guestsurprise, who owns Gena, requested this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy!

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

Family Holds Strong To Each Other

The aliens were excited as Rachel had announced that she had brought the ingredients for s'mores that day. They were all eager to make the tasty treats and Snare-Oh, Gena, Four Arms, and Water Hazard were gathering wood to make a bonfire. "Too bad Swampfire's out on a mission," said Four Arms. "He'd get this fire going quickly."

"I could use my electricity," Gena suggested.

The others nodded, thinking it would be some good practice for her. She had been working on her powers lately and so they saw no harm in it. They watched her concentrate as she stood by the gathered wood.

Gena thought hard and felt her electrical powers warm up before the streaks of lightning jumped out from her hands and set fire to the wood, a few sparks popping here and there.

Suddenly, one log dislodged from the pile and hit the bottom of the pile hard, causing one streak of lightning to hit Snare-Oh. The alien mummy cried out in sharp pain as the lightning began burning him. Hearing his scream, Gena quickly powered down and ran to him, her eyes wide at seeing him burned, but then he started smoking and his tendrils suddenly caught fire as did his arms.

"Snare-Oh!" Gena screamed in horror, frantically thinking about what do to help. A sudden deluge of water rained down on Snare-Oh courtesy of Water Hazard and Four Arms, the latter having found a bucket that the aquatic alien had filled before they doused the alien mummy.

It did the trick as the fire was now out and Snare-Oh breathed a sigh of relief. "You okay, Snare-Oh?" asked Four Arms.

"Yes," he said and looked at his tendrils, which were slightly charred. "Some of Wildvine's healing salve should do the trick."

Gena looked ready to cry. "I'm so sorry, Snare-Oh," she said. "I didn't mean for you to get hurt."

"I know, Gena," he reassured her. "It's not your fault."

But she still looked sad and now ran towards the Mansion, tears running down her face. Rachel saw her. "Gena? What's wrong?" she asked.

"I have to go," she said tearfully. "I need to clear my head."

"What do you mean?" asked Rachel.

"I have to go out of town for a bit," she said.

"Gena, what are you talking about?" Rachel said. "What's going on? Why are you so upset?"

Gena shook her head. "I have to go," she said and ran upstairs to her room, leaving a confused Rachel to try and figure out what happened. Snare-Oh soon came in and she saw the burn marks on him.

"Snare-Oh, what happened?" she asked. "Did you get burned?"

"Yes," he said as he got out some healing salve and treated the burns, which went away immediately. "But I'm alright."

Rachel now had a thought. "Is that why Gena came running in and crying?" she asked. "She wouldn't tell me what was wrong."

"She was using her electricity to start the bonfire and used just a little too much," he said. "Where is she now?"

"Upstairs in her room. She said she has to leave town for a bit."

Snare-Oh looked at her. "Oh no, she isn't," he said seriously and headed upstairs for Gena's room. Four Arms then called and asked Rachel where Gena was and she told him what happened.

"I guess she thinks it's her fault Snare-Oh was injured," she said to him.

"Hey, it was only an accident," said Four Arms. "She didn't mean it."

"But she still believes she's to blame," said Rachel. "Snare-Oh went after her after I told him she was headed up to her room to go out of town for a bit."

"Man, she's really upset then," he said. "I hope Snare-Oh can help her."

"I'm sure he will," she said. "Don't worry, I'll keep my ears open."

"Okay," he said and signed off to help Water Hazard with the bonfire while the other aliens came out to gather around for s'mores, but decided to wait until Snare-Oh and Gena were back before starting.

Gena was crying as she put some stuff in her backpack and made sure she had enough for a few days. "I'm such an idiot," she said. "I don't have complete control over my powers yet and now I hurt someone. I shouldn't be here if I can't control my powers."

She gazed at her hands. "I have to get far away from here," she said to herself.

"Oh no, you're not."

Gena jumped at Snare-Oh's voice and turned to see him in her doorway as he stepped in and shut the door behind him. "You're not going anywhere, Gena," he said. "I'm not going to let you leave us just because of an accident."

"It wasn't an accident, Snare-Oh," she said. "I should have known I didn't have enough control over my powers, but I was too stupid to even think straight and you got hurt."

His face softened and he stretched a few tendrils towards her, but she backed up. "No," she said, worry showing on her face. "I'm a danger to you. You need to stay away from me before I burn you again."

Snare-Oh had heard enough and he wasn't having any of it. Quick as a flash, he grabbed her and pinned her down to the floor, two tendrils tying her wrist together while his hands pinned her shoulders down. Gena struggled, but he didn't let her up. "Gena, you're not going anywhere and you're certainly not going to avoid me, nor am I going to avoid you," he said.

"But…you have to," she said, a few tears running down her face. "I hurt you and…,"

She suddenly felt his hand gently cover her mouth, stopping her from speaking as his other hand wiped away her tears. "Gena, I don't blame you for it at all," he said. "It was only an accident and I'm alright now."

She sniffled and looked up at him with sadness in her eyes and he gently stroked her head to calm her. She looked at him. "Why aren't you mad?" she asked.

He gently shook his head. "Gena, I would never be mad with you," he promised. "You're part of the family and family holds strong to each other and doesn't let go, no matter what."

"You mean it?" she asked him.

He picked her up and held her as if she was an infant, rocking gently to soothe her. "I mean every word of it, my little sister," he said.

Gena looked at him in surprise and then began to cry a little more at the alien mummy's kind words and his kind gestures as he kept rocking her, not caring that her tears were getting his shoulder wet. He then began humming gently as he rubbed her back. It was a bit longer before she calmed down and hugged Snare-Oh, who returned her hug. "Thanks, Snare-Oh," she said. "You're like the big brother I never had."

"And I'll always be," he promised. "Now, the others are waiting for us and I'm up for some s'mores."

Gena's stomach growled and she giggled. "I guess I am too," she giggled and then giggled a bit more when Snare-Oh playfully tickled her neck and then tickled her stomach, making her feel better immediately as she then jumped away from him and ran out with him behind her. Rachel saw them coming and moved back as they headed out the door.

"Hold up, guys!" she said, laughing as she ran to join them. They all made it to the bonfire.

"There they are!" Four Arms cheered and the others also cheered. "Come on, guys! We're ready to start!"

"Then let's get to it!" said Gena.

"I second that!" said Snare-Oh.

"Then come on, guys. Dig in!" said Rachel with a laugh as they all joined her in laughing and set about making s'mores.

As Gena glanced around, she realized that just as a good s'more needed toasted marshmallows and sweet chocolate along with the graham crackers to taste good, she needed every member of her family and they would always be there for her.

And she didn't want it any other way.

It's true.

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GoldGuardian2418