Another collaboration between Steelcode, Redbat132, and myself. Here you go, Amigos! Enjoy! :)

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. Tommy and Macy belong to Redbat132. Sage belongs to Steelcode. I only own Rachel and Sasha.

Two Caring Uncles To Take Away The Pain

Sage was laying back in a hammock, reading a new book when he felt his phone vibrate. Sitting up, Sage pulled out his phone, finding Macy's face lit up on his screen.

"Hey, Mace, what's up?" Sage asked as he leaned back with a smile. He loved hearing her voice.

"Sage, have you seen Tommy recently? My mom just called telling me that the school told her Tommy ran out after being bullied by a bunch of kids! And not the emotional-hurt kind of bullying, I mean the physically-getting-bruised kind! Please tell me he's at the Grant Mansion," Macy asked, really concerned about her stepbrother.

"No, he hasn't come by, but I'll go look for him and tell my uncles to keep an eye out. I'll call as soon as I find him or if he calls me. Don't worry, I'll find him," Sage said, getting up off the hammock as he tried to speak calmly to help Macy calm down.

"Okay. Thank you, Sage. I'll try to explore around town to see if he's anywhere in his favorite hangouts to hide," she told him.

"Okay, give a call if you find him. We'll meet at the Mansion if we can't find anything," he said calmly, though his free hand was fisted tightly.

Macy nodded her head. "Please be careful while finding my brother, Sage. Last thing I want is to have two boys that I like get hurt," she said before hanging up the phone.

Sage swiftly sent a text to his uncles to keep an eye out for Tommy, saying that he was more than likely injured, receiving an affirmative response before shifting into his fur and racing down the hill to the sidewalk where he began his search. Heading to just outside of Tommy's school, he sniffed around, quickly finding his little brother's retreating scent while giving a whine of worry before taking off again. The wolf-shifter followed his nose, as he traveled over Tommy's track before coming along a damp wet area near the Mansion. Sniffing again, he soon caught the scent of blood and salty water.

"Tommy," he thought instantly, following the scent 'til he spotted a cavern in the bottom of a large Weeping Willow tree edging close. Sage gave a bark, wagging his tail and tilting his ears forward, listening as he heard a whimper and a small scuffle inside. Stepping cautiously, the white and grey wolf stepped into the darker part of the hollow, finding a huddled body on the floor. Giving a whine, Sage nuzzled Tommy's face and neck trying to rouse him.

"Tommy? Tommy, come on, wake up," he thought as he sat beside the young boy.

Groaning, Tommy slowly came around and spotted a familiar wolf. "Sage? Is that you?" He asked, hope in his tired voice.

Sage barked, nuzzling Tommy's face again before sniffing at his body for injuries whining with worry. "Where were you hurt?" He asked through his golden eyes.

Although not answering Sage (since he was usually clueless on what he's trying to say in his Wolf Form), Tommy just hugged his stomach and tried to breathe, only to lightly cough. The shape-shifter managed to spot the bruises on his arms and noticed his legs looked sore from running. And, seeing Tommy in that position, he only assumed that he was hit in the stomach plus ribs, as well.

Whining in worry, he licked Tommy's bruised arms before lying beside him and offering his back to the small boy. "Come on, climb up. You can rest on my back," he thought, nudging Tommy's hand.

Using as much strength he had left, Tommy moaned while struggling to get up and managed to land his whole body on top of the wolf's back. "Ugh, everything hurts!" He groaned in pain.

Sage whined and barked, before getting to his paws. "I know, but you'll be alright once I get you home."

Carefully, Sage started walking the edge of the water the smoothest path he found before feeling the fur on his neck stand up. Standing stock still, Sage sniffed the air, his ears turning in all directions as he felt eyes on him and Tommy.

Slowly, he stiffened with his hackles raised as his fangs were slowly revealed. "I don't know who or what you are, but I'm not in the mood to play," he thought as he gave a deep growl in his throat.

