A/N: Oi vey, is it Sunday already? I'm kidding, the week takes so long to pass by...

Thank you as always to the wonderful reviewers, you guys are super awesome.

Beta'd by Greg, huge thanks to him for all his hard work.

Read.

III.

There was something almost disheartening about all of the 2nd Mass fighters being gathered together in a small classroom of a community center. Their numbers had been dwindling over the months, and even more so over those past few weeks. While lost fighters were sometimes replaced with young teenagers, only deemed capable after a short series of shooting lessons that basically taught them how to hold a gun and pull the trigger, the numbers were far from even. They had roughly forty fighters now, a third of which were newly trained fifteen and even fourteen year olds.

Ben and Jimmy took up a position near the back of the room, hovering beside the classroom door, opting to stand though there were empty chairs in the room and not many fighters being waited on to join the meeting. Ben preferred being on the outskirts of any gathering, being able to press himself as far away from everyone as possible. That way he didn't have to feel their tense reproach towards him. He couldn't do much about their heated glares or the low whispers they didn't realize he could easily hear. He also liked to be positioned close to an exit, giving him a quick out when his presence was no longer required.

The only relief about fighter meetings was that, unlike the majority of the civilians, many of the fighters were actually more tolerant of Ben. They had been in battle with him, they were friends with his brother, Hal, and with Jimmy, and though they obviously didn't trust him – it was evident in their eyes, in the way they spoke to him, in the decisions they made in the heat of battle alongside him – they didn't treat him like a leper, either.

At the front of the room, Captain Weaver talked quietly with Dai and Anthony. Hal and Maggie and a few other more experienced fighters hovered around the front, waiting for the meeting to start.

"What do you think Weaver is planning?" Ben whispered to Jimmy.

Jimmy knew the captain better than most; they had formed a strange bond over the several months Jimmy had traveled under the captain's command. Both had lost their families entirely and in a way, found within one another a means to fill the gaping void in their hearts that those losses had left behind.

For Jimmy, that loss consisted of his parents and a younger sister – the exact fact of which only Ben was aware. Jimmy was the original orphan of the 2nd Mass, most other orphans were either like Ben and his brothers, lost their parents over the course of traveling with the 2nd Mass, or were similar to Ben, rescued and unharnessed, but who their parents were and where they might be was a mystery. Somehow, Jimmy had survived two months alone in the hell left over after the first alien attacks, a feat apparently no other child could accomplish; other orphaned children either perished quickly after the invasion or were captured by the aliens and harnessed. If there was one word everyone in the 2nd Mass could agree on to describe the boy, it was 'tough'.

The captain had lost an estranged wife and two daughters. He was still uncertain of all of their actual fates, and whether he had any high hopes in that regard, he never hinted at it. He never much spoke about it at all, keeping his focus locked entirely on the war and leading the people in his charge. He carried his grief seemingly with ease, never indicating that it might be a burden.

It wears on him though, Jimmy once told Ben, you can see it in the way his eyes darken and kind of get faraway whenever he's around other families.

To which Ben had smartly responded, just like you. An observation that hadn't exactly gone over well with the other boy, if the small bruise Ben had sported on his ribs for a few days after was any indication.

If there were one word that everyone in the 2nd Mass could agree on to describe the old man it was 'honorable'.

But Ben would have to say that if he were ever to describe one, he would simply point to the other, the two were so alike. Weaver was tough as well and Jimmy was also honorable, and they were rugged and weatherworn, naturally terse. Sometimes when Ben looked at Weaver, he worried that he was seeing Jimmy's future, a miserable old man hardened by life, a great leader only because long ago he had separated himself entirely from his emotions so as to make the terrible decisions that no one else could.

"How should I know?" Jimmy grunted return, folding his arms over his chest and studying the captain up at the front, "You have the super hearing, why don't you find out and tell me?"

Weaver was looking more haggard those days, crinkles under his eyes and around his mouth had become more pronounced, he didn't shave as frequently, and his skin looked sallow. His shoulders slumped minutely, they weren't pulled back as proudly as they once were; it was a posture change that no one would have noticed unless they were paying very close attention.

Dai kept saying something that Weaver didn't seem to approve of and then Anthony would add something and Weaver would stroke his chin thoughtfully, as though considering whatever it was that Anthony suggested, but from his features, Jimmy knew Weaver was just looking for the best way to argue his firm 'no'.

