"I have an idea. Let's make jelly cakes" he said standing up. Claire smiled and began helping him look for ingredients. Both siblings knew that their mother cooked them when one of them was depressed. Ten minutes later the smell of bakery filled the house. Rebecca emerged from her room. "What's the temp?" she asked. "400 degrees" Ritchie replied. Rebecca sucked her teeth and lowered it. "350 or the outside will burn" she said softly. She stared at the oven for a moment.  Ritchie took her hand and guided her to the living room. She sat down and he sat putting his head in her lap. She said nothing as she petted his hair.

Keith slashed the figure before him in two before turning to decapitate the other. "Again!" he yelled to nobody and yet more figures appeared. "Working out some stress?" Hikari said entering the room. "System call. End spell" Keith muttered. The figures disappeared. "Interesting room.  I sense magic all around it" she said looking around. "My personal training room. I shrink down and activate the illusion spell system to train" he muttered. "Marvelous. A great deal of thought went into it" she said. "Not my design. Found out about it in Lily's notes. Seems she used it to stay in shape" he said. "That's a nice sword. Like Rune Breaker but not" she said looking at it. "Hikari I'm not in the best of moods" he said. "That would explain why you literally tossed Claire away like garbage" she said. Keith paused. "Spread already?" he asked. "Borrowers like to gossip. What brought about such cruelty?" she asked. Her question stung him. "Found out my daughter turned to the dark side" he replied. "Ah. And now you fear having to fight her. To end her life" she replied. He gripped his sword harder.

"System call. Hope McCormick human size. Immobile" he said. In a moment, the form of his daughter appeared before Them. Keith put away his sword and walked to her. His hands touched and moved about her big toenail. They felt the space between her toes. "The first thing I did when she was born was count her toes. Two weeks after the battle she woke up crying. A nightmare. A really bad one. Had to suck her toes to calm her down. The way she smiles, cries, smirks, runs, walks, tosses her hair around like her mom. She hates peas, loves tomatoes, a fan of Fall Out Boy. And she smells so fucking nice. She's my greatest creation. The best part of me" he said looking up at the giantess. "How can I possibly kill her?" he asked shaking. Hikari looked away from a moment. She willed something to appear in her hand. "Is that..."

"Yokai driver on" the device said. Hikari drew a kanji on it. "Henshin" she muttered. "Yokai change. Form Koonago. Royalty in a small package" it said in Japanese and English as she transformed. Hikari wore an elegant kimono with black and red sandals on her feet. Her hair was long to the middle of her back. "Isn't that thing dangerous?" Keith asked. "What you saw before was a barely finished prototype. This...this is far more refined" she replied looking at the giantess. She formed a katana of ice and ran up the giantess's leg at incredible speed. Hikari slashed Hope's Throat open and the giantess fell to the floor barely missing Keith. "She was just an illusion" he said. "Try again lover. The way you stroked her toes, looked at her face, her body said she was more than that in your mind. Now look at her dead on the floor" she said. Keith didn’t. Hikari grabbed his face and turned him. He has his eyes shut. "Look you coward!" she yelled. He opened them and his knees felt weak. Hikari canceled her transformation. "She fixed my back. Made me able to live again. What has become of her is not what I shall remember. I will strike her down if I see her because that is what a loved one would do. That is what you must do. If you love her you will free her of an evil existence" she said.

"System call. End spell" he muttered. Hikari looked at him as he sat on the floor before leaving him in the room. Keith sat there alone for a good hour before someone else appeared. "Disturbing...you?" Banshen asked entering. "No. Not at all. Something on your mind?" he asked standing up. "Mogwai know. Know of Banshen. Afraid" she replied. Keith looked at the little Asian girl in uniform. Her sword on her back. She had not changed into normal clothing since she came other than being puked up that is. "Take off your shoes and socks" he said. Curious she did. "System call. 10 enemies’ level two. Borrower size" he said. Suddenly they were surrounded. "They're illusions but they don't feel like them. Let's have some fun" he chuckled. The girl smirked and pulled her sword. Keith watched her in action as she mowed down opponents. It was clear she had talent. Not to be outdone, he kept pace. "You fight well!" she said standing with her back on his. "System call! Level Three!" he yelled. They continued.

