===Disclaimer: I are not the owner of this series. I doesn't claim I do has ownership, too. My characters is belong to myself, although. Now I is off to my grammar class.===

Chapter 29: Winds

Jen and Kelly sat in the back seat of Xain's dark blue truck, while Matt rode in the passenger seat up front. They were moving along a highway away from town. The older boy driving was keeping his focus on the road; Matt was keeping his gaze out the side window. The two girls in the back could almost feel the tension in the vehicle as the trip went on.

"Where have you been for the last six years?" Matt asked, breaking the silence.

"Around." Xain's answer didn't seem to make Matt feel any better.

"Xain, please tell me," Matt pressed. "I haven't seen you since after mom and dad died. Aunt Cheryl has been really worried about you ever since you left, too." It suddenly just occurred to Jen and Kelly what their friend had just said.

"Wait," Jen leaned forward, intruding on the conversation, "you guys... are brothers?"

"Yes," Xain answered, and Matt also nodded in confirmation.

"Wow! We never knew you had a brother!" Kelly was kind of confused, though. "Why didn't you tell us before? And why did we never see him when we were kids?" Jen was thinking the same things.

"Well, I only met you guys about a year before our parents... you know...," Matt explained. "At that time, I guess I never really had a reason to mention him. I was more focused on just playing and stuff." Matt glanced over at his older brother again. "And for most of that time, Xain stayed in his room alone. I still don't know why, though; he was always out and around before that year." Xain continued to watch where he was driving, his expression remaining the same. "A few weeks after we were taken in by our aunt and uncle, he just left without saying anything about why or where to."

"The reason I stayed in my room for that time," Xain spoke up, pausing for a moment to consider going further with Matt's friends in the vehicle, then deciding it was alright, "was because I had discovered my powers then."


"Yeah? What did you want to talk to me about?" Xain had come into his parents' room at their request. They were sitting on their bed, and motioned for him to take a seat between them. He did so, and then they got to discussion.

"Xain, your mother and I have noticed some interesting things occurring around you lately. We felt it was time to let you know what's to come for you." Xain was listening intently.

"You remember what we told you and your brother about our past – about our work as Plumbers?" Xain nodded to answer his mom's question. "And I'm sure you also remember that many Plumbers were not humans."

"Yeah, I remember... But why are you telling me all this again?" The adults exchanged quick glances, then his mother exhaled in preparation to continue.

"Well, we didn't want to tell you boys this until you were ready... but... your father was one of the Plumbers who was not human." Xain's face took on a look of shock, awe, and confusion.

"But... dad doesn't look like an alien," he pointed out, not fully sure if they were trying to kid around or not. Xain's father let out a quick sigh, then stood up.

"Okay, son. I will show you." He closed his eyes and concentrated. Then his clothes began to ripple, as if a strong gust were blowing through the room. His skin did the same, and then he suddenly burst, his clothing and skin falling to the floor. Xain looked up to see his father as a figure formed of swirling winds. His mouth hung open in astonishment. Then a thought came to him.

"Wait... if Dad's an alien, then doesn't that mean...?"

"Yes, Xain," his mother responded before he could finish. "You and your brother are part alien as well." Xain couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"We've noticed your powers starting to come in," his father said with the sound of whooshing air in his voice. "I wanted to inform you of what it will be like as they develop."

"Cool!" Xain exclaimed with excitement. "I can't wait to show all my friends!"

"I'm sorry, honey, but you can't do that." Xain looked at his mother with a disappointed expression.

"Why not?"

"Most people don't actually know about aliens. And even fewer know that some have made a family with humans. Nobody else can know; not even Matt, until he's ready to be told all this as well." Xain turned to his dad, hoping he would say otherwise.

"I'm afraid your mother is right. They can't find out. I know it will be hard to keep a part of your life a secret, but it's for your own protection, as well as your younger brother's. Do you understand?" Xain nodded.

"Yeah... I guess."


"For the rest of that year, I stayed in my room to train with my abilities, away from the rest of the world, which couldn't know about them." Matt was finally able to grasp the reason for his brother's seclusion at that time. "Which is also the reason I left without saying anything after mom and dad died."

"I wish you would've said something, though..."