"Sage? What's going on?" Tommy lightly asked, while still in slight impairment.

Sage whined before looking around, unable to pin point where the feeling was coming from.

"Well, looks like we have some fresh meat, eh?" A voice suddenly appeared. Snarling, Sage looked around, his ears flattening against his head.

"Hmm, looks like some nice tasty tidbits," a different voice said.

The wolf growled as he felt his claws dig into the mushy earth, not noticing vines starting to crawl towards his legs while a vine slowly made towards Tommy from above. He howled and then snarled. "Where are you?! Show yourself!"

Suddenly, he felt something slither up and clamp around his legs. Looking down, Sage snarled as vines twisted around him. Growling, he struggled to get loose before feeling Tommy's weight slowly disappear from his back. Snarling again, he glanced up, spotting a vine wrap around the boy and carry him upwards.

"Leave him alone!" The shape-shifter barked, lunging up and snatching the vine in his teeth, growling as it snapped and Tommy fell onto his back.

"OW! I thought this was going to be a smooth ride," the boy said, remaining in tiny pain.

"Swampfire, the boy is hurt," the second voice said.

"He's hurt?! I'm hurt that that dog bit me!" The first voice named Swampfire said.

Sage snarled once again, his fur standing on end. "Try taking him again and I'll do worse!"

"Sage, what's happening?" He heard Tommy mutteringly ask, hardly paying attention from the situation with all the aches, bruises and pains.

"Swampfire, the child is seriously in pain. He needs help," the second voice said, as vines slowly descended down from the trees.

Sage looked around, worried. "What in the name of Mother Moon?"

The shape-shifter could barely believe his eyes as what he thought was a large, weird looking flower that stepped out of the water. Just as suddenly, another odd plant person descended from the trees, looking like an odd version of Venus Fly trap.

"What are you?" Sage growled, as he once again felt Tommy leave his back. Unfortunately, the older boy was too slow this time as he watched the vines retreat with Tommy heading towards the Venus Fly Trap. "TOMMY!" Sage howled and thrashed, unable to get free from the vines around his legs.

Tommy was already fast asleep because he was too exhausted to even help or notice he and Sage were in danger. He still moaned and groaned a few times with the pain bothering him like a bunch of needles poking him on the inside.

"Poor thing. Looks like the bullies got ahold of him. I wonder if he is one of our new nephews?" Wildvine said as he held Tommy close.

Sage perked up at the last bit. "Nephews?"

"Rachel said our newest nephew was a teen. Though, two others are friends, from what I heard," Swampfire said, stepping closer to Wildvine.

"Aunt Rachel...so these two are my uncles," the shape-shifter thought, slowly shifting with effort to human form. "Can you let me loose, please?" He grumbled, catching Wildvine and Swampfire's attention.

"Who are you? Where'd the wolf go?" Swampfire asked with a growl.

"I'm the wolf that bit you," Sage stated. "I'm sorry about that, also, but when it comes to my friends, I don't back down."

Finally stirring up again, Tommy managed to shake his head a bit and noticed he wasn't on his Big Wolf Brother's back, but in the arms of a plant monster. "GAAAH! Sage, help! I'm being held captive by a Venus Plant creature!" He screamed, only to earn another sharp pain in his stomach and tried to hug it from preventing more aches as the thin arms holding him tightened a little, being mindful of his injuries.

"Tommy! Hey, it's okay. I think these are two of our uncles." Sage said, as he pulled his legs free of the vines while rushing over to Wildvine's side.

"They are?" The young boy asked, still breathing constantly to slow down the pain. Lifting his head to look at both plant creatures and furthered questioned, "You are? As in, you guys are aliens who live in the Grant Mansion, too?"

"That's right. I'm Wildvine and this is Swampfire. Now, who are you two?" Wildvine asked, looking at Sage. "I'm guessing you're our new nephew."

