Author's Note: This chapter references the Ben 10 comics, specifically Lorelai and Terrapisciss. You do not have to read them to understand but there's a link where I posted this on ao3 to a summary of the comic.


Scout was so busy saying hi to Ship and trying to make sure he didn't smack Albedo with his excited tail that he almost didn't hear what Malware said.

"Brother! Sister! I never thought I'd see you two together in one place!"

"Sister?" someone echoed but Scout didn't notice who. The red Mechamorph was holding Rook in one arm and a human girl in the other. Scout didn't recognize her yet Malware had called her sister, thus implying not only that she was also Rook's sister in some way but also that she was another one of Azmuth's creations. Scout found that troubling but Rook didn't look particularly surprised. What had happened in the short hours he was on Earth?

"Unitrix," Albedo said aloud and Scout scooped him up in one paw so everyone didn't have to look down while he talked. "I did not realize you were on Earth."

"I guess Azmuth didn't tell you, huh?" the girl said, sounding almost bitter. She sighed and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "It's Eunice now, by the way."

"Eunice," Albedo repeated. Scout was fully prepared to crush him in his paw if he said something rude but Albedo just smiled. "It suits you."

Eunice beamed and Malware looked just as happy, swinging Rook and Eunice around happily. "I'm happy you found a name. I will still call you sister though."

Eunice laughed and wrestled an arm free to throw around the Mechamorph. "I'm glad."

"I didn't know you had a brother," Ben murmured, eyeing Malware then looking at Rook. "Brothers?"

"It is a long story. Azmuth has a history of not treating his creations well so Malware formed a kinship with me due the Omnitrix's effects on my being as well as my own relationship with Azmuth. I assume he formed a similar bond with Eunice due to her origins." Rook paused. "I suppose it was not a long story."

"So all of you have Daddy issues?" Kevin asked, grinning sharply. Gwen swatted at him which only made him laugh. The Galvan techs shutting down the teleporter didn't seem to appreciate it much though.

"Don't speak of High Thinker Azmuth in such a way!" one of them protested.

"Yeah! He's the High Thinker!" the other added and Scout got the sense these weren't the brightest tadpoles in the pond. Albedo's groan only cemented the suspicion. And he was pretty sure he heard the old human mutter something about finally having a competent Galvan on Earth.

"We're getting off track," the elderly human said, pinching his brow. "Albedo, Malware, it's good to see you again. And I assume you're Scout?"

Scout nodded and got a quick introduction before Max dismissed Blukic and Driba. Malware put Rook and Eunice down, letting Ship give Rook a happy greeting as well, and the group traveled to the base's cortex in order to have a smoother conversation.

"Let's start over again," Max said once they'd all settled down. "Explain."

Scout didn't know what he meant by that but apparently Rook did. "When I discovered the Omnitrix, Tetrax had been hired by Vilgax to seek me out but did not follow through and instead decided to help me train to use the Omnitrix to the best of my ability. He helped Magister Wat-Sen, my sister, and I defeat Vilgax and he took me to the Plumber Academy when I registered. We'd met Magister Bahrvad and Magister Xylene on Revonnah while they had been searching for the Omnitrix, as ordered by the Magistrata. They oversaw our training at the Academy, when we visited Galvan Prime, and when we returned to Revonnah after we graduated.

"When some bounty hunters Tetrax had worked with in the past arrived on Revonnah, Bahrvad and Xylene thought Vilgax may come soon and ordered Scout, Ship, and I to take refuge on another planet. We spent the next two years in the Anur System before meeting Ben, Gwen, and Kevin. Tetrax had been captured by one of the border planets but we recovered him and agreed he would find Xylene and Bahrvad while we attempted to build a teleporter."

The air hung in empty silence for a moment before Tetrax took over. "I didn't have many leads on Xylene and Bahrvad. Due to the secret nature of their mission, most Plumber records of them are wiped or locked. That was why Blonko and Scout were not registered under them, I imagine. I did visit the Academy, as well as their homeworlds, and some previous known locations of the Omnitrix before Blonko found it. As you can imagine, I didn't find any sign of them but when I began considering giving up, Ship brought me to Galvan Prime."

