A/N: Here's what we've all been waiting for: the exposition! I've had this explanation in my head for about two years now, and it's super gratifying to get to a point in this fic where I can finally share it. I hope it makes you guys understand what I meant when I said that I wrote myself into a corner when it comes to a "happy ending" for this fic.
Just in case anyone comments about this: If Rook uses contractions in this chapter, rest assured that it was 100% intentional on my part.
Rook woke up to his alarm, as he'd expected. He turned it off and got out of bed, tossing his blankets aside rather than making it. Not for the first time, Rook found it annoying that he didn't own any normal clothes. He didn't want to have to go all the way to the store for an outfit other than his Proto-Armor.
He paused on his way to the shower as an idea came to him. It was a little unprofessional but, well, Rook didn't really care.
Wearing nothing but the boxers he slept in, Rook left his room and walked down the hall. So early in the morning, the base felt entirely different. The lighting was always the same, but without any of the officers or the background hum of activity, it was like being in a different building.
He could count the number of times on one hand that he'd been to Magister Tennyson's room, but Rook found his way there without any trouble. He knew that if Max wasn't already awake, he would be soon, so Rook didn't feel too bad about knocking.
There was no noise from inside for a long moment, and Rook considered knocking a second time. Then he heard fabric shuffling followed by footsteps, and Magister Tennyson opened his door wearing pajamas and fuzzy slippers.
"Rook? What are you doing here at this time of morning?" Max rubbed the sleep from his eyes, then took stock of what Rook was wearing. Or, rather, what Rook wasn't wearing. "Is there a problem?"
"No, there is no problem. I apologize for the early hour," Rook said, though he wasn't sorry at all. "I was wondering if you had some old clothes that I could borrow? I do not own anything casual."
"Uh… I suppose." Max gave him another confused look, then stepped away from the door, letting Rook into his room.
It was more spacious than Rook's, of course, though made cramped by the sheer amount of things that Max had stuffed into it. Sentimental knick-knacks fought for space on shelves next to high-tech weapons that had been stripped for parts. He had a small desk shoved into the corner of the room with stacks of paper scattered across it in no particular order. A report that read "URGENT" in bright, red letters had a coffee stain on it. For a Magister, Max was not the organized type.
Regardless of the mess, Max seemed to know where to find exactly what he was looking for. He dug through his closet at the back of the room, coming back with a box coated in a fine layer of dust. "These are from my bachelor days," Max explained, handing the box over to Rook. It was heavier than it looked. "Some of these ought to be your size." While Rook immediately set the box down to fish for something presentable, Max lingered. "...Any particular reason why your Proto-Armor can't be worn?"
He was doing that human thing that drove Rook crazy — where someone asked a roundabout question in some weird obligation to be polite instead of just directly asking what they wanted to know. Max's unasked question was, of course, "Why did you show up half-naked looking for clothes at five in the morning?"
Unbothered, Rook found a pair of jeans that looked about long enough for his legs, although he was going to need a belt for the waist. He decided to pair it with a plain, button-up v-neck. The clothes were clearly old-fashioned, but they were well-kept, and for today, they would suffice.
"I was hoping that you would grant my request to give myself and Ben the day off. I believe that we have enough vacation days saved up, do we not?" Rook asked. He pulled the clothes on where he was standing. No sense in wandering around in just his boxers, after all. Max averted his eyes, although Rook didn't understand why when he was putting clothes on, not taking them off, but he didn't comment on it.
Max cleared his throat awkwardly. "Yes, you do. Both of you, I mean. That ought to be fine, if you both want to take the day off. Unless there's a world-threatening emergency, of course."
A part of Rook almost wanted to ask, sarcastically, how the Plumbers ever defended planets before Ben 10 came around. But he knew that wasn't fair and, anyway, there would be no world invasions today. So he nodded, buttoning up his shirt and tucking it into his jeans. "Thank you, Magister Tennyson. For the clothes, and the time off. Do you have a belt that I can borrow? And boots?"
Five minutes later, Rook left Max's room with a belt and boots that were tight around his toes, but the closest to his size that Max had been able to provide. He was sure that what he'd done would have been twice as difficult if Max was awake enough to really process the absurdity of it. And he was certain that he'd be getting a lecture for his behavior when he next saw Magister Tennyson, but Rook found it difficult to care about that.
More importantly, now Rook had a whole day freed up to spend with Ben. He wondered what Ben would like to do. Maybe he would want to surprise Gwendolyn and Kevin with a visit? Or perhaps race their vehicles? Maybe take a trip to a nearby planet that he had never visited? Rook supposed that he would just have to ask Ben directly.