An hour had passed before the last one fell, and Keith ended the session. "You look better" he said. Banshen took off her clothing. She looked at him. "Banshen hungry. Hungry for mating" she growled. She literally tore off his clothing before pouncing on him. "Banshen. I'm not feeling it right now" he said quietly. She reluctantly got off him. She sat awkwardly next to him. "Depressed. You...depressed" she said. Keith nodded. "Understand. Very long time I depressed. Had to...hide myself as can't talk normally. Worried I would be...put down. Cry very much. Cruel to humans. Days spent thinking...about dying. Felt hopeless" she said softly. "Found miracle in Keith. Love him so much she doesn’t mind being eaten by him. Gave reason to fight. To live" she said smiling. Keith hugged her from behind. "Miracle?" he asked. "Best magic of all" she snickered. She stood up and grew to human size.  "Banshen go find soldier who say she pretty. Fuck him" she said yawning. "Got over me that fast?" he chuckled. The giantess paused. "Want sex. Keith give intimacy and sex. Prefer Keith. Not in mood" she sighed.

"Well it must be snowing in hell. A naked girl leaving your room looking unsatisfied?" Susan asked entering a second later. "Hard to get an erection when a goddess tells you your kid turned evil. We've had visitors" he explained. Concerned, Susan sat down. Keith explained Pelé's visit. "As of our problems weren’t enough" she muttered. Keith looked at her giant bare feet. "Oh. Yeah they're sweating so sorry if they smell" she said. She looked around the room. "Don't think I ever been in here before" she said. "A private training room Lily designed. I found it in her diary" he said. "You looked at her diary?! Jesus" she hissed. "Rose gave me permission. She herself looked out of...grief, I guess. This room is very intricate. Leaps ahead of the training area in the colony. It can recreate anyone from memory right down to how they behave" he said. "Like some magic holodeck?" she asked. "Guess lily was a Star Trek fan. I've been using it every day to train ever since I found it" he said. "It can recreate anyone? I just have to think about it?" she asked. "More or less. Susan wait. Don't...don't try to bring someone dead back. Lily made that mistake" he said. He saw her still thinking.

"I'm serious. Lily almost had a breakdown over it. She neglected then infant Rose for Three months hiding in here with her dead husband" he said. Susan looked at him. "It was in her diary" he said. "But just for a moment I'd like to see them again. Mom, Teegan, Lily, Fiona" she said. "It's heartbreaking Susan. First thing I did here..." he muttered. "You did it" she muttered. He nodded.

September 9, 2018

It had been three weeks since the battle. As those picked up the pieces of their broken lives, Keith held in his hand her diary. He stood in the room Lily wrote about and was very curious as to how realistic it was. "So, to activate the spell I have to say this and think about the subject. Very specific or it won't work right. Hmm...Lily said not to recreate anyone you lost but she was freshly grieving her husband. Alright. System call. Lenora, borrower size" he said. At his feet appeared his dead sister. He sat down amazed. "Holy shit. In perfect detail right down to her favorite dress. Oh...system call. Animate subject" he said. The tiny girl blinked and immediately saw the giant. Keith winced as she gave a shrill scream. "It's me! Little bro Keith" he said. She stopped screaming but trembled as she looked at him. Keith had to pick her up. Once he did, she began struggling so much her shoe came off. "Lenora please. Look at me" he said. She did for a long minute. "Keith? How? Why?" she asked. "A very long story. Let me get a good look at you" he said opening his hand. His fingers played with her long hair and stroked her little body. "Exactly like that last day" he said. "Last day?" she asked. Keith didn't have the heart to answer.