"We Galvans had no information about Bahrvad and Xylene's whereabouts either but I believe Ship thought Malware and I would be suitable replacements as supporters of the Omnitrix bearer," Albedo spoke up as Ship barked in agreement. Albedo patted a hand on his side. "Envoys do not have a strong understanding of hierarchy. To him, Malware and I are equals to Magister Xylene and Magister Bahrvad. Though I understand we are not ranking Plumbers, I hope you understand that we will remain on Earth in order to support Rook in Bahrvad and Xylene's absence."

It wasn't a question, Scout noticed. Albedo wasn't asking for permission. Nervously, he watched the present magisters' reaction but they didn't seem upset by Albedo's boldness, instead nodding along.

"We still need to locate Xylene and Bahrvad," Devin spoke up, addressing Max and Patelliday. "It's their job to protect the Omnitrix. It feels wrong that they're not here."

Max nodded in agreement. "Malware and Albedo should help us there. You two have full access to the base's equipment in order to locate them and any escaped Null Void prisoners."

"Naturally," Albedo responded, hopping out of Scout's paw and tapping on Malware's shin to request a lift. The large Mechamorph obliged and placed the Galvan on his shoulder. "I will use your Galvan techs' lab for now. Send me whatever data you have."

"Will do."

Albedo nodded and Malware headed out back towards the lab. Eunice watched them for a moment before glancing back at the group and then deciding to follow. Scout, as curious as he was about her, was grateful. He wanted to ask Rook about her and he couldn't exactly do that with her around. She brought a lot of unknown to the table, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing but Scout didn't want to deal with too much at once.

"What should we do in the meantime?" Scout asked, looking back at the Magisters.

"You'll be here for awhile so I recommend taking this as a chance to settle in," Max told them. "Kevin, Gwen, and Ben are welcome to introduce you to Earth, or Eunice and the Amalgams if they're interested. Kevin, Gwen, and Ben need to visit home now though and I imagine you two want to see where you'll be staying."

Scout wanted to ask who the Amalgams were but Rook was nodding along like he knew so he figured he could ask later. "Sounds great."

"Come on," Kevin said, taking a few steps towards them. "I'll show you the dorms. And they're not like Academy dorms, don't worry."

Scout hadn't been worried about that but he was glad to hear it. Waiting for a dismissal from the magisters, Scout and Rook followed after him, slipping easily into the buzz of the base. Almost idly, Scout nudged Rook in the ribs. "You have a lot to catch me up on."

Rook let out a sigh but smiled. "I know. I think we will like it here."


It was easy to fall into… It wasn't a routine. Rhythm might be the better word. To Eunice, the Plumber base felt like an ecosystem. Everyone had a job, everyone had a place to call their own, and everyone knew how to navigate around everyone else there. Kevin, Gwen, and Ben's departure had changed things a bit but now that they were back, things were falling back into place. Adding Rook, Scout, Ship, Albedo, Malware, and Tetrax into the mix wasn't difficult. Different, sure, but not difficult. Mostly at least.

Rook and Scout had spent the better part of two years in an isolated system. Before that, school and xenophobic planets. They'd never been part of a community quite this. And Albedo, he'd never been part of a community at all. Galvans weren't ones for teamwork or bonds and thanks to his high intellect, he never had a place among his peers. He was always a superior or fighting for his place at the top. Malware was the exact opposite, always looked down upon by his potential peers and treated like something dangerous. Similarly, most Plumbers steered clear of Tetrax like he'd bite their heads off if they didn't. Eunice didn't know what his story was but everyone treated him with so much wariness that she wondered if he'd ever fit in, though Tetrax didn't seem to notice or care.

But the Plumbers were built entirely of different species. Everyone was an alien. Everyone felt out of place and that just made everyone feel all the more in place. Rook, Scout, Albedo, Malware, and Tetrax didn't stand out any more because of it. The Plumbers were practically a haven for outsiders. There would never be outsiders among them. No matter the difficulties, they worked.

They didn't surface much though. Earth wasn't the most alien-friendly planet. Eunice thought that Rook and Scout would understand that, being from Revonnah and Anur Transyl respectively, but cabin fever drove the sympathy out of anyone, it seemed.

"Both of you are covered in fur," Gwen said one day after another round of wheedling from Rook and Scout. "That's not exactly subtle."

"I have an Earthen form in my Omnitrix," Rook told her, holding up the aforementioned device. "We will stay away from humans! Please, it is so rare that I end up on the homeworld of one of my forms. I have wanted to see Tidetail Wave's people for myself for a long time."

"Tidetail W- You can transform into a marine animal, right?"

"The Delphinus," Rook confirmed, "or as you humans call them, dolphins."

