A/N: Ben 10 does not belong to me in the least~!
Kevin gazed ahead into space, holding his tongue. Gwen stopped frowning at him to turn to their guests. "We haven't seen you guys in awhile. How've you been?" Manny tugged at the collar of his shirt and Helen smoothed down her skirt. Pierce stared listlessly out the window at the darkness. Gwen shifted her eyes from one to another. Alan was absent from this field trip, visiting family. Ben watched on curiously, waiting for the next burst of entertainment to appear to amuse him.
"I'm fine. Yourself?" Gwen smiled at Rachel, who was brushing out her hair. Gwen hadn't known the girl until they happened to meet in a store some weeks ago. It was coincidence they recognized each other and were properly introduced. Gwen hadn't known any other Plumber's Kids except for Pierce's Team and Michael Morningstar. And they both had Kevin as a… mutual friend.
"I've been doing well." She hadn't been given all the details, but she'd been told it was a rescue mission. Aside from that… "Would you mind if I asked what's going on? And where exactly we're going?" Kevin turned then, looking out of the corner of his eye at their guests. Gwen looked to Helen, but the Kineceleran gave her a somewhat apologetic look.
"Honestly, Gwen? We… aren't that sure." Helen's voice was quiet, but Gwen could see she was uncomfortable with the situation at hand.
"Yeah, Calico here just pulled us all away and forced us into this get-up." Manny pulled at the collar of the button down once again, frowning at the girl in question. Gwen had to admit, they were dressed nice. But, if it was as sudden as they say, how did Rachel find a shirt for a Tetramand on such short notice?
"Manny…"
"Well, it's true." The redskinned teen turned to shoot his partner a look before glowering once more at the root of the problem. "Out with it, Calico. Tell us what's going on. Now." The girl ignored him, pulling a packet of wipes from her bag. "Hey, answer us!" Rachel proceeded to rub at her skin, foundation appearing on the wipes as marks began to appear on her skin. "Wait, what're you doing, Calico?"
"Taking off my make-up, Manny." Rachel responded casually, discarding the wipe and grabbing another. Helen rested a hand on one of his arms, urging him to give her time. He muttered something unintelligible, crossing his arms and glowering out the window. Another few wipes found stripes around Rachel's face. She raised a mirror, turning her head from side to side and wiping a little more at her face. When she looked up, Helen saw Mrs. Calico grinning back at her. "Better. I feel so… free." Manny huffed. Rachel smiled, showing her teeth. "Hush now. I'll be right back." She rose, taking her bag with her.
"Where're you going now?" Manny rose, wanting to stop her, to get answers.
"To change. I can't be seen in this." Rachel gestured down to her diner uniform. She winked. "Don't miss me too much, Honey." Manny growled and Helen tugged on his arm. Rachel disappeared through the doors and Manny turned on Pierce.
"Well?" Their leader breathed out a soft breath, his eyes never straying from the darkness of space. "Peirce, get it together!"
"Manny, just calm down." Helen pushed him away and towards the other side of the cabin. She frowned at him. "Honestly." She turned to Gwen. "You're as lost as we are. I can tell you what I know?" Gwen nodded and Ben leaned forward. "Pierce came home and… he was upset. A lot worse than normal."
"Normal?" Gwen questioned her. Manny snorted.
"He's fallen hard for some chick." Gwen hid a smile while Ben and Kevin rolled their eyes. Helen shot him a dark look and he turned away, recrossing his arms.
"Anyway, he just went to his room and grabbed a bag. We tried to get him to tell us what was wrong, but Rachel called me at that point. She told us to change into something nice, and to pack a bag. A friend had been kidnapped and we were going to join up with you guys to go and get her. I thought you knew at-least that much, but, that's all we know." The doors slid open and they turned to see Rachel. A mirror was in-front of her face and they didn't know what she was doing. She was in a black, knee-length, low-cut dress that flared at the bottom. A thick golden belt was strapped around her waist. A sheer white shawl draped from her arms. She wore sandals with straps that tied and crossed up to her knees. "Rachel?"
"Mhmm?" Her tail flicked out from behind her. "Almost… There." She tossed the mirror aside and it landed on the bench. She grinned, her canines flashing in the light. Ben almost fell out of his chair. "You like what you see, Tennyson?" He coughed, righting himself as Kevin snorted. She arched a brow and they took in her appearance.
