Amber sighed as she lay across the couch, “I guess… I guess I’m struggling with a lot, I wasn’t exactly pro-tiny before…”

“Hmm…” Dr. Brown muttered, writing a few things down, “Do you feel… guilt perhaps?” Like her, Dr. Brown was tiny, a dark-haired woman who had been, and still was, a therapist before her own reduction in height.

“I just keep having this dream where I’m big again,” Amber explained, “but it’s like… even if I was, what would I do? The only people who will be around me are the same people I…” she sighed, “I never had a good relationship with my parents, and I always knew the girls at work weren’t real friends, but I didn’t realize until I was small just how few people I actually have. It’s fucked up that the only people who would take me are the people I sent a bunch of goons with guns after.” She crossed her arms behind her head and sighed.

“Dreams of your old size are very common in shrinkees,” Dr. Brown said, “but it’s interesting that you don’t see it as changing your circumstances… for most of us, dreams of our old size are promises of lives, agency, regained, but you don’t feel that way?”

“No,” Amber admitted, “I guess if I were big again… I’d want to try to have something like… like Laurie, Evan, and Eve have.” She laughed, but there wasn’t any joy in it, “you’ll think I’m pathetic for this… but I didn’t really think people could enjoy each other’s company like that, not until I spent some time with them… Like I always had people around sure, but I was the warchief doling out spoils, the head shark, if I didn’t have dirt on people, or promotions and favors to give out, nobody would have wanted to sit with me at lunch, or talk with me at the office.” She blinked away a tear, “all those years I had big, they just seem so wasted now.”

“Amber,” Dr. Brown said slowly, “there is nothing that keeps you from forging new connections with people, even at this size, your life isn’t wasted, you can have these things you want.”

“Sure,” Amber sighed, “but what’s the point? Who wants to be friends with a tiny woman with no money, and a crazy story like mine? I’m pretty sure Laurie, Evan, and Eve are only putting up with me out of pity.”

“You might try branching out,” Dr. Brown suggested, “there are social clubs for tinies, even dating apps-“

Amber burst out laughing, “oh yeah and dating, now there’s a minefield for the tiny girl… just one more thing you can’t do, just like climbing stairs.”

“You might be surprised at how open-minded people can be,” Dr. Brown said with a small smile, looking down at her wedding ring, “for that matter, you could always date a male Shrinkee, they outnumber us by twenty to one and not all of them are interested in full sized women.”

“Maybe,” Amber sighed. To tell the truth romance was far from her mind.

“That’s all the time we have for today,” Dr. Brown said, standing up from the chair, “I’ll see you again next week, same time.”

“Thanks,” Amber said, forcing a smile as she got up.

The pair of them walked to the door, and Amber braced herself for the reality outside. Her therapist opened it, and she reluctantly followed as they stepped out of Amber’s tiny sized condo and onto Laurie’s countertop together.

“You guys done?” Laurie asked, looking up from her coffee mug, “Doc, your husband’s waiting out front to pick you up, if you don’t mind me just carrying you out there.”

“Of course,” the doctor said with a smile as Laurie stood up and reached for her.

Amber watched her go; she still couldn’t get used to just how easily other tinies let themselves be carried… not that there was much of a choice a lot of the time.

…

Later that evening Amber found herself in the cupholder of Laurie’s truck, the gravel round causing her seat to rumble slightly as the blonde drove them to Evan and Eve’s house.

Laurie peeked down at her, “something wrong?”

“It just still feels weird,” Amber muttered, “going back there after everything that happened.”

“Evan and Eve are good people, mostly,” Laurie said with a shrug, “so you had a bit of a mental breakdown-“

“It was a lot more than that,” Amber said, “yeah I guess you can blame some of the stuff I did on the shrinking virus towards the end… the court did anyway, I’m really sorry I shot at you by the way-“

Laurie just chuckled, “well, you missed, so I’m willing to overlook it.”