She was a perfect illusion right down to her smell. Keith remembered her perfectly in his mind. Right down to the fact she was ovulating the day she died. He could smell her ripe for sex. She felt his handshake, his eyes water as he looked upon her. "It was so hard when you left me" he said. "I'd never leave you squirt" she said. He looked down. "Not by choice" he muttered. Her fake mind scrambled for answers. The magic had given her enough memories for personality (which was the point) and her last one was her being taken away by a giantess human. "I died, didn't I?" she asked. He nodded. "Is this heaven?" she asked. "No. Magic. Real magic" he replied. "How long?" she asked. "Since you died? 5 years Three months and 21 days" he replied. Keith spent the rest of the day taking to her about the last few years before ending the spell. But as he lay in bed that night, he felt the need to go back to that room. The next day he did it again. And again on the third day. And on the fourth...

"You got circumcised?" she asked. "John's wanted a boy with no foreskin" he replied. "John?" she asked. "Customers who pay for sex" he said. It came out he prostituted himself as a kid. Worse yet when he was brutally raped. It broke the borrower girl. She wouldn't stop crying. He himself upset seeing her that way did what a borrower does. He turned to intimacy. Pulling off her little shoes to smell and lick her tiny feet. Her dress to suck her tits. Her panties to lick and suck her delicate pussy. And she moaned and came in his mouth, but she didn't stop crying. "Stop crying. Stop crying! Stop it!" he said and she didn't. Angry he jammed her in his mouth. Keith didn't expect her to trigger his swallowing reflex when she kicked his Throat. He swallowed her kicking and screaming down his Throat. Immediately, he had the room recreate her but there was a fatal catch. As the system relied on his memories of her, it recreated her moments before she ended up in his stomach. "Don't eat me! Stay away from me!" she screeched. A coldness in his soul crept in. "End spell" Oberon said taking over. Keith sat in that room alone for the rest of the day. "Lily warned about this room because of this Keith. Using illusion magic this way is taboo. Now you know why" Oberon said. "You couldn't tell me before I got his horrible memory?!" he yelled. "And if I told you beforehand would you have listened?" Oberon asked. "...no" Keith replied. "Use this room to better yourself like Lily learned too. That and only that" the old fae said.

Keith finished telling Susan his experience. "Keith that was your mistake to make" Susan said. "Haven't you listened to a goddamned thing? It ALWAYS starts off with good intentions" he said. Susan was angry yet quiet. "...could you say goodbye to them? Better yet, could you tell them that you're a soldier? That you're going off to war tomorrow? My point exactly. I'm not saying this to be an asshole" he said. "But you said your thoughts and memories give them personality. Why couldn't you imagine your sister getting over what happened to you as a kid?" she asked. "Well, before our parents died, I was kinda an annoying clingy brother to her.  She loved me I know but she got irritated easily. Then, when our parents died, she took it on herself to raise me. I became someone precious to her. Irreplaceable. How you are to Ruby, she was to me. We even discussed me mating with her to start our own family just before she died. I know in my heart how she would react. To imagine her "getting over it" would've been a lie. I had to learn to let go. Otherwise...hmmm" he muttered.

"Otherwise what?" Susan asked. Keith walked over to her toe and he perched himself on top of it. He smiled. "Otherwise the good times would be overshadowed by the bad. And that would dishonor their memory. Thanks Hikari. I get it now" he replied. Keith hopped off her toe and grew to human size. "Elena is making lunch for us. Care to come?" Keith asked. "No thanks. I want to spend time with Ruby" she replied. Keith nodded and left the room. "System call. Hope McCormick. Borrower size" she muttered. Hope appeared before her. Susan raised her foot over her and crushed her flat. It unnerved her as to how realistic it was. "Hmm. System call. Hope McCormick. Animate subject" she said. This time Hope appeared and spoke. "Aunt Suzie? Where am I? I was with daddy a moment ago" she said. Susan raised her foot again. "Aunt Suzie?" she asked. Again, Susan crushed her under her giant sole. Over and over Susan did this but each time Hope reacted more frightened. Squeezing her till she died screaming sent shivers in her soul. Eating her even worse. 10 minutes had passed but it felt like 10 hours to her. Susan stopped as her teary eyes blurred her vision. "He won't have the heart to do it, so I have to" she whispered to herself.