Gwen blinked a few times, an unreadable expression on her face. "Rook, dolphins aren't like humans or Tetramands or Kinclerans. They're not really… There have never been any interactions between Plumbers and dolphins, you know?"

Rook didn't look happy at her words. "If you are implying that dolphins are unintelligent, you are wrong. I cannot speak as Tidetail Wave but I assure you, he is just as intelligent as a human. Maybe even more so."

"They wouldn't be in the Omnitrix if they weren't sapient," Scout added helpfully.

"Come on," Eunice said, "can't we just bring them to see the ocean? We can find a more private beach even."

Gwen made a face but Eunice could feel her caving. To their luck, Kevin passed by a moment later and to their luck, he never passed up an opportunity to drive and Gwen never passed up to see Kevin at the beach.

"I've only got three seats in the back so it's going to be a tight fit," Kevin warned. "And don't even think about scratching up the seats."

Scout tucked each paw under his arms, tail wagging innocently. "I'll be good."

"I can transform into something smaller," Rook offered and Eunice thought it was a good idea. She didn't really want to be trapped between Scout and Rook's broad shoulders for a long car ride, especially if Ship was bouncing around the back. "Juryrigg is small enough to-"

"Nuh-uh," Scout protested immediately. "Not inside a moving vehicle."

"But I do not have any other small aliens!"

"Funguy. Snare-Oh would fit fine too. Go Ghostfreak if you have to! I don't even mind being possessed if it means I don't have to be stuck with Juryrigg!"

That was the other thing. The Omnitrix had been something they sought after for so long. It was a weapon held on the highest pedestal. Malware had told Eunice that it had fused to Rook, that it'd become a part of him, but Eunice had never really imagined how casually Rook used it. Like he didn't even understand how much the Plumbers revered the device. He hadn't transformed much since coming to the base but each time was an experience. She hoped one day she'd be as familiar with Rook's forms as Scout seemed to be.

"Woah, I don't want you transforming into a bunch of weird aliens inside my ride," Kevin said, putting an arm protectively on the hood of his car.

"I can Upgrade it," Rook offered with a grin and began dialing up the Omnitrix before Kevin could protest. "Upgrade!"

Green light flashed, forcing Eunice to cover her eyes. When it died down, Rook was gone and in his place stood a Galvanic Mechamorph. And boy was that weird. Eunice had only seen Rook turn into species she'd never seen before but now that he was a species she knew well, it was easy to see just how well Rook translated into Upgrade. They looked different, of course, but there was still so much Rook in there. His age, his body type, his fitness, and his gender were there, of course, but so many other pieces of him that Eunice couldn't quite put into words were reflected onto this form. All his facial expressions and body language were still there, just a Mechamorph equivalent. It was strange to look at. She'd always assumed the Omnitrix just copied whoever the DNA sample came from but no, it truly made Rook into a new alien.

Upgrade reached a paw out towards Kevin's car and sucked himself into the vehicle, coating the exterior with his liquid skin and getting the rest of him deep into the inner workings of the car. Wiggling, pieces of the car began to change but Upgrade didn't take many liberties, mostly leaving the car's shape intact. After a moment, he craned his head up and out of the car, looking at Kevin expectantly. "Is this alright?"

Kevin was slack jawed but pulled himself together. "Y-yeah. Damn, that's cool. What else can you do with that form?"

Eunice's wonder at Rook's new form quickly faded. She was not looking forward to a whole ride filled with car talk. Exchanging a glance with Gwen, she seemed to share her sentiment.


Rook loved these Earth vehicles since he first saw them. It didn't occur to him that he could use his aliens to learn more about them until he Upgraded Kevin's car. Being Upgrade gave him intimate knowledge of the technology he was inhabiting. He couldn't quite put it into words but that didn't mean the knowledge wasn't there. Maybe it was better that way. His relationship with technology was something unique and special. Sometimes, he sort of liked that it was something only he could understand.

Rook hadn't spent much time with Kevin on Anur Transyl but it seemed cars were Kevin's realm and Upgrade found the car ride quite enjoyable, being able to talk shop with Kevin while learning about his ride as a Galvanic Mechamorph. Truly something amazing in Upgrade's opinion. Scout seemed interested but Gwen and Eunice seemed totally bored by the talk, prompting Scout and Gwen to switch seats once they got out of the city so they could carry their own conversation in the back. Interest in cars was considered something masculine on Earth, or so Upgrade was told, which didn't make any sense to him. Humans were so odd. He wondered if there was anything he was expected to dislike just because women enjoyed it.

