So some of you may remember the story "The Uncle With Eyes In His Hat" where it was revealed that Rachel and Sasha knew Balan and Lance when they were little, but the question remains: How did Rachel and Sasha first meet our two lovable maestros? That is where this tale begins. :)
Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. Balan Wonderworld belongs to its respective owners. I only own Rachel, Sasha, Courtney, and Holly.
Maestros, Magic, And Two Little Girls
Courtney giggled as she tried to outrun Snare-Oh and Goop, managing to stay just ahead of them as they chased her. "Get back here, you little scamp!" Snare-Oh boomed in a playful tone.
"You're going to get it, little one!" Goop giggled, his voice also playful.
The young girl grinned and made a quick turn into the living room, spying Lance suddenly and she quickly tried to stop herself from running into him, but wasn't successful. "Whoa!" She cried out as she crashed into him.
Lance, who had turned just in time to see Courtney was about to crash into him, caught her before she fell back, his arms instinctively wrapping around her in a protective hug. "Whoa, little one," he said, feeling her cling to him as she tried to get her bearings back. "Are you alright, Courtney?"
She took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes, I'm okay," she said. "Thanks, Uncle Lance. Sorry about nearly running into you."
"It's alright, little one," he said forgivingly.
Balan chuckled as he saw Snare-Oh and Goop come in. "Ah, a game of chase," he said, smiling. "I take it she was giving you two a run for your money?"
"That and we were letting her win," Goop admitted.
"Though she did sneak up behind me and surprise me," Snare-Oh said, giving his niece a playful glare.
Rachel chuckled. "I recall you did that to her earlier, bro, so I'd say you're both even now," she said.
The alien mummy turned to look at her. "I wonder who told Courtney about the secret door in my room," he said, giving her a knowing look.
"Me?" The owner of the Grant Mansion asked, feigning innocence. "Why, my dear brother, whatever makes you think that?"
Courtney giggled at her mother and uncle's playful banter, to which the others chuckled. "Actually, Courtney nearly crashing into Lance reminds me of when you first met myself and Lance, Rachel," Balan said.
Rachel's face took on a pink hue as she shrugged, a bit embarrassed before she looked at him. "Well, you can't blame me for being freaked out," she said a bit defensively. "I was only four years then and I didn't know that Uncle Lance was helping Mom."
Goop looked curious. "Sounds like an interesting story," he said.
Courtney perked up. "Yeah, some of my cousins and I have been wondering how you met Uncle Balan and Uncle Lance, Mom," she said.
Lance chuckled. "Oh, your mother was quite the brave little fighter," he said as he recalled the memory. "She was so certain she could take me on in a fight."
Snare-Oh chuckled. "Well, we do know how fierce Rachel can be when protecting her family," he said, ruffling his sister's hair playfully.
She playfully batted away his hand with a smile, smoothing down her hair before chuckling herself. "I seem to recall you let me 'win' that fight, Uncle Lance," she pointed out, to which he blushed a little.
"Okay, now I'm super curious," Courtney said before looking at her mother. "Mom, could you tell that story? Please?"
The young woman nodded before taking a deep breath. "It was nearly Fall and perhaps about six months after your grandfather rescued me, your aunt Sasha, and your grandmother from the monster who had hurt us...,"
Flashback, a little over twenty years ago...
Four-year-old Rachel stood tall as the man she now considered her father kneeled down to her height. "Sweetie, I'm going to be at work for a bit, so I need you to be a good girl and let your mom rest," he said. "Sasha's taking a nap right now, but when she wakes up, you two can play quietly."
"Yes, Daddy," the young girl said before looking worried. "Daddy, did the medicine not work so well this time? Mommy looks really sick, like I was the time I had the flu."
He nodded sadly. "I'm afraid the medicine took a bit of a toll on your mother," he said, not liking that the young one already knew about her mother's cancer and how bad it was and how sometimes the treatments caused her mother to not feel good. "That's why she needs to rest today. I'll bring pizza home for dinner. Oh, and don't forget to pick up yours and Sasha's toys in the living room."
"Yes, Daddy," Rachel said, feeling her father kiss her forehead and she smiled. "Have a good day at work, Daddy."
"Thank you, pumpkin," he said before heading out.
For about two hours, all was quiet as Rachel played with her toys, pretending she was a doctor before she hugged one of her dolls close to her. "I wish there was something else to help Mommy along with her medicine," she said. "Make her better or at least help her to have more good days."
She then heard Sasha begin to cry and quickly got up, running to her sister's room as she realized her three-year-old sister had another bad dream. Just as she turned the corner, she bumped into something. "Whoa!" She cried out in surprise.
"What in the world?" An unfamiliar voice asked and Rachel looked up to see a person she had never seen before. He was very tall and had a sparkling suit on that reminded her of a circus ringmaster's outfit and his hat was pulled down over his face partially. "Are you alright, young one?"
The four-year-old girl grew afraid and turned to run. "Wait!" He said, giving chase, but she moved fast, turning around and quickly ducking, forcing the man to leap over her to avoid crashing into her, hitting a scatter rug and skidding a bit as Rachel took off running, out of sight before the man could see where she had gone.
