A/N: So, this is my first Ben 10 fan fic. I really hope you like it! I've been toying with the idea for a while now, and I finally got around to writing it! Please R&R with your responses! And sorry its so long! I can't really break it up into smaller chapters. It would defeat the layout of the story : (
A/N 2.0: THIS IS THE NEW VERSION! THERE IS A REASON IT SAYS 2.0 on the title! This one is basically the same as the other one with a few smaller details because it was annoying me highly.
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Stage 1: Diligence
Definition: Constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.
"Diligence is the mother of good fortune." Benjamin Disreaeli
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Swiftly the mutant ran through the forest. Nimbly he dodged trees and boulders with surprising ease. The wind blew past his warped features and threw his black, tangled locks of hair out of his eyes. It was what he had been doing for the past few hours. Simply running.
He was stubbornly trying to ignore the reason why he was running. Why his heart had started racing, and why his blood was suddenly pumping like crazy through his veins.
It had crept upon him slowly. Silently. Stalking him. It was as if it had simply been waiting in the shadows the whole time. Waiting in the wings for him to slip up. For him to remember.
And that was when he had begun running. Though he tried to never admit the reason why. He would say it was simply he was fond of running if someone had seen him. Not that anyone would see him. And not that they would care enough to ask.
In reality, one reason was to get away. To forget the pain. To try to avoid the hate. The constant hate that circled his life at all times. His hatred for himself, his hatred for the world, and the hatred he felt from those around him. And so he was running.
Stubbornly the mutant hoped and prayed that for once he would tire of running, that the panting that was usually inevitable in most beings after a long run would begin to tire him out. Hoping that the pain in his side he remembered so well from seemingly happier days would strike him suddenly, reminding him that he wasn't that different from those around him.
That he was human like them.
But of course, the pain never came. It never came when he was running. Only when he was fighting. Of course, the monstrosity that was his moveable prison cell was surprisingly built for running. His lungs were huge, as was his heart so oxygen was never a problem, and his surprising bulk was only the mass of muscle. His bones were as strong as cement it seemed, but hollow. He was graceful for something so horrible and unsymmetrical.
Of course, even after four years of learning how to maneuver in the hulking mass, the mutant still slipped up every once in a while. He felt his foot catch on a stone and he tumbled to the ground, crashing into a tree nearby. There was a resonating crack and the lowest limb fell and landed on his shoulder. He barely felt it though, and he doubted it would even bruise the red flesh.
With a sigh the creature laid his head back against the tree trunk and looked up at the stars through a small clearing in the leaves. There was no point in denying it anymore. No point in denying the reason he was running so quickly away from wherever it was he had been.
Today was his birthday. He had survived fifteen years. Fifteen long years of torture and pain. Of loss and humiliation. In which four of them consisted of him being trapped in this- this thing. The mutant refused to call it his body. But it would occasionally slip into his thoughts. He always attempted to refer to the hulking mass as 'it'. Because that was what it was. Not him, but some strange, horrible thing that had entangled itself around his DNA. Some terrible demon that had plagued his life for four long years.
This thing could run for days on end. The mutant had found that out the hard way. He could not be exhausted, could not be drowned, could not be shot, and could not be killed. There was no way to end the pain that he suffered it seemed.
Kevin.
A small, jolly voice called out in his mind as he looked on the galaxies moving by. He ignored it and shoved it to the back of his mind.
Kevin, listen to me.
The voice seemed to be more commanding this time, despite the laughter that laced its words. A strained giggle escaped the mutant's lips. He had often heard voices in his head. Madness had set in long ago. There was no escaping it, or so it seemed. Even so far away from the city it seemed to track him down.
Kevin, you are not crazy.
A barking laugh echoed through the silent trees.
"Not crazy am I?" Its voice was like a cacophony of animalistic shrieks and growls. It hurt his ears to listen to, even after so long, "I'm the one responding to a voice in my head."
Kevin Levin. You are not crazy.
The voice was so forceful it put a frown on the mutant's face, distorting it even more. This voice was so much clearer than the others. So straight forward. Plus, it used a name that he had long ago attempted to bar from his memory. He never connected himself to that name, not even in his thoughts. It was linked to another person, another time.
Kevin Levin. Are you ready for to change?
The voice echoed in his ears for what seemed like an eternity. A deep growl resonated through its chest. He was growing tired of this voice. It wasn't kind and soothing like the others. It was jolly, and bell like. Piercing his dark thoughts with rays of light of painfully happy memories.
Kevin Levin. Are you ready for a second chance?