"They just keep talking about battle formations," Ben muttered.

"So…he's planning another attack," Jimmy surmised with a nonchalant shrug.

"But why would he call everyone together for that?" Ben wondered, "Usually Weaver just passes assignments on to fighters involved and leaves it at that, no need for a huge conference."

Jimmy narrowed his eyes on the captain a moment, and then smirked, "Because this attack is gonna be big. Really big. And important, I'm guessing, from the way Weaver is so stressed about the details. Finally. Our attacks have been so pathetic lately, we might as well just be throwing rocks at the aliens for all the damage we've done."

"You think?" Ben replied, feeling an inexplicable tingle of excitement at the idea of it, mixed with his own anxiety at the prospect of having to go into another battle.

Ben furrowed his brow and leaned his shoulder heavily against Jimmy's, finding comfort in that small physical contact. His emotions had been getting more conflicted lately and he didn't like the confusion. There was a part of him, something deep inside, a darkness that kept growing and swelling; that fed a peculiar desperate desire, one that wanted to hunt, to attack, to kill.

Furthermore, the feeling seemed to exacerbate Ben's already problematic and unfamiliar harness-gifted 'abilities'. He'd become increasingly restless in recent times, despite pushing himself harder and harder every day: running for hours on end in his spare time, volunteering himself for the most laborious of tasks around camp, and seeking out Jimmy more often to exercise his excess energy, a burden, Ben guiltily knew, that was beginning to wear on the other boy, not that Jimmy would ever admit it.

Weaver and his 'advisors' seemed to have reached a decision, and Weaver took a stance at the front of the room, calling the fighters to attention. A hush fell over the group; all eyes were on the old man.

"Alright, everyone, listen up," Weaver boomed, "Now, as some of you may have heard, a couple days ago we located another alien structure. It's about fifteen miles away. Preliminary reports say that, just like the other ones, it's pretty heavily guarded."

A rash of low whispers erupted amongst the group, some excited, some anxious.

"He wants to attack another of those things?" Ben mumbled, and Jimmy didn't respond.

Weaver paced a couple times, let the fighters have their moment to digest the new information, before calling their attention back to him.

"As you all know, we've got a problem. The enemy has been spreading out this direction and, although we've been managing to keep them away from us, they're leaking around, starting to surround us and eventually they're going to figure out that there's a big 2nd Mass sized hole in their map," Weaver continued, "We need to do something to distract them and soon, so that we can figure out a new course of action. I have a few places in mind that we could head to, mainly, an old airplane hangar not too far from here. It'll take several days travel, we'll probably hit the enemy many times along the way, but it's a good place to set up base for a time, a little better than where we are right now.

"Looking at photographs of this structure and the forces surrounding it that have been brought back by our scouts, I think we stand a good chance of taking it down. It still seems to be under construction, and the troops on it are significantly less heavy than ones we've seen in the past."

Weaver paused, walked around the front of the room a couple times, folded his hands behind his back, stopped and stared out at the group, letting his eyes rove over every face before him.

"We've seen some hard times lately. Our numbers are hurting. I know. Some of you are frustrated; our few victories lately just don't seem to justify the losses. Perfectly understandable. But this is our opportunity, our chance now, to make up for it. To show that those fighters we've lost didn't give their lives in vain," Weaver told them, his words strong and unwavering, "I've got a few ideas about how to go about bringing that structure down, I want it to be a precision attack, risking the fewest amount of lives. I'm working on details, still gathering intel on the target. My goal is to be able to go ahead with the strike next week, up and moving the 2nd Mass to a new location the following day."

"This is insane," Jimmy griped, leaning towards Ben and barely moving his lips as he spoke under his breath, "We don't have the number of experienced fighters or the artillery needed for this kind of op, he knows that."

"It's Weaver, he's got to have something up his sleeve," Ben replied silently, and from the way Jimmy tensed beside him, he was fairly certain they were both thinking the same as far as what that something was: Ben.

"This means, of course, I'm going to be swapping around some of your usual routines. I've broken you into three teams," Weaver explained, "My first team is intel, they'll be watching the structure daily, bringing back reports on enemy activity, getting a feel of the land. Hal, Dai, Ben, and I'm sending you guys out with Pope, alright?

"Ten of you will work rounds, teams of five, clearing the path to our first and second checkpoint on route to the hangar. Damien and Maggie will take point; going with them will be Minus, Merle, Jackson, Tobias, Franklin, Beth, Ortiz, and Mary," Weaver went on, "And the rest of you will be working rounds on patrol, see Anthony for your schedules."