"What in the world are you up to?" Keith asked looking at Elena. "Making quesadillas silly" she chuckled. "And that requires you to be buck naked, shrunk, and walking around on it?" he asked. "The secret to a good quesadilla is even cheese distribution. Since I can't find my damn glasses, I have to do this" she explained. Keith hovered over her watching the tiny Latina walk around the tortilla naked spreading the shredded cheese with her feet. "You shouldn't be doing this" he said. "I assure you I washed my feet beforehand" she said pushing a clump of cheese aside and shaking her foot. "I mean coming with us to fight. This guy makes Ebonheart look like a playground bully. You're a mother now" he said. "Who wants to protect the word for her child. Drop those pieces of chicken onto here" she said to the giant. Keith dropped them on the tortilla. Elena moved them around literally kicking them into place. "Are you even prepared? You even know what kind of opposition we got?" he asked. Elena finished and hopped off the tortilla. She sat down and soaked her feet in a tiny cap full of water. "I know" she replied. Keith tore off a piece of paper towel and dried her little feet for her. "They're going to wipe you out. You know that" he said irritated.  "They can try gringo" she chuckled. Keith sighed and placed the other tortilla in place. "That should be enough. Put them in the oven" she said. Keith did and sat down at the table. Elena made her way over to him after putting her clothes on.

"How's my son?" he asked. "Growing like a weed. I left him with my mother when I went home for Christmas" she said. "I may never lay eyes on him" Keith muttered. "I will tell him stories about you. How brave you are. Strong, ever ready to do what's right" she said softly. "Is it done yet?" Alyssa asked entering the kitchen. "Not yet. 10 more minutes" Elena replied. Alyssa looked at Elena and her eyes went wide. "Elena Martinez?! Here?!" Alyssa squealed. "You're a fan I take it?" Elena smiled. Alyssa sat down and got very close to her. "I have all your albums! Wait...if you're shrunk than you know..."

"About magic? I grew up around it senorita" she replied. "Elena is from a species called Alux. She's not human" Keith said. "Never heard of them. I've heard of fairies, borrowers, gremlins, and Koonago but not Alux" she said. "We kept a low profile over the centuries. Chances are you met our kind before" she said. "It's true. They're the most numerous species of tiny folk in the world. They were once worshipped as gods and goddesses by the Aztecs. Even human sacrifices" Keith said. "Like...eating hearts?" Alyssa asked. "No, nothing that silly. We shrank and ate humans" she replied. Alyssa moved back. "But you don't right? It's the 21st century" she asked. "Not anymore. I did once but not now" Elena replied. "It's complicated Alyssa but you have nothing to fear from her" Keith said. "Complicated? She ate people" she said. "Yes, I did to further me and my sister's ambitions" Elena said. "Elena" Keith muttered. "It's true Keith. I cannot sugarcoat it" she said. "But she broke away from that tradition and it cost her her sister's life" he said. "Your mean your sister didn't die in an accident?" Alyssa asked. "If you mean being eaten by a snake an accident then yes" Elena replied.

"She and her sister began singing to save their village but in order to get as many fans as possible she used magic. Magic is natural for their kind, but the more complicated spells require human sacrifices" he said. "If they're so many than how do you know they aren't shrinking and eating people up?" Alyssa asked. "Simple really. Most of us are catholic. None of us want to go to hell for eating someone. The irony, we believe in the same religion that almost made us extinct" she replied. "Alyssa, the Alux survived by shrinking and mating with humans. Over time they blended in with human society. She wasn't kidding when she said you probably met one before" Keith said. Alyssa was quiet. "I understand if you don't wish to be my fan anymore" Elena said softly. Elena hid her face in her folded knees. "Why did you tell me the truth?" Alyssa asked. "I saw the smile on your face, and I couldn't lie. It's would've been wrong to win your heart without you knowing" she replied. "That cover you did of My Immortal by Evanescence, that was personal for you wasn’t it?" Alyssa asked. The tiny Latina girl whimpered pitifully where she sat.