Amber smiled, Laurie had been a surprising comfort after finding herself tiny, “it’s not just that though,” she said, frowning again, “I mean… I was awful to tinies for… well pretty much since the whole thing started, and I wasn’t great to Eve either… even though she was probably the closest thing to a real friend I had in that office.” She sighed wistfully, “I really miss talking to her before work, just the stupid internet junk we’d show each other, or catching up on our favorite shows, it’s the little stuff like that I miss the most about being big, isn’t that weird?”

“You might be friends with her again someday,” Laurie said with a shrug as she pulled into the driveway.

…

Amber watched Marshmallow, Evan and Eve’s chubby grey tabby, leap up onto the counter where she was sitting. She tensed, but the cat seemed to ignore her, looking more interested in nuzzling a sealed can of food.

“I can’t believe you have a cat, as a tiny…” Amber muttered, looking over at Evan. The pair of them were lounging in the kitchen waiting for Laurie and Eve to come back in from outside, where the two full sized women were retrieving meat from a smoker in the yard.

Evan smirked, “I don’t know if you’ve spent much time outside, but we’re practically Disney princesses, most animals will do whatever they think you want, you can beckon a wild one over if you can get its attention.”

Amber shuddered, imagining a field mouse as big as her, “no thanks…”

“Being tiny takes a lot away, but it does give us a little in return,” Evan said, snapping his fingers and causing the cat to give him a sour look before leaping off the counter.

Amber nodded, while she didn’t care much for animals even at full size, it was nice to have a model’s figure, since shrinking she’d toned up and her skin had seemingly softened with no effort on her part at all.

“Dinner’s here,” Laurie called, leading Eve in through the door to the kitchen with a smoked brisket in hand.

Amber’s stomach growled. Food options for tiny people weren’t great, textures were different at a smaller size, and while some things were as good as ever her palette had definitely shrunk a bit with her. Laurie’s brisket though… that was as good or better than anything she’d eaten at full size, and she grinned as Laurie picked her up from the counter, setting her in front of a plate on the main dining table where small slices of the meat had been cut for her. Evan sat across from her, near Eve, similarly with tiny strips of the soft smoked meat arrayed in front of him. The portions for the two tinies were almost comically large for their size, even cut up small, but one of the other benefits of being small was that portion control and counting calories were a thing of the past.

“H-Hey Eve,” she tried nervously, “did you hear they’re making a new season of Office Politics?”

“I didn’t,” Eve said curtly, giving the tiny redhead a withering stare, “hey Amber, is it true the DA finally dropped the rest of your charges for burning this place down?”

“Yeah,” Amber said, looking away, “t-temporary insanity…”

“And the head shark gets away with it again,” Eve said, “you’ve got to teach me how you always manage that-“

“Eve,” Evan said, “maybe ease off-“

“No!” Eve said angrily, “it was one thing to house her for a few days after she shrank, but it’s been months, why do we have to keep having Amber for dinner like she didn’t try to kill us all!? I’m tired of playing nice!”

Amber felt hollow inside, “I-I…” she stammered, not sure what she even wanted to say. “I-I’m changed, really, or… I’m trying to be bett-“

“Seriously, you’re all friendly now because you’re small,” Eve continued, “if you were still big bad Amber you’d be doing all the same stuff you were, trying to torment anyone weaker than you!”

Amber looked up at the towering giant form of her friend, and suddenly her appetite was gone. She blinked away tears as she sniffed, trying not to cry. Seeing such a display softened Eve a little, and Evan and Laurie looked uncomfortable, but didn’t say anything in Amber’s defense.

…

Amber sulked alone in the kitchen, dinner had been awkward, and while Laurie had offered to take her home, she’d refused, not wanting to further make a scene. Instead, she’d told them all she wanted to be alone for a bit, and had simply sat on the countertop, looking over the expanse of the kitchen.