The view was beautiful though. Upgrade's eye didn't quite see things like a Revonnahgander or any of the other Omnitrix aliens– the colors were all different– and he would've liked to experience Earth as himself but being Upgrade didn't make it any less amazing. He'd assumed humans covered most of the planet with their urban sprawl but that was not the case. It did not take long for Kevin to drive out of the city and find countryside. On one side of the road, there were fields of greenery and flowers that looked nothing like Revonnah. On the other side, there was the ocean.

He knew what oceans were. He'd studied terrain a great deal at the Academy. But Revonnah, Galvan Prime, and Anur Transyl had no large bodies of water, let alone something as massive as Earth's oceans. Anur Millgan was an aquatic but Rook had never visited, Scout too afraid of drowning to take him. The Anur System didn't have the technology to make up for the lack of landmass, plus the natives didn't take well to anyone without gills. Earth didn't have that problem though, having plenty of places where creatures could enjoy both the land and sea.

Upgrade peeled himself off Kevin's car when Kevin pulled off to the side of the road to park. They weren't too far from Bellwood, just far enough that every beach wasn't a public one. This one in particular was one that Gwen and Kevin frequented with their alien friends, one bordered by a steep cliffside that made it difficult for regular humans to access it without risking injury. Perfect for their purposes.

"Crashhopper!" Malleable metal twisted into hard exoskeleton and powerful muscle as Upgrade was replaced with Crashhopper. Without much warning, Crashhopper scooped Scout up into his arms, pausing only long enough to let Eunice copy his powers, and began leaping down the cliffside. "Let us not waste time!"

"Rook!" Scout helped, clinging to his friend's shoulders as he bounced from rock to rock all the way down to the sand below. "Slow down!"

"That is no fun," Crashhopper responded but he knew that Scout could handle turbulence better than the best of them and slowing down now meant falling. With a final hop, Crashhopper landed heavily on the sandy earth below. "Woah!"

Scout freed himself from Crashhopper's grip and placed his paws down, wincing at the sensation of the sand. "Oh that's weird."

"You two may have a hard time getting the sand and salt out of your fur later," Gwen told them. The pair looked up to see her using her mana to carry herself, Kevin, and their belongings down to sea level. "Sorry, we should've warned you."

"It's fine," Scout said, waving her off. Crashhopper reverted back to his Revonnahgander form, kicking off his shoes in the process, to feel for himself. Scout was right, it was weird but not unbearable. But it stuck everywhere, refusing to leave his fur. They'd need a thorough cleaning after this.

"Ship ship!" Eunice dropped down a moment later, Ship in her arms. The little Mechamorph wiggled free of her arms and jumped into the sand, burrowing his head and rolling around happily. "Ship!"

"At least Ship seems happy," Eunice commented but Rook was already getting distracted. It'd been fun jumping around the cliffside as Crashhopper and he was sure Kevin and Gwen knew how to have tons of fun with the sand but he wasn't here for any of that. Now that the ocean was within reach, he didn't want to wait any longer.

"Don't get your clothes wet!" Gwen called as Scout and Rook took off towards the water. Heading her warning, they kicked off their Loboan garb down to the Plumber standard swimming shorts they'd found in the base and dove in.

"Cold!" Rook and Scout yelped in unison, leaping back in surprise. Gwen, Kevin, and Eunice laughed in the background but Rook didn't wait for an explanation, wading back in curiously. It wasn't bad, just surprising. He could get used to it.

"Bleh! It's salty," Scout complained, sticking his tongue out. "Don't drink it."

"I was not planning on it," Rook responded before getting a brain wave. With Scout turned away from him, he drew his Omnitrix and quickly slammed a palm down. "L'Goon!"

"Wait, no! Rook, don't you dare-" Scout started but he was too slow. L'Goon raised a hand, pooling water in it, and used his hydrokinesis to launch a glob of salt water right at Scout's chest, making the Loboan lose his balance for a moment and fall back. He pushed himself up quickly and glowered. "Oh, now it's on!"