"I didn't know how to tell you about it so soon after the accident. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. And I'll be sure to apologize to aunt and uncle later." He stopped the truck without warning, causing the girls in the back to lurch forward. "But for right now, we have bigger problems." Everyone got out and gazed at the sight before them: a small farm that was overrun with floating grey pockets of what looked like smoke. One of the smoke balls turned, and Jen saw glowing red eyes on it. Kelly screamed a tiny bit. "Let's get to work."

The four ran forward to face the enemy. Jen tried to hit one of the smoke creatures, but her arm passed right through it. The thing giggled, then surrounded her head. Jen began to cough and jumped away from it.

"Don't get close to them!" Xain cautioned after witnessing Jen's unproductive assault. Jen inhaled clean air to clear her lungs.

"How are we supposed to beat them, then?" Kelly complained, standing back from the monsters. But Matt understood how to combat the smoke creatures. He raised his arms and a strong wind blasted through a group of three smoke balls. Their bodies swirled, then started to dissipate.

"Not bad," Xain commented, "but it looks like you still need to train a little more." A whirlwind began to form around the older boy, growing stronger as it spun. Then dirt and leaves flew through the air in various directions as the wind was sent out in many gusts at once. At least a dozen of the black clouds were scattered by Xain's wind attack.

"Nice!" Kelly exclaimed, then turned to Jen. "Jen, maybe Skywing can help out! You could, like, flap your wings and blow them away." Jen had thought of that, too. She looked at the green device on her wrist, but didn't make a move to raise it.

"Uh, maybe we should let Matt handle this. It's a good opportunity for him to improve his powers." Kelly raised an eyebrow at Jen's response, but decided to ignore it and watch the guys work.

"How many of these things are there?" Every time Matt would blow apart one group of smoke balls, another bunch took their place.

"Keep it up!" Xain sent forth a spiraling gale that struck a large group of the living pollutants. "We have to keep going until they-..." He was cut off by the strange sound of all the remaining creatures gibbering. They moved away from the two brothers and gathered into one space. Then they began to merge together, every one of them melding in with the rest. "Here it comes."

"We should probably move back," Jen suggested. Kelly agreed, and the girls ran to take cover behind the truck. The smoke cloud grew larger as more and more of the monsters piled into it. It lifted into the air, then started to spin. It moved faster and stretched down toward the ground. Soon, a large smoky twister raged in front of them.

"How are we supposed to blow that away?" Matt didn't see how even Xain's more advanced skills could do the job.

"That's why I needed you," the elder brother said. "You stay here, but make sure it doesn't pull you in. I'll run over to the other side of it. Then just follow my lead." He turned and hurried off to get into position. Matt stood in his place, keeping a close eye on the large black vortex. It moved toward him, forcing him to prepare to relocate, but it soon backed away again. Then a strong squall blew from around the cyclone, curving toward Matt. He instantly knew what to do, so he built up a wind of his own and shot it out, channeling Xain's along its path back around the monstrous tornado. The wind continued to cycle between the two siblings, moving in the opposite direction of the smoke's rotation. The twister began to slow, but it still spun.

"You need to focus." Matt could hear his brother's voice drifting along the wind stream. "Feel how it flows and direct it to accelerate." Matt concentrated on the feeling of the gale's movement. He pushed at the wind, making it pick up speed in places. Then he spread that effort outward and thrust against the whole of the gust. The speed increased all along the trail, and Matt kept up his focus in order to keep it moving that fast. The massive funnel of smoke spun ever slower until it finally stopped moving.

"Now!" Matt shouted to himself, spotting the opportune moment to strike. Both boys forced their air bursts straight at the dark fog and blew it into smaller pieces. The small parts broke up as they flew away. Soon, there was nothing left of the smoke creatures, and the winds settled.

"Wow, Matt, that was amazing!" Jen and Kelly ran up next to him, holding him up as his legs gave from exhaustion. Xain walked back to the other three and reached his hand down to his brother. Matt grabbed it and stood up.

"Very nice, Matt," he complimented. "You are quite skilled with your abilities already. Dad would be proud." Matt smiled at hearing this. "C'mon, let's get out of here. I'm sure the owners will show up soon and wonder what we're all doing here." The four teens all got back into the truck.

As they drove away from the now-liberated farm, Jen felt relief at knowing that her reluctance to use the Omnitrix hadn't brought them defeat. However, that wouldn't remain the case; she knew that there would be things to come that the others would be unable to handle on their own. But could she bring herself to access the watch's power again, or would her fear of what could happen to her leave her useless in their future battles?