“Hey, you feeling any better?” She jumped, turning to see Evan leaning against the wall. With a grin he sauntered across the counter to her.

“Where did you come from?” she asked quizzically.

“I don’t use them as much, but I’ve still got a lot of my little tunnels and hidey holes in this house,” Evan explained, “on the first floor anyway… the second is all new construction after-“

“After my tiny hunters burned it down, yeah I get it,” Amber said with a sigh. “What do you want?”

“Shrinking sucks, I thought I’d check on the other person in the house dealing with it,” Evan said with a shrug, “personally I had a lot I was going through when it happened to me, I was the guy people went to with their problems… then poof, suddenly I was relying on everyone else… it hurt.”

“Yeah…” Amber muttered, “I just feel like… I’m never going to have a chance to be anyone other than who I was…”

Evan sighed, “Look, I don’t know who you think you want to be exactly, but…” He reached behind the toaster, pulling out one of his small bows with a quiver full of needle sized arrows. She took the weapons with a raised eyebrow.

“Er… thanks, but I don’t think my problems can be solved by poking them with these little things,” Amber said.

“Honestly I just figured it might give you something to do,” Evan said, “and it does feel better thinking that you could take care of yourself if… well, if anything happens.”

“You really think full size people can be stopped by these?” Amber asked wryly, picking up one of the needles and holding it in her hand.

Evan snorted, “kicked your ass,” he chuckled, “aim for the hands and feet as a fuck off gesture, and eyes and throat if you’re… serious.” The way he said that last word made her shiver a little.

“I guess I could use a hobby,” she muttered, mockingly holding the tiny bow and twanging the string.

“That’s the spirit,” Evan said. He turned to leave, no doubt meaning to disappear into another of his elaborate secret passages, but then he paused, “if it matters, I think you’re sincere and I forgive you… I’m sure Eve will come around eventually; she wouldn’t be this angry if she hadn’t liked you on some level.”

“Thanks,” Amber said, looking down at the tiny weapons as she pondered her future.

…

“You gonna pick those things up?” Laurie asked, sipping her coffee as she watched Amber aim at a small stuffed animal across the living room.

“When I’m done!” Amber snarled, loosing the tiny steel arrow. She watched as it arced over the carpet, then did a fist pump as she saw it strike the center of the teddy bear. “Bullseye!” she said eagerly.

Laurie smirked, it was the first time she’d seen Amber genuinely smile since the unusual living arrangement had begun, and if it took occasionally stepping on one of the projectiles that the tiny redhead forgot to pick up… well it was a price worth paying.

“I don’t suppose you’d be interested in exploring the yard?” Laurie offered, glancing outside, “it’s a pretty nice day.”

Amber looked out at the open expanse of the lawn and grinned, “Yeah… crack the back door!”

…

Amber stood on top of the bird bath, feeling like a queen as the wind blew through her red hair. She had the small bow slung over her back, a silly thing given that every creature she’d encountered, from bugs to the birds splashing in the water in front of her, had been friendly. Hesitantly she reached out and stroked a blue jay’s feathers, and if the bird cared, it didn’t give any indication as it chirped idly.

This is… this is something, she thought, looking up at the truck sized bird in awe.

She glanced out at the yard, where a chain link fence separated Laurie’s property from the row of houses behind it. Like Laurie’s they were squat ranch style homes, and Amber looked on at the, to her, faraway structures as she enjoyed the view. She smirked, she’d worn a standard doll’s dress outside since she hadn’t wanted to get any of her tailored clothes, an expensive luxury for a tiny, dirty, and in the frilly pink outfit she really did feel like some kind of fairytale princess as the birds sang around her.

Her gaze lingered on the sliding glass back door of the neighbor behind Laurie’s house for a moment, there was movement… Her eyes went wide, there was another tiny! She grinned and waved, but she wasn’t sure she had his attention. She glanced at the chain link fence separating the two yards, and figured she could probably slip through the gaps at this size.