Since he had some time to kill, Rook got an early breakfast. He sat down for a full meal and inhaled it without tasting it. It was uncouth, sure, but a tiny part of Rook that was his parents' son was thrilled by his lack of respect today. The way he'd treated his superior, eating without manners or even the smallest prayer… When would the madness end?
After that, Rook went to the gym, though not to work out. He found the spot where he'd met James yesterday and, sure enough, the gravity setting on the barbells was far too high. Rook turned it back down to normal, then double-checked the other sets, just to be sure.
He didn't plan on making any new friends today, but he also didn't plan to avoid an easily-preventable death. Even if Rook had to reset the gravity setting every day for the rest of infinity.
With that done, Rook still had plenty of time to kill until he was expected at Ben's for patrol (which they wouldn't be doing, of course). He debated what to do, and ultimately returned to his room in order to search for something on the human internet. Thankfully, it didn't disappoint — Rook easily found a tutorial on how to make an origami rose.
He doubted that Ben would be able to appreciate the symbolism, but the idea made him laugh so Rook started practicing. When he felt that he was good enough, he carefully tore a page out of his history textbook. An "artistic rendition" of Ben 10 grinned back at him from the glossy page. It looked like the posters Rook used to have hanging up in his room as a child. Ben 10 was muscled, tall, ruggedly heroic… And he looked absolutely nothing like Ben Tennyson. Rook took joy out of folding right along the imposter's face. Even his eyes were the wrong shade of green.
The flower was tucked carefully into his pocket when he was done. Rook eyed his Proto-Tool, debating, but ultimately decided against bringing it. He was off-duty today, and both his appearance and attitude would reflect that.
Getting into the Proto-TRUK, it was a short drive to Ben's house. Rook dragged it out anyway, going as slow as he could. It probably upset a few people behind him, but he arrived at Ben's house at seven o'clock on the dot, which made Rook chuckle. He had been here so many different days, with so many different intentions and emotions… Now, after everything, it was hard not to feel content.
Rook certainly could think of worse ways to spend eternity. He was glad that he was sharing it with Ben, even if only one of them would get to remember.
He stepped out of the TRUK and approached Ben's house, ears trained to listen to the sounds inside. Rook heard a blender whirring, and Sandra's voice, followed by Ben shouting something back at her. He eyed the distance between himself and the door, taking into account that he knew Ben wouldn't be looking when he opened it…
Holding his origami rose, Rook took a step back from the door and held it outstretched. He counted down the seconds in his head. Five… Four… Three… Two…
"Bye, mom! Looks like Rook is here," Ben called back into the house over his shoulder as he stepped outside. He turned his head to see Rook at the last second, stopping with the origami rose inches from his nose. "Woah!" Ben caught himself as he stumbled, going cross-eyed to look at the paper flower before looking past it at Rook. "Dude, what's this? What are you wearing?" A grin came to his face. "Are you taking a day off for once?"
He was so oblivious. Rook couldn't help the fond smile that came to his face. "Yes, I am. And you are as well. I have already cleared it with Magister Tennyson."
When Ben made no move to take the origami rose, Rook leaned forward a few inches more to tuck it behind his ear. Without his armor and gloves on, he could feel Ben's hair against his fur and had to resist the urge to stroke his jaw. What Rook was doing was already straying into intimate territory, and he didn't want to push. He just wanted to make his intentions clear. If this was going to be the rest of his eternity, there was no sense in lying.
Ben turned pink, eyes widening at the gesture as Rook's intentions sank in. His lips formed a silent "oh," and Rook made no effort to hide the way he was staring at Ben's mouth.
The corners of Ben's eyes tightened with confusion and, most likely, doubt. Rook wasn't surprised. From Ben's perspective, the idea of Rook having a crush on him must have been ludicrous. Ben's self-hatred probably wasn't helping.
"Rook…" Ben touched a hand to the flower in his hair, but made no move to take it out. "You don't…? I mean, you're not…? Ugh, why is this so hard to say?" He asked, visibly frustrated.
Unable to help himself, Rook laughed. It was cute to see Ben embarrassed and fumbling over his words. He so rarely got flustered. "Am I in love with you?" Rook guessed, and his bluntness made Ben gape. "Yes. I am also very well-aware that you do not return my feelings, nor do I expect you to. Nevertheless, we still have the day off, and my feelings aside, I was hoping that you would like to spend it together."
There was a long pause while Ben struggled to process and string together a reply. "I, um…" He blinked. "Sure. I mean— Of course. You're my best friend, Rook."
"I know." Rook took a step back, even though he wanted to be closer. "Best friend" was what Ben said, so that was what Rook would be. Still, he couldn't quite keep himself from adding, "And you are my everything."