Alyssa placed her in her ebony hand. Her giant fingernail lifted her head. "I'm betting there's more to the story than either of you let on. If...if you're willing, I'll listen" Alyssa said. Elena quietly nodded. Soon, the quesadillas were done and given out to the staff. As most were Borrower size, they went a long way. Keith left Alyssa alone with Elena as they ate. "You seen Alyssa?" Rose asked passing Keith's foot in the hallway. "She's with Elena talking. That reminds me, I left a folder on your bed" he said. "I saw it" she muttered. "Then you read it?" he asked. "It's really happening isn't it? The blackout, the folder, those Mogwai. It's happening again" she muttered shaking. Keith picked her up and walked to the living room and sat down. "Afraid so" he said. "Who's going to die that I love this time? Susan? You? Nichole that helps me with my math homework?" she asked. Keith looked away as Rose hadn't been told of Lawan's vision. "You know something you're not telling me" she said. "My wife foresaw my death. That folder isn't an if, it's a when" he replied. Rose freaked out so badly he has to close his hand into a fist. He let the struggling teen girl kick and scream until she settled down. "You're like my weird uncle you know that?!" she yelled. Keith opened his fist to let her settle in his palm.

"Your mother left me a note before she passed. I was to protect you with my life. I will honor her last wishes" he said. "So that's all I am?  A job left by my mother?!" she yelled crying. "Is that all you see when you look at me?" she asked. "I see something beautiful and full of promise" he said moving her long hair out of her face. She wore a sweatshirt and sweatpants with socks on. "Why do you think your mother told me and not Susan?" he asked petting her leg. She shrugged. "Because she knew the trauma, I carried from losing my family. She knew I would reign unholy vengeance on anyone that would hurt you. She knew what I did to Jacob. You're like my niece Rose. From the tips of your hair to your pretty toes, I love you" he said. "God, I feel like a fucking cunt going off on you like that..." she muttered. "I've had worse than a bratty rich girl yelling at me" he said. "Who you calling a brat?!" she yelled. "Brat! Spoiled brat!" he chuckled ticking her belly under her little shirt. Rose giggled. "Wipe that face. Alyssa won't like you all weepy and snotty" he said. She did and Keith gave her a kiss. The tiny teen hugged his cheek hard. "I love you too" he muttered. Keith carried her into the kitchen and left her with the other girls.

Two hours later...

"Are you rested Hope?" Markus asked her as they stood outside under the starry sky. Hope silently nodded looking out at the ocean. "Good because I have a task for you. Only someone with as much power as your can do" he said. "Isn't it too early for the alignment?" she asked. "Not that. For the absolute best chance to destroy the seal imprisoning the council, one must do so at the very spot it was made" he replied. "But isn't that sunk beneath the ocean with the rest of the continent?" she asked. "Exactly. I need you to raise it all up from the depths of the pacific. It will serve as our new homeland. One free from the evils of deviant humans" he said coldly. Markus opened a translocation portal and he had her follow through. They hovered only inches above the waves in the middle of the Indian Ocean just 600 miles from the southern tip of Sri Lanka. "I've never released a spell of such magnitude before. I'm scared" Hope whimpered. "You can do this. You were born for this. Born to fix this wretched world" he said squeezing her hand. Hope raised her hand into the air and concentrated.

She began to glow faintly and then the light grew brighter and brighter until Markus had to shield his eyes. The waves grew agitated more and more. 22,305 below the water at the bottom, the sea floor began to rise...

"And now I get $200" Ritchie said moving his shoe past Go. "How long does this game last again?" Thomas asked. "Monopoly can run for hours and hours dad" Claire replied. "My turn. And I land on Boardwalk. That's how much rent?" Aspen asked. "400 bones" Ritchie snickered. Aspen slapped the fake money in his hand. "I think he's cheating" Aspen whispered. "Don't blame me for being awesome" the boy snickered. "Cheeky little shit. See how smug you are later tonight" Aspen said squinting at him. "Careful son. Angry sex is no joke" Thomas said picking up the dice. "Pfft. I'm willing to take that risk if it's Aspen" he said looking at his money. Aspen blushed. "What happened to the shy tiny boy that used to spy on me?" Aspen asked. "He got older and found some balls" Ritchie replied. As soon as he did, he doubled over in pain screaming.

