guestsurprise, who owns Madison and Maxine, asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I only own Rachel and Shelby.

You'll Always Belong In This Family

One wouldn't think a walk in the woods would turn dangerous and medieval all at once.

But for one family, it was something they were always prepared for.

Rachel, Shelby, and Upgrade stood in a circle around Maxine as the Forever Knights surrounded them with weapons trained on them. "Maxine, you ran away from your father," one Knight said.

"He lied to me!" Maxine said. "He's not my father!"

"Ungrateful brat!" Another Knight spat.

"Don't you speak to my daughter like that!" Upgrade growled angrily.

The Knights raised their weapons. "The child is coming with us," one of them said.

Just then, they were knocked down by something jumping on them and they saw it was a pack of coyotes which then surrounded them and hunkered down before Rachel unleashed a powerful, ghostly wail that made the Knights drop their weapons and Upgrade began merging with their technology to disable it and screamed as he got shocked. "Upgrade!" Shelby cried out, going to help him but getting shocked too.

Working fast, Rachel grabbed onto the Knight and somehow pried part of the armor back to see a bunch of wires and she grabbed them, tearing at them like no tomorrow. The shocking quit and Shelby and Upgrade collapsed nearby. The young woman was slightly burned on her hands and Upgrade was groaning in pain, looking like he had gotten burned too. Rachel noticed her hands were slightly cut from digging into the Knight's armor, but she didn't care. She saw Maxine looking as if the world had come crashing down on her shoulders. Alien X came up to them, having been in the forest and heard the commotion. A snap of his fingers and the Knights were teleported away with their memories of the day gone and he healed the Mechamorph and two women. "Are you all alright?" He asked.

"We're better now, bro," Rachel replied.

But it didn't last. A couple policeman came to take statements and had more than a few things to say. "You made a mistake taking in the Wild Child," said one.

"Her name is Maxine!" Shelby said, her voice taking a hardened tone.

"Either speak respectively or don't speak at all," Upgrade growled.

"Easy, you two," Rachel said calmly before turning to the officers. "Still, I don't take kindly to those who speak against my family."

"She's a risk to you and your family," said the other officer. "She should go into foster care."

It took a lot to make Rachel angry, but that statement took the cake. "Get out of my house," she said angrily. "Get out of my house or I'm calling the Commissioner."

The two policemen quickly left and Rachel growled. "Who do those two think they are saying that?!" She asked, still angry.

"Maxine doesn't belong in foster care. She belongs here with her sister and us," Shelby said.

"And no one is taking her away from us," Upgrade said firmly.

But little did they know that Maxine had overheard the policemen and she felt terrible that her parents and aunt had been injured trying to protect her. Making her decision, she went to her room, and before anyone knew it, she was soon gone.

But her escape didn't escape notice as AmpFibian sensed her turmoil and waited a bit before heading to find Rachel. "Rachel," he said, finding her. "You better come up to Maxine's room."

Hearing those words, the young woman knew something bad had happened and ran up to the young girl's room with Madison, Shelby, and Upgrade right behind her. Madison reached the room first and she stopped short, already knowing what had happened and she turned back to her aunt and parents. "She's gone!" She said, shock in her voice and tears began filling her eyes.

Shelby took the young girl in her arms while Rachel and Upgrade completed a search and the owner of the Grant Mansion found a note on the computer desk. "Guys," she said, holding up the note before reading it aloud.

"Mom, Dad, and Aunt Rachel,

"I'm sorry to have caused you trouble. I'm heading out, going back to my old life. I won't be coming back as I took my adoption papers with me. Madison is still yours, but I'm not. I'm grateful to your kindness, but I don't belong in a family. All I ask is please take care of my sister. She belongs with you.

Maxine."

Madison broke down, crying loudly when she heard that and Shelby had tears running down her face as well. Upgrade was furious at the police officers for making his daughter feel that she was a troublemaker and unwanted. Rachel was beyond furious and forced herself to take a deep breath and try to think. "AmpFibian, where is she?" She asked her brother. "Did she say where she was headed?"