He nodded. "Yeah, I'm Sage, son of Whampire and Sasha. That's Tommy. He's my adoptive brother. He lives with the new sheriff," he said.

Tommy nodded in agreement, only to look at the other plant with confusion. "Wait, your name is Swampfire? As in, one of the aliens Ben turns into? You look very different from the one online."

"That's because I'm not the exact one. Plus, just like you humans, we all come in different sizes and colors," Swampfire said, giving a chuckle, knowing the boy was referring to the Methanosian's first form before their matured stage. Jimmy Jones, who was still one of Ben's biggest fans, kept the pictures up, and updated people on how Ben saved the world while keeping things like the Grant Mansion a secret. Rachel had been a bit reluctant to allow a young boy outside the mansion know their secret, but after seeing Ben trusted him, she had agreed, as had the other aliens. It seemed that Tommy had checked out the blog before coming to know about the Mansion and its secrets.

"Tommy, what happened? Your sister told me you were bullied and ran out of school," Sage asked, rubbing Tommy's head.

"Just some mean kids picking on me when they heard I was hanging around at the Grant Mansion," Tommy explained, looking down sadly. "They kept calling me names, with one of them as Orphan Boy. Even mentioned that I'm just a worthless mistake and was only adopted because Macy's parents felt sorry for me. I tried to defend myself, but I only ended up getting beaten really badly. Even after what happened, I couldn't stop thinking about what those jerks said and became too ashamed to go back to my adopted family. It's sort of why I ran out in the middle of the forest and ended up here."

The two plant aliens looked angry and Sage shook his head. "You shouldn't be ashamed of anything. Those bullies should be ashamed of themselves. Seems to me that they're jealous of you. Still, that's no excuse to run off into the woods and hide. What would I or Macy had done if we hadn't found you? Your sister was having a conniption when she called me," he said, going from protective big brother mode to lecture mode quickly.

"She was? I never thought about it that way nor Macy worried about me so much. I just assumed nobody cared because I was just another useless orphan kid who once lived in the streets," the boy admitted, now feeling a pain in his heart from what he said. Wildvine began gently rubbing his back to soothe him.

"Hey, you're not useless. Did you forget that if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't have met you or your sister?" Sage replied, giving a smile. "You're a bright kid who have two families who love you more than the number of stars in the sky."

"...You really mean it?"

"As sure as I said you're my little brother. Or did you forget?" Sage asked, wiggling his fingers behind Tommy's ears.

That caused the young boy to giggle, "No, I didn't!" But that moment ended when he felt the pain in his stomach again and coughed a bit.

"Oh, sorry, Tommy. We should get you back. Those look really painful," Sage said apologetically, forgetting for a moment Tommy's wounds.

"Here, I have something that will help." Wildvine said, using one of his vines to reach inside of a tree trunk. A moment later, he brought out a canister which he quickly unscrewed the top off, revealing a lotion looking substance. "This salve will help with the pain and heal the bruises," he said, calmly taking a small bit on his fingers and rubbing it into the bruises on Tommy's arm.

"I know that salve. It's the same one Big Chill used to help heal Sage's paws when he stubbed them with sharp ice," Tommy replied. "He mentioned one of the uncles making that. Wish I can thank him."

"You just did. This salve is made on my planet. I make it for all my family, after bullies or attacks from enemies," the Florauna said, calmly moving Tommy's shirt up to rub salve over his ribs and stomach.

"You make it!?" The boy asked in awe. "That is so cool! I can't wait to tell Macy."

"Oh, shoot! I forgot to call her! Oh, she is going to have my hide for not calling," Sage exclaimed reaching into his jeans for his cellphone and quickly speed-dialing Macy.

"Hello? Sage? Please tell me you had better luck in finding Tommy than me? I looked everywhere in town and couldn't find him!" Macy's voice was heard from Sage's cell phone. She was definitely worried for her little brother.

He smiled. "Don't worry, he's with me. I found him," he said calmly. "Do you want to talk to him?"

"Oh, yes, please!"