Or even climb it, she thought excitedly. She’d been shocked at how easy it was to scale things now, she was proportionally much stronger than she’d been at her full height, and she was starting to understand how Evan accomplished the, to full sized eyes, insane feats of athleticism she’d seen out of her fellow tiny. Let’s go say hello! She thought with a smile.

…

Benji looked longingly out at the yard, Not Benji, your name is Ben, he forced himself to think with a sigh. He’d never say that out loud of course, not where she could hear.

“Benji, where are you?” a voice called. He looked up and scurried away from the sliding glass window, ever since he’d gotten small Beth didn’t like him anywhere near the windows.

“Were you gazing at the yard again?” she snapped angrily as she came into view. At a mere five feet Beth towered over Ben, smirking at the way he cowered before a twenty something woman in lounge pants and a t-shirt. “We’ve been over this Benji,” she cooed, “if anyone sees you, you’re dead! Out there they kill any tiny people they find on sight!” she sighed, “it’s truly sad, but you’re lucky you have someone like me to take care of you…”

He sighed, trudging away from the window as she drew the blinds over the sliding glass back door. She grinned and flopped onto the couch, wiggling her toes idly. He knew what she wanted, and more importantly what would happen if he didn’t give it to her. He grimaced as he pressed his face against a toe as big as his head, kissing her feet and tasting the mixed sweat and grime that covered the pungent appendages. She always wore slippers and socks, only going barefoot when she wanted to humiliate him a little more like this.

“Good boy!” Beth giggled, “and to think, before you got all cute and tiny, you were going to break up with me!” she sighed, “funny how life works out… now let’s talk about your punishment.”

His eyes lit up in panic and he stumbled back, “p-punishment? Beth, no! Please, I didn’t do anything-“

“You were looking out the window again,” she snapped, crossing her arms, “nobody can see you, remember? It’s for your own good!” She stood up, grinning wickedly.

…

Amber finally reached the back door of the neighbor’s house, frowning as she saw the blinds had been pulled, fuck that, I came this far, she decided, walking up onto the patio. Getting close she could still see through the small gaps in the back door blinds, and she peered around looking for the other tiny.

“What the fuck?” she whispered, seeing a brunette woman raising her foot over a begging shrunken man.

…

“Beth please!” Ben cried, “don’t-“

He was cut off by a crunching noise and then excruciating pain as his ex-girlfriend turned owner brought her bare foot down on him, crushing his body into the carpet. She giggled as she pressed down with all of her weight, grinding her foot back and forth as she enjoyed the sensation of compressing her tiny man.

“Don’t be such a baby,” she scolded, “you’ll be fine.” She lifted her foot off of him, smirking as she saw his body already starting to right itself while he whimpered in pain. She stood over him, enjoying the noises a moment, “I’m going out tonight,” she said finally, “I left your little shoe-shine kit next to my pumps, and I expect them to be spotless by the time I get up from my nap, or your next squish will be me wearing them while you sit on something a lot harder than that nice carpet you got to enjoy getting crushed into this time!” With a happy saunter to her hips, she walked towards her bedroom, stretching and yawning.

…

Amber blinked, trying to rationalize what she’d seen, okay… some tinies and their significant others get really into freaky shit, she reasoned, he’s okay after all… she peered in again and saw the man sobbing a little as the last of his bones reset themselves. This… didn’t look like some S&M game. Amber had been on both sides of that coin, stepping on a tiny and being stepped on herself… while tinies could endure it surprisingly well it hurt, and she felt herself shiver a little at the memory of Eve’s heeled shoe coming down on her.

What do I do? She wondered, her heart pounding. She saw the tiny man inside the house beginning to walk away, and in a panic she pounded her tiny fists as hard as she could against the glass door. The sound caught his attention, and he looked back, seeing her tiny outline just outside the blinds.