"Of course I am." The beast spat angrily, confused why he was continuing to respond. "I've been waiting my whole life for a second chance. Not that I would ever get one." It was becoming very aggravating that the voice was using his old name. It made him want to grind his teeth in frustration.
Kevin Levin. Do you want your deepest desires to come true?
"What does that mean?" He screamed suddenly, pounding his fist into the ground, leaving a deep indent in the grass.
What would you do for not only a second chance at life, but for your deepest desires to come true?
He had no idea what had possessed him, but suddenly a single tear leaked from his lower right eye. It sent a shock through his system. He hadn't cried for years, even before being trapped in this thing. He hadn't even been aware the thing was capable of tears. And yet another, and another followed that, until it wasn't a single tear but a whole flood of them. It was as if he was drowning in sorrow.
So… I'll take that for a yes. The voice seemed to giggle.
"Yes." The mutant finally whispered, finding it hard to speak through the tears. "Yes. I'm ready. But what are you doing to me? What are these feelings I'm feeling?"
There was a long pause, and he almost thought that the voice wasn't going to respond to his question. And then there was a single whispered reply he could barely make out in his own mind over his crying.
Kevin Levin. Look up, and see your salvation.
Slowly, ever so slowly, the mutant raised his eyes. And before him in the forest was… nothing. Nothing. He was completely alone, like he had thought. Completely alone.
Or are you?
There was a bright flash of light, forcing the mutant to shut his eyes. But he couldn't seem to escape the light. It riddled the body with pain, forcing him into seizures. And then suddenly it was over. And the end, seemed almost worse than the beginning. He was so tired. So, very tired. It was as if his very life force energy had been drained away. And then, just to top it off, the world seemed to go black.
-- -- --
The forest was gone when the mutant opened his eyes. Completely gone. As in, there wasn't a single blade of grass or stone left. No trees or boulders, no dark but warm night colors. Nothing. Or maybe it wasn't the forest that was completely gone, maybe he was gone. Maybe he had somehow found a way through that impenetrable thing that was his body and died. At last. But he couldn't remember having done anything…
You are not dead, Kevin Levin.
The voice made him jump up and look around. The mutant found he wasn't alone in the whiteness, in the madness.
There in the whiteness, barely a few feet away, stood the strangest person he had ever seen.
The mutant shook his head to clear it. The girl before him was so peculiar, was it possible she was real? Or just another figment of his imagination.
He couldn't seem to pin down exactly what the girl looked like, it was so disorientating. She seemed to be roughly around his age. Her skin seemed to never be one fixed color, fading from pitch black to the palest of pale and every other color in between, before starting the cycle over again. It was the same for her facial features. Her eye color never seemed to be one set color, and her mouth and nose seemed to change subtly every few seconds. The only set features were the girl's pale white hair, and rather pointed ears. But the rapid changing in appearance didn't hamper her strange beauty; the mystery of what she truly looked like only enticed the mutant even more.
The attire she wore was almost as peculiar as the girl herself, making the mutant blink. Over her white hair she wore a bright red hat, whose tip hung far down her back and was ended with a small silver bell that tinkled beautifully with the slightest movement. A bright green tunic long enough to be a dress wrapped snugly around her torso, hugging her curves tightly. A large brown belt with even more tinkling bells hung loosely around her hips.
His look of shock must have been what caused the being to chuckle. But it was strange, because it seemed to echo in his head just like her voice had.
Like I said, Kevin Levin. You are far from dead.
"Who are you?" The mutant began to say, before jolting to a stop at the sound of his voice. It was soft and smooth, not shrill and painful to listen to. It was his voice. His voice. Before the horrible accident. The tone was deeper than he remembered, but that was understandable. After all, he would just be hitting puberty in his human form if he remembered correctly.
Carefully, he lifted a hand to his mouth as if to feel the different vibrations coming from his mouth. His fingers gently touched his lips, and his body and mind froze completely. They were soft. Smooth. Not at all hard and crust like. And his fingers…
With a jolt he looked down at his body and almost let out a scream. He didn't see the hideous, red, swollen body he had gotten so used to. Now it looked like as if all those years had never happened. He seemed to be having one of those out of body moments he had heard others speak of, but never had imagined himself ever having.
He could completely see himself. The real him. The real Kevin. Not that horrible thing. But it was strange. It was him, but in some ways, not.
This Kevin seemed a good few years older than he remembered himself being. He had grown and finally seemed to fit into that gangly body he remembered having. His nose no longer seemed quite as big, but there was a noticeable hook to it.
Are you quite done inspecting yourself?