Any coherency that Ben had scraped together went up in smoke. He turned a brilliant shade of red and choked on air. Ben's confusion was clear, and it was obvious that he wanted to ask about it. Rook could practically see the words, "Since when?" on his tongue. He sincerely hoped that Ben asked, because then Rook would, of course, say, "Since always."
That didn't happen. Actually, nothing happened. Ben didn't speak or move. He simply froze.
Rook frowned. "Ben?" He tried, waving a hand in front of Ben's face. No response. Glancing around, Rook was unnerved to see that the whole world had seemingly frozen. There were birds paused mid-flight and the wind had stopped blowing. An eerie blanket of silence had descended.
Panic made Rook's pulse race. He was about to check if Ben was breathing, when there was a sound like fabric tearing. The air behind him was sucked away, and as Rook whirled to look, a portal surged forth into existence to fill the vacancy. Rook reached for his Proto-Tool and cursed when he remembered that he didn't have it.
Out of the portal, a human stepped out. He was tall, clearly an adult, with dark hair and eyes that were far beyond his years. His clothes looked even more out of style than Rook's, and he wore a lab coat with the name tag ripped off.
"Well, this is a surprise," the man remarked in a British accent. He was staring at Ben, and he only seemed to grow more amused when Rook stepped between the two.
"What…?" Rook started to ask, but his brain flatlined. He had no idea what to ask. "What are you doing here?" or "What are you talking about?" or "What do you want?" flickered to mind, among other things. He was struggling to keep up.
"I hope you don't take my surprise as an insult, Rook," the man continued. "Love is a beautiful thing. I was merely commenting on the statistical probability of a timeline in which you fall for your partner. It's quite rare, you know. A couple million timelines stacked against the imperceptibility of infinity… I find outliers such as yourself to be quite interesting."
The man clearly wasn't attacking any time soon, and aside from the blue portal still swirling behind him, he appeared unarmed. Rook slowly relaxed his posture, sending a glance at Ben behind him, still frozen in time. "Did you do this?" He asked.
A nod. "Yes," he replied, curt and to the ooint. "But I can't hold it for very long, particularly in a timeline as fractured as this one. I'm only able to "pause" time, as it were, because there is very little time to work with at all. It is easier to delay the next twenty hours than the rest of eternity." The man turned back towards the portal. "Come with me for a moment or a couple thousand, Rook. I believe that I can explain a few things about your experiences — or lack thereof — with time thus far."
"What?" Rook asked again. It felt like the only applicable response. He didn't trust that portal at all, but seeing as how this was the first time since the time loop started that something new was happening, Rook would be a fool to let this stranger just walk off. "Wait! Who are you?"
The man stopped, turning toward him with one leg already through the portal. "My apologies. I forgot, we haven't met before. Or in the future, as a matter of fact." He paused. "Say, seeing as how you've already been split through timelines, you wouldn't happen to have cross-dimensional awareness as well, would you?"
Rook clenched his jaw. His curiosity and confusion were rapidly giving way to impatience. "What is your name?"
"Can't say that I remember." The man smirked, like he knew that he was aggravating and enjoyed it. "You can use the name that Ben uses for me: Professor Paradox, at your service."
That took the wind out of Rook's sails. He hesitated, glancing over his shoulder at his partner, still frozen in time. "You know Ben?" Rook asked.
Professor Paradox — though Rook doubted that the man actually had a doctorate — waved his hand flippantly. "More or less. Once you've met a googolplex of them, you've met them all." Without waiting for a reply, he stepped fully through the still-swirling portal, disappearing in an instant.
Teetering on the edge of indecision, Rook shot a desperate glance at Ben over his shoulder. Of course, Ben was still frozen. He would be absolutely no help at all. What would he do, though, if the positions were reversed?
It didn't take long to come up with an answer.
"Forgive me, Ben." Rook sighed, approaching his partner. Ben was still red-faced, and Rook leaned down, brushing a soft kiss across his cheek. "I will not be gone long. I promise."
He studied Ben's face for a few moments more, wanting to commit this expression to memory. Then Rook took a deep breath, turned, and charged headlong into the portal.
As soon as he did, the world fell away. Literally. Rook felt the ground disappear beneath him, replaced by a void that seemed to go on forever. He scrambled instinctively for something to ground himself, but found nothing. Paradox set a hand on his shoulder, startling Rook. It was then he realized that, despite the lack of ground beneath him, he wasn't falling. He floated freely in space, somehow alive even without air to breathe or atmosphere to protect him.