Ben’s heart leapt, another tiny person!? That’s impossible, Beth said they were all killed… He spared a quick glance towards Beth’s bedroom door, and when he was sure she wasn’t coming back out, he ran as fast as he could across the carpet. He dove under the blinds, scurrying upwards as soon as he was on the other side, bringing him eye to eye with a tiny woman on the other side.

Ben’s heart skipped a beat, the redhead looked like something out of a fairy tale, in a pink princess dress with a bow and arrow across her back. He blinked several times; not sure he was really seeing her.

Finally, the reality set in, she’s real, he thought excitedly, there’s another tiny person out there! His second realization was that he was naked, and with a blush he quickly covered his crotch, causing the redhead to smirk slightly.

“I’m Amber,” she said, her voice muffled by the glass, “are you okay? What’s your name?”

He cleared his throat, looking back to the bedroom again, “Ben,” he said in as soft a voice he thought he could manage while still speaking through the glass. “D-Do you need shelter?” he asked curiously, “if the tiny hunters are after you-“

Amber just raised an eyebrow, “there are no more Tiny Hunters, seriously are you okay? I saw that woman step on you!”

No more tiny hunters? No, that couldn’t be true… that would mean Beth was… maybe this woman was mistaken? If Beth was lying…

He was about to say something when he heard footsteps from the bedroom, “Benji, who the hell are you talking to?” Beth’s angry voice rang out. His face went white, and he ran from the glass, leaving a stunned Amber watching.

“J-Just myself!” he shouted, “sorry, I’ll keep it down!”

Beth scowled as she plodded towards the tiny man, every footstep sending slight reverberations into the floor below him, “yeah you will you little shit!” She muttered, raising her foot over him again.

…

Okay, definitely not a consensual thing here, Amber thought, gulping as she turned away from the glass and started fleeing back across the neighbor’s yard. Laurie will know what to do, she deals with tiny rights stuff all the time…

…

Amber sat on Laurie’s shoulder as the pair watched police and a Tiny Affairs government employee walk around the back of the house. They’d already seen the group inside, and as Laurie sipped coffee, a grim expression on her face, Amber was hopeful.

“So, you’re sure there’s a tiny guy in there?” Laurie asked again.

“Yes!” Amber said indignantly, “I saw her stomp him twice, I don’t know what’s going on over there, but someone should get him out.”

“I don’t talk to Beth much,” Laurie muttered, “she’s not out in her yard often… but she doesn’t seem like a psycho.”

“Okay well how many people do until they snap?” Amber protested. Laurie glanced at the tiny redhead on her shoulder and Amber scowled, “yeah, that includes me I guess, happy?”

Laurie shrugged, causing Amber to squeak in surprise and grab at the blonde’s hair to steady herself, “Let’s see if they find anything.”

…

“No evidence of a tiny on the property!?” Amber asked incredulously, “that’s impossible, I saw him with my own eyes!”

The pair were in Laurie’s kitchen, Amber on the counter as Laurie watched an instant meal slowly rotate in the microwave.

“That’s what the cops and the Tiny Affairs people said,” Laurie said with a sigh, “they’re going to do a surprise follow up search in a few days. Are you… sure it wasn’t a doll or something?”

“I talked to him!” Amber said, getting angry, “you’ve got to believe me!”

Laurie bit her lip, “I… I think I do,” she said finally, listening to the microwave beep as her dinner was done.

“Then go get one of your many guns and go over there and save him!” Amber said indignantly.

Laurie paused, “Amber,” she said slowly, “I can’t just-“

“What, you had no problem raising a goddamn army when I was big and trying to kidnap a tiny!” Amber said, anger getting the best of her.

“Hey,” Laurie snapped, “that was for Evan, and I also knew Evan existed and more importantly where he was!” She sighed, seeing the fury on Amber’s face, “Look, if I just arm up and kick her door down to search the place, and don’t come up with an abused tiny, who do you think is going to jail? If the cops didn’t find him in a few hours over there, what makes you think I’m going to find him in the ten minutes or so before they roll up again?”