Slamming his tail down on the surface of the water, a splash was sent in L'Goon's direction. He tried to use his powers to catch it but only managed to get about half of it. L'Goon wasn't an alien he'd gotten the chance to train with much. It'd take a few minutes to get a grip on his abilities and those few minutes were all Scout needed. Splitting his muzzle, Scout let out a small sonic blast right into the surface of the water, splashing L'Goon much more thoroughly this time. L'Goon tried to gather up water to send a wave right back but pink energy pulled the water from his hands and split, smacking both L'Goon and Scout right in the face. Both heads whipped back towards the beach where Gwen was watching them with a smug look.

"Truce?" Scout asked but there was no question to be asked. Spreading his arms, L'Goon gathered up as much water as he could and sent a wave toward the awaiting girl. Unfortunately for him, water was slow and Gwen saw it a mile away, summoning a shield to stop the wave before it even got close.

"You're going to have to try better than that," she taunted before her demeanor shifted. "You two be careful though. The currents can be tricky."

Scout took that as a cue that the water fight was over, despite his readiness a moment ago to launch a war effort against Gwen, and padded out of the water to- oh, L'Goon had gotten ahead of himself. Scout shook out his fur, spraying Gwen one last time before flopping down in the sand. "I think that's enough ocean for me. Not sure if I like it or not."

"It's not for everyone," Eunice agreed, sitting down next to him. "I'm not a huge fan myself."

"Rook seems to disagree," Kevin said before raising his voice. "You going to stay out there?"

L'Goon nodded. "I am going to transform into Tidetail Wave and swim a bit."

"Make sure you come back before you time out," Scout called, flicking his tail lazily as he settled a bit deeper into the sand. He looked comfortable. Rook would have to try lying in the sun later to dry out his fur. "Have fun!"

"I will!" L'Goon called back before turning back to the ocean and wading in, enjoying the way the water lapped his fins. Had he ever been fully submerged as L'Goon? He didn't think so. It was time to find out how well L'Goon could swim then.

Being humanoid, it was pretty similar to swimming as himself but with fins and scales instead of fur, it was a lot easier. Gills helped too. It felt easy, like this was how he should've been swimming all his life. But once the ocean floor dipped down deep and L'Goon made his way into open water, he knew the time came to switch. He hadn't come here to swim as an Anur alien. It was Tidetail Wave's time to shine.

If swimming as L'Goon was easy, swimming as Tidetail Wave was effortless. It felt like coming home. He'd swam as Tidetail Wave before, of course, in Revonnah's lakes and the Academy's pools but never with so much open space. He'd only ever had room to swim a few kicks of his tail. Out here, there were no boundaries. No limits. He could swim as far and fast as he liked.

He shot up toward the surface, letting himself fly through the air for a few moments as he took in a big gulp of air, before plunging down back into the water, twisting and turning as he pleased and going as fast as he liked. Was this what freedom felt like? He felt almost like Terrorsaur soaring high in the sky or rampaging through his prey's minds; only Terrorsaur had never been restricted. Nothing ever stopped Terrorsaur from flying or from playing his hypnotic tricks. For Tidetail Wave, it was as if he'd been shackled his whole life and this was his first time swimming truly free. The feeling was unparalleled.

Eventually, Tidetail Wave got far enough from the coast that he started to see other lifeforms: on the ground, plants and bottom-dwellers; swimming, schools of fish and groups of turtles, and on the surface, the feet of birds paddling to stay afloat. Tidetail Wave just had to stop and soak it all in. Then he saw them.

There were other Tidetail Waves, other dolphins. They were playing in a small group, bouncing around some sort of round object, with… was that a human? With a tail like a Piscciss Volann. How odd. Curiously, he slowed his roll and swam closer to get a better look.

The dolphins didn't seem to notice his approach but the girl did. She seemed just as curious about him as he was about her. Tidetail Wave saw her mouth move and he knew she was saying something but he couldn't hear it underwater. Still, her words found a way into his mind somehow, almost like how he'd learned Tidetail Wave's name so long ago despite his inability to speak like his other forms. Only, he knew it came from her rather than from within. She was something special to Tidetail Wave's kind. He knew that just from looking at her.

"Why are you wearing clothes?"

Tidetail Wave didn't know how to answer that question.

All his aliens wore clothes! Some more than others but everyone had something. Except Rath, which was odd considering how Apoplexians felt about nudity. Was it odder that Tidetail Wave was wearing clothes? The other dolphins were fully unclothed while Tidetail Wave had a band around his neck that hosted his Omnitrix and a tight fitting shirt that covered his upper body. Then again, the horses on Anur Transyl didn't wear clothes and Night Mare had a similar band around his collarbone. No matter how spectral it was, it was still clothing. Even if the alien appeared to be an animal, the Omnitrix thought it was sentient and therefore should be clothed.

