A/N: I figure this isn't going to end up being my most loved fic or even a very popular one in the Ben 10 fandom, but this story is something that I'm passionate about, so it will be finished even if only two people end up reading the final chapter. I promise. Work on this started in March and I think that I'll be finished either in late August or mid-September. Update-wise, it'll be a few months more, but we'll be done before December.
That being said, as of posting this, Act Two is completely outlined! You can expect eight chapters and an intermission before Act Three, making it exactly the same size as Act One. I'm not sure about Act Three yet (I haven't outlined it) but it will probably be longer than the first two. Most likely, it will have an intermission in the middle and an epilogue to end it off. Then I have a oneshot continuation planned that focuses on Ben and Rook. I'll elaborate more on that in Act Three, so stay tuned and enjoy!
While he was waiting, Rook got a good look at the base where he was expected to stay for the foreseeable future. By that point, Patience had already explained that this was a small outpost designed for maximum stealth while spying closely on the Plumbers, and not their main base. Still, he couldn't help but feel that it wasn't as impressive as it should have been.
The cheap lighting was one thing, but the boxy feel of the base's entrance hadn't gone away. It was all very practical with little innovation. All rooms were square, all the hallways were rectangular, and everything was peranite. It made Rook appreciate the Plumber base a little more. At least the doors had been metal and his room had come with a multicolored blanket.
As for the recruits themselves, Rook was withholding all judgment. He had only met four of them so far and they were all untrustworthy. That included Patience, though Rook had to begrudgingly admit respect for her past accomplishments as a Plumber. He had read a brief summary of her term as Magister in preparation to visit Petropia, weeks before. He could verify from the pictures he had seen that Patience was who she claimed, but that didn't mean anything. The file had also said that Patience was killed in the traditional dual for Head Magister.
The door across from Rook's chair opened. Immediately, he was on his feet. Not noticing this, Ben left the room with a relaxed and overconfident smile on his face. Considering the state of his ankle, that wasn't something that Rook wanted to see.
"How did it go?" Rook asked as he glanced between Ben and Patience, who stepped out of the small office behind him.
Ben shrugged nonchalantly, though his smugness betrayed his real thoughts on the matter. "Pretty good. We just talked a lot about the past and built some bridges, that's all, Rook."
The idiom took a moment to sink in, but by the time Rook had connected what Ben said with what he meant, Patience was already speaking. "It's a private matter, Rook. You both can feel free to discuss it once you're alone. But I understand that all of this change has been happening rather quickly and I want to invite you both on a brief tour of the base so I can tell you where we'll be going from here."
Another tour of another base. Rook wasn't convinced that Arkein was all that different from the Plumbers, but he hadn't seen enough to settle on a judgment one way or the other. He wanted to talk to Ben but, seeing how excited the hero looked, Rook bit back a sigh and mustered up a smile. "Of course. I am eager to learn all that I can from you."
He wondered, briefly, why Patience would need to speak privately to Ben but not Rook. He tucked that away to bring up later with his partner. It didn't seem urgent if Ben's relaxed demeanor was any indication.
"That's what I like to hear! We'll begin this way if you please." Patience put a hand on both of their shoulders, nudging them down the hall and further into the base.
The boxy aesthetic stayed, but at least their tour guide was friendly. A part of Rook felt guilty about his unfair distrust towards Tetrax when they first met, so he was doing his best to be as understanding as possible. It would have been different if he were alone. As much as Rook respected and, occasionally, admired Ben, his partner was far too trusting considering all the battles he had fought. That could be a good trait sometimes, but under such shady circumstances, Rook felt that he had to be skeptical to combat Ben's eagerness. One day, rushing head-long into something that he didn't understand was going to get Ben seriously hurt and Rook wanted to delay that inevitability for as long as he could. His precaution was necessary.
"Our surveillance room," Patience said as she stopped to open a door.
The setup was surprisingly high-tech, with a large bank of computer monitors showing live footage from different hallways. The cameras were in full quality and adjustable, as the current Petrosapien watching the footage was zooming back out as they entered. He gave Patience a respectful nod, which she returned.
"Rookies take turns on monitor duty. One thing that the Plumbers are right about — I've found that it builds character and a good sense for the importance of procedure," explained Patience. She shut the door behind them. "You'll both be able to take shifts for monitor duty if you want. I wouldn't classify either of you two as rookies, but sometimes it's good for having a place to think. In all honesty, not much happens in these halls. Oh, that reminds me. We'll need to come up with something for your codenames."
