Note: Well, finally got this up. I'm not really sure when the next update will be. I kinda don't want to post the fourth chapter until I have the fifth one finished, but busy as I've been and will school coming up...who knows when that'll happen. So, we'll see. In the meantime, here's Chapter 3 (which includes the piece directly inspired by this fanart: http:/ kikikun. deviantart. com/ art /Whispers-in-the-Dark-54584987?q=gallery%3Akikikun%2F280793qo=132).

Disclaimer: I do not own Ben 10.

"Augh," muttered Gwen. She couldn't believe she was doing this. Summer had finally come, her seventeenth summer, her final summer before college, and what was she doing? Going on a wild goose chase, that's what. She couldn't even believe that Ben actually thought they would find anything out here.

"We can't take any chances," Ben had said. "Too many weird things have been happening lately to overlook even the smallest, most unlikely hint. Do you want to ignore it and face the possible consequences?"

She had sighed and grumbled, but he knew, the little brat (even if he was the same age as her she had always felt older at least), that it was all a front to give him a hard time.

Damn it, when had he become the responsible one?

So, for the past week she had been investigating all those annoying little tidbits that Ben always seemed to have an unrelenting supply of. She was so tired of it too; they never found anything. But every time, even if she didn't mention anything, he would say that same thing. Either she was becoming predictable, or he knew her too well.

At least this place didn't seem too sinister. Although it was a little isolated, all the way out in the woods like this, it looked like any regular old cabin; most definitely not threatening.

As she got closer however, she felt a tingling sensation all over her body. It reminded her of being watched; when she gazed around warily though, she could neither see nor sense anyone, so she decided to simply move cautiously.

Approaching it from the side, she carefully peered in through a window. The interior didn't seem anything special either, just a normal kitchen. There weren't even any particularly menacing knives anywhere. She tried lifting the window; no luck. Well, that wasn't really a problem. Checking again to be sure no one was around, inside or outside, she raised a hand. A glowing purple hole appeared in the wall.

She loved being a sorceress. Anodite. Whatever.

Staying alert, she passed through the portal, not paying attention as the usual tingling feeling of passing through a magical field engulfed her. She didn't notice the slight second prickling surge as she entered the house.

The inside had remained unmenacing. Carefully she began investigating. This cabin was supposed to have been abandoned for a while, but apparently that wasn't so. Food wrappers were stuffed in the garbage, and there wasn't much dust anywhere. It looked entirely lived in. But that shouldn't be.

She wondered if this counted as breaking and entering. Oh dear. Well, she could always say that this place was supposed to be empty, so how was she to know this was someone's property. She was following an investigation.

Yeah, that sounded reasonable.

She passed into what appeared to be the living room; again, not much dust, and there was a TV plugged into a socket. Not on, but it looked new-ish. There were four doors off the living room. One was already open, and it obviously led to a bathroom. The other three were closed. Curiously, she walked up to the one of the doors. Stretching her awareness, she couldn't sense any mana-emitting life-forces on the other side, so cautiously she opened it. There were stairs. She went up.

At the top there was a small platform and a door that was slightly ajar. Gwen reached forward and pushed it open. Then everything came to a shuddering halt as her world tipped in on itself.

Kevin was busy developing a new batch of photos in his basement dark room. The equipment had been mostly supplied to him by the Voice. In fact, the Voice provided him with anything he wanted or needed – food, clothes, cameras, a TV, even money if Kevin felt like buying something himself. All he had to do was say something aloud, and within a few hours, days at most, he would find it sitting in the living room. Kevin wasn't really sure how the Voice went about doing this, but he'd made a careful note to himself when it had first happened – the Voice could physically affect things in the real world. That made him dangerous.

But for now, Kevin was fine with going along. He knew the Voice needed him, though he was not entirely sure why; obviously the Voice had some sort of physical influence. Maybe he couldn't do anything immediate enough or powerful enough to take care of Ben on his own.

But whatever the reason, it meant that Kevin got a second chance at life. And a second chance at revenge. It also meant that he could see Gwen practically every day, even if she wasn't aware of him.

He wanted her to be aware of him.

He wanted her to see him, wanted to be able to actually talk to her. It drove him nuts sometimes, watching her with other people, especially guys, but not even being able to approach her. The time just never seemed right, and if he didn't do it perfectly, she would probably shoot him down before he could say much. Literally. So instead he watched. And waited. Gah. He thought he might go insane.

Then he wondered somewhat detachedly if it was too late for that.

Funnily enough, although the Voice always liked to preach the virtues (hah, virtues, that was funny) of patience and waiting, he seemed to be growing rather impatient lately. He kept pushing Kevin to become more active with his pursuits, to follow through on his plans already, to draw Gwen away and wait for Ben to come running (running to the rescue just like always). It made Kevin suspicious. Well, more suspicious than usual, anyway.

Suddenly the Voice informed him that there was an intruder. "You'll want to get up there." Kevin wondered if he was just imagining the hint of excitement underlying the message.

"Okay, okay, I'm going."

Up the stairs he went, careful not to make them creak. At the top he looked around. He could see there was no one in the bathroom, and a quick check of the kitchen proved empty as well. He opened his downstairs bedroom door, but there was nothing. Only the attic left then.

That could be problematic.

Quickly he opened the door and went up these stairs as well. Then everything came to a momentary halt as his world tipped in on itself.

"What-?" her voice stuttered, stumbling over itself in confusion; disbelief in her eyes. For the first time in her life she couldn't calculate what she saw, she couldn't study it and understand it, she couldn't even begin to wonder how it all came to be.

No.

She had lost all her logic and gained back all the childish fears she'd once thought forever gone.
How had a check up on a probably inconclusive hint, lead her to this place? This place where there was supposed to be a dead end like with every other anonymous tidbit and clue that poured into Ben's hero headquarters.

Why was it so different all of a sudden?

"Why?"

She heard a click; the door shut. The presence behind her was overpowering.

She couldn't bring herself to turn around.

"Well, well, well..." the voice cooed slowly, "Looks like I won't have to take pictures anymore."