Again, that made it all the more unusual that Rath was fully naked. Maybe he should ask Azmuth to fix that before running into any more Apoplexians. Skraprr Byakko found humor in it but he doubted many others would. That was something for later though. The more pressing thing was responding to this strange underwater girl. He wasn't used to talking as Tidetail Wave. He could speak, he knew, but no one could understand him so he didn't try much. Would he be able to communicate clearly enough?

He tried, his words coming out as clicks and whistles that he couldn't understand. The girl did apparently though and nodded along like she knew exactly what he was saying. "Are you from Undertown?"

He titled his head, not quite understanding what she was asking. What was Undertown? He tried to voice the question. If she thought creatures like him were from there, it could prove interesting. These other dolphins seemed kind of dim. Maybe Undertown was filled with dolphins like him.

Again, she seemed to get the gist of what he was saying. "Undertown is an underground cavern where many aliens have made their home on Earth, hidden from the humans on the surface. Their lake connects to the ocean, would you like to visit?"

Did he? He came to swim and going to another city wasn't exactly what he had in mind. A town filled with aliens seemed interesting though. He'd never heard of anything like that, let alone on a planet like Earth that scarcely believed aliens were real. He wanted to know what it looked like for an alien to have a home on such a planet.

The girl grinned and took one of his fins like a hand. "Let's go then!"

She seemed to expect him to swim and Tidetail Wave wasn't complaining. If he left her behind, nothing was lost. Only, she was keeping up with that powerful tail of hers. It sparked a competitive burn in Tidetail Wave's chest but he ignored it. She was doing him a favor. Now wasn't the time to challenge her to a race, no matter how much he wanted to.

She led him back towards the shore, more in the direction of Bellwood than the cove Scout and the others were. Tidetail Wave hoped he'd be able to find his way back but it wasn't the end of the world if he couldn't. They'd find him if he got lost or these humans would create such a fuss at the sight of an alien that they'd come running anyway.

The girl seemed wary of the humans just as he did. Above, Tidetail Wave could see the undersides of boats. They were near a port, it seemed, but the girl steered clear of the people and boats so Tidetail Wave did too. Was she an alien too? But she looked so human. Then again, so did Alan and Eunice. Looks weren't necessarily the best indicator, and the tail and ability to breathe underwater were probably pretty strong signs that her genetic makeup wasn't entirely Earthen.

She led him to a broad pipe branching out of the landmass and reaching into the water. Manmade, clearly. Tidetail Wave wondered why she trusted it but not the ships above or how she'd found it in the first place. It was deep, far from any wandering eyes on the surface, but not deep enough that Tidetail Wave felt totally safe. Still, curiosity was winning out.

"I don't like going much deeper than this. I know there are at least two Piscciss Volanns on Earth and I don't know if my people are ready to make contact with them yet…" the girl told him, trailing off before offering a smile. "I'm sorry. I know that doesn't mean much to you."

It did but Tidetail Wave didn't know how to convey that and he wasn't sure if he wanted to. The girl just thought he was a normal dolphin and he wanted to keep it that way. Instead, he waved a fin in farewell as the girl turned to swim away, presumably rejoining the dolphins she'd been playing with earlier.

Tidetail Wave was a bit suspicious of the pipe. It was strange that it was just there, not connected to anything, pumping out waste, or serving any other obvious purpose. It was also strange that the girl had just shown it to him and left. If the situation were different, Tidetail Wave would think it was a trap. It still might be, not necessarily a well thought out one but still a trap, but the girl seemed to think he was just a regular dolphin so probably not.

He proceeded with caution. It was the only move that made sense, even if the tunnel looked like a regular pipe through and through. Tidetail Wave didn't have any trouble inside but his caution made the journey a bit longer than it necessarily needed to be. Normally he wouldn't mind but he was starting to worry about timing out. He didn't want to transform back into himself so deep underwater. Though the Omnitrix had never timed out in a dangerous spot before, he didn't want to risk it and increased his speed.

Tidetail Wave knew he'd made his way into some sort of underground cave once he broke free from the pipe. The water was shallow compared to the ocean outside, though still plenty deep enough for marine life, and he could see light flickering down from the surface above. As if on cue, the Omnitrix began blinking and Tidetail Wave quickly made a beeline towards the light.