Amber was quiet, and she sat on the counter with a sigh, “I… I hate this! I feel so powerless!”

Laurie thought a moment, then sighed, “you know… if there is a tiny guy over there, he’s off the books, no Tiny Protection Act paperwork, no record of shrinking, and that crazy bitch is going to know someone’s on to her… so what do you suppose she’s going to do?”

Amber’s eyes went wide, “g-get rid of him?”

Laurie nodded grimly, “So here’s the deal Amber, I’m willing to take a huge fucking gamble right now and assume you’re not bullshitting me, or crazy, or any of that, do you understand me?”

Amber gulped, and slowly nodded, “y-yeah… he’s real, I promise!”

“Okay then,” Laurie muttered. She turned and reached for a seldom used drawer, sliding it out and revealing a compact nine-millimeter handgun. She took it out of the molded case and tucked it into the back of the waistband on her jean shorts.

“You keep a gun there?” Amber asked incredulously.

Laurie shrugged, “it’s my only kitchen gun, I swear.”

…

Laurie frowned as she saw the blinds were drawn, “You’re going to go in there, and sneak around, and find your guy,” she whispered as she easily climbed over the waist high fence.

Amber gripped her hair tightly, staying on her shoulder as she walked towards the other house. She’d changed into an actual tailored outfit for the occasion, and the way the tiny jeans and shirt hugged her like her old clothes filled her with a certain confidence, like she was big Amber again, Amber the shark.

The bow she’d received from Evan weighed across her back, and she wondered if she would be able to bring herself to use it if things got ugly. With a growl she remembered the expression on the poor man’s face after what that woman had done, and a pang of guilt as a memory of her own time doling out those kinds of punishments resurfaced.

Not anymore, she promised herself, I’m… I’m here to put a stop to it.

“How do I get in?” Amber whispered.

Laurie walked around the side to the air conditioning unit, a hose led out of it and through a small drilled hole in the house’s siding, “these houses all have gaps around these hoses,” Laurie explained, “I filled mine with some spray from the hardware store, but most people on this block didn’t.”

“Right,” Amber said, gulping as she saw the small opening, “s-so you’ll be outside the whole time?” she asked hesitantly.

“Once you find your guy, just get my attention somehow, and I’ll kick the door in and do the action girl thing,” Laurie promised, “hell if you don’t come back in a few hours, I might just do it anyway… I’ll be watching all the windows back here,” she sighed, “I’d really like to get Evan to do this instead of you, but I don’t think we have time… are you okay going in alone?”

Amber bit her lip, thinking it over one final time as she looked at the gap around the air conditioning hose, “Yes,” she said firmly. With a nod Laurie lowered her down, and she began worming her way into the house, squeezing against the hose and adjusting the small bow to get inside.

…

Ben grimaced as sweat covered him. He was bounced up and down against Beth’s enormous ass as she jogged on her treadmill, coating him with a thick layer of the earthy tasting liquid. He’d been stuck between her ass cheeks for hours now, as soon as the police had arrived, he’d been forced down the back of her panties, clenched nervously by her as she’d explained to the police that there was no tiny on the premises.

Evidently, she’d wanted to punish him after they were gone, because instead of letting him out, she’d immediately fired up her exercise machine and started jogging. It was hellish, hot, humid, and most of all humiliating, another reminder of exactly where he fit in Beth’s world, stuck to her sweaty ass.

He felt the rhythmic motion stop, and her chuckle echoed down to him as she stepped off the machine, “how are you holding up Benji?” she laughed, reaching back down her panties to pull the sweat soaked man out.

“B-Beth, seriously, I didn’t call those cops-“

“I’m not fucking stupid Benji,” Beth said, her face turning cold as sweat dripped down her brown bangs, “how would a little thing like you even call cops? My phone’s locked and you wouldn’t be able to dial at that size anyway… but someone saw you Benji, this is exactly why I say you can’t look out the windows!”

