Hi guys! How're you- WHOA *dives to the side as a laser zaps the air next to my ear* Yikes...okay... I guess ya'll are kinda ticked off at me... *ducks a fireball* HEY! EASY! Okay, I know it's been a little while since I last- *holds up shield* OKAY! LONG WHILE! LONG WHILE! *peeks out from behind shield* Okay...are we good? Will you let me talk now? Good readers! Okay, I know a lot has happened in the series since my last update. Still, everything in THIS story is the same: Kevin is still mutated, Ben has no Ultimatrix, blah blah blah. But, one thing that I found to be awesome in the series was that one episode with the Necrofriggians... They had white wings like Snowflake! Sweet, right? Ahem...I'm gonna stop stalling. I see you in the back holding the ice beam! Relax, big guy! I'm typing...
"WHOA! Little Chill! Put that down!" Ben ran to the other end of Kevin's garage, where Little Chill had started playing with a laser gun. "Here, gimme that. That's not a-STORMCLOUD GET DOWN FROM THERE!" He shouted at his dark-winged son, who was swinging back and forth from a chain hanging from the ceiling. "You'll get-NO! Snowflake, DON'T drink that!" He quickly pulled a bottle of gasoline from the white child's claws. "Why did he leave this out...KEVIN!" He turned toward the half-hidden figure of his best friend, who came out from under the car with an irritable look on his face.
"What now, Tennyson?" He grumbled.
"I could use a little help!" Ben slammed the gasoline bottle down next to Kevin. "And what did I tell you about putting the dangerous stuff away?"
Kevin rolled his eyes and groaned. 'He's worse than Gwen when she's in one of her moods...' "They're your kids, Tennyson! Not mine!" He moved back under his car and picked up a wrench. "If you want kid-friendly, take them to your place."
"Are you INSANE?" Ben grabbed Kevin's feet and pulled him out from under the car. "My house? Do you have any idea how my parents will react?"
"Just tell them what happened and-"
"Oh yes. That's just what every parent wants to hear: 'Hi, Mom! Hi, Dad! I'm a fifteen year old father of FIVE!'"
"Good alliteration." Kevin commented.
"You're missing the point! Mom and Dad will freak!"
"Why? I mean it's not as if you became a father because you-"
"Okay!" Ben hastily cut in. "Let's keep the talk PG or lower." He murmured, glancing over his shoulder at Little Chill, who was watching them with interest.
"Hey, Kevin?"
"Yeah, squirt?" Kevin sat up, wiping his hands on a rag.
"Can I call you Uncle Kevin? Aunt Gwen was telling me more about families yesterday and she said that an uncle is like an aunt but a guy. I figured that since you and Aunt Gwen are together, that makes you my uncle!" He fluttered over and landed on Kevin's head. "Plus, you and Daddy act like brothers anyway!"
Kevin looked up into those wide green eyes and felt a smile coming to his face. Before, he had told Little Chill to just call him Kevin because he hadn't wanted to intrude on the family. But since he was getting an invitation... He looked hopefully at Ben, who nodded and grinned. Kevin smiled back before looking back at Little Chill. "Sure thing, kiddo. You can call me Uncle Kevin!"
"YAY!" Little Chill shot off of Kevin's head and did a flip in the air. "I have an uncle now! Hey, guys! We have an uncle!" He shot off toward the other end of the garage, where his siblings had started playing around with something small and shiny. 'This is so great!' He thought to himself as he watched Stormcloud insert a claw into an indentation on the object. 'If only Blizzard was here...' He breathed a sad sigh. 'He'd love this...but he's out all alone...'
"Uh...Kevin?" Ben's eyes followed Little Chill to where his other kids were playing. "What is that?"
"Hm?" Kevin glanced over and shrugged his shoulders. "Looks like my old, shaky, unpredictable Null Void projector."
"Your WHAT?" Ben sputtered, spinning on his heel and half tripping toward the corner where his children were. "Guys! Put that down and back away like NOW!" Obediently, the little Necrofriggians put the object down and flew back. Ben bent down and cautiously began to examine it. 'Let's see...it...metal...nozzle...plug...' "Kevin...this is a hair dryer!"
Kevin went back under the car to hide his chuckles. "S-Sorry. My mistake." He snickered.
"Why Kevin, you-"
"Watch your language, Benny-boy!" Kevin said tauntingly. "We have children in the room."
"You-that-ARGH!" Ben threw his hands into the air and sat down on the floor. He felt something soft brush his cheek.
"You and Uncle Kevin fight a lot." Crystal commented, settling down next to her father. 'These humans are so excitable...' "But you're still close. That's so strange."
"Not really." Ben smiled at his daughter and gently stroked one of her antennae. "People argue sometimes. Even so, they still care about each other. Besides, Kevin and I are just kidding around half of the time."
"I'm dead serious!" Kevin called over.
"Shut up, Kevin!" Ben called back. "Anyway, Crystal. It's normal for friends and families to fight occasionally, but they still love each other."
"Are you saying you looooove me, Tennyson?"
Ben rolled his eyes. "I'd looooove it if you stopped talking!"
"Aw, don't be like that!" Kevin laughed. "You can let your feelings out if you want to."
"That's not what I-"
"Is there something I should know about you, Benny-boy?"
"Yeah. I'm about to go Humungousaur and turn your car to pulp!" Ben started fiddling with the Omnitrix.