"What is this place?" Rook asked in wonder, running his hands through the empty space around him as if expecting to feel something.
Amused, Paradox arched an eyebrow. "In layman's terms, you can consider this my own personal pocket dimension. This place exists outside of both space and time. Rest assured, we have all the time in the world — and then some."
Rook took a deep breath to calm himself. A pocket dimension outside of spacetime. He could manage that. He'd dealt with weirder. Nothing came to Rook's mind, but he could muse on that later.
"Alright. I still do not trust you, but in the interests of having a productive conversation…" Rook hesitated. "...Why are you talking to me?"
"Ah. An excellent question." Paradox seemed amused, but it was hard to tell if that was because Rook had said something funny or because the man was just perpetually laughing at everyone. "You've no doubt realized by now that you don't have nearly as much cosmic importance as Ben Tennyson." Rook pursed his lips at the bluntness, but nodded. He couldn't argue with that. It was true. "At first, I wasn't planning to speak to anyone at all," Paradox admitted. "I was simply going to end this timeline and move on. But you're close to Ben— closer than you should be, even— and I must confess to a certain level of, well… personal curiosity. I've seen Ben's life play out so many times that to count all of them would take longer than the universe has existed. I've seen him die young, and die old. Die with children and grandchildren surrounding him at home, and alone on the battlefield. I've watched accidents, sacrifices, illnesses… I've seen Ben marry humans and aliens, and stay single, but the chances of you realizing your feelings for him early enough to do anything about it, let alone have the self-awareness to see how you've been self-sabotaging your relationship with him since the beginning… Fascinating." There was a twinkle in his eyes. "I can't do anything about your unfortunate situation, I'm sorry to say, but I wanted to speak with you, Rook. You're so rarely important, in the great grand scheme of things. I want to see what decision you'll make."
Somehow, the maelstrom of thoughts in Rook's head settled into one question. "What decision?" He asked, barely able to get just two words out. Rook had just met Professor Paradox and it seemed that the man had no intention to let him process anything at all.
Paradox tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Hm. Now that's a good question."
He gestured to the space between them, and a hologram of a tree sprouted. Rook watched it grow and grow and grow, stretching into the yawning emptiness above them so far that he had to crane his neck to see where it disappeared. The branches were heavy and numerous, splitting again and again and tangling around each other.
"If you think of time as a tree," Paradox began, "then you can consider me the gardener. My job is to keep the timelines more-or-less organized. If it looks like they're going to converge, I subtly redirect them. If one person in a timeline puts the others at risk, I prune it." He made a slashing motion in the air, and Rook was startled as half of the tree's branches fell off. Branches that were shriveled and dry, that had been choking another branch, that were too big, fell to his feet and disappeared. "Unfortunately for you…" Paradox grimaced. "I am not always successful."
Rook watched the last of the branches vanish at his feet. His mouth suddenly felt dry. He didn't know how Paradox could talk so openly about "pruning" timelines. That was probably trillions of life forms, erased with a wave of his hand. If he had that much power, how bad was it that he couldn't do anything now?
"What happened?" Rook asked, terrified to know the answer.
"You're familiar with Vilgax, aren't you?" Paradox asked. Rook nodded — he knew who Ben's longest and greatest enemy was, although he didn't see what that had to do with anything. "Several trillion gigaparsecs from here, and sometime between yesterday and eternity, Vilgax managed to cross dimensions." Paradox pointed to one spot on the tree. It was the lowest-hanging branch and, compared to many others, looked rather small and skinny. Quite easy to overlook. "It's easy to underestimate just how important Ben Tennyson is to the universe — not just this one, either. Of all the lifetimes I've spent crisscrossing time and space, this is the only timeline I've found wherein Ben is a perfectly normal teenager. The Ben in this dimension knows nothing about the Omnitrix or aliens."
"Why would Vilgax have an interest in a timeline like that?" Rook asked in the interest of keeping the conversation going. He was starting to develop a headache.
On top of everything else, the idea of a Ben without an Omnitrix was baffling. Rook couldn't even begin to imagine what kind of person Ben would be. Still fantastic, no doubt, but different, absolutely. It seemed almost funny to him — Ben would probably be bored out of his mind if he was normal.
"Vilgax's plan was to erase every timeline except for this one, thus leaving the multiverse with only one universe. One where Ben Tennyson is powerless," Paradox explained. "Thankfully, he failed. Though his actions did not come without consequences. Are you familiar with Chronosapien Time Bombs?"
It took a moment for Rook to realize that he was being asked a question. He was starting to get used to Paradox just going on and on and on. "Yes. They are Level 19.5 doomsday devices and are banned throughout the entire galaxy." Rook paled beneath his fur. "Vilgax had possession of one? How are we still alive?"
