guestsurprise, who owns Cylo, asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy!

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I only own Rachel, Sasha, and Megan.

A/N: I would like to take a quick moment to answer a question that a guest presented to me last week. The guest was wondering if I was a young person or an adult and to answer that question, I am an adult. :) I would also like to thank that guest viewer from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful compliment about my writing. I'm always glad to hear from all of my readers, be they writers or guest viewers. Your wonderful reviews are what keep me going. :) Thank you all. :)

Now, on with the story! :) This is the sequel story to guestsurprise's story "The Alien With No Heart". I highly suggest you read that one before reading this one. :)

You're Not Heartless After All

Rachel was folding some of her shirts and jeans when she turned and saw Cylo right behind her. Gasping, she would have cried out if he hadn't clapped a hand to her mouth. "Please, Miss Rachel," he said to her pleadingly.

Seeing that he hadn't meant to startle her, she nodded and he stepped back. "The Plumbers are after me again," he explained. "I escaped from here."

"I heard," Rachel said gently. "Megan found me and told me about you."

Cylo nodded and then looked curious. "She wasn't afraid of me…until I showed my true form," he said a bit sadly.

Rachel shook her head. "She wasn't scared of you," she said gently. "She was…more startled at your true form, as was Sasha."

He looked at her. "Your sister was shocked that I have no heart," he said.

Rachel looked thoughtful and decided to sit down beside Cylo on the bed. "I have friends who don't have hearts either," she said to him. "But they are very good friends of mind and part of my extended family."

He looked at her. "How can heartless people be members of your family?" He asked in surprise. "From what I've seen, you humans don't like heartless people."

"That is true," Rachel said. "But while not having a heart, my friends I speak of have hearts of gold."

"Hearts of gold?"

At his question, she smiled. "That's a human expression," she said. "It means a person is kind and has good qualities."

She now looked at him. "Megan told me how you were afraid your true form would scare her and how you were gentle with her," she said. "And you fought Zombozo. In doing that, you prevented him from hurting other people."

Cylo looked at her when she spoke Zombozo's name. "I take it from your tone of voice when you mention his name that you don't like him either?" He asked.

Rachel shook her head. "That creepy clown has tried to hurt my family more times than I can count," she growled. "He's kidnapped members of my family, tried to hurt them more times than I care to count, and he's tried to turn the aliens in my family against us humans, just so that he can control them and try to tear this family apart."

Cylo could hear the anger in her voice and nodded. "I dislike that he has tried to hurt others too," he said.

Rachel snapped her fingers. "Exactly," she said. "And from that sentence, that tells me you're not heartless."

"But…I am," he protested.

She smiled. "No, you're not," she said gently. "Someone who is heartless wouldn't be hesitant to reveal their true form because they wouldn't consider that their true form might scare someone."

She gently took his hand. "You didn't want to scare my sister and my niece and even said so and only revealed your true form when they asked," she said to him. "And though you were surprised when Megan hugged you, you didn't push her away. You were gentle with her. A heartless person wouldn't be gentle with a child."

Cylo looked at her. "You keep insisting I have a heart, but…I don't have a heart," he said.

The owner of the Grant Mansion fell into thought before spying a picture nearby and picked it up. It was of her and a suit-wearing skeleton. "This is a picture of me and a skeleton who is a very dear friend of mine," she said, holding the picture out to him. "That skeleton saved my life years ago."

The shapeshifter looked at the picture curiously. "He…saved you? How?" He asked.

"A fire caused by his enemy," Rachel explained. "If it hadn't been for that skeleton, I wouldn't be alive today."

"You…speak fondly of him," Cylo said. "But, he is a monster like me, with no heart."

"Not a physical one," the blonde-haired woman said. "But he has something that makes him a wonderful friend and an uncle to the children here."

The alien looked at her. "What does he have?" He asked curiously.

Rachel smiled. "He's very kind and thoughtful," she said. "Those traits, along with other desirable human traits, give him his heart of gold."

She turned to him. "Cylo, you have these same qualities too," she said. "You're kind, gentle, and you don't want someone to be afraid of you."

He looked at her. "True," he said.

She smiled at him. "Do you understand?" She asked gently.

He looked away. "I…I don't really know," he admitted.

Rachel decided to give him another example. "Megan wouldn't go up to anyone who she felt is dangerous," she said. "She saw how you acted around her mother and Sasha noticed how you acted around her daughter. Your actions show that you're not heartless when it comes to being gentle and thoughtful."

Cylo now stood up and Rachel followed his lead. "You've…given me a lot to think about, Miss Rachel," he said.

"But I haven't totally convinced you that you can have a family, have I?" She asked knowingly.

He smiled. "You made a very convincing argument," he said. "But…I do need time to give your words some thought."

"But you'll come back, right?" A young voice asked and both turned to see Megan looking up at them. The little girl hugged Cylo again before looking at her aunt. "Auntie Rachel, he can come back, right? He'll always be welcome here?"

"Yes," Rachel said with a smile. "Cylo, you are welcome here anytime and just remember, whenever you need a place to stay or someone to talk to, you have both a home and friends here at the Grant Mansion."

Cylo gave both girls a genuine smile. "Thank you both," he said, picking up Megan and letting her hug him again. He returned the hug before giving her to her aunt and nodding. "I must go now."

"Cylo," Rachel said, making him look at her. "Please be careful, my friend."

"I will," he promised with a nod before heading out.

"I don't think the Plumbers or any of the villains will find him," said Megan.

"I don't think so either," Rachel agreed with her niece.

Megan looked at her aunt. "Did he really fight Zombozo?" She asked, remembering how the clown had kidnapped her sometime back.

Rachel chuckled. "Yes, he did," she said.

Far away, Cylo concealed himself and kept moving, but Rachel's words kept replaying in his head and he smiled again. "Someday," he said to himself. "Someday."

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GoldGuardian2418