we….did a-all…t-that….f-for n-nothing?"

"No," Max replies. "You two did a good job. My guess is you couldn't completely reverse Ben's physical appearance because it's what he is now. Doing so most like would have killed him or you two. But don't worry; I have something that may be of help."

Neither responded to what he told them, instead choosing to catch their breath while relief flooded them. Max smiles down at them and pats each of them on the back. He then grabs Ben and takes him into the rv, to let him rest properly. The two female cousins lock eyes when he's gone and Gwen knew by the look in Charmcaster's eyes that it was time to come clean. She could tell Charmcaster wanted to finish their conversation from when they were on Tetrax's ship and most likely already knew what else was bothering her. She also knew that she wouldn't stop pestering her about it until she confessed to her. Sighing, she closes her eyes briefly, gathering her courage and opens them again, nodding to Charmcaster. Though, she does mothed, 'not here' to her. Charmcaster nods back at her, mouthing 'okay'.

The two stand up fully and head away from the rustbucket, heading for where Charmcaster had found Gwen earlier. They sat in the clearing, facing each other in silence. The silence between the two was deafening and full of tension. Gwen was nervous about telling Charmcaster about how she was feeling – what she realized she now felt for Ben. While Charmcaster sat there calmly waiting for Gwen to speak. Minutes passed and Gwen still couldn't force herself to open her mouth and talk. Finally, Charmcaster breaks the silence, realizing she'll have to start the conversation if she wants them to get anywhere today.

"Does any of this have to do with when you told me Ben is in love with you?" she asks, already knowing the answer.

"Umm….m-maybe," Gwen mumbles.

Charmcaster nods at this. "I'll take it that as a yes, then. So, is that what's been bothering you as well? The fact that your cousin is in love with you?"

"Yes….and no."

Charmcaster raises an eyebrow at Gwen. "Explain."

Gwen sighs, gathering herself. "Yes, it has to do with Ben being in love with me, but it's only part of the problem. And it's not directly bothering me."

"Then, what is bothering you?"

"Remember how I said I broke his heart and I told you I felt so alone and lost without him, yet I didn't know why? That was because I couldn't or didn't want to understand how his absence was affecting me. Or why it was affecting me in such a way. I've cried when I've heard him crying himself to sleep at night, but it confused me about why I reacted so strongly. Why my chest hurt every time he cried himself to sleep. I knew I wasn't in love with him, but his pain still hurt me and I was at a lost why. Yet, I'm supposed to be the smarter one out of the two of us. It wasn't until I thought I was going to die – that I was so curtain that it was it for me – did it all become clear to me. I had been falling in love with him without knowing it and anytime there was even a trace of it happening – I denied it sub-consciously. Until the point that I didn't even know I was doing it. It scared me. I broke his heart, only to wind up falling for him later on? I couldn't understand it, didn't want to. But as I as dragged away to be food for wild floraunas I admitted it to myself. I love him. I'm in love with him."

"I had tried denying it or blocking out my feelings, but they always resurface when I see him. And I've tried since we've gotten back too, but then I remember the wild floraunas almost eating me and how much I was filled with regret. I regretted hurting him, breaking his heart. I wished I could make it up to him, to tell him that I felt the same. That I loved him. I regretted that the most, you know? Not being able to tell him I love him. I didn't regret falling for him, but not being able to understand it. I wanted to hug him and kiss him, to confess to him and hold him. Make him mine. It was in that moment that I knew that he had won my heart without even trying. I remember thinking, 'It's too bad I'm going to die here,' but then Gluto came and saved me. Suddenly, I had a second chance and I was so happy and relieved. B-but….I didn't what to do – how to approach him about it."

"I don't feel as though I deserve him, after what I did to him. But I want him - Need him - and it hurts so much not being with him, but I'm so scared. Scared that he'll think I'm playing with his emotions and he'll reject me. Then, I remember that he was just as afraid or more and then I feel pathetic. He's stronger than I'll ever be and he deserves better. Can I really be what he needs – wants? Do I deserve to be? I just don't know what to do anymore!"

Gwen couldn't hold back her pain anymore as the tears begin to fall and she broke down clutching herself. Charcaster quickly pulls her into a hug, letting Gwen cry out her heart into her chest. "It's okay," she whispers into Gwen's ear as the girl cries away her sorrows and pain. "It'll be okay, I promise." Gwen just buries her face deeper into Charmcaster chest and cries harder, her grip tightening on Charmcaster's shirt. Together the two sat there for what was thirty minutes as Gwen cried, but it felt like hours. Once Gwen had stopped crying and was only sniffling occasionally, the two still held onto each other. Gwen for the emotional support and stability, Charmcaster to help her cousin and warmth. No one has ever truly depended on her or trusted her like this and it makes her feel all warm inside.

"You okay, now?" Charmcaster eventually asks after several more minutes.

"Mhmmm," Gwen replies.

