This story was requested by newbienovelistRD. Ben 10 and all its aliens belong to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. Ally belongs to Sparkling Lover and was used with permission and I own Rachel. Enjoy!
Monsters Have Soft Hearts Too
Ally was staying over at the Grant Mansion with her older cousin Rachel as Ally's parents were away at a conference. Ally was excited to stay with her cousin and Rachel was just as happy to have Ally over. She loved the little girl like a sister and now listened to her chat about how school went and all. Ally even showed Rachel her newest drawings, earning praise from the older girl.
"These are really spectacular, Ally," she said as she studied a colorful drawing of a forest with a wolf on the rocks. She smiled at it.
"Thanks, Rach," said Ally as both girls headed up to the spare room that Ally would stay in. After she was settled, she asked her older cousin if she could explore, to which Rachel said yes and warned the young girl to be careful. Ally promised and headed off as Rachel headed into the kitchen to cook dinner, thinking about her fiancée Rook, who was off on yet another mission with Ben Tennyson. An old enemy had returned and was causing trouble again. Rachel sighed as she set about making dinner, her mind a million miles away as she worked.
Meanwhile, Ally was in one of the many hallways of the mansion and stopped at an open door, seeing something colorful that caught her eye. Curious, she stepped into the room, her wide eyes exploring her surroundings.
It looked like some sort of lab, like the one her uncles had and used for various tasks. Rachel also used that lab to help them out and Ally had often watched them. But this lab was a bit spookier and looked nothing like the lab she knew very well. It looked like the lab of a mad man, with the flickering overhead lights and electricity sparking here and there. Ally was about to turn back when she heard heavy footsteps and looked around before turning to look in front of her again. Her eyes grew wide and she screamed.
There was a monster in front of her. He was tall, had gray skin, and looked like Frankenstein. Ally froze in fear.
"An intruder," the monster said with a thick accent. "I'll take care of you," he growled as he moved forward to grab her.
Ally screamed again and ran out of the room, running faster when she heard those giant footsteps running after her. "Please! Leave me alone!" she begged as she ran.
"Come back here!" he growled again as he chased after her. Ally ran as fast as she could, but was starting to get tired and the monster was gaining on her. Soon, she collapsed on the floor and curled up against the wall on the right of the hall and the monster stopped before her. "Finally," he growled at her, but then froze in place when he looked at her face.
Ally couldn't stop her tears as she was really scared of this monster that had chased her and she pressed farther into the wall to try and get away as she continued to cry.
She heard the monster move and looked up to see he had kneeled down on the floor, his face a mixture of confusion and a little guilt.
The monster realized that the intruder was just a kid, a small child. Guilt seeped through his anger as he realized he had scared her half to death and that realization made him feel even more terrible as he watched large tears rolled down her face. He reached a hand carefully towards her and she flinched.
"Easy," he said, lowering his voice deliberately for her as his large hand rested gently on her head and then moved so that her right cheek was resting in his large palm as his other hand moved to her face and his large fingers gently wiped away her tears.
Ally looked up at him and realized he didn't look very scary now as his face was full of guilt. She curiously observed him, but tensed when he picked her up. "Easy," he said again. "I won't hurt you."
Ally relaxed a little bit and rested her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, which soothed her as the monster spoke again.
"I'm sorry I scared you, kid," he said, his voice sounding really regretful. "You must be Ally."
She looked up at him. "How did you know?" she asked.
He smiled. "Your cousin Rachel is a good friend of mine, plus she talks about what a great artist you are," he answered. Ally looked away as a blush colored her face, the praise making her happy and a little shy.
The monster chuckled and his large fingers began tickling her. Ally gasped and started laughing as he tickled her stomach and her underarms mostly, switching back and forth and drawing more laughter from her.
"Cootchie cootchie coo," he chuckled in a playful manner as Ally laughed harder before he stopped and let her rest. Ally then spoke up.
"What's your name?" she asked.
"I'm Frankenstrike," he answered. Ally giggled.
"Frankenstrike? Like Frankenstein?" she asked.
Frankenstrike smirked. "You're in for it now, little one," he said with a chuckle as he tickled her again.
Ally laughed again and couldn't get free of her captor, so she decided to tickle him back. She hoped he was ticklish.
Her guess was right as Frankenstrike laughed at feeling her small hands tickle his side and underarm. "Hey, now," he said, laughing, making her giggle again as he continued tickling her, even though she was tickling him too.
After a bit, both stopped and just lay on the floor, catching their breath as Frankenstrike then sat up and ruffled Ally's hair. "You're alright, kid," he said affectionately.
"You are too," she said as she hugged him and he hugged her, picking her up and placing her on his shoulders. Ally hung on as the scientist walked down the hall to the kitchen where Rachel had just finished cooking dinner. She smiled when she saw them.
"I see you've met Frankenstrike, Ally," she said to them.
Ally nodded and hugged Frankenstrike again, who returned her hug and gently set her in one of the chairs at the table and headed off to his lab, explaining that he had his own dinner waiting for him. Rachel smiled as she served Ally and then herself, explaining that each alien ate something different and some human foods didn't agree with them.
"So, what do you think of Frankenstrike?" Rachel asked Ally.
The little girl thought for a moment. "He may be a monster, but he's kind," she said.
Rachel nodded. "Monsters have soft hearts too," she said to her cousin. "That is something I learned a long time ago when I first met Frankenstrike."
For a while afterwards, Rachel told Ally how she had met Frankenstrike, leaving out a few parts so not to scare her cousin and reminded Ally not to judge others so fast. Ally agreed and that night, she went into Frankenstrike's room and climbed up on his bed, snuggling under his arm as he woke up slightly and saw her next to him. Smiling, he adjusted his arm so that he held her protectively before going to sleep himself.
Yes, even a monster has a soft heart, especially when looking after a special, young girl.
How was it? Please review!
GoldGuardian2418