A golden necklace was strapped around her neck and stripes were around the edge of her face and on her shoulders. The sleeves of her dress billowed and were attached at the shoulder and wrist, but hung on either side of her arms. Her hair was braided and hung over one shoulder and tied with a silver hoop, a pearl in the center. Her bangs still framed her face, as unruly as ever, but a netting of sorts rested on her head, over her ears, the golden and pearl strung strands dropping to her shoulders, pearl flowers over her forehead.
"Stop staring. It's rude." Ben clicked his mouth shut while Gwen and Helen blinked at their friend. "Gwen?" Gwen started, straightening a bit. "I brought you a dress. I can't have you coming in like that." Gwen looked down at her school clothes, then up at the hybrid.
"I'm going?"
"Of-course. You're part Anodite. They'll respect you. And you'll get us through the door if my… skills of persuasion can't." Rachel's smile turned sly. She turned, holding up purple material. "It was Mom's, but I've been working on it for a bit, bringing it up to snuff. Go try it on and I'll see what I can do." Gwen rose, taking the dress from her new friend's hands.
"It's beautiful." Rachel's smile shifted back to a happy one. Gwen departed then, going to get changed.
"Oh, you look nice by the way, Helen." Rachel told her, taking in the dark blue skirt and blouse. Helen tilted her head away. "Benji, I got some stuff for you too. I think you're about the Kid's size." Ben frowned and Rachel snickered. "Kidding. Some of the Idiot's old stuff." She held up a black dress shirt and green vest and tie. "I remembered that you liked green and we're lucky he was part of wedding who's colors were green and white." He eyed her. "Come on. Change or you're not involved."
"Fine…" He shrugged off his jacket and took the shirt, slipping it over the black tee. He buttoned it, eyeing her as she held out the vest. "Seriously though, where are we going? And why do we need to be dressed up?" Rachel's brow arched and the look on her face told Ben she thought she had told them.
"We're going to a wedding. I told you, didn't I?" Manny stiffened, jerking around to glare at her. She didn't seem to notice. "Rescue mission, remember? Life or death situation? Damsel in distress?"
"I never signed up for a wedding!" Ben pulled the vest on, taking the tie from her outstretched hand. "This is stupid! I should've known better than to trust you!" Her eyes narrowed on his form, teeth flashing. "This is some stupid family affair of you—" She lunged at him, leaping and holding onto him, her hands pulled tight around his shirt, heels digging into his thighs. Her eyes were golden and flashing, a hiss passing her lips.
"Shut up, Manny, or so help me, I'll—" the doors slid open and Gwen stepped in. Rachel blinked, leaning around Manny's form to take her in. "Oh, it looks almost perfect!" Gwen held at her arm, her cheeks coloring. Rachel leaped off Manny and he fell back. "Here now, let's see…" Rachel pulled at the dress, eying it and circling the red head. "Here a bit… That's a little… And definitely…" Rachel pulled a needle and some thread from her bag as Ben finished the tie, admiring his reflection in the glass. "You look great, Ben. Now, hold still, Gwen." Gwen blinked down as Rachel seated herself on the floor, threading the needle and beginning to hem the skirt. "Seriously." Gwen stilled, watching the hybrid deftly hem the skirt within five minutes.
"That's amazing." Gwen pulled at the skirt, admiring Rachel's handiwork and then swishing the skirt from side to side.
"Not the best, but this is a rush job. It should hold, unless you pick at it or decide to take a jog through the woods. Now," Rachel rose, dusting off her dress. She tilted her head from side to side. "Ahh." She returned to her bag, tossing a dark gray dress shirt and suit jacket onto Kevin's head. "Change into that, Levin." Kevin spluttered, protesting. "Oh, and this too." A black tie was thrown over his shoulder. "Here we are!" Rachel pulled a thick silver band from her bag. "Perfect!" She settled it around Gwen's neck, attaching it in the back and stepping back to view her work. "My Grandmother's. It suits you." Gwen looked down at herself, touching her fingers against the cool metal. Rachel proceeded to tie a pale purple fabric belt around her waist and pull up the redhead's hair.
"Is this all necessary, Rachel?" Gwen felt pretty, no doubt about it, but she wasn't used to the looks she was getting from Ben and Kevin. More like stares, Ben's something akin to shock and surprise while Kevin's… Well. It was beginning to make her feel subconscious, how intently he was looking at her.