The device flashed red just as Tidetail Wave hit the surface and Rook had to tread water for a moment before finding a grip on the rocky edge of the cavern over the pipe, careful not to lose it. He was a strong swimmer but being in the water wasn't exactly pleasant. He didn't want to exhaust himself in the water before the Omnitrix timed back in and that wouldn't be for awhile. He was alright with that though. He had plenty to look at.

Twisting around to see what was behind him, Rook understood why the girl had called this place Undertown. There was a whole underground town down here, under the streets of the city above and bordering the ocean he'd come in from. An alien town, he quickly realized. Those figures walking the boardwalk were far from human and even at a distance, he could see alien influence on the architecture that stretched back deep into the cavity.

What aliens would he find down here? Even with his sharp Revonnahgander eyesight, he was too far from solid land to see what aliens were out and about. He was dying to know what sorts of aliens could have possibly ended up on Earth and built a place like this. They weren't Plumbers, surely. Why were they here? He and Scout were special cases. Rook wasn't totally sure what they were, not being Plumbers exactly. They weren't quite refugees either, nor were they independent contractors like Tetrax could claim to be. It didn't matter much though. Were these aliens like them? Arriving on Earth by specific, individual-based circumstance? He doubted it, not with enough aliens to build such a city.

There weren't any planets nearby that Rook knew of that was sending out refugees or migrants but he had spent quite a long time in the Anur System. Had he missed something in his time away? Probably not, Ben, Gwen, and Kevin would have told him during their time on Anur Transyl. Then again, humans weren't very aware of intragalactic affairs and Rook's human friends were fairly new to the Plumbers. It was a very real possibility they just didn't know or hadn't known anything but the current state of the system, no matter what it was.

Rook shook his head. That was near catastrophic thinking. This place looked old. These aliens had to be here for some time. He could ask when he got back to the Plumber HQ. In the meantime, the Omnitrix's red light had become green and he was getting tired of hanging onto these rocks. It was time to go. Dialing up Tidetail Wave one more time, Rook dived back underwater and headed back to the beach where his friends awaited.


"But I am telling you!" Rook protested, trailing after Gwen, Kevin, Eunice, and Scout as the group made their way away from the Plumber base's showers. Scout had never used the showers in the gym but Gwen told him and Rook they didn't want to get sand in their own bathrooms, not to mention they'd probably need some help with their fur. Scout still didn't know where he stood on them. "There was a woman with a tail like a Piscciss Volann and she showed me an underground alien city."

"You saw a mermaid," Kevin said, sounding uninterested. "Sailors are always saying they're seeing women with fish tails in the water. It's just some trick the sea plays on your mind. Probably just refraction and bad angles."

"Then how do you explain the aliens she showed me?"

Scout didn't think Rook's story was all that far fetched but Kevin and Gwen were doubtful despite Rook's insistence and they were the Earth experts here. Scout was inclined to follow their lead. "Don't you think the Plumbers would've told us if there was an underground city?"

"There are many things about Earth they have not told us," Rook shot back and Scout thought that was a good point. "I know what I saw."

"Ben says he saw a mermaid on a mission once," Eunice spoke up, drawing the others' attention. "Maybe you could ask him about it. I think he's with Malware in-"

A noise sounded, cutting her off, and the group was immediately alert. Scout pricked his ears, trying to identify and pinpoint what it was and where it came from. The noise was strange, unlike anything he'd heard before. A weapon, maybe? Or just some technology he didn't recognize? It was artificial, he knew, but the scream that followed was all natural. "That came from the common room!"

Alarms began blaring overhead a moment later which made Scout think there was something greater going on. There were no alarm switches in the residential and domestic parts of the base as far as he knew. Someone else had to have noticed something elsewhere or something else had to have triggered it. But in the moment, that was just a background thought. The group was only a few turns away from the lounge and they may have been the only people close enough to respond.

Paws still damp, Scout scrambled a bit on the metal floor, claws clinking against the ground uncomfortably, as he, Rook, Kevin, Gwen, and Eunice rushed in, each gearing themselves for a fight: Rook queueing up an alien in the Omnitrix, Gwen pooling her mana around her hands, Kevin absorbing the metal of the walls, and Eunice copying Scout's powers. They must've looked pretty formidable when they burst in on Malware and Ben in the common room.

Or rather, it may be more accurate to say Bens.