Instantly, the bored expression on Ben's face gave way to anticipation. "Codenames? Do we get to pick? Please tell me that we get to pick." He held his hands together pleadingly.
"Oh." Rook blinked. "Codenames would explain the unusual names of those we have recently met. I was curious about that."
Patience nodded in agreement. "Yes. A few of us use our regular names mostly, but most prefer the names that they made up when they left polite society. But those aren't codes — codenames are for mission use only. It helps to keep the enemy on their toes, in case our equipment is bugged. For mission purposes, you can call me Slugger," Patience told them with a wink. "An old nickname from childhood. I never thought I would use it again, but times change. Anyway, don't feel pressured. You both have plenty of time to settle on what you would like to be called. Come." She gestured for them to follow as their tour resumed.
While they walked, Patience launched into an explanation about the construction behind the base and the benefits of its perfect, ninety-degree angles. Rook found it interesting, but Ben seemed to disagree. Not even fifteen seconds into the lecture, he jammed his elbow into Rook's side to get his attention.
"What codename do you think I should go with?" Ben asked in a whisper. "I've got nothing. It has to be awesome, you know, but also strike fear into people's hearts. The other mes in the multiverse call me "Prime," but how lame is that? It's fine when it's myself calling me that, but my codename's got to have some respect behind it, you know?" He sighed as though the decision was tragically heavy.
"Not at all," Rook replied dryly. He smirked. "I have always been partial to what Proctor Servantis called you — "The Coming Storm," "Destroyer of the Universe," "Omnipotent Monster" — the possibilities are truly endless. Of course, Gwendolyn has always had such accurate labels. Why not "dweeb," or "doofus"? No one would guess that it was you."
"Haha." Ben rolled his eyes. "I'm being serious, though. Do you at least know what you're gonna use?"
Rook shook his head. "No. My people are not the type for nicknames or things of the sort. I have never given one before. The closest is when I call you "partner," or "dude," but the former is more of a title and the latter is Earth slang, as I understand it."
There was a thoughtful hum as Ben tapped his chin. "Huh. Well, in that case, I guess the only moral option is to help you out. What do you say to a little brainstorming session later? We can write down some ideas while you're training and I'm pretending to be interested," he suggested brightly.
Biting back a smile, Rook arched an eyebrow in his best attempt to look reprehensive. "You could train with me instead. You will need to get used to moving with an injury and relying on other muscles. Speaking of which, we need to find ice for your ankle. And you should—" He was going to say more, only for Ben cut him off with a shushing sound, holding a finger up to Rook's face close enough that he had to cross his eyes to bring it into focus.
"Shh, Rook. One crisis at a time, buddy." Ben said with a grin, dropping his hand.
Any pretense of seriousness fell to the wayside. Rook couldn't help but chuckle, shaking his head. "Then codenames it is. As long as you agree to get ice for your injury while we talk."
"Deal." Ben sealed this agreement by holding up his fist. Unlike how he would have handled it when they first met, Rook didn't hesitate to return the fistbump.
They were interrupted when Patience cleared her throat, an unimpressed look on her face. Ben had the decency to attempt looking apologetic, but he didn't do a very good job of it. "If you two have finished your side conversation…" she sighed, stopping in front of another door, "I want to do a quick look through all of the essentials. Our living block is small, mainly used for temporary stays, but it has everything that you'll need."
She opened the door, revealing a two-person bedroom about half the size of the one at Plumber base but decorated almost identically. All it meant was less floor space, but Rook didn't see it being a problem. "This is where you two will be sleeping. There's no real curfew, but don't leave the base at night. Petropia is a cruel place after dark," she warned. Then, much less serious, Patience pointed down the hall. "The showers will be down there, on the left. Food is in the opposite direction. If you're worried about being fed ration minerals, don't be. I keep my soldiers fed entirely self-sufficiently and some sympathizers up on the surface get us shipments of human food every so often. I can't promise that it will be of high quality, but neither of you will be going hungry." This is punctuated with another smile, though it felt more forced than the ones before it. Rook couldn't begrudge her for that, though — Ben had that effect on plenty of people.
"Sweet," was all that Ben said. He shoved his hands in his pockets, feigning nonchalance. "So, uh, side question, since we're on the subject of living areas. Do you guys have any clothes that could fit me? My stuff all went up in that explosion. I think that Rook could get some replacement items too, but I'm pretty sure that he wears that armor every day without issue so it might not be as urgent for him."