"Of-course." Rachel pulled her hair into a bun at the top of her head, another silver band wrapping around the base, hiding the ponytail from view. "Also my Grandmother's. Perfect. You look lovely." Gwen glanced at her reflection in the window, admiring herself in the deep purple fabric. The sleeves flared at her elbows and the hem was now shorter on one side than on the other. "Your tights and shoes will do. Levin, I said put it on!"
"Fine!" Kevin grumbled, tearing his eyes away from his girlfriend as he put the shirt and tie on, pulling the suit jacket over top. Rachel's heels clicked against the floor as she stepped towards Pierce, resting a hand on his shoulder. His eyes shifted up, looking at her reflection in the glass.
"We're almost there." Her voice was quiet. He looked away and towards his teammates. "You should get ready." He let out a breath. Rachel tousled his hair. "Get with it, Wheels. We've got a wedding to crash. Or do you have other plans?" She smiled, stepping away and towards her bag once more.
"What else do you have in there, Rachel?" Ben asked. He was curious, as she had packed everything in there. "Bricks?"
"Maybe." Kevin rolled his eyes, tightening the tie. "Pierce?" He rose, unzipping his jacket and shrugging it off. Helen gasped at the scar across his chest and Rachel stared. "Oh my… God…" He slipped his arms into the black shirt. "How did you…? How did she…?" He buttoned it, ignoring them all for now.
"Oh, Pierce…" He pulled on the black vest and then a black tie. "Did she…?"
"I told you she saved my life." Tears welled in Helen's eyes. She knew he'd been hurt and Meena had been the one who found him, but to see the scar… to know she might have lost her brother… She hugged him tightly and he patted her back. He was dressed entirely in black, but it suited him. And it was all he had.
"Is that it?" Kevin ruined the moment by jerking his thumb towards the planet before them. Rachel clicked her way to his side, peering at the orange and yellow sphere.
"Yes. That's Marea. Home to the Matarians. That's where we're crashing the party." She grinned, her canines showing. "They better be prepared for Rachel Calico." Silently, she prayed they could stop it in time and save Meena. She cursed her friend's father and his stubbornness. She thanked Covron for conveying to her all she needed to know. "Everyone ready? Awesome."
"You look beautiful." Meena stared silently ahead at her reflection as her Mother, the Queen, entered her dressing room. Fasea smiled and everyone dipped to the floor, bowing their heads. "Leave us." Murmurs answered her as they rose and filed silently out, closing the door behind them and leaving the two Royals alone. Meena said nothing, staring blankly back at her face, watching her mother's reflection. The smile never left Fasea's face. "D'Aurora." Her mother walked towards her, her dark hair brushing against the floor. "My daughter, what a happy day." Her mother rested her hands on Meena's shoulders, smiling into the mirror at her. Dark blue hair, the same as Syvin's, and green eyes like Rasavas.
Meena's lips twitched before they could properly form words. She struggled a moment longer, keeping the ire out of her voice. "Of-course, Mother." The Queen squeezed her shoulders through the sheer fabric of what was her ceremony dress, her smile widening.
"Your Father will be pleased." Meena's brows furrowed for half a second before her face smoothed. But she said nothing. "I'll leave you now, to prepare for your life ahead." The Queen pulled away, releasing her youngest daughter and moving towards the door. Meena watched her leave through the mirror. "D'Aurora…" Her Mother paused at the door. "Should you… decide you don't want to go through with this…" Her Mother paused once more and Meena hoped. She knew she shouldn't, but she honestly hoped. "Your Father will be very disappointed in you." Tears welled in her eyes and her Mother let out a breath. "As will your brother. You made your choice and you agreed. This is for the people. Remember that. We live only for the people." Her Mother left, closing the door behind her.
Meena's hands turned to fists and she glared at herself in the mirror, watched the pretty face glaring back at her. A moment and a crack formed in the center, spiraling out and breaking her view of herself. Another moment and it shattered, clattering to the table before her hands, shimmering in the light from outside and reflecting it back onto the ceiling. She rose, pushing away from the table and storming towards the window, hands gripping the edge so hard it cracked beneath her strength.
"Choice…?" She whispered out into her city. "What choice, Mother? I agreed only because Father made me, told me if I didn't, the war would begin again… And it would be my fault this time…" Her bottom lip trembled and she bowed her head, willing herself not to cry. "All my fault…"
And this was supposed to be a happy day.
And chapter 15!
Nothing really happy going on here, but can I say…
THE CALVARY'S COMING~!