"She was planning to leave to another state," he said. "But I didn't pick up on which one."

"I think I know," came a voice and they saw Tetrax coming into the room. "Maxine came in and asked me if I knew of a place she could find in Minnesota. I gave her a location I knew. Chances are that's where she's headed."

"Then that's where I'm going," Upgrade said firmly.

"Upgrade," the former bounty hunter said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Why don't you let me bring Maxine back?"

"She's my daughter, Tetrax," the Mechamorph said, his voice pleading.

"I understand," the Petrosapien said gently. "But I've worked with Maxine before. When she's hurt, it's hard for anyone to get through to her, even though she knows they mean well."

Upgrade was fighting tears, but a few escaped his eyes. "Tetrax," he said. "Find my little girl. Please."

The former bounty hunter nodded. "I'll find her," he promised.

In Minnesota…

Maxine set up camp at the log cabin Tetrax had told her about. "This will be good," she decided and had just settled in before going to have some dinner when she heard the door open and turned calmly to see Tetrax come in. "You didn't have to check on me. I'm okay," she told him.

Knowing that no one else could enter the cabin without the code he had given the young girl, Tetrax chuckled slightly. "Just wanted to make sure you made it," he said.

"I did," she said. "I was about to eat. Want some food?"

"Sure," he said, deciding that it would be a good way to get the young girl relaxed enough so that he could tell her his reason for being there.

She beat him to the punch after they ate. "Mom and Dad asked you to find me, didn't they?" She asked.

"Yes," he said before looking at her seriously. "Kid, those policemen were wrong."

"No, they weren't," she said softly.

He shook his head. "Kid, listen to me," he said gently, keeping his voice level. "You deserve a good family and your parents can give you that. You don't deserve to be out on your own at your age, struggling to survive, going without food so that your sister can eat, and so that you can pay bills. You're ten-years-old. Way too young to have that much responsibility."

"But I have to bring in money so that Madison will be okay," she protested. "I'll be fine."

Shaking his head again, Tetrax spied the adoption papers and stood up before snatching them up and tucking them into his armor. It happened too quickly for Maxine to react. "Hey!" She said. "Tetrax, give me that folder back!" She jumped up and tried to get near him, but he backed up.

"Nope," he said. "You're Upgrade and Shelby's daughter and no one is going to change that. Not even two big-mouthed policemen."

She tried to jump at him, but he caught her in one arm and smirked at her. "You forget, kiddo, I'm a father too," he said and began playfully poking her sides. Giggles escaped her as she tried to squirm free, but couldn't escape the Petrosapien's grip.

"Tetrahahahahahahahahahax!" She giggled out.

"You belong with the family, Maxine," he said, his voice filled with amusement. "And I'm going to tickle you until you believe that."

She squealed as fingers tickled her stomach, squirming but still unable to get free as the former bounty hunter tickled her to pieces, only stopping when she was gasping for air. "So, how about it, jungle girl? Ready to believe me?" He asked.

Maxine smiled, liking the nickname he called her and she looked at him. "Are…Are you certain…I deserve a family?" She asked.

"You more than deserve it, Maxine," he said. "Plus, there's no way I'm letting my niece run away because someone who doesn't know us speaks before they think."

She instantly hugged him. "Uncle Tetrax?" She asked.

"Yes, kiddo?"

"Can…Can you take me home?"

He smiled. "You got it."

Upgrade and Shelby were at the door when they arrived and the two pulled the young girl into a big hug. "Maxine, don't you ever feel that you don't belong here," Upgrade said. "You'll always belong in this family, no matter what people think."

"And no matter what someone says, Upgrade and I will never regret adopting you and Madison," Shelby said.

"And taking you in wasn't a mistake," Rachel said. "It never will be."

Maxine just cried as she let her parents, sister, and aunt hug her and comfort her. Tetrax smiled as he watched the scene and nodded. The young girl was there to stay and no one was going to tell them otherwise.

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GoldGuardian2418