Rambling — one of Ben's many nervous habits. Rook suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. If he gave Ben a hard time for it, the situation would only dissolve into fiddling. "I lost repair and maintenance equipment for my Proto-Tool," he explained, gesturing to the weapon over his shoulder. "It is not anything that you will be able to replace but, if you have a weapons' area, I would like permission to visit. The Proto-Tool needs consistent care to keep it operating at its fullest."
Patience looked Ben up and down thoughtfully, giving Rook's weapon a quick glance. "Yes to both of you. I think." She tilted her head back like she was holding back a groan, placing her hands on her hips. "Rook, yours won't be a problem, but as for your request, Ben… well, the only clothes we really wear around here are armor and that only comes in so many sizes. We could probably find something custom-made through surface contacts, but it won't be happening any time soon. As I'm sure you can imagine, our resources have other priorities. But I wouldn't say that it's impossible. In the meantime, just try not to get yourself dirty." Satisfied, she patted Ben on the shoulder and brushed by them both, continuing. "Since that's settled, why don't we visit the conference room and central hub?"
There wasn't any real reason to refuse, so the two off-worlders followed. This time, there was no side conversation while their tour guide prattled on. Regardless, Rook felt more at ease than he had before. It was comforting to know that Ben was processing everything fine and was still himself. It was a partner's job to make sure that their other half was doing well both mentally and physically but Rook couldn't pretend that his behavior was the result of orders he had been given. No, he kept an eye on Ben because he wanted to. Friendship tended to have that effect, he had noticed.
They saw the more technically important parts of the base next. Even with the entire compound underground, it soon became clear how small it was. The entire complex could fit in just one floor of the Plumbers base. Still, it was functional. The main hub was a large, open room with branching hallways that led to different sections. There was the living area, training area, weapons and maintenance, a small garage, a section for handling plumbing and wiring, and one that was restricted.
"That's only for those with the proper clearance," Patience said as they passed the closed-off door. "You can consider it my personal quarters if that helps stave off your curiosity."
It didn't, but Rook kept his mouth shut and nodded anyway.
Their tour concluded back in the main hub, where other Petrosapiens working with Arkein were buzzing through during their day-to-day tasks. There wasn't any uniform for their armor, but they sported different crests that Rook assumed to be a mark of their clearance level or authority.
"That's all you'll need to know about this base," Patience concluded. "You'll both have free time until I'm ready to call a mission briefing. I suggest familiarizing yourself with the training room and the weapons' vault. If you're anything like the other recruits, that's where you'll be spending most of your time. I'll see you both relatively soon." She punctuated this with an odd salute, crossing both arms over her torso and knocking twice against her chest.
There was a moment of hesitation before Rook dubiously copied, repeating the salute. Ben followed his direction, a frown on his face. It must have been what Patience wanted because she smiled and inclined her head politely before turning and disappearing into the private sector.
Left alone, Rook and Ben weren't entirely sure what to do with themselves. None of the passersby acknowledged them beyond silent stares and, despite having just finished the tour, it felt like they were trespassing somehow. It was as though they didn't have the right to be standing there, which was ridiculous, but Rook couldn't shake the feeling of unease trickling down his spine.
"Well," he said after a moment, turning to Ben, "we should take a look at your ankle and find some ice for the swelling. Sprains are not serious as long as you do not aggravate it." He grimaced. "Anymore than you have already, at least."
The comment got Ben to stick his tongue out — rather juvenile of him — but it was nice to have his laid-back personality amongst all that had been happening. Rook would likely have been facing a burnout if they were both being unbearably stiff.
Thankfully, despite his bad attitude about it, Ben didn't protest a quick stop by the kitchen to find some ice. He was good at hiding it, but Rook wasn't stupid. He could see Ben limping with every step and he noticed when it got worse, the human's face scrunching up slightly at every step. That was a bad sign. Rook had read extensively on common human injuries and sprains weren't supposed to be that painful unless they were serious. And, a hundred thousand light-years from any surgeon who knew enough about humans to handle a surgical operation, they couldn't afford to let the sprain get any worse.
Most planets had water, luckily. Even if Petrosapeins weren't carbon-based, they still needed it, though their requirements were considerably less than a humans'. A few minutes of digging around the kitchen while Ben sat on the counter resulted in the discovery of an alien freezer which, to Rook's relief, had plenty of ice in it. He wrapped a big chunk of it in some of his leftover gauze and gave it to Ben to hold onto while they moved somewhere more appropriate for first aid. Staying in the kitchen would have been unsanitary.
A few minutes later, they arrived back at the bedroom. One of them had been paying attention, so it hadn't been hard for Rook to navigate. Ben sat down on one of the beds without needing to be prompted, letting out a soft sigh as he pressed the bundled ice to the most swollen area of his ankle. It was when Rook moved closer that he grew tense.
