Fire: We finally bring you chapter two.

Ice: We hope it's up to your expectations.

Wonton: Warning this one is a bit of a tear jerker near the end.

Randa: The odd thing is that we started out working on 'Breathe No More' which is an extremely dark and twisted fiction for Beyblade, and ended up finishing this.

Fire: I did this... Because Ice was crying in the back of my head... I still got my tragedy.

Wonton: One thing we wanted to clear up for a reader was that whole 'Ben being pregnant for eleven months' thing. While I, personally, would have found it hilarious if ben was preggers for eleven months, he wasn't. Ben wasn't at the doctors so the doctors could make him pregnant, he was there so that the doctors could make so he could be pregnant. Ben didn't get a bun in the oven until around two months after the doctor's visit.

Devlin rolled his eyes at the explicatives escaping from his younger brother's mouth. The darker haired boy had finally given up correcting the younger after letting him follow Kevin into the Null Void five years ago. He'd known it was most likely a bad decision, but with the way Kenny looked so much like this younger Ben Devlin had been following, that was asking for more trouble than they really needed.

Kenny and Devlin had spent a good five years trying to find what went wrong with their father. Trying to be covert with an Anodite for an aunt and Max for a grandpa was especially hard; the two knew the boys were up to something, the boys just didn't know if they knew what the boys were researching. There was also the fact that shortly after some tales about their other father and the Omnitrix, Kenny got it off his wrist as fast as he could. Devlin had replaced it with a fake, so Ben wouldn't know what was going on. At this point Devlin knew that the burly man was barely hanging in there with Devlin as a constant reminder of what could have been, Kenny didn't need to add to it.

Shortly after their sixteenth and fifteenth birthdays, a man had literally appeared from thin air. He was a plain looking man with a stop watch, along white lab coat, and a pair of green safety goggles hanging around his neck. He immediately asked for Ben, when the two replied that he was off world, the man had gotten a puzzled look in his face. Next he asked for Kevin, when that was answered with a quick 'Null Void' the man looked down right confused. A muttering of 'Where did it go wrong, where did it go wrong,' was answered with an irritated 'We don't know,' from Kenny, which then brought an odd smile to the man's face.

A sudden grab from the man had landed them in an alley in a time long before they were even thought of. They learned quickly that they weren't aging, or changing in general, while they were in this time. They also learned that if they changed anything major, that wasn't what went wrong with their father's, that the odd man returned and put it back the way it was. Devlin asked once what the man wanted them to do; he had responded that he wanted them to find the disruption. Kenny had responded with a nasty remark that was paraphrased and shortened into something like, 'Well if you're so timely, why don't you do it yourself.' The man had replied, with that creepy smile, that he needed a marker in time that hadn't been there the first time, but was also close to Kevin and Ben so he could find the disruption.

It was after that Kenny and Devlin began habitually stalking their fathers through their lives. Devlin tailed Ben, and Kenny tailed Kevin. Why? Because while Devlin still looked the part of a delinquent, Kenny acted the part, without trying, so dressing him as one wasn't hard. Now, after a few years in the Null Void for Kenny and a few boring years in school for Devlin, the two were sitting against the brick wall of Mr. Smoothie watching their parents and aunt play the twisted game of teenaged romance. The two could see, even from this distance that every time Kevin started sweet talking their Aunt Gwen his eyes would flicker toward Ben. There was also the particular fact that Kevin's favorite color was that particular shade of green, just like Ben.

Out of the corner of his eye, Devlin saw his brother toss a large stone up and down in his hand. The darker haired boy turned his head more fully to measure the look on his brother's face, the younger teen had gotten quiet in the past few moments. Kenny's face was calculating, which meant he was thinking, and that was bad on a good day. Devlin heard a booming laugh and turned back to the teenagers across the lot. Dark eyes watched in a bored fashion as Kevin leaned over Ben in what was most likely supposed to be an intimidating way, but from the dark haired teen's perspective was somewhat sexual.