"RITCHIE!" Claire yelled grabbing him. "Fuck is going on?! He's having a seizure!" Rebecca yelled coming from the nursery. Thomas jammed his flooded-up belt in his son's mouth to keep him from swallowing his tongue. So violent the seizure, the boy pissed and shat himself. Then as sudden as it was for Ritchie, Claire tensed up like she was electrified and collapsed. They were not the only ones in pain.

The sound of breaking glass made Tim and Ruby turn. Susan was on her knees. "Mom!" Ruby said bracing her. Ruby caught her breath as she saw the magic array dancing in her mother's eye brighter than she ever seen. Her daughter and father called her name, but she could not answer. All around the planet, the most sensitive magic users took note of an immense usage of magic. Those in Russia looked south. Those in Thailand looked southwest. In America, east and west. In the colony in Yorkshire, southeast just as Ritchie, Claire, and Susan looked. "Yes...YES!" Markus yelled as he felt wet sediment under his feet. Hope was raising over a million tons of rock and sediment at a violent astonishing speed. And as one might guess, there were horrific consequences...

It had been 18 long minutes since she started and then it was done. But the ramifications to her act spread far and wide. A growing tsunami spread in all directions increasing in size and speed. At its zenith, waves as high as 2000 ft. traveling at 600 mph crossed the seas.

"Keith cringed as a panicked message came at him. One was from Aspen, the other from a weakened Susan. Keith and Lawan raced into the city, Lawan focused on Aspen while he ran to sue Susan. People wondered why the giant couple was so desperate as they leaped over buildings and their bare feet shaking the streets as they landed. Keith tore the roof off her home. "Keith..." Ruby sobbed. Keith picked Susan up. The woman shook in his hand. "Something...happened. A burst of magic more powerful than anything...it was like my soul was staring into the sun. I'm alright...weakened. Too much and it took me by surprise" she muttered. "It was Hope wasn't it?" he asked. "Felt like her magic. The alignment isn't time. What did she do?" she asked weakly. Keith put her back down. " Susan, lie down. Claire and Ritchie were hit by the same thing only worse. Tim, Ruby. Make sure she doesn't go anywhere" he said before walking off. "Mom your eye" Ruby said. Susan felt the power within her resonating oddly. "Get mommy some water sweetie" she said. Ruby rushed to the kitchen. "Dad. In the drawer there is a syringe with a knockout drug. Inject me quickly before she returns" she said. "Why? You said you're fine" Tim said. "Please. My powers are glitching out. I get dangerous when I can't control it. Before I hurt you and her, knock my fucking ass out" she growled. Tim opened the dresser against the wall and got the syringe. He injected her and hid the needle just as Ruby returned. "I'm going to rest now okay?" Susan said. Ruby nodded but was visibly frightened. "Let you mother rest dear" Tim said leading Susan to her bedroom.

"I got them both stabilized. Claire was fine but Ritchie took a nasty seizure. I'll have to treat him again in a few hours" Lawan said as a shrunken Keith entered the house. Aspen hugged him sobbing. "What happened? We were all playing and then this" Aspen said. "Susan was hit by something too. She's sure Hope was involved" he replied. "An attack by that sweet child? Impossible" Rebecca said petting Ritchie. "The way she described it, Hope must've used a very big spell and the most sensitive as hit by some kind of backwash" he replied. "My brother doesn't have magic ability to really speak of. A class C can do better than him. So why did he suffer worse than me?" Claire groaned. Aspen saw to her. "I don't know" he replied. Keith looked at Lawan who was looking east. "The kids" she muttered tearing her vision away. Keith nodded and watched her leave.

