EmeraldMoonGreen, who owns Kristin, requested this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy!

I only own Rachel in this story. Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action.

A Curious Girl Gains New Friends

"So, the sparkplugs go here?" Kristin asked as she looked over her shoulder at Frankenstrike, who smiled in approval.

"Yes," he said as he watched her put the sparkplugs in place. They stepped back and looked at the invention so far. "It's not done yet, but we've done a lot today."

"Want me to come and help tomorrow?" asked Kristin.

Frankenstrike smiled. "Sure," he said as she gave him a hug and he returned it, giving her neck a light, playful tickle, which made her giggle as she then pulled away.

"See you around, Frankenstrike," she said and headed off to find Rachel, wondering where the owner of the Grant Mansion was. She saw her come in from outside, a backpack on her shoulders as she pressed a button hidden under a panel in the wall and a chair moved aside along with part of the rug to reveal a hole in the floor. Kristin saw Rachel slip into the hole and wondered where she was going. Seeing the chair and rug move back into place, she quickly went over to the wall and found the panel and pressed the button, making them move aside again as she also slipped down into the hole and stepped onto the floor down there, but didn't see Rachel. "Where is she?" she asked herself.

Just then, the rug and chair moved back into their proper places and the floor opened up beneath Kristin's feet and she plunged down a short way and landed on her behind and was sliding down some sort of tunnels that were smooth, like a slide. Screaming, Kristin curled up, fearing where she'd end up.

Meanwhile, Rachel had landed on the giant bed and was laughing aloud as the thrill the slide gave her slowly died and she sat up.

"Ah, I had a feeling she'd be dropping in soon," said a familiar voice with a chuckle. Rachel turned to see Way Big and Ultimate Way Big smiling as they came towards her and sat down on the bed.

"Hey, guys!" she said and pulled something out of her backpack. "I don't know how the computer folded this up, but it did."

With a little difficulty, Rachel pulled out a large folded paper that looked like a human-sized bed sheet set folded together. Way Big helped her unfold it before she winced and grabbed her shoulder which was now aching from lugging the heavy paper in her backpack. Ultimate Way Big picked her up and began gently massaging Rachel's back, shoulders, and neck with his thumb. She let out a grateful sigh when he did so.

"Ouch, guess I should have known that would be a bit too heavy," she said.

"We should have told them to use the lighter-weight paper," said Way Big, feeling a bit bad that his little sister was hurting.

"We'll do that next time," Ultimate Way Big promised as he continued giving Rachel a back massage and she lay still, enjoying it.

Suddenly, they all heard screaming that was getting steadily louder. "Who's that?" Rachel asked.

They got their answer a moment later when Kristin landed with an 'Oomph!' on the bed, looking a bit dazed. "Kristin?" Rachel asked in surprise. "Are you alright, hon?"

Kristin shook her head quickly to snap out of her dazed state and glanced up, her eyes widening in shock at seeing the two giant aliens. Letting out a scream, she jumped up to run, but that was hard to do on a bed, especially when the red and white giant quickly stood up, making the mattress bounce and Kristin lose her balance, landing in his hands which quickly, but gently closed around her, preventing her from escaping as he sat down and opened his hands so his palms were facing up, revealing the young, brown-haired girl curled up in his hands, looking like she might pass out.

"Kristin, it's okay," said Rachel, motioning Ultimate Way Big to bring her closer to the younger girl. The larger giant did so and Rachel walked across his hand into Way Big's hand and kneeled down beside her friend. "It's okay. Way Big and Ultimate Way Big are To'kustars, giant aliens who are very gentle, but protective."

Kristin looked up at Rachel, but stayed curled up. "Are you sure they're gentle?" she whispered to her.

Rachel smiled gently. "Look at how Way Big is holding us," she said gently. "Does it hurt?"

Kristin saw the point Rachel was making. While they were a bit off the ground in the giant's hand, he was holding them in a non-threatening way while making sure they didn't fall out of his hands. Ultimate Way Big then came over and one finger gently stroked Kristin's head. He was being very gentle and she glanced up at him and saw both giants gently smile at her.

"Still think we're going to hurt you?" asked Way Big.

Slowly, Kristin sat up and felt one of the giant's fingers gently nudge her shoulder and she looked at the offered finger and grabbed onto it, letting him help her stand up and use his fingers to keep her upright as her knees wobbled. Rachel also stood up and helped the young girl stay on her feet.

"Rach, have they always been here?" Kristin asked.

Rachel smiled. "For as long as I've owned the Mansion, yes," she answered. "I met Way Big a long time ago and he came here to live with me. When his older brother came to Earth, he also came to stay."

"Rachel, is this the girl Tetrax was telling everyone about, the fighter?" asked Ultimate Way Big.

The owner of the Grant Mansion smiled again. "Yes, this is her," she said.

"Tetrax told them about that?" Kristin asked in surprise.

"Honey, he told everyone about that," said Rachel with a smile. "We're all proud of you that you stood up for yourself. Although Tetrax is very prideful, he was also proud of you."

"You mean I wounded his ego, right?"

That made the other three laugh hard. "I believe his pride was only wounded a little, but Tetrax knows he can't fight all battles alone," said Way Big. "And he knew about your past and so he was grateful for you and proud because you proved that you weren't going to stand by and let your tormentors hurt your friend."

"Even though we use fighting as a last resort, defense is what we always use as a first resort," said Ultimate Way Big.

Kristin was so surprised at their words she blushed a little, suddenly giggling when she felt the two giants gently tickle her neck for a brief moment before they gently hugged her and Rachel in a sign of friendship.

"Sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me," Kristin admitted.

"If it didn't, you wouldn't have these two as friends right now," Rachel pointed out gently.

"True that," said Way Big.

"No argument here," said Ultimate Way Big as the four friends shared a group hug, smiles on all their faces.

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GoldGuardian2418