She ran to her sister's room and Sasha sat up, looking scared. "Rachie?" She asked.
"Shh," Rachel said. "Sasha, we need to hide. There's a stranger here."
The younger girl immediately climbed off her bed and the two girls quickly went down the hall to their mother's room to find a place to hide, but they stopped short at seeing a tendriled being in the room with their mother and their mother was groaning as the man was beside her, his hands on her shoulders. "Shh, relax," he whispered to her.
The four-year-old eyes widened and she quickly, but gently pushed Sasha to hide beside a bookcase in the hallway. "Shh, wait here," she said. "I'll come back with Mommy."
The three-year-old nodded, hunkering down and doing her best to be quiet as Rachel headed back and now glared at the tendriled being. "Get away from Mommy!" She yelled, startling him as she ran at him and put her fists up like a boxer, punching his leg and jumping back to avoid getting caught, but she didn't count on the tendrils catching her and she struggled, growling at the man and giving him her fiercest look. "Put me down, coward!" She snarled. "I'll knock you to the floor!"
The man seemed rather amused at the four-year-old's words. "Oh? You think you're brave and strong enough to take me on, little one?" He asked with a smirk.
"I am brave! And I'm strong enough!" She declared, giving him a glare that he found to be cute, despite her trying to be scary.
"Well then, show me how strong you are, little one," he said, setting her down on her feet. Before he could move, she raced forward and punched his leg again rapidly, to which he winced a little and moved away, but she followed him, about to toss in another punch, but he reached down and quickly poked her stomach.
Rachel giggled as that tickled before she looked at him and saw him wiggle his fingers at her in the same gesture she had seen the man she called her father use when he was going to tickle her. Quickly, she lunged at him and as he caught her, her small fingers began wiggling into his stomach.
Caught off guard that a child had quickly turned the tables on him, the man began laughing, squirming to get away, but the little girl was stuck to him like glue and now tickling his underarms, making him laugh harder.
Sasha was curious when she heard the laughter and peeked carefully from her hiding spot to see her sister was tickling a being that had tendrils and he was laughing, but his laughter sounded happy, like how her new father's laughter sounded when he was happy. "Well, well, what have we here?" Asked a deep voice and the three-year-old turned to see the same tall person her sister had run into earlier behind her, grinning. She scooted back a bit and curled up fearfully, looking at the man with eyes that were welling up with tears.
The man kneeled down, his smile softening. "Oh, don't be afraid, little one," he cooed, reaching over and gently picking her up. Sasha whimpered a little, but the man stood up, cradling her in his arms carefully. "Shh, I've got you. I won't hurt you."
His gentle words helped settle her whimpers and he gently brushed his thumb over her small face, wiping away the few tears that had escaped from her eyes before the backs of his fingers gently rubbed over her face. "See? I'm not going to hurt you," he said.
She looked at him before the other being's laughter drew her attention and she looked to see her sister was standing on the other being's chest and looking like she was giving him a good scolding. "That's what you get if you mess with me!" She declared firmly.
The being holding Sasha laughed heartily, drawing Rachel attention and she gasped as she saw he was holding her sister. Seeing her fearful expression, he smiled gently. "It's not often a young one can 'defeat' you, Lance," he said.
"Oh, be quiet you," the other groused, but there was no heat behind his words.
Rachel was puzzled by this and Balan smiled at her. "Hello, little one," he said. "I take it you and this young one are sisters?"
"Yes," the four-year-old old answered cautiously. "She's my little sister."
The man behind her sat up before standing up, but just then, they heard Holly groan in pain and Rachel gasped. "Mommy," she said, running into the bedroom and quickly climbing up on the bed to see her mother, who looked to be in pain. "Mommy, are you okay? Do you need your medicine?" She asked, worry in her voice.
Holly couldn't reply as she was in so much pain. The tendriled being came in and he looked concerned, a tendril reaching out and touching Holly's shoulder while his own hands gently rested on her shoulders. "It's okay," he soothed, feeling Holly tense up a bit when she felt his touch. "You're alright."
The green-haired being came in, still carrying Sasha and he looked worried. "Oh, my dear," he said, gently taking Holly's left hand in his own and giving it a gentle squeeze.
Holly, hearing their voices and wondering why they sounded familiar, opened her eyes as she gasped again in pain before taking some deep breaths and looking up into a familiar face she had not seen in a good many years. "L-Lance?" She managed to say.
He nodded. "Yes, it's me, Holly," he said, a tendril gently brushing over her head. "We're here."
She then looked over to see Balan there too. "Bal-an," she said, pain interrupting her a little before she felt it start to ebb away.
The top-hatted man nodded. "Yes, my dear," he said, his voice soothing before he looked saddened. "What did that monster do to you?"
Rachel looked at them in confusion. "Wait, how do you two know Mommy?" She asked.
Holly smiled at her older daughter. "Because Mommy met them years ago, sweetie," she said before gasping as sharp pain shot through her side. Lance gently squeezed her shoulder as he absorbed the pain she was feeling. After a bit, Holly's breathing became normal and she looked at him. "Thank you, Lance," she said. "I...I honestly didn't expect you guys to find me after my husband got me and the girls away from my ex."