Ordinarily, the Revonnahgander might have entertained his partner's ridiculous expectations about seeming impervious and immune to pain. Considering their situation though, Rook wasn't in the mood to play games.
He placed his hands on his hips, fixing Ben with a firm look that he had often seen Gwendolyn use on her cousin. "You are not going to avoid vulnerability today, Ben. You are injured. I am the only one on this planet with even basic formal education in treating human wounds. Unless you would like your ankle to grow worse and impede your ability to fight, you will let me take a look at it."
There wasn't much of a response to that, as Rook figured there wouldn't be. Ben moved his mouth with the intention to protest, but in the end, it came down to two choices — take the brief embarrassment of having Rook play nurse, or take the much more impactful mortification of admitting that he had a hero complex about accepting help. It only took a few seconds for Ben to work through that puzzle. He wasn't an idiot and, to the relief of both of them, settled for an eye roll as he removed the ice and stuck out his leg.
It was more than a little sarcastic, but it wasn't a refusal. Rook considered that progress.
He knelt by the bed, unwrapping the gauze carefully. It wasn't bloodied, which was a good sign. Had the injury been external too, there could have been something seriously wrong. The sprain was swollen, but not enough to be worrisome. When Rook gently probed the reddened areas, Ben's frown tightened and he shifted instead of flinching or recoiling. Compressing it when they did had been the right choice.
"There," Rook sighed as he finished wrapping it back up, tighter this time, and got to his feet. "That was not so difficult. It is only a mild sprain. You should have no trouble healing as long as you do not strain it too much." He offered Ben his hand, but the human ignored it, staring thoughtfully at the block of ice in his hands. Hesitating, Rook dropped his arm back to his side. "...Ben? Are you alright?"
"Hm?" The hero blinked, looking up at Rook with genuine confusion. "Yeah, fine. Just kinda sore. I was wondering how I was going to get this ice pack to stay in place. I never really considered how much time I spend standing and walking. Ice keeps the swelling down and I really don't want your bandages getting any tighter. It might cut off the circulation to my foot."
It was a bald-faced lie, but Rook quickly decided that it wasn't his place to make Ben tell the truth. He was a friend, not a mother. "I could wrap it in place," Rook offered with an amused look. "Or, if that would look ridiculous, I could carry you everywhere, and—"
"Woah, would you look at that!" Almost immediately, Ben was on his feet, holding the ice away from his body with one hand. "Back on my feet. You know, ice is overrated, anyway. I don't know why people are always complaining about injuries swelling. I feel fine, don't you? We should get to the training room and get started on those codenames."
Rook bit back a grin. "Yes, you have a point. That would not have been fun for me, either." He left the room with Ben pouting, but the atmosphere between them was relaxed.
The training area was, as Rook expected, high-tech by Earth standards and mediocre compared to what they had seen at the Plumber base. There was an impressive obstacle course, a number of large metal machines that Rook couldn't name, and an empty area had been carved out for a running track. Most of them were, of course, designed for Petrosapiens. Without the equipment that he was used to, Rook estimated that a few exercises would have to be cut from his routine. He would make up the lost time by spending longer on other workouts.
"At least the track is usable by humans," Rook remarked as the two stood on the sidelines, watching a group of Petrosapiens run around it.
Eyeballing the track, Rook figured that the path spanned an eighth of a mile in Earth phrasing. It would be a number of laps to reach his twenty-mile a day routine. Then again, he had been neglecting his usual workouts since arriving on Petropia. Fifteen miles sounded more reasonable to start and Rook could work back up to twenty within the week.
"Yeah, good news for you," agreed Ben with a despondent nod. He reached over and flicked open one of the utility pockets embedded into Rook's armor, pulling out a notepad and pen without needing to ask where they were kept. Prize in hand, he took a seat on one of the benches on the sideline, folding his legs and resting the injured one on top to balance the ice on his ankle. "Enjoy your run. I'll come up with a cool codename for you, partner, I promise."
There wasn't much room for debate. Ben had already started writing, frowning in concentration. Holding in a sigh, Rook rolled his eyes, but he couldn't pretend that it was anything other than fond. He left Ben to it and started his first lap at a leisurely jog. Only one-hundred and fifty-nine more to go.