Suddenly a blur shot passed his head. Startled, Devlin looked back to his brother to find that calculating look still on his face, but the rock gone from his hand. Then a self satisfied smile lit up his features. Like he'd just gotten exactly what he wanted without a lick of work. Devlin turned back to the other three teenagers, only to find that Kevin and Ben were no longer verbally sparring and just staring at each other. Ben then reached his arms up and around Kevin's neck to pull the taller male down into a kiss.

"Maybe now they'll stop pussy footin' around." The younger boy next to him sounded extremely satisfied.

Devlin grew irrationally mad at his younger brother just then. "You're not supposed to mess with the way things happen Ken."

The younger just rolled his eyes. "If it wasn't meant to happen just now, then Mr. Creep would have shown up to fix it. Plus, Aunt Gwen looked just about ready to do the exact same thing."

And when he thought about it, she did. However, right now she was staring at them with those creepy glowing purple eyes of hers, with Ken's stone in hand. As he cousin and friend continued to ignore her in favor of each other, the red head made her way over to the other set of boys in the Mr. Smoothie parking lot. Both of the boys could see the determined look in her eyes. Kenny shuddered beside him, they both recognized that look. She stopped in front of the two grounded boys with her hands fisted on her hips.

"I've seen the two of you around way too much to be coincidence. In fact, I can remember the two of you from when I was ten and you're still the same." Devlin was startled and panicked; she wasn't supposed to know about them.

"We're working for a guy with a creepy obsession with gumballs." The red head gave the younger of the two boys an odd look. "We're, in his words, 'markers in time'."

A dawning gaze of comprehension crossed her face. "Good luck with that then. He's always looking out for the best."

Many years had passed and it had now been four months since Devlin's birth; the boys knew they were running out of time. They both knew intrinsically that anything that had gone wrong had happened before or shortly after Kenny was born. Right now the two were watching from afar as the two men played with their four month old in the park.

"You know," Kenny started, then paused a moment. "I think I can finally see why dad fell in love with Kevin. I mean, I guess I could see it before, but I was so stuck on what I've seen on the news that I couldn't drop it. I kept forgetting that this is how he's supposed to be."

Devlin was silent for a moment. "What made you see this?"

"Just look at that smile he has for you and dad. That's not something you can fake" Kenny's voice was quiet and sad.

Devlin thought for a minute as he watched Ben and his dad. He was right that the man's smile was far from fake, but if his memory of early childhood served him right, then everything that was going to happen was going to happen within the next seven months. It hit him like a brick wall just then. Whatever was causing all of the damage of their father's trading route was what got to him. Devlin remembered days when his father was like the man over with his younger self, then for some reason he'd spazz like a computer on the fritz and go storming off.

"We're going with Kevin on his next trip. That's when it all goes wrong." Devlin said with conviction. Just then the average man was once again in front of them.

"No that is quite all right." He stated matter of fact. "Now that we have the distortion pinned down, I can return you home. Tell your father hello."

And before Devlin could come up with an argument he and Kenny were back in the living room of their house. Kenny hadn't quite processed what had happened just yet, but when Devlin heard voices coming from the kitchen he was gone. When he entered the brightly lit room his eyes were greeted with the sight of the burly Ben, their in-training Aunt Gwen, Grandpa Max, and a few other faces he knew. Ben was up in a moment crushing Devlin in an embrace.

"You're okay. I though he took you again." The man looked frazzled as he stepped back from the teen.

"What?" Devlin was slightly confused.

"I returned to earth as soon as I heard that Kevin had escaped again." Devlin's face scrunched up in a contortion of anger, pain, disappointment, and grief when he heard this. All that work, all that time spent, to get nothing in return. Everything was as it was.

Devlin saw the lingering and growing depression behind the relief in the older man's eyes. All that work and his mother was still hurting beyond belief. Devlin couldn't accept it, at least right now. He shook his head and dashed from the kitchen and up to his room to lock himself away.