Ben perked somewhat at his name, glancing to his brother across the room once, meeting the older boy's eyes for a moment, and then dropping his gaze back to Jimmy, who seemed disquieted by the entire announcement.

It figured that Ben would be sent on the dangerous team, his skills would be necessary for getting the most detailed information on the target, and although the two boys had been partnered on seemingly every assignment they were doled out lately, the grand scale of the mission leant rationale to the otherwise odd decision to suddenly break them up, and Ben knew that Jimmy understood that, but he had to at least feel a little miffed that he wasn't being sent anywhere.

Undoubtedly, Jimmy saw it as a commentary on his abilities as a fighter, which had to sting. As the youngest fighter of the 2nd Mass, he'd had to push himself hard to earn respect as one amongst the resistance's ranks, and to suddenly be shoved to the sidelines like that probably felt akin to a hard slap in the face.

Ben wanted to comfort Jimmy, despite the prying eyes of their fellow fighters. He wanted to hold him, to take his hand, press soothing kisses to every available inch of Jimmy's flesh, but he couldn't even so much as say a single, encouraging word, Jimmy would slap it away so fast and, not to mention, the others would criticize them both, tear them apart for any small affectionate gesture. It hurt so much to be held back, when he knew Jimmy was in such pain, but he supposed it was the price he had to pay to at least be allowed to care for that other boy in private.

So intent was Ben on fighting his urge to reach out to Jimmy, he barely heard Weaver's barked dismissal of the fighters, hardly noticed when the group shuffled to their feet and started for the exit, but he did hear when Weaver called, "Jimmy, stay behind, I want to have a word with you," and that single sentence was enough to paralyze.

Jimmy darted a meaningful look to Ben, then maneuvered through the departing fighters towards the front, where Weaver and Dai were once again deep in conversation.

Ben hadn't realized he'd stayed planted where he was, and that everyone had left, until Weaver, Dai, and Jimmy, the only ones still left in the room shot him a curious look.

"Get going, Ben, meeting's over," Weaver commanded, waving the anxious boy outside.

Ben reluctantly headed for the door, his eyes never leaving Jimmy's piercing blue, until the door had shut soundly behind him.

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A/N: So now we're moving in to the nitty-gritty of the story. Yay! Right, because this chapter was so short, I'm considering - considering - posting another chapter later tonight or tomorrow morning. This will depend on a number of factors, partly reviews and mainly how much I get written tonight. I just want you all prepared so that no one is too confused if I do double update.

Okay? Okay. Let me know what you think!

Reviewers: Facepalmer123, congrats on the first-to-review. Glad you loved it. Haley, lol, that chapter earned an expletive, hm? Awesome, thanks for the well-wishes, I took my first mid-term last week and I think I aced it. I got two more next week I need to study for tho. WhisperMaw, lol, in a sense he did. Um...Fitchberg...I actually have no plans to work Fitchberg into the story mainly because...I haven't read the comic and using it in the story would require me to read the comic and I'm ethically opposed. So, unless someone wants to give me a detailed play-by-play of how that went down, I won't be using it. Aw...I don't think Hal would think of Val and Mary as "dumbasses", maybe..."ditzy twats" or something along those lines. Heracratzarism, family trip? Okay, I suppose that's acceptable. I'm teasing, of course. I'm glad to have you back reading and reviewing tho! JDMlvr1, yeah, I don't know where that raisin scene even came from, dug out from the dark recesses of my mind, so I'm glad you liked it. IcicleLilly, you're becoming something of a regular? Awesome. I'm glad you like the Hal-interaction, because there's lots more of him in chapters to come. Greg, too late. Maika-LunaRota, another new regular reveiwer? Double awesome. I know, the one a week updates suck for me too, cause I always worry that readers are going to get bored waiting...but it has to be this way if you all want to see the story's end. Trust me, I know me better than anyone. Cookie97, honestly, I never liked Hal in the show...but I was really trying not to let that show in the story, and now I'm worried that it might be. Yeah...Ben is awesome. I too have a soft-spot for nerds, so that will definitely show in his character.

Fucking cat just chewed through my mouse wire...had to plug in my pen tablet...grrrr...

Right. Um...so I'll see you all later...either tonight, tomorrow, or next Sunday. We'll see...