She squeezed him tight, causing him to grunt in pain as she walked towards her kitchen. He watched with horror as she sighed, standing in front of a blender. With a flick of her finger she turned it on.

“You shrinking virus guys, you’re super tough, but there are some things even you can’t come back from…” She giggled as the kitchen appliance hummed menacingly.

“You can’t be serious,” Ben said, his eyes wide, “Beth please, I’ll never go near the windows again, I’ll-“

“No, you don’t get it,” she sighed, “now that they’re watching me, it’s only a matter of time. I’ve got to get rid of you Ben,” his blood ran cold as he realized she’d dropped the pet name. “I’ll admit, it’s been a fun few years, having my ex live like a little bug around my house, but…” She sighed and gave a mocking smile, “it’s time to move on!”

She slowly raised her hand over the whirring blender while Ben screamed pleas for mercy and sobbed uncontrollably. Beth’s eyes gleamed madly, and Ben’s world seemed to slow, the sound trailing away as the end approached.

“AHH!” Beth screamed in pain, and Ben’s eyes went wide as he dropped, not into the blender, but to the hard kitchen floor. He hit it with a grunt of pain and rolled over, looking up at Beth’s hand clutching her wrist, blood pouring from between her fingers.

“Get the fuck away from him or the next one goes in the eye!” Amber shouted, walking slowly into the kitchen with an arrow knocked.

Beth stared for a moment, then grinned. Slowly she began walking towards Amber, causing the small redhead to gulp and feel her heartbeat race as the giant psychopath plodded across the floor.

“T-That’s close enough!” Amber shouted.

“You really think you could hit me in the eye with that little thing?” Beth teased.

“They’ll call you patchy down in prison,” Amber retorted, refusing to let herself run. Evan could make this shot easily, she thought miserably, can I?

“So, what’s the deal with you?” the full sized woman asked with a laugh, “you here to rescue Benji back there?” she jerked her thumb at Ben, who was on his feet again, rubbing an arm that had already healed, “you might as well just turn and run back out of whatever little mousehole you came in from. He’s got no family that wants to see him, no friends, I’m the only one who gave a shit and I’m done playing with him.”

Amber shot a glance at Ben, who was fighting back tears, and scowled, “I don’t know Ben that well, but yeah, I’m here to save him, and I’m going to see you dead or in jail.”

Beth just laughed, a terrible sound that echoed through the living room, “that is so fucking precious!” she cooed wickedly, “look at you, you’re such a little doll! I almost wish I could’ve found you instead of my useless ex when this all started, imagine a teeny little woman to treat like a living Barbie!” Amber’s face burned red, and Beth smirked, enjoying the anger, “seriously, who do you think you are tiny? Haven’t you figured out your place in the world yet?”

Amber felt an inferno of anger rising in her, that same mix of spite and hate that she’d felt so many times, but now, instead of something that burned within her that hell warmed her like a campfire on a cool evening, bringing a flood of courage she’d never have expected to find in herself.

I’m a goddamn shark, she thought as she raised the bow, and you’re just another meal, no matter how big you are… She howled angrily as she loosed the first of the tiny arrows, and Beth’s eyes went wide with shock as she barely moved her hand in time to save her eye.

“OW!” she screamed in pain, pulling at the tiny needle embedded in the side of her hand, “you bitch! I’m going to take you apart with a pair of scissors for-“ another cry of pain echoed out as Amber’s second projectile buried itself in Beth’s cheek.

This time there wasn’t a threat or a comeback, the giant woman just howled in rage and stumbled towards her. Amber bolted, glancing at a couch and deciding she could hide under there, but her flight was interrupted as Beth grabbed a coffee mug off a nightstand and hurled it at her with a scream.

“Run!” Amber shouted at Ben as she stumbled back to her feet, the shards of porcelain causing her to weave as she continued her escape.