"Good. Now listen to me, you are not pathetic. Being afraid to confess your feelings in any situation does not make you pathetic, okay? It makes you human and humans make mistakes. It's how we learn and grow from them. So, don't be afraid to try anything again, even if you've done so before and messed it up. The result may just change in your favor and in this case I believe that everything is in your favor."

"Y-you really think so?"

Charmcaster smiles, lifting Gwen's chin up, so their eyes lock. "I know so."

Gwen smiles back, hugging Charmcaster again. Charmcater returns the hug happily.

-Hours Later-

After their little heart to heart talk, Gwen and Charmcaster enjoyed each other's company longer and just relaxed under the sun. Charmcaster had even promised to help Gwen with her confession to Ben. That earned her another affectionate hug and snuggle time. When the sun started to set, they headed back to their campsite. When they got there, they found Max and Ben already eating dinner. Well, Max was eating dinner and Ben was staring at his plate like it would kill him. The two females chuckled at that as they approached the two. Ben's right ear twitches in their direction, letting them know he was aware of their arrival. His head snaps in their direction and his tail begins wagging. In an instant, he's on his feet and running towards Gwen. Gwen is nearly knocked over when Ben slams into her, but luckily she regains her balance. She smiles and returns the hug, enjoying their closeness – her heart skipping a beat. A smile crosses both their faces as they pull away from each other, staring into each other's eyes.

"Sorry," Ben mutters.

"Huh-," was all Gwen got out, before Ben's lips met hers. Her eyes widen briefly and she stiffens, before relaxing. Quickly, she warps her arms around Ben's neck as he's about to pull away. Now, it was his turn to be surprised. Though, he recovered faster than Gwen did. Wrapping his arms around her waist, Ben pulls her closer and deepens the kiss. Max stood off to the side with Charmcaster just watching the scene unfold with a smile on their faces.

"It's about time," he thinks. "Now, all that's left is to deal with their parents."

"Looks like my assistance won't be required after all," she thinks. "Told you so, Gwen."

After the intense make-out session, the two separate breathing heavily, but smiling radiantly. There were sparkles in their eyes now as well.

"G-gwen….y-y-you….I-I….why?" Ben asks stuttering and dumbfounded.

"B-because…..I've fallen in love with you, Ben. I-I love you and I'm so sorry for hurting you. But I do love you more than I can ever put into words and I'd like to be yours – if you'll have me."

Ben didn't respond with words, choosing not to voice his thoughts and let his actions speak for him. He pulls Gwen back in for another kiss, igniting their passion once more. Gwen eageredly returns the kiss. This kiss lasted longer than the previous one, but like the first, they had to separate for air. Breathing heavier than before, they intertwine their hands and smile at each other. Their eyes saying a thousand words they couldn't. Then, they turned to face Charmcaster and Max. Ben was worried about both their reactions, holding Gwen's hand for support. Gwen was only worried about Max's reaction, since Charmcaster knew already and gripped Ben's hand tighter. It was a relief to see the two smiling at them happily with no hint of disgust or disapproval in their eyes.

"G-grandpa….y-you're oaky with this?" Gwen and Ben asks simultaneously, both still slightly nervous.

"I married an alien, kids. I can understand how you're feeling right now and what you're going through," he tells them. "You'll always have my support."

The two sigh in relief.

"The same goes for me,"Charmcaster adds.

Ben smiles at her.

"Though….your parents might be another story," Max states.

Just like that, the relief the two felt was gone. "C-can we wait on that one?" Ben asks nervously.

"Yeah, I agree. We should hold off on telling them for a bit," Gwen adds, a panicked look on her face. "I just got Ben back. I will not lose him again," she thinks.

"Don't worry, I wasn't talking about now. I just wanted you two to be prepared for it. You'll have to tell them eventually," Max informs them.

"Thanks, Grandpa we know. We just want to enjoy our time with each other first in case…in case it goes bad."

"I'll be there for you if it does. Now, that everything is out in the open and we cleared up what was needed, who hungry?"

Ben's stomach answers for him, growling loudly at the mention of food – even if it was Max's deadly cooking. Everyone laughs at that and Ben blushes a bit, chuckling along. Then, they all head inside the rv to eat, Ben and Gwen still holding hands on the way in. They were finally together and would face whatever came next as such. No one would take this from them. No one.

End.

A/N 2: Yeah, I need help with writing Chapter 13 for this fic. So, if someone would be so kind to write it for me I'd deeply appreciate it. Just PM me if you're willing to do so and I'll give you the details for it. Don't worry I'll also give you credit for it as well.

Spells:

Quod mutatum est homini – Latin – Change Beast to Man

Maturum reditum vestry vera form – Latin – Return To Your True Form

Love has finally been found and happiness issues for our two favorite cousins, but alas the summer is coming to an end. Will the Tennysons be able to enjoy it and their newfound happiness without anymore problems? Or will it all come crashing down on them once more? Find out next time on WereBen.

Until next time, see ya.