"Cool!" Stormcloud flew up onto a high shelf so he could have a good view. "I've never seen a Humungousaur before!"
"Ben, Kevin, are you setting a bad example for the kids again?" Julie's voice floated gently into the garage through the door.
"MOMMY!" Simultaneously, the Chills stopped what they were doing and made a beeline for Julie, nearly tackling her to the ground.
Julie laughed as four pairs of moth wings tickled her and four pairs of arms attempted to hug her at once. "Hi guys-okay, I'm glad to see-Little Chill, that tickles! Okay, Stormcloud. You're hurting my arm." She coaxed the four excited Necrofriggians to calm down, her face turned up in an affectionate smile.
"Did you bring the book, Mommy?" Snowflake whispered, flying up to Julie's shoulder and nuzzling her cheek.
"Of course, Snowflake. I wouldn't forget." Julie softly stroked the girl's white wings, feeling a warm sensation beginning in her chest. She had never bothered to correct Little Chill when he had first called her "Mommy" and the others had readily taken to calling her Mommy pretty early on. She knew that Ben hadn't done anything because he had figured she should be the one to explain things to them. Somehow, however, she couldn't bring herself to. Truth be told, she liked the way her heart felt whenever one of those little ice angels would call her Mommy.
"What book have you been reading to them anyway?" Kevin asked, standing up and closing the hood of his car.
"The Hobbit." Julie replied, holding up the Tolkien book.
"Huh. Seems kinda advanced for kids their age."
"Really? They seem to enjoy it."
"I like Bilbo!" Little Chill commented. "He has such a cool home. Hey, Daddy? Have you ever been in a hobbit hole?"
"Eh...no, can't say I have." Ben grinned, sitting down on the sofa and patting the spot next to him, inviting Julie to join him. Julie sat down next to him and immediately snuggled up against him. He blushed as Little Chill perched on his shoulder, Crystal settled herself on his lap, and Snowflake found a spot on Julie's other side.
"Oh, don't mind me." Kevin muttered, lying down across the nearby armchair so his legs were dangling over one of the arms. "I'm just a third wheel sitting over here by himself." 'Why did Gwen have to have a karate class tonight?'
"Hey, Uncle Kevin! I'll sit with you!" Stormcloud chirped happily, flying over and curling up on Kevin's chest. "We can hear the story just fine from over here."
Kevin felt his expression soften and he brought a hand up to ruffle Stormcloud's gray antennae. "Thanks, buddy."
Julie leaned into Ben's warmth as she opened up the book. "Chapter 3, A Short Rest..."
…...
Everything looked the same...all of it. Constant blackness...no light... Blizzard felt as if he was about to go insane. He had been flying for days now! 'When does this end?' He had absolutely no sense of direction, no idea where he was going, no nothing! He felt so alone... Part of him wanted desperately to just turn back and try to convince his siblings to leave that stupid blue planet.
There were only two problems: One, he wasn't in the mood to beg. Two, he didn't think he could find his way back to that planet even if he wanted to!
'No...I just gotta keep going forward. Not back.' He told himself firmly, flapping his wings feebly.
He was so tired...if only he could just stop to rest... 'Maybe I should...I'll just end up floating aimlessly in space... But that's no different from my current position.'
With the decision to relax his wings made, Blizzard devoted his thoughts to other issues. 'Why did the others decide to stay on that planet?' He wondered for what was probably the millionth time. 'Why would they put their trust into some alien creature they don't even know... Why would they want him taking care of them? They already had me...' His green eyes narrowed. They had replaced him...with one of those creatures! Not even another Necrofriggian, oh no! No, it was one of those creatures... 'Well, fine!' He thought defiantly. 'Who needs them anyway?'
'You do.' Another small voice in his head said immediately.
'Oh shut up!' He snapped back, closing his eyes angrily. 'I don't need them. They got someone else now!'
'You want that someone else too. You're just too scared to trust anyone.'
'Go away! No I don't!' Blizzard mentally protested. 'I don't want that person!' Still, despite his furious mental urgings, he couldn't shake the image of that strong, beautiful Necrofriggian. Nor could he push away the picture of that kind-faced human. 'Focus!' He shook his head once to clear it. 'You just need to focus.'
At that moment, he saw something flicker just out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head eagerly, desperate for something to break the inky blackness that was all around. There was a light...a white light up ahead. 'Finally!' Forgetting his fatigue, Blizzard pumped his wings and aimed his body toward the light. It wasn't much, but it was something to work for for the time being! Pushing thoughts of his siblings and father from his mind, he began to push himself toward the light.
I swear, if it wasn't for the fact that people are STILL reviewing this story even now and are all telling me to update after six months, I'm not sure if I would have bothered continuing. Well, I suppose I'm back on this story now. If I discontinue after THIS chapter, I just know I'll get shot. Well, I think the veil that has been shadowing this story is finally lifting. I hope...I really hope... Anyway, I like The Hobbit. It's one of my favs so I thought it would be nice for Julie to read it to the Chills. There's gonna be a general ongoing trend: The Chills will learn something new about families and friends in each chapter. I just think it's cute! ^_^ And what's the light Blizzard's flying for? You'll have to wait and see in the next chapter! Well, I think I deserve reviews! Please don't kill me with flames. *hides again* Peace out! Stay cool! *shot*