When Rook came back around, lap after lap, Ben would stop him to read off some ideas. The highlights included, but were not limited to, "Samurai," (corrected to "Ninja" when Rook mentioned his distaste for heavy armor) "Fuzzy," "Quick-Draw," and "Bullseye." There were countless options scribbled into Rook's notebook, but none of them were for Ben. According to him, it was because his would be "too easy" and he "wanted a challenge." That got him a smack on the arm, not that Ben did anything in return except laugh.
In addition to coming up with codenames, Ben had also tasked himself with keeping track of Rook's laps. The little tally marks in the corner of the note pages were surprisingly helpful. Whenever he was stopped and Ben started talking, the numbers could easily get jumbled in Rook's mind. It was sort of nice to have someone to talk to while he did his routine, though. Rook knew that Ben wasn't a fan of training unless it was with his aliens, but he wondered if it would be out-of-line or improper somehow for him to ask his partner to sit in more often. Then again, that would be admitting to enjoying their exchanges, and Rook could not forsake his many eye rolls by doing something like that.
After one-hundred and three laps, Rook was surprised to find Ben holding a cup of water when he came back around. The dishes were, of course, made of peranite. Still, Rook found himself hesitating as he took the glass when Ben offered it. He wanted to know when Ben had gotten the time to hobble to the kitchen and back, but more importantly…
"Don't worry, it's not poisonous," Ben assured him, rather uninterested. "This place doesn't get its minerals and water from Plumber rations, remember? I think they do it on principle because they definitely didn't know about the toxins in the water before we got involved in this. It's rainwater." When Rook still hesitated to drink, Ben rolled his eyes, finally looking up from whatever he was writing. "Relax. Swampfire took a look at the Red Sleep, remember? Its poison doesn't affect anything besides Petrosapiens. I'm absolutely certain. Or, well, at least eight-percent certain," he corrected with a shrug.
Rook scowled, but he was incredibly thirsty. He didn't usually run ten miles without something to drink in between. Steeling himself, he took a deep swig of water. If he died, then at least he would die proving Ben wrong.
"Where did you get the water from?" He asked as he sipped more calmly. "You could not go to the kitchen and arrive back here before I could complete a lap."
With a huff, Ben held up his wrist and tapped the Omnitrix pointedly. The device had no reaction, remaining powered off. "Yeah, not anymore, I couldn't. Sybil brought it." He pointed to another part of the training area, where rows of heavy, Petrosapien-based equipment was lined up. Tetrax was working with what looked like some sort of spiked weight machine while Sybil watched, talking animatedly about something that he obviously wasn't listening to. "Funny," Ben mused. "I was just thinking about getting you something to drink, too. No offense, but you look like a drowned rat. Are you supposed to be working out in your Proto-armor?"
"The Proto-armor can handle all manner of physical activity," Rook retorted with an indignant snort. He watched Sybil and Tetrax for a moment longer before turning back to his partner. "Did she mention to you what she hoped to accomplish with Tetrax?"
Ben shrugged. As usual, the subject of romance failed to hold his interest. "Yeah, she was going to ask him to spar with her. I don't think that's part of his routine or whatever, though. It doesn't seem to be getting anywhere."
Considering that his partner barely grasped human romance, Rook wasn't about to start explaining Petrosapien courting practices to Ben. Still, he watched with a trace of amusement and pity. A sparing session was awfully personable — quite a forward move from Sybil, considering how little Tetrax seemed to care about her advances.
"How is your ankle?" Rook asked, blatantly changing the subject. "Will you be able to participate in a field mission, if Patience assigns one?" He would prefer that Ben take it easy for a few days until it healed, but realistically, that wasn't going to happen. Even without using the Omnitrix, Ben could still be an asset in a fight and the only thing that could keep him from fighting was death. And even then, Rook had seen Ben practically come back to life. It felt, to him, like his partner was invincible.
"It's… better," Ben settled on after a moment. He shifted over some, patting the bench next to him. Rook took the hint, sitting without comment. "The ice helped bring down the swelling but I haven't been moving it so I'm not sure if it still hurts to walk on or not. Probably does. But I mean, it's just a few days. I've kind of always been a fast healer and I figure you'd be a lot more overbearing if it was serious."
Rook started to retort — true though Ben's statement may be — but cut himself off when he noticed Sybil approaching them. Despite her rejection, she seemed to be in a good mood. It was starting to seem like she was the type to always be happy.
"Hey, you two," Sybil greeted with a wave. "Patience wants us in the conference room. We should head over there. Tetrax already went." She jerked her thumb towards where he had been working out. The machine was turned off and left unattended. She gave no implication that she cared in the slightest.