"Okay, here you go," Sage said. "Here, Tommy, someone wants to talk to you."

Once he got the phone, Tommy smiled and answered, "Hey, Macy."

"Tommy! Oh, it's so good to hear your voice! Mom, Dad, and I were worried sick about you! Are you okay? Did those no-good bullies hurt you?" She said, super relieved to hear her dear brother again.

"I'm fine, sis. Although slightly bruised, Sage came in and helped me. We even met two new aliens that are more of Sage's uncles from the Grant Mansion," he answered honestly, starting to feel a lot better than before, thanks to the salve Wildvine used.

"Well, I'll be sure to thank them personally as soon as I come back to the Grant Mansion and pick you up ASAP. Don't go anywhere."

"Believe me, I won't. I'll see you soon, Macy," Tommy said, giving the phone back to Sage.

"We'll be back at the Grant Mansion soon. See you there," Sage said, after accepting the phone back.

"Same to you. And thanks," Macy said, before hanging up.

"Okay, come on, little brother. Climb on and we'll head home," Sage said, before shifting into his larger wolf form becoming the size of a large horse.

"Thought you never asked," the boy said, getting out of Wildvine's hold while hopping aboard the shape-shifter's back and faced the two plant aliens. "Come on, guys. It's time you meet my awesome sister personally."

Wildvine and Swampfire chuckled. "Yes, I'm sure Rachel has dinner ready," Swampfire said, smiling.

Sage barked, wagging his tail at the sound of food.

At the Grant Mansion, Macy was waiting on the front porch for Sage and Tommy. Just then, she saw them coming her way. She saw Tommy had fallen asleep from the exhaustion of the day and was draped over Sage's back, nuzzling into the thick furry neck-hide on his brother like a pillow.

Macy immediately decided to help out as she was super happy to see her two favorite boys all in one piece. Once coming inside, she gently picked up Tommy from Sage's back and placed him on the couch. Thinking she should let her brother rest at the moment, Macy motioned Sage to talk in another room so they wouldn't wake him. As soon as they did, Macy immediately hugged Sage, who was still in his wolf form.

"Thank you, Sage. You have no idea how scared I was when I heard Tommy ran away after school," she told him, nearly close to crying but kept calm.

Sage gave a comforting growl, lightly nudging her chest before licking both her eyes. "Everything's fine now. He's safe and that's all that matters," Sage thought, looking into her brown eyes.

Macy chuckled, before getting back up. "So, who and where are these two aliens Tommy mentioned about earlier? I said I wanted to thank them personally for helping my favorite boys and I meant it," she stated, looking around the room.

Sage sniffed the air for a moment before gently taking hold of Macy's wrist, gently tugging her towards the kitchen. When they entered, they found Swampfire and Wildvine laden with trays and bowls of food, looking like over-grown waiters. Sage gave a wolf-like laugh at the sight of the massive balancing act.

"Uhhhh, am I interrupting...whatever this is?" Asked a slightly stunned Macy, not sure how to respond to what was happening nor wanted to be rude.

"Oh, just my brothers helping with dinner preparations," Rachel said, smiling. "I called your parents and said you and Tommy were staying for the night. Both of you can bunk with Sage."

Sage barked, wagging his tail. "I'd love having them stay," he thought to himself.

Macy grinned. "Thank you, Miss Rachel. We are more than grateful for your hospitality and accept." She then gave her wolf companion a little scratch behind the ears.

"You're welcome, hon. You and your brother are part of the family after all," Rachel responded, to which Swampfire and Wildvine nodded.

Sage whined in appreciation at the ear scratch, leaning into Macy, his tail wagging faster. This got the Brunette to chuckle once more before the shape-shifter soon sighed and stepped away, shifting back to human form. "Mace, did your mom and dad talk to the Principal about the bullies? I don't want Tommy getting hurt when the weekends over," he said, worriedly.