"Ben," Paradox replied simply, something akin to pride in his voice. "Using his Chronosapien form, he reversed the effects of the bomb, absorbing the ripples."
There was a pause. Rook waited for further explanation, but none came. His expression scrunched in confusion. "When I explained the time loop to Ben, he attempted to use his Chronosapien form, but he immediately transformed back. Could he not also have fixed the problem?"
He hadn't even finished when Paradox was shaking his head. "No. Chronosapien Time Bombs are originally designed to erase the timeline in which it is activated — though they cannot work retroactively. So, when activating one, you are doing this to our tree." To demonstrate, Paradox snapped off the end of one branch. Everything that came before still existed, but there was nothing in the future, and there never would be again. Rook tried to imagine time just stopping and couldn't. He focused back on the conversation instead. "As a failsafe, it can only be undone from inside the timeline in which it is activated. The idea is that, at that point, all Chronosapiens will have fled the timeline, thus making such an outcome impossible. Or, at least, improbable."
Rook nodded, although he didn't really understand. He figured that the explanation wasn't important — not this part, at least. There was only one thing that he wanted to know the answer to. "If the ripples were reversed, then what is the problem? Why are you here?" Rook asked. "If Vilgax failed to eradicate all traces of Ben in the multiverse, then why—?" Grief made his voice crack and Rook bit his lip to quiet himself, swallowing the question that was burning his throat.
Why did Ben still die?
Paradox's smile was filled with pity. "Not everything is a result of something else, Rook. Sometimes things just happen."
It took a few seconds for Rook to extrapolate a meaning. He wasn't sure if he was furious or miserable. It felt like he'd just taken a punch to the gut. "So, you are telling me that Ben died for no reason?" He demanded.
"Is there ever a reason to die, really?" Paradox shrugged, and his nonchalant attitude threw Rook for a loop. "You're asking me why Ben had to die. Well, because he is alive, of course. As much as he would like to convince people otherwise — including himself — Ben Tennyson is as mortal as every other human. The Omnitrix stopped working for a few seconds, and due to unfortunate circumstances, the result was that Ben died. It's not more complicated than that."
"But—" Rook protested desperately, scrambling for some sort of meaning. This whole thing couldn't just be some horrible luck of the draw, could it? "But you said that Vilgax—"
"Failed," Paradox interrupted, his voice gentle and slow, like he was talking to a cornered animal. That was certainly how Rook was starting to feel. "Had Vilgax succeeded, Ben would have been erased from existence itself and your entire universe would have stopped. Although, in some ways, your current situation is much worse."
Their whole conversation, Paradox had been hinting at some "terrible thing" that had left Rook locked in time like this. He almost didn't want to know, but the question clawed at the back of his mind. "What is my current situation?" He breathed.
For a long moment, there was no answer. Rook held his breath while Paradox thought.
"Every branch on this tree," he said finally, "diverges from the Prime timeline." Paradox pointed at the center of the tree, tracing a branch that went straight up from the trunk. "This timeline is, objectively, the best. It's true that time diverges as decisions are made, but this is the Prime timeline because it is the only one in which Ben Tennyson creates the universe. And, by extension, the multiverse. Naturally." A ghost of a smile came to Paradox's face, but it quickly fell. "Your timeline isn't the Prime one," he said. "In this universe, the experiment that split me between spacetime never came to pass, and thus, this version of Ben has never met me. His time stream is much less complicated as a result. Aside from that…" Paradox looked at Rook sadly, and the tree holograph finally disappeared, leaving them floating in blackness. "The other big difference is that this particular Ben was meant to die in an electrical accident. Crushed under a burning building. A terrible way to go."
Rook shook his head. "No," he said before he ever understood what he was protesting. "No, Ben can't be dead. He isn't supposed to die. Why—?" He fumbled for the right words. "What is this time loop, then? A joke? Did any of this mean anything at all?"
The expression on Paradox's face was unreadable. "For this, we can disregard the tree metaphor," he said. "The multiverse is nothing like a tree, anyway. What I explained to you, about the Chronosapien time bomb… While it's true that it didn't work as intended, it did still go off. Those ripples pulsed outward, along the time stream, and were summarily sucked back in by Ben. Unfortunately, when they were sucked back in, the result was that the fabric of spacetime became bunched up from all the pushing and pulling, causing bubbles and pockets."
There was an unpleasant twist in Rook's stomach. He was starting to connect the pieces and he didn't like it at all. "We are in a bubble?" He asked, his mouth dry and his voice shaky. "This time loop… There is no way out of it?"
