newbienovelistRD requested this one and it kept bugging me until I finally got it typed. So, here you go, Amiga! Everyone enjoy! Ben 10 and all aliens associated with the show belong to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I own nothing!

A Super-sized Friend

Rachel was walking home from school, getting ready to have a weekend of fun as her uncles were out of town on business and had told her that she could have some fun, but to make sure the house was tidy afterwards. She had agreed and was now ready to jam to her music.

"Hey, science freak!"

Rachel stopped and turned with an annoyed eye roll to face Stephanie and her group of friends. Stephanie was Bethany's big sister and after Bethany had told her about the mansion, Stephanie had stepped up to bully Rachel.

"What do you want, Stephanie?" she asked annoyed. "If you want to get scared witless, why don't you go watch a horror movie? I hear they give great discounts to scaredy-cats like your crying little sister."

Stephanie's face went red with anger and she was close to losing it, but somehow composed herself. "I have a challenge for you," she said. "There's this really spooky cave in the forest. If you're so brave, I dare you to spend the night there."

Rachel looked at her. "Now you're being stupid," she said to the older girl. "That cave could be full of bats or other dangerous creatures, too dangerous for someone who's not an expert to go into."

"What's wrong? Scared, freak?" Stephanie taunted, but then she stopped laughing when she saw Rachel's eyes narrow, giving her face a dark expression.

"I accept your challenge on one condition, Barbie doll," she said, knowing that Stephanie hated to be called that. "When I come out tomorrow morning, you call me by my proper name and you and your punk sister never bother me again."

She paused. "Deal?" she stressed to send her point home.

Stephanie finally nodded. "Deal," she said. "See you in the morning, if you survive."

She went off with her friends surrounding her and Rachel headed back to pack some stuff in her bag. Her sleeping bag, a flashlight, some books, and then some fruit and dried beef jerkey. Satisfied that she had enough to make it the night in the cave, she put on a long-sleeved hoodie, locked up the house and setting the automatic alarms, and headed out to the cave Stephanie had spoken about.

It was almost sunset when she reached the mouth of the cave and pulled out her flashlight, clicking the button on and moving the light to examine the cave. Dry, rugged rocks became visible as she continued to go in deeper, wondering where the tunnel would stop as it seemed to narrow a little, but she didn't meet a rock wall to the face yet.

Checking for bats or other animals and seeing none, Rachel continued to walk, fear just beginning to eat at her as she began to think she had been stupid to accept Stephanie's challenge. But she wasn't going to turn back now, it was too dark to trek back through the forest. She kept moving, noticing that it was getting warmer as she kept going forward.

Suddenly, there was light at the end of the tunnel which opened up to a small doorway. Moving slowly, Rachel stepped out from the rocky door and looked around in amazement.

The cave was huge! She was so surprised that she didn't dare move as she took in the high walls and the rocky ceiling. "Whoa," she breathed, the beauty of the place momentarily taking her breath away.

Suddenly, she felt the rocks shake and broke out of her trance, scuttling away to behind some larger rocks to hide. As the footsteps got closer, she chanced a peek out from her hiding spot to see a huge red and white giant standing in the middle of the room. He was very tall and had a fin on his head. His green eyes looked around as if searching and Rachel ducked her head down, trying to keep quiet.

Then, to her surprise, the rocks in front of her moved and she came face to face with the giant. A startled squeak left her and she jumped up, running as adrenaline kicked in. The giant took a step forward, causing the ground to shake hard, making Rachel lose her balance as she quickly rolled and then jumped back up, but the floor tilted it seemed and she stumbled back. Falling over, she looked up and saw the giant watching her before he reached down towards her.

Another loud squeak left her as she got to her feet again and ran, but only just made it to the opening she had come out of when something clapped around her, trapping her. She saw walls of white and it didn't take her one second to realize she was trapped in the giant's hands. His hands were cupped over each other to form a solid prison that she pressed against hard to find a way out. While the flesh gave way, to her surprise, it wasn't enough to get him to let her go. Going still, she began to tremble.

The giant opened his cupped hands a little to look at her and saw her trembling. One of his fingers moved and brushed across her shoulders gently. When she didn't move, he repeated the action again, rubbing her shoulders very gently.