"Really?" Ben arched an eyebrow. "Wait, how would you even know that? You don't have a communicator and she didn't come in here and you haven't left except to get water, so did you run into her in the kitchen or…?"
Oddly enough, his questioning made Sybil's smile widen. "We should go. Patience doesn't reward tardiness and you two are going to want to be there. It's pretty exciting and you off-worlders are the most important part."
Though he was still skeptical, Ben shrugged. He picked the ice back up, getting to his feet. Once he was sure that the human wouldn't fall, Rook did the same. Ben still had a bit of a limp in his step, but it was clearly less painful than it had been before. If he really did heal quickly and wasn't only saying that so Rook would back off, the injury wouldn't be a problem within the week.
Before they went, he quickly downed the rest of his water. Rook wasn't sure what to do with the empty glass, but before he could decide, Sybil held out a hand.
"I'll take it if you want," she offered brightly.
There wasn't any reason to refuse, but Rook hesitated before eventually passing it to her. As the glass came into contact with her hand, it made a loud cracking sound. Rook thought that he had hurt her somehow, only for the glass to melt like candle wax and sink into her skin. The process took less than three seconds and Sybil's expression didn't change, as though nothing had happened at all.
Ben was much less nonchalant about it. He gaped, shocked. "You can do that?" He sputtered. "I always thought that it wasn't a part of your body once you made it. But it just… it can reabsorb?"
"Well, it's not a part of us," Sybil explained. "It's kind of hard to put into words. The next time you turn into a Petrosapien, try it. You'll probably learn more that way than I could ever tell you. It doesn't become part of us in the way you might think. Our bodies repurpose the minerals, so we can't do it nonstop. Think of it as… eating, kind of. But we can't sustain ourselves off of just peranite, so it's more like having a snack." She smiled serenely. "Now, don't we have somewhere to be?"
With that matter settled, the three of them left the training area. Rook was a little annoyed by it, but he would probably settle for doing his routine before bed, the way that he did it back on Earth. Cardio in the morning and muscle-development in the evenings. It was the only way he could schedule it to work around patrols or whatever crisis he and Ben had to deal with that week.
Their walk was quiet, though Ben had a few questions for Sybil about the limit of Petrosapien abilities. He felt bad about it, but Rook ended up tuning most of that out. He knew plenty about Petrosapiens already and Sybil's explanation of how to manipulate peranite more artfully went a bit over the Revonnahgander's head. Try as he might, he couldn't picture the world in the same way that Sybil and Ben talked about it. He had no idea what "energy" he was supposed to "reach for" in order to control peranite, but Ben nodded along eagerly and added in enthusiastically where he could.
"Looks like you finally caught up," Tetrax remarked as they rounded the corner. He was leaning against the wall by the closed door to the conference room, waiting. Seeing their questioning stares, he rapped his knuckles against the door. "No one's inside."
"Oh." Ben frowned. "Didn't she want us here, though?"
Despite their accusatory looks, Sybil remained unphased. "Yes. Just wait for another moment or two, please."
There wasn't much else that could be done. Rook folded his arms across his chest to wait but was quickly back at attention when Tetrax straightened.
"Ben. Can I talk to you for a moment, in private?" He asked. There was only a beat of hesitance before Ben nodded. He didn't spare a look at Rook, following Tetrax back down the hall and around the corner. Swallowing his suspicions and distrust, Rook said nothing.
Silence fell between the remaining two. It wasn't uncomfortable, so Rook felt no need to break it. Besides, he was more than happy to stew and boil in his own unhappy thoughts. He wished that he knew where his disliking of Tetrax stemmed from. Rook liked to think himself a fairly open-minded individual and he usually had a reason for not liking a person. He hated the guilt gnawing at his gut. It was obvious that Ben trusted Tetrax greatly and cared a lot for him, so why was Rook incapable of understanding that?
"You worry so much," Sybil sighed, startling Rook from his musings. "It's written all over your face. Why can't you manage to relax, Blonko?"
Hearing his name caught Rook off-guard, causing him to choke back the retort he'd been about to spit out. How had she learned his chosen name? The only person on the planet who knew that to be his first name was Ben and Rook was fairly certain that he hadn't told anyone.
"That is… none of your concern," he retorted. Rook turned away, hoping that Sybil would take the hint. He had no such luck.
"Maybe your worries are justified," she sighed, looking wistfully the way that Ben and Tetrax had gone. "You'll never know until you explore the possibility. But then again, maybe you should stop being so possessed over every last detail. He can handle himself."
Rook sighed. He didn't want to acknowledge Sybil, and yet… "I know that," he muttered, "but that does not mean that I cannot try to protect him. We are partners. It is my responsibility."