"I'm afraid not," Professor Paradox said, as casual as can be. As if he was discussing the weather instead of Rook's life for the last two weeks. "The section of time that you are reliving got pinched and cut off from its original, hence why this is a "bubble." There is no way forward or backward, because nothing exists outside of the single day that was upheaved when all of spacetime ripped. I've come to, for lack of a better term, pop it. Even if I didn't, though, this bubble will pop eventually. Whether it's tomorrow or in several hundred years. I'm afraid that I couldn't tell you."
Since there was nowhere to sit down, Rook pulled his legs up to his chest, floating in place and staring out into the vast, endless void. Now that his eyes were adjusting, he was starting to make out stars. They were tiny pinpricks, absolutely miniscule. Rook didn't want to think about how far away they must be, for stars to be that dim even with no atmosphere to muddle the view. He had enough in his head already.
"Why me?" Rook asked finally, staring at Paradox and desperate for answers. "Why was I chosen to remember every loop?"
And, surprising him, Paradox laughed. He stopped himself fairly quickly, saying through chuckles, "Apologies, but it's amusing to me when mortals struggle for a deeper meaning for the things that happen to them. Did you think that this was karma? Perhaps that a god set all of this in motion?"
Rook didn't answer — he didn't need to. He went pink with embarrassment beneath his fur, feeling ashamed and angry. Paradox's expression was polite, but also removed. And the way he said it — "mortals." As if he hadn't once been human. Whatever he was now, though, clearly empathy was not high on his list of priorities. Rook stared into Paradox's eyes and saw the endless march into infinity. He saw nothing at all.
When he continued not to answer, Paradox was at least kind enough to explain. "Sorry to say, Rook, but no. You aren't special. When spacetime jostled, everyone and everything inside of it jostled as well. Some things got caught between the forming bubble and the original timeline," he said. "Your consciousness exists outside of time now. Your body, however, is still solidly tethered. You aren't the only one. I'm sure you could find others who experience this with varying degrees of intensity. The chances of it are exceedingly rare, but it seems that you got lucky."
At that, Rook couldn't help but snort. "Lucky?" He echoed in disbelief. "I've watched Ben die twice! I've been driven to the edge of madness and back trying to fix this loop! I've sacrificed my mind and my body, and you're telling me that not only does it not mean anything, but that there's nothing I can do about it and, on top of all of that, I'm lucky?"
He was seconds away from launching himself forward and decking Paradox in the face. A part of Rook was certain that it wouldn't hurt the man anyway (if he could even be referred to as such — Paradox was about as "man" as he was "alive"). That didn't change his strong desire to punch someone.
The look that Paradox gave him made Rook pause. "Aren't you?" He asked, and Rook faltered. "You've been given the ability to change things, however small your reach is. You have witnessed Ben die twice instead of sixteen times. And, although feel free to disagree with me if I'm being presumptuous…" Paradox smiled, and it was almost soft. "You have been given the greatest gift of all: the opportunity to fall in love."
His protests died in his throat, and all Rook could do was stare. Could he really consider what had happened to him lucky? If Paradox was to be believed, then there was no reason for any of what had happened. There was no higher power who had set this into motion for some grander purpose. There was no cosmic karma that was punishing Rook for some terrible misdeed, be it past or future. It simply was. And if it really was just luck of the draw, then…
He had gotten to save Ben's life. He had gotten the chance to study himself and work towards improvement. He had gotten to fall in love — slowly, and then all at once, to the point that he could no longer remember what it was like to be anything else. Rook pictured Ben sitting next to a sick child's hospital bed, and winning a game of laser tag, and laughing so hard that his sides hurt. As horrible as some of these past days had been, Rook wouldn't give those things up for anything. He was the only one who would be able to treasure those pieces of Ben. They were proof that, for all of Ben's reservations and how little Rook had done to actually deserve his trust, he still had it.
Maybe it wasn't the same way that Rook loved him, but Ben did love him. All it had taken was spacetime itself coming undone for Rook to finally realize and appreciate that.
"Yes," he breathed finally. Rook blinked back the tears in his eyes. "You are right. I am very lucky."
"You've really fallen for Ben over the course of this loop, haven't you?" Paradox asked. There was an expression on his face that Rook couldn't quite place. Interest, maybe. A little bit of awe. As if, out of all possible outcomes, this was the one he'd expected the least.
Rook shook his head in disagreement. "Your assessment misses the mark."
"Oh?" Paradox arched an eyebrow. "How so?"
"To fall for Ben implies that I will eventually hit the ground. That at some point, I will reach a point where it is impossible for me to be any more in love." Rook smiled serenely. "I do not think such a thing is possible."