Kenny stumbled as he entered the kitchen and was shoved out of the way by his older brother. He'd heard what his dad had said. Rage like he'd never felt before burned hot with in him. His green eyes flashed dangerously.

"You mean, we worked that hard and nothing's changed." Hs voice was tight, as he tried to restrain his anger. It wasn't his dad's fault, it never had been.

"Kenny, what are you talking about?" Kenny, on a good day, had a short fuse, but this wasn't a good day and he exploded.

"We just went through fifteen goddamned years of your life to find what went fucking haywire. It's fucking unfair that after all the problems you and he went through that a shit eating alien from nowhere rips it all apart, and even though we figure it out everything is still so fucking WRONG." And for the first time in years, Kenny had tears in his eyes. "And Devlin, god damn, he doesn't know it but he talks in his sleep. My birth and the day Kevin took him still haunt him. He cries out for mom all the time, for you all the time dad." Kenny then turned on Gwen. "How is this 'for the fucking BEST'?"

"Kenny." Ben's tone was soft and gentle. Gwen looked ashamed, she remember those exact words that she had spoken to the boy before her years ago.

"We know about you and Kevin, we also know that Kevin hasn't been himself for over fifteen years, less than sixteen." Kenny whispered. Ben's eyes got sad.

"Kenny, why don't you and me go speak with your brother?" he wrapped a large arm around his son and directed him out of the room.

"You and I, Ben," a soft voice corrected from behind them.

Soon the small chipped family was curled up together on Devlin's bed. Both boys lay comfortable on either side of their dad, but couldn't help feeling that it seemed little off. Ben lay in the middle debating with himself in the silence. He hadn't known that they had figured it out. He hadn't known that they could see his pain. He did figure that Kenny would figure out about his unnatural growth spurt, he just hadn't expected it to sprout from Devlin. He came to his decision then, and moved his clumsy bulky arms from under his sons to fiddle with his Omnitrix a bit. Suddenly he took up less room. He wasn't six foot four with a bunch of bulky muscle, he was slim and lean and only five foot ten.

Ben watched as his dark haired son's eyes lit up, a small smile tugging at the corners of the teen's mouth. And then looking to his youngest he saw a childish light that he hadn't seen since taking on that larger form to separate himself from the Ben that had been Kevin's, since the boy had been seven. They both quickly filled the space that had been made.

"It's a program on the Omnitrix that takes all superior genes and makes them dominant while taking al inhibiting genes and pushing them back." He spoke softly.

Kenny buried his head in the side of Ben's chest. "I missed you daddy." He whispered childishly.

Devlin on the other hand, just laid his head on Ben's shoulder and softly whispered, "Mom."

Ben smiled at that. "You know, Kevin was dead set on having you call me 'mommy'. I was set dead against it…" The man trailed off for a moment, tears burning in his eyes. "But the first time you called me mom," He choked on his words a bit, "I couldn't stop crying in happiness for a good half hour.

"There was a time I got the hiccups once early on in my pregnancy with you, and they sounded much like chirping. Your dad got a good laugh out of it: He said they sounded like you were trying to speak through my mouth, so he started calling you Chicky." Ben carried on, just talking and talking about Kevin and all the things he could remember from when they were small. In return the boys spoke of the times before and after they had found out they were brothers. They told him of the past and all that they had seen. And soon fell asleep together.

Ice: We hope that you like this.

Wonton: Bet none of you were expecting Paradox. HA!

Randa: We have one more chapter, but we give you no promises, just that we hope it's out before this story's one year anniversary.

Fire: We put up a poll on our profile about how you all think the ending for this story will go.

Randa: Also, if anyone wants to expand on this we give full permission, just ask and send us the link.

Ice: Also tell us if you think either of the boy's should have come into Anodite powers.

Wonton: And special bonus points to anyone who knows who the Lab coat guy was!