"Don't worry. As soon as they got the news, Mom and Dad had a serious talk with the principal to make sure that this would never happen again. The bullies who picked on Tommy were punished for a month of detention. Even have their own parents make sure that they'll be punished for their actions," the girl said, proudly.

Sage nodded. "Hmmm. Maybe for the next month, just in case, I can pick up Tommy after school. My classes get me out an hour before hand."

"Sounds good to me," she replied. "Also, my dad was able to convince the principal to have a few school monitors around so no innocent child goes through the same situation as Tommy, just in case. He definitely knows how to be persuasive when it comes to protecting his family. Along with others."

"That's something he and I have in common," Sage said smiling.

"You're telling me," Macy said, smirking back while putting her hands on her hips.

"Macy, will you take this salad to the table please?" Rachel asked, as she finished tossing it.

"You got it," the teenage girl answered, walking over to her and grabbed the bowl of salad while placing it on the table. Wildvine had just finished setting the plates around as Swampfire laid out the lasagna and garlic bread. Macy took a moment to smell the delicious aroma and smiled. "Mmmm, this all smells great. I so can't wait to eat dinner with you guys," she admitted.

"Rachel and Sasha are some of the best cooks in the house," Wildvine agreed.

"Yep, those two know their way around a kitchen. Sasha is even giving cooking lessons to friends of ours," Swampfire added, smiling at Macy.

"That's neat. Maybe I can get my brother to learn from her so he can properly know how to make a pizza. You won't believe the weird combinations he comes up with on his pizza and eats it." Macy placed hand on her head while chuckling. "Last time, he ate a pizza with shrimp, brownie, and pepperoni on it. I don't even know how he comes up with this."

"Sounds like he's got the stomach of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle," Wildvine chuckled.

Macy laughed at Wildvine's comment, holding her stomach as she laughed. "Exactly! That was literally what I thought when I first saw him doing that!" She said.

"How are you holding up, Macy? Sage said you were worried sick earlier," Swampfire asked.

Once finishing her laughing moment, she then faced Swampfire to answer him. "And I was worried, at first. But now that I know my brother is safe and healthy, I'm total good. By the way, I don't think I got either of your names."

"I'm Wildvine," Wildvine said, holding out his hand to Macy.

"And I'm Swampfire," Swampfire introduced, offering his hand as well.

Chuckling, Macy used both hands to each shake one alien's hand at the same time. "Macy, as you probably already know from your sister. Nice to meet you both. I take it that you were the ones my brother mentioned meeting earlier today?" She asked, finishing her double handshake.

Swampfire nodded. "Yes. Before getting ahold of Tommy, Sage thought we were the enemy and bit one of my vines very hard, in the process."

"Well, glad to know Sage was protecting my little brother from danger. I would have done the same for both of them," Macy said, smirking while folding her arms.

Wildvine smiled. "We are the same for any hurt child. We were worried when we saw Tommy on Sage's back."

Macy nodded in understanding. Then she heard a familiar voice behind her. "Is that lasagna I smell? I'm super hungry."

Smiling, Macy turned around to see Tommy at the door, stilling rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes. "Sure is," she said, moving fast enough to give the young boy a great big hug while lifting him off the ground. "Don't ever scare me like that again, little brother!"

Tommy chuckled. "Okay, I won't! Uh, Macy? Could you let go of me, now? I'm starting to lose oxygen and your crushing my not-completely-recovered spots super hard," he warned, coughing.

"Oh, right. Sorry," she said, putting him back down and let him go. "Keep forgetting my own strength," she admitted, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly.

"Well, in the words of a little man by the name of Tommy, let's eat," Sage said, taking his seat licking his lips.

Alright!" Tommy said, eagerly going over to sit next to his Big Wolf Brother on his right with Macy following and sitting on his left.

"I can totally eat right now," she said.

"Well, fair warning: you're going to want seconds and thirds of everything," Sage said, smiling as he was given a large piece of lasagna and a scoop of salad.

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