Paradox chuckled; a little condescending, but mostly fond. "Ah, young love. How I've missed the bottomless experiences of youth. To be so overcome with emotion is something that I cannot relate to anymore, I'm afraid. But, through these eons, I've come to appreciate love like that. It is, I think, the only thing worth trading immortality for, and the only thing that hurts worse than eternity."
It was quiet for a moment while they both thought. Rook wasn't sure if there was anyone special in Paradox's mind, but he didn't particularly care. There was still something bothering him. "So…" Rook gestured around them. "What happens now?"
"As prudent as ever, Rook." Professor Paradox turned away from him, staring at the stars twinkling behind him as if searching for an answer there. "Well, now we come back to what I initially brought you here to discuss: your choice."
Right. Rook had nearly managed to forget about that. He grimaced. "Whether I die now or later?" He asked. Based on the situation, it didn't seem like Rook had any other options.
"Aren't we all born just to die?" Paradox shrugged. "It's the things in between that matter: the uniquely sentient experience of being loved and loving others. You've had those things, Rook. What other reason is there to prolong the inevitable?"
In some ways, Rook could see the logic in what Paradox was saying. The bubble-timeline was going to "pop" eventually, anyway. How long could Rook really be happy reliving the same day over and over again? Another month? A year? A decade? What was another week or two in the face of eternity?
But there was something primal in him that didn't care about the good arguments — deep down, Rook didn't want to die. He'd thrown himself under a car for Ben, out of desperation, but Rook wasn't suicidal. He wanted whatever the universe would give him, be it another week or twenty-thousand of them. How could time that he spent with Ben possibly be wasted?
"Why are you giving me this choice?" Rook asked instead of answering the question. "You have said yourself that Ben is far more important than I am. Why not take this to him?"
Paradox turned back to face Rook. His smile didn't sit quite right on his face. His lips were stretched too wide and his teeth weren't always that sharp. Then Rook blinked and it was gone. "Call it professional curiosity," was all Paradox said.
"What about Alien X?" Rook blurted out. "Surely, Ben's Celestialsapien form is enough to fix all of this, is it not?" He didn't know if Alien X was powerful enough to affect matters outside of a timeline, but he had to be, right? Sure, it didn't work the first time, but maybe if Rook could explain the situation to Ben in full, or give him some idea of what to do once he was transformed… Maybe then they could have a shot at the happy ending that Rook desperately wanted for them.
"An astute question." Paradox cupped his chin. "Well, Alien X ought to be able to "pop" the universe, if nothing else. It will be impossible for it to merge back to the timeline that you left, however. That one has already moved on toward its future."
That wasn't a huge loss to Rook. He shuddered to imagine a universe in which the first day of the time loop was the only day. There was a version of him that was probably still mourning Ben — who hadn't realized that he was in love until it was too late. It hurt too much to think about.
"So, you cannot say for sure that this is unfixable," Rook said at last. "Alien X might be able to do something."
The look in Paradox's eyes was indescribable. "If I said yes or no, would it change your decision?"
For a moment, Rook thought to be angry with him for that. It wasn't an answer at all — it was only avoiding the matter. But the more he pondered the question, the more Rook had to concede the point. If Alien X could fix everything or not, it didn't matter. Rook had already made his decision.
If it was either let the universe die today or tomorrow, then there was hardly a choice at all.
"I would like to go back. I need to speak with Ben," Rook said. And even if he didn't need to urgently discuss Alien X's limits, he would still want to speak with Ben.
Paradox smiled, somehow managing to make the expression both cryptic and devoid of all intention. "Good luck," was all he said.
There was a sudden light from behind him, and Rook turned to see the swirling portal waiting for him. This time, there was no rush of air as it formed. There was no air for it to displace, after all. Rook floated toward it, sticking his hand through. It had no feeling. If Rook weren't seeing it with his own eyes, he wouldn't believe that it was there. He took a deep breath, steadying himself, and pushed the rest of the way through.
His feet stumbled on solid ground and Rook blinked rapidly to adjust his eyes to the light. He found himself standing outside of the Tennyson household, exactly where he'd been right before he left. The sun was shining, the wind was whipping, and the distant sound of cars reached his ears. Rook felt like he had jetlag.
"Since when?" Ben asked, still red-faced and borderline scandalized. He was moving seamlessly, as if time had never been frozen at all. Rook couldn't remember what he'd said before he left, but answering the question wasn't important to him.
Without thinking, Rook crushed Ben into a hug, fisting one hand in the back of his jacket and the other in his hair. He didn't say anything. He just held Ben close and focused on his breathing. Ben responded somewhat awkwardly, though nonetheless returned Rook's hug.