A tense few hours passed as Keith watched tv looking for any news of what may have happened. "Keith. Ritchie just woke up" Claire said over the link. "How is he?" he asked. "Been better but he does have answers for us. What knocked us on our asses was a huge disturbance in the Indian Ocean involving earth magic. Somehow, Hope raised a massive land mass and the disturbance fed right back to Pelé. Since me and Ritchie are connected to her by magic, we got hit with the whammy too. Keith. Ritchie said that by raising something so big..."

"It would create a tsunami of unimaginable proportions" Keith finished. Joseph who was sitting beside him closed his eyes. "How soon would something like that hit an inhabited area?" Keith asked him. "3 minutes. It will in three minutes. First Sri Lanka, then the Indonesian Archipelago. After that it will rake southeast China. By the gods, I can see it. This will make the 2004 tsunami look like a bad day at the beach" Joseph replied. They all sat helpless at what was coming.

The citizens of Pottuvil, a small town on the east cost of the island at first thought they got lucky, an earthquake had shaken the city but as hours passed no tsunami. Then 4 hours later, the water receded far, very very far, into the sea exposing old sunken boats and debris. The sun was now setting but the eagle eyed on the shore immediately saw the horror that was coming. The sun had disappeared too fast Because the wave was far higher than the curve of the horizon. Alarms went off for those to find shelter. The wave was coming at 550 mph barely slowing down as it crossed the continental shelf. A deafening roar filled their ears and then it struck. Boathouses, docks, and stores were obliterated instantly. The wave kept going and going tearing the city off the soil. Ancient structures crumbled like sandcastles. Watertight shelters crushed under unfathomable water pressure. It had passed Through in two minutes and had slowed to 350 mph, but the wave had not crested. Pottuvil was gone as well as the 648,000 people living in it. By the time the wave had crested and crashed, it had devastated a third of the island killing over 9,000,000 people. Indonesia would soon see its own doom in 30 minutes...

"The arcane is in place. We can begin the transfer" Libra said. "Then let us begin" Aeries said feeling the island shake under her feet. "Why waste so much energy saving humans?" Catherine asked. "They are loyal subjects and it's the Master's orders. Now Chanel your energy like the rest of us" Taurus said coldly. Catherine obeyed reluctantly helping to activate the 32 carefully placed arcane runes carved into the rock around the home of the man called Markus. Pillars of light rose into the sky and a barrier surrounded them. For a split second, reality imploded as the mansion, Mage sectors, and the human sector was translocated to the resurrected Mu continent. The island was barren now as the wave got closer...

Phan was a 17-year-old yaksha stationed in Jakarta. His first assignment and he was due to be rotated back home that spring. The Mogwai there behaved themselves mostly and it was an easy gig for him. He lived in a flat above a restaurant owned by the father of his new human wife. Yes, he had fallen in love with the girl so much that he even told her what he really was. She loved him anyway. He doted on her and made sure she was happy. Then when he was with child, her parents helped to cover up the odd fact she gave birth well less than nine months later. Life was great for the young man and she didn't mind his natural sexual libido being far greater than a human's. In fact, she enjoyed him licking her giant toes and pushing him inside her. The latter she found to be truly to her like. Phan sat on the table on the balcony looking out as sea as his wife breastfed their son. Then he saw something strange. The stars at the horizon began to disappear. A tremor he felt, a very small one. Curious, he used clairvoyance to see what could be causing something so odd. His blood ran cold as he saw the mountainous wave coming. It was only minutes away and the first sirens went off.

"Tsunami warning?" she asked. "...yes" he replied. "Ehh. We're far into the city. Not even the one in 2004 got this far" she said shrugging. Phan knew this one eclipsed it by leaps and bounds. It would destroy them all. Phan knew he could get away simply by flying high enough into the air. He could even shrink his wife and carry her, but his son was too young to be shrunk. His month-old body couldn't take the strain. She wouldn't leave their son to die and he couldn't leave her. Phan hopped onto the floor and grew to human size. He held his wife from behind and gazed at their child. he smiled at both of them. The wave has struck the beach. "I love you. Love you both so much" he said to them softly just moments before the wave took them. Jakarta was wiped away. 10,800,000 humans plus one yaksha and a halfling were gone.