Unimpressed, Sybil arched an eyebrow. "Because it is your job or because you care?"
Lips parted, Rook was about to dismiss the idea entirely. What did it matter? Either way, his logic was flawed. Ben didn't need to be "taken care of." He had made that perfectly clear over the time they had known each other. It would only frustrate his partner to have to explain, yet again, that he had saved the universe multiple times and was capable of keeping himself alive. Whether Rook wanted to try because it was his job or because he cared about Ben, the result would be the same.
The guilt weighed heavy in his chest. He didn't want to admit it, but Rook's "job" was exactly the problem.
"You're already here?" Patience interrupted their conversation, a confused frown on her face. "Well, uh, that's… convenient. I was about to have someone collect you all, but this is much easier. Thanks, Sybil." She pushed open the door to the briefing room, waving them inside. "You told the others as well, didn't you?"
Sybil nodded. "They should be here any moment, Patience," she replied. She gave Rook one last pointed look before ducking into the room.
After a moment's hesitation, Rook followed her. The conference room was small and square with a circular table taking up most of the floor space. There was a gap in it for someone to step into the center, as the middle of the room was dominated by a holographic 3D projector. Twenty or so chairs surrounded the table. Whatever meetings were held in the room, they were small and likely private.
Rook chose a seat that gave him a good view of both the display and the door. A few moments later, Tetrax and Ben entered. Apparently, their conversation was done. If the looks on their faces meant anything, it must have gone well. This time, Rook didn't try to deny the sticky, unpleasant bitter feeling in his chest.
Seeing his partner, Ben made a beeline for him. Tetrax, however, was almost immediately flagged down by Sybil. He knew that she was doing it for her own purposes, but Rook still couldn't help but be a little grateful. Ben sat with his injured leg crossed over his other, resting the ice on top of his ankle before folding his hands over the tabletop and focusing directly ahead of him.
The silence lasted for only a second. "Do you know that this meeting's about?" Ben asked, leaning over to whisper to Rook. "She said there's supposed to be others joining us, but she didn't explain what we're here for."
"No, I do not." Come to think of it though, had Patience even asked them to be there? She had seemed surprised to find them already waiting. Rook frowned, watching Sybil from the corner of his eye. How had she known to tell them something that Patience hadn't asked for? "I imagine that it must be important, though. She did mention that she was working on a plan of attack. Will you be able to handle something physical?"
As soon as he said it, Rook knew that it was a mistake. Like flicking a switch, Ben's smile fell and his expression grew tight. "Yeah," he said airily, not bothering to be quiet as he looked away. "I think I can handle a little running around, mom. Worry more about yourself, Rook."
They sat quietly for the rest of the time that it took the rest of the people to file in. The only Petrosapien that Rook recognized was Conway. Thankfully, he took the seat next to Tetrax and started up a casual conversation with his friend, pointedly avoiding looking in the off-worlder's direction. In all, Rook counted ten strangers. They were polite about it though, either masking their distaste upon seeing Ben or keeping their curiosity to themselves.
"Is everyone here?" Patience asked as she surveyed the room. "Good. Now, in light of the efforts of Rook and Ben, as well as some further digging from Tetrax, we've recently discovered that Magister Argyle has been poisoning the water supply being rationed to poor areas with venom harvested from the Red Sleep. You have all been briefed on this separately." She turned the projector on, displaying a sort of checklist written in the Petrosapien language. "Our goal is simple. In two days time, we will host a small assault on the factory that mass-produces these rations for consumption. The objective is not to destroy it, rather only to destroy the process that adds Red Sleep venom and learn as much about it as we can in the brief time frame that we have. Any questions?"
There was a beat of silence. One of the Petrosapiens started to say something, but Patience continued without more than a glance at her. "Thanks to our sources with access to Plumber files, we managed to get these blueprints, despite their low clearance." She swiped the hologram to the right, displaying 3D blueprints of a large factory. The writing was in their alien language again, but the diagram was detailed enough that Rook didn't have any trouble following it. "Now, there are several areas undefined on this blueprint, as you can see." She highlighted five areas by tapping on them, wiping the rest of the screen blank to bring the undefined rooms into focus. "Red Sleep is incredibly deadly. The room where it would be held will need to be big enough to support both the machinery to extract and contain its venom, as well as keep whoever's working with it safe from its effects. That eliminates two of the rooms." Another swipe of her hand crossed out the two smallest of the five.