She didn’t have time to see if he’d followed her instructions, a shadow fell over her, and she leapt to the side just in time to avoid the massive running shoe’s sole.

If she gets me crushed, I’m dead, Amber thought, quickly sliding one of the steel arrows from her quiver as the shoe came for her again. She held it under her arm, gritting her teeth as the shoe pressed down and she struggled to keep the point straight as it penetrated the rubber sole. She was rewarded with another scream of pain, and then light as Beth staggered back, cursing as she tried to remove her footwear.

“You are going to die so slowly,” Beth hissed, her nostrils flaring as she advanced again.

There was a sound of breaking glass as a softball sized rock flew threw the sliding glass back door, fluttering the blinds. Like an angel descending from heaven Laurie walked into the room, the curtains billowing around her as she leveled her gun at Beth. Beneath her Ben poked out from behind her ankle, a wild look of fear on his face.

“Just give me a reason,” Laurie said in a low voice, looking down the sights.

Beth looked shocked for a moment, then with a scream of pure hate she threw her hands up. Amber blinked, then grinned, that same grin she’d given so many defeated enemies over the years, and from the way Beth looked like she was about to lunge at the tiny woman in spite of the gun on her, she could tell that it still had the same effect it always had.

“You okay Amber?” Laurie called as the tiny redhead got up and quickly ran to join Ben behind the newly arrived full sized woman.

“I’m great,” she said, feeling a euphoria rising in her chest, “like… really great…”

Laurie blinked and chuckled, “okay then… the little guy there went to the back door and was waving for help, I figured that was as good of a signal as I was going to get.”

Amber was surprised as Ben lunged at her, embracing her in a hug, “t-thank you,” he said in a low voice, choking back tears.

“H-Hey,” Amber said awkwardly, trying to pat him on the back, “it was nothing…” it was a lie, Amber hadn’t ever felt so good in her life.

…

A few hours later Laurie and Amber sat in the living room of her house, Laurie on the couch and Amber on the coffee table, watching the police cars surround Beth’s house. The woman herself had been led away in handcuffs, and the Tiny Affairs office had come to collect Ben, the agent a woman who had known Laurie and had stopped for a few minutes to discuss the case. Evan and Eve had arrived at some point, there wasn’t much need for them by then, but they’d joined Laurie and Amber, listening as Laurie had explained the entire tale from the beginning.

“So I guess his ex found him right after the shrinking epidemic started,” Laurie explained, “back when we didn’t know what we were dealing with… she had him convinced that everyone outside was killing shrinkees on sight, so he had to stay with her.”

“Fucked up,” Evan muttered, shivering slightly from his spot in Eve’s hands.

“I think we might be seeing Ben again,” Laurie said, “Amber, do you mind a roommate in the tiny condo, or do you want me to buy another one?”

“Either or,” Amber said, her legs dangling over the edge of the coffee table like a fishing dock, “I hope he’s okay…”

“So… Amber,” Evan said with a grin, “I heard you took her down?”

Amber blushed, “I… well yeah, the bow really helped… thanks.”

“Badass,” he said, “when you get a little better, we need to have a competition.”

She smiled, “I uh… yeah, that sounds fun.” She looked up at Eve, holding Evan in her hands still as she looked down at Amber, a curious expression on her face.

“Amber,” Eve said finally, “do you… maybe want to come over and watch the season premier of Office Politics? When you brought it up I had to check when the new season was coming out, and it’s actually just next weekend…”

Amber’s eyes went wide, “Yeah! Laurie, can we go!?”

Laurie rolled her eyes, “I fucking hate that show, but yes we’ll be there.”

“You’re just mad that the boss on the show looks like you,” Eve said with a smirk.

“Oh my god,” Amber said, laughing, “s-she does, Laurie you look just like her!”

Laurie fumed as Amber and Eve shared the first laugh in a long time.