Keith sat with Lawan silently looking at the news as it slowly trickled in. With satellites down, international news took longer to reach them, but it did. Hundreds of cities were gone. The death toll kept going up passing 40 million by 9 pm his time. Even the US was affected as the Seventh Pacific Fleet was sent to the murky bottom. The wave has caused dozens of major rivers in India and China to overflow jacking up the death toll ever further. "We should turn it off" Lawan said sitting in his lap. Keith didn't respond. What could she say from that point forward? They all knew Hope was responsible. Thunder shook the house once more as Keith could see flushes of red lightning in the sky. While he was looking outside, he watched a bolt of red lighting strike the apple tree in the front courtyard. "What the hell?" Keith asked looking at the tree seemingly glitch for a brief moment. It glowed and with the glow Keith saw with his enhanced Borrower sight the tree suddenly turn into a cherry tree. it shimmered between apple and cherry tree before it ominously exploded. The explosion rattled the windows and he heard a scream. "Keith ran out of the room leaving a worried Lawan still staring at the burning blown up tree.

He ran down the hallway as he knew who it was. Keith entered Aspen's room. "My baby. My baby is destroying the world" Aspen muttered sitting next to Claire shrunken down so her wife could hold her. "We...we don't know that" Keith stammered. "We know she killed millions today. My daughter is the biggest mass murder in history. He...hehe..." she grinned. Keith sat down. "You're gonna do it aren't you? That twinkle in your eyes is gone. You're going to kill her" she said looking at the giant. Keith placed her in his hand. "...Aspen..." he whispered. Aspen broke into a screeching wail thrashing in his hand. Keith cupped her hand to avoid her falling onto the floor. "Claire...Jesus. Put her to sleep. Please" he begged. Claire touched his hands and let the spell flow Through his flesh into his cupped palms. Aspen went still and silent. Keith put her on the bed. "You didn’t say no" Claire muttered. Keith left the room.

He entered his personal training room and turned the lights on. "System call. Hope. Inanimate. Borrower size" he muttered. In an instant, Hope appeared just as he imagined. Keith raised his foot over her still, unmoving little body...and then slammed it down. He stared at his foot which had "missed" her by inches. Still looking down, her body was pelted by tears. Keith sat down and placed her in his hand. Of all the images of her in his head, he didn't know why he chose the one of her in a sundress. He sat there quietly looking at her. Her perfect long hair resting on his fingers. Cute little lips in a slight smile. Keith slipped off her tiny flip flops. She had her mother's feet. Narrow with long toes. Her dainty hands like her mother's. Most of everything was like Aspen except a few small things. Even her scent was like hers except curiously when Hope got angry. She smelled more like daddy then. Keith brought her to his lips and kissed her. He held her to his face and cried. He didn't know how long until he heard the creak of wooden floor.

"Your wife is worried. We all are" Joseph said entering. "I'm so sorry" Keith muttered to him. "What for?" Joseph asked. "For admonishing you for not killing Markus. How could you. He's a part of you just like she's a part of me. You never gave up on him, did you?" he asked. "...no. Even in the worst of it I believed that sweet boy I raised would one day return" Joseph replied. "What if you're wrong? What if you're just pissing in the wind and wasting your time?" Keith asked straightening Hope's little dress. "Then I'm no poorer for it. But if I am right..." he said smiling. He stood up. "See to your anxious Asian wife" he said as he left the room. "System call. End simulation" Keith said before the illusion of Hope vanished.

Keith returned to Lawan. He picked her up. "Let's go to bed. Big day tomorrow" he said. Lawan was astonished he fell asleep so fast. She had plans to fuck him that night but obviously that wasn't going to happen. She lay next to his face naked warmed by his breath. She almost sobbed thinking that this could be their last night together. She wouldn't cry. She promised not to. Keith didn't need that right now. But she decided that as soon as he woke up, she would fulfill her duty as his wife the way a yaksha warrior would. Sex, sensuality, and grooming for battle.