Balan smiled and reached forward, gently lifting up the yellow crystal heart pendant Holly wore around her neck. "My dear, this necklace connects you to Wonderworld and us," he said. "We couldn't find you for a bit though."
"I had hidden away my necklace from my ex," she admitted.
"Because our mean daddy would have broken it, right, Mommy?" Rachel asked, recalling how her birth father would constantly break her mother's jewelry.
"Yes, sweetie," she said before seeing Sasha in Balan's arms and smiled at her youngest daughter.
Lance smiled. "Your girls are as brave as you, Holly," he said.
She chuckled. "Oh, come on, Lance. A grown man like you beaten by a child," she said teasingly.
Rachel stood up tall. "I can take him anyday, Mommy," she said.
"Can you now, child?" Lance asked with a smirk before reaching towards the girl and tickling her, making her laugh as she tried to escape, but he caught her and held her in his arms. "Cootchie, cootchie, coo!"
Sasha, hearing her sister giggle, grew curious and looked up at Balan, who smiled at her and gently tickled her neck, making her giggle before she leaned her head against his left shoulder trustingly, the maestro's heartbeat gently sounding in her ear and lulling her to sleep.
Balan smiled at this before looking rather concerned. "She seems rather sleepy," he said.
"Her immune system is not as strong as Rachel's, due to that monster giving me that injection that almost made me lose Sasha," Holly said. "But she's getting stronger."
She looked at them. "Lance. Balan," she said, making Lance look up as he stopped tickling Rachel, who leaned her head trustingly on his shoulder as she felt sleepy. "Promise me that you won't let that monster get the girls. Help my husband to keep them safe."
"Your current husband treats you and the girls well?" Lance asked.
"Yes," she said.
Both nodded. "We'll protect them," Balan promised.
End Flashback...
Rachel now smiled. "Uncle Balan and Uncle Lance kept visiting Mom and Uncle Lance would help her through the rough days after her cancer treatment, but after Mom passed away, Dad was raising us along with your great-uncles, Courtney. Though we didn't see Uncle Balan and Uncle Lance often after Mom had passed, they were watching over us and, as you know, we all were recently reunited," she said.
Courtney giggled before looking at Lance. "Did you really let Mom win that battle, Uncle Lance?" She asked with a grin.
"Oh, you just asked for it, young lady," he said, his tendrils reaching over and tickling Courtney's stomach, knees, and feet, making her squeal with laughter as she tried to escape, but then tendrils held her in a gentle hold.
Rachel chuckled and Balan smiled. "I remember how you and your sister loved it when Lance and I would sing to you two to settle you both down for naps or for bedtime," he said.
"A tactic I often use on the young ones here to help them rest too," Rachel admitted.
Sasha came in then and she smiled at them all as Lance let Courtney up from the tickle torture and the girl giggled. "I do vaguely recall when you two would visit when Rachel and I were little," she said, indicating she had heard the story.
Courtney then perked up. "Wait. Mom, I've heard Uncle Balan calling you and Aunt Sasha his little magicians," she said.
Rachel chuckled and looked at Balan. "Care to tell her how you came up with that nickname for us, Uncle Balan?" She asked.
He chuckled too. "One day, your grandmother had a doctor's appointment in another state, so your grandfather asked Lance and I to babysit your mother and aunt. We agreed and brought them to the theater," he said. "Well, the girls found my room while I was working on some paperwork and found one of my spare suits and hats. Rachel helped Sasha dress up in it."
Lance chuckled as he recalled that. "Didn't Sasha try to walk around in your boots as well, Balan?" He asked. "As well as Rachel trying on one of my spare outfits?"
"Oh, yes," Balan said, laughing now. "A couple of the costumes saw them and were puzzled as to who they were, to which I hear Rachel calling out to me and when I come out, I see Sasha coming up to me dressed up in my suit and Rachel dressed up in Lance's suit. Both were of course way too big on them, but that didn't stop them. They declared to me and Lance that they wanted to be just like us when they grew up."
"Magical maestros?" Snare-Oh guessed.
Lance chuckled. "Yes," he said, smiling. "They even attempted to do some magic, which we both found cute."
"And hence, I began calling them my little magicians, a nickname that still holds to this day," Balan said.
"And we always called Balan the uncle with eyes in his hat to describe him," Rachel said.
"And we called Lance our neon heart uncle because of the heart markings on his outfit," Sasha said.
Lance chuckled. "I haven't heard that nickname in a long time," he said.
Courtney smiled and then rubbed the yellow crystal heart necklace she wore, thinking for a moment before looking at her family. "Do you think Grandma Holly and Grandpa John would have liked me?" She asked.
"They would have loved you," Rachel said with a smile. "Along with your siblings and your cousins."
"She's right," Sasha said.
"Family was something Holly and John both held dear," Balan said. "Just like we do."
Lance gently pinched the left side of Courtney's face with a smile. "And we always will," he said.
The girl smiled, happy to have such a big, wonderful family.
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GoldGuardian2418