"Um, Rook?" He tried. "Are you, like… Okay?"
Rook felt like crying. "I know that you do not believe me when I say this, because I have given you no reason to, but Ben…" He pulled back, partly to avoid making Ben uncomfortable and partly to be able to look into his captivating eyes. "I love you so much."
Instead of returning the sentiment, Ben frowned. He opened his mouth to reply, but then seemed to think better of it and closed it again. Rook had absolutely no idea what Ben was thinking, and it was driving him crazy.
He knew what he was thinking, though, and the words just came tumbling out of him. "Ever since I first heard of Ben 10, I knew that you were someone special. And no matter how hard I tried, I never would be," Rook said. Ben immediately started to argue, and Rook shushed him. "Let me finish, please," he begged, cupping Ben's face. Whether it was the tenderness of the gesture or the open wound in Rook's voice that made Ben pause was unclear. Either way, he nodded, and Rook continued. "You were the stuff of legends. Being so young and accomplishing so much after a completely accidental mishap upon the most powerful device in the universe… It was something out of a fairytale. It should not have happened. Fate put itself in your hands, and most people would not have thought twice about abusing it, but you have always strived to be a good person. And I— Sometimes, I do not see how you make it look so easy," Rook admitted. "Not the hero work. I mean just being a good person. Because I find myself working at it. It is so easy to have no regard for others. It is so easy to think only of yourself. But you, Ben, you just— Don't. It used to frustrate me. No matter how hard I trained or studied, I could be a better Plumber than you but I could not be a better hero. And the worst part is that you never cared at all." Here, Rook really did start crying. He couldn't bring himself to let go of Ben in order to wipe his eyes. Ben was staring at him like he'd never seen him before. Rook hardly recognized himself either. "I was assigned to be your partner, but I knew from the beginning that such a title was superfluous. We are not equals. Not in power, not in importance, and certainly not in attitude. I have spent half of my life chasing you, and you have always been out of reach. But either way, when other people called me your sidekick, you never did. You never made me feel lesser, no matter how clear it became that I was. You even use "partner" as a term of endearment, and I—" Rook started laughing. This was such a long-winded way of explaining himself, but really, all he wanted to say was, "I find it impossible to comprehend that there is a universe in which I don't love you."
If Ben had been speechless before, then now, he was practically unresponsive. He stared at Rook with his lips slightly parted. And he stared and stared and stared, like he couldn't fathom looking away. Finally, Ben worked his mouth a few times, trying to get his bearings, and said, "Rook… Where is all of this coming from?"
Frustration bubbled beneath his skin and turned Rook slightly hysterical. He laughed again, without meaning to. He needed to explain himself. Even if it didn't matter tomorrow, even if Ben never remembered this, just once, he needed Ben to understand. He couldn't take that look of disbelief when he poured his soul out at Ben's feet.
Brushing his thumbs beneath Ben's eyes, Rook pushed his bangs out of the way to lean their foreheads together. He clasped Ben's hands tightly. Ben, for all that he was confused and startled, didn't pull away. He simply stood there and waited while Rook collected himself.
"Ben…" He breathed. "I need to talk to you."
A/N: I don't know if any of you picked up on this, since no one commented about it, but this Ben and Rook are not, in fact, Prime Ben and Prime Rook. I alluded to it as much in chapter three, when Ben says, "A time anomaly is new for me, but let's see what Clockwork can do." Despite the fact that he's dealt with time travel plenty of times and encountered a time anomaly the first time he met Paradox.
The only main difference in this universe is that Paradox never became the Time Walker, and ergo, Ben has no experience with time travel. This is only important to the story to explain why Ben or Rook never thought to get in touch with Paradox sooner — they don't know him.
So the Prime timeline is unaffected by all of this nonsense. If that takes away some of the enjoyment for you, write your own fanfiction. (And link it to me if you do, because I'd love to read anything that I directly or indirectly inspired.)
This chapter was a bit of an exposition dump, and I might have missed some things, so feel free to comment if you have any questions about how all of this is supposed to work and I will be happy to answer! (Also, no, Paradox isn't a villain in this fic and he isn't lying. I just like writing him as a cosmic horror who enjoys fucking with people.)
This is the only chapter which does not end with the day resetting. Instead, the next chapter is going to be a bunch of just Rook and Ben talking! I thought about making this one chapter, but I'm tired of long chapters and I'm sure you guys are tired of waiting for updates, so this day will be continued in the next installment.
Since this is a bit of a cliffhanger, I won't make you guys wait for chapter eighteen. It's going up on December 15th! See you then.