Steelcode, who owns Sage, asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)

Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I only own Megan and Vampiro.

Unwinding With Family

"You doing okay, Megan?" Sage asked the little girl, who was clinging to him as he gave her a piggy-back ride back to the Mansion.

"I'm okay, big brother," she said softly.

The two had been in town at the ice cream parlor when some bullies had come up to them and had pushed Megan around and even punched her shoulders before Sage intervened and got Megan away before the bullies could do more harm and a policeman came by and sent the bullies on their way.

Now, Sage was just wound up tight with nerves because he was so mad that the bullies had gone after his little sister and he took her inside the house and into the living room. "Is your shoulder hurting, Megan?" He asked.

She shook her head. "No," she said. "I'm doing okay."

He sighed. "I hate that bullies come after you," he admitted.

"Yeah," she said. "But you drove them off. Thank you."

"Hey, that's what big brothers do," he said with a smile.

Sage was later on just walking around the house, trying to loosen up and relax when he heard Megan give a sharp cry and he ran to find out what was wrong, his mind going into overdrive as he thought he bullies had found a way to the house and were hurting Megan again. That thought made him angry and he ran for the living room as if a monster was hot on his trail.

Meanwhile, in the living room, the reason Megan had cried out in surprise was because Snare-Oh had playfully tickled her ear when she wasn't expecting it. "What's got our cute little niece all upset and quiet?" He asked her.

She sat up to see her uncle Kuphulu behind her and he picked her up and she smiled, hugging him. "Bullies," she said. "But my big brother took care of them."

"Big brother?" Kuphulu asked curiously.

"She no doubt means Sage," Snare-Oh said. "A young man who can shape-shift into a wolf."

"Yeah," Megan said. "He kept the bullies from getting at me after they had started pushing me around and punching me."

The two Thep Khufans noticed the bruises on her arms and Snare-Oh pulled out a can of special salve from his pocket. "Let's see about getting those bruises on the mend before your uncle Kuphulu and I tickle you to pieces," he said, applying the salve to the bruises and they began healing up right away.

Megan stayed still as she trusted her uncles and when Kuphulu set her on the couch, she giggled and seemed to be eagerly anticipating a tickle torture. "Oh? Is our little niece eager to be tickled?" The purple-eyed mummy asked teasingly.

"Oh, she loves being tickled, don't you, Megan?" Snare-Oh asked teasingly, wiggling his fingers at her and making her giggle.

"Then, let's start making our niece feel better," Kuphulu said as he began tickling the little girl's neck and his brother began tickling the little girl's knees.

Squeaking, Megan burst into laughter, squirming to try and get away, but her uncles would gently pull her back to them if she tried to get away. The little girl then squealed as tendrils tickled her ears and her belly button, making the two alien mummies laugh in amusement at her reactions.

Sage, who had made it to the living room, stopped short at seeing the two mummies tickling his little sister, but he didn't see the playful moment. All he saw were two larger people ganging up on his little sister and he immediately reacted. "Get away from her!" He exclaimed, making them jump in alarm and Megan yelped in fright as Sage stood between her and the mummies, glaring at them.

"Whoa, Sage, take it easy," Snare-Oh said, holding his hands out in a calming gesture.

"What is the matter?" Kuphulu asked gently.

"She's already been through enough today with bullies hurting her," the boy said angrily.

"Wait, you thought we were hurting your sister?" Snare-Oh said in surprise. "We'd never do that."

"Of course they wouldn't," came Whampire's voice and they turned to see him and Vampiro standing in the entryway to the living room.

"Daddy! Grandpa!" Megan exclaimed happily and jumped up, running over to them. Vampiro scooped her up into a hug while Whampire went over to Sage and placed a hand on his son's shoulder.

"Son, calm down," he said gently. "Snare-Oh and Kuphulu are friends of mine and they won't hurt you or Megan."

"Of course not," Kuphulu said.

"Sage, is this about what happened earlier with the bullies Megan told us about?" Snare-Oh asked.

The young man took a deep breath and then nodded. "Yeah, I guess it is," he admitted.

"We don't blame you for being protective of your sister, Sage," the purple-eyed mummy said gently. "My brother and I often get protective of your mother and aunt if someone comes to bother them."

Megan reached for Kuphulu, who accepted her from Vampiro. "And just like Mommy and Daddy, Uncle Snare-Oh and Uncle Kuphulu will keep us safe," she said.

"That's right, kiddo," Snare-Oh said, gently pinching the right side of the little girl's face in affection and she giggled again.

Sometime later, Sage was thinking about the bullies again and winced as he felt a muscle tighten up in his neck and sighed. "Sage? You doing alright?" He heard Kuphulu ask and he turned to see the mummy was watching him.

"Still wound up about earlier I guess," the boy responded.

"Snare-Oh and I can help you."

Sage looked unsure, but nodded and followed the purple-eyed mummy to Snare-Oh's room and the two alien mummies nodded to each other. "Well, let's see about helping you relax," Snare-Oh said as he and Kuphulu unleashed their tendrils.

At first, the boy was nervous, but then felt the tendrils playfully ruffle his hair and squeeze his shoulders in a gentle manner. Then, they 'attacked' his stomach.

Instantly, the boy fell over laughing and trying to roll away, but the brothers had him and tickled him to pieces, making him laugh before they let him up, seeing he was still laughing, but trying to recover his breath. "So, still nervous around us?" Kuphulu asked.

Sage shook his head. "Nah, you guys proved you're two cool uncles," he said.

He laughed as they playfully ruffled his hair once again in affection.

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GoldGuardian2418