The boy didn't respond for a long moment as his eyes returned to his hands. Slowly this time, he ran his fingers over the soft, pink tinged flesh. He traced up his arm and felt the toned muscles that were his biceps. Those definitely hadn't been there before the accident. Farther up his fingers brushed against his ratty old shirt. The filthy thing brushed softly against his skin. It was such a weird sensation after years of the to tight cotton chaffing against that monster's red hide. It felt as if he was a newborn, his flesh was so soft and smooth. The only thing that didn't seem to have changed was his hair, but it was no longer knotted and tangled but smooth and clean.
Well? If the being's (Kevin had come to the conclusion long ago that it most certainly was not a girl) voice wasn't so gosh darn cheery and jolly he would have sworn it sounded impatient.
Slowly, and very carefully as if any quick moments would shatter this dream become reality, the boy nodded.
"Who are you?" The boy whispered, partially to ask the question and partially to hear his voice again.
The being smiled warmly at him, her large white teeth glimmering in the light that seemed to radiate from everywhere. My name would take you years to pronounce correctly. So you may simply call me Francesca.
"Francesca?" He asked quietly, not really caring as he ran his hands over his arms and face in awe. "What did you do to me?"
I gave you a second chance. A new start.
That made the boy, Kevin, freeze. His eyes narrowed as his brain began to finally digest the situation. He had never heard those words with something positive coming after them. "What does that mean?'
The being's smile widened and a shiver ran down Kevin's spine. Suddenly he wasn't so sure about this miracle. I am giving you a chance to have your body, and the possibilities of a life back.
"What's in it for you?" He asked suspiciously, his dark, earth colored eyes narrowed.
Nothing that would be of interest to you. She waved away the comment. So do you accept my challenge? Are you ready to have your life back? To walk the streets as a normal person again? To have the body you would have had if fate had not struck out against you?
"Yes, of course." The boy muttered. "I – I would do anything to stay this way."
The being smiled kindly at him and stepped forward to brush his cheek with her fingers. Her touch was like ice and sent another shiver up and down Kevin's body. I promise you, what I am going to ask you to do will make everything better. It will be our little deal how about? Our little secret? And if you follow my directions, everything will end up swimmingly.
"Oh yeah, perfectly." Kevin muttered, diverting his eyes. "Crazy alien being blackmails me into doing whatever she wants so that I can have exactly what I want. This is definitely not going to go down well."
The girl laughed openly in his mind, but her mouth never opened wider than a smile. Such a charming little one. No wonder I felt such a pull to help you. But tell me young one… Kevin, do even you know what it is you deeply desire the most?
The boy just stared at her confused. His thoughts were still jumbled slightly after the shock of it all. But a few things did click in place. "What kinds of things do you want me to do?"
Simple. You will be given seven tasks to complete over the course of the next few years. They will be challenging, but I am sure you can complete them. And with flying colors. She winked. And when it is all over, your deepest desires will have been realized and fulfilled. Then you will never see my 'crazy alien' butt again.
"Ok, so what kind of things do you want me to do?" The suspicious glint never left the young teen's eyes as he slowly shifted to stand for the first time. He was a little wobbly at first, but he found that he quickly regained his balance.
You will be given a word, an adjective, and then must strive to act in the way the word wishes you to. The first few will be obvious, but then after those you will have to search out in the world for them. Her smile suddenly disappeared, and a frown crossed it and suddenly the whiteness around then dimmed and turned an ugly grey. But I must warn you, as easy as it was to turn you to the form you have now, it is even simpler to transform you straight back. There was a loud thunderclap and Kevin felt his body grow and expand back into the monstrosity. He let out a cry of desperation and instantly he felt the pressure release and he shrank in size. He fell panting to the ground as the area around him brightened again.
"So – so what is my first task?" He gasped.
You've already completed it. The being smirked. You persevered through the torturous five years of being trapped within a body you had no wish to be in. Diligence was your first task. Your next, you will find out in time. She snapped her fingers and the world went dark for a moment.
Kevin blinked his eyes slowly and found himself upon a city street again. He simply stood for a moment, taking it all in, letting it all seep into his body as happiness began to radiate out.
Slowly he walked out of the alley he was standing on the edge of and looked around. Suddenly something burst inside and he couldn't take it anymore. He began to run again. This time not from anger, or hate, but from joy. Joy at a second chance. Just a second chance many years to late.
Remember our deal. A passing happy thought seemed to giggle in his mind as he rushed off into the night.
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A/N: So…. What did you guys think? To much on something? To long? Flames totally excepted, but I shall use them to roast wieners with.
P.S. Also, this was written at like, 11 at night and I was tired, so I am very sorry if it is just wack job weird. SORRRY!