PrvMakedonec, who owns Max, asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Sorry it took me so long! :)

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I only own Rachel.

Some spoilers for the Ben 10 Omniverse episode "Tummy Trouble".

Tickled To Be Friends

"Ugh, are they having another argument?" Max asked himself as he now stood outside his uncle's office.

He heard his uncle, Sergeant Cookmeister of the Perk Army, disagreeing once again with Sergeant Cast Iron of the Murk Army. For some reason, despite them all being Gourmands, the two tribes were at war. Always had been and the other funny thing was, they were two tribes under the same queen. Each tribe claimed they were the better ones, but as Ben Tennyson and his partner Rook showed them, they actually all worked better together.

But the rivalry was still there and apparently his uncle and the Murk Sergeant couldn't be bothered to work together now. He now saw Sergeant Cast Iron storming away from Sergeant Cookmeister's office and, although he was a Perk General, he still gave the Murk Sergeant a respectful salute, although Sergeant Cast Iron only grunted as he stormed by.

Max now went up to his uncle's office and knocked politely. "Enter," he heard his uncle say and he did, giving him a respectful salute.

"General Max reporting, sir," he said.

Sergeant Cookmeister waved a hand slightly. "Max, you know you don't have to be formal when it is just you and I in this office," he said. "What can I do for you, son?"

Max went up and hugged his uncle. "Uncle Cookmeister, why are the Perks and the Murks enemies?" He asked. "I mean, we're all from the same alien race, right?"

"Yes, but the queen needs the best army to protect her and the planet," said Sergeant Cookmeister. "Sergeant Cast Iron is trying to win the queen's favor and prove that his army is the best when it's not. The Perks will always be the best army."

Deciding against telling his uncle that Ben had reminded them that both tribes could serve the queen efficiently, Max left his uncle's office not long after to do his patrol duty, but his mind was deep in thought.

As he went past his room, he noticed a letter in his mailbox and took it with him, deciding to finish his patrol and then read the letter.

Finding everything in order and at peace for the moment, Max sat down and opened the letter, finding it to be from Upchuck, one of his best Perk friends.

Dear Max,

I hope you are well. Rook told me that when he last patrolled near our planet that all was at peace, which I was glad to hear. Hopefully we never get another invasion like with that terrible frog princess again.

I am doing wonderful here at the Grant Mansion. Rachel, the owner, is very kind and understanding. In fact, the other day, I accidently blew a hole through the front porch and was honestly afraid she would kick me out, but instead, she was more worried about me being hurt than the damage done, which surprised me. And, don't tell anyone this, please, she tickled me to convince me she wasn't upset. Even two of her family members helped her in tickling me too. Rachel was insistent that she would never kick me out because of an accident. She's honestly one of the best humans I call a friend.

Remember how we got into that tickle fight once? What was it even about? I can't even recall if it was a disagreement or if we were just messing around, but Rachel tickling me reminded me of it. She and her family like to tickle each other, especially the little ones, to forget bad days or just to bond with each other.

I do miss you, old friend. Take care of yourself.

Your friend,

Upchuck

Max smiled and then Upchuck's letter gave him a great idea. Maybe there was a way to get the two tribes to be friends. "I could tickle Uncle Cookmeister until he agrees to be friends with Sergeant Cast Iron," he said to himself. "That would lead to the two tribes seeing that if their sergeants can work together, so can the rest of us."

He jumped up and checked the time, smiling as he saw it was nearly time to meet up with Brownbag, who was a private in the Murk tribe. Max and Brownbag were very good friends after helping each other when Vilgax had come to try and conquer their world sometime back and they had been injured, having to depend on each other to find cover and tend to their wounds.

This had led to a strong friendship between them, but because they were on two different sides, they had to keep their friendship a secret and so met up once a week. Now, no battle plans were ever exchanged between the two. They just met up to take a break from all the fighting and to just enjoy being friends.

He spotted Brownbag at their meeting spot and went up to him. "Hi, Brownbag," he said.

"Max," Brownbag greeted him happily. "How was your week?"

"Busy as usual. Yours?"

