I'm not overly happy with this one, but it's just a prompt so whatever. Third completed first-line prompt from my list, first for the Ben 10 fandom! The prompt this time was (obviously) 'They found his diary under his bed'.

Disclaimed.

...

...

They found his diary under his bed. Perhaps under different circumstances they would have been surprised or amused that he'd kept a diary at all. But circumstances weren't different and in the end they were just grateful.

It was the typical sort of diary you would expect to find; passages about mundane things, about daily struggles, about friendships, and strains, and fights. They skipped ahead to the last entry, dated to just over a week ago. But there was nothing of any real value. Nothing that could help them find him. If there was even anything left for them to find.

Gwen, like her grandfather, tried to stay positive, kept telling herself that he was fine and that they would find him; he'd be a little rough around the edges but he'd be alive and scowl, telling them he didn't need help but secretly happy that they'd thought to give it anyway.

Kevin didn't share in her optimism. The moment they'd realised that Gwen was unable to track him with her mana, he'd started believing they were less on a man-hunt than they were on a body-hunt. He could delude himself in the knowledge of all the unlikely situations the kid had managed to get out of before, but he'd always had help then. And this time he was alone. At least, as far as they were aware.

And Rook… well, Rook didn't seem sure which emotion to settle on. He was optimistic like Gwen, but frustrated like Kevin. He had hope that he was still alive somewhere, even though the DNA scans had come back without results again and again. He felt guilty that he hadn't done a better job as his partner; hadn't noticed any signs that might explain his sudden vanishing act.

And they still didn't know why he'd disappeared in the first place. Had he gone of his own volition or had he been kidnapped? And if he'd been kidnapped, by who? The 'why' was pretty easy to figure out. Why did anyone ever try and kidnap him? Because of the Omnitrix. It may as well have been a giant target permanently branded on his body. Even without it they'd still come after him because of all the things he had already done, and the potential for what he might yet do.

And it was the thought that one such being might have gotten to him that put everyone else in a state of unrest and uneasiness. Ben Tennyson was missing, had been missing for a week, and not even the high-tech, universe-wide scan had been able to find him.

...

...

"He's probably dead."

"Don't say that," Gwen snapped, glaring at Kevin. "I've told you a million times that I would know if he was."

"Yeah, well if you can't find him with your powers and a DNA scan across the whole damn universe couldn't find him, what other option is there?" Kevin rebuked. "Even Azmuth's scan for the Omnitrix came up negative."

"If he was dead the scan would still find the body," Rook frowned.

"Something else must have happened," Gwen added. "Maybe he's being kept somewhere shielded."

"Then how are we supposed to find him?" Kevin asked in frustration.

"How am I supposed to know?"

"Fighting will not help us find Ben," Rook said calmly, although he was of much the same sentiment as the Osmosian.

"Well what are we supposed to do then?" Kevin turned to him, making no effort to curb his impatience. "For all we know some psycho's probably torturing him or something!"

"Who's torturing who?" a new voice from behind them asked.

All three of them startled and spun around where they were standing by the scanner, which had yet again failed to find anything. Ben, dressed in his usual outfit without a hair out of place, raised a brow at their reaction as he took a slurp of his smoothie.

"Ben!" Gwen cried, practically throwing herself on him. Ben quickly moved his drink to a safer position.

"It's nice to see you too?"

"Where the hell have you been?!" Kevin ground out, glaring daggers at the younger teen.

"Why? How long was I gone?"

"A week," Rook answered, looking a little bewildered at the turn of events. "We could find no trace of you."

"Oh. Oops. Sorry," Ben smiled sheepishly, taking another sip when Gwen finally extracted herself from his person.

"We've been worried out of our minds and all you have to say for yourself is 'oops, sorry'?!" she gaped.

"I really didn't mean to be gone that long…" he shrugged.

"Where were you?!"

"Ben 23 needed help fighting off some weirdo with a grudge so his Azmuth came and got me."

"…Ben 23?"

"It's… kind of a long story. He's me but from a different dimension."

"So this whole time you've been completely fine. Not dying," Kevin said blankly.

"Um yeah? Although I did take a pretty big hit from the guy we were fighting."

Kevin glared.

"I said I was sorry!"

"I'll make you sorry."

"No he won't," Gwen said sternly. "We're really just glad you're okay, Ben."

"Next time I would appreciate it if you informed me of what was happening," Rook said. "Perhaps I could offer some additional assistance."

"Sure thing, dude. Again, sorry," Ben winced.

"Come on, let's go get some lunch," Gwen suggested abruptly. "I don't know about you guys, but I haven't eaten all day and I'm starving."

"I'm in," Ben grinned, following her towards the exit. Rook sighed and followed. Kevin waited a moment, at war with himself over whether he should be relieved or angry before settling on both and promising to make Ben's life a living hell for the next week as payback.

The diary they'd found when searching his room for clues suddenly came to mind and Kevin grinned sinisterly as he made to catch up to the others. This was going to be fun.