"Because the Red Sleep is considered highly illegal to weaponize, where it's kept will have to have high-clearance security. By cross-referencing the blueprints with the guard patrol schedules and camera locations, I've managed to narrow it down to these two rooms." She colored the two green, bringing the rest of the complex back into view in order to show their locations. One was on the second floor and the other was on the level above. "The guard patrols are another monster all together. This is a very expensive and important factory. It has regular patrols that hardly leave any single area unwatched at any given time. So, here's how this is going to work."
With a flick of her wrist, Patience pulled up a list on the side. Rook was familiar enough with the language to recognize them as names, due to their distinct symbols. She grouped four names together, dragging them to the first possible location. "Team number one is going to be Rook, Xo'onotlite, Boulder, and Cancrie. Team number two, focusing on our second room," she dragged the next four names over to their task, "we'll have Ben, Haslach, Conway, and Aurum." Next to him, Rook felt Ben tense. Even from across the room, he could sense Conway's similar displeasure. If either of them were planning to protest, they didn't get the chance to.
"This is because with how little we know about what we could find in these rooms, our safest bet is to send each group with a non-Petrosapien, as the venom has been shown to have no effect on them. I want to keep casualties to a minimum. As for everyone else…" Patience tapped the list and the remaining names automatically hovered above fixed spots on the blueprint. "Everyone will be in charge of keeping a different sector clear. We'll all be in constant communication. This mission is about stealth, which is why I have hand-picked all of you. The rest of you will see me separately for personal briefings about your task. It will vary from area to area, depending on patrol schedules and how close you are to our interest zones. Teams one and two will be briefed separately early tomorrow morning. I expect the eight of you to introduce yourselves to your group members if you haven't already met. I'm not requiring friendship bracelets or sleepovers, but if you all can't work together, it could cost us the future well-being of this planet and her people. Am I clear?"
The atmosphere was heavy and tense in the wake of her severeness. When nothing was said, Patience quickly brightened. "Great! In that case, you're all dismissed. Feel free to use the training room liberally in the short time we have. I want this operation underway in two days. Rest plentifully." She did her weird salute thing from before and everyone in the room did the same.
People started filling out quickly. Rook stood, ready to help Ben if need be, only to be surprised to see Tetrax approaching them.
"Are you ready?" The Petrosapien asked, glancing to Rook but directing his question at Ben. "There is a lot that you need to learn about stealth and a very short time frame for me to teach you."
"Don't worry, Tetrax. I'm a great student." Ben said with a grin. He got to his feet and turned to Rook somewhat apologetically. "You can finish your workout, Rook. Tetrax offered to teach me to balance better with an injury and some self-defense against Petrosapiens and stealth stuff since I'm going to be stuck as a human for a while. But don't worry, we can work on some of those codename possibilities tonight, alright? Catch you later," He made a two-fingered salute by his temple, smirking before running out the door with Tetrax not far behind.
There wasn't an opportunity for Rook to get a word in edgewise. He had barely raised his hand to wave goodbye when the two of them were already out of sight.
The unpleasant emotion in Rook's chest tightened unbearably. He faintly recognized it. Jealousy. Was that why he disliked Tetrax? Was he really so petty and insecure? Or was it more than that? Rook didn't move, lost in thought even as the room emptied save for a few other people.
Introspectively, maybe it wasn't jealousy. Maybe it was fear. That was somehow even more ridiculous, but Rook wasn't one to lie to himself. His promotion to magister was still recent when they arrived on Petropia so a lot of changes hadn't been fully implemented yet. It was going to change everything. Rook would have an entirely new list of responsibilities, which meant that he wouldn't be able to be Ben's partner full-time. Magister Tennyson had already discussed possible replacements with Rook and was thinking about ways to broach the subject with Ben.
Things were changing. That must have been what Rook was scared of. He had finally adjusted well to Earth and grown comfortable in his friendship with Ben, inside and outside of the job aspect. It was all going to be swept away. The yearly check that they were originally on Petropia for was supposed to be a test for Rook, to ensure that he could handle the increased expectations of being a magister.
Considering what had happened to his Plumber badge, though, Rook doubted that it was an issue anymore. Even if he was accepted back into the Plumbers, his promotion would likely be moot and he would have to start over as a cadet again.
In the end, all Rook that really wanted was the ability to choose — to be Ben's partner or see what other opportunities were waiting for him. Now, it seemed as though he would be getting neither. It was all slipping away. And he was terrified that there was nothing he could do about it.
A/N: Comment your best codename ideas and Ben and Rook will make fun of them in the next chapter.
Chapter Ten: Bad Blood