"The same."

Brownbag then sighed. "Max, I wish our tribes would stop fighting each other," he admitted.

Max nodded. "Me too," he said. "And I've got an idea as to how we can stop them."

His Murk friend looked at him. "How?" He asked.

"I got a letter from Upchuck, another good friend of mine," said Max. "He lives with that girl, Rachel, in the Grant Mansion on Earth."

"Ah, I've heard of that place," said Brownbag. "Rachel is a very open-minded human."

Max nodded. "Upchuck mentioned how the inhabitants at the Mansion like tickling," he said. "They use it to cheer their family up and as bonding time."

"Really?" The Murk Private asked. "Their families must be very close with each other."

"From the sounds of it, they are," said Max. "Brownbag, we both know tickling is very effective, right?"

Brownbag nodded and Max showed him the letter Upchuck had sent. "Upchuck said Rachel tickled him to prove to him that she wouldn't kick him out because he accidently blew a hole through the front porch," he said. "So, she uses tickling to help reassure others in her family and to show them she means what she says."

He saw his friend look up at him, understanding now dawning on his face. "If we did that to our sergeants…," he began.

"They can finally stop fighting," Max finished. "We can tickle them until they agree to be friends. You in?"

"You bet," said Brownbag. "I want both tribes to be at peace too. Plus, I now have the perfect excuse to tickle Sergeant Cast Iron."

Grinning, the two high-fived each other. "So, when should we do this?" Max asked.

"How about Tuesday? I don't have work that day."

"That's my day off too."

Reaching the agreement and wishing each other luck, the two headed back to their camps.

Tuesday morning, Perk Territory, Max's POV…

I was ready to go and spring my ticklish trap on my uncle and knew Brownbag would be doing the same with Sergeant Cast Iron. I had spent the past couple nights deciding on what kind of trap I should set up and had settled on using my mana powers. I hardly ever used them unless it was a dire situation and even then, it was just to protect my brothers-in-arms, but I had been working on manipulating tendrils of my mana powers to grab books, lamps, and such.

Now, I headed out into the hallway and walked to my uncle's office, seeing the door open and he was at his desk, taking a moment to relax. "Uncle?" I politely called out.

He looked up. "Ah, Max, come in," he said. "I was wondering if you'd be willing to go over some more battle plans with me. I have the rest of the morning free and even most of the afternoon."

I smiled, now seeing how I could spring my trap and tickle my uncle. "Sure, in fact, I've been working on a strategy with my mana powers."

"You have?" He asked before smiling. "Well, show me, then."

I pretended to give it a bit of thought and then turned to him. "Well, I've been working on controlling tendrils of mana to grab items and people," I said honestly. "So, would you be willing to volunteer?"

"Of course, my boy," my uncle said.

That was all I needed and suddenly moved, my mana instantly manifesting and grabbing my uncle, tying him up good while I made sure the soundproof device was working and placed the 'In A Meeting' sign on the door. This would give me plenty of time and we'd be undisturbed. "General Makedoneccccc, what is the meaning of this?!"

Smirking as I came closer, I looked him dead in the eye. "Uncle, I told you I was working on a new strategy," I said honestly. "And you offered to be my volunteer."

Before my uncle could say another word, I began tickling him and to both my surprise and undoubtedly his, he began laughing extremely hard. Now, I had never known my uncle was so ticklish, but right now, my grin grew as I was now more confident that my plan would work.

"Uncle Cookmeister, both Perks and Murks are from the same race," I said, still tickling him. "And this fighting between our armies just to prove to the queen which army is weaker is so pointless. I'm sure she's very happy to have both our armies serving her."

He continued laughing. "Max, stop this at once!" He laughed out.

I smiled. "Uncle, I'll stop if you agree to make peace with Sergeant Cast Iron and the Murk army," I bargained, but I knew my uncle's pride would get in the way too.

Well, he did say he had the rest of the day free.

And judging from his laughter and trying to order me to release him, he need a lot more tickles.

Next chapter: Private Brownbag puts the plan into action with Sergeant Cast Iron. :)

Also, please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418