Rachel felt the gentle touch and looked up at him in surprise that a large giant could handle her as if she were a butterfly. His expression was curious and calm.

He moved his finger toward her face and she flinched, fear in her expression. "Please," he pleaded with her in his booming voice, which to her surprise didn't hurt her ears. "Don't be afraid."

Rachel was shocked he could speak. She looked up at him, her expression surprised and curious. "What…what are you?" she asked.

The giant smiled at her question. "I'm a To'kustar," he said. "My name is Way Big. What is yours?"

"Rachel," she said.

"What are you doing here, Rachel?" he asked. "I don't get company out here at all."

Rachel sighed. "I accepted a dare from some bullies, even though I knew it was stupid. They told me to spend the night here in the cave and they'd quit calling me a science freak," she explained.

Way Big was quiet during her explanation and now sighed. "Well, since you're here," he said. "Why don't you stay the night?"

She looked up at him. "Are you sure?" she asked him.

He nodded. "It gets lonely here without a friend," he said as he then carried her over to his large bed, setting her down gently on the soft blanket. She sat down as he went over to the fire and cooked some food. The delicious aroma made Rachel's stomach growl loudly and she wrapped her arms around herself, looking embarrassed as Way Big looked over, chuckling at her.

"You sound hungry," he said, his voice full of amusement, making her feel more embarrassed. Chuckling, he poked her side gently. A yelp sounded from her and she jumped away from his hand, covering her mouth with her hand, but he heard her giggles that she tried to hide and poked her side again, making her giggle again as she rolled to dodge his hands, but he scooped her up in his hand, his large fingers now wiggling into her ribs and stomach.

"NO! STOP!" she pleaded, laughing as he smiled in amusement, her reaction entertaining him. He tickled her for a while longer and then stopped, letting her rest a little as he then gently moved both her hoodie and her shirt up to the bottom of her rib cage, exposing her stomach.

Getting an evil idea in his mind, he gently pressed his lips to her stomach and began humming. Rachel just about left her skin when he did that as she laughed her hardest. "No! Stop! That tickles!" she begged, but he suddenly hummed a little louder against her stomach, intensifying the tickling and making tears run down the girl's face.

It wasn't until he felt her struggles turn to tired twitching that he stopped, gently covering her stomach back up as she lay in his hand, breathing hard. He gently turned her on her stomach and began stroking her back to help her calm down. It worked as she finally calmed down and sat up in his hand, smiling up at him as he brought her up to his eye level.

"Come," he said and they both sat down to eat. The food he had cooked was a little different than what she was used to, but she found that she liked it. After dinner, she felt herself falling asleep and Way Big picked her up, laying down in his own bed and letting her lay on his chest. He then took her sleeping bag she had brought out earlier and tucked it around her. Smiling, she laid her head down and fell fast asleep listening to his massive heart beat. He fell asleep himself.

The next morning, Way Big exited the cave on the other side with Rachel on his shoulder and they moved around to the smaller entrance to see Stephanie and her followers there.

"Looking for something, Barbie doll?" Rachel asked, making Stephanie look up and gape at Way Big, who suddenly roared as loudly as he could. Rachel had put in earplugs to block out some of the sound as Way Big literally made the trees shake with the force of his roar. Stephanie's followers had booked it after seeing the giant and now she took off, screaming her head off.

Rachel took the earplugs out of her ears and began laughing her head off. Way Big joined her, his booming laugh making his shoulders shake and nearly shaking Rachel off his shoulder, but she clung on tight and he closed one hand around her, holding her up in his palm.

After a few minutes, she stopped laughing. "You scared them good, Way Big," she said. "They won't dare come back now."

"Good," he said, walking in the direction of the mansion. He placed his hand on the grassy ground when they arrived and she jumped out of his hand, landing on the dirt path. Swampfire came out from behind the house and was relieved to see Rachel safe and he greeted Way Big, explaining that he knew the giant lived out there and had visited him many times. The three had a joyful reunion.

As for Stephanie, because she was hysterical about meeting Way Big and getting scared, both she and her sister never came out of their house again, too ashamed to admit Rachel had beaten them and Rachel was never bullied again.